Flat-Out Funny Disaster at Cannes

MR. BEAN'S HOLIDAY (2007)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Mr. Bean is certainly an acquired taste, and so is Rowan Atkinson who plays him. I can't imagine American audiences warming up to a man-child like Mr. Bean, who mugs for the camera mercilessly (of course, only in France is Jerry Lewis admired as a genius). 1997's "Mr. Bean" did not find its core audience in America and this mindless yet quite engaging comedy sequel, "Mr. Bean's Holiday," found even less of an audience. It is a shame because Atkinson has crafted a character whose simple-mindedness can serve as a reminder of Charlie Chaplin.

The movie can easily be described as Mr. Bean goes on a holiday to Cannes, thanks to a winning ticket. Disaster strikes from the beginning after arriving in Paris, he marches across streets and everything in between according to the lines of a map, including walking over any obstacle in his path (this is similar to a Levi's commercial from a year ago). At a French restaurant, he orders lobster and has no idea of how to eat it (some of the gags will remind one of Daryl Hannah's mermaid eating a lobster dinner in "Splash"). Before boarding a train, he asks a passenger to take pictures of him with his Sony mini-DV camera as he is approaching the train (there is one take after another). Naturally, the passenger's son ends up leaving the train without him thanks to Mr. Bean.

The rest of the movie follows Mr. Bean and his adventures with the passenger's son, Stepan (Max Baldry). Stepan is headed to Cannes as well since his father, the passenger who missed the train, is a member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival. In the midst of one mishap after another, Bean loses his passport, his money and his train ticket. He tries to steal a motorbike, and fails. He wanders into a movie set where an arrogant, egocentric director (Willem Dafoe, who plays the part with perfect comic pitch) is making some sort of pretentious thriller (accent on the pretentious). There Mr. Bean dresses up as a Nazi extra, and meets the lovely Sabine (Emma de Caunes), an actress who is also on her way to Cannes to see the world premiere of Dafoe's film.

"Mr. Bean's Holiday" does drag slightly in the mid section, but it picks up at the Cannes Film Festival climax which features some of the movie's best comic setpieces. Mr. Bean may be too much to bear for some, but I enjoyed his incessant mugging and his inability to be anything but clumsy and a poster child for Murphy's Law. The movie is fun in all the pratfalls and comical blunders the character commits, though nothing is as funny as when he performs Puccini's famous "O mio babbino caro" on the streets for money, using nothing more than a caftan and a boom box!

As I said before, either you're with "Mr. Bean's Holiday" or you are not. I was and I saw a joy in Rowan Atkinson's performance that can be described as inspired and flat-out funny - he is like a silent comedian, especially when he never says anything and mostly grunts. And any movie that features the "Hawaii-5-0" theme and Puccini has got to be a little bit special.

The mutants strike back

X2 (2003)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

(Original review from 2003)

Comic books are such a hot property now that it was only a matter of time before someone decided on a sequel to "X-Men." The original "X-Men" made comic-book movies a hot property and since then we have been saddled with "Spider-Man," "Daredevil" and a "Blade" sequel, not to mention a full-scale "Hulk" film. "X-Men" had the advantage of looking and feeling like a comic-book come to life, thanks to the extravagant superpowers of its mutant supermen. "X2" is more of the same, but falls short of whatever real value the original film had.

As you recall from the original film, the mutants are discriminated in a society that dislikes anything different. Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) has blades in his knuckles, curious to find his roots of which he has no memory of. There's Professor X (Patrick Stewart), the leader of the X-Men who has virtually god-like powers. We have the return of the supervillain Magneto (Ian McKellen), who is being kept in a highly secure glass prison with every intention of escaping. And for those keeping score, there is the telepathic Jean Grey (Famke Janssen), her loving beau, the laser-eyed Cyclops (James Marsden), the teenaged Rogue (Anna Paquin), who has the ability to kill by merely touching someone, the weather-permitting Storm (Halle Berry) and so on. Magneto's trusty sidekick is Mystique (Rebecca Romjin-Stamos), a blue-scaled shapeshifter who has a key line of dialogue relating to mutants that may sum up both movies. There is also some nonsense involving General William Stryker (Brian Cox), a man who dislikes mutants and intends on destroying all of them by brainwashing Professor X (Patrick Stewart), who can communicate and control all of them.

"X2" has enough fireworks and special-effects on display to please every comic-book fan. We see Mystique shape-shifting into any human being (most witty example is when she changes into Stryker); Storm's weather-controlling tactics, usually involving rainstorms and tornado-like effects; Wolverine's climactic fight with Deathstrike, another talon-bearing mutant; the inside of Professor X's mindscapes; and a new mutant named Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming), who can teleport from one area to another and fight anyone in his path, includes scores of Secret Service agents.

For pure special-effects and mindless escapism, "X2" works but it falters when introducing too many characters and too many gimmicks. Unless you are an ardent fan of "X-Men" comics and can recollect the original film without hesitation, most of this sequel will come as a mystery to anyone who doesn't know the original characters. Even the tragically wasted Patrick Stewart's X-Man, a hugely titanic presence, is short-shrifted in favor of action galore. Most of these characters possess the most rudimentary exposition so that you may lose track of who they are and what they stand for. Halle Berry's Storm is also left in the rain without benefit of any personality except for those glowing eyes. At least the grand, awesome Ian McKellen transcends his Magneto role through his shrewd wit and expressive gestures - aside from Sean Connery, no other actor makes scenes of incredulity so incredible. Brian Cox, one of the best, most prolific character actors, also transcends his villainous role through his quiet charisma.

"X2" is entertaining and colorful, but it is also overlong and fraught with too much of everything. It is the newest example of sheer overkill in sequels where one presumes more of the same equals a better movie. In this case, it just means more is more of the same.

Mutants want inclusion in society

X-MEN (2000)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

(Originally reviewed in 2000)

I find that the trick to superhero movies is to let the audience in on the joke, otherwise you wind up with disasters like "Batman and Robin," which turned the Batman franchise into such a sex-plagued travesty that all of its noir origins dissipated as a result. On the other hand, there are superhero movies that make you gasp in wonder at all the wondrous sights, and also make you identify with the protagonists, namely the superheroes. Superman and Batman are two classic examples. "X-Men" is a close second - the first comic-book movie since Tim Burton's "Batman" that not only feels like a comic book yarn, it looks like one too. While watching it, I got the feeling that every sequence, every shot, was unspooling before your eyes like the dynamic sights of color and information that often leap from comic books. Stan Lee should be proud.

The X-Men, for those who have not read the comic books, are essentially powerful mutants - men and women with extraordinary powers that they seemed to have been born with. There is Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), who has metal claws that elongate from his hands when he gets mad; Cyclops (James Marsden), who has deadly laser vision protected by a visor; Storm (Halle Berry), who can conjure rainy weather when necessary; and Rogue (Anna Paquin), who can turn people to stone if she touches them (she is not popular on the dating scene). These are the good mutants, presided by Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), who has the ability to read minds.

The evil mutants are presided over by Magneto (Ian McKellen), a former Holocaust survivor who wants the world population to be converted into mutants so they can be accepted into society. His minions include the tongue-lashing Toad (Ray Park), a human frog-of-sorts; the shape-shifting Mystique (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos), covered in blue-colored scaly skin; and finally Sabretooth (Tyler Mane), a growling animal, not unlike Wolvering though not as beastly.

The plot concerns an anti-mutant revolt started by a senator (Bruce Davison), who feels mutants present a danger to society. One can't quarrel with his view when witnessing the deadly emotions of Wolverine, seen at the beginning to be a bare-knuckled fighting champion for some kind of fight club, or the tragic, existential Rogue whose lips and mere touch warrant a coma-like paralysis or even death. Naturally, Magneto is at odds with the senator, as is Professor Xavier, though Magneto's plans are more dastardly - at least the kind-hearted professor is a believer in hope for his race.

"X-Men" rivals other recent comic book extravaganzas in its character-driven story - these mutants are suffering because of their condition and unfortunate deviance from society. I tend to quarrel with people when they say entertainment is just sheer entertainment - even in something as hackneyed as "The Matrix," there is the sense that the filmmakers are sharing their thoughts about the world of today and how it is envisioned in these trying times. The best character in "X-Men" is Wolverine - an almost half-werewolf mutant with the ability to heal himself. He has a great line (that could sum up most of the mutant characters) when asked if the retraction of the blades from his knuckles hurt: "Every time," he says.

My main quibble with "X-Men" is that it is simply an introduction to these characters - they come across as more than character types but they only seem defined by their powers. I know that it is too much to ask a blockbuster for some insight but consider what might have been. Wolverine is the most full-bodied character, but where does that leave Rogue and her emotional connection to him? What about Cyclops, Storm, the Professor or Jean Gray (Famke Janseen), the smart doctor who may have a thing for Wolverine? They are fun characters to watch, but who are they? And what about Magneto and his plans? He somehow does not seem to be such a major threat after all the sound and fury of the special-effects on display here.

Still, "X-Men" is sheer fun to watch, and every moment gives us something to look at. The fights, the battles, and the characters (particularly the titanic Ian McKellen) contribute highly to the sense of fun it instills. And if this is what it takes to get the rumored "Spider-Man" movie rolling, then I am all for the "X-Men."

Hitch's bio treats the actors as cattle

HITCHCOCK (2012)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

One of the most famous Hitchcock biographers, Donald Spoto who wrote "The Dark Side of Genius," had written that the Master of Suspense had a creepy fascination with blonde women and that it led to some weird goings-on with one of his lead blonde actresses, Tippi Hedren ("The Birds"). The watchable if highly uneven biographical film, "Hitchcock," lays the claim that Hitchcock not only loved blonde women, he was also just as voyeuristic as his cinematic alter-egos and had fantasies that may have crossed the line. It also stipulates that his fascination with the macabre led to him making the trendsetting "Psycho."

"Hitchcock" begins with the director (Anthony Hopkins) just coming off the grand success of 1959's "North By Northwest." A reporter tells the 60-year-old that it may be time to quit. Nonsense! Robert Bloch's novel titled "Psycho" was to be Hitch's next project - a controversial one since it is declared obscene and beneath the Master's standards by the honcho at Paramount Pictures. Regardless, Hitchcock and his wife Alma (an excellent Helen Mirren) put their house up to self-finance the picture, with the hopes that Paramount will distribute the film. While making the film on a low-budget by Hitch's own standards, he begins having nightmares about the notorious Ed Gein (Michael Wincott), the Wisconsin killer whose unsavory methods of keeping mementos of his victims became the basis for Bloch's novel. Meanwhile, Alma is assisting a womanizing screenwriter (Danny Huston) with his own Hitchcock-like spy thriller.

I confess that I do not recollect specific details of the book this movie is based on, "Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho" by Stephen Rebello, but I do not recall reading about Alma and her efforts to help make the film viable and a success. It is true that she spotted Janet Leigh's pupil almost imperceptibly moving during the moment her character is slumped over the bathtub, but Alma's arrival at the studio during Hitch's brief flu sickness is fiction. Nonetheless, the filmmakers opt to focus precious little on the actors in "Psycho," especially Anthony Perkins (James D'Arcy), Janet Leigh (Scarlett Johansson, who is adept at capturing the actress' charm) and Vera Miles (Jessica Biel), which the book devoted a lot of attention to. Instead we get Hitch's nightmarish visions of speaking to Ed Gein who instructs the Master on how Gein carved up his victims! Are you kidding me? And the Alma scenes with the screenwriter simply detract from the more exciting behind-the-scenes spectacle of making a horror classic. And though we get some insight into Hitchcock's own adoration of blondes, very little is mentioned of how specific he was with their clothing appearance - it is mostly an afterthought.

On the plus side, Anthony Hopkins is brilliant as Hitchcock, capturing the Master's walk, his thick accent, and the specific body language such as having his hands clasped around his belly - it is a marvelous performance that holds the movie together. Same with Helen Mirren as the overworked Alma who stands by her man - she has one emotionally charged scene that shows why the actress is the cat's pajamas. But the meat and bones of the script should be the making of "Psycho" as a whole, and it is abandoned in favor of fruitless and spurious relationships. 

Odd and touching Zombie romance

WARM BODIES (2013)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

Just when you think you have had enough of zombies and think every variation has been tapped, "Warm Bodies" comes along and delivers a few, well, fresh "dead" notes. It is actually one of the most charming, soulful and often unsettling horror-comedies in a long while.

"R" (Nicholas Hault) is a zombie who is no typical zombie - he has thoughts and we hear his voice-over narrate the film. "R" is a young man, dressed in jeans and a red hoodie. He keeps to himself but he does try to communicate thru grunts and semi-speech patterns, especially with another zombie named "M" (Rob Corddry). They are all zombies as they parade around an airport and the surrounding airfield, walking in a daze with no particular destination. It is not just a zombie world - there is a wall dividing them and the surviving humans who have formed a militia (none of this will seem unique if you have seen George Romero's "Dead" films or TV's "The Walking Dead"). Julie (Teresa Palmer) is a member of the militia, headed by her straight-as-an-arrow father, Colonel Grigio (John Malkovich). After Julie and a small armed group are sent to recover medical supplies from the deserted buildings off the beaten path, a zombie attack occurs where everyone dies except Julie. "R" is transfixed by Julie, takes her away from harm's away by secluding her in an airplane, which is "R"''s little home. Julie realizes that "R" is not like the other undead - he expresses feelings and slowly develops a "beating heart." Did you read that correctly? Yes, indeed, he has fallen in love with Julie though the reasons will not be revealed here.

"Warm Bodies" is built on clever surprises, some of which were unfortunately revealed in the film's trailer. It doesn't matter because you will be swept away by the romance between "R" and Julie. The tension builds when the two get separated and "R" tries his best to locate her, which means breaching the fortified wall to locate her. "Warm Bodies" often treads on "Twilight's" own waters but this movie can stand on its own lively "dead" feet. It has an apocalyptic feel with its grayish skies and unnerving sense of abandonment, a horrific element with the "Boneys" (skeletal zombies who feast on humans), a love story that resonates with two charismatic stars (keep an eye on Teresa Palmer's career), and compassionate zombies who begin to remember their own past lives when they glance upon objects or store windows that serve as triggers.

Ably directed with a strong emotional chord by Jonathan Levine ("50/50"), "Warm Bodies" manages to say so much in 97 minutes than movies at twice that length. It also breathes new life into the zombie genre with offbeat gestures that not even George Romero would've cooked up. A zombie with feelings who can recover memories from a human it has eaten?  

Some of this con actually happened

AMERICAN HUSTLE (2013)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
(Shared with 12 Years a Slave as my selection for Best Film of 2013)

I've often said that the best films are the ones dependent on the characters to motivate the narrative, to drive it rather than the narrative driving them. David O. Russell is a writer and director who knows this all too well. Though I've only been privy to Russell's early work up until "Three Kings," and have since been privy to one of his most stellar, humanistic works, "Silver Linings Playbook," I can say with complete assurance that "American Hustle" is an unforgettable, emotionally draining and downright dazzling masterpiece - a film that unfolds with crackling intensity and crackerjack storytelling not to mention supremely unsavory characters who dare us to like them and sympathize with them.

Right at the start of the film, I knew I was in for a wild ride thru bad 1970's hair and sparkling, glitzy costumes. Christian Bale is Rosenfeld, a con-artist with a comb over who participates in nutty surveillance scenarios with a glib FBI agent, Richie DiMaso (Bradley Cooper with perm hair). DiMaso wants to make a name for himself, insists on inflating the FBI's budgetary concerns for wild setups that involve a fake Arab sheik (and a scam known as Abscam) and the boisterous, caring New Jersey mayor (Jeremy Renner, a major departure from his heroic roles) whom they convince to renovate Atlantic City. This involves some major persuasion from both the FBI and the mayor, which includes wiring two million dollars to a mobster, renting a luxury jet for an hour and using the whole floor of a ritzy hotel for illegal transactions. Hopefully the fake sheik, one of two, knows some Arabic too.

Other members of this con within a con come into play. Amy Adams, in the most electrifying performance of her career, is Rosenfeld's mistress, Sydney, who adorns a fake British accent and immerses herself in the whole con game right from the start. She loves it, whether it is the mink coats, the flashy parties, persuading clients to fork over money, etc. Even after she is caught in these fraudulent scams and partakes in essentially scamming for the federal government, she still loves it - there is a thrill in the allure and the danger of it. Less enthused by all the hoopla is Rosenfeld's emotionally aching and nervously jittering and seemingly anti-social wife, Rosalyn (Jennifer Lawrence, a marvel of a performance from an actress whom I have the deepest admiration), who hates Sydney and hates her husband too.

Some critics have compared this to Scorsese's "GoodFellas" but that is only fitfully on the surface - "American Hustle" is not as daring or as kinetic as any similar Scorsese tales of excess and hubris. What makes "American Hustle" far more tantalizing than Scorsese's films, however, is that director David O.Russell (and co-writer Eric Warren Singer) sympathizes with his characters and gives them emotional weight - this is one of the few recent American films where I felt like I was really listening to people who listen to each other. There is genuine heartbreak in each character, from Sydney's own manipulative games that barely conceal her love for Rosenfeld, to Richie DiMaso's hope for love and a romp in the hay with Sydney, to Rosenfeld's own heart problems and his desire to have custody of his son, to Rosalyn's wounded and pained life that is momentarily relieved when she listens to Paul McCartney's "Live and Let Die," to the New Jersey mayor with a big family who doesn't want to let anyone down, least of all the state of New Jersey.

"American Hustle" also does something Scorsese's films never do - it forgives the characters' trespasses. Whereas Scorsese purposely distances us from clinging to his characters like Henry Hill or most recently Jordan Belfort in "Wolf of Wall Street" so as to observe their actions and make our own judgments, David O. Russell is the apologist, the one who forces the viewer to get close, to feel like his characters are one of us and to spring a touch of hope. Added to this is stunningly alert filmmaking that whips us around from one edge of the screen to other, and yet O. Russell manages to convey just as much with stillness when needed. The performances are vibrant and crackle and pop with the sensation of living a life (Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence, Christian Bale and Bradley Cooper should've won a special Academy Award). Along with David Mamet's "House of Games," an American classic in my mind about how con men really operate, "American Hustle" is the most fun I've ever had with the art of the con.  

Bust a move in a traffic jam

HULK (2003)

Reviewed by Jerry Saravia

(Originally reviewed in 2003)

Now that comic-book movies are a hot property again, it was a matter of time before the 15-foot creature known as the Hulk would arrive on screen. The growling, muscle-bound creature with green skin would make Arnold Schwarzenegger blush, and I am proud to say that his arrival on the big screen makes for one of the best Marvel comic-book adaptations yet. Truth be told, this is not a special-effects-laden picture nor is it a spectacularly exciting, fast-moving adventure like "Spider-Man." There are shock and awe moments in "Hulk" but this is more of a psychological study than the average summer blockbuster and, in that respect, it is a solidly good picture.

Bruce Banner (Eric Bana) is a brainy scientist working at a government lab with his ex-girlfriend, Betty Ross (Jennifer Connelly). Their latest experiment where they use frogs as guinea pigs goes haywire (a joke about exploding frogs is one of the few instances of humor in the movie). Nevertheless, a corporate executive named Talbot (Josh Lucas) sees potential in their experiments, and so does Betty's estranged father, General Ross (Sam Elliott). Bruce is emotionally distant and repressed, and has recurring nightmares of his days as a kid living near a military site where an atomic explosion took place. There is also the darker memory of his father turning into some raging creature behind closed doors. A janitor claims to be Bruce's father, David Banner, though Bruce had been told that his father died. Nick Nolte is the wild-haired, maniacal Bruce who has scientific ambitions regarding DNA and radiation. Apparently, David had injected himself with DNA codes that he later injected on his own son. Whatever it was, it transforms Bruce when a massive dose of radiation is set loose during a lab accident. Bruce comes away unscathed but he also feels stronger and healthier - plus, the pain in his knee is gone. But when he loses his temper and starts to think about his traumatic childhood, he changes into a massive creature who is impervious to any weapon, including an entire military arsenal. Tanks, missiles and zero gravity can hardly hurt the Hulk - he just gets momentarily dazed. Mutant dogs, courtesy of David Banner, are pounded to the ground with incredible force. This Hulk can jump incredible distances and run as fast as any Marvel superhero. But beware if he enters the city of San Francisco, he'll induce a massive traffic jam.

Ang Lee, director of noble dramas like "The Ice Storm" and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," has wisely chosen to focus less on special-effects than on character specifics. Lee's interest lies in the psychology of the characters, including David Banner's growing madness with his past and his son's future to make his own future possible. There is also the seething General Ross who had David put away for more than thirty years for representing a threat to society, no doubt incurred by his dastardly experiments. As played by Nolte, David comes across as one of the strangest mad scientists ever seen on screen (his constant mumbling may put off many but his presence is never less than commanding). If anyone should have fathered the Hulk, it would have to be someone as titanic in screen presence as Nolte.

I do have some quibbles about Bruce Banner. The character, as played by Bana, comes off as slightly bland and banal. He doesn't have the urgency of the late Bill Bixby from the famous TV series - Bana seems to be sleepwalking through his part. There is also scant chemistry between him and Jennifer Connelly yet there are some occasional sparks of mutual admiration (I like the scene where she claims to have a thing for emotionally distant men). A crucial scene after Bruce's initial transformation indicates his joy of changing into an indestructible monster. The problem is the movie never delves into how Bruce feels mentally and physically when he changes - we just accept that this is something that happens when he loses his temper. In the TV show, we always knew how Banner felt about changing - in the series's entire run, he was seeking a cure because he hated to change.

"Hulk" may be appeal to thrill-seeking teens who get off on seeing the Hulk get mean and green. However, such scenes are strictly limited, though there is a tense climax towards the end that may please those who need their pulse-pounding thrills every second. "Hulk" is a thinking man's comic-book movie (sort of a less dour though no less humorous "Unbreakable"), relying on characters who are undergoing psychological repression. All their feelings come out in a compelling film full of brio and energy. A weak lead character can't quite destroy the Hulk - he just needs to lighten up a little and control that temper.