A couple notes

Sorry about the promised Tim Burton reviews. Those will pop up here and there in the next week. The "Saw" reviews are postponed as well.


Happily, I will be watching a horror film tonight, in the Halloween spirit. I have a few to choose from (all of which I will watch before the end of this year). I'm choosing from Movie Boy's collection of Halloween-inspired movie reviews. I promise (cross my heart and hope to die) that I will review whatever it is I watch tonight. In fact, if you're up, expect the review to pop up at midnight.


I'm choosing out of these seven (his reviews linked for good measure):

Creepshow
Halloween
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Pet Sematary
Scream
The Funhouse
A Nightmare on Elm Street

Halloween Short Take: Batman (**)

Directed by Tim Burton
Cast: Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Michael Gough, Pat Hingle.
1989--126 min.
Rated PG-13 (violence, scary images)
Reviewed by The Teen Critic on October 30, 2008.

Like "Beetle Juice," Tim Burton's "Batman" is great-looking, but flat, uninteresting stuff that never takes the comic book on which it is based seriously. Earlier this summer, "The Dark Knight" knew perfectly how to marry unequivocally stylistic filmmaking to a strong, almost epic story. "Batman" knows nothing of this, instead using Jack Nicholson's overrated to centerpiece everything else (I'll talk about his performance in a second). If you know the story of "The Dark Knight," then you know the story of "Batman": the Batman faces off with the maniacal yet strangely logical Joker. That's all you need to know, because that's all "Batman" is.

Again, "Batman" is a visual masterpiece, on the level of films such as "Minority Report." Burton has collaborated with cinematographers and set people to create a world that has no inhibitions. The problem, then, is Burton's handling of the visuals. He makes them the central point of the movie: Gotham City is a visually dark place. Okay. Now what? Burton takes it only to arm's length and no further.

Halloween Short Take: Beetle Juice (*1/2)

Directed by Tim Burton
Cast: Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Winona Ryder, Catherine O'Hara, Michael Keaton.
1988--90 min.
Rated PG-13 (scary images, language, mild violence)
Reviewed by The Teen Critic on October 30, 2008.
Note: I'll be short-take reviewing Tim Burton's films today in the spirit of Halloween. Tomorrow, full-length reviews of the first three "Saw" films.

Overrated, overcooked, and nearly interminable, "Beetle Juice" is Tim Burton's first "visual experience" and his worst. Featuring over-the-top performances and a curiously muted and flat screenplay. The film stars Michael Keaton (who went on to play the worst Batman ever) in the title role, an undead romancer, a sort of "fixer" for people who are in need of help. However, when a girl (Winona Ryder) asks him to bring to life the previous residents of the house into which she recently moved. This proves too personal for Betelgeuse (cleverly misspelled in the title, I must add). See, their owners (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis) don't like Betelgeuse very much.

I don't like "Beetle Juice" very much. The film looks brilliant, as all Burton films do, but it's an utter bore. The cinematography is beguiling, the set design Oscar-winningly good (no, really, it won the Oscar), and the costumes and makeup among the best in the Burton oeuvre. On the other end of the spectrum, the screenplay confuses strange goings-on to be plot and for over-the-top caricatures to take the place of character development. Also, Keaton is utterly awful in the role of Betelgeuse, stuck with painfully bad one-liners for "believable dialogue." I wanted to like "Beetle Juice" more than I did.

OSCARS 2009: Whoa...

Lots has happened in the past week.

Three high-profile, majorly Oscar-caliber works, "Defiance," "The Road," and "The Soloist" have all moved to 2009 (okay, granted, the first movie is coming out on Dec. 31, but it's opening wide in January). So that takes away a few contenders. However, that upheaval presents some opportunities for movies to take their place (explaining Robert Downey Jr.'s appearance on the Supporting Actor list).

Hold on for the ride.

Best Picture:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Revolutionary Road
Slumdog Millionaire

Best Director:

Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon
Christopher Nolan, The Dark Knight
Gus Van Sant, Milk

Best Actor:

Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Sean Penn, Milk
Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler

Best Actress:

Anne Hathaway, Rachel Getting Married
Angelina Jolie, Changeling
Kristin Scott-Thomas, I've Loved You So Long
Meryl Streep, Doubt
Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road

Best Supporting Actor:

Robert Downey, Jr., Tropic Thunder
James Franco, Milk
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Michael Shannon, Revolutionary Road

Best Supporting Actress:

Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Viola Davis, Doubt
Rosemarie DeWitt, Rachel Getting Married
Taraji P. Henson, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler

Best Adapted Screenplay:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Doubt
Frost/Nixon
Revolutionary Road
Slumdog Millionaire

Best Original Screenplay:

Happy-Go-Lucky
Milk
Rachel Getting Married
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
The Visitor

Best Animated Feature Film:

Kung Fu Panda
WALL-E
Waltz with Bashir

Best Art Direction:

Australia
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Defiance
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Revolutionary Road

Best Cinematography:

Australia
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Defiance
Revolutionary Road

Best Costume Design:

Changeling
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Duchess
The Other Boleyn Girl
Revolutionary Road

Best Film Editing:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Defiance
Frost/Nixon
Milk
Slumdog Millionaire

Best Makeup:

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Synecdoche, New York

Best Original Score:

Australia
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Defiance
Revolutionary Road
WALL-E

Best Original Song:

"All Dressed Up in Love," Sex and the City
"Down to Earth," WALL-E
"Last Chance," High School Musical 3: Senior Year
"Rock Me Sexy Jesus," Hamlet 2
"The Wrestler," The Wrestler

Best Sound Editing:

The Dark Knight
Defiance
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Iron Man
WALL-E

Best Sound Mixing:

Australia
The Dark Knight
Defiance
Iron Man
WALL-E

Best Visual Effects:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Iron Man

A few other notes

I will be offering brand new reviews for the summer blockbusters (those that I enjoyed and will buy) as they come out on DVD. Not DVD reviews, mind you, new reviews. I've been bettered as a writer since this summer, so I wanna show off my props. As I said, better writer.

So, join me as I review "Iron Man" and "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" tomorrow.

Upcoming Reviews

Nov. 20: "WALL-E" and "Tropic Thunder" (since I buy movies on Thursdays, due to hectic Tuesdays, this makes sense)
Dec. 4: "Wanted"
Dec. 11: "The Dark Knight" (I'll watch this on the plane ride home, I suppose.)

Also, on January 1, 2009, expect my year-end review article, which will be in three parts (best, worst, and miscellaneous). I will have seen over sixty films, so it's a lot to take in. Not all of those will I review, but most of them. I'll have sixty movies to sort through, so December 31 will be a busy day for me.

And finally, each day of February will be devoted to Oscar buzz, leading up to February 24 (use the powers of deduction to figure out what happens that day). On Oscar night, I will be blogging live with each win and what I think about it.

Oh, and I forgot to say...

...that from now until late December, I will only be reviewing major Oscar buzz films, with two exceptions. Friday, Nov. 21, I will be reviewing "Twilight," and Friday, Dec. 12, I will be reviewing "The Day the Earth Stood Still."

Otherwise, here's the (possible) lineup:

Nov. 14: Slumdog Millionaire

Nov. 26: Australia

Dec. 5: Frost/Nixon

Dec. 19: Seven Pounds

Christmas Day: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Dec. 26: Revolutionary Road

Dec. 31: Defiance

This is subject to change. But for now, look out for these movie reviews!

Review: W. (**1/2)

Directed by Oliver Stone
Cast: Josh Brolin, Elizabeth Banks, Ellen Burstyn, James Cromwell, Richard Dreyfuss, Scott Glenn, Ioan Gruffudd, Toby Jones, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, Bruce McGill, Sayed Badreya, David Born, Dennis Boutsikaris, Jesse Bradford, Jonathan Breck, Rob Corddry, Charles Fathy, Chris Freihofer, Michael Gaston, Allan Kolman, William Lanier, Paul Rae, Randal Reeder, Jason Ritter, Jennifer Sipes, Noah Wyle.
2008--131 min.
Rated PG-13 (language including sexual references, alcohol abuse, smoking, disturbing war images)
Reviewed by The Teen Critic on October 17, 2008.

Oliver Stone's "W." is a curious creature. Taken on its own accord as a cinematic experience, it is interesting enough, but isn't it too early for a film about President Bush? Couldn't Stone have waited at least ten years before releasing it? Considering that Stone made the powerful, resonant "World Trade Center" in 2006, it is possible that "W." could have been better than the middling, meandering film it actually is.

George W. Bush (Josh Brolin) was always a partier in college, caught up in binge-drinking and such, never a true success in the eyes of his father, George H.W. Bush (James Cromwell), and mother Barbara (Ellen Burstyn). He grows up in a family that believes in conservative values, in which illegal antics have no room. He doesn't act out what he claims to believe. As a young man, Bush is confused.

As an older man, who has already been governor of Texas and is now a President of the United States, Bush has no idea what he's doing. He goes to his cabinet, consisting of Donald Rumsfeld (Scott Glenn), Condoleezza Rice (Thandie Newton), George Tenet (Bruce McGill), Colin Powell (Jeffrey Wright), Karl Rove (Toby Jones), and of course Vice President Dick Cheney (Richard Dreyfuss), who is a beacon of trust and information at his side, much like steadfast wife, Laura (Elizabeth Banks).

Oliver Stone has gathered an ensemble that defies description, but for the most part the scenes with Bush are made out mostly to be very advanced SNL skits, with nothing taken that seriously. The performances are fair across the board, with Richard Dreyfuss a standout and Thandie Newton by far the worst, with her constipated facial expressions and voice inflections strangely reminding one of a long-lost sibling of the Joker.

That brings me to Josh Brolin as the misunderestimated man himself. Brolin is excellent in the role of Bush, so creepily believeable that I closed my eyes and heard the real Bush talking. In many ways, this is an embodiment every bit as believeable as Heath Ledger's Joker, if in an entirely different way. Brolin creates President Bush from the inside out. It's a grand, intimately drawn performance that is the best thing about the movie by far, but it just brings to undeniable light the weaknesses around him.

"W." meanders too much. It's too slow a buildup for what has to be one of the worst rush-job endings of the year (down there with "Hancock"). It's interesting for long periods, then boring for a short stretch, then marvelous, then comes the ending and splat. It's a slap in the face.

The fact of the matter is, "W." is too soon. Bush isn't the greatest guy, but neither is Stone. One can imagine a better (and less biased) director respecting the man for who he is. Stone has made it clear that he dislikes Bush, and Hollywood can't deny him his say. But did he have to make this movie right now?

As Bush would say, fool me once, shame on you...and fool me twice...you can't fool me again. Stone's playing the audience as the fools. But I'm not duped so easily.