Hey folks, Harry here... We've had news on SKY BLUE (formerly titled WONDERFUL DAYS) for quite some time, and I know several people that are dazzled by the movie, though unmoved by the story. Looks like it is a film for those that love beautiful animation - and can forgive story flaws. As for the rest, well... SAVED! sounds quite intriguing. Here ya go...
Sundance: Redemption, Sky Blue, and Saved!Hey Harry,
Just got back home from a round of flicks up at Park City. I haven't seen a whole lotta good stuff up at Sundance this year. I hear the documentaries are where it's at. Here are some quick words on what I saw today:
REDEMPTION
First up is "Redemption," directed by Vondie Curtis Hall. This one's the real life story of Stan "Tookie" Williams (played by Jamie Foxx), the founding father of the Crips street gang. Professor Barbara Becnel (Lynn Whitfield) wants to write a book about the Crips and goes to visit Tookie in prison to get his side of the story. Tookie is now a reformed man, has rejected his violent ways of the past, and wants to write books to inspire inner-city youth to stay away from the life he chose. He develops a tender, trusting relationship with Barbara as she helps him get his message out to the world.
I'll just state it simply: I didn't like this movie. I bet there's a real good story to be told about the life of Stan "Tookie" Williams, but this isn't it. Going into the film, I expected a sort of "rise and fall" storyline, one in which the film would chronicle Tookie's violent beginnings, ending with him seeking redemption in prison. We only see brief flashes of Tookie's past, back when he was a very bad man, but the majority of the film is made up of prison scenes between Tookie and Barbara as he philosophizes and wants to do good, and she listens and adds her two cents. Frankly, it's not very involving stuff. And visually, it's very repetitive, seeing the same visiting cell over and over and over again from the same angles. Personally, I would have loved to see the "rise and fall" storyline I described above. Yes, that's not what the filmmakers wanted to do, and I really should just take the movie for what it is. OK then. The film that I saw showed a very incomplete portrait of an intriguing man. What we have here is a fairly black and white story, with the saint-like Tookie against the cold, cold justice system. The screenplay doesn't give Jamie Foxx much of a character to work with. There's hardly an arch in his character's story -- he's pretty much playing the same note the entire time. Had I seen more of his character before his redemption, I would've cared a lot more about what happened to him later in his life.
According to the posters, "Redemption" will be going straight to the FX channel... where it belongs, quite frankly. This one had "Made-For-TV" quality all over it.
SKY BLUE
Next up is "Sky Blue," an animated film from South Korea, directed by Moon-Sang Kim. I've been curious about this one since I saw pics on this web site several months ago. This film combines cel-animation (for the characters mainly), miniatures, live-action, and computer effects. Sounds like eye-candy, huh?
Not really.
The year is 2142. The earth is a scorched wasteland (as it always is in anime-world). Only one city is left and it's ruled by the elite, while refugees cluster around the edges of town and do all the work. Jay is a female trooper who defends the city. Shua is the leader of a rebellion against the elite. No prizes for guessing that the two fall in love (well, sort of -- it's more like a death march).
This is very typical, sci-fi, anime stuff. I guess they always say when you're using new technology you don't try an reinvent the wheel at the same time. I can see that, but the story in this one is just blah. Very little time is given to the love story, so once we reach the climax, I wasn't emotionally involved at all. Very poor character work. And the American voice-overs ranged from monotone to shrill. Ick. Where's John Lassetter's group when you need 'em?
And as for the look of the film? The computer graphics are pretty sub-par. I've seen just as good in the typical Final Fantasy game on the Playstation they simply don't interact much with the backgrounds in a lot of occasions, and that only calls attention to how silly they look juxtaposed against one another.
I really thought this one was going to be good. Again, very disappointing. Just rent "Akira" instead (a film that proves traditional cel animation and A GOOD STORY are where it's at).
SAVED!
And finally, I'm happy to end this review round-up on a very good note. Repeat after me: You must see "Saved!" Directed by Brian Dannelly, this one's about a very conservative Baptist community and the very conservative Christian high school therein. Jena Malone plays Mary, a devout teenager who is shocked when her boyfriend tells her he's gay. Mary then has a heavenly vision and comes to the conclusion that the best way to "fix" her boyfriend is to sleep with him. Things don't go as planned. Also in the cast is Mandy Moore as Hilary Faye, one of the nastiest "Christians" you'll ever meet, and Macaulay Culkin as her wheel-chair bound brother who pretty much stands (or sits, I guess) outside of all the insanity with a sort of amused detachment.
Anyone who lives or comes from a religiously dominated community will instantly recognize either themselves or their neighbors in this film. It seems at first that the filmmakers are simply pointing and laughing at the lunacy in this community (and it is very funny), but they give plenty of human dimensions to their characters to create a smart, charming, and touching movie with it's heart in the right place.
Culkin is delightful, Malone is delightful, and Eva Amurri (Susan Sarandon's daughter) is a hoot as the Jewish rebel in a school full of crazy Christians. Mandy Moore has her best role to date as the bitchy Hilary Faye, and she deserves kudos for creating a character who is so sickeningly sweet and back-stabbing (which she's only doing for your own salvation, mind you). The movie has tons of great lines and all of the characters are given room to shine. "Saved!" comes out in April and I highly recommend it.
That's the low-down for tonight. I'll check in tomorrow with word on "The Dreamers." Til then.
- Mean Mr. Mustard
