Man of the Year

Man of the Year *1/2

The concept behind "Man of the Year" is simple: What would happen if a comedian became our next president? And in the world that we live in today, it seems like more people follow the preaching of those like Jon Stewart and Al Franken, and express extreme hatred towards our actual political leaders. And this is why it seemed that "Man of the Year" would be a lot of fun. To start it off, it's directed by Barry Levinson, whose political satires have been A+ for years now. Then there is Robin Williams, who when is allowed to be himself through his comedy is legend. And the topics were dead on related to the world we live in. So, what exactly was wrong with "Man of the Year"?

We actually start the story in the middle. In a short introduction, we learn that funny man Tom Dobbs ended up deciding to campaign for President of the United States. On his weekly talk show, he has so many comments towards the way that the country is run, that an audience member simply suggests that he try to make the world better. And so he gets a large van, and begins the campaign tour, never spending a single cent on advertisement. He believes that it doesn't make sense for politicians to spend millions of dollars on a campaign, and then bailing out when it comes to spending money for the "big issues"-education, health care, environmental issues, etc. Come election day, everybody is in for a big surprise when Dobbs ends up winning. That's correct, the country will now be run by a comedian. But that is when Eleanor Green ends up getting suspicious. She works for a company that has just released a new computer form of voting, and she unmasks a conspiracy which reveals that the votes are accidentally organized in a way that for every certain number of votes, the candidate that is alphabetized first ends up getting an unfair advantage. Tom Dobbs does not really deserve to be the president, and she is determined to tell him. However, the company is doing everything that they can to stop her from ruining the company.

"Man of the Year" does not know if it wants to be a comedy or a dramatic thriller, so it decides that it could be both. The first hour, pre election day, is mostly Williams being Williams. Going around, giving speeches, and doing his own comedic rantings, maybe a little more cleaner. During these times, it isn't anywhere near tolerable, but it has one or two funny moments. And then the second hour drifts into much more darker territory, and that is where it lost me completely. There was a drug subplot, car chases, even the cinematography got an entire shade darker. I believe that Dobbs campaign manager ends up getting a heart attack, or comes down with some kind of disease, I can't remember exactly what it was. And there even tries to be some humor in this section, and it doesn't seem to work at all. It goes from thriller to comedy without any flow at all. It simply did not work. I left with the feeling that the original script Levinson wrote was vastly different from the finished product. As if Williams came in mid way, and they decided to make it slightly comedic to fit his profile. "Man of the Year" should have been either

a) A straight comedic political satire about what happens when a comedian goes into office, and how it affects America.
b) A political thriller about the extent that big corporations will go to prevent themselves from being ruined, even if it leaves America in the hands of a comedian to be their leader.

By meshing these two concepts together, Levinson has created a mess of a movie. I suppose that you can say that the problem was the marketing. The commercials and ads advertised this as a straight comedy, which is what I expected. They failed to mention the serious side to it. But even if comedy is what I expected and drama is what I got, that is not the problem. The problem is the flow, and how the thriller portions seems completely out of place. The core of the problem lays in the script. Williams is acceptable, but it's obvious that his best lines were not even in the script. A perfectly fine concept ruined by far too many ideas. This is something that needed to find a genre, and to stick with that genre. And it's a shame, because Levinson needed something after the horror that was "Envy."

The Prestige

The Prestige ***1/2

I would say that it probably isn't the best time to release "The Prestige" as there is the chance that many will confuse it with "The Illusionist," one of the most entertaining films of the year, from last summer. It's easy to see why, basically because both of them explore the world of magicians. But, they are different from beginning to end, with just the occupation of the main characters holding any kind of similarity. While "The Illusionist" was very straight in telling its tale, "The Prestige" is much more complicated, and even had a strange and interesting science fiction twist. This is not your average period piece, and I will admit that there is no way that you will see the last half coming throughout the first. However, it is important to remember that this is not "The Illusionist" and skip it, as it is a well worthwhile film to check out. To start off at first is the steller cast, with Christian Bale at the helm, and Michael Caine in the supporting spotlight. Then there is Hugh Jackman, who I never rave or hate about, but here is an acceptable role, and Scarlet Johansson, who I have found to be a give or take. There are times when she is fantastic in her performance, like "Lost in Translation," and then times where she is simply phoning her performance in(and here I am talking directly to "The Black Dahlia").

The story is pretty simple, with the twists confusing things up towards the end. In the beginning we are introduced to two magicians, Alfred Borden and Rupert Angier. Both of them trained by Mr. Cutter, the two aid in the act of another magician. Angier's wife Julia is a prime feature in one of the tricks, with her being tied up and then put into a large tank of water. The tank is covered by a curtain, and the twist is that she somehow manages to get out alive. However, this trick goes horribly wrong one night, killing Julia, and killing the friendship between Angier and Borden. Angier believes that Borden is responsible, as he might have tied a faulty knot, making it impossible for Julia to break free. Over the next few years, the two magicians set out to ruin one another, by way of their magic tricks. They often show up in the middle of the acts, ruining their tricks and harming them and others. However, Borden ends up creating his own show, and ends up performing what Angier believes is the greatest magic trick ever. He decides that he must find out how it works and copy it, and he enlists in Cutter's help, as well as hiring a new assistant, the lovely Olivia. Angier also begins to work with Nikola Tesla, a scientist who also competing with Edison in the struggle for electricity, and is shocked to discover who Tesla is able to do.

In the end, "The Prestige" does not really have a point. I have thought about it in the weeks since I've seen it, and there is no real moral to the story. But it's damn good storytelling, and it is extremely entertaining and constantly puzzling. I enjoyed every minute of this tale, along with the fine performances and stunning visuals. Then again, I could be biased as magic always intrigues me, as well as magic in movies. It always seems to create a perfect dark atmosphere, as we begin to know the unknown. Michael Caine's character begins the film with a short monologue about every magic trick. They consist of three parts: The Pledge, The Turn, and The Prestige. The first is when the magician presents us with something normal, a box or a cage. And then the second part involves suspending belief, but the real kicker does not come until the third part. Nobody will give a magician credit for making something disappear. The important part is bringing it back. This films structure works in the same way, beginning as an average story of rivalry, and then turning to unexpected ways. We are constantly looking for the secret, and it does not fully explain itself until the very last shot. Pay attention, and listen to Bale's advice in the beginning, and pay close attention. Even small filler scenes, which during the film we think we can just throw away, end up becoming important later on. Christopher Nolan has crafted a very entertaining and fun magic story, which may not be as quick and romantic as "The Illusionist," but will not be forgotten anytime soon.

Requiem

Requiem ***1/2

"Requiem" is based on the story that inspired that Hollywood film last year "The Exorcism of Emily Rose." However, while the story of "Emily Rose" was mostly the court trial that occured after the incident, "Requiem" is the events leading up to that. These are two films that could be seen back to back, as long as you don't mind that the first part is in German and the second part in English. If you don't mind that little detail, than this is a perfect double feature.

"Requiem" slowly tells its tale of Michaela Klingler, a young woman whose past has made it very difficult for her to find a proper education. Every now and then she will come down with a series of epileptic fits. After it subdues for some time, she decides to apply to college. When she gets accepted, it takes a bit of pulling teeth to convince her mother that it is alright for her to go. Her father gives her permission, and Michaela is now going off into the world on her own. It starts off fine, but as the weeks go on she begins to hear voices and see visions. Her roommate comes home multiple times to find Michaela on the floor, passed out. Michaela decides to find help in a greater power, and tells the local priest and family friend about these visions and voices she keeps hearing. While reluctant at first to believe her, the priest eventually sees that Michaela is correct in her assumptions: that she is becoming possessed by a demon greater than her, and decides that he must stop it.

"Requiem" does not tell a tale that we haven't seen before, but it tells it in such perfection. You really are engrossed to everything that happens on screen, and every minute is handled to the point where we could see someone riding a bike for several seconds and not be bored by it. I argue with so many people about why "The Exorcist" isn't very scary, but this is. It is more eerie to find a normal looking girl screaming on the floor because of something that we the viewer can't see, than to see a young girl in green makeup screaming on a bed. Exorcism and demon stories are as old as can be, but "Requiem" is able to tell this story without making us feel like we've seen this before. It is also highlighted by the powerful preformance of Sandra Huller, whose Michaela is constantly naive and reluctant to do anything about her problem. All she wants is to be normal, go to school, go to parties, have a boyfriend, have friends, etc, but what she needs to accept is that this is normal for her. If she was meant to live this life than that might be the path that she needs to go down. This is a film well worth scoping out, tired of exorcisms or not.

Hair High

Hair High ***

"Hair High" is one of those movies where you sit down in the theater, not really knowing anything that is about to happen. It begins, you watch it, you laugh, you open your eyes in shock, you realize that you've never quite seen anything like it before. And then, it's over, you get up, and as your walking away you think to yourself-"What the hell did I just watch?" It is a mind trip, and a journey into the world of animation that is long lost-the world of independent animation. Animation that isn't made for a mass market of people, where it's possible to make crude and adult humor without the Hollywood board getting angry, and the type that is not created by a computer. It's actually handrawn, with obvious stress and tick marks. It is not made to look pretty and perfect, and is what it is, but this is what gives "Hair High" it's charm. If this was a 3-D animation film it would not be as special as it is, but this makes it more personal, and in the end much more effective.

In a nutshell, "Hair High" is a gothic high school comedy, with tons of sex jokes, chicken jokes, violence, guts, blood, gore, and intestines, and then there is still forty five minutes left. In the beginning we are introduced to the school, where everything runs on a certain order. And part of that order is the relationship between Rod and Cherri, the high school jock and that girl in high school whose pants everyone wants to get into. It's the first day of school, and there is a new kid in town, Spud. Spud makes the tragic mistake on the first day of not letting Cherri copy on an exam, and becomes the prime target of Rod. Rod forces Spud to become Cherri's slave for a certain amount of time(I can't remember the exact length). Spud is verbally abused by Cherri, but agrees to the arrangement so that Rod does not beat him up as promised. Over time, Spud and Cherri get to know each other, and of course in time they fall in love. Sadly, they are both killed by Rod on the way to the prom together, and their bones fall into the lake. However, one year later, their bones return once again to gain revenge, and to attend the prom that both of them missed.

"Hair High" is a story of morals, and it's told in a flashback. The film is book ended with scenes of a teenage couple on the way to a prom, stopping at a diner to get some food. They get into a fight, and then learn of how important it is to attend the prom. I still don't understand the actual moral to the story, but then again neither do the characters. There is no way to dislike this film, unless you have been spoiled by the world of computer animation. Fans of the traditional form will find many things to love about this, including how much more personal it is. There is so much more care that goes into a single frame of something like "Hair High" than the entire length of something like "Hoodwinked." And after all, there is not a single scene in "Hoodwinked" that allows us to see someone throw up their intestines, and then have an operation where they are placed back into him again. And it was also amusing to see some big names in this, including Sarah Silverman, Dermot Mulroney, and David Carradine. It's great to see names like that willing to participate in something so underground like this. It's almost promising to know that they are willing.

"Hair High" played at the Two Boots Theatre in Manhattan for a week in mid October. Lucky for me, animator/director/writer Bill Plympton was actually there, and willing to answer any questions. Sadly for me, nobody in the audience had any questions to ask. Hopefully they will show it again at some point, but nonetheless it will be out on DVD in the next few months. Before this feature were two short films by Plympton. They were "Guard Dog," and the sequel "Guide Dog." It is possible to see "Guard Dog," an Oscar nominee, as part of "The Animation Show 2005" and "Guide Dog" is "hopefully going to follow the same path," as quoted by Plympton. I hope so too, as both of these are well worth the effort to try and check out. They are both equally hilarious, and follow similar paths of animation. I wish I could see more films like this.

Running with Scissors

Running with Scissors **

Stupid, silly, melodramatic, and painfully unfunny for every single second along the way, "Running with Scissors" is nothing more than a few decent performances, alongside with a horrible script, and one dimensional characters. Every single character in this film is highlighted by some kind of quirk, and instead of using that quirk to develop the character and define who they are, the quirk is simply used as a quirk. This is the Lifetime TV version of "The Royal Tenenbaums." And there are parts of it that have their laughs, where you don't really mind the horrible excuse for a script, but on the whole it's forgettable, and after its over you realize that you've frowned more than you've laughed, and you've cringed at how awful it is more than you've smiled at how genius it is.

"Running with Scissors" is supposed to be a true story, and the memoirs of Augusten Burroughs, but I'm that some of it has to be a work of fiction. It begins with young Augusten, who is obviously influenced by his mother, Deirdre(Annette Benning), a would be actress who lets him stay home from school often so that she could practice her poetry in front of him. He doesn't get anything from his father, Norman, a holic of the drink and work played by Alec Baldwin. With his parents fighting all the time, Augusten has to live with the notion that they might be getting a divorce, something that is obviously on both of their minds when they go to visit Dr. Finch. Finch is a shrink who doesn't really have any worthy methods up his sleeve to cure people, except to give them as many pills as possible, even those that he doesn't know of. Finch sees the type of situation that Augusten is in at home, and offers Deirdre to house and take care of Augusten during this time. Deirdre hands her son over to the Finches, which turns out to be a much worse idea than it should have been. The Finches are completely crazy, especially with Finch at the helm. His wife, Agnes, doesn't do much but sit on the couch eating dog food. He has two daughters, Hope and Natalie, and Hope is "by far his favorite daughter," something that he does not care about saying in front of his other daughter. Augusten begins to sort through his own life, deciding that he's gay, and beginning an affair with the much older Neil Bookman, another resident of the Finch household. Seeing how screwed up the Finches are, and how damaged he could become by staying there, Augusten wants to return back to his mother. Sadly, Finch has gotten the worse of her as well, as she becomes addicted to his pills, and begins to experiment with other women, all while grateful to not be burdened with the ideas of motherhood.

"Running with Scissors" has brief moments of perfectly acceptable dark comedy, but then it shifts towards drama and this is where it finds it faults. The tone shifts quicker than a rat running down the street, and I couldn't make heads or tails of it. At times it tried to be a dark comedy, and then with the snap of a finger it turns into something that is trying to be more deep and poignant. But it fails at both attempts. These drama scenes are far too melodramatic, and the characters are so unrealistic to the point where I just couldn't care about anything that happened to anyone. All the drama was even accompanied by some of the most unoriginal and dull music I have ever heard. I can give it credit for the performances, though. Brian Cox, especially, as Finch is hilarious, delivering every single line with the perfect amount of deadpan needed. He's the center of everything wacky here, and yet he appears to not let anything bother him at all. One of the funniest scenes here is when he shows Augusten and his mother his masturbatorium, which is in a room off the side of his office. And yes, that is one of the only things, verbatim, that I remember from the entire film. Benning is decent here, and Baldwin steals his small scenes from everyone else, but that's about it. Joseph Fiennes does his role too over the top, and young Joseph Cross as our hero is nothing special. I can't see him going anywhere big anytime soon, and he still has to prove himself. This plays too much like a carbon copy of Wes Anderson of P.T. Anderson, and not even something close to a good one. I don't really know how much of what is in this film actually happened, but if I were Augusten Burroughs I would be angry that my life was turned into a bad version of "The Royal Tenenbaums." Hell, I would wish my life was more like that. . .

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas in Disney Digital 3-D

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas in Disney Digital 3-D ****

Back in 1993, Tim Burton had a vision, and Henry Selick was able to carry out that vision. The result, "The Nightmare Before Christmas," has become one of my favorite movies of all time. A film of such magical proportions, that it is required to watch every single year. I saw it in the theatre when it first came out in 1993, but of course I was too young to remember it. I revisited it on the big screen in 2004 as part of a midnight showing, and now I was able to revisit it, as well as experience it with a whole new generation of viewers, in a 3-D format. It was amusing going into the theatre, and seeing it with such a large crowd of kids that have no idea how old the film is, and how much of an impact it has had on many people. I really do hope that they can enjoy it as much as I do.

"The Nightmare Before Christmas" tells the story of the many different holiday's. They are all divided up in a forest, all inside their own little tree. There is a tree with a Christmas tree on it for Christmas, one with an egg for Easter, and one with a pumpkin for Halloween. And this is the focus of the story, beginning in Halloweentown, where we are introduced to Jack Skellington, the king of the town. After another Halloween, where all the citizens give their best efforts to scare, Jack is tired of the same old thing. He is bored of screams and scares, and believes that there is a place out there better than this town. After a walk in the woods, he spots the forest with all the trees, and is entranced by the Christmastown tree. Jack comes up with a great idea-to bring the concept of Christmas to Halloweentown, and give them all something new and something great! But it goes horribly wrong, as the people of Halloweentown do not know the ideas of being cheerful and jolly, and decide to make this Christmas the most frightening yet. Jack also gets into deeper trouble when he enlists Halloweentown's finest trick or treaters, Lock, Shock, and Barrel, to go and kidnap Santa Claus, which they do. However, they make the mistake of sending him into the lair of Oogie Boogie, the villan of Halloweentown who'll eat Santa before giving him a nice home cooked meal. It'll take the help of Sally, a rag doll creation who secretly loves Jack, to try and talk some sense into him before it is too late.

The 3-D is not amazing, but it does create a clearer image, and any excuse to see "Nightmare" on the big screen is good enough by me. It is such an original tale, with some great musical numbers, brought by the help of Danny Elfman. His singing voice of Jack is brilliant, as are many of the lyrics that he came up with for the songs. It's poetry. "The Nightmare Before Christmas" holds a place very high on my top best films of all time list, and there is no reason to see why not. It is special, and is mandatory viewing for the holiday season as much as "It's a Wonderful Life" and "March of the Wooden Soldiers" are for Thanksgiving. And I also have the honor of being an original viewer, and not like the goths and other teenagers who seemed to try and call this film there own, when most of them probably didn't even hear about it until the late nineties. I've read that this 3-D version of the film is being rereleased in October of 2007, and maybe this could in fact become the yearly tradition that it deserves to be. In a happy twist of fate, the 3-D does not destroy the film, but enhance, and is hopefully appealing to a new set of children who all should experience this the way it deserves to be experienced: right there on the big screen. It should hopefulyl open childrens eyes to the type of animation there was before the world of Nemo and The Incredibles. Instead of computers, "Nightmare" is done in stop motion animation, and this is for the better. I've heard that Disney wanted to make a CGI sequel back in the late nineties, and Tim Burton refused mostly because of the way Disney wanted to make it. I applaud Tim for not wanting to change the way this film is, as the stop motion animation gives it a special charm and a special feeling. A true Halloween/Christmas classic returns, and it's a welcome one at that!

Marie Antoinette

Marie Antoinette ***

If anything, "Marie Antoinette" is an interesting way to tell one of the most commonly mistold stories in all of history. Instead of falling towards the old cliches of the period piece, it does it with a twist. It's as if I were watching history through the lens of a John Hughes movie. I was almost expecting Molly Ringwald to come out in a long white dress, with her hair sticking straight up, and a feather in her hair. But then I guess this is what I could expect from Sofia Coppola, who returns from the great "Lost in Translation" to tell another story, a true one, about alienation, and what it means to be away from home. In the end, I cannot really tell if I enjoyed "Marie Antoinette" or not. One thing is for certain: I admired the way Coppola decides to tell her story, and how she strips away from all the common historical storytelling methods and really attempts to use her own voice.

"Marie Antoinette" begins with an opening title sequence that I saw when I saw "Legally Blonde." A whole bunch of pink letters to the tune of some type of 70's punk music. We are then introduced to the title character, an Austrian princess who is brought from Vienna to Versailles to marry the heir to the throne, Louis Auguste, as a way to unify Austria and France. The only way to do that is through a marriage, and the only way to have a proper marriage is for it to be consummated. In the opening scenes, Marie is stripped of everything related to her former life, including her dog and her clothes, and she enters the world where everything is a ritual. There are even rituals to getting something to drink. The two have a rocky relationship, and after many awkward dinners do they even begin to speak to one another.

"I hear that you make keys as a hobby. . ." Marie mentions to him at dinner.
"Yes," Louis answers.
"Do you enjoy making keys?"
"Obviously."

That is pretty much the extent to any of their talks. To make matters worse, the two do not even have sex to conceive a proper heir. In reality, they don't end up consummating the marriage until seven years in. Every morning, Marie's crew and servants gathers around her bed to find some kind of evidence to intercourse, but always walk away disappointed. Tragedy occurs, and Marie and Louis end up becoming the King and Queen of France, which means that luck is not in their favor. They are far too young to be concerned with issues that a king and queen must face. Marie begins to unleash her energy by throwing elaborate parties, and spending money on shoes and wigs and other outlandish fashions. Sadly, the country is in enough debt as it is, and with the American Revolution underway, there are many better things that need to be concerned about than what Marie wants. She gains the nickname "Queen of Debt," and is hated by almost everyone in the land.

The first hour and a half of "Marie Antoinette" are long shots of Marie just being herself-getting adjusted to life, attending events, trying to lay her husband, shopping, etc. The French Revolution, and any type of serious political element are an afterthought, not even mentioned until the third act. But this is perfectly acceptable. This is the story of Marie, a young woman who is forced to go into this life that she is not ready for. I am also glad that they end it before she is beheaded, but am a little upset at the very last shot, which is unneeded. The film would have had a more final and more haunting ending, until Coppola decided to take on one single frame of something more. It's strange how something so little could change something in a great way.

Coppola has a specific reason for doing everything she does. While watching the cast list, you would be amazed at some of the players. First there is Kirsten Dunst, who I really have no problem with, but seeing actors like Jason Schwartzman, Rip Torn, and Molly Shannon in big wigs and elaborate outfits seems strange. And it is strange. I really would have never pictured King Louis XV being portrayed by Rip Torn. I also would have never imagined Bow Wow Wow's "I Want Candy" being played in a period piece during a montage of dinners and parties and desserts. But Coppola is trying to make a point by telling a story that is commonly mistold, and telling it in a way that nobody would have ever expected. Many period pieces are nothing like things actually happened. The people of the past did many of the things we do today: spread gossip, go shopping with groups of friends, and talk about the latest things. They wanted to keep up with the latest fads and trends as much as people today do. And so, she creates a caricature of most historical films, by casting Rip Torn and Molly Shannon, and putting in music from the 70's and the 80's in place of string quartets and violins. Some of it seemed out of place at times, but I admired what Coppola was doing, and was glad to see that she was making a stand against the cliches of Hollywood. She is really a unique voice, even if she does things I can't agree with most of the time.

And the sets. Oh the sets! There is so much beauty in the sets. Coppola even shot in Versailles, and brought so much life to this world she created. From the costumes to the interiors. The pastel colors-the emphasis on pink. There is one shot of Marie and her friends trampling along in the grass as the sun is coming up. It is that perfect time of night, where the night is still here but the day is on its way. Everything is peaceful, and Coppola simply basks in this image of them all. There is really a hour and fifteen minute long film here that she extends simply for the sake of showing the world's beauty. It certainly is a visual masterpiece, if anything. "Marie Antoinette" is memorable in the fact that it is special. I wouldn't go out and give it any awards, except maybe for set design, etc, but it is admirable. It is a fine effort by Coppola, and one that should be considered instead of dismissed. If you accept what she's done instead of making fun of it, it really is an enjoyable experience. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this film.

Driving Lessons

Driving Lessons ***

At this time in my life I am learning how to drive, figurately and literally. With the road test for my license only a few days away, I am starting to learn the rules and regulations for getting around the city in a car. The amount of seconds required to stop at a stop sign, how to park correctly, etc. And then as I get older and older, I am starting to figure out how to get through life as if I were driving. There are certain things you do, and then many things that you do not do, and if you do not have a good teacher, then there could be a few crashes along the way. "Driving Lessons" is no coming of age story that we haven't seen before. In fact, the script seems like it was written based on a whole bunch of stories from the based all spliced into one. However, you can call me a sucker, but I loved it. It ended up being sweet and charming, with a great preformance by Julie Walters which should be remembered come award season. It is by no means a landmark film, and in about a year or two it probably will not be remembered at all, but for the moment it is worth seeing on a rainy day.

"Driving Lessons" stars Ruper Grint, who plays Ron in the "Harry Potter" movies, as a normal seventeen year old boy. No magic powers here, but he probably wishes he had some. He plays Ben Marshall, who is learning how to drive from his mother, Laura, played by Laura Linney. Laura is overbearing, and she is constantly worried about the well being of her son. Some could say that she is overprotective and crazy, or they could say that she just doesn't want to lose him. Ben's mother takes in homeless and needy people, and her latest project is Mr. Fincham. She suggests that Ben get a job to help Mr. Fincham, and Ben begins to look. He finds a promising advertisement about helping an old actress, named Evie. Ben gets the job, and begins caring for her from ten to five every day, every now and then having to go run erronds. But his real main job is to keep her company. One day Evie wants to go on a little trip to Scotland, and events happen where she ends up eating the car key to get back home. Now Ben is stuck, with no way of getting home and no way to contacting his mother. On the road he begins to learn about himself and about his relationships with others. He grows up on his trip to Scotland and back, about what is really worth valuing, and what is really worth crashing.

Julie Walters is fantasic as Evie, and her rantings and dialogues are hilarious and delivered perfectly. "Driving Lessons" should appeal to a wide range of audience, which is why I believe that much of the dialouge was cleaned up for the United States release. There were quite a few swears, but I could tell that they also dubbed over quite a few more. I guess an R for this would not suffice at all, and its better. This is something everybody should try and check out. It is a warm and funny, sweet and charming, bitter and yet wonderful. I could hear some comparisons to "Harold and Maude" just in the way that there is a relationship between a young boy and an old woman, but there is nothing similar besides that little detail. There is no hint at a romantic relationship between the two, just one where they both need each other. Evie is lonely and needs a friend, while Ben is the same. He just can't really see it yet. He navigates through life under the wing of his mother, and finds through this world that there is something better out there, and something that is not as much of a burden. Between "Driving Lessons" and "Keeping Mum," is it apparent that the British still reign supreme when it comes to comedy.

Sleeping Dogs Lie

Sleeping Dogs Lie **1/2

"Sleeping Dogs Lie" is a whimsical little dark comedy, but eventually gets a little too contrived and obvious to have any effect. There were many times where I was too aware that I was watching a movie, and it also becomes obvious, especially towards the end, that many scenes and characters were nothing more than plot devices, which I could not care about at all. At it's moral core, it is about keeping your mouth shut when it doesn't need to be open, not just for your sake, but for the sake of others as well. There are some secrets that just are not meant to be told, ever. Total honesty is impossible, as there is always somebody who is going to be negatively affected by it. But then again, isn't it morally correct to be able to be open and honest with some people?

That is the predicament faced by Amy, who appears to be living life on the easy lane. She is a kindergarten teacher, who has a great friend and confidant at work. Her parents basically worship the ground that she walks on, and to top it off she is now engaged to her boyfriend, John. Everything is seemingly perfect, until it comes to the point where she wonders if she should let John know all aspects of her life. And this includes telling him a horrible and disgusting dark secret from when she was in college, all alone except with her dog. She has never told anybody this before, and begins to ask her family for advice. It turns out that everybody has a secret, and it is just better to keep your mouth shut than blab. For example, Amy's father thinks that he is the only man that was ever intimate with his wife, but it turns out that years and years ago her mother was quite the celebrity groupie, even having special moments with Elvis Presley. But Amy decides to tell John what she did, and when she does it sets off a chain of events which slowly destroy every positive relationship she had with her entire family.

The secret that Amy is hiding throughout is revealed in the first three minutes of the film, but I refuse to give it away for shock value. While it is pretty gross and sick, it is the most offensive part in the whole thing. Many will be surprised by how much drama is really here, and it works for the most part. The setup for "Sleeping Dogs Lie" is very good and very funny. It is into the third act where things begin to get a little formulaic. Amy begins a relationship with Ed, her teacher friend at the school she works in, and that is where it lost me. Ed is married, and of course, at the time of Amy's crisis, he is having problems with his wife and will probably get divorced. And then when she and him fight, she eventually comes to her senses and when she is about to profess her love for him, he of course ends up getting back together with his wife. It all became a little bit too obvious, and didn't have the cynical sense of humor from the first half. I also must mention Brian Posehn, whose name you probably don't know but you would recognize. He is one of those actors that is in almost every movie, but you can never pin down. He only appears in about two scenes but steals every single one of them with his casual and down to earth behavior. There is a small speech about midgets and monkeys that is not really very funny, but his delivery makes it memorable. He needs to get out there more. "Sleeping Dogs Lie" is a worthy dark comedy, but it lost me in the end when it becomes a standard romance film. For the most part I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't go out of my way to see it.

The Grudge 2

The Grudge 2 *

If there is anything good to say about the sequel to the 2004 hit film "The Grudge" is that it surpasses the original. But the many bad things to say about it could begin with the fact that the original film did not raise the bar very high. I hated "The Grudge," and now I hate "The Grudge 2," and if they have the nerve to make a third film, it could go down as one of the worst horror trilogies in the history of film. There is nothing more standard, and nothing more Hollywood formula than watching these films. The set up is always exactly the same. Someone is walking around, the music gets higher, and higher, the tension builds, and then suddenly. . . .oh thank God, it's just a cat, everything is fine. . . Oh no! And then there is a useless scene where some kind of plot is fleshed out, and then back to the beginning again. It was like that for the first one, and now it's like that for the second one, and both of them have almost no story worth telling, and no story worth watching.

But I'll explain the story, if that is even possible. We get to catch up on Karen, played by Sarah Michelle Geller from the first one, and I guess she signed herself out of ever doing another "Grudge" movie. Not twenty minutes is does Karen throw herself off the hospital window to escape from a creepy female ghost with really long hair, and then her sister decides to make her to mission to find out why. Her sister, Aubrey, is apprehensive about this, as her and her sister had a falling out about a year ago. But her mother, who seems to completely hate her second daughter, convinces her to do otherwise. Aubrey begins the investigation at the house that seems to cause all the problems, and the most haunted house in all of Japan. Recently it was where Allison, a high school student at an all girl school, had a practical joke played on by the two school bullies. As usual, I can't understand why the nice girl character wants to take any part in the group of the popular girls, but she does, and when the bullies lock her up in the closet, Allison realizes that the rumors of the house are not rumors, but true. A scary ghost lady comes out of the ceiling and starts to make sounds with her throat! No! It turns out that this ghost lady was killed years ago in the grip of a powerful rage, and it started a curse which stays in the house forever. Whoever comes in is affected, and now that three girls were affected, the curse will go wherever they go. The curse enters an apartment building where Trish, played by Jennifer Beals, is moving in with her boyfriend and his two children. But soon Trish starts to act funny, going through the rituals of cooking eggs and sausage only to dump the boiling hot pan over her boyfriends head. Something strange is going on in all of Japan, and not a single soul is safe. Uh-oh. . .

"The Grudge 2" tries to be more clever and more scary than it really is, but instead it is a silly little excuse for a horror film. Instead of scares it is just a bunch of annoying sounds. The main sound that the ghost makes whenever it enters a room is done by throwing back you're throat and exhaling. Everybody can do it, and it's only annoying in the loud theater. There was another sound by a possessed character, which instead of scary, sounded like somebody groaning after they've eaten a bad clam. I just can't understand the cheap thrills and silly story that is never explained or developed. The film makers just try to install fear into the viewer, and fall in each and every way. This is poorly done, and a complete waste of time. I envied Sarah Michelle Geller for dying twenty minutes in, as she didn't have to be a part of this horrible waste of time. It even tried to surprise us with a few twists, if you could even call them that. I think I figured it out about ten minutes it, and to make things even worse, the films explanation is in the main credits. I cannot think of any reason to ever see this trash. Horror continues to be dead, and it's running out of second chances.

Tideland

Tideland ****

"Tideland" is by far the most creepy film I've ever seen. This is true horror, and not that manufactured stuff that comes out of Hollywood every few weeks or so. This is true terror, mainly because it takes one of the most magical things of all, and turns it into fright: innocence. "Tideland" is all from the perspective of a happy, little girl, who is innocent to all of the horrible, dreadful, and screwed up things around her. And as much as it is depressing, scary, and sad, it's also one of the most imaginative and wonderful films I've seen of late. And it's not wonder that it comes from Terry Gilliam, who has one of the most original minds of this generation. After all, he did make "Brazil" and the animation in Monty Python. His new film is somewhat of a labor of love. Always shunned by Hollywood studios, Gilliam finally gets creative control over his work, and "Tideland" does not have any boundaries. This film crosses the line, and then some.

"Tideland" begins with an actual introduction by Gilliam, who reminds the viewer that some will love the film, some will hate it, and some will not know what to make of it. A perfect assessment, as there are many varied opinions over this. We are then introduced to Jeliza-Rose, a little girl of about seven who lives in one of the worst environments a child can be in. Her father, a falling rock star played by Jeff Bridges, and mother, an even worse example played by Jennifer Tilly, are both junkies. Their daughter is oblivious to this part of them, not knowing what heroin is, and she even ends up making their fixes. Jeliza keeps herself busy playing with four puppets, which are really dolls heads which have separated from the bodies of their owners a long time ago. After an overdose, her mother dies on the bed, and her father brings Jeliza-Rose to the prairie where he grew up, paranoid about what will happen if anyone finds the dead body. Jeliza's luck does not get better, as her father ends up dying from an overdose soon after, dying in a chair right in the middle of the living room. Jeliza understands that whenever her father does this, he is going on what he calls "vacation," and she never catches on that he is dead at all. Days later she continues to talk to his rotting corpse, which does not get any better in the living room. Jeliza continues her travels around the area, eventually meeting Dell and Patrick, a supposed wish and her sexually frustrated mentally challenged brother who believes that a train that comes by every now and then is giant shark, who end up making things even worse.

It's very difficult to describe what else happens in "Tideland" from here, as most of it I wasn't even able to catch on. It is one long rambling scene, so it seems, never pausing to take a breather and never stopping to enjoy itself. Instead it goes from scene to scene, moment to moment, and slowly gets more and more screwed up. Jeliza goes through all of this horror, but it never gets to her. She is amused by it. The innocence of being a child blinds her to everything around her. She talks to her fathers rotting body as if he is alive, wants to "make love" to Patrick, and even watches Dell give oral sex to the newspaper boy who needs his payment, but never fully registers any of it. And this is the happy part of "Tideland," and we imagine a world where we can experience all of this horror and hurt, and never have to deal with any of it because it doesn't matter. But then there is the depressing part, which hits you in the middle of the third act like a rock on the head. Jeliza is all alone in the world. Her parents are both dead, and she is stuck in the middle of the prairie with a crazy woman and a mentally challenged man. She has nothing and nobody, and we know that one day this innocence will somewhat disappear and she will have to come to terms with her life. Luckily for us, Gilliam does not leave us with a somber ending, and provides some sort of closure, and gives a happy ending of some sort.

The performances are fine. Jeff Bridges is a Gilliam vet, from "The Fisher King", and even though he is dead for most of the film, his life scenes were a lot of fun as well. Jennifer Tilly is amusing, and Janet McTeer is interesting as always. But the focus of the film is Jordelle Ferland as Jeliza Rose, who is a very special screen talent. I really do wonder if she knew the extent of this film while she was making it, but she does understand her character and captures innocence perfectly. She brings the heart and soul to the work, and she gives us hope when we finally have given up on life. She manages to swim slowly through each event, not a care in the world except maybe about where her doll heads went.

"Tideland" is indeed a horror film, but a beautiful one at that. This is the type of horror that we need around, and the only horror worth a damn. Not horror where we are introduced to big scary monsters and ghosts that jump out every now and then. No, horror needs to be more human, and characters with disturbing lives doing their best. And while "Tideland" doesn't often go for realism, but when does Gilliam do, it is an engrossing story of a child, and what childhood will do to you. Not everybody will like this movie. Many will be annoyed by the pace of storytelling, and the fact that not everything is explained. Gilliam is the type of director that likes to leave a lot to the imagination, often showing many scenes and images that don't seem to make sense, and where you have to really think about them. He is extremely creative, and simply wants to be able to make the film that he wants to make, which is very hard in Hollywood, especially now. But it is hard to sit through, and that might turn many off, and yet it is the truth that this is one of the best films that you will probably never see. I say that you try it out, and give it a chance. It is certainly one of the most unusual things you will ever see, and nobody could make this except for Gilliam. One of the most original pieces of work that I have ever seen."Tideland" stayed with me long after I left the theatre.