10 Cent Pistol

Written and directed by Michael C. Martin, 10 Cent Pistol is the story of two criminals who both plan a job to retrieve a savings bond that was owed to one of the criminals where things suddenly go wrong in the planning. The film is a mixture of film noir, the heist, and all sorts of things as it revolves around two brothers who did a job for a crime boss only to get fucked over where one of them wants to get what he‘s owed while the other becomes very cautious. Starring Adam Arkin, Brendan Sexton III, Jena Malone, Thomas Ian Nicholas, JT Alexander, Damon Alexander, Jessica Szohr, and Joe Mantegna. 10 Cent Pistol is an interesting but extremely messy film from Michael C. Martin.

The film revolves around a heist inside the home of a crime boss where two brothers are trying to retrieve a savings bond that one of them was owed to for serving jail time. Along the way, a shitload of problems ensue where the brothers don’t trust each other as well as the fact that there’s some resentment brewing. At the same time, the two try to play their own angles into getting this and that where the result becomes a mess. Writer/director Michael C. Martin wants to create something that feels like a modern noir film as it is largely told from the perspective of these two brothers who always did things together but when they meet this crime boss. Things go wrong where the two did separate things with bad results where one goes to jail and the other being broke. At the same time, one of them was dating a wannabe actress who would end up being with the other brother as complication ensues where she finds herself involved in the scheme.

Martin’s direction is largely straightforward in terms of the compositions and the way he sets things up. Notably for a key sequence in the second act where the younger brother Jake (JT Alexander) is trying to steal a car without being seen by the cameras and do it carefully as it is one of the more engaging moments of the film. While Martin’s usage of close-ups and medium shots have their moments, the script with its non-linear narrative does make it hard to comprehend into what is happening where Martin is really trying to do something that has audience guessing what is going on and such. It ends up being nonsensical at times while it would also lag into the pacing where the non-action and heist scenes try to feature elements of humor that never gels. The film however does have a satisfying payoff of sorts as it relates to someone involved as it shows the stupidity of what people will do over something as trivial as money. Overall, Martin creates a decent but undercooked suspense-thriller about two brothers trying to retrieve a savings bond they’re owed to.

Cinematographer Michael Fimognari does nice work with the film‘s cinematography though it does have a low budget look in the way many of the daytime‘s exterior settings while doing some fine lighting for scenes set at night. Editor Aram Nigoghossian does terrific work with the editing as it is largely straightforward with some montage-style cutting for some of the set-ups though it doesn‘t do enough to comprehend some of the messiness in the film. Production designer Adrina Rose Garibian does excellent work with the look of the apartment home of the brothers as well as the place where their boss lived in as well as some of the places the characters go to.

Costume designer Mynka Draper does wonderful work with the costumes as it is mostly casual for the men along with some of the stylish clothes and dresses the character of Danneel wears. Sound editor Trip Brock does brilliant work with some of the sound such as the carjack scene inside the garage as it plays up some of the suspense in the film as well as some scenes in bars and such. The film’s music by Jim Dooley does excellent work with the score as it‘s a mixture of low-key, guitar-based music with some ambient textures though it tends to be overused at times in some of the moments while music supervisors Jim Bissell and Evan Dubinsky bring in a soundtrack that consists of rock and pop music.

The casting by Emily Schweber is pretty good as it features some notable small appearances from Jessica Szohr as a friend of Danneel who would do a double-date with the brothers, Emilio Rivera as Easton’s halfway house advisor, Brendan Sexton III as a friend of Jake who would help out in the scheme, Thomas Ian Nicholas as the boss’ son H-Wood who deals with the awful situation he’s in, and Adam Arkin as a surgeon who is friends with the gangster that helps out in healing Easton. Joe Mantegna is brilliant as the gangster Punchy where Mantegna does a lot of things as a man of wisdom and charm while being very dangerous as Mantegna makes the most of his brief appearance.

JT Alexander is alright as the more cautious Jake who is resentful for his brother’s troubles as he tries to do what is right while Damon Alexander is OK at times as the more brash Easton as the older of the two though he often comes across as a loudmouth and tries to be tough as it’s a performance seen so many times in other films. Finally, there’s Jena Malone in an amazing performance as Danneel as this wannabe actress who starts off dating Easton until he is sent to prison where she falls for Jake as she finds herself entangled into a scheme where Malone manages to find ways to rise above the material despite the horrible situations that she is surrounded with throughout the film.

Despite the top-notch work of Jena Malone and Joe Mantegna, 10 Cent Pistol is a terrible and messy film from Michael C. Martin. Due to a nonsensical script and the desires to be all things in a crime film despite a few noteworthy moments. The film is just simple something lackluster in what it wants to be while being hampered badly its low-budget look. In the end, 10 Cent Pistol is just a bad film from Michael C. Martin.

© thevoid99 2016

Rookie of the Year

Directed by Daniel Stern and written by Sam Harper, Rookie of the Year is the story of a young boy who would pitch for the Chicago Cubs after getting his arm injured as it’s later healed with tightened tendons that gives him incredible pitching powers. It’s a film that plays into a boy wanting to be good in baseball where an injury would give his right arm something special as he would get to live his dream but also learn about the price of fame. Starring Thomas Ian Nicholas, Gary Busey, Amy Morton, Bruce Altman, Albert Hall, Dan Hedaya, Eddie Bracken, Daniel Stern, and John Candy. Rookie of the Year is a delightful film from Daniel Stern.

What happens to a boy when he gets injured during a little league game where his right arm is healed with tighten tendons that allows him to pitch at great speed where he would pitch for the Chicago Cubs? That is pretty much the premise of the film as it revolves around a 12-year old boy who just wants to be good at baseball but he’s never really had the chance to play until one day where he fills in and things go wrong when he slips on a ball and breaks his arm. Once his arm is healed, he learns that his tendons have tightened more than it should which allows him to exert great force where he would unknowingly throw a ball back from the outfield bleachers to home plate as he would get this attention from Cubs management. There, Henry Rowengartner (Thomas Ian Nicholas) would start out as a relief pitcher for the Cubs as he would be mentored by his hero in the aging starting pitcher Chet “Rocket” Steadman (Gary Busey) as he would also learn the dark side of being famous.

The film’s screenplay by Sam Harper doesn’t just showcase a boy living his dream to play in the major league but also be forced to grow up faster than he should when it comes to being used to sell things that he has no clue about. Especially when he’s being exploited by his mother’s boyfriend Jack Bradfield (Bruce Altman) as well as Cubs general manager Larry “Fish” Fisher (Dan Hedaya) as the latter is looking to take over the Cubs altogether from his uncle Bob Carson (Eddie Bracken). It is there that Henry learns about these things as it prevents him from being with his friends and just being a kid while Steadman, whose career is on the way out, tells him about not just his own bitterness about the game but also what happens when the gift that Henry is bestowed upon goes away. While there is an element of seriousness that plays into the world of baseball, Harper does at least maintain a sense of innocence as well as some humor into the world of baseball such as how Henry manages to enjoy the game.

Daniel Stern’s direction is quite simple as he shoots the film on location in Chicago and other nearby cities including Wrigley Field and Comiskey Park in Chicago as Dodger Stadium. Much of Stern’s compositions are simple as well as stylish that includes some low angle shots, close-ups, and medium shots to reveal what goes on in the field and at the dugout. Some of it is played for laughs as it involves Stern’s character Phil Brickma who is this eccentric pitching coach. Yet, Stern does maintain a balance of comedy and light-drama as it plays into a boy coming of age as a major league pitcher as he copes with not just fame but its demands where he would make a very adult decision. Stern’s approach to the story not only succeeds in making it accessible for a young audience but also in not talking them down with heavy-handed ideas about fame and money. All of which plays into the joy of playing baseball as its climax is set during a division playoff. Overall, Stern creates a very fun and engaging film about a young boy who lives the dream in pitching for the Chicago Cubs.

Cinematographer Jack N. Green does excellent work with the film‘s cinematography as it‘s very simple for the daytime exterior scenes while being straightforward for the interior scenes and some scenes set at night. Editors Donn Cambern and Raja Gosnell do nice work with the editing as it‘s straightforward with a few montages and some rhythmic cuts for the film‘s humor. Production designer Steven J. Jordan, with set decorator Leslie Bloom and art director William Arnold, does brilliant work with the home that Henry and his mom live in as well as the Cubs locker room.

Costume designer Jay Hurley does terrific work as most of the clothes are casual along with some design of the baseball uniforms. Visual effects supervisor Erik Henry does fine work with the minimal visual effects which often revolves around the fastball that Henry throws. Sound editor Stephen Hunter Flick does superb work with the sound from the sound of the crowd at the ball game to the sound effects of the fastball. The film’s music by Bill Conti is amazing for its orchestral score as it is filled with soaring string arrangements with elements of guitar wails to play into the thrill of sports as the soundtrack features elements of rock and pop music.

The casting by Linda Lowy is incredible as it features notable small roles from Colombe Jacobsen as Henry’s crush Becky, W. Earl Brown as the Cubs catcher Frick, Ross Lehman as Henry’s doctor, Tom Milanovich as the notorious Mets hitter Heddo, and cameo appearances from Barry Bonds, Bobby Bonilla, and Pedro Guerrero as themselves. Patrick LaBrecque and Robert Hy Gorman are terrific in their respective roles as Henry’s friends George and Clark who try to cope with Henry’s sudden fame which George gets jealous of. Daniel Stern is hilarious as the pitching coach Phil Brickma as he often causes some trouble to others or to himself. Albert Hall is excellent as the Cubs manager Sal Martinella who always mispronounces Henry’s surname while Dan Hedaya is superb as the Cubs general manager Fisher who would exploit Henry in the hopes of making money and become the Cubs’ new owner.  Bruce Altman is fantastic as Mary’s boyfriend Jack who would become Henry’s manager and later try to get him all sorts of things to make money much to Henry’s disgust. 

John Candy is great in one of his final performances as Cubs announcer Cliff Murdoch as Candy brings a lot of funny comments throughout the film.  Amy Morton is amazing as Henry’s mom Mary as someone who makes sure that Henry doesn’t lose himself to the trappings of fame as she becomes suspicious of Jack’s work as she becomes close with Steadman. Gary Busey is brilliant as Chet Steadman as an aging pitcher who is asked to mentor Henry as he copes with not just his fading career but also the fact that he’s not as good as he once was as he tells Henry about what to expect when that gift is gone. Finally, there’s Thomas Ian Nicholas in a marvelous performance as Henry Rowengartner as a 12-year old kid who just wants to be good at baseball where an injury to his arm gives him unlikely throwing power as he copes with being in the major leagues and its demands as Nicholas adds a maturity to his role that makes the character very likeable.

Rookie of the Year is a remarkable film from Daniel Stern. Armed with a great cast and an engaging story about the idea of being in the major leagues, it’s a film that is very accessible for families as well as offer something compelling for baseball fans. In the end, Rookie of the Year is a fantastic film from Daniel Stern.

© thevoid99 2015

Please Give

Written and directed by Nicole Holofcener, Please Give is the story about a couple and their daughter dealing with an aging neighbor as they befriend the woman‘s adult granddaughters. Meanwhile, one of the granddaughters try to deal with her lonely life as she starts dating while her grandmother’s neighbor tries to help out any way she can over her worry with the state of the world. Starring Catherine Keener, Oliver Platt, Ann Guilbert, Sarah Steele, Amanda Peet, and Rebecca Hall. Please Give is a clever yet intriguing film from Nicole Holofcener.

Kate (Catherine Keener) and Alex (Oliver Platt) are vintage furniture sellers who have a teenage daughter named Abby (Sarah Steele) who is going through her own growing pains. Living next door is an aging, cranky neighbor named Andra (Ann Guilbert) who is about to turn 91 as she is often cared by her kind yet lonely granddaughter Rebecca (Rebecca Hall). Kate often bumps into Rebecca as they would often have conversations as Rebecca is a radiology technician for breast cancer while her older sister Mary (Amanda Peet) is a cosmetologist. When Kate and Alex invite Andra, Rebecca, and Mary for Andra’s birthday dinner, Kate and Alex reluctantly reveal what they will do to Andra’s apartment when she passes away which doesn’t surprise the more cynical Mary.

With Kate worried about her daughter’s desire to purchase expensive jeans, she wants to help out those who really need things as she often gives money to the homeless and try to volunteer to help out other people. Alex meanwhile, becomes interested in Mary as he goes to her spa for a facial where flirtation ensues with the two. While helping out a patient named Mrs. Portman (Lois Smith), Rebecca meets her patient’s grandson Eugene (Thomas Ian Nicholas) as the two go out where she takes Andra and Mrs. Portman on a ride to the Catskills Mountains. Kate learns that some of the furniture she bought and sold is being sold once again by another competitor which only adds to her anxieties about the state of the world. With Abby more worried about her face and trying to fit in, Alex becomes upset over Kate’s issues while Mary starts to not help Rebecca in caring for Andra leading to a very drastic moment for all involved.

The film is about a group of people dealing with themselves as an old, cranky woman is about to likely to die as her neighbors want her apartment so they can expand their own. While the neighbors don’t want to do anything to hurt anyone, it does leave one of her granddaughters relieved about the whole other while the other is saddened by that prospect. For these four adults and a teenager, they’re all trying to deal with their own place in the world as characters like Kate and Rebecca are two women that really mean well in their generosity. Though it would often backfire for Kate who does upset Abby over the idea of giving away money. Rebecca is a bit more cautious as she has a hard time leading a normal life as she is devoted to taking care of her grandmother until she actually meets someone who is actually a nice guy.

While Alex, Abby, and Mary aren’t entirely selfish people despite their desires for wanting certain things. Alex is just trying to run a store while becomes fascinated by the idea of spa facials where he would have this flirtatious relationship with Mary. Mary likes this relationship although she is having her own issues over by often going to this clothing store and not buy anything. Mary may be the most un-likeable character of the entire film but Nicole Holofcener doesn’t portray her to be that overly-selfish as she does try to help Abby out with her facial breakouts. The script does have a lot of witty dialogue and humor as well as some captivating drama that occurs quite often. The only flaw with it is that it’s uneven due to the fact that there’s a lot of characters involved in their own worlds which doesn’t make the story as tight as it could’ve been.

Holofcener’s direction is quite understated and straightforward in the way she shoots conversations and scenes where characters are walking around the streets of New York City. Yet, the film starts off with these shots of women getting their breasts examined as it’s Holofcener making the audience uncomfortable by what she’s showing. It’s part of her strange yet quirky sense of humor as it revels in the theme of aging that Holofcener does touch on throughout the film. One of Holofcener’s gifts as a filmmaker is the way she directs actors where she can get them to relax and emote in certain ways. Even as she is shooting them on a sidewalk or in a room as she captures the energy of these conversations or allow them to react to their moments in a silent manner. Overall, Holofcener creates an engrossing yet humorous film about people and their willingness to try and be good.

Cinematographer Yaron Orbach does a nice job with the film‘s photography from the colorful daytime look exterior and interior settings to the look of Rebecca and Mary‘s home at night. Editor Robert Frazen does an excellent job with the film‘s editing by utilizing straight yet rhythmic cuts to play with the film‘s humor while maintaining a leisured pace for the film. Production designer Mark White, with art director Lauren Fitzsimmons and set decorators Kim Chapman and Kris Moran, does a brilliant job with the set pieces created from the homes of the characters to the furniture that Kate and Alex are selling in their shop.

Costume designer Ane Crabtree does a wonderful job with the costumes from the casual clothes most of the cast wear to the more stylish look of Mary and Abby. Visual effects supervisor Mark Russell does a good job in recreating some of the exterior of the mountains that Rebecca, Andra, Mrs. Portman, and Eugene go to see. Sound editor Lora Hirschberg does a fine job with the sound work from the exterior settings of the city to some of the intimate moments in some of the interior scenes in the film. The film’s folk-jazz score by Marcelo Zarvos is superb for underplaying the drama and humor of the film.

The casting by Jeanne McCarthy is brilliant for the ensemble that is created along with a slew of appearances from well-known actors such as Scott Cohen as Rebecca’s boss, Kevin Corrigan and Elizabeth Berridge as a couple of furniture sellers, Thomas Ian Nicholas as the very kind Eugene, and Lois Smith as Eugene’s lively grandmother Mrs. Portman. Ann Guilbert is great as the cranky Andra who always spout inappropriate lines about food and everything else while dealing with her old age. Sarah Steele is terrific as the 15-year old Abby who is obsessed with wanting expensive jeans while dealing with her own growing pains and her mother’s obsession with helping people out. Amanda Peet is excellent as the cynical Mary who doesn’t really like her grandmother and always say mean things while befriending Alex over their love of facial spa work.

Oliver Platt is wonderful as the calm yet curious Alex who is interested in Mary’s work while trying to deal with Kate’s own obsession with helping people as well as his furniture business. Rebecca Hall is amazing as the kind and helpful Rebecca who tries to deal with her grandmother as well as her own lonely life as she seeks to find love. Finally, there’s Catherine Keener in a fantastic performance as the well-meaning Kate who tries to deal with her business as well was wanting to make the world a better place. It’s a performance where Keener endures humility as well as the fact that she’s a mess because she can’t fix everything around her as it’s one of Keener’s top performances.

Please Give is a stellar and heartwarming film from Nicole Holofcener. Featuring a remarkable ensemble cast led by Catherine Keener, it’s a film that explores people trying to figure themselves out while helping out those they feel are in need of help. While it doesn’t have a much more concise narrative than Holofcener’s previous films. Holofcener makes up for it by creating real characters that audiences can relate to. In the end, Please Give is a charming film from Nicole Holofcener.

Nicole Holofcener Films: Walking and Talking - Lovely & Amazing - Friends with Money - Enough Said - The Auteurs #22: Nicole Holofcener

© thevoid99 2012

A Kid in King Arthur's Court

Based on the Mark Twain novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, A Kid in King Arthur’s Court is a modern take on Twain’s novel as a young boy who goes back in time to the world of King Arthur as he helps the legendary king retain his power. Directed by Michael Gottlieb and screenplay by Michael Part and Robert L. Levy, the film is essentially a family film that brings a lot of childish humor to this take on Twain’s story. Starring Thomas Ian Nicholas, Art Malik, Paloma Baeza, Ron Moody, Kate Winslet, Daniel Craig, and Joss Ackland as King Arthur. A Kid in King Arthur’s Court is an uninspired and extremely silly family film that just tries too hard to be entertaining.

With King Arthur’s court in danger by unrest, Merlin (Ron Moody) via a magical water creates a spell to find a savior. What he gets is 20th Century young teenage kid named Calvin Fuller (Thomas Ian Nicholas) to arrive in the 6th Century where he stopped a mysterious black knight. After being captured by Arthur’s guards, Calvin meets King Arthur as he also meets Arthur’s longtime advisor Lord Belasco (Art Malik) who believes Calvin is a dark force sent to stop Arthur. Instead, the king is charmed by the boy as he takes him as he’s to be trained as a knight as Calvin meets Arthur’s youngest daughter Katey (Paloma Baeza) who is intrigued by him.

Under the tutelage of Master Kane (Daniel Craig), Calvin learns to be a knight which was difficult as Katey helps out as she wants to know more about where he’s from and what is it like in the future. Meanwhile, Calvin goes to a blacksmith (Barry Stanton) to help invent earlier versions of the modern objects he has while finding himself being threatened by Belasco. With Arthur becoming more attached to Calvin, Belasco plans to take over and hopes to get Arthur’s eldest daughter Sarah (Kate Winslet) as his bride. By staging a kidnap on Katey and claiming that she’s been killed by Calvin, Belasco hopes to make Arthur stop Calvin. Instead, Arthur and Calvin go on a journey to rescue Katey as Arthur realizes what has happened as they get some unexpected help for an upcoming tournament.

The film is essentially a modern take A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court with some changes to be suited for a modern audience in hopes for some light-hearted family entertainment. Well, it seems like a nice idea on paper but the final results that director Michael Gottlieb and his screenwriters create is truly lazy and messy. While there are very few moments where it does allow the film to become a total disaster such as Arthur’s reflective conversation about his own failures plus some development for himself and Calvin. There’s not enough of those moments to keep the film interesting as it plays by the rules too much in order to entertain the audience.

Michael Gottlieb’s direction is typical of medieval times films that is mixed in with modern pop culture references. Yet, there’s nothing in Gottlieb’s direction that stands out nor is there anything that is remotely interesting. It’s all done in the mechanics of a typical adventure film made for families. Throughout the film, there has to be moments of humor that is prevalent throughout the film but it doesn’t seem to work. A lot of the pop culture references and objects that Calvin brings such as the CD walkman, rollerblades, and bubblegum where many of these references, as of 2011, seems to be very dated. At the same time, the modern-day dialogue told in this period seems to spoken very awkwardly by many of the characters.

The film’s script has some issues where one of the key elements of the film revolves around the mystery of the black knight. Though it’s revealed towards the end, it doesn’t make sense as the character who is revealed to be the black knight is in one location while the knight is at another location. It becomes very confusing and leaves a huge hole in the film’s plot. While it’s not a film meant to be taken seriously and be seen as light-entertainment, it really doesn’t do anything at all. Plus, there’s not a lot of technical aspects of the film that is noteworthy nor does the score of J.A.C. Redford that is just a re-hash of a lot of scores of these type of films. Overall, Gottlieb creates what is definitely a dull and un-exciting film.

The cast for the film is really more of who is in this film as there isn’t a lot to be wowed about. Ron Moody just appears in a haggard look as Merlin that is hampered by the weakness of the script while Art Malik just plays a very one-dimensional villain that is just very angry about Calvin and tries to charm Kate Winslet in the most pathetic manner. Speaking of Kate Winslet, she delivers an OK performance though due to the bad script. She’s not really given much to do but be very dramatic or to try and be funny where it doesn’t really work while she looks quite thin. Kate Winslet is not meant to be thin! She’s fucking Kate Winslet!! There’s also Daniel Craig in the role of Master Kane as he too, tries to give something that is a performance but ends up looking quite ridiculous with that awful pageboy haircut that he’s given. James Bond in a pageboy haircut?

Paloma Baeza is pretty unremarkable as the love interest as she just tries to be charming, funny, and be kidnapped while Joss Ackland is just embarrassing for the way he makes King Arthur to be all adventurous as the funny lines he’s given aren’t very good at all. Yet, Ackland is also forced to be very mopey though he does not make himself go over-the-top in that approach to the performance. Thomas Ian Nicholas is a very good actor but this is pretty much terrible as it’s just an awful rehash of the character he played in Daniel Stern’s much-beloved 1994 film Rookie of the Year. The only difference was that the character he played in that film was engaging and was someone kids could relate to. In this film, there isn’t any of that other than to be silly and to try and look cool while it’s also clear that Nicholas’ voice at the time had just hit puberty which made the performance seem very awkward.

A Kid in King Arthur’s Court is a forgettable and silly film that takes itself way too seriously while providing very little for people to be entertained by. It’s not the worst kind of film out there for families to see but it’s certainly a film that isn’t very memorable. For fans of Kate Winslet and Daniel Craig, as those two would go on to have greater careers, it’s nothing more than a chance to see what they were doing before they became mega-famous. In the end, A Kid in King Arthur’s Court is a very silly film that is just very ridiculous as the best way to spend 90 or more minutes is to watch the much-beloved Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Spam, spam, spam, spam…

© thevoid99 2011