Radcliffe and Company Nail It: The Woman In Black

At last, a proper horror film! Director James Watkins' The Woman in Black (adapted from the Susan Hill novel of the same name) gives not only ample scares and carefully crafted nods to its thriller predecessors but wins with inspired performances, sound design, and cinematography as well. Although less is not always more in thrillers like these (or so the suits love to argue) the subtlety and control used by the screenwriter and director in creating this film serve to bring us what might possibly be the classiest endeavor the genre has ever seen (of which lead Daniel Radcliffe is obviously a large part).

Radcliffe plays widower Arthur Kipps, a young lawyer who must leave his son and nanny to settle the estate of an elderly woman off the shore of the eastern corner of England. He's greeted with hostility by many of the villagers, and obviously senses there is a darkness about the isolated residence he's been paid to set in order, but he stubbornly agrees to finish the job---until a strange woman in black shows up and starts manipulating the village children into various acts of doom. Sam Daily, a villager (who is also of professional status) takes a liking to Kipps and invites him into his home but refuses to believe the woman in black is real or has any impact on the village, despite having lost his own son years prior and the fact that his wife strenuously feels otherwise. Kipps' problem, then, lies not only in doing his business in a hostile work environment, but also in uncovering the stalking woman's past and preventing her from doing harm to more children in the village and eventually, his own son.

The aesthetic decisions made in this production were crucial to its overall success, charm, and status as what I earlier referred to as "proper." The constant grayness in color, the long, wide shots in filming the estate, and its proximity to the (gray, long, wide) ocean created a very isolated, drowning sort of feeling, giving the house a sinister personality all its own even before Kipps enters. The villagers don't want him nosing around, won't go there themselves, and once the tide rises for the first time, covering the long, tiny, spindle of a driveway completely, we're with them----who wouldn't be? Radcliffe plays Kipps similarly; melancholy and serious (exemplified wonderfully by his son Joseph's constant sad-face drawings of him), and with neat, angled sideburns and those striking blue eyes, is a bit of a visual treat himself.

Once inside the house, the experience widens with further visual scares, monkey statues, old toys, startling ravens, not to mention the sighting of the woman through the window, but also with aural scares, too: high pitched, threatening notes (very similar to Jack Torrance's psychological breaking point in his investigations of the Overlook Hotel in The Shining), thumps and footsteps in various rooms in the house, the juxtaposition of joyful, wind-up toy music in a child's bedroom (thanks, Insidious, I love evil mixed with an insanely happy melody) with the creaking and exaggerated swaying of a seriously demented rocking chair . . . without ever seeing the villain close up (at least at first), her evil accompaniment, the subtle, material hints of who she is and what's she's done are enough to make us cringe, again and again.

Probably the most important aspect to this film is its setting, not only the house in question nor its location, but the period in time as well. Noted (in Wikipedia) to have taken place during the Edwardian Era, the story, while not exactly holding women in very high esteem on the surface, poses several interesting ideas about power and ability in woman, specifically mothers, during a time when such things were virtually unheard of. Sam Daily's wife, at first shown to be a bit off her rocker (feeding the family dogs at the dinner table, rocking one in a cradle) claims to be able to communicate with her departed son; Sam is embarassed by her and blows her off. The Woman in Black, as it turns out, lost a son of her own, and was driven crazy by her need to reclaim him. Kipps' own wife, having died in childbirth, seems to pop up every now and then, though it's never really clear if her presence is just Kipps' wishful thinking, daydreams, or actually happening, but given the fact that two other women are unable to let go of the children they lost and seem to have developed superhuman abilities in either simply relating to them or avenging them, it's reasonable that Mrs. Kipps, too, might be hanging around for just such a purpose.

No fury like a woman scorned? Yes. And also don't mess with her son, either.

Wahlberg on a Boat FTW: Contraband

It's undeniable that Mark Wahlberg has one of the most interesting careers in Hollywood, even some of his greener acting projects are worth checking out (having been party to more than a few bad boy infatuations, his David McCall in Fearwill always be one of my favorites). His roles are often times sly and softspoken, and always fun to watch, but much of his appeal seems to come in knowing that just under the surface, a deep, explosive reaction is waiting---even when he's completely in control. His latest film, Contraband, directed by Baltasar Kormakur, succeeds on many levels, but I think mainly by working Walhberg's underlying fierceness into character Chris Farraday, building tension and uncertainty all the way (together with gunfire, explosions, and switcharoos).

Farraday is a former smuggler turned security systems specialist, who in an unexpected turn of events emerges from retirement to bail out his brother in law, Andy. After having dumped (and lost) the illicit goods of one of Farraday's former smuggling colleagues (played wonderfully by Giovanni Ribisi), Andy needs Chris's help to not only score something big, but to safely transport it back to the states on a ship and unload it while Ribisi's unsavory character, Tim Briggs, keeps watch over Farraday's wife (Kate Beckinsale) and young sons.

Heist films are fun, though since the success of the Ocean's Eleven franchise, nothing is really ever stolen in the manner outright portrayed anymore, and this film is no exception. I daresay that the thrill in this film is not so much the outcome of the narrative but the actions, reactions, and relationships between its characters. The characters are interesting, well-acted, and we care about what happens to them. Farraday's relationship with his wife and brother in law are important, but so is his connection with his former partner in crime/best friend, Sebastian (Ben Foster) and the camaraderie and trust shared among the container ship's crew (most of whom are absolutely giddy with excitement to welcome him back). Though we never witness any hard evidence or flashbacks of the glory days of Farraday's smuggling past, everyone else in the film radiates such a respect and almost awe for the things he's done, we don't really need to---when the time comes (which yes, takes a while to arrive), we're not disappointed; Farraday definitely still knows his stuff.

Despite the eagerness and occasional humor that keeps Farraday's early scenes on the ship mostly positive, there's just as much darkness and tension concerning his wife and children back at home, Tim Briggs, Sebastian, and the eventual heist, once it gets going. When the film starts exploring these things, one can't help but cringe with worry in how it's all going to come together (or not) in the end, giving very much the same vibe of danger and discomfort as during the cocaine scam/firecracker/Jesse's Girl scene in Boogie Nights, but stretched out for nearly an hour on until the film's conclusion----just GET OUT, you want to yell, time and time again!

It's still a good time though, further kudos for the opening credits, the music, especially the ending scene, and casting choices Lukas Haas (who in Mars Attacks, puzzles over "maybe they no-liking the human beings?" with waitress) and J.K. Simmons (Schillinger from Oz). Well done, all. And Mr. Wahlberg--- though we're not technically acquainted, please feel free to say hello to your mother for me.

Young Adult: An Enjoyable Train Wreck

Is it possible to have a positive experience viewing a film about someone detestable? I wouldn't have thought so. In fact I was so conflicted about my feelings for this film I debated even writing about it because my reaction and opinion both flip-flopped at least once a day (and it's been almost a week). Director Jason Reitman (Juno, Thank You For Smoking, Up In The Air) seems to have a unique talent for making dysfunctional social awkwardness both tragic and funny, for bringing honestly colorful performances from his actors, and for forcing the discomfort of real-life scenarios, many of them unpleasant, onto his audiences with no effort to sugar-coat anything---and all that is truly impressive, but this little tale was different. Between severe writhing (in embarassment for the main character), hating her, and wondering whether or not it was appropriate to laugh, I obviously felt something for the film, I just don't think it can be identified yet.

Mavis Gary (Charlize Theron) is a writer of Young Adult fiction; from the first moment we see her we realize that her life is not exactly a happy one. Maybe she's a cliche writer who's just a heavy-drinking, downer of a person, or maybe she's upset at her parents for naming her Mavis, who knows? Between slugging diet coke, sometimes tending to her dog, and constantly subjecting herself to dysfunctional reality television programs, Mavis hammers out pages for her latest YA novel, which is to be the last in a cancelled series. In between paragraphs, she finds in her email a birth announcement for her ex-boyfriend's new baby daughter ("the best thing that ever happened to us.") After printing out the baby's picture and reflecting for a while, Mavis inexplicably drops everything, packs a bag, and heads off to her hometown, Mercury, Minnesota, where the ex-boyfriend and his family still live, apparently in effort to win him back. Things don't go well. 

So what makes the character of Mavis so detestable? She's insensitive; her ex-boyfriend is just supposed to drop everything (including his wife and daughter) because she decides they should be together? She's deluded (see above). She's callous; after running into an old classmate at the bar who had been beaten with crowbars during their senior year, she's curious only about the attention he gained from the accident and if his genitalia still worked afterwards. Once she meets up with Buddy, the ex, Mavis becomes downright unbearable; it's obvious he's happy, and sees her only as a friend. Her advances and overblown attempts at getting him to reminicse over the good old days are embarassing and sad, yet she refuses to give up. There are moments of insight into who Mavis really is, and these are vital to the film since without them she'd be absolutely rude and boring instead of just rude----her drinking is significant, she seems upset over her divorce, she pulls out strands of her hair, one by one, and the only time she manages to dress like an adult is when she's going to the bar or crashing in on Buddy. Any writer will pick up on the fact that she is clearly unhappy with what she's doing, creatively, but one also can't help noticing how comfortable she is in her series' YA genre---catty, self-important, teen-queen characters whose utterances come directly from what she overhears in food courts . . . Mavis is writing herself, over and over. 

As a production, the film was very well-cast, but Patton Oswalt was huge in its overall success (if you can call it that). His character, Matt Freehauf, isn't exactly thrilled with life, either, but he manages to bring light and humanity to a film that would have drowned itself without him. In the film's most emotionally raw moment, Mavis stands half-naked and vulnerable among Matt's spliced comic statue figures, confessing to him why she's doing what she's doing; Matt (who knows exactly what he's getting into) simply listens and abides, unable to treat her as she's treated him and many. If there is a message in this film, Matt is a huge part of it. And though it's tempting to have a whole lot of disdain for a film that makes no secret of the fact that sometimes there are people who are just dead on the inside, I still think there's more going on than just that.

Also, I just can't hate a film where the main character listens to a pink and gold Memorex mixed tape. Just can't do it.

Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol

When I originally published this review, someone didn't like the assumptions they thought I was making about Indian culture in the comments about the traditional Mumbai section (and comparing them to Temple of Doom). I apologize if it seems like I'm making fun of anything or assuming this is what goes on in modern-day India, I wasn't, only that it was interesting, definitely over the top, but something nostalgic in that it could be linked to another of my favorite films. Maybe I didn't really need to say that, but I suppose it helps to be clear. I'd hate to think that someone out there might see a film with a Nazi in it and think all Germans were like that Nazi.

What originally began as a plan simply to ogle the splendor that is Josh Holloway (Sawyer from JJ Abrams' LOST) turned out to be a suprisingly wonderful experience; this was a fun, fun movie. And while no kid's film, whatever skill and ability director Brad Bird picked up at Pixar was not wasted here--- aesthetically and viscerally, Mission Impossible delivers again and again.

The film's premise is simple enough----Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is after bad guys who plan on doing bad things with nuclear launch codes. The IMF (Impossible Missions Force), for political reasons bails, leaving him with only three other rogue agents to aid him in his mission, invoking "Ghost Protocol." There are some personal bits of story along with the action: one of Hunt's agent colleagues seeks vengeance for her departed love; Hunt seems upset by the breakup of his marriage but unwilling to discuss it; and Brandt, the newest member of the team (played by Jeremy Renner), is there only reluctantly, and eventually reveals inside knowledge into both his experience as an agent and Hunt's own history.  

The story isn't what makes this movie great (though it's quite well-written); it honestly isn't anything we haven't already seen from the previous films or even 24's Jack Bauer. This film is what it is because of its style, special effects, and driving pace. There are some impersonations (a couple which involve masks), numerous explosions, impressive uses of technology, and amazing stunts. The locations and the way that they're constantly changing keep the film always racing toward that next conflict, or that next piece of the puzzle---Budapest, Moscow, Dubai, and Mumbai become exciting settings in which Hunt's extreme prison break/search for materials/con game/and ultimate fighting championship (with a vehicular twist) all take place. Very rarely is there time to take a breath, but it works.

In addition to all the amped-up action, there were moments of humor (mostly snide utterances by sidekick Simon Pegg) and nostalgia. I personally enjoyed Cruise's Terminator-inspired speed running, which happened more than once, and the traditional Indian dancers at the palace toward the film's conclusion, very reminiscent of Temple of Doom, donned in white instead of red. Would an offering of snake surprise or chilled monkeybrains have been pushing it? Maybe, but the film does plenty fine without it. 

Here's to you, Bad Robot. 

Citizen Ruth

This is probably one of the most twisted things I really, really enjoy. My husband told me once when we were first dating that I reminded him of Dern as Ruth. Super.

Recently available on Netflix instant download, Citizen Ruth is a dark comedy starring Laura Dern that takes place in the middle of some radically serious events. In forwarning, this is not a film for everyone; the things that go on are disturbing, and whether you're pro-choice or pro-life, you'll cringe, a lot. What makes it worth watching, however, is the way director Alexander Payne (who is having a great year with the Oscar-buzzed hit The Descendants) captures the brilliantly human moments in Ruth's struggle, together with well-done (and at times way too chipper) music and an amazing supporting cast. You may not end up liking the principal character very much, but you might find value in her message.

Some killer deck sealant.

Ruth Stoops has a difficult life; she's homeless, newly pregnant with her fifth child, and any money she comes into she spends on booze and spray paint (for huffing). After getting picked up by the cops with a new can of silver deck sealant, Ruth is brought before a judge who makes an example of her by charging her with criminal endangerment of her fetus but before returning her to jail suggests that he might reduce her charges if she had an abortion. In jail Ruth meets some women who belong to a group called "The Baby Savers" and who are outraged at the judge's suggestion; Gail (Mary Kay Place), the lead member of the group, pays Ruth's bail, cleans her up, and takes her into the family home, hoping to convince Ruth to keep her baby and to stay off drugs. Which doesn't go well.

After a bit of a fallout with Gail over some model airplane glue and the slugging of her son, Ruth gets passed over to another Baby Saver, Diane (Swoosie Kurtz), who actually turns out to be an employee of Pro-Choice in disguise. Ruth decides she wants to have an abortion, and Diane and her partner Rachel are willing to help her obtain one, but as soon as Gail and her husband (played by Kurtwood Smith) find out, they declare a national Baby Saver Alert, attracting the attention of the organization's national chair, Blaine Gibbons (played by Burt Reynolds). In the end, both sides, which claim to be acting in Ruth's own best interest, show they'll stop at nothing to influence her decision but Ruth, mostly oblivious, sits on the sidelines listening to cassette tapes on wealth-building (and ingesting whatever random substances she can find). Can there be a winner in a battle like this one? Not unless it's Ruth (which in a way, it is). 

Limbs on her and Zubaz on him. Fab.

The humanity in this film comes at you in a few different ways; the offensive and the raw together with the honest and the (albeit rare) tender. Ruth's early scenes are dirty-feeling and almost viscerally uncomfortable---the unsentimental sex scene at the film's opening followed by Ruth's violent outburst, the silver around her mouth after we see her huff for the first time, the vomit, her face on the concrete inside her holding cell---pretty repulsive. Later, when Ruth is first adopted by The Baby Savers (wearing a furry animal sweatshirt with hair perfectly curled) and then Pro-Choice (donning Diane's striped Guatamalan jacket over a Frida Kahlo tee), we see her for what she becomes to each group, a pawn, but we are still uncomfortable at each side's inability to "fix" her in helping her, if that's even what they desire to do. It's clearly difficult to have respect or empathy for someone like Ruth, given her actions (abandoning her children, continuing to use drugs after she learns of her pregnancy, physically harming Gail's son, responding carelessly to Diane and Rachel's offer to pay for her abortion, etc.) but one can't help but wonder about her, and be slightly entertained by her outlandish antics throughout the film. 

Bunny Sweatshirt.

Ruth's humanity is slightly damaged, and serves mostly as a joke (constant profanity, flailing limbs, kicking and windmilling when she's scared, to name a couple) but it's still there. As she looks into her brother's window and sees her children eating breakfast, she lingers and later asks how they are. Her first huff of spray paint is shown first with a casually ritualistic setup but then ends with an extreme close up shot of only her eyes, which seem to be filled with more and more fear with each inhale. Later, there are almost-tender moments between Diane and Ruth as Diane legitimately attempts to soothe and comfort her physically, (in a motherly way) but they usually end in Ruth's withdrawl. How did she get this way? Her pacing, explanation scene (performed brilliantly by Dern) after dinner during her first night at Gail's alludes to past abuse, as does one of the final scenes involving Ruth's mother (played by Dern's own mother, Diane Ladd) "Ruthie! Don't do it! What if I'da aborted YOU?" she pleads. Ruth seizes a megaphone and essentially responds back loudly that then she would have at least been spared abuse at the hands of her mother's boyfriend (in different, more blunt vocabulary). 

In any case, the film doesn't apologize for Ruth but makes an interesting statement about social conditions in America, politics, and money. Was it really anyone's business? Hard to say, but I can't say I'd choose either of the two protest sides if hard-pressed . . . 

The Battle of Hogwart's: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, pt. 2

Sentimentalists like me usually have a difficult time with things coming to a close, and this film, the final installment of the Harry Potter series, was no exception. How best to describe the epic to end all epics? With an unsentimental rave, of course, because there are no two ways about it--- director David Yates nailed it. Even the trailer makes me cry a little.

When we last left Harry, he, Ron, and Hermione had just buried Dobby the House Elf after being rescued (along with Luna Lovegood, Griphook the Goblin, and Mr. Ollivander) from Malfoy Manor. Beginning first with a sobering picture of Hogwarts as led by new headmaster Severus Snape, the film continues the hunt for Horcruxes as the three plus Griphook break into Bellatrix Lestrange's vault at Gringotts. After the goblin double-crosses them, they bust out of the bank on the back of an albino dragon and return to Hogwarts where they are aided by Dumbledore's brother, Aberforth, and greeted warmly by a dwindling, battered group of students. McGonagall fumes, Snape flees, and Voldemort---now onto the three's hunt for pieces of his split soul---lays siege on the castle. As the frantic search for the last Horcruxes continues, giants, overgrown arachnids, Dementors, werewolves, Death Eaters, and the Elder Wand all threaten to destroy not only Harry, but everything he's ever cared about.The film succeeds in telling this extremely full and complex story by achieving harmony and balance in all that it does. By focusing extremely well on (and at times, overexplaining) the two secondary topics of wand allegiances and the peculiarities of Severus Snape, the film avoids becoming too convoluted in biting off more than it could reasonably chew from the novel. The differences in overall dynamics, calm and subtle versus chaotic and engaging, were also well matched and kept the film from getting lost in explosions and "Avada Kadavras." The subtlety of Snape's observance (from above) of the Hogwart's students from the film's opening moment, which is all the more meaningful for those who've read the novel; the juxtaposition of Harry's plunge into the lake with Voldemort's realization of what they've been doing, ending with a jarring, silent close-up; the sudden casting of Snape into a tender and sentimental light as Harry looks into his memories---these things gave pause and contrast against the constant action and struggle present in the surrounding scenes.

As this epic finale is quite different from any of the other films, the photography and effects were hugely responsible in its success; many of them were visually breathtaking. The albino dragon in the bank's dungeon, McGonagall's knight-soldiers, and the professors' protective shields over the castle are just a few fine examples but there are many more. The music, while consistant with basic battle and tension in the appropriate places, also set the film apart from its predecessors through a minor, vocal opening theme with an almost Braveheart-like melody. It returns again later in the film at a very emotional time as Harry stumbles through the rubble and it's very effective.

Thematically, it might be dissmissive to narrow down an entire (magical!) series to something as simple as Karma and the good old Golden Rule, but well, there it is. Harry buries Dobby, a house elf, with his bare hands as to show his gratitude for his heroism. He risks his life in the room of requirement to save Malfoy, someone who has treated him with nothing but scorn. And during his interlude in the bright place, Harry obviously pities what Voldemort has become, which Dumbledore acknowledges: "Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living. And anyone who lives without love."

Well said, Albus. And thanks for the memories. (sniff).

Stoogey but Successful: Horrible Bosses

Horrible Bosses is a film with universal appeal. Everyone has had an unpleasant boss at least once in their lifetimes, and seeing others onscreen deal with something familiar, even if it's uncomfortable, can be cathartic. And almost everyone out there will appreciate the film's focus, that age-old act of sticking it to The Man. But most people will enjoy this picture because of the reassuring nature that comes from seeing three grown men bumble around ridiculously for ninety minutes--the viewer walks out of the theater reveling in a sense of triumph (hell, at least I'm not that stupid) and fondness (those guys were idiots but they were damned funny).

Directed by Seth Gordon (The King of Kong) and written by Michael Markowitz and John Francis Daley, Horrible Bosses is the story of three friends who want to knock off their respective employers. Nick (Jason Bateman) lost out on a promotion he'd been counting on; Dale (Charlie Day) is being sexually harassed, and Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) has to take orders from his former boss's cocaine-addicted son. Each of the men genuinely enjoys his work, but the bosses make day to day life unnecessarily miserable. The solution? Would-be assassin/Murder Consultant, Mother F-er Jones (Jamie Foxx), theirs for the asking for $5k.

As you could probably guess, things don't go well. There's a lot of cursing, a lot of yuppie banter, and Kurt is mostly a perv, but through it all you get the overwhelming feeling that you're watching the Gen-X version of The Three Stooges, and it works. If you can drop the ideology and laugh (as withBridesmaids), you will. A lot. My theater (AMC Southdale 16) was literally rolling through the entire film and ended it with applause and cheers, which was fun.

Together with the crude humor and constant verbal sparring going on between characters, the film does physical comedy well, too. Jumping cats, bad kung-fu, crazed sifting of cocaine, implied sexual acts with food props, and rear-end humor inside the bosses' domains are all good for chuckles, but the best scene, by far, was the scene shown in the parking lot where, armed with rat poison and peanuts, the three men attempt to drive away in their own vehicles but only end up boxing each other in, nearly colliding, and going in circles. It's not just funny but indicative of the entire vibe of the film and its characters; they drive their cars the way they live their lives and make their plans: thoughtlessly, ridiculously, and like little men-children. 

Other elements of the production that added a lot to the film's overall success and flow were the musical selections and their placements. The Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" was an undeniably perfect accompaniment for Nick's (imagined) attack on his boss (Kevin Spacey) just as The Heavy's "How You Like Me Now?" was a great companion for the scenes depicting the planning of the murders. More goodness: white block description titles of each horrible boss and slow motion shot of the three guys rounding the corner as they're picking up the supplies at the store? Nicely, nicely done. This was a very well-made well thought-out comedy, and one the players clearly enjoyed making (make sure you stay for the end credits!).