deanbivensnyc Reviews

Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006)

Decent Kids Flick but adults beware...

[5/10 · 1 May 2006]

For a kids' flick, "The Meltdown" dabbles in death more than Marilyn Manson's diary. But when you're dealing with extinction, how can you not? Our adventure has our threesome trying to get to the other end of the valley where they live to avoid a big thaw that will have them looking like Leo DiCaprio in the waning moments of "Titanic." Along the way, each deals with their problems. Manny is afraid that he's the last mammoth alive, Sid is mad that no one respects him and Diego can't swim. In other words, it's kind of like the Tin Man, Lion and Scarecrow from "The Wizard of Oz" minus the flying monkeys and midgets sucking on lollipops.

Mixing fun show tunes, a wittier than expected script and a couple of compelling story lines, "The Meltdown" manages to build and impress throughout. Leguizamo's wispy voice work shows that creating compelling animated characters takes more than just placing a sitcom star in front of a Mic – yes, I'm looking at you, David Schwimmer. And Scrat, the ratty squirrel-like creature who just wants his nut, offers creative interludes that ring of Wyle E. Coyote.

Even sellout Queen Latifah, who voices a mammoth that thinks she's a opossum, manages not to ruin the flick – even though every time she speaks, you can't help but think it's a Pizza Hut commercial or a bad buddy movie. I probably would have been better staying home.

Journey to the End of the Night (2006)

A pretty outstanding little film

[9/10 · 1 May 2006]

A very original dark film that seems inspired by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and American Film Noirs. The story concerns Scott Glenn and his son Brendan Fraser as they scheme to get out of the brothel biz in Sao Paulo. They plan on selling some dope that's fallen into their laps and cashing out.

But, boy--do things ever go to hell in a hand basket when their drug mule played by Mos Def gets bashed in the head. All goes haywire and Brendan Fraser chews a lot of scenery--in a good way. You could say that here is the first time that he ever embraced the dark side of his persona and did a damn fine job. Some of his natural humor seeps and refreshes the story.

Really the big surprise is Alicia Braga (the niece of Sonia Braga) who has a supporting role of a beautiful young girl who gets entangled in this web by helping out Mos Def's character. She played the part to perfection. I want to see more and more of this actress.

Art School Confidential (2006)

Another decent effort by an interesting director

[6/10 · 1 May 2006]

Like Ghost World, there's more than just plot strands bumping into one another. So much so, that when it comes to the "murder mystery" its easy to believe it becomes the domineering one (especially in the second half.) But its just one of the many affectations that Zwigoff and Clowes have on the art world. There are little red herrings dropped along about the potential guilt of some of the characters, but its not really treated like a mystery that needs solving. The first sign of trouble that hits in the world we live in, it's become commonplace for authority figures to point blame at the artistic community. For Zwigoff, it doesn't matter who is responsible for the deaths, only that the cops are clueless and have only one outlet – to harass anyone in a coffee shop. When one detective mistakes a student film for that of an actual murder scene, it's a joke we've seen before but it produces a further resonance to the misinterpretation of art reflecting life and not the other way around.

It's all part of the fabric as we watch Max fall from the heights of hopefulness down to the clichés of the angry, starving artist because of a community preaching individuality as long as it doesn't interfere with their own aspirations. Malkovich's Sandiford seems like he has just the right amount of cynical wisdom for his students, but the revelation of his life's work proves that he's as clueless as the rest of them. Anjelica Huston's art history teacher speaks wisely to the timelessness of art, a lesson Max first takes to heart but then forgets when he ignores his own instincts to follow the patterns of others which register as either too innocent or too dark. All he needs to do is look closely at the penultimate portrait of his muse to see what great artists suffer for and whom many, like Max, get into the game to begin with. If only there were more Audreys out there able to recognize how perfect it can be when seen through the eyes of someone like Max and not the innumerable posers out there fighting for her attention.

Akeelah and the Bee (2006)

Another spelling movie and a so so entertainement...

[6/10 · 1 May 2006]

t seems as though Starbucks has been wanting to get into other parts of our lives outside of coffee and music, and now they have. Along with 2929 Entertainment (the studio that brought us a film no other studio wanted...Good Night and Good Luck), they've dipped their toe into the world of movies and when you see this film it's easy to see why this one worked for them. It's completely family safe fare and has a positive message not only for kids of color, but kids of any color. Akeelah and the Bee's executive producer Todd Wagner claims that Akeelah is the first studio film in history to feature a female African-American child actor as its lead character...I think he might be right. Outside of the precedents being set with this film, it is more importantly entertaining and very well done. Sure, there's a formula in place that will bring to mind many sports films or films with any sort of competition at its core, but the one that rang the truest for me was The Karate Kid. Keke Palmer (who is excellent) plays the Ralph Macchio role and Laurence Fishburne is her Mr. Miyagi. Now she might not be kicking butt in the literal sense, but she is battling the pressure in her school to "keep it real"; and more appropriately as Chris Rock says, to "Keep it real dumb." The pressure on children of color to do poorly in school is one of the most ridiculous things that our culture has to offer, and one of the reasons we do so poorly as a nation in educating our kids. Parents don't want their children to be uneducated, it's other kids that cause the gap between the educated and the under-educated. Akeelah eventually stands up to these pressures and to her mother (Angela Bassett) who sees the bees as the reason for Akeelah's sliding grades. It's a story of triumph under difficult circumstances...the flower blossoming through a crack in the concrete. There are wonderful performances from all of the leads; Palmer, Bassett, and Fishburne carry the film easily. There's a standout supporting performance from J.R. Villarreal which highlights the writing of Doug Atchison who also directed the film. It took Atchison many years to get Akeelah to the screen and hopefully audiences will make that wait pay off. This is the type of film that deserves an audience and the monetary rewards that go with it. Check it out in the theater! - veg Maple B

Stick It (2006)

Pretty average.

[5/10 · 1 May 2006]

Drenched in rainbow colors and featuring multiple training montages scored to Green Day and Blink 182 (including a Busby Berkeley-inspired synchronized stretching sequence), Stick It assumes an insolent air while thoroughly adhering to countless clichés, from the bitchy adversary (Vanessa Lengies's Joanne) who ultimately joins forces with Haley, to the superfluous comedic relief characters (played by Kellan Lutz and John Patrick Amedori), to the eventual triumph achieved via the girls' decision to reject their manipulative parents and be themselves. That the film tries too hard to strike a hardcore pose is epitomized by Peregrym, whose charisma as Haley—a sweet Skittle masquerading as a Sour Patch Kid—is often undercut by her strained efforts to behave simultaneously cute, bratty, and tough.

At its candy-coated center, however, Bendinger's directorial debut is just another hypocritical tween-targeted drama in the Bend it Like Beckham mold, one that strives to celebrate feminist self-actualization while also delivering objectifying close-ups of teenage girls' asses and washboard abs. And despite its climax's attempts to denigrate athletic/artistic criticism by portraying gymnastics judges as fascists who are secretly jealous of those they're judging (a jab often leveled against those in the film reviewing profession), I won't be swayed from supplying my own final Stick It verdict: starts off shaky, mildly efficient through its mid- section, but fails to nail its landing.