FilmJerk Favorites

A group of unique directors and the essential works that you've got to see.

||| Joseph L. Mankiewicz |||
Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Mankiewicz directed 20 films in a 26-year period, and was very successful at every kind of film, from Shakespeare to western, drama to musical, epics to two-character pictures, and regardless of the genre, he was known as a witty dialogist, a master in the use of flashback and a talented actors' director.

The 1950 Oscar for Best Picture and Screenplay brought Mankiewicz wide recognition as a writer and a director, with his sardonic look at show business glamour and the empty lives behind it. This well orchestrated cast of brilliant and catty character actors is built around veteran actress Bette Davis and Anne Baxter as her understudy desperate for stardom.

One of Mankiewicz’ more intimate films, this highly regarded and major artistic achievement is a spirited romantic comedy set in England of the 1880’s about a widow who moves into a haunted seashore house and resists the attempts of a sea captain specter to scare her away. This is a pleasing and poignant romance that is equally satisfying as a good old ghost story.

Mankiewicz wrote and directed this witty dissection of matrimony that has three women review the ups and downs of their marriages (with all its romance, fears and foibles) after receiving a letter telling them that one of their husbands has been unfaithful. Once again Mankiewicz deftly utilizes the skills of a well-chosen ensemble, which includes a young Kirk Douglas at his dreamiest.

Recommended by CarrieSpecht

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Monster House

By BrianOrndorf

July 21st, 2006

Even if it can’t fill a measly 80 minutes, “Monster House” is enough of a feast for the eyes to recommend it. Gorgeous with detail and character expression, “House” uses its macabre plotline to dish out stellar animation. It’s runs out of steam fairly quickly, but the film looks so good, you might not even notice.

Monster House

Left home with a babysitter (voiced by Maggie Gyllenhaal) for a long weekend, DJ (Mitchel Musso) is troubled over the menacing house across the street, and the cranky old owner (Steve Buscemi) who is insistent that no child dare step on the lawn. When the neighbor suffers a heart attack and is taken away, DJ, his rotund friend Chowder (Sam Lerner), and door-to-door candy salesgirl Jenny (Spencer Locke) decide to investigate when evidence that the house is haunted begins to mount in increasingly ghoulish ways.

Furthering the work in the milieu of “motion capture” animation, “Monster House” is a step backward in scope from the pioneering visual stardust sprinkled in the 2004 holiday hit, “The Polar Express,” but a strong leap ahead in overall realism. This is a much more contained family film, taking place in one little neighborhood and focusing on a smaller number of characters.

Executive produced by Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg, “House” feels ripped from primo 1980’s cinematic real estate, when both talents were wonderfully reckless preparing entertainment for pre-teens (“Gremlins,” “Goonies,” “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”). “House” isn’t a violent motion picture, but instead the atmosphere set by director Gil Kenan comes off as a “Goosebumps” knock off, lightly covering some scary terrain with a good sense of humor. Kids have always loved to be given a scare or two, and “House” delivers on that promise repeatedly with its cast of threatening neighbors and the mysterious titular dwelling.

”House” is not a nightmarish film, but in today’s “keep ‘em happy and upbeat” kid film marketplace, it distinguishes itself as entertainment with a willingness to spill into macabre territory without losing its prepubescent sense of carefree, AM radio adventure and imagination.

A direct opposite of the pillowy snowscapes and Christmas porn sights of “Polar Express,” “House” impresses wildly with its crystal clear animation. The motion capture process uses live actors to animate over, emphasizing the movement and articulation of the characters. It’s an impressive end result, with gorgeous detail given to the faces and gestures of the cast, bridging that gap between cartoon and natural movement. Plus, “House” corrects the “dead eyes” problem that plagued “Polar” for many audience members.

Even clocking in under 80 minutes, “Monster” has a difficult time expanding on the idea of a house that eats people. There’s far too much padding in the screenplay, which takes a luxurious amount of screentime to get moving before the kids even go near the house. Kenan’s great with scenes probing DJ and Chowder’s childlike attention to detail, but while slow churning the suspense, the pace wanders away from the film. The finale attempts to liven up the movie with some detailed Spielbergian action involving the house and a nearby construction site, but it comes as shock to the system when the rest of the picture is so dormant and deliberately extended.

My rating: B