Writer Stephen
King (I’m assuming if you live on planet earth you know who he is) has a
program whereby independent filmmakers can buy the rights to make movies
out of his stories for one dollar. This is a pretty sweet deal, but
there’s a catch. The resulting films cannot be utilized for profit.
That means the only way you’re going to see area filmmaker James
Renner’s ‘All That You Love Will Be Carried Away’, at least for the time
being, is if you catch it at a festival screening or some similar
situation. The 30 minute film recently had its Cleveland premiere at
The Cedar Lee Theatre, and I was lucky enough to catch it then.
Renner has solid technical film making skills. He
sets up good shots and edits his scenes well, resulting in an easily
understandable storytelling style. While this short is shot on video,
it still looks and sounds professional. He’s still a little rough
around the edges, but Renner’s raw talent is clearly there. And King
fans will be pleased to note that this is vary faithful to the source
material. For me, however, that’s where the downside of the film
begins.
Too much of the dialogue feels like it was pulled
right from the pages of King’s story. Vividly descriptive metaphors
work great when you’re reading, but when you hear the same words coming
out of a person’s mouth it often sounds awkward and unrealistic. That’s
why I’m unable to say whether lead actor (and personal idol of mine for
his Drive-In movie reviews) Joe Bob Briggs is to blame for his somewhat
stiff performance, or if it’s just that the lines he’s being asked to
deliver don’t ring true as the kind of things a person would actually
say.
The bottom line is, this was a hard story to adapt
for a film. Since all the action in the story takes place within the
lead character’s head, Renner had to find creative ways to translate the
plot into a visual medium. For the most part, he succeeds. Rather than
having the lead character just ruminate to himself, Renner adds a couple
of small characters for him to talk to (some of the bit parts added by
Renner are played by well known Clevelanders Harvey Pekar, Rebecca
Wilde, and Michael Stanley). The result is a respectable but flawed
film. Since the next project Renner plans on doing is an adaptation as
well (of Robert R. McCammon’s “Blue World”, a great novella), I hope
he’ll keep some of his reverence for writers, but not quite as much as
he displays here. (Bob Ignizio)
It’s
a shame that marketing has become such a big part of Hollywood films.
Seeing all the tie-ins and ads using the characters from this film almost
turned me off. Fortunately I went to see this movie anyway. In short, this
is everything a post modern superhero movie should be. Some film critics
use “comic book” as an adjective with negative connotations when describing
cheesy action flicks. Those critics probably haven’t read any comic books
since the seventies, if ever. If you’re familiar with such interesting
takes on superhero mythology as Alan Moore’s ‘The Watchmen’ or Mike Alred’s
‘Madman’, you know that the superhero comic has grown up. ‘The Incredibles’
incorporates some of those sensibilities, while at the same time keeping
things from getting so dark or twisted that kids couldn’t enjoy the movie.
The premise is that, after a golden age of adventure,
superheroes have been outlawed and placed in something like the FBI’s
witness relocation program. They now have normal jobs, homes, spouses,
kids, etc. Two heroes, Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl, are married to each
other and have 3 kids with powers of their own. Elastigirl has adapted to
normal life well, but Mr. Incredible still yearns for action. He even
sneaks out late at night with another former hero, Frozone, to bust petty
criminals. He hates his job at an insurance company, and eventually gets
fired after he blows up at his boss and puts the guy in the hospital.
Things look bad until Mr. Incredible gets a mysterious message asking him to
join a top secret group of government sponsored superheroes. But things are
not quite what they seem.
That’s the basic plot, minus spoilers, anyway. Suffice
it to say the whole Incredible family eventually gets into the action, and
the computer animation makes it possible to depict comic book action on
screen the way it should look. There’s a good amount of humor and gentle
parody in ‘The Incredibles’, but it works just as well if not better as a
straight action film with brains. Comic book geeks should eat this up, but
it’s more than accessible to a wider audience as well. Also, unlike most
recent PG rated films, this one actually earns its rating. Nothing too
disturbing, but there are some dark elements that make this more than
strictly kiddie fare. This one is definitely making my best of the year
list, probably close to the top. (Bob Ignizio)
I don't
know how to take the fact that I guessed the ending of this movie within
ten minutes of it starting. Either I've seen way too many horror movies
and I can see things coming a mile away, or things are so predictable
now that one only has to think of the most outlandish possibility to
reveal the end. I don't know, but I was bummed that I figured it out.
I was hoping for some huge shock of an ending, but that was not to be.
Saw is about two men who wake up in a dark and
messy room, chained to pipes, and given a small amount of time to carry
out a task given to them, or else they will be killed. The man behind
this cruel game is the Jigsaw Killer, a crazo who arranges events that
makes the victims either appreciate their lives or die a horrible
death. To stay alive, they must complete some horrid and often violent
task.
On the trail of the Jigsaw Killer is a cop (Danny
Glover), who gives a good performance. It turns out that the search for
the killer has turned the cop a little crazy himself, reminiscent of
‘Cop’, starring James Woods. The cop story angle is intercut with the
scenes of the two men chained up in the room. Cary Elwes plays one of
the men chained in the room, and his performance varies from hammy to
ok. I say that the scenes with the two men trying to figure out why
they are chained up and how they got there are top notch stuff. The way
the clues are presented and the way the plot unfolds is pretty
interesting and definitely keeps you watching to the end.
There is a lot of suspense, dealing with the dread
of what could happen and what might happen. The best scare, someone
looking out through the crack of a door, is a direct steal from ‘Black
Christmas’, but remains the movie’s most chilling scene. There is also
a part where the killer is under a sheet and it’s weird because you
don’t' see him until he moves but he's right there and we are looking at
him. Weird shit.
Things kick into high gear in the last third of the
movie, with all the character’s fates colliding into a climax that at
first seems totally generic, but then saves itself with a pretty
downbeat shocker of an ending. Seasoned horror fans will see it coming
a mile away, but it is still fun watching it unfold. I've seen a lot of
reviews of this which mentioned the "strong grisly violence". That is
not accurate. Minus one nasty saw scene, most of the violence is
implied, the audience only seeing a lot of blood splashed around the
set. And finally, it was nice to see Shawnee Smith appear as a mentally
ruined victim who got away. I've been a fan since ‘Summer School’ and
‘The Blob’, and
it was
cool to see her appear for a while. This movie certainly serves up some
nice scares and a pretty involving plot that definitely keeps the viewer
interested and wanting to know what happens. Recommended. (Edward
Black)
There
has been a lot of hype surrounding the release of this movie. It seems
that everything thing in this movie is computer generated except the
actors. That sure sounds like a novel idea, but unfortunately it falls
horribly short of anything good. A bunch of famous scientists are
disappearing and there are a bunch of random giant robot attacks. Then
the characters find out where they are coming from, and must set out on
a mission to stop them and find out what is going on. I’ll tell you
what’s going on. Hype and gimmicks over quality is what is going on.
Yes, there are a ton of cool visuals and effects. hell, some of the
battle scenes are downright exciting. But... everything else, and I
really do mean everything, in this movie is downright awful. First off,
the acting is beyond horrible. Gwyneth Paltrow is at her all time worst
and provides more evidence to support the theory that famous parents can
push even the most talentless individuals into the spotlight. Jude Law,
who has been great in other movies, is only ok here. And Angelina Jolie
continues the streak of bad decisions she has been making since she won
that academy award. Second, there are no good dramatics or jokes or
anything else to recommend besides the effects, and that leaves us with
the cinema equivalent of a video game. Finally, while this is an action
movie, a pulp movie, it lacks any involvement on the viewer’s behalf. I
didn’t care what happened to the characters or why. I just wanted the
next battle to start so I could stop being bored. It’s a shame that $70
million made this mess and a movie like ‘Mean Creek’ (which is
exceptional) cant even get into a regular theatre. (Edward Black)
Writer Stephen
King (I’m assuming if you live on planet earth you know who he is) has a
program whereby independent filmmakers can buy the rights to make movies
out of his stories for one dollar. This is a pretty sweet deal, but
there’s a catch. The resulting films cannot be utilized for profit.
That means the only way you’re going to see area filmmaker James
Renner’s ‘All That You Love Will Be Carried Away’, at least for the time
being, is if you catch it at a festival screening or some similar
situation. The 30 minute film recently had its Cleveland premiere at
The Cedar Lee Theatre, and I was lucky enough to catch it then. 
It’s
a shame that marketing has become such a big part of Hollywood films.
Seeing all the tie-ins and ads using the characters from this film almost
turned me off. Fortunately I went to see this movie anyway. In short, this
is everything a post modern superhero movie should be. Some film critics
use “comic book” as an adjective with negative connotations when describing
cheesy action flicks. Those critics probably haven’t read any comic books
since the seventies, if ever. If you’re familiar with such interesting
takes on superhero mythology as Alan Moore’s ‘The Watchmen’ or Mike Alred’s
‘Madman’, you know that the superhero comic has grown up. ‘The Incredibles’
incorporates some of those sensibilities, while at the same time keeping
things from getting so dark or twisted that kids couldn’t enjoy the movie. 
I don't
know how to take the fact that I guessed the ending of this movie within
ten minutes of it starting. Either I've seen way too many horror movies
and I can see things coming a mile away, or things are so predictable
now that one only has to think of the most outlandish possibility to
reveal the end. I don't know, but I was bummed that I figured it out.
I was hoping for some huge shock of an ending, but that was not to be.
There
has been a lot of hype surrounding the release of this movie. It seems
that everything thing in this movie is computer generated except the
actors. That sure sounds like a novel idea, but unfortunately it falls
horribly short of anything good. A bunch of famous scientists are
disappearing and there are a bunch of random giant robot attacks. Then
the characters find out where they are coming from, and must set out on
a mission to stop them and find out what is going on. I’ll tell you
what’s going on. Hype and gimmicks over quality is what is going on.
Yes, there are a ton of cool visuals and effects. hell, some of the
battle scenes are downright exciting. But... everything else, and I
really do mean everything, in this movie is downright awful. First off,
the acting is beyond horrible. Gwyneth Paltrow is at her all time worst
and provides more evidence to support the theory that famous parents can
push even the most talentless individuals into the spotlight. Jude Law,
who has been great in other movies, is only ok here. And Angelina Jolie
continues the streak of bad decisions she has been making since she won
that academy award. Second, there are no good dramatics or jokes or
anything else to recommend besides the effects, and that leaves us with
the cinema equivalent of a video game. Finally, while this is an action
movie, a pulp movie, it lacks any involvement on the viewer’s behalf. I
didn’t care what happened to the characters or why. I just wanted the
next battle to start so I could stop being bored. It’s a shame that $70
million made this mess and a movie like ‘Mean Creek’ (which is
exceptional) cant even get into a regular theatre. (Edward Black)