Hey folks, the man with the baseball bat and the barrels crossing the Canadian border is back... with 4 reviews of upcoming films. I disagree with him on the two I've seen... WHERE THE HEART IS is my least favorite type of film... the movie where great performances are wasted in a bad film with a director that is blind as to how to save it. And VIVA ROCK VEGAS, while he is recommending it... it seems as though he was fighting enjoying or endorsing the film at every step. Folks... if a movie starts to make you laugh, don't fight it... it's ok... you can have fun... If you are ashamed of enjoying a Flintstone movie... well, just keep the enjoyment to yourself... it's ok... You don't go to jail for liking an entertaining movie... no... really...
Hey Harry, Capone in Chicago here with a round-up of some soon-to-be-released little ditties, including TIMECODE, WHERE THE HEART IS, THE FLINTSTONES IN VIVA ROCK VEGAS, and THE BIG KAHUNA. And away we go...
Let’s see if I can explain this right: TIMECODE is not one good film; it’s four, all shot at the same time using four separate digital cameras, each shooting a single 93-minute take. Then the four images are projected on the screen at once, two frames above two other frames (in quadrants). The four storylines follow characters in a fictitious Hollywood whose paths cross at points (meaning that two cameras may be shooting the same thing from different angles). As much as the idea sound technically adventurous, it also sounds a bit confusing and hard to follow, but it isn’t. Director Mike Figgis (LEAVING LAS VEGAS) raises and lowers the audio on a particular frame to sort of guide our eyes using our ears, but the wonderful part is that if you’re not that interested in the story you’re supposed to be following, you can self-edit and cut to another one of the four frames (by moving your eyes). If you think all of this sounds a bit pretentious, there’s more: although there is a loose structure to the story, most of the action and dialogue is improvised.When I first heard about this project, I was really afraid I wouldn’t be able to follow the action. Surprisingly, however, the “story” is rather conventional. Some characters are having affairs with others, some are hopelessly neurotic, some are substance abusers, typical Hollywood stereotypes. TIME CODE is neither as innovative technically nor as pointlessly experimental as you might think, and I guarantee you’ve never seen anything like it before. I think Figgis was having fun with the format and the freedom it granted him. There’s even a filmmaker character in the movie that pitches the idea of telling a story using four cameras running at the same time. The potential producer she’s pitching to laughs at her idea and calls it the most pretentious thing he’s ever heard of.The ensemble cast is mostly good, especially Saffron Burrows, Salma Hayek, Stellan Skarsgard, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Holly Hunter, Kyle MacLachlan, Leslie Mann, Julian Sands, and Steven Weber. But improvised performances are tougher to judge than scripted ones; I guess if they don’t look like they’re making the words up, the actors are good. I don’t know. TIME CODE is a unique and thrilling mess with moments of synchronization that gave me chills. If you want something daring and different, you’re not likely to find anything more so than this film.
One of the more all-around pleasant and likeable films I've seen recently is WHERE THE HEART IS (not to be confused with the recent Paul Newman film, WHERE THE MONEY IS), a story of survival in the guise of a "chick flick." A pregnant 17-year-old Novalee Nation (the talented and always radiant Natalie Portman in yet another turn as white trash) is abandoned at a Oklahoma Wal-Mart by her boyfriend. After realizing that everything she needs to live on is contained in a Wal-Mart, she moves in, spending her nights in the store and her days out in the community waiting for her baby to be born. In the town she meets some kind and supportive people, including the goddess known as Stockard Channing as a local gardener, and the town librarian (James Frain), who eventually discovers her in the Wal-Mart as she's giving birth.After the baby girl (named Americus) is born, Novalee becomes a local celebrity because of her Wal-Mart, and she decides to set up home in the town. The rest of the film plays out like a series trials and life lessons for Novalee and her friends. Ashley Judd plays a nurse at the hospital who befriends Novalee and the two become best friends in a sort of mini-support group. Judd's character has a seemingly endless number of children (whom she names after food--Praline, Brownie, etc..) by a equally endless number of men, but her bond with Novalee is invaluable. There's a scene between them on a porch after Judd has been attacked that is so painful and moving, that this non-crier almost lost it. Sally Field makes a brief appearance as Novalee's absentee and untrustworthy mother. And Joan Cusack chimes in as an agent for Novalee's abandoning boyfriend, who leaves her to go to Nashville to become a country singer. (A case could definitely be made to have dropped this storyline altogether.)WHERE THE HEART IS is a character-driven, slowly unfolding tale that never resorts to cheap melodrama to tell its story. In a way, it's a uniquely American story: The village raises the children and takes Novalee in when she has nowhere to go. And no relationship between two people is forced or assumed; it is earned and cherished. Although the series of tragedies that befall the characters seem endless at times, they seem entirely believable.
This film is Postman's real chance to shine in a starring role, and she does not disappoint. She plays a young woman who will not collapse just because people expect her to.The stand-out performances here come from Chinning and Judd, who never cease to amaze me. Judd, taking a break from her recent string of lame thrillers (DOUBLE JEOPARDY, EYE OF THE BEHOLDER, KISS THE GIRLS) remembers that she's actually a remarkable actress when she wants to be. And Chinning can do no wrong in my eyes; even in the miserable film ISN'T SHE GREAT, she excelled. Some of you might find WHERE THE HEART IS bordering on soap opera, but I still think you'll enjoy the experience immensely.
What can I say about THE FLINTSTONES IN VIVA ROCK VEGAS that will change your mind about seeing it. You probably already know right now whether you will or not, and I’m going to go out on a limb and say that those of you with children probably are not. In this live-action prequel to the 1994 nightmare, we are blessed enough to witness how Fred met Wilma and Barney met Betty.The best thing I can say about this movie is that it’s better than the first.
The filmmakers opted for actors that actually kind of embody the cartoon characters instead of big names like John Goodman and Rosie O’Donnell. Also the art direction for this film was amazing; whenever I was bored with the plot of the film (about 75% of the time), I’d just stare at the sets and props in the background. Another element in the Plus column for VIVA ROCK VEGAS is the inclusion of British chameleon Alan Cumming in the duel role of The Great Gazoo, a 2-foot-tall alien that enlists Fred and Barney’s help to observe human mating habits, and Mick Jagged, lead singer of The Stones (get it?).In this film, Fred is beautifully played by another Brit, Mark Addy (he was the chubby guy in THE FULL MONTY) and Barney is nicely done by Stephen Baldwin, probably the most famous person in this film, which is saying a lot. The women are played by “Third Rock’s” Kristen Johnston (as a fairly weak Wilma) and “Ally Macbeal’s” Jane Krakowski, who does an exceptional Betty.Of course there’s some lame story about Wilma coming from a rich family and being pursued by a playboy (“Dharma and Greg’s” Greg, Thomas Gibson), but who cares? Director Brian Levant has bored me numerous times over the years with such duds as JINGLE ALL THE WAY, PROBLEM CHILD 2, BEETHOVEN, and the first FLINTSTONES movie, and VIVA ROCK VEGAS probably marks the first time I’d ever even consider recommending one of his films to anybody. VIVA ROCK VEGAS is a decent films aimed at kids with no higher ambition than making lots of money by appealing to the masses (and tying in to Burger King toys). There were times when I was amazed with the visuals and other times when I said to myself, “Look how hard all of these people are working to bore the hell out of me.”
A screenwriter acquaintance of mine was telling me about her experience the Sundance Writers Workshop, where aspiring writers get to read scenes from their screenplays to other screenwriters and possibly have them acted out at the Sundance Actors Workshop. I’ve always been curious to see one of these workshops, because occasionally known actors participate just to keep in practice and in tune with young writers. Thanks to THE BIG KAHUNA, I feel like I’ve seen an actors workshop.Based on the play “Hospitality Suite,” THE BIG KAHUNA is the story of two veteran industrial-lubricant salesmen (Kevin Spacey and Danny Devito) and another man they bring for technical support (newcomer Peter Facinelli, who I’ve seen in smaller parts in very crappy movies such as SUPERNOVA and CAN’T HARDLY WAIT). Virtually the entire film takes place in a hospitality suite that their company has rented during a convention to lure clients, including “Mr. Fuller,” the “big client” they have to nail on this trip or their jobs and their company’s future may be at risk. Spacey, at his most acidic since SWIMMING WITH SHARKS, is the pitbull Larry. He’s a man’s man, combining no manners with smooth talk. Devito is calmer due in large part to his recent divorce, which has made him re-examine his life and care a little less about the job at hand. Facinelli, a taller and more muscular version of Tom Cruise, is the wet-behind-the-ears new guy who knows nothing about selling.
He is also a devout Christian, who takes every opportunity to throw religion into the conversation, sometimes to the detriment of the job at hand.THE BIG KAHUNA has a simple story, but at its core it’s just three very talented actors in a room doing a long scene. Spacey is given the best dialogue and he savors every venomous word. Devito is the moderator as the other two personalities built to a thunderhead. Roger Rueff screenplay (based on his stage play) is taut and tight, and the “guy talk” charts the shift in values over the course of men’s lives from their 20s to the 40s and 50s. At 90 minutes, the film also flies by and proves that smoking is not the worst thing people do in hotel rooms. There is no great truth revealed in THE BIG KAHUNA, and this is not a morality play on any level. Is it like GLENGARY GLEN ROSS (which also featured Spacey)? A little bit, but BIG KAHUNA isn’t quite as biting. It’s a simple slice into the lives of three withering men on the brink of self destruction.
It's been a busy couple of weeks. I'm still trying to get to one of the many Chicago screenings of GLADIATOR, but my muscle isn't what it used to be...metaphorically.
Capone
