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Archives for March 2012

Once Upon a Time starring Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Lana Parrilla & Robert Carlyle

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Once Upon a Time. Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White. Image via fanbolt.com.

 

The problem with fairy tales is that they are all too mushy, cheesy and mostly have very happy endings.

The problem with real life is that it is depressing, complicated and happy endings are rare to come by.

What if we could bring these two worlds together? We would get reality vs. optimism, heroes vs.  villains vs. ordinary people, reality vs. magic….Things would get very interesting.

And here comes in the premise of Once Upon a Time, the entertaining and imaginative show that has the fairy tale characters imprisoned in our world, with no memory of they were/are fairy tale characters- all because the evil queen, Snow White (Ginnifer Goodwin)’s stepmother (Lana Parrilla) was jealous of her happiness with Prince Charming (Josh Dallas). She seems to be the only one who remembers her past in a town (called Storybrooke) where no one seems to be able to leave and no one new is able to arrive. She is the major of this town, living with her adopted boy Henry, perfectly happy with being in full control.

Snow White is Mary Margaret working as a school teacher.

Prince Charming is John Doe, lying in a coma in the hospital

Red Riding Hood (Meghan Ory) is Ruby, running a motel and a café with her grandmother.

Rumpelstiltskin is Mr. Gold (Robert Carlyle), the owner of the pawnshop and is as powerful as the mayor, to her resentment.

The queen’s powerful curse is working, but has an unforeseen glitch. When Henry’s school teacher, Mary Margaret gave him a story book, Henry figured out what was going on. He realized that his biological mother is Snow White and Charming’s daughter Emma (Jennifer Morrison), who they managed to save right before the queen activated the curse.

But Emma is living in the real world as a bounty hunter, and the last thing she expects is a son-especially one with such a high imagination. Nevertheless, she decides to take him home. Once there, even though she doesn’t buy into Henry’s fairy tale theory, she doesn’t like how manipulative and controlling the mayor is. So she decides to stick around only for a little while…

But then her resentment for the mayor grows and so does her love for Henry. She makes friends with Mary Margaret and starts to work as sheriff (Jamie Dornan) ’s deputy.

*

More episodes concentrate on the background of Snow White and/or Prince Charming, and we do get to know about different characters too. Who/how they were in the fairy land, and who they are now. Henry is happy that his mother is around he is sure things will turn out and people will get their memories eventually….which of course the mayor will do everything in her power to prevent.

*

Once Upon a Time is the perfect combination of reality and fantasy and romance and drama. It has its funny and action moments too. My favorite bits are the cast, the fairy tale costume design and Emma’s cynicism and rebellion that usually contradict everybody else’s. There is also the added bonus that some characters’ fairy tale characters/backgrounds aren’t revealed from the start. The 15th episode airs this Sunday.

Although I have to say I don’t really care for the episodes involving Cinderella and Archie-and I am not a big fan of Henry.

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House of Sand and Fog starring Jennifer Connelly & Ben Kingsley: Bad Things Happen to Stupid People

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House of Sand and Fog starring Jennifer Connelly & Ben Kingsley
House of Sand and Fog starring Jennifer Connelly & Ben Kingsley. Image via moviegoods.com

I really wanted to like this movie. I did. I was ready to and I guess I’d have if it hadn’t lasted 126 minutes (whose 26 minutes or more consist about characters being extra stupid and shots being extra slow- making the audience lose any ounce of sympathy we might have built). It is not all bad, but with its premise and actors, it should/could have been so much more.

Let’s go over the premise first and then we will get into the flaws…. Oops. I meant the details.

Bad Things Do Happen to Stupid People

Kathy (Jennifer Connelly) is a “former” alcoholic who was dumped by her husband 6 months ago and works as a cleaning lady. She’s depressed, and not very close to her family (as in her mother doesn’t know about the husband leaving) and is not paying attention to the “mundane” details of everyday life- such as reading her mail.

So she is shocked to find out that the government is evicting her from her house because of  $500 worth of unpaid business taxes. Of course she doesn’t own a business, but the she is evicted regardless. The only person who is remotely helpful is the deputy sheriff Lester (Ron Eldard). He helps her move her stuff out, and tells her where she can get legal assistance.

Her legal advisor Connie (Frances Fisher) tries her best to solve things soon, but things get complicated when former Iranian soldier Behrani (Ben Kingsley) wants to relive his glory days in America and he is sick of doing hard labor to get there. When he realizes he has enough money to buy Kathy’s house at an auction at less than half its price, he jumps at it. He moves there with his wife (Shohreh Aghdashloo) and son.

Kathy’s life of course soon spirals out of control as she doesn’t have enough money to pay the motel bill and sees that her house has now new residents- but their family “leader” Behrani has no intention of showing this girl any understanding.

He plans to renovate the house cheaply and then sell it with lots of profit. Kathy’s only “friend” Lester helps her with her residence issues, but he is not exactly a model citizen in letting Kathy drink again- as well as leaving his family behind to be with her.

As things get more personal and complicated for Kathy and Lester, Behrani doesn’t notice how far things will go for all of them….

*

So why is it disappointing?

Don’t come criticizing me for being too easy on “mediocre” movies (to most people “mediocre” is either mindless action or romantic comedies) and being too hard on “artistic” efforts like this one.

I am ready to be fond of “less” artistic movies for the sake of entertainment. It is their job to entertain. They may not always leak with genius, but if they make sure we have fun, then all is well at my end.

But you see, when you put Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley together, adapt a novel with a very humane story and get three Oscar nominations, I really expect to feel some things other than depression, contempt (for the characters) and boredom.

I expect to find at least one character who gets something right- and I expect that to be one of the main characters-not the lawyer of the girl who has about 10 minutes of screen time.

Why the contempt for characters? Well- let’s start (yes, there are spoilers!):

Kathy (Jennifer Connelly):

–          She is so not connected with her family that her mother doesn’t know her husband left. 6 months ago!

–          She is so out-of-it, she hasn’t read her mail. In months.

–          As unbearable as your mother is, surely she is better than being evicted, sleeping with a married man, starting drinking again, harassing the not-so-understanding owner of the new house, getting all suicidal….yes, her list continues. Frankly I’d listen to a mother lecturing me instead of all that.

–          She doesn’t try to get a better job, therapy or…anything. And this woman has no friends? Seriously? Nada?

Behrani (Ben Kingsley):

–          So he is basically a bastard for the 98 % of the movie- not listening to his wife or son, not being understanding to Kathy, hitting his wife once and filling in his son’s head with utter crap. It is more important to impress his daughter’s stuck-up in-laws than to help someone. Oh, then he goes all saint-like when the girl attempts suicide. Lovely. Believable. Right….

The Wife (Shohreh Aghdashloo):

–          It is a great idea to run a hot bath to a girl who has just attempted suicide where she could drown herself and leave her alone in the bathroom. No, she doesn’t try to drown herself. Why should she when she can access the woman’s pills?

–          I am not even going to question her taste in men- I am guessing she didn’t really have much choice.

The Son:

–          Goes from the voice of reason to the stupidest character in the history of film. Wonderful character development, wouldn’t you say?

 

Lester (Ron Eldard):

–          He comes on to a girl when she is at her most vulnerable (and who wasn’t thinking straight before that), encourages her to drink again, leaves his family to be with her but leaves her alone in a country house because his wife is causing scenes, abuses his job to threaten Behrani, shows up at their house to save Kathy, doesn’t listen to Kathy when she is ready to move on…If Kathy’s IQ is well under 90, his is probably lower than 70. 70 was Forrest Gump’s.

 

*

Final Notes

So when you have so many characters acting like idiots, it is hard to feel or root for them. It  doesn’t earn any points for the director that he added tragedy for tragedy’s sake.

Adapted from the book of Andre Dubus III by Vadim Perelman and Shawn Lawrence Otto. Directed by Vadim Perelman.

I don’t really have anything against the Oscar nominations of the film though. They were for Ben Kingsley’s acting (Best Actor), Shohreh Aghdashloo’s acting (Best Supporting Actress) and James Horner’s music. The acting was solid, so was the music. Too bad the characters and editing weren’t.  And does Jennifer Connelly have to take her clothes off in every movie? Yes, she is a great actress and she happens to be gorgeous. So what?

 

*

Also on Jennifer Connelly:

A Beautiful Mind starring Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly & Paul Bettany

Coming Soon:The Dilemma starring Vince Vaughn, Jennifer Connelly, Kevin James, Winona Ryder and Channing Tatum

Jennifer Connelly Trivia: 14 Facts About Actress Jennifer Connelly

Dark City

Requiem for a Dream

He is just not that into you

Of Love and Shadows

6 Hollywood Couples: Gorgeous, Glamorous and Happy Together

Also on Ben Kingsley:

The Last Legion starring Colin Firth & Ben Kingsley


 

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Columbus Circle starring Selma Blair, Amy Smart, Jason Lee, Beau Bridges & Giovanni Ribisi

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Columbus Circle Movie Poster from left: Giovanni Ribisi, Selma Blair, Jason Lee, Amy Smart & Kevin Pollak.

Plot

Formerly abused wealthy heiress Abigail Clayton (Selma Blair) has been living in her loft, refusing to leave her apartment. The concierge Klandermann (Kevin Pollak) runs all her errands, making her agoraphobic existence possible. Her only visitor is the family friend Raymond (Beau Bridges), the only person she trusts.

Her peaceful and structured existence is disrupted when her elderly next-door neighbor is killed and the young couple, Lillian (Amy Smart) & Charles (Jason Lee) move in. Things get complicated for Abigail when she witnesses Charles being violent, which bring back her own memories. She helps out by letting her in, but unfortunately Lillian is not the innocent abuse victim she is pretending to be. And Lilian may actually be the only person Charles is not ready to hurt…

It seems that all the characters have a secret, apart from the cop (Giovanni Ribisi) determined to solve the case. Can he solve it in time before things get out of hand for everyone?

*

Fun Level: Mediocre

Columbus Circle is -on paper- a good idea. A good cast, a good premise. Unfortunately it has severe editing and directing problems which stalls a lot, as well as making its twists way too obvious. The first important “twist” is already given in the trailer, and what you don’t know, you guess at the spot.

Despite the expected turns, it could be fun, except it is astounding how stupid the villains can be. You’d think someone attempting a con of millions of dollars would use their brains better. And of course there is the ending – which could have been a lot better if it was a little more difficult for a certain character, and a little less ridiculous for our villains.

Better with Multi-Tasking

It is all in the name of good fun, and it is certainly not the most boring film out there. But if you want to get the best value for your time, you might want to multi-task and not give the movie your full attention. You don’t need to.

Written by Kevin Pollak and George Gallo. Directed by George Gallo.

 

 

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Never Let Me Go starring Carey Mulligan, Andrew Garfield & Keira Knightley

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Never Let Me Go starring Andrew Garfield, Carey Mulligan & Keira Knightley.

 

Never Let Me Plot  (with minor spoilers)

It is the late 70s. Kathy (Carey Mulligan), Ruth (Keira Knightley) and Tommy (Andrew Garfield) go to a strict English boarding school where they are not allowed to go outside the school perimeters and their health is observed with suspicious scrutiny.

As one teacher points it out, these are not regular children. They are clones who were created so that they would grow up to be organ donors. And it is not just one time, one organ. Their “mission” will be to donate as much as their body allows. Most die during their second or third time. And dying is the ultimate accomplishment, the fulfillment of their purpose.

These clones, apart from the restricted upbringing, are pretty much like other children. They learn about subjects, play in the schoolyard, make friends and even fall in love. But by the time they are allowed outside contact, they wouldn’t know how to exist in a world outside the one created for them.

As they grow up, Ruth hooks up with Tommy, who shares a much more intense and emotional bond with Kathy. Feeling excluded, Kathy decides to become a “carer” – a clone who takes of other donors until they “complete the mission”. While this gives the carer more freedom and a couple of more extra years, they are all eventually called upon their “duty”. Will Tommy and Kathy be able to reconnect before this happens?

***

Any Good?

Never Let Me Go is a drama with sci-fi elements. Based on the book of Kazuo Ishiguro, and written for the screen by Alex Garland, it is a very emotionally gripping, morally disturbing and ultimately a depressing film. It is currently rated at 7.2, and while the acting deserves a higher rating, the story does not.

Major Spoilers:

( I won’t give away the ending, but a crucial element in the story. Of course, if you read the book, feel free to read it. You already know.)

Many people liked this film, but one fundamental question separated the readers into two groups: the ones who understood why Kathy, Ruth and Tommy, or any other kid for the matter, never tried to run and the ones who thought it simply wasn’t possible that one kid or the other wouldn’t at least attempt to escape. I’m with the second group.

No matter how you brainwash or raise a group of people, not everyone will have the same reaction to events. And remember, these people weren’t tortured. They were told they were going to die. They were told other things were possible for other people. They were fed, and they were even allowed to watch TV. Hell, they even had access to porn magazines. Yet none of the kids tried to get violent. Or defensive. None of them tried to run. This is what makes the movie ultimately a very depressing experience. I am not saying we should have gotten a happy ending. Or even it should have been one of the three major characters that rebelled. I am simply saying that it was a disappointment for not seeing one irregular behavior.

The screenplay didn’t stray from the original material, so the book doesn’t include any escape attempts either. And while the plot affected me deeply, something in the core felt missing.

**

Should you see it? – No Spoilers

Yes, but just prepare yourself for a highly emotional and sad ride. And feel ready to feel indignant and angry on the behalf of characters.

My rating: 7/10 for the overall movie,

8/10 for the acting.

More on Keira Knightley Movies

 

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