Daniel Radcliffe walking through the haunted house. Picture accompanies article at the Kaleidoscope. Credit: CBS Films

This review is written by my friend and former Kaleidoscope colleague, Mark Trammell. Make sure to check out the rest of his movie reviews at the Kaleidoscope’s online site.

It’s a tricky business, segueing from a successful franchise to a bona fide film career. Many have tried with varying degrees of success, but in the end, it all comes down to money. No matter how beloved the character may be, in Hollywood, you’re only as good as your last movie.

Daniel Radcliffe is a perfect example of an actor trying to make that transition. Smartly honing his chops on Broadway in productions like “Equus” and “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” Radcliffe has thus far steadfastly avoided precisely the sort of project that made him a star. In other words, to his credit, he’s not doing bombastic, big-budget Hollywood productions like the “Harry Potter” saga. Yet.

To date, aside from “Potter,” his resume is mostly made up of TV-movies and an indie film called “December Boys.” His next film is another indie, this one a drama in which Radcliffe will play famed Beat poet Allen Ginsberg. Factor in “The Woman in Black,” an old-school Gothic horror movie, and Radcliffe is clearly looking to take a much more low-key approach, post-Potter.

Lucky for him, “Woman” isn’t half-bad, and the timing couldn’t be more perfect. This film season has already been a bit off-kilter from the start, with horror films taking advantage of the lag.

“The Devil Inside,” a critically-reviled, found-footage take on demonic possession, cost about a million to make and made a whopping $52 million at the box office. More recently, the latest installment of the ongoing “Underworld” franchise has cleaned up at theaters, despite a budget that would make that of “The Devil Inside” look like catering costs.

Horror is clearly in, big time, particularly if one includes such horror-adjacent fare like “The Grey” and “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” “Woman in Black” fills another horror void: that of the haunted house flick, and the film rises to the occasion nicely.

Set in the 1900s, the movie revolves around Arthur Kipps (Radcliffe), who is given the task of going through the personal effects of a recently deceased client’s home in search of relevant information for her lawyers. On dire financial straits and still reeling from the death of his wife during childbirth, Kipps needs the work and the money and is clearly on thin ice with his employers, so he’s determined.

No sooner than he arrives to the village in which the client’s house is located is it readily apparent that something is horribly awry. Cue the nervous villagers, wary of the outsider in their town — even more so when they discover where he’s going. They do everything they can to warn Kipps off, but of course, if he left, we wouldn’t have a movie.

Once the film hits the location of the house, the creeps begin in earnest. Spectacularly positioned on its own island, the house on the beach is only accessible by land during low tide. Once the tide comes in, so goes the way in…or out. Unless one has a boat handy — and then there’s the never-ending fog and rain to deal with — anyone left in the house isn’t going anywhere.

Now under normal circumstances, that might be pretty cool, but this being a horror movie, you know what that means. At some point, Kipps is going to be stuck in the house with whomever — or whatever — is haunting it. As it turns out, it’s not just the titular “Woman in Black” that Kipps has to deal with, but creepy kids as well, not to mention their freaky belongings. Where does one go to buy all these creepy dolls and wind-up toys? The Creepy Dolls and Wind-Up Toy Emporium, perhaps? Either way, things are not good at Spooky Manor, to be sure.

“Woman in Black” is nothing horror fans haven’t seen before, but it is impeccably executed. It was so nice to see that the recently-resurrected Hammer Films was involved, having done so well a few years ago with their reinterpretation of “Let the Right One In” entitled “Let Me In.” It was precisely this sort of Gothic Horror that was their bread and butter back in the 60s and 70s, in films like their resurrections of “Frankenstein” and “Dracula” (with Christopher Lee as the Count).

It doesn’t hurt to have Jane Goldman, the screenwriter behind “Kick-Ass” and “X-Men: First Class” involved. This film is much more restrained than her previous work, as befits the source material, the novel by Susan Hill. Director James Watkins also makes good on the promise he showed in the indie horror flick “Eden Lake.”

But this is primarily Radcliffe’s show, and he does well with his first truly adult role. It’s a bit jarring at first to see him playing someone old enough to have a young child — much less a deceased wife — but since the film primarily revolves around Radcliffe alone in the house, it’s easy to get past. Also helping matters is that a ghost story isn’t too terribly far removed from the occult themes of the “Potter” series, making it an easy enough transition overall.

While the effects and camerawork are occasionally a bit too modern for their own good (no doubt a direct result of CGI tinkering), “Woman” maintains a nicely retro vibe that is refreshing to see in horror again. After all those years of torture porn and the like, it’s nice to see a proudly Gothic thriller unafraid to be old-fashioned. “The Woman in Black” may not be anything you haven’t seen before, but it’s done well, and that works just fine by me.

Grade: B+

Mark Trammell
Staff Writer
ripmrgordo@hotmail.com

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Credit: Indican Pictures

Thanks to Indican Pictures, I’ve learned about the indie film Ranchero, starring Danny Trejo, Ruth Livier and Christina Woods.  The official synopsis for the film is:

After the death of his parents Jesse Torres leaves his childhood cattle ranch for the Bright Lights of the Big City. Reconnecting with his childhood friend Tom, Jesse finds himself in a squalid neighborhood of drugs, gangs and broken dreams. Tom’s become a drug addict and is in deep to the local gangs which strains their friendship. Struggling with his new life, Jesse finds solace in a local girl, Lil’ Bit, but as the romance blossoms Jesse finds himself confronted by the neighborhood mobster, Capone (Danny Trejo) who owns her. Now faced with a drug addicted best friend, an angry mobster and his girlfriend’s freedom, Jesse must make some hard choices with dangerous consequences.

To quote writer/producer of the film, Brian Eric Johnson, “Ranchero is a film that deals subtly with African-American and Mexican-American relations as well as cultural legacies. I like to say that anybody could play these characters, but their ethnicities lend context and texture to the story.”

I’m very intrigued to learn more about the film, and, if all goes well, more coverage concerning the film will be up on Moniqueblog (stay tuned!).

In any case, the reviews for the film have been stellar and the film has already won awards such as:

Best of Festival – Indie Fest USA
Audience Award for Best Feature – SENE Film, Arts, and Music Festival
Best Screenplay – SENE Film, Arts, and Music Festival
Best Actor for Roger – SENE Film, Arts, and Music Festival

If you are interested in seeing this film that deals with the subtleties of African-American and Mexican-American race relations and you’re in the L.A. area, the film will be released March 2. The film will open later in March in Phoenix, Yuma, Austin and Dallas. Ranchero is currently already showing  in Buffalo, Providence and Houston. You can learn more about the film at it’s official page.

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(L-R) Topher Grace and Richard Gere. Picture accompanies ShockYa interview.

Malaise and tiredness can be tough, especially when you’re running a website. I intend to be out the tiredness by tomorrow, since I’ve got to get caught up on my Downton Abbey posts and actually write a review/recap of Smash, which I did really like as a grown-up antidote to Glee.

Until then, please take a look at another one of the interviews I do for my job at ShockYa.com. This time, I interviewed Michael Brandt, co-writer and director of The Double, starring Richard Gere and Topher Grace. Here’s a snippet:

“The Double” is Brandt’s first time directing a film. “It was important to find actors that wouldn’t take advantage of the fact that it was my first time directing, that would treat it as a power play” said Brandt. “Luckily, I did.”

The actors the team attracted to the roles, Topher Grace and Richard Gere, were fantastic in their roles, said Brandt. “They were very collaborative, easy to work with,” he said. “Richard is such a pro. He never makes a mistake. He knows his marks, he knows when he’s out of shot, if he’s out of focus–he knows the technical aspects of filmmaking so well, and it’s very helpful for someone who is a first-time director because with an actor who is knowledgeable, it decreases the amount of technical mistakes you’re going to make.”

One great thing Brandt did was help validate my interviewing style. I’ve always made it a point to come to an interview as the person that’s respectful of the talent’s time. I’m just myself. I realize how taxing it is to be interviewed for hours on end, so I try to make it as easy as possible. When I asked Brandt if he had any final thoughts he wanted to share, he said that I was the best interviewer he’s had to work with. Success! Thanks for the ego-boost!

You can read my full interview here at ShockYa.com.

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Baron Cohen As General Aladeen. Picture accompanies ShockYa post.

If you love Sacha Baron Cohen films, you are probably ready to learn more about his latest film The Dictator. The film will have a Super Bowl spot, but you can watch the spot right now! You can either scroll below or go to ShockYa to watch the spot, and make sure to go to the official site for the film, Republic of Wadiya.

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Headshots of Spencer and Song (Song’s headshot found on Asian Media Wiki)

The accolades from The Help are certainly going a long way for Octavia Spencer. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the actress is set to star in high profile sci-fi indie film Snow Piercer.

The film, written and directed by Bong Joon-ho, will also star Tilda Swinton, John Hurt, Chris Evans and Korean star Song Kang-ho. Kang starred in the film that made Bong an international name, The Host. Seeing Song in this film along with Spencer makes me excited; an international, multi-cultural cast is always exciting.

The film is set in the future in which a failed experiment to stop global warming and an Ice Age ensues, killing off everything on the planet except for the people aboard the Snow Piercer, a train that travels around the world and is powered by a, according to The Hollywood Reporter, “sacred perpetual-motion engine.” A class system develops and a revolt threatens to break out. Spencer’s role will be of a woman who joins the train revolt in order to save her son.

You can read more about the film at The Hollywood Reporter.

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Wang Leehom and Kanye West in The Kobe System video for Nike. Screencap: Me

Here are some links of note. They’re listed below, but first, I thought I ought to talk a little about Don Cornelius, since I haven’t posted anything about him on Moniqueblog.

Personally, I don’t like writing about death in any form, and I especially don’t like writing about someone who died tragically. But Don Cornelius should be remembered as a huge pioneer in the R&B/pop world. He helped bring black music to the masses, and for that, I am very grateful, as I’m sure everyone is. I hate he was troubled before he died. I think the questions surrounding his death are just as stressful as the death itself. I just say to pray involved, including Cornelius himself.

From oldest to newest:

Chris Rock, Melissa McCarthy Teaming For New Romance?

10 American Indians Everyone Should Know

3 pioneering African-American actors made their mark through song and drama

Aziz Ansari and Wang Leehom are on the Kobe system

Tennessee Tea Party Activists Want Native Americans And Slavery Removed From Curriculum

Shirley MacLaine to join Downton Abbey

Facebook page for Native American movie Yellow Rock

Warren J. Blumenfeld: Islamophobia Has No Place in the United States of America

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Credit: Official Facebook page for Think Like a Man

The trailer for the film Think Like a Man is out! The film, based on Steve Harvey’s best-selling self-help book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man, will be out in theaters March 9, 2012. According to Harvey, this film has had one of the highest ratings at test screenings, if not the highest (If I’m remembering correctly, I think he said it had the highest ratings). In any case, it would seem that this film might be better than your average rom-com. The trailer certainly looks like it’s got more meat on its bones than the usual rom-com. Judge for yourself below. You can check out the film’s site here.

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Tatyana Ali at the Presidential Inauguration (2009). Credit: Stazi (Wikipedia/Creative Commons)

You might remember my post about three months ago about Tatyana Ali being cast in indie film Home Again (you can read the post here). Well, I’ve gotten more information on the movie in the form of a press release. Here it is:

———————————————–

PRODUCERS OF GUNS AND LOVE, SEX, AND EATING THE BONES PARTNER WITH
ACADEMY-AWARD WINNER & BOX-OFFICE MIDAS DON CARMODY TO GET PRINCIPAL
PHOTOGRAPHY UNDERWAY ON

HOME AGAIN

SHOOTING IN TRINIDAD, JAMAICA, AND CANADA

WRITTEN BY JENNIFER HOLNESS AND SUDZ SUTHERLAND
DIRECTED BY SUDZ SUTHERLAND

STARRING FORMER FRESH PRINCE OF BEL-AIR STAR TATYANA ALI, C.C.H. POUNDER,
LYRIQ BENT, STEPHAN JAMES, FEFE DOBSON, AND RICHARD CHEVOLLEAU

Toronto, January 26th, 2012 ­ Hungry Eyes Film & Television, the
award-winning producers of Love, Sex, and Eating the Bones (TIFF Best
Canadian First Feature, 2003) and Guns (Gemini Awards for Best Direction
and Writing, 2010), in partnership with the multi-award-winning impresario
Don Carmody (Resident Evil series, Chicago, Angel Eyes, Silent Hill,
Boondock Saints), are pleased to announce that principal photography is
underway in Trinidad on Sudz Sutherland¹s sophomore feature film, Home
Again.

A searing drama in the vein of City of God, Home Again tells the story of
three young people deported home to Jamaica after being raised abroad
since infancy. Once landed in Kingston and without a compass of any kind,
each of the characters embarks on a journey that pushes their endurance
beyond measure and forces them to discover who they truly are. On the most
fundamental level, Home Again asks the question, “How would you survive?”

A story based in fact, the script was inspired by international government
practice of deporting incarcerated landed immigrants to rid itself of
unwanted population. The issue is a particularly difficult problem in
Jamaica where the deportee population outnumbers the prison population by
three times, where there are little to no resources to help deportees
establish new lives, and where the deportees are largely blamed for the
serious violence ­ Jamaica has the third highest per capita murder rate in
the world ­ that rocks the country.

Sutherland is directing from a script he co-wrote with Hungry Eyes partner
Jennifer Holness, who produces alongside Carmody and the NFB’s Anita Lee.
On joining forces with Hungry Eyes, Carmody comments, “When I first read
this script, it absolutely gripped me. It is the kind of story that grabs
you and will not let you turn away for a single moment. This is a story
that needed to be told and knowing Sudz and Jen¹s previous work, I know that
they will do it justice.”

The filmmakers have assembled an auspicious indie cast lead by actress and
recording artist Tatyana Ali (Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Mother and Child,
Love That Girl!), Lyriq Bent (Rookie Blue, Guns, SAW series), and
newcomer Stephan James (Clue, Degrassi: The Next Generation). Joining
them in bringing this raw and uncompromising script to life are Richard
Chevolleau (Guns, The Planet of Junior Brown), multi-Emmy nominated and
Satellite Award winner C.C.H. Pounder (Law & Order SVU, The Shield,
Bagdad Cafe, Warehouse 13, Avatar), and international recording star
Fefe Dobson (2004 Muchmusic Video Award, People’s Choice Favourite Canadian
Artist.)

“We are incredibly excited to have been able to bring together such an
exceptional cast for the project,” says writer/producer Holness. “This is a
passion project for Sudz and I, and the material is really tough ­ all of
these actors are going to be delving into incredibly difficult emotional
terrain. But they’ve all come to us completely embracing our vision and
desire to show this very hard side of where we come from and their
characters¹ ability to survive it.”

For the project Holness and Sutherland have reunited with cinematographer
Arthur Cooper C.S.C. (Guns, Love, Sex, and Eating the Bones) and
production designer Rupert Lazarus (Guns, She’s the Mayor). Gersha
Phillips (Traitor, Talk To Me, The Whistleblower, A Raisin in the Sun)
joins the Hungry Eyes team for the first time as costume designer.

Cooper is lensing the film on the Arri Alexa and the production will shoot
for 30 days in Trinidad and Jamaica before returning to Toronto for some
additional shooting days and post-production.

Entertainment One has distribution rights and the film is produced with
co-production partners The National Film Board and with the participation of
Telefilm Canada, and the Harold Greenberg Fund.

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Cover of Division III: Football’s Finest

Another ShockYa interview! If you’re a fan of the raunchy comedy Division III: Football’s Finest, then you might want to read my interview with the director/producer/editor and co-star of the film, Marshall Cook. Here’s an excerpt:

People such as the teammate who takes everything too seriously or the crazy coach also make for great comedy, and Cook’s ability to notice the comedy in sports stems back to how he viewed himself in the program.

“I am a jocky nerd,” he said. “I’m into art, computers and sports, and so I would go to theater rehearsals and I’d get a lot of crap for that from the other players.”

Cook came up with the idea for “Division III” during his freshman year of college. “There are so many colorful characters and degenerates, and I wasn’t really fulfilled with the football comedies that were out there, so I decided to make my own.”

Read more of the interview at ShockYa.com!

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Credit: Disney

Synopsis (from the Beauty and the Beast 3D Facebook page): Walt Disney Animation Studios’ magical classic Beauty and the Beast returns to the big screen in Disney Digital 3D, introducing a whole new generation to the Disney classic with stunning new 3D imagery. The film captures the fantastic journey of Belle (voice of Paige O’Hara), a bright and beautiful young woman who’s taken prisoner by a hideous beast (voice of Robby Benson) in his castle. Despite her precarious situation, Belle befriends the castle’s enchanted staff—a teapot, a candelabra and a mantel clock, among others—and ultimately learns to see beneath the Beast’s exterior to discover the heart and soul of a prince.

Starring: Paige O’Hara (Belle), Robby Benson (Beast), Richard White (Gaston), Jerry Orbach (Lumiere), David Ogden Stiers (Cogsworth/Narrator ), Angela Lansbury (Mrs. Potts), Bradley Pierce (Chip)

My review: I’ll divide this up into two parts within this post. The first part is talking specifically about the movie-going experience (the quality of the remastering, the 3D aspect, etc.) and my personal feelings about the movie. I’m doing this in this manner because the film was never really my favorite Disney film to begin with, but I always want to give it another chance. I think this time was the final chance, though.

The experience:

Beauty and the Beast 3D is the second Disney 3D re-release, and after having seen The Lion King 3D, I’m inclined to think that Beauty and the Beast was a bit less successful than The Lion King. The only really good parts in 3D were the beginning and ending stained glass scenes as well as big ballroom set piece. The rest was so-so. I think if Beauty and the Beast had more expansive views like The Lion King, then it would have been more successful. As it stands, Beauty is only so-so, in my book.

The remastering of the film is really probably what the selling point should be for this film. Everything’s very clear and crisp. Probably to a fault, since after a while, you can notice some inconsistencies with the animation. I’m sure the same inconsistencies (such as one shot in which Belle’s eyes being dots and her eyebrows lazily drawn when she’s just in the middle ground) were in the original print of the film, but it’s very easy to spot the little problems when you can see everything big on the theater screen. From a technical standpoint, I thought that the animation was a little less stellar than other films like Aladdin, The Little Mermaid and, yes, The Lion King, and my mind wasn’t changed by going to see this film in the movie theater in 3D.

However, I can’t say there’s not a certain magic to seeing a Disney film in the theaters. It really makes you want to see more Disney 2D animation again. Also, seeing Glen Keane’s expert work on Beast is amazing. I love that guy, and he’s one of the superstars of Disney, so it’s great to see anything he animates. If you’re a fan of the film, I think you’ll be satisfied with the film’s re-release, though. I can’t lie and say that I grew up with this movie as my favorite, so right now, I’m speaking as honestly as I can, using technical viewpoints. I’ll speak more personally later on, but if you love Beauty and the Beast, it will be a treat to see it in the theaters, which is the way it was truly meant to be seen.

By the way, the Tangled short that shows before the film, Tangled Ever After, is very cute and goes back to the basics of storytelling–have two characters in a precarious situation and watch them bungle themselves into an even worse scenario before getting out of their jam altogether. It’s very entertaining in a way that the vintage Looney Tunes cartoons are, so I think audiences of all ages will get a kick out of it.

My personal opinion:

Like I said above, Beauty and the Beast has never been my favorite Disney film. Firstly, I didn’t grow up watching it. As I’ve often mentioned already, I am a fiend for The Lion King since it hit me on a very visceral level. Even watching it again in the theater gave me the feelings of awe and wonder I had as a little kid. Needless to say, I’ve re-bought the movie when it was re-released on DVD and Blu-Ray in order to replace the VHS I have. Great movie.

To me, Beauty and the Beast just didn’t hit me on that level. Not that every movie has to hit on a deep level for it to be enjoyable, but it just never did it for me. Perhaps if there was an entire movie about the Beast, since he seems to have the most interesting story, it would be cooler. There are several things about the story that bugs me.

One: The fact that no one asks any questions about talking teapots, wardrobes, candles, cups, clocks and dusters. How come Belle’s dad doesn’t even decide to ask why they can talk, especially when he’s plainly interested in how they work? Why doesn’t Belle ask the Beast? And why doesn’t she ask the Beast why he’s a talking animal with a castle and money? Which brings me to my next issue:

Two: Belle falls in love with a being that she thinks isn’t a human. Now, in other stories, like Megamind and Star Trek, I can accept human/humanoid relationships. Since I mentioned Star Trek, I can even accept a partnership between a human and Klingon like Worf, who is closer to the Beast than any being I know. I guess the reason Belle liking the Beast irks me is because we know he’s not a beast. Unlike the other pairings I mentioned, everyone’s upfront about what they are. We know Megamind’s an alien. We know Worf is a Klingon. We, the audience, are the only people who know Beast’s a human, and in this universe, Beast is the only one of his kind. In this universe, it’s unusual for a woman to say they love a being like the Beast. And yet, with so many questions staring Belle in the face–like why there’s talking stuff in the house and why the picture of Human!Beast is slashed and why the rose is floating under a glass dome–she doesn’t ask any of them, chief of them all  being why a beast–a cross between a lion, buffalo, bear, gorilla, wild boar and a wolf–owns property and has money and can talk. One way this question could be explained is if the tale of the cursed prince was known throughout the village. Then Belle would immediately know that he was a human trapped in a beastly form. But they don’t because even though Belle’s dad tells them about the Beast, Gaston is the first person that people actually believe about the Beast. This means Belle doesn’t know. So when she says her feelings are alarming, they should be because as far as she knows, she’s in love with an animal.

I guess if I was thinking about this relationship in the Star Trek way, then I would be all right with it. But since there is a lot of unexplained stuff going on in this movie, and since this movie doesn’t ask you to suspend your disbelief about inter-species relationships in the same way Star Trek or Megamind does, then there’s a problem, at least for me.

Three: LeFou. Does anyone else get annoyed/saddened by LeFou? Do little people hate him and find him offensive? I certainly would. In fact, I do feel offended, even though I’m not a little person. He’s almost like blackface to me. I just think LeFou, as a character, is a missed opportunity and, to be honest, is a very lazily-thought-out character. He could have been cooler, I think.

I’m sure some might think I’m beating up on a classic film. What can I say? I just have issues with it. I went to see Beauty and the Beast 3D in the hopes that perhaps I could be swayed into liking the film, or, possibly loving it, since so many people seem to absolutely love the film. But, I just don’t love it. I merely like it.

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