Cowboys and Aliens

Blockbuster filmmaker Jon Favreau directs Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford in an event film for summer 2011 that crosses the classic Western with the alien-invasion movie in a blazingly original way: Cowboys & Aliens. Joined by an arsenal of top moviemakers — Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci — he brings an all-new action thriller that will take audiences into the Old West, where a lone cowboy leads an uprising against a terror from beyond our world.

1875. New Mexico Territory. A stranger (Craig) with no memory of his past stumbles into the hard desert town of Absolution. The only hint to his history is a mysterious shackle that encircles one wrist. What he discovers is that the people of Absolution don’t welcome strangers, and nobody makes a move on its streets unless ordered to do so by the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde (Ford). It’s a town that lives in fear.

But Absolution is about to experience fear it can scarcely comprehend as the desolate city is attacked by marauders from the sky. Screaming down with breathtaking velocity and blinding lights to abduct the helpless one by one, these monsters challenge everything the residents have ever known.

Now, the stranger they rejected is their only hope for salvation. As this gunslinger slowly starts to remember who he is and where he’s been, he realizes he holds a secret that could give the town a fighting chance against the alien force. With the help of the elusive traveler Ella (Olivia Wilde), he pulls together a posse comprised of former opponents — townsfolk, Dolarhyde and his boys, outlaws and Apache warriors — all in danger of annihilation. United against a common enemy, they will prepare for an epic showdown for survival.

The script for Cowboys & Aliens is by Star Trek’s Alex Kurtzman & Roberto Orci and Damon Lindelof (television’s Lost), based on Platinum Studios’ graphic novel created by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg. Grazer, Howard, Rosenberg, Kurtzman and Orci produce. Spielberg and Denis L. Stewart executive produce.

In theaters July 29, 2011.

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Review – Where the Wild Things Are

The beleaguered film that brings a children’s classic book to the screen finally gets released on October 16th. Innovative director Spike Jones gives life to Where the Wild Things Are and gives the audience the opportunity to put on a wolf costume and partake in the wild rumpus.

Where the Wild Things Are is the story about Max (Max Records), a kid from a broken home who’s having a hard time controlling his anger. His sister and Mother (Catherine Keener) receive the brunt of his outbursts and it’s wearing thin. Mom loses her patience after Max’s latest tantrum and Max takes off running. He finds a boat that takes him across the sea from reality to fantasy and to a strange island who’s primary inhabitants are a group of very large, rather odd monsters. The monsters decide that instead of eating him they would make Max their King. With new friend Carol (the voice of James Gandolfini) by his side Max tries to rule justly but finds the responsibility heavy. Tensions run high among the Wild Things in particular between Carol and KW (the voice of Lauren Ambrose) and Max decides that it’s time to go home to his life and his mom.

Let me start by saying I didn’t not like this film. It has some flaws but over all it’s an enjoyable movie. Visually it’s stunning. The Wild Things are right out of the imagination of author Maurice Sendak. Their expressions and movements are wonderfully articulated by the amazing puppeteers from the Henson Workshop. But really, would you expect any less from them? The production design is fantastic. It’s grand in scale and has that childlike sense of awe and wonderment. The Australian locations give it all an other-worldly feel. I should also say how impressed I was with the young star, Max Records. He had some challenges in this film and showed some real maturity as a young actor in facing those challenges.

So here’s what I didn’t like about the film. Firstly the story is extremely dull. There are long scenes of dialogue that go no where. The script focuses primarily on Max’s issues with his absentee father and his frustration over being left behind all the time. Carol mirrors those issues in his impatience for the group to all live together. There are a couple times when you think that maybe the story is shifting to something more interesting like immortality or the death of imagination (similar to The Never Ending Story) or the precariousness of the environment but those never pan out. Secondly the soundtrack by Yeah Yeah Yeah singer Karen Orzolek is intrusive and distracting. Lastly, and this is something I harp on time and time again, the camera work is annoying. It’s a lot of tight shots of heads. As my companion complained “Can I get a wide shot, just one?!” As I mentioned before, the sets were fantastic. I would have loved to seen more of them. It is shot with moving camera but for whatever reason, I didn’t get sick watching this one. Take that for what it’s worth.

I guess when you weigh the pros versus the cons the scale favors the negative side. I think what it comes down to is that I found the story to be such a disappointment. All the visual elements were in place but there was simply no heart to the film. What a shame that is because much like its source material this could have been one for the ages.