Sassy school teachers teach and end up learning life's lessons Reviewer

Sassy school teachers teach and end up learning life's lessons

Reviewer

By CRISTOBAL LABOG

September 15, 2011, 1:24pm

MANILA, Philippines — What’s your favorite teacher movie? You haven’t really seen too many of them, have you?

But two readily come to mind: the lyrically titled “Dead Poets Society” and the equally sweet sounding “Mr. Holland’s Opus.” “Goodbye, Mr. Chips,” anyone?

How about: “Bad Teacher?”

Indeed, what is it about the titles of today’s films? “The Town.” “After.Life.” “Super 8.” “Due Date.” “The American.” None of these titles grab you with the sort of magic evoked by “Legends of the Fall,” “A River Runs Through It,” or “The Kingdom of Heaven,” titles guaranteed to lure moviegoers to the cinema house.

Could this phenomenon be an alternative explanation for the preponderance of film franchises? From Batman’s “The Dark Night” soon comes “The Dark Knight Rises” and from “Mission Impossible 1, 2 and 3,” the coming yearend’s Tom Cruise trademark “Mission Impossible 4.” Great box office guarantor titles.

Avid cinephiles already look forward to the renaissance of the Jason Bourne thrillers in next film season’s “The Bourne Legacy.” Suddenly ubiquitous Daniel Craig who just regaled us with his performance as an alien abductee in Solar Films recent release “Cowboys and Aliens” (to the premier of which Universal Pictures’ Rommie Berona invited this reviewer and Bobby Caballero) takes over the Matt Damon staple character now that Matt has wisely decided to surrender his Bourne ID.

Now don’t expect “Bad Teacher” to jumpstart a slew of teacher films. It’s bad enough that this current one, if you take writers Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg without your tongue in cheek, present an almost entirely negative picture of the US educational system.

Two female teachers who badmouth and hate each other so much they want each other to go to jail, a naïve principal more interested in dolphins than administration, and a male teacher whose predilection for “dry” sex makes him an ideal poster boy for the RH bill. These are the main protagonists and antagonists of “Bad Teacher.”

Former ‘N Sync boy band leader Justin Timberlake plays the testosterone-bursting algebra teacher Scott Delacorte, scion in this film to the Jaeger le Coultre watchmakers’ fortune. Over his affections fight dirty blonde Elizabeth Halsey (green-eyed Cameron Diaz who initially comes off as a cross between a virgin and a tart) and sultry redhead Amy Squirrel whose portrayal of Lucy Punch merits an A+.

Jake Kasdan handles these characters as though he, too, has taught in middle school – the equivalent here of high school. He injects Elizabeth with just the right amount of sensuality, Amy with the perpetual pout of a loser, and Scott with the usual Timberlake charisma.

But it’s the other teachers in the John Adams Middle School that come shining through. This supporting cast gifts viewers with a microcosm of the lives and times of mild-mannered middle-American educators. John Michael Higgins’ amiable Principal Snur is complemented by Jason Segel’s amicable gym teacher Russell Gettis and the school-m’armish Phyllis Smith’s Lynn Davis.

Still it is Cameron Diaz’s Miss Halsey that holds the film together. At the beginning of the film, she confesses to teacher buddy Lynn Davis, “My full time job is to find a guy who’s going to take care of me.” You just believe her and totally side with her in the confrontation with the wealthy fiancé whose decision to terminate their romantic relationship occasions her unwanted return to the teaching profession.

And she’s so right when she tells a suitor, “I don’t sleep with co-workers” – because, indeed, school teachers should not, no matter how bad they may be.

“Bad Teacher” runs for 92 minutes; it is rated R for foul language and even fouler sex. It is distributed by Columbia Pictures, the Philippine office of Sony Pictures Releasing Intern

Fright Night - The Vampire Strikes Back - hunk, horns, and all

Fright Night: The vampire strikes back… hunk, horns and all

Reviewer

By CRISTOBAL LABOG

September 17, 2011, 3:00am

A scene from ‘Fright Night’

MANILA, Philippines -- Can you imagine a more unlikely modern-day Dracula than Colin Farrell? Yes, we’re talking Colin Farrell of movie event “Alexander” and cult film “In Bruges” who spectacularly wowed worldwide cinema goers in “Minority Report,” holding his own against megastar Tom Cruise.

Times must be desperate in Hollywood, particularly for A-list actors of Colin’s age. Not only do they have to pit themselves against a new generation of young would-be Cruises and Brad Pitts. They also have to contend with the current domination of roles in that age bracket by George Clooney and Clive Owen.

And, don’t forget, gentle reader: Tom and Brad did portray bloodsuckers in the widely ballyhooed “Interview with a Vampire.”Pitt so out-fanged Cruise in that opus, Tom swore he would out-snarl Brad in the planned sequel, “The Vampire Lescaut,” which to-date remains a plan.

Blame that, maybe, on Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” saga? These movies altered filmgoers’ perception of vampires. No more fright-ugly Peter Cushings and Bela Lugosi look-alikes for today’s looks-obsessed audiences. Welcome to Robert Pattinson country where Edward Cullen makes the vampire truly vamp.

That’s probably why director Craig Gillespie and the “Fright Night” producers picked Colin Farrell as lead actor in this 1985 film’s remake. Hey, the guy not only out-Brando’s Marlon in or out of a white T-shirt a la “A Streetcar Named Desire” in this movie. As Las Vegas suburb newcomer Jerry, he practically steals the show from otherwise top-billed Anton Yelchin (the memorable Russian-accented teenager in 2009’s “Star Trek”). Yelchin plays Charley Brewster who harbors an automatic dislike of newcomers. He wants his Nevada neighborhood to remain his friends’ turf… until these friends start disappearing with nary a trace.

Ironically, Charley has earlier chided boyhood buddy Ed (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) for declaring that new neighbor Jerry is a vampire. Why else does he keep his house shuttered? Charley argues that the guy must be working in nearby Las Vegas, so like everybody else laboring there, he slaves nights and sleeps days.

Charley swallows his words when Ed, too, vanishes. But neither his horny girl friend, Amy (Imogen Poots), nor his mother, Jane Brewster (graciously aged Toni Collette), believes his theory about Jerry. In fact, they find the newcomer downright debonair and want to invite him home! (In this film, vampires can’t just invade any home; they need an invitation.) So off Charley saunters to nearby Las Vegas to seek the services of Peter Vincent (BBC’s suave, stiff-upper-lipped David Tennant) who does a vampire slayer act in one of the theatres.

It turns out vampires had victimized Peter’s parents, too, and his act is just that, an act. He warns that the new breed of bloodsuckers possesses insurmountable supernatural strength. Run for dear life, he advises Charley. But instead of being terrified, Charley resolves to terminate Jerry’s evil ways in a manner that will confound and astound even the most blase moviegoer.

Director Craig Gillespie and writer Marti Noxon wisely set “Fright Night” mostly after sundown, for that’s when vampires strike. The film’s intentionally slow pace heightens its eerie ambience. Goose pimples will surely torment not a few moviegoers for much of the show’s suspense-laden hour and three quarters. The sets of production designer Richard Bridgland Fitzgerald rack up the tension so much you’ll never want to visit Nevada.

Noxon’s witty writing effectively balances the killing suspense with tongue-in-cheek, fangs-on-neck situations, especially in the cold-blooded climax. Whenever it’s time for fang-baring, you’ll feel the bite… blood, guts, gore and all. Henceforth, even the star-struck won’t want to invite Jerry home.

Although shot in 3-D, “Fright Night” stands solidly on its 2-D own – so, as social critic Bobby Caballero would say, spend only what you can. The fact is, nothing in the movie demands three-dimensional enjoyment – save Colin?

Javier Aguirresarobe shot the film in magenta hues to enhance its gnawing look. Tatiana S. Riegel briskly edits “Fright Night” to appropriate music by Ramin Djawadi. Credit costume designer Susan Matheson for enhancing Colin Farrell’s hunk appeal. Michael de Luca and Alison Rosenzweig produced this Dream Works Pictures release.

“Fright Night” runs for one hour and 41 minutes. MTRCB rates the film PG-13, but it’s probably too bloody for even the guardians of 13-year-olds.

Cristobal Labog has worked as a writer and strategic planner for advertising agencies in Manila, Tokyo, Brussels and Amsterdam. He divides his time between the city of Trabzon on the Black Sea in Turkey and the city of Mandaluyong in the Philippines. For questions and comments, e-mail crislabog@gmail.com.

 

Hong Kong, bird flu inspires end-of-the-world yarn

CONTAGION  

Hong Kong, bird flu inspires end-of-the-world yarn

Reviewer

By CRISTOBAL LABOG

September 20, 2011, 9:33am

A scene from 'Contagion'

MANILA, Philippines -- Remember SARS? Well, you might not. Originating in China and Hong Kong, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome first ran rampant there, killing a great number of people.

SARS also devastated neighboring Southeast Asian countries – then on to Europe and the Americas – but it spared the Philippines. Yes, the joke went about that so virulent is Philippine air, the SARS virus died the moment the carrier or carriers disembarked the plane at NAIA. That was in 2002, and since SARS never really dominated local news, because the epidemic never got off the ground here, you probably never heard about it. Well, raise the SARS death figure to the nth power and you get an idea of how much more terrifying is the virus around which the film “Contagion” revolves.

Now, remember 1995’s “Outbreak” in which German Wolfgang Petersen (“Troy,” “The Perfect Storm,” etc.) directed a stellar cast top-billed by Oscar winners Dustin Hoffman, Kevin Spacey and Morgan Freeman? Like the much earlier 1980 Japanese film “Wirusu no Hi” (“Day of the Virus”), it dramatized a pandemic that threatened to wipe out the human race. Flash forward to 2011, and we have “Contagion” – and don’t be surprised that “Contagion” and “Outbreak” are both Warner Brothers productions. What’s with Hollywood these days?

But never mind, at least four major Oscar winners – director Steven Soderbergh for Best Picture “Traffic” and Best Actresses Marion Cotillard for “La Vien en Rose,” Gwyneth Paltrow for “Shakespeare in Love” and Kate Winslet for “The Reader” – make “Contagion” something moviegoers will not want to miss. Add heavyweight performers like Matt Damon, Jude Law, Lawrence Fishburne and Elliott Gould, and you have the year’s most star-studded opus.

The film starts innocently enough, with Gwyneth’s character Beth Emhoff emptying a pre-departure cocktail in Hong Kong which a waitress then dutifully removes. This sequence inter-cuts with various scenes around the world: Beth’s husband Mitch (Matt Damon) back in Minnesota awaiting Beth’s arrival; various physicians and medics going about their work at a medical facility in Switzerland; sleazy-looking blogger Alan (Jude Law) strutting his stuff in San Francisco; plus an assortment of other doctors (six of the powerhouse cast) facing another typical day – but is it?

Indeed, now-sniffling, coughing Beth must have caught a flu-like something, for she collapses when she arrives at home (after passing on the virus at the HK and Minneapolis international airports). Her nurse and attending physician in turn pass the germs on to unknown strangers who pass them on to others, as does the waitress in Hong Kong to other local and international travelers… ad infinitum. Within hours or days, all these poor souls perish, including the Emhoffs’ son. Before long the pestilence has claimed millions, causing widespread panic. But guess what, the virus spares Matt Damon’s Mitch and his daughter.

Physicians galore now start entering the picture – from the CDC (Center for Disease Control) in America to the WHO (World Health Organization) in Europe. These include Dr. Ellis Cheever (Lawrence Fishburne), Dr. Erin Meers (Kate Winslet), Dr. Leonora Orantes (Marion Cotillard), Dr. Ian Sussman (Elliott Gould), Dr. Ally Hexfall (Jennifer Ehle) and Dr. Eisenseberg (Demetri Martin). Some of these doctors eventually succumb to the disease, one’s abducted by a Hong Kong Chinese (charismatic newcomer Tien You Chui), and a pair discovers the vaccine that could arrest the spread of the virus, or at least before it mutates. (Sequels, anyone?) But expect no more spoilers here.

Local director Elwood Perez’s advice is to head to the cinema with a surgical mask and hand sanitizer because that’s how this convincing film affected him. (This reviewer headed to the bathroom at home after assiduously avoiding the Megamall cinema’s own toilet.) But as Elwood would also ask, where’s the film’s beef?

Owing to Soderbergh’s huge reputation, cineastes assume that anything he directs must be good, sight unseen. And in this apocalyptic tale, he does work with his regular auteur’s crew of writer (Scott Z. Burns), editor (Stephen Mirrione) and composer (Cliff Martinez) who themselves have won Oscars and BAFTA’s. Also, by shooting the film a la film noir with a yellowish tint, his chosen director of photography Peter Andrews, heightens the feeling of plague.

Verdict: Soderbergh’s cast and crew deliver. This cautionary tale, which Michael Shamberg, Stacey Share and Gregory Jacobs produced, could dominate the spectator’s waking hours with its gravitas-laden message.

“Contagion” runs for 1 hour and 42 minutes. Warner Brothers released the film, rated PG-13, although a scene showing the autopsy of a victim’s head could make you squirm in your seat.

Cristobal Labog has worked as a copywriter and strategic planner for advertising agencies in Manila, Tokyo, Brussels and Amsterdam. He divides his time between the city of Trabzon on the Black Sea in Turkey and the city of Mandaluyong in the Philippines. For questions and comments, e-mail crislabog@gmail.com.