Unheralded Reviews

Watchmen - 4.5 Stars

2009-03-11 10:33:19

Watchmen
Justice is coming to all of us, no matter what we do.

By Adam Frazier

Director Zack Snyder has went from an inexperienced young director to visionary filmmaker in three films. Snyder first popped onto the scene with 2004's "Dawn of the Dead," an extremely competent remake of George A. Romero's classic horror film. Using highly saturated color schemes and visual effects, Snyder's flamboyant visual style gives his films an otherworldly quality.

His second film, "300," an adaptation of Frank Miller's graphic novel, was like a sensory overload of pure Snyder style. Beautifully choreographed fight sequences splattered with blood and sprinkled with slow-motion movements instantly made "300" stand apart from its big screen comic book brethren.

Snyder isn't Kurosawa. He isn't Hitchcock. But he is the go-to guy for horror remakes and comic book adaptations. And when you think about it, isn't that really all our film industry seems capable of these days? In a world of remakes like "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Friday the 13th," as well as comic blockbusters like "Spider-Man" and "The Dark Knight," Snyder seems to be making the right moves and picking the right projects.

That brings us to Snyder's third film, "Watchmen," an adaptation of Alan Moore's groundbreaking comic book series. Watchmen is set in an alternate reality that mirrors the contemporary world of the 1980s. The existence of superheroes and masked vigilantes have dramatically affected and altered the outcomes of events such as the Vietnam War and the presidency of Richard Nixon.

The film opens in a simple, yet beautiful manner. On an oversaturated yellow screen, solid black studio credits snap hard into place. Within a matter of seconds, the tone is set. The opening sequence fills us in on some historical moments in the "Watchmen" universe. It's a haunting, gorgeous sequence set to Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changin" that left me overcome with nostalgia for a time that never even happened.

We're soon introduced to the characters that fill out this gritty, grimy, neon-colored 1980s world. To comic book aficionados, their names are as iconic as Superman and Batman. Nite Owl. Doctor Manhattan. Silk Spectre. Rorschach. Ozymandias and The Comedian. The whole story is used as a means to reflect contemporary anxieties and deconstruct the superhero mythos. These are real people, with real problems - people who retired from their crime-fighting profession and live lonely lives, haunted by the good old days of heroic deeds.

Over the past few weeks, I decided there was no point in taking up space with a plot synopsis in this review. For people who have never read "Watchmen," it's best they experience it with no idea of what to expect. As for the fans (and fanboys) of the comic, they'll be too busy pointing out the differences between the two.

Snyder's style is put to full use in "Watchmen." The way Snyder uses slow motion reminds me of how, as a child, I would linger on a particular page or frame of a comic - soaking up every centimeter of action contained within. The colors are super saturated, the soundtrack and score factor so heavily into the images on screen you can't imagine one without the other afterward.

The themes at play are mature, sophisticated even, and Snyder does an adequate job of translating that to the screen, though he lacks the subtle nuance needed to truly make these ideas resonate.

In the end, Snyder has accomplished something substantial in adapting "Watchmen." This is as good as a film based upon Moore's work could ever hope to be - and that says a lot. It's not going to be for everyone. Some people will stand up and walk out in disgust; others will simply miss the point. But for the folks who love this kind of stuff, this is one of the best comic book adaptations around.

Bride Wars - 2.0 Stars

2009-03-11 10:32:16

Bride Wars
Anne Hathaway is a regular wedding crasher

By Adam Frazier

Remember that speech Tina Fey's character, Ms. Norbury, gives toward the conclusion of Mean Girls? "I want you to raise your hand if you've ever had a girl say something bad about you behind your back."

The result: a gymnasium filled with high school girls brought face-to-face with the reality of their girl-on-girl crime. "You all have got to stop calling each other sluts and whores. It just makes it O.K. for guys to call you sluts and whores. Who here's ever been called a slut?"

While I have been called a slut on numerous occasions, I'm not a lady. If I were, however, I might be a slightly sickened with the way my gender is portrayed in a film like Bride Wars.

In this film by director Gary Winick (13 Going on 30), Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway play Liv and Emma, best friends turned bitter rivals when their weddings are scheduled on the same day. Within a matter of seconds, these two life-long buddies are reduced to wicked, spiteful wenches committed to ruining each other's lives.

I have to wonder what the message behind Bride Wars is - the lesson to be learned. I suppose the film's flimsy script is an attempt to resonate thoughts and feelings of sisterhood, the deep companionship shared between women, but in all honesty it seemed like nothing more than a showcase of backstabbing fueled by jealousy.

The boyfriends-cum-fiancés in this story, Fletcher (Chris Pratt) and Daniel (Steve Howey), are nothing more than chiseled, square-jawed mannequins for Liv and Emma to interact with when they become adversaries. There seems to be little-to-no motivation behind their smiling eyes when they propose to their respective ladies.

I found myself asking, "Why are these guys popping the question?" Was there some huge Earth-shattering moment that I missed out on that made these guys realize there was only one woman for them? Further more, I wondered how these guys could put up with their female counterparts, who are as equally one-sided in terms of motivation and personality.

Kate Hudson's Liv is your stereotypical Type A personality. She's impatient, highly competitive, hostile and overly aggressive. Basically, she's the brazen bitch of the movie. Her best friend Emma, played by Anna Hathaway, makes up for Liv's fierceness by as a completely spineless Type B, a person so patient and soft-spoken she lacks the ability to even speak up for herself.

Again, there's no motivation here as to why these two girls so desperately need to get married right here and now. Their weddings got scheduled on the same day - why not wait until next June? In fact, it seems a little out of character for Hathaway's spineless character to insist on getting married at the same time as Liv.

The film lands a couple laughs and hits its stride when the two wage war on one another with a series of absurd pranks. Liv tampers with Emma's spray tan session, resulting in Hathaway's porcelain complexion tinted in Oompa Loompa orange. To get her back, Emma mixes a special hair dye that leaves Liv screaming, "My hair is blue!"

These pranks continue to escalate until the two former friends reach their breaking points. How does this epic, colossal film end? It pretty much goes down as you would expect - in typical chick flick format. There's a surprising turn of events that is, in all actuality, completely predictable. It's telegraphed from a mile a way, like a Hail Mary pass at the end of a big football game. Just because it's expected, however, doesn't mean it isn't a smart play.

Obviously the makers of this film know their audience and what they want, regardless of if the overall story suffers and lacks any real depth. Maybe I'm taking this all a bit too seriously. I don't mean to critique Bride Wars as if it was a Cecil B. DeMille picture and this review was an analytical paper for some pretentious film theory class. The film is not that bad, but it's not that good either.

What about the acting, you ask? Most of the heavy lifting in Bride Wars, and I use that term sparingly, is left to Anne Hathaway as her character is the more complex of the two. Kate Hudson plays the same silly girl she's played in Fool's Gold and How to Lose A Guy in Ten Days.

Anne Hathaway, who is currently receiving recognition for her amazing performance in Jonathan Demme's Rachel Getting Married, seems to actually be taking a step back with Bride Wars. I can only hope she starts making more of the former and less of the latter, because she truly is an amazing actress and I'm behind her 100%.

You know those "movies for guys who like movies," action flicks that typically involve Chuck Norris or Dolph Lundgren? Well, Bride Wars is kind of like that, but for the ladies. It's a cute and cuddly chick flick that exploits every girl's fairytale dream. The dream of a perfect wedding day.

Bride Wars is a fun, light-hearted movie with good intentions. But sometimes it takes more than just good intentions. With its one-dimensional cast of characters and a barebones script, the film teeters the line between being light-hearted, and having no heart at all.

Wrestler, The - 5.0 Stars

2009-03-11 10:31:30

The Squared Circle
Randy "The Ram" Robinson ascends the top turnbuckle...

Darren Aronofsky's latest picture, "The Wrestler," tells the story of Randy "The Ram" Robinson, a professional wrestler decades past his prime. Robinson barely gets by performing for diehard wrestling fans in high school gyms and community centers around New Jersey.

The film stars Mickey Rourke as the down-and-out Robinson, who works at a grocery store when he isn't "sitting on other dudes' faces," as his boss puts it. When "The Ram" hits rock bottom, he reaches out to the daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) he abandoned in childhood and forms a close bond with a stripper named Cassidy (Marisa Tomei).

While his heart aches from years of loneliness, Robinson's body can no longer withstand the beatings he takes in the ring. "The Ram" ignores his body's pleas when he receives an offer for a rematch with his 1980s arch-nemesis, The Ayatollah, which may be his ticket back to stardom.

Watching "The Wrestler" was an extremely personal, touching experience for me, as some of my most vivid memories of childhood involve pro wrestling. In the �80s, it was loud, colorful and bigger than life. Watching wrasslin' was pure escapism, just as absorbing as the pages of a comic book or the digitized pixels of a video game.

I would sit on the floor fascinated by the stories unfolding on the television set. There were a plethora of characters, each complete with their own gimmick. There were betrayals, alliances, soaring triumphs and crushing defeats. It was an exciting playground for a boy's imagination to run wild in.

I would reenact my favorite matches with big rubber wrestlers right there on the kitchen linoleum. Randy "Macho Man" Savage would climb to the top of the kitchen table and dive off, delivering a monster elbow on the sternum of "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff.

I choreographed the matches and played announcer too, delivering the color commentary complete with the name of every move the rubber gladiators were performing. I was the crowd, screaming and chanting "USA! USA!" or booing fervently at the bad guy who had the upper hand. And when the time came, I was the referee - handing out the final verdict with three slaps of my hand against the floor.

I was a fan, and a big one at that. My mother would stock up on white Hanes T-shirts and cut the neck so I could rip it off on Saturday mornings when Hulk Hogan body slammed someone. This would, of course, lead to impromptu matches with my father, where I would fly off the back of the couch like Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka onto him.

"The Wrestler" hit all the right spots, bringing those memories to the front of my brain with the force of a steel chair shot. I've been to those VFW Hall shows. I've seen the has-beens at high school gymnasiums. Aronofsky captured the atmosphere of those intimate settings flawlessly, and Mickey Rourke lives and breathes the part of a man past his prime who has a little fight left in him.

Thoughts of watching WCW Saturday Night at my grandmother's house, who was an ardent true believer of professional wrestler, come swirling into my psyche. She loved Ric Flair - thought he was the sexiest man alive. We would sit there and yell at the television set together, smiling from ear to ear. Those are some of the best memories I have from my childhood, and I'd like to thank the cast and crew of this film for letting me relive them for a couple of hours.

"The Wrestler" is an amazing film. There is a level of authenticity in this picture that is beyond compare to any other film you'll see this year. You feel every body slam and clothesline. You feel every drop of the blood, sweat and tears shed by Rourke.

Remarkable.

Spirit, The - 1.0 Stars

2009-01-02 22:17:53

The Spirit
Come on! Toilets are always funny!

Frank Miller. If you don't recognize the name, you must spend your time socializing and making friends instead of sitting in dark, dusty comic book shops. To geeks like myself, Frank Miller is something of a legend in the illustrated world of superheroes and pulp fiction.

He's the mind behind works such as Sin City, 300 and The Dark Knight Returns. Frank's been fortunate enough to have directors like Robert Rodriguez and Zack Synder bring his works to life on the big screen, exposing the mainstream masses to his unmistakable style of storytelling.

Someone got the idea that old Frank should direct a movie himself, being as the guy is such a visionary storyteller. Here's the problem: Frank doesn't know the first thing about directing a movie. He's great with a piece of white paper and some black ink, maybe a few splotches of red here and there, but when it comes to putting it on film - the guy's as clueless as a virgin in the condom aisle.

The Spirit, a 1940 Sunday-newspaper comic book insert created by writer-artist Will Eisner, is Miller's first target to shoot down from the director's chair. The series is considered one of the medium's most significant works, with Eisner creating many of the styles, techniques, and storytelling conventions still used by comics writers today.

Miller's own style and sensibilities were no doubt influenced by Eisner, who became a dear friend and mentor to Miller. Take a look at the hardnosed detective pulp stories in Miller's Sin City and you can't help but see flashes of The Spirit.

If you've ever heard the phrase, "kill your darlings," you'll never find a more literal meaning. Frank Miller has taken such an intimate and beloved project and, quite frankly (clever, right?), smashed it straight to hell. Before I tear into this film like a chicken wing buffet, lets get some simple stuff out of the way - like the plot.

Rookie cop Denny Colt returns from beyond the grave as The Spirit (Gabriel Macht), a hero whose mission is to fight against the evildoers in Central City. The Spirit's arch-nemesis is a crime lord and mad scientist known as The Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson) who, as you might have guessed, has a thing for the number 8.

The Spirit, meanwhile, has a thing for the ladies. He falls in love with every dame he runs across, and lucky for him Central City is filled with the most beautiful, seductive creatures in existence. From Eva Mendes, Scarlett Johansson and Sarah Paulson to Jaime King, Paz Vega and Stana Katic, The Spirit offers some spectacular eye candy if nothing else.

What you can expect out of a film like The Spirit is a super-stylized world of black, white and red filled with campy banter, Looney Tunes action sequences and a fair amount of sex appeal. Weird combination, right? What's worse is, aside from the sex appeal, not a single thing in this movie works.

Poor Sam Jackson and Gabriel Macht, they do the best they can with such an uneventful screenplay you've got to feel sorry for them. As far as Mendes and Johansson, I'm not sure they were even trying - its almost as if they accepted they were there for the eyes, not the ears. Every single line of dialogue in the film was disposable and cliché, even for Miller's pulpy noir sensibility.

Frank Miller is not a director. I'm not saying he completely lacks the ability to someday direct a competent motion picture, but as for right now things are looking pretty dim. The Spirit reveals that he may in fact be creatively bankrupt, a one-trick pony capable only of smearing stories in dollops of black white and red. The only thing he seems to be competent in directing is making pretty girls even prettier - maybe there's a future in the porn industry for him if this doesn't pan out.

Sorry Frank, I hate to be so hard on you, but you're a big boy and I'm sure you can handle the criticism. You better be, because there's a lot coming your way. If it makes you feel any better, I think Batman: Year One and The Dark Knight Returns are two of the greatest stories I've ever read. Hell, I even enjoy All-Star Batman and Robin.

Speaking of Batman, The Spirit's score seems to be nothing more than a remix of Danny Elfman's 1989 Batman score. I'm pretty sure I heard the caped crusader's main theme a few times throughout this unbearable film's 103-minute running time.

What else can be said? The Spirit is a bad movie. It's not a guilty pleasure, and it's not one of those movies that's so bad it's good. It fails at even being laughable and enjoyable. I will say that some critics have chosen to be excruciatingly cruel to it, comparing it to Battlefield Earth or Gigli, but I assure you The Spirit is not that horrid - it's just really bad, dumb and all-around worthless.

You may have noticed the little lead-in under the title for this review. The line, "Come on! Toilets are always funny!" is said by The Octopus after he slams a toilet bowl over The Spirit's head. This is after drumming our hero in the testicles with a monkey wrench the size of an 18-wheeler. The thing is, it isn't funny, not even in that America's Funniest Home Videos kind of way.

To me, it's just a reminder of where a piece of shit like The Spirit belongs.

Seven Pounds - 3.5 Stars

2008-12-19 17:54:01

When I saw the trailer for this, I thought it looked really good. However, as I was going into the movie, I still didn't know what I was going to be seeing. Unfortunately, I still didn't know what I was seeing until about halfway into the movie. Ben Thomas (Will Smith) is supposedly an IRS Agent going around doing a bunch of really big favors for seven different strangers, and for reasons unbeknownst to the audience. The first we meet is a blind man named Ezra (Woody Harrelson), who Ben is a complete jackass to. But then we come across Emily Posa (Rosario Dawson), a young woman with congenial heart disease. The relationship between Emily and Ben builds until they become more romantically linked. But Ben still has his mysterious mission to complete, even if it's now become slightly complicated.

Let me start off by saying I thought the film was really good. I enjoyed it quite a bit. However, it tries to be too much of a mystery to the point where you really have no idea what's happening... ever. Is Ben really the douche he seemed to be within the first ten minutes? Why is he helping these strangers? How are they connected? Or are they? Is he really helping them out, or is it part of something greater? What the hell is his plan, anyway? Everything about it is spoken in such ambiguous terms, it was almost like hearing "You know that plan about that thing we talked about that one time at that place? Well, it's the next one's turn now in the process of the thing I'm doing which you know of because of our history together... you know, because we know each other from sometime back in the day." There were really moments where the movie almost felt like it was going out of its way to stay mysterious. Though the second it shows one of the first flashback glimpses of what occurred, everything snaps together and the movie becomes easier to follow. But this is two-fold, because this moment happens at the middle of the film (or so). So you've just gone through the first half of the film shrouded in confusing mystery, but now you're going through the last half of the film with everything easily figured out.

However, those were really the only issues I had, and they really didn't bother me all that much. I've read other reviews stating things like the movie is very slow moving, or it's overly sappy or whatever. I didn't have any of these issues. I felt that maybe the first 10 or 15 minutes or so were a bit confusing, especially in trying to figure out what kind of person Ben Thomas is (douche or saint?), but besides that I didn't find it slow moving at all. And there's some romance in there, and there's a lot of heartfelt moments (no pun intended) that add up, but I didn't think it was overwhelming at all.

In fact, Will Smith has shown once again that he can carry a movie. He did a very fine acting performance here. You never know what's going on in his head, but you can always tell how conflicted or sorrowful or happy or whatnot he is just by looking at his face. He really dug himself into the character. The same with Rosario Dawson, too, who really showed that pain of not being able to live her life to the fullest because of her heart condition. But the one person I want to give the shout out to here is Woody Harrelson. He's not in the movie very much, but he's always a presence in the back of your mind, and I think that says something about how he pulled off the character. I constantly wanted to see what was going to happen next with his character, and he's really only in the movie about 3 times, each time less than 5 minutes.

So besides some editing (or possibly writing) issues, I thought the movie was very good. It does tug at the emotions. It makes you happy when you're supposed to be, sad when you're supposed to be, and even uncomfortable when you're supposed to be. I think that says something about the actors and actresses, because it was really all about the acting once you got the story figured out.

I'm A Cyborg, But That's OK - 4.0 Stars

2008-12-18 00:31:01

So I've wanted to see this movie for a very long time, and I finally got around to doing so. Though this movie is incredibly hard to come by (even outside the US), so finding a way to watch it was that much more difficult. But it was written and directed by Chan-wook Park, the same guy who did one of my favorite movies, Oldboy. However, it couldn't be any more different (including the fact that Oldboy was an action/drama, and this is a comedy... for the most part, anyway).

I could attempt to give you a plot summary here, like I usually would, but that's incredibly difficult for one major reason: there's really no plot. The best I can describe it is thus: Young-goon (Su-jeong Lim) is a young woman who loses touch with reality after her schizophrenic grandmother is taken away (basically leaving her in the care of her also-schizophrenic mother). Needless to say, Young-goon also seems to gain this genetic schizophrenia and suddenly believes she's a cyborg, and she makes a promise to her mother not to tell anybody about it (so they couldn't keep her locked up). Well, they put her in an insane asylum wherein she talks to electronics and meets a young man by the name of Il-soon (Rain), who is a thief that wears different masks in order to take people's souls (and, in essence, their mental disabilities). But when Young-goon refuses to eat any food in fear of breaking down, Il-soon takes it upon himself to try and get her to eat before she starves to death.

But with a movie that is just shy of two hours long, that minuscule plot really doesn't stretch itself over the whole time frame. No, what the movie really banks on is its cast of characters. The whole movie is more of a character study than a plot-driven tale. All of the other asylum inmates each have their own mental issues (obviously), most of which get their own moments to shine. And it's really the attention to detail that this movie really pulls through. The camera can be just steadily going down a hallway or through a courtyard, and in the background you see each character doing their own thing and staying perfectly in character, even if they're not even remotely close to being the focus of the scene.

But of course the two main characters are those of Young-goon and Il-soon, who form the almost heartbreaking romance (heartbreaking because of the circumstances) of the film. To me, Rain stole the show as Il-soon. Whether he was hopping around like a rabbit (and digging out his wedgies immediately after), stealing other people's �souls' and taking over their character traits, fidgeting with his masks, or earnestly trying to help Young-goon stay alive, he was really the most interesting character of the entire movie. And what I really loved about both the characters is that there were a lot of hints as to what happened to both of them in their pasts to bring them to this point, but it's never just spelled out for you. And there's always that hint of sadness linked in with the comedy. And that's really the genius of Chan-wook Park, because if you've seen Oldboy, you know that his movies are very psychological and never only one layer deep.

Though this really brings me to one of my only issues with the movie: sometimes it tried a bit too hard to give another metaphor (because truly, the movie was nothing but metaphors and symbolisms). You know that everything is fake and all the fantasy elements are just happening in their heads, but there were moments I felt didn't need to be in the movie and could have been trimmed down a bit. They were few and far between, but they were there. Because a movie with so little plot�as well as the fact that the first half of the film and the second half of the film don't really match up in what's been focused on (the other patients all but disappear in the last third of the movie)�doesn't need to be almost two hours long. Other than that, the movie was golden.

At first I also really disliked the ending. It ends, and I'm staring at the screen like "what the hell?" But after a couple minutes to digest it and think about it, the more brilliant it became to me (and this was before I read about a part I actually didn't catch, which just adds to its brilliance). It's a lot like Oldboy's epilogue, to me. I didn't much care for that at first, either. But both endings are very open-ended, leaving you up to so many different interpretations. And I really don't want to spoil anything (so if you've seen the movie, leave a comment so we can discuss it).

I also wanted to talk about the visuals and cinematography of the film, which were just beautiful. There's a lot of use of color pallets all around. The movie is just very bright and colorful and really gorgeous to watch. The only iffy visuals were the CGI moments during the cyborg fantasy with the guns. Otherwise, it looked really good. And the camera work was great, as well. There were a lot of interesting shots with mirrors, and there were some good long-shots down hallways and such (nothing as epic as the side-scrolling battle in Oldboy, though).

Really, my last notes about this film are that you can't go into it expecting your brain to function properly. Most people who have disliked the movie have straight-up said they disliked it because it didn't make any sense. Well, after the brilliant opening 10 minutes (confusing at first, brilliant in hindsight) that basically foreshadow the fact that nothing can be taken logically or at face value, you should know what you're getting yourself into. It's a movie about crazy people, and you're going to be submersed into their world fully. The best I can describe it is that it's like at the end of that Robin William's movie, What Dreams May Come: the guy says not to stay in the house too long or he'll start to lose his mind and go crazy, too. Well, the longer you stay with the movie, the crazier you have to think in order to keep up with the utter randomness and chaos of the film. But in the end, the movie is really beautiful and touching... if you can understand it.

Day the Earth Stood Still, The (2008) - 2.5 Stars

2008-12-11 22:34:35

The Day the Earth Stood Still
From out of space, a warning and an ultimatum.

By Adam Frazier

Director Robert Wise's 1951 film, The Day the Earth Stood Still, is one of my all-time favorite science fiction films. The film's explicit message of peace, combined with its grim outlook regarding human civilization, struck a chord with audiences of the Cold War era.

Keep in mind Wise's film hit screens only six years after Little Boy and Fat Man were dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The unleashing of such a terrible, destructive force was enough to make the human race collectively consider their future on this planet.

In the original film, a flying saucer lands in Washington, D.C. A humanoid vistor named Klaatu emerges and declares he has come on a mission of goodwill. It's the classic "We come in peace" scene where we as humans are placed in awe that another civilization exists, and above all - they want to be friends. This follows with a "Take me to your leader" moment as Klaatu wishes to speak to all the leaders of Earth's countries in order to deliver an ultimatum of sorts.

The film hinged on themes of fear, paranoia and the destructive nature of the human race. We had developed atomic power, which would eventually be applied to outer space vessels. If we were to extend our cruel and caustic nature, Klaatu and an alliance of galactic civilizations would be there to put us in our place.

The film is still wholeheartedly relevant, so one has to wonder why a Hollywood remake is necessary, but isn't that the question with 90% of all remakes? While the 1951 picture has rather antiquated special effects - flying saucers on fishing wire - the heart and soul of the film stands strong.

Director Scott Derrickson (The Exorcism of Emily Rose) and writer David Scarpa's re-envisioning features Keanu Reeves as Klaatu and Jennifer Connelly as Helen, a scientist at Princeton University who decides to help him in his cause. The original film was a product of its era, and the same can be said for the 2008 version.

Klaatu, protected by an organic spacesuit of sorts, comes to Earth in a spherical vessel and is accompanied by a bio-nanotechnological entity known as Gort. Gort was Klaatu's robotic bodyguard in the original film, and he fulfills the same purpose here - although looking slightly cooler in the process. Helen has been selected, along with a group of other scientific specialists, to engage the otherworldly visitor.

As Klaatu emerges and Helen approaches to touch his hand, the visitor is shot by a fear-stricken soldier. After seeing an act of aggression taken out on Klaatu, Gort showcases his fearsome powers by disabling all weapons equipment in the area.

Klaatu is taken to a military facility where scientists and doctors remove his organic spacesuit and surgically excise the bullet from his humanoid flesh and muscle system. Keanu Reeves is certainly inspired casting as Klaatu. Even when giving his most human of performances, Reeves still manages to come off as a complete and total alien.

Klaatu's mission to Earth is still intrinsically tied to the human race's destructive tendencies, but the message is pointed rather at our attitude toward the planet itself. Klaatu states it simply, "If the Earth dies, you die. If you die, the Earth lives."

The first half of the film is rather enjoyable and stays close to the original's heart. Klaatu is a peaceful visitor trying to acclimate himself with his human form and the unfamiliar world around him. Helen helps him escape the facility and later reunites with him, bring her stepson (Jaden Smith) along for the ride.

Here's the problem: at some point Klaatu stops acting as a peaceful messenger and becomes just as aggressive as the humans he is there to warn. Being an alien, he has a few special powers up his sleeve, including a nifty sonic brain scrambler deal that temporarily paralyzes people.

For some reason, he decides to stop using that and gets a little more creative with the way in which he escapes the military and police officers. In one scene, Klaatu crushes a cop by telekinetically sandwiching him in-between two cars. After breaking the poor guy's legs and mangling him, Klaatu then heals him - as if that makes up for his completely pointless, overly aggressive stunt.

Follow that up with our alien visitor crashing a couple of helicopters into each other, providing a big explosion for action-starved eyes to engulf. The film establishes a set of rules and logic in the first act that it breaks time and time again in the latter half.

Didn't I just listen to this guy preach about the destructive nature of humans and yet here he goes blowing up stuff like a pyrotechnics technician for KISS? Why wouldn't Klaatu use his powers to disable the vehicle's weapons system? You'll have to ask Derrickson and Scarpa about that I guess.

Realizing that humans cannot change their nature, Klaatu decides they must be eradicated so the planet can survive, and Gort is the means to which civilization will end. The colossal being transforms into a cloud comprised of billions of microscopic life forms capable of devouring anything and everything in its path.

As Gort destroys New York City in typical apocalyptic science fiction style, Klaatu realizes he has made a mistake after seeing a tender moment between Helen and her stepson. I was never quite convinced that we as a civilization could change. All I saw was Jaden Smith trying his hardest to be the angry, angst-ridden stepson to Jennifer Connelly. Some how, by watching these two kiss and make up, the whole human race was worth saving. Hmph.

The Day the Earth Stood Still, as a remake, had a lot of potential. There is a story and a message worth retelling and reemphasizing. Unfortunately, Derrickson's take on it was rather underwhelming. There were several moments I enjoyed, which might actually make the film more disappointing - for the squandered prospect of what it could have been.

Let the Right One In - 5.0 Stars

2008-12-08 14:10:40

Låt den rätte komma in
A work of sheer brilliance

by Adam Frazier

"Let the Right One In" is an endearing coming-of-age story that is so unique and exceptional it defies classification. In this Swedish film, adapted from John Ajvide Lindqvist's bestselling novel, director Tomas Alfredson masterfully weaves a story of falling in love that is both horrifying and tender.

12-year-old Oskar (Kare Hedebrant) is a victim of relentless bullying. When we're first introduced to young Oskar, he is alone in his bedroom, dressed only in his underwear. Immediately the insecurities that rule Oskar's everyday life shine through his porcelain skin. The innocence and vulnerability of Hedebrant's performance is a tour-de-force, completely authentic and believable in every matter of speaking.

Lina Leandersson plays Eli, a 12-year-old girl who moves into Oskar's housing complex outside Stockholm. The two meet one snowy afternoon at a jungle gym in the complex's courtyard. Eli is a sad, lonely creature who Oskar immediately latches on to as his one and only friend. After an initial period of awkward timidity, a tender affection is formed between the two.

At this point, you might be wondering what the film's title refers to, being as this is just a sweet tale of young, Swedish love. "Let the Right One In" is actually a play on the myth that a vampire cannot enter a house unless invited by the owner.

Wait? What? Vampires? Did I hear that right? Yes, you certainly did. Tomas Alfredson's unique little film is a love story wrapped in the trappings of traditional vampire lore. Now, I realize vampire romanticism isn't exactly a new concept, in fact it's more popular than ever.

From Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles series, to Stephenie Meyer's young adult Twilight series and "True Blood," HBO's latest hit show based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries books by Charlaine Harris, it's hard to find a vampire doing anything BUT making a little romance these days.

This fairly cliché idea, fueled by themes of forbidden love, is given a breath of fresh air in "Let the Right One In." Having Oskar and Eli at the young, innocent age of 12 gives the story a whole new spin. These characters are lonely, unsure of what real love is - all they can do is open their hearts to one another and hope it makes sense. There is no seduction or manipulation - just sweet adoration for one another.

The main difference between "Let the Right One In" and the romances in Twlight or Interview with the Vampire is simple. Those tales are filled with attractive, seductive creatures that make starry-eyed females fall head-over-heels immediately. They beg to be bitten, and dream of living eternally in bliss with their supernatural lovers - but not in Alfredson's picture. Eli is tormented by her affliction and we are shown time and time again its burden on her life. Oskar genuinely loves her and pities her situation, and will do anything to protect her - even after witnessing firsthand the foul, grotesque things she must do to survive.

"Let the Right One In" is one of the finest films I've ever had the pleasure of watching. It's a beautiful, serene experience that will chill you to the bone while warming your heart with those fuzzy feelings of young love.

Frost / Nixon - 5.0 Stars

2008-12-06 00:07:08

Frost / Nixon
400 million people were waiting for the truth.

By Adam Frazier

"I'm saying, that when the president does it, that means it is not illegal."

Those searching for the relevance in Ron Howard's latest film, "Frost/Nixon," need look no further. Those fateful words, delivered by former president Richard Nixon in a series of post-Watergate television interviews with British talk show host David Frost, carry just as much weight in today's political climate as they did in the late �70s.

During the Watergate scandal, Nixon's approval rating fell to a disastrous 23%, just a mere percentage point away from being tied with president Harry S. Truman for the lowest in our nation's history. With president George W. Bush's approval rating in steady decline, recently hitting 25%, due to a drawn out war and a failing economy, it seems that history does in fact repeat itself.

"Frost/Nixon" is the big-screen film adaptation of British screenwriter and playwright Peter Morgan's 2006 Tony award-winning play. Morgan, whose writing credits include "The Queen" and "The Last King of Scotland," also penned the film adaptation's screenplay.

The film, a dramatic retelling of those post-Watergate television interviews between David Frost and president Nixon, stars Michael Sheen as Frost and Frank Langella as Nixon- roles both actors should feel quite comfortable in after performing them hundreds of times on stage.

"Frost / Nixon" boils down to a battle of wits between two unlikely adversaries. Why would former president Richard Nixon agree to do an interview with a British talk show host of all people? The same reason anyone does anything. Money. The drama heightens as David Frost hires a team of investigators and reporters to get down to the nitty-gritty of the Watergate scandal. Meanwhile, the season political veteran Nixon prepares for any and every question that can be thrown at him.

Though Frank Langella doesn't really resemble Nixon that much, he completely embodies the character in a way that makes you begin seeing the former president instead of Langella. He disappears into the role in such an elegant, surreal way - certainly one of the best portrayals of a president in cinema.

In the blue corner, Michael Sheen's Frost is equally as impressive. Sheen, like his counterpart Langella, melts away and all that is left is the character. Obviously these two are as comfortable in their roles as Frost is in a pair of Italian loafers - but supporting actors like Sam Rockwell, Kevin Bacon and Oliver Platt also step up to the plate and deliver excellent performances that further flesh out the tone and texture of the �70s America political climate.

"Frost / Nixon" is Ron Howard's best film. That's my opinion. That's my critique. Peter Morgan's excellent play has made a wonderful transition to the big screen - a rare feat in its own right. On top of that, add award-worthy performances and a gripping, drama doused story, and you've got one of the best films of 2008.

Australia - 4.0 Stars

2008-12-06 00:06:45

Like his previous film, Moulin Rouge, Baz Luhrmann's Australia is receiving wildly mixed reviews. The $130-million epic has had some critics describing it as Australia's Gone With the Wind, while other writers would have you believe the film is burdened with thinly drawn characters and an overall lack of originality.

In his review for the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert says Luhrmann has succeeded in making an Australian Gone With the Wind, "with much of that film's lush epic beauty and some of the same awkwardness with a national legacy of racism."

Ebert's largely favorable review, three stars, closes with "Gone With the Wind, for all its faults and racial stereotyping, at least represented a world its makers believed in. Australia envisions a world intended largely as fable, and that robs it of some power. Still, what a gorgeous film, what strong performances, what exhilarating images and -- yes, what sweeping romantic melodrama. The kind of movie that is a movie, with all that the word promises and implies."

Meanwhile, Claudia Puig in USA Today twists similar words around, writing that the movie "tries to be a sprawling, romantic epic. Instead, it's a melodramatic exercise in tedium. Rather than being old-fashioned or classic, it's old-school and conventional. Instead of believable romance, it offers schmaltz and cliché."

When I think of films like Gone With the Wind, Casablanca or The Wizard of Oz, the word 'classic' loosens itself effortlessly from the cobwebbed rafters of my brain. These are films that stand out as shining examples of timeless cinematic triumphs - films that are still relevant and enjoyable even though they are a product of a different time.

I have to wonder, however, what audiences and critics would think of Gone With the Wind had it come to theaters in 2008. Would they bicker over it's 226 minute running time? Would they curl their nose and roll their eyes at thinly drawn characters or racial stereotypes? Would they point out the predictability of its romantic plot?

It's hard to say. It's an impossible scenario to consider, being as a film like Australia is a direct product of the sweeping, epic romanticism Gone With the Wind introduced moviegoers to back in 1939. I will say this though, I completely agree with Ebert's assertion of the film. Luhrmann has created a beautiful, absolutely stunning film that does capture some of that old-time movie making magic that is regretfully absent from today's cineplexes.

I loved Australia. The cinematography is awe-inspiring, with beautiful scenes garnished with colors that dance across the screen with a dreamlike fluidity. Is the romance familiar? Yes, of course it is. Are the characters thinly drawn and undeveloped? Perhaps, but was the doomed love of Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler any different?

When I go to one of my favorite haunts here in Charlotte, Phat Burrito, and belly up to the bar for a barbecue chicken burrito, I know what it's going to taste like. I know it's ingredients will consist of red beans, rice, cheese, sour cream, and of course the deliciously seasoned chicken. I know it will be wrapped with care in an oversized tortilla and served with salsa.

Even before the burrito touches my lips, I know what to expect. My brain anticipates the flavors and tingles with excitement. Even though my senses can predict what it will taste like, it doesn't take away from the pleasure of eating it.

There is something to be said for familiarity. In the way seeing an old friend brings back a flood of memories and emotions, so does experiencing the pure escapism of Australia. Is it a perfect film? No. Luckily there is no such thing, or else film criticism would be a simple, by-the-books procedure. Is it worth seeing? Most certainly. It's one of the most emotionally engaging and overall entertaining films I've seen in recent memory.