FLUBBER |http://chaplin, pkbaseline.com/screen/strange/reviews/flubber html FLUBBER (United States, 1997) SYNOPSIS: Professor Phillip Brainard is a man so lost in thought that he appears, at times, not to pay attention. He's even forgotten two dates to marry his sweetheart Sara. But then this guy's got a lot on his mind. He's working with his high-voltage, over-amorous flying robot assistant, Weebo, on an idea for a substance that's not only a revolutionary new source of energy, but may well be the salvation of his financially troubled Medfield College, where his beloved Sara is the president. Late on the afternoon of his third attempt at a wedding, all of Professor Brainard's hard work in the lab comes together when he creates a miraculous goo that when applied to any object~cars, bowling balls, even people-enables them to fly thorugh the air at remarkable speeds. The stuff defies gravity and looks like rubber. REVIEW: Like the anthropomorphic green glob of the title, FLUBBER has no set shape or tone. A remake of THE ABSENT MINDED PROFESSOR (1961) featuring Robin Williams in the role originated by Fred MacMurray, FLUBBER offers none of the original film's charms but preserves all of its faults. When Professor Phillip Brainard ("brain"--get it??) plans to give his college's basketball team a boost with applications of his "flying rubber," it's Pointed out to him that this is cheating. That inconvenient issue went unresolved in the original, while here it's first rationalized away (is that what Disney means by "updating" for the 90s?) then glossed over in the most contrived way. The plot has Brainard (Williams)--who's beyond absent-mindedness and nearly into Alzheimer’s territory~in a troubled relationship with lady-friend Sara Jean Reynolds (Marcia Gay Harden), president of a small college. Corrupt rich guy Chester Hoenicker (Raymond J. Barry) wants special treatment for his son (Wil Wheaton) and ownership of flubber. His henchmen (Clancy Brown and a charismatic Ted Levine, who delivers the film's best performance) want to not get clobbered by flubberized balls. And Brainard's romantic rival (Christopher McDonald) is "petty, corrupt" and "here this weekend to steal your girlfriend"--if he says so himself! (Poor McDonald gets the film's worst moment, a tasteless defecation sight-gag,) The most appealing character is a Jetsons-esque flyingFLUBBER |htp://chaplin.pkbaseline.com/screen/strange/reviews/flubber html robotoid named Weebo (voice of Jodi Benson), which has a penchant for making its point using old TV and movie clips. For the purposes of storytelling, the anthropomorphized Flubber character is useless: No flubber-related plot point relies on it human characteristics. And while the Flubber-mambo set piece is visually spectacular, it's got nothing to do with the rest of the story! The tone of the film shifts back-and-forth between naturalistic comedy (a flubberized golf ball ricocheting through windows) to HOME ALONE slapstick (a bowling ball plummets hundreds of feet, hits someone and doesn’t kill him.) Very young children will get some laughs but be bored by the mushy stuff. Anyone else should burn rubber--or perhaps, burn FLUBBER. ~Written by Frank Lovece U.S. DISTRIBUTOR: Buena Vista Distribution Company RUNNING TIME: 93 mins. MPAA RATING: PG RATING: a Se Copyright 1998 by Baseline II Inc. All rights reserved.‘THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU http://chaplin.pkbaseline.com/screen/strange/reviews/slandof html mustache if he had one. Thewlis' character is so strident and insulting, you'd like to see him used for kibble. The story is insistently unclear as to why most of the characters do what they do-whether helping Douglas try to radio out or suddenly, inexplicably imitating Marlon Brando, as Kilmer does. Original director Richard Stanley, using a script by himself, Walon Green (THE WILD BUNCH) and Michael Hare, was removed after three days of shooting on Australia's northeast coast--reportedly after creative clashes with Kilmer. Replacement John Frankenheimer brought in frequent collaborator Ron Hutchinson for a rewrite; cinematographer John R. Leonetti reportedly also came aboard, though eventually William A. Fraker did the shoot. Regardless of who did what, its all a beastly mess. ~- Written by Frank Lovece STARRING: Marlon Brando - Dr Moreau Val Kilmer - Montgomery David Thewlis - Douglas Fairuza Balk - Aissa DIRECTOR: John Frankenheimer U.S. DISTRIBUTOR: New Line Cinema RUNNING TIME: 114 mins. MPAA RATING: PG-13 RATING: Ss SeJAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH. |htp://chaplin.pkbaseline.com/screen/strange/reviews/jamesand.html JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH (United States, 1996) SYNOPSIS: James, a lonely orphan, is sent to live with his wicked and greedy Aunts Spiker and Sponge. Unwanted and forced to perform their menial chores, the boy dreams about going to New York City--a place, his father once told him, where dreams come true. Then James meets a mysterious old man who gives him a bag of magical crocodile tongues and tells him that marvelous things will happen. Racing home, James accidentally spills the contents of the bag at the base of a barren old peach tree. To his astonishment, a peach instantly appears on the branch and grows and grows until it reaches 20 feet in diameter. Hungry and curious, James sneaks out that evening and takes a bite of the peach. When a glowing tunnel appears, the frightened boy ventures inside and meets Centipede, Earthworm, Ladybug, Glowworm, Grasshopper and Miss Spider. Rolling out to sea, the giant peach launches its passengers on a series of wildly imaginative adventures with New York City as their final destination. REVIEW: Featuring more imagination per minute than in most LSD trips-let alone most children's programming-JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH is like nothing most kids have ever seen. Based on Roald Dahl's classic 1961 children's book, it brings to life the creepy whimsy of much of Dahl's writing. Stylized live action bookends some 45 minutes of stop-motion animation with computer-generated assists, and the film is not only true to the book but even a slight improvement on it. Young James (Pau! Terry) is orphaned when his parents are eaten (off-camera) by a rhinoceros. Now he lives with his horrid Aunts Spiker (a wonderfully hideous Joanna Lumley) and Sponge (Miriam Margolyes). Though they make his life miserable, he retains his dream of going to New York City. With the help of magic glowing-green crocodile tongues, James inadvertently creates a house-sized peach filled with adorably grotesque insects (voiced by Simon Callow, Richard Dreyfuss, Jane Leeves, David Thewlis, Susan Sarandon and Margolyes), who quickly become his friends. (And that's not really Jack Skellington in a villainous cameo; the NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS star could never be so evil.) The live-action portion of the story is a mite less magical than theJAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH hhtp://chaplin.pkbaseline.com/screen/strange/reviews/jamesand html animation--the peach just looks like a big orange balloon. And even the animation occasionally falters: The denouement, involving a rhinoceros-cloud, is confusing and vague. The otherwise engaging Terry is a singer of limited gifis--as the song "My Name Is James" makes painfully apparent--though ‘composer Randy Newman's other tunes, particularly "Eating the Peach,” are quite fine. The improvements? Keeping the aunts alive rather than squishing them immediately, which sets up an ominous tension, and turning a school of sharks into one black-belching, diesel monstrosity. It's all, in a word, peachy. ~Written by Frank Lovece STARRING: Susan Sarandon - Voice of Spider Richard Dreyfuss - Voice of Centipede Joanna Lumley - Aunt Spiker Miriam Margolyes - Aunt Sponge, Voice of Glowworm Jane Leeves - Voice of Ladybug David Thewlis - Voice of Earthworm Pete Postlethwaite - Old Man Simon Callow - Voice of Grasshopper DIRECTOR: Henry Selick U.S. DISTRIBUTOR: Buena Vista Distribution Company RUNNING TIME: 80 mins. MPAA RATING: PG raTING: & & S&S