Here are a few more film reviews, originally published on Entertainment In Review.
http://www.entertainmentinreview.com/
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)
Written by John Michael Decker
Jun 04, 2007 at 11:43 AM
Who would have thought that a series of films based on an amusement park attraction would have developed into such a lucrative franchise? In the 21st century, pirates are more popular than ever, and a lot of the credit for that must to go to the Pirates of the Caribbean films and the incredible performance of their star, Johnny Depp. In the 20th century, the romantic and stereotypical image of the pirate primarily came from three sources: the novel Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, the play Peter Pan by James M. Barrie, and the Gilbert & Sullivan musical The Pirates of Penzance. Well, now I think it is safe to say that the Pirates of the Caribbean films can be added to that list. What modern day child will be able to hear the word pirate without conjuring up images of the eccentric Captain Jack Sparrow as portrayed by Depp? Now that the first trilogy of Pirate films is done, I am left to ponder, was it worth the wait?
The story
At the end of the last film, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Captain Jack had been betrayed by the beautiful Elizabeth Swann and left chained to his ship, the Black Pearl as a gargantuan Kraken bore down on him. Not only that, but James Norrington had delivered the heart of squid faced Davy Jones to Lord Cutler Beckett, giving Beckett control of Davy Jones and his haunted ship, the Flying Dutchman. With the Dutchman and its enchanted crew of damned sailors at this command, it seemed as if Beckett could destroy the last vestiges of piracy on the seven seas. In the meanwhile, witch woman Tia Dulma has spirited Captain Barbossa back from the dead to help Will Turner and what was left of Captain Sparrow's crew find Jack, who was imprisoned in Davy Jones' Locker.
Confused? If you went to see Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, but hadn't seen Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, you would be -- there is no re-cap at the beginning of the film to let the audience know what they missed. But then again, there were probably only half a dozen folks who missed the last film. And those people were raised by wolves and lived secluded lives separated from all popular culture.
As Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End begins, Captain Barbossa has led his ragtag crew to Singapore to meet Captain Sao Feng and obtain a ship from him. Barbossa wants to call a meeting of the Brethren Court of nine pirate lords, and to do this he needs to find Jack Sparrow, who is one of the nine. To find Sparrow, he needs a ship from Sao Feng, but since Sao Feng has a grudge against Captain Jack this will not be an easy task. The last time that the Brethren Court was held, the pirates managed to trap Calypso, goddess of the sea, in human form, and for reasons of his own, Barbossa wants to free her. For her part, Elizabeth is racked with guilt for betraying Jack in the first place. Will Turner, who last saw his true love Elizabeth kissing the roguish Sparrow, is confused about her true motivations, and also wants to find a way to free his father, "Bootstrap" Bill Turner from his servitude on Davy Jones crew. Are you still with me?
If you feel lost, you are not alone. Trying to write a simple synopsis of this film is like trying to untangle the Gordian Knot. Suffice it to say that Captain Jack is rescued in short order. What kind of Pirates of the Caribbean film would it be without Captain Jack? Every character in this movie has their own secret agenda, and every character has made side deals with other characters to accomplish their own ends. There is so much double-dealing, double crossing and four-flushing going on that it is easy to get lost -- and frankly, I got lost several times.
This script is an overly-complicated mess. Sure, there are some amazing action set pieces and some wonderful character moments and interactions, but the story itself is so muddled and confused that it just becomes a headache to try and follow.
The cast
The cast of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End is top notch. Leading the ensemble is Johnny Depp's Captain Jack Sparrow, perhaps the most endearing and memorable character of his career -- and that is saying something, considering Depp's vast and impressive resume. The wobbling, effete and seemingly mad Sparrow steals every scene he's in and makes the other actors have to work twice as hard to keep up. This is a cinematic creation on par with Harrison Ford's Indiana Jones or Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau, and Depp should be acknowledged for his impressive work, even if Captain Jack doesn't appear in the strongest film this time around.
One actor who can keep up with Depp is Geoffrey Rush, whose character Captain Barbossa is a scene-stealer in his own right. He plays Barbossa almost as a tarnished gentleman -- an exciting character choice. It's an awful lot of fun to see Rush and Depp share the screen together again -- two great actors at the top of their game. Barbossa may not be as showy as Sparrow, but he is no less interesting.
Keira Knightley gets to do a lot of swashbuckling in this film, and she is quite good at it. Although there were moments where I found her character Elizabeth Swann a little shrill, for the most part I enjoyed her work in this one. Poor Orlando Bloom's character Will Turner spends most of the film brooding and just doesn't measure up the other performers around him. It's not that his performance is bad. It's just that the actors in the film are so much better, he can't help but to seem lacking.
Bill Nighy gives a wonderful performance behind computer-generated effects as Davy Jones, a character who looks like he came out of H.P. Lovecraft's imagination. I would say this is one of the more successful computer generated character's I've seen. Perhaps because they didn't animate Nighy's eyes, so we can see him express a full rage of emotions. The great Chow Yun-Fat does a nice turn as Captain Sao Feng, one of the nine pirate lords. And there is a fun cameo by Keith Richards as Captain Teague, Jack Sparrow's father. It's a nice bit of stunt casting, as it is common knowledge that Depp based Jack Sparrow's wobbling gait on Richards' own walk.
Overall the performances in this film are great. It's too bad these interesting characters weren't given a better script to work with.
Production quality
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End does an amazing job of blending live action with computer-generated effects. More of the action takes place at sea, correcting a mistake from the last film where the pirates spent way too much time on dry land. The monstrous crew of the Flying Dutchman are especially well rendered as twisted fusions of fish and man.
The original music by Hans Zimmer is rousing and memorable. Gore Verbinski is an able director who does a find job mixing the fantasy elements of the story with the gritty feel of life at sea. The fight sequences are well done and original. Production-wise, I have nothing to complain about.
Overall
This film is a feast of great sights and sounds lost in a hopelessly confusing script. Although it is a lot of fun to watch these eccentric characters interact with each other, they get lost in a terribly convoluted story. Some judicious editing and a tighter script would have improved this film greatly. Fans of the first two films should definitely check it out, but don't expect it to be as charming as the first one.
Title: Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Script quality: 5/10
Acting quality: 8/10
Production quality: 9/10
Format and length: Action/Adventure, 168 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13
Cast: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush, Jack Davenport, Bill Nighy, Stellan Skarsgard, Naomie Harris, Chow Yun-Fat, and Keith Richards
Director: Gore Verbinski
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Discuss this article or get some movie or music recommendations on our forum.
John Michael Decker is a struggling actor and a freelance writer. He once played a pirate for an event at the Turning Stone Casino, but people were too busy gambling to enjoy his piratey antics.
Copyright 2007 John Michael Decker. No reprints without written permission.
Bug (2007)
Written by John Michael Decker
Jun 07, 2007 at 12:38 PM
The idea of bugs are revolting to most people. There is just something so alien about them. Perhaps it's the way they can hold completely still like a statue and then suddenly skitter toward you at inhuman speeds. I think that everybody has some kind of bug that they fear. In the brief times I lived in Brooklyn and Orlando I developed an abhorrence for cockroaches. When I went to see Bug at the Crossgates Mall last week, I expected it to be a horror movie about an infestation of insects. I was wrong -- it's not a movie about bugs themselves, so much as it's about the idea of bugs. Or, to put it more properly, bugs as a metaphor for paranoia.
The story
Ashley Judd plays a doleful waitress named Agnes, who works at a honky tonk in Oklahoma. She lives alone in a dilapidated motel room, where she has been receiving a number of prank phone calls. She suspects her dangerous ex-husband, Goss, who has just been released from prison. One night her best friend and fellow waitress, R.C., convinces the lonely Agnes to take a stranger home after work. A man with haunted eyes named Peter. At first Peter seems harmless enough, so Agnes invites him to spend the night. She fears her ex-husband and thinks that having Peter around will grant her some measure of security. Gradually, it becomes apparent that Peter is anything but harmless. He is a gulf war veteran who claims that he was the victim of a number of experiments. Worse still, he sees bugs everywhere, and it turns out that Peter's paranoia is infectious.
This is a very tight script by actor and playwright Tracy Letts based on his play of the same name. Perhaps because of that, Bug almost feels more like a play than a movie. The vast majority of the story takes place in the cramped motel room, which progressively feels more claustrophobic and creepy as the film progresses. As the room gets messier and more disorganized, the sanity of the characters inhabiting it also degenerates.
This is the story of a descent into madness, and it is not pretty. It is not glamorized or sanitized the way Hollywood films often treat mental illness and often it is not easy to watch. When this movie was over, I was in shock. I literally had to walk around the mall for a half hour to decompress before I could get into my car and head home. This picture is an effective physiological thriller, but perhaps it is too effective. I think that the experience of seeing this film might just be too intense for most moviegoers. This isn't the fun thrill ride one might get from a good zombie picture; it is a really harrowing experience.
If there were a weakness in the script, it would be that it is unclear how much time passes during the course of the story; Agnes' deterioration seems to happen a little too quickly. Otherwise the script is quite believable.
The cast
One reason this film is so effective is the daring and raw performances of Ashley Judd as Agnes and Michael Shannon as Peter. Ashley Judd's Agnes begins the movie as a broken woman haunted by the mistakes of her past, and her downward spiral is heartbreaking to behold. Michael Shannon's Peter is more of a tragic figure than a menacing one; his is a self-destructive character whose rampant paranoia keeps him from getting the help he so desperately needs. The relationship between Agnes and Peter is like a Greek tragedy, as the two characters' personalities combine in such a way that they bring out the worst in each other. Watching their descent is like driving past a bloody auto accident. You want to look away, but you can't. These are Oscar-caliber performances, but I doubt they will be acknowledged -- horror films rarely get their due.
Bug has a very small cast, which contributes to the feeling that this is a play and not a film. The supporting players are all excellent. Harry Connick Jr. is wonderful as Goss, Agnes' ex-con ex-husband. He walks around like a coiled spring, creating real tension every time he's on screen. One never knows when he will explode into violence. Lynn Collins is also quite good as R.C., Agnes' best friend who tries to help her, but is far too late. And Brian F. O'Byrne does a creepy turn as Dr. Sweet, who claims he wants to "help" Peter but seems to have a more sinister agenda.
Production quality
Bug was directed by William Friedkin, who also directed The Exorcist, one of my favorite horror pictures. Friedkin always seems to get intense and realistic performances out of his casts, and this movie is no exception. This is a low budget picture, but Friedkin manages to do a lot with a little. Most of the film consists of two people alone in a motel room talking, but he manages to make it riveting.
The pacing of the film is very good and the the story moves along at a nice clip. In a summer of bloated over-long movies, this was very refreshing.
Overall
Ultimately I enjoyed Bug on a purely artistic level, but I would not recommend it to general audiences as it is far too intense. But if you are feeling brave, and want to see some top notch acting, then you might want to give it a try.
Title: Bug
Script quality: 8/10
Acting quality: 10/10
Production quality: 7/10
Format and length: Horror/thriller, 102 minutes
MPAA rating: R
Cast: Ashley Judd, Michael Shannon, Lynn Collins, Brian F. O'Byrne, and Harry Connick Jr.
Director: William Friedkin
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Discuss this article or get some movie or music recommendations on our forum.
John Michael Decker is a struggling actor. Occasionally he plays the part of a freelance writer. John would like to see a film about a haunted veteran who is paranoid about fluffy bunnies.
Copyright 2007 John Michael Decker. No reprints without written permission.
Ocean's Thirteen (2007)
Written by John Michael Decker
Jun 13, 2007 at 11:37 AM
To me, Las Vegas has always been about appearance. It has a glitzy facade designed to distract visitors away from its seedy underbelly. Perhaps because of this aura of misdirection, Vegas has always been a great city to stage stories about heists. Now while I don't particularly like Las Vegas, I enjoy films that take place in the city. It's part of the weird dichotomy of the place. The latest heist movie to take advantage of Las Vegas is the Steven Soderbergh-directed Ocean's Thirteen. I liked Ocean's Eleven, the 2001 re-make of the 1960 film of the same name starring the Rat Pack. I wasn't crazy about the 2004 sequel, Ocean's Twelve, though. Ocean's Thirteen falls somewhere in the middle. While I thought It was better than Ocean's Twelve, it was not as good as Ocean's Eleven.
The story
As Ocean's Thirteen begins, Ruben Tishkoff (Eliott Gould) is swindled out of a real estate deal by oily billionaire Willie Bank (Al Pacino). Ruben is so upset by this that he has a heart attack. But Bank doesn't realize that when you screw with one of Danny Ocean's gang, you screw with them all. So Danny (George Clooney) rounds up the old gang, including Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) and Linus Caldwell (Matt Damon), to pull a job that will totally ruin the grand opening of Bank's new casino. They intend to fix all the games at once so Willie will lose his shirt at his gala opening. Of course, there are the usual twists and turns that one expects in a heist film of this kind, including the necessity of pulling in Danny's old adversary, Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) into the plot to help.
As with all the Soderbergh-directed Ocean films, the details of the heist come second to the personalities of the characters. Unfortunately, because there are so many people in this film, we never get that deep beyond the surface "coolness" of the characters. Sure, there are one or two personality quirks which are amusing, but none of these people get particularly well fleshed out.
The story moves along at a quick pace and there is some fine dialog, but I found myself getting bored and wishing something really interesting and surprising would happen. It never did. Perhaps I've seen too many of these heist pictures and become somewhat jaded, but there were no real surprises for me in this movie. You can only watch cool people being cool for so long before you start to get antsy. Not that the story was flat out bad. It was diverting in moments, but there was nothing really memorable. If someone asked me to recall story elements of Ocean's Thirteen in a month, I doubt that there would be much that I would remember.
The cast
This movie is really more about its famous cast than it is about the story. And this is an incredibly talented cast. The main three protagonists in the film, played by George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon, are all terrific performers with tons of charisma. However, I've seen them all do better work in other films. It was obvious that this cast really enjoys working together, but I couldn't shake the feeling that they were making this movie more so that they could hang around together off camera, than for any other reason.
There were tons of talented supporting actors who didn't get that much screen time because the story had to service so many elements. So the characters played by Don Cheadle, Bernie Mac, Eddie Izzard, Carl Reiner, Andy Garcia, Eliott Gould and others were really just glorified cameos.
Al Pachino was appropriately arrogant as Willie Bank, but ultimately a two-dimensional bad guy. The best new performance in this film came from Ellen Barkin as Bank's uptight, right-hand woman. But, as with the rest of the film, they never delved that deeply into her motivations.
Putting together a cast of incredibly charismatic actors is all well and good, but because that was all this movie really had going for it, I was left wanting for more.
The production
Steven Soderbergh is a really fine director and there was nothing about this production to complain about. Nothing to really sing about either. Everything about Ocean's Thirteen felt like they were just going through the motions. It was a slick, good-looking film, but nothing sticks out in my memory as being particularly fantastic.
Overall
Ocean's Thirteen was very much like Las Vegas itself. A shiny exterior that, while was pretty to look at, ultimately left me feeling empty and used.
Title: Ocean's Thirteen
Script quality: 5/10
Acting quality: 6/10
Production quality: 6/10
Format and length: Comedy/Crime Drama, 122 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13
Cast: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Al Pacino, Andy Garcia, Ellen Barkin, Eliott Gould, Don Cheadle, Casey Affleck, Scott Caan, Bernie Mac, Carl Reiner, Shaobo Qin, Eddie Izzard
Director: Steven Soderbergh
Movie Web site: Click here (Flash required)
Discuss this article or get some movie or music recommendations on our forum.
John Michael Decker is a struggling actor and freelance writer. While John is not a gambling man by nature, he would bet good money that if they ever make another "Oceans" film, he will not be there to see it.
Copyright 2007 John Michael Decker. No reprints without written permission.
Knocked Up (2007)
Written by John Michael Decker
Jun 25, 2007 at 03:38 PM
Looking over my last several reviews it occurred to me that I've been writing a lot about horror, action and comic book related films. It's time for a change of pace. To that end I've decided to review a romantic comedy. This is the type of movie I usually wouldn't go to see unless I were on a date. To me, going to see a romantic comedy is like ordering a pizza. You know what you're going to get even before you place the order. You know there'll be sauce and cheese and crust, and yet the quality of the pizza varies wildly depending on where you order it. Some pizzas are fantastic and some are pretty lousy. I am happy to report that Knocked Up, the new romantic comedy written and directed by Judd Apatow, was pretty darn great.
The story
This movie is about two people who are completely and totally mismatched. Alison Scott is a correspondent for E! television. She has just been promoted to an on-air position, and she is on the fast track to success. Ben Stone is a jobless slacker -- a pot-head who lives with a posse of stoners and dabbles in Internet porn. Alison is beautiful, blonde, and statuesque. She could be a supermodel. Ben is short and doughy. His prospects are bleak. He lives life one day at a time and never makes plans. While Alison is refined, Ben is crude. Where Alison is uptight, Ben is relaxed. The only thing they really do have in common is the fact that neither of them is ready to start a family.
One fateful night when Alison goes out to celebrate her promotion, she meets Ben at a bar and they end up having a drunken hook-up. Eight weeks later Alison learns that she is pregnant with Ben's child. Ben may be a loser, but he has a good heart, and agrees to support Alison in any way that she needs him, even though he has no clue as to how to proceed.
The rest of the film tracks the nine-month pregnancy and the journey of two people who really don't know each other at all who are trying their best to make a bad situation work, even though by all rights they should never be together.
This is such a simple idea, but it is executed very well and mined for every drop of comedy that it has. Though the humor is pretty crude, it is grounded in reality and often hilarious. And even though many of the laughs are raunchy, there is a lot of heart to this story. It reminded me a little bit of a Kevin Smith film, because he is also very good at mixing rude humor with pathos, but whereas Kevin Smith's dialogue is very stylized, the script here by Judd Apatow is much more natural and real.
The cast
Many viewers will recognize Katherine Heigl, who plays Alison, from the television show, "Grey's Anatomy." While I confess that I'm not a big fan of "Grey's Anatomy," I thought that Heigl was terrific in this role. She played the hormonal ups and downs of a pregnant woman, as well as the genuine fear for her future, with grace and aplomb. Likewise, Seth Rogen was excellent as Ben, the clueless slacker with a good heart. Through the film, both characters have to evolve and change in order to make their ill-conceived relationship work, and their journeys are engaging and entertaining.
Another thing that is wonderful about Knocked Up is the great number of standout supporting performances. Leslie Mann and Paul Rudd are very funny as Debbie and Pete, Alison's sister and brother-in-law. Years earlier, Pete had married Debbie because she was pregnant, and through them Alison and Ben see a window into their own possible future. Also hilarious are Jason Segel, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill and Martin Starr as Ben's gang of hapless friends. They supply some of the best lines and funniest moments in the film as they try to be supportive of Ben in their own, unique, clueless manners.
The production
Judd Apatow wrote and directed The 40-Year-Old Virgin in 2005, and uses a lot of the same actors for this film. Apatow was also a writer on the short-lived but critically acclaimed television series, "Freaks and Geeks," which I liked a lot. He has proven himself to be an able director with an ear for dialogue and a deft touch at getting strong comedic performances out of his cast.
Overall
There are no real surprises in this film, but it still works on a lot of levels. It's a good date film because it can be appreciated for both the raunchy humor and the sweetness of the relationship that develops between two likable characters.
Title: Knocked Up
Script quality: 8/10
Acting quality: 8/10
Production quality: 7/10
Format and length: Romantic Comedy, 129 minutes
MPAA rating: R
Cast: Katherine Heigl, Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Jason Segel, Jay Baruchel, Johah Hill, Martin Starr, Joanna Kerns, Harold Ramis
Director: Judd Apatow
Movie Web site: Click here (Flash required)
Discuss this article or get some movie or music recommendations on our forum.
John Michael Decker is an actor and freelance writer. He has never had a first date go as wrong as Ben and Alison's did.
Copyright 2007 John Michael Decker. No reprints without written permission.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Monday, October 15, 2007
2007 Summer Movie Report Card
Here are my last two articles for Entertainment In Review.
http://www.entertainmentinreview.com/
2007 Summer movie report card: part 1
Written by John Michael Decker
Aug 14, 2007 at 12:42 PM
It's been a while since I've written article for Entertainment in Review. The past few months have been extremely busy. I've been performing and directing at the Sterling Renaissance Festival in northwestern New York, and in addition, the first few weeks of July I was involved in co-producing a science fiction comedy which was recorded and performed in a 1950s radio show style. Needless to say, I did not have the spare time to sit down and write reviews, as much as I missed that activity. Well, now I finally have a few days off, and I thought that instead of writing a review of one movie I would create a report card for the summer movie season so far. I will list all of the films I have seen in the summer season up until now, write a brief synopsis for each, and give them a simple letter grade. I realize that this will not be as detailed or comprehensive as my usual reviews, but you will receive a good overview of what the season has been like thus far.
Spider-Man 3: The weakest of the Spider-Man films so far, but still an enjoyable adventure with a quick pace and great special effects. The multiple plots made the final product feel cluttered. Like many of the summer films this season, it could have used a better editor. As a Spider-Man fanatic, however, I enjoyed seeing some of my favorite comic book scenes played out on the big screen. Grade: B+
28 Weeks Later: A good sequel to the wonderful 28 Days Later. Not as shocking or as scary as the original, but still with enough thrills and chills to make a horror fan happy. Once again, the audience is left to ponder which is worse; the mindless hordes of flesh eating cannibals or the military/industrial complex in charge of rebuilding humanity. Grade: B
The Hills Have Eyes 2: A fun soldiers vs. mutants horror flick that is strong on action but light on surprises. It's got a 1950s nuclear paranoia element that I really dig. I love how in many films, radiation is like a magic wand that can grant people extraordinary and often horrible powers. Grade: B-
Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End: Great performances and top-of-the-line special effects don't quite save a meandering and convoluted plot. There are some enjoyable "yo ho ho" moments, and Johnny Depp deserves an Oscar for his performance, but I still spent much of the movie scratching my head and trying to figure out what was going on. This needed some serious editing -- even more than Spider-Man 3 did. Grade: C+
Bug: An incredibly effective psychological thriller that burrows under the skin and leaves the viewer feeling disquieted and paranoid. This film features some amazingly powerful performances, but is so intense that I would not recommend it to general audiences. Grade: A-
Mr. Brooks: A bizarre thriller that features Kevin Costner as a nebbishy everyman who also happens to be a serial killer, and William Hurt as his psychotic imaginary friend. Though the plot didn't always make sense, I found the premise original and the film largely engaging though often unintentionally funny. Grade: B-
Ocean's 13: This was the lackluster conclusion to George Clooney's "Danny Ocean" trilogy. The story was all style and no substance and I left the theatre barely remembering what I had just seen. Grade: C-
Knocked Up: A genuinely funny and sometimes warm-hearted comedy about a night that goes terribly wrong and forces two people who are polar opposites to try and make it as a couple. Grade: B+
Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer: Like the first Fantastic Four film, this movie fails to capture the energy and wonder of the Stan Lee and Jack Kirby comic books that inspired them. The special effects are hit or miss and the main characters are largely miscast. The portrayal of Dr. Doom, who is one of the best characters ever to be featured in a Marvel comic, is especially terrible. There are a few fun moments, but they are few and far between. Grade: D+
Live Free or Die Hard: A very enjoyable, if somewhat by-the-numbers, action film that shows that Bruce Willis still has what it takes to play a convincing action hero. While not as good as the classic original Die Hard, it was cool to see Detective John McClane in action again after so many years. Grade: B
Transformers: I enjoyed the Transformers cartoon from the 1980s, so I thought the live action version might be a hoot. Boy was I wrong. The acting was wooden, the dialogue was embarrassingly corny and Michael Bay's directing style is nausea-inducing. Though the special effects were good and it is always fun to see giant robots pounding on each other, I can't in good conscience recommend that anyone other than a Transformers fanatic pay good money for this experience. Grade: D
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: If you accept that the Harry Potter books are better than the movies, and just judge the films on their own merit, than you can enjoy them for what they are. This was a very good addition to the Harry Potter film franchise. This movie is almost more of a thriller than a fantasy. As the mood gets darker and the stakes get higher, the films just keep getting better and better. Grade B+
Sicko: This is my favorite Michael Moore documentary so far. Now I haven't always bought the baseball-hat-wearing, everyman persona that Moore affects, and I freely admit that he often uses cheap stunts to prove his points, but this time he was more restrained and balanced in his expose of American HMOs. I liked that this film had some genuine moments of humanity. Grade: A
The Simpsons Movie: This is the most enjoyable film I've seen this summer. In fact, I doubt I'll see another movie that is this good for the rest of the summer season. While the Simpsons television series has become somewhat lackluster over the past few years, the movie had all the edginess and hilarity of the old school Simpsons cartoons in spades. There were more laughs per minute in this flick than in anything I've seen in years, and I'm talking about big, gut-busting laughs here, not just polite titters. I attended the film with a bunch of my friends from the Renaissance Festival, people who usually have vastly different ideas about what makes a good movie, and we all thought it was amazing. Grade: A+
So those are the films I've seen since the summer blockbuster season opened. As usual this is just my opinion, and you can feel free to agree or disagree with me. I'll write another article later wrapping up the 2007 batch of summer films.
John Michael Decker is an actor and sometime freelance writer. Anyone in the Syracuse area this summer can drop by the Sterling Renaissance Festival and see John portray Damian Spector, the evil sheriff of Warwickshire until August the August the 19th.
Discuss this article or get some movie or music recommendations on our forum.
Copyright 2007 John Michael Decker No reprints without written permission.
2007 Summer movie report card: part 2
Written by John Michael Decker
Sep 30, 2007 at 02:44 PM
The Bourne Ultimatum: A balls-out action flick with a realistic edge and a fine performance by Matt Damon. This is the third film in the Bourne trilogy and, wonder of wonders, all three segments are great -- a truly a rare occurrence in a movie trilogy. Grade: B+
Stardust: This is a fine adaptation of the comic graphic novel by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess. It is a fairy tale with a wacky sense of humor in the tradition of The Princess Bride. I particularly enjoyed the performances of Michelle Pfeiffer as a wicked witch and Robert DeNiro as a gay pirate. Grade: A-
The Invasion: Yet another adaptation of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but not nearly as good as the Don Siegel-directed 1956 movie or the Phil Kaufman version from 1978. Though the performances of Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig are outstanding, the film itself is lackluster and fails to capture the feeling of fear and paranoia generated by the past classics. Grade: C
Superbad: A blisteringly funny high school comedy about those painful last days of school. And sure, this material has been covered by many other filmmakers, but I just found this one particularly hilarious. I really have a soft spot for movies that can combine raunchy humor with real pathos. Grade: B+
War: This was a by-the-numbers action set piece with Jason Statham and Jet Li playing a cop and an assassin respectively, and locked in a game of cat and mouse. I was bored through most of this picture and probably would have given it a much lower grade if not for the surprisingly clever plot twist that was thrown in at the end of the movie. Grade: C+
Halloween: Rob Zombie's bloody remake of the John Carpenter slasher classic is an awful lot of fun for those who enjoy that genre. While I must confess, to my shame, that I have never seen the 1978 version of this film, I liked this one for what it was. This flick had all the hallmarks of a "B" movie: Beasts, Blood, and Breasts. Grade: B-
Rush Hour 3: Did we really need a Rush Hour 3? Didn't Rush Hour and Rush Hour 2 say all there was to say about the bizarre team up of Jackie Chan's by-the-book Inspector Lee and Chris Tucker's loud-mouthed LA cop, James Carter? How many times can two such incompetent boobs save the day? This one is for fans of Chan and Tucker only. Grade: C-
3:10 to Yuma: Director James Mangold's remake of the classic 1957 western of the same name. In this version, Russell Crowe and Christian Bale play the characters originally portrayed by Glenn Ford and Van Heflin. The real power of this tale doesn't come from gunfights as much as from the battle of wills between the two main characters wonderfully acted by Crowe and Bale. Grade: B+
Dragon Wars: D-War: This film from director Hyung-rae Shim is based on Korean myths. Perhaps if I had a better handle on the source material, I would have enjoyed this film more, but the story didn't make a lick of sense to me. I did, however, enjoy the scenes of dragons battling helicopters. Grade: D+
Shoot 'Em Up: In this psychotically over-the-top action picture, Clive Owen plays Mr. Smith, a gun enthusiast with some serious anger management issues. With a baby and his prostitute girlfriend, Smith is on the run from nefarious forces led by a scenery chomping Paul Giamatti. If you can let go of logic and just go with this, it is one hell of a fun ride. Grade: B+
Resident Evil: Extinction: If you are looking for a movie that's going to sweep the Oscars and change modern cinema as we know it, that you should probably avoid Resident Evil: Extinction. If, on the other hand, you want to see a gorgeous supermodel kicking the crap out of zombies in a film directed by the guy who gave us Highlander, than you could do a lot worse than this film. Grade: B-
Summary
So there you have it--my very biased opinion of the summer blockbuster season of this year of our Lord, 2007 anno Domini. Hopefully this will give everyone a good idea of what they can rent over the next few months. I saw a lot of films, but I didn't see everything, so feel free to drop me a line through Entertainment In Review and let me know if there was a great film that came out this summer that I shouldn't have missed. Save me some popcorn...
John Michael Decker is a struggling actor and wanna-be action film star. He has a lot on his plate these days and won't be contributing as much to Entertainment In Review as he has in the past, but hopes to be writing a lot more here in the near future.
Discuss this article or get some movie or music recommendations on our forum.
Copyright 2007 John Michael Decker. No reprints without written permission.
http://www.entertainmentinreview.com/
2007 Summer movie report card: part 1
Written by John Michael Decker
Aug 14, 2007 at 12:42 PM
It's been a while since I've written article for Entertainment in Review. The past few months have been extremely busy. I've been performing and directing at the Sterling Renaissance Festival in northwestern New York, and in addition, the first few weeks of July I was involved in co-producing a science fiction comedy which was recorded and performed in a 1950s radio show style. Needless to say, I did not have the spare time to sit down and write reviews, as much as I missed that activity. Well, now I finally have a few days off, and I thought that instead of writing a review of one movie I would create a report card for the summer movie season so far. I will list all of the films I have seen in the summer season up until now, write a brief synopsis for each, and give them a simple letter grade. I realize that this will not be as detailed or comprehensive as my usual reviews, but you will receive a good overview of what the season has been like thus far.
Spider-Man 3: The weakest of the Spider-Man films so far, but still an enjoyable adventure with a quick pace and great special effects. The multiple plots made the final product feel cluttered. Like many of the summer films this season, it could have used a better editor. As a Spider-Man fanatic, however, I enjoyed seeing some of my favorite comic book scenes played out on the big screen. Grade: B+
28 Weeks Later: A good sequel to the wonderful 28 Days Later. Not as shocking or as scary as the original, but still with enough thrills and chills to make a horror fan happy. Once again, the audience is left to ponder which is worse; the mindless hordes of flesh eating cannibals or the military/industrial complex in charge of rebuilding humanity. Grade: B
The Hills Have Eyes 2: A fun soldiers vs. mutants horror flick that is strong on action but light on surprises. It's got a 1950s nuclear paranoia element that I really dig. I love how in many films, radiation is like a magic wand that can grant people extraordinary and often horrible powers. Grade: B-
Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End: Great performances and top-of-the-line special effects don't quite save a meandering and convoluted plot. There are some enjoyable "yo ho ho" moments, and Johnny Depp deserves an Oscar for his performance, but I still spent much of the movie scratching my head and trying to figure out what was going on. This needed some serious editing -- even more than Spider-Man 3 did. Grade: C+
Bug: An incredibly effective psychological thriller that burrows under the skin and leaves the viewer feeling disquieted and paranoid. This film features some amazingly powerful performances, but is so intense that I would not recommend it to general audiences. Grade: A-
Mr. Brooks: A bizarre thriller that features Kevin Costner as a nebbishy everyman who also happens to be a serial killer, and William Hurt as his psychotic imaginary friend. Though the plot didn't always make sense, I found the premise original and the film largely engaging though often unintentionally funny. Grade: B-
Ocean's 13: This was the lackluster conclusion to George Clooney's "Danny Ocean" trilogy. The story was all style and no substance and I left the theatre barely remembering what I had just seen. Grade: C-
Knocked Up: A genuinely funny and sometimes warm-hearted comedy about a night that goes terribly wrong and forces two people who are polar opposites to try and make it as a couple. Grade: B+
Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer: Like the first Fantastic Four film, this movie fails to capture the energy and wonder of the Stan Lee and Jack Kirby comic books that inspired them. The special effects are hit or miss and the main characters are largely miscast. The portrayal of Dr. Doom, who is one of the best characters ever to be featured in a Marvel comic, is especially terrible. There are a few fun moments, but they are few and far between. Grade: D+
Live Free or Die Hard: A very enjoyable, if somewhat by-the-numbers, action film that shows that Bruce Willis still has what it takes to play a convincing action hero. While not as good as the classic original Die Hard, it was cool to see Detective John McClane in action again after so many years. Grade: B
Transformers: I enjoyed the Transformers cartoon from the 1980s, so I thought the live action version might be a hoot. Boy was I wrong. The acting was wooden, the dialogue was embarrassingly corny and Michael Bay's directing style is nausea-inducing. Though the special effects were good and it is always fun to see giant robots pounding on each other, I can't in good conscience recommend that anyone other than a Transformers fanatic pay good money for this experience. Grade: D
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: If you accept that the Harry Potter books are better than the movies, and just judge the films on their own merit, than you can enjoy them for what they are. This was a very good addition to the Harry Potter film franchise. This movie is almost more of a thriller than a fantasy. As the mood gets darker and the stakes get higher, the films just keep getting better and better. Grade B+
Sicko: This is my favorite Michael Moore documentary so far. Now I haven't always bought the baseball-hat-wearing, everyman persona that Moore affects, and I freely admit that he often uses cheap stunts to prove his points, but this time he was more restrained and balanced in his expose of American HMOs. I liked that this film had some genuine moments of humanity. Grade: A
The Simpsons Movie: This is the most enjoyable film I've seen this summer. In fact, I doubt I'll see another movie that is this good for the rest of the summer season. While the Simpsons television series has become somewhat lackluster over the past few years, the movie had all the edginess and hilarity of the old school Simpsons cartoons in spades. There were more laughs per minute in this flick than in anything I've seen in years, and I'm talking about big, gut-busting laughs here, not just polite titters. I attended the film with a bunch of my friends from the Renaissance Festival, people who usually have vastly different ideas about what makes a good movie, and we all thought it was amazing. Grade: A+
So those are the films I've seen since the summer blockbuster season opened. As usual this is just my opinion, and you can feel free to agree or disagree with me. I'll write another article later wrapping up the 2007 batch of summer films.
John Michael Decker is an actor and sometime freelance writer. Anyone in the Syracuse area this summer can drop by the Sterling Renaissance Festival and see John portray Damian Spector, the evil sheriff of Warwickshire until August the August the 19th.
Discuss this article or get some movie or music recommendations on our forum.
Copyright 2007 John Michael Decker No reprints without written permission.
2007 Summer movie report card: part 2
Written by John Michael Decker
Sep 30, 2007 at 02:44 PM
With the arrival of autumn, I thought that it was high time for me to get off my butt and finish my Summer Movie Report Card. Between this article and my 2007 Summer Movie Report Card: Part 1, this will cover every film I've seen between May the 5th through September the 22nd. I would again remind the readers out there that these reviews are simple synopsis of the films I've seen along with a letter grade. This will not be the usual in-depth kind of review one would usually find for a single film on Entertainment In Review. It will be a good overview of the summer as a whole.
Ratatouille: Brad Bird, the man responsible for The Iron Giant and The Incredibles brings us this lovely little gem of a film about following your bliss. Even if you're a sewer rat and your bliss is gourmet cooking. You can rarely go wrong with a Pixar film. Grade: B+The Bourne Ultimatum: A balls-out action flick with a realistic edge and a fine performance by Matt Damon. This is the third film in the Bourne trilogy and, wonder of wonders, all three segments are great -- a truly a rare occurrence in a movie trilogy. Grade: B+
Stardust: This is a fine adaptation of the comic graphic novel by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess. It is a fairy tale with a wacky sense of humor in the tradition of The Princess Bride. I particularly enjoyed the performances of Michelle Pfeiffer as a wicked witch and Robert DeNiro as a gay pirate. Grade: A-
The Invasion: Yet another adaptation of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but not nearly as good as the Don Siegel-directed 1956 movie or the Phil Kaufman version from 1978. Though the performances of Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig are outstanding, the film itself is lackluster and fails to capture the feeling of fear and paranoia generated by the past classics. Grade: C
Superbad: A blisteringly funny high school comedy about those painful last days of school. And sure, this material has been covered by many other filmmakers, but I just found this one particularly hilarious. I really have a soft spot for movies that can combine raunchy humor with real pathos. Grade: B+
War: This was a by-the-numbers action set piece with Jason Statham and Jet Li playing a cop and an assassin respectively, and locked in a game of cat and mouse. I was bored through most of this picture and probably would have given it a much lower grade if not for the surprisingly clever plot twist that was thrown in at the end of the movie. Grade: C+
Halloween: Rob Zombie's bloody remake of the John Carpenter slasher classic is an awful lot of fun for those who enjoy that genre. While I must confess, to my shame, that I have never seen the 1978 version of this film, I liked this one for what it was. This flick had all the hallmarks of a "B" movie: Beasts, Blood, and Breasts. Grade: B-
Rush Hour 3: Did we really need a Rush Hour 3? Didn't Rush Hour and Rush Hour 2 say all there was to say about the bizarre team up of Jackie Chan's by-the-book Inspector Lee and Chris Tucker's loud-mouthed LA cop, James Carter? How many times can two such incompetent boobs save the day? This one is for fans of Chan and Tucker only. Grade: C-
3:10 to Yuma: Director James Mangold's remake of the classic 1957 western of the same name. In this version, Russell Crowe and Christian Bale play the characters originally portrayed by Glenn Ford and Van Heflin. The real power of this tale doesn't come from gunfights as much as from the battle of wills between the two main characters wonderfully acted by Crowe and Bale. Grade: B+
Dragon Wars: D-War: This film from director Hyung-rae Shim is based on Korean myths. Perhaps if I had a better handle on the source material, I would have enjoyed this film more, but the story didn't make a lick of sense to me. I did, however, enjoy the scenes of dragons battling helicopters. Grade: D+
Shoot 'Em Up: In this psychotically over-the-top action picture, Clive Owen plays Mr. Smith, a gun enthusiast with some serious anger management issues. With a baby and his prostitute girlfriend, Smith is on the run from nefarious forces led by a scenery chomping Paul Giamatti. If you can let go of logic and just go with this, it is one hell of a fun ride. Grade: B+
Resident Evil: Extinction: If you are looking for a movie that's going to sweep the Oscars and change modern cinema as we know it, that you should probably avoid Resident Evil: Extinction. If, on the other hand, you want to see a gorgeous supermodel kicking the crap out of zombies in a film directed by the guy who gave us Highlander, than you could do a lot worse than this film. Grade: B-
Summary
So there you have it--my very biased opinion of the summer blockbuster season of this year of our Lord, 2007 anno Domini. Hopefully this will give everyone a good idea of what they can rent over the next few months. I saw a lot of films, but I didn't see everything, so feel free to drop me a line through Entertainment In Review and let me know if there was a great film that came out this summer that I shouldn't have missed. Save me some popcorn...
John Michael Decker is a struggling actor and wanna-be action film star. He has a lot on his plate these days and won't be contributing as much to Entertainment In Review as he has in the past, but hopes to be writing a lot more here in the near future.
Discuss this article or get some movie or music recommendations on our forum.
Copyright 2007 John Michael Decker. No reprints without written permission.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
The Greatest Comic Book Films of All Time!!!
Here is a copy of an article that was first published on Entertainment In Review.
http://www.entertainmentinreview.com/
The greatest comic book films of all time (so far)
Written by John Michael Decker
May 22, 2007 at 12:31 PM
In its opening weekend, Spider-Man 3 earned $151.1 million on more than 10,000 screens at 4,252 locations, shattering box office records. Because of that, I think we are only going to see more films based on heroic four-color adventures, not less. It's safe to say that comic book movies are here to stay. The bottom line in Hollywood has always been about cash, and lately, films based on comic books or about superheroes have been raking in a ton of it. Even on television, the most successful new series of the past season has been NBC's excellent serialized drama about a group of ordinary people spontaneously developing super powers, "Heroes." In the 21st century, superheroes are bigger than ever. But the question is, are all comic book films good? To be honest, I would have to say no. Most of them are either mediocre (Fantastic Four [2005], Superman Returns [2006]) or downright terrible (Batman and Robin [1997], Catwoman [2004]). It seems like for every X-Men that comes out, there are at least five Judge Dredds that follow. However, when they are done well, there is nothing I enjoy more than a good comic book movie.
Comics as literature
My infatuation with this type of film began with the comics themselves, which itself started when I was in the first grade. I am dyslexic. Not severely so, but enough so that learning to read was a difficult frustration for me. My mother, who ironically enough was a reading teacher, did her best to foster a love of literature in my brothers and me. To this end she would read to us every night. Early on, the books she read that I enjoyed the most dealt with Greek mythology. Something about Greek heroes fighting monsters resonated with me on a deep level. One day I was accompanying my mother while she was running errands at Stone's Pharmacy, the local drug store in Lake Luzerne, NY. For the most part, I saw the pharmacy as a place to get ice cream or to goad one of my parents into buying me a match box car. That particular day, though, I noticed a rack of colorful magazines. Even though I couldn't read at the time, I was fascinated by the combination of pictures and words and I convinced my mother to buy one for me. My first comic book was an issue of Superman. I don't remember the number.
That night, instead of a book, I had my mother read me that issue of Superman. I loved it; Mom hated it. For weeks, I would nag my mother to buy me comic books (they only cost a quarter in those days) and read them to me. She was a good sport at first, but there came a point where she stopped. "John," she said to me, "these comic books are garbage. You know that I will read you any book you want me to, but if you want to read comics, you are going to have to learn how to read them yourself." At that point I was already hooked on comics. I couldn't give them up, so I sat down and I taught myself to read. It didn't happen overnight, and it was hard work, but I credit comic books with giving me the medium I needed to learn how to read. And as I've grown older and more sophisticated, comic books have also grown more sophisticated. I would place Frank Miller's "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns," Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" comic books, and Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' "Watchmen" alongside any so-called "serious" literature.
Comic books are a unique art form invented in America and combining the written word with graphic artwork. I have come to realize that comic books are, in a very real way, the American version of mythological heroes and gods. Where as the Greeks had Ulysses and Perseus we Americans have the Green Lantern and Captain America. The stories may not be as old as some of the Greek myths but they are no less valid.
Comics as film
Adapting comic book tales to the big screen is not always easy. With obscure comic book characters like Blade the Vampire Hunter, filmmakers can take some liberties with the character and often improve upon the printed material. But with more well-known, iconic characters like Spider-Man or Superman it becomes more difficult to make changes to the characters that comic book fans will accept. The secret is to find filmmakers who love and understand the comic book characters they're bringing to life, and hope that they are able to distill the on-the-page essence of what makes a particular character tick, and translate that to film.
Here is a brief list of some great films that are either based on actual comic books, or on the idea of the "superhero" that was popularized in comic books. I think they are all worth seeking out and viewing:
http://www.entertainmentinreview.com/
The greatest comic book films of all time (so far)
Written by John Michael Decker
May 22, 2007 at 12:31 PM
In its opening weekend, Spider-Man 3 earned $151.1 million on more than 10,000 screens at 4,252 locations, shattering box office records. Because of that, I think we are only going to see more films based on heroic four-color adventures, not less. It's safe to say that comic book movies are here to stay. The bottom line in Hollywood has always been about cash, and lately, films based on comic books or about superheroes have been raking in a ton of it. Even on television, the most successful new series of the past season has been NBC's excellent serialized drama about a group of ordinary people spontaneously developing super powers, "Heroes." In the 21st century, superheroes are bigger than ever. But the question is, are all comic book films good? To be honest, I would have to say no. Most of them are either mediocre (Fantastic Four [2005], Superman Returns [2006]) or downright terrible (Batman and Robin [1997], Catwoman [2004]). It seems like for every X-Men that comes out, there are at least five Judge Dredds that follow. However, when they are done well, there is nothing I enjoy more than a good comic book movie.
Comics as literature
My infatuation with this type of film began with the comics themselves, which itself started when I was in the first grade. I am dyslexic. Not severely so, but enough so that learning to read was a difficult frustration for me. My mother, who ironically enough was a reading teacher, did her best to foster a love of literature in my brothers and me. To this end she would read to us every night. Early on, the books she read that I enjoyed the most dealt with Greek mythology. Something about Greek heroes fighting monsters resonated with me on a deep level. One day I was accompanying my mother while she was running errands at Stone's Pharmacy, the local drug store in Lake Luzerne, NY. For the most part, I saw the pharmacy as a place to get ice cream or to goad one of my parents into buying me a match box car. That particular day, though, I noticed a rack of colorful magazines. Even though I couldn't read at the time, I was fascinated by the combination of pictures and words and I convinced my mother to buy one for me. My first comic book was an issue of Superman. I don't remember the number.
That night, instead of a book, I had my mother read me that issue of Superman. I loved it; Mom hated it. For weeks, I would nag my mother to buy me comic books (they only cost a quarter in those days) and read them to me. She was a good sport at first, but there came a point where she stopped. "John," she said to me, "these comic books are garbage. You know that I will read you any book you want me to, but if you want to read comics, you are going to have to learn how to read them yourself." At that point I was already hooked on comics. I couldn't give them up, so I sat down and I taught myself to read. It didn't happen overnight, and it was hard work, but I credit comic books with giving me the medium I needed to learn how to read. And as I've grown older and more sophisticated, comic books have also grown more sophisticated. I would place Frank Miller's "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns," Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" comic books, and Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' "Watchmen" alongside any so-called "serious" literature.
Comic books are a unique art form invented in America and combining the written word with graphic artwork. I have come to realize that comic books are, in a very real way, the American version of mythological heroes and gods. Where as the Greeks had Ulysses and Perseus we Americans have the Green Lantern and Captain America. The stories may not be as old as some of the Greek myths but they are no less valid.
Comics as film
Adapting comic book tales to the big screen is not always easy. With obscure comic book characters like Blade the Vampire Hunter, filmmakers can take some liberties with the character and often improve upon the printed material. But with more well-known, iconic characters like Spider-Man or Superman it becomes more difficult to make changes to the characters that comic book fans will accept. The secret is to find filmmakers who love and understand the comic book characters they're bringing to life, and hope that they are able to distill the on-the-page essence of what makes a particular character tick, and translate that to film.
Here is a brief list of some great films that are either based on actual comic books, or on the idea of the "superhero" that was popularized in comic books. I think they are all worth seeking out and viewing:
- Conan the Barbarian (1982): I know that Conan got his start in the Robert E. Howard pulp novels and magazines, but I was first introduced to the Cimmerian Barbarian in the Marvel Comics of the 1970s, so in the back of my mind I always think of him as a comic book character. This film captures everything that is great about Conan, perhaps the best sword and sorcery pulp character ever created.
- V for Vendetta (2006): Alan Moore's comic book work is notoriously hard to translate onto the big screen, but this film does about the best job I've ever seen of interpreting Moore's powerful, moody vision of a totalitarian future.
- Robocop (1987): This film was not based on any comic books, but there were comics based on the film later on. Paul Verhoeven's awesome, over-the-top, dark comedy/action flick about a bleak future and the cyborg supercop trying to make things right is an excellent example of the super hero origin story.
- The Rocketeer (1991): Highly enjoyable adaptation of the Dave Stevens graphic novel. Bill Campbell makes an excellent protagonist and Jennifer Connelly has never looked better.
- The Crow (1994): This dark and moody film is an excellent adaptation of the James O'Barr comic book. Only marred by the fact that it is Brandon Lee's last performance.
- Darkman (1990): Sam Raimi's first foray into superhero films is fun, dark and high-energy. It is a perfect stepping stone between his earlier films, like The Evil Dead, and his later pictures, like the Spider-Man movies.
- Blade/Blade II (1998, 2002): These are examples of movies that improve on the comic book source material, with great scripts by David S. Goyer and a strong lead performance by Wesley Snipes.
- 300 (2007) Brilliant adaptation of Frank Miller's wonderful hack and slash graphic novel. A testosterone dripping tour de force.
- The Iron Giant (1999): A great animated movie where, like in Hellboy, the hero fights what he was created to be to become something greater.
- Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987): Some may argue that this is a horror movie, or even a horror comedy, but to my mind it's a superhero origin film. Watch it and then tell me I'm wrong. The protagonist, Ash, played by Bruce Campbell, is certainly a hard-luck superhero by the end of the film.
- X-Men (2000): While Bryan Singer's first go at an X-Men film isn't perfect, it is none the less a very enjoyable picture with some excellent acting and direction amid hit or miss special effects.
And now here is a list of my personal favorite comic book films of all time. I will list them in descending order from 10 to 1.
10. Batman (1989): I do have to give props to Tim Burton for his first Bat-flick. The production design is awe-inspiring and actor Michael Keaton gives a much stronger performance as the Dark Knight than anyone gave him credit for -- especially considering that Keaton was physically totally wrong for the role. But it is Jack Nicholson's bizarre, over-the-top take on the Joker that steals the show. Let's face it, the movie should have been called Joker. Even though the plot falls apart in the last 15 minutes, this film still holds up.
9. Unbreakable (2000): In this remarkable movie, director, M. Night Shyamalan takes the basic rules of comic books and plants them in the real world, showing us how superheroes and villains might behave if they escaped from their four-color universes. Bruce Willis as David Dunn and Samuel L. Jackson as Elijah "Mr. Glass" Price make a marvelous yin and yang in this picture.
8. X2: X-Men United (2003): Bryan Singer does a splendid job of balancing several interesting characters and plot lines in this action-packed adaptation of the Marvel Comics world of mutants. Often in a comic book film with too many characters the story can get muddled. That is not true in this case with X2. As with all the X-Men films, Patrick Stewart's Professor Charles Xavier and Ian McKellen's Eric "Magneto" Lensherr steal the show as the Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X of mutant rights. Hugh Jackman makes a marvelous leading man as the mysterious Wolverine. This is also the only X-Men film to feature my favorite mutant character from the comics -- Nightcrawler, played with great charm by Alan Cumming.
7. Frank Miller's Sin City (2005): To adapt this crime comic to the big screen, Robert Rodriguez literally used Frank Miller's comic art as story boards and replicated his scripts word for word, creating the most faithful adaptation of a comic work thus far. I wish that more comic book films were this true to the source material.
6. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993): This animated Batman film comes the closest to the spirit of the D.C. Comics source material. I'd also highly recommend "Batman: The Animated Series," which this movie was spawned from. The world of comic books can be so fantastical that I think sometimes animation is the best way to go when adapting the material.
5. The Incredibles (2004): Speaking of a great animated superhero movie, you can't go wrong with The Incredibles. This is the film that the lackluster Fantastic Four should have been. A movie about a family of superheroes with heart. This is my favorite Pixar film so far, which says a lot in itself.
4. Superman/Superman 2 (1978, 1980): These still stand up as some of the greatest comic book films of all time, thanks in no small part to Christopher Reeve, who inhabited the character of Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman like no other actor could. I did believe a man could fly. Superman is the rosetta stone of comic book films. It is the template that all the others followed.
3. Hellboy (2004): The "Hellboy" comic book (written and drawn by Mike Mignola) contains elements of many of the things I love. Old-school comic book action, pulp fiction, folklore, Lovecraftian mythology, and big monster fights. But at its core it is about a really screwed up guy who decided to ignore destiny and choose his own path. I didn't think anyone could gather these disparate elements together and turn them into a decent movie until director Guillermo del Toro surpassed my wildest expectations by doing just that.
2. Batman Begins (2005): This is the first live-action Batman film to be worthy of the complex comic book character. Director Christopher Nolan, writer David S. Goyer, and lead actor Christian Bale did a magnificent job creating the dark world of Bruce Wayne and his even darker alter ego. This is a Batman movie with real emotional depth that focuses more on the psychology of Bruce Wayne than on the Batman's freakish rogues gallery (as delightful as the bat-rogues are). This is a Gotham City one could truly believe is real. This is a film that understands its comic book source material.
And now, my favorite comic book film of all time is... A tie! This should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me.
1. Spider-Man/Spider-Man 2 (2002, 2004): The first comic book I ever read by myself was an issue of Spidey Super Stories. It was a comic affiliated with the television show "The Electric Company," and it was specifically designed to teach kids to read. Perhaps because of this, Spider-Man has always been my favorite comic book character. He's the everyman of superheroes. A nerdy teen who lucks into super powers. Sam Raimi certainly captures the essence of the old Stan Lee and Steve Ditko comics in these wonderful films. Toby Maguire really adds depth and pathos to his portrayal of Peter Parker and The Amazing Spider-Man. Others may argue that there are superior comic book films out there, but to me there was nothing greater than seeing the lives of Peter Parker, Mary Jane Watson, Harry Osborn, J. Jonah Jameson and the great villains like Doc Ock and the Green Goblin come to life on the big screen.
So there you have it -- the best comic book films made as of this writing. If you are a fan of these kinds of films, but haven't read the material they're based on, then I urge you to go to your local comic shop and peruse some comic magazines. There's something for everyone.
Discuss this article or get some movie or music recommendations on our forum.
John Michael Decker is a struggling actor and freelance writer. In 2005 he was in a car accident and had to get a stainless steel plate and several screws installed in his right shoulder to repair a broken arm. To John's chagrin, this did not give him super powers of any kind. What a gyp!
Copyright 2007 John Michael Decker. No reprints without written permission.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Several Film Reviews
Here are some reviews I wrote that were originally posted on Entertainment In Review...
http://www.entertainmentinreview.com/
The Queen (2006)
Written by John Michael Decker
Jan 10, 2007 at 06:08 PM
At it's heart, The Queen is a film about clashing ideologies: past vs. future; ancient tradition (represented primarily by her majesty, Queen Elizabeth II of England) going up against more modern sensibilities (represented primarily by Prime Minister Tony Blair). I think that, as Americans, we often forget just how relatively young our country is compared to most European nations. Europe has a history that stretches back thousands of years. The United States of America has only been around a little over two centuries. Watching The Queen reminded me of some of the unique difficulties and advantages that can occur in a country as old as England with such rich and ancient traditions.
The story
The year is 1997. Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) has just been elected Prime Minister of England by a landslide. To Queen Elizabeth II (Helen Mirren), who has already seen nine Prime Ministers come and go (her first being Winston Churchill), this isn't a big deal, and Blair has a lot of work to do to prove himself to her Majesty.
When Lady Diana Spencer is killed in an automobile accident in France, the royal family's reaction (as dictated by Queen Elizabeth) is restrained, to say the least. To the Queen, Diana was always something of an embarrassment. Since Diana and Prince Charles are divorced, Diana is technically not a part of the royal family at the time of her death. Elizabeth feels that a dignified silence is the way to handle the situation. The Queen has nothing favorable to say about the former Princess Diana, so the only polite thing to do is remain silent. Her Majesty's main concern is protecting her grandsons from the press, so she takes the family into seclusion.
This reaction does not sit well with the British people, who loved Diana and felt like she was their voice in the court. This leaves Tony Blair in the unenviable position of trying to convince the monarch to make a public statement about Diana and in doing so diffuse the public relations disaster. The Queen finds Blair's overtures presumptuous in the extreme. It is this fascinating conflict which carries us through the film.
The cast
When The Queen premiered at the Venice Film Festival, Helen Mirren's performance received a five-minute standing ovation. In my estimation this was well deserved. In the hands of a lesser actress, Queen Elizabeth II might have come across as an unlikable and cold shrew, but as portrayed by the incomparable Helen Mirren, we see a complex woman who must balance centuries of tradition against the fickle whims of the people. These are unimaginable pressures which would break most human beings. Mirren's Queen is made of stronger stuff. When the Queen shows a brief moment of all too human vulnerability it is especially touching.
Actor Michael Sheen's portrayal of Tony Blair makes a fine foil to Mirren's Queen. After Blair makes a powerful speech about the "people's princess" in the wake of Diana's death, he becomes more popular than ever. This only serves to make the Queen's silence on the matter seem even more insensitive. But Blair's conflict (well played by Sheen) is that he is really quite in awe of the Queen and the royal traditions even as he is trying to take England into the 21st century.
There is a wonderful scene where Elizabeth reminds the Prime Minister that although he is the golden boy of the moment, that kind of popularity is at best fleeting. It is a sobering moment for Blair.
In general the cast of the Queen is excellent. The standout supporting performances go to Helen McCrory as Tony Blair's monarchy-hating wife, Cherie; and James Cromwell as the Queen's stolid husband, Prince Philip. Sylvia Syms is also a hoot as the Queen Mum.
Production quality
The direction, score and script of the Queen are all rock solid. I would give special kudos to the cinematography. There were several wonderful long and lavish tracking shots that beautifully established the locations of the film. This technique helped to make the English countryside a character in and of itself. I was very fond of a scene were the Queen gets her car stuck in a muddy ravine. As she is waiting for assistance she sees a large stag that her husband and grandsons have been hunting. This was a beautifully shot scene where we can really see the connection between a woman and nature at it's most raw and powerful.
Overall
The Queen is a solid drama with wonderful acting. The film does a fine job of presenting several different points of view of a complex and emotional subject, and it accomplishes this in a fair and balanced way. The audience is invited behind the scenes of a world most of us will never see, and made to think about conflicts most of us will never face.
Discuss this article or get some movie or music recommendations on our forum.
Title: The Queen
Script quality: 8/10
Acting quality: 10/10
Production quality: 9/10
Format and length: Drama, 97 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13
Cast: Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen, James Cromwell, Sylvia Syms, Alex Jennings, Helen McCrory
Director: Stephen Frears
Movie Web site: Click here (Flash required)
John Michael Decker is a struggling actor, comic book nerd, and self-avowed movie nut.
Copyright 2007 John Michael Decker. No reprints without written permission.
Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberentino Del Faunto) (2006)
Written by John Michael Decker
Feb 02, 2007 at 05:47 PM
Pan's Labyrinth is a fairy tale written and directed by Mexican-born Guillermo del Toro, director of Mimic, Blade II, and Hellboy. But be warned: this is no namby-pamby, Walt Disney-type, "happily ever after" fairy tale. This film is a hardcore folktale in the style of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. del Toro understood that authentic fairy tales were cautionary stories with harsh life lessons, so beware to those who are faint of heart -- Pan's Labyrinth is not for the squeamish. However, if you can get past the few instances of intense violence, this is a fantastic film.
The story
This film takes place in Spain in the 1940s, with the postwar repression of Francisco Franco as the backdrop. The central character is a young girl named Ofelia, a highly imaginative child with dark, haunted eyes. As the story begins, Ofelia and her pregnant mother, Carmen, are on their way to live with Carmen's new husband, Captain Vidal. The Captain is a cruel, authoritarian figure who cares little for his new stepdaughter. He is primarily concerned with his unborn son and with his duty of putting down the rebel forces hidden in the forest. Meanwhile, under Captain Vidal's nose, his servant Mercedes and his personal physician, Dr. Ferreiro, are assisting the anti-Franco rebels.
In order to escape from her harsh surroundings, Ofelia loses herself in her books and fairy tales. Before long she encounters a real fairy, who leads her into an ancient stone maze on her stepfather's property. There she meets Pan, who claims to be a faun -- a creature who smells of the earth and looks like a cross between a man and a goat. The faun informs Ofelia that she is a fairy princess who has been reincarnated in the form of a human girl. If she can complete three tasks for him, he will return her to her true father, who is the king of an underground fairy realm.
From there the story unfolds in many exciting and unpredictable directions. The real question the viewer is left to ponder is whether the fairy folk Ofelia meets are genuine or just products of her vivid imagination. I have my own theories, but I will leave it to each viewer to determine where the truth lies.
The cast
It is difficult to find talented child actors, but young Ivana Baquero, who plays Ofelia, is exceptionally talented. She brings a dreamy, ethereal quality to her role, which makes one believe that she really could be a child of another realm. Likewise, the performance of Sergi Lopez as Captain Vidal is excellent. He plays a sadistic and evil man, and yet he is not two-dimensional. Though it is barely hinted at in the dialogue, we sense a complex back-story for the Captain involving the death of his own father.
I would also like to single out the work of Doug Jones, the only American actor in the cast. Although he is buried under layers of latex and prosthetics, he manages to give some incredible performances both as the faun, Pan and as the Pale Man, a creepy fairy monster who has one of the most memorable scenes in the movie. Many actors would get lost under all the makeup, but Jones manages to act through it to the point where we can see all of his complex emotions shining through the prosthetics and giving them life. This is no easy feat. In a world of CGI characters, I really admire a good makeup performance. Jones is a modern day Lon Chaney.
Production quality
This is a beautiful movie to look at. The harsh reality of post civil war Spain blends flawlessly with the fantastical elements of the fairy worlds that are shown. The makeup and costuming are top notch and the score is both evocative and haunting.
Guillermo del Toro's script is beautiful. This really felt like some ancient folktale, and yet it is completely original. Last summer M. Night Shyamalan wrote and directed his own version of a fairy tale, Lady in the Water. Although I enjoyed Lady in the Water, there were times the script felt clunky and forced. Pan's Labyrinth has a more natural flow and is a much better example of a modern day fairy tale, with all due respect to Mr. Shyamalan's efforts. M. Night Shyamalan is widely acknowledged as an original and unique voice in modern cinema and I don't dispute that. But I would also point to Guillermo del Toro as a great cinematic visionary.
Overall
In the original Brothers Grimm version of Cinderella, I believe it was one of the wicked stepsisters who cut off a part of her foot to try to fit into the glass slipper. This is the kind of lesson the characters learn in this film. In early folklore, the fairies were dangerous and chaotic trickster beings not to be trifled with. These are the kind of creatures we meet in this movie.
If you are not opposed to some graphic content and don't mind reading subtitles than I would say that Pan's Labyrinth is well worth your precious time and hard-earned cash. This movie works both as a period drama and an epic fantasy and combines its diverse elements very well. Had I seen Pan's Labyrinth last year, it most certainly would have made my top ten list.
Discuss this article or get some movie or music recommendations on our forum.
Title: Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno)
Script quality: 10/10
Acting quality: 9/10
Production quality: 9/10
Format and length: Foreign/Fantasy/Thriller, 112 minutes
MPAA rating: R
Cast: Ivana Baquero, Ariadna Gil, Sergi Lopez, Maribel Verdu, Alex Angulo, Doug Jones
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Movie Web site: Click here (Flash required)
John Michael Decker is a struggling actor and sometime freelance writer. Once a faun told him that he was secretly the King of a magical realm, but he's pretty sure that it was just his imagination. That or the concussion.
Copyright 2007 John Michael Decker. No reprints without written permission.
Primeval (2007)
Written by John Michael Decker
Jan 17, 2007 at 05:46 PM
http://www.entertainmentinreview.com/
The Queen (2006)
Written by John Michael Decker
Jan 10, 2007 at 06:08 PM
At it's heart, The Queen is a film about clashing ideologies: past vs. future; ancient tradition (represented primarily by her majesty, Queen Elizabeth II of England) going up against more modern sensibilities (represented primarily by Prime Minister Tony Blair). I think that, as Americans, we often forget just how relatively young our country is compared to most European nations. Europe has a history that stretches back thousands of years. The United States of America has only been around a little over two centuries. Watching The Queen reminded me of some of the unique difficulties and advantages that can occur in a country as old as England with such rich and ancient traditions.
The story
The year is 1997. Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) has just been elected Prime Minister of England by a landslide. To Queen Elizabeth II (Helen Mirren), who has already seen nine Prime Ministers come and go (her first being Winston Churchill), this isn't a big deal, and Blair has a lot of work to do to prove himself to her Majesty.
When Lady Diana Spencer is killed in an automobile accident in France, the royal family's reaction (as dictated by Queen Elizabeth) is restrained, to say the least. To the Queen, Diana was always something of an embarrassment. Since Diana and Prince Charles are divorced, Diana is technically not a part of the royal family at the time of her death. Elizabeth feels that a dignified silence is the way to handle the situation. The Queen has nothing favorable to say about the former Princess Diana, so the only polite thing to do is remain silent. Her Majesty's main concern is protecting her grandsons from the press, so she takes the family into seclusion.
This reaction does not sit well with the British people, who loved Diana and felt like she was their voice in the court. This leaves Tony Blair in the unenviable position of trying to convince the monarch to make a public statement about Diana and in doing so diffuse the public relations disaster. The Queen finds Blair's overtures presumptuous in the extreme. It is this fascinating conflict which carries us through the film.
The cast
When The Queen premiered at the Venice Film Festival, Helen Mirren's performance received a five-minute standing ovation. In my estimation this was well deserved. In the hands of a lesser actress, Queen Elizabeth II might have come across as an unlikable and cold shrew, but as portrayed by the incomparable Helen Mirren, we see a complex woman who must balance centuries of tradition against the fickle whims of the people. These are unimaginable pressures which would break most human beings. Mirren's Queen is made of stronger stuff. When the Queen shows a brief moment of all too human vulnerability it is especially touching.
Actor Michael Sheen's portrayal of Tony Blair makes a fine foil to Mirren's Queen. After Blair makes a powerful speech about the "people's princess" in the wake of Diana's death, he becomes more popular than ever. This only serves to make the Queen's silence on the matter seem even more insensitive. But Blair's conflict (well played by Sheen) is that he is really quite in awe of the Queen and the royal traditions even as he is trying to take England into the 21st century.
There is a wonderful scene where Elizabeth reminds the Prime Minister that although he is the golden boy of the moment, that kind of popularity is at best fleeting. It is a sobering moment for Blair.
In general the cast of the Queen is excellent. The standout supporting performances go to Helen McCrory as Tony Blair's monarchy-hating wife, Cherie; and James Cromwell as the Queen's stolid husband, Prince Philip. Sylvia Syms is also a hoot as the Queen Mum.
Production quality
The direction, score and script of the Queen are all rock solid. I would give special kudos to the cinematography. There were several wonderful long and lavish tracking shots that beautifully established the locations of the film. This technique helped to make the English countryside a character in and of itself. I was very fond of a scene were the Queen gets her car stuck in a muddy ravine. As she is waiting for assistance she sees a large stag that her husband and grandsons have been hunting. This was a beautifully shot scene where we can really see the connection between a woman and nature at it's most raw and powerful.
Overall
The Queen is a solid drama with wonderful acting. The film does a fine job of presenting several different points of view of a complex and emotional subject, and it accomplishes this in a fair and balanced way. The audience is invited behind the scenes of a world most of us will never see, and made to think about conflicts most of us will never face.
Discuss this article or get some movie or music recommendations on our forum.
Title: The Queen
Script quality: 8/10
Acting quality: 10/10
Production quality: 9/10
Format and length: Drama, 97 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13
Cast: Helen Mirren, Michael Sheen, James Cromwell, Sylvia Syms, Alex Jennings, Helen McCrory
Director: Stephen Frears
Movie Web site: Click here (Flash required)
John Michael Decker is a struggling actor, comic book nerd, and self-avowed movie nut.
Copyright 2007 John Michael Decker. No reprints without written permission.
Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberentino Del Faunto) (2006)
Written by John Michael Decker
Feb 02, 2007 at 05:47 PM
Pan's Labyrinth is a fairy tale written and directed by Mexican-born Guillermo del Toro, director of Mimic, Blade II, and Hellboy. But be warned: this is no namby-pamby, Walt Disney-type, "happily ever after" fairy tale. This film is a hardcore folktale in the style of Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. del Toro understood that authentic fairy tales were cautionary stories with harsh life lessons, so beware to those who are faint of heart -- Pan's Labyrinth is not for the squeamish. However, if you can get past the few instances of intense violence, this is a fantastic film.
The story
This film takes place in Spain in the 1940s, with the postwar repression of Francisco Franco as the backdrop. The central character is a young girl named Ofelia, a highly imaginative child with dark, haunted eyes. As the story begins, Ofelia and her pregnant mother, Carmen, are on their way to live with Carmen's new husband, Captain Vidal. The Captain is a cruel, authoritarian figure who cares little for his new stepdaughter. He is primarily concerned with his unborn son and with his duty of putting down the rebel forces hidden in the forest. Meanwhile, under Captain Vidal's nose, his servant Mercedes and his personal physician, Dr. Ferreiro, are assisting the anti-Franco rebels.
In order to escape from her harsh surroundings, Ofelia loses herself in her books and fairy tales. Before long she encounters a real fairy, who leads her into an ancient stone maze on her stepfather's property. There she meets Pan, who claims to be a faun -- a creature who smells of the earth and looks like a cross between a man and a goat. The faun informs Ofelia that she is a fairy princess who has been reincarnated in the form of a human girl. If she can complete three tasks for him, he will return her to her true father, who is the king of an underground fairy realm.
From there the story unfolds in many exciting and unpredictable directions. The real question the viewer is left to ponder is whether the fairy folk Ofelia meets are genuine or just products of her vivid imagination. I have my own theories, but I will leave it to each viewer to determine where the truth lies.
The cast
It is difficult to find talented child actors, but young Ivana Baquero, who plays Ofelia, is exceptionally talented. She brings a dreamy, ethereal quality to her role, which makes one believe that she really could be a child of another realm. Likewise, the performance of Sergi Lopez as Captain Vidal is excellent. He plays a sadistic and evil man, and yet he is not two-dimensional. Though it is barely hinted at in the dialogue, we sense a complex back-story for the Captain involving the death of his own father.
I would also like to single out the work of Doug Jones, the only American actor in the cast. Although he is buried under layers of latex and prosthetics, he manages to give some incredible performances both as the faun, Pan and as the Pale Man, a creepy fairy monster who has one of the most memorable scenes in the movie. Many actors would get lost under all the makeup, but Jones manages to act through it to the point where we can see all of his complex emotions shining through the prosthetics and giving them life. This is no easy feat. In a world of CGI characters, I really admire a good makeup performance. Jones is a modern day Lon Chaney.
Production quality
This is a beautiful movie to look at. The harsh reality of post civil war Spain blends flawlessly with the fantastical elements of the fairy worlds that are shown. The makeup and costuming are top notch and the score is both evocative and haunting.
Guillermo del Toro's script is beautiful. This really felt like some ancient folktale, and yet it is completely original. Last summer M. Night Shyamalan wrote and directed his own version of a fairy tale, Lady in the Water. Although I enjoyed Lady in the Water, there were times the script felt clunky and forced. Pan's Labyrinth has a more natural flow and is a much better example of a modern day fairy tale, with all due respect to Mr. Shyamalan's efforts. M. Night Shyamalan is widely acknowledged as an original and unique voice in modern cinema and I don't dispute that. But I would also point to Guillermo del Toro as a great cinematic visionary.
Overall
In the original Brothers Grimm version of Cinderella, I believe it was one of the wicked stepsisters who cut off a part of her foot to try to fit into the glass slipper. This is the kind of lesson the characters learn in this film. In early folklore, the fairies were dangerous and chaotic trickster beings not to be trifled with. These are the kind of creatures we meet in this movie.
If you are not opposed to some graphic content and don't mind reading subtitles than I would say that Pan's Labyrinth is well worth your precious time and hard-earned cash. This movie works both as a period drama and an epic fantasy and combines its diverse elements very well. Had I seen Pan's Labyrinth last year, it most certainly would have made my top ten list.
Discuss this article or get some movie or music recommendations on our forum.
Title: Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno)
Script quality: 10/10
Acting quality: 9/10
Production quality: 9/10
Format and length: Foreign/Fantasy/Thriller, 112 minutes
MPAA rating: R
Cast: Ivana Baquero, Ariadna Gil, Sergi Lopez, Maribel Verdu, Alex Angulo, Doug Jones
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Movie Web site: Click here (Flash required)
John Michael Decker is a struggling actor and sometime freelance writer. Once a faun told him that he was secretly the King of a magical realm, but he's pretty sure that it was just his imagination. That or the concussion.
Copyright 2007 John Michael Decker. No reprints without written permission.
Primeval (2007)
Written by John Michael Decker
Jan 17, 2007 at 05:46 PM
Primeval is one of those suspenseful horror thrillers where an insane animal (or group of animals) runs amok. This kind of man vs. beast picture was most successfully executed by Steven Spielberg in his 1975 classic, Jaws, and perhaps also Inoshiro Handa's Godzilla, King of the Monsters (Is there any better representation of nature gone wrong than a four-hundred-foot, radioactive dinosaur? But I digress). The "monster" from Primeval is represented by a 25-foot crocodile with the unlikely name of Gustave. This film is not as successful as Jaws or Godzilla, King of the Monsters; it is not even as good as The Ghost and the Darkness (Stephen Hopkin's flawed but underrated rouge lion picture from 1996). But perhaps it does have some value for horror fans.
The story
An intrepid news crew from the United States is sent to South Africa to film a giant, man-eating, crocodile who has been marauding his away through the local villages. This would be a dangerous assignment in any circumstance, but this mission is made even more perilous by the civil war that is tearing the region apart. When the news crew's cameraman accidentally films a vicious warlord slaughtering a shaman and his family, he and his allies become the warlord's next targets. Meanwhile, Gustave the giant croc is merrily eating his way through the film's characters. Good guys, bad guys -- it doesn't matter to Gustave as long as his meals are alive and wriggling.
This film claims that the events it portrays are based on actual occurrences. I find this hard to believe since the story unfolds in such a predictable Hollywood fashion. There is one idea this movie puts forth that I think is cool, though: According to the film, Gustive became a man-eater by snacking on all the bodies the warlords had dumped into the river. Thus the civil war had literally created its own monster. Other than this fascinating tidbit there is nothing in Primeval that I haven't seen done better in many other films. Don't get me wrong -- I generally enjoy flicks with indestructible monsters, but this film claims that Gustive is a real animal, and then presents us with a crocodile who is immune to knives, bullets, grenades, and even a vehicular assault from a Land Rover. This really pushes the claim's credibility.
The cast
The characters in Primeval are a series of bad stereotypes. There is the ultra-macho newsman with a chip on his shoulder (Dominic Purcell); his smartaleck cameraman side-kick (Orlando Jones); and the plucky, hot, novice newswoman (clad mostly in tight t-shirts) whose job it is to argue with the hero and then fall into his arms at the first sign of danger (Brooke Langton). And let's not forget the Captain Ahab-like character whose obsession with destroying the croc endangers the party (Jurgen Prochnow). I could go on, but none of these characters are particularly memorable.
I would not fault the actors, however -- they were really doing what they could with the bad script they were handed. There just wasn't a lot to work with here.
Production quality
Primeval is helmed by veteran television director Michael Katleman, who used lots of jump-cuts and floating camera moves. This MTV short attention span style of directing is reminiscent of what one might find in a Michael Bay (not my favorite director) movie. All of the herky-jerky camera moves just made me feel isolated and removed me from the story, which as I said above, isn't that strong to begin with. It didn't help that the majority of the action happens at night, and the film is so murkily lit that often it is hard to tell what was going on.
I will have to confess, however, that the special effects used to bring Gustave to life are pretty cool and the scenes where the croc is munching away on his hapless victims are appropriately gruesome. This is a great looking monster; too bad he doesn't get to appear in a better film.
Overall
I wouldn't recommend this movie to you unless you're willing to turn your brain off and vicariously enjoy the carnage. Sometimes it can be satisfying to see jerky characters get eaten.
Discuss this article or get some movie or music recommendations on our forum.
Title: Primeval
Script quality: 3/10
Acting quality: 5/10
Production quality: 4/10
Format and length: Suspense/Horror/Thriller, 94 minutes
MPAA rating: R
Cast: Dominic Purcell, Brook Langton, Orlando Jones, Jurgen Prochnow, Gideon Emery, Gabriel Malema
Director: Michael Katleman
Movie Web site: No official site as of this writing
John Michael Decker is a struggling actor, comic book nerd, and self-avowed movie nut.
Copyright 2007 John Michael Decker. No reprints without written permission.
Ghost Rider (2007)
Written by John Michael Decker
Mar 02, 2007 at 03:48 PM
Ghost Rider is based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. He first made an appearance in Marvel Spotlight #5 in August of 1972. By September of 1973, the Ghost Rider was appearing in his own self-titled comic book, which has been published on and off by Marvel ever since. Visually, Ghost Rider has always been one of Marvel’s most unique and interesting characters. The image of a skeleton, wreathed in fire, dressed in leather, and sitting astride a flaming motorcycle is visceral indeed. The concept of a hell-born spirit of vengeance fused with a human host (in this case, stunt rider Johnny Blaze) is also very cool. Unfortunately, this has not always been Marvel’s best-written comic book. The film version of Ghost Rider suffers from the same problem as many of the comics on which it is based. There are strong visuals, but not much substance to back them up.
The story
The movie begins by telling us that the devil has always used human beings as hosts for his personal bounty hunter, the Ghost Rider. Cut to a modern day carnival where a young stunt rider by the name of Johnny Blaze learns that his father, Barton Blaze, has developed a case of terminal cancer. Desperate to save his father’s life, Johnny rashly makes a deal with Mephistopheles, the Devil. Johnny will give the Devil his soul if he will cure his father’s cancer. The Devil is as good as his word and the next day Barton’s cancer has completely disappeared. But as with all Faustian deals of this kind, there are strings attached. That night Barton Blaze dies in a fiery motorcycle crash while performing a dangerous stunt. Mephistopheles informs Johnny that he is now his property and that someday he will come to collect. A guilt ridden Johnny abandons his one true love, Roxanne Simpson and rides away through a storm. The film next cuts to many years later. Johnny Blaze has become a world famous stunt rider. Roxanne is now a television reporter and just as she comes back into Johnny’s life, Mephistopheles also returns. He informs Johnny that he is to be the latest incarnation of the Ghost Rider and that his first mission is to hunt down the Devils own son, Blackheart, who is challenging his father for control of Hell itself.
With a plot like this, this movie could have been great. It should have been epic. Instead it is completely laughable -- and most of the laughs are unintentional. In order to enjoy a comic book movie, I don’t necessarily ask for logic. But the film does need to be true to its own internal logic. There are numerous plot holes and logic flaws riddling this movie. I will give an example that does not include too much of a spoiler: At one point a cop hits the Ghost Rider in the face with a billy club. The blow is strong enough to unhinge the Rider’s lower jaw. Being a supernatural being, the Ghost Rider simply snaps his jaw back into place and goes on his way. At another point in the film the Ghost Rider is struck by a Mack truck. He emerges from the wreckage completely unharmed. How is it that a club is strong enough to break his bones but the impact of a truck barely fazes him? Yes, I know this sounds like nit-picking, and if there were only one or two incidents like this in the film I would have ignored them. But this kind of logic error happens with such alarming frequency that one is left to wonder if the writers were paying attention.
The Ghost Rider is so powerful that he dispatches his enemies (both human and demonic) with relative ease. When the superhero has no great challenges from the villains he faces, the hero is substantially diminished. There is no sense that the Ghost Rider will ever fail. Even the Devil turns out to be a pretty weak foe. Is it too much to ask that a movie about a man who sells his soul to the devil be a little scary?
The cast
Nicolas Cage portrays the older Johnny Blaze in this film, and his character choices are bizarre. Cage’s Johnny Blaze is like a weird fusion of Evel Knievel and a bad Elvis impersonator. He eats jelly beans out of a champagne glass, listens to the Carpenters and loves watching monkeys on television. Now, it does make sense that Johnny Blaze would be a hapless dumbass. One would have to be a hapless dumbass to make a deal with the Devil. But never once did I see in Cage’s performance a sense of dread. Never did I feel that sword of Damocles hanging over Johnny Blaze’s head.
Peter Fonda plays Mephistopheles. It’s a neat bit of stunt casting to have the star of Easy Rider in a film about a motorcycle-riding superhero. Unfortunately Fonda is really just phoning his performance in. This film was clearly just a paycheck for Mr. Fonda. Eva Mendes makes for some voluptuous eye candy and not much else as Roxanne. Her performance is really just terrible. Note to Hollywood casting directors: there are a lot of pretty actresses who can really act. You should consider hiring them sometime. Likewise Wes Bentley’s portrayal of Blackheart was laughably bad. He came across as a sneering punk. It's disappointing because he was so good in American Beauty.
Not all of the acting in this movie was horrible. Veteran character actor Donal Logue was quite good as Johnny’s road manager, Mack. And Sam Elliott was excellent as the mysterious Caretaker, the Yoda-like teacher character. It’s nice to know that even in a thankless role in a cheesy film, Sam Elliott is still cool as hell. It’s a real shame that the Caretaker character was so under-utilized. Lastly, Matt Long does a better job playing the 17-year-old Johnny Blaze than Nic Cage does playing the older Johnny. It didn't seem like they were playing the same character.
Production quality
Ghost Rider was written and directed by Mark Steven Johnson, who has worked with Marvel characters in the past, specifically as the director of Daredevil. I think I was one of only about three people on the planet who actually liked Daredevil. There were some scenes in this movie that were nice to look at. The motorcycle stunts were well-filmed, and the CGI effects looked great. The Ghost Rider himself really did look cool. The character moments, however, were uninspired, and the script was just sloppy and uneven. Overall, this was a mess.
There is a trend in Hollywood to make films that should be rated R, PG-13, or PG. This way they get a bigger audience and make more money. Sadly, this just dilutes the material and weakens the overall product. This could have been a dark supernatural tale about sin and redemption. Instead it is a joke.
Overall
I would not say that this film is a total loss. I certainly did get a lot of laughs out of it. This is the kind of movie you go to see with a group of friends for some Mystery Science Theatre 3000-style heckling. But be warned: You’ll enjoy this movie more if you check your brain at the door.
Title: Ghost Rider
Script quality: 3/10
Acting quality: 4/10
Production quality: 6/10
Format and length: Action, 114 minutes
MPAA rating: PG
Cast: Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes, Peter Fonda, Sam Elliott, Wes Bentley, Donal Logue, Matt Long, Raquel Alessi, Brett Cullen
Director: Mark Steven Johnson
Movie Web site: Click here
Discuss this article or get some movie or music recommendations on our forum.
John Michael Decker is a struggling actor, a comic book nerd and sometimes a freelance writer. John might sell his soul to the Devil for a cooler Ghost Rider movie.
Copyright 2007 John Michael Decker. No reprints without written permission.
300 (2007)
Written by John Michael Decker
Mar 20, 2007 at 01:53 PM
Action lovers, 300 is the movie for you! This film is a glorious ballet of severed limbs, arterial spray and gratuitous beheadings. A take-no-prisoners exploration of honor, duty, glory, combat, and victory. Now while I wouldn't recommend 300 to general audiences, for fans of hard-core combat sequences this will be nirvana.
The Story
This story takes place in 480 B.C. This is basically the tale of Leonidas, King of Sparta; the famed Greek city-state known for its remarkably disciplined soldiers. Early in the film an emissary representing Xerxes, the God king of the Persian Empire, pays a visit to Sparta. The emissary informs King Leonidas that he must make an offering of earth and water to Xerxes or be invaded by the massive Persian army. Leonidas kills the emissary in short order, but he has a problem. The ancient laws forbid any of the Greek city-states from declaring war on an enemy without the permission of the Ephors, inbred priests to the old gods. Leonidas lays out his battle plan to the priests, but they deny his petition to go to war. Unbeknownst to the Spartan King, the Ephors have been bribed with Persian gold. Knowing that he cannot "officially" go to war, King Leonidas decides to take a walk with 300 of his best-trained men. They just happen to be walking towards the advancing Persian hordes. Leonidas' forces are hopelessly outnumbered by the massive enemy troops, but they are Spartans -- the best warriors of their age -- and they know the Greek terrain.
From this point on, the film is basically a big, very engaging battle scene. This is real over-the-top action with larger-than-life characters and epic stakes. Although some viewers may be turned off by the extremely graphic violence, I absolutely loved it. This was not meant to be hyper-realistic like the battle scenes in Saving Private Ryan, but heightened reality more akin to the battles from the Lord of the Rings pictures. There was one unnecessary subplot involving the Queen dealing with the machinations of devious politicians back in Sparta, but it was not so distracting that it took away from the overall story.
The Cast
This is not the kind of movie that requires classical acting. Like the story, the performances in this film are over-the-top. But the scenery chewing is appropriate for this kind of epic yarn. The actors are all up for the task and do a fine job, but I will mention a few of my favorite performances.
Leading the cast is Gerard Butler as King Leonidas. His performance is powerful and charismatic. One could really believe that he is a leader of men, and that his soldiers would die for him. I also loved the fact that Leonidas was given a dry sense of humor. It made him feel well-rounded and less like a soulless combat machine. Lena Headey is also very good as Queen Gorgo, who has the warrior heart of her husband, Leonidas. David Wenham plays Dilios, who is a great warrior, but his true gift to his Spartan brothers is his storytelling ability. And Rodrigo Santoro is excellent as Xerxes, the Persian King who fancies himself a god. A hero is nothing without a great villain to test his mettle, and Xerxes is a fantastic villain.
Production quality
300 is based on the graphic novel by Frank Miller, the man responsible for writing and co-directing Sin City. Miller's graphic novel was inspired by the 1962 film The 300 Spartans, which he saw as a child. As with Sin City, the visuals from 300 are lifted right off the comic book pages and splashed onto the screen. Miller has a very dynamic visual style that translates well to the big screen. Although this is a live action film, the look was very stylized and animated.
Zack Snyder directed 300 and co-wrote the screenplay. He also directed the excellent remake of Dawn of the Dead a few years ago. It is obvious that Snyder has a great love and respect for the comic book graphic novel that spawned this story and that is reflected in every aspect of the production. The visuals are spectacular, the soundtrack is stirring, and the fight scenes are breathtaking. The computer special effects blend effortlessly with the costume and make-up work. I just can't overemphasize how spectacular this film looked.
Overall
Now if all this film had to offer was pretty pictures, seeing it would be an empty experience. But the core of 300 is about valor and sacrifice for a greater good. It's about a few men who are willing to walk into the arms of death itself if that means that their wives and children can continue to live as free people. I know how corny that sounds. But it is also glorious.
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Title: 300
Script quality: 9/10
Acting quality: 7/10
Production quality: 10/10
Format and length: Action/Historical, 117 minutes
MPAA rating: R
Cast: Gerard Butler, Lena Headey, Dominic West, David Wenham, Vincent Regan, Michael Fassbender, Tom Wisdom, Andrew Pleavin, Rodrigo Santoro
Director: Zach Snyder
Movie Web site: Click here (Flash required)
John Michael Decker is a struggling actor, a comic book enthusiast, and sometimes a freelance writer. As an admitted nerd, John freely admits to "geeking out" upon seeing one of his favorite graphic novels translated to screen.
Copyright 2007 John Michael Decker. No reprints without written permission.
Black Snake Moan (2007)
Written by John Michael Decker
Mar 23, 2007 at 10:14 AM
At its heart, Black Snake Moan is a movie about the blues. That deep ache that one can only feel if they’ve first experienced the bliss of love. The pain the characters in this film feel is almost palpable, as is the Tennessee heat, which seems to waft off the screen. Black Snake Moan is a love story, albeit a twisted one. It reminded me of a modern Tennessee Williams play on crack. This flick starts out well enough, but somewhere along the line it goes terribly wrong.
The story
Samuel L. Jackson plays Lazarus Woods, a former Memphis blues musician who is now a poor farmer in rural Tennessee. Lazarus’ wife Rose has just left him for his younger brother, and as the film opens Lazarus is a walking time bomb. Christina Ricci plays Rae, a survivor of childhood abuse who has grown up to be sexually promiscuous wild child. Rae is in love with Ronnie, played by Justin Timberlake, who is a nervous young man with a stomach condition.
When Ronnie leaves town to join the army, the pain is almost more than Rae can take, and she falls back on old habits, which include abusing alcohol and drugs and sleeping with any man with a pulse. One morning Lazarus finds Rae, beaten near to death, feverish, and clad in her underwear, lying on the road in front of his farm. Since Lazarus is a God-fearing man, and is still feeling raw and helpless due to his own heartbreak, he decides that God has put Rae in his path so he can cure her of her wickedness. One way that he accomplishes this is by locking Rae to his radiator with a forty-pound chain.
Now up until this point, I really enjoyed this movie. The story was warped, but entertaining. Then suddenly, the script gets very preachy. The characters bond a little too quickly and the resolution was a little too simplistic and pat. Such complicated and interesting characters deserved better. I’m sorry, but if a stranger chains you to a radiator it’ll take you a lot longer than a few days to warm up to them.
I think that the hardest thing for any writer to do is to devise a satisfying ending for their stories. Perhaps this is because in real life things don’t end the way they do in the movies. Situations change, but life goes on. I felt that this story tried too hard to tie up loose ends and resolve conflicts, and the ending came off as being ridiculously insincere. Not to mention cloying and, “holier than thou.”
The cast
Samuel L. Jackson is an excellent actor and his character choices are both interesting and compelling. Unfortunately the script does not do him service. Through the course of the film, Jackson’s character Lazarus goes from a guy who tries to open up his younger brother’s face with a broken beer bottle, to a sage father figure. Now there is nothing wrong with a character going through a dramatic change through the course of a story, but this script just doesn’t connect the dots.
Christina Ricci’s performance as Rae is also excellent. She manages to play sexy, predatory, vulnerable and damaged all at once, and is wearing next to nothing for most of the film. This would be a challenge for most actresses, but Ricci pulls it off with style and aplomb. Unfortunately, the resolution to her storyline was just simplistic and unbelievable.
There were some nice supporting performances in this film, especially from John Cothran Jr. as Reverend R.L., Lazarus’s friend and conscience, and S. Epatha Merkerson who plays Miss Angela, the town pharmacist who has an inexplicable crush on Jackson’s volatile Lazarus. Justin Timberlake was fine as Ronnie, the dim boyfriend who is blind to his girlfriend’s flaws, although he was never good enough to make me forget that he is pop icon Justin Timberlake.
Production quality
Black Snake Moan was written and directed by Craig Brewer. This is a good-looking film and it is obvious that Mr. Brewer has talent, but the script just got bogged down with self-righteousness and preaching. Issues like adultery, nymphomania and child abuse just can’t be washed away with chains, a little kindness, and down home southern cooking.
The blues music that serves as the soundtrack to Black Snake Moan is very fitting for this film and Jackson does a nice job on the guitar and with his vocals. The productions values are all very nice. I guess that my real problem is that this tries to be a “message film” and the message just didn’t fit with the movies lurid sensibilities.
Overall
I think the best way to sum up this movie is, “nice try, but no cigar.” The film tries to balance being an exploitation picture and a Baptist sermon and comes up short on both counts. Fans of Sam Jackson’s acting or of Christina Ricci’s body may want to check it out, but the overall experience left me feeling empty and a little bit dirty.
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Title: Black Snake Moan
Script quality: 5/10
Acting quality: 7/10
Production quality: 7/10
Format and length: Drama, 115 minutes
MPAA rating: R
Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Christina Ricci, Justin Timberlake, S. Epatha Merkerson, John Cothran Jr., Michael Raymond-James
Director: Craig Brewer
Movie Web site: Click here (Flash required)
John Michael Decker is a struggling actor and sometimes a freelance writer. Given the chance, he would probably chain Christina Ricci to a radiator. Not to cure her of her wicked ways, but because it would just make such a good story to tell his friends.
Copyright 2007 John Michael Decker. No reprints without written permission.
The Last Mimzy (2007)
Written by John Michael Decker
Apr 03, 2007 at 11:40 AM
The Last Mimzy is based on the short story "Mimsy Were the Borogoves" by Henry Kuttner & Catherine L. Moore under their pseudonym Lewis Padgett. I've never read the story myself, so I can't say how faithful an adaptation this film was to the source material. I can say that this is a science fiction movie aimed at family audiences and that it wasn't entirely successful.
The story
The Last Mimzy begins in a utopian future. In the opening scene we see a teacher telling her students to "tune in" because she's going to show them how their future was saved. We then flash back to modern times where we meet Noah and Emma Wilder, two seemingly normal kids from Seattle. While on a family vacation, Noah and Emma discover a strangely-shaped box on the beach that is filled with mysterious toys. The siblings decide to keep this box a secret from their parents. Before long their exposure to the toys starts altering the children in fantastic ways. Noah goes from being an underachieving C student in school to winning the national science fair. He stops wearing his glasses and becomes an expert at golf overnight. Emma develops the ability to levitate objects and to seemingly separate her molecules and then reconstitute them. When Noah accidentally blacks out the power grid for half the state, Homeland Security zeros in on the Wilder family, thinking that they are a national threat.
My main problem with this film is that from the very first scene, we know that everything is going to turn out for the best. We can see that the future is safe, so there is no real jeopardy when we flash to the main story. The "Mimzy" in the title of the film is a futuristic artificial intelligence in the shape of a stuffed rabbit. But the rabbit has no personality. We only ever see it as a lifeless toy that makes vaguely disturbing purring sounds. Why didn't the filmmakers animate Mimzy? Give it a personality? When it was revealed that Mimzy was a living thing that might die, I was unmoved because they failed to make me believe that Mimzy was anything more than a child's toy.
The premise of this story is great. The idea of two kids from the present being given the responsibility of saving the future is rife with possibilities. The execution of the story is bland and as lifeless as the stuffed rabbit we are supposed to care so much about.
The cast
Chris O'Neil and Rhiannon Leigh Wryn are the young actors who portray Noah and Emma Wilder respectively. Their performances are decent but uninspired, and I was never convinced that the future of the human race was at stake. Timothy Hutton and Joely Richardson play David and Jo Wilder, the parents who are blind to the fact that their children are radically changing until it is almost too late. I didn't think that the performances of Hutton and Richardson were bad, but I found it hard to believe that the characters could be so dense. Rounding out the unbelievable performances is Michael Clarke Duncan as Nathanial Broadman, who is in charge of homeland security. This film portrays homeland security as being embarrassingly paranoid and incompetent. Well, maybe that last part isn't so far-fetched, but I digress.
The best performances in the movie come from Rainn Wilson, who plays Mr. White, the science teacher who first notices that something in not right with the Wilder children, and Kathryn Hahn as his hippy girlfriend, Naomi. Their relationship was quirky, but at least seemed real. Rainn Wilson is hilarious on the television show The Office, and it was nice to see him playing a totally different kind of character.
Production quality
The special effects in The Last Mimzy, much like the performances, are fine but uninspired. There was no visual effect that really blew me away or that sticks out in my memory as being particularly spectacular. Likewise, when I try to remember the score of the movie, I just can't recall what it sounded like. I doubt that I will remember much about this film in a year's time.
It seems to me that director Robert Shaye really played it safe in this film. There is nothing in this story that is too scary for children or that would really offend anyone and the result is a very bland film.
Overall
In trying to sum up my thought about The Last Mimzy, the words that spring to mind are "wasted opportunity." This is not a horrible film, but neither is it great. Families taking their children to see The Last Mimzy will not be offended, but neither will they be inspired.
This could have been the story about an epic struggle to save the future. This should have been about the end of childhood and the loss of innocence. In some alternate universe this might have been a film with a message about how we need to wake up now if we are going to save the future later. I wanted to see a film that would break my heart and yet give me some hope for things to come. What I saw was a whitewashed disappointment. Perhaps my expectations were just too high.
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Title: The Last Mimzy
Script quality: 4/10
Acting quality: 5/10
Production quality: 6/10
Format and length: Fantasy/Science Fiction, 90 minutes
MPAA rating: PG
Cast: Chris O'Neil, Rhiannon Leigh Wryn, Joely Richardson, Timothy Hutton, Rainn Wilson, Kathryn Hahn, Michael Clarke Duncan
Director: Robert Shaye
Movie Web site: Click here (Flash required)
John Michael Decker is a struggling actor, a freelance writer and a science fiction nerd. If John ever found a talking robo-bunny from the future, he would ask it for lottery numbers.
Copyright 2007 John Michael Decker. No reprints without written permission.
Grindhouse (2007)
Written by John Michael Decker
Apr 19, 2007 at 12:22 PM
Nowadays when a film is produced, multiple copies of the print are made and sent to movie theaters around the country. It was not always done like this. Back in the 1970s, when a low-budget movie was produced, often they would only make three or four prints of the film, which would be passed from theater to theater. Because of the constant recycling of the material, the prints would get scratched and damaged. Sometimes entire reels of the film would be missing. The kinds of sleazy exploitation flicks that would get this treatment usually featured excessive gore, violence and sex. The theaters that would show these kinds of films came to be known as "grindhouses" because they would "grind" out these movies. Directors Quentin Tarantino (Pulp Fiction) and Robert Rodriguez (Sin City) have banded together to recreate a good, old fashioned, grindhouse double feature experience -- scratched film, missing reels, and all. To accomplish this, Rodriguez directed a zombie flick called "Planet Terror," and Tarantino directed a serial killer thrill ride called "Death Proof." To enhance this experience they even got some of their friends to produce fake trailers to be inserted between the two feature films. These fake trailer segments included Eli Roth's "Thanksgiving," Edgar Wright's "Don't," Robert Rodriguez's "Machete" and my personal favorite, Rob Zombie's "Werewolf Women of the S.S." The end result of this experiment is a highly enjoyable, over-the-top filmgoing experience called Grindhouse.
The story
The first full-length feature we are treated to in Grindhouse is Rodriguez's loving homage to the '70s zombie flick: "Planet Terror." When an experimental gas is accidentally released on a military base in Texas, pus-covered, flesh-eating, undead abominations start running amuck in Austin. The only hope for humanity lies with a go-go dancer named Cherry (Rose McGowan) and her boyfriend, a windmill of destruction named Wray (Freddy Rodriguez). Early on, Cherry loses her leg to a zombie attack, but it is soon replaced by a fully functional machine gun, which Cherry puts to good use, mowing down zombies in strangely sexy and acrobatic ways.
The pacing of "Planet Terror" is rocket-ship fast, and the story is unashamedly zany. Blood and gore are unloaded by the bucketful and just when you think the boundaries of decency and good taste can't be pushed any further, they are. I loved the all-or-nothing attitude of this segment. The plot is too insane to be taken seriously, so all you can do is hang on and enjoy the ride.
The second part of this double feature is Quentin Tarantino's "Death Proof." In this segment, Kurt Russell plays a sociopath named Stuntman Mike. Because Stuntman Mike is too emotionally damaged to meet women in traditional ways, he hunts them down, plays head games with them, and then kills them with his tricked-out muscle car.
The pacing of Tarantino's "Death Proof" is much slower and more deliberate than Rodriguez's "Planet Terror." Because of this, the pacing of the entire film slows down at the start of "Death Proof." As a viewer I found this to be quite jarring. But at least we were treated to Tarantino's fantastic dialogue, which took a bit of the sting out of the lumbering pace at the start of the feature. Although I must confess that Tarantino's use of language, while impressive, is not as sharp here as in some of his other films. And even though the beginning of "Death Proof" is slow, once it gets going, it is quite thrilling. The conclusion of this feature literally had me holding my breath and clutching my seat. There was not as much violence and gore in "Death Proof" as there was in "Planet Terror," however the violence that is there is much more intense and disturbing. As with many films that I personally enjoy, I would not recommend this to the squeamish.
The cast
Grindhouse features an enormous ensemble cast, many of whom appear in both features. Rose McGowan goes from playing the death-dealing Cherry in "Planet Terror" to the hapless victim Pam in "Death Proof." It's a nice contrast and shows some real acting range.
Marley Shelton plays Dr. Dakota Block in both features. The great character actor Michael Parks plays Sheriff Earl McGraw in both features as well. This is a character he also portrayed in the Rodriguez-directed From Dusk Till Dawn and the Tarantino-directed Kill Bill: Volume 1 and Volume 2. Little Easter eggs like this are sprinkled all throughout Grindhouse, and that is a big part of the fun for hardcore movie geeks like me.
Grindhouse is filled with all sorts of fun character performances. Freddy Rodriguez, Josh Brolin, Jeff Fahey, Michael Biehn, and Naveen Andrews all stand out in "Planet Terror," and some of the better performances in "Death Proof" include Kurt Russell, Rosario Dawson, Zoe Bell, Vanessa Ferlito, Tracie Thoms and Sydney Poitier. There are even some fun, "blink or you'll miss them," cameos by Nicolas Cage and Bruce Willis.
The acting style of the film is frenetic in "Planet Terror" and more real and grounded in "Death Proof." Since the style of each feature is different, this change in acting style is appropriate. Quentin Tarantino has his requisite cameo in both features. Tarantino is only a mediocre actor, but I can forgive him for this because he is such a brilliant writer and director.
Production quality
As with the rest of Grindhouse, the production quality of each feature was very different. Rodriguez relied on cutting-edge computer generated special effects for his segments, and Tarantino stuck with more old-school film techniques and stunts, including the most exciting car chase this side of the French Connection. Robert Rodriguez wrote his own score for "Planet Terror" and Tarantino used rock classics to supplement "Death Proof." Either of these films presented by themselves would have been enjoyable, but by putting them together in this format something unique was created.
Both features were deliberately scratchy and worn-looking, which made one feel that at any time the film could fall apart. In a strange way this added to the overall tension of the experience. Both major segments featured a "missing reel" which allowed the audience fill in the lost scenes with their imaginations. Although this technique might annoy some film-goers, I thought it was really cool.
When you get more than one creative mind on a project, often the result can be disastrous when egos clash. This was not the case with Grindhouse. This production was nothing short of brilliant, and what the directors created is both retro and unique. A lot of love went into this production.
Overall
Tarantino and Rodriguez succeeded spectacularly in recreating the grindhouse experience for a modern audience. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed myself this much at the movies. For film aficionados who are feeling nostalgic for '70s exploitation cinema, this is a must-see.
Title: Grindhouse (Planet Terror and Death Proof)
Script quality: 8/10
Acting quality: 7/10
Production quality: 10/10
Format and length: Horror/Thriller, 191 minutes
MPAA rating: R
Cast: Rose McGowan, Kurt Russell, Freddy Rodriguez, Josh Brolin, Marley Shelton, Jeff Fahey, Michael Biehn, Naveen Andrews, Michael Parks, Quentin Tarantino, Rosario Dawson, Sydney Poitier, Vanessa Ferlito, Jordan Ladd, Tracie Thoms, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Zoe Bell, Danny Trejo, Bruce Willis
Director: Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Eli Roth, Edgar Wright and Rob Zombie
Movie Web site: Click here (Flash required)
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John Michael Decker is a struggling actor and sometime freelance writer. John feels that he was born to be in a 1970s style exploitation flick. He could easily have played 'cowardly zombie victim #8' in "Planet Terror."
Copyright 2007 John Michael Decker. No reprints without written permission.
Pathfinder (2007)
Written by John Michael Decker
Apr 23, 2007 at 01:04 PM
I first heard about Pathfinder last summer, and the only thing I heard was that it featured Native Americans battling Vikings. That was all I needed to know -- I was hooked. It was supposed to open last summer, but the release date kept getting pushed back. Usually this is a bad sign, but my enthusiasm did not wane. The idea of a battle for America five hundred years before Columbus set foot in this country was just so epic. And now, almost a year after I saw the first Pathfinder trailer, I finally got the chance to see it.
The story
A Viking ship lands in North America and leaves behind a young boy. The child is discovered by a woman from the Wampanoag tribe. She and her husband raise him as their own. The young man, who is named 'Ghost' because of his pale skin, is inundated in the tribe's culture, but he is never completely accepted by them. When the Viking hordes return in force, set on destroying the Wampanoags and settling on their land, Ghost must use both Viking and Native American skills to save his adopted people.
There is a scene in this film where Starfire, the beautiful daughter of the great leader, Pathfinder, tells Ghost that every man has two wolves fighting inside him, vying for control. One of those wolves is Love and the other one is Hate. When Ghost asks Starfire which wolf wins, she tells him that the victorious wolf is the one that gets fed. I can tell you that the Love wolf starves in this picture. Ghost pretty much becomes an unstoppable engine of revenge, with little time for romance. Of course, this doesn't stop the bad guys from abducting Starfire and using her against her hero.
Pathfinder is a non-stop action picture with very little characterization. However the action is so well done that I didn't mind so much. The film lunges from one graphic battle scene to the next and moves at an exciting pace. I love the archetype of the outsider characters -- people who belong to two worlds and yet because of this are rejected by both. To the Wampanoags, Ghost is a child of the "Dragon People." They fear he will become one of them. To the Vikings, Ghost is an abomination who has turned his back on his culture and become a savage. One of the problems is that Ghost is just an archetype and not a fully fleshed out character. The same can be said for every character in this movie.
The cast
Karl Urban, best known for playing Eomer in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, portrays Ghost in Pathfinder. Although Urban pretty much plays anger and little else, he is physically imposing and a very charismatic performer. I liked the fact that Ghost used guile and cunning as well as brute force to fight the Vikings.
The great character actor Clancy Brown was perfectly cast as Gunnar, leader of the Viking hordes. No one can put out an imposing, bad-ass vibe quite like Clancy Brown. Russell Means, a famous Native American activist, played Pathfinder, the wise old chief who points out to Ghost that his quest of revenge will eventually destroy him. Means was quite good, but didn't get enough screen time for my taste. Moon Bloodgood was very beautiful as Starfire, but she had a modern American vibe that didn't really fit in the period material. Still, she fulfilled the "damsel in distress" quotient admirably.
There were no other performances worth mentioning. In general the Vikings were portrayed as evil, soulless monsters bent on destruction. The Native American's were all noble and wise and completely outclassed by the superior weapons and the sheer savagery of the Norsemen. It was ironic that the Vikings were constantly referring to the Wampanoag as "savages," when they were the truly ferocious and inhuman tribe.
This is a beautiful picture to look at and I found the basic story engaging enough. If only the characters had been more fleshed out, this could have been a great film instead of just a good one.
Production quality
Pathfinder was directed by German native Marcus Nispel. Nispel also directed the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in 2003. The flair that Nispel showed for realistic gore in Chainsaw is translated to Pathfinder. The action sequences are excessively violent, but extremely well done.
The backdrop of the great northeastern American wilderness gives the film an epic feel. I love movies where the land itself becomes a character. The Vikings all look as though they stepped out of a Frank Frazetta painting, striding out of the mist with their swords and battle axes, adorned with animal skins and horned helmets. Historically Vikings never decorated their helmets with animal horns, but damn if it doesn't look cool. The cinematography is dark and moody, which conveys a nice sense of menace. The fight choreography is amazing.
Overall
I really enjoyed Pathfinder, however I have to confess that this is a guilty pleasure. It is bombastic, loud and lurid. The morality presented in this movie is pretty black and white; I prefer more shades of gray in stories. At least the Vikings are presented as a genuine threat and not just wimpy villains who would fold at the first sign of trouble. Through most of the flick Ghost is in over his head, and this is the way it should be. Although this is not as good as the recently-released historical action epoch 300, I do think the film has value for action and adventure lovers.
Title: Pathfinder
Script quality: 6/10
Acting quality: 5/10
Production quality: 8/10
Format and length: Action/Historical, 99 minutes
MPAA rating: R
Cast: Karl Urban, Moon Bloodgood, Clancy Brown, Russell Means, Ralf Moeller, Jay Tavare, Nathaniel Arcand, Kevin Loring
Director: Marcus Nispel
Movie Web site: Click here (Flash required)
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John Michael Decker is a struggling actor and sometimes a freelance writer. Last summer John had a small part in the independent film The Adventures of Don Juan and Miguel: The Hump of Destiny. John's character ran away when a telekinetic Frenchman hurled a large fish at him. He wonders how he would have faired against Vikings.
Copyright 2007 John Michael Decker. No reprints without written permission.
Hot Fuzz (2007)
Written by John Michael Decker
May 02, 2007 at 01:43 PM
In 2004, director Edgar Wright and actor Simon Pegg combined their considerable talents when they wrote the brilliant zombie spoof Shaun of the Dead, which was directed by Wright and starred Pegg. Now they have set their sights on a parody of the buddy cop genre with the hilarious Hot Fuzz. Not only was this a side-splittingly funny movie, but it was a better action picture than most of the flicks it was lampooning.
The story
Nicholas Angel is a super-cop. His beat is the mean streets of London. Angel is so focused on his job to the exclusion of everything else in life that his arrest rate is 400 times higher than the other cops in his precinct. Out of sheer jealously, Angel's superiors transfer him to a small, rural village. It is difficult enough for action junkie Angel to deal with life in the town with the lowest crime rate in England, but to make matters worse he is assigned a bumbling idiot as a partner.
Sergeant Angel's new partner is PC Danny Butterman, son of his new boss, Inspector Frank Butterman. Danny is an oafish man-child whose fondest wish is to be Keanu Reeves from Point Break or Will Smith from Bad Boys II. Danny instantly worships Nick Angel, but Nick can barely tolerate Danny or the rest of the cops in his new precinct (who are all just slightly more competent than Danny). It looks as if Sergeant Angel will be consigned to a life of chasing escaped swans and arresting underage drinkers, when a series of mysterious "accidents" seem to indicate that there is something more sinister going on in town that it at first appeared.
This movie could have gone for simple slapstick, and that would have worked fine, but it does more. The characters in the story are interesting and quirky. Nick Angel and Danny Butterman are fleshed out and not just simple movie parodies. The violence is quite graphic, but this keeps the humor from getting too light. I don't want to give away any spoilers, but the last half hour of this movie had more action packed into it than ten regular action movies. And the action managed to be both exciting and funny. I was in a pretty full theater when I saw Hot Fuzz, and the final third of the film had the entire place howling with non-stop laughter.
The cast
Simon Pegg is excellent as the intense and over-serious Sergeant Nicholas Angel. I never would have dreamed that he would have been able to pull off a role as a credible action hero after his underachieving slacker in Shaun of the Dead. Before I saw this film I just didn't think Pegg had the proper bearing to portray a super-cop. I was wrong, he was terrific. By the end of the movie, Pegg's Sergeant Angel had managed to out-Dirty Harry Clint Eastwood and make Mel Gibson's Martin Riggs look like a sissy.
Nick Frost, who was so great as Ed the mega-slob in Shaun of the Dead, made a great foil for Pegg as the dimwitted Danny. His insane enthusiasm for buddy cop pictures and longing for real action was made even funnier when he found himself in the very situations that he had only previously seen at the movies.
This film was filled to the brim with colorful characters portrayed by some of the best old school English character actors like Bill Nighy and Edward Woodward. Jim Broadbent was terrific as the laid back, level-headed Inspector Frank Butterman. Former James Bond Timothy Dalton was just gleefully chewing the scenery as Simon Skinner, the oily owner of a local grocery store chain -- A terrific character performance. I also really enjoyed the performances of Patty Considine and Rafe Spall as detectives Andy Wainwright and Andy Cartwright respectively. Two clueless tough guys who refused to believe that the obvious murders taking place in their town were anything other than accidents.
Overall, this was a top-rate cast.
Production quality
Edgar Wright does a fine job directing this film. Though this is undoubtedly a comedy, it has the feel of an action picture. Many movie comedies look like television sitcoms, but Hot Fuzz does not fall into this trap. Though the characters are quirky and often bizarre, they always seemed real to me and never devolved into flat caricatures. The script is terrific and I hope that Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg will have many successful collaborations in the future.
Overall
I really enjoyed seeing American action movie sensibilities invading quaint small town England, like a steroid-engorged bull charging through a stodgy china shop. Though this film is intended to parody action films, it succeeds in surpassing many of them. For lovers of cop pictures and of dark humor, Hot Fuzz is for you.
Title: Hot Fuzz
Script quality: 9/10
Acting quality: 8/10
Production quality: 7/10
Format and length: Foreign/Action/Comedy, 121 minutes
MPAA rating: R
Cast: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Jim Broadbent, Timothy Dalton, Edward Woodward, Bill Nighy, Patty Considine, Rafe Spall
Director: Edgar Wright
Movie Web site: Click here
Discuss this article or get some movie or music recommendations on our forum.
John Michael Decker is an actor and occasional freelance writer. John has always wondered what it would be like to leap through the air in slow motion while simultaneously firing two guns. Then he remembers that he really doesn't like guns all that much outside of films. Damn real world.
Copyright 2007 John Michael Decker. No reprints without written permission.
Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Written by John Michael Decker
May 07, 2007 at 01:00 PM
May is here, and even though summer doesn't officially begin for a month and a half, with the release of Spider-Man 3, the summer blockbuster season has officially begun. As usual, the summer movie season is filled with sequels. Besides Spider-Man 3, we can expect to see Shrek the Third, Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End and Live Free or Die Hard, among others. When filmmakers produce a sequel, they try to top their previous work, but in this effort, often character development and substance is lost in favor of bigger explosions and more car chases. By the time the third film in a series comes out, many times it is far inferior to the films that preceded it. This seems to be especially true of the comic book film genre. X-Men 3: The Last Stand is not as good as X-Men or X2 X-Men United. Blade: Trinity was not as good as Blade or Blade II. Superman III was far worse than the first two excellent Superman flicks. True to form, Spider-Man 3 is not as good as the first two Sam Raimi-directed Spider-Man films. That's not to say that Spider-Man 3 is a bad movie, though -- far from it.
The story
As Spider-Man 3 begins, life is going wonderfully for Peter Parker. His romance with the beautiful actress Mary Jane Watson is heating up. He is excelling in his science studies at Empire State University. And best of all, the public has embraced Peter's alter-ego, the Amazing Spider-Man. All this good luck is starting to inflate Peter's ego, but as any long time reader of the Spider-Man comics can tell you, any time it looks like smooth sailing for Peter Parker, bad luck is right around the corner, ready to smack him back down to earth.
Peter's bad luck begins when a meteor crashes into earth, releasing an alien life form that initially appears as an animated glob of black, viscous goo. The alien is a shape-shifting symbiote that attempts to bond with Peter Parker by taking the form of a sleek, black, Spider-Man costume. The costume grants Parker increased powers but also amplifies his aggressive tendencies and negative emotions. In addition to this, Peter learns that the man who actually murdered his Uncle Ben is still alive and has recently escaped from jail. This man is Flint Marko, a petty criminal who stumbles upon a bizarre particle experiment while fleeing from the police. The experiment gives Marko the power to morph any part of his body into sand. To make matters worse, Peter's former best friend, Harry Osborn, who mistakenly believes that Spider-Man killed his father (the super villain known as the Green Goblin), decides to punish Spider-Man by taking over his father's identity as the new Green Goblin.
One would think that these issues would be enough to keep Peter busy over the course of the two hour and twenty minute running time of the film, but he is plagued by even more problems. Peter has become so wrapped up in his life as Spider-Man, that he fails to notice when Mary Jane is having serious problems of her own. The rift between Peter and MJ only increases when she meets his beautiful lab partner, Gwen Stacy, who has a crush on Spider-Man. Gwen has been dating Eddie Brock, a freelance photographer who is Peter Parker's rival at the Daily Bugle. The two men are competing for a staff job and Brock is willing to cheat to get Peter out of the way.
The major problem with this movie, as you may have been able to guess by the above synopsis, is that it has way too many sub-plots. This film introduces so many new characters and situations that it is hard to keep up, and none of the storylines are as fleshed out as they need to be. The film pits Spidey against three villains: The Sandman (Flint Marko), Venom (the alien symbiote bonded to a jealous Eddie Brock), and Harry Osborn in the guise of the New Goblin. One villain with a more complete storyline would have made for a much tighter film.
That being said, this was a really enjoyable movie to watch. The fight scenes and special effects were incredible -- especially the fights between Spider-Man and the Sandman, which seemed to be ripped right from the comic book pages. And the major characters (Peter, Mary Jane and Harry) all had interesting, emotional, story arcs.
The cast
As this is the third Spider-Man film, the returning actors all know their characters very well and were able to imbue their performance with nuance and heart. As usual, Tobey Maguire was excellent as Peter Parker, the science nerd with the overwhelming sense of responsibility. The only flaw I found in his performance this time around occurred in the middle of the film when the alien symbiote was bringing out his darker personality. Maguire chose to play evil Peter Parker by wearing black, combing his hair over his eye and swaggering around as if he were Tony Manero from Saturday Night Fever. Other than this unfortunate section of the film, Maguire's performance was grounded and multi-layered.
Kirsten Dunst does a fine job of portraying Mary Jane Watson's hurt and anger as she and Peter become estranged and her acting career hits some rough water. As a struggling actor myself, I could relate to the plight of this character. James Franco, as Harry Osborn, also does some nice work in this movie as he grapples with his darker impulses, a journey that mirrors Peter Parker's. J.K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson and Rosemary Harris as Aunt May Parker also turn in their usual fine supporting performances. It would be hard to imagine a Spider-Man flick without the excellent work of Simmons and Harris.
Out of the new additions to the cast, I was the most impressed with Thomas Haden Church as Flint Marko. He played it not so much as a one-dimensional thug, but as a man who was trying to do right by his family and unfortunately kept making all the wrong decisions. Bryce Dallas Howard was very good as Gwen Stacy, who in the comic books was the great love of Peter Parker's life before he met Mary Jane. I just wish they had given her a little more screen time.
The weak link in the acting came from Topher Grace, who played Eddie Brock. He came across as a weaselly version of his "That 70's Show" character, Eric Forman. He just didn't have the gravity to pull off a serious villain. This was just a poor casting choice.
Production quality
The special effects in Spider-Man 3 were amazing. It is obvious that director Sam Raimi loves Spider-Man and the universe he inhabits, which is a key ingredient to bringing the four-color world of comic books to the big screen. Sandman's morphing effects were especially well rendered and Venom looked appropriately creepy. I hated the design of the New Goblin costume. He looked more like an extreme sports Power Ranger than a super villain. In the comics the Green Goblin always wore a rubbery fright mask that showed off his expressions. The look of the comic book Goblin is much more monstrous and visceral than anything they came up with in the films.
The rest of the production is just fine. From cinematography to score, this was what one would look for in a summer blockbuster. Sam Raimi is a skilled director; his films always move at a super-kinetic, fluid pace, and are exciting to watch.
Overall
Spider-Man 3 is a fun movie and should be especially enjoyable to fans of the comic book created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko. Had the filmmakers exercised a little more restraint and not tried to pack so much into it, it could have been epic.
Title: Spider-Man 3
Script quality: 6/10
Acting quality: 7/10
Production quality: 9/10
Format and length: Action/Science Fiction, 140 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13
Cast: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace, Bryce Dallas Howard, Rosemary Harris, J.K. Simmons, Bruce Campbell
Director: Sam Raimi
Movie Web site: Click here (Flash required)
Discuss this article or get some movie or music recommendations on our forum.
John Michael Decker is a struggling actor, occasional freelance writer, and a comic book fanatic. He dreams of being a super-hero, but in his heart he knows he would be a more successful super-villain.
Copyright 2007 John Michael Decker. No reprints without written permission.
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