Movie Review: EDWARD SCISSORHANDS

EDWARD SCISSORHANDS

1990
PG-13

Edward Scissorhands is a 1990 dramatic fantasy film directed by Tim Burton that centers around a man who has, well, scissors for hands. When local suburban AVON representative Peg (Dianne Wiest) can't find anyone in her neighborhood to whom she can sell her products, she makes her way to the abandoned and mysterious mansion on the hill overlooking the town. What she finds is a young, scarred man named Edward (Johnny Depp) who has scissor-like contraptions in place of hands. Filled with compassion, Peg brings him to her home in suburbia, where he immediately becomes the talk of the town, despite his apparent handicap. He easily assimilates into Peg's home, quickly earning the trust and admiration of her husband Bill (Alan Arkin) and son Kevin (Robert Oliveri) after using his "hands" to create beautiful lawn art out of the bushes. When the neighbors start to take notice, they also fall in love with his skill, which he quickly expands into hair styling. However, things start to change after Peg and Bill's daughter Kim (Winona Ryder) comes home from a camping trip with her boyfriend Jim (Anthony Michael Hall), and Edward starts to develop feelings for her.

I could probably go a little further with the above synopsis, but I think cutting it there leaves a little bit of intrigue for those of you who may not have seen this film just yet. I know that it's taken me much too long to give this one a gander, and I've actually taken quite a bit of flak for waiting this long. Because I'm a bit of a fan of Burton's stuff - he ranks at number eleven on my list of favorite directors - I knew that I'd have to see it at one point or another.

Edward Scissorhands definitely has that Tim Burton feel to it, and it's absolutely unmistakable from the very first moment. I can't quite tell you just what makes Burton films so magical, but they're undeniably so and in the best way possible. Despite having that special stamp on it, however, I wasn't entirely impressed with the film's screenplay. It's definitely something special, but I felt like it sorta just started without giving a terrible amount of exposition. For some films, that works incredibly well, but in the case of this movie, I wanted a little bit more at the beginning to establish the overall setting. Once the film gets going, however, it's definitely captivating. The atmosphere presented in the suburban town is both ironic and bitingly funny. The contrast between Edward's Gothic exterior and the pastel coloring of the suburbs is astonishingly hilarious, and it sets the stage for the ultimate shift that occurs as the film progresses.

The acting does well to balance the screenplay, especially from our lead in Johnny Depp. It's a very reserved role, with his best moments coming when he's not saying anything at all. A lot is told through his eyes, which is just a testament to his effectiveness as an actor. The rest of the cast fills out nicely, with the aforementioned characters doing a very good job. I'd also like to give some credit to some minor characters, including Kathy Baker and a wonderfully fantastic Vincent Price in his last on-screen role in a theatrical film. If anyone ever needed to be in a Tim Burton film, it's the perennially brilliant Price, and even though he only spends a few minutes on-screen, his mere presence resonates throughout the entire film.

Overall, Edward Scissorhands is definitely an enjoyable film. Although I had a little bit of issue in the early going, it works itself out rather nicely and proves to pack a rather emotional punch at the end. I don't want to give too much away, but if you find yourself getting entrapped in this movie, then I think you're going to appreciate it all the more.

Movie Review Summary:

Grade: B+
1.5 Thumbs Up

Movie Review: CITY ISLAND

CITY ISLAND

2010
PG-13


You can watch the trailer here

Catharsis can be a wonderful thing.

City Island is a 2010 dramatic comedy directed by Raymond De Felitta that takes place in a small fishing village in the Bronx called - get ready for it - City Island. However, that takes a bit of a back seat to the Rizzo family on whom the story truly centers. The family is a powder keg ready to explode, with each member holding their own secrets deep within themselves. Vince (Andy Garcia) is a correctional officer and wannabe actor who meets his long-forgotten son Tony (Steven Strait) when he is transferred into his prison. He decides to take him home without telling him, or anyone else, the truth of his past. We meet his wife Joyce (Julianna Margulies) whose suspicions in all of Vince's activities leave her wanting more from the marriage; his daughter Vivian (Dominik García-Lorido) who lost her scholarship at school and now works as a stripper; and his other son Vince Jr. (Ezra Miller) who has a secret obsession with overweight women. Mind you - no one else knows any of these secrets; however, as time continues to pass and tensions begin to flare, each secret begins to come into the limelight.

The story takes a little while to get going, but once it picks up, it never slows down. In the first half hour, I debated whether I should give up on the film because I wasn't finding this supposed comedy to be funny in the slightest. However, it took some clever dialogue and brilliant delivery from Miller to keep me hooked, and I'm so glad that I stuck with it. As more and more lies begin to pile on top of this family, the comedy starts to seep through as the audience starts to know more than the characters. We can laugh in anticipation of the imminent explosion of truth into this body of lies. And the final cathartic moment is truly glorious to behold. It's both touching and hilarious, which isn't the easiest thing to pull off, but City Island strikes gold with its climax.

It goes without saying that I wasn't fond of the acting in the first thirty minutes or so, either. It took Miller's over-the-top sarcasm to give me a character to latch onto, but more was yet to come. Garcia gives a spirited performance that covers nearly every emotional base, and you can tell he had a lot of fun with it. Although he's good throughout the film, two scenes stand out to me as the sellers: his movie audition (I was crying I was laughing so hard) and the film's ending. Two completely different ends of the spectrum, and Oscar-nominee nails them both. To be honest, the entire cast is very, very good and, more importantly, believable. It should also be mentioned that Emily Mortimer and Academy Award-winner Alan Arkin also provide stellar supporting roles.

So please watch City Island. Like I said earlier, it takes a little bit to get going, but once it does, it never stops. It's a fun little movie with a lot of heart, and it definitely deserves a chance.

Movie Review Summary:
Grade: A-
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