I first stumbled upon Freddie Highmore in Two Brothers,
the 2004 film in which he portrayed a young boy with a pet tiger that
eventually had to turned out of the house, only to be reunited with him
months later. His performance impressed me, and I've kept an eye out for
his movies ever since. The most recent was The Spiderwick Chronicles,
a fantastical tale about three siblings who unearth some very
unsettling secrets about the rambling home they have just occupied.
The Spiderwick Chronicles
are a series of five books for intermediate readers. I've been aware of
them for years, but I never read them. From what I understand, this
movie covers all five books; I couldn't say how faithfully it adapts
them, but the film is entertaining from an outsider's perspective.
Highmore plays both Jared and Simon Grace, a pair of American twins.
There's an odd husky quality to his voice, but his American accent is
entirely convincing. At first I had a little trouble keeping the twins
straight, but Highmore made them distinct enough from each other that I
eventually managed. Jared is the one who happens upon the titular
volume, a compendium of information about magical beings that could be
very dangerous in the wrong hands. He soon discovers that his house is
surrounded by such creatures, though seeing them requires either a
special eyepiece or a deeper level of vision bestowed by a hobgoblin
(Seth Rogen). The only exception is Thimbletack (Martin Short), a
curious little fellow who is Jared's staunchest ally in the magical
world.
The movie is a rousing adventure filled with CGI, to a
sometimes distracting extent. I almost preferred the scenes in which the
beasts were invisible and liked the way the theme of proper sight
played out over the film. I also liked the family dynamic; the twins
fight to keep their home and defeat their shape-shifting nemesis
Mulgarath (Nick Nolte) with the help of their spunky sister Mallory
(Sarah Bolger), while struggling to come to grips with the separation of
their mom (Mary-Louise Parker) and dad (Andrew McCarthy).
The most affecting performance came from Joan Plowright
as the children's aunt Lucinda, long institutionalized for her
assertion that her father (David Strathairn) was carried off by fairies
when she was a girl. For most of her long life, she has been craving his
return, and it so happens that he is the key to bringing down
Mulgarath. I found this father-daughter subplot to be the true heart of
the movie.
The Spiderwick Chronicles isn't quite up
there with the best fantasy films I've seen, but it's action-packed and
family friendly, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys the genre.
Showing posts with label Nick Nolte. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nick Nolte. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Socrates Retreads Miyagi and Yoda's Steps in Peaceful Warrior
A couple weeks ago, my dad spotted something curious in the newspaper:
the words "free" and "movie" in suspiciously close proximity to one
another. I'd never even heard of the film Peaceful Warrior; I was familiar with the book The Way of the Peaceful Warrior
in title only and no notion of its contents. But I didn't much care. I
knew enough to know that this movie, which director Victor Salva deemed
"important" enough that he offered up three days' worth of free passes
all around the country just so people would pay attention, wasn't a
slasher flick, meaning if I could see it for free on opening night, I
was going to go for it.
I went. And now, at one in the morning, I'm sitting here trying to absorb what I saw. Peaceful Warrior is a movie with a message. You can't escape that fact. Based on the article I read, I expected a little preaching. I got a lot. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. This is, above all, a mentor movie. Mostly, it's like The Karate Kid without the cornball 80s trappings.
A restless young man (whose name just happens to be Daniel (Scott Mechlowicz), though this is coincidental since this guy actually exists) is intrigued by a man at a gas station who appears to teleport to the top of the roof. The fellow is courteous to each of his customers, offering them a "How are we doing?" and "Thanks for stopping by", but when Dan begins barraging him with questions, he is gruff and sarcastic, and he makes strange requests of him. He looks a bit like Santa Claus with his head of snowy hair and a beard and mustache to match, but because of his philosophical ramblings, Daniel nicknames him Socrates. His was the only readily familiar face in the small cast, and my mom correctly pegged him as Nick Nolte, which I missed, still stuck on the image of a wild-haired Nolte going Hawaiian for his mug shot.
One of the first things Socrates tells Dan is to lay off the booze. Life might do well to imitate art in this case. That said, Nolte is what kept the movie compelling for me as he delivered cryptic dialogue in a gravelly voice. Sometimes his words are wise, sometimes funny, but there's no question he gets the best lines in the movie. He never loses his enigmatic presence; we don't learn anything about his background, not even his name. Heck, we're not even sure he exists; could he just be a figment of Dan's imagination, pushing him to excel in his chosen pursuit of Olympic gymnastics?
It's possible but unlikely, since there is the small matter of Joy (Amy Smart), who, the credits tell us, went on to marry Dan. I mention it because the romantic subplot involving her is developed so poorly that most of the time I forgot all about the character. But she is definitely real, and she claims to know Dan's mysterious friend. She never gets around to telling us just what her connection with the bearded mystic is; perhaps that's because screenwriter Kevin Bernhardt wants us to free our minds from the desire for such details. But for as little as she has to do in the movie, I feel as though her part could have been excised with little to no detriment to the film.
More substantial are Dan's coach (Tim DeKay) and fellow gymnasts, particularly the ultra-competitive Trevor (Paul Wesley, who played Lex's long-lost, bad-news brother Lucas in season two of Smallville) and the timid, mediocre Tommy (Ashton Holmes). They are Dan's only consistent companions aside from his new mentor, and the first half of the film alternates fairly frequently between the gym at Berkeley and Socrates' "service station", as he insists Dan call it. When a calamity, hinted at in a recurring dream Dan has, strikes, largely due to his own recklessness, Dan has to start over, and while Socrates offers encouragement, his coach insists that he will never compete again.
The war that Dan must fight is with himself, with his insecurities and his impure motives and everything else that gets in the way of living in the moment. Because in the beginning, not only is he haunted by spooky nightmares, he just isn't a very nice guy. Later, while sitting atop an old car near the shop, he postulates that fear is the reason for all the other negative emotions, which Yoda could have told him. In a way, he did; Socrates is like Yoda and Mr. Miyagi, while Daniel is the impetuous youngster in such desperate need of training.
The movie starts off pretty dark, with many scenes occurring at night, and taking itself pretty seriously with Socrates' frequent lectures, delivered as much to the audience as to Dan. Though the serious tone continues, with occasional relief from Socrates and eventually Dan, who learns to lighten up a little, the movie begins to look brighter, with more daylight scenes as the young protagonist learns to empty his mind of distractions and concentrate on the moment. It becomes as much "inspirational true story" as it does philosophical exercise.
The movie feels a little long at two hours, mainly because it gets off to a slow start. Or maybe it just seemed that way to me, partly because I wasn't quite sure what sort of film it was. Like Mr. Miyagi, Socrates imparts sage lessons by having Dan perform menial tasks, such as washing windows and cleaning toilets. These lessons don't have any specific correlation to particular gymnastic moves; rather, they help him to focus his mind on the job at hand. The film does get rather trippy on a few occasions, as the teleporting trick is a precursor for things to come, and it turns out that Socrates has super-quick reflexes too. Nolte was once considered for the role of Superman in the original film; maybe a little of that power rubbed off on him... The metaphysical mind-bending stuff makes Socrates a little harder to accept as someone who actually exists; it causes us to wonder which scenes really are all in Dan's head.
I didn't like it as much as The Karate Kid, a comparison with which it is hard to resist. I think it's just a little darker and more didactic than it needs to be. That said, it's a film that inspires audiences to strive for the things we love while keeping in mind that the journey is more important than the destination. Nolte's performance is extremely enjoyable, while the rest of the cast hold their own and the Zennish messages permeate the plot so thoroughly that the audience can't help but pick some of them up. I don't know if watching a free screening of Peaceful Warrior is going to make a profound impact on anyone's life. But it's definitely worth a shot.
I went. And now, at one in the morning, I'm sitting here trying to absorb what I saw. Peaceful Warrior is a movie with a message. You can't escape that fact. Based on the article I read, I expected a little preaching. I got a lot. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. This is, above all, a mentor movie. Mostly, it's like The Karate Kid without the cornball 80s trappings.
A restless young man (whose name just happens to be Daniel (Scott Mechlowicz), though this is coincidental since this guy actually exists) is intrigued by a man at a gas station who appears to teleport to the top of the roof. The fellow is courteous to each of his customers, offering them a "How are we doing?" and "Thanks for stopping by", but when Dan begins barraging him with questions, he is gruff and sarcastic, and he makes strange requests of him. He looks a bit like Santa Claus with his head of snowy hair and a beard and mustache to match, but because of his philosophical ramblings, Daniel nicknames him Socrates. His was the only readily familiar face in the small cast, and my mom correctly pegged him as Nick Nolte, which I missed, still stuck on the image of a wild-haired Nolte going Hawaiian for his mug shot.
One of the first things Socrates tells Dan is to lay off the booze. Life might do well to imitate art in this case. That said, Nolte is what kept the movie compelling for me as he delivered cryptic dialogue in a gravelly voice. Sometimes his words are wise, sometimes funny, but there's no question he gets the best lines in the movie. He never loses his enigmatic presence; we don't learn anything about his background, not even his name. Heck, we're not even sure he exists; could he just be a figment of Dan's imagination, pushing him to excel in his chosen pursuit of Olympic gymnastics?
It's possible but unlikely, since there is the small matter of Joy (Amy Smart), who, the credits tell us, went on to marry Dan. I mention it because the romantic subplot involving her is developed so poorly that most of the time I forgot all about the character. But she is definitely real, and she claims to know Dan's mysterious friend. She never gets around to telling us just what her connection with the bearded mystic is; perhaps that's because screenwriter Kevin Bernhardt wants us to free our minds from the desire for such details. But for as little as she has to do in the movie, I feel as though her part could have been excised with little to no detriment to the film.
More substantial are Dan's coach (Tim DeKay) and fellow gymnasts, particularly the ultra-competitive Trevor (Paul Wesley, who played Lex's long-lost, bad-news brother Lucas in season two of Smallville) and the timid, mediocre Tommy (Ashton Holmes). They are Dan's only consistent companions aside from his new mentor, and the first half of the film alternates fairly frequently between the gym at Berkeley and Socrates' "service station", as he insists Dan call it. When a calamity, hinted at in a recurring dream Dan has, strikes, largely due to his own recklessness, Dan has to start over, and while Socrates offers encouragement, his coach insists that he will never compete again.
The war that Dan must fight is with himself, with his insecurities and his impure motives and everything else that gets in the way of living in the moment. Because in the beginning, not only is he haunted by spooky nightmares, he just isn't a very nice guy. Later, while sitting atop an old car near the shop, he postulates that fear is the reason for all the other negative emotions, which Yoda could have told him. In a way, he did; Socrates is like Yoda and Mr. Miyagi, while Daniel is the impetuous youngster in such desperate need of training.
The movie starts off pretty dark, with many scenes occurring at night, and taking itself pretty seriously with Socrates' frequent lectures, delivered as much to the audience as to Dan. Though the serious tone continues, with occasional relief from Socrates and eventually Dan, who learns to lighten up a little, the movie begins to look brighter, with more daylight scenes as the young protagonist learns to empty his mind of distractions and concentrate on the moment. It becomes as much "inspirational true story" as it does philosophical exercise.
The movie feels a little long at two hours, mainly because it gets off to a slow start. Or maybe it just seemed that way to me, partly because I wasn't quite sure what sort of film it was. Like Mr. Miyagi, Socrates imparts sage lessons by having Dan perform menial tasks, such as washing windows and cleaning toilets. These lessons don't have any specific correlation to particular gymnastic moves; rather, they help him to focus his mind on the job at hand. The film does get rather trippy on a few occasions, as the teleporting trick is a precursor for things to come, and it turns out that Socrates has super-quick reflexes too. Nolte was once considered for the role of Superman in the original film; maybe a little of that power rubbed off on him... The metaphysical mind-bending stuff makes Socrates a little harder to accept as someone who actually exists; it causes us to wonder which scenes really are all in Dan's head.
I didn't like it as much as The Karate Kid, a comparison with which it is hard to resist. I think it's just a little darker and more didactic than it needs to be. That said, it's a film that inspires audiences to strive for the things we love while keeping in mind that the journey is more important than the destination. Nolte's performance is extremely enjoyable, while the rest of the cast hold their own and the Zennish messages permeate the plot so thoroughly that the audience can't help but pick some of them up. I don't know if watching a free screening of Peaceful Warrior is going to make a profound impact on anyone's life. But it's definitely worth a shot.
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