Movie/TV Reviews

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Susan Granger’s review of “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” (20th Century-Fox)

It’s obvious that the creators of this comic-book fantasy believe fans have been riddled with curiosity about what made a conflicted man named James Logan into Wolverine, Marvel’s angriest mutant superhero. So they’re offering explanations, if not answers.
Back in 1845 in Canada’s Northwest Territories, young Jim Logan (Hugh Jackman) discovers that when he becomes furious, his hands sprout retractable bone-claws; not surprisingly, his brawling, older half-brother, Victor Creed (Liev Schreiber), has similar, but different powers. Realizing they’re ageless and indestructible, the beastly boys run off to fight in the American Civil War, both World Wars and Vietnam. And they’re recruited by unscrupulous Maj. William Stryker (Danny Huston) to form Team X, functioning as ‘secret’ weapons for the U.S. Government, along with Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds), Gambit (Taylor Kitsch), John Wraith (Will.i.am) and Fred J. Dukes (Kevin Durand).
But in Namibia, Logan rebels and takes off to become a lumberjack in the Canadian wilderness, setting up idyllic housekeeping on a remote mountain top with Kayla Silverfox (Lynn Collins), a storytelling schoolmarm. When Victor (now Sabretooth) hunts him down and kills Kayla in a rampage, Logan yowls revenge and agrees to Stryker’s ‘experiment’ to adhere ‘adamanitum’ alloy to his skeleton. But when he realizes Stryker also intends to erase his memory, he bursts from captivity and frees other captured mutants to join what will become Patrick Stewart’s opposing forces.
Taking a brawny bite out of the “Australia” debacle, Hugh Jackman gives good growl to Liev Schreiber’s snarl, both actors rising above the confusing, cliché-riddled script by David Beniff (“The Kite Runner”) and Skip Woods (“Swordfish”), directed frenetically by South Africa’s Gavin Hood (“Rendition,” “Tsotsi”). In addition, the digital effects are not only boring but repetitious, particularly in the New Orleans sequence. Even the climactic fight at Three Mile Island, which is where Stryker has been hiding mutants, is banal and quite uninspiring for a popcorn picture.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “X-Men Origiins: Wolverine” is an inconsistent, surly 6, filled with superfluous sound ‘n’ fury but signifying very little.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine Read More »

Battle for Terra

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Battle for Terra” (Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions)

There’s exciting 3-D and then there’s insipid 3-D, making you question why you plunked down that extra money for those disposable glasses. Unfortunately, this animated space exercise belongs in the latter category.
Reversing the classic sci-fi concept of H.G. Wells’ “War of the Worlds,” it’s about two rebellious, tadpole-shaped alien teens, Senn (voiced by Justin Long) and Mala (voiced by Evan Rachel Wood), who gracefully float around on a harmonious, peaceful planet Terra that’s brutally invaded by homo sapiens whose Earth habitat has been destroyed by a civil war and environmental catastrophe. In the midst of the colonizing chaos under the command of ruthless General Hemmer (Brian Cox), adventurous Mala befriends an injured Earthling pilot, Lt. Jim Stanton (voiced by Luke Wilson), and – with the help of his faithful, crab-shaped robotic companion, Giddy (voiced by David Cross) – creates an oxygen-enriched environment that saves Jim’s life.
“I scare him,” Mala observes. “Everything different scares them,” Giddy replies.
But since Mala’s dad (voiced by Dennis Quaid) has been abducted by the Earth Force and is being held captive as a prisoner-of-war, Mala and Jim manage to overcome their differences, achieving a high enough level of tolerance to appeal to the leader of the restrictive Elders (voiced by James Garner) to precipitate a human/Terrarean alliance that will determine the ultimate fate of the planet.
Directed by Aristomenis Tsirbas, who expanded it from his own shorter, 2-D version called “Terra” with the help of writer Evan Spilotopoulos, its most exciting CGI sequences are the apocalyptic fighter-plane battles, which is rather ironic, given the peaceable theme. And far too much of the atmospheric animation closely resembles George Lucas’s made-for-TV “Clone Wars.” So, despite its noble anti-war message, on the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Battle for Terra” is a clichéd, formulaic 5. Unless the kids are clamoring, wait for the dvd.

Battle for Terra Read More »

The Great Buck Howard

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “The Great Buck Howard” (Magnolia Pictures)

Inspired by the career of world-renowned mentalist, the Amazing Kreskin, this is the story of naïve, wannabe writer Troy Gable (Colin Hanks) who drops out of law school – to the chagrin of his disapproving father (Tom Hanks) – and becomes the long-suffering road manager/personal assistant to The Great Buck Howard (John Malkovich), an aging, eccentric stage entertainer who is struggling to resurrect his career, the highlight of which was his 61 appearances on “The Tonight Show” with Johnny Carson. This leads to a cross-country journey with stops in small towns like Bakesfield, Willamette, Leesburg, Akron and Cincinnati. The best part is Buck’s staging the comeback stunt of a lifetime, but there are also detours that include Troy’s brief but engaging romantic liaison with Buck’s brassy ‘substitute’ publicist (Emily Blunt) from New York and encounters in the limelight with magician David Blaine, Jon Stewart, Martha Stewart, George Takai (Sulu on the original “Star Trek”), Tom Arnold, Gary Coleman, Conan O’Brien, Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa. And Troy learns life lessons every step of the way.
So how does the ‘real’ Amazing Kreskin feel about this cinematic version of his life, including his personal loathing of Johnny Carson’s successor, Jay Leno, and his signature ‘hide-and-seek’ trick in which audience members hide his nightly stash of cash?
“I could not have asked for a better actor to play me than John Malkovich,” Kreskin says. “He is an incomparable talent who seamlessly embodied the essence of who I am.”
Indeed, Malkovich has never been more engaging or accessible. Currently appearing on Broadway in “33 Variations,” opposite Jane Fonda, Colin Hanks is amiable and having his real-life dad, Tom Hanks, play his authoritarian father is also a plus, as are ‘local yokel’ bits from Debra Monk and Steve Zahn.
Writer/director Sean McGinley fictionalizes when necessary while earnestly and adroitly telling a bemused and bittersweet story. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Great Buck Howard” is a poignant, gently satiric 6, capturing the utter desperation of a fading celebrity.

The Great Buck Howard Read More »

The Boys: The Sherman Brothers’ Story

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “The Boys: The Sherman Brothers’ Story” (Walt Disney)

Do you even know who the Sherman brothers are? Perhaps not, but you’ve sung “Chim Chim Cher-ee” and “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” from “Mary Poppins” and
”I Want To Be Like You” from “The Jungle Book,” right?
These songs, among many others, were written by the first songwriting team ever hired by Walt Disney. The prolific, six-decade collaboration between Robert B. and Richard M. Sherman produced over 50 movies and more than 1,000 songs for film, television, records, stage and theme parks, including “It’s A Small World (After All).”
Yet, behind the scenes, the brothers were estranged for years, keeping their non-working lives entirely separate. Bob and Dick literally lived within blocks of each other in Beverly Hills, yet their families never knew one another…until, in 2002, at the “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang” premiere in London, Gregory (Richard’s son) and Jeffrey (Robert’s son) decided to delve into their fathers’ bizarre relationship. Simply put: conflict was their crucible of creativity. And that’s the ironic crux of this fascinating Hollywood documentary.
Along with reminiscences from Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, Angela Lansbury, Hayley Mills, Ben Stiller, Annette Funicello, John Williams, Randy Newman, Alan Menken, Stephen Schwartz, Kenny Loggins and Roy Disney, there are perceptive historical insights from TCM’s Robert Osbourne, Samuel Goldwyn Jr. and John Landis, among others. And fascinating anecdotes: how “Just A Spoonful of Sugar” got its name from the Salk polio vaccine which was, at first, dispensed to school children in drops on a sugar cube; that British author P.L. Travers was never pleased with “Mary Poppins”; and why “Let’s Go Fly a Kite” recalled the passion for kite-flying that Al Sherman passed along to his two sons, along with sage songwriting advice: “Keep it simple, singable and sincere.”
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “the boys: the sherman brothers story” is an evocative, intriguing 8, spiced by lush, radiant movie clips and their glorious legacy of music.

The Boys: The Sherman Brothers’ Story Read More »

April 24 DVD Update

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s dvd/video update for week of Friday, April 24:

Mickey Rourke delivers a powerhouse performance as Randy “The Ram” Robinson in “The Wrestler” with Marisa Tomei as his tough-talking, stripper girl-friend and Evan Rachel Wood as his estranged lesbian daughter. Unflinchingly directed by Darren Aronofsky, the gritty, brutally authentic drama reveals the barbarous fakery of pro-wrestling, along with the bruising toll it takes on its masochistic participants.
Although it never made it to our local theaters, the irreverent, sweetly exuberant “How About You,” starring Vanessa Redgrave, Imelda Staunton and Brenda Fricker, tackles the edgy topic of old age with extraordinary empathy, capturing all the poignant regrets, frustrations, resentments and loneliness, as a free-spirited young woman (Hayley Atwell) goes to work at a residential elder-care home in the Irish countryside.
Starring Jamal Woolard, the biopic “Notorious” chronicles the life of Brooklyn-raised rapper Christopher Wallace (a.k.a. Biggie Smalls and Notorious B.I.G.), who became a superstar and was murdered at age 24 in a still-unsolved 1997 shooting.
Set in the poverty-stricken village of Melo, near the border with Brazil, Uruguay’s official Oscar entry, “The Pope’s Toilet,” focuses on a petty smuggler (Cesar Troncoso) who decides to cash in on the Pope John Paul II’s upcoming visit by building a WC in front of his house and charging worshippers for its use. In Spanish with English subtitles, it’s an unexpected delight with a surprising conclusion.
For film buffs: the most celebrated lawman of the Old West rides again in “The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp: The Complete Season One” (1955-56), starring Hugh O’Brian as the famed marshal of Ellsworth, Kansas, whose exploits with Doc Holliday, Bat Masterson and the Clanton Gang come to life in episodes based on actual events.
PICK OF THE WEEK: “Frost/Nixon” recreates the ferociously exciting 1977 TV battle-of-wills in which tenacious British interviewer, David Frost (Michael Sheen), interrogated disgraced President Richard Nixon (Frank Langella). Writer Peter Morgan and director Ron Howard present it as “an intellectual Rocky,” expanding the narrative by subtly delving into both men’s revelatory backstories.

April 24 DVD Update Read More »

The Soloist

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “The Soloist” (DreamWorks/Universal)

It’s late April but – finally – there’s a movie memorable enough to incite early Oscar buzz, featuring the combination of a story based in truth, actors who truly inhabit their characters and music that touches the heart.
One day while casting about for an intriguing human-interest story, Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez (Robert Downey Jr.) spies a homeless man passionately playing a two-stringed violin near Beethoven’s statue in a downtown park near Skid Row. Intrigued, he tries to engage Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx) in conversation but learns only that he once went to Julliard but also that he firmly believes that Beethoven is the leader of Los Angeles. Curious but wary, Lopez makes inquiries and discovers Ayers was, indeed, a talented prodigy whose career was sidelined by schizophrenia. A cautious, often volatile yet tenacious friendship develops between the two disparate men as Lopez tries to get Ayers off the street and back into the world of music.
Working from Lopez’s book, screenwriter Susannah Grant (“Erin Brockovich”) crafts dialogue that’s deft, intelligent and laced with a sense of humor that is both defensive and revealing. British director Joe Wright’s (“Atonement”) graceful direction flows naturally and easily, giving it all an understated authenticity. What’s fascinating is how he views L.A. through the lens of a foreigner, capturing evocative views of a city in constant motion.
After learning how to bow and finger from Ben Hong, a cellist with the L.A. Philharmonic, Jamie Foxx attacks his role with breathtaking ferocity, delivering a fearless, scary, exhilarating performance, one of the most vulnerable of his career, while Robert Downey Jr. is superb as a complex, multi-layered reporter, striking not a single false note in a highly combustible mixture of emotions. Catherine Keener, Tom Hollander and Lisa Gay Hamilton give stalwart support.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Soloist” is a touching 10. A film of enormous integrity, it’s exquisitely acted, beautifully written, sensitively filmed and filled with memorable moments.

The Soloist Read More »

Obsessed

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “Obsessed” (Sony/Screen Gems)

“It’s every man’s worst nightmare,” said someone behind me. But this predatory psychodrama (which was not screened for critics before it opened) has proven an offering of vicarious thrills at the box-office, particularly the highly-publicized climactic catfight between Beyonce Knowles and Ali Larter.
So here’s the set-up. Derek Charles (Idris Elba) is executive vice-president of a Los Angeles asset-management company that seems to be thriving. (Admittedly, filming took place before the economy tanked.) One day, into the investment office sashays Lisa Sheridan (Ali Larter), a femme fatale. “Temp or temptress?” leers Ben (Jerry O’Connell), one of his associates. Both actually.
Happily married to Sharon (that’s Beyonce), who was his former assistant and is now the mother of their baby son, Derek’s really not interested in adultery. But that doesn’t discourage sultry Lisa, who stalks him into the men’s room at the ‘no-spouses allowed’ office Christmas party, drugs his drink and then pursues him into the parking garage, flashing her lingerie and fishnets. Eventually, she even trashes his home. Why he doesn’t report her obvious sexual harassment and aberrant behavior is never explained, nor are her motives, nor why the detective (Christine Lahti) who’s finally summoned is so clueless.
Obviously inspired by the plot of “Fatal Attraction,” screenwriter David Loughery and veteran TV director Steve Shill skip the adultery factor, veering toward biracial tension instead. That’s a psychologically incendiary area Loughery had previously explored in the inflammatory “Lakeview Terrace.” Also, rumor has it that – if the sets look familiar – they’re recycled from last year’s horror thriller “Quarantine” and will be seen again in the upcoming remake of “The Stepfather.”
Once again, Idris Elba (“The Wire”) proves he’s a fine actor, Ali Larter (“Heroes”) latches onto the psychotic sexy caricature, and Beyonce’s working hard to extend her talents from singing into acting. She’s not there yet, but she certainly tries hard and emerges victorious, at least in hand-to-hand combat. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “Obsessed” is a ludicrous 4. Yeah, baby, get that blonde home-wrecker!

Obsessed Read More »

April 17 DVD Update

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s dvd/video update for week of Friday, April 17:

Derived from Will Eisner’s seminal 1940’s graphic series, set in fictional Central City, “The Spirit: My City Screams” revolves around a crusading murdered cop (Gabriel Macht) who mysteriously returns from the dead, dressed in a suit, red tie and dark fedora. His nemesis is a crazed criminal, the Octopus (Samuel L. Jackson), aided by Silken Floss (Scarlett Johansson), Plaster of Paris (Paz Vega) and assorted henchmen.
In Chen Shi-Zheng’s “Dark Matter,” when an elite academic patron (Meryl Streep) welcomes a brilliant Chinese mathematics prodigy (Beijing star Ye Liu) to Valley State University, they share his dreams of a Nobel Prize – but cultural differences and school politics threaten his ambition, resulting in unimaginable violence. This melodrama, which was based on a true incident that occurred in 1991, premiered at Sundance ’07 but its release was supposedly delayed because of the subsequent Virginia Tech shootings.
“Fight Night” is an action thriller revolving around a con-man (Michael Dubin) working the underground boxing circuit who comes up with a scam featuring a female fighter (Katherine Parker) with the skills to take down a man twice her size.
Made long before Barack Obama became president, the documentary “I.O.U.S.A” tackles our soaring national debt and its likely consequences for present and future Americans. Filled with disturbing facts about inflation, trade deficits and Wall Street, it astutely forecast our current financial meltdown. And HBO’s four-part mini-series, “House of Saddam,” delves into the character of Iraq’s dictator, Saddam Hussein.
For film buffs: “Sergeant Preston of the Yukon: Complete Season” stars Richard “Dick” Simmons as the brave Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman who – along with his sled dog Yukon King and trusted horse Rex – tracked down rogues and scoundrels who mercilessly preyed upon peace-loving settlers and gold miners in the frozen wilderness.
PICK OF THE WEEK: Kate Winslet won this year’s Best Actress Oscar for playing Hanna Schmitz, a Nazi war criminal, in Stephen Daldry’s screen adaptation of Bernhard Schlink’s acclaimed novel. The story opens in post-WWII Germany, where an impressionable teenager becomes involved with a mysterious ‘older woman’ who profoundly affects his life.

April 17 DVD Update Read More »

The Golden Boys

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “The Golden Boys” (Roadside Attractions)

Set in 1905 on Cape Cod, this charming romantic comedy revolves around the travails of three crusty, retired sea captains who have been trying keep house together with disastrous results. Not only is their place filthy but their meals have become abominable.
After a particularly foul clam-fritter dinner, Captain Jerry (Rip Torn), Captain Perez (Bruce Dern) and Captain Zeb (David Carradine) reluctantly decide they need someone to take over the house-keeping chores: “This craft needs a steward…or a woman.”
That means one of them will have to marry so the other two can remain as boarders. Unfortunate Jerry loses the coin toss when they place an advertisement in the Boston newspaper to find prospective bride. After sifting through 27 replies, the three grubby seafarers settle on a no-nonsense widow from Nantucket named Martha Snow (Mariel Hemingway), who duly arrives by train. But, due to confusion at the Chatham station, Jerry takes one look at the ugly old crone he believes to be his betrothed and flees, hiding in a fish shanty, leaving Zeb to greet the real Mrs. Snow.
In the meantime, there’s a subplot involving a bitter feud between Web Saunders (John Savage), the billiard-hall proprietor who wants to sell liquor, and blustery, Bible-thumping Captain John Bartlett (Charles Durning). Eventually, Mrs. Snow’s care and cooking wins the hearts of all the men but not before more complications arise with the town gossip (Angelica Torn) and a visiting granddaughter (Christy Scott Cashman) who falls for the off-shore, intercontinental cable-station electrician (Jason Alan Smith).
Working from a novel called “Cap’n Eri” by Joseph C. Lincoln, writer/director Daniel Adams has created a romp, a vintage gem, that’s also a touching reminiscence of a more innocent time. Filled with magical moments, it’s obviously filmed entirely on-location in Cape Cod. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Golden Boys” is a quaint, high-spirited 7. Imagine! It’s an amusing, romantic picture about senior citizens. What will they think of next?

The Golden Boys Read More »

17 Again

Movie/TV Reviews / Susan

Susan Granger’s review of “17 Again” (Warner Bros.)

Think of it as “Zac to the Future,” as hunky teen heartthrob Zac Efron (“High School Musical”) plays a younger version of Matt Perry in this body-swap comedy/fantasy.
Back in 1989, Mike O’Donnell (Zac Efron) was the star of the high-school basketball court with a college scout in the stands, a scholarship possibility and his whole life ahead of him. But, instead, he decided to marry his pregnant girl-friend Scarlet (Allison Miller) and settle for a mundane life in pharmaceutical sales.
Now, downwardly mobile in his dead-end job and loathed by his kids and soon-to-be ex-wife Scarlet (played as an adult by Leslie Mann), bitter, middle-aged Mike (Matt Perry) is crashing on the sofa of his nerdy best friend, Ned Gold (Thomas Lennon), who has become a techno-billionaire with a collection of “Star Wars” memorabilia. Then, a strange encounter with a mysterious ‘janitor’ (Brian Doyle Murray) returns Mike to his 17 year-old youth. But things aren’t exactly the way he remembered them. Besides, it’s 2009, not 1989, and he’s still 37 years-old inside-his-head. Plus, his troubled daughter, Maggie (Michelle Trachtenberg), and son, Alex (Sterling Knight), are among his classmates. And everyone has life lessons to learn, particularly about taking responsibility for the choices we make.
Unevenly written by Jason Filardi (“Bringing Down the House”) and occasionally over-sentimentalized by director Burr Steers (“Igby Goes Down”), the concept, nevertheless, succeeds, tracing its trusty antecedents to poignant pictures like Tom Hanks’ “Big,” Michael J. Fox’s “Back to the Future,” Lindsay Lohan’s “Freaky Friday” (a remake of Jodie Foster’s earlier version), Jennifer Garner’s “13 Going On 30,” Kathleen Turner’s “Peggy Sue Got Married,” Dudley Moore’s “Like Father, Like Son,” Jimmy Stewart’s “It’s A Wonderful Life,” even Diet Pepsi commercials where the guy wants to be young again.
But the timelessly universal wish-fulfillment tale unfolds with incredulous tenderness and a light touch, so on the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “17 Again” is an endearing 8, but let’s hope the volume of the sound track doesn’t continue to drown out too much of the dialogue.

17 Again Read More »