The new “comedy” Post Grad has just opened, and unhhhh…
Sorry…almost dozed off there, a degenerative side effect from watching this movie. It seems almost impossible that with such notable successes under the belt of director Vicky Jenson (Shrek, Shark Tale), and having assembled such a talented cast as Alexis Bledel (GilmoreGirls, Sin City), Michael Keaton (Cars, Jackie Brown), J.K. Simmons (I Love You, Man, Â the upcoming Jennifer’s Body) and Carol Burnett (Annie, Friendly Fire), that a movie so typical, bland, sluggish and almost sleep-inducing could ever be crafted.
Yet here we are, with Post Grad.
Written by Kelly Fremon (only prior credit: the short film Streak), Post Grad follows one Ryden Malby (Bledel) as she jumps fresh out of college and into the job market, having followed her lifelong plan of doing well in school, staying healthy, and dutifully pursuing her major in English Literature, so that she can land a coveted job at a major publishing firm. (more…)
Thirst, the new film by director Park Chan-wook (Oldboy, Moon is the Sun’s Dream), has two firsts going for it which set it apart in the vampire genre: It’s the first vampire film ever made in Korea, and it’s the first Korean film to feature full-frontal male nudity by its lead (Kang-ho Song — No. 3, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance). For a vampire film, it’s an impressive undertaking. As a film overall…let me get back to you on that.
Father Sang-hyeon (Song) is a devout man of God who gives freely of his time at the local hospital, caring for the patients there. Yet he confides in Father Noh (In-hwan Park), the blind priest and mentor, that he has grown increasingly dispirited, due to the sad fortunes of the patients hanging on by a thread, and with the world in general. Looking for a way out, Sang-hyeon volunteers for a dangerous medical experiment to cure the dreaded EV virus. Almost 500 people have died from the treatment, but after a hasty blood transfusion from unnamed sources, Father Sang-hyeon is back to normal. Better in fact, because he quickly comes to realize that all his senses have improved dramatically, the only drawback being that he now craves human blood to survive and keep the virus at bay. When he’s reunited with sickly childhood friend Kang-woo (Ha-kyun Shin) and his beautiful yet restless wife Tae-joo (Ok-vin Kim), the wife and the priest begin coming up with a way to exploit his newfound abilities to rid her of Kang-woo so they can live happily ever after.
Thirst succeeds on several levels, most obviously in its serious treatment of the vampire genre. There are no suspiciously well-coiffed heartthrobs here as there are in Twilight. Sang-hyeon looks like a real person, and his powers fall well within the established annals of vampire lore, and director Chan-wook does an excellent job of introducing us to them, especially during a uniquely shot scene of Sang-hyeon jumping from rooftop to rooftop with Tae-joo in his arms, showing off his powers to her. The visceral nature of the horror of vampirism is there as well, as the director pulls no punches—literally—when it’s time to show how fragile mortals are as compared to what a vampire’s strength can do. The R rating is also well-earned due to a couple of very intense sex scenes. It also helps that the film is carried by an extremely talented group of actors. (more…)
The highly anticipated film District 9 is opening today, all set to make a killing at the box office—and it certainly deserves the reward. It’s a well-crafted film, both in tone and tale, and brings to the screen the most authentic-looking aliens I’ve seen in quite a while. The question remains, though: is District 9 truly the be-all and end-all of science fiction films that critics have been raving about for the past month? The answer, quite simply, is no. While being a highly original film for the most part, the story does closely resemble the 1988 sci-fi film AlienNation, which starred James Caan and Mandy Patinkin, right down to one of  its central themes. In fact, one could say that District 9 is in many ways just a more updated, adult version of Alien Nation, only with better effects.
District 9’s main premise is that nearly 30 years ago, an alien ship entered Earth’s atmosphere and took up a holding pattern above Johannesburg, South Africa. After three months without contact from the beings inside, a military force finally cut their way into the ship and searched, only to find hundreds of malnourished aliens living in squalor. At this time, humanity rose to the challenge of proving itself capable of displaying what’s best in our species by treating the aliens, caring for them, and providing shelters for them in a segregated area known as District 9, when it became clear the aliens were incapable of returning home. (more…)
Funny People, the latest film by writer/director Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin) has been advertised as being a comedy, when in fact it is more of a dramedy, which happens to contain many moments of true hilarity. It is Apatow’s most mature film to date (this in spite of the director’s need to talk about penises every 2.5 minutes in each of his films), and certainly the most mature work Sandler (Big Daddy, You Don’t Mess With The Zohan) has ever done in his life. While it’s not proof that either man will ever truly grow up, it’s a testament to the fact that both are maturing in their approach to the material they work on.
Sandler plays George Simmons, an amazingly successful former standup comedian-turned-actor, who has sold out his principles for a big mansion and a hefty cut of his movies’ box office grosses. He’s still good to his fans though, stopping to pose for pictures and crack jokes in order to make sure they crack a smile. However when George gets some tests back from his doctor, stating that he has an extremely rare blood disease and his chances are grim bordering on hopeless, he begins the slow path through self-absorbed grief to introspection and ultimately makes an earnest attempt to right the wrongs of his life.
At a comedy club one night, George happens to cross paths with Ira Wright (Seth Rogen, who also served as an executive producer on the film), a barely funny funnyman whose own friends at work and his roommates at home continually tell him how unamusing he is. Perhaps it’s the fact that Ira’s giving his all that one night, or George is too lost in his own self-pity to notice fully, but some of Ira’s material strikes a chord with him as having promise, and George hires Ira to write jokes for him. (more…)
Just about this time last year I devoted a column to indie or indie-ish movies hunkered down out there among the multiplex behemoths, titled “Summer Shorts.” It’s time for the sequel. The “specialty” market needs all the help it can get—this year’s biggest grosser among the littles has been Sunshine Cleaning, which washed up with a paltry $12 million in the till, or about what it costs to stage a Quidditch match. Consider this a lifeline, for them and for you, if you’re sick of super-stuff (and don’t forget the excellent The Hurt Locker, which I reviewed two weeks ago).
What I liked best about Moon, which I saw this opportune week, was its retro look. Director Duncan Jones (once known as “Zowie Bowie,” son of the formerly named David Jones) was inspired by the industrial design of Silent Running, Alien, and Outland, which production designer Tony Noble and visual effects supervisor Gavin Rothery translated with models rather than computer graphics. Every time the movie, shot in slightly distressed widescreen by Gary Shaw, ventures outside to the lunar surface I was transported to the pre-digital era. This movie has those movies in mind and also the worlds of Gerry Anderson, of TV’s Thunderbirds and Space: 1999, whose 1969 feature Journey to the Far Side of the Sun is another clear inspiration. (And maybe The Man Who Fell to Earth, but Jones is careful to distance himself from his space oddity dad.) (more…)
I’ll admit, first and foremost, that I’ve been more a fan of the Harry Potter films than I have the books. While I admit the books are enjoyable (I’ve read the first four), I find them rather repetitive and not quite as fleshed out in some ways as I think they could be–which is saying something, considering the epic lengths at which they mark off.
I’ve enjoyed the films more, I guess, because I can appreciate the fact that while they are more condensed versions of the books (every film has to have some type of limit before audience members begin laying across other seats in search of a brief respite in dreamland), they are still the most faithful cinematic adaptations of the material that will ever exist, and it’s just a fun experience to watch Daniel Radcliffe (My BoyJack, December Boys) and the other young actors in the cast bring J.K. Rowling’s characters to full-fledged life. It’s also beginning to make me feel a little old, in a bittersweet way, to watch these kids grow up before my eyes as the series has progressed. Like all of you legitimate diehard Potter fans, I’ve come to feel an affinity for this cast, and in some ways feel like a proud parent, watching these talented young actors mature so gracefully. (more…)
The Hurt Locker does the impossible: It single-handedly redeems the mostly misbegotten run of “sand” films, those war-on-terror features connected to Iraq and Afghanistan, a genre about as useless and debased as those feel-good romantic comedies where Kate Hudson sings into a hairbrush, makes goo-goo eyes at Gerard Butler, and throws a hunk of wedding cake at Anne Hathaway. Note I said “features”; there have been excellent documentaries about our ongoing engagements, and the filmmakers wisely take their cues from those.
Since I’m usually ready to give any movie a go (unless the name Uwe Boll is attached to direct), I figured I’d check out a film I wouldn’t normally be attracted to, and see how it holds up. I have to admit up front that I’ve never been a big fan of Sacha Baron Cohen’s comedy; I’ve never intentionally watched Da Ali G Show, nor did I get caught up in the cultural phenomenon that was Borat.
However, I have to say that Cohen’s newest flick, Bruno, is one hell of a funny film.
I’ve been a fan of director Michael Mann (Ali, The Last ofthe Mohicans) for some years now. One thing I’ve always been able to count on is that no matter what project he’s filming, it will be a worthy consideration, a high-class work of art.
That is, until now.
Public Enemies, the latest Mann film, about the FBI hunt for legendary criminal John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) is a lengthy potboiler of a thriller, as most of Mann’s films tend to be. The problem here however, is that the pot boils overly long, the thrills are virtually nonexistent, and the story is sadly pedestrian, being one that we’ve seen many times before — including from Mann himself.
Set during the Great Depression of the 1930s, the film tracks the brilliant yet often brutal career of John Dillinger, a man who loves robbing banks as much for the public acclaim as for the money. Dillinger is known for his eccentric style, smooth appearance, being not unkind to his hostages (at one point even giving his own coat to a female captive to protect her from Chicago’s windy breezes), never taking money from customers of the banks he robs–only from the banks themselves–and his clean getaways. He doesn’t even shoot cops unless backed into a corner with no other option. He’s a true gentlemen’s criminal.
Assigned to capture Dillinger is one Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale), a dedicated agent placed in charge of the FBI’s Chicago bureau by none other than J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup) himself. Unfortunately, after a botched attempt to capture Baby Face Nelson (Stephen Graham), in which one of his own agents is killed, Purvis realizes his slick looking but inexperienced field agents aren’t quite up to the task, and he’s forced to recruit outside help to nab Nelson, some other gangsters, and of course public enemy #1, Dillinger.
Amidst the turbulence in the world of pop culture comes good news from, of all places, Afghanistan. At the start of the new documentary Afghan Star, we see a line of men, with numbered tags on them. My reaction was predictably knee-jerk — what the hell kind of lockstep-fundamentalism thing were these guys up to? As it turned out, they were auditioning for the wildly popular TV show from which the film takes its name. In other words, putting themselves through the same sort of fame-seeking ordeal that thousands of people the world over subject themselves to on the road toward Idol-atry, complete with judges who roll their eyes and clap their hands over their disbelieving ears.
“Afghan Star” is broadcast by Tolo TV, the country’s first commercial station, which started in the wake of the collapse of the Taliban government in 2001. The show’s first season, in 2005, was a success. The documentary (which begins its New York run today, then rolls out nationwide) follows its third season, which began in October 2007. By then the show was as much an institution as American Idol — but it was also a headache for Muslim clerics, who were offended by its pop premise. And it was about to get worse. (more…)
The new “comedy” Post Grad has just opened, and unhhhh…
Thirst, the new film by director Park Chan-wook (Oldboy, Moon is the Sun’s Dream), has two firsts going for it which set it apart in the vampire genre: It’s the first vampire film ever made in Korea, and it’s the first Korean film to feature full-frontal male nudity by its lead (Kang-ho Song — No. 3, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance). For a vampire film, it’s an impressive undertaking. As a film overall…let me get back to you on that.
The highly anticipated film District 9 is opening today, all set to make a killing at the box office—and it certainly deserves the reward. It’s a well-crafted film, both in tone and tale, and brings to the screen the most authentic-looking aliens I’ve seen in quite a while. The question remains, though: is District 9 truly the be-all and end-all of science fiction films that critics have been raving about for the past month? The answer, quite simply, is no. While being a highly original film for the most part, the story does closely resemble the 1988 sci-fi film Alien Nation, which starred James Caan and Mandy Patinkin, right down to one of  its central themes. In fact, one could say that District 9 is in many ways just a more updated, adult version of Alien Nation, only with better effects.
Funny People, the latest film by writer/director Judd Apatow (
I’ll admit, first and foremost, that I’ve been more a fan of the Harry Potter films than I have the books. While I admit the books are enjoyable (I’ve read the first four), I find them rather repetitive and not quite as fleshed out in some ways as I think they could be–which is saying something, considering the epic lengths at which they mark off.
Since I’m usually ready to give any movie a go (unless the name Uwe Boll is attached to direct), I figured I’d check out a film I wouldn’t normally be attracted to, and see how it holds up. I have to admit up front that I’ve never been a big fan of Sacha Baron Cohen’s comedy; I’ve never intentionally watched Da Ali G Show, nor did I get caught up in the cultural phenomenon that was Borat.
