The Green Hornet

Film Review by Kam Williams

Headline: Classic Comic Book Series Revived as Irreverent Buddy Flick

When you hear that The Green Hornet is coming to the big screen, it’s reasonable to anticipate a typical superhero adventure akin to Batman, The Hulk, Superman, Fantastic Four, X-Men, Spider-Man, Iron Man and so many others of classic comic book lore. That is, until you also learn that this picture stars Seth Rogen, the standup-comic-turned-actor best known for cutting-up in irreverent teensploitation flicks such as Superbad and Knocked Up.
Since his pudgy physique and homely demeanor don’t exactly conjure up visions of a macho, leading man, he undertook the challenge of overhauling the Green Hornet’s persona. With the help of his longtime screenwriting collaborator, Evan Goldberg, Rogen reimagined the title character as the sort of sarcastic, trash-talking slacker he usually plays, as opposed to the selfless, suave protagonist found in the original source material. Otherwise, the storyline remains fairly faithful to the Thirties radio serial and subsequent comic books.
Just past the point of departure, profligate playboy Britt Reid (Rogen) learns that his emotionally-estranged dad (Tom Wilkinson) has died under mysterious circumstances, ostensibly from an allergic reaction to a bee sting. The decadent bachelor fires most of his father’s staff at the mansion, and reluctantly assumes the reins of the media empire, including the local paper, The Los Angeles Sentinel. More importantly, he decides, to pursue his passion afterhours, namely, roaming the streets at night as a crime-fighting vigilante.
To this end, he enlists the assistance of his loyal manservant, Kato (Jay Chou), who not only knows how to brew a mean cup of coffee, but just happens to be a crack inventor, auto mechanic, chauffeur and martial arts expert all rolled into one. Donning masks to morph into their alter egos, the Green Hornet and his sidekick proceed to patrol L.A. in the Black Beauty, a bulletproof car outfitted with munitions ranging from machine guns to missiles to shotguns to flamethrowers.
A diabolical archenemy soon emerges in bloodthirsty Benjamin Chudnofsky (Christoph Waltz), a Russian mobster who has cornered the drug market with the help of a crooked District Attorney (David Harbour). When not battling bad guys, Britt and Kato find themselves competing for the affections of Lenore Case (Cameron Diaz), a secretary at the Sentinel with a degree in criminology.
But don’t let the straightforward-sounding plot fool you, for its execution is decidedly underwhelming. The problems with The Green Hornet are plentiful, starting with the fact that Britt Reid is an unlikable lout who can’t fight and you don’t really want to root for. He’s easily eclipsed by Kato who always miraculously surfaces to save the day.
As for the performances, Seth Rogen is upstaged at every turn by his talented co-star, Taiwanese actor/singing sensation Jay Chou, who makes an impressive English-language debut as the acrobatic Kato. Worse, the two never generate any chemistry, a big failing given that this flawed buddy flick frequently feels like a cheap imitation of the Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan trilogy which so naturally oozed a sense of endearing camaraderie.
The un-Rush Hour!

Fair (1 stars)
Rated PG-13 for violence, profanity, sexuality and drug use.
Running time: 108 Minutes
Distributor: Columbia Pictures

Neshoba: The Price of Freedom DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: DVD Revisits Site of Mississippi Lynchings

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania might be world renowned as the City of Brotherly Love, but Philadelphia, Mississippi has been associated with bigotry ever since June 21, 1964. That was the fateful day that three civil rights workers were murdered there by a lynch party comprised of hate-filled Ku Klux Klansmen.
The facts, which were never really in dispute, are as follows. While changing a tire after their car had broken down, Michael Schwerner, James Chaney and Andrew Goodman were arrested for speeding and held without bail by Sheriff Cecil Price. The three had been passing through Philadelphia after investigating the firebombing of a black church in the nearby town of Longdale.
Repeatedly ignoring his prisoners’ requests to exercise their Constitutional right to call their lawyer, the bigoted Sheriff instead tipped off his fellow Klansmen that he had apprehended some of the outside agitators who had recently been trying to register blacks to vote all across Neshoba County. Then, around 10 PM, he essentially turned the trio over to a posse of vigilantes who proceeded to shoot Schwerner and Goodman at point-blank range, and to castrate and torture Chaney alive.
Most of the participants in the gruesome slayings were so brazen that they bragged about what they’d done to anyone who would listen. They felt perfectly comfortable in this regard because of a Southern code where blacks knew their place, and Caucasians either sympathized or knew better than to try to bring the perpetrators to justice.
After all, most of the pillars of the community were members of the Citizens Council, a fraternity of well-connected lawyers, bankers, politicians and other civic leaders who secretly made it their business to back the Klan financially and legally in order to preserve the “white way of life.” Thus, it was no surprise to the locals that no one was held accountable for the killings for over 40 years.
A belated quest for justice is the subject of Neshoba: The Price of Freedom, a documentary dedicated to truth and reconciliation co-directed by Micki Dickoff and Tony Pagano. For in this earnest expose’ they interview not only the surviving relatives of the three victims, but black and white citizens of the Philadelphia community. That effort reveals that although many have come to embrace the notion of universal brotherhood, some still remain inveterate racists willing to go their graves waving the flag of intolerance.
A cinematic sifting through the ashes of Mississippi smoldering!

Excellent (4 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 87 Minutes
Distributor: First Run Features
DVD Extras: Biographies, film notes, a short film entitled “Get on Board,” and a reenactment of courtroom testimony.

Heartbreaker (FRENCH) DVD

(L’arnacoeur)
DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: French Farce about Romeo for Hire Released on DVD

French heiress Juliette Van Der Becq (Vanessa Paradis) is engaged to be married in ten days to Jonathan Alcott (Andrew Lincoln), a proper British gent who’s rich in his own right. The two are madly in love with each other, and the only thing wrong this picture is that the bride-to-be’s father (Jacques Frantz) is unhappy about his daughter’s choice of a spouse.
So, he has decided to retain the services of Alex (Romain Duris), a dashing Don Juan who specializes in ruining relationships of women involved with losers, simply by turning on his irresistible powers of seduction. Strategically assisted by a mood-setting, impossible mission team comprised of his sister, Melanie (Julie Ferrier), and his brother-in-law, Marc (Francois Damiens), he’s never left a customer unsatisfied in ten years of engaging in monkey business.
Despite his morally questionable line of work, Alex still has a code of honor he abides by, and that includes not sleeping with or falling in love with any of his targets. He also usually won’t even take a job unless the female is already having second thoughts, but he lets Juliette’s case be an exception to this strict rule only because he is presently heavily indebted to a mobster impatient for his money.
After accepting the assignment Alex travels from France to a luxurious, seaside resort on Monaco, where the object of his affection is busy putting last-minute touches on her impending wedding. To make it easy to ingratiate himself with Juliette, he poses as a bodyguard hired by her dad.
However, it’s not long before Alex discovers that he’s met his match in more ways than one, as Juliette figures out that he’s been put up to the charade by her father. Worse, she falls for him anyway, and against his better judgment, Alex finds himself developing deep feelings for her, too.
Will Juliette break up with Jonathan before they tie the knot? And how will overprotective Mr. Van Der Becq take the news that his hired hunk now wants to date daddy’s little girl? Then there’s the question of how the jilted fiancé will react to being left at the altar?
These are the pressing questions which come to the fore in Heartbreaker, a lighthearted sitcom with enough slapstick and sheer silliness to generate laughs galore for the duration.

Excellent (4 stars)
Unrated
In French, English, Japanese, Spanish, Arabic and Mandarin with subtitles.
Running time: 105 Minutes
Studio: MPI Home Video

Piranha DVD

DVD Review by Kam Williams

Headline: DVD Features Man-Eating Fish Attacking Teens on Spring Break

This campy B-flick is the best offering from the tongue-in-cheek horror genre since Snakes on a Plane, another gratuitous gore fest with a good sense of humor. But its plot reads more like Jaws, given that the story unfolds in a resort town at the height of the tourist season.
It’s Spring Break, and thousands of college students have descended on fictional Lake Victoria in Arizona for a little fun in the sun and the water. And it falls to Sheriff Forester (Elisabeth Shue) and her beefy deputy dog (Ving Rhames) to keep the kids under control, although they are only anticipating having to deal with disorderly person issues like public intoxication.
Their primary adversary in this regard is Derrick Jones (Jerry O’Connell), the sleazy producer of a string of titillating Girls Gone Wild-style videos. The dirty old man has arrived on location with a camera crew ready to stage wet T-shirt contests and to coax soused coeds to take off their bikini tops.
However, unusual seismic activity in the midst of the debauchery creates a fissure under the lake which leads to the mysterious death of an unsuspecting fisherman (Richard Dreyfuss). Against their better judgment, the cops never close the beaches, even ignoring the dire warnings of an alarmed scientist (Christopher Lloyd) out of fear that mass hysteria might be bad for the local businesses.
Beware, Hell hath no fury like a school of starving, teen-eating piranhas!

Excellent (4 stars)
Rated R for sexuality, profanity, graphic nudity, teen alcohol consumption, gratuitous violence and gore, crude humor and drug use.
Running time: 88 Minutes
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
DVD Extras: Director’s commentary.

Go Go Tales

Film Review by Kam Williams

Headline: NYC Strip Club Serves as Setting for Screwball Comedy

If you like for your screwball comedies to come with a smorgasbord of scantily-clad females, boy have I got a film for you. Written and directed by Abel Ferrara (Bad Lieutenant), Go Go Tales unfolds in a seedy gentleman’s club located in lower Manhattan where the regulars are actually more fun to watch as the dancers.
The straightforward plotline revolves around the establishment’s beleaguered proprietor, Ray Ruby (Willem Dafoe), a smooth-talking con artist struggling to stay a step ahead of his creditors with the help of his crooked accountant (Bob Hoskins). While Ray may be able to charm the pants off strippers waiting for their paychecks, he can’t sweet-talk his battle axe of a landlady (Sarah Miles) or his younger brother (Matthew Modine) who’s fed-up with funding the fledgling operation.
And it doesn’t help matters that the chef (Pras Michel) at the Paradise Lounge is proudest of organic hot dogs that go unappreciated by a clientele craving a different variety of meat. The upshot is that the place is on the verge of bankruptcy, and the only reason it hasn’t closed is because Ray runs it more as a labor of love, or should I say lust, than as a profit-oriented business.
For, owning this bar is all he’s ever wanted in life, so he sees it as his home and his employees and customers as his family. Still, there’s the burgeoning debt that he’s in denial about, and as the insanity escalates the only hope for salvation rests in winning the lottery.
Despite Go Go Tales‘ telegraphing its deus ex machina resolution, Willem Dafoe’s deft juxtaposition of chutzpah and vulnerability in his capacity as the picture’s protagonist proves engaging enough to make it worth your while. Like a charming, if crooked, circus ringleader, he orchestrates the motley menagerie in his midst, whether that calls for him to occupy the limelight or to lurk in the shadows of his seedy haunt.
An alternately earthy and stylized cross of Robert Altman and Federico Fellini where the freaks trump the tramps as the main attraction.

Very Good (3 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 96 Minutes
Distributor: Anthology Film Archives

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 January 21, 2011


BIG BUDGET FILMS

The Company Men (R for profanity and brief nudity) Downsizing drama about the fallout visited upon a trio of fired corporate executives (Academy Award-winners Ben Affleck, Chris Cooper and Tommy Lee Jones) and their families following a restructuring by a conglomerate as a cost-cutting measure. With Maria Bello, Craig T. Nelson and Oscar-winner Kevin Costner.

No Strings Attached (R for sexuality, profanity and drug use) Romantic comedy in reverse about a couple of ”friends with benefits” (Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher) who first agree to a strictly physical relationship only to find themselves subsequently developing deep feelings for each other. Ensemble includes Kevin Kline, Ludacris, Cary Elwes, Greta Gerwig and Olivia Thirlby.


INDEPENDENT & FOREIGN FILMS

Applause (R for profanity) Redemption drama about the attempt of a substance-abusing actress (Paprika Steen) fresh out of rehab to regain custody of her sons (Noel Koch-Sofeldt and Otto Leonardo Steen Rieks) from her skeptical ex-husband (Michael Falch). (In Danish with subtitles)

Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance (Unrated) Japanese Anime sequel finds the paramilitary organization NERV making a valiant stand as the last hope of humanity in a showdown of Biblical proportions with the evil, immortal Angels. Voice cast includes Spike Spencer, Colleen Clinkenbeard and Brina Palencia.

Gabi on the Roof in July (Unrated) Romantic comedy about a profligate, aspiring artist (Lawrence Michael Levine) forced to rethink his wanton, womanizing ways when his college-age, younger sister (Sophia Takal) moves into his apartment for the summer in the wake of their parents’ divorce. With Lena Dunham, Amy Seimetz and Robert White.

The Housemaid (Unrated) Erotic remake of the classic Korean thriller about a rich man (Jung-Jae Lee) who embarks on an ill-fated affair with the nanny (Do-Yeon Jeon) recently hired to babysit his daughter (Seo-Hyeon Ahn) because his wife (Seo Woo) is pregnant with twins. (In Korean with subtitles)

Johnny Mad Dog (Unrated) Liberian Civil War Saga, set in 2003, recounting the rape, pillaging and other atrocities committed by an army of child soldiers during their march to the country’s capital, Monrovia. Cast includes Teddy Boy, Galaxy Chea and Prince Doblah.

Mumbai Diaries (Unrated) Serendipitous drama, set during the Monsoon season, about four strangers whose lives intertwine by chance, with the quartet being comprised of a Hindu-American banker (Monica Dogra), a reclusive artist (Aamir Khan), an ambitious laundry boy (Prateik Babbar) and a recently-married Muslim girl (Kriti Malhotra). (In Hindi with subtitles)

The Woodmans (Unrated) Overwhelming regret bio-pic revisits the abbreviated career of the late photographer Francesca Woodman via wistful reflections by her painter/photographer father, her potter mother and electronic artist brother as they still struggle to come to grips with her suicide 30 years ago at the tender age of 22.

Zenith (Unrated) Futuristic, sci-fi thriller revolving around a pair of parallel plots set 40 years apart, one, revolving around a father (Jason Robards, III), the other, around his son (Peter Scanavino), as they try to crack the same conspiracy. With Ana Asensio, Zohra Lampert and Didier Flamand.

Mind Your Own Wellness: Turning Thoughts into Reality

Mind Your Own Wellness:
Turning Thoughts into Reality
by Alex Ong
Foreword by Russell L. Blaylock, M.D.
OCL Publishing
Paperback, $14.95
188 pages
ISBN: 978-0-9801556-6-2

Book Review by Kam Williams

“Most of us are fortunate to be born healthy. It is what we have learned and have chosen to put into our mouths that drove our bodies crazy. The goal of this book is to help you better understand that what you are just about to put into your mouth will affect how you feel and look. Like it or not, that is the way it is…
Mind Your Wellness is not about asking you to stop eating your favorite unhealthy food. Its goal is to give you a deeper understanding about what could be the causes of your overeating or poor eating habits…
With this book in hand, you have the choice to be in total control of your thoughts and your health. Decide what you want and stick with it until you see the results... Be patient, be persistent, and your life and health will change for the better.”
- Excerpted from the Introduction and the Conclusion (pgs. 25 & 171)

For most folks, the end of the holiday eating season stretching from Thanksgiving to Christmas marks the time when we make another New Year’s resolution to shed a few pounds. If you’re serious about winning the battle of the bulge, may I heartily recommend Mind Your Own Wellness: Turning Thoughts into Reality.
The reason I appreciate this highly-informative, how-to tome so much is that it’s not your typical diet book suggesting some supposedly easy method of merely counting calories that will only work temporarily. No, author Alex Ong talks tough love, here, explaining that the real road to reduced weight requires a combination of serious self control and a more comprehensive understanding of the content of what we’re choosing to eat.
The author knows what he’s talking about because he’s writing about the regimen he adopted after being obese for 20 years. In fact, he recounts how much he hated having the nickname “Fatty Boy” throughout childhood, although he didn’t how to slim down successfully.
However, Alex lost his father to heart disease on September 1, 2006, a day which proved to be a turning point in his life. For he himself was likely facing a similar fate in the absence of intervention, since he was already suffering from high cholesterol and high blood pressure. It was at that critical moment that he decided to stop eating junk food and to put an end to yo-yo dieting, and to adopt a nutritious path which would restore his health.
In Mind Your Own Wellness, Mr. Ong goes to great lengths to explain why such staples of the American diet as salt, sugar, nitrites, MSG, caffeine, BHT and BHA are bad for you. Meanwhile, he simultaneously offers an array of great tips for avoiding those chemical and calorie-laden, coronary disease and cancer-inducing ingredients.
Part pep talk, part educational, part precise step-by-step guide, Mind Your Own Wellness could very well be the best investment anyone concerned about their weight might make in 2011. After all, if you have your health, you have your first million dollars.