Alright, I’ll just come out and say it. The remake of “Hairspray” is great. There. Maybe it’s because my expectations were high, maybe it’s because I’m such a fan of the original “Hairspray,” or perhaps it’s my utter obsession with everything Brittany Snow, but “Hairspray” is damn good. The music is energetic, the pacing is competent, and shit will you find yourself tapping your feet from minute one. I was hoping it would be good, but in a way I also wanted it to fail. The original “Hairspray” is my favorite John Waters film after all, and I just didn’t think anyone could live up to it. You have great references to the original, Michelle Pfeiffer returning to the musical genre, and John Travolta in drag once again doing what he does best. I don’t think there’s much to hate in this. Sure, in the end it pretty much attempts to take away the surreal atmosphere Waters inserted, but hell the acting, the choreography and pretty much everything is top notch.
Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)
Some comic books just aren’t meant to be made into movies. There are just some concepts that look great on a page with a great artist that completely fails to translate on screen. “Fantastic Four” will forever be one of the prime examples of this argument. Tim Story and co. have failed to prove many people wrong in the assertion that this story can be turned into a serious action packed movie. On its surface it’s artificial fluff, a complete piece of colorful junk like cotton candy that’s there for nothing more than to look pretty and provide you with an instant bit of pleasure, and yet really has no long lasting effects or nutritional value.
Once (2006)
The Irish musical “Once” by John Carney is very much of a gentle and quaint little elegy of life and love much like the subtle whisper that was “Me You and Everyone We Know.” Going in and out of theaters with barely a notice, it’s a shocker something so powerful as “Once” could go almost completely unnoticed. It’s just a painful crime that something as beautiful and utterly riveting as Carney’s “Once” could just completely be dismissed as another indie drama when really it’s a truly powerful musical.
American Gangster (2007)
I wonder why it hasn’t been further emphasized that Ridley Scott’s “American Gangster” marks the second meeting between Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. Perhaps it’s because during “Virtuosity” Crowe was barely a star, or perhaps it’s because “Virtuosity” just wasn’t that good. True, this second meeting is not as notable as Paul Newman and Robert Redford’s, but I wish it were. We have a slew of incredible actors, some favorites, some up and comers, and two of the current best actors in Hollywood meeting. Yet again. The hook for this crime thriller is capitalism. Capitalism, Zaillian insists, however criminal or legal, is still nothing but deception and appealing to consumers in spite of the sleazy methods in which we act out the primary principle of business in America.
The White Book: The Beatles, the Bands, the Biz: An Insider's Look at an Era [Paperback]
Ken Mansfield’s “The White Book” is that rare collector’s item that music buffs, and hardcore fans of classic rock and pop will want to and simply have to own to read up on The Beatles, and how utterly influential they were on the artists that succeeded them. The Beatles molded music, and even years after their split, author Mansfield tells their story from a new angle that collectors will be anxious to get into.
Upon receiving an early copy to read and review, I found myself immediately thrown into the prose that Mansfield drops into the book like a how-to manual and yet he very simplistically explains his methods of madness and his hob knobbing with big stars that he almost always adored when working with. All except the Beatles who he loved as friends, but could never really love them as artists until years later.
Bikini Bloodbath (2006) (DVD)
For once 80’s chic is done right with “Bikini Bloodbath” probably one of the silliest and yet entertaining horror comedies I’ve seen since “Sorority Babes in the Slime-Ball Bowl-O-Rama.” Seymour and Gorman’s “Bikini Bloodbath” is one part Troma, one part pure sleaze, and one part pure idiocy wrapped into a sick and demented hybrid of a slasher film that I couldn’t help enjoy. Taking off from those elements, “Bikini Bloodbath” involves a lot of gorgeous girls, big tits, a homoerotic party of football players, big tits, and a murderous blood soaked chef intent on slicing and dicing young girls for no apparent reason. Did I mention the big tits? A girls high school volleyball team is preparing for their last day of school after a season of wins, losses, and dodging a perverted Lesbian coach (Debbie Rochon adding her usual degree of humor and sex appeal) insistent on getting in good with the team mates.
Square Pegs (2007)
There’s not much to say about “Square Pegs” other than it’s probably one of the most surreal, and yet most powerful short films I’ve ever seen. Not only does the imagery spark a head trip of pure acidic proportions, but it’s such a fantastic statement about faith, and the ongoing war of good and evil and the religious belief of the human soul being wrestled with even after we die. Though I’m not sure I agree with the overall statement Ben Hicks makes about the atheists role in the “war” that ensues for our state of being after our death, “Square Pegs” is nonetheless a powerful little film that makes the best of its low resources.