Movie Review

(On DVD, June 2008) I may not know or care much about football, but this adaptation of the now-classic Buzz Bissinger book is a solid hit even if it glosses over much of what made the original so interesting. Forget about the sociology of football-mad Odessa, Texas and focus on the raw energy of this tale of high-school players being raised to demigod status: Director Peter Berg delivers a film that sizzles with pseudo-documentary energy, using hand-held camera and terrific editing to deliver an experience that keeps us engrossed throughout. Some of the material created to suit the dramatic needs of the film can feel overdone, but fans of the book will recognize little details, characters and incidents that would have been excised had the book been adapted by less-passionate hands. The performances from the ensemble cast are all remarkably good, from Derek Luke’s overconfident athlete to Billy Bob Thornton’s pivotal coach, steady under terrible pressure. The sheer cinematographic density of the first half-hour is mesmerizing, daring us to follow along or sink in the process. And even football morons like me will be swept along by the film’s final act. I’m not even interested in picking apart the film for what it doesn’t include from the book: this is as good as adaptations ever get, leveraging the strengths of a medium against the things it cannot faithfully represent. On the DVD, don’t miss the informative (if occasionally defensive) director’s commentary, or the where-are-they-now featurettes.

(On DVD, June 2008) I missed this in theaters, and shame on me: There is some really clever stuff in this modern retelling of the usual Disney fare. It starts in classic Disney-fairlytale flat 2-D animation, where a princess is exiled to real-world New York. Then things get more interesting as the fairytale idealism of the princess (a perfect, and I do meant perfect, Amy Adams) clashes with the grim (but not-too-grim) practicalities of the big city. The tension here is made even more interesting by the idea that this is a Disney film commenting upon an entire in-house tradition. Nobody will be surprised to find out that idealism ultimately wins over even the lead skeptic (a rather good Patrick Dempsey) by way of sheer cuteness, dragon-fighting and a number of snappy musical numbers (two of which, “Happy Working Song” and “That’s How You Know”, stick in mind well after the end credits). As a family film it sometimes loses itself in cute-animals shenanigans, obvious plot-points, overacting and some idiot-plotting. But there are enough clever sequences, smarts details and genre-aware commentary to make it seem interesting even to those who fall outside the “family” audience. Better yet: if wouldn’t have been as good had it come from another studio than Disney.

(In theaters, June 2008) Pure exploitation film featuring a young woman facing off against one vapid playboy and four disturbed low-lives. It starts promisingly enough, with a surprisingly well-edited racing duel through Ontario dirt roads. It sets up its characters efficiently enough despite the limits of its budget, and provides an intriguing (if well-worn) situation as the hoodlums track down playboy and woman for a weekend of home invasion violence. But the film soon loses control over its own pacing shortly thereafter, as the menace of the invaders is either played for laughs, or never taken seriously by the so-called heroes. Anyone with half a brain would have made attempts to escape: our protagonists stay inert, up to a point where the playboy loses whatever lingering sympathy he might have deserved. It’s a very long second act, and very little happens during the build-up. After that, well, it’s pure familiar stuff: physical assault, followed by utter retribution by the heroine. It ends with a nauseating bit of Stockholm-syndrome flashback. Not much to see here, even by the standards of exploitation cinema.

(On DVD, June 2008) In the venerable genre of “horror movies when seemingly-innocuous things kill people”, this isn’t one of the bad ones: The idea of sheep turning into carnivorous monsters has a kick to it, and the New Zealand team putting it all together has enough cleverness to use the concept to its fullest extent. It’s not revolutionary, particularly funny or scary, but it goes through all of the right motions at a decent rhythm. The leads are sympathetic enough, the gore is suitably over-the-top and the fun just keeps on piling up. It could have been funnier or slicker (we’re still far away from Shaun Of The Dead or Tremors) but there really isn’t much more to say about it: Killer sheep, decent production values and enough fun for any gore-hound.

(On DVD, June 2008) Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek as late-19th-century Mexican outlaws: Can this film get any better? More importantly: does it even matter? This isn’t high art: as a Zorro-like feature, this film is equally underwhelming when it comes to comedy and action: There is a lot of both, but it rarely rises above the most obvious material. Luc Besson’s hand in the script is instantly recognizable whenever the two lead heroines quarrel over how to kiss the nearest unavailable guy, severely undercutting whatever pro-feminist message the films might have wanted to carry. The action is brief and ordinary (save for a bravura shot late in the film that tries to show a complicated sequence of events in one-take slow motion), though it may not matter as much as you think given then film’s reliance on silly capers rather than gun-slinging action. Fortunately, Bandidas itself is generally enjoyable: although practically released straight-to-video in North America, the film is more enjoyable than many blockbusters, and often prettier. Leaving aside the hotness of the lead actresses, there is some fantastic cinematography here, with wide sweeping shots of the Mexican countryside and a crisp, fun-filled feel to the images captured by the camera. Though some scenes could have been tightened (especially during the generic, imposed first act), the film moves in high gear once the protagonists go naughty and the rest is decent, reasonably enjoyable entertainment. As far as B-movies go, this is a solid rental choice… especially if the very thought of Cruz and Hayek tussling around in frilly underthings is enough to perk your, er, interest.

(In theaters, May 2008) So Morgan Spurlock, having done his best to anti-super-size America, now goes abroad in an attempt to find Osama Bin Laden. No, he doesn’t find him, but I don’t think he ever means to: the real goal of the film is to go abroad and provide an ordinary-man’s view of the relationship between the USA and the Middle East in these turbulent times. The conclusion will be obvious to anyone: People don’t like the American government’s policies, but are OK with Americans because, hey, we’re all alike. It’s hardly a stunning revelation, but I suppose there’s always a place for Geopolitics 101 in the Blockbusters of the nation. Spurlock’s faux-naive act can be grating at times (randomly asking Arab shoppers “do you know where Osama bin Laden is?” isn’t exactly hard-hitting documentary skill), but he’s a sympathetic figure and the variety of techniques at his disposal (songs, false video-games, interviews, more interviews) is enough to keep anyone interested. There are even two remarkable sequences in the film: one where Spurlock raises the ire of an orthodox Jewish neighborhood in Israel, and another one where his questions to Saudi high-school students lead to the abrupt end of the interview. People expecting much more than a reasonably entertaining documentary will be disappointed, but I think that the real audience for this film needs to hear some obvious statements before any real progress is made. Whether they’ll ever see the film itself is another matter entirely.

(In theaters, May 2008) David Mamet makes very personal films, and that can be a boon as much as a problem depending on the end result. In some ways, Redbelt is a perfect follow-up to films such as The Heist and Spartan: all take place in rough milieus, featuring laconic men to exemplify Mamet’s idea of solid masculinity. All involve aspect of crime and deception. But what worked so well before seems overblown and unnecessary here: As a martial-arts instructor is conned into participating in a tournament, the plot twists itself beyond logic and plausibility, showing the heavy hand of the screenwriter as characters are manipulated toward a specific end. The film itself feels long and dull, Mamet’s hypnotic dialog not making the film any easier to take seriously. Even the ending, with its unconvincing staging and abrupt conclusion, fails to do much to redeem the rest of the film. I suspect that Mamet fans will find much to like, but viewers unwilling or unable to adapt to Mamet’s particular way of seeing things may not be so lucky.

(Special Screening, May 2008) Chances are that you will never see this ultra-low-budget French-Canadian Horror/SF hybrid, and that’s too bad: In the realm of such features (let’s say “sub-50,000$ budgets”), Hunting Grounds is surprisingly entertaining, with eye-popping special effects, some well-controlled scenes, two big thematic concerns and a few clever ideas up its sleeve. Director Eric Bilodeau is a fast-rising star in the Quebec media SF circuit, and this film will prove to be a fantastic calling card for further things: think El Mariachi with zombies. There are even two rather good performances in the film (Patrick Leblanc and Patrick Baby) despite the obvious difficulty of French-Canadian actors stuck with largely English dialog. Viewers unfamiliar with ultra-low-budget films may want to cut Hunting Grounds a bit of slack: The dialog is blunt, the editing isn’t as tight as it could be and the staging is often at odds with the demands of the story and the often-digital sets. But even with those production handicaps, I was seldom bored and kept wanting to see what else would happen next. I’m hardly the most uninterested reviewer for this film (I helped organize a screening at our local SF convention and am coincidentally wearing the film’s T-Shirt as I write this), but you could do worse than hunt for the upcoming DVD edition to see what’s coming up in French-Canadian SF. (And while you’re at it, search for “Spasm SF Volume 1” for more Quebec-SF goodness.)

(On DVD, May 2008) The futurama gang is back from cancellation in style with the first of four feature-length episodes. After an opening sequence featuring a number of jokes at the expense of the “Box Network” executives that grounded the crew, the subsequent story tackles the binary incantation for time travel, evil aliens, Bender’s insatiable appetite for the cool crime of robbery and makes another trip to Fry’s last moments in 1999. Even Al Gore makes a return appearance. Some of the jokes feel a bit forced, but if you already love Futurama, there’s little else to add here: it’s a good extended episode, and the sheer joy of seeing another bit of the smartest SF cartoon series ever produced will do much to enhance the experience. Don’t miss the Math lesson hidden in the DVD supplements, or the Hypnotoad episode.