“Here comes the Woman in Black / Murderous Offender / Here comes the Woman in Black / She’s hard not to remember.”  Yes, those are the catchy lyrics to Will Smith’s “Men in Black” with a few alterations of my own, but it is hard not to manipulate the lyrics of the chorus to fit this film even though they are leagues apart in genre and story.  It simply could not be helped.

Instead of space invaders playing the antagonist to our lead, The Woman in Black is built around the haunted house structure of the horror subgenre as a woman’s angry spirit haunts the grounds and interior of a solitary house cut off from the main land by the tide for large percentages of the day.  Following the death of the previous owner, Arthur Kipps is sent to put her affairs in order, setting in motion a spree of tragedy in the nearby village at the hands of this vengeful ghost.

For those who are familiar with the subgenre, from films like Paranormal Activity to The Grudge, then you will have a decent understanding of what to expect from this story. The film starts with a rather gripping intro scene as the rest of the film takes its time to slowly build to some rather aggressive haunting.  The tension in the film is ever present with the overall look of darker shadows and bleak melancholy within a house that seems to avoid being warmed with light, even with the candlelight trying to diffuse through the dense shadows.  With every shot comes the possibility that something will jump out at our lead, and though cheap scares are named that for a reason, during the length of this film they often relieve the audience of the building tension, so I welcome them with open arms.

Daniel Radcliffe plays Kipps, a man who comes to a village full of residents trying to send him home without revealing their fears, so his first visit is free of the superstitions of those familiar with the story of the house.  His long history as Harry Potter does not impede on the acceptance of his role in this film, and in all honesty, I am sure much of his time spent lurking around the dark halls of Hogwarts as evil creatures tried to do him harm actually aided him with this character.  The only problem with his casting is that he looks too young to be the father of a four-year-old boy, but he earns his keep with the work he does.  Then again, I spent a large percentage of the film actually looking in the background of the camera frame instead of paying close attention to Radcliffe for fear of what may be observing him from the shadows…

The Woman In Black may be the perfect example of a well-worn category of horror films, what separates it from many like those I mentioned above is that its setting as a period piece removes a lot of the complaints common for this genre.  A lot of haunted house films lead to a lot of screaming at the main character for being an idiot for hunting down strange noises in an upstairs room instead of booking it straight out the door, but Kipps doesn’t have our paranoia tacked on by years and years of films that have taught us of the idiocy of falling for these classic horror traps.  Not only that, but there is just something about this period of dress that is creepy.  Just look at those dark leather shoes women wore!  And all those stuffed monkeys!  [Shudders]

A great step for Radcliffe post his Harry Potter run, The Woman In Black comfortably fits into the horror genre with its overall creepiness and shocks that will make you jump in your seat (even if you see them coming), and I actually commend it for the ending it chose in terms of how to deal with resolution.  So though it is nothing incredibly new, it still gets the recommend from me.

Final Grade:  B             Follow @BewareOfTrees

Hello boys and girls!  In this edition of HST Discusses, Alan and Lauren break out the fighting words over Chronicle, the new film about a group of boys who gain superpowers.  Don’t worry, no one was harmed in the making of this (spoiler free) discussion.  And if someone was harmed it would be Alan.  No, Lauren did not write this intro!

Lauren:  Did someone say superpowers!?  Then this movie sure is for me.  At least until it wasn’t.  To put it simply, I loved the premise of the film as any true nerd would, but I just couldn’t help but think that it could have been done more effectively, starting with a better protagonist.

Now before I come off like a cold-hearted B-word (which obviously I can’t be since I won’t even say the word), I will say that Andrew had me in the beginning.  Similar to many a superhero, Andrew’s high school experience is riddled with classic outcast staples of the bullied ranks.  Think Spider-man.  On top of that, his home life is far from the safe haven of other kids his age, making it impossible not to feel for him.  The problem is this sympathy is quickly tainted because there is just something about this character that didn’t feel right to me, thanks in large part with how quickly Andrew turns anti-responsibility with his powers.  Let’s just say Uncle Ben would not be proud.

Alan:  No he wouldn’t, but I am still going to have to disagree with you.  Although I can’t really relate to his abysmal family situation (let alone the super powers), I can really get behind Andrew with the bullying situation.  In fact, after thinking about the movie, it seems like this could be a WAY better form of an anti-bullying movie.  Tell me if this sounds familiar – an outcast from everyone finally has power and ends up abusing it once he is pushed to his limits?  With all of the news stories out there about bullied teens and the lengths they go (or went in some cases) through to get away from it all, Chronicle is almost refreshing in the way it approaches things of this nature.

Lauren: Well I wouldn’t really say shooting up a school is an “abuse of power,” but rewording that turn of phrase I understand where you are coming from.  I just think that the film could have done a better job at providing this underlying message by creating a conflicted character instead of one with the character arc that Andrew has.  But in the end asking me to sympathize with Andrew was like asking me to sympathize with the boys who shoot up their school in Elephant because they couldn’t find an acceptable way to deal with the situation they have been unfairly dealt.  You wanna go with sympathetic psychotic teen?  Watch the first season of American Horror Story instead.

Moving on from that depressing subject, why the heck was Andrew filming everything?  In the first scene I assumed it was because he wanted to give his father a reason to be afraid of beating him, like he could show the footage to the cops or something.  But then he takes it to school, where he seriously should have known that it would have made him even more of a target.

Alan:  It very well might have been his security blanket.  It helped him with his abusive crap dad, and it probably gave him the satisfaction of winning.  He does state later in the movie that it is his barrier between everyone else and himself, so it could be his emotional and psychological shield blocking him from the rest of the world.  Or, he could be the stereotypical outcast kid who just has a camera with him at all times.  He could’ve made a case like the girl who video blogs her entire life, but he didn’t, which didn’t help anything.

But this movie isn’t just about Andrew, but also about his cousin Matt and one of his close friends Steve, who all stumble upon this…thing…and gain powers right afterwards.  And for me at least, the three of them messing with their powers was a true highlight for me in the movie.

Lauren:  Fun is had, for sure, but everyone knows that really wouldn’t be a satisfying way to put a Lego set together!  As for the barrier, I just find it interesting that instead of going the invisible route, he makes himself more noticeable by strapping a giant camera to his hand.  And in all honesty his father really didn’t seem to mind being filmed as an unfit parent, so I don’t really think the camera helped him there.

And don’t even get me started on the blogger girl!  What was the point of her character, exactly?  She gets a weird doorway scene with Matt, and later comes into play again at a kid’s birthday party, but in all honesty she was just a source of another camera feed.

The more I think about it, the worse the choice of using handheld cameras seems to me, and I am talking more than just how annoying those people who have to film everything can be (think Diary of the Dead).  Which brings me back to questioning why he was filming stuff.  At first it works really well, such as when they find the mystery object, but this style of filmmaking starts to turn against the film as it progresses, and often loses that glitch effect that I love so much.  In fact, sometimes it looks far too cinematic and high quality as the camera slowly pans around conversations.  Granted we see scene after scene of Andrew floating the camera around with his mind, so clearly he is a pro.

Also, why was the camera on when he was in the basement with his dad?  Why was it set up on a tripod at the hospital?  I can’t let these questions go, nor can I stop wondering who the heck made the film!  Usually in something like this there is a screen in the beginning or end that explains that it was found footage, such as in Cloverfield or the handheld footage of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake, but here this doesn’t happen.  So who the heck compiled the footage?  It bounces around from Andrew’s camera (including one that was lost) to the blogger girl’s camera to security camera footage just because it looks cool.

Alan:  I wish they would’ve said how they got all this footage, especially the end shot (which I cannot spoil).  Towards the end of the film, I think they kinda threw away the handheld camera gimmick once the final fight started happening (I don’t think that there was a camera at ground level zooming in on the main characters).  With that said, I did enjoy the little gimmick where the POV bounced around everyone’s camera, which all happen to look like HD cameras.  After a while of doing that though, I sat there wondering who is shooting what, and I guess the filmmakers decided not to dig too deep into who those people are.

I get the filming when they are playing around with their abilities.  I mean, who wouldn’t want proof of you flying!  That would be awesome, if of course we could fly.  Overall though, regardless of how it was filmed and its bullying overtones, it was a mildly entertaining time at the theaters.  The acting wasn’t bad (for what it’s worth), and the special effects, no matter how low their budget was, were spot on cool.  It’s not a classic by any means; I thought it was still a nice time at the movies.

Lauren:  Ok this went far more civil than I expected it to considering the intro I wrote, but I would have to agree.  Unfortunately for me, though it was made well enough, minus how obvious the actors made it that they were sitting in harnesses while hovering (making it impossible to believe in their flying abilities at those moments), I still doubt Chronicle will make it into my need to watch again list.  I just can’t stand the main character and the shooting style gets in the way of my enjoyment this time, so if I want a story of a damaged individual being pushed to the brink then I will stick to Magneto in X-Men: First Class.

Alan’s Grade: B Follow @AlanHST
Lauren’s Grade: C+/B- Follow @BewareOfTrees

Joe Carnahan’s latest, The Grey, is half a great movie, it’s a shame it probably never would have gotten made if they didn’t have to include those wolves.

The aspects surrounding the wolves isn’t a complete wash, but it is nowhere near as interesting as watching this group of guys try and survive and stare death in the face.  There are a couple of cool beats with the wolves squaring off against our group of survivors, but it is all kind of silly.  A couple of those moments probably warrant the wolves’ inclusion in the story, but I still think the better movie doesn’t have wolves in it.  It’s no coincidence that the movie began to resonate once the wolf stuff was pushed to the background and when the group has been reduced down to four is when things really take it up a notch.

Carnahan’s film opens with a fantastic voiceover sequence that does a great job setting up our hero, Ottway (played by Liam Nesson), and the setting is also wonderfully realized shot on location north of Vancouver; the movie feels freaking cold.  The vistas are beautiful and daunting as Carnahan and team do a wonderful job at making us feel like these guys are truly in the middle of nowhere, making the isolation of these men all the more affective.  There was only one funky shot that stuck out in the film, but it was thankfully in the best scene of the movie, it’s still a shame they had to use that shot on a number of occasions.

The shot in question seemed to be an effect shot and that is a nice segue to the shaky effects in general throughout the film.  A couple bad wolf shots take you out of the picture from time to time, and when used to show the sheer number of wolves it is almost too hokey.  Some of the shots look solid, but overall the effects were average at best.  The average effects work disappears with the wolves when the film takes off and focuses on just the men and again I think this is no coincidence that the film excels once the effects are out of the picture.  The effects work in the plane crash sequence was top notch though, it looked great and I wished it was longer.  Disappointingly, they did cop out on the end of the crash which was poor form and felt like a short changing of the audience.

The reason the film takes so long to get to its greatness is that there is a lot of stereotypes, bad dialogue and clichés to get through before the characters we can actually relate to get a chance to shine.  The characters that get all of the attention at the start are annoying and unbearable to be around and I am happy they are dispatched rather quickly.  Especially played against Nesson’s calm and stoic nature, a few of these guys couldn’t have been more grating.  The characters we relate with and can connect with are played by Nesson, Dermot Mulroney, and Dallas Roberts.  Mulroney is unrecognizable for half the film and it’s nice to see Roberts get a boost after his great work on the criminally canceled Rubicon.

When we get down to the last few survivors the film really opens as a character piece and the movie is all the better for it.  On the verge of death I would imagine these guys would get as introspective as they do and these moments are so interesting that I even began to like the character I might have disliked the most in the beginning, Diaz.  Frank Grillo plays Diaz and he deserves some credit for turning a stereotypical embarrassment of a character into someone we care about as our guys’ race for survival.  He has a particularly great moment on a log that shows just how much hell these guys have to go through.

Carnahan seemed to flip a switch and gets a lot more reserved in the film’s second half and I wish he would have carried that tone throughout the film as it works so much better than what he started with.  We don’t need to see the parallels of Nesson to the Alpha wolf, or his extensive wolf knowledge to be engaged; he had the characters that could do that on their own.

The Grey could have been a great movie, sadly its only half of one.  A couple great characters and a solid lead turn by Liam Nesson and his supporting cast make the film very engaging by the end.  Carnahan might take some time to get to the good stuff, but he created a world that engaged even if you hated the characters in it.  When The Grey gets good, it is pretty darn good, I just wish those wolves would have gotten out of the way and let Carnahan explore his characters more.

The Grey is a B

Not just any movie gets one of the stars to do a commentary track over its trailer, so Man On A Ledge must clearly be something special.  Right?

At least for we feeble minded individuals, anyway.  A fellow reviewer said this to cap his review: “Man on a Ledge sets out to be a crowd pleaser and it might succeed at that for some viewers, I just hope you ask for more out of your entertainment in the future because this is a lesser effort.”  And my response to that is this: why not have it both ways?  Not every movie has to be a thinker with depth and complexities; sometimes it just has to be fun.  And you enjoyed Clash of the Titans and Prince of Persia: Sands of Time, fellow reviewer, so I know even you go slumming every now and again.

If you watched the trailer then you already know a lot more than I did going into this one.  I just thought it was about a man who decided one day to go up on a ledge and hang out.  Nothing jovial, but I didn’t quite know to what extent of a hidden motive there was to be had.  Which is why I actually found myself pleasantly surprised that the snide comments I had already planned to use in my review of a disappointing movie were no longer applicable, because this movie ended up being better than I expected.

Now I am in no way saying that this film is a gift from the film gods, but considering how little I was expecting I couldn’t help but be excited for what the film turned out to be.  As Sam Worthington is up on the ledge using whatever accent that was in response to the level of trust Elizabeth Bank’s NYC cop/negotiator is trying to build between the two, turns out there is far more to discover about his character.  Obviously we have to learn who he is and why he is up there, and as this spools out we also get to see what he is doing in order to fix the predicament he is currently in.

Which involves a second story running contiguously to the ledge perching, involving Jamie Bell as Worthington’s brother, and Genesis Rodriguez as Bell’s girlfriend in some situations of thievery for the greater good.  What started out as something that I was rather against story-wise when it is introduced to the plot line because of how out of place it seemed to be (again I was admittedly ill-prepared for the actual premise of this film), I will say that the moments between these two actually ended up being a lot of my favorites.  Worthington is also brought in during these scenes as well, and the dynamic between the three as they work together manages to remain fun even though there is actually a lot at stake.  Plus, they are pretty amateurish at what they are doing, which throws in a few laughs as well as they circumnavigate the problems using their novice level knowledge.

Because of the simplicity of the story, we’re talking comparable to Denzel Washington and Chris Pine’s Unstoppable in how there are only oh so many options for how the ending can play out (will the train crash or wont it!?), another thing that may surprise the viewer is that the story actually manages to excite at times.  In all honesty I never felt bored during the 102 minute run-time, and though I never doubted the ending, there were still a few aspects that I wasn’t sure how they would play out.  Let’s just say with all that is going on, I wasn’t willing to bet on how Worthington was going to remove himself from that ledge, and if it would be his choice.  Maybe some of those poorly constructed and unoriginal bad guys might have something to do with it, or someone shouting “JUMP!” below might actually give him the push he needs.  Probably not, but I was willing to stick around to find out.

Who knows, maybe I was just in the right mood to see a movie like Man On The Ledge to be able to come out of it with positive thoughts considering I saw the flaws that are causing a lot of bad reviews.  This may mean I am not asking that much out of my entertainment, but sometimes simply being entertained is all that I feel is necessary to ask for.

Final Grade:  B-
Follow @BewareOfTrees

Man on a Ledge is an adequate at best thriller that has an impressive cast, but is seemingly too guided by the studio hand to excel in any area of the filmmaking process.

The film is a smorgasbord of ideas and genres, but it is all watered down and filled with one note characters.  Take the film’s villain played by Ed Harris, there is no doubt from the moment he appears on screen that this is a bad man.  Nasty personality, slicked back greasy hair, and driven by nothing but greed the character is basically a cartoon.  Luckily the character isn’t around all that much, but unfortunately it is a waste of such a talented actor like Ed Harris.  But our villain isn’t the only character with little depth or surprise as our hero, Sam Worthington, is almost just as thin.  A cop who claims to be wrongfully accused for a crime that sent him to prison is attempting to prove his innocence, but any suspense surrounding his claim is erased once you meet the aforementioned character played by Harris.  From here, Worthington is asked to simply move the plot along and most of the action is regulated to the seemingly separate movie taking place caddy corner to all of the man on a ledge drama.

Worthington’s brother in the film, played by Jamie Bell (Tintin!), is on a jewel heist mission with his girlfriend (Genesis Rodriguez) that is somehow wrapped up in the ledge drama.  The problem here is that this aspect of the film seems way out of place from everything else and it asks us to suspend belief at every turn.  First, they set up the security of this vault to be ridiculously impenetrable only to be foiled so easily by a pair of amateur criminals who have been training for a whole year.  Both of the characters involved are also portrayed as dim, one note stereotypes and the filmmakers are never able to build any suspense surrounding them.  Even more egregious, Genesis Rodriguez is overtly over sexualized for nothing more than exploitation.  Nothing against Rodriguez, she is an attractive woman, but this is what I am talking about when I say studio interference.  I can totally see some executive saying, we need more sex in this movie, show off that one’s boobs and get her in her underwear.  If I were Rodriguez’s character, I don’t think I would have my boobs hanging out on a mission like this.  Rodriguez looks great, but there is no point to any of the it other than sex sells.  Worse, all sexual attention is going to overshadow Rodriguez’s tough and endearing performance that was one of the few highlights of the film.

The cops in the film are also as stereotypical as their criminal counterparts and Elizabeth Banks is the only actor to escape that quagmire.  Sure she has an almost over the top accent, but her character is the only one with any compelling depth and Banks makes the most of it.  She isn’t able to elevate the role to anything spectacular, I don’t think anyone really could have, but Banks’ likability goes a long way in making her the only character I really cared about.

The film could have done a lot for itself by making things a bit more interesting visually (how many times can we shoot this guy on a ledge the same way?)  and holding its cards a bit closer to the chest would have gone a long way.  The film waves giant flags projecting where it is heading and it tries to throw you off by taking you through unbelievable situations; it doesn’t work.  Also failing to resonate is a plot surrounding a Kyra Sedgwick that seems to be trying to say something about media and how grotesque it is, or how sick we are for rooting this guy to jump, I don’t know; and oh yeah, it’s mostly played for laughs.

The film’s first two acts are rather dull, predictable, and lack any sort of suspense, but the film’s final act was able to sweep me up into the proceedings.  I did care enough to want to know what happened in the end and the film deserves credit for at least doing that.

Also holding the film back is that our protagonist is set up as an invincible hero to a certain extent and cashes in on that set up before it’s all said and done.  The movie could have been a good one, thankfully it wasn’t an awful one, but if you caught this on cable a few years down the line I imagine it would suck more than a few of you in; and that would be ok.

All that said Man on a Ledge is a predictable and pandering film that hides its surprises to no one.  A strong cast is wasted, everything seems so cookie cutter and studio manipulated, and even though the third act rouses up a hint of suspense it kills it with more than one ridiculous moment in the finale.  Man on a Ledge sets out to be a crowd pleaser and it might succeed at that for some viewers, I just hope you ask for more out of your entertainment in the future because this is a lesser effort.

Man on a Ledge is a D+

Red Tails is a long gestating project from George Lucas about the Tuskegee Airmen during WWII and the results are a good ole fashion war movie that overcomes its shortcomings through a likable cast and great action.

George Lucas didn’t direct this film, that would be Anthony Hemingway, but he has been talking about making this for years, having a real passion for the material.  Right from the get go the tone of the film is set with the over the top, old school propaganda feel that paints our heroes as great and honorable Americans and the Nazi’s as the scum of the earth.  The face of the enemy is put on the lead Nazi pilot and he is a cartoon of a character, evil to the core.  That sort of juxtaposition to our good natured heroes is a perfect set up to how you should perceive Red Tails and it meets that tone from start to finish; root for the heroes as they eradicate evil on the other side of the battle.

The film is a fun action ride, but it isn’t without its problems.  The 2^nd act has a couple issues in the relationships between a few of the characters and the film forces emotion to try and create some drama in the film.  The film’s leads are a pair of good friends, Easy and Lightning, and the chemistry between the actors who play them, Nate Parker & David Oyelowo, is one of the highlights of the picture.  That is why it is such a shame that they had to force such a wedge between the two while giving Easy such a cheap weakness in his apparent alcoholism.  To make matters worse they imply that Easy’s drinking is causing a ton of problems for him and the squadron and then supply not one shred of evidence that shows him doing so.  So when Lightning gets pissed at Easy over his “drinking problem” he just looks like an idiot, leaving the audience perplexed.

Lightning is also part of a romance sub-plot with a young Italian girl and while a lot of the film’s non-flying plotline is dedicated to them it still feels forced and doesn’t resonate.  It’s not terrible, but it seems like wasted time and effort when there are a lot of other elements that work better.  The film is at its best when the Tuskegee’s are together and seeing a couple who can’t communicate because they don’t speak each others’ language is not nearly as compelling or as endearing as the filmmakers thought it was.  Outside an awkward, at times, performance from Cuba Gooding Jr. (though his hamming it up worked in the context of the film I think) and a couple of slow spots those were my only real complaints, they just took up way too much time at the end of the 2^nd act.

There is a lot to like in the film and I found myself enjoying my time in the theater far more than taking issue with it.  I mentioned before that the camaraderie among the pilots was one of the strengths of the film and the ensemble they assembled is a joy to watch.  Parker and Oyelowo are both solid as our leads, even if they couldn’t elevate the weak elements placed upon them, but they aren’t alone in doing good work in the film.  Elijah Kelly injects a lot of humor into the film and is also able to pull off the dramatic chops asked of him.  Leslie Odom Jr., Tristan Wilds, Kevin Phillips, and Michael B. Jordan round out the rest of the main faces we get to know and all do the best they can do when they get a bit of screen time.  The banter in the planes is particularly good and it is just a blast to watch these guys go back and forth with one another.  We believe these guys have been together for some time and we never once doubt their dedication to one another.  Also appearing is Terence Howard who has nothing to do, Bryan Cranston makes an impact in the two or three scenes he gets, and Andre Royo is a lot of fun as the lead mechanic.  The cast is full of interesting and diverse characters and Hemingway deserves some credit for making the bond between these guys so natural.

The main reason to check out Red Tails is for the action and the excellent work by the effects teams at ILM and Pixomondo.  Some of the dogfights are breathtaking and they get a lot of suspense out of each individual set piece.  All the action is easy to see, feels fresh, and doesn’t have a shoddy shot in the mix.  The film’s first two big flying scenes are the best the film has to offer, but the later make the most of their limitations.  Those limitations are due to the history the film is based off of and the fact that the Red Tails are forced to stay with their bombers and not get all flashy.  That doesn’t mean they aren’t able to create some suspense and solid action beats out of these scenes, they just don’t allow for the versatility of some of the earlier sequences.  Regardless, the action in Red Tails is top notch and will rank high up on the best of the genre after it’s all said and done.

Red Tails might be a little too gung ho and old school for some, but the film doesn’t try to hide where its inspirations lie and I think it is exactly the film it sets out to be.  It could have executed a few elements a bit better, probably been a tad shorter, but there is a lot to like in Red Tails for war buffs and action fans alike.  The flying sequences are some of the best you will ever see in the theater and I am glad Lucas was able to finally bring this story to the big screen.  He saw some great material and he and his team executed quite affectively.  Beyond the action I really like the cast of characters and would love to see the prequel and sequel Lucas is already talking about to complete the Tuskegee Airmen story.

Red Tails is a B

A few years back it became a hobby to make fun of the trend in marketing to describe things as extreme.  Extreme sports are one thing (you aren’t going to see me jumping out of a helicopter into the middle of circling sharks while wearing a suit of meat with the goal of safely swimming back to shore.  Way too extreme.  Yes I made that sport up.), but can deodorant really be that extreme?  Then again, every once in a while something worthy of the descriptor comes along.  Such is the case with Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

I may be a monster for saying this, but there is something oddly fascinating about witnessing a child experience tragedy, at least as it is depicted in this film.  The story, based on a book of the same name, follows a 9-year-old boy after the death of his father during the events of 9/11.  The main body of the film takes place one year after these events when the boy discovers a key among his fathers things, and builds it up in his mind that finding the lock that matches the key will keep him close to his father.

Obviously the story sounds like a tearjerker, and the theater will be littered with snifflers from time to time, but the film is something far greater than just a depressing story.  It’s hard to describe, but coming out of the theater the only word I could come out with was “magical” and “cinematic” to the best extent of the word in terms of overall artistic worth.  “What!?  Did you just describe a movie as cinematic?  That’s really going out on a limb…”  But once you see the movie you will know why it is the perfect word.

From the editing of the scenes to the heightened sound editing, it isn’t a challenge to get inside the mind of this boy even though he may be living with a form of Asperger’s Syndrome (he was tested, but the findings were inconclusive, as he would clarify).  However, it is through the interactions of Oskar Schell with his family, as well as the people of New York he meets while on his journey, that he will truly win you over.  Thomas Horn play Oskar beautifully through the highs and lows of his emotional states, putting just as much honesty and heart into some scenes as his feelings break through, to stating some things matter-of-factly to a comedic extent.  Both Sandra Bullock and Tom Hanks give performances as great as anything you have come to expect from these actors, and the inclusion of their somewhat smaller roles as Oskar’s parents still includes some of the best moments.  Then again, the same thing can be said for every other actor in the film.  Viola Davis and Jeffrey Wright play two of the citizens of the city Oskar meets during his search, and Zoe Caldwell deserves recognition as Oskar’s grandmother for one scene in particular that might have been the most touching for me.  However, it is the scenes between Horn and Max von Sydow that will have you smiling the most as they communicate in their own special way.

All characters stand out on their own, exemplifying just one aspect of the beauty of New York, and this film will seem like a love story to one of the greatest cities in the world.  But most importantly, for someone who often feels that films can take an event like 9/11 and use it poorly for the emotions the memory of that day brings up in the viewer, I can honestly say that I was impressed with how they handled it, especially considering how much it affects the course of the story.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a film title worthy of its large syllable descriptors.  Magically delicious also works, though I am pretty sure Lucky Charms has the rights to that one.  Point is, put this film at the top of your viewing requirements list; you won’t want to miss it.  If you do you will be extremely disappointed and incredibly stupid.

Final Grade:  A-

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Beauty and the Beast is back in theaters with the Disney 3D treatment and it is pretty much a success all around.

The film is a deserved classic in the Disney cannon though it has never been my favorite from the era.  Beauty and the Beast was part of the early 90’s resurgence for the company’s animation studio and while very good it falls behind Aladdin, Lion King, and The Little Mermaid for me.  That said it was great to revisit the film in the cinema and it is still a gorgeous piece of animation to behold.

The film is straight forward and a classic fairy tale, but the film is mighty affective when it needs to be.  Filled with a number of memorable characters, moments, and musical sequences there is a lot for anyone of any age to enjoy.  From The Beast to Lumiere the cast of characters are varied and full of life and even the film’s villain, Gaston, is likable in a buffoonish way.  Turning the help staff into household items allows for some fun humor, just don’t think about the logistics of what became what in the house to hard, and gives the story an interesting wrinkle to keep the kids engaged.

The Beast is the most interesting character in the story and his arc from angst filled teenager to a caring young man is more than compelling.  The back and forth between him and Belle is an easy one to get behind even if the relationship is sped along a bit too conveniently.  The Beast’s sacrifice works wonderfully though and they really earn the film’s final payoff even if they rushed it along.

The musical aspect of the film is full of a number of memorable songs and the numbers themselves are wonderfully put together.  Though, I am not going to lie, they seemed less grand than I remember, even in spiffy new 3D.  I always thought “Be Our Guest” was a giant and elaborate musical number in my memory, but it seemed far less fantastic years later.  Same goes for the ballroom dance number, which was still quite beautiful, but the moment is far more fleeting than I once thought.  The opening song “Belle” and the quite funny “Gaston” had even a stronger impression on me this time around so I guess it all evens out in the end.

The animation is still quite beautiful and it makes you pine for more hand drawn titles in today’s day and age.  The CG chandelier shots are a bit dated sure, but I will stand by that ballroom scene as the melding of 2D and 3D still looks great.  The film’s finale in particular, from the roof tops to the battle raging inside the castle walls, still looks fantastic and the animators have crafted one of the finest looking animated films of all time.  The 3D upgrade looks pretty good here and there are only one or two weird glitches with the retro fitting.  In fact, all of the wider establishing shots look fantastic and the 3D gives the landscapes and castle interiors an added element of depth that really adds to the picture.

Beauty and the Beast is worth checking out during its limited 3D run as the up conversion adds enough to the picture to make it worthwhile.  Even more worth the trip is getting to see this gorgeous animated film back on the big screen and I am ecstatic that Disney hopes to roll out some of their classics in theaters bi-annually in the years ahead.  I missed The Lion King last year, but I won’t be missing any of the Disney re-releases from here on out; well done.

Beauty and the Beast 3D is a B+

Joyful Noise is the first movie of 2012 I have reviewed and it is already in the running for the year’s worst.

The film is an unbearable slog of a film that shows no craft whatsoever in both its filmmaking and musical performances.  At two hours, the film felt like a freaking eternity and the filmmakers show no sense of pace or momentum.  The film is an inconsistent and narrative mess that never tries to validate its plot, characters, or motivations across the board.  It is hard to believe how poor a piece of filmmaking this picture is and I was regretting my morbid curiosity in checking this film out before the first act was over.

It only gets worse from there though.  A movie steeped in gospel music and church going southerners is bound to get preachy, but for a while there I didn’t think they were going to go there.  Boy was I wrong.  There comes a point in the film where the son of Vi Rose, played by producer Queen Latifah, comes to his mother and asks why he is the way he is; he has Asperger’s Syndrome.  Dexter Darden (who gives the film’s best performance, even if he takes his character’s emotions to a level I don’t think a person with Asperger’s would be capable of) delivers a wonderful monologue about why he hates God and how it is unfair that God has made him this way, and everything Darden says is true.  His mother’s loving response; “God doesn’t make mistakes.”  The bull shit response of the infallibility of our supposed maker is supposed to be accepted in the face of an honest and fair line of questioning? And one wonders how people become atheists.  And before you begin to write my review off as some God hater, this was just the shit icing on top of the shit pie that is the film itself.  I loathed this film before God got involved; and it’s nowhere near my biggest issue with the film.

Vi Rose has to work two jobs, her husband has left her and she is financially strapped raising two kids, but she is still a bible thumper for the man upstairs; open your eyes lady.  I don’t think winning a silly singing competition with horribly arranged re-mixes of pop music and gospel lyrics is going to make my life or the town’s all that better.

And with when it comes to the town therein lays one of the most annoying aspects of the film.  They don’t even try to give us a picture of what this town is like and when the film tries to sell its emotional finale on being for the betterment of their small town it doesn’t remotely work.  The choir’s victory might make some people smile for a day or two, but it isn’t going to pull every corner shop in town out of bankruptcy now is it.  Add in characters acting completely out of the script’s desire to create drama by irrationally treating other characters radically different than just a moment ago and you will be shaking your head for most of the film’s two hour run time.

Then there is the music, a bunch of poorly rearranged pop hits that would never make the cut on Glee; which the film is unabashedly stealing from at every turn.  Ethnically diverse choir, check; Michael Jackson song, check; young love relationship drama controlled by means beyond their own, check; it’s all there except done poorly and with worse choreography.  Seriously, the choreography was horrendous.  The final musical number was the highlight of the film, where they almost got something right, but it never comes close to redeeming any of the awfulness on display here.

Queen Latifah produced the picture and you can tell.  Her character, Vi Rose, is streamlined for sympathy and they give her all of the film’s “big” moments, with a couple sprinkled off for Dolly Parton and her awful turn in the picture.  The film is constantly trying to pull at your heart strings with sappy musical numbers (“Jesus Fix Me,” ugh) or bringing back dead characters for emotional waltzes and none of it works.  It falls hardest when it constantly tries to weasel in these old southern adages at almost every turn (are they real or original? I have no fucking clue) and I found myself wanting to, “scratch my eyes out like a wild, freckled, country varmint on a salty summer’s night, it was a Thursday.” (See I can write nonsense too)

I could go on and on, but that would only be further punishment to me and you.  Who am I kidding; you stopped reading about this terrible film long ago.  If you made it this far and still want to see this, God help you.

Joyful Noise is an F-

Zac:  So Lauren, you and I both saw Contraband this week, the new film staring Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster and Giovanni Ribisi about a bunch of smugglers trying to iron out a family debt; what did you think?

Lauren: I think that I am rather impressed with how easily you were able to narrow down that plot.  Smuggling is the main focus, but it is hardly alone as Contraband throws in everything possible to make this an exciting experience.  After a while it was just like, “oh come on!”  How am I truly supposed to believe this story anymore?  And not in an exciting, Mission: Impossible sort of way.  Too much of a good thing can become a great thing, but here we were just being buried in more plot points to stand in the way of our main characters from having an easy time with things.

Zac: Beyond the attempt to bury us alive in supposed plot twists, I found the film was both predictable and rather dull.  The film has no sense of pacing or forward momentum and it would have almost been more entertaining to watch a ship go through the locks of a canal; wait, the film does that for us.  The underwhelming plot twists and what have you might have been more bareable had the film had any cool set pieces to support them, but the film instead relies on tense moments surrounding our “hero” who we know has no chance of being caught or killed.

Lauren:  Agreed, predictable is the perfect word for this one even though they tried to keep us guessing.  At least I think they did.  It’s just not hard to guess what will happen next when nothing new is attempted.

What it comes down to is lazy screenwriting, on both the part of the plot and dialog.  Other than the constant jabbing at an over-appreciated painter, I was completely annoyed by how these characters talked.  Yes, they are criminals, so am I supposed to be intimidated by someone who drops f-bombs left and right?  They were worse than stuttering rappers with no understanding of a ranging vocabulary, so it was a little hard for me to believe that Wahlberg was smart enough to pull this stuff off on more than a luck based level.  Give me V over this (who gets bonus points for his alliteration skills in V for Vendetta).

Zac: Part of me was wondering if Ribisi, who turns on a weird accent for the film, was kind of good or kind of terrible here, and I am still not sure which one is the case.  The acting as a whole could have been far worse, but I have seen everyone involved do far better work in other films.  Wahlberg is in cruise control, Foster has nothing to do, and the same goes for Beckinsale.  Talk about undeveloped characters, damsel in distress is all she is asked to do besides sleep for the film’s third act.

The direction is also quite mediocre and brings nothing to the table.  Baltasar Kormákur is directing his first English language, hollywood film here and he doesn’t really impress.  He has no sense of his action set pieces and his camera is constantly hiding behind something.  I will say this though, the sequence in the lifted shipping container was something I hadn’t really seen before, but I feel like someone else could have done it better.

Lauren: Yeah, like the director of The A-Team.  Like you, I felt bad for Beckinsale in this role knowing what she is capable of (which she will hopefully exploit in Underworld: Awakening). Even as the lead, Wahlberg could have phoned this one in from home as far as I am concerned, though then we wouldn’t have seen him showing Ribisi just how little he was willing to take from him. During these moments Wahlberg was his usual BA self, though it isn’t hard to look too tough against Ribisi, who was suffering from what I will now diagnose as Norton Stone Syndrome (because of the “criminal” accent Edward Norton put on in Stone).  Or maybe he was confusing his accent mixing?  This is Louisiana after all, as I gathered from J.K. Simmons’ dialect.

All I know is no one was given anything to work with character wise, making me wonder what they saw in this script in the first place.  If they wanted their own Ocean’s Eleven (my knowledge of this genre is slightly limited), this wasn’t it.

Zac:  No, the Ocean’s series it is not, but I don’t think it was trying to be.  I don’t know what it was trying to be honestly.  You can’t be a fast-paced action film when your hero is stuck on a slow moving boat; I guess it was trying to be a sneaky thriller of sorts, but by the time we got to the final reveal I couldn’t have been any less suprised.

Lauren: Well obviously it wasn’t trying to be, but the adding up of possible deal breakers during a sneaky operation had me reliving the first film of that series and wishing I was on at home watching that instead.

Zac: Any who, I don’t know what else I can really say about this one as it doesn’t try to be anything we haven’t seen before.  You could watch the film on your couch and it might be entertaining enough to pass by on a lazy afternoon, but for someone spending their hard earned dollars I can never recommend this.