For Your Consideration

MICHELLE PFIEFFER in STARDUST

Pfieffer's "star" turn in Stardust is revelatory because in her two year absence from film it was easy to forget her ability to sink herself into a character with wicked devilish delight. In playing 400 year old witch Lamia, she takes full charge of the film and infusing her Catwoman-like charisma to full tilt. It's easy to dismiss this whimsy-filled fantasy as mere fluff because it essentially is, but Pfieffer gorgeously instills her beauty, her intelligence, and biting wit making Stardust far better than it had any right to be. She was callously ignored by the powers that be and the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences for Batman Returns, which was one of the most inspired genre performances of the last quarter century, but I implore she gets applause here. Pfieffer gives Stardust the devious villain it needs and enriches the film by playing it straight. Lamia needs the heart of a fallen star to keep her young and gorgeous-- you see her obsession, her madness and the joy of an actress relishing a role made for her.

Hairspray

In the last six years, the movie musical has fluctuated from the resurgence to past glory (Moulin Rouge!, Chicago) to overload (Rent, The Phantom of the Opera) to make-it-stop already (The Producers) to okay, maybe one more (Dreamgirls.) Director Adam Shankman's transfer of John Waters's beloved Hairspray is happily, and to my suprise, a step in the right direction. In adapting Waters's 1988 film turned Broadway musical turned movie musical, Shankman uses the right approach-- make it fun and don't try too hard to do too much, and in turn it's a delightful, blissfully non-ironic blast from the past. In the role that made Ricki Lake a star in the 80s and gave Marissa Jaret Winokur a Tony Award, newcomer Nikki Blonsky plays Tracy Turnblad, fond of "The Corny Collins Show," dancing and integration. Tracy has always been the heart of Hairspray, and Blonsky gives her the right note of chipperness and charm. The proud and chubby daughter of Wilbur and Edna Turnblad (Christopher Walken and John Travolta), Tracy was always the purest of Waters's characters in his tamest sideshow. Travolta, in the role immortalized by Divine, Waters's muse, was always the oddest choice on paper here, but despite some of the problems (mostly a strange and ill-fitting accent) that never lift the performance from the sidelines, Travolta underlines his\her Edna with sweetness and it's great to see him dance once again. The story is pretty simple-- Tracy longs to dance on "The Corny Collins Show." and snog with local star Link Larkin (Zac Effron); along the way she finds substance in breaking the barriers of segregation, while showing off villainy station manage Velma von Tussle (a wonderfully fiendish Michelle Pfieffer), and her bratty daughter, Amber (Brittany Snow.) What makes Hairspray special is it's sense of fun and play, while simultaneously debunking the low expectations one might have about a musical adaptation from an artistically challenged director (Shankman previously directed Bringing Down the House and The Pacificer after all.) The performances are period spot-on and overall terrific as well. As Corny Collins, James Marsden nails the period's put on a happy face, Dick Clark role, and proves himself a terrific singer as well. Queen Latifah is splendid as Motormouth Maybelle, and her rendition of "Bring on that Pecan Pie," is as funny as it is soulful. Christopher Walken proves a charming song-and-dance man in a role, really only he could play. Youngins Amanda Bynes, Brittany Snow, Elijah Kelly and Effron are good as well. So brava to Mr. Shankman for concocting the happiest movie of the summer, and proving me wrong. GRADE: B+

For Your Consideration

MOLLY SHANNON IN YEAR OF THE DOG

This is a plea to the trusted actors, producers, writer, directors, and other film craftsmen to not forget the wonderful performance given by Molly Shannon in Mike White's Year of the Dog come years end. Shannon plays Peggy, a lonely secretary and dog lover, when her beloved pooch Pencil dies, Peggy goes on a weird, metaphysical odyssey that's tragic and comic and strange. It's a credit to White's insightful screenplay, but mostly Shannon's outstanding, and un-showy performance. She never relies on histrionics or actorly tricks, there's no grandstanding her, which is why I fear that her turn her get lost in the crowd when this year comes to a close. Shannon nails the characters quiet aloofness whether she's debating the sexuality of fellow dog lover Peter Sarsgaard, quietly despising sister-in-law Laura Dern for her anti-animal awareness, or treading in pain while being romanced by a creepy John C. Rielly. The most joyous scene in the movie shows Peggy on her bed with a houseful of dogs running around destroying her place-- here Shannon exposes the passion and redemptive quality of giving a life purpose. BEST ACTRESS- Molly Shannon.

Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix

Let me preface by stating I have read not one word of J.K. Rowling's six (about to be seven) book opus and with the exception of Alfonso Cuaron's Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, haven't been all that impressed with films spawned. However watching Peter Yates' (a veteran of BBC television movies, most notably The Girl in the Cafe) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, for the first time I actually want to pick up the damn book. This a darker, more brooding film. Harry is more brittle and rattled and the change makes for the best Potter film to date. The sense of whimsy is little, but the magic is there.
The fifth film picks up where the clumsily put together Goblet of Fire ended; Lord Voldemort has returned, Cedric Diggory is dead, and Harry (Daniel Radcliffe, nailing the angst and vulnerability beautifully, possibly learning a thing or too from the seasoned actors that take part in this films) is downtrodden and haunted. Order of the Phoenix works better than the other films because it's less about plot and more about Harry's emotional state-- it's not brimming with climaxes every five minutes, and stops to breathe every couple of minutes. It's the most nimble of the series so far, and with the shortest running time.
Things get grimmer for Harry and gang as the next year at Hogwarts commences. A new Defense of the Arts teacher is on board, Dolores Jane Umbridge (played with delight and rage by Imelda Staunton.) She's a member of Ministry of Magic sent to Hogwarts to cleanse the school of it's values, and the possibly dangerous intentions of headmaster Dumbledore (Michael Gambon), one of the few personages who believes Harry that the Dark Lord is indeed back. Another new edition to the story is Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange, and without giving anything away, she's crazy and wonderful, and without reading the original text, I may not be shrewd in stating, but perfectly cast. The whole story of the Ministry and Ms. Umbridge adds a smidgen of political commentary to this segment (an ineffectual governement, unburdened by evidence, and with a knack for fear mongering, come on.) So not only does Harry have to defeat Ms. Umbridge, and Voldemort, but also his own psyche, which makes for the darkest, deepest, and most cinematic Potter film to date.
Yates, a Potter neophyte, along with newcomer screenwriter Michael Goldenberg have concocted the most imaginative and splendid of the five films, this is only one that has a sense of real magic and real doom, it's the best realized of the films to date, not so focused on slavish adaptive rendering for the fear of upset fans. The acting is a lot better too-- Radcliffe seems sharper and more focused, even as Harry is more withdrawn and complex and Staunton gives an award worthy performance for her Miss Brodie Jean role on crack. So kudos are in order here-- it's really the first Potter film that made me give a damn. A-

There's Something Unsettling about That!

In my previous entry, I essayed the allegorical context of films past. Now it's time for the present. Movies are such a powerful medium, many of noted that when watching them, we have similar brain activity as when we're dreaming. Even the worst of mush can lull us. Classics like On the Waterfront and High Noon, great, must-be-seen movies lull us into a false sense of security-- giving a great story (with two contrary opinions) and are actually about something completely different. We can state that now since that period is long and gone, even though it still burns to those involved and still alive. But what about today, in a post 9/11 world, the Bush world, the "war on terror" world. Again films are springing forth that while not exactly addressing today modern woes, they allude to them just as before, even those that might surprise.
I started thinking about those a long time ago, different trends that seem to popular in modern filmmaking, and am slightly jarred, if not exactly surprised. It's interesting, I think, that the last five or six years have seen a rebirth in based-on-comic-book movies and a revisionist take on horror movies. Sure lots of these movies were greenlit, possibly even made before 9/11, but there seems to an up tick in the sort of politically commentary, even if very subtle. It's hard to think about this when watching movies like Spider-man, The Hulk, Superman Returns, Batman Begins, etc., but it makes sense, in our post 9/11 world, that they would be popular. In a time when fear seems to be president's alley, maybe it feels like we need a superhero to set things right, to make peace with the world. Things are so bad us ordinary schleps can't do it at all. My mind directly thinks of that moment in Spielberg's War of the Worlds, when mayhem starts, and little Dakota Fanning exclaims, "is it the terrorists."
When it comes to horror films, it seems the general consensus is that one can never cross the like of too-bloody, too-gory, too-whatever else. In movies like Hostel, Saw, The Hills Have Eyes, etc., countless destruction is shown in all it's non-glory. It's torture porn, but it could also be an artistic expression of the palpable rage of authority in this country. This is an outlet for my anger and confusion at the world, the present state of this country, the lack of direction, the madness of living in a post 9/11 world. Another trend I've noticed (forgive me for my haphazard way of writing) is that between 2003-2005, there seemed to be a lot of vigilante-type films arriving. I'm thinking of the Kill Bill serious, Man on Fire, The Punisher, I'm sure there's some I'm forgetting. It seems another outlet for underlying anger felt by this country.
One of the best examples of a modern allegory is, in my opinion, Lar von Trier's Dogville. It's about a young woman, Grace (Nicole Kidman), whose running away from the mobster bad thugs guys and stumbles upon a quaint Rocky Mountain village. After much debate, the members of Dogville (the name of the town) agree to help hide her out in exchange that she works for them. Grace happily agrees and for a while everything is heavenly. Then the township turns on her, becoming greedy and demanding too much, to extent that she becomes a slave. When her past catches up with her, she has the option of vengeance and takes it. It's ripe with political commentary, and a great movie. When Dogville opened a few years back, lots of criticism poured in that von Trier was anti-American, which may be true (he is supposedly a bit of loon, who's never actually been to American, due to a fear of flying), but that's besides the point. What's up on screen to me does not point fingers at American specifically, but the ugliness of human nature, exposing the fabric of greediness and selfishness we all possess. But what makes this film a juicy one to analyze is that basically it's a modern day version of The Crucible. The film, made in a bare-boned auteurish way, is a modern day allegory of events leading up to 9/11.
I want to conclude by stating I'm a bona fide patriot, but also it's important to know and understand the bad things America has done, past and present. It's important to argue, debate, and discuss these things. I believe the open discussion is what makes America so wonderful-- you read the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, it's beautiful, empowering writing; it makes you want to high five all the four fathers and go out drinking with them and learn some more.