Review: "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines" Remains Entertaining

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 101 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Terminator 3:  Rise of the Machines (2003)
Running time:  109 minutes (1 hour, 49 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong sci-fi violence and action, and for language and brief nudity
DIRECTOR:  Jonathan Mostow
WRITERS:  John Brancato and Michael Ferris, from a story by Tedi Sarafian and John Brancato & Michael Ferris (based upon characters created by James Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd)
PRODUCERS:  Matthias Deyle, Mario F. Kassar, Hal Lieberman, Joel B. Michaels, Andrew G. Vajna, and Colin Wilson
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Don Burgess (D.o.P.)
EDITORS:  Nicolas de Toth and Neil Travis
COMPOSER:  Marco Beltrami

SCI-FI/ACTION/THRILLER

Starring:  Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Claire Danes, Kristanna Loken, David Andrews, and Earl Boen

Terminator 3:  Rise of the Machines is a 2003 science fiction and action film from director Jonathan Mostow.  It is the third film in the Terminator film franchise.  In this film, Schwarzenegger's Terminator travels from a post-apocalyptic future to the present in order to protect 19-year-old John Connor and his future wife from a new and more lethal female Terminator.

So is it as good as T2?  Honestly, I wasn’t all that crazy about Terminator 2: Judgment Day.  Sure, the special effects were eye popping at the time; it was like watching actual, real magic on a movie screen.  There were many scenes that I liked, but overall, T2 seemed like some Gothic and ponderous beast, not at all like the lean and hungry fighting machine that was The Terminator, the original and still the best.  But rest assured, a good time is to be had in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines.

John Connor (Nick Stahl), the future savior of mankind in its war against the machines, is now 18.  In the nearly six years that have passed since the omnipresent Skynet sent a T-1000 to kill him and his mother, Connor has dropped out of society.  He’s off the grid:  no phone, no job, no credit card, and no home.  Judgment Day (originally set to occur in 1997), the day that the machines were supposed to launch nuclear war on humanity, has passed, and nothing happened.

John’s still afraid that something is going to happen.  He’s grown weary of his mantle when suddenly a T-X (Kristanna Loken), a female terminator, comes through time.  Vastly superior to previous terminators, the T-X is programmed not only to kill John but a future lieutenant, Kate Brewster (Clair Danes), as well.  Right behind her is the T-850 (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a replica of the terminator that saved his life as a boy, but this new model is holding dark and shocking secrets deep in its computer brain.

I have to give credit to director Jonathan Mostow (U-571) and the screenwriters for going for the jugular.  T3 is a wall to wall cartoon, occasionally it’s all balls out.  Not only is it so very cartoon like; it’s has the kind of outrageous and over the top stunts and action scenes that usually drawn by the best comic book artists.  Mostow lavishes mayhem and destruction with an attention to detail when it comes to delineating the rubble and fallout from destroyed buildings and cars.  I don’t think destruction has had such chaos and beauty since the Japanese animated film (anime) Akira.  In terms of shootouts, car chases, explosions, and bloody, gore-filled deaths, this is one of the fanciest, grandest B-movies ever made.  It so fun because you don’t have to think, but the movie is still good enough to hold your attention.  As insane as the pandemonium of T3 is, it’s not strained and forced like the disabled anarchy of Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle.

T3 is certainly not as thoughtful as its predecessors, being relatively philosophy free.  This time Arnold’s terminator is grimmer, darker, and more determined to follow his programming regardless of the feelings of the humans he has to protect, even those of his charge John.  Ms. Loken makes a fearsome T-X, and she certainly has moments when she could scare Dracula.  However, I found that her beautiful face made her seem a little too much like candy, more tart than dangerous.  The T-X is so powerful that it’s hard to believe that it could not carry out its programmed task.  Nick Stahl is an excellent John Connor, beset by doubts and fearful of the future.  Ms. Danes has her moments, but it takes awhile for her to warm up to the part.

Still, even the rough spots can’t take the fun out of this crazed trip of non-stop violent action.  Sometimes hilarious, often breathtaking, and thrilling from end to end, T3 fits right in with the other Terminator films, and it’s a hoot to boot.

7 of 10
A-

Edited:  Thursday, November 5, 2015


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: New "Fantastic Four" is Fantastically Problematic

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 49 (of 2015) by Leroy Douresseaux

[A version of this review originally appeared on Patreon.]

Fantastic Four (2015)
Running time:  100 minutes (1 hour, 40 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sci-fi action violence, and language
DIRECTOR:  Josh Trank
WRITERS:  Simon Kinberg, Jeremy Slater, and Josh Trank (based on characters created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby)
PRODUCERS:  Gregory Goodman, Simon Kinberg, Robert Kulzer, Hutch Parker, and Matthew Vaughn
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Matthew Jensen
EDITORS:  Elliot Greenberg and Stephen E. Rivkin
COMPOSER:  Marco Beltrami and Philip Glass

SUPERHERO/SCI-FI/ACTION

Starring:  Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kata Mara, Jamie Bell, Toby Kebbell, Reg E. Cathey, Tim Blake Nelson, Owen Judge, Evan Hannemann, Don Yesso, and Dan Castellaneta

Fantastic Four is a 2015 superhero movie and science fiction film from director Josh Trank.  It is the third film in 20th Century Fox's Fantastic Four film franchise, and it is also a reboot of that franchise.  Fantastic Four 2015 follows four young people whose physical forms are changed in shocking ways after being exposed to energy from an alternate and dangerous universe.

Reed Richards (Miles Teller) and Ben Grimm (Jamie Bell) have been friends since childhood, when Ben started helping Reed build his prototype teleportation device.  It is in high school when they attract the attention of Professor Franklin Storm (Reg E. Cathey), who is the director of the Baxter Foundation, a government-sponsored research institute for young prodigies.

Reed joins the foundation and begins working with Storm's adopted daughter, Susan “Sue” Storm (Kate Mara), and eventually his son, Johnny Storm (Michael B. Jordan).  Reed also gets to work with Professor Storm's wayward protege, Victor Von Doom (Toby Kebbell).  Together, this quartet builds a device called the “Quantum Gate,” which opens a way to “Zero,” a planet in an parallel dimension.  Awaiting those who travel to “Zero,” however, is energy that will change them in unimaginable and fantastic ways.

Fantastic Four isn't a good movie, but it isn't a terrible movie.  It is like flavorless chewing gum.  The gum might start with a lot of promise, but pretty soon you're just chewing for the sake of chewing and the flavor is gone.  That is this Fantastic Four reboot.  It starts off with promise, but pretty soon, the story seems to be just going through the motions, and I was simply watching it out of habit, waiting for the end credits to roll.

Fantastic Four 2015 is mostly build-up.  In some ways, it is like a long teaser for another movie, the real Fantastic Four (or “FF”) movie that is “coming soon.”  What we get with this new movie is something akin to a prologue or an overly long introductory act.  In fact, this film's big villain, called “Doom,” rather than Doctor Doom, does not show up until the last 10 or 15 minutes of the movie.

I think that there are a kernel or two of good ideas in this new Fantastic Four that could become something good... in a second movie... produced by an entirely different group of people.  I think that the special effects for Reed Richards' (Mr. Fantastic) stretching powers is much better than it was in the 2005 and 2007 Fantastic Four films.  Ben Grimm (The Thing) looks better in this reboot than in the earlier films.  Hard as it is to believe, Kate Mara as Sue Storm  is worse than Jessica Alba as Sue in the first two films.  I like Michael B. Jordan, but his Johnny Storm (Human Torch) is stiff compared to Chris Evans' rascally Human Torch from the earlier films.

Overall, director Josh Trank has made a Fantastic Four film that is actually less entertaining than Tim Story's uneven 2005 and 2007 FF films.  I wouldn't recommend this even to comic book fans.  It is so mediocre and uninspiring that it isn't even awful enough to be an enjoyable “bad movie.”  It is like the ultimate average and bland film.  This Fantastic Four makes it clear that 20th Century Fox should just stop making Fantastic Four movies.

4 of 10
C

Saturday, August 8, 2015


The text is copyright © 2015 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

114 Films Compete for 5 "Original Score" 87th Oscar Nominations

114 ORIGINAL SCORES IN 2014 OSCAR RACE

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 114 scores from eligible feature-length motion pictures released in 2014 are in contention for nominations in the Original Score category for the 87th Oscars.

The eligible scores along with their composers are listed below, in alphabetical order by film title:

"American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs," Vivek Maddala, composer
"Anita," Lili Haydn, composer
"Annabelle," Joseph Bishara, composer
"At Middleton," Arturo Sandoval, composer
"Atlas Shrugged: Who Is John Galt?," Elia Cmiral, composer
"Bears," George Fenton, composer
"Belle," Rachel Portman, composer
"Big Eyes," Danny Elfman, composer
"Big Hero 6," Henry Jackman, composer
"The Book of Life," Gustavo Santaolalla and Tim Davies, composers
"The Boxtrolls," Dario Marianelli, composer
"Brick Mansions," Trevor Morris, composer
"Cake," Christophe Beck, composer
"Calvary," Patrick Cassidy, composer
"Captain America: The Winter Soldier," Henry Jackman, composer
"The Case against 8," Blake Neely, composer
"Cheatin'," Nicole Renaud, composer
"Dawn of the Planet of the Apes," Michael Giacchino, composer
"The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them," Son Lux, composer
"Divergent," Tom Holkenborg, composer
"Dolphin Tale 2," Rachel Portman, composer
"Dracula Untold," Ramin Djawadi, composer
"Draft Day," John Debney, composer
"The Drop," Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders, composers
"Earth to Echo," Joseph Trapanese, composer
"Edge of Tomorrow," Christophe Beck, composer
"Endless Love," Christophe Beck and Jake Monaco, composers
"The Equalizer," Harry Gregson-Williams, composer
"Exodus: Gods and Kings," Alberto Iglesias, composer
"The Fault in Our Stars," Mike Mogis, composer
"Finding Vivian Maier," J. Ralph, composer
"Fury," Steven Price, composer
"Garnet's Gold," J. Ralph, composer
"Girl on a Bicycle," Craig Richey, composer
"The Giver," Marco Beltrami, composer
"Godzilla," Alexandre Desplat, composer
"Gone Girl," Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, composers
"The Good Lie," Martin Léon, composer
"The Grand Budapest Hotel," Alexandre Desplat, composer
"The Great Flood," Bill Frisell, composer
"Hercules," Fernando Velázquez, composer
"The Hero of Color City," Zoë Poledouris-Roché and Angel Roché, Jr., composers
"The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies," Howard Shore, composer
"The Homesman," Marco Beltrami, composer
"Horrible Bosses 2," Christopher Lennertz, composer
"How to Train Your Dragon 2," John Powell, composer
"The Hundred-Foot Journey," A.R. Rahman, composer
"The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1," James Newton Howard, composer
"I Origins," Will Bates and Phil Mossman, composers
"The Imitation Game," Alexandre Desplat, composer
"Inherent Vice," Jonny Greenwood, composer
"Interstellar," Hans Zimmer, composer
"The Interview," Henry Jackman, composer
"Into the Storm," Brian Tyler, composer
"Jal," Sonu Nigam and Bickram Ghosh, composers
"The Judge," Thomas Newman, composer
"Kill the Messenger," Nathan Johnson, composer
"Kochadaiiyaan," A.R. Rahman, composer
"Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return," Toby Chu, composer
"The Lego Movie," Mark Mothersbaugh, composer
"The Liberator," Gustavo Dudamel, composer
"Life Itself," Joshua Abrams, composer
"Living Is Easy with Eyes Closed," Pat Metheny, composer
"Lucy," Eric Serra, composer
"Maleficent," James Newton Howard, composer
"The Maze Runner," John Paesano, composer
"Merchants of Doubt," Mark Adler, composer
"Million Dollar Arm," A.R. Rahman, composer
"A Million Ways to Die in the West," Joel McNeely, composer
"Mr. Peabody & Sherman," Danny Elfman, composer
"Mr. Turner," Gary Yershon, composer
"The Monuments Men," Alexandre Desplat, composer
"A Most Violent Year," Alex Ebert, composer
"My Old Lady," Mark Orton, composer
"Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb," Alan Silvestri, composer
"Nightcrawler," James Newton Howard, composer
"No God, No Master," Nuno Malo, composer
"Noah," Clint Mansell, composer
"Non-Stop," John Ottman, composer
"The One I Love," Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans, composers
"Ouija," Anton Sanko, composer
"Paddington," Nick Urata, composer
"Penguins of Madagascar," Lorne Balfe, composer
"Pompeii," Clinton Shorter, composer
"The Purge: Anarchy," Nathan Whitehead, composer
"The Railway Man," David Hirschfelder, composer
"Red Army," Christophe Beck and Leo Birenberg, composers
"Ride Along," Christopher Lennertz, composer
"Rocks in My Pockets," Kristian Sensini, composer
"Rosewater," Howard Shore, composer
"St. Vincent," Theodore Shapiro, composer
"The Salt of the Earth," Laurent Petitgand, composer
"Selma," Jason Moran, composer
"The Signal," Nima Fakhrara, composer
"Snowpiercer," Marco Beltrami, composer
"Song of the Sea," Bruno Coulais, composer
"Still Alice," Ilan Eshkeri, composer
"The Tale of the Princess Kaguya," Joe Hisaishi, composer
"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles," Brian Tyler, composer
"That Awkward Moment," David Torn, composer
"The Theory of Everything," Jóhann Jóhannsson, composer
"This Is Where I Leave You," Michael Giacchino, composer
"300: Rise of an Empire," Tom Holkenborg, composer
"Tracks," Garth Stevenson, composer
"Transformers: Age of Extinction," Steve Jablonsky, composer
"22 Jump Street," Mark Mothersbaugh, composer
"Unbroken," Alexandre Desplat, composer
"Under the Skin," Mica Levi, composer
"Virunga," Patrick Jonsson, composer
"Visitors," Philip Glass, composer
"A Walk among the Tombstones," Carlos Rafael Rivera, composer
"Walking with the Enemy," Timothy Williams, composer
"Wild Tales," Gustavo Santaolalla, composer
"X-Men: Days of Future Past," John Ottman, composer

A Reminder List of works submitted in the Original Score category will be made available with a nominations ballot to all members of the Music Branch, who shall vote in the order of their preference for not more than five achievements.  The five achievements receiving the highest number of votes will become the nominations for final voting for the award.

To be eligible, the original score must be a substantial body of music that serves as original dramatic underscoring, and must be written specifically for the motion picture by the submitting composer.  Scores diluted by the use of tracked themes or other preexisting music, diminished in impact by the predominant use of songs, or assembled from the music of more than one composer shall not be eligible.

The 87th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 15, 2015, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

The Oscars will be held on Sunday, February 22, 2015, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live by the ABC Television Network.  The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

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Review: "3:10 to Yuma" Remake a Superb Modern Western

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 13 (of 2008) by Leroy Douresseaux

3:10 to Yuma (2007)
Running time:  122 minutes (2 hours, 2 minutes)
MPAA – R for violence and some language
DIRECTOR:  James Mangold
WRITERS:  Halsted Welles and Michael Brandt & Derek Haas (based on the short story by Elmore Leonard)
PRODUCERS:  Cathy Konrad
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Phedon Papamichael (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Michael McCusker
COMPOSER:  Marco Beltrami
Academy Award nominee

WESTERN/ACTION/THRILLER

Starring:  Russell Crowe, Christian Bale, Logan Lerman, Dallas Roberts, Ben Foster, Peter Fonda, Vinessa Shaw, Alan Tudyk, Luce Rains, Gretchen Mol, and Ben Petry

Director James Mangold’s rousing, edgy Western, 3:10 to Yuma, is a remake of a 1957 film of the same name that starred Glenn Ford and Van Heflin.  Mangold (Walk the Line) isn’t robbing the grave of Hollywood classics; instead, he has fashioned the Western as a modern, suspense-thriller that is as close to an old-fashioned horse opera as a modern film can be.  Both the first film and Mangold’s remake are based on the short story, “Three-Ten to Yuma,” written by Elmore Leonard and first published in the March 1953 issue of Dime Western Magazine.

Rancher Dan Evans (Christian Bale) struggles to support his ranch and family during a long drought.  Desperate for money, Evans agrees to transport the captured outlaw, Ben Wade (Russell Crowe), from nearby Bisbee to Contention, the closest town with a rail station.  There, they’ll wait for the 3:10 train to Yuma, where Wade will be imprisoned while awaiting trial for his numerous crimes, mostly murder and robbery.  Holed up in a Contention hotel, Wade attempts psychological havoc on Evans, offering Evans much more money in exchange for his freedom than he would get for holding Wade captive.  Meanwhile, Wade’s henchmen, led by the vicious Charlie Prince (Ben Foster), storm into town offering money to any man who will shoot Wade’s captors.  Complicating matters, Dan’s son, William (Logan Lerman), has stubbornly joined his father on this deadly mission.

Mangold’s sturdy remake isn’t an exercise in pointless violence, although the film is indeed violent, and while it is more graphically violent than Westerns from the 30’s to the 60’s, this modern version of 3:10 to Yuma heals the wounded heart of the Western genre which has, with a few exceptions, been in steep decline on the big screen.  This is a grand character study, and acting its chief strength, relying on the considerable talents of Russell Crowe and Christian Bale.

The good guy/bad guy relationship between Crowe’s Ben Wade and Bale’s Dan Evans has to be played just right in order to work, or the relationship will seem like a tired old storytelling cliché.  The characters that Bale usually play seem like the everyman as quiet man.  Evans isn’t a hero or even a brave man, as we usually think of bravery, and his son William reminds him every chance he gets, by words, with a stare, or in his sullen expression.  Evans, however, is determined this one time – in dealing with Ben Wade – to be heroic.

On the other hand, Russell Crowe’s Ben Wade is the devil – pure and simple.  Supernaturally wily, he seems faster, stronger, smarter, and more vicious than any other human he encounters.  He has given in to his pure instincts and wants – like an animal, but much more dangerous because he is ultimately a human without the checks and balances of ethics and morals.

The viewer wouldn’t be overdoing it by seeing Evans as the Christ-like sacrifice and Wade his devilish tempter.  The good/bad dynamic, however, is a staple of the Western, and 3:10 to Yuma is rife with the genre standards.  That is how this extremely well-acted and superbly-directed film honors the American Western, and 3:10 to Yuma honors this venerable genre with gusto.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2008 Academy Awards:  2 nominations:  “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Score (Marco Beltrami) and “Best Achievement in Sound” (Paul Massey, David Gaimmarco, and Jim Stuebe)

Sunday, March 09, 2008

Review: Fight Scenes Cut Nicely in "The Wolverine"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 50 (of 2013) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Wolverine (2013)
Running time:  126 minutes (2 hours, 6 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence, some sexuality and language
DIRECTOR:  James Mangold
WRITERS:  Mark Bomback and Scott Frank (based on the characters and stories appearing in Marvel Comics)
PRODUCERS:  Hugh Jackman, Hutch Parker, and Lauren Shuler Donner
CINEMATOGRAHER: Ross Emery (D.o.P.)
EDITOR:  Michael McCusker
COMPOSER:  Marco Beltrami

SUPERHERO/ACTION/MARTIAL ARTS

Starring:  Hugh Jackman, Tao Okamoto, Rila Fukushima, Hiroyuki Sanada, Svetlana Khodchenkova, Brian Tee, Haruhiko Yamanouchi, Will Yun Lee, Ken Yamamura, and Famke Janssen

The Wolverine is a 2013 superhero movie from director James Mangold.  Starring Hugh Jackman in the title role, it is also the sixth film in the X-Men franchise.  This film is not a sequel to the previous Wolverine solo movie, X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009).  In the new movie, an old acquaintance summons Wolverine to Japan, where the hero becomes embroiled in a conflict involving family, gangsters, and ninja.

Following the events depicted in X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), Logan/Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) lives as recluse in an isolated forest outside a small town in the Yukon.  He is haunted by the death of Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), whom he was forced to kill (in X-Men: The Last Stand).

A young Japanese woman named Yukio (Rila Fukushima) has been tracking Logan.  She tells him that an old friend who was once the young soldier he saved decades earlier during World War II wants to see Logan before he dies.  Once in Japan, Logan meets Ichiro Yashida (Haruhiko Yamanouchi), now a dying old man who is the head of a Japanese technology empire.  He makes Logan a shocking offer, one that forces Logan to confront his demons.  Logan considers himself through with being a soldier and a hero, until he is forced to protect Yashida’s granddaughter, Mariko (Tao Okamoto), from several kidnapping conspiracies.  Although weakened and ailing, Logan is determined to show his adversaries that he is still the animal known as The Wolverine.

Hugh Jackman has come to embody Logan/Wolverine the way Christopher Reeve embodied Clark Kent/Superman, beginning over 30 years ago in Superman: The Movie (1978).  Jackman carries The Wolverine on his broad, muscular shoulders, but given the hoopla leading up to The Wolverine’s release, one would think the film would be an all-time great superhero movie, but it is not.

Don’t get me wrong.  The Wolverine has some superb and exhilarating action sequences and fight scenes – the kind for which fans of Wolverine in comic books have been waiting.  The fight on top of a moving bullet train recalls the great battle at the end of the first Mission: Impossible movie in 1996.  This is solid entertainment, but much of the character drama seems contrived.  The screenplay by Mark Bomback and Scott Frank, who rewrote the original version written by Oscar-winning screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie (who does not receive a screen credit), turns the good female supporting characters into mere accessories to Wolverine.  The mutant known as Viper (Svetlana Khodchenkova) is under-utilized, so she is ultimately wasted.  Many of the male supporting characters are just caricatures of Japanese men or stock bad guys.

But Jackman saves the day.  With the help of the action stuff, Jackman makes The Wolverine the best superhero movie of Summer 2013.  Just getting a chance to see him in action makes me forget about the things in this movie that bother me.  Jackman takes what could have been merely entertaining and gives it that extra-something that only true movie stars can give.

7 of 10
B+

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Review: Brad Pitt is the Man in "World War Z"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 46 (of 2013) by Leroy Douresseaux


World War Z (2013)
Running time: 116 minutes (1 hour, 56 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for language and some disturbing images
DIRECTOR: Marc Forster
WRITERS: Matthew Michael Carnahan and Drew Goddard & Damon Lindelof; from a screen story by Matthew Michael Carnahan and J. Michael Straczynski (based on the novel by Max Brooks)
PRODUCERS: Ian Bryce, Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, and Brad Pitt
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Ben Seresin
EDITORS: Matt Chesse and Roger Barton
COMPOSER: Marco Beltrami

HORROR/ACTION/THRILLER

Starring: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, Daniella Kertesz, Fana Mokoena, James Badge Dale, Ludi Boeken, Matthew Fox, David Morse, Sterling Jerins, Abigail Hargrove, Fabrizio Zacharee Guido, Peter Capaldi, and Pierfrancesco Favino

Sometimes, I see movies that make me feel like a fanboy – so happy and satisfied to be entertained by my favorite movie stars and filmmakers. Recently, Brad Pitt’s new movie made me a Brad Pitt fanboy.

World War Z is a 2013 horror thriller and zombie movie from director Marc Forster. The film is based on the 2006 novel, World War Z, written by Max Brooks (the son of Mel Brooks). The film stars Brad Pitt as a United Nations employee who is trying to solve the mystery of a zombie pandemic that is threatening to destroy humanity.

World War Z opens in domestic harmony as former United Nations employee Gerry Lane (Brad Pitt) prepares breakfast for his wife, Karin (Mireille Enos), and his daughters, Rachel (Abigail Hargrove) and Constance (Sterling Jerins). Later, the family is stuck in heavy traffic in Philadelphia that soon turns to mass bedlam. Crazed people are attacking and biting one another, and the ones who are bitten become like their attackers within ten seconds of being bitten.

Gerry and his family are rescued by a former UN colleague, Thierry Umutoni (Fana Mokoena), the UN Deputy Secretary-General. Gerry learns that a virus has turned into a worldwide outbreak that is turning people into ferocious, rabid zombies, and the ensuing chaos has toppled armies and governments. The outbreak is threatening to destroy humanity itself. Gerry is soon forced to travel the world in a race against time and hope to find a cure for this pandemic.

Plain and simple, World War Z is an action movie. Yes, it is an apocalyptic horror film, a horror thriller, a scary movie, and a zombie movie. However, it moves with the precision of a Jason Bourne movie and throws pitched-battles like a movie about military special operations (such as Tears of the Sun). It is fast-moving and jittery, even when Brad Pitt’s Gerry Lane is being thoughtful and observant. And it is the good movie kind of fast-moving and jittery.

Director Marc Forster orchestrates this Hollywood entertainment product so that it transforms mere spectacle into the spectacular. As far as I’m concerned, this is his most passionate and emotionally-charged film since 2001’s Monster’s Ball, for which Halle Berry won an Oscar.

World War Z is also a Brad Pitt movie, and because Brad is a true movie star and a truly fine actor, he carries the audience with his character Gerry Lane. He carries us on a pulse-pounding thrill ride that makes us (at least, some of us) forget some of the holes in the concept. Our cinematic faith in our movie stars is rewarded when they deliver the goods. In World War Z, Pitt delivers some kind of good.

8 of 10
A

Saturday, June 29, 2013

Review: "The Sessions" Keeps it Real

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 25 (of 2013) by Leroy Douresseaux


The Sessions (2012)
Running time: 95 minutes (1 hour, 35 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong sexuality including graphic nudity and frank dialogue
DIRECTOR: Ben Lewin
WRITER: Ben Lewin (based on article “On Seeing a Sex Surrogate” by Mark O'Brien)
PRODUCERS: Judi Levine, Ben Lewin, and Stephen Nemeth
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Geoffrey Simpson (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Lisa Bromwell
COMPOSER: Marco Beltrami
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA

Starring: John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, William H. Macy, Moon Bloodgood, Annika Marks, Adam Arkin, Rhea Perlman, W. Earl Brown, Robin Weigert, Blake Lindsley, Ming Lo, Rusty Schwimmer, and Jennifer Kumiyama

The Sessions is a 2012 drama from writer/director Ben Lewin. The independent film is the story of Mark O’Brien, a real-life poet who was paralyzed from the neck down due to polio. The film is based on the article, “On Seeing a Sex Surrogate,” which was written by O’Brien about the sex surrogate who helped him lose his virginity.

The Sessions opens in 1988 in Berkeley, California where we meet Mark O’Brien (John Hawkes). Mark lives in an iron lung due to complications from polio, which he contracted as a child. Due to his condition, Mark has never had sex. Hunting for someone to relieve him of the burden of his virginity, Mark seeks companionship in the women near to him. After consulting with his priest, Father Brendan (William H. Macy), Mark goes to a professional sex surrogate. Mark meets Cheryl Cohen-Greene (Helen Hunt), a sex therapist and surrogate, who agrees to help him through a series of sessions. This arrangement, however, ends up being, depending on the time and the techniques used, both more and less complicated than either one expected.

There is such overwhelming, beautiful humanity in The Sessions. Writer-director Ben Lewin’s script creates characters that have to be intimate and vulnerable with each other, but not in a contrived way. The actors take what Lewin gives them and make characters that are honestly human by being vulnerable. Vulnerability reveals what is both pitiable and pathetic and also durable and strong, and these are the things that open the characters to the audience. When the audience can go into the characters on such a seemingly intimate level, made-up people can seem like honest-to-God real people, the kind that the audience can’t help watching.

And what wonderful performances the cast gives, from top to bottom. At the 2013 Film Independent Spirit Awards, John Hawkes won “Best Male Lead” and Helen Hunt won “Best Supporting Female.” Sadly, only Hunt earned a corresponding Oscar nomination. Individually, these two actors give great performances; together, they make magic.

In The Sessions, Hawkes is on the level of Daniel Day-Lewis (who won the best actor Oscar at the 2013 Oscars ceremony), as he transforms himself into another person, not a character, but an actual person. Hawkes’ Mark O’Brien is as real as a fictional character can be. Helen Hunt offers so many levels of conflicted emotions and deeply romantic longings. In her hands, Cheryl Cohen-Greene could actually be the lead in this movie. Hunt makes her such a beautiful soul, so I’m glad that this artist is still a working actress.

There are other fine performances. William H. Macy brings some much needed levity to this film as the acerbic sounding board, Father Brendan. Moon Bloodgood is radiant in a quiet role, full of subtle motions and colors.

I have to admit that I shed some tears at this movie; it is both heartbreaking and achingly beautiful. The frank sexual discussions and sex talk are not at all erotic or arousing. I found myself mostly wincing when Mark and Cheryl are sexual. The Sessions, however, aroused the movie lover in me. It is one of the best films of 2012 and, as a love story, is exceedingly special and exceptional. Let’s hope Ben Lewin can keep making movies that come close to the excellence of The Sessions.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
2013 Academy Awards, USA: 1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Helen Hunt)

2013 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Supporting Actress” (Helen Hunt)

2013 Golden Globes, USA: 2 nominations: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama” (John Hawkes) and “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Helen Hunt)

Saturday, April 06, 2013

Review: "The Omen" Remake is Very 666

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 126 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Omen (2006)
Running time: 110 minutes (1 hour, 50 minutes)
MPAA – R for disturbing violent content, graphic images, and some language
DIRECTOR: John Moore
WRITER: David Seltzer
PRODUCERS: Glenn Williamson and John Moore
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jonathan Sela
EDITOR: Dan Zimmerman
COMPOSER: Marco Beltrami

HORROR/DRAMA/THRILLER

Starring: Julia Stiles, Liev Schreiber, Mia Farrow, David Thewlis, Pete Postlethwaite, Giovanni Lombardo, Reggie Austin, Tonya Graves, and Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick

The subject of this movie review is The Omen, a 2006 horror thriller. This film, which is also known as The Omen: 666, is a remake of the 1976 horror film, The Omen. This remake is written by David Seltzer who also wrote the screenplay for the 1976 film.

Venerated movie critic Roger Ebert (the only writer to win a Pulitzer Prize for writing film criticism) says that the new movie, The Omen, a remake of the 1976 film of the same name, is faithful to that original. It’s been well over 25 years since I’ve seen the 1976 flick, so I can’t say with certainty. However, David Seltzer, who wrote the first film, has also written the remake, and I remember enough to say that at least this new flick creeped me out just as the original did.

Robert Thorn (Liev Schreiber) is a young American diplomat in Rome, awaiting the birth of his first child by his wife, Katherine (Julia Stiles). He arrives at the hospital, where the presiding priest, one Father Spiletto (Giovanni Lombardo), informs Robert that Katherine had an extremely difficult delivery, during which their infant son died. The priest also tells him that Katherine doesn’t know that their child died. He reports to Robert that another woman delivered the same time Katherine went into labor, and while that mother died during delivery, her son survived. Father Spiletto implores Robert to take this other infant as his own son, but not tell Katherine that this isn’t her infant. God won’t mind this little deception, the priest tells Robert.

Five years later, the Thorns’ son, the mystery infant they named Damien (Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick), is a brooding, peculiar child who seems to be, from the point of view of his mother, the nexus of strange events. Katherine feels detached from the child, and she insists that Robert hire a nanny to help her with the boy. Into their lives arrives Mrs. Blaylock (Mia Farrow), who seems as strange as Damien. They mostly ignore the weirdness in their lives, especially Robert, but when Father Brennan (Pete Postlethwaite), a frantic priest with a haunted air and haunted look about him, continually gives Robert dire warnings about Damien, the newly minted U.S. Ambassador starts to have his own misgivings. With the help of a photographer, Keith Jennings (David Thewlis), Robert is about to discover his son’s true origins and a secret so dire that the fate of mankind may hang in the balance.

The Omen is an adult psychological thriller, a supernatural suspense story in the tradition of Rosemary’s Baby, The Exorcist, and of course the 1976 version of The Omen. Recent films of that type include such box office stumbles as End of Days, Lost Souls, and The Ninth Gate. Director John Moore takes the few changes the new movie makes to the original flick and uses them to create a creepy film with a narrative haunted by the proverbial ominous future. Known for directing commercials before helming such films as Behind Enemy Lines (2001) and Flight of the Phoenix (2004), Moore blends composer Marco Beltrami’s eerie score with his own visual gumbo of ghostly locales and engaging, but troubled characters. Moore and his crew turn their filming locations in Italy, Ireland, Croatia, and the Czech Republic into places where the supernatural is quite natural: an isolated monastery reachable only by traveling across a midst covered lake; an ancient underground Hebrew village; the forlorn mansion in which the Thorns live, and a weird Etruscan graveyard, etc.

Moore also gets superb performances from his cast, each one giving his character that something extra that makes him or her much more appealing than the standard horror movie victim. Schreiber adds of touch of Laurence Olivier circa Rebecca to Robert Thorn, while Julia Stiles is riveting and spot-on as Katherine, a mother so terrified of her child that it leads to dreams filled with terrible apparitions. Mia Farrow is the ultimate witch-hag evil nanny – all wide-eyed with intense devotion to her evil charge and a stone cold face surrounded by thick mane of hair. As for Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick as Damien, it’s scary that a child actor can play the bad seed so well. Seamus’s Damien is a soul spoiled - just pure rotten, like bad meat surrounded by an evil presence. Pete Postlethwaite and David Thewlis also strike the perfect notes in their respective supporting character parts.

I would compare The Omen to the 2005 film, The Skeleton Key. Both are entertaining supernatural thrillers aimed at an older crowd, each one at times a little illogical and having holes in both concept and execution. Good, but not great, The Omen delivers not less, but a little more than it promises.

6 of 10
B

Wednesday, June 7, 2006

NOTES:
2007 Razzie Awards: 1 nomination: “Worst Supporting Actor” (David Thewlis, also for Basic Instinct 2)

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Daniel Radcliffe Has the Right Stuff for "The Woman in Black"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 62 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux


The Woman in Black (2012)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: U.K. with Canada and Sweden
Running time: 95 minutes (1 hour, 35 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for thematic material and violence/disturbing images
DIRECTOR: James Watkins
WRITER: Jane Goldman (based on the novel by Susan Hill)
PRODUCERS: Richard Jackson, Simon Oakes, and Brian Oliver
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Tim Maurice-Jones (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Jon Harris
COMPOSER: Marco Beltrami

HORROR/MYSTERY/THRILLER

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Ciarán Hinds, Janet McTeer, Misha Handley, Jessica Raine, Sophie Stuckey, and Liz White

The Woman in Black is a 2012 British horror and mystery thriller starring Daniel Radcliffe. The film is loosely based on the 1983 novel, The Woman in Black, written by Susan Hill. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe, who is famous for playing the title role in the Harry Potter films. Radcliffe plays a young lawyer who travels to a remote village where he discovers a vengeful ghost terrorizing the locals.

The Woman in Black’s film story is set in the Edwardian era (1901-1910). Arthur Kipps (Daniel Radcliffe) is a young attorney living in London. Kipps is also a young widower with a four-year-old son, Joseph (Misha Handley). A senior partner at the firm for which Kipps works is displeased with Arthur’s performance. Arthur gets an assignment that can save his career (for the time being). He must travel to the remote coastal village of Crythin Gifford, where he must gather the paperwork to sell Eel Marsh House, the home of a recently deceased client.

After a long journey by train, Arthur arrives at Crythin Gifford and finds the villagers acting coldly towards him. Samuel Daily (Ciarán Hinds), a wealthy local, and his wife, Elizabeth (Janet McTeer), are the only locals who welcome him. Arthur comes to understand that the people do not want him to go to Eel Marsh House, which is abandoned, but he must go to the home in order to search for important paperwork. When he finally settles in at the old house, Arthur learns that he is not alone when he sees the Woman in Black. Who is she and what does she want? Why does her mere appearance so frighten the villagers?

The Woman in Black is a classic ghost story that relies on setting and atmosphere more so than violence and action. It is a mystery because Arthur Kipps is trying to solve several mysteries that revolve around the Woman in Black and the villagers. It is a thriller because the story seems to always have a sound like a creak or a thud or some kind of wraith-like apparition ready to push in front of the camera and into your field of vision. It is a pure horror movie because it is simply chilling. I had goose bumps. My blood frequently ran cold. An intense tingly feeling ran through my upper arms, shoulders, upper back, neck, and head so many times that I often wondered if I was having a medical emergency.

The Woman in Black will keep you either on the edge of your seat or pressed into the back of your seat or both. Daniel Radcliffe gives a good performance, one that is tailored for this gothic-styled ghost story. Radcliffe will make it hard for you to think about Potter while watching this exceptionally scary movie. The Woman in Black will make you forget about anything else when she is around.

8 of 10
A

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Review: "The Thing" 2011 Suffers Next to "The Thing" 1982

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 17 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Thing (2011)
Running time: 103 minutes; MPAA – R for strong creature violence and gore, disturbing images, and language
DIRECTOR: Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.
WRITER: Eric Heisserer (based upon the story “Who Goes There” by John W. Campbell, Jr.)
PRODUCERS: Marc Abraham and Eric Newman
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Michel Abramowicz
EDITORS: Peter Boyle, Julian Clarke, and Jono Griffith
COMPOSER: Marco Beltrami

SCI-FI/HORROR/THRILLER/MYSTERY

Starring: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Joel Edgerton, Ulrich Thomsen, Eric Christian Olsen, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Paul Braumstein, Trond Espen Seim, Kim Bubbs, Jørgen Langhelle, Jan Gunnar Røise, and Stig Henrik Hoff

One thing that becomes clearer to a budding writer as he or she develops writing skills is the importance of conflict. Sometimes horror movies are less about conflict than they are about cheap scares.

Who Goes There? is a novella written by John W. Campbell, Jr. under the pen name Don A. Stuart. It was first published in the August 1938 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. The story is about group of scientific researchers in Antarctica and their encounter with an alien that assumes the shape, memories, and personality of any living thing it devours. The Howard Hawks/Christian Nyby film, The Thing from Another World (1951), is a loose adaptation of the Who Goes There? The 1982 John Carpenter movie, The Thing, was a remake of the 1951 film, but Carpenter’s version (written by Bill Lancaster) was more faithful to Campbell’s novella. There is a third film adaptation of Who Goes There?

The Thing is a 2011 science fiction horror film that acts as a prequel to the events depicted in Carpenter’s 1982 film. Not only are the Hawks and Carpenter films among my favorite movies, but I also consider them two of the great science fiction and horror movies of all time. The Thing 2011 pits scientists against a sneaky alien menace, but much of the movie lacks conflict or struggle.

The Thing 2011 is set in and around Thule Station, a Norwegian research station in Antarctica. The scientists and researchers at the station have just discovered a spacecraft buried deep beneath the ice. One of the scientists recruits American paleontologist, Kate Lloyd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), to come to Thule, where Kate learns that the scientists have also discovered a survivor from the spacecraft buried in the ice. The scientists return the alien to the station in a block of ice, but they soon learn that the alien is still alive. Now, it is consuming and replicating people in the station, and Kate seems to be the only one who truly understands the situation. But will she be able to tell the difference between the real humans and the copies?

The Thing 2011, directed by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr., is loving and respectful of John Carpenter’s 1982 film. In some ways, Heijningen’s film is as much a remake of Carpenter’s film as it is a prequel, but I think that’s why the new film comes out being a fairly average science fiction horror film. The first hour of this movie seems like nothing more than procedure, as if the director and screenwriter were more determined to set up a scenario rather than tell a story. I could feel the weight of Carpenter’s classic film weighing down the narrative of this new movie. Perhaps, Universal Pictures would have been better off remaking Carpenter’s movie or making (dare I say) the more daring choice and producing a sequel to the 1982 movie.

It doesn’t help that the characters are not interesting. They seem like a bunch of dull people standing around a boring party hoping that something will happen to liven up things. That “something” is the alien, and when it finally starts attacking like a mad-monster big dog, Kate and a few other characters suddenly seem interesting. That’s because the story finally embraces conflict and struggle. The human/alien conflict creates a struggle to live, and when human characters struggle to live in fiction, we pretty much always pull for them. The alien’s struggle to survive (which means killing humans) certainly makes the story more interesting.

When there is no conflict, the movie is a bust, but for about 20 minutes during this movie’s second half, it is actually first-rate science fiction-horror. Then, it starts to misfire again, alternating ridiculous and cool. The Thing has such cheap scares as what’s-around-the-corner, the monster attacks, and the ambiguous shadows, etc. There is potential here, but most of it is wasted. The Thing 2011 is mostly just an awkward love letter to a better movie, so please watch John Carpenter’s The Thing, if you haven’t seen it already. Or if you have, see it again; it’s always a pleasure to watch.

5 of 10
C+

Thursday, March 01, 2012

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Review: "I, Robot" is a Star Vehicle and a Star Sci-Fi Film (Happy B'day, Will Smith)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 126 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

I, Robot (2004)
Running time: 115 minutes (1 hour, 55 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for intense stylized action, and some brief partial nudity
DIRECTOR: Alex Proyas
WRITERS: Jeff Vintar and Akiva Goldsman; from a screen story by Jeff Vintar (suggested by a book by Isaac Asimov)
PRODUCERS: John Davis, Topher Dow, Wyck Godfrey, and Laurence Mark
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Simon Duggan (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: William Hoy, Richard Learoyd, and Armen Minasian
COMPOSER: Marco Beltrami
Academy Award nominee

SCI-FI/ACTION/THRILLER with elements of drama and mystery

Starring: Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan, Alan Tudyk, James Cromwell, Bruce Greenwood, Adrian L. Ricard, Chi McBride, Jerry Wasserman, and Fiona Hogan

In the year 2035, U.S. Robotics is about to roll out their most advanced robot, the NS5, when the company’s most brilliant robot scientist and inventor, Dr. Alfred Lanning (James Cromwell), commits suicide. Techno-phobic cop, Detective Del Spooner (Will Smith) investigates the case with the notion that a robot, specifically an apparently hyper-advanced version of the NS5 named “Sonny” (voice of Alan Tudyk), actually killed Dr. Lanning. Spooner’s investigation earns him the ire of his supervisor (Chi McBride) and U.S. Robotics’ headman, Lawrence Robertson (Bruce Greenwood). Spooner, nevertheless, soldiers on and uncovers an even larger threat to humanity posed by the new robots and a mysterious other.

Directed by Alex Proyas, I, Robot has none of the dark visuals Proyas displayed in his best-known work, The Crow and Dark City. Visually the film looks like Minority Report, and the film story is similar to both that film and the recent Paycheck. Proyas does an admirable job making I, Robot, a very entertaining and thrilling summer action movie. The film seamless flows from one scene to another, which is quite a trick for Proyas to have turned considering the script juggles and discards three major plot points: a murder mystery, corporate intrigue, and technological Armageddon. It’s a disappointment that the film didn’t focus on any one of the three, for it would have better severed the movie; still, the film is very good popcorn entertainment.

I must admit to being a big fan of Will Smith’s work. The handsome, talented, and (clearly) ambitious performer is both a quality actor and a big time movie star. His bravado, charm, endearing personality, wit and sarcasm, and screen presence carry this film and keep it well above mediocrity. Smith is also very good in sci-fi films; they’re a natural fit for him, and he dominates them the way Harrison Ford used to do in action movies or the way Tom Cruise still does in anything. If you’re a fan of Smith’s work, I, Robot is a must-see delight; if you’re an SF fan, you’ll probably see this anyway.

7 of 10
B+

NOTES:
2005 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Achievement in Visual Effects” (John Nelson, Andy Jones, Erik Nash, and Joe Letteri)

2005 Black Reel Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Film, Drama”

2005 Image Awards: 1 nomination: “Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture” (Will Smith)

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Review: Entertaining "Scream 4" Treads Familiar Territory

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 32 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

Scream 4 (2011)
Running time: 111 minutes (1 hour, 51 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong bloody violence, language and some teen drinking
DIRECTOR: Wes Craven
WRITER: Kevin Williamson (based on characters created by Kevin Williamson)
PRODUCERS: Wes Craven, Iya Labunka, and Kevin Williamson
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Peter Deming (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Peter McNulty
COMPOSER: Marco Beltrami

HORROR/MYSTERY/THRILLER

Starring: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Emma Roberts, Hayden Panettiere, Rory Culkin, Marley Shelton, Anthony Anderson, Adam Brody, Nico Tortorella, Marielle Jaffe, Alison Brie, Erik Knudsen, Mary McDonnell, Anna Paquin, Kristen Bell, Heather Graham, and Roger Jackson (voice)

A little over 11 years after Scream 3, Scream 4 hits movie theatre screens in an explosion of blood and guts. However, Scream 4 is not just a sequel. It is also something of a remake of and homage to the original 1996 movie, Scream.

On the 15th anniversary of the Woodsboro massacre (as seen in the original movie), Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) returns to Woodsboro, the final stop on the tour to promote her book, Out of Darkness. Sidney discovers that she cannot escape the horrors of her past, because two high school students have just been murdered by the new Ghostface. Sidney also finds herself thrust back into the lives of the only other two people to survive the various Ghostface killers, Sheriff Dwight “Dewey” Riley (David Arquette) and his wife, journalist-turned-novelist, Gail Weathers Riley (Courteney Cox).

Now, Sidney’s young cousin, Jill Roberts (Emma Roberts), and her high school classmates are the targets of the new Ghostface. This new generation of potential victims, however, seems to relish the murderous attention of the infamous killer and hope this latest Ghostface rampage will help bring them fame in the age of social networking. Will they still be excited when they learn that the new murder spree is not like a sequel, but is instead like a reboot? Do they know that Ghostface is playing by new rules? Anyone can die anytime.

As a slasher film, Scream 4 is entertaining. Ghostface remains a terrific horror movie villain, slaughtering his victims to the point that they seem like butchered meat and offal. Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette are reliable, if not a little a hoary. The new cast is, for the most part, pretty good, but Hayden Panettiere’s saucy Kirby Reed is the only standout. Overall, when Scream 4 plays it straight, it is a better-than-average horror movie.

Director Wes Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson continue their efforts to make the Scream franchise self-referential and each installment a horror movie about horror movies. This is where Scream 4, as well as the other sequels, flounders. The original film, for all its hip attitude and pop culture references, was a traditional horror movie, only slicker and with a better script and filmmaking. The original’s charming small town setting was perfect for a horror movie, and the youthful cast was vibrant and cool. The villains behind the Ghostface killer had believable (though crazy) motivation for their murder spree. Scream was a genuine horror flick.

Scream 4 wants to be more than something from the horror movie slasher subgenre. The script makes Scream 4 essentially a remake inside a sequel, and some of the film seems like a middle-aged guy’s rant against Internet celebrity and social media culture. That’s just filler material. It’s time for some fresh faces and ideas. Scream 4 is at its best when it focuses on what it already has that every successful horror franchise needs – a great villain. So if there is a fifth film, hopefully it will feel more like a fresh reboot instead of a tired sequel. Still, Scream 4 offers some bloody good fun.

6 of 10
B

Sunday, April 17, 2011

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Review: Wes Craven Makes "Scream 3" Worth the Repetition

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 52 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Scream 3 (2000)
Running time: 116 minutes (1 hour, 56 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong horror violence and language
DIRECTOR: Wes Craven
WRITER: Ehren Kruger (based upon characters created by Kevin Williamson)
PRODUCERS: Cathy Konrad, Marianne Maddalena, and Kevin Williamson
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Peter Deming
EDITOR: Patrick Lussier
COMPOSER: Marco Beltrami

HORROR/MYSTERY/THRILLER

Starring: David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Patrick Dempsey, Parker Posey, Scott Foley, Deon Richmond, Emily Mortimer, Lance Henriksen, Jenny McCarthy, Matt Keeslar, Patrick Warburton, Liev Schreiber, Kelly Rutherford, and Jamie Kennedy

When a series of murders are tied to Stab 3, a movie about the tragic events in her life, the most famous survivor of the Woodsboro massacre, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), leaves her secluded residence in Northern California to visit Stab 3’s Hollywood film set. Of course, the remaining survivors of Woodsboro and of the other Woodsboro-related murders – hot tabloid TV reporter, Gail Weathers (Courteney Cox), and Woodsboro deputy, Dwight “Dewey” Riley (David Arquette), are also on the scene. But they all soon learn that in the third film of a trilogy, all the rules are thrown out the window. The killer could be anyone, and even heroes can die.

Scream 3 is supposedly the closing chapter of the Scream franchise, and it’s a pretty good send off. Ehren Kruger’s script is certainly in the heart and vein of Scream creator Kevin Williamson’s scripts for the first two films. Kruger ably captures the self-referential, meta-lite atmosphere of the earlier films, and Kruger’s is less a satire or homage to horror flicks and more itself a good horror movie.

The cast is good, and the actors really understand their parts. The players who are supposed to be campy murder victims play their parts with relish, while the leads are intense and skillful. But the true hero of Scream 3, as he was for the first two, is horrormeister Wes Craven, who may be the most successful director of horror films in the history of movie making. He’s also skillful and adept at making even the rough spots in this move work, because he helms slasher flicks with the verve of an auteur making art films.

Scream 3 is not great, but it’s scary and funny and hard to stop watching. It’s clever and witty, both in its smart moments and in its lesser scenes. Though it seems to fall apart in some scenes of its last act, the film is worth viewing for its many genuinely creepy moments that keep you on the edge of your seat.

6 of 10
B

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Review: "Scream 2" Doesn't Sustain Strong Start

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 51 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Scream 2 (1997)
Running time: 120 minutes (2 hours)
MPAA – R for language and strong bloody violence
DIRECTOR: Wes Craven
WRITER: Kevin Williamson (based upon characters Kevin Williamson created)
PRODUCERS: Cathy Konrad and Marianne Maddalena
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Peter Deming (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Patrick Lussier
COMPOSER: Marco Beltrami

HORROR/MYSTERY/THRILLER

Starring: Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jamie Kennedy, Laurie Metcalf, Elise Neal, Jerry O’Connell, Timothy Olyphant, Jada Pinkett, Liev Schreiber, Lewis Arquette, Duane Martin, Rebecca Gayheart, Portia de Rossi, Omar Epps, Heather Graham, (voice) Roger L. Jackson, Tori Spelling, and Luke Wilson

Two years after the shocking events in Scream, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and Randy Meeks (Jaime Kennedy), the only surviving teens of the Woodsboro massacre, are attending college. Sidney is trying to get on with her life until a copycat killer begins acting out a real-life sequel, and some of Sidney’s college classmates meet a grisly fate at the hands of a knife-wielding killer. Ambitious reporter Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) and Woodsboro deputy Dewey (David Arquette) are also back as the new killing spree leaves no one safe and no one above suspicion of being the Woodsboro copycat murderer.

Scream 2 is, for the most part, quiet entertaining. It does not, however, have half the wild and crazy energy of the first, and part of that may be because the original film was full of nutty high school kids running amok and having a good time, although there was a murderer in their midst. There are plenty of party crazy college students in the sequel, but we don’t see much of them because the film really zeroes in on Sidney’s character. Wacky kid characters made the first film fun, not female problems. Beyond Sidney’s small circle of associates, no other characters, not even bit players, come in to add something surprising to the mix.

Scream 2 is worth watching, at least for the first hour. After that there are some good moments, but the film begins to fall apart.

5 of 10
B-

NOTES:
1998 Razzie Awards: 1 nomination: “Worst New Star” (Tori Spelling)

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Review: "Dracula 2000" is 2000 Times Bad

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 5 (of 2001) by Leroy Douresseaux

Dracula 2000 (2000)
Running time: 99 minutes; MPAA – R for violence/gore, language and some sexuality.
DIRECTOR: Patrick Lussier
WRITERS: Joel Soison, from a story by Joel Soison and Patrick Lussier
PRODUCERS: W.K. Border and Joe Soison
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Peter Pau (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Peter Devaney Flanagan and Patrick Lussier
COMPOSER: Marco Beltrami

HORROR

Starring: Jonny Lee Miller, Justine Waddell, Gerard Butler, Danny Masterson, Jeri Ryan, Colleen Anne, Fitzpatrick, Jennifer Esposito, Lochlyn Munro, Sean Patrick Thomas, Omar Epps, Nathan Fillion, and Christopher Plummer

Patrick Lussier’s (a film editor on Mimic, Scream 2 and Scream 3) Dracula 2000 presents the fabled count as a young, handsome, curly-haired Adonis. Easily the sexiest Dracula since Christopher Lee, Gerard Butler’s vampire overwhelms the helpless screen with his stunningly good looks; no doubt, he’s got to get his props in the looks department. The problem is that his looks make it difficult to accept him as Dracula. Vampires dine on humans for Pete’s sake, and the idea of them as romance novel cover boys is pure silliness. Even Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, and Gary Oldman had nastiness about them. This vampire’s handsome appearance would have his female (and some male) victims at his neck before he even had a chance to bare his fangs.

In this nouveau version of the classic story, Abraham Van Helsing (Christopher Plummer) is an English antiques dealer. Sometime during the 19th century, Van Helsing successfully captured Dracula (Gerard Butler). He keeps him locked in a well-fortified crypt, and he draws the Count’s cursed blood and injects it into his body to make himself immortal. That way he will always be alive to recapture Dracula if (or when) he escapes, since by this movie’s logic, the Count cannot be killed, and Van Helsing must always be there to save the world.

A small band of thieves led by a man named Marcus (Omar Epps), breaks into the crypt, and later, unwittingly release Dracula as the thieves escape to America. Loose in New Orleans, Dracula tracks Van Helsing’s daughter Mary Heller (Justine Waddell) who shares a psychic connection to Dracula via the vampire blood her father passed to her. Van Helsing’s chases the count, while his own assistant Simon Sheppard (Jonny Lee Miller, Trainspotting) follows him.

Dracula 2000 is by no means special, and the movie proudly revels in being dumb. The filmmakers never seem to aspire to give anything above the ordinary. The movie looks ordinary, and the acting outside of Plummer is poor. One can find in this movie things that one can find in many vampire movies that predate it. This story is so familiar that changing the locale to New Orleans simply isn’t enough to inject something new into the story. The movie doesn’t even try to take advantage of the wealth of stereotypes that setting a story in New Orleans offers: voodoo, Cajuns, jazz, organized crime, Harry Connick, Sr. under investigation again, Mardi Gras, etc. Apparently, the makers assumed that if they simply hiring a young, hot, photogenic cast would be enough to draw in the 18 to 35 set to watch an old story they’ve seen before. Granted that it worked to make American Pie from Porky’s, it just doesn’t work all the time.

And the little jerky “fastmo” camera thing that Stephen Norrington used in Blade to show the high speed at which vampires moved is an old idea beaten to death in Dracula 2000. Omar Epps (The Wood, Love and Basketball) is wasted. No less talented than Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett, Heath Ledger, etc., only the color of his skin keeps him from getting the good roles and keeps him slumming in crap like this.

Poor Justine Waddell’s character spends so much time swooning in and out of visions; one would swear it was because of drunkenness rather than because she shares a link with a vampire. Her psychic connection with Dracula is more annoying than informative here. Unable to stop, catch her breath, and act because she’s often running away from this Fabio version of Dracula, her potential is wasted. And her romps with Dracula’s buxom crew of vampire sex kittens, led by Jeri Ryan (the Borg erection enhancer late of Star Trek: Voyager), is not as exciting as one would think. Doe-eyed and confused, Mary Heller is a sympathetic figure in a pathetic movie; character and audience are cheated.

2 of 10
D

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