Articles by Bryce Zabel
Fire in the Sky (1993) -vs- Communion (1989)
The truth about alien visitors may actually be different than what Hollywood has traditionally told you. On the one hand we’ve had the space brothers who have come to help us save the planet and ourselves (“Close Encounters,” “The Day the Earth Stood Still”). On the other hand, we’ve had the cosmic badasses who’ve come to create hell on Earth (“War of the Worlds,” “Independence Day”). The two films in our Smackdown ring each suggest another alternative. The aliens are here for a more unknown purposes. They’re not cuddly scientists like “E.T.” but bizarre and harsh. Both “Communion” and “Fire in the Sky” tell us that they’re here taking people out of their homes and neighborhoods in the middle of the night, tagging them like deer in a Lyme disease study, probing and poking them in ways that suggest rape as much as anything else. Possibly more unsettling is that these two films were both based on books which were based on true stories. You may scoff at the word “truth” here but, the fact is, the central characters in each — Whitley Strieber and Travis Walton — have both passed lie detector tests. Show me a Hollywood agent who could do that about today’s phone list and you’ll begin to appreciate the accomplishment. The questions — as we continue our film exploration of alien contact — are, which version comes closest to what might be the truth about alien intentions here on Earth, and which one is the better film?
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Sunshine Cleaning (2009) -vs- Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
When I first saw it, I thought Little Miss Sunshine was a true original. Three years later, from several of the same producers, came another film shot in New Mexico, with a precocious kid in the center, Alan Arkin as the outspoken grandfather, a dysfunctional family that ultimately rallies around each other no matter how weird or hard it is, and the word “sunshine” in the title.
But Sunshine Cleaning is no clone and certainly no comedy. Still, it’s strong enough to step in the ring with the champion and throw a few hard punches of its own. Both are a breath of fresh air (well, the air in Cleaners can get a little putrid), because the only super-heroics are done by damaged people just trying to get by.
From a Dad’s point-of-view, Alan Arkin’s expert timing provides some of the comic high points for both films, and his soulful screen presence as family patriarch gives them heft. In Little Miss Sunshine, his social inappropriateness is more extreme and, because of that, more hilarious. But he’s funny in Sunshine Cleaning, too and, as in the earlier film, we can see that his comedic missteps are motivated by love for his family. […]
Bond, Bourne, Hunt, Ryan… Meet Mills
If any of the spies in our MOVIE SMACKDOWN "SPY-VS-SPY" SMACK actually existed, then Osama bin Laden would probably be old news by now. Maybe the fact that the real dangerous work of spying is […]
Smacking Down Oscar’s Final Five
Yes, we know. The Oscars have managed to create one of the least suspenseful “Best Picture” races in recent memory. Had they thrown in a wild card like “The Dark Knight” (or even, although less […]
MOVIE SMACKDOWN Readers Predict the Oscars!
Based on an on-going poll of our readers’ opinions about the top Oscar possibilities, here’s what you might expect when they’re announced Thursday morning, in order of votes received: #1 – SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE (30.8%) #2 […]
Post-Inaugural Academy Awards Poll: Nominate Your ‘Best Picture’
While the world has rightfully been focused on the change in power in Washington (Gobama!), poor old Hollywood has to live with the fact that the Academy Award nominations will be announced this Thursday and […]
The Reader (2008) -vs- Doubt (2008)
Both “The Reader” and “Doubt” feature lead characters that either are or probably are having sex with underage boys. If you’re looking to find the rooting value in either of these films, you’ll have to look pretty hard. During the awards season run-up out here in Hollywood both films got a big push from their studios as “serious” films worthy of Oscar attention and it got each a few nominations from other awards-giving groups (but not in the “Slumdog Millionaire” or “Benjamin Button” stratosphere). Now “The Reader” has made it into the Final Five in the “Best Picture” category of the Academy Awards but, even so, is clearly a long shot. One thing we can settle here and now, though, is which one is worth paying to see in a theater and which one you can wait for the DVD. That’s just how we roll at the Smack so let’s get started… […]
The Wrestler (2008) -vs- Rocky Balboa (2006)
The Smackdown It’s a classic underdog story (and Smackdown) we have before us. Other than boxer George Foreman it almost never happens in real life but we love the very idea of an aging champ […]
Slumdog Millionaire (2008) -vs- The Kite Runner (2007)
Childhood friendships can last a lifetime and have profound consequences. Both Slumdog Millionaire and The Kite Runner tell sweeping stories in the lives of two boys — a set of brothers in the former and a set of friends who act like brothers in the latter. They use narratives that cut back-and-forth across time, forcing them to use multiple sets of actors to portray their characters as boys turn to men. The contemporary story lines are deepened by the children’s experiences we see in flashback. Both films started as novels, force viewers (English-speaking ones anyway) to read a few subtitles and share settings — India and Afghanistan — that have been scarred by terrorism as deeply as the United States. And even though Slumdog Millionaire is assured of a “Best Picture” Oscar nomination this year (and currently, is the odds-on favorite to win), it’s still going to have to hold off The Kite Runner to win this Smackdown… […]