“Cry Of The Owl” wants to be a meditation on emotional dependence in the guise of a thriller but the problem is that despite the want of some of the cast, the psychological motivation contained in the plot is so thread bare (surprising considering the Patricia Highsmith roots) that it doesn’t quite make the jump at all. The story focuses around a lonely man played by Paddy Considine of “In America” who in the midst of his divorce mildly stalks Julia Stiles’ homemaker character in the woods. This construct is fairly shoddy from the beginning and when she begins to shadow him because of a “wounded puppy” type of syndrome, it only gets worse. The movie only keeps afloat at times because of Paddy’s wanton belief in it. The murderous chicanery of intention by a botched murder, random shootings and the eventual suicide of a lead character all seem resolutely empty. The symbolism of the Owl is supposed to signify death but the throughline seems anything but deep instead coming across as purely mediocre. Out of 5, I give it a 1.
Cry Of The Owl – DVD Review
13 JunThe Wolfman [Universal - 2010] – BD Review
8 Jun
The reality in creating an update of the classic Universal horror monster movies is finding the best balance between true horror and schlock. Bringing in exceptional actors balances the table but with all the digital effects possible, it becomes an idea of how much you see of either one presented here. The texture of the new “Wolfman” revolves around the Victorian basis of position but with a modern twist. The deliverance of the metaphor obviously works back to a father and son dynamic. The psychological references that pepper the picture at many points seem to gloss over this deeper truth. The balance lies in the fact that the film wants to be both adherent to today’s audience but also maintaining its identity to the monster pictures of the past. Inherently this is where it misfires because the naivete of that era and the information personification of our age simply does not gel together. The gore works its intensity well while being more visceral than simply bloody. The best part of the picture inherently is in the asylum but the film does not linger there long. The realization of Talbot, played by Benicio Del Toro, as he is strapped in the chair relating that the people in the room are dead is an inherent turning point. Anthony Hopkins plays his father Lord Talbot, who also has a deadly secret of his own, with the same kind of revel he enjoys in these kinds of showy roles. However the finesse of directors like Francis Coppola in a film like “Dracula” gave his performance in that earlier film as Van Helsing a little more definition. The transfer here looks crisp which would be undeniable coming off a digital negative but for a reason the movie still retains (especially with the exteriors in the country estate) a very film feel. Many of sets in the film are digital extensions but Joe Johnston uses this idea to continuing effect since many of them seem seamless with the exception of the London rooftops. Hugo Weaving plays Inspector Francis Aberline investigating the wolf tinged murders but can do little more at times than grimace at the camera as the character basically is a rivet for moving the plot forward. Danny Elfman’s music of course elevates the picture as well since the central theme motivates the progression. In terms of extras, no commentary is available although the BD does include both the unrated and theatrical version which are very similar though maybe with an ounce less of blood. The beheadings still come rampantly.
The extras, relevant beyond the texture of the digital copy which (with the advent of the IPad/ITouch) is inevitably poignant, rests within the ideals of the craft. “The Beast Maker” involves the considerable talents of Rick Baker who recently did Robert Downey Jr.’s make-up for “Tropic Thunder” but also is known for his initial work on “Star Wars: A New Hope”, “The Fury”, “Videodrome” and the seminal “American Werewolf In London”. Like Benicio Del Toro who is also a co-producer on thW film, Baker loved the ideal of updating “The Wolfman” but it was also the excitement of placing Oscar winning actors like Hopkins and the after-mentioned Del Toro in the middle of the prosthetics but allowing their physical and mental selves to show through that was the real draw. “Return To The Wolfman” shows a similar penchant which relates mostly Benicio Del Toro’s intense enthusiasm for the character since it was these kind of monster movies that made him want to become an actor in the first place. Director Joe Johnston’s elements of working with Steven Spielberg, most recently on “Jurassic Park III” gave him an interesting but broad understanding of the genre. What is interesting is the persistance of doing the R rating. The differences in moral ambiguity emerge in the deleted scenes and extended endings. The most intrinsic of the deleted scenes which shows a little more humor is an extended run through London though the brevity seems out of sync with the rest of the film. The alternate endings offer different progressions but hardly hark back to the humanity of the character like the eventually used theatrical cut. “The Wolfman Unleashed” and “Transformation Secrets” highlight the stunt work and visual effects integration with distinct detail giving balance to practical versus CGI which is undeniably needed because audiences are handily advanced in detecting lines in the cloth in the modern age. “The Wolfman” also looks distinctly dark on BD if by design giving it a looming presence. In terms of a the film, it bounds as an exercise in good form without being overtly emotional or cinematic. Out of 5, I give the BD a 2 1/2.
First Look: 2010 Brooklyn International Film Festival – Trailer
7 JunWith comic book intuitiveness in their trailer, this incarnation of the Brooklyn Festival running the 4th through the 13th of June balances between cinemas in the Brooklyn Heights and Williamsburg Districts, including the soon-to-be opened Indie Screen on the East River.
Shutter Island – BD Review
5 Jun
“Shutter Island” is more than meets the eye. Besieged by a pushing in release date from last October to this March, this new Scorsese/DiCaprio pairing is more abstract and less straightforward than their earlier collaborations. It has tinges of indulgences from “Age Of Innocence” in addition to its adaptation roots but unlike the other films made of Dennis Lehane’s books like “Mystic River” or “Gone Baby Gone”, this incarnation is more dreamlike. DiCaprio is effective and more in tune along the lines of raw emotionality than he was even in “Revolutionary Road”. However, there is a lack of connection between him and co-star Michelle Williams despite Leo’s best intentions. What most stands out across the board is the use of classical music instead of a normal score. It definitely gives the picture a different feel. The music supervision was done by Robbie Robertson who also wrote the music for “Ladder 49″. What might be coincidental is that in addition to a foghorn sounding overture in the beginning, the music seems to have been pulled from “The Shining” which gives the initial 20 minutes a bit of a Stanley Kubrick feel. However, as the film moves along, there is almost an arch of overplaying that takes one slightly out of the picture. The reveal at the end is, of course, an interesting one and motivates the entire picture making it indelicatable upon repeat viewings.
In the featurette “Into The Lighthouse” author Lehane talks about the book being a response to post-9/11 thoughts which in certain ways had parrallels to McCarthyism. Another interesting inclusion is consultant James Gilligan who talks about his experience at a mental hospital and the differences between old and new psychology methods. These long featurettes actually get in depth on the aspect of why lobotomy was adopted and the perceptions which fuel certain backgrounds in the picture. The other featurette “Behind The Shutters” which also runs about 20 minutes has lengthy background info including Ruffalo, DiCaprio and Scorsese and takes into account the actual reveal (these behind-the-scenes elements have disclaimers about spoilers as well). They knew, perhaps in some ways similar to “Fight Club”) that they would need to usher the audience in many ways through the narrative to understand its complexity, “Shutter Island” is, in many ways, successful but in others a hard sell which is an interesting conundrum though it is interesting seeing Scorsese work this angle. Another very interesting tidbit is that Elias Koteas, who plays a version of the character Latteus, has such a DeNiro type effectation that you almost mistake him for the legend as a young actor. I thought almost initially they did motion capture on DeNiro but that would make no sense. “Shutter Island”, in all ways, is an interesting exercise. Out of 5, I give the BD a 3.
First Look: PERSONS UNKNOWN – NBC
3 Jun
NBC just provided IR with this new cast photo from “Persons Unknown”, a summer mystery series created by Christopher McQuarrie (“The Way Of The Gun”) and starring Alan Ruck (“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”), premiering June 7th.
