Movie/TV Reviews

Shall We Dance?

Susan Granger’s review of “Shall We Dance?” (Miramax Films)

“Shall We Dance?” is not exactly a Halloween movie but it’s certainly frightening to watch Jennifer Lopez, Richard Gere and Susan Sarandon sidestep through ill-advised remake of an elegant, utterly delightful 1996 Japanese film with the same title that glorified ballroom dancing. Set in Chicago, the romantic comedy revolves around John Clark (Gere), a mild-mannered, middle-aged estate lawyer who takes an elevated train to work. Coming home one day, out of the train window, he spots sad-eyed Paulina (Lopez), an exotic, alluring instructor at Miss Mitzi’s Dancing School. Intrigued, he eventually gets off at Miss Mitzi’s stop and enrolls for lessons. Meanwhile, back in suburbia, his concerned, loving wife (Susan Sarandon) hires a detective (Richard Jenkins) to discover why John isn’t coming home after work on Wednesday nights. Written by Audrey Wells and directed by Peter Chelsom, it’s riddled with clichŽs, both verbal and cinematic. Like when J. Lo defines dancing as “a vertical expression of a horizontal wish.” While the main characters flounder, the supporting actors flourish – like a blowzy, brassy waitress (Lisa Ann Walter) who grabs John as a dance-contest partner, an obnoxious co-worker (Stanley Tucci) with a secret passion for sequins, a secretly gay instructor (Bobby Cannavale) and a shy African-American (Omar Benson Miller) who loses weight and finds a fiancee. Yet, amidst the idiocy, there’s one brief but wonderful scene where John finally masters the sublimated desire of the torrid tango, reminding you of Gere’s tap-dancing finesse in “Chicago.” Obviously, Gere now loves to dance. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Shall We Dance?” is a clunky, lead-footed 4. Sit this one out and chalk it up to a misstep for everyone.

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Stage Beauty

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Stage Beauty” (Lions Gate Films)

When Charles II (Rupert Everett) returned from exile in Paris and claimed British throne in 1660, he reopened London’s theaters where, traditionally, men had taken female roles. Eager for novelty and excitement, Charles then decreed in 1662 that men could no longer play women, which left popular female impersonators like Edward “Ned” Kynaston (Billy Crudup) out of work, much to the chagrin of his patron/lover the Duke of Buckingham (Ben Chaplin) and much to the delight of Kynaston’s adoring yet ambitious dresser/lover Maria (Claire Danes) who became the first English actress to play Desdemona. Historically, not much is known about Kynaston as an actor during the Restoration Era except that Samuel Pepys, in his diaries, called him “the prettiest woman in the whole house.” That the gender-blending, opportunistic Kynaston must have been sexually confused is a given. Obviously inspired by “Shakespeare in Love,” this intellectually clever romantic comedy, nevertheless, lacks that film’s droll grace and style. Adapted from his own play by Jeffrey Hatcher and directed by Richard Eyre (“Iris”), the over-orchestrated backstage story relies too much on farce, particularly from the self-indulgent, hammy Everett and Zoe Tapper as Charles’ gossipy mistress Nell Gwynn. But there’s obviously an intriguing chemistry between Billy Crudup and Claire Danes, who became off-screen lovers during the filming despite the fact that actress Mary Louise Parker was seven months pregnant with Crudup’s child. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Stage Beauty” is a provocative and diverting 7. While it sheds some light on theater history, this androgynous battle of the sexes can be a big of a drag.

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Surviving Christmas

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Surviving Christmas” (Dream Works)

After winning a Best Screenplay Oscar for co-writing “Good Will Hunting” with Matt Damon, one would think Ben Affleck would have script judgment. But he doesn’t. In fact, his films – and performances – just grow progressively more dismal. Affleck plays cocky, egomaniacal Drew Latham, a millionaire Chicago marketing exec who has been dumped by his girl-friend (Jennifer Morrison). Unhappy about facing another Yuletide alone, he goes back to the suburban house he grew up in, hoping to evoke some idyllic childhood memories. Since he reeks with money, he rents the current occupants – the Valco family (papa James Gandolfini, mother Catherine O’Hara, porn-obsessed teenager Josh Zuckerman) – for $250,000 to serve as his surrogate family. Grudgingly, they accept but when their grown daughter (Christina Applegate) comes home, she’s understandably appalled. Which is not surprising since the awkwardly staged, wintry holiday hijinks fall as flat as Affleck’s pratfalls. Ineptly directed by Mike Mitchell (“Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo”) from an underdeveloped screenplay, filled with fumbling dialogue, that’s been patchworked together by four writers (Deborah Kaplan, Harry Elfont, Jeffrey Ventimilia, Joshua Sternin), this dark comedy is quite dismal. Surely James Gandolfini can find something better to do during “Sopranos” breaks than play off Ben Affleck’s constant mugging and smirking. Let’s put it this way: if you’re heavily into festive satire, rent “Home for the Holidays” or “Pieces of April” – both about Thanksgiving. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Surviving Christmas” is a shrill, crass 3. Yule be sorry! In fact, it would be a miracle if this turkey outlasts the Halloween candy.

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Ray

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Ray” (Universal Pictures)

Ray Charles was an American legend – and I predict Jamie Foxx will be one of this year’s hottest Oscar contenders for his charismatic portrayal of this pioneering musical genius whose courage turned his troubled darkness and personal demons into a triumph of light. Born in 1930 in segregated rural Georgia, Ray Charles Robinson watched his younger brother die in a drowning accident and, two years later, went blind at the age of seven. Inspired by a self-reliant mother who insisted he learn to survive on his own, Charles claimed his destiny when he discovered the piano keyboard. At first, he imitated artists like Nat King Cole and Charles Brown. But as his career developed beyond the chitlin circuit, he blurred the distinctions between jazz, country, pop, rhythm and blues, blending them together with his own individual style. On the personal side, Charles was addicted to two things: heroin and women. And while this biography details his wife (Kerry Washington) and a couple of his romantic entanglements (Aunjanue Ellis, Regina King), it slyly skirts over the issue of his 12 illegitimate children. Director Taylor Hackford (“Dolores Claiborne,” “La Bamba”) spent 15 years working on this musical biographical drama with Ray Charles, who died earlier this year at the age of 73, and developed the episodic script with first-time screenwriter James L. White. The entire ensemble cast is terrific and credit music supervisor Curt Sobel for using original Ray Charles recordings for the soundtrack as Jamie Foxx nimbly lip-synchs and recreates Charles’ mannerisms – both at and away from the piano. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Ray” is a mesmerizing, memorable 9. As Ray Charles put it, “Soul is a way of life, but it is always the hard way.”

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I Heart Huckabees

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “I Heart Huckabees” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

So what’s an existentialist comedy? Basically, it’s a silly, irreverent, chaotic metaphysical farce about what it means to be alive. Environmental activist Albert Markovski (Jason Schwartzmann) has been experiencing a remarkable number of coincidences involving a tall, mysterious Sudanese doorman – and he wonders why. So he hires a pair of nutty, babbling Existential Detectives (Dustin Hoffman, Lily Tomlin) to help him examine his life, his conflict with an ambitious executive (Jude Law) who is climbing the corporate ladder at Huckabees superstores, and his love relationship with ditzy Huckabees spokesmodel (Naomi Watts). But in direct contrast to the Detectives’ ethereal “the center is everywhere” philosophy, there’s their renegade disciple/competitor, saucy French nihilist author (Isabelle Huppert), whose business card claims that life is “cruelty, manipulation and meaninglessness.” Then the zany, angst-ridden, do-gooder Albert hooks up with a rebel firefighter (Mark Wahlberg) who is so concerned about the world’s post-9/11 petroleum consumption that he rides a bicycle, rather than a fossil fuel-guzzling fire truck, to put out blazes. Directed by David O. Russell (“Spanking the Monkey,” “Flirting With Disaster,” “Three Kings”) who co-wrote it with Jeff Baena, it’s a manic, amusing, if garbled, absurdist meditation on universal truths – which seem to encompass poetry, Zen philosophy, Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre and Shania Twain. The ensemble cast and composer Jon Brion seem to have a romp. So is everything connected or is everything separate? You decide. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “I Heart Huckabees” is a surreal, shallow, satiric 7 about “your perception of reality.”

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House of Flying Daggers

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “House of Flying Daggers” (Sony Pictures Classics)

If you’ve never seen a martial arts extravaganza like “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” then Zhang Yimou’s newest epic adventure will thrill you. But, frankly, I preferred his previous film, the visually dazzling “Hero,” which was finally released late this summer after a long delay. Set in China in the ninth century, amid the corruption of the Tang Dynasty, this story centers on an underground political rebellion run by a secret society of Robin Hood-esque assassins known as the House of Flying Daggers. The complicated, convoluted plot involves three characters: two police captains (Japanese-Taiwanese actor Takeshi Kaneshiro and Hong Kong’s Andy Lau) and a graceful yet formidable blind dancer (China’s superstar Zhang Ziyi), a courtesan at a house of pleasure called the Peony Pavilion – although no one is what he/she seems to be. Writer/director Zhang Yimou (“Raise the Red Lantern,” “Ju Dou”) discards his charming, lyrical mysticism in favor of a straightforward narrative and cleverly choreographed “wuxia” (chivalry and swordplay). There’s also an innovative, intriguing interlude, called The Echo Game, that involves agile dancing and intricate drumming. While Zhao Xiaoding’s lush rural landscape cinematography is impeccable, particularly when it captures autumn’s change into winter, the duplicitous love triangle never develops any emotional depth. And enough with the conventional flying/fighting in the bamboo forest! What was astounding at first has now become a stylized clichŽ – and the crescent-shaped, gravity-defying flying daggers are all-too-obviously CGI. Nevertheless, on the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “House of Flying Daggers” is an awesome 8, culminating with operatic soprano Kathleen Battle singing the theme song, “Lovers.”

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Birth

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Birth” (New Line Cinema)

It’s been described as Mary Kay Letourneau-meets-“Ghost” – this bizarre, controversial drama about a woman who is convinced that a 10 year-old boy is the reincarnation of her late husband. As the story begins, a jogger runs through Central Park, suffers a heart attack and dies. At the same time, a baby is born. Cut to ten years later. The jogger’s fragile widow, Anna (Nicole Kidman), is with Joseph (Danny Huston), her new fiancŽ, when a pudgy little fellow (Cameron Bright) sneaks into their posh high-rise apartment with some party guests and identifies himself as her husband. “I love you,” he declares solemnly, “and I don’t want you to marry Joseph.” Anna is stunned, as are her friends and family (Lauren Bacall, Zoe Caldwell, Peter Stormare, Alison Eliot, Arliss Howard, Anne Heche), even the boy’s bewildered parents. Yet they all take him seriously. Under questioning, he comes up with correct answers to their probing questions. In a later scene, this strange, expressionless child slowly undresses and climbs into the bathtub with seemingly naked Anna (she’s in a swimsuit but you don’t see that). And as the haunting, supernatural puzzle unfolds, they share not only an ice-cream sundae but also a gentle kiss. Director Jonathan Glazer (“Sexy Beast”), who shares writing credit with Milo Addica and Jean-Claude Carriere, carefully crafts this creepy yet compelling metaphysical concept, superbly photographed by Harris Savides. Anna always seems to be “in transit,” going from one place to another, both physically and emotionally, and surely it’s no coincidence that Nicole Kidman with cropped, boyish brown hair resembles Mia Farrow in “Rosemary’s Baby.” On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Birth” is a surreal, even salacious 6, tackling one of society’s ultimate taboos.

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The Incredibles

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “The Incredibles” (Walt Disney/Buena Vista)

Acclaimed for “Toy Story,” “A Bug’s Life,” “Monsters Inc.” and “Finding Nemo,” Pixar is now into 3-D human animation, relating how retired superheroes, who are living incognito in a quiet suburban neighborhood, reluctantly blow their cover of mediocrity to save the world. Because of personal-injury lawsuits, Mr. Incredible (voiced by Craig T. Nelson) and his wife were forced into the Superhero Relocation Program. For 15 years, he’s been Bob Parr, a portly insurance claims adjuster who hangs out with his old ice-making pal Lucius (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson), formerly known as Frozone. Helen Parr, a.k.a. Elastigirl (voiced by Holly Hunter), has her flexibility tested as a harried homemaker juggling three children. Violet (voiced by Sarah Vowell) is a shy, insecure, alienated teen who desperately wants to fit in – when she’s not surrounded by an impenetrable force. Frustrated Dash (voiced by Spencer Fox) possesses the gift of superspeed that overwhelms other 10 year-olds. Plus there’s two year-old Jack-Jack. Then from Nomanisan Island, the villainous Syndrome (voiced by Jason Lee), creates a weapon of mass destruction to terrorize the world so that he can disarm it and become a superhero himself. Writer/director Brad Bird (“The Iron Giant”) has created an imaginative, good-versus-evil, escapist adventure that – because, like “Spy Kids,” it involves the whole family – will delight both adults and children. A former Disney animator and creative consultant on “The Simpsons,” Bird relies on caricature for his crimefighters, accenting certain movements and features, while voicing the hilarious scene-stealing designer Edna “E” Mode. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Incredibles” is a terrific, incredible 10 – a movie that really lives up to its name.

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Kinsey

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Kinsey” (Fox Searchlight Pictures)

“Kinsey” will be a strong contender in several Oscar races as Liam Neeson and Laura Linney deliver indelible performances in Bill Condon’s astute, heartfelt tribute to America’s fearless pioneer sexologist whose bold, epic text, “Sexual Behavior in the Human Male” (1948), ignited explosive controversy and forged America’s path toward sexual liberation in the 20th century. Indiana University entomologist Alfred Kinsey (Neeson) was determined to study gall wasps until he discovered how little scientific data was available on human sexuality. Encouraging him to ignore social restraints and to pursue his research with shameless, guilt-free passion was his spunky, supportive wife Clara McMillen (Linney), despite the disapproval of his overbearing, obnoxious preacher father (John Lithgow) and the disruption of their marriage by his ardent assistants (Peter Sarsgaard, Timothy Hutton, Chris O’Donnell) with their own romantic entanglements, his skeptical academic adversary (Tim Curry) and eventual public outrage. Oscar-winning writer/director Bill Condon (“Gods and Monsters”) treats his challenging subject matter with candid, Kinsey-like, non-judgmental respect, providing an intriguing, non-linear social and historical context for Kinsey’s methodology and life, concluding, as Kinsey did, that there’s no scientific measurement for love. Neeson convincingly captures Kinsey’s relentless zeal for the liberated libido, while Linney evokes the emotional duality of sexual enlightenment. Problem is: ironically, it’s difficult to realize our society was ever that puritanical and naive. Nevertheless, on the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Kinsey” is a fascinating 9, turning taboo-breaking titillation into an enthralling character study and explicit sex education. A “must see.”

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Finding Neverland

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Finding Neverland” (Miramax Films)

Johnny Depp once again proves why he’s one of today’s finest screen actors and clinches a Best Actor Oscar nomination with his imaginative, gently nuanced portrayal of how celebrated Scottish playwright James M. Barrie came to write “Peter Pan.” As the story begins in London in 1903, soft-spoken Barrie is looking for inspiration. By chance, he encounters Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (Kate Winslet) and her four rambunctious sons in Kensington Gardens. She’s a recent widow and, while Barrie plays games with the boys, he realizes he’s drawn to her vulnerability, much to the distress of his socially ambitious wife (Radha Mitchell) and Sylvia’s mum (Julie Christie) who view their emotional attachment as quite improper. From his observations of these four fatherless boys, Barrie writes the guileless fantasy about children who don’t want to grow up – to the amazement of his producer (Dustin Hoffman) who has doubts about a new play featuring a giant dog, fairies, pirates, Indians and flying kids. Adapted by David Magee from Allan Knee’s play and directed with remarkable restraint by Marc Foster (“Monster’s Ball”), it not only mirrors the Victorian Age but also envisions Barrie’s “pretend” world while delineating the creative process of this childlike writer who notes, “Young boys should never go to bed. They wake up a day older and, before you know it, they’re grown.” While young Freddie Highmore (set for the title role in”Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”) is superb, as is Dustin Hoffman, and Kate Winslet is charming, Johnny Depp is faultless. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Finding Neverland” is a heart-warming, magical, enchanting 10 – one of this year’s best films. Like the ticking crocodile, time is chasing after all of us.

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