Bryce Zabel's MOVIE SMACKDOWN!

The Day The Earth Stood Still (2008) -vs- The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)

Tough-Love, Alien Style

The Smackdown.  Klaatu and Gort are back in the 'hood thanks to the mega-budget re-make of "The Day The Earth Stood Still."  The duo arrives once again with every intention of forcing some extra-terrestrial "tough love" on us.  Keanu Reeves steps into the lead role made famous 57 years ago by Michael Rennie in the original, joined in this go-round by Jennifer Connelly, Kathy Bates and, surprisingly, John Cleese.  Certainly the overall production and effects budget makes possible images never even imagined back in 1951. But can all this money and contemporary talent add up to make this new "The Day The Earth Stood Still" as enduringly memorable as the old "The Day The Earth Stood Still" that graced the world's screens during the height of Cold War paranoia?   There's nothing to be gained by standing still -- so let's get to it.  Here's the intergalactic Smack...

The Challenger.  The talent behind this new 2008 "The Day the Earth Stood Still" is certainly respectful of the original.  Director Scott Derrickson, producer Erwin Stoff and screenwriter David Scarpa have all publicly commented on how they understand that the earlier version is an acknowledged classic.  And they fully realize that, generally speaking, remakes are about as successful as a Libertarian running for office in the Lone Star State.  (An aside:  We hope Kinky will run for Governor again -- "Why the hell not?")  They also understand that, on rare occasions, a remake actually fares pretty well against the original.  "Sorcerer" compares favorably with "Wages of Fear," for example, as does "The Magnificent Seven" with "The Seven Samurai" and "The Birdcage" vis-a-vis "La Cage aux Folles."  Accordingly, the number of deviations from the earlier edition have been held to a minimum.  Gort is now a biological form and not a mechanical robot.  Likewise, Klaatu is now an alien in a human body, not an alien with a human body.  And, of course, the balance between story and special effects, between character-driven moments and action sequences, has been skewed as well, reflecting the advances in filmmaking technology and, presumably, present-day audience preferences.  Being the challenger against a movie that most sci-fi affecinadoes consider to be sacrosanct, the equavlaent in its genre to what "The Godfather" is to gangster movies, is a tough undertaking.  But then again, a beagle did win at Westminster...

Cold Warriors from Outer Space

Alien-Human Smackdown, 50s Edition

To help us celebrate the holidays this year, on December 12th, 20th Century Fox releases its remake of the classic 1951 sci-fi film, "The Day the Earth Stood Still," starring Keanu Reeves in the role of "Klaatu," first played by Michael Rennie 57 years ago.  Movie Smackdown will, of course, be putting the two films in the ring against each other and maybe even several times in different combinations.  To us, well, this is like an event of historical proportions.

Today we've asked SmackRef Bob Nowotny to get the laser beams flying by introducing us to the joys of 1950s sci-fi invasion films.  We knew he was the right man for the job since he actually believes, and I'm quoting:

"What one cannot argue (at least convincingly) is that any science fiction/alien invasion movie produced after 1959 is the equal of these well respected classics.  Yes, there have been subsequent science fiction films brought to the screen, but they are all pretenders to the crown."

After Bob's Blurb (note to Bob: we gift you this as the name of your next blog), you'll find a brand-new fresh-off-the-bus SmackPoll where you can express your own opinion(s).  Our goal is to find an "Alien Invasion" film winner from the Classic era, and put it up against a similar winner from the Modern era.  This is, admittedly, a pretty ambitious goal for a site run only on blood, sweat and tears but, given the subject matter, maybe the fate of the Earth rests on it.  In the meantime, here's Bob and his alien-infested trip down memory lane.

Swing Vote (2008) -vs- Paper Moon (1973)

"Swing Vote" REAL Election Edition

Editor's Note: After reading Bob Nowotny's review, watching this film just got by me and I didn't catch it until a plane flight yesterday back from London.  What with the election only a few hours away at that point, it had quite an impact.  Man, do I hope Barack Obama gets a clean win tonight so we don't have to go through the fictional nightmare depicted here or real-life 2000 version again.  I doubt this film is going to have a long-term impact and will not be widely watched once real-life moves on with an elected winner.  But I enjoyed Bob's review and the subsequent viewing because of how he doesn't make this about politcs but the relationships between father and daughter.  And, of course, "Paper Moon" is about the Great Depression, something else on our minds these days, yes?  So, here we go again...

The Smackdown.  Ever noticed how precocious preadolescent girls in films are always decidely smarter, more ambitious and more mature than their underachieving dads?  Movies love to tell us kids have the wisdom that adults lack.  Well, maybe a few kids should have told their parentals who are executives at Touchstone that it's risky opening a film that features a father-daughter relationship in the middle of the summer when superheroes, mummies and teen comedies generally rule the box office.  Still, it'll be interesting to see if "Swing Vote" can hold its own against such formidable box office competition -- time will tell.  A question we can answer right away, though, is whether this new Kevin Costner flick holds its own to what many consider to be a classic of this particular sub-genre -- "Paper Moon."  Can Costner get the votes he needs, or will Ryan and Tatum O'Neal con their way to a win? 

The Challenger. In "Swing Vote," Kevin Costner stars as Bud Johnson, a simple guy who pretty much coasts through life with virtually no ambition or sense of responsibility.  After all, what else would you expect from an egg processing plant worker who loses his job to "insourcing?"  Unemployed, unmotivated and uninformed, there are three things Bud does love  -- the King of Beer, the King of Nascar and his precocious, over-achieving twelve-year-old daughter, Molly. Costner teams with young Madeline Carroll in this Capraesque tale of the importance of everyman's vote.  Ms. Carroll is exceptional in her role, and the star-studded supporting cast all contribute to an engaging, timely, thought-provoking film.  Credit must go to writers Joshua Michael Stern (who also directed) and Jason Richman for a screenplay that is better than one might expect, although it requires a serious suspension of disbelief on several occasions. Propelled by the Marshall Tucker Band's driving beat of "Can't You See," the amusing, improbable chain of events which culminates in a presidential election coming down to one single vote in a little two-bit town on Route 66 succeeds in entertaining the electorate.

Swing Vote (2008) -vs- Paper Moon (1973)

When Father Doesn't Know Best

The Smackdown.  Ever noticed how precocious preadolescent girls in films are always decidely smarter, more ambitious and more mature than their underachieving dads?  Movies love to tell us kids have the wisdom that adults lack.  Well, maybe a few kids should have told their parentals who are executives at Touchstone that it's risky opening a film that features a father-daughter relationship in the middle of the summer when superheroes, mummies and teen comedies generally rule the box office.  Still, it'll be interesting to see if "Swing Vote" can hold its own against such formidable box office competition -- time will tell.  A question we can answer right away, though, is whether this new Kevin Costner flick holds its own to what many consider to be a classic of this particular sub-genre -- "Paper Moon."  Can Costner get the votes he needs, or will Ryan and Tatum O'Neal con their way to a win? 

The Challenger. In "Swing Vote," Kevin Costner stars as Bud Johnson, a simple guy who pretty much coasts through life with virtually no ambition or sense of responsibility.  After all, what else would you expect from an egg processing plant worker who loses his job to "insourcing?"  Unemployed, unmotivated and uninformed, there are three things Bud does love  -- the King of Beer, the King of Nascar and his precocious, over-achieving twelve-year-old daughter, Molly. Costner teams with young Madeline Carroll in this Capraesque tale of the importance of everyman's vote.  Ms. Carroll is exceptional in her role, and the star-studded supporting cast all contribute to an engaging, timely, thought-provoking film.  Credit must go to writers Joshua Michael Stern (who also directed) and Jason Richman for a screenplay that is better than one might expect, although it requires a serious suspension of disbelief on several occasions. Propelled by the Marshall Tucker Band's driving beat of "Can't You See," the amusing, improbable chain of events which culminates in a presidential election coming down to one single vote in a little two-bit town on Route 66 succeeds in entertaining the electorate.

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (2008) - vs- The Passion of the Christ (2004)

The Passion of the Critic or the Critic of the Passion?

The Smackdown. A few years ago, as the story has been passed down to believers, a great prophet named Gibson  proved that religion was not poison at the box office.  Gibson begat Stein who walked in the sandals of Moore into the desert determined to prove that Gibson's Law would apply to Documentaries.  Half-baked metaphors aside, clearly the King of all (movie) Kings is Mel Gibson's "The Passion Of The Christ."  While this enormously successful film was as much a cultural and theological phenomena as a cinematic one, there's no question it struck a responsive chord with millions of Christians worldwide.  Now, four years later, there is another movie that has deep religious undertones and a swirl of controversy surrounding it -- Ben Stein's "Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed."  Can prophet Stein match prophet Gibson when it comes to turning the Meek loose on the Earth?  Will "Intelligence" trump "Passion?" 

The Challenger. This movie follows Ben Stein as he seeks to determine whether religious-based Intelligent Design is a pseudo-science trying to undermine evolutionary biology or whether it is legitimate science being suppressed by a scientific establishment that is hostile to any deviation from the status quo.  Good question, but as they say in Hollywood, it's all about the execution.  Stein is a former White House speechwriter under the Nixon Administration, probably better known for his droll wit on "Win Ben Stein's Money."  First-time director, Nathan Frankowski, works with two neophyte screenwriters with only one previous credit between them, Kevin Miller and Walt Rulof, and, of course, Stein as the religious right Michael Moore.  Maybe the film should have been called, "No Experience Allowed."  Anyway, there are a few head-scratchers in this film, probably topped out by the time Stein and his camera crew visit Hitler's concentration camps and ill-advisedly correlate Darwinism to Fascism and Nazi Germany.  As long as I'm giving advice on film marketing, maybe they could try "Stein Kampf" for the DVD release.  Give him credit, he certainly doesn't pull any punches when it comes to being vitriolic -- even the most stalwart Bible-belt Baptist may find this analogy harder to swallow than Jonah.

The Defending Champion.  Remember the old Spaghetti Westerns of the 1960s?  Mel Gibson certainly does, based on this religious opus which could have been titled "A Fistful of Floggings."  (Note to Distributors: My re-titling services are available at a reasonable fee.)  As the lead, James Caviezel certainly has the right physical look and the emotional intensity to take on a seemingly never-ending series of horrific flailings and beatings.  This is a hard film to watch, seeing anybody (but especially Jesus) endure this kind of on-screen cruelty.  Still, there is no dispute that it made "The Passion Of The Christ" a powerful movie-going experience for millions and millions worldwide.  This, despite a screenplay by Benedict Fitzgerald and Mel Gibson himself that arguably has no plot, no plot points and no character arcs.  As a result, there's not all that much you can hang your shroud on.  Still, there's no denying that "Passion" succeeded despite a bevy of filmmaking flaws -- sometimes such details as cheesy sets, a cartoon-like moon in the opening scene (think a Basil Rathbone film) and Jesus sporting a silver filling on his right molar simply don't matter.  Talk about a "miracle."

The Scorecard.  When it comes to commercial success and box office results, the scorecard is not yet determined, although betting on Mr. Ed to win the Kentucky Derby would have better odds than to believe "Expelled" will come anywhere close to approaching the numbers run up by "Passion."  Both films, at least in this reviewer's opinion, are flawed due to a wide variety of production issues that, quite frankly, are more than appalling.

Having said this, Herr Stein has certainly been beyond bold in presenting his case on behalf of Intelligent Design.  In addition, his film has a far more complex subject matter so he deserves extra consideration.

The climax of "Expelled," for example, features Stein going head-to-head with Richard Dawkins, a renowned atheist and author. It really doesn't matter which side you're on, both of these guys are undeniably intelligent, and it raises issues.  By the way, this film doesn't spend that much time focused on the details of the debate between evolutionists and creationists.  Instead it really focuses on it key thesis that the debate itself and its proponents have been ignored or pushed out of classrooms and academia.  In a country that still believes in the First Amendment, this is at least something worth thinking about, even if you think the other side has their head in an anatomically incorrect place.