The Distrusting Peter Sarsgaard

I’ve never met him, but I’m sure Peter Sarsgaard is a nice guy. However his film persona has caused me to be a little cautious if I ever see him at a party. He has a tendency to play darker characters rather convincingly. He’s not as worrisome as Glenn Close, who I believe is the most frightening person alive, but he’s getting there.

His latest film is Knight and Day where he plays the major villain. His type of villain is not the crazed psychopath but the intelligent man in the suit. He’s very good at playing the calculating guy who knows how to remain emotionless. I think he’s effective in these roles, but I think he has more talent than just playing the standard villain in thrillers like this, Flightplan, and the upcoming Green Lantern.

His most menacing role was the one that became his breakthrough role. He played John Lotter in Boys Don’t Cry. This is the Hilary Swank movie where she played Brandon Teena, a transsexual who moves to a new city and starts an affair with Chloë Sevigny. What makes the movie tragic is what happens when John Lotter finds out the truth about Brandon’s identity and things become unrelentingly violent. It’s a masterful performance that becomes terrifying near the end because of how realistic he plays it.

It’s because of these roles that I think he was great casting in An Education. In this movie he plays the older exciting romantic interest to Carey Mulligan. It’s a very difficult performance because he has to balance a lot of things at once. The audience has to believe that he is this charming guy who would woo Mulligan with his world full of art and luxury. Yet he also has to be the man who is not the white knight; the guy a father would be cautious to let go on a date with his daughter. Sarsgaard’s performance really gave the movie the relevancy that allowed the film to earn all of its moments.

As I alluded to, I don’t want him to be typecast. I first took note of Sarsgaard in the independent film Shattered Glass. He plays a newspaper editor who is the only one who believes Hayden Christensen may be making up his articles. He’s also very good as the best friend in Zach Braff’s Garden State and as Liam Neeson’s assistant in Kinsey. He has a presence of respectability and uses that to interesting film choices. Unfortunately those interesting choices are in the smaller films that not many people have a chance to check out.

I would like to see him branch out more in the future on a larger scale. He can pull of being a leading man. Perhaps even in a romantic movie that’s not…Orphan. There’s not too much evidence of this, but I think he could pull off a really dry comedy. For now his IMDb page only has Green Lantern has his next project and maybe I’m judging that role prematurely. Maybe it is a villain full of depth, not just a business-like foil to spur CGI battles. Maybe.

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2010/06/23/the-distrusting-peter-sarsgaard/

Grown Ups

I have decided to write reviews for the press screenings I see even if I'm not writing them for another website. So there will be more unique reviews just for this blog. (Speaking of my book reviews will dramatically resume in a few weeks) For now enjoy the hyperbole of this one...

I have struggled to think of a movie I hate more than Grown Ups. I am not one who seeks out bad movies for some sort of masochist pleasure. I like to think I am a civil human being but mankind does tend to reaction when provoked. This is my reaction.

FRAK YOU MOVIE. This is a disgrace to the entire genre of comedy. It used to be that comedy was used as a game of wits. How can we devise a situation to make the audience laugh? Every single line of dialog from this “movie” feels like a placeholder joke. “We’ll think of a better one later.” SPOILER: They don’t.

So 30 years ago these five idiots were on a basketball team in school. Remarkably there were only five members to this team. Hope they didn’t have to sub out. They won the championship, which I find to be remarkable considering during the brief flashback two of them are checking out girls in the stands and one doesn’t know how to dribble. Also one of them seems to only know how to make a basket from one spot. Blah blah blah. They somehow win and declare this moment as one of the best times of their entire life. (Again, two were not interested in paying attention to the game during the final minute.)

In present day their coach dies. So these five (Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Chris Rock, David Spade, and Rob Schneider) all decide to attend the funeral. Why was that coach so important? Because they kept saying he was over and over and over again. They ultimately pay him a load of respect by joking around during the funeral. What likable characters!

These nimwads then decide to spend the weekend at the lake with their families. At the lake they fall down a lot, make fun of a dog with cut vocal cords, over-sexualize Schneider’s daughters, and decide to be incredibly unfunny. There is truly not one “wisecrack” that worked on me.

How do these wisecracks work you ask? Well let’s take Rob Schneider’s wife. She’s old. So the other four take turns saying one-liners that even Jay Leno would pass on. Everything feels painfully scripted and—worst of all—NOT FUNNY. There is a way to make these extended riff sessions work. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia has done it for several seasons now. That group actually knows how to think of clever insults and create an atmosphere that makes it fun to be around these people.

Oh then the movie actually tries to pretend to have a point. I think they did that to further infuriate me. The horrible fathers want their children to realize the value of playing outside and making their own sorts of fun. I mean why wouldn’t you want to crash into a wall after not understand a rope swing, get hit with rocks, and launch an arrow into the air only to painfully hurt someone? Laughing yet? I kid you not: there is supposed to be a dramatic scene on a dock where they all come clean about STUPID and unearned moments.

Every single aspect of this film is insanely lazy and what makes it worse is that this cost around 70 million dollars to make. What was that spent on? Clearly not the CGI budget because that looked horrendous when we see Steve Buscemi fly down a zipline. (Don’t worry; he gets hurt at the end.)

To say this movie panders to the lowest common denominator is misleading because that implies this movie has enough worth to even make up a metaphorical fraction. As you ponder what could be less than a fraction, take pleasure in knowing that you are putting more thought towards this movie than every single person involved.

Film Yap: And the Nominees Were - 1934

Austin Lugar, Keith Jackson and Kenny Jones started a podcast called And the Nominees Are. On this show they are attempting to review every single Best Picture nominee starting from the very beginning. Here Austin recaps the plot summaries of each set while teasing the longer discussions.

12 nominees! The Academy jumped its Best Picture nominees to 12 in 1934. We’re still not sure whey they insist on having that many nominees, but we are praising this selection for having a lot of really great movies that we can recommend. This was the first year with the Production Code rules, but a few were able to slip by with some gray area earlier in the year.

The Barretts of Wimpole Street

Norma Shearer (The Divorcee) plays a bed-ridden poet who is basically held captive by her demanding father played by Charles Laughton (The Private Life of Henry VIII). The introduction of the dashing Fredric March (Smilin’ Through) breaks up their situation. This movie is based off a play and the way it’s filmed strongly shows that. This was a more interesting story than former Shearer vehicles but it was still underwhelming. Laughton really excels though.

Cleopatra

Cecil B. DeMille is known as an epic filmmaker and this is the first one of his films to be nominated for Best Picture. Claudette Colbert (The Smiling Lieutenant) plays the Queen of the Nile and she is fantastic. The whole film is a lot of fun and breathes more than the typical biopic. Also there are plenty of great cinematic action scenes that still hold up well today.

Flirtation Walk

This is such a confusing movie. Dick Powell plays a soldier meets a girl while stationed in Hawaii and then decides that he’s not enough of a gentleman so he goes to West Point. At West Point he spends most of his time working on a big musical to perform in front of the officers. It’s not good when Abbott and Costello seem to have a better feel for what it means to be a soldier than this film. Also most of the musical segments are forgettable except the odd ones when they complain about how they can’t have a horse.

The Gay Divorcee

Now this is a musical. I think I loved this one more than my co-hosts, but I would rank this as one of the great American musicals. This is the first “real” Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers pair-up and it’s a blast. Astaire is interested in Rogers, but she is trying to The musical numbers are actually used to progress the story and enhance upon the relationship between the characters. Also it’s filled with creativity ranging from the dialog to the amazing dance sequences.

Here Comes the Navy

We couldn’t find this one. It’s not on VHS or DVD. We’ll continue to see if it’ll pop up on Turner Classic Movies. We know it stars James Cagney and that’s about it.

The House of Rothschild

This led to one of our oddest discussions on the show. This movie is all about basic economics and since I don’t understand that, I didn’t like the movie. It’s a boring story about George Arliss (Disraeli) trying to get a bank loan to help his family. His family is prejudiced against for being Jews. The script is not emotionally engaging and not much works for this film, especially the last five minutes, which is randomly in color.

Imitation of Life

This was a nice surprise. Claudette Colbert returns again as a single mom who befriends Louise Beavers and her daughter. Together they start a pancake business while dealing with family and race issues. The movie is constantly engaging thanks to an interesting script and strong performances by its two leads.

It Happened One Night - WINNER

This movie still rocks. It’s one of the few comedies to ever win Best Picture and it’s only one of three movies to win the Oscar Sweep. (That is when a film wins Picture, Actor, Actress, Director, and Screenplay). Claudette Colbert is back again as a rich woman who is going across country to get married. She’s not used to traveling without her father’s money so Clark Gable helps her out in order to get the big story. This Frank Capra (Lady For a Day) movie is constantly hilarious and set the standard for many road trip movies down the line.

One Night of Love

Do you like opera? No? Well I would watch out for this one. This is the first musical I’ve seen where all of the music is operatic. Grace Moore plays a talented singer who studies under Tullio Carminati, a grumpy Henry Higgins-ish character. Its predictable story and unlikable characters left us pretty dry with this one.

The Thin Man

This is another movie I love from this list. Adapted from the great Dashiell Hammett novel, William Powell and Myrna Loy play a husband and wife duo who manage to solve a murder mystery in between drinks of martinis. The mystery is well done, but the real fun comes from the witty banter and delightful atmosphere the film has. Its popularity spurred five sequels all of which are enjoyable.

Viva Villa!

We last left Wallace Beery in Grand Hotel where he played a German businessman. Now he’s south of the border as the famous Pancho Villa. The movie plays with history to tell the story of Pancho. Beery is always entertaining but the screenplay leaves him high and dry most of the time. It has some potential for some decent prospects, but is too interested in hitting major points without much expansion.

The White Parade

Another film we couldn’t find after a long search. I have no idea what this one is even about. Maybe it’s a good one?

We discuss these movies with a lot more detail on our show And the Nominees Are. This set was covered over two episodes both of which can be found for free on iTunes. Our show is also on Facebook and Twitter.

The next year has another 12 nominees and we actually have access to all 12. If you would like to play along we will be reviewing: Alice Adams, Broadway Melody of 1936, Captain Blood, David Copperfield, The Informer, Les Miserables, The Lives of a Bengal Lancer, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Mutiny on the Bounty, Naughty Mariettta, Ruggles of Red Gap, and Top Hat.

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2010/06/25/and-the-nominees-were-1934/

Higgens Network: Knight and Day

First things, first. Knight and Day is not a good title. It doesn’t entirely make sense for this movie even after the whole thing concludes. Secondly, this is actually better than it looks.

Tom Cruise has played the superspy many times before, most notably in the Mission Impossible series. He could have very easily done that same thing again, being the spy who knows every move to accomplish his goal. On paper he is playing those beats again, but his performance suggests otherwise. What brings this movie a lot of spark is that he plays his character of Roy Miller like a crazy person.

Miller first encounters June Havens (Cameron Diaz) when they are two of the only people on a flight. They start up a flirting conversation that plays out longer than most films would have patience for. This is not an insult towards the film; it actually seemed believable. It’s refreshing to allow characters to form a relationship instead of just forcing it upon us. While June steps briefly into the bathroom, Miller kills the rest of the people on the plane who were evil agents. The fight scene ends with both pilots accidently being killed so Miller has to land the plane. This is when June returns.

So she gets caught up in this espionage tangle where agents want to kill Roy and take a powerful battery/McGuffin away from him. She finds it difficult to trust him because, like I said, he’s a bit unstable. He’s still smoother than Jack Sparrow, but is more like the recent incarnation of The Doctor. You’ll follow him into battle, but never take him home to meet your parents. Cruise’s performance and character allows scenes to feel fresh instead of the usual shoot ‘um up scenes.

There are more touches like this through the script. Director James Mangold and screenwriter Patrick O’Neill have clever ways to go through the action. There is a fun scene where June has been sedated and she only sees what is going on every twenty minutes or so and she see’s Roy in the middle of various outrageous action moments.

The film does get trapped with a few familiar things. Peter Sarsgaard and Paul Dano are incredibly underused as the villain and the genius archetypes. Also I heavily push for movies to never allow characters to ironically repeat lines from other characters.

The wit in this film is not necessarily quotable, but just surprising. It is progress towards taking more risks with a bigger budget. Audiences respond to seeing something new and I think that will serve this movie well.

The Distrusting Peter Sarsgaard

I’ve never met him, but I’m sure Peter Sarsgaard is a nice guy. However his film persona has caused me to be a little cautious if I ever see him at a party. He has a tendency to play darker characters rather convincingly. He’s not as worrisome as Glenn Close, who I believe is the most frightening person alive, but he’s getting there.

His latest film is Knight and Day where he plays the major villain. His type of villain is not the crazed psychopath but the intelligent man in the suit. He’s very good at playing the calculating guy who knows how to remain emotionless. I think he’s effective in these roles, but I think he has more talent than just playing the standard villain in thrillers like this, Flightplan, and the upcoming Green Lantern.

His most menacing role was the one that became his breakthrough role. He played John Lotter in Boys Don’t Cry. This is the Hilary Swank movie where she played Brandon Teena, a transsexual who moves to a new city and starts an affair with Chloë Sevigny. What makes the movie tragic is what happens when John Lotter finds out the truth about Brandon’s identity and things become unrelentingly violent. It’s a masterful performance that becomes terrifying near the end because of how realistic he plays it.

It’s because of these roles that I think he was great casting in An Education. In this movie he plays the older exciting romantic interest to Carey Mulligan. It’s a very difficult performance because he has to balance a lot of things at once. The audience has to believe that he is this charming guy who would woo Mulligan with his world full of art and luxury. Yet he also has to be the man who is not the white knight; the guy a father would be cautious to let go on a date with his daughter. Sarsgaard’s performance really gave the movie the relevancy that allowed the film to earn all of its moments.

As I alluded to, I don’t want him to be typecast. I first took note of Sarsgaard in the independent film Shattered Glass. He plays a newspaper editor who is the only one who believes Hayden Christensen may be making up his articles. He’s also very good as the best friend in Zach Braff’s Garden State and as Liam Neeson’s assistant in Kinsey. He has a presence of respectability and uses that to interesting film choices. Unfortunately those interesting choices are in the smaller films that not many people have a chance to check out.

I would like to see him branch out more in the future on a larger scale. He can pull of being a leading man. Perhaps even in a romantic movie that’s not…Orphan. There’s not too much evidence of this, but I think he could pull off a really dry comedy. For now his IMDb page only has Green Lantern has his next project and maybe I’m judging that role prematurely. Maybe it is a villain full of depth, not just a business-like foil to spur CGI battles. Maybe.

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2010/06/23/the-distrusting-peter-sarsgaard/

She's Out of My League

Alice Eve plays Molly who is very hot. Jay Baruchel plays Kirk who is not. That is the entire plot of She’s Out of My League. Comedies don’t have to be heavy on plot but I would like it to go somewhere. Even Clerks managed to throw some unexpected curveballs into Dante’s day. This movie goes nowhere.

There are a million movies about relationships and audiences know all of the familiar beats. There are two ways to make the movie feel fresh and new: the participants and the world around them. Let’s focus on the latter first. The only “conflict” in this movie is everybody in the world telling Kirk that Molly is way too attractive for him. That’s not a worthy situation. Every single sitcom uses this format. Even Fred Flintstone knew that he was one lucky caveman to end up with Wilma.

So then what about the couple? Are they at all interesting? No! Eve is very attractive so she fulfills that aspect of being a “10.” Beyond being really good-looking, she is insanely boring. She has no character traits and Eve drops the ball with almost every line. I didn’t even believe she was rooting for a team in hockey. Baruchel’s Kirk is also void of many character traits. People keep saying he’s funny, but he doesn’t really tell too many jokes. He’s a slacker, kinda, but I think that’s now just movie lingo for “has a bad job.” Even though his character is very boring, Baruchel is a talented comedic actor and can alleviate above the material. Not even he can save himself from overexplaining his situation to his friends every other scene.

There is one actress who I thought did a great job, despite the lame material. Her name is Krysten Ritter and she plays the “Judy Greer” role to Molly. She’s the best friend who doesn’t have a story arc, but somehow Ritter snuck a few laughs out of me. After seeing her range from Veronica Mars to Breaking Bad, it’s just a matter of time before she’s popping up at more movies.

The bonus features are underwhelming as well. There is a seven-minute sketch about dating tips with two of the minor characters that doesn’t live up to its potential. The gag reel and deleted scenes are both short and don’t have much to offer. Only the director, Jim Field Smith, was on the commentary track and I wish there was someone for him to talk to. He was quiet too often and if someone was there they could have probed stories out of him. Instead he just said stuff like “______ is great.” “Those aren’t real stairs.” “It rained that day.”

Despite being just an overall boring movie, none of the scenes were ones that I hated. (Aside from the ending requiring stunt men to pull off the dramatic prat falls for unnecessary reasons.) The movie is never offensive, just underachieving. None of the jokes or scenarios will be remembered by the time the credits conclude but it’s not infuriating. Just…whatever.

Movie: 2 Yaps

Extras: 2 Yaps

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2010/06/22/shes-out-of-my-league-2/

Green Zone

Paul Greengrass and Matt Damon have been so great separately and together that they have formed a quality reputation. So there is a reasonable expectation when they have a new movie come out. Especially when it’s over a topic that needs a new creative perspective.

With Green Zone, Greengrass and Damon take us back to a few years ago when the War in Iraq was just getting underway. Damon plays Roy Miller a soldier leading his men into various locations where WMD reportedly are stored. After several empty locations, Miller speaks out against the intel. This gets the attention of a CIA officer named Martin Brown played by the always great Brendan Gleeson. This starts a series of events to figure out who is “Magellan,” the informant behind the information.

The structure of this war movie was one more like a cop drama with the detective going around the city piecing clues together. This is an interesting stance, but it plays like a forgettable cop movie. None of the characters in this movie really pop as original creations. Greg Kinnear is stuck playing the typical slimeball in a suit. Amy Ryan doesn’t have much to do as the typical reporter in this scenario who just wants the truth.

The film comes alive when they show us something new. The best scene in the movie is when Brown takes Miller to one of Saddam’s former palaces for a meeting and it’s like nothing that’s going on. Miller feels out of place as he is dressed in full combat gear while walking through the exterior of a Barbie’s Dreamhouse.

Greengrass’s handheld camera technique works well in a war setting especially when Miller and his team are moving as one. The finale ends up being one big chase scene and it is exciting, but never Bourne level of excitement.

Instead of being an intelligent take on the Iraq War, it’s too simplified and labels everybody as a good or a bad guy. Characters are speaking bluntly as if this was a summary Wikipedia entry instead of a full news report. Not everything has to be as dense as Generation Kill, but The Hurt Locker proved there are exciting stories that can be used with the backdrop.

In the bonus features, the most used word is “thriller.” Throughout the unfortunately dull commentary, Greengrass and Damon talk about how they have to do certain things because this is a thriller. It’s used as an excuse instead of an exciting possibility. There are also two featurettes that are pretty cool. Most of them are fly-on-the-wall interactions of the set that are very entertaining. Especially where you get to see Damon interact with the real life soldiers. There are also a bunch of deleted scenes with optional commentary from Greengrass.

2.5 Yaps

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2010/06/21/green-zone-2/

Higgens Network: Toy Story 3

Toy Story 3 pulled off the incredible. It made a third entry that is not only worthy, but perhaps the best of its series. While other trilogies lose steam, this movie returns to all the things we loved and still managed to give us something exciting and new.

The film opens with an extended imaginative sequence reintroducing us to all of the characters through another story of Andy’s imagination. As we travel to the present, the dream may be over. Andy is ready to move off to college in a few days, which means he is saying goodbye to all of his toys. Woody (Tom Hanks) prepares the rest of the group for their trip to the attic. Before they can get there, they are accidently donated to Sunnyside Day Care.

At first look, Sunnyside seems perfect. It’s a constant rotation of children who want to play with them, instead of letting them collect dust in a bin. However, there are two factions of Sunnyside: the room for the toddlers who treat toys like monsters and the room for the older children who treat toys with care. The whole system is run by a big pink bear named Lotso (Ned Betty). It becomes clear that our heroes are going to have to escape and return to Andy.

Pixar is always pushing the boundaries of children’s films. Their films are always about intelligent themes that are full of lessons for all ages. With Toy Story 3 it focuses on loyalty and abandonment. At this point in the saga Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, Rex, Hamm, and Slinky are important figures to its audience. They have been around for 15 years and the film uses their long-term friendship in a powerful way. The film puts the toys in a lot of peril where it is uncertain their ultimate outcome. It has been some time when the stakes of characters felt this personal. Usually that is reserved for television characters, because of the amount of hours spent with them.

Like every Pixar film, it has these heavy issues but it does not overpower the story. This movie is a lot of fun from beginning to end. Like Andy, the creative geniuses behind this movie is brimming with imagination and love for storytelling. Treating Sunnyside like a maximum-security prison was a brilliant idea and led to some very inventive escape techniques that used every single member of their team.

Everyone has a chance to be genuinely funny during the film. We get to see a new side of Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) where it proves he’s quite the dancer. New characters like Mr. Pricklepants (Timothy Dalton reprising his Hot Fuzz level of cheesiness) and Trixie (Kristen Schaal) only have a little bit of screentime but are definitely worthy of being part of the gang. The one that everyone will be talking about is Ken who is voiced by Michael Keaton. He has the ego of Buzz from the original tale, but the closet of a Sex and the City character.

From beginning to end this movie works and it concludes in a way that is bound to please everyone. Sequels from Hollywood are typically seen as films that rarely live up to its original. Hopefully this set of films can show the promise of a truly satisfying trilogy from beginning to end. Thank you Pixar.

Film Yap: Sequels I Actually Want

Hollywood loves to tell us that we want a sequel. In the book world I often hear fans asking authors if there will be another installment with their favorite characters, but those conversations don’t happen too often with film fans. Mostly it’s because the sequels are expected or, in most cases, unwanted.

When Step Up ended there was no chatter in the lobby about counting the days until they can go 2 the Streets. The studios looked at the box office and interpreted that as the fans wanting more dancing. It was announced this week that there are plans to making a Karate Kid 2 and a Ghost Rider 2. Stop it Hollywood! Just because we liked the first one doesn’t mean it warrants another movie. If you really have to make sequels, pull from this list because these are movies I would actually like to see another edition of.

Before Sunset

Nobody thought this would work, but it ended up being masterful. Richard Linklater, Ethan Hawke, and Julie Delpy revisited the two romantic characters from Before Sunrise and found them in a new point in their lives. Their psychological ramblings have changed with age and I would love to see them again ten more years down the line. They have proved they know how to respectfully make a sequel and I would love to see them continuing to grow.

Gone Baby Gone

This is one of my entries that I can safely suggest because there are more stories already written. This was based on a novel by Dennis Lehane and its actually the fourth entry with Patrick and Angela. One of the reason I would love a sequel is because they cast those two leads really well with Casey Afleck and Michelle Monaghan. I really enjoyed the novels Darkness Take My Hand and Sacred. Also if Hollywood wants to directly treat it like a sequel, Lehane is having a new book come out this fall that talks about the little girl from this movie.

The Great Mouse Detective

We’re all in agreement this is the greatest animated film of all time right? No? Just me? Fine, but we can agree that it’s an underappreciated blast. This could have been a very fun franchise where Basil of Baker Street and his faithful Dr. Dawson solve rodent related crimes. The trickiest thing would be replicating the animation and finding a villain that’s as fun as Vincent Price’s Professor Ratigan.

The Incredibles

There are a million super hero movies out right now and only a few really had the heart like this one. This wasn’t exactly based off any previous material, but heavily inspired by comics like Fantastic Four. Everything about this movie was so well done that I would love to see more adventures with this family. Also the way Pixar has treated the Toy Story franchise gives a lot of promise to continuations of its other movies. I know Brad Bird is now off making another Mission Impossible, but I would hope he would return for another go at this because his action scenes were fantastically inventive.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

Before Robert Downey Jr. snabbed every franchise in Hollywood, he made this great movie with Val Kilmer and Shane Black. This was a very funny mystery with a clever meta voice over. The mystery in this movie wasn’t a very big case so it won’t fall into a trap about constantly having to one-up itself. Sequels don’t always need to be bigger; they just need to be new. People want to return to see more of these characters. So if there’s a sequel to this, I’m buying a ticket to see more of Harry Lockhart and Gay Perry not them trying to save the world.

Matchstick Men

I love con men movies. This was one that slipped under the radar and didn’t deserve it. Nicolas Cage gives a great performance as an OCD conman who discovers he has a daughter. Cage and Alison Lohman had great chemistry and it would be a lot of fun to see them teamed up to pull off a con together. Con movies are always difficult because the audiences has been so accustomed to them, but this one could work because it’s more about revisiting these characters, not who they could scam.

Maverick

I’m more of a fan of funny Mel Gibson over serious Mel Gibson. It’s easy to forget he has a great sense of humor when he keeps releasing movies where people made the bad mistake of messing with his daughter. I don’t know why this one worked so well for me, but him bantering back and forth with Jodie Foster and James Gardner was a delight. If they all agree to come back, it could be a treat. Why not, bring Alfred Molina back as well.

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

There are at least twenty books in this series. The first movie combined two of them into a really fascinating movie. So why not make this a true intellectual franchise? Peter Weir has rumored about returning to the sea and I hope he does. Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany need another hit and this could be a smooth return to some of their best performances. I would like to see their relationship tested in new plotlines. Also there aren’t too many nautical action scenes out in cinemas lately. At least ones without Krackens.

Rushmore

I was trying to think of a movie like Before Sunrise, Scenes of a Marriage, and The Hustler where it was really satisfying revisiting characters many years down the line to see where they ended up. Rushmore really has the possibility. Jason Schwartzman’s Max was such a well formed creation that I would love to see where he would be after attending Rushmore. It may be a bit forced to include Bill Murray’s and Olivia William’s characters in Max’s life 10 or 15 years down the road but it would be nice to see them too. Perhaps they could reunite after Max sells a play about his childhood.

Rounders

This movie really helped start the poker boom back in the 90s. It introduced it in a really slick way with Matt Damon as the gambler getting back into the circuit to help a friend. With poker tournaments now available on various ESPN channels, I’m curious to see how screenwriters David Levien and Brian Kippelman will handle the new nuances of the sport as it has adjusted to its new popularity. Also it would just be fun to see John Malkovich reprise his villainous Russian role.

Serenity

It’s amazing this movie even got made. The beloved Joss Whedon show Firefly was (of course) canceled by FOX but somehow the fan community’s screams were heard by higher ups and they made this sequel to the show. Serenity tied up some of the loose ends from the sci-fi western. The movie focused on an assassin going after River (Summer Glau) so the rest of the ship has to avoid him. Even with its smaller budget, this managed to be a really exciting adventure. There are plenty more stories in this universe. Without spoiling anything in Serenity, but I know a lot of fans would actually prefer a prequel instead of a direct continuation.

Shoot ‘Em Up

Clive Owen kills two different people with carrots. Why wasn’t this movie a success? Writer/director Michael Davis made a movie that mixed the creativity of a Looney Toon sketch with R-rated violence. The movie realized how silly it was and just went crazy. Owen kills a whole set of bad guys while having sex with Monica Bellucci. He shoots off an umbilical cord when a baby is born in the middle of a battle. He also has a pretty cool monologue about turn signals, which wasn’t violent, but still pretty awesome. I don’t know how they’ll pull the money together, but this would be another fun go-around. Especially if they have a simpler plot.

So how about you? What movies would you like to have a sequel?

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2010/06/17/sequels-i-actually-want/

Film Yap: Harry Brown

Recently there have been popular films of old people kicking the butts of young people. Clint Eastwood really didn’t want those punks on his yard in Gran Torino and Liam Neeson pretty much destroyed all of France in one weekend in Taken. Now those films have a sense of humor about themselves. Despite the drama and thrills, there is some humor and understanding its ridiculousness at times. This is not the case for Harry Brown.

This movie is grimy. Michael Caine plays the titular character that used to be a Royal Marine, but is now an old widower who spends most of his time focused on chess games with his friend Leonard (David Bradley). Both of them hate what has happened to their city. The youth have terrorized the area with their extreme violence and drug use. After Leonard is found dead by their knives, Harry can’t take it anymore.

So off he goes mixing around with drug dealers and murderers and killing anyone who has done wrong. Whenever Harry kills someone a third of his age, it’s not very satisfying. Mostly I just wanted to take a shower. This version of England is so gritty that it’s very unpleasant to watch. (The overbearing and clichéd film score doesn’t help either.) The youth gangsters are so obnoxious and vile that you don’t really want them to die exactly, but to have never been put on screen. Grittiness is not necessary a bad thing. The Wire’s version of Baltimore is terrifying, but there are enough powerful storytelling elements that always kept me intrigued.

Everything that happens in Harry Brown is standard revenge/vigilante plotting. Not only Harry’s storyline, but the subplot with the police as well. Emily Mortimer plays Alice Frampton, a sympathetic and brilliant detective who respects Harry Brown. It’s a pretty standard role as she fights with crime and bureaucracy but Mortimer really shines in the role. Her and Caine add great depths to otherwise unmemorable characters.

Caine, in particular, is incredible in this movie. Instead of taking pride in his revenge Caine handles it with terrible sadness. The scenes that work best are the ones that are separate from the vengeance plotline. I liked seeing his lonely daily activities and his interactions with non-psychotic individuals. There’s an interesting character within Harry Brown but this isn’t the movie to really examine him.

2 Yaps

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2010/06/15/harry-brown/

Higgens Network: The A-Team

After the screening of Prince of Persia, there was a little kid in the audience jumping off chairs because he was pretending to be Daston. When The A-Team concluded I spent the next two days randomly singing the movie’s theme song. It’s not just because those handful of notes are insanely catching, but this film does have an addicting quality to it.

Yes, I know, this movie is incredibly ridiculous. This is in the group of action movies where they ask that you don’t look into their smaller details. Like how Hannibal knows all of this intel or what was the point of buying 3D glasses when planning a getaway. I recognize these flaws, but they don’t weigh down the movie for me.

The film is more focused on having a good time. Stuff will explode, helicopters will dive, and good golly the plan will lovingly come together. The first plan in the movie is the birth of the A-Team. Hannibal (Liam Neeson) needs to rescue Face (Bradley Cooper) and meets up with two fellow Rangers, the muscular fighter B.A (Quinton “Rampage” Jackson) and the insane pilot Murdock (Sharlto Copley from District 9). They are the perfect combination of brains and violence. Over the years they succeed in a ton of missions for the U.S. Army, but then they’re framed.

It appears that the A-Team were trying to steal the movie’s maguffin (This time it’s U.S. Mint plates) so they are dishonorably discharged and arrested. With no surprise to any of the characters, they eventually break out of their respected prisons and team up to clear their names. It also comes as no surprise their way of achieving these tasks is awesomely convoluted.

On their trail is Charisa Sosa who is played by Jessica Biel. She’s a soldier who was demoted after the maguffin fiasco so she really wants the maguffin back. Unfortunately she doesn’t play a part in the plot at all. She keeps having scenes with characters that don’t change their paths in the slightest. She gets a backstory clumsily told through dialog but it just feels random. Biel is fine in the role, but she could be completely edited out of this film. If that happened, people would be outraged at the lack of a token hot chick in an action movie. Some things you just don’t mess with.

Along with its ridiculousness, the film maintains its enjoyable tone by having characters worth hanging out with. Unlike the heroes/rip-off in The Losers this group doesn’t just about how great they are. They are cool and are almost always wisecracking. The jokes are fine, but most of the time it feels like a missed opportunity for some really memorable punchlines. Still, actors like Cooper and Copley really have the appropriate charisma to pull it off. Patrick Wilson’s villainous character starts to get a bit joking near the end, but it seems a bit inconsistent with how he played the rest of the movie.

When a film has a charm like this one, the film works more than it should. It’s nowhere near a perfect movie but there are exciting moments in its action scenes. In such a very weak summer, it’s relieving to be able to recommend this light movie. Do do-do-do DUN DUN DUN.

Film Yap: What If The A-Team Were In More Movies?

One of the charms of the A-Team is their ability to plan the most elaborate and convoluted way to pull off a mission. Their methods are incredibly ridiculous, but surprisingly effective. So effective they make other movies seem lame in comparison. It sometimes takes the characters 90 to 150 minutes to pull off their plans. It makes you wonder what would happen if the A-Team were in other films. HMMMMMM……

Casablanca

Ilsa and Victor need to get out of Casablanca so they hire the best team in Morocco. Rick spent too much time stressing about those exit visas. That’s only useful if you want to work with the Nazis. Face will keep an eye on Captain Renault while he is at the poker table. He will eventually let it slip that Ilsa and Victor are planning on hopping on a plane right now. Renault will race to the airport with his men to the airport. But it’s not Ilsa and Victor but instead B.A. in drag and Murdock. They fight through the Nazis and steal a plane. Back at Rick’s, Hannibal and Face start hooking up the necessary wires to Sam’s piano. Isla and Victor come out of their hiding spots and they hop atop the piano with Hannibal and Face. Murdock takes his plane and flies through the city Casablanca destroying most of the buildings in their way. The plane hooks onto a metal loop outside of Rick’s. Before Rick can even remind Ilsa of Paris, the wire connecting the loop to the piano powerfully drags them out of the bar and into the air. As everyone holds on for their lives while the piano hangs underneath a small plane, Hannibal lights up a cigar and says “I love it when a plan comes together.”

Home Alone

Actually that’s how they would have handled the solution as well. But at the end, Hannibal will light up a cigar say “I love it when a plan comes together.”

It’s a Wonderful Life

This is a two-part mission. Step One: Retrieve George Bailey from an alternate universe where he doesn’t exist. Step Two: Defame and destroy Mr. Potter. Now we all know Murdock is an excellent pilot. With just the mixture of explosions and sawdust Murdock can use his helicopter blades to rip apart the fabric of reality. Using a wreath as a lasso, they can catch George Bailey off the bridge. No worries about Clarence chasing them because he doesn’t have any wings. They cross through their artificial wormhole and onto the second step. Hannibal appears at Mr. Potter’s house with an interesting investment opportunity. Mr. Potter is such a greedy fellow he wants the money so they head to the office. But low and behold they pass by George Bailey’s business and it’s on fire. Hannibal grabs hold of the wheel and slams the car into flamed building. Mr. Potter flies through the windshield and then B.A. punches him midair. Face is about to get rid of Mr. Potter’s car when he discovers the 8 thousand dollars. He gets out of the car and demands to know where this came from. Mr. Potter tells everything. It is that moment when Murdock tears off one of the walls of his building where there stands George Bailey in his family wearing flame-retardant suits. George ponders for a second and then pulls Mr. Potter out of the flames. He takes him to the frozen lake and slides him to the center. His hot body causes the ice to melt and Mr. Potter falls in. George stares and then walks away. Then Hannibal says “I love it when a plan comes together.”

The Lord of the Rings

They fly to Mordor. Murdock does a deep dive. They toss the ring in. Then using the fire from Mount Doom to light his cigar, Hannibal says “I love it when a plan comes together.”

WALL-E

For most of the movie WALL-E is was racing around trying to find a small plant. As adorable as that robot was, he wasn’t very efficient. Now if the A-Team was there in the future—and honestly why wouldn’t they be—they would get the job done. First step is to get control of the Axiom. After a lighthearted construction montage, they create a bunch of giant magnets to attach to the underbelly of the space cruise. Now all of the robots are stuck to the floor as well as the hoverchairs for all of the humans. Murdock moves their space ship to one of the sides of the Axiom and the rest of the team breaks in. B.A. destroys every robot in their way as they follow the map towards the plant. (They received all of that intel off screen.) Hannibal and B.A. grab the plant, WALL-E and Eve. They give the signal and Murdock turns off the magnet. Everyone is free, but the magnet wiped the hard drive of the central computer. This causes the ship to being to crash. They have to make an emergency landing on the nearest planet. What do you know? It’s Earth. Using abandoned hoverchairs as floating roller skates, the A-Team move uphill to their exit point avoiding all of the random explosions. They jump out of the hole in the side of the ship and float back to Murdock. As humanity rediscovers Earth, Hannibal further ruins the atmosphere by lighting up his cigar and says “I love it when a plan comes together.”

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2010/06/10/what-if-the-a-team-were-in-more-movies/

Film Yap: Killers

If we believe the characters, we can believe the movie. There are many movies with absurd premises that are quickly accepted because the crux of the movie is centered around relatable people. That is why The Truman Show succeeds and Killers fails.

On route to a vacation in Nice, France Katherine Heigl’s Jen keeps talking about how she never takes any chances or risks. She couldn’t go bungee jumping because she’s afraid she’ll throw up in public. Her parents, played by Catherine O’Hara and Tom Selleck, thinks she just needs to find a nice guy in France and everything will be just dandy. What do you know! Truly within the first few minutes her elevator door opens and there is Spencer, a shirtless Ashton Kutcher. (Since Spencer doesn’t seem to have a last name, is this supposed to be a Robert B. Parker reference? They know that Spenser is a detective, right?)

Despite the lack of chemistry or personalities, they spend the day together where she makes up stupid lies for no particular reason. At the end of the night she admits the truth and so does he. He reveals he’s a hired killer and a superspy. Oh, but she fell asleep and didn’t hear it! Silly Jen.

Three years later they are happily married and he’s out of the business. Until his old boss (Martin Mull) resurfaces and is swiftly murdered. Then it turns out everyone in their suburban lifestyle are sleeper assassins hired there to one day kill Spencer. What the hell?

So why would dozens of trained assassins agree to that? That’s not clear, but what is clear is that nobody in this movie is a good spy. Kutcher is never believable as an American James Bond figure. In the beginning he has to blow up a helicopter so he puts a very noticeable bomb to the bottom of the vehicle. It’s as subtle as those code movements in 21. (Hey, same director!) There is also a dramatic moment in the film when his wife asks him how many people he’s killed throughout his long career and he slowly says…14. Is that supposed to be a punchline? Jack Bauer doubles that number from 2 to 3 AM most days.

There is nothing new to see because the movie hopes you’ve seen better movies of these sorts. There is nothing new to say about the spy or married lifestyle and in comparison this entire movie just seem incompetent.

Every action scene is dull and repetitive. One of their friends walks in, say some dialog, but OH NO they’re actually an assassin too! They play the same trick over and over again but without any of the irony seen in Hot Fuzz. The scenes aren’t even that threatening because most of the assassins are played by comedians. I think Rob Riggle is hilarious, but I’m not worried for my hero when he wields a knife. Ultimately when everything is said and done the conclusion is incredibly stupid and the lack of resolution is actually a bit insulting.

The movie is very boring and it takes forever for the plot to actually get going. Of course once it does, the holes become more and more apparent. The only saving grace in the entire film is knowing that O’Hara will always have a clever way to deliver her dialog. Even though it seems like she’s mocking her own film at times…

1.5 Yaps

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2010/06/05/killers/

Higgens Network: Splice

As I write this, the film hasn’t come out but I foresee Splice will be one of the more divisive films of the year. Adrian Brody and Sarah Polley play Clive and Elsa, a married couple who are gene-splicing scientists. They just created a pair of a new blobish animal that they have coined Fred and Ginger. Clive wants to take the next step in their romantic relationship towards children, but Elsa is more interested in the next scientific step. Worried about their job security, she goes rogue and splices human DNA with animal DNA to make something…new.

They see the many opportunities to abort this experiment. They say the infamous phrase “What’s the worst that can happen?” (without irony) many times. It is beyond the realm of fate acting up; these two are responsible for their actions. However what happens is not as entertaining as it could be. This is a Michael Crichton-esque plot where science is mixed into a dangerous thriller. Unlike Jurassic Park or The Andromeda Strain, Splice doesn’t have the entertaining beats to hold the audience for its duration. The themes of the film take too much prominence in the film and the story is hurt from it.

In order to fulfill the parallel between parenting being scientists to their creation shortcuts are taken. An unnecessary backstory was created for Elsa to explain some of her decisions. There is a looming threat of discovery from their laboratory that is often forgotten. This movie works best when it’s just between Clive, Elsa, and their creation, which is ultimately named Dren.

This film has been labeled as a modern day Frankenstein tale, but this doesn’t put Clive and Elsa into the role of God but only goes as far as parents. Like Mary Shelley’s tale though, this does explore a lot of ethical gray area. By now audiences are accustomed to the debates with genetics, but Splice takes taboos one step further near the end of the film which will definitely have people talking. These scenes can be seen as bold filmmaking or unjustified shock value. I fall towards the latter because the addition of those scenes relabeled the movie as campy. It was difficult to take the movie seriously for the duration of the film especially after it dives into horror movie clichés.

The director, Vincenzo Natali, is most remembered for the low-budget pre-Saw horror film called Cube. Like Splice, that film was inventive but ultimately left the audience cold with disappointment. There are plenty of smart people who will take the film’s stance on science and gender to be provocative but I still see it as misconstrued. With a film, it is difficult to delve deeper in a film that disappointed you on its surface level. The plot and characters were too cheapened to recommend this potentially interesting movie.

Film Yap: Frankenstein's Mistakes

Frankenstein is in the pantheon of stories like A Christmas Carol; It’s a Wonderful Life and The Wizard of Oz where they are constantly being ripped off through “homages.” There’s a reason why it’s so popular though. The rampant evolution of science has so much possibility for suspenseful stories.

In the story of Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein creates a monster to see if he can reanimate dead tissue. He doesn’t think very far in advance and after he is a success he’s left with a fully functioning person. Disgusted by its impureness, Victor hates the monster and that puts the monster in a position of horror. The biggest problem with this story is that Victor is an unlikeable dick. The variations are more effective if the hero/creator is sympathetic.

In Splice, the scientists are a married couple played by Adrian Brody and Sarah Polley. Here they are not seen as gods of their genetic creation, but as parents. As they flux between responsible scientists and humanitarians, they are always seen as trying to do the right thing. Until the last third of the film when it gets a lot muddier.

With sympathy towards its characters, the horrors that follow have a much stronger effect. I have only seen the David Cronenberg version of The Fly, but I like how he took the time to establish Jeff Goldblum as a person and his relationship to Geena Davis. This makes the film work as a tragedy because his metamorphosis is truly an accident. It is this element that decides whether the Hulk films work for you. Do you care about Bruce Banner or are those scenes getting in the way of Hulk Smashes? Same goes for the poor Dr. Jekyll. These films use human mistakes as a way to show science going wrong.

What makes these movies work is their potential to become realistic. We, as humans, are insanely ambitious creatures and it’s almost impossible to curb that progress. That’s why films dealing with artificial intelligence gone array are so popular. As the science catches up to Hollywood we may be in a world like I, Robot. Errr, bad example. How about the book I, Robot?

Having things go wrong is this cosmic way of keeping humanity in check. This is in the same vein as the popular plot conflict of man vs. nature. Jurassic Park is a wonderful hybrid of these plots. As Dr. Ian Malcolm comments “Life will find a way.” The “way” in this case is through human arrogance. The scientists on the island think they are able to contain the dinosaurs but they quickly discover that is an impossible task.

Being in the vulnerable or prey-like position makes for some great suspense. It is not just a random serial killer, but something of our own creation. The more technology evolves the more inventive the films can be especially with the right storyteller. At this point only a little is known about Inception’s plot but that seems like the next exciting entry in this subgenre.

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2010/06/04/frankensteins-mistakes/

And the Nominees Were - 1932/1933

Austin Lugar, Keith Jackson and Kenny Jones started a podcast called And the Nominees Are. On this show they are attempting to review every single Best Picture nominee starting from the very beginning. Here Austin recaps the plot summaries of each set while teasing the longer discussions.

Looking back the 6th batch of Oscar nominees I’m starting to see familiar trends of what is to come. There are a bunch of war and “important” films, but also a couple directors that will end up being very famous. This set we have some of the early films from Frank Capra and George Cukor. The Academy continued to have ten nominees, but sadly it could have kept this batch to five.

Cavalcade – WINNER

This film followed one upper class British family through iconic moments in its nation history including the Boer War and the sinking of the Titanic. Its advertising claimed this to be the most important film of the generation. Unfortunately it mixed up “important” with “insanely pretentious” and “empty.” We had a good time on the show mocking this movie, which ended up being one of the worst nominees so far.

A Farewell to Arms

Based off the classic Ernest Hemingway novel, this movie is about an American soldier during World War I (Gary Cooper) who falls in love with a British nurse (Helen Hayes). The war constantly keeps them apart but it’s difficult to really feel that effect with such little run time. This one is currently available on Netflix Instant if you’re curious.

42^nd Street

All right everybody, let’s put on a show. This is a musical about putting on a musical, which is a popular subgenre. This film really is the definitive version of that with its several romantic subplots and impressive production numbers. Not everything works, but there is a distinct charm and a bunch of the songs are still familiar today. This movie also has a young Ginger Rogers who is always great.

I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang

This is one of the gritter films during the Pre-Code period. Paul Muni stars as a man who is sent to a chain gang under false pretenses. It is one of the more cynical looks of any society as bad things keep happening to undeserving people. A few performances don’t match the tone, but the film as a whole is still very effective.

Lady for a Day

This Capra movie is very much like a sitcom plot. A nice poor woman named Apple Annie keeps telling her daughter that she is living a rich lifestyle. When her daughter is coming to the city to visit her, Annie has to get her friends together to fake wealth. A lot of liberties are taken in terms of logic, but Capra knows how to keep things light hearted and fun.

Little Women

This is another famous adaptation. This time is the Louise May Alcott classic with Katherine Hepburn as the oldest sister Jo. Cukor does a good job creating the proper atmosphere but on the show we disagreed on whether certain elements worked. Especially key performances and whether necessary scenes paid off.

The Private Life of Henry VIII

Now unlike my co-hosts I liked this episode. It shows Henry VIII as he goes through wives 2-6. The way the film casually moves through history really makes Henry VIII seem like a buffoon and I found it to be entertaining. I thought this was an interesting take on the biopic formula.

She Done Him Wrong

Mae West was not just an actress but a brand during this time. Her shows and movies were all familiar and this one was the most popular. There’s a complicated plot involving a shady brothel, but it’s really just a vehicle for her to spout her double entendres. When people think of Pre-Code, they think of her. This film is also one of Cary Grant’s first movies and is available on Netflix Instant.

Smilin’ Through

Norma Sheer and Fredric Marsh are the duo in this troubled relationship. Thanks to an incident that left Sheer’s uncle powerfully heartbroken she may not be able to be with Marsh. Its optimistic title tricks you into this drabby movie. A few things work well, but once again too much has to be a suspension of disbelief.

State Fair

This is one of those atmosphere movies where you like the place and you want to be there or you don’t. Despite the charming Janet Gaynor, I did not want to attend this state fair. Stakes of whether or not a pig is going to win the ribbon did not work for me. It’s odd that this was nominated for Best Picture because it’s just a small movie, not even a spectacle.

We discuss these movies with a lot more detail on our show And the Nominees Are. This set was covered over two episodes both of which can be found for free on iTunes. Our show is also on Facebook and Twitter.

The next year has 12 nominees: The Barretts of Wimpole Street, Cleopatra, Flirtation Walk, The Gay Divorcee, Here Comes the Navy, The House of Rothschild, Imitation of Life, It Happened One Night, One Night of Love, The Thin Man, Viva Villa!, and The White Parade. Most of those are really hard to find, but some are well distributed. We’d love it if you play along.

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2010/06/02/and-the-nominees-were-19321933/