August Rush

 

August Rush (2007) 114 mins.
directed by Kristen Sheridan
starring Freddie Highmore, Keri Russell, Jonathan Rhys Meyers

August Rush is a musical prodigy living in a foster home when he heads to New York to look for his parents.  He hears music everywhere he goes and knows that the music is going to bring his parents to him.

Q Says:

this is a sweet and heart-warming little movie.  VERY sweet, like syrupy-sweet.  kinda like eating a spoonful of sugar with a sugar chaser.

music is a very important part of my life so i love the movie’s whole “music is a powerful force that can bring this separated family back together” aspect.  i feel that music SHOULD be that important and strong.  i also appreciate the use of music in the movie.  the back and forth blending of the songs played by the characters is very well done and at times this movie FEELS like a musical. it also feels like a bad movie of the week at times with the over-the-top dramatic acting and dialogue. however, there are some good moments, like the scene with august “hearing” the music of the city. it is one of my favourites.  the other would be when august plays guitar with his dad and doesn’t even know it.

the hands-down best part of the movie is freddie highmore.  he is absolutely adorable and endearing.  without him anchoring the movie, it just wouldn’t work at all.  you believe that he can really hear the music and he gives august a sense of lost wonderment that some other child actors probably couldn’t pull off.

the most interesting actor here is robin williams as “the wizard”.  you get the sense that he’s just about to go into a typical “robin williams” diatribe but it quickly turns menacing and angry.  this isn’t your friendly williams that you would find in say “aladdin”.

the main fault i have is with the pacing of the film.  supposedly it took place over the course of 6 months but  it only seemed as though a few days had passed.  it would have been a little better for me if it followed a little more straight forward  timeline.

finally, being a parent and seeing this movie now makes it a little more compelling.  it made me care about the 3 of them to finding each other a little more than the first time i saw it.

overall, though i think it is way too saccharin and syrupy, i still like it.  i would maybe watch this again in a few years or so.

L Says:
  I'm going to admit that his movie is a bit corny.  Okay, maybe a lot corny.  But, I love it just the same.  The whole movie is about music and the power it has to bring people together.  August Rush is a special little boy who hears music everywhere.  In the wind, on a basketball court, in the big city and in his heart.  He truly believes that the music will reunite him with his parents.
   Freddie Highmore as August is A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E.  I want to scoop him up out of the streets, save him from "Wizard" and take him home.  It's probably best that I don't though, since he ends up going to Juilliard.  He is so sweet and naive.  August is a true optimist who knows his parents are out there and if they could just hear the music, they would find him.  Some scenes are a touch heartbreaking.  Such as when, "Wizard" exploits August's talent to make money for himself and threatens him into playing in Washington Square.  "Wizard" is like a music pimp.  Living off the money all his little "stars" make on the streets.  Robin Williams plays "Wizard" with his usual over the top style.  Go big or go home, right?  I don't think I've ever seen Williams do subtle.
  Johnathan Rhys Meyers plays Louis, August's rock star dad.  Louis is lost.  A part of him died the day Lyla, August's mom, left.  He quits his band, starts working in an office, but can never forget the one night he had with the beautiful cellist on the rooftop.  And little does he know, but their one-time union resulted in pregnancy and ultimately, the birth of August.  Keri Russell plays Lyla and I think she has some real talent in her.  She, like everyone else in this movie, is lost.  She has believed for the past 11 years that her unborn child died in an accident.  Lyla is a blend of great loss and a touch of hope.  Once she finds out that her son is alive, she begins to look for him, proclaiming that she "has always wanted him".  Russell's character, for me, was a big driving force for the movie.  Maybe it's because I am a mother now and understand how she feels.
   The music is another major player.  It really makes the movie.  Mark Mancini sets the tone with his original music.  This is one of a few movies that I bought the soundtrack for after seeing it.  I can relive some of my favorite moments just by listening.  My hands down, favorite moment, is at the end.  August breaks free of "Wizard" and arrives just in time to conduct his Rhapsody in Central Park.  LylaLyla's name on it, jumps out of the cab and starts running for the park.  (I know this is long, but bear with me) Lyla is slowly making her way to the stage when Louis shows up.  She doesn't see him.  He is just to the right of her, but he sees her.  She is so transfixed by the music and it shows on her face.  She continues walking toward the stage and Louis follows, never taking his eyes off her.  Lyla reaches the stage, and she knows she just knows, that that is her son up there.  Louis slips in next to her, takes her hand.  She looks down and then up and sees him.  It makes my heart swell.  And, then, August turns around, and there they are.  The music brought them to him!  Cue tears.
   This is a great movie with an excellent cast.  I suggest you see it or at least listen to the soundtrack, which had an Oscar nominated song (Raise It Up) AND a Grammy nominated album.  I would watch this again, in fact I think I am going to go watch it after writing this blog.  Or, at least listen to the soundtrack.



 


 


  

Apt Pupil

Apt Pupil (1998) 111 mins.

directed Bryan Singer

starring Brad Renfro, Ian McKellen, Joshua Jackson

 After teenager Todd Bowden discovers that his neighbor is a Nazi war criminal, he blackmails him into telling him gruesome stories of the Holocaust.  As their relationship grows, Todd's whole life changes as he starts to learn what evil really looks like.

Q Says:

i read the stephen king story many, many years ago and i remember thinking it was really good and also that i found it dark, compelling, and disturbing.  i can’t recall any details...just feelings.   like the feeling that i absolutely hated the main character, todd bowden.  i remember wanting to beat him about the head and shoulders for being such a sick & twisted little pissant.

the first thing i thought while starting to watch the film was how easily the nazi-loving high school kid discovers an actual nazi, kurt dussander (ian mckellen), in his hometown.  very coincidental, eh?

also, as a funny aside: it’s really hard for me to see gandalf as a nazi.

the other thing i felt was that brad renfro was not impressive.  he seemed pretty emotionless up until a pivotal scene (we’ll talk about that in a minute).

for the first 30-45 minutes i felt none of the things that i felt while reading the book so many years ago and i have decided to read it again to see if i was wrong.  maybe i’m confusing it with another story.  the movie felt a little glossy and sugarcoated up until the scene i said i would talk about in a minute.

here’s the scene i mentioned: the movie takes a slight turn for the better when todd buys the old nazi a costume nazi uniform.  at first, dussander wants nothing to do with it.  however, todd demands that he wears it or he’ll turn him in to the authorities and he also demands that he marches in place.  as dussander does so you see the slow transformation in dussander as he really starts to relive the old days through this costume.  todd tries to get him to stop but dussander refuses and this is where the tables of power start to turn.  this is where ian mckellen starts to turn on the nazi-evil.  this is where you start to ask, who is really in control of the other? 

that scene held much promise for the rest of the movie...but the rest of the movie fell short. 

typical twists and plot turns lead to the nazi helping the kid study for school so he doesn’t fail and the kid murdering a transient and saving the nazis life to keep their secrets a little longer.

but things unravel when the nazi is in the hospital after suffering a heart attack in the fight with the transient and in yet another blazing coincidence:  there’s a former concentration camp jew in the room with the nazi that murdered his family in the war!!  WTF!??!  the jew turns him in but todd goes free!!  what the hell, man!??  the kid gets to go free and in a pivotal scene in the end you find that he is starting to become more like the nazi than ever before.  and it also took forever to get all this out.  the end of this movie felt longer than return of the king!!

i really wanted to see the kid get his.  i was left very dissatisfied.  the movie, overall, was OK.  bryan singer didn’t bring his A-game on this one and i probably won’t watch this one again.

side note: david schwimmer’s mustache is da bomb!

L Says:

  I got the feeling that this movie was supposed to be a little more chilling than it was.  Todd Bowden (Brad Renfro, who I used to have a MAJOR crush on) is a seemingly normal teenager.  He's top of the class, making A's and in line to be the valedictorian.  And he likes to do research.  Especially on the Holocaust and the horrors of it.  The movie opens with Todd sitting in the library with a plethora of pictures, letters, articles and books about the Holocaust and the men responsible for it.  He also keeps a secret suitcase in his room filled with a file on a man he believes to be a Nazi war criminal hiding in his own neighborhood.  After confronting the old man named Kurt Dussander (Ian McKellen), Todd blackmails him with the file and forces him to tell him stories of the Holocaust.  Todd wants to know what the teachers aren't telling him.  Like how horrible the gas chamber really was and what exactly happened.  And that is the only story we hear.  It was almost as if they wanted to push the envelope, but held back.  A lot.  Todd has one "nightmare" about the gas chamber and later blames his slipping grades on all these sleepless nights we never see.  

  Ian McKellen is the real thing.  Before he was Gandalf.  Before he was Magneto.  He was Kurt Dussander, an old man on the run from his past.  He lives a quiet existence until Todd shows up on his doorstep.  There are two scenes that really stand out for me.  The first is, of course, the marching scene.  Todd buys him a Nazi costume to wear and tells him to stand at attention.  Kurt's face when he steps to attention is great.  A slight smile, as if he finds it funny that he remembers his training after all these years.  Then, he starts marching and slowly gets into it.  Like really gets into it.  Saluting and all.  Todd gets scared and has to tell him to stop repeatedly.  You can kind of see at that moment, that maybe Todd should have left Kurt Dussander alone.  The other scene I really liked, was just after Todd pulled it together and was able to get his grades back up, he and Kurt were in Kurt's kitchen celebrating with melba toast.  Yum.  Anyway, Kurt has one more story to tell.  He tells Todd that he has written everything that has happened down (Todd knowing he was a Nazi monster and never telling authorities, Todd turning into a psycho), and stored it in a bank safe deposit box.  Todd, of course, freaks out.  The old man is not going to let this punk kid take him down without a fight.  Kurt pours Todd a glass of whiskey and insists that they toast on their "friendship".  Todd tells him to go fuck himself.  Kurt replies, "oh, my dear boy.  Don't you see?  We are fucking each other." You suddenly realize that this old man is not someone to mess with. 

  I suppose Brad Renfro does an okay job as Todd.  Just a touch psycho, but still feeling like he was holding back.  He has a few outbursts.  He kills a bird with a basketball.  Oh, and he does kill the homosexual homeless man that Kurt has pushed into the basement (played by Elias Koteas).  You can almost see Todd's hold on reality slipping, but as I said, he never quite loses it.  David Schwimmer shows up as Todd's guidance counselor.  I think he kind of senses that maybe Todd is messed up in the head.  He doesn't do much in the movie.  And Joshua Jackson shows up as Todd's best friend for about 8 minutes.  

  I think this movie was really trying to show how evil can exist in everyday life and can be passed on.  Kurt pushing Todd to kill the homeless man in the basement is a real turning point for the teen.  Later, when Kurt is in the hospital after suffering a heart attack, he asks Todd what did it feel like?  Todd never answers, but as the movie (finally!) ends, and Kurt dies, we see that Todd may be picking up where Kurt left off.  

  I don't know if I will watch this again.  I think I liked it so much the first time I saw it because of Ian McKellen's performance.  I do want to read the story now.  I read that in the story, Todd gets what's coming to him.

David Schwimmer's sweet 'stache

 

 

 

  

 

   

American Hardcore

 

American Hardcore (2006) 100 mins.

directed by Paul Rachman

featuring Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Black Flag, Cro-Mags

The history of Hardcore Punk Rock from 1980 to 1986.

Q Says:

 i am not a fan of punk music.  i kinda put this movie off ‘cos i knew i was just not gonna enjoy it that much.  why do i have it you ask??  it was a freebie from work (b&n) and i actually do like to watch music documentaries even if i don’t enjoy the music or the particular band the doc is about.  i guess it’s just the frustrated wanna-be rock star/musician in me.

being a fan of music in general i appreciate most forms of it.  there are some i just don’t get: gangsta rap, new country, hip-hop dance, lady gaga, and hardcore punk.

i appreciate the movement to a point.  they were unhappy and bored and needed to express that and they chose to do it musically instead of with violence towards the establishment.  they just got violent towards each other.  but that doesn’t mean i have to like it.  the music really is not that great.  you can’t understand what the frick they’re singing about, and they can’t play worth a damn.  it’s just angry and loud.  but it’s punk and that’s what punk is supposed to be- loud and obnoxious.

there are a few bands that came out of the movement that weren’t bad.  bad brains was pretty cool before they went rasta, black flag was decent and got better with rollins (that’s right…the guy from “johnny mnemonic”)…i can tolerate those guys.  what i can’t tolerate are some of the whiny white guys in the movement.  “o we’re unhappy with the establishment…the government sucks, we’re gonna make this music ‘cos we can’t really do anything else and we’re gonna play these gigs in peoples houses and not charge anything but not get any money ‘cos we wanna be punk and if you get a record deal you’re selling out but now we live in the suburbs and have houses with swing sets in the backyard…blah blah blah…”

just play the frickin’ music and leave the whiny crap at home.

sorry, i kinda ranted there…feel free to tell me that i’m an idiot for not liking the punk movement…i’ll accept it.

the movie itself was shot weird, the camera was never stationary.  i don’t know if it was on purpose or what, but just let it sit there for a minute, get the shot…leave it alone.

there was some good footage of the bands playing gigs.  you don’t get to see that very often and it followed the movement pretty well from beginning to end.

i’ll probably never watch this again.  as a matter of fact…it’ll probably come down off the shelf to make room for a real movie.

L Says:

   Basically, what I took from this movie was that Hardcore Punk came about as a response to these kids, who weren't even old enough to vote, about Ronald Reagan being elected president in 1980.  Maybe they just didn't agree with Reagonomics.  I get that it was sort of a remedy to the music of the 70's, mainly disco.  As one guy was saying, bands like the Beatles, and The Who had been around for seemingly forever.  And, yeah, they're great bands with great songs, but we're sick of listening to you.  Hardcore Punk may have been a precursor to Scream-o.  A bunch of 15 and 16 year olds, "singing" about "the man" and how it's not their fault they are white.  Really?  The music is fast and loud.  The same three chords pounded out.  And the singing, if you could call it that, unintelligible and sometimes with a touch of a British accent.  Really??

   Back to the movie.  I really wish that this could have been more...professionally done.  With a narrator possibly.  Sure, they interviewed the guys who lived it.  Most of whom are now living in the suburbs, with kids, and 9 to 5 jobs.  I appreciate that it included lots of performance footage.  Footage "normal" people have never seen.  I think it really helps drive the point that these were just kids, playing whenever and wherever they could because they believed in the music, the energy and emotion.  

  The film felt very choppy.  One minute we are talking about the recording process, then on to Punk Rock in Canada, then back to recording.  There was not a very clear flow.  I found some of the camera work to be distracting.  Suddenly and unsteadily zooming in and then out and shifting to one side as if to include more of the background in the shot.  Just focus on who is talking and leave it at that.  I don't want to see the floor lamp just to the right nor do I care about that picture on the wall.

  Overall, mostly interesting subject.  In the hands of someone more organized and perhaps a bit more money, this could be done really, really well.  Or, maybe they were just being punk about the actual filming and don't give a fuck if you like it or not.