Rick’s Flicks Picks » This Weekend’s Film Festival Celebrates The Five Most Misunderstood Genre Films of the Past Five Years

This Weekend’s Film Festival Celebrates The Five Most Misunderstood Genre Films of the Past Five Years

26 11 2008

Two summer films this year received a trashing by most critics. I found myself enjoying them quiet a bit. So now that HANCOCK has arrived on DVD, This Weekend’s Film Festival looks at five genre films that deserve a better shake then they received upon their theatrical release. All five films received less than 50% ratings on Rotten Tomatoes. All five films are genre flicks (there were some good dramas that could have made the list, but I save those for a future Fest). One is a LAFF (a wonderful phrase coined by Martin “Dr. Toon” Goodman meaning Live-Action Animation Feature Film). Two are period piece thrillers (kind of). One is a psychological thriller. The final film is a superhero spoof. To be warned there are some MAJOR SPOILERS in my arguments for the defense of these films. Give this week’s lineup a chance, you might be surprised with what you find.

SPEED RACER starts this week’s race with a neon bang. As I said in my original review, “I suspect many critics will not like SPEED RACER, complaining about the simple dialogue or the clichéd message about family or the cheesiness of the surreal visual effects. But those critics don’t remember what it’s like to be a kid.” This innocent adventure tells the tale of Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch), a young man whom only dreams of racing cars. But as he gets deeper into the world of professional racing, his idealism is challenged and he has to find a new reason to drive. This puts him in conflict with his Pops (John Goodman), whom has dedicated his whole life to pro racing and refuses to see the dark side of business. The frenetic adventure is targeted directly at the PG-crowd, but the real tension and layered emotions that the film establishes is surprising for family entertainment. This film truly works on two levels. Directors Andy and Larry Wachowski take all the standard elements of the original animated series and weave them into a narrative that brings “the good flavors to the forefront and [minimizes] the cheesy aftertaste.” Fans will love Christina Ricci as Speed’s girl Trixie and Paulie Litt as Speed’s younger brother Spritle. New viewers should just remember a dream of theirs that was tainted and replace that dream with racing. Then all viewers can enjoy this ride.

THE RECKONING is a thriller set in the 14th century. Paul Bettany plays a priest on the lamb whom joins up with a traveling acting group led by Willem Dafoe. The troupe arrives in a new town where they get wrapped up in the mystery surrounding the murder of a child where an innocent deaf and dumb woman is set to hang for the crime. In an effort to cleanse his soul of past sins, Bettany’s Nicholas seeks out the truth, which uncovers dirty secrets of the town’s leaders. First and foremost, the film’s setting plays a huge role in the story. It was an age where superstition ruled and life was difficult in plague-ravaged lands for the average folk. As I said in my original review, “The surprisingly layered plot goes one way than turns down a different path once obstacles get in the way. Characters can’t just force past them just because that’s where the plot was destined to go.” Dealing with issues of redemption, sin, power and truth, THE RECKONING uses its mystery plot to take an honest look at the ways of our past. This film serves as a sobering look at how blind religion has played a chief role in politics and justice for centuries.

THE VILLAGE is often sighted as the first widely agreed upon failure of M. Night Shyamalan. I beg to differ. Critics looking for SIXTH SENSE caliber twists were disappointed with the ending, which many called a “it’s all a dream” cheat. However, I have argued that the ending goes right back to the film’s themes. To quote my original review, “The film is a meditation on fear – how it affects people, how it is used and how it holds people in its grip.” Set in a Puritanical community in the woods, the village has formed a precarious truce with the creatures that lurk in the forest. The creatures will not enter the village as long as the villagers will not venture into their territory. The younger members of the society want to travel to the towns to get medicines, but the town leaders overrule them. So when the blind girl Ivy, Bryce Dallas Howard in a star-making performance, discovers the truth about the monsters what does it say about her society? The leaders use fear to control their citizens, believing that the lies are justified to keep them in line, protecting the citizens from the real dangers of the world. These leaders want to live in the past, in a time they perceive as more simple, peaceful. So the twist ending just goes to show the extremes they will go to. Even the actions of the simpleton Noah (Adrien Brody) are in line with his community’s use of fear. If using fear to get what you want is all you’ve been taught, how can you expect the most impressionable within the society to act otherwise? Along with all these ideas, viewers are also treated to a truly touching romance between Ivy and Joaquin Phoenix’s Lucius. Remember this film came out right as America was getting lessons on orange alerts and duct-tape from the Bush administration.

THE NIGHT LISTENER, starring Robin Williams and Toni Collette, is a psychological thriller not driven by typical thriller histrionics. Williams plays Gabriel Noone, a former book editor turned radio personality that befriends, over the phone, a 14-year-old boy who has written a harrowing manuscript about his life of abuse and illness. But then the boy’s identity comes into doubt — could he be one and the same as the boy’s blind adoptive mother Donna (Collette)? Like any good mystery, they whys behind the mystery are more interesting then the mystery itself. Discovering details about the characters’ pasts creates the tension that moves the story forward. Economically, the story develops its main character and even its supporting characters such as Bobby Cannavale’s Jess, Gabriel’s younger lover, with unusual depth for a film that clock in at just over 80 minutes. From Williams’ low-key performance to Collette’s unsettlingly believable disturbed woman, the acting is first-rate, in what I called in my original review, “one of the most underrated films of 2006.”

HANCOCK was embraced by audiences and tortured by most critics. But as I said in my original review, “In a tradition of the best superheroes… Hancock is a troubled man whose personal issues are his biggest weakness.” Will Smith’s Hancock is a SOB with superpowers. After he saves his life, PR man Ray Embrey (Jason Bateman) decides to help clean up Hancock’s tarnished image. Ray’s wife Mary (Charlize Theron) doesn’t like this crude superhero being around her young son. Will young Aaron emulate his crude hero, like real world kids copy misogynistic rappers or arrogant sports stars? And that gets to the two best readings of the film I’ve found. To sum up Dave Poland’s take, HANCOCK is a coming of age story about a powerful man-boy who has grown up too quickly and doesn’t know how to emotionally handle the power he has gained. He lashes out at the world immaturely out of loneliness. In an epic twist, he learns that he was fated to be with another female immortal, but if he does so he will become humanly vulnerable. So he has a choice, end his loneliness, or make the hard choice and remain alone, which will allow him to save the world. This connects with Ray’s goal of convincing big company’s to donate for free their products to people who really need them. Say no and retain windfall profits, or take a ding in the bottom line and help save the world. This is where the film transitions into a bigger issue. Is Hancock America under the Bush doctrine? A mega-power that does whatever it wants despite the consequences even though it believes it is saving the day? Learning to work with others even when they are weaker than yourself? Take another look and you can be the judge.

To give your final verdict on these misunderstood flicks, head to the video store, update the Netflix queue, check out Zap2It.com for TV listings, or help support the site by purchasing the films on DVD at the links below.