Category Archives: Film Fodder

An unlikely bond becomes rather touching in “The Intouchables”

If you’re a wealthy, wheelchair-bound Caucasian quadriplegic, you’re probably a little less motivated to play by the rules than most people. So when it comes time to hire a new caretaker and you have an endless line of highly qualified people with as much personality as your sensationless lower extremities, the able-bodied black guy with a bad attitude is likely to seem the most appealing.

"Here, Philippe. This will make you feel all better." (photo by Thierry Valletoux)

Based on a true story, The Intouchables is a French dramatic comedy about two very different men who have come to similar places in their lives where they feel they have little to live for. Their unlikely meeting and even less likely subsequent friendship turn out to be just what each man needs, and their interactions make for some touchingly comical moments. Driss (Omar Sy) is a troubled young man with a criminal record who would likely never be found in a Parisian mansion unless he was robbing the place. When he arrives at the expansive (and expensive) home of Philippe (the Dustin Hoffman-esque François Cluzet) after being kicked out of his aunt’s small ghetto apartment, the last thing he wants or expects is to actually get the job. After storming ahead of the other applicants and requesting that Philippe sign his forms showing that Driss tried, but failed, to get the job so he can continue collecting unemployment benefits, he makes a surprising impression on the aristocrat.

While most of Philippe’s family and friends question his decision to hire Driss as his live-in caretaker, it turns out to be just what Philippe needs to once again experience life following the accident and other tragedies that led to his current physical and emotional state. The seemingly less cultured Driss learns to appreciate the finer things in life such as art, classical music and Philippe’s Maserati while Philippe is introduced to Earth, Wind & Fire, alternative ways of relieving his psychosomatic pains and a take-charge attitude that comes from an upbringing that is completely foreign (literally and metaphorically) to someone who has never known the type of helplessness Driss has become accustomed to.

"Whee!" (photo by Thierry Valletoux)

As their friendship continues to develop, each man learns more about the other, and their drastically different perspectives actually complement each other in interesting ways. And just as both men feel very different senses of helplessness in their lives, we also learn that it was drastic and risky behavior not unlike Driss’ that got Phillipe into his current state of literal helplessness (are we also to assume he took similar risks in order to attain the luxuries his wealth affords him?).

Having helped Philippe take charge of his own life and surroundings, Driss younger brother shows up and needs similar help in getting out of some trouble on the streets. Philippe encourages Driss to straighten out this situation as he has done for Philippe, but both men soon find they simply aren’t as happy without the companionship of the other. And once Driss re-enters Philippe’s life, he forces Philippe to take yet another big risk that, as the real-life story has proven, turns out to be the best thing that could happen to either one of them.

The Intouchables. Written and directed by Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache. Starring François Cluzet and Omar Sy. Not rated. www.weinsteinco.com/sites/the-intouchables.

It’s once upon a darker time in “Snow White and the Huntsman”

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Snow White's connection with nature is so strong even this never-before-seen creature come to visit (photo courtesy Rhythm & Hues/Universal Pictures)

Snow White is a popular girl this year, but the two movies based on her classic Brothers Grimm tale are about as opposite as Snow White and her evil stepmother. While Mirror Mirror put a comical spin on this timeless tale just a couple of months ago, Snow White and the Huntsman is a decidedly darker take more akin to the earlier folk tales on which the Grimm version was based. And whether you’re accustomed to the animated Disney version of Snow White that has permeated pop culture or the distantly dark fantasies that portray Snow White herself as a monstrous vampire-like creature, this latest version of the story is unlike any previous versions, though it borrows heavily from each of them.

In Snow White and the Huntsman, Snow White (Twilight‘s Kristen Stewart) is raised in captivity after the evil Queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron, playing a cold-blooded witch not unlike the character you’ll see her portray in Prometheus next Friday) deceives the king into marrying her only to murder him and usurp his throne. Though birds and other animals don’t sing to Snow White or tie ribbons in her hair, she does have a magical connection with nature that allows, for example, birds to help her escape (she’s later able to summon a mystical multi-horned horse-like creature, which solidifies her status as the good witch to Revenna’s bad witch).

Mirror mirror, off the wall... (photo courtesy The Mill/Universal Pictures)

After Snow White escapes, an enraged Revenna promises a widowed huntsman (Thor‘s Chris Hemsworth, who would have been better off if he had just brought his hammer) she’ll bring his wite back to life if he’ll hunt down Snow White and bring her back to the queen. But Snow White’s magic seems to affect even this drunken lout and he soon finds himself helping her escape from the queen. Meanwhile, the queen’s mirror, which had previously reassured her she was the fairest one of all, goes all Dorian Gray on her by informing her that someone fairer has recently come of age. Unable to continue hiding her true age, she sends her vaguely incestuous albino brother (Sam Spruell) to find Snow White and the huntsman who is now helping her.

The huntsman and the princess encounter various people (and other creatures) along the way and it seems the everyone aside from Snow White herself realizes that she is the key to overthrowing the queen’s dark reign and restoring life and happiness to the kingdom. They eventually come across eight dwarves (is it any coincidence that the one who gets the Star Trek redshirt treatment happens to be the one with red hair?) who are, for some reason, played by regular-sized people like Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins and Eddie Marsan. Though there is no “Heigh-Ho,” it is off to work they soon go as Snow White comes to the conclusion that she must overthrow the queen and take back the kingdom that is rightfully hers. But the queen certainly isn’t going to make that easy, even in her ever-weakening state.

Snow White bites into a juicy red apple, but it comes from a very different source in "Snow White and the Huntsman" (photo courtesy Universal Pictures)

And so much for the damsel in distress we’ve come to expect from Snow White as she gears up with the rest of the troops, looking more like Joan of Arc than Sleeping Beauty riding into battle clad in armor and wielding weapons. But just because this Snow White’s a bit of a badass doesn’t mean she doesn’t still succumb to a poisonous apple and need a prince charming (of sorts) to awaken her with a kiss.

Though this version of Snow White isn’t as familiar as the version most people are accustomed to, it retains all the fantasy elements in interesting and unique ways that are closer to what those Grimm guys had in mind than what Disney has taught us. And perhaps the most “happily ever after” thing about Snow White and the Huntsman is that the female characters (be they good or evil) are portrayed with convincing strength without weakening any of the male characters in the story.

Snow White and the Huntsman. Directed by Rupert Sanders. Starring Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth and Sam Spruell. Rated PG-13. www.snowwhiteandthehuntsman.com.

American tourists face spooky disaster in “Chernobyl Diaries”

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Chris (Jesse McCartney) is one of the first victims of the "Chernobyl Diaries" horror

Any mention of Chernobyl usually evokes disastrous thoughts. That being said, if a Russian tour guide suggests an excursion to the city where a nuclear reactor leak caused one of the worst radioactive catastrophes in human history only 26 years ago, it’s probably a good idea to decline his offer. But in Chernobyl Diaries, a group of young Americans thinks the idea of exploring the nearby town of Pripyat, which was inexplicably abandoned (well, it should be obvious why) around the same time as the leak, sounds like a lot of fun.

After Russian soldiers deny them access, the tour guide (Dimitri Diatchenko) finds a back way in before letting the Americans rummage through the deserted buildings. As nightfall gradually approaches, they, of course, begin to hear things and start getting all creeped out. Then the van won’t start because something (or someone) has messed up its wires. Then it gets dark and the whole things becomes a combination of The Blair Witch Project and Cujo as a shaky camera offers a realistic glimpse at the creatures hungry for those inside the van.

The night gets all the more intense when the tour guide and Chris (Jesse McCartney) decide it’s a good idea to go see what was trying to get them. Chris’ brother Paul (Jonathan Sadowski) goes to find them, but returns only with a wounded Chris. Well, there go Chris’ romantic plans to propose to his girlfriend (Olivia Taylor Dudley) in Moscow.

Michael (Nathan Phillips), Zoe (Ingrid Bolsø Berdal) and Paul (Jonathan Sadowski) are too busy trying to survive to notice the creepy figure in the background

Once the sun has risen again, the survivors try to figure out how to get out of this mess. They soon find that not only are they not alone, but that Chernobyl and Pripyat are fairly well populated by ravenous dogs, flesh-eating fish and zombie-like creatures resembling humans. But since we never get a good look at most of the creatures, it’s hard to tell just what kind of mutants they are. Whatever they are, they’re relentlessly hungry and do not want these people to escape with their lives. And each time there’s any sign of hope for survival, tragedy strikes again, leaving little time to grieve as the creatures responsible for the tragedy are still on the hunt.

Chernobyl Diaries borrows heavily from Night of the Living Dead and Alien with its foreboding feeling of impending doom that’s almost always just out of sight. But it’s the not seeing that keeps things suspenseful until the few survivors make it all the way to the damaged reactor where it all started. And once they get to that point, there’s a shockingly new discovery awaiting them that provides an even more ominous look at the entire disaster.

Chernobyl Diaries. Directed by Bradley Parker. Starring Devin Kelly, Jonathan Sadowsky, Jesse McCartney and Olivia Taylor Dudley. Rated R. www.chernobyldiaries.com.

“Tonight You’re Mine” proves that handcuffs will get you chicks

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Have you ever been reluctantly handcuffed to someone just long enough to develop an intimate connection? No? You should try it sometime, especially if you’re going to be at a big European music festival where you’ll end up being forced to eat, drink, sleep and go to the loo together after dancing to your favorite bands and falling down in the mud.

Adam (Luke Treadway) and Morello (Natalia Tena) try to find the key to their predicament in "Tonight You're Mine." (Photo by Brian Sweeney)

That’s pretty much the premise of Tonight You’re Mine, an indie film set at Scotland’s T in the Park music festival. As the singer for The Make, an indie synth rock duo that is playing one of the festival’s main stages, Adam (Luke Treadway) is the subject of much adoration. From female fans to political activist filmmakers, everyone seems to want some of Adam’s attention. The Dirty Pinks, on the other hand, are an up-and-coming all girl punk band playing one of the festival’s smaller tents.

The dirtiest of the Pinks is front woman Morello (Natalia Tena), who looks for the wrong kind of attention from Adam when she starts some behind-the-scenes shit only to have a security guy handcuff them together in hopes that they can work out their differences. To Adam and Morello, it seems funny until the security guy races away on his golf cart and they realize they’re stuck with each other for a while. For the rest of us, their inability to coexist even when attached at the wrist is what makes the film entertaining.

For the next day or so, Adam and Morello are literally inseparable. And Morello’s defiantly humorous bad attitude does little to entertain Adam’s supermodel girlfriend (Ruta Gedmintas) or Morello’s dweeby banker boyfriend (Alastair Mackenzie). As this situation forces certain things to fall apart in other aspects of their lives, their physical bond develops into an emotional one that makes them realize it was only a matter of time before things deteriorated between them and their significant others anyway (though being handcuffed to an attractive stranger probably wasn’t the way either of them planned on breaking the bad news). And while Adam and Morello’s relationship is developing organically (well, as organically as you can expect considering their contrived situation), their bandmates and friends are desperately trying to find the kind of connection that Adam and Morello have been inadvertently forced to find. Maybe if they just had some handcuffs, they could find the love they’re looking for.

Handcuffs really bring Adam (Luke Treadway) and Morello (Natalia Tena) together in "Tonight You're Mine." (Photo by Brian Sweeney)

Watching two people who don’t initially like each other convincingly and gradually fall for one another is usually a bit sappy. But because of the setting and circumstances involved here, it’s actually pretty fun to watch. And needless to say, the awkwardness of being literally inseparable makes for some uncomfortably comical situations that are likely to either bring two people closer together or make them want to run rapidly in the opposite direction as soon as the cuffs are off. But with a title like Tonight You’re Mine, you can probably guess what happens after Adam and Morello find the key.

Tonight You’re Mine. Directed by David Mackenzie. Starring Luke Treadway and Natalia Tena. Rated R. www.tonightyouremine.com

“Battleship” doesn’t sink despite summer sci-fi clichés

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If you’ve been rolling your eyes each time you’ve seen a trailer for Battleship, you’re definitely not alone. And given the fact that it looks like a thinly-veiled sequel to the Transformers franchise with little (if any) relation to the board game on which it is supposedly based, you have good reason to have low expectations for what is obviously just another big, dumb summer action movie.

The most obvious problem with Battleship is the aliens. I mean, since when does a board game about a naval battle have anything to do with an alien invasion involving robotic balls that saw their way through anything in their paths? Well, it doesn’t. But once you get past the fact that the only apparent connection between this movie and the game is the naval battle, Battleship is actually a lot better than you might expect.

I don't remember these things from the board game

After receiving a signal sent from Earth seven years earlier, creatures from a distant planet very similar to our own make their way to Hawaii, where the message originated. Conveniently enough, they decide to show up during RIMPAC, an Olympics-like gathering of American and Asian military forces that includes various naval competitions. Good thing there’s such a strong concentration of military power there to greet these alien visitors because it just wouldn’t have been very interesting if the aliens had been allowed to go about taking over the world unopposed.

When his older brother (Alexander Skarsgård) bails him out of one blunder after another, Alex Hopper (John Carter‘s Taylor Kitsch) joins the Navy around the same time the signal that eventually summons the aliens is sent into space. By the time RIMPAC rolls around, Hopper is a lieutenant on the verge of being kicked out of the Navy for being just as irresponsible as ever, especially after getting into a scuffle with a rival Japanese sailor (Tadanobu Asano). Oh, and he’s trying to work up the nerve to ask the Admiral that hates him (Liam Neeson) if he can marry his daughter (swimsuit model Brooklyn Decker), a physical therapist for disabled veterans.

Alex Hopper (Taylor Kitsch) gets his final warning from Admiral Shane (Liam Neeson) in "Battleship"

This is about the time that the aliens crash into the ocean and set up shop with a force field-emitting obelisk in the middle of the water. While most of the battleships, destroyers and aircraft carriers remain outside the force field, A few ships get caught inside the dome of energy. Can you guess which seaman is among those trapped inside the bubble with the aliens? That’s right, Hopper’s ship is one of a few that basically become humanity’s last hope against this mysterious force.

When things get really ugly for the Earthlings, Hopper is finally motivated to stop being a slacker and save his planet. After all, what better way to prove that you deserve not to be kicked out of the Navy than by saving the world from aliens? And these aliens have some pretty cool technology, though I’m not quite clear on why their ships can’t seem to navigate across or under the water (or fly through the air) and instead have to awkwardly hop around on the ocean’s surface. And from the looks of things, these aliens buy their ships from Cybertron and their spacesuits from Predators. But aside from these technological similarities, Battleship is more than a Transformers ripoff. In fact, the gallant display of Hopper and his fellow humans is more reminiscent of 1996’s Independence Day, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

These alien invaders prove to be the motivating factor Hopper (Taylor Kitsch) has been needing

Despite the obvious superiority of these extraterrestrial visitors, they do have vulnerabilities that the humans gradually begin to discover. And much like the Rebels and Ewoks did at the Battle of Endor in Return of the Jedi, the humans begin to attack the weak spots from various fronts to make a big comeback. But every time it seems that the humans just might prevail, the aliens reveal yet another morale-crippling surprise. When all hope seems lost, Hopper finds one more (very implausible) solution that’s crazy enough that it just might work. (Cue up the obligatory AC/DC song to rally the remaining troops.)

Battleship is a formulaic summer sci-fi adventure, so it is naturally a bit far-fetched on many occasions. But it deserves a little more credit than it’s likely to get, thanks to some witty dialogue (I’m pretty sure I even caught a brief reference to Clue, another board game-turned-movie, though I’m not certain it was intentional), enjoyable action sequences and self-aware comic relief. And even when you’re required to suspend your disbelief a little more than usual, there’s still some effort to explain why things happen the way they do (no matter how unlikely those explanations might be), which is more than can be said of a lot of movies of this ilk. Plus, the filmmakers do actually find a way to reference the strategic play of the original board game, which is really pretty clever and integral to the outcome of the battle. This movie certainly isn’t anything more than what it’s trying to be, but that doesn’t mean you should sink this Battleship without seeing it first.

Battleship. Directed by Peter Berg. Starring Taylor Kitsch, Alexander Skarsgård, Rihanna, Brooklyn Decker, Tadanobu Asano and Liam Neeson. Rated PG-13. www.battleshipmovie.com.

“The Dictator” once again brings Cohen’s satirical supremacy to theaters

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Much like Andy Kaufman before him, Sacha Baron Cohen has mastered the art of creating believably comical characters and remaining in gimmick for public appearances for further comedic confusion. With Ali G, Borat and Brüno, he has elevated ethnic stereotypes, scatology and other generally offensive subjects to levels so discomforting that the only way to respond is by laughing.

Sacha Baron Cohen as Admiral General Aladeen in "The Dictator"

While Da Ali G Show, Borat and Brüno were presented as faux reality shows and mockumentaries, with unsuspecting celebrities, politicians and civilians involuntarily becoming the brunt of the jokes, Cohen’s latest movie The Dictator (in theaters May 16) does not pretend to be anything more than a funny work of fiction. But that doesn’t mean the political satire and overall absurdity are any less hilarious or profane. Co-written by Cohen, The Dictator features Cohen as Admiral General Aladeen, the bumbling dictator of the North African Republic of Wadiya. The Dictator chronicles Aladeen’s inadvertent rise to power as a child up to his current tyrannical reign, which allows him such luxuries as paying American celebrities for sex and having people executed for things such as building a nuclear bomb with a rounded tip instead of a pointy one.

When Aladeen is summoned to New York for United Nations peace talks, the culture clash that you’ve either come to love or hate about Cohen’s characters reaches its breaking point. After being abducted and having his beard removed by a bigoted Secret Serviceman (John C. Reilly), Aladeen escapes to find that his right-hand man (Ben Kingsley) has replaced him with an even more incompetent lookalike, with plans of bringing democracy to Wadiya. When a feminist activist named Zoey (Anna Faris) mistakes Aladeen for a fellow protestor to his own mysogynistic regime, she offers him a job at her ailing organic grocery store. Ironically, it’s his fascist ways that turns things around for the store.

Zoey (Anna Faris) and Admiral General Aladeen (Sacha Baron Cohen) in "The Dictator"

Though his intent is to find a way back into the UN to expose his imposter and prevent the fall of his totalitarian rule, Aladeen finds himself succumbing to his secret desire to have a real relationship with a woman. And Faris’ outspokenness eventually impresses him, mostly because she reminds him a lot of himself, oddly enough. But as is the case with Cohen’s other films, the beginning and end aren’t nearly as entertaining as what happens in between. And such is the case with The Dictator, which includes scenes where Aladeen and his cohort (Jason Mantzoukas) frighten American tourists on a helicopter ride by speaking in their native tongue about a Porsche 911 and another where Aladeen loses his cell phone while helping a woman give birth.

The great thing about The Dictator (as well as Cohen’s other movies) is that the the seemingly sophomoric humor is not gratuitous. The fact that the humor is very much based in reality and that there is clearly a heavy dose of societal and political satire at work here (especially in Aladeen’s speech towards the end of the film) is what makes Cohen’s comedy resonate on many levels. And even though The Dictator doesn’t rely on Cohen’s usual tactic of humorously exposing the faults of real people, it’s still just as insightfully funny as anything he’s done previously.

The Dictator. Directed by Larry Charles. Starring Sacha Baron Cohen, Anna Faris, Ben Kingsley and Jason Mantzoukas. Rated R. www.republicofwadiya.com.

Tim Burton pays tribute to ’70s supernatural soap opera “Dark Shadows”

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Anyone who’s ever seen the late ’60s/early ’70s gothic TV show Dark Shadows knows that it transcended the trappings of other soap operas by focusing on ghosts, monsters and a vampire named Barnabas Collins. But that doesn’t mean it was devoid of the melodrama and who’s-screwing-whom scandals that are synonymous with soap operas. And with an aesthetic sense similar to that of the British Hammer Films releases, Dark Shadows was hokey and enchanting, which was really a big part of the appeal for the cult following it garnered.

Barnabas Collins (Johnny Depp) returns in "Dark Shadows" (photo by Peter Mountain)

All that being said, Tim Burton seems like the perfect person to resurrect Collins and his cohorts for a new generation in much the same way he revamped Ed Wood, Batman, Sleepy Hollow, Alice in Wonderland and other stories. And with Burton-favorite Johnny Depp filling in the fangs and pasty pallor of Barnabas, all the pieces appeared to be in place. Until we saw the trailers, which heavily implied that the dramatic theatrics had been buried by slapstick goofiness.

Thankfully, that is not the case with Burton and Depp’s new Dark Shadows movie. Though there is some Beetlejuice-like comedy, Burton’s film maintains the gothic feel of the original series with a touch of the whimsy that has made many of his films so magical. And for those who feel like Burton lost his touch after Ed Wood or Mars Attacks!, Dark Shadows could be the kooky comeback many of his fans have been awaiting for more than a decade.

When Depp’s version of Barnabas is accidentally awakened by Collinswood construction workers in 1972, he immediately returns to Collinwood Manor, the mansion his family built upon their arrival in the New World in the 1700s. But a lot has changed in the 200 years that Barnabas has been napping, and he doesn’t quite know what to make of things like the illuminated golden arches of a McDonald’s sign or the paved roads now leading him back home. And upon his return to his now-ailing manor, the dysfunctional descendents don’t quite know what to make of Barnabas, with his outdated fashion sense and ages-old colloquialisms.

Every soap opera needs a big secret or few, and it doesn’t take long for the scheming Elizabeth Collins Stoddard (Michelle Pfeiffer, who always makes a dramatic entrance from the top of a staircase) to make Barnabas agree to keep his blood-sucking ways from the rest of the family long enough for him to return the Collins name to prominence. It turns out that while he was away, Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green) – the heartbroken witch who turned Barnabas into a vampire – has usurped the Collins family’s fishing business and created her own empire in this small Maine town.

Angelique Bouchard (Eva Green) is a scorned witch in "Dark Shadows" (photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures)

Barnabas’ plot to get the family business back on track is interrupted by pill-popping in-house therapist Dr. Julia Hoffman (Helena Bonham Carter), who takes full advantage of doctor-patient confidentiality, Elizabeth’s rebellious teenage daughter Carolyn Stoddard (Chloë Grace Moretz) and the arrival of wide-eyed Victoria Winters (Bella Heathcote), a haunted young woman who bears a striking resemblance to Barnabas’ long-lost lover. Burton injects a lot of groovy ’70s humor, but otherwise sticks to the cheesy supernatural soap opera formula as everyone looks to carry out their own agendas while Barnabas and Angelique one up each other.

Burton always likes to give a nod to his influences, which he does here with a cameo by Hammer legend Christopher Lee and by having Alice Cooper perform at the Collins fundraising ball (to the confusion of Barnabas, who thinks Cooper is the ugliest woman he’s ever seen). And in one of the best uses of a song in a movie, Cooper’s “Ballad Of Dwight Fry” serves to further the story in an appropriately emotional way as the various subplots reach their climax.

Once the final nail is hammered into Dark Shadows‘ proverbial coffin, it has a little bit of everything to please Burton fans and followers of the original series. It’s cheesy, comical, dark, sappy, scandalous and supernatural without every overdoing any particular aspect and without diverting too much from the feel of the old show. It’s also everything people have come to love about Burton’s work, so hopefully the naysayers who were disappointed with his interpretations of Planet of the Apes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Sweeney Todd will be open-minded enough to give him another chance.

Dark Shadows. Directed by Tim Burton. Starring Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Eva Green, Helena Bonham Carter and Bella Heathcote. Rated PG-13. www.darkshadowsmovie.warnerbros.com.