The Film Geek’s Weekend Round-Up: 11/6/09
Hello Everyone and welcome to the weekend! Now begins the Holiday movie season, and this week it kicks off with A CHRISTMAS CAROL, THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS, THE FOURTH KIND, THE BOX, and opening at Lagoon is FLAME & CITRON. Also coming out are 5 movies I didn’t get a chance to see. The Bollywood film AJAB PREM KI GHAZAB KAHANI opens at Brookdale 8, ENDGAME opens at APPLE VALLEY and WYNNSONG, ART & COPY is at St Anthony, CLEAR LAKE WI opens in quite a few screens, and finally THIRST is showing today and tomorrow at Midnight at The Uptown. Let’s get started on the ones I did see though…
First off we have the latest from Robert Zemeckis. This guy has made some great movies. Love ROMANCING THE STONE, BACK TO THE FUTURE, WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT, CAST AWAY… heck, I’m one of the few that still loves FORREST GUMP. I even liked some of his goofy work too like DEATH BECOMES HER. There have been a couple movies I didn’t care for like CONTACT and WHAT LIES BENEATH. And when he started with his “Motion Capture” faze… I started losing interest altogether. POLAR EXPRESS just didn’t quite click, though the concept was there. I did think BEOWULF was alot of fun but I am just waiting for Zemeckis to make a “real” movie again.
Now he’s doing the most overtold story in history… A CHRISTMAS CAROL. By the time I was 12, I probably saw, heard or read this story over a million times. I think it would be interesting to see a list of every single version of the tale. I betcha it’s enormous. I’m so sick of this story. And I don’t even hate Christmas. I love it. It’s my favorite holiday. But this story is so overexposed and when I heard Zemeckis was going to adapt this with his motion capture system, I just rolled me eyes. Do we really need to see this again? What more could he possibly add? Then, I saw the trailer… and it looked awful! The tone was all over the place and Carrey appeared to be rifting a bit, which seemed kind of like what he did in the dreadful HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS. Even the poster looked terrible, with Scrooge making a goofy face as he’s flying through the air. So, walking into this, I was definitely NOT optimistic.
The story is presented in a very straight forward/no-nonsense approach. I would say it’s very faithful, lifting over half of it’s dialogue from the book. You know the story. Scrooge is a mean old miser who hates Christmas. He is visited by three spirits and they make him a better person. There is no extra padding here. But what makes this so different than all the others is that it feels like the very first one to get the book 100% right. This was very surprising! I was extremely pleased that this was nothing like the advertising… NOT AT ALL! This is a dark, atmospheric ghost story set during Christmas time.
The movie starts with a shot of the book A CHRISTMAS CAROL opening up, then we see the words: “Marley was dead”. Then it shows Marley lying in his coffin with pennies on his eyes. How’s that for the beginning of a “kids” movie. It’s during this scene that we see just how stingy and cold hearted Scrooge is, as he takes the pennies from Marley’s eye lids before the coffin is shut, “A penance is a penance”. Then we see 19th Century London in a breathtaking single take as we fly and swoop through the city, establishing the perfect tone, which is a mixture of magic and mystery. We briefly meet Cratchit and Scrooge’s nephew before the ghost of Marley shows up, and that’s when things get creepy.
Zemeckis has recognized that this is a ghost story above everything else. Marley is scary, with his rotting corpse covered in chains. I loved when his jaw started to fall off. The three spirits are near perfect. I say near perfect because I had a bit of a problem with the Ghost of Christmas past. More on that later.Scrooge’s journeys are magical and full of wonder. I really liked the end of his travels with the Ghost of Christmas present, which turns from being joyous to a true nightmare. The ghost of the future wasn’t quite as scary as I thought he was going to be, but that’s due to an added section when Scrooge shrinks in size and has the voice of a chipmunk. Don’t worry, it’s not all cute humor as he’s chased by demonic horses pulling a carriage. Seeing Scrooge’s transformation was a joy to behold. When the movie was over, I was full of Christmas cheer. I’m ready for the season all ready!
The motion capture/voice work is flawless. Jim Carrey ended up being the perfect choice for Scrooge. As the Grinch, I thought he was dreadful as he improvised and ruined a classic children’s book. I was really worried that he was going to be all over the place here, but he is surprisingly restrained. Not once does he break character. Carrey’s Scrooge is cold, heartless and extremely unpleasant. I know the story so well, but I was even beginning to wonder if this version of Scrooge could change. And when that time came, Carrey delivered. Apart from Scrooge, the comedic actor also plays the three spirits and younger versions of Scrooge. He was great as all of them except for Christmas Past. I’m not sure who’s the real blame here. Normally, it’s played by a young girl or a very innocent and quiet creature. But here, it’s a candle with Carrey’s face as the flame. It looks really awkward and his whispery voice just didn’t quite work for me. It felt forced. But it didn’t really take away from the whole movie for me. Just a small flaw. The other voice work is brief but exceptional. Gary Oldman is a kind of creepy looking, but kind hearted Cratchit. Was he supposed to look like a gnome? But it fits with the fable-like tone. He also did the voice for Marley. Bob Hoskins, Cary Elwes, Robin Wright Penn, and a perfectly cast Colin Firth (in a role that felt like he was born to play) as Scrooge’s nephew all do a great job.
How is the animation? It’s perfect. Previously, I felt that POLAR EXPRESS and BEOWULF looked great but the human characters looked stiff and lifeless. With A CHRISTMAS CAROL, it looks like he’s almost remedied the problem. While not looking 100% exact, the faces did not bother me this time. Scrooge probably looked the best, as I’m sure they spent the most time on him. Every detail on his face is vivid. In fact, sometime the images in this movie looked so real that I forgot I was watching animation. This was also shot in 3-D, and it was awesome! My only real complaint on that is that at times it was a little too dark. Zemeckis keeps most of his images in the shadows, which is great, but when you wear the 3-D glasses it dims the images even more. So my guess is that the 2-D version will look a little brighter. But it still helped with the atmosphere. Zemeckis is really perfecting this motion capture technique. The direction is just great. Every shot is perfectly calculated and expertly executed. Also the score by Zemeckis’ regular composer Alan Silvestri is fantastic! It’s eerie, haunting, joyous and overall majestic.It really got me into the Christmas spirit.
The movie is just a great experience from beginning to end. I’m so glad that there’s not one bit of forced humor, pop culture references, or loud annoying characters to make it kid friendly. It’s true to the time period. There has been some debate regarding if this movie is too scary for children. Well, I think you have to know your kids (I said the same thing in my WHERE THE WILD THINGS review). Sure, some of the ghost scenes are downright terrifying. My 6 year old loved the movie, but even she asked to leave the theater during a scary scene. We didn’t. I told her everything was going to be fine at the end, and she dealt with it. I have been raising her on NEVERENDING STORY, RETURN TO OZ and THE DARK CRYSTAL so she is familiar with spooky tales. So if your kids like those movies, they will be just fine. But if you’ve just been raising them on fluffy kids crap like BARNEY, then they will be absolutely horrified. In fact, this almost felt more like a Halloween movie than a Christmas movie. Another thing… I was surprised by how fast this movie flew by. During the movie after the second ghost disappeared, I turned to my six year old and told her that there was only one ghost left. She replied, “Wow. It feels like it just started”. So kids shouldn’t be antsy.
I am very happy with this movie. I can’t believe that Zemeckis has made the most overtold story new again. Even though I knew what was going to happen in every scene, I took comfort in that. You’ve heard the story many times, but you’ve never SEEN it told this way before. It’s pure magic and the Christmas event of the year. While it is one flaw away from being a masterpiece, it’s still quite an achievement. For those of you that were worried that this was going to be “The Jim Carrey show”, don’t. This is a classic ghost story told to an anally faithful degree, and presented with the utmost elegance. A true film geek won’t want to miss this!
When I first saw the trailer for THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS, I laughed my ass off! What more could you want out of a movie? Clooney, Bridges, Spacey acting like idiots. It sort of seemed like a wacky Coen Brothers movie.
Ewan McGregor plays Bob Wilton, a struggling journalist whose wife just left him and is trying to get the latest scoop from the Middle East back in 2002 (I think…). While on assignment, he randomly meets Lyn Cassady (Clooney), a guy who claims that he used to work for a secret military organization that trained men to be psychic soldiers, or Jedi warriors as Lyn says it. When Bob finds out that Lyn is on a secret mission, he asks to travel along with him so he can have his story. We learn in flashbacks the history of this secret organization. We see how the founder Bill Django (Jeff Bridges) saw a vision in Vietnam and now decides to train soldiers in a more spiritual sense. We also find out that Lyn had a rival in Larry Hooper (Kevin Spacey), who wanted to take over the organization. Meanwhile, Bob and Lyn run into to some unfriendlies and have an offbeat adventure of their own.
The premise is hilarious. The characters are funny. And everybody seems to be giving 100%. But somehow the movie just doesn’t work. It opens nicely with a quote that says “You’d be surprised by how much of this is true”, or something like that. It’s a good start, and for the first 20 minutes or so the low-key approach works for this quirky satire, but the pacing really drags through most of the movie. Like BURN AFTER READING, this movie isn’t really about anything other than to see famous actors acting like idiots, but unlike that film, this has no energy and isn’t all that funny. In fact, most of the laughs were given away in the trailer. I hate it when that happens.
The film isn’t a complete bust. George Clooney plays it completely straight as the “Jedi Warrior” and is very amusing. Surprisingly, Ewan McGregor was my favorite in this. I never thought he would make a great straight man, but he does. I love his reactions when Clooney insists on showing him all the ways to hurt people with an unique weapon. It was also funny to hear him ask questions like “What’s a Jedi?” or “How do I become a Jedi?”, when McGregor himself has played none other than Obi-Wan Kenobi in the STAR WARS prequels. I got a kick out of that! It’s also hard not to love Jeff Bridges as a burnout military leader, but those expecting a Lebowski-like performance may be disappointed. Kevin Spacey is a little less successful, with his awkward deliveries and flat comic timing. Maybe that was the point of the character but I’m not sure. Robert Patrick is completely wasted in one scene, but Stephen Root is pretty good as one of Lyn’s former team members. Stephen Lang steals most of the scenes he’s in as another one of Django’s prodigies.
The direction for the most part is solid, but nothing groundbreaking. The script is what drags this movie down. It has all of these funny characters and offbeat performances, and can’t figure out what to do with them. The characters never DO anything funny, which is a major problem. I wanted a biting military satire, but instead we get stale jokes like Army Men tripping on LSD. It’s tired. Also, the movie attempts to get serious in the last act, and that doesn’t work at all! I’m sad to say that what could have been the next great cult classic, ended up as a major disappointment.
THE FOURTH KIND is a sort-of unique supernatural/sc-fi/horror film. Well, anyway the approach is unique. The movie begins with actress Milla Jovovich introducing herself and announces that she’ll be playing real-life psychiatrist Abigail Taylor. She also tells us how the movie is based on true events and will also have real archive footage inserted throughout the movie. I thought that was kind of cool to set up the mood of the film that way.
Abigail is a practicing shrink whose husband was mysteriously murdered. He was conducting strange experiments, I think (the movie wasn’t quite clear as to exactly what he was doing). Abbey decides to continue what he started by hypnotizing some of her patients as they talk about bad dreams. In fact, three of them are having the same nightmare. When a patient kills himself, we find out from the sheriff (Will Patton) that there have been alot of strange murders and disappearances in the small Alaska town for many many years. As the movie goes on, Abbey finds out that she too is having nightmares and they may have something to do with aliens.
The premise is intense enough. There are also some genuinely creepy scenes when Abbey hypnotizes her patients, as they act possessed. One of the final set pieces at the end is especially creepy. The filmmaking is actually pretty good. There are some impressive ariel shots and rack focuses, but since director Olatunde Osunsanmi (say that name 10 times in a row) made the decision to insert real footage of several scenes he dramatized, the movie fails. At first, it was kind of cool. He sometimes even presented the real and fake footage at the same time using a split screen. But ultimately I found this extremely distracting, because I would try to compare the actors’ performances with the real footage, and sometimes they were better than the real thing. I can’t really figure out why he would make the movie this way, other than it’s a really neat gimmick. It doesn’t help the story any, in fact, I think it hurt the movie because it took me right out of the movie. Either he should have just compiled archive footage together for a documentary, or film a fiction film. But his over ambition bites him in the ass.
The acting is a mixed bag. Milla Jovovich is pretty darn convincing as abbey and it’s always welcoming to see Elias Koteas (Casey Jones from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1 & 3) in a movie. He played Abbey’s co-worker. But Will Patton is hamming it up again (as he did in last week’s THE CANYON) as the sheriff. It feels like one of those performances you would see in a dramatization on America’s Most Wanted. And some of the real footage looked really fake. The real footage with Abigail was laughable. Her line delivery felt so forced. I didn’t buy it… and that was the real footage!
Whether if this is an actual true story is debatable as there is no record of a Dr. Abigail Taylor working in Alaska from any year. This movie may have worked if it just stuck to one approach, but the movie is too schizophrenic. It can’t decide what it wants to be. Whether the movie is based on fact or not is insignificant. What is significant is that this is a botched attempt to be something fresh and original.
THE BOX is Richard Kelly’s third feature film. I’m not a fan! I think DONNIE DARKO is one of the most overrated films in the past twenty years. Sure, it’s well made but I thought it was overbloated with secondary characters and tried way too hard to be different. Everyone asks me if I thought the twist was cool. I say no, because it feels like it’s a twist for the sake of a twist. I think Kelly set out to make that movie trying to come up with a twist, and it shows. The whole thing, while well shot, feels forced and unnatural.
But nothing could prepare me for the disaster that was his second film, SOUTHLAND TALES. That was a direct assault against moviegoers as Kelly deliberately tried to confuse us and not let us in on what the movie was about, just for the sake of being bizarre. I was insulted with that overly ambitious mess. What I find most frustrating about the filmmaker is that I believe he’s capable of making a solid, cohesive and maybe even a great movie. He does display some talent, but instead he chooses to indulge himself with stories that only make sense to him. So even though I thought the trailer for THE BOX didn’t look bad, I knew it was from a filmmaker that just pisses me off.
This is actually based on a short story by Richard Matheson called Button, Button, which was turned into an episode of THE TWILIGHT ZONE in the 80’s. Kelly has adapted it himself, taking the original premise and making it his own. The year is 1976 and Norma (Cameron Diaz) & Arthur (James Marsden) Lewis live a happy life. Norma is a teacher, Arthur is a rocket scientist and aspiring astronaut who works for NASA, and they have a beautiful son. But in the course of one day, Norma loses her job and Arthur is rejected as an astronaut. This ruins their life plans and may have to change the way they live. But suddenly a strange man who calls himself Arlington Steward (Frank Langella) shows up at` their doorstep with a box. Inside the box is a button. He tells them if they push it, 2 things will happen. A person they don’t know will die, and secondly they will receive a payment of one million dollars. After much debate, Norma pushes the button, but when Steward says he is going to bring the box to someone else with the same proposition, he assures them that it will be “someone you don’t know”. That makes the Lewis’ very nervous. What follows is a bizarre tale of paranoia and supernatural shenanigans. I don’t want to give too much away.
Finally, I can say that Richard Kelly made a good movie. I really liked this. The film takes it’s time startomg as we get to know Norma and Arthur, which works because when things start getting weird, we genuinely care for them. When they first get the box, they react properly. At first they think it’s a hoax, but then they start to wonder if Steward’s offer could be true, and what would the consequences be if they push the button? Once the button is pushed, the movie’s intensity gradually begins to build until the finale, which could have been a disaster, but Kelly manages to pull off a solid creepy thriller with a proper ending, which will probably piss off people who like things spelt out for them. But this certainly makes more since than SOUTHLAND TALES.
Cameron Diaz gives a solid performance as norma, giving a somewhat hoaky, but ultimately convincing southern accent. She’s good without drawing attention to herself. I haven’t been much of a fan of James Marsden when he first started acting, but his last few roles (ENCHANTED, 27 DRESSES, SUPERMAN RETURNS, and especially SEX DRIVE) he has really proven himself to me. He’s perfect in this, fitting right in to the 70’s setting. I love that his character isn’t without a sense of humor. One moment I thought was great was when Norma is deciding on whether to push the button or not. She says “Now that I lost my job, I can’t get surgery on my foot”, then he smugly replies “Well… push the button and see what happens.” It’s a great delivery and it’s small touches like those that lightens up what could have been an extremely bleak movie. The great Frank Langella is fantastic as the mysterious Steward. He is a former NASA worker who was struck by lightning, which means a portion of the left side of his face is missing (the effects team did a great job on his face by the way). Langella is calm, cool and quietly creepy in the part. Character actors James Rebhorn and Holmes Osborne are also good in smaller roles.
Kelly keeps his direction relatively simple this time, carefully storyboarding every scene and using slow dolly moves, which helps the film achieve it’s “slow burn”-like pace. At times, I thought the movie was reminiscent of an early Brian DePalma movie like DRESSED TO KILL, THE FURY or SISTERS. The attention to detail is astounding. It even feels like it was made in the 70’s as every car, hair style and prop is perfect. At the supermarket, even the Corn Flakes boxes are spot on. Kelly does a pretty good job on the script. In the last half, he really takes the story into some far fetched places, but because he succeeding in setting everything up so well in the first half, I just went with it. Also, the score by Arcade Fire was great, which sounded straight out of an Italian Horror film. Actually, it kind of reminded me of some of the work Pino Donaggio did on those 70’s DePalma films. It was perfect for this movie! It’s full blown crazy during the intense scenes, but still eerily lingers during the quieter moments.
I’m sure if you hold a magnifying glass up to this you’ll find a few flaws, but the movie is alot of fun so I just didn’t feel like analyzing it. One little problem I had was towards the end which I can’t really get into, but it felt like maybe a reel was missing. Characters were in one place, then they just showed up at another with no explanation. Also, the performance of Norma and Lewis’ son Walter (Sam Oz Stone) in one of the final scenes wasn’t too believable. Other than that, it’s a fun little morality thriller with supernatural elements. When I found out the reason Steward is approaching families with The Box, I thought it was pretty cool. I’m sure others might think it’s stupid, but I liked the direction Kelly went with it.
I’m glad the filmmaker decided to step away from his usual self indulgence. He has truly made an entertaining and accessible film, but without selling out. It still has his usual bizarre trademarks, but this time he lets the audience in on the story this time. It’s an old fashioned creepy morality nightmare, that has the tone of a twisted fable.
FLAME & CITRON is a WWII movie from Denmark. Based on true events, it centers on two fighters in the Resistance. They are essentially hitmen that kill men from their country that have joined the Nazi party. Flame is a young man with bright red hair. He’s angry, lonely, and has a sweet spot for women (he won’t kill them). Citron is older (maybe 40’s) and has alienated his family in order to kill traitors. As the movie goes on, we discover that there’s an informer within their resistance. And why won’t their commanding officer give the order to kill Hoffmann, the Gestapo leader?
The story is simple enough, but it’s layered with lots of characterizations. I’m really glad that this movie took it’s time. I felt like I really got to know the two leads. The story is also presented in kind of a Scorsese way. It’s slick, and ultra-stylized giving it a rich flavor, making it easy to to digest. This plays more like a gangster movie than an WWII one, and that’s just fine. But unlike most gangster films, this doesn’t glorify the violence, which is quick, brutal and to the point.
The performances are uniformly excellent. Thure Lindhardt is intensely cold as Flame. Mads Mikkelsen (the villain in CASINO ROYALE) is just awesome in this movie. He’s a great tough guy, but with a secret. And he’s got a great standoff sequence that was pretty powerful. These two actors are great together, as they have a brotherly but standoffish chemistry with each other. Stine Stengade is on hand as Ketty Helmer, who adds a little sexuality to the mix as Flame’s mistress. Christian Berkel as Hoffmann is a perfect antagonist. He’s not in it a whole lot, but he makes a lasting impression. The confrontation between him and Flame is terrific.
Ole Christian Madsen is a great filmmaker. He really has a confidence that is sorely missing from other filmmakers. Every shot is perfectly set up and has a certain richness to it. I can’t wait to see what he does next! The script is mostly good, with the exception of a scene with Flame visiting his father, which seemed to come out of nowhere and interrupted the flow of movie. It felt like a deleted scene.
But otherwise, this is a powerful and intense ride. Those who love WWII and Gangster films are not going to want to miss this. I think it’s only going to be at the Lagoon for only a week. See it now before it leaves, I think it’s one of the best foreign films of the year so far.
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Here’s a recap:
(I use a 4 star rating system)
A CHRISTMAS CAROL [PG] – ***1/2
THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS [R] – **
THE FOURTH KIND [PG -13] – **
THE BOX [PG -13] – ***
FLAME & CITRON [NR] – ***1/2
We got three good movies this weekend. I highly recommend A CHRISTMAS CAROL, and for those who love WWII movies don’t miss FLAME & CITRON. Also, THE BOX is pretty good if you like bizarre moral fables. THE FOURTH KIND and THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS are a waste of time.
That’s it for now!
Take care!!
Be geeky and watch movies!!!
Tags: a christmas carol, donnie darko, ewen mcgregor, flame & citron, george Clooney, jedi, kevin spacey, lebowski, men who stare at goats, richard kelly, robert zemeckis, star wars, the box