| XSCAPE TO VICTORY : Cinemadays report (3) : Mad Hot Ballroom, Murderball, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang |
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| Saturday, 08 October 2005 | |
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The 50th CinemaDays : CineWorld cinema, Xscape complex, Milton Keynes (UK) -------------------------- DAY THREE (Sat 8th Oct) -------------------------- Marilyn Agrelo's MAD HOT BALLROOM [6/10] : USA 2005 : 105 mins Engaging documentary in the fine Spellbound tradition - not quite in the same league as that electrifyingly compulsive minor classic, but pretty hard to resist all the same. The subtext is serious: Agrelo is showing us America as a paragon of racial diversity and harmony, with representatives of a wide range of ethnic backgrounds working together in pursuit of an ultimate goal. The focus this time is on the ballroom dancing program operated, so we're told, by 60 schools in New York City for their 11-year-old pupils. Nimble editing is a big plus through the three-part structure as we follow the progress of one school through various stages of a city-wide contest. The kids are suitably cute/precocious/skilled/hapless, their abilities spanning the full spectrum from two-left-feet to impressive skill. Several tots emerge as scene-stealing personalities along the way, and even the most cynical observer will soon find their resistance crumbling as the finals loom. The plinky-plonky piano-heavy score is, however, intrusively heavy-handed - one of numerous elements which very closely adheres to the accepted 'format' for this kind of observational/inspirational fare. The tone is relentlessly upbeat - to the point that, at times, Mad Hot Ballroom (surely not the best title they could have picked) comes across like an advert for the ballroom-dancing 'program'. Indeed, it's presented as such an overwhelmingly Good Thing that it would be interesting to hear from those schools which don't include it in their curriculum, or from teachers who reckon they can make better use of what are very limited resources of time and money. --------------------------------------------- Henry-Alex Rubin & Dana Adam Shapiro's MURDERBALL [6/10] : USA 2005 : 88 mins The second US documentary of the day (after Mad Hot Ballroom - see above), and another serving of inspirational uplift - this time of a rather more kickass, slam-bang kind. No plinky-plonk piano score here: crunching nu-metal is the order of the day as we're introduced to men whose lives revolve around the sport formerly known as Murderball, and now achieving greater exposure as Quadraplegic Rugby (this may disappoint patrons expecting a quick sequel to Dodgeball, or a belated followup to Rollerball). And the focus is very much on the men (women being peripheral) rather than the sport: court action takes a back seat as we get to know ferocious Team USA star Zupan (full name Mark Zupan), several of his fellow squad-members, and his arch-enemy Bob Soares - a Portugal-born American who, following a fallout with the team management, now coaches arch-rivals Canada. As is seemingly compulsory among American documentaries at the moment, the structure is based around an impending competition: the buildup to the 2004 Athens Paralympics, where the USA hopes to regain their supremacy in a sport which they surrendered to the Canadians at the 2002 world championships in Gotheburg. These blokes aren't all heroes, and none of them are saints - but their exploits, as well as often being very funny are suitably humbling and moving, and it's hard to imagine many audience-members grumbling about their lot after seeing this particular picture. Snappily edited and amiably raucous in tone, Murderball may not break much new ground technically but tells a valid, vital story in absorbing, accessibly rock-the-house style. --------------------------------------------- Shane Black's KISS KISS, BANG BANG [7/10] : USA 2005 : 102 mins Original title: You'll Never Die in this Town Again. Supposedly adapted "in part" from Brett Halliday's 1941 novel Bodies are Where You Find Them. Nothing profound or especially memorable, but a real hoot while it lasts. Zappily post-modern detective/showbiz spoof - a more-than-promising directorial debut from megabucks scriptwriter Black (The Long Kiss Goodnight, Lethal Weapon, etc) in which smalltime New York thief Robert Downey Jr (implausibly) flukes his way to the attention of Hollywood producers. Once ensconsed in Los Angeles, he's given a crash-course in "detective lessons" and general street-smarts by gay PI-cum-studio-consultant Val Kilmer. Wild, bafflingly convoluted shenanigans ensue (difficult to keep up with at times, which one presumes is quite intentional) ripped straight from pulp/thriller fiction and/or classic film noir. The whole thing, from superb Saul Bass-inspired animated opening-titles on, riddled with in-jokes (Michael Beck fans alert!) and smart-alec references (title is from James Bond by way of Pauline Kael). Self-aware too-cool-for-school narration from Downey Jr barrels things along rather niftily, mostly managing to hide the fundamental hollowness of this slick, spiffily-shot-and-edited enterprise (though it's largely absent from the second half, when things become more disappointingly conventional). Black can talk the talk, and he isn't bad at walking the walk either, even if his flip smartness does lead to him tripping himself up now and then. Neil Young 8th/9th/10th October, 2005  The other days at CinemaDays October 2005: Day 1 (Thursday) including Corpse Bride, Nanny McPhee and The Proposition Day 2 (Friday) including Broken Flowers, The Libertine and Flightplan Day 4 (Sunday) including A Cock and Bull Story and The Matador |
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