I was lucky enough to see the world premiere of this mockumentary at the Raindance Film Festival in London, with the titular Coolest Man on the Planet in attendance. A light satire on the paparazzi, entertainment industry and the self-righteousness of documentary film makers, this low-budget indie comedy is good for a few laughs.
Michael Madsen, playing himself, has been accused of killing an extra on one of his films by a slimeball paparazzo, Billy Dant (Jason Alan Smith). He sues Dant for slander, but when he loses, decides to teach him a lesson by sending a documentary film crew to stalk him and give him a taste of his own medicine. The plot reveals itself mostly through talking head interviews, and it takes a while for the film to warm up and for it to become clear what is going on. Once it gets going, though, it is quite funny and compelling.
Davis Mikaels, Kathy Searle and Doug Tompos are great as the film crew, each in the business for very different reasons, and all ringing true to life. The real draws, however, are the cameo talking heads by friends of Madsen, like David Carradine, Harry Dean Stanton, Daryl Hannah and his sister, Virginia Madsen, all making fun of themselves.
The film reminded me in places of a Christopher Guest one, and I certainly enjoyed it as much as For Your Consideration, which is on a similar subject (although also the least good of Guest’s films). For something that only took ten days to shoot, the film makers have done an amazing job. Unfortunately, it perhaps still doesn’t add up to enough for a cinema release. Being Michael Madsen should find its home on DVD or on something like HBO, where it will give fans of Mr. Madsen a treat, and everyone else a diverting hour and a half.
Sunday, 30 September 2007
Saturday, 29 September 2007
Review - Death Proof
I am a huge Tarantino fan. And I mean huge. Not literally, of course, in reality I am quite petite, but I am huge in the loving-Quentin-Tarantino’s-films department. Obviously I was very excited about seeing Death Proof, as a new Tarantino release is a rare occurrence. But then I heard bad things about it, disappointed reviews from critics that professed to love Tarantino’s back catalogue, but just couldn’t get this. I began my first viewing with a heavy heart, but that didn’t last long. Although a slightly odd film, with passages that don’t quite scan on first viewing, Death Proof has lots of great dialogue and supercool moments that only Tarantino can do, which means it is worth a watch by everyone.
Death Proof was originally the second part of Grindhouse, a joint venture with Robert Rodriguez that did not go down well in America because people apparently couldn’t get the concept of a double feature. It may also have been because this project is really a minority pursuit; not everyone is interested in reliving the idiosyncrasies of bad 70s cinema, and perhaps they shouldn’t have expected a general young audience to get very enthused (stupid young people!). Harvey Weinstein has decided to split the film for its international release. As with the splitting in two of Kill Bill, this has allowed the addition of extra footage, and as with Kill Bill (specifically vol. 2) it may have been a better idea to keep it tighter as originally intended.
The story revolves around the actions of Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell), a stuntman with an unusual hobby: he enjoys driving his cool, black, reinforced car at speed into cars filled with beautiful young women, killing them instantly. We follow his victims on their night out in Austin Texas in the first half of the film, and then move on to Lebanon, Tennesse, where Stuntman Mike has decided to mess with the wrong girls.
The plot is quite thin, though compelling in a lurid way; what fills most of the screen time is the girls’ fast, sassy Tarantino-speak. Watching this you get an idea of how Tarantino would write an episode of Sex and the City, which makes it a pity that the series is over. For some, the pace may be a bit ponderous, but building up a relationship with these characters is important for when the inevitable happens. These are cool, clever women in control, a rare thing in movies; their presence shouldn’t be that surprising, as Tarantino’s female characters have always been strong and intelligent. Interestingly, the male characters are all wallies, wimps, or a psychopathic killer, almost playthings for the girls.
Russell gives a very charming and manacing performance when on screen, as most of the time he is just malevolent presence in the background. The girls are all great (although Jordan Ladd as Shanna is very annoying, I hope intentionally), with special mention to Vanessa Ferlito as Arlene for her astounding lap dance. I also really enjoyed Rosario Dawson, Tracie Thoms, a blonde Rose McGowan, and Sydney Tamaii Poitier as the rather frightening Jungle Julia, a six foot DJ. Zoë Bell (Uma Thurman’s stunt double on Kill Bill) plays herself, proving she must be certifiable with her death-defying stunts. As with all Tarantino films, one of the best characters is the soundtrack, and we are treated to some great and surprising choices that leave their mark on every scene.
This film is by its very nature choppy, split in two almost, and there are some moments that don’t seem to fit at first. But if you can get past those issues, then this is a very enjoyable ride, with many awesome moments and heaps of girl power.
Death Proof was originally the second part of Grindhouse, a joint venture with Robert Rodriguez that did not go down well in America because people apparently couldn’t get the concept of a double feature. It may also have been because this project is really a minority pursuit; not everyone is interested in reliving the idiosyncrasies of bad 70s cinema, and perhaps they shouldn’t have expected a general young audience to get very enthused (stupid young people!). Harvey Weinstein has decided to split the film for its international release. As with the splitting in two of Kill Bill, this has allowed the addition of extra footage, and as with Kill Bill (specifically vol. 2) it may have been a better idea to keep it tighter as originally intended.
The story revolves around the actions of Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell), a stuntman with an unusual hobby: he enjoys driving his cool, black, reinforced car at speed into cars filled with beautiful young women, killing them instantly. We follow his victims on their night out in Austin Texas in the first half of the film, and then move on to Lebanon, Tennesse, where Stuntman Mike has decided to mess with the wrong girls.
The plot is quite thin, though compelling in a lurid way; what fills most of the screen time is the girls’ fast, sassy Tarantino-speak. Watching this you get an idea of how Tarantino would write an episode of Sex and the City, which makes it a pity that the series is over. For some, the pace may be a bit ponderous, but building up a relationship with these characters is important for when the inevitable happens. These are cool, clever women in control, a rare thing in movies; their presence shouldn’t be that surprising, as Tarantino’s female characters have always been strong and intelligent. Interestingly, the male characters are all wallies, wimps, or a psychopathic killer, almost playthings for the girls.
Russell gives a very charming and manacing performance when on screen, as most of the time he is just malevolent presence in the background. The girls are all great (although Jordan Ladd as Shanna is very annoying, I hope intentionally), with special mention to Vanessa Ferlito as Arlene for her astounding lap dance. I also really enjoyed Rosario Dawson, Tracie Thoms, a blonde Rose McGowan, and Sydney Tamaii Poitier as the rather frightening Jungle Julia, a six foot DJ. Zoë Bell (Uma Thurman’s stunt double on Kill Bill) plays herself, proving she must be certifiable with her death-defying stunts. As with all Tarantino films, one of the best characters is the soundtrack, and we are treated to some great and surprising choices that leave their mark on every scene.
This film is by its very nature choppy, split in two almost, and there are some moments that don’t seem to fit at first. But if you can get past those issues, then this is a very enjoyable ride, with many awesome moments and heaps of girl power.
Tuesday, 4 September 2007
Review - 1408
This light horror, based on a short story by Stephen King, follows a man with a very unusual job. Mike Enslin (John Cusack) is a washed-up novelist who now makes his living investigating claims of haunted hotels, graveyards and the like. Although he wants to believe, he has never seen anything remotely supernatural on his many fact-finding missions for his hokey books. When he hears about the ‘evil’ room 1408 at the Dolphin Hotel, he decides to spend the night there, despite the protestations of the manager. The scene is set for a nightmarish evening in a very scary hotel room.
1408 is refreshingly short of blood and guts for a modern horror, but delivers chills rather than out-and-out terror. The neat set-up of the hotel room allows the director Mikael Håfström to build up the creepiness and weirdness, but it also makes this film a definite one man show (the lovely Tony Shalhoub and Samuel L. Jackson are relegated to one scene each). Luckily Cusack really commits to the role and gives a great performance. There are some problems, though. The ending feels very abrupt, and it all goes a bit Silent Hill on our collective asses with the appearance of a few unexplained dusty monsters that just don’t fit in. This is still an enjoyable film if you want a few scares, but perhaps aficionados of the horror genre will be a little disappointed.
1408 is refreshingly short of blood and guts for a modern horror, but delivers chills rather than out-and-out terror. The neat set-up of the hotel room allows the director Mikael Håfström to build up the creepiness and weirdness, but it also makes this film a definite one man show (the lovely Tony Shalhoub and Samuel L. Jackson are relegated to one scene each). Luckily Cusack really commits to the role and gives a great performance. There are some problems, though. The ending feels very abrupt, and it all goes a bit Silent Hill on our collective asses with the appearance of a few unexplained dusty monsters that just don’t fit in. This is still an enjoyable film if you want a few scares, but perhaps aficionados of the horror genre will be a little disappointed.
Monday, 3 September 2007
Review - Superbad
Teen Movies can be the crudest of things (think Porky’s), but they can also be the sweetest, capturing a confusing time truthfully and defining an era (think The Breakfast Club). Superbad manages to be both crude and sweet, as well as scream-out-loud funny. This is a must-see film for anyone who loves dick jokes and tales of friendship.
High School seniors Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cerra) have been friends since forever, and they have one long summer ahead of them before they go off to different colleges. Realising that the end of year bash is their last opportunity to sleep with the girls from their year, they hatch a plan to impress their potential mates by buying booze for the party (illegally, this being America). The patsy in this cunning plan is their hanger-on Fogell, played by the wonderful newcomer Christopher Mintz-Plasse (imagine Dustin Diamond’s younger, weedier brother), who has just got a totally unconvincing fake ID. Their quest to get the girls of their dreams leads them to a crazy night of robberies, useless cops, beatings and nutcases.
It’s lovely to see Cerra (George Michael from the much-missed Arrested Development) transfer deservedly to the big screen, and Hill is definitely a star in the making. Like the performances, the joke writing here is excellent, with a plethora of quotable lines. What really seals the deal, however, are the characters, based on the writers themselves when they were teenagers; this explains why the friendship between brash, confident outsider Seth and quiet geek Evan rings so true. Superbad takes a bit of time to warm up and establish itself, but it settles in to become one of the funniest films of the year, as well as a worthy successor to the John Hughes classics of teen love and friendship.
High School seniors Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cerra) have been friends since forever, and they have one long summer ahead of them before they go off to different colleges. Realising that the end of year bash is their last opportunity to sleep with the girls from their year, they hatch a plan to impress their potential mates by buying booze for the party (illegally, this being America). The patsy in this cunning plan is their hanger-on Fogell, played by the wonderful newcomer Christopher Mintz-Plasse (imagine Dustin Diamond’s younger, weedier brother), who has just got a totally unconvincing fake ID. Their quest to get the girls of their dreams leads them to a crazy night of robberies, useless cops, beatings and nutcases.
It’s lovely to see Cerra (George Michael from the much-missed Arrested Development) transfer deservedly to the big screen, and Hill is definitely a star in the making. Like the performances, the joke writing here is excellent, with a plethora of quotable lines. What really seals the deal, however, are the characters, based on the writers themselves when they were teenagers; this explains why the friendship between brash, confident outsider Seth and quiet geek Evan rings so true. Superbad takes a bit of time to warm up and establish itself, but it settles in to become one of the funniest films of the year, as well as a worthy successor to the John Hughes classics of teen love and friendship.
Tuesday, 7 August 2007
Review - Transformers
The Transformers toys were such a craze in the 80s because they required your input, they were both cars and robots, and one turned into a cassette (what was that about?). The animated series that was created to sell them was surprisingly good too. And so we now have the inevitable and highly anticipated film adaptation by Michael Bay, king of the mindless blockbuster. It delivers just what you expect: lots of really cool robots fighting, lots of cars going really fast, and lots of in-jokes and references for fans. Unfortunately, since it’s a Michael Bay film, it also delivers the wafer-thin plots and ridiculous characters you expect.
Thousands of years ago the planet of Cybertron was devastated by the war between the Autobots (decent robots that can change their shape) and the Deceptacons (power-hungry, evil robots that can change their shape). This war is now spilling over into our world, as both sides try to find a mysterious and powerful cube that is somewhere on Earth. For reasons that are not unclear, but stupid, only a geeky teenager (Shia LaBeouf) can save the day – with the help of his new robot friends, of course.
The story also follows other people affected by the robot invasion, including a soldier, a politician, and a ridiculously pretty and made-up (just when does she find time to re-apply her lip-gloss?) computer geek, who is also inexplicably Australian. Everyone seems to be inexplicably Australian at the moment. Well, people in House and Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye are too, and I call that a pattern. It was weird for me to see Jon Voight (oh, Coming Home, how I love you so!) playing the Defence Secretary squaring up against a bunch of robots, but even weirder to see Barton Fink (John Turturro) playing a moody official.
The Transformers themselves are definitely the most interesting and the most realistic things in the film; the CGI is outstanding. Those Citroën adverts that everyone loves, with the silly burpy music, have been royally trumped by these robots. It is a little hard to follow the fight scenes, since they become clumps of moving, twisted metal, but Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and Co. are never less than astonishing. The script is full of silly jokes, and the frenetic pace and schizophrenic editing mean that you could never be bored watching it, even if you really wanted to. The discerning art house cinema regular will want to, though, and will feel dirty after seeing it. But if you’re a fan of Transformers or silly Hollywood action films, then you will definitely have fun. All in all, a bit of a laugh, but not a film to analyse on the way home.
Thousands of years ago the planet of Cybertron was devastated by the war between the Autobots (decent robots that can change their shape) and the Deceptacons (power-hungry, evil robots that can change their shape). This war is now spilling over into our world, as both sides try to find a mysterious and powerful cube that is somewhere on Earth. For reasons that are not unclear, but stupid, only a geeky teenager (Shia LaBeouf) can save the day – with the help of his new robot friends, of course.
The story also follows other people affected by the robot invasion, including a soldier, a politician, and a ridiculously pretty and made-up (just when does she find time to re-apply her lip-gloss?) computer geek, who is also inexplicably Australian. Everyone seems to be inexplicably Australian at the moment. Well, people in House and Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye are too, and I call that a pattern. It was weird for me to see Jon Voight (oh, Coming Home, how I love you so!) playing the Defence Secretary squaring up against a bunch of robots, but even weirder to see Barton Fink (John Turturro) playing a moody official.
The Transformers themselves are definitely the most interesting and the most realistic things in the film; the CGI is outstanding. Those Citroën adverts that everyone loves, with the silly burpy music, have been royally trumped by these robots. It is a little hard to follow the fight scenes, since they become clumps of moving, twisted metal, but Optimus Prime, Bumblebee and Co. are never less than astonishing. The script is full of silly jokes, and the frenetic pace and schizophrenic editing mean that you could never be bored watching it, even if you really wanted to. The discerning art house cinema regular will want to, though, and will feel dirty after seeing it. But if you’re a fan of Transformers or silly Hollywood action films, then you will definitely have fun. All in all, a bit of a laugh, but not a film to analyse on the way home.
Sunday, 5 August 2007
Review - Die Hard 4.0
The fear with any successful series is that whilst you obviously eagerly await the next instalment, you are at the same time fearful of it sullying your happy memories of what came previously. The original Die Hard managed to at once create a new genre, and become the best example of it. Luckily the mix of audacious stunts, excitement, and one-liners remains in the fourth in the series, Die Hard 4.0 (or Live Free or Die Hard as it is called in America, where you can apparently stomach such a title without a significant dose of irony, given today’s political situation).
It’s another average day for John McClane (Bruce Willis), everyone’s favourite grouchy, sweaty maverick cop, until another megalomaniac (Timothy Oliphant) decides to ruin it, this time by crashing the world’s computer systems and therefore causing mayhem. McClane is the one man who can stop him, armed only with his sense of duty, lack of respect for Health and Safety, and a supergeek (Justin Long). What follows is a rollicking rollercoaster of a film, full of explosions, incredible stunts, and twisty turns.
Willis is of course excellent in the role that made his name in film. Long, who will always be Warren from Ed to me, is extremely funny as McClane’s antithesis, and it was wonderful to see Kevin Smith as an even super-er geek (his perfect part) adding even more comic fun to the mix. Oliphant is not as deliciously maniacal in a pantomime way as previous Die Hard villains, coming across as more of a spurned trust-fund baby rather than pure evil, but sneers well all the same. The set pieces are jaw-dropping in their chutzpah, and make this the perfect popcorn movie. Definitely the best of this summer’s blockbusters so far, Die Hard 4.0 maintains McClane’s standing as the king of the action film.
It’s another average day for John McClane (Bruce Willis), everyone’s favourite grouchy, sweaty maverick cop, until another megalomaniac (Timothy Oliphant) decides to ruin it, this time by crashing the world’s computer systems and therefore causing mayhem. McClane is the one man who can stop him, armed only with his sense of duty, lack of respect for Health and Safety, and a supergeek (Justin Long). What follows is a rollicking rollercoaster of a film, full of explosions, incredible stunts, and twisty turns.
Willis is of course excellent in the role that made his name in film. Long, who will always be Warren from Ed to me, is extremely funny as McClane’s antithesis, and it was wonderful to see Kevin Smith as an even super-er geek (his perfect part) adding even more comic fun to the mix. Oliphant is not as deliciously maniacal in a pantomime way as previous Die Hard villains, coming across as more of a spurned trust-fund baby rather than pure evil, but sneers well all the same. The set pieces are jaw-dropping in their chutzpah, and make this the perfect popcorn movie. Definitely the best of this summer’s blockbusters so far, Die Hard 4.0 maintains McClane’s standing as the king of the action film.
Review - 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer
As previously mentioned, I’m a big Marvel fan, and the Fantastic Four happen to be one of my favourites. The first film in this serious was not a total success, but what it did very well was set up the squabbling dynamics of comics’ First Family. The sequel continues in this tradition, and successfully introduces another important member of the Marvel Universe. Unfortunately, it suffers from the first instalment’s problem with storyline and set pieces.
The film opens with Sue and Reed planning their wedding and their future life outside of super-heroics, much to the disappointment of their team mates Johnny and Ben. The ceremony is rudely interrupted by a mysterious silver figure on a surfboard causing mayhem in Manhattan. This is the Silver Surfer, the herald of Galactus: Devourer of Worlds, and not your ideal wedding guest. The Surfer’s arrival, you see, signifies that there are just a few days for Mr Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, The Human Torch, and The Thing to stop this world being devoured too.
The Surfer looks great; it’s such a relief to see a comic character remain unchanged in the journey from page to screen, but with the Silver Surfer, this is unsurprising. He is so cool-looking, and would be designed the same today as he was in the 60s. All the four main players fit their characters very well, taking the Mickey out of each other whilst still being adorable (apart from when Mr Fantastic is using his powers, which is just creepy). I do wish they’d left out Dr. Doom, though, a character that didn’t work in the first film; his presence here is unnecessary and not well explained. The physical appearance of Galactus was a bit of a disappointment, too. However, it is possible to just lie back and enjoy the nice jokes and special effects, and not analyse the plot too much. If one does that, then this move is a fun ride.
The film opens with Sue and Reed planning their wedding and their future life outside of super-heroics, much to the disappointment of their team mates Johnny and Ben. The ceremony is rudely interrupted by a mysterious silver figure on a surfboard causing mayhem in Manhattan. This is the Silver Surfer, the herald of Galactus: Devourer of Worlds, and not your ideal wedding guest. The Surfer’s arrival, you see, signifies that there are just a few days for Mr Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, The Human Torch, and The Thing to stop this world being devoured too.
The Surfer looks great; it’s such a relief to see a comic character remain unchanged in the journey from page to screen, but with the Silver Surfer, this is unsurprising. He is so cool-looking, and would be designed the same today as he was in the 60s. All the four main players fit their characters very well, taking the Mickey out of each other whilst still being adorable (apart from when Mr Fantastic is using his powers, which is just creepy). I do wish they’d left out Dr. Doom, though, a character that didn’t work in the first film; his presence here is unnecessary and not well explained. The physical appearance of Galactus was a bit of a disappointment, too. However, it is possible to just lie back and enjoy the nice jokes and special effects, and not analyse the plot too much. If one does that, then this move is a fun ride.
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