Double Feature: 'The Butler' and 'Insidious: Chapter 2'

Yeah, yeah, it's two consecutive reviews. Getting back on schedule has been more difficult than I had anticipated, and I'm still catching up. It doesn't help that Hollywood is releasing more wide-released titles per week than I'm currently able to keep up with, And so I'm finally getting around to two older, important films this week in Lee Daniels' The Butler and James Wan's Insidious: Chapter 2.

"You hear nothing. You see nothing. You only serve." If Cecil Gaines (loosely based on real-life Eugene Allen) had heeded that statement, we likely would never have gotten The Butler, which tracks the rise of Civil Rights from the antebellum south until the modern day, from the point of view of a longtime White House server. Featuring an ensemble cast and a story (and director) tailor-made for African-American audiences, it's obvious that this film is expressly geared towards the moviegoers that made The Help such a hit just two years ago.

Bowties are cool, now.

The Butler might not possess The Help's overall sense of charm, but it does have quite a bit going for it. The cast is largely excellent, headlined by the "Forrest Gump meets Bubba Blue" lead performance of Forest Whitaker (that comparison might normally be a complaint but it works here), but also by the bevy of talents -including James Marsden, John Cusack and Alan Rickman - as various US Presidents. The Butler presents a very unique perspective of the inner machinations in the White House, and some of the highlights involve Cecil being present (and in true fashion, completely ignored) as decisions are being made that affect worldwide events. The story, though long and at times overly familiar, does pull itself together in the final act, justifying every scene that one might originally have thought to cut.

Yes, that's Oprah. No, she doesn't deserve an award.

It's just a shame that not everything works. The Gaines family becomes representative of the Black American family, from losing a child to Vietnam to being the victims of looting and violence, but the fact of the matter is that Cecil Gaines is the least-interesting character in this tale. That's not a knock against Whitaker's performance, which does its absolute best to save the character from cliche hell, but with the screenplay, penned by a perhaps overly-reverent Danny Strong. Too much narration and too little to do means that we're far more interested in anything else happening. My favorite scene did not involve Cecil at all - it was a conversation between his sons - played by David Oyelowo (an amazing actor no matter his limited screentime) and Elijah Kelley - that I thought stole the entire movie. There aren't enough quiet scenes like this, with the scene so focused on the talents of the actors and nothing else. Speaking of which, Oprah Winfrey - in her highly-touted return to the big screen - is also not given nearly enough to do. Despite being a central character, and despite being involved in several sub-plots, Winfrey is often just shown as a typical dissatisfied housewife, complete with all the usual tropes, a big name wasted in a do-nothing role.

In Django: Unleashed they would now fight to the death.

The Butler's biggest problem is an unexpected one; at just over two hours, it's actually too SHORT for the tale it tries to impart, or at least for Daniels (an overrated filmmaker at present) to capitalize on fully. A miniseries on the same topic would have been a better fit (say, an hour dedicated to working for each President between Eisenhower and Reagan?), and allowed the amazing cast and the worthy story the time it needed to grow. Many people are talking about The Butler being up for awards this winter. I don't know about all that (MAYBE nominations for Whitaker and Oyelowo), but I do recognize some of the merits of their argument. Flawed as it is, there's a lot to like in this ensemble piece. I just don't think it's good enough to not wait for the DVD.

Insidious: Chapter 2 is also trying to reap the benefits of a predecessor from 2011, in this case the excellent supernatural horror film Insidious. Taking place immediately after that modern classic ended, Chapter 2 picks up with the newly-reunited Lambert family trying to recover from the events that had almost stolen their eldest son Dalton's (Iron Man 3's Ty Simpkins) soul from his body. Despite thinking they are safe from the malevolent spirits that had haunted them, the family begins to experience even more unexplainable occurrences, as a new threat begins to emerge. Soon, Renai (Rose Byrne) begins to suspect that the ghosts have a new plan for capturing her son's soul... and that her husband Josh (Patrick Wilson) did not come back from his trip to the spirit world without a malevolent monkey on his shoulder.

Maybe I'm just comparing Insidious: Chapter 2 to its progenitor, but I can't help but be a little disappointed in this sequel. The acting certainly is not the problem, as Wilson and Byrne are the same talented, under-appreciated actors who broke out back in 2011. And Simpkins, given a little more to do, was solid enough. Returning actors Barbara Hershey and Lin Shaye, as well as newcomer Steve Coulter, are wonderful performers, though they're given a bit too much to do, relatively speaking. (side note: one character runs off to spend a day and a half on an investigation... LEAVING HER FAMILY TO DIE) The film successfully manages to copy the tension and scare tactics of the original, thanks to James Wan's direction and horror experience, as he's already proven in this year's The Conjuring.

Hi, you're home! How was your night out? I was just putting the kid down!

Unfortunately, that's about all that is good here. As I mentioned before, the side character are not just given more to do, but TOO MUCH. Part of the first movie's charm was its focus on the trials of beleaguered parents Renai and Josh, but here they are sidelined for most of the film while others go off on frightening scavenger hunts. Also, while the atmosphere is amazing, the specific scares feel recycled, and there's nothing that matches the turntable playing "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" from the first film. The opening twenty minutes, which serve as a minor prequel and setup to the current story, feels like an afterthought, so horrible are the dialogue and the acting. Some of the jump scares work, but it's all less subtle than I remember from the original, and reeks of rushed script-writing by co-star Leigh Whannell. It's obvious that they were trying to pump out a low-budget sequel to a bona fide hit, and the story suffered from the haste.

He just read the script.

In the end, Chapter 2 has its moments, but doesn't match the overall brilliance of its predecessor. While I enjoyed how Wan tied everything together between the two films and the seemingly disparate plot threads throughout, it's not enough for fans of old-fashioned horror. If you really want to see a creepy, dark and sometimes unintentionally funny, scary movie, then a rental of the first Insidious should be MORE than enough to whet your appetite. The sequel is unfortunately a cobbled-together rush job, unworthy of the name it inherited, and MAYBE you can go ahead and see it on DVD if you REALLY want.

Insidious is... Pretty Damned Good

It's pretty rare for me to be scared by a horror film. Despite their supposed purpose, most horror titles might stretch a startled jump out of me, but rarely do "scary" movies live up to that particular descriptor. So it wasn't much of a surprise that I had little interest in and wasn't really looking forward to seeing Insidious, the latest haunting film by director James Wan. It's a bit far from his usual fare; Wan's Saw series practically created the torture/horror sub-genre, and that seems at odds with Insidious's apparent old-school style of tension and carefully-concealed scares. Non-informative trailers put forth very little to convey any real reason to go out and see it in the theater, and Insidious seemed destined to be one among many similar horror titles that only hardcore fans would bother with. Then the good reviews started appearing, and my buddy Southland Dan suddenly got extremely excited. Anyone who has seen us talk movies knows that me and Dan don't always agree when it comes to our opinions on film, but nevertheless we often get excited about the same things. All of the sudden I was roped in enough to check this film out on Monday (though it should be mentioned there was nothing left of interest to see, anyway). And so with Dan alongside, I made my way in town to see which of my two impressions would prove to be correct.

Peek-a-boo is not a fun game in this house

After moving into a new home in the suburbs with their three children, teacher Josh (Patrick Wilson) and homemaker/musician Renai (Rose Byrne) seem to have worked things out fairly well. Though they sometimes have problems, the couple and their family are largely happy and healthy. When their oldest son falls in an accident and goes into a coma that spans many months, Josh and Renai have more than enough problems on their hands. Problems don't let up however, and Renai witnesses several unexplainable events that make her believe that the house they live in is haunted. The couple seek help from an eccentric psychic (Lin Shaye) who gives them the grave news: it's not the house they have moved into that is haunted. The spirits they see are in fact haunting their comatose son.

With the cleaning power of Cheer(tm), this bloody stain will come right out!

The concept introduced here is actually quite interesting, and a nice twist on the haunted house motif. Every scene has some level of creepiness, proof of Wan's ability to keep the tension in play. Even better, he varies those tension levels so that no two scenes feel exactly the same, keeping the film from appearing stale or repetitive. One thing thankfully missing is the creepy kid scenario. Once Dalton (Ty Simpkins) falls into his coma, there's very little ability needed to play a sleeping kid. The other children disappear from the story once the truly insane stuff goes down, and we're left with the adults handling the situation, which is all I really ever wanted. The world doesn't need another Linda Blair, as one was quite good enough and unrepeatable, thank you. The creature designs are also extremely effective in their use. A good number of spirits haunt this family, each easily recognizable and scary in their own way. They range from a megalomaniacal dwarf to a sixties-era psychotic teenager to a demon that looks not a little like Darth Maul, each popping up unexpectedly and to great effect when they do. These elements create a great atmosphere in which to get the bejeesus scared out of you, much more than many recent horror film I can name.

Right through here, you can see the master bedroom, complete with its own wraith

The performers sent in to play the victims in this tale are definitely low-budget, but more than make up for their lack of high-roller credibility with amazing performances that work to enhance the film's vibe. Patrick Wilson has long gone unnoticed as a supporting actor in good films and a lead in bad or unpopular ones. Never very memorable, whether playing Nite Owl II in Watchmen or the evil Lynch in The A-Team, Wilson does all he can to put that aside in a very compelling role. Josh is a loving dad and husband, but doesn't always have the mental toughness to take on a trouble spot head-on, preferring to avoid adversity when it rears its head. In this way he's less able to handle his son's condition, and Wilson plays his part pretty damned well. Rose Byrne is better as Renai, and some of the scenes featuring the actress reacting to the strange happenings around her are the best in the film. Also a devoted parent, Renai is more willing to accept the idea of paranormal activity centering around her son, and some of the script revolves around these two very competent performers arguing over the correct course of action to take. Barbara Hershey may not have the same level of role that she had in last year's Black Swan, but she continues her horror career to great effect here as Josh's mother Lorraine and the couple's third-party adviser. Lin Shaye is also good as Lorriane's friend Elise who also happens to be a psychic with experience in the paranormal. Leigh Whannell (who also wrote the screenplay) and Angus Simpson make welcome contributions as psychic technicians working for Elise. They play the part of tension-relieving humor, but hold their own when the frights ramp up again. In all, we have a very strong cast for this genre that play nice and properly entertain the audience with their talents.

You, sir, are no John Hodgeman

I was afraid in the final act that too much would be shown, invalidating the genre by over-producing what should have perhaps been left to the imagination. Wan, however, excels here as well, making a journey to the spirit realm feel as fluid and realistic as can be, despite the film's small budget. When we were initially greeted by an atrocious opening credits sequence, I was afraid that the story following would be one I couldn't fully get into. By the time final credits had rolled in however, I was forced to recall that I had been on the edge of my seat for the entirety of the film, and jumped out of it on more than a few occasions. The only horror film I can recall that had a similar effect on me had been 2002's The Ring (I remember to this day Agatha So tearing holes in my arms in the film's scarier sequences, so frightening it was), and while there's nothing I've seen to match the terror of Samara I have to give Wan credit for creating the film I didn't think he was able to make. A surprise smash and one I wasn't sure I would rank highly, Insidious manages to come in at #5 for 2011. Far exceeding my few qualifications for excellence, I can't recommend it more highly for people who wish modern horror wasn't so often more of the same Saw and Hostel clones.

Roll Out the Black Carpet

When your film opens the Venice Film Festival, it's kind of a big deal. When your film is chosen to open ahead of megastar George Clooney's film The American for that festival, it means something. When your film is on most critics' shortlist for Best Picture several months before it's even released to the general public, expectations are made. That's what it's been for me with The Black Swan, the latest film by Darren Aronofsky. The director, whose previous film The Wrestler was a critical darling and helped relaunch the career of Mickey Rourke (and was one of my favorite films that year), had originally thought of the two films in the same story, but decided to split them into two separate films when there proved to be too much for just one film. So The Wrestler focused on what many consider to be a low-class performance, while Black Swan did the same with what many consider to be a high art form, despite both being physically taxing and exhausting on their respective performers.

In Black Swan we meet ballerina Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman), a mid-career dancer who has never had a chance to be a star. Hoping the producer will feature her more this season, Nina tries out for the lead role of Swan Queen in the classic show Swan Lake. For the role, producer Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel) wants a dancer who can embody both the two distinct characters of the White and Black Swans. Like the White Swan, Nina is technically proficient and innocent, but the Black Swan is the manifestation of seduction, and Nina has a difficult time putting emotion and seduction into her dance. While fearing being replaced by the technically-awkward but graceful newcomer Lily (Mila Kunis), Nina's pursuit of perfection on the stage lead a whole new side of her to emerge, manifesting itself in shed skin and black feathers.

Like The Wrestler, the feeling of Black Swan is gritty and dark, a refreshingly ground-level look at the world of ballet, as dancers are constantly in danger of being replaced by younger, fresher variants and careers on stage end long before those of your average athlete. Nina is square in the middle of that conflict, young enough to hope for more focus and to replace the company's lead veteran (Winona Ryder) while old enough that the appearance of Lily has her metaphorically peeking over her shoulder. As a result, and in order to achieve the perfection she so craves, Nina's descent into darkness comes as no surprise. It's easy to see where Aronofsky was influenced by such films as All About Eve, in which a veteran actress is eventually replaced by a younger, energetic protegee, only for that young woman to undergo the same situation as soon as she's square in the spotlight. Comparisons to The Wrestler are of course expected, though the former focuses on recapturing old glory and redemption, whereas the lead in this film seeks "merely" to be perfect. And that is expressed perfectly every time Nina is shown stretching (in which we're shown ways in which the average American could never find themselves) and in dance, which always manages to look beautiful while apparently uncomfortable to the person performing.

Like Thomas thought of Nina, I knew Natalie Portman would do a good job of portraying the innocent, timid ballerina, but wondered how she would pull off having to be more emotional and seductive in her performance when the Black Swan took over. To my relief - and glee - Portman proved to be every bit the actress needed. Not only did her performance astound my senses as an innocent woman forced to adapt to survive her chosen profession, but her dance was also inspired. I'm not a ballet aficionado, but while I was pleasantly surprised - if somewhat bored -  with her ability early in the film, it couldn't hold a candle to a late-film performance in which the Black Swan has taken over, and I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. Cassel plays a theatre producer who uses sexuality to get his performers to create art, rather than just dance. Though Nina has the hots for him, he's hardly an attractive man. His charisma is undeniable however. In a scene in which he he seduces Nina, then walks off saying that was what he wanted in reverse was brilliant, one that exemplified all that was good and bad about the character. I'd never been particularly impressed with Mila Kunis in the past, but she puts on a great show as Lily, Nina's complete opposite. Playing the Anne Baxter to Nina's Bette Davis, Kunis does a great job as the seductress who might be after our hero's job.

The supporting cast is also strong in two small roles. Though the overbearing mother of a dancer is something of a cliched role, Barbara Hershey is perfect in this role. Technically, the elder Sayers never actively seems to push Nina in any direction, but her complete lack of respect for Nina's privacy among other things leads one to believe that Nina feels the pressure from her former dancing mother. Hershey plays well the role of supportive mother, though one perhaps a bit misguided. Winona Ryder plays Beth MacIntyre, the company's veteran dancer and former star who is being forced into retirement. Though she's Nina's idol, she feels the same of Nina as Nina feels towards Lily: unbridled fear of being replaced. Ryder is actually amazing in this small role, which doesn't see her much screen time but allows her to put all her emotion into a few brief scenes.

The film does have a few small problems, but the biggest is it's special effects budget. The film tries to show more than can be believably implemented in quick sequences, involving one scene with rapidly-growing feathers. Darkness helps these bits somewhat, but the cheapness of the effects is still a minor distraction. The timing of these effects however is actually much better, as the director shows a good eye towards making you think "did I just see that?" in an otherwise normal scene. Also, there's certain level of confusion towards the film's finale which doesn't feel fully believable. It's hard to explain, and it's only one bit, but still, a bit more exposition wouldn't have hurt there. The film also surprisingly has a sense of humor, which is certainly funny but at times detracts from the idea that this is a psychological horror film, and doesn't blend in as much. Still, when one character finds out that another had a sex dream about them, he cry to her retreating form "Was I good?" elicited chuckles from the packed theater I was in and does a good job of lifting the dark film's mood. And on a final note, Tchaikovsky's familiar melodies are still as lively and energetic as I remember from when I first heard them so long ago. Hearing the music is like being accompanied to the show by a familiar friend, and makes the experience much more enjoyable.

As I said at the beginning, when a movie like Black Swan garners so much early attention, expectations are made. Sometimes these expectations exceed the actual quality of the film, but in this case they don't. Black Swan was everything I expected and even threw a few surprise curves my way, making this a unique experience compared to anything I've seen this year, and it's portrayal of the dangers of seeking perfection is expertly told. With great performances, excellent mood, wonderful art and a truly shocking emotional transformation by the film's lead make Black Swan my new #1 film for 2010. But really, are we surprised?