November 12, 2009

The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard

Posted by Jordan Richardson under 2009, comedy, entertainment, movies, trailers | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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Goods_live_hard_sell_hard

Muddled and terrifically unfunny, The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard is a completely inconsequential comedy with little redeeming value other than to prove that Jeremy Piven can, in no way, carry a movie. Directed by Neal Brennan, The Goods is an ode to capitalism and obnoxiousness with a nice slice of Americana on the side. Its reliance on outdated “shock” comedy doesn’t score it any points, either, and it lumbers through its relatively short runtime despite the appearance of some truly unique comic talents.

Brennan is the latest in a line of bland comedy directors, confirming with The Goods the notion that a handful of sketches tied loosely together by a core plot doesn’t make for a good complete picture. Brennan is entirely useless as a director, as anyone could have been behind the camera and produced the same results. It’s a mishmash of sideplots and lines, many of which have cruel foundations in homophobia, racism and rah-rah American jingoism.

Piven stars as a slick car salesman named Don Ready. He has a team of salespersons and they’re like nomads in that they cruise around from town to town trying to sell cars for dealerships that really need it. (Plots don’t get more captivating than this, do they?) Ready and Co. wind up taking an assignment in a small town in an effort to save Ben Selleck (James Brolin) and his family dealership.

Along the way, a series of entanglements attempts to interest us in the respective plights of the characters. Selleck, for instance, has a crush on salesman Brent Gage (David Koechner) while saleswoman Babs Merrick (Kathryn Hahn) chases around Selleck’s young son (Rob Riggle). Jibby Newsome (Ving Rhames) is looking for love, too, and Don’s also dealing with his own romantic complications with Selleck’s daughter Ivy (Jordana Spiro). There’s also a boy band and an old racist guy in the mix, just for fun.

Now, right out of the gate it’s hard to imagine that a flick with the plot of The Goods is going to be any, well, good. It’s a plot that doesn’t really sell itself. Watching a bunch of car dealers finagle various customers using cheating and deception is, after all, supposed to be hilarious given the economic condition the world is in at the moment and, don’t forget, we’re supposed to also care about the con artists selling these vehicles. On top of it all, we’re supposed to respect them a lot because, hey, they really like America.

It’s all a little much to begin with, but then writers Adam Stock and Rick Stempson pack things with a whole whack of homophobia, racism and weird twists on other crap nobody but 13-year-old wrestling fans are interested in anymore. Of course, that’s probably the target audience for this hard R-rated comedy anyway, but I digress.

I can’t say that this movie fails because of the cast because everyone actually does do what they’re asked to do. Piven does about all he can to pull off a big screen version of his character from Entourage and the other actors do what they’re supposed to do too, but that’s part of the problem: what they’re “supposed to do” just isn’t funny. Jokes feel forced and idiotic, with a lot of mean-spirited and misplaced crassness highlighted all the angles.

Look, one expects a movie like The Goods to be rude and crass. But most films, like this year’s I Love You, Man, manage to balance the crassness with a little something those of us over the age of 13 like to call “substance.” The Goods not only flounders in delivering any significant laughs, but it also fails to deliver any sort of reason for its existence. It’s an entirely meaningless, ultimately forgettable comedy.

0.7/10

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November 9, 2009

Pillow Talk

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Incredibly dated and oddly creepy, Pillow Talk is a vehicle for Rock Hudson’s good looks and Doris Day’s charm. Directed by Michael Gordon, the picture floats a truly weird story along with some outdated concepts about sex, women and relationships. It also features one of the most invasive and obnoxious soundtracks I’ve come across in quite some time.

This is 1950s gloss working its magic, attempting to convince us that there’s a reason for the attraction between the characters and that the good looks and charm of even the most obnoxious, creepy, sexist individuals should be enough for love. We’re supposed to fall in love with the coupling of Day and Hudson because the music says so, not because it actually makes any sense. In reality, what happens in Pillow Talk is quite sickening.

Day stars as Jan Morrow, a successful interior decorator. There’s a problem with her, though, as she lives alone and goes out and has fun. See, she’s much too old to be an independent woman with a good job and a nice apartment, so something’s gotta give. Her alcoholic maid (Thelma Ritter) makes sure that Jan knows her life is incomplete, too, which is always helpful advice when coming from someone whose drinking problem is played up for shiny chuckles.

Hudson is Brad Allen, a Broadway composer and “playboy.” He and Jan share a party line (Google it) and they don’t like each other much because Jan keeps wanting to make calls while Hudson is courting various women via telephone. One day, Brad sees Jan dancing and falls in love with her. He does what any normal person would do and invents a personality to court her so that she won’t know he’s the guy on the party line. Oh, and he also dupes a friend (Tony Randall) in the process while taking advantage of pretty much everyone who crosses his path. What a charming man!

That Brad completely fakes his way into Jan’s life is treated with the utmost respect. His square jaw and broad shoulders and good looks tell us that he’s doing the right thing, after all, and the annoying music reinforces the point. To make matters worse, Brad’s interest in Jan seems slightly predicated on the fact that his friend is in love with her. That piques his interest to discover who this delicate little flower might be and, before you can say “split screen,” we’re off on a road to romantic entanglement.

All of this might actually be hilarious were it not so creepy to think about. Jan has a streak of rebellion and independence that must be dealt with, which is, at least in part, why Rock Hudson’s character has to enter into the fray of fakery. When he essentially kicks her door down and abducts her towards the end of the picture, he’s doing the poor clueless dame a favour, after all, and she’s more than happy to oblige even if he has a creepy switch in his pad that locks the door. Try not to put too much thought into the fact that a policeman simply chuckles as Rock passes carrying a screaming Day, too. It’s the 50s.

The conception that draws this film to a close is downright disgusting. Day’s character is being “dealt with” because she had the audacity to right the wrongs against her in the way she knew how. Hudson’s Brad essentially gets everything in the end, while Day’s Jan is barefoot, pregnant and loving it. It is the ultimate reflection of vile, puritanical 1950s values and reeks of sexism and cruelty.

On top of all that, it’s actually a pretty horrible picture for other reasons. The Frank De Vol score is absolutely terrible, for one thing, and dominates each scene with its invasive need to pile instruments on top of other instruments. It’s one of the most obnoxious displays of music in a picture I’ve heard in quite some time. And the use of split screen and fade shots is just cheesy and tacky, too.

Overall, there’s really no good reason to see Pillow Talk. It only reinforces why progress is so important in today’s world and remains an example of a time and an attitude that keeps women in their places. It calls on a time when men were men, even if they were gay men pretending to be straight men mocking gay men, and has little to no redeeming value either as a film or as a piece of art.

0.7/10

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November 9, 2009

Jaws

Posted by Jordan Richardson under 1975, entertainment, horror, movies, thrillers, trailers | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |
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Steven Spielberg made Jaws when he was in his mid-twenties and, in my opinion, he’s never eclipsed the raw tension and terror since. The movie also started the trend of the summer blockbuster, some say, and is considered one of the best films of all time by the AFI. It is truly a picture that works its elements efficiently, utilizing a haunting John Williams score and Bill Butler’s tremendous sea level cinematography to tell its tale to great effect.

Based on Peter Benchley’s novel of the same name, Jaws became Spielberg’s fifth motion picture and marked a turning point in his early career by transforming him into one of America’s greatest thriller/adventure storyteller filmmakers. From the success of Jaws, Spielberg was able to seamlessly transition to the ambitious Close Encounters of the Third Kind and eventually to Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Jaws takes place at the small resort town of Amity Island. There’s a new police chief, Martin Brody (Roy Schneider), and he is notified that a woman is missing. Upon discovering the body, it appears that she had been attacked by a shark. Not wanting to scare the locals or thwart any success for the upcoming tourist season, Amity’s mayor (Murray Hamilton) ensures that Brody can’t close the beach while they look for the shark.

After another attack, the town grows tense and Brody is blamed for not closing the beach. He calls ichthyologist Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) to help investigate the shark problem. The pair form a close bond while battling the stubborn mayor and the shark, eventually turning to Quint (Robert Shaw), a gruff shark hunter, to help bring in the giant beast before it does further harm.

The performances in Jaws are surprisingly good, especially for this type of genre picture, and they help elevate the movie to its legendary status. The chemistry between Dreyfuss, Shaw and Schneider as the film draws to its climax is especially compelling, as the differences between the characters really get drawn out with subtle shifts in the action. Each man has his method for catching the shark based on his life experience and it’s interesting to watch them go about their work.

Jaws required three mechanical sharks to be made for production. In today’s day and age of CGI, the shark does look a little dated in some scenes, but there’s also something truly cool about how the whole thing came together. Spielberg’s direction makes the shark, strange as it looks sometimes, into a truly menacing force in the picture and it becomes more about the tension and less about what the shark looks like.

Of course, we can’t talk about Jaws without talking about the great John Williams score. Everyone knows the eerie suggestive music when the shark is approaching, as it has become among the most famous few notes in film score history. But Williams also does remarkably well when he’s fleshing out the movie’s smaller moments and driving some of the characters into heroism (or stupidity). It really is one of the greatest scores in the movies and helps drive this picture into greatness.

Spielberg really shows his stuff handling the whole project, as it was a stormy one from the first day. Shooting on water is no easy task, especially with the constant threat of movement, so Jaws stands as a testimony to the stick-to-itiveness and moxie of the director in his younger days. Whenever I need to remember how great Spielberg can truly be when he’s telling pure stories and using natural tension to go places, Jaws is the movie I reach for.

9.2/10

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November 8, 2009

I Love You, Man

Posted by Jordan Richardson under 2009, comedy, entertainment, movies, trailers | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , |
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i love you man

As good a comedy about male friendship as I’ve seen, I Love You, Man captures the essence of relationships with brilliant comic timing and hilarious dialogue. Directed by John Hamburg, this is a movie that pokes fun at what it means to be a grown-up male in a time where strong friendships are hard to come by. The plot is actually quite original, too, and the performers have tremendous chemistry together.

Connection is important, of course, and it works in spades with I Love You, Man. Stars Paul Rudd and Jason Segel have worked together in two Judd Apatow projects and have displayed natural chemistry, especially during those hilarious surfing sequences in Forgetting Sarah Marshall. And Hamburg worked with Segel on Apatow’s Undeclared TV show, furthering the behind-the-scenes connections. Due to the comfort the performers have with one another, the film itself naturally becomes a very snug prospect.

Rudd stars as Peter Klaven, a real estate salesman in the high end of the business. He has just gotten engaged to Zooey Rice (Rashida Jones) and has got things working quite well. Zooey, naturally, calls all of her friends with the news of the engagement and, as the process carries itself out, Peter realizes that he has a shortage of friends to call his own. It turns out that he has dedicated all of his time and energy to his relationships with women in life and, as Peter’s brother Robbie (Andy Samberg) explains, his friends have “fallen by the wayside.”

Thus begins a hilarious mission to find some friends. Peter hits all the angles searching for a platonic relationship and ends up in some interesting predicaments, proving that it’s actually pretty difficult to make friends in this day and age when there are no strings attached. He eventually gives up on the whole thing, only to meet Sydney (Segel). Peter and Sydney strike up a friendship almost immediately and go through all of the awkward complications of getting close as two heterosexual males. This leads to, of course, a bit of trouble that all gets resolved neatly by the time the credits roll.

Rudd knocks this movie out of the park as a charmingly clueless guy trying to be cool to gain friends. There’s nothing wrong with Peter, of course, and his reason for not having other close male friends is simply by accident of circumstance. Opportunities for male companionship have vanished in favour of Sunday HBO nights and other special experiences with Zooey and other women in his life, which is something I found myself personally relating to.

I Love You, Man makes great comedy out of the awkwardness felt between two men pursuing a new platonic relationship. There is this strange societal implication that we are supposed to be set in our friendship ways by the conclusion of high school and that we are damned to a life of acquaintances and office pals after that. It’s strange how hard it is for a straight man to walk up to another straight man for a conversation and maybe a beer, but what this film delivers actually rings true.

Segel is the perfect match to Rudd’s uber-sincerity and matches everything with this sort of freedom-laced comic timing. There are no rules in his world: his tiny dog shits where it wants to and he’ll take on the Hulk if he so pleases. Interestingly, though, the friendship that blossoms between Segel’s Sydney and Rudd’s Peter is delicate, natural and interesting beyond the typical “buddy” sort of way and it feels good, for once, to see a film depict straight male relationships without resorting to stereotypes.

In the end, I Love You, Man turns out to be a very funny, very heartfelt comedy just perfect for guys and girls trying to understand their guys. Friendship, especially in these days, is a hard thing for a man to wrap his head around sometimes. And as the advancing tide of life pulls us into different relationships and away from lifelong connections, it can be a vital shock to the system to find that one guy who, by hook or by crook, just showed up for the panini.

8.8/10

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November 6, 2009

Darby O’Gill and the Little People

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Walt Disney’s Darby O’Gill and the Little People is a charming little piece of work that celebrates the Irish folklore of Herminie Templeton Kavanagh. Directed by Robert Stevenson, Darby is a colourful motion picture that would eventually lead Sean Connery to his James Bond role and would feature some pretty darn advanced special effects for its time.

The movie ages well enough, surprisingly, and it’s fun to chuckle at some of the campier sequences. The use of “forced perspective” put the “little people” further away from the camera, thus making them appear small in the necessary leprechaun sequences. A whole lot of lighting was required to create the effects, too, and it is said that a substation blew its beaker due to the amount of power needed to light one of the film’s key sequences.

Albert Sharpe is the titular Darby O’Gill, an aging Irishman and caretaker of an estate. He lives in the estate with his daughter Katie (Janet Munro) and has become rather lonely since the passing of his wife. He spends much of his time at the public house, telling tales with friends and having a laugh. Eventually the time comes for O’Gill to be released from his post as caretaker, so he begins to fret when his replacement (Sean Connery) arrives.

Begging his replacement, Michael McBride, not to tell Katie he’s been canned is a matter of pride for Darby. He eventually works out a deal that has Michael keeping his secret, but as expected Michael falls in love with Katie. Meanwhile, Darby is captured by leprechauns (the “little people,” you see) and finds himself in a cat-and-mouse game with the leprechaun king (Jimmy O’Dea) that includes wishes, hopes and a whole lot of fancy Disney magic.

The plot of the film is a little bit busy to make it something easy to follow, but there’s enough charm with the performers and the setting to keep things moving at a fair click. Sharpe is especially cool to watch as Darby, offering a combination of Irish wit and trickery in the role. He’s just silly enough to pull it off, but we still manage to feel for him as he finds himself in various circumstances.

Connery was noticed by producer Albert R. Broccoli for his part in Darby O’Gill and the Little People. Connery does pull off the strapping young lad role rather well and it’s easy to see why he’d be ideal for the role of Bond commencing in 1962’s Dr. No. His chemistry with the other characters is pleasant enough, too, and he works the romance angle with the lovely Janet Munro like a seasoned pro.

Leprechaun-wise, there’s a whole lot of fun to be had with Darby O’Gill and the Little People. The wee people are never quite the whole focal point of the plot, so they never overtake things with a variety of songs and silliness. The majority of the picture is spent focusing on the tricky relationship between Darby and the leprechaun king, as both resort to whatever games they can get their hands on to fool the other. The effects come in handy here, especially when the time comes for a particularly catty incident.

Overall, Darby O’Gill and the Little People is simple escapist fun. It’s a terrific family movie for a rainy Saturday afternoon. It won’t change the world or move mountains, but there’s enough laughter and joy here to recommend it. It tells a nice selection of Irish folk tales, too, and manages to rise above its relatively convoluted plot high enough to be enjoyable.

7.0/10

 

November 5, 2009

The Fugitive Kind

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FugitiveKind

Sidney Lumet attempts to work with Tennessee Williams’ 1957 play Orpheus Descending in 1960’s The Fugitive Kind. There’s a lot of interesting stuff here, but Lumet almost overwhelms in his approach to the material and the smaller emotional moments get lost in the shuffle. Still, the casting is tremendous and no fan of cinema should ever pass up an opportunity to see Marlon Brando in his prime.

Williams had written the role for Brando all along, hoping that he’d star in a Broadway version of Orpheus Descending alongside the marvellous Anna Magnani. Brando was too intimidated to star with Magnani on such a small stage, however, thinking that her performance would overshadow his own (he might have been right). With Williams’ blessing, Brando took to starring in the screen version of the piece as directed by Lumet.

Brando is a drifted named “Snakeskin” Xavier, known for playing the guitar and for wearing a snakeskin jacket. We are told he was a club singer, but he calls himself an “entertainer” and there is certainly more than a little mystery when he describes himself and his past. Xavier is forced to flee New Orleans due to trouble with the law and he finds himself in a remote town in Mississippi. After a series of events, many of them bizarre beyond explanation, Xavier finds work at a five-and-dime run by Lady Torrence (Magnani).

Torrence has a few stories of her own and lives her life filled with bitterness and rage towards men who burned down her father’s vineyard because he served blacks. She has also had a love affair and now has to take care of her sick husband, a terrible man named Jabe (Victor Jory). Tossed into the mix for Xavier’s attention is a strange alcoholic nympho named Carol (Joanne Woodward). She attempts to lure Xavier away, but his affections are set.

The Fugitive Kind is a complicated motion picture in that it is filled with multiple confusing romantic entanglements and some strange segments of dialogue. Lumet directs it well, utilizing a mesh of close-ups and unique impact shots to put us in the midst of the sweaty store, but the emotional impact of the characters is often left elsewhere due to his busy approach to the material. Things that could have merely been said (and were merely said in the stage version) are given elaborate treatments at the expense of smaller emotional connections.

That’s not to say that the performances are off because they are not. Brando is spellbinding and ultimately resourceful, giving a full set of possibilities to each moment. Watch as Torrence asks him why he “walks like that.” His response, a shrug and an “I don’t know,” is staggering in its opportunity. It is that range of emotional possibility that gives him his greatest strength here, as we are never sure what a gesture will mean or how it will evolve. Magnani is equally powerful, proving once more that she may be one of the best performers of the classic “woman scorned” archetype in Hollywood history.

Lumet does score points for keeping a lot of the monologues in the picture. The film opens with a terrific one, delivered by Brando facing us as though we are the unseen judge of his character and his overall sense of self. The judge (perhaps us?) belittles him somewhat before releasing him to the world, as though Brando’s Xavier needed to be grounded as a point of order and humanity.

The Fugitive Kind is not the best of the Williams adaptations set to the big screen (that would go to Baby Doll), but it does retain that classic scorching South feel, complete with sweaty villains and heavy, breathy, attractive women. It is more than worth seeing for Brando’s work with the tremendous Magnani, of course, and remains a celebration of one of America’s most gifted performer’s talents.

7.1/10

 

November 4, 2009

Catch-22

Posted by Jordan Richardson under 1970, comedy, entertainment, movies, war | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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Catch-22_poster

Mired in production difficulties and problems from day one, 1970’s Catch-22 manages to be an entertaining, black comedy about war and the absurdity involved with it. Mike Nichols took on the task of bringing Joseph Heller’s brilliant novel to the screen, but Buck Henry tinkered with the book so much that much of it was almost unrecognizable on screen. Nevertheless, Heller approved of the finished product.

That’s not to say many others did, however, as the picture didn’t do well at all with critics or at the box office. It is now seen as somewhat of a cult film. There is some good stuff in Catch-22, even if there isn’t really a discernable cohesive narrative or thread to follow. The characters are entertaining, the script is witty and entertaining, and the tone of the movie is deeply sardonic and rich with dark humour.

Alan Arkin stars as Captain Yossarian, a U.S. Army bombardier stationed in Pianosa during World War II. He is continually dispatched on dangerous missions and watches his friends die. The whole thing is driving him a little bit crazy, so he tries to escape combat duties. The problem is the “catch-22” employed by the army: a pilot is crazy to fly more missions but sane if he doesn’t want to and the only way to be grounded is to be determined crazy. In other words, flying the missions would prove the man to be crazy, but asking not to fly them would only prove sanity and, thus, would mean more missions.

Nichols’ film becomes concerned with how various people cope with such convoluted logic. We explore various characters along with Yossarian, including Lt. Milo Minderbinder (Jon Voight) and his bizarre black market scheme, Major Major (Bob Newhart) and his inability to do his newly-assigned job, and Captain “Aarfy Aardvark” (Charles Grodin) and his commission of murder.

Catch-22 had some difficulty going up against MASH in 1970 and was Paramount’s big gamble against the powerhouse picture from Robert Altman. Catch-22 tried largely to bank on star power, using the likes of Anthony Perkins, Art Garfunkel, Orson Welles, and Martin Sheen in the picture. In the end, it was the lack of cohesive narrative that probably cost it the most, as it can be a little hard to follow with its reliance on flashbacks and bizarre sequences.

In that respect, though, Nichols does capture the absurdity of the war. His use of strangely convoluted logical corners and David Watkin’s cinematography make for interesting aspects, helping drive the movie into some truly odd places. Newhart’s performance, for instance, is devilishly comic and reinforces the sense of incompetence flowing through this particular military base. Keep an eye out for the changing pictures on the wall in Major Major’s new office, too.

Of course, doing justice to Heller’s peculiar tour de force is going to be an uphill climb and Nichols’ picture doesn’t quite do it. While Heller’s novel was so batshit crazy that it made sense, Nichols’ movie adaptation doesn’t quite work with the ultimate irrationality of the concept of the catch-22. Instead, it takes bits and pieces from the book and attempts to find its own ground. It makes nothing out of Yossarian’s insane insanity, choosing instead to play it extraordinarily straight in a sea of absurd supporting characters.

That said, there are still plenty of reasons to check out Catch-22. The performances are solid from top to bottom, even if they do employ many of the anti-war movie stereotypes from time to time, and the cinematography and meshing of the violent with the comically absurd is worth a look as well. Nichols certainly doesn’t knock this one out of the park, but there’s enough goofy, bizarre fun within Catch-22 to make it worthy of a recommendation.

6.9/10

 

October 30, 2009

Pinocchio

Posted by Jordan Richardson under 1940, adventure, animated, entertainment, family, fantasy, movies, trailers | Tags: , , , , , |
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original_pinnochio_poster

The second feature animated film from Walt Disney was 1940’s Pinocchio. Following up on the success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio took the Carlo Collodi story of Pinocchio: Tale of a Puppet and brought it to life as a colourful, adventurous vision of animation. Watching it now, it still remains a classic film with a brightness and an energy that can’t be beat.

It is said that Disney halted early production of the film to resurface it with “better” ideas that deviated from Collodi’s story. Pinocchio was originally supposed to be a sort of wise guy puppet, like in the original novel, but Disney discarded that in favour of a good ol’ boy with lessons to learn and a more boyish appearance than originally designed. In the end, the version of Pinocchio that Disney put to screen was probably more palatable for its intended audience.

The film begins with Jiminy Cricket (voiced by Cliff Edwards) arrives in the workshop of Geppetto (voiced by Christian Rub) to warm up after a cold day outside. It is there that Jiminy observes the completion of Pinocchio, a wooden toy that looks an awful lot like a boy. Geppetto enjoys life with a cat named Figaro and a fish named Cleo, but life seems lonely for the guy and it isn’t long before Jiminy overhears Geppetto wishing that Pinocchio was a real boy.

Of course, a blue fairy (voiced by Evelyn Venable) overhears Geppetto’s wish and aims to make it come true. She brings Pinocchio to life as a puppet and promises that he’ll become a real boy if he remains truthful, unselfish and brave. She says that he’ll need to listen to his conscience and assigns Jiminy Cricket to the task of teaching the puppet right from wrong. It isn’t long, however, before Pinocchio is tested in all three areas and must make the right decisions to become a real boy.

It’s interesting to note that Pinocchio was a loss for Walt Disney at the time of its original release. It wasn’t until a 1947 release that the film regained some ground and, to this day, it is known as a classic Disney picture. Noted for its song “When You Wish Upon A Star,” Pinocchio is one of Disney’s most famous properties. The character of Jiminy Cricket is one of the company’s most endearing figures, even though it clearly looks nothing like a cricket.

Watching Pinocchio is a treat, although Studio Ghibli’s impeccable work still does diminish the overall quality of the animation. It is true that the backgrounds are beautiful and the animation of many of the characters is quite good, but it is rare for a Disney animated picture to reach that “wow” factor of the Ghibli films. Perhaps it is an unfair comparison given the technological advantages Ghibli has now to polish things up. Even so, Disney’s Pinocchio is a colourful, vibrant film.

The story is pretty standard fare, I suppose. Running in easily divided parts, the adventures Pinocchio has are easy to follow and fun. The whale, Pleasure Island and the whole ordeal with Stromboli add some adventure and tension to the picture without overwhelming the main plot point. We never forget what Pinocchio’s ultimate aim is and we never forget that he must behave himself in order to achieve it.

Despite Disney’s modern tendencies to pursue marketing over artistic substance, theirs is a legacy always marked by early delights. Pinocchio is one of those delights, representing a charming period in Disney’s history where things weren’t as much about moving units and toys and were more about telling stories that people could relate to. There’s an innocence to Pinocchio that resonates well and keeps it a timeless tale of right, wrong and crickets that don’t look like crickets at all.

8.9/10

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October 28, 2009

Paranormal Activity

Posted by Jordan Richardson under 2007, entertainment, horror, movies, thrillers, trailers | Tags: , , , |
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paranormal activity

First-time director Oren Peli’s Paranormal Activity succeeds because it does the little things right in telling its tale of terror and fright. It is a tidy little picture, utilizing a documentary handheld camera style to work through the events of a young couple haunted by a supernatural presence. The film is effective and truly frightening, a rare feat in today’s more is more world of moviemaking.

It should be noted that this review covers the 2007 original version of the picture. Upon doing a little digging, I realized that the 2009 wide theatrical release of Paranormal Activity features a different ending (one suggested by Steven Spielberg). I have seen the new ending online and I have to say that the 2007 original ending seems to be more satisfying.

Paranormal Activity is compelling in that it didn’t use a cinematographer in the traditional sense. Instead, the two actors (Katie Featherstone and Micah Sloat) do the camerawork due to the premise of the film. Featherstone’s Katie and Sloat’s Micah are two twentysomethings that have moved in together in a San Diego house. The couple begins to experience some paranormal activity, so Micah has bought a video camera in hopes of capturing some of it on film. That’s where the movie begins.

Through the ever-present eyes of Micah’s camera, the story begins to unfold slowly and with effective subtlety. The most frightening portions of the movie are provided in the early going, with small noises and slow movements of doors or shadows. The anticipation is killer, but Peli builds things up to a crescendo at the events of the haunting become more pronounced. The camera dutifully records it all, capturing the madness of Katie standing just out of bed for long periods of time or the slamming of doors and the sound of footsteps.

Paranormal Activity is a wonderful little horror picture, but as the movie builds, it becomes less efficient and more, well, like a movie. The scenes feel somewhat less genuine and the performers resort to acting rather than reacting, slightly damaging the premise for the sake of bigger thrills and chills. That’s not to say that the final moments aren’t frightening, of course, because they sure as hell are, but the almost explicit nature of the sequences threatens the film’s delicate fabric.

Peli knows how to use the device (the video camera) to its maximum effect with Paranormal Activity. The bulk of the terror is constructed slowly rather than set abruptly upon the hapless viewer and, in this way, the movie truly provides frightening moments. More than moments, Paranormal Activity offers a disturbing, scary mood. As we watch Katie and Micah sleep night after night, we start to wonder what will happen next. We are in on the experience, watching the corners and listening closely for any possible sound.

Paranormal Activity is a tight, concise, excellent motion picture. It works because of its simplicity and its audacity. It offers a terrific blend of frightening scenarios, some of which exist in our own interpretation of what might lurk in the shadows and what might be making those thumping sounds. In a day and age when so much horror is about showing the blood and gore and nonsense, Peli’s less-is-more approach proves spectacular.

8.4/10

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October 22, 2009

Lacombe Lucien

Posted by Jordan Richardson under 1974, drama, entertainment, foreign, historical, movies, trailers | Tags: , , , , , , , , |
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LacombeLucien

Louis Malle’s Lacombe Lucien is a compelling movie about getting caught up in profound evil. It is a deep, rich character study and covers a young French man who finds himself getting involved with the German occupiers in France for reasons that are less political and ideological and more superficial. The young French man, named Lucien Lacombe (Pierre Blaise), perhaps tells us all we need to know about how evil spreads and about how its lush appeal can defile those of us who stand on the precipice between right and wrong.

Malle is interested in the profound range of humanity here, showing us a France that many would rather not know about. It is a France nearly filled with Nazi sympathy and coursing with rage against Jews. It is remarkably easy to slip into the crevices of the German police and Nazism for many upper class citizens, so much so that there is a society of sympathizers that come across more Mafioso than Gestapo.

For Lucien, a farmboy living in the Lot region with a penchant for slaughtering animals with his bare hands, the war is meaningless. He is simple-minded but not stupid, choosing to exist in a world of rudimentary tasks and straightforward looks. When he is refused permission to join the French Resistance by those who believe he isn’t smart enough to be relevant to the cause, he instead finds himself a fast ally of the French Gestapo and becomes a member of the German police.

This is something that gives him pride and purpose, much like a modern inner city youth could find joining a violent street gang. Indeed, Malle’s picture is about a loss of innocence and the discovery of vile purpose. Lucien soon takes up with a family because he falls in love with a Jewish girl named France Horn (Aurore Clément). To say his loyalties, or lack thereof, become muddled due to this newfound love would be an understatement, as Malle’s exploration of Lucien’s ultimate character is unflinching and grand.

For Malle, the entire crux of Lacombe Lucien lies with the fact that we have been unable to relate to and identify with Nazis and those who do such great evil in our world. Malle’s interest lies in the details, in what makes us different and what doesn’t make us different. It’s true that there is little to separate the character of Lucien from any other simple-minded farmboy. Malle’s interest is in what leads him to his newfound role and his exploration of the raw simplicity of this is astounding.

There is something purely animalistic about Lucien and Blaise, who never acted prior to this picture, does a marvellous job bringing that out into the open. It is necessary for the character to experience things on a raw level and to react rather than to act, so Blaise’s performance is right on the mark. There’s something unique and fresh about him as he struts around as a member of the German police and, later, perhaps becomes innocent again after making a critical, dangerous decision.

It is important, for Malle, to have Lucien exist outside of our human sympathies. In many ways he is like a dangerous animal that we cannot hate but cannot adore. We dislike him almost instantly when he is presented on screen, but there are no clear reasons as to why. Much like there are no clear reasons to the decisions he makes, our distrust and dislike of him flow almost organically.

Lacombe Lucien is not an easy picture to watch, both for the subject matter and the way it is presented. Malle’s film isn’t violent or disturbing in any broad fashion, but there is something truly frightening about the ease and casualness of the French Nazi supporters and the way they carry on in grand style. And, in the middle of it all, there’s something truly scary about the effortlessness with which Lucien subscribes to the horror without flinching.

9.2/10

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