The Reel World

What do you do with your life when your Dad is Chucky? You star in your own films. Of course, some of those are going to be of the horror variety. That's the story with Fiona Dourif who stars with Robert Englund and Thomas Dekker in Fear Clinic out from Anchor Bay. I got the chance to talk to her about her new film. Certainly, we had to touch on father Brad Dourif and her experiences in the Chucky franchise. Want to know what she had to say? Of course, you do. Bang it here to listen in on my chat with Fiona Dourif.

I hope you have your fuzzy cuffs ready. Not only is this weekend Valentine’s Day, but it is also the release of the highly anticipated film Fifty Shades of Grey.  It’s just about impossible to have not heard of the enormously successful book series that women across the globe have devoured and obsessed over since the books first hit the shelves.  It’s a phenomenon that has sparked interest in women to think of new and creative ways to spice things up in the bedroom.  On the other hand, since the announcement of the book being made for the big screen, men across the globe have dreaded the day that their wives and girlfriends would drag them to the theaters.  The excitement about this film with women is on par with ravenous frenzy that you see from most guys when we discuss such upcoming releases like Star Wars and Avengers 2.  After all the hype, does the film make audiences squirm with excitement and take up the crown as the raunchiest since 9 1/2 Weeks?

I went into the film knowing little to nothing about the books with the exception that the concept was originally written by El James as fan-fiction of the Twilight series.  I’m not the target audience, but even listening to friends discuss the book with me, I couldn’t help but feel mystified by the attraction for the story. After all, it seemed as though it was nothing more than a modern twist on the Harlequin romance.  The books have gotten women eager to explore their sexuality, which has led to a booming impact in the sex industry and S&M toys.  I couldn’t help but notice a report that mentioned that the fire departments are concerned about an upshot in emergency calls related towards couples planning to recreate scenes from the books and film over the weekend.  But I’m here to say that the hype is all for nothing more than a naughty version of Pretty Woman.

"Did you see the movie Trading Places?"

Well, this isn't that movie. It can be as funny as Trading Places, though. There aren't any shades of gray here either. It's good old fashioned “good guys and evil genius” stuff all the way. It's a thrill ride that we won't have to wait in long lines to get on. This is like going to a summer movie and trudging through the snow to get there. Depending on where you live, of course. I'm talking about Kingsmen: The Secret Service. 

Riding on the coattails of the success of the The Lord of the Rings films and The Hobbit, studios have attempted to cash in on the revived interest in fantasy films.  There have been many flops along the way; Game of Thrones seems to be the only series that has managed to not only be a success but break out as a hit with a legion of loyal fans. Universal now has stepped up to the table to hopefully embark on what they could hope to be a new successful fantasy franchise with Seventh Son.   With Oscar-caliber actors headlining the film as well as some tremendous CGI work, is it enough to make this film a smash with audiences?  I’m afraid things are not so promising for this film.

Jeff Bridges plays Master Gregory.  Gregory is what is called a Spook, basically a knight of sorts that hunts down any and all kinds of supernatural forces that lurk about.  Gregory is one of the last of his kind, and after we see his young apprentice get himself killed, Gregory is tasked with finding a new apprentice to help combat the evils that haunt the night.  Gregory is older, and his days could be numbered considering the amount of drinking he does, so perhaps it’s because he understands his own mortality that there is little time to waste and that for the next man he is to train, there is no room for mistakes.  The method Gregory uses in choosing his apprentice leads us to the title; the chosen one should be the seventh son of the seventh son.  I’m not sure about the logic behind this; perhaps in the books we get more of a back story to this process, but logic is the last of this film’s problems.

“To live is to consume.”

Sometimes it feels like we've already consumed every conceivable type of Hollywood blockbuster. Besides movies adapted from comic books or, um, older movies, we've gotten mega-budget films based on board games and theme park rides. And that's why I was so excited and intrigued by Jupiter Ascending, especially when The Wachowskis' nutso space opera was slated to hit theaters during what seemed like a particularly sequel-heavy Summer of 2014. The movie, in theory, represented a wholly original vision. Instead, the messy, unnecessarily dense Jupiter Ascending is Star Wars. It's also The Matrix, The Princess Diaries, Flash Gordon and even a little Soylent Green.

"I found something."

Once in a while a film comes along that defies the current trends and styles in Hollywood. Inevitably, those films usually end up being dumped on the box office in the late winter months after the holiday blockbusters have run their course and the push for notice by the Academy has reached the end of the calendar year. It is in the depths of these cold months that studios deliver the almost-rans, the square pegs, and once in a while a gem that doesn't really fit any of the other models. Black Sea is absolutely one of those kinds of films. By next holiday season it will have been forgotten enough to contend for any of the awards, but that isn't to say it's not deserving. But as Clint told us many years ago in his own Academy Award winning film: "deserving's got nothing to do with it". Nowhere more have I witnessed that axiom proven over and over again.

There are certain things that are obvious to some of us, and nobody wants to talk about them. All people are full of weaknesses that they then try to deny exist. People are people, but some people think they are better than other people. It seems obvious that we should all try to get over our hatred and be more accepting of all our differences and see how much alike we all are. Black or White is an important movie that comes in the form of a fun and heartwarming melodrama. The movie navigates through very murky and unexplored waters and comes out the other side triumphantly. There is no reason that these waters are unexplored except for the fact that everyone thinks everyone else is racist but never looks at themselves. There is lots of very ugly and violent racism, and then there is subconscious racism. The subconscious racism is harder to deal with.

Most people are guilty of this, because we all tend to put ourselves in smaller and smaller categories.

"The thing that haunts me are all the guys that I couldn't save."

I have to admit I was a little skeptical that Clint Eastwood followed up his directing stint on Jersey Boys as quickly as he did to shoot American Sniper. The former was far from one of his better efforts, and he looked increasingly out of his element by the time it was said and done. He jumped into his preparation for American Sniper almost immediately, and the results could have been...underwhelming. Instead Eastwood hit his target with the kind of profound impact I don't think I've seen from him since Unforgiven. Unforgiven won a Best Picture award, and deservedly so. American Sniper has been nominated, although Eastwood himself has been snubbed in the director category. It's a long shot to win, of course, but this is one that most certainly deserves your attention.

While writing up this review the Oscar nominations are going to be announced in a few hours and for Foxcatcher, any nominations it receives will be yet another footnote in this films journey as it widens its release to a larger audience.  Ever since director Bennett Miller won best director at Cannes in 2014 for the film Foxcatcher has become one of the most buzz worthy films of 2014 with a trio of actors that have had more than their fair share of  praise for their performances.  But is it a film worthy of all its acclaim or is this simply award show fodder for a film no one will remember a year from now (looking at you The Artist)?

The film centers around Mark Shultz (Channing Tatum) an Olympic wrestling champion who lives in the shadow of his older brother David (Mark Ruffalo).  Though the two brothers share their love for the sport that seems to be the only similarity you’ll find between the two.  Where David is well spoken family man, Mark seems to be only driven to wrestle and manage to one day live a life outside his brother’s shadow.  The jealousy we see portrayed against David is more than simple brotherly rivalry, after all David seems to rake in all the cash with personal appearances and has a family, whereas Mark struggles through making speeches to elementary kids for a few bucks.  So it becomes no surprise that when John du Pont (Steve Carell) approaches Mark about joining team Foxcatcher, Mark seizes the opportunity to make a name for himself.

“We negotiate, we demonstrate, we resist.”

Early on in Selma, Martin Luther King Jr. succinctly summarizes his preferred method for affecting change during the Civil Rights Movement. The film then proceeds to effectively dramatize each bullet point in that mantra. Selma sometimes looks like the typical “Great Man” biopic and it is very much a period piece rooted in a specific time and place. But the film still manages to feel alive and relevant today by embracing the deeply humane — and deeply human — spirit of Dr. King's righteous work.