Written by Kirk Baird
The Princess Bride recently marked its 25th anniversary. Rob Reiner’s funny and sweet celebration of fairy tales, based on William Goldman’s novel, retains its charm all these years later. It’s also, along with another Reiner film, This Is Spinal Tap, a cult classic.
Contrary to widespread belief, cult films don’t have to be so awful as to be considered kitschy great by a host of dedicated fans, like Plan 9 from Outer Space and, more recently, Showgirls. What they do have in common is a failed, disappointing, or barely successful theatrical release followed by a rabid following that develops over time, often through video and DVD or midnight movies. Some other cult classics include The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Eraserhead, the Evil Dead trilogy, Harold and Maude, The Big Lebowski, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, Scarface, and Heavy Metal.
Many cult classics are obvious; here are some more obscure films with devoted followings.
The Gods Must be Crazy (1980)
This South African comedy written and directed by Jamoie Uys stars N!xau as Xi (pronounced “key”), the leader of an isolated and primitive family of tribesmen in the Kalahari Desert whose world is turned upside down when a glass Coke bottle carelessly thrown from an airplane above lands near his home. Having never seen glass before, the tribe believes it to be a gift from the gods, but when Xi’s family begins squabbling and fighting over the bottle he decides to return the divine present by throwing it off the edge of the Earth. In the course of Xi’s incredible adventures to discard the bottle he encounters a clumsy white biologist (Marius Weyers) and his would-be girlfriend who try to help him, confusing and wondrous pieces of 20th century technology such as cars, and even war-minded rebels who, despite their guns and political mission, function as keystone cop-like comic relief. Uys’s film is a sweet, simple comedy with subtle commentary on our modern world as seen through the eyes of a stranger walking through it. There was a sequel, The Gods Must be Crazy II, in 1989.
Wizards (1977)
Really, almost any film by animator Ralph Bakshi ( Fritz the Cat, The Lord of the Rings, American Pop) could be considered a cult classic, but this post-apocalyptic tale of a struggle between two wizards — the good and rather randy Avatar (Bob Holt) and the evil Blackwolf (Steve Gravers) who plans to control the world through the ancient weaponry from the 20th century — was a popular midnight film, which may give it extra cult film cred. The dialogue hasn’t aged well; it’s very much a film of the 1970s, despite its futuristic setting. But the early rotoscope animation blended with traditional hard-drawn characters as well as the psychedelic backgrounds remain fascinating attempts at breaking ground in a brave new style of adult animation.
Zabriskie Point (1970)
Italian filmmaker Michelangelo Antonioni explored the monumental shift in youth culture in the late 1960s and its disillusionment with authority as well as social alienation in this story of protests, violence, and two twentysomethings bonded briefly through love, sex, and spirituality in the desert. The film offers subtext on a wide range of subjects — politics, war, civil rights, and consumerism — and climaxes in the youthful fantasies of fiery explosions of a home, followed by the slow-motion destruction of the objects inside (food, clothes, a refrigerator) to the score of Pink Floyd’s psychedelic rage “Come in Number 51, Your Time Is Up.” Critics bashed Zabriskie Point when it was released and it quickly vanished from theatres. For decades the film was deemed a failure, but in recent years it’s experienced a substantial critical reassessment. This is hardly news to many film students and movie geeks, who consider Antonioni’s counter-culture work a masterpiece.
Time Bandits (1981)
This isn’t Terry Gilliam’s first solo movie — nor is it his best — but this dark children’s fable about a boy who hitches a ride with a group of time-traveling dwarves on the run from the Supreme Being and the Evil Genius is a great introduction to the filmmaker’s inspired and edgy Grimm Brothers style of the fantastic. Gilliam has been inconsistent with his films, but when he clicks ( Brazil, 12 Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), as he does here, there’s simply no other director like him. Which is why his fans continually anticipate his work; even with a recent track record of largely noble failures, Gilliam always teases a return to past greatness. Time Bandits is Gilliam breaking free from his Monty Python roots, even though it was co-written by fellow Pythoner Michael Palin, and features cameos by Palin and John Cleese, also of Monty Python. The cast also features all-star cameos playing recognizable historical figures including Sean Connery as King Agamemnon and Ian Holm as Napoleon.
An American Werewolf in London (1981)
John Landis was known best for directing comedies hits Animal House and The Blues Brothers when he tackled An American Werewolf in London. Not coincidentally, he effectively merged comedy — albeit rather dark — with horror, and thus inspired a new wave of films and filmmakers. An American Werewolf in London stars David Naughton (best known for his Dr Pepper ads in the 1970s) as David Kessler, one of two American college students traveling through England who are attacked by a werewolf plaguing the countryside. David’s friend dies, while David suffers an even grimmer fate: transforming into a werewolf during full moons. British actress Jenny Agutter ( Logan’s Run) plays David’s girlfriend, who desperately tries to help him with his unique condition. Rick Baker won the first Oscar for best makeup for his work in creating the monster. “Blue Moon,” the closing pop song as the film ends and the credits roll, remains one of the more-inspired music choices in the last few decades. There was a sequel in 1997, An American Werewolf in Paris.
Flash Gordon (1980)
The much-despised Showgirls was a cult film even before the credits rolled. But Flash Gordon, an obvious attempt by producer Dino De Laurentiis to cash in on the Star Wars-sci-fi phenomenon in the 1970s, earned its place as a cult favorite. The film is a revival of the classic Flash Gordon serials from the 1930s, only in glorious color and with wildly inventive sets and costumes, as star quarterback Flash Gordon (Sam Jones), journalist Dale Arden (Melody Anderson), and scientist Dr. Hans Zarkov (Topol) rocket to the mysterious planet Mongo to stop its evil ruler Ming the Merciless (Max von Sydow) from destroying Earth. The mixture of camp with classic science fiction failed to attract audiences, but through the years fans and critics have rediscovered Flash Gordon. This summer Seth MacFarlane even referenced the film throughout his comedy smash Ted, which featured an appearance by Jones as himself. Rock band Queen handled the soundtrack and, fittingly, scored a cult hit as well with the track “Flash.”
Freaked (1993)
Alex Winter (Bill from Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure and the MTV sketch comedy The Idiot Box) co-wrote and co-directed this bizarre comedy about a mad scientist who uses a special chemical to transform people into strange creatures for his freak show. Winter plays a popular and egotistical actor named Ricky Coogan turned into a hideous beast. The cast also features Mr. T as a bearded lady, Megan Ward and Michael Stoyanov as an activist and Ricky’s best friend, respectively, who are joined together as Siamese Twins, Bobcat Goldthwait as Sockhead — a man with a hand and sock puppet for a head — and Randy Quaid as the evil scientist behind the madness, Elijah C. Skuggs. Worth mentioning is Academy Award-nominated John Hawkes (Teardrop in Winter’s Bone), unrecognizable in makeup and costume, playing Cowboy, a cow-man. This anything-goes comedy has a 1980s vibe to its absurdist humor — think 1984’s The Toxic Avenger — and was to be released by 20th Century Fox, but a change in studio leadership proved disastrous for the film. The studio’s new president ordered the film’s title changed from the original Hideous Mutant Freekz to Freaked and its budget slashed. After testing poorly with preview audiences, the comedy was given a quick release into only a few theaters and then pulled for good. Freaked may have died in the cinemas, but video, cable, and DVD successfully resurrected it.
The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call — New Orleans (2009)
Werner Herzog’s no-boundaries drama about a cop gone bad isn’t a cult film yet, but it should be. This isn’t a sequel to Abel Ferrara’s The Bad Lieutenant from 1992, rather a companion piece or, perhaps, a tribute. In fact, the two Bad Lieutenants share few similarities, other than having the title character break all manner of rules while battling drug addiction, and featuring terrific leading performances by Harvey Keitel in the 1992 film, and a deliriously over-the-top Nicolas Cage in the 2009 version. Cage is Terence McDonagh, a New Orleans police detective injured on the job who then becomes addicted to painkillers and cocaine. This leads to a reckless lifestyle that gets Terence involved with a prostitute (Eva Mendes) and a ruthless drug dealer he must stop. It’s when he begins an investigation into the gruesome murder of a family that Terence is offered a chance at redemption. But will he take it? Herzog sets The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call — New Orleans in struggling post-Katrina New Orleans, and loads the film with social commentary, often questioning the roles of protector and criminal, and the intentions of the good and the bad. But this is Cage’s film all the way. His unhinged performances have become cliché, but that’s usually as much about the quality of the project he’s involved in. Herzog gives Cage the green light to push the boundaries as far as he can, and the actor takes the director at his word. The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call — New Orleans is better, and certainly more memorable, for it. Consider this a late 2000s version of the deliriously violent Scarface from 1983, written by Oliver Stone and starring Al Pacino — only without as many great lines or f-bombs.
Written by Kyle Slagley
Twenty-six years ago today, in London’s West End, Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman took the stage for the first time in what would become one of the most iconic musicals of all time. This musical, which would receive pop-culture nods by everything from SpongeBob to R. L. Stine, would eventually go on to win seven Tony Awards and three Laurence Olivier Awards.
I am of course referring to Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera, with Crawford playing Erik the Phantom and Brightman as Christine. Phantom has since become the longest-running Broadway show in history, celebrating its 10,275th performance tonight at the Majestic Theatre, and is the third-longest-running show in London.
As a performer and theatre fan, Phantom holds a special place in my heart, being one of the musicals that first drew me into the Broadway world. In fact I can’t help but be jealous of friends performing to sold-out crowds at my alma mater, the University of Kentucky, in UK Opera Theatre’s production.
Over the years there have been a number of stage and film renditions of the show, all based on the novel by Gaston Leroux, originally published in French as Le Fantôme de L’Opera in 1910. While the book has been wholly overshadowed by the theatre and film renditions of the story, some maintain that the original novel accents underlying character traits lost in translation and that the book is well worth the time.
I recently discovered a copy of the original silent version of the film from 1925 with Lon Chaney as the Phantom and Mary Philbin as Christine and found myself completely entranced by it. It’s amazing how a film made nearly 100 years ago can still be so amazingly eerie; it captured me in ways that modern horror flicks simply cannot do.
Other film adaptations were made in later years, with Claude Rains playing the Phantom in the 1943 version and Herbert Lom in 1962. The most recent film adaptation was released in 2004, this time starring Gerard Butler as the reclusive Phantom.
Although both the 1943 and 1962 versions landed mostly positive reviews, critics decried the 2004 film as boring and flat. Personally, I didn’t think it was all that bad, certainly not as horrendous as some. The sheer lavishness of the sets and the costumes were enough to keep me entertained — and when played in Blu-Ray HD, the aesthetics are more impressive than when I saw it in theatres.
The Original Broadway Cast soundtrack remains my favorite recording and has sold over five million copies worldwide. In October of last year, Lloyd Webber and producer Cameron Mackintosh assembled a star cast at the Royal Albert Hall for the 25th anniversary production. That production ran for two nights only but was recorded and later released on CD, DVD, and Blu-Ray.
Sir Andrew has tacked his name onto some of the biggest musicals Broadway and London have ever seen, and I can attest that they are as much fun to perform as they are to watch. That said, Phantom may have been the show that defined his legacy, and I for one have never heard pipe organs the same way.
Written by Kirk Baird
Today marks the 50th anniversary of Dr. No, the first James Bond film, released Oct. 5, 1962. The film, of course, starred Sean Connery, a handsome and masculine actor who only vaguely resembled what Bond creator Ian Fleming initially envisioned his British super spy to be: a slightly more dashing version of American jazz singer-musician Hoagy Carmichael.
There are 25 Bond films, including November’s Skyfall, as well as the 1967 007 parody Casino Royale starring David Niven, and 1983’s Never Say Never Again featuring the second return of Connery to the role, this time after more than a decade away. Incidentally, the latter two films are the only Bond movies not produced by Eon Productions, and therefore not considered by some to be part of the official franchise.
In popular culture a person’s preference of Bond actors has been a source of debate. Google “james bond actor poll” and you’ll find multiple solicitations. For many, it’s the first who remains the best.
Connery’s blend of tough and sexy, a womanizer with a penchant for guns, gadgets, shaken martinis, and survival set the template for all the actors to follow. The Scottish Connery played Bond through five films in six years, before Australian model-actor George Lazenby stepped in with 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Lazenby, who played the secret agent only once before turning down additional Bond movies by choice, remains the forgotten 007 — some would suggest for good reason.
By 1971, Connery returned to Bond in Diamonds Are Forever and was paid handsomely for it, but producers went in a new direction with 1973’s Live and Let Die, casting Roger Moore as Bond. Moore was best known to audiences for his role as Simon Templar in the long-running BBC series The Saint. In fact, the show, which aired from 1962-1970, kept Moore out of the running as Connery’s original replacement in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
With Moore aboard, the film’s producers lightened the serious demeanour of the super agent, turning Bond into a debonair playboy with women and quips to spare, especially as he terminated a film’s chief villain and his henchmen.
Moore is also unfairly saddled with what is a notable shift in the quality of the Bond films themselves, as producers altered the more dramatic tone of the Connery movies, often in favor of riding current cinema trends. 1979’s Moonraker, largely considered the weakest film in the series (I wholeheartedly agree), was an obvious attempt to cash in on the Star Wars craze with a silly-even-for-its-time space laser battle over Earth. Moore still stuck around for three more Bond outings, and a total of seven films through 12 years, the latter being a record for the series.
When the English Moore retired from the series at the age of 58, Timothy Dalton was brought in as the new 007 for 1987’s The Living Daylights. Dalton, by then 43, had originally been offered the role of James Bond in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service but the British actor turned it down, feeling he was too young for the part at the age of 25. Perhaps by being older and wiser when he finally accepted the role, he brought a maturity and grit to the films that had been missing during the Moore years. In License to Kill, for instance, Bond resigns from the Secret Service to exact revenge against the drug dealer who seriously injured his CIA friend and killed his friend’s wife.
The deadly serious tone of Dalton’s film, while significantly closer to Fleming’s novels, was met with mixed reviews and good but not great audience reception. Dalton, who had signed on for three films, made two of them and then opted to leave the franchise after a lengthy hiatus between Bond movies.
Rumours had swirled about Pierce Brosnan joining the exclusive club for Bond actors after Moore stepped down. Brosnan, however, was contractually obligated to the NBC series Remington Steele, which essentially launched the Irish actor’s career, so Dalton was cast instead. With Dalton retired from Bond, Brosnan seized the opportunity with 1995’s GoldenEye, offering a 007 lighter in tone than Dalton’s, existing on the Bond continuum somewhere between Connery’s man’s man and Moore’s ladies’ man. He stayed with the franchise for four successful films. Most assumed he’d be back for a fifth Bond, but Brosnan ultimately retired from the role, just as rumours suggested producers were considering going younger (read: edgier) for the part.
After four years away from the screen, Bond returned in 2006 with Casino Royale and Daniel Craig in the role. It was indeed a grittier Bond that drew influences from the new and more violent super-agent Bourne series, with English actor Craig offering the most human 007 yet. Out were one-liners and in was raw physicality, including a torture scene with Bond tied naked to a chair and whipped from underneath. Audiences and critics welcomed the fresh approach to the aging series as well as the first blond Bond. Craig’s Casino Royale is the highest-grossing film in the franchise, with a nearly $595 million haul worldwide. 2008’s Quantum of Solace was nearly as successful.
While villains could never kill Bond, MGM nearly did, forcing the agent to take a hiatus as the studio sorted through its financial mess in 2010. With the studio’s money problems long resolved, Craig as Bond returns to theatres Nov. 6 in Skyfall, along with Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes at the helm and Oscar-winning actor Javier Bardem as the film’s chief villain, Raoul Silva. It was also recently announced that Grammy-winning singer Adele would croon the film’s title song, scheduled for release today as part of the “James Bond Day” celebration. Late last year it was also announced that the 44-year-old Craig has signed on for five additional Bond films, which would make him the longest-running 007 with eight total James Bond movies.
Does your library need more Bond? Check out the Bond 50 box set, containing all 22 Bond films, on both DVD and Blu-ray.
Written by Kirk Baird
There’s a reason why The Avengers was the No. 1 box-office attraction this summer and one of the top films of all time.
It’s a smart and deliriously fun romp that exceeds all expectations — a spectacular achievement in itself considering all the hype surrounding Joss Whedon's superhero epic. His film is the new paradigm for a $250 million popcorn film.
Whedon has concocted a wildly entertaining story loaded with clever one-liners that should satisfy everyone, from die-hard comic geeks to casual moviegoers looking for a few hours of escapism. He also expertly paces the intense action with the occasional quiet moment of drama and introspection, revealing, if only for a moment, the humanity behind the brawn and spandex.
The plot features the return of Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Thor's step-brother and villain of the first Thor film, who has escaped eternal banishment and is determined to subjugate the human race. The evil Norse demigod has allied himself with a race of alien warriors known as Chitauri. Humans are no match for these beings, so Earth turns to its mightiest heroes for help: Captain America (Chris Evans), Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), and Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson)—collectively known as the Avengers.
The heroes are recruited by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson as Samuel L. Jackson), head of S.H.I.E.L.D., a secret U.S. military force.
Whedon is a lifelong comic-book fan who has an affinity for these characters and understands them. He also knows that if you put this many larger-than-life superhumans in one room there are going to be problems: ego clashes, disputes about how to mete out justice, and who's in charge. Before the Avengers smash the enemy, they must first stop battling each other.
Their verbal-turned-physical smackdowns create an underlying thread of dramatic tension throughout much of the movie, and Whedon mines these moments for a surprising amount of humour. The whip-smart banter plays to the strength of Downey, but everyone has their grand moments, with the Hulk topping them all. (Hulk’s crowd-pleasing scene, Whedon noted in his entertaining commentary, represents the crowning achievement in the film, to the point if the filmmaker did nothing else during the two years spent making The Avengers but that moment on screen with the Hulk, he would be happy.)
We've already been introduced to these super-powered, super-skilled warriors, so there isn't a lot of alter-ego backstory to get in the way of the fun. The Avengers is mostly about letting the superheroes be just that on screen, and doing whatever our imaginations, Whedon, and CGI can conjure.
The Blu-ray version of The Avengers features the usual sharp picture and audio from the high-definition transfer. More importantly, the Blu-ray version features a load of extras not on the DVD, including nearly 15 minutes of deleted scenes (mostly character development stuff along with an unfinished action sequence), a gag reel, and an amusing short film called Marvel One-Shot: Item 47 that addresses what happens when an alien weapon leftover from the climactic battle ends up in the hands of would-be bank robbers. Both the DVD and Blu-ray include a featurette on the making of the film.
The Avengers stands alone as the top film of the summer, critically and commercially, for good reason. Whedon has delivered that rare action-packed, special-effects spectacle that is relentless in its eagerness to please and successful beyond its goal.
Believe the hype...and more.
Written by Kirk Baird
With the myriad fall films headed our way, below are 14 movies to look forward to in the coming months.
Oct. 12: Argo: A strong indicator of a film's Oscar chances is the critical buzz it has coming out of the Toronto International Film Festival from mid-September. Argo has that kind of favourable enthusiasm. Ben Affleck directs and stars as a CIA operative who helps lead a crazy rescue operation of U.S. citizens in hiding at the Canadian ambassador’s home in Iran during the 1979 hostage crisis by pretending to be a Hollywood film crew. It also stars Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, and John Goodman.
Oct. 19: The Sessions: Another film that's enjoying a surge of post-Toronto adulation is The Sessions, the true story of Mark O'Brien, a man mostly confined to an iron lung who seeks love and the loss of his virginity. John Hawkes as O'Brien proves again he belongs in the elite actor category, even if he doesn't have the box office credentials—yet—to back it up. Helen Hunt, who doesn’t appear in many movies these days, makes the best of her screen time with her strongest role yet as the kindly sex therapist O’Brien hires. It’s a sweet, surprisingly funny film that doesn’t claw for easy empathy.
Oct. 26: Cloud Atlas: This adaptation of the previously thought unfilmmable genre-bending novel by David Mitchell left critics in Toronto alternately praising and damning this drama of cause-and-effect linking the fate of people through the centuries. It stars Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Susan Sarandon, Jim Broadbent, Hugh Grant, and Hugo Weaving, with Tom Tykwer ( Run Lola Run) and siblings Lana and Andy Wachowski ( The Matrix trilogy) as co-writers and co-directors. Even if this highly ambitious film is flawed, as some contend, it would appear the whole is better than its parts.
Nov. 2:
Flight: Denzel Washington stars as an airline pilot who saves a flight from crashing, and whose life is subsequently turned upside down by the intense media scrutiny that follows. Robert Zemeckis gives up the ghost on his creepy performance-capture animation work and returns to live-action films. The trailers promise an intense drama with a great cast (including John Goodman, Don Cheadle, and Oscar winner Melissa Leo) and a message that offers relevant commentary on today’s media.
Wreck-It Ralph: As a classic video gaming enthusiast I acknowledge my bias for a film that celebrates the days of 8-bit gaming. More than that, I’m excited to see what the film’s talented voice cast, led by John C. Reilly, Jack McBrayer, Sarah Silverman, and Jane Lynch, makes of the whimsical story of a video game baddie (Reilly), weary of his job as villain, who leaves the Donkey Kong-esque game in search of being a hero elsewhere in the arcade. McBrayer plays Wreck-It Ralph’s hero who goes in search of his former nemesis, and Silverman is one of the many colourful video game characters Ralph encounters as he hops from game to game.
Nov. 9: Skyfall: Sam Mendes ( American Beauty, Road to Perdition) takes the directorial reins of the latest 007 feature and Daniel Craig returns as the deadly British super spy. While Skyfall leaves behind the unfinished plot threads of Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace, it continues the new Bourne-inspired gritty realism of the Craig-as-Bond films. Javier Bardem, who won an Oscar as the unstoppable killer in No Country for Old Men, is perfectly cast as Bond's new nemesis, Raoul Silva.
Nov. 16: Lincoln: The so-so trailer didn't convince me this is the historical epic I know Steven Spielberg is capable of, but knowing the all-star cast is crowned by Daniel Day-Lewis as the 16th U.S. president provides hope there's much more guts and grit to this drama than the he trailer would suggest. Also worth noting: Tony Kushner, who won a Pulitzer for his play Angels in America, wrote Lincoln. He also was co-nominated for a screenplay Oscar for 2005’s tale of retribution and its price, Munich, which Spielberg also directed.
Nov. 21:
Life of Pi: Ang Lee stays in his art-house comfort zone for this anticipated adaptation of Yann Martel's bestselling 2001 fantasy adventure novel of an Indian teenager adrift on the Pacific Ocean in a lifeboat with an adult Bengal tiger. Early word on this 3-D film is strong, and the visuals and cinematography shown off in Life of Pi’s trailer only enhance my anticipation for the movie.
Silver Linings Playbook: Bradley Cooper recently left behind the world of The Hangover to show off some dramatic acting chops as a bestselling author who stole his popular work from someone else in Words. He continues this dramatic bent as a former teacher who, after being institutionalized, moves in with his parents and works to make amends with his ex-wife. Then another woman with problems of her own (Jennifer Lawrence) enters his life. Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, Julia Stiles, and Chris Tucker also star, with David O. Russell, riding high off The Fighter, writing and directing. Russell has a history of films with damaged characters, and Silver Linings Playbook may be his best yet, considering it took top honours at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Nov. 23: Rust and Bone: Marion Cotillard ( Inception, The Dark Knight Rises) and Matthias Schoenaerts star in this French drama about a single father who moves in with his sister, a killer whale trainer who experiences a horrific accident that ultimately brings the siblings closer together. The drama is winning raves; expect an Oscar nomination for Cotillard.
Dec. 7: Hyde Park on the Hudson: National treasure Bill Murray is receiving critical accolades for his take on Franklin D. Roosevelt in this quirky drama about the former president and his love affair with his distant cousin Margaret Suckley (Laura Linney). The film takes place in upstate New York with Queen Elizabeth and King George VI visiting FDR for a weekend. Olivia Williams plays Eleanor Roosevelt.
Dec. 14: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: Finally, after years in limbo—decades, really— The Hobbit makes it to the big screen with Peter Jackson again shepherding the project, as well as directing and co-writing the screenplay, based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved work. In addition to featuring some familiar actors from Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, including Ian McKellen as Gandalf and Andy Serkis as Gollum, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey also stars Martin Freeman (British version of The Office) as Bilbo Baggins, the hobbit who joins a team of dwarves led by Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) to reclaim treasure stolen by the terrifying dragon Smaug. Jackson said he is expanding The Hobbit to include other characters and stories from Tolkien’s work, and he recently announced that his film adaptation will be split into three movies.
Dec. 21: The Impossible: This gripping drama is the true story of a family's fight to survive the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami in Southeast Asia and its aftermath. The film stars Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor as a husband and wife, along with Tom Holland as the oldest of their sons.
Dec. 25: Django Unchained: There’s always high anticipation for a Quentin Tarantino film, and based on Django Unchained’s trailer this shouldn’t disappoint. Tarantino writes and directs this sure-to-be bloody-violent western of freed slave turned bounty hunter Django (Jamie Foxx) who, with help from his German mentor (Christoph Waltz), sets out to kill a gang of killers and then to rescue his wife from a ruthless Mississippi plantation owner. The film also stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L. Jackson, Jonah Hill, Kerry Washington, RZA, and Don Johnson.
Written by Kirk Baird
By the age of 27 Paul Thomas Anderson was hailed as a genius, a wunderkind, and an impressive new voice among young filmmakers.
The film that garnered this attention was Boogie Nights, an unconventional (read: refreshingly nonjudgmental) examination of the booming pornographic film industry in the 1970s and 1980s in San Fernando Valley.
The film brought several future Hollywood stars to the fore in Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julianne Moore, Don Cheadle, Heather Graham, and John C. Reilly; resurrected Burt Reynolds’ career; and probably saved the career of Mark Wahlberg by proving to audiences he could act better than he could rap as Marky Mark.
Anderson is back in the spotlight for The Master, as always a film he wrote and directed, a detached examination of a nascent pseudo science-religious movement in the 1950s founded by a charismatic writer and intellectual named Lancaster Dodd (Hoffman).
The film centers on the relationship between Dodd and Freddie Quell (a sure-to-be Oscar-nominated Joaquin Phoenix) as the drunken and violent ne'er-do-well who stumbles into Lancaster's life and becomes a surrogate son. Theirs is a complicated relationship of envy and respect, anger and love, and that's where the relationship remains — frozen in place, as with most of the other characters in the film.
The Master is receiving strong buzz and currently enjoys an 87 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Anderson films don’t come often: In the 16 years since Anderson, now 42, made his first studio feature, he’s directed only six movies. For comparison's sake, Steven Spielberg directed nearly twice that amount in his first 16 years as a filmmaker.
Here’s a quick examination of Anderson’s oeuvre:
Hard Eight (1996): For Anderson’s first film he establishes a persistent theme of his films up through and including The Master of surrogate father and wayward son. Philip Baker Hall plays Sydney, a longtime gambler who takes the inexperience and down-on-his-luck John (Reilly) under his tutelage in Reno. Gwyneth Paltrow plays a casino cocktail waitress and hooker named Clementine whom John falls for, which brings unexpected complications into his life.
Boogie Nights (1997): The three-minute tracking shot that introduces the film’s cast of characters remains one of my favorite opening shots in movies. Based loosely on the life of porn legend John Holmes, Boogie Nights is the story of porn star Dirk Diggler (Wahlberg) and his rise to fame, followed by his steep decline into drugs. The film is also populated with a menagerie of characters with struggles of their own.
Magnolia (1999): Tom Cruise was nominated for Best Supporting Actor in 2000 as a bitter and aggressive motivational speaker, one of many fascinating flawed characters whose lives randomly intersect in this mosaic set in San Fernando Valley. The film’s emotional core is punctuated by Aimee Mann’s terrific soundtrack, which was also nominated for an Oscar.
Punch-Drunk Love (2002): Anderson thought enough of his abilities and of Adam Sandler that he cast the oft-critically maligned comic actor in Sandler’s first dramatic role as a troubled soul who finds true love, gets mixed up in strange phone sex hotline trouble, and must overcome emotionally crippling family members and other hostile forces to win her affections.
There Will Be Blood (2007): The union of Anderson and Daniel Day-Lewis sprouts the expected results, with Day-Lewis earning his second Best Actor Oscar as miner turned rich oil man and force of nature Daniel Plainview in early 20th century Southern California in this mesmerizing film essay on capitalism, religion, and father-son relationships.
Written by Kyle Slagley
After waiting for three years, Mumford & Sons fans finally got a second round of the folk-rock-Americana that has carried the band to fame since Sigh No More was released in October 2009.
Babel, the album some listeners have been craving since before the boys performed at the Grammy Awards in 2011, was released on Tuesday. As expected, it contains heart-wrenching laments and instrumentals that sometimes sound like a runaway steam engine.
Although the musical formulas for both Sigh No More and Babel are fairly simple, the area where frontman Marcus Mumford really shines is in his lyrics. A close review of the text reveals references to Shakespeare, the Bible, and even Steinbeck while calling on the listener to maintain faith in ideals like love and redemption. Combine those themes with Mumford’s fiercely passionate vocals and the swelling instrumentals and it’s no wonder the group has exploded into multi-platinum territory in little more than three years.
Babel has been met with reviews on both sides of the spectrum. Those touting the success of the band’s second full-length album are clearly fans of the gritty formula that put Sigh No More at the top of half a dozen Billboard charts. The main criticism being that Babel’s sound does not deviate from Sigh No More at all. As far as I’m concerned, Mumford & Sons have a good thing going with a formula that clearly works; if it ain’t broken…
For those who logged on or ran out on Tuesday to snag a copy of Babel, it won’t be too long before we hear the familiar cry for more. Will Mumford really make us wait another three years? How will we manage? Rest assured there are other artists out there that can give listeners their folk fix in the meantime. Here are a few of my favorites to supplement your playlist.
Graceland by Paul Simon: Simon put this album out after spending a great deal of time in South Africa in the mid eighties. It’s a hodgepodge of musical styles, but the blend of South African mbaqanga on “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes” makes this track one of the best on the album.
Gord’s Gold by Gordon Lightfoot: No folk collection would be complete without at least one of Lightfoot’s albums. As a die-hard Lightfoot fan, I can say that Gord’s Gold is a good collection that showcases his talent as a songwriter and contains some of the lesser-known tracks like “Don Quixote” and “Carefree Highway” that happen to be my own favorites.
Fleet Foxes by Fleet Foxes: This is the first full-length album by the Seattle group and it contains some of the best baroque-folk I’ve heard. Fleet Foxes enjoyed local success around the Northwest but received quite a bit more acclaim in Europe than the U.S. I recommend them as one of the best indie-folk groups you’ve never heard.
Flaws by Bombay Bicycle Club: Lead singer Jack Steadman has a voice reminiscent of Iron & Wine as is evident on the first track, entitled “Rinse Me Down.” While Bombay sports a different tone than Marcus Mumford, it’s still a good choice for when a mellower sound is wanted.
Peaceful, The World Lays Me Down by Noah and the Whale: The best part about this English quintet is by far the feel-good tone. On this debut album, listeners get a chance to hear the uplifting nature of the band’s music. Interesting fact: Laura Marling, former girlfriend of Marcus Mumford, was a member of the band until 2008, when she left to pursue a solo career a few months after this album was released.
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