Keeping It Reel

Same Story, Different Format

Does anyone else remember "Doc Hollywood"?  It was forgettable enough according to moneymaking standards, but it actually wasn't that bad of a movie.  Apparently, someone else out there thought the same thing because it turns out "Cars" shares pretty much the same premise.  They just translated it into a version that children of all ages could appreciate.  It wouldn't have been a bad idea to have Michael J. Fox voice one of the characters though.

Anyway, in "Cars", Lightning McQueen is a cocky young rookie who thinks his talent alone is all he needs and no one else.  Forget paying his dues.  He wants his props now and at anyone else's expense.

This movie had amazing animation, even by Pixar's standards.  When you see the reflection of the neon lights off the moving cars, it looked more real than any other animation I've ever seen.  Pixar is getting better and better with each release and they were already good to begin with.

I could tell there were a lot of inside jokes with NASCAR throughout the flick.  If I were a fan of the "sport", I probably would have enjoyed it more.  In spite of not being a fan, the jokes still played well and made this a legitimate crossover to adults and shorties.

As usual, Pixar finds the perfect fit for the voices to their characters.  Owen Wilson gets a long overdue shot at a voice-over and proves the wait was worth it.  Paul Newman's cool demeanor seeps through so much you can almost see him in Doc.  And of course John Ratzenberger.  In fact, the homage they pay to his voice-over abilities at the end is classic.

G insisted he wanted to see this one. He really didn't have to persuade me much because Pixar has already proven to me that their products will never disappoint.  Even though it drags a little in some spots, "Cars" is still one retread worth the money.

My rating:  B+

Not Enough "Super"latives to Do It Justice

* * * BEWARE...THERE WILL BE SPOILERS * * *

Wow...

I wanted to start off with a nice intro paragraph like I normally do. This time talking about how I was looking forward to this moment being a fan of Bryan Singer's work and being a Norwalk alum.  Or talking about how I grew up with Superman beginning with the Superfriends days to the eventual movies.  No, the best way to start it off is simply...Wow.

When I saw BJ at the Iowa premiere of "Superman Returns", I was thinking to myself there is no way this kid can pull off this role, I don't care who the director is.  He's skinny, has bushy eyebrows, no real presence to him, almost nerdy.  Well he channeled all that into the Clark Kent side and had Clark down perfectly.  Nervous speech and all.

BJ's Superman was incredibly awesome.  He brought some emotional vulnerability to the character that had never really been tapped into before.  You could see in his Superman the effect that living with humans and then eventually living without them had had on him.  You would think that a rookie shouldn't be able to be that believable in his first blockbuster role.  Not since, well, Christopher Reeve, has someone done it so well.

I had mentioned that it was key that the chemistry between him and Lois be there and it was.  As a matter of fact, the reason the love triangle between her, BJ and Cyclops works so well is because of the chemistry between Kate Bosworth and BJ.  You can see how conflicted Lois is having to decide between the life she took on when Superman left and the life she may want now that he's back.  Furthermore, BJ does an excellent job displaying the anguish Superman has to deal with knowing life on earth has moved on without him.

Singer is the king of subtleties when it comes to his superhero flicks.  Here, it's the classic poses he recreates that really work.  Superman's pose from his first appearance in Action Comics with the car and the Atlas pose with the Daily Planet globe.  Then he slips in the shot with Lois' boy showing a glimpse of the trademark Superman single curl after we have already realized that's his son.

Speaking of his son, that's one of the minor tings I will nitpick.  Isn't everything about Superman super?  So how could a regular human woman withstand him conceiving a child?  I think you follow me.

My biggest struggle with this flick was if Superman was gone five years, Clark Kent was gone five years.  Superman doesn't even try to be slick about it.  He reveals himself to the world again on the exact same day Clark makes his re-appearance.  No one makes the connection?  Cyclops eludes to it then it's quickly dismissed.  And Lois, a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist, doesn't pick up on this?

As far as villains go, as expected, Kevin Spacey is the perfect Lex Luthor.  Right on par with Gene Hackman's portrayal; however, even a little more sinister.  He's still real anal about real estate scams which seems rather simplistic for a criminal mastermind.  I wouldn't mind seeing him back again, but they really need a villain that can physically go head-to-head with Superman.  If they bring in Doomsday for the sequel, all other superhero movies can pretty much hang it up.

The special effects are where this movie blows everything else away.  Superman's sonic boom flying owns.  His scene with the airplane now parallels the famous Golden Gate Bridge scene from "X3".  Viewing it all on IMax helped to give it all the justice it deserves.  There's so much visual stimulation throughout that you almost overlook the 2 1/2 hour run-time.

I knew this movie would be better than expected.  I just didn't expect it to be THAT much better.  Singer has made arguably his best movie yet.  They've made almost the best Superman movie yet.  And BJ has gained my respect by proving his acting chops earned him this role.  We may not need Superman, but we definitely needed a movie like this.

My rating:  A

Exploits of a Misfit Chocolate King

It's safe to assume that Tim Burton has issues.  Every movie he makes focuses on dark characters and ominous overtones.  Especially his animation forays.  So it's no surprise that even when he's remaking a classic his flair for creepiness is brought to the forefront again.  It doesn't matter to him that "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" should essentially be a children's movie.

The biggest reason I wanted to see it was to see if Johnny Depp really did play Willie Wonka as creepy and pedophilic as the trailers led to believe.  He definitely had the creepy factor down; however, his Wonka was a bit more sadistic.  Seemingly happy to see the children experience their mishaps.

There were several departures this one took from the original.  The major one being that since it wasn't a musical, that left more room for some storytelling. Burton utilized that to capitalize on delving into Wonka's history.  Why was he the way he is?  Nice effort, but we didn't need that.  It took away from the mystery that is Willie Wonka.

Normally there are few actors out there that are better character actors that Depp. He's no different here.  Unfortunately for him, he was cursed with trying to re-invent an icon that Gene Wilder made famous.  It was a near impossible task.  Even for someone with Depp's immense talent.

It shouldn't be fair to compare this one to the original but it's inevitable.  Burton tried to add elements to re-imagine the story.  His efforts just didn't work for me.  In this case, he probably should have left well enough alone.

My rating:  D

Have Gun Will Run

When I first saw on AICN how they were jocking this movie called "Running Scared", the first thing I thought was that it was yet another remake.  I found out quickly that it wasn't.  The creators of the movie just decided to bite the name of the Billy Crystal/Gregory Hines classic.  They should have given it its own unique name so it would have its own identity.  I will give them this though, that title couldn't have been more appropriate.

This "Running Scared" gives us Paul Walker caught in a dilemma of having very little time to track down a gun wanted for killing a cop and protecting a boy caught in the middle.  It's supposed to take place in the course of an 18-hour period.  Because of that, it plays like a non-stop adrenaline rush.  And plays VERY well.

The aspect of the flick I was really into was the way it was shot.  Especially how they would intertwine flashback scenes with real time action.  It added originality to the picture that made it even more fun to watch.

The one blemish this did have was the end and even that was very minor.  They could have went the road less traveled, but they chose another foreseeable direction instead.  Still, it kept me on the edge of my seat from the beginning, wondering what could possibly go wrong next.  It was just one alternate ending away from being a classic for me.

My rating:  A

A Real Nuclear Family

I don't know why I keep falling for the whole "unrated version we couldn't show you in theaters" routine when it comes to dvds.  For those that don't know, all it means is the special features of the dvd haven't been rated.  I keep hoping it means they did a "Lord of the Rings" thing where extra scenes were added to the movie to make it a longer movie.  Nope.  So far, only LOTR has been smart enough to do that.  Having said that I still fell for that trick again with "The Hills Have Eyes".  No extra scenes, but a very cool special edition cover if you get it at Best Buy.

I purchased the original version a couple of years ago and watched it for the first time since I had heard so much about it.  Honestly, I wasn't that impressed.  Therefore, the new version had plenty of room for improvement in my eyes.

Apparently, nuclear testing did more than create Godzilla from it's fallout radiation.  It affected a misfit bunch in this flick as well.  Now why they were in the middle of the desert in the first place is never adequately explained.  Whatever the reason, they want to take out their frustrations on anyone else who treads on their turf.

What I couldn't figure out is why the freak family attacks the people then leave them.  They know they have them at a disadvantage at night, yet they leave them to see the morning.  That was their fatal mistake.  The radiation must have definitely affected their rational thinking as well.

It's amazing what a difference a bigger budget can make.  Better acting, better effects, better score and you've got a remake that improves on the original.  They mix aspects of a thriller with some cheap scare tactics and some outright gore.  In the midst of Hollywood's re-interest in horror movies, I would say this one's one of the better ones of the recent crop.

My rating:  B

GIMME BACK MY SON!

Anyone who listens to Jim Rome will definitely get that inside joke.  If you don't (and I'm guessing most of the people who read this fall into that category), it's a famous sound clip from the movie "Ransom".  That was pretty much the whole premise of "Waist Deep".

How far would a father go to retrieve his kidnapped son?  For any father worth his mettle, to the ends of the earth.  This is just the hood version of that scenario.

"Waist Deep" is the tale of a ex-con, O2 played by Tyrese Gibson, who gets carjacked with his son still in the car.  The jackers work for a big druglord, The Game, who used to run game with O2 back in the day and now he wants 100 large for the safe return. 

I already expected big things from Tyrese and he didn't disappoint.  He's come a long way since the kid in the commercial singin' about Coke on the bus.  And I'm not a Game fan, but he did an excellent job in his typecast role. His machete scene will be one for the books.

The one thing that didn't click with me was the ending.  Didn't "Set It Off" teach moviemakers anything?  There doesn't have to always be a happy ending.  Real life doesn't have them.  It was pretty good up to that point.  I can even overlook the fact that director Vondie Curtis Hall couldn't seem to decide what direction he wanted to take it.  The one storyline of a father's dedication to his son made it worthwhile.

My rating:  B

Pink Diamond in the Ruff

Is it safe to call Steve Martin a genius yet?  He can do romantic comedy, character acting, physical comedy, anything.  Fortunately for him, I never saw the original "Pink Panther" movies so whatever he brought to the role of Inspector Clouseau was all new to me.  And as any genius would do, he flat out nailed it.

"The Pink Panther" is your typical spy comedy.  It contains facets of the "Naked Gun" movies with the throw-it-at-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks humor.  However, Martin adds even more with his ridiculous French accent.  It sounds a little French and a little German without getting either of them right.

A nice bonus in this was all of the unexpected cameos.  Folks like Jason Statham, Mickey Rourke and even my man Clive Owen.  Owen's was the best playing Agent 006, a James Bond knock-off.  That was particularly ironic since he was on the short list considered for the next Bond.  He shows in his scene why the choice really should have been him.

The best scene in the movie is while Beyonce is performing her song.  As if it wasn't enough that the song was tha bomb, Martin and Jean Reno's dancing was beyond hilarious.  It was the icing on the cake for Martin's performance.

Let's hope they make more of these in the spirit of the franchise Peter Sellers mad famous.  They now have me hooked.

My rating:  A-

Based on a True Rumor

They say that every rumor has at least some truth to it.  Keeping that in mind, it only stands to reason that some movies have the possibility of having that distinction.  That's why they always have the disclaimer you see at the end talking about "any similarities between these characters and real life ones are purely coincidental".  I could see that "The Graduate".  Apparently, so could the could the creators of "Rumor Has It".

Jennifer Aniston plays the daughter of a mom who she suspects inspired the book and the movie.  It turns out a lot of her family inspired the two.  She suspects something is different about her since she doesn't seem to gel with the rest of her family.  She's pretty certain she's not adopted so what else could it be?

Once she finds out she was right, how does she deal with such an awkward coincidence?  She sleeps with the guy, Kevin Costner, of course.  Makes perfect sense to me.  Especially since just hours before it, she thought he was her dad.  Thanks to her insecurity, Costner's character scores a creepy trifecta by getting with the grandmother, daughter and granddaughter.

I think Aniston has gotten unfairly criticized for her movie efforts.  They may not have been smashes, but they've been decent.  And who else to play opposite her in this as the love interest?  The reigning prince of romantic comedies, Mark Ruffalo. Their chemistry doesn't work much for me here.  Then again, that's how it should be since she's doubting the relationship

This one is definitely a chick flick.  Not there's that anything wrong with that.  It's sort of a twisted chick flick, but still one nevertheless.  Maybe the fact that it is twisted is why I was a little partial.  Just a little.

My rating:  C+

So Much for the Witness Protection Program

Bruce Willis has got the hero role down.  He should probably own a co-patent on it.  The newness he can bring to each movie is how that hero is portrayed.  In "16 Blocks", it's nice change of pace to see him against type.  Instead of the bravado sometimes over the top hero we're used to, he's a haggard alcoholic cop worn from the job and beaten down by life.

The story of crooked cops trying to take out a witness has been done over and over and over.  You have to bring something new to the table to differentiate it from all of the other cookie-cutter flicks.  Their attempt to mix in a little touch of "The Gauntlet" was a decent twist even if not believable.  It wasn't enough to put this over the top and it didn't help that every bit of the movie was predictable.

Is it really a surprise by now that so many rappers have turned to acting?  Or singers either for that matter.  They're acting constantly in their videos and the good videos are really just short movies.  Mos Def is no exception; in fact, he's exceptionally good here.  He was so well cast in this flick that I would even venture to say he was the highlight of the picture.

Didn't the good cops know that the bad would would want a key witness dead?  Why wouldn't they do a better job of protecting him?  That's the major flaw here.  Then again, if it wasn't for the flaw, the movie wouldn't have a premise at all.

My rating:  C

The Block Party to End All Block Parties

Dave Chappelle made news a few months ago when it was announced that he wouldn't be returning to do anymore episodes of "Chappelle's Show" for Comedy Central.  Even before that, he was making headlines for the fact that he apparently bailed on the show to go to Africa for some peace of mind.  What amazed me more than either of those is how many people either have never even seen "Chappelle's Show" or have and didn't think it was funny.  To me, that makes him an extremely underrated and you could even say under-appreciated talent.  To this day, his Rick James skit and Wayne Brady bit are two of the funniest things I've ever seen on television.

While he was still doing his show, he took a break from it to stage a free, unpublicized, all-star hip-hop concert in Brooklyn and document the whole thing on video.  The end result is "Dave Chappelle's Block Party".  The timing of it's release (on dvd anyway) was perfect because for those of us that miss having new episodes of the show, there's this in it's place.

He invited fans to the event supposedly via the internet although I don't ever remember seeing an invitation that way.  He also went back to his hometown and gave out "golden tickets" which paid for the folks transportation there AND a hotel room for the stay.  That was an excellent idea but what's up with only giving them away in your hometown?  Here we are just two states away.

Out of the artist performances, there were a couple that really stood out.  Jill Scott was one.  If Mary J. Blige is the queen of hip-hop soul, Jill is unquestionably the queen of neo-soul.  She writes her own joints and can sing her butt off.  She's also part of one of the tightest R&B/hip-hop collaborations of all-time with the song "You Got Me".  Oh, and as she's quick to point out, she does it all without having to take off her clothes.

It was also extremely cool to see Mos Def and Talib Kweli together again as BlackStar.  They really need to put out a new joint.  Who cares if they still don't get the mass appreciation they deserve.  True hip-hop heads everywhere, including myself, will love it.

Without question, the one performance that took the cake was Lauryn Hill.  I'd like to say it was the Fugees since they technically reunited for this event, but let's be real...there's no Fugees without her.  They could have closed out the show with just her performing and they couldn't have asked for a better finale.  I guess maybe the grand finale, or curtain call, could have been them together doing "Ready or Not.  As long as they let Lauryn freestyle rhyme and sang, all would be good.

All of the concert footage was pretty ill.  I can imagine being there would have been even better since you get the unedited versions.  To no one's surprise, the best part of the documentary is Dave's improv both on the streets with ordinary people and while he was on stage.  Makes me wish even more so that he would have stopped whining about the problems of being rich, sucked it up and make some more seasons of "Chappelle's Show".  Instead, I guess I'll have to get by with this and the two seasons that I have on dvd.  Thanks, Dave.

My Rating:  B