Month: March 2009

In 1959, in a small New York school, a group of grade school children are preparing a time capsule to be buried, all with drawings of what they think the future will look like, except for one little girl, Lucinda Embry, who had the idea for the time capsule, instead of a drawing, she’s put in a sheet of numbers that on it’s surface seems incomprehensible. In 2009, Caleb Koestler, the son of an MIT Astrophysics professor, John Koestler, gets to be the lucky recipient of what Lucinda wrote down, and his father soon starts to see a pattern to the numbers, all displaying times of extreme disaster and indicating the number of lives lost to each disaster. John now seeks to stop the moments that he believes are yet to come, and all the while, some mysterious figures are keeping an eye on him and his son…

That’s the basic premise to Knowing the newest movie from director Alex Proyas and star Nicolas Cage. In the past, Alex Proyas has given us movies like The Crow, Dark City and I, Robot and has certainly demonstrated with the last two that he’s a big fan of an old school type of science fiction film but with some new twists to it, and that’s what Knowing is, most definitely. My expectations were relatively low on this, primarily for Cage more than anything else, as with him you just never know what you’re going to get, either something that seems more to concentrate on his penchant for quirkiness and to see what new hairstyle he’ll bring to a part, or something more serious… and thankfully, with Knowing it’s something more serious.

In some ways, I saw a lot of parallels to what’s happened over the last four seasons of Battlestar Galactica in this film, with the biggest difference in that Galactica had a long time to make sure that every “t” was crossed and every “i” was dotted. Knowing tries to do a lot of the same in two hours, and I can see why there are some critics out there that have huge problems with the film. But I gave into it’s premise, and really thought that Proyas delivered another old school sci-fi treat here (and at it’s core, there is an explanation as to why it all went the way it does).

The best thing that Proyas does though, is that when some of the upcoming disasters start to happen, he ramps up the visuals and the action some notches above what you expect, just as he did with the dazzling end of Dark City and those moments are real grabbers when they happen. The movie is a little slow-building getting to where it’s going, but when these moments happen, they’ll snag you, or at least they did me. The other thing he does here, is that he’s not afraid to have this go very dark, with no easy solutions at all to it’s ending.

Proyas is also really well aided with a great score from composer Macro Beltrami, who also really steps up to the plate when the big moments happen.

Cage is pretty good here, and with the exception of one scene that falls into a little bit of cliche, he’s pretty rock solid in the film delivering one of his better performances in a while. Rose Byrne heads up the mostly unknown supporting cast, and they’re all fine, but this is Cage’s movie no doubt about that and we’re (mostly) seeing this through his experiences more than anyone else’s.

In the end though, I think Alex Proyas has delivered another very cool old school science fiction film with a rock solid performance from it’s lead actor. To me, this is something like the recent remake of The Day The Earth Stood Still or M. Night Shymalan’s The Happening totally done right and of course, I’m giving this a solid recommendation for being this sort of film and not afraid to buck a few Hollywood conventions.

A vicious criminal, Krug, is being transported, and along the way, he’s sprung by his brother Frances and his girlfriend Sadie. Krug, wondering where his son is, is told that he’s at the hotel where the gang is holed up. We’re then introduced to the Collingwood family, father John, a Doctor, his wife Emma and their daughter Mari, who’s a trained swimmer and they’re getting ready to go enjoy a vacation at their out of the way vacation home. Mari is immediately antsy and wants to go into town and meet up with her friend Paige. Once there, the two girls then get involved with Justin, little realizing that he’s the son of Krug, and then the action gets started…

The Last House On The Left is a remake of the original 1972 movie of the same name (which in itself is a bit of a remake of an old Bergman film) and I have to say, this new version is one of the better remakes that I’ve seen, a very effective terror/revenge movie that technically ups the ante considerably of the original. The original was Wes Craven’s very first movie, produced by Sean Cunnigham, who you know best as the originator of the Friday The 13th series, and both act as producers on this remake. My expectations were relatively low going into this movie, but I have to say, I came out plenty impressed.

Now, for the most part, if you’ve seen the original, this follows along a lot of the same path, but the remake is a better fleshed-out piece. The 1972 original is a classic in it’s own way, not necessarily for the story that it told, but more for the shock that it delivered at the time, doing some pretty taboo things that just weren’t seen in a movie of that period (it’s also very well known for it’s trailer, which introduced the classic line “It’s only a movie, it’s only a movie”). The original was made for about $90,000 in the day and it was purely designed as the type of B-movie that would play with other films regionally around the country. It’s not high art by any means, but still for fans of the genre (like myself), it brought in thrills in it’s own way for a pretty disturbing experience, and part of that disturbing experience included a very hokey cornball quality to the family scenes.

This remake dispenses with the cornball quality as well as with a couple of the major taboo scenes, to better focus on making the whole thing a more cohesive experience- it an audience of today is watching the original, then they’re seeing things that take some pretty huge leaps in logic in how they get from point A to point B. This remake fills in those leaps quite admirably, and credit for that has to go to the screenwriters and director Dennis Iiadis, as well as to Craven and Cunningham for having the sense to let this be updated in the way it has been.

One of the biggest things that I have to give them credit for here is the relationship between the parents, John and Emma which is actually a lot more grounded in reality than what other films might want to do. They also tend to up the ante with both girls, making them more fighters in this adversity than what they were in the original- it’s not forced by any means, and feels pretty natural to the situation that develops.

This has a pretty good cast to it, with maybe the most well-known to today’s audiences being actor Garret Dillahunt who plays Krug (you might be better familiar with Dillahunt through Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles where he’s played the cyborg Cromartie and now the A.I. known as John Henry). The best casting though goes to actors Tony Goldwyn and Monica Potter who play the Collingwood parents, and they’re just terrific here. I also have to give notice to Sara Paxton, who played their daughter Mari.

The Last House On The Left is a pretty visceral experience that’s not for everyone by any means. I went into this more wanting to see the differences from the original and I was pleasantly surprised at how this remake drew me in and kept me with it on it’s own merits all the way through. If you enjoy this sort of terror/revenge movie (I wouldn’t call this or the original “horror” at all), then I’d certainly recommend it without too much hesitation- really well done on it’s own and when compared to the original, a worthy remake that takes that original and obviously goes forward with today’s audience definitely in mind.

Watchmen the film adaptation of the graphic novel by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons that takes a realistic approach to super-heroes and follows the state of the world if such characters were to come to pass as well as studying the motivations behind the minds that actually put on the masks. When the novel starts, though it’s not indicated in the movie, it’s 1985. Unless they’re working for the government, super-heroes have been outlawed by a bill called the Keene Act. Richard Nixon is in his fifth term as the president of the United States, and the world stands at the brink of nuclear war. Edward Blake, known also as The Comedian has discovered something, and is brutally murdered over that discovery. The masked vigilante, Rorschach is starting to put the pieces of this puzzle together and in the process, warning other masked avengers about a “mask killer” out there…

… and there’s just so much more here in what could be the richest textured “comic book” movie made thus far. Watchmen to me anyway, is an unqualified success at what it has set out to do, and so far leads the way as one of the best movies for 2009.

Now I’m no stranger to the graphic novel, and I’ve re-read it for the first time in over 20 years this past week as prep for the film and I’ve got to say, it still holds up tremendously well, and is just as relevant in 2009 as it was when it was originally on sale in the late 80s. Having just seen the movie last night, I can certainly tell you that there have been some changes made in it’s adaptation to the big screen, but the heart and soul and spirit of the graphic novel are all still there and in the process, this takes another step to advancing movies about comic book characters in different directions, much like what The Dark Knight did last year. I mean it’s a great comic book movie, no doubt about that, but at the same time, I’d also hold this in the same regard as I do movies like Boogie Nights, magnolia, The Player, Short Cuts or Grand Canyon.

This is director Zack Snyder’s third movie after the re-make of Dawn of the Dead and the adaptation of Frank Miller’s 300 and he’s certainly proved that he’s no flash in the pan, making highly commercial films that have their own passion about them… though the question could be asked about just how commercial Watchmen could be beyond it’s pre-sold audience, and I just think that all depends on what the audience wants to see out of something like this, because really, everything you need to understand Watchmen is there on screen, no doubt about that, but does the audience really want to have to put the pieces together or follow something as richly textured as this for the sake of seeing a “comic book” movie?

Well, I certainly hope so.

Snyder’s done his best to remain true to the book and at the same time make something that can run in theatres wanting to show it multiple times per day. There’s moments of great weight here, in particular Doctor Manhattan’s reflection of his life after and interview gone sour, and there’s just as many visceral moments that show cool action and adventure. There’s a story that shows the results of both conservative and liberal actions that these powers could take, and it’s all backed up with a rich back story, much of which is well presented in one of the better opening credits scenes that I’ve seen in a long time.

Snyder’s got a great cast here, and you can tell that they’ve all thrown themselves into the parts. The core characters are played by Patrick Wilson (Nite-Owl), Malin Ackerman (Silk Spectre), Billy Cruddup (Dr. Manhattan), Jeffrey Dean Morgan (The Comedian), Matthew Goode (Ozymandias) and Jackie Earle Haley (Rorschach). All are excellent, though in my mind’s eye, Goode isn’t quite who I would’ve chosen as Ozymandias, but still he does a terrific job here. Real standouts for me are Wilson, being the heart and soul of the film, and Cruddup and Haley, who are both saddled with having their true faces covered up most of the film, but are still able to really elicit some good mesmerizing performances. I’m even just as impressed with some of the side casting, like Carla Gugino as the original Silk Spectre, Stephen McHattie as Hollis Mason, the original Nite-Owl and Matt Frewer as Moloch one of the arch-enemies of the heroes. There’s no big stars here, just some solid talents who’ve really devoted themselves to giving their best on-screen.

I hated seeing this come to an end, I really did and when that ending came, it left me hungry for just what Zack Snyder’s director’s cut will be when he finally gets the chance to release that on DVD (already reported that it will have the animated Tales of The Black Freighter incorporated into it, I would also expect that there would be plenty of live action scenes as well, in particular those centered around the newsstand where the Black Freighter story gets told). I don’t think it’s necessary to read the book in order to appreciate this film as long as you’re prepared to take in something that’s as full as this is. But if you do enjoy the movie, by all means, read the book afterwards and be able to appreciate just how much of this that Zack Snyder and company gets right. Watchmen is one terrific movie, already leading the way for me as one of the best that I think I’ll see in 2009 and of course, it’s highly, highly recommended. Don’t miss it.