Starring Eva Gabor, Lu Leonard, Richard Paul, Carole Davis, Lar Park-Lincoln, Bader Howar, Barbara Rousek, Britt Helfer, Nathalie Tarkowski, Shelley Pielou, Yolande Palfrey
Directed by Bruce A. Block
Expectations: Low. I don’t think this one’s for me.
The Princess Academy is one of those carefree 80s sex comedies with a twist, it’s set in a European castle (par for the course on a Charles Band produced film) and there’s not a single flash of nudity. This keeps the film light-hearted and somewhat innocent, even when the girls are lacing tampons with itching powder or tricking the stuck-up rich girl into eating horse shit. Despite this innocence the humor is deliberately low brow, creating a unique atmosphere for the characters to play within. It doesn’t succeed in holding the viewer’s interest throughout, but it’s a lot better than I expected it to be.
The structure of the film is non-traditional, taking a more episodic/slice of life style over a traditional plot. There is something of a through line that runs through all the scenes, but it’s nothing more than “Poor girl is enrolled in a school for rich girls and fish out of water hilarity ensues”. Even that description is more focused than this movie is though. None of the characters stand out as a lead and many of the girls were indistinguishable from each other for me. This led to a lot of questioning moments in my head of who exactly everyone was and what they were doing, and coupled with the structure of the film I was instantly reminded of this year’s pretentious darling The Tree of Life. Perhaps there is more meaning hidden in the film’s multiple ringings of the hallway orgasm horn than I had previously thought.
For a comedy, The Princess Academy just doesn’t have enough laughs to keep it entertaining for the full eighty-five minutes. The best scene (and one of the most coherent) in the film is when many of the girls try to impart their personal skills on how to fake orgasms on the prudish virgin girl. Each girl has a funny, distinct method which is fun all by itself, but when the virgin girl attempts to replicate the movements and the moans, it’s comedy gold. If only the rest of the film was on par with this scene.
For most people this will be an easy pass, but hardcore fans of the 80s sex comedy might want to track it down for completion’s sake. It does have some genuine laughs (and some WTF ones as well) and it’s competently shot and edited for those that value things like that.
Next week, I’m gonna check out another Full Moon film from 1999 (hoping that they aren’t all bad), David DeCoteau’s Totem featuring the totem characters from Puppet Master 4 & 5!
Starring Caldwell Esselstyn Jr., T. Colin Campbell
Directed by Lee Fulkerson
Expectations: High, been looking forward to this one for a while.
Before I watched Forks Over Knives, I was aware of the benefits of a plant-based diet for your health, so the content was not the revelation that it may be for some. This doesn’t stop the film from being one of the best made documentaries of the year, its information presented well with 3D charts and personal stories from disease sufferers that have transitioned or are transitioning their diet over the course of the film. It’s truly amazing and inspirational to watch these people go from multiple daily pills and injections to being medication-free via the healthy methods of diet.
The main focus is on two pioneering doctors that have dedicated their careers to the study of diet on cancer growth. One doctor is primarily a researcher, working with data and large-scale studies. The other doctor takes a clinical approach, working directly with a small group of high-risk, near-death patients with heart disease, cancer & diabetes over a multi-year period. The evidence of both doctors is presented directly and while it is definitely one-sided and some points are questionable, the simple fact remains that a fresh, healthy diet is a definite improvement on the traditional Western diet.
Regardless of whether you believe the information presented here or not, the fact remains that we as Americans generally practice absolutely awful diet habits. I would love if everyone was required to watch this film and become more informed about the importance of the food they consume, even if they don’t end up going whole hog (pardon the expression) and switch to a completely plant-based diet. Forks Over Knives is remarkably well made, expertly shot and edited together, keeping the flow at a good pace and never allowing the film to get stale or boring. Towards the end it does get a little too hippie-dippie and preachy, which therefore becomes the final taste left in your mouth, so this will definitely put off some people. Don’t let that stop you from watching the film though, as it’s easily one of the best docs of the year. Highly recommended.
Starring Eddie Vedder, Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, Matt Cameron (collectively Pearl Jam)
Directed by Cameron Crowe
Expectations: High, I love Pearl Jam.
Pearl Jam Twenty is more of a celebration of the first twenty years than the true in-depth documentary you might be expecting. In this way, it seems like a “for fans, by fans” look at the band, albeit fans with access to a shitload of footage and the band members themselves. As such, the film lends itself to people who already love Pearl Jam, and I doubt it will capture the hearts of the unfaithful. Pearl Jam and specifically Eddie Vedder have never really cared who they alienated or pissed off, so this aspect of the film shouldn’t come as a surprise. This is not to say that it the film is cocky, instead the band members come off as real, honest artists that are simply staying true to their game. I’m a huge Pearl Jam fan, jumping on board late around the time of Riot Act‘s release (2002). Ever since then my love for them as a band has only grown, and with the release of their last two albums, Pearl Jam & Backspacer, they’ve seemingly mastered the art of melding artistic integrity with compelling music as both are excellent representations of the band.
It’s a little hard for me to objectively review the film as I am such a big fan, but I found PJ20 to be always interesting and enlightening, even when it was relating information I already knew. Director Cameron Crowe does a great job editing together what must have been hundreds of hours of band home videos, TV appearances and live footage into a flowing narrative. I take issue with a couple of music choices (such as playing a track from 1998′s Yield over a key moment from the early 90s, thus misleading an uninformed viewer into thinking the song is related), but realistically with this amount of footage and songs to juggle, I can’t criticize too much as I know I could do no better. I do wish there were more band interviews. They are all fairly reclusive so to hear them speak candidly is a treat. As a writer, I’d also enjoy more in-depth looks at their songwriting process, and thankfully the DVD extras reveal a couple more scenes of this nature edited for time. The scene on the genesis of Faithful is one of my favorite moments and it’s not even in the film!
If you dig Pearl Jam and you feel like celebrating the band you love for a couple of hours, definitely check this one out. I wouldn’t call it essential, but it does offer lots of great moments throughout. Non-fans should probably tread more warily, but the film does do a good job of painting a picture of why they did what they did when they did it, and a new fan (or a lost fan) might appreciate this dedication to their art and be intrigued to delve into their rich catalog of tunes.
Starring Matthew Broderick, Dabney Coleman, John Wood, Ally Sheedy, Barry Corbin, Juanin Clay, Kent Williams, Dennis Lipscomb, Joe Dorsey, Irving Metzman, Eddie Deezen
Directed by John Badham
Expectations: High, this is one of those catch-up films from the 80s.
WarGames is one of those 80s movies I never saw as a kid. I’ve been told I saw it, but it must have been before my brain was laying down permanent pathways for memories to set up shop, as I don’t remember a thing. It turns out all the hype and the general love thrown towards this film is actually warranted as it’s fun, exciting and still damn entertaining even today. It’s not without its faults though, after the first false alarm does no one ask the computer guy to see if it’s another game? This seems like the first question I’d ask, and I can’t imagine that the people in power would be that clueless. (Insert your anti-establishment jokes here.)
I finally watched this film because of Ernest Cline’s novel Ready Player One. That book is a fucking thrill ride of awesome for anyone that grew up in the 70s/80s and WarGames figures into it pretty heavily, so naturally I wanted to watch it after finishing the book. The book actually follows a good number of the plot points of the film, ripping off details both small and large. The nature of the novel makes this dissection and reassembly of pop culture vital to its success, so I can’t complain about it at all without completely ripping the book apart. And I wouldn’t want to do that to what is easily the most enjoyable book I’ve read in the last couple of years.
In any case, I absolutely loved the first half of WarGames when Broderick’s teen hacker is at center-stage, hacking passwords and systematically dialing phone numbers phishing for a data line. When the film’s stakes get raised, it all starts to get a little too hard to believe for me to fully commit to it. As I said above, did everyone forget about the computer until the end? These are issues I never would have had as a kid and it makes me somewhat sad to realize this. I can’t imagine how they’ll make the story plausible enough for modern audiences in the inevitable remake. The film also starts to drag after the halfway mark as the general nature of the conclusion is fairly obvious to careful viewers, so a lot of the tension that should be there just isn’t.
Regardless of any issues, I had a blast watching WarGames and I think it’s a true gem of the 1980s. Despite its Cold War themes and lime-green computer displays, it maintains a level of modernity and relevance to make the film absolutely worth watching. Matthew Broderick pulls off the cocky whiz kid routine to perfection and Barry Corbin plays military honcho better than most could in their dreams. Director John Badham shoots the film with a gorgeous eye for color and balance, with especially great uses of steadicam to evoke the military efficiency of the opening scene. If you’re like me and you somehow avoided catching this one, definitely give it a go.
Starring Conan O’Brien, Andy Richter, Sona Movsesian, Jimmy Vivino, Scott Healy, Mike Merritt, James Wormworth, Jerry Vivino, Mark Pender, Richie Rosenberg, Rachael L. Hollingsworth, Fredericka Meek
Directed by Rodman Flender
Expectations: High, I love Conan.
I’ve been a Conan fan for years. I remember staying up much too late nearly every night when I was in high school to watch his show. He represented a brand of comedy not found in any other late night show and I absolutely loved it. Older people thought he was dumb and it made him that much cooler. Conan was willing to go the extra mile, pushing himself and the Late Night team to create some of the funniest bits I’ve ever seen on TV. Conan achieved mythic status long ago as a favorite of mine, so when there’s a documentary capturing a bit of his post-Tonight Show tour, you can bet I’m finsta watch it.
Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop is an absorbing documentary in that, like Conan, it’s more about entertaining the audience than providing a deconstruction of the man. Viewers do gain insight into some of what makes Conan Conan, but it never goes too deep. It’s a road movie, a document of the tour, so it feels closer to a music documentary than anything else. Thankfully I enjoy both road movies and the performing arts, so Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop is right up my alley. It never stops being thoroughly entertaining, much in the same way that Conan can’t ever seem to say no to anyone or anything.
Where the film falls a bit short is in its shallowness. While the film can’t stop entertaining its viewers, there isn’t a lot of meaty documenting going on. As this isn’t an Obama campaign trail doc, this lack of depth makes sense, but it does hold back the film from being as powerful as it might have been. That really wasn’t the plan here though, so it’s somewhat unfair to hold these ideals over the filmmaker’s heads. It just feels a little too cotton-candy for me to completely sign off on it, and I say this from a position of supreme enjoyment of the film. You definitely get shades of depth here and there which reveal the type of character Conan possesses, such as when Conan plays with his kids, or when he interacts with barbed insult jokes aimed directly at his tireless staff, but it’s just not enough to call this intellectually compelling.
Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop isn’t going to light the world on fire, and I can’t see anyone who isn’t already a fan enjoying it, but it is one hell of a good time. It moves quickly and is edited together rather well, as Conan and the rest of the gang put on a clever show based around a tumultuous, bitter situation. The movie serves as a great document of the times as any good documentary should, showing glimpses of Conan that a TV or live audience will never see, and for that, it is absolutely required viewing for any big Conan fan.
Will, on December 20, 2011, 5:20 am
Starring Eva Gabor, Lu Leonard, Richard Paul, Carole Davis, Lar Park-Lincoln, Bader Howar, Barbara Rousek, Britt Helfer, Nathalie Tarkowski, Shelley Pielou, Yolande Palfrey
Starring Caldwell Esselstyn Jr., T. Colin Campbell
Starring Eddie Vedder, Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament, Mike McCready, Matt Cameron (collectively Pearl Jam)
Starring Matthew Broderick, Dabney Coleman, John Wood, Ally Sheedy, Barry Corbin, Juanin Clay, Kent Williams, Dennis Lipscomb, Joe Dorsey, Irving Metzman, Eddie Deezen
Starring Conan O’Brien, Andy Richter, Sona Movsesian, Jimmy Vivino, Scott Healy, Mike Merritt, James Wormworth, Jerry Vivino, Mark Pender, Richie Rosenberg, Rachael L. Hollingsworth, Fredericka Meek
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