Iron Man 3

ACTION/ADVENTURE

The Demons We Create

8.5 out of 10 | Movie and DVD

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Rated: PG-13 Sequences of intense sci-fi action violence throughout, and brief suggestive content
Release Date: May 3, 2013
Runtime: 2 hours 20 minutes

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Director: Shane Black
Writers: Shane Black, Drew Pearce
Cast: Robert Downey, Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Ben Kingley, Rebecca Hall, Jon Favreau, James Badge Dale, Stephanie Szostak, Paul Bettany, William Sadler, Ty Simpkins, Miguel Ferrer

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SYNOPSIS:  After the events in New York City fight off the alien attack alongside Captain America, Hulk, Thor, Hawkeye and Black Widow, Tony Stark's world is further torn apart by a formidable terrorist called the Mandarin. After those he holds dear are put into jeopardy, Stark starts an odyssey of rebuilding and retribution.

REVIEW: Shane Black re-invented the action genre with his screenplay for Mel Gibson's Lethal Weapon. After writing The Long Kiss Goodnight, Black slipped into the background for a period of time before he and Robert Downey, Jr. on the 2005 Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. That film may have been the catalyst that reintroduced both into A-list territory again. Now they collaborate again, with writing efforts from Drew Pearce (the upcoming Pacific Rim), with the fourth adventure of the armored avenger named Iron Man.

The alien attack on New York City from a wormhole connected to the other side of the galaxy is over. The Avengers have disbanded for the moment. Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr., The Avengers), still suffering from the aftermath of the battle and his near death experience, finds he can not sleep and finds himself spending sleepless nights making new Mark armors. Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow, Contagion) has moved in with Stark at his Malibu ocean front home, with her and Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau, Identity Thief) working at Stark Industries. Colonel James Rhodes (Don Cheadle, Flight) still pilots the War Machine suit, repainted and renamed the Iron Patriot as it serves the United States' interests.  AIM think tank director Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce, Prometheus) approaches Pepper with the idea of rewriting the human DNA structure for healing people, but she worries that the technology is too easily concerted to a weaponized version. All the while, United States President Ellis (William Sadler, Man on a Ledge) and Vice President Rodriguez (Miguel Ferrer, The Manchurian Candidate) deal with a new terrorist threat in the form of The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley, The Dictator), a man who hi-jacks the airwaves with announcements of America's corruption and need for cleansing fire. When a bomb blast puts Happy in a coma, Tony declares to the public that The Mandarin is in Iron Man's vengeful cross-hairs. Tony's public announcement sets off a chain reaction of destruction and damage that tests the limits of both the Iron Man suit and Tony's determination and abilities.

Tony Stark has come a long way from his abduction and captivity in the desert under the thumb of the Ten Rings. He has endured threats from within his own company and threats by his own government. Now a hero in the eyes of the nation, he must deal with internal demons revolving around his own insecurities against defending against the unknown, and new international terrorist threats that strike too close to his own home and family. Insomnia and anxiety rule his life, even with the support of Pepper.

Shane Black brings a different dynamic and tone to the third solo Iron Man adventure. Pulling his source from the 'Extremis' storyline, Black and Pearce create a modern villain to put in Tony Stark's path, coupling that hidden threat with the public face of Iron Man's most famous nemesis, The Mandarin. Tony Stark must face overwhelming powerful enemies, face questions about his own mortality against the likes of gods, aliens, and monsters, and face the fact that even with all of his armor he must rely on his own guile and wit. In the first two Iron Man films, Stark's genius created the Mark suits to win the day. In Iron Man 3, the power of the suits in simply not enough - no matter how smart Stark is.

Robert Downey, Jr. shows again why there is no other choice to fill the Mark suits as Tony Stark. Its not just the designer sunglasses and well groomed facial hair. Downey, Jr. has the humor, physicality, snark, and range to put Tony through all of his paces. Jon Favreau acts his namesake as Happy Hogan, happy to be an actor instead of pulling directing duties as well. He even gets to play detective for a bit. Paltrow shows she is not just a pretty face, donning the Iron Man suit on one occasion and kicking serious butt in another. Guy Pearce is at his slick, charismatic best as the rival genius Killian to Stark, taking Iron Man 2's Justin Hammer and adding a more beautiful exterior and a more mad scientist interior. Ben Kingsley, who may never hear the end of it from the devotee fans of the comics about his interpretation of The Mandarin, brings the Iron Man villain to an all-too-real modern era as a terrorist, losing the powers of the alien rings that the comics' Mandarin relied on to face the armored avenger. Rebecca Hall (Everything Must Go) joins the cast as bio-geneticist Maya Hansen. 
Joining the bad guys, James Badge Dale (The Grey) plays Killian #2 thug Savin and Stephanie Szostak (We Bought a Zoo) plays soldier Brandt. Paul Bettany (Priest) returns as the trusty A.I. servant Jarvis, and Ty Simpkins (Insidious) plays young Harley Keener, a kid that seems to set off Tony's anxieties with a couple simple questions.

Shane Black plays with a 70s motif and sensibility, making Tony Stark deal with a mystery that he may not be able to solve with computer models and simulations - or his powerful armor. Part Bourne Identity, part Mission: Impossible, part I Spy, Stark deals with a threat as fluid as Cold War tension and as real as Modern Era terrorism. Stay through the graphic end credits for the retro style and music to end cap Black's tone. Also stay until the end for an Easter egg scene. It's not as geek-tastic as some of the sequences we have seen in the past, but it is amusing.

Iron Man 3 is a different machine from previous outings. A little more serious than Favreau's films, this sequel has everything we have come to expect, and more. The only thing missing is the AC/DC soundtrack.

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Lawless

The Good Fight

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Rated: R  Some sexuality/nudity, language and strong bloody violence
Release Date: August 29, 2012
Runtime:  1 hour 55 minutes

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Director: John Hillcoat
Writers: Nick Cave, from the novel by Matt Bondurant
Cast:  Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Jason Clarke, Guy Pearce, Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowska, Dane DeHaan, Gary Oldman

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SYNOPSIS:  In 1931 Depression-era Prohibition Franklin County, three bootlegging brothers' business is threatened by a new special deputy targeting moonshining operations in the hills of Virginia.

REVIEW: Director John Hillcoat, known for the bleak apocalyptic Cormac McCarthy adaptation The Road, return with another adaptation from multi-talented Nick Cave (The Proposition) based on the novel 'The Wettest County in the World' by Matt Bondurant. Looking at Depression moonshining based on the actual lives of three real-life brothers should make for fine drama. 

In 1931 Franklin County, Virginia, three brothers make their living distilling 'White Lightning' moonshine in the rural foothills. Led by Forrest Bondurant (Tom Hardy, The Dark Knight Rises), a man who cheated and overcame death in both the Great War and a bout of fever that took the lives of both of the brothers' parents, he remains a quiet but stern businessman of the local alcohol trade. Older bear of a brother Howard (Jason Clarke, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps) like the product a little too much but is devoted to his brethren. Younger brother and runt of the litter Jack (Shia Lebeouf, Transformers: Dark of the Moon) looks to follow in his brother's footsteps but lacks the stature and intestinal fortitude to do what sometimes must be done. Operating without problems from the local constables, the Bondurant brothers suddenly find themselves up against sterner authorities in the guise of special deputy Charlie Rakes (Guy Pearce, Lockout) who looks to shut down all of the stills operating in the back wood Virginia hillside. Unwilling to back down, the Bondurant clan continue to distill the illegal alcohol while the other moonshiners are bought out or run out. While Forrest deals with keeping what he has, Jack starts running his own part of the business and making enough money to buy fancy cars and clothes, and try to woe the beautiful daughter of a town minister named Bertha (Jessica Chastain, The Help).

What could have been just another drawn out early 20th Century period drama, turns into a gripping character-driven tale of loyalty, power, and love. With great performances by Tom Hardy, Guy Pearce, and the rest of the cast, plus a phenomenal story from Nick Cave from the Matt Bondurant, Lawless will entertain and enthrall.

At the end of the second decade of the Twentieth Century, the United States government decides that the ills of the country were due to the evils of alcoholic spirits, passing the Amendment to the Constitution for Prohibition. As the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression tore through the country, those with the strength of character and convictions were able to remain or become successful in spite, and because, of the decisions of the government. Bootlegging and moonshining became the cornerstone of prosperity for both those who produced the spirits and those who sold them, and survival for those who consumed them.

Taking place in the the hills of Virginia, the opening shot pans over the luscious orange, red, and golds tree tops of the forests of the commonwealth. An old Ford truck rumbles down a single lane dirt road and Shia LeBeouf's character Jack sits behind the wheel of the old jalopy filled with White Lightning. In voice-over, Jack describes his brothers and the business they share. As they travel through the county, selling crates of mason jars filled with moonshine to both the locals and the local constables, we get a glimpse that maybe selling moonshine during Prohibition is not as illegal and detrimental to the country's morals as it was supposed to be. The cinematography is sweeping and gorgeous, adding a beauty to a story that at times is bloody and hard.

The performances are exceptional. Tom Hardy's Forrest Bondurant is both eloquent and quiet, saying more with a clenched-jaw stare and a 'hmmm' than long monologues. Shia's Jack, the center of the story in some regard, shows he carry himself with characters other than talking robots. Guy Pearce, as the special deputy Charlie Rakes appointed by the Commonwealth of Virginia, presents his character as a Chicago operative who fancies the finer things in life, has a perchance for wearing gloves, and has no problem getting his hands dirty. Jessica Chastain and Mia Wasikowska bring a softness and maturnal climate to the brother's, Jessica as the minister's daughter that Jack tries to woe and Mia as the displaced Chicago showgirl who just wants to find a more quiet life. Dane Dehaan stumbles through life as the Bondurant Brothers' mechanic and gimpy boy Cricket with a heart of gold. And Gary Oldman cameos as the crime boss Floyd Banner, both friend and foe to the back-woods bootleggers.

Lawless is a fine period drama, corner stoned by superior performances by everyone on the cast, strong stark visuals, and a solid story. Violent and beautiful, Lawless entertains and enthralls. The brothers may be outlaws, but their loyalty to each other is beyond the rules.

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WORTH:  Matinee or DVD

Prometheus IMAX 3D

Faith and Exploration

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Rated: R  Brief language, sci-fi violence and some intense images
Release Date: June 8, 2012
Runtime:  2 hrs 3 mins

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Director: Ridley Scott
Writers: Jon Spaihts, Damo Lindelof
Cast:  Noomi Rapace, Logan Marshall-Green, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, Idriz Elba, Guy Pearce, Rafe Spall

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SYNOPSIS: A team of scientists, thinking they have discovered a common link across several non-overlapping civilizations, travel to the farthest reaches of the universe to find its source, only to discover that what they find might be the end of mankind instead of its beginnings.

REVIEW: Visionary director Ridley Scott, who brought us Harrison Ford's Blade Runner, Russell Crowe's Gladiator, and Josh Hartnett's Black Hawk Down, returns to his sci-fi roots with a new entry in the Alien universe. The Darkest Hour scribe Jon Spaihts co-writes the film with Lost and Cowboys and Aliens writer Damon Lindelof. Both are familiar with aliens to some extent, but can their work compare to the mythos that Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusett, and Ridley Scott created in the 1979 sci-fi masterpiece?

In 2078 Scotland, scientists Elizabeth Shaw (Noomi Rapace, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows) and Charlie Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green, Devil) discover indisputable proof that separate non-overlapping civilizations throughout history share similar glyphs that point to a M-class planet in a star system too far away to have been known. Years later, Shaw and Holloway are funded by the limitless wealth of Peter Weyland to travel for two years in cryo-sleep to reach the planet they consider to be where alien architects created humanity. Aboard the scientific vessel Prometheus, Weyland Industries created android David (Michael Fassbender, Haywire) watches over the statis-induced scientists and crew until their arrival to the planet. Company representative Meredith Vickers (Charlize Theron, Snow White and the Huntsman) runs the operation for the scientific team with Captain Janek (Idris Elba, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance) helming the ship. Once awake and briefed, they discover man-made structures that warrant investigation. A scout team including Shaw, Holloway, the android David, medical officer Ford (Kate Dickie, Game of Thrones), geologist Fifield (Sean Harris, A Lonely Place to Die), and biologist Millburn (Rafe Spall, Anonymous) venture inside the mound. Finding a labyrinth of tunnels, strange chambers with stranger pedestals, and 2,000 year dead giant aliens. Soon, scientific fervor, blind faith and hidden corporate agendas look to change their fortunate discovery of the possible genesis of mankind into a countdown to the end of humanity as they know it.

True to the franchise he created and that spawned three sequels, Ridley Scott directs a sci-fi film that slowly builds in story and intense suspense. Striking the line between unwavering faith and scientific curiosity, the obvious question must be asked. If these aliens visited earth several times during several ancient civilizations, did they span humanity as a species? If they indeed engineer mankind, why hadn't modern society witnessed first-hand evidence of their existence? Shaw searches for the truth using both her faith and her science. Holloway, who loves Shaw, lacks the religious faith but compensates with the obsession of asking the 'gods' of the reasons why they created humanity, and why they eventually abandoned humanity. Bank-rolling the expedition, Weyland Industries led by the late Peter Weyland (Guy Pearce, Lockout) and the on-site Vickers are really just looking to find something to profit from.

There is much speculation crashing through the surfs of the internet whether this Ridley Scott film is truly a prequel to the Alien anthology or just another film in the same universe. And based on other electronic reports, even Joss Whedon's Firefly-class Serenity and her crew led by Captain Malcolm 'Mal' Reynolds seem to exist in the same universe as the Company eventually revealed as Weyland. Based on Whedon's pilot, Firefly exists in the year 2517 where Weyland Industries has become Weyland-Yutani Corporation. So much speculation breeds so much doubt. In the Prometheus trailers, it seems too similar to the original Alien film that the alien trying to launch the crescent-shaped spacecraft  in Prometheus is one and the same as the one found by the scout crew of the Nostromo. Other than that, I cannot say without spoiling the film in the affirmative or the negative.

What is also similar to the Alien anthology is the presence of a strong female character. In Prometheus, we are graced by two woman with the strength of their convictions. Noomi Rapace of the original version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo shows that she has both gentle faith and raw determination as Shaw. Countering Rapace is Charlize Theron and her secretive and iron-fisted Vickers who proves she is as determined as Shaw, but for different reasons. With respect to the resident android Ash played by Ion Holms in the original film, Michael Fassbender echoes a beautiful stoic performance as the robotic son the late Peter Weyland always wanted. He embodies both the best parts of Ash and Lance Henriksen's Bishop. The rest of the cast follows the concise formula of characterization that Ridley Scott is known for, although I am still partial to the performances of Tom Skerritt, Harry Dean Stanton, and Yaphet Kotto, but the always enjoyable Idris Elba comes close.

Prometheus is a perfect addition to an already richly storied film series. Ridley Scott, inspired by H.R. Giger's intense designs, created an alien mythos in his 1979 science fiction classic. James Cameron came along in 1986 and flipped the script by reinventing the series with an expanded Ripley character, more aliens, and a cargo hold full of firepower. Fight Club's David Fincher turned the tables yet again by stripping away most of the baggage of the previous film, adding a prison and introducing more understanding of the symbiotic alterations that the geno-morphing alien undergoes. Jean-Pierre Jeunet tried to recapture some of the Cameron and Fincher magic with a resurrected Ripley, a claustrophobic space station, and freaky sideshow of genetic manipulation, but ended up with a weaker version of any of what came before. Now, with Prometheus, Scott ensures that what he created will continue to have a life of its own. Coming in at two hours and three minutes, Ridley takes his time building to a hell of a climatic conclusion. Gorgeously rendered environments and new evidence of a unknown species makes this trip to space worthwhile.

Prometheus is a sci-fi film filled with story, intensity and suspense. Scott creates a new world in his same Alien universe, embarking on a new adventure of science, faith, religion and questions of the genesis of our existence and origins. If we were created by an alien race, what does that say about us and our beliefs? And if aliens created us, who created them?


NOTE: Stay to the end for a poster by Weyland Industries, or just go to http://www.weylandindustries.com/timeline.

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WORTH: Matinee and BluRay

Lockout

Not Necessarily A Life Sentence

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Rated: PG-13  Some sexual references, intense sequences of action, language and intense sequences of violence
Release Date: April 13, 2012
Runtime: 1 hr 35 mins

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Director: James Mather, Stephen St. Leger
Writers:  James Mather, Stephen St. Leger, Luc Besson
Cast: Guy Pearce, Maggie Grace, Vincent Regan, Joseph Gilgun, Lennie James, Peter Stormare, Peter Hudson, Tim Plester

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SYNOPSIS: An ex-CIA operative is wrongfully accused of killing another agent, but is offered his freedom if he can rescue the President's daughter from the midst of a violent takeover by inmates in an orbiting super maximum prison.

REVIEW: Writer and directors James Mather and Stephen St. Leger, known for various short films including Prey Alone, take an original story idea from action writer/director Luc Besson. Known for films including Leon: The Professional and The Fifth Element, Besson has written screenplays or treatments for others to great effect, most notably Liam Neeson's Taken and Jason Statham's Transporter franchise. Can his original idea, concept, and screenplay build the same adrenaline rush as his earlier work under the direction of Mather and St. Leger?

Ex-CIA operative Snow (Guy Pearce, Seeking Justice) assists in an operation where he was serving as a back-up to an old agent friend. When the mission goes south, Snow is arrested for murder and summarily sentenced to a 'pilot program' super maximum prison set high in earth's orbit. When President Warnock's (Peter Hudson, Hitman) daughter Emilie (Maggie Grace, Taken) and prison staff are taken hostage by an inmate Emilie was interviewing, Snow is offered the opportunity to gain his freedom if he is makes it aboard the prison space station, finds Emilie alive and well, and gets her out of harm's way. Standing in Snow's way are self-righteous CIA supervisor Langral (Peter Stomare, Premonition), a vicious, tattooed, unpredictable inmate named Hydell (Joseph Gilgun, Screwed), and a formidable inmate leader named Alex (Vincent Regan, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance). His only allies are his partner Mace (Tim Plester, Kick-Ass) and a sympathetic CIA agent named Shaw (Lennie James, The Next Three Days).

Lockout covered a lot of ground as the maximum security prison drifts in high orbit above the earth. With closed and confined spaces of the space station itself, the snarky Snow is a pumped-up version of Bruce Willis' John McClane from Die Hard. Add in the lone good guy Snow versus criminals in space and you have a nod of the hat to Sean Connery's 1981 Outland. Look at a member of the First Family in a tight situation in a thug-infested chaotic locale with only one man available with the brawn, brains, and motivation to get the mission done, and you have Kurt Russell's Snake Plissken from Escape from New York. Moving the action to an orbiting space prison allows for plenty of room to move around, with the vacuum of space allowing for limited escape options.

Guy Pearce has always been a favorite of mine, since Chris Nolan's unforgettable Memento and Curtis Hanson's noir L.A. Confidential. In Lockout, Pearce adds mounds of muscles to his normally trim frame in order to carry the weight of this high-drifting action adventure movie on his shoulders. With scathing and juvenile retorts to all comers, Pearce's Snow manages to illicit punches to the face by his allies and enemies while growing smiles and laughs from the audience. Playing worthy adversary Alex, Vincent Regan looks like a bearded looming teddy bear. But put a plan in his head and a gun in his hand changes his quiet intelligence with quiet and efficient brutality. Maggie Smith's Emilie holds her own against both men, standing tall and defiant when she needs to. Rounding out the most notable characters, Joseph Gilgun's mohawked tattooed Hydell is violently smitten with Emilie and the sound of his own guns firing.

M.S. One, the maximum security space prison, is a great set piece. From dealing with prisoners awoken from an enforced stasis sleep fighting in the general population section, to nitrogen rich hiding spaces, to multiple levels of ductwork, rooms and crawl spaces, the station provides miles of variety. The CGI of the exteriors is lush with gray monotones, bombarded with shadows and back lit sunlight. The special effects are not Avatar caliber, but they are dutiful and consistent throughout.

Lockout lets you in with a typical action hero performance by Pearce, the over-the-top combination of criminals Hydell and Alex. Poorly timed HALOs aside, the story rides high even as the entire prison threatens to decay out of orbit. For simple popcorn entertainment, Lockout may be the film you see in the big house called your local theater.

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WORTH: Matinee or Rental

Seeking Justice

Working Class Hero?

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Rated: R  Brief sexuality, violence and language
Release Date: March 16, 2012
Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins

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Director:  Roger Donaldson

Writers: Todd Hickey, Robert Tannen
Cast:  Nicolas Cage, January Jones, Guy Pearce, Jennifer Carpenter, IronE Singleton, Harold Perrineau, Xander Berkeley

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SYNOPSIS: When his wife is sexually assaulted, school teacher Will Gerard accepts the offer from a vigilante group to avenge her. What he doesn't realize is that the 'favor' they ask him to carry out afterward is more than what he bargained for.

REVIEW: Roger Donaldson, directors of such intrigue films as The Recruit and The Bank Job, takes a story and script from first time writer and longtime cinematographer Todd Hickey and relative new screenwriter Robert Tannen. Starring Nicolas Cage, one of the hardest working actors in show business, will Seeking Justice find the justice it seeks?

High school teacher and chess enthusiast Will Gerard (Nicolas Cage, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance)   enjoys the New Orleans scene with his musician wife Laura (January Jones, X-Men: First Class) and his friends and co-workers. One night, when Laura is sexually assaulted and put into the hospital, Will is approached by a mysterious man named Simon (Guy Pearce, The King's Speech) who ensures Will that his organization can and will silence the assailant for good if Will agrees to help the organization in the near future when they ask for his assistance. Unable to watch his wife suffer in pain, Will agrees and the deed is carried out. A few months later, when Will is asked by Simon to carry a letter to a mail box in front of the zoo, the favor is upped to following a mother and two daughters, then ramped up to the request to carry out an assassination of an accused pedophile. When Will refuses, he and his wife are put into danger by the same organization that aided them in the first place. Running out of time, Will must try to expose the organization before it destroys him. 

Nicolas Cage has recently tarnished his acting star with a string of less than stellar films including Season of the Witch and The Sorcerer's Apprentice. Even with genre anticipated films like the Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance sequel and a comic book favorite film of mine, Kick-Ass, some look at Cage's current career path as on the decline. He has certainly come a long way down from Adaptation and Leaving Las Vegas, or even the National Treasure franchise. With Seeking Justice, Cage does pump the brakes a little by putting out a decent product.

Nicolas Cage tempers the caricature of himself that even SNL's Andy Samberg has perfected on the segment 'Inside the Cage, with Nicolas Cage'. When Cage is not mugging or staring wide-eyed, his character actually comes down to earth enough to be believable and distraught. January Jones channels sympathy instead of her signature distain from Mad Men as she recovers from her physical and psychological trauma. Guy Pearce beefs up a little, probably in preparation of the upcoming space prison sci-fi flick Lockout, and cuts an imposing and dangerous figure as the vigilante group figure head  Simon. Harold Perrineau (Lost) as Will's principal boss and friend, and Jennifer Carpenter (Gone) as Laura's musician friend Trudy keep to the background until the story plots require them to step forward. Some of the 'organization's' henchmen like Scar (IronE Singleton, The Walking Dead) have larger roles than some of the bigger name actors and actresses. 


Seeking Justice is the type of film that is reminiscent of 1990s films like Johnny Depp's Nick of Time where a seemingly unprepared and unlikely middle-class man is forced to go beyond his comfort zone against an established organization that has unlimited resources, a powerful reach into law enforcement, and expertise in misdirection, mayhem and violence. In this case, the protagonist dies not take retribution into his own hands to avenge his wife's assailant, but is forced to take action nonetheless when his decisions to have someone else kill for him comes back to haunt him. 

By no means is Seeking Justice Cage's best work, but it is a solid action drama thriller whose script has been brought to full life by the expert hands of its director Roger Donaldson, and by the work of the film's protagonists in Cage and January Jones, and its antagonist Guy Pearce. If you can't get into Jonah Hill's 21 Jump Street, you can always fall back onto Seeking Justice as a second choice if you really need a couple chases or guns pointed in your face.

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WORTH: Matinee or Rental

Don't Be Afraid Of The Dark

Creature Comforts

Director: Troy Nixey
Writers: Guillermo del Toro, Matthew Robbins, Nigel McKeand
Cast: Bailee Madison, Katie Holmes, Guy Pearce, Jack Thompson, Julia Blake


SYNOPSIS: A girl sent to live with her father and his girlfriend at an old estate during renovation discovers strange light-sensitive creatures that want to steal her away to their underground home.

REVIEW: Troy Nixey, writer, producer and director of Latchkey's Lament, takes the reins of a story from Guillermo del Toro and Matthew Robbins based on the 1973 teleplay written by Nigel McKeand. Nixey and the creative force of del Toro and Robbins make key changes to the original television movie that work better on the big screen without sacrifice the heart of the 1973 story.

In the original television movie, young couple Sally and Alex Farnham inherit an old mansion where whispering demon-like creatures chip away at Sally's sanity and the couple's relationship. In the revised del Toro story, the young couple is replaced with a divorced architect father Alex (Guy Pearce), his interior designer girlfriend Kim (Katie Holmes) and Alex's daughter Sally (Bailee Madison). While Alex and Kim renovate the old Blackwood estate in hopes of having the house appear on the over of an architectural magazine, young Sally explores the gardens and rooms. To the chagrin of contractor Mr. Harris, Sally finds the hidden basement studio of the long-missing Mr. Blackwood and starts hearing whispering voices behind the bolted shut ash chute.

Classic to del Toro's style, it is a child that the story centers around. Bailee Madison, a young veteran actress from Brothers and Just Go With It, allows the tension to mount quicker and wind tighter. Her innocence opens the bolts clamping down the ash chute cover, freeing the creatures that only want to claim her as one of her own. In the scene where Sally explores the gardens around the estate with pollen and petals swirling in the air, you can not help but compare it to the magical world of Pan's Labyrinth. Bailee Madison's superb acting drives the film forward, every gasp and startle crucial to the story. Katie Holmes stars as Sally's dad's girlfriend, desperate to win the affection of his boyfriend's child early in the film, then desperate to help Sally as she fears for her life against the whispering, greedy creatures.

The other stars of the film are the tooth craving denizens of the world under the ash chute. Imagine a sea of deformed, scissor and razor blade wielding faeries, capable of rivaling the brutality of the Zuni Fetish doll made so popular by Karen Black and Trilogy of Terror.

The story is satisfying, the updates appropriate, and the tension palatable. A worthy successor to the original early 70s 'Movie of the Week' entry, this film is a fun, scary, startling popcorn fest. Fans of del Toro will enjoy this update and fans of the genre will appreciate what Nixoy, del Toro and Robbins put on screen.

WORTH: Matinee and DVD

The King's Speech

Words Worth Hearing

[Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter, Geoffrey Rush, Guy Pearce, Timothy Spall]

RANT: It happened! I am off from work this week, and decided to get to the theater for the newly expanded The King's Speech. I went to the gym first, though, thinking I would have plenty of time. Unfortunately, I was late to the box office, then stood in line for 15 minutes to up-size my $1 small popcorn coupon for $1 small popcorn Tuesdays. So if my review is incomplete, it is because I missed the first 3 minutes of the film!

SYNOPSIS: The story of King George VI of Britain, his struggles with a speech stammer, his unlikely ascension to the throne on the eve of the Second World War, and his work and relationship with a dedicated speech therapist.

REVIEW: Directed by Tom Hooper by a screenplay by David Seidler, The King's Speech focuses on the future King of Britain, Albert Frederick Arthur George. As the second son of King George V, Albert, or "Bertie" to his family, grew up within the shadow of his older brother Edward, the heir to the Throne. But the story is as much about the man as it is about the monarch. Raised as royalty did little to help Albert's confidence or lessen his stuttering in private or in public.

From the onset, this film is completely Colin Firth's movie. Watching him fill the shoes of the soon-to-be monarch was captivating. I felt the physical and psychological pains of the affliction of Albert's stammer and stuttering, never feeling that Albert's speech defects were put on. It was as if Firth had firsthand understanding of the difficulties of the impediment itself. Also, Firth's portrayal of King George VI and his frustrations of his unexpected rise in station simply add to the pressure that causes his speaking issues to become worse.

Tasked to help Albert with his speech defects after failed attempts by premiere therapists, Lionel Logue, played expertly and subtlety by Geoffrey Rush, tries to dig deeper into the psyche of the man who would be king. Helena Bonham Carter, as Albert's wife, Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, epitomizes the grace and manner that any future queen should have - always stalwart in support of her husband and his duties. Guy Pearce portrays Albert's brother, Edward - a man who is both popular to the people of Britain and irresponsible to the throne and its duty. Even Timothy Spall, the man better known for his role as Wormtail in the Harry Potter films, brought an interesting and appealing take on British statesman and prime minister Winston Churchill.

The acting is superb. The scenery is both architecturally rich in the tradition of the British Empire, but also weathered and crumbling as historically the Empire became after the end of World War II. The film denotes the pomp of royalty and the circumstances of the everyman. King George VI and Lionel Logue are the opposite sides of separate coins, but provide plenty enough for admission.

Worth: Matinee and DVD