Frankenweenie

 

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

Young filmmaker and scientist Victor Frankenstein (Charlie Tahan) lives with his parents, Edward and Susan Frankenstein (Martin Short and Catherine O’Hara) and dog Sparky in the quiet town of New Holland. Victor’s intelligence is recognized by his classmates at school, his somber next-door neighbor, Elsa Van Helsing (Winona Ryder), mischievous, Igor-like Edgar “E” Gore (Atticus Shaffer), obese and gullible Bob (Robert Capron), overconfident Toshiaki (James Hiroyuki Liao), creepy Nassor (also Short), and an eccentric girl nicknamed Weird Girl (also O’Hara), but communicates little with them due to his relationship with his dog. Concerned with his son’s isolation, Victor’s father encourages him to take up baseball and make achievements outside of science. Victor hits a home run at his first game, but Sparky, pursuing the ball, is killed by a car.

Inspired by his science teacher Mr. Rzykruski’s (Martin Landau) demonstration of the effect of electricity on dead frogs, a depressed Victor digs up Sparky’s corpse, brings him to his makeshift laboratory in the attic, and successfully reanimates him with lightning. Seeing Weird Girl’s living cat, Mr. Whiskers, the undead Sparky escapes from the attic and explores the neighborhood. He is recognized by Edgar, who blackmails Victor into teaching him how to raise the dead. The two reanimate a dead goldfish, which turns invisible due to an error with the experiment. Edgar brags about the undead fish to Toshiaki and Bob, which, in panic of losing the upcoming science fair, inspires them to make a rocket out of soda bottles, which causes Bob to break his arm and Mr. Rzykruski to be blamed and fired due to his accused influencing and reviling the townsfolk for questioning his methods when he steps up for self-defence.

Eventually, Edgar’s fish disappears when he tries to show it to a skeptical Nassor (who was told by Toshiaki) and when Edgar is confronted by Toshiaki, Nassor, and Bob on the baseball field at school, he accidentally reveals Victor’s actions, inspiring them to try reanimation themselves. Victor’s parents discover Sparky in the attic and are frightened, causing the dog to flee. Victor and his parents search for Sparky while the classmates invade the lab, discovering Victor’s reanimation formula. The classmates separately perform their experiments, which go awry and turn the dead animals into monsters—Mr. Whiskers holds a dead bat while it is electrocuted, turning him into a vampire cat; Edgar turns a dead rat he found in the garbage into a wererat; Nassor revives his mummified hamster Colossus; Toshiaki’s turtle Shelley is covered in a growth formula and turns into a giant Gamera-like monster; and Bob’s Sea-Monkeys grow into amphibious humanoid monsters. The monsters break loose into the town fair where they wreak havoc.

After finding Sparky at the town’s pet cemetery, Victor sees the monsters attacking the fair and goes to help his classmates deal with them—-the Sea-Monkeys explode after eating salt-covered popcorn, and Colossus is stepped on by Shelley, while the rat and Shelley are returned to their original, deceased forms after being electrocuted. During the chaos, the town’s mayor’s niece Elsa van Helsing is grabbed by Mr. Whiskers and carried to the town windmill. The townsfolks blame Sparky for her disappearance and chase him to the windmill, which Mayor Bergermeister (also Short) accidentally ignites with his torch. Victor and Sparky enter the burning windmill and rescue Elsa, but Victor is trapped inside. Sparky rescues Victor, only to be dragged back inside by Mr. Whiskers. A final confrontation ensues, and just as Mr. Whiskers has Sparky cornered, a flaming piece of wood breaks off and impales him. He gives one dying screech and he windmill collapses on Sparky, killing him again. To reward him for his bravery, the townsfolk gather to revive Sparky with their car batteries, reanimating him once more. Persephone, Elsa’s pet poodle, who has a hair style similar to the Elsa Lanchester’s Bride of Frankenstein, comes to Sparky as the two dogs share their love.

REVIEW:

It wasn’t that long ago that people were commenting on how there are millions of Christmas family flicks, but very few for Halloween. Well, now we have 3 brand new, and really good, flicks to show the kids on October 31st, ParaNorman, Hotel Transylvania, and Frankenweenie. The debate over which is the best of the bunch is one that can go on and on. Take you pick!

What is this about?

When young Victor’s pet dog Sparky (who stars in Victor’s home-made monster movies) is hit by a car, Victor decides to bring him back to life the only way he knows how. But when the bolt-necked “monster” wreaks havoc and terror in the hearts of Victor’s neighbors, he has to convince them (and his parents) that despite his appearance, Sparky’s still the good loyal friend he’s always been.

What did I like?

Retro. Tim Burton’s last film, Dark Shadows, wasn’t the big success people expected it to be but seeing the masterpiece that this is, I believe he was just more concerned with making this project. As with many Burton projects, it has that retro vibe to it, complete with stop motion animation which, as avid readers of this blog know, I am a huge fan of, as it is vastly superior to CG crap.

Character design. Continuing with that retro vibe is the design and mannerisms of the characters. The kids are mostly based on classic movie horror characters and are named that way as well. Their biology teacher is obviously modeled after Vincent Price. I can’t help but wonder and Victor, though. He looks like he’s either recycled from The Corpse Bride or is supposed to be Johnny Depp. The jury is still out on that one for me.

Heart. Underneath all the laughs, classic horror references, and zombie animals, there is some true heart. Apparently, people really cotton to a boy and his dog, especially if that dog is a real friend. Throw in some hints at a slight romance and parents that truly care and you can’t help but feel something.

What didn’t I like?

Someone hates cats. I’m no dog fan, not by any stretch of the imagination. As a matter of fact, it annoys me to no end that cats are never given the chance to really be the hero, but rather often end up the villain, while dogs can apparently do no wrong. There is absolutely no reason Mr. Whiskers should have become the main antagonist. It really served no purpose, other than having a dog fight a cat. Let me tell you this, had something happened to that dog, the whole country would have been calling for Tim Burton’s head, but something happens to the cat, not a peep!!! UGH!!!!

Recycle. Burton brought back many of his frequent collaborators to voice these characters, such as Winona Ryder, Martin Landau, and Catherine O’Hara, but I have to wonder where his two muses, Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter (who he is also married to) were. I know they are both in the upcoming The Lone Ranger, so there is that possibility, but I believe he could have put them in there if he really wanted. They have become to Burton what Samuel L. Jackson is to Tarrantino. I’m not saying the film was worse off without them, because I’m not really sure what character they would have voiced, but it just was strange not having them there.

Experiments. So, Victor brings Sparky back to life a la Frankenstein. Somehow, the Igor-looking kid finds out and wants his fish brought back to life. In a way that isn’t really explained, other than his heart wasn’t in it, the fish becomes invisible, and eventually vanishes from existence. Then of course, there is the jealousy induced experiments that go wrong and nearly destroy the town, but those I can let slide as something to give an exciting finish.

Dare I say Frankenweenie is one of Tim Burton’s best outings? It better be, he did a version of this back in 1984, and has been working toward doing it again with more resources and better technology since then. I had such a good time with this film that it is hard for me to not recommend this, but there are some things that just aren’t appropriate for younger eyes and ears, not to mention Burton haters and those that live or die by CGI. If you don’t fall into one of those categories, then I highly recommend this!

4 1/3 out of 5 stars

The Dilemma

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

The film begins with Ronny (Vince Vaughn), his girlfriend Beth (Jennifer Connelly), his best friend Nick (Kevin James), and Nick’s wife Geneva (Winona Ryder) all at dinner. They are sharing stories when Beth asks how long it takes to really know someone. Ronny states that you can never really know someone; Nick disagrees.

At a car show, Ronny is able to get him and Nick a meeting with Dodge in a few days. They celebrate with dinner with their ladies. While Nick and Geneva are dancing, Ronny tells Beth that he really looks up to Nick, who pulls him onto the dance floor. When they switch partners, Geneva tells Ronny that they love Beth and asks Ronny when he is going to propose to her. That evening, Ronny asks Beth if there’s a clock ticking; she says no, but if things progress, she will not be unhappy.

In Detroit for their meeting with Dodge, Ronny tells Nick that he is worked out a deal to get Beth a $20,000 ring for half price if Nick can help by fixing the seller’s car. Nick agrees. In their meeting, they pitch an electric car with the build of a muscle car. Dodge agrees to give them $400,000 for a prototype, and leaves Susan Warner (Queen Latifah) as their supervisor. She is extremely enthusiastic about working with them. Nick worries that he is going to fail with his engine design; Ronny reassures him.

Later, he mentions this to Beth, who is a chef, and asks how he is doing, concerned that he is feeling overwhelmed. (Ronny had a very serious gambling problem two years prior.) He promises that he is fine then heads to a botanical garden to arrange the proposal. While he is there, he catches a glimpse of Geneva, whom he follows. He walks through poisonous plants and is caught by the manager just as he sees Geneva kiss a young man (Channing Tatum). He is read all of the horrible side effects of the plants, (painful urination, hallucinations, etc.) and gets kicked out. He later lies to Beth about how he got the rash, and when he re-enacts it, he drops a stack of money, which Beth sees. He lies again saying that he is paying his parts suppliers, which she doesn’t appear to believe.

He goes to work to tell Nick, but does not when Nick yells at him. He calls his sister for advice, but she assumes he is talking about her husband, so that fails too. Nick later apologizes, and before Ronny can say anything, Beth and Geneva come to take them out for a break. They go to a Blackhawks hockey game. Geneva goes for beer; Ronny follows and confronts her. She tries to explain, then accuses Nick of getting “massages” every Thursday. She promises that the affair is over, and she will tell Nick once the car is finished.

At the office later, Nick inquires about why Ronny’s dragging his feet with the proposal. Ronny tries to probe about possibly getting a massage; Nick feigns ignorance. Ronny later follows him to the massage parlor. He then calls Geneva to apologize, but hears her with the young man, Zip. She tells him to meet her at a diner, where she tells Ronny that she will deny the affair and tell Nick that Ronny has been hitting on her, and revealing a fling they had back in college (before she and Nick ever met). She leaves telling Ronny to stay out of her marriage.

At home the next morning, Ronny answers a call for Beth, but the caller hangs up. He calls back, and gets the number to a corporate office that is opening a restaurant in Vegas. He later gets a call from Susan, warning him that Dodge has another competitor working on a similar project. Afterwards, he follows Geneva to Zip’s and photographs them together. Kids start skateboarding nearby, so he can’t leave, making him late for Beth’s parents’ 40th anniversary party. When Geneva leaves, he is caught by Zip, and they get into a fight. Ronny fights his way out of the house using hairspray and a candle as a torch…but Zip catches up to him outside, damaging Ronny’s car with a baseball bat. He demands to know what Ronny was doing in his house, and Ronny tells him he is best friends with Geneva’s husband. He calls Zip garbage for sleeping with Geneva, and then leaves as Zip starts to cry. Ronny cleans himself up then heads to the party, where he makes a long, inappropriate speech about honesty, secretly aimed at Geneva, who is also in attendance. Beth takes him aside and begs him to be honest with her, so he asks about the Vegas restaurant. She explains that she was offered a job, but declined because she does not trust him in Vegas. He leaves and spends the night at the office.

He goes back to Zip’s to get his camera. Zip answers the door with a gun, and insists that Ronny come in, because he read that he could legally shoot someone in self defense if they enter your home. Ronny refuses to enter, and Zip starts crying again about Ronny killing his fish, due to the fact that Ronny accidentally destroyed his fish tank during their fight the other night. He demands that Ronny give him $10,000 for damages, but settles for $1000 and an apology and gives him back his camera. Nick arrives after Ronny leaves, having followed him there suspecting Zip was a bookie, and Ronny was borrowing money for gambling.

Ronny goes back home to find Beth, Nick, his sister, Geneva, and his gambling sponsor holding an intervention for him. Zip shows up seconds later, claiming to be his bookie. Ronny lashes out at him and hits him. When Zip leaves, Ronny explains that he is not gambling, he is been acting weird because he found out a week ago that Geneva was having an affair with Zip and did not know how to tell Nick. Surprisingly, Geneva admits the affair. Ronny also confesses to the college fling. Nick is outraged and leaves.

Ronny comes home later after going for a walk. He tells Beth he brought her something to eat and they apologize for not trusting each other. She opens the bag of food and finds an engagement ring inside, and accepts his proposal.

At the meeting the next morning, Nick tells Ronny he moved out, then hits Ronny twice for not telling him the truth. He makes Ronny promise to be honest even if it hurts. They make up and head into the meeting, where Nick unveils the prototype car. Through his extensive research and tuning, he was able to make the new eco-friendly Dodge Charger sound and perform just like the classic 1968 Dodge Charger. Dodge is impressed with the prototype and give Nick and Ronny the contract.

At a Blackhawks game some time later, Nick finally gets a chance to try a challenge he always claimed he could do. He fails twice, but on his third attempt, Ronny gives Nick the coach’s dramatic speech from the film Miracle, and he gets the puck into a net, winning a chance to go to an all-star game. Ronny runs onto the ice to celebrate with him before they are both escorted off.

REVIEW:

Have you ever been in the situation where your best friend’s significant other is cheating with someone and you happen to cath them? How do you handle that situation? That is the dilemma in The Dilemma. A decent plot, but unfortunately, it isn’t executed with as much thought as was put into spawning the idea.

What did I like?

Story. The plot is a great idea. I’m sure there are more than a few guy/gals out there that have been in this situation. Having not been in it myself, I can’t say anything about it, though, but it is still intriguing to me.

Cast. With the exception of Vince Vaughn, I love this cast. It is good to see Winona Ryder and Jennifer Connelly come out of hiding (though I wish it was for a better film), Queen Latifah is as great as she can be in such a severely limited role, and Channing Tatum is hilarious.

Auto industry. I can’t remember what the last film that involved the auto industry, in a good way, was. It was good to see that struggling enterprise get some light. Even better, was the fact that these guys owned their own company and were making their own way without being swallowed by some bug company.

What didn’t I like.

Vince. I’m sorry Vince Vaughn fans, but I just didn’t care for him. He seemed like he was just trying too hard, or maybe I’m just tired of his schtick. Kevin James, who is usually the butt of fat guy jokes (he won’t be in his new movie where he dropped 80 lbs, though), actually wasn’t here, yet Vince Vaughn was still playing this borderline ADHD guy who won’t shut up and is also very sweaty. It just wasn’t working for me.

Dilemma. The way this whole thing played out just seemed to be carelessly thought out. I get why they didn’t tell Kevin James right away. If they had, there wouldn’t have been much of a film. However, the time between finding out about the infidelity and the reveal seemed to have been filler, rather than some actual plot points and comedy scenes to move the film forward and entertain the audience.

Gay. In this day and age where everyone is so sensitive, the writer’s should have known better than to put the line “Electric cars are gay.” in there. That was just uncalled for and the fact that it made it into the final cut is appalling.

The Dilemma is a decent film, but not one that you will remember 5 minutes after the credits roll. I honestly can’t recommend it for any reason, but if you must check it out, then more power to you.

2 1/2 out of 5 stars

A Scanner Darkly

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

Seven years from now America has lost the war on drugs, with 20% of the population being addicts. The highly addictive ‘Substance D’, a powerful psychoactive drug causing a dreamy state of intoxication and bizarre hallucinations, has swept across the country; chronic users may develop a split personality, cognitive problems, and severe paranoia. In response, the government develops an invasive, high-tech surveillance system and puts in place a network of informants and undercover agents.

The film opens with Charles Freck awakening in his cramped apartment to hallucinations of insects crawling all over him and his sleeping dog. Freck takes a shower, hoping to wash the insects away, but he is unsuccessful and contacts James Barris for help. Barris agrees to meet Freck in a cafe, where they both daydream and hallucinate. Both of them are drug addicts and both are addicted to ‘Substance D’. Barris muses – “Either you’re addicted, or you haven’t tried it”.

Bob Arctor is an undercover Police detective assigned to immerse himself in the drugs underworld and infiltrate the supply chain. Arctor and his housemates, Ernie Luckman and James Barris, live in a suburban house in a cul-de-sac in a run-down part of Anaheim, California. They pass their days by taking drugs and having long, paranoia-inspired conversations. At the Police station Arctor works as a detective codenamed Fred, and he hides his identity from his fellow Police officers by wearing a high-tech scramble suit that constantly changes every aspect of the wearer’s appearance. Arctor’s senior officer Hank, and all of the other undercover officers at the station, also wear scramble suits.

Whilst posing as a drug user, Arctor becomes addicted to ‘Substance D’. Arctor also befriends an attractive young woman named Donna Hawthorne, who is a cocaine addict; she is Arctor’s supplier of ‘Substance D’ and part of the drugs scene. Arctor hopes to purchase large enough quantities of ‘Substance D’ from Donna so that she is forced to introduce him to her supplier, but Arctor develops romantic feelings for her. Donna rejects Arctor’s sexual advances and Barris questions the true nature of their relationship. Barris implies to Freck that he too has made advances towards Donna only to be similarily rejected.

Hank orders Fred to step up surveillance on the group. Hank assumes that Fred is one of the members of the Arctor household, but does not know which one. Hank suggests that Fred concentrate his surveillance on the suspected ringleader, Arctor, thereby unknowingly ordering him to spy upon himself. Meanwhile, the household members are paranoid that the Police have bugged their home and are watching their every move. Their paranoia reaches extreme levels and Arctor becomes wrapped up in the concerns of his housemates, forgetting that he is an undercover Police officer. Barris secretly contacts the Police and tells them that he suspects that Donna and Arctor are part of a terrorist organization. Barris unknowingly conveys this information to Arctor at the police station, when Arctor is wearing his scramble suit in his role as Detective Fred.

Due to Arctor’s use of ‘Substance D’, he develops cognitive problems which stops the two hemispheres of his brain from communicating with each other, causing him to receive two different sets of information that are in conflict with one another. Throughout the story Arctor experiences flashbacks to his family life, wherein he has a wife and two daughters, and he reminisces about the times he spent with them. Arctor later learns that he does not, in fact, have a family.

After Barris supplies the Police with a fake recording which he alleges proves that Donna and Arctor belong to a terrorist organisation, Hank orders that Barris is held on charges of providing false information to the Police. After Barris’s arrest Hank reveals to Fred that he has deduced, through the process of elimination, that Fred is really Arctor. Arctor is surprised to learn of his own true identity and he becomes extremely confused and upset. Hank informs Arctor that the whole point of the surveillance was to catch Barris, not Arctor; the Police suspected Barris of being involved in the ‘Substance D’ supply chain all along, and were setting Barris up by increasing his paranoia until he attempted to cover his tracks. As a result of his ‘Substance D’ addiction Arctor is no longer able to distinguish between the roles of his undercover character and his real job as a Police officer. Hank reprimands Arctor for becoming addicted to ‘Substance D’ and warns him that he will be disciplined.

Whilst a clearly distressed Arctor begins to break down, Hank phones Donna and asks her to take Arctor to New Path, a corporation that runs a series of rehabilitation clinics. After Arctor leaves the office, Hank enters the locker room and removes his scramble suit, at which point his true identity is revealed to be Donna. At New Path, Arctor experiences the severe symptoms of ‘Substance D’ withdrawal. Also at New Path is Charles Freck, who was admitted after a failed suicide bid. As part of the rehabilitation program, Arctor is renamed Bruce and put through psychological reconditioning treatments. Arctor suffers brain damage as a result of his withdrawal from ‘Substance D’.

Sometime later Donna, now using her real name Audrey, has a conversation with another Police officer named Mike (briefly seen undercover as an orderly at New Path). It is revealed that New Path is responsible for the manufacture and distribution of ‘Substance D’. Audrey and Mike are part of a Police operation to infiltrate New Path, and Arctor had been selected – without his knowledge or consent – to carry out the sting. It is further revealed that the Police had intended for Arctor to become addicted to ‘Substance D’; his well-being was sacrificed so that he might enter a rehabilitation center unnoticed as a genuine addict in order to find proof of New Path’s crimes. They debate whether or not there is still enough left of Arctor’s mind for him to know what to do if he finds any evidence.

To continue his rehabilitation, New Path sends Arctor to work at an isolated New Path farming prison, where he spots rows of blue flowers hidden between rows of corn. These flowers, referenced throughout the film, are the source of ‘Substance D’. As the film ends, Arctor hides one of the blue flowers in his boot, so that when he returns to the New Path clinic during Thanksgiving he can give it to his friends

REVIEW:

When people think of movies that are nothing more than someone’s whacked out brain on drugs or something, then A Scanner Darkly needs to be in that conversation. Does that mean this is good or bad? Well…that remains to be seen

First off, let’s get one thing straight. I got lost somewhere in this convoluted plot and was never able to get back into it, so for that reason, I think a second viewing is in order for me to fully understand. When a story takes me out of it,  that ruins it for me. Was that the case here? Not fully, but it was a major detractor.

Keeping with that train of thought, I knew this was a heavily animated film. Well, they did this process where it was actually filmed in live action, and then, in post-production, they went over and animated everything. Really, it is quite similar to what they do with motion capture in certain CG films and video games.

Was this a good movie? I can’t really say at this point in time because it lost me so early, but before that point it did seem like it was going setting up for something big, even if it did seem to take its time and go all around in a gazillion different ways to get there. I’m not going to recommend this, at this time, but it does seem like a fairly decent psychological thriller. I just wish that the story wasn’t so disconnecting.

3 out of 5 stars

Black Swan

PLOT (spoiler alert!!!):

Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) is a young dancer with a prestigious New York City ballet company. She lives with her mother, Erica (Barbara Hershey), a former dancer, now amateur artist, who stopped her career at 28 when she became pregnant with Nina.

The ballet company is preparing for a production of Swan Lake. The director, Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel), has to cast a new principal dancer as he has forced his present principal dancer, Beth Macintyre (Winona Ryder), into retirement. The lead must be able to portray both the innocent, fragile White Swan and her dark, sensual, evil twin, the Black Swan. Nina is selected to compete for the part alongside several other dancers. After her audition goes badly, she visits Thomas to ask him to reconsider and give her the role. He tells her that her rigid technique makes her ideal for the White Swan, but she lacks the passion to dance the Black Swan. He then forces a kiss on her until she bites him. Later, she is chosen for the Swan Queen. An intoxicated Beth angrily confronts Thomas and Nina, and she is later hit by a car and seriously injured in what Thomas believes was a suicide attempt.

Nina begins to witness strange happenings around her. Thomas, meanwhile, becomes increasingly critical of Nina’s “frigid” dancing as the Black Swan and tells her she should stop being such a perfectionist and simply lose herself in the role. She makes the acquaintance of another dancer in the company, Lily (Mila Kunis), whom Thomas described as having the qualities Nina lacks. The relationship between the two dancers cools because of Lily’s indiscretions, but to make up for it, Lily appears at Nina’s door and invites her for a night out. Nina is hesitant at first, but decides to join Lily against her mother’s wishes. While out, Lily offers Nina a capsule of Ecstasy. Upon returning to the apartment, Nina has another fight with her mother. She barricades herself in her room and has sex with Lily. Next morning, Nina wakes up alone and late for rehearsal. When she arrives at the studio, she finds Lily dancing as the Swan Queen. Furious, she confronts Lily and asks her why she did not wake her up in the morning. Lily states that she spent the night with a man whom she met at the club, and it is revealed that Nina imagined the whole sex episode.

Nina’s hallucinations become stronger during rehearsals and at home, which culminates in a violent fight with her mother after which she passes out. Concerned about Nina’s erratic behavior, her mother tries to prevent her from attending the opening performance, but Nina forces her way through and insists that she can dance. Lily and Thomas are puzzled about her appearance since Nina’s mother had called saying she was sick.

The first act goes well until Nina is distracted during a lift by a hallucination and the Prince drops her. Distraught, she returns to her dressing room and finds Lily dressed as the Black Swan. As Lily announces her intention to play the Black Swan, she transforms into Nina herself. Nina and her double struggle, and Nina shoves her double into the mirror shattering it. She grabs a shard of glass and stabs her double in the stomach. Nina sees that the body is Lily’s. She hides the body, returns to the stage, and dances the Black Swan passionately and sensually. Growing black feathers, her arms become black wings as she finally loses herself and is transformed into a black swan. At the end of the act, she receives a standing ovation from the audience. When she leaves the stage, she finds Thomas and the rest of the cast congratulating her on her stunning performance. Nina takes him by surprise and kisses him.

Back in her dressing room preparing for the final act, the dying of the White Swan, there is a knock on her door. She opens it to see Lily, who has come to congratulate her on her performance as the Black Swan. Nina realizes her fight with Lily, just as all the strange visions she had experienced, were hallucinations, but sees the mirror is still shattered. She notices a wound on her body and realizes that she stabbed herself, not Lily. Back on stage, she dances passionately and seamlessly as the White Swan. In the last moments of the ballet, when the White Swan throws herself off a cliff, she spots her mother weeping in the audience. The theater erupts in thunderous applause as Nina falls. As Thomas and the rest of the cast enthusiastically congratulate her on her performance, Lily gasps in horror to see that Nina is bleeding. As Nina lies wounded, the film closes with her staring up at the stage lights, whispering, “I felt it – Perfect – It was perfect,” as the screen fades to white and the audience chants her name.

REVIEW:

In college, I was forced to take a Fine Arts class, during which we spent quite a fair amount of time on Swan Lake. Black Swan isn’t necessarily a film version of that ballet, but the ballet is a major plot point.

This is one of those film that one could not get around hearing about during awards season. Many had it picked to sweep the awards (until they saw The King’s Speech). Now, I’m not one to get too involved with who should or should not have won this or that awards, but in comparison to the film that were nominated, this one and …Speech are nearly neck and neck.

So, what is this highly acclaimed film about? Well, we have this ballet dancer, Nina, who is a hot young dancer trying to get her big break at the ballet company she dances for. The new season brings about the company’s production of Swan Lake, which will feature a new face, according to the director. Eventually, this turns out to be Nina, bit seriously has problem embracing both the white and black swans, unlike her frenemy, Lily, who appears to be primed to take her spot.

As the film progresses, we see the decline in Nina’s mental health, until she finally does something before she takes the stage for the finale of her performance that one would never have guessed she was able to do when we first met her.

The ballet scenes are quite breathtaking. It is no secret that most of us could care less about ballet, but this is one of those films that could make you convert. The director did a great job of filming these scenes and conveying the atmosphere to the audience.

The hallucination scenes are quite interesting, but they do cause the viewer to get a bit confused, if they’re not ready for it.

Natalie Portman as Nina is awesome! No wonder, she was nominated for so many awards.

Mila Kunis made for the perfect foil to Portman, as well as gave us some nice eye candy (just wait until you see the lesbian scene.)

Black Swan is far from the most interesting thing on film, but it has its moments. Great film often fall into this category. If you were to ask me, if I agreed with the awards and accolades this film has received. This year, though, too many folk don’t. Having said that, I did enjoy this film thoroughly, and I trust that you will, as well.

5 out of 5 stars

Bram Stoker’s Dracula

PLOT:

In 1462, Vlad Dracula (Gary Oldman), a member of the Order of the Dragon, returns from a victory against the Turks to find his wife Elisabeta (Winona Ryder) had committed suicide after hearing false reports of his death. Enraged at the notion of his wife being eternally damned as a suicide, Dracula desecrates his chapel and renounces God, declaring that he will rise from the grave to avenge Elisabeta with all the powers of darkness.

In 1897, law clerk Jonathan Harker (Keanu Reeves) takes the Transylvanian Count Dracula over as a client from his colleague R.M. Renfield (Tom Waits), who has gone insane. Jonathan travels to Transylvania to arrange the formalities of Dracula’s real estate acquisition in London, including Carfax Abbey. Jonathan meets Dracula, a wrinkled, pale old man (Oldman) inhabiting a bizarre castle. During the signing of the papers, the Count discovers a picture of Harker’s fiancée, Mina (Ryder), and is astonished to find that she is the reincarnation of Elisabeta. Dracula leaves Jonathan to be seduced by his brides (Monica Bellucci, Michaela Bercu, and Florina Kendrick) and sails to England with boxes of his native soil, taking up residence at Carfax Abbey. His arrival is foretold by the ravings of Renfield, now an inmate in Dr. Jack Seward’s (Richard E. Grant) neighboring lunatic asylum.

In London, Dracula emerges as a werewolf-like creature amid a fierce thunderstorm and hypnotically seduces, then rapes and bites, Lucy Westenra (Sadie Frost), with whom Mina is staying while Jonathan is in Transylvania. Lucy’s deteriorating health and behavioral changes prompts Lucy’s former love-interests Quincey Morris (Billy Campbell) and Dr. Seward, along with her fiancée, Arthur Holmwood (Cary Elwes), to summon Dr. Abraham Van Helsing (Anthony Hopkins), who during a blood transfusion recognizes Lucy as the victim of a vampire. Dracula, now young and handsome, meets and charms Mina. However, when Mina gets word from Jonathan, who has escaped the castle and recovered at a convent, she travels to Hungary to marry him. In his heartbroken fury, Dracula transforms Lucy into a vampire. Van Helsing, Holmwood, Seward, and Morris kill Lucy to stop her undead suffering, and save her from eternal damnation.

As Jonathan and Mina return to London, Jonathan and Van Helsing lead the others to Carfax Abbey, where they destroy the Count’s boxes of soil. Dracula enters the asylum, where he kills Renfield for warning Mina of his presence, and visits Mina, who is staying in Seward’s quarters while the others hunt Dracula. Dracula confesses that he murdered Lucy and has been terrorizing Mina’s friends, but a confused and angry Mina admits that she still loves him and now remembers her old life as Elisabeta. At her insistence, Dracula begins to transform her into a vampire. The vampire hunters burst into the bedroom, with Dracula claiming Mina as his bride before escaping by changing into thousands of rats. As Mina begins changing the same way Lucy had, Van Helsing hypnotizes her and learns via her connection with Dracula that he is sailing home in his last remaining box. The Hunters depart for the port of Varna to intercept him, but Dracula reads Mina’s mind and evades them. The Hunters split up, with Van Helsing and Mina traveling to the Borgo Pass and the Castle, while the others try to stop the Gypsies transporting the Count.

At night, Van Helsing and Mina are approached by Dracula’s brides. They frighten Mina at first, but she gives into their chanting and attempts to seduce Van Helsing. Before Mina can feed on his blood he places a communion wafer upon her forehead, leaving a mark. He proceeds to surround them with a ring of fire to protect them from the brides. In the morning, he infiltrates the castle and decapitates them. As sunset approaches, Dracula’s carriage appears on the horizon, pursued by the hunters, and arrives at the castle. A fight between the hunters and gypsies ensues and at sunset Dracula bursts from his coffin. Harker slits his throat while a wounded Morris stabs him in the heart. As Dracula staggers, Mina rushes to his defense. Holmwood tries to attack but Van Helsing and Harker allow her to retreat with the Count, turning instead to Morris, who dies surrounded by his friends.

In the same chapel where he renounced God centuries earlier, Dracula lies dying, now in an ancient demonic form. He asks Mina to give him peace, by stabbing the sword through his heart. They share a final kiss, as the candles adorning the chapel miraculously light in God’s presence, and the hole in the cross heals itself. Mina shoves the knife through his heart. The mark on her forehead disappears as Dracula’s curse is lifted, as well as Elisabeta’s soul. She then decapitates him and gazes up at the fresco of Vlad and Elisabeta ascending to Heaven together. Mina is then finally free.

REVIEW:

 Previous film incarnations of the vampire have all been loosely rooted in Bram Stoker’s novel, but Bram Stoker’s Dracula is taken straight from the pages.

With all the vampire stuff that is flying around out there today, not to mention the fact that Halloween is next week, it seemed like the perfect time to watch this film. Not to mention the fact that I had the chance to watch the Bela Lugosi version of Dracula yesterday.

I could compare the two films until the cows come home, but what point would that serve? They are like peaches and apricots. There are similarities, bt ultimately, they are different.

The plot here goes a bit more into the history of Dracula, such as how he renounced God and started drinking blood. Also, they mention that it is only a myth that he couldn’t go out during the day, though they are weak during the day.

We all know about vampires turning into bats and exuding all types of sexual charisma, but have you ever heard about them turning into a wolf or smoke? That is something else that is mentioned in this version that the other’s leave out.

The plot here moves along at a fairly brisk pace, but there is a bit of disconnect when it comes to Keanu Reeves’ character, Jonathan Harker. After he escapes from the castle, he is suddenly gray-haired. Can you honestly tell me that the beautiful brides who were all over him made him gray? I don’t know about you, but if 3 beautiful women were crawling all over me like they were him, I’d let them do what they want.

The cast is great, but it is Gary Oldman who really sells the film. He is great as the younger version of Dracula. You can feel his pain in the beginning of the film when he is Vlad (not quite sure what was up with the way that armor was designed, though), and he outshines everyone as the old Count Dracula.

Keanu Reeves is everything you expect from him.

Winona Ryder is beautiful as ever, though she puts me in mind of Keirra Knightley in this role for some reason. I think it might be because of the way she moves her mouth or something.

Anthony Hopkins seemed to be nothing more than a narrator at first, but a little more than halfway through the film he comes in as Van Helsing and, well, he’s Anthony Hopkins, need I say more?

Look for appearances by Cary Elwes, Billy Campbell, and a young Monica Bellucci, as well.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula is not my choice for favorite Dracula picture, but that is because I’m such a fan of the classics sch as the aforementioned Bela Lugosi version, as well as the black and white silent film, Nosferatu. This is still a great piece of cinema. Watch it and you will definitely have a better understanding of the undead, something you won’t get from watching those crappy Twilight films. I highly recommend this to everyone, especially at this time of year!

4 out of 5 stars

Star Trek

PLOT:

In the year 2233, the Federation starship USS Kelvin is investigating a lightning storm when a massive ship, the Narada, emerges from within the storm and attacks the Kelvin. The Narada’s captain, Nero, orders the Kelvin to stand down and bring its captain aboard. The captain appoints George Kirk as acting captain and departs. On board the Narada, Nero kills the captain after questioning if he knows an Ambassador Spock and getting no reply. Nero orders the Kelvin to be destroyed while Kirk orders everyone to evacuate as he stays behind to provide cover. One of the escape shuttlecraft carries his pregnant wife and seconds before the Kelvin collides with the Narada, she gives birth to a boy while George listens over the comm. They decide to name the baby James. The Kelvin collides with the Narada, killing George, while the shuttlecrafts escape.

Several years later, a young Vulcan named Spock grows up on planet Vulcan and is discriminated against because of his half-human heritage, which leads him to join Starfleet. On Earth, James Tiberius Kirk grows up to be an intelligent, though reckless and cynical, young man. After a run-in at a local bar, Captain Christopher Pike challenges Kirk to emulate his father’s heroism and convinces him to join Starfleet. En route to Starfleet Academy, Kirk befriends fellow cadet Leonard McCoy.

Three years later, Starfleet receives a distress signal from Vulcan that indicates the appearance of a lightning storm in space, and with the primary fleet engaged in an operation, the cadets are mobilized to help crew the ships in orbit. McCoy smuggles Kirk aboard the USS Enterprise. Kirk recognizes the similarities between this mission and the encounter that destroyed the Kelvin, and warns Pike that the fleet is heading into a trap. The Enterprise arrives at Vulcan to find the fleet destroyed and the Narada drilling into the planet’s core. The Narada attacks the Enterprise and Nero orders Pike to surrender himself. Pike agrees, promoting Spock to captain and Kirk to first officer. En route to the Narada, Kirk and Hikaru Sulu perform an orbital skydive onto the drilling platform and destroy it. Nero launches red matter into the planet’s core, imploding the planet into a black hole. Spock rescues some of the planet’s elders, but his mother dies along with the majority of the planet’s population. Nero sets course for Earth and tortures Pike for the command codes to its perimeter defenses.

After a heated argument about Spock ordering to rendezvous with the rest of the fleet, Kirk is marooned on Delta Vega for mutiny. On Delta Vega, Kirk encounters Ambassador Spock, who tells Kirk he is from the future and to save time, relays the future’s events through a mind meld. In the year 2387, the galaxy is threatened by a massive supernova. Ambassador Spock pilots a ship carrying red matter, which will create an artificial black hole to consume the supernova. Before Spock completes his mission, the supernova destroys the planet Romulus. Captain Nero attempts to exact revenge on Spock, whom he blames for the destruction of his homeworld, and his family. Both ships, however, are pulled into the black hole’s event horizon and travel into the past. The Narada arrives first and Spock arrives 25 years later, where he is captured by Nero and marooned on Delta Vega so that he can witness the destruction of Vulcan. Ambassador Spock insists that Kirk must become captain of the Enterprise and the two travel on foot to a nearby Starfleet outpost. There, they meet Montgomery Scott. Ambassador Spock beams Kirk and Scott aboard the Enterprise while he stays on the planet. Once aboard, Kirk deliberately enrages Commander Spock to force him to acknowledge that he is emotionally compromised, thereby forfeiting command to Kirk.

Spock, Scott, and Pavel Chekov devise a plan to ambush the Narada by hiding behind Saturn’s moon, Titan. Once there, Kirk and Spock beam aboard the Narada. Kirk rescues Pike while Spock retakes Ambassador Spock’s ship, destroys the drill, and lures the Narada away from Earth before piloting a collision course. The Enterprise arrives and beams Kirk, Pike, and Spock away before the collision, which ignites the remaining red matter and creates a black hole within the Narada. Kirk offers to rescue Nero and his crew, but he refuses and the Narada is destroyed. The Enterprise escapes the same fate by ejecting and then igniting the ship’s warp drive, with the resulting explosion pushing them clear.

Back on Earth, Kirk is promoted to captain of the Enterprise. Soon after, Spock, while searching for his father, encounters his older self in a hangar. Ambassador Spock is departing to help establish a new colony with the remaining Vulcans. The younger Spock informs his older self of his wishes to leave Starfleet to aid his people. Ambassador Spock tells his younger self that he and Kirk need each other and that he should do what feels right. Taking his advice, Spock remains in Starfleet, becoming first officer under Kirk’s command. Leonard Nimoy narrates the Star Trek tagline to close the film.

REVIEW:

Star Trek has been entertaining nerds…er…fanboys…er…individuals for 30+ years. In that span, there have been at least 4 different series and 9 (not counting this one) films. Since I’m not a “Trekkie”, i’m not up in the Star Trek history and whatnot, but I know the basics. This film takes those facts and reintroduces them to new fans and a new generation.

I will never be a Star Trek fan, it just isn’t in my nature, and I’d be betraying Star Wars, but this film was done so well, that italmsot is good enough to convert me. I like how they sring in a new history with all the characters, while leaving the original history alone in a seperate universe, and tie it all together with the use of time travel and Leonard Nimoy. I have respect for these filmmakers for finding a way to keep the old school, die hard fans happy, as well as appeal to the new ones and the mainstram move goers.

Chris Pine steps into the role of James T. Kirk and without blinking, makes it his own. I was expecting some sort of bad Willima Shatner impression or something along those lines, but instead, Pine makes the character his own, capitalizing on the rebeliousness, maybe a bit too much.

Zachary Quinto seems like he was born to play Spock. It is especially weird to see his as a hero when he is best known for beign the villainous Sylar on Heroes, but here he is. In a manner similar to Kirk, Spock is a bit of a rebel, but he is more subdues,and like the original, more logicval and into the facts. Whereas Pine didn’t really show much of Shatner’s influence in his character, Quinto obviously did his homeowrk on Nimoy’s portrayal. He may have even consulted him, since they were on set at the same time.

Eric Bana is almost unrecognizable as the viallanous, twisted Nero, a Romulan who has managed to travel through space and time to get his revenge on Spock. Bana’s performance is pretty good, but it is his ship and the other toys that he uses or commands be used that really captivate the audience, such as the drill that doesn’t allow for communication or beaming up.

Speaking of beaming up, it was good that they included that in here, as well as the “redshirt” getting killed, and some classic lines from the original series, albeit paraphrased, we got the picture.

My issue with the film is that the only space fight part of it was at the beginning, the rest of it seemed to be more about the growth and drama. Since this is an origin flick, that isn’t too badm but if there is a sequel, that stuff needs to be pushed by the wayside in favor of more space scenes.

Another issue I have is that the on;y character that seemed ot have any life was Quinto’s Spock. Pine’s Shatner seemed to be nothing more than a frat boy with a brain who somehow gets to be captain of the ship. Urban’s McCoy is paranoid and schizophrenic. Zoe Saldana is used less in this film, than Nichelle Nichols was in the show. In other words, character development was a problem, but that’s just me being a bit on the nitpicky side.

The Enterprise looked really good. I was impressed. They were saying it was a brand new ship, and the way the sets looked, they had us believing that, rather than some sort of Hollywood sound stage.

Fans of the original series were skeptical about this when it was initially announced, Some even detracted and protested it, but as soon as it was released they soon changed their tune. For me, I’m not one to celebrate remaking anything. I believe Hollywood should come with their own ideas, but this film was so good that you forget about the original series, at least if you’re like me and have on;y seen 1 or 2 episodes of it. Star Trek should be a must see for you, so go see it!

4 out of 5 stars 

Edward Scissorhands

PLOT:

An elderly woman tells an ostensibly true story to her granddaughter of a man named Edward with scissors for hands, the creation of an inventor. The inventor was inspired to make an artificial man due to the anthropomorphic appearance of his other inventions. He raised Edward as his son and tutored him in various subjects, but died while in the act of offering a pair of hands to Edward. Many years later, local Avon saleswoman Peg Boggs, after failing to make profits in her suburban neighborhood, visits a Gothic mansion on a hill. There, she finds Edward, and convinces him to have her take him in. Edward befriends Peg’s young son, Kevin and, after an initial misstep, her teenage daughter Kim.

Peg’s neighbors become thrilled at Edward’s masterful skills at hedge clipping and haircutting. However, two of the townspeople, a religious fanatic named Esmeralda and Kim’s jock boyfriend Jim, dislike him immediately. Joyce, a “lonely housewife”, suggests that Edward open a haircutting salon with her. While examining a proposed site, she attempts to seduce him, confusing Edward, who escapes the room in a state of panic. Edward attempts to bring up the subject of her actions while the family is having dinner, but no one reacts to the news.

Wanting money for a van, Jim takes advantage of Edward’s ability to pick locks and breaks into his father’s house. The burglar alarm sounds and all but Edward escape, despite Kim’s angry insistence that they return for him. Edward is arrested, but released when a psychological examination reveals that his isolation allowed him to live without a traditional sense of ethics. The arresting officer, Allen, befriends the timid Edward, sensing his intrinsic goodness. Meanwhile, infuriated by Edward’s rejection, Joyce gets revenge on Edward by claiming that he tried to rape her. Many of the neighbors begin to question his personality. During Christmas, Edward is feared by almost everyone around him except the Boggs family, thus making him an outcast.

While the family is setting up Christmas decorations, Edward carves an ice sculpture from a block of ice. The ice shavings create the effect of falling snow, under which Kim dances. Jim catches Kim’s attention, whereupon Edward accidentally cuts Kim’s hand. Jim assumes that Edward deliberately harmed her, and uses this as a pretext to attack Edward in a jealous rage. The situation worsens when Kevin is almost run over by Jim’s drunken friend. Edward pushes Kevin out of the way, accidentally cutting his face in the process. Edward flees back to his hill-top mansion. The neighbors, concerned, follow him. Officer Allen unsuccessfully attempts to turn them back by giving them the impression that Edward is dead. He fires his gun a few times and tries to tell them that it’s all over. They continue to the mansion.

Kim heads to the mansion and reunites with Edward. Jim follows them and battles Edward, and is eventually killed by him. Kim professes her love for Edward and convinces the townspeople that Edward and Jim killed each other in the fight. All the neighbors return to their homes, while Joyce is seen guilty for making up the rumor about Edward. The elderly woman from the beginning reappears, as she finishes telling her granddaughter the story. It is revealed that Edward is still alive and “creating snow” from his ice sculptures, which fall upon the valley below. The elderly woman reveals to her granddaughter that she is, in fact, Kim. She refuses to visit Edward because she wants Edward to remember her the way she was in her youth.

REVIEW:

When this film came out, Tim Burton was still an up and coming director with unique vision. Edward Scissorhands was fast-tracked into production following the success of Batman. That decision ay have turned out to be a good thing, as it capitalized on Burton’s popularity, but the film itself is strong enough that it didn’t need such pity.

In the past few years, Johnny Depp has established himself as one of the most talented actors of this generation. There is no doubt the man can act, as you can tell in this film that shows him in his younger days. Sure, Edward doesn’t have much to say, but its the facial expressions and childlike mannerisms that Depp uses that really show his ability as an actor and immortalize Edward as one of the best characters in cinema.

Winona Ryder seems to fit right in as the “damsel in distress” female lead and makes a pretty cute couple with Depp. Unfortunately, she looks a bit old for her character, regardless of the wig they put on her.

I loved how the neighborhood was like the kind of community you see in old television shows and movies, and had a very basic color palette. It was a nice contrast to the darker tones of the film, a signature of Burton films.

There really isn’t much to complain about here except for how gossipy and nosey the neighbors are and how they turn on and chase Edward away at the drop of a hat. It is truly disgusting that people can be so shallow as to not get the whole story before they more or less crucify someone. What made it worse is near the end when the police officer says its over in front of the castle, the crowd doesn’t believe him and storms the grounds. It really shows how pathetic these people’s lives are!

Tim Burton has said that this is his most personal work, which may explain why it may be one of his best. The story is great, the characters are believable and relatable, and the actors seem to really be enjoying themselves, which always makes a film that much better. It is definitely worth a viewing or two.

4 out of 5 stars

Heathers

PLOT:

The film centers on high school student Veronica Sawyer (Ryder) who is part of the most popular clique at Westerburg High School (named for singer Paul Westerberg) in Sherwood, a fictional suburb of Columbus, Ohio. In addition to Veronica, the clique is composed of three wealthy girls with the same first name: Heather Chandler (Walker), Heather Duke (Doherty), and Heather McNamara (Falk). These mean-spirited girls play croquet with each other, use their own unique slang, and even purge together. Even though they are adored by most other students, the Heathers despise everyone outside their clique and continuously bully socially awkward classmates such as the overweight Martha “Dumptruck” Dunnstock.

When a new student, a rebellious boy named Jason Dean (Slater), or J.D. for short, pulls a gun on school bullies Kurt (Fenton) and Ram (Labyorteaux) and fires blanks at them, Veronica is intrigued. They meet and have sex. To avenge herself on Heather Chandler, who she feels mistreated her the night before, Veronica and J.D. jokingly prepare a cup full of drain cleaner to bring Heather as a morning wake-up drink. Veronica decides on milk and orange juice as a suitable form of revenge, as the combination can induce vomiting. J.D. distracts Veronica with a kiss and Veronica takes the wrong cup to give Heather. J.D. notices the mistake, but does not inform Veronica; Heather Chandler drinks the drain cleaner and dies in front of them.

J.D. urges Veronica to protect herself from suspicion of murder by forging a suicide note in Heather Chandler’s handwriting. Based on this note, the school and community look on Heather Chandler’s death as a dramatic, yet somehow hip, decision made by a popular but sadly troubled teenager. Heather Duke soon steps into Heather Chandler’s former role as clique leader, and begins wearing a red hair bow that had belonged to Chandler.

Several weeks later, the oafish Kurt and Ram spread a false rumour about Veronica giving oral sex to Kurt and Ram at the same time, ruining her reputation at school. J.D. proposes that Veronica lure them into the woods behind the school with the promise to “make the rumors true”; then, they will shoot them with special bullets that will knock them unconscious but not kill them. J.D. will plant “gay” materials beside the other boys, including a gay porn magazine, and a suicide note saying the two were lovers in a suicide pact. Ram is shot but Veronica misses Kurt, who runs away. Veronica realizes that the bullets are real, though originly smiles and says “it’s not a problem, it was worth it to see the looks on their faces”, then JD runs after them to when she notices that the intent to kill them was real.; J.D. chases Kurt back towards Veronica, who panics and shoots him dead. At their funeral, Kurt’s father is seen wailing, “I love my dead gay son!”, and the boys are made into martyrs against homophobia.

Other students begin mimicking the perceived behavior of the popular dead kids and attempting suicide themselves. Martha Dumptruck pins a suicide note to her chest and walks into traffic. She survives but is badly injured.

Veronica tells J.D. that she will not participate in any more killings. He plans to kill Heather Duke next, and subtly threatens to do the same to Veronica if she does not cooperate. Veronica instead tricks J.D. by using a harness to make it look like she has hanged herself. Heartbroken, he reveals his plan to blow up the entire school during a pep rally. A petition he has been circulating, via Heather Duke, to get the (fictional) band Big Fun to perform on campus was actually a disguised suicide note. Most of the students had already signed, so the mass murder would appear to be a mass suicide instead.

Veronica confronts J.D. in the boiler room where he is rigging timed explosives. She attempts to kill him when he refuses to stop the bomb. As J.D. collapses, he accidentally stops the timer. Veronica walks out through the pep rally with everyone cheering, unaware of their narrowly-missed demise. The severely injured J.D. follows her outside, looks at her as if to say, ” We could have been together…” and detonates a bomb that is strapped to his chest. The final scene of the film is of Veronica, covered in ash and bleeding slightly, walking through the school halls.

REVIEW:

To this day, I still don’t understand why they have Heathers billed as a comedy when there is nothing funny about it.

This  film was released at a time when high school movies were all the rage and many of the stars were on their ay up.

Winona Ryder gives a good performance as Veronica. One that would rival her more serious works. she brings to the screen that moody, teen angst that was highly popular at the time, while at the same time keeping an air of innocence about her. I liked how she seemed to be the popular girl that still talked to all the regular folks, even though Heather #1 was doing everything short of beating her on the head with a club to do what she said. At film’s end, though, we get a glimpse of what things would be like under the Veronica regime when she actually talks to Martha “Dumptruck” Dunnstock. A little  while earlier, she was playing croquet with her childhood friend, Betty Finn. Maybe they all went on to become the next Heathers?

Christian Slater looks like he was a bad boy in high school, so the task of taking on the role of J.D. was not brai surgery. He turns in the best performances of the film, from the the time we first meet him carefully observing Veronica to his psychotic plan to blow up the school at the end of the film, he seems disturbed, the perfect man for Winona Ryder.

Shannen Doherty starts out the film as the quiet, good-girl Heather, characteristics we’ve only seen from her on screen during the early days of Beverly Hills, 90210 and Little House on the Prairie. However, after some training with J.D., she takes over the role as chief Heather from the now deceased Heather Chandler. As the new Heather #1, we see Doherty as the bitch we know her for on-screen.

This film bombed at the box office, but has garnered a real big cult following. Can’t say I blame them, its not a bad picture. Personally, I wasn’t that into it and felt like it was dragging on in parts. However, as far as story/plot goes, its not half bad and is worth watching. Of course, if you’re going to watch it, I would suggest doing it quickly before your memories of the original are still pure and not poisoned by the upcoming TV-series remake of this.

3 out of 5 stars

The Crucible

PLOT:

Early morning in 1692 Salem, Massachusetts. All of the young village girls meet in the woods with an African American slave from Barbados named Tituba. Tituba begins a ritual and the girls call out the names of men they wish to marry. One girl, named Abigail, does something different. Instead of calling for the man she loves, named John Proctor, she kills a chicken, and drinks the blood, and wishes for Proctor’s wife to die. The girls begin to dance (one of them even runs naked) and run through the woods and suddenly are surprised when Abigail’s uncle, Reverend Parris (Bruce Davison) come to them. As the girls scream and run away, Parris’ daughter, Betty, falls over unconscious.

Back at Parris’ house, Betty will not awaken, nor will Ruth, the daughter of Thomas and Ann Putnam, who was also dancing. This strikes Mrs. Putnam hard as she has had seven other children before Ruth who died at childbirth. As well as the Putnams, the Parris house is also visited by Giles Corey, who is concerned about how his wife constantly reads books, Rebecca Nurse, who suspects that the children are just acting their sicknesses, and John Proctor. While alone outside with Proctor, Abigail strikes up a conversation with him, revealing that when she worked at his home previously, they had had an affair. Now Abigail still loves Proctor, but he feels that he made a mistake and leaves her. The Putnams and Reverend Parris believe that Betty and Ruth are demonically possessed, so they call from another town the Reverend Hale, who examines Betty, then gathers together the other girls who danced. To save themselves from punishment, Abigail claims that Tituba was working with the devil the entire time. The attention then turns to Tituba who insists on her innocence. When no one believes her, she confesses (after being whipped mercilessly and threatened with death if she did notconfess) and then she and all the other girls, including Betty, begin naming other women whom they “saw” with the devil. Soon, old drunks, people who curse others, and those who do so much as look funnily at others are accused as witches. Of those accused, three were Rebecca Nurse (accused by the Putnams for the supernatural murder of Mrs. Putnam’s babies), Martha Corey (for supernaturally cursing a man so that all the pigs he bought would die), and Elizabeth Proctor, John’s wife (accused by Abigail of using a doll to supernaturally give her a stab wound in the stomach).

John, determined not to give his lover in to “vengeance” insists that his servant, Mary Warren, one of the “affected” girls, testify in court that the witchcraft was faked. Although Mary Warren is frightened of Abigail, she eventually agrees. In the court, Francis Nurse gives a list of names of people who vouch for Martha, Rebecca, and Elizabeth’s character. The judges responded by ordering the arrest of every person on the list so they could be brought in for questioning. Giles Corey insists that when Ruth Putnam accused Rebecca Nurse, Mr. Putnam was heard to tell his daughter that she had won him a “fine gift of land” (the Nurses’ property was coveted by the Putnam family). Corey refuses to give the name of the person who heard this remark, however, as he knows that they will be arrested. The judges order Corey’s arrest for refusing to give the name. Meanwhile, Mary Warren insists that she only thought she saw spirits, which was why she screamed and fainted at the trials. John is told that Elizabeth is pregnant and will be spared from death until the baby is born, but he insists on charging the girls of false witness.

The other girls are called in and asked if they were lying about the witchcraft. Abigail pretends that Mary Warren is bewitching them with an icy breeze and begins to pray to God for help. Proctor angrily tells the court that Abigail is a whore, who accused Elizabeth to get rid of her in order to be able to marry him. Elizabeth is called in to see if the accusation is true, however, she does not know that John confessed and lies that the affair never took place, to protect his name. Reverend Hale, who believes now that the girls are lying, attempts to convince the court that Abigail is false, however the girls pretend that Mary Warren supernaturally began to attack them in the form of a yellow bird. The girls run from the courthouse, to a pond and jump in to escape from the “bird”.

To save herself from being hanged as a witch, Mary Warren accuses John of forcing her to upset the court and free Elizabeth. John angrily yells that “God is dead!” and is arrested as a warlock. Reverend Hale angrily quits the court. John, Elizabeth, Rebecca, Martha, and the other accused witches are excommunicated and seventeen are hanged.

On the day before John is to be hanged, Abigail attempts to convince the court that Hale’s wife is also a witch, but this ploy backfires on her because the judges believe that a reverend’s wife is too clean to be possessed by Satan. Abigail and another one of the girls steal Reverend Parris’s money to catch a ship to flee to Barbados, and Abigail asks John to go with her, telling him she never wished any of this on him. He refuses, telling her they will meet again in Hell.

On the eve of John, Martha, and Rebecca’s hanging, Parris fears that their execution will cause riots in Salem, as the three are very well-respected citizens. The judges refuse to postpone the executions, but allow John to meet with Elizabeth, to see if she could make her husband “confess”, convincing Martha and Rebecca to “confess” in the process. Martha and Rebecca refuse to “damn themselves”, but John agrees to. After signing the confession, however, he takes it from the judges, saying that there is no reason for it to be needed, as they saw him sign it and know he confessed. The judges insist that it must be hung up to prove his innocence and John angrily tears the confession, determined to keep his name pure. He is taken away with Martha and Rebecca to be hanged, as Hale and Parris plead with him to change his mind. The three are lead onto a platform where the crowd watches and have nooses tied around their necks. Before being hanged, they recite the Lord’s Prayer, with John, as the last one hanged, finishes it (but is unable to say Amen) as he is thrown from the scaffold, breaking his neck instantly

REVIEW:

In high school, we were assigned this play to read. Admittedly, I never got around to reading it, and faked my way through the corresponding assignments. A few days ago, I actually picked up the sam play and read it and figured it was about time I checked out the film version as well.

When it comes to adaptations, this has to go down as one of the more accurate ones. That could be because Arthur Miller wrote it himself. Anytime you have the play’s original author chipping in on a project based on his/her work, it is guaranteed to be good because they’ll know the way things should be done. Miller wrote a powerful screenplay for this film.

Daniel Day-Lewis has become quite the accomplished actor since this film, but he still turns out a great, stirring, emotional performance as John Proctor. You can really feel the torment and conflict goign through him for the first half of the film, followed by the pain and torture he goes through in the last half of the film. Not many actors have that kid of range, at least they can’t do it all in the same film.

Winona Ryder tries to be a serious actress, but just doesn’t cut it. Her character, Abigail, has the entire town wrapped around her finger with her acting, but Miss Ryder doesn’t capture the essence of the character and comes off as stiff and unbelievable. The good thing about her portrayal is that she did capture the bitchiness of Abigail as she seems to be running the town.

The rest of the cast is brilliant, especially Joan Allen, who plays Elizabeth Proctor and the actor who played Judge Danforth to life…his name escapes me at the moment, though. Both of these indiviuals outshone the rest of the cast, and may even have taken som of the spotlight from the leads.

Acting wise, this film is a clinic on what you should do. Film wise it is great, but not memorable…at least from my point of view. This is the kind of film critics love, bu audiences tend to ignore, myself included. I can’t say that I blame anyone for not getting into this. I mean, there is a nice long section where I found myself nodding off hoping they would hurry and end it. That’s not a knock against the film, as much as it is just they put too much in here. Still, it isn’t a bad film and worth a viewing.

4 out of 5 stars

Beetlejuice

PLOT:

Barbara (Geena Davis) and Adam (Alec Baldwin) Maitland decide to spend their vacation decorating their idyllic New England country home. Upon returning from the trip to town, however, Barbara swerves to avoid a dog wandering the roadway. The couple’s vehicle crashes through a covered bridge and plunges into the river below, killing Barbara and Adam. The couple soon returns home in spirit form and, based on the fact they have no visible reflection in the mirror, quickly come to the conclusion that they are dead. A book entitled Handbook for the Recently Deceased confirms the couple’s suspicion that they are, in fact, dead. Adam then attempts to leave the house to retrace his steps, but finds himself in a strange otherworldly dimension referred to as Saturn, which happens to be covered in sand and populated by enormous sand worms.

After going back into their home to seek refuge, Barbara and Adam’s peace is soon shattered when their house is sold and the new residents arrive from New York City. The Deetzes, consisting of Charles (Jeffrey Jones), aspiring sculptor and Charles’ second wife Delia (Catherine O’Hara), and Charles’ Goth daughter Lydia (Winona Ryder) from his first marriage, move into the home.

Under the guidance of interior designer Otho (Glenn Shadix), the Deetzes begin transforming the house into a horrific piece of modern art. The Maitlands seek help from their afterlife case worker, Juno (Sylvia Sidney), who informs them that they must remain in the house for 125 years. If they want the Deetzes out, it is up to them to scare them away. The Maitlands’ attempts at haunting their home prove ineffective.

Although the Maitlands remain invisible to Charles and Delia, their daughter Lydia can see Adam and Barbara and becomes their friend. Against the advice of Juno, the Maitlands contact the miscreant Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton), a freelance “bio-exorcist”, to scare away the Deetzes, but Beetlejuice is more interested in marrying Lydia in order to re-enter the land of the living. It takes the combined efforts of the Maitlands and Lydia to defeat Beetlejuice and banish him to the afterlife. The Deetzes and the Maitlands then decide to live together in harmony.

REVIEW:

This is one of the fist movies I remember going to see on my own, so it has a special place in my heart. 20 yrs after its initial release, it hasn’t lost any of its charm.

Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis are quite believable as a young couple who just drowned in a river and are coping with the afterlife. Winona Ryder shows off her young acting chops and is a bit freaky when she first appears on screen. Jeffrey Jones and Catherine O’Hara are tremendous underrated actors who give excellent performances with what little parts they have.  This brings us to the star if the film, Michael Keaton.

Hard to believe that this guy a year later would be Batman, or that later in his career he would be a snowman and the voice of a cocky race car. Here we see what Keaton can really do. This is the kind of film that made Keaton what he is. A role where he can just ad-lib and be himself. Beetlejuice would not be as memorable a film or character if not for him.

This is a dark comedy that doesn’t even try to take itself seriosuly. A trait that films of today seem to forget how to do. It is very entertaining and refreshing.

If I have any quarrel with this movie, it is that we don’t really know much about Beetlejuice, such as how he died (other than his mention of surviving the Black Plague), his relationship with Juno, why his name has to be said 3 times, etc.

Tim Burton is a genius. I don’t think I’ve seen a film of his I don’t like. Having said that, aside from the Batman films, this may be my favorite from his resume. You should check it out for yourself. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

5 out of 5 stars