Movie/TV Reviews

The Day After Tomorrow

Susan Granger’s review of “The Day After Tomorrow” (20th Century-Fox)

As Dennis Quaid says, “This is every disaster movie rolled into one. There are blizzards and hailstorms and tornadoes and tidal waves.” After decades of global warming caused by pollution, it seems Earthlings are facing deadly meteorological conditions and a new, instant ice age. Quaid plays a climatologist who treks from Washington, D.C. to flash-frozen New York during a global superstorm to find his teenage son (Jake Gyllenhaal) who has taken shelter in Manhattan’s Public Library with a classmate (Emmy Rossum) after a tsunami floods the city. Director/co-writer Roland Emmerich (“Independence Day”) tackles the mayhem of this overwhelming environmental debacle with the gusto of a true catastrophist. Suggested in part by the Art Bell/Whitley Strieber apocalyptic “The Coming Global Superstorm,” the swift climate-change concept seems exaggerated, but who knows? The impressive CGI devastation includes a Russian freighter floating up Fifth Avenue during a giant tidal surge, the Statue of Liberty covered in an icy crust and the “Hollywood” sign crumpling in a Los Angeles tornado, albeit reminiscent of “Twister,” “The Core,” “Deep Impact,” “Armageddon,” “Vertical Limit,” etc.. Despite several meandering subplots, there’s little character development and the dialogue is laughably lame, although an ironic note surfaces as Americans are forced to flee south, seeking sanctuary in Mexico. The politically-savvy may also pick up Bush/Cheney jibes for their veto of the Kyoto Protocol, a global treaty to reduce the threat of global warming. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Day After Tomorrow” is a harrowing, scary 7, delivering an unmistakably cautionary message. If you’re into visual effects, this is a spectacular, eye-popping disaster blast!

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Bon Voyage

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Bon Voyage” (Sony Classics)

Set in the city of Bordeaux during the German occupation of France in June, 1940, Jean-Paul Rappeneau’s popular, award-winning melodrama begins with an accidental death. Was it self-defense or was it murder? At the posh Hotel Splendide, a naive young screenwriter Frederic (Gregori Derangere) is so besotted by beautiful, self-absorbed movie star, Vivianne Denvers (Isabel Adjani), that he was willing to go to jail to protect her. “He once beat up a critic for giving me bad reviews,” the diva tells a journalist (Peter Coyote). In contrast, she has become the mistress of an important French government minister, Jean-Etienne Beaufort (Gerard Depardieu). Then there’s an idealistic college student Camille (Virginie Ledoyen) who’s trying to help a Jewish physicist (Jean-Marc Stehle) flee with some ‘heavy water’ for nuclear experiments so that the Nazis can’t capture the vital liquid. Everyone, in fact, is eager to escape before the imminent invasion of Paris. Despite the dire consequences of the chaos erupting around them, the characters in the four (4) credited screenwriters’ superficial, inconsistent script concentrate on shifting alliances as they plot to avoid capture. And for the French director Rappeneau (“Cyrano de Bergerac,” “The Horseman on the Roof”), this playful intrigue is very personal since he grew up during the ’40s and admits identifying with Frederic. “I see in him a bit of the young man I once was,” he’s said, noting that many details recreated in the film pertain either to the influences of his childhood or his family history. In French with English subtitles, on the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Bon Voyage” is a frantic, farcical 7. It’s a trip – particularly if you can understand French.

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Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” (Warner Bros.)

It’s Harry Potter’s third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and a notorious murderer, Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), has escaped from Azkaban prison and is, apparently, looking for Harry. On his trail are the Dementors, sinister guards who suck people’s souls from their bodies. To add to the confusion, Prof. Sybill Trelawney (Emma Thompson) spies a “grim” omen of death, while Prof. Lupin (David Thewlis) may be hiding more than he’s revealing. Plus, Harry befriends Buckbeak, a half-eagle/half-horse “hippogriff,” and is given a Marauder’s Map. Screenwriter Steve Kloves weaves it all together, cleverly condensing J.K. Rowling’s novel, but it’s Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron who subtly guides Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and his pals Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint) through the scary perils of puberty, including anxiety about identity, self-confidence and acceptance. They’re sullen, hostile and confrontational, behaving like – well – 13 year-olds. (Remember Cuaron’s acclaimed “Y Tu Mama Tambien” was about sexual awakening.) The trio of Radcliffe, Watson and Grint are aging convincingly, along with their target audience. Michael Gambon takes over the role of Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, making it his own after the death of Richard Harris, joining Robbie Coltrane’s gentle giant Hagrid, Alan Rickman’s sinister Prof. Snape and Maggie Smith’s affable Prof. McGonagall. The richly detailed visuals, splendid CGI (i.e.: the hippogriff and the werewolf) and score weave a spell of their own, while the edgy camerawork suits the darker, grittier aspect of the foreboding storyline. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” is an enchanted 10. It’s a dazzling, magical cinematic experience.

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Soul Plane

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Soul Plane” (M.G.M)

Created as a hip-hop spin on “Airplane!” – this vulgar, tasteless drivel crashes on take-off. After insisting he endured humiliation aboard a big commercial carrier, Nashawn Wade (Kevin Hart) is awarded $100 million in compensation. With the help of his cousin Muggsy (Method Man), he decides to launch his own airline, NWA, aimed at the African American traveler. His metallic purple and chrome-colored flagship with oversized, hydraulic wheels is equipped with an on-board dance club, funky music, live DJs and attitude-laden flight crew as it departs from its own Malcolm X Terminal in Los Angeles for New York City. With recently paroled, weed-smoking Capt. Mack (Snoop Dogg) already flying high in the cockpit, the passenger list includes Nashawn’s ex-girlfriend (K.D. Aubert), Elvis Hunkee (Tom Arnold) with his trophy mistress (Missi Pyle) and kids (Ryan Pinkston, Arielle Kebbel), plus a randy couple eager to join the Mile High club. High Class is drop-dead sleek with Cristal champagne, filet mignon and Maine lobster, while Low Class is so cut-rate that the fried chicken is stale and the seats don’t match. Before take-off, the sexy stewardesses sing Destiny Child’s “Survivor.” First-time director Jessy Terrero relies on his music-video background for inspiration since Kevin Bisch, Freddie Gutierrez, Wesley Johnson and Scott Taylor’s sketchy, low-brow, snicker-laden script, based on Bo Zenga and Chuck Wilson’s crude, repulsive, pointless story, is more scatologically offensive than funny. (Apropos of nothing, did you know that Snoop Dogg got his nickname when his mother told him he resembled the Peanuts character Snoopy?) On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Soul Plane” is a raunchy, rude 3. Try another carrier.

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The Legend of Loch Lomond

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “The Legend of Loch Lomond” (IMAX)

And now for something different…. This new IMAX presentation is not a travelogue, not a natural history lesson and definitely not an archeological exploration. So what is it? It’s a love story, inspired by the legend behind the popular Scottish folk song “The Bonnie Bonnie Banks o’Loch Lomond.” The contemporary narrative begins: “Some places are so powerful that they inspire songs.” “Ye’ll tak’ the high road and I’ll tak the low road, and I’ll be in Scotland afore ye…” And as a trio of female musicians is driving along winding Scottish roads en route to a gig at a picturesque old castle near the banks of Loch (Lake) Lomond, they decide to include this traditional folk song as part of their repertoire. The band’s arrival piques the interest of Robbie McCrimmon (Stuart Sinclair-Blyth), a handsome kilt-clad bagpiper in a nearby pub, who is immediately drawn to Mary (Kristy Mitchell), telling her about a mysterious woman, an apparition, who haunts the loch, as if she’s waiting for someone, adding: “Legends are things historians don’t understand.” Intrigued, Mary, indeed, spies the sad, lonely lassie, Lady Moira (Fiona Bell), who pleads for help in finding her lad, Allan McGregor (Paul Blair), relating a tragic tale of ill-fated love back in 1745, when the Jacobites rose up against the Redcoats. Deciding that conversing with a ghost is just too weird, Mary flees back to the castle. But then she reconsiders. Since it’s Midsummer’s night, perhaps with Robbie’s help, she can go through the Mistgate to the past and reunite the legendary lovers. Produced for a Scottish economic development agency, sponsored by the Scottish Tourist Board, and narrated by Brian Cox, it’s a very short (38 minutes) docu-drama, directed by Mike Slee. Problem is: the storyline is far too thin, too clichŽ-ridden and the acting is amateurish. Besides, most people don’t have a clue about the Jacobites whose heroic resistance is at the core of the drama. So I did a bit of research. The Jacobites were supporters of the claim to the British throne of the deposed James II and his son James, the “Old Pretender.” In 1745, the Highland chiefs under “Bonnie Prince Charlie,” Charles Edward Stuart, won several battles, only to be forced back and slaughtered by the British Redcoats at the battle of Culloden, ending the Jacobite cause forever. The song, it seems, was written by one condemned Scottish soldier to his sweetheart back home. The aerial photography is rich and quite majestic, yet the cinematic potential of the large-screen IMAX format is, basically, wasted. In fact, “The Legend of Loch Lomond” has already been released on DVD, complete with an excellent behind-the-scenes “making of” feature. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Legend of Loch Lomond” is a romantic 6 with the haunting bagpipe melodies reflecting the murky mystery of the loch.

The Chronicles of Riddick

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The Chronicles of Riddick

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “The Chronicles of Riddick” (Universal)

In this sci-fi action-adventure, Vin Diesel reprises his “Pitch Black” role of Richard B. Riddick, a gritty anti-hero who can see in the dark. An escaped convict, he’s spent five years skulking around planets, like icy UV6 on the outskirts of the galaxy, eluding the mercenaries on his trail. When he arrives on the planet Helion, he discovers a progressive multi-cultural society that has been ravaged by the sixth Lord Marshal (Colm Feore), a despot waging the 10th Crusade in the 26th century. From his baroque Basilica flagship with its strange army of warriors known as Necromongers, the Lord Marshal targets humanoids for subjugation. (For “Star Trekkers,” this evokes the Borg invasions. But the Necromongers are not robots; they’re a race of supernaturals.) In the Slam, a dark subterranean prison, Riddick finds Kyra (Alexa Davalos), an embittered warrior; she’s the lone survivor from his previous life. And he discovers his surprising Furyan origins with the expositional help of ethereal Aereon, the elusive Elemental race’s ambassador (Judy Dench, shimmering in crushed Swarovski crystals). Keith David reprises his “Pitch Black” role as the cleric Abu ‘Inam’ al-Walid, and Thandie Newton slinks in as ambitious Dame Vaako of the Necromongers. Predictably and inevitably, there’s a big battle and overblown climax. Written and directed by David Twohy, based on Jim & Ken Wheat’s characters, it was first rated R for intense violence/language but Universal appealed for PG-13. With teenage boys as the target audience, they’ll like the realistic special effects, although art direction is derived from “Dune.” On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Chronicles of Riddick” is a fast-paced 5. For sci-f/horror fans, it’s a cool popcorn picture with the conclusion of the trilogy yet to come.

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The Stepford Wives

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s “The Stepford Wives” (Paramount Pictures)

From Ira Levin’s suspenseful horror-story and the 1975 movie, the term “Stepford wife” has come into the vernacular as the perfect woman, according to the male chauvinists who created her. Now the story has been updated into a comedy-thriller, with the emphasis on comedy. After she’s fired as president of a TV network and suffers a nervous breakdown, Joanna Eberhart (Nicole Kidman), her dutiful husband Walter (Matthew Broderick) and their kids move from Manhattan to idyllic Stepford, Connecticut, with its opulent McMansions and SUVs. Joanna befriends other newcomers – a tipsy, sardonic writer (Bette Midler) and a gay architect (Roger Bart) with his partner (David Marshall Greer) – while Walter joins a secret men’s club run by Mike Wellington (Christopher Walken), whose wife (Glenn Close) is Stepford’s community leader. But something strange is going on in suburbia. Are the men are turning their once-powerful wives into compliant robots? Will Joanna and Walter perhaps twist the system around? Director Frank Oz and writer Paul Rudnick have fashioned a post-feminist fantasy, a reaction to sexual politics, women’s lib and female power. The darkly ominous tone disappears into a creepy, comedic chasm, and much of the humor is achieved through visual effects, not only of the robotically-challenged women but also a terrier-like dog. Problem is: neither Kidman nor Broderick play particularly likable characters. She’s callow and he’s a dork. Despite some amusing one-liners, I kept thinking of the black comedy “Death Becomes Her,” even “Witches of Eastwick” – and how much better they were. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Stepford Wives” is a superficially satirical 5, a campy riff on the American suburban dream.

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Napoleon Dynamite

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

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

Settling comfortably into the high-school angst genre, 24 year-old filmmaker Jared Hess’ low-budget comedy, which was a hit at the Sundance Film Festival, focuses on losers. Technically, it’s a sequel. Actor Jon Heder played the same deadpan, socially-inept character, then named Seth, in a 2001 Brigham Young University student short called “Peluca.” But since its audiences were sparse, few will realize that Seth has morphed into Napoleon Dynamite. Nerdy, bespectacled Napoleon lives in rural Preston, Idaho, with his energetic grandmother (Sandy Martin), her pet llama, and Kip (Aaron Ruell), his slacker older brother who searches for love in Internet chatrooms. When he’s not drawing “ligers” (lion/tiger), Napoleon’s friends are two other outcasts: Deb (Tina Majorino), an aspiring photographer and Pedro (Enfen Ramiriz), a shy Mexican transfer student who impulsively decides to run for class president against the popular prom queen (Haylie Duff, Hilary’s sister). Complications arise when Grandma cracks her coccyx in a dirt bike accident and macho Uncle Rico (John Gries) comes to stay with them. He’s a door-to-door salesman/con man who’s wistfully obsessed with a time-travel machine he bought over the Internet in hopes of re-visiting a fateful football game back in 1982. Reminiscent of Richard Linklater’s “Dazed and Confused” and Wes Anderson’s “Rushmore,” this quirky, episodic homage to dim-witted, awkward, ostracized geeks is certainly a promising feature film debut. Jared Hess, his screenwriter wife Jerusha and cinematographer Munn Powell are just beginning their cinematic journey. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Napoleon Dynamite” is a curiously charming 6. It’s an outlandish, goofy diversion.

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Garfield: The Movie

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Garfield: The Movie” (20th Century-Fox)

In the comics, Garfield is one fat and lazy cat. Unfortunately, so is his cat-astrophic live-action screen debut. As the story begins, the lasagna-loving feline (voiced by sardonic Bill Murray) is flopped on his favorite chair in front of the television set, caustically commenting about the life of his nerdy owner Jon Arbuckle (Breckin Meyer). It seems that Jon’s besotted by Liz (Jennifer Love Hewitt), a pretty veterinarian who asks him if he’ll adopt Odie, a peppy puppy, a half-dachshund/half-cairn terrier mix. Eager to please, Jon agrees – much to Garfield’s disgust. Basically, the indolent, curmudgeonly cat hates the dumb dog. But when Odie runs away after Garfield locks him out of the house one night and is dognapped by a smarmy cable-TV personality (Stephen Tobolowsky), who forces him to wear a painful electric-shock collar, Garfield, uncharacteristically, feels compelled to rush to Odie’s rescue. Dog torture in a kiddie movie? What were they thinking? While Garfield is computer-generated, the human actors are cartoonish in their stiff, one-note acting. Quite embarrassing. And, curiously, Garfield’s four-legged pals – Odie, Nermal and Arlene – are played by real animals, which makes absolutely no sense whatever. Jim Davis’ 26 year-old comic strip, which evolved into a Saturday morning series, deserves better than the lame script by Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow, blandly directed by Peter Hewitt. To add insult to injury, there’s even an appalling amount of product placement (Wendy’s, Petco, Wal-Mart, Goldfish Crackers). On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Garfield: The Movie” is an onerous 1. This tubby tabby dud belongs in the litter box, and it’s already made my WORST of the year list.

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The Terminal

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “The Terminal” (DreamWorks)

Imagine being a visitor from Eastern Europe who is forced to make a New York airport’s international transit lounge his home. That’s what happens to Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks) when he arrives in the United States and learns that war has erupted in Krakozhia, voiding his passport, leaving him a man without a country. Making friends among the airport workers, this resourceful traveler even touches the heart of a lovelorn flight attendant (Catherine Zeta-Jones). Viktor’s nemesis is a heartless bureaucrat (Stanley Tucci), the acting Director of Customs and Border Protection. Rules and regulations prohibit him from letting Viktor leave the premises, yet Viktor’s constant presence is equally unnerving. Inspired perhaps by the tale of Merhan Nasseri, an Iranian who was detained at Charles de Gaulle Airport near Paris in 1988, “The Terminal” reflects America’s increasingly conflicted feelings about immigration and foreign threats. Not only can anyone who has ever traveled abroad relate to Viktor’s plight but the perfectly cast supporting players – Chi McBride, Diego Luna, Kumar Pallana, Barry Shabaka Henley and Zoe Saldana – reflect the diversity that make America a melting pot. Andrew Niccol, Sacha Gervasi and Jeff Nathanson have written a heart-tugging yet light-hearted human drama with refreshing comedic undertones, and it’s one of Steven Spielberg’s most loving, romantic creations, subtly photographed by Janusz Kaminski and scored by John Williams. Tom Hanks delivers yet another indelible, heroic performance, proving why he’s one of our most talented screen actors. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Terminal” is a crowd-pleasing, touching 10. Prepare to laugh, to cry and to relish, once again, the magic of the movies.

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