FilmJabber.com Theatrical Reviews - Last 20

Mirrors (2008) Movie Review

2008-08-20

Mirrors Movie review: B-

Jack Bauer, bored of taking on terrorists and assassins, has shifted his focus to a much more dangerous target: mirrors. Yes, mirrors. In the Alexandre Aja movie Mirrors, Kiefer Sutherland stars as a security guard who begins to believe that the mirrors in the abandoned department store that he patrols are possessed with a demonic force that can kill at will.

Aja, the guy behind such gore fests as High Tension and The Hills Have Eyes, has set the bar pretty high. While not everyone loves his films, no one can argue that his two most well known pictures are disturbing and thrilling. That being said, I had relatively high hopes for Mirrors. Unfortunately, Mirrors is also based on a Korean movie, which means that it falls into the dried-up subgenre of Asian horror movie adaptations. That, in the least, is disturbing in its own right.

Thankfully, Aja has created a film that supercedes the subgenre, if only slightly. The movie does follow the pretty typical formula: a guy gets a new job, starts seeing weird things, continues to work there, begins to believe that something is truly wrong and eventually discovers that a creepy little girl may have something to do with it. Aside from that, Aja tries his best to make us forget about the thin plot - and succeeds off and on.

I didn't love Mirrors. The first half is so-so, as there are some plot holes, sketchy moments and so on and so forth. It's never explained to a believable level why an abandoned department store that is halfway burned to the ground needs to be patrolled on an hourly basis, or why Sutherland, who lost his job as a police detective, needs to work a night job when he could just as easily land a normal gig during the day. Of course, there's always the problem that even if you think you're crazy, why the hell would you go back to a job when you see dead people in the mirrors? Furthermore, Sutherland isn't anything special; at least Paula Patton and her cleavage make up for his shortcomings.

Nevertheless, if you can look beyond its flaws, Mirrors is pretty scary. The use of mirrors has always been an easy approach for directors to scare the living daylights out of their audiences, and Aja has made a movie made of nothing but mirrors. There are quite a few scary moments and several of those will make you jump. As far as gore goes, the movie pales in comparison to Aja's other films, but there are still some decent neck-gouging, jaw-splitting death scenes.

The ending, as far as horror movies go, is also quite decent.

Mirrors isn't a great movie and it isn't for everyone, but as far as Asian remakes go, it's pretty good.

Henry Poole Is Here (2008) Movie Review

2008-08-17

Henry Poole Is Here Movie review: A-

Review by Robert Bell (A-)

To dismiss Henry Poole is Here as a maudlin rumination on faith and religion would be to ignore the inherent human struggles and blatant annihilation anxieties rumbling beneath the surface, which are exposed only through the central "religious" plot device that unites a group of people who would otherwise have little to do with each other. Faith acts as a simple fulcrum to expose incontrovertible feelings of disappointment, rage and lost hope.

Surface thematic interpretation aside, systemic cultural incertitude surrounding sincere emotion and the fear of complex mortal thoughts outside of the minutia that society is socialized to value and prioritize will likely cause most to ignore Henry Poole's deeper human themes, which is really a shame as it's one of the better films thus far in 2008.

When he is unable to convince homeowners to sell a house he desperately wants, an angry and disconsolate Henry Poole (Luke Wilson) settles for a dilapidated house down the street. Settling into his routine of getting drunk by himself and eating frozen pizza, Henry is interrupted by an enthusiastic neighbour named Esperanza (Adriana Barazza) who believes a watermark on the side of his house to be the face of Jesus.

Given that Henry moved to the neighbourhood to be left alone, her bubbling persistence and endless religious prattle is particularly unwelcome and only complicated when he meets the mute daughter (Morgan Lily) of his much more affable neighbour Dawn (Radha Mitchell).

Through his newly established relationships, Henry is forced to again battle the learned belief that hope and expectation begets pain and disappointment.

It is true that Albert Torres' script paints subtlety like a 4-year old with an oversized crayon by imbuing central characters with names like "Dawn", "Patience" and Esperanza (which means "Hope") and having them spout dialogue like "Hope won't save me", but Pellington's direction of the material is really rather impressive. He clearly understands despondency and defeat and frames his characters with emotional truth rather than the usual hip and ostentatious vulgarity an emotionally detached audience is accustomed to.

Moments of stillness and reflection will be interpreted as either dull or moving depending on the expectations and connectivity of the viewer, and as such will likely divide audience appreciation of the film. Regardless, it would be difficult to ignore the visual cohesion and use of positioning and lighting to reinforce character representation.

Also difficult to ignore is the sheer magnetism of Adriana Barazza who all but steals the show as an almost manically hopeful woman desperate to believe that such an unfair world can have miracles. There is an energy and complexity in her performance that is both touching and amusing.

Quite simply, this is a film that boils down human complexity to the basic anxieties that create conflict and has the balls to answer the question "Why?" with "Why not?" (Seville)

Tropic Thunder (2008) Movie Review

2008-08-09

Tropic Thunder Movie review: B-

Review by Nathan Samdahl (B-)

Once again I made the mistake I always try to avoid. That mistake of course is to come into Tropic Thunder with too high of expectations. While the trailers were never phenomenal, I found it hard to imagine a film that starred Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr., Matthew McConaughey, Nick Nolte and Tom Cruise to be an endeavor that would end up being surprisingly flat and that would miss the comic mark so many times. Don't get me wrong, the film has hilarious moments, mostly courtesy of Downey Jr. who plays the leading African American role in the film within the film. Also, the visuals are fantastic, thanks to one of my favorite cinematographers John Toll (The Thin Red Line, Braveheart). But despite having almost every conceivable element working in favor of the film being great, it just isn't.

While it is convenient to fall back and place the blame solely on the director, in this case Ben Stiller, it has to be said that this film is sizably larger in scope than any other Ben Stiller-directed film, his next most notable being Zoolander. His movies succeed in being wildly over-the-top throughout, which is perhaps why this one fumbles a bit. Tropic Thunder is most certainly a comedy, but with some pretty extensive action/war sequences including an opening scene somewhat reminiscent of the battle scenes in We Were Soldiers, it doesn't always seem properly focused. Despite all of the humor infused into these action sequences, it perhaps feels a bit too realistic to focus only on the comedy of the situation. This is even more the case later in the film, when Stiller is captured by actual rebels and is tortured. While part of this torture involves Stiller's character Speedman reviving his role as "Simple Jack," a Radio-like flop that epitomized the character's career as of late, even this humorous scenario does not entirely outweigh the seriousness of his situation.

It seems that this movie struggled a bit with its intended direction. If it had chosen to take an even more over-the-top, less realistic approach it could have been absolutely hilarious throughout. However, as is, some of the more serious moments make the comedic ones that directly follow fall a bit flat. In some cases though, the comedy just falls short on its own accord, which is most pronounced with the rap dancing scenes with Tom Cruise, who plays the crazy financier of the seemingly doomed-to-finish film. His dancing over the end credits was one of those moments where you hope and pray that he won't and when he does it sends a wave of silence over the humor-desiring crowd. Cruise and McConaughey, who plays Speedman's eager to please agent, surprisingly end up being the biggest comedic flops in this one.

Certainly here I have focused on the lesser aspects of Tropic Thunder. This is mostly because the film's concept is fantastic and with a slightly reworked script and a clearer focus on what the film wanted to be, this could have easily been one of the funniest films in years. As is, Robert Downey Jr. is well worth the ticket price, his appearance and voice alone are priceless and despite the film's occasional awkwardness he always is able to deliver a knockout line to bring the laughs. See this movie, but don't bring the same expectations as I did. Without them, you should be able to enjoy Tropic Thunder as a clever and funny summer romp.

Baghead (2008) Movie Review

2008-08-04

Baghead Movie review: B+

Review by Nathan Samdahl (B+)

A surprisingly engaging and well-crafted film, Baghead is a fresh addition to the relatively small pool of films that can be considered horror-comedies. Despite it being several months since I saw the movie, I can still remember it clearly, which alone speaks volumes about the film's quality.

From its description, Baghead could easily fall into the category of a typical horror-slasher film- a group of relatively young people going out to a cabin in the woods to have some fun before eventually being terrorized by a person who wears a bag on his head. However, in this case, the early-thirties couples are four struggling actors who are attempting to go away for a weekend to write a screenplay with four juicy parts, which will kick-start their careers. The problem arises when lack of motivation foils their screenwriting endeavor and the half-ass story they came up with begins to come true. The film's gritty camcorder visuals and the extremely down-to-earth characters make this one of the most relatable horror films in recent memory. The characters actually, for the most part, act in the sensible ways that you hope you would follow in similar circumstances. It also helps that the characters, particularly the two lead males, are hilarious, particularly before they encounter Baghead.

While the characters' toiling at the cabin is the heart of the movie, the film's opening sequence at a small theater/club proves to be one of the most hilarious and relatable sequences. Here both couples go see the performance of one of Matt's friends, Jett Garner, who is played by none other than Jett Garner. The performance ends up being some of the awfully pretentious drivel that people force themselves to enjoy in a vain attempt to be cultured. Thankfully, the directors created four characters that feel the same way the movie audience does about the performance piece, making the sequence an incredibly funny introduction to the characters, particularly when they tell Jett Garner how much they enjoyed the performance.

Baghead is a bit of a slap to the face of all the piss-poor horror films produced for a budget probably ten times that of this film, which really appeared to be shot over the course of a weekend. Unfortunately, this high quality film does not seem to have much at all in the way of a decent distribution deal. Understandably, it has no recognizable actors or directors nor does it have the expected glossy visuals, but that clearly was not the plan for this comedy with dramatic and horror elements. In fact, the story of Baghead seems to pretty closely mirror the production of the film, a story made for four relatively unknown and talented actors to have a breakout role. If you ever get a chance to see this film, more than likely on DVD, take the time to see it. Despite the lack of any marketing for the film, Baghead is one of the most entertaining movies so far this year and at a running time under an hour and a half, this is a great film to watch with an antsy group of friends.

Pineapple Express (2008) Movie Review

2008-08-04

Pineapple Express Movie review: B

Review by Robert Bell (B)

The title, Pineapple Express, refers to a strain of marijuana that is "so rare, that smoking it is like killing a unicorn." In fact, if smoked, one might be inclined to look up things on the internet, talk about how hard it is to be cool and watch episodes of 227 (yes, that show with Jackee). The film - while nothing particularly special - succeeds in making the usually oblique and inaccessible (to those who aren't under the influence) stoner comedy engaging to a wider (read sober) audience. While it will surely be appreciated more by potheads, the bizarre logic and chaotic happenings are kept relatively grounded in reality by indie director David Gordon Green's candid, matter-of-fact technique.

Dale Denton (Seth Rogen) is a 26-year-old pothead who serves subpoena's for a living and dates a high-school student (Amber Heard) on the cusp of college where, according to Dale, she will forget about him and get into bands like "Godspeed! You Black Emperor" and "The Shins."

After a routine visit to his weed dealer Saul (James Franco) to pick up a rare strain of marijuana known as Pineapple Express, Dale witnesses a drug Mafioso (Gary Cole) and a crooked cop (Rosie Perez) killing someone and accidentally leaves a roach at the scene of the crime. Paranoid and panicking, Dale returns to Saul to find out if this rare weed can be traced back to them.

The pair quickly learn that their paranoid delusions are very much real when a visit to marijuana middleman Red (Danny R McBride) turns to violence and a pursuit by hired baddies (Kevin Corrigan & Craig Robinson).

Pineapple Express is a shallow, slight film that really makes no effort to be anything other than a moronic comedy. Any notions of artistic integrity are thrown out the window somewhere around the third or fourth fellatio and sodomy joke. Attempting to criticize this point would be silly as the film makes absolutely no effort to say anything profound or life changing; it seeks only to paint an accurate picture of pothead nomenclature and explore astonishing notion of weed-fueled paranoia coming true. In this capacity, the film succeeds with flying colours.

Like all Apatow produced films, the second half drags with unnecessary padding and glib life lessons, but in relation to his other productions Pineapple finds itself leaning closer to the amusing antics of Superbad and 40-Year-Old Virgin than the less comically successful Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Knocked Up. Fans of the existing template will be pleased, but others may find the familiarity and initial charm of it waning.

While over-the-top fight scenes and an absurdist car chase sequence bring a great deal of humour to the film, the real scene stealer is James Franco, whose stupid grins and delayed reactions add the much needed human hilarity that Seth Rogen's typical performance is lacking.

For a shallow, slight and insipid glance at stoner humour, one could do much worse than Pineapple Express. It's sure to incite some laughs and the occasionally absurdist plotline is sure to keep most audience members on their toes and entertained for the majority of the running time. Anyone looking for something with depth and significance will be disappointed and should probably consider avoiding films about potheads running from serial killers.

Swing Vote (2008) Movie Review

2008-08-01

Swing Vote Movie review: C-

Review by Robert Bell (C-)

Leaning ever so slightly on the side of Republican, this cloying, saccharine and entirely didactic offering of Capra-esque summer counter-programming, may be the perfect treat for the senior citizen crowd who will surely gasp and feel a little naughty during the many occasions that Kevin Costner cusses and takes the Lord's name in vain.

From the moment the film opens onto a charming small town in the south, to the moment that we learn that every person and every vote counts, Swing Vote keeps its morally superior and idealistic values at the forefront, even when alcoholism, under-aged driving and politically incorrect campaign commercials occasionally fizzle to the surface.

While doing a class project on the historical significance of the American political landscape and the right to vote, the precocious Molly Johnson (Madeline Carroll) asks her redneck alcoholic father Bud (Kevin Costner) if she can be involved in the voting process. When he gets drunk and forgets to meet her at the polling station, Molly decides to sneak in and make his vote for him.

A series of mishaps leave the vote uncounted, which becomes significant when the entire presidential election comes down to a tie and has to rely on Bud's vote to decide who the next president will be.

When industrious local journalist Kate Madison (Paula Patton) breaks the story to the media, both the Republican (Kelsey Grammar) and Democratic (Dennis Hopper) presidential candidates make an effort to "swing" Bud's vote, while he garners his 15-minutes of fame and his daughter learns of the political hypocrisy that masks the true needs of the American people.

While the implication that Republican political candidates use fear tactics and forcefulness to sway affiliation and Democrats blow a lot of hot air up everyone's behind with their idealistic platforms is amusing, it's not particularly fresh or insightful. Also, given that everyone learns their lesson in the end, any intended subversion is lost in an uplifting score and the usual "people-really-do-mean-well" crap.

What may be the most interesting subtextual aspect of Swing Vote is the notion that the average American voter is an easily manipulated, borderline-retarded, lemming. This may have been unintentional, but exists nonetheless.

Despite the contrived and calculating nature throughout, there are some moments of true hilarity that arise when Bud makes entirely inappropriate statements about political issues like abortion, gay marriage and immigration. Both candidates (illogically) change their platforms - through television commercials no less - with amusing results, which involve Mexicans running across the border with chickens, gay stereotypes standing on a rainbow flag with Kelsey Grammar and exploding children in a playground.

This mild amusement does mildly detract from the manipulative nature of the film and Kevin Costner does do his best to make his alcoholic cliché palatable, but little else is particularly digestible for anyone who doesn't enjoy being spoon-fed pablum.

Overall, what attempts to be an accessible mediation on current political landscapes, winds up feeling a lot like those early 90's Jim Belushi movies where an average douchebag learns a valuable lesson and helps make the world a slightly better place.

X-Files: I Want to Believe, The (2008) Movie Review

2008-07-29

X-Files: I Want to Believe, The Movie review: C

It has been six years since "The X-Files" last graced television sets and ten years since the movie blasted onto the big screen, but David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson and Chris Carter are back for another so-called X-Files adventure. Unfortunately, those looking for aliens, monsters or even a spooky plot should look elsewhere.

Before I dive into this review, let me establish that I am a huge X-Files fan. The show was one of the first serials I ever watched growing up, and I still regard it as one of the best. As such, it was pretty damn awesome to see Mulder and Scully back on the big screen - that is, until you realize that Carter has delivered the one kind of movie he shouldn't have: a picture that appeals neither to the X-Files aficionado nor a regular moviegoer. No wonder the marketing for this movie was so disastrous.

The horribly titled The X-Files: I Want to Believe begins with an FBI agent getting attacked at her home by a couple of mysterious men. The next day, a priest-turned-pedofile-turned-psychic (Billy Connolly) claims to have a vision - which leads the FBI to pull Mulder and Scully out of retirement to help the investigation. As the two wrestle with their relationship and their careers, they discover that what they've stumbled upon is not a sinister, supernatural plot, but instead a pretty standard, uninteresting one instead.

It's a real shame, because The X-Files 2 (with a different title) could have been pretty good. The assumption had always been that Carter, in an attempt to appeal to people who didn't watch the show, would do a single-episode story, a long "episode" where Mulder and Scully investigated something dark and abnormal unrelated to the alien mythology that drove the show for so many seasons (a few too many seasons). This was all fine and dandy with me; I just expected Carter to do something big, scary and disturbing. Think of some of the best "X-Files" episodes, whether it be "Home" (where the hillbillies have incestuous sex with their mother) or the ones where there's that stretchy guy who kills people and make nests under an escalator - those were scary and messed up. On the opposite end, there's The X-Files: I Want to Believe, which has you waiting for something dark and twisted occur, only to greet you with the end credits instead. Honestly, I don't know how this movie got green lit.

Plot aside, The X-Files: I Want to Believe is pretty decent. While the movie has a bit of a TV feel to it, Carter has done a good job of bringing his characters back to the big screen. Mulder is as funny as always; Scully his conservative doppelganger. He's treated their development in a realistic light, giving them solid and believable back stories.

That being said, Carter stripped a little too much away from what makes The X-Files what it is. Mulder and Scully are no longer formal FBI agents; neither have guns or badges or authority. Most disappointing is the fact that the two leads rarely are on screen together, even though they're romantically connected. Mulder does what he does best, while Scully spends her time fiddling around with a cancer patient who has no connection to the story every audience member is interested in. Furthermore, the story isn't supernatural. It doesn't contain monsters and it doesn't contain aliens. In other words, other than the presence of a silly psychic and a brief hint at something disturbing, the story presented here could have been shown in just about any modern FBI television series. Ultimately, Carter got so caught up in the metaphorical "Believe" and "Don't Give Up" bits that he forgot to make a movie that would appeal to those watching it.

Beyond the plot, there are some clunky parts. Carter glosses over many moments without much explanation; he drops the fact that Scully and Mulder are living together in a rather odd way; his revelation as to what the plot is about is so subtle that you could blink and miss it; and so on and so forth.

The X-Files lacks the story, excitement, creepiness and bang that the movie could have so easily achieved. As such, this is undoubtedly the last time we'll ever see Mulder and Scully together. The only truly good thing about this movie is that it inspired me to go watch my DVD box sets all over again.

Dark Knight, The (2008) Movie Review

2008-07-18

Dark Knight, The Movie review: A

It's 3:07 am on Friday, July 18th, and I have to wake up for work in four hours. But it's worth it. Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight packed six screens at the nearby theater; the line to get in, two hours ahead of time, spiraled down two flights of stairs and out the door. But it was worth the wait.

Batman Begins was already highly regarded as one of the best, if not the best, superhero adaptation, but Nolan has made that film look like nothing more than a setup for the chaos that rains down in this complex, gritty and twisted film. No character is safe and anything can happen as the Joker - and eventually Harvey Two-Face - embrace Gotham. Batman, a.k.a. Bruce Wayne, has helped reduce crime, but where he has squeezed, the criminal element is reacting accordingly. Whereas Batman is order, the Joker is chaos, and that is what is at play in The Dark Knight.

As my tired fingers tap against my keyboard, I must make note that to truly appreciate The Dark Knight, it may take a day or two for it to soak in, or even multiple viewings. I have my grievances, though I suspect many of those slight hiccups are a result of too much hype and anticipation. Such minor flaws will gloss over in time, and I will come to realize The Dark Knight for what it is - Hell, I pretty much already realize it - that this movie is as close to a masterpiece as comic book adaptations can come.

Well-written, superbly directed and, of course, brilliantly acted, The Dark Knight is the crowning achievement of comic book films. It's hardly fair to compare it to Spider-Man 2, which relishes in mutated heroes and villains, or even X-Men 2, which has dozens of the like. Those are both great films, and there are people who will like them more because they are pure entertainment and blockbuster action flicks. I still love them, but The Dark Knight takes one of the most popular superheroes in history to an entirely different level. Nolan's version of Gotham is shockingly realistic. Other than a guy who flies around in a bat suit and a psychopath who can destroy a city, the Nolans (Christopher with brother Jonathan) have created a gritty, believable crime thriller complete with a sustainable plot, riveting characters and plenty of action. The Dark Knight has it all.

Before I get to the good stuff, let me point out the few annoyances I have. I don't like the cell phone sonar system - it was a little too James Bond-ish for this kind of film. Christian Bale, while still great, didn't blow me away as much this round; I didn't like his gravely Batman voice. While Two-Face isn't relegated to the very end of the movie, I was hoping to see even more. And why does Nolan even include the Scarecrow at all? There are a few other things, but my tired mind has started to wander.

To get it out of the way, Heath Ledger makes this film. His rendition of the Joker is disturbing, psychotic and downright creepy. This is one of the rare roles where the actor, as he really is, cannot be recognized. If he hadn't died, would an Oscar nomination even be considered? Perhaps not, just because of the type of film he has chosen to deliver his crowning achievement. But he is gone, and it is almost assured that Ledger will get a nomination. Ledger is absolutely incredible.

Aaron Eckhart, as Harvey Dent/Two-Face, is also surprisingly good. The marketing team kept his character - or at least his eventual self - under tight wraps, and the anticipation pays off. The makeup job is incredible; nothing like the horrible Tommy Lee Jones pink-face from the late 90's. His performance is sound, though it would have been great to give him an entire movie on his own. After all, how is Nolan going to follow up The Dark Knight with something better? I really don't see how a sequel could be better than this.

The movie is two-and-a-half hours long, but it doesn't feel like it. It moves at a fast pace and the Nolans have plenty of plot to play with. The movie starts off good, but gets great in the middle section - I literally was grinning through much of it - and ends pretty solidly. I wouldn't say it's perfect, but it's near perfect, and again, a couple more viewings of this picture may convince me that the film is flawless. Either way, The Dark Knight is jaw-dropping.

Last Mistress, The (2008) Movie Review

2008-07-16

Last Mistress, The Movie review: B

Review by Robert Bell (B)

Staying true to her singular feminist roots and psychosexual explorations of the inherent imbalances between men and women, but stepping away from prosthetic penises, fun with menstrual blood and brutal parallels of symbolic emotional rape, Catherine Breillat has assembled her most accessible art house film to date. It's a slightly perverse, subtext-laden and stuffy Masterpiece theatre style entry with soft-core porn lighting and surprisingly glib insights on female sexuality in relation to religious constructs of male supremacy. Breillat's feat here is mainly that of transferring Jules-Amédée Barbey d'Aurevilly's invariably male-centric novel of the same name and spicing it up with some sly feminist critique.

The Last Mistress tells the story of 30-year-old libertine Ryno De Marigny (Fu'ad Ait Aattou) in 1830's France where he is set to marry a bleached-blonde and pubis-shaven chaste aristocrat named Hermangarde (Breillat regular Roxane Mesquida). Being known for his 10-year affair with an Andalusian courtesan called Vellini (Asia Argento), Ryno is eyed warily by those surrounding Hermangarde, which leads him to professing his story to her grandmother, la Marquise de Flers (Claude Sarraute).

The majority of the film is told through this flashback, as Ryno's initial dislike for the homely (according to the text) Vellini, turns to arousal, pursuance and conquest.

As the pair go from unknowns, to lovers, to parents and back around they continue with cat-and-mouse games that lead into the present when Vellini learns of Ryno's marriage to the virtuous Hermangarde. In true form, Vellini shows up from afar to tempt her long-time lover with her ardent sexuality and knowing gaze.

Breillat's preoccupation with the profane is still apparent in Mistress, with chicken slaughter, wound licking, kooky sexual positions and some erotic asphyxia next to the burning corpse of a 3-year-old, but is considerably more palatable in relation to the narrative than much of her previous work. Perversion is often used to symbolize demonized female sexuality as well as the virulent nature of cannibalistic French socialites throughout the film and is recognizable as such.

A great deal of the films strength lies in the connection and intensity of the performances from both Aattou and Argento. While Aattou radiates a naïve charm and relatively lucid idealism, Argento purrs with intimidating sexuality, which stems from her husky voice and penetrating gaze. They are able to play off of each other's strengths with ease as Vellini clearly dominates the milquetoast Ryno both intellectually and sexually. Their passion is convincing, leading to a greater believability in Ryno's struggle to remain faithful to his comely bride whom he quickly loses interest in.

The implication that men are simplistic creatures driven by sexual impulse and entitlement, while women must use hard-earned wit and manipulation to obtain power, is nothing particularly new or insightful. It is, however, an interesting take on some fairly familiar and somewhat bland material.

Mamma Mia! (2008) Movie Review

2008-07-16

Mamma Mia! Movie review: B

Review by Robert Bell (B)

As a straightforward and guileless adaptation of the hit musical, Mamma Mia! mostly succeeds, despite the fact that it is essentially two-hours of celebrity ABBA karaoke with only a little vocal talent. Agnetha, Björn, Benny and Anni-Frid's layered harmonies and catchy hooks lend themselves well to the popular musical format, adding some accessibility to a less euphoniously discerning crowd than perhaps a Sondheim musical might, with its angular harmonies and polyphony. Understandably, this aggressively fluffy pop music is juxtaposed with an equally exuberant and almost psychotically optimistic plot about following one's heart and knowing that love is love regardless of DNA and external genitalia.

With her impending nuptials, 20-year-old Sophie (Amanda Seyfried, Bill's oldest, anti-polygamist daughter on Big Love) is desperate to find her real father, whose identity has been kept hidden by her mother Donna (Meryl Streep). After uncovering her mother's diary, Sophie quickly finds out the reason that her mother has been so secretive about her patriarchal roots. It seems that back in the day, Donna got pelvic with three different men in a very short period of time, which means that the father could be Sam (Pierce Brosnan), Bill (Stellan Skarsgard), or Harry (Colin Firth).

In an effort to solve the mystery, Sophie invites all three men to her wedding, much to the surprise of her mother, and her mother's lifelong girlfriends (Julie Walters & Christine Baranski).

As surely as cynics will scoff at unrealistic character reactions, occasionally crappy singing and frequently sloppy transitions between songs, ABBA loving optimists will be tapping their toes along to each musical number and delighting in the sheer, undeniable whimsy and spirit. Director Phillida Lloyd has opted for an edited, musical montage approach rather than the choreographed soundstage approach of other recent musicals like Enchanted and Hairspray. The result is decent, engaging and occasionally beautiful, even if there are occasional moments similar to early 90's music-video's where ingénue's wear overly emotional expressions on their faces while singing at the camera.

The biggest question that a lot of people will invariably ask about Mamma Mia! is if the actors can sing. The answer is both yes and no. Amanda Seyfried is impressive all around, proving herself as a bankable star, which is especially significant considering that she is standing next to the multi-talented Meryl Streep, who herself can sing quite well. On the other hand, Pierce Brosnan sounds like a dying goat whenever he opens his mouth and Stellan Skarsgard sings a bit like a kid who licks glass and eats three lunches a day.

Quite simply, Mamma Mia! is a reasonably well made - if somewhat touristy and compact - film that will please fans of the genre and annoy those who dislike pop and/or musicals; plus, Meryl Streep plays air guitar and dresses up in a glittery jumpsuit.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) Movie Review

2008-07-12

Hellboy II: The Golden Army Movie review: B-

In 2004, then-relative unknown director Guillermo Del Toro adapted the challenging comic book "Hellboy" into a mildly successful and extremely entertaining movie about a tough, red demon with a stone hand who likes cigar and kittens, is in love with a firestarter who looks a hell of a lot like Selma Blair and who protects humanity from monsters, immortal Nazis and so on and so forth. Hellboy is not the kind of character that one would think audiences could relate to, but relate they did, mainly with the help of Ron Perlman's performance. Hellboy II: The Golden Army picks up where the first one left off... sort of.

Hellboy II brings back Perlman, Blair and other members of the cast, and most importantly Del Toro, who has since proved his worth with the excellent and ultimately denied Pan's Labyrinth. With Del Toro's newfound imagination for the weird, Hellish creatures from Labyrinth, Hellboy II had the makings of being an incredible and improved sequel.

That is not the case.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army is entertaining, pretty funny and has some good action scenes, but something is amiss, not quite right, a little off, a tad different. While a continuation in story, the movie feels more like a reboot with a different writer, different actors and different visuals, which is odd since the writer, director and actors are all the same. The improvements are not for the better. Hellboy himself seems more subdued, more lovely dubby, less sarcastic and less intimidating, and that's not a good thing. He walks around love stricken for most of the movie and hesitates when he must kill nasty creatures. The relationship between Blair and Hellboy is bitter at best; Del Toro skipped over the good times and went straight to the downhill part. We never got to see them as a loving couple, and thus we can't relate when they're somewhat beyond that. The chemistry between Blair and Perlman seems to have fizzled. Abe Sapien, too, is different, his character less odd and less intriguing. A romance that sparks between him and and an underworld princess is more distracting than anything else.

There's just something off about the movie, and the blame must fall on Del Toro. He tried to turn his action-comedy premise into a fantasy-action-comedy, and the result is inconsistent at best. Hellboy's foray into a troll market, which is like an extreme, monster-filled version of Harry Potter's Diagon Alley, is interesting but surprisingly too magical for Hellboy, at least based on my limited knowledge of the character from the first movie. The encounter with his personal "death" and the decision Blair's character must face is interesting as well and truly imaginative, but also seems out of place in a movie like Hellboy II.

Going into Hellboy II, I was looking forward to an amalgam of Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth, but in hindsight, I just wanted Hellboy. I wanted the tough, sarcastic character to kick some ass and take on a truly intimidating villain, and that just didn't happen, at least not entirely. Again, Hellboy II is entertaining, but it shifts from comedy (including a singing sequence between Hellboy and Abe) to action to drama, but doesn't properly combine the three. Furthermore, the main villain, Prince Nuada (Luke Goss) isn't nearly as intimidating as I was expecting. Though he wants to kill all of humanity, he isn't nearly as scary or dark as he needed to be. Compared to the ruthless villain of the first film, he is nothing.

All that being said, Hellboy II does generate a fair amount of laughs, and there are some very well done action sequences. When Del Toro does dive into action, the movie picks up tremendously; the last half hour are especially good. It's not a bad movie, and in many ways is still quite good, but it still feels more like Spider-Man 3 than Spider-Man 2. Del Toro needed to cut 20-30 minutes out of its running time, the almost-romance between Sapien and the princess and some of the more fantastical elements and focus on the film's strengths.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army is entertaining, but lacks the cohesive chemistry the first film maintained. This sequel does not live up to its potential.

WALL• E (2008) Movie Review

2008-07-10

WALL• E Movie review: A+

One of the best reviewed movies of the year is, no surprise, Pixar's Wall-E, a movie that has been buzzing since the first, dialogue-free teaser trailer hit theaters a summer ago with Pixar's last masterpiece, Ratatouille. As good as Ratatouille was, it feels like an appetizer compared to Wall-E, which is as close to a masterpiece as movies can be. It fires on all cylinders and rarely, if ever, misfires.

Wall-E continues the near-perfect streak of the company-not-to-be-outdone, Pixar, as they continue to buck the trend that other animated production houses take. Whereas DreamWorks and Fox and any other company that does animated films tend to play as modern satires and spoofs, with timely jokes and music, Pixar continues to amaze with fully realized characters, visuals and story. Pixar films are becoming increasingly daring and ambitious, and Wall-E, by far, is their crowning achievement.

Whereas most animated films will be crammed with the voices of well known actors to pull in box office dollars, Pixar has gone the unconventional route of removing almost all dialogue from the entire picture. The two main characters, both robots, say twenty words between them; the main character says two or three at most. It's a risky move, as, after all, Pixar is making a movie for children. Or are they? When one thinks about it, Pixar has transcended the level of cartoon or kid's flick. Pixar is the one animated brand that all but guarantees widespread appeal and general audience attention. Most animated movies, even box office successes like Kung Fu Panda, do not automatically appeal to older audiences, and as such, DreamWorks and the rest have to make movies with the easy laughs. Pixar is guaranteed a lot of box office, and thus they have the ability to experiment.

Experiment they do. Wall-E takes place on Earth 800 years in the future. There are no humans left; in fact, the only form of life is a single cockroach. New York and the rest of the world are piled high with skyscraper-sized garbage heaps, created by the Wall-E robots left behind to clean up humanity's mess. The mess, created by megastores and consumerism, has caused humans to go on a five-year journey - going on 700 years - through space. Aside from the cockroach, all that's left is a single, lonely robot, who goes about his day doing his job and curiously examining the garbage he is designed to cleanup. When a spaceship lands and a new, shiny white female robot named Eve emerges to search for any sign of life, though, Wall-E falls in love. His curiosity and devotion lead him to follow Eve into space, and with him could come humanity's salvation.

Yes, it doesn't sound like a kid's movie. And in many ways it's not, except that it contains no objectionable material and is highly enjoyable in every single way. Wall-E does carry a heavy environmental message, but it's never in your face to where it becomes distracting. Written and directed by Andrew Stanton, the director of the Toy Story movies and Finding Nemo, among others, Wall-E is flawless in design, execution and story. Nothing is said for the first half hour of the movie, yet Stanton keeps you engaged, intrigued and entertained. Wall-E is funny, but in a simple, realistic way. Wall-E is like a curious dog, and humor comes from the same things that you would laugh about when watching your pet explore a new yard. Anything and everything can be fascinating to him, and he acts like a sad, lonely but determined puppy.

Beyond the writing, though, the visual effects and direction are absolutely amazing. The visuals, some of the best on the market today, continue the almost-realistic visuals seen in Ratatouille. The first half hour is especially mesmerizing as Stanton and his visual effects time show us a world that is stunningly detailed. The visuals deserve an Oscar, and if not for the stigma against animated films, I could see a Best Director nod in favor of Stanton.

Wall-E is quite possibly the best animated movie ever created, and beyond that, it is a funny, cute, romantic and heartwarming tale. It is, simply, a masterpiece.

Hancock (2008) Movie Review

2008-07-06

Hancock Movie review: B

In our third superhero movie of the summer, we get the refreshing Hancock, a rare genre film not derived from any comic book. While not perfect, this action-comedy has enough gunfights, laughs and entertainment to make it well worth the $10 admission.

In Hancock, Will Smith stars as a super-powered man who is invincible, has super-strength and can fly at blazingly fast speeds. Despite that, everyone in the city hates him. Not only does he tend to cost the city millions of dollars in damage with his "heroics," but he's a bum, a drunk and an asshole. With people chomping at the bit more than ever from Hancock to stop "saving" them, a PR agent (Jason Bateman) manages to convince Hancock to do some time behind bars to appease the public and make them realize just how much the city needs him. The plan works, but what happens next will surprise you.

First off, if you liked the previews, you will love the first half of the movie. Hancock, directed by Peter Berg (The Kingdom), is a fast-paced thrill ride full of car chases, gunfights and ugly children being thrown thousands of feet into the area just for mouthing off to the "hero." Smith is a convincing drunken bastard, and he acts like one with amazing ease. There are plenty of laughs, some good one-liners and lots of destruction (amazingly few explosions, come to think of it). I was highly anticipating Hancock, and much of the film delivers.

In the second half, though, Hancock begins to show some cracks. People are going to disagree on just how big of cracks there are; I would have gone an entirely different, simpler direction, but can't complain too much. The movie is consistently entertaining and has a fair amount of action, though some of the magic from the first half is lost in the second. After a completely surprising twist, the film's dynamic changes, not necessarily for the better. It dives into some rather unconventional plot elements that I don't know were the right choice for a summer blockbuster, but more importantly, Hancock loses much of its humor. I wouldn't say the film gets dark, but it certainly gets darker.

If you're wondering what I meant by keeping things simple, I would have had a supervillain show up and start wailing on Hancock. End with a gigantic fight sequence and throw in a few laughs to boot. It wouldn't have been the most original way to wrap things up, but when it comes to comic book movies, you don't need to be original, just exciting. Hancock's ending is pretty good, but perhaps a bit too low scale compared to what I would have expected.

In the end, Hancock suffers from a surprising but not necessarily great twist, weak CGI and a lack of a strong central villain, but its positives make up for at least some of its deficiencies.

Had Berg and writers Vincent Ngo and Vince Gilligan tried to stay within the standard limits of a superhero movie, Hancock could have been great. As is, it's solid but not flawless entertainment.

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (2008) Movie Review

2008-07-03

Kit Kittredge: An American Girl Movie review: B-

Review by Robert Bell (B-)

Stepping away from the X-rated exploits of HBO's Tell Me You Love Me, Patricia Rozema has taken on some decidedly lighter material with Kit Kittredge, a depression era G-rated Nancy Drew that is based on the popular "American Girl" doll line. It seems logical that a movie based on a plush doll line of merchandise that professes "dress like your doll" as a selling point would be facile and salable, however, the film features some guileless didactics with a heartwarming centre that is only occasionally contrived.

The film follows Kit Kittredge (Abigail Breslin) during the 1930's depression after her father (Chris O'Donnell) has left their home in search of work and her mother (Julia Ormond) has had to take borders into their home in order to make ends meet. Kit's response to change and hardship is initially fearful, acknowledging social stigmas attached to the poor, such as selling eggs and wearing dresses made of chicken feed bags, but like all plucky heroines she makes lemonade when life hands her a bag of manure.

To keep the younger demographic interested, there is an overlying mystery involving a faceless thief with an arm tattoo, who travels from town to town giving a bad name to hobos. As one of Kittredge's central themes is that of acceptance and prevailing kindness, it doesn't take a great deal of genius to predict the road that the film will eventually travel.

Observations about a child's necessity to take on more adult roles in difficult times, in addition to the human tendency to ostracize and condemn those who are different in order to validate their own fragile existence ameliorate the films schmaltzy tendency to be maudlin and banal. For every false scene where the soundtrack forces unearned sentiment, there are moments of truth such as one where a young boy writes a fake letter to his mother from his absent father in order to give her hope and strength.

Color, costume and construction of Kit Kittredge are all top-notch, giving gravity and credibility to the premise, while performances from the cast of seasoned thesps are uniformly effective aside from Joan Cusack whose over-the-top goofiness is both distracting and aggravating. Also, as Kit Kittredge, Abigail Breslin seems to be only partially present, going through the motions appropriately, but never connecting with her character or the audience. Considering the impressive work by some of the other young actors in the film, this appears to be a problem with the young actress rather than one of direction.

The central mystery, along with Kit's journalistic journey are occasionally lost in a story that tries to cover too much ground, but comes together in a third act that ties things together satisfactorily, if unremarkably. "Kittredge" glibly makes heroes and saints of the hobo community while shuffling looks of distain towards gypsies, but only out of ignorance and the necessity of simplifying complex themes for the younger target audience.

Despite some severe pacing issues, more bookish pre-teen girls should find a connection with the titular Kit and her relentless self-preservation and persevering optimism in hard times.

Get Smart (2008) Movie Review

2008-06-25

Get Smart Movie review: B

Television series adaptations have a sketchy history. From The Avengers to Starsky and Hutch and The Dukes of Hazzard, there are far fewer hits than misses. It's a bit surprising, really, as every big television series has established characters, built-in fanbases and potential at a big screen level. But it's the fanbases that throw studios for a loop and encourage them to make crap. On the one hand, they want to appeal to such audiences that have very specific expectations, and on the other, they want the movie to work on a broader, modern level. The result is almost always an unfunny and uneven creation.

Unlike most of these TV-to-movie adaptations, Get Smart showed promise. The film featured at-his-apex Steve Carell in a role that seemed perfectly suited for him. A great supporting cast consisting of Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson (finally shedding his "The Rock" alter ego), Alan Arkin, Terence Stamp and even James Caan and Bill Murray was another indicator. The previews, a blend of action and goofy comedy, also worked quite well. Still, nothing's a sure thing in Hollywood, and as the big weekend approached, reviews were mixed at best.

Thankfully, Get Smart is a pretty entertaining film. No one will praise it as the most brilliant movie ever, nor even the most spectacular of comedies. It is a tad inconsistent at times, not always on-spot with its jokes and flat in a few places. But, overall, Get Smart is what I was hoping for, and thus no where close to being a disappointment. It's good enough that I will look forward to its inevitable sequel.

The movie stars Carell as Maxwell Smart, a CONTROL analyst who gets his big break at being a field agent when the agency - and its existing agents - are compromised by a leak. Smart is teamed with Agent 99 (Hathaway), who is as lethal as she is hot, and the two form an uneasy alliance as they seek to take down KAOS once and for all.

Get Smart is James Bond meets "The Office," to put it in modern terms. Having never watched the original series, I can't compare, but the movie appears to have conquered the right blend of making the film modern without completely changing its roots. Impressively, director Peter Segal (Tommy Boy) manages to gloss over the fact that the Soviet Unio/Russia are no longer opponents of the U.S. as they were in the Cold War, and has all but brought the same conflict into the 21st century. Segal moves between action and comedy quite well; Get Smart is surprisingly action packed at times, though it never takes itself too seriously.

Of course, the make or break angle is the comedy, and Get Smart pulls off enough jokes to make it worth it. The movie isn't constantly funny - there are jokes that fall flat and others that are just awkward, but the screenwriters seemed to be aware of this and just keep spitting them out. The dialogue and gags come fast enough that even if a few jokes fall flat, you'll be chuckling a fair amount of the time. There are also some very clever jokes, though the marketing team included a fair amount of them in the previews.

Carell is, in fact, the perfect choice for the role. He essentially plays the same character that he does in "The Office," but adapted to a spy comedy. Hathaway fits the part well, though I didn't love her. The rest of the supporting cast is pretty good, specifically Johnson and some of the other "macho" agents.

Get Smart would have benefited from a tighter and more refined script, but even when jokes are failing, it seems intentional. Overall, the movie is entertaining and funny. Recommended.

Wanted (2008) Movie Review

2008-06-25

Wanted Movie review: B+

Review by Nathan Samdahl (B+)

I agree with John Stewart's interview with James McAvoy, saying that this movie "should suck, but it doesn't." For all intensive purposes a story about a thousand year old fraternity of assassins who get their directives from a giant loom should not be good. Especially, when the background of the fraternity is only explored in a cursory manner and the story only allows for few and brief moments of character development.

In the hands of a lesser director, such as Brett Ratner (the Rush Hour movies, After the Sunset) or whoever the hell directed the Covenant, this film would have been awful. But it wasn't. It was directed by Timur Bekmambetov, the Russian phenom who brought us Night Watch and Day Watch, the vampire films which received much acclaim. Bekmambetov's direction makes this film. Period. He recognizes what the premise of the film presents him with, a chance to create a ton of eye-catching action sequences. He also realizes how the back story of the fraternity and the mystery surrounding McAvoy's father is both necessary, yet far less interesting than watching McAvoy penetrate skulls with his bending bullets. Even in these slower moments, Bekmambetov's visual style takes hold, creating great visual interest when there should be little.

The film also benefits from a strong cast, surprisingly strong for the storyline; McAvoy, Jolie and Freeman are all great while supporting roles played by Terrence Stamp and Lorna Scott (McAvoy's cringe-worthy boss) also hit the mark. McAvoy holds nothing back in the film; at many points I thought his head would simply explode during one his many "anxiety attacks." He shines in every scene, particularly during his outburst in his Office Space-like office and the closing action sequence filled with plenty of carnage. Jolie is as hot and deadly as ever and her brief bath house appearance offers yet another bonus for the many guys that will flock to this one. Also, while it is apparent that Freeman probably strolled onto set, was given some lines and delivered them with little to no prep (does he really need any?), he still managed to demonstrate that no one says, "Shoot that motherf@&#er," better than him. Rehearsal or not.

The action scenes, which seem to get increasingly preposterous throughout the film, are some of the most entertaining and exciting action sequences of the summer. Similar moments in other films that suffer from shitty overpriced computer graphics are corrected here, particularly the many slow motion bullet shots, which not only look great, but are creative not only in their camera movement, but in the crazy trajectories of the bullets. It's not too often that you see a bullet fly through a donut and four car windshields en route to a target miles away. Also, to make this clear, the film is not only CG based; McAvoy gets his ass kicked and kicks some ass of his own in more genuine punch-to-the-face sequences as well including his involvement in a rather painful knife showdown.

Perhaps the only real negative about Wanted is its title, which would surely fade into oblivion if not for the strength of the film. You would think that just a bit of the creativeness that went into making the film could have been put towards the title. While Wanted does not fall in the same category as the Terminator movies or True Lies that manage to interweave great stories with great action, this is still one of the most entertaining films of the summer. If you can, do this one as a double feature, Wanted in the theater and Night Watch when you get back. It's hard to top assassins and vampires back-to-back.

Happening, The (2008) Movie Review

2008-06-21

Happening, The Movie review: F

What the fuck. That's my warning that this is one of those rare movie reviews where I will swear. Profusely. It's the only way to keep me sane.

I just got back from M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening, and... what the fuck? It's incomprehensible. Amazing and incomprehensible. I just don't get it.

First off, Shyamalan took my advice: he created a movie without a twist ending. After The Village and Lady in the Water turned out to be not nearly as good as marketed, it was clear that the best thing the star director could do was get people off the expectation that there would be a twist ending in every one of his films. That would mean he could spend more time focusing on a quality and entertaining story, and less on a gimmick.

But God have mercy on my soul. The Happening is about as bad of a movie as you can get these days, a masterpiece where every star and gizmo align to form the perfect terrible movie. How a film can even achieve a level of such complete and utter failure is beyond me. It's as if Shyamalan, upset that no one liked his God-awful Lady in the Water, decided to say, "Fuck it," to theater goers and deliver a film that lacks any kind of acceptable acting, writing, directing or storyline.

After The Village, I had a bad taste in my mouth. In hindsight, the movie wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great, either. Two of my favorite movies are The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable, and Signs isn't half bad, either. So, even after Lady in the Water amazed me by how silly and self indulgent it was, I had high hopes for The Happening. The movie looked like a return to Shyamalan's roots, a creepy thriller about something that is causing people to go crazy and kill themselves.

But don't get me wrong! I did not go into The Happening with high expectations. After canceling my opening night visit to the theater, I waited a whole week to see it. In that time, I was pounded left and right by bad reviews. Not only that, but my brother called me a few days ago and informed me just how bad the movie was. Rarely does he lay into a film so viciously, but he had nothing nice to say about The Happening. However, bad reviews don't shape my own opinion; if anything, they lower my expectations to a point where I hope I can enjoy the film on a visceral level.

How wrong I was. The Happening defied my expectations by being much worse than could ever be imagined. This movie makes Lady in the Water look like Schindler's List, a pile of runny dog poo taste like a T-Bone steak, Carrot Top a respectable actor. The movie is terrible, and only recommended to people who like to laugh at truly bad movies. Yes, The Happening is laughably bad, and that's not just because the boom mike appeared on camera for about a quarter of the film.

The acting is terrible. I like Mark Wahlberg, but he is downright embarrassing. So are Zooey Deschanel and John Leguizamo. The entire supporting cast is pathetic. Of course, one can't completely blame these actors for what can only be described as inane, unrealistic, cringe-inducing, laughable performances. The screenplay is a disaster, perhaps insight into what Shyamalan's personal Hell would feel like.

Beyond that, the movie just doesn't have much going for it. The concept, on a very high level, is decent, but there's not much suspense or excitement. Shyamalan does keep you guessing as to how the characters will survive an epidemic that is indiscriminate - assuming any characters do survive - but that's not enough to warrant a plot that is about as loose as a prostitute at a rodeo. If that didn't make sense to you, The Happening won't either.

Honestly, The Happening is almost assured Worst Movie of the Year on countless lists. This weekend's The Love Guru might come close, but I could never have imagined a film from a director once considered to be the next Spielberg to be so bad.

Love Guru, The (2008) Movie Review

2008-06-19

Love Guru, The Movie review: D

Review by Robert Bell (D)

What might have been the most amusing thing about The Love Guru was what happened prior to the press screening. While the audience got seated and the studio rep made nice with the most recognizable film critics, there was live sitar music and belly-dancers that shook about up and down the aisles. The music was entirely too loud and people had to dodge around the dancers to get to vacant seats. While this scenario alone was highly amusing, the roar of applause that came after the music ceased and the girls put their boobies away was even more bizarre. It was reluctant at first, but clearly social expectations and guilt got to many audience members who then overcompensated, making the entire ordeal unintentionally amusing and somewhat ridiculous. It just seemed to be an example of a marketing meeting gone wrong.

The film itself is equally bizarre, but rarely sparks any sort of amusement (intentional or unintentional) or cohesion. The Love Guru is essentially a cinematic pastiche of all things familiar to the comedy world of Mike Myers and recent pop culture. The sheer inanity and peculiar nature of the on-screen happenings lead one to believe that something of amusement might come about, but it never really does. Instead, the film spouts out a series of jokes about poo, scrotums, doggystyle sex, French-Canadian profanity and copious allusions to fornication, both elephant and human. While this should amuse younger audience members and those who are a little less discerning, it will likely irritate and confuse those with a slightly more refined comic palette.

Pitka (Mike Myers), a North American raised in India by Guru Tugginmypudha (Ben Kingsley), decides to return to his native land to become the number one guru, surpassing Deepak Chopra. His main course of action involves getting on Oprah's talk show, until Jane Bullard (Jessica Alba), the owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs, seeks Guru Pitka out to help her with their struggling star player Darren Roanoke (Romany Malco).

Having recently separated from long-time girlfriend Prudence (Meagan Good), Darren suffers from hand trembles, which interfere with his puck handling. This is only exacerbated by the fact that Prudence is now dating a French-Canadian goalie named Jacques "Le Coq" Grande (Justin Timberlake), who reportedly earned his nickname by having an enormous hog.

As Pitka attempts to help Darren with his love issues, his agent Dick Pants (John Oliver) attempts to get him onto Oprah's talkshow, despite the fact that The Love Guru is far more interested in having sex with Jane Bullard.

Despite sequences of Justin Timberlake singing Celine Dion songs and trajectory gags involving the word tabernac, trademarked acronyms and the use of Mariska Hargitay's (the emmy-winning actress from Law & Order: SVU) name as a greeting and a prayer, nothing comes across as genuinely funny. The only mild amusement comes when Myers candidly points out the joke he was just making matter-of-factly. This is most effective in a scene where he and Romany Malco sit in a crowded bar and Myers makes pooping noises into a coffee mug. When he is done he then states to Malco "I was just making diarrhea noises into this mug." This is, sadly, as witty as the film gets as it often resorts to jokes that involve celebrity tabloid vagina and boogers.

The juvenile humor isn't the only problem with The Love Guru, as there are issues with direction and modernity. When songs like Brimful of Asha, Blur's Song #2 and More Than Words start crowding the soundtrack, it becomes clear that a major barrier within the film is how outdated it is. Back in 1997 when Austin Powers, Brimful of Asha and Song #2 were released, this film probably would have succeeded as a fresh and edgy comedy, however, it is 2008 in a post Judd Apatow and Tina Fey comedy world and The Love Guru just doesn't fit. It's a retread of the familiar and old.

Also problematic is Marco Schnabel's bland point-and-shoot directorial techniques that only gains urgency during hockey montages.

Those excited to see a variation on the Austin Powers franchise may want to check this one out, but everyone else will likely be disappointed, confused and wondering if they really did just see two elephants have sex in a hockey arena.

Brick Lane (2008) Movie Review

2008-06-18

Brick Lane Movie review: B-

Review by Robert Bell (B-)

Certainly safer and potentially more accessible to a broader audience than Monica Ali’s controversial novel, Brick Lane partially succeeds as an examination of an oppressed Muslim woman reluctant to voice her own opinions and desires. Characters are closely examined with care and consideration, but are never given a greater sense of urgency aside from mild discontent in uncontrolled surroundings.

Born of a poor Bangladeshi family, Nazneen (Tannishtha Chatterjee) is sold off to the older Chanu (Satish Kaushik) after the death of her mother and sent off to London to be a proper Muslim wife and mother to two daughters (Naeema Begum and Lana Rahman).

After being overlooked for various promotions, Chanu decides to quit his job in favour of foolish and potentially unrealistic opportunities. He even goes so far as to borrow money from a loan shark neighbour to buy a computer. To supplement the income Nazneen starts her own home-based sewing business, which threatens the patriarchal sensibilities of her husband.

Feeling somewhat isolated and trapped in her passionless marriage, Nazneen is flattered when she is the object of some attention from Karim (Christopher Simpson), who brings her clothing to sew. Her affair with the younger man begins to go sour after the events of September 11th turn him into a political radical.

Some of the struggle in translating the power of the novel onto the big screen likely stems from the inherent meekness of Nazneen. Her struggles are mostly internal as her main weakness is an inability to speak her mind. Occasional voiceovers help provide some insights, as do lingering scenes of household discontent from director Gavron, but her rebellion isn’t entirely logical or justified.

This also stems from a relatively flat performance from Chatterjee. She certainly looks the part and convincingly conveys weakness of character, but is unable to channel internal struggle or rebellion on the surface, which only exacerbates some of the shortcomings of the sparse script. As Nazneen’s oldest daughter Shahana, Naeema Begum is the most convincing of the cast, being simultaneously caring and understandably disdainful of her parent’s damaged and disparate relationship. She also helps to bring much needed tangibility to Nazneen’s penpal relationship with an offscreen sister, acting as a mirror to the absent character.

Despite these flaws, Brick Lane is an engaging and well photographed character study. It is just unfortunate that a great deal of identification and empathy must stem from forces external to the film itself.

Trumbo (2008) Movie Review

2008-06-17

Trumbo Movie review: B

Review by Nathan Samdahl (B)

Trumbo tells the remarkable story of Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo, one of the famed Hollywood 10, who were indicted and convicted for contempt of congress during the HUAC trials of the late forties. Adapted from the play created by Trumbo’s son Christopher Trumbo, the film chronicles Dalton’s life, from his rise to being one of the most sought after screenwriters working in Hollywood to being placed on the Hollywood blacklist to writing under pseudonyms and winning an Academy Award. All in all, Dalton Trumbo is responsible for some of the great film works of the 20th century including Spartacus, Roman Holiday, Johnny Got His Gun and Papillon. Many of the stories he wrote strongly mirrored his own life often involving characters that were alienated from society and that stayed true to their morals and beliefs in the face of adversity. Director Peter Askin weaves together stock footage, interviews and most importantly the reading of some of Dalton Trumbo’s beautifully crafted letters by a tour de force ensemble of actors to tell a great story of a great man.

The quality of the actors gathered to read the letters is a testament to the legacy of Dalton Trumbo and the respect he has in the film community. Each member of the cast, which includes Michael Douglas, David Strathairn, Donald Sutherland, Joan Allen, Liam Neeson and Paul Giamatti, is on screen for no more than about five minutes, but each brings new life to the witty and pointed letters Trumbo wrote, many in response to the wrongs done to him by the House Un-American Activities Committee and the societal backlash that followed. While the presentation of the letters seems directly pulled from the stage play by Christopher Trumbo, with minimalist sets and rather theatrical line delivery, the strength of the actors keeps the audience invested for the most part. There were a few times where my attention wandered or where I was distracted by the performances. Joan Allen’s literal reading of one of the letters (meaning she actually was reading off of a sheet of paper) seemed a bit awkward since all the rest of the letters were memorized including another one by her later in the story. Also, Josh Lucas, who is a strong young actor, seemed a bit out of his league in comparison to his co-stars in the film, which was probably realized by the filmmakers who nearly completely cut him out of the ending of the film when the actors are edited together reading the same letter. These, however, are minor issues in a film that succeeds in many ways.

I often have issues with the introduction of theatrical stage conventions into a film as they often come across as awkward (the recent adaptation of The Producers is a perfect example). However, for telling the story of Dalton Trumbo, his letters are key and visually performing them is certainly much more powerful than simple voiceover. Even so, more footage such as from the HUAC trials and more anecdotes from the people that knew him, in place of one or two of the letters could have helped strengthen the pacing of the film, which lagged at a few points, especially in the second half of the film.

While the conventions used in Trumbo help it stand apart in the documentary genre, they also limit the interest in the film (which I am sure is no surprise to the filmmakers) certainly more to the art house crowd than to a mainstream audience. This is a bit disappointing since Trumbo’s journey in and out of Hollywood is a fascinating and devastating one that people should know about and one that certainly is very relevant in the current political and social climate. While it might not be top on your list of films to see, Trumbo is a high quality film that should be watched, if only to learn a bit about the plight of one of Hollywood’s greatest screenwriters of the last century.