Movie Review: Day Watch

Day Watch (Unrated)

In 2004, the Russian film industry decided it was time to create their own big budget Hollywood-style blockbusters, and the result was Night Watch, a horror/fantasy film about The Others, beings with special powers. There are Dark Others and Light Others, who after a millennium of war decided they were too evenly matched and are now navigating an uneasy truce. But not for long. Prophecy foretells of The Great One, who will appear and pick a side, Light or Dark, and then that side will be extra powerful and will win the war. Directed by Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted), Night Watch was bizarre and confusing, but just as visually inventive and intriguing. And it made oodles of cash in Russia, where it was an even bigger hit than Lord of the Rings. There was no doubt that the story of the Others was going to continue.

Also directed by Bekmambetov, Day Watch, is not really a sequel so much as a direct continuation - almost as if the first movie never ended. Day Watch throws you right into the action, without re-introducing characters or situations. Some people may applaud this lack of exposition, but I found it jarring. There are SO many characters to keep track of that it is inevitable that you will be pausing the film and asking, "who the heck is that guy again??" The film's visual style is also so bizarre, with crazy cuts and camera angles, and a shifting tone that bounces from horror to slapstick comedy to drama often within the same scene, that you are not able to get your bearings for a good twenty minutes or so.

The film settles down after awhile and you start to realize there is actually a plot - Anton (Konstantin Khabenskiy), our hero from the first film, is framed for a murder that could destroy the truce between the Light and the Dark. For a good chunk of the movie, he is in theory on the run, trying to either hide or run away from the Darks. I say in theory because even though in some scenes the Darks are chasing him, in other scenes he is having casual conversations with these same villains, and even accepts an invitation to his son's birthday party - his son being a pupil of the Dark Lord. So why are they hunting him in some scenes and all buddy-buddy in other scenes? I have no clue. Maybe if I knew Russian it would make more sense, but I somehow doubt it. So much of this movie makes no sense.

I digress. Anton is in this little pickle so he decides to try and find the mythical Chalk of Fate, which allows its user to rewrite past mistakes. He also is trying to resist his romantic urges towards Svetlana, who is the Great One. Or is his son, Yeger, the Great One?  Wait, they are both Great Ones? The prophecy says the Great One will tip the balance in favor of either Light or Dark. If there are two Great Ones, one good and one bad, then doesn't that just maintain the same balance and defeat the whole point of the prophecy and therefore the movie? Huh? I am confused just writing this review - clearly this script was not very well thought out before they committed it to film.

Not to say the film is all bad. For a time, Anton switches bodies with Olga, the stoic second-in command of the forces of Light. This allows for some cute gender reversal jokes, as well as some great acting from Khabenskiy and Galina Tyunina. Tyunina, in particular, has great fun mocking Anton's slouching, slobby gait and horrible manners. Also, as the film powers towards its climactic birthday party battle, I couldn't help but be swept along with the ride as the momentum builds and builds. Shame the climactic fight itself doesn't live up to this effective buildup. Why are some people fighting and other people still dancing and drinking as if nothing is happening? Why are some of the warriors wearing medieval helmets and iron chestplates on their upper bodies, but boxer shorts and sandles below the belt?

Sigh. Day Watch has its fans. I think they are won over by the outlandish special effects and director Timur Bekmambetov's visual style. He certainly has an exciting, over-the-top technique that puts Michael Bay to shame. But its all too much - too loud, too fast, too strange - and the style does not always service the story. In fact, it often makes a confusing story even more confusing. He's got something, though. I'll give him that. If he takes a step back, hammers out a strong narrative and exerts control over his excesses, he probably will end up making some kickbutt action films in his future. He's a director to watch, I think, but I do not suggest you watch Day Watch.


MVP: I have to give it to Galina Tyunina as Olga. Her performance as Anton in Olga's body is the film's highlight performance. Olga is normally cold, humorless, with a rigid ballerina ice queen posture and demeanor. To watch Olga turn into a dirty, unhealthy slouch is a funny and remarkable turn. She clearly studied Khabenskiy's performance carefully because she mimics his way of walking, talking and even facial expressions perfectly. The sequence turns the movie around and refocused me after the jarring first act. The second act up to the climax is the film's strongest section and it may not be a coincidence that Olga is a major player during these scenes.


TRIVIA: A massive hit in Russia, Day Watch was the first film to surpass the $30 million mark. The producers had a feeling this movie would smash all records and even made a joke about it in the film itself. At one point, Anton leaps through and destroys a poster for the movie 9 rota which was the previous box office champ.

Movie Review: Drag Me to Hell

Drag Me to Hell

After the creative debacle that was Spiderman 3, it seems like Sam Raimi had to re-discover his joy of film...what better way to do that than to return to his absurdist horror roots? Drag Me to Hell is a roller coaster, with more real laughs and scares than most horror movies today. It's the type of movie Raimi does better than anyone else.

Alison Lohman plays Christine Brown, a loan officer who denies an old gypsy woman an extension on her loan in an effort to impress her boss. While her actions do end up impressing the boss, it unfortunately angers the old woman so much that she assaults Christine in the parking lot and puts a curse on her. In three days, the demon Lamia will drag Christine to hell. She has three days to find a way to break the curse.

Though there are some gross parts in the film (the, er, bloody nose scene), Raimi doesn't rely on gore. The most effective chills deal with a clever, eerie sound design and some pretty creepy cgi shadows. And as for the humor - wow, it may not be outrageously funny like Army of Darkness, but there are some laugh out loud, absurd moments that are an absolute treat (the aforementioned bloody nose scene).

The cast and crew all perform quality work, with special shout outs to Alison Lohman who shows she can carry a film on her tiny shoulders and to Dileep Rao as the mystic who tries to help her. He's young, and this is his first movie, but we are about to see a lot more of him soon (he must be good because he is both in Cameron's Avatar and Nolan's Inception, two of the most anticipated movies of the next year).  Christopher Young, meanwhile, serves up a top notch score, certainly his best of the 2000s, and right up there with his earlier horror classics.

So all in all, this is a pretty fun time. But most importantly, it sounds like this movie has slapped Raimi out his funk and hopefully reinvigorated the creative director we've been missing.

TRIVIA: Ellen Page (Juno) was originally cast in the lead, but had to pull out because of scheduling problems.

BEST LINE: "I don't want your cat, you dirty pork queen!"

MVP AWARD: Well, Raimi said it best - without a good score this movie would have been nothing. And I have to hand it to Christopher Young for creating some epic horror awesomeness. It's probably not as good a composition as Hellraiser 2, but it still rocks. An eerie violin solo plows its way through the whole movie, never really hitting notes in the right way, always subconsciously throwing you off balance. It's clever stuff. And I think it should have gotten Christopher Young a long overdue Oscar nomination. You should check out my friend Scott's review at http://www.soundtrackdb.com/soundtrack/674/drag-me-to-hell-soundtrack.

Review: What's New Pussycat?

What's New Pussycat

What a joyful chaotic disaster of a brilliant movie! A film that is probably best watched with a group of friends after you've had a few too many to drink - because the cast and crew were probably plastered while making it, What's New Pussycat makes no sense, is horribly misogynistic, and has just as many horrible jokes as it has winners.

Michael James (Peter O'Toole) has a problem. All women love him, and he simply cannot resist their advances. Ordinarily this would be a dream come true, except he wants to marry Carol (the adorable Romy Schneider) so he visits a shrink named Dr. Fritz Sigismund Fassbender (Peter Sellers with a bad haircut - please see the picture above) to cure him of his 'problems.' Of course, Dr. Fassbender, like most Peter Sellers characters, is bat crazy. The movie climaxes in a small little French hotel involving Michael James, Carol, Dr. Fassbender, Woody Allen, a nymphomaniac, an American dancer visiting France on a bongo scholarship, a Viking warrioress, a parachutest who knows James Bond, a jealous husband, police, a Frenchmen with a cherry bomb, and go-karts. If you think that sounds confusing, wait until you see it all in action, because then it is even more confusing!

The movie was pretty divisive when it came out. A lot people (mostly teenage boys) loved it and propelled it to box office glory. The Oscar nominated song by Tom Jones probably helped (most people today know the song, but not the movie that spawned it). Everybody else either found it either offensive or utterly confusing, or both. To me, that's part of the charm. There is such chaos in this movie. The cast clearly had a ball filming it, and that joy is contagious. The performances are uniformly terrific. Sellers is at his best as the Viennese therapist and Peter O'Toole shows he is as good at comedy as he is at drama. I have to be honest - even though Lawrence of Arabia is O'Toole's best performance, his greatest achievement, and my favorite movie, it is What's New Pussycat that totally turned me into an O'Toole fanatic. I have a feeling that in real life, he is just as much of a lovable rascal as he is in this film. And that guy would be a lot of fun to hang out with!

I can't recommend this movie to everyone. I love it, and many of my friends do, as well. If you don't take it too seriously, don't mind a plot that makes no sense, and love these actors, then I say check it out. 

BEST LINE: Too many to choose, but here's one amusing back and forth between O'Toole and his best friend, Victor, played by Woody Allen:

Michael: Did you find work?
Victor: I got a job at the strip joint. I help the models dress and undress.
Michael: Nice job?
Victor: 40 francs a week.
Michael: Not very much.
Victor: It's all I could afford.

TRIVIA: Like it or not, this movie is one of the most important in comedy history. The movie was originally supposed to star Warren Beatty. The script was by newcomer Woody Allen, who had never acted in or written a movie before. As the script progressed, Beatty got annoyed because he felt his character was getting overshadowed by all the other absurd characters. Whether he left the project or was forced out is unclear. But what is clear is that the studio chose Allen over Hollywood's golden boy Beatty. It doesn't end there. The filming of the movie was so crazy, scenes being rewritten the night before by the director or Sellers, actors ab-libbing right and left, that it is no wonder that the film makes no sense. Allen had no say in any of the changes and watched as his first script was mutilated beyond repair. Horrified, Allen swore never to write anything again unless he was able to direct it. And there you go - thanks to What's New Pussycat, Woody Allen began his long and often brilliant directorial career.

MVP AWARD: I think I have to award it to booze. I don't want to condone alcoholism, but I just have a feeling that everyone on set was drunk. I like to imagine that the night before filming a scene, O'Toole, Sellers and director Clive Donner stayed up all night, binging on hooch and rewriting the script. I have never seen such a chaotic, gin-soaked atmosphere captured so well on screen. Sober, the movie would have made more sense. If they had stuck with Allen's script, it would have probably been a better movie. But would it have been as memorable? I highly doubt it...

Movie Review: Tootsie

Tootsie - 25th Anniversary Edition

Let's get this straight - when I was a kid, I didn't really get this movie. It had one or two funny lines, but was it THE awesomely funny cross-dressing movie? Nope. That honor belonged to Miss Doubtfire.

Oh, how things change. Miss Doubtfire still is amusing, I suppose, but when I re-watched Tootsie, I realized how good, clever, and deep a film it actually is. Dustin Hoffman plays Michael Dorsey, a struggling actor and acting coach who pretends to be a middle-aged woman named Dorothy in order to land an acting gig on a General Hospital-like soap opera. While on the show, he falls in love with one of the actresses, played by Jessica Lange. There you go. That's the story. Simple set up.

The movie is dated in some ways - for example, the gender wars and glass ceiling are not as hot button topics as they used to be - but it doesn't make the movie any less effective. It does make it a bit of time capsule for viewers today - "wait, a minute, in the early 80s, bosses could really just walk around and smack their secretaries on the butt?? That's crazy!" It's valuable for people to see that this country had strong walls, equality in the workplace was rare, and it was a struggle to knock those walls down. Maybe seeing how those walls came tumbling down twenty years ago will inspire today's fighters to pull down other walls that need breaking.

But this is comedy, for crying out loud! So let's talk about that. Is it funny? Mostly, yes. Some of the comedy is also dated, but there is just as much that still works. Most importantly, the comedy all comes from character. The movie isn't just about set pieces or slapstick or "look at me, I'm wearing a bra" jokes. The humor comes from character, makes sense in the context of character, and propells the story forward effectively. Dustin Hoffman is fantastic, Bill Murray is at his deadpan best as his playwright roommate (who clearly ab-libbed most of his dialogue, and I thank him for it!), and Sydney Pollack shows he is just as good an actor as he is a director.

I definitely recommend the movie to people who have never seen it, but more to those who already have. As I get older, I find myself connecting with the characters a lot more. These are people with the same emotional problems and insecurities as the rest of us. That level of reality is why it does hold up so well.

BEST LINE: "Look, you don't know me from Adam. But I was a better man with you, as a woman... than I ever was with a woman, as a man. You know what I mean? I just gotta learn to do it without the dress."

TRIVIA: Apparently Dustin Hoffman could be incredibly mercurial on the set. The cast and crew would only give him bad news when he was dressed as Dorothy because they all said "he was much nicer as a woman."

THE MVP AWARD: Jessica Lange won the Oscar for her performance, but I strongly disagree. She does good work, but when it comes down to it, she is the typical wounded, needs-to-be-loved romantic interest. She's had better roles. But has Teri Garr? Also nominated, she plays Michael Dorsey's insecure and gullible acting student and friend. She is brilliant, taking a character who should be whiny, pathetic and desperate and turns her into a sympathetic and deeply funny, funny woman. Every time she is on screen she steals the show. Her fantastic (and earned) temper tantrum at the end of the movie about feminist literature and being in charge of her own orgasm probably got her the Oscar nomination. It should have brought her the Oscar.

Oscars: Supporting Actress (Jessica Lange)

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director, Supporting Actress (Teri Garr), Best Actor (Dustin Hoffman), Best Editing, Best Screenplay, Best Song, Best Sound, Best Cinematography.

Blade Runner

Blade Runner - The Final Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Not long ago, the Final Cut of Bladerunner was released on DVD and Blu Ray. With a movie that has had as many versions as Bladerunner has had, I admit I was a bit skeptical. Yet this last version of Bladerunner was overseen by director Ridley Scott himself and unlike George Lucas' revisions on Star Wars, Scott's changes truly do correct errors and enhance the film. Simply put, the Final Cut of Bladerunner is indeed the final and finest version of the film out there.

Most of you have probably already seen the film, and there is no need to go into details on the plot. But for those who have not seen the movie, it is the story of Deckard (Harrison Ford), who is a "bladerunner," a special police officer/detective who tracks down Replicants, androids who are created to look human. Built originally to be servants or soldiers with programmed life spans of a just a few years to keep them in line, a band of Replicants has gone rogue and are loose on Earth trying to find the secret of their existence and the solution to their imminent death.

The movie, re-edited heavily and laden with horrible voiceover narration, was a financial disappointment. But the film picked up cult status early on and subsequent versions have teased its brilliance. Let there be no doubt, with the Final Cut, it is clear that this movie is a brilliant and probably the finest film noir since the 1940s. And at its heart, despite the science fiction elements, Bladerunner is indeed a film noir. From the costumes to the script to the chiaroscuro lighting to the performances, this is classic Hollywood noir. But just as he did with the horror film in Alien, Ridley Scott elevates the genre, turns it on its head and points it in new direction that we have not seen before. The film is a masterpiece, and I use that word rarely!

SPOILER ALERT: There has been much discussion and debate that Harrison Ford's Deckard is actually a replicant himself. This is due to some script inconsistencies and other clues littered throughout the film, such as the unicorn dream sequence. A few years ago, Scott came out and said Deckard is indeed a replicant. Who am I to disagree with the director? But I am going to anyway! I don't buy it. Not only do I feel like the movie doesn't work as well if he is a replicant, but I also think it actually cheapens the film. To me, the major theme of the film is how it is the replicants who act more human, who strive to feel, to be alive. Deckard, cold and calculating like a machine, is only able to rediscover his own humanity through his brutal experiences battling the replicants. That is the power of the movie. To make Deckard a replicant just ruins that and reduces the movie to a gimmick. I am happy that even if Scott says Deckard is a replicant, both the film's stars Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer also disagree with him! Interesting that the debate rages even within the cast and crew itself...

So to sum up, this film is no longer a cult classic - it is a bona fide classic, one of Ridley Scott's finest moments, and certainly one of the most influential films of the 1980s.

MVP: Despite disagreeing with his replicant revelation, the MVP is clearly Ridley Scott. Scott is always fantastic at creating different worlds that really could be lived in, as opposed to appearing as Hollywood sets, and Bladerunner's rainy, dirty dystopia is one of his best and most influential visions. And there is no better way to see it than in Blu Ray! Very impressive!

Best Line: Rutger Hauer's last words: "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain... Time to die."

Oscar Nominations: Two - Art Direction and Special Effects

updates!

I just realized that for every movie review I wanted to do some quick one hit comments - Most Valuable Player, and Trivia.

So just to catch up:

Couples Retreat:

MVP: A toss up between Vince Vaughn, who as I mentioned, expands upon his usual persona and Malin Aikerman's eyes. The director of photography on this movie knew what he was doing - every shot, her eyes are as vibrant and blue as the Caribbean!

Trivia: Hard to top that the director, Peter Billingsley, was Ralphie in Christmas Story!


Major Dundee:

MVP: Charlton Heston, delivering a knockout career best performance. When the movie is at its best, it's usually because he's upped his game.

Trivia: The role of Captain Tyreen, the Irish Confederate soldier played by Richard Harris, was originally intended for Anthony Quinn...


The Room:

MVP: Tommy Wiseau - Come on! He wrote, directed, and starred in it! His charismatic bad acting keeps you watching! He is the clear MVP!

Trivia: Wiseau managed to raise $6 million dollars to make this film. That's right. It somehow cost $6 million dollars...

Best Line: This one is easy.  These simple three words have become iconic and are certainly repeated often in my household.  "Oh, Hi Mark."

Movie Review: Couples Retreat

How do you review this movie? Is it particularly good? Maybe not. But it's not so bad, either. But you should know what you are getting into. You want to see a brilliant comedy based on a clever scenario - check out Hangover instead. But if it is your wife's birthday and she wants to see a cute little romantic comedy, you could do a whole lot worse.

Jason (Jason Bateman) and Cynthia (Kristen Bell) are going through a rough patch in their marriage and go to a Couples Retreat vacation resort called Eden. They cajole their friends to go on the trip with them, promising wild fun, water skis and mai tais. Instead, the couples are forced into a couples therapy session by the resort founder and guru Marcel (Jean Reno). Each of the couples are in a different stage of their relationship. Dave (Vince Vaughn) and Ronnie (Malin Akerman) are married with kids, but seem to have separate agendas with their busy schedules; Joey (Jon Favreau) and Lucy (Kristin Davis) live under a thinly veiled web of hatred as they wait patiently for their daughter to go to college so they can get a divorce; and Shane (Faizon Love) is still trying to recover from his wife leaving him and is shacking up with a 20-year old party animal named Trudi (Kali Hawk).

The movie is complete formula - it follows a well worn path through the same arguments, the same temptations, and quite often the same jokes as a thousand other movies. But the movie moves along smoothly because the cast, a seasoned package of comedy pros, gets the job done. Kudos to Vince Vaughn, who is actually playing a slightly different character than usual. Oh, he's still the same snide and at times self-absorbed Vince, but there is a maturity and even-handedness that is a tad more three-dimensional and nice to see.

I do have to say that though Jean Reno is amusing in this movie, I think that he now officially has to hand in his Badass Card. The awesome tough guy from Leon, La Femme Nikita, and Ronin has now made too many Pink Panthers and the site of him in a little speedo is one step too far. Goodbye, Jean Reno the Badass. We'll miss you.

I also have to mention that this movie was the first film directed by Peter Billingsley - better known as Ralphie from Christmas Story. I always wondered where he went!!! And for a first movie, it isn't that bad.

Anyway, to sum-up, Couples Retreat is okay. It could have been better, but it pushes through on a good cast and good will. I would probably say either watch it on a date or maybe rent it.