Isle of Dogs

Directed by Wes Anderson and screenplay by Anderson from a story by Anderson, Roman Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, and Kunichi Nomura, Isle of Dogs is the story of a young boy in a futuristic, dystopian-Japan who travels to an island where dogs are living in exile due to an illness outbreak. The film is Anderson’s second stop-motion animated feature as it plays into a boy’s search for his dog where a group of dogs decide to help the boy as well as deal with being in exile because of a leader who hates dogs as the story is narrated by Courtney B. Vance. Featuring the voice cast of Bryan Cranston, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Jeff Goldblum, Koyu Rankin, Greta Gerwig, Frances McDormand, Scarlett Johansson, Ken Watanabe, Fisher Stevens, Yoko Ono, Harvey Keitel, Liev Schreiber, Bob Balaban, Tilda Swinton, Frank Wood, and F. Murray Abraham. Isle of Dogs is a majestic and adventurous film from Wes Anderson.

Following a mandate to ban dogs from a Japanese by its mayor claiming that dogs are spreading diseases as they’re consumed by a mysterious illness, the film revolves around a young boy who travels to an island of trash to find his dog. It’s a film with a simple story as it explores conspiracy theories and paranoia from the perspective of humans while the dogs are dealing with hunger, an on-going flu, and the horrific environment they live in. Wes Anderson’s screenplay opens with a prologue of a legend about the arrival of dogs in Japan and how it lead to this conflict between man vs. dog until a boy came to the aid of dogs and would make them man’s best friend. It’s a story that would be replayed in this futuristic version of Japan where a mayor who hates dogs decides to create something to get the public to have dogs banned as it is told in four parts by an unseen narrator. Yet, the main narrative involves the mayor’s nephew Atari (Koyu Rankin) wanting to retrieve his dog Spots (Liev Schreiber) whom he got just after Atari had been injured in a train crash that killed his parents.

The need to retrieve Spots would have Atari land on this island filled with trash that was also the former site of a factory and amusement park where he would meet five dogs in Chief (Bryan Cranston), Boss (Bill Murray), Rex (Edward Norton), King (Bob Balaban), and Duke (Jeff Goldblum) where four of the dogs would help Atari find Spots but Chief is reluctant as he’s a stray dog that hasn’t known any loyalty to a master as he’s known to bite. Yet, the dogs would deal with a rescue team that has robotic dogs to attack where Chief decides to help Atari as it would play into this development between dog and boy, respectively, as it would also lead to some revelations to the former while giving the latter a sense of hope. The film also has subplots as it relates to students wanting to go against the mayor led by American foreign exchange student Tracy Walker (Greta Gerwig) who believes there’s a conspiracy happening involving the mayor and his cohorts where they are also attempting to shut down a scientist in Professor Watanabe (Akira Ito) from creating a cure for the dogs.

Anderson’s direction is definitely intoxicating for the way he uses Japanese art and its architecture to create a world that is futuristic in some ways but also harkens to the tradition of the past. With the help of animation director Mark Waring, Anderson creates a film that does play into his visual sensibilities in terms of his precise compositions, camera movements, and offbeat humor. Yet, he would also utilize broad visuals to play into this world as the island of trash is desolate but also wild with rumors of cannibalistic dogs who eat other dogs. There are also these elements where Anderson uses satire as it relates to the rule and rhetoric of Mayor Kobayashi (Kunichi Nomura) that has similarities to current events in the world in how dogs are being treated as they’re sent to this island of trash with more plans to get rid of them altogether. Especially as Kobayashi has a henchman in Major Domo (Akira Takayama) who is trying to create more chaos where a lot of the visuals play into elements of suspense and drama.

Anderson’s direction also has these tender moments as it relates to the developing relationship between Chief and Atari as it has bits of humor and drama with Chief carrying a secret of his own about his life as a stray dog when the subject of favorite foods emerge during a conversation with the other dogs. Many of the dialogue between the dogs are in English while the humans, with the exception of Tracy and a few translators, are in Japanese. It allows audience to see a world that is unique while unsettling at times as it plays into this growing tension for truth with the people in this Japanese city being told false things while Tracy is trying to reveal the truth with Atari making plans to return to the city with the dogs in the hope that the truth will come out. Overall, Anderson crafts a mesmerizing and exhilarating film about a boy who travels to an island of trash to find his dog.

Cinematographer Tristan Oliver does excellent work with the film’s cinematography in the way many of the backgrounds are lit as well as the presentation of some of the interior settings in day and night in terms of the lighting. Editors Andrew Weisblum, Ralph Foster, and Edward Busch do brilliant work with the editing as it has elements of jump cuts and other stylish cut to play into the action and suspense as well as some of the drama. Production designers Paul Harrod and Adam Stockhausen, with art director Curt Enderle, do incredible work with the look of the city in all of its grand detail as it is a major highlight of the film as well as how it would look in the day and night as is the island of trash with its decayed buildings and other places in the island.

Visual effects supervisors Lev Kolobov and Tim Ledbury do fantastic work with the visual effects as it is mainly bits of set dressing including scenes shown on a TV screen for the characters to watch as it help play into the stop-motion animated look. Sound editors Wayne Lemmer and Christopher Scarabosio do superb work with the sound in some of the sound effects involving the drones and robotic dogs as well as in some of the locations the characters are in. The film’s music by Alexandre Desplat is amazing for its usage of Japanese percussion and string music to help play into the drama and suspense as it’s another major highlight of the film while music supervisor Randall Poster provides a soundtrack that include a few score pieces of films by Akira Kurosawa and a song by The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band that play for some of the adventure scenes.

The casting by Douglas Aibel and Kunichi Nomura is incredible as it features some small yet notable voice roles from co-writer Nomura as Mayor Kobayashi in all of his grandiose persona as well as Yoko Ono as Professor Watanabe’s assistant, Ken Watanabe as a head surgeon who helped Atari following the train crash, Fisher Stevens as a dog named Scraps whom Spots meet as he would tell him about cannibal dogs, Kara Hayward as a female dog named Peppermint, Anjelica Huston as a mute dog, Frank Wood as translator machine, Yojiro Noda as a news anchor, Nijiro Murakami as a school newspaper editor, Akira Ito as Professor Watanabe as a scientist who wants to disprove Kobayashi’s claims while wanting to create a cure for the dogs, and Akira Takayama as Kobayashi’s right-hand man Major Domo who would help Kobayashi in creating the anti-dog propaganda.

Liev Schreiber is terrific as Atari’s dog Spots who had been assigned to look after Atari following a near-fatal train crash while Harvey Keitel is superb as Gondo as a dog who leads a group of his own. F. Murray Abraham and Tilda Swinton are fantastic in their respective roles as Jupiter and Oracle as the former is a dog that helps the other dogs in finding Spots by showing them the way while the latter is a dog that claims to see the future as he’s really more into TV. Frances McDormand is excellent as Interpreter Nelson who would reveal the things that Kobayashi is saying while Greta Gerwig is wonderful as Tracy Walker as an American foreign exchange student who helps lead a student revolt against Kobayashi. Scarlett Johansson is brilliant as Nutmeg as a show-dog that convinces Chief to help Atari as she sees Atari as someone that can find the goodness in Chief.

The quartet of Bob Balaban, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Murray, and Edward Norton in their respective roles as King, Duke, Boss, and Rex are brilliant as the four dogs who have been treated well by their masters as they’re willing to help Atari find Spots while dealing with Chief’s reluctance. Koyu Rankin is remarkable as Atari as Kobayashi’s nephew who is eager to find his dog as he endures injuries and heartache as he is determined to get his dog back while befriending the other dogs including Chief. Finally, there’s Bryan Cranston in a phenomenal performance as Chief as a stray dog who has endured being captured and in a lot of fights who is reluctant to help Atari due to his own mistrusts towards humans where he later finds a sense of trust as well as a role that is far more important than himself.

Isle of Dogs is a tremendous film from Wes Anderson. Featuring a great cast, gorgeous visuals, top-notch stop-motion animation, amazing set designs, and a thrilling score by Alexandre Desplat. The film is an exciting yet compelling adventure film that takes a simple concept and inject some real-life allegories about the world as it all plays for a boy’s love for his dog. In the end, Isle of Dogs is a spectacular film from Wes Anderson.

Wes Anderson Films: Bottle Rocket - Rushmore - The Royal Tenenbaums - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Hotel Chevalier - The Darjeeling Limited - Fantastic Mr. Fox - Moonrise Kingdom - Castello Cavalcanti - The Grand Budapest Hotel - The French Dispatch - Asteroid City - The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar - The Swan - The Rat Catcher - Poison - The Phoenician Scheme - The Auteurs #8: Wes Anderson

Wes Anderson Film Soundtracks: Bottle Rocket - Rushmore - The Royal Tenenbaums - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou - Seu Jorge-The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions - The Darjeeling Limited - Fantastic Mr. Fox - (Moonrise Kingdom) – (The Grand Budapest Hotel) – (Isle of Dogs)

© thevoid99 2018

The Bonfire of the Vanities

Based on the novel by Tom Wolfe, The Bonfire of the Vanities is the story of a Wall Street investor whose life of wealth and materialism shatters after his mistress had ran over an African-American teenager in the Bronx where a district attorney and many others want to punish the man for their own selfish reasons. Directed by Brian de Palma and screenplay by Michael Cristofer, the film is an exploration of a world gone wrong where a man is being ruined as an alcoholic reporter tries to capture everything that is happening. Starring Tom Hanks, Melanie Griffith, Bruce Willis, F. Murray Abraham, Kim Cattral, Saul Rubinek, Alan King, John Hancock, Kevin Dunn, and Morgan Freeman. The Bonfire of the Vanities is a disastrously incomprehensable and outrageously bad film from Brian de Palma.

The film explores the rise and fall of a Wall Street investor whose life is shattered where he is targeted by many factions including the press, political leaders, racial factions, and religious leaders over the hit-and-run of an African-American teenager in South Bronx in which his mistress actually ran over the young man. It’s a film that has a lot to delve into as it is largely told by a washed-up, alcoholic reporter who would later turn the story into a best-selling novel where he reflects on everything he wrote during an event that would celebrate his achievement. While it is a story that explores the world of materialism, social classes, greed, power, race-baiting, and all sorts of things. It is meant to be presented as a satire where it would’ve been an intriguing idea on paper. Unfortunately, what is presented is something that sort of takes itself too seriously and doesn’t offer very much in terms of characters to care for nor a story to really be invested in.

Michael Cristofer’s script doesn’t just sensationalize things as it plays into the chaos of inhumanity not just in the way many rich, white people are portrayed but also in how minorities are depicted and how even the media and political figures are portrayed with very few that have qualities that can redeem them. While the protagonist Sherman McCoy (Tom Hanks) and the reporter Peter Fallow (Bruce Willis) both go through some development where both of them would sort of display redemptive qualities. The way the development was written isn’t exactly smooth as both of those men aren’t good people either since McCoy is this entitled blue-blood who doesn’t think about how this incident will effect him until he realizes that there are those in the world of politics that want to fry him. His ignorance and indifference about the realities of the world would eventually not only give him a wake-up call where he does show remorse. There is a payoff to his development as he realizes that life he had with all of this money, a Park Avenue apartment, a vapid socialite for a wife, and an immoral job are all bullshit as the moment he snaps is a highlight.

The Fallow character does start off as someone who finds out about McCoy and his mistress Maria Ruskin (Melanie Griffith) where he gets McCoy targeted as a way to work again. Once he meets McCoy by accident where the two share a ride on the subway, though McCoy has no idea who he is talking to, where Fallow has a revelation about what he’s doing though he is still portrayed as some alcoholic schmuck. The other main characters such as Maria Ruskin, District Attorney Abe Weiss (F. Murray Abraham), and Reverend Bacon (John Hancock) don’t really have anything that makes them complex as Ruskin is a gold-digging slut from the South, Weiss is a power-hungry Jew who wants to become mayor, and the reverend is a man who uses racism for not just power but also greed. Weiss and Bacon don’t care if McCoy is really innocent while Ruskin is someone who doesn’t want to own up to anything as she’ll do anything to save her hide by aligning herself with the assistant DA Jed Kramer (Saul Rubinek). All of which would lead to this climax in which Sherman McCoy would take drastic measures for the truth to come out.

Brian de Palma’s direction is definitely a mess despite this start where it opens with a five-and-a-half minute tracking shot of Peter Fallow getting ready for this presentation in a building where it displays that sense of inventiveness in de Palma’s as well as the way he would create close-ups in some of the key events in the film such as McCoy saying he’s sorry in court. While de Palma does create some amazing images and stylistic shots that would include an intimate medium shot inside a subway where Fallow and McCoy talk about what happened where McCoy would reveal something big that would mark a change in Fallow. Those moments along with the scene of McCoy finally snapping where he grabs a shotgun and gets everyone out of his apartment are the few scenes in the film that are worth watching. It’s just a shame that de Palma was unable to really do so much more for the rest of the film where it’s not the script that lets him down. It’s just the fact that it has no real identity in what it wants to be.

It’s not just a lot of the humor and approach to satire that doesn’t connect, it’s also in the fact that de Palma couldn’t do enough to make things more engaging where the many situations get more and more ridiculous that includes this weird dinner scene between Fallow and Maria’s husband Arthur (Alan King). These scenes tend to overwhelm whatever good the film tried to do where it would have this strange climax where McCoy is finally on trial with Ruskin ready to burn him. It is then followed by this monologue from Judge Leonard White (Morgan Freeman) that feels shoehorned as to create a message over everything this movie was supposed to be about. Though White’s words do hold some resonance about the dark aspects of humanity, it is unfortunately ignored over the fact that the people who wanted McCoy fried for his crimes to come off as even worse than they already are. Overall, de Palma creates an unfunny and nonsensical film about a rich white man accused of running over an African-American teenager where everyone tries to tear him apart for their own bullshit reasons.

Cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond does brilliant work with the film‘s cinematography in the way some of the interior scenes at night are light along with the look of the courtroom and the lighting for the scenes set in South Bronx as it play into that disconnect between the social classes. Editors Bill Pankow and David Ray do some fine work in the editing in trying to create some stylish cuts in the dramatic moments along a few split-screen pieces but much of it doesn‘t really work while the comedic moments don‘t hit it off editing wise. Production designer Richard Sylbert, with set decorators Joe D. Mitchell and Justin Scoppa Jr. and art directors Gregory Bolton and Peter Landsdown Smith, does fantastic work with the look of McCoy‘s lavish Park Avenue apartment home as well as the apartment that Maria would live in that actually belonged to one of Fallow‘s colleagues.

Costume designer Ann Roth does nice work with the costumes from the lavish clothes that the women wear as well as the very cheesy and silly clothes of Reverend Bacon. Sound editor Maurice Schell does terrific work with the sound to play into some of the moments at some of the social gatherings including the scene where McCoy snaps and gets rid of everyone from his home. The film’s music by Dave Grusin is pretty good for its orchestral-based score that play into the world of the rich and important though some of its attempts to create comedic-like pieces aren’t so great.

The casting by Lynn Stalmaster is superb despite the fact that many of the people who were in the film weren’t given much to do or play characters that were fully realized to the point that they just become caricatures. Notable small roles include a young Kirsten Dunst as Sherman and Judy McCoy’s young daughter Campbell and Donald Moffat as Sherman’s father as they’re among the few characters who actually show some good to the world. Other performances from Adam LaFerve as McCoy’s fellow stockbroker Rawlie Thorpe, Barton Heyman and Norman Parker as a couple of detectives meeting McCoy over the incident, Andre Gregory as an AIDS-stricken poet, Geraldo Rivera as a tabloid reporter, Clifton James as a friend of Reverend Bacon who would give Fallow the scoop, Robert Stephens as one of Fallow’s bosses, Beth Broderick as a colleague of Fallow who would reveal a key point in the film’s plot, Louis Giamblavo as an associate of the district attorney, and Kurt Fuller as McCoy’s neighbor Pollard Browning aren’t given anything to do where some are just played for laughs or as people no one can give a fuck about.

In the role of the hit-and-run victim’s mother, Mary Alice gives a very quiet performance until there’s a moment in the film which has this reveal which makes her a horrible person as it’s a real waste of Alice. Kevin Dunn is alright as McCoy’s lawyer Tom Killian as someone who tries to get McCoy to see the severity and reality of his situation. John Hancock’s performance as the Reverend Bacon is just fucking silly as this Al Sharpton-caricature that is supposed to be played for laughs but ends up being really dumb. Saul Rubinek also gives a terrible performance as assistant DA Jed Kramer as this buffoon who tries to do whatever it takes to win and help Weiss as he’s just Weiss’ bitch. Kim Cattrall is just fucking horrible as Sherman’s wife Judy as this vapid socialite who is more concerned about social statues and gatherings while trying to look and act the part of a wife as she doesn’t provide much depth except for the scene where she tells her daughter what Sherman does for a living. Alan King is wasted in his small role as Maria’s husband Alan as he only has a few scenes where the big scene he’s in during a dinner with Fallow is one of the most ridiculous as it displays some of the worst aspects of wealth and power.

F. Murray Abraham, in an un-credited role, as District Attorney Abe Weiss is just horrendous in how brash he is as it’s character that is never fleshed out and is once again a bad attempt at satire that never really connects. Morgan Freeman is excellent in his role as Judge Leonard White as one of the few characters in the film that actually stands for something where he does give this amazing monologue in the end though Freeman doesn’t go unscathed where it is kind of obvious he is wearing a bald cap in the film. Melanie Griffith is bad as Maria Ruskin as this Southern gold digger who cares more about herself than Sherman where Griffith is right for the role but is never given much to do while the script also fails her to make her compelling.

Bruce Willis’s performance as Peter Fallow is a prime example of someone just basically sleep-walking through the film. It’s a performance where Willis doesn’t do much but look and act drunk as someone who is pathetic only to be given this story where he tries to do what is right but Willis would have this smugness to the role that is just wrong for the role. Finally there’s Tom Hanks where it’s a performance that isn’t bad but it is clear he is not the right person to play Sherman McCoy. Despite the moment where his character snaps and just goes bonkers, Hanks was really unable to rise above the script’s shortcomings to make the character more engaging as well as the fact that’s kind of too likeable to play this Wall Street investor that is quite full of himself as it’s really Hanks being completely miscast.

The Bonfire of the Vanities is a horrendous film from Brian de Palma. Nonsensical storylines, ugly characters, wasted talent, and a lot of inconsistency in what it wanted to be. The film isn’t just a bad satire but also a film that displays some of the worst aspects of humanity through greed, power, race-baiting, and all sorts of bullshit. In the end, The Bonfire of the Vanities is a horrific and awful film from Brian de Palma.

Brian De Palma Films: (Murder a la Mod) - (Greetings) - (The Wedding Party) - (Dionysus in ‘69) - (Hi, Mom!) - (Get to Know Your Rabbit) - Sisters - Phantom of the Paradise - Obsession - Carrie - The Fury - (Home Movies) - Dressed to Kill - Blow Out - Scarface (1983 film) - Body Double - (Wise Guys) - The Untouchables - Casualties of War - Raising Cain - Carlito's Way - Mission: Impossible - Snake Eyes - Mission to Mars - Femme Fatale - The Black Dahlia - (Redacted) - Passion (2012 film) - (Domino (2018 film))

© thevoid99 2016

Inside Llewyn Davis

Written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, Inside Llewyn Davis is the story in the week of a life of a struggling folk singer who is talented but also his own worst enemy as he deals with his own failures as well as his lack of success. The film is an exploration into the Greenwich folk music scene of the early 1960s where one man deals with his own gift and his faults as a person as the character is played by Oscar Isaac. Also starring Carey Mulligan, Justin Timberlake, Garrett Hedlund, F. Murray Abraham, and John Goodman. Inside Llewyn Davis is an extraordinary film from the Coen Brothers.

The film is essentially about a man who is undoubtedly talented but is a wandering fuck-up who manages to make a mess out of himself and the people he’s with. Notably as he is this musician who hasn’t been successful while still grieving over the death of his singing partner as he’s trying to make whatever money he can get and catch a break. Yet, Llewyn Davis is practically his own worst enemy as he is quite critical of others in the Greenwich folk music scene that is happening while he also learns that one of his fellow musicians in Jean (Carey Mulligan) is pregnant as he might be the father. It’s a film that takes place in the span of a week where it’s essentially a character study about this man trying to find his place in the world only to face all sorts of tribulation.

The film’s screenplay by the Coen Brothers takes it time to showcase the journey that Llewyn Davis takes in the span of an entire week where the first act is about Davis’ struggle in Greenwich where he crashes in various places while dealing with Jean’s news as her husband Jim (Justin Timberlake) asks him to do a session for a song Jim has made. While Llewyn has some respect for Jim, there is some jealousy over the fact that Jim is successful despite the fact that he doesn’t have Llewyn’s gifts as a real artist. After meeting another folk musician that Jim and Jean had befriend in Troy (Stark Sands), the film would have this second act of Llewyn traveling to Chicago with a stray cat he had found. The cat that Llewyn encounters is a symbol of what Llewyn could do if he doesn’t screw up yet there’s a side of him that is definitely full of fear where Llewyn isn’t sure if he can take care of a cat let alone a child since Jean could be carrying his child.

The film’s second act also has Llewyn encountering a strange music impresario named Roland Turner (John Goodman) and his valet Johnny Five (Garrett Hedlund) who accompany him to Chicago for this audition with a renowned manager named Bud Grossman (F. Murray Abraham). The trip itself would be strange where it would add to Llewyn’s own doubts about himself where he would eventually arrive into Chicago with a lot of emotional baggage that he’s gained in the past few days. The third act would be about his return to New York City where it would play into the aftermath of his Chicago trip and the uncertainty of what to do next as it plays into Llewyn’s own fallacies as a man and as a musician.

The direction of the Coen Brothers is truly exquisite in not just the way they recreate the 1960s Greenwich folk music scene but also set it around a man who feels more and more out of place with the scene he was once a part of. Much of the direction have the Coens use a lot of wide and medium shots where it’s largely shot in New York City to play into a world that is constantly changing and thriving. There’s some close-ups and very interesting moments that the Coens create such as a scene of Llewyn trying to catch this stray cat called Ulysses whose owners are these music aficionados who often invite him to crash at their place. Yet, the scenes involving the cat as well as the opening sequence of Llewyn playing at this smoky, dimly-lit venue where it showcases where he’s coming from and the emotional baggage that he’s carrying.

The film does also become a road film of sorts in the second act where the images of the car driving on the road are quite entrancing as it showcases that uncertainty of Llewyn as he’s a man with no home or no direction home. The film in some ways is a folk song being played on screen as the Coens also shoot a few scenes in Chicago where it’s cold and Llewyn faces one bad situation after another before his audition. The compositions become much more stark in not just its imagery but also in the way it explores Llewyn’s own faults and the uncertainty he faces. Overall, the Coen Brothers create a very fascinating and engaging film about a man’s faults and the uncertainty that he carries about who he is and what he does.

Cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel does brilliant work with the film‘s very lush and colorful cinematography that is filled with exotic colors for some of the film‘s interior scenes that includes the small venue that Llewyn and other folk musicians play at as well as the richness for some of the film‘s daytime and nighttime exterior scenes. Under the Roderick Jaynes alias, the Coen Brothers do excellent work in the editing where they use a lot of stylish cuts from its fade-outs and transitions to play into the drama that unfolds throughout the film. Production designer Jess Gonchor, along with set decorator Susan Bode Tyson and art director Deborah Jensen, does amazing work with the set pieces from the look of the folk venue that the characters play at to the very thin hallways in the apartments the characters live in.

Costume designer Mary Zophres does fantastic work with the costumes as it is largely based on the clothes of the early 60s from the flamboyant look of Roland Turner to the straight-laced clothes that Jean and Jim wear. Visual effects supervisor Alex Lemke does terrific work with some of the minimal visual effects created such as the scenes of snow appearing on the nighttime road scenes. Sound editor Skip Lievsay does superb work with the film‘s sound from the atmosphere of the folk clubs as well as some of the calmer moments of the scenes on the road. Music archivist T-Bone Burnett does an outstanding work in compiling the film’s soundtrack as many of the actors in the film do their own singing as the songs chosen for the film do help tell the story. Notably as the music features contributions from Marcus Mumford and Chris Elridge in many of the songs played which also includes a rarity from Bob Dylan.

The casting by Ellen Chenoweth is great for the ensemble that is created as it includes some notable appearances from Adam Driver as a folk musician who aids Llewyn in a session for Jim, Jeanine Serralles as Llewyn’s older sister Joy, Max Casella as a folk club owner, Ethan Phillips and Robin Barlett as the music aficionados who let Llewyn crash at their place as they’re also Ulysses’ owner, Alex Karpovsky and Helen Hong as party guests that Llewyn meets at the aficionados’ home, Stark Sands as Jim and Jean’s friend Troy who is a good musician that Llewyn is annoyed by, and F. Murray Abraham in an excellent performance as the revered talent manager Bud Grossman who watches Llewyn plays as he decides his fate. Garrett Hedlund is terrific as Turner’s valet Johnny Five as he is very quiet throughout the film but there is something about him that adds to the strangeness of Llewyn’s encounter with Turner.

John Goodman is fantastic as the eccentric and flamboyant music impresario Roland Turner as a man who walks with two canes while musing on all sorts of things as his presence would leave Llewyn even more troubled. Justin Timberlake is amazing as Jim Berkey as this very talented and successful folk musician who is an all-around nice that just wants to help Llewyn out any way he can. Carey Mulligan is brilliant as Jean Berkey as a folk singer who despises Llewyn as she also tries to help while telling him that she’s pregnant with what might be their child which she has a hard time dealing with. Finally, there’s Oscar Isaac in an incredible performance as the titular character who is talented but unable to take his talents forward as he carries a lot of emotional baggage and a cat. It’s a performance that is eerie to watch where there’s aspects about him which are endearing but he’s also a guy that continuously fucks up every chance he has giving Isaac a career-defining performance.

Inside Llewyn Davis is a remarkable film from Joel and Ethan Coen that features a marvelous performance from Oscar Isaac. The film is not just an intriguing look into the failures and faults of a man but also the 1960s folk music scene in which he was a part of and how he feels out of place in that world. Especially where it’s a film that showcases what a struggling musician has to go through to make it in an ever-changing world. In the end, Inside Llewyn Davis is a phenomenal film from the Coen Brothers.

Coen Brothers Films: Blood Simple - Raising Arizona - Miller's Crossing - Barton Fink - The Hudsucker Proxy - Fargo - The Big Lebowski - O Brother, Where Art Thou? - The Man Who Wasn't There - Intolerable Cruelty - The Ladykillers - Paris Je T'aime-Tulieres -To Each His Own Cinema-World Cinema - No Country for Old Men - Burn After Reading - A Serious Man - True Grit - Hail, Caesar! - The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

The Auteurs #9: The Coen Brothers: Part 1 - Part 2

© thevoid99 2013

Mighty Aphrodite

Written, directed, and starring Woody Allen, Mighty Aphrodite is the story about a man who wants to know who is the real mother of his adopted son as he learns that she’s a prostitute where he decides to give her a better life. Inspired by George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion, the film explores a man’s desire to improve a young woman’s life as it is told by a Greek chorus. Also starring Helena Bohnam Carter, Mira Sorvino, Michael Rapaport, Peter Weller, and F. Murray Abraham. Mighty Aphrodite is a charming yet exhilarating film from Woody Allen.

The film revolves around a sports writer who is amazed by his adopted son’s intelligence as he wants to know who is his real mother. Upon learning that she’s a prostitute, he decides to help giving her a better life in the hopes that his adopted son would be proud of her if ever meets her. It’s a film where a man is eager to help this ditzy but kind-hearted prostitute/porn actress get the chance for a better life. Even as he’s dealing with a marriage that is losing its passion as his wife is being drawn to an art dealer. All of it is told by a Greek chorus who pops into the story every once in a while to help this man do something or to warn him of the consequence he might bring.

Woody Allen’s script is filled with some humor and drama as it is largely driven by its protagonist Lenny Weinrib (Woody Allen) as he was someone who was hesitant about having a child until Max (Jimmy McQuaid) comes into his world as he enjoys fatherhood. With his marriage to Amanda (Helena Bohnam Carter) kind of losing its luster, Lenny goes on the journey to find out who is Max’s mother as it is revealed in the form of this prostitute named Linda Ash (Mira Sorvino). Linda is a very interesting character as she is someone who isn’t very bright as she comes from a very dysfunctional family but has aspirations to go to Broadway but still does trick and a porn gig every once in a while. It prompts Lenny to do something to help this young woman to have a good life where he would try to set her up with a boxer named Kevin (Michael Rapaport) where Lenny’s own life would have some revelations of its own.

Allen’s direction is quite straightforward though there’s elements of styles in some of the long shots he creates as well as the scenes of the Greek chorus as it’s shot in Sicily. The Greek chorus scenes are filled with some dance numbers choreographed by Graciela Daniele as it’s often lively but also help to tell the story. Even as the Greek chorus leader (F. Murray Abraham) would pop in the story to give Lenny some advice. It adds the sense of a man wanting to do something for this young woman who seems to go nowhere while not telling her that he’s the adopted father of her son. Though it’s a film that doesn’t play with traditional structure in order to play with the idea of reality and fiction. It does manage to find a balance in the story that it wants to tell as the overall result is a very fascinating yet heartfelt film from Woody Allen.

Cinematographer Carlo Di Palma does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography from the low-key yet colorful look of some of the film‘s interiors to the more straightforward exterior scenes in the film. Editor Susan E. Morse does nice work with the editing from the transitions to go from the main story to the Greek chorus to a few montages to play up Linda‘s evolution. Production designer Santo Loquasto, with set decorator Susan Bode and art director Tom Warren, does amazing work with the set pieces from Linda‘s apartment to the place where the Greek chorus tell their story.

Costume designer Jeffrey Kurland does brilliant work with the costumes from the clothes that Linda wears to the robes the Greek chorus wears. Sound editor Robert Hein does terrific work with the sound to create an atmosphere in the locations as well as the scenes involving the Greek chorus. The film’s soundtrack consists of traditional Greek music mixed in with jazz and classical music to play up some of its humor and drama.

The casting by Juliet Taylor is fantastic for the ensemble that is created as it features appearances from Paul Giamatti as an adoption agent, Tony Sirico as a boxing trainer, Jimmy McQuaid as Lenny and Amanda’s adopted son Max, and Claire Bloom as Amanda’s mother. F. Murray Abraham is excellent as the Greek chorus leader while Olympia Dukakis, Jack Warden, costume designer Jeffrey Kurland, Danielle Ferland, and David Odgen Stiers make wonderful appearances as famous Greek gods commenting on the story or revealing some news that would impact the story. Peter Weller is terrific as an art dealer who tries to woo Amanda while Michael Rapaport is superb as a boxer who is set up to meet Linda.

Mira Sorvino is brilliant as Linda Ash as this very ditzy but well-meaning young woman who is very uncertain about her life until she meets Lenny where she becomes a proper lady as it’s really a majestic breakthrough for Sorvino. Helena Bohnam Carter is amazing as Amanda as a woman dealing with the changes in her marriage to Lenny while being wooed by this art dealer as she’s unsure if she’s in love with Lenny or the art dealer. Woody Allen is great as Lenny Weinrib as a man whose concern for his son’s future has him going into a journey where Allen brings a sense of wit and warmth to his role as it’s one of his finest performances.

Mighty Aphrodite is a remarkable film from Woody Allen that features a radiant Mira Sorvino in her breakthrough performance as well as an incredible cast that includes Helena Bohnam Carter, Michael Rapaport, and F. Murray Abraham. The film is a nice mix of humor and drama where it has a bit of non-conventional storytelling but also a sweetness that is endearing to watch. In the end, Mighty Aphrodite is a fabulous film from Woody Allen.

Woody Allen Films: What's Up Tiger Lily? - Take the Money and Run - Bananas - Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex* (*But Were Afraid to Ask) - Sleeper - Love and Death - Annie Hall - Interiors - Manhattan - Stardust Memories - A Midsummer's Night Sex Comedy - Zelig - Broadway Danny Rose - The Purple Rose of Cairo - Hannah & Her Sisters - Radio Days - September - Another Woman - New York Stories: Oedipus Wrecks - Crimes & Misdemeanors - Alice - Shadows and Fog - Husbands and Wives - Manhattan Murder Mystery - Bullets Over Broadway - Don't Drink the Water - Everyone Says I Love You - Deconstructing Harry - Celebrity - Sweet & Lowdown - Small Time Crooks - The Curse of the Jade Scorpion - Hollywood Ending - Anything Else - Melinda & Melinda - Match Point - Scoop - Cassandra’s Dream - Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Whatever Works - You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger - Midnight in Paris - To Rome with Love - Blue Jasmine - Magic in the Moonlight - Irrational Man - (Cafe Society)

The Auteurs #24: Woody Allen Pt. 1 - Pt. 2 - Pt. 3 - Pt. 4

© thevoid99 2013

Scarface (1983 film)

Based on the 1932 film directed by Howard Hawks and screenplay by Ben Hecht from a novel by Armitage Trail, Scarface is the story of a Cuban refugee who arrives to Miami in 1980 where he works his way to the top to become a drug kingpin and later fall. Directed by Brian De Palma and screenplay by Oliver Stone, the film is a wild look into the burgeoning drug culture of the 1980s in Miami as it chronicles a man who is eager to own the world and everything else in it. Playing the role of Tony Montana is Al Pacino in one of his most defining performances of his career. Also starring Steven Bauer, Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert Loggia, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, F. Murray Abraham, Harris Yulin, and Paul Shenar. Scarface is a fucking wild and operatic film from Brian De Palma.

The film is a rise-and-fall tale in which a Cuban exile in Tony Montana as he arrives in Miami as part of the Mariel boatlift of 1980 with some of his friends as he starts off as a small hood for the drug dealer Frank Lopez (Robert Loggia) to becoming the top drug dealer of Miami as he yearns to own the world and everything else in it. The film takes place in a period where the cocaine trade in the early 80s was starting to rise involving Latin American drug dealers as they rose to the top where Tony Montana is part of that world as he decides to go for something much bigger as he kills, schemes, and does everything to get to the top. Along the way, there’s sacrifices and such where he would have allies and later enemies that would play to his downfall as well as his growing addiction to cocaine.

Oliver Stone’s screenplay definitely takes the idea of the rise-and-fall of a drug dealer to showcase a world in which a man starts off at the bottom and work his way to the top. While his journey doesn’t make Montana a honest man, it does give him some ounce of respect in the way he does things as well as making deals and such. The people around Montana like his best friend Manny Ribera (Steven Bauer), Lopez’s mistress Elvira (Michelle Pfeiffer), and his young sister Gina (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) would all play part in Montana’s rise-and-fall as they would help in his journey but also would experience downfalls of their own. There is a complexity to Stone’s script as he explores this man’s sense of ambition where Montana is given a set of rules by Lopez of how to do things but Montana would go way overboard as it would lead to his downfall.

It’s not just the structure of Stone’s script that helps flesh out the formula of the rise-and-fall but also the dialogue which is very confrontational and very frank as it features 187 uses of the word “fuck”. It’s all very stylized as it plays to a world where it’s very seedy and unforgiving as Montana is very upfront that he’s not a nice guy and he can admit that he lies. Yet, it’s part of his flaws as he would take credit for his own rise as he would be his own undoing through a series of bad decisions, paranoia, and selfishness that would also be driven by his own escalating addiction to cocaine.

The direction of Brian de Palma is very grand and operatic as it plays to a period of decadence where people go to discos, do cocaine, have sex in bathrooms, and do all sorts of crazy shit. While de Palma does create some interesting compositions including Montana’s interrogation scene where there’s an eerie intimacy to that scene as well as a few other scenes. There’s also an element of suspense where de Palma just build things up very slowly where it will have some kind of violent conclusion. It is all part of de Palma wanting to create something that is gritty and realistic but also not be afraid to exaggerate things. Notably some very gruesome moments where Montana is forced to watch one of his friends be killed by a chainsaw.

It’s not just the film’s violence that is excessive and operatic that includes the film’s climatic showdown between Montana and a Colombian cartel. It’s also the world that de Palma sets up as he uses some very stylish crane shots and other camera tricks to play up this world of decadence. Even in a montage to establish Tony’s rise where it is quite excessive from the clothes the characters wear to the cars that they drive as well as the fact that Montana has two tigers as pets. Still, there is that sense of intrigue and danger in the third act where de Palma goes all out and more as it includes some very chilling moments where Montana is clearly hitting his bottom as well as the fate that is set for him. Overall, de Palma creates an outrageous and confrontational film about greed and ambition in the eyes of a man named Tony Montana.

Cinematographer John A. Alonzo does amazing work with the film’s colorful cinematography from the very sunny, colorful look of Miami’s exteriors and beaches to some scenes set in Los Angeles as part of South America as well as some of the dark interiors to set the chilling mood for the film. Editors Jerry Greenberg and David Ray do excellent work with the editing to create a very stylish approach to the cutting from the rhythm of the violence and some montages to some slower cuts in the film’s suspenseful moments. Production designer Ferdinando Scarfiotti, with set decorator Bruce Weintraub and art director Edward Richardson, does fantastic work with the look of the mansions the characters stay in to the Babylon club that definitely has an air of excess.

Costume designer Patricia Norris does wonderful work with the costumes from the stylish dresses the women wear to the colorful suits the guys wear to play up that decade of decadence. Sound editor Edward Beyer does superb work with the sound from the way the gunfire sounds to some of the chilling moments in the film. The film’s score by Giorgio Moroder is brilliant for its eerie, electronic-driven score filled with some ominous themes and arrangements to play up the sense of coldness in the world as well as some pieces to play up the world of decadence. The film’s soundtrack consists largely of music from pulsating synth-pop and disco from Elizabeth Daily, Paul Engemann, Beth Anderson, and Debbie Harry to a Latin-pop song from Maria Conchita Alonso.

The casting by Alixe Gordon is just phenomenal for the ensemble that was created for the film that would include a lot of memorable appearances for the actors that appeared in this film. Among these notable small roles include Pepe Serna and Angel Salazar as a couple of Tony’s friends in Angel Fernandez and Chi Chi, Mark Margolis as Sosa’s devious henchman Alberto, Geno Silva as Sosa’s assassin the Skull, Richard Belzer as a comedian at the Babylon Club, Miriam Colon as Tony’s mother who despises Tony, Michael Alldredge as Tony’s banker George Sheffield, Harris Yulin as the corrupt detective Mel Bernstein, and Paul Shenar as the Colombian drug lord Alejandro Sosa who becomes an ally of Tony’s until an assignment gone wrong leads to trouble.

F. Murray Abraham is terrific as Lopez’s henchman Omar Suarez who is wary about Montana as he is uneasy about Montana’s ambition. Robert Loggia is great as the crime boss Frank Lopez as a man who is full of wisdom as well as being a fun guy who later feels threatened by Tony’s ambition as he tries to warn him about what will happen. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio is wonderful as Tony’s sister Gina who is intrigued by the world of excess as she becomes an object of affection for Manny despite Tony’s over protectiveness towards her. Michelle Pfeiffer is amazing as Lopez’s mistress Elvira who later becomes Tony’s wife as a woman who knows a lot more than everyone else as she later succumbs to her own drug addiction. Steven Bauer is superb as Tony’s friend Manny who is a man that wants to have fun and enjoy the good life while wanting to do things to help out as he later becomes alienated by Tony’s ambition and paranoia.

Finally, there’s Al Pacino in one of his most iconic performances of his career as Tony Montana. The film has Pacino go all out and more as a man who is willing to do whatever it takes to succeed. It’s a performance that is full of swagger, bravado, humor, and extremely confrontational. Pacino not only is given some of the best one-liners of all-time but he really means it when he says those things. It’s also him just commanding the moment including the film’s final shootout with Sosa’s men as he utters out some of the best one-liners ever as it’s a role that only he can play.

Scarface is a magnificent film from Brian de Palma featuring an outstanding performance from Al Pacino. Along with a great supporting cast, a cool soundtrack, and a wild script by Oliver Stone. It’s a film that is still wild nearly 30 years since its release as it still holds up and more. Filled with lots of dead bodies, mountains of cocaine, 187 “fucks”, and lots of more crazy shit. It’s a film that is very unapologetic in being excessive and extravagant. In the end, Scarface is a triumphant achievement from Brian de Palma.

Related: Scarface (1932 film)

Brian De Palma Films: (Murder a la Mod) - (Greetings) - (The Wedding Party) - (Dionysus in ‘69) - (Hi Mom!) - (Get to Know Your Rabbit) - Sisters - Phantom of the Paradise - Obsession - Carrie - The Fury - (Home Movies) - Dressed to Kill - Blow Out - Body Double - (Wise Guys) - The Untouchables - Casualties of War - The Bonfire of the Vanities - Raising Cain - Carlito’s Way - Mission: Impossible - Snake Eyes - Mission to Mars - Femme Fatale - The Black Dahlia - (Redacted) - Passion (2012 film) - (Domino (2018 film)

© thevoid99 2013

Mimic/Mimic (Director's Cut)

Based on the short story by Donald A. Wollheim, Mimic is the story of a scientist who creates an insect that ends up creating a new breed of giant insects that terrorizes the NYC subways. Directed by Guillermo del Toro and adapted into script by del Toro and Matthew Robbins, with additional work from John Sayles and Matt Greenberg, the film is an exploration with del Toro’s fascination with creatures and how humans try to play with science. Starring Mira Sorvino, Jeremy Northam, Alexander Goodwin, Giancarlo Giannini, Josh Brolin, Charles S. Dutton, and F. Murray Abraham. Mimic is a chilling yet stylish horror film from Guillermo del Toro.

In order to stop an epidemic that would leave part of New York City sick, an entomologist named Susan Tyler (Mira Sorvino) carries a new cross-breed of termite and praying mantis to kill the cockroaches carrying the disease. The plan is a success as she and CDC agent Peter Mann (Jeremy Northam) become heroes until three years later when a series of mysterious deaths occur. With Susan working at a lab and Peter still working with the CDC with friend Josh (Josh Brolin) uncover mysterious bacterial droppings at a church. When a couple of boys present Susan with a mysterious bug, she discovers it was the Judas Bug that she had created but couldn’t believe since it wasn’t supposed to live for more than six months.

When she and Peter go to the subway to find where the boys found the bug, they’re stopped by transit police officer Leonard (Charles S. Dutton) who wants a permit. While Susan turns to her old mentor Dr. Gates (F. Murray Abraham) for advice, Peter and Josh bring permits to uncover what was found as Leonard reluctantly helps them. When Susan’s colleague Remy (Alix Koromzay) reveals something that her friend Jeremy (Norman Reedus) found, Susan realize what is going on. Meanwhile, an old man named Manny (Giancarlo Giannini) tries to find his autistic son Chuy (Alexander Goodwin) who he believes has been kidnapped down to the subways. After discovering what is going on, Peter, Josh, and Leonard realize that something isn’t right while Susan later gets kidnapped by one of the bugs at the subway.

After Susan later meets up with Manny and the rest of the party, Susan reveals what has happened to the Judas Bug and how it evolved. Hiding in a subway, the gang realizes what they must do to survive and how to end this growing horde of Judas Bugs that might be wreaking havoc all over New York City.

The film is essentially a horror story about a scientist who intention to stop a breed of disease-carry cockroaches only has her dealing with a bug that would mimic its prey to survive and evolve. When she and her husband along with a few people realize what it’s doing, they have to stop it or else it would create new generations of creatures that would wipe out humanity. It’s a story that is sort of typical of horror films where people play with science, despite good intentions, only to have to kill what they create. Screenwriters Guillermo del Toro and Matthew Robbins do manage to create moments where they know how to build suspense and create characters that are compelling. The only character that doesn’t work is the autistic kid Chuy who is this MacGuffin for one character to try and retrieve but ends up causing lots of trouble for some of the characters to survive.

Guillermo del Toro’s direction is indeed very stylish for the way he creates an atmosphere for the look of the film. Notably as it plays to his interest with monsters and insects as the film does have an air of innocence to the way Susan reacts to these creatures until her encounter with this baby version of the Judas Bug. Featuring entrancing yet claustrophobic compositions of the subway scenes as well as lush crane shots of some of the locations. The direction of del Toro does know how to maintain suspense and create these chilling moments. The only problem is that there’s not enough for del Toro to go more out there despite some of the dramatic stakes that happens in the film. While it’s a film that is quite typical of a lot of late 90s horror films, del Toro was able to create a film that is engaging and scary.

Cinematographer Dan Laustsen does excellent work with the film‘s colorful style that is awash with blue and yellow lighting schemes for many of the film‘s dark interiors along with some entrancing shots for its exterior shots. Editors Patrick Lussier and Peter Devaney Flanagan do nice work with the editing by utilizing stylish rhythmic cuts to play up the suspense along with slow cuts to help build up the suspense. Production designer Carol Spier, along with set decorator Elinor Rose Galbraith and art director Tamara Deverell, does brilliant work with the set pieces created such as the subways and the dark tunnels to help create a world that is truly a fright to be in.

Costume designer Marie-Sylvie Deveau does good work with the costumes as it‘s mostly casual with exception of the uniform worn by Leonard. Visual effects supervisor Brian Jennings does terrific work with the design of the Judas Bug creatures that look nearly human while they also have this very disgusting look to them with the actual makeup that is created. Sound editors Phil Benson and Robert Shoup, along with sound designers Randy Thom and Steve Boeddeker, do superb work with the sound to help create suspense as well as some eerie sound effects for the noise of the bugs. The film’s score by Marco Beltrami is wonderful for the bombast orchestral flourishes it creates for some of the film’s intense moments as well as more calm yet brooding pieces to build up the suspense.

The casting by Kerry Barden, Billy Hopkins, and Suzanne Smith is incredible for the ensemble that is created as it includes James Costa and Javon Barwell as two young bug collectors Susan befriends along with Norman Reedus as the eccentric Jeremy, Alix Koromzay as Susan’s friend Remy, future del Toro collaborator Doug Jones as one of the creatures, and F. Murray Abraham as Susan’s wise mentor Dr. Gates. Josh Brolin is very good as Peter’s CDC friend Josh who often has some funny lines about his job while Giancarlo Giannini is also good as Chuy’s shoeshine father Manny. Alexander Goodwin is OK as the young autistic boy Chuy although it’s a performance that becomes annoying towards the third act as he is just this unnecessary MacGuffin.

Charles S. Dutton is wonderful as transit cop Leonard who always has some funny lines while being the guy who reluctantly helps Peter and Susan fight off the bugs. Jeremy Northam is excellent as Peter Mann who tries to discover about the creatures while having to be this nerd that has to fight off these creatures. Finally, there’s Mira Sorvino in a superb performance as Susan Taylor who tries to figure out these bugs while realizing what she’s done to create all of this chaos.

***The Following 3 Paragraphs are Tidbits on the Film’s 2011 Director’s Cut Release***

Exclusive for a Blu-Ray release, the Director’s Cut of Mimic is a reconstruction of sorts from Guillermo del Toro to present the film that he wanted to show instead of the theatrical cut shown back in 1997. Whereas the original cut had a running time of 105 minutes, the director’s cut expands the film a bit with six additional minutes. Though not much has changed story wise, there are a few things del Toro added to the story while taking away a lot of second unit shots and some minor dramatic subplots to add more weight to the story.

A lot of the changes occur in the film’s first half where there’s a few additional scenes involving Peter Mann and Josh finding more things in the church that includes an extended conversation with an Asian cop over what was seen. Plus, there’s a few additional scenes such as a different introduction to the Remy character without her man drama as well as a small scene where Peter and Susan have lunch before he leaves for work. There’s also an additional scene where the baby Judas bug is introduced in a different scene as well as a couple of more minor scenes with Norman Reedus’ Jeremy character and how discovers a dead creature in the sewers. Another minor scene that adds dramatic weight is an expanded piece of Susan and Jeremy awaiting a pregnancy test where the results are revealed.

It’s not just some of the dramatic elements of the story that del Toro improves a bit as well as removing a lot of second unit work that was partially shot by Robert Rodriguez. The film’s original look was drenched with a lot of sepia coverage that added a more entrancing style to the film. For the director’s cut, del Toro strips away a lot of that in the non-dark subway scenes to add a more straightforward look that is still beautiful. The visual effects improve a bit as it’s more polished in its look though retains some of its wobbliness. The pacing in the film remains the same though it does move a bit faster without making it much longer. Overall, the director’s cut of the film does slightly improve things a bit in terms of its look and more focus on the story. Still, it doesn’t improve on the other flaws of the film such as the Chuy character which is still an annoying MacGuffin.

Mimic is a decent horror-suspense film from Guillermo del Toro that does feature some noteworthy performances from Mira Sorvino, Jeremy Northam, Josh Brolin, Giancarlo Giannini, and Charles S. Dutton. While it is definitely the weakest film of del Toro’s film career, it is still a film that does a lot more than what is expected in the genre. Of the two versions available, the one to get is the director’s cut though there’s not much difference from what is presented in its original theatrical version other than its look and a bit more weight in its dramatic tone. In the end, Mimic is a pretty good and enjoyable horror film from Guillermo del Toro.

Guillermo del Toro Films: Cronos - The Devil's Backbone - Blade II - Hellboy - Pan's Labyrinth - Hellboy II: The Golden Army - Pacific Rim - Crimson Peak - The Shape of Water - Nightmare Alley (2021 film) - Pinocchio (2022 film) - The Auteurs #10: Guillermo del Toro

© thevoid99 2012

Finding Forrester

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 6/14/09 w/ Extensive Revisions & Additional Content.

After achieving commercial success and critical acclaim with 1997's Good Will Hunting that nabbed 3 Oscars for Best Supporting Actor to Robin Williams and a Best Original Screenplay Oscar to Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. Director Gus Van Sant was clearly at his peak as he achieved his first Oscar nod for Best Director. To follow-up the success of the film, Van Sant did the unthinkable when he signed to direct a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's classic film Psycho. Van Sant chose to re-make the film in color and shot-for-shot like the original Hitchcock classic that definitely received negative reviews. After the fallout from his remake of Psycho, Van Sant took a break for his personal projects as he returned to film in 2000 with a coming-of-age drama entitled Finding Forrester.

Directed by Gus Van Sant and written by Mike Rich, Finding Forrester tells the story of a young African-American teenager who has a talent for writing while living in the inner-city. After befriending a reclusive novelist who lives near by, the young talent finds himself being accepted into a prestigious private school where he deals with new social changes and such as he leans towards the guidance of his new reclusive friend. Starring Sean Connery, Rob Brown, F. Murray Abraham, Busta Rhymes, Anna Paquin, and Michael Pitt. Finding Forrester is a well-made, coming-of-age drama from Gus Van Sant.

Jamal Wallace (Rob Brown) is a 16-year old African-American student who is also a talented basketball player. With a passion for both basketball and books, Jamal doesn't reveal his talents as a writer to his friends as he lives in the Bronx with his mother (Stephanie Berry) and his older brother Terrell (Busta Rhymes). One day, Jamal and his friends notice someone is watching them play as they sneak into his apartment to see who it is where Jamal accidentally leaves his backpack where he retrieves it with notes about his writing. When he and his mother learned he's been accepted to the prestigious Mailor Callow in Manhattan, Jamal meets a young student named Claire (Anna Paquin) who gives him a tour of the place. Though unsure of his new surroundings, he gains a friend in Claire and another student named John (Michael Pitt).

During another trip to the reclusive man's apartment building, he meets the man that is revealed to be William Forrester (Sean Connery) who is impressed by Jamal's writing though he feels the boy could do better as he becomes the boy's mentor. Despite being part of the basketball team and having some friends, the school's literature professor Robert Crawford (F. Murray Abraham) is not impressed by Jamal as Jamal seeks guidance from Forrester. Though he keeps his meeting with Forrester a secret out of respect for Forrester, Forrester asks that whatever material Jamal has written must stay in the apartment. Jamal decides to take Forrester out of his apartment where it starts off slow until they go to an empty Yankee Stadium as Forrester begins to open up about his life and frustrations with the world of literature.

With Crawford becoming more suspicious about Jamal's writing talents as a writing contest is coming up, Jamal finds himself in trouble with Crawford with Forrester reluctant to help. With Jamal's future in trouble, it's up to Forrester to help out the young boy.

While the film's plot might be relative to other old-men guiding a young man into life lesson's in other films like Martin Brest's Scent of a Woman and Van Sant's own Good Will Hunting. Screenwriter Mike Rich does create a story that is rich with the idea of an Africa-American youth getting a chance to have his writing talents pushed further by a reclusive novelist. Yet, it's really about a young man getting help as his talents in writing gets attention by an elite school while helping this reclusive old novelist to rediscover life and writing. The screenplay does show a character like Jamal dealing with all of these changes around him where he tries to deal with his new surroundings but hoping not to alienate his old friends at the Bronx. At the same time, it allows the character of William Forrester to slowly unveil himself while showing reasons why he didn't publish anymore material.

Though the script's faults may lie in its familiar plot points and storylines. It is handled with such grace and subtlety by Gus Van Sant. Van Sant's direction definitely leans more towards the European art film style rather than something conventional in his compositions and shots. Though there are some conventional approach to framing and shooting decisions, notably the basketball scenes and some of the drama that goes on in the classroom. Still, Van Sant is engaging through what he shoots and presents while giving the actors a chance to be loose in their performance without any kind of huge theatrics. While the material is a bit sub-standard in comparison to the other films Van Sant has sone in the past. He does create a look and feel that is unique without forcing any kind of melodrama to the film.

Cinematographer Harris Savides, who would become Van Sant's regular cinematographer in the next series of projects, does great work with the film's low-key, colorless photography style. While there's bright colors in several exterior scenes in some of the film's NYC locations including a museum scene. Savides' camera in its interiors and nighttime sequences are filled with intimate shots and not much lighting schemes to revel in the dark world of William Forrester. Savides' work in its photography is exceptionally exquisite without any kind of theatrical lighting schemes and such. Editor Valdis Oskarsdottir does some excellent work with the film's stylized editing with the use of rhythmic jump-cuts to keep the film moving quite leisurely. Even as it moves quite well for a film that's around 135-minutes long as the editing is done in a conventional yet well-mannered style.

Production designer Jane Musky with set decorators Susan Bode and Lynn Tonnessen plus art directors Robert Guerra and Darrell K. Keister do some fine work with the look of the prep school in its richness plus the home of William Forrester. Notably as it is surrounded by books and photographs while they do some fine work with the old photos of Sean Connery as a young man including a painting of him at the school. Costume designer Ann Roth does some very good work with the costumes from the prep school look that the kids wear to the contemporary, urban clothing that Jamal's friends wear to contrast the two different worlds. The sound work by editor Kelley Baker plus mixing from Van Sant and his longtime collaborator Leslie Shatz works very well to complement the chaos and surroundings that the characters are at including the world of New York City.

The film's soundtrack is mostly filled with a mix of jazz pieces from Miles Davis, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, and many others plus ambient-like guitar pieces from Bill Frisell. Along with an island-flavored cover of Over The Rainbow/What A Wonderful World by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole, there's a famous piece revolving around Forrester's bike rides to the musical style of Carl Orff, which is often famous for the theme pieces from Terrence Malick's 1973 debut film Badlands.

The casting by Francine Maisler, Bernard Telsey, and David Vaccari is well-assembled with some memorable small roles from rapper Lil' Zane, Damion Lee, Damany Mathis, and Fly Williams III as Jamal's urban friends along with Matthew Noah Wood as a basketball rival of Jamal at the prep school and Glenn Fitzgerald as a man who drops food off for Forrester. Other small roles include Michael Nouri as Claire's father, Richard Easton as a well-mannered professor who is amazed by Jamal's talents, and April Grace as Jamal's English teacher at his old urban high school. The film also features some cameo appearances from Alex Trebek in an episode of Jeopardy which features an appearance from Van Sant regular Alison Folland plus Joey Buttafuoco as a nightman at Yankee Stadium and Matt Damon in one of the film's final scenes as a lawyer.

Stephanie Berry is very good as Jamal's caring, no-nonsense mother while rapper Busta Rhymes gives a surprising yet restrained role as Jamal's older brother who is amazed by his talents and encouraging it. In one of his early film roles, Michael Pitt is very good as John Coleridge, a quiet student who befriends Jamal who would defend him during a class session with Crawford. Anna Paquin is in fine form as Claire, a student who also befriends Jamal and is amazed by his intelligence as her relationship with Jamal nearly goes into romantic territory but fortunately, doesn't. F. Murray Abraham is good as Professor Robert Crawford, a failed writer who tries to get Jamal kicked out believing he isn't good enough. Abraham's performance is good, his character kind of comes off as one-dimensional as a frustrated man who is very ignorant about Jamal's talents.

In his film debut, Rob Brown is great as Jamal Wallace, a talented young kid who loves to play basketball but also likes to read books and write things. Brown's performance is very restrained and also not very brash as he gives the character an innocence who is more concerned about doing the right thing but doesn't want to be alienated by his friends. Brown really shines in his performance while having a great rapport with his co-star Sean Connery. Connery gives a magnificent yet humorous performance which includes the famous line, "You're the man now, dawg". Connery displays a restraint but also a grizzled persona of a man trying to hide from his demons while guiding a young writer to greatness as it's one of Connery's better performances which is often lost in some of the bad action films he's done in the late 90s and early 2000s.

***Additional DVD Content Written on 8/24/11***

The 2001 Region 1 DVD from Columbia Pictures presents the film for its original 2:35:1 theatrical aspect ratio for the widescreen format with 5.1 Dolby Digital for English and 2-Channel Dolby Surround for English and French with subtitles in both languages. The DVD includes several special features made specifically for the DVD release.

The first is HBO’s Making-of TV special about the film which is essentially a 15-minute typical making-of special that features interviews with cast members, director Gus Van Sant, screenwriter Mike Rich, and producers for the film. Sean Connery and Rob Brown talk a lot about the film’s themes while Van Sant discusses wanting to create something about reclusive writers and unlikely writers. It’s a pretty good featurette that has some moments though it has some distracting narration. The second special featurette is the 12-minute Found: Rob Brown about the casting of Rob Brown. Van Sant reveals the difficulty of finding a sixteen-year old African-American kid from the Bronx where he turned to Spike Lee for help. Through the casting call, Brown was discovered as Van Sant helped him prepare for the part as did Sean Connery to help him make things easier as it also includes some outtakes and fun moments between takes.

Another mini-feature are two deleted choir scenes cut out from the film where the two scenes has the Dewitt Clinton High School Chorus perform a variations of Lacrimosa and Lean on Me. They feature some great shots though it’s obvious why they got cut from the final film. Other additional special features includes a filmographies section for Gus Van Sant, Sean Connery, F. Murray Abraham, and Anna Paquin plus trailers for the film along with Van Sant’s To Die For, Caroll Ballard’s Fly Away Home that starred Anna Paquin, and First Knight that starred Sean Connery. Also in the DVD is a booklet where screenwriter Mike Rich talks about the inspiration for the film as well as brief tidbits on the production. Overall, it’s a decent DVD release that doesn’t offer much but it is still good for fans of the film.

***End of the DVD Contents***

While it may be considered one of his weakest feature films in his library of films, Finding Forrester is still a good yet engaging film from Gus Van Sant featuring great performances from Sean Connery and Rob Brown. While fans of Van Sant will certainly feel like it's one of his weaker efforts but doesn't reach the low point of films like Even Cowgirls Get the Blues and his 1998 remake of Psycho. It's a film that does stray a bit from convention while providing a wonderful insight into the world of writing. In the end despite its flaws, Finding Forrester is still a good, coming-of-age drama from Gus Van Sant.

Gus Van Sant Films: Mala Noche - Drugstore Cowboy - My Own Private Idaho - Even Cowgirls Get the Blues - To Die For - Good Will Hunting - Psycho (1998 film) - Gerry - Elephant - Last Days - Paranoid Park - Milk - Restless - Promised Land

The Shorts & Videos of Gus Van Sant - The Auteurs #4: Gus Van Sant

(C) thevoid99 2011