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Film Yap - Oscar Documentary Shortlist 2012

2012-01-25T13:08:00.000-08:00

Last year I wrote about the shortlist for the documentaries for the Oscars. It’s a subject that puzzles me every year much like way the foreign film category plays out. By the time the award show finally airs, most of the major categories are predictable but these remain unknown because not enough people have seen them including the journalists reporting on them.

So let’s breakdown the 15 documentaries. This year I’ve seen 10 of them due to availability.

--Battle For Brooklyn. Have not seen this one. It’s about a large protest by people living in Brooklyn trying to save their homes from being torn down to build a stadium and skyscrapers.

--Bill Cunningham New York. One of my favorites of the year and I’m not alone in it. It has topped a lot of critic’s lists because of how charming Cunningham is and how his view of the fashion world is genuine and wonderful.

--Buck. Another crowd pleaser. Buck was the inspiration for the film “The Horse Whisperer”. The way he’s able to calm the horses without violence is inspiring and fascinating to watch.

--Hell and Back Again. Another I haven’t seen, but something I got from the trailer is how visually impressive this one is. I don’t know if they used recreations but the cinematography is impressive as they deal with the struggles of war and PTSD.

--If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front. There are a lot of activism movies this year and this isn’t one of the strongest. There’s an interesting debate in the center whether or not they are eco-terrorists but there isn’t enough questioning. Emotional ending, however.

--Jane’s Journey. Jane Goodall is a fascinating person who has done some wonderful things. This movie is just too…kind? It’s a very sweet movie but there is nothing pressing about it. Never feels definitive enough so it becomes just another look at a great woman.

--The Loving Story. Another one of the five I haven’t seen. The Independent Critic said it had a “refreshingly straightforward yet effective approach” to the civil rights case allowing the marriage of a while man and a black woman. It will play on HBO in February.

--Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory. This is the conclusion of the decades long case of the West Memphis Three. It wasn’t as powerful of the first two entries because it tries to go back to tell a complete story instead of moving forward. Still well worth watching.

--Pina. This is also on the foreign film shortlist and for good reason. It’s a dance documentary that is so beautiful and abstract yet very watchable. Wim Wenders (“Wings of Desire”, “Paris Texas”) perfect captures Pina Bausch’s vision of dance, all of the pain and curiosity. My version was great, but I really hope the 3D version comes to Indiana soon.

--Project NIM. As a scientific experiment, a chimp named NIM was raised in a human home. It’s a perfect parallel film to “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” as the treatment and results of this decision is rightfully questioned. James Marsh (“Man on Wire”) uses too many documentary gimmicks that worked better in his other films.

--Semper Fi: Always Faithful. Newly available as part of Sundance’s streaming project, this is one worth watching. Improper toxic dumping poisoned the water causing irreparable harm to a large number of US Marines, including giving the soldiers breast cancer and death to small children. Their legal fight is hard to watch because of how little seems to be changing.

--Sing Your Song. I haven’t seen this one, but it’s one I would like to. It’s the story of Harry Belafonte, a popular singer who became a civil rights activist. Looks like a well made documentary with a lot of people speaking on his behalf.

--Undefeated. More of a teacher movie than a sports movie. The struggle to connect with a group of inner city kids to get them to succeed at a sport they love makes for a dramatic story.

--Under Fire: Journalists in Combat. Last one I haven’t seen, but this looks fascinating. It’s a look into the emotional and ethical difficulties of being a journalist in a warzone.

--We Were Here. A look at the AIDS epidemic from the men who survived it creates such a personal account of a devastating time. The filmmaking is simplistic, but luckily the speakers are powerful enough on their own.

So What’s Missing? A lot. Again! The reason why I keep writing these articles is because of what films they leave off. I enjoyed movies like “Jane’s Journey” and “We Were Here” but they never matched the results of Errol Morris’s “Tabloid”, Werner Herzog’s “Into the Abyss”, “Page One”, “Senna”, or even Herzog’s other film “Cave of Forgotten Dreams”. All of those films were beloved by critics and have been nominated and won a number of other awards. The one that is getting a lot of controversy is “The Interrupters”, a film I can’t wait to see. Those filmmakers faced the same omission when “Hoop Dreams” wasn’t on the shortlist for its year. Just strange what they don’t even list as the Top 15 of the year.

So Who Will Make the Final Five? It’s hard to say this year. Since they ignored the ones the critics are really responding to, it’s easy for them to pull out five more random films. I think “Bill Cunningham New York” and “Pina” seem likely. “Project NIM” and “Paradise Lost 3” are also likely since they are so professionally put together. The Oscars love issue movies and it almost depends on which activism/war film they responded to. If it’s as good as the trailer, I think “Hell and Back Again” could be that movie, but maybe the Oscars will change their ways and bring in a film like “Buck” which is more of a crowd pleaser.

The nominations come out Tuesday! What are the films you hope make the list? Or what films are you wanting to see soon?

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2012/01/21/oscar-documentary-shortlist-2012/

Film Yap - Top 10 WORST of 2011

2012-01-25T13:06:00.000-08:00

Last year was my first year with The Film Yap. I was the youngin’ who took every film assignment, mainly the ones that nobody wanted to take. Aka the worst films imaginable. This year I tried to avoid those assignments, but I kept taking ones that I found morbidly curious. They can’t really be as bad as people say right? Of course they are.

Most of my most hated films this year I actually didn’t figure were going to be this bad. I was even anticipating most of them. Not all of them can be winners, but…boy they should be better than this.

#10 – Drive Angry 3D

By this point everyone knows that Nicolas Cage desperately needs to make money. Even if you aren’t following his hysterical financial problems, it’s evident through his films. He makes a few films people enjoy like “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans” and “Kick-Ass” but mostly he just jumps aboard anything in production from “Next” to “The Wicker Man” to this. The reason “Drive Angry” is bad isn’t because of the subject matter. Having a guy escape hell to save his granddaughter from a satanic cult can be silly fun. Oh sorry, “daughter’s daughter”; they never use the other word. Can’t let you think Cage is old. Instead, all of the plot holes, boring action scenes, worthless characters, and fading stakes make this a mess instead of the cool 80s film it wanted to be.

#9 – Anonymous

There are dozens of solid theories of why Shakespeare wasn’t the author of some of the beloved plays in history. This may be the dumbest. Their idea is that William Shakespeare was a poor actor therefore he couldn’t have written anything of value so it must have been a rich aristocrat. Then it’s one implausible connection after another to set the pieces in place so Hamlet can be released to the world. Saying someone who didn’t go to an established university couldn’t have written Richard III but saying an 8 year old wrote A Midsummer Night’s Dream is valid? This would be stupid on its own, but with an idiotic structure, laughable theatre scenes, and the most serious tone imaginable this is unwatchable.

#8 – The Help

When this film ended, I really expected the row of critics to be on my side to say this is a trainwreck. Nope! But truly, this is a disaster of a film. Joe and I extensively argued the film when it came out. What still resonates after so many months is how the characters feel like nothing. Viola Davis is a great actress who deserves plenty of complex roles, but this wasn’t anything except for a footnote of history. She could have played a character who happened to be in this time where the situations of history affected her persona, but that’s not the case. She is just an archetypical example of a maid from this time, which means she will cry a lot. Everyone is either an extremely racist person or someone with 2011 ideals to criticize the others. The script, direction, and editing are so amateur it’s a struggle to get through.

#7 –The Beaver

I wanted Mel Gibson to have a comeback. He seems like a lousy person I wouldn’t want to have dinner with, but he is still an entertaining actor. This script has been thrown around for a while noted as one of the best unproduced screenplays. Now that I’ve seen the final product, I have no idea why. All of the actors are perfectly fine, but the skeleton of the movie is a mess. Cliché after cliché without a single earned moment. Since none of the characters act like realistic people every time they try for catharsis it fails.

#6 – Mars Needs Moms

This is one of the biggest Hollywood financial disasters of all time and most people can’t even remember this came out. Thus, the disaster. “Mars Needs Moms” cost hundreds of millions of dollars to make but only made a tad back theatrically. This hurt Robert Zemekis’ motion-capture business so much he has to return to live action after vowing to never do that again. Could this be an undeserving failure? I wouldn’t wish them to lose that much money, but this is a terrible movie. Aliens kidnap moms because they need to suck out the maternal instincts. That could be a cool dark kids movie, but this is joyless. The main character learns that he loves his mom in the first few minutes and the rest of the time is just complaining while being surrounded by ugly trash. Even without the 3D glasses, it has this unpleasant color to it that makes you want to switch it off. Never the vibe you want to create.

#5 – Just Go With It

I refuse to see “Jack and Jill” even though I was tempted to put the trailer as my number one choice. At this point I just want to swear at Adam Sandler on the street which is a problem because everyone says he’s a nice guy. Why would such a nice guy keep making these movies where he’s treated like a god and everyone else on the planet are labeled as worthless buffoons? Characters don’t just laugh at this jokes, but they bust a gut and may even try to kiss his feet. “Just Go With It” is a remake of a very funny “Cactus Flower” where Goldie Hawn won an Oscar. Hawn’s character in this one is played a bikini model who is just supposed to stand with cleavage. Her most emotional moment happens off screen, further proving if it’s not about Adam Sandler being praised it doesn’t get to be on screen.

#4 – The Hangover Part II

When I walked out of the theatre for this, I was disappointed. A day later the more I thought about it, I hated it. When I listened to an interview with the screenwriters, I loathed it. They took such pride into make the exact same movie without having a single point to add to it. It took them so much work to recreate every single plot point, but changing the setting or prop. Changing a joke from “Two guys walked into a bar” to “two guys walked into a pub” won’t get a laugh the second time ‘round. I really liked the first one because I liked the characters. I wanted to see a sequel because I wanted to see them in something new, not to be in a shot-for-shot remake.

#3 – The Change-Up

Never see this movie. It’s vile.

#2 – Green Lantern

“The Change-Up” is probably a worse film, but I hate “Green Lantern” more for what it represents. (By the way, don’t see “The Change-Up”; it’s vile.) My favorite director is Alfred Hitchcock. With every film he wanted to show the audience something new; he always wanted to shock and awe them. It’s a contract with an artist. We give them money for the product and they make the best product they can. People can easily spend their money on something practical like food or rent, but they wanted to spend it on art. So at least pretend to make something worthwhile.

This is the laziest film I have ever seen. Boring beyond anything imaginable because it doesn’t care about the audience. The hero is blander than a green screen and the story doesn’t exist. It literally doesn’t exist. A story is a character wanting something, but can’t get it so there’s conflict. In “Green Lantern” the character wants nothing. He’s fine how he is. There isn’t even an unconscious want for a better life. He’s just so static about everything even when he’s whisped across the galaxy and given extreme responsibility over the Earth. When confronted with that, he quits because it doesn’t seem interesting to him. If saving the world is boring to him, why should we care? Everything else in the movie has been done a million times already—this summer even! So if Hitchcock wanted to always give you something new because he cares about the audience, what do these filmmakers want?

#1 – An Invisible Sign

I have no wish to watch any of the movies on this list again because they’re awful. Except for this one. Honestly I want everyone to see this movie because it’s wonderfully bad. People give allegiance to colossal failures like “Troll 2” because they are made by people who thought they were making a good film without having the perspective of questioning all of the madness around them. This film is worthy of being included amongst those great awful movies. Why is this so bad?

Jessica Alba plays a math expert…

Who doesn’t do any math during the movie.

Alba doesn’t know how to play a quirky Zooey Deschanel-esque character so she plays her as autistic.

J.K. Simmons wears ivory numbers around his neck that reflect his mood.

Alba got her job as an elementary school math teacher because the principal remembered that Alba liked math when she was a kid and her mom said she went to college. NO FOLLOW UP WAS NECESSARY.

Alba did not go to college.

Since first and second graders stressed her out, she does not bother to teach them anything. The fourth and fifth graders were never seen.

There is a scene where Alba is supposed to guess what type of cancer a student’s mother has. That scene is a comedy set-piece.

Alba buys a giant ax because it kinda looks like the number seven and hangs it on the wall of a children’s classroom after putting wrapping paper on it. (You know what happens if you introduce an axe in Act 1…)

The science teacher avoids a parent teacher conference and blows bubbles on a swing outside. He has a quote, “If anyone asks, just say it’s a science experiment. Look…spheres.” A sphere is a geometric shape. Geometry is math, not science.

Alba really really plays up the autism performance.

Thinking of numbers all the time is apparently math.

A student says her favorite number is 100. Alba scolds her because she says it should be from 1-10.

The science teacher hitting on Alba is the most aggressive thing imaginable. It’s basically flirt rape. Or rape flirt. Whatever the idea of not taking “no” for an answer of them being a couple.

Their movie date is adorably bad in all the ways the movie didn’t attend.

Jessica Alba plays a math expert.

Please see this movie. I own it on Blu-Ray!

The Rest of the List

11. Cars 2

12. The Music Never Stopped

13. The Green Hornet

14. Gnomeo & Juliet

15. Take Me Home Tonight

16. My Last Day Without You

17. Another Earth

18. The Art of Getting By

19. The Thing

20. No Strings Attached

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/12/31/top-10-worst-of-2011/

Film Yap - Top 10 Movies of 2011

2012-01-25T13:05:00.000-08:00

The past Top Ten lists on The Film Yap suggested that 2011 wasn’t a great year for film. While compared to an amazing year in television, it’s bound to pale in comparison. I think 2011 is realized as a bad year for Hollywood. There is this fearsome trend where the studio movies are the most disappointing and forgettable. This isn’t some snooty “Studio bad, independent good!” rant, but a look in how we ought to change the way we find films.

Let’s compare it to television. If you just watched ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC you’ll find a lot of repetition in family dramas, sitcoms, and procedurals. A few can stand out like “Community” or “The Good Wife”, but for the most part nothing is too exciting. TV has evolved where there are cable networks that are going for a smaller, more select audience which can be bolder with what they are presenting. AMC produced “Breaking Bad” and “Mad Men”, FX made “Justified” and “Archer”, Showtime introduced “Homeland” and HBO created “Game of Thrones”, “Treme”, and “Boardwalk Empire.”

With movies, you can also find other channels besides the big studios to find a film. Plenty of people complain that because we live in Indiana we don’t get to see a lot of the great smaller films, but that’s not true anymore. The Landmark Theatre showed some fantastic documentaries and foreign films. We have plenty of wonderful film festivals like the Indianapolis International Film Festival and the Heartland Film Festival that always have a strong collection.

Also there are new resources. Some of my favorite films of the year were found through Netflix. I read some great reviews when they opened in New York or Chicago and then I was able to see them when they hit DVD. DVDs are not subjected to a movie theatre so anyone can experience great movies on a weekly basis. Most cable services provide OnDemand which allows you to watch a smaller theatrical film in your home for a low price. Invite a few friends over to watch it with you and if you divide it up you just watched a $12 movie for maybe $3.

As critics I think it’s our job to help you find more movies that you could love. Just because it’s small doesn’t mean it’s good. (In fact my worst film of the year is an independent comedy.) It does allow you for a new opportunity. I would much rather watch a film that has the potential to be brilliant or awful than go and see a movie I’m sure will just be okay. January is notorious for having awful films that are dumped by the studios. Instead of wasting money on them, try renting some of the films highlighted by me and the rest of the Yappers. You’re reading this site because you love movies; trust us because so do we.

#10 Beginners

While in pain, it’s hard to figure out anything. Everything feels devastating and unconquerable. That confusion drives “Beginners” into a very personal area while remaining accessible to everyone. As Ewan McGreggor’s character tries to figure out what to do next after the death of father, he finds love. The pain doesn’t dissipate when he’s with her, but it is given certain context that allows him to maybe one day heal. All of the quirks of the film aren’t seen as a silly perspective to the world, but as a beacon to find those who see the issues in the same way. That vulnerability is hard to portray on film, but Mike Mills pulled it off without ever losing the audience’s sympathy.

#9 Weekend

“Before Sunrise” and “Before Sunset” are two films where two very realized character walk through some gorgeous locations and talk. They talk about philosophy and love while strengthen their own relationship. “Weekend” accomplishes a similar goal, but having the two men walk, talk and sleep together though their home in New York adds a different weight to their story. They aren’t on vacation away from all of their responsibilities; they’re in the middle of it all. All of issues of what is stopping them from being the men they want to be and having the life they want are confronting them at every moment. It’s not up to someone they met just a few days ago to save them, but then again…maybe it can be.

#8 – Bill Cunningham New York

Once again, this was a good year for documentaries. Plenty of established directors gave us an exciting new story, but this one came out of nowhere. Anyone who has seen me knows I’m not an expert on fashion. Yet like all sorts of expression, I’m fascinated by those who are passionate in it. Fashion is usually only reserved for the rich who are able to travel to Paris and spend five figures on a dress they’ll only wear once. Bill Cunningham doesn’t belong to that group. He is a man who lives in an apartment that is about to close down and wears the same outfits every day. His job at the Times has him go to the big fashion shows, but his real joy is riding his bike down the streets of New York to capture what regular people are wearing. A viewpoint like his is so fresh and heartwarming because he is able to champion the unique aspects of those who are never championed.

#7 – Certified Copy

I’m usually not a fan of Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami. His distance from this characters almost is portrayed as not being interested in them. “Certified Copy” was a complete reversal while still being a contradiction. An English author is in Italy to promote his latest book. In his book he argues the strength and value of a copy as opposed to the original. If you write a great joke and photocopy it, is the original piece of paper funnier? If you copy the Mona Lisa does it not create the same emotions when you look at it? The author decides to spend the day with a woman who came to his signing and they continue to argue this point. Then it gets a little nutty. At first we thought she was a stranger, but that may have been an illusion. Excitement rises from trying to solve this intellectual mystery while being completely charming through the leads romance (or anti-romance) and their search for what is real. Can’t wait to watch this again.

#6 – The Artist

I love silent films. This isn’t an attempt for me to rise to a new level of snobbiness. There was something crazy going on during those first few decades of filmmaking. With books and theatre, it seems obvious on how a story could be told but the cinema was like discovering a brand new world. Without sound, it’s even crazier. “The Artist” is a loving tribute to that time in what is the most accessible story of the year. It’s sweet and funny and lovable. The plot is very similar to “A Star is Born” and “Singin’ in the Rain” but jolted with a new level of creativity. The main character is an actor whose world seems to be more of a film than the ones he acts in. That means an average day can have wonder, excitement, surrealism, drama, and the greatest dog imaginable to light up the screen.

#5 – Midnight in Paris

Woody Allen remains one of the most fascinating directors working today. That said, I don’t like a large chunk of his movies. When someone makes a film a year, there can’t be only masterpieces. The past ten years with Allen has had best of both worlds where “Match Point” and “Vicky Christina Barcelona” ended up being wonderful while something like “Scoop” falls flat. “Midnight in Paris” is everything I want in a Woody Allen film. While remaining a largely comedic movie, he tackles some great points on the nature of nostalgia. It’s a subject I usually find very dull and self-indulgent but Allen looks at the full picture where there is beauty and loneliness attached to it. Being in Paris always looks like you’re living in a dream so Allen takes that a step further by turning it into a thing of pure magic where people can find their home through unconventional ways.

#4 – Hugo

Last year I did a speech about Martin Scorsese in Muncie because I discovered something new about the director. With films like “Raging Bull” and “Goodfellas” I thought he was always about the brute force, but it was his romanticism that encouraged me to rewatch his entire canon. Any interview with Scorsese can show you how much he adores film history, but it’s also seen through all of his movies. He rarely has direct film references, but instead he’s mixing styles and moods that inspired him from things he’s seen in order to make a pure by-product. “Hugo” has the most surface examples of that adoration. A young boy in a French train station goes on an emotional adventure that leads him to discover one of the greatest silent film innovators. If “The Artist” suggests that life is also a movie, “Hugo” says there is beauty in life that can be translated into a movie. This could easily become a family film classic, if only families go and see it.

#3 – Take Shelter

To me, the strength of a film is how much I think about it after it ends. The ones that stick with you are the ones that have power. All year I’ve been complaining that films are becoming to expensive which creates harmful limitations. “Take Shelter” shows the opposite can be true. Director Mike Nichols’ first film, “Shotgun Stories” was a raw look into the side of rivaling families. That only needed great actors and a working camera to pull off. “Take Shelter” needed a little more. The main character experiences dreams of pure horror and if those dreams don’t terrify the audience none of the emotional weight would resonate. Each one of those scenes isn’t scary because there’s a CGI monster, but they’re scary because it’s a CGI storm mixed with expert filmmaking. Schizophrenia, to me, is one of the most unnerving things imaginable because it means the reality you know is full of cracks. A rational man’s journey through this misery makes for some powerfully heartbreaking moments and a conclusion that doesn’t lessen anything that happened before it.

#2 – Drive

If I don’t write a theatrical review for The Film Yap, I try to put something up on my blog. Yet for “Drive” all I could come up with was “F*** yeah, Drive”. People in my life want to know what I thought of new releases and once again all I could say was “F*** yeah Drive.” I could easily break down all of the pieces of the puzzle. The cast is incredible; the style is smooth and vibrant; the story is simple yet fascinating; the song “A Real Hero” rocks in the context of the movie. All of that is just fine, but why this is a masterpiece of the genre is because how seamlessly it all blends together. Director Nicholas Winding Refn must be able to see across so many dimensions in order to know how it will all fit together even when the ideas seem ridiculous. (A silent driver in a scorpion jacket only listens to pop music in his car?) Everything worked. F*** yeah “Drive”.

#1 – The Tree of Life

There are so many films about religion and spirituality, which have caused me to question a decision the filmmakers decide to exclude. So often there are characters clamoring for their god to be left coldly on their own. Ingmar Bergman made a wonderful trilogy of this silence of God, but where are the other takes on the idea. In “The Tree of Life” I believe the movie goes through five stages of emotionally communication of a 1950s Texas family and their Lord. When they are at their lowest and they are begging for any sign of God, director Terrance Malick shows Him through a zillion steps back to show the whole scope of the story, traveling into the cosmos and the dawn of creation. Instead of being alone, there is hope even though all the pain and confusion. The film travels through time like a hymn with a journey of emotions over one of plot. It’s very challenging but it stretches what a film can be and the stories the medium can tell. One of the best films I’ve seen in a long time.

I saw way too many films this year, but I still didn’t see all of them. The ones I wished I could have seen before writing this article were “Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey”, “Le Havre”, “The Interrupters”, “Jamie and Jessie are Not Together”, “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol”, “A Separation”, “Tryannosaur” and “A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas”.

The Rest of the List

11. Tabloid – The craziest movie of the year just happens to be true

12. Winnie the Pooh – Pure storytelling that matches the original spirit and humor

13. The Muppets – Flawed structure doesn’t matter when the intent is this magical.

14. Shame – Devastating and inventive

15. 13 Assassins – A samurai film that has the most creative action scenes of the year and the vilest villain imaginable.

16. The Future – Characters who would be seen as pathetic side characters try their best to find purpose in a very realistic present.

17. Poetry – A South Korean woman finds comfort in her poetry class as her brain starts to fade. Wonderful character study.

18. 50/50 – May have a simple story but the characters’ genuine heartache really makes this works.

19. Young Adult – Jason Reitman’s best film yet and Charlize Theron’s best performance yet. Will happily watch two more hours of her glaring at people.

20. Moneyball – One of my favorite tales of how innovative thinking should be encouraged even through the most rigid of environments.

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/12/29/austins-top-10-of-2011/

Film Yap - Best TV Episodes of 2011

2012-01-25T13:03:00.000-08:00

One of the reasons I love TV so much is because the format is so freakin’ goofy. People don’t sit around comparing chapters in novels because we see it as a whole. With TV it’s as much about the parts as it is about the whole. Episodes are written to be seen separately and usually they’re viewed that way. A show can be terrible, but has one episode that is masterful. A series of great episodes in a row is an awesome feeling. It’s more common to rewatch specific episodes instead of a multiple season show.

Yesterday I wrote about the full seasons that were stellar in 2011, but I also want to highlight certain 30 or 60 minute blocks that were amazing. Instead of just having my opinion again, I brought in some friends. Each of us wrote about the best episode of some of the best shows of last year. Then we each supplied our own personal Top 10 list of the Best TV Episodes of 2011. We avoided spoilers as much as possible, but you are officially warned.

Breaking Bad (Season Four, Episode 11, “Crawl Space”)

By Dennis Sullivan, Senior at Ball State University

[Major Breaking Bad Season Four plot SPOILERS]

Imagine you’re in way over your head. And I mean way, way, WAY in over your head. You know you’re going to be murdered in the near future and because of your actions, everyone you love is going down as well. Your spouse, your children, your brother-in-law are all in danger.

Basically, you’ve messed up, but wait…what’s that? Hope? A way out? Is salvation really around the corner? It’s too good to be true, but it’s there! All you have to do is grab the money you’ve been saving in the crawl space back at home and you can flee! New names, new locations, new life. It would be a difficult transition and hard to explain to the family, but that’s better than being dead, right?

You rush home to get the money. It’s exactly where you left it! But wait…some of it is missing. Actually, a lot of it’s missing. Uh oh. You ask your spouse, who admits to giving to the person she cheated on you with.

And suddenly, it hits you. It’s over. You lost. With no other options, all you can do is laugh.

Now you can understand the most haunting moment in season 4 of Breaking Bad. In a season of tense, shocking, and borderline insane moments, the image of Walter White (Bryan Cranston) lying and laughing in the crawl space of his house sticks out high above the rest.

As a viewer, you’re left with goose bumps. The writers spent three and a half seasons building up White’s ego only to have it come crashing down all at once. Every option and friend he has is gone and with two episodes left in the season, it is impossible to guess where the show’s going. All you know is that it’s going to be good.

You may ask how you can know? Just look at the rest of this episode. Gunshot victims are taken to an off-the-record hospital. White purposely drives his car into oncoming traffic to prevent his partially paralyzed DEA brother-in-law, Hank (Dean Norris) from snooping around the location of his meth lab. White’s partner, Jesse (Aaron Paul) is placed in charge of the meth lab for the first time. White’s boss, Gus (Giancarlo Esposito), does little to save face by bragging to his mute and crippled rival that he killed off the entire cartel they were both part of. White’s wife, Skyler (Anna Gunn) indirectly causes the death of her former boss and lover, Ted (Christopher Cousins), which is one of the most humorous ends to a plotline the show has done. And Gus has his henchmen kidnap White, tie him up, and drive him into the desert to threaten not only his life, but his family’s as well. That’s when White realizes he’s in way over his head.

“Breaking Bad” is the best show on television. There. I said it. You can try to argue with me on that point, but deep down, you know I’m right. Outstanding acting, beautiful directing, and shockingly perfect writing all come together in a visual experience unlike any other. It is one of those rare shows that get better year after year. Nearly any episode this season could have been selected as the best. The finale was another strong contender, but without Crawl Space, the finale would have never happened. It was in this episode that the show changed forever. We finally saw Walter White’s lowest point and now we’re left to wonder if he can recover. I won’t spoil the ending, but I will say that, yes, there will be blood.

Dennis’ Top 10 Episodes of 2011

1. “Community” (Season Three, Episode 4, “Remedial Chaos Theory”)
2. “Breaking Bad” (Season Four, Episode 11, “Crawl Space”)
3. “Breaking Bad” (Season Four, Episode 13, “Face Off”)
4. “South Park” (Season Fifteen, Episode 7, “You’re Getting Old”)
5. “Game of Thrones” (Season One, Episode 9, “Baelor”)
6. “Archer” (Season Two, Episode 10, “El Secustro”)
7. “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” (Season Seven, Episode 3, “Frank Reynolds’ Little Beauties”)
8. “Breaking Bad” (Season Four, Episode 1, “Box Cutter”)
9. “Parks and Recreation” (Season Three, Episode 9, “Andy and April’s Fancy Party”)
10. “Boardwalk Empire (Season Two, Episode 12, “To the Lost”)

Community (Season Three, Episode 4, “Remedial Chaos Theory”)

By Ken Jones, The Reel Deal producer

With a show as fantastic as “Community” it is difficult to pick the best episode of the year. To help me chose I thought about which episode I have talked with people the most. That answer is clearly “Remedial Chaos Theory”. Troy and Abed throw a housewarming party and Jeff creates six alternate timelines by rolling a dice to decide who will go get the pizza from downstairs. It may seem like something we’ve all seen before, but “Community” gave the concept freshness in a way only it could. Every time a different person goes to get the pizza the several storylines happening are altered dramatically. It is a fascinating look into the dynamics of the group and simply wildly fun and entertaining.

Ken’s Top 10 Episodes of 2011

1. “Breaking Bad” (Season Four, Episode 13, “Face Off”)
2. “Doctor Who” (Season Six, Episode 4, “The Doctor’s Wife”)
3. “Community” (Season Three, Episode 4, “Remedial Chaos Theory”)
4. “Breaking Bad” (Season Four, Episode 1, “Box Cutter”)
5. “Breaking Bad” (Season Four, Episode 11, “Crawl Space”)
6. “Doctor Who” (Season Six, Episode 13, “The Wedding of River Song”)
7. “Archer” (Season Two, Episode 9, “Placebo Effect”)
8. “Spartacus: Gods of the Arena” (Episode 4, “Beneath the Mask”)
9. “Doctor Who” (Season Six, Episode 8, “Let’s Kill Hitler”)
10. “Community” (Season Two, Episode 14, “Advanced Dungeons & Dragons”)

Doctor Who (Season Six, Episode 7, “A Good Man Goes to War”)

By Austin Lugar

Early in the episode, River Song recognizes what is about to happen. She’s from The Doctor’s future so she has already lived through this even though it’s new for our heroes. She says, “This is The Doctor’s darkest hour. He’ll rise higher than ever before and then fall so much further.”

Such a statement is a bold one, but it’s the sort of challenge that Steven Moffat brings upon himself as writer. The first half of the episode is a daring rescue mission. There is plenty of extreme badassary thanks to Rory the Roman and a cool set of new characters like a lesbian couple from Victorian times with samurai swords. Then the drama sinks in.

It wasn’t just about the bad guys getting away or a few characters meeting their demise. All of the weight is because it’s all The Doctor’s fault. This group of villains have formed because they are devoted to stopping his reign of terror. The Doctor’s adventures may seem like fun, but there are serious consequences that will affect those he loves. When he met Amy Pond, her life was forever changed not because of the whimsy but because of the danger and scars that can’t be healed. What happens to her in this is The Doctor’s ultimate fall.

Then something fascinating happens. It’s not a simple cheat to save the day, but a small ray of hope. For the first time The Doctor is not horrified about what is to come in his future, but the slimmest possibility that what he does can cause benefit to the universe. It’s all through a major reveal and a secret the show has held for two years. No way, I’m going to spoil it here for you today. Watch the show!

Austin’s Top 10 Episodes of 2011

1. “Doctor Who” (Season Six, Episode 7, “A Good Man Goes to War”)
2. “Breaking Bad” (Season Four, Episode 1, “Box Cutter”)
3. “Community” (Season Two, Episode 19, “Critical Film Studies”)
4. “Community” (Season Three, Episode 4, “Remedial Chaos Theory”)
5. “Archer” (Season Two, Episode 10, “El Secuestro”)
6. “Treme” (Season Two, Episode 11, “Do Watcha Wanna”)
7. “Breaking Bad” (Season Four, Episode 11, “Crawl Space”)
8. “Doctor Who” (Season Six, Episode 4, “The Doctor’s Wife”)
9. Louie (Season Two, Episode 3, “Moving”)
10. “The Hour” (Season One, Episode 1, “Episode 1”)

Friday Night Lights (Season Five, Episode 13, “Always”)

By Ryan Lugar, Freshman at Purdue University

“Friday Night Lights” started off as a great book, evolved into a motion picture and ended as an amazing television show that will be forever remembered. The show brought together a wide collection of characters that the audience couldn’t help but get emotionally attached to. In a show that is supposedly centered around football, the worry and care about the sport in the final episode of the season and show were non-existent. With football out of the way, the theme of family and love reigned supreme. I won’t give away any spoilers so I will keep the details to a minimum. The show is clearly wrapping up all loose ends for all characters in a spectacular way, whether it is bringing back old characters, to close the chapter for another character or other characters breaking the mold. What can remain true over it all is the theme of family and love, which the Taylor family lives by and rubs off on to everyone around them. It is this real love that is shown on the show that makes the audience cry because the show is over but smile all the same because they get to see the characters they have watched evolve come to a truly happy ending.

Ryan’s Top 10 Episodes of 2011

1. “Friday Night Lights” (Season Five, Episode 13, “Always”)
2. “Doctor Who” (Season Six, Episode 7, “A Good Man Goes to War”)
3. “ESPN’s 30 for 30” (“Catching Hell”)
4. “Community” (Season Two, Episode 21, “Paradigms of Human Memory”)
5. “South Park” (Season Fifteen, Episode 1, “HumancentiPad”) & (Bonus Documentary, “Six Days to Air”)
6. “Community” (Season Two, Episode 19, “Critical Film Studies”)
7. “ESPN’s 30 for 30” (“Roll Tide/War Eagle”)
8. “Friday Night Lights” (Season Five, Episode 12, “Texas Whatever”)
9. ABC Special (“A Celebration of the Life of Dan Wheldon”)
10. “Doctor Who” (Season Six, Episode 4, “The Doctor’s Wife”)

Game of Thrones (Season One, Episode 9, “Baelor”)

By J.C. Pankratz, Senior at DePauw University

“Baelor” redefined what I considered a horrifying moment of television, especially given the lack of blood and guts spilled in the duration of the episode. This is a show perpetuated by the schemes of others—after all you play to win in the game of thrones. But, even the most high, mighty and cunning players are waiting with baited breath by the end, and perhaps what is most upsetting—and mesmerizing—is watching each of their schemes, no matter how well-plotted, shatter and explode.

J.C.’s Top 10 Episodes of 2011

1. “Game of Thrones” (Season One, Episode 9, “Baelor”)
2. “Doctor Who” (Season Six, Episode 4, “The Doctor’s Wife”)
3. “Community” (Season Two, Episode 14, “Advanced Dungeons & Dragons”)
4. “Parks and Recreation” (Season Two, Episode 9, “Andy and April’s Fancy Party”)
5. “Boardwalk Empire” (Season Two, Episode 12, “To the Lost”)
6. “Doctor Who” (Season Six, Episode 10, “The Girl Who Waited”)
7. “Community” (Season Three, Episode 4, “Remedial Chaos Theory”)
8. “Parks and Recreation” (Season Three, Episode 16, “Li’l Sebastian”)
9. “Game of Thrones” (Season One, Episode 10, “Fire and Blood”)
10. “Community” (Season Two, Episode 21, “Paradigms of Human Memory”)

Justified (Season Two, Episode 13, “Bloody Harlan”)

By Larry D. Sweazy, novelist and 2011 winner of Best Fiction Book of Indiana

I thought there was no way “Justified” could get any better after season one. Once the writers found their stride, and decided to keep Boyd Crowder, portrayed brilliantly by Walton Groggins, alive and at the center of the storyline, the first season ended in a crescendo rightly called “Bulletville.” I have said “Bulletville” is the best season finale ever, and I still stand by that. So, I was certain of a sophomore slump, expected a dip in season two—and I was ultimately and gratefully, wrong. I’m not going to recount all of season two here, but let’s just say this: Margo Martindale walked in as Mags Bennett and took the show to another level (and deservedly won an Emmy). Jeremy Davies as the crippled-by-Raylan-Givens-bad-guy added a polar layer to Boyd’s nastiness and teetering confusion between good and evil. Raylan, Timothy Olyphant on point as usual, had his own struggle with right and wrong, and really, I hope he dumps that no good Winona once and for all. The entire season wrapped up in a blood feud worthy of being called “Bloody Harlan.” Raylan barely got out of Harlan alive this time. For this episode to have the full impact, you’ll have to watch the entire season from beginning to end.

Larry’s Top 10 Episodes of 2011

1. “Justified” (Season Two, Episode 13, “Bloody Harlan”)
2. “Justified” (Season Two, Episode 1, “The Moonshine War”)
3. “Justified” (Season Two, Episode 11, “Full Commitment”)
4. “Game of Thrones” (Season One, Episode 1, “Winter is Coming”)
5. “Game of Thrones” (Season One, Episode 9, “Baelor”)
6. “Hell on Wheels” (Season One, Episode 3, “A New Birth of Freedom”)
7. “True Blood” (Season Four, Episode 1, “She’s Not There”)
8. “Luther” (Season Two, Episode 1, “Episode 1”)
9. “Chopped (Season Six, Episode 1, “Victory on the Brain”)
10. “Game of Thrones” (Season One, Episode 10, “Fire and Blood”)

Louie (Season Two, Episode 11, “Duckling”)

By Aaron Wittwer, Ball State graduate

As could be said of the series, “Louie”, as a whole, “Duckling” is remarkable more for the things it doesn’t do, the clichés it doesn’t fall into, and the messages it doesn’t try to send than for anything that actually happens in the episode itself. Here, we follow Louie on a USO trip to Afghanistan, but it’s not an episode about the war. It’s doesn’t try shove any political nonsense down your throat. It’s not biased. And, most importantly, it avoids the hyper-sentimentality inherent in the subject matter. Outside of the overarching concept, there is no clearly definable plot. It’s more just a collection of interactions between Louie and the various people he meets. The soldiers are neither mocked, nor put on some sort of heroic pedestal of moral perfection. The patriotic country singer character, who would be the brunt of the joke in any other sitcom, is just an honest, sincere guy trying to entertain the troops. The USO cheerleader, whose ignorance of Led Zeppelin and insistence that Louie make his act “more Christian” should make her an easy target for ridicule, functions more as a spotlight on Louie’s inability to connect with those around him. And that’s where much of the comedy of this episode comes from. Whether it be his fear of an attack that neither the soldiers nor the ex-army singer share, or his self-consciously pathetic attempts to pick up one of the cheerleaders, Louie’s insecurities put him in a constant state of unease. But it’s not overplayed. Louie doesn’t go around muttering things like “what am I doing here?” and “I’m too old for this”, rather this is accomplished in much more and honest and natural ways; through subtle hesitations, glances, and passing hints of anxiety in dialogue.

Aaron’s Top 10 Episodes of 2011

1. “Breaking Bad” (Season Four, Episode 13, “Face Off”)
2. “Justified” (Season Two, Episode 13, “Bloody Harlan”)
3. “Doctor Who” (Season Six, Episode 4, “The Doctor’s Wife”)
4. “Community” (Season Three, Episode 4, “Remedial Chaos Theory”)
5. “Being Human” (Season Three, Episode 6, “The Longest Day”)
6. “American Horror Story” (Season One, Episode 5, “Halloween: Part 2”)
7. “Misfits” (Season One, Episode 7, “Episode Seven”)
8. “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” (Season One, Episode 26, “The Best Night Ever”)
9. “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (Season Eight, Episode 2, “The Safe House”)
10. “True Blood” (Season Four, Episode 11, “And When I Die”)

Parks and Recreation (Season Four, Episode 9, “The Trial of Leslie Knope”)

By Keith Jackson, co-host of the podcast “And the Nominees Are”

I promise I’m not showing any bias to “Parks and Rec” just because it’s set in Indiana. But without a doubt, the comedy had one of the best years of any network show. “Community” had a great episode that poked fun at “mockumentary” shows like “The Office”, “Modern Family” and “Parks and Rec”. Admittedly this narrative device is one of the weaknesses of the show, but somehow it isn’t as obtrusive as it is in others like it. There are better punch lines in the “confessionals”, as the lesser shows resort to staring at the (seemingly invisible) camera. Funny faces are funny(?).

It’s hard to pick a single episode to highlight since the show maintains quality pretty much every week with its memorable characters. One of the best steps the show made was introducing Adam Scott and Rob Lowe’s characters. But you can’t forget about the minor characters—for instance, I can’t help but laugh whenever Perd from “Ya’ Heard? with Perd” shows up. And Tom’s friendship with Jean-Ralphio to create Entertainment 720 created some incredibly funny situations.

But I won’t cop out and say “every episode’s a winner!” This current season is “Parks and Rec’s “fourth (well, third-and-a-half), and it seemed every episode topped the previous week’s. One that comes to mind is “The Trial of Leslie Knope”, which had more plot development than the last three seasons of The Office (I’m assuming). Leslie and Ben have been having a secret relationship that is frowned upon in the workplace. When Chris finds out about it, an ethics trial is held to make sure there isn’t corruption. A callback to an earlier season occurs when the maintenance worker from the Lil’ Sebastian remembrance testifies that he was bribed. While a loophole is sought, it is discovered that Ben took responsibility and Leslie will not completely lose her job. A tender moment is presented in a clever and humorous way: by way of the stenographer.

The best episodes of any comedy are ones that exhibit both heart and humor. “The Trial of Leslie Knope” had this in spades, and a fun play on courtroom drama to boot.

Keith’s Top 10 Episodes of 2011

1. “Doctor Who” (Season Six, Episode 13, “The Wedding of River Song”)
2. “Community” (Season Two, Episode 19, “Critical Film Studies”)
3. “Parks and Recreation” (Season Four, Episode 9, “The Trial of Leslie Knope”)
4. “Archer” (Season Two, Episode 5, “The Double Deuce”)
5. “Doctor Who” (Season Six, Episode 7, “A Good Man Goes to War”)
6. “The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson” (His week in Paris)
7. “Parks and Recreation” (Season Three, Episode 12, “Eagleton”)
8. “Community” (Season Three, Episode 4, “Remedial Chaos Theory”)
9. “Game of Thrones” (Season One, Episode 6, “A Golden Crown”)
10. “Community” (Season Two, Episodes 23-24, “A Fistful of Paintballs” / “For a Few Paintballs More”)

Treme (Season Two, Episode 11, “Do Watcha Wanna”)

By Beau Thompson, Ball State Graduate

[SPOILERS for the end of the season, only in the 2^nd paragraph]

I don’t think I’ve seen a show that has a stronger sense of time and place than “Treme”. It feels like a documentary crew just happened upon this characters while filming the aftermath of one of the worst natural disasters in the United States‘ history. This is not surprising, considering that the creator of the show, David Simon, is the co-creator of “The Wire” A.K.A The Greatest Show in Television History. Like “The Wire”, “Treme” explores the workings of a city (New Orleans) and follows an ensemble of characters of different social classes roughly a year after Hurricane Katrina destroyed their homes, and their spirit. They are trying to rebuild their lives while dealing with a government that seems more problematic than helpful.

The storytelling is masterful. Each episode takes its time with these characters, as we see every aspect of their lives. This slow pacing comes together in beautiful fashion in season two’s finale “Do Whatcha Wanna”. The episode shows the characters dealing with the end of old dreams, and the possible promise of others to come. Both Davis, and Antoine quit their bands, but Davis has a potential bright future with his girlfriend, Annie, whose ex-boyfriend, Sonny, is finding love with something other than a guitar, and cocaine. But the highlight came with Ladonna, when she encounters of the men who sexually assaulted her. Khandi Alexander simply gives the best performance I’ve seen on any medium this year with playing this woman who finally snaps out of the depression that her rape has caused her, and becomes the strong person that she used to be.

Season two has characters dealing with sexual assault, murder, suicide, moral and financial corruption, and redemption, yet I am still left with a smile on my face at the end of the season, because there is the music shown between the drama. The humanity is shown. We, as the audience, get to share with the good, and bad times with these characters, and through them, we get a glimpse of history, and can identify with a people and culture that we might not have otherwise understood; we wish these characters, like the real survivors of Hurricane Katrina, the best. “Treme” allows us to visit New Orleans, and makes us not want to leave.

Beau’s Top 10 Episodes of 2011

1. “Breaking Bad” (Season Four, Episode 13, “Face Off”)
2. “Treme” (Season Two, Episode 11, “Do Watcha Wanna”)
3. “Game of Thrones” (Season One, Episode 7, “You Win or You Die”)
4. “Breaking Bad” (Season Four, Episode 11, “Crawl Space”)
5. “Doctor Who” (Season Six, Episode 8, “Let’s Kill Hitler”)
6. “Treme” (Season Two, Episode 7, “Carnival Time”)
7. “Breaking Bad” (Season Four, Episode 10, “Salud”)
8. “Breaking Bad” (Season Four, Episode 8, “Hermanos”)
9. “Community” (Season Three, Episode 1, “Biology 101”)
10. “Game of Thrones” (Season One, Episode 5, “The Wolf and the Lion”)

Wilfred (Season One, Episode 4, “Acceptance”)

By Mike Gospel, Junior at the University of Miami of Ohio

I find it tough to choose an absolute favorite episode of Wilfred, but I think that episode 4, "Acceptance," may be the one. It is starting to become clear that despite how annoyed by Wilfred Ryan may be, Ryan values Wilfred as his closest friend. This episode shows the beginning of the Ryan-Wilfred relationship norm of "Wilfred tells Ryan to do something, Ryan is skeptical, Ryan finally gets pushed over the edge, shenanigans ensue, a lesson is learned."

I loved Ed Helms as a guest star, and a good part of why I picked this episode as my "favorite" is that it was where we were first introduced to the character of Bear. I first wanted to start watching Wilfred because of all the "personification of a dog" humor that you get to see out of Brian Griffin in early Family Guy episodes. A perfect example from this episode is when Wilfred says, "Ryan how can I be racist, I'm incapable of seeing color."

Bear ends up being Wilfred's sex object/wife and actually a relatively crucial character, which is absolutely hilarious.

The interactions between Ryan and Wilfred are always fun and sometimes crazy, but as far as a show where a pot-smoking dog is played by a human in a giant furry costume, it is one of the most genuine shows I watched this year.

Mike’s Top 10 Episodes of 2011

1. “Family Guy” (Season Ten, Episode 5, “Back to the Pilot”)
2. “The Office” (Season Eight, Episode 2, “The Incentive”)
3. “Modern Family” (Season Three, Episode 1, “Dude Ranch”)
4. “30 Rock” (Season , Episode 100, “100”)
5. “Dexter” (Season Six, Episode 9, “Get Gellar”)
6. “Saturday Night Live” (Season Thirty-Seven, Episode 7, “Jason Segel”)
7. “Castle” (Season Four, Episode 2, “Heroes and Villains”)
8. “Wilfred” (Season One, Episode 4, “Acceptance”)
9. “Desperate Housewives” (Season Seven, Episode 23, “Come On Over for Dinner”)
10. “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” (Season Seven, Episode 7, “Chardee MacDennis: The Game of Games”)

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/12/17/top-10-tv-episodes-of-2011/

Film Yap - Best TV Seasons of 2011

2012-01-25T13:00:00.000-08:00

During the next few months there will be nothing but rearranging various movies into a Top Ten list. I loved the IFJA list (Whoo, Elizabeth Olsen!) but this year of movies wasn’t that exciting for me. There are plenty of ones I loved, but nothing excited me as much as waiting for these shows to have a new episode. Cliffhangers are enough to savor the taste for a little bit, but it’s the quality of the show that makes you clamoring for more. 2011 was a great year for television and this was a year without some amazing shows like “Mad Men” or “Sherlock”. Instead we had a great number of returning shows make up for the lackluster new network arrivals. Shows that continually challenged how to tell a story and steered characters into fascinating new directions. Without further adieu—and with very limited spoilers—here are my Top Ten Seasons of 2011.

10. Archer Season Two

If a comedy gets to its second season, that usually means it’s time for something special. By this time the writers and cast have really been able to spend time with the show so it’s ready to go beyond its premise into something really crazy. To put it crudely, “Archer” got nuts. Archer Sterling is James Bond without all of the qualities that makes Bond an honorable spy. This season his plots became more insane while never losing focus on any of its incredible supporting cast. There is a multi-episode arc when Archer gets breast cancer that goes beyond being unprecedented and enters a league of its own. What’s that league called? THE DANGER ZONE

9. Parks and Recreation Seasons Three/Four

I outright dismissed this show after its disastrous first season. Then something shocking happened: the writing staff expanded, the cast grounded itself and it became hilarious. Season Three really is one of the tightest comedy seasons I have ever seen because each episode felt like the best of what the show can be. Leslie Knope evolved from an annoying SNL-esque character to one of the funniest female characters on TV because her enthusiasm was finally relatable. Her love for the Parks department wasn’t ironic because it features some amazing comedy creations like Tom Haverford, poor Jerry, and RON F***IN’ SWANSON. The addition of Rob Lowe and Adam Scott proved that the good sitcoms are able to write great new characters (I’m looking at you “How I Met Your Mother”). The first half of Season Four continues to expand their world with Tammy One (and Tammy Zero) and an election plotline that has endless potential.

8. Spartacus: Gods of the Arena

I typically hate prequels. Usually not knowing all of the past means the audience can fill in the clues themselves while moving towards what happens next. “Spartacus” was all set to make Season Two until their lead actor got cancer. While they waited to see if he would be able to recover to film again, the decided to make a six episode miniseries that took place before Season One. Shockingly, it rocked. This series already defies expectations by being the most gratuitous show on television—maybe ever—while also being one of the best written. All of the characters are so well understood that the nuances actually enhances the first season. By the time it ends, it wasn’t just a fun/insane piece of action but also further laid the groundwork for a promising second season.

7. The Hour Season One

This year had three shows play up on the popularity of “Mad Men’s” period drama. NBC’s “The Playboy Club” was swiftly canceled because it was terrible, ABC’s “Pan Am” is likely to get the boot very soon but BBC’s “The Hour” was a hit. Technically it is during the 50s not 60s, but that wasn’t the trick. Playing upon the change in the times will only last so long; a fantastic story will endure. A romantic triangle lies at the heart of an upcoming news magazine program while being entangled with a spy drama. What could have easily been a mess is effortlessly seemed together through addicting dialog and vibrant where characters are able to really clash.

6. Treme Season Two

The only complaint people seem to have about this show is that it’s not “The Wire”, aka the greatest TV show in the history of time. As much as I love the rich story of McNulty et al, I never want to go to Baltimore. That was a metaphor for the failings of America, while in “Treme” New Orleans is a testament to everything that should be saved. While the food and the music are the parts the culture that are easy to argue for their merit, it’s the characters that hold the real heart. “Treme” moves without a traditional plot so it’s the characters that really push the show forward. That can mean the show may leave Louisiana for a long stretch of time, lose its focus, and create some of the most honest emotional moments on TV. All the flaws make this a very rich show, worthy of way more attention. Watch this!

5. Louie Season Two

Once a show is stale, it’s lost. Does a single character on “The Office” surprise anybody anymore? They each react exactly as expected for every plot and line. “Louie” is the comedy that defies every rule of comedy. Honest and true, Louis C.K. takes what works in his stand-up and perfects it with a series of short films focusing on his observation. His world is not the quirky times of “Seinfeld” or “Curb Your Enthusiasm” but something of extreme sadness and confusion. Each episode is something completely new because Louis C.K. is not interested in structure or continuity. His ambition continues to rise and the result is breathtaking. There has never been anything like this.

4. Community Seasons Two/Three

There has still not been an episode of “Community” I haven’t laughed at several times. Yet there have been episodes when I have stopped laughing for a long stretch. Its collection of misfits making their way through one of the dumbest colleges in existence is a wealth of comedy. It could be them vs the world, but they still can’t bond as a single collective. All of them have entered a low-rated community college because of personal problems that haven’t magically disappeared. Through each other, they have the chance to get better but it’s going to take a lot of work. Also a lot and a lot of laughs. The absurdity of its world means anything can be in flux as they have a Leone western shootout or a Yahtzee game that alternates through timelines. Whatever happens, their group is grounded by a humanity rarely seen in a sitcom.

3. Game of Thrones Season One

Wow. After a year of rolling eyes at all of the fantasy fans freaking out about this upcoming HBO series, I was ready to watch an inevitable cry of disappointment that is currently being felt by fans of the Walking Dead books. Then I watched the pilot and I didn’t know what I watched. There were over a dozen characters who are hiding their true intentions in a world with a long history of rulers. Also there’s something about dragons being extinct. Its visual style and confidence was fascinating so there was no question I’ll give it another hour. Every season and show has ups and downs, except for “Game of Thrones” which only has ups. Very quickly, the whole show instantly clicks and everything is understood. Not through some terrible exposition or scenes when the characters are clearly talking to the audience, not each other. It’s done through expert storytelling by not having a single wasted scene in its 10 hours. Amazed by what a complete creation the whole season was, I watched it again a month after it ended to show my brothers. Then I read the novel it was based off of. Technically, I viewed this story three times in a year and I could probably watch it again right now. There is a reason why everyone wants HBO to adapt their book because this proves they are still the masters of the medium.

2. Doctor Who Season Six

My love for “Doctor Who” is obvious at this point. A madman with a box travels through time and space saving the day through cleverness instead of violence. The show has been around for 48 years because the format makes for endless possibilities. The Doctor and his companion land in a strange land and save the day. Most writers change up why the day needs saving or what the land entails. Steven Moffat is trying something more fascinating by changing The Doctor or more importantly, how we see him. From its shocking opening sequence, Season Six tests The Doctor in a way never done before leading towards one of the darkest arcs I’ve seen on a TV show. This is also going on though some of the most fun I’ve had on the show like when the Holy Roman Emperor Winston Churchhill arrived on his personal mammoth, a baby renamed himself Stormageddon and someone finally said “What the hell…let’s kill Hitler.” Nerdiness is only enhanced when something is this enjoyable and intellectually stimulating.

1. Breaking Bad Season Four

Serialized shows have been some of the best forms of entertainment since the success of “The Sopranos”. It’s why I love TV because it’s no longer about telling a 45 minute story, but a story that lasts the whole season, or even a story that lasts the whole series. Since that’s still such a new idea, there’s not a set structure unlike the boring three-act policy in movies. The best shows are the ones that are willing to change as it goes on. “Breaking Bad” doesn’t just change, it refuses look back.

Every season expands the story into a direction no one could predict. Twists are so well crafted that it seems all is lost at least twice an episode. Without spoiling anything, this season put its main character in an impossible situation where he had no power. So the real people controlling the plot was no longer our hero and nobody blinked an eye. It’s not just Walter White’s journey towards [REDACTED] but everyone’s journey into a place they never dreamed they would enter. “Breaking Bad” is captivating, exhilarating, thrilling and better than every single movie that aired this year. Truly masterful.

Honorable Mentions: Cougar Town, Fringe, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Justified, Misfits, and Wilfred

Incomplete: I sometimes can’t watch all the episodes as they air so I save them for later. I’m halfway through the seasons for Damages and Homeland. They’re both really great, but with these plots they really have to land the ending so I didn’t count them.

Haven’t Seen: I’m not caught up with Boardwalk Empire and I haven’t properly started Downton Abbey Season Two

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/12/16/top-10-tv-seasons-of-2011/

Top Five Mystery Movies of 2011

2012-01-20T13:26:00.000-08:00

The last few weeks of December mean a few very important things. Sure there are some religious holidays and a big celebration where Dick Clark stops hibernating to return to television. Really the end of the month is for everyone with a Word processor to note the accomplishments of the year through every random category. WE ARE NO EXCEPTION! Here are the Top Five Best Mystery Movies of 2011.

5. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

On paper, this is the best movie of the year. The incredible Swedish director Tomas Alfredson (Let the Right One In) had a powerhouse ensemble to tell John le Carré’s beloved novel, including Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock), Tom Hardy (Inception), Toby Jones and John Hurt. One of the reasons why is that it isn’t as strong as it could have been was because Alfredson purposefully makes everything more confusing. In one way it creates a very authentic atmosphere of espionage and mistrust, but on the other hand it’s hard to figure out the intricacies of the story. This is one I can’t to rewatch after reading the book because each member of the cast seems to have an incredible handling of their character it’s a thrill just to see them in action. If only I could figure out what that action was…

4. Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame

Detective Dee has been a popular character to write about in China partly because he is based off an actual person from hundreds of years ago. In this epic movie, Dee isn’t portrayed as the smartest man or even the best fighter. What separates him is the wiliness to stick to the case, no matter the political implications. This case brings Dee out of exile to figure out who and what is causing people to suddenly burst into flame before the Empress’s coronation. This is unlike any mystery film you have ever seen because it incorporates so many fascinating aspects of Chinese culture. The impressive martial arts sequences add a new layer to the rising tension. The only thing that really threw me off was the supernatural elements because it felt like a narrative cheat, but it truly is a key part of their culture.

3. Cold Weather

There have been so many variations on the mystery format. Memento had a noir story told by going backwards through time. The Big Lebowski was a Raymond Chandler novel told by a protagonist who may not be smart enough to figure out what’s going on around him. Cold Weather is a fun twist in that, there may not even be a mystery to solve. Our hero is a sadsack loser without even the drive to go to his co-worker’s DJ event. When a friend goes missing is this his chance to be a detective like his beloved Sherlock Holmes or is she just not answering her phone? Cold Weather’s characters meander through their lives, which could prove exhausting for viewers. Yet if you stick with it, you’ll find a clever little movie with a cool voice.

2. The Lincoln Lawyer

I was all ready to hate this movie. The book is one of my favorites by Michael Connelly and this was starring…Matthew McConaughey. After sitting through too many lame romantic comedies, I was valid in doubting McConaughey’s ability to play Mickey Haller. I’m always first to admit I’m wrong and I was wrong. He did a great job, mostly because the script worked in his favor. Instead of dumbing down the story, it embraced all the complications. Everyone on the cast is excellent including Marisa Tomei, Ryan Phillippe, William H. Macy, Michael Peña, and Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad). With lawyer stories, it’s too easy to be stuck in wondering whether or not the client is innocent. This tight story has more nuances and trappings to make it a very satisfying adaptation.

1. Drive

One of the reasons why mysteries are so attractive is because there is a coolness to them. It can be how tough Sam Spade can be to the accomplishment of achieving justice. There wasn’t a cooler person in 2011 than Ryan Gosling in Drive. He’s a man of few words. By day he’s a mechanic, by night he’s a driver for whoever can pay. Throughout the film, he defends his neighbor (Carey Mulligan) and takes on the bad guys. It’ll be one thing for the character to be this cool, but the movie matches it. Even the pop songs—which could be dorky on their own—are cool when matched the style of the film. Every element is working perfectly to create something that is incredibly entertaining while also a smart and sophisticated ride.

I’ve seen a ton of films from this year, but I haven’t had a chance to check out Tryannosaur.

This article was originally published in the December 2011 issue of Pomp & Circumstantial Evidence.

Film Yap: Thurgood

2012-01-20T13:25:00.000-08:00

It takes a fine actor to successfully perform a one-man show. The ability to learn almost two hours worth of lines is one thing, but to command an audience on your own is a daunting task. Laurence Fishburne has a long table, some chairs, and very few props at his disposal but they weren’t necessary. He alone was successfully able to tell the history of Thurgood Marshall with charm and power.

Everyone knows at least part of Marshall’s story as the first black Supreme Court Justice, but I imagine few know what a rich sense of humor he had. The play, written by George Stevens Jr., expertly paces the show with running jokes and stories that add to a deeper look at the man. This isn’t a lecture but a time for stories and history.

The 100 minutes fly by because of how well paced every moment is. There are a small break in the action when Fishburne—while still in character—mocks two people returning to their seats in the third row. Aside from that poor interruption, having the live audience was a treat. Fishburne responds to their laughter and when he performs a really powerful moment, like reading from the Constitution, it was like everyone was holding their breath.

Thurgood Marshall maintains a difficult balance of always being the smartest man in the room, but never letting that make him unapproachable. His warm presence and genuine belief towards justice made him the perfect subject for a show like this.

Like most HBO DVDs, this one is extremely bare. Not a single bonus feature is on the disc. That’s too bad, because I heard a great interview with Fishburne on KCRW’s The Treatment talking about this role. He’s very articulate about “Thurgood” and a good interview would have been a great companion to the excellent show.

Film: 4.5 Yaps

Extras: N/A

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2012/01/16/thurgood/

Delocated Seasons 1 & 2

2012-01-20T13:24:00.000-08:00

No matter how many flaws it has, “Delocated” is purely Jon Glaser’s show. For the longest time it was Comedy Central as the network of choice where they take popular stand-up comedians and make them TV stars. As more and more options are available, it’s showing how ineffective they were. Comedy Central made some great shows like “Stella” and “The Benson Interruption” which took things that were already a hit online and then formatted them into their own brand. That led them to be cancelled without a chance to improve.

Now comedians are able to make their original content at places like Adult Swim on Comedy Central like “Delocated” or “Childrens Hospital” where they can be made on a cheap level that the comedians still have full control. On even a cheaper level, podcasts have become such a creative hit that networks are even trying to make podcasts into TV shows. (BBC America has made an awkward version of “The Nerdist” and IFC will film “Comedy Bang Bang” later this spring.)

For some reason “Delocated” Seasons 1 & 2 are being released on DVD now despite airing in 2009 and 2010. Sort of an odd trend going on… This set is to promote a new season that will air this year…sometime. The premise is a fantastic piece of satire. “Jon” and his family are part of the Witness Protection Program after “Jon” betrayed the Russian mob. That’s not stopping “Jon’s” hope for fame! They return to New York City with permanent voice modulators and ski masks to star in their own reality show about their life in the big city!

Everything having to do with that satire works really well, especially when the assassin (Eugene Mirman) trying to kill “Jon” ends up with his own spin-off reality show about trying to be a stand-up comedian while fulfilling his murdering obligations. All of the episodes dealing with the failing marriage or new relationships feel like they’ve been done before. The situation is so clever that they should always keep with that.

“Delocated” is one of the best comedies to make use of their guest stars. Paul Rudd plays himself and is accidently murdered which leads everyone to mourn him by trying to remember all his movies while crying. Josh Hamilton plays “Jon” in the TV movie of “Jon’s” wife’s life. Jerry Minor is Mighty Joe Jon – The Black Blonde. Todd Barry bizarrely plays himself who keeps playing poker with the Russian mob and becomes too involved. The best of the lot was Michael Shannon (“Take Shelter”) proving he needs to do more comedy as a stranger who agrees to impersonate “Jon” after a long talk in a bush.

There should be more laughs per episodes, but almost every episode has one strong earned laugh. The transition from a 10-minute show to a 22 minute show ended up working in its favor as they added more story to their crazy world. This gives Jon Glaser more time to expand the madness and put more absurdist touches like having “Jon” develop multiple personality disorders of offensive stereotypes or wild animals.

It’s not the best comedy on TV, but it’s something wildly original. I hope more comedians get the chance to make something goofy like this because the suburban family sitcoms are really starting to grow stale.

The DVD includes all of Season 1 and 2 as well as deleted scenes, funny outtakes, and some commentaries. What’s weird is that for a show that repeats its premise in a few seconds during its opening credits, nowhere on the box does it say what the show is about or who’s in it. All it has are pictures of “Jon” and his family in their ridiculous ski masks.

Season 1: 3.5 Yaps

Michael Shannon’s few scenes: 5 Yaps

Season 2: 4 Yaps

Extras: 3.5 Yaps

Confusion I felt when they sometimes used the transition tune from “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”: 2 Yaps

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2012/01/15/delocated-seasons-1-2/

Film Yap: Boardwalk Empire Season One

2012-01-20T13:23:00.000-08:00

There was this reoccurring thought I had as I watched all 12 hours of “Boardwalk Empire” Season One: “I really ought to watch that new Ken Burns documentary on prohibition.” It’s a very odd thought to have while I’m watching a TV show filled with gangsters, sex and action to then wish I was watching a (probably) cold detailed examination of the same material.

HBO has quite the reputation of creating worlds filled with detail and the willingness to forgo expectations and let the shows move at their own pace. “Boardwalk Empire” surely fits both of those descriptions but then never creates the proper payoffs for them. Millions of dollars were spent to recreate the look of 1920 Atlantic City, especially the impressive looking boardwalk.

One of the biggest trappings of any story set with historical accuracy is being too faithful. Almost every major player in “Empire” is based off someone real like Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi). Nucky is able to run the entire city thanks to his power, connections and scheming. The fact such a man existed is fascinating, but that didn’t make him a very compelling character. It is possible for him to have too much power because it never really felt like anything—not the law, not his rivals, not his loves—could even bruise him. What results is a lack of conflict or commitment.

None of the other characters can save the show because their stories are flat. All of the themes of morality, loyalty, and conflicted religion were better handled on Terence Winter’s other show “The Sopranos.” Without a proper set of people to follow, all of the brilliant elements feel wasted. The cast is great (especially Michael Stuhlbarg, Michael Kenneth Williams, and Kelly Macdonald), the sets are dazzling, and you even have Martin freakin’ Scorsese to direct your pilot.

The last third of the season seemed to pick up a little bit as they developed what sort of story they wanted to tell, but by then it felt too late. I’m not sure why HBO is releasing this season weeks after the second season concluded. Perhaps they’re going to release that season in a few months but it’s disappointing that I have no interest in seeing what happens next.

The DVD set had more bonus features than the usual HBO release. There are a number of commentary tracks for selected episodes. I listened to one and having the creator of the show explain the obvious imagery of the opening credits was a low spot. The documentaries about how they made the show were really good, especially when they went around to real speak-easys that were around during this time.

Season: 3 Yaps

Extras: 4 Yaps

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2012/01/08/boardwalk-empire-season-one/

Film Yap: Justified Season Two

2012-01-20T13:22:00.000-08:00

“Justified” Season One is a darn good show. It has all the best elements of an Elmore Leonard story: a cool protagonist, plenty of oddball characters, a believable world, and slick dialog. Its pilot contains a fantastic story that gets U.S. Marshall Raylan Givens (Timothy Olyphant) dragged back home to Harlan County. Then for too many episodes it felt like it was stalling to jump into its larger story of feuding families on the brink of bloodshed.

Then the stand-alone episodes were pushed to the side and it became a great show. With the way cable series work, the audience has grown to expect that in a show’s 13 episodes, each one will move the plot forward. Season Two realized that and made an even better show.

Part of their success is recognizing the strengths of their world. Sure Olphant’s charisma and his outrageous cowboy hat are the obvious draw. Yet he can’t match up the power of Walton Goggins (“The Shield”) as Boyd Crowder, the villain of the first season. Understated and menacing, Boyd feels more dangerous when it looks like he’s actually on the path towards the good side of the law because it’s harder to tell what he’s thinking.

They could have easily put Boyd back in the position of the “Big Bad”, but instead they brought in a new family. The pot dealing Bennetts are lead by Margo Martindale and her two sons Jeremy Davies (“LOST”) and Brad William Henke (“LOST”). Boyd was threatening because he was the sort of guy who will use a bazooka on a church because it was the right thing to do. Martindale as Mags Bennett is way smarter and more ruthless. For once the Emmys actually rewarded one of the best performances of the year because this is a career changer for Martindale.

Drama builds with perfect pacing and subplots that are as engaging as the rest of the series. Raylan dealing with his ex-wife stealing government money was one of the highlights of the season. There have been a number of adaptations from Elmore Leonard, most of them are forgettable messes. This surpasses all of them as the quintessential interpretation of his world. Season Three has a lot to live up to, but rewatching some of these makes me more than ready to return to Kentucky.

The bonus features include some outtakes and deleted scenes as well as a few good feaurettes. The best one is a Blu-Ray exclusive of a roundtable discussion led by showrunner Graham Yost.

Season: 4.5 Yaps

Extras: 4 Yaps

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2012/01/03/justified-season-two/

Film Yap: Burke and Hare

2012-01-20T13:20:00.001-08:00

For a while now, I’ve theorized there are only 15 British actors and they just walk from set to set. Half of them are in “Burke and Hare,” including Simon Pegg, Andy Serkis, Tom Wilkinson, Jessica Hynes, Bill Bailey, Tim Curry, Christopher Lee, Hugh Bonneville and whom I first thought was a Stephen Merchant lookalike was actually Stephen Merchant.

All of these actors — even Tim Curry! — are incredibly entertaining and they can apply charm to even the most mundane of lines. Unfortunately, that is exactly what’s happening in this movie. It seems like this great cast of actors was brought together because the director is the legenday John Landis of “An American Werewolf in London,” “The Blues Brothers” and “National Lampoon’s Animal House” fame.

Like John Carpenter or so many brilliant directors from decades past, Landis seems to have lost his touch. The story of William Burke and William Hare is filled with potential for dark humor and satire, yet this movie is completely lifeless, pun intended. Burke (Pegg) and Hare (Serkis) figure out a way to make money in 1820s by killing people and selling the bodies for science.

They are literally killing innocent people for money and yet this still feels like a light comedy. Half of the movie is devoted to Burke’s infatuation with the beautiful Isla Fisher and how he’s funding her all-woman show of ”Macbeth.” The only purpose of this entire storyline is to give Burke a heart of gold (he’s only murdering for love!) and to awkwardly compare Macbeth’s reason to murder to Burke’s.

All of the humor comes from the personalities of the actors. Serkis has this odd ruffian feel and to pair him up with Hynes (“Spaced”) with her wonderful wit is an inspired choice. Their sex scenes are either incredibly silly and could have been the best parts of the movie if it wasn’t for the embarrassing editing. Most of the movie contains these awkward cuts to the next scene as if someone is being cutoff mid-word. Before anyone can figure out why that was so abrupt, a time jump occurs.

This could be a really really good movie with the right sculptor. The look of the time is there, the cast is there and the story could be fun. Instead, Landis has no control over what he’s doing and that’s too bad.

The DVD has way too many interviews of the cast repeating the same thing about the story and how they really wanted to work with Landis. There are also two minutes of unmemorable outtakes and 23 minutes of fly-on-the-wall footage of them filming.

Film: 2.5 Yaps
Extras: 2 Yaps

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/12/19/burke-and-hare/

Film Yap: Into the Abyss

2012-01-20T13:18:00.000-08:00

Werner Herzog has always been a director fascinated by the absurd. His documentaries like “Grizzly Man” and “Encounters at the End of the World” stare at the madness from afar while his fictional films like “Fitzcarraldo” and “Aguirre, the Wrath of God” engulf the characters in craziness.

All of Herzog’s films are worth watching because of his curious passion. In his latest documentary, “Into the Abyss,” Herzog still has that passion but there is a different tone. The absurdity isn’t a fun topic like gay penguins or hallucinated iguanas, but the idea that the government legally murders inmates.

Herzog isn’t interested in debating the politics of capital punishment but exploring the humanity surrounding it. The film focuses on a single triple murder case in Texas and the killers who are imprisoned. One will be executed by the state, and the other is eligible for parole in 30 years. Right away, Herzog establishes that even though he respects them as human beings and doesn’t want them to be killed, he doesn’t have to like them.

The boldness of the movie comes through by allowing everyone to speak. The killers, their families, the victim’s family, the police officers and unexpected new parties contribute to the larger story. Gaining sympathy for murderers is not the intent of the film; it’s to argue that no matter how horrible a person is, they don’t deserve to die.

Herzog has always wrestled with the role of nature in society, especially when man goes up against it and returns more animalistic. The results of this heinous crime will last for the rest of these people’s lives. As raw as the interviews are, it’s hard not to ponder whether any amount of closure could be gained by their execution.

The greatest case for its thesis is Herzog talking to the man who is about to be executed. His Southern upbringing always prompts him to address Herzog as “sir” whenever he answers a question. There’s also an unsettling calmness to him about his situation. Either he’s in denial about what awaits him or he has a better understanding of it than anyone else. Arguments are made throughout the film by various people how much he was even involved with the crime. Just enough doubt is created to really wonder what’s happened.

By the end, Herzog uses enough distancing techniques so that he hasn’t definitely settled his argument but that he has created a proper conversation.

4 Yaps

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/12/09/into-the-abyss/

Film Yap: Tucker and Dale vs. Evil

2012-01-20T13:17:00.000-08:00

After watching so many films of a genre, you’re bound to notice some patterns. In the horror genre, there are plenty of twists on the structure, like the self-aware “Scream” and the how-to guide “Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon.”

“Tucker and Dale vs. Evil” wants to join that group with its brilliant reversal on the hillbillies in horror films. In the tradition of films where college coeds go to the cabin in the woods to drink and skinny-dip, it’s always the hillbilly to be their first sign of evil. Their haunting nature of talking slowly and foreshadowing the danger to come usually means they are in on the threat. This time, Tucker and Dale are just two really nice guys.

Alan Tudyk (“Firefly”) and Tyler Labine (“Reaper”) play the titular heroes and singlehandedly save the movie with their genuine attitude to look at the brighter side of things, like being proud of their vacation cabin even if it’s a fixer-upper. When a group of college kids arrives into the woods, they mistake Tucker and Dale for classic horror villains.

Co-writer and director Eli Craig makes a great decision to shoot the whole thing like a horror film. Even though it’s a broad comedy, with the right lighting and music, it’s very easy to see why the coeds would make this mistake. Unfortunately, the central concept is the only thing holding this movie together.

It’s a clever movie but not a particularly funny one. To maintain the balance of misunderstanding, everyone has to react just right. That leaves very little room for organic comedy. Tudyk is one of the funniest actors working today, so he gets the most out of every line of dialogue, but he gets to deliver very few punchlines.

When the coeds start to accidently off themselves and the “hero” emerges as a psychopath, a laugh or two is earned. That’s about it. The concept never evolves, so once you “get” the joke, that’s all there is for 90 minutes. There’s a horror backstory that keeps getting more information in a particularly humorless fashion. A very lame romance emerges between Dale and the female lead (“30 Rock’s” Katrina Bowden) that doesn’t really fit aside from desperately trying to add meat to the story.

So the premise is wasted because they couldn’t figure out how to use it. The title suggests more of a silly adventure where these characters are thrown into a ridiculous scenario. Instead, it’s two talented comedic actors trying to find anything to work with.

The bonus features are even flatter. There are two featurettes there to overdescribe the premise. The outtakes and deleted scenes don’t add much either. There is also a commentary track with the director and the lead actors, which I haven’t had a chance to listen to. But if you put Tudyk and Labine together, it’s bound to be fun.

Film: 3 Yaps
Extras: 2 Yaps

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/11/28/tucker-and-dale-vs-evil/

The Descendants

2011-11-23T11:36:00.000-08:00

Sideways came out in 2004, which was the last Alexander Payne feature film until The Descendants, which opens today. As much as I loved Election I was never clamoring for his return to the silver screen but this was a reminder of why Payne is such a crafted filmmaker.

His films are never flashy or containing camera moves that one can point to and say, “That’s so Payne.” Instead he finds a story that he finds personal and tells it to the best of his ability. He’s very much like Sidney Lumet in that regard, if Lumet was only focused on smaller stories. Despite filming in some gorgeous areas of Hawaii that could be used for cinematic escapades, The Descendants is a very intimate story about a father and his two daughters.

George Clooney tones down his charisma to play Matt King, a man stuck in many crossroads. His wife is in a coma after a boating accident. He is preparing to sell a large stretch of land that has been in his family for years. While he’s alone in trying to figure out what to do he comes to terms with how clueless he is.

With the dire state of the wife, it seems like this would be a movie about loss. Yet the characters are always looking backwards to the happy and difficult moments of their lives or wondering could happen next to them. They try to figure out what their full story entails. The rest of their family—the Kings of the past if you will—serve as examples for completed lives for better and worse. All Matt wants to do is to try and make a worthy one.

The film only takes place within about a week. The screenplay avoids any of the standard epiphanies commonly seen in these sorts of emotional journeys. Its realizations are small and often unnoticed by the characters. It’s not sure what will happen tomorrow but hopefully they can come to realize what they want the most.

The Descendants will be the Oscar-y movie that everyone will like. There isn’t a bad scene or a missed character. The cast is excellent especially Clooney and Judy Greer. The screenplay by Payne, Nat Faxon and Community’s Jim Rash is one of the strongest this year (even with voice over that only appears in the first 20 minutes). I’m now curious about what will be the next story Payne will lock in on; hopefully it won’t take another seven years.

Hugo

2011-11-22T22:30:00.001-08:00

I’ll get this right out of the way now: I’m probably too biased to write this review. This is coming from a guy who just finished gushing about how The Muppets are the greatest thing ever. Last year I gave a speech about Martin Scorsese because when reexamining his work I realized I like him so much as a filmmaker due to his obsession with cinema. Always the master of timing, Hugo is the movie that encompasses everything I raved about in that speech.

I adore film history. Reading about its early days with its battles over technologies and storytellers entering a brand new medium is captivating. Throughout silent films, brilliant men always tested ways to tell a story that couldn’t be done on stage or through a book. Some of that magic was gone once sound was invented but thankfully a lot of the works of F.W. Murnau, Charlie Chaplin, and Georges Méliès can still have an affect on any generation.

Scorsese made Hugo to prove that statement. A young Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) lives in the train station during the 1930s. He hides from the mean station inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen) as he keeps all of the clocks well tuned. After upsetting a toymaker (Ben Kingsley), Hugo befriends a young girl named Isabelle (Chloë Moretz), which starts them upon an adventure like the ones read about in books.

Now the trailers of this movie will have you believe, they will go on a magical journey similar to Harry Potter or Narnia. There are plenty of scenes full of awe and wonder, but…it isn’t the same. Those films show literal magic; you wave a stick and fire appears. Hugo shows there is magic already around us.

All filmmakers are magicians. They transport you to a new world with every frame. The best ones can continue to amaze you even after you’ve seen thousands of movies. Scorsese has been making films for decades yet he continues to experiment and create spectacles. Hugo’s opening shot proves that in spades. Spoiling it—or anything really—is like ruining a magic trick so all I will say is that the scene is even better in 3D.

Yes, after way too many worthless and lousy films being post-converted to get a few extra dollars, Hugo is the only film where the 3D is essential. Not even Avatar really needed to be in 3D. Hugo does. A little girl during my screening kept chiming in with wonderful comments that proved this film will be adored by all ages. When the film references one of the first silent movies Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat and how audiences were afraid the train would hit them, this little girl said “It’s just like a 3D film!”

Correct! Scorsese is returning to a time when motion pictures were new and going to the theatre was a treat for the imagination. It’s a world void of product placement, jokes “just for adults” or the threat to make an empty sequel. People talk about how they saw The Wizard of Oz, Star Wars or even Pulp Fiction and that’s what inspired them to discover the rest of the medium. For me it was Abbott & Costello and Alfred Hitchcock. Hugo has the power to do the same for a new generation.

So it’s a damn shame the studio doesn’t know how to market this great movie. If this bombs, it’s a travesty.

The Muppets

2011-11-22T21:14:00.000-08:00

When returning to the Hundred Acre Woods this summer for their new feature, I was amazed by how pure and unique all of the personalities were for all of Pooh Bear and his friends. I think the same for the Peanuts crew and the Muppets. Since they don’t fall into the simple character descriptions of “Hero”, “Best Friend” or “Love Interest”, they are more realized and able to endure throughout the ages.

It has been a long time since a proper Muppets feature length film. Ones like Muppet Treasure Island and Muppets in Space have some nice moments, but nothing too memorable. There have been a number of TV specials where the Muppets are acting out beloved stories like It’s a Wonderful Life and The Wizard of Oz. It’s been too long since the Muppets have been what they are best at: entertainers.

That is what Jason Segel, Nicholas Stoller, Bret McKenzie and director James Bobin really understood. The Muppets isn’t just a reunion of some of the most beloved characters in the past 50 years, but a reminder of their relevancy through the ages. No matter how cynical the world gets, Fozzie Bear’s jokes can still make you laugh…even though they are horrendous. Their songs are sweet and their spirit is contagious. The Muppets are there to make you smile, whistle and want to give someone a hug.

The Muppets uses some of the structure from The Muppet Movie to bring back an incarnation of The Muppet Show. A new Muppet named Walter travels to LA with his brother Gary (Segel) and Mary (Amy Adams) to have a vacation and meet his beloved heroes. After so many years apart, Muppet Studios is in danger of being destroyed by the evil Tex Richman (Chris Cooper) unless The Muppets can reunite and raise 10 million dollars.

That means it’s time for a road trip, catchy songs, and plenty of celebrity cameos. Sure there are a couple of flaws in the structure but I cannot even begin to care. IT’S THE MUPPETS. When I wasn’t laughing, I was smiling ear to ear. When I wasn’t doing that it was because Kermit was singing “The Rainbow Connection” and that means it is your duty as a heart-pumping human to stare wide-eyed in amazement.

The only thing I can say (almost) negatively about this movie is that I’m ready for the big stuff in what’s next. So much of The Muppets is about reminding the world why The Muppets are still necessary that I now want a Muppets movie with wall-to-wall jokes and gags. Better yet, bring back The Muppet Show. Air it at 8PM so kids can watch it with their whole family. Looking at the number of celebrities more than happy to do SNL or a Sesame Street cameo, there will always be material for episodes. It doesn’t need to be about plugging a new movie; all you need is a group of people willing to make children of any age smile.

The Muppets accomplishes that goal and that is why I’m likely to go back to the theatres this weekend to see its magic.

Film Yap: Melancholia

2011-11-22T14:51:00.000-08:00

There are certain things you have to come into with a Lars von Trier film. When looking at some of his major films including “Breaking the Waves”, “Dancer in the Dark”, “Dogville”, and his laugh riot “Antichrist”, it’s clear that his films will likely be draining and bleak. Yet his films are also completely fascinating and usually worth watching.

Due to Kirsten Dunst as the lead, “Melancholia” is getting a wider release than the rest of the films. That doesn’t mean this is more accessible. Reminiscent of the gorgeous yet demented begining of “Antichrist”, this opens with utter madness. The world is ending in slow motion with loud orchestra music guiding its equisetic scenes.

Then it’s right back to stark realism. A week before the planet will be destroyed, Dunst’s Justine is late to be married to Michael (“True Blood”’s Alexander Skarsgard). She is full of smiles when she’s around him, but that all seems to fade when she finally gets to the church. Surrounded by too many trivial things like a bean contest and unsupportive attendees, Justine starts to snap.

Snapping doesn’t include freaking out or self-mutilation (Dunst dodged that bullet). Instead she stops caring. She cuts herself off from her family and refuses to take part in insincere events. Yet in the minds of the movie, she’s the sanest of them all. Why should people pretend to tolerate rude speeches or empty formal dinners?

The stakes rise when a new planet is discovered hidden behind the sun and it seems to be heading right towards Earth. Justine’s sister, Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg), and her brother-in-law, John (Kiefer Sutherland), react with overall denial of their impending doom.

On one hand “Melancholia”’s take on society never expressing their true emotions, even when they clash with the culture, is fascinating. When it takes the step forward and suggests that love, marriage, and most emotional relationships are equally frivolous it isn’t as convincing.

Overall there is odd beauty in all of the disaster. Dunst and Gainsbourg are brilliant together as sisters failing to understand their lives. Their pain and sympathy is what drives the film into such a compelling drama. As he’s evolved, von Trier has been able to use his dogma filmmaking and mix it with high style into an effective new blend of storytelling. Even though this isn’t as complex as some of his other efforts, this crazy Dane continues to captivate.

4 Yaps

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/11/17/melancholia/

Film Yap: Pixar Talk - WALL-E

2011-11-22T14:48:00.000-08:00

Every week Austin is going to have a chat with Victoria Disque about a Pixar film. This is all leading up to a speech Austin will be giving about Pixar at the E.B. and Bertha C. Ball Center in Muncie on December 9^th. Victoria is a producer of The Reel Deal and is currently majoring in telecommunications at Ball State University.

Austin: So for the second week in a row you watched a Pixar film for the very first time. What are your initial thoughts for “WALL-E”?

Victoria: I definitely liked “Ratatouille” more, but “WALL-E” was the first Pixar film I’ve seen that was just gorgeous. The animation is great for all of them, but that was the only word I could think of.

Austin: Which is so odd considering it’s a world devastated by trash.

Victoria: Exactly! I found it very ironic too.

Austin: I really was caught off guard because the level of detail for the robots is so good, I would honestly believed it was miniatures. That they just made a little robot WALL-E and filmed it on a little set. The other films had great texture and details to their fur and skin, but the machinery here looked insane.

I think so much of the believability came from the audio as well. Every little creak of the machines and them moving around on the dirt. Especially when you have the two main characters who only communicate through simple audio cues.

Victoria: I noticed the audio throughout and even though people were talking near the end, it still felt like an old silent film. It really reminded me of Charlie Chaplin because WALL-E seems like The Tramp and Eve is the beautiful younger woman who makes him super clumsy.

Austin: It’s clumsy, but he always pops back up with a smile. He’s wonderfully cartoonish and happy even when all of the shopping carts fall on him. They made it so you love the character so much, but you still want to see the carts hit him.

The character of WALL-E is so insanely adorable. The first half hour is just him looking at stuff, being entertained by small things.

Victoria: And I was entertained. I loved him looking through his little storage area. He has a space for lighters, he found a Rubix’s Cube, and he carries it all in a cooler. I would watch an entire based on what he finds.

Austin: I just love the very realized perspective he has. He finds a ring, but that has no value to him. He just loves the box and the little hinge it has.

Victoria: I laughed aloud at that part. He found a ring, but immediately tosses it aside.

Austin: It’s always about what entertains him. It’s so pure in that regard. Then there are the things he doesn’t like. I love him interacting with things he doesn’t like. I loved him playing with the fire extinguisher the first time where he keeps falling down. He hates it so he throws it far away.

I don’t know if I want a sequel to this, but I want a new short of this every year. Make it like Curious George where it’s like “WALL-E Goes to the Jungle” or “WALL-E Goes to Wherever”. I want to see a new place through his eyes.

Victoria: I was impressed like how we talked about with “Cars” how they weren’t animated the best way. You’d think that a robot would be even harder to feel for that character. It’s amazing how expressive they made his eyes, but they still so you can tell when he was sad. I love how when he was scared, he would shake. He seemed like such a person.

Austin: The story is that Andrew Stanton was at a baseball game with his son and they had binoculars to watch the game. At one point, Stanton stopped watching the game and started playing with the binoculars to see how he could make emotions from it. That was the start of the design.

Unlike “Cars” as well, their design has to be practical. This robot was built to pick up trash so it doesn’t need to look like a person because that’s not practical. It needs to be a walking trash compactor. It needs to look both ways so it’s a hero to us but a logical tool as well. Then there’s Eve who is a newer model and looks like an Apple product. I love how his goal is so insanely tragic. This is one of the most ambitious concepts for a kid’s movie. The world is destroyed by trash and one robot, for whatever reason, still is around to pick it up, alone on the planet. It’s such a depressing concept, but you smile the whole time because you have this scrappy machine who has possibly been there for hundreds of years as the guide.

It’s such a wonderful film. It’s my favorite Pixar and also one of the best films I’ve seen in years. It’s up there was one of the best of the last decade for me. Utterly charming.

Victoria: The only part I didn’t get was why the Autopilot didn’t want them to go back to Earth. Is it because he would be out of a job?

Austin: I think it’s a little bit of that. He was assigned to stay the course. It’s functioning on the rational decisions of “Earth isn’t safe. You’re not going to Earth.” All of the people have regressed to this childlike form. The Autopilot needs to take care of them and by doing that none of them can take care of themselves. Until WALL-E shows up, that’s when they have the inspiration to move forward.

He’s such a great catalyst to make everyone lives change. Even MOE the cleaner follows a very rigid path of the line of the floor. Then WALL-E shows up and MOE is able to get off the line. There are so many people who get off their “line” once WALL-E serves as a muse for them.

People think this film is very political and I feel that I’m the only one that’s arguing that it’s not.

Victoria: I don’t think that’s what they were getting at, but I can see where people would think that. It just shows that we’re all going to be fat one day if we keep eating the way we do. They show how we are polluting the Earth because it all becomes trash. They don’t make it seem like anything big happened like a meteor, it’s just that we screwed the world up so we had to leave. I got that, but I don’t think that’s what the movie was about though.

Austin: No, I see it more as a humanities thing than a politics thing. To me, politics should have at least two different sides for each ideology. There is no one “for” pollution. There is no one “for” obesity. The politics are formed about what should be done about that. This film is more about asking you to recognize what you’re doing, don’t just go for what’s easy and convenient. Always try to push yourself more.

Victoria: When they all get off their chairs, it was a such a great scene. Especially when the captain fights the Autopilot.

Austin: And that was their one direct pop culture reference, again, it’s the music from “2001”. The Autopilot already has the red eye of HAL. As the captain is walking, it’s like the evolution of man. Bum, bum, bum bum! Very fun.

Something I focused on this time was all of the other WALL-E models that broke down. You can tell at the end, they didn’t have the personality he did. They only picked up the trash. Our WALL-E had a personality and was looking around. They were only focused on their jobs. The human on the Axium is only on vacation, all the time. It means nothing because they are always relaxing. WALL-E is the middleman as he’s the really strong worker but will stop to play with the car keys. That was the push that had him help Eve. Don’t just focus on getting the plant, recognize why that’s an important thing. That drive helped the people to learn the value of working towards something. It could have ended with the Captain seeing that Earth is a dump, but he was inspired to fight and make it his own.

It’s amazing how they accomplished all of that while still being funny from beginning to end.

Victoria: I was surprised to realize how much I laughed during it because I heard going in that there is no speaking for the first half. I could see myself falling asleep, but there was so much cute humor that it always kept my attention. This is perfect for little kids. They can have so much fun with WALL-E.

Austin: People are always surprised how much they enjoy the silent portion. It’s not really silent because he says his few words and such. But it reminded me of Looney Tunes. Tom and Jerry is silent, but those are really easy to watch. They know good storytelling to keep you entertained through different ways. That’s what silent directors knew so well to entertain without using dialog. This did it so well that critics didn’t like it when they went up into the spaceship because they liked it so much.

Victoria: I definitely perfered the first half to the second half. It’s still good, but the first half is so much fun.

Austin: I think the second half makes for a richer film, but I can easily watch a three hour silent film of WALL-E just walking around the planet.

Victoria: If there was no spaceship, you wouldn’t get any sort of message or story. People would be upset about that.

Austin: They get some of that humor back when they just focus on WALL-E and Eve. Like the escape pod sequence is great because I like how expressive they are. He gets out of the pod and stubbornly sits down. Eve sighs thinking “Oh WALL-E” and puts him back. Then he gets out and she becomes frustrated.

Then there’s the dance sequence. He gets out of the pod before it blows up, he has the plant, they have a little robot kiss and then they dance around space. Just beautiful.

Victoria: I really like the scene when he first gets into space and he’s moving his hand through the dust. That was where it sealed it for me. It’s such a gorgeous movie.

Austin: He’s so adaptable; then again he’s not. He focused on helping Eve however he can but he can enjoy what’s around him. Even when he’s utterly destroyed, he’s still trying to help her or properly introduce himself to MOE.

You know so much of the film is about loneliness for him, but he doesn’t take loneliness as “woe is me.” It’s a guide for him to keep moving on and befriend a cockroach. He’s very grateful for the things around him as he tries to find someone to be with and hold his hand. One of my favorite scenes is when that’s incorporated by WALL-E showing Eve his home. It’s very much like a kid wanting to show your friend your room.

Victoria: I loved that scene. It reminded me of “The Little Mermaid” because Ariel is a hoarder and they both collect all of these little trinkets.

Austin: Exactly. He even has a collection of forks, but then it’s a great visual joke where he doesn’t know where to put the spork. Then Eve comes in with a new perspective to all of his things, like being able to make the light bulb turn on. Then his fascination is renewed. Then his perspective inspires her as she enjoys the bubble wrap.

Just talking about this now makes me want to watch this again and I just watched it yesterday. I love this movie.

Victoria: I agree with you, I hope they make more shorts. They did it with “Toy Story” and that worked well without ruining any of their main story.

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/11/17/pixar-talk-wall-e/

Film Yap: Life in a Day

2011-11-22T14:47:00.000-08:00

With the advent of social media, there has been a call against posting about every mundane activity. What benefit is it that your followers know that you have to do laundry or homework is annoying? A pinch of humor or commentary can make anything worth reading, but sometimes the purity of the act can stand on its own.

The documentary “Babies” just showed babies hanging out for the duration. It was such a simple movie that it may have posed as a screensaver instead of an actual film. “Life in a Day” defies everything I have written so far. The reason it succeeds is because its scope is more substantial than Twitter followers and four different babies.

Director Kevin McDonald (“The Last King of Scotland” ) teamed up with Ridley and Tony Scott to create this documentary experiment. They asked the world to submit videos of what they did on July 24^th, 2010. People from 192 countries submitted over 80,000 videos, which resorted to thousands of hours of footage. Through an incredible team of editors, this was boiled down to a smooth 95-minute film.

The day is told chronologically as it begins with a montage of people waking up from all around the world. Its regularity is what makes it all so special. The various ways where people brush their teeth is irrationally amusing. Most of the movie is showing the connectedness in the world as similar tasks are done throughout the planet.

Some of the clips provide more of a context for the recorder’s life. The longest one is a youth who tells his female friend his true feelings about her. His optimistic narration provided a wonderful guide as love was seen from a variety of couples. It seems that the only questions McDonald asked the participants if “What do you love?” and “What scares you?” I don’t know what it is about a personal video recorder, but it allows people to become very vulnerable. Perhaps it’s because it’s hard to imagine how many people will actually end up seeing their self-recorded ramble.

It isn’t just the mundane that is romanticized, but some people did fascinating things on July 24^th. The skydiving sequence was breathtaking, the slaughterhouse was brutal, and no matter what day it is, there will be dancing. The only time the movie loses focus of focusing on the magic of individuals is when it tries to make a point with its editing. Cutting back and forth from riding a roller coaster to scenes of war seems to pass judgment on the different forms of fears.

Aside from those few moments of departure, “Life in a Day” is a delightful movie that highlights the wonders of the differences and similarities of the billions of people who surround us.

The extras include interviews with the filmmakers, a director’s commentary, an editor’s commentary, and additional footage. My disc didn’t have the bonus features on it, but I would be really interested in the editor’s commentary—something that isn’t often put on a disc but would provide great insight with this topic.

Film: 4 Yaps

Extras: N/A

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/11/12/life-in-a-day/

Film Yap: The Change-Up

2011-11-22T14:44:00.000-08:00

You know what kind of movie “The Change-Up” is? It’s the kind of movie where the heroes park their car in the front of every building, shut the doors without locking them, and they aren’t towed despite the fact the “No Parking” sign is accidently in the frame.

To do something like this isn’t just about being lazy, it’s about being boring. Usually the ability to park everywhere is just a magical part of Hollywood, but it is one of those clichés that everyone recognizes. This parking nitpick extends to the rest of the film where anyone who has ever seen a film can guess where ever scene is going.

Jason Bateman plays Dave who is a family man who has to wake up at 3AM to change diapers only to go to his successful law firm several hours later. What hell he lives in. Ryan Reynolds is Mitch who smokes pot all day and is incredibly crass. They envy each other’s lives, which means they will switch bodies so they can learn some stupid lesson.

This stupid lesson where they must recognize that their own lives are pretty great is so forced, the characters should start to become paranoid that planet Earth is reshaping itself to teach them this stupid lesson.

Q: Why was a magic fountain moved out of a park and into a location nobody has record of? A: For they need to learn to respect their old lives.

Q: Why does Mitch’s dad awkwardly want to have lunch with Dave—WHO IS SECRETLY MITCH BUT HE DOESN’T KNOW THAT—to talk about all the things he always wanted to say to Mitch even though it’s not clear that Dave and Mitch’s dad even know each other? A: Mitch needs to learn a stupid lesson.

Q: Why does Dave’s wife only talk about Dave’s life goals when she’s upset? A: So that Dave in Mitch’s body can learn a stupid lesson.

Q: How did Dave’s boss come up with a PowerPoint about Dave’s life covering his childhood and marriage but never talking about his job which is how he actually knows Dave? A: BECAUSE MITCH AS DAVE NEEDS TO LEARN A STUPID LESSON.

Everything is so contrived that it really makes more sense if they were part of a Truman Show-esque conspiracy where even baseball games are formed to make sure they learn a lesson. Every secondary character is irrelevant but the way this movie portrays women is irredeemable.

The women characters defy science by being zero-dimensional. Leslie Mann is a hysterical actress who seems embarrassed to say what’s written in the script. Anything that is wrong with their marriage is all about how Dave isn’t fulfilling his dreams, nothing about what she wants. When she is the most upset it is because Dave (BUT REALLY IT’S MITCH!!!) said she wasn’t attractive to him after an extended poop scene.

Olivia Wilde is a legal secretary who has a crush on Dave but then goes on a forced date with Mitch to save her job (It makes zero sense). Then she falls for Mitch (BUT HE’S REALLY DAVE!!!!). Then on the second date she changes all of the things she’s attracted to so she’s more interested in Mitch. This was only done so the leads can both have someone attractive at the end.

Hiring Wilde only to be attractive is such a common practice in these worthless shallow films that nobody raises an eyebrow. My eyebrows were raised when actresses were hired to be attractive and then their breasts (and in one case pregnant belly) were done in CGI. Instead of actual nudity, Mann and Wilde have CGI breasts exposed.

The CGI budget doesn’t end there. “The Change-Up” also wisely spends millions on some of the worst green screen driving, a CGI baby throwing a knife with super-strength so it can go through a door, and a CGI baby butt that propels CGI green poop.

All of this could have been excused if the movie just did one thing. (Well almost all…). It just had to be funny. Have jokes that landed. Instead this is just a pathetic extension of uncreative profanity, tired situations, and a movie that works hard to be a complete mess. I hate that I have seen this movie.

The extras are also stupid. There is a weird gag reel where it isn’t about actors laughing and ruining a take, but about how most of them didn’t bother to learn their lines. Then it ends with “Thanks for a great shoot!” implying this was made for the wrap party which is even weirder since they never showed it was fun to work on. There is also 5 more minutes added for an “UNRATED” edition, which is a bluff because it’s just worthless footage. There is also an unenthusiastic making-of and a feature commentary done only by the director, which I haven’t had a chance to hear, but I hope most of it is him saying, “Ryan and Jason said they’ll be here any minute…”

Movie: 0.5 Yaps

Extras: 0.5 Yaps

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/11/08/the-change-up-2/

Film Yap: Pixar Talk - Ratatouille

2011-11-22T14:43:00.001-08:00

Austin: So you just finished “Ratatouille” for the first time, minutes ago. What are your first reactions?

Victoria: I loved it. Within the first half hour, I knew I was really going to like this movie. It never disappointed me.

Austin: This was Brad Bird, who directed this one and “The Incredibles” and “The Iron Giant.”

Victoria: I decided I really like him. I mean, I like them all like John Lasseter but I really like Brad Bird.

Austin: And he’s moving onto live action with “Mission Impossible 4” this winter. Every Pixar film goes through so many changes throughout its production. This one, Brad Bird was called in a little bit late on the process. This was Pixar’s first film after the legal debaccal of Pixar breaking away from Disney and all that madness. So this is their first thing on their own again. Yet it feels like a complete movie. It’s so smooth and a wonderful story.

Victoria: I almost almost thought, there was too much going on. Like I said, I loved this movie. There is the film critic to deal with it, there is the bitter ex-chef to work with, Remy tries to break away from his family, Linguini being Gusteau’s son. There was just a lot to take in. It all felt smooth, but it did feel complete.

Austin: There is a lot of plot, but I think one of the reasons why it worked was that they didn’t save it all for the end. Linguini gets the restaurant earlier than anyone expects. There’s even a montage where people think the movie could end. You see this more in French films, so it’s fitting that it’s set in Paris.

Victoria: Also Linguini gets with the girl earlier in the movie. Something else you’d expect to save for the very end.

Austin: That’s where you see what is the true point of the story. All of the Linguini stuff is secondary to Remy’s journey of finding his own place as a chef. I think they did a really good job of structuring that.

There are so many movies about “art”. There are so many movies about making movies or the romanticism of writing or painting. I like that Pixar decided to not do the obvious one and talked about the art of food. It’s probably one of the best food movies I have ever seen.

Victoria: This is probably really lame but I watch the Food Network all the time. There is something really relaxing about watching other people to make food. I didn’t expect that from an animated food. I loved the montage where Remy had to figure out exactly how to pull the hair to make the spaghetti. Even when he was making food as himself, I was surprised how much I was enjoying watching a gutter rat make food.

Austin: That’s the power of animation. Obviously we can’t smell or taste anything they’re cooking. It has to be entirely visual, basically. One way they did that was to create a great aroma of the kitchen, where he smells the soup. What I really loved were the sequences when he closes his eyes and we see the colors around his head mixing together as the tastes blends. It explains something very personal and difficult to convey. Really the best person to display that geeky enthusiasm is Patton Oswalt.

Victoria: I loved his voice. When the rat first started talking my mind went to him, but then it disappeared. Just like all the other Pixar movies, I never think of it again.

Austin: If I had to make an arbitrary list of the best casting from Pixar, I think the top two are in this film. Patton Oswalt is so brilliant. I’ve been a big fan of his stand up for years. Whenever he is enthusiastic about loving or hating a film, it’s always the greatest thing because he gets so passionate. So this character is an extension of him. Instead of yelling about “Star Wars”, he’s amazed about the taste of the food. It’s so genuine and perfect job casting.

Victoria: Who’s the other one then?

Austin: Peter O’Toole as Anton Ego.

Victoria: Oh yeah. That was a surprise for me. I never thought someone as legendary as Peter O’Toole would do an animated movie, but if you’re going to do it you better do Pixar.

Austin: He brought such gravitas to it. I love Peter O’Toole but he hasn’t had the best roles lately. He was pretty good in the “Casanova” miniseries and “Venus” was okay. But he was so good in this! Just look at the most talked about scene from the movie where he takes a bite of the ratatouille. That was pulled off because of what O’Toole had brought to the role before that. Such brilliant filmmaking.

Victoria: I was a bit emotional at that scene. I was a bit choked up during that part because they added so many layers to this critic who up into that part was just…a big meanie. You still don’t know why he is that way at the end, but he grew a heart at that moment. It was like the Grinch!

Austin: And his flashback is so brief. You immediately know what is going on at that moment.

Victoria: They are really good at stuff like that. They give you enough story without milking it.

Austin: Then the scene to accompany that was the review.

Victoria: I don’t know if kids understood a word of that but I loved it.

Austin: I first saw this in theatres and before every Pixar film I’m nervous. Kids are talking before it starts and I almost want to announce, “When the movie starts, you shut up.” But every time, my audience has been great. Everyone’s behaved because they love Pixar just as much as I do. During that scene, everyone knew how to respond. Even if you don’t know every word he’s saying, but they knew the Grinch grew a heart and it’s a good review.

So often you have films or storytellers talking about critics. More often than not, it’s negative towards them. Everyone’s had a bad review in their life, that’s what happens when you put something out there. They could have easily turned that into a speech against criticism. But it wasn’t that. It was looking at the emotions behind it. Earlier in the film there is a moment when someone says that he hates food, but he says that he loves food and that’s why he’s so harsh on it. In this scene he sees the potential and joy in food again. Sure he ends up losing his job because he was discredited when the restaurant was filled with rats. I think if that didn’t happen he would have stayed on as a critic and enjoyed the food more.

Victoria: Pixar never fails to surprise me. Any other animation company would go with the easy ending, the really really happy ending. There were two parts that surprised me in this. The first was when Linguini was telling all of the chefs that Remy was cooking. You’d expect them to stay and deal with it, but they all leave. Then all the rats help out, which I didn’t see coming.

Then I didn’t see the ending. I thought it would be happily ever after, but then the restaurant closes down. Then they have the smaller restaurant which is probably less stressful and the rats can eat there. So it seems like a sadder ending, but it works more for the characters.

Pixar is fantastic at taking something so unrealistic and then making it as realistic in that concept.

Austin: I think this is the most unrealistic of them all with having Remy pull Linguini’s hair and he movies. For that is impossible…and insane. So they should walk out because what he is describing is madness. I would stay to see it all play out because that would be entertaining. That is the most fantastical element of any Pixar films aside from talking animals and inanimate objects.

However it does it so well. It takes the metaphor of the puppeteer and makes it literal. Even though it’s incredibly unrealistic, it works out best for both of them. You don’t really get the vibe that Linguini wants to be a chef, but wants to be in the kitchen.

Victoria: It seems that he wants to be part of something. His mom is gone. His father he never knew is gone. He doesn’t have anywhere to really call his own. The one question I had in the whole movie is when he first gets the job, why does he add stuff to the soup when nobody was looking?

Austin: Oh, because he’s an idiot.

Victoria: You’re just taking random things and putting them in a pot!

Austin: I think he wanted to contribute more than just taking out the trash. Looking at what you’re saying, I think he wants to be part of a group. The kitchen is like a family. Aside from the crazy French Ian Holm villain, the kitchen is a very warming place for him. (TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE: THAT WAS AN UNINTENTIONAL PUN.) He finds the love of his life, there are quirky other characters that support him, he has rat friends. It does work well as a community. I think he was just trying to get to that point.

I do like this film quite a bit, but I guess the only part I don’t like is Remy’s family storyline. Watching it this time, I really got the metaphor of rats are like criminals. Linguini always thinks that Remy is going to steal all the food and run out on him. Then there are the old “You can’t escape your past” and the “Mobster who wants to go straight” tropes that operate with this family. They are thieves, but in a more respectful light, they are animals. I know it was necessary for the plot, but when they opposed his lifestyle it seems awkward. It did pay off when it they came together, though.

Victoria: You know I saw this thing on my friend’s Tumblr that really sums up the differences between Pixar and Dreamworks. Pixar puts so much work into their stories where even if it doesn’t pay off, they’re trying really hard to make something special.

Austin: That is so awesome. You know, there really isn’t anything like “Ratatouille”. It has elements that are familiar, but it all blends together to be a completely unique movie. It’s really great.

Victoria: Loved it!

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/11/03/pixar-talk-ratatouille/

Film Yap: The People vs George Lucas

2011-11-22T14:41:00.000-08:00

Okay, listen. I like “Star Wars” quite a bit. I wore my VHS down of the original trilogy, I played with the toys, I attacked my brothers with lightsabers, and of course I think Han shot first. George Lucas is the man behind the wonder while also being the man behind all the recent pain.

The prequels have caused the die-hard “Star Wars” fans to lose their minds. They hate them on such an absurd level that they say their childhood had a non-consensual metaphorical penetration. No, the prequels are not good movies—even “Revenge of the Sith.” Red Letter Media made these amazing and creative dissections breaking down why they all failed in basic storytelling. Those feature-length reviews are clever and self-aware with its humor.

“The People vs. George Lucas” needed that combination.

The way the geek community went from adoring one man to hating him is a weird part of pop culture history. This movie came out too soon because they didn’t have time to cover Lucas’s Blu-Ray alternations that further aggravate the fans. From Ewoks blinking to the random appearance of Jabba in “A New Hope” to digital Hayden Christensen to “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!”, there are enough criticisms of Lucas to warrant knocking him down from a god like status.

For 90 minutes an assorted number of fans just yell at the camera. Some of their points are valid, but then they talk too long to where the point becomes petty. When they scream at him for his bad edits and loss of joy, they aren’t looking at their own product. The editing and interviews for this movie are all over the place in quality. During the last five minutes, they attempt to say how they really still love George Lucas but it’s eye-rollingly insincere.

If they wanted to live up to their title, they should have had a better attorney for Lucas. I don’t know who can argue Jar-Jar Binks, but most people can argue against these fans. They have treated this as such a personal attack, which is perplexing. There are films and there are people. The interviews they have of Lucas show him as a bit socially awkward and overwhelmed by his creation. There is a point when the art is no longer the artist’s. All the things they loved about the saga is still there. Luke Skywalker is still here to rescue you, the AT-ATs will still fall, and Leia will still be dressed inappropriately in Jabba’s lair.

So by the end, they had the wrong reaction. I felt bad for George Lucas because his fans went out and made something like this to put in theatres. There was a film to be made about this experience and everyone involved was too emotional to see that.

2 Yaps

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/10/23/the-people-vs-george-lucas/

Film Yap: Pixar Talk - Cars

2011-11-22T14:39:00.000-08:00

Austin: We’ve hinted at it for weeks and weeks for my hatred of “Cars”. Do you have a hatred of “Cars”?

Victoria: No, I don’t have a hatred. It’s definitely not one of my favorites. I just think it’s ‘all right’, not terrible.

Austin: This is my first time watching it since the theatres. There were moments when I was thinking that I’ve been too hard on the movie. Then a second later, it reversed again. Like the movie starts off with Lightening talking with a black screen. He has this good voice over where he’s saying, “Speed…speed…” to pump himself up for the race. This is relatable and good. Then you realize he’s in a truck whose only design is to hold other cars and then I became immediately distracted trying to figure out that existence.

The movie is a weird balancing act. Every other Pixar film you get the world through their exposition scenes. I’m now two films in and I still don’t get this world and that’s weird.

Victoria: I don’t even think about that. I just focus on the characters. I don’t try to put together things like “If their wheels are hands, how do they build anything?”

Austin: Who builds the cars!?!?

Victoria: This is a kids’ movie. The others were aimed a bit more towards adults, but this is purely for the kids. My nephew totally buys the world.

Austin: Maybe I just missed the age when—nah, I was even a snarky kid. It’s odd. We’ve had inanimate objects from “Toy Story” and they’ve established Fisher Price makes the toys. Once they assemble, they exist and we get that.

In “Cars”, I question it when the movie addresses it. It’s not just me going, “How do their eyes make any sense?” But then again, their eyes don’t make any sense! They have characters who are romantically interested in each other. In “Toy Story” they were more looking for love and companions. Here Lightning and Sally try to kiss each other. And whenever Mater tows somebody, there is the shot of the car feeling violated like it’s a probing joke. It’s weird.

Victoria: Right. I don’t care about that. Now we’ve talked in the past about how Pixar has found the perfect actors for each character. With this one, it feels like they knew who they wanted already and then built a character around the actor. Like Mater, they had to figure they were already thinking of Larry the Cable Guy. From there it seems like they decided the rusty bucked-tooth car would fit him.

Austin: Yeah, it almost feels like they thought of a personality for the car and then the actor and then the character. What would fit for this car?

Victoria: In this, the lead voice is Owen Wilson. In the past, I recognized a lead voice and then moved back on to the story. Here, I only heard Owen Wilson. He doesn’t have the most distinct voice but I still only heard him.

Austin: So did I, the whole time. It’s odd because his major competitor in the racing world is voiced by Michael Keaton. I love Michael Keaton! He had such a natural voice, but right now I’m thinking Michael Keaton could have been the lead. Keaton could easily be the villain or the likable lovable Mr. Mom hero.

Victoria: I think Owen Wilson brought a younger voice to the character. As if he was in the early 20s.

Austin: That’s true. You need the age difference between him and Paul Newman.

Victoria: Paul Newman. It’s too bad this was his last movie. At least he ended on a Pixar film, but it’s sad this is the Pixar movie he ended on.

This is my nephew’s favorite movie. So I get a kick out of the parts he laughs at. He really loves the two Italian cars, Luigi and Guido. He also really loves the old car, the old Model T. She’s the one not right in the head. I love the supporting cars. Then there is the VW Bug that is selling their equivalent of weed? That’s just weird.

Austin: You know there was one bit of casting I thought was really easy. They cast Jeremy Piven as the agent who is always on the phone. It’s just the same character from “Entourage”. Come on Pixar! You can think of a cleverer pick than that.

Victoria: That was easy.

Austin: I think the weirdest character thing in this movie is that, unlike all other Pixar films, their heroes have flaws but the film doesn’t judge them for it. Woody is insecure, Flik is too eccentric, Marlin can’t let go, etc. But the characters aren’t constantly telling them those flaws. “Cars” was only that. The first half of the movie is everyone telling Lightning what was wrong with his life. His lifestyle is wrong. You’ll be fine by the end of the film, but now you’re wrong. That’s limiting because now you know where the movie is going because it’ll only be about fixing that lifestyle.

I really didn’t like that. It was lazier storytelling than we’ve come to expect from Pixar.

Victoria: I think that’s just it. This one seemed lazy in comparison of the other. Perhaps, they were just burnt out. This is still decent, but it’s not Pixar level.

Austin: Yeah, I’ll give it a C. It’s just an uneven movie. Also I might as well make this rant now. It’s the plot of “Doc Hollywood”. Which is not a great movie. Have you seen it?

Victoria: Nah.

Austin: The plot of “Doc Hollywood” is that Michael J. Fox is a plastic surgeon, but everyone judges him that he needs to be a proper doctor. One day on his way to Los Angeles to become a bigger plastic surgeon, he crashes his car into a small town and breaks their fence and other stuff. He’s not allowed to leave the small town until he fixes the fence and that’s where he learns how to be a true doctor.

Victoria: That sounds ridiculous. Maybe they were…inspired by “Doc Hollywood”?

Austin: I think they have carefully avoided talking about “Doc Hollywood” in every interview. Like how the cast of “Disturbia” weren’t supposed to talk about “Rear Window” during that press.

I was 16 when this came out. So I’m just outside the target audience, but even I’m in the theatre going, “Hey I have a public library. I’ve seen ‘Doc Hollywood’!” Having “A Bug’s Life” do their take on “The Seven Samurai”, considered one of the greatest films of all time, makes a bit of sense. Doing a take on “Doc Hollywood” is…how many takes can you do on that?

Hell, they should have just gotten Michael J. Fox for the voice of the lead! That would have been great!

Victoria: That would have been really good. He still sounds young enough.

Austin: Also he has the charisma to be selfish and still likable. Then again, this would make it too much like “Doc Hollywood” which is why they didn’t do it.

Victoria: Which would you say is better: “Doc Hollywood” or “Cars”?

Austin: “Doc Hollywood” because it has people in it so I understood it! Switching gears—eh!—what did you think of the racing scenes?

Victoria: I thought they were okay. Nothing really great, but I don’t find actual racing exciting. Yet I guess this isn’t like real racing. This is more like a foot race since they are cars. Lightning is the Usan Bolt of the car world. So if you look at it that way, then it makes sense the cars can jump over other cars that have crashed.

Austin: I think the weird thing here—and it’s worse in “Cars 2”—it’s difficult to see how hard they’re going. When you watch “Chariots of Fire” they are sweating and struggling. In this, whenever a car passes another it seems casual.

Victoria: They just say, “Oh man, they passed me.” Just go faster! But I guess it’s about how much horse power they have. How they were built. It’s not like they were working hard to go faster.

Austin: It’s like the metachlorians.

Victoria: (Blank look)

Austin: The readers will get that. So it’s better in this one, but in the big race here he’s down by an entire lap. It’s hard to figure out how much he needs to work to catch up. Then he goes to the pitstop to talk to Doc without getting anything changed. You have a headset! Just talk to him! You’re in a race!

Victoria: I did like the ending, though. The King crashes and he’ll be exactly like Doc if he doesn’t go across the finish line. So Lightning goes back and gets him after he grows a heart and forfeits the race. Classic Pixar.

Austin: I thought it was okay. It’s just really convenient. It’s just like Doc and it’s a moment to define yourself. It’s not as much as a sacrifice because everyone knows he won. It’s not like it’s a close race. Everyone has declared him the winner. History will remember him as the “real winner” because he made a noble effort. It just made him look really good. You need the moment, but it was the easy moment.

Victoria: I just don’t what else they would do there.

Austin: Neither did they! That’s why it’s in there. Anywho, do you find Mater funny?

Victoria: I guess so. He’s grown on me like the rest of the movie. Back when I was a Freshman in high school, he didn’t work. I don’t like Larry the Cable Guy’s comedy, but this character is endearing. He’s not just a stupid hillbilly. He’s more of a manchild.

Austin: The way Mater interacts with the town reminds me of Nick Frost from “Hot Fuzz”. He’s a bigger guy, bit dumb, but his heart in the right place. Mater is louder and more obnoxious than Nick Frost in “Hot Fuzz”, but I still like the character. He works as a supporting character.

Victoria: I didn’t hate “Cars 2” like everyone else did—

Austin: Just wait a few more weeks!

Victoria: But that was a mistake to make him the lead in that movie and Lightning the supporting. Mater works better as a supporting.

Austin: There is only so much you can tolerate with that dumb energy. He works as a cheerleader, of sorts, to Lightning. I’m not a big fan of the cow-tipping scene, but it is a nice moment to slow the plot down and the let the characters bond with each other. The film does that well quite a few times.

Victoria: You know, I don’t have a problem with the world as much as you. What does bug me is what are the odds that this small town that isn’t on the map ends up having two world class race cars in it? Lightning just happens to get lost in the town that has a car similar to him who won the Piston Cup. I know the whole world is a stretch, but that is also a stretch.

Like we said, it just seems very lazy. I still think it’s decent. If I see a line of Pixar movie, it’s probably the last I’ll watch but it’s still watchable.

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/10/21/pixar-talk-cars/

Film Yap: My Afternoons With Margueritte

2011-11-22T14:38:00.001-08:00

There are those who have had Tuesdays with Morrie and have driven with Daisy and their lives have been enriched from the encounters. Are old people the magical sages of the universe or is there something valuable in taking a break from your life?

Germain Chazes’ life doesn’t move that fast. He does some chores around his house, he does a simple job, he visits some friends at the local pub and he goes to see the birds at the park. However Germain puts very little value in himself. Throughout his childhood, Germain was bullied and abused, especially by his cruel mother. Without that love growing up, he feels empty even when he’s with his kind girlfriend, Annette (Sophie Guillemin).

One day he bonds with an elderly woman named Margueritte—a typo on her birth certificate that stuck. She sits on her red pillow atop the stone park bench so she can look at the birds. When Germain tells her the names of all of the birds and points of distinct personalities in their behavior, they become friends. They meet everyday to read.

Germain cannot read very well, but Margueritte says that reading is listening. Once you listen to the words, you will want to read them for yourself. And so he becomes addicted to a more pleasant lifestyle.

The stars, Gérard Depardieu and Gisèle Casadesus, make the movie. Their sweetness together makes the park around them brighter. Sometimes they talk about gross and dark topics but they remain delighted for they have someone they can really talk to. Scenes without them are like the rest of their day, waiting for their next interaction.

That isn’t entirely fair since the way Germain spends the rest of the day is trying to learn from his last visit. His transition is very believable and honorable. The only thing that slows down the pacing are the too many flashback scenes to his difficult childhood. One may have been enough to back up his words, but really his words spoke volumes.

“My Afternoons With Margueritte” never overstays its welcome with a brisk runtime of 88 minutes. It avoids the obvious ending with something more fitting. This is one of those movies that will charm even those who are irrationally afraid of subtitles.

4 Yaps

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/10/20/my-afternoons-with-margueritte/

Film Yap: Batman: Year One

2011-11-22T14:37:00.001-08:00

There is an ad before the menu screen for “Batman: Year One” for a new video game called “Arkham City”. An unnerving voice over asks, “Have you ever considered this is all your fault?” The rest of the video game shows trying to defeat a plethora of old villains in a city that seems unable to be saved.

In “Batman: Year One” it is before Gotham has sunk that low. It is still described as hell, but it still appears as a city not unlike any other major metropolitan in the United States. Corruption plagues the police department and the politics. Violence and prostitution is routine after the sun goes down. Bruce Wayne (voice of Ben McKenzie) finally returns home with a new set of skills and a goal of what to do.

His parallel is Jim Gordon (voice of Bryan Cranston), a police detective who also knows how to throw a punch. Gordon’s narration is just as dark as Wayne’s view of the city. The noir wording fits because they are both characters who refuse to stop fighting regardless of how defeated they feel.

As the months go on, both men realize how they can accomplish their goals. For Bruce Wayne he recognizes the symbol he needs to strike fear. For Jim Gordon he finds out he is not alone.

The consequences start to have effect. As they try to stop the chaos, the chaos evolves. A greedy man in a suit like Carmine Falcone is easier to understand, but the creation of Batman leads to a new form of villain. Selina Kyle (voice of Eliza Dushku) becomes inspired by the slickness and the rogue attitude of Batman that she creates her own alter ego of Catwoman.

“Year One” is an origin story unlike any other origin story because it’s not optimistic. The use of the word “hero” is always dismissed by the man being labeled. These are men setting out what they think has to be done and perhaps by starting that they are creating a more dangerous world. There is no endgame in this story. Perhaps Gotham can never be saved.

The DC home videos always have a great set of bonus features. “Year One” only last an hour long, but it’s a fantastic story to own. They included another short starring Catwoman, which has plenty of seedy action but not much else. There are great sneak peaks at the upcoming “Justice League: Doom” and “Green Lantern: Emerald Knights” which aren’t just trailers. They sit down with the whole team to analyze the characters and the comic’s history. I don’t even know these characters very well and they always make me want to watch them. There is also a solid documentary talking about the importance of the original comic “Year One” in the character’s history and how it affected the live-action films. Also there are two full-animated episodes “hand picked by Bruce Timm”: “Batman the Animated Series” – “Catwalk” and “The New Batman Adventures” – “Cult of the Cat”.

I only wish they had more footage of this cast talking about the movie because Cranston does some amazing work. I would love to hear him and McKenzie talk about how they saw this story.

Film: 4.5 Yaps

Extras: 4 Yaps

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/10/20/batman-year-one/

Film Yap: Red State

2011-11-22T14:35:00.000-08:00

Crassness has always been part of Kevin Smith’s films. Usually the vulgarity and obscene sexual references are by characters who are still innocent creatures. They are usually discussing trivial topics like employees of the Death Star or how to save a monkey. When he goes towards deeper subjects like complex relationships or religion, his characters still approach it with naivety as they fight for what’s good.

For the first time in his career, Smith is getting vicious. Most of his cast of characters in “Red State” are unredeemable in his mind. They are a thin metaphor for the Westboro Baptist Church and their leader Fred Phelps. The heroes have very little chance to be heroic because they are always being tortured or running for their lives. It’s a gutsy movie that doesn’t always succeed.

Smith has a knack for comedic dialog that offers plenty of surprises and laughs. Using that to forward a drama proves difficult. Most of the movie is filled with never-ending monologues that lack the pacing and wit from his previous ventures. It always feels like unnecessary exposition, especially when a teacher has to explain who the national celebrity is who lives in their small town.

The strength in the film comes from its surprises. This is a ruthlessly violent movie that won’t stop once it gets going—unless characters need to talk for a long time in panic. It is often visually exciting in a very grimy way. What Smith chooses to do in the last ten minutes is some of the most brilliant things in his entire career. Well, eight of those minutes are great and two are too indulgent.

There is a reason why this movie needs to be reviewed as a comparison to the rest of Smith’s filmography. “Red State” by itself is a forgettable B-movie with an impeccable cast—including Matthew Parks, Melissa Leo, John Goodman, Michael Angarano, Kyle Gallner, Stephen Root, Matt L. Jones, Kerry Bishé, Anna Gunn, Kevin Pollack, and the mighty Matthew Parks.

Seeing this as a Kevin Smith joint shows something greater. Directors like Martin Scorsese, Danny Boyle and Steven Soderbergh tend to switch genres every other time at bat. Smith has felt comfortable since his breakout hit in 1994. “Red State” is such a radical departure in terms of story, visual style, and content that it hardly even feels like Smith was behind it.

So much like “New York, New York”, “The Beach” and “The Good German”, I appreciate the ambition in the project more than the end result.

The DVD includes a number of behind the scenes bonus features that give a really through look at the history of the project—including the now infamous Sundance speech, which kicked off his self-distribution goals. They are sometimes a bit repetitive, but they do capture a lot.

Film: 3 Yaps

Extras: 4 Yaps

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/10/19/red-state-2/

Film Yap: Heartland 2011 - Romantics Anonymous

2011-11-22T14:34:00.000-08:00

I love French films. Love love love them. Every time I feel it’s silly to group a whole country of films together, another one charms me yet again. These films have a way of never letting you know how the story is going to end. Too many movies pull back and it’s easy to see what the full story is. It’s never fun when you know how the movie is going to end or what the message of the movie is before it’s had a chance to sell the point.

The best way to accomplish this is to create a set of completely realized characters who may not succeed. “Romantic Anonymous” is easily one of the best romantic comedies I’ve seen in years because by the time it was halfway through I was cheering for them to get together and wincing when they messed it up for each other, yet again.

The two poor unfortunate souls are Angélique Delange (Isabella Carré who looks like the French Maria Bamford) and Jean-René Van Den Hugde (Benoît Poelvoorde who looks like the French Peter Davison) (Peter Davison played the fifth Doctor Who) (“Doctor Who” is this—have I really not gotten you readers to watch this show yet?)

Angélique goes to an emotional relief group where she talks about her overwhelming insecurities. Jean-René talks to a therapist about his fear of women. The two of them meet when she enters his struggling chocolate shop searching for a job. She accidently gets a position as a sales rep instead of a chef.

The neurotic duo continues to interact under the most awkward circumstances. Their first dinner together is so painful to endure that more people will cover their eyes from embarrassment than attendants at a “Saw” flick. The reason why all of the scenes feel organic is because they never stray away from what the characters are capable of.

It’s never clear where the story goes next. Secrets are revealed earlier than expected, brilliant new ideas are introduced, and then it all ends in a place where it was always supposed to go. Every good story should let the characters drive it to its organic destination. The best ones are when you want to revisit the characters years later to see how their lives have changed. “Romantics Anonymous” is how to do the genre right.

4.5 Yaps

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/10/19/romantics-anonymous/

Film Yap: Heartland 2011 - My Last Day Without You

2011-11-22T14:32:00.000-08:00

He’s a German businessman who flew to New York City to lay off a company. She’s a beautiful secretary fired from the company who writes beautiful music. They meet by chance and spend the day together before he has to fly away. What sort of day will they have?

It turns out a rather lousy day. That would make for an unexpected story, but the movie is insisting their day was incredible. From the chauffeur who won’t stop ranting about how this is the greatest romance he has ever seen to every new character the German meets insisting he needs to change his life. Instead of letting the characters speak for themselves, there is that judgment placed on them.

Niklas (Ken Duken) is criticized from beginning to end. He is not laughing like a Bond villain when he has to close a business; he is not obsessed with his expensive watch. All he has is a certain work ethic that placed him into a higher society, but this makes him an evil man. Even when he says that he doesn’t believe in the souls of the dead moving on, he is criticized.

Leticia (Nicole Beharie) starts off as a really sympathetic person. Her music is inspiration to the neighborhood and she has a loving relationship with her pastor father (Reg E. Cathey from “The Wire”). Then after she is unnecessarily cruel to Niklas for most of the movie, she lost my support. Yet, this is still the greatest romance ever witnessed despite no romantic scenes, only romantic shots.

Despite having a number of problems with the core relationship, the film shows New York City in a way rarely seen. They avoid all of the typical cinematic visuals and focus on a smaller community. Its church and streets have a more homely feel that separates itself from the busyness of the city. Co-writer/director Stefan C. Schaefer avoids using grand romantic gestures by allowing it to be more intimate between the two of them. It allows the world to stay within a more realistic grounding, but the structure betrays it at the end.

There are a number of ways their paths could have crossed and affected each other, leading to a number of different endings. This conclusion doesn’t seem to connect with where the characters were heading. It was going for a more topical version of “Before Sunrise” and it wasn’t just there yet.

3 Yaps

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/10/19/my-last-day-without-you/

Top Ten Reasons Why I Love Magna

2011-11-22T14:30:00.000-08:00

Everyone has a mystery convention. We’re almost to the point where there is one for every weekend of the year. It’s exhausting. I’ve been to a number of charming ones, but the one I love every year is Magna cum Murder. It’s not because I work for it; it’s because I love it that I work here. So in true David Letterman fashion, here are the Top Ten Reasons Why I Love Magna.

#10 – We Don’t Have Any Awards

I love awards given out for art. I have never complained about the Oscar telecast length or being snubbed for an Edgar. (Seriously it’s not a big deal.) They are a fun celebration of stories done well, but there are too many of them. If we added another mystery award it would dilute what makes the others so special. When authors are nominated they say they aren’t thinking about the upcoming ceremony, but of course they are lying. (Don’t trust writers.) A weekend without competition allows everyone to just have fun.

#9 – One Book One Festival

Jim Huang started this a few years ago by telling everyone attending Magna they should read And Then There Were None before attending. There were panels, films and discussions over the Christie classic throughout the weekend. It was a great way to connect everybody in a common ground. The easiest way to start a conversation with someone at your table is to bring up the book. Since that year we’ve covered Except the Dying, Brat Farrar, The Steam Pig and next month it’ll be Death on the Nile. Many people comment on being thrilled to finally have the chance to read a classic they’ve been meaning to get to.

#8 – The Meals Are Delicious

Twice a day during a conference, it’s up to you to find some people you want to eat with and then figure out where you can walk to. It becomes a bit of a hassle if you hit a restaurant at the wrong time and it always ends up being more expensive than you attend. A nice trait of Magna is how we keep everything tight knit. We supply the meals and they are glorious. We have large tables at the convention center and very little assigned seating. That means if you thought John Gilstrap was hilarious on a panel and wonder he’s funny when he’s not behind a mic, you can sit at his table!

#7 – Less Business, More Fun

At Magna we have our fair share of editors, agents and publishers attending. They like to keep tabs on their authors. During a larger convention, there are deals going on or work being reviewed. Here people are just having fun. Even the staff of Magna who are working to sell merchandise or the book vendors all feel less pressure because of the friendly atmosphere.

#6 – Continual Conversations

The great Carl Brookins came up with this concept a few years ago. Three authors will sit at a table and talk about whatever they want to. Every 15 minutes, one author will leave and another will take his place. There are plenty of chairs around so people can listen or even participate. The conversations typically range from publishing trends, sports, and why the current season of Doctor Who is so awesome. Some authors are nervous on panels, so this is a more relaxing way to be naturally interesting.

#5 – It’s Small

People read mysteries where the private eye is running through the big city investigating all of its hidden layers. People also read mysteries about the small town that seems like a joy to live in—aside from the murder once a year. We’re the latter. There isn’t the anxiety of everything happening at once and everyone always seems busy. It’s so easy to meet an author you admire or a fan who is caring around a really interesting book.

#4 – The Community is Great

There are plenty of conventions all across the world ranging from the mainstream to the completely bizarre. Those who are excited to attend always leave happy. It’s because this is the weekend when we’re all cool. When you’re talking to your work friends, often times your nerdy references will go over their heads. I guarantee you this is the weekend where your Lord Peter Wimsey joke is really going to hit. You are surrounded by fascinating people who love the books you love. This is the time for great dialog, new recommendations, and wishing every weekend was like this.

#3 – We Have a Focus on Panels

Since we are a program devoted to fans and their appreciation for the genre, we work hard to make sure the panels are worth their while. We want the hour to be insightful and the way to do that is to give them something new. If the author is not reiterating their overdone thoughts on why humor can be done in a mystery or why they write about a certain city, they can become inspired. If the panel goes well, the author’s work can have greater understanding, a new favorite writer can be discovered, or you just laugh yourself silly. To quote A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: “We shall employ every device we know in our desire to divert you.”

#2 – The Authors Are Awesome

Oh sure, we’ve had some big names in the past. We’ve had M.C. Beaton, Mary Higgens Clark, Harlan Coben, Michael Connelly, Alexander McCall Smith, and Charles Todd. They were fantastic! You know who else we had? Troy Cook. Troy wrote a hilarious book called 47 Rules of a Highly Effective Bank Robbers and I wouldn’t have discovered that if he didn’t attend Magna. Chatting with the lesser-known authors and discovering gems that deserve to be New York Times bestsellers is a treat all by itself.

#1 – Kathryn Kennison

If I don’t make this a more universal answer, I’m worried she’s going to cut this paragraph. The reason this festival is running is because of her. It’s because of her that people will travel from all over the world to come to Muncie, Indiana. Sure, part of the reason is because we’re all scared of her. The real reason is her passion for every single person who walks through the doors. She is the symbol for all of us behind the scenes. We’re not doing this to become filthy rich or internationally famous. We run this sucker because we love the genre and everyone involved in it. There is no greater example of this than seeing Kathryn welcome everyone to another year of Magna cum Murder.

Originally published in the Magna cum Murder newsletter

Film Yap: Page One: Inside the New York Times

2011-11-22T14:28:00.000-08:00

Lately playing to a niche audience is playing to a geeky audience. Aspects of time travel or video game humor would seemingly only appeal to those who are already emerged in that sort of interest. “Page One” plays to a different niche audience: journalists.

If there was ever a film for journalists—that wasn’t “All the President’s Men”—it’s this. “Page One” spends a year covering The New York Times covering stories. The documentary crew was lucky to have a story like WikiLeaks occur during their scope because that was exciting to see the team discover and ethically deal with covering the information.

That story was a good backbone for a portion of the documentary, but the real story is the paper itself. During this unsettling transition of media, a look at the iconic giant of journalism is a brilliant way to cover it. It’s one thing for the Small Town Gazette to be in trouble, what about The New York Times?

Their discussion from “old media” to “new media” is one of the more intelligent debates in recent memory. Too many people treat the internet as the destruction of everything, but it is a transition. David Carr emerges as the most enigmatic figure of the documentary. He’s a former crackhead turned one of the most brilliant reporters on their staff. Carr’s story is fascinating and well covered in the movie, but the more exciting parts were to see him at work. His snobbery towards Twitter then his obsession is such a strong case for the necessary of adaptation in this business.

One of the greatest aspects of a fictional narrative or a documentary is to see people who are good at their jobs. There is an amazing segment where Carr is working on a vicious exposé that was made possible by damn good journalism. The speed in which they work never compromise their intensity towards the quality of writing. The film occasionally ventures out towards newer sites like Gawker or hears from people like Arianna Huffington on a panel. We don’t get to see their day-to-day activity, but they are decently represented when the film’s true subject is the Times.

They don’t know where they will be in fifteen years. They don’t even know what they will look like. What’s important is that they make each paper the best it and look just far enough in the future to try to have a guess what’s coming up. It’s a scary and emotional time and “Page One” does an excellent job depicting the fight and what needs to be persevered.

The DVD and Blu-Ray has a number of additional interviews with fantastic quotes from people like Carl Bernstein and Brian Williams. There are a number of short segments where journalists and others are reacting to the documentary. They are all positive, which was initially off-putting because I figured the documentary would want a fuller stance. Then again, the filmed segments are screenings for journalists and Q&As where the key audience was in attendance. Their reaction isn’t just praise for their friends, but a very genuine argument for what is best for journalism.

Film: 4.5 Yaps

Extras: 4 Yaps

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/10/18/page-one-inside-the-new-york-times-2/

I'm Getting To It

2011-11-22T14:25:00.000-08:00

My biggest problem is that there are too many good authors right now. Back when I worked at The Mystery Company, Jim Huang’s bookshop, I had the naïve goal of reading a book by every author who came in for an event. That ended up being several events a month, often with multiple authors per night. Sometimes that worked out well for me like when Michael Koryta asked me for a good passage he should read from. It also worked out poorly when I tried to compliment a writer for a book she didn’t write.

With mystery writers, if you discover a great find it’s not just a 300-page investment. Chances are they are going to have a new book in 12 months, then another 12 months after that. Some of them are nuts and have multiple a year. The more authors who came into the store, the more I started to read. I subscribed to enough modern writers to keep me busy for the whole year. It was a struggle to keep up.

I say “struggle” which is silly. Oh the horrors of having too many good books to read. The only problem is now there is a gap in mystery education. I’m reading so many modern novels that I am behind on most of the classics.

I entered the genre early with young adult series like the Sammy Keyes books and The Boxcar Children. As great as they were, crimes involving stolen candy didn’t feel like high enough stakes for me. In elementary school I started reading Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie—much to my 5^th grade teacher’s dismay when I was showing classmates passages from And Then There Were None.

Most of my family were passing around mystery novels to each other which allowed me to branch out more in addition to pillaging the library whenever possible. I read the complete works of so many brilliant authors, but I still have significant gaps. I’m becoming a bit embarrassed.

I recently finished Donald Westlake’s The Hot Rock, which was absolutely hilarious. It was one of the few books that consistently made me laugh aloud. Yet when I went to BoucherCon and talked about it, most people were put off it has taken me so long to read a Dortmunder novel.

So let’s just get this out of the way and ruin any reputation I had as a mystery fan. I have never read a single book by Margery Allingham, Robert Crais, Elizabeth George, Reginald Hill, Tony Hillerman, Val McDermid, John D. McDonald, Sara Paretsky, Dorothy Sayers, Mickey Spillane, and Ross Thomas.

Confessions are supposed to make you feel better. That didn’t. That’s why I’m trying to switch it up with every novel I read. When there is a sense of history with the genre, there can be greater appreciation. Reading the influences that inspired my favorites creates a richer experience. But mostly it’s just so I can stop hearing, “What do you mean you haven’t read Busman’s Honeymoon?”

First published in Pomp and Circumstantial Evidence in October

Film Yap: Heartland 2011 - Love Birds

2011-11-22T14:24:00.000-08:00

As a cynic there are a million things not to like about “Love Birds.” It is the most formulaic romantic comedy where it feels more like a game of Mad Libs than an actual story. The CONSTRUCTION WORKER who doesn’t believe in himself gets dumped and meets a beautiful BIRD EXPERT after he randomly ADOPTS A DUCK and learns how to love again. Add in a few ethnic best friends and a subplot or two and you have an instant movie.

Everything happens at the right calculated moment. They fight at the end of the second act and the kid comes around to the lovable hero right when everything fits. Even the duck is a reminded metaphor for what’s going on.

And yet…this movie works. It works as much as it wants to. It’s a sweet, unambitious movie that will make you smile for 100 minutes. Almost all of that is due to the two lead actors. Rhys Darpy is best known for the scene-stealing inept manager from “Flight of the Conchords”. After he shaves his face and wears cooler clothes he looks 10 years younger and a proper romantic lead.

His counterpart is the delightful Sally Hawkins (“Happy-Go-Lucky”, “Never Let Me Go”). Even though all of their scenes are too familiar, they bring great emotional strengths to the characters. The way they handle loneliness and regret are the most powerful moments of the movie.

Most of the humor is silliness with the duck. People react with surprise to see a duck at a store/bar/cricket game. A dog has more personality to work with than a duck, but its silly presence works because Darpy completely sells it. He shows great affection as he cares for the duck and brings it with him in a little bag.

This is a safe recommendation for Heartland. Whenever it comes out on DVD, it may not be the same because their soundtrack choices are really expensive songs—A lot of Queen and Elton John. When a film is described as cute, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. It accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do.

3.5 Yaps

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/10/17/love-birds/

Film Yap: Life, Above All

2011-11-22T14:22:00.000-08:00

There is a very weirdly specific trend in foreign films this year. There have been a number of stories of women searching for truth in the past to provide some hope towards the future in a land full of extreme conflict. This was the case for “Incendies”, “Sarah’s Key”, and “Snow Flower and the Secret Fan”. It’s a compelling structure to give a fuller history of a place, but it requires for a lot of plates to spin at once.

In “Life, Above All” Chanda is a young girl living in a smaller village in South Africa. She doesn’t have to go as far back into the past as the other heroines do. Their past is mixed in with their dire present. Memories of their worst times linger around them. The world is tinted so orange it makes your mouth dry up. Immediately her story is filled with tragedy as her baby sister dies. The whole town mourns for her, but it is only Chanda who demands something more.

Director Oliver Schmitz creates a devastating landscape as Chanda goes through her own “Winter’s Bone” like quest. Khomotso Manyaka is so mature in her lead performance that she is able to carry the movie with only a space amount of dialog. She is able to accomplish so much, but there is still something lacking. In all of the other films I’ve mentioned, the answers to their questions are shocking and heartbreaking. This answer is similar, but it doesn’t play fair with the audience.

Without giving anything away, the movie purposefully holds back a very key thing. Half of my audience figured out the central conflict early on, but there were quite a lot like me who needed to wait until its conclusion. It wasn’t about ignorance of anyone in the audience because the film is very deliberate to make sure the characters never speak of the secret. On one level, it shows how much the people are damaged by this where they are to the point of silence. The other is a manipulation by the director for the greatest emotional impact.

Since the reveal is necessary to appreciate most of the way the characters interact, a connection can’t be made until we are able to fully understand them. Even though Manyaka’s vulnerability makes her character one of the most sympathetic in recent years, her journey is clouded.

I first saw this film at Ebertfest a few months ago. Preparing for this review, I watched most of the key scenes again now with the extra knowledge. There is still unnecessary distance, but there is a certain sorrow by the filmmaker. This situation is so devastating, this is the only way Schmitz knows how to tell the story. His methods are flawed, but it is a film worth seeing.

4 Yaps

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/10/14/life-above-all/

Film Yap: Pixar Talk - The Incredibles

2011-11-22T14:20:00.000-08:00

Austin: So for the first time in our Pixar set we have a different writer/director, someone who hasn’t worked on any of the previous films. Could you tell a difference between “The Incredibles” and the other ones so far?

Victoria: I think so, especially with the subject matter. The storyline was more about the adults. I felt the biggest story was about their marriage and being superheroes came second, which was the best way to go.

Austin: That doesn’t sound too much different from “Finding Nemo” but it sure felt different. “Nemo” had Marlin loving his son so much and trying to get him back. This film dealt with having a day job, going to seminars, dealing with parent-teacher conferences. It’s more of a family relationship we recognize more than aquatic life.

I was really impressed by this movie. I always liked “The Iron Giant”, Brad Bird’s first film, but this was more complex in its story. It starts off with those great interviews.

Victoria: I love how they made those look so old.

Austin: It was a great way to introduce the world while still being funny. Also it was a break in formula. It doesn’t feel like the same sort of Pixar story especially with a long flashback scene that jumps ahead 15 years later. It feels like a different type of movie, but still within the Pixar brand.

Victoria: I like how they catch us up without overdoing what happened in those 15 years. It was very easy to understand.

Austin: It felt really organic. They didn’t’ have a cheesy shot going through all the picture frames to show they had kids. They just show the kids. We can put the pieces together that the married couple ended up having kids.

I also really like the subject matter of depressed superheroes, which isn’t played for humor.

Victoria: It’s not exactly depression but how a lot of marriages play out. They grow old and bored while dealing with monotony all the time. You can definitely tell it took its toll on Bob. I think it affects males more. I like how they showed Helen was still “with it”. It takes awhile for the woman to reach that really really depressed point.

Austin: “Cartoonishly depressed” isn’t the right phrase, but it’s also the most literal phrase. His face just looks dead for a good part of the movie, when he’s at the table not responding.

Victoria: When he’s at his job…

Austin: Absolutely. It’s the grayest place in the world. The cubicles never seem to end.

Victoria: His boss is gray.

Austin: Exactly. They have so much fun with size in this movie. Bob is such a giant man while his boss is so tiny.

Victoria: His boss is like a fourth of him.

Austin: Yes, but has the authority over him. I like how his wife is shorter than Bob—because everyone is shorter than him—but since she’s elastic, she often rises up to his eyeline. That’s such a great visual touch.

Victoria: I like how you can tell how much fun coming up with the powers. Some aren’t the most original like how Mr. Incredible is the strongest guy ever. That said, I want to be Elastigirl. She can make herself a parachute! She can make herself into a speed boat! That was my favorite scene. The baby was full of powers. I didn’t like it when he turned into a little devil. I thought it was funny when he burst into flames or pure metal, but when he became the spawn of Satan I was put off.

Austin: I think you just had the same arc as the babysitter. “Oh this is entertaining…oh this is no longer entertaining.” People often compare the family to the Fantastic Four, which they should. Yet unlike the Fantastic Four films, this is good. It really did use their powers in a fun visual way, but it does subtly speak towards the characters as well. Bob wants to keep the house safe and together. The mom has to do everything at once so she can grab kids from other rooms.

Victoria: The daughter turning invisible is so emo with the hair across the eye. Dash is completely cocky and ADD so he can take off.

Austin: Then there’s their friend played by Samuel L. Jackson who is the coolest guy in the room so that was also fitting.

Victoria: Once again, all the voices are perfect. I can’t believe Pixar knows how to match them up so perfectly. Craig T. Nelson was amazing in this. I love his voice. I didn’t realize how much I loved his voice until he wasn’t on screen.

Austin: I really liked him as well too. Sometimes he’s not the most energetic actor, which isn’t easy for an animated performance. He fits it so well with his sincerity. Especially during the jungle sequences and he thinks his family is dead, really strong work.

What did you think of the villain?

Victoria: I’m not really sure. I thought he was entertaining. I felt that he was both funny and not a threat to the characters, but then he would do something that made me think he was too tough as a villain for a kid’s movie. He’s totally okay with his assistant being broken in half by Mr. Incredible. He’s capturing the kids with his lasers. Other than that, I never thought he was a threat especially against a family of superheroes.

Austin: I’m right there with you. That’s my only big problem with the film, which I have liked more and more with every viewing. I love the idea of someone who doesn’t have any powers, but he always seems petty. He’s just repeating the same point over and over again. Like we knew where Hopper was coming from and he didn’t have to remind us his position.

Victoria: He just kept repeating how Mr. Incredible wasn’t there for him and how he wants to be a superhero.

Austin: Every line! It’s a lot of interesting themes, but they didn’t gel as a character. It’s too bad because he’s voiced by Jason Lee who is a great underused actor. He’s so talented and funny while still pulling off the drama. He plays up the menacing factor at times, but he’s let down by the rest of the character. He always feels like the kid from the beginning of the film.

You know, this is a really good film, not just a good superhero film. We’re in this ageo of a superhero film every other month. They all become very familiar. I think this one is up there in the same recognition of “The Dark Knight” where it is a really good story first that happens to have superhero characters in it.

Victoria: There were a lot of times when I was reminded of other superhero movies. When Bob gets the call and goes on his early missions, it felt very James Bond and Mission Impossible. The robots reminded me a lot of “War of the Worlds”. When he does find out it’s a trap, the computer reminded me of “X-Men”. When the robots turned into balls, that was like Indiana Jones.

Austin: I think those are homages. Much like the Tarantino method of blending all the things you love to make something original. The basic concept of the government going against superheroes was a lot like “Watchmen”. Some critics thought it was too much like “Watchmen”, but I liked it because they explored it in a new way. Instead of treating the heroes like sociopaths, they saw them as “normal” people. So sure the bad guy’s lair reminded me a lot of “Dr. No” but they never directly referenced anything I don’t think. I’m probably missing something…

You know, this movie makes the argument that superhero films should only be animated. I was thinking during the past couple of X-Men films that they should be using their powers all the time. Every little mundane task should have your powers because that’s how their life works. Yet that costs millions of dollars in CGI to do that. In an animated film—I know I’m simplifying—it’s up to their imagination of what they can do. In a small scene Mr. Incredible can lift the couch while ElastiGirl extends her arm with the vacuum cleaner. You miss those moments in superhero films because the powers have to be saved for the action scenes.

Victoria: Also it was a relief they skipped over the idea of the kids not knowing and all of that annoying drama. I get tired of the kids being clueless of all the weird things happening around them.

Austin: That was really nice. It was a bit annoying when the daughter kept repeating “But you said we can’t use our powers!” when their plane was being attacked. If they said it once it would have been fine, but three or four times when there are MISSILES around you seemed a bit much.

Victoria: That was a bit dumb. Yet it’s made up for how creative the rest of the movie was. Every time, Pixar takes it one step forward. I loved when Dash is about to be attacked and Violet makes a forcefield and he runs within it to make a boulder. That was awesome.

Austin: Exactly. And it makes it feel like it was lived in. It’s a great mixture of what they can do.

Victoria: Again, the speedboat thing is really impressive.

Austin: I love ElasiGirl’s spy scene where she keeps getting caught in the doors. So much fun. You know, this is the first PG Pixar film. I realized during the movie that a lot of those nameless, faceless goons die during the movie. In fact, a lot of people die in the movie including the villain.

Victoria: Also in that cape montage, all of those heroes die.

Austin: That’s such a great scene. It’s darkly funny. I always love it when you have something like “Scream” or “Behind the Mask” when they are taking criticizing the genre in a very loving way. There were two major things here: the “No-Capes” scene and the word “monloguing.” That’s such a great idea.

Victoria: The creators of this really pay attention to any sort of genre. We all do it where we point out the clichés, but they go the step forward by putting a twist on it.

Austin: Okay we have to talk about Edna Mode, the one who stole the whole show. She’s the one everybody loves. It’s her voice, it’s her size. It’s the voice of Brad Bird, who just has too much talent that he decided to do some voice work as well.

Victoria: Also it’s her stubbornness and not hearing no for answer. She won’t just do a patchwork.

Austin: I love that scene where she’s showing the new suits and the mom is horrified—as she should be. They have this symbol of her baby BURNING and being shot at. It’s clearly not the baby, but that’s what the character is imagining. Same for when it’s her suit and the suit is being twisted and shot at. Absolutely hilarious. Also they are watching the whole process on a set designed for Edna. So the chairs and table are really low to the ground on this platform that races across the room.

Victoria: I especially liked when she had to scan to get into her building, all of the steps. Then a gun pops out and points at the mom so Edna has to clarify “And guest.” Then the gun disappears.

Austin: Everybody complains nowadays about too many sequels. This is on the short list of a movie people actually want a sequel to.

Victoria: I want a sequel because I know it’ll be in good hands. There are too many films like “The Hangover” that didn’t need a sequel and then they made one and it was terrible. Pixar has a good track record for sequels.

Austin: Aside from “Cars 2”! We’ll get to that in a few weeks… Back to this, there is an excitement with superhero films sequels. “Batman Begins” set up the world and then they were able to have a proper adventure with “The Dark Knight”. No more origin stories. Superhero characters have been around for thousands of issues; they aren’t just origin stories. Give me a new scenario to challenge these characters.

Victoria: I did like “X-Men: First Class”.

Austin: Me too! But it was still an origin story. The best one in that series is “X2” which is where they can all be together for a really tight story and didn’t have to introduce everyone. I’m tired of “I just want a normal life!” and “What are these new powers I have?!?!”. These guys are all together now and I want another story. If only to see what they will explore next in the family dynamic.

Victoria: This one is definitely in my top three Pixar films.

Austin: I think you’ve said that every week so far.

Victoria: No I haven’t! It’s Toy Story, Monsters Inc, and then The Incredibles. Finding Nemo used to be up there, but dropped recently.

Austin: Since the last time we’ve done this there have been three Pixar announcements. Finding Nemo is finally coming to Blu-Ray. I’m going to say because of our article.

Victoria: Safe to say.

Austin: Thanks to the giant success of “The Lion King 3D”, Disney realized they can make even more money. So they are going to rerelease “Beauty and the Beast”, “Finding Nemo”, “Monsters Inc”, and “The Little Mermaid” in the next two years in 3D. Of those, just see the Pixar films in 3D if you have to go. They are all great films but 2D animation looks very awkward in 3D.

Victoria: I’m not a fan of 3D in general. I get a really bad headache when I have to watch it for 90 minutes. I’m probably not going to see any of them. I almost saw “The Lion King” in 2D then I realized…I know people who own it.

Austin: Then finally, Steve Jobs died this week. He’s an incredibly impressive man for so many ways. He contributed so much to Pixar. Not just for the basic design layout for half of “WALL-E”, but for the first several years he gave them so much money. Pixar was around for many years before “Toy Story” as they were developing the technology and making shorts. For years, Jobs lost a ton of money by investing in Pixar before knowing how much it would pay off. He knew when there was talent, he let them do their thing and he gave them helpful advice along the way. Steve Jobs was one of the most important men of Pixar and he’ll be missed.

Previous Pixar Talks

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/10/08/pixar-talk-the-incredibles/

Film Yap: In Treatment: Season Three

2011-11-22T14:19:00.000-08:00

In one chair is Gabriel Bryne as Dr. Paul Weston. On the couch—not lying down—is one of his patients. Every episode he meets with one of them for a half hour and they just talk. Almost 30 minutes of dialog hoping for emotional truths and progress. It is an actor and writer’s dream to focus intently on the nuances required to make this experiment work.

More than having a gangster as a protagonist or funding an epic fantasy show, this is HBO’s riskiest decision. Season One had 43 episodes with (almost) an episode airing every weekday. Season Two shorted to 35 episodes and bundled the episodes to two nights. Season Three was further shorted to 28 episodes and he lost a patient.

This season felt a lot different during its first week. In previous seasons, I immediately responded to the new patients. Some of it was the help of amazing actors like Blair Underwood, Mia Wasikowska, Josh Charles, Embeth Davidtz, Hope Davis, Allison Pill, John Mahoney, and in a different role Diane Wiest. The arcs for the first two seasons allowed for more time to get to know the characters, but now it needs to be crunched.

In the first three episodes nothing was clicking for me. The first patient is Sunil, an older Indian man who has become a social hermit in the house of his son. He is out of place in America after the death of his wife and his daughter-in-law (“LOST’s” Sonya Walger) pretends to be supporting. Walger has done great stuff in the past, but she was terrible in an episode that already felt false. The same applied for Debra Winger’s character as an established actress feeling insecure about family relationships and Dane DeHaan as an angry gay teen.

The strength of “In Treatment” is how the show builds into something comfortable. The length of their show allows actors to grow comfortably into a performance that is never written as one-note. DeHaan’s character is insufferable for the first couple of weeks as he dares Paul to hate him. Then it pays off in his last few episodes. In previous seasons I was looking forward to every episode, but now I’m only enjoying half of them.

Each episode contributes to an overall arch of Paul. His struggles have higher stakes this season as he fears he has developed Parkinson’s, which killed his father last year. The chance for him to be real is during the final episode of every week, where he talks to his own therapist. In the past he would argue powerfully with Wiest because the characters had a complex past relationship outside of her office. Now he is meeting with Adele played by the brilliant Amy Ryan (“The Wire”, “Gone Baby Gone”)

Throughout the series Paul is a conflicted and flawed therapist. In certain episodes, his decisions can easily be questioned. His personal life is not as dire as it was in the past so his focus on patients is more sympathetic. It feels like he’s making progress with Adele instead of using that time to complain about his patients.

Will there be a Season Four? HBO has mumbled about trying to change the format again to finally find a way to get ratings from this. The schedule is too intense, especially for Byrne who is in every other frame. If this is the end, it’s a solid conclusion but I wouldn’t mind a return in five years to see where he is. I’ve always liked Byrne in the past, but this was something special. It was a character dense enough for him to explore for an unprecedented number of hours. He never became boring or predictable.

This was one of the shows that was too daunting for anyone to start. Yet it allowed everyone involved to shine in a way that is usually only reserved for theatre. Even though I didn’t race through this season like I did the previous two, it remained a fascinating oasis. The greatest TV performances are still dictated by how the characters respond to the plot; the only goal here is for these characters to find peace in their lives. That quest can cause for some surprisingly cinematic moments even if it just appears to be people sitting and talking. Like the patients, it’s always a surprise to hear “Your time is up.”

There aren’t any bonus features, because HBO doesn’t play that game. That said, I hate this DVD. If I have to look up on Wikipedia what is episode two, the discs failed me. The first two seasons had a week per disc of episodes. This has two weeks per episodes. Instead of putting them in order, they group them by patient. Even though it should go Sunil, Frances, Jesse, Adele, Sunil, etc it goes Sunil, Sunil, Frances, Frances, Jesse, Jesse, Adele, Adele. That would be fine, but since Paul goes to Adele to talk about his week, it’ll help to have seen his week! Then there is the annoying Play All which only applies to one person at a time and is in the place where the Menu button should be so I keep pressing the wrong button! Therapy shouldn’t make me this frustrated!!!!

Season Three: 4 Yaps

Bonus Features: N/A

Disc Format: 1 Yap

Season One: 5 Yaps

Season Two: 4.75 Yaps

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/10/07/in-treatment-season-three/

Film Yap: How I Met Your Mother: Season Six

2011-11-22T14:17:00.000-08:00

“How I Met Your Mother” is a show faced with too many contradictions. People think of the show by recognizing its good moments and the poor moments simultaneously. One of the reasons it is so popular is because the structure of the episodes are often complicated and creative while having a cast that is genuinely funny with each other. Then, not entirely as a negative, everyone recognizes how the title is the worst part of the show.

It’s not the phrasing, it’s the content. By having a father (voiced by Bob Saget) telling the stories of his youth so his kids can have a context of how he met their mother is a cute concept. Yet after six years and we are nowhere close to starting the steps to build the path to maybe one day meeting the mother. There have been clues but they have often proved to be bogus and never affecting the story. Nobody is asking for a complex mythology, but a sense of where it’s going would be kind.

Since half of the show is Ted (Josh Radnor) dating various guest stars with ensuing hilarity, they want there to be some suspense of the identity of the titular mother. This point was attempted with the character of Zoey (Jennifer Morrison). She is a married woman who is protesting the destruction of a building on the site where Ted will design the new GNB headquarters. It turns out their anger lead to flirtation, which was a shocker to all who have never seen a romantic comedy.

The character of Zoey wasn’t working for many reasons, but mostly because nobody believed her. She’s there throughout the season, acting as filler to the “big story”. She never really connected to any of the characters and her motivation to save the building always seemed frivolous. By the end of the season, the only thing that changed was the relationships of the supporting characters.

The best episodes of the season are the ones dealing with Marshall (Jason Segal) and the death of someone dear to him. It allowed for Segal to finally show more range. His heartache and inability to cope right away was devastating while not sliding the humor aside. The occasional attempt to have Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) settle down is another example of them trying to evolve the characters without ever deciding to commit to it.

Despite the problems with the overall storytelling, this is still a funny show. Episodes like “Subway Wars”, “Natural History”, “The Mermaid Effect” and “Hopeless” were great to watch because they had jokes that hit with the perfect cast to deliver them. Guest stars like John Lithgow, Jorge Garcia, and Katy Perry provide plenty of smiles, but are all ultimately wasted.

This remains a show that’s on my rotation because when the show is good it’s delightful. When it’s bad, it’s forgettable. There are stronger laughs on other shows. Ones with a better sense of story. This always has a strong sense of fun and I’ll stick with it until that fades away.

The Season Six DVD has a few episode commentaries and featurettes about key episodes. There are also deleted scenes and a gag reel, which are watchable thanks to its cast. Fans of the show will really like these.

Season: 3 Yaps

Extras: 3.5 Yaps

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/10/04/how-i-met-your-mother-season-six/

Film Yap: Pixar Talk - Finding Nemo

2011-11-22T14:16:00.001-08:00

Austin: It seems like when “Finding Nemo” came out, it was more of a critical hit than all of the other Pixar movies. The others got good reviews, but this was something special. Do you see it that way?

Victoria: Yeah because that’s what I felt when I first saw it. There has been so many more after it that have been better. So it may have fallen in the rankings but it’s still special. Maybe it was just because I was in a mood today, that it didn’t work as well for me today. Like the character of Dori; when you’re in a mood she can be a bit much.

Austin: That explains all of Marlin’s behavior since he’s in a mood the whole movie.

Victoria: I was irritated with her in some scenes, which is weird because this was my first time I felt that. I always ranked her as one of the best Pixar characters, but I guess not when you’re in a mood.

Austin: I didn’t laugh as much at her, but I was impressed by the performance. When I think of the character I think of this manic person who always talks. When I imagine Ellen DeGeneres in the studio, I imagine her very flat-footed. She’s not bouncing off the walls. It’s not as loud as I remember it.

Victoria: It’s weird to say it, but this is probably DeGeneres’ best performance. Especially the scene when she tells Marlin not to leave her because she remembers things with him. Her voice is getting choked up and I can’t imagine the Ellen we know getting choked up.

Austin: You just didn’t see it from “EDTV”. That scene, though. It’s weird since the whole movie is the struggle for the father to get his kid back, the most emotional scene is that one. Nemo is not even in it. How tragic it is. Her monlogue is brilliant, but it’s his capper to the monologue of him saying he doesn’t want to remember.

Victoria: I think them trying to find Nemo is such a small plotline compared to Marlin not becoming a wuss. That’s actually the big story. It’s about him not being overly cautious.

Austin: The movie does bother to show us the dark and depressing scene of why he’s a bit more cautious where the woman he loves and hundreds of his kids die in one scene. That’s going to mess up someone. It’s good they show that because we have the sympathy for him. I never found him annoying now or then. You get where he’s coming from.

The movie is more fast-paced than I remember it. They are in danger every given second. They rarely have time to pause and talk before a new sea creature attacks them. Every time that happens, you see a clear step of his emotional journey. ‘He made the mistake of not trusting Dori, now he’s going to trust a little more.’ It’s the small steps that make the movie really satisfying.

It is a typical road trip movie. Two people who find each other annoying band together to X and every five minutes there will be a very random stranger. Yet it never feels like a traditional road trip movie. With the high stakes, it’s more like a chase scene despite the road trip structure. Even down to the early scene where Nemo is asking Marlin questions on the way to school that ends up being the whole journey.

Victoria: Then there is the other half of the movie which is like a prison break plotline with Nemo in the dentist’s office. Usually in a prison break movie, most of the prisoners who deserve to be there with the exception of the one or two that were wrongfully accused. These poor fish were bought on eBay who don’t want to be here.

Austin: I love that the isolation has caused mental issues for them. Like Flo and the guy obsessed with the bubbles.

Victoria: Who is the guy from “Office Space”. The stapler guy?

Austin: Yeah, Stephen Root. Love that guy. I still didn’t recognize half of the cast until the credits when I exclaim “Duh that’s Allison Janney.”

Victoria: I know about a few of them, but I always forget about Willem Dafoe.

Austin: I always notice him, but I never remember Geoffrey Rush.

Victoria: That one shocked me. Also Eric Bana is one of the sharks?

Austin: That makes sense. He’s very Australian. You know, Albert Brooks is so brilliant in this. One of my favorite performances by him.

Victoria: That was a voice I instantly recognized even when I was 13.

Austin: Well we’ve all seen “Taxi Driver” by then. Also he doesn’t change his voice that much from film to film. Even in “Drive” he could sound gruffer, but he’s still just Albert Brooks.

One thing I really noticed this time around is how beautiful the world is. The others looked great even when they went into the darker parts of that world. This was something more.

Victoria: They really liked playing with colors in this one. All of the shades of blue, for one thing. It looked like jeweled tones, which everyone likes. I’m sure a lot of people would be disappointed to go into the ocean now because it’s not that pretty.

Austin: Also the fish don’t talk.

Victoria: It’s pretty, but it’s not Pixar pretty.

Austin: Even during “WALL-E”, it’s the apocalypse but it’s still a pretty apocalypse. I’ve been fortunate to watch most of these on Blu-Ray, but I don’t think this one is on Blu-Ray yet. I was almost begging for it because throughout the movie I know the colors could have been crisper and sharper. This is really going to look amazing on high definition. They even know how beautiful this movie is because it opens with Marlin saying “Wow” as he looks into the world. It could be too meta and self-congratulating, but it pays off.

I also loved the introduction the school with the bright colors and the great designs of all the fish.

Victoria: It was that scene where I really liked the humor. There are so many one-liners that work. It’s the humor that stands out when looking at the storyline, which is a very adult story. Kids love all the little characters like the Bubbles guy and the little fish saying “I’m H2O intolerant” and “I’m obnoxious!”

Austin: There wasn’t as much physical humor this time, but they played up on the word play that kids would understand. Calling the boat a butt is one of the most effective jokes for all ages because some adults still laugh at the word “butt”.

Then on the other end, there is an AA group for sharks not eating fish with their own recovery program. Having Dori join that group was hysterical.

Victoria: I thought that scene also taught kids a lot of things too.

Austin: About addition?

Victoria: No, like how Dori was hit with the goggles and starting bleeding. That teaches kids what sharks are attracted to. Also the balloons things cracked me up which I guess is teaching kids about mines. Dori happy about the balloons was another thing I loved.

Austin: Dori’s tangents were my favorite part. I love fast dialog and that’s harder to do in animation because you’re rarely in the room with the other actors. “Archer” pulls it off brilliantly right now. The way Dori is able to do those quick lines amidst the speed of the plot is really great. Also I love her never getting Nemo’s name right.

Victoria: Ellen keeps bringing up on her show how she wants a “Finding Nemo 2” which I hope they never do. I don’t know exactly what they would do. The whole story is Marlin becoming okay with the world around him. Would they have him go back to being scared?

Austin: I was really impressed with that arc because he goes from thinking the world is too dangerous and then the movie says, “It’s still dangerous, but it’s not as bad as you think. You may be attacked by sharks, but you may get out of it.”

I tend to like Andrew Stanton’s movies the most at Pixar. This is the first time he was the lead director on the film. He had screenwriting credits for all the previous ones. The other film Stanton has directed by himself is “WALL-E”, my favorite.

Victoria: Also he was the voice of Crush! Oh and Brad Bird’s son was Squirt.

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/10/01/pixar-talk-finding-nemo/

Film Yap: Higher Ground

2011-11-22T14:15:00.000-08:00

I had lunch with a friend of mine this summer and she said something particularly profound. When talking about her history of playing lacrosse she realized, “It was the greatest decision of my life to join and then it was the greatest decision to leave.”

The main character in “Higher Ground” is stuck in the middle of those decisions. As a child, Corrine was curious about religious but never understood it. She raised her hand to accept Jesus; she was wide-eyed like she was an impersonal viewer instead of participating an epiphany. Her casual nature changed when she was in a terrifying accident as a teenager. Her husband survived alongside her with God as their saving force.

As an adult Corrine is Vera Farmiga, who wears a director’s hat in addition to starring in this movie. Handling religion, especially in a modern context. Elements of every religion have been deemed outdated or ridiculous by a more cynical mainstream perspective. To watch someone partake in a deeply personal experience that defies rational thinking usually creates a distance with the audience.

As a filmmaker, Farmiga could ease the pains of her characters. “Higher Ground” is partly based off Carolyn S. Brigg’s memoirs but there are enough differentiations to make this its own story. Farmiga could have God displayed in a tangible form to remove the doubt and confusion from her characters. Instead it is a conscious choice to let them fend for themselves.

In some ways the lifestyle of Corrine and her family are ideal. She has a wonderful best friend who also finds comfort in scripture. She has wonderful children and a church she can rely on. In a world that is supposed provide you with inner peace, Corrine is left cold. Her marriage isn’t centered around love and certain rules of the church end up being cruel.

One of the most effective tools Farmiga used was a great passage of time. This story is years of Corrine’s life but it never feels crunched. Since it is an emotional journey, there aren’t dozens of essential plot points that need to be covered. The film can be formed with “unimportant” scenes between the characters. Their day-to-day actions speak volumes about who they are and their faith.

Not every scene is gold. There are a few near the end that are visually rewarding but are too obvious with its metaphors. No matter the content of the scenes, the actors are given room to live in the moments. Farmiga, in particular, is able to handle the complexities of trying to figure out what the character wants in life. Seeing her with her friend, played by Dagmara Dominczyk, end up being some of the strongest parts of the movie because of the contrary confidence.

“Higher Ground” is a difficult movie without the typical emotional payoffs. That will turn some people off, but this isn’t about telling the whole story of Corrine Walker. Just a very significant and fascinating part.

4 Yaps

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/09/29/higher-ground/

Film Yap: The Hour

2011-11-22T14:08:00.000-08:00

In the opening scene of “The Player” the camera peaks in to hear a number of asinine Hollywood pitches that combines popular films as if it was a formula for instant success. The strength of the new BBC drama “The Hour” isn’t the combination itself, but what it chooses to combine.

The easy recipe analysis is that “The Hour” is “Broadcast News” meets “Three Days of the Condor” meets “Mad Men.” Since it is a show set in late 1950s, the “Mad Men” comparisons popped up immediately but the other two were a nice surprise. In six episodes, it tells a tight intricate story that is always suspenseful and fun.

Ben Whishaw (“Bright Star”) is the Albert Brooks of the love triangle. He’s a brilliant journalist whose eccentric behavior often angers his superiors. His only ally is the beautiful Bel Rowley . The gender politics in England isn’t as dramatic as America where Peggy Olsen shouldn’t even think about leaving her secretary desk. Romola Garai’s Bel has an uphill fight, but she is still able to secure a producer’s position of a new BBC news show.

The face of that show is Hector Madden, played by the star of “The Wire” Dominic West—in his natural accent! Hector is not as witty as Whishaw’s Freddie but he does has a natural charisma and class that makes him an idea lead and love interest.

The inner workings of a British news program are fascinating by itself, but the show added one more prominent plotline. They need the ultimate story to cover while the world is shifting during the Cold War. Most of the spy storyline is a bit familiar—crossword clues, conspiracies, codewords—but it’s so much fun! The fight scenes are intense and the entire supporting cast knows how to play the creepiness without being hammy. In particular Julian Rhind-Tutt (“Green Wing”), Anton Lesser, Andrew Scott (“Sherlock”) and Burn Gorman (“Torchwood) create one of the finest supporting cast on any TV show.

Most viewers of “The Hour” have complained about the unnecessary element of the spies, but it’s hard to complain about it when it’s done so well. One of the reasons why I favor the British format is that there isn’t a weak episode in the set. Every hour is a blast with how quickly the story is moving forward while allowing for some of the greatest character interactions this side of…well…”Mad Men.” Then in its final episode, all of it pays off in a way that validated all of the characters. You can’t keep having characters say they are good at their job, unless the audience is allowed to judge for themselves.

These guys are great at their job.

I raced through these episodes and I can’t wait for a second series, which was recently commissioned. “The Hour” takes you back to a time when you want everyone to wear nice hats, be informed about the politics of the day, and talk with the fastest dialog imaginable. This is now on the long list of incredible BBC dramas that are the easiest shows to recommend to anyone who loves television.

The extras are unfortunately slim. Only a featurette about making the design of the period and the typical behind-the-scenes bit.

Show: 4.5 Yaps

Extras: 3 Yaps

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/09/28/the-hour/

Film Yap: Pixar Talk - Monsters Inc.

2011-11-22T14:07:00.000-08:00

Austin: I have no originality. When was the last time you saw “Monster’s Inc”?

Victoria: A couple of years ago.

Austin: And does this one rank highly?

Victoria: Oh yeah. This is probably in my Top Three Pixar movies.

Austin: It’s a lot funnier than I remembered. It’s a straight on comedy, unlike the others

Victoria: Not as many pop culture references in comparisons to the previous three.

Austin: There was one I caught for the first time on this viewing, which was the restaurant they go to is—

Victoria: Harryhausen’s!

Austin: Yes! I thought that a blast. Most of the humor comes from their creativity. They had toys existing in our world and bugs existing in our world, essentially. This one is an entire new world and they are gleefully having fun with that. They show you every monster imaginable.

Victoria: Like the one who sneezes fire. The one with 100 eyeballs. One that is just a blob of jelly.

Austin: Then they use each one to connect it to their world. He doesn’t just sneeze fire, he burns his newspaper. It’s so much fun. It’s incredibly original. I’ve never seen anything like this. It’s a clever premise to have monsters scaring children to power a city, which is dark—our overused word.

Victoria: They are really good about having those dark elements, but never making it too dark. It’s a great balance.

Austin: One way they pulled that off was by having Boo, who might be the cutest thing ever.

Victoria: Ever! Seriously, she is one of the cutest kids I have ever seen and she’s animated.

Austin: She only speaks borderline gibberish. Except for “kitty” and “Mike Wasaskoski”

Victoria: And “Uh oh!”

Austin: And yet we completely understand her. We see the fun she’s having, when she’s afraid, when she isn’t afraid. There’s that great moment in the film where she watches Sully be scary and it’s heartbreaking to see her in fear. I’m glad they hired an actual kid to play Boo because having an adult voice her would feel fake.

I think it’s because of Boo, no kid can be scared of this movie. They have this organization built around frightening children. In the organization, they all freak out about the child thinking it can contaminate everything. Yet the child really is like the viewers of the movie. So even the littlest kid knows what is “true” because they know Boo isn’t harmful. It’s a way for the younger viewers to know when the monsters are wrong and that’s a very hard thing to pull off.

How about the main monsters? Do you like them a lot?

Victoria: I really do. Even Mike who ranges from being very funny and a bit obnoxious. I still love him, though, especially how he looks. He’s just a ball with legs, arms, and one eye.

Austin: I love how easily he can be picked up by Sully.

Victoria: Yeah, like a basketball.

Austin: I love Billy Crystal, even when I was a kid. I saw City Slickers a ton back then. Weird movie to watch as a kid, a flick about middle age men having a midlife crisis but still—It had cowboys.

Victoria: He’s clearly having way too much fun doing the voice. He’s not doing much of a variation of himself, but you can picture him having a blast in the studio.

Austin: John Goodman isn’t doing much his voice either. He slows it down a little bit. He’s playing a giant character, but he makes it like he’s the smallest in the room sometimes. He mostly just focuses on his job until Boo comes along. We actually rarely see him do his job. We stay on the other side of the door while he scares the kids. The only time we see him as scary is when he scares Boo.

Victoria: It makes that scene even the more emotional because of that wait. It’s hard to even imagine him as scary since he’s like a big teddy bear. Also you look at our John Ratzenberger cameo of the Abdominal Snowman. He’s not scary at all, unlike his usual demonic depiction. He’s just a big snowman…obviously. The only one who really is scary is Randal. What a great villain he is. He’s not even the biggest villain, but he’s so slimy. We haven’t had a villain like that.

Austin: We talked last week about how Buster the Dog’s hair wasn’t that good. This was a 180. Sully looks incredible. It’s always naturally moving. The animation keeps getting better and better. This level of quality fit their new world because they had to invent everything. Every creature had its own original texture to them.

Victoria: I like how they didn’t get over the top with the new world. They didn’t have a ton of new words. It was very human and relatable.

Austin: It’s so clever and fun. There’s only one problem I have with the movie. The story always feels small. I know on paper, the company is at stake and their entire world is at stake. Yet it doesn’t feel as important of a story as the past three movies. We know Boo is not dangerous and we know the company is ethically wrong so it’s hard to be worried that it’s falling apart. It feels like a pilot episode of a TV show; it never feels like they are in any real danger.

Victoria: I didn’t really feel that.

Austin: Fair enough. One thing I did like was how they handled exposition, again. They had more to cover than the other films. It almost felt like too much information at the beginning but at least it all tied together well with the return to the test simulator. It wasn’t like “Green Lantern” when it’s just an impossible monologue where you feel you have to be taking notes.

Victoria: I really liked how they teach you what’s going on without ever feeling like they’re talking to the audience. Showing the information was what the new employee is doing wrong worked out well.

Austin: It’s called “Monster’s Inc” for a reason. It’s all about the business. So they have training seminars, quotas, and other things that should be boring for a kid. Yet if you have a silly job with silly things happening, then it’s all worthwhile. Those quarantine guys is such a great running joke.

Victoria: Oh George. I felt so bad for him. I hated his little partner.

Austin: Ha. Exactly! I mean, paperwork is a running joke. Why would a single kid care about that?

Victoria: What did you think about the ending? I thought it was amazing how they tied everything together with their new solution of laughter being more powerful than screams. It makes you excited to have a monster in the closet.

Austin: Oh yeah. I loved how all the partners were reversed. If Sully wasn’t the nicest guy in the world, there could a power struggle but it all works.

Victoria: Now that I have nieces and nephews, I find myself more emotional when Sully opens the door to see Boo at the very end. It kills me. I do love it when he leaves her for the first time and she’s showing him all of the toys, including Nemo—which hadn’t even come out yet.

Austin: It’s fun because Pixar always has a clue for their next movie coming out. Like in “Up” there’s a Lotso bear.

Victoria: It makes me so mad though that we don’t get to see Boo at the very end. I want to see how much time has past and how much older she is.

Austin: She sounds a tad bit earlier. I am fine without seeing her because I love the last shot because of how happy he is. That’s not John Goodman, that’s just pure animation.

You know what really works though? It’s one of my favorite Pixar scenes ever: the door chase. It’s the coolest and most imaginative thing in the world. They have to climb up doors…

Victoria: It was so cool when she laughed and all the red lights turned on.

Austin: They’re falling to their deaths and trying to open a door as they fall. They fall sideways through one and that’s confusing. It’s one of the coolest chase scenes ever. Despite having all the doors accessible to the whole world, there are moments of claustrophobia as the doors pile in on them at the warehouse.

Not every one of their films need to have these deep meditations on life, death, and the afterlife. They can just have a really fun comedy that works.

Victoria: I just love this movie.

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/09/24/pixar-talk-monsters-inc/

Film Yap: Hesher

2011-11-22T14:03:00.000-08:00

Do you care about Hesher? That is the gamble independent films take when they create a movie focused around one unique character. A film like “The Guard” takes that fascinating character and puts a story around him where he can bounce off different people and situations. A film like “Get Low” has the character stand in the center of the premise while people comment on how peculiar he is.

“Hesher” is a bit in the middle with the meter leaning towards the latter. Joseph Gordon-Levitt gives a brilliant performance as the often shirtless and destructive man who appears like a metal Mary Poppins. The child in need is T.J. (Devin Brochu), a boy having trouble adjusting to the death of his mother. An obnoxious bully picks him on in school and his father (Rainn Wilson) is emotionally drained.

T.J. accidently wrecks Hesher’s living arrangement so Hesher decides to live in T.J.’s garage without permission. What follow is a series of misadventures with arson, profanity, and violence. Nobody needs to have dialog about Hesher’s behavior since it’s in your face the entire time. Every time he speaks or rants about a topic it’s ridiculous form of shock value. Since it draws so much attention to itself, it never feels organic. Gordon-Levitt never winks or romanticizes the character, which makes him feel real but only to a point.

Co-writer/director Spencer Susser knows how to create a believable and bleak world. Every corner seems dirty and even when he has a character like Nicole (Natalie Portman) who is a brighter element of hope, she is brought down by the weather around her. Seeing the character manage their surroundings can be satisfying like T.J.’s bike chase to catch a car that is being towed. Hesher is essentially a by-product of this world to the point where he should be declared king.

The fault of the movie is not properly being able to connect the world and its characters with a workable story. The payoff to its central mystery is so clichéd that it has been done several times already this year. Without any proper pokes from more external forces, the characters feel static. It undermines what the movie could be and that leaves a disappointing feeling all around.

The DVD has the usual batch of deleted scenes and outtakes. Don’t be worried they are too conservative with what they show. There are 28 minutes of mundane outtakes. There is a short featurette showing behind the scenes footage and a sketch gallery.

Film: 3 Yaps

Extras: 3 Yaps

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/09/13/hesher/

Film Yap: Pixar Talk - Toy Story 2

2011-11-22T13:57:00.000-08:00

Austin: I’m going to switch up the first question just to be rebellious: what movie did you like more, “Toy Story” or “Toy Story 2”?

Victoria: “Toy Story”.

Austin: No question?

Victoria: Nooo. I think it’s sentimental reasons. Not any of the Pixar movies can compare, not just the Toy Story films. Like I said before, “Toy Story” is one of my favorite movies in general. “Toy Story 2” not so much.

Austin: Do you not like this one?

Victoria: No, I do but it’s just no “Toy Story”.

Austin: You know in the age when every movie gets a sequel and the fact they made this movie on such a small timeline—They usually take four years and this took 8 months to make—it’s a really great sequel. One of the really worth sequels.

Victoria: I’d agree with that. I hate sequels. I think there’s no need for them, but as far as sequels go this is a really good one.

Austin: It’s funny because I watched it a ton as a kid, but now I really see it as a companion to the original movie. It’s almost a mirror image of the first one where Buzz went from completely oblivious to irrational where Woody goes through the opposite of rational to this fame obsessed setting. Then there’s plenty of other parallels like instead of driving RC car through the streets, it’s Buzz riding a horse.

Victoria: I love all the space/cowboy things.

Austin: We talked about how dark the first one was. This might be darker.

Victoria: Yeah!

Austin: Within the first 10 minutes—I know it’s a video game sequence—they obliterate Buzz. You don’t know it’s fake. Then Woody is mangled again because everyone in Toy Story will lose an arm at one point, weird motif to have. He has a dream sequence when he’s abandoned by Andy, thrown into a trash can, and attacked by an arm monster.

Victoria: Jesse’s Song…

Austin: Oh yeah. That’s a powerful scene.

Victoria: That kills me every single time.

Austin: The song, I know to prepare for. It’s the most emotional part of the movie. It’s right after when Woody has nothing to say that always seems rougher. Speaking of Jesse, how great are the new characters? That’s a thing that sequels usually mess up.

Victoria: Joan Cusack is one of my favorite actresses. Even then, I don’t think of her “as” Jesse. I can only hear Jesse’s voice. Such a great person to pick.

Austin: She always has a certain amount of neurotic energy in her films, but never this amount of energy. I can’t picture her in the studio either; it’s just Jesse. We also have Stinky Pete, played so evilly by Kelsey Grammer.

Victoria: He starts off so charming. I remember seeing this in theatres and finding out that he is evil. That was a twist to me. I know I was nine years old at the time, but that really worked for me. If I saw it for the first time today, I don’t think I would see it coming. You’re led to believe that the villain of this movie is Al. You don’t expect one of the toys to be the villain also.

Austin: In many ways, Al is the new Sid. He was like the new Sid. Aside from stealing Woody at the beginning, he doesn’t know how much harm he’s actually doing. Much like Sid he gets his. Oddly by recording a commercial while he’s crying which he then puts on TV at the end. “No we don’t need a second take! Let’s just cry on air.” He was good, though. Wayne Knight was over the top.

Victoria: He was another one that was great voice.

Austin: I think Al is even less approachable than Newman from “Seinfeld”. I really don’t want to hang out with that guy. Ever. Especially the Cheetos sequence. Even as a kid, I thought this was gross. The burping and the Cheetos landmine.

Victoria: I thought from an animation point of view, that was a really good scene. With all the Cheetos spread across, it looked so huge. It looks like he has to cross a desert to get to this guy.

Austin: Then you have Bullseye who has four legs, who needs to do the same thing. You know, just like RC, he doesn’t have a voice. He’s like a pet. Did you see “Tangled”?

Victoria: Oh yeah.

Austin: The horse in that movie is a dog. He responding like a dog and it’s fun. When people look at the whole trilogy, they often forget that Jesse and Bullseye weren’t in it from the beginning.

Victoria: I feel they decided to create her character because the first one was so male driver. You have Bo, but she’s very much in the background. She hardly has any scenes. With this one, you have Jesse and Mrs. Potato Head. I just love Jesse.

Austin: We also have the ultimate girl toy of Barbie. Another funny sequence.

Victoria: Wasn’t the voice of her, Ariel?

Austin: Yep, Jodie Benson. Going back to voice actors. I think she did a number of Disney films, but Ariel is the main one.

Victoria: She was in “Enchanted” as a person. They would even play “The Little Mermaid” songs in the background.

Austin: Disney loves their inside jokes. I found a lot of Pixar in-jokes in this movie. Like when Hamm is rapidly flipping through the channels, half of the things he’s flipping through are their old shorts.

Victoria: Wow. That’s impressive. That’s one of those blinks and you miss it and I missed it. One of my favorite cameos in a film ever is Geri from “Geri’s Game”. The old man playing chess fixes up Woody. I recognized him the first time I saw it. That is my favorite Pixar short.

Austin: That is mine as well. Again, he’s not really a villain. He’s just a professional going against the main character’s plot. He is creepier in this one. He has all these shadows on his face and he covers up the word “Andy” on his boot.

Victoria: What an a**…

Austin: I do believe that the biggest Pixar nerds work for Pixar. Again, looking at the parallels of the two films. My favorite one is when Buzz is trying to get a new belt and when he looks up it’s the exact same shot as when Woody saw Buzz for the first time.

Victoria: I loved that! I thought that was brilliant.

Austin: You watch “Toy Story” and it seems like they went through every single toy concept. With this one it took it a step further and brought in: storage, abandonment, toy stores, garage sales.

Victoria: I loved how there were more pop culture references in this one. Obviously the “Star Wars” reference. At one point, there was a reference to Forrest Gump where Slinky Dog says “I’m not a smart dog, but I know what road kill is.”

Austin: I was watching this with my roommate earlier and she asked me while I was laughing when Buzz was jumping on the steps to get to Zurg and it was because it was the music to “2001” “Dun, dun, dun, DUN DUN.” Then he falls. I often criticize DreamWorks for too many pop culture references but aside from the “Star Wars” one which is so obvious, they are still subtle enough that no kid is going to feel left out for not getting it. Well, for the “Star Wars” one, they are probably going to get it. I had seen “Star Wars” before this.

Victoria: They also had a lot of good humor that was their own. I like how Zurg’s power was a levitating battery. I crack up when they try to get into Al’s Toy Barn and they have to jump to get the door to open.

Austin: Also, I love Rex’s view on the world. He’s saying that the sign says closed, but then one of the managers go in, then he shouts “But it’s closed!”

Victoria: I’m really glad that with all the new characters they brought in they didn’t lose any of the favorites.

Austin: We did lose RC.

Victoria: True. For the rest, they didn’t lose any of their personalities. They didn’t look at it by saying “We have Jesse now so she’s over the top and therefore everyone else should be more logical.” Everyone felt the same, like Rex and Hamm.

Austin: I guess the one person who change between the films was Mr. Potato Head because he’s a married man now. He can’t be that much of a jerk anymore.

Victoria: I love when he leaves her to go on their journey, his moustache comes back on. He goes back to the way he was before.

Austin: Guys’ weekend.

Victoria: The part that bugs me is when they are crossing the street under the traffic cones and his shoe gets stuck. Mr. Potato Head’s shoes are always stuck together.

Austin: You’re not upset about the giant traffic jam, all the damage to the cars, people freaking out…

Victoria: Well, that’s believable.

Austin: (Laughs) People have to see the cones moving! Not a single car thinks about hitting the cone.

Victoria: Well that’s another mirror to the first one with Scud causing a traffic accident.

Austin: Also it’s more of the little carriages at the airport, but it reminds me also when Woody and Buzz were in the trash trying to get into Pizza Planet. Once again, we have a jump up in the animation. They are able to portray more adults which can then factor into the story. They can have scenes with Al, very close up.. Too close up. Except for one thing which I didn’t think looked that good and that was Buster the dog. All of its hair never moved.

Victoria: Yeah I agree. I thought he looked better than Scud, but that could just be because I think he’s a cuter dog.

Austin: I started to realize that the animation was too good. “Toy Story” reminded me of some of the older Disney films I watched like, “The Rescuers”, where the characters would have these go-to expressions that were ridiculous. So in “Toy Story” they would have their typical face and then ridiculous face when they scream something like “Buzz watch out!” In “Toy Story 2” they were subtler, which is weird to complain that it was too nuanced and good.

Victoria: You know aside from the toys coming to life it’s believable. This one is pushing it a little bit. Maybe more than a little bit. The traffic cones and all of the giant locations they are running around. An airport! How many people are there to see them?

Austin: There was one moment when rewatching this, I thought was just too unbelievable. I’m sorry but Bullseye running as fast as a plane is insane! Whereas Rex was tired from walking down the street. Bullseye is bionic.

Victoria: If Woody’s an original doll how does he not remember the show?

Austin: It seems that only the Buzz Lightyears are so oblivious that they think they are from the show. I don’t know if Woody was from a box like that, maybe he never saw the box. Only Buzz has the entire backstory from his TV show immediately once he wakes up from the box. Then again…I don’t know because I’m getting really confused about this mythology. This is me watching too much “LOST” and being able to come up with answers that make sense.

Whatever. Any final thoughts on “Toy Story 2?”

Victoria: It’s not one of my favorites, but it’s one of the best sequels I have ever seen.

Austin: I’d agree with that.

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/09/10/pixar-talk-toy-story-2/

Contagion

2011-09-08T08:39:00.000-07:00

The scariest things in the world are the things in your world. Giant CGI monsters can give you a brief startle, but it’s always the elements around you that can make you uneasy. While taking a practical approach, Steven Soderbergh made one disease this year’s greatest villain.

As humans we feel so strong, despite being physically weak. We have fragile little bodies that can easily be infiltrated by a complex organism with the simplest touch or breath. In “Contagion” that’s all it takes to change the world.

Gwenth Paltrow returns from Hong Kong feeling a bit ill. Then it starts to spread. Everyone she comes into contact with is at risk. At the beginning, Soderbergh focuses on the objects with great effect. The camera follows the glass instead of the person holding it. So the audience is on the edge of their seat as they look what the hand touches and what path that leads. It’s unnerving and brilliant.

Just like the disease, the world expands for the movie. The cavalcade of A-list stars and respected character actors make this feel like the disaster films from the 70s. In an ensemble where there isn’t one star, everyone is in danger. Smaller parts can feel richer because there is someone like John Hawkes or Enrico Colantoni to bring depth into their few scenes.

There have been plenty of movies where the world goes to hell. Most of them jump right to the more cinematic bits of humanity feeling lost with all of the looting and fear. “Contagion” wisely takes its time by adding a strong sense of realism. The closer it is to how people and businesses behave can make it all the more terrifying. It all pays off because the scientific montages and CDC bureaucracy become as fascinating as the panic in the streets.

The script is very good. It feels like a Michael Crichton story without the high-concept premise. However why everyone should see this movie is because of what Soderbergh brought to it. The speculation of his retirement has been confirmed and denied every other month. He’s allowed to change his mind, that’s fine. What’s great is that there is a creative resurgence. Just like Conan O’Brien’s last week at The Tonight Show or Kevin Smith trying to change his career, Soderbergh is giving everything he has. There is not one moment of “easy” cinematography—like the over the shoulder shots that now bug him—because every single moment adds something special to the story. It’s so compelling you can’t look away.

You also can’t look away because the theatre has become a war ground. You only want to focus on the movie as if it’ll give you some advice to save your life. Every cough and sniffle by your fellow moviegoers will be noticed. There is a point when Kate Winslet talks about the high number of times people touch their face a day. It’s that sort of uncomfortable self-awareness that makes you afraid of yourself as well as the possibilities of what others can do to you. Are you brave enough to see this?

Film Yap: Dressed to Kill

2011-09-08T08:38:00.000-07:00

My relationship with Brian De Palma is much like The Doctor’s with River Song, aside from all the sexual tension. Thanks to time travel complications those characters keep meeting in the wrong order. His future is her past. Growing up on films, I kept seeing new De Palma films like “Mission to Mars” and “The Black Dahlia” wondering why people regarded him so highly.

Then I watched “Blow Out” this summer and I got it. This was a movie by an exciting new voice who has a deep love of cinema. It was an understated masterpiece with a unique style and patience. “Dressed to Kill” is the movie he made just before “Blow Out” and…boy is it a mess.

On one hand, it’s amazing. Visually, it’s fascinating. He’s a writer/director who has comfort in his own script where he doesn’t need to have dialog for a long sequence. The best scene is when Kate (Angie Dickinson) goes to a museum and sees a mysterious man. They move around the hallways in a flirty and dangerous manner. The emotions shift suddenly but thanks to the camera and performances everything is clear.

There are plenty of moments of suspense juxtaposed by borderline ridiculous sexuality. The opening shower scenes last for so long you’re worried she may become too clean. Yet she’s only scrubbing certain body parts…

Then the rest of the movie is madness. Not in a fun “Kaboom” sort of way, but more like De Palma has no idea how to tell a story. The structure of the movie is this odd rip-off of “Psycho” but he focused on all the wrong parts. He tries to shift main characters and fails. Kate was a conflicted character who no longer feels attractive. Liz (Nancy Allen) is an overacting prostitute who only talks in sexy things De Palma wants to hear.

All of his tricks like the split screen or messing with the foreground made sense in “Blow Out” because it responded to the themes and plot. This movie is a list of things that seem sorta interesting but don’t gel together. Michael Caine seems confused, Dennis Franz is acting crazy, I’m still not sure that Allen can act.

Then the movie ends and it’s terrible. It’s a lousy ending that wasn’t very clever and once again, ripped-off “Psycho.” Then there’s another ending that is well shot and exciting but also doesn’t make any sense. There’s plenty of inventive style wasted on a mangled mess. I can see why De Palma made people excited as a director, but he rarely is able to put it all together.

If you love this movie, you’ll love the extras on the new Blu-Ray. There is a 45 minute documentary about the making of this movie filled with awkward comments by De Palma and Dickinson. There are also a few more featurettes, a gallery, and a trailer.

Film: 2.5 Yaps

Extras: 3 Yaps

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/09/08/dressed-to-kill/

Film Yap: Everything Must Go

2011-09-06T10:55:00.000-07:00

The premise of “Everything Falls Apart” is that a man has sunken so low that all of his possessions are on his front yard and he will sell them so he can start again. It’s a great metaphor for an exposed life because everyone driving by can examine how he is functioning. The problem is how do you get someone to that point.

Will Ferrell plays Nick Halsey who ends up on his lawn. It takes about ten minutes for him to hit rock bottom from every direction at once. He is cruelly fired by “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” ’s Glenn Howerton. He loses his car, access to his house, his identification, almost every friend he has, he started drinking again, and he may go to jail since he’s awkwardly living outside.

The situation sounds like a Greek tragedy on paper, but it’s played off as just another opening to a movie. It seems based in realism and only the driest of humor. Once they’ve placed this character in this impossible situation, where can they go? The answer: the simplest path towards recovery. He instantly meets the kind-hearted neighbors (Rebecca Hall and Christopher Jordan Wallace) who will serve as spiritual guiders who also need a little help.

For a premise so ripe with material, this just felt a little lazy. It’s based off a short story by Raymond Carver, whose work has inspired films like “Short Cuts” and “Jindabyne”. I haven’t read the short fiction, but I can already guess what scenes were added in. There are too many subplots that don’t feel like enough of carthasis for Nick, including when he runs into an old high school friend played by Laura Dern. Stephen Root is also in this movie, but I’m not sure why.

What this movie does get right is letting the actors play within the scene. Ferrell has a ton of props to work with on his lawn. Not in a goofy Carrot Top fashion, but as a source of emotional pain. He parks himself on the La-Z-Boy like the king of his domain, choosing what is and isn’t important to him. Ferrell is great in this because it’s another reminder of how good of an actor he is. His man-child comedy shtick is running dry, but as a dramatic actor the possibilities seem endless.

As a DVD review, I feel safer to go for the obvious recommendation of “Rent It!” because there are plenty of nice small things throughout the film. It has an overall decent story with just a few too many questionable choices.

The DVD is limited with its bonus features. There are two featurettes cut from the same interviews with the cast. One is praising Ferrell for being brilliant, the other is praising the story. Both are dull even though Hall is always delightful. There are also deleted scenes and a commentary with writer/director Dan Rush and third billed Michael Peña, another fine actor who wasn’t given much in this one.

Film: 3 Yaps

Extras: 2 Yaps

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/09/04/everything-must-go-2/

Film Yap: Pixar Talk -- A Bug's Life

2011-09-06T10:54:00.000-07:00

Every week Austin is going to have a chat with Victoria Disque about a Pixar film. This is all leading up to a speech Austin will be giving about Pixar at the E.B. and Bertha C. Ball Center in Muncie on November 18^th. Victoria is a producer of The Reel Deal and is currently majoring in telecommunications at Ball State University.

Austin: Here we are, back again, another week another Pixar film. I’m going to start with the same question: When was the last time you’ve seen “A Bug’s Life”

Victoria: Probably a year.

Austin: How was it different for you now?

Victoria: I definitely don’t love it as much as I did when I was a little kid. This was the first Pixar film I saw in theatres and I was in awe back then. I thought it was funny as I grew up and now I don’t think it has held up.

Austin: I would agree. It doesn’t have as many iconic lines. It has a lot of great characters but the story isn’t as strong as “Toy Story”.

Victoria: The story is, I think, darker than “Toy Story”. I mean it’s about tyranny, basically.

Austin: Exactly! It’s funny. I’ve been watching hours of bonus features and they never mentioned this movie. It’s very similar to “The Seven Samurai”, the Akira Kurosawa film with a small village under a similar problem and they find some warriors, this ragtag team of samurai. Not circus performers, but they aren’t the best samurai in the world.

It’s still so interesting about how likable the movie is. The characters are so simple, yet so likable.

Victoria: The characters are well though out. We have this huge caterpillar who is a total idiot—and German!

Austin: Very German.

Victoria: And we have the stick bug who looks like he can’t take anyone on. He’s the smartest one in the group. Then the ladybug, who is not a lady which is the ongoing joke.

Austin: It’s almost a replacement for the Mr. Potato Head jokes. It’s the go-to joke to take a pause from the plot. Dennis Leary, great casting choice. He’s very funny and masculine, in an angry sense.

Victoria: Loved David Hyde Pierce as Slim.

Austin: This is another great cast. We have Madeline Kahn, Bonnie Hunt, Dave Foley—I love Dave Foley. Never would imagine him to be a lead in…any film really.

Victoria: Such a great voice, though. Did you see “Prep and Landing”? The half hour show they play around Christmastime? He’s the voice of the head elf. It’s so great. I wish that Disney would come out with a new one every year.

Austin: I know he’s going to be in one of the new ones. I think the upcoming dinosaur one. He’s such a great voice. I love “NewsRadio”. Also we have Kevin Spacey as a great villain.

Victoria: That’s his best roles, playing villains.

Austin: Apparently they met him at the Academy Award nominee dinner. They were nominated for “Toy Story”, he was nominated for “The Usual Suspects”. They asked if he wanted to be in an animated film and he said “Sure, why not!” He was even there after playing a villain. Oh. Spoiler for “The Usual Suspects”…

Also we have Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Phyllis Diller…

Victoria: And Hayden Panettiere! She was Dot.

Austin: That surprised me.

Victoria: That was before she was Hayden Panetteiere.

Austin: I think she was a better actor when she was 9. Again, all the characters are so sweet and you understand their motivations. Flik is a great main character. He’s the earnest, stumbling underdog. But there’s still something missing from the story.

Victoria: Yeah, I agree.

Austin: It feels like so many things should work. They have these great moments when he flies on the dandelion across to the city. There are exciting action scenes, this convoluted circus performance and they are fun to watch but I still don’t remember them. It doesn’t last as much. I still don’t know why.

Another thing I noticed is this movie is so technically impressive. The jump of animation quality skyrocketed since “Toy Story”. It almost seems like they were too ambitious. There were too many locations, too many characters. There are a billion ants always moving.

Victoria: And they all hook arms at the end against Hopper. I was very impressed with that.

Austin: All different animals, too. With “Toy Story” they had models to base them. We all know what Mr. Potato Head looks like. This was a chance for them to make all these new specific characters. They look great, especially in Blu-Ray. The colors are really strong.

Victoria: Speaking of locations, I loved the ode to Times Square. They set up the Chinese boxes, they have the bugs that look like taxis, the lightening bug switching between the two Christmas lights directing traffic. That’s one of my favorite parts now; it’s so creative. When I was little, obviously, I didn’t know this was supposed to be Times Square but now I just think it’s brilliant.

Austin: Those are the Pixar touches I love. It makes you understand the world and all the nuances of it. Yet there is one time when that didn’t work for me in this movie. It was one of my favorite scenes as a kid, but now it didn’t work at all. It’s the opening joke with the leaf

Victoria: I love that joke.

Austin: I did too. I laughed, but the more I watched the ants walk around normally it doesn’t seem like it’s the same ants. They aren’t so conformed with their day to day life. They can pick their own seats for the speech, they can hang out together on their own path. It never seemed like the same ants who would see a leaf and not know where to go. Even though it’s a really funny idea for a joke. I was upset it didn’t work for me this time.

Victoria: I can see that now that you’ve brought it up.

Austin: Now that I’ve ruined it for you?

Victoria: I wouldn’t say “ruined”. I still love the “This doesn’t compare to the twig of ’93!” Love that line.

I like how the humor is still funny. I love the adult jokes they have like when the mosquito sits down at the bar and orders a Bloody Mary O-Positive. There’s also the humor my niece and nephew would laugh so hard at. Like when Francis is flying Slim through the trees and he loses him. “Where are you?” “I’m the only stick with eyeballs!”

Austin: That’s really funny. I love how they didn’t choose to animate the character. The audience can’t find him, either.

Victoria: I always look for him too.

Austin: Also the joke where Francis hits Slim with the wing, he falls down and says “Slapstick!” That makes me laugh.

The thing I laughed at the most, and this is what my dad was obsessed about. He would talk to people for weeks. “Did you see Bug’s Life? Did you stay for the credits?” These outtakes are the greatest idea.

Victoria: I don’t think I’ve ever seen them…

Austin: You never finished the credits?!

Victoria: This is news to me!

Austin: They made these animated outtakes of characters messing up their lines.

Victoria: I know they did it for “Toy Story 2”…

Austin: They did it first with “Bug’s Life” with the boom mic falling into the frame, the characters purposely mess up their lines to mess with other people, props fall down, they hit the camera which smudges the camera. It’s such a clever idea. They wanted to do it for “Toy Story” but they ran out of time. It’s such a fun thing to do, which is so simple and it works so well.

Victoria: I think one of my problems with the movie is that I never remember the ending. As I was watching it today, I can never remember what happens after Hopper is put in the cannon. He flies and grabs Flik…then Ada comes to his rescue…then I really don’t recall any of that happening.

Austin: It’s been a weirdly nostaligic week for me. I’ve seen “Toy Story”, “Lion King” and now “Bug’s Life”. For the first two I remember every character and every scene even though it’s been many years since I’ve seen them. This one, not as much. I know what has to happen for the story to function.

Again, I don’t know why this happened. It’s a beautiful movie. I love the opening when it pans down on the grass.

Victoria: I still don’t understand when I get on Entertainment Weekly and I look at how they rank the Pixar movies. “A Bug’s Life” is always the last one. I wouldn’t go that far.

Austin: Exactly. Because “Cars” and “Cars 2” still exist. Well, this just bugs me for a lot of storytelling but when the main conflict is when someone is telling a lie. That means by the end of the film, the lie will be revealed, the person will get upset, and then everything will be better.

Victoria: Yep. They never get away scot-free. It never goes according to plan.

Austin: Exactly. So there will be this ten minute part when everyone is upset with the main character. Then there’s a new plan and everything is okay. Every romantic comedy ends that way especially when it doesn’t make sense. Like “Hitch”…

With this, it really didn’t work for me. “Oh they are circus bugs!!!” Then the Queen decides to get food again. They just built a giant bird!

Victoria: That’s going to work!

Austin: It’s impressively built. Really impressively built. Yet every one gives up and finds seeds and hopes Hopper doesn’t kill them all.

Victoria: What did you think of P.T. Flea? Our John Ratzenberger cameo.

Austin: You know, I forgot who he was in the movie. So when I heard the voice it was a treat. He’s really funny. I love how manically he jumps around. Probably my favorite joke in the movie is after the big circus disaster, there is one of the flies in the audience yell “Burn him again!” He’s just a fun dirtball of a character.

Victoria: I view him a secondary villain because he seems to really enjoy tearing them all down. How many times did he ruin stuff for them? He comes in and tells everyone they are circus bugs…

Austin: He does fire them…after he was burnt.

Victoria: They have Plan B which is to use the bird and he lights it on fire. What is the matter with this dude!

Austin: He’s very oblivious. He’s like what we talked about with Sid. Sid is not mean to Andy. So he doesn’t know he’s being mean to real characters. Whereas, Hopper is trying to kill the queen, enslave all the ants, run a random resort.

What did you think of his brother?

Victoria: I love how the voice, Richard Kind, looks exactly like him. I thought he was a great match for that character. It was a bit cliché though. It always seems like, especially in animated films, the villain has someone who is a complete idiot. That’s what he’s there for. He’s the comic relief to make the villain look better or something.

Austin: I think it creates more distance with the grasshoppers. Not all grasshoppers are evil, just Hopper. It really sets him up as a villain when he pens the brother against the wall and says “If I didn’t promise mother I wouldn’t kill you, I would kill you.” It’s such a great line, especially in a G rated film. Then ultimately the brother joins the circus at the end.

Victoria: Oh yeah. Again, I’ve forgotten the ending already.

Austin: I keep forgetting they actually go back to the circus

Victoria: I forget that too until I remember Heimlich turning into the weirdest butterfly I have ever seen. So I remember they fly away because Heimlich can’t fly so they all have to carry him. Random bit of trivia, that is one of the animators as the voice.

Victoria: I love it when they do that.

Austin: They kept trying to find an actor, but the guy who recorded the scratch tracks was the funniest one so they cast him.

Victoria: Wasn’t one of the animators Roz from Monster’s Inc?

Austin: I think so. I know Brad Bird was Edna Mode from “The Incredibles” and another was Dug from “Up.”

Victoria: I like when they don’t get celebrities. It’s not needed.

Austin: Exactly. My go-to favorite Disney movie, “The Great Mouse Detective”, only has one celebrity in it: Vincent Price as Professor Rattigan. He’s happily over-acting and bringing a dark sense to the character. The rest are trained voice actors. So you can’t recognize them. So I have only heard them in these roles. They are only Basil and Dawson.

That reminds me, going back to Hayden Panetteiere. I like it when they cast actual kids as kids. That’s what makes “A Charlie Brown Christmas” so special is because they are awkwardly pausing and saying the sentence like a child would. Same with Dot, she has this energy you can only find as a kid.

Victoria: I remember when I was younger, I watched behind-the-scenes of “Monsters, Inc.”. To get the little girl to do the voice, she just ran around the playroom and they followed her with a mic.

Austin: I think that is some of the fun of voice directing. The things they do to get a different read on the line. Again, it’s Pixar having fun and being genuine.

Victoria: To actually get back on topic, I appreciate “A Bug’s Life” for it aimed towards little kids unlike some of the others, like “Up”. My nephew says he loved that one, but he only laughed twice during it. The rest was either adult humor or depressing. So I think this is still good for little kids, but it hasn’t held up.

Austin: It might just be because it’s a simpler story. The other Pixar stories like “Toy Story,” “Monsters, Inc”, and “Finding Nemo”—Nemo is basically a road trip movie but it’s still a complex road trip movie. Then you go to films like “Ratatouille” and “WALL-E” which is structurally complex and memorable because you haven’t seen this story before. This is just a simple underdog story, but done very well. So lower-tier Pixar is still a really good movie.

Victoria: Well yeah, it’s Pixar.

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/09/03/pixar-talk-a-bugs-life/

Film Yap: Cougar Town Season Two

2011-09-06T10:52:00.000-07:00

Why isn’t “Cougar Town” a bigger hit? On paper it all makes perfect sense. It’s run by Bill Lawrence, the man behind “Scrubs” all the way to its unofficial finale. (I didn’t mind the med school year but it was unnecessary.) It stars Courtney Cox, one of the leads of the biggest sitcoms of all time. It has a really strong ensemble made of up Christa Miller (“Scrubs”), Busy Philipps (“Freaks and Geeks”), Dan Byrd (“Easy A”), Josh Hopkins, Ian Gomez, and Brian Van Holt. Oh yeah it’s consistently funny week to week.

It can’t just be the title. Right?

Right?

Yes, it’s true that the first few episodes of Season One revolved around single mom Jules (Cox) trying to find younger men, but that changed. The show realized its strength by letting this cul-de-sac crew bounce off each other. Jules is in a solid relationship with Greyson (Hopkins) and shockingly there is still room for comedy.

The reason it works is because the show is wonderfully character based. All of the story arcs are based around their emotions, instead of their plots. As funny as they are, they take each character seriously. Even Bobby (Van Holt), who is Jules’ ex-husband and easily the most cartoonish character, is treated with respect when looking at his relationship with his son or his friends.

It’s never a flashy show. The most “epic” adventure they had was when they went to Hawaii in the finale. Yet that was still centered around Travis’ pain, Jules’ and Grayson’s disagreement about their future, and Laurie’s realization about how far she must go to support her friends. Its light nature doesn’t downgrade the show but makes it something special. They’ve created this welcoming environment where it is a treat to see this group every week. What they do is almost irrelevant because they are strong enough on their own.

Ignore the title. This is a delight.

The bonus features include a featurette about the season where they spend most of the time bashing their title. They keep rumoring they will change it, but who knows. Even their menus consist of mocking the title. It’s a bad title. There is also all of the “Andy’s Dreams”, which are webisodes based around Andy dreaming of some of their reoccurring jokes. I adored the inspirational sports trailer based around Penny Can, their beloved game where they throw pennies into a paint can. It’s fun. There are also deleted scenes and bloopers.

Season: 4 Yaps

Extras: 4 Yaps

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/08/31/cougar-town-season-two/

Film Yap: Running Wilde

2011-09-06T10:51:00.000-07:00

In an interview he gave to The A.V. Club, Mitch Hurwitz was very honest about how FOX was treating his show “Running Wilde”. Hurwitz is adore for creating “Arrested Development”, arguably the funniest show ever made for American TV. When he returned to the network that has cancelled his show in the past, he seemed to have a numb approach to it all. He received notes telling him to make it nothing like his previous masterpiece.

The final result is a neutered and boring mess. The cast is great including Will Arnett and Keri Russell as the leads. He’s a rich spoiled man who is still in love with his high school sweetheart who got away. She’s now a hippie who travels the world to help charities with her daughter, Puddle. They all decide to live together in his mansion. Will hilarity ensue? WILL IT?

Turns out it doesn’t. They tried to make such a simple show that nothing happens per episode. The typical shot of the show is two characters standing in the middle of the room talking about the plot. At one point a character thinks they know what is going on, but someone is lying. By the end, the truth is revealed and nobody moves forward.

The plots are very dull and each one teases at something more fun. Rob Corddry plays a former party friend of theirs who has gone sober. Characters don’t believe he’s on the wagon so they keep trying to get him to drink. It’s so close for them to push the line or do something interesting and then everyone apologizes before it becomes funny.

They bring in some of the funniest people alive like Jeffrey Tambor and David Cross, who may just be there to further remind everyone this isn’t “Arrested Development”. Everyone just seems bored as they stand around saying the easiest punchlines revealing their shallow hypocrisies. The only one having fun is Peter Serafinowicz (“Look Around You”, “Spaced”, “Shaun of the Dead”). Despite being a tan Brit, he plays Fa’ad a ridiculous Middle Eastern billionaire. The way he twists every word into a silly declaration makes him endlessly watchable. He should be more famous in America because he has incredible range.

Even FOX sees this as a boring product. The DVD uses photoshopped production photos for the DVD. There aren’t any bonus features. There aren’t any quotes of praise. They don’t even say what episodes are on which disc. Actually it doesn’t even say how many episodes there are. (13).

One of the only things the box says is “From the team behind ‘Arrested Development’”. This is why people are so frustrated by FOX.

Season/Series: 1.5 Yaps

Bonus: N/A

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/08/30/running-wilde-season-one/

Film Yap: Storage Wars: Season One

2011-09-06T10:50:00.000-07:00

There is a career from storage auditioning. A weird cast of characters to go storage units where the owner stopped paying for their rent. Then the door is opened and for five minutes people can look what’s inside…from outside. They can’t go in and nobody knows what is inside until the lock is chomped off and the door opens. Then they bid with cash and someone new owns a giant room of stuff.

This could make for a solid 90-minute documentary because it’s full of natural drama. The bidding, the mystery, the chance for profit. Yet the show always takes the laziest route and the results are boring.

The pigeonholed characters are Darrell “The Gambler”, Jarrod “The Young Gun”, Dave “The Mogul”, and Barry “The Collector.” They’re fine people with different levels of skill and experience. Instead of letting them be themselves, they have to be reality stars. They have their stupid scripted interviews to the camera where they spit out clichés about “raising the heat”. Instead of learning more about their individual processes for selling the discoveries, they all stick to their catchphrases.

Most of the fun of the show is seeing the random things that are in the bins. There was a crazy set of flare guns, one dated from the Civil War, in one episode. When they find these unique items that need to be valued, they take them to one of their “friends”. Every time, the expert is trying to explain the history of the item and then the show cuts away to the dealer saying how they talk too much. Learning about something does not fit into the show’s outlined formula.

It would be nice if this were a more understood show. If they broke format and had an episode where they investigated who used to own these bins, that could be something worthwhile. Instead, every episode is 5 minutes of really interesting television and then the typical reality show idiocy.

The Season One DVD has 19 episodes of the show which totals to 7 hours of content. I don’t know why this is a show that someone thinks they need to own. It plays on A&E a lot and isn’t something that is easy to marathon or even rewatch an episode. There isn’t any bonus features so it’s even more confusing of a set.

Season: 2.5 Yaps

Extras: N/A

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/08/29/storage-wars-season-one/

Film Yap: Attack the Block

2011-09-06T10:48:00.000-07:00

The first time we really see our heroes in “Attack the Block” they are mugging a defenseless woman. They are cruel and irredeemable. Then aliens fall from the sky. The gang’s first reaction to encountering a creature from another world? Kicks it to death because it scratched up Moses’s face. That’s what happens during an alien invasion. Some people panic, some people go back to their flat to pick up their baseball bat.

Joe Cornish wrote and directed this fantastic debut. It’s such a well-paced and inventive movie, it’s hard to believe he hasn’t been making films like this for years. The way he uses smoke, for example, lets him redefine a familiar location into something terrifying and foreign. Once the fight begins, it never completely slow down. The creatures aren’t stopping to plan anything out because they are so animalistic. There is no reasoning with them. They don’t have individual personalities or names. You can’t even see their eyes. They are the blackest black except for their identifiable teeth.

Having the army fight aliens is so overdone, it has become boring. Having a bunch of punk British teenagers is incredibly refreshing. Their lingo is so dense and fun to listen to. It works like “Brick” where specific words go over the head, but it always makes sense with their context. They don’t think too far ahead and until it starts becoming scary, they’re just having fun. They each have their own weapon as if they were Ninja Turtles. (They even have an April!)

The script comes together as a nice complete story with plenty of payoffs for the many characters. While having 10 characters bouncing around and always going to different parts of the block would be difficult to keep track of. Yet Cornish allows the actors to add their own personal charm to their characters. The movie goes by so fast there isn’t time for backstories or even to learn some of their names. They all function well as a group.

This film has been rolling out slowly hitting up most of the major cities before Indianapolis. The reaction from those cities and its initial run in England has been very positive. I just wish this came out a few weeks earlier, because this is one of the more satisfying summer movies. The action is strong, the characters are real, and all ages can enjoy (Given the ages are okay with profanity). If you thought “Super 8” had too much focus on trying to be nice to the alien, this is for you.

4.5 Yaps

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/08/27/attack-the-block-2/

Film Yap: Detroit 1-8-7

2011-09-06T10:47:00.000-07:00

They’re the easiest shows to put on the air: the cop show. Every network has had their share of weekly mysteries. Some of them have been some of the best shows put on air (HBO’s “The Wire”, FX’s “The Shield”, CBS’s “Homicide” and NBC’s “Hill Street Blues” to name a few), but most just fall into mindless entertainment. It’s all of the countless “CSI” spin-offs and rip-offs. “Detroit 1-8-7” wants to be different, but its changes are almost irrelevant.

It was originally going to be a mockumentary show with a documentary crew following around the cops of the station. They removed that concept when they reshot the pilot, because there are too many shows like that on the air. The handheld style remains, but it is never used effectively. A show like “Friday Night Lights” uses that method so the actors can react organically and not always stand on their mark if it doesn’t feel natural. This just looks like every other cop show…sans tripod.

Michael “Stop Calling Me Christopher” Imperioli stars at Detective Fitch who is grumpy, but solves cases. They hinted at something darker in the pilot, but it wasn’t that interesting. Mostly he’s just the token name actor with a cast of unknowns. Imperioli is a fine actor, but he has so little to work with. Most of the dialog is eye-rolling and the cases are too easy to forget while watching.

What the show does have going for it is a subtle style. The score for the show is the usual bland “This is an exciting part!” but when they use actual songs it moves smoother. The city and their offices have a nice unpolished feel to them, even though it all seems too well lit.

I love TV and I tend to follow a lot of TV news. I honestly couldn’t remember if this show was still on the air. “Detroit 1-8-7” was cancelled by ABC last season as part of the slaughtering that most of the networks performed on their new shows. I’m sure this had a few fans, but there are too many shows that can do the same thing with more style and cleverness.

There are no bonus features. Just the 18 episodes that aired on ABC.

Season/Series: 2 Yaps

Bonus Features: N/A

http://www.thefilmyap.com/2011/08/27/detroit-1-8-7-season-one/