THE CHOSEN ONE:

I could just as easily have picked Albert Brooks’ Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World or either of this week’s political docs, Why We Fight or The Fall of Fujimori (see below), but instead, I went with an enjoyable surprise that’s getting an ambitious nationwide release.

END OF THE SPEAR (Every Tribe Entertainment)
Starring: Louie Leonardo, Chad Allen, Jack Guzman, Christina Souza, Chase Ellison
Directed by Jim Hanon (Beyond the Gates of Splendor); Written by Bart Gavigan, Jim Hanon, Bill Ewing
Genre: Adventure, Drama
Rated PG-13 (for intense sequences of violence)
Tagline: “Dare To Make Contact.”
Story: In 1956, five American missionaries, trying to make contact with the savage Waodani tribe on the shores of the Amazon in Ecuador, were brutally killed. Their families then approached the tribe and ended up living with them for years, and Steve Saint, the son of one of the missionaries would become lifelong friends with the tribe’s chief (Louie Leonardo).

As a critic, it’s always nice when you can watch a movie without any preconceived notions, and this independently produced drama based on a true story almost slipped under my radar. For a relatively low budget, it presents an amazing reenactment of events that took place over 50 years ago and changed the way we approach primitive civilizations. This is a companion film to the documentary Beyond the Gates of Splendor, dramatizing the events discussed in that film, and as you watch, you’ll really believe you’re watching a National Geographic special about this South American tribe whose motto of “spear first and ask questions later” ultimately gives way to a more peaceful existence. It’s the type of thing that we can all learn from. Besides the beautiful jungle scenery, the film’s strongest performance comes from Louie Leonardo as the leader of the Waodani tribe. While there’s a spiritual side to the story that’s been played up to try to get in church groups, the film does not come off as preachy and the true story of how contact was made with this tribe and how they learned to trust outsiders is pretty amazing.

I had the unique opportunity to speak to the real Steve Saint, who had spent much of his life with the Waodani, when he visited New York on a press tour with Mincaye, the leader of the tribe who killed his father. Far from the savage depicted in the film, Mincaye is a charming man with almost a child-like fascination with the world outside his Amazon home.

Steve told me how his father’s original mission was to try to make contact with this tribe that was killing anyone that came into their territory, but it turned into a rescue mission for a tribe that were making themselves extinct due to the amount of killing. Originally, this and Beyond the Gates were supposed to be one movie, but they realized it was too big for one movie and split them up. Steve told me how he was involved with them. “They wanted me to tell the story and be a consultant, to make sure it was accurate and it was truthful and sensitive. I would only work if I could have veto power, but if it became insensitive to the tribe, then I didn’t want to be a part.” Saint ended up doing most of the interviews with the Waodani, being one of the few people outside the tribe who spoke their language, as well as some of the stunt flying in the movie.

Instead of filming in the Amazon basin in Ecuador, which would have been tough for the actors and crew, they filmed in Panama with local natives playing the Waodanis. “We had a delegation of Waodani up there who taught the Embera [the natives] how to shoot the blowgun, how to run, how to throw the spear, and how to be truly Waodani,” he explained, and he told me how the character of Mincayani from the movie is actual a composite of a few members of the tribe. “I didn’t want [Mincaye] to be offended, because they don’t do make-believe, and he doesn’t understand what artistic license is. I didn’t want them to change it to a totally different name, because hundreds of thousands of people here in North American know Mincaye.”

“ That guy Mincayani was trying to be like me,” Mincaye chimed in with a smile. Mincaye compared his relationship with Steve as being “one head, one person, and one family” and Steve said that they’re able to keep in touch via Email, which is then transmitted via two-way radio into the jungle.

I asked Steve how the tribe has changed in the 50 years since he first encountered them as a boy. “In the tribal territory, every body still lives as hunter-gatherer or gardeners, pretty much like the old days, except without the killing,” he responded. “Most of the villages have two-way radios now for communication between villages and most of them have air strips, which is how I get around down there.” They were able to screen the movie for 20 of the Waodani on the outskirts of the jungle, and they enjoyed the fact that there was a movie about them.

Mincaye told me how the arrival of Steve’s father and aunt changed the tribe’s way of life in his own inimitable style. “Before, we all lived angry, but Waengongi the creator’s markings say that we should not be killing,” he explained. “When we saw those markings and we understood this different way of living, then we lived differently. Waengongi does not just say Waodani should not live angry; he says that your people, too, should not live angry, and that’s why I’ve come here, to speak to the foreigners, so that maybe they too will decide to walk this good trail and not live angry.”

End of the Spear’s distributor Every Tribe Entertainment has gotten the film a surprisingly wide release into over 1,100 theatres with some impressive, television commercials. Sadly, the film is being released the same weekend as the wide release of Terrence Malick’s The New World, and there certainly may be some confusion between the two movies. Hopefully, audiences will give End of the Spear a chance despite its lack of star power, not only because it’s a strong story and a fascinating film, but also because 50% of the net profits go to the Waodani tribe to help with their survival. You can read a lot more at the official website.

NEW THIS WEEK:

The third week of January kicks off with one movie I’m looking forward to seeing and one limited release expanding nationwide which I hated despite its critical praise.

UNDERWORLD: EVOLUTION (Sony/Screen Gems)
Starring Kate Beckinsale, Scott Speedman, Tony Curran, Derek Jacobi, Bill Nighy, Michael Sheen, Shane Brolly
Directed by Len Wiseman (Underworld); Written by Danny McBride (Underworld)
Genre: Action, Horror
Rated R (for pervasive strong violence and gore, some sexuality/nudity and language)
Story: Selene (Kate Beckinsale) and Michael (Scott Speedman) continue to explore the secrets of their respective bloodlines amidst the centuries-old battle between their two races, the vampire Death Dealers and the lupine Lycans.
Mini-Review: While there are a few of the same problems as the original in terms of Len Wiseman's overuse of slo-motion and close-ups, and at times, the CG looks a bit wonky, the sequel is a definite step up from the first movie with more gore and violence, a bit of romance, and a stronger story. With writing and acting that verges on the Shakespearean, Wiseman takes the film into far more epic territory in a way that should make up for anyone even slightly disappointed with the first movie. Rating: 7/10

In September 2003, Sony’s genre division Screen Gems took a chance on two first time filmmakers, releasing a fairly low-budget action movie with a great premise—a war between vampires and werewolves. At the time, the film’s star, Kate Beckinsale, was only known for the romantic parts in Pearl Harbor and the romantic comedy Serendipity (below), so few thought that she could pull off the transition into being a kick-ass action star. The film earned about $22 million, which at the time, wasn’t bad for a September, and around $51 million total. It made almost the same amount internationally, but it then really blew up on DVD, because kids who couldn’t see the movie cause of its R-rating were able to catch it on DVD, and the movie certainly would appeal to anyone who loved video games. Now, almost everyone has returned for a sequel that promises to up the ante with a bigger budget and better effects, as it reveals more about the war between the two races. While not everyone loved the first movie or cared to see a sequel, the possibilities of this sequel being better is there, mainly because it’s getting a bigger budget. Unfortunately, action movies starring female heroines have not been very successful since the release of the first Underworld. Movies like Elektra, Aeon Flux and Domino have bombed, showing that guys don’t necessarily want to see even the sexiest of women when they’re beating people up. Then again, the gothic and romantic premise of the film, as well as its two stars, will probably bring in a lot more women than those other movies, and a lot of younger fans will be trying to see this, despite the R-rating. Like their sequel to Resident Evil and their recent remake of The Fog, Screen Gems has decided not to screen this for critics. Although that rarely bodes well, the first movie only received 30% positive at RottenTomatoes.com, so they probably realized that the sequel will have to do well based solely on the desire of the fans to see it.

Why I Should See It: Kate Beckinsale in leather, of course! Oh, and the premise of a war between vampires and werewolves is still pretty cool.
Why Not: If you were as disappointed by the first movie, as some people were, you might not want to give this sequel a chance.
Projection: $26 to 29 million on its way to $75 million total.

THE NEW WORLD (New Line)
Starring Colin Farrell, Christopher Plummer, Christian Bale, August Schellenberg, Wes Studi, David Thewlis, Yorick van Wageningen, Q'orianka Kilcher, Will Wallace
Written and directed by Terrence Malick (The Thin Red Line, Badlands)
Genre: Drama, Historical, Romance
Rated PG-13 (for some intense battle sequences)
Tagline: “Once discovered, it was changed forever.”
Story: When early British settlers arrive in Virginia, they end up in a conflict with the savage natives, until the chief’s daughter Pocahontas (Q’orianka Kilcher) falls for the leader Captain John Smith (Colin Farrell), helping to bring peace between them.
REVIEW

It has been seven years since filmmaker Terrence Malick’s highly acclaimed war film The Thin Red Line was given a wide release into theatres, and by then, Malick had already received a number of critics awards and other nominations. Later that month, it would receive seven Oscar nominations, before being shut-out in all categories. Things have changed a bit since then, and his latest film, which takes a look at a different time in American history, has not received nearly as much praise or kudos, although it has gotten a bit of critical attention for the performance by newcomer Q’orianka Kilcher, a 14-year-old actress Malick hired to play Pocahontas. The film also stars Colin Farrell, Christopher Plummer and Christian Bale, a fine group of actors who were being ignored in the marketing so that New Line could focus on the performance by Kilcher. That changed with the most recent commercials which feature Farrell and Plummer. Originally, the movie was due out in the early fall and then it was delayed in hopes of getting included in the Oscar race, which seems highly unlikely now. It makes you wonder why the movie wasn’t given a Columbus Day weekend release. It played for eight days in New York and L.A. over the holidays where it made a rather unimpressive $177 thousand. That version of the film was almost 2 1/2 hours long, but New Line had Malick edit out fifteen minutes for its wide rerelease. That may not be enough, as this doesn’t seem like it will be of interest to mainstream audiences, despite reviews comparing it to “Titanic.”

Why I Should See It: Malick’s attempts to show first contact between British settlers and the American natives is a worthwhile endeavor
Why Not: Plenty of reasons in my review above, but the battle scenes aren’t that intense and the romance scenes aren’t very sexy. At least it’s not as long anymore.
Projection: Between $3 and 4 million in its first weekend in wide release on its way to roughly $10 million total.

LOOKING FOR COMEDY IN THE MUSLIM WORLD (Warners Independent)
Starring Albert Brooks, Sheetal Sheth, Fred Dalton Thompson, John Caroll Lynch, Jon Tenney, Penny Marshall
Written and directed by Albert Brooks (Defending Your Life, The Muse, Real Life, Lost in America)
Genre: Comedy, Political
Story: Comedian and filmmaker Albert Brooks is hired by the government to head up a committee to try to understand Muslims, so he’s sent to India and Pakistan to find out what they find funny, in order to write a 500-page report.
REVIEW

Opening in limited release is the latest from comedy writer and filmmaker Albert Brooks, whose work and delivery is often an acquired taste. This time, the material is more topical, and it allows some political humor that will probably be appreciated more by intelligent audiences than some of his last few efforts like 1999’s The Muse. It’s getting a slower rollout that should help its word-of-mouth, and Brooks has the benefits of having provided a voice for Disney’s epic Finding Nemo since making his last film, which can only help with awareness on his return to filmmaking.

STAR OF THE WEEK: Kate Beckinsale

This week’s star, the London born lovely Kate Beckinsale, hasn’t been in that many movies in the last five years, but most of them have been pretty high profile. She’s had a pretty solid career ever since appearing with Ben Affleck in Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay’s Pearl Harbor and starring opposite John Cusack in the romantic comedy Serendipity, both in 2001. After an appearance in the indie drama Laurel Canyon, she made the jump to action movies with Underworld, followed by the similar Van Helsing, the following summer. Although neither was received very well by critics, they both helped Beckinsale solidify a fan base among younger guys and women, just before she took some time off to have a baby with her Underworld director Len Wiseman. In December of 2004, she turned many heads with her performance as Eva Gardner in Martin Scorsese’s award winning The Aviator, but now she’s back doing action again, working with her now-husband Wiseman to try to bring back many of the fans she’s gotten from the first movie.