the word on dvds
chuck [warner brothers]
the wrestler [hopscotch films]
the day the earth stood still [fox]
Another in the long line of shows ignored by Australian programmers, Chuck was one of the highlights of the 2007 new release calendar and also one of the many victims of the Writers Strike in the same year that truncated seasons, split them in half and generally interrupted the flow of every show on TV. A few recovered easily (The Office and 30 Rock remained safe bets) but for the newer ones like Chuck, Reaper and Pushing Daisies the task to retain viewers in an already vicious market was tough. Fortunately Chuck well and truly hit the ground running. A deft mix of slapstick, mundane office life gaggery, spy caper, espionage drama, twentysomething angst – it almost seemed too clever and chaotic for its own good. The premise required an extraordinary leap of faith – our unwitting/ unwilling hero Charles “Chuck” Bartowksi (Zachary Levi) through the magic of the internet, and trickery of his malevolent ex-best friend/ rogue CIA agent, has become a fountain of Government secrets. Downloaded into his brain, or something, it activates itself when he gets close to the scene of a potential crime. The Fed’s want him but Chuck is happy enough muddling along as a computer expert at the local suburban big barn electronics warehouse. Chuck eventually relents and becomes part time spy. It could be a hackneyed bore but with well written minor characters and perfectly pitched plot development Chuck exhibits a depth lacking in most network dramedies. Think Burn Notice via Judd Apatow. In the final third of this debut season something intangible happens; everything falls into place and it transforms suddenly from an already great show to outstanding television. A show ready-made for cultdom.
The world of The Wrestler is about as far removed from the glitz and glamour of World Wrestling Entertainment as you can get. Mickey Rourke is Randy “the Ram” Robinson, a seasoned pro-wrestler whose heyday was in the ‘80s. He has fucked up relationships with all of those around him which is contradicted by the dressing room where he is idolised by the other wrestlers. He is estranged from his daughter, Stephanie (Evan Rachel Wood), who doesn’t like her father’s choice of lifestyle. His only positive light is Cassidy/Pam (Marisa Tomei), the stripper he visits on a regular basis. Finally Randy is offered the last chance to reclaim his glory and get back in the ring with his old nemesis, The Ayatollah. This is a slight film, wonderfully directed by Darren Aranofsky (Requiem for a Dream) with fantastic performances from all involved. The interest in The Wrestler is in its exposition of a world totally foreign to most people – we don’t actually know what goes on in the crazy world of wrestling, but when The Ram fights a guy called Necro Butcher with light boxes, mirrors and all manner of items, you know this film isn’t for the squeamish. There is a sense of redemption through violence with Randy doing all he can to atone for previous sins by getting the shit beaten out of him night after night. This isn’t Rocky – this is hard-hitting and ultimately depressing stuff, with Randy facing a world of loneliness and alienation, due to illness, or the fact that he can’t relate to people unless he’s hitting them as hard as he can. Aranofsky lets the action unfold in front of you and doesn’t get heavy-handed with messages or morals. The Wrestler ultimately is the kind of movie you can only watch once without wanting to slit your wrists, but it’s a great watch.
There’s much to be said about sci-fi films of the ’50s and ’60s. Yes, the giant lizards were hammy and unterrifying but the post war period represented a time when people grappled with the ramifications of victory/ loss; living with new fears – mutually assured destruction, creeping communism, duckand-cover, Cold War. The terror of the tank was replaced with a psychological horror far more insidious. It was the stuff of metaphor heaven and it fed scriptwriters for generations to come. Around 57 years after first release The Day the Earth Stood Still has been given a coat of paint, spruced up for the CGI generation and launched on an unsuspecting and indifferent public. Keanu Reeves plays the alien, earnestly mugging his way through this shocker with all the charm and charisma of a used battery. His crib notes probably said “stoic” but all I saw was “imminent constipation”. He’s not exactly helped by Jayden Smith playing the obligatory opinionated sprog. It’d be cruel to get stuck into a kid, but he’s thoroughly disagreeable and will struggle to reach the low heights of his dad, Will, on this evidence. Jennifer Connelly, John Cleese and a giant orb emit low range energies that struggle to maintain attention. The plot is simple – alien comes to earth to collect a show bag full of animals that are innocents in the destructive nature of man, alien advises humanity it is doomed and are bad, alien begins to blow up world – yet they still manage to stuff it up. In this post-millennial update you can practically hear global warming and allegory in the background but maybe the producers got scared and played it safe. So, in its place is a directionless mess – no plot thrust, nil character development, cod dialogue and a giant robot that would be more suitable as an oversized garden gnome.
JUSTIN HOOK
GEOFF SETTY
justin hook
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