Father-daughter team steal money, hearts

It seems like every new movie today is either a remake or a sequel. Some of those remakes can defy reason, at least on paper. 2010’s remake of “True Grit” is a perfect example of this. No one thought the 1969 John Wayne classic needed a fresh coat of paint. But as it turns out, Joel and Ethan Coen beat the odds and created a fantastic movie.

Peter Bogdanovich’s 1973 “Paper Moon” could stand up to the remake test — if Hollywood remade movies about character and story and not just explosions. As a film it’s an odd combination of anachronisms. First of all “Paper Moon” was released in 1973, but it was a period piece set during the great depression. To add to the confusion, the film was shot in black and white. These time-scattered elements come together in a film that feels dated but purposefully so. The homage to classic films carries over not just from cinematography but through blocking dialogue and a sort of over-the-top style of acting that is off-putting at first but contributes to a solid whole.

The story presented is that of newly orphaned Addie Loggins (Tatum O’Neal) and a con man that just could be her father, Moses Pray (Tatum’s real life father, Ryan O’Neal). Moses Pray finds the young girl at her mother’s funeral. Moses claims he knew Addie’s mother well, but when confronted that he might be her father, he denies any relation. He sees opportunity in the unfortunate orphan to make a few bucks with short cons. Moses leaves the funeral with young girl in tow promising to deliver Addie to her aunt in Missouri. In reality he just needs the girl for a quick scam before putting her on a train.

Moses quickly cons a man into giving him $200 for this orphaned girl’s well being. It’s here we see who Addie is or can be. Over a Nehi soda and a Coney Island hot dog she demands the money from Moses. If he’s not her father then the money is hers. The two quarrel briefly and come up with an arrangement. Moses has already spent some of that $200, but Addie can travel with him until he makes enough money to pay her back.

The two travel over the windswept Midwestern countryside. Moses sells bibles to widows — or at least cons them into buying them — and young Addie proves to be incredibly gifted in the short con as well. It’s only a matter of time before the young girl becomes an ingenue of the grift. We also see that the student may be the master here as Addie begins to quietly pull Moses’ strings.

The story isn’t a complex one, but it’s speckled with fun dialogue and engrossing chemistry. Real-life father and daughter banter back and forth while conning the depression era populous of the Midwest. The acting doesn’t seem flawless. It’s understandable for young Tatum O’Neal to miss the mark a couple of times, but her father, Ryan O’Neal, lacks any excuse for overperformed deliveries. This makes me think it’s all part of the plan. It’s not an accurate depiction of the Great Depression but a tribute to cinema’s depiction of the era. When viewed with that lens the senior O’Neal’s Jack Benny-like delivery becomes a welcome ingredient in a love letter to cinema’s past.

Young Tatum O’Neal’s affection for her father works amazingly in the quiet moments. Though the script requires her to engage in Olympic-level bouts of sulking when it’s just her and her father driving across dusty roads, there are unmistakable glances of admiration, love and just plain fun.
It’s that fun that essentially carries the movie and makes it relevant today despite its almost 40-year pedigree. On the surface “Paper Moon” is a tale of a con man and his would-be daughter, but not far underneath is a charming story that lacks all cynicism. The performances are showboaty for a reason and increase the nostalgia for a more innocent American landscape.

All this leads me back to the question: Should it be up for the “True Grit” remake treatment? I vote a resounding no. It’s the father-daughter chemistry that really makes this movie shine. If Hollywood were to get ahold of this idea in the coming years we might be unfortunate enough to see Tom and Suri Cruise hopping behind the wheel of an old Model T and blasting out at you in 3D.

3 3/4 out of 5 Old Time Radios

Paper Moon (1973)

Starring: Ryan O’Neal, Tatum O’Neal,
Madeline Kahn   
Director: Peter Bogdanovich
Runtime: 102 minutes     Rated PG

About Designing and layout for the undead (Chamber of Commerce)

What I'm used to with these special sections and magazine layouts is getting a big giant can of fruitcake from the Chamber. Then told to take all the nuts out of the fruit cake, then told to add more pineapple, please, to the fruitcake then told to put the nuts back in, and add some cherries. Then I'm told, why the fuck are you making a fruitcake, we wanted waffles!

ReThinking Anime

So, as a general rule, I really can't stand anime. This is a different view than I had when I was much younger. My group of friends would flock to the Palm Theatre (the only local theatre that screens anything other than big studio pictures) and line up to watch "Akira" or whatever other offering was made to us from across the pacific. As an even younger child my recesses were daring missions to rescue Min Mei from zentradi aliens in my trusty veritech fighter.

However as time went on I found it very hard to be satisfied with some of the genre's most common conventions. First and foremost, Each film seems to follow the following format: Big exciting and action packed introduction followed by long-winded boring as hell exposition, concluded by action finale. Obviously I have no problem with the action packed part...its that middle exposition that is not only mind-numbing in its over complexity but it is staged so abysmally that I'd rather watch earwigs mate.

There's a point in "Ghost in the Shell" in which Bato and Kusanagi are having a discussion while floating in a boat. Their conversation at this point in the movie is essentially the whole sum total and theme that the movie is all about. But we, as the audience just see still bodies floating in a boat talking back in forth with deadpan care or concern for what they are saying or the world around them. I wanted to tip the boat over so they'd sink to their deaths (assuming cyborgs can't swim that is).

Secondly: Androgyny. WTF? Girl, boy? What the hell are you and why does virtually every anime flavor have some androgynous character or five running around. They discuss things like the nature of existence as if they've got some firm grip on reality, but really the only thing they're gripping is the latest clearance sale at JC Penny (or the Japanese equivalent.)

Finally (for now, I could go on for a very long time with this): Do you people not believe in weapons that actually fit your body size? Does bigger really mean better?

I mean look at that stupid thing. We're not talking big bulking Conan sword here. This is like the side of a Chevy pick-up truck. Why is it covered in masking tape too? I just don't get you "Over-compensating man."

Ok all that aside...there IS something I still like and am more and more impressed by as anime matures. The overall design is just gorgeous (over-sized weapons excluded). There's something in the simplicity of the character's faces that just invite in the viewer. Costume design is ludicrous and doesn't make sense but from a design standpoint it's like each character is wearing their own banzai tree of complimenting colors, shapes and patterns.

Those shapes and designs are brought to life with vibrant color. The patterns and shapes are often replicated throughout the background and surrounding images.

"Pepper Robot II" courtesy of http://artgerm.deviantart.com/

So the more I look at Anime as an art style, (and I suppose someone out there will correct me on this. Maybe its Manga I'm referring to) I find very few complaints with it at all! It's just the unfortunate stories and direction that go along with 90% of anime out there that drives me bonkers.

Perhaps its the juxtaposition of a very clean and refined artistic movement with amateur at best story-telling that drags the whole down.

There are some fantastic stories out there. Hayao Miyazaki is a master of both story and art, for instance. But does that have to be the exception?

Can I like anime because it is, at its core, just extremely good looking?

Am I over-thinking things or expecting too much from the genre?

Or should I just go back to watching earwigs mate?

REPO: The Genentic Opera

A musical and genetic mishap in a cult film wrapper


On a normal day, “Movies You May Have Missed” is my chance to find forgotten and passed over films that I think deserve a broader audience. Today however this column will hopefully serve as a warning.

The film I’m about to review was recommended by someone close to me, someone who shares many of my own opinions on films, art and entertainment in general. I was shocked at the outcome of my acquiescence to watch this travesty. If this can happen to me, it could possibly happen to you. So consider this your warning, an intervention if you will. The following film should not be viewed by anyone...and here’s why.

In 1975 a strange film came about called “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” It was ludicrous, silly, low-budget but ultimately charming enough to become an overwhelming cult hit. In 2008 director Darren Lynn Bousman tried to replicate that success with his own horror/musical “Repo! The Genetic Opera.” Bousman tried and failed miserably.

This science fiction rock-opera horror hybrid starts with a preposterous story about a massive organ failure epidemic that turns into a financial windfall for an organ donor company called GeneCo. GeneCo somehow saves the world by producing organs for all the people who are dying. Inexplicably new organs become some kind of weird trend and people the world over sign up for elective organ transplants. Of course all this organ swapping costs money and, as seen in the unfortunate housing market crash, people sometimes can’t pay their bills. So GeneCo. is allowed to send out a repo-man to collect the organs people can’t pay for, killing them in the process. Makes sense right?

Underneath this ridiculous premise is a story of GeneCo’s founder, Rotti Largo (Paul Sorvino). Rotti is dying but his children are twisted wrecks of humanity and he doesn’t want to leave his empire to any of them so he begins a plan to get even with Nathan (Anthony Head), the man who stole his one-time girlfriend, and leave the company to Nathan’s daughter — that will show him!

As mind-bendingly dumb as that sounds for a story you’ve got to remember this is an opera, which means singing. Oh so much singing. Musicals have seen a resurgence lately and I’m all for it. But when every single line of the movie is sung it’s really just pushing the genre too far. I’d forgive even that if the songs and dialogue of the film had some merit. Alas “Repo” sounds as though it was written by a sociopathic ninth-grader that spends way too much time watching horror films and hanging out at Hot-Topic. There are no catchy songs, nothing to stick in your head, just a hedonistic display of unbelievable people doing unbelievable things in an unbelievable setting.

So the nauseating music and the pond-scum story play out across a stylized future meant to resemble Ridley Scott’s brilliant “Blade Runner.” Everyone dresses in gothic attire for no apparent reason other than because it looks cool — or tries to. It’s over the top and full of gruesome gore and mutilations for the sake of gore and mutilations.

It seems so bad that even most of the actors realize it as well. While watching Paul Sorvino sing what is supposed to be dialogue I could see him dying a little inside. His eyes displayed a sort of resigning to inevitable doom. Anthony Head, on the other hand, as Nathan believes he’s in a very serious piece and chews up every song, scene and second of his time on screen. But it gets better! Paris Hilton even gets a chance to shine in this debacle. Hilton plays Rotti Largo’s daughter, Amber Sweet. It’s a delightful stretch for Hilton as she plays the spoiled daughter of a very powerful man. And she gets to sing about it.

I’ve heard people say this film is original and daring. If they mean its original to dare to be this bad they may be right. So I urge you to hear my plea. If your friend recommends this movie to you refuse. And maybe you should take your friend to the doctor. Just remember organ transplants can lead to painful repossession. Or worse mind-numbingly stupid singing.



REPO! The Genetic Opera (2008)

Stars: Paul Sorvino, Anthony Head, Paris Hilton and Alexa Vega

Director: Darren Lynn Bousman

Runtime: 98 minutes
Rated R for strong bloody violence and gore, language, some drug and sexual content

Big Dumb Summer Fun done Smart


I’m going to get right out in the open and say I’m extremely biased when it comes to comic book movies. I’ve been a fan of comic books since I was about 10 years old. Over the past decade comic fans have been blessed with an increase in popularity of their favorite subject in cinema. As a comic fan this is a golden age. Nonetheless, there are still many that would dismiss any super-heroic action adventure thinking comics are for adolescent boys and bearded men living in their mother’s basement.

Usually “Movies you may have missed” is about films that may have passed by a massive popular appeal. But it’s also about movies that I’ve seen that I think need more attention. When a film breaks the box-office record for opening weekends – $207 Million domestically and over $700 Million globally – one could hardly think said film would need more attention. However I know there are people out there that will miss this movie. For whatever reason this film may not be on 100 percent of the world’s collective cinematic radar. I feel it is up to me to accept the super-heroic challenge and try to convince those that otherwise would have skipped this film that they should reconsider and buy a ticket.

The film in question is “Marvel’s: the Avengers.” Yes it’s a comic book movie about make-believe characters in fantastic and impossible situations – often wearing silly costumes. But director and screenwriter Joss Whedon makes those incredible characters humble and real and entirely believable in an unbelievable setting. Incredibly dynamic action sequences are brilliantly balanced with side-splitting humor and witty dialogue. And the pacing of this 142 minute film was so fluid that the only fault I could find when the reel stopped was that there wasn’t more. It’s also the most amazing summer action epic I’ve ever seen.

I find absolutely no fault in cinema rising to a new height by creating emotional and cerebral thought pieces. But far too often we forget that being entertained by epic acts of heroism is just as worthwhile as introspective naval-gazing brought on by expositive documentaries and period dramas. Unfortunately recent additions into the action-adventure genre focus far too much on the explosions and far too little on anything else. “The Avengers” misses this pitfall by elevating its heroes to mythic proportions.

The comic book pages which “The Avengers” has leapt from are a modern day Iliad and Odyssey; a contemporary Hercules or twenty-first century King Arthur.  These are characters of modern myth. We learn from their actions to stand up for our beliefs, to fight the impossible fight and to topple unthinkable odds. We learn from the man out of time, Steve Rogers, or Captain America, that maybe what we need is a little old-fashioned heroics. And we see all this in vibrant color across elaborate set-pieces with genuine laughs and action choreography worthy of legend in itself.

“Marvel’s: The Avengers” takes on the heroic challenge of combining the headliners from four previous Marvel movies and gives them all equal footing and equal time to shine. It does so astoundingly well making every moment of the film pure enjoyment. Every funny line is followed by a funnier one, every mind-blowing action sequence is followed by something even more spectacular. As the movie progresses the bar is set higher and higher as the tension and story unfolds. And all the while the audience is treated to amusement park fun without a long wait in line.

In the end, “The Avengers” is indeed a spectacle. It’s a summer blockbuster. It’s certainly not going to change the world. It probably won’t change your life. But if you’ve avoided the comic book flight of fancy that’s become all the rage in theatres of late, watch this. It will change your mind.

Marvels: The Avengers (2012)

Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson

Director: Joss Whedon

Runtime: 142 minutes
Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action throughout, and a mild drug reference

New talent surfaces through familiar waters in “Submarine”

When two bits of media are similar it seems almost impossible not to compare them. Nonetheless I found myself doing just that when viewing 2010’s “Submarine.” Even though the film is not a sequel or direct comparison to any other existing film it seemed so familiar to other works that I was, at first, hard-pressed to judge how it stood on its own.

Let’s start with the similarities: First off, “Submarine” follows the well worn pattern of quirky characters, filmmaking and humor first made popular by Wes Anderson in such films as “The Life Aquatic: with Steve Zisou” or more directly “Rushmore.” Secondly, the protagonist, Oliver Tate (Craig Roberts) seems to be the cinematic counterpart to Eoin Colfer’s child-genius Artemis Fowl (from the book series of the same name) albeit without the nefarious criminal mastermind influences. Recently it seems even a cable internet service has jumped on this bandwagon as they have created a character for their commercials named “Timothy”, a precocious child obsessed with world domination. Said bandwidth obsessed “Timothy” is a dead-ringer as the American counterpart to Welsh the film’s lead Oliver Tate. However whereas “Timothy” and “Artemis Fowl” are bent on world domination, Tate wants a few things more grounded and universal.

Tate’s young-adult quest in “Submarine” has two important goals: Number one being to find a girlfriend and lose his virginity. Number two is to prevent his parents from getting a divorce. Tate has both objectives planned out in a meticulous manner. His world is formatted in by-the-numbers step-by-step pragmatic plans. He knows how long it’s been since his parents have last been romantic by careful monitoring of their bedroom’s dimmer switch. Likewise his quest for young romance is equally scripted. Tate has scientific reasons for believing people will react a certain way and he plants his seeds in hopeful expectation that all his plans will come to fruition.

Of course nothing works out like he plans it. His parent’s marriage is threatened by a man from his mother’s past, Graham Purvis (Paddy Considine), a pyramid-worshiping mullet-wearing self-help guru. Tate’s father, Lloyd (Noah Taylor) is oblivious at first to this matrimonial threat but later deals with it by sinking into deep depression. Similarly, Tate’s romantic quest becomes waylaid by his girlfriend, Jordana Bevan (Yasmin Paige) and her refusal to act out according to his script.

At first Tate is stonewalled in his inability to perceive just where his plans went wrong, given his above average intellect. As the story moves on and more and more of the child-prodigy’s schemes fall to pieces Tate’s world comes perilously close to falling around him.
The story is told from Tate’s point of view and Craig Roberts seems to embrace the character wholeheartedly. The quirky dry humor of writer/director Richard Ayoade (“The I.T. Crowd”) makes this disillusioned character likeable even as he fumbles through adolescent foibles. Almost more alluring is the damaged father figure played by Noah Taylor. It’s obvious where the younger Tate gets his desire and penchant for orderly existence. Taylor’s Lloyd embodies overwhelming sadness in every scene balanced with some very subtle humor.

As a whole the film works very well even though it seemed impossible to not think of Wes Anderson’s body of work of quirky off-beat comedy. Where “Submarine” breaks out however is with its accessibility.  Though it feels like this has been done before the jokes seem awkward but not as submerged in Anderson’s peculiar pathos. Oddities abound in this darkly quiet comedy but nothing seems quite as outlandish and in-jokey as “Life Aquatic” or “Royal Tennenbaums.” The characters are believable and grounded and the humor, though subtle seems to reverberate to a much broader audience.

True this coming of age tale doesn’t really do anything new, but Ayoade’s work, though painted with a similar palette, does take on a life of its own. As our young protagonist pulls his head out of the proverbial water “Submarine” emerges as a charming individual picture made new from familiar elements.

Submarine (2010)

Stars: Craig Roberts, Sally Hawkins, Noah Taylor and Paddy Considine

Director: Richard Ayoade

Runtime: 97 minutes
Rated R for language and some sexual content

A peculiar tale of the tape

The 2011 documentary “Shut Up Little Man: an Audio Misadventure” didn’t seem to be the type of film that would move me in any way. I expected laughter and perhaps a mild state of “I can’t believe it.” But it caught me off guard and moved me.

The film chronicles the peculiar tale of two friends, Mitch Deprey and Eddie Lee Sausage, who, seeking life in the big city in the bigger 1980s, move from their midwestern home to San Francisco. Once there the two move into a worn out shack of a apartment building. The building is glaringly pink and thus earns the name “Pepto Bismol Palace.” Mitch and Eddie aren’t long in the “Palace” before they hear the loud and volatile rantings of their nextdoor neighbors Peter and Raymond.

As far as Mitch and Eddie can tell, Peter and Raymond do nothing all day but drink and then engage in violent yelling matches. When the nextdoor noise became too much for the midwesterners they approached the neighbors to ask them to keep it down. This doesn’t work out so well as the beligerent Raymond threatens the lives of Mitch and Eddie.

Now worried for their own safety Mitch and Eddie begin recording the sounds through the wall. They reason that if something tragic should happen to them there will at least be some evidence left behind in the form of audio cassette tapes.

No one expected those audio cassette tapes to take on a life of their own. At first Mitch and Eddie would record mix tapes of music for friends. In between tracks they’d insert a sound bite from their rowdy neighbors as a kind of comic relief. These tapes would end up circulating across the nation. The sound bites of Peter and Raymond and their vulgar yelling matches would soon become an underground sensation spawning comic books, screenplays and even an off-broadway play.

The film tracks the journey of these strange recordings and the effect they had across the United States. At the same time Mitch and Eddie reunite in modern day to finally answer the mystery of just who were Peter and Raymond.

“Shut Up Little Man” illustrates the past in reinactments and snapshots taken from Mitch and Eddie’s time in San Francisco. The reinactments offer a clever twist with Mitch and Eddie reprising their former roles as themselves while actors play Raymond and Peter. The reinactments breath some life and drama into the story and raise the film up from standard documentary tell it like it is duldrums. The present day sequences capture Mitch and Eddie returning to San Francisco as they try to track down their one-time not so neighborly neighbors.

These sequences are interspersed with the story of the tapes themselves and their viral rise to pop-culture stardom. Though interesting at first, the tale of the tapes drags on as the question of copywrite and ownership is bandied about and belabored between playwrights and artists and producers. This discussion is necessary perhaps in order to explain why the recordings never reached broader success or exposure. However the film begins to fall flat with the tapes as they reach the end of their journey.

The investigation into just who these vulgar neighbors were is far more interesting and reveals a very personal tale of the would-be antagonists. I began to feel for them and wonder what it took for them to get to where they were when Mitch and Eddie first discovered them. I got the feeling they were never in on what the film portreyed as the “Big Joke.” These sad older men had lives and something had left them in each others’ care. That care wasn’t safe or secure. It was, in many cases, physically violent in addition to just vulgar yelling bouts.

What struck me most about “Shut Up Little Man” was the media of these recordings themselves. The film reminded me of a time, most likely lost now in an era of MP3s, of mixed-tapes. While watching the film I began to miss the audio cassette tapes. I missed rewinding the flimsy plastic casses with a pencil and I recalled fondly staying up late into the night assembling the perfect mix for any given ocassion.

It’s all easier now. I can make a playlist by dragging and dropping digital files. I could probably even find the recordings of Peter and Raymond online and add them to my digital playlist. But I feel I’ll never know where they really came from just like I feel Mitch and Eddie can never really know who Peter and Raymond really were.

“Shut Up Little Man” shines on a couple of different levels. It slows down when the voyage of the recordings is investigated too deeply but the sheer fact that something so peculiar can become such a phenomenon is interesting in itself. Likewise Mitch and Eddie do try to uncover the story of these unwitting stars of their recordings. In doing so they reveal the human side of the “monsters next door.”


Shut Up Little Man: An Audio Misadventure (2011)
Stars: Eddie Lee Sausage, Ivan Brunetti, Daniel Clowes and Mitch Deprey
Director: Matthew Bate
Runtime: 90 minutes
Rated R for language