true as turnips

I Know, I Know

2009-04-30T12:03:00.006-05:00

I can't get over how long it's been since my last post - time, one of my favorite subjects, really has the ability to get away from me, so I though a quick update was in order: things are beginning to settle down at work, somewhat, so I anticipate being able to spend more time here within a week or so. Outside of work, my other interests simply do not allow me time to be here and anyway, as I've stated before, I prefer to do this when I'm at work so it feels as if I'm being paid to write. Yeah, I'm funny.

Also looking into moving to a new site - but I'll post a link should that happen - so that both of you know where to go.

The Duchess

2008-10-04T19:10:00.013-05:00

Keira Knightley is Georgiana Cavendish, a forward thinking, trend setting, hard gambling, liquor holding, politically active, weak-knee inducing, headstrong beauty that men not only desire, but admire and respect; unfortunately, the one man whom she most desires to feel love and affection from remains aloof and emotionally flat: her husband. Having married the Duke of Devonshire (Ralph Fiennes) through an arrangement procured by her mother, Lady Spencer (Charlotte Rampling), Georgiana fully realizes that the primary goal of their union is to produce a male heir for the Duke, but she also assumes that the union will produce, for her and her husband, the typical emotions, intimacy and companionship associated with matrimony, however, as time passes, her assumptions become more and more obscured within a cloud of doubt. Focusing her efforts to find an outlet for her passion in other venues, Georgiana becomes a highly respected member of the aristocracy, celebrated by men and women alike for her beauty, fashion forward designs, and for helping to instigate political change as a vociferous supporter of the Whig Party, but as her passions find more room for expansion in outside endeavors, the more difficult it is to reign them in for her oppressive home life, eventually leading Georgiana to risk her entire existence by sharing her passions with a man other than the Duke.

Months ago, when I saw the first preview, I knew it would be impossible for me to be objective in any assessment regarding the film, considering I'm a ridiculously huge fan of Keira Knightley's and I think Ralph Fiennes is an amazing actor; not to mention that a well done period piece is easily one of my favorite types of films. I liked this movie even before the acne-ridden facial hair attempting ticket taker had finished placing my newly and curiously sticky ticket stub in my hand while incorrectly informing me which auditorium to proceed to. Fortunately, my ability to read small print and large L.E.D. displays coupled with my command of the numbers 1 through 20 helped me to deduce that the proper auditorium was actually upstairs to the right and not downstairs to the left, and although getting past the challenge of the architecturally dyslexic door sentry was exciting in it's own right, it was nothing compared to the anticipation that I was already feeling for the film. In other words, because of my predispositions, the movie would have had to have been on the level of one of the incredibly embarrassing church Nativity plays that I was obligated to participate in as a child, for me to have even remotely entertained the thought of disliking it. As it turned out, I did my best to watch the movie while ignoring my prejudice, and I'm fairly certain that the film was excellent on it's own, with no help from me. I thought the story was well told, the costumes and settings were amazingly opulent and the attention to detail was staggering, and even though I would have appreciated a few grand and sweeping shots, in the end, the director, Saul Dibb, made the wisest choice in keeping the shots succinct and precise and allowing the drama to be carried out by the actors in their richly detailed settings. There's a lot to be said for a director who actually relies on the cast to relay the story while avoiding inflated shots which, at first, might add some additional depth to a production but, when included with such an already decadent world, could very easily cross the line into flamboyance and lose any intimacy previously created with the audience.

Keira Knightley puts forth an Oscar worthy performance (in my biased opinion) as she solidly displays the gamut of emotions that her character experiences throughout the course of the film. The innocence, insecurities and curiosity that slowly becomes experience, confidence and determination mixed with a healthy dose of indomitable spirit are all made manifest by Knightley's subtly intense honesty as she uses her ethereal qualities to seemingly channel a personality from a bygone era. Perfectly complimenting Knightley's earnest performance is Ralph Fiennes' equally nuanced but substantially more delicate execution. Initially, Fiennes' character of the Duke seems completely disinterested in absolutely everything, but, as the story progresses, it becomes apparent that the Duke's rigidity is generations in the making and only a very limited number of precisely defined and refined distractions could ever see their way past his stoic and impenetrable demeanor. A lesser actor than Fiennes might have easily been overwhelmed by the Duke's apathetic distraction, ending up with only a "phoned in" performance, but Fiennes is incredibly diligent in presenting a measured indifference which makes the scenes where the Duke genuinely exhibits emotions that much more powerful and threatening. As for the supporting cast, rather than appearing as if they were there only to "support" the main characters, a pleasant, almost symbiotic, relationship existed, allowing each member of the cast to come across as a unique individual with possibly a story of their own worth telling while weaving in and out of the audience's perception.

Obviously I enjoyed this film, the story that was told and the people who told it. I'm not sure I'd say it was a powerful film, although there were some very moving aspects and certain scenes did invoke patterns of thought that stayed with me for several days. I definitely think this is a film worth seeing (theater, if only for the details), but I also understand that a historical drama is simply too much for some people. That's too bad but, then again, I can't imagine anyone who appreciates a well told story, regardless of historical time period, not enjoying this film, at least to some degree. So, if the opportunity presents itself, do take advantage of the situation and see this movie whether it's in the theater or elsewhere. I have several friends who will doubtlessly wait for the release on disc or pay-per-view or, most probably, borrow mine since they know I'll be adding it to my collection, which seems to be a regular occurrence after they read one of my one-sided conversations. Weird, huh?

There and Back Again

2008-09-22T14:18:00.062-05:00

Finally, once again, it's autumn. This is absolutely my favorite time of year (followed very closely by winter) and even though I don't really get to experience it, living in this flat humid place of Florida, I'm still thrilled when it rolls around because, if anything, I know that things will be cooling off, somewhat, in the next couple of months. The anticipation of cooler (and hopefully chilly) temperatures definitely improves my outlook on life, in general; although, I still find it, at times, disheartening to be missing out on the changing foliage, the overcast days, the brisk breezes that subtly suggest the coming of winter and, most simply, the overall feel of the season. However, out of all the things that come to mind and have meaning for me during this time of year, the one thing that I can pretty much always guarantee for myself is the reading of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. I know, I know, I'm a geek but what can I do? I just accept it and move on.

Here's a little history (and, yes, I've previously mentioned some of this): I first read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings when I was in 6th grade after having them recommended to me by Mr. B. who, as you may remember, would eventually become one of my favorite and definitely most influential teachers. Early in the year during a laid back afternoon session, Mr. B. had challenged the class with the solving of several riddles which, we later learned, were taken from the 5th chapter of The Hobbit, Riddles in the Dark, which detailed the finding of the Ring and Bilbo's one and only meeting with Gollum. Mr. B. briefly described the book and after hearing him make several more references (trolls, spiders and Smaug), I asked him about reading it. By this time Mr. B. was pretty well acquainted with my preferences in genres, my imagination and, most importantly, my reading comprehension, so the following day he brought me a copy and told me that he was fairly certain I would speed through it with no problems, but he wasn't sure if I was ready for The Lord of the Rings. What's this you say? There's more to the story than I was lead to believe and I'm being challenged to read it? That was my initial reaction but, of course, Mr. B. explained to me that the real story was The Lord of the Rings and it was much more intricately woven using a writing style considerably evolved from the "children's story" aspect of The Hobbit. He told me to read The Hobbit and if I found it enjoyable, I should then attempt The Lord of the Rings because, even if I didn't grasp the full scope of story but made it all the way through, there was practically a universal preordination that I would read them again.

Intrigued and anxious I set out on an adventure that ended up taking most of the remaining school year. Mr. B. had been right and I had made it through The Hobbit in no time and then, after a short conversation concerning our views of the book, I started on the trilogy and found myself in a world for which I was completely unprepared. The previous story (or extended prologue, if you prefer) was a light, almost fairytale romp with dark elements that could only be seen from the proper perspective while looking through or around the obvious Brothers Grimm elements. Granted, the prospect of being eaten by giant spiders could be considered frightening, but I was much more interested and disturbed by the darkness (the Necromancer) that Gandalf went off to deal with but would hardly speak of. So, by the time I had finished the 2nd chapter of the trilogy, The Shadow of the Past, I was aware that I was in store for a tale that was significantly more intense and carried the possibility of grim consequences for a world that I was beginning to truly appreciate and feel comfortable in. As the books progressed, the story that unfolded was one reminiscent of an overcast day whose cover is rarely penetrated by small and fleeting rays of sunlight. Basically, I was in heaven. When I reached the end, I was sad that it was over but I was extremely pleased that the conclusion remained somewhat subdued and free from rainbows and unicorns. In talking with Mr. B. afterwards, he was happy to acknowledge my accomplishment and the fact that I had a solid grasp on the essence of the story, and he was also quick to point out that I should continue to read extracurricular books and never let myself become cut off from the wonders of words. Mr. B.'s final words of wisdom to me that day came back to the the story of the Ring: he suggested that the next time I read them (which he knew I would), I should do it when school was out and before life started to catch up with me. Maybe I'm being presumptuous, but I look forward to a time when I might be able to give someone a piece of advice whose true meaning will take years to manifest.

Roughly a year and half later (8th grade), my mother gave me the red leatherette collector's edition of The Lord of the Rings for Christmas and, being the geek that I am, it immediately became one of my prized possessions. Heeding Mr. B.'s advice, I placed the tome prominently on display and waited until the school year was complete, the summer was before me and life was still comfortably in the distance before I began the adventure of the Ring for a second time. I remember hot, South Carolina afternoons and making my way outside for a couple of hours of reading, the sound of the brutally dry grass as it crunched underfoot and the green metal lawn chair that rested in the shade of a small tree in our front yard. The chair's identical twin often sat unshaded on the opposite side of the tree and was usually approached tentatively, if at all, by anyone wearing shorts, because it only took an instant to discover the damage that could be done to the backs of one's legs by the dark metal, with it's faux weave pattern, after an hour or two in direct sunlight. To the left of the shaded chair was a small ring of stones that had once been a flower bed, but the flowers were long since gone and all that remained was an area of dry matted weeds that were all flaxen in color, and had it not been for the small birdbath with peeling paint located at it's center, only a stone inscribed "unless" would have been needed to invoke the Lorax. A few feet in front of the flowerbed, my father had set a large aluminum flag pole into the ground which, after having lost his initial interest and considering the fact that he felt it, like most of his other notions, should be maintained by someone else, often stood barren, rising starkly into the air like a shining finger pointed accusingly at the heavens. I also remember being thankful that our house was located as it was: elevated and several miles outside of town, with the nearest road being a little less than a quarter of a mile in the distance and no neighbors to speak of, which meant that my afternoons reading in the shade were rather isolated and quiet, with the only

sounds being that of the rustling leaves, the "ting-ting" of the metal clips tapping against the empty flag pole and my mother's wind chimes ringing in the distance as the periodic summer breezes blew across our hilltop home.

With the hot summer days continuing to lazily drift by, I remained resolute in my steady and methodical absorption of the trilogy, hoping that my dedication would make up for lack of experience when it came to identifying any important literary morsels that might normally be overlooked in a desultory exploration. Rather than try to read as much as I could on any given day, I would limit myself to two or three chapters, often going back and re-reading sections until I was satisfied I hadn't missed anything pertinent and had a perfect understanding of what had transpired. As the end approached, I had to fight the inclination to read slower in an effort to draw out the finale and postpone my departure from a place to which I had developed a heartfelt connection - a pattern that I have continued to repeat with each subsequent reading. Eventually I sadly acknowledged to myself that there was no getting around it any longer, so I settled in to finish the last chapter and with each page growing substantially heavier, in conjunction with my heart, I slowly worked my way to the end of the journey and the parting from my friends, and as I read the final line where Sam says, "Well, I'm back," I knew that I was no longer the same person I had been at the outset; the story had changed me as fundamentally as it had the characters.

Even though I was an avid reader long before having heard of The Lord of the Rings, I'll be the first to admit that my scope of reading was extremely limited. I had initially embarked on the path of a reader in an effort to emulate my older brother whom I idolized (except, of course, when he made me suffer the typical indignities of little brotherhood). Considering that he was eight years older than me, my choices for doing as I saw him do were limited because, for the most part, his hobbies, his friends, the places he went and, without a doubt, his school classes were all very much beyond me, not to mention the physical differences eight years made. Fortunately, the one thing that I did see on an extremely regular basis was his time spent reading, and that was something I could easily do, and although 2nd and 3rd grade reading choices can be somewhat limited, in my opinion, my exposure to my brother's comic books, MAD magazines, Warren publications (Eerie, Creepy and Vampirella) and science fiction paperbacks (the one's that I could understand) set me on a course to truly becoming a reader, increased my reading comprehension far beyond that of my classmates and, most importantly, made me feel as if I was being like my big brother. As time passed I continued to read the sci-fi/horror genres, literally judging books by their covers and never attempting to expand my experiences beyond the already familiar, which is why I felt so enlightened at the end of my second trip through Middle-earth. The reoccurring themes of things not always being what they seem, and there being more to something than meets the eye, had far deeper meaning to me than merely how they applied to the story. I was struck by how the same ideas applied to other things and how, without a proper open mind, patience to thoroughly examine and allow for all to be revealed or a willingness to see from other perspectives, so many things that might prove memorable could be missed, forever.

As the summer leading to my first days of high school drew to a close, I had continued to read while trying to remain mindful of expanding my literary horizons. My bright red copy of The Lord of the Rings, always plainly visible in my room, served as a constant reminder that reading was like mining, in that worthless rubble surrounds all of the most precious stones (fiction or non-fiction), meaning that much sifting must be done in order to find the items worth keeping. A large portion of what I read that summer, and over the next few years, was worthless rubble, but I did uncover a few gems which remain with me to this day. My time spent trying to read with expanding concepts has continued steadily, aside from a few brief lapses, because of the trilogy, and I have amassed a large list of favorites that register on some mysterious internal emotional scale. Not surprisingly, some of the most important books in my life have been those that, once I reached a point of listening to and respecting the learned opinions of others, have been deemed classics (old and new) or, at least, exemplary, and other standouts which I refuse to part with were discovered completely by accident during a random buying spree which I occasionally do just to shake things up a bit. Other books have a life of their own along with personal emotional attachment, such as The Pillars of the Earth, which was given to me by my exceptional friend, Lisa, 15 years ago. But that's another story.

After returning to The Lord of the Rings in my senior year of high school for my term paper, life, unfortunately, caught up with me, for more years than I like to think about, and while my reading continued, it was some time before I was able to make the comfortable journey back to the safe haven of Middle-earth. As fate would have it and after casting a semblance of Gollum into my own internal Mt. Doom, I was, at long last, able to return to one of my favorite literary strongholds, but, unfortunately, I found myself facing a bit of a quandary. It was February of 2000, I had been doing quite a lot of reading over the past year or so about some Peter Jackson guy (I had seen The Frighteners), and I knew the first film of the trilogy would be released in December of 2001, with the second film planned for release the following December and the third the year after, in 2003. Did I want to read the entire story so soon before the films or wait until closer to the release date, with the hope that life wouldn't rear it's ugly head in the meantime? After much going back and forth, I decided on a compromise. I read The Hobbit and the entire trilogy and then, for the next three Novembers, before the release of each film, I read the corresponding book, again. It was the reading of the individual books during the month of November that stuck in my head as an identifier with a specific time of year, because, for me, the overall internal tone of the books had always been, as I've previously mentioned, like that of an overcast day or, more specifically, one of autumn. That point was driven home over the next two years during the Thanksgiving holidays when I felt as if I had missed something but couldn't quite put my finger on it. Shortly thereafter, I walked outside one morning and was greeted by a rare Florida winter-like day (curiously, in my head and in my apartment, it's aways autumn or winter), and it was then that I realized how my mind had set up an internal calendar around The Lord of the Rings. So, the following year (2005), a week or so into September, I started The Hobbit with the intention of beginning The Fellowship of the Ring on September 22 to correspond with the birthday of Bilbo and Frodo in the first chapter, A Long-Expected Party. My plan was to have the trilogy read before the Thanksgiving holidays, so that I could then enjoy the three movies, once again, during my break from work (geek boy, I know). Needless to say, the plan worked perfectly, as it did the following year, as well. Last year, the reading proceeded as usual but, because of an unfortunate interference, the films were postponed until Christmas, which was just as well.

Now, another year has flown by with a speed whose exponential increase is somehow mystically linked to my age, but instead of being melancholy and dwelling on the paradoxical passage of time, I am pleased to be, once again, stepping into the tale of the Ring and I look forward to visiting all of the splendid characters that are a part of the odyssey. The past year has been a typical one, with no surprises and no tragedies and I've done my utmost to remain true to who I am by constantly challenging myself, in familiar and unfamiliar ways, and endeavoring to be a decent person focused on finding comfort in simple, but personally meaningful, ways. I don't always succeed, but, then again, things that are easy to accomplish never seem to be as

satisfying as the things that require more effort, however, it is satisfying to know that I have a few steadfast friends scattered about who, along with my countless literary comrades, help keep me motivated, entertained and, on very good days, humble. It is also quite satisfying to have something like the world of Middle-earth to act as a catalyst for fond memories, each year remembering things from the past as the story progresses, while simultaneously creating new memories that will be recalled and looked upon in future readings, and although I've been there, and back again, many times, I hope this is a ritual I can enjoy up to, at least, my eleventy-first birthday.

And speaking of birthdays, it is September 22 and high time I stop my rambling and bring an end to this mental meandering. Bilbo and Frodo await, and as I sit here contemplating my return trip into an extremely pleasant territory, a familiar affection washes over me and I know that when I open the book, in a few short moments, I'll be smiling as I think, "Well, I'm back."

Babylon A.D.

2008-08-31T12:32:00.011-05:00

Vin Diesel stars as Toorop, a mercenary living / surviving in what remains of, as best I can tell, a war torn town in Russia. I don't want to say that this is a "post apocalyptic" story, but there was definitely a huge conflict and , from the looks of it, most of Eastern Europe got their asses handed to them. Anyway, as these types of story go, the tough, loner, outsider with a violent and mysterious past ends up being given a shot at redemption (meaning money and a better quality of life) in the form of a simple delivery: All Toorop has to do is smuggle a young woman named Aurora (Melanie Thierry) and her guardian, Sister Rebeka (Michelle Yeoh), from their convent in Kazakhstan to New York City. Easy enough, right? Maybe not. As it turns out, factions are involved (who would've guessed), and while one faction really wants to see Aurora make it to The Big Apple, not surprisingly, the other faction does not. Along the troubled and deadly way, Toorop begins to suspect that Aurora may be a bio-engineered viral bomb designed to kill millions, only to later be told that, even though she is a virgin, she is pregnant with twins. As their journey intensifies and their bonds grow stronger, the lines of separation start to fade and Toorop realizes that his simple job has expanded past his personal desires and may now affect all of humanity.

This one's not as simple as you'd think. Going in, I thought I had a pretty good idea of what to expect and, for the most part, I was right: Futuristic action sci-fi with some fairly good actors doing their best to put some new twists on a familiar plot. Based on what I was anticipating, my expectations were not off the chart and I was only looking to be entertained on a primal level much like I have been with films like Doomsday, 300 or Wanted and, as I've already said, I was pretty much right. Taking that into consideration along with the fact that the film masterfully and unexpectedly blended the look and feel of Children of Men with Bladerunner, I was well on my way to enjoying a movie that I was beginning to see as "above average". Then, right when I was becoming comfortable with my good looking sci-fi action flick, a side door opened and the story turned into something with much more depth and far reaching philosophical implications. I was stunned and excited since, having never read the book Babylon Babies on which it is based, I wasn't expecting a story hypothesizing a future where religions, using science to manipulate their holiness, battle for the distinction of being the "one true" religion. As things began to unfold, my anticipation grew and, unfortunately, I ended up being disappointed, however, not entirely. Overall, I liked the movie more than I thought I would even before the additional plot depth was introduced, and my disappointment only comes from the fact that I felt the manipulative religions aspect wasn't explored as deeply and as satisfyingly as it could have been. As the credits rolled, I thought the movie had a prevailing truncated feel and, even though I had enjoyed it, I was surprised that certain scenes weren't explored in more depth while other scenes had the distinct impression of being badly edited on the short side. Basically, I wanted more. Imagine my surprise, later that day, reading an interview on Movieweb with Mathieu Kassovitz, the director, where he stated how frakking angry he was with Twentieth Century Fox producers over the fact he wasn't allowed to shoot certain scenes the way he wanted, how they didn't respect the script and how, ultimately, they cut about 15 minutes from the film before it was released. Obviously Kassovitz wanted an intricately thoughtful film and Fox wanted an action flick. For me, I made the best with what I was given, and I can only hope that the missing fifteen minutes will be reinstated when the movie is released on disc. We'll see.

As for the cast, Vin Diesel and Michelle Yeoh were very good. **Full Disclosure: I'm a big fan of Vin Diesel and Michelle Yeoh.** I realize that Diesel isn't a Shakespearean trained thespian noted for his subtle yet hauntingly emotive capabilities, which is good because of that whole "less is more" thing. What I like about Diesel is that he knows his limits, concentrates on his strengths and branches out just slowly enough to make you notice, and then accept it, rather than try to go all out and have the audience buy it simply because it's him doing it (Think Ben Affleck in the gem Daredevil and you'll understand what I mean). For this film, Diesel plays it tough but not supremely confident - he's a flawed character who intends to survive but, because of his performance, I never felt that his survival was guaranteed, which, to me, says a lot for the film. Also saying a lot for the film is the use of Michell Yeoh - she definitely makes the movie seem more legitimate with her strong-willed, no nonsense attitude, which is utilized as perfectly in this film as it was in Memoirs of a Geisha (yeah, I saw it and I liked it - I'm a huge Ziyi Zhang fan, just so you know) - Yeoh was able to match Diesel's physical intensity with her own silent, emotional intensity, bringing an unexpected harmony to every scene they shared together. Caught between the intensities of Diesel and Yeoh was Melanie Thierry, as Aurora, who was , in my opinion, very surprising and effective in relaying her character's insecurities while holding her own against veterans like Diesel and Yeoh. All in all, the three main characters played off of and supported each other in ways not typically seen in you average sic-fi outing, and when you add the smaller performances of Lambert Wilson (The Merovinian from the Matrix sequels), Charlotte Rampling and Gerard Depardieu, you actually find yourself with a pretty solid cast.

As with all movies in this genre, it has it's positives and negatives but, as I've already stated, because of my expectations, I liked this film more than if I had been anticipating a blockbuster. The direction is good, the scenery and overall "look" of the movie is great, the acting is above average and the story grows deeper and deeper as the film progresses, just not deep enough. I can't say that I'd recommend any friend to see it in the theater, but I definitely think it'll be worth renting since I fully intend to see it again with, hopefully, the missing fifteen minutes. If you do see it, try and keep an open mind and, while you're at it, let your open mind expound on some of the notions presented..........you might enjoy it and, in the process, discover a whole new way to watch movies. Or not.

Tropic Thunder

2008-08-17T12:04:00.005-05:00

In case you missed the lowdown, this film is Ben Stiller's take on parodying Hollywood, it's actors, producers, studio heads, agents, special effects wizards, and pretty much everything in between. The general idea is to ridiculously magnify and satirize all of the ludicrous, and not so ludicrous, traits of the movie making machinery. Stiller stars as Tugg Speedman, a super action star on the decline who, after flopping in a film he hoped would bring him acting recognition and accolades, is in Asia to film the most expensive was movie ever made and hopefully garner the respect for his "craft" that he has so long desired. His fellow cast members include Kirk Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr.), the mega Oscar winning method actor who has undergone a skin pigment dying process in order to make him as authentically "black" as his character, Jeff Portnoy (Jack Black), the grossly over-the-top comedic actor who is the lead, as well as most of the supporting cast, in the comedy franchise The Fatties, hip hop mogul, entrepreneurial huckster and actual black guy Alpa Chino (Brandon T. Jackson) and, of course, the obligatory innocent new kid on the block, Kevin Sandusky (Jay Baruchel). Along with the rigors of filming in the jungle, the cast are constantly bombarded on-set by psycho special effects guys, the inept director (Steve Coogan), the moody and unbalanced "soldier" who's "memoir" is the basis of the film (Nick Nolte) and off-set by ass kissing agents (Matthew McConaughey) and power mad studio executives (Tom Cruise). As production becomes stymied, a decision for raw realism places the cast in a real-life desperate situation who's survival may only be achieved by actually becoming the well honed fighting unit that they portray or, at least, acting the parts more convincingly.

Yeah, it's funny. It's not pee your pants while you hyperventilate funny, but, as it remains consistently true to it's over the top form, it does provide a fairly steady stream of humor while intermixing some truly laugh-out-loud segments with an equal number of choke on your soda moments. The film pretty much leaves no stone unturned in it's quest for Hollywood bits to satirize and repeatedly reminds that nothing is sacred when it comes to their pointed observations, which I found to be remarkably refreshing for a Hollywood comedy when you stop to consider that movies very rarely make fun of themselves. I have a tendency to pass on most outright comedies because, in my opinion, the majority from the past few years have suffered from lack of inspiration, bad writing and an assumption that a well known actor (Norbit, The Pink Panther) or a physically attractive female (The Dukes of Hazzard, Over Her Dead Body) will make up for what the film lacks in substance*. Thankfully, Tropic Thunder uses everything I just mentioned as inspiration, and the core of it's substance is how seriously it takes the Hollywood lack of substance. I know, it's confusing, but trust me, it works.

The other thing that works well in this film is the cast. Stiller, once again, makes good use of his abilities to pull off a spot-on parody while displaying the utmost sincerity, however, this time he compounds the performance with the addition of his character's horrendously bad portrayal of the award designed character of Simple Jack. Jack Black is, well, Jack Black - his character, Jeff Portnoy, isn't much of a departure (if any) from most of the other Jack Black characters which, for this this film, is exactly what they needed. Black's Portnoy helps keep the energy level maximized as well as providing a few of those "I really shouldn't be laughing as this" moments. I think I should state, for the record, that I'm not a big fan of a Black's more colorful character work - I tend to have a greater appreciation for his "low key" efforts, but, for this movie, his exuberance is perfect. Brandon T. Jackson as hip hopper Alpa Chino starts out very stereotypical but undergoes a comedic, but intelligent, evolution as the film progresses, as does Jay Baruchel's character of Sandusky. McConaughey is the perfect shallow talent agent who sees his bottom line as being in direct proportion to his obsequiousness and Nick Nolte would have to the first, best choice for a psychotic burnout memoir hawking jungle rat.

Together, the previously mentioned cast and their respective characters could easily combine to make, at the very minimum, a mildly amusing film, but I firmly believe that Robert Downy Jr. as Kirk Lazarus and Tom Cruise as producer/studio exec Les Grossman make this movie entirely worth seeing and add a degree of humor, originality and out and out entertainment that is becoming harder and harder to find in big production comedies. Downy Jr.'s Lazarus is the glue that holds the entire chaotic story together - when the story gets too crazy, he's the level plain that the camera always returns to and when the kinetic energy subsides, Lazarus becomes the humor focal point. I seriously doubt, because of the character specific nuances, if anyone could have pulled off the Lazarus character as well as Downy Jr. As for Tom Cruise, all I can say is: Wow. In my wildest imaginings, I would have never anticipated seeing such a performance from Cruise - he was loud, abusive, abrasive, disgusting, foul mouthed, egocentric, insulting, and repugnant........oh, and brilliant. The Grossman character is an unexpected delight (especially when he dances) and could not have been used more appropriately - considering the character's coarse and extravagant personality, he could have very easily been overused to the point of losing his shock value but, instead, his scenes were spaced well and properly short, leaving the audience (me, at least) wanting more.

I definitely enjoyed this movie and was pleasantly surprised at the final product, although I can easily say that this film isn't for everyone since some of the humor will be too much for certain audience members, while other audience members will be completely oblivious to the less than obvious jokes. I guess that's the way it is with most well written/rounded comedies, except in this case, with the emphasis on the extravagantly extreme, the disharmony will seem more apparent. Just do me a favor, try actually watching it (theater or when available for rent) before you decide.

*That statement refers only to U.S. comedies.

The X-Files: I Want To Believe

2008-07-26T21:20:00.009-05:00

Finally, Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) are back together on the big screen. Like with many of the films I've seen, I find the notion of explaining what the movie is about absurd because certain plot points should not be given away and the knowledge that it's an X-Files story should suffice. I've discovered that in a situation like this, there tends to be three types of people: The ones who are already familiar with the characters and the overall themes of the previous stories, the ones with no prior exposure but have had their interest piqued because of things they've read, seen in trailers or they simply *gasp* have an open mind, and, lastly, the ones who merely have no interest at all because of one reason or the other. In this case, if you're an X-Phile, you don't really want to know because you want to experience the story fresh in the theater, and if you're an interested noobie, only a vague, at most, synopsis should be used so, again, the experience of the reveal happens in the theater, and if you're in the "not interested" group, you don't count and should go rent Heaven's Gate. So, the closest that I can come to a synopsis is: Special Agent Dakota Whitney (Amanda Peet) is in the middle of an investigation that involves a missing F.B.I. agent, an arm (not the agent's) and a purported psychic priest (Billy Connolly). Unable to make any progress, feeling completely overwhelmed by the grisly and otherworldly elements and convinced there's only a short amount of time to save the missing agent, Whitney, after procuring an "all is forgiven" agreement from the F.B.I., endeavors to find the one person she hopes can utilize the "spooky" aspects of the investigation to possibly save an innocent life, and that person is Fox Mulder. It's been six years since we last saw Mulder and Scully. Scully is now following her medical career and Mulder has been in hiding from the F.B.I. to avoid prosecution for his breech of protocol. (Mulder's infractions are in regards to certain events that transpired during the final seasons of the television series, but those events, other than to establish the fact no one has any information pertaining to his whereabouts and that he's an F.B.I. outcast, have no bearing in this movie.) As the events of the case continue to form a grim and forbidding mosaic and questions of life and death echo with the resonance of a ticking clock, it's time, once again, for Mulder and Scully to gaze long into the abyss.

This one was easy - knowing that the show's creator, Chris Carter, was writing (along with fellow scribe Frank Spotnitz) and directing this feature, I was already anticipating enjoying this film months before it's release, and enjoy it, I did. I know, I know, it's not going to cause money to rain down from the heavens to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars like The Dark Knight, and it's not going to appeal to the ABBA loving crowds of Mama Mia and I'm quite positive that it will hold no interest to those who prefer the intense story telling of Step Brothers, but, regardless of all that, this is a very well done film and very much worth seeing in the theater. However, I fully expect the film's overall success to be much subdued compared to the other offerings of the summer based on the fact that this is probably the most "low key" release of the blockbuster season, but, ironically, the fact that it is so "low key" is one of the most (at least, to me) appealing aspects of the movie. This film has no explosions, only one car chase (and it's in snow - so it's quiet) and no over-the-top "shoot 'em up" moments - there are a couple of gruesome scenes and surprising moments but, for the most part, this is an extremely cerebral story of suspense that gives nothing away, leaving it up to the viewer to follow the clues along with Mulder and Scully and when it's all said and done, there's no insulting summation for those who couldn't keep up. Another great thing about this film, along with the large and obvious central storyline, is the subtle underlying story threads that deal with faith, spirituality, life, death and the emotional light and dark within everyone. So it's fairly safe to say that this movie is not your usual summer popcorn fare but, not surprising to me, I did walk out of the theater feeling pretty warm and satisfied (even with no explosions).

Anderson and Duchovny remarkably pick up where they left off, but six years later - they have the same chemistry, humor and intensity as they did at the peak of The X-Files series, and yet they believably mature the characters to conform with events that are mentioned having transpired during the six year interim. Anderson, as always, honestly portrays Scully as fervently dedicated to her profession and beliefs, leaving Duchovny to display the same convictions while, characteristically, infusing a light lunacy coupled with a sharp wit. Amanda Peet is skillfully adept but emotionally uncertain as Agent Whitney and Billy Connolly is easily the linchpin performance as Father Crissman but, regardless of how good anyone else is, this is still the Mulder and Scully show and without them, this would only be a curiously intriguing movie.

It's possible that since I've recently been re-watching the series, I was more primed than most for a return to the darker world of The X-Files, but I really don't think that's the case and I'm convinced that anyone who appreciates a well told sinister tale that requires more than a modicum of actual thought from the viewer would enjoy this film whether they're a prior X-Files fan or not. After having seen my share of the big summer films (and liking a few of them very much), this was an extremely nice change of pace and, I must admit, the story, the directing and the snowy locations transported and entertained me as much as any CGI creation from any other summer movie this year. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing this again upon it's release on disc, which is where, I'm sure, the film will do it's biggest business, and even if there is no third movie that deals with the supposed colonization date of December 2012 (I want to believe there will be), this film has a satisfying closing shot of Mulder and Scully that opens a world of possibilities to the imaginative...........you just have to watch the credits or you'll miss it.

The Dark Knight

2008-07-19T18:26:00.017-05:00

In my opinion, this movie doesn't really require any type of synopsis because, unless you've been in living in a cave for the past six to eight months or suffering from a chronic case of Cranial Rectal Insertion, you should already have a decent idea concerning what this movie is about. In fact, the end of Batman Begins pretty much spelled it out for you, and if, for any reason whatsoever, you didn't see the previous Batman film, then leave now. Just go. Now, in order to be nice, here's a quick troglodyte catchup: Batman is still fighting to rid Gotham City of it's heinous criminal element. Things are getting down and dirty as the organized crime leaders get desperate. Harvey Dent is the new District Attorney and he's not afraid to team up with the police (or Batman) and take on the city's underworld. Oh, and there's a new guy on the block with knives in his pockets and a smile on his face.......and he's not joking.

Who would've thought that I was so looking forward to this movie? Did my ever present sentinel at the top of the page give it away? Well, no matter, I confess I've been anxious since I heard the first sound bites last summer and my anticipation only expanded with every new viral clue I'd uncover. Finally, after months of waiting (and having talked myself out of going to the midnight show on Thursday), I found myself comfortably seated, along with twenty or so others, in front of the expansive IMAX screen at 8:00 a.m., a full hour before the movie was scheduled to begin. With the minutes ticking by, each time I looked up from my book, the influx of people continued to grow until, with twenty minutes still to go, the theater was practically full, which is saying quite a bit for an IMAX size theater at 8:40 a.m. As the three minute mark approached, I put away my book, turned off my iPod, removed the earbuds and noticed that, even with the theater almost full, there was a prevailing silence and sense of excitement and it was at that moment I understood that even though I had not yet seen the film, I was already part of an event. As I looked around, I saw perfect (and imperfect) strangers looking at each other with smiles and expressions that implied acknowledgment of a unification of spirit, that spoke of a freshly forged camaraderie among people who would normally ignore each other - and all these exchanges of looks and smiles taking place silently, as if they feared the slightest vocal utterance would unravel the fabric of communion that seemed to nestle us all. As the lights dimmed and the screen flickered to life, I felt the ripple of motion as every person in the theater straightened up in their seats and collectively tensed for the beginning of the movie. A swirling mist appeared on the screen and, as the music transformed into the recognizable theme, solidified into the title card for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, indicating the release date and 3-D scenes for IMAX before fading to black. The fifteen second Harry Potter trailer was followed by a spectacular trailer for Watchmen, set to the song, The Beginning is the End is the Beginning by Smashing Pumpkins and ending with Rorschach saying, "The world will look up and shout, 'Save us!' And I'll whisper....'No'". Awesome. Then, after the trailer, black screen, rumbles, blue flamed explosion, logos and, as the theater erupted in spontaneous applause, The Dark Knight began.

Is it all that? Yes, and then some. Worth the hype? No doubt about it. Live up to the expectations? Absolutely. I would say that this is the greatest comic book film ever made, except for the fact that this film actually transcends the comic book world. This is the Godfather, Citizen Kane and The Empire Strikes Back of comic book films while simultaneously being an action inclusive dramatic exploration of Jungian Archetypes and moral rectitude. The varying layers are what create such an ultimate story and will, in the long run, make the film more appealing to a broader spectrum of moviegoers. There's the well spaced (and placed) action for the surface entertainment of a Batman vs. Joker story that will appease the average action/comic book crowd - oh! There's even a magic trick! - There's the relationship issues, examination of responsibility and hard city crime story for the dramatic crowd and there's the exploration of the cold dark place that hides inside each of us for the crowd who's not afraid to look and see things for what they are, could be or should be. The combined aspects form a film that can easily be enjoyed over multiple viewings with different qualities becoming predominant depending upon the viewer's frame of mind, while the story's emphasis on reality serves as the metaphorical glue holding each layer together and creating a cohesive world for the viewer regardless of mental framing. In other words, Christopher Nolan, the writer/director, has crafted a "superhero" movie with a greater resonance of "truth" than some documentaries I've seen, while remaining faithful to his source material. Now don't me wrong, there are some truly spectacular comic book moments, but they are based in fact and not preoccupied with making you "believe a man can fly", as it were. The other joining factor that shares space with the reality aspect is the fact that there are no "sun shiny" happy moments, no "rainbows and cotton candy" break times, no "All You Need is Love and Kumbaya sing-a-longs" - Gotham City is a hard place and there's gritty work to be done by all sides involved, and it's this perspective that helps illustrate exactly what it is that Batman is striving for - he wants Gotham City to be a shiny safe outpost in a world of horror, even if he can never live there because, as it's explored in this movie, Batman/Bruce is beginning to understand that the dark remains with him whether he's wearing the cape or not. Some people may be put off by the overall sinister feel of the film, but I found it incredibly refreshing, immersing and honest.

The cast is easily the best you'll find in any movie this Summer or, so far, this year. Christian Bale in his second outing as Batman/ Bruce Wayne has really come into his own while raising the bar for any actor stepping into the role of a serious crime fighter. In the previous film, Bale adequately displayed a young Bruce dealing with his scars and fears while slowly transforming into a darker hero. This time, Bale is effectively playing two characters: Bruce Wayne: philanthropist, humanitarian and head of Wayne Enterprises and Batman: night dweller and scourge of the criminal underworld and, make no mistake, these are two very different creatures and Bale combines and separates them expertly.

Next we have Heath Ledger and because of who the Joker is and what he represents, he must be the standout character of the film and with that notion obviously in mind, Ledger uses the very nature of the character to craft a standout performance that I'm sure goes beyond what any fanboy could have imagined. Ledger is amazing and scary as the Joker and (being the huge fan of the comics that I am, I can say this matter-of-factly) his performance makes Jack Nicholson's look like a bad impression of Cesar Romero. I mean that, I really do. In the world of Batman that I know and have wanted to see, Ledger could not have achieved a better outcome - his Joker is unpredictable, uncaring, nuanced and, at times, terrifyingly sane - he definitely did his homework on not only the Joker character, but other psychotics as well because I'm sure I spotted a touch of Alex from A Clockwork Orange. Ledger's performance will propel the batfans to new heights, greatly impress serious connoisseurs of acting and become a benchmark for all who attempt to follow. I firmly believe that people who are not remotely fans of Batman, action films or movies based on comic books would enjoy this film because of Ledger's performance, alone.

My other choice for a standout performance is that of Gary Oldman as Lt. James Gordon. I've been a big fan of Oldman and his eclectic repertoire for quite some some, and even though most people would recognize him for his work as psychotic or flamboyant antagonists, recently he's been making bold statements as quietly heroic and compassionate characters like that of Sirius Black in the Harry Potter films and, now, Lt. Gordon. In the first Batman film, Gordon was known as one of the few honest cops but, before that is ever stated, you knew what kind a man Gordon represented based on what Oldman was able to convey in a short flashback early in the film - by his demeanor, facial expressions and delivery there was no doubt he was a good man and a good cop. That theme is greatly expanded for Gordon in The Dark Knight to the point where you see to what length the character is willing to go in order to do the right thing while remaining humane and conscious of his loved ones, and Oldman succeeds brilliantly with displaying the dedication, uncertainty and concerns of an "average Joe" unconsciously being virtuous in a world gone mad. Put it this way, the character of Gordon is such a good guy and played so well by Oldman, that, even though I know that in the Batman universe Gordon eventually becomes Commissioner, there were points in the film where I was actually worried that something was going to happen to him. (This is Hollywood, after all - there's no telling what could come to pass.) So, as a character who is scared but can only do the right thing, Oldman pulls it off amazingly and makes it believable with as little as a set jaw and a thoughtful look. What's surprising is that in a film populated with so many larger, louder and flashier characters, Oldman's Gordon doesn't lose any ground.

The rest of the cast are as good as you would expect them to be. Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine both expand on their mentor, moral compass, and confidence support roles that they easily stepped into in the first film while Maggie Gyllenhaal, taking over as Rachel Dawes from Katie Holmes, brings a more believable sincerity and maturity to the character that is Bruce Wayne's love interest. Eric Roberts shows up as crime boss Salvatore Maroni and perfectly utilizes his patented "slimy guy who's full of himself" character to it's fullest extent and, lastly, additional newcomer Aaron Eckhart as D.A. Harvey Dent, who was a real surprise for me, flawlessly plays the role of a suave and captivating individual who is so focused on pushing himself toward reaching his devoted idealistic goals, that he's oblivious to what the price of failure could be - an individual who sees every issue as a right or wrong or positive and negative, like two sides of a coin.

As you can tell, in my opinion, everything about the film fell perfectly into place. I have absolutely no complaints and, trust me, being the die hard Batman fan that I am, I'm pretty picky when it comes to representations of the Dark Knight, his world and surrounding characters. I'm really glad to see that Bob Kane's creation (thanks to a little help from The Mark of Zorro) has finally reached a point of being taken seriously and treated with such reverence. After years of camp (even though I love the Adam West creation), non focus, misdirection and day-glow horrors with putrid story lines, it's truly refreshing to be able to sit in a theater (or at home for the first film) and enjoy an honest recreation of a practically hallowed world that, up until now, has been the domain of comic book geeks like myself. Now everyone's going to realize what they've been missing.

As for what comes next. Who can say? I'm convinced that as long as Christopher Nolan is allowed to follow his internal drive, the next Batman will be just as good as the first two, even though I realize how hard it will be to top this one. The great thing about being a true fan is that the next film doesn't have to set out to best the first two - as long as it's treated with the same dedication, everything will turn out fine and I'm sure that everyone working on the films feel the same way. In fact, Christian Bale recently said that he'd be happy to keep returning as Batman as long as Nolan was in the driver's seat and as long as there was no Robin character. Happy Day! At this point, and judging from what the returns have been in just two days, we're pretty much guaranteed a third film and I'm as pleased as can be about that and I plan on seeing The Dark Knight again, as soon as possible.

Hellboy II: The Golden Army

2008-07-12T21:38:00.007-05:00

Our favorite cigar chomping, cat loving, candy eating, wise cracking spawn from Hell is back for another round with the things that go 'bump' in the night. This time, accompanied by pyrokinetic girlfriend Liz (Selma Blair), best friend and aquatic empath Abe (Doug Jones), newcomer Johann Krauss (voiced by Seth MacFarlane), a gaseous entity and mysticism (misticisim?) expert who gets around via a containment suit (think reverse deep sea diver), and the rest of the Bureau of Paranormal Research and Defense, including Director Tom Manning (Jeffrey Tambor), Hellboy (Ron Perlman) must face off against a wannabe leader of the Underworld bent on the destruction of the Human race. According to legend, the Humans and the inhabitants of the mythical realm had been battling each other for quite some time until an enterprising Goblin devised and constructed the Golden Army: 70 X 70 (4,900) monstrous indestructible clockwork warriors that would fight, fight and keep fighting. Upon seeing the army's wanton destruction, the King of the Elves was riddled with guilt and called for a truce between the two waring races in the hopes that each side could find respect for the other and continue to exist in their adjacent realms peacefully. The Golden Army was placed in an undisclosed location, in stasis (since they were indestructible), and the King of the Elves hoped that such a nightmare would never have to be awoken again. Unfortunately, after centuries of Human expansion, one particular Elf has had quite enough of Humans and anything remotely concerning them - his notion is to declare himself leader of the mythical realm, find the pieces of the talisman that control the Golden Army and then proceed to rid the world of the nasty Humans once and for all. Obviously, this is a job for Big Red and the rest of the misfit toys.

Excellent movie, but first, if you haven't seen the original Hellboy and even though it's not a prerequisite, I highly recommend that you do in order to get the full appreciation of the characters and the world they inhabit. The thing about Hellboy is there's no middle ground - people either really like it or the entire concept is completely lost on them. So, basically, the people who enjoyed the first film will definitely enjoy this one, and the people who didn't, probably wouldn't waste their time reading this, anyway.

The acting? What acting? Ron Perlman is Hellboy and Hellboy is Ron Perlman. I recently saw an interview where Perlman was talking about his experiences with Guillermo del Toro (writer & director) and he said that del Toro was very specific with in telling him not to act. According to del Toro, he had written Hellboy's lines with Perlman's personality in mind and was afraid that any 'acting' might ruin the character. Interestingly, when del Toro initially spoke to Mike Mignola (the creator of Hellboy and the line of comics) about filming the first movie, in an effort to save time by not hacking through a bunch of actors, del Toro suggested that on a count of 'three', they would both say the name of the actor they would most like to see as Hellboy and, at the end of the count, they simultaneously said, "Ron Perlman." Obviously, this role was made for Perlman and I'm glad to say that he tops himself in this second outing. It's also worth noting that the people who actually did act in the movie did so with the same level of quality as Perlman's non-acting. I'm a huge fan of John Hurt, and I've never seen him be anything less than top-notch, and this performance, although brief, is no exception. Selma Blair retains her believability as Liz but, because of the passage of time since the first film and her current circumstances, the character of Liz has further developed, showing more confidence and maturity in her abilities as well as being an overall stronger female, which added an unexpected dimension and beauty to the character. Doug Jones actually portrays three different characters in this movie, but the standout is of course Abe Sapien, the 'fishstick'. This time, Jones, as Abe, not only performs as the wonderfully nuanced character, but he provides the voice as well. (David Hyde Pierce had provided Abe's voice in the first film but declined billing because of the belief that Jones had truly created the character) In addition, Abe's presence in the movie is much greater than that of the previous film and his role is a much more pivotal one. Jeffery Tambor, as Manning, is a welcome return and the newest character, Johann (voiced by MacFarlane) perfectly fills the space left by a non-returning character as well as provides the perfect fulcrum for some humor, tension and opportunity for (Hellboy's) growth.

This is truly a movie that demonstrates the power of talent and imagination and I'm quite sure that it could not have been accomplished, at least to the same degree, without the guiding hand and creative force of Guillermo del Toro. Del Toro first became a blip on the radar when he directed Mimic, and even though he disowned the film because of constant clashes with Bob Weinstein, del Toro was constantly given credit for the best aspects of the movie. A couple of years later, del Toro directed Blade II, easily (in my opinion) the best of the franchise and del Toro's second film outing with Perlman. Hellboy followed soon after and then del Toro really hit it big with the Oscar nominated Pan's Labyrinth - after which, he could practically write his own ticket, but rather than jump into the Hollywood machinery, he opted to produce the excellent Spanish film The Orphanage for fellow director Juan Antonio Bayona before cranking up production on Hellboy II. Now, after creating such a rich and elaborate world for Hellboy, it's off to New Zealand, with Peter Jackson, for the next five years to create a new adventure for some old friends in the possible two film epic of The Hobbit. How cool is that?

In the world of fantasy, Hellboy II is a winner - where the ridiculous is believable, sounds can terrify and forests can walk. The cast and director join together to create a vivid and opulent world where even things most vile have an underlying, but discernible beauty - colors are vibrant, settings are elaborate and the most obvious CGI creation has measurable weight. Fantasy might not be your favorite genre but, don't be fooled, there's more going on here than is apparent and the action, comedy and singing (yes, singing) help make this movie into a multidimensional experience that really shouldn't be missed by anyone who fancies themselves remotely intelligent or in possession of anything resembling a sense of humor or, for that matter, wonder. As I walked from the theater at the end, I was as pleased with this movie as I was the original (more so, actually) and perhaps a little sad knowing that it will be five or so years until the story can finally play out.

Wanted

2008-07-05T19:06:00.005-05:00

James McAvoy stars as Wesley Gibson, a 25-year-old accountant type who's days are spent huddling in a cubicle, getting degraded by his fat, obnoxious boss and being taken advantage of by his best friend/co-worker who, by the way, also happens to be screwing Wes's live-in girlfriend on a regular basis. Oh, and if all that wasn't bad enough, Wes also suffers from panic attacks. Nice, huh? Well, that's the extent of Wes's life, that is, until he meets Fox (Angelina Jolie) one night in a drug store. During the course of their eventful introduction, Fox informs Wes that his father, who had abandoned the family when Wes was a child, was not a deadbeat but was, in reality, a super assassin gifted with a rare genetic makeup which, when harnessed properly, could grant him access to strengths, speeds and perceptions that would make him a veritable superhuman killing machine. Turns out that others with this special genetic blend (like Fox) have been around for ages and, centuries ago, a group of such individuals had gotten together and formed a secret society called the Fraternity and had taken it upon themselves, aided by a machine of fate, to use their specials skills in ridding the world of very bad people. As time passed, others who were like them, including their descendants, were initiated into the Fraternity in an effort to continue their good work for the benefit of all mankind. Now, according to Fox, one of the brethren has gone rogue with the intentions of using his skills for personal gain, and knowing that the Fraternity would come after him, he started out on the offensive by killing their best and most gifted bad ass: Wes's father. Fox goes on to explain that the rogue agent's next move will be to take out the one person who could most likely fill the shoes of the aforementioned bad ass. Yep, you guessed it: Wes. Armed with this new information and insight, Wes must now delve deeper into himself if he wants to stay alive, and as he learns more from the Fraternity's tutors and their leader, Sloan (Morgan Freeman), Wes must walk the fine line of revenge and the fulfillment of his destiny.

This flick was great fun. I know, I know, there's that whole issue of physics and curving the trajectory of a bullet, which is displayed predominantly in the trailers, but I think the filmmakers were smart in showcasing that aspect of the film so there would be no mistake in what type of movie this is. This is not a Jason Bourne or a (spectacularly rebooted) James Bond movie, even though their reality can be, at times, just as tenuous. This is a movie based on Mark Millar's 2003 six issue comic series, of the same name, from Top Cow productions, and while the story has been considerably altered for the big screen, it is still firmly rooted in the comic book world - meaning, that it might not adhere to Newton's Three Laws of Motion, but it is damn fun. Besides, it's pretty much a given that when you combine Angelina Jolie with guns, physics are never a priority - not to mention that, even standing still, Angelina can break (and possibly create) laws of motion (and gravity) as she sees fit, but, as I so often remind you, that's only my opinion.

As for the cast, I thought James McAvoy was the perfect choice to play the easily ignored everyman who turns into a focused machine of retribution - it was a real treat watching as he transformed his character's traits. McAvoy is a real talent with a varied background which has served him well in the development of characters, his previous role being that of Robbie Turner in Atonement. One of the first things I remember seeing McAvoy in was an episode of Band of Brothers and since then, he's made great strides in becoming a very recognized actor at home in the U.K., as well as here in the states, with his latest role rumored to be that of Bilbo in the upcoming Hobbit film(s) - emphasis on rumored. Coincidentally, British actor Marc Warren, who's character in Wanted is known as The Repairman, was also in several episodes of Band of Brothers - just not the one McAvoy was in. Warren, as The Repairman, is intense and unforgiving and adds the right amount of menace to a role that could have been overshadowed by it's brutality. I will say that it's unfortunate Warren didn't get to display the dry wit or unassuming innocence that he has recently shown a knack for on the shows Life on Mars and Doctor Who, respectively. To get back to the headliners, Morgan Freeman taps into his stalwart character file for this movie and provides the serious universe balancing aspect to some extreme situations while Angelina, to briefly comment on her acting skills, actually portrays her over the top character more realistically than any of her past action endeavors, embracing her character's roots in Greek Tragedy and displaying the emotions and motivations accordingly.

Lastly, I would be remiss were I not to mention that this film is worth seeing simply because of groundbreaking visualist director Timur Bekmambetov, alone, and because of him, the movie would be just as much fun even if the cast were composed of complete unknowns. This is Bekmambetov's first American film, having completed all of his prior work in his native Russia where he is the creator of the most successful Russian film franchise in history, the Night Watch series, which broke all the Russian box office records previously set by The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Interestingly, Bekmambetov was able to use Konstantin Khabensky, his favorite Russian actor and main character of the Night Watch series, in a small but pivotal role in this film. So, if you've seen either Night Watch or Day Watch, you probably have a good idea what's in store and are excited to not only watch this movie, but see it, as well. If you're not familiar with either film, then power up your suspension of disbelief and sit back and enjoy the ride.

More WALL-E

2008-07-01T14:32:00.003-05:00

Thought you might enjoy this - be sure to watch the cups vignette.

WALL-E

2008-06-27T21:30:00.016-05:00

Meet WALL-E, short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter - Earth-class. WALL-E is a waste management robot - he and thousands like him, were tasked with compacting the overabundance of garbage into cubes and neatly stacking them into towering structures in an effort to clean up what had become an Earth inhospitable to life. After 700 years of diligent effort, WALL-E is the last of his kind, and along with his pet cockroach, Hal (as in 'Hal Roach' - and if you don't know who Hal Roach was, I suggest you look it up or you'll miss a great inside joke), as far as one can tell, they are the last "living" things on the planet. The curious thing is, after all the many decades, garbage is not the only thing that WALL-E has 'picked up', hence the pet roach. WALL-E has developed a unique personality, an insatiable curiosity and a fondness for collecting things. One of his most prized possessions is a VHS copy of Hello Dolly, which he watches nightly upon his return from work and, at some point, through the development of his personality, his interactions with the garbage and the many viewings of his single movie, WALL-E has discovered the most telling indicator of his sentience: He's lonely, painfully so, and he yearns for more. However, WALL-E continues his daily duty, partially because that's what he was designed to do and, primarily because his curiosity wouldn't allow him to do otherwise - oh, and there's also the small fact that he's proud of what he does. Now, after hundreds of years of doing what he does and becoming who he is, WALL-E is suddenly confronted by new and exciting possibilities with the arrival of an exploratory robot named EVE (Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator), with whom he is instantly enamored. As his internal circuitry mirrors that which the Tin Man most desired but always possessed, he sets forth on an adventure that, unbeknownst to WALL-E, has taken him 700 hundred years to prepare for.

WALL-E is, in a word: Stunning. I'll admit, I went into this movie expecting to enjoy it, but I was caught completely off guard by what I experienced; in other words, I was happily overwhelmed. When I wasn't laughing at the obvious (and not so obvious) humor or being touched by the poignant desires of WALL-E, I was sitting with mouth agape at the sheer spectacle of such a multifaceted and profound storyline. I've become quite accustomed to Pixar's movies dealing with darker issues just below the surface of the conspicuous, kid-friendly plots (Monsters, Inc. and The Incredibles come immediately to mind), and I've become equally accustomed to Pixar's directors and writers rarely, if ever, acknowledging the existence of these underlying currents, however, this was the first of their films to integrate multiple eddies subtly intermingling like shifting sands on a desert planet, while the director continues to reaffirm that this is merely a love story. Perhaps that's where Pixar's, and by default, WALL-E's, genius truly resides: in the ability to tell a fun, heartfelt story with fundamental moral principals that everyone of all ages can enjoy, while surreptitiously blending notions of deeper meaning and thought for anyone who might take the time and put forth the effort to gaze a little deeper into the picture placed before them. Think of it as a splendidly animated Rorshach ink blot test: You can look at it and say, "Butterfly!", and be content, or you can take your time, delve deep into the crevices and see a flowering meadow alive with nature under a cerulean sky at the height of Spring. Either way, you're right.

Another amazing aspect of this film, in conjunction with the story, is the manner in which it is told. There are only a few actors involved and, for the most part, they don't really turn up until the second act of the movie and even when they do, the robot characters, communicating through sound effects and a handful of synthesized words, are still the center of the story. And when I say "characters", I mean that in the most complimentary way possible because the robots (especially WALL-E) have more personality and can convey more emotion, even though they lack a vocabulary, than most people I know. Watching the first act of the movie, in which the only characters were WALL-E, Hal and, later, EVE, was pure unequivocal animated poetry. Throughout the film, I was constantly reminded of my annual New Year's resolution to strive to talk less but say more; it was refreshing and reassuring to see so much being said, feel so much emotion, without the hassle and clutter of talking. Granted, the credit for "acting", the emoting, the "heart" and overall striking appearance of the film rests with the spectacular photo-realistic animation. Not only were life-like robots able to believably display longing and wonder, but desolate cityscapes, dry, dusty and barren of life for hundreds of years, were presented with a captivating beauty rife with loneliness juxtaposed phenomenally with the vivid colors, expansive star fields and clean line aerodynamics of future space travel, all while paying homage to the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton as well as classic science fiction films like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Silent Running and Alien. Quite a stupendous achievement and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised, when the Academy Awards roll around, to see this movie forgo the Best Animated Picture category and head directly for the Best Picture Oscar.

Obviously, I was very impressed with this film and a majority of the credit must go to the main character, WALL-E. One of Pixar's outstanding qualities is the ability to create rich characters with whom an audience can readily identify and, not surprisingly, I had felt an affinity to WALL-E upon seeing the first teaser trailer that simply showed him gazing up into the starry night sky. I was intimately acquainted with that look. The more I saw, leading up to the release of the movie, the more I liked and the more I recognized a kindred spirit, so I was predisposed to, at least, enjoy certain aspects of the film regardless of the overall product, however, as I've previously stated, the overall product is astounding. Again, that's just my opinion - I don't expect everyone feel the same connection that I did, but I do expect the average person to thoroughly enjoy this movie and I definitely think that WALL-E is more than worthy of a theater viewing (or two).

I could continue to ramble on concerning my opinion of this movie but, for your sake and mine, I'll refrain, although I will leave you with one final thought: Several years ago, I read an interview with Brian Wilson, of the Beach Boys, referring to the summer of 1967 when he and the rest of the Beach Boys and some friends were all taking a break, staying together at a large beach house and basking in, not only in the glow of the California sun but, the glow of their perceived musical accomplishments, as well. According to Wilson, while in town buying groceries, one of the members had picked up a copy of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the album having been released just that day (which would have been June 2nd, I think), and brought it back to the house for a listen. After hearing the album from start to finish, Wilson said he realized that the Beach Boys had accomplished nothing. Now, everyone would pretty much agree that Wilson was being much more critical and demanding of the group than anyone else would ever attempt to be based on what the Beach Boys had contributed to music up to that point, but in his eyes and by his definition of 'accomplish', they were extremely far behind. After seeing Pixar's WALL-E, I can't help but wonder how many animation executives, directors, cinematographers, sound engineers and studio brass are thinking the same thing.

The Happening

2008-06-15T12:33:00.005-05:00

It's apparently an average day, like any other; weather is happening, people are working, playing and doing all the things that people do on an average day. In New York's Central Park, people are taking breaks, walking, relaxing and carrying on conversations with their friends, until, without warning, the act of communicating becomes difficult, disorientation sets in and then, by whatever means are available, everyone starts to kill themselves. Word of the event begins to spread and the initial assumption is that New York has suffered some type of chemi cal terrorist attack. In Philadelphia, high school science teacher Elliot Moore (Mark Wahlberg) and the rest of the school's faculty are notified of the tragedy as classes are canceled and children are sent home to be with their families. Elliot and his math teacher friend Julian (John Leguizamo), decide to get their families together and take a train to the Pennsylvania farmlands until more information is learned and the possibility of further attacks has been reduced. Elliot and his wife Alma (Zooey Deschanel), who are obviously going through some type of strain in their relationship, meet Julian and his 8 year-old daughter, Jess, at the train station and, after learning that Julian's wife is late and will have to take the next train, they head out. Once on the train, news of more attacks reaches the occupants and after hearing increasingly grim reports, the conductors stop the train, due to no communication from any of the stations, and basically, because of fear and self preservation, tell everyone they're on their own. Now, in a small town in the Pennsylvania countryside, Elliot, Alma, Julian and Jess are faced with limited options. It has become obvious that the attacks are affecting smaller and smaller areas of human population and even though Elliot is beginning to understand what is happening, he's also beginning to see that there may be no such thing as a safe place.

This movie falls comfortably into the area of classic apocalypse, as in, something has happened/ is happening, we're not really sure what, but there's a good chance a significant percentage of humans (if not all) could end up perishing. Similar to how apocalyptic films of the 50's capitalized on the fears of the atomic bomb and the effects of radiation, this movie, at first, makes use of the terrorist threat fears, and then moves into an entirely different, but not completely unexplored, realm. Writer and director M. Night Shyamalan has stated that his goal for this film was to create a current, well made "B" movie - much like those films of the 50's - and in that respect (and in my opinion), he easily achieved, and surpassed what he set out to do. The main difference between Shyamalan's film and the 50's versions is that rather than waste time on dialog involving pseudo-science and explanations that would become laughable in six to eight months (like much of the radiation hypothesizing of the 50's), The Happening looks for solutions based on common sense logic but never attempts to provide a definitive answer, relying instead on the notion that, as much as humans like to arrogantly think we're the be-all end-all of intelligence, there are just some things that we don't know and even when we think we have it figured out, we don't. That's my favorite aspect of the film: Humanity getting caught with their complacent pants around their chubby ankles.

Keeping with the "B" movie notion, rather than create the large (and expensive) spectacle of the world in danger, the story ultimately focuses on a few individuals who's purpose is to emotionally convey the vastness of the situation from the viewpoint of a mircocosm, and, for this particular story, Wahlberg, Deschanel and Leguizamo, along with a few others, do that incredibly well. Wahlberg and Deschanel are able to show the overall fear that such an event would induce while simultaneously displaying the emotional gamut of a couple suffering relationship strains as they try to assist friends and perfect (and imperfect) strangers through the course of an unprecedented event. Leguizamo is representative of the people in traumatic events who try to be brave for others as the fears concerning the fate of loved ones continually erode their internal supports. I've decided that Leguizamo should take more dramatic roles.

I didn't think this was a great movie, but I definitely believe that it was good and is worth seeing in the theater, especially if you are in any way a fan of the apocalyptic style of storytelling. This movie may not have major action or a spectacular budget, but the intense scenes when the event takes place more than make up for that. Shyamalan's ability to subtly film a sequence with an underlying intensity that lingers long after the initial scene has passed is uncanny. That alone is worth the price of admission or rental.

Oh, and one word of warning: If the notion of seeing someone intentionally inflict injury upon themselves intending to bring about their own demise bothers you, by no means should you see this movie. Seriously.

The Strangers

2008-05-31T20:39:00.008-05:00

Following a close friend's wedding reception, James Hoyt (Scott Speedman) and Kristen McKay (Liv Tyler) make their way back to James' family's summer home where they are staying for the course of the wedding. Things are a little tense between the couple, because of an earlier disagreement, and they each need a little quiet time to absorb the past few hours and come to terms with what they feel the future holds for them, mutually and individually. Fortunately, the summer home is in an extremely secluded area unburdened by the distractions of modern civilization. However, In the wee hours of the morning, James and Kristen are paid a visit by three masked strangers (hence the name) who seemingly have no intent other than malice. Unfortunately, the summer home is in an extremely secluded area unburdened by the distractions of modern civilization. Isolated from any possible assistance, their fear meters pegged, what started out as an emotional late night of contemplation suddenly disintegrates into a surreal exercise in survival.

Honestly, I'm still kinda working this one out. In my opinion, a small percentage of the film is truly original while another small percentage is truly predictable or insulting, leaving the majority to do the best it can with typical suspense situations. What I've been trying to work out is whether or not this was a successful combination and, after much deliberation, I've decided that the movie succeeds, but only moderately. With that decided, I can say the final product falls somewhere between fair and good, however, there are a few standout qualities.

The two things that save this flick from a being a direct-to-video release or, at worse, a bad genre network made-for-televison movie, is the cast and the cinematography. Basically, the cast consists of five people, our poor tormented couple and the three masked strangers, with 99.9% of the dialog being delivered by Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman. Tyler is excellent in realistically protraying the gamut of emotion experienced by Kristin while Speedman is more than adequate but slightly stifled because of the nature of the James character. The fact that the three strangers have only five or six cumulative lines of dialog (one stranger has none) contributes to the overall intensity, insanity and isolation of the situation, leaving Tyler and Speedman to be the sole conduits of emotion and information, which they do surprisingly well, keeping in mind that many actors would have a procilivty to grossly over-act given similar opportunities. Meshing cohesively with the performances, as well as practically creating the stark isolated environment, is the seemingly simple and minimalistic use of lighting, especially that of the interior shots. What initially starts out as a warm, almost romantic, quality in the house, eventually becomes a character in it's own right as the tones and situations in the movie progress and change. I kept remembering how, as a child, the simple act of turning on an overhead light could banish the dark, the shadows (even sounds) and my fears in one quick motion. Not so here. Even with all the lights on and a fire in the fireplace, the interior scenes were never remotely bright and shadows were always prevalent making the darkness seem like a living thing trying to squeeze the life from the light. The muted lighting and use of grain in the film was very reminiscent of some of the great suspense/horror film from the '70's including The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) and Halloween (1978), even though in the '70's, that was simply how films were made because of the available technology, whereas in film making today, those types of things are actually conscious decisions. It's easy for me to say that my favorite aspect of the movie was how it looked.

Unfortunately, Tyler and, to a lesser degree, Speedman's acting along with the excellent cinematography still weren't enough to completely win me over. As I said earlier, for me, this was only a fair to good movie and the main reason for that is the conflict I felt with the story and the James Hoyt character. I'll not go into detail because what bothers me may not bother someone else. I've mentioned on several occasions the fact that I'm aware that different people react differently in intense situations and, for the most part, it's impossible to predict how an individual will respond to every scenario, however, it's my opinion that certain reactions are merely a question of instinct, meaning that in many cases, the best action is no action, and the average person would act accordingly. Keep in mind that I'm not confusing instinct with intelligence because, as most of us who use polysyllabic words know, if it were a matter of intelligence, the average person would be (and usually is) toast in these suspense/horror type situations. I guess what I'm trying to say is that in movies like this, I'd like to see more experimental creativity with character development rather than dependence on tweaked cliches.

Oh, and while I would never try to indicate that I know exactly how I would respond were I to find myself in the same situation as Kristen and James, I can guarantee that when I get the shotgun in my hands, along with a shoe box full of shells, the game is unequivocally over.

Idiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

2008-05-24T19:32:00.004-05:00

It's Indiana Jones! You know, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Temple of Doom, The Last Crusade, Indy, Dr. Jones. Indiana. Jones. Even though I really don't think a synopsis is required, here's an extremely brief one: It's 1957 and the Soviets are the bad guys. Period. A group of bad guys, lead by Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett), are on the hunt for a legendary crystal skull which, according to myth, will bring the bearer unimaginable power once it's returned to it's equally legendary kingdom. The bad guys, after doing their research, have decided that forcing Dr. Jones (Harrison Ford) to assist them is the best way to guarantee their success. While the bad guys may know their research, they obviously don't know Dr. Jones.

Full disclosure: For me, the only synopsis I needed (and the only one I had) was: It's been almost twenty years and finally, another Indiana Jones.

I really, really enjoyed this flick - the movie's a blast - it's paced well, the story is comparable to it's predecessors, the action and stunts are top notch, the finale is great, but most of all, it's fun. When Spielberg and Lucas set out to make the first Indiana Jones installment, they wanted to capture the exuberance and thrills of the Saturday matinee serials of the 1930's and 1940's, which they did, and that notion remained through the subsequent sequels and, thankfully, holds true for this film, as well. Then again, I'm pretty biased, just so you know. I was fairly sure I was going to like this movie regardless, and as soon as the Raider's March kicked in, I was hooked all over again. So what if it's been almost twenty years, it's freakin' Indiana Jones! So anyway, the movie is very enjoyable and there's just the right amount of nostalgia for the hardcore fans of the series, with my personal favorite being the return of Marion Ravenwood (Karen Allen), who was always my favorite Indy girl (I had a huge crush back in '81).

At this point, I normally take a moment to reflect on the performances in the movie, but what's the point? It's Indiana Jones! Harrison Ford is Indiana Jones. As for the rest, Karen Allen is great, Ray Winstone is impeccable, Shia LaBeouf fits in like he has always belonged and I've never seen Cate Blanchett or John Hurt turn in a less than stellar performance, and this is no exception. The best thing about the performances is that no one's looking for an any type of accolade, their performances mirror exactly the type of stereotypical characters that populated the old serials. The only way the performances could have been bad, would have been if they had taken themselves too seriously, which Spielberg would have never allowed to happen. So there we go, the characters are exactly who they are supposed to be and prove to be entertaining from the opening scene to the closing credits.

I realize full well that some people aren't going to like this movie and maybe I'll expand on that thought at some latter point. For now, however, I'm simply going to say that in my opinion, this was an excellent film and a worthy addition to the series. I think people unfamiliar with the series would enjoy this movie, as would those remotely familiar with it. The fans and hardcore fans (hardcore: meaning people who can quote more than five lines of dialog from either film) might be a little more discerning but, in the end, I think they'll be won over, as well, but I wouldn't expect anything else.......it's Indiana Jones!

Redbelt

2008-05-11T12:58:00.022-05:00

Chiwetel Ejiofor (Choo-i(t)-tell Edge-oh-for) stars as Jiu-jitsu master and instructor Mike Terry in this latest offering from from writer and director David Mamet (Glengarry Glen Ross, House of Games, Heist). As an instructor, Mike excels at teaching his students to prevail and see the honor in their conflicts, however, as a business owner, he is failing miserably since his students alone are not bringing in enough money to sustain his dojo. Mike could easily make his business profitable were he to partake in the 'real' money of competition if only he didn't see competition fighting as a corruption of the spirit of what he represents. It is his desire for simplistic purity that is slowly strangling his business as well as straining his relationship with his wife who, to keep his studio afloat, uses money from her somewhat successful business to pay his bills. A break in the clouds appears in the form of a bar fight involving action movie star Chet Frank (Tim Allen), in which Mike saves the 'action man' from having his clock immaculately cleaned. After Chet remembers what year it is, several offers are made to Mike in appreciation and in recognition of his abilities and manner of teaching, which could open many Hollywood doors for not only Mike, but for his wife, Sondra (Alice Braga), as well. Unfortunately, things are never as good as they seem and after realizing the type of people he's become involved with, Mike's future takes such a dark turn that his only possible salvation may be fighting in the type of commercialized competition that he has morally avoided for all of professional career.

I'm really glad I was able to see this film before the summer movie madness kicked into high gear since I was concerned that it's limited release would mean that it wouldn't be in my area, or, when it was, there would be a conflict with another movie I wanted to see. Thankfully, everything worked out and I was able to enjoy an extremely well written, solidly acted film that focused on a strong story with some nice twists and turns. Unfortunately, since this film doesn't sport a huge, big-name cast, concentrates on realism rather than flash and relies on the cast's emotion and dialog tell the story instead of gratuitous 'action' scenes, I'm pretty sure Redbelt will end up in the 'respected small movie' category with hopes of finding a following, as well as recouping it's budget, through cable and video distribution. Again, that is unfortunate because many film fans who are unfamiliar with David Mamet but appreciate good storytelling will miss this well made and well told tale. As for the story, it's not unique, but, as I've mentioned in the past, it doesn't have to be as long as the telling is unique. I thought this particular telling was inspired because of a subtle, underlying chaos (and anxiety) that seems to permeate the character's lives and the fact that the film avoided the cliche of becoming a physical display designed to showcase a be-all and end-all final conflict reminiscent of The Karate Kid, sans Mr. Miyagi. Maybe it's just me, but any time there is a main character who is a martial arts master and the movie doesn't succumb to being a 'martial arts movie', I'm impressed.

The other thing that impressed me about this movie was the cast. I was already a fan of Chiwetel Ejiofor's from having seen him in Dirty Pretty Things, Children of Men and, especially his turn as the intense but cordial killing agent in Serenity, so I wasn't surprised at how well he was able to simultaneously display the strength of a Jiu-jitsu master and the calm of a dedicated spiritualist. Kinda like a Jedi. However, I was surprised by Tim Allen's gritty performance as movie star Chet Frank. Allen's character was gruff, shady and calculating in a very film noir kind of way - it was an amazing (but not enough screen time) performance and, while trying not to seem overly perspicacious, I'd be willing to bet that Allen's portrayal was probably the closest we've ever come to seeing the real man behind the actor. Just a hunch. Emily Mortimer as attorney-with-issues Laura Black was not only well cast, but was incredibly believable on several emotional levels as was Alice Braga (recently seen in I Am Legend) as Mike's business and success oriented wife, Sondra. Other notable cast members include Joe Mantegna as the duplicitous (shocker) business partner type, Max Martini, veteran of such television shows as 24, CSI and The Unit, as Officer Joe Ryan and 90 mile per hour playing card thrower and magician Ricky Jay (X-Files, The Prestige) as slimy fight promoter Marty Brown. As you can tell, the cast is populated by people who have honed their craft by portraying a myriad of characters, and their backgrounds in solid characterizations help save this film from becoming the average type of drama that you might find on the T.N.T. network. ***Tangent*** Also, for those people who do see it but tend to lack certain observational skills, the character of Lucy Weiss, an associate of Chet Frank's wife, Zena, is portrayed by Jennifer Grey of Dirty Dancing and Ferris Bueller's Day Off fame. I'm not sure if her name was in the opening credits but, after being 99% sure I had recognized her as Lucy, I made sure to double check the closing credits and saw that I was right. It's really unfortunate that her rhinoplasty made her look sooooo much better, but, in exchange, exacted such a negative impact on her career. *** End of Tangent ***

As I said earlier, this is a very solid and well written film and even though I don't anticipate it receiving tons of accolades, I do believe it's a film worth seeing. I don't know that I'd recommend a theater viewing, and given it's limited release that may prove difficult, anyway, but, if you're the type who appreciates a good drama populated by above average performances delivering sharp dialog, then I would definitely recommend adding Redbelt to your Netflix queue when it becomes available.

Iron Man

2008-05-04T12:01:00.016-05:00

If you're not already familiar with the concept of Iron Man, here's a quick rundown: Robert Downey Jr. stars as Tony Stark - billionaire, genius inventor and playboy who is just charming enough to make you overlook his abundance of ego and the fact that he has little regard for anyone other than himself. On a trip to Afghanistan to demonstrate his latest killing technology, Tony is seriously wounded and kidnapped by terrorists who, under threat of death, order him to build the same killing technology for their benefit. With the help of a fellow captive, Tony realizes that his life's work, rather than promote peace, has only served to prolong global conflict as the weapons he has designed have fallen into the hands of the very people he has wanted to protect the world against. Resigning himself to make atonement for his mistakes, instead of building a devastating weapon, Tony builds a crude but adequate and extremely ingenious suit of armor and makes his escape. Upon his return to the states, he perfects the armor design and with the help of his personal assistant, Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow), and his best friend, Jim 'Rhodey' Rhodes (Terrence Howard), he sets out to use his company for something more positive than weapons manufacturing, much to the consternation of his business partner, Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges).

Big Fun! Iron Man is the perfect start to the Summer movie train - it's story has depth while not being convoluted on one end or simplistically trite on the other, the action is flashy but not overly used or ridiculously over the top and the characters are believable as people rather than exaggerated caricatures or empty vessels. The movie takes itself seriously without becoming preachy and always remembers to acknowledge it's inherent humor and, most importantly (at least in my opinion), the audience is never subjected to insulting scenarios or convenient deus ex machina. Now I'm not saying that the movie is scientifically sound and never breaks a single law of physics; if that were the case, the movie wouldn't have been half as good as an episode of MacGyver and, anyway, this is a superhero movie, so a little suspension of disbelief is required but, curiously, not as much as in some 'based on a true story' movies I've seen.

As for the players, I really don't think the film could have been cast any better. I've always heard that you can tell if a movie was cast correctly if, after the initial viewing, you can't imagine anyone else in a specific role. The character of Indiana Jones is a perfect example because even though everyone knows that Tom Selleck was the original choice, it is absolutely impossible to imagine anyone other then Harrison Ford under the fedora. This rings very true for Robert Downey Jr.'s portrayal of Tony Stark because Downey was able to infuse the right amounts of his own personality into the character that is Stark. In fact, there are several lines of dialog that I'm positive Downey ad-libbed brilliantly, further making the character his own, and, in addition, Downey should be credited with single handedly salvaging what would have been, at best, a mediocre final climatic battle. The supporting parts, while not being quite so actor specific, were equally well cast and portrayed, bringing a comfortable chemistry into practically every interaction that occurs, with the standout being the friendship and sexual tension between the characters of Pepper Potts and Tony Stark. Downey and Paltrow are perfect together and at certain points their interactions are reminiscent of David and Maddie from Moonlighting. Seriously - maybe not the heated and frenetic exchanges but definitely the 'trying to keep things professional while we stand this close' with exchanges of subtle glances that seem to say, "I know that you know that I know....." while being afraid to act on impulse for fear of the other's reaction. Rounding out the supporting players, Bridges and Howard bring a simple, gritty realism to two characters who could have easily and accidentally been portrayed with evangelistic zeal but, thankfully, were not. Together, the entire ensemble constructs a cohesive quality to their performances that, for lack of a better term, feels right, and it's that cohesiveness that works in conjunction with the action and special effects creating a Summer blockbuster that is, for the most part, as focused on the characters and what the audience thinks of them as it is on the CGI.

But don't just take my word for it. Unless, like Osama, you've been living in a cave (actually, I think he's been living in a condo in Boca, but that's another post), you've already heard how well the movie has been doing in it's first few days of release. Marvel has already confirmed the sequel along with several other titles with a possible film to bring several characters, including Iron Man, together (The Avengers). That's excellent and promising news to the legions of comic geeks and fans (I fall somewhere comfortably in the middle), but if you're not a fan of comics, don't let that deter you from seeing this really fun (and funny), well acted and exciting film.

Oh, and don't forget to stay until the end of the credits or you might miss something.

Why the Discovery Channel Rocks

2008-04-23T15:14:00.002-05:00

Boomdiada!

That pretty much sums it up.

88 Minutes

2008-04-20T11:46:00.003-05:00

Here's another simple, somewhat recycled premise. Al Pacino plays uber-successful university professor and forensic psychiatrist Dr. Jack Gramm who, when he's not teaching class and being an all around confident guy, is a consultant and expert witness for the F.B.I. On the day before the scheduled execution of serial rapist/killer Jon Forster (Neal McDonough), a new murder scene is discovered bearing the exact same modus operandi as Forster. This turn of events, of course, not only raises doubts concerning Forster's guilt but also brings into question Gramm's expert testimony which was responsible for the conviction. To add to an already perfect day, Gramm receives a phone call telling him he has only 88 minutes to live. Ticktock doc. As the minutes fall away and the reality of the situation sets in, Gramm, convinced that Forster is somehow behind what is happening, realizes that the perpetrator must be someone very close to him, and he's going to need to push his skills to their limit in order to unravel the puzzle and hopefully stay alive.

Not bad - not great. I would say this movie rests comfortably on the low side of 'good', and that's only because of the performances of Pacino and McDonough. Pacino come through with his familiar I'm-a-forceful-but-charming-kinda-guy persona that he's perfected over the years except, in this instance, his character is highly intelligent and quick on his feet as well. Pacino adds the intelligence factor without coming across as pompous, which is a very good thing because it wouldn't have taken much for me to switch sides and root for the killer. This brings me to McDonough, the incarcerated serial killer who may be behind the machinations affecting Pacino's character. Honestly, I think I would have liked this film much more if McDonough had received more screen time. McDonough's portrayal of Forster was intense, calculating and just a tad chilling, and the interactions between Forster and Gramm were some of the best moments of the movie. I've seen several things with McDonough in the cast (Minority Report, The X-Files, Timeline, Band of Brothers) but this was the first I'd seen him play such an intense character - he should do it more often. The other two notables in the cast would have to be Leelee Sobieski as one of the grad students and Alicia Witt as Gramm's teaching assistant, both of whom bring a polished realism to their characters that could have easily slipped past other, less experienced actors.

All in all I think this was an adequate film considering the story, however, this definitely falls into the 'rental' category. Had it not been for Pacino and McDonough, this could have conceivably been a direct to video release and, considering the plot, if the four main roles were replaced with full time television actors, you'd have a perfect Lifetime movie. Now I realize that some people who don't read and aren't particularly fond of logic will find this movie much more satisfying than I did, and that's fine. Sometimes I wish I was one of those people because, then, I'd have so much more to like but, unfortunately, I'm not so I'm relegated to the disappointment isle, but that's just fine because it means that when something really well thought out and surprisingly written comes along, I'm all that more impressed by it and my day is truly improved. Sadly, 88 Minutes didn't fall into that category.

p.s. In case you're wondering what does fall into that category, considering the story line, look no further than the first season of The X-Files to episode 12 entitled: Beyond the Sea. Brad Dourif guest stars as a convicted serial killer about to be executed when crimes mirroring his m.o. begin to occur, opening the door to lots of questions and bringing Mulder and Scully to the prison since it was Mulder's profile that caught Luther Lee Bogs (Dourif) in the first place. Awesome episode and amazing performances from Duchovny, Anderson and, as usual, Dourif. Check it out - you won't be disappointed.

The Ruins

2008-04-06T11:30:00.003-05:00

Well, this one's fairly simple. You've got your four American college kids (boy-girl couples) on a Cancun holiday when, two days before they're to depart, they meet Mathias (Joe Anderson), a friendly German who, following an afternoon of beach frivolity, offers to take them to the archaeological site where his brother is working. The site, as fate would have it, is very off the beaten path (even though they end up following an actual beaten path) in a secluded area found only by hand drawn map and consists of an obviously ancient and heretofore unknown Mayan pyramid. Jeff (Jonathan Tucker) & Amy (Jena Malone) and Eric (Shawn Ashmore) & Stacy (Laura Ramsey) agree to spend their last day of holiday as students of history exploring a site that has not yet become a tourist trap. Curiously, this situation could cause one to wonder at the origins of the phrase 'tourist trap'. Also on the excursion is tag-along history buff, Greek tourist and wannabe adventurer, Dimitri, who had been invited, along with his two Greek buddies, on the same day but, unfortunately, as the morning of the trip dawned, his two buddies were still sleeping off the previous night's festivities forcing Dimitri to leave them behind with instructions under their sleeping heads. So, as the six set off on their day of fun, the first thing that is apparent, at least to the initiated, is that if this were an episode of Star Trek, Dimitri would be wearing a huge red shirt. Anyway, after some riding and hiking, the group arrives at the pyramid only to be confronted by a group of locals waving guns, bows and arrows and shouting in a language no one understands. Things get violent and confused, quickly, and the group takes refuge atop the pyramid. It is at this point that the writers, producers and studio intend for the story to sprout and grow into full bloom.

This film is based on the novel (which I haven't and probably will not read) of the same name by Scott Smith and was, from what I understand, a bestseller. After seeing the movie, I've decided that either the book really wasn't that good and the mass of people reading it were not typically well read, similar in nature to the group that flocked to The da Vinci Code, or the book actually was good and, considering how movie studios have a propensity for altering novels, the original story was 'doctored' in a formulaic fashion with the intent of inducing the proper scares at predefined intervals along with anticipated higher ticket sales. Whatever the case, the movie was a disappointment.

The cast, consisting of four primary individuals, performed as well as could be expected. They were confused, exasperated, terrified, frantic, stupid, falsely noble and borderline psychotic right on queue. The performances were adequate but typically over-the-top. I know, I know, there are always those people who say something like, "Don't be so judgmental because you don't know how you'd act in a similar situation." Yes I do, and besides, only certain types of people find themselves in those types of situations and, since nothing remotely comparable has ever occurred to me, I'm obviously not one of those types of people. Additionally, the cast did their absolute best for what they had to work with and in a few scenes, they were as convincing as their surroundings would allow them to be. Curiously, the characters who I found most convincing and unnerving were the Mayan characters who spoke no English but easily conveyed a sense of panic, intensity and unease. So, all in all, I don't really think the actors can be held responsible for the lackluster story.

I realize I'm being a bit tough on this film so I feel I should clarify that the movie isn't horrible, it's just typical and the few truly clever devices and interesting aspects of the plot are never fully realized or explored in their entirety. Granted, the beginning of the movie, showing the four main characters partying in Cancun, is rather uninspired and does nothing to instill confidence in or imbue either character with any redeeming qualities. The first fifteen minutes are so vacuous, they could be used for the opening of a horror movie, a sci-fi movie, a 'teen angst' movie, a Lifetime Network 'action' movie or an episode of The O. C. However, once the actual story begins to play out, several potentially interesting and compelling scenarios are revealed but, as I previously mentioned, never fully realized. At one point during the movie, I thought, "Wow, this would have made an excellent episode of The X-Files........wait a minute, this was an excellent episode of The X-Files." My point being, similar setups can be found throughout the horror and sci-fi genres, but it's the exploration of the unique attributes that make the journey engaging. The X-Files had five or six similarly setup episodes, but each was uniquely different because of the scrutiny given to specific details and plot twists. There are obvious aspirations in The Ruins' but, unfortunately, rather than sharpen the thought provoking facets, the story succumbs to banality and ignores the gripping questions and aberrations that are posed.

I definitely can't recommend seeing this in the theater but I think this would be an adequate rental for, if for no other reason, exercising your brain's 'what if' capabilities. I know I spent a significant amount of time mentally exploring the possibilities that the filmmakers missed, which was surprisingly satisfying. Also, if you're a fan of typical 'horror' where predictable things occur and the effects are inventive and well done, then this would be a good rental, as well. Curiously, if you are a fan of horror (movies and books), then you may have already seen or read a somewhat condensed version of this story if you've ever read Stephen King's Skeleton Crew or seen the movie Creep Show 2 because the short story The Raft, which was the second segment of Creep Show 2, is remarkably similar to the overall concept of The Ruins. I hope that doesn't ruin it for you.

Doomsday

2008-03-16T11:16:00.007-05:00

There are two synopsis' for this film, the first: A fast moving and atrocious super-virus surfaces in Glasgow laying waste to the population in short order. The government, anticipating that no cure or treatment can be found before every human in Scotland is dead and in an effort to prevent the spread of the virus (known as the 'Reaper' virus) to England, Ireland and possibly the rest of the world, quarantines a majority of the country and encloses it within a huge steel wall populated with automated and human sentries that annihilate any of the infected that try to escape. The idea is to let the virus die out after the last human perishes and then keep the area sealed off as a no-entry hot zone just in case further exposure could be possible. There is a huge surge as the uninfected try to make it out before the final steel doors are welded shut and, in one particular case, a mother sacrifices herself so that her young daughter will survive. Thirty years later, England's economy is failing as poverty forces more and more people into streets already overcrowded with the remnants of the thousands of individuals displaced because of the Reaper virus and the closest thing to a silver lining is the fact that after three decades, the shifty Prime Minister (Alexander Siddig) and his cronies are under the assumption that they were able to contain the virus and are, at least, safe from that threat. Wrong. Thanks for playing. Unexpectedly, the Reaper virus resurfaces in London forcing the government to go into high alert because they know they don't have much time before mass exposure. The drastic turn of events prompts the Prime Minister to reveal top secret satellite imagery to one of London's top 'special-ops' police commanders, Bill Nelson (Bob Hoskins), imagery showing the city of Glasgow and people who actually survived the virus. The Prime Minister explains that a cure must have been discovered by a Dr. Kane (Malcolm McDowell), who was in Glasgow working to stop the virus when the country was sealed. The plan is for Nelson to recommend an operative to lead an elite team into the hot zone, find Kane and/or the cure and rendezvous with the extraction team in 48 hours, or don't come back. Nelson immediately goes to Eden Sinclair (Rhona Mitra), who we had already briefly seen in action, knowing that not only is she tough enough for the job but, having been a child when she was evacuated from Glasgow, has her own personal reasons for wanting to return to her former home. What follows is her and her teams attempts to survive a world gone mad in an effort to prevent a similar, or worse, planet wide scenario.

Synopsis two: Normal and well armed bad-asses enter into a post-apocalyptic nether world and do battle with insane madmen (and women), who represent the vilest aspects of human retrogression, in an attempt to procure an item which will allow humanity as we know it (or as close as possible) to continue existing with some semblance of an evolved civilization.

Get it? You can follow the story..........or not - as long as you have the general idea, it doesn't matter, just sit back and enjoy the ride. Either way, Doomsday rocks! and I mean that from the bottom of my guilty pleasured heart.

Seriously, I had an absolute blast seeing this movie, but wait, this isn't a simple sit down and watch what happens movie, no way, this is a leave your doubts at the door and crank up the volume along with your suspension of disbelief, embrace the violence and the driving soundtrack and sink into the movie like you would a hot mud bath, because, like the mud bath, when the movie's over, you're going to feel surprisingly refreshed..........and a little dirty. That's what makes it so much fun.

I'll admit, I was already digging the movie before it even started because I knew I was going to enjoy it simply because of the prospect of watching Rhona Mitra look spectacular while kicking ass. I could not have been more spot on - Rhona (Hollow Man, The Practice, Boston Legal, Shooter) has ousted Angelina Jolie and now, along with Kate Beckinsale and Milla Jovovich, completes my ultimate trifecta of smart, forces to be reckoned with femme fatales. I know, I'm such a geek but hey, at least I'm honest about it. Anyway, back to the movie. Another reason I was looking forward to the movie was because I'm a sucker for those futuristic, post-apocalyptic, fight for your life, kill or be killed as anarchy reigns kind a movies. I was not disappointed and, trust me, if you're a fan of the more simplistic sci-fi with cool over-the-top outfits, heavy action, plenty of chases and ridiculous stunts, you won't be disappointed either. Anyone who's ever seen and, I hope, enjoyed movies like Mad Max, The Road Warrior, Escape from New York, Death Race 2000 or No Escape will feel right at home here because aspects from all of those films, and plenty others, are included in this action fest. I also got the distinct impression that the filmmakers were doing their best to pay homage to these earlier classics (rather than rip them off) while simultaneously trying to create something new and unique for the audience, and I'm happy to say that, in my opinion, they succeeded brilliantly. The crowning moment, for me, occurred during the final, frenetic chase scene as Mitra, driving a fantastically cool Bentley sports car, is pursued relentlessly and recklessly by the evil minions, all to the pounding sounds of Frankie Goes to Hollywood singing Two Tribes. It was practically a religious experience.

As for the acting. Who cares? Alright, I know, that's not fair and to be perfectly honest, the acting is leaps and bounds better than in some of the other films I mentioned - I mean, collectively, the acting in this film destroys Escape from New York (except for Kurt, of course) and all of the players are believable in the roles they are cast. Rhona Mitra is the obvious standout because of how well she was able to convey a seriously tough physical and mental attitude while remaining entirely feminine with an underlying alluring quality (geek boy, I know) - it's no surprise that she was the original model and physical promoter (in character) for the Laura Croft Tomb Raider video games as well as being the first consideration to play the character in the movie version, only to loose out to Angelina Jolie, whom the producers felt would draw bigger revenues. Bob Hoskins (Enemy at the Gates, Who Framed Roger Rabbit) is easily believable as a gritty no-nonsense police boss and it was a pleasure watching Alexander Siddig (Syriana, and Doctor Bashir on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine) embrace his foul weasel-like character to the fullest extent. Malcolm McDowell is crazy in his patented calculatingly chilling way and Craig Conway (The Descent) is perfectly over the top as the leader of the cannibalistic metal-head gang, channeling Wez, from The Road Warrior, but taking the role to a completely higher level of insanity. The rest of the supporting cast is more then adequate in their respective roles, the soldiers are tough, the sick people are sick, the bad guys are bad and the gangs are off the chart with some surprisingly attractive, amazingly in shape members. I guess in the post-apocalyptic world, there's plenty of time to work out. Good to know.

Well, I've rambled on quite enough about this flick. It's obvious that I enjoyed it and it will definitely become a part of my collection on the day of it's release on disc. I realize that this type of movie doesn't appeal to everyone and I respect that, however, for those people who do enjoy this type of entertainment, Doomsday comes with my highest recommendation and for those people who do, on occasion, enjoy a mindless getaway or an action filled diversion, this film absolutely fills the order.

*Just a side note: The first image is the U.S. promo poster and the second is the French promo poster. I included the second because I thought it was cool........and it's got Rhona Mitra on it.

The Bank Job

2008-03-09T11:40:00.002-05:00

Jason Statham stars as Terry, a questionable car dealer with a questionable past. Although Terry was never involved in any serious 'A-list' criminal activity, he and his mates explored their share of petty endeavors, however, now, with a wife and two young children, he's doing his best to make an 'honest' living and provide for his family even though things can be extremely difficult (as in loan sharks) at times. Which makes for a tough decision when the beautiful Martine Love (Saffron Burrows), one of the gang from the old neighborhood who went on to a successful modeling career, shows up with an interesting proposition. It seems Martine's current beau has given her information that offers a practically risk-free hit on one of London's Baker Street banks. Terry immediately sees this as his one opportunity to secure a comfortable and guaranteed future for his family where the odds of his succeeding far outweigh the odds of failing and losing his family for years, or worse. Martine's idea is to take advantage of the huge cache of safe deposit boxes which could hold much more in cash, jewels and other priceless objects than the bank alone, and also because the box owners may not want to report exactly what was taken, leaving the police to fend for themselves as the robbers go their separate ways. The only problem is that the boxes hold more than money and expensive baubles, they are packed with secrets, and to the people who these secrets belong, ranging from organized mobsters, dirty cops, and from prominent members of the British government straight up to the Royal Family, nothing, least of all the lives of the robbers, is more important than protecting their hidden knowledge.

I was surprised at just how good this flick was. The story is inspired by the infamous 1971 robbery that took place at Lloyds Bank in London at the intersection of Baker St and Marylebone Rd. While the true details of what the robbers absconded with remain steeped in mystery, it is a confirmed fact that four days after the robbery, the British authorities issued an official notice to the media requesting that they cease publishing or broadcasting news relating to the crime because of concerns regarding national security. The reasons behind the request were never publicly disclosed and the fact that such requests had been made have only recently been confirmed. The filmmakers, claiming that one of the producers has inside information about the robbery, expound on the prevailing theories and and craft an exceptionally well paced caper with a driving story that is both compelling and believable. All of the characters are well defined and fit nicely into the full arc of the film, however, the writers acknowledge that the lead female character, Martine Love, was created solely for dramatic purposes and is not based on any of their inside information. Thankfully, the writers knew what they were doing because the Love character makes for the perfect linchpin in a story that is as much about priceless intangible belongings as is it about physical objects that can be hidden in boxes.

I suppose my overall take on the film was helped by the fact that I went into the theater with only medium to medium-high expectations, and the fact that I'm a Jason Statham fan. Statham is one of those few guys that can pull off an all out action movie or a gritty realistic drama and for this outing, the drama won and, for the sake of this particular story, I'm glad it did. Despite my fondness for watching Statham kick ass, I'm never disappointed when he plays a straight non-action character, which he does remarkably well in this film. In fact, as I mentioned earlier, all of the characters are spot on and there is a particularly noteworthy chemistry between Burrows and Statham. The other amazing character that I absolutely must mention, because this is what took the film to an altogether higher level, is the character of the movie, itself. The easiest way to say it would be: This is the first new 70's movie to come out in almost thirty years. Now I'll admit, Fincher's Zodiac looked impeccable, exactly like the 70's, but this film not only looks the part, but carries all of the nuances as well. This movie could be watched between Dirty Harry and The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three and no time shift would be noticed, one would just flow into the other. At least that's my opinion. My other opinion is that if you like well acted and well told capers, regardless of the year, then you'll enjoy this movie, and if you're a fan of some of the great 70's flicks, you'll enjoy The Bank Job as much as I did.

The Other Boleyn Girl

2008-03-02T12:03:00.007-05:00

Based on the novel by Philippa Gregory and directed by Justin Chadwick (Bleak House), The Other Boleyn Girl tells the story of Mary (Scarlett Johansson) and Anne Boleyn (Natalie Portman) and how they are thrust into the unstable and unforgiving world of Tudor politics by their father's desire for financial gain and their uncle's quest for power. Proceeding against the common sense and plainly thought notions of Lady Elizabeth Boleyn (Kristin Scott Thomas), Sir Thomas Boleyn (Mark Rylance) and his brother the Duke of Norfolk (David Morrissey) contrive to ensure that, at different times, one of the Boleyn daughters becomes the mistress to and hopefully produces an heir for King Henry VIII (Eric Bana), thus securing the Boleyn family a prominent and beneficial place in the monarchy.

This film falls comfortably between 'good' and 'very good'. Based on the stellar cast alone, I was anticipating an exceptional film but unexpected lulls, an uninspired performance and overall directorial issues effectively reduced a great movie to a good movie. The story, even when examined historically, offers enough fodder for a compelling experience and this version, based on a steamy pseudo-fictionalized account, really should have increased the account exponentially. Unfortunately, the story only remains moderately compelling and most of the steam has evaporated leaving that kind of sticky feeling. In my opinion, the fault lies completely with the director, Chadwick. I don't want to be too hard on the guy, being that this is Chadwick's first big screen gig and all (he directed Bleak House which was awesome), but I felt he never really pushed the intensity factor, in the story or with certain character interactions, that could have made this film feel like a ride in a fast car with questionable breaks. Instead, I think he tried to reach a certain level, and then keep the film hovering at that spot for the duration. Also I felt he failed to use Eric Bana as a proper Henry VIII. Everyone thinks of Henry as a boisterous guy who knew what he liked and was absolutely thrilled about it and if something displeased him, everybody knew about it, because he made sure of it. Bana's Henry is rather low key and quiet and apparently channels all of his intensity through his eyes, leaving him to stalk around the movie looking like David Copperfield after making the Statue of Liberty disappear. Now don't get me wrong, Bana had his moments, he just wasn't what I would think the average, remotely familiar with history, person would expect. My final issue with the directing, and this may just be one of my personal nit-picks, was Chadwick's habit of filming through objects. Almost all, or, at least a fair amount, of the scenes opened with a shot through something, like a fence, or a grating, or some bars, or framed in a doorway with hanging curtains or really just about anything you could conceive to look through. I remember making a similar observation about Elizabeth: The Golden Age, except in that film, it was cool - the shots were used sparingly and gave the impression that the audience was eavesdropping on the characters in the movie. In this film those types of shots serve no purpose and once they are noticed, they become kind of annoying. After a while, I tried to make the best of it by guessing what the next shot would be through, but that's just me.

Enough complaining. Johansson was great and Portman was completely off the chart. It was great to see Portman work a devious and manipulating character to the hilt, however, in my opinion, by ignoring history and allowing Anne to succumb to her emotions before becoming shorter, the filmmakers missed a marvelous opportunity for Portman to truly shine. (It's also too bad that Anne didn't have someone like Juan Sánchez Villa-Lobos Ramírez to guide her, but that would have been a completely different story. Cool, but different.) I should also mention that Kristin Scott Thomas was excellent, as well, only she should have had more screen time. In fact, all of the performances were more than adequate (even Bana's at certain moments) including all of the supporting players, but I do think Portman's performance made the movie worth seeing - I'm just not sure it would be a theater experience for everyone. However, if you're a fan of well dressed period pieces and don't mind having the cast far outbalance the story, then, in a few months, this will be the a perfect Sunday afternoon rental.

In Bruges

2008-02-24T12:20:00.006-05:00

Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson) are two hit men who, having just completed a not-so-flawless assignment, are ordered by their boss, Harry (Ralph Feinnes), to the amazingly maintained medieval town of Bruges to relax and await further instructions, which could come in two days, or two weeks. The pair begin by doing the best they can to fit in but, unfortunately, the only real way to fit in is by becoming tourists and that prospect holds little, if any, appeal for the younger and less experienced Ray. The older, wiser and more seasoned Ken is at ease with the notion of a low profile and settles into his role as a tourist while trying to be a mentor, a friend and, in a way, a father figure to the rather uptight Ray. While the days awaiting contact pass, Ray, who seemingly has a knack for the unusual, finds himself attracted to a local female, Chloë (Clémence Poésy), which leads to some darkly humorous situations involving drugs, a dwarf American actor (Jordan Prentice), the locals and even some tourists. Contrary to Ray's experiences, Ken begins to appreciate his surroundings and finds himself being mentally and spiritually uplifted by the simple and quaint qualities of the historically preserved city. As Ken is enjoying his peace and tranquility and Ray is dealing with his current exploits, while internally struggling with the prior hit, Harry's call finally comes though, turning everything upside-down and leading to some of the best (and darkest) humor as well as some of the most unforeseen emotion.

I first saw the preview for this movie, several weeks ago, when I saw The Orphanage, and I knew then, simply from the trailer, that I was going to like it. I've liked Brendan Gleeson since Braveheart, and his perfectly delivered sarcastic turn in Lake Placid solidified my substantial respect and admiration for him, only to be compounded by his recent embodiment of the Auror, Alastor Moody. This film finally offers Gleeson a much deserved abundance of screen time and his performance is characteristically solid and surprisingly poignant. And speaking of HP, Clémence Poésy, of Fleur Delacour fame, demonstrates an impressive command of frankness, drive and vulnerability as Chloë. In keeping with the wizard world refugees, Ralph Feinnes, as mob boss Harry, provokes fear steeped in unpredictability by bringing just the right amount of menace mixed with adamant lunacy to the character. However, for me, the standout performance was easily that of Colin Farrell as Ray. It's no great stretch to imagine Farrell as the guy not wanting to fit in or be a sheep-like tourist gaping at medieval architecture, but the surprise is how funny he can be while doing it. The other interesting aspect of Farrell's performance is the subtle way he plays up to the true issues haunting his character, revealing the unexpected emotional tough guy, which, again for me, is what made his performance such a standout.

And speaking of unexpected, the biggest surprise of the movie, by far, had to be the depth of the story coupled with it's touching human resonance. This was a perfect example of a trailer failing to do the film justice. I went into the theater expecting a rather light comedy with a few dark moments (after all they are hitmen) and sparsely populated with a few 'moral lessons' ending with the good bad-guys out maneuvering the bad bad-guys, much to the humor of the additional characters as well as the audience. Wow, was I ever wrong. My first thought when I realized my error in judgment was, "A lot of people are going to miss a really good movie, all because of a crappy trailer." Still, not to sell the comedy aspect short, there are hysterical moments and plenty of genuinely funny scenes and dialog, but it's their truthful representation that make them meaningful while being simultaneously humorous. The varying bright shades of humor are interwoven at angles among the larger somber qualities of the character's lives (death, guilt, loneliness, futility...) forming a kind of celluloid Tartan. Needless to say, I was extremely pleased that this film ended up being a far richer experience than what I was anticipating and I'm sure subsequent viewings will shed more light on the exceptionally nuanced performances.

There Will Be Blood

2008-02-10T12:08:00.003-05:00

There Will Be Blood is writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson's loose adaptation of the novel Oil! by Upton Sinclair. The film chronicles the life and times of Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis), who transforms himself from a down-and-out silver miner raising a son on his own into a self-made oil tycoon. Plainview accomplishes this feat by going directly to the people who live above the oil and, using simple, 'shoot from the hip' language and masterful manipulation, convinces them that he and his crew are the best people to provide for them, in a timely fashion, the things they desire . With his young son, H.W. (Dillon Freasier), at his side, and used as part of the manipulations, Plainview builds a massive empire and, over time, his obsession with success and power is only eclipsed by his growing paranoia and misanthropic nature. As Plainview centers on what could easily be the greatest success of his career in the small California town of Little Boston, he is confronted by an unlikely nemesis in the form of a teenage preacher named Eli Sunday (Paul Dano). It is because of Eli's brother, Paul (also portrayed by Paul Dano), that the oil man knew of the deposits in the first place, having sold Plainview the information for his own personal gain and to allow him to be free of his brother's shadow. Unfortunately for Plainview, to succeed fully and without question, he must succumb to the local church and the will of Eli, who just might be an even greater showman than Plainview. As the battle of wills intensifies and their determination to succeed increases, so too does the cost of such lifelong endeavors.

If you're a fan of intense character studies within an epic storyline taking place during historic civilization altering events, then it doesn't get any better than this. I thoroughly enjoy this type of film, when all the stops are pulled and every possible detailed is conceived and made manifest, and with this production, I'm very glad to say, I was not in any way disappointed. I think what impressed me most was how well the grand scope of the transformation that was occurring in the United States was conveyed by a relatively small number of major players. The visuals are open and grand with a feeling of deep breath expansion juxtaposed by the less evolutionary adept human element becoming more pressured, or 'squeezed', to adapt and survive while the more robust elements spread tentative wings and begin to glide. The story seems rather simple, to begin with, but as the elements unfold, it becomes obvious that similar stories have played out time and time again, and in making that statement I'm referring to technological advances that have had huge sociological and ecological impact - impact which, as a civilization, we have yet to see the true extent. However, none of the films resonance would be possible without the powerful performances of the cast in telling the story of a very driven man whose primary desire is to succeed as he nurtures his contempt for all things human, himself included.

Speaking of performances, I must note that Paul Dano is excellent as the preacher/prophet, Eli Stone. Dano is subtle in displaying his character's balance of naiveness and aspirations and I'm sure he would have received more accolades had his performance (along with everyone else's) not been overshadowed by that of Daniel Day-Lewis'. Even though the only other best actor Oscar nominee I've seen is Viggo Mortensen in Eastern Promises, I can honestly say I'd be extremely surprised if anyone, even those who deserved a nomination but didn't receive one, put forth a performance that remotely comes close to what Day-Lewis achieves. Mortensen was exceptional (as I noted when I wrote about the film) and I'm not trying to take anything away from what he put into his character, however, there is an "effortless perfection" in the character of Daniel Plainview and Day-Lewis is so believable, so abhorrent and yet, so captivating that his performance is nothing short of mesmerizing. I've seen a lot of good performances over the past year, and I've written about all of them (I think), but Day-Lewis' performance easily stands above them all, but it's impossible for me to adequately convey how impressive and hypnotic his performance really is. In other words, I'm fairly confident in regards to who'll be going home with another little 'golden guy' on February 24th.

The Orphanage

2008-01-27T12:16:00.000-05:00

Otherwise known as, El Orfanato (yes, it's subtitled), "The Orphanage," centers on a Laura (Belén Rueda) and the children's home in which she spent time as a child. Thirty years have passed since Laura lived at the orphanage and she has returned with her physician husband, Carlos, and their son, Simon, to begin a new chapter in their lives. Laura and Carlos have purchased the old seaside estate, which closed shortly after her adoption, with the intent of restoring the long abandoned property and making it a safe haven and care facility for disabled children. As their restoration work commences, Simon's active imagination blossoms to the extent of creating new imaginary friends, he already had two, who keep him company and create puzzle-like games for him to play. However, as the reopening of the home approaches, the games created by Simon's imaginary friends become less playful and instead begin to resonate with a darker and more disturbing meaning. After certain events transpire during the opening day celebration, Laura becomes convinced that her family has fallen victim to some obscure malevolence that has long been lurking in and around the house. As the days pass, Carlos remains skeptical while Laura deteriorates but still refuses to give in to her ever mounting fears as she becomes almost fanatical in her desire to simply find some type of answer that can explain the transformation of her once happy childhood home.

You know, the past few weeks have been exceptionally good for movies, at least for me and what I've been to see, and The Orphanage ranks right up there with the best of them. I was absolutely stunned at how good this movie really is and, even now, I have divided emotions concerning it because, on one side, I feel devilishly pleased (like I'm in a secret club) that I've seen such a fantastic film that so many people will miss out on merely because they 'don't do' subtitles, and on the other side, I feel inclined to go out of my way to spread the word about this movie in the hopes that everyone who truly loves a good story and superb acting will be aware of it and hopefully have an opportunity to experience for themselves and believe me, it is an experience. The opening sequence establishes a quaint seaside residence for a very small group of children who, judging by the fun they are having, are as content and happy as they would be if they were all part of the same family as opposed to being orphans. It is during this sequence that the very young Laura is introduced who will become the focus of the film when she returns to the place of her childhood happiness, thirty years later. Rueda's portrayal of Laura is nothing short of extraordinary as she deftly displays the emotional intensity of someone whose sturdy fabric of reality is fast becoming something more akin to gossamer threads. However, the real genius of Rueda's performance is in her ability to make her character vacillate between crazy/desperate and sane/focused, to the point where even I began to question what I thought was going on and what was really going on. In the end, the character of Laura is a brilliant fulcrum for a story that is exactly what it appears to be, except not in the manner in which it appears.

I would like to mention that even though the rest of the cast's role aren't as central as Rueda's, they do provide the perfect foundations for the story and are more than adequately portrayed. Fernando Cayo as the supportive and concerned Carlos and Roger Princep as the playful and imaginative Simon are exceedingly believable in their realism while Montserrat Carulla is properly spooky and cryptic as the social worker Benigna. The standout of the supporting cast is easily Geraldine Chaplin of Doctor Zhivago fame (and Charlie's daughter) as the psychic Aurora, working with a team a parapsychologists, who uses an impeccable balance of science and supernatural to suggest simplistic solutions.

This is the first feature film to be directed by Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona whose previous work has consisted primarily of music videos and noted short films, however, I was very anxious to see this movie based on the fact that it is executive produced by Oscar-Nominee Guillermo del Toro. For those not familiar with del Toro, his directing credits include Mimic, Blade 2, Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth, which was nominated for an Oscar for best foreign language film. Del Toro is definitely one of my favorite directors and, judging by this film, his exacting nature, development of characters and meticulousness for detail is going to be equally displayed by his production work. Because of his high standards and commitment to quality del Toro has become highly successful with potentially difficult and problematic movies that deal with the realms of the fantastic, making him a very in-demand director globally. As of this writing, del Toro is finishing post production work on Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, is in talks with Peter Jackson and his production company to take up the directorial duties for The Hobbit and it's proposed sequel and I've even heard that his name has come up in the infinitely small number of directors being considered for the final Harry Potter film(s). Impressive.

It's been several days since I've seen this movie and I absolutely cannot wait until I get to see it again. Movies like this are few and far between; it's difficult to combine scary and suspenseful with thought provoking emotion and make no mistake, this movie has some serious fright going on. I've seen many more 'horror' movies than your average movie patron, but the image of the small child at the end of the hallway in the orphanage uniform wearing the homemade burlap mask with one eye and the tuft of hair sticking out of the top is not something that I will not soon be forgetting, and this isn't even a horror movie. On the flip side, I can't think of many (if any) suspenseful films that have had such a surprisingly emotional effect on me upon it's completion (I'm not going to translate that statement for you). The Orphanage is an amazing and beautiful piece of work and even though it's in a limited release, if the opportunity presents itself, do not miss this film and if you're not lucky enough to be in a area showing the movie, write yourself a reminder and attach it to your bathroom mirror so you'll remember to look for it on disc in a few months. Go ahead and do it now. Hurry up.

Cloverfield

2008-01-20T13:06:00.000-05:00

Beginning on July 3, 2007, patrons venturing out to see Transformers were treated to a movie trailer filmed from the perspective of a video camera and depicting a going away party for some guy named Rob. In the preview, the party is interrupted by the building shaking, lights flashing, an animal-like noise and a news report concerning calls pouring in about a thunderous roaring sound, which prompts the suggestion of going to the roof in order to possibly see what's going on. Once on the roof, an explosion is seen in the vicinity of the harbor and flaming debris begins to rain down in all directions forcing everyone back into the stairwell in a frenzied attempt to get to safety. The picture and sound cuts in and out as everyone races down the stairway and finally stabilizes as they exit the building and find themselves in a scene of utter chaos and disruption. The street is filled with people running in all directions (mainly away from the explosion) while other people are striving to see what's going on near the harbor. "What is it, is it coming this way?" is heard, followed by, "I saw it! It's alive! It's huge!" Unusual roaring noises reverberate in the distance and as party recipient Rob attempts to coral some of his friends, an exceptionally large object comes hurtling through the air, ricochets off a building about 40 floors up, smashes into the street displacing cars and SUV's and as it rolls to a stop amid screams of terrified people (Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!) you can see that the object is in fact the head of the Statue of Liberty. Oh my God! The preview then cuts to a party goer saying it was going to be the best night ever followed by a black screen with the words: In Theaters 1-18-08. And that was it. No title. No credits, other than the fact that whatever the film was, it was being produced by Alias and Lost creator and Mission Impossible III director J.J.Abrams. Transformers was a smash and was reported as such but, the mystery trailer was also in the news because everyone wanted to know what the heck it was but nobody was talking. Following months of viral marketing, the movie, known only as it's codename, 'Cloverfield' was finally talked about by Abrams and the true title revealed: Cloverfield. Other than the title, the only thing that Abrams disclosed was that the film was a modern monster movie filmed from the perspective of a video camera over the course of a single night. Well, now it has officially arrived and here's the synopsis with absolutely no spoilers:

Rob Hawkins(Michael Stahl-David) is moving to Japan and on his last night in the city he is surprised with a going-away-party populated by all of his friends, including his brother Jason(Mike Vogel), his brother's girlfriend Lily(Jessica Lucas), Beth(Odette Yustman) the girl he's been friends with forever and cares for more than he'll admit and his most loyal but dimwitted friend Hud(T. J. Miller). Hud's purpose is to man the camera throughout the party and record farewell testimonials for Rob to keep and cherish forever, and he does an adequate job when his attention isn't being diverted by Marlena(Lizzy Caplan), the newest acquaintance of the group and, obviously, the object of his desire. The party and typical accompanied drama are interrupted just like we saw in the trailer. Once on the street and after Lady Liberty's noggin has come to a rest, the core group of friends decide they should make their way out of the city posthaste because, yes, there is a monster and, yes, it's alive and it's huge. Oh my God! However, a plea for help in the form of a cell phone call alters their path and leads to the heart of the movie.

Absolute fun! This movie was extremely entertaining and held firm to what it aspired to be from the opening scene to the fade to black. I was especially pleased with the cast of near nobody's (although I was familiar with Lizzy Caplan from a few episodes of Tru Calling - yes, I watched the show, now let's just move on) and how well they came across as relatively average people who were somewhat cool (even the uncool people were kinda cool) and doing their best to deal with the situation of upset reality rather than lose their heads (like the Statue of Liberty). I didn't have a single issue with any member of the cast, their motivations or their actions in regards to the storyline and the situations in which they found themselves. Granted, it's easy to be more judgmental from the comfort of a theater chair but, given the intensity of their plight, I doubt their choices were much different from what mine would have been in a similar scenario, and, again, I feel that the non-famous cast helped me identify with the story on a more basic level. I did recognize one actor (Chris Mulkey - I looked it up), who turns up briefly as very minor character two-thirds of the way into the film, from his portrayal as a deputy in the original Rambo movie, First Blood, and also from his role as a bank robbing, fast car driving alien host in The Hidden but, for the most part, the people in this movie are no different than anyone you might see at any mall in any city. Very realistic.

My only complaint, and it's very minor, is in regards to another aspect of the film's 'realism'. While I appreciate the idea of the events in the movie all being captured on a video camera, I really wanted more. The shaky quality at some points or the realistically bad lighting didn't really bother me, in fact, none of the quality bothered me in any way because I understood the concept and limits of the perspective, however, I would have liked to have seen some aspects of this film from a secondary perspective. Judging from how good some of the effects shots looked through what is supposed to be a video camera, I couldn't stop myself from imagining what a wide aerial shot with full out digital effects would have looked like, but I'm sure that's what what the film makers were after considering the fact they were limiting themselves in the way they were. The film makers wanted to keep this story personal and on a smaller level, and they achieve that brilliantly - the movie plays like a small singular perspective of an exceptionally large and catastrophic event. Did I mention I really wanted more? I understand that the budget for the movie was around 25 million dollars, which is nothing when it comes to some films, and I really have to give director Matt Reeves kudos for what he was able to pull off when you consider how huge and expensive this movie could have been. So, for an unproven director, a fairly new producer (J. J. Abrams) and a unique concept for a classic genre, the studio forked out 25 million bucks to see what they could accomplish and the result is an engaging 84 minute monster movie that made 41 million dollars in four days. Having more than proven themselves, I'm really hoping their accomplishment will lead to a significantly larger budget for a sequel that will tell a bigger story from a grander perspective (maybe two cameras) and provide me with a few more details and deeper understanding of the events or, in other words, more.

Atonement

2008-01-18T12:42:00.001-05:00

Atonement, based on Ian McEwan's best selling 2002 novel is brought to the screen by director Joe Wright, who, for this adaptation, reunited with his film making team from Pride and Prejudice and it's Oscar nominated star, Keira Knightley. It's 1935, the hottest part of the year and Briony Tallis(Saoirse Ronan), a mischievous 13-year-old fledgling writer with an overactive imagination, is enjoying a life of luxury and privilege with her family on their estate in the Surrey Hills in England. On one particular afternoon, after failing to convince her cousins, Jackson and Pierrot, the 9-year-old twins, and 15-year-old Lola, to rehearse the play she has written rather than go swimming, Briony, from her upstairs bedroom window, witnesses an exchange between Cecilia(Knightley), her headstrong sister, and the housekeeper's Cambridge educated son Robbie(James McAvoy), which, after obviously stoking her imagination, prompts her to pry even further into her sister's business and eventually leads Briony to bear witness against Robbie in regards to a particularly atrocious transgression of which he is most assuredly innocent. Having openly declared their love for each other mere hours before, Robbie is arrested and separated from Cecilia on a night whose events will have repercussions for all involved for the remainder of their lives.

By the time I arrived at the end, this film had become one of my favorites. For me, there was absolutely nothing to dislike. Everything, the story, the characters, the settings, the cinematography, even the small amount of computer-generated imagery used, was practically perfect. The performances of Keira Knightley and James McAvoy are outstanding and the chemistry that they are able to harness, between the two characters, truly breathes life into what could have very easily become just another period piece based on a good novel. The brief but powerful connection that Cecilia and Robbie forge is what makes everything that transpires during their separation so much more emotional and, as a testament to Knightley and McAvoy's talents, agonizing. However, I must note that it takes more than two incredible characters to create an outstanding film - without the cohesiveness of an equally compelling story, great characters are wasted. In this instance, the cohesive story comes in the form of another compelling character, Briony Tallis, brought to life amazingly, first, by Saoirse Ronan and then subsequently by Romola Garai and Vanessa Redgrave, with each incarnation being the bearer of specific emotions as the decades pass. The rest of the cast more than adequately provide support for the depths of the story and help bring about an intense and heartfelt realism that other films with similar aspirations so often lack.

I really can't say enough good things about this movie. I'm a sucker for romantic period pieces, anyway, but this movie hit it out of the park*. Another thing I should mention is an outstanding shot that occurs about halfway through the film. In the scene, Robbie who is now a British soldier in World War II, makes his way to the final point of British retreat on France's Dunkirk beach which is, understandably, a perfect study of weary defeat and disorganization. As Robbie makes his way along the beach, through and around hundred's of other soldiers and horses, the camera never cuts away, even as he doubles back and circles certain areas looking for a resting place - the shot continues, without a break, for five and a half uninterrupted minutes. As it turns out, on the day they intended to film that scene, the film makers were able to gather 1000 extras for that day only and, to make matters worse, the tide would soon be coming in and the set and pieces would begin to disappear. They had to make the scene in one day and the best way to do it was in a single shot rather then dozens of short ones. From what I've read, they were able to film the shot three times and, I think, ended up using the third take. For me, even though I was already aware of the shot, I felt that it added a significant amount of scope and realism to the scene as well as contributing to the overall depth and quality of the film and, to be honest, I was so focused on the unfolding story, the shot was probably half over before I realized I was seeing it, which is a good indicator that the technicalities didn't overwhelm the story and/or emotion.

Atonement is easily one of the best movies I've seen in months and I can honestly say that even the most hard-hearted person would find it difficult to not be moved by this story. I wish I could say that the film lives up to the book but, having not read it or seen a comparison of the two, I can't, however, I will admit that I'm shopping victoriously for a copy of the book as I write this and intend to have read it by the time the film is released on disc. What I can say is, if you have a penchant for moving, well thought stories joined with great acting and spectacular film making, then this is definitely a movie that should not be missed.

*I felt it was a good time for a manly sports reference.

No Country for Old Men

2008-01-13T12:36:00.000-05:00

In this allegorical crime drama based on Cormac McCarthy's book of the same name, director's Joel and Ethan Coen bring to life a surprisingly poignant story about wants and needs and the brutal violence that can be brought about by both. Josh Brolin stars as Llewelyn Moss, a Vietnam vet barely getting by with his wife Carla Jean (Kelly McDonald) in a small town near the Rio Grande. During an afternoon of hunting, Moss stumbles upon the site of a drug deal gone very bad consisting of a significant number of bodies, one barely alive Mexican, a considerable amount of heroin and two and a half million dollars in cash, which he promptly takes. Because of an event I'll not disclose, the very bad men who want their money back become aware of Moss's existence and contract sociopathic killer Anton Chigurgh (pronounced 'sugar' and played by Javier Badem) to find Moss and return the money. Moss, now on his own and having hopefully sent his wife to safety must try and outwit or, at least, out pace the pure evil that is Chigurgh. Back in town, the local Sheriff, Ed Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), is on the verge of retirement but has suddenly found himself in the middle of a series of murders that speak of a twisted apathetic individual possessing a ruthless cunning and wanton disregard for life. As Bell continues to piece together the events in an effort to track Moss and the suspect, he begins to fear the outcome of the convergence of their paths as well as question his own career.

I'll really be surprised if this film doesn't garner some serious Oscar recognition. Tommy Lee Jones, as usual, provides a strong but subtle performance as Sheriff Bell while Josh Brolin's portrayal of Moss is surprisingly fresh from an actor who has been around for some time but has never received any significant accolades. However, for me, the standout performance had to be that of Javier Badem as Anton Chigurgh. Badem masterfully captures the 'spirit' of a sociopath with unnerving results, to the point where it seems as if the character is continuously having an out-of-body experience which allows him to monitor his actions from the perspective of an observer and, thus, totally disassociate himself from any emotional connection that would normally be equated with such heinous acts. I should also mention that Woody Harrelson has a small but notable role as a bounty hunter named Carson Wells whose screen time is as comedic as it is unsettling. Lastly, the Coen brothers should be recognized for an amazing screenplay and their direction of the film in general because, if your familiar with their work, it's obvious that in this movie, as in some of their past features, they worked very closely with the cast and and made a point to emphasize each individual from the lead characters down to the least significant supporting role.

Overall, I thought this was an exceptionally well told story with the perfect amount of character development coupled with a believable premise. I really enjoyed this film and I'm looking forward to seeing it again when it's released on disc in March. I'm always fond of movies that begin with someone having a normal, uneventful day and suddenly things go haywire and this is one of those great stories that transpire simply because of a single, questionable action, and had it not occurred, the story would have been about ten minutes long, if that. Granted, the specific action serves to not only create the story but act as a window into the protagonist's personality, as well, while juxtaposing the actions and personality of the antagonist, Anton Chigurgh. However, in my opinion, had the main character, Moss, taken the opposite action, I would actually have considered him a smarter, but less empathetic character and it should suffice to say that if I ever find myself in a similar situation, my story will be the ten minute version.

I Am Legend

2008-01-06T12:41:00.000-05:00

In I AM LEGEND, Will Smith joins the ranks of Vincent Price (in 1964's THE LAST MAN ON EARTH) and Charlton Heston (in 1971's OMEGA MAN) as the star of an adaptation of Richard Matheson's 1954 novel of the same name. Often surprising in its focus on loneliness and loss, this thoughtful, eerie, and restrained sci-fi horror film provides a parade of startling visuals, but never allows special effects to overcome the human element. Smith, in a strong performance very different from his usual persona, is Robert Neville, the lone survivor in a New York City where streets are overgrown and deer gambol among deserted automobiles. Following an epidemic, the Earth's population has been turned into an army of nocturnal zombies. Immune to the virus, military scientist Neville searches for a cure in his Washington Square townhouse. Haunted by visions of his family leaving quarantined Manhattan two years prior, he drives through the city with his German Shepherd, Sam, by day and barricades his home from the monsters nightly. But when Anna (Alice Braga)--another immune stranger-finds him, they will have to fight the onslaught twice as hard.

This movie rocks. I was very impressed with the movie, even though the connection to it's source material (the 1954 novella) is, at best, tenuous. Having recently seen several radically 'updated' adaptations of books and stories, I was very much prepared to see a completely new story loosely based on the original work, which allowed me to appreciate this movie as a separate entity - and appreciate it, I did. Will Smith is exceptional in his portrayal of a man who has quite literally lost everything and struggles daily with loss, guilt and loneliness; kept sane only by sheer drive, routine and his dog. The first half of the film is pretty much Will on his own forging a sympathetic emotional bond with the audience that greatly succeeds in conveying the scope of the Neville character's situation and motivation. I could have easily spent additional time exploring the isolated aspect of Neville's life. The second half if the film is where the intensity picks up and the story truly diverges from the book but, again, that's not really a terrible thing since the tale told is fast paced and never falls into the philosophical trap that could have so easily taken over the rest of the film.

This is a movie designed to appeal to the broadest audience possible without insulting the small percentage who are familiar with books and might actually own one or two. There are several instances involving the 'infected' that really made me stop and wonder about their 'evolution' and, to me, these instances screamed for more exploration but the movie proceeded on, leaving those moments in my mind like afterimages of the sun on my retinas. It's been a couple of weeks since I've seen this film and, yet, I still think of those moments more than any other part of the story. If it was the intent of the filmmakers to leave the audience with those lingering questions rather than simply running short of time and explanation, then all I can say is: Well done.

If you do see this movie and enjoy it, I highly recommend reading a copy of the original novella by Richard Matheson. The book is roughly 150 pages and could easily be read in a couple of days and would give you the true ironic meaning to the title. The novella is concise and well thought, like most of Matheson's work. In fact, most people are probably more familiar with Matheson's work than they realize. Matheson wrote the novel The Shrinking Man which was made into the classic 50's film The Incredible Shrinking Man, he also wrote several episodes of the orignal Twilight Zone series including the famous Nightmare at 20,000 Feet staring William Shatner. And speaking of Shatner, Matheson also wrote the episode The Enemy Within from the original Star Trek series (season 1) where Kirk, because of a transporter accident, is split into two people - one evil and one good. Also written by Matehson, I'll mention Duel - a 70's television movie starring Dennis Weaver and directed by an upcoming director named Steven Spielberg (recently released on DVD), and, one of my favorites, the original television movie The Night Stalker staring Darren McGavin as Carl Kolchak, which went on to become a short lived series and the primary influence behind Chris Carter's The X-Files.

The Golden Compass

2007-12-23T12:43:00.000-05:00

Based on author Philip Pullman's bestselling and award-winning novel, Northern Lights, The Golden Compass tells the first story in Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy. There is a world where witches rule the northern skies, where ice bears are the bravest of warriors, and where every human is joined with an animal spirit who is as close to them as their own heart. This world is dominated by the Magisterium, which seeks to control all of humanity, and whose greatest threat is the last remaining Golden Compass and the one child destined to possess it. Twelve year-old Lyra Belacqua (Dakota Blue Richards) lives an extraordinary life as a ward of distinguished Jordan College. Tearing unsupervised through the streets on mad quests for adventure with her loyal friend Roger (Ben Walker), Lyra is accompanied everywhere by her daemon, Pantalaimon--a small, ever-changing animal that serves as a constant voice of reason. But Lyra’s world is changing. Her uncle, Lord Asriel (Daniel Craig), is embarking on a trip to the Arctic Circle to investigate a mysterious element called Dust, but the Magisterium would go to any lengths to stop him. At the same time, rumors of children mysteriously disappearing and being taken north become terrifyingly real when Lyra''s best friend Roger goes missing. She swears to go to the ends of the earth to rescue him, and when a new figure appears at the college--Marisa Coulter (Nicole Kidman), a beguiling scientist and world traveler--she sees her best chance to get away. But Lyra''s been drawn into a trap designed to take from her the one thing she possesses that the Magisterium desperately seeks--the Golden Compass. It is a mystical device that can tell the truth, reveal what others wish to hide and foreshadow--and even change--the future. Lyra realizes that she will have to embark on her own journey to rescue Roger and stop the Magisterium. But fate puts her in the protection of a tribe of seafaring Gyptians led by Lord Faa, Ma Costa and Farder Coram. Banding together an unlikely alliance with the Gyptians, the mysterious witch Serafina Pekkala (Eva Green) and Texas airman Lee Scoresby (Sam Elliott), Lyra is flung into an adventure that will take her over sky and ocean, to the wilds of the icy north, where she gains a powerful ally in a great armored bear named Iorek Byrnison (voiced by Ian McKellen). A great war is coming--with her band of friends and allies, and the power of the Golden Compass, Lyra will need all her skill and all her courage, to stop it.

Alright, let's get the simple stuff out of the way: This is a good to very good movie, in my opinion. If you're a fan of fantasy (literature or films) I can safely say that there's no reason not to enjoy this movie. The movie is only a 113 minutes long and moves at a nice brisk pace, considering the fact many characters must be introduced along with their motivations as well as the overall and rather involved storyline and while I might have enjoyed a longer more in-depth endeavor, the complete experience does not suffer because of the length - if anything, I'm more inclined to watch the movie several more times in order to piece together things I may have missed and that's not even taking into account the fact that an extended edition could be lined up for release on DVD and Hi-Def.

The entire cast, including the voice only acting, is fantastic. My only complaint would be that, because of having to introduce so many characters involved with the storyline, I would have liked to have seen more of certain characters even though they do work wonders with what time they are allowed. Daniel Craig conveys an intense drive for truth and knowledge, Nicole Kidman is chillingly calculative with a smoldering evil and Sam Elliot brings a down to 'earth' every-guy honesty into the mix. Eva Green is appropriately sensually cryptic and, in voice only, Ian McKellan is surprisingly awe-inspiring, gentle and devoted. I must admit that the standout performance, for me, was that of Dakota Blue Richards as Lyra. Richards is able to display a huge and shocking range of emotion and maturity - there are times when she is the typical twelve year old followed by moments where she seems like a person two or three times her age trapped in her very small body - I haven't seen such a range since Natalie Portman in The Professional - and yet, Richard's actually takes the maturity level even further. Very impressive.

Now, for the not-so-simple stuff. I would be remiss if I failed to address this so-called 'anti-God' propaganda. I would be willing to wager any amount of money that I could bring together in one lump sum on the fact that the vast (and I mean vast) majority of people who have taken issue with this film have never seen it nor have they read the book on which it is based. The 'issue' comes from the fact that Pullman has no qualms about professing his atheism and the fact that the antagonist in his books is a government based on an organized religion that is striving to be all powerful and controlling while, simultaneously stifling free will and the quest for knowledge. Of course, this ruling religion has everyone's best interest in mind but at what cost? At what point does control and removal of choice become evil? That's one of the fundamental thoughts of the story. Granted, the story may be anti-religion or, more precisely, anti-organized religion but that's an easy concept considering religions are all overseen by man - you know, corruptible man. I'm sure you've heard of him. Anyway, after almost two hours of watching the film, I found nothing that remotely hinted to being anti-God, but there was plenty concerning manipulating human thoughts and lives. As I left the theater, I couldn't help but wonder: If an atheist wrote a bestselling cook-book, would the book and the meals prepared from it be considered anti-God?

One last thought: For those of you who think the idea of a controlling, choice refusing, knowledge repressing Religion/Government is a ridiculous notion, here's a little tidbit that you should be familiar with. In the 1600' the Catholic Church pretty much controlled everything and the accepted view of the universe, according to the Bible mind you, was that Earth was the center of everything (indirectly saying that man was the center of everything) and that the sun and everything else revolved around us as in Ecclesiastes 1:5 from the King James version: "The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose." Now several people, most notably Nicolaus Copernicus from Poland, had hypothesized that Earth wasn't the center of the universe and actually revolved around the sun which, of course, was heresy in the eyes of the church. Along comes Galileo Galilei with his telescope and after much observation, begins to write about the things he can see. Here's the outcome of his free thinking scientific endeavors:

In 1611 Galileo came to the attention of the Inquisition for the first time for his Copernican views. Four years later a Dominican friar, Niccolo Lorini, who had earlier criticized Galileo's view in private conversations, files a written complaint with the Inquisition against Galileo's Copernican views. Galileo subsequently writes a long letter defending his views to Monsignor Piero Dini, a well connected official in the Vatican, he then writes his Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina arguing for freedom of inquiry and travels to Rome to defend his ideas

In 1616 a committee of consultants declares to the Inquisition that the propositions that the Sun is the center of the universe and that the Earth has an annual motion are absurd in philosophy, at least erroneous in theology, and formally a heresy. On orders of the Pope Paul V, Cardinal Bellarmine calls Galileo to his residence and administers a warning not to hold or defend the Copernican theory; Galileo is also forbidden to discuss the theory orally or in writing. Yet he is reassured by Pope Paul V and by Cardinal Bellarmine that he has not been on trial nor being condemned by the Inquisition.

In 1624 Galileo meets repeatedly with his (at that time) friend and patron Pope Urban VIII, he is allowed to write about the Copernican theory as long as he treated it as a mathematical hypothesis.

In 1625 a complaint against Galileo's publication The Assayer is lodged at the Inquisition by a person unknown. The complaint charges that the atomistic theory embraced in this book cannot be reconciled with the official church doctrine regarding the Eucharist, in which bread and wine are ``transubstantiated'' into Christ's flesh and blood. After an investigation by the Inquisition, Galileo is cleared.

In 1630 he completed his book Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems in which the Ptolemaic and Copernican models are discussed and compared and was cleared (conditionally) to publish it by the Vatican. The book was printed in 1632 but Pope Urban VIII, convinced by the arguments of various Church officials, stopped its distribution; the case is referred to the Inquisition and Galileo was summoned to Rome despite his infirmities.

In 1633 Galileo was formally interrogated for 18 days and on April 30 Galileo confesses that he may have made the Copernican case in the Dialogue too strong and offers to refute it in his next book. Unmoved, the Pope decides that Galileo should be imprisoned indefinitely. Soon after, with a formal threat of torture, Galileo is examined by the Inquisition and sentenced to prison and religious penances, the sentence is signed by 6 of the 10 inquisitors. In a formal ceremony at the church of Santa Maria Sofia Minerva, Galileo abjures his errors. He is then put under house arrest in Sienna.

Galileo remained under house arrest, despite many medical problems and a deteriorating state of health, until his death in 1642.

The Inquisition's ban on reprinting Galileo's works was lifted in 1718.

In 1741 Pope Benedict XIV authorized the publication of an edition of Galileo's complete scientific works which included a mildly censored version of the Dialogue.

In 1758 the general prohibition against works advocating heliocentrism was removed from the Index of Prohibited Books, although the specific ban on uncensored versions of the Dialogue and Copernicus's De Revolutionibus remained.

On October 31, 1992, Pope John Paul II expressed regret for how the Galileo affair was handled, as the result of a study conducted by the Pontifical Council for Culture.

Not bad, after trying to control knowledge and condemning a man to serve the rest of his life under house arrest, it only took 350 years for someone from the Church to express regret. What's even more amazing is that the ideas that Galileo proved, were accepted by the Church in 1835, but it took another 157 years for them to actually admit they were wrong.

It is exactly this type of atrocity that The Golden Compass endeavors to address.

The Mist

2007-12-09T12:36:00.001-05:00

Following a violent thunderstorm, artist David Drayton (Thomas Jane) and his young son Billy (Nathan Gamble) are among a large group of terrified townspeople trapped in a local grocery store by a strange, otherworldly mist. Local rumors point to an experiment called the 'The Arrowhead Project' conducted at a nearby top-secret military base, but questions as to the origins of the deadly vapor are secondary to the group's overall chances for survival. David is the first to realize that there are things lurking in the mist...deadly, horrifying things...creatures not of this world. Survival depends on everybody in the store pulling together...but is that possible, given human nature?

As reason crumbles in the face of fear and panic, David begins to wonder what is more terrifying: the monsters in the mist—or the ones inside the store, the human kind, the people that until now had been his friends and neighbors?

Full Disclosure: Huge fan of this particular story. I'm sure I've read it no less than ten times, which means I really had my hopes up going into this flick and was feeling pretty confident considering Frank Darabont's past track record with Stephen King material.

I was not disappointed.

Well, maybe a little, but I'll get to that.

The movie handles the story in a very straight forward manner opening with the intense storm and the introduction of David Drayton, his family, their next door neighbor, Brent Norton, and the animosity between David and Brent. Things move right along to the grocery store, the cast of unique characters of the quaint town and the abrupt arrival of the dense mist. Once the mist has cut visibility to six feet and the store patrons began to fear what may be lurking just beyond their field of vision, the story really begins to blossom. By the time things begin to seen, the real horror has already started to take shape. Thomas Jane, a veteran of Dreamcatcher, another Stephen King based movie, is very convincing as a man trying to deal with an intense situation while simultaneously looking out for his son as he fears for his wife who stayed home, alone.

However, the real star of this film is the breakdown of sensibilities and how accurately they are portrayed. Certain aspects make it perfectly clear how religion steeped in fear could have controlled society for hundreds of years and no character brings that to light better than Mrs. Carmody, played chillingly by Marcia Gay Harden. The character of Mrs. Carmody along with perfectly portrayed 'average people' truly make this a movie worth seeing if only because of it's microcosm display of how seemingly normal, every-day people can be coerced to put aside rational thought and partake in stupid affairs such as burning books and music or condemning scientific endeavors simply because they don't fit in line with something taught in Sunday School. I really had a difficult time deciding which monsters were the most terrifying.

Now, my only disappointment - without giving anything away: They changed the ending and I still haven't decided if I liked it or not. Just so you know, if you haven't read the story, the original ending was one of unknown - a classic 'Alfred Hitchcock' moment that could just as easily contain disaster as much as it could contain salvation. In fact, the end of the story often reminded me of the end of "The Birds" when Rod Taylor, Tippi Hedren, the rest of the family and those evil love birds pile into the car and drive off into the unknown surrounded by thousands of calm, for the moment, birds. The end and answers were left to your own imagination. That's how Stephen King's story ended. That's not how the movie ends. To be fair, had I not read the story multiple times, I'm sure I would have really been pleased with the end of the movie and I have a sneaking suspicion that, given several viewings, I'll learn to appreciate this movie as it's own entity. I base that notion on another book to movie example: The Bourne Identity. The Bourne movie (and the subsequent films) had next to nothing to do with the book and, at first, I was not a fan of the movie in any way shape or form but, priding myself on my ability to see things from various points of view, I watched the film again and slowly I began to separate the two the appreciate the film for an original story using the book as source material. Since then, I've become huge fans of all three Bourne movies while remaining true to my original fondness for the books. In a way, I've been able to enjoy six Bourne adventures instead of only three. It is with this in mind that I look forward to seeing The Mist again and possibly benefiting from two versions rather than one.

Gangster Wrap

2007-11-11T11:53:00.000-05:00

Isaac Asimov stated: "Nothing interferes with my concentration. You could put on an orgy in my office and I wouldn't look up. Well, maybe once."

I know the feeling.

For the past two weekends I've made plans to see American Gangster, starring two of my favorite actors and directed by one of my favorite directors, only to find myself being responsible and concentrating on things that I wanted to accomplish to the point that I was unable to 'look up' and get to the movie. Granted, none of these things were pressing and a few of them were actually enjoyable, however, I still see not making it to the movie as a type of sacrifice regardless of what I accomplished or how much I enjoyed it. I'm a bit odd like that.

My other oddity is the fact that if I don't see a film within a preset amount of time, randomly applied to each movie by some small generator in my brain nestled deep in the temporal lobe - hidden in a synapse sparse crevice and utilizing no known logical algorithm, I tend to pass on that particular movie, opting to wait for the release on disc, and, instead, go see something else. A major contributor to that line of thinking is the fact that every couple of weeks brings something new that I want to see - sometimes more than one - and as we approach the holidays, that's going to occur almost weekly.

So, I'm afraid I may not see American Gangster for some time since next weekend will find me preparing for Thanksgiving and the following weekend will bring the release of Frank Darabont's adaptation of Stephen King's "The Mist," which is probably one of the top three things I've ever read by Stephen King (I've read it at least 6 times) and based on Darabont's previous adaptations of The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, my expectations are high.

Additionally, now that the weather is staring to cool and the holidays are approaching, I'm going to have more time to devote to my senseless and seemingly endless ramblings - I'm just not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Well, at least if I spend a little more time here, maybe I'll stop receiving requests for 'submissions for our resident's pleasure' from some place called Guantanamo Bay.

We'll see.

Elizabeth: The Golden Age

2007-10-21T11:15:00.000-05:00

The Golden Age finds Queen Elizabeth I (Cate Blanchett) facing bloodlust for her throne and familial betrayal. Growing keenly aware of the changing religious and political tides of late 16th century Europe, Elizabeth finds her rule openly challenged by the Spanish King Philip II (Jordi Molla)--with his powerful army and sea-dominating armada--determined to restore England to Catholicism. Preparing to go to war to defend her empire, Elizabeth struggles to balance ancient royal duties with an unexpected vulnerability in her love for the newly met Sir Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen). But he remains forbidden for a queen who has sworn body and soul to her country. Unable and unwilling to pursue her love, Elizabeth encourages her favorite lady-in-waiting, Bess (Abbie Cornish), to befriend Raleigh to keep him near. But this strategy forces Elizabeth to observe their growing intimacy. As she charts her course abroad, her trusted advisor, Sir Francis Walsingham (Geoffrey Rush), continues his masterful puppetry of Elizabeth's court at home--and her campaign to solidify absolute power. Through an intricate spy network, Walsingham uncovers an assassination plot that could topple the throne. But as he unmasks traitors that may include Elizabeth's own cousin Mary Stuart (Samantha Morton), he unknowingly sets England up for destruction.

Great movie. No question about it. Historically the film remains accurate on most of the larger topics involved and the few liberties that are taken involve the speculation of relationships, how intricately they were intertwined and, of course, the conversations that lead to certain decisions. As with any historical drama, there really is no way of ever knowing what exactly was said, so it's these liberties that can really make things interesting.

Cate Blanchett is amazing, again, as Elizabeth and this time she plays the part as a woman who has grown into her role as leader of an empire and has developed the confidence to match her intelligence. Geoffrey Rush's aging Walsingham is as shrewd in watching the Queen's back as he was in the first film although, having come into her own, she doesn't require as much guidance from him as she once did. And Clive Owen is perfectly cast as Raleigh: he easily looks the part of privateer and handles himself accordingly and he is surprisingly capable of embodying the adventurous desire as well as being able to verbally convey a sense of wonder in the simple descriptions of a journey.

Even if period piece dramas are not your cup of tea, as it were, in my opinion there is still enough intrigue and action to hold your attention. The settings are spectacular, the dialog is natural and explanatory and the overall direction is superb. There are actually times that, because of the camera placement, I actually felt like I was eavesdropping on a conversation and at other times I found myself wondering how the hell they achieved a particular shot. Shekhar Kapur directed this film as well as the previous Elizabeth so if you've seen Elizabeth, you're already somewhat familiar with the camera angles and look of the shots and while having seen the prior Elizabeth is not a prerequisite for seeing The Golden Age, doing so will greatly increase the overall feel of the movie and add an extra level to the scope of the story. I actually re-watched Elizabeth the night before I saw The Golden Age and it felt like an excellent long movie with an intermission. But that's just me.

Eastern Promises

2007-09-29T19:15:00.000-05:00

The mysterious and charismatic Russian-born Nikolai Luzhin (Viggo Mortensen) is a driver for one of London’s most notorious organized crime families of Eastern European origin. The family itself is part of the Vory V Zakone criminal brotherhood. Headed by Semyon (Armin Mueller-Stahl), whose courtly charm as the welcoming proprietor of the plush Trans-Siberian restaurant impeccably masks a cold and brutal core, the family’s fortunes are tested by Semyon’s volatile son and enforcer, Kirill (Vincent Cassel), who is more tightly bound to Nikolai than to his own father. But Nikolai’s carefully maintained existence is jarred once he crosses paths at Christmastime with Anna Khitrova (Naomi Watts), a midwife at a North London hospital. Anna is deeply affected by the desperate situation of a young teenager who dies while giving birth to a baby. Anna resolves to try to trace the baby’s lineage and relatives. The girl’s personal diary also survives her; it is written in Russian, and Anna seeks answers in it. Anna’s mother Helen (Sinéad Cusack) does not discourage her, but Anna’s irascible Russian-born uncle Stepan (Jerzy Skolimowski) urges caution. He is right to do so; by delving into the diary, Anna has accidentally unleashed the full fury of the Vory. With Semyon and Kirill closing ranks and Anna pressing her inquiries, Nikolai unexpectedly finds his loyalties divided. The family tightens its grip on him; who can, or should, he trust? Several lives, including his own, hang in the balance as a harrowing chain of murder, deceit, and retribution reverberates through the darkest corners of both the family and London itself.

Excellent film. I've always enjoy David Cronenberg's movies because, as a film maker, he always sticks to his particular style while never giving way to the more accepted 'Hollywood' approach. In Cornenberg's movies, he tells you what you need to know and if you miss it, tough, they'll be no refresher before the exam. This movie is no exception. The story is actually rather straight forward once all of the associated Russian vernacular is in place, so it doesn't take a tremendous amount of concentration to follow along. It's the way Cronenberg tells the story and how well it's acted that turn a simple mafia-style story into a tense and focused film with a few 'whoa, I didn't see that coming' moments. Cronenberg is at the top of his game for this movie and I'm hoping he receives some acknowledgment for it. And speaking of the top of his game..........

Viggo Mortensen is absolutely amazing. His performance is worth seeing, alone, which is all the more astonishing when, after the movie, you realize how few lines he actually had with half of them being in Russian. His performance is one of nuanced emotion conveyed through body language and expression - you know what he's saying even when it's in Russian, you can tell when he's thinking something different from what he's saying or what he's thinking when he's completely silent. From what I have read, Mortensen spent several weeks alone in Russia so he could listen to people talk and study their body language in an effort to enhance his portrayal of his character, much like how he wore his sword during the off times when filming The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the final result of the immersion is a totally believable character.

The rest of the cast does not disappoint. On the contrary, Naomi Watts, Vincent Cassel and Armin Mueller-Stahl are standouts in their own right. Watts, as usual, easily conveys the emotions behind her character's drive while Mueller-Stahl convincingly comes across as the warm fatherly type who would feed you a nice meal, have you murdered in your sleep and buried in the flower bed and then show woeful remorse over the fact that no one has seen you in weeks. Cassel is simply scary on a completely psychotic level.

Combined, all of the actors and their characters, along with Cronenberg, have forged an engaging film that, in my opinion, is deeply satisfying after one viewing and will probably become even more nuanced on the third or fourth. I look forward to seeing it again upon it's release on DVD.

Resident Evil: Extinction

2007-09-22T18:32:00.000-05:00

Milla Jovovich returns as Alice in the third installment of the Resident Evil movie series based on the super popular video game franchise. Extinction picks up a few years after the end of the second film with the entire planet having practically succumbed to the effects of the virus responsible for infecting, killing and reanimating living tissue, leaving the non-infected to survive as best they can in a dried up world where essential items such as food are becoming scarce whiles there's an ample supply of living dead walking around in search of healthy flesh to consume for no apparent reason other than it being a most rudimentary instinct. The people responsible for the virus, the nefarious Umbrella Corporation, have taken up refuge in massive underground facilities where they are safe from the hoards of undead, for the moment, and can continue their research with the virus, however, with their food supplies dwindling, the focus is now on using virus antibodies on the living dead as a means of domesticating them and quelling their destructive nature in the hopes of returning life above ground to some semblance of normalcy. That's where Alice comes in. During the time that she was held captive (in the second film), the Umbrella Corporation performed biogenetic experiments on Alice using various strains of the virus which caused her to develop super-human strength, senses and mental abilities, as well as specific antibodies to the virus. For the past few years, since her escape from the Umbrella Corporation facilities, Alice has been living off the grid in an effort to avoid capture and further testing, helping people where she can but always moving on quickly and staying alone in order to remain undetected. After a few encounters with the walking dead and several unsettling dreams, Alice comes to the aid of a rag-tag convoy of survivors lead by Claire (Ali Larter of Heroes). At this point, Alice enjoys a bit of a reunion since two of the members of the convoy are Carlos (Oded Fehr) and L. J. (Mike Epps), characters she fought beside in the previous movie and, in the case of Carlos to some extent, felt romantic inclinations for. As for romantic inclinations, L. J., in the mean time, has developed a thing for the convoy's Nurse Betty (Ashanti). After deciding on a course and destination for the convoy, it becomes apparent that the Umbrella Corporation has learned of Alice's location and are pulling out all the stops to bring her in. Tired of being on the run, fed up watching people around her die and with her abilities increasing exponentially, Alice decides it's time for all debts to be paid.

Guilty pleasure. That's all I really need to say. Some people covet reruns of television's "Beauty and the Beast," other people look fondly at their collection of Adam Sandler movies, me, I'm partial to watching someone like Milla Jovovich kick some serious ass. I go into the theater expecting nothing but decent action and if the story happens to be fairly good, then I feel like I've received a bonus for my money. In this case, the story is pretty simple, the motivations are cut and dry and the acting is more than adequate. I got exactly what I was expecting and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Granted, it's not Shakespeare but, then again, Alice has to contend with more than a few damn spots and isn't worried about whether she gets them out, or not.

Aside from the fact that I would have seen this movie simply because Milla Jovovich is in it, I would have also seen this film based solely on it's director, Russell Mulcahy. I've been a fan of Mulcahy's since the original Highlander and have always appreciated his visual style. I even liked The Shadow because of his direction and after watching this film, I've decided that if the powers that be were to ever commission another Mad Max film, Mulcahy should be one of the director's considered for the job since George Miller seems to be spending most of his time with talking pigs and dancing penguins.

Anyway, I really enjoyed Resident Evil and I will add it to the collection when it becomes available. If you liked the previous Resident Evil movies, enjoy decent action or are simply a fan of zombie flicks, then this movie is right up your alley. It might not be worth a trip to the theater, but I would definitely catch it on disc.

3:10 to Yuma

2007-09-08T21:24:00.001-05:00

Russell Crowe and Christian Bale face off in this story based on Elmore Leonard's short story, as was the 1957 version starring Glenn Ford and Van Heflin, set in Arizona in the late 1800's. Ben Wade (Crowe), is a cruel and infamous outlaw and, along with his gang of heartless thieves and murders, has besieged the Southern Railroad and robbed their trains and carriers almost two dozen times. After Wade is captured, Civil War veteran Dan Evans (Bale), volunteers to deliver him alive to the '3:10 to Yuma', a train that will take the killer to his trial and hanging, for two hundred dollars in an effort to save his drought ridden ranch and prove to his wife and sons, as well as himself, that he's not a failure. As they travel the distance, facing multiple dangers and with Wade's gang closing in, each man begins to learn more about himself through their interactions with each other as they race toward a seemingly impossible destination and a finale that only fate could have created.

Amazing movie and instant classic Western. I thoroughly enjoyed this film even though it is a remake of a classic. What keeps it on par with the original is the fact that the story remains central over unnecessary action or violence, it stays true to being a Western and the acting is as equally good if not better than the original. Christian Bale is easily one of the finest actors currently working in films and stories concerning his ability to immerse himself in a role and totally become the character are rampant and this role is no different. Bale's character's pain and fear can be seen smoldering in every scene and his motivation is so adequately summed up when he says to his wife, "I'm tired of the way the boys look at me and the way that you don't." On the flip side, Crowe uses his considerable acting talents and presence to add a bit of charm to a character that would, otherwise, simply be reprehensible. I firmly believe that only a handful of actors could have pulled off the performance that Crowe does and, yet, I'm still not convinced anyone else could have reached the same level of 'coolness.' But that's just my opinion.

Another positive note is the fact that the movie is populated with familiar actors from the past and present, the most notable being, of course, Peter Fonda who plays a bounty hunter on the lookout for Wade. Fonda's character is well played and surprisingly gritty. Another actor that I've become a fan of because of the television show Firefly (yes, I'm a Browncoat) is Alan Tudyk (Serenity, A Knight's Tale, Death at a Funeral and I, Robot) who portrays the local doctor, of sorts, and ends up becoming a very memorable character. And, lastly, I feel that I should mention the appearance of Luke Wilson,in a smaller and un-billed but right on the money role, simply because I feel that he's one of those types of actors who can call upon the perfect demeanor expected for a role in a Western. That, and the fact that he was in one of my all-time favorite episodes of the X-Files.

All in all this is definitely a movie worth seeing and when I say that, I mean in the theater as opposed to waiting for it on DVD. I realize not everyone is a fan of the Western genre but I think the acting, characters and story help this movie rise from the level of an excellent Western to that of a great movie and I'll be surprised if it doesn't receive several nominations come awards season.

The Flight of the Phoenix

2007-09-02T11:00:00.000-05:00

Flight of the Phoenix is a remake of the 1965 film starring James Stewart which was based on Elleston Trevor's novel of the same name. Dennis Quaid stars as Captain Frank Towns who, with his navigator A.J. (Tyrese Gibson), has flown a C-119 cargo plane to the middle of Mongolia's Gobi Desert to pick up a crew of oil workers and their equipment from a test drilling site that is being shut down because of lack of success in finding any deposits. Hugh Laurie (Blackadder, House) is Ian, the corporate stiff-neck who's assessments have caused the pullout of company funding for the project, much to the chagrin of Kelly, the foreman and lead visionary of the project who is portrayed by Miranda Otto (Eowyn of the second and third installments of the Lord of the Rings trilogy). After some unsurprising tension between Towns and the roughnecks, as well as tension between the roughnecks and management, the plane is packed and ready for takeoff along with the addition of an unexpected passenger in the form of an odd and stranded traveler named Elliott (Giovanni Ribisi). Soon after takeoff the plane is caught in a sandstorm to end all sandstorms and, because of a tactical error or two, ends up crash landing in the desert with no communications, very little water, no hope of rescue and the very large threat of being killed by nomadic smugglers if the heat and lack of water doesn't kill them first. As the desperation grows and they inch closer to social anarchy, it is Elliott who comes through with an idea of survival rivaled in size only by the secret that he's keeping.

Now don't get me wrong, this isn't a great movie by any means but, for me, it was very entertaining and fun. The characters are believable, the scenery is amazing, the effects are top-notch and the soundtrack really keeps things moving. There are only a few "slow" moments in the movie and those moments are used primarily to advance the story or the understanding of a character. The movie's lighter segments are spaced perfectly between the more intense moments and help make this film one that can be seen several times with little or no wear on the viewer.

Aside from the primary cast, some of the crew characters are made up of a few familiar faces. Kirk Jones, better known as the rapper "Sticky Fingaz" puts forth a very adequate performance as Jeremy who has a good friendship with Rodney, played by actor Tony Curran of such films as Gladiator, Underworld: Evolution, Blade II and The Good German. Another familiar face is that of the crew's spiritual voice, Raddy, portrayed by Kevork Malikyan who you may recognize as Kizim, the leader of the Brotherhood of the Cruciform Sword; the organization that protected the Holy Grail in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Again, this movie may never end up on any "greatest" list, but, if you're in the mood for simple fun, good action, an against the odds plot line and enjoy a robust soundtrack, then you may find yourself watching this film more than once.

The Searchers (That'll be the day)

2007-08-19T11:33:00.000-05:00

Ethan Edwards (John Wayne) returns to his brother's home after several years of absence, the first few spent fighting on the losing side of the Civil War while the latter are never mentioned, exactly, but Mexico and money are inferred. The local Comanche Indian's attack the Edwards family farm, killing most of the women but kidnapping the two youngest daughters. Ethan sets off to find his young nieces accompanied by Martin Pawley (Jeffrey Hunter), a half-breed youth who, as an infant had been discovered under a bush by Ethan following the slaughter of Martin's family, had been raised by Ethan's brother as one of their own. Martin wants to rescue his sister but Ethan wants to kill her because in his view, she would already have suffered a fate worse than death by being deflowered by a savage. They spend five years on a lonely quest to hunt down the tribe and their leader Scar (Henry Brandon) with hate and revenge driving Ethan's every step. There is no question concerning Ethan's determination or if he'll every give up the search, the question is who , if anyone, will survive when he finds them.

The Searchers is not only one of the greatest Westerns (often referred to as the greatest) of all time, but this year The American Film Institute 100 Greatest American Films listed The Searchers in twelfth place and it normally ranks in the top twenty (Sight and Sound poll) of the greatest films ever made.

I can't really say that I disagree. The more I watch this movie and see past the typical clichés, the more I'm amazed at the depth and beauty of this movie. John Wayne's character is a true anti-hero and his portrayal of Ethan is spot on. Granted, Ethan's hatred of the Comanches borders on racism but, in my opinion, never actually crosses the line - it's simply pure hatred caused by past events. Ethan hates the Comanches because of what they've taken from him and the depth of his losses become more apparent the more closely the film is watched. For example, it's never mentioned how Ethan's mother died but, early in the movie, as the character of young Debbie is hiding from the Comanches in the cemetery, a headstone bearing the name of Ethan's mother (Mary Jane Edwards) can be seen and the engraving states that she was killed by Comanches roughly sixteen years before.

Another terrible loss for Ethan is also one of my favorite parts of the movie because of it's subtlety. Paying close attention to the reactions and mannerisms of Ethan and Ethan's brother's wife, Martha, when they are within close proximity to one another is very telling. There is never a word said regarding it but it's obvious, at least to me, that they are in love with each other and probably have been for some time considering that, as the film begins, they haven't seen each other in years. An excellent bit of directing by John Ford adds an additional layer of loss to a character that is no stranger to pain. When ever I watch this movie, for days afterwards, I find myself trying to imagine a back story between Ethan and Martha. Any movie that can evoke mental meanderings several days after being seen is a classic example of great film making.

Another reason not to miss this movie is it's sheer beauty. A majority of the film was shot in Utah's Monument Valley and it is truly breathtaking. I most recently watched the film in a high-definition transfer on Blu-Ray disc and I could not believe how amazing this movie looked having been filmed over fifty years ago in 1956. The colors were vibrant and life-like and the depth perception was practically three dimensional. From what I understand, Warner Bros. spared no expense for the 50th anniversary re-release of The Searchers on a two-disc standard dvd and the high-definition HD-DVD and Blu-Ray discs. The only problem was that the original print was unusable for the restoration process and a new one had to be created using the black and white negative, which meant that the original colors were left to interpretation since John Ford and his crew have all passed away. There has been some debate regarding the final color choices but, again, in my opinion, the movie looks wonderful and improves with each subsequent viewing.

The Searchers is, in many, many ways, a prime example of a master director and his incredible team at work and, not surprisingly, can be enjoyed and appreciated by movie fans who don't necessarily watch Westerns. Do yourself a favor and pick an open afternoon, rent or buy the dvd or hi-def disc (if you're hi-def capable), make some popcorn, turn off the phones and enjoy a nostalgic ride through one of the greatest Westerns ever made. And remember, pay attention.

The Bourne Ultimatum

2007-08-04T20:30:00.001-05:00

Rogue agent Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is being hunted by the people in the CIA who trained him to be an assassin. Still suffering from amnesia and determined to finally learn of his true identity, he is lured out of hiding to contact a journalist named Simon Ross (Paddy Considine), who has been following his story. Throughout his research, Ross has gathered valuable information about Bourne and Treadstone, which trained him. This is rather inconvenient for U.S. government official Noah Vosen (David Strathairn), who is hoping to start a new organization under the codename Blackbriar (which is briefly mentioned at the end of the first film) which would follow in Treadstone's footsteps.

With intent to kill Bourne and the journalist before they expose the program's disturbing secrets, Vosen sends agent Pamela Landy (Joan Allen) to lead the search effort. Simultaneously, Paz (Edgar Ramirez), one of the remaining living Treadstone assassins, is dispatched to find and neutralize Bourne and Ross. In order to finally learn of his true origins and find inner peace, Bourne will have to evade, out-maneuver, and outsmart the deadliest group of highly-trained agents and assassins yet.

This one's simple: Fast paced, well acted, believable plot scattered among exotic locations and peppered with various nefarious characters all trying to keep their secrets hidden. What's not to like? The Bourne character, again well played by Damon, is a force to be reckoned with and yet, he never comes across as being completely infallible. The chance that something could go wrong or a mistake could be made by the main character is a very hard notion to have survive to a third movie and it's that aspect, that amount of realism, that makes the movie so much more enjoyable.

Another aspect of adequate realism is the action of the film. If there is any CGI used in the film, it is used sparingly and invisibly in the action sequences because it all appears to involve actual stunt people, real locations and solid (very solid) objects. This is, obviously, an action movie but, as in the previous films, there isn't action simply for action's sake. There is a reason for every action event in the movie and none of if comes across as wanton or excessive.

If you have seen and enjoyed the previous Bourne movies, you will not be disappointed by this one. The fact that I can't decide which film I liked best is a good indication, to me, that they all follow a well thought and executed premise. Additionally, if you're a fan of the films and also happen to like to read, the real treat will be reading the books since the movies have practically nothing in common with them. The general idea of Bourne not knowing who he is is, initially, the same but that's pretty much where the similarities end. The books are much more involved and intricately conceived and there's also Bourne's arch nemesis, Carlos the Jackal. So, rather than having only three stories, you can, literally (pun intended), have six very different adventures.

Rescue Dawn

2007-07-29T11:20:00.000-05:00

During the Vietnam War, German-born Dieter Dengler (Christian Bale), a U.S. fighter pilot, is shot down over Laos and taken captive by enemy soldiers. Interned in a POW camp, he and his fellow prisoners (Steve Zahn, Jeremy Davies) endure torture, hunger and illness while they await their chance to escape. Dengler has no intention of sticking around the nightmarish camp, so he begins to dream up an escape plan that takes his fellow prisoners by surprise with its savvy and audacity. Dengler doesn't even know where he is--but he knows with unwavering certainty that he must not stop fighting for his life. As he makes his way into the jungle, accompanied by Lt. Duane Martin (Zahn), his journey will never let up, as it takes him from the bonds of fraternity to the brink of despair, to one of the most remarkable rescues in modern history.

This is a remarkably well made and superbly acted film that concentrates more on the human and emotional aspects of Dengler's true story rather than trying to twist the events into an "action movie" and depict Dengler's character as an invincible savior. The real focus of the film is Dengler's desire to be free outweighing the always looming threat of torture and death at the hands of Vietnamese hostiles. The torture scenes are realistic but not graphic or "over the top" as many films tend to be in an effort to over emphasize what the characters have been through. The thought of being tied to the ground, spread-eagle and fully clothed, for several days while exposed to the Vietnam sun with no "personal time" breaks is brutal enough without exaggeration.

Christian Bale is absolutely perfect as Dengler with a flawless German/English accent and no trace of his true Welsh/British upbringing. Bale effortlessly embodies the fresh excitement of a pilot going on his first mission and, more impressively, he displays the struggle to survive an unimaginable and potentially lethal situation with a grim determination that is easily recognized as a trait everyone likes to hope they possess, but few are ever able to tap into. I definitely believe that Bale's penchant for roles such as this, as opposed to more flashy "mainstream" roles, is what makes him such an accomplished actor.

I must mention the fact that, even though I went to this movie expecting to see an excellent bit of acting by Bale, I was completely unprepared for the amazing performance of Steve Zahn and Jeremy Davies. This was the first time I've seen Zahn play such a broken and fatigued character and he was not only convincing, but he was able to capture the haunted and empty stare that is so often seen on the faces of P.O.W.s in old black and white photographs. Davies, on the other hand, portrays how such captivity can affect a person's mental stability inflicting delusions and paranoia. It's my understanding that Zahn lost over 60 pounds for his role and Davies looks completely emaciated and near death.

I understand that "war movies" don't appeal to everyone, but don't make the mistake of thinking of this film as being about war, because it's not. This is the story of survival in an almost pure form. The war is simply a situation, no sides are taken, no politics are invoked and there's no blazing glory. If you do see this movie and enjoy it, I recommend seeing the 1997 documentary, "Little Dieter Needs to Fly," the complete story of Dieter Dengler written and directed by Warner Herzog, the same writer and director of this film.

The Red Violin

2007-07-22T11:16:00.000-05:00

A universal yearning for beauty and perfection underpins The Red Violin, Francois Girard's ambitious, lyrical drama following the passage of a meticulously crafted violin from owner to owner. We see the instrument's painstaking creation in 1681 by master artisan Nicolo Bussotti (Carlo Cecchi), who intends it for his unborn son. Over a period of 300 years the violin acquires innumerable owners, traveling from rich to poor, from country to country, but always producing the same achingly beautiful music for those who most appreciate it. Bussotti's violin becomes legendary, and eventually comes under the covetous eye of connoisseur Charles Morritz (Samuel L. Jackson) in a surprisingly suspenseful climax. Girard uses the violin as a narrative device to link his vignettes, which offer trenchant observations on love, music, culture, politics, poverty, crime, and even death.

I originally saw this film in one of those "artsy" single-screen theaters with an adjoining cafe that tend to be sparsely populated by book carrying patrons familiar with the origins of the country known as Freedonia. I was very impressed with the film and, after the movie reached a certain prominence and was given a larger general release, ended up seeing it twice more. I have owned a copy since it was released on DVD and it has become one of those films that I often play in order to have something nice to listen to as I perform domestic tasks around the house, only to invariably end up perched on the sofa, completely focused on the story and accomplishing nothing that I set out to.

Being a fan of the violin and/or classical composition can broaden the appreciation of the movie, but is by no means a prerequisite for enjoyment. The story is very well told and superbly acted as it covers over 300 years and 5 countries in the travels of the violin. Each segment contains wonderful characters from different time periods which are all bound together by the violin and balanced perfectly by flashes to the present where Samuel L. Jackson deciphers the identity of the violin and eventually takes us to a worthy climax. In case you are a fan of the violin and the music used in the film, Joshua Bell was the solo artist and, if you're familiar with him, you can spot him as one of the musicians during the Oxford segment in which the character Frederick Pope is performing.

This DVD may be off the beaten path for most people but anyone professing to enjoy a well told tale, including a few unexpected twists, with flashes of a bigger, spiritual picture while surrounded by precise and beautiful cinematography should not pass on the opportunity to see and enjoy this movie. At least, that's what I think.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

2007-07-14T17:58:00.001-05:00

As his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry approaches, 15-year-old Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) is in full-blown adolescence, complete with regular outbursts of rage, a nearly debilitating crush, and the blooming of a powerful sense of rebellion. It''s been yet another infuriating and boring summer with the despicable Dursleys, this time with minimal contact from Ron (Rupert Grint), Hermione (Emma Watson) or his Godfather, Sirius Black (Gary Oldman). Harry is feeling especially edgy at the lack of news from the magic world, wondering when the freshly revived evil Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) will strike. In this chapter we are introduced to the Order of the Phoenix and some of the members including Sirius, Mr and Mrs Weasley, Alistair "Mad Eye" Moody (Brendan Gleeson), Remus Lupin (one of my most favorite characters in the series) (David Thewlis), Tonks (Natalia Tena), Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) and Severus Snape (Alan Rickman). Of course, in an effort to protect him, no one wants to give Harry too much information (except Sirius) since they are relatively certain that the Dark Lord is after a prophecy regarding the two enemies which is kept in a special room at the Ministry of Magic. To make matter worse, Hogwarts has a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher in the form Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton) who works for the Ministry of Magic and is determined to bring her own type of "McCarthyism" to the school. Umbridge has a penchant for the most offensive shades of pink, which she incorporates on her walls (which are then covered by decorative plates displaying cats) as well as her fuzzy outfits that encase her from head to toe. Since the Ministry has decided that the return of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is some ploy cooked up by Dumbledore because he wants control of the Ministry, one of Umbridge's tasks is to discredit the return and impress upon the students that Harry is a liar. Harry quickly learns that the Ministry, by feeding information to the Daily Prophet, has been skewering him all summer long so that even without the assistance of Umbridge, well over half the school already thinks he's a lunatic who makes up scary stories. Faced with being an outcast, persecuted by the media and certain staff, ignored by Dumbledore (for whatever reason), dealing with horrible and unsettling dreams and knowing the Voldemort is gathering his forces and in search of a prophecy to use as a weapon, Harry is easily facing his most difficult year, yet.

This is, by far, my favorite movie of the series. Things are beginning to get serious (no pun) and the darkness is closing in. I've heard references to the fact that this is the darkest movie, yet. Well, it kind of makes sense if you think about it. In the past, Voldemort and his Deatheaters were responsible for numerous murders, which included wizards, muggles and even children and in some cases tortured victims into insanity in order to achieve their goals. Now, the evil Dark Lord has returned to power and is gathering his minions in an effort to seize power in the wizarding, and eventually muggle, world, regardless of who dies. Anyone remotely following the storyline must have realized, by now, that things could not remain all 'sunflowers and cotton-candy.' I mean, Voldemort isn't called evil simply because he likes to put super-glue in everyone's key holes.

Which brings me back to this movie. I really enjoy the fact that things are picking up, lines are beginning to be drawn and characters are becoming more defined. It was nice to see the return of Moody, Sirius and Lupin (again, one of my favorite characters) as well as the introduction of Tonks. Snape was, of course, devilishly unreadable and the rest of the supporting characters were actually able to have bigger impacts with less screen time. The stand out character was, without doubt, Delores Umbridge; such a nasty, vile woman that I absolutely wanted to see suffer in return for the suffering she caused as well as for her annoying "hem hem" throat clearing that, thankfully, wasn't overused in the film. Another character that I cannot neglect to mention is that of Ginny Weasley. There have been minor references to her abilities, in the past, but her character truly begins to show what she is capable of in this film and the director, David Yates, who is also signed to direct the next film, is very good at displaying her talents, as well as some curious looks, without making them the focus of what is being shown on the screen at any given moment.

As for the directing, I have to give Yates credit for being able to include as much as he did from the largest book of the series. While there are certain things that I would have liked to have seen, I understand that only so much could actually make it into the movie. Fortunately, it seems Yates was able to, at least, touch on all of the major points for however briefly. I suppose if I were forced to think of a complaint regarding the movie, it would have to be the length. I had read, several months ago, that the studio was wanting to shave time from the film because longer movies had, recently, been showing a decline in box office receipts. I think they confused "less engrossing stories" with "time," but maybe that's just me. I do know, originally, this movie clocked in at three hours and is now only two hours and eighteen minutes. It's quite possible that Professor Trelawney might see a "director's cut" DVD in our future.

The Thirteenth Floor

2007-07-08T16:15:00.000-05:00

The increasingly blurry lines between what is real and what is an artificial construct - both physically and philosophically - are the point of focus in the science fiction drama The Thirteenth Floor. In 1937, a man named Fuller (Armin Mueller-Stahl) gives a note to Ashton (Vincent D'Onofrio), the bartender at a swank hotel, that's addressed to Douglas Hall (Craig Bierko). Fuller tells Ashton it's crucial that no one else sees the note, and that the information enclosed is of great importance. Moments later, Fuller transports himself to 1998. He's soon found murdered, and a shirt stained with Fuller's blood is found in Hall's apartment. Fuller and Hall both work for Intergraph Computer Systems, a cutting edge artificial intelligence firm, and the "past" Fuller was visiting was actually a stunningly realistic recreation of Los Angeles 50 years ago, complete with people you can meet and places you can visit, that exists only in a microchip. The message he left with Ashton, however, is real. Some people, including LAPD detective Larry McBain (Dennis Haysbert) believe Hall murdered Fuller to assume his position of leadership at Intergraph. Jane (Gretchen Mol), Fuller's daughter, soon arrives on the scene, and Hall finds himself infatuated; Hall is determined to clear his name, so with the help of Whitney (also played by Vincent D'Onofrio), he slips into the virtual 1937 in hopes of discovering just what happened. The Thirteenth Floor makes copious use of digital effects technology to allow its characters to travel between 1937 and 1998 - ironically using computer technology to create a world that exists inside a computer.

You may have noticed a pattern in the fact that certain themes tend to follow me like dark angels, namely those involving time and perception. This movie continues that pattern and easily fits with the likes of The Matrix or eXistenZ. Coincidentally, all three movies were released in 1999 and The Thirteenth Floor, like the other two, relies heavily on the notion of perception and what, exactly, "real" is. Unlike the The Matrix and eXistenZ, however, this film concentrates primarily on the story, with less action and more character development, but does not delve as deeply into the philosophical or existential implications. In other words, the movie drops hints and leaves it up to the viewer to form the actual questions and explore the possibilities in his or her own mind.

The cast are all believable and, for being primarily unknowns, their performances range from good (Mol) to exceptional (D'Onofrio). Now, having grown accustomed to seeing Bierko (Boston Legal, The Long Kiss Goodnight), Haysbert (24, Breach, The Unit) and D'Onofrio (Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Full Metal Jacket, The Cell), the movie actually seems like a bigger production than when it was originally released.

The thing that I like most about the film is the fact that the intricate issues are between the characters only, and the bigger story is kept relatively simple, which could have easily become twisted and convoluted by trying to over complicate the main plot. As it is, "the hook" remains intact and an excellent part of the story rather than the entire story.

Transformers

2007-07-07T16:09:00.000-05:00

Before time began, there was the Cube, also known as the Allspark. It's origin unknown, it simply was. The Cube could be considered the ultimate power since it was capable of creating life, which it did on a world that would become known as Cybertron. The life created was a race of sentient robots that became highly productive and technologically advanced and lived harmoniously for hundreds of years. Then dissent. A group of robots, lead by the evil Magatron, conspired to take control of the Allspark and use the ultimate power for their own purposes with no regard as to who died or what havoc was unleashed in the process. These evil robots became known as the Decepticons, and in response to their plans, a heroic opposition calling themselves the Autobots formed and, lead by the noble Otimus Prime, launched into battle against the Decepticons. The war lasted for thousands of years and practically annihilated all life on Cybertron. During the conflict, the Cube was lost to the deep regions of space along with Megatron who was willing to stop at nothing in order to achieve his goal of wielder of ultimate power. Fast forward a hundred and fifty years or so, and that's where this movie picks up. There's an ultimate power somewhere on planet Earth and a group of very large and very nasty robots who have the capacity to blend in by "transforming" into cars, trucks, tanks, aircraft and other objects are here to find it and the only hope in stopping them is another group of robots, with the same abilities, who not only want to find the Allspark and defeat the Decepticons, but protect the innocent human life, as well. The cast includes Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, Rachael Taylor, Jon Voight and John Turturro and a nice surprise turn for Hugo Weaving.

Put simply: This movie rocks! I walked into the theater with my expectations set to a moderate level, and I walked out thoroughly impressed and ready to see it again. Granted, it's a typical summer action flick with noise, fights and explosions, but everything was brought together in a very cohesive manner that didn't overly insult my intelligence which is something that the director, Michael Bay, is very good at. Critics tend to pan Bay's movies but, oddly enough, every film he's directed has been a huge blockbuster grossing well over a hundred million dollars, each. I think his track record should speak for itself.

All of the characters are well conceived and developed with Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) and the object of his desire, Mikaela Banes (Megan Fox), being the most crucial. The side plots pertaining to a group of attacked soldiers and that of a secret government organization are not, however, restricted to guesswork, and are eventually brought to an exciting culmination with the central plot of the film. Along with the plots, the other welcome aspect of the movie is it's humor. Some of the best comedic moments are provided by Ron and Judy Witwicky (Kevin Dunn and Julie White), Sam's parents as well as a couple of very funny scenes involving, surprisingly, the Autobots. For me, it was the humor displayed by the Autobots that helped me see them as characters instead of CGI effects. Which brings me to my next point:

The Transformers. From what I understand, the effects company Industrial Light and Magic, or ILM, developed new technologies for rendering the massive robots that make up the Transformers, and, I have to admit, the results are absolutely amazing. The robots blend in seamlessly with the surroundings and are improved by a factor of 25 over the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park, which is saying quite a bit. The realism coupled with the humanity (good and bad) truly make the Transformers characters rather than props and, in my opinion, the standout Transformer is easily (and always has been) Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. Even in the animated television show, Optimus Prime was the character that was heroic and noble and seemed to possess all of the positive qualities that humans should aspire to. Michael Bay and the producers have, I'm glad to say, kept that aspect of the character intact while, at the same time, lightening his stoicism with a new found sense of humor; A very welcome and brilliant move that increases the "human" element of the character. Oh, and the final brilliant and, to a vast population of Transformers fans worldwide, the only choice was bringing back Peter Cullen, the only person to ever voice Optimus Prime. There had been rumors of bringing in a "big name star" to take over the character but a huge internet campaign by the fans quickly put a stop to such nonsense, and I must admit, having only watched the original show enough times to be somewhat familiar with the premise and characters, sitting in the theater today, even I got chills when I heard Optimus Prime say, "Autobots, transform and roll out!"

Live Free or Die Hard

2007-06-30T17:27:00.000-05:00

What begins as a simple go-pick-this-kid-up-for-questioning, quickly turns into multiple life and death situations involving shoot-outs, explosions, kidnapping, and a seriously mean girl who likes to kick, all while the entire United States infrastructure hangs in the balance. Just another example of being in the wrong place at the wrong time (or the right place at the right time, depending on your perspective) for old fashioned, every-man police officer John McClane (Bruce Willis), the self proclaimed fly in the ointment, monkey in the wrench and pain in the ass.

In this outing, directed by Len Wiseman (Underworld 1 & 2), McClane has been sent on a routine and boring call to bring in Matt Farrell (Justin Long also known as "Mac" from the PC/Mac television commercials), a computer code writer and known hacker, for questioning concerning recent events involving governmental computer breaches as well as the deaths of several other known hackers. The routine call turns complicated when shots are fired and McClane is able to prevent the murder of Farrell by several heavily armed and well trained men. As electronic systems across the country began to collapse, McClane, using his common sense and observation and Farrell, using his hacker insight coupled with information from the F.B.I., a plot emerges to destroy the country's vulnerable infrastructure perpetrated by uber-cyber-terrorist-with-a-grudge, Thomas Gabriel (Timothy Olyphant), using systems he created along with the unwitting assistance of several computer hackers including Farrell.

It's been about twelve years since the last Die Hard movie and I'm of the particular camp that thinks twelve years is about nine years too long. Willis' McClane character is one of my favorite characters of all time and even had the movie only been moderately entertaining, I would have still been glad to be sitting in the theater for another action ride. Fortunately, in my opinion, the movie was extremely entertaining and I was glad to see the progression of the character mirroring the amount of time that has passed with only a few subtle references to the past experiences and adventures. The other aspect that I found enjoyable was that fact that an aging outdated and seemingly out of touch with technology character like McClane can still be pertinent in today's world. Sometimes old school is the best school.

Overall, I thought the movie had an excellent story that was far from being ridiculous while being tech savy enough to make certain aspects seem frighteningly plausible. The action was frequent but not a central character and did not seem out of place with what the story required and was produced with the use of old school stunt work and very little CGI effects, adding an additional depth of realism. The most important part, the human element, was never ignored and carried with the same "a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do" attitude that only a small handful of actors have ever been able to properly portray.

The Big Wheel of Time (part 3)

2007-06-23T22:47:00.002-05:00

"Run!"

Thinking back, I'm positive that was the quietest shout I've ever heard.

I wanted to run. Every cell in my body was telling me to run, but I all I could do was stare, transfixed in anticipation of the cry of anguish that would, at any moment, be issuing from the depths of that little boy. As if on cue, a cavern opened up on his beet-red face and what came out was many times worse than anything I could have imagined: absolute silence. Emerging from his tiny lungs was the howl of a pain without voice, a hurt of such intensity that no sound could adequately convey the emotion behind it.
Lanny pushed me as he ran by, breaking the spell. "Run!"
I realized immediately that we had very little time remaining because once that kid refilled his lungs with air, a sound similar to that of an air raid siren would cut through the night alerting the rest of the family, the surrounding neighbors, and probably every dog within several miles, that something was terribly terribly wrong. So I ran.

Coming out of the garage, I almost collided with Phil and Lanny who had stopped dead in their tracks and were staring across the front lawn, dumbfounded, as Stuart , holding the Big Wheel high above his head, sprinted away as swift and sure as any Olympic runner ever had.
"Holy --"
"Don't stop!" I said as I pushed them back into motion, "We've got to get out of here!"
Expecting to hear the sounds of pursuit at any second, we disregarded any notion of trying to be nonchalant for the sake of passing cars and ran like crazy.

We had parked a few houses down, around a curve, out of sight from the house, and I kept telling myself that if we could make it to the truck before anyone came out to investigate, we could possibly get away without being seen. I know Phil was thinking the same thing because, as we neared the truck, I could hear him saying, "Please, please, please." I looked behind me and everything was still clear. I looked back at the truck and could see Stuart in the back, motioning with his arms and saying, "Hurry up you guys," which was probably the most surreal part of the entire evening. Lanny, being a few strides ahead of us, was already in the driver's seat and firing the ignition which gave Phil and I just enough time to dive into the back with Stuart as Lanny put the truck in gear and took off.

Once the adrenaline had worn off and the nervous laughter had subsided, the drive back to Bates House was relatively quiet and low-key. No one bothered to mention the remaining item on our list because there wasn't enough time left and I'm sure, judging from the looks on everyone's faces, no one cared. As it turned out, it wouldn't have mattered anyway because, a few blocks from the dorm, we were stopped at a train crossing and by the time the train had passed and we had pulled into the parking lot, we were about five minutes late. Taking the plunder up would have taken, at least, another ten minutes, so we didn't even bother. We simply made our way to the sixth floor (Lanny had to take the back entrance to avoid the RA) to see who had won.

Surprisingly, had we made it back it time, we would have won. The first two teams to return had tied with seven items each and the third team had only been able to get five, and while each of the other teams had been able to find beach umbrellas, none of them had returned with foosball men. The other common items between the teams were traffic cones, barrier signs, pink flamingos and, of course, Big Wheels even though one would have been disqualified because it was a Green Machine. Technically not a Big Wheel.

Everyone sat around telling stories of their adventures and , after a while, I noticed that none of the stories were being told by my team. Not even the "Stuart sprinting" story. One of the time keepers had heard about Lanny and the janitor and repeatedly asked about it but everyone kind of shrugged it off and said it was no big deal - except for Stuart who seemed interested since he had obviously missed something and couldn't understand how. Finally, the other guys lapsed into stories concerning the less exciting events of the evening and I couldn't help but notice my friends all seemed a bit preoccupied and I guessed they were all thinking of that little boy's face, just like I was. I realized that we were keeping our silence because we felt guilty and knew the other guys wouldn't quite understand; they had all enjoyed themselves and had avoided the part of watching some kid cry by obtaining their Big Wheel's at empty playgrounds and, in the case of the Green Machine, at a Salvation Army donation box. I listened to the stories for a little while longer and, finally, got up and wandered back down to my room. I wanted to lie down for a while, maybe even go to bed early, to see if I could get that crying kid out of my head.

It's funny how it's so much easier to do something when you don't have to see the consequences of your actions. It's so easy to see objects and not consider their connections to actual living people and how we would feel if we were on the receiving end of such a so called "innocent" prank, or how one person's prank can be another person's violation. Growing up is a bitch and no one, for the most part, likes the thought of acknowledging the fact they've hurt people in the past, even if that was not their intent and it was "all in good fun." I couldn't help but wonder if my friends were as bothered by the situation as I was.

I was still in bed thinking about those things when someone banged on my door. I looked at the clock and realized I'd been brooding for a couple of hours because it was after midnight. I opened the door and standing in the hallway were Phil, Lanny and Stuart. They were all smiling at me.
"It's a good thing I wasn't asleep."
"We knew you'd be up," Phil said as they continued to stand in the hallway and smile at me.
Several seconds passed and no one said anything. All three of my friends just stood there, looking at me, smiling.
"Okay, you guys are starting to scare me. What's going on?"

Phil quickly explained that while it was okay to keep some of the smaller items like a couple of hard hats or a pink flamingo or two, there was no place to keep the larger things that were piled by the study area at the end of the hall. The big stuff needed to go before the RA saw any of it because he'd know who to blame. He went on to say they could really get into trouble because of the barrier signs and anything else that was "obviously" stolen.
"So me, Lanny and Stuart volunteered to dispose of it, being that we were the losers and all," Phil said, "And we knew you'd want to help."
"Cause you're part of the team," Stuart said.
"And a loser," chimed Lanny.
"At midnight?" I asked, "Why can't we do this in the morning after lunch? All we're going to do is toss the junk in the dumpster. Right?"
A funny look spread across Phil's face. "Not exactly."
"We came up with an idea without your help," Stuart said.
Lanny pointed back into my room, "Now grab your car keys and let's go."
"My keys?"

Roughly two hours later, after four or five trips to the dumpster from the sixth floor, two trips to Lanny's truck and one side journey in a Volkswagen Beetle, with Lanny on Stuart's lap in the front and Phil stuffed in the back with three Big Wheels and a Green Machine, I was back in my dorm room feeling physically exhausted but mentally upbeat. It had been a long night with several ups and downs but, in the end, it had proven a good night. I had learned several things that night but the most important was that I was only as good as the friends I kept and, thankfully, I had discovered that my friends were excellent people.

The scavenger hunt was only one of the adventures shared by the four of us that year, but it's memory is the one that flooded over me staring at Mrs. Brown's garage. Time is funny stuff. It can help us remember and forget as it rolls along it's uncertain path and while I may have forgotten small details here and there, I can still remember my three friends from that time period as if it were only last week. I can still see their expressions and hear their voices, and even though I could still see the image of that little boy breaking down in tears if I wanted to, I prefer to imagine the look on his face the following morning when he came outside to find three Big Wheels and a Green Machine sitting in his driveway.

The Big Wheel of Time (part 2)

2007-06-22T14:30:00.000-05:00

Besides myself, my team consisted of Lanny, Stuart and Phil. Lanny was a local (Columbia) boy; small and wiry with wild blond hair and unlimited energy, he was best described as a preppy Tasmanian devil and was the perfect representation of our spontaneity. Stuart was from a small town outside of Charleston and he was the polar opposite of Lanny: Tall, lanky, short dark hair, horned-rimmed glasses and extremely casual (slow). Nothing could make Stuart rush, so he represented our appreciation. Phil was the only "Yankee" in our group, having joined us from an average size town in New Jersey, and he was my best friend on the planet. He was short and stocky (built like a fire hydrant), wore his hair in a kind of flattop, had a mustache (like me) which his Italian heritage dictated and since Phil lived each day with a desire to laugh but a tendency to worry, he represented our conscience (or our mother). As for me, I was an average kid from a small South Carolina town who spent a lot time asking, "what if." I guess you could say I represented our possibilities.

As we descended the stairs, I shouted ahead to Lanny, who was already a floor ahead of us, that when we reached the third floor, Phil and I were going to go by my room to get a screwdriver and then we'd meet him and Stuart, who was nowhere to be seen, in the game room. Lanny shouted back a quick, "Whoo-hoo!" as Phil and I yanked on the fire door to the third floor and headed to my room. I wanted a screwdriver not only because I knew it could come in handy (no pun), but because there was one item on the list that had provoked immediate but silent eye contact between the four four of us: a foosball man. We all knew there was a storage room at the back of the game room and in in that storage room was four or five folding tables, fifteen or twenty folding chairs, various deflated sports balls and ripped volley ball nets, three pairs of crutches, two wheel chairs and several large canvas drop cloths laying on top of an old and broken foosball table. There was no way to know if any of the other teams knew about the table or not since we had discovered it, quite accidentally, when we were removing the wheel chairs for a race soon after realizing the storage room door could be opened by grasping the handle, lifting up and then pulling sharply to the right while simultaneously pulling it open or, in other words, forcing it. In our haste to get the wheel chairs out, a handle had caught on one of the drop cloths and pulled them all off, exposing the table. The foosball table was in poor shape with a cracked top, bent rods and missing handles but I knew we could easily remove one of the men without doing further damage because a team that can't play, can't be a man short. The only real problem would be getting into the store room without attracting the attention of the Resident Assistant on duty at the front desk, which was only about twenty feet away but, thankfully, facing away from the game room. The RA's had been keeping kind of a close eye on the game room, as well as us, since our wheel chair races had caused a bit of a ruckus and they had informed us that there would be disciplinary consequences if we were discovered entering areas that were off limits, again. With screwdriver in hand and heading towards the stairway that terminated beside the game room I was pretty sure I heard Phil say something like, "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

I'll admit, as we descended the stairs, I was growing a bit nervous because, if the RA was up and roaming or not otherwise occupied, we were going to have a difficult time getting to the store room without wasting too much time since we couldn't very well keep wandering back and forth without seeming to be up to something. As I eased the fire door open, I heard the unmistakable sound of a disturbance consisting of a couple of raised voices, several people laughing, a loud and continuous squeaking and, louder than the rest combined, a sharp and pronounced , "Whoo-hoo!" every couple of seconds. Looking out across the main floor, it took Phil and I a minute or so before we grasped what we were seeing. Lanny, obviously knowing our intent and desiring to be the tactical diversion, had, upon exiting the stairwell by the front desk, commandeered the janitor's big yellow mop bucket (with mop wringer) by placing his left foot inside the bucket, holding the wringer handle for support, and pushing with his right foot in an effort to utilize the bucket as an unruly skateboard. Upon each push, Lanny would bellow a resounding, "Whoo-hoo!." From our perspective, Phil and I could see several students in the lobby watching the entertainment in hysterics as the RA stood at her desk, yelling at Lanny to stop playing and getting water everywhere while the janitor, a nice older black man who chewed tobacco and drank Mad Dog 20/20, was yelling about his clean floors and, with mop in hand, trying his best to catch Lanny without busting his ass. We could tell when Lanny was approaching the desk because the squeaking would get louder, Lanny would pass in front of the desk and, before disappearing from sight, bellow a "Whoo-hoo" followed by the janitor, slipping and sliding and brandishing his mop overhead. After the third pass, Phil and I looked at each other and ducked into the game room.

Once in the game room, getting into the store room, getting the foosball man and getting out again took us less than ten minutes. When we made our way into the main lobby, Lanny had already made his exit, or escape, the janitor was mopping up the excess water and mumbling something about "crazy white boys" and the RA was glaring at Phil and I as if we were miscreants beyond redemption. I glanced at Phil, who had the foosball man in his pocket, and his ears were a bright crimson and I swear I could feel heat radiating from him. Calmly and slowly we made our way out the front entrance and, once the doors had shut behind us, Phil looked at me and said, "Now all we have to do is get to the parking lot and find Lanny." I started to answer but, instead, I simply pointed down at what I can only describe as the trail of a one-legged sponge making a break for it, and even though I knew who the single-footed print belonged to, it was still a rather odd sensation following that lone wet foot. Luckily, by the time we made it up the entrance ramp and was crossing the sidewalk to the parking lot, we could already see Lanny coming around the fire lane in his white pickup truck, wicked grin, windows down and Aerosmith blaring. Lanny had recently discovered the song "Dream On" and was so overwhelmed by it that he had taken a two-hour blank cassette and recorded the song eighteen times on each side and would let it play in a continuous loop. The first thing Lanny said as he stopped the truck was, "Whoo-hoo!," followed by, "Where's Stuart?" Phil and I, again, looked at each other but before we could say anything I heard Lanny say, "There he comes." I turned around and watched as Stuart, hands in his pockets, came strolling up the entrance ramp, across the sidewalk and over to the truck.
"Are we ready to start?"
Lanny gave Stuart a brief and empty stare and said, "Just get in the truck, Speedy."
So, with Lanny driving, Stuart in the front, Phil and I in the back and the four of us doing our best to devise a strategy through the sliding rear window while Steven Tyler wailed about getting old, we pulled out into the early evening with one item obtained and an hour and forty-five minutes left for the remaining nine.

The next hour passed rather quickly and uneventfully. During that time, we had acquired a railroad spike, a barrier sign with flashing orange light, a plastic pink flamingo, a cue ball, a hard hat, a traffic cone (we got the hard hat and traffic cone from the same telephone truck) and a neighborhood Community Watch sign (ironic, I know). With a little less than forty-five minutes left, we were faced with trying to find a beach, or other large, umbrella and a kid's Big Wheel. Since we were already in a housing community, Lanny was trying to drive slow enough so we could all scan the yards for either item, but fast enough so as not to attract any unwanted attention. Finally, after several minutes, there was a communal gasp as we all saw the same thing while being reminded that maybe tomorrow the good Lord would take us away.
"There it is," said Lanny.
Stuart followed with, "I don't care what anybody says, I'm getting out this time."
"We're going to get in trouble," piped Phil.
I just stared at the open garage; car pulled in on the right and a Big Wheel on the left near the inside door and said, "Park a couple of houses down and we'll walk back."

Now, to this day I have no idea why we all got out to go after the Big Wheel. I could understand Stuart wanting to be involved because we hadn't allowed him out of the truck based on his penchant for leisure; forcing him to sit and watch while the rest of us got out and ran around like a bunch of idiots. As it was, after having only one or two people collect any given item(s), there went the four of us slowly walking up a quiet sidewalk toward a house with an open garage and, as best we could tell from the lights, no activity near the object of our desire.

Standing at the end of the driveway, we scanned the road for signs of headlights and the surrounding houses for signs of movement. Hopefully, everyone was in front of the television watching The Cosby Show. Satisfied that all was clear, we looked at each other and with Phil whispering, "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God," we casually walked up the driveway and into the garage.
"Okay, somebody grab it and let's go," I said as quietly as I could and still be heard.
"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God"
"Maybe they have a beach umbrella in here," Lanny said.
"I get to carry the Big Wheel," Stuart said as I heard him lift it off the floor of the garage.
"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God"
"Let's go," I said as I looked up the street for any signs of cars.
"I'm still looking for an umbrella."
"Forget the umbrella. Let's go," I hissed.
"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God"
"I've got the Big Wheel and I'm ready......uh oh."
"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God"

It's amazing the chilling effect a small phrase like, "uh oh" can have on a person. There are probably millions of situations in which that phrase is the last thing you would ever want to hear and standing in some stranger's garage trying to steal their Big Wheel (and beach umbrella if they happen to have one) is definitely one of them.

I briefly locked eyes with Lanny as we both turned around to see why Stuart had uttered such a terrifying phrase. Phil was standing next to Stuart still whispering "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God," and I swear his eyes were squeezed shut as tightly as another, less sunny, part of his body probably was at that particular moment. Stuart was standing where he had stopped and picked up the Big Wheel and, as he stood there holding it by it's right handlebar, I didn't say a word, I merely continued turning to see what he was looking at.

Standing just on the other side of the storm door was a little boy, maybe five or six-years-old, eyes beginning to well up, bottom lip starting to quiver and face turning a hot purplish-red color. He was going to blow any second.

** to be concluded.........

The Big Wheel of Time (part 1)

2007-06-20T14:22:00.000-05:00

Memories are curious things - they take all sorts of shapes and forms, some are easily accessible, others I wish I could get rid of, and some actually disappear when they're most required only to turn up after an exhaustive search and the need has passed. Kind of like keys. In fact, I'm sure I have plenty of memories that are essentially keys to who I am and they reside in a subconscious servant's quarters of my brain and only make themselves known when certain external stimuli act as a mental bellpull. These memories tend to be very detailed with emphasis on emotional content (good and/or bad) and can often times be intense enough to recreate the accompanying smells; a sensation which can be really weird or sometimes very comforting. A quick example would be how a certain blend of colors in a summer sunset can transport me back to the age of thirteen with daylight fading and a similarly painted sky overhead as I walk across the lawn to my house surrounded by the smell of cut grass after having spent a large portion of the day working in the yard. The memory carries a certain sense of tranquility and accomplishment along with a suggestion of loss and there are times when it surfaces that I can, beyond any doubt, smell the cut grass as I'm wondering if I'll ever feel contentment to that degree again.

Another, more recent, example is what prompted me to begin this retrospective meandering in an effort to further preserve a memory and the people involved while, at the same time, enjoying the opportunity of experiencing it, once again. It was early evening, I had just gotten back from the gym and was about to go inside when I heard Mrs. Brown, my neighbor from the street beside my house say, "Hello." Mrs. Brown is our neighborhood "cat lady," but rather than being alone with a house full of cat's by choice, she's alone because what family she had and everyone who was ever close to her has already passed away. She's still extremely nice but you can tell she expects to be joining her friends and family soon and it's easy to see in her face that she's a little frightened. She gets around with the assistance of a walker with wheels and when I see her out on the sidewalk I'm always afraid one of her cats is going to run between her legs and cause her to fall, so I was surprised to hear her voice coming from behind me and several houses down from her driveway. I turned around and saw that she was coming from the park in front of my house and had stopped at the intersection of her street, which ends at the park, and my street, and was accompanied by a little boy, no older than five-years-old, on a Big Wheel. I said, "Hi," and waved as she and her companion worked their way across the street and up the sidewalk. "This is Stevie," she said, as they neared her driveway, "He's Mrs. Daniel's boy," as if I'd know who that is, "She had to go back to work and I told her I watch him until his daddy comes to get him." Mrs. Brown seemed genuinely pleased to be looking after someone, for a change, and the finality behind her eyes was almost totally obscured by the smile on her face. I continued to watch as they made their way up her driveway and into the garage and once there, after greeting a multitude of cats, they, along with the cats, disappeared inside. I was left staring at an open two-car garage with a single car parked on the right and a Big Wheel parked on the left in front of the door leading into the house. That's when I remembered.

It was my second semester at the University of South Carolina and I was living on the third floor of Bates House (building on the right), a dorm named for a South Carolina state treasurer but heard most often in association with the word "master" in a majority of conversations. My best friends lived on the sixth floor and on one particular Saturday evening the remaining weekend residents of their floor persuaded us to partake in a scavenger hunt. The idea of a prize consisting of pizza and beer was tossed around, but in reality the hunt was merely a competition to see who could return with all the items for the sake of bragging rights and because we didn't have anything better to do. There were enough people involved to make up four teams ranging from four to six members which basically meant that four groups of best friends would be competing against each other.

The list was comprised and agreed upon by three residents of the sixth floor, who would remain on the hall to act as time keepers as well as judges for the returning teams, and presented to us with a two-hour time limit. It was fortunate that at least one member of each team drove a pickup truck, no big surprise in South Carolina, really, since some of the items on the list were a little bulky and trying to quickly stash them into a Volkswagen Beetle (what I drove) with four occupants could have proven difficult.

So, with the word "go" from the judges, lists in hand, and an overwhelming desire to be cool and conspicuous as opposed to proficient and practical, our four Bates House Scavenger Hunt teams dashed from the centrally located breezeway (by the elevators) to the four opposing stairwells.

Brotherhood of the Wolf

2007-06-17T10:38:00.000-05:00

The year is 1765, the king is Louis XV and in a rural province of France, a vicious and seemingly supernatural creature is savagely killing local inhabitants, primarily women and children. Unseen, possessed of enormous strength and a cunning, almost human, intelligence, the beast has eluded capture for years. The King sends in a renowned scientist, Grégoire de Fronsac (Samuel Le Bihan), and his Iroquois blood brother, Mani (Mark Dacascos), an unconventional team whose combined methods and talents may give them the required advantage in finding and destroying the beast. Unfortunately, the beast represents a much darker horror that few, if any, could have foreseen.

Yeah, I know, another subtitled movie - but a really good subtitled movie. Anyway, if you haven't already seen this movie, I highly recommend it, and don't worry about the subtitles because it does have an English language track and, to be honest, the English track is not nearly as distracting as some of them can be. I only prefer the subtitles because, generally, the full meaning along with certain nuances are more evident.

The original title to this French film is, Le Pacte des loups, and the movie is based upon the Beast of Gévaudan, a real wolf, or wolf-like creature, that terrorized the Auvergne and South Dordogne regions of France killing close to 100 people during the years 1764 to 1767 in brutal and sometimes bizarre circumstances. The incorporation of this very real horror with a well conceived story makes for an exciting and sometimes tense viewing experience. Things are not what they seem and everyone has something up their sleeve.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

2007-06-16T19:37:00.000-05:00

In this follow-up to 2005's Fantastic Four, director Tim Story introduces us to the Silver Surfer (portrayed by Doug Jones and voiced by Laurence Fishburne), a mysterious and powerful creature who has come from the deep reaches of space to make preparations for the impending destruction of the Earth. As the surfer wreaks havoc around the planet, Reed Richards, also known as Mr. Fantastic (Ioan Gruffudd), Sue Storm the Invisible Girl (Jessica Alba), her brother Johnny Storm the Human Torch (Chris Evans) and Ben Grimm the chiseled Thing (Michael Chiklis), are called upon to ascertain the purpose of and devise a strategy against the Silver Surfer while, at the same time, dealing with the unexpected return of their mortal enemy from the first adventure, Dr. Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon).

Just like the first movie, check your brain at the door, find a good spot in the center of the theater, sit back and have fun. There's nothing overly serious about this sequel, yet there's nothing overly insulting, either. The story is fast paced, the action and humor is often, the effects are top-notch, the slow parts are, thankfully, few and far between and the running time is only 1 hour and 35 minutes; long enough to cover all the bases and short enough so as not to become tedious.

I had taken the time, Friday night, to re-watch the first film in order to refresh myself with the feel and style of the director's storytelling which allowed me to already have the proper mindset as I entered the theater. Since the origins of each member had been described in the prior film, the story was able to advance rather quickly and while the main plot of the Surfer and return of Dr. Doom would have been adequate for this sequel, alone, I found the inclusion of a subplot dealing with the media and their coverage and infatuation with "celebrities" over real news to be somewhat refreshing, if not a little ironic.

All in all, I enjoyed this movie more than the original and found it to be a fun, unpretentious hour and a half of escapism that asks little of the audience except for maybe a strong suspension of disbelief. Just what a summer movie should be.

Cold Comfort Farm

2007-06-10T10:27:00.000-05:00

This film is the second adaptation of Stella Gibbon's 1932 comic novel which parodies the popular conception of life in rural England in the late 1800's and early 1900's set forth by such authors as George Eliot, Thomas Hardy and Emily Brontë. The heroine, Flora Poste (Kate Beckinsale) is a twenty-year-old aspiring writer in need of material for her first book and a residence following the death of her parents. A close and well-to-do friend (Joanna Lumley of Absolutely Fabulous fame) persuades her to contact her only remaining family, the cousins who live on the rural Cold Comfort Farm, and move in with them. Upon arrival, she discovers the farm to be brimming with eccentrics including, just to name a few, Judith (Eileen Atkins), who has strong feelings for her son Seth (Rufus Sewell), who has a fondness for movies and sex, Judith's husband Amos (Ian McKellan), the amateur hellfire preacher at the Church of the Quivering Brethren and Judith's mother Ada Doom (Sheila Burrell), the reclusive farm owner who dictates orders from a locked room because of having seen "something nasty in the woodshed" when she was young. As Flora, using her modern education and common sense, begins to unravel and organize the lives of the characters of Cold Comfort Farm, it eventually occurs to her that the material for her book has been surrounding her all along. (me)

As I mentioned at the top, this is the second adaptation of the book - the first was a British television mini-series (1971) and this one (1995) was a British made for television movie directed by John Schlesinger who is known for such movies as Midnight Cowboy, Marathon Man and Pacific Heights. This version was so popular that Universal acquired the distribution rights and released it in U.S. theaters in 1996.

I first saw this movie a couple of years ago and was surprised that it had remained under my radar for as long as it had (the DVD came out in 2003). I'm a huge fan of British writing and acting and a collection of actors, such as this, is enough to get me to watch a movie regardless of the story. Everyone involved puts forth a typically good, easily believable and, in some cases, exceedingly funny performance. Ian McKellan, of course, stands out and is a joy to watch along with the performances of Rufus Sewell and Kate Beckinsale, however, that is not to say that everyone else's performances are lacking because they're not. Even Stephen Fry, most recently seen in V for Vendetta, shows up with most sincere performance.

If you're fond of British pieces (period or not) and have an affinity for eccentrics, there's a good chance you will enjoy this movie but, that's just my opinion. For me, a recent viewing has convinced me that I should add the book to my list of "books to hopefully read in this lifetime or the next" in order to get the full effect of the characters. I'll keep you Poste(ed).

Work Work Work

2007-06-08T14:40:00.000-05:00

The return of higher temperatures and humidity to sunny South Florida has had a two-fold effect on the company of which I'm the Office Manager:

1. We are very busy and will tend to remain so until some time in October - which is great for the company and everyone involved who has become accustomed to making decent and increasing salaries (including me) but, unfortunately, it also means that

2. I actually have to work.

I guess it's a fair trade off considering I get to pretty much take it easy for roughly six months out of the year. So, believe me, I'm not complaining I'm merely stating the reason for not being around as often as I would've liked during the past couple of weeks. Keeping up with the movie stuff is easy since that occurs on the weekends but suddenly being hammered at work has kept me conspicuously absent during the week because, in all honesty, I do most of my writing while at work or, as least, I start most of it while there. The problem is after being on the phone and computer all day long performing real work, the last thing I want to do when I go home is start all over again when I know there are books to read, movies to watch, games to play, food to cook and well, you get the idea. I'm the type of person (geek) that if I come home and sit down in front of the computer, I could easily be there until 1:00 in the morning and then I'd be frustrated that I didn't get to anything else (geeky) that I wanted to do. So, instead, I've gotten to where I try and allow a little time for several interests or needs, each night, so that by Friday I generally feel that I've had a full, productive and enjoyable week. It doesn't always work out that way but, at least, I try.

However, fear not, for as I slowly readjust to being busy on a semi-continual basis, time should become less and less of a dominant factor in my writings and I'm sure that daily life will provide me with ample mental fiber for somewhat regular posts. At least, that's how I see it and hope it will be.

By the way, I had a review for Paul McCartney's new CD, memory almost full published over at Blogger News Network. BNN gets notices from certain PR companies regarding upcoming materials and will offer the chance to make contact and receive the item(s) in order to write a review. I was lucky enough to get the McCartney info and the company representing Hear Music, Starbuck's new music label, sent me the CD a couple of weeks ago. I listened to it several times, really enjoyed it and got the review up last weekend. Odds are, you've probably heard it if you've been in a Starbuck's this week. The review is posted here, if you're interested. I've included the CD cover - if you'd like to know more concerning the CD and the development of the collection of songs, just click on the picture (you have to register, but it's kinda cool - if you're a fan, at least).

Hellboy

2007-06-03T10:28:00.000-05:00

The stylish direction of Guillermo del Toro makes this colorful adaptation of Mike Mignola's graphic novel a lot more entertaining than it might have been in less capable hands. The principal character, after all, isn't just some costumed do-gooder; he's a supernatural being whose origin is considerably less benign than that of the average comic-book crime fighter. Hellboy (portrayed by Ron Perlman), a genuine spawn of the netherworld, is found in the waning days of World War II by Professor Trevor Bruttenholm (John Hurt), who also looks after other mutants kept safe from prying eyes in a secret compound. When the reincarnated Grigori Rasputin -- yes, that Rasputin -- unleashes long-suppressed demonic forces against America, the FBI enlists Hellboy's aid in combating the inhuman creatures doing the evil mesmerist's bidding. Perlman, having played bestial characters before, brings much-needed warmth and humor to Hellboy. He's well supported by Hurt and Selm Blair, properly enigmatic and more than a little wistful as Liz Sherman, whose pyro-kinetic abilities make her dangerous to be around. Doug Jones, totally unrecognizable in makeup and prosthetics, turns in a fine performance as Abe Sapien (voiced by David Hyde Pierce), the half-man/half-fish who aids Hellboy when the FBI comes calling. Very much like the comic books it brings to life, Hellboy pulsates with energy and teems with dynamic visual effects. While the film has wry, humorous moments, it never condescends to its audience. That's more than can be said for many comic-book movies; and for that, del Toro deserves considerable credit. (all movie guide)

Just for fun, here are a few other comments concerning this film:

Washington Post

Del Toro moves his story along with unrelenting energy and wit while introducing the opposing parties with admirable efficiency. Richard Harrington

Chicago Sun-Times

One of those rare movies that's not only based on a comic book, but also feels like a comic book. It's vibrating with energy, and you can sense the zeal and joy in its making. Roger Ebert

Boston Globe

So forget about taking anyone under 12. But if you want to see what a benign demon looks like when he's eating nachos and unwinding to Al Green, this is the movie for you. Ty Burr

Slate

Guillermo del Toro is in a class with Peter Jackson as a fan-boy who gets it--a brilliant filmmaker who has a kind of metabolic connection to horror and sci-fi that helps him transform secondhand genre material into something deep and nourishing. David Edelstein

___________

Hellboy is the first comic book based movie that I've seen in which I had never actually read one of the comics. I was familiar with the comic and it's creator, Mike Mignola, I had simply never gotten around to reading one. Needless to say, I was overwhelmed with the movie and any prior knowledge of the story was unnecessary since all of the character's origins and motivations are explained perfectly.

Guillermo del Toro's direction of the film is nothing short of spectacular - every scene is realistically represented down to the most minute detail and is showcased with his flair for depth and color. By the way, del Toro is also the recent writer and director of Pan's Labyrinth which received 22 minutes of applause at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Best Foreign Language Film along with five other nominations - winning in the categories of Art Direction, Cinematography and Makeup.

Also, I would be remiss if I failed to mention Ron Perlman's performance. He is Hellboy. Perlman was able to bring an amazing sense of style, determination and casual wit to a character that, for the most part, is made up entirely of muscles and makeup. Not an easy task but Perlman pulls off one of the best performances of his career.

For me, movies are all about being transported to a different place and I usually base a large part of my like or dislike on how adequately a film achieves that goal - be it science fiction, action or drama. The more I feel like a witness, or a fly on the wall, the more I like the movie. Hellboy truly takes you along for the ride and I know there are plenty of people who have some unexplainable aversion to comic books (the horror!) and the movies they produce but, for once, expand your mind and imagination, pretend ever so briefly that possibilities really are limitless and give in to that sense of wonder from your childhood that still resides as a flicker somewhere deep inside of you and watch this movie. You might be surprised at what your narrow point of view is capable of accommodating. However, that's just my opinion.

By the way, there are two versions of the movie - the theatrical release and the director's cut - both are very good but if you haven't seen it, I would recommend renting either version but buying the director's cut which is longer and also includes two additional discs worth of material including extensive interviews and commentaries with the cast. Also, should you have the capabilities of high definition, Hellboy comes out on blu-ray disc June 7. Yes, I've already ordered mine.

Apocalypto

2007-05-27T11:49:00.000-05:00

As the foundation of the Mayan civilization begins to crumble, one man's previously idyllic existence is forever changed when he is chosen as a sacrifice needed to appease the gods in director Mel Gibson's mythic, end-times adventure. The Mayan kingdom is at the absolute height of opulence and power, but leaders are convinced that unless more temples are constructed and more human sacrifices made, the crops, and ultimately the people, will suffer. Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood) is a peaceful hunter from a remote forest tribe whose life is about to be changed forever. When Jaguar Paw's village is raided and he is prepared as a sacrifice that the Mayan deities have demanded, the brave young hunter is forced to navigate a horrific new world of fear and oppression. Fearlessly determined to escape his captors and save his family from a harrowing demise, Jaguar Paw prepares to risk it all in one final, desperate attempt to preserve his dying way of life. However, few who have seen the sacrificial alter of the Mayans have managed to live to see another day. Now, in order to rescue his pregnant wife and young son, Jaguar Paw will have to elude the most powerful warriors of the Mayan kingdom while using his vast knowledge of the forest to turn the tables on those who would rather see him dead than set free. Inspired by such ancient Mayan texts as the Popul Vuh, Apocalypto marks a comprehensive collaboration between director Gibson, Cambridge-educated screenwriter Farhad Safinia, and world-renowned archeologist and Mayan culture expert Dr. Richard D. Hansen -- whose services as a special consultant on the film lent the production an unprecedented degree of historical accuracy.

Apocalypto was released on DVD and Blu-Ray high definition discs this past Tuesday. I usually reserve my musings of DVD's to films that have been out for a while and may have been overlooked for sometime and may be enjoyable to those "in the know," however, I felt that it was appropriate to mention this new release since I'm sure many people failed to see it during it's theatrical run.

Normally, when I write about movies that I have enjoyed, I am making an indirect recommendation based on my experience and perspective and go to great lengths to qualify my point that what I'm writing is my opinion only and leave it up to the reader to make the decision of seeing the film. I never go so far as to directly recommend the viewing of a movie, until this one. Regardless of what you think of Mel Gibson and as long as you don't have a problem seeing contextualized violence, watch this movie. I promise you will be hard pressed to find a better action movie with such a concise, but far reaching, plot and will have no trouble dealing with that fact that the dialog is an ancient Mayan dialect - so subtitles are required. This movie is so well filmed that the story and most of what transpires is extremely evident without having to actually read the subtitles.

The characters are believable, the settings are spectacular and the cinematography is amazing. This is a two hour movie that feels like ninety minutes or less. The only thing that I ask is to remember that it's only a movie - not a historical documentary or a commentary on Mayan culture.

Pirates of theCaribbean: At World's End

2007-05-27T11:00:00.000-05:00

The third chapter in the swashbuckling Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy. Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is hopelessly trapped in Davy Jones' Locker after a harrowing encounter with the dreaded Kracken, and now Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swan (Keira Knightly) must align themselves with the nefarious Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) if they hold out any hope of saving their old friend from a fate worse than death. The East India TradingDirector Gore Verbinski and the crew set sail once again for this, Company and it's fearsome leader Lord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollnader) have taken control of the ghostly Flying Dutchman and it's Captain Davy Jones (Bill Nighy), and now the baleful Admiral Norrington (Jack Davenport) has taken the helm in a relentless bid to destroy every pirate ship in his path and bring the Age of Piracy to a violent close. Meanwhile, Will, Elizabeth, and Captain Barbossa navigate treacherous waters and face bitter betrayal as they set sail to gather the only army that can stand up to Beckett - The Nine Lords of the Brethren Court. But Captain Jack Sparrow is one of the Lords, and as long as he's stuck in Davy Jones' locker Beckett and his nefarious armada are sure to emerge victorious. There's still hope, however, if the heroic team that includes Tia Dalma (Naome Harris), Pintel (Lee Arenberg, and Ragetti (Mackenzie Crook) can reach exotic Singapore and convince vulpine Chinese pirate Sao Feng (Chow Yun-Fat) to provide them with charts and a ship. But even the powerful Brethren Court may need a bit of help from volatile sea goddess Calypso in order to weather the coming storm. With the entire future of the pirate way at stake, everyone will be forced to choose sides while drifting precariously to the edge of the Earth for one final, spectacular battle.

This is another example of a great Summer movie. Fun, funny, lots of action and very immersive. If you're a fan of the franchise, at a running time of almost three hours, it's extremely easy to submerge yourself in the storyline and not notice the passage of time. However, I could see where the average movie patron might find this film a little long after being "pirated-out" from watching the first two over and over and being subjected to the constant marketing barrage. I was lucky in that respect since I had only just watched the second movie (Dead Man's Chest) on Friday night. I had seen the first movie (Curse of the Black Pearl) a few times and really enjoyed it, however, I never got around to watching the second. I had actually purchased the DVD when it was released and simply never got to it and then, after enough time had passed, I decided to wait and watch it before seeing the third film. As luck (or marketing) would have it, the first two movies were released in high definition, this week, so my first first viewing of the second movie was in hi def and I was simply blown away. I finished the movie about 1:00 a.m. on Saturday morning and was in the theater for the new film at 10:00 a.m which, from my perspective, seemed like a single story in a single film with an intermission in the middle. Seeing the movies in that manner may be why I enjoyed them as much as I did and it may also be that I merely enjoy long movies providing the story is somewhat decent and can keep my attention. Other people may not have the attention span that I do.

Another positive aspect is, in my opinion, is that the "look" of the movies continues to improve with each film. In certain areas where the action may have been lacking, the surroundings more than made up for it. This is definitely one of those movies that require an additional viewing simply to "see" everything including the nuances of the acting, primarily, but by no means limited to, Johnny Depp, Keira Knightly and Orlando Bloom. All three of the main characters actually evolve as the story progresses and it's easy to look back and remember how they started out in the first film and very satisfying to see how they end up by the end of the third.

Evolution

2007-05-20T10:14:00.000-05:00

The spirit of the mega-hit Ghostbusters (1984) is intentionally recalled with this effects-heavy sci-fi comedy from the same director, Ivan Reitman, co-starring Dan Aykroyd and debuting on the 17th anniversary of the earlier film's release. When a meteor bearing single-celled organisms crashes to the Earth, the life forms are initially confined to a cave. Before long the creatures are evolving at an exponentially rapid rate, resulting in fearsome aliens running amok and possibly spelling mankind's doom, or at least the end of man's domination over life on Earth. Investigating the phenomenon is a community college professor, Ira Kane (David Duchovny), his geologist friend Harry Block (Orlando Jones), wannabe fireman Wayne Green (Seann William Scott), and government scientist Allison Reed (Julianne Moore).

If you're not familiar with David Duchovny's sense of comedic timing, then this is the perfect movie in which to acquaint yourself with it. Granted, some of his comedic abilities were displayed in the X-Files, but those were few and far between and only die-hard fans who watched every episode (guilty!) would have been privy to the latent talent for humor possessed by Duchovny. This movie gives Duchovny the opportunity to reveal the truth of his dry wit that we all knew was out there and wanted to believe in (sorry, I couldn't resist an X-Files reference), and even allows him to make a couple of ironic references to his past character of Fox Mulder in the face of a governmental conspiracy. Brilliant humor.

While Duchovny's performance is a pleasure, I must admit that the movie's steady humor is greatly contributed to by Orlando Jones and his interaction with Duchvony. Jones is exceptional in his singular moments, but the chemistry between Jones and Duchvony is reminiscent of some of the great comedy teams from the past. I would gladly see any movie that re-paired the two of them - without question. Additional humor is contributed by a surprisingly slapstick performance by Julianne Moore, some stellar moments by Seann William Scott, bureaucratic mastery by Dan Aykroyd and an array of contributions from supporting characters with portrayals by Ted Levine and Katharine Towne and including several actors that are a part of Professor Ira Kane's class.

I'm not saying this is a great movie, nor do I think everyone will find it particularly funny - I'm only saying that I truly enjoyed it and found it very entertaining (my opinion, only) and, in the right frame of mind, someone else might, as well.

Shrek the Third

2007-05-19T18:15:00.000-05:00

Shrek and Fiona's (Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz, respectively) fairy-tale wedding has gone off without a hitch, yet just as the beaming newlyweds prepare to enjoy their blissful "happily ever after," the sudden death of King Harold (John Cleese) finds everyone's favorite ornery ogre being reluctantly fitted for the royal crown. Troubled to learn that not only will he be compelled to rule Far Far Away, but that he and Fiona are also expecting a little ogre, Shrek determines to track down his new bride's rebellious cousin Artie (Justin Timberlake) -- the one true heir to the throne -- in order to focus on fatherhood without the added distraction of having to preside over the kingdom. As Shrek sets out with faithful companions Donkey (Eddie Murphy) and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) to locate the medieval high-school slacker and bring him back to become the reigning sovereign of Far Far Away, handsome snake Prince Charming (Rupert Everett) slithers back to the castle in the company of the dreaded Captain Hook (Ian McShane) to stage a diabolically timed coup and assume control of the throne. Now, as Shrek, Donkey, and Puss in Boots do their best to wrangle up the feisty Artie, Fiona must enlist the aid of fighting princesses Snow White (Amy Poehler), Sleeping Beauty (Cheri Oteri), Repunzel (Maya Rudolph), and Cinderella (Amy Sedaris) to barricade the castle and fend off Prince Charming's invading army of fairy-tale villains until her beloved husband can return with the cavalry to save the day. (all movie guide)

I tried really really hard. Honestly, I did. I thought the first Shrek was wonderful and in Shrek 2, with the additions of Antonio Banderas and Jennifer Saunders (among others), I felt that the first had actually been eclipsed. Now, we reach the third film and everything that I liked so much in the first two movies seems to have been restricted to practically cameo appearances. The supporting characters are all there, (The three blind mice, The three little pigs, the wolf, Pinocchio, The Gingerbread man....) but they have very minor parts and some appear almost as an afterthought. However, the few scenes they are in are marvelous and incredibly well written. Almost gone, as well, is the wonderful banter between Shrek, Donkey and Puss in Boots - there is, of course, some banter - just not what I've come to expect. And don't even get me started on having an incredible talent like Eric Idle and barely, barely using him.

I've thought about this all day and I still will not go so far as to say that I did not like this movie - it has it's moments - some truly funny moments - and I'm sure many people will throughly enjoy this movie - but I will say that, for my part, I was disappointed. Hopefully, the fourth outing will bring the characters back to the very basics that were so inspiring (and amusing) in the original story. But, that's just my opinion.

The Man in the Iron Mask

2007-05-13T10:35:00.000-05:00

Oscar-nominated Randall Wallace (Braveheart) made his directorial debut with this adaptation of the 1848 classic by Alexandre Dumas (1802-70), featuring Leonardo DiCaprio in a dual role. Years have passed since the Three Musketeers, Aramis (Jeremy Irons), Athos (John Malkovich), and Porthos (Gerard Depardieu) fought together with their friend D'Artagnan (Gabriel Byrne). The arrogant, tyrannical King Louis XIV (Leonardo DiCaprio) desires the beautiful Christine (Judith Godreche), so he orders her suitor Raoul (Peter Sarsgaard), the son of Athos, off to face death at the front. He also sends Aramis to kill the leader of a Jesuit rebellion. Louis is unaware that his loyal protector and informant, D'Artagnan, is the secret lover of his mother, Queen Anne (Anne Parillaud). Louis' younger twin brother, Philippe (also DiCaprio) is the man in the iron mask, imprisoned for the past six years. Arthos and Porthos plan to free Philippe, abduct Louis and replace him by putting Philippe on the throne. French location scenes include the Chateau de Fontainbleau.

Yet another Dumas classic filmed with a fine ensemble of actors. I tend to be a rather loud advocate of Dumas' because he was pretty much the inventor of the written "action movie". He had an excellent gift for weaving intrigue, romance, friendship and heroism into a relatively fast paced and untangled (for the time period) story. Getting used to the prose is the only thing slow about Dumas' books which is why I'm so constantly amazed at the difficulty displayed in producing a good script from his work. Many, many adaptations have been performed on Dumas' novels and, yet, only a hand full have even come close to capturing the spirit of his work. It seems most of the problems lie the "updating" of the stories for the modern movie patron - by trying to speed things up and simplify the intrigue so the average person can easily comprehend what's going on, most of what makes the story great gets lost in the shuffle and the movie comes across as just another average "period piece".

Fortunately, this version is able to circumvent most of the typical trappings and deliver a surprisingly good version (if not the best) of one of Dumas' greatest known works besides The Three Musketeers. A couple of the things that most impressed me about this version (along with the cast) is how seriously the film is acted and how immersed in the characters each actor became, considering some of the previous versions tended to take a lighter approach or were simply a vehicle for one or two primary actors while a bunch of unknowns populated the background. The sincerity level between this version and some of the previous attempts is similar to the difference between Batman Begins and the first Batman movie, i.e. opposite ends of the spectrum.

Nightbreed

2007-05-06T10:23:00.000-05:00

Multimedia horror maven Clive Barker followed the success of his feature directorial debut "Hellraiser" with this equally surreal effort, based on his novella Cabal. The story involves the plight of Aaron Boone (Craig Sheffer), a young man tormented by visions of monstrous, graveyard-dwelling creatures. Seeking the aid of his clinically cold therapist Dr. Decker (played by Canadian horror auteur David Cronenberg) in deciphering his nightmares, Boone becomes convinced that his frequent blackouts are linked to a recent spate of mutilation murders in the area. His frantic search for the truth leads him to the subterranean city of Midian, the dwelling place of a mythical race of undead nocturnal monsters known as the "Nightbreed." But it is only after he is cornered and shot dead by police that Boone's real journey begins -- he finds himself resurrected as one of the Breed and initiated into Midian's inner circle, where his latent supernatural powers are unleashed, leading to his realization of Dr. Decker's sinister role in the murders for which he was framed. Though Barker's unique and graphic vision is somewhat blunted by choppy editing (thanks to relentless tampering from the studio), this is nevertheless a fine sophomore project from a talented storyteller; the central conceit of presenting the monsters as the "good guys" -- at least compared to the gun-and-bible-toting lunatics who hunt them -- is handled with verve and originality.

I've been a fan of this film since it's release in 1990 and actually owned a VHS copy shortly thereafter. The movie was considered a flop after the success of "Hellraiser" but I'm convinced that was simply because the average person was expecting the 'monsters' to follow the typical horror plot lines, which they did not. In fact, this is an excellent example of flipping stereotypes and showing that, oftentimes, the real monsters are the 'normal' people. I think most people weren't comfortable with seeing slight reflections of themselves on screen or couldn't comprehend the deeper implications of the story so they played it off as being a bad movie. On the other hand, it is a very violent and visual movie so that could have played a part, as well.

One of my favorite stories concerning the movie is how Clive Barker ended up directing it. Originally, Barker was going to produce as well as be responsible for adapting the screenplay from his novella, Cabal, and David Cronenberg (The Fly, The Dead Zone, Scanners) was going to direct. Barker had never met Cronenberg and upon their first meeting, Barker was shocked at Cronenberg's appearance because he looked exactly as he had envisioned the character of Dr. Philip K. Decker when he was writing the novella. Once he had expressed his initial unease with Cronenberg and after several more discussions, they decided that Barker should direct and Cronenberg could portray his evil twin and, by the way, his performance is the best in the film. On a side note, the name Philip K. Decker is a nod to the writer, Philip K. Dick who wrote "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" which was the basis for the movie "Blade Runner," with the main character in the story and film being named, "Decker."

Another interesting fact is that the movie holds up rather well to the novella even though the studio cut almost a half an hour from the film before it's release, including what they considered the more violent scenes, many many 'monsters' and rock singer Suzi Quatro's entire role. Clive Barker recently committed to a 2-disc director's cut with an additional 25 minutes restored to the film, provided all the material can be found. All I can do is hope and wait.

Spider-Man 3

2007-05-05T13:40:00.000-05:00

Your friendly neighborhood web-slinger is back, only this time his sunny outlook has become partially overcast in the third chapter of director Sam Raimi's Spider-Man saga. Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst and James Franco return to reprise their roles from the previous two installments, Thomas Haden Church, Topher Grace and Bryce Dallas Howard making their first appearances in the series as Flint Marko (aka Sandman), Eddie Brock (aka Venom), and Gwen Stacy, respectively. Peter Parker (Maguire) has finally learned to walk the middle ground between being the superhero that his city needs, and the man that Mary Jane (Dunst) loves. All is well in New York City until one night, as Peter and M.J. set gazing at the stars, a falling comet streams across the sky and crashes into the ground close by. But this isn't any ordinary shooting star, and upon impact the mysterious space rock is split open to reveal a shape-shifting symbiote with the power to overtake anything that it comes into contact with. Later, as Harry Osborn acquires his late father's flying board, engineers a powerful new Goblin outfit, and takes to the sky to avenge dad's death, the mysterious space sludge infects both Peter's Spider Man suit and ambitious street photographer Eddie Brock (Grace). His strange new suit giving him a newfound sense of power as it gradually overpowers his personality, Peter discovers that escaped convict Flint Marko was in fact the man responsible for the death of Uncle Ben (Cliff Robertson). Unfortunately for Peter, Marko has recently acquired the power to morph at will and quickly completes his transformation into the dreaded Sandman. As the Sandman gives in to his darkest criminal instincts and the slithering space symbiote transforms Eddie Brock into the nightmarish fanged villain known as Venom, the citizens of New York City must once again call on Spider Man to fend off destructive forces that are far too powerful for the likes of mortal man. (all movie guide)

Well, the summer movie extravaganza has fine start with the release of Spider-Man 3. I had a thoroughly good time seeing Spidey, this morning, in what was without a doubt the fullest theater I've ever been in at 10:00am on a Saturday morning. I can usually get a pretty good idea of how a movie is going to do based on how many people I share the theater with early on a Saturday morning and Spider-Man 3 is going to be big. I was in the first showing, the next one started 20 minutes later, and the theater was practically full. The only other crowd I've seen that came close to that was when I saw The Da Vinci Code and the theater was about half full. The main difference being that for The Da Vinci Code, everyone was adults while for Spider-Man 3, maybe half were children which is to be expected. I actually prefer the early morning shows because when I'm watching a movie I'm not very fond of playing children, people who talk in theaters (there's a special place in Hell for them) cell phones, or the sound of people tearing paper or eating crunchy food. I'm just silly like that. I've learned that, for the most part, the people who are up early to see a movie on an opening weekend are very similar to me in the respect that we are there for the same reason: To see the movie and demonstrate respect for the other (2 or 3) viewers. Basically, we're nerds and nerds look out for each other. Simple.

As for the movie, Spider-Man 3 is exactly what summer movies are supposed to be: Fun. There's plenty of action, great characters and several new story lines as well as returning plots from the previous films with one or two actually being resolved. The movie runs about 2 hours and 20 minutes but could have easily been much longer and if I had a complaint concerning the movie, the story and the time allowed would be it. Granted, there were a few "down time" moments which felt a little long to me, but the overall story, dealing with so many characters, was spread entirely too thin and would have benefited greatly from an additional 30 minutes of fleshing out. But, then again, I could have sat through another hour of either of The Lord of the Rings movies and never given it a second thought. Either way, I still enjoyed the movie and I think it's an adequate successor to the first two, however, I will admit, I think I liked the first two better but an extended edition DVD might change my mind. We'll see.

Many Partings

2007-05-01T15:15:00.000-05:00

Whew! I finally finished the tome I have been reading for the past several weeks (months?) and now I'm really sorry it's over. Again.

This was the second time I've read the Memory, Sorrow and Thorn series, The Dragonbone Chair, The Stone of Farewell and To Green Angel Tower, by Tad Williams. I had first read the books back in 1993 and had been lucky enough to have just finished the second book as the third, and final, was published. Since that time, I had forgotten what an undertaking it was/is. The first two novels are roughly 750 pages with the third being 1066, in hardbound. In fact, the third book was so massive, when it was published in paperback it was released in two volumes because it couldn't have been bound as a single book in paper which, unfortunately, meant that the people who waited for the paperback edition had to spend almost as much money, buying two books, as the people who sprang for the hardbound edition.

The story is a wonderfully expansive and detailed fantasy populated with many of the elements that have become staples in the fantasy genre, however, that is not to say that this story doesn't contain it's own inventiveness as well as some creative plot twists and involving characters.

I'm writing this as a marking of an event more so than a recommendation, even though I do recommend the series to anyone who likes fantasy. It doesn't demand a lot from the reader (except time) and it is a worthy place to wander off to and while it is much more "grownup" than many fantasy novels, it fails to invoke (at least, in me) that wrapped in a comfy blanket next to a fire on a cold day feeling that comes with reading The Lord of the Rings. But that's just me. Tad Williams is a fine writer and I fully intend to explore more of his work in the future as well as probably reading this series again several years from now. Hopefully.

Empire of the Sun

2007-04-29T11:13:00.000-05:00

Empire of the Sun, Steven Spielberg's beautiful tale of World War II victims, was at best faintly praised as another Spielbergian tale of childhood adventure. But this earlier work by the director of Schindler's List emerges on reexamination as a celebration of enduring innocence and imagination in the face of the horrendous desperation and brutal reality of war. Like a deceptively simple symphony, its joys are revealed in repeat experiences, the subtleties that lie beneath the wide-eyed set pieces that often define Spielberg's work. Jim (Christian Bale) is the privileged child of wealthy British merchants in Shanghai in the years before World War II. He idolizes the pilots and aircraft of the war between Japan and China and dreams of soaring through the clouds, blissfully ignorant of the danger so close to his home. But when the Japanese army storms the port city, Jim is separated from his parents and faced with the bleak reality of life alone in a war zone. Falling in with an American scrounger named Basie (John Malkovich), Jim braves the hostile streets of Shanghai before being captured and dragged to the forbidding prison camps of the Japanese army. Jim's struggle to find his parents becomes secondary to the need to save himself and those around him. Adapted for the screen by Tom Stoppard (Shakespeare in Love) from J. G. Ballard's autobiographical novel, Empire of the Sun is not only one of Spielberg's most soulful movies, but also among his best. (all movie guide)

Being a big Spielberg fan, I first saw this movie within days of it's release and not only is this one of my favorite Spielberg films, but it is one of my all time favorite films in general. The movie consists of an amazing cast including the wonderful pairing of John Malkovich and Joe Pantoliano but the obvious stand-out performance would have to be that of the 13-year-old Christian Bale. This was Bale's first big production after getting his start on the London stage with Rowan Atkinson and moving on to a few small television roles including commercials. Reportedly, Bale beat out 4000 other children for the role of Jim and, afterwards, the National Board of Review created a special award to honor his performance in the film.

The other huge star of this film, for me, is the direction. This is such a quintessential Spielberg film because every surrounding element seems to have a specific part to play, and practically every shot could be 'freeze-framed' and appreciated for it's intricacy. Through the course of the film, Spielberg creates, with the use of angle, lighting, placement and action, powerful images that remain sharp and distinct long after the initial viewing. This is one of maybe 4 films that I can think of that a person could watch from beginning to end with no sound and have little or no difficulty following the story and still be awed by the beauty and scope of the film.

Granted, this is only my opinion, but I believe an average person of reasonable intelligence would be hard pressed to find a better movie to spend two and a half hours with.

My God, it's Full of Stars

2007-04-25T15:11:00.000-05:00

Today, the Hubble Telescope celebrates 17 years in space. Kinda cool. In honor of the anniversary, astronomers have released a newly captured image of the Carina Nebula - one of the largest panoramic images ever taken with Hubble's cameras - more than 423 megapixels' worth, assembled from 48 frames taken with the Advanced Camera for Surveys. The image provides a view spanning a distance of 50 light years across the nebula and includes at least a dozen brilliant stars estimated to be 50 to 100 times the mass of our Sun.

As you can see, the image is amazing and when you click it, if you have a slow connection, be patient while it loads. You can go here to read more about the Hubble Telescope or, if you'd like to know more about the image or see it even bigger, go here.

The telescope was named after the astronomer Edwin Hubble whose observations were the first to conclusively prove the existence of other galaxies. Hubble's research also added credibility to the Big Bang theory as well proving that the universe was expanding. Besides having the Hubble Telescope named for him, there is a crater on the Moon named for him, as well. Edwin Hubble died on September 28, 1953 and, interestingly, there was no funeral and his wife never revealed what was done with his body. Evidently, Hubble didn't want any type of service and was either buried in an unmarked grave or, obviously, cremated. To this day no one knows the whereabouts of his remains.

Grounds for Improvement

2007-04-24T13:57:00.000-05:00

I admit it - I'm one of those Starbuck's people. I really enjoy spending part of a late afternoon/early evening lounging about with a good book and drinking obnoxiously strong coffee. The Starbuck's that I frequent is the first one that opened in West Palm (several years ago) and has been around long enough to have developed a true 'broken-in' feel as well as a large contingent of familiar faces, one or two of which, you are likely to spot on any given visit. I have friends that I only see or talk to when we happen to meet at Starbuck's (which is often) and there's a small group of us who have been known to take over all the comfy chairs, my favorite being the over-stuffed purple (favorite color) velvet club chair, and working 5 or 6 crossword puzzles on a rotational basis with a lot of cross talk and fervent fanfare when a particularly difficult clue is solved.

My time, there, spent socializing with like minded friends or alone, absorbed in a world of words is always time well spent but not confined to Starbuck's out of choice. The people I've met through my caffeine addiction do not strike me as the trendy types and I, for sure, am not, however, we congregate in a trendy locale due merely to lack of options. Were there multiple locations for us to enjoy caffeinated concoctions power-brewed to culturally diverse and eclectic music while immersed in a womb of a chair, I'm sure we'd make the rounds and eventually settle into the agreed upon favorite. Unfortunately, for now, we have only one option so we make the best of it and, besides, I truly enjoy the coffee. I order coffee, for use at home, from several places but I always have 3 or 4 bags of various Starbuck's selections because they have become my preferred daily dose, as it were, but, given the opportunity, I would readily experiment with a new establishment for the sake of change and giving the 'new guy' an opportunity since everyone has to start somewhere and because of who I am; I'm more for intimate and creative and less for structured and corporate, anyway.

The pictures that I've included are what, originally, got me to thinking of these things and my intention was to share the photos - not ramble endlessly about my incredibly exciting existence in a level that Dante missed.

Click here for the rest of the photos.

Kalifornia

2007-04-22T10:10:00.000-05:00

This debut feature film from music video director Dominic Sena is a romp through the world of serial killing, which in its bleakness and moral bankruptcy looks backwards to Terrence Malick's Badlands and forward to Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers. Michelle Forbes plays hip, Mapplethorpe-esque photographer Carrie Laughlin, who wants to move to California for a fresh start. Her boyfriend, Brian Kessler (David Duchovny), is a writer who has an idea for a new book, a travel tome on the sites of serial murders. The two plan to go on a cross-country tour of the murder sites, with Brian writing the commentary and Carrie taking the pictures. But they need a couple to share the driving expenses; enter Grayce (Brad Pitt) and his girlfriend, Adele (Juliette Lewis, in a warm-up for her role in Natural Born Killers). Grayce is an ex-con looking to jump parole, while Adele is a childlike naïf. Soon the four are off to California, but the yuppie couple doesn't realize how close they are to their serial killer topic. It seems Grayce has murdered his landlord before their trip and bodies begin piling up disturbingly behind them as they make their way across the country. (all movie guide)

This is a rather enjoyable movie (if you're kind of warped) that showcases the acting talents of everyone involved. The interaction between the four primary actors has a very 'natural' quality (given the two, very different, sets of circumstances) and is able to produce the desired 'uncomfortable', 'innocent', or 'chilling' feeling right on cue without seeming scripted.

For me, this was the first movie where I realized that Brad Pit could truly 'act' and, I'm pretty sure, it was also the first movie I'd seen him in where he wasn't designed to be a piece of Swarovski crystal sitting on the shelf of a barn; he actually looked worse than his environment and created a very disturbing character. Juliette Lewis was equally believable as a character that she has since gone on to patent and Duchovny and Forbes were outstanding but, for the most part, ignored for their performances which seems to be their constant fate. I find it ironic that, even in staring roles, Duchovny and Forbes are usually regarded as secondary characters by 'mainstream' viewers when they are both part of a fan base that has kept actors like William Shatner in the public eye and characters like Captain Kirk young and vibrant for over forty years.

Along with the superb acting is a great car and incredibly fitting and desolate settings. Even when other people are involved, there's a sense of isolation. All of these factors combine together to provide an exceptionally skewed version of a road trip. If you like psychologically twisted characters, very good acting and non-typical story lines, then this may be an evening well spent. Give it a shot.

Vacancy

2007-04-21T15:22:00.000-05:00

A vacationing couple makes a terrifying discovery about the motel room they have just checked into in this thriller directed by Nimrod Antal (no, I've never heard of him either). Their car broken down and their prospects for finding a tow-truck driver slim to none, David (Luke Wilson) and Amy Fox (Kate Beckinsale) decide to make the best of their situation by resting out the night at a nearby motel. Left with few choices of entertainment for the evening, the pair soon settles down to enjoy one of the low-budget slasher films playing on the motel-room television. Upon realizing that all of the films seem to have been shot in the very same room they currently occupy, David and Amy suddenly become the stars of a particularly sadistic fright flick. Now, as hidden cameras track their every move, David and Amy attempt to turn the tables on their would-be killer before they meet the same grim fate as the poor souls being butchered on television. (all movie guide)

Fun!! I had a really good time seeing this flick. Simple story, confining locations, and nothing too off the wall to make you scrunch up your face and say, "Now wait just a minute." Also, the movie's only about 90 minutes long so everything is concise and to the point and it never feels like things are being stretched or scenes are going on too long. Luke Wilson was extremely convincing as an average every-day-kinda-guy and Kate Beckinsale more than adequately conveyed the emotional gamut required of her character (and I'm not just saying that because I'm a big fan of Kate's).

Don't get me wrong, this isn't a 'great' movie but it is good and, as I said, it is fun. There seems to be so many movies with similar premises and many of them try too hard, go to extremes that aren't necessary, or simply become tedious with no palpable tension. Vacancy never crosses any of those lines while keeping an above average tension level throughout the course of a disturbingly plausible scenario. In fact, I've already made a mental note regarding checking for hidden cameras if I ever find myself having to stay in a secluded motel.

Treading the Fault Line

2007-04-19T10:30:00.000-05:00

When an event such as the one at Virginia Tech occurs, my first reaction is that of remorse for the victims; my second is wondering when the blame assessment will begin.

From what I could tell, the initial blame-game started Monday afternoon with the campus police and their possible failure after the initial crime scene. By Tuesday I was beginning to see 'news' media personalities blame the campus officials for not contacting victim's families fast enough. Wednesday brought finger-pointing stemming from judge rulings, professor's action and student's concerns. The attempt was made to involve the gun purchases but, unfortunately for the media and Blame Enforcement, both handguns had been purchased legally by the crazy guy as dictated by Virginia gun laws. Now, here we are at Friday and not only are people still looking to find a reason behind an insane person's actions, but one television network is being blamed for displaying material sent to them by the aforementioned fruitcake. And it doesn't end there. I actually heard one reporter focusing blame on the fact the classroom doors could not be locked and had no windows, which prevented anyone from seeing where the nut-job with the guns was located - not bothering to mention that if they could see the lunatic, the lunatic could see them. For me, if some psycho's going to be shooting at me, I'd rather be shot at through a solid door with no line of sight than through a window with decent aim.

Then, on top of everything else, sprinkled throughout the past few days I've heard rumblings concerning gun control, points of view on mental health professionals, and, of course, the usual suspects of violence in music on television and in video games. It's absolutely amazing to me how a vast majority of the population has such a strong desire to find some type of explanation for an event that, in truth, has no solid explanation except for the fact that the event was perpetrated by an unhinged individual. The people who feel the need to make 'sense' of a mentally unsound act remind me of what Morpheus said in The Matrix:

"But when you're inside, you look around, what do you see? Businessmen, teachers, lawyers, carpenters. The very minds of the people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system and that makes them our enemy. You have to understand, most of these people are not ready to be unplugged. And many of them are so inured, so hopelessly dependent on the system, that they will fight to protect it."

The people who need a reason are, for whatever reason, unable to fathom such a demented act as being random and unpredictable. That entire concept would unbalance the neat, tidy and relatively safe (as well as cutoff) world in which they live. They believe that with new laws, better restrictions and more of anything else that could help, they should never have to be reminded that such an event could ever occur, and no event means no failed explanation. Win, win. These are the same people who will now try to stereotype mental illness and place restrictions on diagnosed individuals which will only lead to people who might actually require therapy and/or medication to not seek out help for fear of being placed on some kind of watch list.

Basically, there's always going to be a wild card so, as difficult as it is to accept, we might as well get used to it. The most recent gun toting loony may have fit a pattern but many who fit the same pattern would never go to such an extreme while another individual with an entirely different pattern, would. Some will be judged unfairly and, I realized yesterday, I could easily become one of the judged. For example, here are two descriptions of myself:

1) I've never been married, I live alone in a very clean and looked after apartment, I'm neat (as in appearance), in shape from working out and eating right, I can get a little 'misty' watching certain movies, I love to cook and my best friends have always been females.

2) I'm a white male, I live alone, I keep to myself, I'm a very quiet neighbor, I don't go out much, my windows are always dark, I have no pets, I'm very meticulous and I rarely have visitors.

As hard as it may be to believe, I am not gay, nor am I a serial killer.

La Peine

2007-04-16T15:23:00.000-05:00