In less than three days we will see what, if anything, new Oscar winning actor Benicio del Toro and replacement director Joe Johnston have to offer the whole ‘man into beast’ fright film formula. Ever since CG became a staple of scary movies, Hollywood has been trying to reinvent and reinvest in the werewolf film - The Wolfman being the result of such revisionist retro reach. Long a staple of schlock and serious filmmakers alike, this undoubtedly allegorical narrative (human’s channeling their inner creature) has been the basis for both straight forward storylines (as in Universal’s original classic with Lon Chaney Jr.) and oddball reinterpretations (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, perhaps?).

It’s not a flawless formula. There have been some relatively rough examples of the ‘cad into cur’ saga that definitely try even the most obsessed fright fan’s patience. For every shoddy, schlocky attempt, however, there have been one or two wildly successful efforts. Avoiding all the ‘bat vs. wolf’ histrionics that make any Twilight at test of Underworld mantle, and stayting clear of the whole “old school, time lapse facial fur” ideal, SE&L suggests these ten titles. Each one illustrates how effective - and ethereal - the whole late night/lycanthrope subject can be.

—Bill Gibron

Hollywood should be ashamed. One of the best Super Bowl’s in the 44 year history of the game and Tinseltown could barely muster an interesting set of ads. Granted, at $2.6 million of 30 seconds, the studios needed to be picky, by there is a certain senselessness to pimping something that’s debuting in five days (The Wolfman) or ten (Shutter Island), especially when there’s been endless months of previews for both. Indeed, aside from snippets for a few new scenes and a head-scratching lack of narrative clarity, most of the 2010 movie trailers were terrible. Going over them one by one (including a couple we swore we saw at some point during the proceedings), it’s clear that, unless you dig spectacle or superficiality, there’s wasn’t much mystery or allure present.

—Bill Gibron

Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas (Blu-ray)

Director: Terry Gilliam

Cast: Johnny Depp, Benicio del Toro

(Universal; US DVD: 2 Feb 2010 (General release))

 Amazon

When it comes right down to it, 1971 was mired in chaos. The Beatles had disbanded, the Kennedys were either dead or hip deep in career cleansing scandal, and the civil rights movement had been usurped by a basic human need among the minority classes simply to stay alive. America took weaponry against itself, as armed youths killed their “educated” alter egos at Kent State while the “silent majority” propagandized a steadfast “love it or leave it” mentality for all to conform to. The anti-war revolution had long gone Madison Avenue and Hollywood, with rebels as well known as their targets of distrust and frustration. There was still a belief that power in the people via politics could cure the country of its present ills, even as more vital men were sent off to meet their end in the rice fields and jungles of Asia.

Years later, Tinseltown just loves to explore the extremes of both sides of the peace sign path. Artists like Oliver Stone have made entire careers out of milking the militant juices from both philosophies for all their cinematic gold. But they never seem to spend time in the middle, in the eye of this ideological storm, preferring to skirt around the outside. Only one work dared to describe the psychic shift circa 1971, to try and condense the wounded spirit of a befouled generation into words and stories. Many thought it an incoherent, self-indulgent mess. The fact that, 36 years later, it is championed as a work of rare insight and power speaks for the willingness for self-examination that existed in the early ‘70s.

—Bill Gibron

Couples Retreat

Director: Davis Guggenheim

Cast: Jimmy Page, The Edge, Jack White

(Sony Pictures Classics; US theatrical: 14 Aug 2009 (Limited release); 2009)

Trailer

Official Site

• Review [9.Oct.2009]

When Swingers stumbled onto the scene back in 1996, it was championed as a brilliant piece of indie smarm. With Jon Favreau providing the script and Doug Liman directing, the cast (including then unknowns Vince Vaughn, Ron Livingston, and Heather Graham) took the tale of a group of fun loving friends and, for a moment, transformed it into a one way ticket to Coolsville. While the cult didn’t last long, it catapulted the cast into the lower levels of Hollywood’s soon to be heavy hitters. In the 13 years since, Vaughn has transformed into a comedy chameleon while partner Farveau has gone on to become an A-list director, thanks in no small part to Elf and Iron Man. Now the duo are reteaming for a relationships laugher called Couples Retreat (new to DVD and Blu-ray from Universal). Sadly, it appears their sense of humor is stuck squarely in the middle of the Clinton Administration.

With their inability to have kids complicating their marriage, anal duo Jason and Cynthia are desperate for a solution. So they sign up for an exclusive couple’s retreat in a fabulous tropical locale. The only problem? In order to afford it, they have to get six more of their friends to join in. This means convincing the happily married Dave and Ronnie, the headed to divorce court Joey and Lucy, and the already single Shane (hooking up with a horny 20 year old) to come along for the therapeutic fun. Naturally, they all say “No”, that is, until Jason more or less begs. Before they know it, they’re in Eden, a gorgeous getaway that offers jet skiing, kayaking, snorkeling - and of course, endless sessions of intense analysis and soul bearing with founder Mr. Marcel. All seems to be going well until Shane’s gal pal bails, heading over to the singles side of the island for a little fun. With the rest of the group heading in that same direction, it looks like this is one marriage oasis that will result in more break-ups than make-ups. 

—Bill Gibron

From Paris With Love

Director: Pierre Morel

Cast: John Travolta, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Kasia Smutniak, Richard Durden

(Lionsgate Films; US theatrical: 5 Feb 2010 (General release); UK theatrical: 5 Mar 2010 (General release); 2010)

Trailer

Official Site

• Review [5.Feb.2010]

The John Travolta we are introduced to at the beginning of the Pierre Morel’s latest Looney Tunes action effort, From Paris With Love, is the antithesis of everything the actor stands for in reality. Charlie Wax is brash, outrageous, in your face and controversial, unafraid of danger while welcoming confrontation at every step of the special ops process. He’s not so much as superspy as a bald, Bacchanalian superman. It’s fun to see the sworn Scientologist with the almost always easygoing persona break out a little, dropping the formality and fame façade to show he can have an ass-kicking good time like everyone else. Too bad then that Paris can’t provide him with a setting, situation, or sidekick to match.

In fact, supposed-to-be-retired scenarist Luc Besson (who also acts as producer here) is functioning in full blown French hip-hop Scarface mode - a storytelling style he seems stuck on as of late. The main plotpoint, which sees Travolta and his weak-willed wannabe wingman James Reece (the Tudor’s Jonathan Rhys Meyers) digging deep into the local cocaine trade is like a Snoop Dogg video without the urban street cred. It’s like John Woo woke up one day and decided to restage New Jack City with white people along the Champs Elysees. Not that we really mind the redundancy. Travolta’s Wax brings so much joy to his robotic roid rage beatdowns that we cheer despite ourselves.

—Bill Gibron

It’s not the music; it’s the maker - that is, if you believe the old adage. Critics will complain ad nauseum when a composer mimics his previous canon, or when a once reliable name proves more insipid than inspired. But they will also mock someone like Danny Elfman when they go from basic baroque Goth pop configurations to something new and unusual, like his minimalist work for Peter Berg’s The Kingdom. So somewhere between genius and generic lies the truth about movie soundtracks. Many rely on formulas so obvious that a basic musician with minimal training could perhaps maintain their presence. Others, however, break free of the usual and speak of the craftsman’s art and the need to invoke individuality, not the same old sonic strategies.

With the four offerings in this edition of Surround Sound, we can see the wonderful (Hurt Locker, Creation) and the weak (Legion, Extraordinary Measures), the topical (war and threat, love and devotion) with the trite and tried (horror, faux nobility). While it’s impossible to dismiss any soundtrack on how it “stands alone”, one thing is clear here: some of these composers are clearly making a sincere effort. A couple, on the other hand, are cashing a paycheck and heading home.

—Bill Gibron