Under the Radar: Killshot

The idea here is to take a look at some movies you might not have noticed.  Where I define “you” however I please.

Killshot’s pedigree is rather impressive.  The film was scripted by Oscar-nominee Hossein Amini (Best Adapted Screenplay, The Wings of the Dove) and based off an Elmore Leonard novel.  Many of Leonard’s books and stories have been adapted for the silver screen, including: 3:10 to Yuma, Get Shorty, Jackie Brown, and Out of Sight.

But, OK, as much as I’d like to believe otherwise, writing isn’t everything.  Killshot was directed by Oscar-nominee John Madden, who, granted, has been responsible for a couple of duds since Shakespeare in Love.  But I don’t think he has been proven completely incompetent.

So maybe the film barely saw the light of day because of the actors?  Well, no.  Killshot stars Oscar-nominee Mickey Rourke as a Native American hitman.  He soon partners up with Joseph Gorden-Levitt (OK, he hasn’t been nominated for an Oscar, but that’s only because he is too awesome for the Academy to handle), a brash small-time crook with a big mouth.  After a botched scam, they go after the two witnesses, Oscar-nominee Diane Lane and Thomas Jane, who play a married couple, newly separated.  Oscar-nominee Hal Halbrook has a small role, as does Rosario Dawson.

To recap, that’s five Oscar nominees, a story whose author has generated multiple films which could best be described as “cool,” attractive women, and Mickey Rourke as a friggin’ hit man.

I had thought Killshot went straight to DVD, but both IMDb and Box Office Mojo claim it played on 5 screens for a few weekends in January of this year, taking in a cool $10,000.  So what went wrong?

Well, as I’ve described the film to a few people (and as I’ll keep doing until the analogy becomes true), Killshot is like a hookless pop song: it isn’t bad, but there’s no real reason for it to exist.  The solid production can’t make up for the extremely thin and uninteresting plot.  Honestly, with a few changes, it could be an unaired pilot for an 80s Stephen J. Cannell action-adventure TV show.  Which certainly isn’t bad, but not the tone for which the filmmakers were striving.  If, that is, they had a tone in mind at all.

There are very few twists and even fewer subplots, meaning the end result hits many of the cliches you’d imagine in a story about a hit man with a talkative apprentice hunting down an innocent couple.  There’s nothing particularly bad about the film (assuming you can get past the idea of Mickey Rourke having any difficulty whatsover tracking someone down and killing him or her).  There’s just nothing particularly outstanding.

It is unfortunate all this talent is wasted on such a forgettable film.  But at least no one has to be ashamed of the work.

Christian Bale is in Too Many Movies, continued

Adam had a good comment in my earlier post about Christian Bale:

How can you be in “too many” movies? Most actors/actresses would kill to get as many great-to-decent roles as Bale. Ask one of our other Grouches if he thinks you can get “too many” job offers. And if you can swing it, and don’t mind the long hours, why turn down good money? Both the studios and Bale himself seem to be trying to cash in on his time in the spotlight. What’s wrong with that?
Also, your second point about the leading men in a franchise was completely under-thought. Mark Hamil was the “leading man” in Star Wars? Were you watching the same films as the rest of us? Is there any doubt that Ford was real leading man of those films? Ergo, Ford was able to pull off the double franchise deal.

I guess I didn’t make my first point too artfully. I don’t blame someone at all for taking on a lot of roles. I’m just amused at how suddenly Bale is everywhere. He’s one of the few actors who would be enough on my radar screen for me to at least give a second look at anything he’s in. But there’s no need to look forward to the next Christian Bale movie because a) nearly everything he’s in already interests me and b) a new Christian Bale movie comes along every few months. When does he have time to beat his mom and sister?

But I maintain the second. I guess I can’t fault the Terminator producers if they really felt like Bale could handle the role unlike anyone else. But is that really the case? It doesn’t seem like a terribly challenging part. Plus the guy just starred in another sci-fi/fantasy action thriller last summer that racked up the second highest box office in history. It just seems like they could have found another face that would have been all their own without a significant downgrade in acting quality. Now they share a lead man with Batman, which takes away the opportunity of making their lead man a unique symbol of the franchise and they have to adjust to Bale’s Batman schedule for future sequels.

It’s like as if Daniel Radcliffe starred in Twighlight as well as Harry Potter. Wouldn’t that be weird?

Anyway, it’s just a thought. I think Terminator Salvation’s lukewarm box office results shows the rebooted Terminator franchise will never reach the top tier occupied by Batman so it becomes much less of a conflict.

I Wouldn’t Want to Be Part of Any Club That Would Have Me As A Member

I love how secretive the Academy is about their members.  Go to the official site, and you’ll get a “sample” of voters.  For the past few years, though, they’ve issued press releases listing the people they invited.  Here are the 134 newbies.  If you’d like to compare, I’ve found linkes to the invitees for 2008, 2007, and 2006.

I have two main comments here.  First, the press release lists two films after each person, and it is pretty entertaining to see their choices.  Among the actors, my favorite may be Jeffrey Wright getting Quantum of Solace and W. But there are some pretty tremendous films namechecked in the other categories.  The casting director of Agent Cody Banks!  Paul Blart Mall Cop’s cinematographer!  And Failure to Launch’s!  The woman who designed the costumes for The Hangover and Superman Returns gets the nod.  The dude who edited Step Brothers and Talladega Nights gets to vote.  And no need to check your vision, the Academy really does acknowledge the existence of Santa Clause 3.  My favorite duo is either those attributed to producer Broderick Johnson: One Missed Call and P.S. I Love You or sound designer Hamilton Sterling: Fool’s Gold and Scary Movie 4.

My point here isn’t to disparage the picks.  I know nothing about these people, and I’m sure they are all perfectly qualified voters.  Frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were more in tune with my preferences than current voters, and at first glance they seem to represent an interesting mix of movies.  It is just kind of odd to see these sort of movies listed on an AMPAS press release.

Perhaps more importantly, I don’t really know how AMPAS decided on these people, but the timing is pretty odd.  Did it take Madea Goes to Jail to get Tyler Perry into the club?  Not that I’m surprised the Academy is behind the curve, it just would seems that Perry been a legit contender for years, and I’d wager he represents a point of view AMPAS has been trying to add to their roster.

Does the fact that the actors category skews relatively young provide more evidence that the Academy is trying to freshen its image, or is it just that all the older actors are already in?  Still, it is kind of crazy that two members of “Freaks and Geeks” get in, and just odd in general at the Academy’s seemingly implicit acceptance of comedy.

The writers category is fascinating.   I’m absolutely thrilled writer John August got in, because he is awesome (his blog is a must-read).  He wrote, among other things, the excellent Big Fish, the Charlie’s Angels movies, and Go.  Dustin Lance Black was nominated for last year’s Milk, the Academy decided to keep pissing off Adam as much as possible by inviting Courtney Hunt (and Melissa Leo) whose Frozen River is her only produced work.  And finally, Howard Rodman, who has written a few movies no one saw, including Savage Grace and Joe Gould’s Secret.  Before you go yapping your mouth, I realize that isn’t a true statement, in fact I watched one of his movies, August.  I didn’t like it.

What does it all mean?  Frankly, not much.  The Academy says they have about 6000 members, meaning this year’s class will represent about 2% of the population.  Still, it is interesting to put some names and faces to the infamous “Oscar voters” you might see us rant about in the coming months.

My Top 5 So Far: The Uninspired Edition

UPDATE: I forgot Coraline. Edits below.

I guess since all the cool kids (plus Jared) are doing so, I’ll throw in my two cents on the first half of the year. “Do a top five,” I said. “It’ll be fun and easy,” I said. Then I realized I’ve only seen about ten 2009 releases and not many were good. Adam and Jared’s posts seem to indicate the same, that their choices are fine but flawed. I mean, look at our lists from last year at this time. Those are a lot better slates, no?

Well here we go, first half of 2009 top five. I think only a few of these we’ll still be talking about in a few months.

1. Up. It’s a funny movie because the squirrel got dead. Like #1 could be anything else. I just had an unfortunate realization today that this is going to be knocked out of 3-D theaters by Ice Age. I should go back and see it in 3-D, right?

2. I Love You, Man. Funny stuff but also original and clever. Between this and Role Models Paul Rudd is really showing that he can lead a movie.

3. The Hangover. Breakout hit of the year. Damn funny but I thought it needed more polish. Just not quite as tight as other R-rated comedies we’ve seen lately.

4. Coraline (3-D). Gorgeous style with some genuinely creepy touches. The “Other” characters with their button eyes were surely nightmare fuel for legions of youngsters. I just wish the conflicts resolved in a less straight-forward manner.

4. 5. State of Play. And now we enter the winner by default section of the list. Quite enjoyable but it got a big boost from me for being a DC film. I don’t think it’d be as good for people not from here. Not that it has any big DC insight, it just has lots of neat DC settings. The twists and turns are fun, except for the horrible last one. When Russell Crowe was in town to shoot this last spring I saw him play a short surprise set at a Great Big Sea show. He was surprisingly good.

5. 6. Duplicity. Frustrating in that only parts of it are truly great while other parts falter. Great story with a terrific ending, but I was tired of Julia Roberts and Clive Owen’s little back-and-forth with each other about a third of the way through. How many times can she pretend to be mad at him before it’s stale? I think if you take out some of those scenes you’re left with a pretty terrific film.

My Top 5 So Far: The Correct Edition

As I have yet to see more than 10 movies that have been released this year, this list may not be the most well informed.  However, since I have excellent taste in movies - much better than my fellow Grouches – you can be sure that the movies I have chosen are excellent and you should immediately go see them.  So, without further ado, my current top 5:

1. The Hangover

I agree with Jared about the film trailing off towards the end and Heather Grahms’ character’s lack of development, but overall this was easily the funniest movie I’ve seen all year (and possibly last year).  Zach Galifianakis was absolutely hilarious as the awkward brother-in-law to be and really made the movie for me – though Ed Helms and Bradley Cooper were great as well.  (Ed. Note: I have yet to see I Love You, Man so “funniest movie I’ve seen all year” does not include this apparent gem – at least, according to Jared.)

2.  Sunshine Cleaning

Once in awhile a movie comes along that warms even my cold heart (i.e. Juno) and this was another one.  It doesn’t hurt your chances if you cast Amy Adams, though.  I actually really liked the plot of this movie.  A struggling, single mother with man issues is trying to make ends meet so that she can afford to provide for her son.  Sound familiar?  Basically this movie took the scenario from Frozen River and made a MUCH better movie.  Instead of turning to crime, Adams starts her own business in the crime scene cleaning industry with her “loser” sister (Emily Blunt).  Hilarity ensues.

3.  Star Trek

Surprisingly enough, Jared and I agree that John is wrong.  I really wanted to dislike this movie.  J.J. Abrams is highly over-rated and, at best, I’ve only decently liked some of his stuff.  However, Star Trek turned out to be a very enjoyable summer action/adventure film.  There were a number of things wrong with the plot and handling of some things, but overall the movie worked.   I was also really impressed with the casting.  Karl Urban as “Bones” McCoy was fantastic – I can’t think of anyone who could have pulled it off better.  Zoe Saldana….excellent choice….she should be in more movies…  I’m a huge Simon Pegg fan, so his appearance as Scotty was welcome, as was Anton Yelchin as Chekov.  All-in-all, a surprisingly fun and fairly well done summer blockbuster a la Iron Man last year.

4. Taken

Liam Neeson is great.  I was recently discussing this movie with a friend and neither of us were able to come up with a movie in which Liam Neeson was not great.  This movie was no exception and had him in a different type of role than I am used to seeing him in.  I really like the plot, the scene flow, the tempo, and most of the action sequences.  A great movie that was suprising released in the doldrums of new movies.  Oh well, that just means it’s already out on DVD for your viewing pleasure.

5. Up

I am sure to be the only Grouch with this at the bottom of my top 5, but I stand by my decision.  I did like this movie (especially the talking dogs, which were easily the best thing about the film), but I think Pixar screwed themselves.  Finding Nemo and The Incredibles set the bar way too high.  Both Wall-E and Up, while very good movies, have been unable to live up to their predecessors’ greatness.  While very enjoyable, and recommended, I find it unlikely that this movie will be able to hold on in my top 5 movies of the year.  ”SQUIRREL!!”

My Top 5 So Far

Well, we are right around halfway through the calendar year, so here’s my top five so far.  Hopefully the other Grouches follow.

1. Up

A fantastic movie, though I didn’t think it was as good as WALL-E.  Which isn’t really a knock, seeing as how I would have said the same thing about every other film from last year.

2. I Love You, Man

This film is funny, sure, but it also manages to generally keep up a compelling story.  It has been a long time since Jason Segel wasn’t in a movie in my top five.

3. Star Trek

As usual, John is wrong.  We’ll see if I can come up with some sort of rebuttal.

4. The Hangover

I know the point isn’t original, but goodness gracious did this movie rake in the dough.  It is gonna finish with $200 million domestic, and be safely in the top 100 domestic grosses all time.  The film was often funny and occasionally hilarious, but I had a few quibbles with it, specifically that it significantly tailed off at the end, and they had no idea what to do with Heather Graham’s character.

5. The Brothers Bloom

Has a fantastic beginning (and no, not just due to the two cameos), but the last third has serious issues.  Which is unfortunate, because I really wanted to love the film.  Con movies are really hard to pull off, and Rian Johnson puts forward a jolly good effort.  Bang Bang steals the show, in my humble opinion.  There’s also a line in the film that’s in the early running for my favorite movie quote of the year.

Star Trek No Golden Blockbuster

After two years of participating in this blog I can’t help but think about the Oscars even when in the midst of the summer blockbuster season. It’s a curse.

We’ve seen plenty of nominations from summer movies in recent years: Borat, Pirates of the Caribbean, Poseidon, and Transformers for example. The Bourne Ultimatum even managed to take home three (undeserved) trophies. These are usually in technical categories, but there’s no other way Norbit would be an Oscar nominee. So there will be a spark of Oscar thought in the back of my mind as I take in 2009’s summer slate of action flicks and sequels.

So apparently I’m one of only like five people in the world who didn’t like Star Trek. While moderately fun, it felt like one cliched vignette after another with a poor overall vision. Here’s the scene where our heroes, along with us, meet an important character at precisely the right moment. And here’s the scene where Kirk has to convince Spock to relinquish control in a conveniently-timed battle of wits. In a lot of ways it felt like a pilot to a TV show where everything and everyone are introduced without a lot of depth. I imagine the sequels will be better and less superficial.

But Star Trek is a big film with a hugely positive critical reception (95% on Rotten Tomatoes) that made a ton of money (pushing $250 mill). Combined with its action sequences and special effects, this really could have a Bourne-type impact on the Oscars.

Naturally I’m going to start whining now. The visual effects are fine if not spectacular. But lord did I hate the sound effects. Sound should be one of those things the casual filmgoer doesn’t notice while watching but I definitely noticed it in Star Trek. Specifically the punch sound effects that seemed like they belonged in a cartoon or an old Batman episode. I didn’t mind the lens flares but those horrible smack sounds during punches drove me nuts.

So this is one guy who won’t be happy if Star Trek ends up on the Sound Editing nomination list. And thus ends an important Sound Editing post 8 months before the next Oscars.

RIP

This is a blog and as such it is our solemn duty, when a celebrity dies, to entitle a post “RIP” and post a Youtube clip of that celebrity in order to neatly encapsulate his/her life.

The Golden Grouches have been grossly negligent in commenting on Michael Jackson’s passing and in so doing have assuredly upset the millions of his fans who read this site. Without this tribute the Internet would literally die.

Here is MJ inThe Wiz, a movie that terrified me as a child. The Wiz garnered four Oscar nominations: Costume, Art Direction, Cinematography, and Quincy Jones for Adapted Score.

And those are ALL the clips that Youtube has to offer. THANKS A LOT YOUTUBE! MICHAEL JACKSON’S MEMORY IS SULLIED FOREVER!

(When I was in kindergarten the school play was The Wiz. I played a munchkin. You better believe it was adorable.)

The Grouches on the Oscars Expanding to 10 Best Picture Nominees

Yesterday, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) announced that starting this year there will be ten best picture nominees.  The world clamored for the Grouches’ response to the news, and the Grouches obliged.  In a chat room, naturally:

Brian: so, the Oscars expanded to 10 nominations for Best Picture
your first thoughts
John: I’m curious to hear a quick yea or nay from everyone
Jared: i like that
yea
Brian: yea
John: nay for me
Adam: yea
John: qualified nay. I’m curious to see how it works out
Jared: well, sure
Brian: well we all are
Adam: way to adjust your opinion to satisfy the masses
John: I think it smells of desperation
Brian: but Im curious to see any change made to the Oscars cause why not?
they’re trying to compensate for so many of their members having bad taste
John: I think it’s clear they’re trying to get more popular films involved to get the ratings back
and frankly the Oscar monetary bump isn’t what it used to be
but you know, it wasn’t that long ago that big budget, major productions were dominating the oscars
Gladiator, Erin Brockovich, Braveheart, Titanic, A Beautiful Mind
and that was awful because these mediocre movies were dominating by virtue of their size
the cycle has turned back onto smaller productions. I think given time trends would change again

Silence is Not Golden: The Deagol Brothers

In “Silence Is Not Golden,” we are attempting to take a look at some modestly-released films through the eyes of the filmmakers themselves.  This installment features writer/director team the Deagol Brothers, who were kind enough to answer our questions about Make-Out With Violence, a sort of coming of age zombie movie which has been hitting the awards circuit with a fervor, including winning awards at Oxford and Atlanta, and playing SXSW.  Check out the film’s official site here, the Non-Commissioned Officers (the band behind the film’s soundtrack) here.

Golden Grouches: People seem to have difficulty pigeonholing Make-Out with Violence, with its coming-of-age story in a teen drama with a romantic triangle and a zombie.  Did you intentionally set out to make that defied genre, or is that just where the story took you?

The Deagol Brothers: We set out to make something interesting, that could be accomplished on a minimal budget.  A John Hughes-esque Rite-de-passage seemed like a doable genre given our resources – we are 4 writers in our mid-20’s who are old high school friends.  The horror element came into play after we saw Tobe Hooper’s Texas Chainsaw Massacre and loved how odd it was.

Initial drafts of the screenplay were written in a more straightforward narrative that worked with a typical zombie movie trajectory – a third act involving a last stand against the zombies coupled with a big reveal of what was causing the dead to walk the earth.  Most of us were coming to filmmaking from a non-narrative experimental video, painting and fine art background but we thought something that was very traditional and genre-specific would allow us to cement a reputation as feature film directors and we could worry about any “artistic” inclinations later in our careers.  Or at the very least it would be easy to get into Horror film festivals and hopefully make a splash.

Although early drafts of the script had a traditional structure we tried to add as many weird and ostentatious details into the setups and payoffs as we could.  This resulted in an amalgam of body horror and teen comedy that could only be described as Cronenberg meets American Pie.  No one was happy with the direction the script was taking.

It was decided if we were going to make the commitment to shoot this feature we should personalize the story to a greater degree and resolve ourselves to stick with what elements we found interesting not what we thought commercial.  The new story began to heavily reflect our shared experiences in high school.  We became less concerned with the undead story thread and thought it more appropriate Wendy’s back story remain a mystery.  The writing process became about exploring unresolved and unrequited past loves and taking the story into unexpected places emotionally.

For the most part the film’s supporters seem to embrace the plot’s dream logic and liken it to stories of magic realist literature.  Our detractors just think the movie doesn’t make any sense and feel jerked around by the constantly shifting genre elements.