Fairytales, folklore and mythology permeate literature, films, comics, art…many of the stories that entertain us today owe their structure, content, themes and ideas to the ancient oral traditions of various cultures. My favorites among these types of stories are those that delve deep into folklore, mythology and tradition and stay relatively true to the source material. Neil Gaiman and Mike Mignola have done this to great effect with The Sandman and Hellboy, respectively. The archetypes of fairytales are such that they lend themselves to whimsical, fantastical film making. The latest of these happens to be The Brothers Grimm.

I was excited from the very beginning about this film for many reasons. The source material is a favorite. The director is known for quirky, eccentric film making. And the look of the film, similar to that of films like Sleepy Hollow and Van Helsing, is one that I thoroughly enjoy. The problem with having high anticipation for films is that one can be easily let down if the film doesn’t deliver. I’m happy to say that for the most part this film met all my expectations.

The Brothers Grimm is in no way a biography of the actual men who recorded hundreds of fairy tales gleaned from the oral traditions of various European cultures. Instead it is fantastical tale of two con men who make their fortune preying on the superstitions of isolated villages. With the help of a couple of mentally challenged henchmen they secretly set up elaborate hauntings for which the villagers pay them to perform equally elaborate exorcisms. This all works great until they are forced to deal with a village whose hauntings are by no means manufactured by man.

Terry Gilliam, famed member of the Monty Python troupe and director of such films as Jabberwocky, Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas brought his unique talents to The Brothers Grimm and more than anyone can be credited with the look and feel of this film. His films, like the films of Tim Burton, tend towards the bizarre, the whimsical, and the quirky both in look and content. Far from being a straight forward scary adventure film, The Brothers Grimm is peppered with odd, eccentric characters and settings that mark it as a Gilliam film. The settings are dark, spooky and rich with texture. The enchanted forest and its decaying tower which are part of the main setting for the film are particularly well done. The menacing, moving trees are especially fun as they scamper like spiders and writhe like snakes and call to mind images of eerie childhood tales. I especially loved the tower as it looks strikingly like an Alan Lee drawing of a ruined tower in a cherished book I own entilted Castles (scroll a quarter of the way down to see picture to which I’m referring). Gilliam’s color palette, dark and moody but touched here and their with splashes of crimson, was excellent.

I was pleased with the cast of this film. Heath Ledger and Matt Damon inhabit the title roles. Both easily fall into that category in which they are liked by some and despised by others. I happen to enjoy both of these actors and, with the exception of Damon’s awful wig, they looked great as the Grimm brothers. Lena Headey was a great choice for the lead female. She was attractive but not cutesy which made her headstrong, fearless character Angelika more believable. Monica Belluci was the perfect choice for the beautiful but too briefly seen Mirror Queen. It was wonderful to see Jonathan Pryce back in a villain role. He has been a favorite since Something Wicked This Way Comes. Without question, however, the show was stolen by Peter Stormare as the Italian officer-executioner Cavaldi. His performance was eccentric, wacky, over-the-top and very fun. My only complaint is that early on in the film I had difficulty understanding his lines as his voice seemed to be drowned out by background noise. Other than this he was outstanding.

I would have liked to see more editing to the length of this film. Normally I don’t find movies too long but at almost 2 hours this film could’ve benefited from some early trimming, or perhaps a better use of the first act of the show. I feel they spent too much time establishing just who the Brothers Grimm were and it is time that would have been better employed fleshing out the Mirror Queen and Woodsman roles in the middle and end of the film. Despite an early action sequence the first twenty minutes of the film seemed slow and flat. Thankfully the film picks up after the introduction of Cavaldi and the subsequent relocation to the haunted forest. And make no mistake, even with the fairytale references this is not a film for young children. There is the presence of a typical happy ending but along the way some very dark things that happen to children and adults…things very true in spirit to the original Grimm’s fairy tales.

Gilliam does a marvelous job of weaving together elements from many of the classic Grimm tales into this film and I found it highly enjoyable. If you’ve enjoyed previous Gilliam films and/or you like the darker, quirkier films of Tim Burton then you should be entertained by The Brothers Grimm.

It was a dark and stormy night…what better night to see an atmospheric scary movie? Thus Thursday evening found me with James and Jeff at Skeleton Key. The brief synopsis of the story is that a hospice worker moves in with an elderly couple in a decrepit, backwoods Louisiana home to care for the wife’s ailing husband. Upon arrival she is given a skeleton key that is said to open every room in the house. Late night sounds from the attic quickly make her aware that her key does not open every door in the home and from there the mystery ensues.

Contrary to my usual style I will give a rating right up front: this movie is, at best, a 2 out of 4 star film. This film falls into the same “horror” category with movies like The Others or The Gift. It is a suspenseful, mysterious, atmospheric film not a “jump out” or slasher film like so many others in this genre. I have been known in the past to rail against critics who do not seem to have the ability to review a film on its own and frequently compare it to other films. This time I am guilty of the same transgression because as I watched I could not help comparing it to The Others, a film I love and a film that does this type of horror to perfection.

Despite the 2 star review there were things that I absolutely loved about this film. The cast in this film is very small and with the wrong choices for actors could have been dreadful. Fortunately the cast was terrific. I’ve enjoyed Kate Hudson in every movie of hers that I’ve seen and this is no exception. While the material doesn’t stretch her acting ability I found her believable and she did a good job of drawing you into the mystery as it was unfolding to her character. Gena Rowlands does an excellent job playing the slightly sinister elderly Southern matron. John Hurt, who I enjoyed immensely in Hellboy, has a rather thankless role here as he is mostly in a vegetative state throughout the film but he does it very well. I also enjoyed Peter Sarsgaard as the elderly couples’ attorney.

Like The Others this was a slow building suspense film, creepy from the beginning but done in a deliberate, unhurried fashion. I enjoyed this aspect as well. I appreciate intense, fast-paced suspense films but there is just something about a slower paced mystery that reminds me of the ghost stories I used to read as a kid. The setting was perfect. The decaying plantation house in the backwoods of Louisana, surrounded by swampland and trees dripping with foreboding was the best haunted house I’ve seen in a long time. The film was lit to intensify the sense of isolation and there were some incredible camera angles and shot selections that really intrigued me and added to my enjoyment of the film. Among my favorites were views through keyholes and shots from inside of old, antique door locks as the key turned to open them.

I like collecting old keys. Whenever Mary and I are at antique stores we look for interesting old keys that we use to place around our home or to decorate gifts. I’ve always found these old keys to be interesting and creepy and the symbolism of the skeleton key was used with great effect in this film. I also found the the part of the storyline related to old folk magic and Southern mythology very interesting.

There were some truly great things about this film. Why then does it only rate 2 stars? To be honest, that is hard to pin down. The climax was slightly anti-climatic after the earlier suspenseful build-up. But even with that the denoument wasn’t horrible. I think what I disliked most is the way that the writer tried to flesh out this story. A usual complaint with horror films is that they have no substance and there were elements in this story in which they tried to imbue the characters with more dimension and it distracted from rather than added to the story. For example they spent unnecessary time giving Kate Hudson’s character Caroline a reason for being a hospice worker. She had an unreconciled relationship with her father and he died suddenly and alone. While other movies might have benefited from this type of backstory it really did nothing for this film. Another example was the ending. There was a definite place where they could’ve ended the film after its sinister conclusion. Instead the film maker chose to tack on an extra 5-10 minutes to give the viewer an idea of what happened to the characters after the climax. It was unneccesary.

But more than anything my reason for rating the film as I did was that they did so many things well early on that made me feel like I had found another film that I would like as much as I like The Others and in the end they were not able to pull it off. Forgive me for becoming the type of critic that I loathe!

When this comes out on DVD I will no doubt sit down with Mary on another dark and stormy night as I think she would enjoy it but I cannot recommend spending money at the theatre for this film. I can highly recommend a visit to the website, which has a nice eerie quality to it.

(non-spoiler review)

Sweet…unassuming….wonderful. Dear Frankie is a film that I was really disappointed to have missed on the big screen. Thanks to the wonder of Netflix, however, we were able to sit down this past weekend and partake of this delightful film.

Dear Frankie is the story of 9 yr-old Frankie Morrison. Frequently on the move, for reasons revealed later in the film, young Frankie, his mother, and grandmother have just arrived in a small seaside Scottish town. There Frankie has to adjust to a new school, new friends, and a new life. The only thing steady in his life are letters from his father whom he has never met. The only problem with this is that this father, a sailor aboard the ship A.C.C.R.A., doesn’t exist. The letters that Frankie sends to his “father” are actually read and replied to by his mother. The lie is about to be exposed, however, when the newspaper announces the imminent arrival of Frankie’s dad’s ship. Instead of taking this opportunity to share with Frankie the truth about the letters and his real father, Frankie’s mother goes in search of a man to play the role. The rest of the story unfolds as Frankie’s faux father enters the picture and forever changes Frankie’s world.

Dear Frankie is simply marvelous. It is a subtle film, reminding me a great deal of Mostly Martha in its pacing and direction. Unlike American romantic comedies Dear Frankie, though not entirely unpredictable, is much less formulaic in its approach to telling the story. And a terrific story it is. Written by Andrea Gibb and directed by Shona Auerbach, in her feature length directorial debut, Dear Frankie is heartwarming, charming, and enchanting. The relatively small cast could not have been better. Emily Mortimer brings depth and dimension to the role of Frankie’s mother. She’s fantastic. Gerard Butler does a fantastic job in the role of the stranger picked to be Frankie’s father. He is brooding and mysterious and able to deftly convey the effect that Frankie has on him. And young Jack McElhone as Frankie is superb. He is a first rate actor and amazes with his performance. The onscreen chemisty between all the characters is so good that you could easily become convinced that you’re watching a documentary rather than people acting out roles.

The music and cinematography are terrific and fit the story so perfectly. The color palette used reflects the sentiment of the film so well. This is a wonderfully crafted film.

I highly recommend that you watch the trailer and then go out and rent this charmer of a film. My thirteen year old daughter watched it last night and told me “That film is really sad. We should buy it.” High praise indeed. And while there are moments that bring a tear to your eye this film really does make you feel good.

(non-spoiler review)

Thanks to a timely phone call to Jeff this afternoon I got invited to my second sneak preview of the week: The Island. I promise a no-spoiler review though it may be difficult. Cut from the same cloth as movies like Equilibrium, Gattaca, and Minority Report it is safe to say that if you enjoyed those movies you will enjoy The Island. In fact, as much as I enjoyed all three of those movies I would rate The Island a notch above them. Simply put, setting aside Star Wars: ROTS (it is in a category of its own) this is my second favorite movie of the summer behind Batman Begins.

I must admit to some initial concerns about this movie when I discovered it was directed by the infamous Michael Bay. With his penchant for blowing things up in lieu of any type of plot, The Island could have quickly become another Pearl Harbor. Surprisingly it did not. This is a first rate action/suspense film. I won’t discuss the story as to do so would ruin the fun. The bare-bones plot is this: a group of men and women live in a safe, sterile, not-unhappy environment in which they work and play and wait. They wait for the opportunity, via lottery, to be chosen to live on The Island, a veritable Garden of Eden and the only safe, non-contaminated area left on Earth. But as in any good suspense tale, all is not what meets the eye.

At a little over 2 hours The Island takes the time to let the story unfold. Suspicion is present from the outset but the gist of what is going on is revealed little by little, allowing the viewer time to absorb the details before the action kicks in. There are so many areas where this film could’ve gone wrong and it is a credit to Michael Bay and company that it managed to keep a balance between all the aspects of the film. Tension, suspense, mystery, paranoia, action, romance and explosions are all present. Yes, there are explosions, but for once they add to rather than distract from the film. There is a very situation specific humorous element (NO SPOILERS!!!) that could have easily grown tiresome yet they went away from it at the right time.

Just like War of the Worlds and the recently reviewed Stealth this movie is a big screen knockout thanks to top-notch effects. The special effects and camera angles are amazing, especially during a highway chase scene reminiscent of Matrix: Reloaded and Final Destination 2. The sound effects were incredible as well, especially in the new theatre where we saw the movie. Lucasfilm had a hand in the effects and if you listen closely you can hear the pod racer sounds from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace in the chase scene.

What kept this film from becoming a cliched action-film-set-in-the-future was the casting. Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson were terrific. It is interesting seeing the difference it makes when you take a movie like this and fill the roles with stars who can actually act. Ewan shows that he can play a believable man-on-the-run and Scarlett holds her own quite nicely in the action sequences. Sean Bean plays the facility director to absolute perfection and Djimon Hounsou is excellent as a Defense Department hired gun. Toss in roles filled by Michael Clark Duncan, Ethan Phillips, and Steve Buscemi and you find yourself with a cast that adds depth and character to The Island.

I can say no more without revealing details so I will tell you to take a trip to The Island and return to tell me how much you enjoyed it. I liked it so much that I called my wife upon leaving the theatre to tell her that I am taking her and the girls (Tori and her friend Alyssa) to see it Friday evening. It was fun and exciting…and I got cool mini posters (same as pic above) for the girls and myself as a bonus!

(non-spoiler review)

Some of you who have attended movies with me in the last few months may recall having me lean in during the Stealth trailer to mention just how much I thought this movie was going to suck. That, plain and simple, was my state of mind when my brother-in-law John called me this morning and told me he had free sneak preview tickets. Never one to turn down a free movie I agreed and sped off after work to meet him in Kansas to see Stealth.

I have to start by saying that the Stealth trailer is possibly the best movie trailer I’ve ever seen. Laugh if you want to…go ahead, I’ll wait……………………………… ……………………………………are you okay now? I enjoy movie trailers but frequently complain that they give away too much of the movie. I thought this to be the case with Stealth. Thus I was surprised to learn that the trailer not only covers only the first 1/3 of the movie but also is a bit deceptive in the editing. The twist that occurs and the subsequent events in the movie are completely unseen in the trailer. Kudos to the production team on that one.

Okay, so how was the movie already? Glad you asked. I enjoyed it. And although I’ve said this about a lot of movies lately the description applies here as well: It was fun. Purely a summer popcorn flick and yet another movie that can only be appreciated for what it is if seen on the big screen. The biggest draw and most lasting impression of this movie are the special effects and the inventive camera angles. From start to finish the director does his best to make you feel like you are flying right along with the other pilots. Driving home I was thinking that an accurate description of this movie would be The Fast and the Furious for fighter jets so I was amused upon arriving home to read that Rob Cohen also directed The Fast and the Furious and xXx.

At the risk of losing all credibility with my audience at this point I have a confession to make. I love the movie xXx. It is one of my truly guilty pleasures and against all rhyme or reason it is a movie that I saw twice in the theatre, rushed out on release day to buy on DVD, and have watched several times since. I would personally place Stealth just below xXx and above The Fast and the Furious. That statement alone probably tells you all you need to know and you can stop reading now, walk away, and shake your head while contemplating how far I’ve fallen.

As I was saying, the special effects are amazing and the explosive, adrenaline inducing editing and camera work added to seat-vibrating sound effects make this a rush to watch on the big screen. Although there are quiet moments within the film the majority of the viewing time is spent experiencing momentum and speed. This part of Stealth was very well done. It left me with a nearly overwhelming urge to drive recklessly fast on my trip home.

The story, while not new on any level, becomes entertaining once it moves past the trailer scenes and enters the second act. The actors did a nice job. This certainly was no Ray for Jamie Foxx but I couldn’t help thinking about Ray every time he donned a pair of sunglasses. Josh Lucas was entertaining as the leader of the group. Jessica Biel did a fine job in what appears to be a continuing effort to do action-oriented roles. During the obligatory bikini scene I was surprised to realize that the film makers actually may have had a deeper motive than just showing off Biel’s body. This is the only opportunity in the movie that you get to see just how physically strong she really is, a fact that is important to the character she plays. I’m not sure of Biel’s actual physical stats but that girl is cut! I could’nt believe the size of her leg and arm muscles and her back was ripped…in fact I was quite envious! After doing action oriented roles in Blade: Trinity and Stealth it will be interesting to see if she continues to pursue this type of physically demanding role.

Stealth is admittedly marketed towards males who still have an intimate relationship with their inner child. Those addicted to action and speed will enjoy this diversion from the summer heat. If you intend on seeing this at all I recommend that you read no other reviews. A large part of the fun for me was the unexpected twists in the plot that are better left unread. And if you do see it stay until the credits are over. It is definitely geared towards big screen enjoyment as opposed to a rental and is worth the price of a matinee admission if you can enjoy it for what it is. It won’t change your life, but if you see it please buckle up and watch out for cops as you make your way home.