Casino Royale (2006)

Directed by: Martin Campbell
Format: On Demand
Starring: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Judy Dench, Giancarlo Giannini
trailer

I used to adore 007. The first six Connery movies have always been my favorites, but I imagine that I've seen the Roger Moore films several times over as well. When GoldenEye, with Pierce Brosnan, was released, I was excited for the genre to continue. However, I quickly grew tired of the franchise after that. The formula had gotten stale and I just wasn't enough of a die-hard Bond fan to stick around. So, I let Die Another Day, The World is Not Enough and Tomorrow Never Dies slip by practically unnoticed. (In fact, I still haven't seen those three.) I also admit to never having read anything by Ian Fleming, the novelist who created the character. So, although I've seen the majority of James Bond films, I can't hardly call myself a dyed-in-the-wool "fan". A new friend of mine, however, is and convinced me to give Daniel Craig a shot in the famous role.

If the movies had been made in the same order as the books, Casino Royale would have been the first. When the film opens, Bond doesn't even have his "double-O" status yet. When he gets it, he doesn't waste any time following rules. His first mission ends in a dead bomb maker and an explosion that sends an embassy in Uganda up in flames. Then, 007 proceeds to break into M's house, which doesn't make her terribly happy either. But, she seems more concerned about the fact that the bomb maker they were hoping would lead to a major arms dealer is now dead. James isn't flustered. He picks up on the trail again in The Bahamas and eventually follows it to a high-stakes poker game in Montenegro. His goal there will be to beat international terrorism's favorite banker, Le Chiffre, in a game of Texas Hold 'Em. If he loses, Le Chiffre gets away and the British government will have made a 10 million dollar donation to terror.

Casino Royale is set apart from all other Bond movies. Not only has the lead actor changed, but several previously common elements are missing. There are no flirtatious exchanges with Money Penney, for example. She's not even in the film. Also absent is the character Q and his gadgets. Bond's car had a very useful glove box, but there's no fancy introduction and no John Cleese. Both are ingredients I'd always enjoyed before, but was willing to let go - however reluctantly - in favor of fresh footage. Also noticeable is the greatly reduced presence of cheesy one-liners and sexual innuendo. A fond farewell to that!

What isn't missing in this newer film is action. If possible, it's even more amped up than before. One of the very first scenes involved Bond chasing a man through a construction site. I had to pause and re-watch it just to make sure I didn't miss anything. The stunts are fantastic and there's hardly any time at all to catch one's breath. It's almost super-human the way Marvin Campbell (stunt double for Sebastian Foucan) bounces around the set. Mad props to the stunt team! Another staple of the genre, namely beautiful women with unusual names, has also held its ground. This time, however, Bond uncharacteristically falls for one of them.

So, how is Daniel Craig as the new Bond? While I've never really found Craig to be an attractive man, I have to admit that he's got a marble figure in Casino Royale. He's a rougher version of the character; hard core and not afraid to get dirty. At the same time, he also manages the suave side of Bond quite convincingly. The gritty edge that Craig lends to the role is very appealing and refreshing. I was not disappointed. While Sean Connery will always have a special place in my heart, I have to call Craig a close second. James' love interest this time is Vesper Lynd, an accountant played by Eva Green. Green is a more elegant, intelligent "Bond-girl" than most and is strikingly lovely sans makeup. A witty match for Bond, I nonetheless never felt she was entirely trustworthy. The asthma afflicted, bloody-eyed La Chiffre owes his excellent portrayal to chisel-jawed Mads Mikkelsen. While not as dramatically intense as many previous villains, La Chiffre makes up for it in cold, calculating insanity. While the character himself could have used a few more examples of evilness (probably not a a real word), Mikkelsen made my skin crawl.

I whole-heartedly recommend this version (yes, there are others) of Casino Royale to anyone who's become jaded when it comes to movies about British agents with a license to kill. The opening credits kick some serious ass as well, accompanied by Chris Cornell's "You Know My Name". I enjoyed this film so much that I watched it again immediately after the first time. I just hate that Bond's signature card game - Baccarat - is eliminated in favor of Texas Hold 'Em; a game that's a little too "redneck" for my taste. It looks like I'm going to have to see Quantum of Solace now - despite the awful title - since it's the conclusion to this movie. That's right, Casino Royale is also the first 007 two-parter.

Overall Rating: 4 stars
Hottie Rating: 4 stars (Holy chiseled bod, Batman!)

Alternate Recommendation: Dr. No
Official Site
IMDB Page
A Nutshell Review review

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006)

Directed by: Jonathan Liebesman
Format: DVD
DVD Features: commentary, deleted scenes, trailer, featurette
Starring: Taylor Handley, Jordana Brewster, Diora Baird, Matthew Bomer, R. Lee Ermey
trailer

Anyone who's ever taken a cross-country road trip, especially through Texas, knows that the way is polka-dotted with tiny little towns. Some of them are no larger than a gas station and a motel. Those towns have always creeped me out. I've walked into a roadside Dairy Queen and had a room full of backwoods eyes follow me up to the counter. Once, I stopped my car on the side of the highway just to poke my head out and look at the stars. It was mighty fast before flashes of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre made me poke my head back in. If I was the only person who got chills from inbred, tobacca chewers, we wouldn't have movies like The Hills Have Eyes, The Devil's Rejects or 2001 Maniacs. We most certainly would not have this prequel to a remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

In The Beginning, two brothers are on their way to enlist in the military and ship off to Vietnam. The eldest, Eric (Bomer), is marching off proudly to his second tour. What he doesn't know is that his brother Dean (Handley) is planning to detour to Mexico to dodge the draft. The pair are just beginning to hash out the issue when they and their girlfriends are run off the road. Sheriff Hoyt arrives on the scene and takes the two boys and Dean's girl Bailey (Baird) into custody. Instead of taking the group down to the stationhouse, they end up at the home of the Hewitts. Hoyt is actually head of the household, all dressed up like a lawman. The family is the last left in town after the slaughterhouse closed and drove most of the residents out. While Dean, Eric and Bailey suffer the Hewitts' demented sense of hospitality, Eric's girlfriend Chrissie catches up to them and attempts a daring rescue.

Generally, it's not in one's best interest to expect good acting in a horror film. Disappointment almost assuredly follows. (The only exeption to that rule might be a Hitchcock film.) That said, it was surprising to find the acting in TCM: The Beginning well above par. Taking center stage is R. Lee Ermey who plays Sheriff Hoyt/Mr. Hewitt. He's completely convicing as the disgusting, disturbed and dispicable head of a household of cannibals. If I ever met the actor, I'd have a really hard time turning my back toward him. The best out of the four kids in the movie is Handley, as Dean. Not only is he cute with his boyish blonde curls, but
his character has surprising strength. The rest of the cast is marginal. Andrew Bryniarski is the actor behind the leather face, but little more is required of him than a bit of lumbering about.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning is advertised as the answer to everything you ever wanted to know about Leatherface. Even the filmmakers, when trying to explain themselves in the special features, don't lend very convincing support to the prequel claim. In reality, the only segment that gives any background to the legendary murderer's past is the brief series of scenes that backdrop the opening credits. Apparently, after the 2003 remake of TCM was released, the producers of the movie were innundated with questions from fans. It seems as though they took those questions, invented answers to them on the fly, and strung the rest of the movie together to fill in the gaps. The Beginning ends up being, in essence, TCM: The Remake Part 2; yet another retelling of the same scenario.

The movie is, however, quite gorey and with me, a little gore goes a long way. Every drop of blood was very realistic and all of the major components are covered. TCM: The Beginning satisfies the blood splatter, juicy organs, dismembered digits and gapeing body cavity cravings of a jaded horror fanatic. Want to see someone impaled on a rusty chainsaw? You'll get two. Want to see someone get their face peeled off? No problem. There was even one scene that turned my stomach a little and that's saying something. Full marks for gore gratification! (Honestly, don't let the kids watch this one.)

Although the story is getting tired at this point, it must be difficult to follow up one of the best horror movies ever made. Maybe it's the source material or maybe it's the "based on a true story" level of reality, but TCM: The Beginning does much better than your average fright fest. While it's not as fun as a movie like Cabin Fever, it is a bit traumatic. After watching it, you'll feel like you've been through something terrible.

Overall Rating: 3 1/2
Hottie Rating: 2

Alternate Recommendation: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Official Site
IMDB Page
Dr. Gore's review

Beerfest (2006)

Trailer

Directed by: Jay Chandrasekhar
Format: DVD - Unrated
DVD Features: Commentary, party foul featurette, frog fluffer featurette, deleted scenes, trailer
Starring: Paul Soter, Erik Stolhanske, Cloris Leachman, Steve Lemme, Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan

**This movie was nominated for a Gummi Award in the Most Nauseating Vomit Scene category.**

America's favorite pastime? You think it's baseball? Well, I think it's drinking! I'd bet a case of your favorite brew that more people in this country drink than watch baseball. After all, what goes better at the ballpark than a pint and a bag of peanuts? So, it stands to reason that a few frat boy-ish comedies would be made about the golden elixer. If America is populated with beer-guzzling folks, what about Europe? More specifically, the famous land of Octoberfest - Germany?!

In Beerfest, two brothers, Jan and Todd Wolfhouse (Soter & Stolhanske), travel to Germany to deliver the remains of their grandfather. At Octoberfest, they manage to set off a Rube Goldberg type fiasco. Just as they're making their escape, the man their grandmother sent them to meet, Mr. Schniedelwichsen (Bjørn Johnson), rescues them and delivers them to the "real" drinking match - Beerfest! At this underground beer-lympics they learn about their family's past and have their butts kicked by the German drinking team. After returning to America in disgrace, they decide to gather the ultimate team of brew drinkers and train for next year's games.

This movie is sort of a Fight Club/Olympic Games mashup. There are a few lame gags - such as the German team spying on the Wolfhouse's in a submarine and the Jewish member of the team joining solely to beat the Germany - that will make you roll your eyes. It's not without its share of gratutious naked breasts either. There's even a frog ejaculating scene, just for gross-factor. The plot is very straightforward, as expected, and doesn't take a genius to understand. The German team is decidedly retarded, but not nearly as amusing as the Nihilists in The Big Lebowski. The movie does poke fun at itself. After one of the teammembers unexpectedly leaves the group, his twin brother shows up, needing no training and asking to be called by the same name. It's mockingly convenient.

What about dialogue? As typical of most movies of its ilk, Beerfest has a gaggle of puns and one liners. However, they manage not to drill them into the ground and a few lines incited a giggle or two ("Let's go get sour on some Krauts?"). The sight gags are on the same level. There's a sausage scene that reminded me of a few Austin Powers routines.

As befitting of a well-rounded team, there's a variety of characters involved in Beerfest. The director, Jay Chandraskehar, plays Barry - a prodigy at Quarters and ex prostitute. Landfill, played by Heffernan, is a hot-dog eating champ who used to work at the local brewery. The requisite geek on the team is Fink (Lemme) who has worked out the science of drinking. Together, they make a hilarious group and each actor has his moment. Cloris Leachman is delightful as the elderly German grandmother.

For the most part, comedy is not my bag. I've grown tired of the sight gags and potty humor. I like my laughs delivered in clever quips and sarcastic remarks. As I'm fond of saying, "I'm a Marx Bros. not a Three Stooges." From time to time though, I will indulge in a Scary Movie or two. I had my concerns about renting Beerfest and honestly only did so because of the rules of The Gummi Awards. Surprisingly, Beerfest wasn't half bad. I enjoyed the characters, the plot and the humor. It wasn't entirely low-brow either. The DVD production and special features were also above par. I'm happy with Beerfest and definately recommend checking it out at least once. It's even better with a few drinks under your belt!

Overall Rating: 3 1/2
Hottie Rating: 1 (Barry kinda has it goin' on)

Alternate Recommendation: The Big Lebowski
Offical Site
IMDB Page
Reel.com Review

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Fay Grim (2006)

Directed by: Hal Hartley
Format: DVD
DVD Features:
Starring: Parker Posey, Jeff Goldblum, James Urbaniak, Liam Aiken, Thomas Jay Ryan
Trailer

As I recall - and it’s been many years now - the movie Henry Fool was really good. I remember it as being an amusing, avant-garde film about an unusual poet janitor. Of course, I think I may have watched it back in my pot-smoking, Austin days (daze?) and nothing from that era of my life is terribly clear. So, I suppose it’s time I revisit that film, just to see if memory serves. Regardless, Henry Fool was directed by Hal Hartley and is the precursor to Fay Grim. So, when I saw Fay Grim in the video store, in the discount bin, and I needed to round out my stack of 4 for $20, my hazy recollection of Henry Fool prompted me to escort its sequel to the checkout counter.

Fay Grim (Posey) is the wife of Simon Grim, whose presence is presently unaccounted for. According to Agent Fulbright (Goldblum), Simon met his demise sometime after his scandalized flight from the country years ago. What Fulbright and his sidekick Carl Fogg (played by Leo Fitzpatrick) are after isn’t Fay’s estranged husband, but rather, the set of his journals. On the surface, his writings are merely the ramblings of a drunken lunatic. According to Fulbright, Simon’s ramblings may actually contain coded messages regarding national security. So, in exchange for her brother Henry’s release from prison, Fay agrees to fly to France in order to recover the books. The mission however, turns into a bit of a fiasco involving hitmen, international espionage and a secret radical political faction.

There are a number of aspects that make Fay Grim an unusual movie. Yes, it’s a low budget indie film with a few star actors, but that’s not what sets it apart. One obvious difference is the pacing of dialogue. Hartley’s characters all deliver their lines with an unsettling pattern of rhythmic pauses, so that everything they say seems suspect. Even though the plot involves some action scenes, foreign spies and mortal danger, it’s very clear that Fay Grim does not take itself seriously. I think that might be one thing that saves the movie. The entire film has the air of being an inside joke; one that you’re in on along with the actors. While the dialogue is only slightly annoying, what really irritated me was the lack of any straight camera angles. I am almost positive that every single shot in Fay Grim is slanted. At first, the technique was charmingly “art school”. After about 30 minutes of crooked scenes, it stopped being cute.

My verdict is still out on Parker Posey. I’ve never really had a fondness for the actress. Maybe it’s because she reminds me a little of Courtney Cox (and I hate Courtney Cox). Her performance in Blade Trinity was incredibly painful to watch. In Fay Grim, however, Posey was somewhat more appealing. On IMDB’s page for the movie, one user comments that Posey is, “the semi-official Queen of the Indies”. I never really thought of her that way, but as I peer at her filmography, it appears to support the claim. One thing’s for sure – her wardrobe in Fay Grim kicks butt. I am so running around in a black dress coat, wrist warmers and over-the-knee faux leather boots from now on!

One actor I’m not surprised to see on the indie circuit is Jeff Goldblum. He was fantastic in The Life Aquatic (is Wes Anderson still indie?). Like DeNiro and Walken, Goldblum is always himself, no matter which role he’s playing, but that doesn’t make him any less fun to watch. Fans of the actor will appreciate his portrayal as Agent Fulbright. Most of the cast from the original Henry Fool was retained for Fay Grim. One new character, however, is Ned Grim, Fay’s son. Ned is played by Liam Aiken, who I swore I’d loved in another film, but couldn’t remember for the longest time. Finally, I realized that he was Klaus in A Series of Unfortunate Events. Maybe it was the glasses that threw me off. All of the characters in this film are likeable (if somewhat strange) from one angle or another.

Sadly, Fay Grim failed to measure up to my expectations. It could be a bit confusing if you haven’t seen Henry Fool, but I think it’s equally so if you have. Aside from a little character background, which is hastily filled in anyway, you won’t miss out on much of the plot having not seen the first film. It’s a movie that requires a bit of attention, because most of the wit hits quickly and moves on. It doesn’t milk a joke for long. While I did enjoy the subtle humor here, the funniest scene might be Fay’s cell phone experience, which is almost entirely sight driven. But, the obnoxious camera work and the repetitive rhythm of the dialogue took away from my enjoyment of an otherwise entertaining flick. Used in moderation, the two techniques might have lent the film more charm.

Overall Rating: 2
Hottie Rating: 4 (for Aiken, if I was 20 years younger and for Simon, who I have an unexplained raging sexual desire for)

Alternate Recommendation: Doom Generation
Official site
IMDB Page
Roger Ebert's review

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Fido (2006)

Directed by: Andrew Currie
Format: DVD
DVD Features: DVD-Rom, making of, Blooper Reel, trailers, deleted scenes, slide show, commentary
Starring: Carrie-Anne Moss, Billy Connolly, Dylan Baker, K’Sun Ray, Tim Blake Nelson, Henry Czerny
Trailer

This is a review suggested by one of my readers. Thanks to Rochelle!

I’m surprised that Fido slipped beneath my radar. I don’t remember hearing a thing about it when it was released. Although horror films rarely ever acquire much acclaim, they most certainly get press. It seems that zombie movies have been appearing in droves these last few years. Ever since 28 Days Later met with such success, zombie horror seems to have risen from the grave. The Dawn of the Dead remake, Land of the Dead, Planet Terror and UnDead are all post 2002. Along with its new popularity, a sub-genre appears to have taken on life; the zombie comedy. While some older movies tend to be a bit campy and amusing, their humor generally wasn’t intentional. Shaun of the Dead, however, was purely farce. The only movie prior to that I can remember mixing humor with flesh-eating corpses was Dead Alive (a.k.a. Braindead), a terrifically gory film directed by Peter Jackson. Fido, in fact, reminded me a great deal of Dead Alive, which is one of my favorite horror movies.

The film opens with a flickering film reel, like the old “educational” reel-to-reels they used to show in class (if you’re old enough to remember). It’s a clever way to introduce the atomic age era of the movie and give Fido’s background story. Due to a sprinkling of space dust, the dead have risen and the newly dead rise again. Thank goodness for corporate entity Zomcon, which has invented a radio collar that quells the undead’s thirst for flesh and turns them into docile servants. “Now we can all be productive members of society, even after we’re dead.” The Robinson family has just gotten one of their very own. At first the man of the house, zombie fearing Bill Robinson (Baker), objects to the new addition. However, his persuasive wife Helen (Moss) reminds him that they’re the only family on the block without a zombie and what must the neighbors think? It’s hardly any wonder that little Timmy Robinson (Ray), slung between his maladjusted, distant father and his appearance obsessed mother, warms to the company of their undead servant.

Timmy decides to name their new zombie Fido and the two soon develop a boy-and-his-dog type of relationship. Fido protects Timmy from the neighborhood bullies and Timmy buries the neighbors that Fido munches on. Even his mother begins to form an attachment to the zombie, much to the chagrin of Mr. Robinson. But their new neighbor, head of Zomcon, starts to suspect that the reanimated neighbors are the result of a rogue undead. How long can Timmy keep Fido’s evil deeds buried?

Suburban 1950’s atmosphere of Fido is somewhat reminiscent of the neighborhood in Edward Scissorhands or Pleasantville; a sarcastic send-up of the era. Everything is over saturated with brilliant hues and unnaturally clean. The insidious corporate beast Zomcon and its brainwashing propaganda appears very lighthearted and campy on the surface, but has a definite edge of political commentary. The Timmy and Fido relationship would be unbearably cheesy if it weren’t for the occasional murder or accidental corpse. Some highlights from the film: elementary school children at target practice, neighbor Mr. Theopolis’ strange relationship with his girl zombie, Mr. Bottoms’ almost Bush-like speech in class and Mr. Robinson’s strange obsession with funerals. The soundtrack was wonderful as well. I was delighted to hear one of my favorite Squirrel Nut Zippers songs again.

All of the actors did a terrific job in this movie. It was strange to me, to see Carrie-Anne Moss in this role as a 50’s suburban housewife after her performance as Trinity, but as the movie progresses, she becomes a much more likeable and convincing character. Mr. Robinson, played by Dylan Baker, is very, very uncomfortable being a father and it is very uncomfortable watching him try to be one. The unease with which he relates to his son springs right off the screen and makes you squirm a bit. K’Sun Ray (who names their son K’Sun Ray??) couldn’t have been a better choice for Timmy. A little more suspicious of Zomcon than the other boys his age, but just as innocent and happy go lucky and Lassie’s companion. My favorite character is probably Mr. Theopolis (Nelson). He’s an odd mix of Hunter S. Thompson and someone I can’t quite put my finger on (probably whomever he’s a direct parody of). I wonder how many takes it took before Billy Connolly could keep a straight face.

The only thing that would have shoved Fido rudely into the realm of greatness would have been more gore. There are scant few scenes of severed limbs and bloody remains. The evil that the zombies in this movie lack though, is nearly made up for by the pseudo governmental security agency. It had a cleverly executed plot and the idea to have zombie slaves in 1950’s suburbia was a stroke of genius. The whole thing could have easily gone horribly wrong, but the filmmakers ended up with a gem. Sarcasm is by far my most beloved form of comedy and Fido was full up.

Overall Rating: 4 ½
Hottie Rating: 1 (freaky zombie love counts for somethin’)

Alternate recommendation: Dead Alive
Official site
IMDB page
Bullz-Eye.com review

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The Grudge 2 (2006)

Directed by: Takashi Shimizu
Format: DVD
DVD Features:
Starring: Amber Tamblyn, Edison Chen, Arielle Kebbel, Misako Uno, Sarah Roemer
Trailer

The Grudge 2 follows a recent trend of Japanese horror films being remade for American audiences. Originally, this movie and its prequel were labeled Ju-On, directed by the same Japanese director, and shot on the same set. Ringu and Ringu 2, known on Western shores as The Ring series are another example. I have seen Ringu and there isn’t a great deal of variation between it and the version starring Naomi Watts. There is even less variation between The Grudge and Ju-On. So, why go through so much trouble to remake the film? Are American audiences so resistant to subtitles and foreign faces? It’s not just Japanese film that gets this treatment either. What about Vanilla Sky (Abre los ojos)? Why spend millions of dollars just to retell a story that, more often than not, was much better the first time?

If you haven’t seen The Grudge, you may be a little bit lost, since the sequel picks up just about where the first one left off. Karen (Sarah Michelle Gellar), after trying to burn down the cursed house from the previous film, is now in the hospital. Her mother in the U.S. decides that she’s going to send Karen’s estranged sister Aubrey (Tamblyn) to Japan to convince her to return home. But, Aubrey doesn’t have much time to talk before the spirits from the house finish her sister off. At the hospital, Aubrey gets some help from a young man named Eason (Chen), who is a journalist investigating the history of what happened in the house.

Meanwhile, high school students Vanessa and Miyuki decide to play a trick on their classmate Allison (Kebbel) and take her into the evil abode. Little do the three of them realize, the legend attached to the house is true – anyone who steps inside will be followed by the phantoms that haunt it and every step they take is doomed. After Miyuki disappears and Vanessa is attacked, Allison loses her grip on sanity and returns to her family in Chicago. But, the curse has followed her there and begins to seep through the walls into the neighbor’s apartment.

Just as with the first Grudge movie, the main spooks are the young woman and son who were the first victims in the house. The boy, Toshio, continues to appear out of the shadows and the mother, Kayako,’s animated hair winds its way around her victims. The two don’t have any new characteristics or talents to speak of, they just pop up in unexpected places. There is a shower scene in the sequel that threatens to mimic a similar scene from part 1, but thankfully it’s just a tease. I would have been happy to see Yoko or maybe Peter take part in the haunting this time. Sadly though, none of the other victims of the curse make an appearance in ghost form. To be quite honest, I’m tiring of the cat yowl and the croaking noises coming from these two. It was creepy the first time, but not in the second round. Many of Yoko’s attacks reminded me too much of a similar long haired spirit from a similar Japanese remake, especially the dark room scene.

As far as the acting in The Grudge 2 in concerned, well, I never thought I’d say it, but, there are worse actors than Sarah Michelle Gellar. In fact, I wish she would have lasted longer in the sequel because I much rather an additional hour of her performance than what the film continued with. Edison Chen was terrible as the so-called investigative journalist and male companion for Aubrey. Granted, even veteran actors from Hong Kong usually bomb in their first American films, but Chen seemed like he was being read his lines from offstage. Amber Tamblyn seems to have mastered little more than repeating the same horrified look over and over. Miyuki, played by Misako Uno, had the most shrill and irritating voice! It was like listening to nails on a chalkboard every time she opened her mouth. Thank god she doesn’t have a huge role in the movie. The best actor I noticed was Matthew Knight, who plays Allison’s curious neighbor Jake.

During most of The Grudge 2, it was as if there were three separate plots taking place at once. Karen’s sister and Eason are the first and most obviously connected characters. The three students, Allison, Miyuki and Vanessa take up the second string. Jake and his family make up the third, and most detached storyline. Until the end of the film, it was difficult for me to determine how the Chicago family was involved, seeing as how none of them stepped foot in the haunted house. In addition, there is a small bit of Yoko’s past that figures loosely into the movie that is never fully realized. The story is sort of all over the place and non-cohesive.

I was very disappointed with this follow up to The Grudge. The first film was truly eerie at times, made much more sense and had a richer cast of characters. The ending to this second movie was relatively confusing and particularly lame, especially the conclusion of Aubrey’s involvement. While a few interesting ideas were touched on in The Grudge 2, they were never explored further or even figured back into the plot afterwards. I was even more let down with this film than I was with the sequel to The Ring.

Overall Rating: 2
Hottie Rating: 1 (Chen was almost attractive if it hadn’t been for the terrible performance)

Alternate recommendation: The Ring
Official site
IMDB page
Dread Central review

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Lucky Number Slevin (2006)

Director: Paul McGuigan
Format: DVD
Disk Features: Commentary, deleted scenes, trailers, making of
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, Lucy Liu
Trailer

”Sometimes there’s more to life than just livin’.” ~ Mr. Goodkat

A good intrigue movie is hard to come by lately. In the days of Humphrey Bogart and French Film Noir, it seems that mystery was in its heyday. So, I really love to see something come out with a solid sense of style, snappy dialogue and a truly engrossing plot in the modern age of cinema. Few filmmakers nowadays seem to be able to roll those three criterion into one successful film, but every now and then, something special comes along.

Have you ever heard of a Kansas City Shuffle? Lucky Number Slevin begins with an explanation of just what one is. It all starts with a horse race, and a hot tip that makes it’s way around, only to land with one man’s family destroyed. Several years later, the mysterious Mr. Goodkat (Willis) returns to New York and one Slevin Kelevra (Hartnett) gets mistaken for someone he’s not. It seems that Nick Fisher is in trouble with the mob. Slevin, who’s staying at his friend Nick’s house, is abducted by both The Boss (Freeman) and The Rabbi (Kingsley), mistaking him for Fisher. Slevin discovers that he’s got to come up with several thousand dollars, in addition to killing a man, to get out from under the rival mob bosses thumbs. Meanwhile, he runs into Nick’s neighbor, Lindsey (Liu), who’s love of Columbo and a good mystery draws her into the plot.

The sets in Lucky Number Slevin are almost enough to make the movie worth watching by themselves. The incredibly cool wallpapers in Fisher’s apartment building are sheer eye candy. The Boss’s lair is beautifully constructed, right down to the dramatic staircase. The wardrobe, although not quite as elaborate, is aesthetic bliss as well.

After seeing Josh Hartnett in this movie, I needed an entire roll of paper towels to wipe the drool off of my chin. Going back through his filmography, I realized that I’d already seen a good portion of it. Not only is Hartnett easy on the eyes, he makes Lucky Number Slevin stand out as an example of his acting talent. Bruce Willis is great, because of his smooth delivery and wry smile. Freeman and Kingsley play wonderfully off of each other as the bitter rivals they are. Kingsley’s portrayal of a Rabbi is a tad bit over the top though. Liu is adorable in this movie. Her character is wonderfully sweet and adventurous.

The combination of great dialogue, lovely scenery and truly engrossing mystery make Lucky Number Slevin one of my top picks for the year. The twist is unpredictable and each of the characters is expertly played. After I rented this from Netflix, I had to make it part of my collection. I’ve watched it so many times since, I find it hard to believe that the film is only a year old. But, the replay value has proven to be worth the cost of the DVD. It’s also a film that I think both guys and girls can appreciate, without there being so much action as to be a “guy movie” and so much romance as to be a “chick flick”. If you’re a fan of Tarantino movies, it may be a great substitute to pop in the player when you’re sick of watching Kill Bill.

Overall Rating: 5
Hottie Rating: 5 (for Josh Hartnett spending half the movie in nothing but a towel – Meeeow!!)

Alternate Viewing: Brick
Official Site
IMDB Site
The Vocabulariast review

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Stranger Than Fiction (2006)

Director: Marc Forster
Format: Blu-Ray
Disk Features: ??? (please submit)
Starring: Will Farrell, Dustin Hoffman, Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal

Late in the 1990’s there was a movie called The Truman Show. The movie was based on a number of ideas from different books. One book was Time Out of Joint by Philip K. Dick. Laugh all you want at the name, but the man is a fantastic author. Regardless, the basic premise breaks down like this: main character is living in an artificially constructed world, oblivious of the outside. One day, the cracks in the walls begin to appear and the illusion falls apart. Well, Stranger Than Fiction has a touch of the same idea.

Harold Crick (Farrell) is a middle aged auditor for the IRS. He leads a very calculated lifestyle, brushing the same amount of strokes each morning and walking the same speed to the bus stop at precisely the same time. Aside from being very mathematical, Crick is also very lonely. As you might imagine, IRS auditors aren’t very popular. One day, however, a wrench is thrown into the clockwork of his life, in the form of a mysterious voice, narrating his every action. It becomes particularly disturbing to Crick when he hears it predict his eminent demise.

After becoming dissatisfied with professional psychiatrists, he decides to seek the aid of a literature professor. Professor Jules Hilbert (Hoffmann) analyzes his predicament and tries to help him determine what type of story he might be in. Meanwhile, Harold falls in love with Ana Pascal (Gyllenhaal), the owner of the local bakery whom he’s auditing. It seems that learning he’s going to die has given him a new outlook on life. At the same time, author Karen Eiffel (Thompson) is in the depths of an alcoholic despair, attempting to find a way to kill off the main character in her new book, little realizing that her Harold Crick is a living man.

There were two computer aided effects in Stranger Than Fiction that I was quite fond of. During Crick’s introduction, lines and graphs and diagrams appear over the scene to enhance the description of the calculations in his life. I thought that they were a clever touch, without being terribly intrusive. The other effect was Crick’s wristwatch, which is a character unto itself and figures strongly into the plot. The little clockwork has an adorable personality, but isn’t annoying or overdone.

Although Will Farrell has been very prolific as of late, starring in movies like Anchorman and Talladega Nights, his brand of humor has never appealed to me. His characters are usually well meaning morons. In Stranger Than Fiction, that aspect of his character isn’t as pronounced and I found it more bearable that way. With the semi-seriousness of the plot and the balance of the other great actors, it wasn’t hard to enjoy Farrell at all. Emma Thompson is stellar, as usual. I love her morbidly fascinated alcoholic author role and also enjoyed Queen Latifah as her assistant, Penny Escher. Hoffman didn’t disappoint either, although this type of role for him is getting a little tiresome.

Not nearly as depressing as I was led to believe (I’m looking at you Seanchez), Stranger Than Fiction was a solidly enjoyable film. It’s humor is much more subtle than movies like Old School and yet it isn’t so dramatic as to sink your mood. Think quiet evening at home with a bowl of popcorn.

Overall Rating: 3 ½
Hottie Rating: 3 (for Maggie Gyllenhaal – hello Secretary!)

Alternate Viewing: Punch Drunk Love
Official Site
IMDB Site
James Berardinelli review

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Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006)

Director: Adam McKay
Format: Blu-Ray
Special Features: interviews, gag reel, deleted and extended scenes, mock commercials, mock public service announcements, bonus race footage, etc.
Starring: Will Farrell, John C. Reilly, Gary Cole, Jane Lynch, Sacha Baron Cohen

I’m picky when it comes to comedy. I always describe myself as a “Marx Brothers” as opposed to a “Three Stooges”. So, when the latest comic trailer whizzes across the screen, I rarely take notice. However, I’ve heard so much about Talladega Nights that I figured it was about time to take the plunge and see what all the hype was about.

Born in the backseat of a speeding muscle car, Ricky Bobby (Farrell) has always had an addiction to acceleration. One day, while working with a Nascar pit crew, Ricky gets his big break. After the team’s apathetic driver stops in the middle of a race to get a bite to eat, Ricky is chosen to take the wheel and pulls off an amazing finish. From that point on, his career skyrockets. Soon, he finds himself with a gold-digging wife, two kids, a mansion and an inflated ego. But, the team’s manager has it in for Ricky and hires a new driver from France to compete. Jean Girard (Cohen) is not only French, but sharply dressed, suave and gay. After Bobby’s first loss to the newcomer, his life quickly races downhill. But nothing can keep Ricky Bobby down for long because, “If you’re not first, you’re last.”

The cinematography in Talladega Nights is not the first thing about the movie that most people would examine. However, there are some terrific shots in the film. One in particular that caught my attention was a smooth shot following a speeding racecar, moving in through the rear window, through the car and out through the windshield to face the front of the vehicle. Computer aided or otherwise, it was cleverly executed.

Will Ferrell has never been one of my favorite actors, however prolific he has been lately. I am starting to appreciate that he’s a better actor than I first believed though. Ricky Bobby was a definite improvement over Anchorman. There are a few subtleties in his acting style that are the key to his success as a comedic talent and if you’re not paying attention, they’re easy to miss. The character’s sidekick, Cal Naughton, Jr. (Reilly) is a great foil for Ferrell. No matter how dumb Ricky Bobby seems, Naughton is always one step behind him. At one point, two become rivals and one scene in which Naughton casually phones Bobby, after stealing his wife, home and career from him, is greatly amusing. While I may have disliked his movie Borat, Sasha Cohen is much more amusing as the French racer, bent on fighting Ricky Bobby to the finish. His accent is completely over the top. Watching him sip espresso and read fine literature behind the wheel gave me a few giggles. But, the funniest scene by far involved Ricky’s father and a cougar had me in stitches. The two Bobby children, Walker (Houston Tumlin) and Texas Ranger (Grayson Russell) are fantastic and Molly Shannon as Mr. Dennit’s alcoholic wife just killed me.

Talladega Nights is clearly a parody of the stereotypical redneck Nascar fan, but doesn’t go so far overboard as to alienate the very people it pokes fun at. While not cramp-in-the-sides hilarious, this movie had a few good laughs and a decent amount of excitement. There is only one point at which the movie lags, but for the most part, the plot moves along at a steady pace. All of the actors do a fine job. I recommend The Ballad of Ricky Bobby as an accompaniment to a pizza, I case of brew and good company.

Overall Rating: 2 ½ stars.
Hottie Rating: 0

Alternate viewing: Swingers
Official site
IMDB site
Salon.com review

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Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)

Director: Larry Charles
Format: Theater
Starring: Sasha Baron Cohen, Pamela Anderson, Ken Davitian
Theater

If you’re unfamiliar with Sacha Baron Cohen, he’s probably best known as the writer and star of Da Ali G Show. That show, I believe, is where the character of Borat originated. Cohen plays two other characters on the show, Ali G and Brüno and the basic gist of the program consists of Cohen posing as one his various characters in order to interview certain public figures. The whole prank designs to discredit or otherwise embarrass the person being interviewed. Think of Da Ali G Show as a cross between The Daily Show and Jackass. So, if you take the television show, eliminate two of the three characters and stretch the premise for 84 minutes, you’ve got Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.

Borat Sagdiyev is a TV personality assigned by his government to travel to America and report back to Kazakhstan with information with which to better their country. He begins his documentary in his rural hometown, introducing his family. Then, he travels to the US with a camera crew and producer Azamat Bagatov (Ken Davitian) to try and capture some of the culture (and Pamela Anderson). Along the way, he emcees at a rodeo, gets drunk in an RV full of frat boys, attends a fancy dinner party in the South and gains custody of a bear and an ice cream truck. Oh yeah, and who could forget the all-nude wrestling match between Borat and Azamat that rages wildly through a hotel lobby?

The goofy sort of physical and low-brow comedy is not something I usually go for in a film. So, I wasn’t really interested in seeing Borat for a while. I had seen Da Ali G Show a couple of times and thought it was a bit novel and not half bad, but not amusing enough to entertain me for a feature length time span. But, sadly, I became a victim to hype. There was so much hype surrounding this movie when it was released that you couldn’t throw a rock and not hit something with Cohen’s face on it. I did get the point, of course, that the primary purpose for this movie was to illustrate how ignorant and intolerant people in this country often are. As one reviewer put it, “He gives America the rope, but they hang themselves.”

When Borat is interviewing someone and asking seemingly innocent questions, it’s clear that he is attempting to trick them into admitting something that illustrates whatever points Cohen is trying to make. And the victims consistently fall into his trap. It’s not that he’s bad at what he does, quite the contrary. But, it’s not my kind of humor at all. I am already painfully aware of the level of ignorance and bigotry apparent in several aspects American culture. Having the point hammered home is not really funny, but rather depressing and a bit frightening. When the credits rolled at the end of Borat, I was desperately wishing I could have my $5 back. I think I laughed twice during the entire movie; once when Borat introduces his sister and once when he falls out of the frat-boy RV. Neither of which was due to any clever coaxing by our Kazak reporter. Honestly, I’d rather run barefoot through a room full of thumb tacks than see this movie again.

Overall Rating: 1
Hottie Rating: 0

Alternate Viewing: Jackass (at least it has Johnny Knoxville)
Official Site
IMDB Site
Appreciating Great Trash review

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Marie Antoinette (2006)

Director: Sophia Coppola
Format: theater
Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Jason Schwartzman, Asia Argento,

I first became aware of Sophia Coppola as the director of The Virgin Suicides. Shortly before the movie was released in 1999, I had finished the novel of the same name by Jeffrey Eugenides. I was very pleased with Sophia’s remarkable adaptation of the book. When Lost in Translation came out in 2003, I was starting to get the idea that the young Coppola might be a good director to keep an eye on. So, finally, Marie Antoinette appeared in theaters and some friends and I made it a point to go. It looked refreshing, offbeat, and it had the Sophia Coppola stamp (she wrote and produced this film as well). Kirsten Dunst was another draw for me and I was looking forward to the modern soundtrack.

As you may have guessed from the title, this movie is about the life of the infamous Queen of France in the 18th Century. It covers the period from her marriage to Louis XVI at the age of 14 until The Fall of Versailles in 1789. In the beginning of the film, Marie (Kirsten Dunst), in the process of her transition from Austrian archduchess to French royalty, is stripped of her possessions, her clothing and even her dog, as a symbol of her new loyalty to France. That event marks the beginning of her discontent. She is married off to the young Louis (Jason Schwartzman) who shows no signs at all of wishing to consummate their union and therefore denying Marie’s hopes of validating her position by bearing a royal son. She is despised by the king’s consort, Cometesse du Barry (Asia Argento), scolded by her mother, and embarrassed daily by being forced to dress in front of an audience. The only things that seem to lift her from depression are gambling, partying and shopping, the three of which she does with fabulous indulgence.

Kirsten Dunst seems to be a favorite of Sophia Coppola’s. She played the lead character in The Virgin Suicides as well, and did an excellent job. However, in Marie Antoinette, she failed to entice any strong feelings from me. I couldn’t bring myself to feel sorry for the moping teenage queen, especially because she didn’t seem to be trying to do much for her situation. Likewise, I was disappointed by Jason Schwartzman’s performance. He usually brings so much personality to a character. Seeing him as Louis XVI was, well, boring in comparison to his previous roles in movies like I Heart Huckabees and Rushmore.

Part of what makes Marie Antoinette different from other films that focus on this particular time period, is that it has a modern soundtrack. Amidst montages of fancy shoes and elaborate cakes you’ll hear music from bands like Aphex Twin, Air, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure, and The Strokes. Sophia is not the first director to use this technique, of course. Brian Helgeland did something similar with A Knight’s Tale in 2001. The wardrobes in Marie Antoinette were amazing enough to earn an Oscar for Best Achievement in Costume Design at the 2007 awards. The set designs are likewise lavish and impressive. The colors used in the film are interesting. Most of the palette is a dusty pink or beige.

Marie Antoinette is not a terrible film and is even fun in moments. However, I found it terribly lukewarm and mediocre overall. I didn’t care much for the characters and didn’t feel sympathy where sympathy was clearly solicited. Sure, it was offbeat and different, but it really takes more to entertain me than excessive spending. In comparison to Sophia Coppolla’s previous films, this one was a real disappointment.

Overall Rating: 2 ½
Hottie Rating: 3 (Dunst is pretty and her soldier is a hottie too)

Alternate Viewing: The Virgin Suicides
Official Site
IMDB Site
Appreciating Great Trash review

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The Fountain (2006)

Director: Darren Aronofsky
Format: DVD
DVD Features: trailer, featurette
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz, Ellen Burstyn
Trailer

I have a cousin, close in age and remote in distance, whose life parallels my own in many ways. His, like mine, has been laden with a series of unhappy events (I call them Little Tragedies) and thus, he is always recommending tragic dramas for me to watch. Last time, it was Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. That one cut right to the heart. This time, it was The Fountain and I watched it with my grandmother and uncle. Neither of them seemed to grasp what the movie was about, and they expressed a sense of confusion at the conclusion. This cousin of mine is a writer, and thinks deeply on many levels, so I knew the movie was meaningful to him. I think I got a bit more from it than my companions did, but it is a highly interpretive film.

The “fountain” in the title refers to The Fountain of Youth in various senses. There are three storylines in the movie that parallel each other and each has to do with the search for immortality. In the primary storyline, Hugh Jackman plays Dr. Tom Creo. Creo is a medical researcher who is trying frantically to find a cure for the brain tumor that’s killing his wife. However, he’s spending so much of his time in this desperate quest that he’s missing out on the few precious moments he has left with her. She, however, has taken a more courageous view of her situation and prefers to consider death as the beginning of something new.

Creo’s wife, Izzi (Rachel Weisz), is in the process of writing a story, and this is where the second aspect of the movie comes into play. Jackman, this time, is a conquistador who is sent by his Spanish queen (also Weisz) on a quest for The Tree of Life. She hands him a ring and promises that when he’s returned successful, the two of them will join and the crown will be safe. He is relentless in his search for the Tree, to the point that his accompanying troops begin to believe that he’s gone mad.

In yet a third thread of The Fountain, Jackman plays a man traveling through space in an enclosed bubble of atmosphere. The only other traveler in the bubble is a large tree, from which he receives sustinence and companionship. His goal is to bring the tree to a nebula which will preserve the ailing tree’s life.

Aside from common theme and actors, the three tales are linked by two other elements. One is The Tree. It is The Fountain of Youth that the conquistador searches for. It is the man in the bubble’s only concern. It is also an ingredient that Dr. Creo uses in his experiments. The other associated object is a ring. In the main storyline, the doctor loses his wedding ring when he is washing up for surgery. It is also an object of promise from the Spanish queen. And in the bubble, the man has tattooed himself with rings signifying the years he and the tree have shared together. Eventually, some of these ingredients cross over from one stream of the story to another and the three become more entwined.

I cannot say enough good things about either Hugh Jackman’s or Rachel Weisz in this movie. Both of them make you care so much about their characters that it’s almost impossible not to become emotionally invested in what’s happening to them. Izzi is practically an angel and is so enlightened in her perspective but remains very human at the same time. Weisz as the Spanish queen is almost ethereal and likewise angelic. It’s hard not to sympathize with Creo, because it’s apparent that his every effort is expended on his wife’s behalf and that his love for her is very powerful. While there are a few supporting roles, none of them seem of any consequence compared to Creo and his wife.

As I mentioned earlier in this review, The Fountain has many different layers and I think that it can be interpreted in several ways. It can either be terribly depressing or gently uplifting, depending on your perspective. The overall message can be one of despair, or one of encouragement. However, there is a difference in the way I interpreted this film and the comments I’ve read online about it. Generally, people seem to view the three storylines as past, present and future. Contrary to that, I believe that the three stories indicate the same message and longing for discovery, but rather than being a difference in time, they are a difference in the way that Dr. Creo chooses to consider the battle between himself and his wife’s illness.

The main story is what happens in actuality. The story involving the queen and her soldier is a tale that Izzi had written in order to express to her husband how she perceives his quest for a cure. Finally, the man in the bubble is the doctor’s personal insight into his relationship with his wife and his urgent desire to hold on to her. I hesitate to delve further into my explaination for fear of spoiling the film, but that is the basic concept of the film as I saw it.

It seems that The Fountain has some really nice CGI. But, in fact, the director wanted to stay away from computer graphics. Instead, he used microphotography to create many of the effects. The lighting in the film is effective in giving the entire story a sort of fantasy quality. However, some scenes were shot so dimly that it was very difficult to follow the action. That is probably my only criticism of the entire film.

Because there are so many layers of meaning to The Fountain, it really depends on one’s interpretation of the film as to whether or not that person will find it enjoyable. The Fountain is definitely not a funny, happy-go-lucky movie. Neither is it for the kids. Don’t look to the film for high action or witty dialogue and don’t expect a clear resolution. I think that it will appeal to fans of Aronofsky’s other work, but may turn off much of the mainstream movie going audience. While the two main characters are played by popular stars, the movie strays sufficiently off the beaten path to resist appeal to a wide selection of Jackman and Weisz fans. Personally, I found it engaging, asthetically appealing, tragic and deeply meaningful. However, it’s not a movie I would watch all the time because it is so heavy on the heart and mind.

As a final note, I would like to mention that The Fountain does depict animal testing (specifically on monkeys) which is something that I neither endorse or condone. So, as a warning to fellow animal rights crusaders, some scenes may be difficult for sensitive viewers.

Overall Rating: 4 ½
Hottie Rating: 4 (Jackman with his shirt off)

Alternate viewing: Pi
Official site
IMDB site
Cinepinion review

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Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

Directors: Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Farris
Format: DVD
DVD Features: alternate ending, commentary, deleted scenes, music vidso
Starring: Alan Arkin, Greg Kinnear, Steve Carell, Toni Collette
Trailer

When I first saw ads for this movie, I wasn’t very interested. It seemed a little too “heartwarming” for my usual taste. Gradually, I began to hear more and more about it. The thing that really surprised me was that most of the people I talked to who gave it a good review were men. It struck me as odd that a film that seemed to target a very tender audience appealed to such a different demographic. So, I decided to give it a shot. Of course, the fact that it won two Academy Awards didn’t hurt either.

In a surprise decision, seven-year-old Olive has been selected as a contestant in the Little Miss Sunshine competition. Short of time before the beauty pageant’s check-in deadline, her father and mother realize they’ve got to pack up the whole family and deliver Olive to the stage themselves. Her coach Grandfather, suicidal Uncle Frank and silent brother Dwayne join them in the family’s dilapidated, yellow VW bus and head off across state lines. A string of mishaps threatens to bring the whole adventure down on their heads.

What makes Little Miss Sunshine entertaining is not the plot particularly, but rather the dysfunctional cast of characters. Olive herself is charming and fairly even tempered, aside from her obsession with the contest. The actress, Abigail Breslin, was nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role at the 2006 Academy Awards for Little Miss Sunshine. Alan Arkin, her grandfather and pageant coach in the movie, won Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting role that year. His character has, perhaps, the most disturbing set of vices out of the group. Just prior to their road trip, Grandpa was ejected from a nursing home for snorting heroin and his enthusiasm for pornography actually saves the family at one point in the film. Olive’s Uncle Frank, played by Steve Carell, is a suicidal, homosexual, Proust scholar. It’s strange to see the actor playing this role with such a straight-face, but he manages to be funny anyway; maybe even more so because of it. The girl’s brother Dwayne (Paul Dano) has taken a vow of silence, inspired by his love for Nietzsche and his desire to become an Air Force pilot. He may have been my favorite out of the group.

Olive’s parents are quite a pair as well. Her father Richard (Greg Kinnear), aspires to a career as a motivational speaker and lectures ad nauseum about what types of people make “winners”. Ironically, he’s the biggest “loser” out of them all. I really dislike the roles Kinnear is routinely cast in. He plays the loser quite well, but that doesn’t convince me to like the losers he plays. Richard’s wife Sheryl (Toni Collette) is prone to chain smoking just to cope with the rest of the crew and consistently seems at her wits end. The two of them seem to barely be holding their marriage together. Last, but not least, is the VW bus, which is a character in and of itself. Perhaps it’s a metaphor for the rest of the bunch or for the screwed up journey they experience. Regardless, the vehicle has as many problems as each of the family members. It has to be push started before each leg of the trip, the back door falls off its hinges, and it barely runs.

I was surprised by Little Miss Sunshine. Pleasantly so, because it wasn’t a typical, cheesy “family” film. Several of the characters had a level of depth I wasn’t expecting and the grim humor of Uncle Frank’s situation and Grandpa’s situation appealed to me. Although the film had a distinctly “indie” quality to it, it still reeked of Hollywood. I don’t mean to say that all Hollywood movies are terrible, but there’s something generally synthetic about them. The performances, for the most part, were fantastic. Even though most of the subject matter is depressing in nature, Little Miss manages not to be a downer film. The ending, with all of the JonBenet type girls, was a tad bit disturbing. I think it was meant to be. See Little Miss Sunshine if you’re looking for a movie that’s entertaining, slightly down-tempo, funny and unusual.

Overall Rating: 3 ½
Hottie Rating: 0

Alternate viewing: I Heart Huckabees
Official site
IMDB site
Boston.com review

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The Prestige (2006)

Director: Christopher Nolan
Format: DVD
DVD Features: making of, Tesla documentary, featurettes, art galleries, trailers
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Christopher Bale, Scarlett Johansson, Miachael Caine
Trailer

Since the end of February, my father and I have been on an Oscar movie kick. Not surprising, as The Academy Awards is, after all, one huge advertising campaign. The Prestige is our fourth movie in the last two weeks that earned a nomination for 2006. It was nominated for best Art Direction (Nathan Crowley) and Set Decoration (Julie Ochipinti). The award, however, was lost to Pan’s Labyrinth.

In The Prestige, Hugh Jackman and Christopher Bale play two talented magicians who begin their careers as colleagues. A bitter rivalry is sparked between the two after one trick goes disastrously awry. After they go their separate ways, their careers begin to take off, each man competing to pull off the more impressive trick, while jealously guarding his secrets. Friends, wives, lovers and money all char in the fire of this obsession.

With a name like “The Prestige” the movie sounds more likely to be about a Harvard scholar or a Military commander; not about a magic act. According to the film, the prestige is the final piece of any trick – the part where objects reappear. Of course, the plot revolves around each magician performing disappearing and reappearing acts of one form or another. The problem is, after a while, it becomes tiresome watching the same trick repetitively. When the plot twists initially, it’s to be expected and a little amusing. When the plot twists the third or fourth time, it becomes tiresome and a bit insulting.

The cast is full of familiar faces. Michael Caine plays Cutter, the early mentor of both magicians and the long term supporter of Angier (Jackman). Scarlett Johansson is Olivia, the stage girl who gets tossed back and forth between the two men. Don’t miss David Bowie as the renowned scientist Nikola Tesla. Tesla’s assistant, Alley, might even be familiar, but I won’t give that one away. Each of the cast members gives a solid, although not astounding, performance. (and yes, we get to see Hugh Jackman with his shirt off)

The set designs and atmosphere of the movie were very nicely constructed. The best shots by the cinematographer in the film were in the field of lights scene. The atmosphere was completely believable and the costuming seemed authentic. It’s only because the fantasy realm of Pan’s Labyrinth lent itself more easily to impressive costuming that it won the Academy over The Prestige.

I would have been much more impressed with this film, had I not seen The Illusionist first. For two movies so close in theme and period, it’s amazing how much one sparkles more than the other. I didn’t feel the same emotional connection to the characters in The Prestige. I didn’t become breathless waiting for the next act. Suspiciously similar is the point in either movie wherein the magician elects to shut out his normal stage crew in favor of a gang of blind men (as in The Prestige) or a cluster of foreigners (as in The Illusionist). It makes me curious as to what the profession was actually like during the time period these two movies imitate. Did the filmmakers spy on each other, like the magicians in The Prestige, to learn each other’s secrets?

Overall Rating: 3
Hottie Rating: 2 (Jackman)

Alternate Viewing: The Illusionist
Official site
IMDB site
Stylus review

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Babel (2006)

Trailer

Director: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Format: DVD
DVD Features: audio, subtitles
Starring: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Adrianna Barraza, Rinko Kikuchi
Trailer

It’s amazing how many films have been born from biblical stories. From The Passion of the Christ to Pinocchio, The Book has inspired countless cinematic interpretations. Not being the churchgoing type myself, I am only familiar with the most famous stories – Cain and Abel, Jonah and the Whale, The Garden of Eden, etc. But I’ve always been fascinated by the concept that God would curse the tongues of man in order to discourage their cooperation. It doesn’t seem condusive to peace at all, and I think that was one point among many that the director of Babel was trying to make.

Babel is a collection of four tales which are each in different tongues, but all connected in one way or another. One part of the story revolves around two boys herding goats in the hills of Morocco. Their father buys a rifle so that the family can protect their herd from jackals. But, the weapon soon becomes a source of competition between the boys and they compete to see who the better marksman is. The Second segment involves an American couple (Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett) who are vacationing overseas in the hopes of reconciliation after her tragic miscarriage. That issue becomes moot very shortly, when the woman is seriously injured. Back at home, their two children, Debbie and Mike, are being cared for by their Mexican housekeeper, Amelia (Adrianna Barraza). When the parents are away longer than expected, Amelia has to decide to either miss her son’s wedding across the border, or take the children on a field trip. The fourth part of the movie involves a deaf and mute Japanese girl, Cheiko (Rinko Kikuchi), with a longing for physical affection. She not only has the recent death of her mother to deal with, but her feeling of alienation from men drives her to drastic measures.

Alejandro González Iñárritu is the director of both Babel and a movie called Amores Perros. Both films feature several different stories seemingly separate, but in some way linked. Like Amores Perros, Babel shows each part of the tale a little at a time, and not always sequenced in chronological order (very similar to what Quentin Tarantino did with Pulp Fiction). However, I didn’t enjoy the more recent film as much his 2000 movie. The story of Cheiko is linked to the other three stories only by a minor detail. The other three stories share a much closer connection. But, Cheiko’s story is by far the more compelling. All the tales deal with a barrier of some type, not necessarily language, but culture and distance.

When I first finished watching Babel, I was left wondering, “Why did Iñárritu make this film? What was he trying to say?” It was only upon further meditation and conversation that I arrived at the broader theme. Why was this movie nominated for an Academy Award? I think it’s the exact formula that The Academy looks for. It was a Hollywood version of an “art house” film. Its aim is to make the audience feel as if they are examining a deeper philosophy, without actually pondering any real controversial material. It’s a façade. There is also present the familiar flavor of terrorism, which has been a popular theme in Hollywood since 9/11.

With so many worthwhile films released this year, Babel isn’t at the top of my list. It strikes me as the kind of film that upper-middle class Anglos go to in order to make themselves feel worldly and cultured. And afterwards, they pop off to Starbucks for a latte and forget all about the messages they could have gleaned from the experience.

Overall Rating: 3
Hottie Rating: 2 (for cute Japanese guys)

Alternate Viewing: Amores Perros
Official Site
IMDB site
Deep Focus review

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Turistas (2006)

Director: John Stockwell
Format: theater
Starring: Melissa George, Olivia Wilde, Miguel Lunardi

If my readers haven't noticed by now, my favorite genre of film is horror. Whether it be zombies, vampires, or masked stalkers, I'm game. No matter if the terror comes from the shores of Japan, Russia or Hollywood, I will give it a chance. That’s why, whenever an interesting new horror film hits the theaters, I’m itching to go. But, sometimes it’s not always worth the price of admission. Turistas promised to be a gorey adventure along the lines of Hostel. I didn’t like Hostel, but that’s beside the point.

Alex, his sister Bea and their friend Amy are on the typical mid-twenties backpacking excursion, trekking with their gear through the Brazilian landscape. When the rickety bus they are riding in breaks down, they are told that it’s going to be a long wait until the next vehicle arrives. But, their spirits are lifted when they discover a cozy beach getaway with locals, music and a bar. They proceed to party on the beach until the early hours, when they all pass out. Upon waking, they realize they’ve been drugged. Looking around, they also realize that they’ve been robbed of all their possessions. The trio team up with fellow tourists Pru, Finn and Liam and find a local boy to be their guide. He offers to take them to his village and his Uncle’s cabin. After the long and risky journey the destination they thought was safety turns out to be far worse than waiting for the next bus.

My hands-down favorite character in Turistas was Pru, played by Melissa George. She’s everything I’d love to be: attractive, smart and well-traveled. Pru could appear to some as a snotty know-it-all, but I don’t think the crew would have gotten far without her. There are enough main characters that, I presume, the general public could find one to identify with. However, all of the acting is what you might expect from a mid-grade horror film. It wasn’t atrocious, granted, but I wouldn’t rush out specifically to see anyone in the cast. The rest of the gang is the usual jock/cheerleader crowd, with the exception of Alex’s sister Bea (Olivia Wilde). She’s the token booksmart girl. Not Goths or freaks are among the heroes (or victims) in this movie.

So, was I frightened by Turistas? Did the evil Doctor Zamora (Miguel Lunardi) make me tremble in my seat? Am I less likely to go on a Brazilian excursion? The answer to all three questions is a resounding “no”. The only element to Turistas that made me a bit uneasy is when the group has to swim through a series of underground caves. Lack of air makes be nervous and I sympathized with the characters in that instance, much like the tight-walled cave scene in The Descent. But, I never felt that moment when I needed to hide behind my popcorn. The small amount of gore involved didn’t make me flinch in the slightest. No nightmares, no turning on the lights when I got home. And since that’s what I look for in a good horror movie, Turistas scored low on all accounts. Save your price of admission on this one, and call your travel agent for a true adventure.

Overall Rating: 1
Hottie Rating: 3 (lots of chicks/dudes in swimwear)

Alternate viewing: The Descent
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2006 Movie List

I know it's about a month and a half late at this point, but I wanted to post my list of the movies I watched in 2006. Although not all of these films were new releases in 2006, they are all movies that I viewed for the first time last year. I keep a log every year along with ratings, venue and who my company was. This list will give some indication of just how much time I spend in front of the screen. It does not include, however, movies that I'd seen previously and was rewatching. I may have even neglected to record a few. Eventually, I hope to review most if not all of the films below.

Fantastic Four 3 stars
Underworld: Evolution 4 stars
Infection 2 stars
The Interpreter 2 stars
Dark Water 2½ stars
Wedding Crashers 1 star
V for Vandetta 3½ stars
SLC Punk! 3 stars
Crash 3 stars
Boondock Saints 4 stars
Capote 3 stars
Down By Law 5 stars
The Good, The Bad & The Ugly 4 stars
Broken Flowers 5 stars
The Omen 3 stars
Over The Hedge 3 stars
Kingpin 1 star
Hostel 1 star
Not Another Date Movie 1 star
Superman Returns 2 stars (reviewed)
Syriana ?
Pirates of the Caribbean 4 stars (reviewed)
Ultraviolet 1 star
UnDead 4 stars (reviewed)
A Scanner Darkly 3 ½ stars
Lady In The Water 5 stars (reviewed)
Munich 4 stars (reviewed)
The Matador 3 ½ stars (reviewed)
Master & Commander 3 ½ stars (reviewed)
Seabiscuit 4 stars (reviewed)
The New World 1 stars (reviewed)
Final Destination 3 2 stars (reviewed)
Evolution 3 stars
The Mothman Prophecies 4 stars
Silent Hill 4 stars (reviewed)
Crank 1 stars (reviewed)
Brick 5 stars
Man On Fire 3 stars
Wicker Man 2 stars
Bubble 3 stars
The Departed 5 stars
Harry Potter: The Prisoner of Askaban 4 stars
Benny & Joon 3 stars
Meet Joe Black 3 stars
The Bourne Identity 4 stars
The Bourne Supremecy 4 stars
The Brothers Grimm 2 stars
I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead 2 ½ stars (reviewed)
History of Violence 3 stars
Night At The Museum 2 stars
Harry Potter: The Goblet of Fire 3 stars
Lucky Number Sleven 5 stars
X-Men III 3 ½ stars
Mission Impossible III 2 ½ stars
Brokeback Mountain 4 stars
The Sentinel 3 stars

Going through this list in retrospect, I don't think I'd give some of these films the same rating as I did before. Syriana has a question mark next to it because I couldn't decide if it was really good or not. I felt that there was something I wasn't grasping about the film and didn't think it was fair to rate it.

The Da Vinci Code (2006)

Director: Ron Howard
Format: DVD
DVD Features: Previews, tons of featurettes, interviews, PC puzzle game demo
Starring: Tom Hanks, Jean Reno, Audrey Tautou
Trailer

I avoided the theatrical release of this film mainly because the book had gotten so much hype. I also tend to avoid movies that star Tom Hanks and were made after 1990. However, I did read the novel and curiosity finally got the better of me. It’s always interesting to see how the adaptation will be. The producers/director did appear to solicit the input of Dan Brown, judging from the special features and I feel that the more the original creator has to do with the movie version of their work, the smoother the transition will be from text to screen. I was not altogether disappointed with the movie version of The Da Vinci Code. Except for a few minor details, the movie script followed the novel quite well.

Novelist and lecturer Robert Langdon (Hanks) is approached by the French authorities in connection with the death of Jacques Saunière, curator at the Louvre. Under the guise of consulting Landon’s deep understanding of historic symbols, Captain Fache (Jean Reno) brings him to the murder scene. It is when Agent Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou) comes to his rescue that Langdon realizes he is actually wanted in connection to the crime. The deceased, who also happens to be Sophie’s grandfather, has left a trail of clues for the two of them to decipher. Before long, it is clear to Langdon that it isn’t Sauniere’s killer that he and Neveu are looking for, but something far more sacred – The Holy Grail. The two fugitives begin to follow the string of clues and decode the messages and riddles that unlock the secret of The Grail’s resting place. There are some, namely the religious sect Opus Dei, who would also like their hands on the sacred treasure, recognizing the threat it brings to the church. At every turn, Langdon and Neveu must fool not only the authorities, but dodge the attempts of another mysterious interested party to steal the secret. One of the issues that I had with the book, was that I was always one step ahead of the characters when it came to figuring out the next clue. Watching the movie made the situation worse, as I had already discovered each answer in the novel. The suspense wasn’t quite the same either, as it takes a much longer period of time for Langdon and Neveu to get to the next clue in the book. So, the compression of time needed to transfer the story onto film detracted from that aspect. The story on the whole is intriguing, especially considering that most of the clues in the story actually exist.

Plot: 4 stars

As mentioned earlier, I am not particularly fond of Tom Hanks. No matter which role he takes, there’s an air of arrogance about him that I find very unattractive. He didn’t convince me as Langdon. Audrey Tautou is a fantastic actress, especially when she plays French roles (Amelie). She wasn’t how I envisioned the character as I read the novel, but she fits snugly into the role. Jean Reno is also a great actor, in certain roles, but he wasn’t Fache to me. The role of Silas, the albino monk working for Opus Dei, was played by Paul Bettany. In the book, I remember Silas as being a large, hulking creature, terribly threatening in part due to his devout convictions. But, in the movie, Bettany is way too small and the only think that makes him frightening is the Latin he speaks. I also envisioned the character of Teabing differently. The novel gave me the impression that, aside from being crippled, Teabing was also of substantial weight. In the film, Ian McKellen portrays him and although his determination comes through, he is much frailer than I expected. On the whole, with the exception of Hanks, the acting was neat, clean and well executed.

Cast: 4 stars

As befitting a film of international treasure hunting and shadowy secret societies. The Da Vinci Code features a satisfying dose of action. The movie includes a brief gunfight, a car chase in reverse, and plenty brandishing of firearms. Though not quite up to par with 007 type of over-the-top pyrotechnics and such, this movie satisfied my RDA of action.

Action: 3 stars

Watching some of the extra features, I realize what a challenge it may have been to film in The Louvre. All of the artwork in those scenes is apparently the real deal. My biggest complaint is that the director felt it necessary to enhance some of the symbols and clues artificially, when they were blindingly obvious in the first place. Is it really so difficult to see that a six-pointed star is made up of an upward pointing triangle and a downward pointing triangle? The screen on which Teabing illustrates some of the finer points of DaVinci’s “The Last Supper” comes in handy, as well as the images showing Langdon’s recollection of Newton’s headstone. So, it while it may have served well to illustrate some scenes this way, it was overused in the majority of scenes.

Visual: 2 stars

Here, I present the winning quote from The Da Vinci Code, “As long as there has been a one true god, there has been killing in his name.” How true and apropos. There weren’t any vocal failings, aside from the fact that Langdon never seemed surprised or convinced of what he was saying.

Dialogue: 3 stars

All in all, I was satisfied with the movie version of The Da Vinci Code. There were very few diversions from the original story and I have to give points for “shot on location”. Most of the acting was well done and I found it difficult to tear myself from the screen, even after the third go round. I do recommend picking the DVD up from the rental shoppe, but I would hold off on adding it to my personal collection. The features on the disc are a bit disappointing. Plenty of interviews and behind the scenes excerpts, but they only seem to be advertising the film rather than explaining it.

Alternate viewing choice: Raiders of the Lost Ark
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