Pixar's new film \Monsters, Inc."" is just the latest in what now can be dubbed a long line of successes. This one is a wonderful balance between simplicity and sincerity in story and complexity and boasting in visuals.
Billy Crystal and John Goodman provide the voices for Mike Wazowski and Sulley, two working-stiff monsters who harness children's screams to power the city of Mostropolis. However, when an adorable little girl named Boo accidentally crosses over to their side of the closet door, she wrecks havoc. Despite Boo's tiny size and toddler innocence, every monster believes that she is deadly to touch and needs to be caught. In their rush to send her back, Sulley and Mike become her reluctant caretakers and loving protectors.
""Monsters, Inc."" is the most stunning application of computer animation yet. In the race toward complexity and innovation, it leaves Shrek and Final Fantasy in the dust. Sulley's hair blows in the wind, catching the snowflakes of a blizzard. (Pixar accomplished this by creating false gravity and wind resistance for the hair and letting it animate itself.) Boo's subtle facial expressions make her seem not perfectly natural, but even better, realistic and recognizable as an actual toddler. These things alone would earn Pixar the praise that has been heaped on other computer-animated films. But, ""Monsters, Inc."" takes that greater step of creating wonderful characters and a great story.
Since its creation, Pixar has pulled together all its talented artists and writers to make sure that good stories come first. Here, the reins have been handed off to director Pete Doctor, though studio head John Lasseter and writer Andrew Stanton stay on as executive producers. Doctor's former work on ""Toy Story"" and his short films show a unique understanding of childhood that comes across in this film.
""Monsters, Inc."" has moments of humor, frenzy, adventure and beauty all perfectly strung together. Sulley's growing affection for Boo is the film's main warmth. Boo is a bouncing ball of energy and cuteness, demanding the audience's attention. Mike's punchy dialogue and Catskill theatrics are controlled to provide energy, not distraction, to the rest of the film. ""Monsters, Inc."" works on multiple emotional levels at once. It's one of those great films that induces teary-eyed laughter, teary-eyed sadness and teary-eyed happiness all in one grand and beautiful story.
""Domestic Disturbance"" attempts to put a sensitive spin on a traditional suspense film, and fails miserably in the process. In the film, John Travolta plays Frank Morrison, the most dedicated father a boy could have. He and his preteen son, Danny (Matthew O'Leary) have an incredibly close bond and talk about everything'including Danny's recent ""acting out"" against the upcoming remarriage of his mother, Susan (Teri Polo, ""Meet the Parents"").
At first, Danny doesn't like stepdad-to-be Rick Barnes (Vince Vaughn) on general principle, but after he sees Rick kill a man, his reasons for dislike become more valid. Due to Danny's recent shenanigans, the only person who will believe his accusations against Rick is dear old dad. Frank spends the duration of the film working to prove Danny's accusations and protect his son and ex-wife from becoming Rick's next victims.
The odd thing about this film is the relationship between Frank and Susan. The exes are incredibly close'Frank actually attends Susan's wedding (a rarity in real-life divorce)'and the divorced couple seem to talk about every detail of Danny's existence. The relationship between Frank and Susan highlights a major flaw in the film'if the two are so close and Frank is such a great guy, why did they split? Minor references are made to Frank's alcoholic past, but they are so brief and underdeveloped that it's as if the explanation doesn't exist. The script has holes like this throughout'why does Susan believe her fianc?? and not her own son? What did Rick do that made him willing to kill to keep his past hidden? Believe it or not, his criminal past is never explained.
""Domestic Disturbance"" was originally an R-rated film, and has clearly been edited down to a PG-13. While the overdubs are obvious and funny (Rick accusing Danny of ""fooling"" with him is only one of the hilarious threats that result), the omission of blood from the violent scenes makes the film even more unrealistic. The violence becomes excessively gratuitous: The final confrontation between Frank and Rick looks more like a WWF brawl than a real fight.
Every actor in the film seems to be stooping to a low level. Travolta has proven his ability to play cushy sweethearts in numerous films (""Michael,"" ""Look Who's Talking,"" ""The Boy in the Plastic Bubble""). He's not doing anything new here, and the script is so poorly written it's difficult to see why he chose to make this film. Vaughn also made a weak choice'his portrayal of Norman Bates in 1997's remake of ""Psycho"" demonstrated his ability to play a killer with dimension. His character here is just a former criminal who kills the one man who knows he was a criminal. (Thankfully, we don't have to sit through a lengthy ""I just wanted a chance to start over"" speech that explains the obvious.)
""Domestic Disturbance"" fails on two counts: It's not a good suspense film because you know from the start how it's going to end up, and its characters are not strong enough to carry the film past this fatal flaw.
Moviegoers will be in for a truly frightening experience with ""Thirteen Ghosts"" as they find themselves wishing for more screen time for actor Mathew Lillard. That's right'the Mathew Lillard of ""Scream"" and ""Wing Commander"" fame. We must ask ourselves, how can this happen? The truth is, he is one of only two actors who bring any life to the film. The other actor, the very underrated Tony Shalhoub, does his best, but the film's screenplay seems to be working against them.
Loosely based on the 1960 version, the film begins with the uplifting premise of a loving family torn apart when the mother is burned to death in a house fire. The father grieves the loss of his wife and sinks fast into debt. What is worse is that he has two irritating children and an irritating babysitter, played by equally irritating actors. Actress Shannon Elizabeth can't seem to act her way out of a hat.
Just as things couldn't possibly get worse, he inherits his uncle's jigsaw puzzle of a house which appears to have been designed by Frank Lloyd Wright on acid. Actually the house is a machine designed to open the gates of hell, and this can only be done with the help of 13 ghosts that appear to have been stolen from an arcade game. These ghosts are kept in the basement behind ghost-resistant glass'yes, ghost-resistant glass. The lunatic uncle (played by F. Murray Abraham in yet another villain roll) collected these ghosts as a hobby, unlike his neighbor who collects flavored toothpicks. The characters need special glasses to see the ghosts; the viewer on the other hand might want to take his or hers off.
Naturally it is too late when the clich??d family realizes that they should get out. As the house begins to evolve, the ghosts are free to roam about and try to escape this movie. Our sympathy goes out to the victims who are killed off and no longer in this drek. Unfortunately the writers kill off the interesting characters, which only leaves the characters the audience wishes would be killed off. In fact, when the children and babysitter are attacked, you can't help but cheer for the ghosts.
""Thirteen Ghosts"" isn't a total disaster though. There are some nice touches such as a few quick ghost segments, but they are usually interrupted with ambitious editing that tries to raise the tension. The house is the true star of the film. It has a unique exterior, and the inside is totally made of glass that is covered with more writing than a stall in a public bathroom. The film has a few good ideas and could have developed some genuine scares, but they seem to be lost in the end.
For a better Robert Zemeckis-produced ghost story, viewers should check out the offbeat ""The Frighteners"" with Michael J. Fox. Not only do these two films share some plot twists, ""The Frighteners"" is more fun because it doesn't take itself as seriously, while ""Thirteen Ghosts"" simply tries too hard to be scary. ""Thirteen Ghosts"" is another example of Halloween mediocrity, and another reason why films aren't meant to be remade.
