Invasion of the Body Snatchers (7/10): The Original Remake.

“Well why not a space flower? Why do we always expect metal ships?”

Since its publication in 1955, Jack Finney’s Sci-Fi novel has been adapted many times for the big screen. The first adaptation was directed an year later by Don Siegel starring Kevin McCarthy and Dana Wynter. The story took place entirely in a small Alabama town where some of the locals began mysteriously behaving in strange and detached manners, but more than twenty years later Philip Kaufman decided to remake this film and relocate the story in the populated city of San Francisco instead. The circumstances were different and the underlying political themes weren’t necessary so this film focused entirely on the growing sense of paranoia behind the invasion. The mystery element is gone here, because from the very first scene we witness how this strange organic life form, similar to gel spores, begins drifting from a far away planet through space until it reaches our atmosphere and is washed down by rain in San Francisco. Here the spores develop into plants with pink flowers and the people who come into contact with them begin behaving in strange ways, which is of course a result of this life form taking over the bodies. The first to notice the change is Elizabeth Driscoll (Brooke Adams) who shares her concern with co-worker, Matthew Bennell (Donald Sutherland), a public health inspector. She tells him that her husband has begun to act in a very mysterious manner and that he seems detached from any emotion. Matthew recommends she talk with his friend, David Kibner (Leonard Nimoy), a renown psychiatrist. When Elizabeth goes to speak with him, David mentions that other people have come up to him with similar concerns. Their fears are confirmed when Matthew’s friends, Jack (Jeff Goldblum) and Nancy (Veronica Cartwright) discover a strange corpse that is being formed by the plant to duplicate one of them. By this time the invasion is in full force in the city and they must find a way to escape before it’s too late. 

The original film was already considered to be quite good, but this remake is probably the most referred to when mentioning Finney’s novel. All the other adaptations after this one haven’t met the same reception. The way in which cinematographer, Michael Chapman, shot the film gave it a much more disturbing atmosphere with the skewed angles, deep compositions, and dark shadows which only adds to the bizarre qualities of the film. It is an eerie sci-fi movie with some memorable sequences (who can forget the moment that mutant dog with a human face suddenly shows up on screen?) and you never know what direction the story is going to go. Unfortunately the film is a bit outdated and the effects don’t look as great. The performances are solid, but sometimes they were over sold. Invasion of the Body Snatchers wasn’t as fun as I had anticipated it to be, and the pacing began to drag at times. I probably would’ve enjoyed this film more if I had seen it several years ago, but by now the plot is overly familiar so the suspense and the scares don’t work as well.   

Donald Sutherland and Brooke Adams play the two lead characters and they manage to engage the audience and allow us to sympathize with their cause. Adams is especially cute here and she can move her eyes like no one else. Nimoy gets a very conventional role and his character doesn’t do much for the film. We’ve seen Goldblum play very similar roles as well and he did manage to get on my nerves during some of his freak out scenes. The cast delivers, but they were all far from being memorable. I can imagine the story freaked audiences out during the 70’s and 80’s, but for today’s standards it isn’t as effective.   

My Review: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (8/10)

"In 10 days I'm going to set out to find the shark that ate my friend and destroy it. Anyone who wants to tag along is more than welcome."

Wes Anderson is one of those few directors whose style and quirky sense of humor is so unique that you could tell what films he's directed only by catching a few seconds of any scene from his movies. The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou is perhaps his most divisive film, and I can understand why considering it is heavily stylized (the set pieces in this film are gorgeous), but it isn't really as funny as most of his other films. I stand in the middle with The Life Aquatic, I don't think it's his best film, but I still enjoyed it a little more than The Darjeeling Limited. My first Wes Anderson movie continues to be my favorite, The Royal Tenenbaums, which introduced me to the rest of his work. What this film has going for it is that Bill Murray plays the lead character and has much more screen time than in the other Anderson films. He is such a terrific actor that anything he does would catch my attention. In this film Murray nails his portrayal of a tired and warn out ocean adventure documentary film maker undergoing a life crisis. Murray carries the film since the rest of the cast isn't as well developed as other characters in Anderson movies. The Life Aquatic may not be as funny as other Anderson films, but it does have the familiar quirky tone and other trademarks of his that we have come to love. It's a lovely tribute to the great Jacques Cousteau and fans will appreciate this film very much.

Written by Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach (from The Squid and The Whale fame) this original screenplay focuses on a middle aged ocean adventure documentary film maker named Steve Zissou (Bill Murray) who is preparing for what could be his final expedition along with his crew to hunt down a mysterious jaguar shark who recently ate his partner. Steve introduces the different members of his crew during a screening of his latest film. Among the many crew members there's his wife, Eleanor (Anjelica Huston) who usually finances his expeditions, his assistant Klaus (Willem Dafoe), and Pele (Seu Jorge) who basically contributes to the soundtrack of this film by singing portuguese covers of David Bowie songs. Before he sets out on his final expedition, a man named Ned (Owen Wilson) shows up claiming he might be his son so Steve decides to bring him on board the Belafonte (his ship) in order to bond with him. A beautiful journalist named Jane (Cate Blanchett) also accompanies them on their mission to find the deadly shark, but some armed pirates interfere with their plans.

One of the things I enjoy the most about Wes Anderson's films is that you never know what direction the plot is going to go. He creates some quirky, colorful, and unique characters and Murray's Steve Zissou is another memorable one. The rest of the cast doesn't add much to the film with the exception of Willem Dafoe who has several funny scenes and Jeff Goldblum whom I would have liked to see more of. The Life Aquatic is one of Anderson's most stylized films, I loved the set pieces and the tracking shots of the different interior compartments in the Belafonte. It also has some familiar themes we see in most of Anderson's films. The crew in this film plays like the broken families he usually explores, and once again one of the men is seeking the approval of a parent figure. I had a fun experience with this film that does get off track at times, but it comes back at you every time. Despite being weird, it is delightful, charming, and highly entertaining.

My Review: The Switch (7/10)

¨It`s complicated, it`s messy, it`s about horrible timing, and fumbled opportunities, and not being able to say what you need to say when you need to say it. At least, that`s the way it was for me.¨

The last film that Josh Gordon and Will Speck had directed together was the sport comedy Blades of Glory staring Will Ferrell and Jon Heder. The Switch is a very different type of comedy, it`s a romantic one which perhaps was marketed in the wrong way. Like any other romantic comedy it is very predictable, but I found it very entertaining and fresh at the same time. I think the main problem is that they marketed The Switch with Jennifer Aniston as the leading character, and although she is one of the leads she is perhaps the least entertaining one of the movie. Jason Bateman is the true star of the movie and this is the role he is perfect for as the kind of pessimistic likeable character. The kid, Thomas Robinson, is also great in this movie and I think his relationship with Bateman`s character is the central part of this movie and what makes this romantic comedy work. I was more interested in the relationship between Bateman and Robinson than the actual romantic love story. The dialogue in the movie was also pretty good. Allan Loeb did a much better job with this script than he did with either of his two 2011 films (Just Go With It and The Dilemma). Loeb did have a lot of help considering he adapted the screenplay from Jeffrey Eugenides`s short story ¨Baster.¨ I expected The Switch to be just another chick flick, but I ended up enjoying it  a lot more thanks to the performances from Bateman and Robinson.

Wally Mars (Jason Bateman) and Kassie Larson (Jennifer Aniston) have been best friends for a long time. They used to date in the past, but that was a long time ago and Kassie decided Wally was more of a friend type of guy. They`ve had a great relationship over the years, but Kassie realizes that time has gone by rather quickly and that the moment to have a baby is now. She is not willing to wait any longer for the right person to come along; it is time to be a mother, and the only way to do so at the moment is through artificial insemination. Kassie`s friend, Debbie (Juliette Lewis) decides to throw her an artificial insemination party once she has chosen Roland (Patrick Wilson) as the sperm donor. At the party Wally gets drunk and when he goes to use the bathroom he finds the sperm and accidently dumps it while playing around with the sample. Wally replaces the lost sperm with his own, although he is way too wasted to remember what went on. His manager and friend, Leonard (Jeff Goldblum) reminds him about everything he had done once he got home, but Wally has no recollection of what went on. Kassie becomes pregnant and decides that New York isn’t the place to raise a child so she tells Wally she is moving back home. Wally never tells Kassie his feelings for her, because he himself isn’t sure about them. Seven years go by and Wally receives a call from Kassie that she is returning to New York with her young son Sebastian (Thomas Robinson). Sebastian is very similar to Wally and thus the comedy begins and the plot thickens.

The relationship between Sebastian and Wally is the true highlight of the film. Robinson proved in his film debut that he can act better than pretty much any other child actor. He was really captivating and believable in his role. Bateman also was great in his role as he began to realize that he had a sort of special connection with this kid. The chemistry between them was for more believable than the one he had with Aniston. Aniston played her usual self; she did a decent job although her role wasn’t very memorable at all. The two supporting characters in this movie were great: Jeff Goldblum and Juliette Lewis both played really funny characters and delivered some of the funniest lines in the film. I really loved the performances and actually enjoyed this movie more than I had anticipated. The Switch worked thanks to these special performances and moments that the movie had; it allowed me to see beyond the typical and predictable love story that so many romantic comedies have grown us accustomed too. So considering all I`ve said I`m going to recommend The Switch although I admit it is very predictable at times and there is no doubt whatsoever as to what direction the movie is going to take. If you don’t have any problem with that then you might enjoy The Switch as much as I did.

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