Rick's Flicks Picks on AWN

A little over 10 years after starring in the quintessential mockumentary, THIS IS SPINAL TAP, Christopher Guest stepped behind the camera as well for his own mock doc, which skewers the world of local theater. Like SPINAL TAP, the performers in this celebration of a small Mid-West town have an over-inflated sense of their own talents. Played by Guest, Corky St. Clair failed to make it on Broadway, but his big city experience brings some glamour to Blaine, Missouri.

St. Clair runs his little production like a serious production. Having starred in Corky's previous stage renditions of BAREFOOT IN THE PARK and BACKDRAFT, Ron and Sheila Albertson (Fred Willard & Catherine O'Hara, BEST IN SHOW) audition knowing the have secured spots. Their outgoingness and over eagerness sometimes make others feel awkward. Dentist Allan Pearl (Eugene Levy, AMERICAN PIE) whose less than perfect singing still impresses Corky, landing him the coveted roll as the town's founder Blaine Faban. Libby Mae Brown (Parker Posey, SUPERMAN RETURNS) is the youngest cast member, who contemplates her future in the ice cream business at Diary Queen. Corky also recruits handsome mechanic Johnny Savage (Matt Keeslar, ART SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL). Narrating the play is the earnest Clifford Wooley (Lewis Arquette, SCREAM 2).

I was reminded of another Pennsylvanian filmmaker while watching M. Night Shyamalan's latest film — George A. Romero. The apocalyptic storyline where an unknown event makes humans act strange reminded me of Romero's zombie films or THE CRAZIES. Being that THE HAPPENING is Shyamalan's first R-rated film, the gory bits and "big kill" moments felt like the touch of Romero as well. However, the weak acting, which never truly undermines Romero's work, does undermine Shyamalan's attempt at the supernatural paranoid thriller. Additionally, Romero knows how to set up a scare to make it frightening and when he adds in humor we know we're supposed to laugh with Shyamalan the two become interchangeable.

Having liked the Ang Lee version of the HULK, I had trepidations going into this reboot of the franchise for one major reason. Would Marvel sink to the level of pandering to a juvenile section of the audience who just want to see Hulk smash stuff real good? Nothing in the trailer made me think otherwise. What I got in the end, however, was another character-based superhero saga that honors the original source without indulging in the desires of the lowest common denominator. And Hulk smashed stuff real good too.

Over the opening credits we get a quick recap of the origin of the Hulk, which skillfully walks the line for those who liked Lee's HULK and those who hated it. The other HULK's existence is up to the viewer now. As we catch up with Bruce Banner (Edward Norton, FIGHT CLUB) he's on the run in Brazil. Working with a secret partner in the States, he is looking for a cure for his rage problem, which transforms him into the big green guy. Gen. "Thunderbolt" Ross (William Hurt, KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN) is determined to find him, believing that Banner's body is the property of the U.S. military. He enlists ruthless soldier Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth, PULP FICTION) in the effort. His pursuit of Banner has estranged him from his scientist daughter Dr. Betty Ross (Liv Tyler, LORD OF THE RINGS), who is in love with Banner. When he is found in Brazil, the Hulk emerges and Blonsky becomes drunk with the idea of gaining that same power.

Last year the American Film Institute released its 10th anniversary version of its Top 100 American films list. In a previous This Weekend's Film Festival, I took a look at some of the new editions of the list. Many covered overlooked performers and films such as Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers (SWING TIME) or Buster Keaton (THE GENERAL). Newer films made the list like LORD OF THE RINGS: FELLOWSHIP OF THE RINGS. The other two films I looked at where IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT, Sidney Poitier's best film, and the searing drama WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?

Notorious director Tony Kaye, the helmer of cult hit AMERICAN HISTORY X, returns to the scene after nearly ten years. Putting his diva-like behavior behind him, Kaye finally finishes his long-in-the-works documentary about the abortion debate in the U.S. Sometimes graphic and often moving, this somber look at the hot button issue shows people on either extremes of the fight, trying to find some middle ground.

Filmed on and off for 18 years, Kaye captures a wide range of advocates on both sides. Hauntingly, one of those advocates is anti-abortion crusader Paul Hill. At one protest, Hill is asked who else besides abortionists should be executed and he says any blasphemer who simply says, "God damn." We meet Hill as he champions an assassin of a clinic doctor, calling the killer a martyr. Later Hill will follow suit and murder in the name of God himself.

Mike Judge, the man who has brought us animation classics like BEAVIS AND BUTT-HEAD and KING OF THE HILL, as well as the live-action cult hit OFFICE SPACE, returns with another biting satire. Despite moments of sheer brilliance, Fox barely released the film in theaters in 2006. How come, you may ask? Well, some has claimed that the satire was too damning to corporate sponsors, but I believe the more accurate reason is that the film is calling a core percentage of its possible audience stupid and responsible for the decline of Western society.

The military wants to experiment with new cryogenic freezing techniques and selects the army's most average soldier, Joe Bauers (Luke Wilson, BOTTLE ROCKET), as it's test subject. Because the army couldn't find an average woman in its ranks, it borrows prostitute Rita (Maya Rudolph, A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION) from her pimp for what should be only a week. But a scandal leads to a mishap that results in Joe and Rita becoming kept asleep for 500 years. Over the centuries dumb people out bred smart people, thus bringing the level of intelligence in the U.S. to dangerously low proportions. Joe has a difficult time even communicating with the citizens of the future with their vulgarity-filled language. Because it's the future, Joe believes there must be a time machine somewhere, so he convinces dimwitted lawyer Frito (Dax Shepard, ZATHURA) to help him find it. But once the government discovers how smart Joe is, former-wrestler-turned-president Camacho (Terry Alan Crews, BALLS OF FURY) makes him the Secretary of the Interior and gives him a week to solve all the country's problems.

The topic of autism has been on my mind ever since I say the amazing HBO documentary AUTISM: THE MUSICAL. With its recent arrival on DVD, it's a good time to look at the portrayal of the disorder on screen. I've known two autistic people in my life and they couldn't be more different. Neither of them are like "Rain Man." How the disorder manifests itself is different for each individual, which is displayed in the documentary. Two of the films in the lineup feature characters that autistic adults identify with strongly. Two of the films feature young people struggling with the disorder. One defines the way many people view autism to begin with.

Very helpful to this week's lineup was Melissa Bee's article on Autism Today's website. She points out two film characters that autistic adults identity with and I have put them at the start and close of the Festival. BEING THERE's Chance, is not overtly called autistic, but his lack of emotional depth, rote memorization of certain topics and tendency to dip into his own world are all clear signs of the disorder. Brought to life in a dedicated performance by Peter Sellers, Chance has been the gardener for a rich man for decades, never leaving the confines of the house. When the old man dies, he is thrust out on the world to fend for himself for the first time. Found wondering a poor neighborhood, he is taken in by the wealthy Rands. The dying Ben Rand — played in an Oscar-winning performance by Melvyn Douglas — takes great words of wisdom from Chance's simple statements about gardening. By the end Chance is being groomed for the presidency. As I said in my original review, "If you have the right name and wear the right clothes, you can go anywhere in America." While for the general population, this political satire uncovers the inequalities in society, but imagine what it says to the autistic? No matter your disabilities you can accomplish anything.

This short is featured on the Animation Show Vol. 3 DVD.

PES is an animator whose style is unforgettable. Using found objects, through stop-motion animation, he creates bizarre concoctions that often defy adequate explanation. His best film, ROOF SEX, shows us what our furniture gets into when we're not at home to sit on them. In GAME OVER, PES celebrates classic arcade games by cooking up a short made with food and other household items.

Classic videogame fans will recognize CENTIPEDE, FROGGER, ASTEROID, SPACE INVADERS and PAC-MAN. Centipedes made up of blue-frosted cupcakes are blocked by muffins and blasted at by a salt-shaker shooting birthday candles. A toy frog hops across a river of sequins onto watch face lily pads and pretzel stick logs. Beetles replace space invaders as an unseen fighter shields behind leaves, which break apart via hole-punches from the pipe-cleaner laser attack of the approaching insects. In outer space made of black marble, a spaceship with candy corn flames shots BBs at large chunks of rock. Pac-Man is a pizza missing a slice and when he comes upon a pretzel… it's a pretzel. With that you understand what to expect visually and will find that the collision of seeming randomness is inspired. The homage to these Atari-era games is not only captured in the sound, but also in the movement. It's the attention to detail that makes the film so fun, bringing back fond memories of sore thumbs.

This short is featured on the Animation Show Vol. 3 DVD.

Directed by Francois Caffiaux, Noel Romain, and Thomas Salas, this CG-animated student film brims with gags, creating a rare Looney Tunes-style CG film that works. A red uniformed samurai climbs the steep cliff of a very small island. From a nearby island his fellow samurai cheer him on, until a blue uniformed samurai pops up behind him and pushes him to the water below. This begins the tit for tat attempts by the two opposing forces to claim the middle island for their own.

The directing trio develops their gags well, keeping them flying at the audience and building continuing gags effectively. As the dueling clans' leaders become increasingly angered by their inability to take the two-person wide island, the conclusion builds to an ironic comeuppance for the warmongers. One should also watch the backgrounds for some subtle jokes as well. So many times I've seen very cartoony-like action in CG look stilted. The reason is often that the timing and performance is off, having little to do with the technique. The filmmakers have the talent to pace their comedy, deftly varying and layering their gags. Their solid direction of the action is evident. Additionally, for a student film, the CG design work is slick. Calling this film a student film is a bit of a misnomer, because Caffiaux, Romain, and Salas establish themselves as pros with this production.

This short is featured on the Animation Show Vol. 3 DVD.

Stuttgart, Germany-based filmmaker Daniel Nocke crafts an animated reality show, seen peeking into a confrontation between four roommates. Only thing is that the foursome is a wildebeest, rhino, hippo and crocodile. Helen the wildebeest, Roger the rhino and Armin the hippo wait for the late Gerold the crocodile. The trio have lost their patience with Gerold whose food left in the kitchen may be upsetting to Helen.

The juxtaposition of a common human experience with animals is very common in animation. Aardman's CREATURE COMFORTS and Matthew Walker's JOHN AND KAREN are two excellent examples of the great irony that can be created. NO ROOM FOR GEROLD has some of the nice irony of those films, but for the most part the tension between the characters is closer to a well-done sitcom. The CG design is intricate from the details of the room to the smash zooms and blurry pans that perfectly simulate a handheld style. However, the character animation could have been more fluid, which would have brought more vitality to the material. As it is, the characters often seem like humans wearing oversized animal masks. But despite its flaws, the character dynamics work and the idea contains enough humorous irony to make the short very entertaining.

This short is featured on the Animation Show Vol. 3 DVD.

Guilherme Marcondes' experimental electronica-infused animated short mixes 2D computer animation with bunraku-style puppetry. From an amusement park on the edge of Sao Paulo, Brazil, a giant tiger emerges, controlled clearly by three shadowed puppeteers. As the striped beast stomps through the streets he creates a magical kind of chaos, transforming the humans into animals and spreading electrified vines and flowers across the modern landscape.

This ode to returning to nature has some fun with the transformations of its mindless humans. An office worker snaps into a slug. A family horking down dinner morphs into monkeys. A group of clubbers sprout feathers, becoming squawking toucans. Other inhabitants of the city are transformed as well. Cars snarled in traffic turn to slugs and a swipe with its paw at a helicopter bursts forth a flurry of birds. Marcondes mixes styles well, utilizing the tiger puppet — an older storytelling tool — as the transforming impetus in the modern world, which is animated through more high-tech means. Inspired by a poem from William Blake, the power of the beast is carried over into the short. While Blake wonders what kind of God would create the fearsome tiger, Marcondes' film wonders what force would allow the creation of urban sprawl.

This short is featured on the Animation Show Vol. 3 DVD.

GUIDE DOG is a sequel to prolific animator Bill Plympton's 2004 Oscar-nominated short GUARD DOG. The animation legend brings more of his twisted flare to this installment, featuring his overly eager dog that loves to throw itself into its work. This time around the bouncing pooch wants to take a job as a seeing-eye dog, however, mishaps with birds, traffic and all around bad luck don't bode well for a long future in the new profession.

Not as funny as GUARD DOG, which just barreled ahead with manic force, GUIDE DOG is tamer when it comes to energy, but features a darker and sadder tone. Outside of the bizarre first gag, the subsequent jokes aren't very surprising. One sees where the rest of the film is going from the first gag and the following gags don't have the punch that repetitive humor really needs. Plympton still does an excellent job of crafting the dog's personality — sensitive and enthusiastic. The character seems a bit smarter this time around, however his single-mindedness in the original was part of what made the first film so funny. Some knowledge of the first film also makes the second funnier. Like most of Plympton's work, the beautiful pencil drawings and exaggerated performances define his style, which is truly original and makes all his work worth seeing.