Englund Has Grip On 'Python'
'Nightmare' Icon Talks Giant Snakes And Other Mutations, PLUS: Reviews Of 'The Gift,' 'Snatch' And 'The Pledge'
It sounds like the ultimate scenario of worlds colliding and obliterating one another, but when it comes right down to it, there is actually a time and a place in which Shakespeare and monster movies can co-exist.
That is, at least in the world of Robert Englund. As the man who made the sharp-tongued baddie Freddy Krueger an icon with the "Nightmare on Elm Street" film series, Englund has found use for his theater training in both London and with the legendary Lee Strasberg once again for the new video release, "Python."
"Well, 'Python' is not 'Hamlet,' but what theater training does is it guides you a little more," Englund told me in a recent interview. "I'm one of those actors who believes you find it all in the script. You need to now how to recognize styles, and what the theater does is, (it) teaches you how to recognize whether you're doing farce, melodrama, musical, drama or tragedy -- there's a lot of delineations.
"What happens with 'just-film' actors is that they think that they always have to be true and not delineate the style enough -- and I think there are all kinds of styles alive in films as there are in theater," he said. "I think a lot of times you see actors in something that's larger than life and they're playing it straight, and while that works sometimes, sometimes you have to have your tongue in your cheek and know what kind of a show you're in. There's a time and a place to be completely sincere and surrender yourself to it, and there's also a time and a place to have a little bit of fun with it. It's tricky."
Without question, delineating the material is of the essence for "Python," a takeoff of sorts on 1950s genetic-mutation cinema with contemporary twists. In the film, Englund plays Dr. Anton Rudolph, a scientist who helps an odd mix of locals track down a 129-foot python that's knocking off residents of a small town. The difference in "Python" as opposed to its forefathers, however, is that the tongues of everybody involved (except the snake, of course) are planted firmly in their cheeks.
"It's a giant snake movie," Englund said. "You can play it seriously, but when it all comes down to it, it's a fun giant snake movie that you can rent, call for a pizza and a six-pack, talk back at the movie and have a good time. It's low-budget, and it doesn't try to pretend it's anything that it's not."
No matter how laugh-out-loud funny a movie like "Python" can be, there still can be a serious message found in it, even if it wasn't meant to be inherent. Much in the way that "Godzilla" layers in ecological concerns, "Python" is another product of a society where genetic research has gone awry. The frightening aspect of "Python," though, is that the science is so out of control that the origin of the snake can't really be pinpointed.
"It's probably a genetically engineered synthetic creation that was the CIA was messing around or something," Englund speculated. "That's part of the fun of it – it's about that nebulous area of DNA research combined with robotics that's going on now. It's kind of enthralling and it's also kind of frightening on some sort of twisted bionic level. It's going to be fodder for a lot more movies after 'Python.'"
While Englund plays "Python" for laughs, he's not immune to being frightened by genetic mutation and technology going awry.
"I saw a movie in Europe a couple of years ago by Richard Stanley called 'Hardware,'" Englund said. "It's set in the future where a woman is trapped in her condo with her robot maid. It uses parts from all of her appliances, mutates and it comes after her. I love the film; it has a great claustrophobic feel to it because once you're locked in this futuristic condo, you're trapped. That whole concept of machines going bad works on me."
And while that future vision gives Englund the willies, there are the threats of yesterday and today that really get under his skin.
"There's a movie made in the 1950s that nobody's seen called 'Panic in the Streets' with Jack Palance, Richard Widmark and, of all people, Zero Mostel," Englund said. "It's about a Greek mafia that smuggles guys in on a boat to America, and one of them has the plague. This movie is unbelievably frightening.
"Richard Widmark plays a liaison between the Centers for Disease Control and the Navy. That whole Centers for Disease Control stuff always tweaks me."
Fan Of Freddy
While certain scary movies have managed to grip Englund, he, of course, has returned the favor to us in spades with his "Nightmare on Elm Street" movies. And while Freddy Krueger is burned into many minds of moviegoers, Englund doesn't feel typecast or hindered in the least by his omnipresent association with the character. In fact, he fully embraces the clawed one.
"Freddy's been good to me," Englund said, laughing. "If the character happened earlier in my career -- I think I did about 15-20 movies and a TV series before it -- I would probably be more disappointed (with the association). All in all, it's probably cost me one or two directing jobs that I know of, where they wanted me to do family films, so I think the role typecast me a little bit there.
"But the role has also made me an international celebrity. The thing about horror, science fiction or action films is that they speak an international language. I've done movies in Budapest, Prague, Tel Aviv, Spain, Rome, Sicily and South Africa, so the international stardom that horror movies and 'Nightmare on Elm Street' has brought me is more than welcome -- it's been a great surprise for me seeing the world these last 20 years. I've been traveling since I did the television series 'V,' which was a huge hit in Europe. It's been a great bonus of sorts as a regular utility character actor, but between Freddy and 'V' and the international success of the horror movies, I'd be more than a hypocrite if I complained about it. It's been great fun."
And Englund promises that there's more to come -- even a film that will pit him against one of his contemporaries, Jason from the "Friday the 13th" movie series. Tentatively titled "Freddy vs. Jason," the project is still in development
"I think that one of the writers of 'Blade' is now tweaking the script, and part of his deal is that he will also direct -- that's the latest I know, I'm not completely in the loop anymore," Englund told me. "The last script I read was one with a dual ending, where Freddy wins one and Jason wins one. The audience would never know the ending that they were going to see because you could switch the last reels at the movie theaters. But I think that's been changed."
Director Gives 'Python' Comic Bite
Knowing that he had a limited budget going in, "Python" director Richard Clabaugh knew that he had to take the project very seriously. That presents an interesting notion when your final product is supposed to turn out as anything but serious.
"You have to take your work seriously, but you have to make sure you have to have the right tonality for the film," Clabaugh told me. "It's an absurd premise if you think about it in any sort of realistic way. Nonetheless, I like movies of this sort myself, and I wanted it to be entertaining and a fun experience to watch. I wanted it to have a great sense of humor about itself and what it was doing, yet at the same time, I wanted the scary parts to be scary."
While some of "Python's" cast plays it straighter than others, one actor who got to enjoy both sides of the coin was Jenny McCarthy. She gets to encounter the giant snake with frightening results, but before that, she gets time to do some wild improvisation with Scott Williamson, a cast member of such improv gems as Christopher Guest's "Waiting For Guffman" and "Best in Show."
"It was like matches and gasoline when those two started going at it," Clabaugh said. "They just set each other off in exactly the right way, each one escalating and building on what the other gave."
Whether or not you’re a fan of pythons, the DVD version of the film gives a satisfying behind-the-scenes look at the snake with a true-life photo gallery, and on the flip side, a blooper reel of outtakes from the film. But perhaps the most insightful part of the disc comes with Clabaugh's commentary track, where he and his fellow crew members take jabs at each other about the visual direction of the snake. Clabaugh was insistent on using a giant rubber snake head, while visual effects artist Kevin Little thought that computer-generated images (CGI) were the best solution. The commentary is playful, maybe, but not exactly your conventional DVD love-in. Bickering aside, the debate ultimately gives even more insight into the project.
With a resume that includes such horror spectacles as "The Evil Dead," "Evil Dead 2" and "Army of Darkness," you would think the temptation would be too great for director Sam Raimi to incorporate the same sort of dazzling shooting into a supernatural thriller like "The Gift." But as he's proved with recent films like "A Simple Plan," Raimi is not only capable of telling a story with subtlety, he has a natural "gift" all of its own -- and it opens up a film like "The Gift" to an exciting new world of possibilities.
True, a film in this genre is bound to have moments that make you jump out of your skin, but when they're done with Raimi's unique hyper-kinetic style, it's a whole new experience.
But perhaps the best move that Raimi made here was to weave in an incredible sense of atmosphere. So, in a sense, the thrills are always there, and you don't necessarily need the shocking moments for the film to cast a dark cloud over the proceedings. The shock moments, on which other filmmakers often hinge their movies, are, in a sense, just a bonus that Raimi throws in for good measure.
In an odd sort of way, "The Gift" seems like the perfect companion piece for the suspense thriller "A Simple Plan," even though that film didn't involve anything otherworldly. Not surprisingly, that sort of touch brought to "The Gift" could come only from Raimi's " Simple" star Billy Bob Thornton, who penned the script with Tom Epperson. Even the moments that appear to be going down a conventional path have unique twists. But most importantly, no matter how extraordinary any of the circumstances, the characters feel real.
Also, with Thornton and Raimi together again, the project attracted droves of actors, and the ensemble is impeccable. Blanchett is as cool and confident as usual, Greg Kinnear effectively blends in the fabric of the story as Holmes' boyfriend, and Holmes herself is instantly hateful as a snotty socialite -- which is exactly what was needed for the role.
The film also has its share of tragic characters, namely Giovanni Ribisi as a mechanic with a clouded past, and "Boys Don't Cry" star Hilary Swank, one of Annie's clients and the wife of an abusive husband (Keanu Reeves). Swank brilliantly comes off as a female Thornton in a sense, as her character echoes the sadness of Thornton's Jacob in "A Simple Plan." As for Reeves, his departure from good-guy territory is frighteningly effective as Swank's loathsome husband. It's a terrifying dimension of his work that we seldom see. --Tim Lammers
'Snatch'(R) Director Guy Ritchie has a blast playing with flash-action edits, '70s-cop-show chic and broadly hilarious bad-boy characters in this romp through London's criminal underworld. He also borrows heavily -- but successfully -- from the master of this criminal-comedic genre, Martin Scorsese. The texture, pacing, integration of pop music with the action and once-unlikely blend of intense physical violence with dark humor are all pure Scorsese. But Ritchie's film also shows flashes of a wild originality. It's a bristling, inventive and more entertaining follow-up to his first London gangster movie, "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels." Sure, the petty crooks, kingpins and muscle men are broadly drawn (and with names like "Franky Four Fingers," you had to figure that). But each one's got a gritty edge that makes the role work. And besides, the plot is crackling with so many twists and turns that we're not left dangling with any one group of grifters for long. Especially enjoyable are Vinnie Scott as hard-man Bullet Tooth Tony and Alan Ford as the acid-tongued mob boss Brick Top, who feeds his enemies to the pigs -- literally. Also, Brad Pitt is a revelation: His side-splittingly unintelligible depiction of an Irish gypsy is a highlight throughout. Pitt also figures prominently in a couple of masterful fight scenes. Ritchie's twitchy, intense and tautly packaged action scenes -- whether of boxing, car chases or robberies and double-crosses -- elevate the film beyond a cartoon caper stocked with bad guys out of central casting. Thus, although fans of Scorsese may nod knowingly at some of the clever devices that this movie snatches from him, "Snatch" easily grabs a spot among the best of its type. -- Joseph Ruttle
'The Pledge'(R)
Jack Nicholson, in a surprisingly subtle performance, plays Jerry Black, a Nevada homicide detective in the twilight hours of his career. He's visibly reluctant about quitting the force, and in fact leaves his own retirement party to visit the scene of a young girl's murder. In an intriguing opening, including a quietly moving sequence set in a barn full of turkeys, Black makes a soul-searing pledge to the girl's mother that he'll find the killer. His search soon becomes an obsession, and Black risks losing everything dear to him in the process.
Nicholson delves deep into the soul of this character, portraying him with a confused vulnerability and an unfailing stubbornness. But this fine performance, and those of fellow actors Helen Mirren, Sam Shepard, Aaron Eckhart, Robin Wright Penn and Vanessa Redgrave, isn't enough to save the film from its dull plot and script weaknesses.
The scenes surrounding the murder investigation are rife with cop clichés and flat dialogue. At more than two hours in length, the film is too long by about a half-hour that could easily have been scooped out of the pointlessly drawn-out middle section. It begins to seem that no ending could justify the tedious means of getting there, and this one really doesn't. It's meant to be poignant and stunning; instead it cheats and disappoints. See "The Pledge," but only for Nicholson's performance. Unfortunately, the film just doesn't succeed beyond its promising beginning--Suzanne Ellis
Catch up with Tim on these recent @ The Movies interviews:
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New In Theaters
'The Gift' (R)
While a select few got to see it in its limited release during the holiday season in December, the timing is always right to open "The Gift," a complex, heart-pounding psychological thriller that doesn't rely on the predictable convention so often associated with the genre. Cate Blanchett stars as Annie Wilson, a southern Georgia psychic scorned by both ordinary townsfolk and socialites because she uses her fortune-telling abilities to support her three young sons. The pot that calls the kettle black emerges soon enough, though, as the daughter (Katie Holmes) of an affluent citizen (Chelcie Ross) disappears, and Annie is called upon to help solve the crime. But opening up her psychic abilities also opens her up to a new world of danger. 
More Details: Read more about "The Gift" in an @ The Movies interview with director Sam Raimi. Raimi talks about what attracted him to the Thornton-Epperson screenplay, why he's shying away from the wilder side of filmmaking and the future of his acting career. 
A brilliantly executed opening sequence -- in which a band of thieves disguised as Orthodox Jewish rabbis drifts through a web of security cameras on a big diamond heist in Antwerp -- both opens a crime caper and sets the tone for a fast-paced, furiously funny gangster flick in "Snatch." 
All is not what it seems in "The Pledge," the third directorial effort from actor Sean Penn. Trailers promote this film as a thriller, but that's only half true. In fact, the supposedly suspenseful portion of this film is its weak link. Where "The Pledge" succeeds is in its bleak portrayal of a man grappling with retirement.