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Review: The Apple

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The Apple (1980)

Oh... my... God.

I have a friend obsessed with the most obscure and bizarre movies ever seen, and when I happened by the other day, he was starting to watch this 1980 musical about a couple of kids from Canada seduced by a music business empresario.

The female lead is Catherine Mary Stewart, known affectionately to many fans of 80s films from her roles in 'The Last Starfighter,' 'Night of the Comet' and 'Weekend at Bernie's.' The Male lead is some generic pretty boy with terrible acting skills and a resemblance to Bryan Singer (yeah, odd).

The film is set in "the future" of 1994, where big corporations control the citizens. The master of it all is Mr. Boogalow, who surrounds himself with androgynous servants. Almost everyone in the film speaks with either a monotone or an exaggeratedly effeminite tone - until the middle of the film where we inexplicably are given a stereotypical Jewish mother character for a few scenes. At the beginning, we get the simple "seduction of the innocent" plot - the female gives in, but the guy resists - but eventually everything gets bogged down in repetitive musical numbers and nonsensical twists. This is a movie where the hero takes a strange drink from the people he thinks are holding his girlfriend hostage. This dumdum gets what he deserves.

And evidently what he deserves is to live under a bridge with exiled hippies. The girlfriend escapes and joins them all, but the film isn't satisfied with this weakly played resolution. No, when the army of baddies show up to take on the hippies, we are treated to one of the most ridiculous deus ex machina moments ever committed to celluloid. Brought to the hippies by a giant white car in the sky is Mr. Topps, a godlike figure who just takes everyone away to start over without Mr. Boogalow.

Have I mentioned this was a musical as well? Contributing to the completely unbelievable plot are a string of wretched, screeching songs. You could never believe that the evil corporation would control the people through song because their "anthem" is so overbearingly repetitive and chaotic. You could never believe that the hero and heroine's "retro" love song could appeal to the people because it's so trite and laughable. Don't even get me started on the fantasy musical number set in hell where, for some reason, there are vampires and guys with dog masks. Did I mention that the hippie leader sings in a grating low baritone? Anyone who thinks 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' is the worst of this era's musical attrocities hasn't seen 'The Apple.'

'The Apple' was a product of the production machine known as Cannon Films, which thrust upon the world 'Superman IV' and most of the 1980s Chuck Norris ouvre ('Missing In Action' and 'The Delta Force,' for example). This desperate attempt to cash in on both the cult movie and musical phenomenons of the 1970s smacks of that cheap, rushed mentality that earned the filmmakers the nickname of "The Go-Go Boys." It's ample proof that one must actually believe in what they are creating for it to carry any resonance whatsoever.

Posted Friday, October 17, 2008 1:04 PM by minerwerks | with 0 comments

Review: 'Infinite' Enjoyment

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Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (2008)

After seeing the trailer for 'Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist,' I joked to a friend that if someone were to design a movie specifically for me, this would probably be it. Let's break it down.

'Nick and Norah' appeared to be...
a) a teen comedy with a better than average chance of being good...
b) with a dash of whimsy and unabashed romanticism...
d) that takes place over the course of one night...
d) from an up-and-coming director with an indie pedigree...
e) featuring two appealing young stars...
f) and a hip indie music soundtrack.

I suppose if none of the above appeal to you, it probably won't matter whether I liked the movie or not. But if you can accept my claim to be able to fairly judge something so in tune with my sensibilities, you should read on. (footnote: I point to one 'Juno' as a film that seemed so right up my alley, yet left me a little cold. Good movie - cute even - but not in my top ten of the year.)

Nick (Michael Cera) is a music nut who has recently been dumped. He wallows in his lingering unrequited love by making a series of "closure" mix CDs with elaborate packaging. Norah (Kat Dennings) goes to school with Nick's ex, Tris (Alexis Dziena), and enjoys the discarded CDs that Tris laughingly trashes. Fate brings the two together at a nightclub where Nick's band is playing. In a bid to save face, Norah approaches Nick and asks him to pretend to be her boyfriend. When Norah discovers Nick is Tris' ex, she wants to take off, but Nick's bandmates see this as an opportunity to revive him from depression.

The rest of the film weaves a budding romance around a the search for a secret show by a band called Where's Fluffy? as well as the search for Norah's lost (and drunken) friend, Caroline. Threatening to pull the star-crossed lovers apart before they realize their destiny are Tal (Jay Baruchel), Norah's "friend with benefits" and Nick's ex, Tris, who seems jealous at the idea that Nick would ever stop pining for her.

On the surface, there's nothing incredibly original about 'Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.' The more cynical might just write it off as a well-worn story grafted on to a hipster milieu for a quick cash in. But those who are willing to look deeper might notice a sincerity sorely missed in most films of this kind. I was captivated by the movie's youthful exuberance and it really drew out the hopeless romantic in me.

Both Cera and Dennings are incredibly appealing young actors who have a way with dialogue that comes off improvised and natural. Some scenes recall the breezy charm of Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke in 'Before Sunrise.' Cera and Dennings also infuse the characters' choices with believability, which is essential to accepting the various coincidences of the plot. Not to sell short the screenplay by Lorene Scafaria (based on a novel by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan), which is smart enough to turn a corner at such moments, rather than stacking something more unbelievable on top of them.

Kudos also go to Scafaria for building characters with emotional attachments and not exaggerated libidos. Sexuality is present and accounted for, but not as an overwhelming force that permeates the entire story. Incidentally, the film's most explicit moment is probably the most creative and tasteful presentation of youthful sexuality I've seen in a while.

Of course, I would be remiss to overlook the contribution that a talented director brings to the table on a film like this. Peter Sollett infuses 'Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist' with an engaging whimsy and a genial disposition that never comes off as corny. Sollett is a native New Yorker and the film displays an enormous love of the city, warts and all. The film may sanitize the city slightly and downplay the dangers of being in Brooklyn at 2 in the morning, but it also never looks like a film crew came along and made everything sparkle before cameras rolled. Surprisingly and pleasantly, the city feels like a large, inviting playground.

Even though 'Nick and Norah' did end up being all the things I expected it to be, it also had something extra - that magical ability to exceed expectations. That's always a pleasant surprise for a hardened, cynical moviegoer as myself.

Posted Monday, October 06, 2008 3:00 AM by minerwerks | with 0 comments

Spout Maven Review: 'Summer' Lovin' - Happened So Slow

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The Wedding Banquet (1993)

The Ice Storm (1997)

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Summer Palace (2006)

Palm Pictures' DVD of 'Summer Palace' arrived adorned with a 'BANNED BY THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT' banner and reviews touting sex and politics "on full boil." In reality, this tells me about good old American hype than anything about the Chinese government. While interesting, the film wasn't quite as hot as the quotes imply.

Yu Hong (Hao Lei) is a young girl from northern China near the border of North Korea. She travels to Beijing to attend University in the late 1980s. Upon meeting fellow student Li Ti (Hu Lingling), Yu Hong begins to open up to the new experiences the school and the city have to offer, as well as her awakening passions. These passions are further drawn out when she meets Zhou Wei (Guo Xiaodong), and the two become lovers.

As a backdrop to the personal drama, there are hints of a growing political unease, which culminates in many of the students taking part in the famous demonstration in Tiananmen Square. The swift reaction of the Chinese government sends the various characters to places around the world, launching the film into a more sedate second half. Yu Hong heads back to her home temporarily, eventually heading south. Zhou Wei is initially mandated to join the Chinese military, but he and Li Ti eventually end up in Germany. Eventually, a tragedy sets up a chance for the former lovers to meet, but after a decade apart, how will they react to each other?

Champions of art can make all the waves they want about how unfair it is that the Chinese government has sanctioned the makers of 'Summer Palace,' but to try and be coy about the film's meaning is just as silly as the Chinese claiming the film was rejected due to audio and visual problems. Though the film is subtle in the lyrical, meditative way that certain Asian films can be, it becomes clear by the end that the characters are emotionally damaged by government repression. Curiosity is replaced by shame, leading Yu Hong to rote sexual encounters and Zhou Wei to a dull, unspecific longing. After having a taste of great freedom cut short abruptly these students are more afraid to express their real needs and desires than to speak out against their country's leaders.

I can't claim to be familiar with much Chinese cinema, though 'Summer Palace' is pretty much right in line with what I expect. It's interesting these films are skillfully assembled, but are not overtly stamped with the voice of a director, which is something I'm used to from American films. In this case, director Lou Ye assembles a great cast, sets about having them subtly convey longing and excitement and makes it all look and sound beautiful. If immaculate tone poems are more your speed, then by all means, don't miss this film. As an admirer of naturalistic film, I appreciated many parts of 'Summer Palace,' but I found that when the emotion drained out of the characters in the second half of the film, my interest went with it.

RECOMMENDATION: Director Ang Lee is from Taiwan, but was born to Chinese parents and was encouraged to study Chinese culture. His films such as 'The Ice Storm' and 'Brokeback Mountain' evoke the tradition of subtle, lyrical character stories that 'Summer Palace' tries to be a part of. But Lee's command of film language feels much more natural and universal, which can be seen in his broad range of films. His breakout film, 'The Wedding Banquet,' was a great character piece but also part screwball comedy.

The plot concerns a gay Taiwanese man, Wai-Tung, living with his partner in Manhattan. The young man's parents are eager for marriage and a grandchild, so they begin trying to set him up through a dating service. Wai-Tung decides on a marriage of convenience with a poor girl from China so she can get a green card and to keep his parents happy. The parents, however, are determined to stage a huge wedding.

The result is a touching, entertaining concoction that was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.