Category: 2011

Frankenstein (2011, Danny Boyle and Tim Van Someren), the first version

Maybe the National Theatre Live just recorded a cruddy night for the Benedict Cumberbatch as the Creature performance of Frankenstein. Maybe there was some immediate reason that night to explain why Cumberbatch’s performance consists of little more than speaking when inhaling and occasionally giving an angry look.

It’s not like Nick Dear’s play is good enough to compensate for a bad performance in the lead. The first act, introducing Cumberbatch’s monster to the world, is tedious. There’s no chemistry between Cumberbatch and Karl Johnson as his mentor. I won’t even get into Cumberbatch’s lack of glee during the gleeful discovery of the world sequence.

But then Jonny Lee Miller shows up and the play gets a whole lot more tolerable. He’s exhausted, tortured, selfish, shallow. He and Naomie Harris are excellent together, especially during the comic relief portions. Not so much during the dramatic parts, just because Dear’s script is really weak on them… but on maybe half of them.

Cumberbatch is best during a few of his scenes with Miller. Not all of them, not even the most important ones–Dear’s lukewarm ending is even worse since Cumberbatch runs the scene. But some of them. Maybe it’s just Miller bringing actual energy to the production.

Thanks to Dear’s writing–Miller has to fight for good moments as Frankenstein, while Cumberbatch wastes all the good ones for the Creature–there’s only so far this production can go. It’s unfortunate, since Harris and Miller do some excellent work.

Otherwise, it’s exceedingly pointless.

Horrible Bosses (2011, Seth Gordon), the extended cut

It would have been nice if one of the three credited screenwriter of Horrible Bosses thought enough to write characters for the protagonists. Instead, the script–and director Gordon–rely on the “charm” of the three leads. Only, Charlie Day (as a lovable buffoon) and Jason Sudeikis (as a somewhat absent-minded buffoon) and Jason Bateman (as the one suffering having two buffoons for best friends) aren’t charming. They’re trying. Most of the movie is them running around together and it’s lame.

The funny stuff comes with the guest stars. Horrible Bosses has guest stars–the titular bosses are basically guest stars. Or Donald Sutherland and Jamie Foxx popping up and giving the film some semblance of quality before Day and Sudeikis ruin another scene. The three bosses are Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey and Colin Farrell. Farrell’s in a bald cap, which is impressively believable, but he has no comic timing. Aniston is fantastic. Spacey’s good, but he’s done the role many times so he should be good at it.

The movie actually doesn’t start too bad, opening with Bateman–who can carry this kind of nonsense–and relying heavily on the guest stars. But once Sudeikis and Day take over, it quickly goes down the drain.

Maybe if Gordon was in some way a compelling director, but Bosses is very boring looking. Lousy music from Christopher Lennertz too.

The easy joke would be to call Bosses horrible, but it’s not. It’s just pedestrian. Tiresome and pedestrian, not even horrible.

0/4ⓏⒺⓇⓄ

CREDITS

Directed by Seth Gordon; screenplay by Michael Markowitz, John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein, based on a story by Markowitz; director of photography, David Hennings; edited by Peter Teschner; music by Christopher Lennertz; production designer, Shepherd Frankel; produced by Brett Ratner and Jay Stern; released by Warner Bros.

Starring Jason Bateman (Nick Hendricks), Charlie Day (Dale Arbus), Jason Sudeikis (Kurt Buckman), Jennifer Aniston (Dr. Julia Harris, D.D.S.), Colin Farrell (Bobby Pellitt), Kevin Spacey (Dave Harken), Donald Sutherland (Jack Pellit) and Jamie Foxx (Dean ‘MF’ Jones).

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The Gathering Squall (2011, Hannah Fidell)

The Gathering Squall has two problems, one complicated, one simple.

The first problem has to do with putting Joyce Carol Oates’s name up front. Storm is based on one of her stories and if a Joyce Carol Oates story starts with a young teenage girl walking alongside a rural road and an older boy pulling up next to her… you know where it’s going to go.

Director Fidell takes it there perfectly. It’s horrible and amazing at times. Fidell gets a fantastic performance out of Sydney Hogan as the girl. Hogan makes Squall work, even when she’s not center stage.

Sofi Marshall cuts the film together perfectly. There’s a tranquil, horrible danger to it.

Then, at the last moment, things go amazingly wrong. Fidell decides she has to make a point of Squall–a young woman’s experience versus a young man’s–she turns it into Die Hard on a Boat.

2/3Recommended

CREDITS

Directed by Hannah Fidell; screenplay by Fidell, based on a story by Joyce Carol Oates; director of photography, Andrew Droz Palermo; edited by Sofi Marshall; production designer, Elana Farley; produced by Fidell and Brian McOmber.

Starring Sydney Hogan (Lisellen Uhlmann), Tyler Serle (Duncan Baites), Brett Shaw (Mr. Uhlmann) and Amy Edgerly (Mrs. Uhlmann).

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The Birds of Anger (2011, Gregg Bishop)

Gregg Bishop’s direction impresses in The Birds of Anger, so does George Feucht’s photography and Todd Jeffery’s production design… it’s just a shame Bishop never impresses as a writer.

Anger is both a spoof of and an homage to Hitchock’s The Birds, only with wink wink nods to the pop culture game phenomenon “Angry Birds.” Bishop never plays it up, which kills the spoof aspect–one has to strain to hear the familiar sound effects, for example. And while the short does pay careful attention to appearing to be from the sixties, Bishop just as frequently mocks the source material.

Cameron Barsanti is fairly unimpressive aping Rod Taylor, but both Amanda Baker (as Tippi Hedren) and Jaimie Alexander (as Suzanne Pleshette) are good.

The short probably isn’t a good idea, but the production values make it worth a look at least. It’s like a Super Bowl commercial for the game.

1/3Not Recommended

CREDITS

Written, edited directed by Gregg Bishop; director of photography, George Feucht; music by Kristopher Carter; production designer, Todd Jeffery; produced by Bishop, Cash Hartzell, Derek R. Johnson, Nils Onsager and Tristan Thai.

Starring Amanda Baker (Melanie), Cameron Barsanti (Mitch) and Jaimie Alexander (Annie).

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Tick Tock (2011, Ien Chi)

Tick Tock runs about five minutes–not quite though–and it does so backwards. For most of the short, lead Morgan Ayres is running backwards across campus and through time. Director Chi has some overly pretentious elements–doing named sections in a five minute short (not even) is way too much–but the film’s a technical marvel.

In fact, it’s such a technical marvel, one wonders how he shot the thing, which is unfortunate. The artifice of the named sections pulls the viewer back, giving him or her time to consider how many times through Ayres ran. It’s one continuous shot (or appears to be).

Good lead performance from Ayres and love interest Valee Gallant. They have to act backwards after all.

Great music too.

Chi elevates the college student film; if he’d just toned down the pretense, it would have been even better. As is, though, it’s dang good.

2/3Recommended

CREDITS

Written, directed, photographed and edited by Ien Chi.

Starring Morgan Ayres (Emit), Valee Gallant (Rena) and Maurice Winsell (Buddy).

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Detachment (2011, Tony Kaye)

Detachment is not a message film. Kaye gives it a pseudo-documentary feel and does presents definite thesis about the public education in the United States. Except Detachment isn’t really about that message… it’s about how that setting specifically affects Adrien Brody’s protagonist.

Until the final sequence anyway; it’s one sequence too many. Kaye flubs on an ideal finish because he’s got too many endings and tries too hard to make the important message one fit. Until then, though, Detachment is nearly flawless.

Carl Lund’s script is brilliantly structured. Brody is a short-term substitute teacher. The film opens with him taking a thirty day assignment, giving the film a definite timeline. Lund and Kaye then bring other elements into Brody’s sphere, such as a fetching fellow teacher (Christina Hendricks) and, more importantly, a teenage prostitute (Sami Gayle). Detachment never shirks from its more difficult scenes, even though Kaye does sometimes get too frantic. The film presents Brody with a couple exceptionally difficult scenes and he essays them indescribably well.

He and Gayle’s story arc informs on his arc as the sub, while Brody’s solo arc with his dying grandfather, Louis Zorich, informs back on both. Absolutely brilliant character study plotting.

Kaye’s direction is good, his photography is better. James Caan is the most dynamic in the supporting cast, but Blythe Danner, William Petersen and Lucy Liu are all excellent too. Gayle’s great.

Detachment‘s not perfect… but there are a lot of perfect things about it. It’s an achievement.

3/4★★★

CREDITS

Directed and photographed by Tony Kaye; written by Carl Lund; edited by Barry Alexander Brown and Geoffrey Richman; music by The Newton Brothers; production designer, Jade Healy; produced by Greg Shapiro, Lund, Bingo Gubelmann, Chris Papavasiliou, Austin Stark and Benji Kohn; released by Tribeca Film.

Starring Adrien Brody (Henry Barthes), Sami Gayle (Erica), Betty Kaye (Meredith), Louis Zorich (Grampa), Marcia Gay Harden (Principal Carol Dearden), James Caan (Mr. Charles Seaboldt), Christina Hendricks (Ms. Sarah Madison), Lucy Liu (Dr. Doris Parker), Blythe Danner (Ms. Perkins), Tim Blake Nelson (Mr. Wiatt), William Petersen (Mr. Sarge Kepler), Bryan Cranston (Mr. Dearden) and Isiah Whitlock Jr. (Mr. Mathias).

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Animal Love (2011, Mollie Jones)

Animal Love is a future story. Selma Blair and Jeremy Davies meet through an anonymous hookup service–writer-director Jones implies most of the ground situation, with ads standing in for an explanation of the service. He’s allergic to animals, she’s a pet owner. Complications ensue.

The short runs about fifteen minutes without credits but feels much faster because, once it gets going, one doesn’t want it to end. As a director, Jones has these wonderfully moving shots. It’s quiet and calm as the camera adjusts itself on its subject, like the viewer is going too fast and needs to calm down.

As a writer, Jones writes this beautiful sparse dialogue. She’s got great actors. The film’s unimaginable without Blair and Davies. His panic and unsureness, her boldness–Jones gives Blair a couple great acting moments.

It’s an excellent little film. Great music, wondrous photography from Byron Shah.

Jones’s awesome.

3/3Highly Recommended

CREDITS

Written and directed by Mollie Jones; director of photography, Byron Shah; edited by David Greenspan; production designer, David Magid; produced by Jones and Matthew I. Goldberg.

Starring Selma Blair (Sorrel) and Jeremy Davies (Paul).

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Jesus Was a Commie (2011, Terence Ziegler and Matthew Modine)

A self-reflective video essay can’t be rare these days, not with the Internet. Jesus Was a Commie is a little different though. It’s not an amateur recording on a cellphone, it’s Matthew Modine walking around New York City while his essay plays in voice over.

Having the narrator walk around without any incidental noises is an easy (read cheap) short film technique. But here it’s Matthew Modine; regardless if one is familiar with him, he acts quite well, especially when he’s got nothing to do but to pensively stand around.

The photography, from co-director Ziegler and Michael Grantland, is outstanding. Never ostentatious, every shot is perfectly lighted.

Modine’s essay, ruminating on Jesus, God and modern America, is engaging enough through the religious stuff. When he gets cosmic, however, it feels like he’s trying to channel Carl Sagan and the short slips.

Jesus is professional and competent, but disposable.

1/3Not Recommended

CREDITS

Directed by Terence Ziegler and Matthew Modine; screenplay by Modine, based on his essay; directors of photography, Ziegler and Michael Grantland; edited by Ziegler; music by Niabi Caldwell and Lucas Van Lenten; produced by Modine.

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Paul Williams Still Alive (2011, Stephen Kessler)

The title, Paul Williams Still Alive, might be considered a spoiler if anyone except writer-director Kessler was sure Paul Williams wasn’t alive.

The film chronicles Kessler’s rediscovery of Paul Williams–more as a seventies entertainer than Paul Williams the songwriter or singer. There’s a lot about Kessler in the picture, including a lengthy section where he’s scared of terrorists in the Philippines before he picks up on Williams’s more zen-like attitudes about life.

But Still Alive isn’t about the filmmaker learning lasting life lessons from Williams. It’s also not about Williams, who isn’t the most documentary accommodating subject. Fairly early on, it’s clear Paul Williams always knew he was alive and didn’t think that discovery merited a documentary.

At the start, Kessler might have enough for a twenty minute short. Introduce Williams’s seventies celebrity, go through all his famous songs, catch up with him. And Kessler does these things… in the first twenty minutes of Alive. The rest is mostly just Kessler inserting himself into Williams’s professional life as a member of a non-existent entourage. Williams is a pleasant guy to spend eighty minutes around, even if Kessler’s constantly bugging him.

But Kessler? He’s not worth spending eighty minutes with… especially not when he’s appropriating his subject’s spotlight.

Still Alive succeeds because of its subject–and Williams is a very interesting fellow and Kessler does get some deep moments… but there’s a lot of padding.

Kessler should’ve gone for short and good instead of comprehensive and listless.

2/4★★

CREDITS

Written and directed by Stephen Kessler; director of photography, Vern Nobles; edited by David Zieff; production designer, Perry Andelin Blake; produced by Jim Czarnecki, Kessler, Mike Wilkins and Zieff; released by Abramorama.

Starring Paul Williams.

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Final Deadball (2011)

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.

2/3Recommended

CREDITS

Released by Nikkatsu.

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