Movie/TV Reviews

Lords of Dogtown

Susan Granger’s review of “Lords of Dogtown” (Columbia Pictures/Tri-Star)

When a drought hit Southern California in the 1970s and backyard swimming pools could not be filled, scruffy, scrappy skateboarders with new polyurethane wheels quickly realized their potential and a landlocked, daredevil subculture was born.This is the story of a trio of rebellious skateboarders who transformed the sport into a national phenomenon. It’s all about their friendship and rivalry. Stacy Peralta (John Robinson), Tony Alva (Victor Rasuk) and Jay Adams (Emile Hirsch) initially ran with a tough, older gang of Venice Beach ocean surfers until they discovered they could “surf” on concrete, maneuvering their boards like surfboards. Named for their sponsor, Zephyr surf shop, owned by volatile alcoholic Skip Engblom (Heath Ledger, speaking with an annoying slur), the fearless Z-boys became self-absorbed local celebrities and chick magnets, attracting dozens of bikini-clad groupies.Eventually, Alva went into pro skateboarding, while Adams rejected sponsorship offers and fell in with a punk-rock crowd. Peralta wrote and directed the award-winning documentary “Dogtown and the Z-Boys” (2001) on which this secondary rags-to-riches melodrama is based.Under Stacy Peralta’s supervision, director Catherine Hardwicke (“Thirteen”) explored the restless skateboarding world, hiring seasoned athletes to do most of the dangerous stunts. Her background as a production designer dominates, giving the inept, clichŽ-laden story more style than substance. Viewed through the jerky, jiggling, hand-held camera, the various competitions blur together as the skaters repeatedly go up and down ramps. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Lords of Dogtown” is a gnarly 5. But if you’re into this sport, I guess it’s the wheel deal.

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Layer Cake

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Layer Cake” (Sony Pictures Classics)

Because of this clever British gangster/morality tale, Matthew Vaughn has leapt from rookie director to the Hollywood A-list, nabbing the upcoming “X-Men” sequel, promising to give it more heart, and rangy actor Daniel Craig is rumored to be a contender for the new James Bond.Adapted by J.J. Connolly from his pulp novel, there’s this nameless drug dealer (Daniel Craig) who introduces himself saying, “I’m not a gangster. I’m a businessman whose commodity happens to be cocaine.” He has made his fortune and wants to cash out. Before he can retire, he has to do two favors for a villainous crime boss (Kenneth Cranham). First, he must track down the missing daughter of a powerful criminal (Michael Gambon). Second, he must negotiate the sale of a huge Ecstasy shipment with the Duke (Jamie Foreman). Tracked by two thugs (Colm Meaney, George Harris), he still has time for a dalliance with a disco blonde (Sienna Miller) as he discovers convoluted layers upon layers of deceit and deception. It’s gangland minus frosting.Director Matthew Vaughn is hardly a neophyte, thanks to his godfather/mentor, restaurateur Peter Morton, who helped him get jobs at the Hard Rock Cafe and with music video producer Simon Fields – and from his three-year marriage to German supermodel Claudia Schiffer with whom he has two children. Vaughn was a creative producer on “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,” “Snatch” and “Swept Away” – and was long rumored to be the illegitimate son of “Man from U.N.C.L.E.” star Robert Vaughn until recent DNA tests proved he was not. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Layer Cake” is a tasty, tightly-paced 8, as smooth London lowlife discovers it’s not quite as easy getting out of trouble as it is getting in.

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Vikings: Journey to New Worlds

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Vikings: Journey to New Worlds” (IMAX)

Everyone has heard of the Vikings – those fearless seafarers whose intrepid explorations changed the course of history. In this new large-screen documentary, live-action dramatic reenactments illustrate how Vikings were not only barbaric warriors but also farmers, poets, and skilled craftsmen. Indeed, it was their shipbuilding skills that enabled them to venture to never-before-seen lands. By the way, real Vikings didn’t wear those helmets with pointy horns. That stereotypical headgear was, perhaps, invented by costume designers for Wagnerian operas. The film opens with what is believed to have been the first, ruthless Viking raid. It was at Lindisfarne, a Christian monastery on the northeast coast of England, in 793 A.D.. Early one morning, a lone monk is standing on the beach when, slowly and silently, out of the fog comes the dragon-shaped prowhead of a Viking longship. Though this scene plays without any bloodshed or graphic violence, the savagery of the subsequent pillaging is made clear. (Don’t expect anything like the atrocities depicted in Kirk Douglas’ 1958 “The Vikings.”) The most notable Viking voyages began in the 10th century, when Eric the Red, a Norwegian mariner, discovered Greenland. Banished from Iceland for three years because his uncontrollable temper caused several deaths, he sailed west and the landfall he discovered (c. 982) was so appealing that he named it Greenland. In the following years, a number of Icelandic Vikings settled there. Eric’s son, Leif, then sailed further westward, discovering Helluland, Markland and Vinland – which seem to correlate with Labrador, Nova Scotia and New England – 500 years before Christopher Columbus – although the 1965 evidence of the so-called Vinland map is now known to have been a post-1920s forgery. Co-writer/director Marc Fafard and photographer Andy Kitzanuk explore some of the most important archeological Viking sites, including the still pristine and tranquil L’Anse aux Meadows, where Leif Erikkson settled in Newfoundland, and the Arni Magnusson Institute in Reykjavik, Iceland, where precious medieval manuscripts, called sagas, that describe the oral traditions of the Vikings are kept. Briefly, too, note is made of Viking incursions into what became Normandy and Russia. “What I most want audiences to take away from this film,” says Fafard, “is that the Viking era is a truly significant part of human history; that the Vikings were a truly great civilization in all respects. The truth is that the Vikings had a profound impact upon history and human progress through their mastery of the art of warfare AND their zeal for discovery, adventure and knowledge. (They) valued poetry and the mastery of the spoken word in much the same way that they valued warfare and the art of weaponry.” Lessons learned include not only geography but the origins of words like Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. All three relate to ancient Norse mythology, a subject into which one wishes the film-makers had delved with more insight. With its icy fjords, on the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Vikings” is a spectacularly scenic 7. It may, in fact, be the most magnificently photographed history lesson you’ll ever see. Summer school groups and day camps take note.

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The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger: “The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D” (Miramax Films)

It’s a heart-warming concept: a film-maker father (Robert Rodriguez) gets inspiration from the fantasies of his seven year-old son (Racer Rodriguez). But the infantile result is stuporific. Shy, imaginative 10 year-old Max (Cayden Boyd) invents two superheroes. There’s Sharkboy, who was raised by sharks, growing gills and a dorsal fin, and volcanic Lavagirl, spurting flames. Neither have a perceptible personality. When his teacher (George Lopez) tells Max to stop dreaming and his classmates tease him, he goes home where his unhappy mother (Kristin Davis) warns him that he’ll become like his unemployed writer father (David Arquette). Only Max’s father encourages him, saying, repeatedly, “Everything that is or was started with a dream.” Sharkboy (Taylor Lautner) and Lavagirl (Taylor Dooley) then materialize and take Max to Planet Drool to fight the evil forces of darkness. Hyped by the 3-D gimmick, there are ‘punny’ Trains of Thought, Streams of Consciousness and a Sea of Confusion, plus Plug Hounds. As the story goes, Miramax was so pleased with the financial success of “Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over” that Robert Rodriguez was under pressure to come up with another 3-D film. He went home, talked with his son and came up with this childish whimsy, proving there’s a reason why seven year-olds don’t write movies, particularly if they’re cribbed from “The Wizard of Oz.” How bad is it? After Lavagirl ignites a piece of paper, a kid exclaims, ‘Wow! She’s hot!” To the villain, she hisses, “Feel the burn!” How’s that for the geeky Land of Milk and Cookies? On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D” is a fumbling 2. Paternal love is admirable but not if you have to pay the price of admission.

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Batman Begins

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Batman Begins” (Warner Bros.)

This is a season of prequels. First, the origin of Darth Vader. Now, the invention of Batman. Created for DC comics by Bob Kane, Batman first appeared in 1939 as a mysterious wraith, silhouetted against the Gotham City skyline. More psychologically complex than Superman, his iconic mythology has captured the imagination of filmmakers before – but never like this! Director/co-screenwriter Christopher Nolan (“Memento,” “Insomnia”), writer David S. Groyer and production designer Nathan Crowley delve into how coping with a childhood trauma transforms wealthy but guilt-riddled Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) into the sinister Dark Knight. Pivotal to Wayne’s complex evolution is – first and foremost – his loyal butler Alfred (Michael Caine). Then there’s his ruthless, enigmatic mentor (Liam Neeson), envoy of Ra’s al Ghul (Ken Watanabe), leader of The League of Shadows, a vigilante group. Pivotal to Wayne’s self-image is idealistic Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes), a childhood friend. His allies include a good cop (Gary Oldman), a rarity in Gotham, and a trustworthy high-tech scientist (Morgan Freeman). Among the villains are a greedy CEO (Rutger Hauer), an unscrupulous gangster (Tom Wilkinson) and a creepy psychiatrist (Cillian Murphy) who has developed a toxin that induces paranoia and terror. Christopher Nolan doesn’t just make movies; he boldly makes his own plausible universe, utilizing seamlessly integrated flashbacks. Christian Bale is astonishing, inhabiting the role like no actor before him. With a stellar supporting cast, slyly layered script and fun-filled Bat-gadgets – on the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Batman Begins” is an intriguing, insightful 10 – the best “Batman” ever! It’s a journey of the imagination, exploring the nature and power of fear.

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Howl’s Moving Castle

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Howl’s Moving Castle” (Walt Disney Studios)

If you were enchanted by Hayao Miyazaki’s Oscar-winning “Spirited Away,” you won’t want to miss this brilliant director’s latest animated feature, already one of Japan’s most popular films. Inspired by a novel by British fantasy writer Diana Wynne Jones, it’s basically an antiwar allegory that’s perhaps too complex to appeal to American children accustomed to clear-cut heroes and villains. But it does celebrate the power of love and the resiliency of the human spirit. Set in a fictional city, the story centers on a roguish young wizard, Howl (voiced by “Batman” Christian Bale), and his attempts to avoid being drafted to fight in a war. Within this, there’s a timid, teenage hat seller, Sophie (voiced by Emily Mortimer), who’s caught in the middle of a romantic feud between Howl and the jealous, conniving Witch of the Waste (voiced by Lauren Bacall) and transformed into a 90 year-old crone (voiced by Jean Simmons). To attempt to lift the curse, Sophie heads for Howl’s pulsating, anthropomorphic, Monty Python-esque castle with its birdlike legs powered by a fire spirit named Calcifer (voiced by Billy Crystal). Howl agrees to help Sophie if she will pose as his mother to convince Madame Suliman (voiced by Blythe Danner) to exempt him from war duty – until Howl learns to overcome his own inner demons. Miyazaki drenches the screen with the hand-drawn, idiosyncratic, sophisticated magical realism that springs from his boundless imagination, along with Grimm’s fairy tales and “The Wizard of Oz.” The race between Sophie and the Witch of the Waste is delightful. Pixar’s Pete Docter and Disney’s Rick Dempsey do the English-language vocal directing. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Howl’s Moving Castle” is a beguiling 8, a visually fanciful diversion.

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The Honeymooners

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “The Honeymooners” (Paramount Pictures)

Landing with a colossal thud, this wannabe comedy bears little resemblance to Jackie Gleason’s CBS series which, some say, invented the sitcom format in the mid-’50s. Known for his volatile temper and as well as his wheeling-and-dealing, Ralph Kramden (Cedric the Entertainer) is a Brooklyn bus driver, married to long-suffering but determined Alice (Gabrielle Union), who is determined to get a home of her own. His get-rich-quick schemes usually involve their upstairs neighbor, city sewer worker Ed Norton (Mike Epps), much to the chagrin of Ed’s wife Trixie (Regina Hall). The quest of the moment is to acquire a newly available fixer-upper brownstone duplex – which the two couples can share. Problem is: an upscale real estate developer (Eric Stoltz) wants it too. Then there’s the abandoned greyhound dog that a con artist, aptly called Dodge (John Leguizamo), wants to train as a champion racer. Cedric the Entertainer admits he’d never really seen the Jackie Gleason show until he was cast as Ralph Kramden and vows he didn’t want to mimic “The Great One” as much as capture Ralph’s engaging, blustery essence. Actually, the actors do quite well, suitably restrained by director John Schultz. Bet they never develop the rapport that Gleason shared with Art Carney. But the blame falls directly in the four credited screenwriters who devised a silly, lamentably lame script that would never even have made it as a half-hour TV show. Here, it’s pitifully stretched to 90 minutes. Those old enough to remember the TV series will loathe it, and a younger audience won’t recognize the derivation. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Honeymooners” is a bland, disappointing 2. Quickly regrettable and forgettable.

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Bewitched

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Bewitched” (Columbia/Sony)

Look who’s twitching now! Nicole Kidman is certainly bewitching, even if the movie isn’t. It’s writer/director/producer Nora Ephron’s (“Sleepless in Seattle”) backstage tale about the re-making of the old Elizabeth Montgomery TV series. Determined to cast the nose-wiggling role of Samantha with an unknown, egocentric actor Josh Wyatt (Darren), whose career is on a downward slide, inadvertently discovers a shy, bumbling, real-life witch, Isabel Bigelow (Kidman), who yearns to find a mortal man to “need” her. Of course, with a snap of her fingers or a tug on her ear, that could happen, but she’s determined to be “normal.” And so it goes. As the formulaic, romantic comedy plot unfolds, the message is clear: all the magic in the world is no match for true love. It’s the stuff of which good “chick flicks” are made. While Nicole Kidman’s an ethereal, deft comedienne, her most remarkable wizardry is appearing to be a giddy, giggling twentysomething when she’s actually 38. What’s her secret? As her father, Michael Caine is also enchanting, conjuring an umbrella when it rains and embodying not only the Gorton Fish Sticks guy in the yellow slicker but also the Jolly Green Giant and the smiling logo on Newman’s Own. The same cannot be said of deadpan comedian Will Ferrell, whose mugging and over-acting has become downright tedious; he plays ‘shallow’ all too convincingly. In supporting roles, Shirley MacLaine, Carole Shelley and Kristin Chenoweth sparkle, as does the soundtrack with the updated theme song by Pfeifer Broz and new “nose twinkles.” On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Bewitched” is a cute, lightly trifling 6. After all, as Michael Caine says, “Every woman wants to be a witch.”

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The Ballad of Jack and Rose

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “The Ballad of Jack and Rose” (IFC Films)

When writer/director Rebecca Miller, daughter of playwright Arthur Miller, raids her own life, the results are quite revealing, particularly in this emotionally-charged father-daughter relationship story, revolving around a hippie father who is forced to deal not only with his own mortality but also with his daughter’s coming-of-age as their isolated paradise comes to an end. The story takes place in 1986, when most of the counterculture communes have dispersed. Stubborn, altruistic Jack Slavin (Daniel Day-Lewis) is the last Utopian, living an insular life on an abandoned island commune with his sheltered 16 year-old daughter Rose (Camilla Belle). A dedicated environmentalist, Jack rages at real estate developers like Marty Rance (Beau Bridges). But when he asks his trashy girlfriend (Catherine Keener) and her two disparate sons (Ryan McDonald, Paul Dano) to move in, Rose feels deceived and betrayed. Rebecca Miller grew up in bucolic Roxbury, Connecticut, and remembers trees going down as chain saws and bulldozers turned dirt roads into paved highways. “I really had a sense of the landscape being violated,” she said. “A lot of my feelings about the land being alive and sacred came at that time. All of my films come out of a very personal place.” Like Miller’s “Personal Velocity” (2002), this narrative moves at a languid pace. Miller’s real-life husband, Daniel Day-Lewis, makes Jack eerily creepy with his barbaric tattoos and thick Scottish brogue. In fact, the entire acting ensemble trades on eccentric vulnerability, set against the inherent implausibility of the story. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Ballad of Jack and Rose” is a somewhat self-conscious, sensitive 6. Think of it as an offbeat tone poem.

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Sahara

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Sahara” (Paramount Pictures)

Clive Cussler’s novels about intrepid Dirk Pitt of the National Underwater Marine Agency (NUMA) are ideal for the screen and, if “Sahara” is a success, you can bet there will be more. The prologue begins in 1865 at the end of the Civil War, when the last Confederate ironclad, the Texas, mysteriously disappeared. Cut to 2005 when Dirk Pitt (Matthew McConaughey) finds a rare gold Confederate coin in West Africa, indicating that the Texas must have made its way across the Atlantic and up the Niger River. While searching for the lost battleship with his wisecracking sidekick Al Giordano (Steve Zahn), Pitt becomes involved with Dr. Eva Rojas (Penelope Cruz) of the World Health Organization who suspects that the origin of a deadly plague is in strife-torn Mali, where a dastardly Frenchman (Lambert Wilson) does eco-business. So their treasure hunt gains greater global significance, preventing “the Chernobyl of the Atlantic,” which, presumably placates NUMA’s watchful Admiral Sandecker (William H. Macy). Directed by Brett Eisner (son of former Disney CEO Michael Eisner) from a sprawling, somewhat illogical screenplay with four credited writers, it, nevertheless, evokes some of the guilty pleasures of “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” Expertly photographed by Seamus McGarvey and edited by Andrew MacRitchie, it propels us through derring-do in sub-Saharan Africa. While McConaughey displays a deep tan and lightweight charm, Cruz is just eye-candy. And the buddy relationship is summed up when Giordano tells Pitt: “I’ll find the bomb! You get the girl!” On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Sahara” is a swashbuckling 7. It’s an action-packed adventure but the key question is: Can Matthew McConaughey make Dirk Pitt into another Indiana Jones?

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