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Joey_D
Reviews
Half-Life (2008)
Enter the Dream.
"Half-Life," Jennifer Phang's first feature film is an impressive debut. A blend of family drama, magic realism and sexual exploration.
Set in the rolling hills of Northern California suburbia, "Half-Life" centers around the lives of Saura Wu (Julia Nickson), a mother of two struggling to keep herself together, her teenage daughter Pam (Sanoe Lake), her 10 year old son Timothy (Alexander Agate) and her live-in boyfriend of five weeks Wendell (Ben Redgrave).
We learn that the family patriarch abandoned the trio some time ago. The aftereffects still resonate and are played out in Saura's hurried relationship with the much younger Wendell, Pam's crush on her gay friend Scott (Leonardo Nam) and Timothy's frequent escapes to an alternate reality. The latter provides the film's fantastic animated sequences courtesy of artists Matt Pugnetti, Catherine Tate and Ryan Schiewe, to name a few, which are sure to be compared to Richard Linklater's 2001 "lucid dream" "Waking Life."
The performances in "Half-Life" are strong and evoke the sense of isolation the characters feel, none more so than young Agate's turn as the imaginative Timothy. Kudos to Phang for educing such a solid performance. Nickson and Lake are also note-perfect as the mother/daughter duo who are more alike than they realize, as they both battle to keep their lives in what little order they have left.
The rest of the cast is rounded out nicely by James Eckhouse and Susan Ruttan as the voluntarily ignorant parents of the attention seeking Scott and Lee Marks as Scott's unassuming boyfriend Jonah.
"Half-Life" moves at a methodical pace reminiscent of Shyamalan at his best. Michael S. Patterson's beautiful score expertly complements, as well as haunts, the piece lending it a quiet calm amidst a canvas awash in turmoil.
Cinematographer Aasulv Austad wonderfully captures the grace and charm and contrasting hustle and bustle of the East Bay Area.
Hearkening back to Paul Thomas Anderson's "Magnolia" and the works of the late Robert Altman, Phang possesses a touch for creating relatable characters intertwined in multiple story lines. She's definitely one to keep an eye on.
"Half-Life" is a stunning beginning to what looks to be a promising career.
Beyond the Sea (2004)
Doesn't do Bobby Darin justice
When I heard that Kevin Spacey was playing Bobby Darin I was less than thrilled. When I heard he was singing the songs himself I was mortified. Kevin Spacey is one of the best actors of our day. He's a good singer. A very good singer. With that being said, not allowing the audience to hear Bobby's true voice was a huge mistake. Those unfamiliar with the singer can't get an idea of just how great he was because Spacey, as good as he is, is no Bobby Darin.
Being a singer myself I've studied Bobby Darin closely for the last fifteen years. He was 100 times more talented than this movie will lead you to believe. There was so much the film failed to touch upon. Bobby played the guitar, drums, piano, vibraphone, xylophone, harmonica. He was also a fantastic impressionist. Good enough to have a career at it had he so desired. He was so great on stage that the wonderful Sammy Davis, Jr. once remarked that Bobby was the one person he would never follow on stage. This film sadly failed to portray these things along with Bobby's vast intellect (he was a member of Mensa.) Spacey's performance was fair. A great mimic in his own right, I was surprised that Spacey didn't make an effort to actually sound like Bobby Darin when he spoke. He delivered his lines like, well, Kevin Spacey. I never once felt like I was watching Bobby Darin. Other important figures in Bobby's life were also glossed over. George Burns, Connie Francis and Dick Clark come to mind. George Burns was a father figure to Bobby. Bobby was the love of Connie Francis' life. Their relationship was sadly cut short when Connie's disapproving father arrived at the Ed Sullivan show with a gun threatening to kill Bobby. Close friend Dick Clark was the one who told Bobby he looked like a latter day hippie. Perhaps if Spacey had removed the silly fantasy dance numbers he would have had more screen time to develop the story and include these central characters.
Other aspects of Bobby's life were needlessly changed for the sake of the film. Bobby Darin remarried after divorcing Sandra Dee, for example.
Lastly, the age difference between Bobby Darin and Kevin Spacey was a hurdle that couldn't be conquered. Spacey looked foolish portraying a kid in his twenties while the other actors were age appropriate. The movie within a movie premise was a lame attempt to mask this. This was a labor of love for Kevin Spacey. Were he not so egotistical in his execution of this film he would have found a capable director, a younger actor, say Edward Norton, and relegated himself to producing. Maybe then we would have a fine film such as "Ray" praising the great Bobby Darin. This was amateur hour at best.