Some thoughts on THE BOX






Richard Kelly's THE BOX is not the end of the world as we know it, as some critics seemed to hint at during its release... but not as strongly as they felt that SOUTHLAND TALES was the End of the World, and probably the End of His Career - which is ironic considering that all of Kelly's films are definitely about The End of the World As We Know It. It's certainly not a career-killer, but it certainly was not the commercial property it was touted to be - although I bet it looked that way after the reception SOUTHLAND TALES got at Cannes, and he was pondering the choices available to avoid Movie Jail.

THE BOX is a much better movie than you'd think - like all of Kelly's films, it's bound to find more appreciative audiences watching it at home and other venues than it found in theatrical release. I liked this film - after the sprawling, overstuffed intentional train-wreck that ST was, Kelly scales things back to DONNIE DARKO size, character wise and plot wise. Kind of.

THE BOX is an adaptation of the Richard Matheson short story, "Button, Button". That story focuses on a wife who is presented with a mysterious box by a mysterious man who has a very simple proposition: if the wife or her husband presses the button on the box within 24 hours, they will receive a million dollars - and someone who they don't know will die. If you were around in the mid-80's, you'll remember that the story was adapted for the revived 1980's TWILIGHT ZONE series, with Mare Winneham and Brad Davis as the couple.

Go ahead and check it out... I'll wait.






In THE BOX, that couple is Cameron Diaz and James Marsden, both of whom are perfectly fine in the roles; and the mysterious stranger is Frank Langella, who's also very good. The adaptation of the story pretty much wraps up in the first 35 minutes of the film... actually, it's more like 25, if you strip away some extraneous scenes that have nothing directly to do with the story. The remaining 1 & 1/2 hours (it's just under a 2 hour film) concern themselves with the consequences of that action - Diaz presses the button, they get a million dollars, and someone dies, yes - but there's also Langella's bizarre deformity from a lightning strike, Diaz's club foot deformity, NASA, the Viking Mission to Mars, possible alien infiltration, glowing portals of water (yet again!), some self-conscious 70's referencing and science shotgun-wedded to the spiritual/biblical.

In other words, it's a Richard Kelly film melded to a Richard Matheson source, and as much as I do like the final product, it seems that the former overwhelms the latter. Which, is not really surprising, considering that a straight adaptation just really doesn't support a feature length film. What's curious to me, is that both adaptations really miss the point of the story.

"Button, Button", the Twilight Zone episode, would seem to be a perfect fit - but the only thing that connects, besides the really annoying performances by the leads is that ending. THE BOX gets the tone of the story right, for the dilemma presented to have some sort of weight, but muffs the story's ending in order to launch into the second part of the movie, where Kelly's main concerns are. Go look up Matheson's story - it's quite easy to find - to see that original ending and compare it to both adaptations.

I'd be willing to bet money that Kelly had his story - the one with the NASA stuff - already in mind, but couldn't find financing; and at some point, encountering the Matheson story, thought that it provided a strong enough hook to graft the other story onto. It's not done badly; that it works as well as it does proves that there was some skill involved. There's just something about it, though, that makes it clear that it's not a natural grafting of stories.

Which makes me think that Kelly just needed another source that would match up better with his creative concerns...



Unless you're a science-fiction fan of obscure movies, you know nothing of THE 27TH DAY. It hasn't been released in the USA in any format, although if you're under the age of 45, you might have caught it on television, in late night/early morning (when black and white movies instead of infomercials ruled the airwaves). Made and released in the late 50's, this always received glowing mention in most of the books about science-fiction films.

Written by John Mantley, (a writer who also produced shows such as 'Gunsmoke' and the second season of 'Buck Rogers' [The Disco Years], among others) based on his novel, THE 27TH DAY is about five people, from various countries, who are chosen by aliens from a dying world to be given a 'gift' - a capsule that, if activated within 27 days, will destroy all human life on the planet, leaving it open for colonization. If the capsules are not activated within that time, then life on the planet will be spared and the aliens will die. However, the aliens are certain that the capsules will be utilized, humans being what they are, and the people are returned to their countries to let the drama play out.


An obvious Cold War parable, THE 27TH DAY is memorable - director William Asher (who did the "Beach Blanket" movies and the BEWITCHED television movies in the 60's) makes the most of a limited budget and effects, and puts the emphasis on characters, Gene Barry (WAR OF THE WORLDS) and his co-stars' attempts to figure their way through this cynical game they've been placed into.

The movie is available on Spanish DVD -- but you can watch it in its entirety on YouTube in eight parts.


This, to me, seems like material that would have melded better with Kelly's intentions, and may have made for a more balanced viewing experience. Although, I'm not certain that anything that Kelly did would have been 'commercial' - his work isn't quite as easy to niche, which is what I do like about it, but the SOUTHLAND TALES experience coupled with the lukewarm response to THE BOX may have squelched anything to come from him for awhile.

I hope not.

In Which We Do Some Coastal Log-Rolling, And Make More Promises That We Probably Won't Keep...



First things first, I wanna remind those of you in the L.A. and NYC areas that there are several films screening that were shot here in the Midwest. Those of you in the NYC area can attend the Hoboken International Film Festival, which kicks off this weekend - THE ONLY GOOD INDIAN screens on Saturday, June 5th, if you'd like to see it on the big screen (instead of, say, on your t.v. via Starz VOD; or on your computer screen via Netflix streaming).

THE ONLY GOOD INDIAN




Monday, June 7th is the date for THE BATTLE FOR BUNKER HILL, Kevin Willmott's new film (though, actually it was shot before INDIAN). It previously screened at the Atlanta Film Festival in April - here's a podcast featuring an interview with Kevin about the film, and Dan Hoyt's review on the Helium website.

THE BATTLE FOR BUNKER HILL



Those in the L.A. area planning on attending the Dances With Films festival may want to reserve some tickets for the screening of LAST BREATH on Tuesday, June 8; Ty Jones' thriller/drama that's starting to hit the festival circuit after winning the Audience Favorite award at the Omaha Film Festival.


I slacked on the blog a bit mainly due to so many other things; mainly looking for work... paying work. I've also been working on a couple of feature scripts and other things, but those are ventures that may potentially pay off Some Bright Day - Way.... WAY Off In The Future, where things can look pretty bright or dark, depending on how good the coffee is in the morning. In The Right Now, it's pretty fucking Hard -- but then, it usually has been.

I've also been watching a wide variety of films at home, since it's way cheaper than going out and the selection is much better than what's in the theaters. So, I turn to what the unemployed and obnoxiously vocal do in Tough Times -- blog about movies. Yes, I know -- how original. You're lucky that it's not about music... now that I've reached the plateau of Bitter Old Man, I no longer recognize what or who the Hell is playing in the clubs that the kids are listening to.

It's pretty fun no longer trying to be Cool...

So for the few of you following my rantings (THANK YOU every last one of you!), I should repay your kindness by providing more content a bit more often -- Facebook has largely been the recipient of the quick hit & run snark, illustrated by link - maybe a little of that will still get here, but I have to try harder - especially when I demand it from others.

THE ONLY GOOD INDIAN Broadcast Premiere




If you have access to most of the Starz channels... like Encore, or Movieplex, then you'll have the opportunity to see TOGI several times during the month. The broadcast premiere is today, May 4, on Encore Westerns at 11:20am, and 8pm - and additional showings on Encore Westerns May 5th @ 4pm; May 8th @ 10am and 5:10pm; May 20th @ 10:05am & 11:10pm; and May 5th on Movieplex @5am.

Times listed are Eastern/Pacific, so adjust accordingly if you're in Central or Mountain time.

Check the Starz page for more info. It should also be available for VOD later in the month, also.

SCARFACE - School play version






Simultaneously wrong and awesome -- when recommending supporting the Arts in schools, this may not what they had in mind.


UPDATE: Sure 'nuff, it's a hoax - well, satirical, anyway. These guys did a great job, but this is a great example why post-mortem on humor is a bad idea:

Coming in April...

Screenings! An excuse to get out of the house and see something that was intended for people over the age of 14!! Granted, that may not be incentive for most people, but I'm sure there's at least a few of you still around out there...



Starting this Friday, April 2, THE ONLY GOOD INDIAN (award-winning western drama directed by Kevin Willmott) will have public screenings at Screenland Armour Theater in North KC beginning Friday, April 2 and running through Thursday April 8th. Kevin Willmott is scheduled for a Q&A after the first screening Friday, April 2. After this, it'll go into blackout, prior to its debut on Starz, so this will be your last chance to see it on the big screen for awhile.



April also brings the Kansas City FilmFest (merging of the KC Filmmakers Jubilee and the Kansas City Film Society Film Festival) - this is the second year under the FilmFest name, and it looks to be a good one. Among those in attendance is director/actor L. Q. Jones, who will be screening the classic A BOY AND HIS DOG as a special presentation.

Very appropriate since KC artist Richard Corben did a graphic adaptation of the Harlan Ellison story; and the latter part of the film is set in an odd environment called 'Topeka'...

Making its premiere is San Francisco filmmaker Chris Brown's new feature, FANNIE, ANNIE & DANNY -- I worked on Chris' first feature film, DAUGHTERS some years ago - and attend some of the seminars, parties, after-parties, etc.




A little further away - Atlanta, GA to be exact - BUNKER HILL (now with 'The Battle For' appended to the title) will screen at the Atlanta Film Festival in mid-April. BUNKER will be playing more dates on the festival circuit this year, and I'll pass 'em along as soon as I hear about them. It recently screened at my old, abandoned college stomping grounds SIU-C, at their annual Big Muddy Film Festival.

Who are The Big House Boys?

Started watching JUSTIFIED, the new FX show based on a character created by Elmore Leonard -- two weeks in & so far, so good. The second ep briefly featured a band made up of convicts, called The Big House Boys. The featured song was pretty good, but no mention of who the band was in the credits, and checking the website wasn't helpful either.

Well, let a few days pass, and through the magic of the Internets, all is answered -- the featured song was "Castleneck" by Cliff Wagner & The Old #7, off of their album HOBO'S LULLABY. Three of the band members were featured as The Big House Boys.


Devitt Feely, Cliff Wagner & Craig Ferguson
Big House Boys

The band's website features a video for the song, as well as an earlier, less bluegrassy & more hard crunching version of 'Castleneck', as well as song samples from their albums, gig info and more.

This has been another Public Service Posting...

THE LAST BROADCAST




I finally got around to viewing THE LAST BROADCAST after about a decade or so. You know how it is... things to do, not enough time... I had missed it at its screening at SXSW, but I remember hearing quite a buzz about it, being the first digital feature and it was made for something like under $1000.

Then 1999 came along, and with it, THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, which was kinda sorta like THE LAST BROADCAST, but it was on film... and REAL, (or so I would've been convinced had I been taking in all the internet hype at the time - and had never gone camping before) and more importantly, it was picked up for distribution and made a shitload of money, and ushered in a decade of vomit-inducing camerawork and shoddy faux-amateurism all reaching for the brass ring in the hopes for a similar payoff.

Time ultimately is the final judge, no matter how good the boxoffice or hype... Others have done a much better job at documenting the history of both films - I'm much more concerned with how well they hold up now, and I have to say THE LAST BROADCAST is the more satisfying of the films. But then, both films have entirely different purposes, and both are marketed as horror films, which LAST BROADCAST isn't.

LB is a 'psuedo-documentary' (the term used when I took a class about it in film-school), and it follows the format of a documentary for a good 95% of its running time. BLAIR WITCH was sold to the audience as a "documentary", the leavings of 3 film students who disappear into the woods, but only the severely thick-headed would believe that after 20 minutes of watching it. Most of the documentary backstory was not a part of the film itself, but was used in publicity - the website, a tv special, CURSE OF THE BLAIR WITCH, which is where its resemblance to THE LAST BROADCAST is strongest.

BLAIR WITCH does fit the description of being a 'horror' film, in that taking the events at face value, it does appear to support a supernatural presence at work.
THE LAST BROADCAST, while it does play with the notion of supernatural forces present, it pretty much shoves that notion under the bus, and actually very cleverly.

What THE LAST BROADCAST is concerned with is media, and how media is used in perceiving "truth", whatever it is decided to be by whoever puts it together. At the time when it was released, "Cops" and "America's Most Wanted" were pretty much the definition of reality television; now there are entire cable networks devoted to it and almost any type of crime you can think of. The networks have their DATEBOOKS and 48 HOURS, devoted to a solid evening of murder television, all attempting to get at the 'truth' of the matter.

There's a lot to chew on well after watching LB, and there's some value in repeat viewings - it may look very crude now, but there was a lot of effort put forth in getting things to look purposely 'bad'. Those going in expecting a horror picture will be extremely disappointed, but the film ultimately is more intellectually stimulating than crowd pleasing. BW, on the other hand, didn't have anything else on its mind other than giving the audience a scare - and when substance was grafted to it, shotgun-wedding style (what Joe Berliner attempted to do with BOOK OF SHADOWS: BLAIR WITCH 2), it just didn't take.

Although both are thoroughly to blame for these goddamn 'ghost-hunting' shows currently clogging up the airwaves...