Never Back Down

STARRING: Djimon Hounsou, Sean Faris View Trailer RELEASE DATE: 03/14/2008 DATE SCREENED: 02/21/2008 The Verdict OK - Wait for the DVD

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) began to emerge in 1993 with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, which was based on the concept of putting different styles of fighters inside a cage, with minimal rules, and then seeing who exits the cage victorious. Since those humble beginnings, MMA has grown into a huge international sport seen on cable TV and pay-per-view, with millionaire athletes who also make appearances in TV shows and movies. It was only a matter of time before Hollywood started churning out MMA films, with Never Back Down being the first that I’ve seen.

Never Back Down is not exactly an original story. Jake Tyler is a high school football star with a violent streak and an attitude, due to the death of his father. When mom moves the family to a new neighborhood, Jake becomes the “fish-out-of-water” at a new high school full of rich kids. When a YouTube video begins circulating of one of Jake’s brawls on the football field, he is lured to a party in which the main attraction is the students staging their own MMA fights. It seems that in this high school, it’s not the captain of the football or basketball team that is the most popular. It’s the best fighter, who in this case is a kid named Ryan. Ryan ends up kicking Jake’s butt at the party, and Jake is soon at a MMA training school run by Jean Roqua, played by Djimon Hounsou. Of course, Roqua teaches his students not to fight outside of the gym, but Jake has a started dating Ryan’s girlfriend and just can’t let his defeat go. As expected, the film culminates in a final MMA showdown between Jake and Ryan.

The only thing original about this film is the Mixed Martial Arts. I’m a big fan of MMA, and boxing is a dying sport in my mind. It was good to see MMA on the big screen, but the problem is that the MMA isn’t that good. This movie is basically a simple American kung fu movie, with MMA in place of the kung fu. Like almost all American kung fu movies, Never Back Down’s fight scenes are poorly edited in order to make up for the fact that the actors aren’t great fighters. Djimon tries his best to add some credibility to the film, with a good performance as Roqua, but it’s not enough to make up for the other mediocre actors. I never grew to care about any characters other than Roqua, so I didn’t really care about the final fight. There are a lot of fights in the movie, which is good, and you do get to see small snippets of exciting MMA action. I applaud the effort to make a MMA film, but the execution needs work. Hopefully, the next movie about MMA will aspire to be better. Wait for the DVD.

Penelope

STARRING: Christina Ricci, James McAvoy View Trailer RELEASE DATE: 02/29/2008 DATE SCREENED: 02/14/2008 The Verdict OK - Wait for the DVD

Penelope is yet another film based on a children’s book of the same name. It originally premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival back in September of 2006. It finally sees the light of day in 2008, but that’s not exactly a good sign when a movie sits on the shelf for almost 2 years.

Penelope stars Christina Ricci, who proved that she had a lot more acting talent that I thought in last years’ Black Snake Moan. Generations ago, a witch sought revenge on the Wilhern family by placing a curse on the family. The curse stated that the next girl born in the family would have the face of a pig, until one of her own kind was able to fall in love with her. Ricci plays the title character Penelope, who was the first girl born in the family, sporting the nose and ears of a pig, neither of which can be removed through surgery. Peneope’s mother Jessica, played by Catherine O'Hara, fakes Penelope’s death in order to raise her in secret, away from the prying eyes of doctors, scientists, and tabloid journalists. Once Penelope turns 18, Penelope's mother begins the process of finding another “blueblood” who will marry her daughter. A succession of guys are brought to the home to meet Penelope, and are forced to sign contracts stating that they will never reveal her condition. All of these men end up running away at the sight of Penelope. One tabloid reporter, played by little man Peter Dinklage, is determined to get the first picture of Penelope. He hires Max, James McAvoy, to pretend to be a suitor in order to snap that picture. Max begins to take a liking to Penelope and refuses to hand over said picture. Upon learning that Max was hired to come meet her, Penelope decides to steal mom’s credit card and move out on her own, always keeping her face covered with a scarf. That doesn’t last long, as soon the scarf is off and Penelope’s picture is all over the newspapers. But to her entire family’s shock, people like Penelope and she becomes a local celebrity. A former suitor jumps back into the picture, offering to marry Penelope so that the curse can be broken. Soon thereafter, Max is back in the picture as well. What is poor Penelope to do now that she has two men to choose from?

The best thing this film has going for it is the cast. It’s a silly, predictable, story. The cast does their best to elevate it. Reese Witherspoon even shows up as a messenger who befriends Penelope soon after she leaves home. Ricci and MacAvoy do their best, and Dinlage is my favorite little man in Hollywood. But the movie tries to hard too be sweet, and is just too predictable. Ricci doesn’t even look that bad as Penelope, so it never makes sense when guys even jump through windows to get away from her. Those scenes are meant to be funny, but aren’t. The movie is based on a children’s book, but I couldn’t get a sense as to whether or not the children at the screening enjoyed it. It's not going to be easy to market this film, which is probably why it has been on the shelf for so long. It's not completely clear who the target audience is, although in general terms it's a family film. Wait for the DVD.

The Spiderwick Chronicles

STARRING: Freddie Highmore, Sarah Bolger View Trailer RELEASE DATE: 02/14/2008 DATE SCREENED: 01/31/2008 The Verdict GOOD - See it in the theater

The fantasy film genre has been a disappointment lately, with films like The Golden Compass and Bridge to Terabithia not living up to my expectations. I was completely unaware of the impending release of The Spiderwick Chronicles. This film, based on a children’s book series of the same name, was flying completely under my radar. It turns out that this $100 million dollar movie has been advertised on Nickelodeon since the end of last summer.

The Spiderwick Chronicles is the story of three kids, twins Jared and Simon and their older sister Mallory, whose lives have been uprooted, as their parents separate and their mother moves them from NYC to a creepy old house in the middle of nowhere. The house was owned by a deceased relative named Arthur Spiderwick. Jared is the more rebellious and angry of the siblings, so when strange things begin to happen in the house he is the one who is blamed. Jared discovers a book, Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide, and it details a world of faeries, goblins, ogres, and other creatures. This is a world juxtaposed with our own, but outside of normal human perception. When Jared discovers the book, a creature assigned to protect it reveals himself to him. Nobody in the family will believe Jared when he says that the things in the book are true. Jared soon makes the mistake of taking the book outside, where it is seen by goblins who have had the house under surveillance for years, waiting for an opportunity to grab that book and give to an ogre named Malgrath. The house is surrounded by a circle of magic that protects it, so the book can only be snatched by the goblins outside of the circle. While the mother is at work, the kids are attacked by the goblins once they wander outside of the circle. The kids band together to protect themselves, with Mallory’s fencing skills coming in handy. A friendly creature gives the kids the ability to perceive this world on their own, and they set out to find a relative who may know how to destroy the book. A few pages are taken by the goblins along the way. One of the pages details the magical circle of protection. Mulgrath plans an all out assault for that night, now that he can concoct a potion to take down the magical wall. Mom comes home just in time, and the entire family, plus a couple of the “good” creatures, must stand their ground to protect the book.

This film was such a pleasant surprise. It has all the crucial elements of a good fantasy film. You have kids who stumble into a magical fantasy world of creatures, some of whom are good and some of whom are bad. The kids are then put in dangerous situations that they must fight their way out of without the help of their parents. The film has humor, and the kids have good chemistry with each other. The twins are actually played by one actor, Freddie Highmore, but he does an amazing job making the characters different and the special effects are seamless. The special effects team did a great job on this movie. Small children may find The Spiderwick Chronicle too scary, but this is a film that most families can enjoy together. And unlike Golden Compass, there is actually an ending. A very satisfying ending. This film has restored my faith in fantasy films, and I’m looking forward to even bigger and better things from the upcoming fantasy epic Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.

Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show

STARRING: Vince Vaughn, Sebastian Maniscalco View Trailer RELEASE DATE: 02/08/2008 DATE SCREENED: 02/05/2008 The Verdict GOOD - See it in the theater

In 2005 Vince Vaughn decided to hit the road, doing 30 comedy shows in 30 nights, starring 4 relatively unknown comics that are friends of his. They all pack themselves on a bus, starting in Hollywood and ending up in Chicago, with a camera crew documenting the entire trip. The stand-up comedians are Ahmed Ahmed, John ‘Cap’ Caparulo, Bret Ernst & Sebastian Maniscalco. Along the tour, Vince does improvised skits in selected cities with Justin Long, Peter Billingsley (Ralphie from A Christmas Story), and Keir O'Donnell.

The film starts out showing us some of the comedy routines. We see the comedians do well, and we even see Sebastian bomb in San Diego with what I thought were great jokes about men in flip-flops. As the film goes along we learn more about the comics. We meet their families, and through conversations with the families and back stories from the comedians we get interesting insight into what makes these comedians tick. Things take a more serious turn as they are traveling through Louisiana when hurricane Katrina hit. They had to modify the tour schedule to avoid the hard hit areas. They also added benefit shows and handed out free tickets to hurricane survivors.

Every one of the 4 comedians is very funny. Each has a slightly different style of comedy, so everyone should be able to get some laughs from this movie. Ahmed jokes about his Egyptian background and how he is now assumed to be a terrorist. Bret does a lot of physical comedy, including a great routine about roller skating as a kid. Cap reminds you of Larry the Cable Guy and is the most ‘blue’ of the comedians, but then you realize why when you find out that his father let him listen to Richard Pryor albums from the time he was 4 years old. Sebastian always seems upset as he points out funny observations, ranging from men in flip flops to men who enjoy apple martinis.

The director, Ari Sandel, was on hand for a Q&A session after the film. He didn’t originally plan to interview everyone’s families, but that came about during the tour as families came out to the shows. He was pressed to pick a favorite comedian of the 4, and he said Sebastian. I would have to agree. To even be on the tour Sebastian had to take leave from waiting tables at an LA restaurant. I was glad to find out that he hasn’t worked as a waiter for another day since the tour. Definitely keep an eye out for him.

Vine Vaughn’s Wild West Comedy Show kept me interested and laughing throughout. Although Vince’s name is used to promote the film, he really steps back after the first 30 minutes and lets these comedians shine, on stage and off. See this one in the theater.