By Christopher Stipp
April 16th, 2004
SPIDER-MAN 2
I’m issuing a Mea Culpa here: I am incredibly and unabashedly biased towards the new SPIDER-MAN 2 film. As you can see by the length of the review I felt a slight leaning towards the positive ends of things. I believe it has everything going for it and in these times of vapid and hollow summer blockbusters this may actually have something riveting enough to classify as a comic book movie with heart. But you can read all of that at the bottom of the page.
There were some great debuts this week and in case you missed a couple of key ones, I’ve included them here. Since I’m pounding this out on an IBM 386 I will keep my extraneous comments here to a minimum this week (glorious cheers from the peanut gallery) and let you pick and choose at will. If you happen to disagree with anything I have to say please shoot me an email so I can tell you how wrong your opinion is. I love hearing from the masses and you guys, have some great, and opinionated, things to say.
Also, it’s been a great pleasure to see the indie guys here passing along their trailers for their obscure films. I’ve talked about a few so far that I feel are actually worth checking out and I want you to see them too and let me know what you think. If you feel I’m being too lenient with some of the up-and-comers let me know. After all, some of you probably have your own project that needs some attention and I’m more than happy to share some of the space with the big budget monoliths that run through here on a weekly basis.
THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (2004)
Director: Jonathan Demme
Cast: Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep, Liev Schreiber, Jon Voight, Kimberly Elise, Jeffrey Wright, Ted Levine
Release: July 30, 2004
Synopsis: A psychological thriller, “The Manchurian Candidate” stars Denzel Washington as Army Major Bennett Marco, a career soldier who grows suspicious about his experience in Desert Storm after Squad Sergeant Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber), son of the powerful Senator Eleanor Shaw (Meryl Streep), becomes a candidate for Vice President.
View Trailer:
* Various (Windows Media, Real Player, QuickTime)
Prognosis: Positive.
Denzel, where have you been?
I’ve seen him in only two upcoming films since last year’s OUT OF TIME, but his year’s MAN ON FIRE and MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE both have to be on my year’s Must See list if nothing else. What occurs to me, as I see this trailer again and again is how much actors like him are needed in the modern cinematic landscape. The man has simply yet to sell his soul to the dollar devil. Unlike some other has-beens who feel it was much better to sacrifice public opinion than it was to stay kind of true to something that may or may not have social or artistic purpose it is with wonderful wonderment to see an actor like Denzel try things not simply based on how much it may or may not rake in at the box office. Sure, he could certainly do an Amblin project that rapes another Geisel’s classic but he seems to have a head for projects that precludes him from ever entertaining pap like that. And good for him. This update on the 60’s classic looks to just further his dominance as an A-lister. Now, withheld for a longer time than I have been on this earth by ol’ Blue Eyes himself, the original incarnation of this film dealt with soldiers coming back from the Korean War brainwashed by enemy combatants. Now, it’s the Gulf War and everything else is being replaced and updated by the heavies that have decided to give this a go.
In the opening scenes, Liev Schreiber is addressing the camera by saying how much he knows “America has to fear today” and that, “freedom from fear is not negotiable.” I like the breaking of the 3rd wall by addressing the audience directly. It’s a great device that reminds me of some of the more eerie moments of THEY LIVE and it works here. The opening orchestral score isn’t distracting, annoying or overtly lame and the words that flash on the screen that tell me “a candidate is running” in-between the scenes actually heighten my anticipation for what follows.
We get a look of some experiments going on (creepy needle thingies, quick camera shots of people moving about, small tattoos on the faces of nameless subjects which is reminiscent of the KAIDAN box cover and a monkey which is always a fun detail) and then a calm speaking Denzel who is talking to Army brass about what strange things have been happening to him. We get introduced to Meryl and the rest of the zoo crew who are out to discredit Denzel as he fights to understand what it was that happened to him. Of course, as the trailer runs toward the finish line we get to see the scroll that reminds us all who it is that directed this thing, how many Academy Award winners are starring in the thing, how much money actually went towards buying trailers to house all that star power, etc.
What I thought was a nice touch, though, is the use of the Darth Vader breathing machine. By employing the effect here, if the first two were any indication, it actually gets me excited to see the film and not dreading the suck factor that is sure to follow.
The wildcard factor here, though, is how well the remaining Demme can come correct with this film. It was hard for me to keep these guys separate as I am a huge fan of the REF, BEAUTIFUL GIRLS, BLOW, DENIS LEARY: LOCK N’ LOAD, all films done by the other Demme. The more Oscar attentive one has done SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, PHILIDELPHIA, and SWING SHIFT, true, but he is also responsible for the TRUTH ABOUT CHARLIE, MARRIED TO THE MOB, SOMEHTING WILD, and a women’s prison movie called CAGED HEAT. Yeah, I’ve done things I’m not proud of either but, damn, CAGED HEAT?
Director: Jeff Palmer
Cast: Dan Clay, Jerry Howe, Michael Walsh, Matt Magennis, Bill Humphreys, Jeff Fritz, Debra Martuscello Wiley, Jewel Davis, Shawn Crapo, Dan Crane
Release: Currently looking for distribution
Synopsis: Upon returning home from a journey across the states, Kurt Calloway’s soul-searching is about to begin. Back to resolve issues surrounding his mother’s death, Kurt hits the not-so-familiar streets of his hometown where he befriends Dwayne, a benevolent comrade of the town misfits. Over a game of cards, Kurt meets Eddie, a deadbeat dad hiding from gambling debts, and Seamus, an antisocial pack rat withdrawn from the world around him. Together, the four characters form a powerful relationship that takes them from the fringes of society into the heart of self-discovery. In doing so, Kurt learns to cope with his loss through the lives of those around him.
View Trailer:
* Small (QuickTime)
Sometimes you need to, have to, give it up for the little guy.
When I see the BROTHERS MCMULLEN I am reminded of how much I thought of Edward Burns. He was great filmmaker and writer; one of the freshest voices, bar none, that came out of the East coast in the mid nineties. I was a fan of his Bostonian matter-of-factness and was happy that out of the all the young directors that were using their voice to focus on their heritage and where they came from (Spike Lee and John Singleton come to mind real quick) this was going to be someone to explore the Irish American experience as it is in contemporary times.
What I got was an individual who now has more acting credits than he does writing or directing ones. I’m not whining or pointing fingers yelling “fraud!” but it’s just a disappointment. I bring this up because I see some very nice potential in the makers of ON THE FRINGE. Since there’s really nothing I can do to compare it to, any past work that I can relate to what I am talking about, I just have to take the clinical approach and break it down, scene by scene.
“What, three years ain’t enough time for you to wander around and get over losin’ ma?”
We get a shot of our protagonist, a youngish clone of Nicholas Sadler, aka the twit you wanted to pummel from A SCENT OF A WOMAN, hair split down the middle, as he talks to someone, a family member perhaps, sitting in a prison. Obviously, there are some issues involved of a personal nature and it’s nice to be thrust straight into drama. We get some deeply brooding music, followed by a pleasing snippet of a bike parked on a hill with a wonderfully blue sky in the background. I bring this piece of minutiae up as the composition and use of natural light is a quick moment of inspiration.
“Sweeping it under the rug does not make things any easier.”
Having good looking ladies deliver lines does not hurt a fetal project of this size. You need some lookers, sometimes, to get someone to notice and I am glad this card is played. It’s the nature of the beast. Either you pay to play or you’re able to get things done on the integrity of the project. You can have both feet in both camps and this trailer does both.
What does present an issue for me is that the story progresses to the point where I am following everything just fine (protagonist calls in some favors for a questionable individual, individual finds out, things get weird) but then I am presented with people I haven’t been introduced to or know how they fit into the overall schematic of things. I get a guy with a gun, some hands go in the air, I see some puss blubbering like a woman, and I see some old, crotchety man with a shotgun and some woman telling said crotchety man to put the heater down as our protagonist protests the codgers claim that he’s on drugs. It’s very schizophrenic. If you’re an ADD sufferer life will be good, but for me it was a little confusing. No matter, though, as I get another well shot scene of a person running against a deeply blue sky and towards a very large, and twiggy, tree.
“Every city has a story. Some of fate, some of glory.”
There are some great uses of natural environments here. Watch the trailer and pay attention to how the outdoor works in the film’s favor. Usually used simply as a default function, the fall colors of leaves, the costuming of the actors, and the feeling of warmth it all conveys brings things to a pleasing conclusion as the trailer ends with a crane shot that takes us above a leafy tree, losing its fingers as the trailer leaves us wanting to know what happened in-between.
Director: Barry W. Blaustein
Cast: Johnny Knoxville, Katherine Heigl, Brian Cox
Release: November 5, 2004
Synopsis: Desperate for cash to help a friend in need and pay off his smarmy uncle’s gambling debts, Steve Barker sinks to an all time low…he attempts to fix the Special Olympics by pretending to be a person with intellectual disabilities. But he is completely out-classed by his fellow Olympians, who are not only superior athletes, they’re also wiser in the ways of the world. Several of his fellow competitors immediately spot Steve as a fraud, but because they too would like to see the fall of Jimmy, the snooty reigning champion, they join forces to help THE RINGER win. Together they train Steve to become a better athlete and, most importantly, a better man.
View Trailer:
* Small (QuickTime)
Prognosis: Positive.
Johnny Knoxville is already getting named more often in this column than some of those who have been hard at work doing better things than he’ll ever be remembered for accomplishing. When I heard the premise of this film, I was all over it. I, unfortunately, have used a few short bus jokes as a reliable comedic crutch. It’s an easy jab and I have yet to have someone tell me that they were one of those kids. It’s not funny, some would say, but, please, relax. Much like monkeys playing with their poo I will always, like kryptonite, fall prey to easy amusement that the short bus evokes.
The trailer starts off with Johnny in a confessional; starts out innocently enough and I wonder, quickly, if I’m seeing the right one. As it continues to go on, Knoxville opens his mouth: “I’ve been pretending to be mentally challenged so I can fix the Special Olympics. To make money off it.”
Awesome, although, I can see where this is going. By the time the anticipated fist comes crashing through the other side of the confessional I applaud the bold use of the single shot of the trailer. It is only Johnny. There is no Brian Cox, who has seen some of the better sides of attention since his wonderful role in X2, and there are no other players showcased. Ballsy, but if you’re not showing me anything else this is the way to do it. The only other reason I included this trailer is the man who is credited as directing this thing was a scribe for Saturday Night Live from 1980-84, penned COMING TO AMERICA (Making it okay to use Sexual Chocolate again), BOOMERANG (Where I learned the importance of coordinating), and gave me a hopeless thought that Eddie Murphy could be funny again with THE NUTTY PROFESSOR. The writer, as well, impressed me with the short-lived-now-resurrected Family Guy series, so there is some shimmer of possibility here with might be. I can’t say for sure if the movie is even worth seeing but this trailer is very postmodern in its use of cleanliness and I feel just fine about it.
DODGEBALL: A TRUE UNDERDOG STORY (2004)
Director: Rawson Marshall Thurber
Cast: Vince Vaughn, Ben Stiller, Christine Taylor, Jason Bateman, Brooke Burke, Stephen Root, Rip Torn
Release: June 18, 2004
Synopsis: A small local gym is threatened with extinction by a gleaming sports and fitness palace unless a group of social rejects can rise to victory in the ultimate dodge ball competition.
View Trailer:
* Small (QuickTime) * Medium (QuickTime)
Prognosis: Negative.
Could it be possible to have Ben Stiller just slow down a bit?
Bill Hicks, if I ever were to name anyone in this world who has shaped and molded my worldview like Silly Putty, famously brings up a little film Sharon Stone and Michael Douglas did years ago. He eloquently calls it a heaping pile, a few times, and it embraces things wonderfully about how sad DODGEBALL makes me feel.
“You know I saw this movie this year called last year called ‘Basic Instinct’. Okay now. Bill’s quick capsule review: Piece-of-S#$%. Okay now. Yeah, yeah, end of story by the way. Don’t get caught up in that fevered hype phony fu&%$#$ debate about that Piece-of-S#$% movie.”
It opens up innocently enough. Some words come on the screen, the very worst kind of scroll that is used to utter disappointment, about how there are two rules to dodgeball: target the weak and only the strong survive. Lame. The crap bus gets rolling as some wag of a ref shouts out “dodgeball!” (Ooo…is that how every game is started?) and we get our first sound of a rubber ball careering of a player’s head.
“Is it too sexist, and what about the movies, are they becoming too ddddd!. You’re, you’re just confused, you don’t get, you’ve forgotten how to judge correctly. Take a deep breath huuh, look at it again. ‘Oh! It’s a Piece-of-S#$%!”
We’re introduced to Ben as a maniacal health-club owner of a gym called Globo-Gym. The first problem here, apart from the oddly limp sounding organization, is that Ben is playing another “character.” I like Ben. In fact, I probably spend more time enjoying his comedic work more than anyone else working today, but his character here is overtly annoying and, apart from Vince Vaughn playing his caustic self (a much more pleasing and enjoyable person here), offers no laughs. We learn quickly, like a lead pipe to your knees if you weren’t paying attention, that Vince’s buddies need to come up with $50,000 or Vince’s gym, a wonderfully local, little place will be swallowed by the big, bad, burly mega corporation that Ben owns. Wonderful.
“Exactly, that’s all it is. Satan squatted, let out a loaf, they put a fu$%&#@ title on it, put it on a marquee, Satan’s s#$%, piece of s#$%, walk away.” Of course, the way the little guys seek to get the money is to play in a dodgeball tournament. From here there is a litany of various people taking rubber balls to the head, chest, legs, face, etc… The sound almost becomes redundant and annoying. The one shining moment comes in the shape of an always acerbic Rip Torn. He has but a moment in this trailer but it is a funny one at that. I can only hope that this movie is a lot better than the trailer but I am not holding out much hope if this is the best that they come up with to sell this thing.
Director: Sam Raimi
Cast: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Alfred Molina, James Franco, Elizabeth Banks, Bruce Campbell, Rosemary Harris, J.K. Simmons, Vanessa Ferlito, Ted Raimi, Dylan Baker
Release: June 30th
Synopsis: Spider-Man 2 explores the Peter’s character as he faces new challenges and struggles with “the gift and the curse,” desperately trying to balance his dual identities as the web-slinging superhero Spider-Man and his life as a college student. Tormented by his secrets, Peter finds that his relationships with all those he holds dear are in danger of unraveling. His life-long yearning for M.J. (Dunst) becomes even stronger as he fights the impulse to reveal his secret life and declare his love. His friendship with Harry Osborn (Franco) is complicated by the young Osborn’s bitterness over his father’s death and his growing vendetta against Spider-Man. Even Peter’s beloved Aunt May (Harris), who has fallen on hard times after the death of Uncle Ben, begins to have doubts about her nephew. Peter’s life is about to become even more complicated as he encounters a formidable new foe — Dr. Otto Octavius (Molina). Peter must use all the powers at his disposal to try to stop this diabolical madman in his octagonal tracks.
View Trailer:
* Small (QuickTime) * Medium (QuickTime)
Prognosis: The Gold Standard By Which All Should Be Measured.
I am going to stick to what’s here and not stray too far into sycophantic idolatry.
Aunt May starts things off right with a little voice over. It works well, as a device, because of her importance to the narrative.
“I believe there is a hero in all of us even though sometimes we have to give up the thing we want the most.”
Yes, at the end of SPIDER-MAN essentially lets go of Mary Jane Watson as he realizes that by being close to her he is putting her life in danger and, thus, lets the supa-fine lady go just because he can’t learn to deal.
What a moron.
The trailer opens up as that lonely life is realized, clad in all his squalid splendor, as he is shown just trying to eek out an existence as a photographer for the Daily Bugle. But, as these things go, things just go from bad to even worse as he is canned by none other than J. Jonah Jameson with a “you’re fired” in a way that The Donald will never be able to match, is confronted by a professor to tell him his grades are in the can, and he comes to the conclusion, later, to physically put his costume in the trash can. There is some metaphor running through these things but I am just floored by the amount of seamless CGI that is on parade in this mutha.
From the opening shots of Spidey swinging on a string, chasing after a couple of ne’er do wells (From the crooks in the comic-y black clothes, densely knit caps and driving open topped convertibles, possibly a close relative to the Raimi signature 1973 Oldsmobile Delta Royal, on densely populated streets it is nerd heaven.), to the moment when Harry Osborn comes on the screen for the first time, severely perturbed about the whole Spider-Man/killing his father/mistaken identity thing.
I’m not going to homogenously say that all the effects made me quiver with school girl delight. There was a shot where he is coming out of a window awfully quick, and it took me out of the moment however brief, but no matter! My geek self-defense mechanism reminded me how the spider, like from the first one, when the whole class went to that lab that one time, and the spider leapt from one branch to the other really quick, and so like when he’s doing it in the new one, well, you get the point. Everything here is easily defended by enough wasted brain power.
“No matter what I do, it’s the ones I love that will always be the ones to pay. I want a life of my own. I’m Spider-Man no more.”
Peter essentially scrubs off Spider-Man from his life, leaving it behind to pursue more manly desires. No matter that MJ says she’s getting married. Peter is a backed up plebe that desires some of that redheaded delight. The plot smacks of SUPERMAN II but damn if that wasn’t a great sequel. Superman getting his ass kicked was more than enough to make that flick a winner and how else can you come back after the first one did gangbusters? You have your hero give up, that’s what.
From this stepping stone we get J. Jonah again letting us know that Doc Ock has his four tentacles welded right on his body. The delicate shot, the intricate inner workings of how those tentacles actually work on his back is done perfectly. From knowing how the original coils, in the comic book, looked grey and lengthy to the industrial yellow speckled weapons they are in the movie shows what can happen when literalists can just smoke their latest copy of Wizard and stick the rest up their sedentary hindquarters. The trailer just throttles everything it has right from there and doesn’t let up. Alfred Molina, doing a creepy job as Doctor Octopus, and getting a nice close-up in the middle of the day, as he very matter-of-factly lets Parker know that he will “peel the flesh” from MJ’s bones. His voice carries with it a certain believability that even I doubted when he was first cast (yes, I was part of the camp that was unsure of Molina’s ability to inhabit an impish turd like Octavius. I’ll call myself out. I have no problem with that.) but he is good in a way that some people wish Dafoe had been.
The operatic music starts in and the hairs tickle my neck as they stand at attention. We get short, cut scenes of a spectacular above ground subway train fight, some senseless violence, lots of fire, crap is being tossed left, right, up and down by Doc’s arms, Peter is getting some of that soft pink (lips, that is) from MJ, and then the topper, the shot of Harry standing over a prostrated Spidey with a knife in one hand with the other on Spider-Man’s head, slowly pulling it off. The ending shot is good enough to be a teaser for a comic book cover.
I would tell you how qualified Raimi is at capturing the essence of something like this and that the check should be cashed now because the writing is on the wall, blah, blah, blah. The matter of fact, the big picture of it all, is that audiences are a fickle, sinister lot. There could be something completely innocuous in this film that could turn people one way or the other. It’s unfortunate but it’s true. What I think saves this movie from going down that road is its family friendly vibe, the promise there isn’t anything wickedly salacious within it, and that this trailer simply amps up any young male in the most desired demographic of them all. What I think, now, any of us who want to see this movie should be asking is not how much money will it make, but will it be any good? Did Raimi take the check or was there the same love infused within the frames that made me believe, in the first one, that Tobey was really Spider-Man and that Kirsten was really someone who Peter needed to be with at the end.
Having to wait so long to get the answer has never been more painful.
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