Twilight's Edi Gathegi Cast in "X-Men: First Class"

From AOL Black Voices' "BV on Movies" blog:  Kenyan-born actor Edi Gathegi who played the vampire Laurent in Twilight and Twilight Saga: New Moon has signed on to "X-Men: First Class," the upcoming X-Men movie that looks back at the early days of the X-Men.  The 31-year old Gathegi will reportedly play Armando Munoz, the mutant also known as "Darwin."

The film is being directed by Matthew Vaughn and stars James McAvoy as Charles Xavier, Michael Fassbender as Erik Lensherr, Alice Eve as Emma Frost, Nicholas Hoult as Hank McCoy, also known as Beast, Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique, Caleb Landry Jones as Banshee, Lucas Till as Havok, and Kevin Bacon as Sebastian Shaw.  20th Century Fox will release the film on June 3, 2011.

Remembering Harvey Pekar

One of my favorite comic book people, comic book writer and one-time publisher Harvey Pekar, died July 12th. Pekar’s best known work is American Splendor, a series of autobiographical comic books that Pekar began publishing in 1976. Dark Horse Comics published American Splendor beginning in 1993 with issue 17. DC Comics, under its Vertigo imprint, published the last 8 issues. There were 39 American Splendor comic book issues published over a 32 year period.

Considered an underground comic book, American Splendor was mostly autobiographical, and Pekar used the comic book to chronicle his everyday life, including his job as a file clerk at a Veteran’s Administration hospital and his relationships with coworkers and patients. Pekar wrote the stories, but could not draw, so, over the years, a number of comic book artists drew the stories. The most famous is legendary Underground Comics artist, Robert Crumb (or R. Crumb), a long time friend of Pekar’s. Among the other American Splendor artists were Gary Dumm, Gregory Budgett, David Collier, and Frank Stack (Our Cancer Year).

Some will remember Pekar for a number of appearances that he made on the old Late Night with David Letterman show in the late 1980s. American Splendor was also adapted into a 2003 Academy Award-nominated film of the same name. Actor Paul Giamatti portrayed Pekar, but Pekar also appeared in the film as himself.

I first discovered Pekar in the mid-1980s, only a couple of years after discovering that there was such a thing as a comic book shop. I still have a weathered copy of the first American Splendor book collection, American Splendor: The Life and Times of Harvey Pekar, which Doubleday published in 1986 under its “Dolphin” imprint.

Harvey Lawrence Pekar was born on October 8, 1939 to Polish immigrant parents. Apparently, Pekar lived his entire life in Cleveland, OH, except for his time in the U.S. Navy. Pekar was 70 years old. Rest in peace.

Pekar's death is noted in this blog entry at Cleveland.com that also talks about his life and work.

There are Wikipedia entries for Pekar and American Splendor.

Smith Magazine has The Pekar Project.

My review of American Splendor is here.

American Splendor Remains a Truly Unique Film

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 61 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

American Splendor (2003)
Running time: 101 minutes (1 hour, 41 minutes)
MPAA – R for language
DIRECTORS: Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini
WRITERS: Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini (based upon the comic book series American Splendor by Harvey Pekar and Our Cancer Year by Harvey Pekar and Joyce Brabner)
PRODUCER: Ted Hope
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Terry Stacey (director of photography)
EDITOR: Robert Pulcini
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA with elements of animation, comedy, and documentary

Starring: Paul Giamatti, Hope Lange, Judah Friedlander, James Urbaniak, Madylin Sweeten, Earl Billings, Maggie Moore, Robert J. Williams, and James McCaffrey with Harvey Pekar, Joyce Brabner, Toby Radloff, and Danielle Batone

American Splendor is a film based upon the comic book of the same name, and the comic is about its author, Harvey Pekar’s, everyday humdrum life – his sufferings, the annoyances, and just getting by while winning a few skirmishes in the war called existence. See where this is going? Splendor is pretty downbeat, but one can’t help but wonder if Harvey wants to miserable. Though the film isn’t plot-centered, it’s a series of short tales with eccentric characters as the glue that holds the movie.

Splendor is a fairly interesting movie, but it’s certainly nothing I fell in love with. And despite being a 2003 critical darling, I don’t think it’s one of “the year’s best films.” Paul Giamatti does a fairly decent impersonation of Pekar, but it’s not a standout performance. I figure that he could have done this acting job in his sleep. Although I’m fairly familiar with Pekar’s work and have seen the man on TV several times, I don’t know much about his wife Joyce Brabner, though I’ve seen pictures of her. I must say that Hope Lange who plays Ms. Brabner is wishful thinking in casting because Ms. Lange turns the rather ordinary Ms. Brabner into an attractive, intriguing, and quirky matinee beauty.

The movie’s technique is a combination of film drama, documentary (where the audience gets to see the real Pekar, Brabner, and some of their associates), and animation. Several times in the film, comic book-like drawings and actual comic book art act as backdrops to the main story. It’s neat (though not original), and frankly they should have done it more. That would have made the film stand out. As it is, American Splendor is an odd oddball, not really artsy and more like something peculiar made palatable for mainstream tastes. The film is more interesting than entertaining – more than mildly interesting and above average, but well short of attaining the excellence it should have.

7 of 10
B+

NOTES:
2004 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay” (Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini)
2004 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Hope Davis)

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Ben Affleck's "The Town" to Debut at Toronto International Film Festival

Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures’ “The Town” to Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival

Directed by and Starring Ben Affleck, the Film Will Have Gala Presentation

BURBANK, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) announced today that Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ crime drama “The Town” will premiere at this year’s 35th annual festival. The Gala Presentation, which marks the North American debut of the film, will take place on Saturday, September 11, 2010.

Directed by and starring Ben Affleck, “The Town” opens in North America on September 17, 2010.

There are over 300 bank robberies in Boston every year. And most of the professionals live in a one-square-mile neighborhood called Charlestown. One of them is Doug MacCray (Ben Affleck), but he is not cut from the same cloth as his fellow thieves. Unlike them, Doug had a chance at success, a chance to escape following in his father’s criminal footsteps. Instead, he became the leader of a crew of ruthless bank robbers, who pride themselves on taking what they want and getting out clean. The only family Doug has are his partners in crime, especially Jem (Jeremy Renner), who, despite his dangerous, hair-trigger temper, is the closest thing Doug ever had to a brother.

However, everything changed on the gang’s last job when Jem briefly took a hostage: bank manager Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall). When they discover she lives in Charlestown, Jem gets nervous and wants to check out what she might have seen. Knowing what Jem is capable of, Doug takes charge. He seeks out Claire, who has no idea that their encounter is not by chance or that this charming stranger is one of the men who terrorized her only days before. As his relationship with Claire deepens into a passionate romance, Doug wants out of this life and the town. But with the Feds, led by Agent Frawley (Jon Hamm), closing in and Jem questioning his loyalty, Doug realizes that getting out will not be easy and, worse, may put Claire in the line of fire. Any choices he once had have boiled down to one: betray his friends or lose the woman he loves.

Academy Award® winner Ben Affleck (“Good Will Hunting,” “Gone Baby Gone”) directed and stars in “The Town,” a dramatic thriller about robbers and cops, friendship and betrayal, love and hope, and escaping a past that has no future.

The film also stars Rebecca Hall (“Vicky Christina Barcelona”), Jon Hamm (“Mad Men”), Oscar® nominee Jeremy Renner (“The Hurt Locker”), Blake Lively (“The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,” TV’s “Gossip Girl”), Titus Welliver (“Gone Baby Gone”), Oscar® nominee Pete Postlethwaite (“In the Name of the Father,” “Inception”), and Academy Award® winner Chris Cooper (“Adaptation”).

“The Town” is produced by Academy Award® winner Graham King (“The Departed”) and Basil Iwanyk (“Clash of the Titans”) from a screenplay by Peter Craig and Ben Affleck & Aaron Stockard, based on the novel Prince of Thieves by Chuck Hogan. The executive producers are Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni, William Fay and David Crockett, and Chay Carter served as co-producer.

The behind-the-scenes creative team was led by Oscar®-winning director of photography Robert Elswit (“There Will Be Blood”), production designer Sharon Seymour (“Gone Baby Gone”), Oscar®-nominated editor Dylan Tichenor (“There Will Be Blood”), and costume designer Susan Matheson (“The Kingdom”). The music is composed by Harry Gregson-Williams and David Buckley, who previously collaborated on Affleck’s “Gone Baby Gone.”

Warner Bros. Pictures presents, in association with Legendary Pictures, a GK Films Production, a Thunder Road Film Production, “The Town.” The film has been rated R for strong violence, pervasive language, some sexuality and drug use.

http://www.thetownmovie.com/

Review: "Oldboy" is an Incredible Movie from South Korea

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 214 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Oldboy (2003)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: South Korea
Running time: 120 minutes (2 hours)
MPAA – R for strong violence including scenes of torture, sexuality, and pervasive language
DIRECTOR: Chan-wook Park
WRITERS: Chan-wook Park, Jo-yun Hwang, Chun-hyeong Lim, and Joon-hyung Lim; from a story by Garon Tsuchiya (based upon the comic book by Nobuaki Minegishi)
PRODUCER: Seung-yong Lim
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jeong-hun Jeong
EDITOR: Sang-Beom Kim

MYSTERY/DRAMA/THRILLER with elements of action

Starring: Min-sik Choi, Ji-tae Yu, Hye-jeong Kang, Dae-han Ji, Dal-su Oh, Byeong-ok Kim, Seung-Shin Lee, and Jin-seo Yun

Oh Dae-su (Min-sik Choi) was imprisoned, drugged, and tortured for 15 years, before his captor(s) mysteriously released him. Dae-su has no idea how or why it happened, and he doesn’t know whom he should hold accountable for his suffering. Seeking revenge on his captor(s), Dae-su gets help from a kindly waitress, Mi-do (Hye-jeong Kang), and an old friend, No Joo-hwan (Dae-han Ji). Dae-su also comes upon a valuable clue when a suave young businessman, Lee Woo-jin (Ji-tae Yu), starts butting into Dae-su’s life. Who is Woo-jin? Did he play a part in Dae-su’s imprisonment? And how does Dae-su’s past tie into everything? Dae-su only has five days to discover all the answers.

Showing the influence of both Alfred Hitchcock and David Lynch, director Chan-wook Park created in his film, Oldboy, a story of revenge that is Shakespearean in its scope and has the flavor of pure, L.A. hardboiled noir, even though the story takes place in South Korea. Although the performances are excellent, in particularly the trio of Min-ski Choi, Hye-jeong Kang, and Ja-tae Yu who are all superb, Oldboy is an exercise in plot over character. Slick and brutally violent, it recalls Martin Scorcese’s Mean Streets with a splash of the Wachowski’s Brothers and Quentin Tarantino pulp crime work.

Park welcomes the viewer to engage his own mind in untangling this labyrinth of an insane and monumentally petty revenge. In that, Oldboy is the ultimate revenge flick, proving that more often than we’d like to believe, the object of a revenge plot really doesn’t know why his tormentor hates him. The victim may not even remember his alleged offense. Movie lovers with nimble minds and appetites for cinematic brilliance will like this complex and brutal mystery. Once again, a filmmaker from the Far East shows us that eye candy need not be just entertainment filler. It can also be a work of movie art.

9 of 10
A

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

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VIZ Cinema Does War, Peace, and Revenge in August

VIZ CINEMA OFFERS TALES OF VENGENCE, CONFLICT, REDEMPTION AND RECONCILIATION IN NEW AUGUST FILM PRESENTATIONS

The Japanese American Experience In World War II Is Explored In Poignant Documentaries; Action Fans Can Sample Akira Kurosawa Samurai Classics And Gritty Tales Of Betrayal And Vengeance From Korean Director Park Chan-Wook

VIZ Cinema, the nation’s only movie theatre dedicated to Japanese film, opens August with a theme of “The Winding Road to Peace” in a month that marks the 55th Anniversary of both the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the end of World War II.

Throughout August, VIZ Cinema will be a place to ponder humanity’s path from conflict to reconciliation. From films like White Light/Black Rain, which presents a unblinking look at the first time nuclear weapons were used in war from Academy Award-winning filmmaker Steven Okazaki, to 442: Live with Honor, Die with Dignity, a heartfelt new documentary that traces the battle that patriotic Japanese Americans faced both at home and abroad in World War II to become one of the most decorated infantry units of the entire war. The Japanese experience in World War II is also explored in films by Kon Ichikawa and Nagisa Oshima including, The Burmese Harp, Fires on the Plain, and Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, which stars David Bowie and Ryuichi Sakamoto.

Also not to be missed will be Samurai Saga Vol. 2, a special series presenting some of famed director Akira Kurosawa’s best known samurai films, including Seven Samurai, Rashamon and The Hidden Fortress. August also kicks off with four action packed films from South Korean director Park Chan-Wook, who first gained international attention with his gritty vengeance yarn, Oldboy, which will be among the titles screened at VIZ Cinema this month.

Advance tickets, screening times and more details are available at: www.vizcinema.com.

Park Chan-Wook Special
Witness the unforgettable imagery and kinetic action of the award-winning “Vengeance Trilogy” with truly stunning colors presented in High Definition! One of the most acclaimed and popular filmmakers in his native South Korea, Park Chan-Wook’s films are noted for their immaculate framing and often brutal subject matter. General Admission Tickets: $10:00; No discounts apply.

Thirst, July 30th One Day Only!
(Directed by Park Chan-Wook, 2009, 133 minute, Digital, Korean with English Subtitles)

A beloved and devoted priest from a small town volunteers for a medical experiment which fails and turns him into a vampire. Physical and psychological changes eventually lead to his affair with the wife of his childhood friend who is repressed and tired of her mundane life. As the one-time priest falls deeper into despair and depravity and things turn for the worse, he struggles to maintain what’s left of his humanity. R-rated with Explicit content.

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, July 31st – August 2nd and also August 5th
(Directed by Park Chan-Wook, 2002, 129 minute, Digital, Korean with English Subtitles)

The first film of Park’s “Vengeance Trilogy,” unable to afford proper care for his sister dying from kidney failure, Ryu turns to the black market to sell his own organs only to end up cheated of his life savings. His girlfriend urges Ryu to kidnap the daughter of wealthy industrialist who recently laid him off. He agrees, but unforeseen tragedies turn an innocent con into a merciless quest for revenge as the men are thrust into a desperate spiral of destruction. R-rated for Explicit content.

Oldboy, July 31st – August 4th
(Directed by Park Chan-Wook, 2003, 120 minute, Digital, Korean with English Subtitles)

Winner of the 2004 Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix, the second of the “Vengeance Trilogy” unfolds the life of Oh Dae-su, an ordinary Seoul businessman with a wife and little daughter, who is abducted and locked up in a strange, private prison. No one will tell him why he’s there or who his jailer is and his fury steadily builds to a single-minded focus of revenge. Suddenly, 15 years later, he is unexpectedly freed and given only 5 days to discover the mysterious enemy who had him imprisoned. Oldboy is based on a Japanese manga series by Garon Tsuchiya and illustrated by Nobuaki Minegishi. R-rated for Explicit content.

Lady Vengeance, July 31st – August 5th
(Directed by Park Chan-Wook, 2005, 112 minute, Digital, Korean with English Subtitles)

In the final chapter of the “Vengeance trilogy,” after being blackmailed and wrongly imprisoned for 13 years, a beautiful woman is finally set free. Now her brutally elaborate plan for vengeance against the true criminal can begin to unfold R-rated for Explicit content.

White Light/Black Rain, August 6th – 7th
"Compelling and compassionate… a stirring and heart-wrenching statement of the horrible powers that mankind holds in its fist." - The Hollywood Reporter

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Steven Okazaki presents an unblinking look at the first time nuclear weapons were used in war. After 60 years, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6th and 9th, 1945, continue to inspire argument, denial and myth. Featuring interviews with fourteen atomic bomb survivors (known as hibakusha), many who have never spoken publicly before, and four Americans intimately involved in the bombings, White Light/Black Rain provides a detailed examination of the bombings and their aftermath.

Part of ticket sales will be directly donated to the Friends of Hibakusha in Japantown.

The U.S. does not currently offer any free medical treatment programs for atomic bomb-affected individuals.

A special S.F. Theatrical Premiere Event with reception and Q&A with the Friends of Hibakusha takes place on August 6th. General admission tickets are $15.00.

Saturday, August 7th General Admission $10:00; No discounts apply.

Winding Road to Peace: Three War Films by Kon Ichikawa & Nagisa Oshima

The Burmese Harp, August 7th – 10th and also August 12th
Directed by Kon Ichikawa, 1956, 116min, Digital, Japanese with English Subtitles)

An Imperial Japanese Army regiment surrenders to British forces in Burma at the close of World War II and finds harmony through song. A private, thought to be dead, disguises himself as a Buddhist monk and stumbles upon spiritual enlightenment. Magnificently shot in hushed black and white, Kon Ichikawa’s The Burmese Harp is an eloquent meditation on beauty coexisting with death and remains one of Japanese cinema’s most overwhelming antiwar statements, both tender and brutal in its grappling with Japan’s wartime legacy.

Fires on the Plain, August 7th – 11th
(Directed by Kon Ichikawa, 1959, 104min, 35mm, Japanese with English Subtitles)

An agonizing portrait of desperate Japanese soldiers stranded in a strange land during World War II, Kon Ichikawa’s Fires on the Plain is a compelling descent into psychological and physical oblivion. Denied hospital treatment for tuberculosis and cast off into the unknown, Private Tamura treks across an unfamiliar Philippine landscape, encountering an increasingly debased cross section of Imperial Army soldiers, who eventually give in to the most terrifying craving of all – cannibalism. Grisly yet poetic, Fires on the Plain is one of the most powerful works from one of Japanese cinema’s most versatile filmmakers.

Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, August 7th – 8th and also August 11th – 12th
(Directed by Nagisa Oshima, 1983, 123min, 35mm, Japanese with English Subtitles)

In this captivating, exhilaratingly skewed World War II drama from Nagisa Oshima, David Bowie regally embodies a high-ranking British officer interned by the Japanese as a POW. Music star Ryuichi Sakamoto (who also composed this film’s hypnotic score) plays the camp commander, who becomes obsessed with the mysterious blond major, while Tom Conti is British lieutenant colonel Mr. Lawrence, who tries to bridge the emotional and language divides between his captors and fellow prisoners. Also featuring actor-director Takeshi Kitano in his first dramatic role, Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence is a multilayered, brutal, at times erotic tale of culture clash that was one of director Oshima’s greatest successes.

Bay Area Filmmakers Series Vol. 2: Junichi Suzuki War Documentaries
As part of the second installment of VIZ Cinema’s Bay Area Filmmakers Series, the theatre presents director Junichi Suzuki’s documentaries highlighting the Japanese American experience during World War II. Early Bird Ticket Special: Advance Online Tickets $10.00 (Prior to August 13th); After August 13th General Admission will be $13.00; No further discounts apply

442: Live with Honor, Die with Dignity, August 13th – 19th
(Directed by Junichi Suzuki, 2010, 100min, HD, English Language)

The 442nd Regimental Combat Team in World War II was composed of Japanese Americans who initially were looked at as a problem because of their race, but were later admired because of their heroism on the battlefields of Europe. They had to fight for not only enemy abroad but also prejudice at home. This is the story of 442nd and their veterans now and then.

Toyo’s Camera, August 13th – 19th
(Directed by Junichi Suzuki, 2008, 100min, HD, English Language)

Filmmaker Junichi Suzuki directs this documentary portrait of photographer Toyo Miyatake, a Japanese-American who smuggled his camera into an internment camp during World War II and captured images that showed the plight of his people.

Kurosawa On Sword Battles - Samurai Saga Volume 2
VIZ Cinema continues a celebration marking the centennial birth of Japan’s most beloved film director – Akira Kurosawa – with SAMURAI SAGA Vol. 2, marking nearly 50 years of big screen samurai action and drama. General Admission Tickets: $10:00; No discounts apply.

Seven Samurai, August 20th – 22nd
(Directed by Akira Kurosawa, 1954, 207min, 35mm, Japanese with English Subtitles)

One of the most beloved films of all time, Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai tells the story of a sixteenth-century village whose desperate inhabitants hire the eponymous warriors to protect them from invading bandits. This three-hour ride, featuring legendary actors Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura, seamlessly weaves philosophy, entertainment, delicate human emotions and relentless action into a rich, evocative, and unforgettable tale of courage and hope.

Rashamon, August 21st – 25th
(Directed by Akira Kurosawa, 1950, 88min, 35mm, Japanese with English Subtitles)

Brimming with action while incisively examining the nature of truth, Rashomon is perhaps the finest film ever to investigate the philosophy of justice. Through an ingenious use of camera and flashbacks, Kurosawa reveals the complexities of human nature as four people recount different versions of the story of a man’s murder and the rape of his wife. Toshiro Mifune gives another commanding performance in the eloquent masterwork that revolutionized film language and introduced Japanese cinema to the world.

Yojimbo, August 23rd – August 28th and also August 31st
(Directed by Akira Kurosawa, 1961, 110min, 35mm, Japanese with English Subtitles)

The incomparable Toshiro Mifune stars in Akira Kurosawa’s visually stunning and darkly comic Yojimbo. To rid a terror-stricken village of corruption, wily masterless samurai Sanjuro turns a range war between two evil clans to his own advantage. Remade twice, by Sergio Leone and Walter Hill, this exhilarating genre-twister remains one of the most influential and entertaining films of all time.

Sanjuro, August 25th – August 30th
(Directed by Akira Kurosawa, 1962, 96min, 35mm, Japanese with English Subtitles)

Toshiro Mifune swaggers and snarls to brilliant comic effect in Akira Kurosawa’s tightly paced, beautifully composed drama. In this companion piece to Yojimbo, jaded samurai Sanjuro helps an idealistic group of young warriors weed out their clan’s betrayer, and in the process turns their image of a “proper” samurai on its ear. Less brazen in tone than its predecessor but equally entertaining, this classic character’s return is a masterpiece in its own right.

Throne of Blood, August 28h – September 2nd
(Directed by Akira Kurosawa, 1957, 109min, 35mm, Japanese with English Subtitles)

One of the most celebrated screen adaptations of Shakespeare into film, Akira Kurosawa’s Throne of Blood reimagines Macbeth in feudal Japan. Starring Kurosawa’s longtime collaborator Toshiro Mifune and the legendary Isuzu Yamada as his ruthless wife, the film tells of a valiant warrior’s savage rise to power and his ignominious fall. With Throne of Blood, Kurosawa fused one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies with the formal elements of Japanese Noh theater to make a Macbeth that is all his own – a classic tale of ambition and duplicity set against a ghostly landscape of fog and inescapable doom.

The Hidden Fortress, August 28h – September 2nd
(Directed by Akira Kurosawa, 1958, 139min, 35mm, Japanese with English Subtitles)

A general and a princess must dodge enemy clans while smuggling the royal treasure out of hostile territory with two bumbling, conniving peasants at their sides; it’s a spirited adventure that only Akira Kurosawa could create. Acknowledged as a primary influence on George Lucas’sStar Wars, The Hidden Fortress delivers Kurosawa’s inimitably deft blend of wry humor, breathtaking action and humanist compassion on an epic scale. The Criterion Collection is proud to present this landmark motion picture in a stunning, newly restored Tohoscope edition.


VIZ Cinema is the nation’s only movie theatre devoted exclusively to Japanese film and anime. The 143-seat subterranean theatre is located in the basement of the NEW PEOPLE building and features plush seating, digital as well as 35mm projection, and a THX®-certified sound system.

About NEW PEOPLE
NEW PEOPLE offers the latest films, art, fashion and retail brands from Japan and is the creative vision of the J-Pop Center Project and VIZ Pictures, a distributor and producer of Japanese live action film. Located at 1746 Post Street, the 20,000 square foot structure features a striking 3-floor transparent glass façade that frames a fun and exotic new environment to engage the imagination into the 21st Century. A dedicated web site is also now available at: www.NewPeopleWorld.com.

Not Enough of "the crazies" in "The Crazies"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 58 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Crazies (2010)
Running time: 101 minutes (1 hour, 41 minutes)
MPAA – R for bloody violence and language
DIRECTOR: Breck Eisner
WRITERS: Scott Kosar and Ray Wright (based upon the 1973 film by George A. Romero)
PRODUCERS: Michael Aguilar, Rob Cowan, and Dean Georgaris
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Maxime Alexandre (director of photography)
EDITOR: Billy Fox
COMPOSER: Mark Isham

ACTION/HORROR/THRILLER

Starring: Timothy Olyphant, Radha Mitchell, Joe Anderson, and Danielle Panabaker

Released this past February, The Crazies is a remake of a 1973 film by famed horror movie director, George A. Romero (Dawn of the Dead). Romero’s film was both a thriller and also a satire of military and governmental bureaucracies. The Crazies 2010 is a standard horror movie thriller with the proper horror movie mood. However, the film doesn’t focus on a single, solid adversary or villain, someone or something that would be a steady menacing presence against the heroes.

The story takes place in fictional Ogden Marsh, a picture-perfect, rural American, small town of happy, law-abiding citizens who are farmers and small business owners. Late one afternoon, Pierce County Sheriff David Dutten (Timothy Olyphant) and his deputy, Russell Clank (Joe Anderson), are enjoying a local high school baseball game when one of those happy citizens shows up on the baseball field with a loaded shotgun. David is forced to kill him. Not long afterwards, another man sets his house on fire, burning to death his wife and young son in the process.

David suspects that something is turning the citizens of Ogden Marsh into depraved, blood-thirsty killers who can and will use any instrument to brutally murder their neighbors. The nonsensical violence is escalating and Ogden Marsh is falling apart when a mysterious military force storms into town. As heavily armed soldiers wearing gas masks round up the people of Ogden Marsh, David and Russell gather David’s wife, Judy Dutten (Radha Mitchell), and a young woman named Becca Darling (Danielle Panabaker). The quartet is trying to escape certain death, either caused by the military or at the hands of “the crazies,” the people infected by the mysterious virus, “Trixie.”

The Crazies is a perfectly competent film, but it wants to be two films – a horror movie and an action thriller. The original movie was also like two films – a military drama and an escape movie. The Crazies 2010 is an escape movie focusing on Sheriff Dutton and his three companions as they try to avoid the military (primarily). It is also a kind of zombie movie (secondary) with the crazies as the zombie-like killers. The problem is that the film never gives us enough of either the military or the crazies, with the crazies being the better of the two.

There are some chilling moments involving the military (which is largely faceless), especially early on when the soldiers roundup the citizens. The truly frightening moments, however, are with the crazies, who are like the infected in 28 Days Later, except the crazies aren’t mindless. They’re homicidal and so damn scary, and when they show up, the film delivers some brilliant moments of screen horror. It is fine that this new film is faithful to the 1973 one, but this film does not do what the advertisements for it promised – give us a movie about a small band of survivors fighting to escape the crazies.

And the characters aren’t that interesting. They’re largely stock characters, and the script really doesn’t give any depth even to the ones with potential – David, Judy, Russell, and Becca. The Crazies has the right mood and scary sequences, but as a horror movie, it largely misses the potential of its best assets – the crazies.

5 of 10
C+

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

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