Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope

Posted on April 9, 2012 at 3:36 pm

B+

Lowest Recommended Age:	High School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for some sex and drug references, language, and brief horror images
Profanity:	Some strong language and some bleeps
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drug references
Violence/ Scariness:	Some images of horror in comic books and other media

There’s an old joke about a woman who goes to a therapist. “Why are you here?” he asks. “My family wants me to come because I love pancakes,” she answers. “Well,” he says reassuringly, “that’s perfectly normal! I love pancakes, too.” “Really?” she responds happily. “You must come over to my house. I have trunks full of them!”

While many people may tell you that they are fans of “Star Trek” or “Star Wars” or “The Big Bang Theory” or an obscure Marvel comic hero named Red Raven, there are the super-fans who go way past buying the box set DVDs and encasing their comic collection in mylar. They fill rooms with collections of mint condition action figures. They spend a year meticulously creating animatronic costumes for characters from a video game. They propose to their girlfriends with a “Lord of the Rings”-styled engagement ring, in front of 6000 fans at a Kevin Smith panel. And this is their movie, opening in selected cities and available everywhere via Video On Demand.

Morgan Spurlock, who made himself the star of documentaries that were very critical of big business and corporate brainwashing (“Super Size Me,” “Pom Wonderful Presents The Greatest Movie Ever Sold”), stays off camera in this kinder, gentler tribute to the the consumers who find hope, inspiration, and home in their passion for superheroes, zombies, cartoon characters, games, comic books, and the rest of what the people behind San Diego Comic-Con call the lively arts. The fans are pretty lively, too, as Spurlock shows, following five attendees. Comic-Con is one of the only places in the world where you can arrive as a fan and leave as a professional, and two of the movie’s leads are would-be comic artists who bring their portfolios for review by publishers. One is a costume designer and maker who compares her effort to win Comic-Con’s annual Masquerade costume competition to the “friends on a suicide mission” plotline of the game she is bringing to life. Another is one of the country’s biggest sellers of comic books, hoping to sell one comic worth half a million dollars to keep his business alive. And one is there to pick up the “Lord of the Rings” engagement ring and propose to the girl he met at Comic-Con the year before at the Kevin Smith panel in the cavernous Hall H.

Interspersed with the journeys of these fans is commentary from other attendees, some in costume and some who like many at Comic-Con are the objects of fan-dom and fans themselves. Seth Rogan, Kevin Smith, co-producer Joss Whedon, Stan Lee, and more talk about the fans and, endearingly, talk about their own encounters as fans. And there is some rueful discussion of the Con’s journey from a few hundred people trading comic books in a hotel room in 1970 to 160,000 pop culture fans waiting in line for hours to see movie stars in Hall H. “We can’t use the loading docks anymore because f**ing Lucas owns them,” says a comic book dealer. There is thankfully little of the “look at the weirdos in the costumes buying action figures” commentary Comic-Con often receives, and it is nice to see affection and even respect for people who are passionate about the culture of fantasy and imagination. Spurlock balances the stories of his characters with the larger context, showing us that each of the attendees has a story and that Comic-Con is a place where stories and characters always matter.

Parents should know that this film includes some strong language, drug references, sexual references, scanty costumes, and some horror images.

Family discussion: What makes people into super-fans? What do you learn about people from the costumes and media figures that mean the most to them?

If you like this, try: “Trekkies” and its sequel

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Documentary Movies -- format

Titanic 3D

Posted on April 3, 2012 at 6:05 pm

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for disaster-related peril and violence, nudity, sensuality, and brief language
Profanity:	Some strong language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking, drunkenness, smoking
Violence/ Scariness:	Scenes of historic disaster with many deaths, chase with gun, scuffles
Diversity Issues:	A theme of the movie
Date Released to Theaters:	April 4, 2012
Amazon.com ASIN:	B000ANVQ0K

Classic Greek tragedies explored the theme of hubris as human characters dared to take on the attributes of the gods only to find their hopes crushed. This is a real-life story of hubris, as the ship declared to be “unsinkable” (and therefore not equipped with lifeboats for the majority of the passengers) sank on its maiden voyage from England to the United States. In recognition of the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, the Oscar-winning blockbuster film is being re-released in 3D.

In this blockbuster movie, winner of ten Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director and on its way to becoming the highest-grossing movie of all time, the disaster serves as the backdrop to a tragic love story between Rose (Kate Winslet), an upper class (though impoverished) girl and Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio), a lower class (though artistic) boy who won the ticket in a poker game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzgtthLqIJE

The movie raises important questions about choices faced by the characters, as we see a wide range of behavior from the most honorable to the most despicable. The captain (whose decision to try to break a speed record contributed to the disaster) and the ship’s designer (whose plan for additional lifeboats was abandoned because it made the decks look too cluttered) go down with the ship, but the owner and Rose’s greedy and snobbish fiance survive. Molly Brown (dubbed “Unsinkable” for her bravery that night) tries to persuade the other passengers in the lifeboats to go back for the rest. But they refuse, knowing that there is no way to rescue them without losing their own lives. They wait to be picked up by another ship, listening to the shrieks of the others until they all gone.

Many parents have asked me about the appeal of this movie to young teens, especially teen-age girls. The answer is that in addition to the appeal of its young stars, director James Cameron has written an almost perfect adolescent fantasy for girls. Rose is an ideal heroine, rebelling against her mother’s snobbishness and insistence that she marry for money. And Jack is an ideal romantic hero — sensitive, brave, honorable, completely devoted, and (very important for young girls) not aggressive (she makes the decision to pursue the relationship, and he is struck all but dumb when she insists on posing nude). If he is not quite androgynous, he is not exactly bursting with testosterone either, and, ultimately, he is not around. As with so many other fantasies of the perfect romance, from Heathcliff and Cathy in “Wuthering Heights” to Rick and Ilse in “Casablanca” the characters have all the pleasures of the romantic dream with no risk of having to actually build a life with anyone. It is interesting that the glimpses we get of Rose’s life after the Titanic show her alone, though we meet her granddaughter and hear her refer to her husband. Parents can have some very good discussions with teens about this movie by listening carefully and respectfully when they explain why it is important to them, as this is a crucial stage in their development.

Parents should know that this film includes nudity, a non-explicit sexual situation, a chase with a gun, and the depiction of a real-life tragedy that includes hundreds of deaths.

Family discussion: What is the most important thing Rose learns from Jack? What do we learn about her life after Titanic? Do you agree with her decision about the necklace?

If you like this, try: An earlier version of the story, “A Night to Remember” and documentaries like Titanic: The 100th Anniversary Collection and National Geographic – Secrets of the Titanic

Wrath of the Titans

Posted on March 29, 2012 at 6:00 pm

C-

Lowest Recommended Age:	Middle School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of fantasy violence and action
Profanity:	None
Alcohol/ Drugs:	None
Violence/ Scariness:	Constant peril and violence with some disturbing images
Diversity Issues:	A strength of the movie is the portrayal of a courageous female warrior
Date Released to Theaters:	March 30, 2012
Amazon.com ASIN:	B005LAIH54

What I love best about classically trained British actors is that they are game for anything. Whether it is a commercial for cough drops or a silly comedy they always bring their A-game. Their timing and diction are impeccable and they are masters of tone. To use a favorite actor term, they commit. But when they commit to material so far beneath them the contrast is so great that they just make the failings of the production harder to overlook. Flawless line deliveries only go so far when the dialogue is more suitable for the declamatory stentorian tones of a Saturday morning cartoon version of “The Expendables” than voices more accustomed to iambic pentameter.

The original 1981 “Clash of the Titans” (featuring the most-acclaimed actor of his generation, Sir Laurence Olivier along with “L.A. Law” star Harry Hamlin along with Bond Girl Ursula Andress and the zenith of Ray Harryhausen’s analog special effects) and the 2010 remake with Oscar-winners Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes along with “Avatar’s” Sam Worthington and a lot of CGI have been succeeded by “Wrath of the Titans,” another uneasy mash-up of a sprinkle of distinguished actors, lots of beefcake, mythical monsters, and dialogue so ear-crashingly awful it is a step down from scripted awards-show presenter banter. “Go to hell!” says one character. “That’s exactly where I’m going,” says Perseus (Worthington). He’s on his way to Hades, get it? Since the majority of the box office for the first film was from outside the US, we can guess that perhaps the dubbed script is better.

Having released the Kracken and saved the day in the first episode, Perseus, the half human son of Zeus, is hoping for a quiet life as a fisherman with his young son. When Zeus (Neeson) comes to ask for his help, Perseus declines. But trouble comes his way as the era of the gods is ending, and Zeus is weakened so that his long-dormant father Cronus is poised to re-emerge and bring oblivion to all of humanity. Perseus will have to save the day again, and that means finding (and rescuing) his half-god cousin Agenor (Toby Kebbell channelling Russell Brand, and not in a good way), visiting Hepaestus (much-needed breath of fresh air Bill Nighy), the Olympian version of Q, to pick up some weapons, and facing some Hellenic monsters, including a giant cyclops, a minotaur, and some beast-ish creatures. There’s a lot of sound and fury and 3D spears pointing out from the screen but the storyline is muddled, with no consistency from moment to moment in character or even the basic properties of the Olympian world. The script is downright painful, with bromantic trash talk that would be more appropriate at a 2012 mall than a Bronze Age battlefield. “Shouldn’t you be posing for a statue or something?” “Bring me my lucky cape!” By the time Zeus and Hades (Fiennes) go into battle saying, “Let’s have some fun!” all we can think of is, “As if.”

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Jeff, Who Lives At Home

Posted on March 15, 2012 at 6:00 pm

Lowest Recommended Age:	Mature High Schooler
MPAA Rating:	Rated R for language including some sexual references and some drug use
Profanity:	Constant very strong, explicit, and crude language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking, drunk driving, and drug use
Violence/ Scariness:	Some peril and violence, no one badly hurt
Diversity Issues:	Diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	March 16, 2012

Of course Jeff (Jason Segal) lives at home. Just about everyone lives at home; that’s what “home” means. The thing about 30-year-old Jeff, though, is that he still lives at the home he never-quite grew up in. He lives in the basement of his mother’s home, and while he tells her he is busy when she calls from the office, he really does not do much but smoke pot and watch movies, certainly nothing by way of education or employment. We first see him dictating his thoughts on yet another re-watching of M. Knight Shyamalan’s deterministic alien invasion movie, Signs. In tight close-up, there is almost a rapturous expression on his face as he recounts the way that seemingly random events and choices turn out to be essential. That enlightened insight about interconnectedness seems to have no relationship to Jeff’s being on the toilet as he discusses it.

Jeff’s mother asks him to go to the store and get some wood glue so that he can repair a broken slat in the shutters. And it is her birthday. So like heros in epics from the earliest days of storytelling, Jeff undertakes a journey and a quest. He makes a rare excursion away from home.

Jeff may be going out for wood glue, but in his heart the quest is for meaning and connection. The wrong number asking for “Kevin” he received that morning could be a sign of some kind. And so, when Jeff sees a guy on the bus with “Kevin” on the back of his basketball shirt (Evan Ross, son of Diana Ross), he follows him off the bus instead of staying on to get to Home Depot for the glue. After some misadventure — and a pick-up game — he runs into his older brother, Pat (Ed Helms of “The Office” and “The Hangover”), who has been drowning his troubles at a Hooters after surprising his wife, Linda (Judy Greer of “The Descendents”) with a Porsche they cannot afford. Pat and Jeff get into the Porsche so they can buy the wood glue but once again a number of detours lead them astray, after they see Linda out with a man they don’t recognize. Meanwhile, their mother (an enchanting Susan Sarandon) is receiving flirtatious overtures from an anonymous admirer somewhere in her office’s nest of cubicles and finding herself flattered and intrigued and nervous.

Writer/director brother team Jay and Mark Duplass (“The Puffy Chair”) are often credited or criticized for creating the genre of “mumblecore,” a category of 21st century independent characterized by inarticulate and often aimless characters ineffectually grappling with the transition to adulthood. But it is a mistake to underestimate the strong structural foundation that underlies this film. Both Jeff and Pat are immature and inclined to numb their feelings (with pot or a Porsche). But the essential debate they (sometimes inarticulately) have about meaning and connection is nicely echoed in the seeming coincidences and randomness of their journey and the way they rediscover their own connection.

Parents should know that this film includes very strong and crude language, sexual references including adultery, drinking and drug use, and some peril and scuffles.

Family discussion: Whose life changes the most by the end of the movie? Why did Pat and Jeff respond so differently to the loss of their father?

If you like this, try: “Daytrippers” and “The Puffy Chair”

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Comedy Movies -- format

A Thousand Words

Posted on March 9, 2012 at 9:59 am

C-

Lowest Recommended Age:	High School
MPAA Rating:	Rated PG-13 for sexual situations including dialogue, language, and some drug-related humor
Profanity:	Some strong and crude language
Alcohol/ Drugs:	Drinking, including drinking to deal with stress
Violence/ Scariness:	Comic peril and violence, references to sad death of parent and dementia
Diversity Issues:	Homophobic humor, diverse characters
Date Released to Theaters:	March 9, 2012
Amazon.com ASIN:	B005LAIGIM

“A Thousand Words” was filmed four years ago, when George W. Bush was President and a joke about the massive popularity of Hannah Montana was timely. Four years later, it is being not so much released as exorcised as Dreamworks cleans out its backlog. It isn’t a horrible movie, at least not in comparison to Norbit from the same star and director, but it is a dispiritingly dull and cynical one. Nicolas Cage is listed as a producer, which suggest that at some point he might have planned to play the lead role of a fast-talking literary agent who learns that he is down to his last 1000 words. Once he used them all up, he will die. Cage might have brought something interesting to the role of a man who speeds through life and then has to learn to choose his words very carefully and to begin to listen to others. But Murphy is barely present in the role at all, throwing some wild gestures and facial expressions at us and failing completely at conveying any sort of lessons learned.

Murphy plays Jack, who will say anything to anyone to get what he wants. He lies about his wife being in labor to get to the front of the line at the coffee shop (intrusive product placement alert). He lies about having read the books he is supposed to represent. He is inconsiderate to his wife and their toddler son and nasty to his assistant (Clark Duke), forcing him to pick all of the marshmallows except for the yellow moons out of his breakfast cereal. At his therapists, he talks non-stop but does not say anything.

Dr. Sinja (handsome Cliff Curtis, maintaining some dignity) is the nation’s most prominent spiritual leader and Jack is determined to represent him in the sale of his book. He promises to devote himself fully to Sinja’s project but he does not mean it. And then a mysterious tree appears in Jack’s yard, and it loses a leaf for every word he says.

He uses up a lot of words arguing and complaining and then we get to see him struggle at work (he cannot speak in meetings) and at home (he cannot communicate with his wife). It is supposed to be funny when poor Ruby Dee, as Jack’s mother struggling with dementia, talks crudely about the body parts of another resident of her assisted living facility, and when Kerry Washington, as Jack’s wife, puts on bondage gear and offers to perform “all the naughty things you want” — and he can’t ask, get it? It is even less funny when Jack mistakenly knocks on the hotel door of an overweight gay man expecting a male prostitute. The condescension and superficiality of the closing scenes, complete with choir-of-angels soundtrack with not just a reconciling visit to a cemetery but a healing conversation with Jack-as-a-child, is painful. Murphy’s great strength is his extraordinary verbal facility. His great weakness is a palpable anger that sometimes comes across as contempt for his audience and his material. A movie about an actor with prodigious talents who keeps coming back to material so wrong for what he has to offer — now that might be a movie worth seeing.

Parents should know that this film includes some crude sexual humor, some strong language (s-words), some homophobic humor, a woman in bondage gear, drinking to deal with stress, and references to dementia and a sad death of a parent.

Family discussion: How did not being able to talk make Jack a better listener? What were the most important words that he said and why?

If you like this, try: “Shallow Hal,” “Liar, Liar” and “Bruce Almighty”

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Comedy Fantasy Movies -- format