Reel Thoughts: The Boy Next Door

Heresy! How could they dare remake the icy Swedish hit Let the Right One In?! Well, guess what? They did, and it’s pretty great.

Let Me In, written and directed by Matt Reeves (Cloverfield) is both faithful and inventive. The location is moved to snowy 1983 Los Alamos, New Mexico, but the story remains the same. Lonely, bullied Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) becomes fascinated with Abby (Chloe Moretz), the little girl who moves in next door with a man who may or may not be her father (Richard Jenkins). What he doesn’t know is that Abby is a bloodthirsty monster who hunts the neighbors unfortunate enough to cross her path when she’s hungry.

Reeves stages a couple of wordless scenes of supreme suspense and surprising pathos — you’ll be checking your backseat for weeks! You almost feel sorry for the hapless Jenkins as he stalks victims to feed Abby and fails spectacularly.

Smit-McPhee and Moretz are amazingly assured and involving performers, and Smit-McPhee captures the pain of growing up and suffering abuse at the hands of sadistic classmates, who call him “Little girl”. Recent gay teen suicides have made the danger he faces all too real.

While Owen and Abby’s relationship is presented as a tentative romance, Owen is also shown spying on his buff male neighbor as he works out. Interestingly enough, both the American and Swedish films removed aspects of pedophilia from the guardian/vampire relationship, and while both the Swedish Eli and the American Abby tell their friend, “I’m not a girl,” only the American version makes that statement explicitly about Abby’s non-human status. The Swedish film leaves it more ambiguous...

Moretz proves yet again why she is one of the smartest and most talented young actresses in Hollywood. She commands your attention and sympathy, even as you realize what a monster she is. Elias Koteas is effective as a police officer trying to make sense of the gruesome murders plaguing the area; in true small town fashion, he assumes it’s Satanists at work.

Let Me In creates a sense of palpable fear and dread, never stooping to spoon-feed the audience plot points. A simple photo booth filmstrip, for instance, speaks volumes. Reeves doesn’t sacrifice the original film’s somber, understated tone, but does improve on it with the quick flashes of brutal supernatural violence. The ending will haunt you as you imagine what the coming years will mean to the characters who are left.

If you want to be scared in an intelligent way, you should definitely heed the call to Let Me In.

UPDATE: Let Me In is now available on DVD and Blu-ray from Amazon.com.

Review by Neil Cohen, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and Phoenix's Echo Magazine.

Toon Talk: Ever a Surprise

After nearly 20 years, one would think we had seen all that Beauty and the Beast had to offer. Au contraire, mon amis (as Lumiere would say), just wait until you see Disney’s contemporary crown jewel in its latest glittering incarnation: the Disney Blu-ray Diamond Edition (available this week).

Newly restored in high definition, you’ll see the modern animated classic spring to life in the format; the storybook settings, rich in previously unseen depth, pop out like, well, a pop-up storybook. From the golden fields of Belle’s farm to the deep shadows of the Beast’s castle, the film’s color palette has never appeared so lush. No question about it, this Beauty is quite a beauty.

Click here to continue reading my Toon Talk review of the Beauty and the Beast Diamond Edition Blu-ray at LaughingPlace.com.

Reverend's Reviews: Sin & Dance

The 1992 movie Leap of Faith wasn't very well-received by audiences or critics upon its release, with more than a few calling its story of miracles performed by a questionable man of God (played by Steve Martin) in a small, drought-ridden town heavy-handed. I admired it, though, for depicting well the religious truth that God can — and often does — work miracles through what we might judge to be the most tainted hands and souls.

The film didn't do well at the box office and isn't very well remembered today, so it would seem an unorthodox choice for a big budget, Broadway-bound musicalization. Such projects rely primarily on name recognition and a built-in audience's love for the source material. However, the involvement of eight-time Academy Award-winning composer Alan Menken, Tony Award-winning director and choreographer Rob Ashford, and stars Raúl Esparza and Brooke Shields have certainly piqued people's interest.

Leap of Faith, the musical, had its world premiere before a star-studded audience (including Glee's Matthew Morrison, Neil Patrick Harris, most of the male stars of Modern Family, Garry Shandling and Mario Lopez) Sunday night at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles. Despite excellent production values and a very capable cast that also features Broadway heavy-hitters Jarrod Emick, Kendra Kassebaum, Kecia Lewis-Evans and Dennis Stowe, the show is a mixed bag at this stage that ignores a fundamental commandment: good theatre does not a religious revival make.

Those who found the movie heavy-handed or preachy will find the stage version even more so. The musical has nothing but religious fervor and conversion on its mind, not only for the protagonist but everyone else as well. At times, Jonas Nightingale (the faux evangelist played by 4-time Tony nominee Esparza) even speaks directly to audience members, attempting to elicit an "Amen" here and a "Hallelujah" there. Esparza is admirably passionate in the role but should be reined in more by Ashford; the 11th-hour "Jonas' Soliloquy" goes on too long and Esparza goes over the top emotionally. Subtlety is not a gospel value in this production.

Brooke Shields, God bless her, is the one performer who keeps this Leap of Faith grounded. While her singing voice is not the best, especially at its lower register, Shields delivers the most authentic performance in the production as Marva, a jaded waitress with a disabled son (Nicholas Barasch, a talented teen with a great voice). Unlucky in love, she naturally finds herself drawn to the slimy but knowing Nightingale. Shields, to her credit, doesn't make Marva a victim. It's a strong turn by a longtime model-actress better known for film and TV roles.

Menken and lyricist Glenn Slater have crafted a serviceable if generally unmemorable song score, although opening number "Rise Up" (accompanied by, for lack of a better description, a "drought ballet"), the tongue-in-cheek "Hotline to Heaven" and the climactic title song make an impression. Slater — who prior to this authored the dreadful lyrics for Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera sequel, Love Never Dies — is obviously more comfortable with the gospel and country-western styles employed here.

The mostly African-American cast members (including the aforementioned Lewis-Evans and Stowe) who make up Nightingale's "Angels of Mercy" choir are awesome vocally, and likely don't need electronic amplification even in a house as large as the Ahmanson. When a female trio is employed at the start of Act II, their impressive voices are over-miked to decibel-rattling levels. I wanted to yell out from my aisle seat in the orchestra, "I'm right here, stop screaming at me!" They wouldn't have heard me, of course. Such is the eardrum-shattering nature of modern musical theatre.

Leap of Faith does have its share of genuinely moving moments, most of them courtesy of Ms. Shields. These are ultimately what will resonate most with audiences, not the lukewarm songs or simplistic theological conundrums. The show's best visual effect is wisely saved for last, and it is joyously impressive. It may not take a proverbial leap of faith to enjoy this musical, but it can't hurt either.

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Orange County and Long Beach Blade.

Reverend’s Preview: Get Your Flicks On at the 2010 Q Film Festival

As a first-time member of the programming committee for the Long Beach Q Film Festival — or for any film festival, for that matter — it was a daunting task to go through nearly 100 submissions from all over the world for this year’s fest, which will run October 7-10 at the Art Theater and The Center Long Beach. Having done so, I can assure readers that the 8 feature films and 23 shorts to be screened over those four days are the absolute best of the best and not to be missed.

Here’s a full rundown of the festival schedule:

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7th
7:00 PM: A MARINE STORY at the Art Theatre. The Long Beach premiere of this timely drama about a lesbian officer discharged from the military under the flawed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy was a multiple award-winner at this summer’s Outfest Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. It will be preceded by the world premiere of a music video, MARRY ME, by Long Beach-based filmmaker Camrin Pitts, and followed by Q&A with filmmakers and cast members.
8:15-10:15PM: OPENING NIGHT PARTY at The Center Long Beach.
9:15 PM: UNDERTOW (CONTRACORRIENTE) at the Art Theatre, preceded by the MARRY ME music video.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8th
5:00 PM: Transgender Program at The Center Long Beach with the feature THY WILL BE DONE, a powerful documentary about a transgender woman striving to become an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church. It will be preceded by the moving short film REMEMBER ME IN RED and followed by Q&A with filmmakers and local clergy members.
7:00 PM: MEN IN BRIEFS: PROGRAM 1 at The Center Long Beach, featuring the short films JOHNNY & LYMAN: A LIFE TOGETHER, an inspiring documentary; GAYSHARKTANK.COM, a hilarious exposé of hooking up in the Internet age featuring Coco Peru among other familiar faces; A MACHINE BELOVED, a hard-to-describe but extremely stylish sci-fi romance; and REMEMBER ME IN RED. Seating in The Center’s screening room is limited, so the program will be repeated at 9:00 pm.
9:00 PM: Repeat of MEN IN BRIEFS: PROGRAM 1 at The Center Long Beach.
11:30 PM: The big-screen Long Beach premiere of ZMD: ZOMBIES OF MASS DESTRUCTION at the Art Theatre. I was fortunate to catch this horror-comedy, in which a gay couple must lead the effort against an uprising of the undead, at the 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival. It’s smart, gory, funny and totally gay.

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9th
1:00 PM: Bisexual Program at the Art Theatre with the feature ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME…, compiled from the acclaimed web series, and followed by Q&A with the filmmaker and cast members.
2:15 PM: MEN IN BRIEFS: PROGRAM 2 at the Art Theatre, featuring the remarkable gay-themed short films BEDFELLOWS, LITTLE LOVE, YOU CAN’T CURRY LOVE, 306 and OUTPOST, followed by Q&A with filmmakers and cast members.
3:30-5:30 PM: SHORTS PARTY at The Center Long Beach
4:30 PM: WOMEN’S SHORTS Program at the Art Theatre, featuring the extraordinary lesbian-oriented films MS. THING, MEESKEIT, ORDINARY GIRL, OUR WEDDING, DOOR PRIZE, A SQUARE WITH THREE SIDES and CRIED SUICIDE, followed by Q&A with filmmakers and cast members.
7:00 PM: SWIMMING WITH LESBIANS, a revealing feature documentary about the GLBT community on the East Coast of the US, at The Center Long Beach, preceded by the short film DOOR PRIZE.
9:00 PM: OUT IN THE SILENCE, an award-winning feature documentary, at The Center Long Beach, preceded by the short film NOCHE SIN LUNA and followed by Q&A with the filmmakers.
11:30 PM: Special community viewing of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE with guest host Jane Lynch on the big screen of the Art Theatre. Admission is free; donations to support The Center Long Beach will be accepted.

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 10th
12:40 PM: ON THESE SHOULDERS WE STAND, the award-winning feature documentary about the early years of LA County’s GLBT community, at the Art Theatre, followed by Q&A with director Glenne McElhinney and participants.
2:45 PM: LAUGH YOUR SHORTS OFF Program at the Art Theatre, featuring the hysterical short films CHICO’S ANGELS: 24ISH; CRIED SUICIDE; PURGATORY, INC.; RUBDOWN; PRETTY and GO GO REJECT, and followed by Q&A with the filmmakers and cast members.
5:00 PM: ROLE/PLAY, the festival’s Closing Film, at the Art Theatre. This gay, romantic drama about a closeted soap opera star and a leader in the same-sex marriage movement who meet at a Palm Springs resort has gained attention at festivals from coast to coast. Writer-Director Rob Williams and stars Matthew Montgomery and Steve Callahan plan to attend.
6:30 PM: CLOSING NIGHT PARTY at The Center Long Beach, featuring the ROLE/PLAY filmmakers and cast members.

Q Film Festival ticket prices range from $5-$15 for individual screenings and parties. An All Fest pass, which allows admission into all screenings and parties, will cost $120. An All Film pass, allowing admittance into all screenings but not parties, is $85. Tickets and passes are available for purchase through The Center Long Beach website as well as through the Long Beach Lesbian & Gay Pride website.

Long Beach Lesbian & Gay Pride, Inc., producer of the annual Long Beach LGBT Pride Festival and Parade, is co-presenting this year’s Q Film Festival with The Center Long Beach for the first time. All net proceeds from the festival will benefit The Center Long Beach and Long Beach Lesbian & Gay Pride. For additional information about the festival or individual films, please visit the Q Film Festival's official site.

Review by Rev. Chris Carpenter, resident film critic of Movie Dearest and the Orange County and Long Beach Blade.