Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy

Directed by Adam McKay and written by McKay and Will Ferrell, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy is the story of a 1970s San Diego news anchor who deals with his new female counterpart. The film explores the world of a man who has a hard time dealing with changing times while is keen on doing things his way as the titular character is played by Will Ferrell. Also starring Christina Applegate, Paul Rudd, David Koechner, Steve Carell, and Fred Willard. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy is a classy and hilarious film from Adam McKay.

The film is the simple story of an anchorman in Ron Burgundy who always report the news in San Diego with his buddies in field reporter Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), sports reporter Champ Kind (David Koechner), and the dim-witted weather reporter Brick Tamland (Steve Carell). They’re the number one news team in San Diego until Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) comes in as a news reporter and later becoming the co-anchor much to Burgundy’s dismay as he’s also in love with her. It’s a film that plays into a man who has his ways with the ladies and manages to do whatever he wants while is good at telling the news. Yet, he is unable to deal with the fact that a woman could do what he does only better as he later goes to war with her. Even as it would eventually put him into trouble while is forced to come to terms with the fact that times are changing.

The screenplay that Will Ferrell and Adam McKay creates is very loose though it does utilize a traditional three-act structure where the first act is about Burgundy’s success and his good times with his friends while meeting Veronica who becomes his lover though she wants to make it in the world of news. The film’s second act isn’t just about Veronica finally getting what she wants but also Burgundy trying to come to terms with it. It’s third act isn’t just the escalation of the conflict but its aftermath where Burgundy tries to find redemption. Throughout all of these major plot-points and storylines, Ferrell and McKay bring in a lot of clever dialogue into the mix filled with some funny one-liners while adding some complexities to the many characters in the film like Burgundy, Fantana, Corningstone, Kind, and to a lesser extent, Brick.

McKay’s direction is pretty simple as far as the compositions are concerned in the way he creates 1970s San Diego. Yet, he does manage to create moments that are always fun to watch ranging from an animated sequence where Ron and Veronica are riding on unicorns on a rainbow to their first date at a jazz club where Ron plays the flute. McKay does slow things down in order to focus on the story though he would find ways to use the comedy to advance the story or create something that is off-the-wall such as the anchorman brawl involving rival anchormen and their news team. Add a dog named Baxter, bears, and all sorts of strange things. What McKay creates is a very solid and enjoyable comedy that continuously brings in the laughs and more.

Cinematographer Thomas E. Ackerman does excellent work with the film’s colorful and vibrant cinematography from the way San Diego looks in its exteriors to some of the lighting in the nighttime interior scenes. Editor Brent White does fantastic work with the editing with its use of rhythmic cuts to play into much of the film’s humor and dialogue delivery. Production designer Clayton Hartley, with set decorator Jan Pascale and art directors Gregg Davidson and Virginia L. Randolph, does amazing work with the look of the news station and places that Burgundy and his pals hang out and work at.

Costume designer Debra McGuire does great work with the costumes from the suit that Burgundy and his team wear to the clothes that Veronica wears. Hair stylist Joy Zapata and makeup artist Denise Dellaville do fabulous work with the look of the hair and mustaches the men wear to make them look classy. Sound designer Mark A. Mangini and co-sound editor Scott Millan do terrific work with the film‘s sound to play into the atmosphere of the news offices and the parties that Burgundy holds in his home. The film’s music by Alex Wurman is superb where it‘s mostly low-key with its blaring horn-based orchestra as well as the music for the news while music supervisor Todd Homme creates a delightful soundtrack that includes pieces by Neil Diamond, Blues Image, Kansas, Hall & Oates, Isley Brothers, Bill Withers, and an original flute piece by Ferrell who, along with Rudd, Koechner, and Carell do an amazing cover of Afternoon Delight.

The casting by Juel Bestrop and Jeanne McCarthy is incredible for the ensemble that is created as it includes some notable cameo appearances from Danny Trejo as a bartender, Jack Black as a biker whom Burgundy angers, Fred Armisen as the jazz-club owner Tino, Seth Rogen as a cameraman, Missi Pyle as a zookeeper, and Kathryn Hahn as one of the news station workers Helen who would give Veronica a secret to usurp Burgundy. Other notable cameo appearances include Vince Vaughn, Luke Wilson, Tim Robbins, and Ben Stiller as rival news anchors who want to defeat Ron Burgundy. Chris Parnell is terrific as Ed’s assistant Garth Holliday who sees Ron as his hero while Fred Willard is excellent as the news director Ed Harken who tries to make sure everything goes smoothly while dealing with his son’s antics. The dog Peanut is great as Baxter as this dog that can talk to the bears and is Ron Burgundy’s best friend.

David Koechner is superb as the chauvinistic Champ Kind who likes to say “whammy” while hinting that he might be a closeted homosexual. Steve Carell is hilarious as the dim-witted Brick Tamland who says all sorts of funny things not knowing what he’s talking about due to the fact that he has a very low IQ. Paul Rudd is fantastic as Brian Fantana as a ladies’ man who is often full of himself as well as wanting to use the forbidden cologne known as Sex Panther. Christina Applegate is amazing as Veronica Corningstone as a woman who wants to become an anchor and doesn’t want to be stopped by anyone including Burgundy. Finally, there’s Will Ferrell in a remarkable performance as the titular role as this sexist and fun-loving guy who cannot adjust to the changing times as he is conflicted for his love and hate for Veronica.

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy is a marvelous film from Adam McKay that features a brilliant leading performance from Will Ferrell. The film is truly one of the finest comedies to come out in the 2000s as it is filled with lots of laughs and hijinks that will keep entertaining its audience. In the end, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy is a phenomenal film from Adam McKay.

Adam McKay Films: Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby - Step Brothers - The Other Guys - Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues - The Big Short - (Backseat) - The Auteurs #63: Adam McKay

© thevoid99 2013

Thumbsucker

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 2/20/06 w/ Additional Edits.

Being young and in a dysfunctional family is hard, even when trying to grow up is hard. In the book called Thumbsucker by novelist Walter Kirn tells the story of a young boy who has troubles trying to grow up and still sucks his thumb. After getting into various treatments and getting into all kinds of things, the boy's emotional troubles only worsen in this coming-of-age tale. Adapted to a script and directed by acclaimed music video director Mike Mills (not the bass player of R.E.M. of the same name), Thumbsucker goes into the world of teen angst and all the troubles of trying to fit in and everything while dealing with all the problems growing up has. Starring Lou Taylor Pucci, Tilda Swinton, Vincent D'Onofrio, Kelli Garner, Benjamin Bratt, Vince Vaughn, and Keanu Reeves. Thumbsucker is a funny yet poignant film about all the troubles of growing up.

For Justin Cobb (Lou Taylor Pucci), his life is always trouble since he can't seem to stop sucking his thumb. His thumb-sucking annoys his father Mike (Vincent D'Onofrio) while his mother Audrey (Tilda Swinton) is also concerned. Yet, none of them can escape their dull life in suburbia with the youngest son in the clan, Joel (Chase Offerle). Justin though, remains tormented by his life in high school and often has trouble trying to get things in his debate team class taught by Mr. Geary (Vince Vaughn). The only person Justin can talk to from the team is Rebecca (Kelli Garner) who often asks Justin on why he acts weird. At home, Mike runs a sporting goods store while Audrey is a nurse who hopes to win a contest to meet her favorite TV actor Matt Schramm (Benjamin Bratt). The only other person Justin can talk to is his new-age orthodontist Perry Lyman (Keanu Reeves) who is aware that Justin still sucks his thumb.

Often trying to find time to suck his thumb, Perry notices that if Justin was ever going to get on with his life, he has to let go of his thumb. In an attempt to try to help Justin, he does hypnosis in order to make his stop his thumb and think of other things. The hypnosis seems to work whenever Justin sucks his thumb and it tastes bad but the end result only makes Justin's behavior more erratic to the point that Rebecca notices and leaves the debate team. After trying to get revenge on Perry during a bike race, Justin gets arrested where Mr. Geary and a counselor notices that Justin suffers from ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) as they hope to cure him with Ritalin. Justin's parents aren't sure if it will work but when Justin does take Ritalin, he immediately becomes a debate team wizard.

Though the feeling of confidence comes, Justin's behavior becomes even stranger as he begins to take more Ritalin and his aggressive debating skills only troubles Mr. Geary. Even when Justin and his teammates (whom all 3 are girls) try to have fun, Geary isn't fond of the change in Justin. After a big victory, Justin's aggressive behavior takes its toll on the family as once his Ritalin addiction is exposed and when his father decides to show up to see him debate. The result is a disaster as Mike tries to comfort him only to be rejected while Audrey, who had been seeing his debate matches, had taken a job working in a rehab center that is filled with celebrities. After quitting the debate team, Justin turns to Rebecca for help in smoking dope and discovering sex but when that doesn't work out. Justin has troubles finding answers while he suspects his mother of having an affair with Matt Schramm, who is at the rehab place while finding out about his father's pain in his life after being a football star. Justin wonders about everything while finding out all the answers from the most unlikely of places and people.

The theme of this film along with a lot of films that came out in 2005 is connection, especially through troubling circumstances. In the case for Thumbsucker, it's about a young kid who has troubles in trying to get himself fixed to become a better person yet couldn't deal with all of the bad things around him. His family is very dysfunctional where his mother wants to live a fantasy and his father trying to achieve a final goal that he didn't get as a high school football star where it leaves his younger, frustrated brother to be the normal one. It's a film where people try to find answers into better themselves only to realize that they're not always there and that some people only set themselves up for disappointments in the way Geary and Perry would see. Even in Justin's relationship with Rebecca, it's very complicated since Rebecca is trying to discover the world of sex only to confuse Justin even more in what her intentions her.

The film is wonderfully directed by Mike Mills in how he observes all the things that goes around in Justin's world. From his visits with Perry about all the things that troubles his life to how he becomes desperate to be accepted only to have it fall apart in his face. Mills direction is excellent in the way he observes Justin's behavior while the script is filled with wonderful development where all the major characters in the film have depth into what they bring into the world, especially Justin. While the film is mostly a drama, it does have its moments of humor in several scenes where it comes off naturally and not in a farcical way that some films try to do. Then there's the subject of thumb-sucking which is really a metaphor in the way that the Ritalin and dope-smoking would get to. It really represents an emotional crutch of a kid where whenever he's is pushed or just feeling very anxious in a bad way.

A film similar to that context on a different scale is Steven Shainberg's 2002 film Secretary where Maggie Gyllenhaal's character cuts herself only to see if she exists only to find a new alternative as a submissive in a sadomasochistic relationship with her boss. Really in many ways, this film is about trying to find things to hold on to while dealing with all the bad things in the world.

Helping Mills in the visual department is cinematographer Joaquin Baca-Asay is wonderful for its use of color and to convey the dreamy yet ominous mood that Justin goes through as Baca-Asay's cinematography is wonderful. Production designer Judy Becker and art director Walter Cahall do great work in the look of the houses and places that Justin is surrounded by. Especially since Becker's work is filled with odd things in the homes like in Perry's office early in the film, wolves and stuff that brings a lot of humor to the look of the film. Costume designer April Napier also brings a quirkiness to the film, especially in a scene where Tilda Swinton wears these quirky designer dresses to try and look impressive for Benjamin Bratt. The film in its 96-minute running time is paced leisurely while editors Angus Wall and Haines Hall bring great style to the film's presentation to Mills' perspective directing and some jump-cuts to convey the erratic behavior of Justin.

The film's soundtrack which is supervised by Brian Reitzell is filled with dreamy, atmospheric stuff that helps the convey the troubling mood of the protagonist while the film's original music is done by Tim DeLaughter and his band, the Polyphonic Spree. The music of the Polyphonic Spree is wonderful with its lyrics that are uplifting and melancholic that provides the crutch of Justin's emotional struggle as DeLaughter and company do great work. Also added in the soundtrack is some music from the late Elliott Smith who brings in some great covers of Cat Stevens' Trouble and innocent Big Star ballad Thirteen that rings true to the characters who are all growing up.

The film's cast is wonderful which includes some nice small performances from Sarah Bing, Echo Brooks, and Olivia D. Brown as Justin's debate teammates and a wonderful minor performance from Chase Offerle as Justin's young, obnoxious 10-year old brother who becomes frustrated over his brother's weirdness and the family dynamics as he struggles to get some attention. In another hilarious small role, Benjamin Bratt is excellent as Audrey's favorite actor Matt Schramm whose presence as this bland, pretty-boy actor is a wonderful parody only to have more complexity in a meeting between him and Justin where Bratt reveals his humorous side. Vince Vaughn is also funny as Mr. Geary whose tactics to help rile up his students ability to win are fun to watch while Vaughn also shows his more mature side when he sees Justin go into darker behaviors. Kelli Garner, who filled in for Scarlett Johansson at the last minute, does a wonderful job in playing Justin's girlfriend who is looking to understand his behavior only to reveal her true intentions. Garner brings a lot of edge and a natural quality to her role where if the part still went for Johansson, nothing new would've come but Garner brings the right tone for her character who later becomes a stoner.

Of the entire supporting cast, no one brings more surprises or laughs better than Keanu Reeves in his most offbeat performance to date as new-age orthodontist Perry Lyman. Reeves brings the right kind of humor and idiosyncracies to play this new-age guy who tries to help Justin only to change completely as does Justin where he tries to find new answers as his character is a bit parallel to Justin. During their meeting when Justin is now a debate wizard, Reeves brings a hilarious blandness and shock to see Justin's new change where Reeves brings some real depth. Vincent D'Onofrio is also wonderful as Justin's father Mike who hides a deep sense of shame as he tries to hide himself through work and when he finally takes notice of Justin's accomplishments, he tries to be a real father. D'Onofrio brings all kinds of complexity and pain that a father goes through as he and Pucci have great scenes together. Tilda Swinton is also great as Justin's quirky, fantasy-living mother who seems to be the only parent early who wants to connect with Justin. Then when she takes a great job, her character changes as she becomes unaware of her own role as she tries all she can to help Justin and her family.

Finally, we have Lou Taylor Pucci in a performance that can truly described as one of the best performances of the year. With his previous film credit in a small but memorable role in Rebecca Miller's Personal Velocity, Pucci is by far one of the best young actors to emerge as he takes his first starring role as a kid who has trouble dealing with the world and looking for something to hold on to. Pucci brings a complex, layered performance in the film as he struggles to find himself as early on, we see Pucci bring every amount of sympathy to this kid only to not like him as much when he goes on Ritalin. It's a very powerful performance as Lou Taylor Pucci who is a true talent on the big screen.

The Sony Classics Region 1 DVD that presents the film in a 2.35:1 anamorphic wide-screen format is wonderful in its transfer, even as it sounds good in its 5.1 Dolby Digital for English and Dolby Surround for French with French subtitles available. The special features include several trailers for films like Junebug, 2046, Breakfast on Pluto,, London, Saint Ralph, The Tenants, and Memory of a Killer which are all released from Sony Classics. The other features include a 20-minute behind the scenes documentary where writer/director Mike Mills, novelist Walter Kirn, and most of the film's cast talk about the movie and the idea of thumbsucking. Kelli Garner reveals the preparation she took into learning about the things discussed in the debate team while Pucci talks about a lot of the angst that goes on through. Tilda Swinton, who is one of the executive producers, reveal how the story affected her since she admits to her own awkwardness as young woman. Another feature that appears in a DVD-rom is a director's blog from Mike Mills that reveals notes on the film's premiere and promotion along with his artwork that he reveals.

The 40-minute conversation between Mills and novelist Walter Kirn is interesting for those wanting to know the comparison between the book and film yet the 40-minute running time does take too long. Mike Mills' feature-length audio commentary on the film brings some wonderful insight into his approach and how he and the cast basically improvised while remaining true to the novel and some of its lines. Mills fonds over Pucci's performance and the rest of the cast while talking about how he did the film in an almost chronological order which is rarely done in most film productions. Mills also talks about how the story he felt related to him and the influence of Hal Ashby that was his true inspiration for the film. Mills also talked about how originally, the late Elliott Smith was going to score the entire film with nothing but covers but never happened when he died. Mills also gives a final comment about his meeting with Ang Lee who gives him some poignant advice as Mills calls Lee's 1997 film The Ice Storm one of his favorites.

Overall, Thumbsucker is an amazing, funny, and dramatic debut feature from Mike Mills led by the amazing Lou Taylor Pucci in his first leading performance. With a great supporting cast and a wonderful crew plus music from the Polyphonic Spree and the late Elliott Smith. Thumbsucker is the kind of movie that kids who don't fit in will seem to love and cherish. Even those who hated the typical high school films would've wished that this film was made when they were in high school. Thanks to Mike Mills' talent in directing and Lou Taylor Pucci's performance, Thumbsucker is surely a film to seek out.

Mike Mills Films: (The Paperboys) - Beginners - 20th Century Women

© thevoid99 2012

Into the Wild

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 10/6/07 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.

Jon Krakauer's 1996 novel Into the Wild about the late Christopher McCandless and his exploration into the Alaskan wilderness. The story of a young man who came from a wealthy suburb in West Virginia and to rebel against his upbringing by taking a life-changing journey proved to be inspirational. One of those readers was actor Sean Penn whose work as a director such films as The Indian Runner, The Crossing Guard, and The Pledge has given him critical acclaim for his unique take on films. For his fourth feature in the directing front, Penn tells the inspirational tale of late, young life of Christopher McCandless.

Adapted into a script by Penn and the book's novelist Jon Krakauer, Into the Wild is a film about Christopher McCandless who leaves his tumultuous family life in West Virginia to take a road trip of sorts towards his destination in Alaska. During his trip, he encounters various people and such while dealing with his troubled family life that included his bickering parents and his loving sister.

In the role of Christopher McCandless is Emile Hirsch, who is known for his unique performances from mainstream films like The Girl Next Door and The Lords of Dogtown to more independent fare like The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys and Imaginary Heroes. Also starring William Hurt, Marcia Gay Harden, Catherine Keener, Kristen Stewart, Zach Galifianakis, Hal Holbrook, Vince Vaughn, and Hirsch's Dangerous Lives co-star Jena Malone as his sister Carine. Into the Wild is a poignant, complex, and eerie film from Sean Penn.

After graduating from Emory College in Georgia in 1990, Christopher Johnson McCandless meets his parents Walt (William Hurt) and Billie (Marcia Gay Harden) and his younger sister Carine for dinner as they offer to buy him a new car to replace his old one. Though he politely declines, he bids them farewell as he decides to disappear for two years to go on a trip to the Alaskan wilderness under his new alias Alexander Supertramp. Getting rid of his ID card and giving his grant money to charity, Christopher goes on his journey where he later rids of his car and finances. After meeting a hippie couple in Rainey (Brian Dierker) and Jan Burres (Catherine Keener), he finds common ground over his disdain towards the material world that he felt trapped by from his life with his parents.

Continuing on his journey towards north, he stops at South Dakota where he works for a harvester named Wayne (Vince Vaughn) who gives him advice on what to do before arriving into Alaska. After a stop in Washington as he leaves his books under the bridge, he goes kayak rafting on the Colorado River without a permit as he meets a Danish couple (Thure Lindhardt and Signe Egholm Olsen) on the way to Mexico. Sneaking back to the U.S. via train, he arrives at Los Angeles only wanting to go further away as he returns to Washington to meet up with Jan and Rainey where he meets a young teenage girl named Tracy. After some time with Tracy, Jan, and Rainey, Christopher goes on another trip before arriving into Alaska where he meets an old man named Ron Franz (Hal Holbrook).

Ron befriends Christopher as he gives him some wisdom about what to do before going to Alaska as Christopher finally arrives in mid-1992 for a life of adventure. Living in an abandoned bus that he calls the "Magic Bus", he finds himself confronting his own past as well as the harsh world of nature itself.

While the story of Christopher McCandless is a tragic one, that doesn't mean his story is one that is both inspiration and cautious. It's really about a young man who tries to find himself in a world that he doesn't know only to reflect on the things he fears from. While a few changes were made in the adaptation, Penn's script that includes narration written by Susan Olds along with contribution from the real-life Carine McCandless and Jena Malone. The narrative style is more straight forward as it moves back-and-forth into McCandless' experience in the Alaskan wilderness and his journey. A third narrative is also told, this is from the perspective of Carine McCandless about the family's struggles and how Christopher had been angry at them that included some harsh, family secrets.

Penn's approach to the script and its multi-layered narrative is definitely wonderful as it doesn't lag or feel rushed. Rather in making a film that's conventional and in a Hollywood style. Penn definitely draws from the inspiration of Terrence Malick in terms of its voice-over narration as well as his naturalistic-imagery that often includes wonderful shots of nature. While a lot of the visual and storytelling ideas are definitely Malick-esque, by the time McCandless struggles with nature's harsh realities, the film becomes darker in a way that would be from the viewpoint of Werner Herzog.

Still, Penn chooses to focus on Christopher McCandless. Despite some of his ideas and excitement for adventure, here's a man that's also very flawed. Penn doesn't portray him as a hero nor as a tragic figure but rather a human being who doesn't truly understand the world and how he ends up struggling with nature's harsh realities. While Penn's direction is solid throughout the entire film. Shooting on location in Alaska as well as all of the places McCandless went where the camera is in the river and kayaking through the rapids. It does have a few flaws, notably the ending. It's not the content or what is shown. Rather the approach to what happens yet, some might like it, some won't. Still, the enchanting approach to the film and all of its imagery shows that Sean Penn is getting better as a director.

Cinematographer Eric Gautier brings some wonderful camera work to the film and most of all, it's exterior sequences that includes wonderful evening, nighttime shots of the outside world. Including some amazing shots of the city from afar. Gautier also uses some grainy camera work to convey the emotions of Christopher's mind in relating to his parents in the flashback sequences. Longtime Penn collaborator in editor Jay Cassidy brings some wonderful cuts to convey the sense of emotion as well as humor of Christopher McCandless that works in every level to give the film some relief from its heavy-drama. Sound designer Martin Hernandez does some wonderful work in the sound to convey the atmosphere and location of where Christopher is that includes the noise of winds, animals, and cars as Hernandez' work is amazing.

Production designer Derek Hill and art director Domenic Silvestri do some wonderful work in re-creating the beaten bus as well as the hippie-commune that Jan and Rainey live in. Costume designer Mary Claire Hannan also does great work with the hippie clothing in those scenes along with the realistic clothing of Christopher McCandless. The film’s music and score by Michael Brook is mostly acoustic tracks with contributions from Khaki King. The music plays to the sense of poignancy and adventure while the rest of the soundtrack includes songs by Pearl Jam vocalist Eddie Vedder. Vedder's songs are wonderful with its mix of acoustic and rock-like ballads that are almost reminiscent of work of Cat Stevens. Vedder's music is also poignant for its emotion and how it captures the mind of Christopher McCandless.

The film's cast is very unique with notable small appearances from Zach Galifianakis, Steven Wiig, Thure Lindhardt, Signe Egholm Olsen, Cheryl Francis Harrington as a social worker, and Bryce Walters and Haley Ramm in their respective roles as the young Christopher and Carine McCandless. Hal Holbrook's appearance is very memorable as a grandfather-like figure who bonds with Christopher while telling him about ideas of the world and the opportunities he's wasting. The last shot of Holbrook in the film is really one of the most emotional. Brian Dieker and Catherine Keener are wonderful as this old hippie couple who, like Christopher, try to live without society's rules with Keener giving the stronger performance as a woman dealing with the past life she's left behind.

Kristen Stewart is wonderful as the charming young girl who falls for Christopher while proving her talents as a singer where she has this wonderfully sexy yet ragged look. Vince Vaughn strays from his typical, comedic persona for a very memorable, wild performance as Wayne. A man who gives Christopher a job while giving him more pointers on adventure and the world as Vaughn is just amazing. William Hurt and Marcia Gay Harden are wonderfully portrayed as Christopher's parents whose life takes a turn after his appearance. The despair as well as the fact that despite their problems, they're not portrayed as bad people but rather loving parents despite Christopher's point-of-view early in the film.

While Jena Malone's appearance is minimal, her contribution in her performance as Carine is just brilliant in being the film’s lone observant. With little dialogue Malone gives in her performance, it's her voice-over narration that is really striking as she plays the observer and how she is the one trying to deal with his disappearance and being the only one to understand why. Her voice-over work and contributions is more reason into why she remains overlooked among her 20-something acting peers.

The film's real star is Emile Hirsch in what is definitely a career performance for the young actor. Hirsch brings the kind of innocence, humor, energy, and excitement into the character that is a joy to watch. The scene where he talks to an apple he’s eating is fun to watch while he brings a lot of life to the film and character. When he is forced to engage into more darker territory, Hirsch really shows his depth as an actor as the scenes where he's really struggling shows his complexity. This is no doubt a performance that will be very memorable and hopefully, Emile Hirsch won't be overlooked come Oscar time.

While not a perfect film, Into the Wild is still an enchanting yet harrowing film from Sean Penn and probably his best work to date as a director. With a great cast that is led by Emile Hirsch in a superb performance. Fans of films about nature will no doubt love the inspiring world that is Alaska while seeing the wonders of the American wilderness in all of beauty and ugliness. While it's a long film with a running time of almost two-and-a-half hours, it's one that is worth seeing on the big screen. In the end, Into the Wild is an amazingly, sprawling film from Sean Penn.

Sean Penn Films: (The Indian Runner) - (The Crossing Guard) - (The Pledge) - 11'9"01-September 11 (USA)

Eddie Vedder-Into the Wild OST

(C) thevoid99 2011

Psycho (1998 film)

The 1998 remake of Psycho directed by Gus Van Sant is the story of a woman who steals money from her boss as she goes on the run and stops at a motel run by a creepy young man. When she goes missing, her sister and the woman’s lover try to find her with help from an investigator. Based on the original novel by Robert Bloch, the film is a shot-by-shot remake of the famed 1960 film directed by Alfred Hitchcock as Van Sant also uses the original adapted script by Joseph Stefano. Starring Vince Vaughn, Julianne Moore, Viggo Mortensen, William H. Macy, Phillip Baker Hall, Robert Forster, and Anne Heche. Gus Van Sant’s take on Psycho is among one of the worst ideas ever presented from Hollywood.

With her boyfriend Sam Loomis (Viggo Mortensen) in debt, Marion Crane (Anne Heche) wants to help him as she returns to work where she is given $400,000 to deposit for a customer. Instead, she steals it and goes on the run where she encounters a highway patrol officer (James Remar) and trade cars only to stop at a motel. Meeting its manager named Norman Bates (Vince Vaughn), Marion briefly converses with the man only to have something bad to happen. When Marion has disappeared, Marion’s sister Lila (Julianne Moore) asks Sam where she is. Instead, a private investigator named Arbogast (William H. Macy) is on the search for Marion only to meet Norman and disappear. Turning to a local sheriff (Phillip Baker Hall) for help, Sam and Lila figure out what is going on along with the mystery of Bates‘ mother..

Remakes allow filmmakers the chance to update things for a modern audience and try to put a new spin for a film to be its own. While some tend to stand out on its own, others tend to be cash-ins on these old films in an attempt to put asses in the seat. With Gus Van Sant’s remake of the revered Alfred Hitchcock film, Van Sant chose a more experimental approach by updating some of the dialogue, set it in the present, and do a mostly shot-by-shot take for the film with colored cinematography by Christopher Doyle. Something like this could be a good idea but it didn’t work.

Since it is a shot-by-shot remake where Van Sant tries to replicate the same compositions and framing that Hitchcock has done in the original 1960 film. Some of it seems intriguing but one of the key elements that made Hitchcock’s film so beloved is the way he builds suspense and take his time to set up the chills. Van Sant tries to go for the same thing but for anyone that saw the original will know what will happen. Then there’s the few things Van Sant adds to the film by updating the money ten times its original amount and setting it in present times with modern cars and various objects. Yet, it’s mostly through Kelley Baker’s sound design and Ann E. Duddleston’s editing but it becomes more of a distraction rather than a solid addition.

Part of what Van Sant does is during the intense killing scenes, Van Sant would add strange inserts in between the stabbings which ends up making the moment seem silly rather than chilling. Then there’s some of the sound work where the voice-overs remain in tact but they’re meshed with other voice-overs that become quite confusing. One notable scene where the sound adds to a scene is where Bates is peeping at Marion as she’s taking her clothes off. In the original, it’s just a simple scene of Bates looking where in Van Sant’s version, Bates masturbates. It’s among a lot of the things that doesn’t work throughout the film. One of them is Bernard Herrmann’s score which gets adapted by Danny Elfman where at times, the music is used in scenes where it didn’t need any.

There’s not a lot of what Van Sant does with his direction other than update a few key set pieces such as the Bates motel and Bates home. At the same time, in order to make the film more accessible to an audience of the late 1990s. The film has a pace that is a bit faster but for some reason, feels a bit longer which shows an inconsistency to its tone. While there’s some good work that Christopher Doyle provides with his colorful cinematography, it’s not noteworthy enough to make it stand out on its own. Overall, it’s a remake that doesn’t really do anything other than remind people that the original film remains better and there is no way in hell that a shot-by-shot remake could ever make it better.

Aside from notable contributions from production designer Tom Foden and costume designer Beatrix Aruna Pasztor to update the look of the film from the 1960s to the 1990s. There’s not a lot of technical elements that should be noted as the film’s soundtrack includes some faintly heard music from the likes of Rob Zombie, the Germs, Bill Frisell, and Danny Elfman providing a guitar piece for the film’s final credits.

The casting is one of the key elements of the film where there’s a few standouts in a sea of appearances including Gus Van Sant himself replicating Hitchcock’s own cameo where he has a Hitchcock imitator scolding Van Sant. The actors who do appear in the film includes Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea as Sam’s clerk, Rita Wilson as Marion’s fellow secretary friend, Chad Everett as the client Marion steals from, Rance Howard as Marion’s boss, James LeGros as the used car dealer, James Remar as the highway patrol officer, Phillip Baker Hall as the sheriff, Anne Haney as the sheriff’s wife, and Robert Forster in a great appearance as the psychiatrist towards the end of the film as many of the actors chose to play these roles in a straightforward manner.

William H. Macy is pretty decent as Arbogast, the private detective searching for Marion as he chooses to play it straight the same way that Martin Balsam approached the role. Viggo Mortensen is OK as Sam Loomis as he adds a Southern drawl to the character to kind of make it his own while Julianne Moore is pretty good as Lila by making the character that Vera Miles played as somewhat more aggressive in her search to find Marion. Then there’s the two key roles of Marion Crane and Norman Bates where both Anne Heche and Vince Vaughn, respectively, take these famed roles. Unfortunately, neither could really do what both Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins could do in these respective yet iconic roles.

Heche’s performance is truly one of the most horrendous performances ever captured on film as it was made at the time when Heche was mostly known as Ellen DeGeneres’ girlfriend and for being extremely outspoken. The performance Heche gives has an air of smugness that is very off-putting throughout the first half of the film. Yet, the highlight of her performance is to see her dead. Vince Vaughn’s performance as Norman Bates is a disaster because as good as an actor Vaughn is when he can be. He is completely wrong to play that character because not only does he fail to be charming and pull off the kind of innocence Perkins approach to that character. It’s also clear that once the audience sees his face, it’s obvious this guy has some problems as it’s a really terrible performance from Vaughn.

Gus Van Sant’s remake of Psycho is a misguided travesty that never should’ve been made in the first place. It’s film that reminds audience why the original is always going to be seen over and over again out of pure enjoyment. While it’s not fair to say that this is Van Sant’s worst film since it’s not really his film. It’s just that there not a lot of imagination to be put but rather serve as a weird experimental piece about why shot-by-shot remakes will never work. This is a film that should be avoided unless it’s for Van Sant completists wondering why this didn’t work. In the end, just watch the original Alfred Hitchcock version of Psycho and avoid Gus Van Sant’s remake.

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

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

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