February 28, 2007
Mystery of history
Zodiac author Robert Graysmith speaks
By Robert Newton
It was 1968, in San Francisco. Robert Graysmith was a cartoonist.
“I was 24 then,” Graysmith explains, “and one of the youngest cartoonists working for a metropolitan newspaper, the San Francisco Chronicle. I figured that a lot of the modern greats learned on newspapers and moved on from cartoons to creating fine art, so I would, too. Then, the strange letters started.”
These strange letters, written in a variety of different codes, were sent to the Chronicle and two other area newspapers, and were intended for publication. They were from a man who claimed to be responsible for three murders that year, a man would later identify himself as, simply, “Zodiac.”
Robert Graysmith was then a detective. (more…)
THE MANITOU [PG; appealed from R]
Karen Tandy (Susan Strasberg) has an abnormal growth on the back of her neck, a growth that takes the fetal form of a 400-year-old Native American demon that is growing at an alarming rate. Her friend and psychic huckster Harry Erskine (Tony Curtis) calls upon John Singing Rock (Michael Ansara) to rid Karen of the demon and save mankind. High camp ensues. Curtis’s ham-tastic performance becomes a bit bland after he sheds his “psychic abilities” and becomes just another onlooker with a couple of bright ideas, which is a way one might describe young low-budget writer-director William Girdler and the script of his last film, which was written in three days. Ansara is quite believable as the modern medicine man, but the best performance is by supporting Burgess Meredith with his outstanding deadpan delivery as Doctor of Anthropology Ernest Snow. For late 70s filmmaking, this flick was an eye-popper, complete with explosions, lasers and nude psychic battles, even if nowadays — especially in light of all the gonzo excess that has come since — it might come across as dull and common. However, the story’s execution is what it is, and it is a decent one, schlocky evil fetal demons and all. Fans of the movie will be disappointed by usually generous label Anchor Bay’s paucity of special features, which are limited to a meager trailer and a TV spot. –Richard Caron
KEEPING MUM [R]
Attacking the rude and inappropriate in much the same way that Hannibal Lecter does (but without eating them) is the kindly old nanny Grace (Maggie Smith), whose sojourn with the Goodfellow clan ultimately proves a benefit for them all. Smith (
Ladies In Lavender) is effortless and demure, and Rowan Atkinson (
Love Actually) is hilarious as a clueless and tongue-tied preacher. Kristin Scott Thomas (
Gosford Park), as his adulterous wife, helps keep everything together, turning it all upside down as she realizes the folly of her affair with a tacky American golf pro, who is played to a T by Patrick Swayze. For fans of dark British comedy like
A Fish Called Wanda, this is aces, and while it may not go down as one of the best, it is the kind of polite and safe revenge fantasy that your Mom can recommend to all her friends and feel like she has seeded the world with a bit of comedic culture.
–Robert Newton
TIDELAND [R]
As if to apologize for the 2005 flop, The Brothers Grimm, ex-Python Terry Gilliam has crafted what is perhaps the most commercially unmarketable film ever. When the parents of young Jeliza-Rose (Jodelle Ferland) both overdose on heroin, she is left to fend for herself, all alone in the family farmhouse with no one to keep her company but her dolls…and her late father’s rotting corpse. Gilliam’s hearty roll-in-the-muck pays off, though, because it is also one of the most memorable films ever. The abject dread that he creates in Jeliza-Rose’s dark spiral of survival is haunting, and his depiction of this young threadbare life admirably stops just this side of obscene. Aside from Ferland’s Dakota-like character transformation, towering Janet McTeer (Songcatcher) as an old flame of the girl’s dad and Brendan Fletcher (The Final Cut) as her Very Special brother both do well in helping the mad Gilliam unmask this unfathomable creature’s beautifully ugly face. –Robert Newton
THE COMEDIANS OF COMEDY [NR]
Never mind plebeian hacks like Dane Cook and Carlos Mencia — these guys (and one gal) are what real comedy today is all about. Light years beyond Chicken McNuggets jokes, fat momma gags and lame Jack Nicholson impressions, the diverse styles of Maria Bamford, Zach Galifianakis, “Mr. Show” staple Brian Posehn and producer Patton Oswalt complement each other very nicely. Live material from each comic’s act, plus some behind-the-scenes rumination on the nature of the business, is featured, as is a bonus show shot at Albuquerque’s famous El Rey. As energizing as all of this fresh, new creative energy is to take in, though, there are far more road tales to tell, as Comedy Central’s 2006 reality series showed. The DVD is a nice (and affordable) appetizer, but a full season of the show would really make the meal. –Robert Newton
February 22, 2007
Skulldrudgery
A review of the laughable dark fantasy Ghost Rider
By Robert Newton
GHOST RIDER
Starring Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes and Sam Elliott; Written and directed by Mark Steven Johnson; 114 minutes; Rated PG-13 [for horror violence and disturbing images]
There is a Stephen King story called “The Jaunt” in which a man, after having been the first human to be teleported, materializes at Point B and utters madly, “It’s eternity in there!” This cryptic catchphrase can also serve as a four-word review of the clumsy and obvious comic book adaptation Ghost Rider starring Nicolas Cage as a showy motorcyclist who sells his soul and ends up being the Devil’s fire-coiffed, Hell Harley-riding gofer.
Oy, where to start? Producer Avi Arad’s gluttonous binging on Marvel Comics’ back catalog — with over a dozen properties in development over the next couple years — has netted another dud. Say the word “subtext” to this guy, and he’ll probably think you’re speaking of a novel about a submarine as he segues into how he is producing an adaptation of the third-tier Marvel title Sub-Mariner. Couple that with comic book maniac Nicolas Cage’s blind love for the title’s dark mythos and DareDevil director Mark Steven Johnson’s lack of any kind of vision other than how cool the special effects are going to look and the result is this cruddy assault.
(more…)
OSCAR NEWS:
Watch the tops, nurse the bottom
AMC’s luxury theater shows the 5 Oscar contenders
By Elizabeth Meyer
How brave are you? AMC Theatres is testing the mettle of movie fans this Saturday, February 24, by showing all five Best Picture Oscar nominees in succession, starting at 11:00am. We do not usually recommend anyone venture out of Worcester County for film entertainment — especially with the recent spike in variety here lately — but we do make two exceptions. First is the spectacular Jordans IMAX in Natick (which opens 300 on March 9), and second is AMC’s Premium Cinema in Framingham, where their Best Picture Showcase substitutes for their regular first-run programming this Saturday. Premium is one cool place, fusing the “cinepub” style of The Elm Draught House or The Strand Theatre with the upscale, first class comfort of National Amusements’ Cinema De Lux. Add to that a full dinner menu, full bar (meaning there are never children allowed) and free unlimited soda and popcorn (with real butter), and you have a movie experience beyond compare and worthy of our full recommendation.
The Best Picture Showcase is $30.00 for all five features, and reservations are recommended, as seating is limited. To reserve tickets or for more information, call (508) 628-4422, or visit AMC’s website at www.MovieWatcher.com.
RENO 911!: MIAMI [R]
There is no middle ground with Comedy Central’s breakout series, “Reno 911!” and the same can be said about the uncensored movie — either you love it or you don’t. In tired, mock documentary fashion, it follows the Reno, NV sheriff’s department as they attend a police conference in Miami and wind up the only crew not trapped in a building during a bio-terror quarantine, thus leaving them to police the city. Like the series, the movie is very on-the-nose, with its cartoonish characters — the gay captain, the slut, the sista, the homely girl — and its threadbare plot serving as a weak excuse to move from dull sketch to dull sketch. A Scarface parody? How innovative! A beached whale blown up with explosives? How droll! At least the snarky Strangers With Candy movie had some focus; this one just has some fart jokes. –Robert Newton
THE ABANDONED [R]
2006’s “8 Films To Die For” film festival was advertised to contain eight films too horrific for regular release. Actually, though, it was a scam to bulk-pimp Saw purveyor Lionsgate’s latest straight-to-video bimbos-on-the-run-from-psycho-killers- and-zombies pabulum, ill-conceived cheapies with posters and trailers far scarier than their movies could ever hope to be. The two hidden gems in this noisy schlock bazaar — which should have been called “8 Films To Hide From: Sixteen Hours You’ll Never Get Back” — were original Grudge creator Takashi Shimizu’s Reincarnation and this eerie creeper from Spanish director Nacho Cerdà . The Abandoned is about a woman named Marie (Anastasia Hille) who, after having been abandoned as a baby by her mother, returns to her family farm deep in the Ukraine. There, she meets Nicolai (Karel Roden), a soldier claiming to be her orphaned brother, and they are both haunted by the ghosts — of themselves. Cerdà unravels their secrets and their sanity at a skilled pace, with Hille and Roden both very convincing as they face the ethereal horror of their surroundings. While American horror films center largely around being afraid of others — and who wouldn’t fear a chainsaw-wielding Texan simp in a sundress — foreign-made horror like this typically deals with the substance of shadows and not what new and marketable brand of serial killer is lurking in them. Guys like Cerdà could teach a thing or four to the film school dropouts raised on Jason and Freddy who are making what passes for American horror today, and he definitely teaches us that we should be more afraid of what lurks in the dark. –Everett McGuinness
SO MUCH SO FAST [NR]
Stephen Heywood was 29 years old when he was diagnosed with the incurable and fatal progressive neurodegenerative disease ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Directors Steven Ascher and Jeanne Jordan (Troublesome Creek) captured his struggle and present their five-year slice of unfortunate life as this intimate and heartbreaking window into one family’s pain. Because ALS affects such a small number of people, it provides little financial incentive for pharmaceutical companies to test and develop new treatments. Countering that tragic fact and providing the story’s chief arc is the formation of The ALS Therapy Development Foundation by Stephen’s brother Jaime shortly after the diagnosis. Ascher and Jordan expertly weave the growth of the foundation with the simultaneous deterioration of its chief inspiration into a cruel irony, but still, throughout, Stephen displays a most remarkable sense of optimism and humor; he marries, becomes a father, and even continues to work in a limited capacity. Running the gamut of emotions, this film is still, in essence, a tale of one man’s struggle for survival and — no matter the outcome — will serve to inspire through sheer strength of will and zest for life. –Gregory Johnson
BREACH [PG-13]
Director Billy Ray gets to the core of FBI traitor extraordinaire Robert Hanssen far more efficiently than Norman Mailer did in the clumsy 2002 TV movie, Master Spy. Ray, who scored big with critics and audiences with his 2003 directorial debut, Shattered Glass, has big guns on his side with the unprecedented collaboration of the FBI and Eric O’Neill, the agent who was key in Hanssen’s undoing (and is played with confidence by Ryan Phillipe). Also, Oscar winner Chris Cooper (Adaptation), who plays the treasonous Hanssen, is incredible, portraying the devout Catholic husband and father of six as a fascinating bundle of contradictions ripe for the kind of exploitation that made him so appealing to the Soviets. While it is not exactly a Cliff’s Notes version of the history, the inevitable tweaks that Ray makes serve to captivate and entertain. –Robert Newton
AMAZING GRACE
FACTORY GIRL