Written and Directed by: Neil Burger
Starring: Edward Norton, Jessica Biel, Paul Giamatti, Rufus Sewel
Rated: PG-13 for some sexuality and violence.
Parental Notes: Fine for teens and most preteens; neither the violence nor the sexuality is very graphic.
"The Illusionist" is a masterful blending of familiar themes -- the love triangle, the mystery, the peasant boy in love with a princess, and several others. It is a period piece, set in turn-of-the-century Vienna, and although it has moments where its modern origins peer through, it creates a lovely illusion of historicity. The rich costumes and sets are beautifully filmed, and those looking for a period romance with some supernatural mysteries thrown in for seasoning will not be disappointed.
The hero of the film is Eisenheim the Illusionist (Edward Norton, "The Italian Job"). He left his childhood home as the son of a woodworker and traveled the world, learning to create amazing illusions. As an adult, he arrives in Vienna and creates a huge sensation with his stage performances. Skeptical Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewel, "Tristan + Isolde") becomes determined to expose him as a fraud, and sets Chief Inspector Uhl (Paul Giamatti, "Lady in the Water") on the case. When Leopold himself attends a performance with his fiancee Sophie (Jessica Biel, "Elizabethtown") in tow, Sophie and Eisenheim realize that they know each other -- as youngsters they were in love and planned to run off together before Sophie's attendants foiled their plan and dragged her back to her life as a countess. Sophie and Eisenheim decide to escape together again, but now a more formidable obstacle stands in their way than her attendants: Leopold, who is violent, cruel, and prone to rages. It seems impossible that they could escape Leopold's clutches, but when one is an illusionist by trade, nothing is what it seems.
Norton, Giamatti, and Sewel are immensely talented actors, and bringing them into a fairly straightforward and ultimately lightweight film like this is almost overkill. However, their performances are modulated to the tone of the script, and lift it away from its occasionally pedestrian plotting and up into a more serious realm. Norton's expression never betrays whether Eisenheim really is able to perform miracles or is merely a trickster; we have to figure that out for ourselves. Sewel is horrifyingly effective and keeps Leopold from being a mere melodrama villain by turning him into something more frightening: a real person. Giamatti makes Uhl believable as well: a mere butcher's son who has risen to associate with royalty through being a very good policeman, and who never forgets his place. Biel's character is a bit on the modern side, but Biel brings a grace to her that helps us believe Sophie is truly a rebellious young noblewoman and not just a modern gal in fancy clothes.
The magic in the film is mostly created with Hollywood FX rather than with old-fashioned illusionist tricks, but most of it is breathtaking. Eisenheim creates walking ghosts, growing trees, magically suspended fruit, even an immovable sword, all with a few gestures and a look of focus. It's something sure to bring a smile to the face of any fan of movie magic. The sets and costumes are equally lovely, full of rich textures and deep colors. The buildings look as though they've been standing for centuries, and the clothes -- especially some of Sophie's -- are stunning.
"The Illusionist" is a solid period film suitable for those who are willing to overlook occasional modern touches in favor of enjoying the magic of cinema. This is a movie for those who love to be swept up in illusions -- the illusions of stage magic, of movies, of love.
Directed by: David R. Ellis
Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Julianna Margulies, Nathan Phillips
Rated: R for language, a scene of sexuality and drug use, and intense sequences of terror and violence.
Parental Notes: This is a fine movie for teens and mature preteens, provided they can handle aggressive snakes and people dying somewhat gruesomely from snakebite. It's not a good movie for youngsters.
"Snakes on a Plane" is widely considered the most anticipated move of 2006. It started as a bad light horror movie but captured the attention of internet denizens with its cheesy title and its star: Samuel L. Jackson, a cult favorite. After months of fan hype, ranging from fan tshirts to fan videos, the film has been hyped almost beyond belief. Fortunately, it was being hyped as a laughably bad film, and it certainly does not disappoint. It provides just what you're expecting: snakes on a plane and plenty of them.
The plot is ludicrous, of course, and revolves around a nasty crime boss trying to kill a potential witness against him by releasing hundreds of poisonous snakes on the airplane flying the witness from Hawaii to Los Angeles. The snakes, which would normally be pretty peaceful, are incited to violence by pheremones sprayed onto the leis the passengers are given as they board the plane. Once the plane reaches 20,000 feet, a timer is set off, opening the crate of snakes. Soon the snakes are slithering their way around the plane, wreaking havoc both by shorting out wiring in the plane itself and by getting into the passenger compartment and going after the people.
Our hero is FBI Agent Flynn (Jackson), and it's his job "to handle life and death situations on a daily basis." An airplane being overrun by snakes isn't exactly a scenario the FBI envisioned, so he has to improvise, with the help of plucky flight attendant Claire (Julianna Margulies, "Slingshot") and witness-to-be Sean (Nathan Phillips, "Wolf Creek"). He uses everything from a stun gun to a makeshift flamethrower to a crossbow to kill the snakes, and looks darn serious while doing it. Anybody who's seen interviews with Jackson knows that he had a blast making the film and signed on because of the name alone. He may be a very talented actor, but he sure enjoys working on a stupid flick once in a while.
One thing that slightly dampened my enthusiasm is that "Snakes on a Plane" is, at its heart, a horror movie. I tend to prefer action flick B-movie hilarity like "National Treasure." "Snakes on a Plane" was souped up in reshoots to get an R rating, and there's plenty of standard horror movie fare: a gratuitous sex scene, improbable physical reactions to snake venom (who knew it could make your eyes boil out of your head?), and a fair amount of gruesome makeup for the dead as their bodies are distorted by the reaction to snakebites. Heck, the snakes aren't responsible for all the onscreen death -- there are several deaths by accidental impalement and early in the film a man is beaten to death with a baseball bat. However, since the film was initially aimed to get a PG-13 rating, most of the gore is short-lived on screen, so those who are looking for a splatterfest will be disappointed. Those who don't like that sort of thing may find themselves watching parts of the movie from behind their hands.
"Snakes on a Plane" has all the makings of a cult favorite. Opening night was a circus, by all accounts. People dressed up, brought snakes (real and rubber), had puppets, and all the fannish mayhem you might expect. It was the top grossing film for the weekend, making over a million dollars on Thursday alone (at sneak previews and midnight showings). This is the perfect film to see late at night with a bunch of your friends. One thing to watch out for as time passes, though, is people watching the film in a serious frame of mind. My laughing friends and I were actually shushed and informed in shocked tones that "it's not funny!" at a Saturday evening showing. Fortunately, the rest of the theater was just as cracked up as we were, and eventually the sourpusses started laughing at this utterly ludicrous film nearly as much as we did. It's a good thing, too, because as a horror movie, it's pretty much a failure. But as an object of mockery and a general spoof, it's a lot of fun.
Directed by: Jim Sonzero
Starring: Kristen Bell, Ian Somerhalder, Christina Milian, Rick Gonzalez, Jonathan Tucker,
Rated: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi terror, disturbing images, language, sensuality and thematic material.
Parental Notes: This is probably too spooky a film for youngsters, but teens and mature preteens will likely get a kick out of it if they like scary movies.
There's been quite a spate of Hollywood remakes of Japanese horror films in recent years, and "Pulse" is the latest in the string. There are a number of stylistic and plot differences between the two films, but the new "Pulse" is a fairly decent horror movie, and those who like the fashion of altering Japanese storylines to suit American sensibilities will likely enjoy it.
The Japanese film "Kairo" (translated for English-language release as "The Circuit" or "Pulse"), was written and directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa and released in 2001. It is a thoroughly atmospheric film with no violence or sex, and very few "boo!" moments to make you jump in your seat. Rather than gore or startlingness it offers an increasing sense of dread.
The film follows a group of coworkers and friends who investigate when one of the group kills himself. They discover a website their friend visited which asks if they want to meat a ghost, and shows eerie footage of people alone in their rooms. Meanwhile, an economics student overcomes his dislike of computers enough to get online -- only to be led to the same website. He investigates, with the help of a female computer science student.
As the film progresses, it becomes clear that ghosts are entering the realm of the living and somehow causing people to lose their will to live. Humans who encounter ghosts either kill themselves or gradually fade away into nothingness, leaving only a dark smear where they were sitting. However, the faded humans somehow are still there, enough so that they can beg for help in eerie whispers. Some humans begin to seal rooms off with red construction tape, although the purpose of this is never thoroughly explained.
"Kairo" is a fascinating film which leaves a great deal up to the viewer; very little is explained definitively, and a quick look around online will find a number of message boards with people discussing the meaning of various bits of symbolism from it. "Pulse," on the other hand, explains a great deal which is at once a benefit and a problem.
In "Pulse," the group of people investigating their friend's suicide are students at a university. The heroine, Mattie (Kristen Bell, TV's "Veronica Mars"), is a psychology student whose boyfriend Josh (Jonathan Tucker, "Hostage") is the initial suicide. As she and her friends investigate they discover that the ghostly creatures are spreading via wireless tools like cellphones and computers. Anything that can receive a wireless computer signal can be a portal for them. They discover Josh was working on a computer virus to stop them, and they must find a way to implement it.
The ghostly beings' abilities and how the red tape affects them are both explained, but not with much clarity (and in one notable occasion the heroine, knowing those abilities, acts with such utter stupidity that one has to wonder about her ability to handle a psych degree). What exactly the beings are isn't properly explained, nor is their nature: at one point they are described as stealing the will to live from living humans because they lack it themselves, but then later they are described as having a will to live of their own. Furthermore, one of their victims fades away while screaming that he doesn't want to die -- that sounds like the will to live to me.
For this reviewer, no explanation is better than an unclear one, and in that respect "Kairo" is superior to "Pulse." The other differences are largely those where your personal taste will dictate which you prefer. "Kairo" is atmospheric and eerie rather than actively frightening, while "Pulse" has plenty of scenes with people being attacked by the ghostly beings and fighting with them. "Kairo" has a very unclear ending, while "Pulse" ends with a voice over explaining things. Both films hold the theme of the ability our communications technology has to isolate us firmly in the forefront, but "Kairo" does so a bit more subtly than "Pulse."
Taken on its own merits, "Pulse" is a fairly decent PG-13 horror movie. It isn't great, but it isn't awful. If you like the idea of the story but prefer a more atmospheric film with less explanation or conclusion, find "Kairo." It's out on DVD in the US and readily available via Netflix.
Written and Directed by: Kevin Smith
Starring: Brian O'Halloran, Jeff Anderson, Rosario Dawson, Jason Mewes, Kevin Smith, Trevor Fehrman, Jennifer Schwalbach Smith
Rated: Rated R for pervasive sexual and crude content including aberrant sexuality, strong language and some drug material.
Parental Notes: This is not a kids movie. Sure, Kevin Smith is a funny guy, but this takes the vulgarity of the original “Clerks” and pushes it to the next level. There's discussion of various outrageous sex acts and a scene including bestiality. Mature teens can probably handle it, but this is a movie for grownups.
Just because they serve you, the first movie informed us, doesn't mean they like you. Randal (Jeff Anderson) and Dante (Brian O'Halloran) are back in “Clerks II,” but as the film opens the Quick Stop and RST Video store building where they work is destroyed. Cut to a year later: they're working at the fast food place Mooby's, and it's Randal's last day. He's become engaged to Emma (Jennifer Schwalbach Smith) and is moving with her down to Florida, leaving New Jersey and his old gang behind. “Clerks II” is the chronicle of that day and evening -- much in the style of the first film.
There are a lot of things that could be said about the plot of the film, but you generally don't go see a Kevin Smith movie for the plot. You go for the eccentric characters, the vulgar and hilarious dialog, and the delightful pop culture savvy. Those are all thankfully well-represented here, although a sheen of Hollywood polish has rubbed off on Smith in spite of his best efforts.
Randal and Dante are pretty much exactly as we left them at the end of the last movie, only now they're in their early thirties. Randal is gleefully disgusting and aggravating, whether he's insulting and hassling a "Lord of the Rings" to the point where the poor fellow vomits or scheduling a donkey show as a going-away present for Dante. Dante is still talking about starting the rest of his life and really doing something with himself -- but he's still shooting himself in the proverbial foot.
Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Kevin Smith) are still hanging out in front of Randal and Dante's work, killing time and selling weed. Only now they're clean and have found religion, courtesy of a six-month stint in rehab. Jay, true to form, is at once hysterically funny and somewhat disturbing -- for example, we get to see him perform a spot-on re-enactment of the scene from "Silence of the Lambs" when Buffalo Bill is preening in front of the mirror. Silent Bob... well, he's Silent Bob. Smith's timing is perfect, as usual, and he's the perfect straight man for his motor mouthed friend.
The new characters are classic Smith. Twitchy and naive Elias (Trevor Fehrman, "Cheats") works with Dante and Randal, and is the constant butt of the latter's jokes. He's a fan of "Lord of the Rings" and "Transformers," as well as a devout Christian. He's a sweet guy, but unbelievably sheltered, and it's hysterical to watch him try to cope with Randal's incredibly foul nature. Becky (Rosario Dawson) is the manager at Mooby's. She isn't intimidated by Randal's bluster, is fond of Elias, and has become very close friends with Dante. Emma isn't terribly interesting, but then, she isn't supposed to be. She's essentially a plot device, a catalyst for Dante to get his life together.
"Clerks II" is not a movie for everyone. It's gleefully vulgar, unapologetically crude, and packed to the brim with material sure to offend. Fans of Kevin Smith will want to see it, and while they may be annoyed by the polish experience and Hollywood time have brought to Smith's work, they will likely enjoy seeing their old friends in action again. I certainly enjoyed it far more than I expected to, and I'm already fond of Smith's work.