Posts tagged film

HBO is trying a new format to reach out to documentary buffs like myself. Each Sunday, the specialty network will be premiering a new documentary at 9 p.m. Despite the countless number of re-runs and the fair amount of publicity for the documentary, I just got the chance to catch Smash His Camera this Wednesday.

The modest 90-minute doc tells the story and infamy of Ron Galella, America’s first paparazzo. Although the film takes a glimpse into tabloid and paparazzi culture, it shows the life and work of Galella and his impact on the concept of the American celebrity. The history the man has captured is astonishing. The elbow-rubbing he has done with film and music icons is bewildering. But what is most incredible and heart-warming is the 79-year-old’s undying passion for his craft.

Paparazzo Ron Galella getting the perfect shot of Jackie O.

Galella’s claims to fame as Jackie O’s stalker and the photographer who got punched in the face by Marlon Brando have not phased him. To others in the field, he’s a celebrity stalker. But to himself, and countless art buyers, he’s a man that accurately represents the world’s most untouchable figures doing the most boring, day-to-day tasks.

As a self-claimed culture junkie, I figured it would be the extraordinary number of Galella’s celebrity encounters that would reel me in. His forays at Studio 54 were especially amusing. However, it was the gleem in his eye that flashed on the screen whenever he told stories of his youth that truly got to me. The man is still a young soul and he still continues to wander the streets of New York, hoping to get that next big shot. The man loves what he does after all these years. And for that, I give him props.

If you get the chance, check out Smash His Camera, especially if you’re interested in art, film, photographs, music and culture. So basically, if you have a soul.

In the genre of comedy, films can go in two directions—smart and satirical, taking hints from current events to prove a point, or dumb, stupid and brain dead. It is without any form of doubt that MacGruber falls under that latter.

As the few who still watch ‘Saturday Night Live’ know, MacGruber is a character created to reminisce on 80s action sitcom heroes. With a Farrah Fawcett ‘do and Brawny-man duds, leading man Will Forte takes a hint of swagger from heartthrobs such as Tom Selleck. However, underneath the stereotypically rugged appearance is a man that unravels when things go awry, listens to smooth rock, and has no qualms about bribing his competition with fellatio.

Will Forte plays action hero MacGruber.

The sketch-show version of the character showed promise—the maximum length of the plot, including the resolution, is no more than two minutes. However, when transformed for the shortest form of a “blockbuster film” (90 minutes), even the most immaturely amusing wisecracks grew redundant and somewhat trite.

Forte’s MacGruber returns from retirement to the scene of action-packed, explosion-induced crime fighting when his former commanding officer (Powers Boothe) shows his desperation to get a nuclear missile away from a vindictive arms dealer (Val Kilmer). After a freak accident caused MacGruber’s terrifying troop to erupt in a van explosion, the amateur bomb maker finds solace in his new teammates, played by Kristen Wiig and Ryan Phillippe.

Wiig, as per usual, plays a sometimes painfully awkward singer whose heart aches for the star — and she has the off-key melodies and corny lyrics to prove it. And Phillippe surprisingly stands firm throughout the tacky puns while playing the straight man with a goofy twist.

Although the jokes dumped throughout the film are bound to off-set viewers with titters, even a chuckle here or there, the outline and overall concept of the film had a limited amount of possible jokes from the get-go. These jokes, however, were oftentimes repeated, making the attempt self-indulgent for Forte. He seems destined for so much more than this.

Films created by the SNL franchise began with a glimmer of hope. Lorne Michaels was responsible for character branding that undoubtedly shook American culture. Needless to say, this isn’t The Blues Brothers, Wayne’s World, or even Coneheads. In fact, it’s a little more The Ladies Man, with a dash of It’s Pat.

Don’t see this film to expand your comedic understanding or to become quick-witted. Because, to put it bluntly, you won’t.

It was in 1865 that Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, known by most as Lewis Carroll, created the ultimate adventure of a spunky blonde-haired girl trudging through a dark and mad world where a queen decapitated her subjects and zany tea parties were a regular occurrence.

An array of interpretations followed the conception of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” including nearly 30 films, 10 TV shows and inspiration for bands such as Jefferson Airplane and the Beatles. Most well-known is Walt Disney’s take on the tale, although it has been criticized for being a soft and false take on the work.

Cult-movie hero Tim Burton veers in favor of the original in his twisted vision of “Alice in Wonderland,” starring Mia Wasikowska as a 19-year-old Alice.

Although the film is meant to be more of a sequel, she follows the spunk of Carroll’s child-heroine by making her independent and unwilling to settle, having hints of a pre-Suffrage Movement attitude.

In Burton’s film, Alice experiences reoccurring nightmares for more than a decade. These nightmares feature a white rabbit, a do-do bird and a mad hatter.

After Alice runs away from an intervention-like engagement party to a revolting redhead, she tumbles down the rabbit hole to follow the ever-timely white rabbit. Her childhood nightmares become a reality after she is knocked around the secret passage and makes her way to Wonderland. However she is told by its talkative inhabitants that it is in fact called Underland, not Wonderland.

As she meets the quirky creatures of Underland, Alice learns that she may not be new to the world at all. The Mad Matter (Johnny Depp) and his eerie accomplices show her the world’s bible, a trusted scroll called the Oraculum, which explains her past visits.

It also foretells the overthrowing of the evil Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter) and the return of the pure-hearted White Queen (Anne Hathaway). For this to happen, though, Alice must first become true to herself and get her sense of “muchness” back to slay the Red Queen’s most deadly weapon — the Jabberwocky.

Alongside Depp and Bonham Carter, the cast features some of the acting world’s top creative minds, including Stephen Fry voicing a creepy Cheshire Cat and Alan Rickman as Absolem, the hookah-smoking Blue Caterpillar. The interpretations of these characters put a more intense and melancholy twist than Disney’s film.

However, with the elements of 3-D, CGI, animation and real life meshed together, it becomes borderline psychedelic and a sheer trip for an all-age audience.

Although Burton’s elements for the physicality of Underland are creative in execution, the final product seems somewhat expected. It’s a journey half-way there — a goal reached, but not quite met. More so, it seemed that certain inner-characterizations were lacking.

Depp’s Hatter was spot-on, with him getting inspiration of the Hatter’s bi-polar outbursts and orange-tinged fingertips and hair from pure research. Felt hats made in the 18th and 19th centuries contained mercury and seeped into the skin, causing mental illness and a hint of tangerine, making the character scientifically accurate and entertaining.

However, the overall message of “Alice” falls flat. The concept of discovery and the power of the inner-self are hinted at, especially by the Blue Caterpillar. It’s evident that when it comes time for the movie’s end, the resolution of the plot is met, but for the characters it is insignificant. This makes the conclusion less-than-satisfactory, when in fact, it should be victorious.

I’ve never been one for Oscar tributes. They seem over-indulgent and present the person in a false, higher light. However, there was always something about John Hughes that was underestimated. It was normalcy. An interpretation of adolescent life that no one could NOT relate to. I grew up watching “Pretty in Pink,” “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” “The Breakfast Club,” etc., and could always manage to find a character or situation that hit so close to my life that it was painful. Specifically, “The Breakfast Club.” I wanted to be Claire so badly, but I was stuck in the life of Allison. All young, awkward teenage girls understand that life. However, Hughes’ characterization of every outcast was believable. Not stereotypical, unnecessary or just plain wrong. There’s a piece of all of us that lives that life. Unsure, scared, angry. Those genuine emotions stay with a person forever, and I’m thankful the work of Hughes is eternal, and will remain relevant in teen culture for years to come. Who knows, maybe longer than that.

“I always preferred to hang out with the outcasts, ‘cause they were cooler; they had better taste in music, for one thing, I guess because they had more time to develop one with the lack of social interaction they had.” —John Hughes