Category: Adaptations

THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER – The Review

Time to hit the young adult section of the bookstore ( yeah, there’s a few left ) for cinematic source material. Now, there’s no sparkly, hunky vamps or arrow-shooting young heroines in this flick. It might be considered a ” coming of age ” tale or a high school set journey. Some reviewers are comparing it to the John Hughes teen opus THE BREAKFAST CLUB, but I think it may be closer in spirit to the lesser known MY BODYGUARD in its pain and sweetness. But what really surprised me were the many laughs in Stephen Chbosky’s THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER. Yup, like real life high school there’s a lot of comedy mixed in with the angst. And there’s several  memorable characters portrayed by a very gifted acting ensemble.

The main wallflower of the title is Charlie ( Logan Lerman ). He’s missed a year of school due to a mysterious hospital stay, and now he’s ready to begin his freshman year of high school. He’s quiet, shy and immediately a target for the bullying upperclassmen. Things look incredibly bleak ( he counts off the days, like a convict awaiting parole ) until he encounters the funny, flamboyant senior Patrick ( Ezra Miller ) in his shop class ( Patrick has had to re-take the course in order to graduate ). At the Friday night football game Charlie encounters Patrick again. The sympathetic senior introduces him to his same-age stepsister Sam ( Emma Watson ). The sibs invite Charlie to join their circle of friends ( Sam refers to them as the ” misfit toys ” ) that includes Buddhist / punk-rocker Mary Elizabeth ( Mae Whitman ). Over the next nine months the friends party, share secrets ( and mix cassettes ), perform at weekend midnight THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW screenings, and try to move past painful memories. As graduation day looms closer, Charlie’s attraction to Sam causes him to confront a dark secret that his mind has blocked off.

Sounds pretty heavy, doesn’t it? Well, yeah some of the script is really dark. But this talented cast is so engaging that you’ll be drawn into their troubles and triumphs. Lerman has the less showy role of the film’s anchor, but he commands the screen with a quiet intensity. You hope that his new friends will bring him out of his shell. When this finally happens, Lerman deliver’s some of the film’s best lines. Now the showy role belongs to Miller as the out, proud, and very loud Patrick. This is a big switch from his evil, repellant title character in WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN. The world around is his stage ( until he can don those fishnets at the local art cine’ every weekend ). But when Patrick can be himself with his closest pals he shares his heartbreak.  Seems he can only be with his love in the shadows, hidden away from the world. Miller makes this motor-mouthed class cut-up  a tragic, romantic hero. And then there’s his sis Sam. A lot of media attention has focused on what Ms.Watson will do now that she’s left the familiar grounds of Hogwarts. We got to see her last year in a small supporting role in MY WEEK WITH MARILYN, but this is a big starring role and she’s ( dare I say it? ) magical. When Charlie sees Sam for the first time, she’s almost an ethereal goddess ( particularly as she lets the wind caress her as they drive through a tunnel at night ). Getting to know her, Charlie discovers her troubled past as she continues to make poor romantic choices ( currently it’s condescending college dudes ). The damaged duo’s halting steps toward romance are the film’s beating heart. And she nails the Yank accent. Watson’s going to have a great post-Potter career. There’s a great supporting cast led by Whitman as the boisterous, strong-willed Mary Elizabeth. And there are non-high school actors involved. Three current TV stars play Charlie’s Mom, Dad, and big sister, and there’s a some familiar screen faces as a favorite Aunt, a sympathetic doctor, and an encouraging English teacher. I won’t reveal their names so that you might be as pleasantly surprised as I was ( oh, and a true behind-the-scenes film artist appears as a gruff instructor-very cool! ). They’re all great, but Chbosky ( directing his screenplay based on his novel ) wisely puts the focus on this terrific trio. He captures the exhiliration of the weekend away from class and the alternating thrill and trepidation over the future out in the big world. The setting may be early 1990’s Pittsburgh ( took me a bit to realize the era, what with those audio cassettes and cordless phones ), but its themes really are universal and timeless.You’ll find that watching THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER is truly one of the perks of being a filmgoer.

4.5 Out of 5

DreamWorks Studios Acquires Feature Film Rights To “Shadow and Bone” Novel

Is the next big fantasy franchise on the horizon?

The President of Production at DreamWorks Studios, Holly Bario, announced today that the studio has acquired the feature film rights to Leigh Bardugo’s debut novel “Shadow and Bone.” The young adult fantasy was published in June 2012 by Henry Holt Books for Young Readers (Macmillan Children’s Publishing) and is the first in a planned three book series, called the Grisha Trilogy.

David Heyman, who produced the Harry Potter films, will produce along with “Up in the Air” producer Jeffrey Clifford. Heyman said, ” ‘Shadow and Bone’ is a riveting and wholly original adventure set in a breathtakingly imaginative world. I am thrilled to be working with the DreamWorks team and incredibly grateful to Leigh Bardugo for giving us the opportunity to bring her work to the screen.”

In “Shadow and Bone,” a young woman must learn to control her newly discovered power in order to save her country from the Shadow Fold, a creature-filled darkness that threatens to overrun the land. As far as movies of this genre go, sounds somewhat like 1983’s KRULL.

“Shadow and Bone” debuted on the New York Times’ Best Sellers list with Bardugo being one of the few first-time authors to make that list this year. Read their review HERE. The book has been selling consistently since its June 5th publishing date and Macmillan recently went back for a third printing at the end of July. Amazon also selected “Shadow and Bone” as both an adult and children’s Book of the Month pick and is the only title to have that distinction.

Said Leigh Bardugo, “I can’t think of a better home (DreamWorks) for ‘Shadow and Bone.’ From moment one, I knew the story would be in great hands, and I’m truly thrilled.” With Heyman producing, I think the mystical world that will translate well to the big screen. Looking forward to hear who they pick for a director.

Internationally, the book was released simultaneously in the United Kingdom with ten more territories scheduled for release over the next year. The next book in the series, “Siege and Storm,” is scheduled for release in June 2013 with the third installment coming in summer 2014.

TOTAL RECALL ( 2012 ) – The Review

Well Mr. Farrell, is this going to be an annual Summertime event ? I’m talking about his starring in big budget remakes. And not of films from Hollywood’s Golden Age. These are from the last 30 years or so ( I saw them in theatres in the original release, so thanks for making me feel even older Mr. F! ). Last year he was in the remake of 1985’s FRIGHT NIGHT taking on Chris Sarandon’s suburban vamp Jerry Brewster ( I prefer the original for Roddy McDowell and the lack of murky, dim 3D ). This time he’s got much bigger shoes to fill. Farrell’s got the Arnold Schwarzenegger role in the remake of TOTAL RECALL. The first version came out in 1990 inbetween the Austrian Oak’s comedies KINDERGARTEN COP and TWINS, well before he returned as our favorite cinema cyborg. This was also director Paul Verhoeven’s follow-up to ROBOCOP ( which is about to be rebooted soon ). Now Len Wiseman ( perhaps best known for starting the UNDERWORLD series ) is behind the reins. Can he replace our memories of a butt-kickin’ Sharon Stone and those misshapen Mars mutants with this new SF head trip?

It’s pretty much the same set-up as before. Doug Quaid ( Farrell ) is a working drone living in the “Colony”. Seems that in the far off future the only parts of Earth that are still inhabitable are England ( now the United Federation of Britain where all the swells reside in luxury ) and an island across the globe ( probably Australia ) called ” The Colony”. It’s not so nice. You could say that it’s Gotham City to UFB’s Metropolis ( for you comics fans ). Every morning Doug leaves his gorgeous wife Lori ( Kate Beckinsale ) and joins pal Harry ( Bookem Woodbine ) in a massive commuter tube ( called ” the Drop”, or ” the Fall”, or something ominous like that ) that shoots them through the Earth’s core to UFB where they work at a factory producing robots ( or “Synthoids ” ) used as military back-up. Seems a revolutionary group lead by Matthias ( Bill Nighy ), which is trying to liberate the colonists, is causing UFB leader Cohaagen ( Bryan Cranston ) no end of headaches. Speaking of the old noggin, Doug’s not been sleeping well because of some dreams where he’s fighting UFB forces alongside gorgeous warrior Melina ( Jessica Biel ). These visions along with some job fatigue inspire Doug to walk into the local “Rekall” shop ( despite Harry’s warnings ). ” Rekall ” plants new memories into your brain via a high-tech brain-chair. But something goes haywire and a switch is tripped inside Doug. Seems that everything he knows is a lie! ( Cue David Byrne, ” This is not my beautiful wife..” ). Can he get to the bottom of things and learn the truth about his past? And how does he fit into the big global battles? Just who is he and what side is he on?

So does this version work better in the era of CGI effects? Well, Farrell is more believable as a working stiff than Ah-nold. And Mr. F handles the action stuff very well. But, for wont of a better word, the 1990 model is a whole lot more fun. I mean gooey-cheesy fun! There are a few nods to the original, but I miss those over-the-top make-up effects from Rob Bottin and company. And the new version is repetitious almost to the point of boredom. It’s chase, leap, shoot, chase, exposition…., shoot, chase, explosion, leap, plot…., chase, etc. The film plays out more like a video game with dull dialogue between levels. And all the running and chasing. Makes you realize why Chuck Jones’s Road Runner cartoons are so great! They’re only seven minutes, not stretched-out over two hours! I wish I could at least praise the art direction, but the ” Colony ” is pure BLADE RUNNER meets Venice ( with the crowded neon-lit streets and constant rain ) and AFB is THE FIFTH ELEMENT with the massive, stacked skyscrapers and magnetic hover-cars ( a nod to STAR WARS EP. II there ). As for the actors, Beckinsale looks to be relishing a rare bad-girl role ( greatly expanded from Stone’s role in 1990 ). She’s a sexy future version of the unstoppable Bond hench…er…person. At least she’s having some fun!  Biel and Nighy are woefully underused as the rebels while Cranston is playing a more vicious balck-hatted villain version of the oily politico we saw a few weeks ago in ROCK OF AGES. The whole flick is exhausting and overdone. Not that the original is full of subtlety. After viewing this you may wish that you got your ” a** to Mars”, or to your local video store to see the original. I bet that talking chest-head thingy looks mighty fine on Blu!

Overall Rating: 2 Out of 5 Stars

THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN – The Review

Here’s a big Summer release that’s generated a surprising amount of controversy. Usually the hot button films are released in the Fall or Winter to grab some buzz and capture a couple Oscar noms. But this popcorn flick has ignited heated debates among movie and comic book fans. The main question instigating message board dust-ups: Is it too soon to reboot the Spider-Man movie franchise? Well, it was eight years between BATMAN & ROBIN and BATMAN BEGINS. Four years passed between Brosnan’s last Bond, DIE ANOTHER DAY, and Craig’s first 007, CASINO ROYALE. Some fans think five years is way to soon for Spidey, but that’s the amount of time from Eric Bana as THE HULK to Edward Norton as THE INCREDIBLE HULK ( which is the version of the green guy that’s stealing scenes in MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS ). Director of the Spider-Man trilogy, Sam Raimi, took a pass on doing a fourth ( he, like most fans, found SPIDER-MAN 3 more than a bit lacking , so he didn’t want to rush a script ). With Raimi out, stars Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst took a pass. So for Sony Pictures it was ” Spider-Man Begin Again” ( almost the title of this new film ). Now the debate is moot. Director Marc Webb’s ( no kiddin’ with the last name! He also made 500 DAYS OF SUMMER ) THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN swings into theatres just in time for the big July Fourth holiday. Yup, the flick’s a done deal. The only thing to discuss now is this particular film’s merits. Does it stand ( or wall-crawl ) on its own?

Right off the bat ( no, his flick comes out July 20! ) we see Peter Parker in a new light. Actually he’s a young lad of eight when the film starts and he’s whisked away by his parents, Richard and Mary ( Campbell Scott and Embeth Davidtz ) to the home of his Uncle Ben ( Martin Sheen ) and Aunt May ( Sally Field ). Cut to Midtown high schooler Peter ( Andrew Garfield ), a science prodigy raised by Ben and May. Cleaning out the basement, he finds Richard’s old briefcase. Seems that Dad worked as a research scientist at the megalithic Oscorp company alongside Dr. Curt Conners ( Rhys Ifans ). Pete bluffs himself into an intern group at he company, but he’s almost given away by the group’s intern tour guide, Midtown’s other whiz-kid Gwen Stacy ( Emma Stone ). He wanders away from the group, speaks with Conners, and suffers an injury in one of the research rooms. Said injury has a profound effect on Peter who discovers that he has amazing powers. When tragedy strikes he uses these enhanced abilities ( along with a home-made suit and mask to hide his identity ) to fight evil as Spider-Man. Visiting the home of Conners, Peter innocently helps him unlock the key to accessing animal DNA ( the doc hopes to regenerate his lost arm like a reptile ). When the Oscorp higher-ups threaten to try his formula at a veteran’s hospital ( they’ve gotta’ make sure it works before the serum is given to their dying boss, the mysterious Norman Osborn ), Conners decides to be the test subject. Meanwhile major stuff’s happening to Pete aside from his crime-fighting gig. He begins a tentative romance with Gwen that’s complicated when he learns that her father is a police captain ( Denis Leary ) determined to arrest a certain wall-crawling vigilante. Soon all their lives converge when NYC is threatened with annihilation.

Another bit of controversy swirling about the film is the origin story and, yes, as I hinted previously, we get the origin story once more. Sure it’s been 10 years since the first Raimi film told it masterfully, but I believe it was needed for the start of this new franchise ( we’ll have to see if audiences respond positively to this flick, or it’ll be rebooted once more ), and it’s not a note for note rehash. Comic book purists may cry foul at the liberties taken with that classic tale from Amazing Fantasy #15, but it makes harder connections to the events portrayed in this new film. Peter’s destiny has a tighter link to his parents and to the shady deals at Oscorp. Hopefully this chain of events will provide an interesting conspiracy in follow-ups. This also keys into the darker aspect of the new film. Spidey is almost always operating during the night hours ( like that guy from Gotham City ). Danger lurks at every shadow, not only from criminals but from the law. While in the original trilogy the police gave the web-head a wink and a pass, here all officers are determined to bring him down by any means. This Big Apple isn’t the bright shiny place we’ve seen our hero bouncing from place to place before.

Another big beef is the film’s villain. Frankly I was pleased that the producers went with a single bad guy, even though Spidey has perhaps the best rouges gallery in comicdom ( sure the Joker’s the greatest comic book criminal ever, but after Catwoman, Clayface,  and Two-Face the other Gothamites are kinda’ silly ). This was one of the main problems with the dismal SPIDER-NAN 3 which paired the Sandman and Venom ( this may harken back to the paired bad guys in BATMAN RETURNS ). Several comic fans don’t like the look of the Lizard. They may be more accustomed to the large snout that artist Todd MacFarlane drew, but this design is closer to that original Steve Ditko look. Also the film version is bulked up…considerably, almost to the point of being a scaly Hulk. Several times he grabs Spidey and flings him about like a rag doll. The Lizard’s a formidable foe, but the human element is what makes him tick. Like screen villains the Green Goblin and Dr. Octopus, Conners wishes to benefit humanity, and he’s got a personal connection to Peter ( the connection to the Sandman seemed incredibly forced in 3 ). After their first couple of encounters Peter and Connors respect each other, so Peter struggles to stop the monster without killing the man inside. Ifans does a great variation of the classic Jekyll and Hyde character as a decent man forced to make a very bad decision. Although his face is surrounded by CGI scales ( I’ll bet a motion-capture suit was used ), Ifans brings a great deal of humanity to this ‘ beastie’.

Ifans is not the lone stand-out in this terrific supporting cast. Leary treads a fine line between being a committed law-enforcement officer and a sentimental father. His comic timing is put to great use in the Captain’s run-in with Pete ( particularly at a tense family dinner ). This blustery demeanor provides many welcome laughs and makes the character’s change of heart more poignant. Speaking of heart, Sheen and Fields have tons to spare as Peter’s adoptive parents. They’re a bit younger than Robertson and Harris from the Raimi films ( this helps with the opening sequence ), but have just as much warmth as the previous actors. Sheen even gives Pete a big ole’ dose of tough love that’s tempered with his considerable screen charm. Fields’s role is not as showy, but she really conveys the caring mother role when stunned by all the cuts and bruises adorning Pete’s face when he returns home after his night patrols. Now this is a couple that would raise a hero, super-powers or not.

Speaking of heroes, the movie soars or plummets based on the fella’ in the title role. And his love interest, to a great extent. Garfield’s Parker is very different from the previous screen incarnation. Before the bite, this Pete’s a bit of a rebel ( skateboarding in the school hallways! ) and pro-active. He even steps in to stop a bully ( and gets his skinny posterior handed to him ). This is a darker, conflicted Parker ( we can still see that sad-eyed child watching his folks dash into that rainy night ). After getting on the radar with terrific work in THE SOCIAL NETWORK, this is the film that will establish Garfield as a great movie star. While Maguire was a terrific nerdy Peter Parker from those early comics, Garfield is that wiseacre with a mask ( quick with a quip and an uppercut ) that we’ve loved all these years. And when he’s on the ground, there’s a very special lady ( played by a very special actress ) that makes his spirit soar. Stone can now add super-hero action flick to the list of film genres that she’s conquered. Her Gwen is smart ( pretty much Pete’s intellectual equal ), fiesty, funny, and so adorable in those outfits inspired by John Romita’s comic art designs. While Dunst’s Mary Jane wasn’t much interested in the pre-powers Pete, Gwen falls for that photo-takin’, science geek almost immediately ( or at least soon after that bullying incident ). Bryce Dallas Howard was brought into that murky SPIDER-MAN 3 as a younger threat to MJ, but in the comics Gwen was Pete’s first, pure true love. Garfield and Stone truly sizzle on screen ( Stone really inspires her co-stars to bring their A game), so it’s no big shock that they’re dating off set. The gamble to put the director of  500 DAYS OF SUMMER really paid off. Turns out Webb can do the big action stuff, but he truly excels at presenting the exhilaration of first love. The battles are great ( still can’t top the fights with Doc Ock in SPIDER-MAN 2 though ), but the romance is what makes this a superior Summer cinema spectacle ( pardon the Stan Lee-isms! )

So, is it worth seeing in 3D? Well it was shot in the format, so the swinging stuff works well along with the over-the-skyscapers shots. A big complaint from the first Spidey flick was that he bounced around like a video game character. Instead of relying too much on CGI, Webb tried to work more with stunt people to do the web-swinging live whenever possible. I’ve only a few problems with this re-telling. It seems the writers really went out of their way to present scenes where Spidey takes his mask off ( this was a sore point in Raimi’s trio ). I know it helps the audience connect with the actor ( his expressions aren’t hidden ), but it’s strange to see the character so often exposed. This does work well for a scene when a child his rescued by our hero. Now, about that outfit, the film-makers have taken that great Ditko design ( which Raimi adhered to pretty closely ) and made it way-too busy and intricate. Guess I’m too much of a purist, but I hate seeing blue on the fingers of the gloves! AArgrrr ( as they say in the funny books )! Do like how the mechanical wrist web-shooters ( no organic spinnerets! ) work with the suit. Oh, and the film could use a good 5 minute trim ( but wait for the mid-end credit bonus scene ). Aww, no more nit-pickin’! Like last Summer’s X MEN : FIRST CLASS, THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN takes a comic book property that we all thought had exhausted its movie possibilities and returned it to cinematic glory. It doesn’t surpass MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS for super-hero movie spectacle, but it’s miles above SPIDER-MAN 3. THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN proves that  there’s still plenty of life ( and love ) left in that 50-year-old web-slingin’ wise guy. Really amazing, indeed!

Overall Rating: 4 Out of 5 Stars

ABRAHAM LINCOLN : VAMPIRE HUNTER – The Review

In 2009 Seth Grahame-Smith had an idea for a literary and pop culture mash-up. Kind of like a prose version of the classic Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup commercials ( ” You got chocolate in my peanut butter! ” You got peanut butter in my chocolate!” ). The result was the best seller ” Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” ( ” You got flesh-eaters in my Jane Austen!” ). Soon other authors followed with ” Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters “. But Grahame-Smith, for his next novel,  embarked on another concoction: horror icons and historical figures. It would be revealed that a beloved former president shared more than a first name with Dr.Van Helsing, the nemesis of Count Dracula. Like the good doctor ( and cheerleader Buffy Summers ), honest Abe Lincoln was a vampire hunter. Soon fantasy film maven Tim Burton’s production company snapped up the movie rights and now ABRAHAM LINCOLN : VAMPIRE HUNTER has arrived in theatres everywhere. Will movie audiences embrace this genre mash-up as much as bibliophiles have?

In the film’s opening moments, we see President Lincoln  putting pen to paper in his secret journal. He recounts his days as a poor son of a farmer who witnesses his mother’s demise at the hands of vampire Jack Barts ( Marton Csokas ). Many years later teenage Abe ( Benjamin Walker )  is nearly killed tracking down Barts. Luckily the lad is rescued by Henry Sturgess ( Dominic Cooper ), who tells of a vast vampire network headed by the mysterious Adam ( Rufus Sewell ) . The two strike a deal. Henry will train Abe to destroy vamps, if Abe only eliminates the monsters that Henry singles out via letters to Abe once he re-locates in that hub of the evil  undead, Springfield, Illinois. Arriving there, Abe gets a job at the general store of Joshua Speed ( Jimmi Simpson ), re-unites with a childhood friend the free-born son of slaves Will Johnson ( Anthony Mackie ), and meets future wife Mary Todd ( Mary Elizabeth Winstead ). Soon the missives from Henry are delivered and Abe must tear himself away from the law books and shopkeeping to rid the town of the vampire scourge. Word reaches Adam who must stop the rail-splitter from not only destroying his undead brethren, but from achieving political office and ending slavery ( seems they’re a steady source of blood ). As the country heads into the Civil War, Abe must take up his old skills in order to prevent Adam and his vampire forces from make the Confederacy victorious.

Sounds a bit silly? Well a lot of it does play like a stretched-out late night comedy skit minus much of the humor. No winking at the camera here, which helps the shock aspect of the first few vamp attacks. The bloodsuckers are all teeth when in feeding mode and adhere to several of the classical rules. Sunshine is not too much of a problem ( none of them pretty sparkly vamps, though ), thanks to special sunglasses and heavy-duty sunblock salve. They’re fast, strong, and can become invisible ( no evidence of animal transformation ). Director Timur Bekmambetov, in his first big English feature since 2008’s WANTED, tries to inject some energy into the quiet conversations and true incidents, but really seems to be chomping at the bit to tear into the big action set pieces. Abe and the baddies leap, spin, and kick ala’ the Matrix  and other ‘ wire-fu’ flicks. A battle during a horse stampede quickly becomes a CGI cartoon, as does a gravity defying ( or ignoring ) fight atop a crashing locomotive. The main characters are mere bouncing video game stars by the film’s long-in-coming finale. Walker, looking like a baby-faced Liam Neeson, never is allowed past history icon status. He’s just a fellow who wears tall hats and uses his axe very well ( the film skirts into ‘ steam punk’ territory with some of the weaponry and gadgets ). Cooper is merely the tough mentor ( think a playboy Ben Kenobi ), who’s hiding a big secret. Sewel is good as a dead-eyed, snarling mastermind with his emotions always in check. Mackie’s mostly Watson to Walker’s Holmes and never really gets a chance to shine. And there’s little passion between Walker and Winstead during the courtship of Abe and Mary. She’s regulated to the background until an embarrassing scene where she pounds on Abe’s chest after a tragedy occurs. Historical figures are name checked ( ” I’m Stephen Douglas! ” Thank you. Miss Tubman” ) as are Civil War battles and events ( Fort Sumter! Gettysburg! ), but the scenes seem to be pulled out of a middle school social studies book. What could have been a funny, spooky romp of a popcorn fantasy flick is instead an overwrought, clunky, noisy endurance test for the audience.

Overall Rating: 2.5 Out of 5 Stars

 

 

ROCK OF AGES – The Review

ROCK OF AGES is the latest stage musical to be adapted for the big screen in the wake of the enormous success of CHICAGO over ten years ago ( wow! ). It bucks the popular current trend on Broadway in that it’s not based on a film, so we’re not getting the full-circle vibe from THE PRODUCERS and HAIRSPRAY ( although this is from that remake’s director Adam Shankman ). AGES harkens back to the shows built around known songs like ” Smokey Joe’s Cafe ” and ” Ain’t Misbehavin'” on stage and HOLLYWOOD REVUE OF 1929 and SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN on screen. This work takes the rock anthems  from several 80’s bands and attempts to connect them in a story set in that era. It was a big hit on the Great White Way, but will movie audiences be boppin’ their heads to the beat down at the multiplex?

In the far off year of 1987, hopeful singer Sherrie Christian ( Julianne Hough ) is looking wistfully out the window of the bus that’s taking her to that entertainment mecca, Los Angeles ( Hmm, sounds a lot like one of Hough’s previous films, 2010’s BURLESQUE ). On Sunset Boulevard she meets cutie Drew Boley ( Diego Boneta ) who works at the town’s rockinest’ club, the Bourbon Room. He helps her get a waitress job from the owner, Dennis ( Alec Baldwin ) and his right hand man Lonny ( Russell Brand ). The club’s got some tax problems, but Dennis is sure that the final concert of Arsenal will put things right. Unfortunately the club is threatened with closure from the rock hating wife of Mayor Whitmore ( Bryan Cranston ), Patricia ( Catherine Zeta-Jones ). Dennis must also deal with sleazy manager of Arsenal, Paul Gill ( Paul Giamatti ) and the band’s spaced-out frontman, rock god Stacee Jaxx ( Tom Cruise ). The film follows the ups and downs of Sherrie and Drew’s romance and music dreams while leading up to the big concert night and its aftermath. So will those two crazy kids be harmonizing before the final fade-out?

The hard-working cast really put out a lot of energy, but I’ve got a feeling that this material may have worked better in a live venue ( I’ve never seen the stage version ). We’ve got a film here that seems to be a good 20 minutes or so too long. It would’ve benefitted the film’s flow if much of the youngsters’ love story was trimmed. Hough and Bonetta are very photogenic, but there’s little chemistry, and their big break-up fight ( or misunderstanding ) is contrived and cliche’. This does set up an amusing subplot in which Bonetta sells out to Giamatti’s mustache-twirling evil manager. We know the guy is bad news, but does he have to be bathed in a red light in all his backstage close-ups? Giamatti is still a most welcome addition to any supporting cast even as an obvious villain. Speaking of villains, Zeta-Jones is reduced to playing a shrill, bug-eyed gargoyle in most of her scenes as a cartoon wicked witch out to stop all the fun. She has very few chances to light up the screen with her impressive musical talents as she did in CHICAGO. Another great musical talent, Mary J Blige, doesn’t appear till well past the one hour mark as the owner of a gentleman’s club. She’s given a couple of rock standards to sing as her ladies really, really work those poles. AGES promotes Cruise as the main star, but his over-indulged, tattooed space cadet, sex machine grows tiresome early on. Yup, he’s believable screaming into the mike, but the film makers rely too much on close-ups of his primate double, Hey Man for easy chuckles. The supporting comic actors do deliver some big laughs. Brand may be a bit much as a film’s lead so his club manager is better suited to his screen persona. Baldwin’s a delight as the grizzled party animal turned business owner. Too bad he’s not given more to do. Malin Akerman thankfully shows off some of her comedic chops she honed on TV’s ” Children’s’ Hospital ” as an ambitious Rolling Stone reporter. There’s other laughs provided by cameos of a couple of gifted comic actors  and , of course, there’s those funny 80’s stuff ( Look at that huge wireless phone! Lookit’ that big hair! ), not to mention a very surprising love duet. The sets and costumes are impressive, but the sanitized version of the Sunset Strip takes the film too far away from reality ( hey, I know people break into song! ). That,along with a clunky, cumbersome script and heavy-handed direction prevent this stage triumph from really coming alive on screen. Those great rock anthems will live on long after this misfire has faded from memory.

Overall Rating: 2.5 Out of 5 Stars

HYSTERIA ( 2011 ) – The Review

HYSTERIA, a film that is ” based on true events “, takes several unrelated elements to create an unexpected cinema delight. It’s set in Victorian England, so we’ve got the look of a ” Masterpiece Theatre”-type prestige production. And because of that historical aspect, you may expect something very somber and serious. It’s about the creation of a new invention, but this is not a film for a high school history class. Its cast is full of well-respected British actors ( and a terrific American ) who seem to be having a grand ole’ time.  A good way to describe this film is Merchant-Ivory by way of Judd Apatow.

Let’s see if I can relate the story without getting too…unseemly. In the medical waters of 1880’s London, young physician Mortimer Granville ( Hugh Dancy ) is swimming upstream to no avail. The establishment still believes in leaches and medicine show elixirs ( and they don’t believe in germs! ). After losing his hospital job, he heads home to vent his frustrations with scandalous party guy Edmund St. John-Smythe ( Rupert Everett ), who has embraced the new emerging technologies like the telephone and electrical generators ( the St. John-Smythe family took in young Mortimer when he lost his parents many years ago ). After a long employment search Granville is finally hired by Doctor Robert Dalrymple whose practice specializes in the treatment of women’s hysteria ( a catch-all prognosis then for practically any female emotional problem ). And business is ‘a boomin’! The job includes room and meals in the Dalrmple home so soon Granville meets the widowed doctor’s daughters : Emily ( Felicity Jones ), a reserved mannered young woman interested in music and phrenology ( the study of cranial bumps ), and her older sister Charlotte ( Maggie Gyllenhaal ) , a progressive hellion who helps run a charity house that helps the lower classes ( much to Father’s chagrin ). Soon the younger doctor is trained in administering the treatment to the growing line of patients, using his hand to manually stimulate the ladies’ most , ahem, private areas. This can be a long, arduous progress. The young man does well for a time ( he soon is engaged to young Emily ), but the treatment soon takes its toll on him with a version of Carpel-Tunnel Syndrome that no soaking in cold water or wrist brace can cure. He loses his job and returns to St. John-Symthe, who’s working on an electric feather duster. Wow, this device really soothes his arm. Hmmm, with some adjustments could this be used for the hysteria treatments and get him his job back? And he could marry Emily. But there’s something about Charlotte…

As I hinted earlier, this is not a big portentous prestige work, but a spirited bit of historical whimsy thanks to the spritely direction of Tanya Wexler from a tightly constructed script from Stephen Dyer and Jonah Lisa Dyer. The gorgeous costumes and art direction are a great help ( Luxembourg does a fine job standing in for Victorian England ). But it’s the cast that really sells this story. Dancy carries on the Hugh Grant romantic hero traditions as he registers exasperation, embarrassment and amusement when Cupid’s arrow finally finds him. Jones builds on her fine screen work in last year’s CRAZY LOVE with an original take on the genteel lady-in-waiting role. It’s wonderful to see Pryce step away from some of the mainstream blockbusters to play this stodgy gentleman who is the darling of London’s grande dames. Gyllenhaal seems just as comfortable on these cobblestone streets as she did in the Gotham City highrises ( and the that British accent we last heard in NANNY MCPHEE RETURNS doesn’t waver for a second ). The film’s MVP has to be the great Everett in the kind of a role that George Sanders specialized in during Hollywood’s Golden Age. He gets more laughs from a single word and a raised eyebrow than are generated in most mainstream movie comedies. He makes us want to see a follow-up film centered on his amoral character. The romance is fairly predictable ( do we really wonder which sister will capture the doctor’s heart ? ), but that’s a minor quibble considering how breezy this look at the past zooms along. Be sure and stick around for the end credits as the film makers take a look back at ( as one catalog page calls them ) ” women’s aids “. Like the rest of the movie this will give your funny bone a nice tickle ( ahem, sorry! ).

Overall Rating : 4 Out of 5 Stars

SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN – The Review

So, here we go again, the classic Grimm’s fairy tale take two. Earlier this year we saw the release of MIRROR, MIRROR, a farcical adaptation of the Snow White story starring Lily Collins as the heroine and Julia Roberts as a very campy, oh-so-wicked stepmother queen. Well with this version, SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN, all of the forced whimsy and slapstick is jettisoned in favor of dark, dark horror elements and much sword and axe welding mayhem. This is almost ” Snow White the Barbarian “. But is this the approach to make this centuries old bedtime story fresh and involving for modern-day movie audiences?

Now this can’t be a straight retelling of the Grimm tale or the Disney animated classic, of course. The film makers feel compelled to put their own spin on Snow and the gang. This version begins where many tellings do not. We meet our heroine’s mother. After a brief scene of mother and child, Mom’s out of the picture. After a brief grieving period the widower father King leads his army against an invading force. After defeating them, the King discovers a prisoner shackled inside an enemy coach. It is the bewitching blonde beauty Ravenna ( Charlize Theron ). After returning to the castle, she and the King fall in love. Soon they wed, but the honeymoon proves fatal for the King, and the Queen’s forces quickly take over the kingdom asyoung Snow is locked away in a tower. The years pass and she becomes a lovely young woman ( Kristen Stewart ), perhaps the fairest in the land. Snow eventually escapes and makes her way to the ominous dark forest. The Queen’s forces cannot find her and so they enlist the services of the Huntsman ( Chris Hemsworth ), who’s familiar with those nasty woods before. He’s been drowning his sorrows after the death of his wife  and is reluctant to take on the mission until the Queen assures him that she will use her magics to bring his bride back from the great beyond. Once he finds Snow, will he give her to the Queen or will they unite to free the kingdom from Ravenna’s evil spell. Really, you’re wondering?

Mirror, mirror on the wall. Why is this film NOT the fairest of them all ? Well, the main problem seems to be in the script and in the direction by first time feature film maker Rupert Sanders. He seems to have a problem with the big battle sequences ( as do many screen veterans ). Switching abruptly to slow-motion just doesn’t help the film flow. And the script itself certainly does not flow. Too much time is spent in the dark forest ( perhaps so the CGI artists can strut their stuff in showing the nightmare hallucinations caused by the woods’ toxic fumes ), and a stay in a riverside town only populated by women adds to the interminably long running time. The dwarvesdon’t show up til an hour has passed. At least they’re played by several familiar faces. But these mini-warriors are almost interchangeable-grungy, scruffy, scrappy dudes. Old pro Bob Hoskins is their quiet ( maybe blind ) leader while the rest of the gang ( including Ian McShane, Ray Winstone, Toby Jones, and Nick Frost ) bicker between battles. Speaking of the cast, they really struggle with this unwieldy script. Hemsworth’s Huntsman seems to be a  vulnerable variation on his Thunder God ( his trusty battle-axe functions almost as his enchanted hammer ). I was a big fan of last year’s YOUNG ADULT, so I was hopeful that Theron could bring some of that snarky spirit to wicked Queen. While Roberts was a new drag icon, Theron is too somber, even though some scenes she seemed to be channeling the late, great Ingrid Pitt in the Hammer classic COUNTESS DRACULA ( gots to get my youthful beauty somewhere, somehow). She takes milk baths, rising from the tub like a carved, ivory statue, and knoshes on bird hearts like a Park Avenue matron tearing into a Whitman sampler ( Hmmm, lotsa’ dead birds in this flick ). Her line deliveries seem to be all over the map. In early scenes she has a quiet monotone to convey the banality of her evil. Later she’s all popping veins and flaring nostrils as she chews out brother Finn ( you’re not doing Shakespeare-in-the-Park, it’s a film so take it down a few notches ). Speaking of Finn, the pervy, pale dude ( really guys, the old Albino-like villain, again? ) quickly becomes tiresome. His fighting superiority over the Huntsman seems highly unlikely. The biggest casting problem ( and I know she gets dumped on for her other films a lot ) is Stewart as Snow White. She’s not as passive as Ms. Swan, luckily, but seems limited to a few expressions and speech patterns ( and she’s brushing back her dark mane again! ). There’s almost no rapport with her leading men and a scene of her rallying the troops to battle is almost laughable. By this time the snail’s pace of the film has destroyed any momentum this and the final fight scenes try to deliver.

So what works? Is there any magic in this retelling? Well, the costume design is pretty great especially in the Queen’s gowns some of which include avian skeletons ( again with the dead birds ). Many of the creature effects are well done. An attacking troll in the dark forest is the stuff of nightmares although the brief scene involving it doesn’t really go anywhere. At the other end of the spectrum, the fairies and sprites in the enchanted forest are indeed enchanting ( they too don’t get enough screen time ). What really impressed me were the dwarves themselves. While MIRROR, MIRROR used real ” little people ” actors, here they used digital sorcery to transform these average sized performers. It’s startlingly seamless. Hopefully there will be a bonus featurette on the DVD explaining how it was achieved. If only that same effort had been put into the plodding script and lackluster direction. Snow may be the ” fairest of them all ” in the realm of literature and animation, but she’s yet to find the live-action feature film version that lets her truly live ” happily ever after “. This Grimm tale’s just too grim,

Overall Rating: 1.5 out of 5 Stars

 

 

WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU’RE EXPECTING – The Review

Well, it looks like somebody’s borrowing from Gary Marshall (  lifting ideas in Hollywood? Shocking! ). A few years ago Mr. Marshall scored a big hit with an ensemble comedy centered around a major holiday in VALENTINE’S DAY. He repeated that basic idea a few months ago with NEW YEAR”S EVE. Well, there’s not too many romantic holidays left, so how can this formula be tweaked? Maybe a birthday? No, a ” birthing day’! It’ll be about several couples trying to have a baby! We’ll get multiple stars and try to mix them up in the months prior to the big day. This way we can re-use the Marshall plan ( history reference! ) and maybe do a CRASH ( the Best Picture Oscar winner ) riff for the final hospital scenes. And as Woody Allen did forty years ago with EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SEX…, we’ll use the title of a best-selling instructional book. And so these marketing elements are mixed together for the new feature comedy ( maybe dramedy ) WHAT TO EXPECT WHEN YOU’RE EXPECTING.  But does this cinema concoction deliver ( get it? ) big laughs?

OK, let’s get out our programs and meet the  players and ( prospective ) parents. First up is photographer Holly ( Jennifer Lopez ) and her musician mate Alex ( Rodrigo Santoro ). She’s more excited about adopting an infant than him, so she sends Alex to meet with a friend’s hubby who’s part of the ” daddy dudes” ( kind of a “Mr. Mom mob” ) led by Vic ( Chris Rock ). Next up is Wendy ( Elizabeth Banks ) who owns a maternity shop that extolls the beauty of motherhood ( she’s even written a children’s’ book on the joys of breast-feeding ). After much effort she and husband Gary ( Ben Falcone ) conceive. When they break the news to Ben’s hypercompetitive auto racer dad Ramsey ( Dennis Quaid ), he announces that he’s having twins with his much younger trophy wife Skyler ( Brooklyn Decker ). Couple three is TV show fitness trainer Jules ( Cameron Diaz ) and her TV show dancing partner Evan ( Matthew Morrison ). Wow they’ve referenced two reality shows ( because, you know they’re hot and trendy! ). And for the young twenty-somethings we’ve got former flames and competing food truck owners ( because, you know they’re hot and trendy! ) Rosie ( Anna Kendrick ) and Marco ( Chase Crawford ). After some fast flirting they hook up after a gig and…the chiefs have a bun in the oven! We follow the ups and downs of these couples leading up to the mad dash to the hospital in the final frames.

Unfortunately this film may copy the Marhsall formula too well, since the momentum is stopped with each story as the film feels compelled to jump to another one. Still some moments work better than others. Banks is one of our most gifted comic actors ( on the big and small screen as shown on TV’s “30 Rock” ). Her future mom wendy  is a sweaty, bloated, raw nerve who can’t believe that her own pregnancy is the opposite of the lovely experience she’s been promoting at her shop. At said shop, the film makers cut to Rebel Wilson for a Melissa McCarthy-type sight gag or one-liner to get a cheap,quick laugh. Adding to Wendy’s frustration is the fact that young Skyler seems to completely comfortable. Most of the other couples spend too much of their screen time arguing. Jules and Evan fuss constantly about circumcision. Really?!  Dramatic tension is ramped up by Holly losing her big photo gig and keeping it a secret from Alex. A subplot about Gary and Ramsey in constant competition never really works, but Quaid has lots of rugged ” good ole’ boy ” charm ( Burt Reynolds might’ve place this a part a couple of decades ago ). It’s a shame that Ramsey’s stereotypical Southern belle missus is saddled with too many “y’alls” in every line of dialogue. Rock is wasted in the repetitive sequences with other dads in the park. I guess the tales of nearly maiming their infants is endearing, as are scenes of near disaster with a clumsy toddler. Rosie and Marco really get short-changed in their screen time. They’re absent from most of the last half. And of course on the big day we get lots of running down long hospital corridors and urgent instructions to breathe and push. This another one of those movies you can see with an older relative ( surprised it didn’t get released on Mother’s day weekend ). There’s nothing to upset anyone and there’s plenty of sweet infants to coo at. For those of us that enjoy unpredictable comedies with an edge and some wit, at a very full two hours this feels longer than nine months. Hollywood has delivered another safe, ” sit-com”y bundle of blah.

Overall Raing 1 Out of 5 Stars

DARK SHADOWS – The Review

The history of cinema has had many long-running actor/director partnerships. What first springs to my mind is the long collaboration between actor John Wayne and director John Ford, which has inspired several film books and documentaries. More recently we’ve had the Martin Scorsese and Robert DeNiro team-ups ( although Leonardo DiCaprio may just catch up to Mr. D ). And now we have the eighth film that actor Johnny Depp has done with director Tim Burton since they first paired all the way back in 1990 for EDWARD SCISSORHANDS ( Wow! ). After films based on children’s books, a low-budget filmmaker’s life, and a Broadway musical what have the duo decided to tackle now? Why, it’s a classic cult TV show from the late 1960’s : DARK SHADOWS. What’s their take on this supernatural soap opera?.

Time for a bit of disclosure here. During its original run on ABC television, I was mad for this weird little show! My grade school was almost in my back yard, so I literally ran out those exit doors when the last bell rang in order to plant myself in front of the bulky console TV and get creeped out Monday through Friday. ” Dark Shadows ” was the brainchild of the late Dan Curtis, who went on to produce the original TV movies, ” The Night Stalker ” starring Darren McGavin as reporter Carl Kolchak and ” Trilogy of Terror ” with Karen Black fighting those vicious little dolls, in addition to the acclaimed mini-series ” The Winds of War ‘ and its sequel ” War and Remembrance “, and he also directed two feature films based on ” Shadows ‘ along with BURNT OFFERINGS. This daytime drama with elements of gothic romance was about to be cancelled when Curtis had a desperate, brilliant idea :  Let’s put a vampire into the show ! Unknown ( to US TV audiences ) actor Jonathan Frid was a sensation as the lovesick bloodsucker Barnabas Collins. The program became must-see viewing for young people everywhere ( it’s odd to recall that the fortysomething Frid was cover featured on teen fan magazines alongside the Monkees and Bobby Sherman ). And that canny Curtis helped unleash an avalanche of merchandising. Barnabas was the star of a daily newspaper comic strip, monthly Gold Key comic books, board games, model kits, record albums, and a long-running series of original paperback novels. And I had as many of them that I could lay my grubby little hands on! But these bright star burned briefly. Dark Shadows ended it’s five-year run in 1971, but like Mr. Collins it’s not been completely dead. Curtis spearheaded an NBC prime time remake in the early 1990’s and a TV movie in 2005. The original series has played om cable, been released on home video, and inspired fan conventions ( though not as many as ” Star Trek” ). Talk of a new big screen version has been kicking around for years. I was intrigued by Depp and Burton’s involvement and, like many fans of the original, were taken aback by the comedic tone of the trailer. But I must keep an open mind. This is intended for modern movie audiences who have probably never heard of the series. Ya’ know, this may work!

And then I finally viewed the new film. The plot tries to incorporate several storylines from the show’s early season. Prior to the opening titles, we are introduced to Barnabas as a young boy in Liverpool as he and his parents are about to begin their voyage to America. Also headed across the pond is young Angelique Bouchard and her mother , who will work as a servant to the Collins family. The young lass is already smitten with the dark-haired boy. Upon their arrival in Maine, the prosperous family begins a successful fishing business, establishes the city of Collinsport, and starts construction on the opulent Collinwood estate. Years later Barnabas ( Johnny Depp ) gives his heart to the lovely Josette ( Bella Heathcote ) and spurns the affections of Angelique ( Eva Green ). You know what they say about a woman scorned. Ms. A turns to witchcraft to end their romance and turn Barnabas into a vampire. Later she leads a group of torch wielding villagers to trap him in his coffin, bind it with heavy chains, and bury him in the deep woods. The film then jumps to hip, happenin’ 1972. Victoria Winters arrives in the town in answer to a  child care help wanted ad. She finds Collinwood a dark, gloomy shell of its former glories. Victoria first encounters Willie ( Jackie Earle Haley ) who is the estate’s main caretaker along with the doting, elderly Mrs. Johnson. Seems only four Collins family members occupy the great mansion:  matriarch Elizabeth Collins Stoddard ( Michelle Pfieffer ), her rebellious teenage daughter Carolyn ( Chloe Grace Moretz ), Elizabeth’s brother Roger Collins ( Jonny Lee Miller ) and his pre-teen son David ( Gulliver McGrath ). Also living there in order to treat David’s emotional issues ( he sees his deceased mother ) is the hard-drinking Dr. Julia Hoffman ( Helena Bonham Carter ). Later that evening a construction crew working in the woods outside Collinwood unearths a coffin wrapped in chains. To their regret, they sever the bonds and release a famished Barnabas. After a culture shock stroll through town, he returns to his ancestral home. He makes Willie his hypnotized servant, strikes a deal with Elizabeth, and vows to restore both the estate and the family fishing business. Only one thing stands in his way ( besides that nasty thirst ) – a rival seafood cannery run by the still youthful and gorgeous Angelique, who has convinced the town that she’s just the latest in a long line of family moguls. Oh, and it turns out that Victoria is the spitting image of the vamp’s long-lost love Josette. Can Barnabas Collins turns things around for the family while romancing a new/old flame and staying a step ahead of his spell casting nemesis?

I may have made this flick sound more exciting than it really is. At two full hours, you’ll feel as though you’ve been chained inside a buried casket. Perhaps it needed a merciless editor, or, more likely, a couple more passes at this unwieldy script. Much is made of the Barnabas/Victoria romantic subplot, but she seems to vanish for a good half hour while more time is devoted to the tiresome antics of Angelique. There’s not one, but two big confrontation scenes in her company boardroom. This affords the filmmakers a chance to indulge in some juvenile sex jokes, as seen in the trailer when the two enemies give in to passion ( with a nod to the Catwoman lick from Burton’s BATMAN RETURNS ). There’s even more coarse sex gag ( literally ! ) with the doctor. Really guys? Seems the ladies find the bloodsucker irresistible even with pounds of clown white covering his mug ( in the TV show Frid looks like an average Joe till he bared his fangs ), and a dark airbrushed streak down his cheekbones. The seventies era is reconstructed well, although items like lava lamps and troll dolls appear in order to garner easy laughs. As does a TV performance by the Carpenters on an old-fashioned color TV. Speaking of music, I was let down by the usually reliable Danny Elfman. He uses a few music cues from Robert Colbert’s classic TV score, but the show’s main theme is never heard. Instead we get lots of FM-style classic rock ( ” Nights in White Satin ” over the main titles? Okaaay ). However I did enjoy seeing the real Alice Cooper recreating his early performances.

Speaking of performances, the actors make a valiant effort with the meager source material. Depp seems to be enjoying his role immensely, although at times he seems to be doing mix of his James Barrie and Sweeney Todd while strutting about in his odd costume choices ( at least he kept the wolf’s head cane ). Pfeiffer has little to do until the messy finale. It’s hard to accept her in this matronly part.Moretz is one of our most promising young actors, but here she’s trapped as a sullen, surly teenager. Miller and Carter are there to model funny 70’s fashions and be funny, sleazy types while mugging at the camera. Heathcote is a lovely ingenue, but sets off no real sparks with Depp. Neither does the usually engaging Green whose witch character becomes a campy, cartoon villainess who’s more tedious than menacing. When it comes to screen menace, few actors are greater than 60’s and 70’s vampire movie icon Christopher Lee, who graces the screen in an all too brief cameo. But the best cameo may be that of cast members from the original TV series : Kathryn Leigh Scott ( Victoria ), David Selby ( Quentin ), Lara Parker ( Angelique ) and Barnabas himself, the late great Jonathan Frid who passed away just weeks ago. Kudos for including this brief nod.

Tim Burton has always been stronger with visuals than narrative, so it should come as no surprise that the big finale is so disjointed. One big reveal of a family member’s secret pounces in from left field. The film’s opening scenes seem to have the proper dramatic tone, but once Mr. B returns home, everything is jokes- the 70’s decade kitsch , sex patter, and whoosing cartoon sound effects. That’s not to say that the original TV show wasn’t funny. Rewatching the series on DVD, you’re struck by the cheesy effects, flimsy sets, often hammy acting, and overwrought dialogue ( the show was shot live on tape, so many flubs are preserved ), but the producers were striving for more than cheap laughs. Sometimes a dramatic TV show can be transformed into an enjoyable big screen comedy, like 1987’s DRAGNET and the recent 21 JUMP STREET. Here everything seems forced. A friend recently asked, ” Fans of the original won’t appreciate the comic tone, young moviegoers don’t know of the old show, so who did Johnny and Tim make this for? “. I believe they really made it for themselves and only their most hardcore fans may join them. For the rest of us…well, uh, at least Barnabas isn’t sparkly!

Overall Rating: 1.5 Out of 5 Stars