The Incredibles meets Mean Girls in the new trailer for Disney’s Sky High. Looks like it might be a better-than average kid’s movie, particularly with characters like Bruce Campbell and Dave Foley in the mix.
Tag: Bruce Campbell
Dead Again.
Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell set out to produce a non-Raimi directed Evil Dead remake. Um, why?
Excelsior.
Here he comes, watch out bud. He’s got genetically engineered blood…and a frozen run of bad luck like you read about. After a series of underwhelming summer films so far, Spiderman 2 is a happy surprise, and a distinct improvement on the decent original (#6). After an up-and-down first outing, both Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire (as well as the gaggle of writers on board, among them Michael Chabon) have clearly settled into the rhythm of Peter Parker’s struggle-filled existence, and the result is the most enjoyable and faithful comic book adaptation this side of X2.
Besides the renewed sense of confidence on display, Spidey 2 is already four tentacles up on its predecessor thanks to both Alfred Molina and the production design of Doc Ock. While Willem Defoe seemed like a great idea for the Goblin, he came off way too hammy in the final product, and that stupid mask eliminated most of his strengths as an actor anyway. Here, however, Otto Octavius is realized to perfection, and as such every fight between Ock and Spidey (particularly the sequence at the bank) carries the visceral thrill of seeing a comic book come to life. (Plus, nobody does evil demented appendages quite like Sam Raimi.) And, if that wasn’t grist enough for the fanboy mill, J.K. Simmons gets to chew the scenery unabashedly again as J. Jonah Jameson, and there’s plenty of nods to the webslinger’s considerable rogues’ gallery, including GG II, the Lizard, and — digging real deep in the well — the Man-Wolf.
Problems? Sure, there’s a few. Kirsten Dunst still screams Gwen Stacy, but makes for a rather implausible MJ. (Y’all webheads out there know what I mean.) As my brother pointed out, Spidey should be quicker with the quip…it’s half of his battle strategy and most of his charm. Most of the saving-the-train sequence, from Tobey’s uber-clenched look to the Passion of the Spider ending, was just plain goofy (and why fashion this elevated train sequence anyway? Spidey lives in NYC, not Gotham City or Metropolis, and the writers should’ve stuck to the real Big Apple.) And perhaps some of the longer heartfelt speeches (Aunt May’s in particular) were overdone. All in all, though, Spidey 2 is a rollicking success, one that gives me hope that Marvel’s movie run may not be over quite yet. Now how we’re doing with FF…?
Hello, Cruel World.
So some friends of mine managed to secure early passes to Intolerable Cruelty, and I’m pleased to report that the Coens’ first foray into full-fledged romantic comedy (although one could argue for The Hudsucker Proxy) is an out-and-out winner. I’d heard earlier that the Coens had diluted their trademark zaniness for the sake of a mainstream audience this time around, but I found the reverse to be true — the brothers have instead juiced up what could have been a tired genre exercise (Imagine this film with Matthew McConaughey, Hugh Grant, Kate Hudson, or Sandra Bullock) with their unique flair and managed to create one of the best, funniest romantic comedies I’ve seen in some time. George Clooney – whom I generally like – is better here as the smooth, almost-imperturbable dental-obsessive Miles Massey than he ever was in O Brother (where he was also good but ever so slightly miscast), and Catherine Zeta-Jones makes for a stunning and worthy adversary as Marilyn Rexroth, eater of men. As for the rest of the cast, they — except for perhaps Geoffrey Rush, who is a little too manic — revel in the type of quality and/or hilarious supporting parts that the Coens continually provide (along with the big names, keep an eye out for Newhart‘s Julia Duffy and, ever so briefly, Bruce Campbell.)
I suppose faults could be found with the predictableness of it all – the movie does follow the traditional romantic comedy story arc the way through. But, the Coens still manage to squeeze in a few clever twists along the way. I dunno…it just worked for me. On one hand, there are goofy, slapstick moments in Intolerable Cruelty (one involving spray mace, for example) that you can see a mile off and normally would have fallen flat, but are redeemed by Clooney and the Coens, who all appear to be working effortlessly. On the other, there are plenty of clever quips and sight gags (the waiting room magazine, or Clooney’s assistant’s T-shirt in the tennis scene) that prove how funny the creators of The Big Lebowski and Raising Arizona can be when they’re in a groove. Cruelty isn’t as funny as either of those two films, nor as memorable as Fargo or Miller’s Crossing, but it is an excellent entry in the romantic comedy genre, with just enough Coen to keep you laughing. Take it as such, and you should have a grand ole time.
Return of the King.
Well, I really wish I could report that Bubba Ho-Tep, in which Elvis Presley [Bruce Campbell (!)] and JFK [Ossie Davis (?!)] team up to save their East Texas retirement home from an ancient soul-sucking mummy, is as hilarious as the premise. But, sadly, once you get past the high-concept comedy, you’re left with a bunch of low-brow buffoonery and a stalled story that moves slower than even these aging convalescents. For his part, Campbell swings for the fences, and does a surprisingly wistful turn on the King, but unfortunately he has very little to work with here. It seems the writers never got very far past the founding conceit of having these two icons team up, so neither do we.
As a comedy, Bubba Ho-Tep is only intermittently funny. The best two scenes both involve Reservoir Dogs-style slo-mo hero shots – you’ll know ’em when you see ’em. The rest of the jokes are scattershot and many, particularly the ones involving the two undertakers, are just D.O.A. As a horror movie…well, this isn’t scary at all. Ho-tep and his flock of giant scarabs are played for laughs. (So, of course, was all of Evil Dead 2, — Campbell’s finest hour — but I’ll submit that the mother-zombie singing the Mockingbird song at the basement door is genuinely creepy.) Surprisingly, Bubba Ho-Tep probably works best as a meditation on aging. Entirely too much of the narrative is propelled by an Elvis/Campbell voiceover, but his twilight ruminations do occasionally add a touch of poignancy to this story of legends laid low by the ravages of time. Not enough, sadly, to recommend the film, though. Campbell is good, but Bubba Ho-Tep is all set-up and no follow-through.