Monthly Archives: October 2007
Surf’s Up (2007)
NETFLIX SYNOPSIS: In this animated mockumentary, film crews go behind the scenes at the Penguin World Surfing Championship to provide a close-up look at the inventors of surfing. Yes, penguins were the first species to hang 10 — or at least that’s what this film purports. Animators Ash Brannon and Chris Buck co-direct the spoof, and Jeff Bridges, Zooey Deschanel, Brian Benben, Jane Krakowski, Michael McKean and James Woods, among others, lend their voices.
REVIEW: Ah, the classic tale: Young penguin leaves behind the frozen Antarctic to try his hand at tropical big-wave surfing. Making this animated film in the “mockumentary” style was a mistake — the mockumentary format slows the pace too much at points, alienating the target audience who won’t get the gag anyway. The humor is forced, especially in the awkward first act, although we eventually warm to the characters a bit later in the film. The voice acting is decent — The omnipresent Shia LaBeouf gamely plays along as the hero who has an Important Lesson to learn, and Jeff Bridges in Lebowski-Dude mode is there to teach it to him. Like the “other” animated penguin tale Happy Feet, Surf’s Up tries too hard but eventually hits the mark.
3.5 stars
HAWK
Zzyzx (2007)
NETFLIX SYNOPSIS: Out in the middle of nowhere, on a remote desert road, the lives of three people are forever changed in this sinister tale. Heading to Vegas, Lou (Kenny Johnson) and Ryan (Ryan Fox) take a detour onto Zzyzx Road, a supposed hangout for extra-terrestrials. But as they drive along searching for Martians and Klingons, they accidentally hit a man and must find a way to dispose of his body. Their problems only increase when the man’s wife shows up.
Director: Richard Halpern
Cast: Robyn Cohen, Kenny Johnson, Ryan Fox, Kayo Zepeda, Richard Halpern
REVIEW: Wow! The little indie that could! I don’t even think this film made it to theaters (maybe one), which is one of the reasons why I decided to write this review, because you’ll be hardpressed to find another. (If memory serves, I think I only heard about this film through the notoriety it received by being distributed to only one theater.) The other reason is because it was unexpectedly good! When I find a diamond in the rough (especially when I have low expectations, make that very low expectations with NF’s guesstimating my rating at 2 stars), I get very, very smiley- happy-people and very, very verbose, more so than usual.
I kept this on my Q through thick and thin b/c the premise sounded interesting and because of the smattering of really strong NF reviews in the midst of plenty of unfavorable ones (disregard these – they must have been on the “super ‘shrooms” that Lou passed out in the film). Plus, hailing from CA, I am very familiar with this road, the all-consonant road that I’ve passed by countless times on the I-15 heading to Vegas. I was never curious about it, and seeing films like Breakdown and Texas Chainsaw Massacre solidified that lack of curiosity, providing plenty of fodder to dissuade me from driving down a road that looks like it takes you to nowhere.
The film grabbed me immediately with its innovative opening credits
(not since Napoleon Dynamite have I seen something so creative, and the film was probably made for way less than ND!) – blink and you’ll “miss the signs.” 😉 You follow two friends (using the term loosely, as does the film) on the way to Vegas: Ryan, the geeky, introverted friend, wants to pull off on Zzyzx road to check out the location of some unexplained murders that he’s been researching. Lou, the hotheaded, testosterone-reeking macho man, reluctantly obliges, though you get the sense throughout that he’s indulging him patronizingly, like a “special needs” kid brother.
Trouble ensues when, by a series of unfortuitous events, the car driven by Lou hits a man on the otherwise completely abandoned, forsaken road, killing him. As they’re yelling and screaming at each other (amusingly to me) as to what to do and who’s an idiot for running him over, they see a figure coming up on the horizon. Having no choice, they hastily stash the body in the backseat and cover him up with a blanket. Turns out, the figure is the man’s wife – she’s looking for him and explains that their RV stalled and that he was going for help. From there on, the plot really thickens and I’ll leave you to see the film so you can see the crazy results.
So there’s some stilted dialogue at the beginning – the actors really hit their stride, especially the female actor – she was really, really good! The gritty look and feel of the film perfectly conveys the 100+ degree heat in the Mojave desert, bearing down oppressively on the three main characters, their consciences and actions.
One great thing about the storyline is that the film really focuses in on this trio of characters, only occasionally losing its focus to intersperse scenes of some tramautic event while Lou was serving in Afghanistan, ostensibly the reason for him being a bit nuts, and the naked lady cultish scenes with Ryan, ostensibly the reason for him becoming increasingly unhinged. So these scenes are unnecessary and provide a loose rationale for the plot – I recognized it, but it didn’t impact one iota how entertained I was by Zzyzx.
And for a film that was probably made nearly gratis, the DVD is chock-a-block with special features, including interviews with each cast member and the director, and the director attempting his way down the Exorcist steps and eating it on the way down (hey, it’s difficult holding a camera and trying to navigate those steep steps!). Interestingly, the director comments that he wanted to make a thriller that is powered by dialogue (rare nowadays), not just special effect after action sequence after shooting after special effect. In fact, he mentions that he wanted to do something Hitchcockian and likens this film to Hitchcock’s Rope. I haven’t gotten to Rope yet so I can’t compare the two, but the film creates and holds the suspense quite successfully – the suspense of whether the woman, who has happened innocently upon Ryan and Lou to request help, will find out that that’s her husband in the backseat of their car, and what happens to her if she does!
The ending is a bit bloody, but I would not classify this as a horror film. It’s a bona fide thriller, a smartly unpredictable, satisfying and entertaining thriller at that. Good times all ’round.
3.5 stars
Audrey
Masters of Horror: Stuart Gordon: The Black Cat (2006)
Masters of Horror: Stuart Gordon: The Black Cat
NETFLIX SYNOPSIS: In this stylish thriller, famous American author and master of the macabre Edgar Allan Poe (Jeffrey Combs) is suffering from a severe case of writer’s block. To make matters worse, he’s tormented by an evil black cat that’s slowly driving him insane. Stuart Gordon‘s chilling film, part of Showtime’s “Masters of Horror” series, looks at what may have inspired Poe to dream up such fantastic stories and poems full of suspense.
REVIEW: This Showtime series offers noted horror film directors the opportunity to film short (less than one hour) stories. Edgar Allen Poe’s original short story, The Black Cat, is about a violent alcoholic who kills a black cat but finds himself haunted and betrayed by the animal. Stuart “Re-Animator” Gordon’s episode of the same name imagines that Poe was inspired to write the story by real-life events and a dream. Despite a couple of gory scenes, the film works better as a drama than a horror film, and will best be appreciated by those familiar with Poe’s life and the original story.
3.5 stars
Randy
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966)
It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown
NETFLIX SYNOPSIS: As Halloween approaches, Charlie Brown receives a long-awaited invitation to a Halloween costume party. Linus eagerly awaits the arrival of the Great Pumpkin — hoping it will finally make its big appearance. And let’s not forget Snoopy, who plans to augur in Halloween by donning his World War I goggles and scarf and battling his archenemy, the Red Baron, in the skies over France!
REVIEW: It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown — Although many of us remember it fondly as “the one where Snoopy gets his doghouse shot down over France,” this Charlie Brown holiday special is actually pretty thin, with some Halloween scenes tied thinly together around Linus’ Great Pumpkin obsession. The disc also comes with “You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown” featuring everyone’s favorite teacher. All together now: “mwah, mwah-MWAH mwah mwah!”
4 stars
Randy
Linda Linda Linda (2005)
NETFLIX SYNOPSIS: It’s three days before the big school talent show and Kyoto, Kei and Nozumi are in a fix when their lead singer quits over artistic differences. Their only candidate to fill the spot is a Korean foreign exchange student who can barely speak any Japanese. Time for some all-night rehearsals! Directed by Nobuhiro Yamashita and featuring a score by former Smashing Pumpkins member James Iha, this lighthearted comedy stars Du-na Bae and Yu Kashii.
REVIEW: I was really looking forward to seeing a fun flick that opens a window into Japanese pop culture with the girls rocking out to some great music based on all of the glowing reviews. Unfortunately, this film turned out to be only mildly entertaining for me and an overall disappointment. I say disappointing because this could have been such a great movie (I guess other NF members DO think it is a great movie). Having seen many Japanese movies (current, classic, blockbuster, indie) and having spent a lot of time in Japan, I normally can grasp the gist of the plot (even if it seems confusing or otherwise unimpregnable) and navigate some of the subtler cultural differences, but I did feel that much was lost in translation to me. Perhaps this is a much better film to native Japanese, though judging by the reviews (I’m sure not all of them are native Japanese), I’m either missing out or I nodded off on all the interesting parts. And yes, me nodding off a few times usually screams: more use of the cutting room please!
The story involves three high school girls, all different personalities in their own rights, who have a band and are looking for a fourth member to be the vocals after a falling-out with the current vocal. By being at the “right?” place at the “right?” time, which means she was carrying a load of laundry down the stairs from her dorm, Du-Na Bae (star of Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance) becomes lead vocal with only days ’til the big rock festival at the school and, no less, she happens to be a Korean exchange student with iffy Japanese! This is getting good! Begin plot.
So what’s the problem? The film was p..a..i..n..f..u..l..l..y slow. I understand and liked the cultural windows the film provides, like the uniquely Japanese more of a boy announcing to a girl that he likes her and some other good scenes, but continued scenes of the girls practicing late into night with no seeming beginning, middle or end, and similar dialogue, became repetitive. Other scenes in the film (like where the guitarist heads up to the rooftop to talk to another student), standing alone or viewed in context of the plot as a whole, seemed unnecessary as they do nothing to enhance plot, enhance background or enhance character. These scenes all could have been replaced with scenes that dig deeper into the girls’ personalities (what we’re left with is just a superficial nick).
The predictable ending where the band rocks out to their enthusiastic classmates is the best thing about this film – the music is a lot of fun and the title reflects the name of the song from The Blue Hearts that they’ve been practicing. I couldn’t get it out of my head for an entire day – picking up the phone with Linda Linda! still in my head, if not expressed over the phone, is always the sign of a catchy tune.
Well, I lied. The “other” best thing about this film is the special features. Distributed by VIZ Media (which also distributed my most recent Japanese favorite, Kamikaze Girls), I wasn’t surprised to find many special features similar to the ones offered on KG, including one for “culture tips” and (score!) a trailer for KG and other cool flicks like Densha Otoko (Train Man).
I also like the actors chosen to play the girls – you may recognize them from Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and the Ringu series, among other films. And Yu Kashii is totally gorgeous as the guitarist, but a somewhat temperamental, sullen and strong-willed character – reminds me of Ichigo (not strawberry!) Shirayuri in Kamikaze Girls.
Final Rating: 3 stars.
Audrey
Allegro (2005)
NETFLIX SYNOPSIS: Years ago, renowned Danish pianist Zetterstrom (Ulrich Thomsen) lost his memory. Now, he returns to his hometown of Copenhagen to give a concert, where he begins to recall moments from his past, including visions of his former lover (Helena Christensen). But to regain his memory, Zetterstrom must venture into a strange realm of the city called the Zone, with mind-bending results. This sci-fi feature was selected for the Sundance Film Festival.
REVIEW: Allegro is a film that is not for everyone, but I found it very original and loved it. It’s a story told like a modern parable of how not dealing with painful things in our past robs us of our true identity and potential. It starts by giving a cartoon-simplified version of a man’s life and then intersperses “real” footage of that life in a grainy dream-like quality that skips around in a jerky way as a dream would. I had a very vivid dream to do with things in my past that hold me back after seeing this film. It had a lot of meaning for me, but people who haven’t experienced the type of life-altering pain that changes everything about you might not care for it. It will be most appealing to people that like nonlinear storytelling and quirky creative independence in film. It wasn’t without flaws. I would have liked to see more of what caused the protagonist to be the way he was as a child, but it wasn’t really essential to the moral. This is the type of film people will love or hate and I loved it. My husband hated it.
4 stars
Sue KH
Michael Clayton (2007)
NETFLIX SYNOPSIS: Screenwriter Tony Gilroy makes his directorial debut with this dramatic thriller about burned-out corporate lawyer Michael Clayton (George Clooney), who’s built a career on cleaning up his clients’ messes. When a guilt-ridden colleague (Tom Wilkinson) threatens the settlement of a multimillion-dollar case, Clayton faces his biggest challenge ever. Tilda Swinton, Sydney Pollack and Michael O’Keefe round out the impressive cast.
REVIEW: With movies like this one following up on the wonderful Good Night, Good Luck and Syriana, George Clooney has convinced me that he is no ordinary actor, much less a “pretty boy” actor, that is satisfied with doing blockbuster action films to pay off the Italian villa. While the plot itself is nothing new (an agro-chemical company faces a $3 billion class action from a group of plaintiffs alleging harm from such chemicals), the layout of the plot and the generally wonderful performances of the supporting cast remind me of the pacing of Syriana.
George Clooney is very good here, playing a “fixer” at a prestigious NY firm, but his performance here doesn’t rival that in Syriana or GNGL, which I realize may be an unfair comparison since the plotlines, scope and subject matter of those films were so weighty. He has many great lines – “where would you prefer we meet? In my car?” The performance by Sydney Pollack is right on point, playing the powerful partner at the firm with wit and likeability. But the performance by Wilkinson is ridiculously good as the partner who has lived and breathed the U-North case for the last six years and has begun to, how shall we say, uh, get sick of it? His breakdown and resulting actions are the engine for the movie’s plot. I would hope and expect that Wilkinson’s performance puts him in the list of best supporting actor Oscar nods this year. Tilda Swinton, as U-North’s general counsel, is alright – I like that the film had the idea to portray her as more complex (great scene in the beginning when she’s in the restroom stall and you see her uncharacteristically less than polished, with her wet armpits soaking her otherwise impeccable silk blouse), as insecure and fallible, even as the GC of this huge international corporation, but she still seems a bit one-note in her performance.
4 stars
Audrey
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George Clooney plays the titular Michael Clayton, a Manhattan law firm’s “fixer” who gets all the dirty jobs no one else wants. When the firm’s senior litigator Arthur Edens does a Howard Beale, taking off his clothes and ranting like a madman during a routine deposition, Clayton gets called in to clean up the mess. Evans is manic-depressive and off his meds but this smells different to Clayton, who’s also dealing with personal problems of his own. The story gets jumpy, desperately head-faking and jab-stepping to no effect while the conclusion is pretty obvious the whole time. The story, direction and acting are all solid, but not great, as the Oscar nominations would have you believe.
4 stars
HAWK
Ma Vie En Rose (1997)
NETFLIX SYNOPSIS: Seven-year-old Ludovic (Georges Du Fresne) is convinced he’s a girl trapped in a boy’s body in this whimsical Belgian film. His expressions of sexual identity, which include wearing dresses and starring in a classroom performance of “Snow White,” put a strain on his family and elicit teasing and intolerance from his schoolmates and neighbors. Ma Vie En Rose was an international film festival smash and received a Best Foreign Film Golden Globe.
Director: Alain Berliner
Cast: Michele Laroque, Jean-Philippe Ecoffey, Helene Vincent, Georges Du Fresne, Daniel Hanssens, Laurence Bibot, Jean-Francois Gallotte, Caroline Baehr, Julien Riviere, Marie Bunel
Awards:
1998 BAFTA®: Best Foreign Language Film nominee
1998 Golden Globe: Best Foreign Film
Review: Finally – a film that deals with such issues in a compassionate, non-melodramatic, non-heavy-handed fashion. That’s what makes the film good, but to actually add humor and whimsy and leave you feeling enchanted and endeared to the family makes the film great. Add a great soundtrack and the delightful “Pam and Ben” fantasy montages
(Belgium’s counterpart to Barbie and Ken it seems) reminiscent of the great fantasy scenes in Kamikaze Girls and you have yourself a must- see film for anyone of any age.
The film shows the complete innocence of Ludovic who adamantly believes he’s a girl trapped in a boy’s body. He has no knowledge of homosexuals, transsexuals – and the great opening scene where his parents are introducing the kids at the housewarming party they’re throwing to welcome themselves into the new neighborhood shows that the film has a humorous overtone, but is clearly dealing with some deeper issues. When the parents announce “their son” Ludovic, he comes out dressed up to the nines in…his older sister’s clothes. Everyone at the party is stunned, but the family’s excuse clearly reflects that they know about Ludo’s “condition.”
The actor who plays Ludovic is perfect for this role – androgynous and innocent – and is perfectly suited to playing both a girl and boy. He goes through a lot as you can imagine, moving to this new affluent, suburban neighborhood where the family is at first very welcomed and the kids all play together. The actors who play his mom (PERFECT casting) and his father (I’ve seen him in other films but can’t recall his name) are wonderful. The mother is such a great personality on screen – she’s a compassionate human being who loves her kids and thinks that they should grow up as they are, but when Ludo continues acting and behaving like a girl, causing his father to lose his job, the neighbors to sign a petition to kick Ludo out of school, and for the family to eventually move out of the neighborhood because they can’t afford the payments on the house, even the heretofore strong mother becomes frustruated. The fun and open-minded grandmother consistently wants Ludovic to just grow up as he wants and the beleaguered father clearly loves his son as well though he doesn’t understand his son’s behavior and walks out of one of the psychologist’s sessions. Ludovic’s siblings are great as well.
None of the family’s characters play out as superficial or inauthentic. Rather, you see them struggle – especially with the mother, who’s trying to be open-minded and let her son do as he wishes struggles with frustration and the real-life effects of Ludovic’s behavior.
In the end, what Ludovic’s “true” identity is is really not the point of the movie. The point is the strength of Ludovic’s family in dealing with the thick and thin results of his behavior.
Final Rating: 4.5 stars. An absolutely charming, endearing must-see movie. And bring the little ones if you have them!
Audrey
Network (1976)
NETFLIX SYNOPSIS: Paddy Chayefsky predicted today’s rash of trash television and shock-laden news broadcasts. The writer of Marty created network news anchor Howard Beale (Peter Finch), who loses his mind on the air. Unfortunately, his outrageous rants boost the ratings and intrigue cutthroat network executives Faye Dunaway and Robert Duvall. William Holden contrasts their avarice as an old-school TV journalist hopelessly out of step.
REVIEW: “I would like at this moment to announce that I will be retiring from this program in two weeks’ time because of poor ratings. Since this show is the only thing I had going for me in my life, I’ve decided to kill myself. I’m going to blow my brains out right on this program a week from today. So tune in next Tuesday. That should give the public relations people a week to promote the show. You ought to get a hell of a rating out of that. 50 share, easy.”
It’s with these words that UBS Network news anchor Howard Beale begins his second act in life, as a modern-day prophet preaching the truth to the masses. Or is he? Has Beale actually suffered a psychotic break? Prophet or lunatic, Beale’s ratings go through the roof and the corporate vultures at fictional network UBS are quick to capitalize. The satirical, witty script by Paddy Chayefsky (rightly considered the pinnacle of his career) succeeds by doling out no easy answers, just more questions.
Howard Beale: “I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window. Open it, and stick your head out, and yell, ‘I’M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I’M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!'” (Considered by the AFI as the 19th of the top 100 Greatest American Movie Quotes.)
Chayefsky’s script (the centerpiece of a perfect storm that includes superb direction from Sidney Lumet and excellent performances from the likes of Robert Duvall and William Holden) is credited for not only savagely parodying the corporate mentality that had seeped into the television networks and their previously untouchable news departments by the mid-1970s, but even predicting the direction of programming to come, most notably with a reality show about counter-culture revolutionaries entitled, hilariously, “The Mao Tse Tung Hour.”
Laureen Hobbs (communist revolutionary): “Don’t f*ck with my distribution costs! I’m making a lousy two-fifteen per segment and I’m already deficiting twenty-five grand a week with Metro! I’m paying William Morris ten percent off the top, and I’m giving this turkey ten thou per segment, and another five to this fruitcake! And Helen, don’t start no sh*t about a piece again! I’m paying Metro twenty-thousand for all foreign and Canadian distribution, and that’s after recoupment! The Communist Party’s not gonna see a nickel of this goddamn show until we go into syndication!…I’m not giving this pseudoinsurrectionary sedentarian a piece of my show! I’m not giving him script approval, and I sure as sh*t ain’t gotten him into my distribution charges!…You can blow the seminal prisoner class infrastructure out your ass! I’m not knockin’ down my goddamn distribution charges!”
Obviously, Beale isn’t the only ranter in this film. Hobbs gets a quick lesson in the back-stabbing world of corporate contract negotiations, as her TV hour turns out to be not quite as lucrative as she had hoped. Later, a rant by corporate owner Arthur Jensen to a chastened Beale includes this gem: “You are an old man who thinks in terms of nations and peoples. There are no nations; there are no peoples. There are no Russians. There are no Arabs. There are no third worlds. There is no West. There is only one holistic system of systems; one vast, interwoven, interacting, multivaried, multinational dominion of dollars. It is the international system of currency which determines the vitality of life on this planet. THAT is the natural order of things today. THAT is the atomic and subatomic and galactic structure of things today. And YOU have meddled with the primal forces of nature. And YOU WILL ATONE.”
But the point of Network isn’t to say that television is bad, or that capitalism is bad. The point of the film is to invite us to look deeper into ourselves, and to ask us why we watch. Chayefsky, via Beale, has seen the enemy, and the enemy is us.
Howard Beale: “You’re beginning to believe the illusions we’re spinning here, you’re beginning to believe that the tube is reality and your own lives are unreal. You do. Why, whatever the tube tells you: you dress like the tube, you eat like the tube, you raise your children like the tube, you even think like the tube. This is mass madness, you maniacs. In God’s name, you people are the real thing, WE are the illusion….We’ll tell you anything you want to hear, we lie like hell.”
5 stars
HAWK
Black Book (2006)
NETFLIX SYNOPSIS: Director Paul Verhoeven (Basic Instinct, Total Recall) brings his war drama based on long-forgotten true events surrounding the end of World War II. Rachel Stein (Carice van Houten) is a beautiful Jewish woman hiding out in Holland from the Nazis. When her plan to escape goes terribly wrong, she manages to take on a new identity and infiltrate the enemy. But working for both sides takes its toll — especially when they both turn against her.
REVIEW: Leave it to Paul “Basic Instinct” Verhoeven to locate a WWII story that satisfies his obsession with everything lewd and graphic. When our Jewish heroine, Rachel Stein, loses her hiding place and is foiled in her attempts to flee occupied Holland, it seems only natural that in short order she dyes her hair (ALL of it) and takes up with the head of the SS, right? When the head of the resistance movement asks Stein in a leering voice HOW FAR she was willing to go to help the cause, we expect cheesy porn music to start up, along with a pizzaman to make a “special delivery.” The saving grace is the interesting story and decent acting by two of the leads, although van Houten’s perfomance as Stein is certainly not “star-making,” as one critic gushed, but probably the result of a decent actress being given something to sink her teeth into. Director Verhoeven gets a D- for being too explicit with material that deserved more subtlety.
3 stars
HAWK
Netflix Cinemajig 