Review: Mrs. Washington goes to Smith

As a graduate of Smith College, I'd been looking forward to the Hallmark Channel's summer presentation of "Mrs. Washington goes to Smith", a story about a woman in her late 40's (played realistically by Cybill Shepherd) returning to her (and my) alma mater to finish her degree.

Yes that's a map of Smith's campus. Not that it matters.
It's the only time you see the campus at all in this movie.

Let's get this out of the way: Because I'm a Smith graduate, I expected a lot more from this movie than I do from standard tv-movie fare. The Smith campus is beautiful, the academics are intense, and the students are intelligent and well-spoken. Though I know that Hallmark Movies are generally known for their tear-jerking, I figured Shepherd had the acting chops to pull off any kind of gushy plot. Yet even she couldn't save this overly-emotional mire.

Part of the issue might be that there was so little discussion about the program she was enrolled in; the Ada Comstock program for 'non-traditional' students. Three of my 4 years at Smith were spent in Northrop house, which had a surprisingly large population of Adas, and they were ALWAYS given singles. They interacted with traditional students in (might I say it) a traditional way. That is to say, they did not treat other students in the house as daughters, but as other people who happened to be in the same place for the same purpose as they were. Like going to the bank, it hardly matters if the person in line in front of you is ten years younger or 30 years older. Hallmark Channel's script, glossed over the entire interaction between students.

My own disappointment was heightened by the filming location which was clearly not Smith's campus, or even Northampton. Location for the film is listed as Los Angeles. I found myself straining at every shot, trying to find some semblance of Smith's architecture. And it was there. Barely. Hallmark's Smith College has a lot more stairs than the real version, I noticed. Shepherd's Alice Washington was always going up some stairs or down some stairs, noticing a professor on the stairs, calling out to someone on another floor.

Mostly, the biggest issue with "Mrs. Washington goes to Smith" was the ridiculously flat script. The plot, which centers mainly around the interaction of Mrs. Washington, her 20 year old roommate and their poetry professor (omg, We both have a huge crush on him! That is sooooo wrong!), feels stiff and over-acted. The viewer has a hard time becoming really engaged with this movie, since at no point does the plot really leap off the screen.

The realest moments came at the Thanksgiving scene when Mrs. Washington returns home to create a holiday feast for her two children who are by turns impressed, proud and completely horrified by their mother's insistence on living her own life and finishing her degree. This intimate portrayal of a mother doing something for herself for a change and the critical reaction of her self-absorbed daughter are perhaps the most interesting points of the whole movie. These reflections on adult education probably ring true for many Ada Comstock students.

The rest of the story, alas, was too saccharine to reflect upon. Every moment seemed heavy with things unsaid. And every interaction between the poetry professor and roommate Zoe or Mrs. Washington verged on too painful to watch. What might have been a poignant tale of an autonomous woman finally doing something for herself becomes an awkward love-triangle that has nothing to do with the setting or characters involved.

The backdrop of Smith College becomes less than even a backdrop; it becomes a set-up for the title's cutesy switch-a-roo of 1939's "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington". Had the former movie not been made, this movie would be of no more interest or notoriety than any other tear-jerker hosted on Hallmark. And as "Mrs. Washington Goes to Smith" shares no more attributes with that old classic than the title.

Ultimately, the only word that sums up Hallmark's "Mrs. Washington Goes to Smith" is "disappointment".

Upcoming Film: Coraline

It's been a while since I was last psyched about an upcoming film release. Most notably, I'm seriously looking forward to X-men Origins flick, "Wolverine". But that isn't projected to come out until May this year. So until then, I'm going to have to sedate myself with the variety of twee tween fantastical-romances that are griming up the movie pipeline. And "Coraline", which the trailer promises to be every bit as amazing as Mr. Tim Burton's first clay-mation feature film, "Nightmare Before Christmas" (Burton's first clay-mation short was "Vincent" in 1982).

Careful, Coraline. Curiosity supposedly killed the cat.

What makes "Coraline" so much more thrilling in concept is that the story was created by Neil Gaiman, the same mind who wrote the brilliant "Stardust", and BBC's "Neverwhere". All the trailers I've seen so far indicate that "Coraline" is a very promising film that Burton's dark vision lends itself to perfectly.

Seeing "Nightmare Before Christmas" still imbues me with a child-like sense of wonder, so I'm certainly looking forward to more from both Gaiman and Burton. Not to mention that although I'm not really a fan of Dakota Fanning (or, admittedly, her voice), the voice acting in the trailer seems SPOT ON. I'm very excited for this and the release date is thankfully quite soon, to save us from "Twilight" dregs.

Coraline comes to theaters February 6th. See below for the trailer.

Cult Classics

Even though I felt traumatized by Rocky Horror Picture Show from an early age, I've always been drawn towards what society calls "Cult Classics". I remember wandering around video stores to the Cult section and wondering if there was something implicit in making a cult movie. Did you watch a film the first time around and just know? I've seen my share of cult hits, and I know they can range from irrevocably awful (Tank Girl) to bizarrely quirky (Priscilla, Queen of the Desert) to just plain awesome (Office Space).

Wikipedia claims that a "Cult Classic" is a film that develops a strong, obsessive following after an initial failed release, and I'm sure that quotability must be one of those facets which yields obsession. But there must be more than this, or the entire James Bond series would be considered cult films. And it can't be based solely on the inital flop, because some things I consider cult films simply didn't do all that poorly to begin with.

Mostly, I'm thinking of Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog which has three episodes totaling 45 minutes in length when strung together. Originally released directly to web, it has just made its first appearance on the DVD and BlueRay shelves, and when I saw that, I snagged a copy, ASAP.

The Dr. Horrible cast wants you to know that
writers' strikes can't be held accountable for poor media.
Got a strike? Go out and write it yourself.

When I first watched this online, I knew, INSTANTLY that DHSAB was going to be a cult classic. People would simply be unable to ignore the draw of Dr. Horrible's fantastic music and witty dialogue. Dr. Horrible is expertly played by Neil Patrick Harris, who was completely able to translate Billy's quiet, bumbling, unhappiness to the screen. This is certainly a film where the viewer is intended to firmly side with the 'villain'. Biggest complaint, as worded by my mother: "Wait, that's it?? Where's the rest of it?" (which, frankly, is how I felt about RHPS)

While it's true that DHSAB ends on a low note (not to mention somewhat out-of-the-blue), I don't feel it's unfair for the director Joss Whedon to ask his audience to stretch their minds a little bit and realize that DHSAB is a bit like life and you don't always get what you hoped for. And in this case, it's a good thing.

And anyway, the music is FANTASTIC. I have the soundtrack in my car and I listen to it pretty much constantly.

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog can be viewed online for free at Hulu. Just follow the link. (NOTE: You must have the latest version of Adobe Flash Player to view the video)

Upcoming Films: Prince of Persia

Ay, Me! It's been a whole month and it's just flown by. Life's been pretty busy and I've moved out to Sacramento for my job, for a little bit. Getting an internet connection has been a trial in and of itself, but relax, dear readers! Here I sit, able to communicate once again!

Recently, I was scrolling through an Upcoming Disney Films webpage (as I am often wont to do), and found ... "Oh my gosh, they're making a Prince of Persia movie!!! With Day After Tomorrow hottie Jake Gyllenhall as the prince!" To say that I'm intrigued and excited is a bit of an understatement.

So we'll add that to the list of awesome movies I simply MUST see. Everyone knows that summer is a great time for all the action block busters, and this summer has been no exception.

Indiana Jones was great, and having just seen Pixar's WALL-E, and priming myself to see Will Smith in Hancock, and yet another Benicio Del Toro take on Hell Boy, well, I have to say, this summer has not let me down. But it's of course never to soon to start prepping for next year and the list of upcoming films is a joy. Along with PoP, Disney is also working on it's first 2D film since 2004, The Princess and the Frog with a nicely rounded ethnically diverse cast. I miss the good old days of 2D Disney, so I'll be looking forward to that one. In the meantime, I'll have to wait for the next round of exciting releases.

Movie Review: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

I regret, dear readers, that I in fact have little at all to say about this movie. It was assuredly as epic as one could hope from an Indiana Jones movie (at least in terms of fight scenes), but the film was precariously lite fare when it came to actual fact and legend. I've always found that the premise of Indiana Jones movies were appealing because they were based on legends and facts that people already knew about. There was a sense of mystery, of solving a case along with the Jones' which made the discovery of some ancient artifact so enthralling.

This movie poster suffers from a case of the RANDOM.
A little less Shia LaBoeuf, a little more Harrison Ford naked, please.
This is not entirely outside the realm of possibility.

I have my doubts that anyone would consider a giant magnetic crystal skull to be part of anyone's local mythology. I won't spoil the plot for you, but there's alternate dimensions involved. I think alternate dimensions are better left for Star Trek plots to grapple with than dear Dr. Jones.

I present to you now, a list of ridiculous things some of which may be included in this movie. See if you can pick out which are actually plot points, and which are not in the movie at all. Then go see for yourself. Because a strange movie is best shared with friends afterall.

What the hell is all THAT doing in my movie?!
Jeez, do I at least get to make out with a hottie??
She's 50?!? What did I ever do to you, Mr. Lucas? Go throw yourself to the ants.

Do try to determine which of these are ACTUALLY IN IJatKotCS (that is one messed up title):

Man-eating ants, capoeira, improbably-hidden Mayans, book-learning, motorcycles, submarines, the invention of the computer, annoying prodigies, the KGB, Psychics, Psychos, magnetic gunpowder, interdimensional portals, combinatorics, death-waterfalls, crazy old men, crazy old women, color-coded sea anemones, swarms of killer bees, Bea Arthur being killed, non-quick sand/lightning sand?, a Sicilian when death is on the line, public humiliation of the educational system, Roswell, Yale, Maui, poetry no one's ever heard of, ponchos, fencing, tarzan-like tree-swinging, monkey connections, atomic bombs, Harrison Ford . . . nekkid, fierce enjoyment of sexual relations with a woman.

(Note: I'll give you a sad truth here which partially answers the above question. The truth of the matter is that the film does not imply any sort of current sexual relation between Indy and any other character. I suppose in his old age, Indy just stopped gettin' it on.)

Iron Man, Redux!

So I saw the 8pm west coast release of Iron Man, and I have little to say except, "GO SEE IT, NOW" and "MAKE SURE YOU SEE IT IN A THEATER WITH FANTASTIC SOUND!" That's really about all there is to it. Robert Downey Jr. was even better than I'd expected, the villains were truly villainous, and it's just a great plot that although it's fairly obvious, does not fail to deliver in clever puns, visual fireworks, and subtle humor. The cast does a tremendous job keeping their performances grounded in reality.

One thing though. Rhodes? Is he in the army AND the airforce AND the special forces AND the marines? Throughout the movie, he's constantly changing uniforms, and he's apparently superior to EVERY other officer. Where did he find the time?

Five stars for this one folks. Go see it, ASAP.

Upcoming Film: Iron Man

Iron Man enjoys lurking, long flights to the beach,
and staring menacingly through to your soul

Having already seen Forbidden Kingdom, it's time to look ahead and see what else is out there. With much trumpeting and fanfare, Marvel announced it's live action attraction of Iron Man, the story of wealthy billionaire Tony Stark as he develops a technological army-of-one and eventually decides to utilize that power for good.

I haven't really read any of the Iron Man comics, but I've always been a fan of Marvel and their movies so far have all been nothing short of stunning and all have been stuffed with fabulous plot. And frankly, if anyone can play Tony Stark's willfully destructive and highly alcoholic personality, it would be Robert Downey Jr. And, lucky us, that's exactly who's playing him.

I really have nothing else to add here, except that I'm excited to see how they handle some of the physics of having a suit made of metal. Comic-book explanation only does so much, and it's much more impressive to see something of that sort of mass on the move.

With Iron Man coming out on May 2nd, I desperately want to see it on opening night with my friends, but my work schedule doesn't really allow that (getting up at 4am does not interact well with midnight showings... ouch). So I won't be seeing Iron Man opening day, but perhaps on the following Sunday. If you get a chance to see it before I post my reactions, why not leave a comment here and let me know what you thought!

Forbidden Kingdom, Redux!

So several things. I know it's been a bit of a while since I updated last. My main issue is that my job at the hospital, while not particularly exciting or helpful, is extremely exhausting and I often find myself collapsing into bed upon my arrival at home. With my energy so low, it's difficult to induce myself to get anything done at all!

But hey there, I have managed to enjoy myself a little. Today I headed out to see "Forbidden Kingdom" which I had earlier been raving about going to see. I can recommend it to you all now. Although there are some plot holes, it doesn't stop the movie from being enjoyable and Jackie Chan is downright lovable. The main character, played by Michael Angarano is uh... well, he's a hottie.

There. I've said it. I always loved him in Will&Grace as Jack's son, and he's definitely grown up. Although according to his profile on IMDB he's 20, he plays a fairly believable highschool student overwhelmed by a sudden bout of destiny.

(Quick note here: his profile places him in some of my favorite shows and movies, including Will&Grace, The Pretender, Sky High, Almost Famous... There's a training montage in Forbidden Kingdom where he's shirtless. It's awesome. My attempts to recreate the event for you all by scouring the internet have failed, however, and you're either just going to have to see the movie or use your imagination to get the full effect.)

The movie also nicely features a solid jibe at the disconnect between staged martial arts movies of the 60s and 70s and the actual process of learning the martial arts. Though, it's still highly romanticized here.

Really, there's a lot to recommend here, even though the plot is not particularly sophisticated. Here's a thought though; Jet Li has the dorkiest laugh ever, and I don't think anyone's ever really seen Jet Li laugh until this movie.

Go because: Jet Li laughing, Jackie Chan drunk, Michael Angarano shirtless, hair whips, pretty pretty special effects, gang retribution, sweeping landscapes.

Avoid if: You hate monkeys, you dislike montages, martial arts aren't your thing, you dislike the concept of someone getting their throat cut with their own sword.

Upcoming Film: Forbidden Kingdom

I'd like to do a a little post on movies now and then. Close friends of mine know that movies have always enthralled me and i love seeing the newest releases on the big screen and often plan out part of my budget to allow for me to bring them home when they come out on DVD (not so much, now that I don't have a working DVD player of my own -- my PS2 has been acting up lately).

My father has always been a movie junkie, particularly old-school sci-fi and adventure flicks and we spent many a Saturday morning and afternoon watching MST3K and StarWars movies, or Star Trek or Indiana Jones. We love an epic adventure story. We love good vs. evil. And even more, we LOVE a great movie we can watch over and over again and never get bored.

While it's certainly true that many many stories have been retold in movies (sometimes several times over -- think of all the variations available on Peter Pan!), a truly classic tale can be exciting nevermind that you've heard it a billion times before. Which is why I was so incredibly excited the first time I saw this:

Oh Jackie Chan. How I love you so.
Is there anything you can't do?

While I knew nothing of the movie when I first saw the poster, I was immediately reminded of the classic tale of Journey to the West. So I guess it was pretty fitting, since a search of Moviefone pretty much concluded that that was exactly the case.

Journey to the West has inspired a lot of other media. Well, it's an old story, older than Shakespeare, and as prevalent to the asian culture and media as the bible is to Christian cultures. The basics of the plot are that the monkey king is journeying west and destroys demons and rids the land of evil, meeting fellow travelers along the way and becoming enlightened.

Two different animated versions of Journey to the West.
Saiyuki likes to pretend it's not about man-love,
and DBZ likes to pretend that it has a real, honest-to-goodness plot. Pffft.

So really, it wasn't terribly surprising that I positively choked on my tongue when I saw there was a version of JttW coming out with Jackie Chan as a main character. AND Jet Li. For real. Here, feast on this tasty morsel of a trailer!

You can find out more about Journey to the West at the Wikipedia page. To see more about the Forbidden Kingdom movie, go to the Moviefone Page