A Host of Disappointments

I think I might drop this feature going forward and instead focus on writing longer reviews of the movies I watch. An advantage of this is that I'll be writing right after seeing the movie and not struggling to recall salient points. Also, it will give me more content (and more content means more page views HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!). So, we'll see how that goes...

Mission: Impossible II -- John Woo

I'm not terribly well-versed in the ouvre of John Woo. He's always been kind of a caricature to me what with the dove trademark. In fact, until last year, I'd only seen Broken Arrow yet I'd made loads of jokes about the doves and his ridiculous action. I'm still a bit of a Woo neophyte, but I've seen Hard-boiled and The Killer and if there's one thing I've taken away from watching his movies it's this: John Woo makes absurd movies. That's not a pejorative statement by any means. They are quite a bit of fun, just devoid of anything but the aforementioned ridiculous action. The sense of playfulness of the first film is traded for doves and slow-motion. Tom Cruise's Ethan Hunt seems less a human than a vessel for weapons to go off. I expect this to be my least favorite of the series (Simon Pegg is added to the cast in III, so how can that not be more fun?). Also, Ethan Hunt is pretty good at completing these "impossible" missions.

Night Moves -- Arthur Penn

The critical reaction to Night Moves appears to place it in the underrated/cult classification, but I found it to be a disjointed mess of plots, few of which hold much interest. There is no flow to the story, editing, or dialogue. Half the time it feels like people are speaking in riddles and there's a jarring discussion of a chess move that exists solely to be a metaphor (and to give the movie its title) since there's no indication that Gene Hackman's Harry Moseby even likes chess, let alone is a student of it, until that moment. I did find Moseby's acceptance of his wife's infidelity and willingness to work it out with her to be refreshing and unexpected, so it's got that going for it. I also had a good time imagining that this Moseby is the father of How I Met Your Mother's Ted Moseby.

Cave of Forgotten Dreams -- Werner Herzog

This might be one of my biggest disappointments in the last few years of movie watching. I love Herzog's films and I haven't seen a documentary by him that wasn't amazing until now. It's not that Cave is bad, it just starts to feel completely redundant. There's only so much time one can spend looking pans across the cave paintings until one says, "yup... I get it." Maybe I'd feel different had I seen it in 3D, but I felt like I was watching a Discovery Channel documentary, not a Werner Herzog exploration of Ecstatic Truth. I almost feel like he recognized this, which is why he put the albino alligator epilogue in.

Hanna -- Joe Wright

Another disappointment. Hanna starts out pretty great, but the minute Hanna meets the British family, the film grinds to a halt. Maybe it's that the family is filled with one-dimensional cartoons of people or just that the daughter Hanna befriends is one of the more obnoxious characters to appear on screen last year, but the good will I felt toward the film was sapped away by the minute. Fortunately, the action scenes are uniformly bad-ass and Wright does a nice job with the camera, particularly moving through the Grimm's amusement park (upside-down shot aside). My biggest issue with Hanna is that it feels more like a style exercise than a movie with something to say. That doesn't make it bad, just middle-of-the-road. Plus, the lack of subtlety in bookending the movie is glaring and inelegant. 

The Devil and Daniel Johnston -- Jeff Feuerzeig

Daniel Johnston is a fascinating and infuriating person to learn about in this documentary. He as severe mental issues that make it hard to sympathize with him since he treats his friends and family so horribly at times, but he's clearly disturbed and needs your sympathy. It's very strange to see an artist who is so respected live at home with his parents well into his 40s, but such is his life. Johnston is the perfect subject for a documentary. I just wish I cared at all about his music. Not long ago, I downloaded a bunch of his stuff and have been struggling to eradicate it from my iPod since (the labeling of the tracks is occasionally mystifying). He sounds better when playing piano than guitar, but it's a struggle to listen to and I can't help but feel many people appreciate him more for his legend than his music. If you like his music, then you will love this documentary. As it stands for me, it's good and worth seeing.

Silverado -- Lawrence Kasdan

I didn't always like westerns, but after a class and exploring some of the more famous works in the genre, I've grown to quite like them. One of my professors referenced Silverado as a pretty great return to the dormant western form, so it's been on my radar for a while. Now that I've seen it, I have to agree. The landscape and sets are very impressive (and reused) and the cast is pretty great (in addition to being an asset for any "Six Degrees of..." game, the cast doesn't date the film as much as say, the cast of Young Guns, either). I'm very surprised I hadn't sought Silverado out earlier when I was at my peak Monty Python obsession since John Cleese makes an (all too brief) appearance. The film strains credulity in the ways the paths of the heroes diverge and converge, but it's not so glaring nor is it unexpected since we know they can't be gone for long. Silverado is a solid and competent movie with some beautiful shots (though Kasdan falls short in a few shots where he seems to be channeling Leone).

(Mostly) Catching Up With 2011

I had quite a few thoughts on Scream 4, Moneyball, and Attack the Block after watching them and not a lot of time to write posts about them, so I fear they'll be getting short shrift (or this will be a really long piece [I don't think I've ever written "shrift" before]).

If... -- Lindsay Anderson

My reaction to If... is basically summed up by the ellipses in the title. It was good. Nothing about it arrested my attention for more than a few minutes at a time (the first time it switches from color to black and white then back to color caught my eye). It's a world I'm not too familiar with made all the worse by my exposure to the world of Harry Potter. Private schools and the lives within will forevermore recall Hogwarts. Of Anderson's films, I've only seen this and This Sporting Life which garnered a similar reaction. Still, kudos to the movie that brought Malcolm McDowell to the attention of Stanley Kubrick.

Scream 4 -- Wes Craven

Scream 4 didn't get the best reviews on its release and I've learned since talking to people about it that the Scream series isn't viewed to highly by many (I'm very surprised by how many hate the second Scream as I remember critics claiming it's better than the first at the time of its release). I classify as a full-fledged fan of the series. It hits the right marks between comedy and horror and it wholly justifies it's existence as a series (which I speak of in this post from a few years ago). Plus, I'm a big fan of who-done-its and that's exactly what the Scream movies are so I was optimistic about the experience.

And it's fun. Exactly what one would expect from a Scream movie. The opening scene playfully mocks the opening scare M.O. of endless horror films (including this series) and there's tons of other meta stuff to play around with including references to Courtney Cox and David Arquette's real life marriage and divorce and Hayden Panettiere saying that she might have super-powers. It's also a lot of fun that while there have been no more Scream movies, they are up to seven Stab movies within Scream. I like that the series went from being based directly on Sidney to jumping off into ridiculousness (if the brief descriptions are to be believed) while Sidney lives a safe life. Sure, the meta-ness gets a little too cute at times and sure, there are more red herrings than imaginable, and yes, how long has Ghostface been waiting in that closet for this exact scenario to happen so the kill can be most effective and have the proper audience, but it's all still a good time. It's well made and tense, though it's hard to believe I ever found the series as scary as I did. There's also a great line about messing with the original that I wish was the last of the movie.

A few other comments about the series:

-- I really like that it's one of, if not the only, horror series that has maintained three of its leads and that the expectation that one of them is definitely going to die keeps getting subverted. At least until now...

-- It's really cool that the series is able to just replace the killer(s) under the costume for each new movie. This prevents them from having to figure out how to resurrect the iconic monster while maintaining said monster. Even though there's a lot of suspension of disbelief in the Scream series, it still basically takes place in a real world.

Moneyball -- Bennett Miller

Fire Joe Morgan changed the way I watch and think about baseball (who knew a comedy writer could do that?). Much of their writing dealt with Joe Morgan and his absolute rejection of Moneyball and mocking him for thinking that Billy Beane actually wrote the book (I wonder if Joe Morgan thinks Billy Beane directed Moneyball). I'm not sure if the movie will do the same for anyone, but I hope it at least directs them to the book which is a lot better (an age-old refrain).

It's not that Moneyball (the movie) is bad; it just focuses on some of the wrong things. I know that a Hollywood movie has to try to "humanize" characters and appeal to many demographics, but the stuff with his ex-wife and daughter is treacly nonsense. It's there for narrative purpose only. Why does he go back to the stadium? His daughter tells him to. Why doesn't he take the Boston job? His family daughter isn't there. The only good thing about that plot is that Spike Jonze pops up as his wife's new man. Since I've been catching up with The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret where Jonze plays a similar character, I've crafted an alternate universe where it is the same guy. The idea amuses me greatly.

The film is at its best when we're learning about the new system and how much adversity they face trying to implement it. Getting a look at how trades are made and a team is built. The book didn't become a best seller. It became a best seller because it's about how to operate a successful business against incredible odds. There is no need to add a family because the story is inherently relatable and dramatic. It's not about baseball. It's about adversity and that dogma isn't always truth. The saddest thing is that Beane never got to win a World Series and now nearly every team is playing Moneyball which puts him right back where he started.

Attack the Block -- Joe Cornish

It's a brave move to have the characters you're going to spend the entire movie with rob someone at knife-point in the first scene. Everyone talks about the importance of having "likable" characters and this sets them off on the wrong foot (I've only seen one bolder attempt at this ever). They don't even show any remorse. It's unrepentant. But, being a movie, they are forced into interacting with their victim in dire circumstances where everything can get worked out. That sounds sappy, but the portrayal of the Sam (the victim) encountering the gang is solid and believable. It's an extreme situation and some threats are bigger than others.

I was nervous about Attack the Block because I really hate British thug life (really, thug life). It's just a bunch of people acting like assholes for no reason (though, as AtB attests, there are multitudes of reasons). Fortunately, the action starts fast, so our time with the obnoxious version of these characters is short. The rest of the film flies by and is remarkably effective. It's very tense with some good scares and a lot less humor than I was expecting, which isn't a bad thing (though it's not unfunny). There's a lot that suggests what a small world these characters live in which really helps create a sense of reality in this unreal scenario. Speaking of which, the aliens are amazing creations. They practically devour light save for their glowing teeth which, in an awesome design move, look like eyes when their mouths are closed. 

My only real issue with Attack the Block is the chanting at the end. I seriously doubt that most of the people chanting know anything about why they are doing so (unless it's a commentary on mob mentality, which I doubt). It's overly sentimental ending for a movie that takes very little time for sentiment. 

King Corn -- Aaron Woolf

King Corn makes the mistake of thinking that it's "protagonists" are the most interesting part of the documentary. Any time Ian Cheney and Curtis Ellis are on screen, the movie reeks of contrivance. The shots are all set up and they're pondering aimlessly, or "discovering" something (except the camera is already inside so we know that they've already had a look around), or playing whiffle ball. Even the idea of going to Iowa to plant an acre of corn is contrived (and I can't stand that they talk about the "work" they were doing when it was all someone else driving machinery over their acre. They paid for the seed and the lot. That's about it). Infinitely more interesting is when they actually getting around to discussing the corn culture of our country. The uses, the subsidies, the volume. There is something clearly very wrong. But they put themselves at the center of it all. And guess what: they're not that interesting. King Corn is almost good despite itself. 

Surprises and the Sheen/Estevez Family

I had to hold off on writing the Roundup because I use Wikipedia quite a bit for it and, even though there were some simple workarounds, the blackout would have made things at least slightly annoying. I spent a lot of time with the Sheen/Estevez clan in the past week or so. One of the films (which won't be spoken of here since it wasn't a Netflix rental), Young Guns, actually features TWO members of the family. What fun I have!

Cobb -- Ron Shelton
Cobb is a piece of shit. The title should really be "Tuesdays with Cobb-y" or "Stumpy: The Story of Ty Cobb's Biographer While He Spent Time with the Man before Cobb's Death," but that's a bit unwieldy. I guess I can see why they went with the most recognizable name. Basically, we get a brief, barebones history of Ty Cobb's playing days and the rest of the time we spend with Cobb (Tommy Lee Jones) and Al Stump (Robert Wuhl). Cobb is ancient and insane and Stump's having marital woes. Maybe my disappointment in the film is that I was expecting an actual biopic about Cobb and this isn't it. However, who the hell cares about Al Stump? And, you know what? I might. But not in a movie called COBB!

Another You -- Maurice Phillips
The last of the Gene Wilder-Richard Pryor movies and, though I have yet to see Stir Crazy, I feel comfortable saying this is the worst. It's not that it's bad, it's just bland. Pryor was already diagnosed with MS when he made this film and it's evident. He doesn't have the physicalness and the dynamic way with words that made him such a great performer. As a result, he comes off as pretty wooden. Another You is almost oppressively silly at times and I felt a little embarrassed for both Pryor and Wilder, but it actually picks up some steam as everything comes together. Definitely not essential viewing, but if you like Wilder and Pryor and don't mind extremely dated movies, there are worse ways to spend your time.


Elephant -- Gus Van Sant
Things would be so much easier if directors I don't care for would just make movies I don't like so that I can write them off completely and get on with watching the other movies on my queue. But since going from disliking Brian de Palma to his placement in my top ten filmmakers of all-time, I don't know what to believe anymore. I've seen a number of Van Sant's movies (and even served him coffee!) and, as of Elephant, have like exactly three. But two of them were the last to Van Sant movies I watched (the other was My Own Private Idaho). Elephant should be everything I hate about a movie. There's no plot or story, no real characters (meaning no character arcs), and it's all hand-held. What the movie lacks in the elements that enhance my enjoyment of a movie, it makes up for in craftsmanship and structure. Elephant takes place on a school day that ends in a massacre. It creates a normal, realistic world where no one could ever see it coming (and if the viewer didn't know the gist already, it would be a shock for them, too). There's loads of long steadicam shots through the halls and grounds of the school with scenes overlapping at different points to orient the viewer on the timing of the various diversions. It's almost like a stream-of-consciousness form of storytelling and becomes hypnotic. The shear amount of coordination with extras kind of blows my mind. I fully expected have a miserable time watching Elephant and I was shocked to discover it's easily my favorite film of Van Sant's.


Badlands -- Terrence Malick
Speaking of surprises, The Tree of Life is easily in my top five films of the 2011 list (accompanied by Drive, I Saw the Devil, Trollhunter, and Hobo with a Shotgun [thus far, still plenty to see]). I started watching it a midnight after work and fully expected to doze on and off throughout. It utterly mesmerized me (I think I have a weakness for steadicams). It was also the only Terrence Malick film I'd ever seen. Going in to Badlands, I didn't know what my expectations should be other than looking beautiful, which it is. Badlands is the story of two fugitives on the run from the law, but there's never really a sense that the outside world cares about them until the end. It's almost like we live in the Kit's (Martin Sheen) delusions of grandeur. Except, it turns out they're not. What I wasn't expecting at all was how funny the film is. I don't know if I'd call it a comedy (I guess that would depend on one's mindset), but there's almost never a moment where I wasn't chuckling to myself whether it was something Kit was rambling on about or the nonchalance he and Holly (Sissy Spacek) have about their crime spree. Badlands is terrific and I can't believe Criterion hasn't been able to get the rights to it for a release.

Mission: Impossible -- Brian de Palma
And hey! Here's de Palma. Even though I've admitted to loving de Palma, I'm wary of his work in the 90's and 00's. I do like Femme Fatale, though, so who knows? However, I also can't stand Tom Cruise (let's lump Denzel Washington and Julia Roberts in there, too). It didn't take Mission: Impossible to win me over, though (I've never seen the show, so I didn't have that hurdle to, well, hurdle). First, Emilio Estevez! I never thought I'd be so excited to see him. Then I see the Rob Bottin (The Thing) did the make-up effects and Robert Towne (Chinatown) co-wrote the script. A pretty impressive pedigree. The ultimate bonus is that Tom Cruise actually seems like he has believable human emotions in this film. Like a sense of humor. The pre-credit scene is pretty good, but the opening scene for the main plot is what really hooked me. I was afraid Cruise' influence would overwhelm de Palma's style, but those fears were unfounded. Particularly neat is the elevator sequence where the wall is cutaway so we can see the action in the hall and the elevator shaft. I remembered people talking about how confusing the film is when it came out, but it was pretty predictable to me. Maybe I'm just used to the conventions at this point. That didn't diminish the ridiculous (and it gets pretty ridiculous) fun. The only reason I watched Mission: Impossible is because I want to see the Brad Bird directed fourth film, but feel obligated to do my homework. I'm glad I did, though I'm not so excited about John Woo's second installment...

Ringing in the New Year

The first week of the new year brings the first Netflix Roundup. I know you've all missed it. There's not denying that. If this column feels more rockin' than usual, it's because I'm listening to Black Mountain. If it doesn't... well, that's on you.

Chawz -- Jeong-won Shin
On all fronts, this a ridiculous Korean movie. Chawz is nowhere near the caliber of the work of Jee-woon Kim, Chan-woo Park, or Joon-ho Bong. It's more in line with an original SyFy creature feature. And that's OK, because Chawz is a lot of fun. What attracted me to the movie was that I heard it was basically a remake of Jaws except it takes place on land with a giant wild boar. Hell yeah! That's basically what it is. Chawz hits many of the Jawz story beats and takes more beats from some of Steven Spielberg's other films. I kind of wish that I'd done a Jaws/Chawz double feature just so the former was fresh in my mind. Chawz isn't great and it depicts the Korean population (especially the police) as a bunch of bumbling fools who can't remain on their feet for more than five minutes. Even without the Jaws inspiration, I'd recommend Chawz based solely on the depiction of the people. It's an odd and entertaining movie.


The Harold Lloyd Collection -- Hal Roach
I like the Harold Lloyd persona. He's got a sort of dope-ish, nerdy confidence that makes him very appealing. Unfortunately, while I was watching this collection, my iPod crapped out on me just before I was to fly across the country and I was trying to deal with that while watching this. I don't know how many of you have tried to watch silent films while trying to work on other stuff, but it doesn't really work. There was a lot to like, but I feel disingenuous forming a solid opinion. Fear not, though. I jumped volume two of the collection near the top of my queue and shall not be distracted the second go 'round. This is my promise. This is my oath.

The Happiness of the Katakuris -- Takashi Miike
One of the more bizarre movies I've ever seen. It's Miike's take on musical comedies with a little horror thrown in. I was enthralled by the opening stop-motion work (oh yes, there's stop-motion), but the film couldn't really sustain that momentum, nor do I think it could. Katakuris errs a bit too far on the light-hearted side of things which is weird to say about a movie that features a fair number of people dying. It would have worked better with a more sinister, blackly comic streak going through it. That said, there are some really amazing scenes or even pieces of scenes that make it hard to look away from the screen. Additionally, there's a really intense showdown near the end that plays all to real and feels like it's out of another movie. Somehow, in light of everything that's come before, the scene totally works for me. Even though I tend to hate musicals, Happiness of the Katakuris is by far the most satisfying Miike experience I've had. It's playful, bizarre, and very silly. There's not many movie-watching experiences like this one. It'd be fun to pair it with Forbidden Zone or Phantom of the Paradise.


The Ward -- John Carpenter
It's better than Ghosts of Mars... Actually, The Ward isn't terrible or even bad. It simply doesn't offer a lot of new or interesting ideas to the genre. It feels workman-like, hitting all the necessary beats and throwing in some nonsensical scares just to keep the audience engaged. The scares are effective and there is a fairly palpable tension running throughout this story of a group of haunted girls in a mental ward, but by the end of The Ward, it all feels a little pointless and silly (in the bad way). The ending calls to mind a movie from 2003, which if I mention it's title, will give away everything, so everything feels like well-worn territory. Still... it looks nice and it's cool that John Carpenter is making movies again. I just hope he picks some better material to work with next time (notably, he didn't write the screenplay or do the music for The Ward).

11 Harrowhouse -- Aram Avakian
I like Charles Grodin. I really do. He can be very entertaining and engaging. But in 11 Harrowhouse, he may as well be a corpse. I've never seen someone sleepwalk through a movie like this and I've certainly never heard someone sleep-narrate a movie. It's almost as if the producers and director shot the movie without any narration, realized it was a tremendous bore and tried to punch it up and turn it into a comedy by adding snarky Grodin narration which he delivers with a disinterest one reserves for those people who come to your door preaching their particular version of the "gospel." He must have been in the booth watching the movie, waiting for his cues, barely able to keep his eyelids open. Seriously, a movie about a jewel heist should NEVER be this dull. At least James Mason brings his A-game, but then, he just has a sympathetic tenor to his voice that makes it near impossible for him not to bring some gravity to a role.

Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore -- Martin Scorsese
It totally makes sense that this was turned into a TV series. Most of the time, I felt like all of the various plot lines and vignettes were rushed and wanted to spend a little more time developing them. Of course, the movie would have been four hours long, so like I said: TV show. I wonder if that's just the nature of this style of film. M*A*S*H is also episodic and was turned into a TV show. Maybe that's the secret in successful translations: the source material should be episodic. Anyway, I thought I was really going to like ADLHD a lot at the start, but it kind of drifted in and out of interest for me. The relationship with the son is pretty odd and the relationship with Kris Kristofferson felt like it turned without much prompting. Seriously, where'd this rage come from? But it was affable and Ellen Burstyn was mostly good (though occasionally she seemed like a cartoon version of Gena Rowlands in A Woman Under the Influence). I kind of wish that Scorsese had stuck with the stylistic aesthetic of the opening scene, though that probably wouldn't have worked out in the end.

There ARE Good Movies Out There!

I've been embarrassingly absent in writing this month and lord knows the end of the month is going to be a wash. Stupid Christmas. Why must you interrupt my blogging!

If I'm going to keep doing Netflix Roundups, I'm going to have to change my methods. I'm not watching nearly as many movies a week as I used to so waiting to have a collection takes a while and I forget stuff about the earlier movies. For instance, I know I had lots to say about Seed People, but at this point, you're all going to miss out on those brain babies.

Fortunately, since I've finally pulled out of the horror onslaught, the movies got better. It's a shock, I know.

The Osterman Weekend -- Sam Peckinpah
My basic reaction to The Osterman Weekend is that it wasted an awesome cast: Rutger Hauer, John Hurt, Christ Sarandon, Dennis Hopper, Burt Lancaster, and Craig T. Nelson (for some reason, it's always weird for me to remember that he had a career before Coach). I'd mention the women in the movie, but it's Peckinpah and so they barely matter (I'm only half joking). The movie is supposed to be a conspiracy thriller, but there's little that's thrilling about it. Most of the time, people are just talking about the past. I'd rather see that stuff than the conspiracy stuff. It makes some sense that this is Peckinpah's last film since directors are rarely much more than serviceable at the end of their careers. I do wish that I'd watched the documentary about the making of the movie, Alpha to Omega: Exposing The Osterman Weekend, on the DVD. It sounds pretty cool.

Seed People -- Peter Manoogian
From Charles Band's (Puppet Master) production company Full Moon Entertainment and written by the man himself, Seed People is everything you'd expect. Bad acting, bizarre plot, and silly puppetry. There isn't much memorable about the movie (except I think I remember finding one of the actresses attractive). But, as with most of Band's movies, it seems like it was fun to make. Maybe it's the part of me that regrets not making my own special effects when I was younger and that's been fantasizing about working at Jim Henson's Creature Shop, but I had a lot of fun watching the seed people roll around and seeing the design of each one, which is really the only reason to watch Band's movies.

Bacchanales sexuelles -- Jean Rollin
I have no idea why I put this on my queue. The only thoughts running through my head were related to how pointless and ridiculous soft core porn is. Seriously, what's the point in having a seven minute sex scene where the man is thrusting into the belly button of a woman (because, god forbid they accidentally rub genitals while they are simulating sex) and everyone is seeming to have a good time with this except to pad out the run time to a terrible, nonsensical movie? It's watching movies like this where I think back to my thirteen year old self and wonder what his reaction would be to the movie and to my lack of interest. "What are you doing!?!?! BOOBS! Right there! Look at the screen, you fool! GAAAAAAAHHHHHH!' Something like that, I think.

King of New York -- Abel Ferrara
This is my first Abel Ferrara movie and I've got to say, I need to check out more. King of New York rules! This is the type of Christopher Walken I was hoping for in The Prophecy, constantly awesome and constantly present. The man is designed to play a king pin. The cast is stacked, but I'll let you be surprised by everyone who is in it who became incredibly well-known. I'm also very happy that the first link. It won't let me embed and there may be an add before you watch it, but this clip is when I knew I loved this movie.

Heathers -- Michael Lehmann
Heathers has a pretty substantial reputation (Entertainment Weekly ranked it #5 on its list of Best High School Movies). The cult is strong and I was afraid that since I didn't drink the Kool Aid years earlier, it might be too late for me to join (in this scenario, the Kool Aid is for initiation purposes [maybe they peed in it], not killing purposes [or killing porpoises]). There are definitely aspects about Heathers that drive me nuts. It feels like Diablo Cody cribbed some of her dialogue stylings from this movie and Christian Slater couldn't be more obnoxious doing his Jack Nicholson impression. But the satire is strong in Heathers. It's well-observed and the dreamlike style suites the subject matter. Nearly every character is a caricature, but not so much so that the viewer can't relate to the various high school experiences. In fact, the heightened level of reality goes quite well with the heightened teenage emotions. The ending kind of falls apart, but Heathers definitely deserves its reputation. Now, if only Stanley Kubrick had directed like writer Daniel Waters desired. I'd love to see his take on the high school comedy. Kubrick wouldn't have even had to drop another film in lieu of this one since his next movie was Eyes Wide Shut.

Together -- Lukas Moodysson
Fuck Together. Here's why. The movie starts off just like any other stupid personal drama except it takes place in a commune just after Franco is killed. There's a sister that comes to live at the commune with her children because her husband hit her. I hate this type of movie. Then, dammit, I started to care about what happens in the movie! Seriously, what the fuck? Together (Tillsammans in Swedish, which automatically became my favorite Swedish word) is basically plotless, following a large group of people who exist in one space and how their relationships with each other shift. I was set to hate the movie in the first ten minutes and I blame Gustaf Hammarsten for sucking me in because his portrayal of Goren is amazing. He looks like the kind of guy you just want to hug for being a sweetheart but you can see his true feelings in his eyes and it breaks your heart. Ultimately, Together is one of those movies that doesn't drag the viewer down to build them back up. It's realistic relationships that are like any other friendly relationships. Ups and downs, but overall, everyone understands each other's perspective. It's a movie that is designed to make you feel good about humankind with soccer being the ultimate sign of togetherness. You can't help but smile in the end. And I HATE soccer. Fuck Together. It made me feel... emotions.

United 93 -- Paul Greengrass
Speaking of feeling emotions... I'm one of those people who's more cynical about 9/11 than anything else. I see those "We Will Never Forget" stickers and whatnot and think "No shit. Way to be proud about not forgetting when the planes flew into the World Trade Center. Good for you." I hate that 9/11 became a political device and I hate the turn the country took in the aftermath. I didn't lose anyone on that day and if I know anyone who did, they haven't told me. Watching United 93 (and World Trade Center months ago), my reaction almost feels like a defense mechanism. It's hard not to get misty returning to that day, sitting in my dorm room watching the events unfold, talking on AIM with friends, before heading out to Organic Chemistry because they hadn't canceled classes yet (seriously, could the day get any worse). I'll always remember it was a Tuesday because I had my Extended Orientation class that day where we talked about it.

So yeah, United 93 is a tough watch, but it's amazing. I'm kind of fascinated by the structure because it's not at all about character or narrative arcs. Everyone knows what's going to happen even though you still hope the people on 93 will be able to pull up out of the dive at the last minute. The movie many of the points of view from before any of the hijackings to the crash. It's like watching a giant game of telephone where people hear tidbits at a time of what's happening and there's an ominous feeling when it cuts to flight 93 after the planes hit the World Trade Center and they don't know anything about it. This method of communication continues on the flight when they pass on information to each other a row at a time. It's thrilling to watch.

Perhaps the most impressive thing about United 93 is that it didn't make the hijackers into vacant bad guys. They are people and feel nervous before moving and don't have everything under control and are scared and paranoid. The viewer may not sympathize with them, but we can understand what they are feeling.

United 93 is terrific and intense. If I have one complaint, it's the score. I feel that they should have dropped it altogether to match the realism the image is going for. Scores enhance drama, but the drama here doesn't need that. A dynamic use of sound design could have done just as well. That's a minor complaint since the score certainly didn't detract from the movie. Definitely see it.

October Leftovers

In preparation for watching horror movies all month long in October, I move about 25 representatives of the genre to the top of my Netflix queue*. Since I dropped my subscription to two DVDs and unlimited streaming, I didn't go through as many DVDs as normal, I had some leftovers and didn't feel like mixing them back in with the rest. Plus, I was looking forward to watching them.

Blood and Black Lace -- Mario Bava
I've by no means exhausted Bava's library of films, but thus far, I'm unimpressed. I acknowledge that he was important and influenced the direction of the genre heavily, but I can't really get behind his particular brand of horror and camp. Basically, his movies are too (unintentionally) silly for me. Part of it is that I don't have much connection to the giallo genre. They are basically all the same movie to me and it feels like there is a cap on how good they can be. My feelings on the genre and Bava aren't enough to put me off watching more, but I don't have the same excitement about approaching them that I used to.

Dead Birds -- Alex Turner
It's funny watching a movie like Dead Birds now because seeing that Henry Thomas (Elliott in E.T.) has lead billing in a recent movie (i.e. one where Henry Thomas is not still a child) over Michael Shannon is absurd. Of course, Dead Birds was released two years before Shannon appeared in Bug which was if not his first starring role, his highest profile role to that date. But just two years before Bug, you can still tell Shannon is a much greater presence that Henry Thomas, who always seems vaguely disinterested in the material. As a whole, Dead Birds is a decent low-budget horror movie with a good cast and some lousy creature effects. Once again, CGI kills low-budget horror more than bad puppets ever would. It's certainly a lot better than the comparable The Burrowers.

Magic -- Richard Attenborough
I can't really express how high my expectations were for Magic. It's directed by Richard Attenborough and I'm fascinated by anomalies in anyone's filmography (in this case, a horror movie). William Goldman wrote the novel and the screenplay. He is the shit. Anthony Hopkins is in it, Jerry Goldsmith did the score, and, shockingly, Ann-Margret exposes herself to the audience. My expectations led me a bit astray. Magic is a lot different than what I was led to believe. I was thinking it was going to be along the lines of the Talking Tina episode of The Twilight Zone and the ventriloquist dummy came to life. However, it's far more subtle than that and I wasn't prepared for it. Magic is more psychological horror than outright horror and I can't knock if for that just because it wasn't what I thought it'd be. I will knock if for the stupid love story angle that's poorly conceived. And I'll knock it once more for not casting Gene Wilder, who apparently everyone but the producer wanted on board. But then, I want Gene Wilder in everything.

Devil -- John Erick Dowdle
Consider this covered.

Sublime -- Tony Krantz
My main interest in Sublime is that it stars Tom Cavanagh who I've like since Ed and loved since I started listening to Mike and Tom Eat Snacks (I would have loved him since Ed, but he always seemed mildly hyperactive and annoying on talk shows, but it appears he was just trying to play to the audience instead of being himself if MATES is to be trusted). Just because I'm a fan of Cavanagh doesn't mean I'm going to rush out to see Yogi Bear, just that I'll take into consideration these efforts that fall outside of my perception of the man. It's the least I can do. I just wish Sublime was better. Aside from a paycheck, I can't really see what attracted Cavanagh to the role. Nearly all he does is lay (lie? I can never get that straight) in bed while stuff happens around him. Often, he's just staring into space. He's like the most passive protagonist ever. Everything happens to him and he initiates nothing. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't so clear that what we're seeing isn't exactly what we're getting. We may not know exactly where the movie is taking us, but it's pretty obvious that a particular thing is happening (don't want to spoil it for the curious). In the end, I think Sublime is really trying to tell men to be worried about getting their colonoscopy.

Return to Horror High -- Bill Froehlich
As much as I hate the '80s, the end of them really signaled the end of good, gory, fun horror movies for a while. Much like the Sleepaway Camp sequels and Uncle Sam, Return to Horror High is light on the gore to its detriment. If you're out to make a silly, campy, horror comedy, you need to give the audience something to latch onto just in case the comedy doesn't work. Otherwise, you're just making an unfunny movie without any visceral thrills. It's boring. Return to Horror High almost works. The hooks nearly sink in early and it's bizarre structure is mildly interesting but it's unsustainable. Now, it's most noteworthy for featuring George Clooney in an early role and much like Michael Shannon in Dead Birds or Tom Hanks in He Knows Your Alone, Clooney is clearly better than everyone else (except Alex Rocco who always plays the same character but does it so well) even though he's only around briefly.

Another VHS box I remember vividly from my childhood.

Let's Scare Jessica to Death -- John D. Hancock

File another film in the "Not What I Was Expecting" folder. Let's Scare Jessica to Death is very deliberate and not overtly scary. There's some tense moments and bizarre whispers on the soundtrack but basically the film is building to the final ten minutes. I'm not really sure what happened in those last ten minutes, but that's to be expected when everything is filtered through the eyes of a fragile mind (we're going to pretend that fragile minds have eyes here). The film looks great, but it can be a bit of a slog to get through and there's obnoxious voiceover of Jessica's thoughts that are really obtrusive and inorganic that could have been communicated with looks and cuts. The title implies something sinister, and there may be, but don't go into this film expecting a huge payoff to the title. Interestingly (to me, at least), the director also directed Band the Drum Slowly.

*I rarely adjust my queue because I've no doubt that certain movies would never get watched because I "wouldn't be in the mood" for them. However, I do wish that there was a Randomize button for the queue so that it would mix everything up for you (keeping the TV series as one entity so they don't put the third disc of season three before disc one of season one, of course).

Short and Sweet

Gotta put out my Netflix Roundup before I go on my horror binge and write about those all month long. It's going to be a fun month.

The X-Files: I Want to Believe -- Chris Carter
After spending much of the past year watching ever episode of The X-Files, as well as the movie and The Simpsons crossover, and toiling through season nine (Agent Reyes is a bore), I was excited to get to the final movie. All I knew about the movie was the subtitle "I Want to Believe" and that there's lots of snow. Well, "I Want to Believe" is featured prominently on a poster featuring a UFO throughout the series and there was lots of snow in the first movie, so I was fully expecting alien mythology. Instead, I got a shitty police procedural about a priest who may or may not have psychic powers but definitely diddled little boys. I'm a big fan of Billy Connolly and he did well with the role, but dear lord couldn't Carter and co-writer Frank Spotnitz come up with something better? It feels like they had this script lying around and decided that, with a few minor tweaks, it could be an X-File! And all the bullshit about Scully and the boy who needs brain surgery is just a drag. We don't watch The X-Files for melodrama. We watch if for awesome, which there is very little of here. It they had to go the monster-of-the-week rout, why not do it like one of the oddball, genre-defying efforts from seasons 4-6? They needed Vince Gilligan on this one. It's also a little odd ignoring everything from season 9 and even calling it The X-Files when neither Scully or Mulder are agents anymore (and I'm not a fan of them being lovers... it's weird). And Scully is ridiculously written. She begs Mulder to help the FBI yet almost immediately demands that he stop. It's obvious from the moment they meet in the first episode that he's obsessive. Why is she surprised when he won't give up? Scully's much smarter than she's made out to be in this film. Finally, why are Amanda Peet and Xzibit there? Wouldn't it make more sense to have Skinner draw them back into a case? This movie blows.

Ghosts of Mars -- John Carpenter
Speaking of blows... what happened to John Carpenter? I have yet to see The Ward, but haven't heard good things. His episode of Masters of Horror, "Cigarette Burns," was pretty middling (I haven't seen "Pro-Life yet"). He's made some of the greatest horror movies ever, yet hasn't really done anything worthwhile since 1994 (In the Mouth of Madness... though 1998's Vampires is kind of fun if only for James Woods). You hear about director's losing their touch as they get older, but Carpenter underwent a drastic quality slide. The fact that he took a nine year break from making movies explains a lot about his mindset (along with him actually explaining a lot about his mindset). It's possible he could have gotten a good movie out of Ghosts of Mars. The idea of demonic spirits possessing a person and turning them into blood-thirsty demons always fun. Add to that that when the possessed body is killed, the spirits can simply move on to another body. It's an unstoppable force. But having Ice Cube and Natasha Henstridge as your insanely uncharismatic leads is brutal. They are supposed to have lots of playful banter but it simply dies in their mouths (sadly, I can't find any clips of this online). Jason Statham is the only one who really comes out of this film looking good. At least I'll always have The Thing...

The Front Page -- Lewis Milestone
His Girl Friday -- Howard Hawkes
The Front Page -- Billy Wilder
Maybe Carpenter was looking to replicate some of the insanely witty dialogue from one of his cinematic hero's films. Sadly, he didn't have Rosalind Russell or Cary Grant in his cast (now that's a version of Ghosts of Mars I want to see).

Modesty Blaise -- Joseph Losey
This films is poorly conceived at nearly every level. When one thinks of super-spies and parodies, Joseph Losey doesn't immediately pop into mind. His sensibilities couldn't be more inappropriate for the material. The man lacks the sort of broad, comic timing to pull off any of the gags in this film. Add onto that Monica Vitti whose dull, disinterested, vacant stare was perfect for the slow and deliberate shooting style of Antonioni (whose films I don't much care for) is totally out of place as an ass-kicking super-spy. She literally has zero personality. Sure, she's attractive in a bland sort of way in that the longer you look at her, the sleepier you get, but she's certainly no hero (or anti-hero, as the case may be). Modesty Blaise the film, as opposed to the character, is sprawling and confusing with bizarre voiceover that seems to be coming from people spying on characters but in reality seems impossible. Maybe I'm missing the joke, but this film falls into that pile of movies that people can only enjoy for camp, except that at two hours, it's too long even for that.

Thank god I'm spending a month with horror movies. Even if they're bad, someone's going to get killed or get naked (or both!).

The Horror Creep

October is almost here and already my queue is filling up with horror movies. Once October arrives, there will be no respite, much to my girlfriend's dismay.

Mount up!

The Naked City -- Jules Dassin
I hold in my mind an image of Criterion of infallibility. That their taste in movies is impeccable and everything they put out is worth my time. I know that this isn't the case, but they do such good work that it's hard not to think that. I'm sure that there are people who like The Naked City. They like the fact that the producer, Mark Hellinger, narrates the whole thing in the most annoying way possible, negating the whole "show, don't tell" model of filmmaking (he died shortly after a preview screening, so I choose to believe Dassin didn't want to disrespect the man by removing the voiceover). I found it to be incredibly off-putting and took me right out of the film. Who cares about the murder? This bastard keeps talking in my ear! Fortunately, I know Dassin has made some awesome movies (Rififi, Night and the City), so I won't stay away from his films. I'd just never recommend this one (though the ending is a pretty sweet set piece on the Brooklyn Bridge).

Dagon -- Stuart Gordon
Stuart Gordon has dipped into the H.P. Lovecraft well numerous times (Re-Animator, From Beyond, Dreams in the Witch House from the TV series "Masters of Horror"). I'm not the biggest fan of Re-Animator, though I know many who love it. From Beyond rules and Dreams in the Witch House was good for the standards of MoH. Dagon had the potential to be something great. Despite itself, there's a lot of cool stuff going on with people turning into sea-beings. Clearly, budget held Gordon back. But even more than that, casting is the biggest issue. You can almost hear Gordon crying out for Jeffrey Combs to de-age 20 years and star in this. There's a low-rent actor trying to emulate Combs, but failing miserably. The other glaring problem is that Dagon isn't directed with much style. I don't know what happened to Gordon since the '80s (I'd imagine working on low-budget genre movies with little more than cult success can get one down), but there's no energy on screen. Much like House, give this movie to Sam Raimi or Peter Jackson, or Guillermo del Toro and it can come alive. I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't terrible, but disappointed it wasn't better.

I'm pretty sure at 4:40 he's channeling Stephen King.

Wordplay -- Patrick Creadon
This is probably the best of the "documentaries about games/hobbies" movies I've seen. I'm in awe of how fast these people can do incredibly hard puzzles and can't even attempt the Monday NY Times Crossword without thinking about how bad I'm doing compared to these people. Not only are the people competing mind-blowing, but it walks you through the making of a puzzle. I can't even imagine being that smart or clever. The only knock I have against the movie is that the 20-year old contestant reminds me of Michael Rapaport and that's never a good thing.

Charley Varrick -- Don Siegel
Walter Matthau is the man. I don't know why we don't have any actors like him or Ernest Borgnine or Warren Oates anymore. Versatile actors who aren't necessarily pretty, but can own the screen. Paul Giamatti is good, but I can't see him as a badass. Charley Varrick is a crop duster/bank robber who accidentally steals money from a bank storing mob money and the mob wants it. Joe Don Baker is amazing as the man sent to look for the money. The man has no ethics and is a thrill to watch. It's a bit of a cat-and-mouse situation, but I get a kick out of watching Varrick act so logical about everything, even when it's difficult. This is a great movie you may not have heard of but it's available on Instant View. And just like in Dirty Harry, Andrew Robinson is terrible in this movie, too.

The Swarm -- Irwin Allen
Kablooey!

House II -- Ethan Wiley
The Horror Show (House III) -- James Isaac
Boing!

Dracula A.D. 1972 -- Alan Gibson
Like most Hammer Horror films, I'm happy this exists. I love the set design and the vibe of the whole thing. I love the artwork that goes along with it. I love how much cleavage the studio brought into the world. But in the end, the movies are just OK. Not enough was done to show Dracula in 1972. Most of the time, he's still in an old castle or church in the country, so it doesn't feel like modern day. If more had been done to bring Dracula into this culture, I think the film could have been a lot better. Still, I enjoy spending my time with Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing, so I can never be too hard on these films.

Intrigue, Sex, and Disaster (and Babe)

I've got some other posts in mind, but my list of movies is growing (I was home alone over Labor Day weekend an racked up few more than normal) so I don't want my roundup to get too daunting for me or you.

Shadow of a Doubt -- Alfred Hitchcock
Zowee!

S*P*Y*S -- Irvin Kershner
I love Donald Sutherland and Elliott Gould has been growing on my ever since I saw The Long Goodbye, but S*P*Y*S is terrible. I flash to all the times I nearly blind-bought it because of the stars and rejoice that that money remained in my pocket. The biggest problem is that it's just not funny. Everything is forced and the chemistry between the two doesn't come through until the end. Kershner would go on to direct The Empire Strikes Back, so maybe he was working in a genre for which he didn't have a knack. Also, I can't help but think that since Gould and Sutherland starred in MASH and the TV show used the asterisks (M*A*S*H), that the producers were trying to remind the public of the connection by using the same format for this movie.

Angel Heart -- Alan Parker
Angel Heart has bit of a reputation amongst those who like genre movies. One might even call it a cult classic. Due to this, I had somewhat lofty expectations of this film that were no close to being met. Angel Heart is a drag. Mickey Rourke is a much better actor now that he's ugly and it's pretty clear that De Niro's performances started lacking long before the Analyze This/That movies. He's totally uninteresting and doesn't seem to give a damn about the movie (say what I will about Bang the Drum Slowly, but De Niro puts his all into that doofus). It doesn't work as horror and it doesn't work as noir. The most you're going to get out of it is seeing Lisa Bonet naked and Bill Cosby doesn't approve of that. Oh, and De Niro's name is Louis Cypher. Mull that over for a little.

Super Fly -- Gordon Parks Jr
Kablooey!

Salon Kitty -- Tinto Brass
I hated Brass' Caligula and I only saw the 100 minute version. There's little to recommend about it. I don't know what about that experience made me feel like I should check out Salon Kitty other than the fact that I probably didn't notice that Brass directed it, but I dug it! Shocking. It helps that the story is pretty interesting: the Nazi's use brothel filled with specially selected women to try to discover traitors amongst their ranks. There's a healthy dose of male and female nudity, as one would expect with Brass, but the acting and story are all there. It's probably a bit longer than it needs to be, but definitely worth watching. Now I have to debate whether I should risk another Tinto Brass joint. Lord knows I've latched onto worse filmmakers (*cough* Jess Franco *cough*).

Teorema - Pier Paulo Pasolini
It wasn't intentional that two sexually focused movies arrived back-to-back. I'm usually pretty attentive to spreading out genres (unless I happen to be on a particular genre kick). It's probably that I didn't really recognize Teorema by the name and kept thinking it was Francis Ford Coppola's Tetro. The most surprising aspect of Teorema is that it's not really all that explicit. That may not mean much to some, but considering Pasolini would later make Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom, I was expecting all kinds of deviance. As with much Pasolini, there's been a lot of criticism and study about this work, but I tend to use my first viewing as a time to enjoy (or try to) and if the film connects, then I'll revisit it. Unfortunately, I was basically bored by the film, so I didn't put the work into figuring it out. I'm OK with that. Incidentally, I didn't recognize Terence Stamp at all and it wasn't until his character was gone that I realized that was him. Maybe I should have been putting a little more effort into the film.

Babe -- Chris Noonan
My nearly 13-year old boy attitude necessitated that I reject the stupid movie with talking animals as girly child's stuff. Adam Sandler and Jim Carrey were making movies, damn it! I remember scoffing that it was nominated for so many Academy Awards. Such a jaded heart for such a young person. Having now watched the movie (mostly so I can watch the sequel, which my co-worker claims as one of his favorite movies ever), I've got to say: it's delightful! The set design is amazing and the talking animals are only cringe-worthy a couple times. The only real detriment to Babe are those damned mice. So annoying. The ending is epically heartwarming, though my sense of fair play tells me that Babe was a horrible sheep dog and should never have won. It's hardly fair using the secret sheep code to beat the competition. That said, I'm pleased that I can now use "That'll do pig" without feeling like a liar.

Femme Fatale -- Brian de Palma
When Femme Fatale came out in 2002, my only interest was in Rebecca Romijn(-Stamos at the time). It's a wonder why:

That trailer is fascinating because it pretty much show the whole movie in sequence, which is awesome since people always complain that trailers give away too much, but it's also kind of a behind the scenes look at how to assemble a trailer. Honestly, my main reason for watching Femme Fatale now is that I've been becoming and bigger and bigger de Palma fan ever since I watched The Phantom of the Paradise and I wanted to see if any of his later films held up to his early work (also, The AVClub's New Cult Canon feature). And I've got to say, the movie is pure, twisty, sexy fun. De Palma ramps the style way up, which used to be an issue I had with him, but have learned to love, he lets things get bananas. There is a Funny Games-esque moment that almost lost me in the end, but the movie is pure pulp that's impossible to resist even if Romijn(-Stamos) isn't always up to the line readings.

Earthquake -- Mark Robson
I went on a mini disaster movie binge over Labor Day weekend. I've gained a new appreciation for the '70s-style mayhem movie. Maybe it's the amazing model work, giant sets, and practical effects, but they speak to me. Earthquake isn't great, but it's pretty fun. My biggest issue with it is that I don't find Charlton Heston to be a very compelling actor. I've liked movies he's starred in (Planet of the Apes), but largely he comes off as a parody of action stars. Give me the awesome power of George Kennedy any day (and Earthquake does!). Two things stuck out to me during the credits: Mario Puzo (The Godfather) has a co-writing credit (!) and Richard Roundtree (Shaft!) is in it. The latter makes me particularly happy because it's nice to see people from exploitation movies get a moment or two in the sun. One of my favorite conventions of the genre is the thick-headed authority who doesn't listen to the people warning of disaster or actively pursues danger regardless of the endangerment to thousands of people, which is on full display in Earthquake, though they acquiesce a little faster than most. Also fun: Walter Matthau as a drunk in a bar. Proof that being small time comic relief is the safest position in a disaster. Surprisingly, the ending is fairly emotional and unexpected.

The Towering Inferno -- John Guillermin and Irwin Allen (action sequences)
It's a wonder what a great cast can do for a movie. Whereas Earthquake struggled over it's lead performance, Towering Inferno has Paul Newman and Steve McQueen in lead roles (who famously butted heads, seemingly mostly due to the latter being a dick). Newman is always so effortless and elevates every movie I've seen him in. The film also deals with a subject it's easy not to think about: how does one fight a fire in a high rise? I know people who used to hate being above the third floor in building just for that reason (it may have been higher). In fact, The Towering Inferno plays almost as a lecture against architects building skyscrapers. Much like in many of these movies, women are sort of relegated to the background, even Faye Dunaway, once the shit hits the fan. The film is 2.5 hours, but nearly always entertaining and it's fun to watch (in all of these disaster movies) the peril escalate. It also uses the classic "maiden voyage" setup where the Grand Opening is met with disaster. I love this scenario particularly because I love when one extreme emotion (in this case, joy) changes to another (plunging to terror) with no way for anyone to know it's going to happen.

Leviathan -- George Pan Cosmatos
I was expecting something a bit different judging by this poster:
- 
However, I'm not unhappy with what I got. There's very little original about Leviathan. It plays like a mashup of The Thing, Alien, and The Abyss (with a touch of Jaws at the end). It's still fun as hell with some great special effects and a decent sense of terror. I'm quite surprised by the negative opinion of the film and I'm not really sure what people were expecting. There's not much more to say other than I think you all should check this out and get back to me with your thoughts.

The Poseidon Adventure -- Ronald Neame
This was supposed to be in the Earthquake position of my double feature with The Towering Inferno, but the disc from Netflix was cracked. So sad. I'd somehow forgotten that Gene Hackman was the star (and least sympathetic reverend ever) and put Ernest Borgnine in his place. As far as the disaster movies I watched this weekend go, this is the best. Even Shelley Winters is tolerable. Speaking of her: I mentioned above that women in these movies are usually told to stand aside as the men figured things out, but Winters is actually given something to do, which is much appreciated and is a great character moment for her. I also love seeing the grandpa from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory in something else because he seems like a genuinely great guy. Incidentally, apparently Gene Wilder was to play the Red Buttons role but conflicts prevented him from doing so. That's a shame because I can see him being perfect in that role. It's also nice when a movie isn't afraid to kill of a few of it's main players since it so willingly kills off everyone else.