Review: "Gothika" is Creepy and Crazy (Happy B'day, Halle Berry)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 168 (of 2003) by Leroy Douresseaux

Gothika (2003)
Running time: 98 minutes (1 hour, 38 minutes)
MPAA – R for violence, brief language and nudity
DIRECTOR: Mathieu Kassovitz
WRITER: Sebastian Gutierrez
PRODUCERS: Susan Levin, L. Levin, Joel Silver, and Robert Zemeckis
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Matthew Libatique (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Yannick Kergoat
COMPOSER: John Ottman
HORROR/THRILLER

Starring: Halle Berry, Robert Downey, Jr., Charles S. Dutton, John Carroll Lynch, Bernard Hill, Penélope Cruz, Bronwen Mantel, and Kathleen Mackey

Gothika is a 2003 supernatural thriller and movie vehicle for Halle Berry. It is a ghost story about a female psychiatrist who awakens to fins herself a patient in the very asylum where she works.

Miranda Grey (Halle Berry) is psychiatrist who deals with really crazy people everyday at a prison for the criminally insane. A respected colleague, Dr. Douglas Grey (Charles Dutton), is her husband. One night she leaves work during a driving rainstorm. After taking a detour, a girl suddenly appears on the road ahead of her and forces Miranda to drive her vehicle off the road. When she goes to the girl who obviously seems to be in some kind of distress, something really strange happens. When Miranda awakens, she finds herself locked in the same institution where she worked, and she’s been accused of committing a horribly gruesome crime of which she has no memory.

Quite a few critics have given it bad reviews. One even called it trash – glorious trash, but Gothika is a very entertaining movie. Like a lot of films, it’s really absent of new ideas, and it seems to borrow heavily from What Lies Beneath and The Ring (2002). It is, however, an effective and entertaining horror film and a nicely made thriller. It has some genuinely creepy moments, and at the theatre where I saw it, one girl immediately screamed after a nice “bump in the night” moment.

French director Mathieu Kassovitz is a hot property, and he has the makings of good director, although I don’t see much that would make him stand out from a whole pack of qualified professionals. There are moments in the film, when Kassovitz makes Gothika a bit too mannered and cold. With an asylum for the criminally insane as a setting and a shocking murder upon which the plot turns, Kassovitz needed to make his film get down and dirty. Instead, Gothika is overdressed and over designed, and the cinematography is too slick and glossy.

But you know what? I love watching Halle Berry, and she gets better practically with each film she does. She sells us this film, even when her costar Ms. Cruz seems to be hanging around only to lend her tabloid star presence and her accent. Like the great actresses and stars, Ms. Berry takes us inside the character with her, forcing us to share the extreme terror that comes from loosing one’s memory, place in society, and, most fearsome of all, loosing one’s mind. We can believe that there is a horrible crime hanging over her head, and that she doesn’t remember it and doesn’t want to because it means admitting and learning horrific things. Have fun, and go see this movie.

6 of 10
B

NOTES:
2004 Black Reel Awards: 1 nomination: “Film: Best Actress” (Halle Berry)

2004 Image Awards: 2 nominations: “Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture” (Halle Berry) and “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture” (Charles S. Dutton)

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"Mars Needs Moms" Arrives on DVD August 9th

MARS NEEDS MOMS: This Fall, families will not want to miss the chance to own MARS NEEDS MOMS, the story of a young boy‘s intergalactic adventure to find his Martian-nabbed mother as it arrives into living rooms across the country in a Blu-ray™ Combo Pack with 3D, DVD, Movie Download and On-Demand August 9, 2011. From Disney and Academy Award®-winner Robert Zemeckis (Best Director, Forrest Gump, 1994), comes the craziest adventure in the galaxy— complete with out-of this world special effects and jam packed with bonus features, it‘s a thrilling journey that‘s pure fun.

Uniquely packaged with families top of mind, MARS NEEDS MOMS will be available for purchase as a 4-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack (Blu-ray 3D™ + Blu-ray 2D + DVD + Digital Copy) for the suggested retail price of $49.99 US/ $56.99 Canada; a 2-Disc Blu-ray Combo Pack (Blu-ray 2D + DVD) for $39.99 US/ $46.99 Canada; a 1-Disc DVD for $29.99 US/ $35.99 Canada; a High Definition Movie Download for the suggested retail price of $39.99 U.S./45.99 Canada; a Standard Definition Movie Download for the suggested retail price of $29.99 U.S./$35.99 Canada; and/or On-Demand (for additional information and pricing, please contact your television provider or favorite digital retailer. Bonus features are not offered with On-Demand).

The Disney Blu-ray Combo Packs provide families with an enhanced entertainment experience – offering the flexibility to enjoy the film at home, in the car and on portable devices, in several platforms of choice (i.e., Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray 2D, DVD + Digital Copy) and comes packaged complete with never-before-scene bonus features, including deleted scenes, a special featurette and more. To learn more, fans are invited to visit www.disney.com/marsneedsmoms.

MARS NEEDS MOMS is brought to life by the performances of Seth Green (TV‘s "Family Guy") as Milo, Joan Cusack (Toy Story 2 & 3) as Milo‘s Mom, Dan Fogler (Kung Fu Panda, Robot Chicken) as Gribble and Elizabeth Harnois (A Single Man, TV‘s "90210") as Ki and is directed by Simon Wells (The Time Machine, The Prince of Egypt) and produced by Robert Zemeckis (Disney‘s A Christmas Carol, Forrest Gump).

Review: "The Polar Express" Always a Wonderful Christmas Arrival

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 1 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Polar Express (2004)
Running time: 93 minutes (1 hour, 33 minutes)
MPAA – G
DIRECTOR: Robert Zemeckis
WRITERS: William Broyles, Jr. and Robert Zemeckis (based upon the book by Chris Van Allsburg)
PRODUCERS: Steve Starkey, Gary Goetzman, William Teitler, and Robert Zemeckis
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Don Burgess, A.S.C. and Robert Presley
EDITORS: Jeremiah O’Driscoll and R. Orlando Duenas
Academy Award nominee

FANTASY/ADVENTURE/ACTION/FAMILY

Starring: (also voices) Tom Hanks, Michael Jeter, Peter Scolari, Nona Gaye, Eddie Deezen, and Charles Fleischer with (voices only) Daryl Sabara and Jimmy Bennett

A boy, known in this story as Hero Boy (Tom Hanks/voice by Daryl Sabara), wants to believe in Santa Claus, but he’s old enough to start questioning the myths and traditions around Christmas. One Christmas Eve, a magical train named The Polar Express, arrives outside his home. Encouraged by the mysterious but friendly Conductor (Hanks), this doubting boy boards the train and heads towards the North Pole and Santa Claus’ (Hanks) home. There, he and two other children, Hero Girl (Nona Gaye) and Lonely Boy (Peter Scolari), embark on a journey of self-discovery.

I’m not crazy about the term, “instant classic.” However, I will apply it to the 2004 Christmas film, The Polar Express. Although it opened to mixed critical reviews and a less than stellar box office (compared to its budget), the film’s word of mouth kept its box office steady and strong on the way to becoming a blockbuster; the film even had a 2005 re-release to IMAX theatres. The Polar Express was one of the very best films of 2004 and will likely remain a popular Christmas film (certainly for me). One reason it will remain popular is because the film doesn’t look at Christmas from the point of view as a particular religious experience, but from the point of view as a holiday representing American can-do spirit, charity, and optimism. Like many popular Christmas film, it identifies with the notions that mark Christmas as a secular holiday, rather than a “holy day,” and the Christmas in this film is firmly rooted in American culture.

The film mixes computer-generated animation with a process called “3D motion capture.” In that method, the actors’ physical performances are digitally recorded and are later “skinned,” which means wrapping those recorded performances in computer animation. The Polar Express was the first film to use 3D motion capture for all the actors’ performances in the film. In fact, all the children’s performances are acted by adults, using over-sized props to get their movements within the physical environment correct.

The look motion capture gave the film was one of the reasons some critics had mixed feelings about The Polar Express, with one critic going so far as to say that the characters’ eyes looked creepy. Motion capture does make the characters look a little more like real people than regular computer animation. Here, the process works because the motion capture-rendered characters blend in so well with all with the CG animated props, sets, and backdrops. Basically, regardless of what processes the filmmakers used, The Polar Express has a unique look – you’ve never seen anything like it. It’s amazing; it’s magical.

Quite a bit of credit should go to Oscar-winning director Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump) as the ringmaster of this film. His script, co-written by William Broyles, Jr. (Apollo 13), is tight and concisely uses very little dialogue to establish character, which in turn allows the audience more time to focus on the film’s dazzling look. As a director, Zemeckis blends poignant comedy, a wondrous sense of adventure, and impressive action sequences to make a riveting and heartwarming Christmas fable.

The film treats Christmas as a secular affair – the true meaning of Christmas is on the inside, the Conductor tells Hero Boy. We can truly experience the magic of Christmas if we believe in that magic – Santa Claus, his home at the North Pole, his elves, etc. – and age doesn’t matter, as long as we believe. Friendship, sharing, humility, providing leadership, and relying on and trusting in friends – those are Christmas ideals in which we can all believe regardless of creed. The Polar Express extols those ideals in a way that only the best Christmas films can.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
2005 Academy Awards: 3 nominations: “Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song” (Glen Ballard and Alan Silvestri for the song "Believe"), “Best Achievement in Sound Editing” (Randy Thom and Dennis Leonard), and “Best Achievement in Sound Mixing” (William B. Kaplan, Randy Thom, Tom Johnson, and Dennis S. Sands)

2005 BAFTA: 1 nomination: “BAFTA Children's Award: Best Feature Film” (Steve Starkey and Robert Zemeckis)

2005 Golden Globes: 1 nomination: “Best Original Song - Motion Picture” (Glen Ballard and Alan Silvestri for the song "Believe")

Sunday, January 01, 2006

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