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Aliens In The Attic
By Rei Nishimoto
Summer vacation films come with a load of surprises, and especially when it comes from another plant. The surprises in 'Aliens In The Attic' keep view3ers on its feet and rarely leaving a dull moment. It appears this was never part of their family vacation plans.
The movie is an all-out battle between the Pearson family and the aliens "who came from upstairs" and will decide the fate of Planet Earth. Stuart (Kevin Nealon) and his wife Nina (Gillian Vigman) played their summer vacation with their family in a comfortable suburban house in Michigan.
Then there are the kids - the adorable seven-year old Hannah (Ashley Boettcher); the 15-year old Tom, a computer geek whose grades intentionally tanked; and the older sister Bethany (Ashley Tisdale), who is secretly dating an 'older' boyfriend Ricky Dillman (Robert Hoffman).
Stuart decides to band the family together and takes them to an old fashioned retreat in a surburban house away from the things the kids became attatched to, such as video games and computers. The PearsoNana Rose (Doris Roberts) and identical 12-year old twins Art (Henri Young) and Lee (Regan Young). This side of the family is the polar opposite of Stuart's family, as they drive in cranking loud rock music, playing video games and carryingillegal fireworks for the sheer thrill of it all.
An unexpected Ricky also works his way into an overnight visit with the Pearsons. This does not sit well with Tom, as he is the only member of his family who sees through Ricky's shallow ways.
Gradually, as night time falls, dark clouds swirl around the house and then four glowing objects shoot towards the roof. This is where the alien crew of Skip, the tough commander (voiced by J.K. Simmons); Tazer, a muscle-bound enforcer (voiced by Thomas Hayden Church); Razor, a lethal female commandert (voiced by Kari Wahlgren); and Spark, the techie four armed member, who is also the sole non-threatening one (voiced by Josh Peck).
While Tom and Ricky were supposed to be bonding on the roof while fixing their satellite dish, this is when Ricky is taken under a spell of the aliens, due to a high-tech-mind-control device and plug implanted into his brain. Dillman put on quite a performance, as Ricky having to move around at fast speeds into walls and his marionette like portrayals throughout the film. While Ricky is a slimeball as a character, his potrayal was worked in as karmic, payback way by the kids.
Much of this film is focused around the children trying to takr down the aliens. Each of the children's roles plays a key part in the interaction with the aliens. Tom is the brains and figures out how to counteract the aliens' tactics. Bethany is the love struck yet later betrayed whose moods swing throughout the film. ZJake is the crazy one who loves to play with fireworks and blow things up. The twins tinker with the controls they stole from the aliens, and later use to control Ricky, Hannah plays the sensitive one who bonds with the alien Sparks, when he is captured by the kids.
In many ways, this film showed hints of the 1985 hit Goonies, with the kids on an adventure type feel. But unlike the Goonies, Aliens in the Attic is a simplified version without the in depth adventure story that would make it exciting for viewers of all ages to enjoy.
The four aliens each portray a unique personality that comes across well as they attempt their evil ways, inside of the house. Plus their interaction with the kids, especially during the shooting scenes with the potato guns, comes across somewhat predictable but still enough to leave some of the excitement within the story.
Aliens In The Attic is the human versus alien film that the family can enjoy together. While this film does not have the rough 'em up type of story like much of the movies out today, instead it is one of the few movies that people of all ages could enjoy.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
By Scott Mendelson
Without question, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is the best out-and-out sixth chapter of any franchise since Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Granted, the competition isn't very stiff (Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare, Police Academy 6: City Under Siege, etc), but it's still remarkable how well this long-running series has held up. So when I say that this sixth film is perhaps my least favorite film of the franchise, it is only tepid criticism at best. When a film this good can be considered the weakest of six, that says something about the consistency of quality running through the Harry Potter series.
Knowing that the final two films will be plot and action-driven, director David Yates slows things down quite a bit, concentrating less on mysteries and dark plots and more on character interaction. As a result, the young supporting cast who have been somewhat sidelined since Prisoner of Azkaban are again given a chance to shine. While the teenage romantic turmoil provides solid laughs, it is still somewhat disquieting to see our beloved hard ass Hermoine weeping in a stairwell over a boy. Yes, she has finally realized that she loves her past pal Ron, although Ron has been swept away by the pushy and forthright Lavender Brown. Meanwhile, Harry pines for Ginny Weasley,
Ron's all grown-up baby sister. Unfortunately, Evanna Lynch has turned the otherwise peripheral Luna Lovegood into such a charming, daffy, kind, wise, and lovely human being that it only makes Harry look that much dumber to be chasing the comparatively less interesting Ginny.
So while I have plenty of Hogwarts eye candy to keep my attention during the romantic melodrama, my wife got her fill during the more perilous subplot. Alan Rickman's Snape gets more screen time than usual and Tom Felton's Draco Malfoy looks appropriately dapper in his new outfit of evil (sharp black suit with black shirt and black tie). The second major story arc concerns the maturation of Draco Malfoy. This is the first time that Tom Felton has gotten anything to do other than hiss and be grouchy, but wow does he knock it out of the park. Felton all but steals the film with very little dialogue, as his would-be villain painfully discovers that there is a big difference between merely being evil and actually committing acts of evil. Draco's encounter with Harry Potter in a Hogwarts lavatory is a stunner, as Harry actually commits a rather shocking act of violence against a justifiably pissed-off.
So the romantic subplot works pretty well, and the 'last temptation of Draco' stuff is surprisingly potent, so why doesn't the film work better or at least as well as the original book? Well, for one thing, it becomes more obvious than usual in this chapter that the rules of magic are rather arbitrary in accordance with plot demands. Dumbledore and Harry can basically teleport at will, but they need a boat to cross a scary moat. And while Dumbledore can wave his wand and restore a tattered and broken house anew, no one thinks to request said magic when a horrifying act of property destruction occurs at the halfway point. The movie barely touches Voldermort's back-story, which was the spine of the sixth novel. And, furthermore, the fascinating tidbits about the past of the actual Half-Blood Prince are completely dropped, which renders certain behavior less ambiguous than it was in the book, costing the story much of its post-film discussion topics.
Finally, the finale is not nearly as dramatically satisfying. Just as the death of Sirius Black was surprisingly muted in Order of the Phoenix, so too is the action climax of Half-Blood Prince. The 'death eaters attack Hogwarts' moments have been completely. And the film's handling of a certain plot twist isn't nearly as dramatic as it reads. The circumstances of the incident were a jaw-dropping shocker on the page, but it seemed all but obvious onscreen for even those who hadn't sampled the books. The bitter after taste of squandering what should have been a wonderful cinematic moment hurts what up until then had been a fine and involving adventure. The cast is impeccable as always, and there is again the emphasis on character and moral challenges that have made this franchise a diamond in the rough over the years.
By any normal standard, this is a wonderfully involving and entertaining tent pole popcorn entertainment. But this is still the weakest Harry Potter film of the series (based on my second-favorite book of the series no less), and it leaves me worried for just what narrative and cinematic choices that David Yates will make for adapting the finale. While he never fails to elicit fine performances and rich character work, he has so far come up short on the climactic spectacle department. There are several show stopping moments in the final book, including the death on a major villain that, as written, should cause thunderous audience applause. I hope he can pull this stuff off when the time comes. But the series has been nothing less than pretty good going on six films now, so now I just hope Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince remains the worst of the lot.
500 Day's of Summer's Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber's
By Rita Cook
It's a personal story that one of the two screenwriters actually lived through. So what does a guy do when his heart has been broken, pick up the pieces, and make some money on it just like Scott Neustadter and his writing partner Michael Weber recently did on the soon to be released film "500 Days of Summer." Living bi-coastally and getting more work done admittedly when they aren't in the same room, both writers enjoy the process and look forward to the upcoming release of their new film.
Tell me about how it came about that you wrote this screenplay?
NEUSTADTER: Ever since we started writing together, we had always wanted to write something like our heroes Cameron Crowe and Woody Allen. Stories that were based on relatable, real-life emotions that were funny and sad, silly and profound, all at the same time. The problem was that we didn't really have the story we wanted to write about and then one day we did. Unfortunately, it was the story of my horrible break-up with my girlfriend at the time.
WEBER: We would have long conversations -- relationship war stories -- and they were more interesting and funny and, obviously, real, than anything we were seeing in the theaters at the time. There's a great passage in Salinger's "Seymour -- An Introduction" that I'm always reminded of when I think of how our little movie came about.
"If only you'd remember before ever you sit down to write that you've been a reader long before you were ever a writer. You simply fix that fact in your mind, then sit very still and ask yourself, as a reader, what piece of writing in all the world Buddy Glass would most want to read if he had his heart's choice. The next step is terrible, but so simple I can hardly believe it as I write it. You just sit down shamelessly and write the thing yourself."
I think we wrote the movie we'd most want to see if we had our heart's choice. And then, we were very fortunate. Not only did a movie get made, but that movie got made.
How do you identify with the main character in your latest script and why - talk about the name of the script and logline.
NEUSTADTER: For "500 Days of Summer" that's a pretty easy question to answer. The main character is essentially me. I grew up in Margate, I had my worldview colored by the Smiths and "The Graduate." I fell for a girl who wanted to be free of all constraints and complications and I spent an inordinate amount of time reflecting on the unraveling of our love affair. It made no sense to me, so I wanted to write about it, and the experience was more cathartic than anything else. We never imagined other people would read it let alone want to make it. It was personal to the point where I kept it in a drawer for half a year afraid to show it to anyone for fear of being laughed at. It's still a pretty incredible thing to hear that other people went through it as well.
WEBER: The truth is guys talk about their relationships, they talk about their feelings, and sometimes they get hurt. Without naming names, I don't relate to TV and movies that portray men otherwise.
What were some of the best parts of the script to write?
NEUSTADTER: After my breakup, I literally needed to write this thing. So for me, it was one of those things that I just loved doing from start to finish. If we were writing about the good times, I enjoyed revisiting those memories and if we were writing about the bad stuff, I was forced to tackle it with enough distance to gain insight into why it happened the way it did so all of it was pleasurable. I wound up being very proud of the writing too which is something that was very unusual for me who hated everything I'd ever tried to put into words.
Anything you would change now?
NEUSTADTER: I'm not sure there is, to be honest. We're really proud of this one.
'ADAM'
ROMANCE AS CHILD CARE
By Sean Chavel
Strange love story with Adam, a story of a young man with Asperger Syndrome whom for the first time has a romantic opportunity with a beautiful neighbor who is a schoolteacher. Strange and off-beat love story is probably what the studio marketing is going for while at the same time informing about the disease of Asperberger Syndrome which is akin to a high-functioning autistic person.
You might have thought already that "Rain Man" (1988) was a story about a high-functioning autistic, but there is something to discover here that in the case of Adam he is perfectly able to work and earn a paycheck, and retain a few limited friendships. His father has died unexpectedly which leaves him on his own with house payments he can probably not afford. Adam acts childlike in the face of excess noise and high stress situations, he runs his mouth on tangents, he demonstrates obsessive routines, and says socially inappropriate things. It must be said that Adam is aware of these self-inadequacies and often struggles to change.
When attractive new neighbor Beth arrives, he is uncertain about how to be friendly but she's forthcoming with him. After a couple of meets Adam says something in regards to sex, which is highly awkward, which prompts Beth to excuse herself quickly. He asks her to wait so he can explain his condition. She understands with sincerity. They get over the awkwardness and begin to spend time together. Then it gets romantic, but romance is entirely new to Adam but he does make some very thoughtful gestures. Beth's idea of taking things slow is starting with a spooning session. It goes well. What doesn't go well is when Beth introduces Adam to her concerning parents, but when Adam meets Beth's friends he intellectually dazzles and then bores them with his knowledge on astrophysics.
Now about the actors. I think Rose Byrne is an exceptional actress ("Sunshine," "Knowing") and one of the most underrated, taking a role of Beth that could have been a doormat drip and creating someone who is believably intelligent, sensitive and patient. She is playing a woman yearning for a relationship built on honesty and reliance since her previous relationship was built on lies and adultery. Hugh Dancy as Adam is good too, delivering on the mannerisms of the affliction. The movie asks us to adopt empathy for Dancy's Adam but Byrne's take on Beth is the more skillful performance exuding the inner wounds of her character that would lead her to have an improbable relationship.
I wish however the writing wasn't so short-sighted. Certainly Adam has extended family (ok, maybe not but the script should explain) or agencies that would deal with him in terms of psychotherapy. Adam is perhaps a believable character with a condition but too off-center to get me to believe that Beth can withstand him no matter how fine Byrne's performance happens to be. To avoid screenplay mushiness, Beth is allowed a number of scenes to yell at Adam. Yet these are signals of a doomed relationship.
As added subplot, Beth has scenes where she is given new light on her wealthy father (Peter Gallagher, who is lousy is scene one and then tightens up his character as time goes along). He is being investigated on alleged corporate malfeasance, and the story deals with Beth's terrible new worry about what will happen to her parents - the question is Adam mature and capable enough to console her?
The film will work effectively for some audiences looking for a tender and curious love story. As for myself, I had problems with too many scenes. I found myself saying, "Wait a minute, that scene works," and continuing "That scene compliments the story" and further continuing, "That scene got it right." But I came out of the movie molding the idea that if a movie is totally successful I should have been lost in immersion of the story instead of judging every scene that passed by. The result is that "Adam" falls down the middle between good and bad.