Josh Hamilton plays a middle management office drone who works for a telemarketing company that sells patriotically American knick-knacks. His boss informs him that his entire division is going to be outsourced to India, and he will be forced to train his replacement there or lose his profit sharing as well as his job. The rest of the movie centers around the ensuing culture clash as he deals with getting the new office up to speed.  From the first moments stepping off the plane, the main character has trouble adjusting.

This is a terrific modest film about people.  It plays somewhat like Lost In Translation: Mumbai Edition, but that is selling the charms of this movie short.  The positive comparison to Sofia Coppola’s film is that both movies deal with culture clash in an understated way that feels real.  Hamilton’s character spends much of the running time silently reacting to indigestion from the local food, astonishment at some of the living conditions he witnesses, disgust at having to use his bare hand for toilet paper, and awe at the natural beauty around him.

A lot of the humor stems from his new trainees trying to get their mind wrapped around the American mindset.  There is a hilarious scene where one of the telemarketers suggests she buy “rubbers” for her grandson’s birthday thinking he’s selling her erasers.  They are coached on how to sound like they are from “Chi-caaa-go” so as not to irritate the red state mentality of the customers.  Hamilton’s love interest in the movie, smartly played by Ayesha Dharker, asks of a hot dog toaster appliance “You American’s have more choice than anyone in the world; why would you choose this?”

Outsourced was locally produced, distributed, and partially shot here in Seattle.  In one of the biggest local indie coups of recent memory, it has been picked up by NBC to be retooled as a half hour comedy this fall.  They are fitting it into their Thursday night comedy line-up which should fit nicely with The Office and Community.  For a small budget home-grown production, that is a massive popularity boon.  Hopefully as it is being retooled for the small screen, the gentle humor and honesty of the film version isn’t lost.  The main hope is that they steer away from “wacky” and “zany” by focusing on humor that extends from actual characters.  The promo for the TV show looks promising.

The film version is available on Netflix streaming right now, so it would take minimal effort for you to check it out at this point.  Most likely it is available at Scarecrow Video as well.  No excuses, shop locally, highly recommended!

Final Grade: A-

Sonicsgate: Requiem for a Team (2009) is a heartbreaking documentary highlighting the downfall of this franchise.  In it, director Jason Reid provides a thorough examination to the reasons why the team left Seattle to become the Oklahoma City Thunder, leaving a gaping hole within the culture of the city.  Through testimony from former NBA players, sports journalists, and political figures, Reid paints a solid and engaging argument as to exactly who was responsible for the team leaving.  For any Sonics fan, or any sports fan in general, it’s difficult to watch this film without having some sort of emotional response.  Growing up in Washington State, the Sonics were constantly on my family’s television set, and to see the domino effect play out in this documentary, only rubs salt in to a wound that has not yet started to heal.

The film names a number of people responsible for this tragedy.  The first is Howard Schultz, former owner of the team.  Coming from a business background and as the CEO of Starbucks, Schultz came to the Sonics thinking that his success would translate to the NBA, but he could not have been any more wrong.  Never having had to deal with multimillionaire, basketball superstars, Schultz immediately alienated the best players on the team.  Making bad decisions, such as giving big contracts to unproven names, Schultz literally pushed away the likes of Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton.  In a telling scene, Payton, who is arguably one of the best athletes to ever wear a Seattle uniform, describes in his own words his desire to have stayed in Seattle, and his disappointment with not being able to come to terms with the ownership.

In probably the biggest mistake that he could possibly make, Schultz, reeling from the failure of his time as owner, sold the team in 2006 to the major villain of the film, Oklahoma City businessman, Clay Bennett.  For all Sonics fans, we remember that press conference where Schultz tried to give good reason why he sold the team to a non-local, we all remember Bennett telling the press how he believed the Sonics will stay in Seattle, and we all remember how much of a crock it all was.

The very look of Bennett exudes that of a villain.  With his large physic, high flattop, and jagged facial features, Bennett easily comes off as someone with a hidden agenda.  For the years following his acquisition of the team, Bennett would repeatedly state how much he wanted the team to stay in Seattle, and how hard he would work to make that happen.  But at the same time, the film provides nearly concrete evidence to prove the opposite.  We see how Bennett would do absolutely nothing to improve the team, how he would be quoted as early as 2005 saying that he wanted a team in Oklahoma City, his ban on players to give interviews to the press, and his ludicrous attempt to relocate the team to Renton.  One of the most damning pieces of evidence is that of a number of emails between Bennett, NBA Commissioner David Stern, and those of Oklahoma City businessmen, where Bennett clearly states his desire to move the team immediately, despite the team having a contract that was supposed to keep them in KeyArena for a few more years.  These are the actions of a person who was clearly lying to an almost offensive level, manipulating the public perception that the team had no support staying in Seattle.

The list of villains in the film is a long one.  Former Seattle mayor Greg Nickels, who had no association with the team prior, is shown as the last line of defense to keep the team from moving, going as far as testifying in court, but at the last minute, caved in and settled with Bennett and his colleagues, allowing the team to move while getting a monetary return, a monetary return that has yet to be given.  The Washington State legislature used the situation as a political campaign talking point, but never allowed the issue to be voted on, literally silencing themselves from helping the team stay.  A last minute offer from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to help renovate KeyArena fell on deaf ears.  Even Commissioner David Stern, who is shown in 1995 praising KeyArena as a state of the art facility, is shown as a close friend and mentor to Bennett, clearly supporting the idea of moving the team, and claiming ten years later that the Sonics stadium is an unfit place to play.

(Cont.)

Spencer and John preview the upcoming fall movie season and help sort out the best films coming out, before closing out with their DVD picks of the week.

For his DVD pick, John selected the the latest film from Michael Douglas, Solitary Man (DVD/Blu-ray). Spencer decided to try Nick Park’s BBC TV series, Shaun of the Sheep

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Drew Barrymore is Erin, an aspiring reporter who, at 31, is a bit old for her summer internship at a New York newspaper, and knows it. Upset over having a piece harshly reviewed, she and a co-worker go out to get wasted. At the bar, Erin meets-cute over a Centipede game with Garrett (Justin Long, lovable despite rocking what is essentially a bowl cut). Garrett’s just been dumped by his girlfriend for inadvertent birthday-related insensitivity. In fairness to him, a woman should never say that she doesn’t want a gift if she does. (I’m unclear, though, on whether this has ever happened outside of film and television.) The two hit it off, obviously.

What starts as a nice, cathartic one-night stand turns into breakfast, which turns into negotiation, which turns into what the two figure will essentially be a six-week stand, until Erin leaves to finish her grad degree at Stanford. Somewhere in the middle of a mostly tongue-in-cheek montage of perfect dates, things get serious enough that they decide to give a long distance relationship a go, banking on Erin landing a job in New York after graduation.

From here, there are no surprises in store as to what obstacles Erin and Garrett will face or where the plot will go in general. Erin’s older sister Corinne (Christina Applegate, who I adore) expresses typical older-sister-character skepticism. Garrett’s buddies (Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day) go about being single buffoons while Garrett looks on. The texting and Skyping and whatnot make up another montage. Masturbation jokes are made. We wait for the impending visit to California that will bring about the usual sorts of hijinks.

Luckily, the dialogue is so funny, and the cast we’re watching play out these beats (also including Jim Gaffigan as Corinne’s husband and Ron Livingston as Garrett’s boss) is so skilled and likable, that I remained entertained despite the predictability. Erin and Garrett are characters you want to root for, and Erin in particular is written with the sort of real, three-dimensional personality that I always hope to see for a female character in a comedy, and so rarely do. Drew Barrymore goes all out in the role, and I can’t say how refreshing it is to see a woman presented as someone who can swear and tell dick jokes and be passionate about her career, and not be considered automatically deficient in the “ability to have a boyfriend” department because of all that.

Sure, some more originality in the plot would have been nice, and the movie is more a collection of scenes than a story with progression that builds from scene to scene. But each outlandish, seen-it-before set-up (the spray tanning gone wrong, the caught-in-the-act sex scene) works better than it truly should, because of the strength of the characters, actors, and dialogue. The raunch factor will probably make comparisons to the humor of The Hangover inevitable, but honestly, give me Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day over Bradley Cooper and Zach Galifianakis any day. And while the script may not explore new territory, it nicely sidesteps a couple of romantic comedy clichés that drive me nuts, and for that I give it even more leeway.

Screenwriter Geoff LaTulippe and director Nanette Burstein have constructed a pleasing scenario filled with characters that were genuine to me in a way that I haven’t felt in a comedy since Forgetting Sarah Marshall. The film may have flaws, but it is one that I know I will watch again and appreciate.

Final Grade: B+

Oh, by the way, Golden Earrings (2010) is an independent love story disguised as a horror film.  Sure, you got the normal tricks and gags seen in many other horror movies: the spooky music, the creaky opening doors, props that move and show up in unexpected places.  Beneath it all, though, the heart of the film is the love story between the lead character Ronnie  (Julia Marchese) and her roommate Sara (Marion Kerr, who also writes and directs).  The relationship between these two characters is what drives the barely existent plot.  Despite what is apparent on the surface, the bond that they have may go slightly deeper than either of them would want to admit.

You know what I enjoy the most along with popcorn?  Most people would go with a soda, which is definitely a good choice, but for me, I love having a slurpee.  I’m not sure why, but I really enjoy chugging down a nice Coke-flavored slurpee to wash down the saltiness of my just eaten popcorn, it’s a very efficient combo.  Slurpees are a drink that you can only have when you’re watching a movie by yourself, though.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat in a movie theater and had to sit through someone sucking up the last bit of slurpee from their cup, or moving their straw up and down, making that really loud squeaking noise.  Man, do I hate that sound.

We open the film with Ronnie and Sara having a get together with a handful of their friends.  Soon in to the party, Sara has to leave to visit her mother, which is kind of rude being that she has guests in her apartment, or rude to her mother that she would have a party, knowing that she agreed to see her at 8:00am the following morning, but whatever.  In a near tearful goodbye, Ronnie sees Sara off in a touching scene out on the stairwell.  Ronnie lays her head oh so gingerly on Sara’s shoulder, they look longingly in to each other’s eyes; Sara asks Ronnie if she’ll be ok all by herself.  We assume that Ronnie will be fine.  Besides, she has pictures of Sara right next to her bed that she falls asleep to every night, not creepy at all.  Goodness gracious, is this how they say goodbye to each other if one of them goes to the grocery store?

After this heartfelt farewell, Sara returns to the party, and decides to spice things up by having everyone play on a Quiji board.  Has there ever been a time in movies where good things happen after characters do this?  During their séance, Ronnie and the rest of the group realize that the spirit they have contacted is that of Sara, who apparently died in a car crash pulling out of the driveway.  Ronnie immediately goes in to freak out mode, accusing anyone and everyone of messing with the board and playing around with her newly abandoned heart.

Crap!  My popcorn is still in the microwave!  Be right back…

(5 minutes later)

Damn, burnt to a crisp.

What follows is a story involving Ronnie battling the ghost of Sara, Ronnie trying to convince her friends that she isn’t going crazy, a record player that doesn’t know the definition of “variety,” and that darn Quiji board that just won’t stay where it belongs.  There are a few elements that I will give the film credit for.  It does do a good job at creating mood.  The dark shadows, camera angles, and the music that is played in the film are very effective.  Kerr, when creating the nightmarish sequences, does so in a way that works in creating anticipation and anxiety in the viewer.  There is a particular scene by the pool where the editing, sound, and frame composition makes it stand out as a memorable scene.

That popcorn malfunction is still bugging me.  After writing a paragraph all about the intricacies of microwave timing, I go and do a blunder like that?  How embarrassing.  Ok, let’s try this again with the last bag I have…

As her first independent feature, Marion Kerr has to be commended for writing and directing a film with little to no money, having it set almost entirely in one place, and creating mood with small and practical effects.  However, there are a number of issues I had with the film.  The writing felt stilted, which prevented the dialogue from having a natural feel.  The acting was stiff and not very believable; at the most emotional moments I didn’t believe that the actors were truly feeling those emotions, but rather holding back and never quite going all the way.  Although the mood and anxiety the film created was effective, it was dissipated by lackluster payoffs, every potential scare felt like a fake out.  In regard to the relationship between Ronnie and Sara, it was developed in a way that made it seem like it was more than just friendship.  I can understand that Kerr wanted to make the Ronnie character manic-obsessive and clingy to Sara, but we never really understood why that was, and why Sara apparently went along with her instead of trying to deal with it.  And finally, the film attempts one of the hardest things to do in movies, the twist ending.  It’s very difficult to pull off a believable twist ending to a film, and although the one here is interesting, by the time it comes the film has already lost us.

Golden Earrings is a movie that showcases a lot of promise of its filmmaker.  Marion Kerr demonstrated here that she can make a film with a limited amount of resources, and despite the film not working over all, I hope she gets the chance to use this as a stepping stone to bigger and better things…

Final Grade: C

Oh, crap!  The popcorn!

Jack heads to Rome and calls a business associate, Pavel. The Swedes have found him, Jack explains. Pavel, with the controlled exasperation of a veteran no-good-doer, orders Jack to go wait in a nearby small town for instructions. Jack agrees, but then changes his mind, chucks the cell phone he’s been given into a river, and goes to a different small town. I assume this is because he doesn’t trust Pavel, though why he called him at all in that case is anyone’s guess. Other than the general “don’t get killed,” we never get much in the way of Jack’s motivations from moment to moment.

Biding his time in the quiet village, Jack does a lot of push-ups, drinks some espresso, and stares blankly out at the impressively lovely landscape. A nosy priest takes notice. Jack becomes his reluctant friend, listening to him drone on about men and their sins, as priests do. Evenings not spent dining or wandering the cemetery with the priest are spent visiting the local brothel, where Jack takes a shine to a particular prostitute called Clara (Violante Placido). At least, he returns to see her again; he still doesn’t show any particular emotion. She develops feelings for him, though, what with him being Clooney and all.

Eventually, Jack gets either bored enough or satisfied enough (the expressions would seem to be the same) to call Pavel, who gives an assignment that Jack hopes will be his last: make a custom gun for another mysterious assassin, Mathilde. The meet-in-a-public-place spy dance and sober gun testing Jack and Mathilde engage in are easily the most entertaining part of the film. I wished we were watching her movie instead of his, as she seemed to have something interesting to do. Instead, we get many long scenes of Jack methodically working on the gun. All hopes that this might somehow lead to a little backstory about how he gained these skills or came to be in this situation will remain unrealized. No number of close-ups of Clooney’s still wondrously attractive face could magically provide the character development I so desperately longed for.

We return periodically to Clara, the hooker with a heart of sugarplums and fairies. While I quite liked Placido herself (and, for those who are interested, her breasts give a valiant supporting performance), the character is exasperating. An Italian countryside prostitute who sincerely believes a mysterious American who has never so much as smiled is going to whisk her away to a life of love and eternal picnics? Well, I’ll not say whether this turns out to be a reasonable or an unfounded hope on Clara’s part, though I will say that when this storyline inevitably intersects with the assassination plot, it propels us to a final scene that is eye-rolling at best.

The American exhibits that rare but unforgivable combination of being both boring and ridiculous. Some viewers may find more to like than I did, especially if they are less bothered by an impenetrable main character (or can feel a sympathy for him that I could not). I’m usually tolerant of a slow pace, but the number of lengthy shots of nothing of importance made me antsy, and not in a high tension sort of way. Each conversation with the priest about right and wrong was something we’ve heard before, and in more interesting ways. The early sequence in the snow and one later chase scene (with requisite moped appearance) were entertaining but ultimately served as examples of what I wanted more of all throughout the film: stuff actually happening. Sadly, when it finally sort of does, it’s too ludicrous, too late.

Final Grade: C-

In my opinion the first twelve minutes of Mad Max presents some of the hardest evidence in film of character, setting and plot compacted into sheer spectacle.  From the opening shot we are being fed images of information that are never spoken of in the rest of the film.  We fade in on, accompanied with the score’s triumphant anthem, the entrance to the Halls of Justice.  The shot comes from street level, tilting slightly up, presenting the building as one of importance.  It will come to be the film’s only physical structure representing the establishment.  When we look closer at this shot though, we can see the minute complexities that litter the film.  Framing the right side of the building’s entrance, yet obviously existing in the space before it, on the street corner, is a Stop Sign.  Presented in this way it acts not as just a direction for the traffic, but a sign of caution in relation to the building.  This begins a theme of intimidation that will run through all the films in the trilogy, to survive there must be the appearance of toughness, but underneath is just frailty mixed with hope, weaknesses in a lawless world.  Looking at the words that hang above the entrance, Halls of Justice we notice that the letter U in Justice hangs a bit, and looks as if it has been that way for some time.  Behind the entrance, examining the building itself, we see it looks rather in disrepair.  Its physical appearance is rundown and used.  The brick around the entrance is dirty and decaying.  For a building representing the establishment’s form of order it is not paid much, or any, attention to at all, esthetically.  More tellingly, perhaps upkeep is a luxury not afforded in this world.  Such signs and vagary leave us wondering, what is the rest of the world like?  What brought it this way?  These are question the film never answers.

The opening shot quickly fades into an image of a desolate road lined with telephone poles.  Across the screen appears to the sound of a typewriter, the words, “A Few Years from Now…” indicating to us that this is an undetermined point in the future.  The shot quickly continues to fade to an image of a Skull and Crossbones painted with a stencil, in the middle of the road.  That image fades out and we then fade in on a road sign that reads, “Anarchie Road 3 km“, panning to the left of the sign we see a yellow, blue, and red police cruiser parked on the side of the road.  The road sign of course plays an integral part in the film’s hyper imagery.  The word Anarchy, in this case misspelled, means a lack of order, and then there is the fact it is the name of a road, indicating the, what and where, at the core of the film.  Order and chaos are going to fight for the right to dominantly exist and they will do it on the road.

The final bit of exposition the introduction gives us comes when the camera sweeps across another road sign.  This one reads: “Highway 9 Sector 26, High Fatality Road – Deaths This Year: 57, Monitored By Main Force Patrol” The letter O in Force is crossed out and written above it in red is the letter A, spelling out, Farce.  The camera continues to pan from the sign to another yellow, blue, and red police cruiser, parked on the side of the road, this one is under repair.  Our introduction to the film’s protagonist, Max Rockatansky is one, like the setting, shrouded in mystery.  As he works to repair his vehicle we are only given low, close shots of Max, nothing that reveals his full features, face or otherwise, and continues throughout the opening action sequence until its climax when Max emerges from his vehicle and removes his sunglasses, giving us a full introduction shot.

(Cont).

Spencer and John look back on the world of film during the summer of 2010, revisit Grindhouse in advance of the release of Robert Rodriguez’s Machete, and give their DVD picks of the week.

For his DVD pick, John showed his appreciation for Michael Caine and picked Harry Brown (DVD/Blu-ray). Spencer decided to go with a classic and chose, The Evil Dead (Limited Edition) Blu-ray.

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