Movie Review

In Purely Exploiting Gratuitous Violence, Paul W.S. Anderson’s ‘Death Race’ Remake Kills All Comedic Value

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 12:56:45 -0700

CHICAGO – While 2008’s “Death Race” makes no secret about being a remake of 1975’s “Death Race 2000” with David Carradine as the title character Frankenstein and Sylvester Stallone as his archrival Machine Gun Joe Viterbo, what’s perhaps less obvious but still clear is how the film steals from others.

Rating: 2.0/5.0

Though the “Death Race” story has a different book cover, Jason Statham’s character as Jensen Ames and then the masked Frankenstein can be directly correlated to (as just one example) Nicolas Cage’s character in 1997’s “Con Air”. We’ve certainly seen this before: a man who’s supposedly in the slammer innocently and has a monster axe to grind.

While films today can be rewarded for being quality remakes of compelling yesteryear memories, 2008’s “Death Race” not only disappoints in its unoriginal ripping from other films but ultimately loses face in its mission merely for unadulterated and gratuitous violence.

Read Adam Fendelman’s full review of “Death Race” in our reviews section.

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“Death Race” is yet another film along the lines of so many second-rate Hollywood products we see today feeling pressured to blow stuff up bigger and badder while servicing the human need to fantasize in the utterly ridiculous.

All the while, a weak story is slapped on top of what essentially just amounts to an anthology of big booms.

Sometimes films succeed in being pure entertainment and don’t attempt to have underlying meaning or instigate inspirational change. When they do, though, they’re most successful when their fundamental purpose at least has some redeeming value.

The unfortunately simple message of “Death Race” merely says we’re living in a time and place where financial corruption can allow us to prostitute ourselves to charge $250 to watch one guy violently off another for our viewing pleasure. In the film, 70 million morbid viewers take the plunge.

“Death Race,” which is written and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, stars Jason Statham, Joan Allen, Tyrese Gibson, Natalie Martinez, Ian McShane, Max Ryan, Jason Clarke and Frederick Koehler. The film opened everywhere on Aug. 22, 2008.

Continuing reading for Adam Fendelman’s full “Death Race” review.

Navigator Case (Natalie Martinez) arrives from the women’s prison in an action-thriller set in the near future with the world’s most brutal sporting event as its backdrop in “Death Race”.
Photo credit: Takashi Seida

Jensen Ames (Jason Statham) drives Frankenstein’s Monster in an action-thriller set in the near future with the world’s most brutal sporting event as its backdrop in “Death Race”.
Photo credit: Takashi Seida

Continuing reading for Adam Fendelman’s full “Death Race” review.

Death-Defying Audacity Walks Between the Twin Towers in New Documentary ‘Man on Wire’

HollywoodChicago.com — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 20:27:52 -0700

CHICAGO – Where have all the true eccentrics gone? Where are all those people who achieve a Zen purpose just because the challenge is there?

“Man on Wire” is a documentary that tells of such a challenge 34 years ago in another place and time. The story of Frenchman Phillipe Petit and his gang of merry pranksters brings into focus another legendary piece in the puzzle within the twisted history of the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers.

Rating: 4.5/5.0

Phillipe Petit is a performance artist whose main specialty is tightrope or high-wire walking. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, he conquered two wire-walking feats through his own grit and determination.

Read Patrick McDonald’s full review of “Man on Wire” in our reviews section.

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These were between the spires of the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris and two bridge bays in Sydney, Australia.

But these were merely warm-ups for his next and greatest goal: walking between the buildings of the relatively new Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in 1974.

After gathering a team of “experts” (more like stoners and hangers-on), he devises a plan for getting through the more lax building security of the era.

The documentary creates a tension as the story builds. The film cuts between the recreated scenes of the tower entry and operation with flashbacks to the preparation and stunts that led up to the moment.

“Man on Wire,” which features actors in recreations of real-life high-wire walker Phillipe Petit, opened on Aug. 8, 2008 in limited theaters.

Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full “Man on Wire” review.

Philippe Petit in “Man on Wire”.
Photo credit: Magnolia Pictures

Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full “Man on Wire” review.

Hit-or-Miss Mastermind Woody Allen Recaptures Genius With Eccentric ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’

HollywoodChicago.com — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 22:01:00 -0700

CHICAGO – While legendary writer and director Woody Allen can’t always be equated with sheer genius these days and is more accurately described as a hit-or-miss proposition, the sorely undermarketed and film-festival touring “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” serves as unquestionable retribution for his recently questionable work.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

The film, which stars Hollywood sensations Javier Bardem, Scarlett Johansson and Penélope Cruz, all throughout makes you feel like Allen’s script has something brilliant up its artistic sleeve. While at times you’ll easily predict when sex is on deck, Allen uses “No Country for Old Men” star Javier Bardem literally as his blunt instrument.

In the real world, of course, even a man of his charisma couldn’t walk up to a woman with Scarlett Johansson’s magnetism and lure her into a weekend of bliss and eroticism with these simple words: “We’re getting on my plane in an hour for a weekend of drinking fine wine and making love.”

Read Adam Fendelman’s full review of “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”.

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While Bardem can this time because Allen’s script makes Johansson’s risqué character do it, his true treat is scoring a triple play by convincing Johansson’s rule-driven friend – played by the relatively unknown Rebecca Hall – to seek the same interesting slice of life.

Hall’s character is completely out of character in going along with this ride and is in the process of marrying a man who feels to her much like a sedative.

Amid all the wining and dining, Bardem displays his range as an actor. He puts out of our mind his powerfully villainous character in “No Country for Old Men” and completely transforms himself for Allen’s creation into an artistic, charismatic and confident Spanish lover.

The protagonists, of course, wouldn’t be complete without the antagonistic presence of Penélope Cruz. Despite training rigorously with a teacher and a paintbrush for her painting scenes, though, Cruz still admits to having “faked” these scenes.

“Vicky Cristina Barcelona,” which is written and directed by Woody Allen and stars Javier Bardem, Scarlett Johansson, Penélope Cruz, Rebecca Hall, Patricia Clarkson and Chris Messina, opens on Aug. 15, 2008.

Continuing reading for Adam Fendelman’s full “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” review.

Penélope Cruz stars as María Elena in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” from director Woody Allen.
Photo credit: Victor Bello, The Weinstein Company

Javier Bardem (left center) and Scarlett Johansson (right center) star in Woody Allen’s “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”.
Photo credit: Victor Bello, The Weinstein Company

Continuing reading for Adam Fendelman’s full “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” review.

‘Star Wars: The Clone Wars’ Boldly Goes Animated With Potent Story, Mediocre Animation, Anemic Acting

HollywoodChicago.com — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 22:01:00 -0700

CHICAGO – “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” which is the inaugural animated “Star Wars” project from Lucasfilm Animation and “Star Wars” architect George Lucas, feels and looks every bit as introductory as a foundational attempt could be.

Rating: 2.5/5.0

In many ways, the film again typifies what every “Star Wars” film always does. We’re again treated to yet another compelling storyline. Despite public perception that Lucas declared three years ago that the decades-long “Star Wars” saga has come to an end, Lucas now clarifies.

Lucas merely says the Skywalker family plotline has runs its course.

Upon its completion, he now has a plethora of new stories to impart – and much more money to rake in – about the beloved galaxy so far, far away. In the “Star Wars” storyline, the three-year clone wars took place between “Star Wars, Episode II: Attack of the Clones” and “Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith”.

Read Adam Fendelman’s full review of “Star Wars: The Clone Wars”.

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Story aside, though, we’re again deluged with atrociously melodramatic acting (this time solely in the form of voice work). What’s most interesting is that the cheesy acting, which is legendary in the “Star Wars” saga, actually for the first time has found a better home.

The animated format actually manages to dial down the dreadful acting and makes it more tolerable than the live-action, human format.

In terms of the quality of its animation, which is clearly front and center in “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” the film flirts in a middle ground between amateur and truly elite design work. The quality of the work neither completely underwhelms nor blazes a new path for the future of animation.

The animation ultimately pales in comparison to the world’s best movie animator – Disney’s Pixar Animation Studios – and much more closely resembles modern-day video games. You needn’t put this animation under a microscope to see the awkwardly square designs where decidedly smoother and rounder imagery should appear.

“Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” which is directed by Dave Filoni and written by George Lucas and others, stars Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Lee, Matt Lanter, Ashley Eckstein, James Arnold Taylor, Tom Kane, Nika Futterman, Ian Abercrombie, Catherine Taber, Kevin Michael Richardson, David Acord and Anthony Daniels. The film opened everywhere on Aug. 15, 2008.

Continuing reading for Adam Fendelman’s full “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” review.

Heroic Anakin Skywalker (Matt Lanter) confronts a foe from the past in “Star Wars: The Clone Wars”.
Image credit: Lucasfilm Ltd.

Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein) engages in battle with an enemy in “Star Wars: The Clone Wars”.
Image credit: Lucasfilm Ltd.

Continuing reading for Adam Fendelman’s full “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” review.

God’s Vajoojoo Tastes Like Semi-Glorious ‘Pineapple Express’ in Judd Apatow, Seth Rogen Stoner Film

HollywoodChicago.com — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 22:01:00 -0700

CHICAGO – If god had a vajoojoo, Judd Apatow and company think it’d taste something like smoking “Pineapple Express”. There’s no question “Pineapple Express” is ultimately a stoner film, but is it the ultimate stoner film of our decade?

Always the most difficult proposition in a comedy is maintaining its comedic pacing with consistency.

Rating: 3.5/5.0

A comedy’s goal is to sidesplittingly laugh your socks off from start to finish (and even after the credits roll). So often, though, a semi-successful comedy will instead feel like a humorous rollercoaster replete with some ups and some downs due to the inability to maintain its “A”-game material in a consistent fashion.

Read Adam Fendelman’s full review of “Pineapple Express”.

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“Pineapple Express” falls victim to the comedic consistency trap. While the story has its heart in the right place for a film that’s centered on reefer madness and the script successfully grows ever-more complex and ridiculous, the story needs to be sliced and diced.

For every two comedic lines that successfully land one falls short. While the film certainly has the beginnings of stoner-film greatness, it’s still sometimes stifled by lines that had the potential to be roundhouse knockouts and instead were crippled stumbles.

That said, everything successful about “Pineapple Express” comes in threes from its writing (Judd Apatow, Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg) and its primary actors (Rogen, James Franco and Danny McBride).

There’s a lot of talk about James Franco playing against type for this role. Based on his performance, though, this shouldn’t be viewed as Franco playing against type. This should be viewed as Franco having found his type. For Franco, all other roles pale in comparison.

“Pineapple Express,” which is directed by David Gordon Green and is written by Seth Rogen, Judd Apatow and Evan Goldberg, stars Rogen, James Franco, Danny McBride, Bill Hader, Rosie Perez, Amber Heard, Gary Cole and Kevin Corrigan. The film opened everywhere on Aug. 6, 2008.

Continuing reading for Adam Fendelman’s full “Pineapple Express” review.

Dale Denton (Seth Rogen, standing) and Saul Silver (James Franco, being carried) are two lazy stoners running for their lives in “Pineapple Express”.
Photo credit: Dale Robinette

Saul Silver (James Franco, left), Red (Danny McBride, center) and Dale Denton (Seth Rogen, right) in “Pineapple Express”.
Photo credit: Dale Robinette

Continuing reading for Adam Fendelman’s full “Pineapple Express” review.

Despite Jet Li’s Would-Be Resurrection, ‘The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor’ Still Flops

HollywoodChicago.com — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 23:23:17 -0700

CHICAGO – The threequel that culminates with “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” is so hackneyed that even the main star of the previous two films – Brendan Fraser – wasn’t enough to sell audiences on a third return. Universal Studios needed to enlist co-star Jet Li to stand a fighting chance and take the mood the Asian way.

Rating: 2.0/5.0

If there’s a single success this may have, “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” may finally be the only film that can vanquish the epic, two-week reign of “The Dark Knight” at the box office. Projections target approximately $50 million for its opening weekend.

Read Adam Fendelman’s full review of “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor”.

View our full, high-resolution “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” image gallery.

Brendan Fraser’s Hollywood dossier is currently most memorable for these three films, which progress from mediocre all the way to 2008’s tragedy.

Likewise, Fraser in the Indiana Jones-like role (but not nearly as well-scripted as Harrison Ford’s character) is a surefire recipe for mediocrity.

It’s no mystery why the evolution from “The Mummy” in 1999 ($43.4 million opening; $155.4 million total) and then “The Mummy Returns” ($68 million opening; $202 million total) only two years later in 2001 took seven years to yield “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor”.

The filmmakers, studio and production companies clearly spent seven years flailing about a single question: Do we really want to make a third or should we just let this one go at two?

In the decision to green-light the threequel, Jet Li’s star power and villainous character clearly was the film’s attempt for rejuvenation.

“The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor,” which stars Brendan Fraser, Jet Li, Maria Bello and Michelle Yeoh, opened everywhere on Aug. 1, 2008.

Continuing reading for Adam Fendelman’s full “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” review.

Jet Li as the vicious emperor comes back to life in “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor,” which races from the catacombs of ancient China high into the spectacular Himalayas.
Photo credit: Digital Domain, copyright Universal Studios

Explorers Rick (Brendan Fraser) and Evelyn O’Connell (Maria Bello) in “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor,” which races from the catacombs of ancient China high into the spectacular Himalayas.
Photo credit: Digital Domain, copyright Universal Studios

Continuing reading for Adam Fendelman’s full “The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor” review.

Neil Young’s ‘CSNY Déjà Vu’ a Concert Film That Mixes Message With Music

HollywoodChicago.com — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 23:26:42 -0700

CHICAGO – David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and Neil Young (collectively CSNY) have long established their credibility as a rock/folk group of the highest order.

From their debut in 1970 with the album “Déjà Vu” (which is still one of the top-selling albums of all time) to their journey through the 2006 tour that’s chronicled in the new concert film “CSNY Déjà Vu,” CSNY is of a time and place in rock history that represents activism and social change.

Rating: 2.5/5.0

Band member Neil Young is the director of this film. The band travels America from city to city in a “Freedom of Speech Tour” with a basic, anti-Iraq War message. His band mates Crosby, Stills and Nash are along for the ride to help their old friend through the songs defining them and that message.

Read Patrick McDonald’s full review of “CSNY Déjà Vu” in our reviews section.

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Interspersed between the concert footage are stories from the road concerning Iraqi war veterans and activists.

Stephen Stills even volunteers to play small fundraisers for any anti-war Congressional candidates who have races in the districts along the route of the tour.

Famous for writing the 1967 song “For What It’s Worth” (“Stop, children. What’s that sound? Everybody look what’s going down.”), he trots it out again in context of another war.

Some places along the concert road provide challenges. Counter protests by talk-show hosts and neo-conservatives greet the quartet in several cities. Undeterred, the band defiantly plays Young’s new song “Let’s Impeach the President” as a climax to every show.

“CSNY Déjà Vu,” which features David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and Neil Young, opened on July 25, 2008 in Chicago.

Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full “CSNY Déjà Vu” review.

The concert film “CSNY Déjà Vu”.
Photo credit: Roadside Attractions

Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full “CSNY Déjà Vu” review.

No Matter How Hard You Believe Otherwise, ‘The X-Files: I Want to Believe’ Most Anemic Story Yet

HollywoodChicago.com — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 22:01:00 -0700

CHICAGO – Following an addictive TV series that spanned from 1992 to 2002, I wanted to believe “The X-Files: I Want to Believe” would more dynamically pay homage to its television success than Chris Carter’s first film attempt in 1998. In take two, though, it didn’t happen.

Rating: 2.5/5.0

Carter – who serves as the writer, director and producer of the 2008 film “The X-Files: I Want to Believe” along with the TV series creator – not only has penned an even more anemic script than his film a decade ago but also manages to serve even less justice to a distinctly original TV series that has catered to people’s fantasies and curiosities everywhere.

Read Adam Fendelman’s full review of “The X-Files: I Want to Believe” in our reviews section.

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What bewilders the mind most blatantly about “The X-Files: I Want to Believe” – aside from the strong character interactions based on comprehensive character development dating back 16 years now – is that its central plotline hardly feels like something from “The X-Files” at all.

No UFOs. No aliens. Hardly anything supernatural. There’s just a psychic character who – while being a central slice in this story – isn’t such a wild stretch from today’s real world.

In reality, some people actually believe in psychic abilities. This as the one and only “The X-Files”-like plotline is tame in contrast to some of the outlandish theories and concepts typically explored in the TV series.

“The X-Files: I Want to Believe,” which is directed by Chris Carter and stars David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Amanda Peet, Billy Connolly and Alvin “Xzibit” Joiner, opened everywhere on July 25, 2008.

Continuing reading for Adam Fendelman’s full “The X-Files: I Want to Believe” review.

Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) are drawn back into the world of the X-Files in “The X-Files: I Want to Believe”.
Photo credit: Diyah Pera

Father Joseph Crissman (Billy Connolly) – a dark, complex figure with a haunted past – leads a team of FBI agents to a critical discovery in “The X-Files: I Want to Believe”.
Photo credit: Diyah Pera

Continuing reading for Adam Fendelman’s full “The X-Files: I Want to Believe” review.

Emotions of Sexuality, Gender, Social Order Wrestle During 1800s Paris in ‘The Last Mistress’

HollywoodChicago.com — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 23:45:54 -0700

CHICAGO – Difficult as it is now, in 1835 women in Paris never really had many choices for an eventual lifestyle.

They could hope to marry rich and live in relative comfort or they could toil in a working-class marriage while raising children and working themselves to death. If they didn’t marry, they might be a maid or a governess. If they were really bored and bold, though, they could be “The Last Mistress”.

Rating: 4.5/5.0

Asia Argento gives a truly fearless performance as the title character. She’s a Spanish temptress named Vellini who’s first seen clinging to an older husband. Her story is told in flashback as related by her lover Ryno de Marigny (Fu’ad Ait Aattou).

Read Patrick McDonald’s full review of “The Last Mistress” in our reviews section.

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His status as a nobleman is in conflict with the illicit affair, which he has recently broken off after getting engaged to a woman of his social class. He tells the story of his mistress during an all-night session with his fiancée’s grandmother.

The obsessive love affair with Vellini began after a duel with her elderly husband.

During the next 10 years, their relationship would take them to Algeria in exile. Still, it never seems to rise above the gratitude of their sexuality. Despite their obsessive physicality, it is Vellini’s lower caste status that eventually dooms their legitimate togetherness.

The grandmother – properly satisfied with the story and reputation of Marigny – gives her final blessing. The couple is married under the eye of proper society.

“The Last Mistress,” which stars Asia Argento and Fu’ad Ait Aattou, opened on July 18, 2008 at the Landmark’s Century Centre Cinema in Chicago.

Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full “The Last Mistress” review.

Asia Argento in “The Last Mistress”.
Photo credit: Yorgos Arvanitis/Guillaume Lavit d’Hautefort/Flash Film

Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full “The Last Mistress” review.

Andy Samberg, Witty Script Lift Animated ‘Space Chimps’ Off Launching Pad

HollywoodChicago.com — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 17:07:09 -0700

CHICAGO – So far in the 2008 summer animation season we’ve seen cuddly martial artists (“Kung Fu Panda”) and robots in love (“WALL-E”).

Rating: 4.0/5.0

But where are the monkeys and how long before the first joke about flinging their poo? Both desires are satisfied in the playfully visual and wryly funny “Space Chimps,” which is anchored by the vocal talents of Andy Samberg (“Saturday Night Live”).

Read Patrick McDonald’s full review of “Space Chimps” in our reviews section.

View our full, high-resolution “Space Chimps” image gallery.

Samberg is the voice of Ham III: the chimp grandson of the first NASA monkey in space. He has been reduced to being an attraction in a cheap circus under the guidance of his grandfather’s old buddy Houston (Carlos Alazragui).

Meanwhile at Cape Canaveral, the reputation of the space program rests on the discovery of a wormhole in space that has sent a probe to a distant and life-sustaining planet.

On that planet, it turns out the probe has been captured by a rubbery, blue life force named Zartog (Jeff Daniels). Zartog’s intent is to use the multi-tasking machine to enslave his fellow inhabitants.

“Space Chimps,” which stars Andy Samberg, Jeff Daniels, Cheryl Hines, Patrick Warburton, Kristin Chenoweth, Carlos Alazragui and Stanley Tucci, opened on July 18, 2008.

Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full “Space Chimps” review.

Ham III (Andy Samberg) – the slacker grandson of the first chimp blasted into space before manned spaceflight – takes off into out-of-this-world adventure and comedy in “Space Chimps”.
Image credit: Vanguard Animation

Cheryl Hines voices Luna in “Space Chimps”.
Image credit: 20th Century Fox

Continue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full “Space Chimps” review.