Yesterday, I was traveling by air to my new school in Beppu, Japan. As a big chunk of that journey I got to spend about twelve and a half hours squeezed inside an economy class seat on a direct flight from Chicago O'Hare to Tokyo Narita. If any of you have been on one of those flights before then you know that the only things to do are watch movies, try to sleep, and get up and stretch every once and a while. Well, sleeping proved to be a futile attempt, and as the guy sitting next to me was apparently afflicted by some form of African sleeping sickness, (he slept for eleven hours of the flight) I didn't get to get up that often either. So, that left movies. Twelve and a half hours worth.
United's wonderful roster of in fight movies included Leatherheads, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, and The Visitor. As you can imagine, I spent a lot of time listening to my Ipod. However, I had never seen The Visitor, so I decided to give it a fair shake. Here's what I thought.
The Skinny: The Visitor is a Canadian film that made it's debut at TIFF 2007. It features actor Richard Jenkins in his typical role as a successful but fundamentally unhappy middle-aged man, (See Burn After Reading) this time as college economics professor Walter Vale. Upon returning to his seldom-used New York City apartment for an economics conference, he finds two Senegalese illegal immigrants, husband and wife, who are squatting in his place. At first he kicks them out, but ultimately allows them to stay and forms a strong friendship with the husband Tarek, who begins to teach Walter how to play the African drums. When Tarek is arrested by immigration officials, Walter's commitment to the the couple is put to the test. The movie has all the markings of a hearfelt independent drama, but somehow it comes out feeling a little derivative. Ultimately, it's the conveniences of the plot that serve to make the film less believable. As the Japanese man two seats down from me put it, "Why the hell didn't he just kick those people out of the his house? Also, why would he want to start playing drums in the park like a hobo?" I think that about sums it up. Yes, it's fairly entertaining, but no, I don't think I would neccessarily seek it out if I wasn't trapped in a plane for twelve hours.
More news from Japan as it comes.
With the four high-profile contenders Focus Features’ Burn After Reading(above), Lionsgate’s Tyler Perry’s The Family That Preys, Overture’s Righteous Kill and Picturehouse’s The Women, the box office is a bit crowded this weekend as far as adult's wallets are concerned. After a summer full of kid-friendly blockbusters and raunchy comedy it's refreshing to finally be moving into the more meaty fall dramas, but it remains to be seen which of the lot will pass the quality test.
My early take on Burn After Reading is that fans of the darker side of the Coen Brothers' twisted sense of humor will be pleased but that the trailer definitely sells the movie as a lot more light-hearted than it actually is. Also, newly indoctrinated fans from last year's sobering No Country for Old Men may find themselves likewise confused by the level of absurdity found here. Overall, I think you'll find some pretty divisive reactions. Check back on Monday for our full review.
Righteous Kill stars the reanimated corpses of Al Pacino and Robert De Nero as two cops who just don't give a fuck. Guess what, neither does your audience.
Another summer has officially come to an end, and another summer blockbuster movie season with it. Please allow us to present our comprehensive summer review, featuring the best and worst of the season. The reviews will be broken into three parts and featured in chronological order of release, and followed up with our choices for the top five movies of the summer. Part two of our reviews continues with a most unfortunate 'happening', and rounds things out with Guillermo Del Toro's ultimate wet dream.
The HappeningGone are the days of 1999’s The Sixth Sense and even 2000’s criminally underrated Unbreakable. Hell, we thought The Village was bad. But with his first R-rated movie director M. Night Shyamalan seems to be trying to figure out just how far he can push it before people say he’s lost it. The Happening is a rambling eco-horror film with a mind-numbingly boring new twist... the plants are trying to kill us! On top of that gimmicky but not irredeemable concept, Shyamalan stacks a cast of forgettable characters headed up by school teacher Elliot Moore (Mark Wahlberg), and sends them on an exceedingly absurd attempt at an edge-of-your-seat thriller. In the end, The Happening succeeds in making wind about as scary as it can be.... not very much at all.
The Incredible HulkThis summer saw the big green guy 's return to the screen in smashing fashion. I'm immensely pleased to report that the newest incarnation of the Hulk franchise has almost completely erased the terrible taste that Ang Lee left in my mouth with his 2003 travesty. Edward Norton portrays a much more authentic Bruce Banner and the inclusion of Tim Roth as the Abomination at least provides some entertainment as a competitive villain. Hulk stories in the past have failed to escape the 'Hulk against the world' mentality, ultimately making him more of a villain than a hero. This film returned Bruce Banner to his roots as the wandering hero and thankfully skipped the unnecessary origin story. The dialogue is campy at times but this is definitely a superhero movie done well.
Love GuruCrass, unfunny, repetitive, obnoxious, gross, thin, fucking terrible. The love guru has been referred to as all of above, as well as a career killer for star Mike Myers, and even has the dubious ability to make you wonder if you'll ever laugh again. Just in case there were those doubting the utter totality of his fall from grace, Mike Myers has now quieted any lingering hope of a comeback. The only redeeming feature is Steven Colbert as Jay Kell, a drug addicted sex fiend of a hockey broadcaster. However, you're best left just watching that bit on youtube, as this film should be avoided at all costs. If you happen to walk into a friend's house and they are watching it, not only should you leave but you should no longer be friends with that person.
Get Smart
A remake of the 1960s Mel Brooks spy parody TV series, Get Smart makes for an enjoyable yet unenthusiastically positive experience. Steve Carell is perfectly cast as agent Maxwell Smart, while the film’s over-reliance on his endearing sense of wit and charm is both a positive and negative overall. His partner and would-be love interest Agent 99 (Ann Hathaway) serves as a fitting foil to Smart’s bumbling yet oddly effective style of espionage, while Dwyane “The Rock” Jonhson’s Agent 23 once again demonstrates an acting talent that greatly exceeds the level for which he has any right. If you’re looking for a charmingly entertaining light-hearted adventure with a couple of laughs along the way, then you can’t go wrong with Get Smart.
Wall-EBeautiful, stunning, heartwarming, WALL-E was all of these and much more. The story of a trash compacting robot doomed to spend eternity cleaning the world's mess doesn't seam all too appealing at first glance, but the charisma and character instilled in the cute little R2-D2-esque trash compactor makes him very endearing. The story alone makes this film a great kid's flick with a good message, but what really steals the show is the sheer visual beauty of the film. The Pixar team truly out did their previous work with Wall-E. There were multiple moments in the film when I caught myself just starring at the screen with my mouth ajar in awe at the scope and beauty of the images with which I found myself transfixed. It becomes an exercise in artistic exhibition. I heard complaints that the message of the story was "leftist propaganda", but I thought the message was well intertwined within the story and I didn't feel like they were trying to push anything upon me. WALL-E is one of the must-see movies of the summer, and not just if you have kids. I did feel a little strange going into a theater full of children, but the sense of complete satisfaction that had enveloped me by the end of the movie made up for any awkwardness.
HancockWill Smith + 4th of July weekend = $$$$. It is as simple as that. I was very excited about Hancock but I always felt like they were trying to hide something in the previews. The idea of a derelict super hero seemed like a fresh and interesting take on the genre and I was excited to see what Peter Berg would do with the film. Well, the first 2/3 of this film are great. Will Smith plays an asshole with a heart of gold to a T. About an hour into the film it seemed like the story had pretty much wrapped up and I was left asking myself "Where are they going to take it from here?" That is when shit gets weird. The last 30-40 minutes of the film appear as if the script pages were meant for a different film but somebody fucked up and stuck them on to Hancock instead. I would love to explain it to you but I simply can't express it into words. It was like watching a train wreck, I wanted to get up and leave but I had to stay and see how bad it got. There was a scene of statutory rape that was removed from the final cut for the sake of a PG-13 rating. That scene could have been looped 20 times over the last 30 minutes of the movie and it would have made for a much better ending. My recommendation is that if you watch the film and simply turn it off after Hancock foils the bank robbery. At least then you'll have a good albeit short film. Trust me, youll save yourself a lot of confusion and disgust.
WantedHeralded as "visually revolutionary", Wanted actually left me a bit wanting. The film follows a young man named Wesley Gibson (James McAvoy) working at a dead-end job with an overbearing boss and all the various accoutrement that come with the quintessential twenty-something shitty life: cheating girlfriend, worthless best friend etc. Gibson soon becomes entangled in an international assassin's association in which his recently slain absentee father was a member. While this film is a fine action movie with very appealing special effects and a decent storyline, labeling it "revolutionary" and comparing it to The Matrix is a bit over the top. If you go in expecting an entertaining hour and a half with plenty of violence you will be pleased. If you are looking for a masterpiece you will be severely disappointed.
Hell Boy 2Unfortunately, Hell Boy 2 got lost in the sea of summer movies. I like the Hellboy series quite a bit but even I was shocked when I found out about HB2's ambitious summer release date. It was really a shame, as HB2 not only had a better story than the first, but Guillermo Del Toro was allowed much freedom this time around to flex his directorial muscles. The stories delves much deeper into the mythic underground and plays heavily on Hellboy's alliances. The movie has its fair share of cheesy moments but remains in the same vein as the previous installment. My biggest complaint was that at times I felt like this was just a showcase of special effects and puppetry. I enjoy Del Torro's use of special effects, the Pan's Labryinth-inspired creature aesthetic employed here is an arguable triumph, but in some instances it just seemed masturbatory.
Check back next Friday for the third and final installment of our Summer in Review, to be followed up by our announcement of the top-five films of Summer 2008.
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Surreelfilm's Summer in Review Part 1
Will Smith is Cpt. America
Rumors have been flying that Will Smith has been offered the role of the beloved propaganda piece Captain America. This role would suit Smith's tastes for the big budget blockbuster but with Smith just coming off of Hancock I can't imagine him jumping right back into the same genre. I am also a little skeptical of the quote from Derek Luke that ignited this rumor. I find it hard to swallow that such a small time actor would be breaking such big time news. I would still love to see Smith suit up in the red white and blue and sling that gigantic shield around the screen but Marvel is keeping it tight-lipped. This rumor is only slightly ridiculous.Live Action TMNT
Can it be true? My beloved transmorphic adolescent reptiles are heading back to the big screen with actual live-action actors? A teenage mutant ninja turtle's live-action reboot is a very exciting, albeit scary proposition. The success of the of the 2007 computer animated movie garnered enough box office clout to warrant a sequel, but I know a lot of children of the 80's that are dying to see a reboot of the 1990 children's classic. Well there is hope, sorta. This rumor took the internet by storm only to be stomped out by TMNT creator Kevin Eastman. All hope is not lost though. With all the positive buzz on the internet Peter Baird (co-creator of TMNT) has been contacted by several parties interested in the idea of a new live-action TMNT movie. So this rumor is only slightly ridiculous.Batman 3 villains
Johny Depp as the Riddler, Seymour Hoffman as the Penguin, Cher as Catwoman, Nic Cage as King Tut. Alright I made up that last one, but the other three have been floating around the internet. Johny Depp seems like the most willing to step into the villain shoes. Depp has expressed his interest through several sites saying, "it would be a fun gig". Depp's affinity for eccentric characters makes a step into the question mark suit a logical move. Unfortunately, Cher seems the next most likely candidate as one of Gotham's scum. Cher is reportedly Nolan's 'first choice'. I hope to god this doesn't happen. I just can't imagine Cher's portrayal of Catwoman fitting into the Nolanverse. Plus she hasn't been in a movie since Moonstruck. The most interesting of the 3 is Seymour Hoffman as the Penguin. I think this is a perfect fit and he was rumored to be portraying the penguin before The Dark Knight as well. Unfortunately Hoffman himself has squashed these rumors saying, "I don't know if I'd be a good penguin to be quite honest". Well Seymour you are going to make a lot of Batman fans very disappointed if you don't even consider it. I can easily image you slurping down sardines and wearing a monocle. At least think about it. With all the Batman 3 rumours floating around, this whole ;casting before a script' thing seems completely ridiculous.
After his latest effort with the Che Guevara biopic staring Benicio Del Toro, it appears that director Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Ocean's Eleven) is in the initial stages of another ambitious biopic, Liberace! According to Variety, actor Michael Douglas is already in place to star as the film's titular flamboyant pianist, while Matt Damon is apparently in talks to play Scott Thorson, who sued Liberace in the early eighties, claiming to have been his former partner.
Soderbergh's Che Guevara biopic recently debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival as a four hour piece entitled Che, where it was picked up by IFC films. In order to qualify for a potential Oscar nomination, IFC will present Che in its entirety for a one-week run in New York and Los Angeles. This will be followed with a wider release of Che Part One (The Argentine) in January, while Part Two (The Guerilla) will be held until after Oscar nomination announcements.
Del Toro as Guevara
The Good
1. Philip K. Dick -- One of the best science fiction writers of the twentieth century, it’s an absolute travesty that Mr. Dick’s stories have been butchered just as often as they have been done justice to. (See Impostor, Paycheck, and Screamers) While not up to the caliber of Blade Runner, Minority Report is a fairly faithful update to the themes of the original PKD story, and at the expense of nostalgia, I would put it above Total Recall.
2. Steven Spielberg -- Two reasons. First, Steven did his homework. In order to make the near-future tech of the film as realistic as possible he actually assembled a crack team of doctorate-wielding experts to brainstorm ideas. Second, the film was shot and produced to give the picture a very unique hyper-desaturated look.
3. Self-fulfilling prophecy -- The premise of the movie provides for an interesting exploration of the ideas of fate and determinism. Not only is the validity of the pre-cogs questioned, but it’s Tom Cruise’s accusation that serves as the catalyst that sends him down the path of murder in the first place. Welcome to paradox ladies and gentlemen.
4. A strong third act -- I don’t know what it is with movies in recent years that we can’t seem to figure out a good way to draw them to a conclusion. Will Smith I’m looking at you. Minority Report’s final act is both exciting and satisfying.
5. Colin Farrell gets shot -- Haha. No but seriously, it’s actually one of his least annoying roles of all time. That alone makes it worth seeing just for proof positive that he’s not 100% douche bag.
+/- OK..... So it wasn’t perfect
With Quentin Tarantino's Word War II epic Inglorious Bastards set for a 2009 release, the internet has been abuzz this summer over castings news and rumors. Known for his daring casting choices, it's seems that QT's lastest will be no exception. Bastards follows the exploits of a group of Jewish-American soldiers dubbed "The Basterds" [sic] as they attempt to strike fear into the hearts of the Third Reich by scalping and killing as many Nazis as they can get their hands on. Look for updates as more casting news becomes available.
+/- The rest of the bastards
Another summer has officially come to an end, and another summer blockbuster movie season with it. Please allow us to present our comprehensive summer review, featuring the best and worst of the season. The reviews will be broken into three parts and featured in chronological order of release, and followed up with our choices for the top five movies of the summer. Part one of the review starts today with Hollywood's other 'man of steel', and ends with a big furry Panda with a mean right-hand chop.
Iron ManDirector Jon Favreau’s Iron Man made for a decently entertaining distraction, but not much else. The film is a step in the right direction in terms of overall comic-book film quality, but it still suffers from the usual trappings of sacrificing plot and character development for the sake of eye candy and failing to utilize its cast properly. Gwyneth Paltrow is completely wasted as unnecessary damsel Pepper Potts, while Terrence Howard’s Col. James Rhodes exists only to plug the inevitable sequel, and a bald Jeff Bridges is awkwardly miss-casted as villain Obadiah Stane. Tack on an unoriginal plot and a Robert Downey Jr. that's not nearly as likable as he should be, (see 2005’s Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) and you’ve got a juvenile and underwhelming experience that fails to live up to the hype despite a handful of really engaging action sequences.
Speed RacerI cringe whenever nostalgic cartoon franchises are made into live action movies. Before finally being put down by tranquilizer dart, Brendan Fraser almost single-handedly made me lose all faith in the genre, (see George of the Jungle, Dudley Do-Right, Looney Toons Back in Action) but I still had hope for Speed Racer. I walked out of Speed Racer with a smile on my face and a pep in my step, but I new it wasn't for everyone. As far as eye candy goes, the film is simply beautiful. The sugar-coated visual style that the Wachowski brothers have brought to the screen is peerless. At times overwhelmed by the vibrancy of the sometimes dizzying race sequences, it's unfortunate that they vastly overshadowed any semblance of plot. Speed Racer has a completely outrageous and unbelievable story, but what do you expect with a source material that regularly depicts children and simians stowing away in futuristic racecars? The film tries to appeal to both families and fanboys, but fails at both. Perhaps its box office crash and burn could have been prevented with a more decisive driver behind the wheel.
Prince CaspianI feel like this movie should have been labeled "The Death of Disney". Walden Media's The Chronicles of Narnia looked to be the golden prospect for Disney's live action department and with The Lion, the witch, and the Wardrobe hauling in big money and exciting Christian zealots everywhere, Prince Caspian should have been a slam dunk. Instead, someone in the marketing department dropped the ball big time. The surprising thing is that the film is good, much better than the previous installment. Floundering box office returns combined with the aging of its main actors most certainly spells doom for the C. S. Lewis Narnia series. Unfortunately, this will most likely be the final installment of the franchise, but if you liked the first one this is definitely one of the better films of the summer that no one saw. Oh well, there's always DVD sales.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal SkullIt’s not often that I feel embarrassed while watching a film. The final cut of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull represents the compromise from a never-ending argument between director Steven Spielberg on the one hand, and an increasingly bat-shit crazy George Lucas on the other. The result is an absurd caricature of Indiana Jones consisting of a plot that never seems to know where it’s going and some of the most forgettable characters of the entire franchise. Not only does Indiana Jones survive a nuclear explosion but he does so while hiding inside a lead-lined refrigerator which is magically propelled to a safe distance, even though everything else within the blast zone, lead or otherwise, is completely vaporized. Shia LaBeouf is supposed to be a 50s greaser a la Rebel Without a Cause, but he comes off as a bi-curious punk while Cate Blanchett portrays one of the most boring villains ever, who may have psychic powers, although she never actually gets them to work. An utter dissapointment.
You Don’t Mess with the ZohanZohan will most certainly please the army of Adam Sandler die-hards and pre-pubescent teenage boys that make up his fan base, but doesn’t make for an easy recommendation to just about anyone else. The plot focuses on top-secret Israeli commando Zohan Dvir (Sandler), who fakes his own death in order to travel to New York and pursue his lifelong dream of being a hairdresser. As can be said for most Sandler outings, the story quickly wears thin from there and the plot devolves into a mess of scenes desperately struggling to fill up the allotted time for the movie. There are a number of sincere laughs to be found here but you’ll have to be very patient, as you’ll be required to sit through approximately ten minutes of horribly crude comedy between each one. If you’ve read this far and it still sounds good to you...... fuck it, maybe you’ll like it. I’ve seen stranger things.
Kung Fu PandaCreated by DreamWorks animation, Kung Fu Panda is a delightful surprise of a movie that combines some of the most beautiful animation ever created, a compelling storyline full of laughs and adventure, and an excellent voice cast. An aspiring Kung Fu practicing Panda named Po (Jack Black) finds himself the reluctant hero when the evil snow leopard warrior Tai Lung (Ian McShane) once again threatens the Valley of Peace. The incredibly strong cast is rounded out by the voices of Angelina Jolee, Jackie Chan, Dustin Hoffman, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogen, and David Cross. This film burst onto the scene after an excellent premiere at the 61st Cannes Film Festival, and it’s easily recommendable for fans of the Shrek series or any of the Pixar films. Combined with Pixar’s Wall-E, it was a great summer for animated features.
Check back this Friday for Sureelfilm's Summer in Review Part 2.
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Surreelfilm's Summer in Review Part 2
For his upcoming 2009 release Fantastic Mr. Fox Wes Anderson will attempt his first foray into a full length animated feature. Based on the Roald Dahl story of the same name, Mr. Fox will be done utilizing a stop-motion style similar to the one utilized briefly in his previous film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. He recently told MTV Movies Blog, “The settings will be very natural. We want to use real trees and real sand, but it’s all miniature.”
T. Boone Pickens and his partner H.W. have a plan to save the world. It involves a straw, a milkshake, and a whole lot of blowing.
Exploding onto the scene at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, American Teen gained instant pedigree and some serious buzz by taking the top honors for directing in a documentary. It was promptly snatched up by Paramount Vantage, and has seen a fairly robust limited release over the course of the summer.
The Skinny: With American Teen, director Nanette Burstein has delivered an unapologetic look into the lives of high school seniors growing up in middle-America which ranges from brutally honest and painfully funny at its best, to a cliche, glorified video yearbook at its worst. A 95 minute film cut from over 1000 hours of footage and filmed over the course of 10 months, American Teen focuses on four archetypal teens attending the same high school in Warsaw, Indiana. Hannah is the misunderstood free spirit, Colin the basketball star struggling to make it big, Jake the painfully awkward geek videogamer, and Megan the authoritative drama queen. In a very unique documentary style, the cast of characters' lives intermingle with each other and countless others as they fight through the backbreaking pressures and emotionally intense, if not melodramatic, challenges of their day-to-day lives in a very dramatic structure. Indeed, the conveniences and superb timing of the documentary and its film-makers can often seem to reach the point of feeling a bit scripted, but as a product of a generation of kids raised on reality television and placed within the midwestern/suburban culture that's all too familar, it might just be that the dreams, fears, and realities of the angst-filled lives portrayed here hit just a little too close to home.
+/- Full Review
Director Nanette Berstein (On the Ropes, The Kids Stay in the Picture) has said that she consciously widdled the film down to its four primary subjects not only for the broad-appeal archetypes that they represent, but because she felt that each individual had a well-defined purpose and an often painful inner-motivation that also rendered them timelessly relatable. Hannah is fighting a history of depression in her family while trying to escape from a town that desperately wants to hold onto her. Colin has had the unbearable pressure placed upon him of either playing well enough to earn a basketball scholarship or joining the military. Jake is fighting to find a girlfriend who understands him while also trying to vanquish the label of "loser" placed upon him from early on. And finally, Megan is a domineering bitch as a means of compensating for the suppressed guilt of her sister's suicide and her family's sky-high academic expectations of her. Despite the fact that each of these stories makes for compelling drama, one of the reasons that they fit into such concise descriptions is that they can feel a little bit forced. More often than not, each scenario is played out in an excessively literal fashion, leaving little room for nuance. This is especially the case with Jake, as no human being on Earth could be half as awkward as he is portrayed in this film. Also, the framing often leaves certain realities either distorted or completely omitted. Has Colin's father really never heard of student loans? Jake just flies out to San Diego to meet his older brother for a night of Tijiuna debauchery on a mere whim?
In general, although well done, the cinematography tends to add to this staged feel. Burstein didn't shoot this in a detached, documentarian style. She thought about staging and made the camera work dynamic, but unfortunatly it tends to detract from the sense of reality. Also, despite the fact the Burstein has denied all acusations of scripting, some of the conveniences are hard to let go. The cameras were set up and ready to go at the perfect opportunity to catch Hannah's moment of extreme anguish from being dumped by her boyfriend, manage to be present for both sides of a phone conversation between Jake's hopelessly miserable girlfriend and her outgoing "cool-guy" new crush, and present for an excessive number of people as they all receive emails and texts containing a naked picture of one of their female peers. The film also uses a series of animation sequences to represents individuals' dreams when they are expressing fantasies, aspirations, and even nightmares to themselves. Overall, these animations are a mixed bag, and distributed a bit unevenly throughout the film. Each person has a unique animation style to fit their own personality. Colin's description of his eventual rise from highschool star to NBA baller was flashy and entertaining, while Hannah's fall into self-loathing nightmare was sutiably disturbing, but a bit over-cooked. Jake likes to place himself in the shoes of hero Link from his Legend of Zelda videogame, but what begins as fresh and surprising ends up as annoying and overused.
Despite the blemishes and over-simplifications, there are also moments of clarity and undeniable relatability that are impossible to fake, and dripping with the careful nuance found lacking elsewhere. Late in the film Hannah finds herself in a unexpected relationship with "popular dude" Mitch. Despite the fact that the two have undeniable chemistry, and that Mitch especially clearly finds the relationship liberating, the fling is prematurely snuffed out by incompatible social circles and enforced behavioral norms. Also, there is a brief inteview with the afforementioned "nude-picture girl" which portrays a young women so utterly defeated by a vicious bout of 21st century character assasination that it's impossible not to feel mortified for her. And finally, in one of the most beutifully underplayed jokes I've ever seen, Jake spins his prom date to the audience as being a girl he had a fling with at a family wedding who happens to fly in to see him, while it's magnificiently apparent that his parents felt so bad that he couldn't find a date at his own school that they offered to fly in some twenty-something friend of the family who they probably asked to come as a favor. It's moments like that where the movie really breaks through the uncomfortable reality-TV barrier to feel like real life.
I went into American Teen and got exactly what I expected, but something just didn't feel right. There are identifiable elements to the documentary that are a bit distracting, but in the end it's undeniable that the drama and happenings found within are instantly identifiable as the quintessential high school experience, and the culture and lifestyle of Warsaw, Indiana is perfect microcasm of middle-American society in general. In the end, it's almost like a documentary version of the uncanny valley. For those scratching their heads, the uncanny valley is the notion that when robots or other representaions (i.e. CGI) reach a state of human likeness that is close but not perfect, that it creates a sense of revulsion among human observers. (See Robert Zemeckis's Beowulf.) American Teen is a perfect anthropological study of a young society inbreed with a healthy sense of melodrama and angst, which is constantly seeking to overcome seeminly life-or-death obstacles and stresses, both real and imagined, and yet still vitally human. It's just a little bit harder to swallow when that society is your own.
See here for a great interview with Nanette Burstein on making American Teen.
(foreground) Megan, (left to right) Hannah, Mitch, Luke, and Colin
With Death Race having recently fizzed at the box office, I've taken a little time to reflect on Jason Statham’s career and all I can think is why? Why Jason? Why? You play the same role in every movie. We get it, you are a badass and can kick people in the face on demand. There is nothing wrong with just doing action movies. I wish some people would stick to just action movies (The Rock), but Mr. Statham you have proved that you can be better. We all know you can. We have seen you in Guy Ritchie movies. Are you only comfortable actually acting when you speak with a British accent? I loved you as Turkish in Snatch; you weaved the story together perfectly and received a moderate amount of critical acclaim. Then Guy Ritchie let go of your hand and you just wandered around like a confused child. You decided you couldn’t act in a movie unless it had a featured at least one car chase and no less than ten on screen deaths.
You may think that I am being a bit harsh but let me remind you of The One, The Transporter, The Italian Job, Transporter 2, Crank, The Bank Job, and now Deathrace. I don’t dislike all of these movies, my problem is they are pretty much the same movie: Man against the odds, some sort of outlandish task has to be completed, and lots of car chases and hand to hand combat. You can do better! Take a chance with something different. You might fail but you might also be able to extend your career as well. Sooner or later people are going to get tired of watching you play the exact same part in every movie (Brendan Fraser). I hope getting into character doesn't challenge you too much, although I can't imagine Transporter 3, Crank 2, and The Brazilian Job being to much of a stretch for you.
With the fall festival season now upon us, this past weekend saw the coming and going of the 35th annual Telluride Film Festival in Telluride, Colorado. For the uninitiated, Telluride is a yearly festival focusing on independent features and featuring national, and even a few worldwide debuts. Thanks to the writer's strike this year's festival was a little lacking on American-made Oscar contenders (Juno, The Savages, and Into the Wild all premiered at last year's festival) but nonetheless showcased a number of very promising domestic and foreign properties ready to be snatched up by specialty studios.
The festival's opening on Friday saw an extended tribute to and interview with director David Fincher (Se7en, The Game, Fight Club, Panic Room and Zodiac). Immediately following the interview Fincher debuted 20 minutes worth of clips for his upcoming holiday release The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, staring Brad Pitt as a man who ages backwards. Reactions to the first extended look at the $150 million dollar feature have been mixed. Industry analysts like Variety's Anne Thompson are insisting it played well, while various bloggers such as Peter over at /film were quite underwhelmed.
The general consensus on this year's standouts include director Marc Abraham's (Children of Men, The Family Man) Flash of Genius, staring Greg Kinear, British breakout Happy-Go-Lucky, and the all-around showstopper, Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire. There was also good buzz around Paul Schrader's Adam Resurrected staring Jeff Goldblum, which is currently without a distributor, but certain to get snagged at the earliest opportunity. Full reviews from around the web below.
+/- Full Reviews
Slumdog Millionaire -- Variety /film first showing
Flash of Genius -- /film
Happy-Go-Lucky -- /film
O'Horton -- first showing
Flame and Citron -- first showing
The Warner's Bros. adaptation of the critically acclaimed Alan Moore graphic novel may be the greatest movie that no one gets to see. Ok, I might be a little over dramatic but due to what is shaping up into a lengthy legal battle; the release date for this superhero epic is now TBA. Warner's Bros. ran into a legal roadblock well into post-production and is now fighting tooth and nail with Fox's legal department over the rights to the film. Fox is seeking an injunction on the films release citing claims of ownership. Apparently Watchmen producer Lawrence Gordon shopped the film around to other studios with the consent of Fox. Now that filming is complete, a trailer has been released, and millions of fans are very excited Fox seems to want its script back. With legal proceedings not set until next June (if Fox gets their way) or next April (if Warner's gets their way) I am afraid I will be taking my kids to this movie (who won't be born for quite some time). We can all hope that this matter gets resolved quickly and quietly, but I am afraid the March 6, 2009 release date may have just turned into more of a pipe dream. Hopefully this trailer will help hold you over.
+/- Watchmen Trailer
CLARIFICATION: The dude at the end of the trailer is not me and has nothing to do with this blog.
With the unofficial end of summer upon us, five films vie for remnants of your summer movie bucks. Disaster Movie, Babylon A.D., Hamlet 2, Traitor, and College all open this weekend. It would appear that there is a film for everyone in that smorgasbord of fresh titles, and each will most likely rake in respective box office numbers. This weekend closes a surprisingly profitable summer for Hollywood, expected to make around 4 billion dollars by the close of the summer season. Down slightly from the record setting summer last year, which grossed over 4.16 billion dollars. This summer has proved that Hollywood is not quite yet completely out of new ideas. We here at Surreelfilm will be publishing our summer recap at the end of this week in case you missed anything. Until then take your pick of movie genres this week, or indulge your inner sports fan and sit on your coach and watch the opening weekend of college football, like me.
UPDATE: Ben Stiller's Tropic Thunder comfortably edged out Vin Diesel's Babylon A.D. for the top spot this past weekend, bringing in $14.3 million and $12 million respectively. Disaster Movie opened at $6.9 million.
Bolstered by the upcoming Criterion release of Wes Anderson’s Bottle Rocket, I finally took the time to check out the film, and discovered a classic effort that Martin Scorsese has labeled as one of the top-ten films of the 1990s.
The Skinny: As Anderson’s first full length feature, 1996’s Bottle Rocket is an immensely enjoyable and entertaining farce of a heist movie that demonstrates many of the trademarks and quirks that have come to define the Anderson’s films. It features brothers Luke, Owen, and yes even the phantom Andrew Wilson, alongside actors Robert Musgrave and James Caan. The film opens as Owen Wilson’s character Dignan helps Luke Wilson’s Anthony to “break out” of a voluntary-stay mental care facility. After meeting up with mutual friend Bob, played by Musgrave, the threesome proceed to set out on a series of misadventures in their efforts to become big-time criminals. The film deals with a number of themes ranging from brotherhood and love, to depression, and carries on with the same innocent sense of humor that shines throughout all of Wes Anderson’s writing. Bottle Rocket is easily the most accessible of any of Anderson’s films, and can therefore serve as both a perfect introduction for Anderson neophytes, or as a refreshing change of pace for dedicated fans.
+/- Full Review
Friends Anthony and Dignan, played by brothers Luke and Owen Wilson respectively, serve as the central characters of the film, while third friend Bob exists on the periphery of their three-man “team”. Anthony is a twenty-something who checked himself into a mental facility upon the realization that he was completely miserable with the state of his life and utterly hopeless. His character is recovering gradually from his bout with depression, but is actually a closet idealist, as illustrated by his love-at-first-sight affection for Inez, the Paraguayan maid of a hotel where the three stay. Dignan is a fundamentally insecure guy who is prone to jealousy and covers up for it by being extremely energetic and over-the-top. He desperately wants to be the mastermind of the group, but his ridiculous schemes hold nothing but empty promises that usually end up fucking things up for one or more of the participants. Bob has been beat up and degraded by his older brother, played by Andrew Wilson, for his entire life and desperately wants to be a member of the group, but his paranoia leads him to suspect the other two of wanting to cut him out of the deal at any given opportunity. His is drafted as the group’s getaway driver, as he is the only one that owns a car.
The themes of Bottle Rocket are largely consistent with the hallmarks of Wes Anderson’s works, but with a few key differences. While the main characters are all damaged and fragile in their own way, the film lacks the sense of tragedy displayed in many of Anderson’s other films. However, sympathy for the characters is by no means diminished, as the woes that befall them are ultimately much more grounded than the extreme absurdity of later efforts like The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. Of course, that’s not to say that the plot doesn’t have it’s moments of delightful absurdity. As to the film’s sense of humor, Anderson’s use of understatement is masterfully intact. In one the opening sequences Luke Wilson explains to a sorority-type girl the powerful motivations and realizations that lead him to seek professional help, only for her to respond, “you’re really complicated aren’t you?” He replies, “I try not to be.” One other thematic constant of Anderson’s films that makes an appearance is the respected middle-aged male who turns out to be a complete fraud. Here the character is James Caan’s Mr Henry, who is the owner of the lawn and landscaping service that serves as the cover for the criminal organization from which Dignan draws all of his inspiration. Interestingly, one Anderson staple missing from this story is the prevalence of smoking, and an escapist embrace of drug use.
In terms of the cinematography and production style employed in Bottle Rocket, it’s much the same story in that many of the established Anderson elements are present, but not all. Anderson’s pension for unique staging was prevalent from the first scene, and he utilizes close-ups and quick cuts throughout the film in order to create a playful and dynamic rhythm to all of the sequences. This sense of rhythm and style is further buoyed by Anderson’s oddball music selection, which is just a sharp here as ever. Missing is the vivid pastel color palette of his later work, but this can be most easily explained by a comparatively small budget. However, fear not, as the use of Futura Bold font for all credits is present and accounted for. (sigh of relief)
Bottle Rocket is a refreshing look back to the Wes Anderson of yesteryear, and a satisfyingly entertaining romp to boot. Many critics of Anderson have felt that his films have become progressively more bizarre since Rushmore, and that his characters have become less and less relatable. While this criticism is probably fair, I have continued to be a fan of his work through last year’s Darjeeling Limited, and will continue to be until some point in the future when he actually goes fucking crazy. And even then I’ll probably still give him a chance. Bottle Rocket is not only Anderson at his most unfiltered, but perhaps his most human as well, and is therefore an easy recommendation to any fan of quality cinema.
To say that the character Ant-Man is obscure in the minds of the general public is an understatement. In a recent interview with Wizard Universe director Edgar Wright reaffirmed his commitment to bringing his "A-game" for one of marvel's "D-list" heroes.
Currently working on the film's second draft, the Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead director admits, "The whole raison d'etre of the piece for me and my thing has always been to take something that would seem to be uncool and make it really cool and that's certainly the case with British cops in Hot Fuzz. To take the most seemingly kind of underwhelming concept and make something really cool out of it—I always liked that premise." His pedigree speaks for itself, but I'd say he's got his work cut out for him.
There have been three Ant-men in the history of Marvel's cannon and Wright's script purports to include all three of them via a series of flashes between the 60s and 80s. Ant-man is tentatively set for a 2011 release.
Sony pictures has announced that a big screen adaptation of Wildstorm comics' The Boys is in the works. The super-violent series follows the exploits of a squad of superhero CIA agents who are charged with the duty of keeping watch on other superheroes, and using deadly force whenever necessary.As interesting as this property sounds, I'm very nervous as to whether or not the pro-PG13 Dark Knight copycat machine will allow it to be made in the horrifically R-rated fashion that the materials calls for. And second, writers Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay of Aeon Flux and The Tuxedo are handling the adaptation, which doesn't bode well for my confidence either. No director has been attached the project.
All misgivings aside, this will be an interesting one to follow as it progresses. Here's hoping for a pleasant surprise.
Hot on the tales of seeing Watchmen and Star Trek, the director/actor/producer extraorinare Kevin Smith confirmed yesterday that he has seen a cut of Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro's The Hobbit.Speaking of del Toro's directing Kevin said, "to say that it was masterfully done would be a gross understatement. This is the film of the fucking century. Somewhere J.R.R. Tolkien just blew a load in his grave!"
Smith had this to say about his early viewing of the film:
"You know, it just goes to show that great films really make themselves. Even though the script hasn't been written and the thing doesn't even launch for three more years, it's already a masterpiece. It's just a shame that hollywood has to operate on such bullshit bloated production schedules you know? Just let the people see the goddamn movie already!"
UPDATE: Mr. Smith has since been hospitalized after suffering a major stroke. Doctors report discovering an inoperable brain tumor and his family has confirmed that he's been suffering severe hallucinations for weeks.
"We'd like to find a common ground that represents Spike's vision but still offers a film that really delivers for a broad-based audience. We obviously still have a challenge on our hands. But I wouldn't call it a problem, simply a challenge. No one wants to turn this into a bland, sanitized studio movie. This is a very special piece of material and we're just trying to get it right."He went on to say that the live-action animatronic wild things that Jonze had intended on using had just not worked in context of filming in the Australian jungle and that the film was being redone with CGI. "CG can always look right," he said.
Jonze and Where the Wild Things Are has always struck me as an odd couple. It's a bit confusing that any studio would expect the director of movies like Adaptation (2002) and Being John Malkovich (1999) to pump out a family movie with wide-spread appeal. The worst part is, while the original vision might not have been for everyone, I think I might have really liked it. I'm hopeful for a positive ending the this whole debacle, but lamenting the fact that I'll never get to see it in its original form.
The Bad
1. Holes -- Two noticeable plot holes. First, Cruise’s act of murder turns out to be kind of a cop out, as the other guy pretty much pulls the trigger for him. Second, at the beginning of the third act Cruise’s wife breaks him out of the jail containing all of the pre-crime criminals by strolling in and holding up the jailer with a hand gun.
2. Steven Spielberg -- As good as he is, Steven once again managed to Spielberg the ending by making it a little too warm and fuzzy, and thereby avoiding any conclusion to the powerful questions of fate and consequence that had been building throughout the entire movie. Thanks for the Disney ending Steven.
3. Stanley Kubrick -- Through no fault of his own, Stanley Kubrick’s untimely death lead Spielberg to postpone the original filming of Minority Report in order to finish Kubrick’s AI. (talk about Spielberging the ending) Unfortunately, all of the major roles had to be recast with the exception of Cruise’s. So who did we lose? How about Matt Damon as Witwer, Meryl Streep as Iris Hineman, Ian McKellen as Burgess, Cate Blanchett as Agatha, and Jenna Elfman as Lara. Ouch.