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NEWS:
From YahooMovies: Whatever for the first victim in the movie Jaws?
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From BoxOfficeMojo: The winner of the 6/26 to 6/28/2015 weekend box office is Jurassic World. With an estimated take of $54.2 million, this is the film's third week at #1. Inside Out repeats as the #2 film with an estimated haul of $52.1 million.
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From FlickeringMyth: Yep, "Top Gun 2."
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From CheatSheet: What is known and unknown about "Star Trek 3."
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From YahooAutos: Warner Bros. stops licensing the "General Lee" from "The Dukes of Hazzard."
From YahooAutos: Cooter won't let it go, though.
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From THR: "Independence Day 2" has an official title - Independence Day Resurgence.
From CinemaBlend: Why isn't Will Smith in Resurgence.
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From YahooTech: A William Shatner interview.
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From BoxOfficeMojo: The winner of the 6/19 to 6/21/2015 weekend box office is Jurassic World with an estimated take of $102 million take. It's still setting records. Meanwhile, debuting at number two if Pixar's Inside Out with an estimated take of $91 million.
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From SlashFilm: New news on various sequels.
COMICS - Films and Books:
From YahooNews: There is supposedly an on-set therapist for Suicide Squad.
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From ThePlaylist: Marvel may want Kenneth Branagh, who directed the first Thor film to return for the third film, "Thor: Ragnarok."
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From ThePlaylist: An interview of Marvel Studio's Kevin Feige.
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From YahooMovies: Tom Holland is our new Spider-Man.
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From YahooPolitics: Justice Elena Kagan drops a Spider-Man beat (references) in a Supreme Court ruling involving the web-head.
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From SlashFilm: Ron Perlman still valiantly trying to make "Hellboy 3" happen.
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From TheVerge: Beginning this Fall (2015), Miles Morales will be the Marvel Universe's main Spider-Man.
STAR WARS:
From YahooCelebrity: Jake Lloyd, Anakin Skywalker, in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, was arrested after a high-speed chase.
TRAILERS:
From YouTube: Official trailer for Hitman: Agent 47 from 20th Century Fox.
OBITS:
From Variety: The composer James Horner was killed in the crash of a small plane on Monday morning, June 22, 2015. He won two Oscar for his music for the 1997 best picture Oscar winner, Titanic. He was one of my favorite composer, and I am sorry to hear of his passing. Horner was 61.
From EntertainmentWeekly: The actor Dick Van Patten has died at the age of 86. His career spanned six decades. Like many people, I remember him for playing the patriarch of the ABC television series, "Eight is Enough" (1977-81).
Showing posts with label James Horner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label James Horner. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Monday, August 11, 2014
Review: Being Remastered Made "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock" Better
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
Running time: 105 minutes (1 hour, 45 minutes)
MPAA – PG
DIRECTOR: Leonard Nimoy
WRITER: Harve Bennett (based upon the TV series “Star Trek” created by Gene Roddenberry)
PRODUCER: Harve Bennett
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Charles Correll
EDITOR: Robert F. Shugrue
COMPOSER: James Horner
SCI-FI/ACTION/ADVENTURE
Starring: William Shatner, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, Mark Leonard, Robin Curtis, Merritt Butrick, Christopher Lloyd, and Leonard Nimoy and Robert Hooks, Phil Morris, Phillip Richard Allen, Miguel Ferrer, and Carl Steven
The subject of this movie review is Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, a 1984 science fiction action-adventure film. It is the third movie in the Star Trek film franchise, which is based on “Star Trek,” the science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry and originally broadcast on NBC from September 1966 to June 1969. In The Search for Spock, the crew of USS Enterprise goes on a mission to recover the body of friend and crew mate, Spock, and finds more danger than they expected.
The Search for Spock follows the events depicted in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn. Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) won the battle against his ghost-from-the-past, Khan Noonien Singh, but it was a hollow victory. The USS Enterprise limps back to Earth. Doctor Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley) is going insane. And Captain Spock (Leonard Nimoy) is dead… or is he?
Spock’s father, Sarek (Mark Leonard), confronts Kirk about leaving Spock’s body in a casket on the “Genesis planet” which was created by the “Genesis device.” Sarek tells Kirk that there might be hope for Spock. Kirk and his bridge crew: Montgomery Scott (James Doohan), Hikaru Sulu (George Takei), Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig), and Uhura (Nichelle Nichols), risk their careers by stealing the decommissioned Enterprise to return to the now-restricted Genesis planet to recover Spock’s body.
Meanwhile, Kirk’s son, David (Merritt Butrick), one of the creators of Genesis, returns to the Genesis planet with the Vulcan, Lieutenant Saavik (Robin Curtis), to investigate strange sensor readings emanating from the planet. Neither realizes that an ambitious and murderous Klingon commander named Kruge (Christopher Lloyd) is also interested in the Genesis device. Kruge is leading his Klingon ship, the Bird of Prey, to the Genesis planet, determined to obtain the secrets of Genesis.
2014 is the 30th anniversary (specifically June 1, 1984) of the original theatrical release of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. It was the first Star Trek film that I saw in a movie theatre. Before I saw it, all I knew of the film’s plot was that it involved Spock, who was dead, and that the Enterprise was destroyed in the film. From news media reports and through word-of-mouth, I heard that some Star Trek fans (“Trekkies” or “Trekkers”) were furious about the destruction of the ship.
When I finally saw the movie, I did not find myself particularly upset about the Enterprise’s destruction. It was done. What could I do about it? What did upset me was (Spoiler!) the brutal stabbing death of Kirk’s son, David, at the hands of a Klingon. For years, I thought Kruge had actually done the stabbing, but he only gave the order to kill a prisoner. For years, also, I avoided The Search for Spock because I found David’s death upsetting and troubling in a way I could not explain then and cannot explain now.
This recent viewing of The Search for Spock is the first time that I have seen the film in its entirety since watching it a second time on VHS in either 1984 or 1985. I don’t remember how much I liked the film then, but I now find myself quite fond of it.
I won’t lie and say that The Search for Spock is great; it is not. Some of scenes have blatantly bad acting. The last ten minutes of the film is somewhat marred by tedious mysticism. Still, Christopher Lloyd’s turn as Kruge is both brilliant and unique. His is one of the best and most memorable performances of a villain in a Star Trek film.
Besides Lloyd, two other things about The Search for Spock grabbed me. First, the race to recover Spock against the ticking clock of the doomed Genesis planet coupled with the Klingon threat is a captivating hook. Secondly, the theme of camaraderie, as exemplified by the crew of the Enterprise and measured against the blood-thirsty Kruge, makes me forget this film’s blemishes. I know my feelings about Star Trek III: The Search for Spock are about me being nostalgic for “Star Trek classic,” but I would choose it over many other films, including many Oscar-winners, any old time of day.
7 of 10
B+
Saturday, July 26, 2014
The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Review: "Jumanji" Holds Onto its Charms (Happy B'day, Joe Johnston)
Jumanji (1995)
Running time: 104 minutes (1 hour, 44 minutes)
MPAA – PG for menacing fantasy action and some mild language
DIRECTOR: Joe Johnston
WRITERS: Jonathan Hensleigh, Greg Taylor, and Jim Strain; from a screenstory by Chris Van Allsburg, Greg Taylor, and Jim Strain (based upon the book by Chris Van Allsburg)
PRODUCERS: Scott Kroopf and William Teitler
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Thomas Ackerman (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Robert Dalva
COMPOSER: James Horner
FANTASY/ADVENTURE/FAMILY with elements of action and comedy
Starring: Robin Williams, Jonathan Hyde, Kirsten Dunst, Bradley Pierce, Bonnie Hunt, Bebe Neuwirth, David Alan Grier, Patricia Clarkson, Adam Hann-Byrd, and Laura Bundy
The subject of this movie review is Jumanji, a 1995 fantasy adventure and family film directed by Joe Johnston. The film is based on the Caldecott Medal-winning children’s picture book, Jumanji, which was first published in 1981 and was written and drawn by author Chris Van Allsburg. This was the first of three films based on Van Allsburg’s books (as of this updated review). Jumanji the movie focus on two children who must help a strange man finish playing a magical board game.
In 1969, Alan Parrish (Adam Hann-Byrd) and his friend Sarah Whittle (Laura Bundy) find an old board game, a jungle adventure called Jumanji, in Alan’s attic. After rolling the dice, Alan somehow unleashes some kind of magical force and is sucked into the board game. In 1995, two other children, Judy (Kirsten Dunst) and Peter Shepherd (Bradley Pierce) find the cursed board game and play it, unwittingly releasing the man-child, Alan (Robin Williams).
However, the game Alan began 26 years ago must be finished. Also, from the bowels of Jumanji’s magical board, comes a stampeding horde of jungle creatures and a fearsome huntsman, Hunter Van Pelt (Jonathan Hyde), who has stalked Alan for decades. Now, Alan joins the adult Sarah (Bonnie Hunt) in a magical adventure to save the town and end the game.
Even back in 1995, the computer generated images (CGI) for the film Jumanji seemed too obviously fake. Many of the film’s scenes required animals of various sizes (giraffes, elephants, rambunctious monkeys) to run through, run over, and destroy the streets, homes, and buildings of a small township. Getting that many live animals to cooperate would have been a logistical nightmare and likely impossible, so CGI animals were used. The artificial animals all have a bluish tint on their bodies, heightening the sense of unreality. The glitch was perfect; that the animals look so artificial could be taken to imply that the animals are part of a fantastical and magical nightmare.
Otherwise, the film is a fairly well directed and well-acted comic fantasy/adventure. Robin Williams is, of course, his usual manic self, but this time it’s the franticness of an almost-action hero, rather than that of some attention-seeking clown. It’s a fun family picture full of inspired zaniness, with very good performances from the entirety of the supporting cast, especially from the young cast. I’ve seen it several times. It’s silly, and the script bounces from one scene to another, but I recommend it as an excellent adventure film for the young and young at heart.
6 of 10
B
Updated: Tuesday, May 13, 2014
The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.
Wednesday, April 16, 2014
Review: "Testament" Still Testifies (Happy B'day, Lukas Haas)
Testament (1983)
Running time: 89 minutes (1 hour, 29 minutes)
MPAA – PG
DIRECTOR: Lynne Littman
WRITER: John Sacret Young (based upon the short story, “The Last Testament” by Carol Amen)
PRODUCERS: John Bernstein and Lynne Littman
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Steven Poster
EDITOR: Suzanne Pettit
COMPOSER: James Horner
Academy Award nominee
Starring: Jane Alexander, William Devane, Rossie Harris, Roxana Zal, Lukas Haas, Philip Anglim, Lilia Skala, Leon Ames, Lurene Tuttle, Rebecca De Mornay, Kevin Costner, Mako, Mico Olmos, and Gerry Murillo
DRAMA
The subject of this movie review is Testament, a 1983 post-apocalyptic drama. The film is based on the short story, “The Last Testament,” which first appeared in print in 1981 and was written by Carol Amen. Testament the film focuses on a woman and her small suburban American family as they struggle to survive after a nuclear attack.
Talk about a time capsule movie, I hadn’t seen the anti-nuclear war/proliferation or anti-nukes film, Testament, in 21 years, and found it quite by accident on Internet rental service, Netflix. Back in the early 80’s, Testament really fit in with a time when so many people thought the U.S. and the USSR were going to destroy the world in an inevitable nuclear world war, each side seemingly primed for mutually assured destruction. Still, the film’s drama remains potent because its story of a community devastated by a man-made horror is timeless.
Testament is the story of Carol Wetherly (Jane Alexander), who becomes the family matriarch and leader when nuclear bombs are detonated across the country, and her husband, Tom (William Devane), doesn’t make it home to their suburb of Hamlin from his job in San Francisco. As neighbors and members of her family begin to die from the fallout, Carol takes in orphans and tries to keep what’s left of her family together. When it seems that everyone’s fate is sealed by radiation poison and it seems that they’re cut off from the rest of the world (or what still exists of civilization), she tries to teach her children adult matters that they will never live to learn.
Testament was originally a made-for-TV movie that impressed executives at Paramount Pictures enough to get it released theatrically. The fact that it played in theatres made Jane Alexander eligible for post-season film awards, and she earned 1984 Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for best actress. She dominates this film, and the tragic post-war existence of the survivors is etched in her performance.
There are some moments in this film that will stay with me forever, such as Carol washing her youngest child, Scottie (Lukas Haas), who has profuse bleeding in his stool – totally heart wrenching. Even at an hour and a half running time, the film seems a bit long, as if it makes its point halfway through the film and everything else is just morbid piling on. Still, the film gets across two points – humans will struggle to survive, even under the most adverse conditions. Secondly, we humans will hurt ourselves more than anything else on the planet could. Although I think that leaders who make the decision to go to war don’t give a damn about such movies, Testament is good enough for those of us who do.
7 of 10
B+
Friday, April 8, 2005
Updated: Wednesday, April 16, 2014
NOTES:
1984 Academy Awards, USA: 1 nomination: “Best Actress in a Leading Role” (Jane Alexander)
1984 Golden Globes, USA: 1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Jane Alexander)
The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Review: "The Forgotten" - Good Premise, Poor Execution (Happy B'day, James Horner)
The Forgotten (2004)
Running time: 96 minutes (1 hour, 36 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense thematic material, some violence, and brief language
DIRECTOR: Joseph Ruben
WRITER: Gerald Di Pego
PRODUCERS: Bruce Cohen, Dan Jinks, and Joe Roth
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Anastas N. Michos
EDITOR: Richard Francis-Bruce
COMPOSER: James Horner
MYSTERY/THRILLER with elements of sci-fi and horror
Starring: Julianne Moore, Dominic West, Christopher Kovaleski, Anthony Edwards, Gary Sinise, Alfre Woodard, Kathryn Faughnan, Linus Roache, and Robert Wisdom with J. Tucker Smith
The subject of this movie review is The Forgotten, a 2004 mystery and psychological thriller starring Julianne Moore. The film follows a woman who delves into a strange conspiracy after being told that her son never existed.
The Forgotten is a riveting mystery thriller, but as the films moves through its plot, the film becomes ever more fantastical and, at time, eye-rolling ridiculous. Still, the film has it’s moments, enough to earn it a recommendation as something to watch at home, either via DVD, video, or television.
The Forgotten begins with wife and mother Telly Paretta (Julianne Moore) grieving over the loss of her eight-year old son, Sam (Christopher Kovaleski), in a plane accident 14 months prior. However, of the course of a few days, evidence of Sam’s existence starts to disappear, and before long, even Telly’s husband, Jim (Anthony Edwards), claims that they never had a son. But Telly is damn sure she had a boy.
She meets Ash Correll (Dominic West), the father of one of Sam’s best friends, but Ash doesn’t remember having a daughter. Telly eventually convinces Ash to remember his child, and that’s about the time agents from the National Security Agency (NSA) and the police start coming around looking for Telly and Ash. That not only convinces Telly that she did have a son, but that Sam might still be alive. As she delves deeper into the mystery, she discovers that hugely powerful and ominous forces may be behind the abduction of her son.
The premise of a mother fighting to convince other people that the memories of her dead son are the recollections of a real child and not the delusions of a psychotic is actually good. If only The Forgotten had stuck with that. The basic premise becomes an abduction story, a government conspiracy tale, and way-out-there sci-fi trick, and though The Forgotten has its moments, the film is ultimately a warmed over rehash of themes from “The Twilight Zone,” “Outer Limits,” and “The X-Files.” In addition to that, The Forgotten wouldn’t stand out as a “best of” in any of those TV series. The ploy is too make you think you’re getting a good mystery about a woman fighting for her memories of her deceased child, and you’re ultimately getting something else. The “abduction” special effects are admittedly quite neat and a good reason to see the film.
The performances are flimsy, with Moore being the most effective and most annoying. Her Telly Paretta is sometimes sympathetic, but mostly the character does come across as a whiny, obsessed, paranoid delusional. For all that you might want her to find her child, you’d really like her to shut up sometimes. The film also features a few other actors wasted in small, trashy parts including Gary Sinise, Alfre Woodard, and Linus Roache.
5 of 10
C+
Updated: Wednesday, August 14, 2013
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Friday, May 17, 2013
Review: "The Wrath of Kahn" is Still Great Star Trek
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn (1982)
Running time: 113 minutes (1 hour, 53 minutes)
MPAA – PG
DIRECTOR: Nicholas Meyer
WRITERS: Jack B. Sowards; from a story by Harve Bennett and Jack B. Sowards (based upon the TV series “Star Trek” created by Gene Roddenberry)
PRODUCER: Robert Sallin
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Gayne Rescher
EDITOR: William P. Dornisch
COMPOSER: James Horner
SCI-FI/ACTION/ADVENTURE
Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, George Takei, Ricardo Montalban, Bibi Besch, Merritt Butrick, Paul Winfield, Kirstie Alley, and Ike Eisenmann with Judson Earney Scott
The subject of this movie review is Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn, a 1982 science fiction movie. It is the second movie in the Star Trek film franchise, which is based on “Star Trek,” a science fiction television series originally broadcast on NBC from September 1966 to June 1969. The Wrath of Kahn finds the crew of the Enterprise fighting an old and practically forgotten nemesis and trying to stop him from using a life-generating device as the ultimate weapon.
In fact, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn’s plot is based on an episode of the TV series entitled, “Space Seed,” which was originally broadcast in February 1967, the show’s first season. Writers Samuel A. Peeples and Roman Sanchez apparently contributed to film’s story, while The Wrath of Kahn’s director, Nicholas Meyer, wrote the final script for the film, but did not receive a screen credit.
As The Wrath of Kahn opens, the USS Enterprise is commanded by Captain Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and has a mostly novice crew. Captain Kirk is now Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner), and now, he mostly oversees training of Starfleet personnel and inspection of starships. The Enterprise is about to embark on a three-week training voyage with Spock in command and Kirk along for observation.
Meanwhile, former Enterprise crewman, Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig), is on the USS Reliant with Captain Clark Terrell (Paul Winfield). The two men accidentally discover that the genetically-engineered tyrant, Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban), who once tried to seize control of the Enterprise, is still alive and has an old score to settle with Admiral Kirk. Khan learns of the “Genesis Drive,” created by Dr. Carol Marcus (Bibi Besch) and her son, David (Merritt Butrick). This device can create life on barren worlds, but it can also destroy a planet. Now, Khan wants it, but can Kirk, Spock, and the rest of the Enterprise regulars stop him?
Following the first Star Trek film, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, which was considered a disappointment to some, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn became the first great Star Trek film. I can’t remember whom, but a writer I like once described the original Star Trek series as basically a blending of World War II submarine movies and the television series, “Wagon Train.” The original Star Trek was escapist entertainment with a swashbuckling adventure aspect, but it was often socially relevant, as it alluded to, in one form or another, what was occurring in the 1960s.
The Wrath of Kahn was a bit of all of that, but on a grander scale. Director Nicholas Meyer took advantage of the medium of cinema and made the drama more melodramatic, the conflicts edgier, the villains more menacing, and the specter of death more tangible than it had been on the small screen. Even the score by James Horner evokes a sense of adventure that the earlier Star Trek film did not have. Watching this movie, I almost felt as if I were a seafaring adventurer, ready for swashbuckling fun across the expanse of outer space.
The Wrath of Kahn deals with the themes of growing old, death, and resurrection. However, I think the overarching theme of this film is renewal, especially following the first film. For the characters, there is a renewal of purpose, status, friendships, etc. Khan represents the renewal of old conflicts (which carries over into the third film). The younger crew of the Enterprise hints at a renewal of the mission. To me, this Star Trek is less about winding down and ending and more about restarting.
The performances are good, and thanks to the screenplay, William Shatner has some weighty material to use and delivers what is probably his best performance in a Star Trek film. Ricardo Montalban is fantastic – plain and simple. In Khan, Montalban delivers just the kind of grand, vengeful, madman The Wrath of Kahn has to have. He is Oscar-worth and is the main reason Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn is so distinctive among Star Trek films.
8 of 10
A
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Review: Average "Willow" Entertains
Willow (1988)
Running time: 126 minutes (2 hours, 6 minutes)
MPAA – PG
DIRECTOR: Ron Howard
WRITERS: Bob Dolman; based upon a story by George Lucas
PRODUCER: Nigel Wooll
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Adrian Biddle
EDITORS: Daniel Hanley, Michael Hill, and Richard Hiscott
COMPOSER: James Horner
Academy Award nominee
FANTASY/ADVENTURE
Starring: Warwick Davis, Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley, Jean Marsh, Patricia Hayes, Billy Barty, Pat Roach, Gavan O’Herlihy, David Steinberg, Mark Northover, Kevin Pollack, Rick Overton, Maria Holvoe, Julie Peters, Mark Vande Brake, Dawn Downing, Tony Cox, and Ruth & Kate Greenfield
The subject of this movie review is Willow, the 1988 fantasy film that was a collaboration between George Lucas and Ron Howard. Joe Johnston was also an associate producer on the film.
The 1988 film, Willow, which Ron Howard directed, was George Lucas’ attempt to do for fantasy films what Star Wars had done for science fiction films, but Willow’s box office receipts barely paid back the film’s production costs. Lucas reportedly studied mythology from around the world in the process of writing this film’s story, but in the end, he borrowed heavily from author J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings (which nearly a decade and a half later became an international super hit film trilogy) the way he borrowed from author Frank Herbert’s Dune for Star Wars. Willow is by no means great, but it’s a good, entertaining fantasy adventure for the juvenile, teens, and adults who like fantasy films, although Willow is low-wattage compared to the intensity of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings films.
In the story, Willow Ufgood (Warwick Davis), the member of a dwarfish race called the “Nelwyn,” takes possession of Elora Danan (Ruth & Kate Greenfield), a special baby girl sought by an evil sorceress, Queen Bavmorda (Jean Marsh). Bavmorda wants to kill Elora because a certain prophecy says the child will cause Bavmorda’s destruction. Willow, who is also an apprentice sorcerer, must take the baby girl back to her people, all while being pursued by Bavmorda’s soldiers. Through the difficult journey, Willow is joined on his quest by the boastful and loony swordsman, Madmartigan (Val Kilmer), and two sarcastic brownies, a type of diminutive fairy.
Although Willow borrows from such high fantasy tales at the Rings trilogy, the film is more grounded in reality, more earthy. In Willow, magic is inconsistent, and practitioners must rely as much on their wits and skills to survive as they do on magic. The film is notable for the fact that the hero is played by a dwarf actor, and the both of the powerful magic users are old women. However, nothing much about the film stands out as memorable, except for James Horner’s fabulous score, which borrows heavily from other musical sources, in particularly Mozart. The other item of note is a giant two-headed dragon that appears in the middle of the film’s narrative. It was one of the early attempts at adding computer-generated characters into live action film.
5 of 10
B-
Friday, May 20, 2005
NOTES:
1989 Academy Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing” (Ben Burtt and Richard Hymns) and “Best Effects, Visual Effects” (Dennis Muren, Michael J. McAlister, Phil Tippett, and Christopher Evans)
1989 Razzie Awards: 2 nominations: “Worst Screenplay” (Bob Dolman; George Lucas-story) and “Worst Supporting Actor” (Billy Barty)
Thursday, July 5, 2012
"The Amazing Spider-Man" is Amazingly Human
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
Running time: 136 minutes (2 hours, 16 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of action and violence
DIRECTOR: Marc Webb
WRITERS: James Vanderbilt, Steve Kloves, and Alvin Sargent; from a story by James Vanderbilt (based upon the Marvel Comic Book by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko)
PRODUCERS: Laura Ziskin, Avi Arad, and Matthew Tolmach
CINEMATOGRAPHER: John Schwartzman
EDITORS: Alan Edward Bell, Michael McCusker, and Pietro Scalia
COMPOSER: James Horner
SUPERHERO/DRAMA/SCI-FI/ACTION/ROMANCE
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Martin Sheen, Sally Field, Irrfan Khan, Campbell Scott, Embeth Davidtz, Chris Zylka, Max Charles, C. Thomas Howell, Kari Coleman, Barbara Eve Harris, and Stan Lee
The Amazing Spider-Man is a 2012 superhero film and drama from director Marc Webb and starring Andrew Garfield in the title role. This new movie is a reboot of the Spider-Man film franchise, but it is also the fourth Spider-Man film in a decade. And The Amazing Spider-Man is the best Spider-Man movie, yet.
Teenager Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) lives with his Aunt May (Sally Field) and Uncle Ben (Martin Sheen) and has since his parents, Richard (Campbell Scott) and Mary Parker (Embeth Davidtz) disappeared. Peter is an adolescent loner trying to find his place in life, and he has found a place in high school as the target of jock/bully, Flash Thompson (Chris Zylka). Peter does catch the attention of fellow student, Gwen Stacy (Emma Stone), a smart and rebellious girl.
Digging through his father’s papers, Peter learns the identity of one of Richard Parker’s old colleagues, fellow scientist Dr. Curt Connors (Rhys Ifans), who works at OsCorp (apparently a giant biotech firm). It is at OsCorp where Peter is bitten by a strange spider. The bite gives him strange powers and abilities similar to that of a spider, such as the ability to adhere to surfaces and to climb walls. After tragedy strikes, Peter decides to use his powers to fight criminals and help people, so he creates a mask and suit and names himself, “Spider-Man.” New York City does indeed need him, as there is a half-man/half-lizard monster known as “The Lizard” tearing the city apart.
When I heard that Columbia Pictures had hired Marc Webb to direct the Spider-Man movie reboot, I knew that by choosing the director of (500) Days of Summer the studio was going for something different from Sam Raimi’s three Spider-Man films. Webb certainly delivers something shockingly different. The Amazing Spider-Man clearly revisits plotlines from the first film, Spider-Man (2002), but everything about this new movie is from a different perspective.
The Amazing Spider-Man brings Peter Parker’s life into sharper focus. The screenplay, which is credited to James Vanderbilt, Steve Kloves, and Alvin Sargent (although I’m guessing that the majority of what is on screen is the work of Sargent and Kloves), emphasizes a character arc that follows Peter Parker’s journey to find himself. Peter searches for himself by trying to learn about his father. Actually, many of the film’s major characters are either trying to find themselves or find something that is missing in their lives.
All this searching makes The Amazing Spider-Man equally a character drama and a superhero movie – if not more the former than the latter. Make no mistake: there is plenty of superhero fantasy and action in this new movie, but it has such humanity because the story goes after the characters’ souls. The story is always digging at the characters, trying to get inside and discover what makes them tick. What do they want? What are they willing to do to get it? What are they afraid of? Webb gets to the heart of the character drama to the point that character is every bit as engaging, enthralling, and exciting as when Parker puts on the suit and swings over New York City or has a throw-down fight with The Lizard.
There are a number of good performances in The Amazing Spider-Man, but Andrew Garfield stands out, of course. He is magnificent as Peter Parker/Spider-Man. Unlike Tobey Maguire’s lovable, sad sack, and put-upon Peter Parker, Garfield’s Parker is a man of masks. He plays the sullen geek while in school, but at home and at work, he has a witty personality. He is also stubborn and strong-willed. Garfield makes it all believable, and he has fashioned his own Peter Parker, independent of Maguire’s Parker, which is also a fine version of Parker/Spider-Man.
As you can tell, the practically life-long Spider-Man fan in me loves The Amazing Spider-Man. Everyone involved took something familiar and created a film that seems like a revelation.
9 of 10
A+
Thursday, July 05, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
Review: "Sneakers" Has a Winning Ensemble Cast (Happy B'day, Sidney Poitier)
Sneakers (1992)
Running time: 125 minutes (2 hours, 5 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13
DIRECTOR: Phil Alden Robinson
WRITERS: Phil Alden Robinson and Lawrence Lasker and Walter E. Parkes
PRODUCERS: Lawrence Lasker and Walter E. Parkes
CINEMATOGRAPHER: John Lindley
EDITOR: Tom Rolf, A.C.E.
CRIME/COMEDY/THRILLER with elements of action and drama
Starring: Robert Redford, Dan Aykroyd, Ben Kingsley, Mary McDonnell, River Phoenix, Sidney Poitier, David Strathairn, Timothy Busfield, Eddie Jones, Donal Logue, and James Earl Jones
Computer expert Martin Bishop (Robert Redford) heads a team of renegade hackers: a former CIA employee, Donald Crease (Sidney Poitier); a gadgets wizard who goes by the name "Mother" (Dan Aykroyd); a young genius named Carl Arbegast (River Phoenix); and a blind soundman, Erwin Emory, who goes by the name “Whistler” (David Strathairn); they are “sneakers,” routinely hired to test security systems for places that don’t need to get broken into or hacked into, such as a bank. Bishop’s past comes back to haunt him when two men claiming to represent the NSA (National Security Agency) blackmail him into helping them retrieve a “black box.” Along with his former girlfriend, Liz (Mary McDonnell), Bishop’s team steals the box and discovers that it may be able to break into any computer system in the world. Now, Bishop and his team are caught between dangerous factions who would kill for the box, so they must embark on their most dangerous assignment to date.
A combination caper film, mystery, espionage thriller and comedy, Sneakers featured an all-star cast when it debuted in late summer of 1992. The blend of star names (Robert Redford and Dan Aykroyd), legendary film figures (Redford again and Sidney Poitier), acclaimed character actors (Mary McDonnell and David Strathairn), and a young gun (the late River Phoenix) gave something for everyone in the audience. The subject matter may have been a bit over the head of much of the audience at the time. The home computer had not yet come into widespread use, and hackers remained a fringe news item, as most people yet did not realize the growing part computers were playing in their lives, so they didn’t understand the dangers of hackers who could break the encryption codes of security networks. Also, Sneakers is an action-thriller with no hyper-kinetic action scenes, but the film was a hit. It’s an espionage and (ostensible) spy thriller without that razor’s edge of tension a film such as Patriot Games gives the audience.
For me, Sneakers remains a personal favorite. It’s a brilliant (seriously) caper film that uncannily has the perfect mixture of comedy, action, and suspense with all the ingredients measured correctly to a fraction. No one actor really shines; in fact, Redford’s Bishop is an odd action lead, but somehow this works. Chemistry exists here, although it seems that the cast and characters occasionally rub each other the wrong way.
Something else about the film that always stands out for me is James Horner’s score, with Branford Marsalis on alto saxophone (I think). Horner’s sweet compositions with Marsalis delectable sax playing are perfect for comic caper flick. This was another feather in the hat for a unique and highly imaginative film composer who always seemed to create film music that perfectly captured a movie’s tone. A little more than six years later, Horner would finally win two long-deserved Oscars for writing a theme song and scoring Titanic.
Sneakers is a nice look back at what was then new technologies, and it boggles the mind how that new tech inspired three men to make such a film as this. While Sneakers is more an exercise in the caper/heist genre than it is a treatise on the consequences of certain people having unlimited access to private information and the ability to manipulate that info, Sneakers remains a pleasant little treat for those who want something different in their high tech thrillers.
7 of 10
B+
Monday, December 12, 2011
Review: "House of Sand and Fog" is Filled with Conflict (Happy B'day, Jennifer Connelly)
House of Sand and Fog (2003)
Running time: 126 minutes (2 hour, 6 minutes)
MPAA – R for some violence/disturbing images, language and a scene of sexuality
DIRECTOR: Vadim Perelman
WRITER: Shawn Otto and Vadim Perelman (from a novel by Andre Dubus III)
PRODUCERS: Michael London and Vadim Perelman
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Roger Deakins
EDITOR: Lisa Zeno Churgin
COMPOSER: James Horner
Academy Award nominee
DRAMA
Starring: Jennifer Connelly, Ben Kingsley, Ron Eldard, Frances Fisher, Kim Dickens, Shohreh Aghdashloo, and Jonathan Ahdout
After being abandoned by her husband, Kathy Nicolo (Jennifer Connelly), an alcoholic, discovers that the county has foreclosed her home and put it up for auction. After the county discovers that the foreclosure was an error on their part, they try to buy the home back from the new owner, Colonel Behrani (Ben Kingsley), an Iranian military officer under the Shah (who was deposed by the Islamic revolution in the late 70’s). However, Behrani bought the house with the intention of selling it again at a profit, and he will not sell it back to the county unless he gets his asking price, which is four times what he paid for it. Thus, begins a conflict between Kathy and the colonel that has tragic consequences for all involved.
House of Sand and Fog is a well-acted mega-tragedy that switches from being harrowing and riveting to depressing and boring. The film is a brilliant rumination on how living in the past and failing to move on with one’s life can lead to both a figurative and literal death. However, it is also a painfully obvious, artsy movie drama racing down the slippery slope to film tragedy.
The film received three Academy Award nominations: Ben Kingsley for “Best Actor in a Leading Role,” Shohreh Aghdashloo for “Best Actress in a Supporting Role” for her part as Behrani’s wife, and one for James Horner’s gorgeous score. Although Kingsley and Ms. Aghdashloo did not win, they were clearly robbed. The rest of the cast stands out quite well (even prior Academy Award winner Jennifer Connelly), but Kingsley and Ms. Aghdashloo give impeccable performances in this relentlessly morose drama. In fact Kingsley is not only clearly a great film actor; he is also an artist, and when he’s in a film, his filmmaking collaborators’ efforts sometime end of up merely being the canvas upon which he paints his brilliant work.
I’ll recommend House of Sand and Fog to people who love to see good acting, if they can stomach this film’s heartache and misfortune. At least we can give director Vadim Perelman credit for so convincingly making sadness eye candy the way pop directors make action sequences so appealing.
7 of 10
B+
NOTES:
2004 Academy Awards: 3 nominations: “Best Actor in a Leading Role” (Ben Kingsley), “Best Actress in a Supporting Role” (Shohreh Aghdashloo), and “Best Music, Original Score” (James Horner)
2004 Golden Globes: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Ben Kingsley)
Saturday, June 26, 2010
"The Karate Kid" is Still a Winner
The Karate Kid (2010)
Running time: 140 minutes (2 hours, 20 minutes)
MPAA – PG for bullying, martial arts action violence and some mild language
DIRECTOR: Harald Zwart
WRITERS: Christopher Murphey; from a story by Robert Mark Kamen
PRODUCERS: James Lassiter, Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith, Ken Stovitz, and Jerry Weintraub
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Roger Pratt
EDITOR: Joel Negron
COMPOSER: James Horner
DRAMA/MARTIAL ARTS
Starring: Jaden Smith, Jackie Chan, Taraji P. Henson, Wen Wen Han, Zhenwei Wang Rongguang Yu, Zhensu Wu, Zhiheng Wang, and Luke Carberry
The Karate Kid 2010 is, of course, a remake of the 1984 film of the same name. The new film stars Jaden Smith (son of actors Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith) and international martial artist and actor, Jackie Chan. The new film is an absolutely lovable, well-made film that stands on its on and does the original proud. This time, however, kung fu, not karate, is the martial art of choice.
Twelve-year-old Dre Parker (Jaden Smith) moves to Beijing from Detroit with his mother, Sherry Parker (Taraji P. Henson), because of her new job. Dre experiences love-at-first-sight when he sees a young violinist named Mei Ying (Wen Wen Han), practicing in the park, and the feeling is mutual. However, Dre’s feelings for Mei Ying make an enemy of the class bully, Cheng (Zhenwei Wang), a kung fu prodigy and rival for Mei Ying’s affections.
Dre knows a little karate, but it is not enough to help this karate kid from America safely navigate his new home. Cheng uses kung fu to beat the crap out of him. Dre finds a friend and mentor in Mr. Han (Jackie Chan), the maintenance man of Dre’s apartment complex, after he rescues Dre from a beating. After a futile attempt to settle the dispute between Dre and Cheng peaceably, Mr. Han enters Dre in the “Open Kung Fu Tournament” where Dre may face off against his nemesis. Han begins to teach Dre real kung fu, but although he is being trained by a master, Dre realizes that surviving the tournament will be the fight of his life.
At its heart, The Karate Kid is a wonderful story about a teacher-student relationship that develops into a surrogate father-son bond. It is a superbly written (by screenwriter Christopher Murphey) example of a bond between two people in which each not only helps the other heal, but also soar to new heights of achievement and happiness.
The relationship between Dre and Mr. Han works so well because of the strong screen chemistry between Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan. Their performances make the characters’ actions and emotions seem authentic and sincere. They not only ground the story’s more fantastical moments, but they also give it a touch of goofy charm, which lightens the movie’s overall dark and sometimes edgy and grim atmosphere. Jaden has inherited his father, Will Smith’s cheeky cockiness, but the young actor seems like more of a natural talent, as if he doesn’t have to try as hard as his father.
In this film, Jackie Chan gives what is by far his best performance in an American production. Perhaps, I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am. Chan gives a complex, layered performance to create in Han, a complicated and inscrutable man. This is best exemplified in the scene in which Cheng’s Master Li (Rongguang Yu) and Mr. Han have a tense confrontation. Chan plays the scene with barely checked but mostly concealed fury. It is difficult to figure out what is going on in Mr. Han’s mind at that moment, and that’s the way Chan probably wanted it because it adds another layer of mystery to Han.
Fresh of the maligned Pink Panther 2, director Harald Swart has delivered a winner. This film, however, is as much a Chinese and American take on Rocky as it is a remake of The Karate Kid 1984, itself a teen, martial arts spin on 1976 Oscar winner for “Best Picture.” It is unsettling to see 12-year-olds beating each other up, as they do here, but The Karate Kid 2010 is excellent family entertainment. Its messages about setting goals and being open-minded and resilient make it even more of a winner.
8 of 10
A
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Review: James Cameron's "Aliens" is Still a Blast
Aliens (1986)
Running time: 137 minutes (2 hours, 17 minutes)
DIRECTOR: James Cameron
WRITER: James Cameron; from a story by David Giler & Walter Hill and James Cameron
PRODUCER: Gale Anne Hurd
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Adrian Biddle (director of photography)
EDITOR: Ray Lovejoy
COMPOSER: James Horner
Academy Award winner
SCI-FI/ACTION/THRILLER with elements of horror
Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Paul Reiser, Lance Henriksen, Carrie Henn, Bill Paxton, William Hope, and Jenette Goldman
One of the landmark action films of the last two decades is James Cameron’s Aliens. With it’s heart stopping plot twists, quick-cut editing, and nerve shattering suspense, Aliens almost killed the idea of cerebral science fiction films, and, to this day, sci-fi and action are synonymous terms when applied to film.
Aliens is the sequel to the film Alien, the 1979 Ridley Scott film that was easily one of the best of that year and spawned countless imitators. The film also introduced to a larger audience to the work of one of its visual effects creators/designers, European surrealist H. R. Giger (who earned an Academy Award for his work on the picture).
A giant corporation has colonized the planet that first appeared in Alien and where a group of interstellar miners of the Nostromo mining ship encountered the horrific alien life form. When earth loses contact with the colony, they send a group of space marines to learn what’s happened at the colony. Lt. Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), the only surviving member of the Nostromo crew, goes along as a consultant. The mission turns disastrous after the aliens slaughter most of the marines. Ripley has to use her familiarity with the aliens to lead the rest of the remaining crew to safety, including a little girl who is the sole surviving colonist.
The performances in the film are excellent, in particular Ms. Weaver who’s Lt. Ripley must act as warrior to save her group from the relentlessly attacking creatures and as a mother to the little girl Newt (Carrie Henn). Bill Paxton as the whiny and frantic Pvt. Hudson made his first big screen splash with a wild-eyed, inspired, and memorable performance. Michael Biehn, (as Cpl. Dwayne Hicks), however, should have earned leading man status with his role, but never did, and Paul Reiser (as the dishonest, evil, and murderous corporate weasel Carter J. Burke) was decidedly out of character with the kind of roles that would later make him famous in the early to mid-90’s.
Several filmmakers ably assisted James Cameron in making this film a classic. James Horner’s Oscar-nominated score would be so well appreciated that nearly two decades later, many studios still uses pieces of it as background music in movie trailers and commercials to sell other action, suspense, thriller, and horror films. Stan Winston won one of his several Oscars as one of the SFX artists on this film who adapted Giger’s work from the first film to better suit Aliens, which was more kinetic than its atmospheric predecessor. Film editor Ray Lovejoy’s achievement in helping to create this film’s frantic, breakneck, and breathless pace also shaped how action films would look from then on.
Aliens was the picture where Cameron first started getting notice for the difficulty of his film shoots and for being a hard man to please. He’s a creative director and a great filmmaker, regardless of his temperament. He got the most out of what he had to make a great film, for instance, cutting away and shooting at angles that would hide the fact that many of the actors playing aliens were only wearing half of a suit. It didn’t matter. All that camera movement created the intensity for which Aliens is so celebrated. The film suffers from one of the faults that mar most thrillers and suspense films. It was too long, and, as good as every part of the last act is, it was a bit too much. Lovers of sci-fi, action, thrillers, and horror films, however, should not miss this film.
8 of 10
A
NOTES:
1987 Academy Awards: 2 wins: “Best Effects, Sound Effects Editing” (Don Sharpe) and “Best Effects, Visual Effects” (Robert Skotak, Stan Winston, John Richardson, and Suzanne M. Benson); 5 nominations: “Best Actress in a Leading Role” (Sigourney Weaver), “Best Art Direction-Set Decoration” (Peter Lamont and Crispian Sallis), “Best Film Editing” (Ray Lovejoy), “Best Music, Original Score” (James Horner), and “Best Sound” (Graham V. Hartstone, Nicolas Le Messurier, Michael A. Carter, and Roy Charman)
1987 BAFTA Awards: 1 win: “Best Special Visual Effects” (Robert Skotak, Brian Johnson, John Richardson, and Stan Winston); 3 nominations: “Best Make Up Artist” (Peter Robb-King), “Best Production Design” (Peter Lamont), “Best Sound” (Don Sharpe, Roy Charman, and Graham V. Hartstone)
1987 Golden Globes, USA: 1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Sigourney Weaver)
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