REVOLUTION: a review of "Elysium"

"ELYSIUM"
Written and Directed by Neill Blomkamp
***1/2 (three and a half stars)

"This isn't science fiction. This is today. This is now."
-Neill Blomkamp

And so it is...or more truthfully, it is what I have been wondering what will ultimately be.

Writer/Director Neill Blomkamp's "Elysium," his engrossing and brutally pummeling follow-up to his outstanding "District 9" (2009), firmly establishes him as a filmmaking force to be seriously reckoned with. As so many big budget films being released today that have not an idea in their heads and try to get by with special effects that aren't the least bit special, sloppy, hyperactive cinematography and editing and over-active sound designs, Blomkamp is a most welcome presence as he firmly understands not only how to utilize special effects and cutting edge filmmaking techniques, but also how to make them resonate to terrifically disturbing fashion by ensuring the story, themes, characters and performances are front and center and "Elysium" is no exception. Where "District 9" posed as an allegory to examine apartheid, "Elysium" openly takes on the subject of immigration and our increasing divide between the 99% and 1%, a divide which I fear is bound to ignite some deadly consequences...that is if the bulk of the 99% finally refuses to remain complacent. Now dear readers, do not think that I am one to utilize this film review haven as a call for real world violence. Absolutely not! But that said, the rage that boils and explodes within "Elysium" is highly palpable, mirroring my own as I look at the world we all co-exist within and wonder just exactly how and when the tables will turn.

Set in the year 2154, "Elysium" invites us into a future Earth vision that suggests just what our planet might look like just before it is solely inhabited by Wall-E. It is a world where Earth's resources have been depleted, the population has been entirely overrun and everyone exists in a filth ridden pestilence and extreme poverty. The wealthiest citizens have all evacuated the planet to a heavenly space station called Elysium, a paradise on which Secretary Jessica Delacourt (Jodie Foster) presides with a cruelly iron hand, determined to ensure that luxurious lifestyle is preserved only for the highly affluent citizens at all costs. This tactic includes attacking and destroying any space shuttles with illegal immigrants approaching in order to live a better life for themselves and in many cases, utilize the advanced technology of Med Pods, which are able to cure all illnesses.

Back on Earth, specifically in Los Angeles, we meet Max Da Costa (Matt Damon), a legendary thief and now ex-con who works on a factory line building androids and who houses large dreams on one day finally being able to purchase a ticket to Elysium. When Max is exposed to lethal radiation while upon the job and is told that he will die within five days, he strikes a deal with a notorious smuggler named Spider (an excellent Wagner Moura) to steal corporate information from which Spider can profit and in exchange, Spider will help Max infiltrate Elysium in order to use a Med Pod to save his own life. Inorder to accomplish this feat, a weakened and dying Max is scientifically merged with an exo-skeleton and bio-medical implants that will help him increase his strength and endurance.

Of course, this is all easier said than done as Max is doggedly pursued by Delacourt's hired mercenary and veritable psychopath Agent Krueger (a frighteningly unhinged Sharlto Copley) and his squadron. As Max attempts to blast his way to Elysium, he soon discovers that his journey contains much more purpose and meaning than just saving his own life as the fate of the lives on Earth rests in his hands and deep within his mind, the place where the stolen corporate information resides.

"Neill Blomkamp's "Elysium" is an angry, passionate, two-fisted science-fiction action adventure that roars from start to finish via its urgent subject matter and intensely felt fever dream pacing and execution. Very much like "District 9" and so much unlike most movies that are released these days, Blomkamp ensures that our very humanity is truly at stake within the confines of this story, and therefore making our existence something to claw and fight for as if our last breath is imminent. This wrenching quality gives all of the action sequences a purposeful emotional weight that makes them operate on a richer, deeper level than mere escapism yet Blomkamp never forgets how to get an audience to be visually blown away. In short, you will give more than a damn over what is happening and to whom while your eyes are popping at the sights and spectacle. You are fully engaged with the entirety of "Elysium" and not bludgeoned.

Also as with "District 9," the special effects of "Elysium" are truly special as everything feels to be so photo-realistic and seamlessly combined with the real world surroundings. The film has a lived in, gritty quality that envelops the senses so strongly that Blomkamp's vision even suggests the potential rank scents on Earth (and the sound effects of buzzing flies certain helped in this matter). I should warn those of you with sensitive stomachs that the level of graphic violence in "Elysium" is quite high. But for me, I never felt that the gore was gratuitous and actually, I found that it really helped the film a bit as the human cost within the story was paramount (especially in regards to who is eligible to receive health care and who is not) and we weren't witnessing another cavalcade of anonymous CGI people being blown away.

But all of this would be for naught if you didn't have the right actors to pull this off. Matt Damon again shows why he is one of the finest actors of his generation through his 100% commitment to the role of Max which is copiously filled with existential anguish and a ferocious physical urgency. Sharlto Copley's vicious unpredictability is precisely what makes him such an an engaging, unnerving and formidable screen presence to watch and he makes his mercenary one of 2013's most frightening villains by far.

And yet, as terrific as "Elysium" is, it did not quite match the heights set by "District 9." First of all, there was Jodie Foster who has returned to her "Ice Queen" territory as we have already seen (and much better) in Spike Lee's excellent "Inside Man" (2006). With the ravenous, rapacious performance of Sharlto Copley in place, that excellence offset what could otherwise have been an even more terrifying villain-the politician with no soul, empathy or concern whatsoever for anything other than their own sense of self-preservation and feral desire for unrelenting power and control. Basically, many of the members that make up our United States Congress! (Ba dum bump!) Jodie Foster's performance as Jessica Delacourt, a political figure that only the likes of Dick Cheney and John McCain would envy, amounts to nothing more than clenched teeth and a bizarre, wandering foreign accent that sometimes sounds French, sometimes sounds British, or sometimes sounds South African. It is a sad miscalculation that undermines her imposing presence and it is the film's weakest performance by a mile.  

Even larger, is the fact that "Elysium" is yet another science fiction film that feels to be largely made up of spare parts from other science fiction films whereas "District 9" reminded me of nothing that I had previously seen. Blomkamp gives his nods to no less than George Miller's "Mad Max" series (1979/1982/1985), John Carpenter's "Escape From New York" (1981), James Cameron's "The Terminator" (1984), Paul Verhoven's "Robocop" (1987), and The Wachowski's "The Matrix" series (1999/2003). But unlike Joseph Kosinski's downright awful "Oblivion" from earlier this year, "Elysium" never devolves into outright plagiarism.

Blomkamp's personal stamp arrives with how he uses the landscape of science fiction to explore the social/economic/political landscape that is in front of us right now. "Elysium" is filled with Blomkamp's thought provoking anger which rallies against a broken political system, and most loudly at a health care system that is becoming more exclusive based upon ethnicity and one's economic class. One major plot point in the film involves a small Hispanic girl from Earth dying from Leukemia who desperately needs one of Elysium's Med Pods but is refused (and furthermore hunted down) solely because she is not a citizen. Now, this tactic may seem to be more than a bit purple to some of you but as we look out into the real world in which we all live, just look at the politicians in office right now who are denying the very same access to health care for the poor, especially small children. That level of moral outrage sits at the heart of "Elysium" and that is what makes the film overall so sobering and tumultuous to experience. And what else lies at the heart of "Elysium" is the sense of sacrifice in favor of the greater good of humanity itself.

For all of the fury and carnage, Neill Blomkamp has delivered another turbulent odyssey that explores and questions who we are and whom we would like to be at this specific point in time. How can we allow to call ourselves human if atrocities like these and individualistic displays of self-preservation are allowed to continue their stranglehold on the wheel of morality. Blomkamp knows that all it takes is one to light the spark to enact change. But what will that change look like?

By looking at our past and devising a grim future, "Elysium" gives us more than enough food for thought while it also blasts us around the movie theater and as far as I am concerned, that is a triumph.

REMEMBERING JOHN HUGHES-FOUR YEARS LATER: HUGHES MUSIC

August 6, 2013 will mark the fourth anniversary of John Hughes' untimely passing at the young age of 59 from a heart attack during an early morning stroll in New York City while visiting family.

Although the shock, disbelief and sadness from his death has lessened considerably for me, I remain compelled to compose my annual tribute to him as he is paramount to why I am a writer in the very first place. This year, instead of focusing upon a particular film or favorite scenes from Hughes' oeuvre, I wanted to zero in on a specific and crucial piece of his filmmaking aesthetic that spoke, and continues to speak, volumes to me and that essential quality into sheer essence and excellence of his finest work is undoubtedly the music!

HUGHES MUSIC

Simple Minds. Orchestral Maneuvers In The Dark. Psychedelic Furs. Everything But The Girl. Oingo Boingo. Kirsty MacColl. The Dream Academy. New Order. Tortoise. And so many, many more...

At various points throughout my life, I have embraced all of those aforementioned musical artists. Some may have been the right music at the right time and others have become long standing musical fixtures that I have listened to and treasured over and again. No matter if I had listened to them for brief periods or if I have followed them throughout the decades, truth be told, I do not believe that I would have heard of many of these bands and artists or would have even given them a chance if not for John Hughes. For all that Hughes has given (and continues to give) to me throughout my life via his writing and his films, my musical universe would have remained considerably smaller if not for his massive influence.

"The only reason I got into movies 

was because I had no music talent."

John Hughes made that admission during an interview with writer Gil Kaufman for MTV.com which was published on-line one day after Hughes passed away. The bulk of that particular article only continued to confirm what had already become industry legend: John Hughes was a music fanatic. The stories were often reported in press junket interviews and later during remembrances from longtime collaborators and friends and every single one of them, from the time I was a teenager to this very day, left me enraptured. There were the tales of Hughes rapidly writing his screenplays to blaring music whether in his home or his offices, which were also filled floor to ceiling with his vast music collections. Hughes once cited The Clash and The Beatles as his favorite bands and throughout the 56 day shoot of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" (1986), he reportedly listened to "The Beatles" a.k.a. "The White Album" every single day. And then, there were the stories of his frequent trips to Chicago's legendary Wax Trax record store (the very location which supposedly inspired the record store in 1986's "Pretty In Pink"), where he first purchased the then forward leaning independent music that peppered his films.

According to beautifully written and deeply fascinating passages in Author Susannah Gora's wonderful book You Couldn't Ignore Me If You Tried, Hughes' own teen years were spent being a self-described "frustrated guitarist" as well as a "music snob" who wanted to always be musically ahead of the curve of his peers as he refused to listen to Top 40 stations and read England's "Melody Maker" magazine and ordered music from overseas to get the jump on British artists before anyone else. Hughes' musical tastes were wide ranging from rock and roll and its offshoots of punk, new wave and all the way though to electronic and industrial to folk to country and western, blues, jazz and classical. But in 1983, when I was 14 years old, I had not yet heard of John Hughes (despite having seen that summer's "National Lampoon's Vacation" and "Mr. Mom," both of which he had written) and my musical universe was only just beginning to develop.

I was on the cusp of beginning high school in the fall of 1983. Music had already existed as a beloved and permanent fixture in my life. I was playing the drums and was then playing in my rock band Ground Zero. By this time, I had worshiped at the altar of The Beatles and found my musical home within the bands and artists that populated Chicago's classic rock radio stations, while finding a certain allegiance with 1970s progressive rock acts, with Genesis and Rush existing as my personal favorites. The genre of new wave had not quite taken hold of me at that time (and I was in fact a tad suspicious of them) but there were groups I gravitated towards, like The Police. But beyond that, I really never went any further. As I look back, I see how narrow my musical tastes actually were and while I was somewhat aware of some bands that were considerably left of center, if they did not happen to fit within a certain musical genre that I had already embraced, I tended not to pay them any attention.

With regards to movies, I was already well on my way with that aspect of my education as I was trying to watch anything and everything that passed my way. In the Spring of 1984, near the end of my Freshman year, "Sixteen Candles" was released to theaters and while I still had no idea of who John Hughes was, I did have scant knowledge of it being filmed just outside of Chicago in the Northern suburbs and by being a film about and being marketed towards teenagers, my interest had been piqued. The surprisingly strong reviews from the late, great Gene Siskel and the late, great Roger Ebert (I still cannot believe that all of these major influences are now no longer with us) were also a major plus as the teen film genre had rightfully received no critical respect due to much of the genre existing as pandering puerile fodder that had no understanding of the teenage experience whatsoever.

One night, on the WGN news, Roy Leonard, the film critic on that channel, was reviewing the film and it was there on which I saw my first film clip from "Sixteen Candles." It was the scene at the high school dance when Samantha Baker (Molly Ringwald) stares longingly at the seemingly eternal out of reach dreamboat Jake Ryan (Michael Shoeffling). The song to accompany her heartache...Spandau Ballet's breathless ballad "True." Hearing that song in that film clip was a surprise as that very song was all over the radio at that specific moment in time. To that end, "Sixteen Candles" felt to me particularly up to the minute and therefore, it was something that was speaking to me even before I realized it.  By the time I did finally see the film on videocassette that fall, "Sixteen Candles" had changed my life and to date, I believe it to be not only one of the funniest, most quotable films I have ever seen, it remains the most romantic by a mile. And as much as the performances and Hughes brilliant writing and direction created this piece of move magic, it cannot be said enough how music the music added to that film's incredible artistic success.

"SIXTEEN CANDLES": THE JOHN HUGHES RADIO STATION

Hearing rock music in films was certainly not a new thing for me by the time of "Sixteen Candles" but I would gather that at that time, it was indeed the very best usage of rock music I had experienced in a teen film to date, even eclipsing the stellar work achieved in Director Amy Heckerling and Writer Cameron Crowe's "Fast Times At Rigemont High" (1982) and Director Martha Coolidge's "Valley Girl" (1983).  If "Sixteen Candles" had any peer in this regard, I would say that it operated on the same level of genius as Writer/Director George Lucas' seminal "American Graffiti" (1973), as the music was plastered throughout the entire film as sonic wallpaper that essentially became an additional character as well as a storytelling device. What John Hughes accomplished was extraordinary and I still marvel at it today, but to my ears, Hughes' work with the music of "Sixteen Candles," all of which he handpicked himself while also working in collaboration with Composer Ira Newborn, was to create a sonic palate that was as orchestrated as the slapstick comedy on screen, the crackerjack dialogue, and the full emotional landscape of the story while supporting and even commenting upon the action from one end to the other. 

Just look at the opening sequence set during the daily whirlwind of the Baker family household. After being blasted with the sound of an air-raid siren once the morning newspaper hits the front porch, Hughes immediately takes us into the eye of the Baker family tornado with misplaced briefcases, sibling battles, bathroom territorial wars, befuddled parents and the additional stress of an upcoming wedding to boot. But aside from the dialogue, I want you to just listen to the scene. Listen to how we are hit with AC/DC's "Snowballed" when pre-pubescent smart mouth Mike (Justin Henry) enters the scene but then abruptly changes to Darlene Love's "Today I Met The Boy I'm Gonna Marry" the moment we are introduced to bride-to-be Ginny (Blanche Baker) and then back to AC/DC again once her bedroom door closes sharply. From here, we are presented with our introduction to 16 year old Samantha, studying her body in the mirror while listening to the radio, which is playing Paul Young's "Love Of The Common People." The film has not even hit ten minutes and Hughes has quickly and deftly demonstrated how to utilize music to help an audience fully understand who these people are, how they behave and their respective inner states. So impressive and it just sets the stage for everything yet to arrive.

After Samantha's classic petulant statement of incredulous disbelief ("I can't believe it. They fucking forgot my birthday!), Hughes brings us what is essentially his opening credit sequence fanfare, Kajagoogoo's eponymous theme song, and from this point onwards, the music of "Sixteen Candles" ping-pongs from the rambunctious new wave of Oingo Boingo's "Wild Sex In The Working Class," The Specials' "Little Bitch," The Revillos "Rev Up," and The DiVinyls "Ring Me Up," to the hard rock of Night Ranger's "Rumors In The Air" and Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell," David Bowie's classic "Young Americans," the wistful romantic pop of Nick Heyward's "Whistle Down The Wind" and Tim Finn's "Growing Pains," the raucous punk rock ravings of Patti Smith's "Gloria," a smattering of classic television and movie theme songs ("Peter Gunn," "Dragnet," "The Godfather") and even a kazoo version of Prince's apocalyptic classic "1999" to accompany the Dante's Inferno hellhole of the school bus.

Connecting all of those musical puzzle pieces together like the strongest of glue is Ira Newborn's film score which itself zig-zags from broad and brassy to doo wop vocal harmonies to sensitive string sections to tasteful new wave textures with effortless ease. And then, Hughes hits us all with a whammy at the film's conclusion when Samantha and Jake at long last unite with the woozy synthetic dream pop of The Thompson Twins' "If You Were Here." No other song would have possibly been more perfect to cement the ache and wonderment of teen love and wish fulfillment than that song. The merging of this music with the images and performances made you feel as if you were falling in love as rapidly and as completely as Samantha and Jake and I have never seen anything more blissful than that moment on screen.

John Hughes' "Sixteen Candles" announced the arrival of a unique creative talent in full auspicious and audacious style as with this one film, he had firmly established his own film universe. Hughes' slapstick and situational farce was Shakespearean, his brilliantly heightened dialogue was snappy, sharp, smart and everything we wished that we could possibly say in the exact ways we wished that we could say them, and most importantly the emotional states of his teenage characters were fully drawn and completely respectful of his audience especially in regards to matters of love and sex as Hughes presented characters that were more romantic than sexual. And then, there was the music! Man, the music!! The music of this film, and for most of John Hughes' films hereafter, courageously and defiantly showcased the very music he adored himself and then inserted it all into his film universe as if this music is what EVERYONE just naturally listened to. By doing so, John Hughes appointed himself as a pop-cultural tastemaker and what incredible musical taste he had.

While watching "Sixteen Candles," it was as if we were hearing a John Hughes radio broadcast during which he, as the DJ, would spin the knob up and down the dial, taking records on and off, all the while finding the perfect pieces to augment the characters he created and the situations he had placed them into. There are 31 song selections in all of "Sixteen Candles," a massive collection certainly, and somehow, every single selection was perfect, even when they should not have been. Hughes' work within the film's two party sequences were especially outstanding as song after song appeared to help keep up the film's overall momentum while also underscoring every character's inner motivations. And still, he always knew when exactly to slow things down and find moments that were quieter and more meditative like the classic auto shop sequence where Samantha and The Geek (Anthony Michael Hall) share secrets, hopes, wishes and fears while taking a respite from the school dance and Stevie Ray Vaughan's gorgeous instrumental "Lenny" graces the six minutes with some elegant blues.

With everything that I loved so dearly about "Sixteen Candles," I fell so deeply in love with the sound and the overall musicality of the film. While I had already loved the more traditional film scores of John Williams and I was completely blown away by Tangerine Dream's electronic film scores to Michael Mann's "Thief" (1981) and Paul Brickman's "Risky Business" (1983), John Hughes taught me to begin to pay stricter attention to how music was, and could be, utilized in the movies. In "Sixteen Candles," Hughes created a cinematic musical universe that functioned much like how sample heavy hip-hop albums are today--seemingly disparate elements fitted together to create a musically resonant whole. That unique quality makes "Sixteen Candles" a film that is a joy to listen to as well as view. Beyond that, what John Hughes gave to me through the music of "Sixteen Candles" was the very music I urgently began to seek out for myself.

"THE BREAKFAST CLUB" AND BEYOND: THE MOVIE AS ALBUM    

If John Hughes' work with music within "Sixteen Candles" was akin to a radio show or a cinematic jukebox filled with a collection of great singles, Hughes' second film, "The Breakfast Club" (1985), marked the point when he seemed to begin to think of his films, and the music contained within, as full albums (in fact, the iconic one-sheet poster for "The Breakfast Club" was reportedly designed to resemble an album jacket).

Hughes repeated the sonic formula of "Sixteen Candles" for his third film "Weird Science" (1985) to great effect and with a slightly harder edge (thanks to music by Van Halen, Lords Of The New Church, Ratt and Killing Joke among others), possibly to reflect the raunchier and more testosterone elements of that film. But the music of "The Breakfast Club" showcased Hughes' growth with mature, complex themes, a greater sense of nuance and mood shaping, a technique he continued to utilize over and again as he worked with specific musical collaborators to ensure that each and every film obtained a signature sound.

While Hughes continued to work with Ira Newborn for his broader comedies like "Weird Science," "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," "Planes, Trains And Automobiles" (1987) and "Uncle Buck" (1989), Hughes began to work even more closely with the musicians and producers he adored from the alternative rock world. With "The Breakfast Club," Hughes collaborated with Producer Keith Forsey who composed the film's score (his pretty "Love Theme" essentially picks up where The Thompson Twins left off) and had a hand in writing and producing all of the film's songs, including the now iconic "Don't You (Forget About Me)," the song that gave Simple Minds its breakthrough (and inspired me to discover their albums). As Hughes recalled in a 1986 interview with the Chicago Sun Times regarding Forsey's crucial involvement with the film and this song in particular, "Keith watched rehearsals, read the script, met the actors, hung around with us, then went off and wrote this song. You can't take the song out of the movie and can't take the movie out of the song." Amen...

For "Pretty In Pink," Hughes with Director Howard Deutch delved even further to make the music and the film congeal more completely. As Composer Michael Gore provided the film's more traditional romantic score, Hughes achieved something even greater by beginning to utilize the songs themselves as the film's score. Certainly there was the equally iconic "If You Leave" by Orchestral Maneuvers In The Dark (OMD) which scored the film's final 10 minute climactic prom sequence but what I found to be truly special was how he worked with bands reluctant to venture into Hollywood by ensuring that the integrity of their music would not be compromised or bastardized. This is most notable with the inclusion of New Order as they contributed three tracks to the "Pretty In Pink" music score. As "Thieves Like Us" provided an energetic warm up to the prom sequence with a montage of all of the film's major characters, their haunting "Elegia" was used the very best for the sequence where the conflict is highest and all of the major characters have hit their lowest, most turbulent emotional points.

As euphoric as "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" is, the film is also achingly melancholic and bittersweet as the concept of the speeding passage of time is paramount to the overall story, the inner states of our truant trio, as well as for the personal philosophy of John Hughes himself. While music by The English Beat, Sigue Sigue Sputnik, Big Audio Dynamite, General Public and of course, The Beatles' "Twist And Shout" brings the movie so happily to its feet via an infectious joie de vivre, Hughes never forgets to remain focused upon the film's very serious core which features Cameron Frye's (Alan Ruck) depression and family trauma combined with being terrified of his impending departure from high school into the unknown and eventual separation from his best friend Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick). Hughes utilizes the music of The Dream Academy (providing an instrumental cover version of a song by The Smiths) to wordlessly underscore Cameron's inner state during that stunning Art Institute sequence. And Ferris himself provides one of the film's most self-aware monologues as Cameron lays catatonic by Lake Michigan while being backed by Blue Room's "I'm Afraid."

As with his actors and several key members of his behind the scenes collaborators and crew, John Hughes worked diligently to build relationships with the musical artists he treasured while gathering new musical collaborators along the way. By "Some Kind Of Wonderful" (1987), Hughes (again with Howard Deutch) worked with legendary Producer Stephen Hague who composed the film's score as well as shepherded the soundtrack which featured The Jesus And Mary Chain, Stephen Duffy and The March Violets. And dear readers, by the time Hughes wrote, produced and directed his masterpiece "She's Having A Baby" (1988), I would absolutely LOVE to hear the stories of how in the hell he gained the opportunity to have music provided for him by The Police's Stewart Copeland (who scored the film) and the otherworldly and idiosyncratic Kate Bush (who wrote and performed the shattering "This Woman's Work" for that outstanding and heartbreaking birth/waiting room sequence)!

Hughes' relationships with musical artists strengthened to the point where they made repeat appearances in his films, much like his actors. The Dream Academy has music in two films ("Ferris Bueller's Day Off" and so powerfully in "Planes, Trains And Automobiles"), Blue Room shows up in three ("Ferris Bueller's Day Off," "Some Kind Of Wonderful," "Planes, Trains And Automobiles") and even Yello, whose "Oh Yeah" became Ferris's unofficial theme song, contributed several tracks to Hughes' and Director Peter Faiman's underseen, undervalued and second Thanksgiving themed road comedy-drama "Dutch" (1991). 

While John Hughes continuously ensured that his films' musical world remained surprisingly diverse (take "Planes, Trains And Automobiles" where Book Of Love, Ray Charles, Gene Loves Jezebel and Emmylou Harris can all co-exist happily), when it came to the actual soundtrack albums, Hughes was just as diligent with ensuring the album worked as a complete listening experience and not as a random collection of tunes or as a cynical marketing ploy. The albums of "Pretty In Pink" and "Some Kind Of Wonderful" are two of the finest of its genre and beautifully representative of a collection of forward thinking artists of varying notoriety that Hughes wanted to showcase for anyone who chose to listen. With the albums for "She's Having A Baby" and "Planes, Trains And Automobiles," Hughes reached for an even more creative approach to the music by dividing the album's sides into "He" and "She" and "Town" and "Country" respectively. Hughes even began a short lived music label called "HUGHES MUSIC" where the songs were all copy written under the name "NANCY HUGHES SONGS," in tribute to his wife. To give an extra push, Hughes issued the first two albums by Flesh For Lulu (who contributed the track "I Go Crazy" to "Some Kind Of Wonderful") under his new label. And then, there was the very surprising and bold decision to NOT issue a soundtrack to "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" as Hughes felt that the wildly diverse nature of the songs would actually not make for a good album experience.

Hughes' musical integrity was steadfast and on the soundtrack album to "Pretty In Pink," he expressed as much to all of us when he wrote on the liner notes the following:  "The music in 'Pretty In Pink' was not an afterthought. The tracks on this album and in this film are there because Howie Deutch and I believe in the artists, respect the artists, and are proud to be in league with them."

Never had I read anything like that upon a soundtrack album before that point and because of those words, I just felt that the artists would reciprocate Hughes' feelings as he obviously cared for them so completely. And since, I was always on the lookout for a new sound and anxious to snap up anything remotely related to Hughes' work and building legacy, I began to expand my musical universe, discovering and loving one new band after another.

JOHN HUGHES' FINAL FILM MUSIC YEARS 

AND LASTING INTEGRITY

"It's really important to John that the music has integrity. He wouldn't use a song that didn't really mean something to him."

     -Howard Deutch, Chicago Sun Time 1986 interview

By the time of Hughes and Director Chris Columbus' "Home Alone" (1990) and Hughes' final directorial effort "Curly Sue" (1991), the musical soundscapes of John Hughes films became more traditional with good but unsurprising orchestral film scores that were not remotely as inspiring as the bulk of his earlier material. Certainly, songs by Simple Minds, New Order and XTC would have had no place in a child's Christmas adventure comedy film, and despite how perfect John Williams' film score was, I missed that element of discovery just the same. Maybe at first, the discovery was for Hughes himself to work with a renowned composer in a more traditional way--something he really had not done at that time. But by the time of the sequels and copycat slapstick films that followed, it seemed, much like the films themselves, that the musical outlook was not that inspired no matter how competently and professionally the films were made and executed. But Hughes had one more musical hurrah, which surfaced in two films that were barely seen or even released: the dramas "Reach The Rock" (1998) and "New Port South" (2001), which featured mostly instrumental and electronically driven music from Tortoise, The Sea and Cake and Telefon Tel Aviv. And he even had one of his sons to thank.

John Hughes III is the label creator and owner of Chicago Hefty records where he records electronic instrumental music that bridges the gap between electronica, jazz, lounge and hip-hop under his own name as well as his aliases of Slicker and Bill Ding. It was through his love of the Chicago post rock/instrumental band Tortoise that perked his Father's musical ears again. As Hughes explained the genesis of "Reach The Rock" to Gil Kaufman for MTV.com, "My son had been listening to a lot of Chicago music-Tortoise, Shellac, the Sea and Cake-and I wrote the script to that music. I'm from Chicago, I live in Chicago and I wanted very much for the music in Chicago to succeed. It made sense to me to use local music, and I wanted a lot of instrumental music, but it's hard to find instrumental music for films that has any integrity. You don't want to hear another love song. I'm sure when I listen to Tortoise I'm hearing something different than someone else. It's so powerful and moving."

Powerful and moving. That is what the lasting legacy of the music of John Hughes' films means to me. For much of his career as a filmmaker, Hughes' musical integrity placed him within the upper echelon of film directors (Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, Jim Jarmusch, and Spike Lee for example) whose soundtracks were highly celebrated. He remained defiantly steadfast as he refused to latch onto the Top 10 artists of the day in favor of the very music and artists he cherished the most. It was as if he was that big bother with the expansive record collection and with each film, we were able to get a peek into his personal vaults even more. John Hughes championed new and unknown artists and through his films, they all nailed the comedic and dramatic moments with high class and endless creativity.

As for me, I could never begin to have thanked him enough for all he has given to me, especially the music. How my musical horizons have grown over the years and how many times have I looked to an artist and thought to myself, "I first heard of you through a John Hughes movie and if I had never seen it, I would not know of you now." How he taught me the many ways music and writing could come together magically to create a piece of work that was especially individualistic and meaningful. When I engage my creative spirit with creative writing, I can still point to the very albums and artists that have inspired me from an idea's conception through the full laborious act of writing. I have even created "soundtracks" to help me remain on track and even after a lengthy spell of not writing creatively, I can reach for those CDs, put them on and I am instantly re-inspired and re-engaged to re-connect with my own characters once again. Without John Hughes to point me in the right direction, I am unsure if I would have found it in the first place.

To John Hughes, how I miss you, cherish you, celebrate you and thank you all over again for your writing, your films, your humor, your creativity, your heart and this time, for all of that gloriously sweet music.

If you were here...

SAVAGE CINEMA'S COMING ATTRACTIONS FOR AUGUST 2013

The "dog days" of the cinematic movie year have officially arrived as August is typically a slow month for quality new releases. But, for your friendly neighborhood film enthusiast, this may be a blessing in disguise as the weeks of playing "catch -up" were busy indeed. Even so, there is always something new on the horizon and for this month, I am hoping to view the following....

1. If Woody Allen's highly rated new film "Blue Jasmine" hits the local Sundance theater, you KNOW that I will be there excitedly!

2. I am very excited to see "Elysium," Writer/Director Neill Blomkamp's follow up to his outstanding "District 9" (2009). In a year where the bigger films have faltered considerably, I am anxious to see if Blomkamp is able to once again show how art, vision and entertainment can be combined in captivating and thrilling ways.

3. I never thought that I would see two apocalyptic comedies in the same summer but that time has arrived with the release of Writer/Director Edgar Wright's "The World's End." Most surprisingly, I still haven't seen Wright's "Shaun Of The Dead" (2004) or "Hot Fuzz" (2007), and I do still wish to, it was his wondrous work with "Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World" (2010) that is excitedly getting into this theater seat.

4. Buzz has been high for the new teen drama "The Spectacular Now," which is supposedly in the vein of classic teen films like Cameron Crowe's "Say Anything..." (1989) and the work of John Hughes. We shall see...

5. Speaking of John Hughes, August 6th will mark the fourth anniversary of his passing. To commemorate, Savage Cinema's annual remembrance will focus upon one specific and crucial feature of Hughes' finest work: the music!!!!

That is more than enough to keep myself occupied this month and I am hoping all of my plans and schemes happily fall into place.

Stay tuned and I'll see you when the house lights go down...

undun: a review of "Fruitvale Station"

"FRUITVALE STATION"
Written and Directed by Ryan Coogler
**** (four stars)

"I didn't raise you to be in this kind of a world."

My Father said those words to me not terribly long ago during a weekend phone call during which we had a lively conversation about the politics of the day. Those same words have continued to echo in my brain as I watch the news as well as the local political events that surround me in Madison, WI. Those same words have never echoed as loudly as they did after the United States Supreme Court's devastating decision to eliminate Section 4 of The Voting Rights Act of 1965 and even more powerfully, after the unthinkable jury decision to allow that racist child murderer George Zimmerman walk away free after ending the life of Trayvon Martin.

Dear readers, while I am a person who carries a certain utopian vision of the world, I am by no means remotely naive as to how the world actually works. That said, I do not believe that I have ever previously lived during a period in which I have felt so frightened just because of my skin color. It feels that despite the presence and reality of having Barack Obama as the President of the United States, racist attitudes have become even more overt, direct and boldly out in the open than I can even think to remember. I distinctly remember the night when President Obama won the election for his first term in office and I watched the glorious celebration in Chicago's Grant Park. Announcers and commentators remarked and pondered if by electing America's first Black President, have we now entered into a new "post-racial society." Immediately I thought to myself, "Are you kidding me?! It's only going to get worse." Little did I know how much worse...

This afternoon, I went to a screening of Writer/Director Ryan Coogler's debut feature film, "Fruitvale Station," a haunting docudrama based upon the true story about the final day in the life of 22 year old Oscar Julius Grant III, an African-American who was shot and killed by a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) police officer at the Fruitvale train station located in Oakland, California in the early morning hours of New Year's Day 2009. Whatever cosmic symmetry has unfolded that has allowed this particular film to be released to the world at this time is of course unknown, but its arrival could not be more timely even if it had been calculated. We have long past the point where we all need to have an open and honest dialogue about race, violence, police brutality, an indifferent justice system and the corruption of power but even as "Fruitvale Station" places all of these issues front and center, it is the topic of humanity for all people that rises to the top. While this film is not nearly the iconic slice of life powder keg that we saw almost 25 years ago in Writer/Producer/Director Spike Lee's "Do The Right Thing" (1989), "Fruitvale Station" is a moodier update of the same social/political/racial landscape, illustrating how much things have actually not changed in this country. That is what makes this film such a quietly devastating work, so much so that it left me sitting solemnly in my theater seat long after the the end credits had scrolled and the ushers had cleaned the theater. I urge all of you to head out and see this film for yourselves.

"Fruitvale Station" stars Michael B. Jordan (you may remember him from HBO's "The Wire" or in last year's terrific thriller "Chronicle") in a wonderfully naturalistic performance as Oscar Julius Grant III. As previously stated, this film is not remotely plot driven but essentially an intimate drop-in into what would become the final day of his life. We see his relationship with his long time girlfriend Sophina (Melonie Diaz) and the joy he carries for their daughter Tatiana (Ariana Neal). We see him planning for his Mother, Wanda Grant's (Octavia Spencer), birthday dinner/party. We see him interact with his friends, enemies and even strangers on this fateful day, while also witnessing Oscar's brutally pre-empted journey to piecing his life back together after being released from prison, presumably for drug dealing. The film culminates with Oscar's final moments when he and his friends, celebrating on New Year's Eve, are apprehended by BART police responding to calls of a fight on the train. Oscar Grant, who was unarmed, handcuffed and laid face down upon the pavement was shot in the back by an officer and he died several hours later.  

With "Fruitvale Station," Ryan Coogler has made a confident, sure handed debut feature film that is completely sobering as it is empathetic and humane. He possesses an easy, unforced directorial hand, making the bulk of the film appropriately mundane in its natural, everyday tone and approach. Michael B. Jordan has elicited a performance of such skill and seemingly effortlessness that I think it would be very easy to actually not see how committed he truly is to bringing the story of this young man to life. While the confrontation, shooting and death of Oscar Grant is appropriately intense and carries an equally appropriate sense of moral outrage, for much of the film's running time, Coogler and Jordan focus not upon the tragedy of Oscar Grant's death but utilizes "Fruitvale Station" more as a character portrait of a young man taking stock and trying to straighten himself from his more philandering, violent past. By doing so, the loss of life that we do see is completely upending as Coogler demonstrates not only how rapidly celebration can transform into terror but he remarks painfully upon the fragility of life itself, especially for young African-American males in this country.

Just watch Jordan during an early sequence set in a market where Oscar Grant was once employed in the butcher section. As he arrives to purchase some crabs for his Mother's birthday dinner, we see him interact not only with a friend but also with a confused, pretty young customer (played by Ahna O'Reilly) seeking the proper fish to buy for a fish fry dinner but also with his former employer who will not re-hire him to his former position due to his questionable past. Michael B. Jordan is able to slide back and forth from jovial to slyly flirtatious and accommodating to flashes of brutality and violence in a blink of an eye giving us in mere moments, the fullness of Oscar Grant's life and emotional palate as a son, friend, former criminal, grandson, child and emerging adult. Jordan brilliantly elicits Oscar's continuing struggle with the very past impulses that landed him in prison in the first place and the new manhood he wishes to ascend to. Michael B. Jordan is remarkable from start to finish and I sincerely hope that this performance is the very one that will begin to attract him to more filmmakers itching to find fresh, young talent as strong as this.

But "Fruitvale Station" has something much greater on its mind than just bringing a new-ish actor to the forefront. What Coogler, his team and his entire cast have accomplished so powerfully is the very thing some critics have even criticized this film for. Some reviews has referred to "Fruitvale Station" as being the type of movie that needlessly succumbs to shameless audience manipulation when the inherent drama of the story is fully apparent. That Coogler perhaps overplayed his hand in presenting to us the humanity of Oscar Grant. That shouldn't we just already understand that Oscar Grant was a "decent human being," as one critic expressed in their review of this film. Well...there is a part of me that might be able to see that criticism but frankly, it is to a minuscule degree.

I never felt as if "Fruitvale Station" was toying with me or was trying to force me to feel the very things I should be feeling anyway. I never felt that Coogler had neon signs instructing me how to respond from moment to moment at all. I felt that "Fruitvale Station," once again, was one of the most natural films I have seen this year, a film that was allowed to live and breathe upon its own terms. This was especially true when the film reached the precise moment when tragedy struck Oscar Grant down. Coogler never allowed his film to flounder in melodrama or forced histrionics. I connected with this young man and this tragedy because of the grim reality that this very tragedy, at this very time in 2013, could easily happen to any other African-American male. This tragedy could easily happen to me.

To those who have criticized "Fruitvale Station" for maybe coming on too strong with showing what should be obvious, that Oscar Grant was a "decent human being" have missed the point entirely. The fact is that at this current stage in the life of America, the lives of African-Americans, especially young African-American males are not seen in the same fashion as our White counterparts. It is not "obvious" that a man like Oscar Grant could be seen as a "decent human being" especially when he is not even being seen as a HUMAN BEING.

Based upon racist attitudes and downright fear, African-American males are envisioned as nothing more than crime dwelling thugs who mean to harm White people in all manner of violence, theft, gunplay, rape and anything else that would make a White individual clutch their purses tighter to their bodies while sharing elevator space with Black people and quickly cross the street to the other side when being innocuously approached by a African-American.

Take the Trayvon Martin case for instance. As I watched the news, never once did I just hear within all areas of the media that his murder was a tragedy. Never once did I just hear in all areas of the media commentators speak of him in the same somber manner that would be utilized for the death of a White child. I had to endure listening to the painful speculations of Trayvon's character, his past, his associations and not just hearing about the tragedy and the reality that he was an innocent, unarmed child, doing nothing to anybody and was just heading back home when he was stalked, attacked and murdered. The entire court case itself was too painful for me to watch as what essentially transpired was that Trayvon Martin was tried for his own death, a trial in which he lost. Out of the many responses I read after the case was closed, I do not think that I was affected more than from an essay written by The Roots' drummer Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson who stated so powerfully that in the minds of African-Americans in this country, and after this court decision, we are being told once again that our lives don't matter, that our lives are not important because as he poignantly yet brutally states..."You ain't shit."

With that reality stacked against young African-American males especially, Ryan Coogler more than had his work cut out for him in trying to establish the life of Oscar Grant as one of equal worth of any White person or character just through the act of displaying his humanity. Have we really reached a point in our collective humanity, even after everything we as a human race have traveled through and supposedly learned about ourselves and each other, that Black people are not an entity unto themselves? That Black people love their children just like White people? That Black people have loving families and meaningful interpersonal relationships just like White people? That individual Black people struggle with their own foibles, faults, and mistakes with hopes of attaining some sense of redemption and elevation just like White people? That Black people should not be inherently feared, especially because of skin color? Have we really returned to the stage where Black people were considered to be 3/5 of a human being? I cannot fathom that we have but reality is telling me otherwise.

Let me please recount a personal story from my past to you, one that I have never shared before this time. Many years ago, I was waiting for a bus to take me to my place of employment, a prominent children's bookstore. As I waited for the bus in my neighborhood, I immediately took notice of several police cars idling within the area, a sight that was not of any sense of normalcy to me. I wondered of course if something had happened but all seemed quiet so I didn't worry. My bus arrived, I got on and prepared myself for my ride to work. Soon after departing the bus stop, I noticed that a police car was following us and had then directed the bus driver to pull over to the side of the road. I watched the proceedings with the same curiosity as my travelling companions, just wondering what had occurred. Soon, a police officer entered the bus, pointed at me and asked me if I would exit the bus to answer some questions. Of course, I thought that perhaps with all of those idling police cars I saw earlier, an officer may have taken notice of me and was possibly wondering if I had seen anything as I had been waiting for the bus for some time. The first moment I felt that my perceptions were completely off base was when the police officer waved the bus driver away thus taking away my ride to work. And then, the police officer asked if they could search my back pack. And then he asked if he could search me. I was not being seen as a potential witness. I was being seen as a potential suspect.

The ordeal ended rather quickly as it was determined that I was not the person they were looking for and they offered to give me a ride to work. When the officer asked me where I was employed and I told him, he exclaimed, "My son LOVES that store!"
     "Good," I said. "Maybe you could tell him about the staff member you almost arrested by mistake." Clearly not a wise move but it just erupted out of me as I was so bewildered.

Once I arrived at work, the officer then asked me if I wanted him to drop me off at a distance away from the store due to any possible embarrassment to which I replied, "Why? I didn't do anything wrong." The police officer dropped me off at the front of the store, I exited and went about my day...somehow.

Despite the fact that the officer was indeed cordial, non-threatening and even apologetic towards me, I was humiliated. I was humiliated tat in my own neighborhood where I was a productive member of the community and never strayed from the path of law and order, here I was being searched and suspected anyway. When the full story hit the local newspaper and I read the description of what turned out to be a coin shop store thief, I became enraged as the thief's height, weight, clothing and overall appearance looked absolutely NOTHING like me. A Madison Metro bus was stopped by police solely to apprehend me because I was the only Black person they saw. Period.

As I watched "Fruitvale Station," I returned to that morning feeling thankful for how the situation did play out but also fearful at how it could have played out much differently. What if this situation happened to me today and the officer was not anything like the officer I dealt with? And if it did turn out tragically, my humanity would not matter at all because all that officer would have seen (and did see in the event I just recounted to you) would have been skin color. It would not have mattered that I am a husband. It would not have mattered that I am someone's son and grandson or that I am a teacher or that I love animals, have friends, and love art, music and films. I would just be another Black face, constant societal suspect of wrongdoing, the true content of my character be damned. This is where we live in America in 2013 and this is where Oscar Grant was living in those early morning hours of 2009 when police officers saw skin color without any regard to the content of his character.

At the time of Oscar Grant's death, many train passengers recorded the full event through telephone cameras, I am presuming some footage of which is shown at the start of "Fruitvale Station," a tactic I am certain some critics would admonish the film for.To that, I say that if Director Kathryn Bigelow can open her over-rated and irresponsible film "Zero Dark Thirty" (2012) with the telephone calls from airplane passengers about to die on September 11th so disingenuously and without major criticism, then what Coogler has done is not only fair game, but truly representative of the film and story he is trying to tell. That Oscar Grant was indeed a human being. What could be a more powerful statement than that?

Ryan Coogler's "Fruitvale Station" is easily one of the most humane films I have seen this year. It is also one of the best. It is a film about life, the loss of life and the wrenching question of how do you even begin to tell a child that her Father is dead and furthermore killed by the police?

We have a tremendously long road ahead of us in terms of pushing the moral arc of the universe in the proper direction. May this film be one small way in getting us to do just that. Because dear readers, it just kills me that my Dad is here to see a world that he never intended for me grow up into.

PIXAR'S FUTURE?: a review of "The Blue Umbrella"

"THE BLUE UMBRELLA"
A Pixar Animation Studios Film
Written and Directed by Saschka Unseld
**** (four stars)

In the spirit of this seven minute feature, I shall try my best to make this review equally brief.

Never have I written a posting for one of the short films that precede the main Pixar feature film but this time, I felt compelled as it seemed to fully illustrate the crossroads Pixar Animation Studios has found itself, as far as I am concerned. In (ahem) short, "The Blue Umbrella," is a visual/emotional storytelling dynamo that is quite possibly the finest short feature film Pixar has released to date. It is easily the most visually forward looking short feature they have made and frankly, it is even more forward looking than Pixar's last four feature full length films. And speaking of Pixar's features, short and full length, "The Blue Umbrella" is their finest release since "Up" (2009) and it is one of the best films I have seen in 2013.

The story of the dialogue free "The Blue Umbrella" is beautifully simplistic as it is just about the titular blue umbrella's lovestruck pursuit of a red umbrella during a rainstorm in an urban setting. That's it. And of course, the success of the film is not because of what it is about but how it is about what it is about. Writer/Director Saschka Unseld has created a feature that is as romantic and wistful as it is poetic and downright magical. It is precisely the very type of feature that placed Pixar on the map of American animated films as it has found that inexplicable pixie dust to makes the mundane dreamlike wonderment.

The visual palate of  "The Blue Umbrella" is unlike any Pixar feature we have seen thus far as it is a merging of what seems to be live action and animation creating a photo-realistic universe, which new techniques with colors, lighting, shadings and even movement, that is dazzling, beguiling, and euphoric in its presentation. Our emotional connection to that blue umbrella is instant and his tribulations in just making contact with that red umbrella are elegantly expressed and gorgeously augmented by Composer Jon Brion's floating score which features the vocals of Sarah Jaffe.

I have been heavily critical of Pixar in recent years due to the blandness and lack of imagination and fearless risk in their work. It seems that all of that fearless risk and unabashed imagination, heart and soul went into this small feature and I really believe that if Pixar is to have the future that it deserves to have, they truly need to tap back into this well and just...CREATE again. "The Blue Umbrella" is not the kind of film that will sell lunchboxes or is subject to create a new theme ride at Disney and why should it?

Pixar needs to make some serious decisions in what films it wants to make going forwards. Films that are guaranteed box office behemoths but creatively dispassionate or the ones where they just throw caution to the wind, open their minds and hearts and let those box office chips fall where they may?

You all know where I stand and I really believe that all members of the Pixar Senior creative team should get down on their knees to thank Saschka Unseld because with "The Blue Umbrella," he has re-discovered Pixar's soul.

And just in the nick of time.

OK: a review of "Monsters University"

"MONSTERS UNIVERSITY"
A Pixar Animation Studios Film
Story by Dan Scanlon & Robert L. Baird and Daniel Gerson
Screenplay Written by Daniel Gerson and Robert L. Baird & Dan Scanlon
Directed by Dan Scanlon
** (two stars) 

Near the conclusion of "Monsters University," the latest release from Pixar Animation Studios and the prequel to their outstanding classic "Monsters, Inc." (2001), a despondent yet reflective Mike Wazowski (again voiced by Billy Crystal) announces that while the brass ring of greatness just may be forever out of his reach, he has resigned himself to the idea that "I'm OK with being OK." To that end, Abigail Hardscabble (voiced by Helen Mirren), the deliciously stern Dean of the Monsters University's Scare Program expresses that she hopes that Mike Wazowski  will still find it within himself to surprise her once again. After that exchange, I was amazed as I do not believe that the wizards of Pixar have ever been so openly and directly self-reflexive. Maybe one day they will take their own advice as voiced by Ms. Hardscrabble, and decide to not just be merely OK and surprise us all again.

Dear readers, I feel as if I am going through the five stages of grief (denial, anger, depression, bargaining and acceptance) when it has come to my relationship with the continuing oeuvre of Pixar Animaton Studios. Where this collective of artists and dreamers once set the gold standard for American animated films, raising their own bar of quality with each new release, Pixar, as voiced by Mike Wazowski, has seemingly settled for artistic mediocrity despite the massive box office rewards they still continue to reap. Ever since the strong but padded "Toy Story 3" (2010), Pixar has offered up a mildly entertaining yet completely unnecessary sequel that nobody asked for in "Cars 2" (2011), one full fledged disaster with last year's "Brave" and earlier this year, there was the wholly underwhelming announcement that "Finding Dory," another unnecessary sequel, this time to the glorious "Finding Nemo" (2003), would be released in 2015. Ugh!

I just cannot believe but may be forced to accept the fact that Pixar just may not be interested in making entertainment that is artful anymore and they will just keep on chasing the dollar. But then, that thought infuriates me because we do have their filmography at hand and we all know the magic they are able to create. There was a time when I would be filled with extremely anxious anticipation with the release of each new Pixar experience, ensuring that I would endure the ocean of small children and families just to get that great seat on opening weekend. But now, after having been let down time and again, I am not nearly as anxious and each new announcement and sequel/prequel idea is just meeting me with a completely dispassionate yawn. So, after a few weeks of release, I finally decided to give "Monsters University" a whirl and while it was a large step upwards from "Brave" with its strong performances and resplendent visual palate, the film was ultimately another blandly creative exercise that was nothing more than artistic wheel spinning and shameless money grabbing.

"Monsters University" is essentially an origin story of how our heroes Mike Wazowski and James "Sully" Sullivan (again voiced by John Goodman) met during their college days, began as rivals and tentatively found their way to best friendship. As the film begins, we meet six year old Mike, the diminutive, fast talking, one-eyed creature whose heart becomes filled with BIG dreams of one day becoming the greatest "scarer" in monster history after a school field trip to Monsters Inc.

Flash forward to his Freshman Year of college where Mike becomes roommates with future nemesis Randall (voiced by Steve Buscemi), enrolls in the Scare Program where he meets Sully, the son of a campus legend, for the first time and is determined to ace his semester finals. A semester's worth of rivalry between Mike and Sully escalates all the way to the fateful day of the exam and to the degree where they are both ejected from the Scare Program by Dean Hardscabble.

Unshakable in his determination to prove his worth as a scary monster, Mike joins the fraternity Oozma Kappa (O.K.) with a small group of misfit monsters and attempts to enlist in the campus Scare Games to compete against a collective of fraternities and sororities including the elite Roar Omega Roar (R.O.R.), the very fraternity from which Sully had just been ejected from. Yet, there's a problem. OK is just one member short of being eligible for competition so Sully reluctantly joins Mike and they are forced to work together to achieve their respective dreams.

As with every single Pixar release that has come before, "Monsters University" is a visual marvel. My eyes simply drank in the heavily layered sights of the campus which is essentially a stunning amalgam of Harvard, Princeton and even the University Of Wisconsin-Madison (apparently, a graduate of UW-Madison worked on the film and Madison viewers will easily spot the campus Carillon, the archway to Camp Randall and even our gargantuan Bascom Hill). Additionally, the return of Billy Crystal and John Goodman does indeed go a long way with this prequel as they slide easily back into their roles to strong and enormously endearing effect. Even so, Pixar should know better than any other animation studio that visual brilliance and the warmth of familiar characters is just not enough in making a story and film resonate into something unique and it just makes me crazy that "Monsters University" never pushes past any sense of its own comfort zone.

While the story itself is as appropriately simple as all of the other Pixar features, what the filmmakers have done with those simple stories in the past is precisely what has made films like "Monsters, Inc.," "Finding Nemo," and "Toy Story 2" (1999) for instance such beloved and timeless films. By the time the studio reached the fare of "Wall-E" (2008), "Up" (2009) and Director Brad Bird's towering "The Incredibles" (2004) and "Ratatouille" (2007), it felt as if Pixar was not content with just making films for children. They were obviously making the films that they would pay to see themselves and as a result, if children didn't' quite respond initially, they were films that refused to be disposable and defiantly the type of films anyone could grow up with. Not so with their most recent material and "Monsters University" is no exception. Where the story and emotions contained within were once the true stars of each Pixar feature, those elements have been replaced with a disturbing and sadly hollow heart that is seemingly only filled by how much merchandising can be created from the film itself.

It is just a shame that with a story and film that had so much opportunity to be fresh, inventive, clever and emotionally resonant, that the filmmakers just decided that Mike's journey should only exist in the "believe in yourself" universe that is the hallmark of essentially all children's films. Pixar offered absolutely nothing new on the subject and just chose to remain safe, predictable and pedestrian. Certainly not the traits that made us all fall in love with Pixar in the first place.

And then there are the Scare Games themselves, another opportunity for greatness which the filmmakers squander. Yes, these sequences essentially combine the classic "Revenge Of The Nerds" (1984) and the Tri-Wizard Tournament from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Goblet Of Fire but everything is just played towards the same tired cliched, snobs vs. slobs collegiate hijinks we have all seen ad nauseum ever since Director John Landis' iconic "National Lampoon's Animal House" (1978). There was just nothing in the film that felt new or presented anything in an unusual, perspective altering fashion as with the bulk of Pixar's past works.

Think back to the original "Monsters, Inc." and remember how sharp and satirical the humor was and how laugh out loud funny it has remained. Think of the many sequences that offered surprise and awe (that wild roller coaster ride through the factory of bedroom doors is still a jaw dropper). And then add on the emotional wallop of the relationship between Sully and the little girl Boo, a relationship that reduces the friend I first saw that film with into a sea of flowing tears and the exclamation, "That was the BEST FILM EVER!!" "Monsters University" is nowhere in the same league as it just falls on the easy sentiments of cherished characters and hackneyed homilies that Pixar seemingly rejected in most of their films. Such a shame to see them trying to just get by on those very elements now.

And it didn't have to be that way either. There is one, and I mean, ONE scene in the film that pointed to where Pixar used to be. It occurs late in the film where Mike and Sully have a heart to heart talk about the nature of failure and how despite a familial legacy and/or hard work and relentless perseverance, success may always elude you. It was a scene that showed true emotion, as well as a hard truth of life, and yet, Pixar blinked and ran from that moment as fast as it could.

Look...I didn't hate "Monsters University." It is mildly entertaining but from a studio that has the ability to produce enormously entertaining works, why should I settle for less? I shouldn't and neither should you! Pixar is in the position to be making great works of art because money is no longer an issue and yes, it nearly angers me that they have chosen to play it so safely for a few years now. I haven't given up on them yet as the next two features before "Finding Dory" are reportedly originals and the short feature that preceded "Monsters University" was such a splendidly beautiful piece that it could potentially point to Pixar's future.

If only they want it.

I REQUITE THEE: a review of "Much Ado About Nothing"

"MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING"
Based upon the play by William Shakespeare
Adapted For The Screen, Produced and Directed by Joss Whedon
**** (four stars)

If only all home movies were like this one...

After viewing a series of films that have ranged from serious (Richard Linklater's "Before Midnight," Sofia Coppola's "The Bling Ring"), to dark (Zack Snyder's "Man Of Steel"), to pitch black (Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's apocalyptic comedy "This Is The End"), I think that I have been longing for a bit of a cinematic palate cleaner. Something lighter and frothier but also not something that I would regret either for just because something is lighter and frothier doesn't mean that it has to lose all sense of artfulness when providing the entertainment. So, how fortunate was I to step into Joss Whedon's terrific adaptation of William Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing," a contemporary film version that provided me with the perfect amount of light and frothy entertainment while also existing as a supremely warm and wonderfully mounted artistic experience. For those of you out there who may feel intimidated at the prospect of taking on Shakespeare in the summer, especially during a period when you just want to have to see a film that is not mentally taxing, I urge to not allow the language to deter you. For me, the best way to experience the beauty of Shakespeare's language is to see it performed, and if you have never seen Shakespeare performed in any medium of the theater or film, I guarantee you that Whedon's production places nearly all 21st century farcical romantic comedies to shame. "Much Ado About Nothing" shows 'em all how it's done.

Utilizing the original text but updating the location to modern day Southern California, "Much Ado About Nothing" is entirely set at the compound of Leonato (Clark Gregg), the Governor of Messina who welcomes the prince Don Pedro (Reed Diamond) into his home after defeating Don John (Sean Maher), the nefarious bastard half-brother to the prince who led an ill fated uprising.

As part of Don Pedro's entourage is the misogynistic and sharp tongued soldier Benedick (Alexis Denisof), who endlessly engages himself in spirited wars of words and sexual tension with Leonato's equally feisty and quick witted niece Beatrice (Amy Acker). Also included, is Benedick's brother in arms Count Claudio (Fran Kranz), who is deeply in love with Beatrice's cousin Hero (Jillian Morgese). Don Pedro decides to play match maker for Claudio and Hero while most of the remainder of the household covertly tries to play match maker with Benedick and Beatrice, two souls who have sworn off marriage and commitment yet are obviously made for each other.

But trouble lurks in the shadows as Don John malevolently attempts to to foil all of the romantic plans and schemes, resulting in an rapidly escalating series of overhead conversations and misunderstandings that have the potential to grow into tragic results. But of course, this is a Shakespeare comedy so no worries as this whole escapade is a grand party. Yet how it all unfolds, falls apart and merges back together again is for our enraptured enjoyment.
 
Eat, drink and be merry, dear readers, as "Much Ado About Nothing" is an absolutely perfect movie to take in on a hot summer's day or languid summer's evening, so much so that you will wish that you had several glasses of wine alongside you as you watch (and if you see it at the Sundance theater in Madison, you can do just that). Unlike Baz Luhrmann's excellent and extravagant adaptation of "Romeo + Juliet" (1996), Joss Whedon has decidedly approached Shakespeare's material with an elegant minimalism that is also a showcase for a homemade excursion of equal elegance.

By now, I am certain that many, if not all, of you have heard the legend as to how this latest film adaptation of a William Shakespeare play came into existence. Whedon, a Shakespeare enthusiast who often holds readings at his home for kicks, decided to film his adaptation of the play while on a break from post-production work on last year brilliant comic book behemoth "The Avengers." Filmed in luxurious black and white cinematography over only 12 days and at his own home, no less, "Much Ado About Nothing" is precisely the type of personal filmmaking that is of such rare occurrence these days as Whedon not only adapted the text, produced and directed the film, he also served as co-editor, set music to two of Shakespeare's sonnets contained within the original text and even composed the film's score! That very type of hands on filmmaking translated beautifully to the silver screen as the love he obviously holds for the text is palpable and his presentation is not one that felt lugubrious by any means. Throughout he entirety of the film, Whedon's tone is of relaxation, effortless ease and a summer's day breeziness and you cannot help but to be swept away by the good cheer and honest merriment that he and his extremely able cast have prepared for us.

Strong writing and dialogue especially is of such small amounts these days when you go to the movies and by placing the words front and center, Joss Whedon (who is one of those unusually gifted screenwriters himself) is playfully giving the audience and current and future filmmakers a most a valuable lesson into how ridiculous situations and romantic shenanigans can be made truly surprising, rapturously romantic and blissfully gorgeous. In all of the filmed Shakespeare productions I have seen, I think Joss Whedon has been the most successful in wisely making the language the true star of his film rather than any sense of cinematic spectacle. In doing so, he and his gifted cast somehow, someway made this poetic yet archaic langue sound as natural as the language we speak in the 21st century, while also ensuring that the film is a visual treat of clean, crisp subtlety. Not one cast member ever felt to be tongue tied, tripped up or out of their depth as Shakespeare's luxurious words floated from everyone's lips and mouths with the grace of falling leaves.

I was extremely impressed with Reed Diamond's work as I only have known of him through his riveting performance as the scrappy, hotheaded firefighter turned detective on television's outstanding "Homicide: Life On The Street." Sean Maher brought some sinister clouds into the proceedings very effectively and I was also very impressed with Clark Gregg, a veteran character actor who sailed through his role with a dancer's agility and grace. Nathan Fillion is just perfect as the "ass" Dogberry, the buffoonish constable in charge of the Messina night watch. But, the film largely rests upon the shoulders of Alexis Denisof and Amy Acker and they made for a formidable pairing as they each expressed cunning wit, wry playfulness, wondrous verbal dexterity, skillful physical comedy and dramatic heft and poignancy. Acker especially nearly walks away with the film through a few of her briskly delivered put-downs and soliloquies which gave this lighter than air storyline an unexpected sense of righteous feminist anger.

With this adaptation Joss Whedon did make a couple of changes to his otherwise faithful adherence to the original source material. Aside from the contemporary setting, Whedon altered the gender role of one character but mostly, he added the notion of a past affair between Benedick and Beatrice, something that then fuels their bickering (and Shakespeare's dialogue) with a greater purpose, turbulence and urgency. With that. Whedon was also able to make gentle commentaries about 21st century sexual attitudes and gender roles for both men and women. It is a sharply satirical stance as it is smartly compelling and Amy Acker makes the most of every moment. During one section late in the film after Hero has been mistakenly and publicly shamed, Beatrice explodes in a ferociously delivered soliloquy about what she would do to rectify the situation, even as far as revenge, if only she were a man. It is a speech of rage and powerlessness. Yet, what she does do, what she does request of Benedick, in order for him to obtain her hand and love, shows how much power she actually wields, when she is able to utilize that power and the contexts in which men and women actually do or do not have power. Great stuff but again, this film is not a dissertation about sexual politics. "Much Ado About Nothing" is exactly what the title itself suggests and we should just place out feet upright and allow the words and romance to wash over us.

Dear readers, I urge you to not let "Much Ado About Nothing" fall through the cinematic cracks as it is a piece of entertainment that is more memorable and purely entertaining than so many of the films that I have already seen this year. No, it is not a film designed to advance the medium of cinema itself and it is not one to knock you through the back wall of the theater in amazement but I am telling you, there is just not one negative thing that I can say about it. This is a film where a love of language, great writing and love itself carry the day and sometimes that is absolutely all that you need.