There are certain films that are more like a work of art than a film; Stoker is one of them. Directed by Park Chan-wook (Oldboy) in his English-language debut, Stoker
is a psychosexual thriller that highlights beautiful imagery even
amongst a fairly demented storyline. The title “Stoker” alone brings to
mind Gothicism and vampires, and while that is not the subject of this
film, the theme of generational “bad blood” emanates throughout the
movie. Although Stoker may not be for everyone, many of the
scenes evoke emotional responses that will stick with you for days, even
weeks after you watch it. That is the sign of a good film.
Written by Wentworth Miller (Prison Break), Stoker
is the dark, coming-of-age story of India Stoker (Mia Wasikowska), a
young girl on the cusp of adulthood who is dealing with the sudden death
of her beloved father Richard (Dermot Mulroney). India and her mother
Evelyn (Nicole Kidman) have a strained relationship, which only gets
worse after Richard’s younger brother Charlie (Matthew Goode) arrives
for the funeral. India and her mother have never met this mysterious
man, since he has spent most of his life traveling through Europe.
Though he at first appears to be a breath of fresh air for the grieving
family, the audience is quickly shown that Uncle Charlie is not the man
he pretends to be. However, due to his charming personality and ability
to fill the void left by his brother, it doesn’t take long before both
women fall in love with him. This love-triangle, along with many devious
twists, paves the way to a powerful third act confrontation that
finally answers the question, “Who is Uncle Charlie?”
Stoker
is one of the best cast movies of 2013 (so far). Mia Wasikowska shines
as a Wednesday Addams(ish) teen, dealing with her transition into
womanhood, as well as her own inner demons. Wasikowska is completely
believable in the role and expertly demonstrates that she has the acting
chops to keep up with fellow Aussie, Nicole Kidman. Along with
Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman is fantastic (as always) in the supporting
role of Evelyn. She continues to show what a dynamic actress she is,
going from her trashy character in The Paperboy, to a creepy, yet elegant mother in Stoker, to her upcoming role as the glamorous Grace Kelly in Grace of Monaco.
What can’t she do?! Matthew Goode is also incredible as the charming,
yet menacing Uncle Charlie. He plays the role with an air of mystery,
which constantly leaves the audience wondering what he will do next.
Other supporting characters played by Jackie Weaver (Silver Linings Playbook), Dermot Mulroney (My Best Friend's Wedding), and Phyllis Somerville (The Big C) round out the fantastic cast.
The one thing that sticks out the most in this film is Park
Chan-wook’s fantastic imagery. Even in the most violent scenes,
Chan-wook finds beauty. For example, in one scene India is brutally
bullied by a classmate at school. To defend herself, India stabs the boy
in the hand with her pencil. Following the attack, there is a fantastic
scene of India casually sharpening the blood off of her pencil, which
is both disturbing as well as intriguing. Another one of my favorite
images was of India lying in bed, surrounded by saddle shoes in various
sizes from childhood to adulthood, which she unknowingly received from
Uncle Charlie on her birthday each year. These types of scenes not only
show Park Chan-wook’s artistic gift, but are also what sticks with the
audience long after the film has ended.
Stoker is a film that attempts to answer the question of nature vs. nurture. It just may not be the answer that audiences want.
My grade: B+
Stoker Trailer
The Wizard of Oz is one of my favorite movies; I used to
watch it every day as a kid. I loved the music, the battle between good
and evil, and of course, the ruby slippers. However, I was shocked when
I heard Disney was developing a prequel. Who would dare tamper with
such an iconic film? Not nobody not no how!
Let’s get this out of the way, Oz the Great and Powerful, directed by Sam Raimi (Spiderman), does not hold a candle to the original, nor is it anywhere near as good as the hit Broadway musical Wicked.
James Franco is poorly cast as Oscar, who later becomes the Wizard of
Oz, and the plot lags at many different points. What I do appreciate,
however, is that the film is a love letter to The Wizard of Oz.
In almost every scene, there are references to the original film that
are either mentioned in dialogue or are up to the audience members to
recognize (make sure you look for a pasture of horses of a different
color in the background of one scene). Try not to get bogged down in the
(at times) dull plot and instead, think of the movie as a scavenger
hunt.
Like The Wizard of Oz, Oz the Great and Powerful
also begins in black and white. Oscar (James Franco) is a carnival
magician and con artist who has loved too many women and angered too
many men. After an especially angry bodybuilder comes after him, Oscar
escapes in a hot air balloon. Unfortunately, he didn’t notice a menacing
tornado barreling toward him and is swept up and diverted to the
brilliantly colorful world of Oz. Here Oscar meets two “good” witches,
Theodora (Mila Kunis) and her sister Evanora (Rachel Weisz). They
mistake him for a long prophesied wizard that will save Oz from the
“wicked witch” Glinda (Michelle Williams). The sisters show Oscar a Scrooge McDuck-esque vault
full of gold and inform him that Oz, along with the money, is his as
long as he brings them Glinda’s wand. Of course, Oscar sets off to find
the wand, befriending a winged monkey (voiced by Zach Braff) and a
porcelain doll (voiced by Joey King) along the way. His friends help him
pay attention to what is actually going on behind the sisters’ devious
curtain in order to free the people of Oz.
This may sound silly, but besides the references to The Wizard of Oz,
my favorite part of the film was the opening credits; it is a
hodgepodge of visuals reminiscent of a puppet show and really is
fantastically done. Additionally, the colorful costumes and CGI imagery,
especially the whimsical landscape of Oz, make the film pop. It was
nice that along with the black and white (Kansas) to color (Oz) device
from the original film, Raimi also used a more compact aspect ratio in
Kansas and transitioned to widescreen in Oz. I thought it would have
also been awesome if Raimi had started the film in 2D and then jumped to
3D in Oz. Oz the Great and Powerful really demonstrates how far Raimi has come in the CGI realm since Spiderman 3.
Besides a plot that is at times dull, my main complaint about the
film was casting James Franco as Oscar. As opposed to the charming and
captivating character the script calls for, Franco is instead forced and
over-the-top. It is hard to care what happens to Oscar because Franco
is completely unbelievable in the role. Someone like Robert Downey Jr.
(the original choice for Oscar), an actor that can effortlessly
transition between humorous and serious dialogue, would have been a much
better choice. Mila Kunis was also out of her element in comparison
with the performances of Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams. Weisz gives
the best performance of the film. Her wickedness, compared to Williams’
ethereal goodness, gave the perfect juxtaposition between good and
evil. I wish, however, that Weisz’s character had some of the same campy
dialogue used in the original movie. If there is a sequel, I pray it
focuses more on the sisters and leaves Franco to a minimum.
Hopefully Wizard of Oz
fans can get through the clunky, at times boring plot (and James
Franco) and see the movie for what it is, a love letter to our favorite
movie. Plus, if the box office is good, maybe this will push Universal
to finally develop Wicked for the big screen. Fingers crossed!
My grade: B- (for effort)
Oz the Great and Powerful Trailer
If you like tasteless pee and vomit humor, 21 and Over, written and directed by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore (The Hangover),
is the movie for you. On the other hand, if you like movies that
actually make funny jokes and have original plot points, you will
certainly want to sit this one out. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy raunchy
jokes, but they at least need to be funny. What the movie instead
develops into is a Hangover rip-off full of incredibly racist,
sexist, and bigoted jokes. I finally reached my limit of tolerance when
the characters made Bosnian War rape jokes. Hopefully this summer’s
tent-pole comedies The Hangover III and The Heat will put Hollywood back in the right direction.
21 and Over begins where the movie inevitably ends,
childhood best friends Miller (Miles Teller) and Casey (Skylar Astin)
walking through a college campus completely nude, save a sock over their
more private areas. The two are in town to celebrate their other friend
Jeff Chang‘s (Jason Chon) 21st birthday. Only, when they
arrive, Jeff informs them that he has an interview for medical school
the next day and doesn’t want to go out. Miller and Casey easily change
his mind and a night of debauchery begins, full of vengeful sorority
girls, a buffalo, and a mysterious gun (and that’s only the beginning of
it). When Jeff gets way too drunk and passes out, Miller and Casey set
out on a quest to find his house, all while dragging him around Weekend at Bernie’s style. Of course, this journey also comes with many silly side-missions and encounters with “villains”.
While I enjoy the three main actors (Miles Teller was fantastic in Rabbit Hole and Skylar Astin showed he is a triple-threat in Pitch Perfect),
their characters are generic and poorly written. As in many recent
comedies, there is a Raunchy Spice (Miller), Straight-laced Spice
(Casey), and Innocent, Yet Easily Corrupted Spice (Jeff). The actors did
the best they could with a bad script, full of poor jokes and
inconsistencies. One horrible inconsistency was during most of the movie
Jeff Chang is basically in an alcohol-induced coma, but then magically
awakens in time to drunkenly drive a car through the college campus.
Word to the wise: Binge drinking and drunk driving, while joking about
suicide and rape, is not an easy way for a character to relate to the
audience.
The only thing worse than the main characters was the group of
“villains”, a horde of Latina sorority girls, male cheerleaders (who of
course had homosexual undertones), and Jeff Chang’s strict father. The
movie became even more ridiculous, if possible, through all the ways
these villains would reemerge and mess things up. The action of the
film had enough conflict without these horrible contrivances.
The main takeaway from this movie is if you are going to be raunchy
and shocking, you have to also be funny. Unfortunately, humor is what
this film is lacking. Probably my favorite part of 21 and Over,
besides the end, is that the filmmakers have already set it up for a
sequel. Please… please don’t let there be a sequel (unless it’s focused
on the only interesting character in the movie, Chief).
My Review: D-/F
21 and Over Trailer
