Archive for August, 2006

The Heart of the Game

Published
by
nathanshorb
on August 27, 2006
in Documentary, High School and Sport
. 0 Comments

The Heart of the Game is the latest documentary getting rave reviews. I had the privilege to see it last night.

An eccentric college professor decides to start coaching girls basketball at a local high school in Seattle. He has some interesting philosophies and tactics, all of which seem to really work. The school is mostly upper-middle class and white, and in comes a basketball star who is black, from the lower class side of town. The guy coaches this girl, bringing her into her prime, and colleges are knocking on her door already during her sophomore year. There are some twists and turns and drama and court cases and everything. It deals with gender, race, class, urban culture, sports, and more. And all of it is filmed over the course of seven years.

First things first, this documentary is complete and utter luck. For whatever reason, this director decides to start filming this coach. Little did he know little Darnelia Russell would be arriving on the scene shortly, and drama would be coming along with her, and all of it would turn into, seven years later, a real-life happy ending. The chances on capturing this are one in a million. It is truly amazing.

Second things second, this will win the Oscar for best documentary this year. I’ll go ahead and make the prediction now.

But in the end, I was a little disappointed.

The material is there, no doubt about it. The coach is exceptional, unique, inspiring, successful. He’s a great character. The clash of races and classes is there. The shy yet feisty and determined Darnelia is intriguing. Mix it all up with sports, the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat, and you’ve got a recipe for a great documentary.

But there is no denying the fact that whittling 7 years of footage into an hour and a half is an extremely daunting task. Maybe that’s the reason for its downfalls.

I don’t know what exactly it was, but the way it was presented lacked emotion. We were never given a chance to REALLY get to know any of the characters, to become attached to them. We know the coach and his philosophies, but we don’t know him. We watch Darnelia with admiration, but we don’t know her. We see these girls and want them to win, but we aren’t on the bench cheering for them. Maybe it’s the laborious narration, maybe it’s the lack of in-depth material (for the sake of getting through 7 years in a concise manner), but whatever it is, I never got attached to the movie until the last 10 or 15 minutes.

It’s a shame, really, because like I said, the material is there.

(And while it never goes far enough with any of the material, I’m glad it didn’t go too far, dramatizing the issues, exagerrating or exploiting them. The director should be commended for not going in that direction.)

It will get rave reviews because of that material, because it’s simply remarkable that it’s all caught on film, and because of the last 10-15 minutes. And it deserves the rave reviews, probably. It’s definitely worth seeing. But in the end, I know it could have been much more.

Maybe I’m just too tough to please, my standards are too high. Maybe I’m a documentary snob.

Clerks II

Published
by
Chalupa
on August 17, 2006
in Comedy, Cult film, Independent, Racism and Sequel
. 0 Comments

I would like to start this post by saying that I am a huge Kevin Smith fan. I’m not really sure why. I remember when Clerks came out back in ‘94 and seeing commercials on TV for it. It looked so interesting and fascinating. I wasn’t really allowed freedom in choosing every film I wanted to watch back then so I didn’t actually see the movie until almost five years later.

Since then I’ve always been interested in anything Kevin is working on. Much of Kevin Smith’s work is vulgar, crude and offensive (depending on your view points) and many people have asked me why I submit myself to such filth. I’ve never really had a great answer other than, “I just like it.” Kevin often explores controversial topics that many artists are afraid to approach. I once heard Kevin talking about how his brother is gay and has problems watching movies because he has problems connecting to them. The guy always seems to get the girl. Well what about the other people out there in the world?

Homosexuality is just one topic Kevin has tried to present in a humorous manner off and on in many of his films. He is also the creator of Jay and Silent Bob and is in fact, Silent Bob himself. Smith also has this amazing fan base of cult-proportions that is a mystery to many. I think I may know part of the reason for this. Ready? Kevin Smith. That’s it. This guy has charisma. He’s funny, he’s cool, he’s personable, and he seems like the kind of guy that could be your friend. Seriously. This is just an average guy who loves movies, but isn’t stuck up and a little crazy like Quentin Tarantino.

So the movie….I’ve been digressing upon many a rabbit trail here. Clerks II is a continuation of the Dante and Randal story we were first introduced with back in ‘94. Only now they’re 10 years older and still dealing with some of those same issues from a decade ago. Oh, and did I mention the sequel is in color?

Kevin has definitely made a big name for himself in Hollywood, in the comic book world, and in the hearts of many around the world who pine after a persona as cool as one of Smith’s characters. Who wouldn’t want to throw water on an annoying customer like Randall? Who wouldn’t want to have girls fighting over them like Dante? I’m sure a lot of you wish you could say anything and everything on your mind like Jay. Did you know there are heroines as well? There’s Alyssa Jones, Veronica, Caitlin Bree, Rene Mosier, Brandi Svening, Bethany Slone, etc, etc. Oh yeah, and then there was Dogma where Alanis Morissette played the part of God.

So anyways, Clerks II. Originally titled Passion of the Clerks, I assume this was to poke fun at Mel Gibson. This was even back in 2004 so this was way before Gibson decided to torpedo his career with a drunken tirade at police officers. In this latest installment we get to Dante and Randal back at it again. Working together, getting each other into interesting situations and inadvertently terrorizing some of the general public in the process. There is also another return of Jay and Silent Bob and great performances by Rosario Dawson and Trevor Fehrman (new to the Smith films).

I would be lying if I said this movie was clean and unlike his other films. I was definitely shocked in a couple scenes. Once again, as usual, the bar was raised. Interestingly enough, the MPAA gave the film an ‘R’ rating immediately. Usually his films have to be edited to make an ‘R’. The movie is definitely a bit slow in the middle and almost seems to drone on for bit, but there’s a dynamite ending. I’ve heard some critics complaining about the end of the film, but think if you understand the progression of the previous 5 films than it will make complete sense to you too.

I found this movie entertaining and enjoyable. However I would not reccomend this to anyone who is not already a fan of Smith’s previous works. Definitely an acquired taste, it could be hard to fully appreciate jumping to the end of this series without starting at the beginning. A bit like the original Star Wars trilogy in the sense that each film can be watched as a seperate entity, but it really helps to see the full picture.

Butterfly Effect

Published
by
Chalupa
on August 12, 2006
in Drama, Fantasy, Revenge, Sci-fi, Suicide, Thriller and Twist
. 0 Comments

I was never really gung-ho about watching this movie from the impression I got after watching its trailer. Then I started hearing great reviews from friends of mine so I put it in my netflix queue about a year ago. Well, I finally watched it and I have two reactions.

1. Wow
2. I guess Ashton Kutcher really can act?

First off, this is an amazing movie that just begs indepth analysis and hours of conversations. This movie deals with time travel, specifically in the life of one person and how they go back in time and change parts of their past. We then see all of the long lasting effects that occur due to the littlest changes. This goes hand in hand with the chaos theory or “butterfly effect” which is the name of this movie. It would really be mind numbing to think about how our lives would and could be different if we had this same ability. Personally, I think I’d pass on the opportunity.

Secondly, I think Ashton Kutcher is a legitimate actor. If you know me very well, you’ll know I’ve been an avid fan of That 70’s Show ever since I watched the pilot episode back in 1998. I think this is a good step in his career just like The Truman Show was good for Jim Carrey and Punch-Drunk Love was good for Adam Sandler.

Little Miss Sunshine

Published
by
nathanshorb
on August 2, 2006
in Comedy, Coming of age, Drama, Drugs, Dysfunctional, Family, Feel Good, Independent and Road Trip
. 3 Comments

Little Miss Sunshine is in certain theaters now, and you should probably definitely go see it.

It’s a pretty preposterous movie, really. The characters are definitely contrived and over-the-top dysfunctional. But that doesn’t take away from the story.

The actors and more than capable and each one does a really really great job. Greg Kinnear is good as always, and Steve Carrell is perfect. It would be tempting to let Mr. Carrell steal the show, but he plays his role perfectly and fits in nicely. He’s hilarious without shining too brightly.

It’s hilarious. Even a joke that is repeated about 7 or 8 or 9 times throughout the movie never gets old; you think it would, but it actually gets funnier every time. And the movie is kind of like a snowball rolling down a hill in its hilarity. It starts out a little slow and you’re not sure where it’s going, but it gets funnier and funnier until the big ending where you can’t stop laughing.

And it has this really nostalgic, heartwarming feel by the end. I walked out of the theater and saw the poster in the lobby and it brought a smile of contentment to my face and I let out one of those, “Awwws” or “Ahhs.”

And Sufjan is on the soundtrack. And the other band that does most of the soundtrack, Devotchka or something like that, is really really great, too.

This is a terrible review, I know. But I kind of think this movie is pretty much perfect, and I can’t put that into words very well.

I Love Your Work

Published
by
Lij
on August 1, 2006
in Drama and Neo Noir
. 0 Comments

I first heard about I Love Your Work in 2003, when it was released but never accessible. The other day, when I came across it at Blockbuster, I had to rent it.

The movie is a convoluted story about Gray Evans, a movie star, and his movie star wife, Mia. Gray is played by Giovanni Ribisi, who is always interesting to watch, if nothing else. He’s a really good actor. Mia is played by Franka Potente from Run, Lola, Run and The Bourne Identity and The Princess and the Warrior, all quality movies.

Gray and Mia have only been married for a year, and their marriage is a bit tumultuous. They’re highstrung individuals with a lot of fans and a lot on the line. I believed that they loved each other in the film, but neither character was very good at acting out that love.

Gray is on the verge of a nervous breakdown from the very beginning of the film onward. He is paranoid that he’s being stalked, worries about what people think of him, and is constantly trying to avoid the public eye. He hates being a movie star. As much as he hates attention, he ends up befriending a fan, played by Joshua Jackson. Something about Jackson’s character John intrigues Gray, as if John’s normality could equal normality for Gray himself. Over time, Gray begins to live out his paranoia by stalking John and John’s girlfriend, who bears a striking resemblance to a woman that Gray can’t stop fantasizing about.

It’s difficult to tell the difference between the present, the past, and the future in I Love Your Work. Writer/director Adam Goldberg has an interesting idea with this film, but doesn’t execute it all that well. What’s supposed to be mysterious ends up being confusing, and what’s supposed to feel fresh and new ends up feeling a bit stale.

I liked watching the film, but I don’t think I really understood it. It takes a lot for me to call a movie “weird,” but this one fits the bill.