R.I.P. David Carradine

David Carradine (1936-2009)


Under still mysterious circumstances, David Carradine passed away in a hotel room in Bangkok today. It's being reported that he may have hung himself, but others are reporting that it was from natural causes.

The oldest of the Carradine brothers David is a part of Hollywood royalty that stretches back to the silent film era. He carved out a name for himself though and is still best known for the lead character in the TV series Kung Fu. For film geeks he's known best as Frankenstein in Death Race 2000 (1975) and Bill in the Kill Bill (2003-04) movies. But he had a very long and varried career. He was amazing in Bound For Glory (1976) and had some great cameos in films like Mean Streets (1973) and The Long Goodbye (1973).

For me though he will always be remembered for a quote that a friend said back in college while we were watching Carradine in Q: The Winged Serpent (1982) on TV.

"Fuckin' David Carradine. That guy saw more drugs and pussy in the 70's than we'll see in seven lifetimes."

That would look really good on a headstone.

Review: The Girlfriend Experience

The Girlfriend Experience (2009)
starring: Sasha Grey, Chris Santos, Peter Zizzo
dir. Steven Soderbergh

In recent years, Steven Soderbergh has been developing a style that moves away from a subjective viewpoint to give us objective films, allowing the audience to decide for themselves how the feel about characters and situations.

Examining the life of a professional escort and her physical trainer boyfriend, Soderbergh delves into the world of the physical. How these people dress, where they live, what they are willing to do for money is the main ingredient here, but there is so much more going on under the surface.

Perception is the key to this riddle and knowing what to look for in this nonlinear gem is the key. I'll admit I've watched it twice and walked away with different ideas on both occasions. The first time covered all of the themes and ideas about our collapsed economy and the folks who believe that image is everything.

The second led to ideas about perception and how people look at themselves versus who they really are. The devices we use to maintain an image of ourselves can be dangerous and those warm comfortable places where we feel most at home is, in reality, cold and lonely.

It's a character study, a statement on consumerism, a look at the modern day upwardly mobile, a tour de force in editing and an all around fantastic film. Even though it will be one of the lesser films seen this summer.

9 out of 10

Review: Night At The Museum 2

Night At The Museum: Battle Of The Smithsonian (2009)
starring Ben Stiller, Amy Adams, Hank Azaria, Robin Williams, Bill Hader, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, Christopher Guest, Ricky Gervais
dir. Shawn Levy

Yawn. I wasn't a big fan of the first film, but there was something in the trailers that made me interested in checking this out. Well, I was suckerd. Good job marketing guys, you did a great job.

The saddest part about this movie is the waste of talent. Just look at that comedic roster up top. Coogan, Williams, Guest, Gervais, Azaria, Hader! It's a treasure trove of talent and all of it was tossed in the toilet. For most of the movie you're stuck following Stiller and Adams as they run through mass chaos in the hopes of entertaining. Don't even get me started on the fact that Jonah Hill is used in most of the trailers and only has that scene in the film! I figured Stiller and Hill would be able to vamp off of one another enough to give it some fun moments. Nope, just one scene, just one joke.

The whole thing is a mess and if you're a parent, shame on you or not trying to find better stuff for yor kids to watch. This is just big budget junk food and stale junk food at that. Please stop supporting this type of movie and take the kids twice to see Up! (2009). At least then you're supporting something with artistic merrit and not a movie by committee that is made for business purposes alone.

6 out of 10

Review: Terminator Salvation

Terminator Salvation (2009)

starring: Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Bryce Dallas Howard, Anton Yelchin, Moon Bloodgood

dir. McG

There are a lot of things wrong with this movie. A lackluster script, really poor direction, uneven acting and very little terminating. The biggest crime is that there is quite a bit of wasted potential.

The exploration of the "What is it to be human?" theme isn't a new one, but it's a good one and another log thrown onto that fire is always welcome when properly explored. In this film it is simply an afterthought. Afterthought is actually quite tame. It's barely a fart in a heavy wind. The writers and McG felt they could nail it with a single sentence at the end of the film and ends up sounding like a bad greeting card.

There are a few nice visual twists, including a great shot near the beginning of a helicopter cash, but most of it is desaturated grays with nothing exciting to look at. It's a dull palette with little originality in execution or design.

As for the acting, it's all over the map. Christian Bale is way too serious and monotone. I can see why he got angry. I'd yell at people too if given this type of character to play. Howard is wasted and Bloodgood (supposedly her real name), is downright hideous. The only standout is Sam Worthington who has a lot of potential, but his Australian accent kept slipping though and I find it had to believe that they didn't have him come in for some ADR work.

It's a so-so entry in a franchise that has lost its way since creator James Cameron gave up the helm. It is a great improvement from T3 (2003), but that's not hard to improve on.

7 out of 10

Review: Angels & Demons

Angels & Demons (2009)
starring: Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer, Stellan Skarsgård, Armin Mueller-Stahl
dir. Ron Howard

Sorry, but I want to keep this simple so I don't feel as if I'm wasting much time on this.

The Dan Brown book this is based on was stupid, but had enough set pieces to make a film version a little more appetizing. Unlike The Da Vinci Code, this plot had deadlines before people die, thereby increasing tension. Still stupid, but tension filled stupidity.

The film though, has no tension, because director Ron Howard has no idea how to build it. The thriller genre is not his game. it didn't work in his film Ransom (1996) and it works even less here. At least with Ransom, we were given characters. In Angels & Demons we are given an expositional device in the shape of Tom Hanks. he doesn't look happy to be there and we aren't happy to see him looking so unhappy. No one looks happy to be there as a matter of fact. Unhappy people on screen. Unhappy people in audience. Unhappy experience all around.

The CGI is close to intolerable as we get a computers version of the Vatican and other parts of the city. Weak, weak, weak and never feels like more than a money grab by all involved.

I'll give Ewan McGregor a thumbs up for attempting to bring something to his role, but it is crushed under an avalanche of mediocrity and dull execution on every other front.

As a summer film it fails completely, but it's still better than The Da Vinci Code (2006).

6.5 out of 10

Review: The Brothers Bloom

The Brothers Bloom (2009)
starring: Adrien Brody, Rachel Weisz, Mark Ruffalo, Rinko Kikuchi, Robbie Coltraine, Maximilian Schell
dir. Rian Johnson

Rian Johnson gave us an impressive debut with his film noir/highschool mash up Brick (2005). That film's ability to play with genre, create it's own verbal shorthand and relate the archetypes of noir with the archetypes of teen drama melded so well, it was a revelation. Since it's debut, it has become a cult sensation and a staple for any film geek.

With his sophomore effort, Johnson is again tackling a well worn genre and giving it his own spin. The Brothers Bloom attempts to tackle the very tricky con man game. It is tricky because the filmmaker is not only trying to play the con within the film, but finds ways to keep an audience on its toes who know they themselves are being conned. His answer to this is quite interesting and simple. He never cons us. The film is very straightforward and the issues of the con volley between the two brothers played by Ruffalo and Brody.

After a strong beginning, the second act begins to wear thin with some pacing problems. There were more than a few times that I had to wonder how much longer this could drag on. The pacing is stifled even more by Brody who overplays every moment, demanding that we watch him and understand that he is an actor. This is a problem that has followed him since his Oscar win. He no longer inhabits characters, he portrays an actor acting.

Rachel Weisz is a blast to watch though. She brings an energy and bounce to the screen that makes even some of the slower parts easier to digest. Every moment she is on screen shines as she balances comedy and drama with the ease of a professional tightrope walker. Ruffalo delivers another strong performance, but doesn't have to stray too far from his wheelhouse. Rinko Kikuchi is adorable, but not given much to do and it's great to see Maximilian Schell on screen again even though it's only a few minutes.

The largest flaws of the film are neither in the direction or the acting as much as it is in the writing. Ideas and character traits are introduced that are dropped or forgotten completely and have nothing to do with the end result. They seem to be there for a quick quirky joke and nothing more. One could argue that it is part of the trick so we don't know which direction the con is going, but if so it's a cheat and if not it's just poor handling of character.

This is a movie with several moments that shine but in the end is a bit of a disappointment. There is no reason to write Johnson off yet, he still shows a lot of skill, but when it comes to handling the fine tuning and many spinning plates that are needed to make a great con movie, he falls a little short.

7 out of 10

Posters: Cannes Film Market

For those of you who think the Cannes is all about high brow films, let me put your mind at ease. One of the great things about the festival is the film market. This is where people from all over the world try to sell their latest genre film.

Her are a few examples that will probably end up on a video shelf near you.

From the Producer of Shaolin Girl. See a pattern?

Why so serious?

From the Director of Black Sheep, which is interesting.

Love the tag line:

A Killer Body And A Gun...What's Not To Like

You can check out more of these at The Guardian, which includes two projects starring Danny Devito. What kind of Country do we live in when Devito can' get a film released?