Monthly Archives: November 2007

Night Junkies

Blu-ray/DVD Reviews

Written and directed by Lawrence Pearce, Night Junkies fashions itself a kind of
modern day hybrid cross between Dark
Shadows and a Jack the Ripper tale. Set against the squalid backdrop of London’s
seedy nightclubs, the movie tells the story of a reluctant vampire who falls
for an exotic dancer and tries to help extricate her from her bad situation.

Ruby Stone (Katia Winter) does the bump-and-grind show at a
dingy club operated by her ruthless pimp/boss, Max (Jonathan Coyne, a budget
Bob Hoskins) and his snarling second-in-command, Matt (René Zagger, a budget
Michael Wincott). She’s being none-too-subtly pressured into giving away more
than closed-door lapdances when she meets up with Vincent Monroe (Giles
Alderson), a brooding addict whom she randomly pretends is her boyfriend to
help her out of a jam. They end up making love… and then he “accidentally”
bites her.

Vincent isn’t a regular junkie, you see, he’s a vampire.
There’s no pointy teeth, or anything like that, though, and garlic and holy
water hold no special sway. Vincent merely has to feed on blood, daily. Once he explains
(and profusely apologizes), the newly “turned” Ruby is a little more understanding of Vincent. She
genuinely likes him, and besides, he affords her a protection against whoever
has been murdering prostitutes in gruesome fashion. Paying a visit to Max,
Vincent tries to negotiate Ruby’s freedom, but then ends up going on his own
rampage. When Matt (who has his own thing for Ruby) sets out to settle the
score, things get even bloodier.

Lead Anderson is
a bit of a drip, actually — kind of like an English version of Bryan Greenberg.
But neophyte Pearce’s writing is actually above average, especially for a genre
picture of this ilk. There’s some frank, dirty sex talk, but he also has a
tendency to trend toward verbosity, though that’s not necessarily an unwelcome
quality. If the literate, comparative narration and Anderson’s
glowering emoting kind of cancel each other out, the direction unfortunately drags
the picture down a notch or two. There are a few moody set pieces, but the
movie is unfavorably weighted toward grainy close-ups and dirty two-shots, and its affected
action-horror cutaways come across as more grating than thrilling.

Night Junkies is
housed in a regular Amray case, and is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic
widescreen. Its audio is presented in an English language Dolby digital 5.1
track, which seems mixed far too low, especially in terms of its dialogue.
Subtitles in English and Spanish help mitigate this to a degree; having tired
of pumping up the volume to catch personal exchanges, only to get blasted a few
minutes later with some bit of score or yelled expletive, I threw on the
optional captioning just to keep up with the story. There are unfortunately no
supplemental bonus features, save a quartet of trailers for other genre DVD
releases. C (Movie) D (Disc)

Right Said Fred (Claus)

Posterized!

After the disaster of their long-lead teaser one-sheet, and this still-less-than-inspiring other poster, Warner Bros. finally has it right with what I assume is the final art and billboards for the full national campaign for Fred Claus. I couldn’t grab an image in a cursory search online, and quite honestly just didn’t feel like navigating the tedious download process from WB’s press site, but you’ve seen the picture — Paul Giamatti in the background, hands on hips, and Vince Vaughn rockin’ the Big Wheel in front of him, a look of pure Christmas morning glee on his face. This captures exactly the sort of anarchic tone they should’ve been selling all along — not stupid ninja elves.

Happy Birthday, Sam Rockwell

Birthdays, Musings

It’s a happy birthday to Sam Rockwell, who turns 39 today. While this summer’s Joshua was a stillborn misfire of stilted mood, it at least had the benefit of honest effort, and slightly different modes of expression than most mainstream product. It was a good bit of branching out for Rockwell, too. Long a master of the hair-based performance, Rockwell is sort of where Philip Seymour Hoffman was circa 1997-2000 — in demand with in-the-know directors, and reeling off memorable character work, but still awaiting his Capote. As anyone who’s seen Confessions of a Dangerous Mind will attest, he’s got the talent to break through as a part-time lead (albeit a very screwy one), just like Hoffman. Perhaps his turns in Ron Howard’s Frost/Nixon and the upcoming Choke will give Rockwell the extra little bump in mainstream profile that has thus far eluded him, despite having a fan in George Clooney.

Advance Thoughts on The Mist

Musings

I caught Frank Darabont’s The Mist this past week, and while a full review will follow closer to its release, it’s a misfire — too long and mock-cerebral to qualify as a thrill ride for genre audiences, and too riddled with low-grade histrionics and other moments that give one pause to carry the day as a piece of apocalyptic theater-in-the-round.

Infamous‘ Toby Jones, Chris Owen, Alexa Davalos (much more fetching in Feast of Love), Nathan Gamble and Sam Witwer, who has absolutely ridiculous eyebrows. (Seriously, it matters — Witwer is supposed to play a conflicted Army kid, but looks like he stepped out of a Lindsay Lohan movie or Chad Michael Murray impression contest.)

The Mist is supposed to be about the slowly dawning horror of mob rule — how public masks are discarded when the thin veneer of civilization is stripped away. The problem is that you consistently figure things out before characters, some of the dialogue goes clang! and the juxtaposition of other bits is unintentionally hilarious. (In one scene, Jane earnestly reassures his son he’ll be fine despite a planned venture outside, then, still hugging him, turns directly to another adult and says, “If anything happens to me, take care of Billy…”) Additionally, Harden’s crazed prophet — meant to be a mixture of religious proselytizing and flat-out whack-job craziness — never takes root as anything more than irritating, chiefly due to an extremely broad, grating performance. The movie earns points for assaying its premise with a difficult ending, but if/when The Mist under-performs at the box office, it decidedly won’t be because of that choice, though less intelligent box office gurus (and studio executives) may ascribe blame thusly.

For more information on the film, visit its web site by clicking here. A co-production from MGM and Dimension Films, The Mist opens nationwide November 21.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Film Reviews, Old Made New

In anticipation of the November 16 release of the seemingly somewhat similar Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium, from Stranger Than Fiction writer Zach Helm, I thought I’d re-post this review of Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, originally published upon its release in 2005. To wit:

In the wake of the death of his semi-estranged father
several years ago, as well as the birth of his own child, director Tim Burton
has had fatherhood on his mind quite a lot. For a filmmaker sometimes accused
of crafting pretty, idiosyncratic but emotionally distant baubles, it has
infused his work with a newfound directness. His most recent previous film, Big Fish, told the
story of a young man trying to come to terms with his tall-tale-telling paterfamilias, and
now, re-teaming with Big Fish
scribe John August, Burton delivers his adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,
recasting the movie again in a fantastical format as a sugarcoated parable of
familial bliss and dislocation. Colorful and anchored by another quirky star
turn from Burton’s go-to leading man, Johnny Depp, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
is a sort of adult-leaning kids’ movie, but one that also feels hermetically
sealed and a bit predetermined, if always still energetic.

Finding Neverland costar as
Charlie Bucket, a kind and earnest young boy who lives with his parents (Helena
Bonham Carter and Noah Taylor) and extended nuclear family, including Grandpa
Joe (Waking Ned Devine’s
David Kelly), in a lopsided abode in the shadow of reclusive confectioner Willy
Wonka’s towering sweets factory. For years the candy plant has been closed to
the outside world, the result of Wonka’s frustration with corporate spies out
to steal his secret recipes and ideas. One day, though, Wonka sends word that
hidden in his chocolate bars worldwide are five special, golden tickets to
visit his factory.

Pandemonium ensues, and one by one the young
winners come forward, including gluttonous Augustus Gloop (Philip Wiegratz);
bossy, competitive Violet Beauregarde (Annasophia Robb); bratty,
videogame-obsessed Mike Teavee (Jordan Fry); and over-privileged daddy’s girl
Veruca Salt (Julia Winter). Against considerable odds, poor Charlie secures the
final ticket, and sets out for his one-of-a-kind visit with Grandpa Joe, who
used to work at Wonka’s factory.

Once there, the eccentric Wonka gives his guests a
tour of his whimsical warehouse, which includes an entirely edible landscape
with a chocolate waterfall, grassy overpass and candy-apple trees. All of this
insanity is tended to by the diminutive, mischievous Oompa Loompas (all played
by a 4-foot, 4-inch guy named… Deep Roy),
loyal workers whom Wonka pays in cocoa beans. As the other children one by one
befall unfortunate accidents, Charlie moves closer to claiming the special
end-of-visit surprise promised as part of the tour.

Depp’s slightly fey performance as the germophobic
Wonka is a thing of crazy-quilt beauty, made all the more indelible by his Prince
Valiant bob and James Caan bathrobe (he has a nervous giggle, too, reminiscent
of Vince Vaughn). Burton also peppers the film with referential tips of the
tophat to many of his past movies, from Edward Scissorhands and Ed Wood to Mars
Attacks! and Planet
of the Apes. But the movie feels like a bit of a put-on. Though
beautifully, painstakingly designed, several passages drag, and glimpses back
into Wonka’s fractured adolescent relationship with his father don’t carry
enough emotional heft to make them seem relevant to the here and now. The
movie’s musical Oompa Loompa numbers, meanwhile, come across as sludgy and
poorly mixed.

Charlie and
the Chocolate Factory forestalls if not eradicates entirely the memory of
Gene Wilder’s 1971 turn as Wonka — your mind doesn’t tend to be elsewhere
during a Tim Burton movie — but also comes across as perhaps nothing more than
a lively curio. An expensive sweet, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory has the capacity to
delight, but it also, for all its authorial authenticity, feels somewhat
isolated. (Warner Bros., PG, 118 mins.)

That’s Not Perfect…

Amusements, Musings

So I freely admit that I know nothing about The Perfect Holiday, releasing nationwide
December 12 from Yari Film Group, apart from a single publicity email I
received yesterday. It’s being billed as the heart-warming story of Nancy
(Gabrielle Union), a loving single mother of three who falls for Benjamin
(Morris Chestnut), a talented but struggling songwriter working part-time as a
mall Santa. Are We There Yet?-type
conflicts arise when her oldest son, 10-year old John-John, convinces his
younger brother and sister to help scheme against their mother’s new boyfriend
in the hopes that she will reunite with their father, rap-mogul J-Jizzy
(Charles Q. Murphy).

Oh, and the film is narrated and produced by Queen Latifah, who
costars in the magical role of Mother Christmas opposite Terrence Howard, who
plays “the amusingly Scrooge-ish Bah-Humbug.”

But I do know that the above is not a picture you should have shown me…

Cinematheque Sounds Transformers Alarm

Screenings

For those who haven’t yet bought the DVD, and who live in or around Los Angeles
to boot, on Monday, November 5, Transformers screens at the
American Cinematheque at the Egyptian Theatre. Well… pieces of it, at any rate.

Lasting approximately two hours, the Motion Picture Sound
Editors (MPSE) sound show gives audiences a behind-the-scenes look (and, yes, listen)
at the sound effects/editing work done for director Michael Bay’s summer blockbuster. Appearing
in person are editor/sound designer Ethan Van der Ryn (The Lord of the Rings trilogy) and sound designer Erik Aadahl (Superman Returns)
for an exploration of the sonic world of the action-packed science-fiction film;
clips from the movie will be screened with special “pre-dub” soundtracks,
showing off the variety of audio effects. As an
extra attraction, all sound will be played through a state-of-the-art audio
system developed by Meyer Sound Laboratories, allowing the audience to enjoy the
subtlety of differentiation of every bone-crushing aural effect. In addition,
animators from Industrial Light & Magic will be on hand to talk about how
they worked up the movie’s visual look, and recreated Autobots and Decepticons
for the 21st century.

All screenings are at the Lloyd E. Theatre at the
historic Egyptian, which is located at 6712 Hollywood Boulevard, between Highland and Las
Palmas, in Hollywood.
Tickets are available through Fandango, but for more details phone (323) 466-FILM, or visit
the Cinematheque’s eponymous Web site by clicking here. For more information about the Motion Picture Sound Editors, meanwhile, visit their
web site by clicking here.

The Magnificent Voyage of Christopher Columbus

Blu-ray/DVD Reviews


Christopher Columbus remains a fascinating yet habitually underexplored figure of history, famously celebrated for his “discovery,” but also frequently whispered about as only the figurehead explorer of a larger group. He wanted to reach the Far East by sailing west, an innovative idea for its time. But instead of reaching the Indies, as he expected, he bumped into another continent, and changed the course of civilization. In the process, Columbus became a mythic figure and a powerful symbol of both exploration and exploitation — his voyage a metaphor for the process of discovery, but also inevitably linked to the widespread massacre of Native Americans that would follow.

An interesting documentary undertaking, The Magnificent Voyage of Christopher Columbus focuses on the explorer’s historic first voyage, re-created with replicas of the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria. It tells the timeless story of Columbus’ Atlantic crossing, his fateful initial encounter with native people, his eventual passage through the Bahamas to Cuba and Hispaniola, and his dramatic return to Europe, bringing with him news of a beautiful land and gentle people.

As detailed and intriguing as some of the nautical plottings get (sailing into modern-day Cuba without benefit of radio, for instance), the most interesting aspects of this endeavor often have to do with recreated ship duties and routines, like the morning call to prayer. Also given a lot of narrative run is the role of Martin Alonso Pinzon, the captain of the Pinta who is sometimes noted as the “co-discoverer of America.” Pinzon, whose brothers also accompanied him on the trip (one was the commander of the Nina), is an interesting figure, and this movie shows the weight and value of his legacy today, with townsfolk engaging in a celebratory fandango in his honor.

Some of these digressions are a bit of a yawn, to be honest. But the manner in which the past is interwoven with the present is, for the most part, an exhilarating way to capture the tenseness and uncertainty of the trip, and how its effects reverberate still today. Though his journey changed the world, setting in motion a transformation of Europe and the Americas that dramatically impacted the rest of the globe, Columbus went to his grave without realizing that he had in fact discovered two new continents. The Magnificent Voyage of Christopher Columbus, though, shines a new light on a tale too often given only a small, cursory chapter in history school books.

Housed in a regular plastic Amray case, The Magnificent Voyage of Christopher Columbus is presented in anamorphic widescreen, and runs around one hour and 50 minutes. There are no supplemental features, save a separate, selectable screen touting other WGBH releases like Walking the Bible and Vikings: Journey to the New World. The audio-visual particulars of its presentation are fine, but more accompanying detail would certainly have been welcome. To purchase the title via Amazon, click here. B (Movie) D (Disc)

Show Business: The Road to Broadway

Blu-ray/DVD Reviews

Dori Bernstein’s Show
Business: The Road to Broadway officially comes with no space between the
first two names of its appellation, but quite frankly I just can’t bring myself
to commit to that typo, which no doubt has something to do with Warner Bros. or
Universal having snapped up the properly partitioned title rights for some
comfortably shingled producer. To which I say whatever.

Colorful and engrossing, Bernstein’s documentary chronicles
the 2003-04 Broadway season, and the backstage drama leading up to the Tony
awards, by way of focusing on four very different high-profile debut
productions — Wicked, the box
office-bursting musical adaptation of the literary prequel to The Wizard of Oz; Taboo, the controversial collaboration between Rosie O’Donnell and
ambisexual, erstwhile pop icon Boy George; the quasi-operatic musical Caroline, or Change, a partnership
between Tony Kushner and Jeanine Tesori, who’s currently pulling duty on the
in-development Shrek stage musical; and
Avenue Q, an irreverent puppet
musical that would go on to become the sleeper commercial hit of the season.

The director — who cites William Goldman’s The Season, from 1968, as her
inspiration for the project — deftly cuts between the productions, and doesn’t
shy away from tension and acrimony, as when Avenue
Q composer/lyricist Jeff Marx (above center) confesses to clashing violently with writer
Jeff Whitty (above left). Bernstein additionally inserts a critics’ roundtable into the
proceedings, with wonkish theater writers from coasts both east and west serving
up ample-sized portions of opinion on the productions as they make their way
through rehearsals, into previews and actually opening. She also chose her focus
wisely: Wicked racked up a leading 10
Tony nominations, Avenue Q scored six
and Taboo picked up four. A thrilling
document for theater aficionados as well as those just seeking out another piece
of vicarious, behind-the-scenes entertainment, Show Business locates the commonality of its subjects’ human
experience (frustration, perseverance) while also proving that there really is
no business quite like show business, something I knew even from my middle
school’s production of Annie Get Your Gun.

Housed in a regular Amray case, Show Business is presented in anamorphic widescreen, and comes with
both a Dolby digital 5.1 surround sound and 2.0 Dolby stereo audio tracks.
Co-producer Alan Cumming — who also appears sparingly in the film — sits with
Bernstein and Avenue Q co-creator
Marx for an audio commentary track, and their rapport is warm and
inviting, if also a bit of a tip-off as to how things “end” (for those who may
not already know). A smattering of trailers, Tony Awards promotional spots and
around eight minutes of awards clips are also included, but far and away the
best supplemental feature is the hour’s-plus worth of deleted scenes, which include
Henry IV swordfight rehearsals with
Ethan Hawke and Michael
Hayden, a fascinating look at Wicked’s
set construction and much, much more. Another fun but surprising factoid: Marx can’t
actually read music, believe it or not. B+ (Movie) A- (Disc)

Bee Movie

Film Reviews

Misguided narrative choices prevent Bee Movie, small screen king Jerry Seinfeld’s sociable freshman entry
into the animated fray, from fully taking flight. Spinning the story of a young
bee who discovers life outside of his hive and sues humankind over their
cooption of honey, the movie establishes an identifiable personality but
doesn’t carve out a deep and complicated enough setting or provide enough “wow”
moments to convincingly lay claim to a franchise identity.

Renée Zellweger) who saves his life, much to the consternation
of her boyfriend Ken (Patrick Warburton).

Breaking one of the cardinal rules of beedom, Barry talks to
Vanessa, and a friendship soon develops. Shocked to find out that anyone can
purchase honey right off the grocery store shelf (even actor Ray Liotta’s signature brand), Barry sets out to stop this
injustice — suing the human race for stealing the rewards of all the bees’ effort,
and locking antenna with a thickly-accented lawyer (John Goodman) representing
the honey lobby. Once the case is resolved, however, Barry finds both New
Hive City
and the world at large beset by unintended consequences, and together with
Vanessa he sets out to right matters.

Bee Movie’s
animation style is pleasant and uncluttered, most characterized by open spaces
and lockstep synchronicity that help define its hive as a model of efficiency.
Co-directors Simon J. Smith (Shrek 4-D) and Steve Hickner (The
Prince of Egypt) keep things moving at a crisp pace, and a few fantastic outdoor flight sequences, showcasing mirrored and
water-reflected perspective, give the film some much-needed thrill. The movie
also trades in the same sort of secondary visual jokes (“Frisbee hits hive —
internet out” reads one newspaper) that have helped make cross-generational
hits out of the Shrek films as well
as similarly densely packed Pixar efforts.

The difference here is that the story doesn’t exert any sustained
natural pull. It’s no surprise that Bee
Movie comes by its irreverence naturally, but the film’s biggest problems are
a lack of commitment to established story strands and no firm adherence to its
own interior logic. While there’s great attention given to specific jokes (one
recurrent strand involves bees’ recognition of magazine page-count, with the
thickness of Italian Vogue being recognized
as among the most dreaded improvised flyswatters), certain story choices (a
queen bee we never see, for instance, and a cross-country trip to the
Tournament of Roses parade) seem arbitrary at best and forced at worst.

Imaginativeness (clever but errant celeb cameos) and
convenience (the bees’ knowledge of humankind is intricate enough to file legal
paperwork, but not to recognize a tennis ball) combine to run amok over
cogency. In its third act, the movie’s flubs and miscalculations turn especially
egregious. A judge decides the outcome of Barry’s lawsuit in impromptu fashion,
ignoring a seated jury; Barry and Vanessa take over for an incapacitated flight
crew; and pollen instantly revives entire fields of dead flowers, like
sprinkled pixie dust.

Seinfeld injects some amusing signature notes of his own personality
into Barry, and Chris Rock, who previously proved his animated mettle in Madagascar,
provides some pop in his small role as mosquito Mooseblood, squeezing more genuine
laughs out of his two scenes than other minutes-long stretches. Other performers, however, fall prey to pendulum swings in
mood and tone; Warburton’s theatrical tendencies don’t quite match Ken’s beefcake
fatuousness, and Vanessa is confusingly in and out of Barry’s life, sometimes
helping him with the lawsuit, sometimes not, but always oblivious to its
consequences.
For the slightly longer full review, from Screen International, click here.