Review: "The Terminator" is Still a Bad Ass (Happy B'day, Arnold Schwarzenegger)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 3 (of 2002) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Terminator (1984)
Running time: 107 minutes (1 hour, 47 minutes)
MPAA – R
DIRECTOR: James Cameron
WRITERS: Gale Ann Hurd and James Cameron, with William Wisher
PRODUCER: Gale Anne Hurd
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Adam Greenberg (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Mark Goldblatt
COMPOSER: Brad Fiedel

SCI-FI/FANTASY/ACTION/THRILLER

Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton, Paul Winfield, Lance Henriksen, and Bill Paxton

The subject of this movie review is The Terminator, a 1984 science fiction and action film from director James Cameron. Essentially an independent film, The Terminator was not expected to be a success. Not only was the film a commercial and critical hit, but it also spawned three sequels, a television series, and other spin-offs, including several comic book series. Of note, author Harlan Ellison received a screen credit on later releases of the film to acknowledge his work as a source for the film.

In the future, an artificial intelligence named Skynet, a kind of super computer, rules the planet and wages a total war on the small bands of human who survived Skynet’s initial genocidal campaign against mankind. When the human resistance reaches a point that it has defeated Skynet, it sends the Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) back in time to kill the Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), the woman who would one day give birth to John Connor, the leader of the successful human resistance. One of John Connor’s most trusted fighters, Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) volunteers to follow the Terminator into the past to save Sarah, the woman Reese has secretly loved since the day he first saw an aged photo of her.

Directed by James Cameron, The Terminator was one of the last low budget science fiction movies to have a measurable impact on filmmaking. Short on funds, Cameron relied on story and well executed action sequences to keep the viewer on the edge of his seat. It is a far cry from the bloated SFX extravagances that Cameron would go on to shoot.

Cameron reveals just enough of the bleak, burnt out future to simultaneously whet our appetites and to then leave us begging for more. He aims the camera close in to the actors and uses quick cut editing to heighten the sense of drama and tension. Layers of shots from several angles strengthen the dramatic impact of the story; you simply can’t ignore this film. It is a simple story – a man has to save the woman he loves from a relentless killer. However, Cameron uses his directorial prowess to up the ante when it comes to the chase; the pursuit is one long, unrelenting, bloody hunt.

In one scene in particular, the Terminator arises like a broken phoenix from its funeral pyre, still alive and still following its program. Before the magic of computer generated imagery (CGI), this scene had to be shot in stop motion glory. An evil leer made of silver metal teeth spread across its face, the machine marches on to terminate its target. These few moments of filmmaking reveal the savvy of mind that can create his vision despites restraints of budget or technology. Cameron was good a long time before CGI.

The Terminator was a career defining and career changing moment for Schwarzenegger. The machine he portrays isn’t simply a cold efficient killer. It’s part specter and part machine – magic and science. His portrayal combines the coldest sci-fi villain with the scariest horror movie monster – Hal from 2001: A Space Odyssey meets Michael Myers from Halloween. As he storms through Los Angeles looking for his target, he examines his environment with the cool detachment of scientific device and stalks Kyle and Sarah with the hell born determination of masked slasher.

Biehn and Ms. Hamilton are very good in their parts. Reese is the consummate soldier, a sinewy runt, his body marked with gross scars. He has the single-minded determination to follow his commander’s orders and to successfully conclude his mission even at the cost of his life. Ms. Hamilton’s Sarah Connor is a dumped on young woman, whose comeliness hides behind a façade of homeliness and humility. The real woman in her waits the day when she can emerge fully formed and ready to throw off her waitress’s apron and kick butt.

Largely forgotten in the age of computer-enhanced movies, The Terminator remains as visceral, as funny, as exciting, and as poignant today as it was then. By no means perfect, it was more entertaining movie magic than thoughtful movie making. However, one cannot deny how effectively this movie delivers the thrills. Think of it as a B-movie made by an intelligent filmmaker steeped in the slums of maligned genres like horror, science fiction, fantasy, and comic books. This is the groundbreaking work of art that came from that ghetto.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2008 National Film Preservation Board, USA: “National Film Registry”

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Review: "Cries and Whispers" is Incredible Intense (Remembering Ingmar Bergman)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 78 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Cries and Whispers (1972)
Viskningar och rop – original title
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Sweden
Running time: 91 minutes (1 hour, 31 minutes)
MPAA – R
WRITER/DIRECTOR: Ingmar Bergman
PRODUCER: Lars-Owe Carlberg
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Sven Nykvist
EDITOR: Siv Lundgren
Academy Award winner

DRAMA

Starring: Harriet Andersson, Kari Sylwan, Ingrid Thulin, Liv Ullman, Inga Gill (voice), Anders Ek, Erland Josephson, Henning Moritzen, and Georg Arlin

The subject of this movie review is Cries and Whispers (Viskningar och rop), a 1972 drama written and directed by legendary Swedish filmmaker, the late Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007). The film follows two sisters who watch over the deathbed of a third sister and all the complicated history between the three women. At the time, Cries and Whispers was only the fourth foreign-language film to be nominated in the “best picture” category at the Academy Awards.

Ingmar Bergman is one of the world’s most renowned film directors, and his 1972 film Cries and Whispers influenced much of filmmaker Woody (Annie Hall) Allen’s work. This is the first Bergman film that I’ve ever seen and, as the film’s tagline says, it, for me, was a haunting and shattering experience.

Two sister, Marie (Liv Ullman) and Karin (Ingrid Thulin), take care of their terminally ill sister, Agnes (Harriet Andersson), all under the watchful gaze of Agnes’s loyal servant Anna (Kari Sylwan), in Agnes’s Swedish manor, circa 1900. The sisters’ relationship, like the relationship of real people, is complicated, and Agnes’s looming death forces them to confront each other, as well as forcing Marie and Karin to relive painful moments with their husbands from the recent past.

Cries and Whispers starts off quiet slowly; in fact, it takes much patience on the part of the viewer to stick with this film. However, about a third of the way into the movie, you can catch its deliberately languid rhythm. Bergman gives every scene such astonishing individual attention that his film becomes a composition of pictorial frames. Each frame is like a separate painting that when viewed with the aid of light and speed becomes a complex and engrossing story. Director of Photography Sven Nykvist (who won an Oscar for his work here) washes the film in vivid, dark colors, especially red, so that the movie looks like one continuous oil painting.

Of the many things that I got from this film was Bergman’s fidelity to the visual purity of film. His dialogue, which is sparse, is efficient and rich in telling the story. However, so much of the film story is dependent upon what the viewer sees on the screen, be it in the facial expressions and gestures of the actors or the lavish and colorful settings. From actors, to props, to settings, each one creates a mood conveyed through sight that communicates to the viewer. Bergman, like the great painters, is telling a story with his canvas, and his entire painting doesn’t just contribute to the story, it is the story, from the frozen expression on a character’s face to the overwhelming crimson that covers the manor’s walls. It’s a visual feast that harkens back to silent films, before sound corrupted the purely visual sensations of cinema.

As much as Bergman’s prowess is on display in the story and composition of the film, the acting is superb, first rate, and award winning work. They’re all good, and each actor tells his or her part of the story, using the human body as an artistic tool. My favorite is Kari Sylwan as the maid Anna. She is the film’s moral center, the loyal servant who steadies Agnes in her suffering, her sickness being the catalyst for this tale. Hers is a quite and bravura performance, one of the best supporting roles that I’ve ever had the pleasure to watch.

Anyone who seriously loves cinema as an art and as a visual artistic experience has to see Bergman, and this, though not his most famous work, is a good example of what a film artist can do in the medium. I won’t provide spoilers of the story, but there are many scenes that could shatter the nerves and unsettle the viewer.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
1974 Academy Awards: 1 win: “Best Cinematography” (Sven Nykvist); 4 nominations: “Best Costume Design” (Marik Vos-Lundh), “Best Director” (Ingmar Bergman), “Best Picture” (Ingmar Bergman), “Best Writing, Story and Screenplay Based on Factual Material or Material Not Previously Published or Produced” (Ingmar Bergman)

1974 BAFTA Awards: 2 nominations: “Best Actress” (Ingrid Thulin) and “Best Cinematography” (Sven Nykvist)

1973 Golden Globes, USA: 1 nomination: “Best Foreign-Language Foreign Film” (Sweden)

1973 Cannes Film Festival: 1 win: “Technical Grand Prize” (Ingmar Bergman)

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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 Best Thing about "Ted" is Ted

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 61 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux

Ted (2012)
Running time: 106 minutes (1 hour, 46 minutes)
MPAA – R for crude and sexual content, pervasive language, and some drug use
DIRECTOR: Seth MacFarlane
WRITERS: Seth MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin, and Wellesley Wild; from a story by Seth MacFarlane
PRODUCERS: Jason Clark, John Jacobs, Seth MacFarlane, Scott Stuber, and Wellesley Wild
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Michael Barrett
EDITOR: Jeff Freeman
COMPOSER: Walter Murphy

FANTASY/COMEDY/ROMANCE

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Seth McFarlane (voice), Joel McHale, Giovanni Ribisi, Patrick Warburton, Matt Walsh, Jessica Barth, Aedin Mincks, Bretton Manley, and Patrick Stewart (narrator) with Norah Jones, Sam J. Jones, Tom Skerritt, Ralph Garman, Alex Borstein, and Ryan Reynolds

The subject of this movie review is Ted, a 2012 comedy and fantasy film directed by Seth McFarlane, the creator of the long-running animated television series, “Family Guy” (FOX). The film stars Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, and McFarlane, who gives voice to a teddy bear created using motion-capture CGI.

Ted opens in 1985 in the city of Boston where we meet a lonely boy named John Bennett who receives a teddy bear for Christmas. John names the toy “Ted,” and makes a wish that Ted could come to life. John wakes up to find Ted walking and talking.

The story later moves to 2012 where we find an adult John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg) and Ted (voice of Seth McFarlane) still living together, watching bad movies and smoking pot. John has a dead-end job, but is dating a pretty, level-headed office worker named Lori Collins (Mila Kunis). After four years of dating, Lori wants John to grow up and leave childish things behind, and that includes Ted. But breaking up is hard to do and John and Lori’s relationship is put to the test, and Ted is endangered.

The best thing about Ted is Ted, and this trash-talking, vulgar teddy bear is a delightful gift that keeps on giving delights. Motion capture CGI (or animation or whatever) has given us one of the few motion capture characters with genuine personality since Gollum in the Lord of the Rings movies.

Wahlberg and Kunis are good, but the romance of John and Lori could not sustain an entire romantic comedy on its own. Wahlberg and Kunis’ characters are at their best when they form a threesome with Ted. Wahlberg has played the tough guy in so many crime and action thrillers that it is easy to forget how good he is at playing comedy with that solidly straight face of his. Kunis is expressive as an actress who trades understated for passion instead. She makes Lori’s frustration with John’s behavior and with her boss Rex’s harassment come through loud and clear.

Ted allows Seth McFarlane, as director, co-writer, co-producer, and co-star, to let loose in ways he cannot with “Family Guy,” and McFarlane and his cohorts get away with a lot on that network television series. In Ted, McFarlane and company tweak the sacred and the profane, as well as the mundane. It is also refreshing to see a mainstream comedy take on some good old-fashioned ethnic humor. Ted is not one of those comedies that fail to deliver. It’s very funny, and that’s enough.

7 of 10
B+

Saturday, July 28, 2012

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Review: "The Break-Up" Puts Starch in the Romantic Comedy

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 241 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Break-Up (2006)
Running time: 107 minutes (1 hour, 47 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for sexual content, some nudity, and language
DIRECTOR: Peyton Reed
WRITERS: Jeremy Garelick and Jay Lavender; from a story by Vince Vaughn and Jeremy Garelick and Jay Lavender
PRODUCERS: Scott Stuber and Vince Vaughn
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Eric Edwards
EDITOR: David Rosenbloom and Dan Lebental

DRAMA/COMEDY with elements of romance

Starring: Vince Vaughn, Jennifer Aniston, Jon Favreau, Jason Bateman, Vincent D’Onofrio, Cole Hauser, Joey Lauren Adams, Peter Billingsley, John Michael Higgins, Ann-Margaret, Judy Davis, Justin Long, and Jacqueline Williams

When celebrity couples make a film, it can be a financial disaster (Gigli starring Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez) or a box office smash (Mr. & Mrs. Smith starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie). Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston are a celebrity couple (although they are coy about it), and their film, The Break-Up, was a box office hit in spite of receiving mostly mediocre and poor reviews. But I liked it a lot.

Once upon a time, Gary Grobowski (Vince Vaughn) and Brooke Meyers (Jennifer Aniston) were deeply in love, but like all couples, the daily grind and same old routine started to drive them crazy. One evening, after a long an exhausting day, Gary and Brooke have an argument and somehow it becomes the break-up. The problem is they live together, and neither wants to give up their plum condo. An all-out war and a test of wills begins with each one turning to his or her friends and family for advice. Gary and Brooke are each determined to be the “last man standing,” but, even as things get nastier, will either one like where this feud is going when there are still strong feelings of love.

Vince Vaughn is charming and charismatic, and no matter how many times he plays a sarcastic slacker, it never gets tired. Jennifer Aniston, gorgeous with a tight body and rocking ass, is quiet good in romantic roles. She seems to excel at playing the girlfriend or object of affection, and she does it well enough to suggest that someone should try her in a dramatic role. The Break-Up is her test drive because it is more drama than it is romance or comedy.

Vaughn and Aniston make The Break-Up both spicy and edgy, and it’s absolute delicious fun to watch this take-no-prisoners disintegration of a once thriving relationship. The comedy is dark, and the script maybe goes too far for some viewers in the way the writers are almost anal about showing as many embarrassing scenes and ugly confrontations between Gary and Brooke. As he did in Down with Love, director Peyton Reed is proving to be adept at making offbeat romances.

There are some nice supporting characters, nicely performed by a clever cast of character actors and actors who make a living playing the friend. As good as Jon Favreau, John Michael Higgins, Judy Davis, and Justin long are, they’re really just filler – the kind of comic relief buddies that are all too common in Hollywood relationship flicks. The real treat is Vaughn and Aniston, and The Break-Up is certainly an example of how good it sometimes can be when celebrity couples work together.

7 of 10
A-

Saturday, November 25, 2006

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Review: "Shadowboxer" is Bat-Shit-Crazy (Happy B'day, Helen Mirren)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 253 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux


Shadowboxer (2005)
Opening date: July 21, 2006
Running time: 94 minutes (1 hour, 34 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong graphic violence and sexuality, nudity, language, and some drug use
DIRECTOR: Lee Daniels
WRITER: William Lipz
PRODUCERS: Lisa Cortes, Lee Daniels, Damon Dash, Brook Lenfest, and Dave Robinson
CINEMATOGRAPHER: M. David Mullen
EDITOR: William Chang and Brian A. Kates

CRIME/DRAMA/THRILLER

Starring: Cuba Gooding, Jr., Helen Mirren, Stephen Dorff, Vanessa Ferlito, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Macy Gray, Cullen Flynn Clancy, Tomy Dunster, and Mo’Nique

The subject of this movie review is Shadowboxer, a 2005 crime thriller directed by Lee Daniels. After the film’s theatrical release in the summer of 2006, two of its stars would go on to win Academy Awards, Helen Mirren and Mo’Nique, and one had already won an Oscar, Cuba Gooding, Jr.

Clayton (Stephen Dorff), a nasty crime lord, hires the assassin Rose (Helen Mirren) and her stepson/partner/longtime lover, Mikey (Cuba Gooding, Jr.), to kill his wife, Vickie (Vanessa Ferlito), whom he believes is cheating on him. However, during the hit, Rose, suffering from cancer and on her last job, discovers that Vickie is pregnant and hesitates. Vickie immediately goes into labor and delivers a son. Rose takes mother and newborn and flees with Mikey to a new life in a pastoral suburb. Soon, the baby is seven-year old Anthony (Cullen Flynn Clancy), and the past is about to catch up with this unconventional family.

Shadowboxer is an audacious, unconventional thriller. Director Lee Daniels and writer William Lipz create a crime thriller than can masquerade as a family melodrama. This flick, however, has an awkward pace. Sometimes it is slow, and other times it is a meditative tale that shadowboxes with being philosophical – philosophy that it delivers either through imagery or dialogue. (Mikey religiously practices shadow boxing.) Shadowboxer’s overarching plot is a crime thriller tale full of cold, ruthless murderers, thugs, criminals, and assorted lowlifes, but it often comes across as low budget thriller with most of the actors merely posing rather than acting. The bad guys and badasses come across as stock characters, or maybe the direction they received for their performances was too artsy.

Shadowboxer doesn’t have any great or even really good performances, but this strange off-kilter flick spends the second half builds into a story of an unconventional family coming to grips with itself. The fact that the family members can be a workable nuclear family (even though this merger wasn’t meant to be) only makes seeing things work out that much more desirable. Rooting for this desperate, but loving family makes Shadowboxer’s narrative, pacing, and structural problems all less important.

6 of 10
B

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Review: "Batman: Under the Red Hood" is Very Red

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 60 (of 2012) by Leroy Douresseaux

Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010) – straight-to-video
Running minutes: 75 minutes (1 hour, 15 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for violent content and some drug references
DIRECTOR: Brandon Vietti
WRITER: Judd Winick
PRODUCERS: Bobbie Page and Bruce Timm
EDITOR: Margaret Hou
COMPOSER: Christopher Drake
ANIMATION STUDIO: Answer Studio

ANIMATION/SUPERHERO/SCI-FI/ACTION with elements of drama

Starring: (voices) Bruce Greenwood, Jensen Ackles, John Di Maggio, Neil Patrick Harris, Jason Isaacs, Wade Williams, Carlos Alazraqui, Gary Cole, Kelly Hu, Phil LaMarr, Jim Piddock, Kevin Michael Richardson, and Alexander Martella

Batman: Under the Red Hood is a 2010 direct-to-video superhero animated film from Warner Bros. Animation. Starring DC Comics avenger of the night, Batman, this is also the eighth feature in the DC Universe Animated Original Movies line.

The film is adapted from two storylines that appeared in Batman comic book titles published by DC Comics. The first is “A Death in the Family,” which was published in Batman #426-429 (1988-89). The second is “Under the Hood,” which was published in Batman #635-641, 645-650, Batman Annual #25 (2005-2006) and was written by Batman: Under the Red Hood screenwriter, Judd Winick.

Batman: Under the Red Hood begins when tragedy strikes Batman (Bruce Greenwood) and Jason Todd (Alexander Martella), the second young man to be Robin, during a mission to stop The Joker (John Di Maggio). Five years later, a new masked vigilante is using The Joker’s old alias, Red Hood (Jensen Ackles) and is wreaking havoc in Gotham City’s organized crime community.

Batman with his original Robin by his side, now called Nightwing (Neil Patrick Harris), try to put a stop to Red Hood, but find him to be more than a match for both of them. Crime boss, Black Mask (Wade Williams) is determined to get rid of the Red Hood, even if it means making a most dangerous choice. For the villain whom Black Mask hires to assassinate Red Hood will set in motion a game of death.

Batman: Under the Red Hood is dark and edgy, first of all because it is one of the most violent (if not the most violent) of DC Universe Animated Original Movies. The film is also surprisingly morbid with its scenes that depict the death of a young person, multiple corpses, the theft of a corpse, exhumation, a funky resurrection scene, mass shootings, brutal beatings, etc. This is a dark, dark, Dark Knight indeed.

The Joker is practically a supporting character with relatively few scenes (although his presence hangs over the entire narrative). This version of the character is well written and also superbly voice acted by John Di Maggio, who gives the kind of turn that adds a rude and dark humor to The Joker’s edginess. Neil Patrick Harris is an odd touch as Nightwing, but his performance gives this film some needed warmth. Jensen Ackles, best known as “Dean Winchester” in the television series, “Supernatural,” brings some righteous rage and energy to this movie. That is the opposite of Bruce Greenwood as Batman, whose voice stands out only in a few scenes. Also, either Wade Williams is the reason that Black Mask is a joke or the character is simply inappropriately and unintentionally comical.

The animation is high quality, which shows in the action scenes. The art direction is good, but there have been better visualizations of Batman’s world, especially Gotham City, in other animated features. Still, Batman: Under the Red Hood is a good film, but there is something about it that keeps me from fully embracing it. Could it be the whole “death in the family” thing or the film’s emphasis on violence that is bothering me? Maybe.

7 of 10
A-

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

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