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Scream 2--Mirimax/Dimension Films. Starring: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette |
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Scream was a true thrill ride... I mean, the suspense was there, the cliches were prodded at. All in all, it was a fun ride and each red herring was just as tasty as the last. Truly a "must see" if you're into the horror genre. Problem is, how do you come up with a sequel that tops the original when the original has it's own cult following? How about the "Bigger, better, faster, more" combo platter? Everything about this film is done with slightly more intensity than it's predecessor, and it's really what is needed to wash the taste of "I Know What You Did Last Summer" out of your mouth.
Now for the actual review. There is not a lot I can say. I try to keep the integrity of the film intact by not giving too much away, but the problem is there are so many fun things about the film that if I were to give so much as a detailed plot synopsis, the effect is ruined. Whatever you do, stay away from reviewers before seeing this film. To many don't have the same integrity and spoil the film before you have a chance to see it. If it's any indication, though, I plan to go back just to watch the audience reactions. It's that kind of film. Even my brother, who has become fairly anesthetized to the genre after watching everything from Halloween to the Faces of Death series, spent the movie on the edge of his seat. Not an easy task... Here's the best I can offer without giving anything away. A book based on the events in the first film leads to a movie about the book. A copycat killer starts killing students at Sidney's college and soon starts coming after Sidney herself. Watch for a cameo form a red and green striped sweater (Reminiscent of Freddy Krueger's from Nightmare on Elm Street) and a couple of Friends and Party of Five references which aren't blatantly obvious. Word to the uninitiated, if you haven't seen Scream, see it before going. Otherwise some of the references to the first film will not be as entertaining... Incredible notable performances by Duane Martin as Joel the Cameraman, who does for this film what Will Smith did for Men In Black and Jerry O'Connell for the big musical production number. Grab a ticket! If you've seen Scream, it's an A... if not, it's a B+. Either way, its still worth a ticket. |
The Little Mermaid & Flubber--Walt Disney & Disney/Great Oaks. Starring: Jodi Benson, Samuel Wright/Robin Williams, Marcia Gay Harden, Jodi Benson |
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Okay... enough already!!! Perhaps that was uncalled for without an explanation. Here goes. Anyone hear of Anastasia? Fox studios decides to give the kids something to talk about. Good or bad, the movie is a step into the unknown, away from the Wonderful World of Eisney... (no, that wasn't a typo.) Perhaps the Magic Kingdom is too easily threatened? Regardless, they use the fear of competition as a catalyst for pushing forward the release date of one film. Since it can't be pushed forward any further than it already is, they decide to re-release a blast from the past to take up the slack, thus taking the fire from under Fox's burners. Foul play? Yeah. And it cones across as a message to any independent filmmakers. If the mouse is threatened, he will bite back, so don't try making animation for kids, 'cause this one's rabid. Well enough about Small World envy, the lights are dimming. Got the popcorn? In The Little Mermaid, Jodi Benson becomes the voice of a disenchanted teen in the enchanted underworld. So much sushi, so little sauce. Her beef is with the fact that she has to remain seabound in a fantasy world where sidewalks are the stuff dreams are made of. It doesn't help that she has a crush on a human, which becomes so bad she gives up her voice for the chance to be human long enough to win his heart. Thing is, he's in love with her voice. Yeah... sure... It becomes a race against time... Will she win the prince or lose her soul? The first animated film based on the music of Ashman and Menken, who previously collaborated on Little Shop of Horrors for Geffen. What can I say except that I thoroughly enjoyed every predictable twist. The musical numbers were cute and only slightly intrusive, and the story is really mindless fun. Think about it too hard and you will walk away with the same feeling you get when you drink a Slurpee too fast, but, just like Slurpees, that's part of the fun. Flubber is the latest experiment in John Hughes' second childhood. We had the eighties Brat Pack flicks from Breakfast Club to Sixteen Candles, we had his kid phase with Home Alone, Baby's Day Out, and Curly Sue, and now we're in his "Milking the Mouse" phase. Just after 101 Dalmatians, Hughes is back to rewriting Disney's The Absent-Minded Professor, naming the film after the "Flying Rubber" concoction by the professor in question. The thing about Hughes' rewrites is that he has a tendency to color outside the lines. Instead of a housekeeper, the professor has a hovering computer with artificial intelligence and a mermaid's voice. Instead of a Model T, he's driving a 60's Thunderbird. The draw to this film will likely be either Robin Williams' eccentric style, or the animated goo shown so predominantly in the commercials, but the true show stealer is Weebo, the hovering computer I mentioned before. Voiced by Jodi Benson, she is more human and compassionate than any of the human characters, and takes this film from being just another rehash to being a touching film. See it and find out why I say this... ...or don't and send a message to Disney.... Either way, just have fun. Life's too short to worry about silly movie studio politics. Movies: A- Motive: D |
Mad City--Warner Bros. Starring: John Travolta, Dustin Hoffman and Alan Alda |
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What happened? I mean, John Travolta disappears from the movie scene for a few years and becomes the hottest property since the Boardwalk/Park Place combo platter. Somewhere in his transition from homeless to hopeful, I believe he must have bought a clue. Here goes, I believe the key to his success is death. People want to see John die. Let's run down the roster. Pulp Fiction: Killed in the bathroom. Phenomenon: Brain tumor. Broken Arrow: Nuclear projectile weapon. I didn't see Face/Off, but from looking at the numbers, he must have left body parts on the first three rows of the theater. Compare that to his non-lethal roles of late... White Man's Burden, She's So Lovely, Get Shorty. Okay, Get Shorty had a decent box office turnout, but I believe it was just because they EXPECTED a death scene. Call me an optimist...
Then there's Dustin Hoffman. I believe the man to be a prodigy. Looking at his earlier films, The Graduate, All The President's Men, and even the Lenny Bruce biography "Lenny", he was cool yet charismatic. However, much like the online service, this Prodigy seems to have lost a big chunk of it's viewership as the years passed. We close this trinity with Alan Alda, whose last big film was... never mind, we have Alan Alda, that's all that counts. All right, I'll be fair. Same Time, Next Year was a fairly decent film according to the receipts, but he hasn't been a proven leading silver screen star since. Mix until the elements blend and we have a plot that is two parts bundt cake and one part morality play. The moral? "Bad media. You've earned a time-out." The premise of this puppy is as follows: A humanitarian local reporter who lost his soul (Hoffman) winds up in what could be a big story when a security guard who can no longer support his family (Travolta) inadvertently takes a museum full of kids hostage. Meanwhile, a network news anchor (Alda) who has had personal differences with Hoffman's character wants to take credit for this story, furthering his career. That's the nutshell. Now let's look at the details. Travolta plays a slower, step up from Forrest Gump type of character who is easily manipulated. Imagine Ziggy on Prozac. He goes to a museum where Dogbert (Hoffman) has just finished interviewing the curator and asks for his job as a security officer back. The curator refuses. Ziggy whips out a shotgun to intimidate the curator. Not easily intimidated, Ziggy fires a blind shot and accidentally hits his other security guard friend. Now he's trapped. Before he knows it, the lovable scamps from Our Gang (The Little Rascals) show up. The Zigmeister had no clue they were in the back, apparently waiting for the plot device to set them free. Now Dogbert is in the bathroom, reporting from a pay phone when he is discovered by Ziggy. Dogbert talks Ziggy into not just giving up, saying if he does, the police will shoot him. Zigs, being likable gullible, agrees. Then comes the struggle to keep Ziggy from giving up before the ratings top out. All things considered, the film is a real emotional roller coaster. The human element is pushed on us so hard it suffocates from time to time, but when it isn't being heavy handed, which is most of the time, it really helps us question the gray line between right and wrong. It also asks us not to put so much faith in the media. Good life lessons. What say we all go down and kick Ted Koppel in the kneecaps? Give it a B+ . Then pray Travolta dies in this one. |
Gattaca--Columbia Pictures, Starring: Ethan Hawke, Jude Law, and Uma Thurman. |
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Ga-tta-ca, Ga-tta-ca, Ga-tta-ca... Ah, the appeal of prison movies... Of course this one lacks the bars and those prison jumpsuits, but you do feel a bit trapped for about two hours waiting for the end credits. Mulling through two hours of
snobbery waiting for at least one of the "genetically perfect" people to give an honest smile is like trying to find the free toy surprise in a can of Starkist. Not gonna happen. Writer/Director Andrew Niccol's Flawed Utopia seems to gloss over that this would be a society where suicide is probably as common as handshakes. The "perfect people" are bored to death with having no challenge in life, and the flawed people hold on to the dream that someday they can work their way up to the drive-thru window. Would you like fries with that destiny? This movie is about one flawed person's persuit of a dream to fly to Titan, one of Jupiter's moons. Which makes sense. The print ads show a split screen of a circle composed of half a fertilized egg and halo of the planet Saturn. Apparently he's trying to get away from clueless ad execs. Ethan Hawke plays Vincent, a natural, non-genetically engineered child with a genetically altered brother whose idea of fun was kicking his brother's butt in competition on a regular basis. Vincent learns futility early, but refuses to stop dreaming. Instead, he starts taking part in a clandestine activity of assuming another person's identity, which involves torture, self mutilation, and mousse. Now all he has to do is not get caught with his genes down. Playing the part of the perfect embodiment is Jade Law, whose character Jerome (who answers to Eugene, his middle name as all perfect people do... pfft.) supplies all the necessaries for Vincent to pull off this scam. He is the closest to believable as the spoiled brat with a slightly human side. The Gattaca project is pretty much NASA without a smile and Vincent breaks into the project thanks to Jerome's identity. His dream of being a janitor is crushed forever, and now he has to become an astronaut. Yeah, childhood dreams can come true. Hold the Kleenex for a moment, though, because as soon as you find out that Vinnie has reached his red ribbon, a nonessential crucial moment happens. The project director dies. The project director could have been a paper mache monkey so far as the story is concerned, but the important thing is that now an investigation begins and Vincent's lost eyelash betrays him. For some odd reason he has eyelashes as big as velvet theatre ropes. Now all they have to do is find the body that goes with the lash. Our element of suspense rears it's genetically altered head. Now when Hitchcock decided to use a love interest as a plot device in Rear Window, little did he know that Uma Thurman would inherit the throne. Thurman's character, Irene, beguiles Vincent/Jerome through her cool combination of apathy and incoherence, and really reaches new heights as the reluctant supermodel she has tried so hard to mold her image into. Really, the woman can outact a Ritz cracker if she put her mind to it, but don't count on it happening anytime soon. The promotional material cries out "sci-fi suspense thriller", but the movie is really a "Little Engine That Could if he weren't hunted like a dog by prejudice" statement... I've seen better, but I was touched by the ending. Not a lot, and if I find the people who touched me, I might kick them, but I was touched nonetheless. A solid B- |
I Know What You Did Last Summer--Tri-Star Pictures, Starring: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Philippe and Freddie Prinze, Jr. |
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"I know what you did last summer" ...and you should be ashamed of yourselves. Late last year, Mirimax released "Scream", which brought Wes Craven back to his status of "Master of Genre", which is pretty much like winning a Texas Cage match or the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Sure, it's a title, but it's not one anyone wants. With the help of a fun yet kitschy script by Kevin Williamson, "Scream" had the best of all worlds, almost. Well, in my opinion, when Emilio Esteves gets knocked off in the first five minutes of "Mission: Impossible", I thought it was a cinematic triumph. Then I saw Drew Barrymore get gutted. It doesn't get any better than this. Anyway, Sony decided that it wasn't getting enough attention and filed a suit with the MPAA (the ratings dudes) against Mirimax, stating that the name "Scream" was too close to the name of their forgettable un-movie about killer alien robot earthworms called "Screamers". This year, the tables are turned. Miramax has filed against Sony claiming the creator of "Scream" was Wes Craven, not Kevin Williamson as Sony's ad campaign for "I Know..." claims. False advertising... Revenge must be sweet. Now let's recap the plot: Teens in trouble stalked by someone they can't see get picked off one by one. Hold the phones, it sounds like something original... Nope, wrong number. Okay, maybe I've oversimplified things. Seems Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the waif from Party of Five snag their respective boyfriends and go off to a beach to tell ghost stories which become plot devices, then party like Spuds McKenzie wannabes. They get home after doing what every teen does after a party. You know the drill... drive over someone, toss their body into a lake, swear you'll never discuss it, that sort of thing. Cut to a year later. Julie (Jennifer Love Hewitt, from Party of Five) gets a note saying... (Do I have to give the name of the film again?) "I Know What You Did Last Summer". This scares her into contacting her old friends, the beauty queen, the football jock, and the ex-boyfriend. Glamorous stereotypes abound, people die, etc. It's like watching "Lifestyles of the Rich and Clueless". The setup for the characters is fairly well-laid. You know the characters and get to detest them quite early on, which keeps you from having to feel anything for them later when they're lying on a Styrofoam tray at $1.19 a pound. The problem starts just after the teens decide to play "dunk the corpse". Kevin must have been pulled away from the task of writing to start on the "Scream 2" screenplay, because the rest of the film plays every bad horror movie cliche into the ground. A room full of monkeys in a room full of typewriters couldn't save this film. Scary music becomes a plot device, foreshadowing is more common than dialog, and you would have to flatline your EEG not to be able to second guess almost EVERY SINGLE TIME something's going to happen. As I was reading through the promoganda for this film, it was brought to my attention that the "rich brats in suburbia" feel was intentional. According to Kevin Williamson, "The film is about a perfect town and four perfect kids - and then their lives go to hell. We wanted people to say, 'How could it happen there?'" Funny, I was just saying the same thing about the theater... Wait for it to come out on video and laugh at it in the privacy of your own home. Rock solid C- |
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