Review: John Carpenter's "The Thing" Still a Great Thing

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 35 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982)
Running time: 109 minutes (1 hour, 49 minutes)
MPAA – R
DIRECTOR: John Carpenter
WRITER: Bill Lancaster (based upon the story “Who Goes There” by John W. Campbell, Jr. writing as Don A. Stuart)
PRODUCER: David Foster and Lawrence Turman
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Dean Cundey
EDITOR: Todd Ramsay

SCI-FI/HORROR/THRILLER/MYSTERY

Starring: Kurt Russell, A. Wilford Brimley, T.K. Carter, David Clennon, Keith David, Richard A. Dysart, Charles Hallahan, Peter Maloney, Richard Masur, Donald Moffat, Joel Polis, and Thomas G. Waites

Considered a remake of Howard Hawk’s Cold War-era classic, The Thing from Another World, John Carpenter’s The Thing is actually an adaptation of a one of the early classic science fiction short stories by acclaimed science fiction editor and writer, John W. Campbell, Jr., (also the basis of Hawk’s film). Carpenter does pay homage to the Hawk’s film in a few scenes.

The film takes place in 1982 at an American research camp in Antarctica. After a violent encounter with two Norwegians from a nearby base camp, the Americans, led by MacReady (Kurt Russell), learn that the Norwegians had discovered an alien space craft buried in the Antarctic ice and an alien passenger lying frozen near the craft. When the Norwegians thawed the creature, they discovered that the thing was still alive. The creature can absorb and take on the identities of living creatures. Now, the creature is loose in the American base, and MacReady leads the human survivors in discovering who among them is still human and who is not. They must also destroy “the thing” before it reaches the mainland and the rest of humanity.

The Thing is a study in paranoia, and director John Carpenter helmed one of the truly great sci-fi horror films by getting the most of his collaborators, such as Rob Bottin, a then 22-year old special effects man, who created special makeup effects that are considered a benchmark in film history. Ennio Morricone’s score is an understated masterpiece that quietly increases in intensity as the film progresses and raises the tense mood tenfold.

Carpenter, of course, didn’t rely solely on Bottin’s incredible effects work. He used his talented cast of character actors to create three-dimensional players who make this horrible but exceedingly fantastic situation seem possible. Kurt Russell once again proved why he is a leading man with charisma and machismo in the mode of classic Hollywood leading men like John Wayne and Kirk Douglas. And no matter how many times I see this film, The Thing always proves itself to be great.

9 of 10
A+

Review: 2006 Oscar-Winning Best Picture "Crash" Still Powerful

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 2 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Crash (2004/2005)
Running time: 122 minutes (2 hours, 2 minutes)
MPAA – R for language, sexual content, and some violence
DIRECTOR: Paul Haggis
WRITERS: Bobby Moresco and Paul Haggis; from a story by Paul Haggis
PRODUCERS: Cathy Schulman, Don Cheadle, Bob Yari, Mark R. Harris, Robert Moresco, and Paul Haggis
CINEMATOGRAPHER: J. Michael Muro
EDITOR: Hughes Winborne
Academy Award winner

DRAMA

Starring: Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito, William Fichtner, Brendan Fraser, Terrence Howard, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Thandie Newton, Ryan Philippe, Larenz Tate, Michael Peña, Keith David, Loretta Divine, Tony Danza, Nona Gaye, Yomi Perry, Daniel Dae Kim, Bruce Kirby, and Bahar Soomekh

The lives of a diverse cast of characters from various ethnic backgrounds, of different skin colors (also known as “different races”), and including immigrants: a Brentwood housewife (Sandra Bullock) and her District Attorney husband (Brendan Fraser); two police detectives who are also lovers (Don Cheadle and Jennifer Esposito); an African-American television director and his wife (Terrence Howard and Thandie Newton); a Mexican locksmith (Michael Peña); two carjackers (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges and Larenz Tate); a rookie cop and his bigoted partner (Ryan Philippe and Matt Dillon) collide over a period of 36 hours.

Crash is one of the very best films of 2005 and one of the best films about America in ages not just because co-writer/co-producer/director Paul Haggis (he wrote the screenplay for Million Dollar Baby) deftly connects so many Los Angeles-based characters of different “racial” or ethnic backgrounds to a single event with such glowing intensity. It is also great because the film shows the acute problem this country has with such diversity. American’s have created so many stereotypes that they have attached as belonging to particular ethnic, religious, “racial,” and even professional groups. Those stereotypes, in turn, affect how we judge people in those groups, how we interact with others, and what we believe about others. In the end, all that pre-judging and predestination causes us nothing but trouble.

Haggis and his co-writer, Bobby Moresco, give us so many examples of the problems these characters make for themselves because of prejudice and because they make assumptions about people that are often wrong (and sometimes even dangerous), and Haggis and Moresco still manage to make a solid, engaging, and enthralling beginning to end linear (for the most part) narrative. They’ve created so many scenarios, characters, events, actions, and attitudes with which we will personally connect because every American can lay claim to bigotry and prejudice. Crash is as if Haggis and Moresco have turned the American film into a mirror and pointed it at us.

Of the many great scenes, one in particular defines why Crash is such a great American film. A Persian storeowner who is obviously an immigrant goes to a gun store with his daughter to purchase a gun that he really believes he needs to protect himself, his family, and, in particular, his business. The gun storeowner is not patient with a Persian who doesn’t speak English well, and though his daughter tries in vain to mediate the transaction, it goes badly between Persian and the “native” American storeowner – a white guy. The storeowner calls the Persian an Arab (all people from the Middle East are not Arabs), and makes the most ugly, most bigoted remarks about 9/11 connecting all Middle Easterners and/or Arab-types to the terrorist act that I’ve ever heard.

Watch that scene alone, and you’ll understand the power Crash holds in its bosom. If the film has a message, it is that sometimes we should stop and think. Despite differences in what we believe, in skin color, or in customs, we are more alike than we’d like to believe. The static of difference between us can be the thing that stops us from helping or understanding. Allowing the static to remain can lead to tragedy when we crash into each other.

That a message film can come with such powerful ideas and not be preachy, but be such a fine and intensely engaging film is what makes Crash a great one. Add a large cast that gives such potent performances (especially Matt Dillon, who redefines his career with his role as a conflicted, bigoted patrolmen, and Terrence Howard, who adds to his 2005 coming out party with this) and Crash is a must-see movie.

10 of 10

NOTES:
2006 Academy Awards: 3 wins: “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (Paul Haggis and Cathy Schulman), “Best Achievement in Editing” (Hughes Winborne), and “Best Writing, Original Screenplay” (Paul Haggis-screenplay/story and Robert Moresco-screenplay); 3 nominations: “Best Achievement in Directing” (Paul Haggis), and “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song” (Kathleen York-music/lyrics and Michael Becker-music for the song "In the Deep"), and “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Matt Dillon)

2006 BAFTA Awards: 2 wins: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Thandie Newton) and “Best Screenplay – Original” (Paul Haggis and Robert Moresco); 7 nominations: “Best Cinematography” (J. Michael Muro), “Best Editing” (Hughes Winborne), “Best Film” (Cathy Schulman, Don Cheadle, and Bob Yari), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Don Cheadle), “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role” (Matt Dillon), “Best Sound” (Richard Van Dyke, Sandy Gendler, Adam Jenkins, and Marc Fishman) and “David Lean Award for Direction”( Paul Haggis)

2006 Golden Globes: 2 nominations: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture” (Matt Dillon) and “Best Screenplay - Motion Picture” (Paul Haggis and Robert Moresco)

Wednesday, January 4, 2006

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Review: A Year Later, Walt Disney's "The Princess and the Frog" is Still Magical

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 13 (of 2009) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Princess and the Frog (2009)
Running time: 97 minutes (1 hour, 37 minutes)
MPAA – G
DIRECTORS: Ron Clements, John Musker
PRODUCER: Peter Del Vecho
WRITERS: Ron Clements, John Musker, and Rob Edwards; from a story by Ron Clements, John Musker, Greg Erb, Don Hall, and Jason Oremland
EDITOR: Jeff Draheim
COMPOSER: Randy Newman
Academy Award nominee

ANIMATION/COMEDY/FANTASY/FAMILY/ROMANCE

Starring: (voices) Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos, Keith David, Michael-Leon Wooley, Jim Cummings, Jennifer Cody, Jenifer Lewis, Peter Bartlett, Terrence Howard, John Goodman, and Oprah Winfrey

Several years ago, Walt Disney announced that 2004’s Home on the Range would be the company’s last 2D animated (or hand drawn animation) feature length film because, the company insisted, audiences now wanted 3D or computer animated films. But praise God for Ed Catmull and John Lasseter! Taking over Walt Disney Animation Studios in 2007, the duo behind Pixar spearheaded the return to 2D. The result is the fantastic, The Princess and the Frog. In development since 2006, The Princess and the Frog not only marks the return to traditional 2D hand-drawn animation, but it is also the return of the Disney musical in the vein of Beauty and the Beast.

A musical comedy and fantasy, The Princess and the Frog is set in an idealized version of the city of New Orleans of the 1920s. Tiana (Anika Noni Rose) comes from hardworking parents: the strong and loving father, James (Terrence Howard), and her mother the inspiration and anchor, Eudora (Oprah Winfrey). Tiana’s dream is to open New Orleans’ finest restaurant. Believing like her father that wishes don’t come true without hard work, Tiana eschews fun and works double shifts to save money.

Spoiled and irresponsible, Prince Naveen (Bruno Campos), from the far-off kingdom of Maldonia, arrives in New Orleans, cut off from his parents’ money. Naveen meets Dr. Facilier (Keith David), “the Shadowman.” Facilier transforms Prince Naveen into a frog as part of a scheme to steal a local rich man’s money. When Tiana and froggy Prince Naveen’s meet, Naveen convinces Tiana that her kiss can make him human again. However, in a twist on the Grimm brothers’ fairy tale, “The Frog Prince,” the kiss leaves Naveen unchanged, but instead also transforms Tiana into a frog. With the assistance of Louis, a trumpet-playing alligator (Michael-Leon Wooley) and Ray, a Cajun firefly (Jim Cummings), Tiana and Naveen race against time to Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis), the bayou-dwelling ancient who has the power to undo Facilier’s spell.

The Princess and the Frog is a Disney animation first – the lead is an African-American heroine (the Black Disney princess). However, one could be forgiven for forgetting that fact while watching this movie. Under the direction of the revered team of John Musker and Ron Clements (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin), The Princess and the Frog is so amazing, it almost makes you forget the historical and social implications. Even the Black princess not having a Black prince is no big deal when placed in the context of this magical film.

Musker and Clements have certainly put together an animated film that is every bit as visually impressive as modern animation, including Pixar’s 3D wonderland, Up. Most importantly, this stands next to the best of Disney’s modern, hand-drawn animated films. The Princess and the Frog has the shimmering colors of Beauty and the Beast and meaningful drama of The Lion King.

Oscar winner Randy Newman’s excellent score and bouncy musical numbers recall the melodious, song-driven narratives that made Disney’s late 80’s and early 90s films like The Little Mermaid and Aladdin timeless classics. From songs about gumption (“Almost There”) and optimism (“When We’re Human”) to the dueling natures of the dark side (“Friends on the Other Side”) and the light side (“Dig a Little Deeper”), The Princess and the Frog tells its story and conveys its messages as much through songs as it does through its superbly written story and screenplay.

For all its outstanding animation – from the stunning character animation to the glorious special effects that will make you believe in magic (Disney magic!), this film lives through a cast of voice actors that just wows, and few of the actors are big-name stars (except for Queen of the World, Ms. Winfrey). Anika Noni Rose defines the patient, lovely, industrious, entrepreneurial young woman that is Tiana; Rose brings the character to life in such a way that makes Tiana seem like a real person. Keith David, the actor most under utilized by Hollywood, makes a delightfully macabre turn as Dr. Facilier, a villain with the right amount of wicked and just enough comic undertones to fit this family friend film. The show-stealer is Michael-Leon Wooley as Louis, the jazz-loving alligator, who is so funny and so good that it defies description.

Walt Disney Animation Studio may never again have a 2D animation blockbuster on the level of 1994’s The Lion King. On the other hand, as the dominant theme of this film frequently reminds us, one cannot simply wish for something and hope it comes true; one has to work to make that wish come true. The hard work that went into this film made the wishes of fans of 2D animation come true. The Princess and the Frog is a Disney classic both groundbreaking and marvelous.

10 of 10

Sunday, December 13, 2009

NOTES:
2010 Academy Awards: 3 nominations: “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song” (Randy Newman for the song "Almost There"), “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song” (Randy Newman for the song "Down in New Orleans"), and “Best Animated Feature Film of the Year” (John Musker and Ron Clements)

2010 Black Reel Awards: 2 wins: “Best Song, Original or Adapted” (Anika Noni Rose for the song "Almost There") and “Best Voice Performance” (Anika Noni Rose); 7 nominations: “Best Film,” “Best Ensemble” (Anika Noni Rose, Oprah Winfrey, Terrence Howard, Jenifer Lewis, John Goodman, Keith David, Michael-Leon Wooley, Bruno Campos, Elizabeth M. Dampier, and Jim Cummings), “Best Song, Original or Adapted” (Anika Noni Rose for the song "Almost There"), “Best Song, Original or Adapted” (Anika Noni Rose for the song "Down in New Orleans"), “Best Song, Original or Adapted” (Ne-Yo for the song "Never Knew I Needed"), “Best Voice Performance” (Keith David), and “Best Voice Performance” (Anika Noni Rose)

2010 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Animated Feature Film”

2010 Image Awards: 2 nominations: “Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture” (Anika Noni Rose) and “Outstanding Motion Picture”

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Review: "Requiem for a Dream" is Perhaps the Best Picture of 2000

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 59 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Requiem for a Dream (2000) – NC-17 version
Running time: 102 minutes (1 hour, 42 minutes)
MPAA – R for intense depiction of drug addiction, graphic sexuality, strong language, and some violence (edited version)
DIRECTOR: Darren Aronofsky
WRITERS: Hubert Selby, Jr. and Darren Aronofsky (from the by Hubert Selby, Jr.)
PRODUCERS: Eric Watson and Palmer West
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Matthew Libatique
EDITOR: Jay Rabinowitz
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA/CRIME with elements of horror

Starring: Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayans, Christopher McDonald, Louise Lasser, Ajay Naidu, Te’ron A. O’Neal, Denise Dowse, and Keith David

With films like Gladiator, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Traffic taking all the attention in 2000, it was easy for a far superior work of cinematic art to get lost, but hopefully serious film watchers will discover Darren Aronofsky’s brilliantly filmed tale, Requiem for a Dream, on home video and DVD. Like Ang Lee’s work in Crouching Tiger, Aronofsky’s effort in his film is a dizzying achievement of directorial achievement, though on a smaller scale.

The film follows four drug addicts living in Brighton Beach, in the shadow of the crumbling Coney Island amusement park. A mother, her son, and his two friends find their drug-induced utopias slowly destroyed, as their addictions grow stronger. Sara Goldfarb (Ellen Burstyn) is a lonely television-obsessed widow, who gets a call that she has a chance to be a game show contestant. Determined to fit in the red dress she wore to her son’s high school graduation (when her husband was still alive and seemingly the last time the family publicly showed a happy face), she sees a doctor about loosing weight in 30 days. He gives her three prescriptions, a mixture of speed and downers. Initially, Sara can’t adjust to what the speed does to her, but she soon adjusts to the jittery feelings it gives her. However, when her body adjusts and starts to crave the high, she begins to take too many of the pills. Before, all her anxieties (growing older, grieving for her late husband, worrying about her son’s life, loneliness, etc.) and her increasing dependency on drugs cause her to go over the edge mentally.

Meanwhile, Harry Goldfarb (Jared Leto), his girlfriend Marion Silver (Jennifer Connelly), and his best pal Tyrone C. Love (Marlon Wayans) are taking heroin and cocaine. Harry and Tyrone also start to make a lot of money dealing drugs, but a gang war dries up the dope supply and drives up the prices, making it difficult for the trio to get their fix. That in turn drives each of them to the depths of their souls and into the bowels of a cruel society that exploits their need.

The four leads are simple incredible; this is career defining work. Ms. Burstyn opens her soul to absorb the text and transforms it into a character that emits truth. Then, even more difficult, she has to bare her soul to the viewer, and her performance is so fierce and the character’s situation so scary that the combination could scorch your soul. Any Caucasian actor that would have given the kind of performance that Marlon Wayans gives here would have had the pick of heavyweight dramatic roles offered to him after Requiem; instead, filmgoers can only see him in lowbrow comedies. Jennifer Connelly also comes into her own here. She’s eventually win an Oscar for her supporting role in A Beautiful Mind, but Requiem was where she showed her ability to deliver in intense dramas. Jared Leto, as usual, shows how passionate he is about acting, especially building a character. He eats up the screen, and his presence is like sunburst on film.

Aronofsky and his collaborators used a number of in-camera effects with digital special effects, special cameras, and editing technique to create a world of drug addiction, hard core criminal activity, and institutional callous cruelty that is real as the flesh on your bones. However, Aronofsky isn’t alone in his talents. There are any number of great directors and skilled filmmakers who use tricks and techniques to make visually appealing, surprising, and shocking films. What makes this work stand out is that Aronofsky went to great limits to make you feel. Thus, you’ll love it or hate because Aronofsky pushes you inside Requiem for a Dream, and you can’t sit back. The viewer has to be involved, and he or she has to care. A viewer has no choice but to have a strong feeling by what he or she experiences via this truly engaging and gripping movie.

10 of 10

NOTES:
2001 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Actress in a Leading Role” (Ellen Burstyn)

2001 Black Reel Awards: 1 nomination: “Theatrical - Best Supporting Actor” (Marlon Wayans)

2001 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Ellen Burstyn)

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Meet the Barnes in "Death at a Funeral"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 66 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux


Death at a Funeral (2010)
Running time: 92 minutes (1 hour, 32 minutes)
MPAA – R for language, drug content and some sexual humor
DIRECTOR: Neil LaBute
WRITER: Dean Craig
PRODUCERS: William Horberg, Sidney Kimmel, Laurence Malkin, Chris Rock, and Share Stallings
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Rogier Stoffers
EDITOR: Tracey Wadmore-Smith
COMPOSER: Christophe Beck

COMEDY

Starring: Chris Rock, Martin Lawrence, Keith David, Loretta Devine, Peter Dinklage, Ron Glass, Danny Glover, Regina Hall, Kevin Hart, James Marsden, Tracy Morgan, Zoe Saldana, Columbus Short, and Luke Wilson

The recent Chris Rock-Martin Lawrence film, Death at a Funeral, is a remake of a 2007 British film of the same name. This black comedy (or dark comedy) observes a family as its members come together to mourn a beloved husband and father, even as shocking revelations and festering resentments arise.

The elder son, Aaron Barnes (Chris Rock), is managing the funeral of his recently deceased father. Aaron is also preparing to move on with his life, which includes moving him and his wife, Michelle (Regina King), out of his parents’ house, especially because his mother, Cynthia Barnes (Loretta Devine), keeps reminding them that they haven’t given her any grandchildren. Aaron is hoping that his younger brother, Ryan (Martin Lawrence), a successful author, will help him cover the funeral expenses, but the late-arriving Ryan claims temporary financial hardship.

Meanwhile, relatives are arriving, bringing their baggage and family feuds with them. Oh, and a stranger named Frank (Peter Dinklage), who claims to have been a close friend of the deceased, has come bearing secrets.

So much of Death at a Funeral is in very bad taste, but that is also why the film is so funny. With its missing and abused corpses, fecal humor, nudity, and unabashed raunchiness, Death at a Funeral is only a stylized and slightly-exaggerated depiction of how problematical family get-togethers, even funerals, can be. Director Neil LaBute also does a mostly good job keeping things hopping by unveiling one outrage after another, so that the audience can never really catch its breath before the next indignity comes along.

The main problem with this movie is that I don’t think the headliners for this film, Chris Rock and Martin Lawrence, are really suited for large ensembles. They’ve certainly been part of smaller, star-driven ensembles (Lawrence in Wild Hogs and Rock in the recent Grown Ups), but both are at their best when the entire movie is built around them. Here, they have to share too much screen time.

My quibble isn’t the fault of the writing because screenwriter Dean Craig (who wrote the original film) has done a superb job creating so many engaging, three-dimensional characters. It is simply that they all deserve more screen time than they get. Most of them are such fun that their short time on screen comes across as a shortcoming on the part of the entire movie. Still, this movie is funny, and maybe also useful to the viewers. The next time you need an antidote to a painful family social event, Death at a Funeral is a reminder that there is laughter even in the most trouble-filled family gatherings.

6 of 10
B

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Review: "Princess Mononoke" is Simply Great

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 43 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux 

 

Mononoke Hime (1997) – animated

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Japan

WRITER/DIRECTOR: Hayao Miyazaki

PRODUCER: Toshio Suzuki

CINEMATOGRAPHER: Atsushi Okui

EDITORS: Takeshi Seyama and Hayao Miyazaki

 

Princess Mononoke (1999) USA release – English dub

Running time: 134 minutes (2 hours, 14 minutes)

MPAA – PG-13 for images of violence and gore

WRITER: Neil Gaiman – English screenplay

ANIMATION/FANTASY/ADVENTURE/WAR/ACTION

 

Starring: (English voices) Gillian Anderson, Billy Crudup, Claire Danes, Keith David, John DeMita, John Di Maggio, Minnie Driver, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Billy Bob Thornton

 

Many consider Hayao Miyazaki to be Japan’s greatest animator and one of that country’s finest directors. He has several films to his credit, including Majo no takkyubin (released in the U.S. as Kiki’s Delivery Service) and Tenku no shiro Rapyuta (Castle in the Sky). In 2003, he won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film for Spirited Away, the 2002 English language version of his film Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi. However, his first real shot at mass appeal in the United States was the film known in America as Princess Mononoke.

 

The story centers on Prince Ashitaka (voice of Billy Crudup) who finds himself in the middle of a war between the elemental and spiritual forces of the forest and Tataraba, a human iron-mining colony. The town’s leader , Lady Eboshi (Minnie Driver) has conspired with a sly assassin named Jigo, sublimely voiced by Billy Bob Thorton, to kill the great forest spirit. Ashitaka meets San, the Princess Mononoke (Claire Danes), a girl raised by the Wolf God. San leads the animal gods of the forest against Lady Eboshi, who has also made her colony a haven for outcasts. Ashitaka walks a razor’s edge, trying to save both the humans and the forest before the two destroy each other, and, although he it not the title character, he is the story’s focus.

 

Although the drawing is not as polished and as classical as a Disney film, the animation in Mononoke is nothing short of breathtaking and fantastic. While so many Western animators use computers to augment their films, Miyazaki used traditional hand drawn cels, reportedly correcting by his own hand 80,000 of the films 144,000 cels. The animation takes on a scope of epic proportions while simultaneously being romantic.

 

Miyazaki and his animators created a film that manages to be encompass the film genres of action, adventure, and war, while being a dramatic film of beautiful and poetic touches. The depth of the storytelling is novelistic in its approach. It has so much going on that the audience cannot help but be captivated and enthralled even if the references to Japanese mythology goes over their heads. The voice acting for the English dubbing is excellent, which includes not only those actors mentioned prior, but also Jada Pinkett-Smith, Gillian Anderson, and Keith David. They did have a good script with which to work. Fantasy novelist and comic book scribe Neil Gaiman, creator of the Sandman comic book, wrote the film’s dialogue in a friendly American vernacular Mononoke.

 

Fans of anime and animated films cannot miss Princess Mononoke. For people who loved epics like The Lord of the Rings, this film fits right in that vein. It stands, not only as an accomplishment in animation, but a special achievement in movie making.

 

9 of 10 

A+ 

 

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Review: "Coraline" a Deeply Flawed Jewel

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 13 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux


Coraline (2009)
Running time: 100 minutes (1 hour, 40 minutes)
MPAA – PG for thematic elements, scary images, some language, and suggestive humor
DIRECTOR: Henry Selick
WRITERS: Henry Selick (based upon the book by Neil Gaiman)
PRODUCERS: Claire Jennings, Mary Sandell, Bill Mechanic, and Henry Selick
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Pete Kozachik (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Christopher Murrie and Ronald Sanders
Academy Award nominee

ANIMATION/FANTASY

Starring: (voices) Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, Jennifer Saunders, Dawn French, Keith David, John Hodgman, Robert Bailey, Jr., Ian McShane, Aankha Neal, Harry Selick, Marina Budovsky, and Carolyn Crawford

I am a fan of stop-motion animation films, so I was excited to hear that Henry Selick, the director of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare before Christmas, was making a stop-motion version of Neil Gaiman’s award-winning novel, Coraline. At one 1 hour and 40 minutes, director Henry Selick’s Coraline is the longest stop-motion animated feature in movie history, and it certainly seems even longer. More often than not, watching Coraline feels like a dreary chore instead of an eerie delight.

Coraline Jones (voice of Dakota Fanning) is a curious and adventurous 11-year-old girl who is also feisty beyond her years. Coraline and her parents, Mel and Charles Jones (Teri Hatcher and John Hodgman) have just relocated from Michigan to Oregon. Coraline misses her friends, and her parents are too distracted by their work as writers to entertain her. Coraline tries to find some excitement in her new environment, the Pink Palace, a boarding house on top of a hill. Her neighbors include the eccentric British actresses, Miss April Spink (Jennifer Saunders) and Miss Miriam Forcible (Dawn French), and an even more eccentric Russian acrobat, Mr. Sergie Alexander Bobinsky (Ian McShane). The only local close to her age is an annoying boy named Wyborne “Wybie” Lovat (Robert Bailey, Jr.) and his equally annoying semi-pet, The Cat (Keith David).

Coraline seriously doubts that her new home can provide anything to interest her – that is until she uncovers a small, secret door in the house. She crawls through the door and into an eerie passageway, which takes her to an alternate version of her life and existence. On the surface, this parallel reality, called Other World, is similar to her real life, but it is much better. The adults are cool, especially Other Mother (Teri Hatcher), a version of Coraline’s mother who pays more attention to Coraline and actually cooks delicious meals and tasty sweets. Coraline thinks that she could stay there forever, but when Other Mother starts to make shocking demands, Coraline wants no part of this off-kilter world. With the help of the mysterious Cat, Coraline makes a bid for freedom, but it will take all her bravery, grit, and ingenuity to save her real family and get back home.

Coraline is the first 3D stop-motion animated film, and for the most part, its ideal audience would be people who admire the art of stop-motion animation. Like Selick’s collaboration with Tim Burton (The Nightmare before Christmas), Coraline is darkly inventive, but not as snappy and clever. In fact, the first half of this film is practically a disaster. The plodding narrative and flat voice performances suggest that Coraline was a short film disastrously stretched to a feature-length film. Even the animation is listless. It is more jerky-motion than stop-motion animation.

It is not until the Other Mother (also known as Beldam) shows her true nature that Coraline’s eerie nature really comes to life. This film has a creepiness that is so unsettling (perhaps because it deals with child abduction), but even then, this story, with its Venus flytrap and spider web allusions, can only limp through a somewhat exciting resolution and last act.

Coraline has the makings of being an exciting cross between the classic fairy tale and a spooky horror story with a contemporary sensibility, but it mostly fails to reach its potential. The only really good characters are Coraline, Other Mother, and the Cat, and the others are feeble, which could be a result of Selick’s surprisingly anemic screenplay. This movie even manages to waste Keith David’s exceptional talents as a voice actor. I admire what the filmmakers tried to do more than I actually like this film. I cannot quite embrace this clunky, clumsy riff on Alice in Wonderland. Still, I can’t dismiss Coraline, because I am one of those people smitten with the art of stop-motion animation.

5 of 10
C+

Saturday, March 13, 2010

NOTES:

2010 Academy Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Animated Feature Film of the Year” (Henry Selick)
2010 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Animated Film” (Henry Selick)
2010 Golden Globe: 1 nomination: “Best Animated Feature Film”
2010 Black Reel Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Voice Performance” (Keith David)

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Review: Pitt, Jolie Blaze in "Mr. and Mrs. Smith"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 94 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)
Running time: 115 minutes
MPAA – PG-13 for sequences of violence, intense action, sexual content, and brief strong language
DIRECTOR: Doug Liman
WRITER: Simon Kinberg
PRODUCER: Lucas Foster, Akiva Goldsman, Eric McLeod, Arnon Milchan, and Peter Wachsberger
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Bojan Bazelli
EDITOR: Michael Tronick

ACTION/COMEDY/ROMANCE with elements of a thriller

Starring: Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Vince Vaughn, Kerry Washington, Adam Brody Chris Weitz, Rachael Huntley, Michelle Monaghan, and Keith David

The entertainment wing of the news media has been abuzz about the Brad Pitt-Angelina Jolie flick, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, directed by Doug Liman, for months now because many believe that the film shoot was where Pitt’s marriage to actress Jennifer Aniston (TV’s “Friends”) fell apart and his are-they/aren’t they relationship with Ms. Jolie began. For a while, it seemed as if the tawdry adultery angle would drown the film, but early favorable reviews kept any alleged hanky-panky from completely overshadowing the film. While Mr. & Mrs. Smith is an unusual mixture of several genres, it is a sassy, faux-witty, action flick with one great car chase scene and a lot of good chemistry between the stars, and I’m certainly glad I paid to see it in a theatre. Ignore the flimsy plot and the empty characters, which aren’t much more than plot props and targets for action violence. Mr. & Mrs. Smith is a star vehicle that you see if you like the stars.

Married for five or six years (that’s a joke in the film), John Smith (Brad Pitt) and Jane Smith (Angelina Jolie) are bored with their quiet, domestic tranquility. The biggest secret that they’re keeping from each other is that they are both assassins for different espionage organizations and are globetrotting and killing for hire behind each other’s back. The couple’s separate lives collide when they bumble upon the same assassination assignment. That causes the spouses to end up as each other’s next hit, but when they chose reconciliation instead of mutually assured destruction, both of their former agencies come gunning for them.

While not as entertaining as Liman’s film Go! (1999) and certainly not on the level of the super-smart, super thriller, The Bourne Identity (2002), Mr. & Mrs. Smith is a unique hybrid. It’s an action comedy, but it also an action romance. It’s an action thriller, but it’s also a romantic, action thriller. Pitt and Ms. Jolie have fine screen chemistry, so the romance is works; some of the comedy comes from their chemistry and timing, but much of it also comes from the cartoonish violence of the shoot-em-up’s and gunplay and the explosions in the film that more often than not are done for comic effect. There is one great car chase in the film and a death match between John and Jane that give the film all the thrills it needs. However, the final battle between the Smith’s and a seemingly endless supply of special operations squads is a bit flat.

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie are lucky that Liman and writer Simon Kinberg, whose screenplay is a frothy and tasty confection, deliver summer cinematic fun, or the superstar movie duo would have suffered the same meltdown that Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez experienced with their “romantically entangled” film, Gigili. Hardcore action junkies may not go for this film, but anyone who likes a different spin on big, loud action films will probably like this.

6 of 10
B

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