How to Seduce Difficult Women

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Headline: Womanizer Teaches Nerds in Battle-of-the-Sexes Comedy

 

                Philippe (Louis-Do de Lencquesaing), a charming Frenchman living in Manhattan, feels free to have his way with women, since he’s married to a bitchy wife. So, he’s currently carrying on a steamy affair with Betty (Opal Alladin), an attractive black woman who has no idea her husband Tiger is coming home from a business trip earlier than expected. Philippe lets himself out of the couple’s townhouse just as her spouse is about to enter, leaving it to his disheveled mistress to explain exactly who the handsome stranger he just passed was.

            Rather than worry about her awkward predicament, he simply moves on to his next conquest, namely, Mercedes (Ann Hu), his Asian-American dentist. But when she wisely rejects the hopelessly horny philanderer, he next takes a shot at Maureen (Alexa Havins), a sultry Southern Belle. He even has the nerve to fantasize about his shrink during a session with her about his sex addiction problem.

           Convinced that what the world needs now is more creepy womanizers like himself, Philippe decides not only to write a how-to book delineating his modus operandi but also to teach a course on it as well. The text, the course and this movie chronicling his students’ ensuing misadventures are all entitled “How to Seduce Difficult Women,” a battle-of-the-sexes comedy which is basically a sloppily-edited, series of unfunny, disconnected sketches adding up to far less than the sum of its parts.

                     The movie marks the writing/directorial debut of Richard Temtchine, a cosmetologist whose prior claim to fame was having the late Grace Kelly as a client. His flick essentially revolves around the dates and fates of the ten men who enroll in Phillipe’s class, a motley crew of romantically-challenged losers.

            The knuckle-dragging Neanderthal suggests that his socially-awkward pupils adopt an aggressive, cave man approach, as if females are uniformly docile and desire to be dominated. He even supplies a blow-up doll, Sabrina, for them to practice on. His advice subsequently works for them to varying degrees, however the overriding sexist theme doesn’t work for the audience, given that we’ve come a lot farther in terms of relating than merely dragging women off after conking them on the head with a club.

                Memo to Richard: don’t quit that day job as a hair stylist.

 

Fair (1 star)

Unrated 

Running time: 90 minutes

Studio: Zipline Entertainment

The Betrayal (LAOTIAN) DVD

(Nerakhoon)
DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: DVD Chronicles Laotian Refugees’ Assimilation in America

Few people knew during the Vietnam War that the CIA was simultaneously financing and backing a puppet government in nearby Laos. In order to eradicate pockets of Viet Cong in the country, the previously-neutral nation proceeded to allow the U.S. to drop more bombs inside Laos than had been used in WWI and WWII combined.
Among the traitors selling out his homeland was the father of Thavisouk Phrasavath, a military man whose job involved directing B-52s on their missions. However, following the fall of Saigon, the GIs high-tailed it out of Southeast Asia, leaving the local collaborators holding the bag.
After Thavisouk’s father was arrested and imprisoned, most of the family emigrated to America including him, his mother and seven of his siblings. When they were brought directly to the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, they actually panicked, fearing that they had somehow been mistakenly relocated to Africa since so many of their new neighbors were black. But they adjusted to life in their new environment, despite having to share a two-bedroom apartment with eight strangers from Cambodia and Vietnam.
Their whole challenging ordeal is recounted in The Betrayal, a documentary that’s difficult to stomach on a lot of levels. For, not only did these lost souls suffer the loss of their beloved patriarch, which led to the crumbling of the family structure, but they had to deal with the cultural shock of the melting pot to deal with, too. And there was no turning back, because they couldn’t return to Laos because of Papa P’s having collaborated with the enemy.
One of those overcoming the odds tales which you could easily see adapted into a touching feelgood saga, if stripped of its sorrowful and sobering elements. No such luck, here, as this warts and all expose’ is designed to leave you outraged about the way America treats naive allies and about the unresolved, ugly fallout of the Vietnam conflict.

Excellent (4 stars)
Unrated
In English and Laotian with subtitles.
Running time: 92 minutes
Studio: The Cinema Guild
DVD Extras: Director’s commentary, Q&A with the director and co-director, conversation with the director and composer, archival footage and newsreels, montage of Laos, additional scene, theatrical trailer, photo gallery, filmmaker biographies and more.

Jerichow (GERMAN) DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: German Remake of Film Noir Classic Comes to DVD

After Thomas (Benno Furmann) inherits his mother’s house, he decides to return to his hometown to live. However, tiny Jerichow is located in a desolate region of northeastern Germany presently plagued by economic plight. So, as a dishonorably-discharged soldier, the almost broke bachelor finds it next to impossible to find any employment.
Salvation arrives in the person of Ali (Hilmi Sozer), a Turkish businessman Thomas who owns a chain of snack bars. Although Ali is generally suspicious of people, for some reason he takes a liking to the strapping young stranger. And against his better judgment, he offers him a job as his chauffeur and personal assistant. As a result, Thomas now must not only spend a lot of time around his middle-aged boss, but will often be in the company of his benefactor’s restless, neglected and considerably-younger wife, Laura (Nina Hoss).
Needless to say, this proves to be a recipe for disaster, as sparks fly between Thomas and the fetching femme fatale. Naïve Ali unwittingly trusts them both, even going so far as encouraging them to dance romantically with each other at the beach. Subsequently, the two secretly rendezvous and embark on a steamy affair before they start contemplating ways of moving Ali out of the picture entirely.
This is the ominous premise established in Jerichow, a well-crafted crime caper directed by Christian Petzold (Yella). Although Petzold also takes a writing credit for the picture, the picture might be better thought of as a German remake of The Postman Always Rings Twice.
Even if you’re familiar with the plotline of that 1946 classic, this variation on the theme is nonetheless worthwhile for the visual capture of the cinematography alone. For the compelling action unfolds against an array of bracing backdrops, a sumptuous mix of natural settings. From a verdant forest to the empty expanse of the rolling plain to a scenic seashore topped by a cliff that could provide the perfect launching pad for the feloniously-inclined.
How do you say “Three’s a crowd” auf Deutsch?

Excellent (4 stars)
Unrated
In German and Turkish with subtitles.
Running time: 96 minutes
Studio: Cinema Guild
DVD Extras: “The Making of” documentary and theatrical trailers.

Food, Inc. DVD

 

 

DVD Review by Kam Williams

 

Headline: DVD Exposes Dangers of Mechanized Food Industry

 

                Did you know that the four largest beef producers now control 80% of the U.S. market? Or that mass-produced chickens never have a chance to see sunlight over the course of their abbreviated, 49-day lifespan during which they are so rapidly fattened that many can’t even support their own weight on their undeveloped skeletal structures?

                These are the sort of inconvenient truths shared by Food, Inc., a scary documentary likely to leave you rethinking some of your own eating habits. For what anyone watching this revealing expose’ will unavoidably realize is the fact that agribusiness has turned food production into a highly-mechanized process more like manufacturing than farming.

            The clever mega-corporations controlling the industry know that people prefer to think of their groceries as having been grown in healthy environments, hence all the packaging and advertising suggesting that what you’re about to consume came from a wholesome family farm. But the shocking footage director Robert Kenner somehow shot inside a variety of factories and slaughterhouses around the country tell a chilling story of misleading labeling, disease, pesticides, exploitation, genetic modification, monopolies and greed.

            For example, the film informs us that Monsanto, the same chemical

company which made the defoliant Agent Orange for use in the Vietnam War, has successfully cornered the soybean market. How? By patenting the only genetically-modified seed resistant to herbicides. So, farmers must continually purchase the plant from the manufacturer because it is illegal for them to harvest any seeds themselves.

            Furthermore, we learn that Justice Clarence Thomas used to work for Monsanto and that many others in the Bush Administration had close ties to the company as well. So, it is no surprise to see that the courts repeatedly side with the bullying firm in so many lawsuits against the proverbial little guy.

                Overall, Food, Inc. is to be commended for sounding such a clear clarion call for the consumer to rise up and start demanding natural and healthy alternatives to the processed junk which we’re being fed in the name of profits.   

 

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG for mature themes and disturbing images. 

Running time: 91 minutes

Studio: Magnolia Home Entertainment

DVD Extras: Deleted scenes, celebrity public service announcements and a segment from ABC’s Nightline

This Is It

 

 

Film Review by Kam Williams

 

Headline: Michael Jackson Mesmerizes in Cinematic Swan Song

 

                Taped during rehearsals for the late Michael Jackson’s London comeback tour which was not to be, This Is It is captures the essence of a Prince of Pop concert, only sans audience. In this regard, the movie actually allows for a much more intimate experience than one taped in front of throngs of loud, distracting and adoring fans. For here, in the empty Staples Center in Los Angeles, you’re able to focus strictly on Michael, and to listen to him interact with his crew and collaborators in between numbers instead of deafening applause.

            For, there’s Michael plus an elaborate menagerie comprised of musicians, backup singers, crotch-grapping dancers, strippers on poles, daredevil tightrope aerialists, costumed actors in masks, pyrotechnics, a blue screen showing a variety of images, human toasters (you’ll see), smoke and wind machines, everything but Mad Dogs and Englishmen. And they all combine to put on quite a show, even if perfectionist Michael periodically interrupts to adjust the lighting, the sound level or the play of one of his accompanists.

            The film features plenty of inspired musical performances, including Billie Jean, Thriller, Man in the Mirror, Smooth Criminal, The Way You Make Me Feel, I Want You Back, The Love You Save, I’ll Be There and the title track. What we repeatedly see here is a multi-talented genius at work, a man perhaps most comfortable in this milieu, namely, on stage, whether he’s complaining about an earpiece (“It feels like someone’s fist is shoved into my ear.”), orchestrating complicated choreography, or doing a soulful duet with Judith Hill, the beautiful African-Asian-American soprano who would later sing Heal the World shortly thereafter at his funeral.

            Again and again, Michael takes charge, for he knows exactly how he wants each tune to sound and look in order to satisfy his fans. And because he was so unguarded and totally oblivious of the rolling cameras, this flick captures him more authentically than any previous footage this critic has witnessed (including that Martin Brashear BBC documentary), and reveals the very likable persona of an icon who was obviously born to entertain.

                Not a ghoulish take-the-money-and-run rip-off, but a surprisingly sweet, sensitive, tenderhearted swan song you will never forget that will have you shedding a tear while tapping your feet. 

 

Excellent (4 stars)

Rated PG for suggestive choreography and scary images. 

Running time: 112 minutes

Studio: Sony Pictures

Kam's Kapsules: Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun

OPENING THIS WEEK

Kam's Kapsules:      

Weekly Previews That Make Choosing a Film Fun         

by Kam Williams

For movies opening November 6, 2009

                    

BIG BUDGET FILMS

 

The Box (PG-13 for mature themes, violence and disturbing images) Cameron Diaz and James Marsden co-star in this remake of “Button, Button” the Twilight Zone episode about a cash-strapped couple agonizing over whether to keep an anonymous gift of a million dollars which, if accepted, will simultaneously cause the death of a perfect stranger. Cast includes Frank Langella, James Rebhorn and Gillian Jacobs.

 

A Christmas Carol (PG for scary images) Animated, Disney version of the Charles Dickens classic about a miserly, cold-hearted curmudgeon (Jim Carrey) who has to experience an epiphany in order to be able to appreciate the holiday season. With voice work by Bob Hoskins, Colin Firth, Robin Wright Penn, Gary Oldman and Fionnula Flanagan.

 

The Fourth Kind (PG-13 for terror, disturbing images, mature themes, violence and brief sexuality) Sci-fi thriller revolving around a curious psychologist (Milla Jovovich) investigating the 40-year pattern of mysterious disappearances from a tiny Alaskan town suggesting abduction by UFOs. With Will Patton, Elias Koteas and Corey Johnson.

 

The Men Who Stare at Goats (R for profanity, drug use and brief nudity) Screen adaptation of the Jon Ronson best seller about a reporter (Ewan McGregor) covering the War in Iraq who stumbles upon the story of a lifetime when he meets a special forces agent (George Clooney) who claims to be a member of a top secret psychic unit. Supporting cast includes Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges and Stephen Root.

 

Precious (R for rape, child abuse, pervasive profanity and ethnic slurs) Lee Daniels directs this super-realistic screen adaptation of the Sapphire best seller, set in Harlem in 1987, about a teenage mom’s (Gabby Sidibe) attempt to finish school and to find love in the face of a monstrous mother (Mo’Nique) who insists she’ll never amount to anything. With Mariah Carey, Paula Patton, Lenny Kravitz and Sherri Shepherd.    

 

INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

 

Act of God (Unrated) Introspective documentary examines the emotional effect of lightning on seven folks who miraculously survived being struck by bolts from the sky.   

 

Collapse (Unrated) Crystal ball bio-pic about cop-turned-visionary Michael Ruppert, the radical thinker who accurately forecast the current financial crisis in his self-published newsletter.

 

La Danse (Unrated) Dance documentary featuring seven productions mounted by the Paris Opera Ballet. (In French with subtitles)

 

Endgame (PG-13 for violence, profanity and disturbing images) South African docudrama revolving around the secret negotiations between the Apartheid regime and the African National Congress which led to a peaceful transition to majority rule. With Clarke Peters as Nelson Mandela, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Thabo Mbeki, Matthew Marsh as F.W. de Klerk and Timothy West as P.W. Botha.

 

Make the Yuletide Gay (Unrated) Out-of-the-closet comedy about an openly-gay college student (Keith Jordan) who pretends to be straight while home over the holidays by dating his high school sweetheart (Hallee Hirsh) only to run into trouble when his boyfriend (Adamo Ruggiero) shows up unannounced. 

 

Splinterheads (Unrated) Road comedy about a young slacker (Thomas Middleditch) who falls for a traveling carnival con artist (Rachael Taylor) with a jealous boyfriend (Dean Winters). With Christopher McDonald, Lea Thompson and Frankie Faison.

 

That Evening Sun (PG-13 for violence, sexuality, profanity and mature themes) Revenge drama featuring a feisty octogenarian (Hal Holbrook) who runs away from his nursing home only to discover that his son (Walter Goggins) has leased the family farm to his arch enemy (Ray McKinnon).

 

You Cannot Start without Me (Unrated) Musical bio-pic chronicles a year in the life of Moscow-born Valery Gergiev, the principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra.

Skin (SOUTH AFRICAN)

Film Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Apartheid Poses Problem for White Couple with Black Baby

Until 1994, South Africa’s system of Apartheid forbade people of different “races” to use the same stores, to attend the same schools or to reside under the same roof. Those oppressive segregation laws came to rip an Afrikaner family apart after the wife gave birth to a baby with dark skin and nappy hair in 1955.
Abraham (Sam Neill) and Sannie Laing (Alice Krige) raised a lot of eyebrows when they brought a brown newborn back from the hospital. While some neighbors suspected that the wife must have cheated, doctors did a blood test which determined that Abraham was in fact the father.
So, the couple had young Sandra (Sophie Okonedo) declared officially white and did their best to raise her in their lily white neighborhood. But as soon as she started school, the little girl was teased by her classmates and even beaten by teachers until complaints from other parents about the “kaffir” on campus forced the principal to expel Sandra. And when the authorities subsequently reclassified their daughter as “coloured,” the Laings had to register her as a domestic servant just so that she could live at home legally.
This real-life nightmare is the subject of Skin, a heartbreaking bio-pic based on Judith Stone’s best seller “When She Was White: The True Story of a Family Divided by Race.” Adapted to the screen by Anthony Fabian, the picture effectively exposes the silliness of arbitrary groupings based on skin color.
Unfortunately, Apartheid really did exist, and the case of the Laings turned terribly tragic, since Sandra ended up estranged from her parents by the age of 15. She ran away from home pregnant to live on the other side of the proverbial tracks, in a black township with a married man. There, she proceeded to make a series of self-destructive choices, bearing numerous children out of wedlock she had to surrender to foster care.
Penniless, she attempted to reconcile with her folks, only to be told by her mother never to call or visit again. A frightening primer on how untreated racism can make lead someone to abandon, even hate their own offspring.

Excellent (4 stars)
Rated PG-13 for violence, sexuality and mature themes.
Running time: 107 minutes
Studio: Jour de Fete Films
Distributor: The Little Film Company