After.Life is one long, look at what is presumably a woman's last days of physical being on this earth. Anna (Christina Ricci) has a life that's in a bit of a rut, popping pills and wondering where her life is landing. Her relationship with her almost fiance Paul (Justin Long) has cooled significantly in her eyes and every little thing between them turns into some kind of fight to further tear them apart.
Then one night she dies.
It's the end of the line. It's all over, folks. The fat lady has sung fer last note and it's time to fade to black.
But it's not over yet.
The local undertaker Eliot (Liam Neeson, working on his overexposure of the year award) has brought Anna to his business for the final trip from the wreck, to the slab, to the hole in the ground. Eliot has a "gift" in which he can talk to the dead, helping them on their move to the other world, the big game of beach blanket bingo in the sky. Anna doesn't believe it. Eliot gets disgusted and complains about how these people are always expecting more from their lives and not believing it was their time to go. There is a conflict between Anna and Eliot in which he convinces her it's time while she fights it. Outside the cold room Paul can't accept it, creating what could be a delusion that she's a prisoner in Eliot's funeral home. This, essentially, is what the entire film hinges on- is she or isn't she.
In an earlier review of The Shining (1980) I suggested the idea that Kubrick's film isn't a ghost story, but more of a symptom of mental illness and the break down of members of a family locked up in a hotel together for a long period of time. Kubrick did a great job at leaving the film as ambiguous as possible and when you really think about it you have different roads to take when looking at The Shining. Was it full of ghosts? Was it simply a mental breakdown? Was it just bad karma? It's left up to you. After.Life takes the same sort of route in that the main question is whether Anna is actually dead or is this a sick game of Eliot's. Did he do a good job at bullshitting her or is she just bullshitting herself? As with everything else in life, it's all in your interpretation. You can be easily led both ways and it's not my job to tell you which path to follow. You must do that yourself grasshopper.
Overall the film isn't the greatest thing since sliced bread. There are a lot of things that really drag it down, from assaulting junior high students to an ending that seems a little to easy if you ask me. I'm all for answering my questions as soon as possible, not leaving them to stew for and hour but that's just me. Basically it's a pot boiler film that is average. It's a nice change of pace with a great plot, but it just doesn't click creating a film that gets you excited to see it based on the story and then renders itself totally forgettable after viewing. There is no after life for this one. You'll see it, enjoy some of the psychological aspects of the film, then move on to other movies that have a great story and a soul to back them up.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Thursday, August 12, 2010
The Ghost Writer (2010) ****
In The Ghost Writer Ewan MacGregor plays a ghost writer. His job is to replace the ghost of former Prime Minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan). This is a last minute replacement as the original writer's body washed up on the beach close to the compound where Lang is secluded in putting together his story. Lang is still a central character in political life as he is being investigated for war crimes by the Hague and in all of this confusion The Ghost begins to find information pointed toward Lang's involvement with foreign governments and the possibility that the original ghost was murdered for digging into such graveyards.
The Ghost Writer is essentially built on the career of Tony Blair and his involvement in the war on terror. That is a central fact and shouts at you during the film. This is the situation that The Ghost find himself in, leading to a very contemporary piece. The Ghost is simply listed as The Ghost in the credits, leading to that Mr. Incognito persona of what his job is- basically a cleaner for a dull and pretentious writer. The film is one of those layered films, which is what all good political thrillers need to be. Each piece should lead to the next piece, like the short bread in Grimm's Fairy Tales. Eventually each piece will take you to grandmother's house or the home of a witch with intent to cook your behind. The apprehension that our title character feels grows within the audience as well. He's on a path to burn, we all know that. It's just seeing how quick the tables will turn and whether or not he can kick that old bitch in the fire that keeps us tuned in.
MacGregor and Brosnan have a nice presence together on screen with a give and take attitude that keeps the story flowing. Of course the thing about The Ghost Writer is its supporting cast with Olivia Williams as Lang's wife, Kim Cattrall as Lang's assistant, Tom Wilkinson as the professor of immense interest, Jim Belushi as the publishing guru, and the legendary Eli Wallach as an island resident filling The Ghost in on the tides. What Brosnan and MacGregor have is grounded in these supporting roles.
Directed by Roman Polanski (who edited it in jail), this isn't Chinatown, but it is a taut political thriller that will keep you guessing up until the last few pages of the script. It's not really a look into the heart of evil, but more like a glimpse into the underbelly of a lot of things: writing, politics, marriage, etc. It's a very good film that isn't as complicated as it could have been, yet isn't dumbed down for our benefit either.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010) **1/2
While Diary isn't a horrible film, it's not a great one either. It's acted well enough and the story is a little interesting, it just seems a little bogged down in that we've seen it all before. For you readers of the book, we've apparently read it all before, too. It's an OK film, but will it hold up in five years? Probably not. It's an average film that got lucky with a good title. Nothing more and nothing less.
The Runaways (2010) ***1/2
The Runaways tells the age old tale of rock n' roll decadence. The story is all the same and sadly it's true. Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart) is struggling to get a band together. Rock n' roll stories always begin with struggle. The dream develops into a band when the final piece, singer Cherie Currie (Dakota Fanning) joins the band. Enter Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon), a glam rock version of Colonel Tom Parker, pimping out his girl rock band to the world and reaping the benefits. They make it big. Then they collapse. Rock is full of stories like these and The Runaways follows yet another band that dug itself out of the pit of obscurity to stardom only to implode on itself.
As I said with the film Remember Me, it is becoming obvious that the actors in the Twilight films aren't being given much to work with. Kirsten Stewart delivers what is probably her best role to date as Joan Jett, light years away from the vampire garbage she'll be typecast for in later years. The cool thing about The Runaways is that it feels like your looking at pictures from the 1970's as the film progresses. The scenes are lit so that they have that dinginess; that, dare I say, malaise that made the '70's a garbage heap at times. Director Floria Sigismondi delivers a time capsule for us to marvel at, when jail bait was an openly accepted treat and girls weren't supposed to be rockers, they were supposed to screw the rockers. This film is in no way a masterpiece, but it's riveting and delivers yet another story from the rock n' roll graveyard.
As I said with the film Remember Me, it is becoming obvious that the actors in the Twilight films aren't being given much to work with. Kirsten Stewart delivers what is probably her best role to date as Joan Jett, light years away from the vampire garbage she'll be typecast for in later years. The cool thing about The Runaways is that it feels like your looking at pictures from the 1970's as the film progresses. The scenes are lit so that they have that dinginess; that, dare I say, malaise that made the '70's a garbage heap at times. Director Floria Sigismondi delivers a time capsule for us to marvel at, when jail bait was an openly accepted treat and girls weren't supposed to be rockers, they were supposed to screw the rockers. This film is in no way a masterpiece, but it's riveting and delivers yet another story from the rock n' roll graveyard.
Kick Ass (2010) ****
Our title character asks a question near the beginning of Kick Ass. He asks himself why no one has ever tried to throw on a spandex suit and be a superhero. You know, just throw on some bright colors and a mask and go out an beat on some bad guys. After years of reading comic books and being on the low end of the totem pole Dave (Aaron Johnson) decides to fight back, becoming a super hero called Kick Ass. The thing is that this isn't a comic book. There are no radioactive spiders or dead billionaire parents to spur Kick Ass on. There's just an insane idea and since this isn't a comic book and Dave isn't some trained fighting machine his first trip out in uniform doesn't go so well. He actually ends up getting the shit beaten out of himself, but as most real life losers go in the movies Dave literally stumbles into comic book popularity, meeting "real life" super heroes Hit Girl (Chloe Moretz) and Big Daddy (Nicholas Cage). The thing you have to remember is that what is a superhero without villains.
At the core of Kick Ass is the idea of playing comic book mythos into a situation that is as realistic as possible. Is this the way something like this would go down? Probably. Idiots become idols on You Tube by doing something stupid or pulling a Homer. Sure, you've got to stretch the imagination just a tad, but it would work. You could call this movie a puberty laced version of The Dark Knight where our hero isn't in it because of a moral code but for a girl. Going a bit further you could classify Kick Ass as John Hughes taking a crack at a comic book movie. It may be a bit raunchy, but it has his prints all over it. It's always about a girl or a boy. This is what teens care about and if they learn something along the way that's just a bonus.
Of course Kick Ass is not a kid friendly film, so don;t be stupid when you rent it for your youngsters and get pissed off. That letter is on there for a reason. This is a late teen/adult oriented film that delivers a different spin to a genre that has become well worn over the years.
At the core of Kick Ass is the idea of playing comic book mythos into a situation that is as realistic as possible. Is this the way something like this would go down? Probably. Idiots become idols on You Tube by doing something stupid or pulling a Homer. Sure, you've got to stretch the imagination just a tad, but it would work. You could call this movie a puberty laced version of The Dark Knight where our hero isn't in it because of a moral code but for a girl. Going a bit further you could classify Kick Ass as John Hughes taking a crack at a comic book movie. It may be a bit raunchy, but it has his prints all over it. It's always about a girl or a boy. This is what teens care about and if they learn something along the way that's just a bonus.
Of course Kick Ass is not a kid friendly film, so don;t be stupid when you rent it for your youngsters and get pissed off. That letter is on there for a reason. This is a late teen/adult oriented film that delivers a different spin to a genre that has become well worn over the years.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Dinner For Schmucks (2010) ***
Tim (Paul Rudd) is at the point in his career where he's clawing for every opportunity to advance from his sixth floor dungeon to the shangri-la that is the seventh floor. He wants that recently vacated office on the corner. He wants to be able to afford his Porsche. He's kissed ass and stumbled his way to the door leading to the promised land and has only one more obstacle before him: a dinner. That's it, a simple dinner. Bring a guest, too. Make sure they're "exceptional"... so that the boys club can get a good laugh at them.
The thing about Tim is that he's in love with Julie (Stephanie Szostak). He wants to get married, she's not ready. So it goes. It's Julie that initially thinks the idea is sick, twisted, and down right nasty. Tim agrees, but you have to wonder if it's because he doesn't know anyone "exceptional" more than the creepiness of it all. Enter Barry (Steve Carell). Tim literally runs into him one day and as they converse Tim realizes that Barry is very "exceptional" in that he stages life scenes with dead mice. Jackpot. The problem is that Barry is so exceptional he begins to ruin Tim's life in one night. Barry is literally a Pandora's Box for Tim.
When you go into Dinner for Schmucks realize that this isn't Clue and the entire film isn't the dinner party. It's more of a lead up to the dinner with Tim being driven quietly toward madness by Barry's "exceptionalbility". Sadly, the ride to the dinner is more entertaining than the dinner itself. You expect a pay off in the end, but it just stalls out. Just think of the last twenty minutes as an epilogue to the rest of the movie.
The plot is the same formula that you've seen many times removed. Basically it's an age old story that gets retold every few years as hot Hollywood stars climb up the ladder and push old ones off. Think of this as a changing of the guard film. It's still funny and has it moments, but other parts of the film try way to hard and it shows. This dinner is reasonably good, but isn't quite as filling as it could have been otherwise. This is a middle of the road summer comedy.
The thing about Tim is that he's in love with Julie (Stephanie Szostak). He wants to get married, she's not ready. So it goes. It's Julie that initially thinks the idea is sick, twisted, and down right nasty. Tim agrees, but you have to wonder if it's because he doesn't know anyone "exceptional" more than the creepiness of it all. Enter Barry (Steve Carell). Tim literally runs into him one day and as they converse Tim realizes that Barry is very "exceptional" in that he stages life scenes with dead mice. Jackpot. The problem is that Barry is so exceptional he begins to ruin Tim's life in one night. Barry is literally a Pandora's Box for Tim.
When you go into Dinner for Schmucks realize that this isn't Clue and the entire film isn't the dinner party. It's more of a lead up to the dinner with Tim being driven quietly toward madness by Barry's "exceptionalbility". Sadly, the ride to the dinner is more entertaining than the dinner itself. You expect a pay off in the end, but it just stalls out. Just think of the last twenty minutes as an epilogue to the rest of the movie.
The plot is the same formula that you've seen many times removed. Basically it's an age old story that gets retold every few years as hot Hollywood stars climb up the ladder and push old ones off. Think of this as a changing of the guard film. It's still funny and has it moments, but other parts of the film try way to hard and it shows. This dinner is reasonably good, but isn't quite as filling as it could have been otherwise. This is a middle of the road summer comedy.
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