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MIB 2
It's the end of the week already and we have got one hell of a present for your weekend. The world exclusive script review of Men In Black 2. The movie will begin shooting next week and we'll spill some details about the plot. We also have a review of O by 'Hollyfeld'. I have been tracking this movie since 1999. So it's funny finally having a review for it posted in my column. Seems the long wait would have been worth it. Have a nice weekend and enjoy my MIB 2 review...
MIB 2 Script Review
First off, perhaps this is not the latest script they're using on the production. The screenplay is by Robert Gordon with revisions by Barry Fanaro and it's dated January 14, 2000.
A group of tourists aboard a ship in the waters off Battery Park are taking pictures of the many sights of New York City. We follow again the fire fly who flies down the East River and gets sucked in by a bizarre 'flower'. It is the disguise of Jeff, an alien. We follow an underwater sequence (and on the boat) where two men are trying to stop him. Jeff disappears into a subway tunnel where we discover his two assailants: MIB Agent Jay (Will Smith) and his partner Tee (Patrick Warburton). Like the opening of the first film, Jay has to destroy Jeff while his partner Tee is in some kind of trouble.
After the opening incident, the two agents go for a piece of pie at a diner. Tee starts crying and realizes that Jay will neuralyze him. He finally does and leaves Tee to start a new life. Meanwhile a small alien vessel crashes in Central Park. The creature inside picks up a copy of the Sunday New York Times magazine and starts checking it out. The creature finally sees a Victoria Secret's advertisement and takes the shape of the model in the ad. Meet Serleena (Famke Janssen), who then proceeds to digest a robbing creep.
Serleena goes to visit two friends Scrad and Charlie. She tells them they went 'earthlings'. The two aliens were supposed to accomplish a mission but didn't. After convincing the deadly beauty to hear them out, the villainous trio leaves to finish the job. Back at MIB Headquarters, everybody makes crack at Jay for again zapping the rookie. Seems that our hero has had a series of partners every since Elle (Linda Fiorentino) became Head Examiner at the MIB morgue. Zed (Rip Torn) thanks Jay for his good work after a cool 'Guess Who's An Alien' cameos by Shaq, Tiger Woods, Sereena and Venus Williams. Zed is worried about Jay's obsession with his work. He sends him to investigate the landing in Central Park with Frank The Pug.
Meanwhile, Serleena and his crew are interrogating Mitch, the owner of a Brooklyn pizzeria. She ask him where is 'the light of Zartha'. One of Mitch's employees Rita (Rosario Dawson) is hiding, witnessing the scene. Serleena forces Mitch to change into his alien self, a Zarthan, some sort of starfish creature. Mitch tells Serleena that 'the light' will be at departure point tomorrow and it will back home to their home planet and it will end their tyranny. Serleena kills him and they exit looking for another mysterious person who knows where 'the light' is.
Jay finds the spaceship and discovers it is from a Krylothian. Zed sends him to investigate the murder of Charlie. Just before leaving he watches a holographic display inside the ship. He sees the display of Charlie and surprisingly of Kay (Tommy Lee Jones) his old partner. At the murder scene, he meets Rita, who's in hysteria. He takes her to have some pie to calm her down. He gets details from what she heard Serleena say. As he's about to neuralyze her, he decides against because he likes her.
He tells Zed about how the Krylothian killed Charlie and how he saw Kay on the hologram aboard their ship. Zed tells him to bring in his old partner in. Apparently, Kay is now divorced and works in a post office. He's the most meticulous postal worker ever. He brings him in and slowly reveals to him his past with the MIB. Serleena and her posse take over MIB Headquarters and threaten to destroy everything if the light is not brought to them. Jay de-neuralyze Kay, but it doesn't seem to work at first. Slowly he regains his past memory and together again they're out to kick some alien ass and keep the galaxy safe. Who has 'the light of Zartha'? How will the MIB regain control of the universe? Will Jay finally find romance?
Is it as good as the first one? Almost, I feel this screenplay is almost a rehash of the original movie. The alien plot is almost the same except for the fact that there is not an alien vessel threatening to destroy Earth. Still it didn't bother me that much. The story is fast paced and you don't need to be a brain surgeon to understand the science-fiction elements. Again the humor is intelligent and well placed through out the action packed narrative. Most of the laughs comes from Kay's return to the MIB world. I'm sure some people will find it bizarre, but Tommy Lee Jones has a funnier role than Will Smith. Big Willie is more of the lead in this film but still has some extremely funny moments too. I don't think Barry Sonnenfeld will have too many problems adapting this script to perfection. What is really interesting about this draft is that there are two endings. The first one is truly interesting and will lead the door open for a surprising third installment while the second finale is your typical blockbuster finish. I'm really curious to see which one they'll use. Come on SONY go for the first one!!!
Make sure to check out this movie when it opens next summer. For once, you won't be disappointed because this is not another cheap sequel.
A Review of O
Hollyfeld, here. I had the privilege of catching Tim Blake Nelson's O the other day and decided to hold off on my review so I could get all my thoughts together. O is a film with a lot to recommend it, but is so unlike the other teen-themed films released in these past few years it can be hard to rate the film objectively. The movie knowingly distances itself from most of the conventions teen genre films have been wallowing in for some time, and while this might prove a breath of fresh air to some, many will find the film's style hard to acclimate to. Because of the mixed reactions from the audience (inappropriate laughter in a scene I found chilling for example), I had trouble determining whether my reactions to the film were valid or not - partially because of the distraction, and partially because the film was unusual enough that they're reactions could very well have been deserved.
But I get ahead of myself - for those unaware, O is a modern re-telling of William Shakespeare's classic play, Othello. This version, which forgoes the bard's lyrics in favor of modern dialogue, stars Mekhi Phifer as Odin "O" James, the only black student in an upper crust (i.e. "white") prep school, the star of the basketball team and pride of the school. However much everyone else might like O, Hugo (Josh Hartnett) is fiendishly jealous if O's star status and the attention he gets from Coach Duke (Martin Sheen), who happens to be Hugo's father. The film consists of Hugo's increasingly malevolent schemes to ruin O's life, most of which involve ruining his relationship to his girlfriend Desi (Julia Stiles). Like Shakespeare's play, the machinations of the main character get more and more out of control, resulting in a disturbing series of murders at the story's end.
Director Tim Blake Nelson (best known for his role as Delmar O'Donnell in O Brother, Where Art Thou?) directed this film, and as stated above he avoids many of the conventions of the teen genre - all the "cutesy" stuff, cheesy comedy, and over-reliance on music video techniques. Nelson's visual style is strikingly simple... so simple, in fact, that it proves distracting at first. Some might even venture that he is a poor director. (This is one of the reasons I held off on my review: to determine whether his work was effective or not.) Put simply, Nelson is fine - the problem lies in perceiving O as just another pointless teen film. Tim Blake Nelson (director of the superb and even more subtle Eye of God) clearly made O as an independent art film. The style took a significant backseat to the substance, and to prove that this is a conscious choice Nelson does throw a small number of visual tricks into the mix... but these trick angles and effects serve only to accentuate the drama, and never take the place of old-fashioned storytelling and character development. O plays more like a 70's art film (Terrence Malick's Badlands comes to mind), than any of the Shakespearean adaptations in recent memory.
Although Nelson obviously paid more attention to the storyline than other directors in recent memory, O does have its flaws in this department. In the beginning, especially, character motivations seem unclear. Hugo and his accomplice Roger (The Mighty's Elden Henson) are introduced in the middle of their scheming, and although Roger is supposed to be in love with Desi, this is never shown, only mentioned. His character, although well acted, is woefully underwritten. Also, although the film is commendable for sticking so closely to Shakespeare's original plot, it adheres so closely it loses a level of credibility. O's "proposal" to Desi fails to ring true - Othello and Desdemona were married in the play, so writer Brad Kaaya obviously felt the need to include some similar scene in the script, but the entire scene feels forced. Much of their dialogue together seems a bit false at the beginning in fact, although as their relationship troubles escalate their bond seems to get stronger, so the end result is suitably tragic. The scarf subplot could also have been updated safely - while it works, substituting another item might have seemed more realistic. Curiously, one of the biggest changes from the play was the omission of any comic relief, leading to a decided and perpetually somber tone that may alienate certain audiences.
Much of O, however, does work splendidly... not the least of which is the performances. Leads Mekhi Phifer and Josh Hartnett particularly shine in this regard. Phifer creates a surprisingly well-crafted performance, making his turn from loving boyfriend to jealous murderer believable and thus especially tragic. Hartnett, who can turn in quite a performance when given the right material (note his strong turns in The Faculty and The Virgin Suicides), has his best role to date in Hugo, and even manages to gain some sympathy for this otherwise despicable villain. His scenes with Martin Sheen are particularly well done, and we can really feel his pain, thus explaining - though never condoning - his actions. Sheen may not have his best role to date, but is effective in a crucial part of the film, as is Eldon Henson, who again is notable for creating such a great performance out of such an underwritten part. Julia Stiles is surprisingly underutilized in the film (maybe because the film was made long before her starmaking turn in Save The Last Dance), but proves why she deserves to be a star.
Much has been made of the delay in releasing O, due to some trepidation as to whether or not a film with such strong subject matter should be released after the recent series of school shootings. These worries are largely unfounded. No one "goes Columbine" in this movie, although there are a number of corpses by the time the credits roll. If anything, the film would have been better served by a release closer to the tragic events. O effectively portrays the degrees psychological damage that one has suffer before murder actually seems like a good idea. And the murders themselves are among the most unglamorous killings in recent film memory. The murders are tragic, disturbing, and ultimately very depressing, because none of these people had to die. O actually does the moviegoing community a service by providing an alternative to the glorified violence many parents are complaining about in the marketplace, and deserves some credit for that.
O is a largely effective movie that might seem odd in today's marketplace, and will risk putting off much of its audience with its downbeat tone and simple style. For those interested in an interesting character piece and effectively crafted art film, O is highly recommended. For those expecting another MTV-styled teen drama I recommend changing your expectations, otherwise you might come out of the theater highly disappointed, only realizing how good a film it was days later. It's not for all audiences, but Tim Blake Nelson's O is refreshingly different and very well-made.
(Review submitted by 'Hollyfeld.')
Stay tuned...
That's all folks...
Jean-François Allaire (aka DeadPool)
Questions, comments, praise etc. Email me at deadpool@tnmc.org
Jean-François Allaire is TNMC's first columnist. At only 24 years old he has become a respected entertainment journalist, with his columns appearing in Corona's Coming Attractions and Scr(i)pt magazine. He also writes a monthly column in Screenwriters Monthly entitled 'The Last Word.' Hailing from Montreal this young writer is determined to dig up all the details on the movies before they hit your local theater. If you're part of a movie production then you really need to be talking to him.
