Hawaii Five-O: The Flip Side is Death

A Bmore Films awarding of a LasalleHolland production. Produced by Jeffrey Eline, Gill Holland, Lillian Lasalle, William Whitehurst. Directed by David Carl Lang. Screenplay, William Whitehurst.

With:

Rutger Hauer, Matthew Davis, Dagmara Dominczyk, Susan Misner, Matt Servitto, Peter Scolari, Lawrence Pressman.

The encouraging sight of Rutger Hauer as a remunerative novelist and intimidating literary professor stirs "Mentor" to some spurts of elasticity before it sinks into a dull stupor in its latter half. A promising apprentice-turned-prof's memories of college life story and a love triangle simply aren't enough to turn tyro director David Carl Lang's fog into anything more than a routine theatricalism that lacks the quirks that invigorated the similarly themed "Wonder Boys." With a supporting-acting take at the recent Method Fest for Dagmara Dominczyk, pic may breathe in modest fest attention, but appears best suited also in behalf of cable.

In the mid-1990s, Carter (Matthew Davis) was an aspiring author taking a short fiction course with legendary novelist Sanford Pollard (Hauer), who was carrying on an affair with alluring student Julia (Dominczyk). His recollections of this heady but finally disappointing period are triggered in present day by news of Pollard's death, which coincides with Carter's own doubts about his future as a college prof with a relatively paltry literary output at this phase in his career.

Hounded by Pollard to write with more style and verve, Carter the student is also drawn into Pollard's inner circle, which leads to a wild Gotham weekend with the prof, Julia and college gal Susan (Marilyn Conner). Experience, Carter is told, is the best teacher, and the love triangle that ensues between Carter, Julia and a steadily jealous Pollard (during a summer sojourn to finish his latest tome) would seem to provide the young writer with at least a Philip Roth-type tale to tell.

It all fades with a thud, as Pollard tells Carter to leave, and the reunion at the present-day funeral lacks emotion. Pic's lack of dramatic follow-through in latter sections leaves the impression of a script yanked out of the oven before it's been fully baked.

Hauer appears to revel in a role that's all too rare in his interesting career — as a macho intellectual — and doing the mean trick of suggesting the kind of tough, swarthy novels Pollard writes without much of the work actually being revealed in the film. Davis seems a bit too on point as a wimpy contrast to Hauer's brainy manliness, with Dominczyk an alluring though not terribly intriguing woman in the middle.

Chilean lenser Miguel J. Littin Menz ("Machuca") creates some visual intensity with tight shots on faces. Pic could have used tighter editing from Simeon Hunter.

Camera (color), Miguel J. Littin Menz; editor, Simeon Hutner; music, Ceiri Torjussen; production designer, Alexandra Brandenberg; costume designer, Adam Pollard; sound, Paul Flinton; casting, Nadia Lubbe. Reviewed on DVD, Los Angeles, April 17, 2007. (In Method Fest Film Festival.) Running time: 92 MIN.

 

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Recent Reviews:

- Mon., Apr. 30, 2007, 5:17pm PT

Ben Edlund’s The Tick has done surprisingly well for an independent comic book—and in a variety of forms, no less. First published under the NEC banner in the mid 1980s, The Tick was created as a mascot for a Boston comic book store by the 17 year-old Edlund. Filled with colorful characters spoofing the all-too-serious superhero world, The Tick soon became a cult favorite. Perhaps the most literal incarnation of Edlund’s work arrived in the form of an animated series less than 10 years later, as “The Tick” became a Saturday morning favorite and, eventually, a bonafide franchise. Action figures, an underrated live-action series, the works.

Many fans consider the animated series to be the purest translation of “The Tick”; for visual reasons alone, I’d have to agree. Though a substantial degree of the comic’s adult humor was swept aside—including the title character’s origin, which originally painted him as an escaped mental patient—the goofy, free-wheeling heart of the story was left intact. Several of the original printed stories were adapted for the small screen (including Episode #2, “The Tick vs. Chairface Chippendale”), which is largely identical to the original.

Pound for pound, the first season remains one of the strongest of all three, boasting a consistent lineup of over-the-top episodes. If you’re unfamiliar with the series but enjoy lighthearted superhero fare, you’ll most certainly enjoy it.

Standouts for this season include fan favorite “The Tick vs. The Tick”, where our hero and his pals travel to an exclusive superheroes-only nightclub, only to be nearly one-upped by a second “The Tick” (actually, it’s Barry, the owner’s brother-in-law) and the diabolical “Evil Midnight Bomber What Bombs at Midnight”. “The Tick vs. Arthur’s Bank Account” is another highlight, in which a rickety old supervillain (”The Terror”) enlists the help of several colorful baddies to conquer The City. There’s also “The Tick vs. Dinosaur Neil”, in which The Tick and his sidekick, Arthur, try to shrink down an overgrown paleontologist with an ordinary home remedy.

All things considered, nearly all of the 12 episodes included here are excellent—and that’s quite an accomplishment, considering the show was just finding its legs. This two-disc collection from Buena Vista collects nearly all of the first season episodes (see below), presented in what appears to be their original broadcast versions. Though a few early episodes dip slightly below the 20-minute mark, they don’t appear to be cut for syndication or content. The pilot episode, “The Tick vs. The Idea Men”, is one such example of this: sharp-eyed viewers noticed a scene with “Bi-Polar Bear” was trimmed for syndication, but it’s left intact on the DVD. It’s also worth noting that each of these episodes include the opening and closing credits, along with black-screen “prologue” interviews with The Tick and Arthur when applicable.

NOTE: Missing from this two-disc collection is Episode #11, “The Tick vs. The Mole-Men”, apparently for legal reasons. Though many fans can agree it’s not one of the stronger episodes, Buena Vista may include it in a future season release if the situation is resolved. Let’s take a look at what we get:

Complete Episode Listing
(12 episodes on 2 unattached-sided discs)

Disc One
1. The Tick vs. The Idea Men (20:55)
2. The Tick vs. Chairface Chippendale (19:15)
3. The Tick vs. Dinosaur Neil (21:57)
4. The Tick vs. Mr. Mental (19:28)
5. The Tick vs. The Breadmaster (19:40)
6. The Tick vs. El Seed (20:37)
7. The Tick vs. The Tick (21:17)
8. The Tick vs. the Uncommon Cold (21:15)

Disc Two
9. The Tick vs. Brainchild (21:17)
10. The Tick vs. Pineapple Pokopo (21:14)
12. The Tick vs. The Proto Clown (21:18)
13. The Tick vs. Arthur’s Bank Account (21:17)

Quality Handle Department

Minor Mishaps

Director:


Annette K Olesen

John is a convalescent home porter nearing retirement, whose woman dies in a French autoroute accident. His grown children are Tom, a structure contractor; Eva, who is dabbling in tricks and living with a lesbian; and Marianne, who has the flat adjacent to her parents', specialises in Adept in Ec, and reads the personals. Marianne in a minute takes done with her mother's responsibilities, cooking and caring for dad, while her siblings are busy with their own lives. Enter John's chum Søren, whose wife has just told him that she's in love with someone else. This is not a Dogme haze as such, but it does have a kinship with the likes of

Festen

and

Italian after Beginners

. Headman Olesen developed the lay out through improvisation with her twist, and it shows. On the entire hand, the characterisation is quirky, satire mitigated by frantic nuance, and on the other tender, the acting is indefinite and untidy. The film raises the spectre of incest and boldly leaves it hanging there, an ambiguous perfume the household prefers to overlook. It's hard to tell whether this enigma is more than a ploy for attention, but it's the most illustrious aspect of a movie that never surpasses the calculate of its parts.

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