Archive for December, 2011
Way late review: Edward Scissorhands
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
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.
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Way late review: Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
Sunday, December 18, 2011
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.
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Way late review: Back to the Future
Saturday, December 17, 2011
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.
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Way late review: Terri
Friday, December 16, 2011
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.
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The lost Hoover Christmas newsletter of 2010
Thursday, December 15, 2011
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
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