Movie Review The Man Who Invented Christmas

The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017) 

Directed by Bharat Nalluri 

Written by Susan Coynne 

Starring Dan Stevens, Christopher Plummer, Jonathan Pryce 

Release Date November 22nd, 2017 

The Man Who Invented Christmas is a remarkably dull movie. Regardless of the good intentions and the good ideas at the heart of the film, the story and specifically the character of Charles Dickens, never get going. The story about how Charles Dickens came to write A Christmas Carol likely wasn’t all that dramatic; most writing isn’t particularly dramatic, in and of itself. But where The Man Who Invented Christmas fails is in finding some aspect of Dickens that was interestingly dramatic while he wrote his masterpiece. Instead, we have an almost insufferable lead character on a predictable journey toward a well-known outcome.

The Man Who Invented Christmas stars Dan Stevens as Charles Dickens. Having published three flops in a row, Dickens is facing financial ruin if his next book isn’t a hit. An encounter with a miser at a reading of one of his more popular works leads Dickens to the creation of Ebenezer Scrooge who, in the universe of Dickens’ mind, comes to life in the form of a sad, angry, and acerbic old man (Christopher Plummer). Scrooge interacts with his creator, and this is to be the processes through which we watch Dickens form his classic.

The gimmick is cute at times and Plummer is by far the best thing in the movie, but there isn’t much else to The Man Who Invented Christmas beyond this gimmick. More of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol characters come to life, but they occasionally vanish, as well, when he gets distracted by his real-life problems, which include an unexpected visit from his goodhearted but freeloading parents, Jonathan Pryce and Ger Ryan.

Stevens’ performance as Dickens is fidgety and not particularly charismatic. He whines and moans and worries about losing everything and ending up in a workhouse like the one he was left in briefly as a child. He’s occasionally bitter, but otherwise is your average workaday nice guy who happens to beautifully string words together into stories when the mood strikes him. The Man Who Invented Christmas portrays the creation of A Christmas Carol as a particularly painful bit of creative work, but since we know he doesn’t fail, there doesn’t appear to be much at stake.

Find my full length review in the Geeks Community on Vocal 

Movie Review Bedtime Stories

Bedtime Stories (2008) 

Directed by Adam Shankman

Written by Tim Herlihy, Matt Lopez

Starring Adam Sandler, Courtney Cox, Guy Pearce, Russell Brand, Jonathan Pryce

Release Date December 25th, 2008

Published Decemer 24th, 2008

Oh what a shock! Sean hates an Adam Sandler movie. Stop the presses. Well, now wait a second. I was developing a grudging affinity for the former SNL star. I liked Punch Drunk Love. I thought he was tremendous in the terribly flawed movie Reign Over Me. And, I even liked You Don't Mess With The Zohan for the sheer glee of its offensiveness.

I honestly thought that Sandler was maturing and recognizing that even the most outlandish story, such as Zohan, needed some dramatic parameters. I thought maybe that he was developing a knowledge of how to build believable characters and motivations. And I thought maybe his juvenilia was evolving a little.

Oh how wrong I was. Bedtime Stories is the lowest piece of garbage that Sandler has crafted since Billy Madison. Insulting, stupid, beyond juvenile, this alleged 'family' movie from Disney of all places, ranks among the lowest moments of Sandler's already low career.

Bedtime Stories stars Sandler as Skeeter, a hotel handyman who had grown up in the hotel business. His father played by Jonathan Pryce, who also narrates the movie, once owned the hotel and lived their with his son and his daughter played by Courtney Cox.

Dad passed away not long after he had sold the hotel to a hotelier played by Richard Griffiths. He turned the tiny hotel into a massive hotel palace and kept Skeeter on as a handyman for some 20 years. Now he is about to open a new hotel and Skeeter hopes to run it.

Meanwhile, Skeeter's sis has lost her job and must travel out of state for a job interview. She needs little brother to watch her two kids for a week despite his having not seen them in four years. Nevertheless, he accepts. Each night at bedtime they require a story and for some unknown reason portions of the stories come to life the following day.

The script for Bedtime Stories was apparently penned on the back of a cocktail napkin. It read "Children's Bedtime stories come to life starring Adam Sandler". The rest of the production involved hiring a cast and director who would simply make up everything else that happens.

Nevermind if any of it connects into some coherent story or if the characters motivation or even their dialogue makes a lick of sense, we've got Adam Sandler and a premise, that's all the filmmakers felt they needed. Oh, how wrong they were.

What the cast and director Adam Shankman invented around this premise was brutal, unending stupidity. True garbage. None of the characters make any sense. Plot strands arrive and then are shoved off screen maybe to be revisited later. Characters are introduced and quickly dispatched without making a lick of difference to the story.

I realize that I am not supposed to care whether Skeeter would be at all qualified to run a hotel, it's not necessary information, but as presented I would not allow Skeeter to run a gas pump. Kids will not care that they are being insulted by such plot insinuations but I was endlessly irritated with the lack of care that anyone from Sandler to the director to the producers took with this plot construction.

But again, this is a kids movie you say. Why does it matter. The kids will love the bright colors and the googly eyed, farting guinea pig. They'll eat it up. Well, I will tell you why it matters. Because kids should not eat this up. Kids should not be subjected to such shoddy work.

Director Shankman's work is sloppy at best and Sandler hasn't been this lazy on screen since Mr. Deeds. Kids deserve better. They may not know it but they deserve better than to simply have their senses tickled. They deserve better than bright colors and fart jokes from a slipshod director and lazy superstar who do their jobs on autopilot why? Because it's just a kiddie flick.

No, kids deserve better. Kids deserve movies that don't patronize and appeal to their lower minds. Kids deserve movies that challenge them to think and imagine. They need and I believe they crave movies that expand their minds and make them think of bigger and better things.

Movies like Wall-E and Horton Hears A Who and Kung Fu Panda have been released this year and each of these animated features have entertained kids and caused their imaginations and intellects to expand. Kids came out of those movies laughing and smiling and best of all dreaming.

Bedtime Stories may occasionally make them laugh or smile but it won't make them dream. It will stifle them. They may not know it or show it but they will feel short changed. They will instinctively know that their time and their imagination has been wasted and the long term effect will be for them to expect less of movies.

The long term effect will be felt when years later they expect nothing of the movies and of art but the base visceral need for a distraction from daily life and that is a sad end. I know you will say I am overreacting and that Bedtime Stories is a mere trifle of a movie that will be long forgotten by most in less than a week but I am telling you, your wrong.

Bedtime Stories is an affliction. It is a long term damaging of the psyche. A movie whose future effect will be to lower the standards of what children expect of art and what they think is expected of them as people. If you care so little what you use to stimulate your child they will come to expect less of their own stimulation.

Bedtime Stories is the worst movie of 2008.

Movie Review: The Wife

The Wife (2018) 

Directed by Bjorne L Runge 

Written by Jane Anderson

Starring Glenn Close, Jonathan Pryce 

Release Date August 17th, 2018

November 4th, 2018

Acting legend Glenn Close has wanted to star in The Wife, an adaptation of the bestselling novel by Meg Wolitzer since 2014. Now we know why her passion for the project never waned. This juicy role as the long-suffering wife of an insufferable literary genius, played by Jonathan Pryce, has thrust Close into the Academy Award conversation despite few people even knowing the movie existed prior to Close earning a recent Golden Globe nomination. 

The Wife stars Glenn Close as Joan Castleman, the wife of well-known author and renowned blowhard, Professor Joe Castleman. As we join the story, Joe receives a call in the middle of the night. It’s the Nobel Prize committee and they’ve called to inform him that his latest novel has been awarded the Nobel Prize for literature. It’s certainly an honor to celebrate but as we watch Joan react to her husband’s good fortune, we get a strong sense that the celebration will be short lived. 

When we flashback in The Wife, we see how Joan and Joe Castleman met and it’s more than a little awkward. Joe was Joan’s literature professor at Smith College in 1956. The young Joan is portrayed by Close’s daughter, Annie Stark, providing a wonderful sense of verisimilitude. Joan was enamored of her older, married teacher and as we learn about Joe’s proclivities it’s not hard to imagine that Joan wasn’t the first student to have private time with the professor. 

Joan had aspired to be a writer herself as a young woman but gave it up in favor of being with Joe and raising their two children. That’s the story they tell anyway, what we will learn as this story unfolds is something far more messy, complicated and compelling. The Wife doesn’t have a ‘twist’ per se, but the way the story plays with our perceptions of this elderly couple and allows us to make assumptions before shattering those assumptions, is one of the fascinating and entertaining aspects of this wonderfully crafted film. 

Glenn Close is flawless in The Wife. At first it appears like a role she could have acted in her sleep but just as the story begins to build, she begins to reveal this character and it’s irresistibly compelling. Joan reveals more and more of her pain, frustration and anguish with each passing moment and does so with no histrionics, simply with her eyes, her inflection. She creates drama where we didn’t realize there was any and it’s magnificent. 

Each twist of the tale holds a new fascination in Close’s character. It’s easy to assume that you know what you think happened in the shared past of Joan and Joe but the way Close reveals it hides the plot mechanics, you don’t notice the story moving forward, you notice Close willing us all closer to the ending and a reveal and nothing terribly over-dramatic but just perfectly calibrated melodrama generated from her performance. 

The Wife is fascinating because Glenn Close and Joan are fascinating. Close invests a lifetime of experience in this character in a way that appears effortless. It’s one of the best performances of 2018 and in a movie that, even I, someone who is supposed to follow such things, was not aware of. It’s a revelatory performance and a great reminder that Close is one of our finest living actresses.

Movie Review: DeLovely

De-Lovely (2004) 

Directed by Irwin Winkler

Written by Jay Cocks

Starring Kevin Kline, Ashley Judd, Jonathan Pryce 

Release Date July 2nd, 2004

Published July 1st, 2004 

The last time director Irwin Winkler and Kevin Kline worked together they turned out the dreadful melodrama Life As A House. So when I heard they were teaming again I was less than thrilled. Honestly I have never been a fan of Mr. Winkler's work, including The Net and At First Sight, a pair of less than stellar efforts. For Mr. Kline, I have always liked him but his recent career showed a career in decline. It seemed the last thing Kevin Kline needed was to work with Irwin Winkler again.

That may be what makes Kline's performance in De-Lovely so remarkable. Even as Mr. Winkler is delivering a rather compromised musical effort, Kline floats through effortlessly showcasing the wit and wisdom that won him an Oscar and the admiration of so many critics.

De-Lovely is the life story of one of the 20th centuries finest songwriters, Cole Porter. In the film, Kevin Kline plays Cole Porter from the time he met his wife Linda (Ashley Judd) in 1918 to his death in 1965. The film’s structure however is not a straightforward biopic. The story is told as Cole is being visited by an angel named Gabe (British character actor Jonathan Pryce) who takes Cole back through his life as though it were a Broadway production.

Cole Porter met Linda Lee in Paris while recovering from his first failed attempt at Broadway. It is Linda who draws Cole out of his temporary creative funk and drives him to create again. She is his muse but his love is not exactly aimed toward her. One of the worst kept secrets of Cole Porter's life was that he was gay. Though he was married to Linda for 38 years, the two had an understanding that never achieves proper depth in De-Lovely which seems too concerned with pop stars to truly dramatize Linda and Cole's unusual relationship. More on those pop stars later.

The film takes Cole and Linda from Paris to Milan and then New York where on Broadway; Porter made his greatest successes. Finally, the film goes to Hollywood where Cole was never comfortable with his big screen treatments. Louis B. Mayer, played in a cameo by Peter Polycarpou, wanted Porter to tone down his wit and deliver sappy romantic songs that play well to mass audiences. In one of the film’s better moments the cast breaks into Porter's playful "Be A Clown" to illustrate acceptance of his compromised Hollywood persona.

It was in Hollywood where Linda and Cole's relationship would go through its biggest trials. Cole may not have enjoyed the film business but he did love the Hollywood nightlife that offered many discreet, and not so discreet meeting grounds of Hollywood's gay community. The film has a minor blackmail subplot but like many other dramatic developments in Porter's life in the film, the subplot is quickly shoved aside for another pop star performance.

The final act of the film and of Porter and Linda's lives came after Porter was nearly paralyzed in a horse riding accident. His legs were crushed and he was advised to have them amputated. It was Linda who said no and because of her, Porter was able to continue composing music despite years of pain and surgery. He would return to Broadway with his biggest hit, Kiss Me Kate.

Thankfully, Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd don't need much depth from Jay Cocks' script to communicate the depth of feeling between Cole and Linda. The unconventional nature of their relationship is communicated by Kline and Judd in subtle ways, in the way she looks so longingly at him and the way he appreciates her love but cannot fully reciprocate it. Kline's Cole is full of the charm and charisma that made Porter a legend in his time. Still, there is always a hint of sadness or guilt when Cole looks at Linda. He can see her love and devotion and deeply wishes he could return it in some way.

The only way Porter could show Linda his appreciation was through his songs, many of which are dedicated to her. But even those love songs had a hint of Porter's capricious wit and many have read more into those songs and their innuendo-laden lyrics. Certainly not all of the songs can be attributed to Linda.

The film’s biggest problem is it's unusual structure, a gimmicky flashback style that may have seemed clever on the page but never comes together onscreen. As Cole and Gabe look back over Cole's life with Linda and his music as if the were directing a Broadway play, Winkler can't seem to commit to whether the film is a surrealist musical or melodrama. De-Lovely isn't a musical like Chicago where the songs are perfectly enmeshed in the story. Rather, De-Lovely wants it both ways. Flights of fancy where people just insanely break into song backed by an unseen orchestra, as well as staged performances where Cole watches from the audience, as he would have in real life on opening night.

Porter's music is performed by both Kline and Judd who acquit themselves well; that is to say, they don't embarrass themselves. Many of the songs are performed by pop superstars like Alanis Morissette (Let's Do It, Let's Fall In Love), Sheryl Crow (Begin The Beguine), Elvis Costello (Let's Misbehave), and Robbie Williams (the title song De-Lovely). While they are game performers, there is a glaring difference between pop songs and show tunes. That difference is brought home by Broadway performers like Caroline O'Connor (Anything Goes) and John Barrowman (Night And Day) who's belt it to the back of the theater style steals the show.

The decision to use the well known pop stars is clearly a commercial decision to sell soundtracks and not an artistic decision to do what's best for the film. I love Alanis, Sheryl and Elvis but they are performing show tunes as stand alone pop songs and they don't quite find the right notes. Once you make that commitment to commercialism you have compromised the integrity of the story and I for one and drawn away from the story.

As many problems as I have with De-Lovely, I am right on the cusp of recommending the film because Kevin Kline and Ashley Judd are so terrific. This is an amazing return to form for Kline who hopefully will seek out more quality material in the future. Ashley Judd is absolutely radiant even as the movie leaves much of Linda's life on the cutting room floor. The depth of the character comes from Judd's eyes, which show the pain of unrequited love and unending devotion in ways the script can't seem to communicate in words.

These are Oscar nomination-worthy performances in a film that is far from the same quality. The two are difficult to separate but if you can do it you may find a reason to enjoy De-Lovely the way I enjoyed it. The joy of watching two great actors show how difficult a job acting can be and how easy great actors can make it look.

Movie Review Pirates of the Caribbean Curse of the Black Pearl

Pirates of the Caribbean The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) 

Directed by Gore Verbinski 

Written by Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio

Starring Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Keira Knightley, Orlando Bloom, Jonathan Pryce 

Release Date July 9th, 2003 

Published July 8th, 2003 

It's quite clear that Disney has run out of original movie ideas. Forget the sequels on their slate (The Santa Clause 3 et al). Forget the remakes of the rich Disney backlog (Freaky Friday). Disney is now down making movies of their theme park rides. Last year, they quietly dumped The Country Bears into theaters to critical and audience indifference. Later this year, it's Haunted Mansion with Eddie Murphy. Surely it can't be much longer before we see the Hall of Presidents and Epcot Center on the big screen, provided they can find a star to put on the poster.

That said, Disney has mined one of their theme park rides into a quite successful film. Pirates of The Caribbean may be a super lame theme park ride, but as a movie it's a rollicking adventure story made all the more interesting by awesome performances of two of the industry's best, Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush.

While the thrust of Pirates of The Caribbean is set in motion by the love story between blacksmith Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Governor's daughter Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightly), the story doesn't really kick off until the appearance of the rapscallion pirate Jack Sparrow (Depp). The former captain of the Black Pearl, Sparrow floats into this British Caribbean seaport on a sinking ship with hope that he can steal a ship to chase down the Pearl and its mutinous crew. Sparrow is unable to capture a ship on his own and is captured but not before he discovers Elizabeth in possession of a legendary piece of pirate booty.

Once Jack is aware of the gold medallion that Elizabeth has, somehow so is the crew of the Black Pearl who is led by Captain Barbossa (Rush). They steam to the British port to recapture the gold which legend says can lift the curse that afflicts the crew. After plundering the British, the crew takes Elizabeth and the gold and retreat to their hidden pirate island to lift the curse with the gold piece and Elizabeth’s blood.

While the British military plots its course of action to rescue the Governor's daughter, Will Turner hatches a plan of his own. Spring Jack Sparrow, steal a boat and save the woman he loves. With the help of Sparrow's daring swordplay and cunning piracy, they capture a military boat and set off to find a crew and capture the Black Pearl.

There are a number of twists and turns from there that I won't spoil, but you already know from commercials that the curse on the crew of the Black Pearl is that they are dead but cannot die. Nor can they feel anything, pleasure or pain, rendering them unable to enjoy their plunder unless they can lift the curse. The skeletal pirates, only seen while bathed in moonlight, are a spectacular special effect, well choreographed by Director Gore Verbinski. The effects are done with amazing precision and no doubt will be honored come awards season.

Of course, as impressive as the effects are, they are nothing compared to the performance of Johnny Depp, who is his own special effect. Topped with scraggly dreads, beads and an unruly goatee, Depp minces, preens, and manages to evoke rock star attitude in an 1800's pirate. That according to Depp was exactly what he was going for. In interviews, he claimed to have modeled some of Jack Sparrow on Keith Richards. Actually, it was Keith Richards and Depp's favorite childhood cartoon character Pepe LePue. Whatever the inspiration, the performance is truly inspired and even if the rest of the film had stunk I could recommend Pirates on the strength of Depp's performance alone.

Not to be outdone, Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush preens and hams it up as much as Depp, and to as much success. Being the bad guy, Rush is allowed to growl all his dialogue and chew every bit of scenery that isn't nailed down. Rush appears to relish the freedom of playing a Pirate Captain and his excitement is part of the fun of Pirates of the Caribbean The Curse of the Black Pearl. 

Knightley and Bloom are quite a bland pair in comparison, but how could they not be? Compared to Sparrow and Barbossa, the characters in La Cage aux Folles are bland. Bloom and Knightley are saddled with the film's two most conventional roles of hero and heroine, and though their love story is sweet, it doesn't carry much weight. It’s made even less weighty by a cop out ending that is a little too tidy for a pirate tale.

Director Gore Verbinski shows here, as he did in The Ring, that he hasa steady hand and a strong eye for strong compelling visuals. Verbinski and his team creates an entire pirate universe for the film to exist within, a lively, vibrant and yet lived in place right out of dream conception of where Pirates existed. Creating such a coherent story without having to reign in his over the top performers is another remarakable balancing act that demonstrates Verbinski's talent, he makes his performers comfortable and gets the most out his crew. The best directors can do that. 

Movie Review Leatherheads

Leatherheads (2008) 

Directed by George Clooney 

Written by Duncan Brantley, Rick Reilly 

Starring George Clooney, Renee Zellweger, John Krasinski, Jonathan Pryce 

Release Date April 4th, 2008 

Published April 3rd, 2008 

George Clooney is a big fan of old Hollywood. At his best Clooney throws back to the stars of the 40’s 50 and 60’s with flair and relish. Evoking the look of Clark Gable, the charisma of Cary Grant, and the cocktail hour suavity of Frank Sinatra, Clooney is a throwback in modern times. You can see this in his film resume. Movies like Intolerable Cruelty which threw back to the classic 50’s and 60’s style romantic comedy, The Good German, shot in black and white no less evoked Bogart in mystery mode with a dash of Spencer Tracey. And, of course, there are the Ocean’s movies; which modernize the 60’s cool of Sinatra’s rat pack.

No wonder then that Clooney is so at home in his latest role, a period comedy with period clothes and a period romance. Leatherheads stars George Clooney as Dodge Connelly the leader of a ragtag group of pro footballers watching their league slowly collapse around them. Set in the mid 1920’s Clooney could not be more at home with style, grace, and rapid fire banter that filmmakers of the day like Preston Sturges and Howard Hawks made legendary.

In 1925 College Football was America’s game and its stars were the stars of American sports. Pro football on the other hand was played on fields, literally, corn fields, wheat fields, anyplace with a fair patch of grass and enough room for a few rickety bleachers. Better known for its ugly cheating and brawling. Pro football of the time was an outlaw sport and Dodge Connelly and his Duluth Bulldogs were the Oakland Raiders of their day. The Raiders have a reputation for being tough and bending the rules. 

Unfortunately for Dodge, his beloved Bulldogs and their fellow barnstorming pros in Milwaukee, Decatur and even Cleveland are struggling financially and folding up at an alarming rate. Eventually, even Duluth can’t afford to keep playing and the Bulldogs are out of a job, forced to return to the mines and other menial work. The team and their pro league is sunk until Dodge gets a great idea. 

Traveling to Chicago, Dodge meets with the top college football star of the day, a kid nicknamed The Bullet, Carter Rutherford (John Krasinski), Princeton University football captain and a bona fide war hero. If Dodge can convince The Bullet, and his smarmy agent C.C (Jonathan Pryce), to come to Duluth and play for the Bulldogs, Dodge believes that he can save his team and likely the sport of pro football.

Following the story of the football star/war hero is a crafty reporter named Lexie Littleton (Renee Zellweger). Posing as a sports reporter, Lexie is chasing a scoop about The Bullet’s war hero story being a big fake. Her task is to convince The Bullet to confess but after meeting Dodge, it’s all Lexie can do to avoid a scandal of her own.

Like Clooney, Renee Zellweger is a star out of time. Her work in Chicago and the little seen gem Down With Love showcase a talent that would have been perfectly at home with Howard Hawks, Preston Sturges or opposite Gable, Bogey or Grant. Zellweger banters like Rosalind Russell and paired with Clooney she smolders like Bacall.

The chemistry of Clooney and Zellweger nearly overwhelms the lightweight football comedy and definitely puts co-star John Krasinski at a disadvantage. The breakout star of TV’s The Office is an affable young actor with a bright future but his burgeoning talent is no match for the veteran Clooney and the experienced Zellweger.

Krasinski simply cannot sell the love triangle aspect of Leatherheads and fades through the background when Clooney and Zellweger are on screen. I don’t mean to demean Mr. Krasinski, not many actors could match the kind of fizzy chemistry of Clooney and Zellweger. It’s just a shame that so much of the movie rides on us buying The Bullet as a viable alternative to Clooney’s mantastic Dodge Connelly.

Quick witted if a bit dawdling at times, Leatherheads is a pithy, sweet romantic comedy that happens to feature sports. A throwback to a completely different era of movie history, George Clooney directs Leatherheads with the verve of Howard Hawks if not the complete skill set of that film legend. Charming and funny with a pair of great lead romantic partners, check out Leatherheads for Clooney and Zellweger and wish John Krasinsky well on the future of his career.