Category Archives: Movie Reviews – D

REVIEW: “Despicable Me”

by

7

Sometimes you go to the theater not really knowing what you’ll see. You may leave disappointed or you may leave pleasantly surprised. Then there are those rare occasions where a movie completely shocks you and catches you off guard. Such is the case with Universal’s animated film “Despicable Me”. I watched this with my kids mainly looking for some good family time together. I actually ended up seeing what I feel is one of the better animated pictures to come out recently.

Now I did feel as though “Despicable Me”  had potential after seeing the trailer and various TV spots. But to be honest I had no idea what to expect. What I saw was a funny, original, and entertaining animated gem. One of the movie’s strong points is it’s broad appeal. This is a picture that anyone can sit down and enjoy. It’s not coated in humor that goes over kid’s heads and it’s not all brought down to the level of young children. It’s appeal is universal and that’s a big plus. The humor is also cleverly written. Sure it occasionally has the almost obligatory animated slapstick scenes. But it also has some genuinely funny moments both from a visual perspective and through the dialogue. The humor really worked for me.

To go a little more into the humor and the writing, it’s filled with several laugh out loud moments. Whether it be witty one-liners, quirky side characters, or the hysterical “minions”, the film is loaded with funny sequences. It also shows the ability to be genuinely funny without the lame, overused gimmickry found in many of today’s “comedies”. The humor blends in nicely with a sweet and emotional tone that can be found throughout the film. Then there is the predictable but warm ending which wraps the movie up nicely.

Another thing worth mentioning are the fantastic visuals. The film looks great. It’s slightly stylized animation fits perfectly with the quirkiness of the characters and the environments. Also unlike many of the more recent 3D movies, “Despicable Me” makes good use of the technology. It has some great 3D “WOW” moments and the film seems free of the fuzzy, dark look seen in many 3D pictures. Funny little details can be seen on the characters and backgrounds and this only adds to the appeal.

”Toy Story 3″ received most of the hype for animated films during the year 2010 and eventually won the Oscar for “Best Animated Feature”. But for my money,“Despicable Me” was head and shoulders above it in nearly every way. Not only did I feel it was it the best animated film of that year, it was the best comedy of 2010 as well.  I perfectly understand that not everyone will respond to “Despicable Me” as strongly as I did. Perhaps the wonderful time at the theater I had with my kids in some ways influence my review. But after catching up with it again recently it still holds up. I found “Despicable Me” to be a great mix of humor, sharp visuals, and tender moments. In other words, it’s a really fun movie.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

REVIEW: “Defiance”

by

8

Edward Zwick’s 2008 World War 2 movie “Defiance” is an intriguing look at the Nazi’s invasion and ultimate occupation of Belarus. As with every other German occupation, the brutality was rampant and the death tolls were high. The Nazi’s stormed through the countryside, destroying villages, killing hundreds of thousands of civilians, and shipping hundreds of thousands more to forced labor camps. As expected the Jewish population was hit particularly hard. This is the harsh and troubled setting for Zwick’s film.

“Defiance” is based on the true story of the four Bielski brothers. After their parents are murdered by Nazi sympathizers, the brothers flee to the forest to avoid the German atrocities which are spreading from village to village. While there, they come across fellow Jews who are also seeking refuge. While hesitant at first, the brothers agree to help protect them. In order to survive, they begin making trips into occupied villages where they swipe food and supplies and are assisted by a few sympathetic farmers. The Bielskis also see their numbers grow as more and more Jews came to be under their protection. In a span of over two difficult years, it’s said that over 1,200 Jews were saved by the Bielski’s efforts.

Daniel Craig plays Tuvia, the oldest brother who finds himself the leader of their forest community. At first his perspective is controlled by his desire for revenge. But over time as he connects more with the people under his care, he begins to see things differently. His tough, burly brother Zus (Liev Schreiber) has a different approach which at times causes friction between the two. Craig is an excellent actor and he is very good here. I’ve always liked Liev Schreiber and have felt that due to some of his past roles he is often time underappreciated. He’s also really good here and shares some fantastic scenes with Craig. I also enjoyed Jaime Bell as their younger brother Asael and Mia Wasikowska as young Jewish girl he becomes involved with. The movie also features strong supporting work from Alexa Davalos, Mark Feuerstein, and Allan Corduner.

“Defiance” is a pretty by-the-books production that plays it pretty safe. But that’s not to say its a bad film. In fact, I really liked the movie despite it’s formulaic approach. At it’s core it’s a truly extraordinary and inspiring story with roots in reality that gives it even more punch. Zwick makes it easy to care about his characters and their plight but he also shows some of the Bielski’s more questionable actions. The complexity of their situation goes beyond mere survival in the forest. For example we see the impact of the Soviet Partisans on everything from the Bielski’s forest camp to the relationship between Tuvia and Zus. As the camp population grows, internal fighting and power struggles pop up as supplies begin to run short. There are several other interesting dynamics that Zwick explores well.

Some have argued that the movie’s desire for a broader audience resulted in the inclusion of content that just didn’t belong. In some countries, people took issue with the film’s portrayal of the brothers. They felt they were made to look more heroic than they were and their shady dealings were underplayed. Some accused it of rewriting history while others griped about its use of other languages instead of Belarusian. It’s hard for me take issue with the movie for any of these issues. As with many historical movies, things were added for dramatic effect. Also, I never felt that it was dealing with the material in an irresponsible or half-hearted way. There may be some issues with the overall narrative, but as a whole the movie really worked for me.

“Defiance” is an underappreciated and often times overlooked World War 2 picture. It doesn’t take many risks and it never strays too far from the more conventional survival movie path. But it’s a very well made film that captures the look and tone of the period. It tells a story that many may be unfamiliar with and even with the historical objections of some, I found it to be a testament to the will to live possessed by this group of Jewish refugees. Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber are fantastic and their performances drive the film.

VERDICT – 4 STARS

REVIEW: “Dark Shadows”

by

4

Director Tim Burton and actor Johnny Depp’s history of collaborations could graciously be called a roller-coaster. The two have worked together on a total of eight movies, each to some degree sharing the same Tim Burton gothic quirkiness. Burton’s style is unique and specific and it’s easy to see how someone could be turned off by it. He’s also known to dabble in the same general themes and his movies often have the same look and tone. “Dark Shadows” is no different and you almost instantly know you are watching a Tim Burton picture. But to be honest, I’m not the biggest Burton fan and I’m rarely attracted to his films. But there was something about “Dark Shadows” that caught my attention.

The trailer and TV spots showed what could potentially be a hilarious dark comedy based on the “Dark Shadows” vampire soap opera from the late 60’s and early 70’s. Depp plays Barnabas Collins who finds his life turned upside down after breaking the heart of a witch named Angelique (Eva Green). The Collins family had moved from Liverpool, England to Maine and started a fishing village. They called it Collinsport and built the huge Collinwood Manor on top of a hill overlooking the town. Angelique was part of the Collins’ work staff and immediately fell for young Barnabas. But he never notices her especially after finding the love of his life Josette (Bella Heathcote). Taking the ‘woman scorned’ idea to new levels, she uses her black magic to cause the deaths of Barnabas’ parents and Josette. To take things even further, she turns Barnabas into a vampire then buries him in the forest in a chained up casket where he stays for almost 200 years.

But his casket is accidentally unearthed and Collins is eventually freed. The problem is that the year is 1972 and things certainly aren’t how they were when Barbabas was buried. At this point the movie seems set up to be another absurd fish-out-of-water story. In fact, that’s exactly what it was advertised as. And while there are some genuinely funny moments when Barnabas clashes with his new 1972 environment, it’s far from the meat and potatoes of the story. “Dark Shadows” actually plays things straight for much of the film and I often found the comedy to be back-burnered. To me Burton squandered a lot of potential by not spending more time on laughs. One minute he and Depp are winking their eye and having fun with the old show. The next minute they’re taking the story in a more serious direction. I found the absurdity of the comedy to clearly be the most fun.

After being freed, Barnanbas connects with the dysfunctional Collins descendants now living in the rundown Collinwood manor including Elizabeth (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Roger (Jonny Lee Miller). He also meets Carolyn (Chloe Moretz), a rebellious teenager and David (Gulliver McGrath), a young boy who believes in ghosts. Helena Bonham Carter plays a boozing psychiatrist living in the house supposedly to help David. He also meets Victoria Winters (also played by Heathcote) David’s governess who has a striking resemblance to Josette. Barnabas finds that his descendants have allowed their family fishing business to fall apart. He takes it upon himself to rebuild the business back to prominence especially after seeing that the rival fishing company is run by an incarnation of none other than Angelique.

One thing you instantly notice is that the film looks fantastic. Even when the story sputters, the visuals never do and the movie features some gorgeous camera work and fantastic makeup and costume design. Burton also does a nice job a recreating a believable 1972, an unusual time in American history that strangely fits a Tim Burton project. I loved the selection of 70’s pop and rock songs chosen for the film and there are several funny jokes involving things such as lava lamps, hippies, and The Carpenters. And while we’ve seen comedies that focus on misplaced people before, here it works pretty well. But unfortunately we only get snippets of it scattered throughout the picture. It’s mixed in with the more serious and straight-laced narrative which often times causes a frequent and almost distracting change of tone throughout the film. This isn’t so much due to Burton’s direction, but to the structure of the story.

Depp plays weird really well and here he gives his usual solid performance. His comfort level with pasty-faced Burton roles is evident and his own quirky sense of humor shines through. His goofy facial expressions and sometimes exaggerated line delivery really sells the Barnabas Collins character even during the times where the main story feels lifeless. Depp can get a laugh from the audience just by lifting an eye brow at the right moment and his performance was one of my favorite things about the film. Most of the other cast members are good particularly Jackie Earle Haley in a fun role as the Collinwood caretaker. There are no glaringly bad performances and to be honest, it’s Depp’s show.

“Dark Shadows” is a genre-jumper that moves between comedy, horror, drama, romance, and action yet never feels grounded in any of them. An argument could be made that this is a typical Tim Burton picture and if you’re a fan, you’re probably going to like it. And I certainly won’t deny that Burton’s fingerprints are all over the movie. But I just didn’t find myself as interested in the main story as I hoped to be. The comedy works and there are some truly clever and funny gags that you have to appreciate. Depp carries many scenes and makes them work just by his stiff and unusual character presentation. Things like this really work in the film. In other words, “Dark Shadows” isn’t a terrible movie. In fact, it’s far from it. But it is an inconsistent movie and one that I have a hard time embracing. I may like the film more after a second viewing, but right now it feels like a movie that had great comedic potential but only gave us a sampling of it.

VERDICT – 2 STARS

REVIEW: “Dial M for Murder”

by

5

Classic Movie SpotlightDIAL MIt may not be the most acclaimed Alfred Hitchcock film, but “Dial M for Murder” is an intelligent and capable murder mystery adapted from Frederick Knott’s play. While there are special Hitchcock touches throughout the film, it’s Knott who really makes this such a memorable picture. He wrote the screenplay and kept most of his original work intact. The movie sharply resembles a play particularly by the fact that the majority of the film takes place in one single setting, a London apartment. Also, the dialogue flows in a way that favors what you would see on stage. But it’s that same dialogue delivered by some really strong performances and mixed with Hitchcock’s slick use of the camera that gives this movie it’s appeal.

“Dial M for Murder” explores the idea of the perfect murder. Ray Milland plays Tony Wendice, a professional tennis player who has enjoyed a lavish lifestyle thanks to his wife Margot’s wealth. After growing frustrated with Tony’s constant absence and busy schedule, Margot (Grace Kelly) begins a fling with an American writer named Mark Halliday (Robert Cummings). Tony finds out about the affair and fearing the loss of his meal ticket, he plans the murder of his unfaithful wife, leaving him her fortune. It’s a foolproof plan, carefully thought out to the smallest detail. But what may look good on paper doesn’t always translate well into real life.

The story is straightforward but structured and it pays great attention to the details. Clues are littered throughout the film with almost every seemingly small action from the characters having some type of relevance. It’s such a tight-knit and well-crafted story and watching it unfold is very satisfying. The story never trips over itself and Hitchcock let’s Knott’s script do most of the heavy lifting. The dialogue drives the film and it doesn’t rely on twists, turns, or red herrings. In fact, the narrative moves in a fairly straight line and never strays from it’s path. But I found it effective especially considering the movie is basically a single location cinematic play.

DIAL M 1

A movie of this sort only works with strong and grounded performances and “Dial M for Murder” certainly has them. I love watching Ray Milland’s shrewd and savvy Tony. He perfectly relays Tony’s arrogance and overconfidence in a way that never feels disingenuous or overwrought. He has a remarkable screen presence and is perfectly cast. Speaking of screen presence, the gorgeous Grace Kelly is mesmerizing. Whether it be her physical beauty and elegance or her graceful and authentic performance, Kelly steals almost every scene she’s in. I also loved John Williams as Inspector Hubbard. He’s fun, smart, and never misses a beat.

I suppose the location restrictions and the straightforward story could be considered faults especially for those comparing this film to some of Hitchcock’s other movies. But I loved how Hitchcock keeps the Wendice’s apartment fresh with inventive camera shots and clever angles. I can also appreciate the direct although conveniently tidy narrative. It’s an intelligent film that puts a solid story in the hands of some fantastic actors and lets them go from there. I always have fun with “Dial M for Murder” and it’s strongest message is this – keep up with your latchkey!

VERDICT – 4.5 STARS