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Hit & Run (2012)
Hit & Run could have easily been a rollicking great time at the movies. The story premise seemed fresh and promising going into this screening, of seeing a rehabilitated small time thief facing his past crimes and cronies through the eyes of his unnerved new love. That sounded potentially amazing to me. Shepard and Bell are phenomenal dramatic character actors yet both have also shown their natural talent for outrageous deadpan comedy in previous big screen efforts. Framed by its ads as being an irreverent mature comedy, their fit in the starring roles seemed ideal. Hit & Run looked like a true sleeper hit that couldn't possibly miss. Further to that, the gut level draw for me was the chance to see this film's glossy black 700 horsepower 1967 Lincoln Continental muscle car growling full gear across the screen. That's cool. 1970's cool. McQueen's The Getaway cool. Hell yeah. There's a fun related offering for virtual speed demons at this flick's stylish website, called Hit & Run Hot Pursuit Cross Country Chase Game worth checking out at http://www.hitandrunmovie.com. You'll also find a link there to The Facebook Witness Protection Program, which lets Facebook users login and "change your look, find new friends, get a new job, move to a safer location (and) score new wheels." Clever stuff. Unfortunately, this movie isn't clever. Hit & Run ends up being little more than a nasty, self-indulgent skid mark. Slurs try to pass as humour and fail miserably. The remaining dialogue is a convoluted tangle of dull non sequiturs that sidetrack the main story, resulting in an entirely pointless and boring picture. It's like the wheels fell off the script during shooting. Everything but a heavy reliance on screen charisma and supporting player Tom Arnold's trademark puppy-like enthusiasm is either kicked to the curb or thrown under the bus by Shepard's cheaply cobbled screenplay. The 700 horsepower 1967 Lincoln Continental had more personality than all the cast members combined, making this big screen lemon hardly worth the price of a ride. Steer clear. Reviewed 08/12, © Stephen Bourne Hit & Run is rated 14A by
the Ontario Film Review Board for coarse language, slurs, nudity
in a non-sexual context, illustrated or verbal references to
drugs, alcohol or tobacco, and violent acts shown in clear, unequivocal
and realistic detail with blood and tissue damage, and is rated
13+ by la Régie du Cinéma in Québec. REFERENCE:
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Stephen Bourne's Movie Quips © Stephen Bourne. Moviequips.ca and moviequips.com are the property of Stephen Bourne. All content of this website is owned by Stephen Bourne, unless obviously not (such as possible reference links, movie synopsis and/or posters featured under the terms of fair use) or attributed otherwise. This website is based in Ottawa, Canada. |
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Hotel Transylvania (2012)
Wow. What an incredibly entertaining animated feature. Heavily softened and loosely modernized, the primary supporting characters Dracula, Frankenstein (Kevin James), Griffin the Invisible Man (David Spade), Wayne the Werewolf (Steve Buscemi), and Murray the Mummy (CeeLo Green) are delightfully based on some of the most famous Universal Studios monsters to ever haunt the silver screen. It's great seeing them lovingly depicted here for a younger and young-at-heart crowd of moviegoers. If you're so inclined, doing a quick search through Wikipedia brings up a wealth of history regarding each of these legendary creatures of the night, including which famed films were based on stage plays, literary treasures and ancient lore. And, before the ghoul patrol purists start foaming at the ears, yes Wayne isn't really a werewolf. We know he's more an anthropomorphised wolf night and day. Yes, Frankenstein has always ever been the name of the doctor not the monster in the true classics. Relax, it's a fun kids movie. Just roll with it, and enjoy the glib aside at the Twilight movies near the end. Peter Baynham and Robert Smigel's screenplay crackles with boundless energy and clever laughs throughout this 91-minute screening. It's sheer genius that these monsters are actually just as terrified of humans, fearful that we're getting fatter to overpower them and do nasty things such as cut open their heads to fill with candy. Hilarious. The story arc shift from it being about Dracula and his wonderfully motley hotel guest to it being about sheltered Mavis seeing the wider world through Jonathan's gregarious eyes is memorably rich and compelling. Also, keep an eye out for Wayne's daughter Winnie (voiced by Sandler's daughter Sadie), who uproariously steals her one scene opposite the big boys. Top marks also go to Ron Lukas and Noelle Triaureau for their outstanding art direction here. Hotel Transylvania is visually amazing. Amazing still, the official website is absolutely well worth checking out. Before clicking enter at its splash page, checking out the What guests have to say link takes you to a wonderfully imaginative listing on TripAdvisor. Notable highlights of the site itself are the paper toys of Mavis and Murray and the colouring pages of all the main characters available in the free downloads section. You'll also find slightly addictive games including Dracula's Maze, Wayne's Wolf Pup Wrangle, Suitcase Sort, and a What Monster Are You quiz. I easily lost a couple hours, uh, stringently investigating their play worthiness... okay, I was goofing off movie site gaming. Facebook users can also login to play The Hotel Transylvania Game app that lets you build your own hotel for monsters, and the site features a link to the free Hotel Transylvania Dash game on iTunes. Awesome: http://www.welcometohotelt.com/ Definitely do yourself a huge favour and check out Hotel Transylvania on the big screen for its brilliant humour aimed at the entire family, and be sure to check out all the free extra goodies on the truly impressive official website while it's still up. Reviewed 09/12, © Stephen Bourne Hotel Transylvania is rated PG
by the Ontario Film Review Board for scenes containing some grotesque
images in a fantasy, comedic or historic context, limited use
of slurs, crude content, scenes that may cause a child brief
anxiety, or fear, embracing and kissing, and restrained portrayals
of non-graphic violence, and is rated G by la Régie du
Cinéma in Québec. REFERENCE:
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Stephen Bourne's Movie Quips © Stephen Bourne. Moviequips.ca and moviequips.com are the property of Stephen Bourne. All content of this website is owned by Stephen Bourne, unless obviously not (such as possible reference links, movie synopsis and/or posters featured under the terms of fair use) or attributed otherwise. This website is based in Ottawa, Canada. |
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Home Again (2013)
The film also co-stars Lyriq Bent as New York City drug dealer Dunston Williams, and Stephan James as student Londoner Everton St.Clair who, like Marva, were deported from their long-time resident countries to this Caribbean land that's nothing more to them than being their exotic faraway birthplace turned brutal island prison as they struggle to survive. Sutherland has said he and his wife, co-writer Jennifer Holness, were partially inspired to make this film after reading about the gangland-style 2007 murder in Kingston, Jamaica of Holness' childhood acquaintance. 35-year-old O'Neil Grant was reportedly 11 when he immigrated to Canada from Jamaica in the early 1980s. In 2001, Grant was deported to Jamaica on a technicality apparently fuelled by public outrage, media hyperbole and political agenda for stricter policy against foreign nationals living in Canada who break the law. It does seem the core purpose of this film is as a piece of propaganda. That's fine. The film industry would be a fairly dull wasteland without wilfully passionate people. Unfortunately, as compelling as its premise and all that surrounds it sounds, Home Again suffers under the monumental weight of Holness and Sutherland's well-meaning yet vague wisp of a screenplay throughout. Once you get past the poor production value and lazy camerawork, it's still a challenge to sit through. Sure, this primary cast does manage to conjure brief twinges of empathy from the ether as they cobble together their characters while the camera rolls. To that end, Lyriq Bent most notably stands out. Bent is absolutely incredible, wonderfully expressive playing opposite love interest Cherry C (Fefe Dobson) and believably responding to his ex-con character's harsh reality under the cruel fist of Kingston gangland boss Mr. Gilbert (Kadeem Wilson). Fefe Dobson and Stephan James were each nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for their supporting performances in this film. However, it soon becomes clear that deft self-preparation and natural screen presence - despite the script - are what make Bent's scenes shine. It also doesn't hurt that his character's criminal life in Jamaica isn't much of a stretch from his lawlessness in America. That last line illustrates what's lacking from this picture, regarding Tatyana Ali's role as Marva. Very little context of her life in Toronto is presented here. You know Marva was incarcerated in Canada before being deported, but you don't really see what she experienced there either. Marva merely steps from a plane, carrying little more than eyes full of dread as happy tourists depart ahead of her. Call it cliché, but the film needs more "before" stuff to compliment this "after" life. She's a fish out of water, but moviegoers are somehow supposed to show up already knowing what the contrasts she faces are. What's more aggravating is that it's mentioned later on she's had help acclimatizing to Jamaican life. That's an obvious loss of screen treasure you'll never see here. It's a shame. Turning to the cleanly laid out official website at homeagainfilm.com finds the prerequisite film synopsis, along with a stills and video gallery, a fairly sparse production notes page and a barely worthwhile cast and crew section when I checked it out. However, the press kit PDF is an absolute treasure trove of behind-the-scenes info (and spoilers) for fans, and the interesting Get Involved section encourages visitors to share similar deportation stories and to join an online petition against Canada's soon-to-be enacted immigration policy amendment, Bill C-43. As for the poster, the composition feels weak for such an impactful topic and it doesn't evoke much regarding the plight of these three main characters by showing them solemnly walking towards you on a palm-lined street in what could be Suburban Anywhere Warm, unfortunately. It would be too easy to completely dismiss this woefully undercooked Canadian co-production. I wouldn't sit through it a second time, barely staying awake through it once already. However, Home Again is still worth a look as a second or third choice rental for Lyriq Bent's notably amazing performance scandalously ignored by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, or for a glimpse at the human side of a political issue Sutherland and Holness bring to light - if it affects or interests you. Reviewed 04/13, © Stephen Bourne. Home Again is rated 14A by the
Ontario Film Review Board for coarse language, slurs, sexual
references, nudity in a non-sexual context, scenes that may cause
a child brief anxiety, or fear, substance abuse, embracing and
kissing, sexual innuendo, tobacco use, and violent acts shown
in clear, unequivocal and realistic detail with blood and tissue
damage, and is rated 13+ by la Régie du Cinéma
in Québec. REFERENCE:
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Stephen Bourne's Movie Quips © Stephen Bourne. Moviequips.ca and moviequips.com are the property of Stephen Bourne. All content of this website is owned by Stephen Bourne, unless obviously not (such as possible reference links, movie synopsis and/or posters featured under the terms of fair use) or attributed otherwise. This website is based in Ottawa, Canada. |
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