Quick DVD reviews by Sean Marshall Mecalf

Doubt ****

Doubt is one of the best films of 2008. It is a drama that plays out like a suspense film. Meryl Streep is perfect as the strict Sister Aloysius, the Headmistress of a catholic school, who believes without a shadow of a doubt that that Father Brendan has had an inappropriate relationship with a boy at the school. The film is almost like a courtroom drama without the courtroom, where the viewer gets to play the jury. As the accusations are made against Father Brendan, it is very much a case of circumstantial evidence. Amy Adams is great as Sister James, a kindhearted teacher at the school. It is Adams that has the most complex character arc in the film. As the accusations are made her character starts waning away from her sweet kind hearted nature. She is caught between her trust and like of Father Brendan and her devotion to the Headmistress Sister Aloysius. I cannot talk about Doubt without talking about the film’s powerhouse performance by Violia Davis who plays the mother of the boy that Father Brendan is accused of inappropriate relations. In her 10 minutes on screen she even manages to out shine Meryl Streep. On DVD April 4, 2009

The Reader ***

In The Reader, Kate Winslet gives her Oscar Winning performance as Hanna Schmitz, a 36 year old German Bus Conductor in post World War II Britain. Her paths cross with 15 year old Peter Berg (David Koss) and the two begin a love affair. As they continue their affair Peter starts to read classic literature to her after they have sex. As Peter gets older and goes away to collage the two drift apart. But they come together again when law student Peter gets to sit in on a Nazi War Trial in which Hanna is one of the defendants. The film jumps time a third time with Ralph Fiennes playing the older Peter. His performance is less then stellar. It is Koss as Peter that shines in the film. Winslet is good in the film but she seems to play mood instead playing a real character. As I have said before I much prefer her in Revolutionary Road. The film was also nominated for Best Picture but I think it pales in comparison to Doubt which did not receive a Best Picture Nomination. On DVD April 14, 2009

Out on DVD--Quick reviews by Sean Marshall Metcalf

Slumdog Millionaire ****

Slumdog Millionaire is such an enjoyable film. It has been called a feel good film but I think that is selling this or any film short. The story is a simple one. Jamal is a contestant on India’s version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. As he answers the questions, the events of his life unfold and show why he knew the answer. It seemlessly weaves in and out of Jamal's adult life and his life as a kid. It is a well crafted film down to even the music which is a big part of what makes the movie work. It is the winner of 8 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director. DVD March 31, 2009



Bolt ***

Bolt surprised me. I wanted to not like this John Travolta/Miley Cyrus animated movie but it got me hooked with a fun and smart story. It plays out like any fish out of water, journey to find home, animated animal buddy flick. But it has a funny script, developed characters, great animation, and most of all some heart. As dog movies go, I much preferred it over Marley and Me. DVD March 24, 2009

Marley and Me **1/2

As dog films go Marley and Me is just okay. I would have liked to have seen less relationship between Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston and more of the dog Marley. Both actors have a great chemistry with the various dogs who play Marley through out his life, but don't have much chemistry with each other as husband and wife. But really, the reason to watch the film is not the actors themselves but the dog. And what keeps the film entertaining is seeing what Marley is going to do next. When the film was all over I did have to go and hug my Boarder Collie mix Ziggy. DVD March 31, 2009

Race to Witch Mountain

**1/2 out of ****
By: William Moon
The latest loosely-based remake or as Disney likes to call it "re imagining" of 1975's "Escape to Witch Mountain" isn't exactly bad. It just lacks the heart, soul and character development that made the original so magical and engaging.

That's not to say you shouldn't waste your time by passing the film up altogether. It has a lot going for it, and by that I mean it delivers great performances from its lead actors, Duane Johnson, AnnaSophia Robb and newcomer Alexander Ludwig, along with enough action to keep you fully entertained for an hour and a half.

I believe a lot of the critics gave this film the correct rating, but for the wrong reason. Many took the film too seriously, questioning the logic situation of an actual band of SWAT team chasing a couple of teen aliens with a robotic-looking Predator-like creature following them as well, and really, I think many of them criticized the film in the wrong areas.

Yes, it's a very implausible plot, but lets look at the given genre and targeted audience, here. This is targeted to preteens and promises to be a fun, action thrill-ride and in my opinion, is much more successful than the recent Twilight, in that regard. However, the effects are just about as bad, if not worse, and the believability of these characters in these situations were erased for me every time it was so obvious they stood in front of a green screen.

I know I'm supposed to suspend my disbelief and pass all of that by, but the film simply only seems to go through the motions of the action and not focusing on the heart. And while the actors are convincingly good and the music befitting for the so-called race, the effects, themselves are not so much. There is a relationship formed between Johnson's character Jack Bruno and Alex (played by Carla Gugino), which seems about as unnecessary as Robb's character breaking down and crying in her farewell in the end. If you're going to try and add a romance and break the rules of the aliens feeling emotion (because in the beginning of the film they were about as robotic as Stepford children), please fully flesh out your emotions. These are just a couple of minor quibbles I had with the film, and they're hardly noticeable, seeing as how 90 percent of the film involves the children and Jackson running for their lives.

Watching this film, I can't help but be reminded of last years City of Ember, which I felt had much more depth, better effects and a script than this film did. The original material of Escape to Witch Mountain had a lot going for it. So why would there be a point in remaking the film and simply have the characters running for 90 minutes and still calling it the same thing? I'm not a stickler for keeping things strictly to the original sources, but I think some of the development could have been left in this time. I'm not saying I didn't have a good time watching the three characters running through the entire movie. In fact, I had a blast. The dialogue ranges from everywhere of being flat-out goofball to pure comedic timing and wit, thanks mostly to depending on the deliverance's of the actors.

This is actually quite an enjoyable, fun, action-packed good film for children. I can't necessarily say it's a good film for adults, though. I enjoyed it, but that doesn't mean I thought it was good. I think the film didn't completely go out with its campy side, or have the best of effects and script to make it fully a serious film either, but if you do choose to see it, please, just take it for what it is: a fun popcorn, caffeinated adrenaline ride. Nothing more. Nothing less. If you want something more substantial, stick to the original.

Twilight The Review by Sean Marshall Metcalf

Twilight is on DVD March 21, 2009 and I thought I would give my take on the film.

Twilight **1/2

Twilight is a moody dark tale of teen angst that is not particularly a great cinematic achievement. It is however a great packaged piece of cinematic pop culture. It is Lost Boys meets Dawson's Creek.

Bella moves to Forks, Washington. She is drawn to the mysterious Edward Cullen and like Bella we are too. It is no big surprise that he is a vampire. And so the romantic saga begins. As a romantic goes, Edward is kind of over protective voyeuristic and creepy. Bella is headstrong and seems kind of emotionally detached from the world around to everything but the hypnotic stare of Edward. The two make love work because Edward some how resists the urge to feed on her, but the romance is challenged when another vampire, James, wants feed on Bella. And the battle for Bella begins with Edward and James.

The production values are slick on Twilight. The make up on Edward as well as all the vampires in the movie is very heavy handed but it is some what balanced out by the washed out cinematography. It kind of makes them cool and goth. There are voice overs in the film by Bella and I did not understand the use of them in the film. Nothing that Bella said in the voice overs told me anything that the plot and the characters themselves did not already tell me.

Twilight is not a bad film. I still could not get out of my head that I was watching some teen drama on the CW or ABC Family channel. It is entertaining enough and is a slickly packaged teen angst meets horror film. Twilight is for me is kind of guilty pleasure movie. One that I might watch again on a rainy day and i feel like watching a moody teen angst horror film.

Sean's take on Watchmen

Watchmen--Sean's take

by Sean Marshall Metcalf

I give Watchmen *** as well. From what I have read Zach Snyder used the graphic novel of Watchmen as his storyboard. Does going shot by shot from the source material make him a good director? There is no doubt it makes for a visually stunning film. And Snyder had a big under taking here. Not only did he have to make try to make a good film but he had to make a film that would be accepted by Watchmen's legion of fans.

The opening credits montage was a great way to show the timeline of the heroes up to 1985. After the credits I had a hard time figuring out what the film was really going to be about. Not to say I was enjoying what I was watching. As the story played out I found myself drawn most the the storyline of Rorshash, who is played brilliantly by Jackie Earl Haley. He is very much an anti hero and his voice overs reminded me of a hard boiled detective in a Film Noir film. The film is very melodramatic and much plays out at times like Days of Our Lives as if it were directed by Roy Lichtenstein. Each melodramatic moment is framed like a Lichtenstein painting.

The make-up was a bit cartoon like especially Nixon. He looks like he walked straight out of a political cartoon in the editorial section of the newspaper. The old age make-up on the 67 year old is a bit much but I could look pasted it because her performance as a retired hero was good.

And yes the blue penis was very distracting. Are we not as used to seeing male full frontal nudity on screen because it seems that the female form is exploited most of the time in film?

Watchmen is not the best of the comic book/graphic novel inspired films. I enjoyed Dark Knight or even V for Vendetta (Another Alan Moore graphic novel) more. But Watchmen is a highly entertaining and visually stunning film.--Sean Marshall Metcalf

Watchmen

*** out of ****
By: William Moon

The year is 1985, and President Nixon is about to serve his fifth term, in this alternative reality that looks much like the one in which we live in. The opening credits of the film provide a look into what is going on in the world. Lesbian superheroes are slain, war is breaking loose and a band of unarmed peace-loving hippies are gunned down by so-called war heroes, just because they choose to want a better and more loving society. All the while a Bob Dylan song plays over the events.

As the credits roll, one would think that the film would promise a politically charged film, in where the superheroes would be seen as liberals and the villains as conservatives, but the film is a lot more complex than that. On the given surface, the plot, in itself, may only completely make sense to those who have read the graphic novel or seen the film at least a couple of times, and there are many visual distractions that sometimes draw focus away from what plot there would be, and yes, if you've already heard, I am indeed talking about the infamous blue penis of character Dr. Manhattan (Billy Crudup). That's not to say the aesthetics of the film aren't worth congratulating, because they certainly are. The sequences on Mars are some of the most breathtaking visuals I've seen since Darren Aranofsky's The Fountain, and despite the unnecessary usage of the penis on screen, it still looks visually realistic in all of its digital enhancement. Yes, the pun is intended. But now that I've spent so much time focusing on the cock, on with the plot.

When The Comedian (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), a former superhero, is murdered, the masked vigilante Rorshach (Jackie Earl Haley) sets out to investigate the murder. The film ranges over about a thirty-year time period, and rather than hiring different actors to play the young and the old, the same actors play them, with some of the worst makeup I've ever seen on film. One character even looks into the screen at one point to proclaim to the audience "I am 67 years old." It's probably good she told us that, because otherwise we might think she was a 30 year old woman with bad stage-lines plastered across her forehead and cheeks.

The film tries to appeal to a wide-ranged audience, never straying away from explosive adrenaline or a thought-provoking commentary on modern and past times in our world. In many ways it's meant to be seen as a political satire, and although I did not enjoy Zach Snyder's (the director) previous work, this felt like it had more depth than his recent 300 and by far it's well worth the watch for visual effects alone.

I still believe Zach Snyder isn't the best director and here's why: I believe he doesn't fully comprehend the meaning behind his work a lot of the time. As I've said I believe the film is supposed to be a political satire on our times in a political and comical manner. We have a character in the film that is a former superhero, and now a recovering alcoholic, with a bad past with a man who nearly raped and abused her. The woman later gives in and cheats on her husband with this man on her own will. If you wouldn't know any better and I never talked about her being a superhero, you might think this subplot might belong on Days of Our Lives. I think in many ways the film does take itself too seriously, unlike Sweeney Todd, which reveled in all of its maniacally dark humor, but that isn't to say Watchmen is a failure by any means. It's a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining work of mainstream art that provides a more insight look to what Hollywood could actually be capable of if they set forth in achieving so. The Dark Knight is probably the highest accomplished work in this method. It's a nice effort of a film for hopefully more great superhero movies to come, and although I am still convinced Zach Snyder is a bad director, I believe, as a whole, Watchmen will not disappoint fans of the graphic novel, superhero fans and moviegoers who simply want an entertaining and visually pleasing film.

Coraline

***1/2 out of ****

By: William Moon

Coraline tells the tale of a young girl (voiced by Dakota Fanning) living with her parents, who spend most of their time writing and not giving enough attention to their own daughter. Bored at home, and with her neighbors, Coraline discovers a secret world within her own home, full of magic, wonderment and never ending pure fun. It sounds like a dream come true, until Coraline's parents from the other realm want to make Coraline "one of them" by sewing buttons into her eyes, completely erasing the actual Coraline, much like "The Stepford Wives." Obviously Coraline refuses, and rushes back to her old world, but escaping isn't as easy as she thinks it will be.

The film is based on the novel by Neil Gaiman, author of Stardust and Mirrormask, and much like those films, Coraline is aesthetically pleasing to the eyes. Director Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas) weaves us into this surrealistic stop-motion world of both terror and wonderment, and like The Nightmare Before Christmas, it is a film that appeals to all ages.

There's the sense of morality that the film holds that sometimes we take for granted what we have and during a tumultuous time or catastrophic event are forced to see what truly means something to us. The score is one of the best in years, by Bruno Coulais, and only enhances this wonderfully created world.

The film isn't as good as Nightmare Before Christmas, but is certainly good in its own right, and in many ways better than Tim Burton's Corpse Bride. It might be a little scary for some viewers and some parents might have a problem with some of the suggestive sexual innuendos in the film, but it's no worse than what one would see in a Shrek film. Many people seem to place all animated films in a category only for children, and Coraline isn't one of them. There are many animated films that come out each year for adults, such as Persepolis and Waltz with Bashir. Coraline falls somewhere in between Monster House and those.

Many complain that Corailne is about as soulless as the Other Parents in the film that try and sew button eyes on Coraline, but I would have to disagree. I believe Coraline has the depth and heart that are required for the film. It's not touching in the way a typical Disney film would be, but it doesn't need to be. It's about learning lessons and appreciating the value in ones every day surroundings. Like many adaptations of Alice in Wonderland, there are many moments in Coraline that do feel a bit unnecessary and tedious in the overall grand scheme of the plot, but in the end everything seems to fall into place in a rather spellbinding and spine tingling conclusion.

In one of the most creatively well-constructed films I've seen in quite some time Coraline manages to be both an accomplishment on a visceral and thought-provoking level.