Alan Rapp

More Like Hell

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Haven
  • IMDB: link

haven-posterHaven is like watching a mediocre movie on cable television and switching the channel to a different mediocre movie every 30 minutes and occasionally going back to see if the others have gotten any better.  Well, it’s not quite that good.

The film begins with the story of successful business man Carl Ridley (Bill Paxton) and his teenage daughter Pippa (Agnes Bruckner), who flee the country to the Cayman Islands to avoid prosecution.  Carl has laundered money from some illegal activity (the film never explains what this was, or the limit to Carl’s involvement).

Once in the Islands, Pippa (what an awful name) rebels and hangs out with a local wannabe gangster (Victor Rasuk) who steals a car, takes her to a party, gets her high and then arrested.

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Give Peace A Chance

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: The U.S. vs. John Lennon
  • IMDb: link

The U.S. vs. John LennonThe year of the documentary continues.  The U.S. vs. John Lennon takes its place along a great list of documentaries released this year that include An Inconvenient Truth (read that review here), Who Killed the Electric Car? (read that review here), Cocaine Cowboys (that review is coming, I promise), and Wordplay (read that review here).  Aside from being informative and entertaining the documentary is quite timely; I urge everyone to watch closely at the speeches Richard Nixon gives about the Vietnam War and compare them, as the film does in a very small part, to our current administration’s conflict in Iraq.

John Lennon was a God in the late 1960’s and 1970’s.  He was also an intellectual, and in a way that would make Toby Keith go into fits of rage, a strong antiwar activist.  The documentary begins with a summing up of the political and cultural landscape of the time.  It discusses the Nixon White House, the Black Panthers, political activists Bobby Seale, Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin and others.

From there the film jumps to Lennon’s height of popularity with The Beatles, his meeting with Yoko Ono, and how he evolved from the lead singer and spokesman of a British band into one of the world’s most outspoken anti-war activists.

The film follows Lennon’s attempts atpeaceful activism including his “Hair Peace, Bed Peace” sit-ins and his famous “Bed-Ins” in Amsterdam and Montreal, the recording of the album “Give Peace a Chance” which would become the international anthem for the peace movement, and the even more eccentric “Bagism” where Lennon and Ono were interviewed by reporters while completely covered under a bag.

Despite the couple’s list of eccentricities and oddities, Lennon was so popular and so out-spoken against the Vietnam War that Richard Nixon’s White House began a campaign to deport him.  The documentary follows those years of Lennon fighting the system and trying to stay in his adopted home of New York City, as Senator Strom Thurmond and INS worked just as hard to kick Lennon out of the country.

The film is fascinating watching interviews with those who knew Lennon inter-mixed with clips and music from the time period.  My sole complaint with the film is it’s a little slow getting started.  The first half-hour or so tries to paint the picture of the period and events before it ever gets to Lennon specifically.  While great for youngsters, many people will find this remedial history a tad boring.

However, once the film shifts focus to Lennon and his battles against the Nixon White House things get good, really good.  Lennon and his legacy are in good hands here, and we are given some timely and balls-on perfect commentary by Gore Vidal about Nixon’s White House and the Bush White House today.  I’m sure it will be enough to send Toby Keith into fits of rage, which is of course always a good thing.

John Lennon was an idealist, he was a little crazy, and he was right.  We need people like him today.  The documentary shows how this country needs people like Lennon to open their eyes to troubles we are all too willing to ignore.  Unlike today’s celebrities who pick up and leave causes at the drop of a hat, without ever really understanding them, Lennon understood, and felt deeply personal over, the issues of his day and saw a need and responsibility to share those views with the word.  He is missed, today more than ever.

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Open Season

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Open Season
  • IMDb: link

Open SeasonBoog (Martin Lawrence) is a big domesticated Grizzly Bear who has been raised in captivity by a forest ranger (Debra Messing).  Boog’s life is perfect, all the food he can eat, a mother who loves him, entertaining youngsters with his trained act.  His life is paradise.

Then a dimwitted deer named Elliot (Ashton Kutcher) turns his whole world upside down, and Boog finds himself out in the woods only days before hunting season is to begin.  Boog and Elliot try to make it back to town, avoid the hunters – especially the villainous Shaw (Gary Sinese) who has it in for the pair – and make it home in one piece.  Along the way they cause trouble, meet new friends and explore the woods.

There’s nothing too original here, the plot is pretty straightforward.  The film has a nice joke at the beginning as Shaw compares Beth to a Girl Scout.  Enjoy it; the next laugh will take about an hour to find you.  Many of the children in the screening I attended seemed bored, disinterested and only vaguely aware a film was showing.  Not a great endorsement.

It’s not that the film is bad; it’s just not more interesting than any animated show you’d find playing on your television.  The supporting cast includes Billy Connolly, Jon Favreau, and Patrick Warburton, but even their humor does little to lighten the mood.

On a side-note, for animation buffs, the film breaks a cardinal rule of animation by not only having the characters discuss “taking a crap” (their words), but actually showing it.  The scene is supposed to be funny, but when an animated PG-rated film has to stoop to such low humor to elicit a laugh, then you know you’re in trouble.

There’s been a glut of animation that has hit theaters this year after a relatively poor showing in 2005.  Compared to the likes of Cars (read that review) and Over the Hedge (read that review), and even Barnyard (read that review) and Monster House (read that review), Open Season fails to measure up.  Still, it’s marginally better than The Wild (read that review here); at least that’s something, right?

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Comic Book Shelf

/ / Comics

Hey there true believers!  Today the seventh issue of our Comic Book Shelf edition hits our newsstand.  Want to know what’s getting released today at the old comic shop but too busy, or lazy (not that there’s anything wrong with that), to bother?  Well no sweat Bat-fans as we’ve got the scoop of what comics and graphic novels are hitting the shelves today.

This week’s releases include Action Comics, Captain America, Snakes on a Plane, Batman, Daredevil, Green Lantern, Ninja Scroll, Justice League of America, American Virgin, Ultimate Spider-Man, and more!

If you’re looking for graphic novels you don’t want to miss JSA: Mixed Signals, Ultimate Iron Man, Superman: Up, Up and Away!, Tom Strong Book 6, Justice Vol. 1, Daredevil Vol. 6 and Thor: The Eternals Saga Vol. 1.

For the full list check inside…

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This Week

/ / Film News & Trailers

So what’s out there this week?  Well today we’ll take a look at the films scheduled to be released which include The Last King of Scotland (on Wednesday), Billy Bob Thorton and Jon Heder going mano e mano in School for Scoundrels, Ashton Kutcher as a dimwitted cartoon (and he stars in an animated film out today too!).

All that and more; c’mon in and let us get you ready for the week! 

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Here’s what’s scheduled to hit theaters this week.  Want to know more?  Just click on the title for film info including a full cast list.  Want a closer look?  Just click on the poster to watch the trailer.

Opening Wednesday, in Limited Release:

The Last King of Scotland

James McAvoy plays a Scottish doctor who becomes the personal physician of the vicious and brutal President of Uganda (Forest Whitacker); he discovers he can no longer stand the dictator’s tyrannical rule and attempts to flee the country.  Oscar buzz is swarming all over this one which is based on the novel by Giles Foden describing the real life dictatorship of Idi Amin who ruled Uganda with an iron fist in the 1970’s.  Kevin MacDonald (Touching the Void, and the 2000 Oscar winning documentary One Day in September) directs, and Gilian Anderson and Kerry Washington also star.  The film opens Wednesday in limited release in select cities.

Opening Friday:

School for Scoundrels

A lovelorn loser (Jon Heder) enrolls in a secret confidence building class to improve his self-esteem and win the girl of his dreams (Jacinda Barrett), only to see his self-absorbed instructor (Billy Bob Thorton) attempt to beat him to the girl.  Zany comedy abounds in this one in a somewhat sweeter version of the humor Thorton used so well in Bad Santa.  Todd Philips (Old School, Road Trip, Starsky & Hutch) directs.  The supporting cast includes Sarah Silverman, Ben Stiller, Michael Clarke Duncan, Todd Louiso, Horatio Sanz, and David Cross.  The film opens on Friday and we’ll have the review.

Open Season

You know what we needed?  Another mediocre animated film about critters in the woods.  Yeah…  just exactly what we need.  This one follows the story of a bear (Martin Lawrence) raised in captivity by a forest ranger (Debra Messing) who must adapt to life in the forest as Open Season for hunting begins.  The film also includes the voice talents of Ashton Kutcher as his nit-wit friend (what else?), Billy Connolly, Jon Favreau, Patrick Warburton, Nika Futterman, Jane Krakowski, and Gary Sinese as the obessed hunter Shaw.  Somebody please explain Ashton Kutcher’s career to me, please!  The film opens on Friday, so check back for our review.

The Guardian

Speaking of films we don’t want to see starring Ashton Kutcher…  Kutcher stars as Maverick cocky Jake Fisher, the “best of the best,” who trains with famous rescue swimmer Ben Randall (Kevin Costner) to work in Alaska saving lives and learning about life.  Anybody else think this sounds like Lifetime Television for guys?  The supporting cast includes Clancy Brown, Shelby Fenner, John Heard, Leigh Hennessy, Dule Hill, Sela Ward, Bonnie Bramlett, Matt Laub, Neal McDonough, Melissa Sagemiller, and (the awesomely named) Danny Cosmo Higginbottom.  The Guardian starts drowning theater goers this Friday.

Currently in Limited Release, Opening Wide on Friday:

The U.S. vs. John Lennon

If you’re not a Beatles fan just scroll down to the next film.  John Lennon was the man.  More than just the front man for the biggest rock band in England, or the world, Lennon was an idealist and visionary.  The new documentary examines the life of Lennon and his struggles against the war in Vietnam.  The documentary is the latest from the writer/director team of David Leaf and John Scheinfeld (The Unknown Marx Brothers, Dean Martin: That’s Amore, Beautiful Dreamer: Brian Wilson and the Story of “Smile”).  After playing two weeks in select cites, the film will be release wide on Friday.  (Read our review here).

Haven

A businessman (Bill Paxton) flees the United States for the Cayman Islands with his daughter (Agnes Bruckner) to avoid prosecution.  After arriving their fates become intertwined with a local (Orlando Bloom) planning a crime that will shock the nation.  Written and directed by Frank E. Flowers (Swallow) the film also stars Zoe Saldana, Victor Rasuk, Lee Ingleby, Sarah Carter, Rachel Miner, and Robert Wisdom.  The film has languished in the festival circuit for two years (it premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2004).  It’s been playing in select cities for a few weeks and opens wide on Friday.  Check back for our review.

The Science of Sleep (Science des reves, La)

As the lights came up I sat in the theater trying to put my experience of watching this film into words.  What I came up was simply this – bizarrely fascinating.  The film centers around a man (Gael Garcia Bernal) who lacks the ability to separate his dream world from reality, with dizzying results, and his love for his new neighbor (Charlotte Gainsboroug).  Nowhere near conventional, the film reminds me of Terry Gilliam’s early work (before he went crazy and started making “films” like Tideland and The Brothers Grimm).  It was released in select cities last week (read our review) and Friday begins its wider release.

Opening Friday, in Limited Release:

A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints

Writer/director Dito Montiel’s autobiopic stars Robert Downey Jr. ad Montiel returning home to Astoria, NY to come to terms with his past.  Seriously, how cool is it for Robert Downey Jr. to play you in your life story?  Shia LaBeouf plays Mentiel’s young self, and the film has a nice supporting cast that includes (RazorFine fav) Rosario Dawson, Chazz Palminteri, Dianee Weist, Channing Tatum, Melonie Diaz, and Eric Roberts.  Montiel’s personal story did well at Sundace pulling in both the Director’s Award and the Special Jury Prize for ensemble performance.  The film opens Friday exclusively in New York and Los Angeles.

Jesus Camp

Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (the pair gave us 2005’s The Boys of Baraka) present this documentary look at children who attend the “Kids on Fire” summer camp for born again children.  The film focuses on three children from 9 to 12 years-old, and examines the broader impact of the Evangelical movement still strong in the Midwest.  Oddly enough, the film is being marketed to Christians despite it’s slightly slanted view in the other direction (Michael Moore looooves it).  It’s been a big hit on the festival circuit, including here in Kansas City.  Jesus Camp opens in select cities on Friday.

Facing the Giants

Another football coach movie?  Grant Taylor (Alex Kindrick, who also directs and co-wrote the script with his brother Stephen) isn’t the great football coach or motivator; his teams have lost consistantly for years, he’s about to be fired, and his wife is infertile.  Deciding he has nothing left to lose he turns to God to help inspire his players.  Not to misquote Star Trek, but what does God need with football?  The film was put together by an all volunteer Baptist cast in Albany, GA.  The inspirational pro-Christian message is sure to play better in red states.  It opens Friday in select cities.

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