Review: THE WACKNESS / Jonathan Levine (2008)
July 13th, 2008 by Scott Marks
The Wackness (2008)
Written & Directed by Jonathan Levine
Starring: Josh Peck, Ben Kingsley, Olivia Thirlby, Famke Janssen, Jane Adams, Method Man and one of The Olsen Twins
Running Time: 95 min.
Aspect Ratio: 
Rating: 
Occasionally The Wackness will take a misstep and whack away at plausibility. Not for one nanosecond did I believe a street smart New York kid would peddle pot out of an ice cream wagon, particularly when he leaves his keef-filled cart chained to a tree while making house calls. Why not leave a “Help Yourself” sign propped on the handlebars?
Nor does The Wackness excel at waxing nostalgia. The film tries too hard to jam its precious period recreation down viewers’ throats. Set in 1994, the film’s titles and chapter breaks are spray painted across the screen, our hero Luke Shapiro (Josh Peck) speaks fluent “wigger” and bus ads scream Forrest Gump.
There is so much Rudy Giuliani bashing going on you’d swear that during the creative process screenwriter/director Jonathan Levine was certain that his film would open to find the former Mayor of New York positioned as the Republican party’s presidential front runner. And for such a long, hot summer there is very little evidence of pit-stains and sweaty brows.
I can’t say in all good conscience that I am completely sold on the look of the film either. The Panavision frames are desaturated and mud-colored. It’s not exactly an endless flow of suffocating close-ups, but there are enough that it would have been better had Levine showed even more restraint by pulling the camera back.
In spite of everything I find myself thoroughly enchanted by these scummy characters and the honest, perceptive manner in which Levine writes dialogue. There’s none of the phony fast-talking, set-up/punch line/set-up patter that thrilled millions in Juno. In The Wackness, characters laugh, break, swoon and self-medicate just like normal people.
In the 80s, John Hughes made a fortune depicting precocious charmers that were wise beyond their years and infinitely smarter than their parents. When Luke learns that his parents are about to be evicted, he does more than just slap his palms against his cheeks. He’s already been slipping his mother money from his drug revenue and decides to increase his sales in order to bail his family out.
Luke’s best customer is also his shrink, Dr. Squires (Ben Kingsley), who gladly waves his fee in exchange for Glad sandwich bags filled with weed. His is the only office in New York that comes equipped with a bong. In one session, Luke talks about snorting Ritalin in the bathroom and hints at suicide. In a vain attempt to be both topical and hip, Squires questions whether or not Luke’s darkness may have been influence by Kurt Cobain. Luke confides that he’s a virgin that can’t get laid and the doc plies him with all the romantic tricks of the trade never once dreaming that Luke would use them on his stepdaughter Stephanie (Olivia Thirlby).
Continue reading Review: THE WACKNESS / Jonathan Levine (2008)
Tags: Ben Kingsley, Film, Film Review, Jonathan Levine, Josh Peck, Kurt Cobain, Movie Review, New York, Olivia Thirlby, Photos, Pictures, Review, THE WACKNESSFiled Under Reviews, Theatrical
Director John Woo back in action!
May 29th, 2008 by Scott Marks
Where in hell has John Woo been hiding? It’s been five years since Paycheck and fans of the beloved Hong Kong action director are getting restless.
Hollywood began pitching Woo shortly after the international success of The Killers (1989) made him a cult favorite in the States. Woo, the first Asian filmmaker to direct a mainstream Hollywood film, was sold to Universal execs by none other than Jean-Claude Van Damme who pitched him as “the Martin Scorsese of Asia!”
With Hard Target (1993), his first American film, Woo achieved the impossible by directing a watchable Van Damme movie! Broken Arrow was a stiff, but a follow-up Travolta picture, Face/Off (1997) proved that Woo could handle a blockbuster without compromising too much of his respectability. M:I-2 was an improvement over the DePalma, but not enough that I’d ever watch this Cruise missile again.
Windtalkers, an exceptional WW II action drama , flopped and gave Hollywood its first indication that it was time once again pitch Woo, this time out the door. He had one more attempt at a blockbuster, the agreeable Ben Affleck futuristic yarn Paycheck, before disappearing from the radar.
Over the past five years, several projects were discussed with very little in the way of results. Woo directed an unsold TV series pilot for a remake of Lost in Space, a segment in a French film and — God help us — a video game.
Woo is currently at in Hong Kong work wrapping up a $75 million adaptation of Luo Guanzhong’s popular Chinese novel Red Cliff. The film stars Tony Leung, who replaced Chow Yun-Fat after he dropped out of the film the day principal photography began, and Takeshi Kaneshiro. No release date has yet been set.
The drought appears to be over. It has been announced that upon completion of Red Cliff , Woo will helm the romantic war epic 1949. Based on true events at the end of WWII and the final years of the Chinese Civil War, the film will star Chang Chen and Korea’s Song Hye-kyo. Wang Hui-ling (Lust, Caution) penned the screenplay.
Filming commences in December with a theatrical release scheduled for December 2009 to honor the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
As my KPBS Film Club partner said when I told her of the news, “Woo starts so many projects that never come to light that I’ve grown jaded about such announcements. I just want to see Red Cliff finished.”
If you haven’t seen a John Woo film recently, why not? The man is responsible for some of the best action films of the 80s and The Killer, his version of Melville’s Le Samourai, is a terrific place to start. You can find the rest of the Spanish Lobby card set here.
Tags: 1949, Action, Beth Accomando, Director, Film, Hong Kong, John Woo, Lobby Cards, RED CLIFF, THE KILLER, VideoFiled Under News
Paul Verhoeven writes book claiming Jesus conceived through rape
April 24th, 2008 by Scott Marks
Paul Verhoeven
As if writing the script for one of his upcoming movies, director Paul Verhoeven (Turkish Delight, Showgirls, Black Book) has come up with a new Bible story chock full of gore, brutality, sexual assault and degradation, all filmed in the grandeur of Panavision and Technicolor.
In his upcoming biography, Verhoeven suggests that Jesus might have been fathered by a Roman soldier who raped Mary.
An Amsterdam publishing house announced Wednesday that Jesus of Nazareth: A Realistic Portrait will hit bookstores in September. The Associated Press reports, “Marianna Sterk of the publishing house J.M. Meulenhoff said the book includes several ideas that run contrary to Christian faith, including the suggestion that Jesus could be the son of a Roman soldier who raped Mary during a Jewish uprising against Roman rule in 4 B.C.”
Take that, Mel Gibson!
שלאָגן מײַן קאָפּ!!!
The book also gives Judas Iscariot a free ticket by claiming he was not responsible for Jesus’ betrayal.
Biblical scholars remain skeptical. John Dominic Crossan, a Jesus Seminar founder said, “It’s an obvious first retort to claims that Mary was a virgin. If you wanted to do a hatchet job on Jesus’ reputation, this would be the way.”
Verhoeven, 69, has long dreamed of joining the illustrious ranks of Marty, Cecil B. DeMille, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Robert Bresson, Luis Bunuel, George Stevens, Walt Disney and Woody Strode in bringing the life of Christ to the screen.
Let’s see…Robert Davi as Judas, Dakota Fanning as the Virgin Mary (she’ll be old enough by the time this goes into production), Lin Tucci as Mary Magdalene, Rutger Hauer as Pontius Pilate, Michael Ironside as Jerobeam, Joe Eszterhas as Zebedee, Michael Douglas as John the Baptist and Neil Patrick Harris as Jesus.
Paul Verhoeven photos: Showgirls
Tags: Bible, Biography, Blblical Epic, Book, Director, Film, Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth: A Realistic Portrait, Jewish, Movies, Paul Verhoeven, Rape, Religion, YiddishFiled Under News
Phil Donahue guests on KPBS Film Club tomorrow morning
April 22nd, 2008 by Scott Marks
Phil Donahue, Tomas Young, Ellen Spiro & Eddie Vedder
Phil Donahue will be joining us by telephone on KPBS-Radio’s These Days tomorrow to talk about his new film Body of War.
The dean of the modern American talk show, long absent from the airwaves, co-wrote and directed this gut wrenching documentary about Iraq vet Tomas Young. Young felt it his patriotic duty to enlist two days after 9/11. The 25-year-old soldier took a bullet to the spine after serving only five days in Iraq. (Young arrived in Iraq ten months after our disillusioned Commander in Chief declared “Mission Accomplished!)
Instead of adapting a straightforward “bash Bush” approach, the film chronicles Young’s return home and his struggle to adapt to a paralyzed body. We watch in horror as he slowly regains consciousness at Walter Reed Hospital and begins questioning the entire premise of Bush’s folly.
It is not often that I cry at movies (unless it’s a debilitating Will Ferrell comedy), but this one had me weeping almost from the get-go. I probably won’t sell any tickets by telling you upfront that the film is a downer, so if you feel like taking a walk on the mild side there is always the new Morgan Spurlock assembly of skits, Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?
There has been a glut of anti-war documentaries released over the past several years and after having seen all of them, Body of War is easily the strongest and most honest indictment of America’s “war on terror.” Don’t waste your time on another SNL-spawned atrocity this weekend. As difficult as the subject matter may be, I doubt that you will see a finer, more moving portrait anytime soon.
For those of you living in the San Diego area, Donahue’s collaborator Ellen Spiro will make a personal appearance this Saturday night at Landmark’s Ken Cinema.
If you can’t join us live, make sure to download the podcast.
Filed Under News
Tom Cruise Hitler assassination film pushed back to 2009
April 8th, 2008 by Scott Marks
Those of you eager to see a brainwashed Scientologist attempt to assassinate Hitler will have to wait another year.
Valkyrie, initially set to open October 3 has been pushed back to President’s Day weekend, 2009. This is the second time the film’s release date has been moved. It was originally slated to premiere in June.
“When an opening became available for President’s Day weekend, we seized the opportunity,” said a tap dancing Clark Woods, MGM domestic distribution president. “Having seen a lot of the film and how great it is going to play once it’s finished, moving into a big holiday weekend is the right move.”
Director Bryan Singer and screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie, the critical darlings behind The Usual Suspects, have reunited to tell the true story of a plot to assassinate Hitler during the height of WWII. Singer is no stranger to Nazis on film. In Apt Pupil he planted war criminal Ian McKellan deep in the heart of Altuna and who will ever forget his shameless use of the Holocaust as plot motivator in X-Men?
The film’s production has been surrounded by difficulty and a lot of controversy, most of it trumped up by studio publicists. Initially, the crew was not allowed to film on Bendler Block, a historic building complex located near the Tiergarten park along the southern edge of what was once the diplomatic quarter of Berlin. False rumors that the German government banned the project due to Cruise’s Scientological leanings began flooding the internet. The authorities, eager to preserve “the dignity of this place” eventually overturned their decision after Cruise and McQuarrie’s persistent pleas.
Footage from the original negative was destroyed after being treated with the wrong chemical during development causing several scenes to be re-shot. And according to imdb.com, ” Eleven film extras playing Wehrmacht soldiers were injured on set in Berlin when they fell out of a moving lorry. One of the actors received a serious back injury while others had bruises, cuts and head injuries. An insurance company investigation into the accident found that there was no mechanical malfunction of the truck. The investigation concluded that the side panel had been closed improperly by one of the extras, resulting in it opening while the truck was in motion.”
Valkyrie is the actor’s second attempt to resuscitate United Artists, the studio Cruise and producing partner Paula Wagner took control of in November of 2006. Their first production Lions for Lambs (which Cruise also starred in) is estimated to have lost $30 million.
Tom Cruise photos:
Risky Business
The Color of Money
Filed Under News
The Three Stooges: A study guide to “Pop Goes the Easel”
March 30th, 2008 by Scott Marks
Pop Goes the Easel marked the seventh of almost 200 two-reelers the boys made for Columbia pictures. Produced with minuscule budgets and equally tight shooting schedules it’s a miracle they were able to salvage enough footage to adhere to a movie screen for 17 minutes.
It’s always been my contention that The Three Stooges function best as a vacation from brainwork for hardcore cinephiles. Budding auteurs will learn more from studying the Three Stooges than they would from all the world’s film schools combined as these shorts are textbook examples of everything a filmmaker shouldn’t do.
This short has been with me since birth. I’ve seen it more times than I did my maternal grandparents. While it’s not the funniest Stooge opus, it is easily one of the most inept.
Sadly, the copy on You Tube was not taken from the remastered DVD so a couple of the finer aesthetic points will be lost in the translation. It’s also been sliced into three parts, so you’ll have to watch it on the installment plan.
00:59 Continuity: Larry stands next to the car holding his placard and in the next shot he’s leaning on the passenger door.
01:23 Enjoy Curly’s flood pants.
02:40 There was never time for re-takes on a Stooge short. The force of the sign connecting with Moe must have loosened his clip-on tie. As he whistles for Larry and Curly, watch as his tie proceeds to fall loose into his jacket.
03:53 Continuity: In one shot the boys play hopscotch on a residential street and in the next they’re running down a commercial boulevard.
04:26 It sure takes the cop a long time to open that door.
05:40 Bookmark Curly’s dubbed in reaction sound when Moe gouges his eyes. This “inner dialogue” will come into play shortly.
05:55 Forget about the foreground action. The real laughs come from Curly’s background continuity.
06:35 Enjoy the way Moe steps into his brutal slap to Larry’s face.
01:11 Much has been made in Stooge circles of Moe and Curly’s “look at the grouse” exchange. I tolerate it while awaiting Larry’s hilarious squeal as he steps through the window.
01:25 Is there anything funnier than a fermished Larry?
02:10 Either that dumb flatfoot can’t figure out how to open a door or editor James Sweeney needs tightening lessons.
02:27 When left to his own resources, Moe’s dialog can be painfully unfunny. It’s worth wading through to get to Yiddish Swami Larry and a deaf and dumb Curly.
03:23 A prime example of the pay off justifying the set-up. Ballerina Phyllis Crane’s upside-down “It’s a boat” revelation is basically an excuse for Curly to let fly another “grouse.” This unexpected cutaway of Crane still balanced on her noggin is the closest the Stooges ever came to surrealism.
03:27 No time to re-take Moe’s flubbed line.
04:04 Love it any time Larry is punished for being enthusiastic.
No pain, no gain
04:40 Is Moe poking Curly in the eyes or giving him devil horns from the front? Moe generally tried to pull his punches, but this is ridiculous!
04:48 Pay attention to the painting of the woman hanging above Moe. The art director obviously didn’t because when the boys run onto the next set the exact same portrait graces the wall.
04:51 Literally painted in a corner, the boys stand perplexed in front of a picture-covered wall. As soon as the cop comes snooping, the student’s artwork is inexplicably replaced by a black door.
05:02 So much ineptitude in so little time! In addition to the magic painting and black door, note that the Stooges exit a freshly painted floor and leave no footprints as they enter the next scene.
05:40 Watch the set shake after Curly shoves the cop.
05:59 “My sister Crumbette…”
06:26 Remember the dubbed in Curly reaction I asked you to remember in Part 1? Here’s your repeat reward!
00:05 Another stunningly obvious dubbed in Curly reaction sound.
00:09 & 01:05 The remarkable Larry-ism, “I”ll show you guys a pitcher what is a pitcher.”
00:36 & 02:03 Pop goes the same shot twice!
01:30 What Larry does best: absorbing Moe’s abuse just seconds after giggling over pain inflicted upon fellow Stooge Curly (or Shemp).
02:09 It is imperative that any Stooge shoot has a bust perched on a high shelf that’s waiting to fall on the enemy’s head.
02:12 For me, Jack Duffy’s questioning cameo still draws the short’s biggest laugh.
02:15 Another rule of Stoogedom: Toupees will be launched off bald heads by either hunks of clay or a pie.
02:29 Stooge math: White clay + Black Dress + Woman’s Chest = Big Laffs!
02:40 Second biggest laugh: Professor Fuller mistaking pounding clay for someone at the door.
03:05 More Stooge math: White clay + Black Dress + Deaf woman’s rump = Bigger Laffs!
Videos: Part One, Part Two, Part Three
Photos: The Three Stooges
keep looking »
Twitter Feed- scottmarks: Apart from decrepit whoremaster Hugh Hefner's line readings, there is nothing to laugh at in THE HOUSE BUNNY.
- scottmarks: Are the fucking Olympics over yet? Unless Leni Riefenstahl is the DP I have zero interest.
- scottmarks: WTF? THE HOUSE BUNNY is about Playboy sluts and it's rated PG-13. Who wants to see soft core for prepubescent minds? Rent a porno instead!
- scottmarks: indiana jones and the media temple of doom...lousy tin horn server. Hurry up, fellas. I have to dig a hole for George Furth!!!
- scottmarks: A Question of VERTIGO: Last week I received a frantic late night call from my friend Herb Ross asking.. http://tinyurl.com/5kz92w
- scottmarks: Even an unending stream of close-ups and sandpaper cinematography can't CHOKE the brilliance (and hilarity) of Chuck Palahniuk.
- scottmarks: Another Ben Kingsley film? YAAAAAAAY!!! Will "Transsiberian" be "Transamerica" with a Russian tranny?
- scottmarks: “The Adventures of Jerry Lewis” Comic Book No. 112: While hastening to find suitable read.. http://tinyurl.com/62ec9b
-
Quotes, Quips and Fun Facts
-
Hollywood's Oddest Couples: Ernest Borgnine & Ethel Merman, Talullah Bankhead & Hattie McDaniel, Jean & Casey Kasem, Senor Wences & Johnny
-
Image Vault
