May 31, 2007
LIFE IN JOE MOTION
Knocked Up nicely champions the regular guy
Review by Robert Newton
KNOCKED UP
Starring Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl and Paul Rudd; Written and directed by Judd Apatow; 129 minutes; Rated R [for sexual content, drug use and language]
Every decade, movie audiences need a funny Hollywood Everyman. Tom Hanks ruled the 80s, Jim Carrey defined the 90s and now, it is Seth Rogen’s turn. He is not yet a household name, but in The 40-Year-Old Virgin director Judd Apatow’s latest comedy, Rogen proves that he has the chops for the job. He plays Ben, an unfocused, 20-something party boy whose one-night stand with Alison (Emmy winner Katherine Heigl), an up-and-coming TV anchor, results in unexpected fatherhood.
Apatow, who produced the gone-too-soon TV series “Freaks and Geeks” and “Undeclared,” is fast becoming the John Hughes of his generation, with this one even resembling Hughes’ 1988 comedy She’s Having A Baby. Here, he tells a sensitive story with laughs throughout, and not cheap and obvious laughs, either. Apatow sensibly approaches every facet of Ben’s fears, using them as an opportunity to further the multiple storylines, which he ties up nicely, too. Rogen (You, Me and Dupree) is super as the lovable dork, and his performance is effortless and genial. Heigl breaks out of her “Grey’s Anatomy” rut and mixes it up nicely with Rogen, though fellow Apatow alum Leslie Mann (The 40-Year-Old Virgin) steals scenes from both of them. She plays Alison’s sister, Debbie, a married mother of two, and the scene in which a club bouncer refuses them entry based on Debbie’s advanced age is just priceless, expertly handled all around.
The best part of the movie is the cool rapport that Rogen has with Apatow and the supporting cast. This has a lot to do with having worked with so many of them before, with Rogen and Jason Segel having been on both “Freaks and Geeks” and “Undeclared” together, with other supporting players like Jay Baruchel and Martin Starr having had roles on one or both series. Like Apatow did with 90s king Jim Carrey, he seems as if he is now priming this new batch of gifted comic actors to go off into the world to take their shots. He has a contender with Rogen, the understated schlub who gets the pretty girl and fills the millions of ticket-buying schlubs like him with the kind of hope that may very well herald the dawn of a new movie genre — the dick flick.•••
ON THE LOT [TV-PG]
For a guy who touts purity of the cinematic arts, Steven Spielberg has some balls in dropping this stinker of a Fox reality show on the public and unintentionally showcasing all that is wrong with his beloved Hollywood. Its debut episode last week (watch it at www.TheLot.com) had fifty aspiring filmmakers battling for a $1,000,000 development deal at Spielberg’s beleaguered DreamWorks, running through a task-oriented movie business obstacle course of sorts. Their fates on the forced, twice weekly “American Idol” patterned show are ultimately determined by an audience call-in vote, with their work appraised by judges Carrie Fisher, Jon Avnet, Garry Marshall and Brett Ratner. Yes, Brett Ratner — the man who dropped the Baby Ruth in the swimming pool of comic book fans the world over with X-Men: The Last Stand. What, was Michael Bay too busy? M. Night Shyamalan not taking your calls? Naturally, there is not a wrinkled face in this batch of contestants, which limits the field to players with limited experience, not only in the craft, but in life, too. The whole well intended idea of giving talented wannabes a shot didn’t work on “Project Greenlight,” and it’s even more belabored here. And in case you’re wondering, there is no truth that next summer’s Indiana Jones sequel will be about the search for Spielberg’s lost credibility. –Klaus Hummersumpf
AWAY FROM HER [PG-13]
Still looking as lovely at ever at age 66, Julie Christie is heartbreaking as Fiona, a woman afflicted with early onset Alzheimer’s. First-time writer-director Sarah Polley shows a surprising level of maturity in depicting the tragic struggle faced by Fiona and her husband, Grant (Gordon Pinsent). Polley, working from fellow Canuck Alice Munro’s short story, “The Bear Came Over The Mountain,” blends nicely the story of Fiona and Grant with that of Marion (Olympia Dukakis) and Aubrey (Michael Murphy), another couple facing a similar life change. Pinsent (The Good Shepherd) is a wonderful old bear, and he and Christie play off each other like they actually have been married for 44 years. Emotionally cleansing and tremendously sensitive, Polley’s reflection on the nature of love is the kind of teary, stack-of-napkins treat that we don’t necessarily seek out, but are happy to have discovered. –Robert Newton
BUG [R]
If there were an award for “Ickiest Performance,” then Ashley Judd and Michael Shannon would win for theirs in this disturbing drama. Audiences expecting the typical mindless gross-out suggested by the film’s marketing will be disappointed, but director William Friedkin, responsible for countless soiled trousers since his The Exorcist in 1973, really amps up the suspense and psychological terror here. Judd (Come Early Morning) plays Agnes, a lonely and highly impressionable woman who is smitten by kindly but deluded drifter Peter, played by Shannon (World Trade Center). Peter convinces Agnes of his belief that the doctors in the Army hospital he escaped from planted egg sacs in him, meant to generate millions of information-gathering insects that can move from person-to-person-to-person. Friedkin establishes a sense of place and isolation early on, priming the dingy Texas rest stop town for all manner of mind-made horror, which he executes with skilled layering. Shannon plays Peter with warmth, so that by the time we realize he is cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs, we are right beside him, holding the light for him so that he can excise another egg sac with a razor blade. Judd, too, sells her role, making us buy her trauma survivor in need of the kind of human connection that makes regular people do downright nutty things. It is Friedkin’s best work in two decades, and while it will not top The Exorcist, it will survive countless years as the kind of movie friends recommend to unsuspecting friends, like bugs moving from person-to-person-to-person. –Robert Newton
May 30, 2007
GRACIE [PG-13]
“Life is like a shit sandwich,” says Elisabeth Shue to her young co-star Carly Schroeder, “and everyone gets to take a bite.” The year is 1978, and women, though officially equal to men, are still relegated to eating it on the b-team in a male dominated society. Schroeder, as Shue proxy Grace Bowen, attempts to bridge that gender gap by playing on a competitive male soccer team as a means of honoring her late brother. The film, based around the lives of co-stars Elizabeth and Andrew Shue, follows Gracie and her family as they attempt to deal with the pain of losing one of their own so tragically. Gracie’s father, played with conviction by Dermot Mulroney (Georgia Rule), internalizes his grief, shutting himself off from his family emotionally. Initially unwilling to train his daughter, her steadfast determination eventually wins him over, and the audience is treated to an obligatory but enjoyable training montage. In addition to intense physical demands, Gracie is forced to endure social pressure from both her classmates and a governing body of adults, which threatens to keep her from achieving her, umm…goal. Though fun and uplifting, the movie cannot ultimately, uhh…kick its indecisiveness. Seemingly targeted to an adolescent female audience it contains, perhaps, one too many suggestive scenes which makes it somewhat inappropriate for younger audiences. It should find a comfortable niche, however, in the needful embrace of female athletes everywhere, but would have benefitted from adhering to a more stringent, oh, man…game plan. –Gregory Johnson
Read our interview with Andrew & Elisabeth Shue and Carly Schroeder.
Shues on the other foot
A talk with Andrew & Elisabeth Shue and Carly Schroeder of Gracie
Interview by Gregory Johnson
“When I grow up, I would like to play soccer. Many girls are afraid to play sports with boys. But after you score a few goals, you feel a lot better.” –Elisabeth Shue, Grade 6
This week’s sports drama, Gracie, based around events of Hollywood’s real-life Shue family, is the inspirational story of Grace Bowen, played with steadfast determination by then-15-year-old Carly Schroeder. Grace wants to play soccer — on the boy’s team — after the tragic loss of her eldest brother.
“The heart of the story was one I’ve wanted to tell for about ten years,” says producer/co-star Andrew Shue. “In the beginning, I wanted to tell a story that paid tribute to our older brother Will and used our family sport as a backdrop. The story came into focus, however, when I enlisted [story writer/director] Davis [Guggenheim] and my sister Elisabeth to help.”
“The great thing about this project is that our whole family’s involved,” says Andrew, who was among a minority of male influences in a film that champions female empowerment. “It really is a dream to be able to work with my sister and work with [her husband] Davis and work with my brother John, who was instrumental in helping us solve all the financial issues we faced. We didn’t set out for it to be a [Shue] family movie, but then as it started to happen, it was clear that we all needed to be involved.”
“I think the best thing for me,” says Schroeder, now 16, “is to pick a movie that is very inspirational to girls, because it seems like in Hollywood nowadays, there’s not really a lot of good role models for girls my age.”
“We looked at so many people for this part,” says Oscar-nominated co-star and producer Elisabeth Shue. “We did see some amazing actresses, but there was something about Carly that was so unique. She has a strong, willful spirit and her fierceness is so visceral and raw with a real need to prove herself, which I think is so much Gracie.”
Both successful athletes from a young age, Andrew and Elisabeth strongly felt the need to address an issue they find intolerable in youth athletics.
“When you’re growing up,” says Elisabeth, “because your proving ground is athletics, the first thing I remember hearing that always got under my skin was someone saying, ‘Oh, he throws like a girl,’ and that is so untrue because they throw like they’ve never been taught to throw. As a young girl, you hear that, as if you’re not as good, just for the fact that you are female. I hope that our culture slowly but surely starts to change that perception, because it’s untrue.”
“I’ve learned a lot from this one here,” Andrew notes, nodding to Elisabeth, “we’re so lucky that we had a sister. I think boys need to understand just what makes girls tick and how they’re different and how much they’re the same.”
“I think boys can see a bit of themselves in Gracie sometimes,” adds Elisabeth. “Really, it’s just a story of someone who overcomes great obstacles and who manages to achieve something that is very difficult to achieve.”
“It’s been just a great, great journey,” says Andrew. “We feel that we’ve had some angels looking out for us, for sure. I think in a way it does seem fitting – the story [in the film] itself does mirror the journey when we thought we couldn’t do it or it wouldn’t happen and you just have to keep persevering and somehow, someway, we’ve ended up with something we’re all proud of. We feel that we’ve done right by our brother and by telling my sister’s story of that girl who’s in an all-boy’s world trying to be noticed and trying to find her self-worth, and Carly brought that to life in an amazing way.”
Carly Schroeder has a message, too — a message for her fans, which have been increasing in number since her season-long stint on Disney’s “Lizzie McGuire” in 2002.
“You can do anything!” she says, enthusiastically.
Hopefully, these words will resonate and inspire audiences to continue to strive for excellence in athletics and in life. Projects such as this serve to reinforce the idea that our differences are only skin deep and, hopefully, that we can continue to grow past them…and live in a perpetual state of Gracie.•••
ALONE WITH HER [R]
For young Colin Hanks, it must be difficult trying to get out of the sizeable shadow of his father, Tom Hanks. Not only does he look more and more like his old man with each film he makes, but he is also burdened by the same everyman persona that makes him impossible to hate. In this tepid thriller, Hanks the junior tries to free himself of his inherent geniality by playing a pathetic stalker preying on a vulnerable young woman. The film is told mostly through the point of view of surveillance cameras placed throughout the victim’s house, and those expecting a novel approach to the stalker genre will be left bitterly disappointed. The gimmicky storytelling can’t hide the labored script and painfully obvious character exposition of this B-movie. There are some genuinely cringe-inducing moments and disturbing insights into the world of voyeurism, but its hapless young lead fails to convince and the movie falls flat. –Matt Hoenigsberg
STAND UP [NR]
While movies about the stand-up life like Lenny and Punch Line had big stars, they were not “inside” enough to give a viewer enough of a feel for the very serious business of comedy. Writer-director Michael Rainin’s first feature, however, does. He is fortunate in that his star, Israeli-born New York comic Modi Rosenfeld (”Last Comic Standing”) embodies the manic energy that drives so many stand-ups, and it doesn’t hurt that he is naturally funny, too. Rosenfeld plays Avi, a New York comic and bubbie’s boy who moves to L.A. to break into TV. Rainin nails the whole New York/L.A. dichotomy, the honest differences between predominantly black and white stages and the nature of “bombing.” Kathryn Fiore is adorable as Avi’s girfriend, Sarah, a fellow comic, and Derek Hughes captures the whole crunchy New Age vibe quite well as Avi’s childhood friend and L.A. roommate. The film’s flaws — most notably a predictable rise-to-fame arc — are not enough to cripple it, and while it may not sell a million copies, it is a nice blueprint to a business as mysterious to some as the C.I.A. –Robert Newton
NOBODY WANTS YOUR FILM [NR]
Despite the slightly muddled constructed narrative for this quasi-documentary — an e-mail correspondence detailing the demise of an independent film — it is worth the wade for the insight into the movie business it beams. Director Peter Judson shoots interviews with the likes of indie staples Steve Buscemi, Sam Rockwell and Peter Stormare behind-the-scenes of an actual low-budget L.A. production, and their conversations yield revelations both clichéd and profound. Funniest is an in-car interview with actor Peter Dinklage (The Station Agent), whose reaction to the inattentive interviewer is priceless and perfect. The low-light DV quality will irk some, but anyone in search of a 93-minute film school will learn lots from this insightful, no-budget lesson. Download the film for $3.99 at www.NobodyWantsYourFilm.com. –Robert Newton
FREE ZONE [NR]
Natalie Portman plays a young American in Jerusalem whose chance encounter with a cab driver takes her across the border to Jordan in this dramatic comedy.
HANNIBAL RISING [R/NR]
The origins of Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lecter are revealed in this lush but bungled revenge tale, based on the novel by Thomas Harris.
ILLUSION [PG-13]
Kirk Douglas plays a film director nearing the end of his life and reflecting on the long, strange trip in “Party Of Five” star Michael Goorjian’s drama.
MY BROTHER [NR]
Two impoverished orphans share a bond of love in Oscar-nominated filmmaker Anthony Lover’s moving urban drama starring Vanessa Williams.
RAIN [NR]
Faye Dunaway, Robert Loggia and Khandi Alexander star in this story of a musical prodigy who learns some surprising things about her own past. Based on the novel by V.C. Andrews.
[10] DREAMGIRLS [10]
[9] ALPHA DOG [9]
[8] THE FOUNTAIN [8]
[7] CATCH & RELEASE [7]
[6] DÉJÀ VU [6]
[5] MUSIC AND LYRICS [5]
[4] NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM [4]
[3] BECAUSE I SAID SO [3]
[2] STOMP THE YARD [2]
[1] PAN’S LABYRINTH [1]
Source: Video Business
May 24, 2007
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END
Starring Johnny Depp, Kiera Knightley and Orlando Bloom; Written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio; Directed by Gore Verbinski; 168 minutes; Rated PG-13 [for intense sequences of action/adventure]
A THREE-HOUR BORE
(sung to the tune of
“The Ballad of Gilligan’s Island”)
Just sit right back and you’ll watch a tale,
A tale of a pirate hip
The launch of which was promising
But then began to slip.
The writing team piles subplots on
And characters to be sure
That ushers later wake us from
Our three-hour snore (aye was very bored).
Now Jack is a mighty scalawag
With swagger nicked from Keith
Who shows up as the pirate’s dad
A fun role, but quite brief (and kind of a relief).
Jack’s bountiful ship, the Black Pearl,
will cause Disney execs to smile
On Monday when…the numbers come…
With ‘Spider-Man’ they will wipe…the wreck of ‘Shrek’…
If the critics pan, who cares, man?
Throw more cash on that pile!
Further testing the limits of a summer audience’s attention span is Disney’s chatty, nearly 3-hour third installment in the Pirates series, further chronicling the exploits of drunken sailor Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) as he navigates the peril-laden seas of multi-million dollar earning pop culture franchises. Like infamously masturbatory thirds Godfather III, The Matrix Revolutions and Spider-Man 3, though, this time out is lazy, overindulgent and clunky, making for a tremendously tedious watch. But hey — great special effects!
Produced at the same time last summer’s only slightly bloated first sequel, Dead Man’s Chest, director Gore Verbinski does not seem to be able to let go of anything here. Seemingly, every gag and scene that would have been best left as a special feature on the DVD has not been, and it is sometimes agonizing to wade through it all. The performances — including and especially Depp’s — are all vacuum-sealed, with only salty dog Geoffrey Rush standing out as the pirate Barbossa. Heck, even the shamefully cool Chow Yun-Fat, as a Chinese pirate lord, doesn’t stand out. The joy of discovery is long past, and what remains is a painfully one-note, manufactured spectacle. This is supposed to be fun, and it just isn’t. Uncle Walt, who died shortly before the first (of an eventual four) Pirates theme park attraction opened in 1967, would not approve.
The beloved and fiercely patriotic Imagineer would probably not dig the whole pirate vibe that is actually celebrated here, too. The fact that bad guy?/good guy?/bad guy? Capt. Norrington (Jack Davenport) is so cold and nasty is somehow supposed to overshadow that his legitimate charge is to stop pirates from crippling the British economy (not to mention the raping and pillaging buccaneers are known for). The whole superfluous set-up of the movie is actually a parade of executions (by hanging) of pirates and their accomplices. Politically, it is meant to be a jab at the Patriot Act, but by glorifying lawlessness by dressing it up in “The Pirate’s Code,” they lend it an undeserved air of nobility, one which ultimately backfires when we realize that pirates are terrorists and Verbinski and screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio have failed in their duty of convincing us otherwise.•••
SACCO AND VANZETTI
WAITRESS