In 1912, Carl Laemmle, Sr. founded Universal Studios, which is currently the second oldest movie production company in continuous production today. In the early days of the motion picture industry, a person was in control of the studios (not a corporation). For about a decade, Universal was the largest studio, and because of shrewd investing, Laemmle financed the movies himself and not allowing the company to take on debt. Universal's main focus for the first number of years was mostly inexpensive melodramas, westerns, and serials. Erick von Stroheim was allowed to create lavish movie productions, and because Laemmle was financing it himself, Universal nearly bankrupted. They had to look at other markets and types of films. Irving Thalburg took care of most of the production for the company, but was lured away by Louis B. Mayer (of MGM) which made Universal a second-rate studio for years afterward. The two most successful hits for Universal's early days were "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1923) and "The Phantom of the Opera" (1925), both starring Lon Chaney. With the success of such dark content, Univeral first had its taste of being a successful horror studio.
In 1928, Carl Laemmle, Sr. gave control of universal to his son, Carl Laemmle, Jr. Carl Jr. loved macabre movies and it was just a matter of time before Universal made a real horror movie. In this time, "Showboat" (1929) and "All Quiet on the Western Front" (1930) were released.
Beginning in 1931, Universal under the leadership of Carl Laemmle, Jr. began a sub-genre series of horror movies called Universal Horror, all now regarded as all-time classics. The aspect that most notice is that they all had sequels, and soon had tie-ins (where the major characters had a movie together), and eventually spoofs. The first of these is "Dracula" (1931) with Bela Lugosi, and then with "Frankenstein" (1931) with Boris Karloff. In 1932, "The Mummy" was released. "The Invisible Man" was released the following year, starring Claude Rains. In 1941, "The Wolf Man" was released with Lon Chaney, Jr. The last of the great classic Universal Horror to be released was "Creature from the Black Lagoon" in 1954.
The flaws with these movies are the lack of creativity. What I mean is there are whole scenes where the dialogue is extremely similar. Whole scenes of dialogue from Dracula can be found very similar in The Mummy. Also, many of the actors are in several different movies. Such as Dwight Frye, who played as Renfield in Dracula, played as Fritz in Frankenstein; or Bela Lugosi who was Dracula, played as Ygor in later Frankenstein movies.
This month, I am planning to make Universal Horror posts with the five major themes of Universal Horror, and some of the sequels, spoofs, and crossovers that followed.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Chato's Land
In 1972, a movie called Chato's Land was released, written by Gerald Wilson, Directed by Michael Winner, and starring Charles Bronson and Jack Palance. This is in my opinion one of the most underrated westerns ever made.
Westerns of the time were gritty and violent, and few lines of dialogue. Most of the heroes were one step from being villains. This movie isn't far from that, but it takes things one step farther. In this movie, the Americans western drunks are the villains and the natives are the protagonists, even though the movie follows the drunks.
This movie starts out with a native (Bronson) called Chato who murders a sheriff out of self-defense in a saloon. He flees into the desert, and a posse is raised by an ex-Confederate soldier names Quincy (Palance) to hunt and kill the native. Chato leads the men deeper into Indian territory, and toys with his pursuers, slowing taking them out one at a time. As the chase goes on, the group begins to splinter. Quincy begins to start questioning why they are going after Chato, as does a few others, but the more powerful of the group are more ardent than ever to kill Chato. In the middle of the posse's splintering, they find Chato's woman and a few of the crazier men tape her and leave her for bait. Chato rescues her, then begins to kill off the rest of the men one by one, even the ones who wants to quit the chase.
This movie is unapologetic, as are most westerns of its type and time. It's far different than the John Wayne and Alan Ladd movies of twenty years earlier. It is full of character-driven story with the posse, and the slow disintegration of the cause which had rallied them. Bronson has the usual cool composure which adds to his mystery, but also to our hoping he succeeds in his revenge. But when Quincy begins questioning the purpose of the posse, then we feel the inevitable tug that a good Western gives: who do we cheer for? I highly recommend this movie if you can find it.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find a trailer, but I found a few scenes from the movie. The first one shown is the first in the movie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0eTRk7YYTI
Westerns of the time were gritty and violent, and few lines of dialogue. Most of the heroes were one step from being villains. This movie isn't far from that, but it takes things one step farther. In this movie, the Americans western drunks are the villains and the natives are the protagonists, even though the movie follows the drunks.
This movie starts out with a native (Bronson) called Chato who murders a sheriff out of self-defense in a saloon. He flees into the desert, and a posse is raised by an ex-Confederate soldier names Quincy (Palance) to hunt and kill the native. Chato leads the men deeper into Indian territory, and toys with his pursuers, slowing taking them out one at a time. As the chase goes on, the group begins to splinter. Quincy begins to start questioning why they are going after Chato, as does a few others, but the more powerful of the group are more ardent than ever to kill Chato. In the middle of the posse's splintering, they find Chato's woman and a few of the crazier men tape her and leave her for bait. Chato rescues her, then begins to kill off the rest of the men one by one, even the ones who wants to quit the chase.
This movie is unapologetic, as are most westerns of its type and time. It's far different than the John Wayne and Alan Ladd movies of twenty years earlier. It is full of character-driven story with the posse, and the slow disintegration of the cause which had rallied them. Bronson has the usual cool composure which adds to his mystery, but also to our hoping he succeeds in his revenge. But when Quincy begins questioning the purpose of the posse, then we feel the inevitable tug that a good Western gives: who do we cheer for? I highly recommend this movie if you can find it.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find a trailer, but I found a few scenes from the movie. The first one shown is the first in the movie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0eTRk7YYTI
Dead Calm
In 1989, a movie called Dead Calm was released, directed by Phillip Noyce, written by Terry Hayes (based on the novel by Charles Williams), and starring Sam Neill, Nicole Kidman, and Billy Zane. This is such an underrated movie that hearkens back to Hitchcock.
This movie is about a man and wife (Neill and Kidman) who lose their young son in a tragic car accident and decide to go sailing to recover from the emotional loss. John (played by Neill) is an ex-Navy man and his wife Rae (Kidman) was actually driving the car that killed their son. Very shortly into the movie, the two find an adrift schooner that does not answer any radio calls. A man (Hughie, played by Zane) rows to their boat from the schooner. He is a very strange man who at first seems to have a drive to get away from the schooner and everything on board. While Hughie sleeps, John decides to go aboard and see what happened. He finds a boat and an engine that are flooded and a scene of carnage. Hughie has killed his shipmates. When John returns to his boat, Hughie has escaped from his room and hijacks the boat, taking Rae and their dog with him. The movie continues to escalate until John is finally reunited with Rae, but is Hughie still there?
This movie screams Hitchcock like few since his time. It is a small cast (only three main actors) and it has the element of sexuality that is subtle yet obvious, in that no matter what Rae does, she is doing it to get back to John. This movie makes one look at Billy Zane in a totally different way. Yes, he is a jerk in Titanic, but he is a psychotic jerk in this movie. For this reason, I think he is amazing in this movie; you never really know what he’s up to or what he will do. The small scale of the movie is another high point. Since there are few actors, there is little to distract you from the story. You are very in tune with the characters and their feelings. In one way, this is a very character-driven story, but on the other hand, it is very much a thriller. I highly recommend this movie.
Here is a link to the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ew7fItO7P0
This movie is about a man and wife (Neill and Kidman) who lose their young son in a tragic car accident and decide to go sailing to recover from the emotional loss. John (played by Neill) is an ex-Navy man and his wife Rae (Kidman) was actually driving the car that killed their son. Very shortly into the movie, the two find an adrift schooner that does not answer any radio calls. A man (Hughie, played by Zane) rows to their boat from the schooner. He is a very strange man who at first seems to have a drive to get away from the schooner and everything on board. While Hughie sleeps, John decides to go aboard and see what happened. He finds a boat and an engine that are flooded and a scene of carnage. Hughie has killed his shipmates. When John returns to his boat, Hughie has escaped from his room and hijacks the boat, taking Rae and their dog with him. The movie continues to escalate until John is finally reunited with Rae, but is Hughie still there?
This movie screams Hitchcock like few since his time. It is a small cast (only three main actors) and it has the element of sexuality that is subtle yet obvious, in that no matter what Rae does, she is doing it to get back to John. This movie makes one look at Billy Zane in a totally different way. Yes, he is a jerk in Titanic, but he is a psychotic jerk in this movie. For this reason, I think he is amazing in this movie; you never really know what he’s up to or what he will do. The small scale of the movie is another high point. Since there are few actors, there is little to distract you from the story. You are very in tune with the characters and their feelings. In one way, this is a very character-driven story, but on the other hand, it is very much a thriller. I highly recommend this movie.
Here is a link to the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ew7fItO7P0
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Jaws Quadrilogy - Part 3D
After Jaws 2, one would assume that the sequels would stop. The second installment wasn't horrible (at least to me), but there was no way to recreate the feeling or suspense from the first. But it was attempted, and to some mild success. But then in someone's infinite wisdom, a third installment was mentioned. This one was written by Carl Gottlieb (of the first two), Michael Kane, and Richard Matheson, and directed by Joe Alves, and starring Dennis Quaid, Louis Gossett Jr, and a young Lea Thompson. This movie was released in 1983, and really, there's nothing nice I can say about this movie.
At the time of Jaws 3's release, the 3D movie boom fad was in full swing. Maybe someone decided it was a good idea to have a 3D shark coming at the audience. Or maybe someone thought it was a good idea to have a severed arm floating at the audience. Either way, there wasn't much thought involved in the plot.
Jaws 3 takes place in SeaWorld (home of marine mammals such as dolphins) and sea shows on skis. Trouble brews when a small Great White Shark strays into the park and begins creating havoc. The shark is caught and displayed, but dies in captivity. Soon, they have a bigger problem on their hands when the shark's mother (yes, you read that right) comes to destroy the killers of her child. As outlandish as that is, get this: the mother is 35 feet long. I can't even make this BS up!
This movie is full of cliches. There is a power-hungry boss who sends an adventure man to kill the large shark with his grenades. There are ecological debates throughout the movie. New cliches break forth in this movie in the hopes of scaring the audience rather than stick with science, such as chasing the skiers at breakneck speeds (a trait begun in the 2nd, but made somewhat believable, and filmed well too). But the worst part is the breaking with science. The first Jaws was all about the science - what's real is scarier than what's fiction. The second began to break from that, but was still mostly science-oriented. The third completely breaks from that just to create excitement and terror... instead only creating hilarity.
The acting is just as bad as anything else in this movie. The cast obviously knew it was starring in some major crap. Nothing of positive memories can be thought of with this movie. It is all about "ohh scary shark!" which takes away from any reality that there could've been.
A big change for the quadrilogy is that we are no longer on Amity Island. This entire movie takes place in SeaWorld. Also gone is Chief Brody, although you do see Martin Brody in the background in two scenes, since he is now working for SeaWorld. The story centers on the kids: Michael and Sean. Michael works for SeaWorld, and Sean comes to visit. Michael is the main one that has to deal with the shark (a theme for the next Jaws movie too). Sean has somehow developed a southern accent and looks like a cowboy; interesting for a guy who comes from Amity... where's the New England accent?
By far the worst part of this movie is the "special effects". Because this movie is meant to be in 3D, certain elements are not in the film, they are added. This makes them look like they are popping off the screen at the audience. The submersible, severed limbs, and sharks are usually what are in this category. But if you watch this movie in 2D, which is the only way it's available now, you will see how poor their techniques were. Because the stand out images are not included in the original film, but added for effect, sometimes, parts of them disappear! The bottom of the submersible disappears when it makes a turn. Also, when the shark is coming at the audience near the end, it isn't swimming: it's just getting closer. One could say it's coasting, but not even the mouth moves. It is so obviously not a real shark that it's painful to watch.
In my opinion, the third Jaws movie is not only the worst of the quadrilogy, but one of the worst blockbuster movies ever made. There really is nothing positive I can say about it, and even talking about it this much is making me ill. It is difficult for any film fan to watch because it's so bad. Good luck watching it. You might want some liquor first. At least then it'll be hilarious.
Here's the trailer, which shows nothing... thankfully:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=636cMq0PFT4
At the time of Jaws 3's release, the 3D movie boom fad was in full swing. Maybe someone decided it was a good idea to have a 3D shark coming at the audience. Or maybe someone thought it was a good idea to have a severed arm floating at the audience. Either way, there wasn't much thought involved in the plot.
Jaws 3 takes place in SeaWorld (home of marine mammals such as dolphins) and sea shows on skis. Trouble brews when a small Great White Shark strays into the park and begins creating havoc. The shark is caught and displayed, but dies in captivity. Soon, they have a bigger problem on their hands when the shark's mother (yes, you read that right) comes to destroy the killers of her child. As outlandish as that is, get this: the mother is 35 feet long. I can't even make this BS up!
This movie is full of cliches. There is a power-hungry boss who sends an adventure man to kill the large shark with his grenades. There are ecological debates throughout the movie. New cliches break forth in this movie in the hopes of scaring the audience rather than stick with science, such as chasing the skiers at breakneck speeds (a trait begun in the 2nd, but made somewhat believable, and filmed well too). But the worst part is the breaking with science. The first Jaws was all about the science - what's real is scarier than what's fiction. The second began to break from that, but was still mostly science-oriented. The third completely breaks from that just to create excitement and terror... instead only creating hilarity.
The acting is just as bad as anything else in this movie. The cast obviously knew it was starring in some major crap. Nothing of positive memories can be thought of with this movie. It is all about "ohh scary shark!" which takes away from any reality that there could've been.
A big change for the quadrilogy is that we are no longer on Amity Island. This entire movie takes place in SeaWorld. Also gone is Chief Brody, although you do see Martin Brody in the background in two scenes, since he is now working for SeaWorld. The story centers on the kids: Michael and Sean. Michael works for SeaWorld, and Sean comes to visit. Michael is the main one that has to deal with the shark (a theme for the next Jaws movie too). Sean has somehow developed a southern accent and looks like a cowboy; interesting for a guy who comes from Amity... where's the New England accent?
By far the worst part of this movie is the "special effects". Because this movie is meant to be in 3D, certain elements are not in the film, they are added. This makes them look like they are popping off the screen at the audience. The submersible, severed limbs, and sharks are usually what are in this category. But if you watch this movie in 2D, which is the only way it's available now, you will see how poor their techniques were. Because the stand out images are not included in the original film, but added for effect, sometimes, parts of them disappear! The bottom of the submersible disappears when it makes a turn. Also, when the shark is coming at the audience near the end, it isn't swimming: it's just getting closer. One could say it's coasting, but not even the mouth moves. It is so obviously not a real shark that it's painful to watch.
In my opinion, the third Jaws movie is not only the worst of the quadrilogy, but one of the worst blockbuster movies ever made. There really is nothing positive I can say about it, and even talking about it this much is making me ill. It is difficult for any film fan to watch because it's so bad. Good luck watching it. You might want some liquor first. At least then it'll be hilarious.
Here's the trailer, which shows nothing... thankfully:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=636cMq0PFT4
Greenberg
In 2010, Greenberg was released, written by Noah Baumbach (story by Baumbach and Jennifer Jason Leigh), directed by Noah Baumbach, and starring Ben Stiller, Rhys Ifans, Greta Gerwig, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. This is a very low key comedy that fits in with Baumbach's other works, and is highly recommended.
Following a nervous breakdown, Roger Greenberg (Ben Stiller) house sits for his brother's family. He is a very quirky guy. He writes letters of complaint to large companies, he doesn't drive (and he is in LA), he always seems on the edge of another mental collapse. While he is at the house, he begins to fall for the "maid/nanny" type lady Florence (Greta Gerwig). She finds him interesting, but wants to take things slow, which confuses Greenberg, but then again, so does everything. His opinions alienate most people he knows without understanding that. He gets back in contact with one of his old band mates Ivan (Rhys Ifans) who drives Greenberg where he needs to go sometimes, but obviously just tolerates Greenberg. His biggest personal flaw is not letting anyone inside to his inner self. He thinks he is by remembered mundane details from years earlier, and the self-centered talking, but really he just alienates everyone. The best quote (even though there are many) is: "A shrink said to me once that I have trouble living in the present, so I linger on the past because I felt like I never really lived it in the first place, you know?" Greenberg is a very flawed character, but very real too. Something about him draws Florence to him, but at the same time pushes her away. But that's how Greenberg is.
It's hard to really explain this movie to someone who has seen any Noah Baumbach movies. His movies are typically comedies, but the hilarity is so low key that many would miss it. There are moments that make you laugh out loud, but in any other movie, they wouldn't even elicit a chuckle. That's the genius of Baumbach. He creates an atmosphere that brings you into the movie and feel the flow of it. The hilarious in his movies are barely chuckles in others, but then again his movies are very down to earth and not outlandish in any way. There is realism in his movies. Greenberg is the perfect example of this. One can only get away with this in an independent movie, and Baumbach succeeds admirably.
I highly recommend this movie, but with all other Baumbach movies, you may go to a sad place and question yourself for awhile, but that's only because of the real quality of the movie. It almost makes you feel like a voyeur, it's so real. But you will be glad you watched when you are finished.
Here is a link to the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVcIUSpz2v0
PS- If you notice, this takes place in Los Angeles. Baumbach does not use the glamorous sites of LA, and instead used what the majority of LA looks like. I've been there several times, and I like that it (like the rest of the movie) is grounded in reality that there is nothing cleaned up for the film. Everything is just as it is (just like the themes of Baumbach's movies).
Following a nervous breakdown, Roger Greenberg (Ben Stiller) house sits for his brother's family. He is a very quirky guy. He writes letters of complaint to large companies, he doesn't drive (and he is in LA), he always seems on the edge of another mental collapse. While he is at the house, he begins to fall for the "maid/nanny" type lady Florence (Greta Gerwig). She finds him interesting, but wants to take things slow, which confuses Greenberg, but then again, so does everything. His opinions alienate most people he knows without understanding that. He gets back in contact with one of his old band mates Ivan (Rhys Ifans) who drives Greenberg where he needs to go sometimes, but obviously just tolerates Greenberg. His biggest personal flaw is not letting anyone inside to his inner self. He thinks he is by remembered mundane details from years earlier, and the self-centered talking, but really he just alienates everyone. The best quote (even though there are many) is: "A shrink said to me once that I have trouble living in the present, so I linger on the past because I felt like I never really lived it in the first place, you know?" Greenberg is a very flawed character, but very real too. Something about him draws Florence to him, but at the same time pushes her away. But that's how Greenberg is.
It's hard to really explain this movie to someone who has seen any Noah Baumbach movies. His movies are typically comedies, but the hilarity is so low key that many would miss it. There are moments that make you laugh out loud, but in any other movie, they wouldn't even elicit a chuckle. That's the genius of Baumbach. He creates an atmosphere that brings you into the movie and feel the flow of it. The hilarious in his movies are barely chuckles in others, but then again his movies are very down to earth and not outlandish in any way. There is realism in his movies. Greenberg is the perfect example of this. One can only get away with this in an independent movie, and Baumbach succeeds admirably.
I highly recommend this movie, but with all other Baumbach movies, you may go to a sad place and question yourself for awhile, but that's only because of the real quality of the movie. It almost makes you feel like a voyeur, it's so real. But you will be glad you watched when you are finished.
Here is a link to the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVcIUSpz2v0
PS- If you notice, this takes place in Los Angeles. Baumbach does not use the glamorous sites of LA, and instead used what the majority of LA looks like. I've been there several times, and I like that it (like the rest of the movie) is grounded in reality that there is nothing cleaned up for the film. Everything is just as it is (just like the themes of Baumbach's movies).
Numb
In 2007, a movie called Numb was released, written and directed by Harris Goldberg, and starring Matthew Perry, Kevin Pollak, and Mary Steenburgen. This is a fascinating movie, and one with a formula I shouldn't have liked, but I very much did.
Numb is about a screenwriter (Matthew Perry) who has Acute Dispersonalization Disorder. This means that what he feels doesn't feel real to him. He is easily overwhelmed by the world's mundane sights and occurrences and is prone to nervous bobbing of the legs. His writing partner (Kevin Pollak) doesn't take him very seriously, so he doesn't receive much support there. He begins to go on a search to make it go away. In the process, he visits therapist after therapist (and even having an affair with one), he goes through experiences that he would never have done on his own, and he meets the girl of his dreams, which only makes him try harder.
It is true that this is a romantic comedy, but it is made so well, that one can forget that's what it is. The comedy in this movie is very subtle at times, which I think works perfectly since Matthew Perry is also being very subtle. His acting is almost like what Brent Spiner had to do for Star Trek. There are some great scenes where he is making out or having sex with women, but he is just looking around the room, obviously bored. The only person that doesn't happen with is the character Sara, who brings out his nervous side. He doesn't want to tell her about his disorder, so he comes across as just odd for awhile. Then when he does tell her, she goes on a crusade with him to help get him treatments. Naturally, they split up, which sends Perry into a crusade to make the disorder go away.
This is very much a comedy. In fact, this movie is quite hilarious at times. There are some achingly poignant moments too. Perry's biggest fear is the death of his father. He won't even say the word 'death' because he is afraid that it might kill his father. A therapist (that's he's sleeping with) finally gets him to say the word death, and when nothing happened, he is relieved, until shortly afterward, he learns that his dad did die. He realizes his biggest enemy is this disorder, so his crusade takes him into a study about the disorder, hoping to meet others and discuss what it's like to suffer from it. It turns out that he is the only subject and the study only reveals that he is indeed suffering from the disorder, which he knew before he started. Mary Steenburgen is by far one the funniest characters in the movie, even though you don't see much of her. Also, Kevin Pollak was great. Of course, Perry was perfect in this role.
In the end, Perry learns that in order to move on with life, he must accept the disorder as it is, and move on. He must learn to live with it since it won't go away. One just has to do the best they can with what they have. It ends happily, but it doesn't end with the normal kissing embrace. Instead, it ends similar to Sideways: you somewhat know, but since you aren't really shown, you can imply your own ending. Very well done. I highly recommend this movie.
Here is a link to the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQiNBfgBvoY
Numb is about a screenwriter (Matthew Perry) who has Acute Dispersonalization Disorder. This means that what he feels doesn't feel real to him. He is easily overwhelmed by the world's mundane sights and occurrences and is prone to nervous bobbing of the legs. His writing partner (Kevin Pollak) doesn't take him very seriously, so he doesn't receive much support there. He begins to go on a search to make it go away. In the process, he visits therapist after therapist (and even having an affair with one), he goes through experiences that he would never have done on his own, and he meets the girl of his dreams, which only makes him try harder.
It is true that this is a romantic comedy, but it is made so well, that one can forget that's what it is. The comedy in this movie is very subtle at times, which I think works perfectly since Matthew Perry is also being very subtle. His acting is almost like what Brent Spiner had to do for Star Trek. There are some great scenes where he is making out or having sex with women, but he is just looking around the room, obviously bored. The only person that doesn't happen with is the character Sara, who brings out his nervous side. He doesn't want to tell her about his disorder, so he comes across as just odd for awhile. Then when he does tell her, she goes on a crusade with him to help get him treatments. Naturally, they split up, which sends Perry into a crusade to make the disorder go away.
This is very much a comedy. In fact, this movie is quite hilarious at times. There are some achingly poignant moments too. Perry's biggest fear is the death of his father. He won't even say the word 'death' because he is afraid that it might kill his father. A therapist (that's he's sleeping with) finally gets him to say the word death, and when nothing happened, he is relieved, until shortly afterward, he learns that his dad did die. He realizes his biggest enemy is this disorder, so his crusade takes him into a study about the disorder, hoping to meet others and discuss what it's like to suffer from it. It turns out that he is the only subject and the study only reveals that he is indeed suffering from the disorder, which he knew before he started. Mary Steenburgen is by far one the funniest characters in the movie, even though you don't see much of her. Also, Kevin Pollak was great. Of course, Perry was perfect in this role.
In the end, Perry learns that in order to move on with life, he must accept the disorder as it is, and move on. He must learn to live with it since it won't go away. One just has to do the best they can with what they have. It ends happily, but it doesn't end with the normal kissing embrace. Instead, it ends similar to Sideways: you somewhat know, but since you aren't really shown, you can imply your own ending. Very well done. I highly recommend this movie.
Here is a link to the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQiNBfgBvoY
Friday, July 16, 2010
Pretty Bird
In 2008, Pretty Bird was released, written by Zene Baker and Paul Schneider, directed by Paul Schneider, and starring Paul Giamatti and Billy Crudup. This a great dark comedy, showing independent filmmaking in a great way.
This movie is about Curtis (Billy Crudup)who decides he wants to make a rocket belt (the personal rocket that was used in the beginning of Thunderball, if anyone remembers). He is a slick-talking business man who convinces his childhood friend Kenny to help finance the endeavor. They need a rocket scientist so they enlist Rick (Paul Giamatti) to build the belt. Tensions are always high as Kenny will believe anything Curtis says, and Rick is as paranoid and pessimistic as anyone can get. Rick feels left out of all the decisions and since he had been recently screwed over by his last job, he wants partial ownership since he built the rocket belt. While Curtis tries to find financial support, he starts to ostracize Kenny and Rick. Kenny's money runs out as he is forced to close his mattress store, and it seems the partnership is over. Then Curtis hides the rocket belt. Things start to get ugly as no one knows what anyone else is doing or what's going on. Rick abducts Curtis and holds him in a box for 8 days trying to find out what Curtis did with the rocket belt. Curtis escapes, and the movie ends without any resolution of where the rocket belt is or what's happened to everyone.
The dark humor involved is hysterical. Paul Giamatti is at his best playing dark brooding characters, which is exactly what Rick is. Also, he has a sex scene, which is like watching a train wreck (obviously on purpose). The dealings between 3 completely different personalities are fascinating to watch. You know these people won't get along, but you keep watching and wondering how they will dissolve.
I highly recommend this movie to anyone who likes movies that are a little off kilter. It is independent, dark, funny, and at the end of it, makes you want to start it over.
Here is a link to the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_FvxWAWqA4
This movie is about Curtis (Billy Crudup)who decides he wants to make a rocket belt (the personal rocket that was used in the beginning of Thunderball, if anyone remembers). He is a slick-talking business man who convinces his childhood friend Kenny to help finance the endeavor. They need a rocket scientist so they enlist Rick (Paul Giamatti) to build the belt. Tensions are always high as Kenny will believe anything Curtis says, and Rick is as paranoid and pessimistic as anyone can get. Rick feels left out of all the decisions and since he had been recently screwed over by his last job, he wants partial ownership since he built the rocket belt. While Curtis tries to find financial support, he starts to ostracize Kenny and Rick. Kenny's money runs out as he is forced to close his mattress store, and it seems the partnership is over. Then Curtis hides the rocket belt. Things start to get ugly as no one knows what anyone else is doing or what's going on. Rick abducts Curtis and holds him in a box for 8 days trying to find out what Curtis did with the rocket belt. Curtis escapes, and the movie ends without any resolution of where the rocket belt is or what's happened to everyone.
The dark humor involved is hysterical. Paul Giamatti is at his best playing dark brooding characters, which is exactly what Rick is. Also, he has a sex scene, which is like watching a train wreck (obviously on purpose). The dealings between 3 completely different personalities are fascinating to watch. You know these people won't get along, but you keep watching and wondering how they will dissolve.
I highly recommend this movie to anyone who likes movies that are a little off kilter. It is independent, dark, funny, and at the end of it, makes you want to start it over.
Here is a link to the trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_FvxWAWqA4
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)