Hey folks, good to see ya. We all had fun at the Hi Mom! Film Festival last weekend and have been plowing through the new DVD set of Werner Herzog flicks (AGUIRRE : THE WRATH OF GOD has never looked better!), trying to figure out exactly why lame remakes of '70's and '80's teen movies (FREAKY FRIDAY, BIG, and CAN'T BUY ME LOVE respectively) like 13 GOING ON 30 and LOVE DON'T COST A THING all rake in piles of Benjamins, and we're all weirded all by the fact that movies actually have titles like WIN A DATE WITH TAD HAMILTON and MAN ON FIRE (mainly because that one will prompt prank calls to us video store clerks - "do you have Man On Fire? Well you better put him out!")
DVD DELIGHTS
BIG FISH (2003) Dir. Tim Burton. While this movie is being touted in the trailers as "from the imagination of Tim Burton" it should be noted that it was adapted from the book by Chapel Hill native Daniel Wallace by screenwriter John August and it was originally developed as a project by Steven Spielberg. Edward Bloom (Albert Finney) amuses everyone with his elaborate tall tales except for his son Will (Billy Crudup). As his father is most certainly on his death bed Will would like some truth for once and attempts to sort out the reality from the fantasy. Apart from the storybook fantasy sequences one of the best things the movie has going for it is the casting of Ewan McGregor as the young Edward - which is particularly effecgtive because McGregor looks almost exactly like Finney did when younger - take a look at TOM JONES (1963) if you don't believe me.
What keeps this movie from truly being a classic is some of the hazy plot threads and seemingly after-thought characters. Poet Norther Winslow (Steve Buscemi) seems like he was created just for a reason for Buscemi to lend his punchy prescence, Helen Bonham Carter plays 2 underdeveloped roles which may be the same character - I'm not sure, and the choice of a unaffecting Pearl Jam song to end the proceedings with doesn't help either. That said this is still a fine film and only persnickety film geeks like me would harp on such matters. The real emotion displayed here (especially in the last half hour) wins over even the most cynical critic and I have a distinct feeling that time will be good to this elaborate tall tale. Danny Devito, Jessica Lange, and Robert Gulliaume round out the cast.
EXTRAS - A disapointing commentary in which Burton is interviewed by some British guy who wrote a book on Burton (Burton On Burton) on top of the movie instead of a prefered straight Burton talking directly about the action on screeen nevertheless provides some insights but the featurettes are pretty inessential and the trivia game is...well I didn't even check it out, I mean who puts a DVD in the player to play some damn trivia game?!!? I sure as Hell don't.
- Daniel Cook Johnson (film babble blog editor)
THE COOLER (2003) Dir. Wayne Kramer. William H. Macy puts in another sturdy performance as Bernie Lootz - the unluckiest man in Las Vegas whose actually made a career out of his losing streak. You see a Shangra La casino owner named Shelly (Alec Baldwin) employees Macy to simply approach gamblers who are on a winning roll and his prescence alone will sour their game. "A cooler?" a slick corporate Ron Livingston breathing down Shelly's neck questions his old fashioned methods. Seems to be a good solid system until Lootz falls in love with a friendly waitress played by the emotionally effective actress Maria Bello and his luck changes. This enrages Shelly and he attempts to sabotage their budding romance. Good story with nice appropraite touches of humor, drama, and a thoughtful edge, THE COOLER doesn't try too hard or go too far. The sex scenes are even well done and have an unusually (unusual for the movies that is) realistic feel to them mainly because we actually believe Macy and Bello as people. Another unique element especially within a movie made up of what are normally stock elements - Shelly's hired thugs barely speak but exchange telling looks at the sticky situations and each other. Baldwin hasn't had a role as good as Shelly in years and he does it justice. Small parts by the always reliable Paul Sorvino and Ellen Greene are also nice touches in a movie filled with nice touches. Luck be a lady tonight indeed.
EXTRAS : Not much - a pre-release memo said this disc would have deleted scenes and even an alternate ending - the only thing that accompanies this flick is a Anatomy of a Scene featurette. Too bad.
DVD DISSES :
THE BIG EMPTY (2003) Dir. Steve Anderson. - The lure of doing a simple delivery job for a gigantic payoff, a carrying bag that may or may not contain a severed human head, a series of cameos from b-list actors, and an underdog wins all mentality. Sound familliar? Only if you've seen any independent movie made from 1994 to today. Jon Favreau (who should know better) is the underdog in this aptly named pointless piece of...well let's just leave it at piece. Other victums of this stable of indy film cliches are Joey Lauren Adams, Rachel Leigh Cook, Daryl Hannah, Kelsey Grammar, and even HAROLD AND MAUDE legend Bud Cort trying to give this some flavor. Nice try.
STUCK ON YOU (2003) Dir. Bobby & Peter Farrelly. Kind of like the Coen brothers without the talent...no wait more like the Zucker brothers without the laughs, the Farrelly brothers again raise tasteless unfunniness to a new level. Matt Damon and Greg Kinnear play a pair of Siamese twins - "we're not Siamese, we're American" one of the wall-to-wall witless lines - who decide to pursue their dreams of...oh forget it. If the Farrelly's special brand of stupid scatalogiacal humour, pointless celebrity cameos (Cher! Frankie Munz! Even Meryl Streep for Christ's sake!), uninvolving visual style, and insincere sentiment did the trick for you in such 'classics' as THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY, SAY IT AIN'T SO, and SHALLOW HAL then you're in for a treat. The rest of us though - including the entire film babble blog panel - wish the Farrellys weren't so "stuck on" such immaturity and complete absence of quality material.
- Bertie Shafer
More later...
is the Green Art Nail
