David Hewlett Movies
Jul. 9th, 2006 11:55 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
icarusWoke up at... 6am this morning? (Heidi, got your message, I waited to a "human" hour to call, yeah, coffee-like beverage sounds good. Tomorrow? *yawns*)
For no particular reason, I had a yen to write a recs post for:
David Hewlett Movies
Clutch
I can't believe I buy David "Hi, I'm gayer than a pink pinata" Hewlett in a very straight role, but wow, he's hot. David acts with his shoulders here, you can see the 800 lb. chip, the weight of the world, and sense that he's just beaten by life, knows it, and continues on with a combination of weary frustration and stoicism. He's amoral largely due to his own cynicism about himself, and when things go bad -- and they do so spectacularly -- he doesn't even look surprised. He reminds me of my depressed German boyfriend who you wanted to sleep with just to get him out of his funk. And also, wow, hot. (Note: the solution does work but it's rather temporary.)
The movie itself is a combination of Clerks gritty-quirkiness and magical realism. The ending reminds me of Marquez when the woman hanging up the laundry floats up into the sky and is never seen again, and no, that's not the ending to Clutch but it's upbeat in that same frightening way. Well worth a look.
Treed Murray (a.k.a. in the U.S. Get Down)
This I think is one of the best movies he's been in. The story, the acting, the plausible characters, the twisting plot -- everything is great except the title. It's riveting and tense. And! There's lots and lots of David. He plays a rich uber jerk whom you end up rooting for just because he's so screwed, yet manages to hang in there through wit and mercenary aggressiveness.
Eventually -- actually, I don't want to tell you the eventually, because the tension is the story. But by the end, I still didn't like the guy, I was terrified for him, and cheering. I think David played the exec with just enough "ordinariness" and desperation to make you understand him.
Century Hotel
Oh, bring on the gay. You'd think Hewlett's naked bum in bed with a man would be the hottest scene, but that's only because you haven't seen him kiss. I wonder if David had to pay for the lenses he melted, or if there was a budget for that? He plays a soldier separated from his lover in WWII, and you feel every day and minute of that separation when he pounces, devours... okay, I'm not distracted, no, no. The movie is a series of elegantly filmed vignettes with a little too much going on to hang together, and, of course, not nearly enough David.
He plays a classic joke-y, sarcastic sidekick, and you'll recognize bits of McKay here. The dialogue's rather stilted though he pulls it off with aplomb, as do the other actors (the acting definitely outdoes the writing). Overall, it's a stylish film with everything a slash reader could want, except, not enough.
The Penthouse
Even if you weren't a David Hewlett fan, he's the reason to watch this movie. He carries the show, and the camera follows him with morbid fascination. I can see the producers clinking their glasses over their lucky find in this kid. He took a role as a psychotic killer and made him touchingly helpless and innocent. You want to cuddle and take him home, give him warm milk -- except for that minor problem that he's a psychotic killer. David plays him with an anxious broken smile and wide wounded eyes, not understanding why he isn't loved. He twitches dangerously between distrust and hope, both equally bad. Distrust means he'll kill you. Hope means you're on too high a pedestal and you'll let him down.
David's very young here and so talented, elevating this poorly executed B-movie (the cinematography is so amateurish even I notice it) which without him would be just a popcorn movie for a rainy Sunday afternoon.
Triangle
Speaking of popcorn TV-movies... this cliche flick suffers from the fatal flaw of "not enough David," and he doesn't seem to connect with the rest of the cast. Ever watch a show with some fairly poor actors and just see the backstage politics seeping through? And you know that, okay, filming this thing sucked.
Aside: Okay, I realize actors get irritated when a guy steals every scene and David is a scene-stealer. But whoever's playing the hero has to realize that the point of the sidekick is to describe the hero. In film you have two choices to build up the hero: an establishing moment where the hero does something amazing -- think the opening scenes of Raiders of the Lost Ark -- or, you have the sidekick loudly be the opposite of the hero. Every time the sidekick whines, "I'm scared!" he's really saying, "wow, look at how bold and brave our hero is!"
But the concept is pure cheesy fun, like that greasy little carnival that travels from one small town to another. A group of friends travel to (drumroll please) the Bermuda triangle, and witness a (oooo!) scary Voodoo rite, and then they find a (cue eerie organ music) Mary Celeste-type ship. You really can't screw that up. David's in his jokey sidekick mode, turns in a half-hearted performance surrounded by cardboard cut-outs. But you didn't really expect "acting" on this thing, did you?
Icemen
Picture every type of male-bonding you know. Let's see... there's sports-bonding, alcohol-bonding, mutual misery-bonding, birthday-bonding, best buddies-bonding, brothers-bonding, shared secrets-bonding, dumped-by-women-bonding, life-and-death-bonding, fucking -- yep. Icemen has every type of bond but James Bond. What amuses me is that this is a chick flick for guys. It's all about the relationships and moves just as slow as any chick flick. But it's male, complete with the smelly armpits, farts, and loud comments about porn. Oh -- and the guys don't treat each other very well.
The worst character is David's. He's so... skeezy. You can only stand him (just barely) because he honestly does his best. It's just that his best sucks. He's the moral runt of the litter. Here David jangles the senses. The character is just a little bit too loud, stands in his friends' space, has physical mannerisms that are hard to watch, with the edginess of desperately wanting to be liked and making himself unlikeable in the process. David's played child molesters I've liked more.
Wow. It sounds like I didn't like the movie, but actually, I did. Watching the various male relationships implode and resolve was great fun.
The hot gay sex scene (I know your priorities) doesn't involve David -- he gets the comic (and alas, straight) sex. Try to watch him give this woman a rabbit-pounding with a straight face, I dare you.
My Secret Identity (one scene)
I've added here because it's such a relief to watch David be bad in something, anything, even if he's a teenager and it's filmed below the level of an after school special (what's with the camera angles? Was it filmed by a midget?). He was beginning to disgust me with his talent. But here he's 15-16 years old and sadly miscast as a school bully. There's a softness to David that just can't pull this off. But the best part is the hat. The costume people seemed to think that a gay-bar biker cap would make him look "tough" when in fact it makes him look like a very young Daddy. Surrounded by these 13-year-old kids the effect was, er, kinky. I mentally apologized to David even as I cracked up. The scene is mercifully short.
Elevated
Here David proves that he knows how to let the plot take precedence. He's an ordinary guy, almost nondescript, the head of security for the building (or so he claims) with an incredible -- even ridiculous -- story as he steps onto the elevator. Should the passengers believe him? This sci-fi psychological thriller is done with almost no special effects and it doesn't need them. The director takes advantage of the fact that you're in a kind of limbo when you're in an elevator, half-way between one place and another, cut off from the outside world.
I believe David won an award for this role, or else the movie won an award, I don't remember, but anyway, either or both would be well-deserved.
Coming Soon: Joe's Wedding and Autoerotica. I still have not been able to make myself watch Cube, even though it's David's most famous/popular/impressive role. I'm the one who used to cover her eyes in the Friday The 13th movies and everything I've heard... well, it's even too violent for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
wildernessguru.
For no particular reason, I had a yen to write a recs post for:
David Hewlett Movies
Clutch
I can't believe I buy David "Hi, I'm gayer than a pink pinata" Hewlett in a very straight role, but wow, he's hot. David acts with his shoulders here, you can see the 800 lb. chip, the weight of the world, and sense that he's just beaten by life, knows it, and continues on with a combination of weary frustration and stoicism. He's amoral largely due to his own cynicism about himself, and when things go bad -- and they do so spectacularly -- he doesn't even look surprised. He reminds me of my depressed German boyfriend who you wanted to sleep with just to get him out of his funk. And also, wow, hot. (Note: the solution does work but it's rather temporary.)
The movie itself is a combination of Clerks gritty-quirkiness and magical realism. The ending reminds me of Marquez when the woman hanging up the laundry floats up into the sky and is never seen again, and no, that's not the ending to Clutch but it's upbeat in that same frightening way. Well worth a look.
Treed Murray (a.k.a. in the U.S. Get Down)
This I think is one of the best movies he's been in. The story, the acting, the plausible characters, the twisting plot -- everything is great except the title. It's riveting and tense. And! There's lots and lots of David. He plays a rich uber jerk whom you end up rooting for just because he's so screwed, yet manages to hang in there through wit and mercenary aggressiveness.
Eventually -- actually, I don't want to tell you the eventually, because the tension is the story. But by the end, I still didn't like the guy, I was terrified for him, and cheering. I think David played the exec with just enough "ordinariness" and desperation to make you understand him.
Century Hotel
Oh, bring on the gay. You'd think Hewlett's naked bum in bed with a man would be the hottest scene, but that's only because you haven't seen him kiss. I wonder if David had to pay for the lenses he melted, or if there was a budget for that? He plays a soldier separated from his lover in WWII, and you feel every day and minute of that separation when he pounces, devours... okay, I'm not distracted, no, no. The movie is a series of elegantly filmed vignettes with a little too much going on to hang together, and, of course, not nearly enough David.
He plays a classic joke-y, sarcastic sidekick, and you'll recognize bits of McKay here. The dialogue's rather stilted though he pulls it off with aplomb, as do the other actors (the acting definitely outdoes the writing). Overall, it's a stylish film with everything a slash reader could want, except, not enough.
The Penthouse
Even if you weren't a David Hewlett fan, he's the reason to watch this movie. He carries the show, and the camera follows him with morbid fascination. I can see the producers clinking their glasses over their lucky find in this kid. He took a role as a psychotic killer and made him touchingly helpless and innocent. You want to cuddle and take him home, give him warm milk -- except for that minor problem that he's a psychotic killer. David plays him with an anxious broken smile and wide wounded eyes, not understanding why he isn't loved. He twitches dangerously between distrust and hope, both equally bad. Distrust means he'll kill you. Hope means you're on too high a pedestal and you'll let him down.
David's very young here and so talented, elevating this poorly executed B-movie (the cinematography is so amateurish even I notice it) which without him would be just a popcorn movie for a rainy Sunday afternoon.
Triangle
Speaking of popcorn TV-movies... this cliche flick suffers from the fatal flaw of "not enough David," and he doesn't seem to connect with the rest of the cast. Ever watch a show with some fairly poor actors and just see the backstage politics seeping through? And you know that, okay, filming this thing sucked.
Aside: Okay, I realize actors get irritated when a guy steals every scene and David is a scene-stealer. But whoever's playing the hero has to realize that the point of the sidekick is to describe the hero. In film you have two choices to build up the hero: an establishing moment where the hero does something amazing -- think the opening scenes of Raiders of the Lost Ark -- or, you have the sidekick loudly be the opposite of the hero. Every time the sidekick whines, "I'm scared!" he's really saying, "wow, look at how bold and brave our hero is!"
But the concept is pure cheesy fun, like that greasy little carnival that travels from one small town to another. A group of friends travel to (drumroll please) the Bermuda triangle, and witness a (oooo!) scary Voodoo rite, and then they find a (cue eerie organ music) Mary Celeste-type ship. You really can't screw that up. David's in his jokey sidekick mode, turns in a half-hearted performance surrounded by cardboard cut-outs. But you didn't really expect "acting" on this thing, did you?
Icemen
Picture every type of male-bonding you know. Let's see... there's sports-bonding, alcohol-bonding, mutual misery-bonding, birthday-bonding, best buddies-bonding, brothers-bonding, shared secrets-bonding, dumped-by-women-bonding, life-and-death-bonding, fucking -- yep. Icemen has every type of bond but James Bond. What amuses me is that this is a chick flick for guys. It's all about the relationships and moves just as slow as any chick flick. But it's male, complete with the smelly armpits, farts, and loud comments about porn. Oh -- and the guys don't treat each other very well.
The worst character is David's. He's so... skeezy. You can only stand him (just barely) because he honestly does his best. It's just that his best sucks. He's the moral runt of the litter. Here David jangles the senses. The character is just a little bit too loud, stands in his friends' space, has physical mannerisms that are hard to watch, with the edginess of desperately wanting to be liked and making himself unlikeable in the process. David's played child molesters I've liked more.
Wow. It sounds like I didn't like the movie, but actually, I did. Watching the various male relationships implode and resolve was great fun.
The hot gay sex scene (I know your priorities) doesn't involve David -- he gets the comic (and alas, straight) sex. Try to watch him give this woman a rabbit-pounding with a straight face, I dare you.
My Secret Identity (one scene)
I've added here because it's such a relief to watch David be bad in something, anything, even if he's a teenager and it's filmed below the level of an after school special (what's with the camera angles? Was it filmed by a midget?). He was beginning to disgust me with his talent. But here he's 15-16 years old and sadly miscast as a school bully. There's a softness to David that just can't pull this off. But the best part is the hat. The costume people seemed to think that a gay-bar biker cap would make him look "tough" when in fact it makes him look like a very young Daddy. Surrounded by these 13-year-old kids the effect was, er, kinky. I mentally apologized to David even as I cracked up. The scene is mercifully short.
Elevated
Here David proves that he knows how to let the plot take precedence. He's an ordinary guy, almost nondescript, the head of security for the building (or so he claims) with an incredible -- even ridiculous -- story as he steps onto the elevator. Should the passengers believe him? This sci-fi psychological thriller is done with almost no special effects and it doesn't need them. The director takes advantage of the fact that you're in a kind of limbo when you're in an elevator, half-way between one place and another, cut off from the outside world.
I believe David won an award for this role, or else the movie won an award, I don't remember, but anyway, either or both would be well-deserved.
Coming Soon: Joe's Wedding and Autoerotica. I still have not been able to make myself watch Cube, even though it's David's most famous/popular/impressive role. I'm the one who used to cover her eyes in the Friday The 13th movies and everything I've heard... well, it's even too violent for
wildernessguru.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-07-09 08:24 pm (UTC)And you are so right about My secret Identity. But I can't help myself. He looks so cute in that (after taking off the hat *points to icon*)
no subject
Date: 2006-07-09 08:50 pm (UTC)Icarus