Review: Giamatti, Hoffman Golden in "Barney's Version"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 58 (of 2011) by Leroy Douresseaux

Barney’s Version (2010)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Canada
Running time: 134 minutes; MPAA – R for language and some sexual content
DIRECTOR: Richard J. Lewis
WRITER: Michael Konyves (based upon the novel by Mordecai Richler)
PRODUCER: Robert Lantos
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Guy Dufaux
EDITOR: Susan Shipton
COMPOSER: Pasquale Catalano
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA/COMEDY

Starring: Paul Giamatti, Dustin Hoffman, Rosamund Pike, Scott Speedman, Anna Hopkins, Jake Hoffman, Minnie Driver, Bruce Greenwood, Rachelle Lefevre, Thomas Trabacchi, Clé Bennett, Saul Rubinek, Mark Addy, and David Cronenberg, Denys Arcand, and Atom Egoyan

Barney’s Version is a 2010 Canadian film based upon the 1997 novel of the same title by Mordecai Richler. A comedy and drama, Barney’s Version looks at three decades in the life of a picaresque character and his three wives.

Impulsive, irascible, and fearlessly blunt with a foul mouth, Barney Panofsky (Paul Giamatti) is a Jewish Canadian television producer who drinks hard, smokes too many cigars, and is a rabid hockey fan. He owns Totally Unnecessary Productions, which produces a long-running soap opera, “Constable O’Malley of the North.”

At the age of 65, Barney looks back on his life. There is success and wealth, but there are also many mistakes and failures. Underlying his story are three wives: Clara “Chambers” Charnofsky (Rachelle Lefevre), a free-spirit who loves free love (and Barney’s friends); the second wife, Mrs. Panofsky (Minnie Driver), a talkative, self-centered Jewish princess; and Miriam Grant (Rosamund Pike), the love of his life who gives birth to his children. Also part of Barney’s life story is Bernard “Boogie” Moscovitch (Scott Speedman), a drug addict and failed writer who gets Barney in trouble with the law.

Barney’s Version is marked by some good performances, and, in particular, a topnotch lead performance by Paul Giamatti, who won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Barney Panofsky. Dustin Hoffman, as Barney’s father, Izzy Panofsky, gives one of those robust, fragrant supporting performances that stand out from the other supporting performances. Like many films that make extensive use of flashbacks, however, Barney’s Version ends up looking like an interesting highlight reel rather than a fully developed story that is, in turn, about something or that is built around a solid thematic structure.

I’m not saying that Barney’s Version is not a good movie, but simply that it seems like no more than bits and pieces of a larger story about one of those great fictional characters that grab a hold of our imagination. By the end of Barney’s Version, I thought, “This is good, but there is more. Something is missing.” Still, movie lovers who love character dramas will want to try Barney’s Version.

7 of 10
B+

NOTES:
2011 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Achievement in Makeup” (Adrien Morot)

2011 Golden Globes: 1 win: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy” (Paul Giamatti)

Friday, July 08, 2011

------------------------

Review: Ejiofor Wears "Kinky Boots" Quite Well (Happy B'day, Chiwetel Ejiofor)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 195 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Kinky Boots (2005)
Running time: 107 minutes (1 hour, 47 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for thematic material involving sexuality and for language
DIRECTOR: Julian Jarrold
WRITERS: Geoff Deane and Tim Firth
PRODUCERS: Nick Barton, Peter Ettedgui, and Suzanne Mackie
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Eigil Bryld
EDITOR: Emma E. Hickox

COMEDY/DRAMA/MUSIC

Starring: Joel Edgerton, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sarah-Jane Potts, Nick Frost, Linda Bassett, Jemima Rooper, Robert Pugh, Ewan Hooper, and Stephen Marcus

After inheriting the family business, Charlie Price (Joel Edgerton) becomes the fourth generation head of Price and Sons, Ltd., a shoe making company in Northhampton, England. Charlie had other plans – primarily working in London and marrying his fiancé, Nicola Marsden (Jemima Rooper). However, he feels obligated to keep the factory running, but his late father left the business financially insecure. It doesn’t help that the current English footwear market is dominated by cheap imports from Eastern Europe and elsewhere.

When he meets Lola (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a cabaret singer and drag queen in London, Charlie gets the idea of turning Price and Sons into a factory that produces women’s boots that men can wear – kinky boots, and he hires the sassy Lola to design this racy line of boots. However, Lola finds both the factory and Northhampton a difficult fit for him. And on the eve of their trip to Italy for the Milan Shoe Fair, everything starts to fall apart for Charlie.

Inspired by the true story of a traditional men’s footwear factory in Northhamptonshire that turned to making kinky boots for transvestites, Kinky Boots is the kind of British movie in the vein of The Full Monty or Billy Elliot – British indie films that occasionally capture the fancy of American audiences, even the kinds of audiences that normally don’t bother with American independent films. Mixing comedy and drama or pathos and joy, Kinky Boots is basically a feel good movie. The direction isn’t distinctive, but it’s good, and the writing nicely dramatizes what must have been a long, drawn out, and occasionally painful process in real life. None of the characters or actors really stand out… except one.

Since his first leading role in 2002’s Dirty Pretty Things (released in the U.S. in 2003), Chiwetel Ejiofor has worked steadily, proving that he is a gifted actor, in a number of diverse roles and for an eclectic list of directors including Woody Allen (Melinda and Melinda) and Spike Lee (Inside Man). As the drag queen Lola, Ejiofor takes a character that has in recent times become a feel good flick stereotype – the drag queen. He tosses out the drag queen’s cinematic baggage and ignores what other actors have done and goes directly to the character. Ejiofor shows us who Lola truly is, even if it takes us a while to get it, and he does it singing up a storm with joy and gusto.

In one pivotal scene near the end of the film, Edgerton’s Price makes the kind of speech to Lola that, had it been in another film, was meant to change Lola. However, it is Price who needs to prove his mettle, Lola knows who she is because Ejiofor makes it that way. Kinky Boots may not be great, but Ejiofor gives a great performance – the kind that words alone fail to describe. You have to see the man.

6 of 10
B

Saturday, September 9, 2006

----------------------

"Machine Gun Preacher" Now with Relativity Media

Relativity Acquires Forster’s Machine Gun Preacher

Studio to Release Biopic Starring Butler This Fall

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Relativity Media announced today that it has acquired North American rights from Lionsgate to theatrically market and distribute Machine Gun Preacher. Directed and produced by DGA and Golden Globe®-nominee Marc Forster (Finding Neverland, Monster’s Ball) and written by Jason Keller (Relativity’s Untitled Snow White Project), the film stars Gerard Butler (300) in a tour de force performance and will release in Los Angeles and New York on September 23, 2011. The film will expand markets in the weeks to follow. Lionsgate will continue to oversee international distribution on the film, working in partnership with Relativity.

The film also showcases powerful performances by an ensemble cast, including Michelle Monaghan (Due Date), Kathy Baker (Cold Mountain), Oscar®-nominee Michael Shannon (Revolutionary Road), Madeline Carroll (The Spy Next Door) and breakout actor Souleymane Sy Savane (Goodbye Solo).

Machine Gun Preacher is based on the true story of Sam Childers, a former drug-dealing criminal who finds faith leading him on a path to East Africa. Shocked by the mayhem in Sudan, Childers becomes a crusader for hundreds of refugee children. Inspired to create a safe haven for the multitudes fleeing enslavement by the brutal Lord’s Resistance Army, he restores peace to their lives and eventually his own.

Producing are Relativity’s Robbie Brenner, Safady Entertainment’s Gary Safady and Craig Chapman, and GG Filmz’s Deborah Giarratana.

“This is a powerful story, and we feel strongly that it is one audiences need to see. Forster once again proves that he is among the best directors of our time and Butler delivers a career-defining performance bolstered by a rock solid supporting cast,” says Relativity’s President of Worldwide Production, Tucker Tooley.

“The film is blessed to have two passionate partners in Relativity and Lionsgate. I’m excited to be working with both companies to bring the incredible story of Sam Childers to the world. I’m really proud of my cast, and all of their hard work in making this movie that means so much to all of us personally,” said Forster.

“We have a longstanding relationship with Marc, and given that together we felt it was best for the film to be released domestically this year, we are very happy that Relativity is able to handle it,” says Mike Paseornek, Lionsgate’s President of Motion Picture Production and Development.

Looking ahead, Relativity will release David Ellis’ Shark Night 3D on September 2, 2011 and then the highly-anticipated Immortals on November 11, 2011, starring Henry Cavill, Stephen Dorff, Isabel Lucas, Freida Pinto, Luke Evans and Kellan Lutz with John Hurt and Mickey Rourke. The studio is in production on its Untitled Snow White Project (in theatres March 16, 2012), starring Lily Collins as Snow White, Oscar®-winner Julia Roberts as the evil Queen, Armie Hammer as Prince Andrew Alcott, and Nathan Lane as the hapless and bungling servant to the Queen. Relativity’s expansive 2012 slate also includes Haywire (in theatres January 20, 2012), Act of Valor (in theatres February 17, 2012), Untitled Raven Project (in theatres March 9, 2012), Untitled Farrelly/Wessler Project (in theatres April 13, 2012), House at the End of the Street (in theatres April 20, 2012), Safe Haven (in theatres June 1, 2012) and Hunter Killer (in theatres December 21, 2012).


ABOUT RELATIVITY MEDIA, LLC
Relativity Media is a next-generation studio engaged in multiple aspects of entertainment including full-scale film and television production and distribution, the co-financing of major studio film slates, music publishing, sports management, and digital media. Additionally, the company makes strategic partnerships with, and investments in, media and entertainment-related companies and assets.

To date, Relativity has committed to, produced and/or financed more than 200 motion pictures. Released films have accumulated more than $15 billion in worldwide box office receipts. Relativity’s recent films include: Bridesmaids, Hop, Limitless, Battle: Los Angeles, Season of the Witch, Little Fockers, The Fighter, The Social Network, Salt, Despicable Me, Grown Ups, Dear John, It’s Complicated, Couples Retreat, and Zombieland. Upcoming films for Relativity include: Shark Night 3D, Immortals, Anonymous, and Cowboys & Aliens. Thirty-six of the company’s films have opened to No. 1 at the box office. Relativity films have earned 60 Oscar® nominations, including nods for The Fighter, The Social Network, The Wolfman, Nine, A Serious Man, Frost/Nixon, Atonement, American Gangster and 3:10 to Yuma. Fifty-eight of Relativity’s films have each generated more than $100 million in worldwide box-office receipts.

Relativity also owns and operates Rogue Pictures, a company that specializes in films targeted to the 13-25 year old audience, and RogueLife, Relativity’s digital studio which is developing original content for the Web, and creating sustainable online platforms and communities. RelativityREAL, Relativity’s television arm, is currently producing 14 series and more than 20 pilots including Police Women for TLC, Coming Home for Lifetime, and The Great Food Truck Race for Food Network.

Review: "Road to Perdition" is Powerful (Happy B'day, Tom Hanks)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 95 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Road to Perdition (2002)
Running time: 117 minutes (1 hour, 57 minutes)
MPAA – R for violence and language
DIRECTOR: Sam Mendes
WRITER: David Self (from the graphic novel by Max Allan Collins and Richard Piers Rayner)
PRODUCERS: Sam Mendes, Dean Zanuck, and Richard D. Zanuck
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Conrad L. Hall (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Jill Bilcock
COMPOSER: Thomas Newman
Academy Award winner

CRIME/DRAMA

Starring: Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tyler Hoechlin, Daniel Craig, Liam Aiken, and Stanley Tucci

Almost everything about Road to Perdition is superfine, from the beautiful and evocative (to call it haunting seems trite) photography of Conrad L. Hall (for which he posthumously won an Academy Award) to the varied performances of the cast. In a broad sense, the film is about the relationships between men, specifically the father-son relationships that are made by birth or created by the bond of friendship. In a narrow sense, the film is about a boy coming to grips with loving his father despite his revulsion to his father’s profession.

The bonds of loyalty break when Michael Sullivan, Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin) witnesses a gangland killing perpetrated by his father Michael, Sr. (Tom Hanks) and Connor Rooney (Daniel Craig), the only son of his father’s boss. Daddy is a hitman/enforcer for John Rooney (Paul Newman), a mob boss. Connor initiated the brutal killings to cover his trail of deceit against his father. In a half-baked plan to cover himself, Connor kills Sullivan’s wife, Annie (Jennifer Jason Leigh), and younger son, Peter (Liam Aiken), and narrowly misses having Michael Sr. killed. Father and son Michaels take to the road while the elder Sullivan plots his revenge against Connor. That vendetta destroys the father-son relationship the Sr. had with John Rooney. To staunch the blood flow, the Chicago mob hires a talented hit man (Jude Law) to kill Sullivan and son.

Of the many quality elements that stood out in this film, the one that shined the most to me was Tom Hanks’ performance. No longer is he merely an actor, he is an artist: creating, communicating, and storytelling. In a way, his performance becomes symbolic of the character type for which he plays. Sullivan, Sr. isn’t a saint. He is, we must painfully admit, an evil man, who loves nevertheless loves his family and loyalty in that order. When his family is wrecked, his loyalty disintegrates, and all that he has left to love is his boy. Their time “on the run” is time best used to revealing that love to his son. This isn’t the script telling us that; it’s Hanks’ performance told through his facial expressions and in the tenor of his voice. Although the son is the film’s narrator, this is a story about his father and how the son comes to separate the man that is his father from the man who can be a cold, merciless killer.

This is a high quality Hollywood production that doesn’t break the rules. In fact, although Hanks is ostensibly a villain, the filmmakers quietly downplay his wickedness. The script is good, but relies on the audience’s familiarity with father-son relationships, stories about loyalty and betrayal, as well as viewers having an understanding how crime organizations work, at least from a Hollywood point of view. In Road to Perdition, we watch a talented director (Sam Mendes) work his actors (Paul Newman also turns in an excellent pathos-filled performance.) into making the familiar seem special, and that in itself is an accomplishment.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2003 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Cinematography” (Conrad L. Hall: Nomination and award were posthumous. His son Conrad W. Hall accepted the award on his behalf.); 5 nominations: “Best Actor in a Supporting Role” (Paul Newman), “Best Art Direction-Set Decoration” (Dennis Gassner-art director and Nancy Haigh-set decorator), “Best Music, Original Score” (Thomas Newman), “Best Sound” (Scott Millan, Bob Beemer, and John Pritchett) “Best Sound Editing” (Scott Hecker)

2003 BAFTA Awards: 2 wins: “Best Cinematography” (Conrad L. Hall: Posthumously) and “Best Production Design” (Dennis Gassner); 1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Paul Newman)

2003 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Paul Newman)

----------------------

Paramount Pictures Announces Animation Division

Paramount Pictures to Launch Paramount Animation

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc. (NYSE:VIA and VIA.B), will launch an in-house animation division, with its first title slated for release in 2014.

In making the announcement, Paramount Chairman & CEO Brad Grey said the initiative was part of the studio’s long-term strategy for growth and that the new division, Paramount Animation, will focus on high quality animation with budgets per picture of up to $100 million.

Paramount Animation’s mandate will be the development of the broadest range of family CGI animated films, with a key piece being titles under the label of Viacom’s Nickelodeon, the number one entertainment brand for kids worldwide. Paramount will also look to build on Viacom’s already thriving global consumer products business by seeking to capitalize on merchandising opportunities tied to all Paramount Animation releases.

The division will be part of the Paramount Motion Picture Group, reporting to the group’s president, Adam Goodman, and will initially target one release per year. Vice Chair Rob Moore, COO Frederick Huntsberry and Goodman are now conducting a search for the leader of the division.

“We’ve come a long way over the last six years," said Grey. "Our team has worked hard to build best in class production, marketing and distribution divisions which have proven they consistently execute at the highest level across all genres and price points. Establishing an in-house animation division was the logical next step for us.”

“The marketplace has never offered as many opportunities to create wonderfully imaginative pictures at very appealing budget levels, so we feel this is a perfect moment to launch this effort. We are now eager to expand in animation with appropriate and prudent overhead and production budgets in a way that will allow us to be nimble, creative and innovative,” added Grey. “Paramount also has the distinct advantage of being part of the Viacom family, giving us the ability to leverage its portfolio of powerful and youthful brands to create and market great films and consumer products.”

While Paramount has released an array of successful animated films in its history, the company’s first fully owned CGI animated property was Rango, released to great acclaim in March 2011. The Western, directed by Gore Verbinski and featuring the voice of Johnny Depp in the title role, has grossed over $240 million worldwide and is the best reviewed animated movie so far this year.

Last week’s release of Transformers: Dark of the Moon marks the 5th consecutive film to surpass $100 million in domestic box office revenue for Paramount, a milestone which has never been accomplished before in the industry. Overall, the last 12 months have brought the studio a series of box office and critical successes, including Super 8, Marvel’s Thor, Paranormal Activity 2, Justin Beiber: Never Say Never, DWA’s Kung Fu Panda 2, Jackass 3D, True Grit and The Fighter. Upcoming Paramount movies include Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, The Adventures of Tintin and the remake of Footloose.


About Paramount Pictures Corporation
Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. Paramount controls a collection of some of the most powerful brands in filmed entertainment, including Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, MTV Films, and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount Digital Entertainment, Paramount Famous Productions, Paramount Home Entertainment, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., Paramount Studio Group and Paramount Television & Digital Distribution.

Review: Kevin Bacon Deserved Oscar Nod for "The Woodsman" (Happy B'day, Kevin Bacon)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 66 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Woodsman (2004)
Running time: 87 minutes (1 hour, 27 minutes)
MPAA – R for sexuality, disturbing behavior, and language
DIRECTOR: Nicole Kassell
WRITERS: Steven Fechter and Nicole Kassell (based upon the play by Steven Fechter)
PRODUCERS: Lee Daniels
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Xavier Perez Grobet
EDITORS: Lisa Fruchtman and Brian A. Kates
Black Reel Award winner

DRAMA with elements of a thriller

Starring: Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick, Eve, Mos Def, David Alan Grier, Michael Shannon, Benjamin Bratt, Kevin Rice, and Hannah Pilkes

Walter (Kevin Bacon) spent 12 years in prison on charges of sexually abusing small children. Now, he’s released and trying hard to regain some sense of normalcy in his life. He lands a job working in a lumberyard only because he worked for his boss, Rosen’s (David Alan Grier), father. At the new job, he meets and begins a halting romance with another employee, a woman named Vickie (Kyra Sedgwick), but Walter’s biggest task is to keep from giving in to his compulsions and committing more crimes against children.

The Woodsman, simply put, is as riveting as the most intense horror films (something like The Exorcist) and as heart-stopping as the most extreme action films (Die Hard or The Rock). That’s built on two things – the situation and the Kevin Bacon’s heart-wrenching performance. The plot is tight and deals with the life of a child molester/sex offender in an even-handed way. Of course, there are obviously some genre conventions (Walter’s romance with Vickie and Walter’s struggle to stop another child molester from creating a victim) designed to create a moderately happy or, at least, hopeful ending. Sometimes, The Woodsman seems a bit over the top, in both the portrayal of Walter’s struggles not to offend again, and in the number of other victims or similar situations Walter encounters in what, for us, is a movie under an hour and a half long.

Still, director/co-writer Nicole Kassell and co-writer Steven Fechter do a fantastic job turning a complicated and difficult subject matter and societal issue into a small film that rings with such truth. They make The Woodsman one of those important films that is first a good movie and then, an honest and informative way of presenting the matter as art. I would quibble that the lack of time left some good characters, especially Kyra Sedgwick’s Vickie and Mos Def’s Sgt. Lucas as mere shadows, when they deserved more.

Kevin Bacon’s performance as Walter is one of a handful of performances in 2004 film releases that was overshadowed by Jamie Foxx’s super turn in the Ray Charles biopic, Ray. Bacon quietly, but with such magnum force, details Walter’s internal and external struggles in the way he moves, talks, eats, sleeps, works, etc., and the most-telling parts of the performance are in the nuances, the spaces between the obvious. Long an underrated actor, The Woodman may do for Bacon what Dead Man Walking did for Sean Penn.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2005 Black Reel Awards: 2 wins: “Best Actor, Independent Film” (Mos Def) and “Best Independent Film” (Newmarket Films); 1 nomination: “Best Actress, Independent Film” (Eve)

April 18, 2005

----------------------

Review: John Carpenter's Night of the Living "Ghosts of Mars"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 3 (of 2001) by Leroy Douresseaux

John Carpenter’s Ghosts of Mars (2001)
Running time: 98 minutes (1 hour, 38 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong violence/gore, language and some drug content
DIRECTOR: John Carpenter
WRITERS: Larry Sulkis and John Carpenter
PRODUCER: Sandy King
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Gary B. Kibbe
EDITOR: Paul C. Warschilka
COMPOSERS: John Carpenter, Anthrax, Steve Vai, and others

SCI-FI/HORROR/ACTION

Starring: Natasha Henstridge, Ice Cube, Jason Statham, Clea DuVall, Pam Grier, Joanna Cassidy, Richard Cetrone, Rosemary Forsyth, Liam Waite, Duane Davis, Lobo Sebastian, Rodney A. Grant, Peter Jason, Wanda De Jesus, and Doug McGrath

Ghost of Mars came and went so quickly in U.S. movie theatres that few had a chance to see it (although it’s debatable that many more wanted to see it). It is a low-tech sci-fi horror movie of the type that Carpenter is so good at making, and, for some, a Carpenter movie is always a special thing. Although not his best (that could be Big Trouble in Little China or Halloween) it’s far better than some of his lesser work (Village of the Damned and In the Mouth of Madness).

Set two centuries in the future on a Mars colony, a Martian police unit led by Pam Grier (Jackie Brown) and Natasha Henstridge (Species) are dispatched to a mining outpost to transport a dangerous criminal played by Ice Cube (Boyz in the Hood, Friday) to a prison outpost. When they arrive at the mining town, most of the inhabitants are missing. Henstridge’s Melanie Bradford and Cube’s James ‘Desolation” Williams must join together with a small band of survivors to fight miners possessed by vengeful Martian spirits determined to rid the red planet of humans.

Of all the actors, Cube is particularly shaky; obviously he was hired for his name value with black audiences. Certainly, he earned the assignment in particular to play himself, but curiously he seemed to have great difficulty doing just that. Erratic and inconsistent, he was on the verge of owning this movie if he’d only relax. His performance is forced and stiff; perhaps the SF milieu was a bit much for him.

Carpenter wastes Henstridge’s character, but that may have been more the writing’s fault than her acting. Bradford’s back-story hints at interesting possibilities, but this is an action movie, and one must never spend too much time on developing a female personality in an action movie.

There are, however, many very good moments in this movie that are quite chilling and invigorating: the discovery of the fate of Grier’s Helena Braddock, the spirit trapped in the land rover, Bradford’s possession and self-exorcism, the unleashing of the ghosts, the massing of a Martian army seen through a glimpse into the past, the reunion at the end, and many more.

The film is told mostly in flashback, and this makes it an effective ghost story. As Bradford tells the tale, the audience is on pins and needles waiting for the next bump in the night. One is anxious to get on with the macabre festivities, as if the revelation of each dark secret, which comes slowly, is necessary for the viewer’s safety, as well as that of the characters.

Carpenter, as he has many times, borrows tone and plot from the original Night of the Living Dead, his first viewing of which must have been a formative moment for him. The possessed miners, a more active version of George Romero’s zombies, are a hoot, especially Richard Cestrone’s awesome and scary Big Daddy Mars.

There are better sci-fi and horror movies, but issues of art and quality aside, there is nothing else like Carpenter’s touch. When he’s at least decent, as with Ghosts of Mars, his films are still a good thing to watch.

5 of 10
B-

-----------------------