The prequels go out with a bang; ROTS is the best & tightest of the bunch. A great SW film, it is still nearly as frustrating as the rest…
Spoiler-free Movie Review of Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith:
Ten years ago today, what we believed at the time (because everyone involved swore up and down it was so) to be the final Star Wars film came out in theaters around the world. The first two Star Wars prequels had been met with equal parts adoration and derision, but everyone seemed on board with the final chapter. The return of the man in the black mask. THIS is what we’d all been waiting for…
Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith is certainly the best prequel, even if that is somewhat damning with faint praise. An argument can be made that it is on par with Return of the Jedi, and many people actually rated Episode III higher than VI at the time (me included).
With time I think I realized that no matter how much I liked Revenge of the Sith, it really couldn’t be said to be a better film than Return of the Jedi. But Episode III is a very fine film.
With a new Star Wars film coming out later in 2015, I’m going to be writing in-depth pieces on each film, so I think I’ll leave more discussion of Revenge of the Sith for later. (Particularly as my first draft is already a couple of pages long and I haven’t even started talking about the story yet.) For now, enjoy the 10th anniversary of Episode III (and the 16th of Episode I) and try to see the forest for the trees. While Sith is probably the sloppiest of all the films and has a tendency to feel like a to-do list at times rather than a unique film, it carries the most depth and emotion of all of the prequels and adds perspective and import to the Original Trilogy.
[schema type=”movie” url=”http://www.starwars.com/films/star-wars-episode-iii-revenge-of-the-sith” name=”Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005)” description=”Years after the onset of the Clone Wars, the noble Jedi Knights lead a massive clone army into a galaxy-wide battle against the Separatists. When the sinister Sith unveil a thousand-year-old plot to rule the galaxy, the Republic crumbles and from its ashes rises the evil Galactic Empire. Jedi hero Anakin Skywalker is seduced by the dark side of the Force to become the Emperor’s new apprentice — Darth Vader. The Jedi are decimated, as Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jedi Master Yoda are forced into hiding. The only hope for the galaxy are Anakin’s own offspring — the twin children born in secrecy who will grow up to become heroes.” director=”George Lucas” producer=”George McCallum” actor_1=”Hayden Christensen” ]
As the Clone Wars near an end, the Sith Lord Darth Sidious steps out of the shadows, at which time Anakin succumbs to his emotions, becoming Darth Vader and putting his relationships with Obi-Wan and Padme at risk.
Definition of a vanity picture, Stiller’s fingerprints all over this, everything framed to make him look good. Didn’t say it’s bad though…
Spoiler-free Movie Review of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty:
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is what you would have to call Hollywood catnip. Actors, producers, writers, studio heads – they all go wild for it. There are certain properties that Hollywood types just can’t seem to get enough of. This story provides a number of reasons to justify the infatuation:
It’s already a success. Nothing makes a producer salivate so much as a proven track record. This more than any other reason is why they produce so many adaptations and remakes; you’re starting off ahead, since the property has made money at least once already.
It’s a short story, which means you can proceed in the certain knowledge of a built-in audience of people intrigued by the the familiar story, but then do more or less whatever you want, since there’s so much space to fill in. This has an unintended but very welcome side benefit: you can then remake it again and again, since new writers and directors will want to put their own spin on it and “take it in a new direction”.
It’s lead actor-bait. A role that allows an actor to so completely dominate a project appeals to all pretentious ball-hogging narcissists who know deep in their hearts that they really won’t be considered an ACTOR until they are on stage and this is a vehicle that might demonstrate their stage-worthiness. In other words, everybody…
I left one out; probably the only one that really matters: it’s a great story…
James Thurber’s original short story, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty was first published in the New Yorker magazine 1939 and has probably appeared in every single high school English textbook since. It’s been adapted into two feature films, two radio programs and a Broadway musical. (That I know of. There are probably even more adaptations out there.) It’s easy to understand why everyone, from librarians and teachers to writers, producers and Hollywood A-listers are enamored with the tale. It’s a lovely bit of writing from one of America’s great humorists.
More importantly, Thurber tapped into the uniquely human desire to daydream and fantasize about a life more dramatic. Everyone wants to be the hero of the story. Even if you’d rather be the villain of the story, at least we’re all looking for the lead.
Interesting then that actors, who actually get to play out larger than life fantasies for a living would still be so attracted to the part. I suppose we all strive for something more, even if your more may be more more than mine…
Maybe one of the reasons for the story’s lasting impact owes to Thurber’s economy. Everyone can empathize with Walter Mitty’s mental escapes from the mundanity of his life, but it is even easier to make that connection with so simple a tale. Despite the details of Mitty’s life (and secret life) which clearly date the story, Walter’s longing is so universal that it the specifics of the tale are like guidelines drawn in pencil on which you can build your own secret life.
The obvious conclusion to draw is that any longer telling of the story is DOA, destined to fail. A short story may observe a butterfly’s wanderings, but a detailed and complete narrative requires that we bring it to ground, pinning it down for close examination.
I’m not sure I’d go as far as calling attempts to adapt Walter Mitty foolish and/or doomed. But it’s definitely a tall order to flesh out the character without losing the allegory.
This particular version of the film languished in a development hell lengthy even by Hollywood standards. Amazingly, Samuel Goldwyn Jr. still had the film rights after his father made the 1947 Danny Kaye version. In the 19 years leading up to the release of Stiller’s picture, the project passed through four studios, five lead actors, six directors, seven writers, and more production companies and producers than can easily be counted. There were even two generations of Goldwyns producing by the end. (Three if you count Sam Sr.)
In previous reviews, I have previously copped to disliking Ben Stiller, but when I found that the other actors attached to various incarnations of the project included Jim Carrey, Owen Wilson, Mike Myers & Sacha Baron Cohen, Stiller suddenly looked like the most subtle choice. Now there’s a scary thought…
Walter Mitty is unquestionably Stiller’s picture. He directs, produces and plays the titular character. He has never been so understated or likable. He shows a maturity several decades overdue, but welcome nevertheless. My biggest quibble is how vain this project feels. He wants to make himself look good – hey, that’s fine. But it comes a bit at the expense of the narrative. Stiller handles the emerging adventurer Mitty quite well. He’s less convincing as the sad sack at the beginning of the picture, though, and his transformation begins so early and quickly that it isn’t as dramatic of a victory for Walter. He was a little too confident in the first place.
For what is essentially a one-man show, there are certainly a lot of names filling out the cast. Kristen Wiig shows a bit of versatility with a completely straight role and it works well. It’s understandable both that Walter would be fascinated by the character of Cheryl, and that he might plausibly entertain a hope of a chance.
Walter’s family members are played by fine actresses, Kathryn Hahn & Shirley MacLaine, but the characters are barely necessary. Adam Scott has a nice little jerk part, but Stiller’s Mitty isn’t as cowed as he probably should be. Sean Penn has a small role as the photographer whose work provides the MacGuffin. He’s Sean Penn…
Most unexpected is a running gag role from Patton Oswalt that I won’t spoil. It’s really good fun.
I mostly really enjoyed this telling of the story and setting the narrative at LIFE Magazine for their final print issue is a great touch. It’s a unique lens for a story like this, and they make great use of repeating several times the motto of LIFE Magazine: “To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, draw closer, to find each other, and to feel. That is the purpose of life.” It’s lovely. Of course, that isn’t the motto of LIFE Magazine. Also, LIFE stopped being printed as a weekly magazine in 1972 and as a monthly in 2002, but hey, who’s splitting hairs…
At times the picture is lovely to look at, thanks to the cinematography of Stuart Dryburgh. There are some very garish and over the top scenes, though, most notably a scene cued to Bowie’s “Space Oddity”. Usually lack of subtlety in a Ben Stiller movie is table stakes. But here it’s not that he’s grandstanding as an actor; he’s overdoing things as a director.
Also, the product placement in this film is shameless. Really obnoxious.
The 2013 version of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty far exceeded my expectations. It certainly contains an unhealthy amount of schmaltz, but it isn’t a schmaltzy movie. You can use words like heart-warming without feeling silly, and I certainly have a soft spot for the “embrace life” type of story.
It did leave me with an increasingly familiar question, though. Why did this need to be an adaptation in the first place? Tonally it has more in common with a fistful of other inspirational films than with the original story. And if Walter isn’t hen-pecked by an unhappy wife and looking for overshoes and puppy biscuits in Connecticut while dreaming of being a surgeon/spy/pilot, then is this story really Walter Mitty at all?
[schema type=”movie” url=”http://www.waltermitty.com/index.php” name=”The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (2013)” description=”A moment comes when you stop dreaming, start living and discover your destiny. For day dreamer Walter Mitty, that time is now. When his job, along with that of his coworker (Kristen Wiig) are threatened, Walter takes action and embarks on an incredible journey. Ben Stiller directs and co-stars in this inspiring story about an ordinary man who leaps into the extraordinary adventure that is life.” director=”Ben Stiller” actor_1=”Ben Stiller” ]
When his job along with that of his co-worker are threatened, Walter takes action in the real world embarking on a global journey that turns into an adventure more extraordinary than anything he could have ever imagined.
Bit of a rorschach test; I saw winsome & wonderful, if quite familiar, inspirational tale. Most saw a schmaltzy bit of treacle. Both right.
Spoiler-free Movie Review of Hector and the Search for Happiness
Hector and the Search for Happiness is one more in a long line of films that probably will be missed by much of its intended audience due to the complete over-saturation of the market. The state of modern movie-going is so rich, providing more opportunities to get a film made than ever before. And that is of course wonderful. But it does almost inevitably bring with it the equal opportunity to be totally ignored in the face of so many other opportunities…
It certainly did nothing at the box office, although it’s anyone’s guess how much that matters at this point. I’d argue that this is the type of movie so destined to be watched at home that a theatrical release is probably more for the sake of appearances than any particular expectation of financial return.
All of my above points are from my perspective in the United States, of course. As this is a German production with a multi-national cast, this is probably a limited outlook. The whole picture screams “global audience” and so I hope it does better abroad.
Based on the French novel of the same name, (Le Voyage d’Hector ou la Recherche du bonheur) by François Lelord, Hector and the Search for Happiness follows the titular character, a rigid and emotionally constipated psychiatrist who has lost the joy in his work and life. He has a (perhaps excessively) doting girlfriend and a thriving practice, but he isn’t happy and fears that he is unable to help his patients become so either. So he sets out to broaden his horizons and seek out the secret to happiness in a globe-trotting experiment.
I’m a sucker for this kind of picture and even I couldn’t shake the feeling I’d already seen it. The film has many forbears, both in print and film. There’s undeniably a self-help book feel to the picture, and as I watched, not knowing anything about the production, I idly wondered whether it was based on one of those brightly colored thought treatises that seem to hang out on the bestseller lists every few months.
Just off the top of my head, the picture resembled Michael J. Fox’s book Always Looking Up and the TV special that accompanied it (Michael J. Fox: Adventures of an Incurable Optimist), as well as a bunch of feature films, particularly Stranger than Fiction and the recent version of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. I also kept flashing back to Rob Reiner’s North, also an adaptation. Hector is uncomfortably similar to Ben Stiller’s take on Walter Mitty (which I also enjoyed).
The story differs from some of the works I named in that there is a real edge to the situations Hector experiences in his travels; he is in genuine danger and interacting with people in serious circumstances.
Simon Pegg is so charming he can anchor just about any film and everyone is better off for it. That doesn’t keep the main character and his emotional arc from being so so derivative, though.
The film makes some great use of imaginative visuals, inserting models, hand-drawn animation and antique-looking film stock. These flourishes aren’t as revolutionary as they once were, but they still are very effective and don’t come off as gimmicky (in this instance).
Despite the omnipresent deja vu, I liked Hector and the Search for Happiness. I freely admit that my enjoyment of the picture owes quite a bit to my favorable disposition to Simon Pegg and that with a different star I may have been far more critical. (Though maybe not – I really liked 2013’s The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, and I can’t stand Ben Stiller.) Provisionally recommended.
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Better than the 1st one? Guess so. VERY episodic – doesn’t stand on its own at all. Once again, all the best moments are dialogue scenes…
Spoiler-free Movie Review of Avengers: Age of Ultron:
I really don’t have a lot to say about Avengers: Age of Ultron. I was very excited to see it, thought it would be good and it was.
It was exactly what I expected. You may have to decide for yourself if that is worthy of praise. The film takes approximately zero risks.
Writer/director/franchise-runner/geek god Joss Whedon is making the smart choice hopping off the horse now. I’m not expecting these films to actually start getting worse, but there’s really little room for them to get any better. It’s a little hard to put into words why such a solid effort is not very satisfying. I guess it just lacks the element of surprise.
I don’t mean to suggest that the film is perfect as it most assuredly is not. It’s simply that it fails at nothing meaningful. There are all sorts of fanboy gripes and such, and you can pick apart the narrative for its flaws, but ultimately, who cares? It’s a comic book movie and they really can’t make a film with this lineup of heroes any better than this.
Particularly if you know the direction they are headed in. The stories they are working on adapting are completely joyless – great, but low on levity. The fun level of the Marvel movies is going to continue to drop sharply – hence the need for movies like Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man.
By the way, why does Marvel get a free pass on simply filming the stories that were already comic books? I live to trash DC and Zack Snyder for simply making film versions of graphic novels, feeling that there’s really no point in doing so, but Marvel is even more guilty of this. They don’t even try to pass off their pictures as original in any form, but no one seems to call them on this. Personally, I seldom read these books back in the day, so I’ve really got no skin in the game; whereas I am hugely protective of the old Batman classics. Anyway, I’ve let this pass for too long, so consider yourself warned, Marvel…
If I were to get more specific, I guess I’d say:
James Spader is a tool – that’s why he has a tool in his name. His voice is just not the right direction for Ultron, but it could maybe work if Ultron wasn’t such a fluid metal CG creation. Speaking of that…
Ultron’s mouth shouldn’t move. It doesn’t make any sense. He’s a creation of Stark – he should move like Iron Man. He doesn’t. His face can actually give off expressions. That’s absurd…
Jeremy Renner’s recent comments about Black Widow during the press junket made me actually root for Hawkeye to buy it. The character is never going to be as fun for me again until someone else is filling the role.
The action being rooted in a slightly more earthly tale this time should help the climactic battle be more rooted in reality. But it doesn’t. It’s still wave after wave of faceless enemies. And the sheer amount of adversaries is just not credible. They’re everywhere. Everything appens so quickly in this one…
Which is another issue. Condensing a long, multi-title arc into a film is always going to necessitate severe acceleration of the narrative, and it certainly does here. Ultron goes from impossible dream to villain in about 90 seconds.
Loki’s scepter. Always with Loki’s scepter. Yawn. I hate Loki’s scepter, hate the ability to mind control people. It’s cheap and weak, and this whole massive, overreaching infinity stones thing is making me long for the simplicity of the first Iron Man…
Despite my love of Guardians of the Galaxy, my interest level in galaxy-wide space villains can’t even be charted…
Danny Elfman did some of the music, except for the themes he inherited. It’s good, if not up to his usual standards…
When it comes to dialogue, Whedon is best in class. In fact, he teaches the class. And wrote the textbook…
The action and effects are excellent, but honestly, that’s table stakes. The humanity, the relationships, the quiet moments – these are what make these films work. Most of the time I’m just biding my time during the action scenes unless they are next-level cool. I want that stuff, I do. But without the brilliant writing of Whedon and acting of the principals I’d be bored.
After meeting Falcon (Anthony Mackie) in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, it’s kind of a drag that cool characters like him and War Machine (Don Cheadle) are pretty much kept on the sidelines…
I’m happy that this film isn’t all about Iron Man, which was how it was headed based on the success of that character. Full credit to Kevin Feige for not pulling an X-Men and turning the whole series into Wolverine Fan Club.
Similarly, while Hulk is smashy good times, they resisted the urge to follow the Louis Tully rule after the green guy practically stole the first Avengers movie. I’m impressed/astonished…
Avengers: Age of Ultron is a fantastic superhero movie. Period. We may never reclaim the early excitement and surprise of our first introduction to these characters, but there are beneficial trade-offs to be had in advancing their arcs. And they’re still heaps more fun than the Dour Cynicism movies…
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Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron” stars Robert Downey Jr., who returns as Iron Man, along with Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Mark Ruffalo as Hulk and Chris Evans as Captain America. Together with Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow and Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, and with the additional support of Don Cheadle as James Rhodes/War Machine, Cobie Smulders as Agent Maria Hill, Stellan Skarsgård as Erik Selvig and Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, the team must reassemble to defeat James Spader as Ultron, a terrifying technological villain hell-bent on human extinction. Along the way, they confront two mysterious and powerful newcomers, Pietro Maximoff, played by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Wanda Maximoff, played by Elizabeth Olsen and meet an old friend in a new form when Paul Bettany becomes Vision.
Written and directed by Joss Whedon and produced by Kevin Feige, Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron” is based on the ever-popular Marvel comic book series “The Avengers,” first published in 1963. Louis D’Esposito, Alan Fine, Victoria Alonso, Jeremy Latcham, Patricia Whitcher, Stan Lee and Jon Favreau serve as executive producers. Get set for an action-packed thrill ride when The Avengers return in Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron” on May 1, 2015.” director=”Joss Whedon” actor_1=”Robert Downey Jr.” ]
When Tony Stark tries to jumpstart a dormant peacekeeping program, things go awry and it is up to the Avengers to stop the villainous Ultron from enacting his terrible plans.
If you absolutely MUST watch a Hugh Grant rom-com – like your relationship and/or life depend on it – still skip this one…try About A Boy
Spoiler-free Movie Review of The Rewrite:
I watched this very predictable looking film for exactly one reason: it showed up on a list of newly released Blu-rays with a release year of 2015. I try to review recent films whenever possible, and since I don’t get to the movies as often as I’d like, at least for non-kids movies, I usually rely on stuff I can watch at home. This necessarily means that my reviews are always a bit late, even with the ridiculously short intervals between theatrical release and home video release.
So when I see something available to rent or stream with a recent date, particularly toward the beginning of the calendar year, I usually try to watch it. I completely realize how flawed this policy is, by the way. Pictures that are available for home video in the first quarter of the year they were released in are almost always dogs and often never got more than a token theatrical release.
The worst part about The Rewrite? The listing was wrong. The movie was released abroad in 2014. It never even got a theatrical release stateside. So that was the end of the one potentially redeeming feature of The Rewrite, that I’d get to add a 2015 review to the site.
But surely there was something worthwhile about the film? I mean, look at the cast: Hugh Grant, Marisa Tomei, J.K. Simmons, Allison Janney, Chris Elliot. These are good names and good actors. Yes, but they have something else in common; they aren’t terribly choosy. All have a long track record of dogs. My impression of these actors is that they are hardworking professionals who know that it’s a job and you need to keep swimming. I may be wrong, but that’s my take, and I’m not suggesting that there is anything in the world wrong with that outlook – it’s commendable. I’m merely suggesting that their presence in a film should never be taken as an indicator of the quality of the project by itself.
The Rewrite, which in all honesty should probably have been called The Remake, finds Hugh Grant playing screenwriter Keith Michaels, a Hollywood talent who had tremendous early success followed by a period of failure and is now burned out and cynical as he tries to rediscover the magic of his earlier career. It would be in poor taste to suggest that Hugh Grant is, therefore, playing Hugh Grant…
Ok, poor taste it is…
Actually, cheap shots aside, Grant is an actor I quite like in spite of his tendency to just keep playing himself, or rather, a version of the same character. Grant is probably not the character he is typecast as, any more than Lee Marvin or any other character actor. But he’s played the aloof, cynical, womanizing cad so often and so well that it sure feels like he is…
Out of work and luck, screenwriter Michaels takes the last available gig open to him: teaching screenwriting at respected Binghamton University in New York. Here he will meet cute with working mother Holly Carpenter (Marisa Tomei), fill his class with attractive co-eds, one of whom he’s shagging (Bella Heathcoate as Karen) and get another shot at success courtesy of one of his students (Clem, played by Stephen Kaplan from the funny Bart Got A Room).
The Rewrite is the vision of the talented Marc Lawrence, who after getting his start with the beloved 80’s sitcom Family Ties went on to carry the torch for 2000’s rom-coms, writing & directing three consecutive Sandra Bullock films. The Rewrite is his FOURTH consecutive Hugh Grant picture. Their first picture together was 2007’s Music and Lyrics, co-starring Drew Barrymore. The Rewrite is essentially the same movie as Music and Lyrics, enough so that it led me to wonder whether it is possible to plagiarize yourself…
The Rewrite is a lazy, unimaginative and derivative riff on the same theme that Grant has been playing for too long. J.K. Simmons has a nice little role that’s fun, and while the story is uninspired, Lawrence writes great dialogue and there are some nice little bits in there. It’s not awful or anything, just lightweight – perfectly fine for streaming.
[schema type=”movie” name=”The Rewrite” description=”An Oscar-winning writer in a slump leaves Hollywood to teach screenwriting at a college on the East Coast, where he falls for a single mom taking classes there.” director=”Marc Lawrence” actor_1=”Hugh Grant” ]
An Oscar-winning writer in a slump leaves Hollywood to teach screenwriting at a college on the East Coast, where he falls for a single mom taking classes there.
