Selig Film News

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part I) – A Review by Gary Murray

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November 19, 2010

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Part I)

By Gary Murray

Starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grunt

Written by Steve Kloves

Directed by David Yates

MPAA Rating PG-13

Running time 2 hr 20 min

Selig Film Rating Matinee

It seems that we have been in the world of Harry Potter for decades. The continuing story of the boy wizard and his epic battle between “he who must not be named” has been going on for quite a while. While I can appreciate the unusual directors who have taken the helm of the franchise, my favorite director of the series was Chris Columbus, the man behind the first two adventures. His vision was just a bit more magical. As the adventures have gone along, they have become much more serious. The last one has been set up in two parts and is entitled Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

The story picks up not too far from the last adventure. There is an upcoming war and our three heroes, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) Hermonie (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grunt) are preparing. In a touching scene, Hermonie erases herself from the memories of her parents, hoping to shield them. The rest of the wizards and witches are in protection mode, shielding Harry from Voldemort.

With the death of Dumbledore, Voldemort has all the pieces he needs to ascend to power, gaining total control over the Ministry of Magic.

After a daring escape scene where there are a multitude of Harry Potters, it is learned what they must do. There are magic charms called Horcruxes that are the key to Voldemort’s power. Our trio must find them and destroy them using the Sword of Godric Gryffindor. The problem is that no one knows the the location of the objects. Dumbledore has left Ron, Hermonie and Harry items from his will, items that are clues to finding all the missing pieces. Before one can say ‘road trip’ our young adventurers are on a quest.

The path leads them to the Ministry of Magic where they infiltrate using a potion. It becomes a tale of daring-do being in the newly enemy camp. We also get battles with other wizards and the giant snake of Voldemort. Of course there are also the teenage difficulties between friends and lovers, with complications and resolutions between our three leads. This part of the film feels more like Wizardly Twilight. The exercise climaxes with a cliff hanger, letting the audience be filled with anticipation for Deathly Hallows II due next summer.

To be honest, I hate films where one knows going in the theater that the entire film experience will not be shown. Back to the Future Part II and The Empire Strikes Back are two most notable examples. I understand that the makers of this work knew that there would have to be major cuts in order to make one movie from Deathly Hallows but it still feels like an unfulfilled experience.

The bigger problem with Deathly Hallows is that it is deathly slow. There are some long passages where very little happens. On the building of the relationships between Harry and Hermonie, the film loses its sense of urgency. In the two plus hours it takes to unspool, there is little feeling about the impending doom fated for both mankind and the half-blood wizards. By the unwilling nature to cut out parts that slow the action, the pace of the entire film is choppy at best.

The performances in Deathly Hallows make up for the pace issues. Our three leads have been doing this for years and know their characters. One has to wonder if they will have much success in their post Harry Potter careers. The transition from child actor to adult actor is an uphill battle with a ton of luggage. If they can divorce themselves from these roles and create new screen personas, they might make it.

The adult actors are given little to do here. Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane and Alan Rickman all have parts that are almost cameos. While they all get a line here and there, their use in Deathly Hallows is almost for naught. Of the newer characters Rhys Ifans stands out as Xeonphilius Lovegod. He plays the scatterbrained wizard with a solid freshness that the movie needs to keep the pace going.

Ralph Fiennes just oozes blackness as Voldemort. This is a seriously evil person and he captures every wicked element needed for the part. One believes that this truly nasty demon could exist. Knowing that a battle between him and our young hero has been seven episodes in the making and the final battle promises to just be the climax one imagines.

The special effects are all top rate, from the explosions to the flying death eaters. The world of Harry Potter that was started by Chris Columbus stays much the same but it has grown darker with every chapter. With all the scares and deadly deeds, this episode is definitely not a kiddie flick.

Director David Yates tried to keep the film afloat while being anchored down by the Steve Kloves screenplay. While the mixture of action and drama comes across as too lopsided, the promise of an epic ending shines in every scene.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a film made for the fans and not the casual movie fan. Those who haven’t seen the other movies or read the books will definitely be confused. If you haven’t seen the other works, it is best to go an catch-up on all the films before attempting this outing. But for those who know Dobby from Dumbledore, this will be a magical appetizer to the final course due in six months.

The Next Three Days – A Review by Gary Murray

Gary Murray

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November 19, 2010

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The Next Three Days

By Gary Murray

Starring Russell Crowe, Elizabeth Banks and Liam Neeson

Written by Paul Haggis and Fred Cavaye

Directed by Paul Haggis

Running time 202 min

MPAA Rating PG-13

Selig Film Rating Matinee

‘How far would one go for love?’ is the central tenet of the new film by Paul Haggis called The Next Three Days. Even though it is billed as an action film, it is more of a prison break flick but done from the outside.

The beginning of The Next Three Days starts with a slate ‘Three years earlier’. Russell Crowe stars as John and Elizabeth Banks is Lara, the loving wife. That night they are at dinner with John’s brother and sister-in-law with Lara relating the story of her recent run-in with her boss. It seems that they had a big blow-out just that night. The next morning the police break in to their home and accuse Lara of killing her boss.

We jump forward three years and they are on their last appeal. The lawyer says it is hopeless and Lara tries to kill herself. This event springs John into action. He begins to form a plan to break her out of county jail before they can transfer her to the state correction facility. John is told by a former inmate (Liam Neeson in a cameo) that every prison has a key and one just has to find it. The hard part is not getting out but staying gone, away from everything and everyone you love.

The film starts on all the plotting of making the escape. We see how John tests out each part of his plan, from popping locks to working out routes of escape. John gets beaten up by trying to secure fake passports.. He has to go over hurtle after hurtle, and all before his lovely bride is taken away. Along the way there are questions and temptations but John is resolute in his mission. He asks his students in class a question he should ask himself–What part of your life is truly under control?

The film slowly builds to the part everyone is waiting for. The breakout and the aftermath of getting out of Pittsburgh and into the safety of a foreign country that doesn’t have US extradition treaties. At almost 2 1/2 hours, the audience has to wait almost three days for The Next Three Days. Paul Haggis seems to much in love with his own story to cut any parts out, something he should have done. There are some major leaps of dis-belief that hurt the enjoyment and when one begins to question what characters are doing, the plot elements have been lost. The film just runs too far without building the suspense.

Russell Crowe is playing a good man in bad circumstances with his role as John. He’s a smart guy who works out all the angles before he makes his move. He has to do many things beyond his experiences as a junior college professor but every action he does has a coherent if not thought-out base. There is this steadfast determination to save the one that he loves that is endearing to the point of obsession.

Elizabeth Banks delivers another strong performance as Lara. She is either the victim or the cold-blooded killer with a screenplay that keeps one guessing about her innocence, even if her husband has not question.

Those expecting an exciting action/adventure (which the pre-views and ads promise) are going to be sorely disappointed with The Next Three Days. There is not much action and not many thrills in the first 90 minutes of the film. It finally gets going toward the end but loses the promise by not picking up the pace.

Between Heaven and Hell–The Press Tour

Gary Murray

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November 15, 2010

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BETWEEN HEAVEN AND HELL

By Gary Murray

The path to make an independent motion picture is serpentine at best. While there are grand plans that take place between the driven individuals who want to communicate cinematic truths to the masses, it takes different miracles to make the dream a reality.

Take the case of the new DVD release Between Heaven and Hell. The film was written years ago by Marvin Faulkner a double board certified physician as a way to deal with the emotions behind losing his wife. Once it was finished, it went on a dusty shelf.

Years later Marvin was waiting for his daughter to get off from work. His daughter was helping a customer who was a photographer. The photographer, Jason Ward, asked her if she would be interested in posing for him. Jeff is the owner of Storm The Beach, a creative work-shop. The reluctant dad wanted to tag along just to make sure everything was legitimate for his daughter’s sake.

At the shoot, the two men began to talking, finding out that they had much in common from similar backgrounds to similar views. Jason mentioned that even though he was a photographer, he wanted to direct motion pictures and the only thing stopping him was the equipment. Marvin bought a camera and Jason offered to shoot a music video for Marvin’s daughter.

Later, Marvin mentioned that he had a script. After Jason read the work, he knew he wanted to make the film. The two began to work together to make it a reality. Two years of weekend shooting later they had Between Heaven to Hell in the can, a first-time feature from a first-time director.

Then came the part of crafting fifty hours of footage and putting it into a narrative whole. Marvin and Jason kept trying but were becoming overwhelmed by the process. They were about to give up on the entire project when fate made another serpentine path toward them.

Marvin was getting quotes on insurance from a new agent. During their talk, Marvin mentioned the problems he was having with editing the film. The agent, Johnn Hudson, used to teach the Apple editing software the team was using. Soon, they had their editor for Between Heaven and Hell.

Now a scant two years later and a few hundred thousand spent, they have their film which has had a few special preview showings and makes its debut on DVD this November.

The film is of Mike Taylor played by Marvin. He’s a former Golden Gloves fighter who is having his faith tested He goes to a seedy bar and gets drunk while making the acquaintance of two ladies of questionable reputation. After a night of hard drinking, Mike passes out behind a dumpster. In his alcoholic haze, he thinks he sees a man kill one of the ladies. The next morning, he finds the necklace that belonged to the woman beside the dumpster.

Mike takes the evidence to the local police detective. Unknown to Mike, the detective McGill (Jeff Wallin) is the murderer. In trying to help his brother, McGill accidently killed the woman. Though there are some deeper reasons he is involved with protecting the family.

As the film twists and turns in a film noir gritty realism, it also finds a moral Job-like center. It is a religious film without being a ‘G’ rated family flick. It is very real, with coarse language and adult themes. Jason refers to the film as a conservative film with F-bombs. The element of murder, redemption, lust and forgiveness blend together in a tale not easily forgotten.

When talking to the filmmakers, one can feel the abject pride on delivering this film. Marvin called the process “entertaining this insanity.” He added, “Two years later, we had accomplished the impossible. We had shot a full-feature film.”

“The screenplay had been shelved and it was not perfect,” said Marvin. “I started off writing a novel and I never thought a movie would be made from it.” He admits that it was 75% sound and 25% in need of help. “It needed to have a few loose ends tied-up.”

Johnn added, “As we went further and further along, the story started to line up. As an editor you think what parts are the meat and what are the fat.”

The filmmakers never had a set budget and paid for the film as they shot it. Jason said, “We went through it with a completely novice approach, the backwards wrong approach.”

But because they were a little independent film, the locals would get free-reign to locations which included a police station. “Half the time we would have three weeks getting ready for a scene in getting the props figured out. It is amazing how it all just came together.”

“Every single time we came up against a hurtle, something we could not overcome, the solution would land in our laps like a gift from God.” Johnn said, “We all have a degree of pride about how we were able to pull it off without putting a mortgage on the house.”

They wanted it to be real, the way real people talk, which included very adult language. The tone of the scene remains the same and as Marvin said, “The moments of heaven seem to be shorter than the moments of hell. We have more hell in this movie than heaven.”

Economic considerations were the main reason for making Marvin the lead. “This story was testified as ‘based on a true story’ and we did feel that there was enough in there to be inspired by true events. I lived it. It came down to a matter of realistic opportunities.”

“We didn’t know how far we were going to take the project,” said Jason, “we were stubborn and we were going to get this thing done. We really never even questioned who was going to play Mike Taylor. We have to rise to the occasion and make sure that this film gets done or it is all for nothing.” Marvin summed up the crew of Between Heaven and Hell by saying, “Without everyone who is here we would not have accomplished this.”

Jason, an accomplished musician, scored the film but it also incorporated the music of Johnny Cash, Bruce Springsteen, Kris Kristopherson and Leonard Cohen. It was a major challenge to get the rights to the songs. They are very proud of convincing the artists to grant them rights to the soundtrack that they wanted for Between Heaven and Hell.

The other challenge of the film was the dramatic climax. According to Johnn, “The stand-off at the end of the film is dialogue heavy. You gotta keep the audience’s attention and you gotta keep the tension. I think the final scene is a movie on it’s own. So many things are being said behind the dialogue and the actors just sell the underlying current. It is a very heavy scene and it still keeps my attention to this day.”

Jason added, “We were most intimidated by that scene so we saved it for the end. As filmmakers we would almost arrange our shoot on our experience level. We spent extra time on music and camera work. We wanted it to feel like a little ‘big’ film We set our mark as filmmakers where we can bring in all these elements and make this seem like a bigger budget film than it is.”

Marvin chimed in by stating, “As the movie grew into what it is, each scene got better.” Marvin said that the reason for the betterment was the quality of the professional actors used in the scenes. “As they stepped up their game, we stepped up our game.” Jason said that making the film was a crash course of film school. Johnn finished by saying, “We made the audience wait 90 minutes to get here and lets give them something.”

They showed the film first at the Studio Movie Grill in Arlington just to see if they had done the movie right. “There were three hundred people there and I was in shock,” said Marvin. When it was over he realized that they had done something.

At the moment, the creators of Between Heaven and Hell are working on their various day jobs. They have four separate scripts in development in different genres. They are now waiting for the DVD public to vote for their film with their dollars. Between Heaven and Hell is available in just about every way one can get the film on the Internet. These gentlemen know that just getting to this point is a major accomplishment.

127 HOURS – A Review by Gary Murray

Gary Murray

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November 12, 2010

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127 HOURS

By Gary Murray

Starring James Franco, Amber Tamblyn, Kate Mara, Clemence Poesy, Kate Burton and Lizzy Caplan

Directed by Danny Boyle

Written by Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy

Running time 94 min

MPAA Rating R

Selig Film Rating Matinee

The true story of Aron Ralston was a major headline on the talk-news stations a few seasons back. The tale of a man trapped in a canyon with his arm caught between a canyon edge and a massive boulder was the driving discussion of those ‘What would you do?’ segments. The story is told in fictional fashion with the new Danny Boyle film 127 Hours.

When we first meet Aron (James Franco), he is a rather cocky athletic young man with a zest for adventure. He’s the kind of a guy to go out in the desert and not tell his friends or family where he is traveling. As an amateur guide, the knows every crevice and curve in the Utah park he frequents. Riding his bike to a dangerous limit, the idea that he is his own man gets a solid cinematic footing.

Soon he meets a couple of hikers (Amber Tamblyn and Kate Mara) showing them an underwater swimming hole with a shear drop to splashdown. The girls confirm that Aron is the kind of guy who can attain just about any woman he wants. After the swimming jaunt, Aron takes off for more adventures but promises to meet the young ladies later in town.

Then Aron takes off for more exploring. On top of a outcropping, he loses his footing and falls down in a deep crevasse with a massive rock following him. Once the debris settles, it is obvious that Aron’s hand is caught between the two solid pieces of Mother Earth. A clock appears. We know that the countdown is on.

The rest of the film is struggle and realizations, where Aron has to come to the inevitable conclusion of what he must to first to survive, then to free himself. Along the way there are all the stages of grief and flashbacks to happier days in his life. He confronts what demons led him to the path of his life.

Even though there is a big cast listed, the true star of 127 Hours is James Franco. Since most of the story takes place between a rock and a hard place, all we get is different angles of Franco struggling to free himself and work against the elements. He does a great job of keeping us interested in his plight. Anyone who watches the news knows the outcome of Aron, the journey is of self-discovery.

Danny Boyle scored the Oscar with Slumdog Millionaire but the magic didn’t happen twice with 127 Hours. There is not enough story for a full-length feature. Padding the film with flashbacks just clutters the present of 127 Hours. While he does a workman job of selecting different shots to drive the piece, there are not so many ways one can frame a guy caught in a crevice. It was getting old waiting for the big ending. A more interesting story would have been with dealing with the self inflicted handicap. The story post being trapped is a compelling idea but not fulfilled here.

There are going to be many comparisons made between 127 Hours and Buried, the Ryan Reynolds film from earlier in the fall. I think that it is a bit unfair. Where both are stories of men trapped in circumstances beyond their control, the background stories are as dissimilar as two could ever be. Where Buried is a more ‘man against the elements’ story, 127 Hours is a ‘man against himself’. It is an interesting idea but not the best story or execution.

MORNING GLORY – A Review by Gary Murray

Gary Murray

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November 11, 2010

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MORNING GLORY

By Gary Murray

Starring Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton and Patrick Wilson

Written by Aline Brosh McKenna

Directed by Roger Michell

Running time 1 hr 42 min

MPAA Rating PG-13

Selig Film Rating Matinee

Rachel McAdams is slowly becoming the ‘girl next door’ actress. She’s the girl every guy wants to date and the girl other girls are not threaten by. Most of her roles have been light and fun without taking too many chances. In her newest venture Morning Glory she give the audience much more of the same.

The story starts with Becky (Rachel McAdams) as a young woman working at a local AM Morning Show in New Jersey. She’s one of these go-getters who has a do anything to make it. Unfortunately, she is let go from her local gig. After a sobering non-pep talk from Mom, she takes on the hard-core search for a job. After much rejections, she gets an interview with IBS, a NYC network with a weak fourth place morning show. Even though it is less pay and more expenses, she takes the job offered to her by Jerry (Jeff Goldblum).

Soon she is over her head, the little girl in the big city. Almost instantly she makes friends with Adam (Patrick Wilson) a hot shot doing network news magazine programs. They have all the prestige and the morning show gets all the gruff. In the world of the morning show, Becky finds that making the national scoop is much harder than local one. The last place network show seems to lad behind on getting all the important guests.

Becky soon jumps in by taking charge of just about every aspect of the production, becoming a 24-7 devotion. When she fires the male anchor, she has to scramble to get a replacement. Working at the network is veteran news man Mike Pomeroy (Harrison Ford). He is a seasoned journalist with a ton of awards and a giant destain for morning fluff. Adam calls him ‘the 3rd worst person in the world’. But, due to his contract, he has to take the job. He doesn’t mix along with his veteran co-host Colleen Peck (Diane Keaton) but she is a trouper, wanting to do anything and everything.

With two anchors who don’t mix and a weak support staff, Becky soon finds that if she cannot get better ratings the show will be canceled. Going for broke, she tries every crazy scheme to build ratings. Even though it takes a long time to get to this point, the scenes where the show goes into overdrive are some of the funniest moments of 2010. Every person knows where all this will end but it is a fun ride getting there.

Rachel McAdams could read the phone book and still be captivating. She is the newest entry in the ‘American’s Sweetheart’ contest and is winning by lengths. Here she just adds to the base of her fans, giving a winning performance that is as goofy as charming.

The supporting cast really makes the film zing. Harrison Ford plays the stoic, bitter newsman with a certain gleeful relish. He smirks and snarls every line with a zeal that can only come from a lifetime of acting. Diane Keaton just shines in a smaller role, giving a winning smile while delivering viper lines.

The weakest link in the story comes from Patrick Wilson. Here he is just beef-cake, something for the ladies to aspire to. There is nothing much to the role more of a goal than a performance.

If a category needs to be made for Morning Glory, it would be a lighter update of Broadcast News. The two films, while having a different sensibility travel a similar path. Where Broadcast News was a love triangle set in the cut-throat world of network news, Morning Glory takes a path of lighter fair stories. That is where the bulk of the comedy generated, the funhouse mirror reflecting back on itself. Morning Glory is nothing more than an entertaining little bon-bon. It is something that is just fun to watch.

DUE DATE – A Review by Gary Murray

Gary Murray

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November 5, 2010

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DUE DATE

By Gary Murray

Starring Robert Downey Jr., Zach Galifianakis and Michelle Monaghan

Written by Alan R Cohen and Alan Freedland

Directed by Todd Phillips

Running time 100 min

MPAA Rating R

Selig Film Rating Cable

The road comedy has been around almost since the beginning of movies. Stories of different people trapped in the mundane sameness of going across the fruited plains just promises the building of laughs. Crosby and Hope were on the road so many times one had to wonder if they could ever stay in one place. The latest paring is Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis in the comedy Due Date.

The story starts at the Atlanta airport where Peter Highman (Robert Downey Jr.) is trying to get back to LA and his pregnant wife Sarah (Michelle Monaghan). Peter has an estranged non-relationship with his dad and wants to be the father that he never experienced. Very early on, Peter is shown as a tough as nails man with little compassion or concern for his fellow human beings.

While being dropped off, he bumps into Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis) and his dog. Ethan is just the opposite in every way, a man-child who lives life more with a degree of luck than of planning. The dog becomes more of a fashion accessory ala Paris Hilton.

The first mishaps begin at the airport where Peter is screened by airport security. They find a Mad Magazine and a pipe in his luggage. In bumping into Ethan, their things became mixed. On the plane, Ethan and Peter are sat behind one another. An offhand remark by Ethan and corrected by Peter brings attention to the US Marshall on the aircraft.

Peter is shot with a rubber bullet and both men are escorted off the plane. The big problem is that his wallet and suitcases are still on the plane. The agent on the ground lets Peter know that he is now on the ‘no-fly’ list.

In Atlanta without money or ID, Peter cannot rent a car. Ethan shows up and offers him a ride out to LA. It seems that Ethan is on his way to Hollywood to become an actor with a goal to be on Two and a Half Men. Ethan carries with him the ashes of his father and wants to let them go at the Grand Canyon. Before we can say fill’er up, a road trip movie is born.

The first adventure takes them to off-route where Ethan has to get some medical marijuana from Heidi (Juliette Lewis). As Ethan gets high, Peter has to watch Heidi’s kids. There we see how of an out-of-touch parent Peter is going to be. The scene is supposed to be funny but it comes across more as cruel.

Mishaps happen as they make their way to Texas. Peter contacts his college buddy Darryl (Jamie Foxx) who is also a former college friend and former beau of Sarah. Ethan plants seeds of doubt in the mind of Peter, another scene that was supposed to bring huge laughs but again comes across more cruel.

The two men fight and argue, bonding along the way and finding some common ground. Along the way, our main characters get hurt, get high and get in trouble with Mexican Border guards. In one scene, Peter gets into a losing battle with a disabled vet which brings more shocks than laughs. The high scenes go into hallucination, an idea funnier in the Tenacious D flick.

We know where Peter and Ethan are going to end up, in LA and as friends. The supposed joy of Due Date is watching it happen as they make the long trek West.

As much as I think Robert Downey Jr. is one of the premiere actors of his generation, he never finds the right rhythm with his reading of Peter. There are so few scenes of compassion that one has to wonder just how he has a wife and friends. He comes across as relentlessly bitter and angry, a person who just keeps the chips of life stacked on his shoulders. Any little week and those chips come tumbling down with a ferocious zeal.

As much as Zach Galifianakis is becoming the new Hollywood ‘it’ funny man, he is beginning to show that too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. Where he has had small parts that brought a load of laughs, the more screen time he gets, the less humorous the character. He is like a spice, something that should be used sparingly. The more Hollywood uses his talents, the more of the flavor of the month he is going to become. He is just too much in Due Date.

In the nick picking department, Michelle Monaghan is just too young to be the college sweetheart of either of the men in her life. In the screenplay, both Robert Downey Jr. and Jamie Foxx claim that they knew Sarah twenty years ago in college. That means Michelle should be in her forties, something that takes quite a stretch to believe.

The film does look great with majestic sweeping vistas and shots framed as if they were paintings. Director Todd Phillips makes ‘fly over’ country more of a character than a backdrop. It is just he has so little to work with in the screenplay. Every comic bit is shown in the trailers and two minutes of solid laughs are a far stretch in a 100 minute film. Some of the jokes that worked so well on the small screen with quick editing lose their punch when placed in the slower paced. The fault of Due Date falls squarely on the shoulders of the writing team which failed to turn a good premise and a fair series of skits into a collective whole movie.

The best way to describe Due Date is that is is a psychotic film, going all over the place and never finding a solid center to generate comedy. While it has a few moments here and there, it is not as funny as you think it is going to be and doesn’t live up to the hype.

MEGAMIND – A Review by Gary Murray

Gary Murray

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November 5, 2010

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MEGAMIND

By Gary Murray

Starring the voice talents of Will Ferrell, Tiny Fey, Jonah Hill, David Cross and Brad Pitt

Written by Brent Simons and Alan J. Schoolcraft

Directed by Tom McGrath

MPAA Rating PG

Running time 100 min

Selig Film Rating Matinee

The computer animated film has grown by leaps and bounds over the last two decades. Where once we given a very short taste of how a series of programs could take the place of hand drawn cels, today we are almost constantly bombarded by cinema ‘1’ and ‘0’ creations. The latest is from Dreamworks Animation and it titled Megamind.

The film starts with Megamind plunging to his death, contemplating the errors of his ways. Then we go back to the beginning. Baby Megamind is being placed in a spaceship by his parents. It seems that the planet is about to be destroyed and Mom and Dad want to save their little one. At the same time on the next-door planet, another set of parents plan to send their little one off. As the planets are destroyed, the babies rocket to Earth. When they enter the atmosphere, one baby falls under the Christmas tree of a wealthy family and the other is sent to a prison for the criminally insane.

A few years later, the two boys attend the same elementary school, each showing super powers. One fits in and the other doesn’t. So our misfit decides that if he cannot be the good guy, he will become the bad guy. So soon are born bad guy Megamind and super hero Mega Man.

It is again a few years later and Megamind (Will Ferrell) is the master villain and Mega Man (Brad Pitt) is the reigning super hero. Caught in the middle is reporter Roxanne (Tina Fey) followed by her cameraman (Jonah Hill). The film hints more than once that all three have different degrees of affection for the lovely lass. As our play opens Metro City is planning to open the Mega Man Museum with a towering statue of the super man. Everyone know that Megamind will capture Roxanne and be rescued by Mega Man. It always happens and has become a rote experience

During the latest epic battle, Mega Man gets caught in a sphere of copper, his weakness metal and before all the explosions send their last fodder, the hero has met his demise. Much to the shock of the city, Megamind has won the day. After a few days of plundering and destroying, Megamind finds that he is bored and that a super villain needs a super hero as much as a super hero needs a super villain. So Megamind, in Dr Frankenstein fashion, decides to make his own super hero so he can have a foe to fight named Tighten

The making of the hero, with its unforeseen conclusions drive the story of Megamind. Along the way Megamind finds that he can be a different person, both physically and emotionally.

The biggest problem with the film is with the screenplay. It is manic without being funny, as if lots of stuff going on is just good enough. While the images of Megamind are stunning, with awe inspiring explosions and perfectly rendered hair, the script never delivers on the funny. There are some very long lulls without a laugh of solid plot point. It almost feels like a good 30 minute idea stretched into a 90 minute plus feature.

The other major problem is with the cast. While all do a fine job, the don’t do a different job. All the leads sound like themselves and not characters. With such a famous voice cast, the suspension of disbelief is just harder to achieve. Lesser known voices would have made a world of difference.

While there have been a few rumblings about the film being un-Christian, I just found the film a basic super hero story turned on its head. Megamind basically parodies and parallels the Superman story. While not on the level of some of the best of the year, it is a decent diversion. It is no where the classic film in the way that every Pixar film has become to viewers.

FAIR GAME – A Review by Gary Murray

Gary Murray

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November 5, 2010

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FAIR GAME

By Gary Murray

Starring Naomi Watts, Sean Penn and Ty Burrell

Written by Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth

Directed by Doug Liman

Running time 104

MPAA Rating PG-13

Selig Film Rating Cable

During the build-up to the Iraq War, there were massive failures of intelligence. With different parts of the government wanting different outcomes from facts, details that proved one side over another were coincidentally covered up or lost. While some lobbied for a full-front attack others wanted to give sanctions more time. Caught in the middle of this mess was Valerie Plame who was (according to differing newscasts) either a CIA super spy or just a glorified secretary in the Agency. In the new movie Fair Game, the creators take the former position.

The film starts in the days after 9/11 and the CIA playing catch-up. Valerie (Naomi Watts) is a field agent playing different parts in different countries, getting foreigners to agree to supply intelligence to the US government. After a few successful missions, she is asked to run the budding Iraq covert operations. We see that much of what the CIA knows about the country is based on hearsay and outdated intel. One of the big contentions is about a huge shipment of yellow-cake uranium from Africa to Sadam. Since her husband Joe Wilson (Sean Penn) knows the area well, Valerie suggest that he be sent to investigate.

While this is going on, the Vice President’s office begins to build a case for war. They start to hand pick different reports and facts to create a case that Sadam was on the verge of having WMDs with the US as the main target. Even though many in the CIA know that the justification for war is wrong, the warmongers prevail.

After the initial attack, no weapons are found and the blame game begins. Joe realizes that his report is being co-opted, he writes an Op-Ed piece for the New York Times. The retaliation is a leak where Valerie Plame is outed as a CIA spy. This destroys her career and puts her family and her contacts in grave danger.

The film really works in the last act when Valerie and Joe are up against the wall and have to basically take on the rest of the world to restore their honor. They lose almost everything when taking on the White House. There are some true moments of emotion as the two have to make decisions that will impact not only their lives but those of their families.

Director Doug Liman truly uses a scattershot approach to telling the tale in Fair Game. He takes every tool in the directing toolbox, giving us steady-cam shots jammed against extreme close-up next to that shaking camera cinema verite then mixed with actual news footage. While the hodgepodge way of making the film might be visually appealing to some, it does not make for a coherent film.

Writers Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth build a film that is part All the Presidents Men and part bad melodrama. The most honest thing in Fair Game is the depiction of spies, not as James Bond figures with shoot outs and sex but as individuals who easily blend in and coerce weak people to help out in covert causes.

This is an Oscar push for Naomi Watts and she just may get it with Fair Game. She shows some subtlety in a role that was put all over the 24 hour news. If feels as if one is watching a real person rather than an actor doing an interpretation. One can see how she can get people to do her bidding just by being nice and reasonable.

Sean Penn is all over the place with his interpretation of Joe Wilson. At times he a manic and others he is the calm family man. There are moments where he grabs ahold of the scenery and chews it for all it is worth, overacting to the point of parody. For a guy who can hide inside a character with a solid degree of believably, here he just all over the place.

Fair Game is a very liberal interpretation of the facts of the 2003 New York Times op-Ed piece. It is based on the books written by Valerie Plame and Joe Wilson so it naturally makes them out to be the heroes and victims of the system. The actual truth of this incident is probably something for future historians to decide. Liberals will flock to Fair Game just to have another bashing of George Bush and conservatives will just roll their eyes over what is now another part of history. The film itself, for all it posturing, is kind of a dull exercise. The way I look at Fair Game is much the same way I look at a couple breaking-up. There is her side, his side, and the truth. With this movie, it feels as if one is only getting one side.

Turner Classic Movies Announces Slate of Classic Films and Panel Discussions to Air in Conjunction with MOGULS & MOVIE STARS: A HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD

Film News

Dev Shapiro

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October 28, 2010

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Turner Classic Movies Announces Slate of Classic Films and Panel Discussions to Air in Conjunction with MOGULS & MOVIE STARS: A HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD

TCM to Screen Casablanca, Citizen Kane, Bonnie and Clyde, Sunset Blvd. and More Following Each Week’s Installment of the Groundbreaking Original Documentary Series

Discussions with TCM Host Robert Osborne, Writer/Producer Jon Wilkman and Renowned Film Experts to Follow Encore Screenings of MOGULS & MOVIE STARS
Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is set to present a robust slate of films and panel discussions that will air in conjunction with the network’s original seven-part documentary series, MOGULS & MOVIE STARS: A HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD. TCM’s epic journey through the history of the American movie industry premieres Monday, Nov. 1, at 8 p.m. (ET), with encore presentations airing on Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. (ET). Every installment of MOGULS & MOVIE STARS will be followed by films from or about the eras covered each week, including The Birth of a Nation (1915), Citizen Kane (1941), Casablanca (1942), Sunset Blvd. (1950), Singin’ in the Rain (1952), Bonnie and Clyde (1967) and more. A brief panel discussion with TCM host Robert Osborne; MOGULS & MOVIE STARS writer and producer Jon Wilkman; and film commentators and historians featured in the series, including Cari Beauchamp, David Thomson and Jeanine Basinger; will air after each Wednesday encore, enhancing the epic story of the people, power and periods that created the Hollywood dynasty.

TCM’s seven-part MOGULS & MOVIE STARS features rarely seen photographs and film footage; clips from memorable American movies; and interviews with distinguished historians and major Hollywood figures, including Sidney Lumet, Richard Zanuck, Samuel Goldwyn Jr., Peter Bogdanovich, Gore Vidal, Robert Osborne and Molly Haskell. The project is narrated by two-time EmmyÒ winner and 2009 Academy AwardÒ nominee Christopher Plummer (The Last Station) and is produced by TCM in association with Bill Haber’s Ostar Productions and Turner Entertainment Co.

TCM’s MOGULS & MOVIE STARS premiere episode “Peepshow Pioneers” will feature a wide array of revolutionary work by Thomas Edison, D.W. Griffith and Georges Melies, with such titles as Edison’s The Great Train Robbery (1903) and Melies’ A Trip to the Moon (1902). The Nov. 3 encore will be accompanied by movies about the era, including Nickelodeon (1976) and The Magic Box (1952).

On Monday, Nov. 8, the series will look at the rise of the movie industry in “The Birth of Hollywood.” It will be followed by such silent masterpieces as Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation (1915) and George Loane Tucker’s Traffic in Souls (1913). The Wednesday, Nov. 10, encore will be accompanied by silent classics, including The Poor Little Rich Girl (1917) and The Squaw Man (1914).

The MOGULS & MOVIE STARS episode “The Dream Merchants” on Monday, Nov. 15, will tackle the 1920s, when cinema began to come into its own as an art form. The night’s films include Sunrise (1927), Flesh and the Devil (1926) and Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921). The Wednesday, Nov. 17, encore will be featured alongside comedy classics like Charlie Chaplin’s The Immigrant (1917), The Kid (1921), Steamboat Bill Jr. (1928) and Safety Last (1923).

Both the advent of sound on film and the economic pressures of the Depression brought many changes to Hollywood, as revealed in the Monday, Nov. 22, episode “Brother, Can You Spare a Dream?” TCM will showcase frothy musicals and gritty dramas that became popular during this era, including Footlight Parade (1933), The Public Enemy (1931), Little Caesar (1930) and I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932). The Wednesday, Nov. 24, encore will be presented along with 1930s gems, including Duck Soup (1933) and Top Hat (1935).

Bringing the series to the 1940s, the Monday, Nov. 29, “Warriors and Peacemakers” installment of MOGULS & MOVIE STARS will be featured alongside the wartime films Casablanca (1942), The Great Dictator (1940) and They Were Expendable (1945). The Wednesday, Dec. 1, encore will be joined by such masterpieces as Stagecoach (1939), Citizen Kane (1941) and Mildred Pierce (1945).

With the arrival of television, movies once again had to adapt to changing tastes. The “Attack of the Small Screens” episode of MOGULS & MOVIE STARS will premiere Monday, Dec. 6, with films including Marty (1955), A Face in the Crowd (1957), Sweet Smell of Success (1957) and A Streetcar Named Desire (1951). Classics like Sunset Blvd. (1950), Singin’ in the Rain (1952), It Happened One Night (1934), Charlie Chaplin’s The Immigrant (1917), The Kid (1921), North by Northwest (1959) and The Defiant Ones (1958) will air in conjunction with the Wednesday, Dec. 8, encore.

TCM’s MOGULS & MOVIE STARS will wrap up its look at the history of movies with “Fade Out, Fade In,” premiering Monday, Dec. 13. The episode looks at the fall of the big studio moguls and the rise of independent filmmakers who were determined to speak with their own voices. TCM will celebrate the decade with such films as Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967), Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) and The Magnificent Seven (1960) on Dec. 13, as well as independent films like Night of the Living Dead (1968), Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1969) and Easy Rider (1969) on Wednesday, Dec. 15.

About Turner Classic Movies
Turner Classic Movies is a Peabody Award-winning network that presents great films, uncut and commercial-free, from the largest film libraries in the world. Currently seen in more than 85 million homes, TCM features the insights of veteran primetime host Robert Osborne and weekend daytime host Ben Mankiewicz, plus interviews with a wide range of special guests. As the foremost authority in classic films, TCM offers critically acclaimed original documentaries and specials, along with regular programming events that include The Essentials, 31 Days of Oscar and Summer Under the Stars. TCM also stages special events and screenings, such as the TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood; produces a wide range of media about classic film, including books and DVDs; and hosts a wealth of materials at its Web site, www.tcm.com. TCM is part of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.

Complete Schedule of Series Premieres, Encores,
Films and Panel Discussions

The following is the complete schedule for TCM’s MOGULS & MOVIE STARS: A HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD premieres and encores, plus the films and panel discussions supplementing each night’s presentation (titles in bold indicate TCM premieres):

Monday, Nov. 1
8 p.m. MOGULS & MOVIE STARS: A HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD (2010)
Episode 1 – “Peepshow Pioneers” (1889-1910) – Premiere
9 p.m. The Films of Thomas Edison
Blacksmithing Scene (1893)
The Barbershop (1893)
Edison Kinetoscopic Record of a Sneeze (1894)
Sandow (1894)
Boxing Cats (1894)
Annabelle Butterfly Dance (1894)
Sioux Ghost Dance (1884)
Annie Oakley (1894)
Roberta and Doretto – Chinese Laundry (1894)
Fire Rescue Scene (1894)
Dickson Experimental Sound Film (1895)
The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots (1895)
The John C. Rice – May Irwin Kiss (1896)
Shooting the Chutes (1896)
Fatima, Muscle Dancer (1896)
Fifth Avenue, New York (1897)
Mr. Edison at Work in His Chemical Laboratory (1897)
What Happened on 23rd, NYC Pan American Exposition by Night (1901)
Life of an American Fireman (1903)
What Happened in the Tunnel (1903)
The Great Train Robbery (1903)
The Kleptomaniac (1905)
The Little Train Robbery (1905)
The Dream of a Rarebit Fiend (1906)
Three American Beauties (1906)
Films of the San Francisco Earthquake (1906)
The “Teddy” Bears (1907)
The Rivals (1907)
Rescued from an Eagle’s Nest (1908)
The Lone Game (1915)
11 p.m. MOGULS & MOVIE STARS: A HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD (2010)
Episode 1 – “Peepshow Pioneers” (1889-1910) – Encore

12 a.m. D.W. Griffith with Biograph
Those Awful Hats (1909)
Corner in Wheat (1909)
In the Border States (1910)
For His Son (1912)
The Sunbeam (1912)
The Girl and Her Trust (1912)
The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912)
The Mothering Heart (1913)
2 a.m. The Films of Georges Melies
Card Party (1896)
The Vanishing Lady (1896)
A Nightmare (1896)
The One Man Band (1900)
The Trip Conjurer and the Living Head (1900)
Excelsior! Prince of Magicians (1901)
The Devil and the Statue (1901)
A Trip to the Moon (1902)
Gulliver’s Travels Among the Lilliputians and the Giants (1902)
The Infernal Cake-Walk (1903)
The Kingdom of Faries (1903)
Jupiter’s Thunderballs (1903)
The Cook in Trouble (1904)
A Crazy Composer (1905)
The Eclipse, or The Courtship of the Sun and Moon (1907)
The Conquest of the Pole (1912)
4 a.m. Silent Shakespeare
King John (1899)
The Tempest (1908)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1909)
King Lear (1910)
Twelfth Night (1910)
The Merchant of Venice (1910)
Richard III (1911)
5:30 a.m. Ramona (1910)

Wednesday, Nov. 3
8 p.m. The Magic Box (1951)
10 p.m. MOGULS & MOVIE STARS: A HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD (2010)
Episode 1 – “Peepshow Pioneers” (1889 – 1910) – Encore
11 p.m. Episode 1 Panel Discussion – Robert Osborne and Jon Wilkman
11:15 p.m. Nickelodeon (1976)
1:15 a.m. When Comedy Was King (1959)
2:45 a.m. Hearts of the West (1975)
4:30 a.m. Show People (1928)

Monday, Nov. 8
7 p.m. MOGULS & MOVIE STARS: A HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD (2010)
Episode 1 – “Peepshow Pioneers” (1889 – 1910) – Encore
8 p.m. MOGULS & MOVIE STARS: A HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD (2010)
Episode 2 – “The Birth of Hollywood” (1907-1920) – Premiere
9 p.m. Traffic in Souls (1913)
10:30 p.m. The Indian Massacre (1912)
11 p.m. MOGULS & MOVIE STARS: A HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD (2010)
Episode 2 – “The Birth of Hollywood” (1910) – Encore
12 a.m. The Birth of a Nation (1915)
3:15 a.m. Within Our Gates (1920)
4:45 a.m. The Blot (1921)

Wednesday, Nov. 10
8 p.m. The Immigrant (1917)
8:45 p.m. Yankee Doodle in Berlin (1919)
10 p.m. MOGULS & MOVIE STARS: A HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD (2010)
Episode 2 – “The Birth of Hollywood” (1907-1920) – Encore
11 p.m. Episode 2 Panel Discussion – Robert Osborne, Jon Wilkman and Cari Beauchamp
11:15 p.m. The Poor Little Rich Girl (1917)
12:30 a.m. The Coward (1915)
2 a.m. The Squaw Man (1914)
3:30 a.m. The Mark of Zorro (1920)

Monday, Nov. 15
7 p.m. MOGULS & MOVIE STARS: A HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD (2010)
Episode 2 – “The Birth of Hollywood” (1907-1920) – Encore
8 p.m. MOGULS & MOVIE STARS: A HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD (2010)
Episode 3 – “The Dream Merchants” (1920-1928) – Premiere
9 p.m. Sunrise (1927)
11 p.m. MOGULS & MOVIE STARS: A HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD (2010)
Episode 3 – “The Dream Merchants” (1920-1928) – Encore
12 a.m. The Iron Horse (1924)
2:30 a.m. Flesh and the Devil (1926)
4:30 a.m. Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921)

Wednesday, November 17
8 p.m. The Kid (1921)
9 p.m. The Pilgrim (1923)
10 p.m. MOGULS & MOVIE STARS: A HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD (2010)
Episode 3 – “The Dream Merchants” (1920-1928) – Encore
11 p.m. Episode 3 Panel Discussion – Robert Osborne, Jon Wilkman, Cari Beauchamp and David Thomson
11:15 p.m. One Week (1920)
11:45 p.m. Steamboat Bill Jr. (1928)
1 a.m. Safety Last (1923)
2:30 a.m. It (1927)
4 a.m. Show People (1928)
6 a.m. Fool’s Luck (1926)

Monday, Nov. 22
7 p.m. MOGULS & MOVIE STARS: A HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD (2010)
Episode 3 – “The Dream Merchants” (1920-1928) – Encore
8 p.m. MOGULS & MOVIE STARS: A HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD (2010)
Episode 4 – “Brother, Can You Spare a Dream?” (1928-1941) – Premiere
9 p.m. Footlight Parade (1933)
11 p.m. MOGULS & MOVIE STARS: A HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD (2010)
Episode 4 – “Brother, Can You Spare a Dream?” (1928-1941) – Encore
12 a.m. The Public Enemy (1931)
1:30 a.m. Little Caesar (1930)
3 a.m. I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)
5 a.m. Red Dust (1932)

Wednesday, Nov. 24
8 p.m. It Happened One Night (1934)
10 p.m. MOGULS & MOVIE STARS: A HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD (2010)
Episode 4 – “Brother, Can You Spare a Dream?” (1928-1941) – Encore
11 p.m. Episode 4 Panel Discussion – Robert Osborne, Jon Wilkman, Cari Beauchamp, David Thomson and Jeanine Basinger
11:15 p.m. Duck Soup (1933)
12:30 a.m. Top Hat (1935)
2:15 a.m. Heidi (1937)
3:45 a.m. Little Women (1933)
5:45 a.m. Of Human Bondage (1934)

Monday, Nov. 29
7 p.m. MOGULS & MOVIE STARS: A HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD (2010)
Episode 4 – “Brother, Can You Spare a Dream?” (1928-1941) – Encore

8 p.m. MOGULS & MOV

CONVICTION – A Review by Gary Murray

Gary Murray

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October 21, 2010

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CONVICTION

By Gary Murray

Starring Hilary Swank, Minnie Driver, Sam Rockwell, Peter Gallagher and Juliette Lewis

Written by Pamela Gray

Directed by Tony Goldwyn

MPAA Rating R

Running time 107 min

Selig Film Rating Matinee

Hilary Swank is easily the most important actress of her generation. The two-time Oscar winner has given audiences characters that resonate on a very personal level, with a “commoner” theme, ordinary people who do extra-ordinary things. Her latest is in the high drama Conviction.

The movie starts with a murder in a trailer in Ayers, Massachusetts. The locals lock up petty criminal Kenny (Sam Rockwell) for the crime. His sister, Betty Anne (Hilary Swank) totally believes in his innocence. Through a series of flashbacks, we learn how close the bonds between the two are with them supporting each other through the roughness that is childhood. A couple of years after his original suspicion, Kenny is re-arrested for the crime, with two witnesses admitting that Kenny bragged about killing the woman. Also, the blood type matches Kenny. He is convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

Betty, a woman who has not graduated from high school, comes up with a plan. She is going to get her GED, then her undergraduate degree finally making it to law school. After passing the bar, she will be Kenny’s attorney and work to get him free.

In law school she befriends Abra Rice (Minnie Driver), a fellow ‘long in the tooth’ student who doesn’t take no for an answer. While she is in school, Betty reads about this new technique of testing blood called DNA and contacts Barry Scheck (Peter Gallagher) and his law firm for help,

Conviction is about the difficulty of finding all the twelve year old evidence and the struggle for new techniques to be introduced into courts. It is also a search for all the witnesses and the truth behind their testimony. As the plot drives forward, Kenny becomes more despondent about being in prison.

Hillary Swank just hits it out of the park with her reading of Betty Anne, a woman who sacrifices years of her life for the love of her sibling. She believes against all odds that she can prove her brother’s innocence. It is real and touching.

Minnie Driver shows a comedic side in her reading of Abra Rice. Where Betty Anne is our serious actress giving emotive conviction, Minnie gives a much needed human element to the entire proceedings. She believes in Kenny being innocent because she believes in Betty.

Even though she has a few scenes, Juliette Lewis just nails her small role of Roseanna Perry, one of the women who accused Kenny of the crimes. On first seeing her, she is a flake but one soon realizes that she has a sharp mind and know what admitting to perjury would do to her life. Juliette lets the make-up people age her to a frightening degree.

Sam Rockwell has the hardest part with Kenny and shows some serious acting chops in the role. We care for this convict, even though there are hints that things in his life may not be as cut and dry and Betty Anne thinks they are. The doubts fuel the prowess of the performance.

Director Tony Goodwyn does the smart thing by not trying to make the camera do all the swoops and twirls. By keeping it simple he gets more from his characters. We get a real sense of time and place, with camera work being used to a modest degree.

The word ‘conviction’ has two distinct meanings. First is being proven guilty and the second is the act of being persuaded. The movie Conviction is about both. Though it comes across a bit heavy handed at times, it does show that a true and just course is worth fighting for. This is another Oscar contender and will probably make some critics ‘Best of the Year’ list. I didn’t like it as much as some other critics but it has some importance.

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