Sunday, January 29, 2012

TWILIGHT ZONE: THE MOVIE – Tales of Terror

RETRO REVIEW



In 1956, Rod Serling created the famous television series entitled “The Twilight Zone”. The series combined the genres of fantasy, science-fiction and horror with an occasional sense of macabre tongue-in-cheek humor. The show’s immense success was attributed to the chilling stories written by acclaimed writers like Richard Matheson, memorable guest stars William Shatner, Burgess Meredith, and Cliff Robertson and of course, the “often imitated but never duplicated” monotone of host Rod Serling. The series went on to inspire young people to tell their own stories. Four of those people were Steven Spielberg, John Landis, Joe Dante and George Miller. In 1983, they came together to direct four pieces of a tribute of sorts to “The Twilight Zone”. What followed were laughs, screams and a horrible tragedy that irrevocably changed one man’s life forever. This was the feature-length film entitled Twilight Zone: The Movie.


The film starts with Creedence Clearwater Revival kicking in with “The Midnight Special” as two guys (Dan Aykroyd and Albert Brooks) are driving along a mountain road jamming along to the song. As their tape gets eaten in the radio, they despair until the driver (Brooks) plays with his passenger (Aykroyd) by turning out the car’s headlights driving in darkness. After a few minutes, the driver and the passenger start playing a trivia game where they guess TV theme songs. At this point, audiences in 1983 were asking themselves if they had walked into the wrong movie. They each give a few guesses (including “Sea Hunt”, “Car 54, Where Are You?”, “National Geographic” and “Hawaii 5-0”) before their conversation turns to the infamous TV show “The Twilight Zone”. The two men talk about their favorite episodes when the passenger playfully asks the driver, “You wanna see something really scary?” Obliging, the driver pulls over while the passenger gets in the back seat. After a few seconds, the passenger turns around having transformed himself into a monster and attacks the driver. Cue: “The Twilight Zone” music. It’s an absolutely gorgeous way to start a “Twilight Zone” movie by having fun with the audience, reminding them of the source material and of course, scaring them out of the wits. It’s sad that this is the only time that Aykroyd and Brooks are onscreen together; they both have a great comedic rhythm. It’s also the only “good and un-tragic” thing that John Landis contributed to this film. What came next is hard to ignore.



After the main title, the film’s narrator (original “Twilight Zone” star Burgess Meredith) tells the John Landis written-and-directed story of malevolent chauvinist William Connor (Vic Morrow) who after a racist slur-ridden tirade is suddenly thrown back in time to 1939 Nazi Germany where he is attacked by Nazis believing he is Jewish; then, he is dumped into the Deep South in the midst of the Ku Klux Klan who are preparing to lynch him as a black man; he soon finds himself in the middle of a Vietnam warzone being shot at by US troops (with a nice nod to Landis’ Animal House thrown in). Connor is pulled back into 1939 Germany where he is detained and forced onto a train with Holocaust victims which pulls away, never to be seen again. This section of the film gets most of the attention when people talk about Twilight Zone: The Movie. During the production of the film, Landis blatantly broke the law to get two child actors to perform with actor Vic Morrow on set with a dangerous stunt involving a helicopter that ended up killing all three of them. The ensuing trial effectively crippled Landis’ career (though it is not completely responsible for where he is today) and ended his friendship with Steven Spielberg, who was nearly implicated himself. Taking that aspect of the film out of it, I feel that this segment was too punishing for audiences, almost “A Christmas Carol” without the most important element: redemption (which is what Landis had planned with his ill-conceived helicopter stunt). The next segment of the film would have to be infinitely lighter in tone to keep from the audience being emotionally disconnected.


The film’s second segment (a remake of “Kick the Can”) directed by Steven Spielberg features a mysterious man named Mr. Bloom (Scatman Crothers) who comes to a retirement home to bring new life to the place in more ways than one. He convinces the others to join him at night for a game of kick the can. During the game, the senior citizens suddenly revert back to childhood – literally. While they are initially overjoyed and have a lot of fun, they soon begin to worry about what will happen to them. They find that being kids again isn’t all they wanted it to be so they ask to be returned to their normal ages. Mr. Bloom leaves them by telling them to stay their own age but keep “fresh young minds”. After some very big features, I don’t think Spielberg was able to pull off a 15-minute segment in this film. Ron Howard eventually tried a similar concept with better results – Cocoon. Unlike most people, I like Scatman Crothers – his playful enthusiasm is infectious. As a kid, I grew up with him as “Hong Kong Phooey”. It wasn’t until years later that I found out he was in classic films like The Shining. Still, I really do like the score by Jerry Goldsmith in this segment, although it – like the rest of the segment – doesn’t really fit the tone of the rest of the film. However, the next filmmaker up at the Twilight Zone bat would pull off the weirdest and creepiest segment of the film.


Joe Dante, hot off the hit The Howling, remakes one of the classic “Twilight Zone” episodes, “It’s A Good Life” about a young woman in transit, Helen Foley (Kathleen Quinlan) who comes across a young boy named Anthony (Jeremy Licht) who is not what he seems. He has a “loving” family (including the bad guy from Innerspace as his Uncle Walt and Nancy Cartwright as his sister Ethel, who would later become none other than Bart Simpson). As the night progresses, Anthony’s magical demands become more and more frightening to the point where he wishes Ethel into the television set where she is eaten by an evil cartoon dragon. Eventually, Anthony tires of his “family” (which is really made up of people he’s tricked into coming to his house) and wishes them all away, leaving just him and Helen. Helen suggests that he try to develop his power to help people instead of horrifying them and that she will stay with him to assist him. This is Dante unrestrained and a perfect example of his love of “Looney Tunes” (which is constantly on in the TVs in the house). He also showcases a lot more of the eerie elements of the film with transforming a simple bunny rabbit into a hideous monster and pulling a cartoon demon out of the TV. Unlike the actual episode, this segment has a more “happier” ending with Helen and Anthony driving off into the sunrise with flowers blooming around them. I believe this was the first time that composer Jerry Goldsmith worked with director Joe Dante, beginning a collaboration that wouldn’t end until Goldsmith’s death in 2003. Not to mention, of course, an appearance by long-time Dante actor Dick Miller (who is apparently in everything Dante directs). The last segment would be helmed by a relative newcomer, but it would be the highlight of the film thanks to an established actor.



The final segment is directed by George Miller of Mad Max fame (later to be known for directing the Happy Feet films) and is a remake of “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” well known for featuring a notable performance by William Shatner. John Lithgow stars as John Valentine, a man who has panic attacks whenever he flies. As the flight attendants attempt to calm him down and return him to his seat, Valentine is fearfully reciting flight statistics. While the flight continues, Valentine looks out his window and sees a gruesome creature ripping open an engine. Screaming his discovery, everyone looks outside to find nothing. The flight attendants attempt to convince him that what he saw wasn’t real and offer him sedatives. Trying to get some sleep, Valentine hears a knocking at his window and opens it to find the gremlin sneering at him through the window. This sends Valentine into a frantic frenzy with people having to physically restrain him. The first officer of the plane assures him there is nothing wrong. The plane lurches and the passengers begin to panic, all preparing to die. Seizing an opportunity, Valentine grabs a gun from an FAA agent onboard and shoots through the glass window pulling him halfway out the window. The gremlin notices this and starts walking toward him. It grabs his face and playfully waggles its finger at him disapprovingly before it leaps away into the night. When the plane lands, a seemingly delirious Valentine is hauled away into a straightjacket. However, one of the ground technicians at the airport finds the damaged engine and that perhaps he might not be crazy. Down the road, Valentine is in the back of an ambulance laughing to himself and it is revealed that the driver of the vehicle is the passenger of the beginning of the movie. He plays “The Midnight Special” and ends the movie by jokingly asking Valentine, “Want to see something really scary?” This is probably my favorite out of all four segments mostly due to Lithgow’s performance because he smartly chose not to replicate Shatner’s infamous performance (though a nice little joke is made of it on Lithgow’s former series “3rd Rock from the Sun”). It even brilliantly ties back into the opening of the film and gives the audience one last laugh as soon as they see Dan Aykroyd again.


Anthology films don’t have the best track record in Hollywood; both New York Stories and Grindhouse underperformed at the box office. Most say it is because audiences don’t want to sit around and watch multiple stories; they would rather concentrate on one coherent narrative. However, I think Twilight Zone: The Movie was an interesting experiment to try and replicate the harrowing stories told in 1956. Sure, the helicopter tragedy that took the lives of Vic Morrow and two young actors overshadowed the film as a whole, but once people could see the whole film they would realize the stories were unique to each director. Landis wanted to teach lessons against bigotry, Spielberg wanted to keep hope in the minds of the elderly, Dante wanted to scare and appease audiences with a kid who had unlimited power and Miller wanted to depict how fear can rule our lives and make us irrational. Together these stories may not seem like they co-exist together but they’re interesting to watch on their own and that’s why I believe Twilight Zone: The Movie should get more recognition on its own terms.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

MEMOIRS OF AN INVISIBLE MAN: Chevy's Unseen Chase

RETRO REVIEW


John Carpenter is highly identified with horror from films like Halloween, The Fog and The Thing. However, he has been known to direct films in other genres – romance (Starman), adventure (Escape from New York) and action comedy (Big Trouble in Little China). He even made a biographical miniseries on the life of Elvis. However, in 1992, he teamed up with “Saturday Night Live” and National Lampoon’s Vacation star Chevy Chase to break from his most well-known genre to create the sci-fi comedy thriller, Memoirs of an Invisible Man. The film would blend creative special effects with suspenseful pursuits but failed to be seen by audiences.


Stock analyst Nick Halloway (Chevy Chase) is a guy who likes to keep to himself and will do anything to avoid people. He prefers to remain alone during social events and does not have many friends. However, one of his only friends, George Talbot (Michael McKean), introduces him to a woman named Alice Monroe (Daryl Hannah) at dinner. They both instantly fall for each other and make out in the ladies’ room, but Alice has to leave. She and Nick make a date, but Nick is so crestfallen that he has already lost someone he truly connected with that he begins to drink heavily.


Nick forgets that he has to go to a shareholders’ meeting early in the morning at a local laboratory, Magnascopics and shows up immensely hungover. Leaving in the middle of the presentation to find a bathroom, Nick stops by a computer control room where he asks a scientist for directions. After pointing him in the right direction, the scientist knocks his cup of coffee onto a console, setting off a hardware meltdown. Everyone evacuates the building except for the otherwise oblivious Nick who has wandered into an executive’s sauna room and takes a nap. When he wakes up, Nick finds himself and much of the building invisible due to the accident. Screaming for help, Nick is taken into the custody of ruthless CIA agent David Jenkins (Sam Neill) who plans to use him for ulterior motives. Not wanting to be trapped as a freak experiment, Nick escapes and goes on the run.


Constantly chased by Jenkins and his goons, Nick tries to navigate through the world as an invisible man but finds it a lot harder than previously expected. He locates the head scientist of Magnascopics, Dr. Bernard Wachs (Jim Norton), but Wachs has no idea what happened or how it happened. He goes to Alice for help, who agrees to get him out of the country so Jenkins can stop chasing him but Jenkins eventually catches up to him. Nick has to use his newfound ability to protect Alice and keep himself out of trouble.


I can see how some would wonder how this film would fit into John Carpenter’s filmography (it features really none of his signatures – none of his stars and no self-composed score) or even Chevy Chase’s filmography as the film is not much of a comedy (or at least not anywhere near as funny as Caddyshack, National Lampoon’s Vacation or Fletch). However, one has to admit that Chase is actually trying to branch out and not just be funny. The effects are surprisingly good by 1992 standards (especially if one sees “The Making of Memoirs of an Invisible Man”), but I can’t ignore that 20 years earlier a Disney film Now You See Him, Now You Don’t was able to pull off nearly the same visuals but on a cheaper budget and to a broader audience. Daryl Hannah, of course, looks stunning in this film (as she did in the late ‘80s-early ‘90s) but her character is barely constructed and is simply there to look good and be the one person to help Nick out. She herself would do a special effects-centered film in the HBO TV movie remake of Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman. However, we all know that Sam Neill (who does play a genuinely good villain in this film) would go on to a film that completely redefined special effects with Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park.


Memoirs of an Invisible Man isn’t an awful film, but it certainly could be better. There are really two types of invisibility films: the psychopathic thriller (The Invisible Man and Hollow Man) or there are wish-fulfillment comedies (Now You See Him, Now You Don’t and Ghost Dad). This film tries to play it both ways with lackluster results – either make a straight comedy or a straight thriller. Rarely do the two vastly different genres work together; a notable example would be the Gene Wilder/Richard Pryor film Silver Streak. Still, the effects are quite interesting to watch, the actors are decent and the story is conventional. John Carpenter and Chevy Chase: an once-in-a-lifetime combination that doesn’t achieve the amazing possibilities. Like Nick Halloway, this slightly comedic adventure isn’t easy to see.

NOTE: Yesterday was John Carpenter's birthday! Happy Birthday, John Carpenter! Thanks for reading - Zack

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Top 10 Anticipated Films of 2012

10. G.I. Joe: Retaliation (June 29th, 2012)
Director: Jon M. Chu
Writers: Rhett Reese/Paul Wernick
Starring: Channing Tatum, Dwayne Johnson, Bruce Willis, Arnold Vosloo, Ray Park, Byung-hun Lee, Ray Stevenson, RZA, Adrianne Palicki, Joseph Mazzello and Jonathan Pryce
Studio: Paramount Pictures




Say what you will about G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. One has to admit it was damned ambitious. It was also unbalanced, too heavily reliant on flashbacks and less true to the show and more of a “fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants” production. That didn’t stop it from being a worldwide sensation (maybe it was due to the disdainful delivery of the line, “Real American Heroes”). Forget for a minute that this is being directed by the same guy who brought us Justin Bieber: Never Say Never (in probably one of the most outrageous jumps from film to film on a resume). This is the second major feature film being written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick who introduced the world to Zombieland, one of my all-time favorite comedies. It breaks my heart to see them not continue with a sequel, but I’m glad to see they got to see the original concept for Zombieland, a TV series, finally come around. You’ll notice that most of Rise of Cobra’s cast was jettisoned – Damon Wayans, Rachel Nichols, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and oddly Dennis Quaid (I thought he was the best actor in the entire film). I was also surprised to see that they continued the storyline of the President being kidnapped and replaced by an evil doppelganger, but if it serves this film better, I say let them go for it. Whatever appeals Dwayne Johnson into inserting himself into popular action films’ sequels escapes me but seeing him along for the ride will be just fine with me. And from what I’ve seen in the trailer, Bruce Willis will be very exciting to see in the film cast as the original G.I. Joe. If the film can also handle the Snake Eyes/Storm Shadow rivalry better than Rise of Cobra, which would be an improvement. All I can say is I trust the writers, the cast seems just fine and I’m all for a better film.
NOTE: Paramount Pictures moved the film from June 2012 to March 29th, 2013. The delay gives time for a 3D post-conversion and reshoots that are said to involve Channing Tatum.

9. Wreck-It Ralph [3D] (November 2nd, 2012)
Director: Rich Moore
Starring the voices of: John C. Reilly, Sarah Silverman, Jane Lynch and Jack McBrayer
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures



The last time Disney delved into the world of video games were the films Tron and Tron: Legacy. Both were adventurous but perhaps a bit too serious for their own good. With this film, Disney harkens back to the days of 8-bit video games in this parody of “Super Mario Bros.”, Wreck-It Ralph. The story is that video game bad guy Wreck-It Ralph (voiced by Reilly) is constantly angry when his good-guy nemesis Fix-It Felix (voiced by McBrayer) disrupts his sleep with his building construction. All Ralph wants is the glory and fame that Felix gets and not be hated. If he has to become a good guy in another game, why not? The film promises to have a depiction of various video game worlds and styles of animation from 8-bit to the full-on photo-realistic shooters of today. This is Walt Disney Feature Animation’s follow-up to Tangled, which excites me that this film about video games joins the hallowed ranks of such films as Snow White, Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King. I can’t wait to see a trailer.

8. Frankenweenie [3D] (October 5th, 2012)
Director: Tim Burton
Writer: John August
Starring the voices of: Winona Ryder, Martin Landau, Martin Short, Catherine O’Hara, Conchata Farrell, Christopher Lee, and Tom Kenny
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures





In 1984, a young Disney animator named Tim Burton made the leap to live-action short films with a little story he developed about a young boy named Victor Frankenstein (a bit on the nose, perhaps?) whose dog is killed in a tragic car accident, but reanimates the corpse of his beloved pet and causes chaos in the neighborhood. This black-and-white film was Frankenweenie and starred Daniel Stern and Shelley Duvall as Victor’s parents. Disney executives were puzzled by the film and the eccentric filmmaker was ejected from the Disney company until a film he produced and wrote the story for became huge overseas, The Nightmare Before Christmas. Burton retained his position as producer on another Disney production, the live-action/stop-motion fantasy James and the Giant Peach and afterwards, left the Disney Company for good. Until 2010, when Burton returned to give his spin on a classic Disney story – Alice in Wonderland – which ended up bringing the studio $1 billion in income. Apparently, one of the costs the Disney studio had to guarantee for Burton in exchange for directing Alice in Wonderland was to allow him to go back and remake Frankenweenie in black-and-white stop-motion. Disney green-lit the project and let Don Hahn, head of the Walt Disney Feature Animation group, oversee the project personally. The film features a veritable reunion of previously Burton-used actors (notably missing Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, their first film apart in 7 years). On a side note, one actor I would like to see reteam with Burton is Batman himself, Michael Keaton. Anyhow, I think this film will be quite interesting to see as the original Frankenweenie had a lot of heart and humor.

7. Hotel Transylvania [3D] (September 21st, 2012)
Director: Genndy Tartakovsky
Writers: Dan Hageman, David Feiss and Kevin Hageman
Starring the voices of: Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Selena Gomez, Andy Samberg, Fran Drescher, David Spade, Steve Buscemi, Molly Shannon and Cee Lo Green
Studio: Sony Pictures Animation






Yes, I know the film looks like a reunion of actors from I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry and Grown Ups. Might I direct your attention back to the director? If you don’t know who that is, Tartakovsky is most famous for creating the Cartoon Network shows “Dexter’s Laboratory” and “Samurai Jack” and overseeing the animation of the original “Star Wars: Clone Wars” series. He even was allowed to storyboard a War Machine/Iron Man at the World Expo battle sequence in Iron Man 2. For the longest time, he was attached to directing a sequel to the Jim Henson classic, The Dark Crystal, but was abandoned by the Henson Company. This will be his first feature-length directorial debut. The film centers around Dracula (voiced by Sandler) and his daughter (voiced by Gomez) running a “five-stake” hotel resort where all of Dracula’s friends – Frankenstein (voiced by James) and his Bride (voiced by Drescher); the Invisible Man (voiced by Spade); a family of werewolves (voiced by Buscemi and Shannon); and a Mummy (voiced by Green) – can all relax and live it up until a unsuspecting human guy (voiced by Samberg) stumbles onto them and falls in love with Dracula’s daughter. If that concept doesn’t sound appealing to you, I would advise to just wait for a trailer and allow Tartakovsky’s talents to shine through.

6. Django Unchained (December 25th, 2012)
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Writer: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson, Dennis Christopher and Tom Wopat
Studio: The Weinstein Company


That’s right! Six years after Inglourious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino is back! Who else but Tarantino would be crazy enough to have their film released eleven days after Peter Jackson’s 3D juggernaut The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey? This film is his take on a Western. Jamie Foxx plays Django, a former slave who was freed and became a bounty hunter. Now he has returned to the Mississippi plantation he once worked at to free his wife from the tyrannical reign by the brutal Calvin Candie (played by DiCaprio). The cast is full of Tarantino regulars – Waltz, Jackson – and great actors like DiCaprio (in his first role as a villain) and Tom Wopat (most famous as Luke Duke from “The Dukes of Hazzard”). I’m enthusiastic to see what Tarantino does with this film.

5. The Amazing Spider-Man [3D] [IMAX 3D] (July 3rd, 2012)
Director: Marc Webb
Writers: James Vanderbilt/Alvin Sargent
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Martin Sheen, Sally Field, Denis Leary, Campbell Scott, Julianne Nicholson and C. Thomas Howell
Studio: Columbia Pictures





Ten years after Spider-Man’s first cinematic adventure comes this re-telling of his origins which most people complained was already told quite well in the first film, directed by Sam Raimi. However, this film appears to expand on more of Peter Parker’s years in high school and the mystery surrounding the disappearance of his parents. Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man film spent fifty minutes on Peter Parker in high school and zero on his parents (albeit one brief mention of his father). Also, a pivotal character in Peter’s high school years, Gwen Stacy was only introduced in Spider-Man 3, when Peter is in college. After the critical drumming that Spider-Man 3 got, Raimi and his team set out to make a Spider-Man 4. I’ve read the outline that they came up with and man, was it bad. One of the main plot points was revealing that Mary Jane was really fathered by the Vulture (to have been played by John Malkovich). Reboot away, please! When I first heard that Andrew Garfield was going to play New York’s Wondrous Web-Slinger, I was a bit outraged because he was a British guy playing an American icon (slipping my mind of course that Christian Bale was British playing Batman and later Henry Cavill was British playing Superman). However, I was calmed later by two reasons: first, I learned that Garfield was indeed an American, having been born in Los Angeles and was simply raised in England and secondly, seeing his fantastic performance in David Fincher’s The Social Network. I can’t imagine how much pressure he’s got to be under having to take such an iconic role from a decent actor like Tobey Maguire, who will be forever identified with Spider-Man (he seems to have disappeared off the face of the planet outside of his role in the upcoming The Great Gatsby). I love Emma Stone. For real. On the outside, she is the living, breathing incarnation of Mary Jane Watson, even more so than Kirsten Dunst who could not bring herself to play the Mary Jane from the comics. However, for this film she plays Gwen Stacy (taking the role from her The Help co-star Bryce Dallas Howard). Hopefully she can still bring a sense of fun with her naturally blonde beauty. I don’t know much about Rhys Ifans, but the Lizard was the character that was hinted at in the Sam Raimi movies from a brief mention in Spider-Man to a one-armed portrayal in Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3. The late great Cliff Robertson had a great role as Uncle Ben in Spider-Man and gave a fantastic delivery of the famous line, “With great power comes great responsibility”. Having Martin Sheen come in surprised me because he is a quality actor and I wouldn’t have figured him for a superhero movie. I’m not quite convinced that Sally Field is really OLD enough to play Aunt May, but that’s beside the point. James Cromwell was severely underused as Captain George Stacy in Spider-Man 3 (really he’s in one scene). Denis Leary is a great actor and him leaving his show “Rescue Me” to make this film tells me his character’s death probably won’t happen in the first movie. All in all, Amazing Spider-Man has a lot of heat against it, but also has a lot of potential. There’s no question that the movie will be a box office hit.

4. Men in Black III [3D] (May 25th, 2012)
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Josh Brolin, Jermaine Clement, Emma Thompson, Nicole Scherizinger and Alice Eve
Studio: Columbia Pictures





Will Smith’s last two films in 2008, Seven Pounds and Hancock, were not well-received critically and only one (Hancock) was financially successful. In the four years since his film absence, he has gotten his son in a well-received remake of The Karate Kid and making his daughter into a pop star and in a new adaptation of Annie. Now he has returned to the black suit and the black shades of the Men in Black. Granted, Sonnenfeld hasn’t directed a film since 2006’s RV (he was busy show-running ABC’s “Pushing Daisies”). Putting together a new Men in Black film clearly wasn’t easy from the set reports of the actors often working without a finished script. The teaser shown recently certainly shows that Jones and Smith are clearly back in character and Brolin’s impersonation of Agent Kay is flawless. As a fan of the films, I’ll continue to hold out hope for it.

3. John Carter [3D] [IMAX 3D] (March 9th, 2012)
Director: Andrew Stanton
Writers: Andrew Stanton/Michael Chabon
Starring: Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Willem Dafoe, Thomas Hayden Church, Mark Strong
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures





This is another one of those films that most people I know don’t have much faith in. All I have to say is, “Trust in Andrew Stanton”. He’s made two fantastic animated movies – Finding Nemo and Wall•E – both of which won Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature. This is his first live-action film, and if the success of fellow Pixar alumni Brad Bird’s Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol is any indication, I think people will be highly receptive. The film’s biggest obstacle will be trying to differentiate itself from popular science-fiction films like Avatar and Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. What people don’t seem to realize is that is that Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote “A Princess of Mars”, the first story to feature John Carter was written over 100 years ago! The cast seems to be made up of actors involved in Marvel movies: Taylor Kitsch and Lynn Collins both appeared in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Willem Dafoe and Thomas Hayden Church were both in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man movies and Mark Strong was in Kick-Ass (a graphic novel published in part by Marvel). I know a lot of people are also worried about giving a first-time director a budget of $200 million, which is very, very risky but if Stanton made a good film, it will all be worth it.

2. The Dark Knight Rises [IMAX] (July 20th, 2012)
Director: Christopher Nolan
Writers: Jonathan and Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, Juno Temple, Josh Pence, Joey King and Liam Neeson
Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures



I’m sure most people will be upset with me putting this film in second place and leaving out The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and Prometheus. One reason it’s in second place is because this film features ONE superhero. The full-length theatrical trailer left me somewhat confused and wanting more, but that’s exactly what Christopher Nolan wants. This man is a true genius. The cast is fantastic and anticipation for this film has never been higher. I went to a New Years Eve party where someone had the audacity to ask me if I thought The Dark Knight Rises will be good. I angrily replied, “Does a bear $#*! in the woods?” He didn’t know what I meant. Sigh.

1. The Avengers [3D] (May 4th, 2012)
Director: Joss Whedon
Writer: Joss Whedon
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Samuel L. Jackson, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, Clark Gregg, Colbie Smulders, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Gwyneth Paltrow
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures/Marvel Studios





This is a film I’ve been waiting for since 2008. With one line delivered by Samuel L. Jackson playing his comic-book counterpart Nick Fury at the very end of Iron Man, “I’m here to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative,” Marvel Studios launched the imaginations of a thousand fanboys like me everywhere. One bump in the road was losing The Incredible Hulk’s Edward Norton (who would’ve been great fun to see with this team) but I’m sure Mark Ruffalo will do just fine (he previously co-starred with Downey in David Fincher’s Zodiac). This is the first Marvel film that Walt Disney Pictures will be distributing (not publicly apparently, thanks to Paramount Pictures). Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth both gave fantastic performances as Captain America and Thor, in their respective films and I can’t wait to see more from them. Two time Oscar nominee Jeremy Renner rises from a brief post-production cameo in Thor to his full role as Hawkeye/Clint Barton. It’s always nice to see Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson who probably has the best dry comedy delivery in the business. For the first time in cinematic history, the Avengers will assemble and you can bet your ass I’ll be there opening day.

Honorable Mentions:

The Hunger Games (March 23rd, 2012)
Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax (March 2nd, 2012)
Brave (June 22nd, 2012)
Ted (July 13th, 2012)
The Watch (July 27th, 2012)
Skyfall (October 26th, 2012)
Prometheus (June 8th, 2012)
Rise of the Guardians (November 11th, 2012)
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (December 14th, 2012)

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Best of 2011

2011, as a whole, wasn't a great year. With 27 sequels, who could blame it? Certainly Hollywood needs some fixing, but I still think it has some life left in it. Why? Because these movies rose from the dark and gave me laughs, cheers and smiles. Here they are, my best of 2011

10. Real Steel





As I said in my review, this is Shawn Levy’s big breakaway from comedies into more serious territory. Nice guy Hugh Jackman delivers a fine performance as not-so-nice-guy Charlie Kenton. The boxing robot effects are great, a nice blend of practical effects and motion capture. For a much derided film, it builds its premise up fairly well.

9. The Green Hornet



It’s not the sturdiest of superhero movies, but it’s plenty better than another “Green” superhero (who would’ve guessed?). A film that pays respect to its predecessors in radio, comics and television while also working for a modern audience, Michel Gondry’s first major mainstream film swiftly mixes comedy and action. It’s got to be given props for coming up with some pretty outlandish set pieces – most done practically (such as the opening club explosion). It’s clear that Seth Rogen did his homework on all things Green Hornet, from the look of the Black Beauty to a small nod to the original Kato, Bruce Lee. The only nitpick I would have with it is that barely any of the characters are remotely likable. Also, I have never seen a worse candidate for an IMAX 3D film. I saw this in 3D, and I saw nothing that would be worthy of an IMAX 3D release. Absolutely nothing. If you saw it in IMAX, you have no soul.

8. Super 8




Ever since Iron Man 2, we were waiting on Super 8. J.J. Abrams’ first original film as director gets a lot of praise for being a great proponent of do-it-yourself filmmaking. The performances from the children are fantastic, not to mention Kyle Chandler. Where this film gets a lot of hate is the “half-hearted and uneven” depiction of the alien monster with unsympathetic goals. Personally, I’m a fan of Abrams’ films. I think he’s an interesting filmmaker to keep an eye on. The action and suspense were thrilling, especially the train crash sequence which was amazing. It seemed like much of the effects were done for real; for instance, the tipping bus. In the production design, Abrams masterfully recreates a Spielbergian town that looks truly authentic as though it had never been touched by modern times. In all, Super 8 is quality entertainment. It also shines a large and positive light on filmmaking, which I was very impressed with.

7. The Muppets




I know I’m gonna get a lot of flak for putting it so low on the list, but as I said in my review, I did enjoy the film. I just still could not get past the disappearing Muppets and the disappointing Amy Adams. Still, the songs were wildly enjoyable and the film’s bouncy bubbly enthusiasm will leave audiences of any age smiling. Jason Segal has done the impossible: bring the Muppets back from the brink and give them a film where they are again the stars.

6. Thor




For a superhero’s first depiction in film, Thor does leave some things to be desired that serves the purposes of linking to The Avengers but hopefully a sequel (if it can just stick to a director) will expand on the vast universe surrounding Asgard set up in this film. Chris Hemsworth shines as Thor, going from selfish to selfless perhaps a bit too quickly but believably. Although Natalie Portman is enjoyable in the film, her role isn’t particularly demanding. Everybody gives a lot of crap to the very pretty Kat Dennings and her comedy chops, but she wasn’t in the film enough to bug me. Anthony Hopkins is an inspired choice for Odin, but borderlines on over-the-top on some line deliveries. Who knows? Maybe Odin needs to be over-the-top. By far, the funniest Stan Lee cameo yet; I’m sure I was laughing louder than anyone else in the theater when he showed up. The sets are very well done, thanks to master production designer Bo Welch (who has a particular touch in his work). Kenneth Branagh does a fine job of directing, but has a much hated fascination with Dutch angles that many will be happy to see gone in Thor 2.

5. X-Men: First Class




One might think that because of the rushed production schedule that this film would be a studio controlled mess. On the contrary, this film appears to have been made by Fox throwing money at Kick-Ass director Matthew Vaughn and saying, “Money is no object. We trust you.” The cast -- in particular James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender -- is outstanding. Kevin Bacon plays a killer villain as eternally youthful Sebastian Shaw. The best part of the film is of course its pitch-perfect cameo of Wolverine played by Hugh Jackman (who, with this film, breaks Christopher Reeve’s previous record of most times playing a superhero). The period is used well to the film’s advantage but more recognizable songs would’ve been more appreciated.

4. Rise of the Planet of the Apes




When I heard this film announced, I predicted doom right from the start. I assumed Fox had lost their minds and were flogging a dead horse. Never in my moviegoing years have I been happier to be proven wrong. After the double fiasco of the Oscars and Your Highness (but a great cameo in The Green Hornet), this is precisely what James Franco needed -- a performance that allowed him to be subtle -- though the unarguable star of the film is Andy Serkis who brings performance capture to new heights. Evolving a technique initially used in bringing Davy Jones to life in the productions of the Pirates of the Caribbean sequels, Serkis performed the role of smart simian Caesar live on set. This helps to give excellent performances out of Franco and John Lithgow, whose enthusiasm is unbridled. I eagerly anticipate a sequel.

3. Drive




I enjoyed this film much more than Fast Five (not that it wasn’t good, just not as great as this film). As I said in my review, I will never underestimate Ryan Gosling as an actor ever again. He delivers a fantastic performance as the mostly silent Driver who is out for revenge after a heist gone wrong. It balances sweet scenes of the Driver driving through the sunset and the violence acts he has to incur to protect the ones he cares about. I’m not gonna say much more about it, but you can read my review and then go see for yourself. It’s a fantastic drama with action that doesn’t get over-the-top like Fast Five does.

2. Footloose




I can’t think of many critics who would have this film in their top 10 lists, much less top 3. But I’m not a critic (most of ‘em are cynical). I’m a movie buff and film optimist. This film gave me two of the greatest moviegoing experiences of the year. The first time I saw it was in July, when director Craig Brewer brought the film to town for a special sneak preview. I waited in line in front of a local DVD/Blu-Ray store at 8 AM, he came and brought donuts, recognized me BY NAME (nearly lost my $#*!) and handed out tickets. I drove over to the theater and waited across the parking lot outside of a Whole Foods Market sweating to death with only my laptop, a Mexican Coca-Cola and a small cup of Ben & Jerry’s. Finally, it came time to see the movie (before waiting in another line). Mr. Brewer came out to introduce it, told us some stories about how he was offered the movie and what the original Footloose meant to him. I saw it, I enjoyed it immensely. I thanked Mr. Brewer for the opportunity to see the movie early, got a picture with him and an autograph. Then came October 14th, when the movie was released to the general public. I didn’t have the money to go see it opening day, but I heard Craig Brewer was in town to open it up locally and I wanted to wish him good luck for the movie’s opening weekend. I went by the theater where he was, bumped into him and said good luck to him. He asked me if I was seeing the movie that night. I told him, I would love to, but I simply didn’t have the money. He says, “No problem,” and he hands me a free ticket. Cue exuberance. So I brought my laptop into the lobby, sat at a table and started writing while he’s signing posters and posing for pictures with people. After about two minutes with no one coming in, he comes over and sits down and we start chatting. Then, his phone rings. He says, “I’m sorry, I gotta take this.” He then looks at the screen and says, “Look who it is.” He shows me the screen and it says “Dennis Quaid”. Cue awesomeness. He gets to talking to him and I’m just sitting in awe. So, if it’s any correlation of the man to his film, Footloose is full of great times, well-performed drama and killer dance moves (for more specific info, please read my review).

1. The Adventures of Tintin




Steven Spielberg’s first foray in 3D makes for his most fun film in years. I’m not sure what got him on the kick of doing historical dramas and dark science-fiction pieces (with the occasional E.T. re-release and Crystal Skull thrown in), but it is so refreshing to see something so new and inventive from Spielberg. There was clearly a lot of care taken with the characters, the story and the partnership with Peter Jackson is unbeatable. See my full review.

Honorable mentions:
I hated to put these movies here, because they are very, very good, but I simply ran out of room in the top 10. By no means do these omissions mean I like them less or more than what is on the list.

Captain America: The First Avenger
The Tree of Life
30 Minutes or Less
Attack the Block
Source Code
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Drive Angry


Worst movies:
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
Green Lantern
The Smurfs
The Dilemma

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: Steven Spielberg Gets Animated



Coming off the massive success of 1981’s Raiders of the Lost Ark, filmmaker Steven Spielberg was at the top of his game. He was reading glorious reviews from all around the world until a certain French newspaper review puzzled him. Unable to read French, he was trying to comprehend the meaning of the word “Tintin”, which was used several times in the article. With a translator, Spielberg discovered that the review was comparing the character of Indiana Jones and his globe-trotting adventures with a well-known European character named Tintin. He immediately asked to see what this Tintin was and was given several comic books of “The Adventures of Tintin”. These issues were also in French, but Spielberg fell in love with the artwork. He admired how even though he didn’t understand the language, the artwork could still tell the story for him.


Seeing a possibility of making an “Indiana Jones for kids”, Spielberg contacted Tintin’s creator Hergé. Because of Hergé’s declining health, Spielberg could not meet with him face-to-face, so they spoke only by phone. Spielberg detailed his enthusiasm for making a film adaptation of Hergé’s works but Hergé had his doubts. He had already tried to make an animated Tintin film by sending a letter to Walt Disney himself and received no response (there was never any confirmation that Disney read the letter). There were low-budget live-action Tintin films but they were not up to Hergé’s expectations. However, Spielberg intrigued him. Clearly, this was a man who got the clear idea of the character, expressed a love for the world depicted and would be true to the tone of the stories. Hergé gave Spielberg his blessing. Within months, Hergé passed away.


Spielberg began development of a Tintin film in 1983, planning to have Jack Nicholson play the irascible yet lovable drunkard Captain Haddock. Then, Spielberg realized something drastic: how could a real dog believably portray Tintin’s faithful companion Snowy? Snowy is meant to be a lot smarter than the average dog and would need to be able to express more thought. Faced with this prospect, Spielberg shelved Tintin until he met an up-and-coming New Zealand filmmaker named Peter Jackson. They met for the first time literally on stage at the Academy Awards when Spielberg handed Jackson the Oscar for Best Picture (The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King). When he wasn’t watching the 1933 classic King Kong (which had a massive effect on him), Jackson had grown up reading the Tintin books. He too loved the artwork and understood the social satire and commentary within the adventures. After executive producing Jackson’s drama The Lovely Bones, Spielberg asked him if his effects company, WETA Digital, could make a digital Snowy for a live-action Tintin movie. Jackson shot test footage of himself “auditioning” for the role of Captain Haddock (in full costume) while being constantly upstaged by a dancing CG Snowy. Although Spielberg loved it, Jackson suggested that by making the film in performance capture (ala Gollum in The Lord of the Rings and King Kong in King Kong). Spielberg was initially wary – he had executive produced animated films like The Land Before Time, An American Tail and We’re Back!: A Dinosaur’s Story but never made one himself. To do an animated film, he would have to get rid of his beloved celluloid film. However, he was drawn to the technology because, as he said, “it would allow me to become more of a painter than ever before”.


Because of their collaboration and the amount of money it would take to make the film, Spielberg and Jackson had to bring together two studios -- Paramount (with Nickelodeon Movies, furthering Spielberg’s claim that Tintin was “Indiana Jones for kids”) and Columbia -- and shot the film in nearly 30 days (Jackson himself was there only for approximately 2 of those days; he oversaw the remainder of production in New Zealand at WETA Digital). Because Spielberg was an American making a Tintin film, he wanted the film to have a uniquely European voice so he hired three British screenwriters: Steven Moffat (show-runner of “Doctor Who”), Edgar Wright (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead) and Joe Cornish (the much-praised Attack the Block). When Jackson finishes his two Hobbit films, he is supposedly ready to move into production of Tintin 2 and then Jackson and Spielberg are supposed to team up and co-direct Tintin 3, at which time the center of the Earth will crack open, the seas will boil and mountains will speak.


Tintin (Jamie Bell) is an intrepid young reporter who always gets himself into massive adventures by simply chasing a good story. He and his loyal dog, Snowy, are out shopping at a flea market when Tintin spies a model ship for sale. Immediately after purchasing it, Tintin is accosted by two individuals for possession of it, but he refuses to give it up. When he goes home, he uncovers a hidden scroll inside the ship that leads him to discovering the legend of the Unicorn (the real version of the model ship he purchased) and the hidden treasure it carried. Tintin gives the evidence to bumbling investigators, Thompson (Simon Pegg) and Thomson (Nick Frost). However, Tintin has put himself in the middle of a quest headed by the evil Sakharine (Daniel Craig) and is kidnapped and thrown onboard the captured ship of Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis), himself a prisoner. Haddock and Tintin team up to escape the ship and Sakharine’s clutches. Once free, Tintin realizes that Haddock is the last surviving descendent of the captain of the Unicorn. The scroll that Tintin has refers to a mystery that only Haddock himself can solve, but unfortunately is too reliant on alcohol and whiskey to keep his memory straight. Tintin, Haddock and Snowy travel the globe literally by plane, by sea and by land in order to stay one step ahead of Sakharine, unravel the mystery of the Unicorn and uncover the Haddock treasure.


In one movie, Steven Spielberg has shown a better handle of performance capture than Robert Zemeckis has in three (it hurts to say). Zemeckis used performance capture to reinvent stories we all know. Spielberg uses performance capture to bring to life ambitious artwork and also move the camera around in ways that would be impossible in live-action. This is Spielberg’s most visually insane movie; in a good way. There is a whole entire action sequence that mirrors the bike chase in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, but practically does it all in one take and involves a tank, a dam and chasing a hawk. It’s incredibly massive and complex but visually exciting to watch. It’s good to see that Andy Serkis, who has been getting massive (and much deserved) praise after his performance as Caesar in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, has a more playful role here as Captain Haddock. His delivery is quite funny and his movements are fantastic. He also gives a great monologue to Tintin about not letting failure define who you are.


Many have claimed that this is Spielberg’s “apology movie”, after the dismal fan reception of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. They like that Spielberg has teamed with Peter Jackson rather than the “evil” George Lucas. While I would agree that this film is better than Crystal Skull, Indiana Jones as a character is larger than just one movie. He’s certainly a better character emotionally than Tintin. Tintin is a bit bland, running mostly on enthusiasm. We don’t know a thing about him, how he became a reporter, who his family is. We’re just introduced to him, although the nice Catch Me If You Can-esque title sequence tries to explain visually what he does and the type of adventures he’s pulled into. Granted, you could say the same thing about Indy in Raiders of the Lost Ark, but he’s given a much broader scope. Harrison Ford is charming (back in the day when he wasn’t Mr. Grumpy Gills), intelligent and tough. I know it’s not quite fair to try to compare a legend like Ford to an up-and-coming actor like Jamie Bell, but if people are making the Indiana Jones connections they need to set the record straight.


Still, Tintin is quite an enjoyable film. It’s certainly Spielberg’s most genuinely fun film in quite a while. It’s good to hear John Williams back in action who apparently only does scores for Spielberg and Lucas nowadays. After the disastrous results of Mars Needs Moms, it took a master to make a much derided evolving technology get some respect from the film community (not to mention WETA’s work on Rise of the Planet of the Apes). I can’t wait to see more from the team of Spielberg and Jackson.

Monday, January 2, 2012

Updates!


Hey, guys! I'm sorry I haven't posted since December! What with exams and Christmas break, I had to abandon Smithmas. Rest assured, "Smithmas" will return next year (and the articles will actually be finished). As for me, I finished my exams with three A's and 2 B's so I can't say the delay was completely uneventful.



Also, I've been given a volunteer position over at GeekTyrant! My first article on guilty pleasures (http://geektyrant.com/news/2011/12/19/the-top-13-guilty-pleasure-movies.html) was subsequently picked up by /Film! I'm really, really excited to be working with them.

Sometime this year, I would very much like to start my own film podcast - I definitely have a co-host in mind and I also have a whole show outline written out. More on that to come. So trust me, I know I've been away but I got lots more coming!! :)