Review: I’m a big Hamlet fan, enough of one that I can be a bit hard to please. So many phrases that we take for granted as a part of the English language spring from this single Shakespeare masterpiece. I can allow a lot of latitude for amateur productions, but for the pros – and the Royal Shakespeare Company, no less – I absolutely expect to be blown away. This production, which sold out repeatedly (and drew complaints from a few critics about the casting of SF TV superstars David Tennant and Patrick Stewart), more than met that expectation.

I’m not sure which of the two stars earned more of my admiration. Patrick Stewart delivers a knockout dual performance as both Hamlet’s slyly villainous uncle and as the ghost of Hamlet’s father. He’s positively scary in both roles. This Claudius leaves no doubt that he’s the sort who would slip a knife between anyone’s ribs if it suited his agenda, and as the thundering, raging ghost he’s terrifying. Tennant’s Hamlet is more of a slow build – he starts out almost as a milquetoast, parted hair flattened down to his head and barely speaking up, and grows more disheveled and wild as the story wears on, with his trademark wild hair returning. Tennant plays Hamlet in the more or less the same accent as he uses for Doctor Who; I think his natural accent could’ve been used here, but then again, I didn’t see the lack of his Scots accent hurting ticket sales. Other standouts in the cast are Peter de Jersey, very impressive as Horatio, and Mariah Gale as Ophelia, who turns in an unnerving performance of her own. Oliver Ford Davies shines as Polonius too.

The play’s setting and accoutrements are slightly modernized, but not too much. Bayonet rifles and a handgun aren’t completely out of place in the story, and there’s still swordplay to be had. Hamlet’s mother’s own downward spiral into despair is demonstrated by her smoking. And very cleverly, while some monologues and soliloquoys are delivered directly to the audience down the barrel of the camera, some of the “god’s eye view” of characters coming and going is shown via “security cameras”; about halfway through the story, Hamlet acquires a handheld film camera and begins recording his own thoughts with it. The nature of the play demands some fourth-wall-busting moments, but the use of these more modern conventions eases things somewhat, and perhaps draws out a different performance – Hamlet speaking to his camera can be more introspective than Hamlet delivering what’s meant to be an internal monologue to an all-seeing audience, and it also smacks of just a little narcissism. The directing is brilliant throughout, even though, as with Hamlet on stage, there aren’t a great many sets; when the story finally does moves outdoors for location shooting, it’s a bit of a shock to the system.

In short, everyone associated with this production can take great pride in it. And David Tennant is showing that, like Patrick Stewart before him, he probably won’t be typecast as a science fiction hero for his entire life.

written by William Shakespeare
directed by Gregory Doran
music by Paul Englishby

Cast: David Tennant (Hamlet), Patrick Stewart (Claudius / The Ghost), Penny Downie (Gertrude), Oliver Ford Davies (Polonius), Mariah Gale (Ophelia), Edward Bennett (Laertes), Peter de Jersey (Horatio), Sam Alexander (Rosencrantz / Second Gravedigger), Tom Davey (Guildenstern), Mark Hadfield (Gravedigger), John Woodvine (Player King), Ryan Gage (Osric / Player Queen), Samuel Dutton (Dumbshow King), Jim Hooper (Dumbshow Queen / Priest), David Ajala (Reynaldo / Dumbshow Poisoner), Keith Osborn (Marcelius), Ewen Cummins (Barnardo), Robert Curtis (Francisco / Fortinbras), Roderick Smith (Voltemand), Andrea Harris (Cornelia), Ricky Champ (Lucianus), Riann Steele (Lady-in-waiting), Zoe Thorne (Lady-in-waiting)

Review: District 9 is truly a movie of the moment – very much a product of its time. It cuts relentlessly fast between various fictitious footage of the movie’s protagonist (if, indeed, it can be said to have any one single clear-cut hero) before the events of the movie unfold, “news footage” which cleverly lays out the backstory of the alien presence before it slyly starts to slip in some foreshadowing that something has happened to the main character we’ll be following. Throughout the movie, the perspective shifts with little or no warning between handheld documentary cameras – probably there to document events in case MNU needs to pull a CYA maneuver – and fixed “security cameras”. We’re well into the movie before we see any “God’s eye view” that doesn’t directly address the fourth wall, and eventually the bulk of the movie switches to that omniscient, omnipresent camera out of necessity. But at all times, District 9 is gutsy and visceral – there isn’t much in the movie that’s pleasant to see.

It would actually be difficult to follow, if not for the skill of Sharlto Copley, who increasingly winds up in nearly every shot. There’s no one in the cast who’s actually subpar, but so much of District 9’s impact is down to Copley, and he’s certainly up to the task. The local casting lends the movie tremendous authenticity and its biggest challenge to the audience, just in terms of understanding some of the heavily accented English. The location shooting also gives the story a great deal of credibility, and the blending of CG with live action is simply jaw-dropping, especially considering how much the camera is moving most of the time.

As much acclaim as District 9 has accumulated in very short order, what I’m about to say here may not be the most popular sentiment in the world, but I’m about to present you with the recipe for making this movie:

Alien Nation x Laserblast + Blair Witch Project x Cloverfield = District 9.

Now, that’s not to say that District 9 is bad – far from it, in fact. But if you’re expecting something shockingly original in terms of plot development, it may be time to lower the bar ever so slightly. Elements of the story became very familiar very quickly, and to a certain extent those elements dictate very early on what’s going to happen in the movie. At the same time, there are a few instances where the geographical and cultural differences mean that an obvious influence “reads” completely differently; Alien Nation presumed that a stranded alien population near L.A. would assimilate into American culture slightly, in a somewhat crude analogue of Latino assimilation. District 9 paints a completely different picture with a different set of assumptions: rather than assimilation, the prawns are treated to an interspecies form of Apartheid, in which it becomes politically expedient to relocate the aliens, en masse, by force if need be (and frequently when it isn’t). It’s an interesting alternate perspective to Alien Nation’s assumption that the aliens would pick up English in a flash, take up jobs and start families.

Between the graphic gore, violence and language (expect an F-bomb every couple of minutes or so once you’re about half an hour into the film), not to mention that the moral ambiguity begins to pile on pretty thick as the story progresses, District 9 isn’t for the whole family. And not every movie should have to be – between its foreign filming and the all-important Peter Jackson seal of approval (the Lord Of The Rings director served as a producer on District 9 and lent it some street cred with the words “Peter Jackson presents…”), it’s interesting to see a movie that hasn’t had to compromise its creator’s vision. Even if it is wearing its influences – almost all of them – visibly on its sleeve, District 9 combines them all into a very effective combination that doesn’t let up.

written by Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
directed by Neill Blomkamp
music by Clinton Shorter

Cast: Sharlto Copley (Wikus Van De Merwe), Jason Cope (Grey Bradnam, UKNR Chief Correspondent / Christopher Johnson), Nathalie Bott (Sarah Livingstone, sociologist), Sylvaine Strike (Dr. Katrina McKenzie), Elizabeth Mkondawie (Interviewee), John Summer (Les Feldman, Mil Engineer Team), William Allen Young (Dirk Michaels), Greg Melvill-Smith (Interviewer), Nick Blake (Francois Moraneu, Civ Engineer Team), Morena Busa Sesatsa (Interviewee), Themba Nkosi (Interviewee), Mzwandie Ngoba (Interviewee), Barry Strydom (Interviewee), Jed Brophy (James Hope, Police Officer), Louis Monnaar (Piet Smit), Vanessa Haywood (Tania Van De Merwe), Marian Hooman (Sandra Van De Merwe), Vittoria Leonardi (Michael Blomstein, MNU Alien Civil Affairs), Mandia Goduka (Fundiswa Mhlanga), Johan van Schoor (Nicolas Van De Merwe), Stella Steenkamp (Phyllis Sinderson, MNU Alien Relations), David James (Koobus Venter), Kenneth Nkosi (Thomas), Mampho Brescia (Reporter), Tim Gordon (Clive Henderson, Entomologist), Marne Erasmus (MNU Medic), Anthony Bishop (Paramedic), David Clatworthy (MNU Doctor), Mike Huff (MNU Doctor), Anthony Fridjhon (MNU Executive), Eugene Khumbanyiwa (Obesandjo), Kengiwe Madiata (Sangoma), Slyabonga Rodebe (Obesandjo’s Lieutenant), Melt Sieberhagen (Anton Grobler), Andre Odendaal (Mike Van Kerland), Jonathan Taylor (MNU Doctor), John Ellis (MNU Medical Scientist), Louise Saint-Claire (MNU Medical Scientist), Alan Glouber (MNU Operating Room Doctor), Nicolas Herbstein (MNU Biolab Technician), Norman Anstey (MNU Lead Medical Technician), Nick Borain (Craig Weldon), Robert Hobbs (Ross Pienaar), Sibulele Geliltshana (Gunters Woman), Mahendra Roghunath (SABC Anchorperson), Phillip Mathebula (Meat Stall Seller), Claudine Bennent (MNU Office Worker), Michelle Ayden (MNU Office Worker), Antony Sorak (MNU Office Worker), Billy Somogoca (MNU Office Worker), Ryan Whittal (MNU Office Worker), John Jacon (MNU Office Worker), Yashik Maharaj (MNU Office Worker), Fernando Soroiva (MNU Office Worker), Sharon Waugh (MNU Office Worker), Brandon Asret (MNU Mercenary), Jacques Gamboult (MNU Mercenary), Justin Strydom (MNU Mercenary), Simo Magwaza (MNU Mercenary), Theumis Nel (MNU Mercenary), Sonni Chidebere (MNU Mercenary), Matt Stern (MNU Mercenary), Danny Datnow (MNU Mercenary), David Dukas (MNU Mercenary), Daniel Hadebe (MNU Guard), Wisani Mbokota (MNU Guard), Craig Jackson (MNU Guard), Justin Duplessis (MNU Guard), Rodney Downey (MNU Guard), Den Antonakis (MNU Guard), Bongo Mbutuma (Nigerian Gangster), Johnny Selema (Nigerian Gangster), Mashabela Galane (Nigerian Gangster), Mlazwe Sekobane (Nigerian Gangster), Nicholas Ratiou (Nigerian Gangster), Saint Gregory Nwokedi (Nigerian Gangster), Donalson Rabisi (Nigerian Gangster), Zephania Sibanda (Nigerian Gangster), Gideo Thodane (Nigerian Gangster), Mdu Mfhabela (Nigerian Gangster), David Mikhemi (Nigerian Gangster), Jeffires Simelane (Nigerian Gangster), Shafique Allan (Nigerian Gangster), Wendy Mbotha (Nigerian Hooker), Leigh Mashupye (Nigerian Hooker), Beauty Setai (Nigerian Hooker), Nklyase Mondlana (Nigerian Hooker), Kuda Ruslke (Soweto Resident), Morena Setatsa (Soweto Resident), Mpho Molao (Soweto Resident), Ntombi Nkuva (Soweto Resident), Absalom Dkane (Soweto Resident), Monthandaso Thomo (Soweto Resident), Norman Thabalala (Soweto Resident), Siphiwe Mbuko (Soweto Resident), Shiela Nene (Soweto Resident)

Voice Cast:

Review: It seems to be the most popular film in the franchise since Star Trek II – and if box office receipts are anything to go by, it may prove to be even more popular than that. The movie simply titled Star Trek has “rebooted” the Star Trek universe for a new generation of fans, and seems to be winning over a wide audience – an audience that, perhaps, wouldn’t have bothered if this was simply a follow-up to the Next Generation flick Star Trek: Nemesis.

To put it bluntly, Star Trek has needed this for some time. Now, around the time that writers and directors new to the franchise teamed up to give us Nemesis, we were hearing a lot about new blood then too – but all that “new blood” really brought to the table, under the thumb of the executive producer who had been at the wheel since 1991, was a glossy new look for what was essentially a watered-down rehash of Star Trek II. Star Trek takes a bolder stab at reintroducing Trek to a new audience by completely dispensing with what has gone before. To say that this was a risky move may be the understatement of the decade – Trek fans love their delicately-balanced fictional history, and you don’t even want to wade into a debate about whether or not novels, comics or games are “canonical” to that history. To tell this crowd that this history is now going to be retold in a different way…well…let’s just say that I’m surprised at the acceptance the new movie seems to have found. Some of that may be a knee-jerk reaction to the general perception that the aforementioned long-serving executive producer had flown the franchise into the ground at top speed: any new talent at the helm would surely be a good thing. And for that talent to be none other than the prodigious creative mind behind such genre-skirting favorites as Lost and Alias…could it get better?

Ultimately, I felt the result was analogous to the 1996 Doctor Who TV movie – given that the studio mandate was for a reboot of the franchise to make Star Trek less of an “inside joke” for a select (and legendarily geeky) crowd, it’s better than we had any reason to expect it to be. The casting is spot-on, the directing energetic, the characters relatable and largely likable, the new extrapolation of the Starfleet future is interesting, and the end result is quite watchable. Are there some time-travel-induced plot headaches? Yes, there are – it’s a time travel movie, and they can’t all be Back To The Future Part II. But even the new elements that fly in the face of what’s gone before – i.e. Uhura and Spock having a relationship – aren’t completely out of left field (many fans have pointed out some instances in original series episodes where there seemed to be some subtle flirtation in play between the two). Is it old Star Trek? No – but the folks bankrolling the whole thing had already made that decision before Abrams, Orci, Kurtzman, Lindelof, et al. got the gig. That it comes as close as it does, and pays homage in places where it doesn’t come that close, speaks to some effort being made to maintain at least some of the spirit of Star Trek.

Chris Pine and Zach Quinto are a formidable force as Kirk and Spock. Without doing a comedic imitation of William Shatner’s occasionally off-rhythm staccato speech pattern, Pine made me believe he’s young James T. Kirk from sheer swagger alone. Quinto’s Spock, similarly, is not Nimoy’s Spock, but given the events that unfold in the movie, we’re presented here with a Spock under wildly different influences and outside forces than what we’ve seen before short of the death-and-rebirth arc of the 1980s movies. Holding most of the first half of the film together, however, is its unsung hero: Bruce Greenwood as Captain Christopher Pike. Greenwood is an actor I’ve long admired for his gravitas and unerring dramatic instincts – I’ve been waiting for him to crop up in Star Trek in some form since the 1990s (especially after his starring vehicle, the UPN series Nowhere Man, was cut short after a single season during Voyager’s early days). Pike is the throughline that brings Kirk into Starfleet and pairs Kirk with Spock, and unlike many prior television and movie Treks, Pike – and the other captains seen in Star Trek (namely Faran Tahir as Captain Robau of the U.S.S. Kelvin) – do not come across as cyphers who telegraph “If only this captain had James T. Kirk’s infallible command instincts!” to the audience. In this movie, Kirk is still developing those instincts, and everyone including Pike seems to sense that there’s something there, and for once, we don’t get a lame duck who is obviously inferior to Kirk/Picard/etc. Greenwood’s Pike has command presence, and I’m heartened at the thought that he’s left alive (and promoted to admiral) by te end of the story.

Are there letdowns? A few – I wasn’t crazy about things like the Budweiser and Nokia product placements, or Scotty’s Gremlinesque sidekick (or, for that matter, Scotty’s dead-last non-prominence among the lead characters). I’ve seen much complaining from fandom about the big-pipes-and-valves reimagining of the Enterprise’s engineering deck, and the ever-present lens flares on the Enterprise bridge. Of the latter, I can appreciate that Abrams and his director of photography were attempting a style of lighting/shooting the bridge that isn’t what we’re used to, on Star Trek or anything else, but if it’s taking some folks right out of the story, maybe it’s worth thinking about dialing the flaring lights down a little bit in the next movie, though I thought it was an interesting enough technique that I wouldn’t argue for its complete elimination. My other advice for the next film(s) in the series: avoid time travel, period. Fan films have already subjected us to the “Spot the original series actor!” syndrome; I wouldn’t be upset if we don’t see Nimoy again in whatever films follow this one.

It’s the diehard Trek fan part of me that’s still doing a bit of head-scratching over the time travel mechanics of this movie. My preferred reading of the events in Star Trek is that the “existing” timeline – the original series, TNG, DS9, Voyager, and the movies revolving around those entities – is an alternate universe, separate from where the movies will carry forward from here. Spock and Nero, from that existing timeline, not only traveled back in time but jumped tracks sideways, whether intentionally or not. There are some subtle clues on hand to support this approach – i.e. the early-23rd-century U.S.S. Kelvin having technology that even the late-23rd-century Enterprise of the previous movies didn’t have – and it really does leave the fewest roadblocks to comprehending the whole thing and just enjoying the movie.

But Star Trek as a whole is an entity that hasn’t ever really made up its mind on dealing with time travel. Let’s use hard drives as an analogy.

• The Destructive Overwrite Theory. When it has served the writers’ purposes, Star Trek has treated the timeline as one single strand, changes to which completely overwrite future events (City On The Edge Of Forever, Yesterday’s Enterprise, Star Trek: First Contact, etc.). For the purposes of our hard drive analogy, the timeline is a single file to which changes are saved; once new changes are saved to the timeline, what was there before cannot be retrieved.
• The “Save A Copy” Theory. When it has served different writers’ purposes, there are several concurrent, parallel timelines that do not intersect unless extraordinary measures of intervention take place (Mirror Mirror and its numerous sequels, the TNG episode Parallels, Voyager’s Deadlock, etc.). With this theory, every time that Star Trek has told a time travel/paradox story, a new timeline has been generated/created (so we’re up to, what, universe #368 now?), but the original still exists elsewhere.
• The “Save It To A Floppy, And Then Walk Slowly Past A Powerful Electromagnet” Theory. Every once in a while, there have been curve balls that twisted time into a pretzel with an absolute minimum of rhyme and/or reason (Star Trek: Generations, Enterprise’s entire Temporal Cold War strand, Voyager’s string of time-hopping “Captain Braxton” episodes). Keep Dulmer and Lucsly on speed-dial for these; a strong grasp of temporal mechanics, and even stronger drinks, will be needed.

To put it mildly, the confusion as to which is the definitive approach continues with Star Trek, which, for better or worse, hinges on time travel. The “multiple timeline” approach is probably best for keeping everyone happy, so TNG/DS9/Voyager characters can continue to appear in print, comics and games (and you can bet that they will – unlike Doctor Who, whose publishing program switched over to the new series millieu in its entirety, it would seem that Paramount, via its Simon & Schuster and Pocket Books publishing arms, is supporting the “multiple timeline” theory). Heck, maybe there’s a universe where Kirk really does look like James Cawley.

I’ve heard numerous interpretations as to the new movie forcing a “destructive overwrite” of the hundreds of hours of TV and film that were available to Trek fans before Chris Pine ever sat in the captain’s chair…but as I’ve pointed out above, the franchise can’t make up its own mind about how time travel works. The movie’s dialogue pays lip service to an alternate timeline, and that’s really the least-headache-inducing option: the stories that we associate with Kirk and Spock will never happen to this Kirk and Spock in quite the same way, if at all, but they happened to another Kirk and Spock somewhere.

Overall, though, I really enjoyed Star Trek. It’s a rollicking good action flick that manages to split the difference – usually (but not always) successfully – between paying homage to past Star Trek and carving its own path. It’s the carving-its-own-path that now becomes the high-flying tightrope act. The filmmakers still have some room to expand here: the altered timeline of the new movies is an open book, and I’d like to see a return to Star Trek-as-vehicle-for-social-commentary. I understand that it’ll never be as deep a commentary in two hours of film as opposed to the development possible with an ongoing TV series, but it’d be nice to see something a bit meatier. Fandom also has room to grow: I’ve observed forums and chats in which some fans are stating a desire to see, for lack of a better way to put it, The Wrath Of Khan retold, but with a twist – no! No, no, no. This is the same fandom that quite rightly pounced when Rick Berman’s regime kept rehashing plotlines, if not entire scripts (compare Enterprise’s Doctor’s Orders to Voyager’s One – virtually the same script with different characters plugged in); with the decks cleared for completely new voyages of the starship Enterprise, let’s have precisely that – new stories, not just an altered-timeline variation on a 40+ year old story that’s already been told quite sufficiently.

Whether or not that balancing act can be pulled off over whatever movies follow is the real question; but for now, Star Trek provides a promising new jumping-off point.

Review: Batman Begins is a fresh start for the Batman franchise that began with such promise with 1989’s Batman and crashed in flames with 1997’s Batman & Robin. It jettisons the ultimately convoluted continuity of the ‘89-’97 series in favor of telling Batman’s origins from the ground up. It clearly uses the “Batman: Year One” comic series as a template, but finds its own path as far as the details are concerned.

And what details! Batman Begins is superhero-as-epic. From the vast scenery to the far-reaching storyline, it’s easy to see why director Christopher Nolan has said he was inspired by films from years past, such as Lawrence of Arabia (1962). This can work against the film, of course. Some of the early scenes tend to drag on and the film ends up lacking cohesion because there are so many threads trying to be tied together. Action sequences also suffer, since Nolan’s strong focus on Bruce / Batman seems to make them almost an afterthought, as if he can’t wait to get them over with. As a result, they often come off as incoherent. Overall, however, Nolan’s approach does a good job of making sense of Bruce Wayne / Batman’s place in the grand scheme of things.

Christian Bale has the task of defining the character of Bruce Wayne before he defines Batman and this works in his favor. It’s clear that, at least to Bale, Bruce is the real person and Batman the fiction. His Wayne is a complex portrayal, with nuances that are missing from his alter ego, whose one-note delivery ends surprisingly flat. Still, Bale makes the two believable aspects of the same character, tying them to each other well.

Michael Caine brings a bit of the working class to Alfred, keeping his cockney accent intact. This helps make him more hands-on than Alfreds past, while still maintaining his nobility and strong sense of loyalty. Almost any other actor of Caine’s stature might think this kind of movie beneath him, but Caine has never been one to take the job of actor that seriously. He seems to be having fun with the role and it comes across.

Katie Holmes’ strength is her ability to look like a fresh-faced young adult in one sequence, then portray the same character as older and more cynical without any disconnect. That being said, she has a hard time portraying a convincing hard-nosed district attorney. Her scenes with Bale are strong, however, and on an emotional level her character works.

The smaller roles are something of a mixed bag. Liam Neeson finds himself mostly in Qui-Gon Jinn mode in Batman Begins. His surprisingly small, but pivotal role as Wayne’s mentor is powerful and it’s easy to see how he earns Wayne’s devotion. Cillian Murphy (incredibly once considered for the part of Batman) brings a smooth sliminess to his role of Dr. Crane / Scarecrow, but (much like John Michael Higgins in the Goyer-penned Blade: Trinity) his true nature is far too obvious. More subtlety would have been stronger. Rutger Hauer and Morgan Freeman are the actors most hurt by the preponderance of plot. There’s a lot going on between their two characters and I got the sense that there was a sub-plot in there at some point that eventually got cut out. This leaves the two characters with some snappy dialogue the director seemed unwilling to cut that doesn’t really connect, since we never actually get to know them.

Young actors Gus Lewis and Emma Lockheart are a real weak point. Both are far too precious for their own good and Lewis’ perpetually pouting face is grating. It wouldn’t be such a big issue with me if they were limited to the opening sequences, but Nolan’s penchant of never-ending flashbacks means I have to see them over and over again (sometimes in the exact same sequences I’ve seen numerous times already).

And then there’s Gary Oldman. Oldman is, unquestionably, my favorite part of Batman Begins. I’ve enjoyed Oldman’s work for years, dating back to Rosencrantz And Guildenstern Are Dead (1990). Here, he brings his usual devotion to the part by making Jim Gordon a real, believable cop for the first time since Pat Hingle in the ‘89 film. (Hingle’s portrayal was almost immediately marginalized in the series, much to my dismay.) And the way that Oldman has captured the look of Gordon is stunning. He’s practically a walking David Mazzuchelli drawing. He also serves as the audience’s connection to the story; brilliantly portraying the awe, fear and respect we are meant to feel for Batman.

The effects in Batman Begins are remarkable mainly because in this day of digital everything, Nolan insisted on as many practical effects as possible. This, no doubt, made the movie more expensive than it had to be, but it’s a price worth paying. As good as the digital effects look in films like Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith, nothing beats actually building a set or actually blowing things up. The look of the film charts new territory, but doesn’t really fall that far from the ’90s series. Batman Begins owes a lot more to Batman than many seem to realize. Everything from the costume to the portrayal of the Batcave has connections back to the earlier film. One thing that does strike out on it’s own (and not in a good way) is the Batmobile. I’m a bit of a stickler for Batmobiles and the one in Batman Begins, although a fine vehicle in its own right, doesn’t feel like a Batmobile to me. It looks more like some kind of insect.

The soundtrack, unfortunately, fails to evoke the sense of the world that Batman Begins portrays so strikingly. The score, composed by James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer, is meant to connect differently with the two aspects of the story and Batman’s character. What happens, however, is that neither composer’s “voice” comes through, meaning the film has no central musical theme. There’s nothing to grab the viewer and help pull them through. The music just kind of sits there. There’s nothing that says “Batman”, let alone “Bruce Wayne”.

There is an old saying in the movie business: shake a film and twenty minutes fall out. Batman Begins needs a good shaking. This is not to say it’s a bad film, by any means. It’s actually very good. But it could be vastly improved by taking out some of the useless side plots and tightening up some of the more drawn out sequences. If this film has an Achilles’ heel, it’s the pacing. A more direct film, with fewer distractions (and perhaps a single composer) would work a good deal better. Still, there is much to admire in Batman Begins and it stands up well to the best of the earlier series. But it doesn’t quite measure up to the much better balanced Batman, nor can it approach (as some reviewers have suggested) the still unequalled Superman (1978) for presenting a comic book character in all his aspects to an audience.

screenplay by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer
story by David S. Goyer (Batman created by Bob Kane)
directed by Christopher Nolan
music by James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer

Cast: Christian Bale (Bruce Wayne/Batman), Michael Caine (Alfred), Liam Neeson (Ducard), Katie Holmes (Rachel Dawes), Gary Oldman (Jim Gordon), Cillian Murphy (Dr. Jonathan Crane), Tom Wilkinson (Carmine Falcone), Rutger Hauer (Earle), Ken Watanabe (Ra’s Al Ghul), Mark Boone Junior (Flass), Linus Roache (Thomas Wayne), Morgan Freeman (Lucius Fox), Larry Holden (Finch), Gerard Murphy (Judge Faden), Colin McFarlane (Loeb), Sara Stewart (Martha Wayne), Gus Lewis (Bruce Wayne – age 8), Richard Brake (Joe Chill), Rade Serbedzija (Homeless Man), Emma Lockhart (Rachel Dawes – age

Review: This is, without a doubt, the best space movie ever made. And it doesn’t hurt that, for the most part, it’s a true story. The performances are all fantastic, and in those cases where the odds get too oppressive in the story, there are unexpected moments of levity which usually take the form of brief television snippets of unintentionally ridiculous reportage (such as Jeff Kluger, co-author of the book that inspired this movie, doing a television science report in which he says if this basketball is Earth, and this baseball the moon, the spacecraft has to travel along a path no thicker than this sheet of paper…), slightly reminiscent of Being There. Tom Hanks, fresh from his blastoff to fame as Forrest Gump, is exceptional as Jim Lovell (who himself appears in an uncredited cameo as the captain of the Navy ship which recovers the Apollo 13 crew after splashdown). And while Lovell’s book describing the events surrounding Apollo 13 paints a picture of his wife Marilyn being a little more calm and steely, Kathleen Quinlan provides an earthbound oasis of raw emotion, as opposed to the ultra-professional calm and occasional humorous quirkiness of the NASA flight controllers in Houston. The sets are nothing less than astonishing in their accuracy.

Another tremendous feat pulled off by Apollo 13 is that it leaves the viewer with a sense of American pride. It’s not accomplished with chest beating braggadocio, or a huge fanfare (except in the case of James Horner’s score, which is the most original thing he’s done in many, many years). It instead pays a simple tribute to the best sentiments of exploration and hard work. Putting men on the moon was a remarkable feat, accomplished by years of thought and labor and training. Failing to put men on the moon, and instead barely bringing them back from a seemingly hopeless predicament, was no less of an accomplishment. Not too many movies give me that feeling. The Right Stuff barely does that for me. But Apollo 13 does.

screenplay by William Broyles Jr. & Al Reinert
based on the book “Lost Moon” by Jim Lovell & Jeffrey Kluger
directed by Ron Howard
music by James Horner

Cast: Tom Hanks (Jim Lovell), Bill Paxton (Fred Haise), Kevin Bacon (Jack Swigert), Gary Sinise (Ken Mattingly), Ed Harris (Gene Kranz), Kathleen Quinlan (Marilyn Lovell), Mary Kate Schellhardt (Barbara Lovell), Emily Ann Lloyd (Susan Lovell), Miko Hughes (Jeffrey Lovell), Max Elliott Slade (Jay Lovell), Jean Speegle Howard (Blanch Lovell), Tracy Reiner (Mary Haise), David Andrews (Pete Conrad), Michelle Little (Jane Conrad), Chris Ellis (Deke Slayton), Joe Spano (NASA Director), Xander Berkeley (Henry Hurt), Marc McClure (Glynn Lunney), Ben Marley (John Young), Clint Howard (EECOM White), Loren Dean (EECOM Arthur), Tom Wood (EECOM Gold), Godgy Gress (RETRO White), Patrick Mickler (RETRO Gold), Ray McKinnon (FIDO White), Max Grodenchik (FIDO Gold), Christian Clemenson (Dr. Chuck Berry), Brett Cullen (CAPCOM 1), Ned Vaughn (CAPCOM 2), Andy Milder (GUIDO White), Geoffrey Blake (GUIDO Gold), Wayne Duvall (LEM Controller White), Jim Meskimen (TELMU White), Joseph Culp (TELMU Gold), John Short (INCO White), Ben Bode (INCO Gold), Todd Louiso (FAO White), Gabriel Jarret (GNC White), Christopher John Fields (Booster White), Kenneth White (Grumman Rep), Jim Ritz (Ted), Andrew Lipschultz (Launch Director), Mark Wheeler (Neil Armstrong), Larry Williams (Buzz Aldrin), Endre Hules (Guenter Wendt), Karen Martin (Tracey), Maureen Hanley (Woman), Meadow Williams (Kim), Walter Von Huene (Technician), Brian Markinson (Pad Rat), Steve Rankin (Pad Rat), Austin O’Brien (Whiz Kid), Louisa Marie (Whiz Kid Mom), Thom Barry (Orderly), Arthur Benzy (SIM Tech), Carl Gabriel Yorke (SIM Tech), Ryan Holihan (SIM Tech), Rance Howard (Reverend), J.J. Chaback (Neighbor), Todd Hallowell (Noisy Civilian), Matthew Goodall (Stephen Haise), Taylor Goodall (Fred Haise Jr.), Misty Dickinson (Margaret Haise), Roger Corman (Congressman), Lee Anne Matusek (Loud Reporter), Mark D. Newman (Loud Reporter), Mark McKeel (Suit Room Assistant), Patty Raya (Patty), Jack Conley (Science Reporter), Jeffrey B. Kluger (Science Reporter), Bruce Wright (Anchor), Ivan Allen (Anchor), Jon Bruno (Anchor), Reed Rudy (Roger Chaffee), Steve Bernie (Virgil Grissom), Steven Ruge (Edward White), Herbert Jefferson Jr. (Reporter), Julie Donatt (Reporter), John Dullaghan (Reporter), Thomas Crawford (Reporter), John Wheeler (Reporter), Frank Cavestani (Reporter), Paul Mantee (Reporter), John M. Matthews (Reporter), Jim Lovell (Recovery Ship Captain), Walter Cronkite (Opening Narration)

Review: Last month, I waxed rhapsodic about the uneven Pleasantville, asking myself if it was a brilliant chunk of celluloid or if it was a big mess. No such quandary with Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. This film is a big mess – a very funny mess at times, but still a mess.

I’ll confess up front that I passed on the first Austin Powers flick, as Mike Myers just really isn’t my cup of tea. But after a number of friends recommended it to me as the funniest thing they’d seen in 1999 (obviously, they hadn’t seen Bowfinger), I splurged and got the DVD.

Mike Myers’ over-the-top performance is charming in a lot of places, and it has to be in order to carry the whole movie along. The script, though it has its moments, is thinner than the paper on which it was printed. The real highlight of the movie is Dr. Evil and his secret plot to use a giant laser – dubbed “the Alan Parsons Project” (just one of many throwaway jokes about which a great deal of noise is made, in direct proportion to how funny the joke actually is). The bizarre dynamics of the bad guys is incredibly amusing, so much more so than the protagonists. The honest truth is that Michael York is the funniest of our heroes, mainly because this is just about the last movie in which one would expect him to be involved. Heather Graham got a lot of buzz from this movie, but she was much better in Bowfinger.

There’s barely a plot to the whole thing, so the main question is: is it funny? Well…sort of. Almost. In places…not at all. For example, the basic premise that Austin would accidentally drink Fat Bastard’s stool sample is amusing (disgusting, yes, but still funny), but the gag-inducing gag is drawn out for such a long time, with such an obvious conclusion, that it loses more belly-laugh potential with each passing second. Now, had Austin taken a swig of the “tea” and then proclaimed that it tasted like shit…that would’ve been funny. Still very sophomoric and predictable humor, but the impact of the moment would have compensated for it a little. Several potentially hilarious jokes are ruined in a similar fashion throughout the movie.

There are two scenes that keep me in stitches every time, though: a pair of montages in which Clint Howard, as a NORAD operator tracking Dr. Evil’s strangely phallic escape rocket, sets off a chain reaction of various short scenes and cameo appearances in which almost every possible colloquialism for the male reproductive organ is exhausted. While it’s still pretty juvenile humor, it still gets a big laugh out of me every time.

Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me – hopefully the spy spoof’s stopping point rather than the jumping-off point for a new franchise – is good for a laugh if you’ve had a long day and your brain is already shut down for the evening. Trust me, you won’t need to use it to watch this one.

screenplay by Mike Myers & Michael McCullers
directed by Jay Roach
music by George S. Clinton

Cast: Mike Myers (Austin Powers), Mike Myers (Dr. Evil), Mike Myers (Fat Bastard), Heather Graham (Felicity Shagwell), Michael York (Basil Exposition), Robert Wagner (Number Two), Rob Lowe (Young Number Two), Seth Green (Scott Evil), Mindy Sterling (Frau Fabrissina), Verne J. Troyer (Mini-Me), Elizabeth Hurley (Vanessa), Gia Carides (Robin Swallows), Oliver Muirhead (British Colonel), George Kee Cheung (Chinese Teacher), Jeffrey Meng (Chinese Student), Muse Watson (Klansman), Scott Cooper (Klansman’s son), Douglas Fisher (Man), Kevin Cooney (NORAD Colonel), Clint Howard (Radar Operator Peters), Brian Brooks (Pilot), David Koechner (Co-pilot), Frank Clem (Guitarist with Willie Nelson), Herb Mitchell (Sergeant), Steve Eastin (Umpire), Jane Carr (Woman), Kevin Durand (Assassin), Melissa Justin (Chick #2 at party), Nicholas Walker (Captain of the Guard), Steve Hibbert (Guard at jail cell), David Coy, David Crigger, Tom Ehlen, Dennis Wilson (Carnaby Street band), Eric Winzenreid (Private Army Soldier), Tim Bagley (Friendly dad), Colton James (Friendly son), Mike Hagerty (Peanut vendor), Jack Kehler (Circus barker), Kirk Ward (Soldier), Jeff Garlin (Cyclops), Rachel Wilson (Woody’s fan), Jennifer Coolidge (Woman at football game), John Mahon (NATO Colonel), Michael McDonald (NATO soldier), Jeanette Miller (Teacher), Mary Jo Smith (Unibrau), Carrie Ann Inara, Jennifer Hamilton, Ayesha Orange, Natalie Willes (Felicity’s dancers), John Corella, Alison Waulk, Michelle Elkin, Shealan Spencer, Tovaris Wilson (Party dancers)

Appearing as themselves: Burt Bacharach, Elvis Costello, Woody Harrelson, Willie Nelson, Rebecca Romjin-Stamos, Jerry Springer

Review: This supremely creepy thriller explores the notion that your neighbor could be anyone or anything. Arlington Road swings the pendulum relentlessly from “he’s on to something, they are suspicious” to “naaaahh, he’s paranoid.” The script is masterfully executed, and Jeff Bridges and Tim Robbins turn in a couple of excellent performances, though their acting starts to go off the deep end about three quarters of the way through the film (but so does the directing, so I’m not blaming the actors for this one). Bridges and Robbins have done enough good work in the past that I’m sure their instincts would’ve served the movie better than the over-the-top, almost drunkenly-lurching style that takes over not long before the film’s climax.

Ah yes…the directing. Mark Pellington had an interesting vision with this film. Sometimes the bizarro camera work does the story some big favors, but in other places, especially toward the end of the movie, things start to bury the needle on the weird-o-meter. The camera work and lighting give the last 25-30 minutes of Arlington Road the feeling of someone else’s acid trip, confined to celluloid. It’s still effective, but when the film repeatedly drops into slow motion and the lights start to strobe the action into a myriad of brief freeze-frames, one begins to wonder if this is an example of style superceding substance.

Joan Cusack is incredibly creepy as Lang’s wife, who turns out to be just as involved as he is in his covert activities. Cusack has long been one of my favorite actresses, and for some strange and nerdly reason I’ve always thought she was actually kind of hot…but here, she’s just plain disturbing.

Kudos go to the stunt performers and the pyro crew. Their work makes the end of the film what it is. The incredibly realistic car collision with a bus was so real I cringed when it happened, and as for the pyro work…well, that would be giving away too much.

Angelo Badalamenti (of Twin Peaks fame) turns in a dark musical score, though at times – particulary in scenes of great tension – it almost sounds like he plugged in the drum beat from Nine Inch Nails’ “Closer”. Not that it doesn’t fit the scenes in which it’s heard, but the resemblance to that aforementioned NIN tune is uncanny.

I truly admire the makers of Arlington Road for sticking to their guns and creating an ending to the movie which doesn’t cling slavishly to the notion that every movie has to end with Bruce Willis effortlessly dispatching vast numbers of terrorists whilst losing his shirt and exposing his muscular upper torso. It’s an ending that would have destroyed this movie, partly because Bruce Willis wasn’t even in it, but mainly because the ending of the movie justifies everything else in the film, and brings some truly terrifying thoughts to the viewer’s mind: could this really be happening in America today?

As for the answer to that question, I leave it to your imagination. Watch… and worry.

screenplay by Ehren Kruger
story by Ehren Kruger
directed by Mark Pellington
music by Angelo Badalamenti and tomandandy

Cast: Jeff Bridges (Michael Faraday), Tim Robbins (Oliver Lang), Joan Cusack (Cheryl Lang), Hope Davis (Brooke Wolfe), Robert Gossett (FBI Agent Whit Carver), Mason Gamble (Brady Lang), Spencer Treat Clark (Grant Faraday), Stanley Anderson (Dr. Archer Scobee), Viviane Vives (Nurse), Lee Stringer (Orderly), Darryl Cox (Troopmaster), Loyd Catlett (Delivery Man), Sid Hillman (Phone Technician), Auden Thornton (Hannah Lang), Mary Ashleigh Green (Daphne Lang), Jennie Tooley (Ponytail Girl), Grant Garrison (Student Kemp), Naya Castinado (O’Neill), Laura Poe (Leah Faraday), Christopher Dahlberg (Buckley), Gabriel Folse (Merks), Hunter Burkes (Hutch Parsons), Diane Peterson (Ma Parsons), Josh Ridgway (18-year-old Parsons), Hans Stroble (16-year-old Parsons), Michelle Du Bois (Parsons Girl), Steve Ottesen (TV Reporter #2), Harris Mackenzie (TV Reporter #3), John Hussey (Accident Detective), Charles Sanders (Camp Official), Todd Terry (2nd Camp Official), Gina Santori (Party Girl/Student), Denver Williams (FBI Guard #1 ), Willie Dirden (FBI Guard #2), Paul Pender (FBI Van Agent), Charlie Webb (FBI Van Agent #2), Billy D. Washington (FBI Agent #3), Cindy Hom (TV Reporter #4), Dave Allen Clark (TV Reporter #5), Ken Manelis (Charles Bell), Deborah Swanson (Bomb Site Reporter), Homer Jon Young (Student)

When the unknown force proves itself fully capable of boarding Deep Core without harming any of the crew, they begin to wonder which is the greatest threat – an unknown life form buried in the depths of the Atlantic, or the human impulse for violent acts against anything or anyone unfamiliar?

Review: I still think that James Cameron has yet to top The Abyss. I mean, sure, the guy did Titanic, Aliens, and both Terminator movies, but this is the Cameron film I have always enjoyed the most. One must admit, the mere fact that The Abyss was made at all, with at least two thirds of the movie shot underwater, is an incredible technical feat – much more impressive, in my book, than reconstructing an ocean liner with CGI. I can’t even begin to imagine how dangerous it was to shoot in such an environment, even if it was nothing more than a large water tank. But this movie isn’t all about special effects and underwater photography. The script is very well written, and even the studio-bound scenes are tense and well-shot. And for what it’s worth, the effects are indeed awesome, including some of the earliest good CGI work of a translucent water-based extension of the undersea creatures.

The Abyss was also my introduction to the outstanding Ed Harris, who also starred in The Right Stuff, Apollo 13, and The Truman Show. Michael Biehn, though he hams it up a little bit too much for my tastes, follows up admirably on his string of rugged hero roles with a wild and scary portrayal of one demented son of a bitch. Though a little stiff at the beginning of the movie, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio positively carries the entire movie on her shoulders toward the end.

The Abyss is a much better movie than Twister, but like Twister, it benefits greatly from the skills of the supporting cast. All of these characters have quirks, and they come across as absolutely real, even the guy with the pet rat. Where Harris, Mastrantonio and Biehn sometimes seem to be playing stock characters, the supporting cast keeps The Abyss from slipping into the depths of clichè by adding much-needed color commentary to the proceedings. And when one character wears an Arkansas Razorbacks cap, and another wears a Green Bay Packers jacket, this is a movie than can appeal to me no matter where I happen to be living at the time!

If there’s any one thing for which I fault The Abyss, it’s the occasional bit of preachiness that Cameron slips in. I’m usually a pacificst myself, but there are a few moments – namely the fabricated man-on-the-street news interviews seen about halfway through the movie – that are too obvious, too didactic for my tastes.

In case you haven’t guessed, I didn’t review the theatrical cut of The Abyss, but the extended home video edition (which has also shown up often in a slightly abridged version on the Sci-Fi Channel – bless their hearts, in widescreen, even!). I strongly recommend you seek out the widescreen home video version with added footage – far superior to the original theatrical cut, but also far longer, approaching three hours. But those three hours will be well-spent – this is an amazing movie.

screenplay by James Cameron
story by James Cameron
directed by James Cameron
music by Alan Silvestri / additional music by Robert Garrett

Cast: Ed Harris (Ed Brigman), Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (Lindsey Brigman), Michael Biehn (Lt. Coffey), Leo Burmester (Catfish De Vries), Todd Graff (Alan “Hippy” Carnes), John Bedford Lloyd (Jammer Willis), J.C. Quinn (“Sonny” Dawson), Kimberly (Lisa “One Night” Standing), Captain Kidd Brewer Jr. (Lew Finler), George Robert Klek (Wihite), Christopher Murphy (Schoenick), Adam Nelson (Ensign Monk), Richard Walock (Dwight Perry), Jimmie Ray Weeks (Leland McBride), J. Kenneth Campbell (DeMarco), Ken Jenkins (Gerard Kirkhill), Chris Elliott (Bendix), Peter Ratray (Captain), Michael Beach (Barnes), Brad Sullivan (Executive), Frank Lloyd (Navigator), Phillip Darlington (Crew Member), Joseph Nemec III (Crew Member), Joe Farago (Anchorman), William Wisher (Bill Tyler), Marcus Mukai (Anchorman #2), Wendy Gordon (Anchorwoman), Paul Cross (Young woman), Thomas Duffy (Construction worker), Chris Anastasio (Truck driver), Emily Yancy (Woman reporter), Michael Chapman (Dr. Berg), Tom Isbell (Wave reporter), Super Sea Rover (Big Geek), Mini Rover Mark II (Little Geek

First off, to put it in blanket terms, A Bug’s Life was cute. I’m not rushing out to buy it; nor am I likely to watch it again. But it was cute. It was also better than Antz. In case you’re a Southern Baptist, I should probably give a (very) brief background to these two movies. Pixar is a small company which is well vested in venture capital. For our purposes here, Pixar makes movies that are entirely computer generated – no actors, no film, and no Korean illustrators. The principles were first used in a Hollywood movie 20 or so years ago in Battle Beyond the Planets (if memory serves). Tron came along shortly after and convinced Hollywood that computer animation wasn’t quite ready for prime time. (I’ll catch it for this one, but I’ll say it anyway. Tron, while a great idea, suffered on two fronts: 1930’s B-movie makeup and 1930’s B-movie dialogue. The concept was great, but the execution was just exactly that…an execution.)

At any rate, Pixar is, to my knowledge, the first company to produce a full-length movie using nothing but computer generated graphics. This cannot have been a cheap undertaking. So they show their work to Disney. After all, Disney has the money, the reputation, the network, and the marketers. Of course, they’re also evil incarnate because they happen to hold the philosophy that homosexuals just might be human beings, and therefore I have to explain all this here in case a Southern Baptist has (accidentally) stumbled onto this page. In fact, I should probably just go ahead and note in big, flashing letters IF YOU’RE SOUTHERN BAPTIST, DO NOT READ THIS! IT’S EVIL! But I digress…

A Bug’s Life was the first Pixar movie released by Disney. Probably in an attempt to draw attention to the movie, a host of big-name stars was used for the voice work. As with all other movies with a host of big names, the plot suffered at the expense of the exposure. This movie had everyone from Woody Allen to Stallone. I’m sure they’d have used James Coco if he weren’t dead. The graphics were terrific, but it was hard to care about the story. A Bug’s Life is more suited as the initial release from a company that is about to change the rules of how movies are made. There were some recognizable voices. Dave Foley from Kids In The Hall, as well as that buffoon with the sloping forehead from Spin City, did voice work. In fact, halfway through the movie I suddenly realized that the praying mantis is none other than Jonathan Harris, a.k.a. Dr. Smith from Lost In Space. I thought he was dead. Turns out he’s just 85. Go figure.

The animation is identical to that of Antz (which is not hard to do when you use the same species as the heroes), but the scenes are sometimes laid out to better effect. For the ultimate demonstration of the animation, watch the two scenes that show a closeup of a dandelion head. They’re short, but effective. The problem with this regard is that the writers are still having trouble thinking outside the box. They grew up with standard 2-D animation, and it shows. In fact one panning scene looks like they used three painted mats moving at different speeds in the background to create perspective, rather than the full 3-D rendering they had at their disposal. It’s so glaring, I have to believe they did it on purpose, in an effort to look more like a traditional cartoon. That’s the mistake. In the early decades of this century, animators quickly learned they could show things that could not be filmed otherwise. They also learned they could show common things from otherwise impossible perspectives. This was what made animation great. Early cartoon audiences got to see Gertie the dinosaur in motion. They also got to see the rabbit’s home in a cut-away view. Cell animators had problems with scenes which contained a lot of moving components. That’s why they developed tricks to simulate more complex movement while saving the drawing of thousands of cells. They learned to think outside the box. Pixar’s artists are going to have to do that and quit aping traditional animation.

So in all we had a moderately entertaining movie with state of the art effects. The story has enough humor to keep the adults from nodding off, and enough slapstick to keep the kids rolling in the floor. There are no booger jokes, bad language, or scatological references, so you don’t have to worry about the younger kids picking up bad habits. All in all it’s a rather pleasant way to spend an hour and a half with the whole family in the presence of pure evil. There’s one other thing about this Disney movie that I appreciated. Disney had nothing to do with making it. All they did was buy into its success or failure. That explains why it’s a pretty good movie, but was marketed at McDonalds and tapes are sold in four collector boxes.

My problem with Disney has nothing at all to do with their humanity to man. Rather, I object to their formulaic, cookie-cutter mentality for producing animated movies. Am I the only one bothered by the “Instant Classic”? All Disney releases can be broken into two categories. “Holiday Classics” are released within a month of a holiday – any holiday. I heard one touted as a “Holiday Classic” the other day. The only holiday coming up on my calendar is Memorial Day, so I guess that qualifies. It reminds me of It’s Arbor Day, Charlie Brown. The other broad classification is reserved for movies that are released outside of the four-week window for any American holiday. These are known as “Family Classics.” I grew up on Pinocchio, Snow White, Dumbo, and the like. They were wonderful. They were classics. They were old. They had earned the name “Classic” by remaining popular for years. Disney is being extremely presumptuous to assume every little thing they deign to foist on the buying public deserves to be called a classic before all the cells are back from the Pacific Rim.

I also have one other minor problem with Disney. I am tired of absolutely every character having a Southern California accent. This is even more exacerbated when their voice suddenly changes to that of Celine Dion, Michael Bolton, or Brandy when they spontaneously burst into song about the importance of saving the earth. Has it occurred to you that you haven’t heard the Back Street Boys or New Kids on the Block (to add a little historical perspective) singing a Disney signature hit? That’s because while singing groups like that may be immensely popular, they don’t fit Disney’s formula. I don’t relish having to sit through the Back Street Boys singing at a show tune – it just illustrates my point. Having a group sing doesn’t work within the Disney formula. Collectors Hercules plates at McDonalds does. This is a formula that is as studied, staid, and stale as any in use on a sitcom today. In fact, it’s staler than the Echevarrian formulae employed in the various Star Trek franchises, and that’s going a ways.

There is one last aspect of this movie which at first bothered me. If you haven’t seen it and don’t like spoilers, skip to the last paragraph. I was bothered that their final solution was to lure the grasshopper to his death. My first thought was that if they had been people, Disney never would have allowed that solution. But of course, we’re not talking about a Disney movie in this case. Pixar may very well show graphic human violence in a future release. Initially I thought they should have used a different ending, showing the ants outsmarting the grasshopper, intellect defeating brawn, and so on. That makes for a cleaner morality play. On further reflection, however, I decided that the movie actually works better this way. I’m tired of morality plays (too much Star Trek over the years). The ants did indeed outsmart the grasshopper, and his monosyllabic IQ led to his demise. Perhaps it’s still a morality play, but it’s not a nice one.

So in conclusion, while the first two releases from Pixar are worth a look – especially A Bug’s Life – beware of subsequent releases. Now that they have bedded down with Disney, we will quite likely see Pixar releases come complete with soundtracks, more McDonalds tie-ins, musical soliloquies, and that peculiar revisionist outlook which defines Disney productions today. The best we can hope for is the continued independence of Pixar, with the idea that they will continue to develop what is indeed a huge potential for producing a new type of animation. I don’t really care if they sell the finished product to Disney – let them market it any way they see fit. Just don’t let them have a hand in developing the projects.

screenplay by Andrew Stanton & Donald McEnery & Bob Shaw
story by John Lasseter & Andrew Stanton & Joe Ranft
directed by John Lasseter
music by Randy Newman

Voice Cast: Dave Foley (Flik), Kevin Spacey (Hopper), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Atta), Hayden Panettiere (Dot), Phyllis Diller (Queen), Richard Kind (Molt), David Hyde Pierce (Slim), Joe Ranft (Heimlich), Denis Leary (Francis), Jonathan Harris (Manny), Madeline Kahn (Gypsy Moth), Bonnie Hunt (Rosie), Michael McShane (Tuck / Roll), John Ratzenberger (P.T. Flea), Brad Garrett (Dim), Roddy McDowall (Mr. Soil), Edie McClurg (Dr. Flora), Alex Rocco (Thorny), David Ossman (Cornelius), David L. Lander (Thumper), Rodger Bumpass (Mosquito), Debi Derryberry (Baby Maggots)

All of this activity and much more is brought to the attention of a secretive branch of the U.S. Government known as Sector Seven which has not only recovered what Archibald “discovered”, but has hidden it in Hoover Dam (the actual reason the dam was constructed) and used it to reverse engineer all the technological progress since the late 1940s. But even Sector Seven (including Agents Simmons and Banacheck) have no idea of what is really happening – that Earth has become the battleground between two different groups of sentient robots, the noble Autobots and the warlike Decepticons. For centuries their war has raged, completely devastating their home world of Cybertron, and now it threatens all of Earth, with humanity caught in the crossfire…

Review: I’m sure I speak for a lot of people when I say I was a bit skeptical when this little film was announced, especially when I heard that Bay (who has often been called one of the most hated men in film today) was tapped to direct it. I won’t go into detail about it here, only that Bay is better known for choreographing mayhem than he is at developing believable characters.

Still, the cast (a mixture of old faces and new ones) do okay, even though they are playing essentially second fiddle to a bunch of CGI added in at post-production. Top of the newcomers is LeBeouf, who already had appeared in two previous flicks (the CGI Surf’s Up and the teen thriller Disturbia). In many ways, his is the most central character in the narrative, quickly getting in over his head even as he rises to the occasion.

Visually, the transformations of both ‘Bots and ‘Cons is nothing less than amazing, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the FX earns an Academy Award nomination. (Whether it will win will probably depend on what else makes the ballot.) One scene in particular that stands out is Prime’s initial appearance, shifting from tricked-up semi to towering robot…wow. One thing that Bay emphasized to the FX staff was to make the transformations as realistic as possible; that may seem an odd stance to take in film with giant robots, but for the most part the FX staff seems to have taken his advice to heart.

One of the biggest surprises of the movie is that Cullen, who had voiced Prime in the original animated series, reprises his role for the first time in almost two decades. Even Bay, who had all the surviving voice-over artists re-audition for their respective roles was forced to admit that Cullen was perfect for his role.

In the end, while it’s not going to be remembered as a classic, it’s very effective at what it does, entertain a wide swath of viewers for two and a half hours.

screenplay by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman
story by Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman & John Rogers
directed by Michael Bay
music by Steve Jablonsky

Cast: Shia Lebeouf (Sam Witwicky), Megan Fox (Mikaela Banes), Josh Duhamel (Capt. Lennox), Tyrese Gibson (USAF Tech Sgt. Epps), Rachael Taylor (Maggie Madsen), Anthony Anderson (Glen Whitman), Jon Voight (Defense Sec. John Keller), John Turturro (Agent Simmons), Michael O’Neill (Tom Banacheck), Kevin Dunn (Ron Witwicky), Julie White (Judy Witwicky), Bernie Mac (Bobby Bolivia), W. Morgan Sheppard (Capt. Archibald Witwicky)

Voice Cast: Peter Cullen (Optimus Prime), Darius McCrary (Jazz), Robert Foxworth (Ratchet), Jess Harnett (Ironhide/Barricade), Hugo Weaving (Megatron), Charles Adler (Starscream), Reno Wilson (Frenzy)