Pinocchio

‘Pinocchio’ looks great in high-def

Walt Disney
PINOCCHIO and Jiminy Cricket and friends in "Pinocchio."
WEEKENDER for April 3, 2009

A quarter of a century ago, when the Viper had hair and Ronald Reagan was president, those masters of marketing, Walt Disney Co., released my favorite animated film, "Pinocchio," in those ancient formats of VHS and Beta.
The cost was $89 and for some reason, back then there were no discounts. The thing really cost $89.
And for that price you got the movie and that is it. No commentary, no extras. Zilch.
Heck, I was ready to pluck the money down for it, but Mrs. Viper yelled "Noooooo" and threw herself between me and the store clerk.
Months later I came across an advertisement that there would be yet another rerelease of the film. The only difference this time, the price was $29.98. Baby, that film was mine.
Well, recently I plucked down a penny more at Conneaut Kmart for the 70th anniversary edition in Blu-ray with an excellent commentary, Disney Live, which lets you discuss the film with others over the Internet, deleted scenes, alternate ending, trivia and a making of video.
The film is available for about $10 less on standard DVD. What is cool about the Blu-ray version is it includes a second copy of the movie in standard definition.
If you have a high-definition TV and Blu-ray player, you can watch the film in its gorgeous high-definition splendor. But maybe the kids want to watch it in the family room or the DVD player in the van or one of those portable DVD players that keeps them quiet at the doctor's office.
That's where the standard disc comes in handy. I understand adding a standard version of a film will become a regular part of Blu-ray, much like the now extinct HD-DVD used to have a high definition version on one side of a disc and standard on the other.
You know the story. Papa Geppetto carves a boy out of wood and a fairy turns it into a living puppet. But the puppet, Pinocchio, must prove himself brave and fearless to become a real boy. The guy who helps move the story along, our narrator, is none other than Jiminy Cricket.
Pinocchio gets involved in the wrong crowd. He ends up on Pleasure Island, an amusement park where kids can smoke and drink and shoot pool and smash up a luxury house. What happens there gets pretty scary.
Then there's the unforgettable part when Pinocchio saves Geppetto from Monstro the whale.
The animation, long before computers, is absolutely stunning. You see subtle shadows in the background. Scenes we enjoy and take for granted took much talent and timing and planning, we learn from the commentary.
And speaking of commentary, this one is a beaut. Leonard Maltin and film historians appear as inserts around the screen during the movie, discussing what is going on. When they discuss how a character evolved, we see original drawings. We see and hear people who worked on the film.
Did you know Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny and so many Warner Brothers character, was an uncredited voice in "Pinocchio?"
I watched this film the first night possible, watched it again with the commentary and viewed it a third time the next morning.
The cliché it is great for young and old alike really, really holds true in this instance. The scenes on Pleasure Island and escaping Monstro may be a bit much for very young children the first time around, but once they realize Pinocchio and company escape, they will enjoy subsequent viewings.
"Pinocchio," Disney's second fully-animated film effort, is a true triumph and this new Blu-Ray and DVD version makes it that much better.

PINOCCHIO Directed by Hamilton Luske and Ben Sharpsteen Written by Carlo Collodi and Ted Sears Runtime: 88 minutes Rated G for general audiences 5 stars out of 5

Cadillac Records

It all began with guys in ‘Cadillac Records’
WEEKENDER, March 27, 2009

Eric Liebowitz/Tristar Pictures
Adrien Brody as Leonard Chess in "Cadillac Records."

The film “Cadillac Records” uses a phrase I was unfamiliar with: "race records."
That means music by African-American artists. It hardly evokes a positive image.
“Cadillac Records” brings up a lot of different topics in its nearly two-hour run.
It's main shortfall — and that's probably because of the time element — is it doesn't give us much of the background, the motivation for the talented artists who eventually form the core of what becomes rock 'n roll, rap and hip-hop.
“Cadillac Records” chronicles the life of one Leonard Chess, played by Adrien Broady, who operates a Chicago junkyard in 1941 but decides what he really wants to do is open a club and eventually a legendary recording studio on Michigan Avenue in Chicago.
The club spotlights African-American artists whose ancestors were slaves and truly know the blues.
But they also know how to play guitar. Boy can they play guitar.
Among the early artists are Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright), Willie Dixon (Cedric the Entertainer, who narrates), Little Walter (Columbus Short) and Jimmy Rogers (Kevin Mambo.)
The club is a mecca for the blues. It is frequently the scene of fights, gunfire and the place is a haze of smoke.
Much of the film takes place during years of racial tension and inequality.
While in the South, black artists had to pretend to be Chess' chauffeur, since blacks and whites couldn't hang out together.
As lively and fun as the music is, the film really takes off with the introduction of Mos Def, one of our great young actors, playing a dead-on Chuck Berry. Berry isn't really a bluesman and in the mid 1950s, nobody really knows for sure what he is. Is he country?
When a white nightclub owner accuses him of trying to pass for white in his posters, a seething Barry smiles and says he's Indian, before pulling down the poster and leaving, losing the gig.
It is Berry who breaks the color barrier. In one tremendous scene, he is singing and duck-walking across the stage. A barrier keeps blacks to the left, whites to the right. But the flimsy barrier is soon shredded and the races are dancing and enjoying the music together, much to the disdain of the police.
The police are very much the villain in this film.
The time element is somewhat bothersome. In midfilm we seen five guys who are supposed to be the Rolling Stones but look nothing like them shaking hands with Muddy, saying they got the name of the band from one of his songs.
We then hear some of the Stones’ cover of Muddy's “I Can't Be Satisfied. “(It's not to be mixed up with the Stones' own “I Can't Get No Satisfaction,” released a year later.)
OK, the Stones visited Chess Records in Chicago in 1964. Later we see film snippets on TV of Elvis joining the Army. That was 1958. In the film, Chess sells his record company and dies. Afterward, Howln' Wolf (Eamonn Walker) is amazed as he visits England and sees all of his fans, or as many fans as a film on a budget can afford to have.
Except the film has him going to England in 1967, but Chess doesn't die until 1969.
Still, the film works. Beyonce Knowles is very credible as the drug-addicted, troubled Etta James, a tremendous talent who somehow escaped an early death and is alive today.
The movie title comes from the fact that owning a Cadillac was considered a real sign one has arrived as an artist. So Chess gave them out to his artists in lieu of real cash. They were happy and it was cheaper for him.
See "Cadillac Records" for the music, for the history. It is like a 1-hour, 49-minute crash course on rock 'n roll.

CADILLAC RECORDS • Directed and written by Darnell Martin • Rated R for pervasive language, drug use and some sexuality • Runtime: 1 hour, 49 minutes • 4 stars out of 5

Changeling

Tony Rivetti Jr./Universal Pictures
Angelina Jolie in "Changeling."

Eastwood remains one great director

March 20, 2009 Weekender

You are pretty much certain if Clint Eastwood is involved in a film, it will be pretty good.

The guy is 78, a time in which many artists have discovered their best work is long gone.

But Eastwood continues to churn out quality stuff, one of the most recently being "Changeling."

Wow! And it is based on a true story.

First off, the film takes place in the 1920s and 30s and you can just absorb the authenticity.

It starts in 1928 but main character, Christine Collins, in many ways is a modern woman, just wearing shapeless clothing of the period and unbelievably red lipstick, at least in Blu-ray.

Played by Angelina Jolie, Collins was a single mother who was a telephone operator. In fact, before her tragic story unfolds, she is offered a supervisory position, even though her boss admitted he was getting heat for even considering a woman.

(Note the supervisory job is so intense, she is required to wear roller skates to quickly get from one side of the room to the next.)

When she must go to work unexpectedly one night, she settles her young son Walter (Gattlin Griffith) in for the night and tells him to see the neighbor if he has any problems.

When she gets home, Walter is gone. She eventually calls police and a few months later, they say they have good news, Walter has been found.

She immediately says it isn't her son, but police say kids change rapidly at that age and it is indeed her boy.

So what can she do? She takes the boy home but discovers he isn't circumcised. Walter is. This boy is three inches shorter than Walter was when he left. His teacher doesn't recognize him. The boy doesn't know where his desk is at school. The dental records don't match.

Armed with this information, Collins confronts authorities. But the police are plagued by allegations of corruption by the Rev. Gustav Briegleb (John Malkovich), who has his own radio show. They aren't about to lose face after “solving” this high-profile kidnapping case.

So they throw Collins in a mental hospital where the key to leaving is admitting the new “Walter” is her son and she had been delusional.

She isn't the only “political” prisoner in this gripping drama. Others are drugged and undergo horrible shock therapy.

Meanwhile, a more sensitive detective, Ybarra (Michael Kelly), hears a fascinating story from a young man who tells of being kidnapped and helping a depraved man kill and bury 20 boys at a chicken ranch. The boy identifies Walter as one of the victims.

But there is more to the tale then this. The scandal is so pervasive, the community actually changed its name because of bad publicity.

The scenes, the costumes, the sets, the story all make for an eerie, top-notch movie experience.

You won't believe "Changeling" could have happened, but it did.

CHANGELING

Directed by Clint Eastwood

Written by J. Michael Straczynski

Runtime: 141 minutes

Rated R for violence, disturbing content

4 stars out of 5

Deception

Plot twists keep ‘Deception’ interesting

20th Century Fox
Hugh Jackman and Ewan McGregor in"Deception."

If you want to see an excellent, smart, popcorn-munching film, check out Ewan McGregor and Hugh Jackman in “Deception.”
The intricate plot, the situations, the characters, the actors jell very nicely in this suspense drama. Oh yeah, and there’s lots of sex, too.
Then again, that’s because there’s a sex club thrown into the plot.
McGregor plays Jonathan McQuarry, an accountant who lives, well, an accountant’s life. He’s nice but quiet, and it looks like his days are relatively uneventful.
His job requires him to review the books of various big companies around Manhattan. So every few days, he picks up his laptop and is ushered to the corner office of this or that business.
At an attorney’s office, he meets a guy who calls himself Wyatt Bose, played by Jackman. He’s handsome, he’s flashy, he’s friendly.
They strike up a conversation. They share a joint. They play tennis.
Nerdy McQuarry seems flattered this guy is interested in him.
But soon the film turns darker.
Jackman’s character, as they eat lunch in the park, says he must go to Europe for a time for his law firm.
When they part, they accidentally switch cell phones.
McGregor’s character gets a phone call, which was supposed to go to Bose. It’s a sexy-sounding woman who asks, “Are you free tonight?”
Wyatt’s influence has made McQuarry less inhibited, and he decides to meet the woman in a hotel, where they leave no doubt they have done the deed in any number of positions.
It seems McQuarry has stumbled onto Bose’s membership in a sex club.
With his friend apparently in Europe, he takes advantage of the situation — no lonely accountant nights with TV dinners for him.
This film weaves many different layers.
McQuarry is captivated by a beautiful blonde he sees while getting onto a bus. The woman, played by Michelle Williams, by coincidence turns out to be a member of the sex club, too.
McQuarry is smitten. This girl might be the one. He can’t bring himself to have just sex and lose her forever.
They meet outside the sex club. His life has changed so much since he met the friendly Mr. Bose.
Ah, but is Bose who he says he is? Is the beautiful blonde whom she appears to be?
What started as an interesting film turns compelling, like shivers down the spine.
OK, the ending starts to get a little far-fetched, but the journey to get there is great.
And you have seasoned actors, who certainly know their stuff.
Kudos to Mark Bomback for his screenplay and Marcel Langenegger for his tight directing style.
Sex, suspense, romance, thrills, surprises.
Hey, this film gives you a lot. Don’t be deceived. Rent it.
DECEPTION
• Directed by Marcel Langenegger
• Written by Mark Bomback
• Runtime: 107 minutes
• Rated R for sexual content, language, brief violence and some drug use
• 4 stars out of 5

After the Wedding

Sidse Babett Knudsen and Mads Mikkelsen in "Efter brylluppet."
‘After the Wedding’ is a complex story
Video Viper with BOB LEBZELTER for March 6, 2009

Jacob Pederson appears to be a Mother Teresa sort in the film “Efter Brylluppet” (“After the Wedding”).

Pederson, played by Mads Mikkelsen, lives and works in poverty in Mumbai (Bombay), India. There he assists in running the Anand Orphanage.

Some of the children become prostitutes. They go hungry. Without Pederson’s work, more would be destitute.

He brings meals to the street children. He is a father figure to many. He even adopts one of the children.

But his orphanage is nearing bankruptcy. He needs help.

A wealthy Danish citizen, Jorgen (Rolf Lassgard), is looking for a charity to give money to, and Pederson is invited to give his pitch. Pederson flies to Denmark and stays in a posh apartment.

Pederson pitches his orphanage. Jorgen seems indifferent to the orphanage’s plight but invites Pederson to crash his daughter’s wedding. Pederson needs the cash and figures he will get a better chance of obtaining the money by attending the wedding.

Talk about a coincidence. The girl’s mother just happens to be his old flame, Helene (Sidse Babett Knudsen). Shock one.

Then when the bride, Anna (Stine Fischer Christensen), gives a little wedding tribute to her father, we get another shock. It’s a big shock. I won’t spoil it by telling you.

It’s a life-saving shock for Pederson, who eventually is offered the money but with the stipulation he stay in Denmark to handle the money.

But Pederson promised his young son that he would return for the boy’s birthday.

Yes, this guy’s goal of helping young orphans is complicated. But it gets worse.

This is a full-fledged story. In too many other films, plots appear underwritten, thin and predictable. But not in “After the Wedding.” The characters are also three-dimensional and complex.

The rich Jorgen comes off initially as an unfeeling jerk, but we later learn how noble and unselfish he can be.

And Pederson isn’t as Mother Teresa-ish as we at first believe.

Then there’s the new bride, who is so happy at the wedding but turns morose later.

Give credit to the actors but also director-writer Susanne Bier and writer Anders Thomas.

It’s a drama, it’s a soap opera, it’s an adventure; but most of all, it is a romance.

It works at so many levels. “After the Wedding” is worth seeking out.

‘EFTER BRYLLUPPET’ (‘After the Wedding’)

Director: Susanne Bier

Writers: Anders Thomas Jensen (screenplay) and Bier (story)

Runtime: 120 minutes

Rated “R” for some language and sexuality

Filmed in Danish, Swedish, Hindi and English, with subtitles

3 1/2 stars out of 5.