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Bubba Ho-Tep: Okay, the premise of this film is as dumb as they come. Elvis Presley (Bruce Campbell) is alive and not-so-well in a nursing home along with a black man who thinks he's John F. Kennedy (Ossie Davis). Together they attempt to thwart a mummy who is sucking the souls out of the nursing home patrons' asses. I can't make this up. The film was very funny and well done what it was. However, the highlight of the film for me was the storyline about Elvis and how he got to the nursing home.
Elvis got sick of life in the business so he meets up with a man named Sebastian Haff who is the best Elvis impersonator in the world. He trades personas with Haff and ends up acting as the impersonator while the impersonator goes on to live as the King of Rock and Roll. It's the impersonator who dies on the toilet while the real King keeps on ticking. Elvis falls off the stage one night ("while takin' care of bidness") and shatters his hip which ultimately leads to his living in the nursing home. While in the home he has a lot of time to think about the life he lead and the regrets he feels about the way he treated his wife Priscilla, his daughter Lisa Marie and his own selfishness. He regrets the fact that they don't know he's still alive and that he never really showed them the love that he should have. It's very well done and is far more interesting than anything else in the film.
2 Days: Paul Rudd stars as a down and out actor who can't get arrested in Hollywood though his peers seem to think he's a gifted actor. He's jaded by the soulless business, the lack of real relationships and the downfall of the relationship between the love of his life and he. Therefore, to make his mark, he's hired a film crew and is going to make a documentary about the 2 days leading up to his suicide, which will also be part of the film. The crew will follow him around town as he says goodbye to his friends and tries to discover just what it is that made him a failure. The experiment nearly derails as the overzealous director of the project makes several attempts to keep Rudd from killing himself and to give the film a "happy ending".
I really enjoyed this film and I especially love to watch Paul Rudd. While Rudd doesn't seem to have a problem getting parts nowadays, his character in the film really does identify with his real self. He's very underestimated as an actor, which he proves in this film. There are a couple of scenes in particular where he really proves his worth, one where he aces an audition the day before his suicide. The other is when he is faced with whether he should live or die and everything that follows. This is a great film and one that seemed to be buried on the shelf at the video store. Find it if you can.
Elephant: This may be the most forgettable film about a most compelling subject. This is the Gus Van Sant film that wowed them all at Cannes and Sundance about the events surrounding and leading up to a school shooting. The characters in the film, none lovable, none worth mentioning, are followed and sort of examined, none knowing that two disgruntled students will murder them by the end of the day. And when I say the students are followed, they are quite literally followed. You get to see them walking...a lot...as if they have cameras strapped to their asses and you are forced to watch their every step. I think it's supposed to be intense but it's ultimately boring and redundant. The film is only 80 minutes long and they spend at least 40 of those minutes filming these characters WALKING!!! Gus, if you're going to make a short film do it!
As far as the subject matter is concerned, no new ground is broken. Two violent video game loving students order guns over the Internet and have them delivered to their homes. They take their fury out on the jocks, the preppies and even the poor mistreated students with no remorse. And in true Van Sant style, they are also gay. What does that have to do with anything in the film? Nothing. It has no bearing. Why their sexuality has anything to do with them being vicious murderers I have no idea.
In the end, I just wondered what the fuss was all about. If you want to see a compelling film about a school shooting, just rent Bowling for Columbine and don't waste your time on this one.
In America: A family of Irish immigrants tries to make a new life in New York City after losing a child to cancer in the Jim Sheridan directed In America. The father is a struggling actor who is constantly reading a script or auditioning for a play. They are forced to live in an apartment building full of junkies and miscreants. One of the buildings tenants, a screaming, sick artist by the name of Matteo (Djimon Honsou) becomes a sort of guiding light to the family as they continue to cope with their loss and the threat of the loss breaking their beautiful family apart. It's a soulful and haunting film.
This film is based on the true story of Sheridan's immigration to America. He also co-wrote the film with his two daughters. It's very well written and emotional. The acting is also top notch. Samantha Morton is the torn mother of the family. She's as underrated an actress as they come. She received an Oscar nomination for the film so hopefully her stock will continue to rise. Honsou also received a nomination for the film and it was well deserved. He's as broken a character as you will find, down with disease and lonely, wanting nothing more than what this family has. Everything hits on all cylinders in this film. A must see.
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