If, as the saying goes, humor can be a great revealer of and conduit into hard, unspoken truths, then surely a parallel axiom could also be valid — that a humorist might be able to provide an important and clarifying look at heretofore muddied and jumbled realities. Such a hypothesis is born out in the form of Harry Shearer’s feature documentary debut, The Big Uneasy. A look at the true root causes of the Hurricane Katrina disaster in New Orleans, the movie, while a bit pedantic, nonetheless stands as an important correlative primary historical document, alongside Spike Lee’s When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts and If God Is Willing and Da Creek Don’t Rise. For the full, original review, from ShockYa, click here. (Double Exposure, unrated, 98 minutes)
Long before she became an international superstar, and before she started marrying problematic men, Nicole Kidman was just another an Australian lass rocking the sort of frizzed-out hairdo that would later come to be popularized by Sideshow Bob. BMX Bandits, from 1983, represents her first big starring role, and it’s a goofy action-comedy romp that — a bit of a cultural disconnect notwithstanding — still holds some fun for the young at heart, in particular for seeing Kidman outfitted in such gorgeously tacky racing attire. The cover of the new DVD release bears a blurb-rave from none other than Quentin Tarantino, equating the movie to Goonies, but an even better sort of emotional comparison might be something like Better Off Dead, to which this solid international commercial performer serves as a sort of an official cousin/forerunner.
The story is unabashedly constructed to seize upon the then-popular trend of BMX bike-riding, centering around a cache of stolen police-band walkie-talkies, a trio of teen pals, and the ruthless yet hapless would-be robbers (think Home Alone) who pursue them through a variety of graveyards, shopping malls, construction sites, golf courses, and water parks in picturesque New South Wales. Goose (James Lugton, above center) is the droll and sensible kid, P.J. (Angelo D’Angelo, above left) is the anything-goes quasi-love interest, and Kidman’s Judy is the unlikely ringleader. Their foils are slapstick-y, live-wire Duane (David Argue) and his more earnest straight-man, Povic (John Ley), working for a main villain known only as The Boss (Bryan Marshall). Hijinks ensue, to the tune of some mind-meltingly, insidiously catchy, cheesy synth pop.
Produced when it was, and with a clear and understandable commercial bent, BMX Bandits is one of those movies that holds up largely to the extent one wishes it to, if that makes sense. Director Brian Trenchard-Smith (Turkey Shoot) helms the action nicely, and the setting certainly offers up some gorgeous locales, no doubt. If the material is rather assertively unambitious, the acting is of a piece, and designed chiefly to tickle the funny bones of teens and tweens who never tire of seeing goofy and misguided adults meet their comeuppance. No harm, no foul, in other words. And for Kidman completists and fans of unapologetically uncomplicated ’80s pop cinema, it’s rather a delight.
The new Severin Films release is a lovingly assembled thing, coming to DVD in a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen release with an English language 2.0 stereo audio track. In addition to the movie’s trailer and previews for three other Severin releases, there’s a nice audio commentary track from Trenchard-Smith. The main bonus feature, however, comes by way of a comprehensive, 38-minute making-of documentary that includes interviews with Lugton, Trenchard-Smith, writers Patrick Edgeworth and Russell Hagg, and a couple producers. Among the revealed bon mots: originating writer Hagg finalized the title after flipping through the dictionary, aiming for alliteration; the story, originally built around 9- to 11-year-olds, was tweaked to accommodate teenagers; Kidman fretted about being fired from the production after spraining her ankle during the movie’s graveyard scene; and Kidman’s stunt double was actually a teenage boy, because the filmmakers had trouble finding a girl rider who visually approximated her tallness and slender frame.
Finally, the producers get around “the Kidman problem” (which is to say her lack of participation here) by throwing on the disc an old two-and-a-half-minute TV appearance clip of her, from a show called Young Talent Time. Standing amidst Australian tykes and chatting with the host, the then-16-year-old Kidman stresses that she didn’t do most of the stunts. There’s no mention or explanation of that hairstyle, though. To purchase the DVD via Amazon, click here. C+ (Movie) B+ (Disc)
Throughout the 1970s and ’80s, and into the 1990s, few filmmakers captured New York City as lovingly as Woody Allen. The writer-director’s move across the pond to Europe, however, which began with 2005’s Match Point, has served him well, seemingly rejuvenating his creative spirits and resulting in a string of mostly engaging films. A charming, whimsical and beautifully shot romantic comedy, and a big rebound from last year’s muddled, disappointing You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, Midnight in Paris is one of Allen’s top efforts of the new millennium, and a strong contender for an Academy Award Best Screenplay nod, which would be his 15th such nomination.
The story centers on a present-day American couple visiting Paris. Gil (Owen Wilson) is a hack Hollywood screenwriter who still harbors a wish that he’d given honest literature more of a try, and so is working on a novel. His fianceé is Inez (Rachel McAdams), and before a return to their Stateside wedding they’re enjoying some time relaxing with Inez’s parents (Kurt Fuller and Mimi Kennedy). The couple-to-be also meet up with a pedantic visiting professor and old friend of Inez’s, Paul (Michael Sheen), and while that duo reconnect a distracted Gil walks the streets of the City of Lights one night, where he improbably finds himself sucked back into 1920s Paris. There, he meets and drinks with a variety of his literary idols, including Ernest Hemingway (a captivating Corey Stoll) and F. Scott Fitzgerald (Tom Hiddleston), and falls sway to Adriana (Marion Cotillard), a muse seemingly passed from famous artist to famous artist.
Bewildered and enthralled, Gil tries to take Inez back to the identical spot the next evening, but the same opportunity doesn’t present itself with her around. Later, when it does, Gil learns the loose, stroke-of-midnight rule of this location-specific portal, and continues going back night after night, seeking advice on his novel and possibly falling for Adriana. Back in the present day, meanwhile, Gil’s absentmindedness exacerbates tensions with Inez, who also seems to be more and more enjoying the company of Paul. Against this backdrop, Allen sketches out a roundelay that tackles with warmth and a playful intelligence the gulf between heart and head in matters of nostalgia and love.
One must submit to relaxed rhythms of Midnight in Paris, which definitely echoes back some to Allen’s own The Purple Rose of Cairo, but that’s not at all a difficult task. Cinematographer Darius Khondji’s butterscotch hues wrap viewers in a warm embrace, and Allen highlights Paris’ beauty without turning his film into a gaudy travelogue. Most winning of all, however, is the movie’s special, psychologically intoxicating blend of amusing, speculative cultural asides (aided by some delicious supporting character work) with playful, more universal ruminations on time, space, yearning and human feeling. Allen makes audiences’ hearts sing for other eras, while also being thankful they still live in their own. For the full, original review, from ShockYa, click here. (Sony Pictures Classics, PG-13, 94 minutes)
Wherever Tom Arnold goes in the afterlife he will have to answer for many embarrassments, but the unlikely response to what might be his biggest arrives in the form of Hard Breakers, a jaw-droppingly inane collection of half-sketched scenes masquerading as some sort of exercise in girl-power. Actually, that’s a cheap shot… Arnold’s role here is only a small one, but it’s still an undeniable stain on what has evolved into a surprisingly nice little career. The chief blameworthy party is first-time feature director Leah Sturgis, who, using Sophie Monk (above right) and Cameron Richardson as the instruments of her celluloid crime, ostensibly tries to craft a gender-reversal of all those romantic comedies where a young guy with a wandering eye eventually learns the benefits of intimacy and monogamy. Instead, Sturgis unleashes something woefully inept and stupendously unfunny — a movie that slots into that special sub-category of terrible, the one that calls out for alcohol and friends with an appreciation for barbed derision. For the full, original review, from ShockYa, click here. (Freestyle Releasing, R, 98 minutes)
One needn’t have necessarily grown up with a dog who becomes uneasy prior to the arrival of a big thunderstorm to know that environmental occurrences and problems are often foretold by subtle shifts in behavior in the animal kingdom. Such is the working hypothesis in this investigative nonfiction mystery, which examines the baffling and sudden disappearance of honeybees from their hives, a disturbingly increasing phenomenon. The first of two new documentaries on the subject, the forthrightly titled Vanishing of the Bees, narrated by Oscar nominee Ellen Page, shines a light on a fascinating and important subject, but in the end analysis suffers a bit from some comparatively lax filmmaking, failing to provide the sort of detail which would more robustly engage the typical layperson viewer.
Part of the problem is that the film basically solves its central mystery at a certain point, and then leaves a bunch of correlative natural questions frustratingly unaddressed. That said, Vanishing of the Bees is still fairly interesting for casual foodies and the environmentally conscious alike, including as it does compelling subjects and thoughtful chats with Food, Inc.‘s Michael Pollan and Beyond Pesticides director Jay Feldman, among other interviewees. Like the Discovery Channel’s Dirty Jobs, it provides a remarkable glimpse at an uncommon profession, as well as sounding another cautionary note about the delicate relationship between humankind and Mother Earth. For the full, original review, from ShockYa, click here. For the trailer and information on tickets to the L.A. premiere, click here. (Hive Mentality Films, unrated, 87 minutes)
