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KPBS Film Club reviews PINEAPPLE EXPRESS, MAN ON WIRE, THE LAST MISTRESS, VICKY CHRISTINA BARCELONA, BAGHEAD and more!

August 6th, 2008 by Scott Marks

Today’s show not only covered the customary five films, we also found time to drop plugs for two more upcoming films. Alan Ray, filling in for the vacationing Tom Fudge, kept the show moving at a brisk clip and without any callers the time literally flew by. The show commences with a cameo by the ever-vibrant Gloria Penner who was called upon to make a couple of corrections on a previous story. After that it’s all movies, only movies. Just the way I like it! Below are Alan’s introductory descriptions of the five films. Listen to the entire Podcast here.

“PINEAPPLE EXPRESS: Pineapple Express is both a stoner comedy and a spoof of action movies. It’s written by the guys who wrote Superbad and produced by Judd Apatow, who directed Knocked Up. Seth Rogen stars as Dale, a stoner who witnesses a murder committed by a drug lord and a crooked cop. As a result, he and his equally stoned friend Saul, played by James Franco, have to go on the lam. The term Pineapple Express refers to high grade marijuana that is very rare. Judd Apatow has had a lot of success with the lovable losers at the center of his comedies; let’s find out if this one succeeds.
Pineapple Express opens in area theaters today.

MAN ON WIRE: In 1974, a group of foreign nationals snuck into the World Trade Center carrying equipment that included heavy grade wire and a bow and arrow. They worked all night preparing for what would happen when daylight arrived. Come morning, Philippe Petit, a French tightrope walker and street performer, walked across a wire suspended between the two towers 110 stories above the ground. He remained on the wire for 45 minutes, attracting a crowd of onlookers on the street below, and finally was taken away by police. The new documentary Man on Wire tells the story of Philippe Petit and his grand caper through interviews with the Petit and his team, reenactments of events, and archival footage.

Man on Wire opens at Landmark’s Hillcrest theaters this Friday.

THE LAST MISTRESS: The Last Mistress is a costume drama written and directed by the French director Catherine Breillat, who is best known for the provocative films Romance and Fat Girl. The Last Mistress is set among the French aristocracy in the 1900’s and tells the story of a passionate affair between a young woman named Veillini and a penniless nobleman named Ryno, who has just married an innocent heiress. Because of his marriage, Ryno has to end his affair, and this doesn’t sit so well with Veillini, who is strong-willed and tempestuous.

The Last Mistress opens at Landmark’s La Jolla Village Cinemas this Friday.

VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA: It’s another Woody Allen movie, with a couple of interesting back stories. There’s another of “those kisses”…and Scarlett Johansson’s e-mail relationship with Barack Obama. The movie is set in Barcelona. It’s about sexual attraction, and what to do about it, with whom.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona opens on August 15 in area theaters.

BAGHEAD: Two couples go off to spend the weekend in an isolated cabin in the middle of nowhere so they can write a screenplay. But, alas, their efforts are foiled by a guy with a paper bag over his head. This is the basic plot of the horror movie/relationship drama called Baghead. Baghead was written and directed by Jay and Mark Duplass, otherwise known as the Duplass Brothers. Their 2005 movie Puffy Chair was an indie favorite. In this movie, they spoof independent film festivals, moviemaking, and horror movies.

Baghead is currently playing at Landmark’s Hillcrest Theaters and tonight’s your last night to see it - or (DON’T!!!) rent it on DVD in a couple of months.”

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Filed Under KPBS Radio Shows, Reviews, Theatrical

KPBS Film Club reviews THE WACKNESS, MONGOL, UP THE YANGTZE, SAVAGE GRACE & MOTHER OF TEARS

June 25th, 2008 by Scott Marks

Olivia Thirlby in THE WACKNESS

Good show today, but I can’t believe how much mileage we got out of Mongol. Glad that Tom didn’t see Savage Grace (most decidedly not for him), but I wish that he would have been able to catch The Wackness. It’s got Fudge written all over it.

The Argento discussion could have been a bit livelier, by our producer warned me not to mention anything about a sword being thrust so deeply into a woman’s private parts that it pops out of her mouth. Gotta’ love Dario Argento.

Believe it or not, the clip from The Conqueror did not come from my Good Times DVD. Credit Beth with beating me to the punch. It was also nice to have someone other than myself evoke Hitler’s name. Not unlike Woody Allen, I try to sneak it into every show.

To those of you that listen in your car, drive safely.

Download the Podcast here.

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Filed Under KPBS Radio Shows

Summer Film Preview Guide

April 23rd, 2008 by Scott Marks

the-visitor.jpg
Cinematographer Oliver Bokelberg and Richard Jenkins on the set of THE VISITOR

Read ‘em and weep, folks. You thought last summer was bad? This is how we’re going to be spending the next four months at the movies.

APRIL 25, 2008
HAROLD & KUMAR ESCAPE FROM GUANTANAMO BAY
If Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle was such a terrible film why do I own a copy? Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg, who penned the original raunch fest, wrote and directed the sequel. This time the hemp heads are mistaken for chronic terrorists.
DECEPTION
Ewan McGregor visits a mysterious sex club and quickly becomes the prime suspect in a woman’s disappearance and a million dollar heist. Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Bruce Altman, Natasha Henstridge, Charlotte Rampling and cinematographer Dante Spinotti co-star in first time director Marcel Langenegger’s action thriller. You had better bring a shovel to help fill in all the plot holes.
BABY MAMA
Another SNL-produced comedy. Next…
THE LIFE BEFORE HER EYES
One of the only films on the list I’ve seen and it’s a morbid stinker thoroughly taken by it own brilliance. Uma Thurman and Evan Rachel Wood climb Jacob’s ladder and wind up on Owl Creek Bridge. How’s that for a spoiler? The very important Vadim Perelman (House of Sand and Fog) directed.
THE VISITOR
Thomas McCarthy (The Station Agent) directs this dramedy about a widowed professor who finds a young couple squatting in his apartment. The superb Richard Jenkins stars.

MAY 2, 2008
MADE OF HONOR
Brought to us by the same man who directed Leonard Part 6. We know what this is made of.
IRON MAN
Did Elf make so much money that Paramount was willing to hand Jon Favreau $186 million to direct this? Guess so. Let’s hope that Robert Downey can work his magic on yet another comic book adaptation.
MIO FRATELLO E FIGLIO UNICO (MY BROTHER IS AN ONLY CHILD)
How did a film with subtitles make it on this list? Daniele “Never heard of him” Luchetti directs this Italian coming of age film.

MAY 9, 2008
SPEED RACER
It still hurts when I think about The Matrix, but on the strength of Bound and their script for V for Vendetta I’m willing to give the Wachowski Bros. another shot. Let’s see if Emile Hirsch can put a stop to his smug posing long enough to play the title role. Christina Ricci also stars, but the most interesting casting is Susan Sarandon and John Goodman as Mom and Pop Speed. I didn’t know they were Asian.
THEN SHE FOUND ME
Helen Hunt stars in and directs this romantic comedy about a New York school teacher having a midlife crisis. Colin Firth, Bette Midler and Matthew Broderick co-star.
WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS
A TV commercial tagline intended to promote tourism becomes the basis for a feature film. Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz play two strangers that awaken together to discover they’ve gotten married following a night of debauchery in Sin City. Laughter ensues when they discover that one of them has won a huge jackpot after playing the other’s quarter. Tom Vaughan directs.

MAY 16, 2008
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN
Part 2 of the Narnia franchise. Have fun!
SON OF RAMBOW
Two little boys make a home movie in this coming of age comedy set in the 80s. Much of it is based on writer/director Garth Jenning’s (The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) childhood experiments with a camcorder. The tagline reads: “Make Believe. Not War.” Better bring insulin.

MAY 22, 2008
INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL
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Continue reading Summer Film Preview Guide

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Filed Under News

Facebook’s Flixster: America’s Latest Beacon of Cinematic Enlightenment!

December 16th, 2007 by Scott Marks

flixster-logo.jpg

Remember alleged film critics Shirley Eder, Bill Harris, Joy Gould Boyum, Gene Siskel, Jeffrey Lyons and John Simon? They had children…well, maybe not Bill Harris…

Stop watching bad movies? This Flixster bunch wouldn’t know a good one if it fell of the projector and brained them. Their ***ahem*** reviews make the imdb comments crew look like Christian Metz and Jonas Mekas.

None of these were in any way altered.

Jon Quinn gives Jean Renoir’s Rules of the Game Rating: ★★½☆☆

“The overlapping, complex stories of interlinking relationships is well constructed and interesting but the Upper-class French pomp just doesn’t interest me very much, hense I couldn’t sympathize with the characters. Not my thing and not “one of the b…(read more)est films ever made” in my opinion, though I can see the innovations with natural dialogue etc…”

Lee Hanslip gives Forrest Gump Rating: ★★★★★

“For me this film type cast Tom Hanks. That not a bad thing because i can’t see him ever making a better movie than this. It’s about an ordinary lower than average intelligence guy, making his way through life and fighting against life’s struggles. But it’s the sentimentality and harsh and upsetting reality that make it so good and moving. The music fits in perfect with it also, can’t think of any faults this movie has.”

Joe Easton gives Robert Bresson’s Mouchette Rating: ★★★☆☆

“Mouchette is a very strange individual, but her mother is dying, father is an asshole and brother is just along for the ride. The story lacks character development and dialog. What exactly happened?”

Lacey Joy gives David Cronenberg’s Spider Rating: ★★☆☆☆

“Meh, classic case of a holywood director trying to make an indy film - it’s all WAY too obvious what’s going on. All very Freudian, Yawn.”

Jared Hutchinson gives Richard Lester’s Petulia Rating: ★★½☆☆

“okay movie. obnoxiously 60s. nic roeg does a great job on camera. christie is annoying. film seems very contrived. has many parallels to Bad Timing which wasnt so great but was better than this movie.”

Nikki Mason gives David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive Rating: ★½☆☆☆

“This movie was impossible to get anything out of (at least if I’m thinking of the right movie. There was a bunch of crazy lesbian goings on though. And at random too, like a bad porno. lol”

Geoffrey Miller gives Michelangelo Antonioni’s Red Desert Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

“When people diss “pretentious art films,” this is exactly the kind of crap they’re talking about. Two hours of boring, plotless navel-gazing.”

Calle Bodahl gives John Brahm’s Hot Rods to Hell Rating: ★★★★☆

“This is a beautiful example of mixing together ‘the’ middle class family, delinquent hot rod kids into a B-movie script. It’s irresitible whether you are into turkey films or just enjoy period 60’s hot rods. The movie deserves my 4 stars.”

Caytlin Driggers give Uptown Girls Rating: ★★★☆☆

“The journy of transformation in the 2 main characters is a work of art! Some how I really connected to the characters!”

Simone Swindel gives I Am Sam Rating: ★★★★★

” This movie was crazy to me because a retarded father was better than my father at the time. This movie made me cry!”

Kevin Bratcher gives Peter Jackson’s remake of King Kong Rating: ★★★★★

“CGI has added so much value to a movie that had so much meaning even in claymation. King Kong’s facial expression lends so much humanity to his character, and the fight with the tyrannosaurs is one of the most epic battles I’ve ever seen.”

Neil Mick gives Brian DePalma’s Redacted Rating: ★★★★½

“This film is a groundbreaker: not so much for its provocative subject-matter (there are several contemporary Hollywood films coming out nowadays critiquing our broken foreign policy) but more for its method of telling the story. In our CGI-besotted,…(read more) aphasic attention-span in regards to the media, De Palma elects to use this collective disability to his advantage, collaging in different venues to tell the story from different angles, and perspectives. As a result, we see the main characters, literally through several different lenses. The narrative at times was intercut with short youtube segments, giving occasional cameo appearances (an antiwar protestor her 15 seconds of fame, among others). We see the ultimate, promised heinous act, but in confusing, jarring cuts where the camera is not always focused upon the violence perpetrated offscreen. The effect was much like the multi-narrative of Kurosawa’s ‘Ran.’”

Justine Gunneson gives Steve Spielberg’s Hook Rating: ★★★★★

“Oh, man! The scene where Pan and the Lost Boys are having the feast just kills me. I love it. Uuugh. Anyway, a wonderful movie with great performances (especially by Hoffman), a thrilling plot and wonderful cinematography.”

Damian Lee gives Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ Rating: ★★★★★

“A very accurate account about the Passion. Great directing from my favorite guy, Mel Gibson. Seeing the Messiah being whipped makes you feel like the switch is running through your back and ripping ribbons of your flesh off. Extremely moving and definitely not for the faint hearted.”

Lee H. gives Adam Sandler’s The Waterboy Rating: ★★★★★

“The best Adam Sandler movie! Ive seen it countless times and it still makes me laugh. So many funny scenes.”

Ciar Naranzarian gives Abbas Kiarostami’s Close-Up Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

” No compelling characters, painful cinematography, tedious throughout and an ending that falls entirely flat.”

Paul West gives Jerry Lewis’ The Nutty Professor Rating: ★★½☆☆

“Hi, I’m Jerry Lewis. The French find me hilarious, but in reality, I’m probably one of the most overrated comedians of all time, and I’m an as*hole in real life.”

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Filed Under Rants

1408 / Mikael Håfström (2007)

June 21st, 2007 by Scott Marks

John Cusack

1408 (2007)

Directed by: Mikael Håfström

Written by: Matt Greenberg, Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski

Cast: John Cusack, Mary McCormick, Samuel L. Jackson & Len Cariou,

Jasmine Jessica Anthony, Tony Shaloub, Paul Birchard, Margot Leicester, Walter Lewis, Eric Meyers, David Nicholson, Alexandra Silber, Johann Urb, Andrew Lee Potts, Emily Harvey, William Armstrong, Kim Thomson, Drew Powell, Noah Lee Margetts

Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1

Genres: Horror, Thriller

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Once again Stephen King entombs an author in a hotel of horrors, this time to less than shining results.

SoCal scribe Mike Enslin (John Cusack) specializes in tour guides to ghostly hotels. Book sales must be up (he was commissioned to pen a fourth book), but you’d be hard pressed to notice given the abysmal turnout for his most recent in-store appearance.

Siphoning through the junk mail and bills, Mike spots a postcard from New York’s Dolphin Hotel with a chilling challenge scrawled across the reverse: “Don’t Enter 1408!” So long Hermosa Beach, Hello Big Bloodcurdling Apple!

One can’t accuse Dolphin manager Gerald Olin (Samuel L. Jackson) of deceptive advertising when he admits up front, “It’s an evil fucking room.” With a record of 56 kills, Olin is delighted to keep the room in a permanent state of “No Vacancy.” With a little coaxing from Mike’s attorney, by law if a room sits unoccupied the hotelier is bound to rent it, Olin grants the author a one-night stay in the soured suite.

Instead of spooks, an initial scan of the room with an ultra-violet lightsaber uncovers little more than a cluster of horrifying bed stains. Mike wonders whether the reason most occupants don’t last more than sixty-minutes is because they succumb from boredom.

At the stroke of 8, the clock radio transforms into an LCD stopwatch and begins counting down Mike’s final hour. Even that doesn’t seem to fluster him. Nor do numerous floating apparitions (including a specter wearing a Steven Wright mask), a return appearance from dear dead dad (Len Cariou) or most unnerving of all, the incessant sound of a closed-circuit broadcast of The Carpenter’s We’ve Only Just Begun on the radio.

Long before we even begin to reach an explanation, director Mikael Håfström has already hammered us with cheap techniques, most noticeably placing his camera where it doesn’t belong (i.e., inside Mike’s P.O. Box or behind a microfiche viewer). The paranormal highjinx and cinematic trickery can only carry so much of the story and movies like this are generally made or broken in the last half hour.

The shocks are rapidly replaced by cheap sentimentality. Instead of maintaining a state of heightened psychological surrealism, schlockmeister Stephen King resorts to mushy melodrama. It’s another family in hell with guilt-ridden Mike, his estranged wife (Mary McCormick) and the ghost of their dead daughter Katie (Jasmine Jessica Anthony). One nice touch has dad receiving little Katie’s dress via fax machine.

Cusack and Jackson are always a pleasure to watch. Too bad the script called for just one scene between them. If you missed Vacancy and Bug and find yourself in dire need of a horror fix, this will do for the moment.

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Filed Under Reviews, Theatrical