Category: Movie Reviews

director/writer: J.J. Abrams
starring: Tom Cruise, Ving Rhames, Billy Crudup, Michele Monaghan, Laurence Fishburne, Keri Russell

Exactly what the doctor ordered in terms of mindless, summer entertainment. But don’t expect much more than that, as the crew isn’t exactly reinventing the wheel here. The Mission: Impossible movie franchise has been much maligned over the years: Brian de Palma’s first movie was thought to be too confusing (just what you’d expect from the general idiot, moviegoing populace–of course, whoever comes to my site is excluded from that generalization), and John Woo’s sequel was actually a music video highlighting Tom Cruise’s ability to fly through the air in slow motion while firing multiple guns. I loved the first flick and think it’s the standard by which all future M:I movies should be judged. It has the team aspect that made the original TV series what it was, along with some great suspense and mystery. Alas, Mission: Impossible III is somewhere in between I (A-) and II (D+).

The team aspect is certainly back, including the return of Ving Rhames’ Lester Stickel character, who was relegated to flying around in a helicopter for about 5 minutes of the second movie. But, in the end, it’s The Tom Cruise Show, as he repeatedly defies death in the course of outrageous stunts all by himself. Of course, there’s the sterotypical “guy in the van with computer” who can hack into any system in a matter of 30 seconds, backing him up.

All of the action sequences are top notch and have some stuff you’ve never really seen before, which is hard to do these days. The acting is alright, but the characters are all secondary to the explosions, which is where M:I3 doesn’t hold up well to the original. All of the dialogue and conversations between characters feels simply like a means to kill time until the next big gun battle or explosion. Fortunately, the gun battles and explosions are so good that you won’t really mind.

J.J. Abrams’ direction (of TV’s Felicity, Alias, Lost) is pretty damn good for his first time out in film, and the plot he came up with is pretty decent as well. That being said, his penchant for touchy-feely relationship moments (the downfall of Alias) is on full display here, giving Cruise’s Ethan Hunt a serious romantic relationship for the first time. It gives the viewer opportunity for a bit more emotional investment in the story, but in the end, it’s wholly unnecessary. It just gets in the way of the explosions. And that’s the reason to see M:I 3–along with the outrageous stunts, gunfights, and nasally-implanted time bombs. Worth seeing on the big screen if you’ve got two hours to kill and don’t feel like thinking.

director: Matthew Vaughn
starring: Daniel Craig, Jamie Foreman, George Harris, Colm Meaney, Sienna Miller

In the tradition of movies like Guy Ritchie’s Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Layer Cake tells the story of a Brit drug dealer/money launderer (known only as “XXXX”) on the cusp of retirement who gets in way over his head when he’s told to broker one last deal for 5 million Ecstacy pills. Much like the aformentioned Ritchie movies, Layer Cake’s got all the standards you’d like to see out of a European crime flick: indecipherable dialogue delivered with typical British aplomb (I’ve always wanted to use “aplomb” in a sentence). Lots of cigar-smoking.

• A convoluted plot that you tell everyone else you understand just so you can sound sophisticated, but in reality you have no earthly idea what’s going on (I think it’s mainly because of the accents, as stated above).
• A crazy guy (or two) who looks like they smell bad.
• This guy:
  
• A smokin’ hot chick way out of the protagonist’s league (Sienna Miller–start your Googling).
• A bit of the old ultra-violence.
• Solid, unique direction.

It’s the last item I was most impressed with. Fitting that I compare Layer Cake with Snatch and Lock, Stock, as Vaughn was a producer on both. Layer Cake marks his first directorial outing and he hits it out of the park, as far as I’m concerned. His direction is often reminiscent of a highbrow car commercial, with a lot of sweeping crane shots and helicopter zooms and all manner of funky camera angles, but unlike most car commercials, it’s neither irritating nor disorienting. It works perfectly for the subject matter. Vaughn had been rumored as a director for X-Men 3 for a while, and I think that would’ve resulted in a far greater film than Brett “I Clearly Have a Massive Cocaine Habit” Ratner likely turned out. But I digress. Vaughn’s first outing as director is a success, and I eagerly await his next venture into the field.

director: Tim Story
starring: Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis, Ioan Gruffudd, Julian McMahon

Not nearly as bad as I thought it’d be, but still a clunker nonetheless. Horrible casting outside of Michael Chiklis, a failure to remain faithful to the source material, and direction straight from MTV leads to a waste of money but also inevitable sequels. FF is the story of four “scientists” and a billionaire industrialist who use said industrialist’s space laboratory to conduct an experiment analyzing the sun’s cosmic rays. The cosmic rays arrive ahead of schedule; chaos ensues, resulting in each of the five being imbued with “fantastic” powers. Mr. Fantastic becomes elastic. The Invisible Woman becomes, well, invisible. The Thing is pure, solid rock. The Human Torch is a huge flamer. Victor Von Doom becomes Dr. Doom or, as I like to call him, the Human Taser. Meh, there’s not much more to say. It’s worth a “it’s 3am and I can’t get to sleep because of all the peanut M&M’s I ate so let’s see what’s on cable” watch. It’s less than “fantastic,” one might say. Am I right? Am I right? I’ll be here all week. Thank you, good night!

director/writer: John Sayles
starring: Chris Cooper, Elizabeth Peña, Joe Morton, Kris Kristofferson, Matthew McConaughey

Ambling along at a Midwestern pace, John Sayles’ Lone Star takes its time telling the story of a small-town sheriff investigating the possible, decades-old murder of the town’s sadistic ex-sheriff; all while living in the shadow of his legendary father, a former sheriff himself. That’s a lotta sheriffs.

There’s a lot to take issue with the execution of the film itself: the direction is nothing special–you’re gonna get some pretty standard, static shots most of the time; and the acting can be spotty at times. And there’s a twist toward the end of the flick that is sure to induce much cringing and dry heaving (I know, I know, you can go ahead and file Lone Star under the “must-see” category now) But what makes the flick worth watching is the story itself. It’s a detective yarn that occurs in parallel timelines: the present and the past. Chris Cooper plays the Rio County’s sheriff in the present, while Matthew McConaughey plays his father, also the sheriff, in the past. What ties them together is the disappearance of McConaughey’s brutal predecessor, Charlie Wade (Kristofferson). The body of the latter is found at the beginning of the film, sparking an investigation as to just how he died.

In a more abstract sense, Lone Star is about the ever-changing perceptions of past events and how they can be revised to the point that it seems like historical figures are boiled down to the standard archetypes of “hero” and “villain.” The problem with such archetypes is they often conceal or mask the complexities found within everyone, to the point that one can’t even sort out truth from fact when it comes to describing the person. Such is the case with Cooper’s father, a man regarded as able to do no wrong, despite mounting evidence to the contrary throughout the flick. In the course of investigating the murder, Cooper’s character struggles to reconcile the town’s hero worship of his father with the strained relationship he had with him as a child. In the process, Lone Star tells a story of race, of history, of fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, and the changing face of America. Driven by a solid plot, it overcomes any execution problems by being wholly interesting and engaging.

director: Garth Jennings
starring: Martin Freeman, Mos Def, Sam Rockwell, Zooey Deschanel, Alan Rickman

At once confusing, hilarious, baffling, and altogether obnoxious, the movie adaptation of Douglas Adams’ classic novel embodies the same spirit that made the book so popular, and does it well. Numerous attempts have been made to make the book into a movie over the years, and I’m sure there was widespread sentiment that it would never get done. The project went through numerous writers and directors, eventually settling on virtual unknown Garth Jennings. Not exactly a past track record that would indicate future success. Despite the odds, Jennings pulled it off (with the help of co-screenwriter Adams, of course) and made a film that does the novel proud and works pretty damn well as a sci-fi comedy.

One wouldn’t think that a novel about an Englishman and his friend hitchhiking through the galaxy after Earth is blown up and that features singing dolphins, a two-headed President of the Galaxy, a clinically-depressed robot and a guide that advocates having a towel at all times could translate into a conherent film. Well, maybe it doesn’t need to be coherent, as that goes counter to the whole spirit of the story. The movie works on every level the book did, and I highly recommend seeing it (and read the book if you haven’t already). I leave you with the lyrics to “So Long and Thanks For All the Fish,” sung by dolphins, the 2nd most intelligent species on Earth (behind only mice, which are actually a race of hyper-intelligent pan-dimensional beings), just before they escape Earth:

So long and thanks for all the fish
So sad that it should come to this
We tried to warn you all but oh dear?

You may not share our intellect
Which might explain your disrespect
For all the natural wonders that
grow around you

So long, so long and thanks
for all the fish

The world’s about to be destroyed
There’s no point getting all annoyed
Lie back and let the planet dissolve

Despite those nets of tuna fleets
We thought that most of you were sweet
Especially tiny tots and your
pregnant women

So long, so long, so long, so long, so long
So long, so long, so long, so long, so long

So long, so long and thanks
for all the fish

(yeah)

So long and thanks for all the fish
So sad that it should come to this
We tried to warn you all but oh dear?

(oh dear)

Despite those nets of tuna fleets
We thought that most of you were sweet
Especially tiny tots and your
pregnant women

So long, so long, so long, so long, so long
So long, so long, so long, so long, so long

So long, so long and thanks
for all the fish

director: Andrzej Bartkowiak
starring: Karl Urban, The Rock, Rosamund Pike

Aliens came out in 1986. 20 years later, evidence of the movie’s impact is still readily apparent in film today. The old Hollywood precept of milking a good idea for all it’s worth holds true in movies like Doom. The film centers on an elite group of Marines–commissioned by a multi-national conglomerate–sent to an inhospitable planet to rescue scientists and retrieve important scientific data. Along the way, things don’t exactly go as planned and our heroes are confronted with unspeakable horrors as they fight their way out of “hell.” More or less the same plot as Aliens, yes? The main difference is that Aliens is an original, finely-crafted film classic (at least, it is to me) and Doom is a poorly-conceived retread that fails to realize what made Aliens work: the characters.

In Doom, we’ve got the one-dimensional stereotypes filmgoers have become accustomed to: the tough guy leader who’s seen it all (The Rock), the conflicted hero (Urban), the scared kid on his first mission, the big dude with the big gun, some nameless cannon fodder, and the crazy guy you can’t rely on. That’s pretty much the formula these days, though it may be too much to ask for some decent characters in a movie based on a videogame.

Original Genius

Unoriginal Crap

So I’ve essentially taken two paragraphs to say that Doom is “meh.” The production values are pretty good, and the direction is decent. The acting is passable, though The Rock’s performance is more befitting the wrestling ring than celluloid. But what starts out as a relatively interesting plot (thanks to Aliens) in the first half of the movie rapidly turns into a cliche-ridden music video once the proverbial shit hits the fan. Fans of the videogame will no doubt be tickled with some of the direct references to the game (the BFG, the FPS sequence, etc.), and Doom has its moments. Me? I’ll file it under the “wait to watch on cable TV” category. I’d like to note that the “multi-national conglomerate” in the movie appears to be AOL. I guess they’ve been up to more than just dumbing down the world’s Internet-goers. Who knew?

director: James McTeigue
starring: Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, John Hurt

Remember, remember, the fifth of November, gunpowder treason and plot. I see no reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot. Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, ’twas his intent to blow up the King and the Parliament. Three score barrels of powder below, Poor old England to overthrow: By God’s providence he was catch’d With a dark lantern and burning match. Holloa boys, holloa boys, make the bells ring. Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King! Hip hip hoorah!

It’s easy to come away from V for Vendetta thinking it’s a direct assault on the current Bush Administration (and perhaps the UK’s prime minister as well) and a seemingly glorified account of a terrorist. But to sum up the film with such a narrow focus would be to do V for Vendetta enormous discredit. There will be people who see this and get annoyed at its liberal poke at the “fascist” Bush government, and those who will simply see it as a popcorn flick. I think it works on both levels pretty well, but I think the central theme of the movie transcends a simple critique of the current government. Yes, the content has obvious ties to what’s going on in the world today (Iraq, terrorism, religious intolerance, discrimination based on sexual orientation), but it’s much more than that. V for Vendetta is, quite simply, about the power of the Idea. Wearing the visage of 17th century religious freedom fighter-cum-terrorist Guy Fawkes, the title character “V” becomes a living Idea himself; a symbol the people will never forget and rally behind. V himself says it best: “Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. There is an idea, Mr. Creedy, and ideas are bulletproof.”

The Idea is something our governments, our religious leaders, and our media can try to suppress and manipulate, but they can never truly destroy it. They can never truly destroy the will an Idea can bring about in a group of people, whether it be 10 or 10,000. What V for Vendetta is truly about is that we should hold on to our Ideas, because they can bring about great, positive change when put to good use. At the same time, it can bring about great horror and destruction as well. Of central debate in the movie is whether or not terrorism is ever an acceptable avenue to voice one’s opinion or bring about change. It is a wholly relevant debate in light of today’s current political and social climates.

Based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore, the film itself is, in a word, great. While it can be incoherent in execution and tends to feel a bit disjointed at times, as a whole it is extremely entertaining, from V’s unforgettably written (by the Wachowski brothers) and delivered (by Hugo Weaving) dialogue to the fight sequences to the epic-in-scale action setpieces at the climax of the film. (I’ve gotta find a fantastic quote from early on in the film that makes full use of the V section of the dictionary. I’ll post it when I find it.) All the acting is first-rate, though Portman’s attempt at an English accent seems on the edge of barely passable. My favorite performance is John Hurt’s raging Chancellor Sutler, a megalomaniacal despot hell-bent on absolute control of his subjects. Irony-in-spades when you consider the star of 1984 is now playing Big Brother in V for Vendetta. The music is top-notch; Dario Marianelli’s score is a great, sweeping orchestral composition, and in the mix are masterpieces from history’s past. I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed the 1812 Overture quite as much as I did here.

Repeat viewings are a must to fully appreciate what I’ve seen, but I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good flick. Indeed, upon further reflection, I think some of the inherent symbolism of the movie is a bit too in-your-face and obvious at times, which wasn’t necessary. The filmgoing audience often isn’t given enough credit. Some, more than others, will be turned off by what they’d view as a “slap-in-the-face wake-up call” mentality of the movie–they’ll focus on the inherent liberalism of a movie bent on portraying George W. Bush as a fascist and glorifying the actions of a terrorist. Some will tend to focus more on what the implications of the film’s central Idea mean to our current government and the media that reports on their actions. Indeed, it forces you to question the true interests behind our current leaders and their actions. Some will focus simply on the fighting and explosions. And it works pretty well as a popcorn flick; fear not. In the end, what I find to be the greatest, single quality that V for Vendetta has to offer is that it will inspire debate and leave you thinking long after having left the theater.

V: People should not be afraid of their governments, governments should be afraid of their people.

director: Fernando Mereilles
starring: Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Pete Postlethwaite

A magnificent film by City of God director Fernando Mereilles, The Constant Gardener tells the story of a husband and wife separated by brutal tragedy but eventually reunited through the husband’s discovery of not only a far-reaching conspiracy to commit crimes against humanity, but also the life’s work of his wife–and, therein, he finds a connection to her that transcends any mortal coil. Look at me, I sound like a film critic.

If you want to try and classify what kind of genre The Constant Gardener fits into, you’ll have a tough time, though my guess is most will call it a thriller wrapped in the love story of Fiennes’ and Weisz’ characters, the former a British diplomat, the latter a political activist investigating the involvement of global pharmaceutical companies in African drug trials. It’s difficult to describe the setup to the film, as it involves the biggest plot point of all, so I’ll avoid that, but what I will say is that the film centers on Fiennes’ character picking up his wife’s investigation into the aforementioned phamaceutical companies, and their relation with the government he works for. Intercut along the way are flashbacks to moments with his wife, and they are just as much a part of his “investigation” as the work he’s doing in Africa trying to track down leads and discover just what she was working on. Fiennes’ character has a prediliction for gardening–constantly, you might say (o cheerio, good chap, that was spot-on!), and it’s the very apparent metaphor for his investigation. What I find particularly interesting about his character, Justin Quayle, is that Fiennes isn’t playing the rugged, heroic everyman out to save the world character so often found in suspense thrillers. He’s no less driven, but he carries himself with a quiet intensity that can be just as powerful as an over-the-top superhero-type portrayal (the image below notwithstanding).

Gardener’s visuals range from the stark whites and greys of Europe to the rich palatte inherent in Africa, and taking it all in is just as important as delving into the plot itself, which has the writing of novelist John le Carré to thank for its often-dense exposition (though it’s by no means boring). I think many viewers will get turned off to that, and find the entire movie somewhat tedious to get through. But, I think that’s a matter of taste. It has elements of many different genres, and it’s probably chiefly a mystery-action thriller, but you’re not going to find explosions, gun battles, or car chases (well, there is one chase) here; it’s about the quest Fiennes’ embarks upon, fueled by the rediscovery of the love he has for his wife. And I don’t mean it to sound like a chick flick (but it can certainly work on that level). But listen, this movie won’t be for everyone. It’s not a popcorn flick, it’s not an event film, it’s not meant to dazzle your eyes and ears. If you appreciate the art of film itself, I think you’ll love The Constant Gardener.

director: Florent Emilio Siri
starring: Bruce Willis, Kevin Pollak, Ben Foster

Hostage is never quite what it appears to be on the surface–not quite the standard hostage movie its advertised as being. Based on external appearances, what seems to be in another long line of cliched hostage dramas turns out to be a pretty engrossing and exciting flick, worthy of some kudos solely for its relative originality. Bruce Willis stars as a disgraced hostage negotiator trying to save two families in Hostage. It will be difficult to speak in great detail about the plot without ruining some of the story points, so I’ll avoid it, but suffice it to say that there are some pleasant surprises (plot-wise) along the way that make Hostage more than a run-of-the-mill hostage thriller.

Right from the creative opening credits does the flick catches your attention, setting up the opening sequence quite nicely as we first meet hostage negotiator-cum-hippie Willis, combing his substantial beard. That’s not to the say the sequence is low-key–it’s anything but and the tension is full-force. Also apparent is the director’s Florent Emilio Siri attraction to sweeping crane and helicopter shots which, along with the slightly overdone music, can make for some unnecessarily dramatic camera shots. Slow motion seems to be another favorite of his, and although used sparingly, it doesn’t work when it is used.

Nevertheless, the movie’s strengths outweigh its faults, and this is most apparent in its characters and plot. It’s based on a best-seller, so the screenwriter obviously had some good material to work with, and it shows. For the most part, none of the characters act as the cliched stereotypes you’d expect to see in this genre. Again, I can’t get into too much without revealing major plot points here, but it’s refreshing to see characters that don’t fit the mold you’ve seen in countless action thrillers of the past. And the plot itself takes you places you never thought it would. As I said, the flick isn’t as conventional a movie as you may think, based on its trailers and commercials. Hostage is a pleasant surprise and worth a watch.

director: Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller, Quentin Tarantino
starring: Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Rosario Dawson, Clive Owen, Benicio del Toro, Jessica Alba, Rutger Hauer, Powers Boothe

I take my mind off her and I crawl back inside myself. It’s almost killing time, and I better get sharp.

I check the list: Rubber tubing. Gas. Saw. Gloves. Cuffs. Razor wire. Hatchet. Gladys. And my mits.

We’re close enough. Pull over.

So sayeth the indestructible Marv (Mickey Rourke) in “The Hard Goodbye,” a vignette within one of the outstanding, one-of-its-kind movies of all-time, Sin City. They simply don’t make movies like this, and by “they,” I mean the Hollywood establishment. Rarely will you see a film this unique coming out of the studio system, and even rarer still, will it be so good. Director Robert Rodriguez shot the entire film on green screen sound stages, later replacing the green with the many seedy, dark backdrops of Basin City. All this to better embody famed comic writer/artist Frank Miller. Miller’s “Sin City” graphic novels have been acclaimed for some time, but translating them into a big screen flick never seemed to be feasible. The distinct look in the novels could never be captured by any other medium but an artist’s canvas.

But Rodriguez has done just that, painting his own masterpiece on an altogether different canvas, with altogether different tools. But the same sensibility is there, and it pays off in spades.

The flick goes through a series of stand-alone vignettes (though they’re all inextricably linked), following the lives of some of Basin City’s bravest, bloodiest, meanest, and toughest characters as they seek revenge, look for a good time, cruise the streets, and dispose of the bodies they leave in their wake. It’s a good old-fashioned, hard boiled thriller, and I do shame to it by attempting to put the experience of watching Sin City into words. From Goldie’s red lips to that Yellow Bastard’s bloated (and yellow) head to Basin City’s hard-edged, black & white hues, it’s something you should experience visually for yourself. So I’ll stop here and say you should do just that.