Category Archives: Color

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013, J.J. Abrams)

Posted on 20 May 2013 | Leave a comment

For Star Trek Into Darkness, J.J. Abrams operates with an “if it ain’t broke” mentality. It serves him–and the film–fairly well. Except Michael Giacchino’s music. While Abrams goes for sensationalism every time, he does it competently. The Giacchino music, however, is never competent.

This Trek tries hard to create mainstream post-modern; it’s a sequel to the first movie, yes, but it’s also a remake of a television series and a movie series. Not to mention Abrams and the writers gleefully wink at the franchise’s more memorable details. Into Darkness does have some serious moments and even tries hard to work arcs for some of its characters (it loses them too often), but it’s all for fun.

So why do Abrams and company get away with it? Usually the acting. Benedict Cumberbatch is fantastic as the villain, a 23rd century terrorist. If he wanted, he could act circles around Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, but Cumberbatch gives them time to catch up. He’s the very special guest star, after all.

Both Pine and Quinto are good. Pine’s likable and believable but the script coddles him. He doesn’t have to run the movie. Karl Urban’s great as Bones, Simon Pegg’s fun as Scotty. John Cho and Anton Yelchin lack personality–the script doesn’t give them enough to do. Zoe Saldana’s okay, the script giving her too much to do.

Sadly, Peter Weller’s weak. He’s obviously stunt casting.

Into Darkness succeeds. Hopefully the next one will be more original.

CREDITS

Directed by J.J. Abrams; screenplay by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and Damon Lindelof, based on the television series created by Gene Roddenberry; director of photography, Daniel Mindel; edited by Maryann Brandon and Mary Jo Markey; music by Michael Giacchino; production designer, Scott Chambliss; produced by Abrams, Bryan Burk, Orci, Kurtzman and Lindelof; released by Paramount Pictures.

Starring Chris Pine (Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock), Zoe Saldana (Uhura), Karl Urban (Bones), Simon Pegg (Scotty), John Cho (Sulu), Anton Yelchin (Chekov), Benedict Cumberbatch (John Harrison), Alice Eve (Carol), Peter Weller (Admiral Marcus) and Bruce Greenwood (Captain Pike).

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Posted in 2013, Action, Adventure, Color, English, Klingon, Sci-Fi, USA

Tagged Alex Kurtzman, Alice Eve, Anton Yelchin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Bruce Greenwood, Bryan Burk, Chris Pine, Damon Lindelof, Daniel Mindel, Gene Roddenberry, J.J. Abrams, John Cho, Karl Urban, Mary Jo Markey, Maryann Brandon, Michael Giacchino, Peter Weller, Roberto Orci, Scott Chambliss, Simon Pegg, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana

The Jewel of the Nile (1985, Lewis Teague)

Posted on 15 May 2013 | Leave a comment

If there’s a better example of why not every successful film should have a sequel than The Jewel of the Nile, I can’t think of it.

Nile should be a lot of fun–Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner are still likable, Danny DeVito’s still hilarious… but it soon becomes clear Douglas and Turner are more likable apart. Her character has completely changed, while his changes might just be seen as character development. Might.

Screenwriters Mark Rosenthal and Lawrence Konner don’t really have a story for the duo, so they flop their way into one. There’s a lot of resolution to the previous film’s ending, which seems like a waste of run time. The first twenty minutes of Nile could be done in three lines of good expository dialogue.

The film does have some decent action, thanks to too much money, a fine workman director in Teague and great Jan de Bont photography. The Jack Nitzsche score is iffy, but Peter Boita and Michael Ellis’s editing is sublime. It never gets boring, even when the action scenes are clearly padded out. There’s just too much technical competence.

Nile does rely a lot on racial stereotypes. The filmmakers seem to think they’re being respectful, but it’s still uncomfortably exploitative.

One of the script’s biggest mistakes is to give DeVito his own storyline. He’d have been funnier with Douglas and Turner, who instead accompany Avner Eisenberg. Eisenberg is no DeVito.

It’s also too bad Douglas can’t feign interest. He produced it after all.

CREDITS

Directed by Lewis Teague; screenplay by Mark Rosenthal and Lawrence Konner, based on characters created by Diane Thomas; director of photography, Jan de Bont; edited by Peter Boita and Michael Ellis; music by Jack Nitzsche; production designers, Richard Dawking and Terry Knight; produced by Michael Douglas; released by 20th Century Fox.

Starring Michael Douglas (Jack Colton), Kathleen Turner (Joan Wilder), Danny DeVito (Ralph), Spiros Focás (Omar), Avner Eisenberg (Al-Julhara), Paul David Magid (Tarak), Hamid Fillali (Rachid) and Holland Taylor (Gloria).

Joan Wilder series:

Romancing the Stone (1984, Robert Zemeckis)

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Posted in 1985, 20th Century Fox, Action, Adventure, Arabic, Color, Comedy, English, Romance, USA

Tagged Avner Eisenberg, Danny DeVito, Diane Thomas, Hamid Fillali, Holland Taylor, Jack Nitzsche, Jan de Bont, Kathleen Turner, Lawrence Konner, Lewis Teague, Mark Rosenthal, Michael Douglas, Michael Ellis, Paul David Magid, Peter Boita, Richard Dawking, Spiros Focás, Terry Knight

Meet the Parents (2000, Jay Roach)

Posted on 10 May 2013 | Leave a comment

Meet the Parents requires an extraordinary suspension of disbelief. It’s an absurdist comedy, but the presence of Robert De Niro and–maybe even more so–Blythe Danner imply Parents is based in some kind of reality.

So the simplest thing–believing Teri Polo could be a well-adjusted adult after growing up with De Niro as a father–becomes Parents’s first hurdle. She and Ben Stiller have only the mildest chemistry and it only goes downhill as the film gets more absurd (and more funny).

Director Roach isn’t capable enough to make that romance, which should be the primary focus of Parents narratively, work, so he concentrates on De Niro and Stiller being funny together. It works. Stiller and De Niro are very funny together. While Stiller actually gives a good performance, De Niro’s is problematic. His best moments are either with Danner or Stiller. When De Niro has to play off Owen Wilson, it feels wrong, like De Niro’s doing a “Saturday Night Live” sketch mocking the film.

Roach’s inabilities carry over into the technical aspects as well. He can’t decide how realistic he wants Parents to play–the film opens with a series of home video shots and there’s some Steadicam later on, but it’s mostly static. It doesn’t necessarily need to choose, but it’s clear Roach is simply incapable of making the decision.

Towards the end, Parents gets very long. It can’t handle with the return to sensibly behaving characters. The acting helps get it through.

CREDITS

Directed by Jay Roach; screenplay by Jim Herzfeld and John Hamburg, based on a story by Greg Glienna and Mary Ruth Clarke; director of photography, Peter James; edited by Greg Hayden and Jon Poll; music by Randy Newman; production designer, Rusty Smith; produced by Robert De Niro, Roach, Jane Rosenthal and Nancy Tenenbaum; released by Universal Pictures.

Starring Robert De Niro (Jack Byrnes), Ben Stiller (Greg Focker), Teri Polo (Pam Byrnes), Blythe Danner (Dina Byrnes), James Rebhorn (Dr. Larry Banks), Jon Abrahams (Denny Byrnes), Phyllis George (Linda Banks), Kali Rocha (Atlantic American Flight Attendant), Thomas McCarthy (Dr. Bob Banks), Nicole DeHuff (Deborah Byrnes) and Owen Wilson (Kevin Rawley).

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Posted in 2000, Color, Comedy, English, French, Hebrew, Romance, Spanish, Thai, Universal Pictures, USA

Tagged Ben Stiller, Blythe Danner, Greg Glienna, Greg Hayden, James Rebhorn, Jane Rosenthal, Jay Roach, Jim Herzfeld, John Hamburg, Jon Abrahams, Jon Poll, Kali Rocha, Mary Ruth Clarke, Nancy Tenenbaum, Nicole DeHuff, Owen Wilson, Peter James, Phyllis George, Randy Newman, Robert De Niro, Rusty Smith, Teri Polo, Thomas McCarthy

Final Deadball (2011)

Posted on 9 May 2013 | Leave a comment

Final Deadball is a strange little thing.

At first I thought it would be incomprehensible without seeing Deadball–Final is a short spin-off semi-sequel for one of the supporting cast in Deadball–but halfway through there’s a big expository scene so one might be able to understand it without seeing the feature.

I wish I had some names but nothing was translated except the title.

It mostly consists of the protagonist, a recently released juvenile delinquent, trying to escape from his fate. The murderous deadball follows him around, killing bystanders, as he tries to escape it.

The guy who plays the protagonist is fantastic. Final is on DV and appears to be no budget, so the technical values–while creative–aren’t fantastic. But the lead stays professional, even though he’s in poorly lighted frames. He maintains sympathy throughout.

It’s got a surprising amount of depth, given the constraints.

CREDITS

Released by Nikkatsu.

Deadball series:

Deadball (2011, Yamaguchi Yudai)

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Posted in 2011, Color, Comedy, Horror, Japan, Japanese, Nikkatsu, Short

iSteve (2013, Ryan Perez)

Posted on 8 May 2013 | Leave a comment

iSteve is pretty darn stupid. The film doesn’t make any attempt not to be stupid–occasionally, one has to imagine they went for the more stupid option–but it’s not unwatchable. In a few ways, it’s a great example of why biopics don’t work. In director Perez’s version, Steve Jobs doesn’t really have a particularly interesting life. The low budget nature even hurts further dumb joke ideas–when Jobs (played by Justin Long) moves back home after getting fired at Apple, his parents don’t appear. They’re always offscreen. At least they could have done the “Charlie Brown” adult talking bit….

As far as the bits go, some are a lot better than others. The subplot with Melinda Gates (Michaela Watkins in iSteve’s best performance) romancing both Jobs and Bill Gates is really funny at times. The stuff with Jobs directing Justin Long in the TV commercials is good. Perez isn’t making a movie about Jobs as a celebrity or Apple as a successful company or even a spoof biopic (it’s too inaccurate). For a few minutes though, it plays like a vanity project for Long–when he casts someone spoofing him to be in the commercials. If iSteve had any actual focus, instead of some sporadic, awesome eighties or nineties jokes, it might have worked.

Long’s okay in the lead. He doesn’t really have a part.

The editing–there are six or seven editors–is fantastic. Great soundtrack too.

iSteve’s biggest joke is its existence. But it could be worse.

CREDITS

Directed by Ryan Perez; written by Perez, Danny Jelinek, Charles Ingram, Anne Rieman, Nick Corirossi, Allison Hord and Bradly Schulz; director of photography, Brian Lane; edited by Pat Bishop, Andy Maxwell, Perez, Chris Poole, Caleb Swyers and Jelinek; production designer, Tricia Robertson; produced by Hord; released by Funny or Die.

Starring Justin Long (Steve Jobs), Jorge Garcia (Steve Wozniak), James Urbaniak (Bill Gates),
Michaela Watkins (Melinda Gates), John Ross Bowie (John Sculley), Steve Tom (Don Commodore), Nick Corirossi (Dell Dude), Anthony Gioe (Justin Long), Charles Ingram (George Lucas), Paul Rust (Billy Corgan), Juzo Yoshida (Otogawa), Jill Donnelly (Annie Leibovitz), Art Evans (Ol’ Mose), Joe Farrell (John Hodgman), Brian Huskey (Professor Palladino) and Kyle Mooney (Father).

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Posted in 2013, Biography, Color, Comedy, English, Funny or Die, USA

Tagged Allison Hord, Andy Maxwell, Anne Rieman, Anthony Gioe, Art Evans, Bradly Schulz, Brian Huskey, Brian Lane, Caleb Swyers, Charles Ingram, Chris Poole, Danny Jelinek, James Urbaniak, Jill Donnelly, Joe Farrell, John Ross Bowie, Jorge Garcia, Justin Long, Juzo Yoshida, Kyle Mooney, Michaela Watkins, Nick Corirossi, Pat Bishop, Paul Rust, Ryan Perez, Steve Tom, Tricia Robertson

Hybrids (2013, Patrick Kalyn)

Posted on 7 May 2013 | Leave a comment

While it is exceptionally bad, Hybrids does have some really good CG composites. The fight scenes are incredible for a short; sure, the design of the evil alien monsters is laughable, but the silly monsters do exist in the physical environments.

Hybrids has three problems. First–and actually least important–is it’s pointless. It’s fine if Hybrids is a demo reel for CG effects; it doesn’t have to be awful though. Director Kalyn switches between bad Malick impressions for blissful country life and lousy future junkyard action for the fights. His writing’s even worse though. These aliens can master long distance space travel but they’re morons.

Another big problem is lead Daniella Evangelista. She’s goofy when she’s acting tough and her voiceover narration is awful.

At six minutes, Kalyn manages to be boring. Special effects competencies aside, Hybrids offers nothing.

A straight demo reel of ugly aliens would’ve been better.

CREDITS

Written, directed and edited by Patrick Kalyn; director of photography, Cliff Hokanson; music by Sam Hulick; produced by Gabriel Napora.

Starring Daniella Evangelista (Dakota) and Kaitlyn Bernard (Abigail).

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Posted in 2013, Canada, Color, English, Sci-Fi, Short

Tagged Cliff Hokanson, Daniella Evangelista, Gabriel Napora, Kaitlyn Bernard, Patrick Kalyn, Sam Hulick

Iron Man 3 (2013, Shane Black)

Posted on 6 May 2013 | Leave a comment

Iron Man 3 feels a lot like the end of the series, which isn’t a bad thing–Robert Downey Jr. does the hero’s journey thing quite well–but director Black handles it oddly. After spending the entire movie pairing Downey with buddies, whether love interest Gwyneth Paltrow, sidekicks Don Cheadle and Jon Favreau, his computer and even an adorable little kid, Downey finishes the movie by himself.

But he’s just learned he can’t get by without a little help from his friends.

Anyway, it’s a stumble after an incredibly entertaining couple hours. Even when the film’s being serious–and sometimes even frightening (the villains are quite good)–it’s always a lot of fun. Downey and Paltrow are wonderful together, as usual, and Black never lets it get too somber. The end credits are self-congratulatory in the best way (if playing into the series finale thing a little much).

Cheadle doesn’t have a lot to do–Iron Man 3 could be a lot longer; more movie would plug most of its plot holes (besides Downey going from experienced marksman to novice in twenty minutes)–but he’s good. Ditto for Rebecca Hall as an ex-girlfriend. She and Paltrow get nowhere near enough time together.

The big surprises are Ben Kingsley as the supervillain and Guy Pearce as a business rival. Kingsley’s excellent, but Pearce’s spellbinding. He walks off with the movie. He alone makes it worth seeing.

The only real bad spot is Brian Tyler’s crappy score.

Otherwise, it rocks.

CREDITS

Directed by Shane Black; screenplay by Drew Pearce and Black, based on the Marvel Comics character created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Don Heck and Jack Kirby; director of photography, John Toll; edited by Peter S. Elliot and Jeffrey Ford; music by Brian Tyler; production designer, Bill Brzeski; produced by Kevin Feige; released by Walt Disney Studios.

Starring Robert Downey Jr. (Tony Stark), Gwyneth Paltrow (Pepper Potts), Don Cheadle (Colonel James Rhodes), Guy Pearce (Aldrich Killian), Rebecca Hall (Maya Hansen), Jon Favreau (Happy Hogan), James Badge Dale (Savin), William Sadler (President Ellis), Ty Simpkins (Harley Keener), Miguel Ferrer (Vice President Rodriguez) and Ben Kingsley (The Mandarin).

Iron Man series:

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Posted in 2013, Action, Adventure, China, Color, English, Sci-Fi, USA, Walt Disney Pictures

Tagged Ben Kingsley, Bill Brzeski, Brian Tyler, Don Cheadle, Don Heck, Drew Pearce, Guy Pearce, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jack Kirby, James Badge Dale, Jeffrey Ford, John Toll, Jon Favreau, Kevin Feige, Larry Lieber, Miguel Ferrer, Peter S. Elliot, Rebecca Hall, Robert Downey Jr., Shane Black, Stan Lee, Ty Simpkins, William Sadler

Blues Brothers 2000 (1998, John Landis)

Posted on 3 May 2013 | 1 Comment

I found something good to say about Blues Brothers 2000. The end credits are seven minutes. The only good thing about this movie is it ending any sooner.

2000 is truly one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen, particularly because it’s not even amusing in its badness. If it was amusingly bad, it would have something going for it. But Dan Aykroyd, who starts the movie with what seems to be a Russian accent before going into his terrible version of a Chicago one, takes it all very seriously. Watching John Goodman play second fiddle to Aykroyd is depressing, but probably not as depressing as watching Joe Morton inexplicably playing Cab Calloway’s character from the first one’s son. Because they needed a black costar this time?

As for Landis, his direction is atrocious. It’s clear from the opening whatever technical proficiency Landis had for the first one is gone for this one. If it were anyone but he and Aykroyd, one might think of 2000‘s scenes similar to the original as paltry knock-offs instead of informed homages. Ever single thing in the movie flops though. It’s incredible. The only good performance is probably Shann Johnson.

Landis can’t even direct a fun James Brown performance in this one. It’s constantly getting worse and even more boring. There aren’t any comedy gags in it.

While the cast is terrible overall (especially little Blues J. Evan Bonifant), Erykah Badu and Paul Shaffer give the worst performances.

2000‘s indescribably abysmal.

CREDITS

Directed by John Landis; written by Dan Aykroyd and Landis; director of photography, David Herrington; edited by Dale Beldin; music by Paul Shaffer; production designer, Bill Brodie; produced by Aykroyd, Leslie Belzberg and Landis; released by Universal Pictures.

Starring Dan Aykroyd (Elwood Blues), John Goodman (Mighty Mack McTeer), Joe Morton (Cabel Chamberlain), J. Evan Bonifant (Buster), Steve Cropper (Steve ‘The Colonel’ Cropper), Donald Dunn (Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn), Murphy Dunne (Murph), Willie Hall (Willie Hall), Tom Malone (‘Bones’ Malone), Lou Marini (‘Blue Lou’ Marini), Matt Murphy (Matt ‘Guitar’ Murphy), Alan Rubin (‘Mr. Fabulous’), Aretha Franklin (Mrs. Murphy), James Brown (Cleophus James), B.B. King (Malvern Gasperon), Nia Peeples (Lt. Elizondo), Kathleen Freeman (Mother Mary Stigmata), Sam Moore (Reverend Morris), Wilson Pickett (Mr. Pickett), Frank Oz (Warden), Eddie Floyd (Ed), Jonny Lang (Custodian), Steve Lawrence (Maury Sline), Junior Wells (Junior Wells), Lonnie Brooks (Lonnie Brooks), Jeff Morris (Bob), Shann Johnson (Matara), Darrell Hammond (Robertson) and Erykah Badu (Queen Mousette).

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Posted in 1998, Action, Adventure, Color, Comedy, English, Musical, Russian, Universal Pictures, USA

Tagged Alan Rubin, Aretha Franklin, B.B. King, Bill Brodie, Dale Beldin, Dan Aykroyd, Darrell Hammond, David Herrington, Donald Dunn, Eddie Floyd, Erykah Badu, Frank Oz, J. Evan Bonifant, James Brown, Jeff Morris, Joe Morton, John Goodman, John Landis, Jonny Lang, Junior Wells, Kathleen Freeman, Leslie Belzberg, Lonnie Brooks, Lou Marini, Matt Murphy, Murphy Dunne, Nia Peeples, Paul Shaffer, Sam Moore, Shann Johnson, Steve Cropper, Steve Lawrence, Tom Malone, Willie Hall, Wilson Pickett

Motherland (2010, Hannes Appell)

Posted on 2 May 2013 | Leave a comment

Motherland wasn’t made with a reference copy of Film Symbolism for Dummies handy. Director Appell apparently had a copy of Film Symbolism for Complete Freaking Morons on hand instead. It’s painful to watch, especially towards the end. Appell actually gets worse after aping the little girl in red from Schindler’s List. I didn’t know you could get cheaper with sentimentality than ripping off Schindler’s List, but Appell manages.

The short is a mix of CG and live action. The design–combining Soviet architecture and Nazi Germany visual staples–isn’t bad. The CG isn’t particularly good though. Stevo Arendt’s photography is awful. It doesn’t match the CG lighting and Appell’s ambitions for Motherland flop due to its technical incompetencies.

As for the acting… none of the actors speak, which is probably a good thing. They’re terrible without dialogue; they’d probably be worse with it.

It’s a risible attempt at “deep” filmmaking.

CREDITS

Written and directed by Hannes Appell; co-directed by Krystof Zlatnik; director of photography, Stevo Arendt; music by David Christiansen; produced by Libor Tesacek and Felix Vollmar.

Starring Simona Sbaffi (Mother), Christina Uhland (Daughter), Moritz Gaa (Worker), Ulrich K. Günther (Capitalist) and Bernhard Linke (Soldier).

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Posted in 2010, Color, Germany, Short

Tagged Bernhard Linke, Christina Uhland, David Christiansen, Felix Vollmar, Hannes Appell, Krystof Zlatnik, Libor Tesacek, Moritz Gaa, Simona Sbaffi, Stevo Arendt, Ulrich K. Günther

Orphan (2009, Jaume Collet-Serra)

Posted on 1 May 2013 | Leave a comment

Orphan‘s a peculiar failure. The script isn’t particularly good; it’s layered with foreshadowing upon foreshadowing and some very predictable turns. But it has these occasionally strong dialogue scenes between Vera Farmiga and Peter Sarsgaard. It runs out of them after a while, but they leave a positive memory.

Then there’s director Collet-Serra. He really likes crane shots in what should be enclosed spaces and he likes to use handheld when he should have a track. Orphan feels like an inexperienced director who got the opportunity to do a lot of things just because he could. Collet-Serra can’t do the two simple things Orphan needs him to do.

First, it needs him to tie a children’s story–Aryana Engineer and Jimmy Bennett get an adopted sister–to an adult’s story–Farmiga and Sarsgaard are new adoptive parents. Both of these stories (more Farmiga and Sarsgaard because of their fine acting, Farmiga in particular) have some strong moments. Scared kids is a classic, cheap movie standard and Collet-Serra can’t pull it off. It’s sort of embarrassing, because he doesn’t even seem to get it.

Second, he needs to give the family’s house a personality. He can’t. Some of it is lousy production design courtesy Tom Meyer, some of it is Collet-Serra’s incompetence.

As the film’s bad seed, Isabelle Fuhrman is mediocre. She can’t hold her accent and she’s never believable in hindsight after the big reveal.

Orphan‘s a boring thriller with bad direction and an excellent Farmiga performance.

CREDITS

Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra; screenplay by David Johnson, based on a story by Alex Mace; director of photography, Jeff Cutter; edited by Timothy Alverson; music by John Ottman; production designer, Tom Meyer; produced by Joel Silver, Jennifer Davisson Killoran, Susan Downey and Leonardo DiCaprio; released by Warner Bros.

Starring Vera Farmiga (Kate), Peter Sarsgaard (John), Isabelle Fuhrman (Esther), CCH Pounder (Sister Abigail), Jimmy Bennett (Daniel), Margo Martindale (Dr. Browning), Karel Roden (Dr. Varava), Rosemary Dunsmore (Grandma Barbara) and Aryana Engineer (Max).

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Posted in 2009, American Sign Language, Canada, Color, English, Estonian, France, Germany, Mystery, Thriller, USA, Warner Bros.

Tagged Alex Mace, Aryana Engineer, CCH Pounder, David Johnson, Isabelle Fuhrman, Jaume Collet-Serra, Jeff Cutter, Jennifer Davisson Killoran, Jimmy Bennett, Joel Silver, John Ottman, Karel Roden, Leonardo DiCaprio, Margo Martindale, Peter Sarsgaard, Rosemary Dunsmore, Susan Downey, Timothy Alverson, Tom Meyer, Vera Farmiga

Category Archives: Color

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013, J.J. Abrams)

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The Jewel of the Nile (1985, Lewis Teague)