Kam Williams — Film & DVD Reviews
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Voted Best Male Entertainment Journalist of the Decade by the Disilgold Soul Literary Review in 2006, Kam Williams is a syndicated film and book critic who writes for 100+ publications around the U.S. and Canada. He is a member of the New York Film Critics Online, the African-American Film Critics Association, the NAACP Image Awards Nominating Committee, and Rotten Tomatoes. In addition to a BA in Black Studies from Cornell, he has an MA in English from Brown, an MBA from The Wharton School, and a JD from Boston University. Kam lives in Princeton, NJ with his wife and son.Book Reviews | Film Reviews | DVD Reviews | Celebrity Interviews | Commentaries
Film Review by Kam Williams Crooked Cops
Terrorize It’s never a good sign when a movie makes you laugh out loud at dialogue intended to be taken seriously. But this is exactly the reaction periodically elicited by the unintentionally funny Street Kings, a grisly shoot ‘em up loosely based on a crime yarn by James Ellroy. The story is set in Los Angeles, and revolves around the goings-on inside a trigger-happy police department so crooked that cops don’t think twice before shooting a perp or even a fellow officer about to break the blue wall of silence. For, they can always count on Captain Biggs (Hugh Laurie), the head of Internal Affairs, to look the other way. Such is the case with Detective Tom Ludlow (Keanu Reeves), an alcoholic widower working on the vice squad who considers himself above the law. Drinking since his wife’s murder, he has no qualms about unleashing a torrent of expletives and racial epithets in the direction of suspects before blowing them away and planting weapons on their bodies with the help of his boss, Captain Jack Wander (Forest Whitaker). And why is Wander so eager to cover-up rather than discipline his reckless cowboy? Well, while he freely admits to having designs on a promotion to police chief, he might have another hidden agenda. Everything comes to a head the day that Ludlow bumps into his estranged former partner, Terrence Washington (Terry Crews), at a convenience store just as a couple of machine gun-toting thugs (Common and Cle Shaheed Sloan) are about to rob the place. When the smoke clears, the gangstas have escaped and Washington and the cashier lay dead. Although the
surveillance camera seems to implicate Street Kings is a disaster for several simple reasons: a preposterous premise, less credible plot twists, too much gratuitous violence, too many ethnic slurs, an absence of likable characters plus another wooden performance from Keanu Reeves, an actor ill-suited for roles calling for him to exhibit a range of emotions. Forest Whitaker proves to be the most noteworthy of a supporting cast which includes Cedric the Entertainer, Jay Mohr, Naomie Harris and hip-hop stars Common and The Game. But when you have trouble reading a hero’s motivations at every turn, the result is a comical headscratcher like this unmitigated mess. Fair (1 stars) Rated R for graphic violence, ethnic slurs and pervasive profanity. Running time: 109 minutes Studio: Fox Searchlight For photos, visit: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/streetkings/ Or: http://imdb.com/title/tt0421073/mediaindex Or: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/street_kings/photos.php Or register at: http://press.foxmovies.com/login.php posted May 4, 2008
Film Review by Kam Williams Women’s Lives Whimsically Intertwine in Serendipitous Israeli Adventure
In recent years, some of the most
intriguing, feminist dramas have been coming out of
The fulcrum of
the plot is provided by the plight of heartsick Batya (Sarah Adler),
a waitress working at the wedding of Karen (Noa Knoller) and Michael
(Gera Sandler). Shortly past the point of departure, we learn that
the couple’s plans for a So, they opt to take a room right on the ground floor of the beachfront hotel hosting their reception. Supportive Michael soon finds himself waiting hand and foot on his suddenly whiny wife, and it’s obvious that he must be more than a little annoyed with her when he has his head turned by the flirtatious poet staying in the penthouse.
Elsewhere, we
find Joy (Ma-nenita De Latorre), a homesick nurse missing the five
year-old son she had to leave behind in her native These assorted threads are woven together ever so subtly via the meanderings of Batya, a forlorn soul who besides being left by her boyfriend has had the rent recently raised on her dilapidated apartment. The carefree slacker reacts by drinking water dripping from a hole in the ceiling, and by adopting a naked, freckle-faced, five year-old (Nikol Leidman) she finds frolicking alone along the Mediterranean shore. But after bonding, Batya becomes frantic when the mute little girl disappears almost as mysteriously as she had arrived. Then, back at the resort, jealousy rears its ugly head as Karen starts to wonder why her husband’s new friend has so generously offered to swap rooms. In Jellyfish, always of more consequence than the give-and-take of any of the superficial personal dramas are the complicated cultural and psychological issues simmering just under the surface. Like Amelie with an attitude, this sinister flick links strangers serendipitously, but with an almost shocking absence of naivete. Excellent (4 stars) Unrated In Hebrew, French and English with subtitles. Running time: 78 minutes Studio: Zeitgeist FilmsFor photos, visit: http://www.zeitgeistfilms.com/film.php?directoryname=jellyfish&mode=downloads posted May 4, 2008
Film Review by Kam Williams Documentary
Examines Nazi-Themed Pornography Popularized in Who would think
that Israel would be the birthplace of Nazi-themed pornographic
paperbacks laced with lurid tales of buxom blondes in SS uniforms
torturing concentration camp prisoners and ? That is exactly what
transpired back in the early Sixties, and right around the same time
that Adolf Eichmann was being tried in This salacious genre of pocketbooks published in Tel Aviv debuted with “Stalag 13,” a title which sold over 800,000 copies. And that initial best seller was soon followed by other increasingly-perverse accounts of sexplicit cruelty which eventually escalated to descriptions of cannibalism and incest.
Released under several pseudonyms such
as Mike Longshot, Ralph Butcher and Mike Baden, the stories were
rumored to have been published previously overseas in English before
being translated into Hebrew. Truth be told, however, they
originated in The big surprise was that they found a wide audience, and not just in the dirty old man demographic. Historians believe that they managed to capture the imagination of Israeli society because discussion of the Holocaust had been suppressed due to the survivors’ general inability to talk about their horrific experiences.
Consequently, in the absence of
authentic autobiographies by real concentration camp victims, these
“Stalags” not only filled the void but, worse, were embraced as
factual memoirs rather than repudiated as trashy literature. In Unfortunately, by then irreversible damage had already been done, as they had so permeated the country’s consciousness that some books were apart of the high school curriculum. Furthermore, as revealed by this informative documentary, tour guides of Auschwitz today still quote from the works of one of the repudiated writers to suggest that Jewish women willingly lavished sexual favors on their Nazi captors in order to be spared, when there were no anecdotal reports or official records of any such behavior of this nature. A chilling expose’ which shows how Holocaust internees have been victimized twice, violated again by purveyors of smut who would stoop so low as to fabricate a pack of sadomasochistic lies for a quick buck. Excellent (4 stars) Unrated In Hebrew with subtitles. Running time: 63 minutes Distributor: Film ForumFor photos, visit: http://www.filmforum.org/press/stalags/index.html posted May 4, 2008
Film Review by Kam Williams Inmates Find Inner Peace thru Meditation in Death Row Documentary A maximum security
prison isn’t the sort of place you’d expect to find a bunch of men
mutely contemplating their navels and the meaning of life. But
that’s what we find The participants adopting the ascetic regimen understood that the initiation meant that for ten days straight they would not be allowed to talk, watch TV, use a phone, have sex or imbibe intoxicants. Those able to meet the challenge discovered that they emerged from the program calmer and with a new sense of purpose when they rejoined the general population. The Dhamma Brothers, directed by Andrew Kukura, Jenny Phillips and Anne Marie Stein examines the before and after mindsets of the cons converted to the Eastern spiritual path. This fascinating film focuses on a quartet of contrite individuals, starting with Edward Curry Johnson, a once-promising student-athlete who was being scouted by pro baseball when, against his better judgment, he foolishly took part in a gang-related homicide.
Then, there’s Death Row inmate Grady
Bankhead, who confesses here to being a co-conspirator in a plot
which left its victim with a severed head and a torso mutilated by
about 80 stab wounds. I’ll spare you the details of the felonies
committed by Benjamin “ Yet, they all made amazing transformations via Vipassana, despite the fact that none have much hope of ever being paroled. Based on their mild-mannered demeanors, it seems that they really have come around to accepting responsibility for their horrendous deeds while making peace with still having to pay their debt to society. Unfortunately, midway through the movie, we learn that Alabama’s Commissioner of Corrections ordered the program disbanded when he learned that it was turning so many in the jail from Christianity to a mysterious religious practice he considered occult. Afterall, ‘Bama is in the heart of the Bible Belt, and as one unsympathetic local yokel says, “I don’t believe in Buddhism or any type of witchcraft.” Perhaps the picture’s most astute observation is made by a concerned counselor who points to the Dhamma Brothers as “proof that people don’t need to be incarcerated for their entire lives to be appropriately punished for their crimes.” A timely argument to give cons a second chance, given the fact that the country simply can no longer afford to keep so many hopeless souls locked behind bars. Excellent (4 stars) Unrated Running time: 76 minutes Studio: Balcony Releasing For photos, visit: http://www.dhammabrothers.com/press.html Or: http://imdb.com/title/tt1212007/mediaindex posted May 4, 2008
Film Review by Kam Williams Clooney Courts Zellweger in Screwball Comedy Set in the Roaring Twenties It is the height of the Roaring Twenties, an era generally associated with overindulgence and irrational exuberance in spite of Prohibition and the specter of the Great Depression looming over the horizon. The decade also signaled the introduction of professional football in the American heartland, and this is where we meet Jimmy “Dodge” Connelly (George Clooney), the owner/captain/coach of the Duluth Bulldogs. While most folks fail to see much of a future in a game being played on turnip fields by miners, farmers and shell-shocked veterans, Dodge can already envision the fledgling league’s potential as a popular spectator sport. Plus, the aging star is still a kid at heart, who would rather continue playing indefinitely than make any concessions to Father Time. But with his Bulldogs enjoying more of a reputation for brawling in speakeasies than for greatness on the gridiron, they find themselves without a sponsor and teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. So, in order to save his team from financial collapse, Connelly comes up with an inspired idea to bolster his flagging franchise’s box-office receipts.
The plan is to offer a record-setting
contract to Carter Rutherford (John Krasinski), provided the Carter signs up and, sure enough, the gamble works. Sportswriters covering the Bulldogs begin writing articles recounting the veteran’s exploits and enormous crowds start flocking to the team’s games. However, a fly in the ointment arrives in Lexie Littleton (Renee Zellweger), an up-and-coming investigative journalist looking to make a name for herself. She suspects that the patriot’s war record might have been a bit embellished, so she sets about doing a little digging to elicit the truth. Meanwhile, she simultaneously finds herself being courted by both Carter and Dodge, and a love triangle ensues. Written and directed by George Clooney (for Syriana), Leatherheads is an old-fashioned screwball comedy cut from the mold of a Preston Sturges farce. Half slapstick, half romantic romp, the picture is at its best when indulging in witty repartee between Clooney and Renee Zellweger. Reminiscent of Tracy and Hepburn, the two Academy Award-winners again prove their worth, generating an endearing chemistry while delivering their every line with perfect aplomb. If only the rest of the script measured up to their inspired exchanges, the movie might have added up to something more memorable than a momentary diversion. Instead, what we have is a pleasant period piece harking back to days of yore, but one so superficial that it’s likely to be forgotten by the time you file up the aisle. Good (2 stars) Rated PG-13 for brief profanity. Running time: 114 minutes Studio: Universal PicturesFor photos, visit: http://www.leatherheadsmovie.com/site/ Or: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/leatherheads/ Or: http://www.universalpictures.com/ Or: http://imdb.com/title/tt0379865/mediaindex posted May 4, 2008
Flight of the Red Balloon (Le Voyage du Ballon Rouge) Film Review by Kam Williams Neglected Boy Bonds with Nanny in Surreal Cinematic Escape Seven year-old Simon (Simon Iteanu) is being raised by a berserk single-mom (Juliette Binoche) so overwhelmed by her assorted responsibilities that she dumps him in the care of a new babysitter (Fang Song) who doesn’t even know where they live. The trouble is that puppeteer Suzanne is currently consumed with putting the finishing touches on her next show when not fighting with her troublesome downstairs tenant (Hippolyte Giradot).
By contrast, Song, a nanny from
This praiseworthy homage, directed by
Hsiao-hsien Hou, doesn’t provide much of a linear plotline worth
following, unless you care to be distracted by foul-mouthed
Suzanne’s annoying caterwaul and her selfish concerns. Rather, this
is a flick designed to be appreciated for its more subtle moments,
those evocative interludes shared by the virtually abandoned child
and his sensitive au pair as they perambulate the urban exoskeleton
of an enchantingly-framed City of A slight, surreal cinematic experiment apt to enthrall the more discerning theatergoer, while leaving the mundane masses scratching their heads and asking, “Is that it?” Very good (3 stars) Unrated In French with subtitles. Running time: 113 minutes Studio: IFC FilmsFor photos, visit: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/flight_of_the_red_balloon/photos.php Or: http://imdb.com/title/tt0826711/mediaindex Or http://www.ifcfilmsextranet.com/ Login: ifcguest01 Password: Kubrick posted May 4, 2008
Water Lilies (Naissance des Pieuvres) Film Review by Kam Williams Parisians Teens Feel Pangs of Sexual Awakenings in Coming-of-Age Adventure Marie (Pauline Acquart) is passing away the lazy, hazy days of summer at the local municipal pool where she goes to watch her best friend, Anne (Louise Blachere), practice synchronized swimming every day. The sexually-awakening 15 year-olds, are social zeros who can barely contain the simmering passion they feel for the oblivious objects of their affection. Anne has her eyes set on Francois (Warren Jacquin), a handsome lad on the boy’s squad. However, because she’s overweight, he barely seems to notice she even exists. Instead, he spends his time chasing flirtatious Floriane (Adele Haenel), the gorgeous captain who’s resented by her teammates but very popular with the guys. Meanwhile, the skinny and barely pubescent Marie has lust in her budding loins for the fetching Floriane, but the latent lesbian is yet to reveal her suppressed same-sex leanings to anyone, let alone the female whose body she craves. Initially, she is simply satisfied with striking up a platonic relationship with Flo, but that liaison proves frustrating as soon as she realizes she’s just being used as a cover for steamy evening rendezvous with Francois in an abandoned building.
Thus, raging hormones unchecked is the
prevailing theme of Water Lilies, a tale of the loss-of-innocence
set in an otherwise unremarkable suburb of So, between carefully choreographed scenes of underwater ballet, we’re treated to the contrast of chaotic permutations of kids caught in the midst of burgeoning sexual identity crises. Ultimately, the film proves to be a female empowerment flick in that it focuses on the fates of its three leading young ladies. The plot thickens when Floriane informs Marie that even though Francois has been pressuring her to have sex, she’s saved herself and remained a virgin. Since Flo hasn’t gone gaga over any boy, does that mean she might be gay or bisexual and that Marie therefore still stands a chance afterall? And does this also mean that Anne has a shot at stealing away her dreamboat, provided she’s willing to let him have his way with her? Jailbait gone wild, Parisian-style. Excellent (4 stars) Unrated In French with subtitles. Running time: 85 minutes Studio: Koch Lorber FilmsFor photos, visit: http://www.filmsdistribution.com/download/waterlilies/ posted May 4, 2008
Film Review by Kam Williams Arrival of Mysterious Email Interrupts Reformed Womanizer’s Wedding Plans in Romantic Comedy Roderick Blank (Simon Baker) never expected to settle down. The confirmed bachelor had been content to parlay his good looks into a neverending string of sexual conquests. But that was before he fell in love with Fiona (Julie Bowen), a beauty for whom he’s willing to end his career as a player. Then, just when they’re on the verge of marital bliss and set to tie the knot in a week, Rod’s secretary, Trixie (Mindy Cohn), opens up a mysterious email at work addressed to her boss. The letter contains a chronological list of the 101 names of every female he has ever slept with, or will ever sleep with. After verifying that the first 29 are correct, right up to his fiancée, the handsome executive finds himself in quandary. Is this just an April Fool’s day joke being played on him by his best friend, Lester (Dash Mihok)? If not, who was the clairvoyant that compiled the incriminating scorecard? Curious, Rod decides to postpone the wedding, sensing that otherwise he might be about to cheat on his bride with 72 different strangers. And sure enough, he suddenly finds himself enjoying “an embarrassment of bitches” in a dizzying string of one-night stands. “The sort of thing only happens in the movies,’ he observes in a distracting self-reference. But don’t be duped into thinking Sex and Death 101 is just one of those predictable romantic comedies where the guy gets to sow his wild oats before finally wising up to ride off into the sunset with the girl who was meant for him all along. For writer/director Daniel Waters (Happy Campers) has a trick up his sleeve in the form of a fetching femme fatale who goes by the alias Death Nell (Winona Ryder). The plot thickens when we learn that Nell is an avenging feminist assassin, a self-appointed vigilante who roams around town seducing and slaying known womanizers. The only clues she leaves behind can be found in the cryptic messages (like “Your wounds are deeper than your desires!”) she spray-paints in red on the wall next to the bodies. What Rod doesn’t know is that Death Nell is somewhere on his list, but under her real name. But so are lesbians, strippers, an 88 year-old grandmother, and a busload of Christian schoolgirls and their driver. So the question becomes, will he cross paths with this sadistic serial killer while working his way towards number 101, or will he abandon his hedonistic indulgence and return to Fiona before disaster strikes? That is the burning question threaded through Sex and Death 101, a kinky dramedy that is every bit as eerily chilling as it is irreverently funny. Australian-born Simon Baker, who made a big splash as the dashing chap who charmed Sanaa Lathan in Something New, is almost as effective here, narrating the play-by-play as a far less likable leading man. And Winona Ryder, though under gobs of war paint, does a decent job as a vindictive villainess fed up with being the victim of abuse. A latter-day Casanova meets his match in the reincarnation of Lorena Bobbitt. Excellent (3.5 stars) Rated R for profanity and graphic sexuality. Running time: 116 minutes
Studio:
For photos, visit: http://www.sexanddeath101movie.com/images.php Or: http://imdb.com/title/tt0497972/mediaindex posted May 4, 2008
Priceless (Hors de Prix) Film Review by Kam Williams Gold Digger Mistakes Bartender for Rich Heir in Class-Conscious French Farce Irene (Audrey Tautou), a shameless gold digger, is staying at a posh resort with Jacques (Vernon Dobtcheff), an elderly sugar daddy who has just proposed to her that very evening. But after the old coot falls asleep next to her, the gypsy-like Jezebel slips out of bed in the middle of the night and heads down to the hotel’s lounge to see if she can find an even wealthier sucker to put a ring on her finger. There, she starts flirting with Jean (Gad Elmaleh), a shy nerd she mistakes for the grandson of an obscenely rich guest, when in fact he happens to be just a broke bartender about to go off duty. Flattered that this gorgeous young woman finds him attractive, he does nothing to clear up the confusion. Instead, he uses his connections to gain access to the penthouse suite in order to further impress her. And only after she’s seduced the impostor into a session of passionate lovemaking does the hussy awaken the next morning to realize that for once the tables have been turned on her. Irene then rushes back to her fiancé Jacques, but he no longer wants her. Meanwhile, the suddenly-confident Jean decides to explore his own potential as a gigolo. It’s not long before he finds his first victim in the very willing Madeleine (Marie-Christine Adam), a wealthy widow accustomed to lavishing attention on boy-toys in return for sexual favors. This is the messy point of departure of Priceless, directed by Pierre Salvadori (Apres Vous), a complicated, class-conscious French farce which features more coupling and uncoupling than you might care to keep track of. For, as the plot thickens, Irene and Jean not only continue to date each other, but they simultaneously keep pursuing senior citizens for the sake of some easy money. The picture pairs the talented Audrey Tautou (Amelie) and Gad Elmaleh, the engaging actor who handled the title role in The Valet, another romantic romp predicated on a case of mistaken identity. That crowd-pleaser revolved around a hapless car parker paid to pretend to be dating a married tycoon’s mistress in order to trick the suspicious paparazzi. Though Gad’s character this go-round is initially less empathetic, there’s enough of an arc that you ultimately feel for the plight of his latest working class-hero. The same can be said for Ms. Tautou’s Irene, a materialistic, sex-industry slut who magically transforms before your eyes into a spiritual soul capable of following her heart and riding off into the sunset on the back of a scooter with a penniless Mr. Right Excellent (4 stars) Rated PG-13 for nudity and sexuality. In French with subtitles. Running time: 104 minutes Studio: Samuel Goldwyn Films For photos, visit: www.press.samuelgoldwynfilms.com User Name: press Log in: golden! Or: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/priceless/photos.php Or: http://imdb.com/title/tt0482088/mediaindex Or: http://www.tfmdistribution.com/horsdeprix/ posted May 4, 2008
The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Film Review by Kam Williams HBO Expose’ Sheds Light on African Country’s Violence against Women While many people may be aware of the decade-long civil war raging in the Democratic Republic of Congo, most have no idea that one of the by-products of that brutal conflict has been the wholesale kidnapping, rape, torture and mutilation of hundreds of thousands of the nation’s women. Sadly, superstitious soldiers on both sides see females as a sort of spoil of war, and have come to rationalize mistreating them out of a sick belief that they must commit rape to defeat the enemy. The upshot is that the land is now littered with innumerable mentally and physically traumatized women, walking wounded whose blank faces have the same 1000-yard stare found on army veterans who’ve spent too many hours exposed to battle. Bewildered and still vulnerable, they roam the countryside in search of an elusive oasis of safety in a place which only offers more violence.
Wading into the
midst of this scary scenario, we find Lisa Jackson, an intrepid
American filmmaker willing to risk her own life to shed light on the
ongoing tragedy. In this powerful documentary, The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo, she not only interviews many victims, but ventures into the jungle to confront their perpetrators as well, to see whether any feel remorse about perpetrating crimes against humanity. They don’t. One sicko thinks the practice is okay because, “God says man is superior to woman.” Another arrogantly brags that he never uses condoms when taking a woman against her will and that he thinks an herbal antidote can cure him of being HIV+. We see that as a result of these sexual assaults, Congolese females are suffering from everything from AIDS to chronic pain to incontinence disfigurement to sleeplessness and fear. A doctor attending to the endless stream of patients says, “Every day there is a new horror.”
Typical is the
despondent soul who sorrowfully recounts for the camera how her
husband’s head was lopped off right in front of her, and the rest of
his body chopped in half. Then, the murderer knocked out most of her
teeth with the butt of his rifle before raping her right on the
spot. The expose’ closes by them assessing the Congo’s prospects pessimistically, given that one of the best ways of judging a society is by how highly, or in this case lowly, it regards its women. For, when its women are being systematically raped without recourse, the whole country is being affected. A chilling reminder of why John Lennon once wrote a song entitled, “Woman is the [N-word] of the World.” Excellent (4 stars) Rated TV-MA for profanity, violence, nudity and adult content. In English, French and Swahili with subtitles. Running time: 76 minutes Studio: HBO-TV
Rape in the For photos, visit: http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/thegreatestsilence/slideshow.html Or: http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/thegreatestsilence/index.html Or register at: https://www.homeboxoffice.com/apps/mrsubscriber/mr/ShowLogin posted May 4, 2008
Film Review by Kam Williams Michael Caine and Demi Moore Team for Multi-Layered Whodunit Laura Quinn (Demi
Moore) is the first female executive at the London Diamond
Corporation, This slight has not been lost on Mr. Hobbs (Michael Caine), the close to retiring janitor at the company’s headquarters. Because she reminds him of his dearly-departed wife, the elderly widower approaches Laura with felonious intentions, hoping she’s disgruntled enough about hitting the glass ceiling to help him hatch a heist of the vault in the business’ basement.
Although she initially threatens to
report the old codger, she cools down sufficiently to entertain the
idea. The seemingly foolproof plan sounds simple enough. All she has
to do is first find the out the combination, and But the best laid plans often go awry, especially in as complex a crime caper as Flawless. Directed by Oscar-nominee Michael Radford (for Il Postino), this multi-layered whodunit is masterfully-constructed to keep you confounded and guessing about the next bizarre twist from start to finish.
Set in 1960, the film pairs the
gracefully-aging Demi Moore in her best role in recent memory
opposite the ever-reliable Michael Caine in an intriguing a
cat-and-mouse thriller reminiscent of Sleuth, the 1972
battle-of-wits for which he earned an Academy Award nomination.
Here, Quinn hands over the combination to the lock, only to have
second thoughts because of a recently installed surveillance system.
However,
The plot thickens the morning after the
robbery, when it is discovered that the vault has been cleaned out,
and the company announces losses in the hundreds of millions. Why
did And with the case having all the earmarks of an inside job, how long will he and Laura keep from arousing the suspicion of the investigating detectives? These are just a few of the questions raised en route to the surprising resolution of as intriguing a psychological mindbender as you could hope to wrap your head around. Excellent (3.5 stars) Rated PG-13 for brief profanity. Running time: 110 minutes Studio: Magnolia Pictures For photos, visit: http://www.magpictures.com/presskit.aspx?id=d7431a57-dab1-4b49-a6b5-01f6dd07317f Or: http://imdb.com/title/tt0780516/mediaindex Or: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10008754-flawless/photos.php Or: http://www.flawlessfilm.com/ posted May 4, 2008
Film Review by Kam Williams Mockumentary Mission to Humanize Zombies A couple of years ago, Grace Lee made a brilliant directorial debut with The Grace Lee Project, a documentary during which she interviewed dozens of Asian-American females who shared her name. The point of that fascinating multiple subject bio-pic was to show that despite certain cultural similarities in how they were raised, each Grace had her own unique personality.
Ms. Lee’s sophomore effort, American
Zombie, is not of nearly as much consequence. For this silly
mockumentary is based on the proposition that the undead are people,
too. The picture is set in The badinage is actually hilarious early on, when we see Grace complaining that “I don’t make monster movies” and “I don’t usually work with other directors.” John gets her back by asking her why she needs to be on camera, teasing, “Nobody wants to see The Grace Lee Project 2. The film eventually settles down to focus on the day-to-day lives of four functioning, if socially-ostracized ghouls in their struggle to be accepted as normal. There’s Judy (Suzy Nakamura), who says she’s just like everybody else and just wants to get married. Ivan (Austin Basis), on the other hand, is a convenience store clerk who self-publishes a comic book called American Zombie in his free time. Activist Joel (Al Vincente), meanwhile, runs ZAG, the Zombie Advocacy Group, an organization which seeks a guarantee of every reanimated creature’s right to vote, marry, healthcare, a job and a driver’s license. Relying on a variation of the Act-Up rallying cry, he and his cohorts demand equality with warm-blooded humans by chanting, “We’re here! We’re dead! Get used to it!” Finally, we have Lisa (Jane Edith Wilson) a florist whose specialty is funeral arrangements. If the idea here was to have fun while delivering a subtle statement about tolerance and discrimination, that aim is achieved by the end of the first hour. Unfortunately, the story starts to drag a bit at that juncture and virtually runs out of steam until the plot belatedly thickens to make a secondary statement, albeit at the 11th hour, shortly before the closing credits roll. Overall, a cleverly-comedic, high-concept adventure, artfully-executed, and thought-provoking, too. How else can you describe a flick which presumes to answer everything you always wanted to know about Zombies but were afraid to ask while simultaneously suggesting that our fascination with creature features might merely be a reflection of some sick human desire? Very Good (3 stars) Unrated Running time: 91 minutes Studio: Cinema Libre For photos, visit: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/american_zombie/photos.php Or: http://www.americanzombiemovie.com/meetthezombies Or: http://www.americanzombiemovie.com/meetthefilmmakers Or: http://imdb.com/title/tt0765430/mediaindex posted May 4, 2008
Film Review by Kam Williams
Back in the
Fifties, in the days before TV had hopelessly homogenized And though the
leading The intriguing story of the rise of the Ferus Gallery is recounted in this documentary comprised of interviews conducted with still surviving principals along with reams of riveting archival footage. Designed more for the devotee of the arts than your average moviegoer, the film is still apt to enthrall even the uninitiated who wouldn’t know a Jackson Pollock from a Willem de Kooning. For it focuses as much on quirky personalities and the hedonistic lifestyle, as it does on the paintings and sculptures themselves. Thus, we learn that Walter Hopps became hooked on speed and ended up in a mental hospital, while his wife Shirley left him for Irving Blum, the smooth operator who took over the business.
Despite all their success, seems like a
lot of this salacious set went mad. We hear one embittered, elderly
artist admit that he and his colleagues had “started out idealistic
but ended up whores. And Decadent indulgences aside, The Cool School can still be readily appreciated for its valuable lesson that one need not be dependent on the New York Establishment or any Ivory Tower critics for validation. Furthermore, the enduring widespread enjoyment of the work of these modern masters proves the basic maxim that “art offers the possibility of love with strangers.” Very Good (3 stars) Unrated Running time: 86 minutes Studio: Arthouse Films For photos, visit: http://www.arthousefilmsonline.com/press/2007/10/the-cool-school.html Or: http://www.bfi.org.uk/whatson/lff/files/images/cool_school_01.preview.jpg Or: http://www.coffeecoffeeandmorecoffee.com/archives/cool%20school.jpg posted May 4, 2008
Film Review by Kam Williams Groom with Cold Feet Seeks Second Chance in British Sitcom
On what was supposed to have been their wedding day, Dennis (Simon Pegg) bolted from the church at the last minute, leaving his pregnant fiancée, Libby (Thandie Newton), standing at the altar. It seems that the reluctant groom had developed cold feet because he didn’t think he deserved a girl that gorgeous, given that he’s an overweight, chain-smoking slacker. But now, five years later, he wants a second chance because he’s still in love with Libby and realizes the error of his ways. However, that will be easier said than done, since she’s presently involved with Whit (Hank Azaria), a filthy rich hedge fund manager who wants to marry her, too.
What’s worse, the debonair American has
plans to whisk his ex away from So, in his mind, Dennis feels that he has to prove himself Whit’s equal both to win Libby’s heart and the admiration of his child. Trouble is, he can’t begin compete in terms of money and career, since he’s a lowly-paid security guard at a lowly clothing store and is behind on paying the rent on his modest basement apartment. Then, when he learns at Libby’s birthday party that Whit will be running in the upcoming London Marathon, Dennis impulsively announces that he’ll be entering the race as well. Woefully out of shape, he knows he’ll have to adopt a rigorous training regimen just to finish, let alone prevail. Will Dennis beat
Whit in the Nike River Run along the His hard to pigeonhole picture pairs the delightful Thandie Newton with cult favorite Simon Pegg, star of such offbeat adventures as Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz. Most of the jokes come at the expense of Pegg’s character via a combination of the comedian’s trademark slapstick, sight gags and self-effacing humor. But like the best of British sitcoms, ala Notting Hill and Four Weddings and a Funeral, the film also features inspired performances by members of the ensemble’s talented supporting cast, most notably, Dylan Moran as Dennis’ loyal buddy, Gordon, and Harish Patel as his meddlesome landlord, Mr. Ghoshdashtidar. Dividing its attention equally between the love triangle and overcoming-the-odds theme, Run, Fatboy, Run is well enough crafted to keep you in stitches while on the edge of your seat for the duration, even if this laff-a-minute escape is more mindless than cerebral. Does Dennis get Libby and his son in the end? That would be unfair to divulge, given the completely unpredictable resolutions of some of Mr. Pegg’s prior productions. Excellent (3.5 stars) Rated PG-13 for crude humor, profanity, sexuality, nudity and smoking. Running time: 97 minutes Studio: PicturehouseFor photos, visit: http://downloads.picturehouse.com Login: ADPUB Password: DOWNLOAD Or: http://www.runfatboyrunmovie.com/ Or: http://imdb.com/title/tt0425413/mediaindex Or: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10008621-run_fat_boy_run/photos.php posted May 4, 2008
Film Review by Kam Williams Struggling Single-Mom Seeks Salvation in Tyler Perry’s Latest Morality Play Tyler Perry has his finger on the pulse when it comes to entertaining an African-American audience in an uplifting fashion which resonates as real with that target demographic. And Meet the Browns is no exception, this being the latest in a string of the prolific playwright-turned-film director’s screen adaptations of a popular stage production. His modern morality plays invariably touch on timely themes of urgent concern to the black community, though their messages might generally be delivered in conjunction with healthy doses of side-splitting humor. But where Perry himself has generally played a lead role, bringing the comic relief by cross-dressing as the sassy senior citizen Madea, this time, he merely makes a cameo appearance in drag instead opting to introduce a few new equally-colorful characters.
The picture
explores such universal themes as abandonment, trust, faith and
redemption on its way to resolving the challenges facing Brenda
(Angela Bassett), a single-mother of three who’s been struggling to
provide for her family while living in the projects on the south
side of
We learn that
this sorry state of affairs is due to her being burdened with
raising her kids without child support from any of their fathers.
She soon bottoms-out when she loses her job the same day she learns
of the death in
Fortunately, she
heeds the advice of her best friend Cheryl (Sofia Vergara), a
loudmouthed In the interim, the movie devotes plenty of time to getting acquainted with the Browns, as clownish a clan as you could hope to meet, starting with Leroy, an egg-head with the most garish wardrobe imaginable. Then there’s his morbidly obese daughter Cora (Tamela Mann), and the shrewish Vera (Jenifer Lewis), a witch with nothing nice to say about anybody. Kudos to a supporting cast which includes Margaret Avery, Frankie Faison, Lamman Rucker and Irma P. Hall As the plot winds its way inexorably towards its very predictable payoff, it comes as no surprise that rather than hang around her embarrassing kin, Brenda starts to entertain the advances of her perfect gentleman suitor. Too laced with silly slapstick to measure up to the best of Tyler Perry’s previous offerings, yet still hilarious in spots and ultimately satisfying enough to be well worth watching. Very Good (3 stars) PG-13 for profanity, violence, mature themes, sexual references and drug use. Running time: 100 minutes Studio: Lions Gate Films For photos, visit: http://www.lionsgatepublicity.com/epk/meetthebrowns/ Or: http://imdb.com/title/tt1047494/mediaindex Or: http://www.meetthebrownsfilm.com/ Or: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10008616-meet_the_browns/photos.php posted May 4, 2008
Love Songs (Les Chansons d’Amour) Film Review by Kam Williams Parisian Drama Features Daring Game of Musical Beds Julie (ludivine Sagnier) and Ismael (Louis Garrel) are a young Parisian couple stuck in a relationship which has seemingly lost its spark. So, to spice things up, they invite Alice (Clotilde Hesme), an attractive bisexual, to share their bed. However, this arrangement works out more for the frisky females who focus on each other sexually while teasing Ismael about being the world’s worst lover and a mini-Jew who isn’t circumcised. He deals with the situation by breaking into song, something most of the characters in this amusing musical are prone to do periodically in lieu of dealing with their emotional issues in a meaningful manner. In fact, there’s a marked contrast between the storyline’s sobering themes, and the relatively lighthearted show tunes, a baker’s dozen in all, being belted out by various performers. The plot thickens when tragedy strikes leaving Alice and Ismael unexpectedly alone. After she dumps him for another guy (Yannick Renier), he entertains the idea of going gay for the dude’s seductive brother (Gergoire Leprince Ringuet). Will he or won’t me? That’s the pressing question expected to keep you on the edge of your seat for the duration of Love Songs, the latest offering from Christian Honore. While this flick fails to measure up to either of Honores’ last two pictures, Dans Paris or Ma Mere, the overambitious project still earns an A for effort, if only a D for execution. The film’s glaring flaw rests with the tameness of the goings-on with precious little in the way of titillation ever making its way to the screen, given all the shameless coupling and uncoupling. Why make a movie about bohemian swingers, if all you’re going to serve up is the French equivalent of a Broadway musical? Good (2 stars) Unrated In French with subtitles. Running time: 95 minutes Studio: IFC Films and Red Envelope Entertainment For photos, visit: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10009255-love_songs/photos.php Or: http://imdb.com/title/tt0996605/mediaindex Or http://www.ifcfilmsextranet.com/ Login: ifcguest01 Password: Kubrick posted May 4, 2008
Film Review by Kam Williams Desperate Widow Turns to Prostitution to Pay Grandson’s Medical Bills Marianne Faithful was a Sixties sensation made famous by her hit single As Tears Go By, a song written for her by the Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. While dating Jagger for several years, she experimented with drugs and eventually became addicted to heroin. A tragic casualty of the hippie era, she became anorexic, developed laryngitis, lost custody of her son, declared bankruptcy, became homeless and essentially disappeared from the radar by the mid-Seventies. Now, this diva who had been reduced pretty much to a trivia curiosity makes a triumphant return playing the title role as Maggie, aka Irina Palm, the name she adopts while secretly employed at a whorehouse in London. As a frumpy, overweight member of the geriatric set, Irina isn’t exactly what most johns are looking for when they come to a bordello. Luckily, her clients don’t want to see who they are having sex with. No, they pay to stick their privates through a hole in the wall in order to be satisfied by the hands of whoever happens to be on duty on the other side. To be honest, the movie is not as salacious as it might sound, as it is less about the goings-on inside the house of ill repute than about what drove Maggie to the world’s oldest profession. Turns out she has a seriously-ill grandson (Corey Burke) in need of a life-saving operation, and his parents simply don’t have the money to pay for the operation. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so this suburban granny starts leading a double-life to raise the cash. Maggie’s predicament is complicated when her alter ego Irina proves to be one of the more popular “girls” in the club. Meanwhile, she increasingly finds herself the subject of gossip among her suspicious neighbors. Will she be outed before she makes enough moolah to retire? Or might she not even decide to quit? At heart, this intriguing character study poses the ethical question whether what would ordinarily be considered reprehensible behavior can become acceptable when done for altruistic reasons. A thought-provoking drama, which arrives in a timely fashion, given these dire days of skyrocketing medical costs and a governor caught consorting with high-priced call girls. Very Good (3 stars) Rated R for nudity, sexuality and profanity. Running time: 103 minutes Studio:For photos, visit: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1193085-irina_palm/photos.php Or: http://www.irinapalm-themovie.com/home.htm Or: http://www.strandreleasing.com/In_Theaters_Details.asp_Q_id_E_272 posted May 4, 2008
Heartbeat Detector (La Question Humaine) Film Review by Kam Williams Corporate
Psychologist Troubled by Company’s Possible Nazi Past in Simon Kessler (Mathieu Amalric) is the staff psychologist working in the Human Resources Department of the French subsidiary of SC Farb, a German petrochemical corporation. His job description involves employee selection with the aim of amassing an army of “highly competitive subalterns.” However, when it appears that the company’s CEO, Mathias Just (Michael Lonsdale), has begun behaving erratically, the managing director (Jean-Pierre Kalfon) asks the shrink to psychoanalyze their boss. His delicate assignment is to determine whether the aging captain of industry still has the mental capacity to continue running the multi-national operation. Since this is to be done surreptitiously, Simon resorts to an elaborate ruse insinuating himself so as not to arouse anyone’s suspicion. Eventually, after a very loooooong lead-in, he finds evidence linking Just to unspeakable crimes committed by the Nazis during World War II. So unfolds the tortoise-paced Heartbeat Detector, a fatally-flawed film which, unfortunately, takes forever to get around to addressing those shocking revelations. Instead, director Nicolas Klotz first devotes over an hour to distracting intimations of office hanky-panky while substituting what looks like surrealistic improv and interpretive dance for plot development. If the movie was trying to make any thought-provoking social statements bemoaning a corporate philosophy which has minions marching in lockstep or comparing modern business mores to the Holocaust, those allusions were uncovered in far too deliberate a fashion for this critic to appreciate. For by the time the message finally arrived, I had long since been turned off by its overindulgence in inscrutable asides. A cinematic flatliner that was dead on arrival. Fair (1 star) Unrated In French with subtitles. Running time: 141 minutes Studio: New Yorker Films For photos, visit: http://www.newyorkerfilms.com/nyf/t_elements/heartbeat/heartbeat1_t.htm Or: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/la_question_humaine/photos.php posted May 4, 2008
Film Review by Kam Williams Headline: Naomi Watts Wasted in English Language Remake of German Snuff Flick Obviously, director Michael Haneke wasn’t satisfied merely with having made Funny Games in German for the kinky S&M enthusiasts in his native Deutschland. No, he was apparently so self-impressed with his disturbing snuff flick that he had to shoot a virtually-identical, English-language version, ala Gus Van Sant’s scene-for-scene, line-for-line remake of Psycho.
But while that Hitchcock classic may
have been very worthy of an homage, Funny Games is just a disturbing
headscratcher likely to leave an audience feeling more abused than
entertained, and also wondering how an Oscar-nominated actress of
the caliber of Naomi Watts (for 21 Grams) ever agreed to the
project. Equally-ponderous is the question of why it ever got
greenlighted in Nonetheless, the picture has been released in theaters, which makes it my job to warn you of the morally-objectionable content of this inappropriately titled indulgence in bloodlust. For Funny Games has nothing to do with either fun or games, unless you consider lingering scenes of bondage, torture, animal cruelty, splatter, sexual assault and eroticized violence fun and games. If there were truth in advertising, its title would be Gruesome Murders. This whodunit might best be described as an endurance test during which the director all but directly dares you to walk out of the theater. For instance, he’ll have his villains occasionally break the proverbial fourth wall to comment on their latest diabolical deed. And on one occasion, he even lets a creep rewind a fight scene to change the outcome. Superficially, the set-up reads like a stock plotline ripped right out of the psychological thriller script book. As the film unfolds, we find the Farber family, Anne (Watts), George (Tim Roth) and George, Jr. (Devon Gearheart) on their way to spending their summer vacation at their sprawling country estate which shares a lake in an upscale community comprised of the idle rich. Before they get a chance to settle into the house there’s a knock, and the Mrs. is asked by an overly-polite, handsome young stranger (Brady Corbet) if he might borrow a few eggs for their next-door neighbor, Mrs. Thompson. Despite his manners, there’s something odd about Peter, and it’s not just the fact that he’s wearing white gloves. He creates diversions for a few minutes until his pal Paul (Michael Pitt), also clad in white gloves, arrives and finds further excuses to dilly-dally. When asked to leave, the rude pair finally informs the Farbers that they’re being kidnapped, and apparently for kicks. The preppy psychopaths then proceed to kill the dog, break George’s kneecap with a golf club, make Anne strip naked in front of her son, and worse. Without divulging any specific subsequent developments, let me say that, at this juncture, the movie defies convention and degenerates into further displays of anti-social behavior, sadly sans consequences for the crooks. Naomi Watts might want to fire her agent for attaching her to this infuriating fiasco. Walk-out bad. Poor (0 stars) Rated R for terror, partial nudity, profanity graphic gore and eroticized violence. Running time: 107 minutes Studio: Warner Independent For photos, visit: http://wip.warnerbros.com/funnygames/ Or: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1175174-funny_games/gallery.php?page=12&size=lores&nopop=1 Or: http://imdb.com/title/tt0808279/mediaindex
Or:
http://wippub.warnerbros.com/ posted May 4, 2008
Film Review by Kam Williams Team of
Specialists Sent to Quarantined Neil Marshall’s
previous movie, The Descent, a harrowing horror flick which kept you
on the edge of your seat, was good enough to earn the #6 spot on my
10 Best List for 2006. So, excuse me for expecting more from his
latest offering than a sloppily-edited rehash of sci-fi clichés
which look like they were thoughtlessly slapped together by Edward
Scissorhands. But that’s exactly what we have in Doomsday, a
soulless rip-off which shamelessly recreates a host of memorable
scenes from such post-apocalyptic adventures as Resident Evil, Mad
Max, 28 Days, Escape from
The story is set in
Urgently in need of an antidote lest he
lose
When ordered to send in his best man for
the job, Police Chief Nelson (Bob Hoskins) taps a woman, Eden
Sinclair (Rhona Mitra), a cool, calm and collected gunslinger every
bit as attractive, as she is fearless. She proceeds to lead a
hand-picked team of crack commandos into an unrecognizable How these foreign groups have invaded, formed and flourished in the of absence of any infrastructure is never adequately explained, since there’s no time for anything but slaughtering wave after wave of each successive thundering herd. Forget about trying to follow the preposterous plotline, unless you want to laugh. There are only two reasons to recommend Doomsday. One, that the token black character, Norton (Adrian Lester), doesn’t die first, the only surprise in a flick riddled from start to finish with shopworn screen conventions. Second, Rhona Mitra, the mixed East Indian and British actress, is pleasant to watch playing the invincible heroine, even if in service of a dreadful script. Still, Neil Marshall should be ashamed for foisting such a disappointing follow-up to The Descent on his fans. For this lame excuse of a movie is an insult to the intelligence of anyone with an I.Q. anywhere above cretin. |
