THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE (2010)

July 15, 2010

 Greetings again from the darkness. Well, it’s the best kind of Nic Cage role … very little dialogue and plenty of scenes with him not included. Lots of special effects. Has some similarities to movies like National Treasure (another Jon Turtletaub directorial effort) and The Shadow. Can you tell I am struggling to find the positives?

The basic story involves Merlin’s three assistants (Balthazar, Horvath and Veronica) and their struggles after Merlin is killed by the evilest of all evil, Morganna (Alice Krige). Of course, that murder happened hundreds of years ago and poor Balthazar has been on a global search for the only sorcerer’s apprentice who can save the world in case Morganna is released.

Since Veronica (Monica Bellucci) sacrificed herself to capture Morganna, it is really important to Balthazar (Cage) that he find this apprentice who can also help revive Veronica, who is his one true love. The bad guy is Horvath (played well by Alfred Molina). He is on a mission to release Morganna so she can destroy the world and choose him as her assistant. Yeah, I know, lots of details that don’t really matter.

The reluctant apprentice is played by Jay Baruchel. Or someone playing Jay Baruchel. Can’t really tell since every role he takes is EXACTLY the same character. At least here he plays a physics prodigy. Yeah, right.

Next to Molina, the most fun is had when Toby Kebbell (RocknRolla) is on screen. He is a real hoot and these two play well off each other. The other attempt at humor is a weak homage to the Disney classic Fantasia, replete with moving mops, etc. No surprise, the sequence comes up well short of the original and Baruchel just doesn’t have the physical skills to pull it off.

I assume this movie is aimed at 10 year olds and I am just not sure they will understand the story, though I feel confident the big special effects and cool car chase will be enough for a few oohs and ahhs. Those over 10 … enter at your own risk.

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Posted by David Ferguson

JONAH HEX (2010)

June 21, 2010

 Greetings again from the darkness. Had been looking forward to this one because of the unique source material with a twist on the traditional western revenge. Somehow Josh Brolin provided a brooding, deadpanning, interesting character despite being surrounded by ridiculous ideas, amateurish directing, a boring story and some atrocious supporting acting. This one simply falls flat.

While Brolin deserves the benefit of the doubt … I am sure his vision was better than director Jimmy Hayward’s … there is no logical explanation for the “super weapon” or the “love interest”. The background given for the super weapon is that it’s an Eli Whitney invention, and there is simply no excuse for Megan Fox and her cardboard performance as the hooker with a heart only for Hex.

The other thing that seems pretty basic is that a revenge story needs a strong basis for a burning need to get even. Here we get a weak, aloof bad guy played by John Malkovich, who kills Hex’s family AFTER Hex had killed Malkovich’s son. Oh yeah, almost forgot, Jonah Hex can communicate with the dead. Which is good, because there won’t be any live people in the audience once word spreads on how lousy this movie is. Such a shame.

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Posted by David Ferguson

A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (2010)

May 9, 2010

 Greetings again from the darkness. OK, if you are seeking cinematic genius, no need to check this one out. On the other hand, if you enjoy a good scare, a creepy story and a really messed up bad guy … the latest reincarnation of Freddy Kreuger may be just what you have been dreaming of.

The list of Elm Street alums is pretty impressive: Johnny Depp, John Saxon, Laurence Fishbourne, Patricia Arquette and of course, Robert Englund. Sadly, the new one only gives us a bunch of mid-20’s types as high schoolers (yes, STILL a pet peeve of mine), though Kate Cassidy is the daughter of former pop star David Cassidy, and Rooney Mara is Kate’s sister. Kyle Gallner and Thomas Dekker are familiar enough and wear sufficient bleary-eyed make-up to help us forget their real ages.

Of course, the real stars here are Freddy and the dream sequences. We get a decent enough scrip without the total camp of the later Elm Street films. The first time director is Samuel Bayer, who made his name as a music video director. His eye for visual effects and camera shots is a plus here. I really enjoyed some of the spectacular individual shots, even if the overall flow was a bit choppy.

Wes Craven’s original creation lives on through the fine work of Jackie Earle Haley as Mr. Kreuger. Many will remember Jackie Earle as the dirt bike riding center fielder in the first Bad News Bears. He is all grown up now and experiencing a really nice career revival. He possesses the necessary creep factor to pull off this nastiest of nightmares.

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Posted by David Ferguson

CLASH OF THE TITANS (2010)

April 4, 2010

 Greetings again from the darkness. I have a weakness for the 1981 version and still get a kick out of Ray Harryhausen’s stop-action art in that film, as well as the “Sinbad” films. One of my favorite trivia questions is “What film starred both Harry Hamlin and Laurence Olivier?”. That cracks me up, and stumps most people … even though most have seen the original.

Director Louis Leterrier provides a remake that is very much a film project of current day despite the mythology involved. Here, Liam Neeson as Zeus and Ralph Finnes as Hades are (not so close) brothers supposedly battling for the same thing – getting those pesky humans back in line. This comes after the army of Argos gets fed up with the whims of the Gods and makes a move toward independence. You either know the story or not, but either way shouldn’t affect your enjoyment of the movie.

Sam Worthington, fresh off his Avatar fame makes for a solid Perseus, the half-son of Zeus (thanks to an earlier trick, that most would call rape). However, I never could make sense of his perfectly barbered look of facial and scalp stubble, while those around him all sport the late-60’s Hell’s Angels look. Gemma Atherton (former Bond girl) plays the quasi-God who is to protect Persues, and Mads Mikkelson (former Bond villain) fights alongside him. However, this is not an actor’s film.

The special effects are bountiful. Hades comes and goes as a cloud of thick black smoke and is quite comfortable splitting himself off into a flock of evil-spirited flying dragon things. Pegasus, the flying horse is back, as are the giant scorpions, who are much bigger and badder than before. Still don’t understand how they went from mean to sweet between scenes. Of course, the coolest thing is Medusa and her hairdo of creepy, crawly snakes. That’s one bad chick. The most impressive special effect is the Kraken, Hade’s underworld pet who is “released” to destroy mankind (unless Perseus can stop him).

There is one humorous tip of the cap to the original, but most of the other shots at humor fall extremely flat. This is not a movie to see for the dialogue. The mythology and wonderment of the Gods have a certain appeal, though this one certainly falls short in providing us any real insight into the daily tasks of the lucky few on Olympus. So enjoy this one for what it is … a guilty pleasure.  And stump your friends with that trivia question!

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Posted by David Ferguson

ALICE IN WONDERLAND (2010)

March 6, 2010

(3-6-10) 

 Greetings again from the darkness. A sequel?? How dare they? When I first heard that Tim Burton was taking on Lewis Carroll’s story, I was very excited. What better director to take on this most peculiar work than the man who brought us Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow, Beetlejuice, Batman Returns and others? The man is a visual genius. But a sequel??

Early in the film, we find an almost 20-year-old Alice being proposed to in front of a large crowd of Victorian high society types. She spots a rabbit in the bushes and excuses herself, chases the rabbit, and quickly falls down the rabbit hole. The wild ride begins.

Mr. Burton’s visual feast takes Alice (Mia Wasikowska) through many of the situations we (and she) are familiar with. The main difference is this is her “return” trip to Wonderland and she is no longer a little girl. She is told her destiny is to defeat the Jabberwocky so that the evil Red Queen’s ruling power can be assumed by her sister, the good white queen. This destiny takes Alice through many sites and characters we don’t often see.

Johnny Depp is cast as her friend the Mad Hatter and delivers yet another unique, full-bodied performance.  His “mad” look is achieved through a bird’s nest of red hair, giant yellow saucer-sized eyes and make-up that would make Lady Gaga jealous. The Red Queen, who captures the Hatter, is played wonderfully by Mr. Burton’s wife, Helena Bonham Carter. She has marvelous voice inflections and is as quick with an “off with their heads” as she is a “I need a pig”. Her sister, the White Queen, is played oddly but beautifully by Anne Hathaway. The sibling rivalry is a hoot.

We are treated to voice work from three of the best ever: Christopher Lee, Michael Gough and Alan Rickman. Unfortunately, Mr. Lee and Mr. Gough have VERY limited lines, but it was nice of them to contribute. Also contributing are Stephen Fry, Michael Sheen, Timothy Spall and Matt Lucas.

Once I adjusted to the fact that this was not a re-imagining of the original works, but rather more of a sequel or next step, the film worked fine for me. What I did miss was the amazing word play of the great Lewis Carroll. Of course, anyone who actually understood his writings will probably be a bit bored with this version. Luckily, that affects very few!

Mr. Burton’s visuals are successful and will probably appeal to most ages. The 3-D seems to have been an after-thought and is most effective with the really cool Cheshire cat. The youngest kids will struggle to follow the Mad Hatter’s accent-heavy dialogue, but the pictures and characters (Tweedle-Dee and Dum) should be enough to keep them entertained.

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Posted by David Ferguson

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