CLASH OF THE TITANS (PG)

I wrote earlier about some of the great Ray Harryhausen stop-motion animation movies, like Jason and the Argonauts, and mentioned Clash of the Titans briefly at the end. K picked this up recently with his dad, and came home and started watching it before I realized what it was.

Clash is the last film Harryhausen did, as stop-motion was well on its way out, and what a perfect end to his career: Clash is the Greek myth of Perseus and Andromeda, and it’s full of opportunity for Harryhausen’s wild-eyed (or –limbed, or –snake-haired, or –fanged) visions. Of course, it’s a tragic love story, and Perseus must not only solve mysterious riddles, but slay the deadly Medusa (he needs her snaky head in a bag, actually) and defeat the terrible Kraken, which threatens the kingdom and his beloved Andromeda.

A film like this embodies everything many boys (kids?) want in a movie: the drama of mythology, creatures like two-headed dogs and giant scorpions, sword fights ... survival and victory hanging on by a hair from Pegasus’s tail at every turn ... Why isn’t anyone making these kinds of movies now for kids? I know, we do have the Lord of the Rings and some other vaguely similar, quest-oriented films, but anything mythological or even based on Roman or medieval history (oh, geez, and don’t they LOVE knights?!) seems to be rated PG-13 or higher. Doesn’t Hollywood realize there is a ginormous audience out there for kids aged 9 – 12 who want the adventure, the magic and the drama, but don't need the colorful language of sailors, panting rendezvous’ with hottie dames in distress, or enough realistic gore to send them to bed trembling? Come on.

Ok, so I didn’t see the entire movie, but can tell you this: it meets the fun and excitement criteria for kids 10 and up (I don’t recommend it for younger kids), it is artistically well-done and quite nice to look at (several segments were filmed off the coasts of Spain, Italy and England), and the Harryhausen animation is not sophisticated by any means, but has its own distinct charm; K loved every minute. (Um, moms might not mind a strikingly buff and youthful Harry Hamlin – with lips to rival Angelina’s! – running around in a not much more than a loin cloth and shield. Ok, to be fair, dads might not mind the ethereal and lovely Judi Bowker as Andromeda.)

Besides the two leads, heavyweights like Laurence Olivier, Maggie Smith and Burgess Meredith are in the film as well.

Caveat: at the beginning of the film, there is a difficult scene where a mother and her infant are locked into a box, or a coffin perhaps, and cast out to sea. There is probably more gore than a parent might want, speaking of the stuff, but it seems pretty tame compared to what you see in many movies these days (hello, have you seen "Halo" or "Call of Duty" games? Yikes!), and it’s mostly monsters losing their heads. Not humans. There is also an early scene of a mother nursing, with a fairly exposed breast, and a brief backside shot of a bather, but as K put it, “it’s all kind of innocent and motherly,” and from what I read on IMDB, it’s fairly ... artistic. I highly doubt it’s unsavory, or graphic. (This is from the beginning, which I missed, and husband D put the disc back in the mail before I could take a look.)

Clash of the Titans is more fun than a barrel of three-headed monkeys, so put it on your Saturday night/rainy Sunday afternoon movie list.

Update: My point about movies of this sort not being made for kids? I just read that Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier will start shooting a new version of Clash of the Titans in early ’09. It will be rated R.

Random Act of Self Indulgence .03

Happy Holidays!

I've left snowy New England behind for the sunny climes of California (where son K is wearing shorts and grinning about it) so won't be posting much here in the coming week.

However, I'll pop in from time to time.

Just before we left, I thought we were settling in for a family night of '50s sci-fi when this disc arrived in the mail, but then I read the description and decided maybe it was actually for husband D.

The Hideous Sun Demon
Sci-fi screen star Robert Clarke (The Man from Planet X) produced, directed and stars in this atomic-age chiller that combines murder, monsters and radioactive isotopes for a sizzling good time. A scientist who turns into a lizard-like creature when exposed to the sun's deadly rays ruthlessly stalks his prey. Meanwhile, the so-called Sun Demon's primordial urges send him in hot pursuit of a blonde with gravity-defying assets.

Ok, happy holidaying everyone!

AMAZING GRACE (PG)

A reviewer on Internet Movie Database wrote that, at the Toronto Film Festival screening he attended, the thunderous applause for Amazing Grace continued throughout the credits. People were visibly moved; they “clapped to the point of hurting their fingers with the thunder they were creating for so bloody long!”

Sadly, I don’t think that’s the reception the film received upon general release in the U.S. But maybe it depends on where the film was showing, and maybe I’m wrong in my broader view of its reception, as we didn’t see it in a theater ... and just because I don’t remember any fervent hoopla when it came out in 2006 doesn’t mean there wasn’t any. I could have been in snooze mode at the time.

K and I watched this on DVD in 2007, when he would have been ten or so. My initial fear that it might be too “Masterpiece Theater” for him, or just too ... British (accents, vernacular ... you know what I mean!), eased up half way into the film, but I have to confess that its somber and cerebral tone was a bit of a challenge. Every now and then K would look as if ready to launch from the couch, vibrating with what I call “itchy blood,” but then something would happen on the screen that kept him tuned in.

It’s not an easy subject, by any means. Amazing Grace recounts the struggles of politician William Wilberforce (played by Ioan Gruffudd), who one day decides he must lead the way to abolish slavery in 18th-century England. From an older, wiser film goer’s point of view, I have to say the story is deliciously full of dirty politics, clever and cunning people, plenty of sheer guts and determination, and the strong, witty screenwriting helps those things blossom to their fullest potential. It's really quite a stunning work (and, as befitting its "British-ness," was done in a quiet, subdued tone, with occasional dry, Brit humor ... it feels distinctly not Hollywood). For a kid, there is a lot of this wonderful writing/dialog, and there are some conceptual and philosophical explorations that might not speak to younger kids. Only you can determine if it’s something your child can stay with and follow through to the end.

As far as the unpleasant topic goes, the film’s not as jarring or brutal in its depiction of the tragedy of slavery as some have been (say, the R-rated Amistad), but it’s still difficult. This is really for mature kids, and honestly, probably those over 12 would get the most out of it. I think K absorbed some pretty serious food for thought in watching, but I don’t think he’ll ever say he really enjoyed it, or that he can even recount the story in detail. I think he can recount that the song, "Amazing Grace," was written by the remorseful former owner of a slave ship (beautifully played by Albert Finney), and that's not too bad.

But of course, even by osmosis, Amazing Grace and films like it do steal into our children’s hungry, sponge-like little brains and plant seeds that grow into their own sense of right and wrong, of justice and injustice. It’s a movie experience that can only make them better people, even if they only grasp half of what’s being said.

RETURN OF THE PINK PANTHER (PG)

This is a long and spotty franchise, beginning with 1963’s original Pink Panther, starring the inimitable Peter Sellers. There are quite a number of Pink Panther films, but be sure to do your homework: some don’t star Peter Sellers (and I’m not talking about Steve Martin. Q: Did you even know there was a Pink Panter movie with Alan Arkin as Inspector Clouseau? A: 1968’s Inspector Clouseau.)

I hope I’m not bursting any bubbles here, but I can’t recommend the original for family viewing -- only because it was so slow, the first 30 minutes filled with interminable conversations and scenes setting up a very, very convoluted plot which lost all three of us in no time, and had K complaining and bouncing around the room (granted he was nine or ten at the time, but we felt his pain) -- but I do recommend one of the later titles, albeit with slight reservations.

The fourth PP movie, The Return of the Pink Panther, from 1975, is great fun, and starts off with not only clever, animated credits, but once the credits end and the movie begins, we are thrust right into the action, with a stealthy, well-disguised diamond thief breaking into a museum in a fictional middle eastern country (filmed in Morocco) to steal the Pink Panther diamond. It’s a clever, well-paced scene that pulls you right in, and very soon you’re guffawing at the ridiculous mishaps and bad luck that are the very essence of Paris’ Inspector Clouseau. He’s called upon to catch the thief -- much to the dismay of many who have worked with him and know the havoc he can wreak. (After obliviously wrecking a hotel with his incompetence and endearing buffoonery, he sniffs haughtily, "I must leave. Zis hotel is deteriorating rapidly.")

It’s physical humor, not terribly sophisticated -- pratfalls, knowing looks and Clouseau’s baffling pronunciation of words continually draw laughs -- and the story is blessedly easier to follow than the original movie.

Recommended, but: for kids with the attention spans of gnats, there’s a slight sag in the middle. The PG rating is likely due to a couple of things: there is a scene of Clouseau ogling a lovely lady as she unknowingly disrobes to step into a sauna -- you don’t see anything but it’s a slightly uncomfortable moment for parents; the debonair Sir Charles, a professional but retired (or is he?) jewel thief breaks the fingers (one at a time, in different scenes) of a slippery, untrustworthy snitch. It’s not done in a gruesome or graphic way, but it’s just ... mean, darn it. There is also some language of the times that rankles: Clouseau continually refers to his Asian butler/martial arts sparring partner as having “yellow skin," or as "a yellow skin."

I hope to get around to some of the other PP films eventually, and confess we just watched this one recently since K howls at the previews for the upcoming Steve Martin film. I wanted him to have some background appreciation for the character before seeing a contemporary take on these classic films. Return of the Pink Panther was a hit at our house.

Steve Martin. Hmmm. Well, I can think of worse people to riff on such classic films ...

Here's a rather long trailer, and a Steve Martin trailer after it:

Wall-E Wins Big: Critics' Awards

East and west meet-up: Awards were announced this week for both The Los Angles Film Critics Association and the New York Film Critics Circle, and there are some distinct favorites emerging ... at least with the critic crowd!

The Big News: The LAFCA awarded its Best Picture award to an animated feature, for the first time in its 33-year history! The charming and thought-provoking Wall-E won the title. Can you see an Oscar in the works? I doubt it. But it’s still an utterly amazing win. The LAFCA gave its Best Actor award to Sean Penn for Milk, Best Actress to Sally Hawkins of the delightful Happy-Go-Lucky, and Best Director went to Slumdog Millionaire’s Danny Boyle.
Visit the LAFCA web site here.

The New York Film Critics Circle awarded their highest film prize to Milk, but Wall-E took home the Best Animated Film prize. As did the LAFCA, the NYFCC gave its Best Actor award to Sean Penn, and Best Actress to Sally Hawkins. Mike Leigh won the NYFCC’s Best Director award for Happy-Go-Lucky.
Visit the NYFCC web site here.

The last word on year-end favorites and awards: Roger Ebert has announced his favorite films of 2008, in case you need to know what to catch up on. I love his “screw’em, there are too many good ones to do a Top 10” attitude. Go, Roger. (My only complaint about this time of year: All the powerhouse films come out now, and sometimes they don't all make it here in time for the Academy Awards [or they play for one week and are gone]. It's a surprisingly short time between December and Oscar night when you have to work hard to see everything in time for Oscar martinis!)

We’re happy to note that not only did the truly award-worthy and excellent Wall-e make it to Roger's faves list, but so did Iron Man and Werner Herzog’s Encounters at the Edge of the World.

GOLDEN GLOBES 2009

For the nominees announced this morning, you can go right to the Golden Globes web site, or take a peek here at some of the main nominees... Right off, I wonder: no Milk or Wrestler for Best Picture (although Sean Penn and Mickey Rourke both have nominations)? Revolutionary Road and The Reader both look good, like two-hanky dramas (which, come to think of it, might not be what I’m most in the mood for these days), and I’m looking forward to Slumdog Millionaire, love Danny Boyle’s work. But... Benjamin Button? Look, like any sane female, I love Brad Pitt (and his work), but that movie hasn’t really been at the top of my must-see list. Hmmm.


BEST MOTION PICTURE - DRAMA
(These directors were all nominated as well for Best Director):
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Frost/Nixon (2008)
The Reader (2008)
Revolutionary Road (2008)
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

BEST MOTION PICTURE - MUSICAL OR COMEDY
Burn After Reading (2008)
Happy-Go-Lucky (2008)
In Bruges (2008) (Editorial Note: husband D and I loved this film!)
Mamma Mia! (2008)
Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR (DRAMA):
Leonardo DiCaprio for Revolutionary Road (2008)
Frank Langella for Frost/Nixon (2008)
Sean Penn for Milk (2008)
Brad Pitt for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler (2008)

BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS (DRAMA):
Anne Hathaway for Rachel Getting Married (2008)
Angelina Jolie for Changeling (2008)
Meryl Streep for Doubt (2008)
Kristin Scott Thomas for Il y a longtemps que je t'aime (2008)
Kate Winslet for Revolutionary Road (2008)

BEST ANIMATED FILM - No surprises here!:
Bolt (2008)
Kung Fu Panda (2008)
WALL·E (2008)

ALASKA (PG)

If you're like me, you probably hadn't heard of 1996's Alaska until you stumbled on it ... er, somewhere. There were no big names attached when it came out (doh! Except for one: Charlton Heston plays a, um ... well, a gun-totin’, kid-hatin’ poacher!), and I don't remember seeing any sort of promotion or marketing for it. I'm not sure why, as it's a fine piece of entertainment.

K and I watched this recently and it ran longer than I’d planned for; I so wanted to stop the film and get him to bed (it was a school night, and we do keep to our rules around here!), but just couldn’t. Alaska is a real cliffhanger (oooh, I wrote that before I realized the word works literally! No spoilers from me, though. My lips are sealed.).

The gist is this: Family of four living in Chicago becomes family of three when mom meets an early death (this is not dwelled upon, and happens before we join the story). Dad ("Battlestar Galactica"’s Dirk Benedict) decides to leave the rat race and move to Alaska, where he transforms from jet airliner pilot to small bi-plane pilot. He’s accompanied by his unhappy teenage son (Vincent Kartheiser, who went on to TV’s “Angel” and “Madmen”), who hates Alaska and misses the city, and an adventurous tweener daughter (Thora Birch, of Ghost World and American Beauty), who takes to their new life with gusto. Dad’s plane crashes in a storm. Rescue attempts falter, and who traipses off to the rescue? Why, the kids of course!

I think I grabbed K at least three times during the movie, accidentally digging my nails into him as I gasped in fear. I’m a sucker for wild canoe rides in raging waters, sneaky meanie-puss poachers and treacherous hikes on icy mountainsides. This movie has it all, plus (I’m saying it again) truly breathtaking photography... oh, and a really cute orphaned polar bear cub. The special effects and editing are spectacular; really, every white-knuckled scene is so realistic that you’re pulled right in.

Lots of fun. Nothing offensive. Great role for Birch as a strong, fearless girl who leads the way and keeps her head. Nice messaging about courage and inner strength. There are some scary moments for younger kids, and the bad guys who pose a nasty threat might give them pause... I’d say just show it early enough that they follow it up with some other images in their heads before trotting off to bed. Just to be safe.

New: MOVING MIDWAY

I recently came across a short article about a family-friendly documentary making the rounds called Moving Midway. I looked it up on First Run Features, which is a good source for info on docs (linked in my right side column), and it sounds fascinating. Here is the blurb from the filmmaker or distributor:

Godfrey Cheshire's richly observed film about his family's Southern plantation - and the colossal feat of moving it to escape urban sprawl - is a thoughtful and witty look at the lingering remnants and still-powerful mythology of plantation culture and the antebellum South. An award-winning film critic turned filmmaker, Cheshire uses the relocation of his family's North Carolina plantation house to embark on a surprising and multi-layered journey. While observing the elaborate, arcane preparations for moving a centuries-old house over fields and a rock quarry, unexpected human drama - from both the living and the dead - emerges. And a chance encounter leads Cheshire and his cousins to discover a previously unknown African American branch of the family (who have their own take on Midway and its legacy).

Through the use of movies and music, and by turning the camera on himself and his family, Cheshire examines the Southern plantation in American history and culture, and how the racial legacy from the past continues into the present.

It appears to be in limited release now, but a few dates are on the First Run Features site. Watch for it in your nearest venue for independent films (and then when it doesn't come, put it on your rental list!)!

Here's the trailer:

Random Act .02: Awards News

Random Act of Self Indulgence .02: Year-End Awards News

If you don't follow film as closely as you used to (kids keep a person busy, don’t they?!), here's a movie to watch for (I'm dying over here!), especially if you were ever a Mickey Rourke fan. Darren Aronofsky's The Wrestler, starring one bloodied and beaten (literally and figuratively) Mickey Rourke in what's being widely heralded as a mind blowing comeback. Critics are openly admitting to girlish weeping in dark theaters, and an Oscar for Rourke seems more than possible. (Opening Dec. 19th.)

From Variety:

" ... Rourke creates a galvanizing, humorous, deeply moving portrait that instantly takes its place among the great, iconic screen performances."





I'm also ridiculously excited to see Frost/Nixon. I felt like such a dork in a theater recently when the trailer came on, catching me by surprise (I hadn't heard anything about it at that point), and I got all giddy and excited... over the (impeached President) Richard Nixon/David Frost interviews?! You'd think Brad Pitt was in it. But I'm a bit of a sucker for politics sometimes. As a secretly dorky teen, I spent a summer in front of the TV watching the Watergate proceedings unfold. I think my husband may be one of the few who did the same (as I found out years later, of course). I guess that's why we found each other.

- New York Times review here.

Here's a round-up of year-end award news, culled mostly from the helpful Awards Daily web site (linked in my right column): (I'll update with Golden Globe nominations on Thursday.)

- Italian mob movie Gomorra was a BIG winner at the European Film Awards on December 6.

- National Board of Review have named Slumdog Millionaire the best film of the year.

- Independent Spirit Awards: Winners to be announced Feb. 21, 2009. Best Feature Nominations:

Ballast
Frozen River
Rachel Getting Married
Wendy and Lucy
The Wrestler

- Gotham Independent Awards: Best Feature Film (Winners announced Dec. 2):

Frozen River

The nominees in the category were:
Frozen River
Ballast
Synecdoche, New York
The Visitor
The Wrestler

- British Independent Film Awards held on Nov. 30 announced: Best Film and Best Director:

Slumdog Millionaire

ZULU (PG)

1964's Zulu stands up today as one of the finest wartime stories told on film.

It chronicles the true story of the British Army's historic 1879 stand at Rorke's Drift in South Africa during the Anglo-Zulu War. At a remote hospital/supply station 140 soldiers discover that they will soon be descended upon by 4000 Zulu warriors. 1,500 British soldiers had recently been massacred by Zulu forces at a nearby station, so the idea of a brigade charging to the rescue did not seem likely.

While it's a colorful spectacle set in an exotic locale -- always irresistible -- it's also an epic story of men finding what they are made of ... of reaching deep down and finding strength they didn't know they had; it's about discipline, heroism, cowardism and conflict. The film keens with suspense as the Zulu march closer and two young lieutenants fight each other to map out a winning battle plan.

Rather than building a war movie on sheer blood and guts, British director Cy Endfield built it on tension, good storytelling and realistic characters. Of course, the film has a level of violence (it's war!), but it lacks the kind of graphic gore you see so much today in both film and video games. It's also surprisingly lacking in the harsh language department.... you pretty much expect guys in the trenches to cuss! Maybe it was a British thing. These soldiers are, for the most part, darn gentlemanly as they fight for their lives.

Without being a spoiler, I'll just say the ending is one of the more distinct war-story endings seen in film. Zulu is a must-see classic. It stars a young Michael Caine (his first starring role), has brief narration by Richard Burton, and won a British Film Award for Best Art Direction.

(Parental Duty Note: there is an early scene of a Zulu wedding taking place, and bare-chested women are naturally part of the landscape.)

Interesting footnotes, courtesy Internet Movie Database:

- Because the Zulus who were playing the extras in the film had never seen a movie, one of the actors, Stanley Baker, held an outdoor screening of a Gene Autry movie for them so they would have an idea of what movies were all about.

- Because of the apartheid laws in South Africa at the time, none of the actors who portrayed the Zulu warriors were allowed to attend the premiere of the movie.

- Because of those same apartheid laws, the Zulu extras could not be paid equivalent rates to their white counterparts. To get around this, director Endfield gifted all of the animals bought for this film (particularly cows) to the tribes - a gift far more valuable to them than the money that had been denied them.