The adage of truly understanding someone by walking a mile in their shoes becomes the literal backbone of this comedy drama from Thomas McCarthy, and starring Adam Sandler. Sandler has never really made good on the promise he showed in Punch Drunk Love, seemingly content with his lot in life. McCarthy on the other hand has credits that include The Station Agent, The Visitor and Up. With him taking Sandler under his wing, and Dustin Hoffman co-starring, there’s the expectation of something magical. Sadly, that’s not to be the case.
Sandler plays Max, a grumpy, lonely cobbler whose only friends in life appear to be his sickly mother and his barber neighbour, Jimmy (Steve Buscemi). Max wishes away his days, looking forward to the moment when the promise of urban renewal will buy him out of his humdrum existence. When he comes across his long absent father’s stitching machine, Max uncovers a magic ability to take on the form of anybody whilst wearing their shoes.
Once this discovery has been made, The Cobbler doesn’t really know what to do with Max’s new found powers. The problem lies with the tone of the film that battles itself to be either a knock about comedy or a social drama laced with magic realism. Max is either scoping out babes in the shower or protecting old people from being evicted. Due to this constant shifting, the narrative drags out until Max’s reason for being is revealed in a twist ending that promises sequels.
Even if the casual racism and sexism of the film is dismissed, The Cobbler struggles with a hero that’s hard to feel compassion for when his journey’s end appears to happen off screen. As such, there will be those who find The Cobbler, considering the pedigree of the director, surprisingly unsatisfactory.
The idea of man toying with the laws of nature and playing God can be traced all the way back to Mary Shelley’s seminal Frankenstein to more recent affairs such as Vincenzo Natali’s Splice. Closer to God, from writer/director Billy Senese, sits comfortably amongst its peers with its tale of a geneticist, Dr Victor, announcing to the world that he has successfully cloned the first human being. Unfortunately for Victor, the product of this experiment, baby Elizabeth, is not hailed as the next step in human advancement, but as a blasphemy and an affront to all that’s decent.
With his family in tow, the good doctor hides himself away, shaking his fist at a world that doesn’t understand. Meanwhile, his housekeeper’s take care of Victor’s first real achievement.
Senese’s film should be acknowledged for at least being restrained in the way it tells its tale. Victor, played by Jeremy Childs, could have easily been another Herbert West type, fiddling with test tubes and using the building blocks of life to create monstrosities. Instead he is a methodical man who is aware of his supposed crimes against humanity, but is at a loss as to way they are such a big deal. Although he sits up in his modern retreat, Senese paints each scene as if James Whale had taken the helm.
Which is all find and dandy. However, the film is so serious and portentous that it almost feels languid; as if not really concerned about reaching its end. That is, right up until all hell breaks loose in the final third and it becomes a creature feature with the modern equivalent of pitchforks at the gate being played out. In front of the baying mob, Victor cries ‘Is this what you were afraid of?’ The answer is, if we knew what we were looking at then maybe.
This review was originally published at filmink.com.au.
With the first book in the series being released in 1992, it’s surprising the Goosebumps franchise only started haunting cinemas as late as 2015. A large part of the problem is perhaps in the execution. How do you even begin to adapt an anthology series full of memorable characters, outside of giving it a TV show like they did in the 90s? Well, the obvious answer would be to do a portmanteau; squeezing three of the more popular stories into a two-hour feature and seeing if it sticks. That’s how I’d certainly do it, but I’m not Sony Pictures.
Goosebumps, from director Rob Letterman (Monsters vs Aliens) and screenwriter Darren Lemke (Jack the Giant Slayer), goes down the route of a traditional narrative, culminating in a showy finale that appears to be the prerequisite of all blockbusters currently. It’s not as bad as it sounds.
Zach Cooper (Dylan Minnette) has moved with his mum to the picturesque town of Madison after the death of his father. Struggling with the instant curse of being the new kid in school, as well as his mother being the vice principal of said school, Zach’s only real ray of light comes in the shape of Hannah (Odeya Rush), his next-door neighbour. Hannah is pretty, fun to be around and available. However, she’s also the daughter of Mr Shivers (Jack Black), a grumpy so-and-so who is quick to banish his daughter from seeing Zach.
Mr Shivers is, in actuality, famous author RL Stine, whose horror creations are real and trapped in locked books upon his shelf. When Zach accidently opens one of these books, it’s up to him, Hannah and Stine to put everything right.
Whilst I’ve already hinted that Goosebumps is a traditional narrative, it’s middle section is built out of episodic adventures where Zach and the gang go up against different creatures from Stine’s imagination. Things only become more cohesive once Stine’s ultimate creation – and fan favourite – Slappy the Living Dummy (Jack Black as well) escapes and tries to take over Madison. This gives the film some thrust and something to aim for, and, in doing so, manages to keep the film’s head above water for the rest of its running time. It’s not completely perfect, but when it works, it works well.
With zombies, giant manatees, killer clowns and psychic poodles parading through Madison on the hunt for Zach, Goosebumps at times feels like a watered-down version of Cabin in the Woods. Like the true antagonists of that film, all the horrors faced in Goosebumps come from Stine’s mind. He tells us regularly that he writes his tales to scare the kind of people that were mean to him as a child. Black manages to play this off fairly well, without being overzealous in his performance. It’s rare we get to see Black do something outside of his comfort zone, and it’s a pleasure to see it even in family friendly fare such as this.
For fans of the books, this is the quickest way to see all your favourites on screen at once. Though most will have to make do with seeing their favourites in short bursts, with the film only being able to give so much time to so many. Those who haven’t dip their toes in the real RL Stine’s work are likely to have just as good time as anyone else sitting down to watch it. And, in fact, with its mild scares, cartoonish threats of violence and references to b-movies such as The Blob, Goosebumps is the perfect gateway film to get your little ones into appreciating the horror genre.
Surprisingly funny and fuelled by a desire to charm the pants off you, Goosebumps is the ideal film for families who don’t mind things that go bump in the night. If you liked Paranorman, then you’ll like this just as much.
It’s a preconceived notion of sequels that you need to capitalise on the success of the predecessor by giving the audience more of what they want. Hell, look at Aliens. What could be scarier than Alien than a plural? Of course, not every film can be Aliens, and often those that try to appease their target audience end up over-egging the pudding. A metaphor which brings me neatly to Kingsman: The Golden Circle.
After the events of the first film, we find our hero Eggsy (Taron Egerton) having settled into his life as a gentleman spy. When he’s not in high speed chases around Trafalgar Square, he’s living a relatively normal, suburban life with Princess Tilde of Sweden (Hanna Alström), who you may remember from that ‘hilarious’ final joke from the first film. And that’s not all. Further afield, Poppy Adams (Julianne Moore), a drug dealing sociopath with an Americana fetish, sets the wheels in motion to bring about the end of the Kingsman. And that’s not all. Her mission is successful and Eggsy, along with tech wizard Merlin (Mark Strong), must join forces with the Statesman, a whiskey quaffing US based alternative to their own agency, to defeat her. And that’s not all. In doing so, the men discover that Eggsy’s pedagogue and father figure, Harry (Colin Firth), did not die in the first film and is in fact suffering a strong dose of amnesia. And that’s not all…
To put it bluntly, there is way too much going on in The Golden Circle. Putting aside the main mission (get revenge), we also have to deal with another crack at Eggsy’s origins from the first film as he struggles to find his place in Tilde’s life. Oh look, Eggsy is rough and ready, but he’s no match for a royal family. Additionally, having only scratched the surface when it came to the world of the Kingsman, director Matthew Vaughn and co-writer Jane Goldman literally blow that all up so they can world build again with The Statesman. The actual idea of a country specific agency is fine – Channing Tatum, Halle Berry and Jeff Bridges are all lovely – but it all amounts to two stereotypes being used to help sell the film to two audiences: ‘OOH, WEE! Ain’t the British posh!’ vs ‘I say, the Americans are frightfully uncouth!’ Also, the introduction of the Stateman begs the question: what the hell were they doing when Samuel L Jackson was threatening to turn everyone into psychos in the first film? The Stateman is an idea for a second sequel, when you’ve had Eggsy and his original team go on a mission to save Scotland from a celebrity chef who wants to turn everyone into Haggis if they don’t become vegan. I don’t know, I’m just spit balling. However, I argue my idea would allow you to invest in its characters more than this film did.
There is something interesting to mined out of the resurrection of Harry. In the previous film, he had been a champion of bringing fresh blood into the Kingsman, but now he finds himself perhaps too old and rusty to be a part of their new world. That is interesting to me, and the film does nothing with it. Speaking of having nothing to do with it, with Moore’s Poppy isolated to a tropical island for reasons not fully fleshed out, she never interacts with any of the other characters until extremely late in the day. The result being that she never feels like a true threat or actually part of the story.
Yes, The Golden Circle still has that great taxi scene and punch up that you saw in the trailer, but there’s a reason you saw them so much in the marketing. For an action film, there is very little action. That in of itself is a criminal offence. I wanted less talking and more fighting. The Kingsman franchise is so much more fun when people are throwing pint glasses and chairs at each other.
So, what can we take away from Kingsman: The Golden Circle? What makes the whole thing worthwhile? Two words: Elton John. Trading in on his reputation as being one of the angriest men on the yellow brick road, the crooner steals literally every scene he’s in. Come for solid performances from Egerton and Firth and a fairly standard take over the world plot, but stay for the Bitch. Honestly, the film’s running time is just about worth it.
From the great to the shocking, here’s a round up of what I was writing about in August.
Small Town Killers (2017, Dir: Ole Bornedal) – ‘Your enjoyment will vary depending on how you feel about slumming it with the darker side of suburbia.’ Full review at filmink.com.au.
Ben Elton’s Three Summers of Love, Racism, Social Comment and Satire – Interview with Three Summers actors, Robert Sheehan and Rebecca Breeds. Full interview at filmink.com.au.
Bastardy (2008, Dir: Amiel Courtin-Wilson) – ‘Nearly ten years on from its release, Bastardy is still a powerful, bittersweet but optimistic watch about one of the biggest trailblazers in the acting world and indigenous rights.’ Full review at filmink.com.au.
The Silent Eye (2017, Dir: Amiel Courtin-Wilson) – ‘The Silent Eye is as much a monument to friendship as it is to gestation of creativity.’ Full review at filmink.com.au.
Three Summers (2017, Dir: Ben Elton) – ‘Uses the microcosm of a WA folk festival to pick at the scabs of Australia’s political climate.’ Full review at filmink.com.au.
Handsome Devil (2016, Dir: John Butler) – ‘A warm blanket of a film that manages to tackle sexuality and homophobia with a surprisingly light, but not ineffectual, tone.’ Full review at filmink.com.au.
John Noonan 