Genres

Visitors Review

TheEarthSaysHello 2012-05-18 03:44:37

King of Quirky

I love this film. Sure, it's a bit slow at times, but it's meaningful, well-acted, and yes, quirky. I thought it a bit like "Little Miss Sunshine," so anyone who's a fan should check this out.I was very impressed by Evan Rachel Wood. With her role as Miranda, she's proving herself a strong female actress. She'll be one to watch out for. I was charmed by Michael Douglas, who's portrayal of Miranda's fresh out of the mental institution father is done extremely well. The story was a very interesting and moving one, and I think that this was directed rather well for a first-timer. In conclusion, I enjoyed this a lot and am planning on watching it again soon.

Ben de Graaf 2012-05-17 11:45:08

Shiny diamond of a movie

One of those extremely rare movies that makes you wish you couldpersonally thank everyone involved for creating it. By writing this Ihope to achieve that. Thank you Mike Cahill, thank you Evan Rachel Woodand thank you Michael Douglas for this amazingly touching piece of art.This is arguably the best promotion of human free will I've seen onscreen! Brilliant performances by the entire cast, from the wild Latinawith her hazel colored eyes to the fat crowd at the 'barbecue'. I feltblessed to see this piece of pure gold in movie-making. Transcendingeveryday-life, every second of it. Pulling you out of your reality, andinto this beautiful made-up world from writers, actors, camera-people,engineers, producers, editors, set dressers and animation drawingmagicians, in studios, working with their black trolleys and heavybatteries, on locations, shutting down streets, with their lightingequipment and recording mixers. Without for a moment being distractedby the thought of them having faked it all for you, the viewer.This little treasure throws you in a natural high, floats you over thebig cloud of a dream come true, in which nothing else matters. Writtenas though it is one huge poem. Beginning and ending with naked Chineseguys. Funny in such an honest way. Subtle yet efficient. Easy yetaction packed. And what a sweet soundtrack and score!Also, to those claiming there are plot holes: Check again. I can giveyou ways out of every little one of your sad excuses of a badimagination. They aren't there. No plot holes. None.I'm rating this a 9 only because I wanted to see a different ending.Maybe it will be there as an extra on the HD-DVD. Sure hope so, I'll bebuying it.

2012-05-12 07:47:48

great movie!

This review is from: King of California [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray) worth the money. dts track not so special. but a great feel good movie with quirky characters and performances!

Richard_vmt 2012-05-11 19:31:36

Pretty Great Film

King of California takes up a thread out of one of the most cherished(and well-worn) themes Hollywood holds dear, namely that a dream--evenor especially an insane dream--is what makes life and even deathmeaningful.However, there is also a great deal of brilliance in the execution ofthis film. For one, the unique depiction of what it means to be young.His 15-year-old daughter, living with neither parent and also lost inthe cracks by social services, emancipates herself with a job atMcDonalds, making mortgage payments, etc. It is really only the generalviability of community in California which makes this seem plausible.She has even purchased an old Volvo on eBay from someone from Pasadena,who happens to be a little old lady. And so, without the complicationsof a license or insurance, but based on her personal credibility at thewheel as a poised young lady, this house of cards works for her. Shehas grown into the available space like a weed and she is rightly proudof her accomplishment.When her Father, recently out of a mental institution, involves her ina hunt for buried treasure, it at first seems as if the action hasmoved to a wilder landscape in California--until the camera rises overa hill and we observe a Costco. The treasure hunt is taking place invacant lots. He soon deduces that the treasure is buried directlyunderneath the Costco. The film pays much attention to the changinglandscape as commercial development proceeds. He and his daughter are,by California standards, the old guard.I thought it was a great touch the way the camera scanning thelandscape includes arbitrary floating reflections of ubiquitouscorporate icons like "76" and "Chuckie Cheese," which are there evenwhen they are not there. Transience is a great theme of this film, the transience of thelandscape and the transience of people. In a society of newcomers,acting naturally is the coin of the realm. While King of California is full of wry humor, it is even more so apoignant drama. It is a story about a young woman struggling painfullywith her limitations of knowledge and experience. Her zany father is aconstant challenge. It is also a story about an absentee Fatherdetermined to cut a heroic image for his daughter in the only ways heknows how and at any cost. This is one of the best films at explainingwhat California means and why Californians love it.

2012-05-08 00:37:03

A Few Laughs...

... and an adroit portrayal of a nut-case California libertarian dysfunctional father with a heart (or possibly a whole chest) of gold. If you've ever lived in California, especially southern, you're excused; you don't need to see it, you can just sit on a step-ladder in your patio and watch your neighbors. Otherwise, you might not feel too bad about wasting an hour-and-a-half on a film that aspires to be as wildly sardonic as a Coen Brothers movie, but ends up as sappy as Gidget.Oh yeah, the young woman, Evan Rachel, deserves another chance, in a stronger role. But please, don't cast her as a precocious seventeen-year-old again!

matthew 2012-05-07 13:24:58

A fair judgement

I just finished watching this movie and here is my synopsis. I had seen no previews going into so I had no notion of what it was "supposed" to be. I think this was a good thing. It is by no means a wacky, goof-ball, what is he gonna do next comedy. The humor is a little more subdued and you might miss it if you aren't paying attention. The true brillance of the humor is the wonderful acting; little subtle glances and nuances between the two main characters. Rachel Wood and Michael Douglas were perfect for these roles. While it is a little obscure I think that this is a diamond in the rough kind of movie. It won't thrill, it won't keep you in gripped suspense and it won't really make you cry. There is no significant dramatic element here, but I believe it was intended to be as such. As far as my lettered reviews I'll go quick: Story: It was a good story that keeps you entertained without having to think too much or feel belittled. Acting: The acting was phenomenal and really makes the story meaningful; period Direction: I thought it was well done but not over the top. It was very seamless and kept you entertained Visuals: There was no CG from what I could tell and the only visuals I guess I could mention is the set-work. Like much of the movie it was well done, but not extravagent.So basically all in all I think that this movie is worth watching. It is not going to win oscars but I don't think that was the direction it was supposed to take. It was made to entertain and it achieved that. Worth checking out.

J 2012-05-02 22:37:12

A very mediocre movie

The acting was great! Especially the girl, but it surrounded too much on Michael Douglas and the story movied too slow.

jb 2012-05-02 10:31:34

Crazy Disney

This is a modern Disney movie of a family torn apart and brought together by a treasure hunt.Well, not quite, but basically yes. The beauty of this movie is juxtaposition. The house, originally a single house in an orchard, but now surrounded by developments. The girl, looking at the little family next store -- not a word is spoken, but you can hear her screaming "why can't my family be like that"?This film speaks droves about family life, and most of all parental/child relations. Any parent having difficulty talking should bring his teen to see the movie with him. I guarantee it will open a channel...Acting, visuals, plot but most of all, it's social commentary that is broader than just the people it showcases make this a must see.

Movieman 2012-04-30 01:40:23

Wacky

A somewhat bizarre story. Michael Douglas is always at his best when he plays a whacked out loon. And in this picture he's that and then some. The actress, who plays his daughter, adds to his character in the fact that she is a rational human being. More mature than him.

jpschapira 2012-04-29 03:16:20

Another one of the bunch or not?

There are far more "Little Miss Sunshines" or "Sideways" than we mightthink. Good movies like the two mentioned titles, I think, because oftime and place (and other factors, of course; but it depends on theyear) end up occupying a privileged position they might not completelydeserve. I men, they do deserve it; it's just that there are manymovies that could share the same luck. I think Mike Cahill's "King ofCalifornia", (not) coincidentally produced by Alexander Payne, is oneof those films. Not planning to blow our minds in any way, with a true love for cinemaand his characters, writer/director Cahill delivers an intimate,delicate and complex story in his directorial debut, set in the sunnysceneries of Los Angeles, California. After we've experienced a richuse of music, filled with amiable guitars and acoustic songs thatreflect the piece's mood, it's not until the very end that Miranda(Evan Rachel Wood) makes clear that we are, indeed, in California; butwe have the film's title in our head and, even so, it doesn't seem tomatter where the events take place. Miranda becomes responsible for thenarration, as we go with her to a mental institution. His father isleaving the place and moving back in with her. She calls him Charlie(Michael Douglas). Charlie believes there's a treasure hiddensomewhere; he wants to look for it and his daughter, not withoutreason, accepts he's totally mad.What's important, though, it's that the environment is sunny. We allknow by now, as viewers, that independent American cinema deals verymuch with dysfunctional families and beings. Therefore, we don't needit to get darker than the first impression we have because it willalways be more interesting and original to see something falling apartin the light of day than amongst a disturbing and (maybe) forcedobscurity. Jonathan and Valerie Faris knew this very well, AlexanderPayne is a master in the subject and Mike Cahill also seems tounderstand how the 'device' (if you want to give a name to it) works. That said, it's also fair to admit that it's not always that afather-teenage daughter relationship is the core and reason to be of amovie. It's typical to expect that kind of development as a subplot,and most of the time it's very superficial. In "King of California",Miranda and her father are the only existing players. Of course,there's the obligatory contact with the outer world, but the fact thatCharlie is insane and his daughter ends up following him anywhere makesone believe they might live in a parallel universe...That is, untilfrom time to time a cop or security guard warns them because of thewild activities they're performing (this is something you have towatch). Michael Douglas is one of the best, or the few veteran actors -AlecBaldwin comes to mind- at doing something quite complex to achieve anddifficult to explain: laughing of themselves. Douglas came up with thisduring this decade, partly, I believe, because it builds credibility,to an extent. It's easy to perceive: it involves laughing all the time;and in a movie like this one it's delightful to see Douglas having thetime of his life. And Evan Rachel Wood is always a good companion, as adaughter mostly, bringing out the best in his pairs (Holly Hunter in"Thirteen", Mickey Rourke in "The Wrestler", Joan Allen in "The Upsideof Anger") and illuminating every scene she's in. It's a very difficult theme to manage, this kind of relationship as thecenter of a picture. There's the risk of too many scenes with tears andreferences to the past that might be unnecessary in the first place andindicative secondly. Pay attention to the flashbacks in "King ofCalifornia" to seek for a precise and effective creation of emotionthrough the resource. I compliment Cahill and expect more from him nexttime.

ausmanager 2012-04-23 01:07:47

Beautiful movie with fantastic ending.

It's the Sideways vibe and feeling again. Watching generates that'sweet feeling'. Music is well planted to some scenes of the moviegiving it 'sweet flow'. Ending is a bit complicated initially. Had towatch it again to pickup on details. 1st Charlie preparing dishwashergift. He gave her credit card that she could use. Then he uses plasticcontainer to make extra trip to the 'hole' just before they turn on thelights in Costco. What do you think is he doing? 2nd he looses scubadiving gear to get through the narrow passage. I thought director leftit to the viewer to create own ending and decide if Charlie lives ornot. It's not so. The final scene- had to play that scene twice toconfirm: Chinese swimmers. There are 7 men coming out of the ocean butonly 6 continue walking together. Who is the 7th man? :-)

DaveP 2012-04-22 10:46:01

A small gem

A nice little film that elicits a wonderful and (thankfully) restrainedperformance from Michael Douglas as a recent mental institute releasewho believes a long lost treasure is located underneath the localCostco. His 17 year-old daughter Miranda (Evan Rachel Wood) has somehowmanaged to get on with life on her own through some bureaucratic fosterhome snafu, and has adjusted to eking out a simple life without herparents. When her Dad gets released after a few years in the loony bin,she has to slowly readjust to his presence and is not certain he isactually "cured", as he spouts off about buried treasure and nakedChinamen. But is there some truth to his wild claims? There are somegood laugh-out-loud moments here and well as some emotional ones,though there is a slight depressing feel through the movie. Evan RachelWood, gives another great performance with a chemistry with Douglasthat just gels.

p-stepien 2012-04-21 22:00:33

King Douglas

Charlie (Michael Douglas) is mental. Or was. Unsatisfied with his lifeand feeling under-awed with his achievements and to some extent hisfailed marriage he attempts suicide. Miranda (Rachel Wood) is there tosave him. Two years later Charlie is released from a mental institutionand comes back to live with Miranda, who in the meantime has droppedout of high school and has a McJob on two shifts. However Charliedoesn't seem much saner, than he was before he was admitted. Actuallyhe even seems to have gone even more cuckoo learning Spanish so Mirandawon't notice, wandering the streets with a palm GPS and digging in thebushes on the side of a highway. Well at least thats the way itseems...Michael Douglas is the King of California. And frankly I am amazed hewasn't noticed by the Academy for his role. Yes, the movie and its plotisn't fantastic, but that in no way means we are to underestimate howwell Douglas portrays his character of a slightly demented senior.Supporting cast is equally fine, although Rachel Wood is really unableto steal her partner's thunder. The movie is extremely entertaining and only slightly pretentious.Loved the way the movie ended - no cop-out or forced ending, albeit Idid feel something lacking. If the movie did have some flaws, then I really didn't notice them. Idid catch a few plot-holes, but lets leave some space for creativefreedom. Nicely shot and adequately told this movie is a recommendedwatch, even if solely to see a wacky Douglas.

MBunge 2012-04-21 15:05:28

The two leads completely save the film

A comedy that doesn't have its first laugh out loud moment until it'smore than halfway over and then takes an oddly unjustified turn intothe maudlin at the end isn't usually going to be that good. Add in agratingly whimsical soundtrack that makes you feel like someone isconstantly tapping you on the forehead with a spatula and you've gotsomething that should suck. Fortunately for King Of California, MichaelDouglas and Evan Rachel Wood paddle fast enough as actors to keep thewhole movie from going over the edge and down the Niagara Falls ofcrappy cinema.Miranda (Evan Rachel Wood) is a 16 year old girl who lives alone in abig old house, drives a ramshackle station wagon and works atMcDonald's. She's all alone because her mother ran off when she wasnine and her father Charlie (Michael Douglas) has been in a statemental institution for the last 2 years. Charlie gets out and movesback in with Miranda, his bipolar looniness largely intact, and dragshis daughter in a treasure hunt for lost Spanish gold from 1624. Theywander the countryside, following decoded instructions from an oldmissionary's journal, eventually winding up breaking into a Costco anddigging through the floor. That's where King of California takes asevere right turn out of indulgently amusing and into arbitrary dramawith an ending that can be understood in two different ways, though I'mnot sure these filmmakers could tell you which was the right way.Everything that's right about this movie flows out of the performancesof Douglas and Wood. Charlie is a wonderful character who stumblesalong the edge of mental health, never wanting to go over but neverwanting to move back to where it's completely safe. Miranda is adorableas a young woman who can't deny her love for her father, no matter howmuch she might want to. Douglas and Wood are marvelous in crafting arelationship where it's never clear how much Charlie is pulling Mirandaafter him and how much she's walking arm in arm with him just so shecan be close to her spacey dad. With the two of them almost constantlyon screen together, King Of California is almost constantly enjoyable.Put two lesser actors in those roles and this film would have crashedhard and burned harder because there's so many things wrong with it. Aspreviously mentioned, there are hardly any jokes for the first 50minutes of this supposed comedy and not many more attempts at feeblesituational humor. And outside of a few short flashbacks, there's alsono actual drama in the movie until the very end. The viewer's interesthas to entirely float along on the good feelings engendered by Douglasand Wood. And when the script does plunge into dramatics, it's so outof place and awkward it feels like the whole movie swallowed somemood-altering pharmaceutical. Drama needs conflict to survive and therejust isn't any here. Charlie is portrayed as kooky but otherwisecompletely functional. Flashbacks show 9 year old Miranda sufferingthrough a childhood of her mother's abandonment and her father'sdepression, but grown up Miranda doesn't show a single emotional orpsychological scar from the experience. These are fundamentally happypeople living fundamentally happy lives, despite all challenges, whichis okay but not the stuff of wrenching emotional climaxes.King of California is an almost disaster that is salvaged intowatchability by its male and female leads, proving that a movie doesn'thave to be good at everything as long as it's great at one thing.

TxMike 2012-04-19 16:33:36

Interesting, quirky movie, but not for everyone.

Michael Douglas is Charlie, scruffy-looking, always with a glint in hiseye. You never feel like what you are hearing from Charlie is the wholestory. While he may not actually lie, he likely is withholdingimportant details.Evan Rachel Wood is good and cute as Charlie's daughter Miranda. She is16, almost 17, and has been living alone in the house that hergrandfather, Charlie's father, built years ago in California. She hadto drop out of school so that she could work at McDonalds to pay thebills. Being a minor, all the various agencies thought she was livingwith one adult or the other, when in fact she was living alone.The story begins as Charlie gets out of a 2-year stay in a mentalhospital and joins Miranda. While she shows no animosity towards herdad, she calls him 'Charlie' because he has scarcely been a part of herlife. But Charlie had plenty of time to read and reflect during his 2-yearhiatus and came out convinced that a few hundred years ago a monk hadtraveled through their area and had buried a treasure of old Spanishgold doubloons. Charlie was determined to find that treasure.The third important character is Willis Burks II as Charlie's oldfriend, motorcycle-riding Pepper, in his 70s. Pepper had been asecurity system expert back i his heyday, right before he went toprison.I enjoyed this quirky adventure movie, but my wife didn't. You have tohave a certain mindset to enjoy it. Can Charlie really find long buriedtreasure? Can he and his daughter re=establish a healthy relationship? SPOILERS: Miranda reluctantly goes along with Charlie but thinks he iscrazy. But as they travel the route he predicted, they find evidence,including one old gold doubloon using a metal detector. Then, with abackhoe at a different site, some old pottery. Then a large boulder ona golf course that had been used as a makeshift altar. Eventually theyend up in a Costco store, and Charlie calculates that the treasure isunder the floor. They find a way to sneak in at night, Charlie digs,finds an underground stream, and with SCUBA gear discovers thetreasure. Charlie disappears one last time into the water, Mirandanever is sure what happens to him, but she uses a bar-code tag Charliegave her, buys the appliance, and when she opens it we see a goldenglow on her face. Somehow Charlie filled it with gold for her, and heis probably living somewhere else now.

2012-04-19 03:49:57

Michael Douglas is stunning and Evan Rachel Wood gets more beautiful by the day

THE KING OF CALIFORNIA (2007) is, I suspect, another near-Disney experience intended to boost the career of the darling and talented Evan Rachel Wood. Before she did THE LIFE BEFORE HER EYES, she starred alongside Michael Douglas (bless him, just recovering from throat cancer at age 66) in KING.To be brief, a teen (Wood) receives her father (Douglas) back home after a 2-year mental hospital stint. It has to be said that Douglas has lost none of his charm or his riveting half-loony-bird abilities. I remember him in THE STAR CHAMBER as a very young man - he was as riveting back then. Here he convinces his daughter, with good proof, that he knows the location of some large Spanish treasure.Traipsing wildly around California, they find the landmarks and areas precisely where they ought to be (in large part thanks to Douglas' hand-held and symbolic Magellan GPS, and he also yanks out an awesome metal detector named "Excalibur").There are such hints, very small, about finding the New World. Wood's narration from an old (mythical) Spanish account of the New World parallels their adventures magnificently. (Inside a Costco store, she narrates from the book, "we saw the caves covered with the natives' childish drawings".)The ending I did not like, but this is an excellent family film and quite a lot of fun to watch in any case. The incredibly funny and endearingly droopy-faced Willis Burks II plays Pepper, the reliable sidekick, funny as all get-out - and the actual adventure, though on the unbelievable side, is a lot of fun to follow.2006's dreadful TILLAMOOK'S GOLD (vid. my review) is much like this. My suspicion is someone got wind of this project, stole its basic premise, then quickly shot and released TILLAMOOK. One hopes not, but it looks that way to me and is very common. However, TILLAMOOK is a 300% throwaway film, whereas KING OF CALIFORNIA is not, in my opinion.Throwaway or not, this film ranks pretty highly among my "fun" picks good for any occasion. You'll love it.

2012-04-16 01:46:12

MIKE CAHILL, OPUS 1

**1/2 2007. Written and directed by Mike Cahill. A quirky dad convinces his daughter that there is a hidden Spanish treasure waiting for them in the neighborhood. Their quest will reconcile them. Harmless and disappointing, KING OF CALIFORNIA isn't a study of character nor a domestic drama, the director clearly preferring to entertain the viewer with the description of Michael Douglas's efforts in pursuit of the treasure. When I hear this honourable actor/producer, in the bonus section of the DVD, seriously proclaim that the screenplay of KING OF CALIFORNIA was one of the best scripts he had ever read, I can but scratch my nose with sadness. Already forgotten.

gradyharp 2012-04-15 06:30:03

A Tired Script but a Platform for the Skillful Acting of Douglas and Wood

KING OF California may not break any records for innovation of thoughtor script but it is a tightly made little film that allows veteranactor Michael Douglas a lollipop of a wacky role to remind us that hedoes have comedic talent! It also gives 20-year old Evan Rachel Woodthe opportunity to compete with a Pro and come out an equal - quite afeat for such a young actress. Written and directed by Mike Cahill thestory does have appeal, especially since it is set in Santa Clarita,California, a rapidly developing 'hinterland' that is suffering fromthe effects of too rapid industrialization, changing from a picturesqueremnant of California raw beauty into yet another perky little town.Charlie (Michael Douglas) has been in and out of mental institutionsfor his wacky behavior. His life as a jazz bassist and entrepreneur hasalways veered off the map, leaving him alone with his only daughterMiranda who has survived her father's irresponsible life by keeping theold family home (in the midst of a huge housing development) with themoney she makes double shifting at the local MacDonalds. When Charlieis released his focus is on discovering the gold left behind byCatholic priests in the mid 1600s, a fact he has researched whilehospitalized, on the Internet, and from the journal of one of thepriests. Miranda slowly buys into Charlie's madcap scheme and adventureas a gold hunter and the caper results in a bonding between father anddaughter that has been teetering on the brink of disaster for years.The manner in which Charlie, Miranda, and an old ex-con friend Pepper(Willis Burks II) go after the treasure provides most of the energy ofthe film.Yes, there are bits and pieces of this project that have been done manytimes before (and often better), but the pleasure of KING OF Californialies in the bravura and touching performances by Douglas and Wood. Thisis a pleasant excursion of a movie, worth an evening's gander. GradyHarp

merklekranz 2012-04-15 02:50:33

How to approach "King of California"....

This is a film about the relationship between a father and hisdaughter. The daughter is extremely responsible, and more mature thandad. Dad is an irresponsible dreamer, and the role reversal isintriguing. Michael Douglas and Evan Rachel Wood nicely compliment avery clever script. If you are the type of viewer who demands completelogic in everything that happens on the screen, you will not enjoy"King of California", because the story requires you to suspenddisbelief. If you enjoy a treasure hunt, even one that is chasingsmoke, then by all means see this film. It has a nice message,"you'vegot to believe in treasure to find it" - MERK

2012-04-14 06:47:15

Climbing onto the bi-polar pony

I thought I'd fallen in love with Michael Douglas years ago when I saw Romancing the Stone on a warm summer afternoon. Turns out it was just infatuation. By the end of the movie, I realized I could never make a life with him--I hate men who are willing to betray their women, even if they come back around in the end.... But now... with the beard and the 'character' lines in his face--and the ability to take on a persona wholly unlike his own--I love him again. For real this time.