Movie Review: The Runaways

The power of raw acid leaks through the speakers when “Cherry Bomb” starts to play, and the crowd goes insane when they see Cherie Currie wearing red lingerie. The Runaways were one of the first all female rock bands and catapulted the careers of guitarists Joan Jett and Lita Ford into stardom. The biopic, self named, chronicles the band’s rise and fall, as well as centering on the relationship between Jett and Currie. The film is based from Currie’s autobiography “Neon Angel.”

The film shows these two girls in their raw, primal forms. With Currie’s love for David Bowie and trouble fitting in to, more importantly, Jett’s struggle to play the electric guitar as a girl. As the girls’ lives unfold, so do the roots of female individuality and sexuality in music, and the world.

This movie is gritty, rough, grimy and fantastic. The shots are clean, the music is tight, and the acting is surprisingly smooth and worthwhile. Dakota Fanning, playing Currie, and Kristen Stewart, as Jett, have an unmatched chemistry on screen, which boils over into the sex scene and ensuing concerts. The voices heard in the movie are actually Fanning’s and Stewart’s, which gives it a raw and completely real feeling.

At first, Fanning sounds terrible when she auditions for the band, but when she puts on the sexy red outfit and performs in Japan on tour, an animal is unleashed. This scene is strikingly the climax of the film, with a complete performance of “Cherry Bomb” and stunning visuals. Unfortunately, Fanning emanates a good-girl vibe, and lacks the harsh rock-and-roll edge Currie describes in her book.

Kristen Stewart, on the other hand, takes a pound of bricks and smashes all expectations in the face with her portrayal of Joan Jett. Not only did she do the part justice, but sets the standard for future rock-and-roll biopics. She captures the angst and emotion of the confused rock star, as well as getting the voice just right, but most importantly she grips the rock-and-roll attitude and kicks it to the curb, which is proved when she pisses on some guys guitar, for telling her she should be in the kitchen.

The final piece that brings the entire show together is manager Kim Fowley, played by Academy Award Nominated Michael Shannon. The slimy man constantly sneers and leers at the girls, egging them on and abusing them mentally and verbally. He jumps and screams and shouts when they mis-perform, and makes sure to let them know he’s the one with the money and power.

The one thing this film really lacks is true introspection. The minds of Joan Jett and Cherie Currie are never fully pried open, or at least not enough to see what’s really bothering them. They take it out on themselves with drugs, booze and sex, but there is never a moment, clean or drug driven, of revelation where the curtains open and the true meaning of things start to unfold. The girls were only sixteen when the band hit it’s pinnacle, but there is still a hidden truth behind The Runaways that the movie just doesn’t fully explore.

The Runaways: 4 out of 5

– Steve

Movie Review: Youth in Revolt

Youth in Revolt

Awkward is as awkward does. Michael Cera plays yet another teen with angst and sexual problems in Youth in Revolt. Nick Twisp (Cera) meets the love of his life, Sheeni Saunders (Portia Doubleday) in a trailer park while on a trip with his dysfunctional mother (Jean Smart). Mick and Sheeni woo each other in typical high-school-fashion until Nick leaves with his mother; which is when they decide the only way to be together is for Nick to be thrown out. This is when Nick introduces us to Francois Dillinger, his alter-ego, whose sole purpose is to help Nick act more in impulse. A series of escalating dastardly deeds sends Nick packing to live with his father, who now lives in Sheeni’s trailer park. Unfortunately Nick is a wanted man for causing a million-dollar fire and Sheeni is sent away to boarding school. After trying to get her back from the boarding school, and succeeding, the movie climaxes with Nick and Sheeni sharing an intimate moment before he is dragged off to juvenile detention.

Youth in Revolt is the same kind of funny that Superbad was, except it’s missing the fat repulsive one for comic relief. The only thing Youth has going for it is the narration. Since Nick is an aspiring novelist, and a reader of American prose, the narration is silly and witty; at least for an English buff. The direction follows suit with some brilliant literary scenes, my personal favorite is the slow motion shower with an overture of epiphany music. Unfortunately the movie is dragged heavily by its constant sexual repression and Cera’s bumbling demeanor. Michael Cera can only play 16 for so long before his performances turn from creepy, to pedophile creepy.

Youth in Revolt: (2 ½ out of 5)

– Steve

Movie Review: Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel

Next to Alvin’s “A” on his shirt there should be a flat symbol not because the little furry fiend can’t carry a tune, but because it would describe his character perfectly.  Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel is an unnecessary sequel to the popular children’s movie Alvin and the Chipmunks. The Squeakquel picks up right where the last movie left us; the boys rocking out on stage to a shrill version of You Really Got Me Now while Dave (Jason Lee) screamed stage instructions at the stage-whore Alvin (voiced by Justin Long, Live Free or Die Hard). Alvin, continuing to ignore Dave, jumps high into the rafters, and accidentally lets a giant guitar loose and puts Dave in the hospital. Then, in another obvious turn of events, the chipmunks’ aunt, charged with watching them in Dave’s absence, gets hospitalized herself, and her loner son, Toby (Zachary Levi), has to take care of the boys. The chipmunks are immediately enrolled into school so they can lead somewhat normal lives, meanwhile a group of female chipmunks who can also sing, figure that, land on the doorstep of Alvin’s old manager and nemesis Ian Hawk (David Cross, Arrested Development). The group of girls, named The Chippetts, are pitted against the boys as Alvin grows farther from his brothers (Simon voiced by and Theodore voiced by Jesse McCartney). The movie ends the same way the last one does, with a trio of chipmunks escaping a cage while Ian Hawk is distracted by his own upcoming fame.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel is a painfully obvious trope of high school cliché movie plots and characters. The actors are reading at best, with the exception of David Cross and Zachary Levi who bring the only funny moments. Watch a low rate high school movie, replace the new kids with singing chipmunks, add overly dramatized covers of half-rate songs, and you have The Squeakuel. The problem is that it’s not even a modern high school movie, where the main characters come in second but learn a valuable lesson, but a 90’s high school movie with way too much happy ending. It may have a lot of movement and color, but so does The Princess and the Frog, which is much more highly recommended than the fab furries.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel (1 ½ out of 5)

– Steve

Movie Review: Daybreakers

For a movie taking place primarily at night, Daybreakers certainly sheds a decent amount of light on vampire culture. The year is 2019, ten years after a violent outbreak of vampirism and we center on Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke), chief hematologist for Bromley Marks. BM is the largest cultivator and supplier of human blood. As the human population diminishes and dwindles on the precipice of extinction, the world suffers from massive mutations of vampires who cannot afford human blood. The shortage causes civilized vampires to revert to mere monsters, which sends Edward into the hands of renegade humans (William Dafoe and Claudia Karvan) in search of a cure, not just a blood substitute.

Edward is the suffering hero, refusing to drink human blood and constantly pushing his aggressive brother (Michael Dorman) away. Daybreakers is an entertaining concept, which eventually leads no where. It sets up this magnificent world where vampires have ravaged the earth and have actually adapted to become the dominate species. Harvesting humans for blood and the blood market in crisis certainly reflect parallels in our own society, but unfortunately they are drowned out with the second half of the movie. The directing is swift and the acting is stiff, but in a good way. They also crafted one of the most realistic, and creative, vampire cures in cinema. The climax seems packed with blood, but with fangs that’s to be expected. Daybreakers is a must see for anyone even curious about what could be with vampires.

Daybreakers: (3 ½ out of 5)

– Steve

Movie Review: The Box

The Box is an unnerving and unsettling psychological thriller directed and adapted by Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko). The story starts off simply enough. Married couple Norma Lewis (Cameron Diaz) and Arthur Lewis (James Marsden) live their normal lives with their son Walter (Sam Oz Stone). Norma, a school teacher with a crippled foot, and Arthur, an engineer working for NASA, are struggling paycheck to paycheck. Then, suddenly, a package is dropped on their doorstep containing a wooden box with a button contained in a glass dome on top. That afternoon, and as mysteriously as the box itself, a man with half a face pays a visit to Norma. This reveals himself to be Arlington Steward (Frank Langella), the owner of the box, and he has an offer.

He tells her that two things will happen once she presses the button on the box. First, someone she doesn’t know will die, and second is she will be paid a sum of one million dollars, cash. Within the next 24 hours Norma is informed her son’s tuition will be going up, and Arthur finds out he failed his psychological test to become an astronaut. This intense fiscal strain drives Norma to push the button, launching into effect a series of events far too complicated and bizarre to explain.

The Box is just as original and disturbing as Kelly’s first directorial masterpiece Donnie Darko, breathing life into a current genre wrought with bombs and car chases. The film starts off as a mood thriller, with music playing a key role, and ends as a philosophical thriller which opens up much for debate and analysis.

Not only is the plot mysterious, but so is the performance of Frank Langella. His starring role will chill and intrigue all at once. He is unwavering and systematically cryptic with every line he delivers, and each syllable falls heavy on our hearts and minds. Any movie that opens up debate like this one, even if the debate is a characters decision, is well worth watching

The Box (4½ out of 5)

– Steve