March 25, 2005
With a Broken RING, She Carries Her Dream
If for no other reason, I can appreciate THE RING TWO for trying to be its own distinct animal. The cursed videotape is back, but it only serves as a mere jumping point for not-so-innocent little Samara's latest, less technology-rooted reign of terror. But the "terror" remains that only in theory as, for all its isolated amusements, this original follow-up to the hit J-horror remake never truly scares.
That's all the more surprising since the film, in a rather inspired move, marks the American debut of Hideo Nakata, the Japanese horror maestro who helmed the film that spawned THE RING, RINGU. To his credit, he does manage to milk some creepiness out of damp carpets and water in general--but then, that's old hat to him, particularly after building a whole film about the evils of wetness in 2002's DARK WATER (which, as it happens, is set to get the Hollywood treatment in August, directed by Walter Salles and starring Jennifer Connelly--incidentally, one of the initial choices for the lead in THE RING). Potential for greater creepiness can be mined from the sequel's basic premise. After spreading Samara's killer videotape to save themselves, reporter Rachel Keller (Naomi Watts) and her son Aidan (David Dorfman) have attempted to start over in a new town. But a copy of Samara's tape somehow makes it there as well, and Rachel tries to end Samara's rampage (at least in her area) by destroying this copy. But with this broken ring, Samara then attempts to carry out her dream in the real world by invading Aidan's consciousness.
It's a great hook, but neither Nakata nor returning screenwriter Ehren Kruger never quite figure out what to do with it--not even how to build up to it, as Aidan's increasingly odd (or, should I say, even odder than usual) behavior is treated and played as some sort of mystery when Samara quite clearly takes possession of him not long after Rachel burns the tape. Until the time is right for Rachel to face the issue head-on--that is, the third act home stretch--Nakata and Kruger buy time by introducing a nominal male lead (Simon Baker) even more bland and useless than the original's Martin Henderson, enlisting recognizable faces such as Elizabeth Perkins and Sissy Spacek to do showy cameo turns, and--above all else--throwing in a lot of literally splashy water effects. A fright-wigged Spacek is notable in her one scene and the latter definitely makes for some (no pun intended) cool visuals. But scary? Not especially.
The slack tension and pace hence lend Nakata's admittedly well-crafted climactic set pieces an entirely different effect than one would expect--and, I suspect, than was intended. Instead of coming off as creepy, let alone frightening, the film's final showdowns between Rachel and Samara is entertaining for entirely more action-oriented, popcorn-ready reasons--and a one-liner spat out by Rachel with all the flip swagger of a blockbuster badass cements the decidedly non-scary atmosphere of what should--and could--have been a follow-up as chilling as the first film.
At the Video Store
Although the script was reportedly in development for years, I can't imagine that LADDER 49 (Touchstone Home Entertainment) would have finally come to fruition as a film had the 9/11 tragedy not occurred, as Jay O. Russell's drama is a hamfisted paean to the unsung (well, at least until recent years)bravery and nobility of everyman firefighters across the country. Joaquin Phoenix stars as a fireman whose life and career flash before his eyes while trapped in a burning building; John Travolta co-stars as his superior. The DVD includes commentary by Russell and editor Bud Smith, deleted scenes, a making-of documentary and the featurette "Everyday Heroes," which pays tribute to real Baltimore firefighters.
Paramount Home Entertainment's season sets for CHEERS and its equally long-running spinoff FRASIER have always been a bit wanting in the supplement department; generally the extras primarily consisted of clip packages. For both series' The Complete Fourth Season sets, there are no extras to speak of, just each broadcast year's full slate of episodes (for CHEERS, 26; FRASIER, 23) over four discs. But in both cases that's good enough; Shelley Long's penultimate season on CHEERS featured the introduction of Woody Harrelson as Woody Boyd as well as an epic three-part season finale (which sometimes aired as a two-hour "movie" in syndication) which ended with Sam (Ted Danson) proposing to either Diane (Long) or a politician paramour (Kate Mulgrew). FRASIER's fourth year also had romance on the mind, with Niles (David Hyde Pierce) freshly separated from wife Maris and inching ever closer to object of obsession Daphne (Jane Leeves); and Frasier and Niles's dad (John Mahoney) finding a new love (Marsha Mason).
Although as much a staple of NBC's original 1980s Thursday night Must See TV lineup (before it officially had such a moniker) as CHEERS, NIGHT COURT has never received as much due in the years since--a shame as the fast-paced, anything goes zaniness that occurred Judge Harry Stone's (Harry Anderson) courtroom filled its own uniquely wacky niche in what was a rather eclectic sitcom block (in addition to CHEERS, THE COSBY SHOW and FAMILY TIES). The crack comic ensemble also made it a snug fit with those also-heavily-populated shows, but back in The Complete First Season in early 1984, it was a wildly different cast than the longest-running one (from fall 1986 to the 1992 finale) to which viewers grew accustomed; of that cast, only Anderson, John Larroquette (as assistant D.A. Dan Fielding, whose famously lecherous personality is nowhere in evidence just yet) and Richard Moll (as bailiff Bull) are around for this initial run. All 13 first season episodes are included in Warner Home Video's two-disc set, which also includes a retrospective documentary that includes new interviews with series creator Reinhold Weege and a rather haggard-looking Anderson and commentary on the pilot by Weege.
With the big wave of TV on DVD, it's amusing and sometimes horrifying to revisit the shows you once found so cool back in the day. The adventures of MACGYVER, the secret agent (Richard Dean Anderson) who could somehow get himself out of every jam with whatever was lying around and inside his pockets at the time, still hold some amusement in Paramount Home Entertainment's six-disc The Complete First Season though much of it now derives from kitsch value than nailbiting excitement. Michael Mann's '80s sensation MIAMI VICE, which makes its DVD debut with Universal Studios Home Entertainment's three-disc Season One set, most certainly hasn't lost its coolness in concept and execution; Mann's stylish, music-driven, big-screen-ready (and, indeed, Mann is prepping a feature film revival) approach to the crime drama has become just about the norm in the twenty years (!) since its premiere, and the sharp writing, solid acting, and slick atmosphere hasn't lost any luster in these intervening decades. What is a source of bewilderment in this day and age, however, is the fact that back in 1984 the one person considered the coolest cat around was... Don Johnson. Freaky. But revisiting these 22 episodes, there's no denying his and co-star Philip Michael Thomas's (since-long-expired) charisma and appeal as undercover vice cops Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs, not to mention the commanding presence of Edward James Olmos, who joined the show midseason as their superior. As with most of Paramount's non-STAR TREK vintage TV sets, the MACGYVER set features no extras whatsoever; Universal's MIAMI VICE set includes a trio of documentary featurettes that include vintage interview footage with Johnson and Thomas, not to mention horribly dated--and hence all the more amusing--footage of the Miami nightlife scene.
Then there are those shows you never thought to be cool to begin with and yet watched all the time anyway--and no show better exemplifies that than FULL HOUSE, the family sitcom staple from whose loins the beast known as ABC's "TGIF" lineup sprang forth. Watching The Complete First Season (Warner Home Video) on DVD, the show's long run and ongoing syndication afterlife is no surprise, as it hits all the marks for a successful middle-of-the-road family comedy. Cutesy kids? Check. Pretty boy "heartthrob" (John Stamos) for the teenyboppers? Check. Comedian (Dave Coulier) who makes silly voices? Check. Sappy life lessons that end in hugs? Check. What is slightly disturbing watching these episodes anew, however, is doing so that the infant Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are now considered barely legal lust objects. But then that's nowhere nearly as disturbing as Stamos's mullet hairstyle in this first season. The set includes select episode commentary by creator Jeff Franklin; a trivia track on one episode; and the unaired original pilot, in which John Posey plays widowed dad Danny Tanner instead of Bob Saget.
Given the rather loyal cult following the series has garnered during its seemingly never-ending run on The WB, Paramount Home Entertainment has given the six-disc The Complete First Season set of the witchcraft drama CHARMED a rather startling barebones treatment. No commentaries, no brief behind-the-scenes featurettes (not even one lifted from an EPK)--just 22 episodes of sisters Prue (Shannen Doherty), Piper (Holly Marie Combs) and Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) Halliwell fighting all manner of evil with their newfound supernatural powers.
It doesn't take a long run like CHARMED's to earn a loyal fan following, just a single airing--or, in the case of WONDERFALLS, four low-rated airings. Thanks in no small part to fan outcry, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment has released the The Complete Viewer Collection, which not only collects those four episodes but the nine unaired ones following the quirky exploits of Niagara Falls souvenir shop worker Jaye (Caroline Dhavernas), who finds that inanimate objects have a way of being unusually chatty with her. Fans of the show should be pleased by the extras on this three-disc set, which includes select episode commentary by Dhavernas and co-creators Todd Holland and Bryan Fuller, documentaries on the show and its visual effects, and a music video.
Of The WB's soapy, teen-appeal dramas, FELICITY was always one of the more reality-based, but for The Complete Fourth Season (Buena Vista Home Entertainment), co-creator/executive producer J.J. Abrams closed the university journey of Felicity Porter (Keri Russell) with a sci-fi scenario that found our heroine in an alternate timeline in which she chooses Noel (Scott Foley) over Ben (Scott Speedman). Ironically, the outlandish story arc ended up being a wholly satisfying resolution to Felicity's very real, long-running romantic issues, a well-developed and unhurried wrap-up to the series' primary plot thread that puts some obviously rushed and forced-feeling finales (*cough*FRIENDS*cough*) to shame. The six-disc set includes all 22 episodes; plus select episode commentary by Abrams, Russell, Foley, co-stars Greg Grunberg and Ian Gomez, and co-creator/executive producer Matt Reeves; reflections on filming the final episode; and a "creating characters" discussion with Abrams, Reeves, Russell and recurring guest star Jennifer Garner, taken from a Q&A held by the Museum of Television & Radio.
Next time...
...more reviews. As always, check out my home site, Mr. Brown's Movie Site, for additional reviews.
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