Review: "Nosferatu" is Straight Creepy (Remembering Max Schreck)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 91 (of 2004) by Leroy Douresseaux

Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922) – B&W – Silent
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  German
Running time: 88 minutes (1 hour, 28 minutes)
DIRECTOR:  F.W. Murnau
WRITER:  Henrik Galen
PRODUCERS:  Enrico Dieckmann and Albin Grau
CINEMATOGRAPHERS:  Fritz Arno Wagner with Günther Krampf

HORROR with elements of fantasy

Starring:  Max Schreck, Alexander Granach, Gustav von Wanganheim, Greta Schröder, Georg H. Schnell, Ruth Landshoff, John Gottowt, Gustav Botz, Max Nemetz, and Wolfgang Heinz

The subject of this movie review is Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens, a 1922 German Expressionist horror film directed by F.W. Murnau and starring Max Schreck.  Best known simply as Nosferatu, the film is an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel, Dracula, as the filmmakers were apparently unable to obtain film rights to the book.  We are lucky that Nosferatu even still exists, as a lawsuit by the heirs to Stoker’s estate resulted in a court order to destroy all copies of the film, although one print managed to survive.

In the film Nosferatu, a young real estate agent unknowingly brokers a deal with Count Orlock who is also the vampire, “Nosferatu,” who is now pursuing the young man’s wife.  Nosferatu is one of my favorite films, but I cannot remember what version of the film I saw some nine years ago that ended up being the subject of the original version of my review, which was written shortly after I saw the film.

At the behest of his demented boss, Knock (Alexander Granach), Hutter (Gustav von Wanganheim), a young real estate agent travels to Transylvania to finalize a purchase of property by a reclusive count.  When Hutter meets the count, Graf Orlock (Max Schreck), he discovers that Orlock is the vampire Nosferatu.  Soon, Orlock is speeding on a doomed ship towards Hutters’ hometown, where Orlock plans to dine of Hutter’s virginal fiancée, Ellen (Greta Schröder).

Nosferatu is the first vampire film, and screenwriter Henrik Galen freely adapted it (without permission) from Bram Stoker’s seminal vampire novel, Dracula.  The script has nice atmosphere, but is quite thin in the last act.  A silent film with only intermittent placards of written dialogue, Nosferatu has a dreamlike quality, and that isn’t just because of the lack of sound, except for orchestrated music (played in theatres by live orchestras back in the days before sound film recordings), but because of the way the director and photographers composed the film.

The cinematography of Günther Krampf and Fritz Arno Wagner is a continuous spool of war between light and shadow.  Shadowy textures flicker over the sparse and sumptuous decorations, sets, and costumes, all designed by Albin Grau.  Murnau presents Nosferatu as a faerie creature hopping, dancing, and racing across the landscape and through time like a thing not really there, a personification of death both ethereal and real.

I will lavish the most praise upon Max Schreck for his awesome performance as the title character.  His Nosferatu is a stiff, yet pliable thing, a relentless creature, nimble for all that he may seem rigid.  It’s is truly the personification of a corpse as a deadly walking thing.

9 of 10
A+

Updated:  Tuesday, November 26, 2013

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

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Review: "The Sweetest Thing" is a Funny Thing (Happy B'day, Christina Applegate)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 39 (of 2002) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Sweetest Thing (2002)
Running time:  88 minutes (1 hour, 28 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong sexual content and language
DIRECTOR:  Roger Kumble
WRITER:  Nancy M. Pimental
PRODUCER:  Cathy Konrad
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Anthony B. Richmond
EDITORS:  Wendy Greene Bricmont and David Rennie
COMPOSER:  Edward Shearmur

COMEDY/ROMANCE

Starring:  Cameron Diaz, Christina Applegate, Selma Blair, Jason Bateman, Thomas Jane, James Mangold, and Parker Posey

The subject of this movie review is The Sweetest Thing, a 2002 romantic comedy and chick flick.  The film stars Cameron Diaz as a woman forced to pursue Mr. Right, after missing an opportunity the first time she meets him.  I have to say that this is one those movie that I enjoyed watching so much that it made me “feel good,” so it is a true feel good movie.

Some of her critics and embittered fellow professionals have accused Cameron Diaz of getting by on her looks.  She is a very talented actress, but I’d be lying if denied that one of the reasons I like to watch her movies because of her dazzling beauty and super fine ass.

She unleashes her talent and gorgeous body in director Roger Kumble (Cruel Intentions) and writer Nancy Pimental’s The Sweetest Thing.  Mistakenly sold has a romantic comedy, it is actually raunchy comedic romp through a fantastic vision of the millennial dating scene.  The Sweetest Thing is more in the vein of There’s Something About Mary than say Autumn in New York, and it’s easily one of the funniest movies I’ve seen since Mary.  Some of the credit has to go to Kumble’s sense of timing, important for someone who directs comedy, especially something as farcical as this, and especially Ms. Pimental, who was a series writer for television’s “South Park,” of which The Sweetest Thing shares a sense of over-the-top, gross out comedy.

Cameron Diaz plays the lead character, Christina Walker, simultaneously with bold confidence and sexual power juxtaposed with a painful lack of confidence and romantic confusion.  By doing this, Ms. Diaz makes Walker human; without that she’d merely be a raunchy boob worthy of a few belly laughs.  She can pull it off because she’s so beautiful and likeable.  The cold truth of the matter is that, while art depicts any number of topics, ideas, and subjects, it often executes that depiction in an idealized form.  Artist paint good looking people; even the ugly subjects are stylized ugly.  Pretty people look good on the big screen, and, frankly, many of us would simply think of Christina Walker as a trailer trash ‘ho if she wasn’t played by someone as attractive as Ms. Diaz.  Her looks make us give a pass to some of the unsavory aspects of Christina’s character.

Sadly, the script doesn’t do justice to Christina’s sidekicks:  divorce lawyer Courtney Rockcliffe (Christina Applegate) and the recently dumped Jane Burns (Selma Blair, Legally Blonde).  Courtney starts off with such promise.  She’s a funny partner in crime, but, by the end of the film, she’s reduced to being in scenes merely to feel sorry for her friend.  The breakup of Jane’s romance is the element that begins the film’s story.  Ms. Pimental ignores Jane’s plight and turns her into pincushion for crude sex scenes – hilarious, but still crude.

Reservations aside, The Sweetest Thing is just too funny not to see.  It would take a lot of laughs to make me ignore the fact that the filmmakers throw the story and characterization out the window in favor of raw humor, and, by Jove, the movie has that many laughs and more.

7 of 10
A-

Updated:  Monday, November 25, 2013

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for syndication rights and fees.

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10 Vie for 2013 "Live Action Short" Oscar Nominations

10 Live Action Shorts Advance in 2013 Oscar® Race

BEVERLY HILLS, CA —The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences today announced that 10 live action short films will advance in the voting process for the 86th Academy Awards®.  One hundred twenty pictures had originally qualified in the category.

The 10 films are listed below in alphabetical order by title, with their production companies:

“Aquel No Era Yo (That Wasn’t Me),” Esteban Crespo, director (Producciones Africanauan)

“Avant Que De Tout Perdre (Just before Losing Everything),” Xavier Legrand, director, and Alexandre Gavras, producer (KG Productions)

“Dva (Two),” Mickey Nedimovic, director, and Henner Besuch, director of photography (Filoufilm Dani Barsch)

“Helium,” Anders Walter, director, and Kim Magnusson, producer (M & M Productions)

“Kush,” Shubhashish Bhutiani, director (Red Carpet Moving Pictures)

“Pitääkö Mun Kaikki Hoitaa? (Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?),” Selma Vilhunen, director, and Kirsikka Saari, screenwriter (Tuffi Films)

“Record/Play,” Jesse Atlas, director, and Thom Fennessey, executive producer (Collaboration Factory)

“Throat Song,” Miranda de Pencier, director (Northwood Productions)

“Tiger Boy,” Gabriele Mainetti, director (Goon Films)

“The Voorman Problem,” Mark Gill, director, and Baldwin Li, producer (Honlodge Productions)

The Short Films and Feature Animation Branch Reviewing Committee viewed all the eligible entries for the preliminary round of voting at screenings held in Los Angeles.  

Short Films and Feature Animation Branch members will now select three to five nominees from among the 10 titles on the shortlist.  Branch screenings will be held in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco in December.

The 86th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 16, 2014, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2013 will be presented on Oscar Sunday, March 2, 2014, at the Dolby Theatre® at Hollywood & Highland Center® and televised live on the ABC Television Network.  The presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

Review: "Monsters University" a Satisfying Second Helping

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 79 (of 2013) by Leroy Douresseaux

Monsters University (2013)
Running time:  104 minutes (1 hour, 44 minutes)
MPAA – G
DIRECTORS:  Dan Scanlon
WRITERS:  Robert Baird, Daniel Gerson, and Dan Scanlon; from a story by Robert Baird, Daniel Gerson, and Dan Scanlon
PRODUCER:  Kori Rae
EDITORS:  Greg Snyder
COMPOSER:  Randy Newman

ANIMATION/FANTASY/COMEDY/FAMILY

Starring:  (voices) Billy Crystal, John Goodman, Steve Buscemi, Helen Mirren, Peter Sohn, Joel Murray, Sean Hayes, Dave Foley, Charlie Day, Alfred Molina, Tyler Labine, Nathan Fillion, Aubrey Plaza, Julia Sweeney, Bonnie Hunt, and John Ratzenberger

Monsters University is a 2013 computer-animated comedy and fantasy film from Pixar Animation Studios.  Theatrically presented in 3D, Monsters University is Pixar’s fourteenth full-length feature film, and it is also the first prequel to one of the studio’s films.  Distributed by Walt Disney Pictures, it is a prequel to the 2001 animated film, Monsters, Inc.

Monsters University focuses on the stars of the original film, Mike and Sulley.  The movie looks at the early days of their relationship during their time in college, telling the story of how they went from rivals to friends.  Although it is not quite as good as the original, Monsters University is a warm and fuzzy and sweet and sentimental film that offers a return of one of the great comedy duos of animated films, Mike (ostensibly this movie’s lead character) and Sulley.

Monsters University introduces Michael “Mike” Wazowski (Billy Crystal), a young monster who dreams of being a “scarer,” a monster who enters the human world at night to scare children.  He enrolls at Monsters University, believing that is the best place to learn to be a great scarer.  Mike meets a large, blue furry monster named James P. “Sulley” Sullivan (John Goodman), a privileged student from a family of renowned scarers.  The two immediately dislike each other.

Sulley joins the school’s premiere fraternity, Roar Omega Roar (ROR).  Mike has to settle for Oozma Kappa (OK), a fraternity of geeks and outcasts.  An incident between Mike and Sulley puts the two on the fast track to trouble.  Mike decides that the Scare Games, a competition between Monsters University’s select fraternities and sororities, can save his and Sulley’s college careers.  First, the two rivals will have to learn to trust each other and their new Oozma Kappa friends.

Pixar is known for animated films that offer superb character drama, but Monsters University is simply a comedy with endearing characters.  I call Monsters University Pixar’s DreamWorks Animation movie.  Like many DreamWorks animated features, Monsters University is a broad comedy with several clever set pieces and sequences in which the heroes must deal with seemingly impossible-to-overcome obstacles.  Also like DreamWorks animation, Monsters University lacks the emotional resonance of Pixar’s best films, although this movie’s director and writers try.  Similar to Pixar’s Brave, Monsters University also has a weak first half-hour.

The two best things about Monsters University are the delightful supporting characters that are members of Oozma Kappa and the Scare Games.  I found those supporting players to be endearing, and the film gives just enough of them to make you feel that you didn’t get enough.  The Scare Games are exciting and have a great ending, which a subsequent plot twist kinda ruins.

When Monsters Inc. first appeared in 2001, it was novel, maybe even groundbreaking in a way.  All Monsters University can be is a welcome return of old friends, and that’s good enough.

7 of 10
B+

Saturday, November 23, 2013

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Review: "The Monster Squad" Still a Treat

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 122 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Monster Squad (1987)
Running time: 82 minutes (1 hour, 22 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13
DIRECTOR:  Fred Dekker
WRITERS:  Shane Black and Fred Dekker
PRODUCER:  Jonathan A. Zimbert
CINEMATOGRAPHER:  Bradford May
EDITOR:  James Mitchell
COMPOSER:  Bruce Broughton

HORROR/COMEDY

Starring:  Andre Gower, Robby Kiger, Stephen Macht, Tom Noonan, Brent Chalem, Ryan Lambert, Ashley Bank, Michael Faustino, Mary Ellen Trainor, Duncan Regehr, Leonardo Cimino, Lisa Fuller, Jonathan Gries, Jason Hervey, Carl Thibault, Michael Reid MacKay, Stan Shaw, and Jack Gwillim

The subject of this review is The Monster Squad, a 1987 comic horror film directed by Fred Dekker and written by Shane Black and Dekker.  In the movie, re-imagined versions of classic movie monsters invade a small town in a bid to control the world, but they face a bad of savvy kids determined to stop them.

The 1987 cult-favorite flick, the comic horror film, The Monster Squad, has recently found new life 20 years after being largely overlooked upon its initial theatrical release.  While it remains basically a horror flick for children (appropriate even in these politically correct times), the film is, at time, genuinely scary.  The villains of The Monster Squad are also an homage to the monsters of classic Universal Studios black and white monster movies.

Dracula, the Wolfman, Frankenstein, the Mummy, and Gill Man descend upon a small town in search of a diabolically powerful amulet that could give Dracula (Duncan Regehr) dominion over the world.  The only thing that could stop the amulet’s power is an incantation in a diary belonging to Dracula’s arch-nemesis, Van Helsing (Jack Gwillim).   However, the book has fallen into the hands of 12-year-old Sean Crenshaw (Andre Gower).

Sean and the rest of his young friends idolize classic monster movies, and call themselves The Monster Squad.  With the help of his gang of monster-obsessed misfits, Sean tries to stop Dracula’s nefarious plans.  Can the Monster Squad:  Sean, Patrick (Robby Kiger), Fat Kid/Horace (Brent Chalem), Rudy (Ryan Lambert), Eugene (Michael Faustino), and Sean’s little sister, Phoebe (Ashley Bank), save the day?  With Sean’s dad, policeman Del Crenshaw (Stephen Macht) and Scary German Guy (Michael Cimino) helping, they just might, and it’s worth watching this movie to find out.

Co-writers Shane Black and Fred Dekker, who also directs this film, seem to take the view that one can place children (in this case pre-teens and early teens) in a horror scenario – one as scary as the horror movies they might watch.  Although a juvenile cast means that Black and Dekker wouldn’t make a bloody, slasher film, to make a horror flick, they would still have to present their youthful characters in situations in which they face actual peril or severe bodily harm or even death.  After all, a scary movie for kids is still a scary movie.

The Monster Squad isn’t even a great horror film, or even a very good movie.  For one thing, the narrative occasionally takes great leaps, leaving out crucial scenes.  Perhaps, the producers forced cuts to reduce the film’s runtime, and the loss of scenes occasionally caused lapses in logic within the narrative.  Still, while it may not be a great movie, it’s a memorable B-movie.  The Monster Squad is just fun to watch, warts and all.

6 of 10
B

Monday, September 03, 2007

Updated:  Saturday, November 23, 2013

The text is copyright © 2013 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Pixar to Be Honored by International 3D Society

Pixar Animation Studios to Receive Sir Charles Wheatstone Award from International 3D & Advanced Imaging Society January 28th, 2014

HOLLYWOOD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The International 3D & Advanced Imaging Society will present Pixar Animation Studios with the 2014 Sir Charles Wheatstone Award for creative excellence, it was announced in Hollywood. The award will be presented at the Society's 5th Annual Creative Arts Awards at a black tie ceremony held at Warner Bros. Studios on January 28th, 2014.

“The Society’s core mission is to educate the global creative community and recognize outstanding creative achievement by our industry’s leaders,” said Tom Cosgrove, CEO of 3net Studios and Co-Chairman of the Society. “John Lasseter and the Pixar team are at the very pinnacle of brilliant storytelling and flawless technical achievement, and most worthy of our highest honor,” he added.

“What an amazing honor to be recognized with this year's Wheatstone Award,” said John Lasseter, Chief Creative Officer of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios. “In our films, story is the most important ingredient and 3D is an incredible tool to help tell those stories; it builds emotion, lands a joke and expands a world. 3D truly helps us make our films great, and to receive this award from the International 3D Society is awesome in every dimension of the word.”

The Society’s Creative Arts Awards annually bestow its gold Lumiere™ statuette to 3D movies, television programs, 4K technology and other content as selected by the Society’s voting membership.

“This year’s ‘Monsters University’ is but the most recent example of Pixar’s spectacular work,” said Society Awards Chairman Buzz Hays, Founder and CEO of the True Image Company. “Pixar has been our most honored studio, having received 4 previous Lumiere™ awards. The Sir Charles Wheatstone Award is our opportunity to recognize Mr. Lasseter and the entire Pixar organization for their entire body of work and their support of 3D storytelling.”

“Sir Charles Wheatstone is credited by history as the inventor of modern-day 3D. Although he lived and worked in the 19th century, his legacy of educating professionals about 3D remains an important function of the Society today,” said Society President Jim Chabin. “In honoring Pixar Animation Studios, we have an opportunity to shine the spotlight on the incredible contributions this creative team has made to filmmaking, and to storytelling, in 3D,” he added.

Pixar’s ‘Brave’ was honored by the Society as 2012’s “Best Animated 3D Feature.” Other honors include “Best 3D Short Film” awards for ‘Partly Cloudy’ (2010), ‘Day and Night’ (2011) and ‘La Luna’ (2012).

About The International 3D & Advanced Imaging Society:
The International 3D & Advanced Imaging Society is a community of content creators and professionals whose mission is to develop the arts and technologies of 3D, advanced imaging and its innovators. With over 60 companies and 800 professional members in 20 countries, the Society is open to individuals and organizations active in moving 3D and advanced imaging to an exciting new era of creative achievement and consumer support. For more information please visit: www.International3DSociety.com.

Happy Birthday, Jeffrey

Happy Birthday, Jeffrey.  Thanks for keeping it real.