I've done nothing but watch movies for the past week, but as a result, I've been slacking in my blogging duties. Starting today, however, I have a glut of material to work with. I figured I'd start with a little indie movie that I only heard about through the Landmark Theatres website, and that might just be one of my favorite films of the year so far.
"In Search of a Midnight Kiss" is the story of Wilson (Scoot McNairy), a screenwriter who moved to Hollywood with starry eyes and a screenplay that'd help him make it big. Soon after arriving, his laptop, holding the only copy of the screenplay, was stolen, and his girlfriend left him when he moved away from Texas. Our first impression of Wilson comes as he's photoshopping the face of his roommate's girlfriend onto porn for the sake of jerking off to her. Not only does his roommate walk in and see this, but he then brings the girlfriend in too. Within ten minutes of the movie, all I wanted to do was give the poor guy a hug.
His roommate, Jacob (Brian McGuire) is a longtime friend, though, and rather than get indignant, he decides to help Wilson. Since losing his screenplay, Wilson has done nothing but pass his days smoking a ton of pot and eating ice cream. It's New Year's Eve, and it looks like Wilson will be doing more of the same. Jacob goads Wilson into putting up a dating ad on Craigslist, which Wilson starts off with the words "Misanthrope seeking Misanthrope". Strangely enough, he gets a response from a woman, who calls him for a meeting and says he has ten minutes to impress her. Wilson runs with this, and ends up paired with Vivian (Sara Simmonds). After these ten minutes, Wilson can tell she's fairly out of her mind. She's the kind of girl who's constantly engaging guys in psychological warfare just to test their merit, while also simultaneously drawing them close and holding them at arm's length. She tells Wilson that he has until six o' clock to show her that he's worth staying with all night. As they wander the streets of Los Angeles, they begin to let each other in, little by little.
If this sounds like "Before Sunrise", there are definitely a lot of similarities, right down to the two films sharing a producer. However, where "Sunrise" featured two young, idealistic pseudo-bohemians wandering through scenic Vienna and pondering life and the hope embodied by the future, "Midnight Kiss" is far less bright-eyed. The film is shot in gorgeous black-and-white, and the protagonists are a pair that might be meant for each other, but couldn't really function with anyone else. He's an insecure, dejected mess; she pops pills and compulsively lies to avoid telling even herself the truth.
As their night stretches on, they encounter a psychotic ex-husband, a party where a relationship is stretched to the limit before their very eyes and the very real issue of having to enjoy one's midnight kiss while stranded in deadlocked traffic. More importantly, though, Wilson starts to break through to Vivian, through all the walls she's built up for herself, and they both find something a little redeeming in each other.
The ending is not the one most people would expect or want, but it's the most honest one that this film could possibly have had. Really, it's perfect for this time of year. The summer is drawing to a close, and those wonderful, fleeting romances are coming to an end. Sometimes, though, even if it's for the summer, or just for one night on one New Year's Eve, finding that right person to kiss is all that has to matter, or will ever matter, and the morning never has to come.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
WTF!?: New Catwoman Annoucement
Leave it to my room mate to again ruin my day with news from Perez Hilton. According to his blog post, singer Cher is in talks to play a more mature Catwoman opposite Christian Bale in the new Batman film. A studio executive (which really means nothing) said that Christopher Nolan wants the gay icon to play a vampy version of the villain in her twilight years.
Hello God, it's me Amy. PLEASE DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN! Catwoman has been one of my favorite villains in the Batman universe next to the Joker. So far all the villains have been excellent in Nolan's movies. Why make Catwoman older? Michelle Pfeiffer wasn't old when she played Catwoman, and her performance inspired me to wear only Catwoman gear for a year. She suppose to be this sexy thief and they want to make her this throaty old fart. I actually read on another website that Angelina Jolie is also being considered for the part. I think she'd be a much more fitting actress for the part. She's younger but still mature, with that harder edge that Cher could never possess. Plus, I think Jolie has the perfect body to play a fearless Bat villain. I'm straight but those lips? Anyone would want to see Nolan's awesome dialogue come out of those. I really hope Nolan is kidding about Cher. Otherwise, I might cry.
WTF...
Hello God, it's me Amy. PLEASE DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN! Catwoman has been one of my favorite villains in the Batman universe next to the Joker. So far all the villains have been excellent in Nolan's movies. Why make Catwoman older? Michelle Pfeiffer wasn't old when she played Catwoman, and her performance inspired me to wear only Catwoman gear for a year. She suppose to be this sexy thief and they want to make her this throaty old fart. I actually read on another website that Angelina Jolie is also being considered for the part. I think she'd be a much more fitting actress for the part. She's younger but still mature, with that harder edge that Cher could never possess. Plus, I think Jolie has the perfect body to play a fearless Bat villain. I'm straight but those lips? Anyone would want to see Nolan's awesome dialogue come out of those. I really hope Nolan is kidding about Cher. Otherwise, I might cry.
WTF...
FILM REVIEW: THE HAND
I was feeling nostalgic and a little down while shopping after work. In the FYE entertainment store, I came across a film I could barely remember. Something really bloody from my past that had chilled me to the bone and had caused me to cover my eyes and ears at every turn.
I am speaking about THE HAND starring Micheal Caine (Alfred in the DARK KNIGHT)and written and directed by Oliver Stone.
Yes, that Oliver Stone. I had thought he was above horror movies and was more or less into producing and directing historical dramas like "Born on the Fourth of July". But, I digress.
THE HAND is a psychological horror about a gifted cartoonist whose life as he knows it officially comes to an end when his left hand (his drawing hand) is accidentally severed. Remarkably, as he tries to adjust to being maimed for life, darkness creeps inside of his subconsciousness. He begins to have blackouts, and people who stand in his way begin to die.
But, is it the man who is committing these murders or is it his severed hand acting demonically on its own?
Carlo Rambaldi is responsible for the special effects in this feature. Reportedly, designing a different hand for each scene: A crawling hand, walking hand, a strangling hand, a hand slowly decomposing, etc. Over 30 different hands in all.
The movie as a whole has very Hitchcock feel to it. We don't see the cartoonist committing the murders. Instead we see his severed hand do the dirty deeds. It leads the audience to wonder how culpable the cartoonist really is and sane he really is.
I found it interesting that it was his left hand that was severed. The left side of things is often reserved for evil deeds while the right is for good. For Michael Caine's character, the left hand is his most deepest repressed desires coming into fruition. He know what he wants, and he takes what he wants. Be damned anyone who stands in his way.
However, it is the goodness of his whole nature that cannot stand it. So the left hand acts on its own.
This was a really interesting and terrifying film. Micheal Caine gives a wonderful performance and holds the whole film together while his character comes apart bit by bit. We don't feel for anyone but him as he tries to hold himself together in the face of an uprooted life, a non supportive wife, and sheer madness.
All in all a very good film.
I am speaking about THE HAND starring Micheal Caine (Alfred in the DARK KNIGHT)and written and directed by Oliver Stone.
Yes, that Oliver Stone. I had thought he was above horror movies and was more or less into producing and directing historical dramas like "Born on the Fourth of July". But, I digress.
THE HAND is a psychological horror about a gifted cartoonist whose life as he knows it officially comes to an end when his left hand (his drawing hand) is accidentally severed. Remarkably, as he tries to adjust to being maimed for life, darkness creeps inside of his subconsciousness. He begins to have blackouts, and people who stand in his way begin to die.
But, is it the man who is committing these murders or is it his severed hand acting demonically on its own?
Carlo Rambaldi is responsible for the special effects in this feature. Reportedly, designing a different hand for each scene: A crawling hand, walking hand, a strangling hand, a hand slowly decomposing, etc. Over 30 different hands in all.
The movie as a whole has very Hitchcock feel to it. We don't see the cartoonist committing the murders. Instead we see his severed hand do the dirty deeds. It leads the audience to wonder how culpable the cartoonist really is and sane he really is.
I found it interesting that it was his left hand that was severed. The left side of things is often reserved for evil deeds while the right is for good. For Michael Caine's character, the left hand is his most deepest repressed desires coming into fruition. He know what he wants, and he takes what he wants. Be damned anyone who stands in his way.
However, it is the goodness of his whole nature that cannot stand it. So the left hand acts on its own.
This was a really interesting and terrifying film. Micheal Caine gives a wonderful performance and holds the whole film together while his character comes apart bit by bit. We don't feel for anyone but him as he tries to hold himself together in the face of an uprooted life, a non supportive wife, and sheer madness.
All in all a very good film.
Monday, August 18, 2008
My Winnipeg
So there's a film society in Downers Grove, IL that convenes once every two weeks. I'm a member (or at least I was until this month, when I ran out of money), and when I looked into the next film that they're showing, titled "Guy Maddin's My Winnipeg", I didn't know what to think. It looks like a pseudo-documentary by way of early Russian cinema, and that's not even scratching the surface.
SOUTHLAND TALES
I doubt that I can write a review that will do this film justice. But, I will try.
Imagine if you will with me: What if you have two people who are exactly the same? So much so that they are the same soul walking the same earth. Now what if these two entities were to shake hands?
Well, that would be the end of the fourth dimension and the world as we know it.
I am not kidding. Not since Donnie Darko has my mind been so thoroughly warped by a movie.
SOUTHLAND TALES stars Dwayne "Rock" Johnson, Sarah Michelle Gellar (as a porn star), Shawn William Scott (as the 4th dimensional anomaly) and also has Zelda Rubenstein, Kevin Smith, Will Sasso, Sheri Oteri, Jon Lovitz, Mandy Moore and Bai Ling, etc. In a story set in 2008 and narrated by Justin Timberlake.
Yall with me so far?
Ok, it is the eve of a major election just after the beginning of World War 3, the internet is monitored, filtered and policed by the government to the point of 1983 proportions and forces have aligned themselves to fix the election. But until the end, it is hard to tell which forces are doing what. And it is also 3 days until the world ends.
Well, the story centers around action film star Boxer Santaros (Johnson) who has apparently lost his memory. Who doesn't know who he is and doesn't remember his wife (a senators daughter played by Mandy Moore) or anything about his life.
He is found by Sarah Michelle Gellar's character Krista Now who seeemingly falls in love with him while using him to further her career. She holds him up in a Malibu beach front condo where they have written a screen play together.
The screenplay is a mute plot device kinda like this review is a mute and futile attempt at explaining a picture that went a thousand miles over my head at times.
Like the film Magnolia, all of these charaters are connected, and all them seem to act for the benefit of themselves.
The story was weak at some points, but the acting was solid in most cases.
The big revelation at the end should shock some and piss off others. At this time, I don't know what it is that I am.
I should have taken notes or something.
So how does the world end? Not with a whimper, but with a bang.
Imagine if you will with me: What if you have two people who are exactly the same? So much so that they are the same soul walking the same earth. Now what if these two entities were to shake hands?
Well, that would be the end of the fourth dimension and the world as we know it.
I am not kidding. Not since Donnie Darko has my mind been so thoroughly warped by a movie.
SOUTHLAND TALES stars Dwayne "Rock" Johnson, Sarah Michelle Gellar (as a porn star), Shawn William Scott (as the 4th dimensional anomaly) and also has Zelda Rubenstein, Kevin Smith, Will Sasso, Sheri Oteri, Jon Lovitz, Mandy Moore and Bai Ling, etc. In a story set in 2008 and narrated by Justin Timberlake.
Yall with me so far?
Ok, it is the eve of a major election just after the beginning of World War 3, the internet is monitored, filtered and policed by the government to the point of 1983 proportions and forces have aligned themselves to fix the election. But until the end, it is hard to tell which forces are doing what. And it is also 3 days until the world ends.
Well, the story centers around action film star Boxer Santaros (Johnson) who has apparently lost his memory. Who doesn't know who he is and doesn't remember his wife (a senators daughter played by Mandy Moore) or anything about his life.
He is found by Sarah Michelle Gellar's character Krista Now who seeemingly falls in love with him while using him to further her career. She holds him up in a Malibu beach front condo where they have written a screen play together.
The screenplay is a mute plot device kinda like this review is a mute and futile attempt at explaining a picture that went a thousand miles over my head at times.
Like the film Magnolia, all of these charaters are connected, and all them seem to act for the benefit of themselves.
The story was weak at some points, but the acting was solid in most cases.
The big revelation at the end should shock some and piss off others. At this time, I don't know what it is that I am.
I should have taken notes or something.
So how does the world end? Not with a whimper, but with a bang.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Tripping the Web: 8/16
News Item: "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" has been delayed until July of 2009, in order to strengthen Warner Brothers' lineup for next summer.
What you need to know: Well, this sucks. I'll openly admit I camped out for the last three books, and I was really excited to see how they'd translate a book as flashback-intensive as the sixth one. This makes sense, though, because WB's two biggest films for the first half of 2009 are "Watchmen" and "Terminator: Salvation," both of which are going to be rated R. Plus, after "The Dark Knight," it's not like they're short on cash at the moment.
News Item: About a day after "Half-Blood Prince" was moved, the film version of "Twilight" was moved up into its place.
What you need to know: I guess it's a strong move, given that it seems like the same set of people are into both the "Twilight" series and "Harry Potter." I know I'll end up seeing this movie at some point, because I have far too many friends who worship those books, but it doesn't look like a good translation of the book so far. And yes, I read the first one. Man card? Revoked.
News Item: Word has it that, in addition to B.J. Novak, Brad Pitt and Eli Roth joining the cast of Quentin Tarantino's long-gestating WWII epic "The Inglorious Bastards," Simon Pegg and Mike Myers are also on board.
What you need to know: This actually makes me think of the way films were made back in the 30s and 40s, where a couple marquee names would anchor a host of talented character actors. I've managed to resist the urge to read the leaked script online, but I've heard there are still a ton of parts to be cast, including the main villain. Plus, I mean, it's Quentin Tarantino. He's still the director that will draw an instant crowd for anything he puts out. And with a cast like this, "Bastards" might end up being the smash box-office hit that "Kill Bill" should've been.
News Item: In keeping with the mania surrounding (SPOILERS, not that it should matter by now) the death of Two-Face in "The Dark Knight" and who the villain in the theoretical third Christopher Nolan Batman film should be, a poster has circulated online touting the Riddler.
What you need to know: For one, Warner Bros. should be hiring this guy immediately. Even though this is a fake, it looks pretty awesome. Also, I'm torn, because the Riddler would work well within Nolan's universe, but he's always kind of been Batman's bitch. Given all the Mob subtext in the last two movies, I'd go with Phillip Seymour Hoffman as the Penguin. And then I'd kill Batman, but that's another blog for another time....
News Item: Early test screenings of the Megan Fox-starring, Diablo Cody-written horror film "Jennifer's Body" have indicated that the heralded nude scene involving Fox was nowhere to be seen.
What you need to know: I don't want to be a typical guy and say that this just took away my only reason for seeing this movie, but given that I didn't care for "Juno" very much, this pretty much just took away my only reason for seeing this movie.
News Item: Reports suggest that Lionsgate, after firing director Lexi Alexander upon her completion of the upcoming "Punisher: War Zone," want to trim it down for a PG-13 rating.
What you need to know: And here I was thinking that after "Iron Man" outgrossed "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of Suck and Failure," combined with the massive success of "The Dark Knight," studios would learn to trust the target demographic of comic adaptations; in the case of the Punisher, people who like seeing Frank Castle fuck shit up. Silly me.
News Item: "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" has obtained only a 19% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 35% on Metacritic.
What you need to know: Just so you understand how terrible George Lucas' decisions have been lately, find the rejected Frank Darabont script for the fourth "Indiana Jones" movie online and read it. It'll make you hate what Lucas allowed to happen even more.
News Item: Tom Cruise's Nazi epic "Valkyrie" has been moved back into Oscar contention, by pushing the release date up from February 2009 to December 2008.
What you need to know: When he's not a national punchline, the man is talented. See: "Magnolia," "Vanilla Sky." For that matter, don't see: "Eyes Wide Shut." If this can bring him back from wherever he's gone, god bless.
News Item: Michael Phelps is poised to win his eighth Olympic gold medal tonight.
What you need to know: I'm aware that this is not movie news. At all. Maybe it'll be a movie someday, I don't know. Or maybe if "Aquaman" is made into a film, Phelps can play him. Point is, I had to give some love.
What you need to know: Well, this sucks. I'll openly admit I camped out for the last three books, and I was really excited to see how they'd translate a book as flashback-intensive as the sixth one. This makes sense, though, because WB's two biggest films for the first half of 2009 are "Watchmen" and "Terminator: Salvation," both of which are going to be rated R. Plus, after "The Dark Knight," it's not like they're short on cash at the moment.
News Item: About a day after "Half-Blood Prince" was moved, the film version of "Twilight" was moved up into its place.
What you need to know: I guess it's a strong move, given that it seems like the same set of people are into both the "Twilight" series and "Harry Potter." I know I'll end up seeing this movie at some point, because I have far too many friends who worship those books, but it doesn't look like a good translation of the book so far. And yes, I read the first one. Man card? Revoked.
News Item: Word has it that, in addition to B.J. Novak, Brad Pitt and Eli Roth joining the cast of Quentin Tarantino's long-gestating WWII epic "The Inglorious Bastards," Simon Pegg and Mike Myers are also on board.
What you need to know: This actually makes me think of the way films were made back in the 30s and 40s, where a couple marquee names would anchor a host of talented character actors. I've managed to resist the urge to read the leaked script online, but I've heard there are still a ton of parts to be cast, including the main villain. Plus, I mean, it's Quentin Tarantino. He's still the director that will draw an instant crowd for anything he puts out. And with a cast like this, "Bastards" might end up being the smash box-office hit that "Kill Bill" should've been.
News Item: In keeping with the mania surrounding (SPOILERS, not that it should matter by now) the death of Two-Face in "The Dark Knight" and who the villain in the theoretical third Christopher Nolan Batman film should be, a poster has circulated online touting the Riddler.
What you need to know: For one, Warner Bros. should be hiring this guy immediately. Even though this is a fake, it looks pretty awesome. Also, I'm torn, because the Riddler would work well within Nolan's universe, but he's always kind of been Batman's bitch. Given all the Mob subtext in the last two movies, I'd go with Phillip Seymour Hoffman as the Penguin. And then I'd kill Batman, but that's another blog for another time....
News Item: Early test screenings of the Megan Fox-starring, Diablo Cody-written horror film "Jennifer's Body" have indicated that the heralded nude scene involving Fox was nowhere to be seen.
What you need to know: I don't want to be a typical guy and say that this just took away my only reason for seeing this movie, but given that I didn't care for "Juno" very much, this pretty much just took away my only reason for seeing this movie.
News Item: Reports suggest that Lionsgate, after firing director Lexi Alexander upon her completion of the upcoming "Punisher: War Zone," want to trim it down for a PG-13 rating.
What you need to know: And here I was thinking that after "Iron Man" outgrossed "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of Suck and Failure," combined with the massive success of "The Dark Knight," studios would learn to trust the target demographic of comic adaptations; in the case of the Punisher, people who like seeing Frank Castle fuck shit up. Silly me.
News Item: "Star Wars: The Clone Wars" has obtained only a 19% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 35% on Metacritic.
What you need to know: Just so you understand how terrible George Lucas' decisions have been lately, find the rejected Frank Darabont script for the fourth "Indiana Jones" movie online and read it. It'll make you hate what Lucas allowed to happen even more.
News Item: Tom Cruise's Nazi epic "Valkyrie" has been moved back into Oscar contention, by pushing the release date up from February 2009 to December 2008.
What you need to know: When he's not a national punchline, the man is talented. See: "Magnolia," "Vanilla Sky." For that matter, don't see: "Eyes Wide Shut." If this can bring him back from wherever he's gone, god bless.
News Item: Michael Phelps is poised to win his eighth Olympic gold medal tonight.
What you need to know: I'm aware that this is not movie news. At all. Maybe it'll be a movie someday, I don't know. Or maybe if "Aquaman" is made into a film, Phelps can play him. Point is, I had to give some love.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Review: Tropic Thunder
I need to preface this review by making one statement: If you haven't watched the R-rated trailer for "Tropic Thunder" online, DON'T. While the all-audiences trailer and the commercials don't give away too much, the online trailer spoils some of the funniest scenes in the film. That being said, the summer's last big film is upon us, with a mountain of hype behind it, and the big question is, does "Tropic Thunder" hold up to all the buildup as a sort of fevered tent revival of studio comedy?
The answer is both yes and no. I hate to be so wishy-washy, but allow me to explain. The film's biggest strength and its greatest handicap lies within its central conceit: the idea that the only way to get a bunch of cliched actors (the waning action star, the perennial award-winner) to make a great war film is to stick them in an actual war zone. More importantly, writer-director-star Ben Stiller has taken aim at Hollywood itself, while making a film with a budget of $100 million within it. The best precedent to compare this idea to is Robert Altman's film "The Player," which was slammed upon its initial release for being too insular, too self-congratulating by the kind of people it was supposed to be a screed against. However, in the age of the Internet, more and more moviegoers are privy to every behind-the-scenes detail, and that's why a movie like this can exist: Everybody's now part of the big in-joke.
For as much as I've said about precedent, though, there is no real precedent for this movie. Good or bad, "Tropic Thunder" is unlike anything you've ever watched. It blends vicious satire with massive action setpieces, and throws in a surprisingly large amount of gore and some genuine plot twists for flavor. The film follows a cast of six men filming "Tropic Thunder," the most expensive war movie ever made. There is Tugg Speedman (Stiller), the action star whose attempt at an award-winning performance ("Simple Jack," the controversial-in-real-life story of a mentally handicapped farmhand) is critically lambasted, leaving him in need of a hit. There's also Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.), an award-winner who gets so far into his performance that he has his skin dyed to play a black sergeant. The other "big name" is Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black), a comedian known for playing multiple characters in fat suits and farting a lot. (Sound familiar?) The group is rounded out by rapper Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson), who has serious issues with Lazarus' Method acting, and Kevin Sandusky (Jay Baruchel), the sanest of the bunch. When their director (Steve Coogan) drops them in the woods to shoot the film, everything goes terribly awry, and the actors find themselves fighting for survival.
The film's biggest issue lies within the fact that the jungle scenes with the actors are the best part, but it takes the movie nearly a half-hour to get there, and then there are frequent cutaways to the mainland, where the film isn't nearly as entertaining. The biggest disappointment has to be the non-secret cameo by a semi-unrecognizable Tom Cruise as the foulmouthed studio head. Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I really didn't find him funny; anyone who's seen the phenomenal film "Magnolia" has already heard Cruise do the profane, against-type character, and better.
Speaking of minority, one of the film's most controversial plotlines concerns Downey Jr. doing what is, more or less, blackface. This isn't meant as mockery, though; he's parodying actors who take themselves way too seriously. I know that with any satire, people who aren't smart enough to understand this will get offended; these are the same people who took Kevin Smith's "Dogma" to be blasphemy and tried to kill him a decade ago. This being said, the movie belongs to Downey, without a doubt. The most memorable and priceless lines are almost all his, and every time he appears onscreen, the film picks up a notch. This is also a bit of a hit against the rest of the movie, though, because Downey Jr. is so good that some of the other actors' performances, passable in another movie, don't hold up as well here. In particular, Stiller seems to think that his action-movie-guy comes off as a lot funnier than he really does.
There are also plotlines involving heroin addiction, a Vietnamese cartel that starts taking hostages and a super-agent desperate to get Tivo for Speedman, in addition to a multitude of other celebrity cameos. For a film that's only 106 minutes long, there is a ton happening, and this is another weakness. Most of the time, before you can really appreciate a good joke, the film has already moved on to three more. There are sporadic moments of gut-busting hilarity, surrounded by a bit too much heavy-handed satire. If Stiller would have focused his script more on the actors, and didn't try to attack everything about Hollywood all at once, the film would have probably played better.
After watching "Tropic Thunder," I was reminded of another film from two years ago, "American Dreamz," a satire that virtually nobody saw in theaters or otherwise. Both films had genius premises, but collapsed under the weight of trying to live up to them. While "Thunder" is a better film, it is just a bit of a disappointment with respect to how funny it's been made out to be. However, don't let me dissuade you. The film is a must-see just for Robert Downey Jr.'s performance, and when the film nails a good joke, it's as hilarious as anything else that's come out this year.
The answer is both yes and no. I hate to be so wishy-washy, but allow me to explain. The film's biggest strength and its greatest handicap lies within its central conceit: the idea that the only way to get a bunch of cliched actors (the waning action star, the perennial award-winner) to make a great war film is to stick them in an actual war zone. More importantly, writer-director-star Ben Stiller has taken aim at Hollywood itself, while making a film with a budget of $100 million within it. The best precedent to compare this idea to is Robert Altman's film "The Player," which was slammed upon its initial release for being too insular, too self-congratulating by the kind of people it was supposed to be a screed against. However, in the age of the Internet, more and more moviegoers are privy to every behind-the-scenes detail, and that's why a movie like this can exist: Everybody's now part of the big in-joke.
For as much as I've said about precedent, though, there is no real precedent for this movie. Good or bad, "Tropic Thunder" is unlike anything you've ever watched. It blends vicious satire with massive action setpieces, and throws in a surprisingly large amount of gore and some genuine plot twists for flavor. The film follows a cast of six men filming "Tropic Thunder," the most expensive war movie ever made. There is Tugg Speedman (Stiller), the action star whose attempt at an award-winning performance ("Simple Jack," the controversial-in-real-life story of a mentally handicapped farmhand) is critically lambasted, leaving him in need of a hit. There's also Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.), an award-winner who gets so far into his performance that he has his skin dyed to play a black sergeant. The other "big name" is Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black), a comedian known for playing multiple characters in fat suits and farting a lot. (Sound familiar?) The group is rounded out by rapper Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson), who has serious issues with Lazarus' Method acting, and Kevin Sandusky (Jay Baruchel), the sanest of the bunch. When their director (Steve Coogan) drops them in the woods to shoot the film, everything goes terribly awry, and the actors find themselves fighting for survival.
The film's biggest issue lies within the fact that the jungle scenes with the actors are the best part, but it takes the movie nearly a half-hour to get there, and then there are frequent cutaways to the mainland, where the film isn't nearly as entertaining. The biggest disappointment has to be the non-secret cameo by a semi-unrecognizable Tom Cruise as the foulmouthed studio head. Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I really didn't find him funny; anyone who's seen the phenomenal film "Magnolia" has already heard Cruise do the profane, against-type character, and better.
Speaking of minority, one of the film's most controversial plotlines concerns Downey Jr. doing what is, more or less, blackface. This isn't meant as mockery, though; he's parodying actors who take themselves way too seriously. I know that with any satire, people who aren't smart enough to understand this will get offended; these are the same people who took Kevin Smith's "Dogma" to be blasphemy and tried to kill him a decade ago. This being said, the movie belongs to Downey, without a doubt. The most memorable and priceless lines are almost all his, and every time he appears onscreen, the film picks up a notch. This is also a bit of a hit against the rest of the movie, though, because Downey Jr. is so good that some of the other actors' performances, passable in another movie, don't hold up as well here. In particular, Stiller seems to think that his action-movie-guy comes off as a lot funnier than he really does.
There are also plotlines involving heroin addiction, a Vietnamese cartel that starts taking hostages and a super-agent desperate to get Tivo for Speedman, in addition to a multitude of other celebrity cameos. For a film that's only 106 minutes long, there is a ton happening, and this is another weakness. Most of the time, before you can really appreciate a good joke, the film has already moved on to three more. There are sporadic moments of gut-busting hilarity, surrounded by a bit too much heavy-handed satire. If Stiller would have focused his script more on the actors, and didn't try to attack everything about Hollywood all at once, the film would have probably played better.
After watching "Tropic Thunder," I was reminded of another film from two years ago, "American Dreamz," a satire that virtually nobody saw in theaters or otherwise. Both films had genius premises, but collapsed under the weight of trying to live up to them. While "Thunder" is a better film, it is just a bit of a disappointment with respect to how funny it's been made out to be. However, don't let me dissuade you. The film is a must-see just for Robert Downey Jr.'s performance, and when the film nails a good joke, it's as hilarious as anything else that's come out this year.
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