DRACULA UNTOLD Review

First time feature writers Burk Sharpless and Matt Sazama have traced the root of the Dracula name back to the descendants of Vlad II of Wallachia or "Vlad the Impaler" and told his story as a point of origin for the Dracula myth that was popularized by Bram Stoker in his 1897 horror novel. While this may seem like an interesting take on an age old tale it speaks volumes that it arrives at a time in the cinematic landscape when Universal wants to create a universe akin to Marvel's with their classic monster line-up as well as being on the back end of the vampire craze. It was evident from the first trailers of Dracula Untold that everything this film had to offer was already being shown. Strangely enough though, the trailers implied a large-scale film; one with sweeping locations and handsome costume design that would span possible centuries while rooting this origin story in an environment we might want to come to better know given the chance. In actuality the final product feels very small, a film akin to that of January's I, Frankenstein which results in nothing more than an ugly step-sister to the summer blockbusters that have equally silly stories or premises, but real vision and money behind them. To come down even harder on Dracula Untold is to take into consideration this is director Gary Shore's feature directorial debut (working from a screenplay by two rookie writers) and every ounce of that inexperience shows on the screen. To keep it simple, this is as by the numbers as you could ask for which I'm sure Shore was happy about because he'd managed to make something that looks and feels like everything else does at the moment, but it does nothing to set itself apart as an introduction to a world where great things could possibly happen. It is even somewhat unfair Universal would strap that responsibility on Shore and his crew in the first place. From the first 300-inspired frames of the film one can see where this is going, one can tell the type of tone that will be used simply by the dim aesthetic and bland dialogue that comes from every other film set in the 1400's. Dracula Untold is a mess, a film with some clear ambition (which is actually saying something), but one that can't seem to summon that ambition either on the page or in its visuals resulting in a film that is little more than recycled rubbish.

First Trailer for FOCUS

What happened to Will Smith after 2008's Seven Pounds will likely always remain a mystery to me. The guy was on such a roll having more than made up for Men in Black II and Wild Wild West with Ali, I, Robot, Hitch, The Pursuit of Happyness, I am Legend and hell, even Bad Boys II which I think everyone can agree is everyone's favorite guilty pleasure. Ever. Though that 2008 weeper put him in a bad standing with critics for the first time in some time he seemed to take it harder than necessary retreating to the safe haven of the Men In Black movies four years later only to follow it up with the truly laughable After Earth. Truth is, the guy could have gone on making movies like Hancock every summer and no one would have thought any worse of him, well, they would have at least thought better of him than what has become of his career at this point (we won't even bring up the odd cameo in Winter's Tale). All of that said, hopefully we are now settling in for what is the third phase of Mr. Smith's career in which he strays from the science fiction, plays up his charms and likely wins an Oscar in about fifteen years. These cycles seem to go in eight year counts, so if we begin next year we will have a presumably good run with Smith until 2022 when he is 54 years-old. He'll take a break for a while, come back big with a showy role in an Academy friendly drama and earn that place and validation among his peers he has always craved. All of that is to say I really want to have confidence in Focus as I'm counting on it to be the original property that gives Smith's career the jump start it severely requires. Focus is directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa (Crazy Stupid Love) and also stars Margot Robbie, Rodrigo Santoro and Gerald McRaney. The film opens on February 27, 2015.

STRETCH Review

Joe Carnahan has made six feature length films, four of which I have now seen. Some of them I remember, others I don't recall much of. I haven't seen his debut 1998 feature Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane (which looks and sounds horrendous) nor his sophomore follow-up in 2002's Narc though I hear that one is actually worth a look. I was introduced to Carnahan's tendency for manic action in his hyper-stylized 2006 effort which he both wrote and directed, Smokin' Aces.  I can remember Aces featuring an all-star ensemble, but a story that alludes me though that doesn't matter. It was a film with a visual flair all its own and from what I do remember it was that overt style that made me want to seek it out more than anything else. Going through the rest of Carnahan's filmography brings us to the highly underrated, intended to be franchise-starter that was 2010's The A-Team (an almost $80 million domestic gross against a $110 million budget) and then on to the next years The Grey which gave Liam Neeson what looked like another actioner in his new position as official movie badass, but was actually a thoughtful, meditative look at love, loss and the meaning of our existence among the threats of the wilderness and wolves. He is an eclectic kind of filmmaker as the aforementioned filmography proves, but he clearly has his tendencies when it comes to the types of films he likes to make and the very precise style he likes to infuse them with. There isn't necessarily one distinct style, though his pacing is key, but it is more about the melding of the style and material together in a way that produces something that feels totally organic. Organic in terms of a harmonious relationship between several different elements and Carnahan is now at a point in his career with his latest, Stretch, that he pulls off his manic tone with ease as his multifaceted screenplay dips in and out of different circumstances while never losing its energy.

Teaser Trailer for TOMORROWLAND

Director Brad Bird's next live action feature, Tomorrowland, has been brewing for some time and now, on the heels of a New York Comic Con panel, the first teaser trailer has premiered. The screenplay, from Lost co-creator and head scribe Damon Lindelof, has been kept under wraps for the better part of what feels like forever. I am eagerly anticipating the film not only for the reasons that Bird has done nothing but prove himself time and time again (The Iron Giant, The Incredibles, Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol) but also because of Lindelof. While I know I'm in the minority I appreciate most of his work and his approach to mystery (seriously, check out his commentary on Prometheus). Lindelof certainly knows how to bring an audience into a world so let's just hope he has worked on nailing the landing this time. Bird and co-writer Jeff Jensen also helped with the script and cite Close Encounters of the Third Kind as a point of reference while also stating that the film is not heavily plot driven. In interviews Lindelof refers to it as a pure discovery movie. This is rather exciting as it clearly presents an interesting world to be discovered and that it will actually take the time to explore that world rather than allowing itself to become wrapped up in a standard plot is really refreshing. This first look is certainly a teaser in the most cryptic sense of the word but it perfectly sets up the intrigue we should all be left to wonder about until next summer. Tomorrowland stars George Clooney, Britt Robertson, Hugh Laurie, Tim McGraw, Kathryn Hahn, Judy Greer, Keegan-Michael Key and opens on May 22, 2015.

THE BOXTROLLS Review

In some ways Laika studios is becoming the indie animation factory where alternative childrens films go to flourish and are received with almost guaranteed better reception than anything the likes of Dreamworks, Disney or even Pixar puts out at this point. Don't get me wrong, those studios still make more money and get more attention and of course don't put out bad products (How to Train Your Dragon 2 and Frozen were critical successes as much as they were commercially and the upcoming Inside Out looks insanely ambitious),but at this point critics turn to Laika for something a little off the beaten path, something not so conventional in the realm of animation and typically, they are handsomely rewarded by the stop-motion studio. This kind of elitist, pedigreed status may already be hurting the studio though as with only its third feature out I came away feeling rather indifferent about the whole experience. This may be due to the fact my expectations were rather high given I really enjoyed, dare I say loved, Paranorman and thought it to be an exercise in both nostalgia and expert craftsmanship that resulted in a thoroughly entertaining and weighted film. The techniques used to bring the characters and worlds to life typically serve only to enhance the tone and intended darkness of the stories being told while keeping the overall facade light as if all a masquerade for the children with deeper meaning behind the mask for their parents. This works to a certain extent with our titular characters in Laika's latest film, but never do we find the connection to our human surrogate that we did to Norman whilst on his quest to prove he could rid his town of its age old curse. This lack of connection is odd because both characters are essentially outcasts, people who don't integrate into society seamlessly and thus require and adventure for some type of initiation and acceptance to be felt. In The Boxtrolls our surrogate is a young boy adopted into a society believed to be monsters based on appearance alone (is it easy to see what the moral of the story will be yet?). Eggs (Isaac Hempstead Wright), as he is so lovingly referred, is both charming and naturally intuitive given his strange predicament and his plight is at least endearing if not all that interesting while the biggest let down overall is that this is just what you expect it to be and little more.