A Scanner Darkly

--Justin Rumenapp--

What does a scanner see? That is the titular question posited by Richard Linklater’s 2006 film A Scanner Darkly based on the Phillip K. Dick novel of the same name. Scanners, naturally, are government agents who review the camera footage from 1000s of cameras placed blanketing this future society, observing for crimes.

It’s one of the better Sci-Fi films of the 00s, but it’s still grounded in the current era enough for people who don’t like the genre. Like the best works of the genre, it does not focus on SHOOTIN LAZERZ but on ideas. Like all of Phillip K. Dick’s work, the ideas at hand are questions of identity. With the background of being constantly under surveillance, a drugged out undercover police officer by the name of Bob Arctor (Keanu Reeves), who in true Dickian fashon, winds up being the scanner assigned to monitor Bob Arctor for use of a super drug called Substance D (his identity as a scanner is not known by the force in order to maintain his cover.) This is the best set up I can give you without letting you unravel the story for yourself. Suffice to say, even the viewer is left wondering who is who. It’s also an excellent drama, and the focus is much more on the characters than one would expect with the “Sci-Fluff” largely produced today.

It’s obviously, a visual striking film using a technique called “rotoscoping.” Rotoscoping is a process by which artists take a film and color over the image to create a sort of Cel Shaded/ Cartoon look. Not only does the rotoscoping look “cool,” it adds a visual metaphor for the disconnect and paranoia the characters feel . Clearly all the actors were filmed, but then we aren’t really watching them, we’re watching a representation of them trough the rotoscoping technique. This is especially eerie when the artists leave a few frames slightly translucent, either by design or by accident, where we can almost see “the real world” and not the cartoon-like façade. What is there and what is not? What is real and what is not? It’s a brilliant move by Linklater to use this technique for this film, which also adds sort a bright, cheery feel for what is essentially a very dark film.

Highly recommended. This film works as Sci-Fi, works as a Drug Film, and works as drama. Winona Ryder, Woody Harrelson, and Robert Downy, Jr. also star.

p.s. Watch for cameos of (diseased) Phillip K. Dick in a “scramble suit” and Alex Jones as a street prophet.

Syriana

--Justin Rumenapp--

Syriana directed by Stephen Gaghan, is a dense, complex film. It covers a lot of ground in it’s 2 hr. 8 minute running time and doesn’t wait to hold the viewers hands. This film is confusing at times, not because it is poorly made, as many of the plot points and motives are there for the viewer to unravel herself. This is challenging, yet rewarding film for those who care to watch it.

An example of the “hyperlink cinema” that has emerged in the 00s (a term wrongly credited to Roger Ebert, though he popularized it in his review for this very film), this film merges many narrative threads into one movie. Sometimes the paths of these disparate characters cross… sometimes they don’t. There are three main storylines present, one involving the top billed George Clooney as a CIA operative, one involving Matt Damon as an energy trader, and one involving Jeffery Wright as a government lawyer looking for foul play in an OIL! company merger. What these characters have in common, and in common with many characters not mentioned here, is that they are invested in the OIL! business and are waiting to see what son will take the throne of Syria, as one wants his country’s commodity to be sold to China, the other the United States. Oh, and I haven’t even mentioned storyline that puts a human face on the “Joe Sixpacks” trying to make it in the Middle East. All of the above characters are good, and evil. All of them have complex human characteristics not normally shown in movies surrounding a few characters. Even at it’s long running time, the audience feels like we have just scratched the surface of these people that inhabit Gaghan’s film.

The star of this show is undoubtedly the screenplay, also written by Gaghan (he also wrote Traffic by Soderberg). Expertly acted by an ensemble cast, this screenplay is a monster. Not only do we get well fleshed out characters, Gaghan gives us a lot of geopolitical facts and an insight into the oil industry, without being preachy (most of the time… one “Corruption is why we win!“ shouts one Oil Executive as an example). While I have been gushing about the screenplay, there are a few rough patches, which I believe stem from its vast ambition and its comparatively constrained run time and also a few clichés (why do characters in different storylines tend to meet for an instant in the elevator? I wonder how many people I have met in elevators that have had vast indirect effects on my life….).

No one will ever consider this the work of a master visualist, but he does keep things nice, using various saturations to add a style to the film. Also very neat is how he keeps “energy” in the background of the film and the characters life. This is a very nice touch, and touches on how we all rely on OIL in our daily lives. For example, most scenes have power lines, oil tankers, derricks, and in one important scene an electric light bulb, in the background as our characters interact. Sometimes they are just drawings or on a logo, but they are often there.

If you couldn’t tell by now, I am giving this film a strong recommendation, acknowledging that the film has some bumps. It’s in the dump bin for $5 at many fine retailers so it’s the perfect time to catch it if you missed it the first time around.

Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian

-by Kim Yonick

Larry Daley (Ben Stiller) is back on the screen again for round two of "Night at the Museum," but this time it's a battle at the Smithsonian.

Larry Daley has finally made a name for himself with his company, Daley Devices, and has put his night guard duties on hold. However, things go awry when Daley arrives at the museum to see all the pieces in the museum are being replaced by holograms. Daley spends one last night with the pieces before they are sent to the Smithsonian. He hears from Teddy Roosevelt (Robin Williams) that the tablet will stay in the Museum of Natural History, but the monkey decided to take it with him and everything came to life in the Smithsonian. Daley realizes his friends need help and rush to their rescue. During the rescue Daley realizes more about himself and learns to start enjoying life.

This time around Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Rickey Gervais, Robin Williams and Jake Cherry are joined on screen by new characters from the Smithsonian. Joining this great cast is Hank Azaria, Amy Adams, Bill Hader, Alan Chabat, Jon Bernthal and Christopher Guest. The cast helped with the comedy and continues the storyline right where it left off from the first one.

Like the first one, the movie contains many computer generated characters and brings back many of the same characters the viewers have seen. Throughout the movie, there are many fast paced scenes that keeps the viewer interested. The use of computer generated characters helps to bring history alive.

"Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" was directed by Shawn Levy. Levy has also directed "Night at the Museum," "The Pink Panther" and "Big Fat Liar." Levy is also working on "The Hardy Man" and "Date Night" which will done in 2010.

This movie is recommended for anyone who has seen "Night at the Museum" or is a Ben Stiller fan.

Taken

-by Kim Yonick

A parent's worse nightmare for their teenage daughters.

"Taken" follows the storyline of Kim (Maggie Grace), a seventeen year-old teenager, who begs and pleads with her father, Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson), to go to Paris with her friend Amanda (Katie Cassidy). Things go awry when a spot man meets the girls and gives them a ride to Amanda's cousin's house. Later two men break in and kidnap the girls, while Kim is on the phone with her father. This begins the cycle of Bryan seeking to find his daughter and the connections and techniques from his work he uses to find her.

The cast for "Taken" consisted of Liam Neeson who is known for many of his roles playing Qui-Gon Jinn in "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace," Godfrey de Ibelin in "Gangs of New York" and even being a voice actor for "The Simpsons." Joining Neeson on screen is Famke Janssen who played Jean Grey in both "X-Men" and "X-Men: The Last Stand." There are also some younger actors on screen, Katie Cassidy and Maggie Grace.

"Taken" consisted of strategic scenes where Neeson was using his training to help get his daughter back. The choreography for the fight scenes were fluent and demonstrated Neeson's strong acting skills. The movie kept straight forward shots without getting too artistic.

Pierre Morel directed "Taken" and "Banlieue 13," but is known for being a cinematographer for many movies such as "War," Danny the Dog" and "Thinning the Herd." Morel is still new to the directing job, but has worked on a lot of different films.

This movie is recommended for people who are action fans or Liam Neeson fans.

UP

-by Kim Yonick

Pixar's tenth film in the making is bringing something new to the screen, an animated film that was shot in 3D. However, not all theaters are carrying the film in 3D, but the film is still strong.

"Up" follows the story line of two young adventures who want to travel out to a Lost Land in South America. The two adventures marry and Carl Fredrickson (Edward Asner) promises to take Ellie to South America, but 70 years later, Ellie dies. Carl remembers his promise to Ellie and sets out to South America, after hitting a construction worker. As Carl sets out in his house and billions of balloons, he has a stowaway. Eight year old Russell is a boy scout trying to get the assisting the elderly badge. Together Russell (Jordan Nagai) and Carl have an adventure of their own and learn a lot from each other.

The voice actors for "Up" were consisted and brought the animated movie to life. Some of the top actors in this movie were Edward Asner, Jordan Nagai, Christopher Plummer and Bob Peterson. There were also some famous voice actors such as Delroy Lindo and John Ratzenberger.

"Up" contained many cute animated scenes to push the movie forward. However, being Pixar's tenth movie this one comes with an added bonus. "Up" has become the first animated 3D movie to hit the screens.

"Up" was directed by Pete Docter and Bob Peterson. Docter has directed other animated films such as "Monster Inc." and "Mike's New Car." Besides directing, Docter has also written "Toy Story," "Toy Story 2," "Monster's Inc." and "Mike's New Car." Docter's partner Peterson helped with the directing of "Up," but is known for writing "Ratatouille" and "Finding Nemo."

This movie is recommended for anyone who is a fan of animated or Pixar movies.

Doctor Detroit

-by Kim Yonick

Dan Aykroyd plays a nerd professor, Clifford Skridlow, in the comedy, "Doctor Detroit." Clifford is a professor of a Chicago college, who gets scammed into managing four prostitutes, Monica (Donna Dixon), Jasmine (Lydia Lei), Thelma (Lynn Whitfield) and Karen (Fran Drescher), while their pimp boss leaves town. But, what Clifford does will keep the viewer guessing and teach the pimp realm a lesson or two.

The cast for "Doctor Detroit" consisted of well known actor, Dan Aykroyd. A year before this movie came out, many people saw Aykroyd in "The Blues Brothers" and on TV in "The Coneheads." Joining Aykroyd on the screen was Fran Drescher. Drescher was also known for her role in "Cadillac Man," "Seinfield" and "The Nanny." These actors are just some of the many people that helped make this comedy.

The movie had some interesting edits used to present humor. In one scene, Clifford is in the pimp boss's house with the prostitutes and the pimp boss, after spending a night out. The editor sped up the movie demonstrating Clifford's excitement. Also, the movie being made in 1983 and has many of the 80's clothing and story lines helping to enhance the humor.

Michael Pressman directed "Doctor Detroit," but also many other films and television shows that were popular such as: "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze," "Law and Order," "Boston Legal," "The Closer" and "Grey's Anatomy."

"Doctor Detroit" is recommended for anyone who is a fan of comedy films or Dan Aykroyd.