Those of you who were disappointed in this year’s most recent killer-ventriloquist-dummy-horror movie, “Dead Silence”, might be interested in checking out “Magic” starring Anthony Hopkins which was recently unearthed on DVD. Much more of a psychological thriller ala “Psycho” or “Rosemary’s Baby” and less of a gratuitous “killer toy” movie like “Child’s Play” or “Dolls”, “Magic” actually tells a very unnerving and engaging love story with a very solid cast you wouldn’t expect to see in a movie such as this.
Corky Withers (Anthony Hopkins) is a ventriloquist who’s moving up in the world of show business thanks to his manager, Ben Greene (Burgess Meredith). However, Corky is a bit too attached to his loud and crass dummy, Fats (voiced by Hopkins), and when he is required to take a psychological exam before taking a television contract, panics and flees to his old home town. He takes up residence at a lakeshore motel run by his old high school crush, Peggy (Ann-Margret), and the two immediately hit things off. However, Fats’ personality begins to dominate Corky’s and he views Peggy as competition. Corky undergoes even greater psychological stress when Peggy’s violent husband begins threatening him and Ben Greene tracks him down, determined to get to the bottom of his mental disorder. Corky eventually snaps from the stress and under Fats’ guidance, deals with his problems one after another.
For a movie that typically gets relegated to the silly horror movie bins alongside “Rock and Roll Nightmare” and “Troll 2”, “Magic” has an incredible cast. You’ve of course got the likes of Anthony Hopkins in the lead role, back before he really hit it big. But you’ve also got then-bombshell Ann-Margret and the ever-talented Burgess Meredith filling out the ranks. The all-star cast alone should tell you that this is more than some goofy movie about a killer ventriloquist dummy.
“Magic” is a psychological thriller at its core. Fats is never actually “alive” in the sense that his dummy-body isn’t animate; he exists only within Corky’s delusional mind. It’s rather similar to an episode of The Twilight Zone (“The Dummy”) in a few ways, so if you recall that popular episode then you might have an idea of how this movie was handled. While Fats is never actually alive, Hopkins delivers such a strong performance you actually find yourself forgetting he isn’t at times. Despite being an inanimate doll, Fats truly steals the show in this film. It’s amazing how frightening he can be. He never actually moves on his own (save for one scene where the dummy operator screwed up), yet he becomes such an entirely separate character from Corky, that you discover yourself finding Fats scary and Corky not, despite them being the same person.
“Magic” provides some very tense and memorable sequences. My favorite is the scene where Burgess Meredith tells Hopkins to shut Fats up for five minutes. The movie then moves along in real time as Hopkins nervously tries to keep Fats quiet. A very uncomfortable sequence done extremely well, to Oscar-winning Director Richard Attenborough’s credit.
If you’re in the mood for a wacky horror flick about killer ventriloquist dummies then you’re not going to find it here. However, if you’re in the mood for an extremely well-crafted and well-acted psychological horror film then you’ve come to the right place. “Magic” really delivers and belongs on every cinema fan’s shelf.
Grade: B+
The Invisible (2007) – Review
So teenage goth crybabies are making their own Hollywood films, these days? Wait, what am I saying, they’ve been doing that since “The Crow”. Anyway, this flick is pretty much what you’d expect from the trailers and commercials: a trendy teeny-bopper suspense flick starring a Hot Young Cast with plenty of angst and emo rock to spare. Oh joy.
Nick Powell (Justin Chatwin) is your typical high school senior, blessed with a massive fortune and good looks. Yet poor Nick is not happy because his Mommy doesn’t pay attention to him. Then there’s Annie (Margarita Levieva), a scrappy young delinquent from the wrong side of the tracks with a rough family life and a penchant for crime. After a jewel heist and a case of mistaken identity, Annie is lead to believe that Nick turned her over to the cops. In a fit of rage, she kills him and hides his body. Or so she thinks. In reality, Nick’s life is hanging by a thread and his disembodied spirit is forced to roam the Earth, unable to be sensed by any living person. That’s bad news for Nick, as his body can only last a few more days and Annie is the only one who can reveal its whereabouts to the proper authorities. However, Annie is more interested in stealing, taking gratuitous shower scenes and dancing at raves than turning herself over to the cops. And then Nick falls in love with her. Wha?
This movie was annoying from start to finish, from the completely terrible Hot Young Cast to the wretched moral that “if you had a rough family life then it’s A-OK to kill people!” I haven’t had a theatrical experience this annoying since “Delta Farce”. Annie proves to be an absolutely terrible excuse for a human being, stealing jewels, cars, threatening to maim and murder other people, actually attempting to murder another person, shirking responsibility for her actions, threatening to kill anyone who would turn her in and just being an all around unlikable bitch. And yet the audience is instructed to feel sorry for her because she suffered parental neglect and that excuses everything she does. I don’t think so. Director David S. Goyer tries his best to cram that kind of lily-livered moral down the viewer’s throat, but I don’t buy it for a second. Call me cold-hearted if you wish, but I’m not of the clan that views childhood sob stories as a Get out of Jail Free Card, especially not for the degree of ill deeds Annie performs throughout the film.
Goyer never skimps on the teenage angst, slopping it on at every convenient opportunity. “The Invisible” can’t seem to go five minutes without playing the latest emo rock singles kids listen to endlessly as they lightly cut their arms in a desperate plea for attention. I felt like I was in high school all over again; the part of high school I hated. When Goyer isn’t trying to force us to like Annie’s character because boohoo her Dad works the night shift, he’s trying to soften us up to her by giving her gratuitous shower scenes or random trendy rave sequences. I guess this works if you came to the movie with the intention of masturbating, but as far as story and characterization is concerned, it’s all pointless and dull.
As far as the supernatural elements of the film go, I actually saw this story over a decade ago on an episode of “Are You Afraid of the Dark”, so Goyer gets no points for creativity there. Nick’s character is also rather unlikable, amounting to little more than your usual angsty teen who hates his Mom because she has his future planned out for him. His falling in love with Annie feels especially forced and unbelievable. Nick is supposed to mirror the audience (only able to watch and not interact), and his gradual development of affection for Annie is intended to mirror are own. Well it doesn’t. I still thought she was a bitch when the movie was over.
“The Invisible” is just a bad movie, plain and simple. Even if you agree with the moral that “killing people is okay so long as you come from a broken home”, you still won’t like the movie because it’s poorly written, poorly acted, poorly edited and has an atrocious soundtrack.
Grade: F
Disturbia – Review
A teeny-bopper re-imagining of Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rear Window” starring a hip young cast of relevant trendsetters? Just what I’ve always wanted! I hope Director/Dance Lieutenant Boom Shaka Laka D.J. Caruso follows up this effort with a remake of “Vertigo” starring Justin Timberlake, or perhaps yet another remake of “Psycho”, but this time headlining Ashley Simpson!
Okay, okay, I’ve had my fun. Truthfully, “Disturbia” wasn’t nearly as bad as all that. While the “teeny-bopper re-imagining of Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Rear Window’” is entirely honest, “Disturbia” is surprisingly watchable for what it is.
After losing his dad in a car accident, teenage boy Kale (Shia LaBeouf) develops anger issues which eventually lead him to three months of house arrest. If he attempts to leave his front lawn a sensor will trip and police will arrive to kick the mortal Hell out of him. To pass the time, Kale and his Studio Mandated Ethnic Friend (Aaron Yoo) take to voyeurism. While spying on his new neighbor, Ashley (Sarah Roemer), Kale is spotted. Like most teenage girls, Ashley is turned on by the thought of a creepy young man watching her with binoculars from across the street and the two immediately fall in love. But there is something disturbing going on in suburbia (get it!?), namely a spooky old man named Mr. Turner (David Morse) whom the trio of teenage peeping toms spy murdering someone. Well, they think they saw him murdering someone. It was kinda hard to tell, but c’mon, the guy mows his lawn twice a day, he’s got to be a serial killer. So the kids investigate this local terror, stuff gets scary and people die. Or do they? Aha, see how that works? That’s the hook! Genius.
I know, I know, you’ve seen it all before in “Rear Window”, its ill-conceived remake starring Superman and the jillions of parodies made over the decades. So, what does “Disturbia” have to offer the formula in order to make this version necessary? Not much, really.
The movie tries to be, like “Rear Window”, a mystery suspense thriller leaving the audience to wonder whether Mr. Turner is really a maniac or not. Unfortunately, the marketing campaign for the film thought that would be too boring and is thus considerably less ambiguous about the villain’s mental health, showing the audience some key scenes that pretty much spoil all of the “mystery”. So, that makes this a “mystery suspense thriller” with the “mystery” ruined and the “suspense” considerably diluted. We’re not getting off to a good start, here.
Alright, so those things aside, is it any good? Well, it’s not awful. They take the “Rear Window” formula and spice it up with some modern technology which does add to the “thriller” aspect. Portable video cameras and cell-phones provide a good bit of suspense, even with the mystery aspect wasted. The acting isn’t half bad. Shia LaBeouf plays the angsty youth quite well and David Morse hardly skips a beat as the creepy neighbor. I mean, they’re good, but not really impressive. They just play the roles well-enough to keep the audience from cringing or rolling their eyes or dropping out of the experience. Sarah Roemer is the weaker link of the cast. It seems MC Caruso McDancealot was going more for looks than acting prowess when he selected her.
What it all boils down to is that “Disturbia” is a “wait until HBO” flick, or a “bored out of my skull” rental at the very best. It’s not terrible, but it’s just not special.
Grade: C
Fracture (2007) – Review
I remember hearing the reactions when the trailer for “Fracture” came out: “So, what, is this ‘Hannibal Lecter V’?” I’ll admit, even I came to that conclusion upon gathering the plot of the film: Anthony Hopkins plays a deranged murderer of frightening intellect and outstanding manners who outwits police officers struggling to put him behind bars. But once again proving that there’s more to Hopkins than “that guy who was in ‘Silence of the Lambs’” he manages to play a villain of the same archetype who is considerably different from his most famous role yet still intriguing and entertaining. Good show, old sport.
After discovering his wife (Embeth Davidtz) having an affair with a Los Angeles hostage negotiator (David Strathaim), wealthy engineer Ted Crawford (Hopkins) shoots her in the head, placing her in a coma. Crawford is then taken into custody and delivers a signed confession, leaving hot shot lawyer and compulsive winner, Willy Beachum (Ryan Gosling), to take the case. However, shortly after putting his new career at a topflight law firm on the line, Willy discovers that all the evidence obtained at the scene of the crime and from Crawford himself (including his confession) are null and worthless. Crawford seems to have planned everything far in advance and if Willy intends to put this psycho away, he’ll have to out-think him.
This is one of the better mystery-suspense films I’ve seen in recent years, thanks in large part to the interesting twist in the plot. You know Hopkins shot his wife, they show it to you. However, what you don’t know is how he disposed of the evidence (even though, of course, all the clues are laid out before you). Half the fun is watching Hopkins outwit his opponent through clever loopholes and seeing Gosling squirm under his thumb as he struggles to locate substantial evidence Hopkins hasn’t already taken care of.
Like any good script, the execution is almost entirely in the hands of the cast assembled for the task. The selection was excellent, with each character drawing me into the experience without missing a beat. Crawford is calm, cool and collected with a dark edge to him, but unlike Hopkins’ other psychotic alter-ego, is much less on the crazy side. He never once loses his temper or does something outrageous, yet Hopkins delivers a performance with all sorts of humorous quirks and gags that make you just love the villain.
Gosling should not go without credit as the film’s hero. The character of Willy Beachum is a compulsive winner, which is both his greatest strength and weakness. His inability to accept a loss or back down from a challenge plays him right into Crawford’s hands while simultaneously plowing his life into ruin. He shows some real character progression throughout the film as he struggles with various morality issues (just how badly does he want to win) and learning not to be so arrogant.
There was honestly nothing wrong with this film. If you like mystery suspense films of the low-key variety (as in, no explosions) then you’ll enjoy every minute of “Fracture”. A great cast, a strong script and some very satisfying pay-off.
Grade: A
Grindhouse – Review
Robert Rodriguez’s and Quentin Tarantino’s “Grindhouse” harkens back to the days of 70’s snuff films and the theaters which showed them. I know, I know, “Quentin Tarantino doing a retro 1970’s film? NO WAY!!” Yeah, it may be Tarantino’s “thing”, but at least he’s good at it. Usually. Personally, I love snuff films and obscure horror flicks of the 70’s, like “Cannibal Holocaust”, “Last House on the Left”, “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and so on. So of course I got a kick out of this film.
“Grindhouse” goes out of its way to replicate the authenticity of the underground snuff theaters of the era, going so far as to include fake trailers for hilariously awful/awesome horror films, directed by current horror icons like Rob Zombie and Eli Roth. You’ve also got advertisements for “local” restaurants and vintage “now our feature presentation/coming attractions” bumpers. Boosting the “retro” look of the films themselves are the intentional use of grain, flickering, skipping and humorously placed “sorry, reel missing” cards. Trust me, it’s great.
When the trailers and television spots refer to “Grindhouse” as a double feature, they aren’t kidding. These aren’t two short films run back-to-back, these are two full-length films run back-to-back. So eat something before you head out, because there’s no intermission.
The first film, “Planet Terror”, is the big snuff piece, packing in as much gratuitous sex and violence as an R-rating will allow. It would seem that a rogue military unit lead by Lt. Muldoon (Bruce Willis) have botched an attempt to purchase a deadly mutagenic nerve gas and accidentally unleashed it upon a small Texas town. The town begins to swarm with flesh-eating mutant zombies, which is never a good sign. An enigmatic sharp-shooter named Wray (Freddy Rodriguez) bands together with peg-legged go-go dancer Cherry Darling (Rose McGowen), grizzled sheriff Hague (Michael Biehn) and his dopey deputy Tolo (Tom Savini) to get to the root of the problem and stop the zombies at their source. Along the way, Wray crafts Cherry a machine gun/missile launcher leg and things get crazy (er).
I felt Robert Rodriguez’s “Planet Terror” was the stronger of the two films, or at least the most entertaining. It’ll be the one you leave the theater talking about, at any rate. It’s completely over-the-top in every conceivable way and absolutely unforgiving. You’d better have a strong stomach, otherwise you won’t make it very far. “Planet Terror” seems like more of a parody movie than an homage, with lots of textbook characters that play their clichéd roles more for laughs than anything else. So when this movie’s bad, it’s usually on purpose. While it can get a bit too silly for its own good, it’s still a blast. The finale, where Cherry goes apes*** with her new leg, is an absolute blast.
The second segment, “Deathproof” (directed by Tarantino), takes itself far more seriously and is considerably more low-key. So low-key, in fact, you can take a twenty minute-long bathroom break and not miss a freakin’ thing.
Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russel) likes to get his kicks by picking on helpless women out on the open road in his supped-up hotrod. It’s easy for him, considering his car is a former stunt vehicle and therefore “deathproof”. Mike successfully murders woman after woman…until he targets the wrong trio of ladies (Rosario Dawson, Zoe Bell, Tracie Thoms). Not to be f***ed with, these ladies turn the tables on Mike and take him on the ride of his life.
Tarantino took a rather interesting approach with this film, one that will likely bore many to tears. “Deathproof” can be broken up into two halves and in both segments, Tarantino lets the audience get to know the victims very intimately. This can get very, very boring. The first half is particularly irritating, as the pay-off after the extensive bar sequence is very minimal. The second half is even more torturous, as we have to get to know a whole new set of characters and suffer through a barrage of meaningless “girl talk” again. However, the second half rewards the audience for their patience with a very long and very impressive car chase sequence. Regardless, there’s so much empty space in “Deathproof” that you can safely take a bathroom break for however long you please and not fret over missing anything important.
The fake trailers in-between the two movies are hysterical, leaving me with hopes that they make a sequel and include these concepts. I mean, “Werewolf Women of the SS” starring Nicolas Cage and Bill Moseley? I’ll take eight tickets, please.
“Grindhouse” is a whole lot of fun and a total bargain at that. Two full length films for the price of one? Can’t beat that with a stick. While the second film is a bit weak, the first absolutely makes up for it. I highly recommend seeing this movie since, c’mon, you know everyone’s gonna be talking about it on Monday.
Grade (“Planet Terror”): B+
Grade (“Deathproof”): C