Tim Burton’s Latest Movie Treads Familiar, But Ultimately Boring, Territory – Dark Shadows Review

In 2010, something strange happened.  Despite being a thoroughly ordinary movie, Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland somehow managed to gross over $1billion.  That haul made it the 10^th most successful movie of all time (although there’s a good chance it will be dumped out of that list by The Avengers and maybe even Prometheus and The Dark Knight Rises later in the year), an astonishing result for a film that received a mixed critical reception.

Alice In Wonderland was the seventh movie that Tim Burton has directed that also starred Johnny Depp, and Dark Shadows becomes the eighth.  Based on a (apparently terrible) American soap opera that aired in the 60s, Dark Shadows is the story of Barnabas Collins (Depp), a boy who came to America with his father in 1752, and who grew up to become a local playboy when his father established a successful fish canning business.  But he broke the heart of a servant girl, Angelique Bouchard (played by Eva Green), who was in fact a witch, and she took her revenge by killing his parents and the girl he did love.  She then turned Barnabas into a vampire, turning the town on him and burying him alive.

When he is accidentally awoken in 1972, he returns to Collinswood, the family mansion, with the intention of restoring their business to its former glories.  But he discovers that Angelique runs the most successful business in town, and seeks revenge on her.

If you’ve seen the trailer for Dark Shadows, you’ll probably be expected a comedy.  But you’ll be sorely disappointed, because Dark Shadows is one of those films that is preceded by a trailer that has all the funny bits in it.  The film is a huge disappointment, and even worse, it is hugely dull.  I’m a big fan of Tim Burton’s work, and Edward Scissorhands is in my top 10 favorite movies list, but Dark Shadows is by a long way Burton’s worst movie.  Despite a very strong cast, it’s boring, almost entirely unfunny, and lacks the charm and unique qualities of Burton’s best work.

The look and style of the film is very much in keeping with Burton’s work, from the gothic look of Collinswood and the costumes the characters wear, to the Danny Elfman score that sounds like most Danny Elfman scores do on Burton movies, only not as good.  The film’s biggest problem is the script, with the story just lacking any real excitement or drive, plodding along to a tedious finale that is far less interesting than one with Johnny Depp as a vampire fighting Eva Green as a witch should be.  Because the script is so poor, it means that a strong cast doesn’t really get much of a chance to shine.  Depp’s Barnabas is his least memorable Burton character, and a subplot involving Helena Bonham Carter as a shrink living with the Collins family who attempts to become immortal by transfusing Baranbas’ blood into her body doesn’t really go anywhere.  Michelle Pfeiffer plays Elizabeth Collins, the family matriarch, but doesn’t get a lot to do either, while Jonny Lee Miller plays Roger Collins and only has a handful of lines.

But it’s not all doom and gloom; Eva Green is terrific (and outrageously sexy) as Angelique, and Chloe Moretz also impresses as a moody teenager.  Unfortunately, that’s about all the good things I have to say about Dark Shadows.  Burton has a busy year lined up in 2012, as he’s a producer on Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, due out in June, and also has the remake of his debut short Frankenweenie to come in October, a movie which marks his return to stop-motion animation for the first time since 2005’s Corpse Bride.

Dark Shadows promised much, but fails to deliver in a disastrous fashion.  Do yourself a favour, instead of watching this, watch Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow or Batman, you’ll feel much better.

@TheGlassCase

Another Day, Another Solid Movie From The Stath – Safe Review

You rarely get a surprise when you visit the cinema intending to watch the latest Jason Statham movie.  You know he’ll be bald and stubbly, his dialogue will be delivered in a very gruff accent, he’ll make a few sarcastic comments, and he’ll kick seven shades of shit out of nameless bad guys for 90 minutes.

And to be honest, it’s something he does extremely well.  He is by no means a great actor, but I often feel that he is capable of more demanding roles than the ones he actually takes.  His latest movie, Safe, is written and directed by Boaz Yakin (more on him later), features The Stath as an undercover New York cop and is not much of a stretch for him.  But the movie begins with his character, Luke Wright (one of the more realistic character names he’s had recently) cage fighting in New Jersey, and angering Russian gangsters when he refuses to take a fall in fight, instead hospitalising his opponent.  The Russians take revenge by killing his wife, and he’s forced to act like he’s homeless to stay out of their way and prevent the Russians from killing anyone he gets close to.

While this is happening to him, a young Chinese girl, Mei, has been forced to work for the Triads, because she is a mathematical genius, and they make her memorize a lengthy number that holds the key to a shady business deal.  Things get complicated when the Russians decide they want that number, and complicated even further when some corrupt cops get involved too.  Luke is considering suicide when he sees Mei trying to escape from the Russians, and decides to save her.  From then on, Safe is a pretty brutal hour or so of The Stath kicking, punching and shooting his way in and out of danger, as he tries to protect the girl and stop the deal from happening.

As I mentioned, the movie is written and directed by Boaz Yakin, a man with a somewhat eclectic career.  His filmography begins in 1989, when he wrote the first The Punisher movie, which starred Dolph Lundgren.  Since then he’s written movies as diverse as The Rookie, a 1990 action movie directed by and starring Clint Eastwood, From Dusk Till Dawn 2 and Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, and most recently, Prince Of Persia: Sands of Time.  Safe is the sixth movie he’s directed, with his most successful movie being Remember the Titans, a movie about racial tension on an American college football team, starring Denzel Washington.  So it’s fair to say that Yakin’s career has been a bit all over the place.

While Statham’s character is a man trying to find redemption in Safe, this isn’t by any means a saccharine melodrama.  It’s a pretty tough and brutal movie, with Statham in no mood for small talk, especially when he’s got a gun in his hand.  Yakin’s script is filled with violence and mayhem, something Statham has no problem acting out on screen.

It takes Safe a little while to get going, with a slightly awkward opening that goes back and forth between the present day and the past to set up Luke’s rescue of Mei, but once he’s made the choice to protect her, the rest of the movie is more or less non-stop action.  There are shootouts in restaurants, hotel lobbies and clubs, as Wright has to save the girl, find out what the numbers mean and fight off the Triads, Russians and NYPD.

There’s nothing particularly original or new about Safe, but there’s not a lot wrong with it either.  The only real flaw with the film is making Statham’s character American.  In most of his films he just uses his own accent, regardless of where and when the movie is set.  He struggles to keep up an American accent throughout the film, usually just sounding like he normally does, particularly when he’s shouting (which happens a lot).  But it’s not something that makes a big difference to the quality of the film.  Safe, like most of Statham’s movies, isn’t great, but it’s certainly watchable and has all the elements required to make it entertaining.

@TheGlassCase

Awake – Pilot

Awake is a show with a very high concept.  Jason Isaacs plays Los Angeles detective Michael Britten, a man returning to work shortly after being in a car accident that changed his life.  He was driving when he went off the road, with his wife and son in the car with him.

But the way his life has been changed is not straightforward.  Because while one day he will wake up and remember that his wife is still alive and his son has died, the next day he will wake up and remember that his son is still alive, and it was his wife who died in the crash.  Britten believes he is living in two realities, solving cases in each one and either rebuilding his relationship with his wife, or forming a new bond with his son.  Are both worlds real, or has he invented one as a coping mechanism?

In order to remind himself of which reality he is living in, Michael wears a red elastic band on his wrist when he’s with his wife, Hannah, and a green one when he’s with his son, Rex.  He has different psychiatrists and partners in both realities, Dr. Lee and detective Efrem Vega when he is with his wife, and Dr. Evans and Isaiah “Bird” Freeman when he is with his son.  And in both realities he’s attempting to do his job and move on with his life.

The pilot episode dives straight into Britten’s life, as he talks to Dr. Lee about what happens to him every time he opens his eyes.  In the ‘red’ reality, he has a new partner, Vega, who has been promoted (Britten thinks) to keep an eye on him and report back to police officials about how he is acting.  They are investigating the murder of a taxi driver, with a killer who seems happy to pose for a picture from CCTV cameras (in disguise).  At home, Hannah has been repainting the house, but has yet to go into Rex’s room.

Meanwhile, in the ‘green’ reality Britten and his long-time partner Bird are investigating the abduction of a young girl, taken after her parents were murdered.  Rex has taken up tennis since his mother died, and is a talented player.  Michael watches one of his matches, and speaks to Tara, Rex’s tennis coach.  After Rex wins, he drops to his knees, emotionally exhausted as he thinks of his mother, but he turns to Tara for comfort, instead of his father.

Both psychiatrists are fascinated by what they believe Britten has ‘created’ alternate realities where different members of his family survived the crash.  Lee believes creating the green reality stops Britten from taking responsibility for the death of his son, while Evans thinks that while Rex has taken up tennis to cope, but Michael has created a world with his wife instead of dealing in reality.  Evans tells Michael ‘I can assure you, this is not a dream’, to which Michael responds ‘That’s what the other shrink said’.

As Britten works on both cases, he begins to recognise that details and clues have meanings in both realities.  The address where the first cabby killing took place is the number of a parking spot where the abductor’s car was last seen, and when Britten realises this, it prompts him to return to the address, which will become a key moment in his attempts to stop the killer.

When Britten explains to Dr. Evans what approach Dr. Lee is taking in their sessions, she gives Michael a test.  She prints off the American constitution, and asks him to pick a random page and start reading.  He does so, but is confused by the purpose of this.  Evans asks him if he’s memorized the whole thing.  He hasn’t, so how could he read aloud from it if this reality wasn’t the real reality?

Britten is a confused man, but he and his partners manage to solve both crimes.  When Dr. Lee tells him that his ‘fantasy’ could lead to him losing his sanity, he is resolute with his answer.  If getting ‘better’ means he has to say goodbye to his wife or son forever, then he has no desire to ever get better.

So yes, Awake is a show with a high concept, but it’s extremely well written, and very well acted.  The pilot episode offers no answers; either reality could be a fantasy, but both could be real.  But with Britten determined to keep his wife and son alive, can he continue to function normally in both realities, or will he lose his mind?  It’s a big question, and one that is sure to make Awake a compelling watch.

@TheGlassCase

The Hunger Games Review

I knew little about The Hunger Games or its two sequels before production began on the movie version last year.  Having worked in a bookshop over the last couple of years, I was aware of the existence of the trilogy, but didn’t really know what the stories were about.  The hype during the production of the movie suggested it would be ‘the new Twilight’, which of course put me off it, as I’m a man in my 30s.

But as the release date of the movie grew closer, it became apparent that any comparisons to Twilight were made purely in terms of how appealing the film (and books) were to teenagers.  From the outside looking in (I’ve seen none of the movies or read any of the books), the Twilight saga looks like a bunch of moany vampires moping about instead of having great fun with their advanced capabilities and immortality.  But The Hunger Games is set in a very different world.  It’s set well into the future, but has a relatively realistic story, a story of something that isn’t too difficult to imagine really coming into existence.

Set in a North America radically changed by wars and uprisings, it is now governed by the Capitol, with the rest of the country broken up into 12 districts.  These districts are home to an impoverished underclass, and as punishment for their failed uprising, the districts are forced to offer up one boy and one girl, between the ages of 12 and 18, each year to take part in a fight to the death, televised across the nation.

The film focuses on District 12, home to Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), who volunteers for The Hunger Games when her 12 year old sister is selected.  Alongside a boy called Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), Katniss travels to The Capitol to begin training for the event, under the mentorship of former Hunger Games winner Haymitch Abernathy (Woody Harrelson).  Part of the training involves impressing sponsors, people who can then send supplies or medicine into the Games arena to help keep the contestants alive.  Katniss makes a big impression when she is presented before potential sponsors, when she fires an arrow through an apple lodged in a pig’s mouth where the sponsors are dining.

The Games begin with all 24 contestants lined up near to a base that offers equipment and weapons.  Haymitch’s last words to Katniss are to avoid going for a weapon immediately, and just to get clear.  It’s sound advice, as 8 of the ‘tributes’ are immediately killed.  Katniss is reluctant to become involved in the killing, and distances herself from the rest of the tributes.  She later discovers that Peeta has joined up with a group of tributes from other districts who are keen to hunt her down, but she teams up with a young tribute named Rue who helps her escape.

As the Games develop, it becomes clear that the people who run the Games can change the odds and rules as they go along.  There’s a running commentary on them from Toby Jones and Stanley Tucci (who has a ball as TV host Caesar Flickerman), while Seneca Crane (Wes Bentley) is in control of the weather and the elements, and can introduce new hazards to the Games to up the stakes.

I start to edge towards spoiler territory now, so I’ll move on.  Jennifer Lawrence gives an excellent performance as Katniss, and seems set for a long and successful career.  She’s already been Oscar nominated for her role in Winter’s Bone, and has shown she can handle blockbusters with her turn in X-Men: First Class last year too.  Woody Harrelson is probably the best of the rest of the cast, as a man who is clearly tired of The Hunger Games, but still drawn into helping the kids from his district survive.

The look of the Capitol is very strange, with futuristic buildings, but with very outlandish looks for its citizens, a strange cross between 18^th century royalty and Japanese youth culture.  Tucci, Toby Jones,  Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket and Bentley in particular have odd costumes or hairstyles, and there’s no real explanation given for why this style is popular.  The editing and directing style can often be confusing and bewildering, with a lot of fast cuts and shaky edits, presumably to make it look like there’s a lot happening but with little actual cost, and it’s something that can be annoying.  Some of the CGI is a bit weak (particularly in an early scene when Katniss is hunting a deer, which has clearly been edited in after the fact), but is fine for the most part.

As for the film itself, it’s about average.  There’s very little in the way of explicit violence on screen, but unsurprisingly there are some shocking moments when the younger tributes are killed.  The film is a little long at almost two and a half hours, and it takes a long time to get to the Games actually beginning, but the action within the Games is paced more quickly.  Without revealing the ending, the film does seem to lack an obvious way in to a sequel, but remaining books in the series will certainly be adapted for film.

I have to assume that The Hunger Games is much better than any of the Twilight movies, and is one that people outside of the target market can watch and enjoy.

@TheGlassCase