Monthly Archives: December 2011

Way late review: I Am Legend

The most common complaint I recall reading or hearing about when I Am Legend came to theaters was that it did not stick to its source material, Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel of the same name. It’s a good thing I don’t read much. ;)

Will Smith is Robert Neville, a scientist in the armed forces, who is the lone survivor in New York City as a virus has spread that turns humans in to blood thirsty vampire/zombie creatures (Darkseekers). The virus came about as a result of an astonishing cure for cancer. Neville seems immune to the virus and is frantically at work in his lab to find a cure.

For much of the movie we spend time with Neville and his dog Sam as they navigate in a post-apocalyptic New York City. Wild animals are found roaming the streets. It’s never clear why lions and antelope are racing through the streets of New York city after a few years of a terrible virus wiping out man kind. Neville has his routines and we follow him as he hunts for food, looks for useful items from all the abandoned homes and makes notes of where he’s been. The first thirty minutes of the film are not unlike those in Cast Away where Tom Hanks is on the island all by himself. And, much like Hanks’ performance in Cast Away, Smith pulls off a tough task by being the lone presence on the screen for large amounts of time.

The suspense of I Am Legend is solid until we get too much of a long look at the Darkseekers. The computer animated human mutants feel like animations when the camera focuses for too long on any one of them. This is an example of where it would have likely been better to take J.J. Abrams’ approach to monsters and do your best to hide the details as much as possible. It not only adds to the suspense (at least in this case) but also covers up some shoddy animated creatures.

I don’t want to go into spoilers, but I will say that one surprising complaint I heard about this film is the overt religious overtones. There is no doubt, they are there and maybe caused me to think a bit deeper about some of the themes. At its core, I Am Legend is an action thriller film but overcomes some poor special effects and potentially baffling plot lines with a solid lead by Will Smith, a quieter than normal first act, and a story that asks viewers to think a bit more than the usual summer blockbuster flick.

 ★★★½☆ 

This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.

YouTube Preview Image

Way late review: Spirited Away

I’ve never taken LSD. After watching Spirited Away, one of my son’s favorite anime films, I think I know what it’s like to take LSD.

Not that it matters all that much, but here’s the synopsis and a juicy Oscar tidbit:

During her family’s move to the suburbs, Chihiro (voiced by Daveigh Chase) wanders into a magical world where a witch rules — and those who disobey her are turned into animals. When Chihiro’s parents become pigs, she must find a way to help them return to their human form. Adapted from the Japanese original, director Hayao Miyazaki’s adventure tale won the Best Animated Feature Oscar for its enchanting story.

What is left out of that summary are the images that will likely give me strange dreams and nightmares for years to come. A giant baby who morphs into an overweight mouse. Three ugly green bouncing heads morphing into the giant baby, morphing into a giant ugly man baby that finally transforms back to three ugly green bouncing heads. Not one, but two, identical witches with oversized heads that include a wart between the eyes that Uncle Buck would offer a quarter to have a rat gnaw off. A “stink spirit” that causes people to either faint or vomit or both. A boy who becomes a creature not unlike Falkor from Neverending story. Unlike Falkor, this creature bleeds from the mouth half of the time its on screen. Frogs with teeth. Raddish spirits. And those are just the ones I can’t burn from my memory nor am I likely any time soon.

Regardless, there is something hypnotizing about Spirited Away. It’s certainly not a coherent plot, character development, nor decent voice dubbing. Maybe it’s the world Miyazaki created and proceeds to run away with. I do have a certain admiration for the guts to do that. On the other hand, I’ve also seen Miyazaki’s Ponyo, a film that makes Spirited Away seem genius in all areas – storytelling, character development, voice dubbing, and all around coherence. The point is that Miyazaki was rather constrained with Spirited Away in comparison.

If you ever get the urge to eat an odd looking mushroom you find growing in the forest or experimenting with hallucinogens, don’t. Put on Spirited Away instead. I’m pretty sure the end result will be roughly the same.

 ★★½☆☆ 

This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.

YouTube Preview Image

Way late review: Friday Night Lights

In Texas, there is only one sport that seems to matter, football. And if you’re an athletically gifted male in a Texas high school, I imagine you will play football, whether you enjoy the game or not. At least that is the impression Friday Night Lights leaves.

Right from the start, the film makes it clear that high school football in the small town of Odessa, Texas is bigger than life. Heroic images of young men making their way to the field for the first day of practice fill the screen. The sounds are of talk show callers rattling on about all things Panthers football. Some might think it’s a bit over the top except this is a film based on H.G. Bissinger’s non-fiction book about the 1988 Permian High School football team.

While the music and cinematography of play on the field tend to glamorize the game, coach Gary Gaines (Billy Bob Thornton) subtlety makes his way through a minefield of rabid fans who control the fate of his career. Thornton does not play coach Gaines like Al Pacino does in Any Given Sunday – over the top and then some. Instead, we get glimpses of coach Gaines as one who is just as in awe as we the viewers are of the overly passionate adults who live and die by the play of their local high school football team. He can be as intense as any coach on the field, sometimes caving into the pressures he can’t help but feel as every moment of the fall season is filled with expectations of winning the state football championship.

The parents or guardians of the players we get to spend any time with are dysfunctional. A father who lives in the past through his son and leads to constant abuse as a result. A mother in poverty who is incapable of caring for her son. All her hopes are in the son getting a scholarship to college. An uncle who plays the role of part guardian, part Don King to his nephew, the superstar of the team. And while we see dysfunction abounding in these relationships in addition to the misplaced heightened importance of football across the town, the film never gets quite close enough to any of the people. It’s almost as if the director, Peter Berg, is satisfied with giving us a glimpse at the personal. His focus seems to be more on capturing the feeling of being wrapped up in this alternate world where a loss by the local high school football team means people post “for sale” signs in front of the coach’s home. And Berg does an excellent job of that. The music, the cinematography and overall tone of the film never let you forget just how insanely important every moment, big or small, is in the high stakes game of Texas high school football. It would have been even better if we got to know some of these characters a bit more. The dialogue is sparse throughout the film, minus typical locker room speeches. It grows even sparser in the second half, where it seems we’re watching a music video as much as a movie about real people.

Friday Night Lights fails at telling a complete story with characters we can connect with at a deeper level but succeeds in capturing the insanity that can be sports. In that way it’s a rare sports movie. A pleasant surprise.

 ★★★½☆ 

This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.

YouTube Preview Image

Way late review: Win Win

Netflix is normally fairly good at predicting which movies I’ll like and how much I’ll like them. Every once in a while it gets it wrong. Occasionally I find a movie I liked more than Netflix thought I would or vice versa. Netflix thought I would nearly love Win Win. Not so much.

A struggling lawyer and high school wrestling coach, Mike (Paul Giamatti), is stressing out over finances. To help pad his wallet, Mike takes guardianship of an elderly man, Leo (Burt Young). Leo discovers he has a grandson, Kyle (Alex Shaffer), which causes a sticky situation for Mike and his wife, Jackie (Amy Ryan). Kyle’s mom is in drug rehab and Kyle came to Leo in hopes of a better living situation. A fairly typical act follows where Jackie is upset about the mess Mike has made by secretly taking guardianship of Leo. Eventually they come to grips with allowing Kyle to stay with them.

One wrestling practice Mike invites Kyle to join. It doesn’t take long for Mike to discover that Kyle is a great wrestler and from there we’re supposed to experience these two lost souls in Mike and Kyle finding strength in one another. Unfortunately, the story goes nowhere fast and everywhere all at the same time. Needless plot twists mire the last third of the film. The triumphant wrestling montages are uninspired and feel disconnected.

If there is anything redeeming about Win Win it’s Giamatti’s performance. It’s not ground breaking but it makes the movie tolerable. There is only so much one can do to overcome a story that lacks a drive, lacks characters worth caring about. Giamatti does his best to make up for the flaws. Credit him for that.

Win Win? Not for me it wasn’t.

 ★★☆☆☆ 

This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.

YouTube Preview Image

Way late review: Super 8

It’s hard to watch Super 8 and not get nostalgic. It’s also hard at times to stomach just how hard J.J. Abrams tries to mimic his producer’s (Steven Spielberg) previous work without a full appreciation for what made those films special. The line between inspiration and cheap imitation can be a fine one.

Super 8 is a throw back to the ’80s where a rag tag bunch of kids set out to shoot their own movie. While sneaking out one night to shoot a scene by the railroad tracks a horrific train wreck takes place that leads to mysterious activities throughout the town. The town’s sheriff disappears, leaving Jackson Lamb (Kyle Chandler) in charge.

Jackson is a recent widow left to take care of his son, Joe (Joel Courtney). From the start, we see that Jackson and Joe are not close. Both are struggling to come to grips with life after losing the love of their lives. Joe finds comfort hanging out with his friends while Jackson buries himself in his work as a deputy sheriff. For much of the movie, their stories only occasionally intertwine. Both father and son become more deeply involved with the after affects of the train wreck, neither sharing in each other’s struggle to make sense of what is going on around or inside of them.

While a good half of the movie focuses mostly on the lives of the kids, their interactions, their making a movie, their budding relationships – the other half of the movie is sci-fi action. It feels like this should be the perfect mix for this type of a movie, but something is off. For instance, the first big action sequence is the train wreck. It must be the most dangerous train wreck ever, as train cars fly for what seems like minutes. The action is over the top and feels out of place when compared to the quiet moments we spend with the kids. All the kids are fine actors. None of them were intolerable to watch but neither were any of them much fun. The tone was overly serious with some lighter moments feeling forced or out of place. And maybe this is where nostalgia backfires. It’s either my nostalgia for films of the ’80s that tainted my feelings for Super 8′s tone or possibly J.J. Abrams’ misplaced nostalgia. Maybe Abrams’ misunderstood what made films like Goonies, Gremlins, Stand by Me, etc. so appealing. Those films were at times serious but never so much that they lost their sense of childlike wonder.

Lens flare - JJ Abrams styleThe production values of Super 8 didn’t help balance the tone of the film. Abrams’ is obsessed with lens flares and some baffling camera work that leaves his mark all over the film. Unfortunately, I often felt like I need to wipe clean those marks. While the lens flares in Abrams’ reinvigoration of the Star Trek film fit the overall look of the movie, with its futuristic gloss and shine, here they feel unnecessary at best. Rather than let the kids’ filmmaking escapade take center stage, we’re left to fend off excessive blue glares. In addition to lens flares there are numerous jump scares that are often followed up by extremely loud sound effects and flashy special effects. It’s in these moments I wonder if the intent is to be more of a sci-fi thriller than an adventure flick with sci-fi elements. The difference between the two is large and floating between them makes for an uneven tone. And, ultimately, the uneven tone made Super 8 feel to me like Abrams was trying to forcefully morph his modern day sensibilities with the nostalgia he and so many of us have for movies from the ’80s.

There are moments in Super 8 that are enjoyable. Moments that capture some of the magic I recall from films of my youth. The scene where the kids scheme to get their friend back and try to save the day in the process was fun and exciting. The small moments where Joe and Alice (Elle Fanning) fall for one another (even as their fathers forbid it) are genuine. The enthusiasm Charles (Riley Griffiths) has for making films is contagious. The ending, which I’m sure left many rolling their eyes, came closest to embracing both the joyous wonder that was missing from so much of the film. There are moments that are special in this film, but they compete with a melancholy and seriousness that overwhelms much of the rest. It’s a shame too, because Super 8 could’ve been great.

 ★★★☆☆ 

This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.

YouTube Preview Image

Way late review: Edward Scissorhands

Edward Scissorhands. The beginning of a long list of films directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp. What is now becoming a bit tiring was not always so. It’s not hard to see why Burton’s knack for the odd and Depp’s desire to break free of the prison he perceived 21 Jump Street was becoming were a match made in heaven.

Scissorhands opens by painting a dark, isolated world that Edward (Johnny Depp), a boy left with scissors for hands due to his inventor dying before completing the job, lives in and the bright, uniform world where everyone else lives. It’s not long before a persistent, if not outright oblivious, mother and Avon sales lady (Dianne Wiest), Peg Boggs, comes to Edwards gothic castle of a home. Without much fear Peg decides to take Edward home with her and from there the fish out of water story begins.

Burton’s knack for creating an almost cartoon like world is on full display. Even though Edward is clearly an outcast he seems closer to “normal” than those occupying Burton’s portrayal of a typical suburb in the US of A. It’s not that the Boggs family or their neighbors are caricatures, it’s that they live in a reality that is all their own. When the neighbors see Peg driving Edward to her home, they all call one another desperate to see who this strange creature is. It’s not long before they all meet and Edward becomes the town’s landscaper and hair stylist. He shapes every plant possible into all sorts of objects – dinosaurs, teddy bears, people, etc. And the women all get original hairdos thanks to Edward’s fine work with the sheers.

All is good except Edward longs for real acceptance, not just appreciation of his usefulness. His heart is taken by Peg’s daughter, Kim Boggs (Winona Ryder), who has a jealous boyfriend, Jim (Anthony Michael Hall). Kim initially ignores Edward’s awkward pleasantries but as time goes on she sees that he’s a kind hearted guy who is imprisoned by his lack of hands. Jim notices this and gets Edward into trouble. Mr. Boggs and the neighborhood as a whole become suspicious of Edward as a result. Edward begins to realize that even if he does the right thing, he’ll likely never be accepted into the community. Meanwhile Kim’s appreciation for Edward grows greater.

Even though it is only 1 hour and 40 minutes, Scissorhands can feel a bit long in the second act. The story is a simple one and to stretch it beyond ninety minutes is, well, a stretch. Edward is close to a silent film star as he says very little which is fitting for him (especially in his predicament) until the story drags beyond its ability to hold interest. At that point we need the main character to do more than look pathetically in the camera.

Fortunately the last act is surprisingly good. When the world is a fairy tale with a pinch of reality, it can be hard to create tension and suspense, as everything can seem a bit off. The emotional connection with the characters can be hard to feel. The story can end without much oomph. But Burton makes magic happen and sees a story through to the end. He, Depp and the rest of the strong cast turn a simple tale into a mostly enchanting film.

 ★★★★☆ 

This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.

YouTube Preview Image

Way late review: Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work

It’s funny how our perception of celebrities often depends on when we’re introduced to them. Michael Jackson is pop genius to some, cultural oddity to others. Elvis was either skinny rock icon or fat Vegas crooner. The same can likely be said for Joan Rivers. To me she would likely be labeled the loud mouthed red carpet queen of cosmetic surgery. Not nice. To others she was likely a controversial comedian, breaking ground for women in that world. Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work is a documentary that sheds light on Rivers past and present that helps to both tear down and build upon our perceptions of her celebrity.

If only one thing came through in A Piece of Work it is that Joan Rivers is insecure. She is insanely insecure and it drives her to work harder than most. Insecurity also probably contributes to her image as washed up, as she makes it clear in the documentary that she’ll do just about any appearance for the right price. A bulk of the doc has Rivers fretting over people’s perceptions of her, worry of being relevant, worry about her work being well received. Most documentaries about a celebrity of Rivers’ age would try to clean up the image and build a legend but A Piece of Work doesn’t settle for that. Instead we get a more revealing look at Rivers which makes for a more compelling documentary.

A Piece of Work doesn’t shy away from the stereotypes Rivers has helped create for herself. She comes right out and celebrates her plastic surgery. She doesn’t make apologies for her blatant money grabs that have her appearing in everything from reality TV to hawking goods on the home shopping channel. She argues that it’s more than just her she has to support. She is a business unto herself, complete with a staff that depends on her for their work.

Unbeknownst to me, Rivers was a regular co-host with Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. She was so successful at that gig that she got her own night show on Fox. This ruined her relationship with Carson for good. He wouldn’t speak to her again. The Fox show failed. Joan was unwilling to fire her husband, Edgar Rosenberg, as the show’s producer so Fox fired them both. Shortly after that, Rosenberg committed suicide. Rivers took an unconventional step in the long healing process by later creating a made for TV movie with her daughter Melissa based on their story of dealing with the suicide of Rosenberg. She acknowledges that many probably think this was an absurd move but proclaims she has little care about that.

The relationship between mother and daughter was not a focus but the time spent there was telling. Melissa makes comments about having to share her life with her mom and her mom’s career. The time the two of them spend on screen for the documentary feels uncomfortable. Both of them share the same spotlight, especially in this later part of Rivers’ career and Rivers is outright competitive with her daughter when it comes to stardom. She is supportive of Melissa when they both appear on Celebrity Apprentice. She shows outrage when Melissa is one of the early contestants to be “fired”, but when she later goes on to win the game there is little vitriol shown to her opponent who she previously blamed for her daughter’s early dismal from the show. Rivers ultimately got what she wanted – the spotlight and some semblance of relevancy. Neither attacks one another but Melissa says that her mom, like any comedian, must have a rather large deficiency when she needs to get on stage and make people laugh, whether with her or at her, it doesn’t matter.

To say Rivers is outspoken is an understatement. Her comedy act is vulgar even by today’s comedic standards. Her disdain for certain people is never hidden. During one comedy act she puts on at a resort in Wisconsin she makes a joke using Helen Keller as the punch line. A man in the audience tells her it’s not funny, his son is blind. Rivers goes ballistic on the guy even as he’s walking out the door. After the show, Rivers is clearly shaken up by the incident as she rattles on trying desperately to defend her joke and reaction to the backlash. Her anger is a shield for the underlying insecurity. In a subtle scene where she’s entering a building before a show, one lone fan comes to her and asks for her autograph. While she signs, the gentleman says Rivers doesn’t get the recognition she deserves. This makes Rivers glow. As she makes her way inside, she makes a sarcastic comment about how she has at least one fan who loves her. Even when praised Rivers can’t hide her self-doubt.

Whatever one thinks of Joan Rivers, A Piece of Work will likely challenge that opinion. It will also entertain. In place of talking heads endlessly praising Rivers’ persistence, drive and talent we get an often times unflattering and raw look at her life. We get to see what drives her to success and come to understand that much of that drive is also what ails her.

 ★★★★☆ 

This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.

YouTube Preview Image

Way late review: Back to the Future

Nostalgia heavily tints a movie like Back to the Future for someone my age. It’s not just another movie. It’s a phenomenon. Michael J. Fox. Huey Lewis and the News. 1985. As my son likes to say, “good times, good times.”

Watching the movie always feels familiar and comforting. This time around I watched it in a wonderfully remastered Blu-ray. Wow! What a difference that makes. If you like the movies, then I highly suggest picking up the triology on Blu-ray. The picture is so much better than what I saw last on DVD.

Watching Marty McFly travel 30 years in the past, make a mess of his own history and then scramble to fix it and get back to 1985 reminded me how much I enjoyed Michael J. Fox growing up. Even in some fairly terrible movies that came later, I still enjoyed them if for no other reason than the energy Fox brought to the screen.

Back to the Future is a fun watch. There aren’t any big laughs for me but the twists with time travel, no matter how convoluted they can get towards the end, make for some funny moments. The action is lively but never over the top, something most adventure films these days should take note of. The constraints of movie making circa 1985 weren’t all that bad for films like this. Instead of over stylized action shots we get interesting set pieces and construction of scenes.

Nostalgia is strange, especially when it comes to movies. When I think of Back to the Future without having watched it for a while, I think “great movie”. When I watch it, I think “very good movie”. The opening act is uneven, with the McFly family and other characters like Biff and Mr. Strickland played way over the top. It’s intentional but the intended laughs don’t come as a result. The scene with Marty blowing away the high school dance with his 80′s style guitar shredding is awesome until they have Michael J. Fox lip sync the song. On Blu-ray it was painful to watch. There are some other smaller nitpicks that I won’t delve into mainly because they aren’t important other than it all adds up to making Back to the Future a less than five star movie for me. Still a fun repeatable watch and a strong start to a solid trilogy. More on the other two films in the future.

 ★★★★☆ 

This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.

YouTube Preview Image

Way late review: Terri

Terri is an indie flick about an orphan (Jacob Wysocki) who lives with his uncle (Creed Bratton, yes, that Creed), struggles to fit in at school and finds an unlikely friend in his vice principal (John C. Reilly). With a synopsis like that, it may be hard to believe that Terri never falls into sappy sentimentality nor does it try to play things purposefully quirky in order to earn its hipster street cred. It’s true. Terri is a quiet, smart film that allows its characters to live and learn small lessons along the way without a triumphant ending.

Terri is overweight, wears pajamas to school, has no friends and is teased by his classmates. To top it all off, he’s responsible for his uncle, who suffers from an untold medical condition that renders the uncle unreliable much of the time. Terri doesn’t have an easy life and one can see it by the look of defeat in his posture and face. Enter Terri’s vice principal, Mr. Fitzgerald, who is concerned about Terri and sets up one-on-one meetings once a week with him. Mr. Fitzgerald is a fairly complex character. At first he comes off as an oddball, played for comedic laughs, but as time goes on we see that this is a man who is struggling to find his own way through life. His interest in Terri and some of the other students is genuine, though there are a number of times his motives come into question.

A turning point for Terri is when he decides to step up and defend Heather Miles (Olivia Crocicchia), who is close to expulsion due to sexual misconduct with a boy in her home economics class. Terri saw the whole thing go down (as did most of the class) and goes out of his way to plead Heather’s case to Mr. Fitzgerald. It seems to have worked as Heather is shown back in home economics, complete with sunglasses to hide her tears. Terri once again bravely steps up by shielding Heather from further humiliation by deflecting the awkward attention focused on her by the teacher and her classmates. From there Terri strikes up a quiet friendship with Heather.

Heather and Terri’s friendship grows to the point where Heather comes over to Terri’s house to meet his uncle. An unlikely friend of Terri’s, Chad (Bridger Zadina), shows up shortly before Heather arrives and he does his best to cause trouble. What ensues between the three high schoolers at first seemed like pure titillation. The indie version of a teen house party. However, it’s during this misadventure between Terri, Heather and Chad that we see the desperation each of the three desire true love, friendship and care that has alluded them. We learn a bit more about how and why each has grasped unsuccessfully for fulfillment with the scene ending in a way that shows Terri as both wise beyond his years and yet still a teenager. Heather leaves in the morning after writing a note begging Terri not to tell anyone about the night before. She fears her actions will only enhance the reputation she started in her home economics class.

Once Terri wakes up the morning after, he heads to the school and finds Mr. Fitzgerald sleeping in his car. Mr. and Mrs. Fitzgerald aren’t on good terms. The two go into the school and spend some time there talking and hanging out. There is no big moment where a big breakthrough occurs that wraps up the story neatly. Life doesn’t often work out that way and neither does the film.

The acting across the board is tremendous. The dialogue is authentic, the story strong enough, and the characters are interesting without becoming stereotypes. The first act of the film may test the patience, as it takes its time introducing the characters, but the reward is there for those who wait.

 ★★★★☆ 

This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.

YouTube Preview Image

The lost Hoover Christmas newsletter of 2010

I forgot I put together this quick one page Christmas newsletter last year. My wife has been writing them and is doing it again this year. I actually don’t like these types of newsletters. They often do too much bragging or are just plain boring. Plus, with today’s world of over sharing everything online, chances are I know more about your past year than you do. But, every so often inspiration strikes and the end of 2010 was one of those moments. My wife was struggling to write so I sat down right at that moment and wrote the following newsletter in no time flat. It took me longer to find just the right images. We never sent it out, as my wife didn’t find it all that humorous at the time. It made her laugh tonight. Here it is:

Download a PDF or view the embedded doc below:

The Hoover Christmas Newsletter 2010

Leave a reply

This entry was published on December 15, 2011 under the following topics Misc