celluloidnotes

Yet another linked review. This week I reviewed the newly released Oliver Stone director’s cut of Nixon (cleverly titled the “Election Year Edition”). The director’s cut adds an extra twenty five minutes, to an already bloated film. Nonetheless, the director’s cut is a fairly decent edition to the film. It’s a film that I found incredibly interesting (besides reservations about Stone in general).

What’s most interesting here is that so much has been made of Obama’s connections to JFK, FDR and Roosevelt that it initially seems odd that Stone chose to release this as the election year edition instead of his conspiracy saturated JFK. But Nixon has never felt better timed than it does right now. Looking back at the man who shaped the last quarter century, and made the Bush presidency possible, is an interesting adventure.

Go read the rest of the review at Film-Forward.com.

Woody Allen’s transition out of New York initially felt as though it was bringing about great change in his style. Match Point and Cassandra’s Dream, both filmed in London, felt as though he may be entering a final stage of his career, a dark phase that was bringing about mysteries and suspense tales which take odd turns on his traditional thematic material of love and family.

With Vicky Christina Barcelona it seems that he has taken a step back into the Woody Allen of the 70s. Filmed almost entirely in Spain (with a few cuts into New York City) Allen resurrects the witty love stories of his past. Narratives the delve into familiar questions about the nature of love, it’s origins, and the many approaches humans take to it, each trying to learn and build from another approach. The film takes a standard Allen formula - here is the issue, I’m going to present two different views on this (see Crimes and Misdemeanors, Melinda and Melinda, Cassandra’s Dream, et al) - but breathes new life into the formula.

The film centers around Vicky and Christina, two Americans spending the summer in Spain. Vicky (Rebecca Hall) is a traditionalist, she is engaged to a wealthy young business man, she believes in traditional values of the sacrifices of love. Christina (Scarlet Johansson) believes love should be persistently exciting, that the traditions are for squares, and that a torrid affair offers more than the traditional routes. Their tropes are put to the test as they meet Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem), a Spanish artist who upon first meeting them, invites them on a plane ride to a small Spanish town where they can spend the weekend making love. Naturally, as per their stereotypes, Vicky is repulsed and lets him know, Christina is breathless.

But the binary created by these two characters begins to break down as the film progresses. Despite the binary being boring, unsurprising, and fairly flat, Allen takes a fresh approach to this. He never chides nor praises one character’s action over the other. There are consequences to every action, whether positive or negative, and they are revealed without commentary (well, without much). The dialogue is as sharp as Allen has ever been, and the performances, particularly that of Bardem, as the seductive, couldn’t-give-a-damn-about-anything-but-passion artist, who is phenomenally well suited to the role of this tormented artist (and turns out to be something of a fraud in both art and life).

The film is beautifully shot - which is not always a given with Allen’s films - and brilliantly written. This is Woody Allen at his best in decades. Vicky Christina Barcelona is fantastic film that deserves multiple viewings to allow it to grow and bloom.  

Persepolis has been reviewed to death, because every time a decent animated film for adults comes out the critics have to go bat shit for it. It was clearly a great film, but a giant stir is caused every time because most people seem to forget the last time they went nuts for an animated film. Persepolis was an engaging and innovative film, so here are four other reasons to not blow off an animated film just because it’s a “cartoon.”

The Triplets of Belleville:

A brilliant animated film (also French) that was something of a precursor to this years WALL-E. Essentially a silent film, Triplets of Belleville is the story of an evil corporation that exploits and kidnaps people for personal gain, when they kidnap a young bicyclist the get more than they bargained for from his elderly mother.

Spirited Away:

Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away is one of the more obvious examples of Miyazaki’s unique style of anime. This along with films like Princess Mononoke and Howl’s Moving Castle are a great example of how anime can have an intelligent trajectory and be visually engaging.

Wallace and Grommit

No matter if you’re watching the shorts or the feature Wallace and Grommit are always interesting animation, and humorous, inventive stories. Nick Park’s ability to play with genre conventions, and his knowledge of film history make Wallace and Grommit a layered adventure that I have never not enjoyed.

And finally, I couldn’t really decide on a finale, so take your pick, you get the idea, this happens every year or two: South Park: the Movie, Team America, Beavis and Butthead do America, WALL-E, Shrek, and on and on…

Amidst the never ending fervor over comic book adaptations in the cinema I thought it was a good time to look back at M. Night Shyamalan’s 200 genre bending Unbreakable. In the film Bruce Willis plays David Dunn, a father who lives in the same home as the wife he is currently separated from. At the beginning of the film he is returning home, to Philadelphia, from an interview in New York. The job would allow him to leave the broken home he is living in and attempt to start a new life. But when the train derails and kills everyone except for him, he begins to question what has happened. Everyone is dead, and he is left without even a bruise. This anomaly also interests Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson), a man who is suffering from a debilitating disease in which all of his bones are too frail to do anything. Price is obsessed with the culture, and history of comic books, and believes that if he himself exists than it is possible that someone at the polar opposite of the spectrum may exist as well, a sort of modern day superhero.

The comic book aspects of the film seem to function on two different levels. On the one hand it is playing with the idea of the superhero and putting it into a more realistic constraint. Supposing that maybe it is possible that this exists, and that it is a notion that merits consideration, that the comic books are a sort of exaggeration of what some know to be true. That the physical characteristics of some people could be at a nearly superhuman level, and that there is some greater force behind their own construction where they are in place to help others because of the unique characteristics of their bodies. This notion I will not entertain. Though there would certainly be merit in the discussion of such possibilities this is really more of a scientific discussion than I will entreat here.

The other level the film can be sent o function on is highlighting the true folklore nature of the comic book in modern day America. On some levels – though many would, possibly correctly, disagree – the superhero is a uniquely American art to be put up on the level of other rarities of American heritage such as jazz. The superhero mythology has always carried with it less than subtle traces of the American psyche, and in that fashion it is a sort of text passed down from generation to generation on the fears and desires of the American mindset. Shyamalan and Elijah’s fascination with comic books, and their motives within the film and in the creation of the film are an all too neglected aspect of modern superhero mythology. With it’s huge resurgence in America since 9/11 it is clear that the superhero is saying something that Americans are connecting to. There are plenty of papers on the nature of the superhero mythology, and how it reflects the modern age (just look at The Joker in the recent The Dark Knight, a terrorist whose immorality must be negotiated within the framework of traditional Christian-American morality). But it is not often looked upon like a text that communicates something greater, in a similar tradition to folk music telling the story of the immigrant experience in America (and, clearly, much more than that).

What is most important in this, reading it as a film about film, is that it begs the moviegoer to dig deeper into the texts they experience. It attempts to communicate that the superhero in America is not mere fantasy, or genre narrative, it is more than that. It is a communiqué of what consumes us, the fears that eat away at the collective whole, and the ever-present desire to be ridded of that responsibility that come with fear. It reveals that American desire to be concerned, but to have it all swept away by forces beyond control, a somewhat Christian mythology in that it asks that something superhuman, beyond what is physically known, an agent of pure goodness, come to save us from ourselves, to wipe away the fear that consumes us as a people. Unbreakable, though a flawed film, asks the viewer to become conscious of why things gain popularity, why cultural phenomena like The Dark Knight have such a wide appeal, drawing us in hoards to theaters to share an experience of a world that is completely unknown, yet all too familiar.

Dreamworks attempt at chipping away at the Pixar monopoly on CGI animated features is a much larger success than one would expect. It, of course, doesn’t really hold up against WALL-E, but the star studded cast of voices and a clever story come together to make a charming, humorous film somewhat reminiscent of Pixar’s earlier incantations.

Kung-Fu Panda is the story of Po, a noodle serving Panda, raised by a goose, who is incredibly obsessed with kung-fu. The day he lies to his father and says he had his “noodle dream” – the dream which indicates the heir is ready to take on the family business – he finds out that the dragon warrior is about to be crowned. The dragon warrior is to be the greatest of all warriors, and will be given the coveted dragon scroll, an event that Po (voiced by Jack Black) must see. Things go awry for the over-weight panda and he doesn’t get there in time, and finds himself flying through the sky on a chair strapped with fire-works, and becomes the Dragon Warrior. The mishappened adventures begin there, as he undergoes training to defend the Valley of Peace against those who would like to see it undone.

The film is well put together with lots of celebrity voices that never get too distracting. At the heart of the film there is a solid story, with typical children’s fare themes, but it’s engaging nonetheless. Dreamworks puts together a solid film, with some great animation. With this film it seems as though Dreamworks is poised to challenge Pixar’s stranglehold on quality kids films. Kung-Fu Panda may not be the best children’s film of the summer, but it’s good, and most importantly it can be enjoyed by any age demographic.

Back to back weeks of hit Brendan Frasier films at the cinema can only make on wonder if we have finally come to the cinematic apocalypse. I’m here to tell you, maybe.

Journey to the Center of the Earth is certainly far better than the abysmal The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. Unfortunately, it is not Frasier’s rather flat acting that is the improvement. It’s the producers big gimmick for the film that works. That’s right, 3D. The film is visually stunning, as much as any critic would fear praising a film for the clear gimmicky quality of it, but the films script and acting are lagging so far behind the curve that it is the visual component of this film that makes it worth a viewing.

The story revolves loosely around the Jules Verne novel of the same name. The novel acts more as a catalyst for the story than as the source material. Frasier plays a failing science professor whose about to lose his grants when his sister-in-law drops his estranged nephew off to visit for a couple of weeks. His brother, the boys dad, went missing years ago, and has long been presumed dead. Among the things he left behind was a copy of Verne’s novel. The brother, also a scientist, believed that Verne’s novel may have more truth in it than most people believe. He went searching for the magma tunnel that led to the center of the earth and was never heard from again. When the conditions appear to be the same as the day the his brother disappeared, Frasier and nephew decide to take a flight to Iceland and see what is going on at one of their research facilities, the rest is clear from any trailer you might have seen. Extinct species, lots of 3D shots that had no real purpose except to make you go “ohhh…ahhh,” which you will.

If there was anything else going on in the film, it was totally lost on me. With the growing trend of blockbusters being shot to be screened at the IMAX and a whole new generation of 3D films being released one can only hope that some more substantial cinema will be produced with this technology than Speed Racer, Fly Me to the Moon, and Journey to the Center of the Earth. Films should utilize this technology, not be produced so that the technology has a use. There isn’t a whole lot in Journey to the Center of the Earth to be thankful for, and the DVD release is sure to be a lackluster affair. Yet, if you’re a cinema-goer who lives for visually striking work, you will “ohh” and “ahh” yourself to death at Journey to the Center of the Earth.

For readers in the Minneapolis area:

If you are like me, you enjoy a good cup of coffee, a nice tumbler of whiskey, rain storms, and movies. Particularly movies that are not going to be found at your local Blockbuster. Also you probably enjoy all of these things at locally run businesses (damn those FOXNEWS sponsored thunderstorms…).

This isn’t just a random rant about something that pissed me off so stick with me here.

I frequented Cinema Revolution for many years - prior to moving away - it’s easily one of the best video stores (if not the best) in Minneapolis/St. Paul, and they are in trouble. The store is having some financial difficulties and I thought I’d throw something up in hopes that you value what John and Cinema Revolution do for the community as much as I do. The store is run by volunteers who support film screenings around town, host cinema discussion evenings, allow you to rent local filmmakers (often for free) and have a selection that no one else in town can compare to. So here’s a little bit of an e-mail John Koch (owner) sent out to some today, about why Cinema Revolution is important:

We believe that a local store run by live local people is something of value - a store that curates film as a gallery would curate any other form of art, a store that actively promotes film in the community, a store with a real, tangible personality. Cinema Revolution creates an artistic context for your DVD rental experience; we help guide you through innumerable choices, and celebrate films that otherwise are marginalized or ignored. We are active in the community as well. Through the nearly five years of our existence, we have shot a feature film using all local talent, we have held dozens of film screenings through Cinema des Artistes and our Film Society, commissioned new original short films from local artists, held weekly live film discussion groups, started a local record label, and have helped actively promote countless festivals, performances and screenings by local producers. It is a major part of our mission to connect, support and inspire our local artistic community. If you value what we do for the community, we ask you to please help us continue in these endeavors.

So, if you can donate a little bit to help them out, if you can’t do that, make an effort to rent some films from there, go to a screening hosted by Cinema Revolution, or participate in one of their weekly film discussions.

Here are the details sent out about how you can help out:

We are seeking to raise $5,000 by September 15th to help make our move to a new location a reality, as it cannot be done without this additional support. The suggested donation is $20 (and if 250 people can do this, we will make our goal), but please feel free to give at any level you can afford. With your collective help we can make this happen.

We are also seeking volunteers to help in this fundraising effort. If you are interested in helping out, contact john@cinemarevolution.com. We are also open to any suggestions or advice anyone may have to help us along.

In just the past two years we have lost legendary video stores Discount Video and Box Office Video. We have seen the Oak Street and Bell Auditorium film programs vanish, we have watched the entire film editorial staff at the City Pages lose their jobs, and Hollywood fare is now seeping into our beloved Lagoon Cinema. Please help keep an active, inspiring film culture alive in the Twin Cities and donate securely via PayPal today at www.cinemarevolution.com (Click on the link below).

Please note that if for any reason we do not achieve our financial goal, your generous donations will be refunded directly through PayPal. If we should raise more than our goal, the extra money will be applied to growing our movie collection to help fill our new space. Also be aware that we are not organized as a non-profit organization for tax purposes, so your donation is not tax deductible.

That’s all I’ve got, it’s well worth a little bit of your time or money to help keep filmmaking in the city alive. Adios.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars

Another Star Wars film? Well kind of. It’s an animated version of the Clone Wars ripped from the Star Wars narrative. I’m a little bit of a geek, so I know what that means, but not a big enough geek to actually know where this falls in the story, or why there is an animated version coming out, except that the straight to video style animated Star Wars film have done really well. Go figure.

Tropic Thunder
Starring: Ben Stiller, Jack Black, & Robert Downey Jr.

The newest parody from Ben Stiller. Revolves around some egotistical actors who enter a war zone to shoot a film and don’t realize that they are actually in the war zone. That’s about it, and yes that is Robert Downey Jr. in black-face.

Vicky Christina Barcelona
dir. Woody Allen
Starring: Javier Bardem, Scarlett Johansson & Penelope Cruz

Just like every time Woody Allen puts out a new film, the rumor is, he’s back.

Mirrors

Ah, and horror season begins as the season of the Blockbuster fades into the recess of your mind, like so many one night stands…

The Girl Cut in Two

Why does this seem vaguely reminiscent of Teeth? I mean, not really, but just a little?

Henry Poole is Here

Hopefully Luke Wilson is here, or even better, like Woody Allen, I hope “he’s back.”

Fly Me to The Moon 3D

This looks terrible. I hate to go to those lengths, but really, terrible. Though I thought the same thing about Space Chimps and it seems that kids and their parents will go see just about anything that’s animated, especially with CGI, especially in 3D. And that’s somewhat saddening, but what do I care really?

CURRENT BOX OFFICE TOP 10
1. The Dark Knight (still)
2. Pineapple Express
3. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
4. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2
5. Step Brothers
6. Mamma Mia!
7. Journey to the Center of the Earth
8. Hancock
9. WALL-E
10. Swing Vote

The third installment of the dreadfully awful Mummy series is no exception to the standard of poor screenplays and even worse acting that the previous installments have set. Brendan Frasier returns as the Indiana Jones styled adventurer drawn into China by circumstances beyond his control to fight the undead one last time (at least we hope this is the last time).

The film begins as Frasier’s son discovers the lost tomb of the China’s first emperor, the man who built the great wall and destroyed countless numbers of civilians in his raids across the country. As they unearth the tomb of the Dragon Emperor a secret group of militants upsets their plans to put the mummified Dragon Emperor into a museum and raises him from the dead. The next hour of the film is spent following Frasier and co. as they try to beat the un dead Jet Li across China before he reaches some form of the fountain of youth so that he can raise his army from the dead.

The film is one sprawling disaster after another. Horrible one-liners punctuate inane plot turns, all surrounding a fairly mindless central story of a father and son coming together after years of interacting across a divide. There is nothing in this film that is really working to redeem any of it’s myriad short comings. Please, Mr. Cohen, spare us from a fourth installment, how many legions of the undead can you raise before you realize that you cannot even realistically raise Frasier’s career from the dead?

Excessive product placement, a hallmark of Step Brothers

You’d be hard pressed to find two comedic brand names as successful as Will Ferrell and the Apatow crew. Thus, you might imagine, the uniting of forces like this would produce a film of special comedic brilliance. Well, kind of. Comedy is hard, and no one is on all the time. Unfortunately Will Ferrell seems to have been off for a little while, and Apatow, though he’s been the comedic force of the last three years, can’t be expected to produce or write perfect comedies all the time.

By and large the writing here is great, and the concept is really pretty hilarious, even if it is a bit thin. The story revolves around Dale (John C. Reilly) and Brennan (Ferrell), two forty-year-old stay-at-home man-children whose parents get married, making them, naturally, step brothers. Though, unlike a lot of Apatow’s films, that’s really about all there is to it. They hate each other, they love each other, they hate each other, the love each other. That’s something like what the plot outline would look like. So, when I say the writing is great, I mean in that way in which the one liners are gut-busters, and the plot is subservient to getting Will Ferrell in a Nazi uniform mowing the neighbors lawn.

Aside from a series of solid one-liners, and one scene lurking somewhere between comedic brilliance and childish bathroom wall scrawls where Brennan rubs his testicles on Dale’s drum set, with a particularly harsh close-up.

The film is hit and miss, the story doesn’t really go anywhere. A funny film, and about exactly what you would expect, but there isn’t a whole lot here that is redeeming. Funny, but doesn’t merit multiple viewings.