Where the Wild Things Are review

Two time Oscar nominated director Spike Jonze ('Being John Malkovich' and 'Adaptation') has been attempting to bring this acclaimed children's book to life for going on four years and he has finally crafted a wonderful picture that displays his vision. "Where the Wild Things Are" is intelligent, beautiful looking and mixes Jonze's mature tones of his film work with the playful nature of his early short films, music videos and commercials. Max Records (who plays the boy Max whom created this world) is terrific and believable every second he's on screen. The voice talent is absolutely impeccable and the CGI and man-in-a-suit tech mix is perfect. This is the best live action kids film of the 2000's and perhaps one that will go down as a classic some day. And yet I'm not giving it the 4-stars I figured I would.

Nothing is particularly wrong with the film and yet I don't find it as a whole perfect. It is a quiet film that's power is delivered more from tone and imagery then from language and in some ways that could be what holds it back for me. Jonze co-wrote the screenplay with Dave Eggers and it's well done coming from something that was about ten pages of little writing, but doesn't feel quite set in place. What I mean to say is the film doesn't feel like it's supposed to be done when it is emotionally. And emotions are what the picture and story are truly driven by. It begins with the perfect way of showing a lonely child trying to have a good time with Max in fully wolf suit trying to chance and assault the dog. He acts out, destroys things, feels remorse and disappointment. All this is reflected in the world of the wild things and then some. Max's relationship with Carol is one of love, disappointment and to some extent fear. His relationship with KW is more of love, respect and admiration.

For adults and teens who can use their brain for more than just texting in leet speak they'll get who is who and what is what. For kids this is a terrific film for them to grow up with and see what they get out of it as they age. By the way yes you can take your kids. While at times the tone is dark and certain parts get tense; it's still something most kids could handle. I would call this "The Never Ending Story" good where it's perfect for kids to watch throughout their life and gain meaning from and then share it with their kids. Cause for me now... that movie still has some bizarre things in it (the horse dying part).

"Where the Wild Things Are" is so many things and I feel that one day I can call it absolutely great, but for right now it's like how I felt after "The Fountain". Original, beautiful and strong, but it has some work to do on me. It's been about three years now and it's starting to work. Hopefully this will work just as quickly.

"Where the Wild Things Are" *** 1/2 out of ****

Couples Retreat review

Witness another in a long and still growing line of Vince Vaughn crafted comedy mishaps. "Couples Retreat" co-written and produced by Vaughn and Jon Favreau (director of a little franchise called "Iron Man") and starring the pair along with a line very good performers including Kristen Bell, Jason Bateman, Fazion Love, Malin Akerman, Kristin Davis and Jean Reno is utter crap. In fact in many ways it's hard to sit through the whole film because of how crappy and easy it is.
I look at films that have money and potential in the comedy genre that seem to be heading southward and I compare them to two of worst recent ones that exist on this level. "The Love Guru" and "Corkey Ramono"; then I run through a check list of things that connect or disconnect it from those pieces of crap.

After everything it lands above them both and that's solely due to it's beautiful shooting location. The jokes are all unfunny and old hack. Hell they were old hack in 2001 and these actors are simply swimming against the current. Even worse is that some characters and story lines are absolutely unnecessary. That being Fazion Love and his new, 20 year old girlfriend he brings on the trip. Their line of jokes are he's the only black one, he's fat, older and isn't into a lot of the same activities as she is. Her's are she's young, has a touch of that whole 'ghetto-fabulous' air about her and loves to party and have sex. Neither are interesting, funny or realistic. However that last one kind of goes for all the couples.

Vaughn & Akerman... what's funny is Akerman pulls in the most realistic performance in the group and yet isn't once even somewhat funny. Vaughn attempts to deliver long winded rants that as time has shown were funny in movies in which he was not the star, thus every time he opened his mouth we didn't have to listen to it. However in his name movies... except one and usually around a dinner table. And if it's improv then he needs a new schitck. Favreau & Davis' relationship is due to end when their daughter goes to college so they're basically chasing tail the whole movie and Bateman & Bell well they're the reason they and we are involved with this junk, because they're openly considering a divorce. All of those things can be made funny and yet they are incredibly unfunny.

Someone needs to step in and stop allowing Vaughn to work on scripts and producing because this is happening too often('Fred Claus', 'The Break Up', 'Four Christmases'). Add to that this film feels like an epic saga of crap because how stale it is and Oscar winning musician A.R. Rahman ("Slumdog Millionaire") doesn't create one piece of original sounding music for this film. So basically it's controlled by the writers, to some mild extent Peter Billingsley (better known as Ralphie from "A Christmas Story") and the director of photography making the island and women look pretty. For some movies that a major plus. Then again some of those movies are also good.

"Couples Retreat" * 1/2 out of ****

Not Quite Hollywood review

I'll be honest, I'm very finicky when it comes to documentaries. I imagine many people are, but I'm just a person where it's got to absolutely, positively be a subject I am completed interested in or I won't be able to care. So that said I've skipped the half a dozen acclaimed Iraq based docs of the past six years, several of the music based ones (although a few I do want to go back and watch Scorese's "Shine A Light", even though I heard it's not as good as "Gimme Shelter") and many involving politics which attempt to prove one suited parties form of thinking is better than another when in reality both are right and wrong and nothing will ever truly be solved by them. But that's a topic for another time.

Surprisingly the bulk of released documentaries about film mainly are on DVD's connected to the film itself, however earlier this year a film festival was set in geek capital of America Austin, Texas called the "Not Quite Hollywood" festival. Here they showcased boat loads of Australian exploitation films or as they're called ozploitation films. This was centered around the documentary made about their blooming film industry in the 60's and onward called "Not Quite Hollywood". If you're someone who loves film... more specifically varied forms of genre pictures including sexploitation, creature horror, sex comedies, high octane action films and pure trash cinema... then you need to pick this up on DVD pronto. Now if you're confused as to what any of that means then here's my best written definition I can muster. They are shoestring budgeted films that use extreme visual methods or subject matter or both in order to gain an audience.

The film begins with the first display of ozploitation films which were sex comedies of massively low brow standards. However you did get lots and lots of nudity... as will you get in this film. Later on horror started taking over and in many ways a lot of what we see in horror today spawned from some of their exploitation flicks as opposed to our own. They show clips from "The Howling III: The Marsupials" which is pure garbage, but it's hilarious how horrible it really is. Down the line you get pre-rehab, "Hoosiers" and "Blue Velvet" Dennis Hopper on the set of "Mad Dog Morgan" acting basically like the massive alcoholic and coke head he was at the time. But what's best is hearing EVERYONE living from that industry sharing stories about people and incidents and getting to see clips from films that are so far out there and ahead of their time that they could still stand up in theaters today.

Enter Brian Trenchard Smith who was something of an Australian Roger Corman (look him up to understand better what I mean), making grand scale films for the lowest possible price. And his films made a ton of money. In fact a lot of the final acts of this film involve him and his films. Of course there is a rather sad thought throughout which is, how come we don't get any Australian genre pictures now? The explanation is somewhat clear after the end of the 60's style of film making they had, in which all good things must come to an end and the ride from their type of cinema as far as large scale recognition like "Mad Max" seemed to be over. And as it stands the exploitation film market is largely thrown onto DVD with only a few voices like Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez and Eli Roth getting major attention for films that are really just nice looking exploitation films. And there's nothing wrong with that.

So I definitely urge you to go out and rent "Not Quite Hollywood". It's funny, gross, shocking and exciting, something many major films now don't quite do. It provides a lot of those basic forms of entertainment we tend love when it comes to movies, but be warned it is definitely like playing devils advocate with these film makers. These are films that are not good in the traditional sense of it's a well made movie (some exceptions of course). These movies by and large are great because of how outlandish and ridiculous they are. Not one of those shiny, pampered ass "The Fast and the Furious" movies could dare hold a candle to some of the Aussie car pictures, which was where I first learned about their... 'rich culture' in genre cinema. Get friends, rent the damn movie, kick back and enjoy; and who knows maybe you might want to start snuffing out some schlock ozploitation films for yourself.

"Not Quite Hollywood" *** 1/2 out of ****

This is why I love Michael Mann

According to Variety and Ain't it Cool News Michael Mann is following up his gangster flick "Public Enemies" with the true story of war photographer Robert Capa in a film that will be based on the novel "Waiting for Robert Capa" by Susana Fortes. The report states that the film will begin in 1935 in Paris where Capa, a refugee from Hungary meets Taro, a refugee from Nazi Germany with the intention to become photographers. Around this time the Spanish civil war broke out and the two became renowned for the work on the battlefield. For years I've hoped to see Mann tackle a period war story and seeing as the few period piece films he has done are among his best works, I can't imagine this going down poorly. Almost everything about this story seems like something that would make for a great Mann picture, a large scale back drop to a very interpersonal story. Hopefully we'll get more info on the projects progression in the coming months.

Zombieland review

"Zombieland" is big, bloody, funny and done with a lot of style. And with that I want people to stop making zom-coms (zombie comedies). I'm not saying it out of anything beyond the fact that I feel like it's old now and in a lot of way "Zombieland" proved that. For one they (and this was a great decision) focused primarily on the group of survivors interaction with one another more than anything else. Each character named for the places that they're either from or want to go.

All this rather than dwelling on the zombie violence, which there is a good deal of as well. The reason I'm tired of it is because it's gotten too easy. "Shaun of the Dead" I would still give the highest watermark to in zombie humor, but that's because there was a lot more creativity working behind it. "Zombieland" is mindless yet fairly witty, gory yet subdued in it's violence and a big scale movie that feels angled much smaller. This is helped by it's first person narration by Columbus played by Jesse Eisenberg ('A History of Violence' and 'Adventureland'). He's shy, compulsive, nerdy and has survived as long as he has due to those skills. We're meant to love this kid. Woody Harrelson plays Tallahassee, a master zombie killer whose pretty much as over the top movie badass as they come.

They meet up and have a long standing relationship with Wichita played by Emma Stone (who we all love) and her sister Little Rock played by Abigail Breslin of 'Little Miss Sunshine' (smart career move by the way). The chemistry with this group is a great love hate thing and seeing them come together and fall apart takes up the vast majority of the film. In fact in many ways you could see the whole picture as a violent sub-version of 'Dodgeball' as far as tone goes. Oh and the Bill Murray cameo was probably the best part of the whole picture hands down, but that's something that's better seen then told about. For the most part it's a character piece.

But the issue I have with it all, is it's still too easy of a movie. The laughs are good, but foreseeable. The gore is nice, but we've all seen better. Really it's just a character comedy that happens to have zombies and that's how they all feel now. It's rare to see a horror movie that's funny because of it's horror. Maybe that's why I hold Raim's 'Drag Me to Hell' in such high esteem because it was a horror movie that was funny; not a comedy with horror movie stuff in it. Perhaps it's because execs know teens and what not will watch anything for a laugh, but only things for a scream with a number at the end of the title. Who knows, but for all the things that went into by mind before, during and after 'Zombieland', I can't deny it's a fun flick. It's not great on any level, but it's good and it'll make money. Perhaps when I see more diversity in theaters when it comes to horror... and comedy I'll feel a bit less bitter towards it.

"Zombieland" *** out of ****

The Invention of Lying review

As it currently stands Ricky Gervais is my favorite working comedian. The reasons are simple. I like what he has to say. He's opinionated without being too pompous about it and finally he's just a damn good writer. "The Invention of Lying" is his first mainstream American comedic film in which he had a hand in writing and directing. He starred in last years quiet, mild success "Ghost Town" which was fantastic and if you've seen his tv work with Stephen Merchant (i.e. 'The Office' (UK version, although he does aid with the U.S. one and 'Extras') then you know just how clever and funny he is. With "The Invention of Lying" he helps create a well done comedy that feels like something almost Mel Brooks-ian in wit and humor. The world in which it takes place is a world in which people have never evolved the ability to lie. Thus there is no flattery, fiction or anything like it. Gervais' character Mark Bellison, a screenwriter for Lecture Films (it's films reflect the studios name) somehow manages to make the first lie which sets off a change reaction of good and possibly not so good things.

The key to Gervais' humor is his intelligence. There's a moment where he confronts something that he personality considers a lie and it's something that may make some people uneasy, but nothing something that's particularly uncommon. It's thus dealt with with in a funny, somewhat satirical way and it works. It's not terribly over the top and he gets his point across. The other key is his casting choices. If you've seen his show 'Extras', then you know some of the major names he can get to be involved in his projects. Here he out does himself by putting together a comedic cast of today's and yesterdays major players including, Rob Lowe, Jennifer Garner, Tina Fey, Louis C.K., Jonah Hill, Jeffrey Tambor, Christopher Guest and hey just for shits and giggles four fucking great cameos by Jason Bateman, Stephen Merchant, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Edward Norton. And each are given a moment to impact the audience with humor, albeit in a much more high brow level then some will probably expect.

And with that I can't say it's a comedy everyone will like. I wouldn't really call it British humor for those who like to use that label, but it's a film where the humor is almost completely derived from it's plot which doesn't always mean a bunch of laugh out loud moments, but stuff that's exceedingly funny on a more subtle level... which could in turn make you laugh out loud, but some of your fellow theater patrons may wonder why you find it so funny. It's complicated. The opening conversation between Gervais and Garner is is hilarious and brilliant. At that point you realize how blunt a world they created and thus if it's a film you're going to enjoy. "The Invention of Lying" is definitly among the better comedies of 2009, but it is held back by some of it's meandering love triangle which transitions the second and third acts. Something that was a bit of an issue with "Ghost Town" as well. But all that said, it's a witty, snarky and brilliant comedy that's throughly worth seeing and will hopefully catch on so more people can experience good comedic writing since it seems 90% of successful comedies nowadays are generic garbage. See the trailer for the upcoming film 'Tooth Fairy' as a good example.

"The Invention of Lying" *** 1/2 out of ****

John Woo's Red Cliff is finally coming to the U.S.

You know how on my last post stated the 20 films I'm most excited for, for the fall/winter film season; the part where I discussed the films that suddenly pop up for wide or even mildly wide release thus creating that mad dash to theaters to see it? Remember how I said there was nothing like that so far? Well thank you 6 Shooter Films and Magnet films for you have been the first to totally rape that plan in the face, though it be with a film I've wanted to see for over a year now.


Hong Kong action film king John Woo's triumphant return to cinemas after the two misfires of "Windtalkers" and "Paycheck". He returned to Asian and made what if I remember correctly is the most expensive film in either China or Hong Kong's history. The massive scale epic "Red Cliff" has been out in Asian for I believe two years now and every so often a DVD copy pops up for sale on Amazon, albeit at a much higher cost then most new release DVD's in the states. But it sells rather quickly. Word of mouth has been great and finally we get a lengthy trailer that showcases the exdeedingly epic world Woo has dived into. If you're a fan of his, familer with 'Hard Boiled', 'The Killer', 'Broken Arrow', 'Face/Off' or 'Mission: Impossible-2', then you'll probably agree with me that seeing this setting mixed with his still evident style of action, this looks as if it could be among his greatest pictures. Take a look-see.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYFjGH1AZCY

Look for release sometime in November of this year.

Also I'll be having a ton of new reviews up this weekend including: "Zombieland", Ricky Gervais's "The Invention of Lying", Drew Barrymore's directorial debut with "Whip It" and on DVD Steven Soderbergh's drama starring adult film star Sasha Grey "The Girlfriend Experience", which was a little released, but highly praised film of the spring.