Andy Martello's Cinema Radar (A Long & Informative Post)

After seeing my last two film recommendations ("March of the Penguins" and "The Aristocrats" for those of you who have been reading my blog in a cave or something like that), Bud Buckley asked me what else was on my radar.

I realized I have three soon-to-be-released films worth touting, even though I haven't seen a single frame of any of them. Get your pencils and scorecards ready. Here are the next three movies you should watch, but probably won't simply because you don't know if it is "worth it". In no particular order...

"Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit"

Wallace & Gromit are the brilliant comedic creations of Academy Award winning clay animator and filmmaker, Nick Park. If you are not familiar with his work, you can, thankfully, become extremely familiar with him at your local video store. Most notably to many of you will be his first full-length feature film, "Chicken Run".

Park first gained recognition for his absolutely hysterical animated short, "Creature Comforts" (NEW episodes and installments are out now!). He later went on to create one of the world's funniest and relatively unknown comedy teams, Wallace & Gromit.

I have the Wallace & Gromit shorts ( "The Wrong Trousers", "A Grand Day Out", & "A Close Shave") on video and find them to be true gems. Nick Park has a fantastic sense of comedic timing and a flair for paying tribute to film noir classics in his productions. So much comedy today is too heavily reliant on dialogue and set-up. Wallace & Gromit hearken back to days gone by and let the sight gags and the story speak for themselves.

Finally, after YEARS of waiting and animating, the first full-length adventure featuring these two will be out in theatres this coming October. Check out the trailer and see for yourself how good this will be!

"Serenity"

One of television's all-time best-written programs, "Firefly" provides the setting for this feature film. If you didn't see or ever hear of the show, "Firefly" don't feel bad. There were only 14 episodes produced and even only about 11 of those ever aired. Thank you, FOX TV for being complete morons! Now you're asking, "Why on Earth would anyone make a big-budget film about based upon a canceled television show nobody ever saw?" The answer to that is simple.

When show creator, Joss Whedon (of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel" fame) released the canceled series on DVD, it skyrocketed up the charts as one of the best-selling DVD releases of all time. Clearly there were fans of the show, FOX just did not handle the airing and marketing of the show properly ("Family Guy" anyone?). As more and more people, both existing fans of the program and fans of Joss Whedon's stellar work, bought the DVD box set it seemed to everyone involved that the story needed to be told more completely than it was on television. In fact, the cast & crew were all stunned that such a special and unique program was canceled in the first place. To paraphrase Whedon, "I was so traumatized I wrote an entire movie!"

What made "Firefly" so special? Many things. First off, it was a space western that had appeal far beyond the sci-fi genre. This was a character-driven program with plot lines and stories rich in depth and color. It was futuristic without being filled with crazy aliens and improbable technology. It was a genre piece that anyone who enjoyed clever writing and smart dialogue could enjoy.

Next, the show was filmed in many unusual ways, from a technical standpoint. Modern camera lenses were tossed aside in favor of lower-grade lenses in order to give large flares of light and add to a nostalgic spaghetti western feeling. The set for Serenity, the name of the spaceship they travel in, was a complete set and not broken down into several pieces for specific shots. There were stairways, hallways, and rooms all connected to one another and this provided for dramatic camera work.

One other thing to mention is that since it was, at it's most simple, a space western, the show's cast are tainted and flawed heroes. They are all rebels and outlaws, but not in the gritty, bad-man stereotype. These are colorful people with believable stories and backgrounds. Their stories are what make the whole thing work on so many levels.

Don't be afraid to check out this film. An advantage to having so few people being familiar with the back story and the TV show is that it will be much easier to make a film that can stand alone as a complete story. You will not have to head on out to the video store to rent or buy the box set and catch up (though I recommend it since the show is so damned good.). You will be able to watch the film and never have any idea there was a show beforehand. You will also not have any genre fear with this flick. Folks leary of sci-fi need not worry at all. Joss Whedon is an amazing storyteller (he also wrote "Toy Story" if that helps you a bit) and this, his cinematic directorial debut, will provide a fine movie-going experience for all. You can see the trailers online by clicking here and here. Look for this film to hit theatres September 30.

"The Baxter"

I have to thank my wife for making me aware of this one. In fact, I need to thank her for turning me on to the comedic masterminds behind this and several other excellent projects, The State.

Since I grew up in a small country town where you couldn't even get cable if you lived beyond the city limits (not that my folks would have paid for cable at the time, but you get the idea), I did not have any MTV in my life until well into my adult years. The bad thing was that MTV wasn't even worth watching by that time. The worse thing was that I'd completely missed out on the most significant sketch comedy group since Monty Python (no disrespect to the Kids in the Hall or The Frantics), known as The State.

I'm very late to the game with regard to The State. However, since MTV has never rerun the shows nor have they ever released them on VHS or DVD (plans to do so are in the works and have been for years now...SIGH!) I can't feel too bad.

I can say that The State is so important in the comedy landscape by recognizing the many years of high quality work by members of the original troupe and latter-day incarnations. The works of these extremely innovative and intelligent comedy performers is quite impressive and often overlooked. If you did not know about The State (which I didn't) you wouldn't know about their connections to some of TV & the cinema's most inspired comedy works. Just a few of their projects you may or may not have seen...

"Wet Hot American Summer" One of the funniest camp comedies ever! I've mentioned this one before.

"Drop Dead Gorgeous" You just can't find a more twisted and hysterical comedy about beauty queens.

"Reno 911" This show never fails to make me laugh.

"Viva Variety" Hard to describe, sometimes hard to watch, always engaging entertainment.

"Stella" Arguably the best comedy on television right now (with nods towards "Family Guy" and "Arrested Development", which I also love).

The Pets.com dog Yes, the famous dog in those commercials was voiced by Michael Ian Black, a State member. The commercials were also directed by another member of the group, Thomas Lennon.

Founding member, Michael Showalter, has written and directed a new movie about being the loser, the fifth wheel, the odd man out in the dating world, also known as "The Baxter". Knowing how damned funny so many of his other projects have been I can say with confidence that "The Baxter" will be a fine film to watch. "Stella" and "Reno 911" are currently on Comedy Central and "The Baxter" will be hitting theatres near you this month. Check out the official website for the trailer and other great info about this romantic comedy.