Month: April 2010

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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Starring Michael Nyqvist and Noomi Rapace
Directed by Niels Arden Oplev
Unrated
Swedish with English Subtitles
Appropriate for ages 18+

    This first part in the trilogy by recently deceased author Stieg Larsson follows the investigation of the 40-year-old disappearance of a girl by a journalist who is waiting time before serving a prison sentence he shouldn’t have received.  Tracking him is a troubled young girl with a knack for hacking computers and an understandable distrust for men.  When their lives intersect, the two set off to solve the mystery of the missing girl and they discover buried secrets far scarier than they could have ever imagined. 

    Very seldom does a book in a foreign language make it to be such a hit in the English speaking world, but this particular story and now movie has hit a chord with with American audiences in a big way.  The book having sold millions of copies worldwide and the movie having already made over a $100 million dollars worldwide, this little girl is causing quite a sensation.  And with good reason.

    To say the film is intense is an understatement.  While you have to be patient to fully understand the investigation of the missing girl from forty years ago, the story of the heroine, Lisbeth, is as interesting, captivating, frightening, and heartbreaking as you will have ever seen.  The character development is masterful as is the acting by the talented Noomi Rapace.

    As I stated though, you must be a bit patient to really get what is going on as there is a lot of exposition thrown at you and some of it so haphazardly that catching up is difficult.  So when Lisbeth is not on screen during the first hour, the film is a little slow, but it eventually speeds up and by the end hyperdrive kicks in and any attention you were paying earlier pays off.

    Going to see an unrated foreign film you kind of expect a little more than an R-rated picture, but this is pretty extreme.  The premise of the film deals with rape and its effect on its victims.  The frank sexuality, brutality, and violence will be far too much for some to handle so let this be a warning, since there really isn’t a rating to do so. 

    Before seeing the film I had heard that they are already starting to do an American remake which bugged me quite a bit.  But after seeing the movie, and finding out that David Fincher (Fight Club) is signed on to direct the remake, I think that I am really interested in seeing what can be done with it.  While it is good, I think the film can be better crafted.  B+

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New on DVD

New on DVD

Avatar
Rated PG-13 for intense epic battle sequences and warfare, sensuality, language, and some smoking
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Set far into the future, Avatar tells the story of a paraplegic marine whose mind is put into the body of an alien so that he can infiltrate their tribe and hopefully negotiate the terms of their relocation so that the resources they are living on top of can be mined out.  But when his loyalties begin to turn, he gets involved in the middle of a war that could jeopardize either his own kind or the very existence of his new friends.  While the story has been slammed by way too many people as being unoriginal, I still feel that writer/director James Cameron was brilliant in making the material just familiar enough to be recognizable, yet different enough to be completely enthralling and captivating.  While it’s great to finally be able to see this one at home, I must warn everyone that this is just the first of many editions of the film that will hit DVD and blu-ray.  This is a bare-bones edition with no special features whatsoever.  Rumor has it that later this year Cameron will re-release the film into theaters as a director’s cut, and then you will most likely want to re-purchase.  And then there will be the version with how they did all of the special effects and all of the other special features.  By the time this one’s done there may be several reincarnations, so if you don’t think you’ll watch it more than once or twice, it may be a rental for you.  Then again, the blu-ray is so spectacular to look at on a nice TV that you may not want to wait that long.  A+

Crazy Heart
Rated R for language and brief sexuality
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges is a washed-out country singer trying to get back on his feet in this little indie that came on strong towards awards time.  While I felt it was a little over-hyped and that Bridges was much like Sandra Bullock in that he won the Oscar merely because it was his turn and not because he outperformed the other actors this year, the film still was a pretty good little flick with some great tunes and a very good performance.  My biggest gripe is where did they get the name ‘Crazy Heart’ from?  That has got to be one of the worst-fitting titles in years.  B-

It’s Complicated
Rated R for some drug content and sexuality
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin are two exes that get back together for an affair, trying desperately to hide it from his wife and her new boyfriend (Steve Martin).  While it’s definitely a comedy for the older crowd, it’s still a very funny pic with some great set pieces including a gut-busting scene that shows way too much of Baldwin.  It’s not a coincidence that they are releasing this just before Mother’s Day as this is probably a nice gift for many of the Meryl age and older mothers out there.  B

Out of Africa (25th Anniversary Edition)
Rated PG
Available on Blu-ray
It’s been 25 years since Out of Africa led a shut-out of The Color Purple at the Academy Awards by taking home seven statues including best picture and best director.  Based on the true story of a woman (Meryl Streep) who travels to Kenya to be with her cheating husband and falls in love with a mysterious adventurer (Robert Redford), Out of Africa is a gorgeous film to look at and listen to, especially on blu-ray, but a tad on the dry and boring side.  That being said, for the fans out there, it will be a welcome addition to many libraries.  B

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Rated PG-13 for violent images, some sensuality, language and smoking
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Terry Gilliam directed Heath Ledger in his last film before his death in this extremely weird, but typical Gilliam pic.  Christopher Plummer is Dr. Parnassus, the leader of a traveling stage show who is about to lose his daughter to the devil until a young man (Ledger) comes to the rescue to help out.  Because Ledger never finished the filming, his part was re-imagined and recast for additional scenes by Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Colin Farrell, which sort of made sense in the story but made the film all that more weird.  Still, you have to love Gilliam’s imagination, or imaginarium if you will, as he is truly one of the most creative spirits in Hollywood and always brings a product that keeps it’s audience on its toes.  B+

Five Minutes of Heaven
Not Rated
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
in 1975, a 17-year-old Irish-Protestant assassinated a 19-year-old Catholic in his home in front of his 11-year-old brother.  Thirty years later, the Protestant (Liam Neeson) has been rehabilitated and released from prison and a television talk show wants to bring he and the younger brother (Nesbitt) together for a reconciliation, the brother must decide whether to seek his revenge he has been waiting his entire life for, or find another way to get over his pain.  While the film isn’t the kind that normally makes a killing at the box office (no pun intended), I’m surprised it really never found a home, especially with this cast and the fact that it won both the Directing Award and Screenwriting Award of World Cinema at the Sundance film festival.  The movie is very well-paced and the writing and directing are excellent.  Nesbitt is a bit over the top and has a few Gollum moments, but Neeson is his typical brilliant self and it is an overall very watchable film with some really great moments.  A-

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City Island

City Island

Starring Andy Garcia, Julianna Margulies, and Emily Mortimer
Directed by Raymond De Felitta
Rated PG-13 for sexual content, smoking and language
Appropriate for ages 13+

    Prison guard Vince Rizzo wants desperately to be an actor, but he is so ashamed to let his wife know, that he would rather let her think he was playing poker than taking acting classes.  When he discovers that his son from another woman (whom he has never met or spoken of) is in his prison, he brings him home to stay with his family, without telling any of them (including the son) that they are related.  What the new son sees as a fresh observer is that the lies from each of the family members become thicker and thicker until there is no where left to go, with total destruction the seemingly only destination in sight. 

    Not knowing what kind of film this was going to be going into it, but knowing what kind of actor Andy Garcia is, I did not expect to laugh myself silly.  But that I did.  I had no idea Garcia and Margulies had it in them to be this absolutely funny, but their timing here is tremendous and I was in stitches. 

    The story itself seems simple at first, only with a few quirks thrown in.  But then the tale becomes ever more complex and enjoyable.  It’s hard to get past the fact that the comedy here is all caused by a man who can’t tell the truth, even when it’s in his best interest.  I think 99.9% of fathers and husbands would have said something before they brought a hot convict home to hang around their hot daughter and hot wife.  Sure it adds even more humor to the climax of the film, but who would let it go that far?  Then again, if it’s all about the laughs, the correct decisions were made and the film turned out just fine.  B+

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New on DVD

New on DVD

The Lovely Bones
Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material involving disturbing violent content and images, and some language
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
For Peter Jackson’s much-anticipated follow-up to his Oscar-winning Lord of the Rings Trilogy, he chose Alice Sebold’s novel about a young girl that is murdered by a neighbor, and then proceeds to connect with her parents and friends while she is living in the “In-Between,” a surreal world that lies between Heaven and Earth.  As far as special effects go, Jackson creates an amazing vision that sticks with you long after you leave the theater.  When it comes to movies of this sort, I still prefer that of Vincent Ward’s What Dreams May Come, but both films provide a beautiful yet haunting look at the afterlife.  While the film leaves you visually satisfied, there is just something not right about it.  The acting by Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz is off with neither one of them turning in very solid performances (conversely, Stanly Tucci and Saoirse Ronan are incredible).  But acting aside, it starts with Jackson toning down the violence from the book, and with good reason because this very well might have been known as merely a rape movie, rather than what it became.  But it feels like Jackson is keeping too many things from us and that the story seems somehow incomplete.  C

44 Inch Chest
Rated R for pervasive strong language including sexual references, and some violence
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
From the writer of Sexy Beast comes this hard to swallow drama with a stellar cast including Ray Winstone (Sexy Beast), Ian McShane (Deadwood), John Hurt (V for Vendetta), and Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton).  When Winstone’s wife admits that she’s been seeing someone else, his friends go and pick up loverboy, take him to their hideaway, and over the course of the film decide what to do with him.  The acting is phenomenal, but the subject matter is deeply depressing.  Winstone’s pain is so real that it leaps off the screen and you both fear for the stranger’s life and understand the anger at the same time.  The movie feels like it belongs on a stage rather than the screen, and if it ever got a cast like this on Broadway or the West End, it would be a smash, unlike it’s small box office draw it received in it’s theatrical run.  B

The Basketball Diaries
Rated R for graphic depiction of drug addiction with related strong violence, sexuality and language
Available on Blu-ray
Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Wahlberg were barely getting started when they made this drama about a couple of kids in high school that wasted their lives away once they discovered heroine.  For both of them it was one of their best performances, which makes it hard to believe that the film only made 2.4 million at the box office.  Then again, this ain’t exactly an after school special.  It’s a tough film to watch, filled with many scenes where you just want to turn your head and look away.  I remember when Leo became a heartthrob after Titanic and people made fun of the good- looking kid that can’t act.  I would quickly remind them of Diaries and Gilbert Grape, which showed a gutsy good-looking kid that wasn’t scared to show off his ugly side.  Of course now he is widely considered one of the best actors in Hollywood, but checking this one out you can see he’s had talent from the start.  A-

Mammoth
Not Rated
Available on DVD
Gael Garcia Bernal and Michelle Williams are a happily married couple with busy lives that are put to the test when Bernal must travel to Thailand for an extended business trip.  The film desperately wants to be Babel, and even brings in Bernal for the right flair, but the movie is such a bore that by the time something actually happens, it is completely predictable and I can’t help but think that most of the viewers will be completely apathetic.  C-

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Kick Ass

Kick Ass

Starring Aaron Johnson, Nicholas Cage, Chloe Grace Moretz, and Christopher Mintz-Passe
Directed by Matthew Vaughn (Layer Cake)
Rated R for strong brutal violence throughout, pervasive language, sexual content, nudity and some drug use – some involving children
Appropriate for ages 18+

    When a nerdy, down-on-his-luck teenager (Johnson) decides to take the law into his hands and don a wet suit/costume in the hopes of becoming a super hero by the name of Kick Ass, he finds himself to be the youtube sensation of the millennium, attracting the attention of a much inspired city.  When father and daughter super hero team (Cage and Moretz) sweep in to protect Kick Ass from getting himself killed one night, Kick Ass finds himself feeling less self-confident than ever in his abilities to fight crime, and more importantly, stay alive doing so. 

    Right now you might read this synopsis, and remember seeing the trailer, and think to yourself that this was a risky film to put $30 million into.  You won’t be saying that in a month.  I’ll admit that it’s difficult to describe this film in too much detail.  First off, you don’t want to give away too many of the great jokes and terrific set pieces.  Secondly, this film is too obscene to let the movie audience at large see what makes it special.  What this film will have is huge, and I mean gigantic, word of mouth. 

    So what will everyone be talking about?  First they will be talking about how absolutely hysterical the film is.  From start to finish, the movie has a dark, sadistic, twisted wit that gives you big laughs.  I was in pain because I was just getting over a cold and couldn’t laugh properly, so I can’t wait to see it again just so I can get the correct chuckles out of my system.  The jokes here aren’t for everyone though.  Just read the rating and you’ll probably be able to determine whether or not you are a Kick Ass kind of person or not.  Another way to judge is to check out the red band (R-rated) trailer on the Kick Ass website (www.kickass-themovie.com).

    Next, everyone will be talking about the gutsiness of the film.  Director Matthew Vaughn and his production team made this film without a studio, knowing that someone would buy it when they were done.  It’s one of the biggest “true” indies I’ve ever seen.  Luckily, Lionsgate came through, and they are about to reap the rewards on this one big time. 

    Finally, folks are going to be chatting on and on about the performances.  Johnson, Cage, Mintze-Passe and pretty much the entire cast are all really having fun and letting us know it.  But the real star of the film is young Moretz, whose caped crusader “Hit Girl” is one of the baddest super heroes to grace the screen and would give the best of the bad guys a run for their money.  Some will be turned off by her incredibly foul language and ability to inflict massive amounts of violence, but most will find it to be shockingly comical.  A

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New on DVD

New on DVD

Apollo 13: 15th Anniversary Edition
Rated PG-13
Available on Blu-ray
In order to capitalize on the 15th anniversary of the theatrical release of the Ron Howard/Tom Hanks Astronaut classic, Universal is releasing Apollo 13 for the first time on Blu-ray.  For most folks in Houston, the events of the film are a close to home history when Jim Lovell and crew attempted to land on the moon and almost didn’t make it back to Earth.  While Howard admits that he never intended it to be so, the film has become one of the most important historical looks at the NASA program ever put on film, telling more than just a story, but also fully explaining our unique fascination with space exploration as well.  Universal brought back all of the old special features from earlier editions, but there is very little new on the disk and that is a shame.  The U-control features, especially the one dealing with Tech-Splanations is a nice addition, but they really should have updated the documentary Conquering Space: The Moon and Beyond as it is incredibly dated.  While the commentaries were taped 15 years ago, I highly recommend the one with Jim and Marilyn Lovell as they relive their experiences while watching the film.  It’s a very unique way to take in the movie.  B+

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
Rated PG for some mild rude humor
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
This second installment puts Alvin and his brothers in school, while three new female chipmunks come on the scene to give them a run for their money.  I have to admit that when I was a kid I used to like Alvin.  I sped up records and sucked in Helium to imitate the sound.  So I can understand how kids can like it, but the difference is now I wish they wouldn’t like it.  It’s not that this is a bad film.  I can’t think of any way to make it better.  It’s just annoying.  Really, really annoying.  By ninety minutes in I wanted to strangle the rodents though the screen.  I really do believe that Alvin the Chipmunks was invented as a weapon to seek revenge against parents for having children.  People without children and critics unlike me who had something else to review this week are laughing themselves silly at the poor saps who have to put up with this.  If you are one of said parents – I feel bad for you because your kids are gonna tear that disc up, just like they did the first one.  My advice: invest in some nice noise-canceling headphones, plug them into your iPod, and say over and over again “serenity now.”  For kids: A  For adults: F  

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Clash of the Titans

Clash of the Titans

Starring Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, and Ralph Fiennes
Directed by Louis Leterrier (The Incredible Hulk)
Rated PG-13 for fantasy action violence, some frightening images and brief sensuality
Appropriate for ages 13+

    I was nine years old when I first saw the original Clash of the Titans and I have always had fond memories of the experience.  Sure it was a bit hokey and the special effects looked bad even then, but the sense of amazement I experienced from that film stuck with me for the rest of my life.  And this new version almost ruined it.

    The story is supposed to be about a young demigod named Perseus (Worthington), son of god Zeus (Neeson), who sets off on a series of quests that will eventually save Princess Andromeda from the god Hades (Fiennes) and his gargantuan Kraken.  I probably shouldn’t make the claim that the film was supposed to be anything, because it is what it is, but instead of this story, Perseus could really care less about Andromeda, but is rather seeking revenge against Hades for killing his father. 

    So while the original Clash had tons of Cheesy special effects, it had a decent story, and I’ll opt for story over effects any day of the week.  Here, Perseus is nothing but a revenge-driven action hero. 

    I’ll preface this by saying that first off – Hades doesn’t even kill his father.  Yes, he might be responsible for his death, but he merely destroys the ship his father is on and Perseus is unable to save him.  That’s a far cry from killing someone. 

    But I digress.  Perseus grabs a dramatic group of soldiers and mercenaries and heads off to figure out how to kill the Kraken.  Along the way he must kill a bunch of monstrous scorpions, mess with some witches with one eye between them, and face Medusa, a woman whose look can turn any man to stone.  And he’s not even remotely interested in the girl. 

    In the original myth, he needed the head of Medusa to save his mother.  In the first Clash he needed the head to save the maiden in distress who he also really had a thing for.  Now, all he wants is vengeance and forget the princess.  Revenge is an adequate goal, but nothing compared to saving your love.  And why couldn’t the filmmakers have gone for both? 

    Another example of the bad filmmaking, was the complete lack of curiosity and wonderment.  This really is all action and no adventure.  There is not a moment where Perseus looks like he is astonished that these things are happening to him for the first time.  He acts the entire time like he has done all of this stuff before.  At least give us that scene in the clouds with Pegasus, his winged stallion, as cliched as it may be, where he is dumbfounded and a little giddy by his new ability to fly.  Nope.  He calls Pegasus.  They take off.  Time to fight the Kraken.  Lame. 

    And finally, while the special effects are pretty good and the production is overall decent, the 3D looked like it was an afterthought.  It seemed out of place.  Too much of it was a strain on the eyes that could have been greatly comforted by seeing it in a 2D theater.  D+

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New on DVD



New on DVD

Lord of the Rings
Available on Blu-ray
April 6 marks the day that hardcore fans of Lord of the Rings will be very excited, but not for the reason you may think.  Both the Peter Jackson trilogy and the animated Ralph Bakshi editions will both be released, but for many of Tolkien’s loyalists, they will be skipping the trilogy for now.  Sure the 1978 Bakshi version is crudely animated and the rotoscope technology utilized combined with the hand-drawn characters looks like there was no clear vision, but there are some that really love this movie and think the story is more true to the books, even though the film was only half completed since no one would fund him to do the second half.  But the real reason the hardcore fans will be skipping out on Jackson’s Oscar-winning trilogy this time out is because this set only includes the standard editions and not the far superior extended editions.  Sure the lure of digital copy is tempting.  Who wouldn’t want a copy on their iPhone or new iPad.  But it’s hard to stomach shelling out that much money for the set now, knowing that the studio will try to get you again later when the extended editions are finally released on Blu-ray.  The Trilogy: A (but I would wait for the next blu-ray release whenever that might be).  Animated: C+

Dolan’s Cadillac
Rated R for violence and language
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
Based on the Stephen King short story, when a school teacher’s (Wes Bentley) wife is murdered in cold blood for witnessing the crimes of a mob boss (Christian Slater), the teacher vows revenge.  The first half of the movie is not that great, filled with way too much bad acting, including that of the lead actors, but once things get going in the end of the second and into the third acts, the film turns into a pretty decent revenge flick.  While Stephen King’s story is much darker, and the revenge is served much more cold, for the sake of a movie like this, they did a decent enough job for a straight-to-dvd thriller.  B-

Clash of the Gods
Unrated
Available on DVD and Blu-ray
For those with a mind to discover what really went down with Perseus and Zeus, the History Channel has just released this 10 part series that explores many of the myths that entertainment today.  While the reenactments are pretty lame and the special effects could use a boost, the series is extremely interesting and full of enlightening moments.  I would rather watch the segment on Medusa here than the new Clash of the Titans any day of the week.  B-

Taxidermia
Unrated but every scene is full of foul and offensive material
Available on DVD
Hungarian with English Subtitles
I remember walking through the Kiasma Contemporary Art Museum in Helsinki, Finland, which is one of the worlds most celebrated modern art institutes, and I was truly shocked as to what I saw there.  And needless to say it takes a lot to shock me.  I only mention that now, because this film reminds me much of that experience.  Taxidermia follows the lives of three generations of Hungarian men each living obscure and absurd, miserable lives.  It’s a movie that normally I would have turned off after the first fifteen minutes, but yet just like that museum, I couldn’t’t stop watching.  I couldn’t’t look away.  As grotesque and horrid as it was, I kept thinking to myself that this movie is too well made to be simply ignored as a trivial piece of Euro garbage.  There are way too many movies that I watch like that and this doesn’t even come close to fitting that category.  I felt like I was truly watching someone’s art come to life.  And while it’s not a film I could enjoy, there are folks out there that might connect and discover that deeper appreciation.  C+