VILLA RIDES

Villa Rides (1968) dir. Buzz Kulik
Starring: Robert Mitchum, Yul Brynner and Charles Bronson

**1/2

Guest Review By Greg Klymkiw

Does the name Buzz Kulik ring a bell? Well, it probably shouldn’t because he’s essentially a proficient hack who delivered thousands of hours of American series television, a few forgettable features and a handful of decent made-for-television movies. On the plus side, most of his television work is from the Golden Age and anyone who camera-jockeyed shows like “The Twilight Zone”, “Gunsmoke”, “Perry Mason” and, among many, many others, “Have Gun – Will Travel” can’t be dismissed entirely. He also delivered the goods on two of the best dying-sports-star TV-weepers of all time, “Brian’s Song” and “Babe” as well as an extremely memorable movie-of-the-week thriller called “Bad Ronald”.

In spite of the abovementioned, however, it’s still a disappointment that he is the director of the all-star feature western “Villa Rides” – not because his work is bad, but because the material suggests just how good the picture might have been if its original screenwriter, Sam Peckinpah, had had a shot directing it.

After the studio butchery of “Major Dundee” and his unfair firing from “The Cincinnati Kid”, Peckinpah, that late, great iconoclast of contemporary cinema, took a few gun-for-hire jobs during an extremely low point in his career when he was essentially persona-non-grata in the business. One of these jobs was to write a screenplay about the legendary Pancho Villa.

Watching the picture, one is occasionally distracted from the proceedings by constantly trying to imagine the picture it could have been. On the surface, it tells a relatively simple tale wherein a barn-storming American aviator (Robert Mitchum) runs guns to the Mexican army, witnesses a genocidal slaughter of a Mexican village (a result of his sale of the guns) and his eventual switchover to fight the good fight during the Mexican Revolution with Pancho Villa (Yul Brynner) and trusty right hand (Charles Bronson). From that point on, lots of things blow up real good.

But that’s about all they do in Kulik’s hands. Blow up.

This is unfortunate. Few American filmmakers had just the right feel for Mexico and could bring equal amounts of sentiment, sorrow and brutality to the proceedings. Peckinpah was at the top of this very small list. Considering that Peckinpah’s script (rewritten by Robert “Chinatown” Towne) is replete with tougher-than-nails men’s men who begin on opposite sides of the fence and eventually bond by causing violence for the greater good, one looks in vain for the sadness and obsession that infused much of Peckinpah’s work.

Alas, it is not really there in the final product.

What remains is an engaging stalwart cast and some not-unexciting action scenes. “Villa Rides” has a good amount of entertainment value and makes for fine Saturday afternoon home viewing. One can’t sneeze at this in any, way shape or form. However, knowing who wrote the film and seeing, from time to time, almost-trademark Peckinpah themes and situations within it, one longs for more. Even the extreme proficiency and entertainment value of the action scenes pales in comparison to the mere THOUGHT of what Peckinpah might have brought to them if he were at the helm.

We’ll never get it, of course. It’s not there. It’s solid western action – no more, no less. If you’re able to forget the pedigree of the screenwriter, a rollicking good time can still be had.

And that, finally, ain’t nothin’!

It’s just not Peckinpah.

“Villa Rides” is available on DVD from Legend Films.

THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951)

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) dir. Robert Wise
Starring: Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Sam Jaffe

****

If you didn’t know already Robert Wise’s seminal sci-fi picture gets an update this week with the Keanu Reeves/Scott Derrickson version. The original film which tells the story of an alien who arrives to earth with a message of peace is, with today's eyes,  perhaps too simplistic to stimulate any complex intellectual thought, but it’s still a benchmark in science fiction cinema. And with the help of Robert Wise's solid direction, Michael Rennie's iconic performance and Bernard Herrmann's gorgeous score, this original film is still highly watchable.

In the opening scene American military spots an unidentified flying object hurdling toward earth. Alarm bells go off everywhere and the army convenes on the Washington mall to greet it. Out of this a classic cylindrical UFO walks a humanoid person, Klaatu (Michael Rennie). But when a triggerhappy soldier shoots Klaatu he’s sent to the hospital.

Klaatu’s mission which he explains to the President of the United States is to convene the leaders of the earth to inform them of their irresponsibility with the new nuclear technology. Unfortunately the bureaucracy involved with bringing the countries together frustrates Klaatu. So he decides to wander out into regular society and learn about these strange new people. He rooms with the Benson family and befriends their young boy Bobby (Billy Gray) and his mother Helen (Patricia Neal). When the military discover he’s missing he’s perceived as a threat which creates a conflict thus threatening the entire human race.

In this classic studio era, science fiction was perceived as a b-movie genre, films intended for children and matinees. Wise, directing from Edmund North’s screenplay based on Harry Bates’ novel, intellectualizes the science as a means to examine our own social and political frailties. With today’s eyes the lessons taught could be perceived and obvious and on the nose. Indeed there’s little subtlety in Wise’s objective.

Unlike other remakes, there’s much more room to open up the story and explore the other details and subplots which emerge in this early version. We don’t learn much about the alien species other than Klaatu’s mission, nor about how he can assume the form of a human. Klaatu’s relationship with the Benson family is well-drawn but Wise inexplicably characterizes the scientist, government and military with little imagination.

Wise’s skills as director are apparent though. The Klaatu character, who is initially drawn as a benevolent alien changes ever so slightly revealing a devious and dangerous side in the second half.  The final act is anchored by a suspenseful chase with the fate of the earth hanging the balance. When Helen assumes responsibility for Klaatu’s mission those famous words are finally spoken: Klaatu Barada Nikto.

And if Wise was unsure about his message he tells it to us again, with his very literal public service announcement voiceover closing the film: Your choice is simple: "Join us and live in peace, or pursue your present course and face obliteration. We shall be waiting for your answer. The decision rests with you.”

Watching old genre films like this requires a filter for the era, as audience became more sophisticated the meaning of this final statement would go between the lines. There’s hope for Scott Derrickson’s new version to better the Robert Wise version. “The Day the Earth Stood Still” is not meant to be a franchise, so let’s hope the producers will settle on and deliver one good film.

"The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)" is available on DVD and Blu-Ray from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

SLAPSHOT

Slapshot (1977) dir. George Roy Hill
Starring: Paul Newman, Michael Ontkean, Struther Martin, Lindsey Crouse

***1/2

“Slapshot” is one of the most unlikely successes to come out of Hollywood. Though it takes place in the U.S. it’s a quintessential Canadian story of minor league hockey, a warts and all inside look into a unique sports culture. Yet, it took Hollywood’s brightest stars to exploit this story and tell it more truthfully and entertainingly than any Canadian could have.

First of all, who knew that Paul Newman could skate so well, and play hockey even with such skill and believability? And why would the Oscar-winning director of “The Sting” and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” want to make a movie about hockey?

Well, Newman was once a hockey player as a kid, so he had natural puck handling skills. As for Hill, the fact is Nancy Dowd’s well researched script is not only knee-slapping hilarious, it’s one of the most authentic sports scripts ever written – a fearless and unpretentious look into the sport. Like “Bull Durham”, one of the greatest baseball films ever made, minor leagues provides the point of view into the sport. The milieu of working class, semi-pro althetes, with the same worries, wants and desires as it’s audience, makes for a much deeper examination of sport, and the dedication it takes to win and make a living at it.

“Slapshot” tells the story of the Charleston Chiefs, a hapless minor league hockey team led by a player/coach Reg Dunlop (Mr. Newman). Dunlop's career is coming to an end, yet he remains on autopilot with his team. Winning or losing doesn't seem to matter until he discovers the manufacturing plant which drives the town will soon go under - the death knell for the entire team. When a prospective buyer in Florida expresses interest, suddenly the stakes in winning and entertaining are elevated.

The saviours of the team come from an unlikely trio of goons named the Hanson Brothers. Their physical play and unending enthusiasm for the game help them and the team become a league sensation. Unfortunately everyone's dreams of playing in comfort in Florida come crashing down when when Dunlop's dubious lies are revealed. With their final game at hand, the team decides to give their fans a crowd-pleasing extravaganza of entertainment on ice.

The inspriation for Dowd's script came from Dowd's own brother and his experiences playing minor league hockey in the 70's. The scene-stealing Hanson Brothers were based on a trio of real life hockey players who play versions of themselves as well. After the movie the trio continued to play hockey and in retirement make celebrity appearances at events and appear in the two shameless sequels which followed many years later.

In the United States "Slapshot" is generally considered one of the great sports films, but in Canada, the characters, gags and comic set pieces are so revered they are memorized with the same obsession cine-geeks have for, say, "Monte Python and the Holy Grail". Dowd's politically incorrect and lewd dialogue has made this one of the naughtier sports films - a genre now dominated by saccharine comeback films. And so Reg's dishonest actions and irresponsibility represents the perfect antidote these antiseptic Disney films.

"Slapshot" and their two sequels are available on DVD from Universal Studios Home Entertainment

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008) dir. Andrew Adamson
Starring: Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Ben Barnes

***

Earlier this week I praised Guillermo del Toro’s fantasy vision of “Helboy II” put to screen. The same could be said of Andrew Adamson’s humble work in “Prince Caspian”. With the Disney backing and the label at the head of the picture, Adamson could never have turned his franchise into a “Lord of the Rings” or a “Hellboy”. The darkness of these other films is eschewed for bright pictures, clean imagery and simple characterizations of good and evil. But in Caspian Adamson's picture, under cover of bright wholesomeness manages to make a surprisingly violent film.

Simplicity is actually a compliment in this case. Before I wrote this review I read a Den of Geek’s open letter to Action Movie Directors and Editors (CLICK HERE to read). While we are bombarded with excessive camerawork, aggressive action, music and editing in our action scenes, in the Narnia series, especially Caspian, Adamson’s classical approach to spectacle is a refreshing throwback to classical epic films.

When we last left the world of Narnia the four Pevensie kids (Edmund, Peter, Susan and Lucy) had just saved the Narnians from the evil Ice Queen and walked back through the Wardrobe back to WWII London. It’s now several years later ‘earth-time’ and while waiting for a train at the station, they are suddenly whisked away back into Narnia land. It’s not same Narnia as before, but hundred years later, the land is now ruled by a race of men known as the Telmarines. In a military coup their King has been killed and their Prince (Caspian) (Ben Barnes) has fled into exile. The horn given to him by his aide has summoned the former kings and queens of the land (the kids from the first film) back to save the day.

But hey, aren’t they just kids? Yes, but Peter still remembers how to brandish a sword and Susan can still fire an arrow. Unfortunately without Aslan the Lion around the kids have to unite Caspian with the remaining Narnians to battle the Telmarine army.

The first film in the series “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” suffered from early growing pains – a lengthy and often boring build up to it’s only brief (but stunning action sequence). In this second film Adamson speeds things up, lessons the awestruck majesty of the land and gets down to business really fast.

Three or four perfectly choreographed action scenes anchor the film, which in large part is as plotless as “Lord of the Rings”. There’s a lengthy attack and rescue scene from King Miraz’s castle, a fight involving the evil Ice Queen in the underground layer of the Narnians, a one-on-one sword battle between Peter and the Miraz and the final army vs. army scene.

Adamson’s classical wideangele framing, locked down camera, simple but effective shot selection and minimal cutting seems a minor miracle in the light of today’s fashionable cinematic techniques. The creature effects are simplified with familiar beasts (centaurs, gryphons etc) fighting alongside our human heroes, Adamson never revels in his achievements in creating these beasts. There are never overly designed, or overrendered with CGI. CGI was certainly used, but there appears to be as much in camera practical effects which almost always produces a more solid basis of reality.

To make a comparison to del Toro and Peter Jackson, let’s give Adamson some respect for his phenomenally designed and executed ‘tree monsters’ which help the Narnians ward of their enemies in the final battle. It trumps both the tree creatures in both “LOTR; The Two Towers” and “Hellboy II”. Enjoy

"The Chronicles of Naria: Prince Caspian" is available on DVD and Blu-Ray from Walt Disney Home Entertainment

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

FRED CLAUS

Fred Claus (2007) dir. David Dobkin
Starring: Vince Vaughn, Paul Giamatti, John Michael Higgins, Kevin Spacey, Rachel Weisz

***

There’s a reason why films like “It’s a Wonderful Life”, and “A Christmas Story” get played year after year, it’s actually quite hard to make a great Christmas film. Last year’s big Christmas film was “Fred Claus”. A fine cast led by Vince Vaughn and Paul Giamatti put it a neck above the Tim Allen sort, but does it have the lasting power of “A Christmas Story” or even “Christmas Vacation”?

Vince Vaughn plays Fred Claus, the pathetic brother of Santa Claus (Paul Giamatti). Since childhood, he’s grown up in the shadow of his more famous, more successful and saintly younger brother. In the present he’s a ball-busting repo-man. His self-pity has also stunted his relationship with his girlfriend Wanda (Rachel Weisz). When he lands in jail without the ability to post bail, he calls up his brother Saint Nick for help.

In exchange for the bail money Fred agrees to help out Santa getting ready for Christmas. His working class forthrightness makes him a fish out of water and he quickly upsets the natural order of the North Pole. Meanwhile, a stuck-up ‘efficiency expert’ played by Kevin Spacey threatens to shut down the whole North Pole operation for good if they don’t improve and make their quota. Fred and Santa have to overcome their sibling rivalry in order to save Christmas.

Vaughn is credited as an associate producer, but fingerprints are all over the film. David Dobkin (“Wedding Crashers”) a frequent collaborator of Vaughn’s directs; John Michael Higgins (the scene stealer from “The Break-Up”) appears in a key role. It’s even set in his hometown of Chicago. Vaughn essentially plays the same character as in “Wedding Crashers” and “The Break-Up”, an obnoxious yet lovable motormouth who needs to overcome his own self-absorbed character flaws to achieve his goals. He’s interminably entertaining, cramming in gags and one-liners with natural ease.

Unfortunately like “The Break-Up” Vaughn’s presence is so commanding he dominates everyone around him, specifically the even better actor, Paul Giamatti. Giamatti is cast right as the neurotic worrisome Santa who’s suspect of his ability to continue as Santa. But any significant emotional attachment to his plight is overshadowed by Vaughn’s domineering.

It’s a Joel Silver (“The Matrix”, “Lethal Weapon”) production so much money has been put in front of the screen. The production values are high. Dobkin crafts a number of entertaining action set pieces including a rambunctious chase between Vince Vaughn and a horde of Salvation Army Santas. Many more expensive actors show up in supporting roles as well – an overcast Kevin Spacey performs well as the evil auditor, Rachel Weisz is lovely and endearing as Fred’s girlfriend, and Elizabeth Bank is the yummiest Santa’s Little Helper ever put to screen.

These subplots threaten to bloat and convolute the focus of the film. But Dobkin manages all the stars well, giving everyone enough screentime and barely avoiding breaking the holiday audience’s attention span.

When Christmas is saved in the end, Fred successfully redeems himself and everyone learns his or her lessons. The true meaning of Christmas is hit home once again with earnestness. It’s formulaic and corny, but it satisfies the needs of the genre. While the programming of “It’s a Wonderful Life” or “A Christmas Story” are not threatened by “Fred Claus”, you may want to pop this in the DVD player instead of the overplayed “Christmas Vacation”. Enjoy.

“Fred Claus” is available on Blu-Ray and DVD from Warner Home Video

WALTZ WITH BASHIR

Waltz with Bashir (2008) dir Ari Folman
Starring Ari Folman

***1/2

Guest review by Blair Stewart

Like an animated hallucinatory pill, "Waltz with Bashir" is a journey of atonement through the memories of its filmmaker during the recent conflicts in the Levant. A "Waking Life" hybrid documentary, Israeli director Ari Folman has a conversation with an old army buddy in which he realises that he's suffering from the fog of war - he doesn't recall his time in the Israeli Defence Forces during the bloody 1982 Lebanon War. The only memory left is a fever dream of swimming at night onto the shores of a devastated Beirut, a startling image of being birthed into battle.

The structure is conventional as Ari traces the recollections of his fellow veterans, but the animation by David Polonsky is unconventional for this subject, and allows the imagery to leap beyond simple talking heads or stock footage into dreamscapes of combat and guilt. While truth can be skewed to benefit the plot in animation over firsthand footage, and while it can also appease the personal interests of the storyteller, the look of "Bashir" clearly articulates the banality and madness of this particular war for its participants.

At the heart of the film (and filmmaker) is Ari’s remorse over the massacre of Palestinian refugees inside the Sabra and Shatila camps by Christian extremists avenging their assassinated leader. The armed forces of which Folman belonged stood by as the atrocities took place, and his story winds its way down into this moment, stopping to establish what it was like to be 19 and fighting against children with RPG's in guerrilla warfare.

A strong offbeat soundtrack of PiL and OMD offers a consistent point/counterpoint to the action, as Ari fluctuates between repressed memories and present day remembrances. While the last third of the film begins to drag as the main focus steps out of the picture to lead up to the terrible moment in recent history, Folman’s occasional gallows of humour and striking visuals carry us through.

“Waltz With Bashir” is highly recommended, and an ideal companion to the recent "Persepolis" – animation as a tool for mature cinema. I hope to see a follow-up from the Palestinian perspective soon.

C.R.A.Z.Y.

C.R.A.Z.Y (2005) dir. Jean-Marc Vallee
Starring: Marc-André Grondin, Michel Côté, Danielle Proulx, Émile Vallée, Pierre-Luc Brillant

****

One of the best films you’ve probably never seen is Jean-Marc Vallee’s phenomenal French-Canadian hit film "C.R.A.Z.Y." The acronym title refers to the first letters of five siblings whom we see grow up and come of age in the late 60’s and 70’s. "C.R.A.Z.Y." became one of the highest grossing films in Canada and won virtually every possible award in the country.

From the opening shot we are put into the point of view of Zach Beaulieu. Vallee begins with Zach in the womb, and shows how the trauma of his birth, being born on Christmas, and being dropped by his father as an infant foreshadowed the burdened life we’ll soon have intimate details of.

In suburban Quebec Zach grows up idolizing his father and hating his 3 older brothers. Between the pressures of his Catholic upbringing and his father’s commanding patriarchal presence, as soon as Zach starts feeling some homosexual urges fear and confusion take over.

Though Zach is gay, the film more than just a coming-out-of-the-closet story, it’s perhaps the most complex film about the subject. Zach is happily straight for most of the film but always with a curious glance to the other side.

Vallee’s wicked Martin Scorsese influenced rock soundrack drives the picture. Early on we’re treated to a wonderful fantasy sequence during Sunday mass as Zach’s mind wanders over to the Rolling Stones. With the song, “Sympathy for the Devil” playing in his brain, the entire audience sings along as Zach rises from his bench and floats in the air.

Other tracks from Pink Floyd and David Bowie whisk us away into Vallee’s Amelie-like world. But while "Amelie" is a pure fantasy experience, CRAZY is rooted in those real scrapbook-like memories relatable to almost any suburban youth.

Vallee maximizes the film medium using all kinetic and stylistic tricks at his disposal to create a visual and aural cinematic masterpiece. Vallee's decade-spanning scope and technical bravura put his film in the company of PT Anderson’s “Boogie Nights” and Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire”.

A Q&A with the director after a recent screening in Toronto revealed some details of Vallee's next film, a star-studded British period piece 'The Young Victoria", which I anticipate with excitement. With Martin Scorsese's name on the credits as Executive Producer, even though C.R.A.Z.Y. didn't have enough reach to U.S. audiences, the world filmmaking community appears to have discovered the film. Try and find it yourself.

I couldn't find an English clip, but here's a fun musical sequence set to "Space Oddity":

THE MAN WHO COULD CHEAT DEATH

The Man Who Could Cheat Death (1959) dir. Terence Fisher
Starring: Anton Diffring, Hazel Court and Christopher Lee

***

Guest Review By Greg Klymkiw

Even if “The Man Who Could Cheat Death” were an awful movie (and it is far from that), it would have one big thing going for it. Well, actually two big things – those soft, milky protuberances heaving ever so-delicately beneath the low-cut velvet dress of Heaven itself; namely, the breasts of that utterly flawless example of womanhood, Hazel Court. These bounteous pillows of perfection are, however, not all that mesmerize Dr. Georges Bonnet (Anton Diffring) the title character of this delicious Hammer Horror picture from master Terence Fisher. When his (and our) eyes gaze above her cleavage, then glide upwards along her perfect breastplate and delicate neck, they run smack into a delectable puss replete with full lips, exquisite cheek bones and eyes you want to dive into. There’s also that pile of soft scarlet atop her crown, tied and trussed in a manner that hints, ever so invitingly, at the cascading waterfall that awaits when the pins are removed and the locks tumble down. And beneath it all – beneath her upper bounties – is a svelte torso, supple, childbearing hips and, no doubt, other hidden fruits best left to our imaginations.

The estimable Miss Court as the comely model Janine Dubois makes her first appearance in the picture on the arm of the dashing Dr. Pierre Girard (Christopher Lee) during a private gathering in Bonnet’s home where the mad-scientist/artist is about to unveil his latest sculpture to a small, but admiring public of society people. It is obvious to all, including Girard, that she and Bonnet are former lovers and it is here we discover that Bonnet’s artistic output has been reserved to sculptures only of the upper portions of the most beautiful women imaginable. Once the party disbands, we are treated to the revelation that the 30-something Bonnet is, in fact, over 100 years old and that he’s found the secret to eternal youth through the occasional implantation of a fresh gland in addition to a lime-green potion. His goal is to steal, Janine from Pierre, implant a new gland – making her “immortal” – and to spend the rest of eternity in bliss.

And who wouldn’t want to spend an eternity with Hazel Court? Only a madman, right?

Well, there’s the rub. Implantation of the gland and adherence to steady doses of the lime-green bubbling Kool-Aid renders all those under its influence to go stark raving, psychotically bonkers. This, of course, will not do and it’s up to Girard (one of Christopher Lee’s few heroic roles) to save the day.

With a Jimmy Sangster screenplay adaptation of a creaky, but oddly literate play by Barre Lyndon (“The Man of Half Moon Street”, already made as a film in the 40s) is one part “The Picture of Dorian Gray”, with dashes of “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” and “Dracula”. It’s perfect material for Terence Fisher who delivered some of the finest and most stylish British horror films of all time. Though much of the action is constricted to a few rooms, it’s an always engaging thriller thanks, in part to Fisher’s splendid direction and, most of all, because of the superb cast. Peter Cushing look-alike Anton Diffring (star of the luridly magnificent “Circus of Horrors”) is the perfect tragic villain with his aquiline features and sorrowful eyes, Lee handles himself expertly as the hero and Miss Court is breathtakingly engaging in her role.

“The Man Who Could Cheat Death” is a welcome addition to Fisher’s fine work from the 50s (including “Curse of Frankenstein” and “Horror of Dracula”). In fact, it’s kind of cool seeing Fisher work his magic in a genre film that is bereft of an already identifiable monster (he also helmed versions of “The Mummy”, “The Werewolf” and “Phantom of the Opera”) and if the picture seems a trifle dated and a smidgen derivative, these are but minor flaws in an otherwise delightful chiller.

Besides, it stars Hazel Court and that is, of course, reason enough to see pretty much anything.

“The Man Who Could Cheat Death” is available on DVD from Legend Films.

AUSTRALIA

Australia (2008) dir. Baz Luhrmann
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Brandon Walters, David Wenham, Bryan Brown

**1/2

Baz Luhrmann’s long-waited follow-up to “Moulin Rouge” is an unabashed romantic epic. Luhrmann wasn’t shy about it either, his first attempt to make a film about Alexander the Great faltered, which seems to have been replaced with this sprawling tale with the slightly pretentious title of “Australia”. While the thought of an innovative and progressive filmmaker regressing into nostalgia filmmaking is a disappointment, the potential for something wonderful and inspiring to emerge is always there with Baz Luhrmann.

It's 1939 and Nicole Kidman plays Lady Ashley, a British aristocrat, who travels to Australia to join her husband on his cattle ranch. When she arrives she finds him dead, apparently shot by a wandering Aboriginal chief. Her neighbour, King Carney has been buying up all the ranches in the area so he can monopolize his industry. Ashley's unwilling to sell and hires her hunky guide Drover (Hugh Jackman) to help her drive the cattle to Darwin. Drover and Ashley are worlds apart in the class system, but both are single, good-looking and isolated from anyone else, so naturally an attraction, courtship and then relationship begins.

Narrating this story is a young 'half-breed' aboriginal boy, Nullah, who becomes central to the story. One of the heinous and overtly racist laws in Australia at the time was a relocation policy which allowed authorities to remove half-breed children from their mothers and train them for the military. Ashley attempts to protect the boy, but in doing so reveals a vulnerability which her enemies can use against her. When the Pacific War begins Australia finds itself a target of the Japanese. In a surprise attack on Darwin, Ashley, Nullah and Drover find themselves separated and desperate to save each others lives. 

Surprisingly despite a running time of 165mins, the film is remarkably focused. It takes place over a timespan of only a few years, and is confined to two main locations – the port city of Darwin and Lady Ashley’s Outback cattle ranch – as well as the long distance between them. Even the conflicts are paired down to Ashley’s feud with her neighbouring rivals and her fight to keep Nullah from relocation by the government.

The backbone of the film is a lengthy movement of Ashley’s cattle from her ranch to Darwin. This journey is built up well and executed with the tension and drama of a great epic action scene. There’s no doubt Luhrmann aspires for the grandeur of Lawrence’s journey to Aqaba in “Lawrence of Arabia” or Tom Dunson’s cattle drive in “Red River”. It's the centerpiece of the film and it holds everything together sufficiently.

The film is let down by the obligatory relatively conflict-free love story. When the prudish Ashley first meets the rugged Drover they are like oil in water – Ashley even says clichéd line - “Even if you were last person on earth I would never go to bed with you (sic)”. The professional relationship turns into some not-so-sweaty sex and then they are together. Afterwards their relationship is barely challenged. At one point Drover’s desire to get back into the Outback and drive cattle for six months causes a break-up, but their reactions seem unnatural and unthreatening.

The main concern with selling this romance to the audience is unfortunately the ages of the characters. Kidman is 41, Jackman is 40. The last two most popular romances arguably are “Titanic” and “The Notebook” (and maybe even Luhrmann's own "Romeo + Juliet". In these films their lovers were in their early twenties – a time when audiences can recall for themselves those innocent years when love was fresh, exciting and all consuming. The prospect of losing it made the characters make risky, questionable decisions. Ashley and Drover never have that spark and it’s never exciting.

As for the look of the film most discussions, reviews and commentary I’ve read acknowledge the visual beauty of the expansive Australian vistas and Mandy Walker’s cinematography. Sure there are some stunning shots and big scenes of breathtaking beauty, but what astonished me more was the frequent use of what appeared to my eye as unnecessary green-screen process shots. In almost every major set piece Luhrmann used these painful green-screened shots of the actors against the often blown-out white backgrounds. Each and every time these shots jumped out at me and took me out of the picture.

There's enough honesty and integrity in "Australia" to recommend the film, but unfortunately not enough emotional investment or gravitas to truly hit the high mark it aspires to be.

Australia

CRUISING BAR 2

Cruising Bar 2 (2008) dir. Michel Côté, Robert Menard
Starring: Michael Côté, Lise Roy, Véronique Le Flaguais, Martin Thibaudeau

***

What is "Cruising Bar 2" you ask? It's one of the biggest films in Canada this year, and virtually unknown outside of Quebec. “Cruising Bar 2” is a sequel to, of course… “Cruising Bar 1” (1989). I had never heard of original, but the characters were popular enough to warrant a sequel. Autonomous success of homegrown films in Quebec is commonplace, and “Cruising Bar 2” is one the best examples of its self-sustaining industry and star system.

It's the brainchild of Quebec comedian Michel Côté. The sequel continues the saga of four regular (now middle-aged) guys looking for love: Jean-Jacques is the suave business man so self-absorbed he thinks he might be gay, Gerard is an suburban schmuck who cheats on his wife and gets caught, but seeks to get her back; Patrice is a wildcard, an enthusiastic longhaired n’er-do-well stuntman who doesn't know he's too old to go to danceclubs; and Serge the unassuming shy wallflower who takes Samba lessons to learn how to socialize.

The hook is that Michel Côté plays all the characters. On first glance, without knowing anything of the previous film or Côté’s brand of humour, the sight of the actor, wearing a myriad of wigs, fat suits, false noses etc to make himself look different seemed an egotistical exercise. It never reaches the absurd grandeur of Peter Sellers’ work in “Dr. Strangelove” or even some of the great Eddie Murphy characters over the years. Yet as the film progressed I ceased to see one actor in multiple roles, instead each character grew out of Côté to be a distinct person.

Tonally the film moves from absurdity to slapstick to poignant reflections on life and love. The structure isolates each character with his individual story, like another Canadian ensemble character flick, “Young People F*cking”, characters don’t intersect instead lead parallel lives where the whole is greater than the sum of their individual adventures.

It runs a predictable course and in the end each character gets exactly what they want. Hurdles are overcome, neuroses extinguished, problems solved – at least until “Cruising Bar 3” when everything will come crashing down again.

“Cruising Bar 2” has made $3.5 million in the Quebec box office. Barely a blip on Box Office Mojo, but their population is about 1/40 of the U.S., so do the math and “Cruising Bar 2” is a $140 million film.

“Cruising Bar 2” is available on DVD and Blu-Ray from Alliance Films in Canada.

HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY

Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008) dir. Guillermo del Toro
Starring: Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones, Jeffrey Tambor, John Hurt

***1/2

“Hellboy II” had much of its thunder stolen this summer, having been released a week before “The Dark Knight”. It’s a shame because after making what possibly would be director Guillermo del Toro’s best film he’ll ever make, “Pan’s Labyrinth”, his follow-up film should have been a bigger deal than it was.

This has to do, in part, with the humility of the talented filmmaker. After the great success and numerous awards heaped upon his previous indie-art house hit, he did a 180 and went back into the comic book genre for another round of “Hellboy”. Of course, Del Toro’s no director for hire in this case, “Hellboy” is one of his passion projects and the evidence is all over the screen.

This second entry in the series begins with a flashback to Hellboy’s youth. His mentor Professor Bloom (John Hurt) tells the red boy a nightmarish bedtime story about an evil king and a golden army of mechanical warriors which lays dormant beneath the earth ready to be awakened. In the present the son of the King, Nuada, returns from exile along with his evil troll sidekick to reclaim his army and takeover the world.

The Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense put their number one demon fighter, Hellboy, on the case (but really, is there anyone else for the job?). Returning to help him out are his girlfriend Liz (Selma Blair) who can turn herself into a fireball at will and Abe Sapien (Doug Jones) a fishlike aquatic man who can breathe underwater.

Del Toro takes his time entertaining us with absurd comic interactions with the heroes before sending them off into the action scenes. Abe Sabian gets a significant romantic subplot with Nuada’s twin sister, and Liz and Hellboy continue their tempestuous relationship.

The plotting is minimal at best, but “Hellboy II” serves to let Del Toro run wild with his imagination and put to screen an astonishing array of fantastical creatures, underground worlds and gothic atmosphere dripping with life. The attention to detail with his rendering of the Troll Market as well as the giant tree monster which grows from underneath Manhattan to battle Hellboy has as much grandiose mythological wonder as anything in “Lord of the Rings”.

Of course, that’s exactly what Del Toro is tackling next, “The Hobbit”. And it’s a natural fit for him. While it’s exciting to see two great artists (Peter Jackson and Del Toro) collaborate on such a high level, part of me will miss the personal, idiosyncratic qualities of Del Toro’s choices of films. According to the IMDB Del Toro was twice offered a chance to make a Harry Potter film but in both cases turned it down to do his two “Hellboy” movies.

Since the Hobbit will take up many years of his working life, will we miss out on other personal films in the order of “Hellboy” or “Pan’s Labyrinth”?

“Hellboy II: The Golden Army” is available on DVD and Blu-Ray from Universal Studios Home Entertainment

COLUMBIA BEST PICTURES COLLECTION

Columbia Pictures has a long, rich history of making movies. It was one of the original studios of Hollywood’s ‘Golden Age’. Like every other studio it’s been bought and trading numerous times over the years. Currently it’s part of the Sony conglomerate, but with the large bankroll backing it, it’s become one of the largest filmmaking companies in the world.

Fresh for a holiday gift for that cinephile in your family is a cleverly package box set containing every Best Picture Academy Award winner from the Columbia vault. No, the set is more than just a cardboard box enclosing their overstocked titles, this set of 11 films comes in a coffee-table book-like design, with a textured slipbox case complete with liner notes and all the special features we’d expect from these great films.

Packaging aside, the set represents a great snapshot Hollywood studio filmmaking. Despite almost a 50 year timespan, you can see consistency in these Best Picture winners - socially and politically conscious films about big stories and big events, often from revered literary material or about historically significant figures.

Here’s the rundown of these 12 great films which span 1934-1982

“It Happened One Night” (1934) dir. Frank Capra
Starring: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert
Capra’s screwball romantic comedy classic about a wealthy socialite falling in love with a mischievous reporter.

“You Can’t Take it With You” (1938) dir. Frank Capra
Starring: James Stewart, Lionel Barrymore, Jean Arthur
Capra’s tale of two lovers caught between their two ideological disparate families.

“All the Kings Men” (1949) dir. Robert Rossen
Starring: Broderick Crawford, John Ireland, Joanne Dru, John Derek
The first adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning story of political ambition and corruption.

“From Here to Eternity” (1953) dir. Fred Zinnemann
Starring: Burt Lancaster, Frank Sinatra, Donna Reed
The multi-award winning saga of WWII-era action and romance in the Pacific.

“On the Waterfront” (1954) dir. Elia Kazan
Starring: Marlon Brando, Rod Steiger, Lee J. Cobb, Eva Marie Saint
Brando’s seminal method performance as Terry Malloy still packs a wallop

“Bridge on the River Kwai” (1957) dir. David Lean
Starring: Alec Guinness, William Holden, Jack Hawkins, Sessue Hayakawa
Guinness and Hayakawa's battle of wills in a Japanese POW camp anchor David Lean’s first masterpiece in epic filmmaking.

“Lawrence of Arabia” (1962) dir. David Lean
Starring: Peter O’Toole, Omar Sharif, Alex Guinness, Anthony Quinn
Lean romanticizes the desert as a hypnotizing environment and arena for politics and war.

“A Man For All Seasons” (1966) dir. Fred Zinnemann
Starring: Paul Scofield, Wendy Hiller, Robert Shaw, Orson Welles, Vanessa Redgrave
The story of King Henry VIII told from the point of view of Catholic dissident Sir Thomas More.

“Oliver!” (1968) dir. Carol Reed
Starring: Mark Lester, Ron Moody, Oliver Reed, Jack Wild, Shani Wallis
Dickens’ classic turned into a musical from the music of Lionel Bart.

“Kramer Vs. Kramer” (1979) dir. Robert Benton
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Justin Henry
The only intimately-told story in the set is Robert Benton’s definitive film about divorce.

“Gandhi” (1982) dir. Richard Attenborough
Starring: Ben Kingsley, Candice Bergin, Edward Fox, Roshan Seth, John Gielgud
One of the biggest films ever made, featuring Ben Kingsley's phenomenal embodiment of Mohandas Gandhi.

“Columbia Best Pictures Collection” is available on regular DVD only.

HANCOCK

Hancock (2008) dir. Peter Berg
Starring: Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman, Eddie Marsan

**

On DVD arrives “Hancock” a film no one seemed to like (a 38% rating on Rotten Tomatoes) yet grossed $227million dollars. It was born from one of those legendary specs scripts which floated around Hollywood for years. The Peter Berg version has an intriguing set-up, but a number of great ideas gone unrealized.

Will Smith plays Hancock, a drunken superhero, who literally lives in a ‘van down by the river’. Though he flies around saving the citizens of L.A. from petty crimes, lately his crass attitude, drunkenness and careless behaviour has turned the public against him. When he saves the life of a well-meaning publicist, Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman) a friendship develops which will change Hancock’s life for good and bad.

Ray starts improving his attitude and learning the ropes of being decent, trustworthy and reliable. As he ingratiates himself with Ray’s family he becomes closer to Ray’s wife Mary (Charlize Theron), which reveals secrets of his past and his ultimate destiny.

A clever twist on the superhero genre is established – an affable hero, lost with no direction. His relationship with Ray is introduced and plays well. Berg primes us for a classic cinematic redemption of sorts, but midway Charlize Theron’s character takes the film on a wild turn in a new direction. It’s a massive coincidental plot twist, which throws all the groundwork of the previous act out the window. As the background of Hancock comes to light Ray instantly becomes inconsequential and unnecessary to the story. Berg tries to juggle two relationships (Hancock-Ray and Hancock-Mary) and so failing at both drowns the film.

Hancock’s villain, Red Parker, is also sorely underwritten. His story is hastily put together in the second half of the film to provide some external conflict for Hancock. Unfortunately, he’s just some criminal schmuck who poses no threat to our hero whatsoever. Eddie Marsan plays Red, he’s a great actor (see his great performance in “Happy Go Lucky”) but as for a villain to play off Will Smith, he’s out of his league.

Ultimately the film is let down by Peter Berg’s show-off direction. He paints lovely pictures but he appears to be channeling some kind of early-career-Michael Bay fixation. Every scene is shot in the sundrenched deep yellow L.A. magic hour and cut with the manic intensity of Bay’s “The Rock”. Unnecessary handheld camera appears to create drama where there is no drama. It’s all artifice and distracting.

I’m convinced “Hancock” could have worked with a more focused director. Berg’s previous film “The Kingdom” makes a good comparison with “Hancock”. Berg seems to get distracted with crafting his individual scenes instead of creating a unifying whole of a film. “The Kingdom” meandered wildly with a different tone to every scene. “Hancock” suffers from the same ailments.

"Hancock" is available on DVD and Blu-Ray from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

TWILIGHT

Twilight (2008) dir. Catherine Hardwicke
Starring: Kristin Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Billy Burke, Peter Facinelli, Ashley Green

**1/2

I’m kind of fascinated by the phenomenon of “Twilight”. It’s a heavily flawed film which normally I would jump on and beat down, picking it apart for it’s sloppy structural inconsistencies, massive plots. lapses into horrendous acting, awfully-directed action scenes, and even bad continuity, yet beneath these negatives shines through the appeal which has made this film is phenomenal success.

“Twilight” is successful because, like a thinly sharpened knife, it targets its audience with pinpoint accuracy and discards everyone else who doesn’t fall into their demographic. Like mostly anyone not in high school I had never heard of “Twilight” until I was bombarded by the media onslaught in the past month. Most teens have heard of it. To help understand the hype my wife read the novel - it’s a breezy, easy-to-read 500 pages of forlorn romance, high school gossip, fashion, proms, and domestic confusion. Dare I say, it’s the “Carrie” of it’s day?

The story begins introducing Bella Swan (Kristin Stewart) who’s narrating her tale to us. She’s a child of divorced parents who is about to move in with her father in a small town in Oregon. As the new girl, she’s not ostracized, she’s the attraction – the new toy to play with. She easily makes friends and finds a place in the social web of high school. Then along comes Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), the unattainable hot dude in school. He’s a member of the Cullen family, a weirdo, near incentual group of half-siblings who lives in seclusion and only come to school on overcast days.

Of course the Cullens are a coven of vampires and of course Bella falls in love with him. It takes a while though. Edward is aloof and distant to Bella, mainly because he’s madly in love with her – a dangerous relationship for a vampire to have. But the Cullens are good vampires and they’ve lived harmoniously with humans for many centuries feeding off animals for food. Their relationship kinda works and Bella is ingratiated into Edward’s goofy family. Whilst this is all going on a group of evil vampires have started killing humans in the town. When they target Bella for the next meal the Cullens battle their enemies in the name of true love.

The film is a grabber in the opening act, author Stephanie Meyer’s depiction of high school feels fresh and relevant, minus the clichés of cliques, bullies, jocks, stuck-up bitches etc. Catherine Hardwicke, who directed another non-traditional teen-angst film, "Thirteen", is the ideal choice of director and she employs a natural style without drawing attention to itself.

Then as the plot points start dropping the film’s inefficiencies start to show. The Cullens are introduced as brooding and dangerous, yet when Bella visits them for the first time they act like the Brady Bunch. Pattinson’s James Dean-like Edward character is all over the map. He makes longing glances at Bella, and speaks with an off-kilter cadence which I couldn’t figure out as bad acting, complex characterization or just a difficult American accent.

Pattinson is good-looking enough to sell the role though, because it’s Bella who really matters. Kristin Stewart single-handedly keeps the film from falling apart. After a number of supporting roles in interesting films (“Panic Room”, “Undertow”) over the last ten years, she’s ripe for this leading role.

The final half is highlighted by a number of action sequences which are sloppily choreographed and executed. The vampires have the ability to jump high and run fast, which are visualized with painfully obvious wire enhancement work which looks as bad as a low rent 70's kung-fu movie.

But teenage girls don’t go to see “Twilight” for action, they want to see romance. Bella is the ‘everygirl’, a mirror image of the audience, and so by wrangling the hot dude, and falling in love in spite of the obstacles against them, the film gets the only important thing right.

After the success of this film subsequent sequels will likely be able to correct the technical problems and deliver films which can stand on their own. After it’s all done, we probably look back on “Twilight” as it’s humble and rocky beginnings. Enjoy.