By Christopher Stipp
April 23, 2004
DEMME MORE?
Thank you to everyone who wrote to tell me that Ted and Jonathan Demme are not brothers but, in fact, uncle and nephew. I could be cold-hearted and tell you all that the point is moot because of Ted’s demise but I am much happier to just say thank you to a readership who kept me on my toes. I’m thinking I am going to do it more often just so I know you’re out there. It was like accidentally turning on my headlight glasses from PEE-WEE’S BIG ADVENTURE and seeing scores of you there. It was great to hear everyone correct me on my mistake (do you think I’ll forget that fact again or be able to look at my copies of THE REF or SILENCE OF THE LAMBS without thinking of this?) but since it’s really the only time when I hear from a gaggle of you people I may do it soon, should loneliness hit in the coming weeks.
Now, some really great trailers broke this week and Spielberg’s TERMINAL was not one of them. What a disappointment. The man who gave MINORITY REPORT and CATCH ME IF YOU CAN to the world within six months of each other produced a big goose egg if the trailer is to be believed. No matter, though, as things can change and sometimes trailers can be deceptive; that’s what I keep telling myself as I rock myself to sleep, anyway.
This week I decided to highlight IMMORTEL as my favorite clip of the week. I had seen this one before a few weeks ago and I found myself coming back to the thing again and again just to look at it. I was unsure of what the hell was going on, and I’m still a little hazy, but it looks just spectacular on the small screen and can only imagine what it would be like to see this thing splattered on a big one. You will either think it looks really involved and intricate with a lot of imagery and symbolism or believe it’s the turd of Satan and should be thusly flushed into cinematic obscurity. Que sera sera.
Director: Morgan Spurlock
Cast: Morgan Spurlock, Dr. Daryl Isaacs
Release: May 7, 2004
Synopsis: Why are Americans so fat? Find out in SUPER SIZE ME, a tongue in-cheek – and burger-in-hand look at the legal, financial and physical costs of America’s hunger for fast food. Ominously, 37% of American children and adolescents are carrying too much fat and two out of every three adults are overweight or obese. Is it our fault for lacking self-control, or are the fast-food corporations to blame? Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock hit the road and interviewed experts in 20 U.S. cities, including Houston, the “Fattest City in America.†From Surgeon Generals to gym teachers, cooks to kids, lawmakers to legislators, these authorities shared their research, opinions and “gut feelings” on our ever-expanding girth. During the journey, Spurlock also put his own body on the line, living on nothing but McDonald’s for an entire month with three simple rules:1) No options: he could only eat what was available over the counter (water included!)
2) No super-sizing unless offered
3) No excuses: he had to eat every item on the menu at least once.
View Trailer:
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* Small (Windows Media, RealPlayer)
Progonosis: Positive.
If there were a key element that makes a great documentary, cultural relevance would have to be one of them.
In the past couple of years, there was the documentary called WINGED MIGRATION which was a great movie about birds but, in that same year, you also had BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE opening, which one created a little more “buzz” (a despicable verb, I know.). There was something about the pokes and jabs it took that revealed something about our culture that riled many people into action regardless if they had seen the film or not. It essentially created a topic of conversation, started dialogues, and that is the essence of what SUPER SIZE ME could possibly do if it lays out its cards carefully and honestly.
The JAWS-like music in the beginning of the trailer would be slightly pedantic if it weren’t for the punctuating sound of Spurlock crushing down upon a Mickey D’s sandwich with the juicy insides providing a subtle exclamation mark at the end; it encapsulates the theme of the documentary perfectly without clubbing people over the head in a blizzard of information. From there the set-up nearly writes itself.
It does have the obligatory award mention, which I normally think is unnecessary if coming from someone already well-established, before it launches into the rest of the trailer, but for a documentary like this it can only help the film as the full length early reviews have already been very kind.
As you watch the trailer, though, one gets the sense that here was a young filmmaker who had a great idea for a documentary and took a chance to do it on his own. He had no distribution, no studio backing, but he creates something very enveloping and, now, timely. No matter that there is now a very public push by the golden arches to offer healthy alternatives to the kind of crap Spurlock is shown consuming because the damage has already been done. His use of dietary charts, clips of overweight individuals, and words of nutritional caution from a doctor show the reverberations of a having society of gluttons. The trailer almost shows Spurlock to be having too much fun being in front of the camera but that is a tiny annoyance compared to the possibility of where things could go in this movie.
As quick as the trailer begins, it ends with an almost-vomiting Spurlock. An almost-heave will always get a vote from me and it ties up very succinctly. The trailer music is a very catchy ditty and I found myself singing the refrain long after it was over. Hopefully, as this is really classified as an “arty†release, you’ll be able to catch it somewhere close when it opens in a few weeks. Your gut may very well depend on it.
Director: Gary King
Cast: Tom Biagini, Brian Rivera, Ben Ortega, Jeremy Koerner, Angelina Cheng
Release: March 2004
Synopsis: In just one morning, the lives of two friends, Ricky and Piaroni, will take significantly separate paths. While waiting to meet a friend, they instead encounter a stranger named Willie. From that point on, the two friends must make certain choices that will affect the lives of everyone around them.
View Trailer:
* Low and High Resolution (QuickTime)
Progonosis: Positive.
What I like most about noir crime thrillers are their ability to envision a world that I do not inhabit yet make me believe I can relate to.
There are many that get it right (RESERVIOR DOGS, THE USUAL SUSPECTS, even LA CONFIDENTIAL) and scores that fail miserably to make a notch in the collective rawhide belt in the canon of great works of this genre. What there is to see in this trailer for FAVORS is a little bit of suspense, a hint of danger, and a good, sustainable mood throughout. Much of the praise should fall on Biagini who, in a matter of a minute, immediately makes me believe that danger is afoot.
The supporting actors that are showcased are given slight focus but the majority of time in this trailer rests mostly with the protagonist. He’s good looking, exudes some genuine charisma, and appears to be a guy everyone would want to either revile or root for. What else is of some interest here is some notable camera work and cinematography. There are thick blacks, very sharp whites and, combined, they create a believable landscape for these players.
Now, while that is all well and good there are some points of contention I have. First, what is with the freeform flute/instrumentation music that circulates in the background? It took away from the quick pace, sharp camera shots and distracted me from really feeling the moments that were occurring on the screen. Second, does the whole movie take place in a parking garage? From the trailer you would almost be hard-pressed to disagree. Yeah, there is some people running down a bright alley and there is a little boom-boom going on with a nice looking lady but, damn, everything else looks like it was either shot at midnight or we’re dealing with cave dwellers with photophobia. Even though, yes, I can read the synopsis I am simply looking out for the illiterate faction of the readership when I say that there is a little ambiguity when it comes to breaking down the story in the trailer. I am still not really sure who is good, who is bad and if the protagonist here isn’t really some kind of anti-hero. I have a good idea what’s going on but a viewer should feel they have a handle on the story after everything is over. I may just be a vapid idiot so take that for what it’s worth.
With that all said, apart from those three quibbles, this is a trailer that excites me on a level that makes me believe noir will never leave the cinematic lexicon. I would gladly pay the money to see this film and I’ll tell you why: the trailer doesn’t insult me, it seeks to create something original in its presentation and the filmmaker doesn’t feel he has to blow his load by showing off all the movie tricks in his basket to sell me on his film. It’s better to be ballsy than it is to be insidious when trying to pimp a project. I appreciate the respect that’s given to me as a viewer and that speaks volumes even when I still don’t really know what the hell is going on with this film.
Director: Jared Hess
Cast: Jon Heder, Jon Gries, Aaron Ruell, Efren Ramirez, Tina Majorino, Haylie Duff, Sandy Martin
Release: June 11, 2004
Synopsis: From Preston, Idaho comes Napoleon Dynamite (Jon Heder), a new kind of hero complete with a tight red ‘fro, some sweet moon boots, and skills that can’t be topped. Napoleon lives with his Grandma (Sandy Martin) and his 30-year-old, unemployed brother Kip (Aaron Ruell), who spends his days looking for love in internet chat rooms. When Grandma hits the road on her quad runner, Napoleon and Kip’s meddling Uncle Rico (Jon Gries) comes to town to stay with them and ruin their lives. Napoleon is left to his own devices to impress the chicks at school and help his new best friend Pedro (Efren Ramirez) win the election for Student Body President against the stuck-up Summer Wheatley (Haylie Duff); all the while making sure to feed Grandma’s pet llama Tina, and avoiding association with Uncle Rico and the herbal breast enhancers he sells door to door. Napoleon and Pedro put their skills and knowledge of piñatas, cows and drawing to good use, but it is a surprise talent that leads the two to triumph in the end.
View Trailer:
* Small (QuickTime)
Progonosis: Positive.
I’m already dismayed by some who have suggested, annoyingly, that this movie falls too close to the Wes Anderson camp and, therefore, ergo, it must be a rip-off.
We should be so lucky, you twitish ponces.
Although watching this trailer you could see elements of Anderson’s style, albeit in very subtle ways, Wes had no part in making this film, no part in post, no part in marketing, and no part in hustling this thing at film festivals. I can think of worse clones right off the top my head, Brett Ratner being an orange DayGlo neon example for one, and this is great trailer that exudes the kind of execution that some filmmakers should be having when making their own film. What you have here is a genuine article of pure entertainment; at least that’s what the trailer conveys, and it does it beautifully.
What’s amazing about this trailer is that there isn’t one famous name I can point to yet I am fascinated and intrigued by everyone who shows up on the screen. From the start I am pulled in by Heder’s onscreen persona of Napoleon Dynamite. His voice, in all its monotone hilarity, is a delightful complement to his lankiness as the quintessential, almost emblematic of the species in general, nerd. Quite possibly this film could be a prequel to REVENGE OF THE NERDS. Heder is a near twin of Timothy Busfield’s Poindexter (how Busfield, Edwards and Goodman managed to have sustainable careers after that film is beyond my ken but god love ‘em for doing it.) and it is every bit as funny to see this character move about on the screen.
After the character is set up what follows is nice Eighties ditty, “Candy†by Bow Wow Wow, that carries a pitch perfect tone through the rest of the trailer and allows the viewer simply to enjoy what follows. We get Napoleon getting shoved into a locker for being a social outcast (that bit never gets old), Napoleon trying to jump a shoddily constructed ramp with a dirt bike and getting his nuts slammed in the process (that bit really never gets old), and him, all alone, going mano y mano with a tetherball. Such is the life of a nerd and it’s portrayed well here.
While a movie about a nerd is nothing new, the construction of this film and the way it presents itself show something much more than this just being a movie aimed at those who were marginalized as youths. There is a fascination here with Napoleon, not so much an admiration, and that’s what sets this film apart. He is most definitely a geek with an eclectic set of people who inhabit the world with him. Coupled with the fact that the film has the sheen of Payne’s ELECTION, a great teen movie that wasn’t, it is not very hard to see why this film was snatched up when others were able to see it in its entirety.
Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Stanley Tucci, Chi McBride, Diego Luna, Barry “Shabaka” Henley, Kumar Pallana, Zoë Saldana, Eddie Jones, Jude Ciccolella
Release: June 18, 2004
Synopsis: “The Terminal” tells the story of Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks), a visitor to New York from Eastern Europe, whose homeland erupts in a fiery coup while he is in the air en route to America. Stranded at Kennedy Airport with a passport from nowhere, he is unauthorized to actually enter the United States and must improvise his days and nights in the terminal’s international transit lounge until the war at home is over. As the weeks and months stretch on, Viktor finds the compressed universe of the terminal to be a richly complex world of absurdity, generosity, ambition, amusement, status, serendipity and even romance with a beautiful flight attendant named Amelia (Catherine Zeta-Jones). But Viktor has long worn out his welcome with airport official Frank Dixon (Stanley Tucci), who considers him a bureaucratic glitch, a problem he cannot control but wants desperately to erase.
View Trailer:
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* Medium (QuickTime)
* Large (Windows Media)
Progonosis: Negative.
I wish I could say that this movie at least looks entertaining enough for a matinee but it doesn’t even rate at that level.
I almost feel like I have to be an apologist about it but why, really, when this looks like a miserable dramedy with all the punch strength of a Glass Joe uppercut?
It starts off interestingly enough, I give it that. The one thing I can say positively is that it has an interesting way of introducing the players of this film; the glorified tote board of arriving/departing flights is a subtle touch that I really liked and thought it was creative. Stanley Tucci, who will always be a rock solid second banana in my movie bible, sets the premise up effectively without the trailer resorting to a faceless voiceover. While all his happens a lovely violin plays, reminiscent of CATCH ME IF YOU CAN and possibly the same music played in Zeta-Jones’ INTOLERABLE CRUELTY trailer, and to that point everything is going by the trailer guide book. That is, until, Tom Hanks opens his mouth.
I am not sure if a sustained assault of the Eastern bloc accent he dribbles out is a good thing but I was nowhere near being convinced that I was looking at a foreigner stuck in an airport. It’s Tom Hanks with a funny accent. It’s about this moment when the East meets West clips come in (“Hey, lookey here, he’s in a bathrobe! Hey, he’s looking into a security camera like he’s never seen one! Hey, he’s shaving in an airport toilet like it’s his bathroom. That Hanks is such a card, I tell ya.”) and the so not-believable it-can’t-even-be-sold-for-a-trailer’s-worth-of-time attraction between Hanks and Zeta-Jones.
To compound things, the second set of music that plays in the background? The rendition of “Leaving on a Jet Plane” is quite possibly some of the most depressing choices for music I’ve heard yet for a trailer. Is Tom Hanks going to die in a flaming crash by the end? If the answer is no, then damn, change it. If I’m not sold on Hanks’ character, which I’m not, and Zeta-Jones is doing nothing in this thing but looking my-t-fine, which she is, then something about the pacing or tone of this thing needs some retooling.
Not counting AMISTAD, and who would at this point, I have yet to be disappointed with a Spielberg work since 1991’s HOOK, which I could only assume must have been the result of heavy drinking, a phone, and what he thought would be a funny prank call to a studio exec. If this ends the successful streak then so be it. Maybe it will be a good enough shock to the nards that he’ll try a little harder next time and he’ll come to the realization that Indiana Jones needs to have a new adventure before Harrison is bullwhipping baddies in the Alzheimer’s ward.
I would have more to say had this trailer not left me with such a sense of disbelief. The feeling still lingers and yet I can see either this becomes another Hanks disaster, like LADYKILLERS, or gets embraced by folks who don’t mind a shoddy sounding accent and a thin premise that, so far, would only really appeal to women looking for any antidote for the summer blockbusters.
Director: Enki Bilal
Cast: Linda Hardy, Thomas Kretschmann, Charlotte Rampling, Frédéric Pierrot, Thomas M. Pollard, Yann Collette
Release: France, March 24th
Synopsis: New York 2095. In a strange pyramid floating in the sky, the gods of ancient Egypt are judging Horus. In the city, a young women with blue hair and tears is arrested, but she has a secret power, even to herself.
View Trailer:
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Prognosis: Positive.
I have about as much handle on the things going on in this trailer as I do understanding why I drool incessantly on my pillow at night.
I could tell you what I think is going on here (transformation, rebirth, the exploration of life itself and the many facets of death) but I am still not sure myself that I would be right. Visually speaking, this movie looks like the inbreeded result of mashing together styles from BLADE RUNNER, MINORITY REPORT, THE FIFTH ELEMENT and a good sampling of METROPOLIS. There is also here a conjoining of live action, animation and the trailer is just wonderful to watch simply on an eye candy level.
The story, though, gets a little murky after you get the gist that, essentially, an Egyptian like deity is allowed to roam New York, circa 2095, for seven days before having his immortality taken away. That’s what I know and that’s all I know. What I can cobble together after this, and looking at the trailer, is that there is some possession of human bodies, guns, explosions, a whole lot of white light, nudity (Booyah!), a tagline that says something about being able to procreate with gods (I was too busy with the nudity to listen that intently) and I am happy to report that the future is still misogynistic as it values beautiful, skinny women with great looking teeth.
I wouldn’t normally include a trailer like this simply based on visual appeal but just watching this thing is pleasure enough to at prompt me to feel that I need to at least check out what the rest of this film is like. Could it be effect heavy and topple over on its pretension? Quite possibly yes, but after so many movies have a warped and uninteresting view of the future (THE FIFTH ELEMENT being a large violator of this notion) there is a great tradition of films that look ahead and successfully create an entire world based on the possibility of fact and fiction. It’s inspiring to see someone pour themselves into a vision and bring it to fruition. The final execution of those things may not be perfect but it definitely has a style all its own.
I wish there was some possibility of the film making its way here to see how Americans would respond to this kind of fare but since the director has really only ever worked in France, and because there isn’t a major international star attached (where’s Monica Bellucci when you need her?), this picture has little hope of ever making its way into the fifty screen cineplex anytime soon.
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