Tag Archives: Brett Wiesenauer

Disney’s Tomorrowland, a Fascinating Curio, Ironically Lacks Direction

Movie Review, ,

tomorrowland-logobrett_wiesenaurBrad Bird is one of the most exciting filmmakers working today.

Starting as an animator, his creative talents won him jobs behind the scenes of The Simpsons and quickly led to animated feature films at Pixar, helming both The Incredibles and Ratatouille. He also is the mastermind behind one of my all-time favorite movies, The Iron Giant, also one of my first theatrical experiences – which I shall write about ever-shortly, coinciding with it’s upcoming theatrical re-release in September.

tomorrowlandIn 2011, Bird transitioned into live action movies with the fourth installment of the Mission:IMPOSSIBLE franchise, Ghost Protocol. And now, we have his first truly “original” live action work, Tomorrowland. Co-written by Bird and Damon Lindelof, he of LOST and Star Trek reboot infamy, the film was one of my most expected of this year.

How did it compare to my modest expectations? Well, let’s start with what I liked.

First off, the casting is great. George Clooney plays a great curmudgeon with gusto and gruff charm, so no real issues there. Britt Robertson is the bright-eyed newcomer whose admirable can-do spirit was more than infectious and carried the movie entirely. Then, there’s Raffey Cassidy, who plays a mysterious girl connecting both Robertson and Clooney to a mysterious location never ostensibly named, but we shall refer to as TOMORROWLAND because obvious movie title is obvious.

tomorrowland2As a boy, Clooney was swept up in said location’s ingenious open-minded policies, but left after discovering a crushing secret. Cassidy’s Athena is a funny, endearing, and preposterously badass character who is arguably the best thing to come out of science fiction since Christopher Nolan’s INCEPTION. I shan’t spoil her character and motives, but the movie is worth watching simply for her lovely performance.

There are also delightful extended cameos from comics Kathryn Hahn and Keegan-Michael Key as a pair of eccentric shop owners who basically run an operational nostalgia factory, selling working replicas of classic sci-fi characters including Disney’s recently-acquired STAR WARS cast, Artoo and Threepio.

Another delight to the movie is the designs and the ideas presented within the film. The inciting moment in the film comes when Robertson’s character, bailed out of lock-up for mischievous sabotage, touches a Tomorrowland pin in her belongings, which functions as a transportive tour simulator of the titular location, filled with jetpacks, Back-to-the-Future style jumpsuits, and the best design for a swimming pool I’ve seen since the Golden Age of Hollywood.

The main thematic message is also worth mentioning just because of its plea for hope for humanity as well as the future. It’s a message that is worth telling because of the saturation of pessimism in the mass media, which is there to extinguish hope, an interesting take on the ideal. Another plus is the overall sense of nostalgic fun, which has been greatly missed in live-action Disney of late, reminding the author of growing up watching the classic live action Disney adventures along the likes of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and the original TRON.

Tomorrowland3As for my major gripe, I’ll be brief, as I still recommend the film. I have had a tumultuous [read BAD] relationship with the primary screenwriter, Mr. Lindelof. Let’s face it, the man cannot write conclusions at all. LOST was an infamously poor joke and Star Trek INTO DARKNESS stole from better source material without bothering to add any improvements.

The big problem with this film is the third act. Lindelof, or the studio, came to the tired conclusion that this movie needed a defined plot, rather than being satisfied just exploring TOMORROWLAND and trusting that the journey the characters embark upon will be fascinating and engrossing enough. Instead, they shoehorn in a last-minute villain and force in a couple-too-many action set pieces because it’s the safe tried-and-true Hollywood method to make high-concept blockbusters.

Notably, the film has vastly underperformed at the box office; their strategy has backfired. If the makers had trusted the journey they’d constructed to be enough, they wouldn’t have to trot out tired old cliches that ended up leaving their potential audience uninterested.

Overall, I’d say that Tomorrowland is worth checking out, at least as a rental a la Redbox or Netflix one evening. The film is not perfect; not all films can be Fury Road, after all. But still, the creativity and the casting makes it an interesting curio. ‘Tis not quite the new Disney classic that some may have expected, but something still worth noticing and talking about so as to learn and improve for the future, which is definitely for the best.

SPY–A True, Blue Espionage Comedy

Local Entertainment, Movie Review,

brett_wiesenaurComedy is tough to pull off, inherent subjectivity notwithstanding. Plenty find Kristen Wiig a hilarious person, I just don’t. Different strokes for different folks I guess. While I am a fan of espionage thrillers and the occasional raunchy comedy, Paul Feig’s SPY was not on my priority watch list. In recent years, comedy has been losing my interest. It is my more culturally ingrained friends that find modern comedies truly enjoyable, my inherent snobbishness preventing me from joining them a majority of the time, although there have been exceptions. I have not found Melissa McCarthy all that entertaining and I haven’t had the nerve to watch Feig’s Bridesmaids. When I won tickets to an advanced screening, I grudgingly accepted my mother’s request that I go with her.      SPY

Two hours later, I thanked her for inviting me with a huge face-breaking grin.  That movie was more like it. Too many specialized-comedies have lost track of what makes situations funny; the Spy Hard franchise was never involving because the universe was so detached and ridiculous that no one person could get invested in any of the characters. There needs to be grounding in the story in order to truly work. No comedy can be 100% goofy and work; at least unless you’re AIRPLANE! Within the film, I felt invested because I felt the comedy to be organic, not forced like too many comedies seem. Whenever Susan Cooper (McCarthy) was in a dangerous espionage situation, I felt the stakes at hand. And whenever something silly happened, it was realistically implemented.

One of the funniest scenes early on details Cooper’s training at The Farm, where she gets a little too into the more ultra-violent aspects of spy training. In context, she’s currently a relatively mild-mannered analyst, but the archive footage they pull detailing her pre-analyst days suggest anything but. Even the fight scenes are immersive and bloody as James Bond movies won’t go. Bravo, Feig.

The rest of the cast is in rare form. Of note is British comedienne Miranda Hart as Cooper’s buddy in the office who later joins her mission as a partner-in-spying. She’s sweet, off-handedly vulgar, and cheerfully incompetent at most everything except eating delicious sweets. Jason Statham is a great treat, satirizing his action hero persona by inserting an overdue bumbling riff on his well-known roles in the past, at one point bragging about the things he’s done on missions, lifted from his films Transporter 3 and Crank: High Voltage. Jude Law’s extended cameo was suitably charming in the best audition for a James Bond movie since Layer Cake. And Rose Byrne is equally menacing and seductive as the villianess. My only real complaints are 1) Allison Janney was underused and 2) Bobby Cannavale’s tan looked uber-fake. Other than that, it’s a good flick. Check it out!

Mad Miller Strikes Again

Citizen Journalism, Local Entertainment, Movie Review, Reviews, , , ,

brett_wiesenauerEditor’s Note:  This begins a series of movie reviews by a film fanatic in West Michigan who is getting a degree in Communications, Broadcasting, Film and Video from Grand Valley State University.

“I am the scales of justice. Conductor of the choir of death. Sing, Brothers! Sing! SING!!” ~The Bullet Farmer

Over the last year, it’s been a slog anticipating movies. Enough movies have come and gone, here today gone tomorrow that I’ve just about given up on hoping for good, enjoyable genre films to come out and make a difference. I’ve been burned way too many times; PACIFIC RIM was amazing, but critics and audiences dismissed it as nothing special, Godzilla meandered around rather than inspiring any adoration, and anything who mentions the name Michael Bay to my face might as well slap themselves before I do it harder, with a folding chair.

But then, here comes George Miller, septuagenarian madman extraordinaire, to show off his kaleidoscopic symphony of insane imagination, George Millerrelentless adrenaline, and consummate joy: Mad Max: FURY ROAD. It’s as if he’s been sitting off to the sidelines all these years, watching director after director try to make action movies in Hollywood, finally standing up in a huff, exclaiming, “No, no, no; this is how you make an action movie, lads”. On top of all that, the critics are lauding this film, of the 249 critics who have seen the film, only 5 have given the film a negative review, awarding the film a 98% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In regards to action filmmaking, this is unheard of; not since The Dark Knight has a film rode the critical whirlwind like this, and not a non-comic book actioner since the original Matrix film.

FURY ROAD follows Tom Hardy’s Max, a former motor cop broken down by the loss of his family and friends in the fall of law and order post-Apocalypse. He is captured by the War Boys of Immortan Joe, a warlord who looks like the result of The Joker designing a suit of medieval armor, holed up in the towering Citadel somewhere in deserted Australia. Shortly after Max’s capture, one of Joe’s subordinates, Imperator Furiosa, played to hardened perfection by Charlize Theron, steals Joe’s prized breeding wives, in a desperate bid for freedom across the hostile Outback. The following one-hundred odd minutes has been described as a cathartic, two-hour car chase in the desert between madness and unbridled fury. And it is astounding to behold.Charlize Theron

Charlize Theron is fantastic as the stoic Furiosa who will do anything to provide a better life for the young ladies in her care, clearly earning her sharing top billing with Tom Hardy’s Max Rockatansky. Tom Hardy takes over from Mel Gibson quite well. He moves with precision, determination; there’s a lot of animalistic behavior in his madness. And his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is as haunting as most anything from The Babadook. Nicholas Hoult is a treat as the nutty War Boy Nux, providing moments and dialogue that is destined for a pantheon of insane bad assery. There’s also the chief villain, Immortan Joe, who is played by the same actor as the villain in the original Mad Max, the Toecutter! Then there’s the Doof Warrior, a man clad in a lava-red jumpsuit who has not a single line in the film, but steals every scene simply because the man wields an electric guitar that breathes fire! Also, Rictus Erectus is to be referred henceforth as Stone Cold Steve Australia.

The funniest thing is that for the last 20 years, Miller has been tempering himself by working in family films. After seemingly concluding the original Mad Max trilogy with the entertaining, yet uneven Beyond Thunderdome, Miller made the 2 Babe films as well as 2 Happy Feet flicks. With ease, Miller remembers that the trick with all filmmaking, but the action genre in particular, is to show, not tell, as film is a visual medium. None of this Nolan-esque obsession with infinite exposition so the audience won’t ever be lost. Miller drives the audience head-first into the insanity, with a short chase scene that leads into yet another chase scene building up to an even BIGGER chase scene that will end up taking more than half of the film’s runtime. It’s quite admirable as well as shockingly to the point. The movie has been streamlined to the point that anyone can enter and enjoy the film as long as they are willing to accept the outlandish craziness of the post-apocalyptic Outback, where masked warlords rule over helpless refuse, stubborn drifters grunt and snarl rather than speak in sentences, and independent women are the most bad ass thing in sight.   Mad Max Fury Road 2

On the note of the women’s role in the film. There is a small, but loud audience of deluded man-children on social media claiming that FURY ROAD contains a sickening feminist agenda, poised to forcibly insert feminist ideals into the gung-ho, he-man world of action films. Yeah, because Aliens was totally ruined by the fact that Ellen Ripley was the main character of the film. Oh, and how dare Lara Croft be born female? All action protagonists must be born with male parts and no feminine qualities whatsoever! Ugh! Just of note, this is a film where the main villain is a tyrant and known sex-slaver, yet there is not a single scene of extravagant nudity or even a rape scene, which premium television apparently relishes, cough cough!

This film is joy. A pure, off-kilter, powerhouse of joy. And I have seen this film eight times au cinéma since its release. This has NEVER happened before. Hollywood, please acknowledge my humble request: Fire Michael Bay, Can Zack Snyder, Halt production on all movies, and then give them all to George Miller.

Cornerstone’s Little Women production provides grand entertainment!

Local Entertainment,

brett_wiesenaurThis past weekend, I had the privilege to see a preview of Cornerstone’s production of Louisa May Alcott’s classic Little Women.  In its brief length, I experienced truly memorable performances from an exceptional cast under the enviable direction of Nancy Wagner, a seasoned performer around Grand Rapids and theatre instructor at GRCC.   The production proves an entertaining escape from the worries and freezing of today, transporting viewers to a “simpler time” of adolescent love and that beneficial little thing called family.

The timeless story of growing up is given the premium treatment thanks to Wagner’s thoughtfully realistic approach to the performances which truly made the show.  The most popular adaptation of Alcott’s work remains the 1933 film starring the unquestionably iconic Katharine Hepburn as the passionate and temperamental Jo March.  Thankfully, Ms. Wagner doesn’t try to echo Hepburn’s scene-stealing characterization, instead going for a more theatrically appropriate approach: realism.  Portrayed by Skye Walker, Jo is passionate and temperamental but portrays such traits with mild restraint, as the play does take place during the American Civil War, well before the feminist movement even appeared.  The rest of the cast do a fine job of bringing such characters as Jo’s impulsive younger sibling Amy [Jory van Dyke], the frail yet gifted Beth [Rebecca Wierenga], the subtly graceful mother Marmee [Alexa Heeres], and many others the performances worthy of modern theatre, disconnecting perfectly from the popular film.  Here, characters aren’t portrayed as slots to be played by character actors in a Hollywood production; they feel like truly realized people which adds to rather than dilutes the heartbreak and sacrifice of the choices they make over the course of the show.

Tickets for the production are $12 for adults and $10 for non-Cornerstone students and Senior citizens.  The show plays at the Grand Rapids Theological Seminary this Thursday thru Saturday at 7.30 pm as well as a matinee Saturday at 2.30 pm.  There will be a talk-back Friday night with the cast and crew.  Don’t miss this one; it’s well worth your time and support.

New Civic Theater show tackles issues of community and humanity

Local Entertainment,

brett_wiesenauerGrand Rapids Civic Theater has always maintained a relatively polished image for its patrons over the years, usually showcasing family programming for a majority of its season.  Clybourne Park, their current show in production, pushes envelopes and issues that are a welcome change from the usual  sometimes saccharine season lineup.  Not to say at all the play is nothing but dark and dreary, heavens no, but the content is more daring than this patron of Civic has seen in recent years.

 

The plot concerns a small Chicago neighborhood’s response to potential housing integration in 1959, as well as a counterpoint discussion fifty years later taking up the second act.  Russ and Bev, the couple moving out of the house, have no problem with a colored family moving in.  Karl Lindner, a nosy neighbor, has other ideas, claiming the approaching gentrification will ruin property values once “they” enter the equation that is their neighborhood.  Tensions mount and personal boundaries are crossed, until the patriarch explodes into blatant hateful profanity at his hopelessly bigoted and xenophobic neighbors, partially out of rage at the way they had treated his son who came back from Korea years before.  The second act concerns a proposed addition on the same property by a 21st century white couple, now that the neighborhood is predominantly black.  What starts out as well-intended negotiations shortly spirals into accusations of cultivating stereotypes among all parties; blacks, gays, Hispanics, and even WASPs are not safe.  Language is used as a whip to stir debate between all parties as well as the audience.

 

What really struck me was the careful characterization of everyone involved.  Karl, the neighbor, is hopelessly bigoted, yes, but he’s not a villain; he is simply a scared, flawed member of a xenophobic white community.  To add even more complexity to his character, he cares deeply for his pregnant wife, who is deaf.  He even goes so far to refrain from harsh language in her presence, even though she’s deaf and is not too good at lip-reading.  He believes he’s doing the right thing by offering the incoming black family a buyout in order for them not to intrude on their carefully maintained community.  Russ, the out-going patriarch, is not so clean-cut either, as he has a tendency to lash out in rage if poked and prodded too much by his neighbors.  He loved his son dearly, which leads to a startling revelation at the climax of act one.  The cast is splendid all around, which makes the show all the more enjoyable.

 

Believe it or not, even regarding every revelation thus far as to the plot, the show is a satirical comedy as well as moral dilemma drama.  There are equal portions of dramatic soapboxing from both sides as well as sidesplitting wit and barbs exchanged over the course of the play.  A questionably funny joke is even the focus of a plot point in the second act.  The show is like its characters: complex, funny, heartbreaking, and memorable to the very end.  Please check it out while it still lingers on Civic’s stage.  Be sure to bring an open mind and let the play dare you to think about its sometimes uncomfortable, but relevant subject.

Healing Improv Channels Grief

Community Health, Local Faces, Non-Profits,

brett_wiesenaurBetter for the Soul than Chicken Soup

For Bart Sumner, October 9th turned out to be a double-edged sword. Not only was it the inaugural meeting of his recent labor of love called Healing Improv, a potential non-profit for grieving individuals, it was also the fourth anniversary of the death of his 10 year old son, David. Sumner created Healing Improv to help himself and others learn how to channel grieving energy into healing fun by doing improvisational comedy. Perhaps the aligning of the dates were not a coincidence after all. .

“Our goal is not to forget those we lost; our goal is to learn to move on and still find joy in life,” explains Sumner. “It’s been a long journey up to this point.”

Healing Improv offers an alternative way of moving through grief.
Healing Improv offers an alternative way of moving through grief. Photo courtesy of Grand Rapids Civic Theatre

In addition to Sumner, 14 other people came to the session; more than he expected. The workshop started out quietly. Attendees were apprehensive, yet open-minded, and treated their fellow patrons warmly. Sumner began the evening by simply asking the group: “So, why are we all here tonight?”

For the next 45 minutes, individuals bared their souls talking about their spouses, children, parents, and dearest friends who they had lost. As the group of strangers poured out their pent-up grief,a heaviness settled in the room. But just when the timing was right, Sumner smartly redirected the morose ice with the perky suggestion of, “Let’s have some fun, now!”

What pursued was the group’s engagement in five improvisational games, starting with Superhero Circle. It went like this: First, players presented the name of their unlikely super-powered alter-ego, such as, The Lone Ranger, Barbra Streisand, Burger-Eating Guy, and The Jelly! Next, attendees were encouraged to memorize everyone else’s super-names and modify it into a game of Hot Potato, tossing names and gestures back and forth to one another at a ridiculous pace. Soon, much needed laughter and smiles filled the room and the atmosphere began to lighten up.

The second game played was called “One Word FairyTale,” with participants retelling the story of the “Three Little Pigs,” one word per person at a time. As the rest of the games were explained and played out, so did the laughter and the smiles. Sumner couldn’t have been more pleased with how the first session turned out. Joy was experienced and shared out loud. It was one mission accomplished for Sumner.

In the meantime, he awaits his second mission to be accomplished: getting Healing Improv qualified by the Internal Revenue Service as a non-profit charity. If approved, all donations to this cause would be considered tax-deductible. So far Sumner has raised over $6600 to get the program started. The next session of Healing Improv will be Tuesday, December, 17 at 7 p.m. at the Grand Rapids Civic Theater.

The Sound of Music fills Civic halls for holiday season–Local Theater Review

Citizen Journalism, Local Entertainment, , ,

brett_wiesenaurOne of the undisputed classics of musical theater  is undoubtedly The Sound of Music. Practically everyone has seen the classic movie on television and video. And now you can see it currently at Grand Rapids Civic Theater Wednesdays through Sundays until December 15th. The cast and crew put on an excellent event that exceeds the film version. A stage show of this caliber is just the thing that the season needs to uplift everyone to approaching holiday spirits.

 

The settings of this show stand out more than anything. The sets are spectacular, notably that of the mountaintop where the lead songstress Maria sings the title tune and later stages a daring escape from the inevitable Nazi takeover of Captain Von Trapp’s beloved Austria with her new family. The greenery and the granite reproductions restore the atmosphere of the hills of Austria, before the war clouds covered them up. The Von Trapp mansion is also notably reproduced, showcasing a classy grandeur of the Captain and his slew of children, along with their two servants, Frau Schmidt and Franz.

The cast is also excellent, boasting veterans of the stage and newcomers.  Jessica Doyle, a voice teacher in the Grand Rapids area, plays the lead Maria with  gusto and a pixie-like presence, sweet and nurturing at once.  Meanwhile, David Duiven plays the Captain with a restrained formality that showcases   professionalism as well as a restricted love that he eventually reveals.  The children all give solid performances, especially the eldest daughter Liesl, played  by Civic debutante Lydia Blickley, who performs an effortless and classic ballet routine in the number “Sixteen Going on Seventeen”, with her almost beau,  the town messenger boy Rolf, played by Josh Regan.  Special mention also goes to the unmatched talents of the nuns who open the musical with a wonderful rendition of the 110th Psalm, and the wonderful Darla Wortley reprising her award-winning turn as the Mother Abbess, mixing unquestioned authority with adorable moments of childishness and exquisite vocals to boot!

If you had doubts about this serving as an appropriate holiday theatrical outing, think again.  The show has so much zest and upbeat cheer in the face of danger that no one shall leave the auditorium unhappy.  Go out and buy your tickets, the show is still proving a popular draw after all these years.