Mubi Monday: Be Kind Rewind (2008)

If you remember Be Kind Rewind as the film in which Jack Black and Yaslin Bey (still being billed here as Mos Def) make cheap recreations of some blockbuster movies then you're quite correct. You're also missing out on the real heart of it though, and the obvious commentary about the divide between art and commerce. Or maybe you also remembered that. If so, you have a better memory than I do. I hadn't watched Be Kind Rewind in over a decade, but I am very happy to have rewatched it now. Because it's a lovely film, full of wit and charm, as well as a great cast all doing great work.

Bey plays Mike, a young man who works in a video store owned by Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover). He is put in charge of the store while Mr. Fletcher leaves town for a few days and it's not long until disaster strikes. That disaster is in the shape of Jerry (Black), a friend who doesn't realise that he has been temporarily magnetised, and therefore doesn't realise that his presence in the video store leads to all of the movies being erased. This isn't good, not at all, especially when the business needs to make a lot more money than usual in order to stay solvent. Rushing to replace titles with their own versions of them, Mike and Jerry have to start with Ghostbusters, a title requested by Miss Falewicz (Mia Farrow). As they look to get more titles done, they enlist the help of Alma (Melonie Diaz). The three soon become quite the production house, finding their personal visions being appreciated by the local community, and also by film fans who start travelling to the store from further afield.

Written and directed by Michel Gondry, a man who knows how to create some great practical effects on a low budget (as shown in his many creative music videos, as well as films like Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind and The Science Of Sleep), Be Kind Rewind is easily sold as "that film in which the leads make cheap recreations of some blockbuster titles", but it's much more than that. It serves as a reminder about necessity being the mother of invention, it shows the limitless possibilities that are available to people who have imagination and vision, and there's a subtle-as-a-sledgehammer-to-the-face commentary on the homogenisation of cinema, from the content to the delivery system that gets it out there to viewers. Granted, you have to cringe slightly in a scene that has Jack Black playing Jackie Chan's character in Rush Hour 2, and there are a couple of other moments arguably worse than that, but it's all done with an air of innocence and childish exuberance that shows where the characters are coming from. They're playing dress-up, they're putting on a show for others to enjoy, and they'll take on every role they have to. Despite being adult actors playing adult characters, Black and Bey are very much portrayed as well-intentioned children, with childish dreams and a childish ignorance of how everything should be (of how things are done just because that's always the way that they have been done).

Bey is very sweet in his role, and is also receptive enough to stories told to him that he serves as a way in which the viewer learns another valuable lesson about just how important it can be to believe in stories, especially when reality tries to get in the way and/or grind us down. Black is a lot of fun, bringing his usual energy and physicality to the role. Glover and Farrow, the two "sensible" adults who find out about the movie-making plan at different times in the movie, are both wonderful, and really fit their roles. Glover, especially, gives what may well be his best performance of the past couple of decades. Diaz may be the least familiar of the leads, but she does great work, matching the enthusiasm of her male colleagues while bringing a bit more savvy to any opportunities that arise to make some money.

Not only does this work as a comedy, not only does it work as a love letter to artists making art that isn't necessarily going to reach blockbuster status, it also serves as a lovely analogy for the lifeline of a movie fan. You start off by being told stories by adults, stories that you envision in your mind and you accept as reality (whether or not they are). You then get to enjoy those stories for yourself. You may get a bit lazy here, assuming that everything is always available around you, accepting the mainstream "fast food" without remembering the full range that is out there. You then start to make strong connections with others, bonding over a variety of shared tastes, and maybe even striving to make your own work (in whatever medium you might choose), and that might even lead to you becoming part of a clique. And then, one bright and beautiful day, you realise that you don't have to protect yourself by sheltering in that clique. Many other people enjoy the same art as you, and just as many people will react positively to your passion, even if they're not on the exact same page.

Be Kind Rewind sounds like it would just be about videotapes, but it's not. It's about all film. It's about all art. And it's ultimately about the value it has, not in budgets or box office, but in bringing people together for a communal experience. You should watch/rewatch this, and enjoy it. And you should definitely check out pretty much everything else that Gondry has given us over the years.

8/10

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Pure Luck (1991)

I have been in the mood lately to watch some undemanding '80s comedies, mainly movies that I remember seeing advertised, but didn't actually get around to watching. And I could have sworn that Pure Luck was a 1980s comedy, but it was actually released in 1991. The concept certainly feels like a very 1980s one.

A young woman (Valerie, played by Sheila Kelley) goes missing while on holiday. Her father (Highsmith, played by Sam Wanamaker) is distraught, especially as the investigator he has on the case (Campanella, played by Danny Glover) hasn't managed to find any solid leads. The fact that Valerie is one of the unluckiest people in the world makes things even trickier, but it also leads one man to come up with a theory. He knows someone employed by Highsmith who is equally unlucky. That man is Proctor (Martin Short), and a plan is formed. There's a chance that Proctor's bad luck will allow him to more closely follow the route taken by Valerie, and allow her to be found.

Based on a French film, La Chevre, Pure Luck is exactly what you might expect it is, a vehicle for Martin Short to commit himself to numerous pratfalls in the name of making viewers laugh. And Short is not the problem here. But I'll get back to him later.

Director Nadia Tass doesn't have a grip on the kind of comedy that would allow this movie to be all it can be. I'm not familiar with the original, which may well be a quirky and gentle comedy throughout, but this American take on the material feels too low-key and low-energy. It needs a sense of the bad luck piling up, allowing set-pieces to start small and escalate all the way to some grand finale. That never happens. The film isn't helped by the writing from Herschel Weingrod and Timothy Harris, two individuals who have worked together on a number of better comedies than this one. The problem is that they are aware of the focus of the film being on the physical side of things, and that keeps the dialogue as a lesser priority. The fact that the physical side of things isn't as good as it could be leaves you with a film that has no memorable sequences AND no decent dialogue. There's also a very strange section of the film that starts to change the rules, but it is soon dropped without any satisfying resolution.

Let's get back to Short anyway. I love Martin Short. He's a fantastic comic actor, arguably one of the very greats, and this lead role would seem to be ideal for him. It's not though, mainly because the whole film depends on him tripping, falling, and hurting himself in a variety of ways. He does what he can, but the lack of variety makes it soon feel a bit sad, watching someone throw themselves around for something not really worthy of their commitment to the cause. Glover gets the better end of the stick, disbelieving the ridiculous theory until he starts to see it play out in front of his eyes. He also has to pretend to be taking orders from Short for most of the movie, which allows for a couple of fun moments. Kelley does well with her small amount of screentime, also full of pratfalls, Wanamaker and Harry Shearer (who comes up with the central theory) are just fine, and Scott Wilson has a bittersweet turn as an opportunistic criminal who doesn't realise how much bad luck is about to rain upon him.

Pure Luck is absolutely forgettable, and I am sure that there are very few people who would seek it out. Fans of Short, maybe, and people like me. If you're in the latter category then I feel very sorry for you.

3/10

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Jumanji: The Next Level (2019)

With pretty much everyone returning, unless I am forgetting someone, Jumanji: The Next Level is an enjoyable lesson in how to put everything together competently enough for a sequel to a blockbuster family film.

A few years have gone by since the events of the first film. All is well, sort of. Spencer (Alex Wolff) just isn't feeling right though. Things aren't exactly awful, but he remembers how much better he was when stepping into the world of Jumanji. So he heads back in.  His friends understandably want to rescue him, as soon as they realise what is going on, but they don't get to pick their characters this time. They also have two new players with them, Spencer's grandfather (Danny DeVito) and his friend, Milo (Danny Glover). Once in the game, it is time to have more fun with Jack Black, Karen Gillan, Dwayne Johnson, and Kevin Hart. Which is what viewers really want to see.

Nothing here is as good as it was in the previous movie, but, and this is important, nothing here is a lot worse either. As well as deriving fun from the new players being befuddled by everything, Jumanji: The Next Level also throws a couple of tricks in there to keep everyone on their toes. The emotional content doesn't work, but it is well-intentioned enough, and played well, to make it bearable. Familiarity doesn't breed contempt (dance fighting moves are displayed, Johnson gets to smoulder, and both Black and Hart get plenty of moments to act amusingly frustrated or bemused), but there is wisdom in mixing just enough fresh faces to help it not feel like a complete retread.

Jake Kasdan once again directs, and once again helped to write the screenplay with Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg, and he does well, handling the action-packed set-pieces as well as the smaller moments of comedic interplay. He's helped by a cast that all seem to emanate that feeling of slipping into familiar and comfortable clothing.

All of the main players are as good in their roles as they were the first time around, and they get to enjoy showing some different sides of their personas, while both Akwafina and Rory NcCann are solid additions, with the latter especially good as the new main villain causing problems in Jumanji-land.

If you liked the last movie then you will like this one. That's all it wants to do, keep fans happy and entertained. I would watch it again. And I would watch a third adventure. Job done.

7/10

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Predator 2 (1990)

Sadly, Predator 2 seems to get more and more forgotten in the growing franchise. I think that is because the first film is so iconic, introducing the memorable creature and pitting it against big Arnie, while the rest have varied wildly in quality for many viewers. Personally, I haven't seen any Predator film that I have disliked, but I know many disagree. This, however, remains close to the first film when thinking of the highest-rated.

I also LOVE the tagline: "He's in town with a few days to kill".

Set in the "near future" of 1997, Predator 2 takes the action from the wildlife of a Central American jungles to the wildlife of a simmering Los Angeles. There's a heatwave, various drug cartels are at war, and Danny Glover is Lieutenant Mike Harrigan, a brave man who may be feeling a bit too old for this shit. Harrigan leads a team that includes Detective Archuleta (Ruben Blades), Detective Cantrell (María Conchita Alonso) and Detective Lambert (Bill Paxton). Everyone is doing what they can to get some kind of handle on the situation, a situation made worse by some very strange and bloodier-than-usual kills, but they are then told off when they end up crossing over into an ongoing investigation by a special team (led by Special Agent Keyes, played by Gary Busey). While so many people are confused, and so many deaths are occurring in Los Angeles, the Predator is enjoying his field trip.

Once again written by brothers Jim and John Thomas, Predator 2 switches things around in a brilliantly simple way (real jungle becomes urban jungle) and expands upon the character of the featured creature, showing the "code of conduct" that dictates the hunt. Everything else is pulled from the handbook of "tough city cop movies of the '80s and '90s", but that's not a problem, because the cast all do decent work in between some enjoyable set-pieces.

Director Stephen Hopkins handles everything well, and it's impressive that this doesn't need more than the 108-minute runtime, considering how many different blocks are being moved around at times. That's thanks to everyone doing their best by the material, and Hopkins works well with the budget, as well as working around the fact that this is a sequel to a celebrated Arnie movie without any Arnie presence to give it a boost.

Glover is very comfortable in the kind of role he'd already done at least a couple of times before this, and he's a surprisingly effective opponent for the Predator, using his wits and knowledge of the environment to try and stay alive. Paxton is a standout from the core supporting group, but both Blades and Alonso are as dependable as ever. Then you have the characters standing in the grey area, the ones who may or may not know more than they're letting on, brilliantly portrayed by Busey, who is flanked by Adam Baldwin, and a few others. Robert Davi has a little screentime, Kent McCord is the Captain who has to appear exasperated by one of his best cops, Lilyan Chauvin is the doctor who helps Glover to figure out the mystery, and Calvin Lockhart has fun in the role of King Willie, a boss of the Jamaica Voodoo Posse. And it would be remiss not to mention Kevin Peter Hall in the suit.

If you have yet to see this one, treat yourself soon. If you saw it years ago, and remember it being a poor film in comparison to the first, check it out today and see if you feel the same way. Not only is this a solid sci-fi/action/horror mish-mash, it deserves to be mentioned more when discussing the very best sequels.

9/10

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The Dead Don't Die (2019)

Well, for better or worse, The Dead Don't Die is a zombie comedy from the wonderfully quirky Jim Jarmusch. There's a superb cast, a whole lot of potential, and, well, that's all it ends up having. I had heard a lot of the negative talk about it, it seems very hard to find any reviews that are actually positive, but I still held out hope that it would work for me. It didn't.

The plot is simple. A small town police department finds that they face a unique problem when the dead start rising. It could be worse though, maybe. Chief Cliff Robertson (Bill Murray) may not know what is going on, but Officer Ronnie Peterson (Adam Driver) seems to immediately recognise the beginnings of a potential zombie apocalypse. Officer Mindy Morrison (Chloë Sevigny) tries to follow the lead of her colleagues, while local mortician Zelda Winston (Tilda Swinton) catches on very quickly, and is handy with a sharp sword.

Very odd, but not in the right ways, The Dead Don't Die is even more disappointing as the Jarmusch take on the zombie film following on so soon after the Jarmusch take on the vampire film (the super Only Lovers Left Alive). Unlike that film, which managed to provide a fresh spin on vampires while also utilising so many familiar beats, The Dead Don't Die sees Jarmusch delivering a zombie film that shows him very disinterested in the actual zombies. There are some fun scenes, intermittently, with the shambling undead acting on whatever main purpose they had in life, and a few wonderful little meta moments, mostly delivered by Driver, but the overall feeling is one of carelessness and laziness.

The cast works though, even if they're not given material worthy of their talents, and at least Jarmusch got everyone together to at least attempt to live up to the advertising line of "the greatest zombie cast ever disassembled". Murray and Driver work very well together, both deadpan and dry in different ways, and Sevigny works well alongside them, despite being given very little to do. Swinton is very amusing, Caleb Landry Jones is a horror movie fan who also ends up realising early on what is happening, and you also have fun little turns from Danny Glover, Steve Buscemi, Selena Gomez, Carol Kane, and Tom Waits.

There's no denying that it's a bad film though. I tried to be charitable, and I HAVE, but it's hard to think about this after the end credits have rolled and not feel more and more disappointed with the final result. I think it would be unfair to ever expect anything more standard from Jarmusch, that's not really his style, but it would have been nice to have something that just decided to cut loose and go wild, either providing a lot more zombie activity throughout or just leaning so much more into the meta madness.

The dead may not die, but your sense of enjoyment will as this sedately meanders along from start to finish.

3/10

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Lethal Weapon (1987)

Does Lethal Weapon NEED any introduction? I really don't think so. THE buddy cop movie by which all others ended up being measured, this was the film to put Danny Glover and Mel Gibson together with highly entertaining, and explosive, results.

I'll briefly surmise the plot. Mel plays Martin Riggs, a suicidal cop who lives for his job. Danny Glover is Roger Murtaugh, a 50-year-old cop who just wants to keep doing his job well while avoiding any of the downsides of the job, like bullet wounds or premature death. The two men are partnered up together, and it's not long until the case that they're working on places both of them in great danger.

With solid direction from Richard Donner, despite a flurried final fight sequence, and a cracking script from Shane Black, Lethal Weapon is everything that you should love about '80s action movies. All of the cliches are in place, although they weren't necessarily cliches when the movie was released, and every element is added to the movie without any hint of shame. The saxophone popping up all over the soundtrack, the troubled hero, the moment at which it all becomes personal, the mad villainous henchman played by Gary Busey. Admittedly, that last part isn't a cliche. It's just a masterstroke.

After attaining iconic status with his leading role in the Mad Max movies, Gibson finds himself in the enviable position of being able to have fun with another character quickly embraced by, and absorbed into, the pop culture of the time. Glover is in the same position, thankfully, as both men have their fair share of great moments. Lethal Weapon benefits from a central pairing so perfect that one man cannot shine without the other. But it's not JUST all about the men, oh no. It may seem that way, yet Traci Wolfe and Darlene Love also get to make a great impression as, respectively, Mrs Trish Murtaugh and daughter Rianne. Mary Ellen Trainor also pops up as a psychologist, a character she would reprise in the sequels, and she'd even gain an actual name in the third movie. Tom Atkins appears briefly, lending some Atkins greatness to the proceedings, Mitch Ryan is a bad man, and Busey is the REAL, and more entertaining, bad man. Well, he's the one who thinks himself capable of facing off against Gibson's character, which makes him highly dangerous.

Full of great moments, that are deservedly remembered with fondness, and great characters, Lethal Weapon endures, despite the fluffiness of Gibson's oh-so-eighties hair and the potential to teeter into all-out ridiculousness, because of the chemistry between everyone onscreen, be it Riggs and Murtaugh, the goodies and the baddies, or even the warmth between Murtaugh and his loving family. A classic of the genre.

9/10

http://www.amazon.com/Lethal-Weapon-Collection-Blu-ray/dp/B0079KGAOY/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1405112139&sr=1-2&keywords=lethal+weapon

The Prince Of Egypt (1998)

Be warned. I will be starting this review, as I sometimes do, with a bit of a ramble. But I do have a point. I sometimes use this blog to promote my personal views on subjects that I feel strongly about. Sometimes. The reasons I don't do it more often are that a) it's a MOVIE blog and b) I may often think I know what I'm talking about, but am wise enough to remember just how much I also don't know about any given subject. Having said that, one of my personal stances that I am happy to mention, but simply feel little need to go on about, is the fact that I'm an atheist. I have mentioned my lack of religious belief in other movie reviews, especially when the film being watched and reviewed is something with a very spiritual core, but it doesn't happen often because I don't think it really matters all that much if the movie succeeds in whatever it sets out to do. I also try not to offend people with religious beliefs because I love personal freedoms and the power to believe in anything as much as I loathe organised religion and what warped readings of ancient texts can do to certain, misguided, individuals.

Why do I need to say all this at the start of a review of an animated movie about the life of Moses? Do I need to have firm religious beliefs to enjoy this film? No, of course not. Not at all. Although it might help. The strange thing is that I have always loved the better-known biblical tales and the parables that I was taught as a young boy. I think that they're decent stories, often with a good moral to take away and think about them. Decent stories, from any source, should make for decent movies. Sadly, that's not the case here.

The life of Moses (voiced here by Val Kilmer) is an exciting one. It starts with the young boy being sent downriver in his baby basket to save him from slavery and/or death and develops into a tale that includes a burning bush, a bit of strife with Rameses (Ralph Fiennes), ten terrible plagues, the parting of the Red Sea and more.

Exciting stuff, I'm sure you'll agree. Which is why The Prince Of Egypt is so frustrating for most of its runtime. It's just far too dull. The animation is nice enough, and there are plenty of sequences full of great visuals showcasing a nice stylised take on ancient Egypt, and the vocal cast, including Sandra Bullock, Michelle Pfeiffer, Danny Glover, Steve Martin and Jeff Goldblum among many others, certainly doesn't lack star power. Sadly, the film takes these elements and does nothing with them. Songs are drab and unmemorable, and set-pieces never take off in the way that they should. There are moments when things seem about to lift up, then it just crumples once again.

Philip LaZebnik is the man responsible for the lifeless script, with additional material from Nicholas Meyer, and Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner and Simon Wells are the directors failing to find any other ways to liven up the material. Having sat through this while feeling quite bored throughout, I can't imagine any kids ever being enthralled by it. Knowing how much I enjoyed these tales when I first learned of them as a youngster, that just emphasises what a failed opportunity this is.

4/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Prince-Egypt-DVD-Kilmer/dp/B000059HL2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375655130&sr=8-1&keywords=the+prince+of+egypt

Grand Canyon (1991)

Directed by Lawrence Kasdan, who also co-wrote the screenplay with his wife Meg, Grand Canyon is a well-intentioned film that just doesn't really do anything. It allows one privileged white male character to help some black people, lets Steve Martin step away once more from his comedy schtick and shows a bunch of women who either need a man or a baby to be happy. Yes, it's THAT bad in places.

It's also quite good in different parts. The acting from all concerned - Martin, Kevin Kline, Danny Glover, Mary McDonnell, Mary-Louise Parker, Alfre Woodard, Tina Lifford, a very young Jeremy Sisto - is very good. Individual scenes are well done, especially a moment that sees Martin approached by a robber, but this is a movie that runs for two hours, and when I say runs I actually mean to say meanders.

What's the plot? Well, Kevin Kline and Mary McDonnell are a married, well-to-do white couple with some relationship problems. They have a son (Sisto) who is heading off to camp, which leads to the "empty nest" feeling for McDonnell. Kline decides to drive home one night through a slightly rough area in which he sticks out like a sore thumb. Thankfully, he's helped out of there in one piece by Danny Glover and the two strike up a bit of a friendship, one that allows Kline to make up for a multitude of sins by helping Glover and his family. Meanwhile, Steve Martin is a Hollywood producer who makes ultra-violent films until his own encounter with violence leads to an epiphany and Mary-Louise Parker gets herself all in a muddle after falling for the married Kline.

I enjoyed Grand Canyon when I first saw it about twenty years ago. I was a teenager and this is a simple, naive film. The fact that I enjoy it a lot less nowadays, having seen and experienced much more of the world, comes as no surprise. The fact that I still enjoy it in any way is the surprising part. I'm sure there are people who will feel almost insulted by the way the movie treats some, if not all, of its characters. It's the kind of movie written almost purely to assuage the collective guilt of white, middle class America.

Maybe that's why, as a white, middle class (*shudder* what have I become?) Brit, I don't hate it as much as I should.

6/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Grand-Canyon-DVD-Danny-Glover/dp/B00006420Z/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1374786050&sr=8-2&keywords=grand+canyon