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Tin Man (2007)

Directed By: Nick Willing

Written By: Jill E. Blotevogel and Steven Long Mitchell

Adapted From The Novel: The Wizard Of Oz By L. Frank Baum

I haven’t been here before, but I know this place… -DG

Synopsis

This is not the Oz most of us remember.  In fact, it’s a creation all of it’s own, changed and altered with years past, with many different evil witches, beautiful queens, wizards, and variations of the land so richly described in L. Frank Baums original story.  This Oz has been taken by a vicious sorceress, with plans set on destroying the entire world and making it enveloped in complete blackness.  Between her sorcery and army, the resistance fights a losing battle until a girl from the Other Side comes into the O Z.  DG is naive and unknowing but becomes quickly hardened by the rough world surrounding her, though is not alone as she has found companions to aid her in her mission, which doesn’t become completely clear until you are already involved in a great amount of the side plots.  It’s a story of adventure, betrayal, love, and friendship, and doesn’t take a breath for even a moment.

Review

There was an immediate concern that this movie would be either a cheap rip off of the wonderful tale of The Wizard Of Oz, or that it would be a poor individual story that only used the basics to create it’s own Oz.  Those concerns were wiped away once DG flew into the OZ, or Outer Zone.  The story perfectly integrated a new dangerous interpretation of a beloved tale with the basics set up decades ago without becoming dependant or reliant on the original story, but also staying true to it’s basic nature.  It made it captivating and down right exciting to watch.

The main characters that were both old and new, were easy to latch on to because of the familiarity with them, but distinct enough in their own right that you weren’t constantly comparing them to the characters their likenesses were developed from.  The small beats that did allude to the original creations were cute and symbolic rather than obvious and obnoxious.

The plot and theme itself was gargantuan in size and it truly made sense to make it a three part story.  For all the character developments to flow naturally and the transpiring events to occur in an even exciting momentum, it was best done this way.   The massive scale the story incorporated set the boundaries of the story in a million different directions and allowed it to create a massive adventure that made the finale always feel near the cusp, but always just missing with even more adventure left.  The actual finale arced perfectly and left the ending triumphant and satisfying closed on this particular story.

The visual imagery of the OZ was just astounding.  The sets were enormous and made with such delicate intricacies.  The CGI used to show a massive amount of the wide shots was exploited in a creative and tasteful way that didn’t stray too far into the fantasy world and away from a feeling of reality.  It never bordered looking cheesy or cheap.  It and the soundtrack as well, gave the story and it’s adventure the third dimensional texture it needed to make this OZ into a world very much so real.

Cast

• Zoey Deschanel as DG
• Alan Cummings as Glitch
• Neal McDonough as Wyatt Cain
• Kathleen Robertson as Azkadelliah
• Raoul Trujillo as Raw
• Callum Keith Rennie as Zero
• Richard Dreyfus as The Mystic Man
• Blu Makuma as Toto/Tutor
• Anna Galvin as Lavendar Eyes
• Ted Whithall as Ahamo
• Rachael Pattee as Young DG
• Alexia Fast as Young Azkadellia

The only real complaint I have for a film of this genre is the lead actress Zoey Deschanel.  From her first line to her last I cannot comprehend her being cast other than her physical appearance.  Her acting and delivery was a basic nuisance to brilliantly paced, written, and for the most part: cast story.  Her bland reactions and inability to emote any real feeling through her performance severely crippled important moments between characters throughout the story.  Luckily the rest of the cast and the story was well enough done, that this became a minor annoyance and actually funny to laugh at in certain points, instead of ruining the entire move.  But if the rest wasn’t structured so strongly her performance was bad enough to ruin it all.  In contrast to her, the rest of the cast was flawless in their performances and made the story that much more the take in.

Ratings and Suggestions

Tin Man turned out to be a wondrous adventure into a world we are all familiar with, but on very different terms.  It was a refreshing pleasure to take in.  The level of dedication to it’s creators and all involved is evident in it’s final display.  For a made for television movie, I can honestly say I can’t think of one I enjoyed more or was better done.  Thanks to Wicked for opening the proverbial door into entertaining new ideas about stories we love, by still giving them their due credit and making something new.  The Sci-Fi Channel hit this one right out of the park.  Tin Man receives a solid three out of four stars from me. 

Director Kevin Smith Remembers George Carlin

Courtesy Scott Mosier

“A God Who Cussed”

Newsweek

Written By: Special Guest Columnist Kevin Smith

They say you should never meet your heroes.  I’ve found this a good rule to live by, but as with any rule, there’s always an exception.

My first exposure to George Carlin was in 1982, when HBO aired his “Carlin at Carnegie” stand-up special. When I saw the advert—featuring a clip of Carlin talking about the clichéd criminal warning of “Don’t try anything funny,” and then adding, “When they’re not looking, I like to go …,” followed by a brief explosion of goofy expressions and pantomime—I immediately asked my parents if I could tape it on our new BetaMax video recorder.

That was a hilarious bit. But when I finally watched the special, Carlin blew my doors off. Whether he was spinning a yarn about Tippy, his farting dog, or analyzing the contents of his fridge, Carlin expressed himself not only humorously, but amazingly eloquently as well. I was, as they say, in stitches.

And that was before he got to the Seven Words You Can’t Say on Television.

I was 12 years old, watching a man many years my senior curse a blue streak while exposing the hypocrisy of a medium (and a society) that couldn’t deal with the public usage of terms they probably employed regularly in their private lives. And while he seemed to revel in being a rebel, here was a man who also clearly loved the English language, warts and all—even the so-called “bad words” (although, as George would say, there are no such things as “bad words”). I wouldn’t say George Carlin taught me obscenities, but I would definitely say he taught me that the casual use of obscenities wasn’t reserved just for drunken sailors, as the old chestnut goes; even intelligent people were allowed to incorporate them into their everyday conversations (because George was nothing if not intelligent).

From that moment forward, I was an instant Carlin disciple. I bought every album, watched every HBO special, and even sat through “The Prince of Tides” just because he played a small role in the film. I spent years turning friends on to the Cult of Carlin, the World According to George, and even made pilgrimages to see him perform live (the first occasion being a gig at Farleigh Dickinson University in 1988). Carlin influenced my speech and my writing. Carlin replaced Catholicism as my religion.

Sixteen years later, I sat across from the star of “Carlin at Carnegie” in the dining room of the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles. It was a meeting I’d dreamed of and dreaded simultaneously. George Carlin was the type of social observer/critic I most wanted to emulate … but he was a celebrity, too. What if he turned out to be a true prick?

What I quickly discovered was that, in real life, George was, well, George. Far from a self-obsessed jerk, he was mild-mannered enough to be my Dad. He was as interested as he was interesting, well-read and polite to a fault—all while casually dropping F-bombs. But most impressive, he didn’t treat me like an audience member, eschewing actual conversation, electing instead to simply perform the whole meeting, more “on” than real. He talked to me like one of my friends would talk to me: familiar, unguarded, authentic.

I made three films with George over the course of the next six years, starting with “Dogma” and his portrayal of Cardinal Glick, the pontiff-publicist responsible for the Catholic Church’s recall of the standard crucifix in favor of the more congenial, bubbly “Buddy Christ.” A few years later, I wrote him a lead role in “Jersey Girl”—as Bart Trinke (or “Pop”), the father of Ben Affleck’s character. It called for a more dramatic performance than George was used to giving, but the man pulled it off happily and beautifully. (Something most folks probably don’t know about George: He took acting very seriously. The man was almost a Method actor.) Sadly, I consider that “Jersey Girl” part my one failing on George’s behalf, and not for the reasons most would assume (the movie was not reviewed kindly, to say the least). No, I failed because George had asked me to write a different role for him.

In 2001, George did me a solid when he accepted the part of the orally fixated hitchhiker who knew exactly how to get a ride in “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.” When he wrapped his scene in that flick, I thanked him for making the time, and he said, “Just do me a favor: Write me my dream role one day.” When I inquired what that’d be, he offered, “I wanna play a priest who strangles children.”

It was a classic Carlin thing to say: a little naughty and a lot honest. I always figured there’d be time to give George what he asked for. Unfortunately, he left too soon.

He was, and will likely remain, the smartest person I’ve ever met. But really, he was much more than just a person. Without a hint of hyperbole, I can say he was a god, a god who cussed.

Movies To Avoid In 2008

2008 is becoming a damper for films.  While 2007 wasn’t a phenomenal year by any stretch of the imagination it was at least consistent in it’s mediocrity and did manage to toss out so pretty impressive work.  What I have seen thus far in ‘08 has been dejecting, and at the halfway point of the year I’m hoping the summer blockbuster and winter/fall Oscar quality films will improve the good/terrible ratio.  So far these are the films I would encourage avoiding:

27 Dresses:  While many found this film happy-go-lucky chick flick fun, I found it to be a contradictory dung pile of garbage passed off as a movie.  It was insulting, annoying, and moreso simply not entertaining.  I can comprehend how some could lose their brains temporarily watching it upon first viewing, but in it’s puriest form, it’s an atrocity.

National Treasure 2: Book Of Secrets- More like Book of Boring.  This sequel is an inexcusable addition to a film that was acceptable along the terms of popcorn flick.  Other than the excellent casting National Treasure was a poorly compiled film with some possibly interesting idea’s that never saw the light of day.  I truly feel bad for the actor’s involved.  Unlike 27 Dresses this film at least didn’t make them look bad, they made the film look bad.

Witless Protection:  This one kind of goes without saying and is more or less expected.  However, I expected a bad movie, but maybe with some funny laughable moments.  A movie that embraced it’s campy corniness.  That wasn’t even salvageable.  It was a bloody nightmare.  I will never be the same again.

Meet The Spartans:  *Sigh* I admit to being incredibly predjudiced in the parody category, but there have been a few in the past that have had me rolling like “Robin Hood: Men In Tights”, but I could not stomach most of Meet The Spartans unoriginal jokes and mockery of 300.  It was moderately funny for the first 15 minutes and then drowned in it’s own simplistic mundane existence.  The only redeeming quality I found was Carmen Electra.  Uber hottness.  An occassional laugh was all it offered and Carmen’s undeniable sex appeal.

Day Of The Dead:  Again, another film you wouldn’t expect much from, but what I did expect was cool zombies and funny ways to kill people.  This movie took itself too seriously and incorporated none of the great qualities these genre of horror movies offer audiences.  And the zombies SUCKED.  With today’s technology I had some pretty high expectations for nasty, realistic looking monsters, and what I got looked like something that could have been created out of my own garage.  Boo-hiss-Boo!

These are only a few of the terrible excuses created for film recently.  I’m hoping the next movies I view turn out better in the Suck/Rule ratio.  In the meantime, avoid these by all means!

Where Have All The Action Hero’s Gone?

I am specifically eluding to Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvestor Stallone.  They ruled the big screen through the 80’s and early 90’s with films like Rambo, Predator, Rocky, Terminator, Cop Land, Assassins, Total Recall, Conan, Judge Dredd, T2, True Lies, Demolition Man, Cliff Hanger, Kindergarton Cop, Last Action Hero, and Tango and Cash.  Sure, guys like Kurt Russell, Antonio Banderas and Mel Gibson contributed their fair share over the years, but the big blow ‘em up shoot ‘em up movies that were pure popcorn fun were left to Sly and Arnie.  Now Arnie is the Governator and Sly is replaying the roles that made him famous with the new Rocky and Rambo, which actually were both really good movies, but still he’s now in his fifties and we rely on him for great action movies and stuff to blow up?  I resolved in the complete utter distress that both of their reigns was a one time deal that may never repeat in Hollywood again.  Like their movies or not, those guys have earned serious respect in Tinsletown and are some of the biggest movie stars ever. 

Let’s take a look at our prospects now:

Christian Bale: Nice choice, but frankly he has too much depth to him and has taken a liking to playing really complex character’s in films that rely heavily on that depth.  He is simply too diverse and more a Mel Gibson type than Arnie or Sly.

Matthew McConauhey: Yes, a pretty face, and a nice bod to tag along with, but he’s resolved himself to movies like Fools Good and Chick flicks as of late.  His years are starting to peak, and while I believe the potential, along with the charisma is there, I think he’s missed the boat.

Matt Damon:  He rules as Jason Bourne and being Bourne has made him one of the best icons for action star in the past ten years easily, but Damon isn’t really an action hero, he’s just a good enough actor to play one really well.  He’s just as content doing artsy flicks.

Vin Diesal:  I give him credit.  He tried.  All the elements were there.  Big muscles, brooding personality, and his repeat role as Riddick surely inspired a career in that genre, but his movies that have followed have not been up to par with Pitch Black or Riddick.  He even went for a Kindergarten Cop attempt in Pacifier, but failed miserably.  I like Vin Diesal and am still lamentful that he turned out movies like XxX rather than something more substantial, because he was the guy that could have been that hero.  And now for whatever reason he just doesn’t seem marketable.  Hell! Watch Boiler Room, he’s good outside of explosions too people!

Will Smith: Tried and True.  He is a great action hero that delivers each time, not to mention he is a complex enough actor to play an Arnie/Sly type role and the next year make an Oscar nominated performance.  Will Smith is a rare gem all on his own.

It’s not just the group of actors we have to choose from, there doesn’t seem to be any roles that offer the same kind of badass fun that Rambo and the Terminator did.  The closest comparison in recent times is Hellboy.  His character is totally one dimensional but so entertaining no one cares.  His charisma coupled with awesome one liners and a bravado that is palpable makes his character the best Arnie or Sly type role in years.  Mickey Rourke as Marv in Sin City is another good example.  I want more of it Hollywood!

Top Ten Movies Of 2007

10.  3:10 To Yuma: This is a Western about a robber named Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) that carelessly become caught by local authorities when romping with a woman. Ben is as bad as they come and his outfit is responsible for twenty-two robberies. His outfit is waiting for him near Mexico, but close enough to come back and take Wade before the Sheriff can get him to the 3:10 train to Yuma prison. He recruits help that includes a small time rancher that has only one leg named Dan Evans (Christian Bale), who is not only about to lose his own ranch, but his oldest sons respect as well. Evans will receive a $200 reward if he succeeds in getting Wade on the train. The trip is perilous as the group seems to be dropping like flies in conflict with Wades outfit, Apache Indians, railroad bandits, and Wade himself. Then, his son William (Logan Lerman) joins to help and their journey to contention becomes that much more complex.  For more READ HERE!

9. I Am Legend: This entire movie seemed full of hopelessness. Everything was lost.  In the vastness of Manhattan, Robert Neville appeared to be the last man alive.  After three years his hope in finding someone else, or curing the disease that had infected those who were left was waivering.  The only thing left alive was the morphed creatures that haunted the night where Robert hid in his fortresslike home waiting for the frightening hours to pass.  With no human contact, and only a dog as his companion, his mind slowly begins to deteriate and his carefully structured existence along with it.  For more READ HERE!

8. American Gangster: Ridley Scott took us back into a time when drug dealers were smooth and classy citizens and the cops were low down dirty criminals trying to get their piece of the pie. Frank Lucas was portrayed as almost a Robin Hood of Harlem. On thanksgiving he tosses turkey’s from a truck to the citizens. It’s no mystery that while Scott wants the viewer to cheer for Roberts, the real hero of the story is Lucas, who is less of a drug lord and more of a businessman. That is when he’s not shooting people in their faces or setting them on fire.   For more READ HERE!

7. Lars And The Real Girl: A lonely man who lives in a small northern town, in a garage outside his brother and sister in laws house finds himself uncomfortable and awkward around people.  Somehow, he is still very likable.  Lars purchases himself a life size doll named Bianca.  He has deemed her his girlfriend and the woman of his dreams.  When he introduces Bianca to Gus and Karin as though she is a real live woman, their reactions were obviously in the category of shocked.  However, they take their brother to a physician/therapist and she begins to help Lars and Bianca.  Her instructions include going along with Lars delusions, and Karin and Gus must face their entire small town and their brother’s mental illness together. For more READ HERE!

6. The Bourne Ultimatum: The Ultimatum hits hard and fast. This quick action packed film gets right to the point and delivers some of the best Bourne fight scenes and action sequences to date. While the action scenes are brilliant, the suspense that builds in this addition is edge of your seat excitement. Meanwhile, we once again get further into the depth and psyche of Jason Bourne. Somehow, even with the amazing things he does Bourne still remains a tangible character that is easy to sympathize and connect with.  For more READ HERE!

5. Juno: Juno is a clever, original film that has enough depth mixed with just the right amount of humour to touch anyone and everyone. This is a movie you could take your twelve year old daughter to, along with your seventy year old grandmother. What a breath of sincerity. For more READ HERE!

4. No Country For Old Men: No Country For Old Men puts on a simple mask shrouding a frightening face.  The drama begins slow and continues at it’s own natural pace, not succumbing to the force of the events happening in it, it simply develops on it’s own.  The driving force of the story is the character’s and each of their motivators.  The violence of the story is graphic but not overdone.  And the basic nature and feeling of one world that doesn’t understand the other becomes the perfect picture of contrast. For more READ HERE!

3. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street: The cinematography of this movie is quite possibly the best I’ve seen in a Tim Burton film, which is a considerable feat.  The gritty appearance of London brings my imagination to a time when Jack The Ripper ruled the streets and the city was filled with darkness and fear.  The paleness of skin, and the greys and blacks make for a very ominous and depressing feeling, where hope lies dormant buried in a locked box with no key. For more READ HERE!

2. Ratatouille:  Remy is a rat, who lives in the rural community of an attic of an old lady.  His acute sense of taste and smell makes him different from his clan as he doesn’t like to steal or eat the garbage the rest of the rats are satisfied with.  His father is the leader and is disappointed in Remy’s uniqueness until he finds a suitable use for it and suddenly Remy becomes the rat poison detector.  Unsatisfied in his station Remy begins to wander even further away from his kind, until he finds himself in the old lady’s kitchen attempting to make a meal when he catches a commercial about a chef who has written the cook book, “Anyone can cook”.  Remy is inspired and begins to make his own meal but it becomes too late when the woman has spotted him and discover the entire pack of rats who make a run for it.  Remy is separated and finds himself alone in sewers somewhere underneath the city of Paris.  Hallucinations of Chef Gusteau tell Remy to run to the surface and “create” his own food.  Remy finds himself at Gusteau’s restaurant adding his own ingredients to a bus boy’s soup.  The soup is a sensation and when the boy is asked to repeat the miracle again, he and Remy team up for an adventure of love, creation, and inspiration!  For more READ HERE!

1.  Zodiac: With a track record like David Fincher one expects nothing less than brilliance and perfection onscreen and that is difficult to live up to time and time again. But Fincher rules again with this beautifully shot creation and perfectly paced story about a monster that was never apprehended. Fincher balanced the intricate details of fact in the story with the in depth character development and the suspense of discovery in his regular fashion of perfection. Time is spent to give each character life and real motivation and a base development that makes them extremely three dimensional. They are the heart of story instead of the killer and violence he created and that is what makes Zodiac most compelling. The brutality of the murder’s the Zodiac committed are visualized but not overly gruesome as was the case with Finchers 1999 film Se7en. He does nothing to indulge the killers ego, which it seemed the publicity craving Zodiac seemed to desire above and beyond anything else. The interpretation of the Zodiac as a desperate man in need of some kind of recognition or acknowledgement is a brilliant and different take on the killer that could have been easily portrayed as a one dimensional mad man who killed for the sake of killing.   For more READ HERE!

Who is Emmanuelle Chriqui?

I know nothing about this actress except she’s rated #6 on FHM’s sexist women alive, and 37th on Maxim’s hottest.  But other than being hot, why is she famous?  She was just recently in You Don’t Mess With The Zohan, Adam Sandler’s new movie.  Apparently, she played a reacurring role on Entourage and is now scheduled for many new film roles in 2008 and 2009.  Her family is Moroccon but she was born in Montreal, Quebec and raised in Toronto, Ontario.  Her first Hollywood role was a small one in Detroit Rock City, but also played the hottie Claire Bonner. Notably she was in Hinder’s “Lips Of A Woman” video back in 2006.  Now that it seems she’s ready to make her breakout into mainstream Hollywood the rest of us she become more aquainted with her, er, face.  We’ll be soon to discover if she is more than a pretty face and hot bod, as her role in You Don’t Mess With The Zohan wasn’t incredibly telling, other than her basic hottness.  Again, it will be difficult to get past the hottness.  Have I mentioned her hottness.  More Emmanuelle Chriqui: