skip to main |
skip to sidebar
…
The actor Brad Renfro died on 15 January 2008, the cause later discovered to have been a drug overdose. He had struggled with drug addiction throughout much of a career that included the film ‘Ghost World’. The rising star Heath Ledger, famous for the film ‘Brokeback Mountain’ and in the process on completing work playing The Joker in ‘The Dark Knight’, died on 22 January 2008. The cause was an overdose of prescription medicines.
Another actor has just died, but this time one from a different generation. Roy Scheider was 75-years-old when he died on 10 February 2008 following a two year battle with multiple myeloma, a form of cancer. Although he was never a huge film star, Scheider had a very successful career and was widely respected as an actor of considerable range and gravitas.
Having started his film career by appearing in the low-budget horror ‘The Curse of the Living Corpse’, Scheider would eventually act in early 1970s classics like ‘Klute’ and ‘The French Connection’, receiving an Academy Award nomination for the latter. However, his most famous role is undoubtedly that of Police Chief Martin Brody in Steven Spielberg’s 1975 blockbuster ‘Jaws’, in which he more than holds his own in the company of Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss. It is his performance that really glues everything together.
He would go on to star in ‘Marathon Man’ and ‘All That Jazz’, receiving a second Academy Award nomination, but after spending three years in the television show ‘SeaQuest DSV’ (1993-1996) the quality of the films he made began to slowly deteriorate.
On occasions this drop in quality also affected his performances. However, this should not take away from an actor who, at his peak, was a match for any of his contemporaries. If you do nothing else, watch ‘Jaws’ sometime and toast the memory of a very fine actor.
…
...
Is the ‘Scary Movie’ franchise puerile and crudely vulgar? Absolutely. Is it offensively sexist? In places it definitely is offensive and the first two films, in particular, seem to be obsessed with fellatio and women’s breasts. Being that the main target audience is teenage American boys, this is, perhaps, not entirely surprising. Do I like the films? I do. I can’t help myself. As immature and objectionable as they are in places, they make me laugh.
The first two films were written by Shawn and Marlon Wayans, amongst others, and directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans. David Zucker directed the third and fourth films – and the Wayans brothers were no longer involved in any capacity. It hardly needs to be said that all four films grossed big bucks and a fifth film is now in pre-production.
The first film is a cheap cash-in on the success of the ‘Scream’ franchise. It parodies a number of other films, notably ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’. The second film deviates slightly from the formula and is a haunted house comedy-horror –- kind of like ‘Haunted Honeymoon’ with added teenage gross-out comedy. The third film returns to the successful formula of the first film and is often cited as the best of the series. The main points of reference are ‘Signs’ and ‘The Ring’. The fourth film parodies ‘The Grudge’, ‘War Of The Worlds’ and ‘The Village’, amongst other things.
One of the things that remains constant through all four films, and the main reason why they rise above the potentially risible concept, is the presence of Anna Faris, playing the character Cindy Campbell. I think Faris is the best comedy actress in Hollywood right now.
It’s difficult to put a finger on exactly what it is, but she brings a kind of guileless enthusiasm to the role. It’s almost like the oft-told story (a myth, of course) that Margaret Dumont was entirely oblivious to the fact that the films she made with the Marx Brothers were comedies, which is why she was such a perfect foil for Groucho. Faris plays the role of Cindy Campbell totally straight, as if she were unaware of what is going on around her.
This is very much in evidence in the fourth film, in which the actor Craig Bierko plays Tom Ryan, based on the Tom Cruise character in ‘The War Of The Worlds’. This role does result in some very funny scenes at the expense of the Steven Spielberg film, but Bierko plays the role with a nod and a wink, letting the audience know that he is in on the joke. Faris never does this.
Regina Hall, who also appears in all four films, is another reason why I like them. She is particularly funny in the “cinema” scene in the first film, a parody of the opening sequence from ‘Scream 2’.
Anna Faris was very effective in supporting roles in ‘Lost In Translation’ and ‘Brokeback Mountain’ and also received great reviews for her role in a film called ‘Smiley Face’, which I am looking forward to watching when the opportunity arises.
...
...
I don’t have any interest in Nicole Kidman. As a rule, I don’t really like her acting and I pay next to no attention to news or gossip about her.
She is fine in ‘Practical Magic’, but equally I think she is awful in ‘The Others’ and ‘Eyes Wide Shut’, which is a dreadful film, although I have to admit I am not generally a fan of Stanley Kubrick at the best of times. I didn’t like ‘Birth’ very much. She was good in ‘To Die For’. I don’t think I’ve seen anything else. It’s a shame that ‘Bewitched’ is apparently so bad. I’d still like to check that one out at some point.
So, why am I bothering to write something about her?
In the Guardian Guide for the week 6-12 October 2007 the film critic John Patterson devoted his weekly article to Kidman under the heading, “If only… Nicole Kidman would retire.” The by-line is, “John Patterson breaks the news to the Australian diva that she’s no longer a commercial proposition.” One small extract from the article is brought out of the text as a highlighted quote: “Invasion is almost the 10th Kidman movie in a row that has vanished without trace.” He goes on to write, “If only you’d retire. Because now would be the time. If you wait any longer, Hollywood’s powers that be – or their accountants – will rise from their crypts one morning and realise it is time to cut their losses re: your not entirely brilliant career. Anyone devoted to the bottom line will sooner or later notice that you have become Miss Joan Crawford 1944: which is to say, box office poison.”
Kidman is one of the handful of huge Hollywood film stars and I found it hard to believe she had been so unsuccessful at the box office. I decided to check the figures at Box Office Mojo.
‘The Invasion’, a remake of 'Invasion Of The Body Snatchers', in which she co-stars with Daniel Craig, hasn’t performed very well in America, grossing a little over $15 million, with a further $20 million oversees. John Patterson is right about this one. There are three other recent films that probably should be disregarded here, although I will mention them for the sake of accuracy.
Kidman narrates an acclaimed documentary film called ‘I Have Never Forgotten You: The Life and Legacy of Simon Wiesenthal’. This has a box office gross of just under $139,000. She also co-stars with Robert Downey Jr in the arthouse film ‘Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus’ - directed by Steven Shainberg, who also made ‘Secretary’. It was screened in 39 cinemas and grossed $2.2 million. Finally, she provides one of the voices for the animated family film ‘Happy Feet’, which grossed $384 million.
Putting these films to one side, here is a list of the last ten Nicole Kidman films released prior to ‘The Invasion’, each one with the box office gross.
Bewitched (June 2005): $131 million - Rotten Tomatoes rating: 25%
The Interpreter (April 2005): $163 million - RT rating: 58%
Birth (October 2004): $24 million (this is an arthouse film that received a limited theatrical release) - RT rating: 39%
The Stepford Wives (June 2004): $102 million - RT rating: 26%
Dogville (March 2004): $17 million (another arthouse film) - RT rating: 70%
Cold Mountain (December 2003): $173 million - RT rating: 72%
The Human Stain (October 2003): $25 million (I have to admit I had never heard of this one before) - RT rating: 41%
The Hours (December 2002): $109 million - RT rating: 80%
Birthday Girl (February 2002): $16 million (arthouse film – Kidman speaks a lot of her dialogue in Russian) - RT rating: 57%
The Others (August 2001): $210 million - RT rating: 83%
Quite clearly, these are not ten movies that have vanished without trace. It really doesn’t matter, but it just annoys me when film critics cannot even be bothered to be accurate with readily available facts and simply make these up to suit their own subjective opinions.
What John Patterson presumably wanted to say is that he doesn't like Nicole Kidman or, at least, he doesn't like her films. Why didn't he just say that?
...
The actor Brad Renfro died on 15 January 2008, the cause later discovered to have been a drug overdose. He had struggled with drug addiction throughout much of a career that included the film ‘Ghost World’. The rising star Heath Ledger, famous for the film ‘Brokeback Mountain’ and in the process on completing work playing The Joker in ‘The Dark Knight’, died on 22 January 2008. The cause was an overdose of prescription medicines.
