Twice Baked Potatoes: Sure Things For Summer

The Twice Baked Potatoes series is back with a vengeance, and this time it’s all about saving our summers.  If you’ve seen The Hangover 10 times already, Public Enemies has left you with summer blues, or if you’ve seen Transformers 2 and the IMAX ticket prices have plucked your pockets to their linty bottoms, stay home and fire up these five classic crowd-pleasers:

5) Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure

"Bill, check it out! We're in the middle of a war, dude!"

Keanu Reeves sans the matrixey philosophical mumbo jumbo, various historical periods getting a gnarly awesome 80’s treatment, and one of the hottest moms in movies, time has been very good to this 1988 comedy. I showed this movie to my little sister (born in 1991) a few years ago, and it became one of her favorite movies.  It’s goofy, it’s a romp, and its vibe is totally infectious. Napoleon eating/hogging a giant ice-cream sundae and getting a prize for it?  I’m there, dude.

4) Re-Animator

"I didn't kill him. I gave him life!!"

If you’re looking for some horror that’s heavy on both cheese and gore, look no further.  It’s the horror film that all the buffs talk about, but don’t let them scare you away, because this film is on the level.  My lady showed me this one a few months ago, and I couldn’t stop laughing/cringing.  The movie is self-aware yet feels completely authentic.  It plays like a 50’s matinee fixture with 80’s sprinkled on top.  When the corpses are reanimated and they go into their cyclone of mad zombie rage, it feels like Christmas.

3) Encino Man

"Poor stoneager, he spends a million years chilling in a block of ice, and now he's gonna go to high school?"

It’s the 90’s time capsule that made stars out of Brendan Fraser and Pauly Shore.  A caveman that gets frozen for a few million years, geeks thaw him out and teach him to be cool so that he can make them cool.  If you’re not on board already, move on to number 2, because it only gets weirder.  Parents, if you’re kid is currently in junior high, please pass this one on to them.  Pauly Shore teaching Brendan Fraser about the four basic food groups at 7-Eleven = priceless.

2) Almost Famous

"Jim Morrison? He's a drunken buffoon, masquerading as a poet. Man, give me 'The Guess Who', because they have the courage to be drunken buffoons, which make them poetic!"

Music makes everything feel better, and Cameron Crowe’s love letter to 70’s classic rock, rock journalism, and teenage self-discovery makes for a great way to fill two hours.  You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you might sing along (or hum, if you don’t know the words.  I’m horrible at learning lyrics, personally.  Movie quotes stick to me like velcro, go figure).  Billy Crudup keeps the movie grounded, Kate Hudson is the spitting image of her moviestar mom, and Jason Lee turns out his best performance.  Look out for Philip Seymour Hoffman as legendary rock scholar Lester Bangs.  He only gets a few minutes of screen time, but that’s all he needs.

1) Back To The Future

"I, Dr. Emmett Brown, am about to embark on an historic journey...wait, what am I thinking about? I almost forgot to bring extra plutonium!"

The best time travel movie of all time.  I am forsaking many great films to make that statement, but I can’t deny this film’s super-classic status.  If you’re like me, you’ve seen this film more than a few times over the years.  It’s charm will keep you smiling from beginning to end all over again, and its Freudian elements give the film enough quirk to sustain the neurons as well.  The film’s cinematography, musical score, screenplay, and performances are all top notch.  But like the film does with its own science, you can just ignore all that technical nonsense and enjoy the ride.  One of the best soundtracks ever, by the way.

Movie Snacks – Lemon Sour Patch Kids get a bad rap

Upon entering a movie theater and making my way to the concession stand, I always ask myself two questions:

1) Do they have Cherry Coke? 2) What is their candy situation?

If the answer to the first question is yes, I will be drinking Cherry Coke.  You could set your watch to my predictability.

Answering the second question is a bit more difficult.  There are factors to consider:

1) What is their chocolate to gummi ratio? 1:1? 2:1?

2) In the chocolate category, do they have M&Ms? Plain or peanut? Both? Do I want M&Ms that day? It is an awkward snack during a drama, but eating peanut M&Ms during a good actioner is the closest thing to awesome before kissing Buddha’s pinky ring.

3) In the gummi category, do they have Sour Patch Kids? Classic Sour Patch Kids? Or perhaps Sour Patch Watermelons.  Some days, Sour Patch Kids can be a bit run of the mill, and Sour Patch Watermelons provide a sensory lift during longer movies.  Most days, however, classic Sour Patch Kids is where it’s at.

Chocolate candies are the guardians of movie theater awesomeness, but gummi candies capture the imagination.  Bright colors, crazy flavor combinations, the pairing of gummi with sour, it’s like a movie in your mouth!  In a given bag of Sour Patch Kids, the flavor that gets the least respect is lemon.  Anyone can eat a cherry flavored Sour Patch Kid, leaving those pesky lemon Kids uneaten at the bottom of the sour powdery plastic bag, but they would be missing out on an underrated snack experience.  When it comes to Sour Patch Kids, Lemon is the perfect flavor.  Lemon is naturally sour, so the tongue need not adjust its receptive powers in possible confusion.  I mean, a cherry isn’t sour, right?  Lemon cleanses the palate as well, allowing the tongue to transition seamlessly between sweeter flavors.  Next time you’re enjoying a bag of Sour Patch Kids at your local movie theater, remember to give all flavors a chance.  The awesome moviegoing experience you save may be your own.

The Dame With The Necklace – “Song of The Thin Man”

Just a quick post today, as an afternoon showing of Transformers 2 is calling my name.  My lady-fair has been educating me on all things classic film, and today’s stop on the Golden Age Hollywood tour was the final film in “The Thin Man” series called “Song of The Thin Man”.  If Dashiell Hammett and Chuck Jones mated and their offspring raised by Lucille Ball, this would be the movie that the kid would make.

The sets, the costumes and the locations were all perfectly choreographed into a ballet of 40’s conventions.  In that way, the flick’s a great shorthand if you’re trying to write snappy, 1940’s-sounding dialogue.  Lawrence Kasdan must have seen these flicks a lot.  As the two iconic lead characters Nick and Nora Charles, William Powell and Myrna Loy prove once again that the couple who solves crimes together stays together. Their dog Asta might just be the most awesome dog in the universe, next to our dog Bridget.

Bridget the Superdog. Taking a much deserved break from fighting crime.

10 things I learned from watching “Taken”

Recently acquired Taken on Blu-Ray starring Liam Neeson.  Loved the movie immensely, and I definitely recommend the extended version.  It’s a cross between The Professional and Death Wish. This flick will definitely be getting a full review soon, but first I wanted to share 10 awesome lessons that I took away from the film:

1) In American film, Eastern Europeans always sound hoarse and irritable.

2) When Liam Neeson is offered a chance to negotiate, he considers the pulling of the trigger as his counteroffer.

3) If Taken teaches us anything, it is that the metrosexual stubble beard is the dead giveaway of a terrorist.

4) If Liam Neeson can teach us anything, it is that if you spit in his face, he will electrocute the ever living sh*t out of you.

5) Even Liam Neeson’s gun sounds like the voice of God.

6) Liam Neeson can impersonate a French Policeman simply by holding up a business card and threatening death.

7) Liam Neeson can feel inner pain while dispensing mass amounts of pain to others.

8 ) Liam Neeson could get Oscar nominated simply for knocking a barrel of oil into a fire properly using a speeding car bumper.

9) Liam Neeson mingling with prostitutes is like a serial killer conversing with cement mixers.

10) When investigating his daughter’s kidnapping, Liam Neeson finds one of his daughter’s hairs, bags it, and then pockets it. Nothing happens with the hair after that, but then again, nothing needs to happen either.

“Fire Everything!!” – The Return of Star Trek

Space.  We thought it was the final frontier.  We had been on the voyages with the various Starfleet commands.  We wanted to boldly go where no one had gone before.  Then, forty years later, we realized that there was no more frontier.  It had been paved over, and repaved over several times after that.  The USS Enterprise had become an antique, and its exploits became quaint reruns on basic cable.  It didn’t seem like there would ever be hope for Star Trek. In the end, it took a non-Trekker in the form of a certain J.J. Abrams to do what others couldn’t: He shook off the cobwebs, installed a new warp drive, and blasted off from scratch.  Star Trek is back and better than ever!

To boldly go...

In Star Trek, the new James Tiberias Kirk is a man willing to face certain demise because he faces it every time he looks into a mirror.  Kirk may be haunted by the death of his father, but he also recognizes that the apple did not fall too far from the tree. Chris Pine (Smokin Aces) brings a natural energy to the role.  His Kirk is rakish and impulsive, defying authority at every chance but never backing down from a challenge. His inner strength fuels his naked will to do what is right, no matter what.  Pine captures the unorthodoxy and charm of Shatner’s Kirk but leaves out Shatner’s eccentricities.

Spock has always been complicated, but never this much.  This spin on the series highlights the duality of the Spock character, and makes it part of his overall character arc.  As a 21^st century remix of Leonard Nimoy, Zachary Quinto (Heroes) displays all of the measured Vulcan logic expected of Spock, but shadows it with a slow burning intensity. In this Trek, Spock is a being caught between two worlds, and must decide for himself which path he will choose.  He is not content with simply being accepted as a Vulcan, but cannot bring himself to indulge his human side either.  Even in moments when Spock is justifying the logical decisions he makes, we can see him struggling with his own anger and frustration, and the moment when Kirk goads Spock into finally releasing his demons is definitely one of the best moments in the whole film.

The rest of the crew is an entertaining bunch.  As space heroine Uhura, Zoe Saldana (Pirates of The Caribbean) is given double duty, matching Kirk’s fearless nature while providing a beating heart for Spock.  It’s a shame her part was so limited.  Same goes for Karl Urban (Lord of The Rings) as Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy.  His McCoy is less gruff and more neurotic than the classic TV doc, but it fits the film’s more naturalistic approach.  Every line he speaks is gold or near-gold and steals about every scene he’s in, that is until Simon Pegg pops up as kooky engineer Montgomery Scott.  Pegg (Shaun of The Dead, Hot Fuzz) has the least amount of screen time, but when he does show up, he leaves us smiling if not in full laugh mode.  John Cho (Harold and Kumar 1 & 2) turns in an unexpectedly straight performance as Sulu, getting his day in the heroic sun during the furious “space jump” sequence. Anton Yelchin (Charlie Bartlett) is classic Chekhov, replicating Walter Keonig’s trademark Russian while dialing down its stereotypical elements.  Bruce Greenwood has played captains and leaders before in films like The Core and Thirteen Days, but he looks like he’s having too much fun as Christopher Pike (Captain Kirk’s prototype).  Look out for Mr. Leonard Nimoy as “Spock Prime”.  I’d need another article to explain why there are two Spocks.  It makes sense, believe me.  It’s just something that needs to be seen.  Last, but not least, Eric Bana (Troy, The Hulk) brings us the freshest Star Trek villain in years as a genocidal Romulan aptly named Nero.  His vengeance toward the Federation runs deep, forcing his would-be pursuers to share his pain, which is more connected to a certain Enterprise crew member than we know.

From the heart shaking opening assault on the USS Kelvin to the climactic battle on Nero’s Romulan Death Ship, Star Trek fits an epic space saga into a snug two hours. Using good old-fashioned storytelling and eye popping visuals, J.J. Abrams (Co-creator of TV’s Alias and Lost, Mission Impossible III) brings back the earnestness and sense of adventure of classic summer blockbusters.  Star Trek uses eye-popping special effects and innovative set design to reinvent the Trek universe, but their reinvention also pays subtle tribute to the Treks of old.  There are so many references to the old shows and films that, again, I would need another article to get them all down.  Let’s just say that when characters would say their certain lines that we all remember, they incorporate them so well into the story that they felt like they had never been spoken before.  Also, for being a reboot, the film doesn’t short change the fun of the original series just to work in some heavy handed dramatics, unlike Superman Returns.  Skeptics could argue that the science in the film is very “huh?” worthy, but considering that it’s Star Trek, you just have to go with it.  It’s a great adventure reminiscent of vintage Spielberg and Lucas, and I’ll definitely be there for the next one.  To quote a future classic line: “I love this ship!  It’s so exciting!”  Beam me up, Mr. Scott!

Twice Baked Potatoes: The Lawnmower Man (1992)

1992.  The home computer is becoming commonplace.  The innovators all envision a better world through technology.  They predict that a computer will be in every home by the year 2001.  We would warm ourselves around the fire of progress, living in the harmony that was supposed to be facilitated by the merging of human beings and technology.  The arena in which all this was supposed to happen was called Virtual Reality.  It was supposed to remove the buffer between our brains and the electronic “brains” in our computers.  Instead of keyboards spelling out commands, we would grab programs with our own hands, and manipulate raw data like clay.  Our minds could be stronger than any physical muscle, which meant we would only be limited by the size of our imaginations.  Virtual Reality was supposed to be our future, but with new ideas came new paranoias, and that is where history leaves off, and Brett Leonard’s film The Lawnmower Man picks up.

Brilliant yet ambitious Dr. Angelo (played by Pierce Brosnan, in a post-Remington Steele, pre-James Bond role) recruits mentally challenged gardener Jobe (played by Body Parts‘ Jeff Fahey) for brain research that, if successful, could make Jobe smarter.  Of course, the research is a success and Jobe’s intelligence grows exponentially.  He gives himself a cowboy makeover, becomes a ladies man, and has big plans for his new future.  Unfortunately, as with all cautionary tales, the bliss is short lived.  Jobe experiences massive side effects, and then the story really begins…

The honest truth is that this film is a B-Movie at best.  Any decent film student could have shot this film.  The lighting, costumes, editing, and most of the acting could all be considered just a few notches higher than an episode of Red Shoe Diaries.  The two exceptions are the two lead actors:  Pierce Brosnan embraces the Frankenstein themes of the script, and conceives Dr. Angelo as a wide-eyed explorer of sorts who is constantly running from failure and needs a success before his work consumes him.  As Jobe, journeyman actor Jeff Fahey delivers a complicated character.  He constantly walks the line between dynamic and comical as his character slowly changes from simple-minded gardener into psychotic genius.  Even as the film gets more and more unbelievable, Fahey never lets Jobe slip into a single dimension.  There are always two minds at work.  Fahey’s performance is a textbook example of “better than the material.”  The allure of this film is in the concept, which is best realized during the Virtual Reality sequences.  Though they look extremely dated now, it is still easy to get lost in the visuals.  Even though the technology never actually came to pass, it is still fun to imagine what it would be like to travel to theoretical worlds and be free to express yourself in any way you see fit.  This film is about the dark side of our potential.  This film asks the question: “If we were allowed to remake ourselves in our own image, what would it be?”  I would recommend this film for sci-fi fans, fans of monster movies, and fans of those old Virtuality arcade games.

PS: Near the end of the film, Jobe prophesizes that he will be able to download himself into the virtual world completely, and then he would pass into the global telecommunications network.  When that was supposed to happen, every phone in the world would ring.  I won’t give the ending away, but it’s an interesting idea.  Virtual Reality may not have come true, but the computer has spread to nearly every aspect of modern life.  Cellphones, PDAs, Blackberries, and even the cars we drive have computer chips in them.  We are plugged in constantly.  Our virtual and physical realities have now merged.  Whether or not Jobe was able to make the phones ring back in 1992, they will not stop ringing now.

Twice Baked Potatoes: Howard The Duck

Twice Baked Potatoes are films that were considered critical flops in their day, but deserve a second look.  This is the first article in the series, and I chose to watch a film that had a bad reputation when it was released, but may just be secretly awesome.

Imagine you’re coming home after a long day at work.  You sit down in your favorite easy chair to enjoy a cold beer and a cigar.  You get one gulp and three puffs in when some mysterious force rips you away from not only your easy chair, but from your entire planet!  The force drags you across the universe only to crash land in some strange back alley on some strange planet with no idea where you are or how to get back home.  Then picture the strange new planet as Earth, and picture yourself as a three-foot talking duck from outer space.  Finally, picture a demonic creature hell bent on taking over the world, and he needs your woman to do it.  Your name is Howard T. Duck, and you’re really pissed off.  And so begins the weird odyssey through time, space, and greater Ohio in 1987’s Howard The Duck.

When Howard steps on screen, be prepared to suspend some disbelief.  In the era of Pixar, it can be difficult to accept the sight of a little person clearly wearing an animatronic Halloween costume.  The feathers look glued on, the eyes only move in two directions, and the beak is frozen in a cocky smile.  I was so taken by the absurdity of it all that I had to keep watching.  About twenty minutes into the film, I realized that I loved the fact that it was a suit.  I loved the fact that it was a mask, because I also realized that I missed films that used practical special effects.  I missed the feeling of watching a special effects film and being able to see an actual object on screen rather than a computer generated one. The film’s not as polished as The Incredibles or Kung-Fu Panda, but once the momentum starts going, this film is just as entertaining.

He's just not that into Earth.

The acting is all delightfully offbeat, especially from the four leads: Broadway actor Chip Zien as the voice of Howard T. Duck, Lea Thompson (Back To The Future) as Howard’s first friend (and possibly more) Beverly, Tim Robbins as lab assistant Phil Blumburtt, and Jeffrey Jones (Beetlejuice) as the Jekyll and Hyde-inspired Dr. Jenning.  Through his vocal talent, Chip Zien manages to bring out Howard’s dynamic personality despite the limited amount of physical expressions that Howard can make.  It is a truly funny performance that is best described as an oversexed Bruce Willis mixed with a manic Paul Rudd.  Lea Thompson follows suit with a quirky performance that embraces the goofiness of the premise rather than trying to take it too seriously.  Same goes for Tim Robbins’s Blumburtt character, and he is the funniest part of the film.  There is a scene involving Howard and Blumburtt escaping from the police in an ultralight airplane (think a giant toy airplane), and I was laughing as much as I was rooting for them to get away.

Enough said.

Jeffrey Jones may have been on a completely different planet during filming because Dr. Jenning may be one of the most memorable comic book villains ever.  From the Frankenstein makeup to the post-apocalyptic rags that make up his clothing ensemble, Jeffrey Jones is the true hero of the film.  His character is both pure comic book and genuinely scary.  He also gives his character a raspy, whining gargle of a voice that gets under your skin and stays there.  Howard may be the title character, but you may end up talking more about Dr. Jenning after the film.

Director Willard Huyck pulls no punches with the visual style.  The sets are all very angular and colorful, fully embracing the comic book roots from which this film was inspired.  Huyck and writing/life partner Gloria Katz adapted the script from Steve Gerber’s Marvel comic, and it is a romp in every sense of the word.  From beginning to end, the film takes weird twists and turns through unexpected places such as bathhouses and seedy punk rock nightclubs.  Huyck and Katz also wrote the script for Spielberg’s Indiana Jones and The Temple Of Doom, and the same mix of humor and action shows through in Howard The Duck.  The costumes are all over the top as well, especially Lea Thompson’s Beverly character.  With her multicolored leg warmers, Flashdance-worthy spandex pants, and hair that has been crimped and styled into oblivion, Beverly is a true 80’s time capsule.  The same could be said for the film itself, but it also has a unique view of the 80’s.  There are times when the film looks like Who Framed Roger Rabbit, while other parts look like Batman, and other parts look like a TV sitcom.

This film is secretly awesome, and though it’s an oddball film, you may have a better time than you want to admit.  If we can buy the idea of robots from outer space that can transform into Camaros and Hummers, then a wise-cracking duck from outer space saving Earth from mad scientists is just what the doctor ordered.

Love, loss, and Swedish vampires.

When Oskar and Eli meet, it is love at first sight.  Being that they’re both 12 years old, their courtship is naturally limited the icy playground in the middle of their apartment complex.  Oskar gives Eli the love and companionship that she needs, while Eli gives Oskar the strength to stand up to the classmates that constantly bully him.  The only thing keeping their romance from taking the next step is the inconvenient fact that Eli is a vampire.

In 2008’s Let The Right One In, director Tomas Alfredson makes the audience feel every inch of isolation that the characters feel on screen.  The buildings look like government housing, and the streets are cold and mostly deserted. The sets are minimal and economic yet full of texture.  Visually, I would compare it to The Coen Brothers’ Fargo, but stripped down to its essence.  John Ajvide Lindqvist adapted the script from his own novel, and he chooses to tell a simple story framed around two compelling leads rather than use any fancy plot twists or tricks.  As Oskar, Kare Hedebrant lets his subtle emotions show through his eyes and facial expressions.  As Eli, Lina Leandersson somehow manages to fuse jaded sadness with precocious youth.  Their connection and unlikely chemistry is the main reason why the film succeeds as well as it does.  It must have been difficult to find young actors that could be both restrained and emotional simultaneously.

Potato peeling is a hobby of mine, after all.

When the film was released, it was compared to Twilight, by virtue of the fact that it is also about a human child and a vampire child falling in love.  Once the Twilight fans get their fill of The Cullens and their pseudo-vampiric wackiness, they should immediately look toward their nearest rental establishment and pick this film up.  Although the story could be considered a coming-of-age allegory, it delivers enough tension and inventive gore to satisfy fans of the horror genre.  The film transcends all expectations because the idea is so fresh.  It is more than simply a horror film, as it more than simply an allegory.  This is a film also about alienation.  It is a film about two people finding each other, and the deep love that they share.  It isn’t a dramatic, passionate love like we read in romance novels.  It is the kind of love that lights up our hearts so that we may escape the darkness inside our minds.  I very much recommend Let The Right One In to any horror fan, any fan of Twilight, and any fan of film in general, because this is a truly original story that will remain in your mind long after the screen goes black.

The rise and fall of the rise and fall of Cadillac Records

When watching our Netflix copy of 2008’s Cadillac Records, we get through the opening credits before my cell phone rings, and I have to pause the film.  I wanted to get off the phone as soon as possible, because I was so pumped up by the first five minutes of the film, and was looking forward to being transported to the universe that the film was setting up.  The opening credits sequence is as bright as the glare coming off of a freshly polished Cadillac Sedan De Ville.  This may be due partly to the fact that there are many, many Cadillacs that grace the screen in just a few minutes.  As the classic cars flash across the screen, classic blues riffs set the mood, the Chess records logo spinning in the background, and then Cedric The Entertainer comes out…what?  Cedric The Entertainer?  That Cedric The Entertainer?  Yes, that one, and it turns out that he is going to be the narrator in this little odyssey, and I wasn’t sure if I was on board.  But Cedric was basically playing himself, just without his trademark glasses  and stylish hats, so I was still on board with the film…oh, and then the cell phone rings…

…so I take care of that, and then we can finally get into the film.  The first real scene in the film introduces the audience to the closest thing that this film has to a main character: sharecropper and future blues superlegend Muddy Waters.  Played by heavily underrated actor Jeffrey Wright (Basquiat, Casino Royale), Muddy is a complicated, seductive individual who rides up north to try and make a name for himself in the music business.  At this point, I am on board with the film.  As Muddy meets the musicians who would make up his band, we are then introduced to the second closest thing this film has to a main character: Leonard Chess, played by Oscar winner Adrien Brody, is a former bar owner turned record mogul in the form of his own company titled simply Chess Records.  What follows is a string of events that chronicle the rise and fall of one of the first and brightest blues record labels to ever cross over into the mainstream.  The film has drawn comparisons to 2004’s Ray, and it takes a page out of their book in the visual department.  From the muted pastel colors to the  cars to the costumes to the copper glow that gives the film its bittersweet nostalgia, Cadillac Records certainly looks like a worthy successor to Ray.

Then the film starts to slowly roll downhill from there.  The acting was all over the place on all fronts.  Adrien Brody seemed to have his acting permanently set on “Cool 50’s Rebel” throughout the film, which may resemble a compelling performance, but never actually connect with him.  Jeffrey Wright has the easiest time with the film, wearing a perfectly sculpted 50’s pompadour and perfectly sculpted suits to match.  His character is the only one in the film that is allowed to change at all.  I would say that Wright’s performance nearly saves the film, but we could not understand half of what he was saying in the quieter moments, because Wright gives his Muddy Waters such a drawl that it crossed over into unintelligible.  He could have been trying to growl Chinese backwards, because I would have never know the difference.  Halfway through the film, Beyonce Knowles and Mos Def enter the film as legends Etta James and Chuck Berry, respectively.  These people all deserved their own film, but instead they all get jammed up together in the same redundant narrative that keeps these characters (and these actors) in the same emotional places.  Etta gets reduced to an angry junkie, Chuck Berry becomes a black Jerry Lee Lewis (although that’s not too far off, in my opinion), and Muddy Waters is nothing more than an exceptional blues man who cheats on his wife and has kids out of wedlock.  These details of their real lives that become dramatized on screen are supposed to provide insight, but they fall flat because the film itself does not know which character to develop, so they all just come off as third rate impersonations. Honorable mention does go to Mos Def for giving the film a semblance of the fun that came from early rock and roll, because it certainly broke the monotony.

The Beach Boys stole his riffs, but he got even...

The film insists on simply retelling of true events strung together by scenes of drama and stock footage, but it never comes together into a film and we don’t really care about any of the characters (except Muddy Waters).  It felt like the HBO Films version of Ray, so I would say skip this one on video, and just wait for HBO.

Put it in the win column, Mr. Cage.

Nicolas Cage is charged with the fate of the world yet again, this time it revolves around a time capsule that has been dug up at his son’s elementary school. In it is a note filled with seemingly random numbers.  These numbers predict disasters — some that have already occurred and others that are about to — that lead him to believe his family plays a role in the much larger events that are about to unfold.

You think you know...

As I was leaving the theater Saturday afternoon, a feeling came over me after watching Nic Cage and company in the new film Knowing.  It didn’t feel like frustration, although I was certainly racking my brain.  It wasn’t disappointment, yet I wasn’t smiling all that much afterward.  In fact, the part of my brain that loves movies, the part that runs on 24 frames per second and craves digital sound, was spinning almost completely off of its axis trying to process what I had just watched for two hours.  After all, the logical part of my brain knows that this film doesn’t cover any new ground, and some of the dialogue has cheese on it so thick that it should be covered in wax and sold in supermarkets.  Right about now, I’m sure you’re feeling safe to assume that this review is going to be another addition to the laundry list of negativity that follows the latter half of Nicolas Cage’s career.  I went in to Knowing with the assumption that, at best, I would have a fun time watching Mr. Cage ham up another pseudo-blockbuster at a cheap matinee theater.  If I left this film with anything, it was that assumptions count for nothing.  This film was very good.  Surprisingly good.  Dare I say, really good?  Possibly.

The movie opens with a flashback sequence that brings the audience up to speed on how the prophetic numbers come to be.  Right away, director Alex Proyas sets an ominous tone, using iconic 1950’s imagery and bathing everything in permanent twilight.  If the audience only saw the first 10 minutes of the film, they might mistake it for some lost sequence from Peter Jackson’s Heavenly Creatures.  At this point, I am surprised by just how engaging the movie is.  But when the movie jumps to present day, Mr. Cage graces the screen, and I brace myself for the worst.  It never came.  I kept waiting for Cage to veer off into “phoning-it-in-from-another-galaxy” territory as per usual, but he remained in control and somehow turned in one of his best performances in recent years.  In this film, Cage is every bit the movie star that his paycheck claims he is.  On the page, his character is not much more than a father on a mission to keep his son safe, but Cage brings a grounded realism to his character’s haunted intensity.  He isn’t a hero in the square-jawed sense, but Cage makes you root for him just the same.  Newcomer Chandler Canterbury, last seen in December’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, does an exceptional job as Cage’s young son.  He has some of the cheesiest lines, but Canterbury infuses the right amount of emotional depth, so the character never becomes distracting or cliche.  He and Cage have a very authentic father-son connection that is the heart and soul of this film.  Aussie actress Rose Byrne (TV’s Damages, 28 Weeks Later) turns in another strong supporting performance as a woman who may be connected to the mystery behind the numbers.

Hold on, hold on, I can still get this baby down...aww crap.

It may be Cage’s name about the title, but the success of Knowing rests in the capable hands of its director.  Having helmed such sci-fi classics as The Crow and Dark City, Alex Proyas brings a steady, imaginative hand to the familiar material, and still manages to pack as much tension and suspense as possible into every frame.  In fact, The Whisperer characters could have easily been alternate versions of The Strangers from Dark City.  The film has the familiar “event movie” beats: sweeping helicopter shots of major cities about to perish horribly, big flashy disaster set pieces, “end of the world” trailer lines, and one hero caught in the middle of it all.  But the execution is nearly flawless.  Just the plane crash scene alone elevates the movie to “enjoyable” status, and reminded me of the larger action scenes in Cuaron’s Children of Men.  But the moments in between the action are where the film really shines.  This is also due in part to the moody, foreboding score composed by Marco Beltrami.  As the plot thickens, the tension builds, and seeing Cage’s character slowly unravel is even more effective because the audience knows that Cage knows the truth, and we feel alienated along with him when no one believes him.  I can’t give away the end, but I will say that the film ends on a spiritual note that has to be seen to be believed.

This film could easily become a sleeper hit, because though it has its faults, Knowing is the film that M. Night Shyamalan has been wanting to make for the better part of a decade.  I highly recommend this film for fans of classic end-of-the-world blockbusters, and it also renews my faith in Nicolas Cage, until he makes another Bangkok Dangerous.