The Mothman Cometh: A True Story

Mothman is a Sci-Fi-Horror film about Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Local legend has it that settlers fought an Indian chief, Cornstalk, whose last act of retribution was to summon evil and turn into Mothman, basically a moth-like grim reaper. Fast forward to today and six friends are yanking one of their little brother under water, just to tease him. But he drowns and they cover it up by bashing his head in, one by one. Being a righteous daemon, the mothman cometh only when evil-doers get away with gruesome acts. In gory twists and turns, the mothman enters our world through mirrors (his version of portals include rear-view mirrors, drivers beware) and pick of the six friends.

Mothman is satisfying in that the six friends were so wicked that it was great seeing them get their just desserts. The Mothman CGI wasn't horrid like most of Syfy Channel's effects, and the gore was delightful, especially a line of guts sliding down a trailer. The acting wasn't exactly award-winning but it served its purpose. On the other hand, the costume department left something to be desired, the film was shot in an odd yellow hue, and Frank (the creepy old man character) was ridiculously deceiving.

Better yet, the Mothman Myth is real. So is Point Pleasant. So is the sightings and bridge accident of 1967. This adds a dimension of realism to the film, and an eeriness. Citizens of Point Pleasant still insist Mothman is real. Just as in the film, Point Pleasant commemorates Mothman at the yearly Mothman festival.

Mothman is worth the gore and CGI; the added layer of true elements makes the film worth a watch.

American Zombie

American Zombie is the story of the zombie community in Los Angeles. A mockumentary, comedy, and issues film, American Zombie slightly humorously follows several fictional zombies, or revenants as they prefer to be called. I didn't know that this film was actually supposed to be a statement about racism or civil rights going into it, but that became clear as the film progressed.

The fictional zombies themselves are mildly funny. Judy, an asian zombie, tries the hardest to hold onto her human past. She collects cat statues, makes scrapbooks, works at an organic food company, and is searching for a human boyfriend. Lisa, by far the funniest, is a florist who specializes in funeral arrangements while pursuing her not-so-good art. Ivan, a dud of a character, is a teenager that happens to be a zombie. Joel (pronounced ho-el) is the founder of ZAG, Zombie Advocacy Group, which puts on Live Dead, a zombie Woodstock. What happens at Live Dead is the big twist of the film...

The film is told from the perspective of real life documentary filmmakers Grace Lee and John Solomon, who are parodying themselves. This is another theme of the movie that some viewers may find pretentious, in that American Zombie is something of a tongue-in-cheek diatribe on documentary film-making. Many reviews I've read have claimed it's boring, and that's a fair assessment but the humor is more quiet and not a goofy in-your-face attempt at garnering laughs. The other biggest complaint is that the last third of the film takes a serious turn, but that's the point and I didn't mind it. The events of Live Dead shift the documentary's focus both in the film and the film itself. Also, there is so much foreshadowing to the climax that I don't know why people didn't see it coming.

I recommend this film if you have nothing better to do, but thankfully it's not too long. It's a wee bit boring but there's some twists that make it possibly worthwhile in the end. Perhaps that was part of the point, in that some documentaries can be hideously boring (read: Food, Inc. Waste of time!)

Rant: Remakes, and to a lesser extent, 3D

BSG: the Best TV Show Ever (Why Remake It?)

I sadly discovered that Bryan Singer is set to direct a Battlestar Galactica movie. BSG was riveting and science fiction (and television) at its best. With series and season long story-arcs like the X-Files, BSG was done right because it focused on amazing, deep, well-developed characters and amazing, deep, well-developed storylines. The show basically was about what it took humans from worlds destroyed by the cylons to survive while being aggressively pursued; throw in a heavy amount of spiritual and technological themes and you have as a sublime a television show as you’d ever get. And the ending was mind-blowing and very academic too. The need for a movie that has nothing to do with the remake series is lost on me. Why remake something that’s already been remade so well that you can’t possibly surpass it? Even the original 70s series (fans of campy scifi with like it) was sued by George Lucas for being way too similar to Star Wars. And do we have to be subjected to the inevitable 3D!

And this year alone a remake of a new movie is being pumped out. In this case, it’s a remake of the upcoming (hopefully) romcom (of the year) The Back Up Plan. Starring Jennifer Aniston, The Switch is a romcom about a woman who gets artificially inseminated. Uh, hello, strong J-Lo! J-Lo’s starring in exactly the same plot in her movie. Next thing you know, Jennifer Aniston’s turkey baster is going to pop out at you in 3D. The only thing about the Switch is that it’s based on a short story by a Pultizer Prize winner, so it may be deeper than The Back Up Plan. Though I’m a fan of Jenn, I have to side with J-Lo in this one. (Soundtrack suggestion: use So Hard by the Dixie Chicks, a heartbreaking song about the Chicks’ struggle to get pregnant.)

To be fair, a good portion of movie goers and critics were lukewarm to Clash of the Titans. My personal enjoyment of the film aside, we didn’t really need a remake. The original is iconic and its effects hold up to today. The story was better executed in the original, and the addition of the mechanical owl gave the movie an R2D2-eque character.

What Hollywood needs is originality. I’m certainly not hating on remakes (Dawn of the Dead and My Bloody Valentine were great) but just calling for some freshness in Century City.

Peter and Vandy: An Adventure into Indie Land

I had been on a misanthropic kick toward hipsters as of late, so in an attempt to temper that I decided to plunge into their world by watching an indie flick that was recommended to me through Netflix Instant. "Peter and Vandy" is a very short film (just over an hour) that has earned comparisons to the more mainstream 500 Days of Summer. Instead of breaking up in the end like in 500 Days of Summer, Pete and Vandy wind up getting back together. I liked how optimistic the ending was because it was unpretentious.

Peter and Vandy was neither good nor bad. It was so realistic that it was deeply unsettling and there were many raw scenes juxtaposed with warmer ones. Peter and Vandy was a memory narrative similar to La Vie En Rose, in that it had non-linear narrative structure composed of Peter and Vandy's collective memory. The dialogue was all realistic, save in the artsy part when they drifting apart from each other figuratively and mentioned having to walk to stores in the opposite direction (Peter even says "I'd walk with you, but I have to go the other way.") Peter was selfish, and Vandy was a little too good, and together they were very "Manhattan-urban-trendy-mildly-counter-culture." That was the part that tested my chagrin, but in the spirit of my adventure in watching this film, I really worked hard to suspend my irritation and wound up going along with the gamut of emotions in this film.

It's a brief but too perfect look at people who can too neatly work out their problems. On the other hand, it's very realistic that it's actually disturbing but winds up nicely. I liked the movie but I'd sooner watch Twilight. I never lied, I'm a mainstream junkie!

Clash of the Titans: Cute Creatures and Sam Worthington

*minor spoilage below*

I went into Clash of the Titans with some trepidation. Though I will always have fond memories of the original, this new movie was entertaining in its own way. The story deviated in that they condensed some elements and added new ones. The major change was the character arc of Perseus, who wants to prove his humanity by fighting like a man rather than using his abilities as a demigod. In the original he didn’t question the gods. They added the character of Io, played by the beautiful Gemma Artenton, who is the new Keira Knightley as far as I am concerned.

The CGI is great, and I don’t think 3D is necessary for this movie, having seen it as 2D. Pegasus’ wings are really realistic, and the Kraken is impressive. Medusa fell short: she wasn’t as terrifying as the original stop-motion Medusa; I think there were too many distractions in her scene and the CGI tail was pretty fake looking. A major annoyance in the movie was a religious zealot who goes after the royal family of Argos, but the other actors were really good, most of them being familiar faces to Masterpiece Theatre fans. The bad guy with the scar from Casino Royale pops up, as does Colin Firth's TCAP pedophile-bait from A Single Man. There were lots of cute creatures in this, my favorite being the Gin people. They resemble the helper that worked with Scotty in the new Star Trek, but with awesome black magic powers. A sentient severed hand even appears. The witches with the oracle eye were really well executed. I was awestruck by Charon, he was a skeleton twisted into the sinews of the wooden shop he pilots.

The jokes were a little conventional, but endearing in a Pirate of the Caribbean sort of way (though without the obnoxious water wheel and Keira-Johnny-Orlando banter). The training scene, though short, was cliché. Sam Worthington shined in this movie, and I’ll pay $10 again to watch him save the day in a Greek warrior tunic. He was his normal serious self, but mustered a smile (I counted twice in the movie) which was a departure for his otherwise predictable performance. His chemistry with Io was a treat, and I wish they did more with that story. The ending was different in that he doesn’t wind up with Andromeda, but there’s a nice twist in the end (though they could’ve shown them kissing).
Sam and Gemma: Great On Screen Chemistry

This isn’t better than the wonderful original, nothing can beat the mechanical owl, but it is a decent movie and I wound up really enjoying myself. This felt very Jerry Bruckheimer, and I think Guillermo del Toro could've made magic with this movie. 4 stars out of 5.

Hellhounds: You Get What You Pay For

Hellhounds recently broadcast on SyFy channel; being a loyal viewer of their Saturday movies, I had to watch it. I'm sure they chose to air this movie because of Clash of the Titans' release. Kleitos, a Greek warrior, married Demetria, a Grecian princess. On their wedding day, she is captured by Kleitos' jealous best friend and taken to Hades. She dies but is revived. However, as Kleitos and Demetria make their way to the Seer that can save Demetria forever, they are pursued by a pack of Hellhounds. These, I believe, are based on Cerberus, the three headed dog of Greek mythology. They get to the Seer and she manages to figure out how to save Demetria, but sacrifices herself. In the end, the evil best friend is defeated and the hell hounds with him.

This movie is a case of getting what you paid for. They didn't spend much money on this movie, but it wasn't to the film's detriment. The costumes were great. The special effects for the Hellhounds were actually on par with the werewolves of New Moon (I guess that's not saying too much, from a certain point of view). I look forward to lots of gore, but this film didn't have that much. The acting was wooden in many parts, but at the least the leads were good looking enough to make up for it. I liked the Seer character, she could get a little cliche in parts, but her acting was good and her all-black eyes were good visual effects. There's a scene in a village where Demetria magically gets new clothes and Kleitos' brother is expected to carry a tray of apples on a horse that is laughably bad, but the well meaning intentions of the scene make up for it. The fight scenes in the woods are well shot, especially the horse riding moments, but the Hellhounds just weren't scary enough.
Kleitos and Demetria: Pretty People in Need of Acting Lessons

I'd watch this over 300 any day for its so-bad-it's-good qualities (the film itself is oddly endearing in its underdog way), but when all is said and done (that's an ABBA song, by the way) this movie needed scarier dogs and more blood, guts, and gore.

The Making of Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland was filmed almost entirely in front of a green screen. According to Wikipedia, Johnny Depp actually wore lavender colored contact lenses to avoid getting sick. Much of the cast and crew felt nauseated by being surrounded by the green screens for hours on end. The film was shot in conventional 2D and was later converted to 3D, earning the criticism of James Cameron, who advocated shooting in 3D.

Promotional stills released from The Visual Guide to Alice in Wonderland reveal that only the actors and costumes were real, and the entire setting was CGI. This resulted in a relatively short shooting schedule, 40 days in total. The sequence when Alice falls through the roof and sits upside down was shot right-side up, with a tall wig replicating the look of hanging hair. The deck of card and chess piece soldiers were portrayed by motion capture actors, while Cheshire Cat was all CGI. A veteran commerical actor was hired to preform the Fudderwacken sequence.

Johnny Depp said the character of the Hatter was easy to portray, as it just came out during filming. His casting and that of Helena Bonhome Carter was obvious, as Depp has been in many Burton films, and Carter is the mother of Burton's children. The film's storyline is self contained, thus a sequel would be unnecessary, but welcomed nonetheless.

A Sam and J-Lo Moment

One of the highlights (one of the only highlights) of the Oscars this year was Sam Worthington and Jennifer Lopez presenting together. It didn't last long, but their moment on stage was third behind Mo'Nique's incredible speech and Oprah's effusive praise of Gabby. J-Lo is one of those rare people who would look good wearing a dirty garbage bag, and she's earned my respect for her transition from pop to romcoms. She's critcized as being boring, but under that diva exterior she's a really normal person, who enjoys spending time with her kids. She's still Jenny from the Block. On her twitter, she posted:

Sang What Is Love at San Remo! New song from my new movie The Back-up Plan. Saw it last week during a press junket. Ugh, junkets are tough!

On one hand, it's so ridiculous to think press junkets are tough compared to what the Precious girls everywhere go through, but for me, this was endearing. I understand J-Lo's stress is positive. She's getting out there and feeling good about working hard. It's heartwarming that she takes pride in her artistry.

Sam, on the other hand, is for me the modern day Tom Cruise. Even though I hate "modern day" comparison, like saying Gaga is the new Madonna, I think it fits in his case. He's a good looking action star. Yes, like Tom he's cocky and conceited, but I like that Sam doesn't take shit about Avatar. It's not a crappy movie, and he sticks up for it. He's quite boring beyond that, but the films I've seen him in so have been some of my favorites (Terminator and Avatar).

But when they presented together, it was a magical moment. Their chemistry was so intense. There were lots of smiles, and even some laughter. You could tell they really got along. They probably had so much fun presenting together! Sam recently said to the press that he felt starstruck being on the same stage as J-Lo. That's really awesome. He knows a star when he sees one. (Is anyone else thinking what I'm thinking: real life shipping pair?)

This is quite the fangirl post!

TRON: Legacy

Alice in Wonderland is the movie of 2010, but TRON: Legacy is being released in December. Time will tell if this is a good movie, but judging by the trailer, it will be amazing (though no trailer will beat how epic the Blindness trailer was). Hedorah and I were in giddy fan mode when the trailer started, coupled with the fact that it was in Xtreme Digital 3D and attached to Alice.

The part that sent chills down my spine was when Jeff Bridge's son dusts off the Tron game. Then he enters into the Tron game and the trailer really takes off. The scene where he rides slowly up on that circular platform is another chilling scene, as the staticy electronic music plays during a montage of clips of the characters. The game with the glowing hollow disks looks great, and I love the David Bowie-esque guy rocking with the glowstick. And of course we're teased with just a snippet of a light cycle chase.

I calculate this will be a worthy tribute to the first movie, which I have a lot of fond memories of. I'm not sure if Garrett Hedlund can carry the film, but that's my bias against his raspy voice. The female supporting cast looks like a good balance between a femme fatale vibe and the sexy sci fi girl, and it's fantastic that Jeff Bridges was humble enough to come back. It also seems that the CGI recalls the effects of the first film, which hold up today.

And what can beat Tron set to a Daft Punk soundtrack? Kudos to Disney!

Who said Zombies Can't be Cute!

Hedorah showed me an excellent campy/b-movie zombie flick by Peter Jackson called Dead Alive, released as Braindead everywhere else. How could Pete go from making such a masterpiece in over the top gore to the LOTR trilogy? I've seen this film derided on the internet, and that's sad. This movie will satisfy gore and humor fans. Anyways, I consider this post Part 2 of an earlier post about Non Traditional Kawaii. Dead Alice contained many adorable zombies.

One such zombie is the zombie baby. The spawn of the priest and a zombie woman, the zombie baby provides some of the best moments in the film (besides the mother's gasp, the glowing zombie, and "this calls for some divine intervention"). The zombie baby reminds of Kuato's evil twin. When he goes for a day in the park, he can escape even barbed wire, and goes careening down a hill in a tram. The attempts to stop him from attacking the park goers are hilarious. I don't like normal babies, but I do love zombie babies!

I couldn't find a picture of the organs, but they are really kawaii. The zombie organs are the remains of another zombie that take on a life (or unlife) or their own. They attack people by using intestines like rope. The cutest scene is sadly its demise, when it puts together what looks like lungs as "hands" begging for mercy. The heart as the face is adorable. I did find a picture of the half-head zombie in the ensnares of the organ zombie's intestines.
Lastly, the rat monkey found in New Zealand's outback is really cute. Hedorah said it's reminiscent of Salacious Crumb, and that's right. The rat monkey bites the mother at the zoo, which leads to the whole mess of zombies in the little town. Its demise, though sad in that it's cuteness is extinguished, is funny because the mother stomps it to death. At least it enjoyed a meal of a primate arm before it died.

So I ask again, who said zombies can't be cute? These ones sure are!

Un baiser s’il vous plaît: A Romcom with Brains

While on this French kick, I will review a French film. Un baiser s’il vous plaît was released in France in 2007 but is technically a new film here in the States as it was just released on DVD. I’m not sure what the French title means, but here it was released as Shall We Kiss? The trailer and DVD cover don’t do it justice, making it seem more like an average romcom than the thoughtful film it actually is.

Intellectual, ironic, and charming…

This film is a fatalist work that explores the consequences of human behavior and how people react to it. The theme is that people will do what they want, and it is one’s choice to react emotionally or to wait for time to take its toll or work its magic. The film begins with two people, Gabriel and Émile, who fall in love at first sight. However, the story of Judith and Nicola, les amis d’Émile, who are involved with other people but fall in love (despite, or because of, their deep friendship). Judith kind of just goes along with what Nicola wants, until she realizes that she has hurt her husband Claudio. Their story ends with Nicola quite happy they are together (he really seemed to want it more, while Judith’s emotions were more conflicted) and Judith telling him it will take time for her to be happy (again, highlighting the fatalist theme of the movie).

Gabriel and Émile give in and share a very passionate kiss, but it turns out Émile is Claudio’s new wife, and she decides that Gabriel should go. The fatalism of their ending is that they shared this wonderful night together, talking and one kiss, but rather than let Claudio suffer again, they chose to suffer for a missed opportunity. This ties directly into Judith’s feelings, because she attempted to lessen the blow to Claudio by contriving a date with Nicola’s ex-girlfriend, Câline, that ultimately exposed her deception, which hurt him more.

Fatalism, this film posits, is to suffer but not complain, because (to paraphrase Câline) whining doesn’t take the suffering away, only time.

The cast was superb, and their acting was subtle but pronounced enough to impress the viewer. With the exception of Nicola (and his unibrow), they were all beautiful in a way only the French can be. The music, by Shubert (this ties into the plot), was pretty too. The cinematography, art design, and costume design of this film was all minimalist, relying on a chic use of shades of white. The direction of the film highlighted the cerebral aspects of the plot, by placing characters in front of art pieces, and creating shots that looked like oil paintings themselves. The script tackled intellectual conversations with deftness and humor that The Single Man tried for, but lacked.

The grace of the characters, the grace of the plot, and the grace of the filming was light enough that it made the implications of the film all the more surprising. Roger Ebert criticized the prettiness of the cast, the conversations, and the camerawork, but I think it had to be light enough for such thought provoking fatalist subject matters. This film was, if anything, very, very, very French (quite!).

I think a remake by Hollywood would be expertly handled by Natalie Portman as Judith, Michael Vartan as Gabriel, Cate Blanchett as Émile, Amanda Seyfried as Câline, and Jason Schwartzman as Nicola. If you see this movie, you will see what I mean. Come to think of it, this seemed like a Wes Anderson or Sophia Coppola film that didn’t take itself seriously.

If you’re in for a good foreign film, watch this movie!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year: Black Christmas (1974)

Christmas is associated with many things both positive and negative- religion, consumerism, toys, snow, family, stress, and Santa Claus. One thing not, however, traditionally associated with Christmas is murder. In Black Christmas (1974), though, Christmas and death sit side by side, like the red and white stripes of a candy cane.

The story begins in a sorority house, filled with students on the eve of their winter break. As the party approaches its end, the house receives an obscene phone call from an unknown man. While most of the girls brush the caller off as a harmless prankster, one of the students (the cliche "good girl"), warns the others to be more careful before storming to her room to pack for the upcoming vacation. Ironically, this character is the first to die, as the killer is waiting for her when she enters the room. Strangled to death, her dead body is kept in the attic in a dusty rocking chair for the rest of the movie. This image, accompanied by the maniacal laughter of the killer, is the most striking, memorable, and iconic image in Black Christmas.

As you could probably guess from the description of the body in the attic, the tone of Black Christmas is...black. While the slasher movies of the '80's would grow more and more outlandish and tongue in cheek, Black Christmas is grounded in realism and grittiness. The murders in Black Christmas are memorable not for their outrageous gore, or humorous extravagance, but rather for their subtlety and believability. Nitpickers may find fault with the body in the attic, and how it remains remarkably well-preserved over the course of the film. Things like this didn't bother me, though. To me, the world of Black Christmas, while realistic, is still a stylized fantasy realm. Thus, while a murder later in the film, in which a girl is stabbed repeatedly with a miniature glass figure, is haunting in its subtlety, it is also visually interesting.

To lighten the mood, Black Christmas is packed with humorous dialogue, mainly from the drunken, disgruntled house mother, and a drunken, sex-obsessed sorority member. While the humor sometimes falls flat, there are some entertaining moments. The house mother, in particular was funny, and likable, despite being very over-the-top in her sloppy drunkenness. Interactions between the liberal sorority girls and the uptight father of a murdered student, added to the humor.

Black Christmas unfolds at a slow pace, which is a perfect fit for the movie's previously mentioned subtlety and realism. The story here works well when viewed alone, on a cold night in December, when you've grown tired of the glitter and joy of Christmas and want to experience something a little more "black".

An Exception to the Rule

It's always a surprise to see the route that child and teen stars take. Many a time they wind up doing drugs, dead, or working at a pool concrete business like Christopher Atkins from the Blue Lagoon (no, I'm not making that up). But for every rule, there's always an exception. Dakota Fanning and Miley Cyrus are good examples of this. I could mention Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, Stacy Ferguson (Fergie), Jennifer Love, and the bevy of stars now that were once stars in kids shows, like Kids Incorporated! or the Mickey Mouse Club, but they obviously had good management then and now. (What happened to Martika?)

Dakota Fanning has remained consistently good, and was even praiseworthy as an actress when she started out. As she matures into adulthood, she's made some wise choices. Her small stint in New Moon ensures her continued success with her target demographic, while her latest venture in The Runaways seems to be aimed at a mature audience. Dakota's ability to succeed is her genuineness. She isn't a fake studio creation, but a real teen girl. I read online she attends high school even, which it's nice to see a starlet acting normal. I can see her winning an Oscar as an adult.

Whether Miley's 15 minutes run out or she can grow up with her demographic remains to be seen, but a recent interview with Parade Magazine showed the starlet saying some mature things. She said she didn't want to be a studio puppet anymore, like how she was when she was started out, but is comfortable being herself and making her own decisions. She also said how she realized her much publicized romances weren't the be all, end all of her life. She sounded, well, mature. She explained she closed her twitter after receiving hate mail and adopted a different perspective about her religious beliefs.

You never hear about the Harry Potter cast in jail, rehab, or a sex-crazed drunken bender, because despite growing up being the highest paid children actors ever, they remained true to themselves. Here's to you Harry and the Hogwarts gang!

But then again, does anyone else think it's creepy that a 15 year was done up with a Bridget Bardot look?

Star Wars References: A Rant

Object of humor, I should not be, hmm!

Star Wars references are rife in today's media. Many movies, television shows, and even music videos, have at least a minor reference to the Star Wars saga. What we say is hands off the Saga!

I think the biggest culprit of this is Kevin Smith, the director of the Jay and Silent Bob series. Sure, it was a novelty at first to see an overweight superfan share his love of Star Wars through his own works, but now it's just irritating. I've sadly seen Live Free Die Hard, and the Boba Fett joke was just plain bad. It was flatter than a zombie run through a pasta maker. And in case it comes off that I'm hating on Kevin Smith, I liked him in Catch and Release. He could make a decent career for himself playing the secondary, or tertiary, male character in romcoms.

Movies enjoyed by the "sick little puppets" referred to in the movie Seven, that feature Star Wars references show how little the creators actually now about the Saga. Often times there are bad Yoda jokes to show that a character is smart, or a teacher. Even people (shocker!) who haven't seen Star Wars know who Yoda is.

And lay off the Jabba jokes. We get it, he's fat. But unlike the obese, Jabba's biology is built to be large. And while we're on this subject, stop using whale jokes. Whales are an endangered species. You wouldn't like it if your cousins were dying and people used you as a joke.

Another thing that really bothers me is the proliferation of the Slave Leia costume. When stupid movies try to stupidly show that nerdy guys have a sex drive, they have "the hot chick" wear a Slave Leia costume, or something along those lines.

On the other hand, such references illustrate the universality of this most sublime of movie series. So do we have a right to complain? In this light, no. But we'll keep ranting...it's fun.

The Secret of Kells: A 2D Avatar

This is a little late in posting, but I had the pleasure of attending an advance screening of The Secret of Kells at an indie theatre in Pittsburgh.

A world of magic and mysticism...

The film is an animated story about the creation of the Book of Kells, a breathtaking Irish illuminated book created by mediaeval monks. The story is about a young boy, Brendan, who defies his uncle (the Abbot, played by Brendan Gleeson) and works with another monk on making another page in the Book of Kells. He ventures into the forbidden forest, and encounters the pagan world of fairies and stonehenges that differs from his Catholic doctrine. The Norsemen threaten to destroy the town while Brendan's mission to illuminate a page is threatened. Will he succeed and will the town survive?

The movie didn't really make an explicit point, nor did it explain the significance of the Book of Kells (people raised in the Irish culture like myself will know but others should brush up on it before seeing the movie). However, the animation was arresting. It was a wonderful return to 2D, like The Princess and the Frog, and the style was artistic, fluid, and a narrative unto itself. The music was a powerful Irish score, and the closing song sung by Aisling (pronounced Ashleen) was haunting.

The themes were like Avatar, that it seemed to inspire the viewer to accept a mystical bond with nature that is as guiding as religion. It wasn't as incriminating or political as Avatar, but it was as spiritual and uplifting. It deserved its nomination for Best Animated Feature.

The Crazies: Good Thrills, Weak Plot

The Crazies is a remake of a George Romero movie. The film is about a sheriff of a small town in Iowa who has to tackle a major problem: the water supply in the town is polluted by a government biological weapon which turns the townsfolk into, well, zombies! The government quarantines the town and seeks to destroy all of its citizens, infected and uninfected, undead or alive. The sheriff, with his wife and deputy, escape the town and the government's quarantine tactics, only to find themselves turning on each other. A nuclear bomb destroys the town, and the film ends with the sheriff and his wife walking to Mason City, only the audience knows that Mason City is set for "quarantine" as well. Sucks for them...

The film itself is high on scares. There were many moments that I jumped in my seat, and the suspense and terror was too much to handle. However, the editing of the film was conscious, as in some scenes you could tell that they removed a gorier shot. I'm interested in seeing the inevitable unrated edition, to see what I suspect was removed. Other thrills included a saw careening toward the sheriff, and a man whose eyes and mouth were sewn shut. The parts at the rest stop are just about the scariest in the whole film. The best scene in the movie is when an old woman repeatedly asks "Did Peter call?"

Yet the film suffered from plot holes and other confusing points. The man that was sewn was able to tell the sheriff a zombie was behind him, despite the fact that his eyes were sewn shut. They never explained how the deputy got infected, and how his transformation took the longest. Why would the government enlist townsfolk to help with the quarantine when they had an annihilate all people order? Also, the nuclear bomb blast scene was quite reminiscent of the "fridge scene" in Indiana Jones IV, as the couple were able to escape it unscathed. The ending was sad, as the couple were the arbiters of Mason City's destruction, just by walking into it.

For me, the thrills and the solid acting, coupled with the fact that zombies are just awesome, made up for the questionable plot. This is a three star film.

A Reading of Push by Sapphire

Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire was a startling movie that was as emotional as it was bleak. The acting was better than the story itself, which was so real and raw that it ended on a note of doom (Precious has AIDS, what else can happen to her besides dying, thereby leaving her children without a caregiver). I just read Push by Sapphire to see how it differed from the movie itself.

Push is, surprisingly, more dark and depressing than the movie itself. Mary, the mother, was understandable in the movie, but in the book she herself rapes her daughter. Precious' first memory is of her mother fingering her. The movie subtly alluded to sexual interactions between Precious and her mother, but the book was explicit. Some of Mary's best lines in the movie were expansions on more brief lines from the book. The other students at Each One Teach One were slightly more developed than in the movie, but I think they transition well to the screen. Blue Rain was more one dimensional in the book, and I was glad they added a scene of her home life in the movie to juxtapose her normalcy with Precious' abnormality. Ms Weiss is less well intentioned in the book than in the movie, and her scenes are only in the last third of the book. Precious herself is about the same, though her life is more tortured (can you believe it?) in the book, as her mother rapes her. She never does get her daughter Mongo back, as opposed to the film.

I prefer the film: even though Precious' life was unbearable in the film, it was worse in the book. It was too much to take at moments, such as when she smears her own shit on her face after being raped by her father. Her inner acceptance of being black, however, was better developed in the book, but the montage of Precious in the classroom surrounded by famous African Americans conveyed this in the film. The part that really struck me was on page 133 when she realizes that God is everywhere, including in her son Abdul, which reminded me of The Road. The writing style of Sapphire was meant to show how Precious thought and wrote, and at times it was difficult to decipher what she was saying, but at other times the vocabulary was too advanced to be believable for Precious.

Overall, the book was a brief look at the horrors of urban poverty, abuse, and teenage motherhood in Harlem. I'd recommend both the film and the book, but watch the movie first. The movie and the book end with the same uncertainty but also a sense of despair, as the AIDS virus looms over the future.

Oscars 2010: Some Thoughts

The Oscars are usually a triumphant day for Hollywood, when stars more numerous than those in the sky come out to honor each other's work. But this year the Oscars, well, sucked.

The hosts, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin, both comedians in the waning days of their careers, were bone dry. Their jokes weren't funny. The opening skit was horrendous, and consisted basically of pointing out the famous faces in the first few rows and making a really lame, flat joke about their career. Don't get me started on the sitcom-y Paranormal Activity skit.

This was really an excruciating four hour Meryl Streep love fest. She got effusive praise from everyone, in the form of lame jokes, to a bizarrely awkward and somewhat believable mention of kissing by Sandra Bullock. The camera would cut to Meryl, who gave her best acting laugh, head cocked back, eye gleaming with contrived humor.

Why, why, why was Kathy Bates shown every three seconds in the telecast? It seemed like every time someone did or said something, the camera would immediately cut to Kathy Bates. I have nothing against it, it was just awkward.

Gabby Sidibe of Precious didn't win, but at least Oprah's praise was warm and generous, like the graciousness of Mo'nique, who, if anybody, deserved an Oscar that night. Poor Jim Cameron had to endure mindless Avatar jokes, while sitting next to his skeletal wife, and behind his terrified former wife, whose fear stricken acceptance speeches were nerve racking to watch. George Clooney's attitude could be felt through the screen, as the camera zoomed in on his angry, evil glare (go home if you are unhappy). "Humble" Jeff Bridges is a tried-and-true actor, but he was too nice, and sometimes things so sweet can be so sour. Sandra Bullock winning for The Blind Side? Even she acknowledged that there were more deserving candidates. And what about the poor director of Music for Prudence: his speech time was hijacked by some crazed woman, a la Kanye West and Taylor Swift. And lastly the Hurt Locker just about swept everything, but at least Up got the Oscar it deserved.

The presenters were uneven. Kristen Stewart, in a drug induced stupor no doubt, coughed in the middle of her delivery, while Miley Cyrus (almost endearingly if I say) showed her nervousness, which humanized her. J Lo and Sam Worthington presented together, which was a highlight of the evening, but during all the Avatar jokes, the expressions on Zoe Saldana's and Sigourney Weaver's faces told everything about their irritation. Then Tom Hanks rushed on stage and hurriedly read off the winner of Best Picture.

Overall, this year was as boring as the set design: a few lamps strung together on stage.

Movie of the Year: Alice in Wonderland

Hedorah and I recently completed a five viewing marathon of Tim Burton's latest masterpiece Alice in Wonderland. The word masterpiece is not good enough to describe this film. We both venture to say that this is the film of the year.

The story is well known to people who have read the beloved children's classic novel. Alice falls down the rabbit hole and enters Wonderland aka Underland, a strange, zany, and wondrous world populated by equally bizarre denizens, from talking animals and playing card soldiers.

Many things make this film memorable, magical, touching, and endearing.

You fall in love with the characters. Mallyumpkin, a mouse that brandishes a sword, is annoying but her fierce loyalty is lovable. Absolem, the cool caterpillar, is enlightening. The fat boys are secondary characters but their humorous banter lights up the screen. The rabbit in the waistcoat is nervous but an intelligent member of the troop. The White Queen, inspired by sexual tv chef Nigella Lawson, is a force of goodness, and is genuine and pure. Bayard the dog is diligent, kind, and protective of his family. The Red Queen is not one dimensional, but a complex, cruel, but sympathetic character because she isn't pretty and was disfavored by her parents. Even minor characters like the frog stewards in the Red Queen's court are lovable. Human characters such as Hamish, though he is ugly and delusional, are endearing in their simplicity. Aunt Imogen, who believes she is engaged to a prince, is a hilarious yet awesomely bizarre character (she's our second favorite). The Mad Hatter, played by chameleon Johnny Depp, of any character is the best. He is adorable and endearing. His lines are so profound and touching, and his scenes are equally humorous and heartwarming. I can't say enough of the Mad Hatter.

The film's message that mad people (aka the most original, true-to-themselves people) are the best kind of people is a powerful theme that sticks with you. The visuals in the movie are not cheap, but imaginative. The story is not just solid, but is of substance. Alice's journey in finding herself and recapturing imagination is a theme that touches everyone, it is through this that we can recapture the wonderment and magic of childhood, where we simply believe six impossible things before breakfast. One where the fact that there is no answer to the question "how is a raven like a writing desk?" an answer enough. One where friendship spans not only distance, but time and place itself. One where the measure of one's worth is their muchness, and can be found only inside oneself. One where madness is normal, and normalcy mad. A world where the best way to travel is by hat... a wonderland.

On the controversial scene of futterwacken: the dance scene catches the viewer off-guard upon the first viewing as it seems to come from nowhere; however, after a second viewing it makes sense as the futterwacken dance is alluded to repeatedly during the film. The scene is really kawaii and a highlight of many highlights.

A Single Man: Style over Substance

The trailer for Tom Ford's directorial debut A Single Man got me interested: the repetitions of a ticking clock over sumtuously shot scenes, with a spattering of quotes that praised the film was a great way to capture interest. I was especially interested in seeing the masterwork of Julianne Moore on screen.

Yet A Single Man is ultimately a film of style over any real substance. George, a lonely man who had lost his partner eight months before, plans to kill himself. Along the day, he puts everything together for his suicide and talks to a few people who share his bitter, depressing world. This includes Charley, a woman who is poised to lose her good looks, and is holding her pitiful life together with drinking and smoking, while pining for George, who is ever unattainable.

My first complaint is that every other shot was an extreme closeup of an eye, a mouth, or the burning end of a cigarette. The first few times were arresting, but afterwards, the technique got tired rather quickly. The music in the movie was beautiful and urgent, but hearing the same damn song on repeat for two hours drilled it into your head. Julianne Moore, known as Freckleface Strawberry in her youth, was hardly in the film! Yet she was shown in all the trailers. I lamented her severely limited role, because her acting abilities (though routine) are astounding. The sexual tension of the film was ridiculous. George trolled about through life confronting men who looked like they just stepped off the runway but refused to do anything about it. I'm not saying he should have gone and screwed them all, it was just ridiculous that he found himself in that situation all the time.

The dialogue was unrealistic. No 20 year old college student speaks so enlightened and profound as the Mr. Potter character, and George never had a banal thought the whole movie. The symbolism was heavy handed, such as when George is pulled out of the water (oh he's saved from his drowning life, how deep!) Finally, the film seemed to be trying to make a grand point about life, death and love, but it was so full of points and themes and topics that it was weighted down and sunk. Some ideas were presented and went nowhere, others were so muddled and confused that it was baffling as to why they were included.

The worst part about this movie is that George resolves to live, then he suffers a heart attack after burning all the kind words he wrote out about the people close to him. Pointless death.

What I can praise is the art direction, it captured the 60s very well. The costumes were good as well, though black was overused.

Overall, the film was boring, pointless, directionless, and a monotonous repeat of the same music and shot style. There were even moments that the acting felt self conscious, like when George runs an inked finger across his mouth (it was a very "acting" moment, something that wouldn't happen in real life). The dearth of scenes with Julianne Moore, the fact that Colin Firth couldn't carry a movie, and that the film took itself too seriously (it was self conceited) made for a regrettable waste of two hours.

Pretentious and pointless.