FILM REVIEW: WORLD'S GREATEST DAD

World's Greatest Dad writer-director-actor Bobcat Goldthwait joins his leading man (Robin Williams) in front of the camera.

Top of the pops

By John Esther

In the first enjoyable film I have seen of his since One Hour Photo in 2002, Robin Williams takes on the role of Lance Clayton, a depressing little man in Bobcat Goldthwait's World's Greatest Dad.

Hardly the John Keating of Dead Poet's Society, Lance fails to muster any enthusiasm amongst his poetry class students. With cuts in the school, Lance is the first on the chopping block if he cannot turn it around. If that were not stressful enough for the unpublished writer, Lance has managed to attract the school art teacher, Claire (Alexie Gilmore), a woman out of Lance's league who wants to keep their affair a secret from the rest of the school. He is doing everything to keep her, but there is rivalry in the air for her attention.

While there may be some competition for Claire, when it comes to Lance's son, Kyle (Daryl Sabara), everybody is a loser. An unrelenting jerk, Kyle is causing problems for his dad at home and school. If somebody does not do something quick, father and son are doomed.

Saved by the belt, so to speak, Lance finds an outlet to his miserable life after an auto accident involving a picture of Claire's crotch.

Now, in the age of interchangeable identities through self-pity, self-gratification and self-delusion, Lance's rise and Kyle's demise allows a rewrite of the community's history as it comes to terms with something else posing as grief.

Goldthwait, whose last film, Sleeping Dogs. explored why a few particular truths should never be revealed, whips around 180 degrees in World's Greatest Dad to confront a community (country?) who must acknowledge its failed past, collectively and individually.

Although the premise and conclusion of World's Greatest Dad are not as daring as the bitch'n' heat Sleeping Dogs, the film's ultimate point is a poignant one: staying true to one's true self is the loneliest modus vivendi in our age of destruct/decept-ion.

MUSIC: STREET SCENE MUSIC FESTIVAL

The Silversun Pickups (above) take to the streets of San Diego this year.

By Carlin Nguyen

The Annual Street Scene Music Festival once again hits Downtown San Diego this weekend. As always SSMF will focus on multiple genres and styles on five stages ranging from blues, rock, and alternative rock as it hosts over 45 bands, including several headline bands like Silversun Pickups, Public Enemy, and M.I.A. In addition, this year’s SSMF will bring back some history as the event will also take place in the East Village area of San Diego.

The following are some of the headliners of SSMF:

Black Eyed Peas – A hip-hop / pop band based in Los Angeles since 1995, this band has a followiing, having toured worldwide and with sales reaching 17 million. This will be BEP's first return at SSMF since 2005.

The Dead Weather – An alternative rock band formed in early 2009, this band features the likes of Jack White of The Raconteurs and The White Stripes. This will be their first appearance at SSMF.

Modest Mouse – An indie rock band since early 1990s, Modest Mouse's rise to fame started in 2000 with songs like “Float On” and “Dashboard” with their album The Moon & Antartica. This will be the band's first appearance at SSMF.

For more information on Street Scene Music Festival, please visit: http://www.street-scene.com

FILM REVIEW: BEESWAX

This is not Hollywood's business. A scene from Beeswax.

Butt out buttinski! It’s none of your beeswax!

By Don Simpson

Writer-director Andrew Bujalski (Funny Ha Ha, Mutual Appreciation) has a tendency to plunge at once in medias res; and such is the case with Beeswax, Bujalski hints that a larger narrative exists and the audience just so happens to stumble into the middle of the drama…

Jeannie (Tilly Hatcher) co-owns a vintage boutique in Austin, Texas with an estranged friend, Amanda (Anne Dodge). Jeannie, from whose perspective the story is told, is apparently the more dedicated of the two owners. She spends a majority of her time managing the day-to-day operations of the boutique, while Amanda is essentially an absentee partner. Despite their ownership contract (which was written by Amanda’s father – and Jeannie has become suspicious that it favors Amanda), the two partners have a bitter and jaded history of making business decisions without consulting the other partner.

A recent email from Amanda to Jeannie alludes that Amanda might be preparing to take legal action against her – this seems unreasonable to Jeannie since she is the owner that puts the most time and effort into the business. Since we are not privy to Amanda’s side of the story, we can only make the assumption that Amanda’s absence from the business is probably out of necessity to avoid her highly irritable and overbearing partner.

Lauren (Maggie Hatcher) – the quintessentially free-spirited Austin slacker – is Jeannie’s twin sister (and roommate). She somehow seems to make ends meet financially, by taking odd jobs here and there, but Lauren is altogether lost in terms of a career path. The post-collegiate twins may look alike (other than Jeannie being a wheelchair-bound paraplegic), but Lauren’s chaotic and carefree lifestyle plays in stark contrast to Jeannie’s intense desire for a more controlled existence.

Then, there is Merrill (Alex Karpovsky). He is Jeannie’s ex-boyfriend who just graduated from law school and is immersed in his studies for his bar exams. However, once he learns of Jeannie’s encroaching legal situation with Amanda, he opts to blow off his exams to offer his (not quite) legal advice to Jeannie. Merrill also has an ulterior intention, as he seems quite interested in rekindling his romance with Jeannie.

That is the slice of life that Bujalski entitles the audience to experiencing – everything else is none of our beeswax.

Bujalski plays heavy on naturalism and realism, as he once again utilizes a non-professional cast teamed with a guerrilla production crew armed with a grainy 16mm camera. The characters’ dialogue purposely rambles and stammers and falters and mumbles – as their lives follow suit.

I cannot imagine Hollywood cinema ever placing a paraplegic in a leading role without endlessly harping on the character’s medical condition; yet, even though Jeannie is wheelchair-bound, her medical condition is never discussed nor does the subject ever approach the narrative. Jeannie has obviously overcome the life obstacle of paraplegia well before Beeswax begins, and Bujalski chooses to not focus on the past. Tilly Hatcher is wheelchair-bound in reality (due to a spinal cord tumor), which aids in the nonchalance. She is not an actor playing a wheelchair-bound character; she is a wheelchair-bound actor playing a character.

FILM REVIEW: THE BAADER MEINHOFF COMPLEX

It is "Nie wieder" for youngsters in The Baader Meinhoff Complex.


The hate that hate produced

By Ed Rampell

As the so-called global “war on terror” continues to unravel, an extremely violent film is coming to American screens that takes an in-depth, closeup look at theBaader Meinhof Gang, one of the most notorious terrorist groups of all time, that won’t allow viewers to take their eyes off of the screen for more than two riveting hours. If Germans occupying Denmark in Flame & Citron were the authorities in that World War II movie, Germans form the resistance movement in The Baader Meinhof Complex (as well as the powers that be who battle them), an ultra-left group that began in 1967.

Fifty years ago Mike Wallace did a TV documentary about the Black Muslims called The Hate That Hate Produced, and director/co-writer Uli Edel does a masterful job in showing how the callow indifference, complicity and police brutality of a West German regime that allowed U.S. military bases there to wage war against Vietnam spawned a violent anti-imperialist resistance movement. This aspect of The Baader Meinhof Complex is similar to how Jeremy Kagan’s 1975 made-for-TV-movie, Katherine, traced how the injustices and violence of the 1960s turned Sissy Spacek’s character into a bomb-wielding member of the Weather Undergound. But in terms of sheer willy-nilly violence, the RAF were more akin to America’s Symbionese Liberation Front, which was depicted in Paul Schrader’s 1988, Patty Hearst (starring the late Natasha Richardson as the kidnapped heiress supposedly turned terrorist), than to the Weathermen, who generally bombed property, not people.

Like Ving Rhames as Cinque in Patty Hearst Moritz Bleibtreu is truly nuts as the nihilistic Andreas Baader, a guy who enjoys joy riding at high speeds in stolen vehicles and firing pistols: As Abbie Hoffman put it, this is revolution for the hell of it.Bleibtreu gives a great performance as this manic uber-revolutionary, while Martina Gedeck’s Ulrike Meinhof, his journalist turned comrade in arms, delivers a more subtly drawn portrayal of a wife betrayed by her unfaithful husband who turns to armed revolt.

There is plenty to rebel against, at home and abroad, as the Gang champions Third World liberation struggles from Indochina to Palestine, taking up arms ostensibly in solidarity with them, fighting, as their hero Che Guevara put it, “in the belly of the beast.” Like John Dillinger in Public Enemies, the Baader Meinhof Gang, aka “The Red Army Faction” or RAF, turns to bank robbing, as well as kidnapping, assassinations, bombings and more, sometimes striking unarmed civilians, such as at the offices of a conservative newspaper.Edel’s deft direction periodically intercuts RAF actions with news footage of world events that inspired their armed madness, but around two thirds of the way through the movie, after “Uncle Ho” and Vietnam have driven the Yankees out, the archival clips stop, and the motivations for the Gang’s terrorism seem to disappear (with the exception, perhaps, of the Palestinian cause). It seems that they are fighting on because the RAF is trapped in a cycle of violence, ultimately using tactics similar to those of the “oppressors.” In the end, what separates them?

Bruno Ganz is cleverly cast as Horst Herold, the law enforcement chief who plays Inspector Javert to the RAF’s “Les Miserables.” Ganz brilliantly played Hitler in Downfall and an anti-fascist law professor in The Reader. Here, Ganz relentlessly pursues the Baader Meinhof Gang, but espouses more liberal tactics and techniques in ensnaring them, including trying to understand what makes the terrorists, as well as their bombs, tick. Like those other recent films about authorities versus armed networks, the mobster hit, Public Enemies, and the World War II resistance thriller, Flame & Citron, counter-insurgency methods are delineated and depicted in their war on terror.

Unfortunately, The Baader Meinhof Complex doesn’t get as deeply into the group’s ideology. We know what they were against, but what exactly were they fighting for? West Germany’s nominally socialist neighbor is unmentioned, and the initials “RAF” are never explained for an American audience. And while members of the Gang were actually fashion icons (like the Black Panthers in their berets and leather jackets were), thisdoesn’t come across onscreen.

Nevertheless, this is a masterful if not mesmerizing movie that was very deservedly nominated for the Best Foreign Film Oscar last year. AsEdel previously proved in his 1989 film, Last Exit to Brooklyn, he is a great, socially conscious filmmaker. Edel has crafted a superb adaptation of journalist Stefan Aust ’s definitive book. His use of nudity (which shames the prudishness of so many American productions, where sex acts are covered by blankets and the like) links the sexual revolution of the sixties to the era’s political movement. When Arabs, presumably Muslims, scorn the group’s casual nudity at a commando training base,Baader explains that “fucking and shooting” are the same thing.”

What really happened to the leaders of the Red Army Faction remains a mystery, but one thing’s for sure: do not miss The Baader Meinhof Complex, a must see movie that opens in New York on Friday, and in L.A. and Irvine on Aug. 28. By examining the terrorists of yesterday, perhaps we can better understand today’s ultra-violent extremists.

FILM REVIEW: EARTH DAYS

Earth to earthlings: You got to cool it in these here Earth Days.


The 2009 Sundance Film Festival Closing Night Film is a dud.

By John Esther

Directed by Robert Stone (Oswald's Ghost), this documentary recounts the early history of the modern American environmental group from mid-20th century through the Reagen Revolution for finite resources.

Stone's wide focus brings nine primary voices to cover nearly 50 years of political history via biology, ecology, ideology and mythology in 101 minutes. The result is a tepid, basic recount of grand moments (so much for War & Peace) in American history -- although presented as world history -- that should head for the little screens. Is this for the kids? I cannot recall learning anything new.

According to reliable resources there were plenty of environmental films like this submitted to Sundance this year, yet this one made it. Why? Environmentalist and Sundance chief Robert Redford is of the generation? Its epic presentation may make it An Inconvenient Truth? Time to remember these pioneers?

Earth Days is not a complete waste of time, but one could spend his or her finite existence environ-mentally elsewhere.

FILM REVIEW: DISTRICT 9

Something grandly wicked comes to District 9.


Where are the prawns?

By Don Simpson

It seemed to have been a fateful day when the aliens parked their big ass spaceship high above Johannesburg, South Africa. Humans assumed the aliens to be violent invaders ala The War of the Worlds, but an attack never occurred and the alien craft continued to hover lifelessly above earth. The humans eventually became impatient and opted to cut into the alien spacecraft, only to discover innumerable malnourished alien refugees (degradingly referred to as “prawns”). The prawns, helpless and lost, were brought down to earth and ghettoized by their human saviors in a makeshift shanty town in Johannesburg. How could the prawns not be thankful?!

District 9 commences 28 years after the aliens initially appeared. For the past 28 years, a majority of humans have grown suspicious and fearful of the prawns’ intentions. Hatred toward the prawns has festered as the humans realized that these lecherous beings received endless human support (namely the shanty town that the prawns are forced – I mean privileged – to call home) but the prawns have given nothing back to humankind in exchange (the prawns knack for recycling trash goes unnoticed). And that’s not all! Corruption has spread within the confines of District 9 – a Nigerian gang lord provides a means for the prawns to exchange their high-tech alien weaponry for cat food (apparently a highly addictive food for the prawns).

Control over District 9 is contracted-out to a private corporation, Multi-National United (MNU). MNU’s interest in District 9 is purely financial – MNU will gain tremendous profits if they can make the aliens' advanced weaponry work for humans (the weapons can only be fired by a being with prawn DNA). To justify a raid on District 9, MNU implements a forced relocation of the prawns to a new ghetto conveniently located a safe (read: far) distance away from Johannesburg (an obvious reference to the real-life forced relocation of non-white residents from District Six in Cape Town, South Africa starting in 1968).

Wikus Van De Merwe (Sharlto Copley) is chosen to lead the prawn relocation program and MNU bum-rushes District 9 in an attempt to get the prawns to sign off on their required relocation paperwork – somehow the humans are able to understand the clicking language of the prawns and the prawns can understand the humans. During the raid of District 9, a canister containing a mysterious black liquid is found by Wikus. When the black liquid is accidentally expunged onto Wikus’ face, he begins a slow and painful metamorphosis into a prawn; thus becoming the missing link for the success of the MNU research of the prawn weaponry. Unbeknownst to the MNU, the mysterious black liquid is also an integral key to future of the prawns.

District 9 leaves so many questions unasked and unanswered that it is difficult not to hope for a sequel. District 9 provides no background information on the prawns (the question asked by the Soft Boys 30 years ago – “where are the prawns?” – comes to mind) and we only have the opportunity to spend a few quality moments of character-development screen-time with two prawns – a suspected terrorist and his child (I have an inkling that they will be the stars of the sequel – which will most likely be named District 10). District 9 focuses merely on showing us the CGI prawns, while it could have been a deeper and more thought-provoking story if the filmmakers took the time and effort to tell the audience something – anything – about the prawns and their history; and because of its purely superficial narrative, District 9 is aptly able to avoid any politicizing or philosophizing of its content (other than the overt analogy to District Six in Cape Town and the inherent criticism of the evil corporation’s greedy motivations).

Directed by Neill Blomkamp and produced by Peter Jackson, District 9 was developed from Blomkamp’s short film, Alive, in Joburg after their collaboration on a film adaptation of Halo (the video game series) was thwarted by disagreements between Fox, Universal and Microsoft.

FILM REVIEW: FLAME & CITRON

Going after the mad dogs of Denmark in Flame & Citron.

Melancholy Danes fan the flames of resistance

By Ed Rampell

The so-called global “war on terror” has spawned three recent movies dealing with armed underground networks and the authorities’ responses to them. Michael Mann’s Public Enemies pits J. Edgar Hoover’s G-Men against criminals, notably a P.R. savvy Robin Hood-like John Dillinger (Johnny Depp), who attacks that enemy of the people – bankers – but lets the workers keep their hard earned cash. Flame & Citron is a more explicitly political film that is also based on real life characters that took up arms against the powers-that-be – in this case, the resistance in occupied Denmark versus that all time favorite foe you love to hate, the Nazis.

Flame (Thure Lindhardt) and Citron (Mads Mikkelsen) are the aliases of two partisan leaders who conduct what can only be described as a terrorist campaign against the invading Germans. But this is World War II, so what’s a little terrorism when compared to Pearl Harbor, the firebombings of Dresden and Tokyo, the death camps, the siege of Stalingrad, Hiroshima, Nagasaki and so on? You name it, WWII was the High Renaissance of atrocities and crimes against humanity. However, since the bad guys here are Nazis, the gloves are off and all’s fair in love and war, as the melancholy Danes use sabotage, assassination and arson in their anti-Hitler holy war. Besides, one person’s “terrorists” are another’s “freedom fighters.”

This two hour-plus action packed shoot ‘em up set mostly in Copenhagen is expertly directed by Ole Christian Madsen, who also shares the screenwriting credit with Lars Andersen. With its ruminations on imprisonment, torture, surveillance, tracking down the hit and run band of partisans, et al, Flame & Citron is obviously a rumination on and reflection of today’s “war on terror,” as much as it is a biopic of two heroic resistance leaders during the big one.

But Flame & Citron seems to have many attributes of the gangster movie, as well as of the wartime resistance saga. It is arguably as much about the underworld as it is about the underground. In the typical WWII movie, the partisans are indisputably portrayed as heroic good guys, like the noble Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid) in 1942’s Casablanca, while their Axis adversaries are invariably portrayed as villainous bad guys. It’s a very black and white picture. However, with its plot twists and turns and constant betrayals, this Danish film reminded me more of Martin Scorsese’s 2006 mobster movie, The Departed,than of 1966’s Is Paris Burning? Who can be trusted? Are one’s comrades also one’s betrayers and informers? Is Flame’s lover Ketty (Stine Stengade) running Stockholm to Copenhagen missions for the resistance, or is she really a double agent? And are the tactics of the true blue partisans as reprehensible as those of the fascists?

Flame & Citron does indeed raise many questions but it is a highly recommended, well-acted, entertaining period piece that vividly brings history and its era alive, shedding light on liberation leaders and their movement that are little known, if at all, here in a country that was founded by an armed resistance to tyranny.

COMIC-CON INTERNATIONAL 2009

Posing for the pages. A scene from Comic-Con 2009

San Diego Comic-Con 2009

By Carlin Nguyen

Now in its 40th year, The San Diego Annual Comic Con International finished up on Sunday, Aug. 2. A spectacular festival of comic fanatics from books, movies and television shows, there was a scene everywhere for everyone to witness. During the four-day event an estimated 126,000 were in attendance.

Amongst those in attendance were cast members of 24 -- such as actors Kiefer Sutherland and Mary Lynn Rajskub, plus producer Howard Gordon -- whom were there for a panel and a sneak peek of the upcoming season’s premiere episode.

Noting that the 24 panel attendance reached full capacity of about 6,000, I could see how popular this show has became for the past seven seasons. As an extra bonus some of the new characters in the upcoming season were introduced, including Freddie Prinze Jr. (playing Cole Ortiz who runs CTU’s Fields Operations) and Katee Sackhoff (playing Dana Walsh as another data analyst at CTU).

On the way to another panel I thought I saw President Obama and his team of personal guards. Of course it was double of the real president. Nice costume.

At the New Moon panel, people stood in a huge line. Some of them in queue said, “They’ve been in line for past couple days…at the least.”

In promoting New Moon, director Chris Weitz and actors Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Kristen Stewart and Ashley Greene to answer questions from the audience. About every 30 seconds or so there were various shouts of: “I love you, Robert”; “Take your shirt off, Taylor”; or “You’re hot, Rob”. This panel was the most popular one for teenagers.

Hanging out in the Gaslamp District in downtown San Diego, the show, Heroes, was advertised around a classic carnival filled with games such as ping pong, basketball, and bungee trampoline. I wanted to try the trampoline but an attendant said it was only for young kids. Darn.

Perhaps the most appealing panel at CCI this year would was the Lost panel. Surprisingly, this panel lasted for a little over an hour and every little bit of it was full entertainment right from the start.

Producers Damon Lindelof and Carlton Case were at ease talking about the show and its future as it enters its final season. Towards the middle of the discussion actor Jorge Garcia himself appears to ask the producers a question. Then there was actor Michael Emerson showing up next to Jorge, talking to him. Then another actor shows up, Nestor Carbonnell. Finally actor Josh Holloway makes an appearance.

During CCI it was announced that a upcoming movie, 9, which is a feature-length expansion of his short film under the same name, directors Tim Burton and Timur Bekmambetov were a part of the panel which also included actor Jennifer Connelly and Elijah Wood.

Burton explained why he supports 9:“A simple story and the way it was described in the real world…it’s something I haven’t seen before."

When asked about bringing these characters to life, co-writer Shane Acker said, “Despite limitations [with CGI], it forces you to be creative…”

During the panel, Timur Bekmambetov announced that he’ll be shooting the sequel to Wanted in about two months. Actor James McAvoy will be returning.

Saturday night the highly anticipated CCI annual Masquerade was held. The Masquerade features about 40-45 contestants who showcase artistically crafted costumes under various categories as humor, surprises, drama, and the choreographed song/dance.

During this event, my colleague and I saw about 42 contestants. While some of the costume presentations felt a little under-prepared, some others would very noteworthy. One of my favorites was the “Bring It On: Rock The Mouse”, which featured bits and pieces that resemble the Bring It On movie franchise. It won for the “Best Presentation” category.

At the end of every Masquerade, a panel of judges gave out awards to contestants based on subject criteria. Some of the awards include: “Most Humorous,” “Best in Show,” and “Most Beautiful.”

San Diego CCI 2010 will run July 22-25 with Preview Night on July 21. As of right now, not of lot of news going around about what’s expected for CCI 2010. Believe or not -- hotel reservations are already scarce.

For more information: http://www.comic-con.org

FILM REVIEW: A PERFECT GETAWAY

Cliff (Steve Zahn) and Cydney (Milla Jovovich) are enjoying A Perfect Getaway.

Gone fishing for red herring

By Don Simpson

We meet Cliff (Steve Zahn) and Cydney (Milla Jovovich) as they celebrate their honeymoon by backpacking to a remote beach in Hawaii. Cliff and Cydney encounter two other couples during their perfect getaway: newlyweds Cleo (Marley Shelton) and Kale (Chris Hemsworth) and the yet-to-be-engaged pair Nick (Timothy Olyphant) and Gina (Kiele Sanchez).

The couples are informed of a horrifying murder of a newlywed couple on another Hawaiian island, so they all get paranoid – and because of their remote location, they have very limited cell phone and internet reception. Yet, fear and paranoia does not distract them from their journey into paradise as the prey wander deeper and deeper into danger.

Cliff, an aspiring screenwriter (with a script in pre-production in Canada), lets his mind go wild as he hopelessly tries to detect who the murderer(s) might be. Nick, a military special agent who served in Iraq, is armed to the teeth and portrayed as a ticking time bomb. Kale is a mean and violent animal, bearing very little resemblance to a sane or rational human being. With clues aplenty, Cliff is convinced that one of the two other couples on the trail with them includes the murderer; yet the prey continues to wander deeper and deeper into danger…

Once the murderers are revealed (quite clumsily, and void of dramatic effect), not only do we realize that writer-director David Twohy has quite heavy-handedly attempted to misguide the audience; but Twohy also opts to utilize flashbacks to rub all of the clues that he gave us throughout the first two acts of the film into our faces (it is as if he is taunting us with one long “nanny nanny boo-boo, I tricked you!” flashback sequence).

The revelation is forced (just like some of the characters’ accents), but it also makes no sense. For instance, why would the actual murderers fret about figuring out who the murderers were while safely isolated from the other couples? (Twohy’s retort would probably be that the characters were just trying to keep their game faces on.) Twohy expends entirely too much energy in the first two acts attempting to convince the audience that the murderers are innocent and one of the other couples contains the murderer(s), that all resemblance of logic is cast aside.

Despite all of the red herrings (a writing technique used to divert the audience from the truth – a technique that Twohy painfully takes the time to have his characters explain for us) Twohy throws at us, the script for A Perfect Getaway is so predictable that it becomes anything but a thriller.