"Antwone Fisher" review

 A compelling chronicle of a childhood crucible

Denzel Washington is one hell of an actor.  It is a lesser known fact that he is also one hell of a director.  While his first feature is a striking examination of the legacy of slavery, it is thankfully not a “message” movie.  The themes are strong and omnipresent, but they don’t drown out the drama with off-putting proselytizing.  Instead of broadcasting the issues with the subtlety of a bullhorn, the emotional and psychological grist is ground within the characters.

Antwone Fisher is an ensign in the Navy with major rage issues.  After a series of sudden set-tos, he is sent for counseling.  At first obstinately silent, Antwone slowly begins to open up.  His psychiatrist, Dr. Jerome Davenport (Denzel in an excellent supporting role) urges Antwone to reconnect with his long lost family.  The good doctor is well aware that self-realization is just one of many difficult steps on the path to maturity.  He urges Antwone to investigate his painful history, knowing it contains the key to Antwone’s future happiness.

Derek Luke’s performance as Antwone Fisher is heartbreakingly vulnerable.  He evokes all the anger, confusion and feelings of betrayal an abandoned orphan would struggle with, yet also displays charm and genuine warmth in his introspective moments.  Antwone has begun to date a young woman (who is also in the Navy) and the humor and tenderness he reveals in their scenes together gives his good side a chance to shine.  Though Antwone has suffered heinous abuse, his humanity has not been beaten out of him.

As Antwone’s search for his family progresses, it appears that the mystery surrounding Denzel’s psychiatrist character and his marriage troubles are going to be left unresolved.  Thankfully, Denzel’s directorial attention to detail doesn’t lapse and the final scene is almost more euphoric and healing than the redemption of Antwone’s past.  The relationship between these two men began as a purely professional and clinical connection.  It has now nurtured powerful and positive growth for both and established a lifelong bond.  It is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

"The Lego Movie" review

Everything WAS Awesome!

Absolutely brick-tastic!  I must begin with a brief description of my history with Lego bricks.  It all began in 1976 with the first Lego set I ever owned:

#585 Police Headquarters

This is one of the first Lego creations I ever made:

Over the years I accumulated a massive collection and built many things (click here for my website).  I was a founding member of a local club of adult builders and discovered millions more fans and their amazing work on the internet.  The scope, detail and variety of creations is staggering.  For many reasons, I decided to sell my collection and move on.  I do not regret it, but I am still a fan of Lego and I often miss my bricks and the creative inspiration they would ignite in me.

When I heard that the Lego Company was going to make a movie, I became genuinely excited when I learned Phil Lord and Christopher Miller had been chosen to direct.  These men proved their abilities to direct action comedies with the delightfully surprising “21 Jump Street”, and “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” showed that they understood how to be silly and funny on a child’s level without abandoning necessary character drama.

However, the trailers for the film strongly suggested the typical deluge of frenetic action and repeated screaming that taints much of children’s entertainment.  I worried that the experience would be another long, exhausting diatribe of visual and sonic bombast.  I’ve never been so happy to be proved wrong!  While there are many jam-packed action sequences, they are beautifully choreographed, exciting and hilarious all at the same time.  These madcap bits are gracefully bracketed by quiet moments of character and story development that balance out the plastic chaos.

The story begins with Emmett, a construction worker in Lego City who is believed to be the Chosen One.  His task is to become a Master Builder and save the world from Lord Business, whose desire for order compels him to glue everything and everyone in Lego City in place forever.  During Emmett’s journey, he meets many historic Lego characters, from the Classic Space astronaut to Batman, and each one has an important role in aiding Emmett on his quest.

 

Even though this was all quite familiar, I was having a great time.  From the moment the film began I had a huge grin on my face.  Phil Lord and Chris Miller knew that many parents in the audience would have fond memories of the bricks from their childhood, and included LOTS of references specifically for them.  I laughed and applauded when certain Lego bricks were highlighted along with their specific part numbers, a very nerdy nod that only an Adult Lego Enthusiast like myself would get!  My widening smile took on Cheshire Cat proportions, and then the third act began.

I had been told by some close friends that I would get hit right in the feels at this point, and OMIGAWD, they were not kidding!  My eyes began to dog paddle as the audience is finally told why Emmett has become swept up in this amazing adventure.  The child in me nearly wept at the celebration of imagination and its power to transform, while the adult side reveled in the insistence that this juvenile capacity to dream and create never be quashed.  Our imagination is one of our greatest gifts, and we should embrace it as fully as possible.  It fulfills us, inspires us and sustains us through all of life’s challenges.

Play well!

Top 7 Reasons Richard Donner's "Superman" will never be surpassed

Before the Man of Steel flew into theaters and became the greatest holiday gift movie audiences would receive in December of 1978, there had been two previous cinematic entries in the adventures of Superman.  Kirk Alyn was the first actor to play the Kryptonian in several serials.  George Reeves next donned the suit in a more widely seen TV show and the feature length movie “Superman and the Mole-Men.”  Being such early incarnations, both have their nostalgic appeal, but neither had the financial and technological resources to present Superman in an epic film.

Decades later and there was still much doubt as to whether audiences would really believe that a man could fly.  No one had attempted to bring Superman to the silver screen in a convincing way and the filmmakers faced multiple challenges in trying to achieve their vision.  Fortunately, a combination of luck, perseverance and ingenuity resulted in one of the supreme super hero movies of all time.  Though it is over thirty years old, “Superman” remains the most faithful, most exciting and most emotionally affecting film in the franchise.

 

Christopher Reeve

The significance of casting Christopher Reeve cannot be overstated.  Fledgling director Richard Donner knew that a terrific actor was needed, more importantly an unknown so that audiences would see the character instead of the celebrity.  Donner’s decision made cinematic history.  Reeve defined the role and set a benchmark yet to be equaled.  Much like the sun that gave Superman his powers, Reeve radiated charisma.  Yet he very astutely underplayed the part, and the subtlety of Reeve’s performance avoided arrogance and pomposity.

Reeve’s Superman was innocent yet mature, sexy yet chaste, and hopeful despite the worlds’ woes.  The late seventies were turbulent times, and the world was ready to embrace an altruistic symbol of truth and righteousness.  Reeve’s portrayal achieved that while giving the character dimension and personality.  Superman was an irrepressible optimist and we loved him for it.  There was also that million megawatt smile.  *Swoon*

Richard Donner

Richard Donner had established a lengthy career in television, but he had only one theatrical feature prior to “Superman.”  Yet Donner adeptly announced his ability by making his Hollywood debut with “The Omen.”  The transition from horror to science fiction was an easy one as both genres deal with good versus evil, typically in a fantasy setting, but Donner knew that it was necessary to place Superman in the modern world so that contemporary audiences could more easily engage the film.  Throughout Donner consistently finds the perfect balance between adult drama and comic book archetypes.  The earnest nature of the story compliments the often soapy atmosphere, and the combination of the two is utterly charming.  The mood never gets too heavy nor does it stray into full-blown camp.

John Williams

Oh, the music!  John Williams was at the summit of his skills.  Just prior to “Superman”, Williams hyper spaced our hearts and minds to a galaxy far, far away with the seminal score of “Star Wars.”   What are the odds that any composer could immediately create another inspiring theme that would also become an enduring classic?  If John Williams is holding the baton, you’ll hit the jackpot twice in a row!  The main title theme of “Superman” is exhilarating majesty.  The strings soar to heavenly heights, while the brass section regally proclaims triumph and glory.  Richard Donner swears he can hear the horns at their heraldic apex trumpeting Kal-El’s earthly name, and now I hear it every time as well!

Supporting Cast

Marlon Brando was paid a gigantic sum for his small amount of screen time as Superman’s father Jor-El, but it is another example of Richard Donner’s brilliance.  Brando’s inclusion serves two very important functions:  his stature asserts the sincerity of the filmmakers by saying that this movie is not just for kids.  Furthermore, Brando’s presence at the beginning of the film presents a familiar face to grab audience attention until newcomer Christopher Reeve is introduced later.

The rest of the cast were all superb choices.  Margot Kidder’s Lois Lane was a romantic girly girl clumsily masquerading as a whip cracking, streetwise reporter.  Jackie Cooper as Perry White managed to be blustery and loveable without descending into parody.  Marc McClure made Jimmy Olsen appealingly boyish rather than annoying and Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor exuded intelligence and menace absent the boorish and one-dimensional mustache twirling that often afflicts movie villains. 

Special Effects & Visual Design

The wiring harnesses used to create the flying scenes were cumbersome, and many shots had to be filmed repeatedly.  However, the filmmakers discovered that they had a special advantage with their main actor.  Christopher Reeve was an amateur pilot and knew how to bank his body while in the harness, making the movements more convincing.  The absence of CGI meant that the real actors always appeared onscreen, not digital puppets which could betray themselves through their limited facial expression.  No CGI also meant that the flying sequences did not move at incomprehensible speed, so the action was easier to follow.

New York City stands in for Metropolis, and again director Richard Donner ably displays his talent for balancing reality and fantasy.  Donner knew that the old-fashioned aura needed to present everywhere, so the mean streets of the city are softened.  The criminals Superman foils are cartoonish thugs rather than hard-boiled killers, and this makes for a smoother transition from the tranquil country farm.

Superman’s Kansas boyhood is pure rural Americana.  The spirit of Andrew Wyeth permeates every scene.  The country and the city contrast each other sharply, but not to the point where they don’t feel connected.  This reveals the duality of Superman.  Though he now lives in a concrete high rise, Superman fights to preserve the past as well as the present.

The suit

Superman’s costume is as iconic as the American flag for which he stands.  Choosing the correct design was a prodigious challenge for wardrobe designer Yvonne Blake.  She had to study all the variations over the decades to create an interpretation that captures the look of the character while ensuring that all the different versions needed for flying harnesses or “hero” shots would be as identical as possible.  Though there has never been an established design, the costume Christopher Reeve sports in “Superman” is exemplary.  Nothing is altered or over detailed.  It is perfection.

 

Franchise groundwork

Sequels are an expected announcement if a movie does well, but it is rare to see such forward thinking before the initial entry has debuted.  Another example of Richard Donner’s masterful planning was to shoot the initial film and the sequel at the same time, so that they would present a complete story arc when finished.  Recognizing the franchise possibilities showed excellent foresight, and it made the movies better because of the reduced risk of contradicting earlier events.  The villains of “Superman II” are introduced in the opening scene of the first film, and this created tremendous anticipation for the follow-up.  Ghosts from Superman’s Kryptonian past will return to exact their revenge, and it will be a super powered battle of three against one!

A Christmas Carol (1951) review

There can be only one Humbug

Our holidays have become so commodified that it is difficult to find a film that celebrates the spirit of the season rather than the surge of sales.  I had my favorites, but they were all eclipsed by the 1951 UK version of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol.”  I am not easily susceptible to sentiment in movies because so few take the time to earn it.  Thankfully, “A Christmas Carol” is patient.  It has a calculated pace which catches you unawares.  Like its main character, the film presents a dark, cantankerous exterior that slowly melts to reveal a shining core of rapture.  At the finale, tears of joy trail down my cheeks and my heart brims over with blessedness.

Such emotion would not gush forth without the defining performance of Alastair Sim as Ebeneezer Scrooge.  No other actor has inhabited this iconic role so completely nor made the transformation more sincere.  Scrooge first appears beyond redemption, absent even a glimmer of kindness.  Decades of spiritual neglect have buried Scrooge in countless layers of acerbic crust.  However, as we revisit the past with him, we learn that Scrooge was not always an irascible monster, and his reclamation now becomes a possibility.

Like many a young man, Scrooge fell in love with a young woman.  Yet due to some dire family events, he fell deeper in love with money.  The deadly emotional blows Scrooge suffered make his bitterness understandable.  Even though he had once known trust and affection, we understand why Scrooge would believe that wealth would keep him safe from a ruthless world.  As such, Scrooge’s final conversion from a grasping miser to a paragon of altruism is entrancing not only because of the obvious truth, but also because of the consistency of Alastair Sim’s portrayal.

The revived soul of Ebeneezer Scrooge bursts with boyish glee and whimsy, yet Alastair retains many of the mannerisms which Scrooge had as a cad.  The character remains the same, but his once repellent eccentricities have now become endearing.  Scrooge’s euphoria is infectious, and we exult in his rejuvenation.  Scrooge has realized the error of his ways, and more importantly has accepted that one must embrace the inevitability of death to truly live.  However, that ultimate end is to be welcomed if one can look back knowing that the many moments shared with family and friends are the single greatest achievement to which any human life can aspire.

"Fright Night" (1985) review

 Frighteningly Good Fun

"Fright Night” is one of the great horror films of the eighties.  Furthermore it distinguishes itself as a superb tribute to the genre.  In the same way that “Galaxy Quest” serves up a loving yet ferocious critique of science fiction; “Fright Night” also celebrates every cliché and skewers every stereotype.  The movie oozes homages, and these are incorporated deftly into the suburban setting.  As it does, new life is breathed into what could have easily become a tired affair.  “Fright Night” has all the right chills, but also enough thrills to make it a rollicking good time for all. 

William Ragsdale brings a sweet earnestness to Charley Brewster, a high school student who believes that a vampire has moved into his neighborhood.  As Charley is “just a kid” and known to be a rabid consumer of horror movies, neither his mother nor the police take him seriously when he sounds the alarm about the undead lurking right next door.  His best friend responds to Charley’s growing anxiety with hilarity, while his girlfriend starts to wonder about Charley's sanity.

As for the monster, “Fright Night” embraces completely the concept of a handsome monster that was a new notion in the eighties.  Chris Sarandon injects a sexy sophistication into his performance as master vampire Jerry Dandridge, and Chris conjures an alluring persona of power and charm.  Jerry Dandridge's charisma is compelling, and makes being a creature of the night very attractive despite the damnation downside.  Jerry is able to seduce Charley’s girlfriend merely with his eyes, and now Charley must fight to save her as well as himself.

With nowhere to turn, Charley’s desperation leads him to beg for help from his favorite late night horror movie host, Peter Vincent. Roddy McDowell is a comical delight as the failed actor who is given one last stab at success.  While Peter initially perceives Charley to be a disturbed fan perpetrating a bad joke, a terrifying confirmation soon convinces Peter that Charley is telling the truth.  With the vampire now stalking both of them, this change of faith had mortal implications as certain protective totems will not shield the wielder unless they truly believe.

The final battle in the vampire’s lair is a treasure trove of horror tropes.  Creaking stairs, creeping fog and fluttering drapes all conspire to create an atmosphere of intoxicating fear.  The old school special effects are still excellent, and everything from animation to latex is applied as the vampire tries all his tricks to attack and evade his pursuers.  Ultimately, you think our heroes have carried the day, but even at the end the movie leaves uncertainty drifting in the night air.  “Fright Night” is a terrific film for genre lovers, and the perfectly balanced scares and laughs also result in an excellent choice for non-horror fans.  The story of the undead is as old as the ghost tales shared around flickering campfires, yet in the hands of writer/director Tom Holland the film transcends kitsch and becomes a modern classic.

"Gravity" review

Plenty of dazzle, not enough substance

Alfonso Cuaron’s Hollywood career began very well.  He directed “Harry Potter and the Prison of Azkaban”, the first film in that franchise to leave behind Chris Columbus’ sweet but bland ambiance and embrace some much-needed adult darkness.  Cuaron followed that with the superlative “Children of Men”, one of the best post-apocalyptic sci-fi stories of the decade.  As such, I had high hopes for “Gravity”, but unfortunately the film falls flat.

Sandra Bullock and George Clooney are astronauts on a routine space mission that suddenly becomes a soundless, airless nightmare.  Their shuttle is lost, their crew is killed and they are left floating adrift.  The story takes advantage of the fact that the Earth's atmosphere is cluttered with man-made objects, and that each one can provide a potential lifeline or a quick death.  However each attempt that the stranded pair makes to save themselves goes awry, and their options for survival shrink quickly.

Being trapped in open space is a lethal scenario.  You have limited oxygen, there is nothing to hold on to and no rescue team is coming.  You must save yourself.  Sandra Bullock tries very hard to appear terrified, but despite her earnest efforts to be seen as a serious actor, I keep waiting for a punch line.  She’s like the female version of Tom Hanks.  George Clooney’s grizzled veteran also is unconvincing because his constant jokes and unflappable cool are unbelievable given the severity of the circumstances.

“Gravity” also suffers from an over reliance on visual effects to create a sense of danger.  The nearly mute scenes of space debris tearing ships and stations apart are terrifying given the realistic sound mix, but the appeal is mostly technical.  Several moments also glared in their sole inclusion to appeal to the resurgent 3D trend, and I found them as distracting and irritating as a cell phone ringtone.  “Gravity” tries to amaze with a story of a woman finding the courage to live, but the film sinks under the weight of its aspirations, failing to achieve the balance between emotion and calculation.  In space, no one can you meh.

"The Spectacular Now" review

The party’s over, but that's a good thing.

Teen coming-of-age dramadies are a summer movie staple, and given this frequency, the chances of discovering one that has something fresh and original to say grows smaller with each passing year.  There are only so many characters and stories to tell, which is why “The Spectacular Now” is such a pleasant surprise.  While familiar elements abound, the film successfully avoids clichés in favor of small, intimate moments of great significance.

Miles Teller plays Sutter Keely, a charming but salacious, hard-drinking high school senior who loves his non-stop party lifestyle.  However, his girlfriend has just dumped him because she knows that the real world is waiting for both of them after graduation and she wants to make plans.  Sutter doesn’t care about the future, and seeks further distraction by pursuing shy but sweet Aimee Finicky, played by Shailene Woodley. 

As their relationship blossoms, the potential for disaster looms as Aimee, star struck over Sutter's attentions, is drawn into his boozing.  However, Aimee has a positive influence which results in Sutter’s first meeting with his long-absent father.  The experience proves crushing, as Sutter sees a possible future version of himself.  The vision is terrifying and drives him further into the bottle.  A near-fatal accident provides the final catalyst for Sutter’s awakening.

 

The character scenes are so underplayed that it almost works against the film.  There are no big “Oscar” moments, and while this creates a more realistic atmosphere, it threatens to give the movie a flat tone.  I didn’t experience a strong emotional reaction until the very end, but I believe that’s the point.  Change is hard and usually takes a long time to happen, which is why it takes Sutter so long to finally understand that the party’s over.  While that realization is bittersweet, it means that there is hope for his future, and that Aimee can be part of it.