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Reviews
The Madagascar Penguins in a Christmas Caper (2005)
Disappointing and Out-of-Season Schtick
Note: This was originally written when "Christmas Caper" was released with "Curse of the Were-Rabbit" in 2005 before there was a page for this short film. Please forgive the dated references.
Matched with "Curse of the Were-Rabbit" is a CGI animated short, "A Christmas Caper" staring the Penguins of this summer's "Madagascar". This is about a group of four militant penguins who live in the Bronx Zoo. It's Christmas Eve, and the youngest penguin, Private (Christopher Knights), feels bad for the zoo's resident polar bear who is alone. Private sets out to find him a present. When the rest of the group realizes that Private has gone missing, they set out to bring him back. Ultimately, they must rescue their junior member from an elderly Manhattan resident and her bloodthirsty miniature poodle.
There were moments of humor, but no tone seemed to hold the entire production together. The scene on the street with the souvenir vendor was easily the funniest. There the penguins "blend in" with a group of nuns and inexplicably regurgitate dynamite. However, the whole affair felt misplaced as a prelude to the kind of story to be told in "Wallace and Gromit". Although the computer animation is eye-poppingly good, the penguins move frenetically and spend most of their time shouting at each other. It will probably satisfy any 5-year-old on a sugar rush, but wild behavior by itself simply doesn't amount to humor.
The story resolves with a nod to friendship over presents, but it seems less genuine when the entire cast of "Madagascar" characters is suddenly there to sing a goodbye song. How coincidental that the DVD release happens to be only a month away. The Christmas theme also seems aimed to prime kids for the shopping season. Aside from the fact that penguins fit well in snow and ice, couldn't this have been set during some other time of year, perhaps say, Halloween?
If you're late for "Wallace and Gromit", don't sweat it. This will pad the start time, so you can grab a snack for the real show.
3 out of 10 for "A Christmas Caper"
The Departed (2006)
A big, bad, brilliant Scorsese thriller that even gets Boston right.
Martin Scorsese turns Boston into a bristling stage for a vicious adaptation of 2002's "Infernal Affairs". It seems an unlikely transition to make: Hong Kong to Boston. Going from a huge Asian industrial metropolis to a small burg that still looks as though half of it was ripped right out of England would contradict the very basis of the plot. Even the trailer fails to give the feeling that the setting is anything more than Pick-Your-City, USA. It just doesn't seem possible, but Scorsese with writer William Monahan bring their whole adaptation of "Infernal Affairs" to life and succeed in making it actually be about Boston. The powerhouse cast (with two hometown consultants built in) doesn't hurt one bit either. This review is certainly not alone in declaring that Mr. Scorsese has just turned in one of the best films of his portfolio and possibly the best film ever set in Boston.
Frank Costello is a deeply entrenched criminal resident who has won the early loyalties of Collin Sullivan (Matt Damon) before Sullivan rises into the upper echelons of the Massachusetts State Police. Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) comes from a family of screw-up criminals, but he makes it through the police academy before his relations get him noticed. Those experiences and connections get him set up to be the police mole into Costello's crew. Sullivan's and Costigan's very separate paths bring them both ironically closer to one state psychologist, Madolyn (Vera Farminga, a sharp and talented newcomer). Both cops and criminals make small victories until the need to eradicate the other's mole comes boiling over. The hunt is then on, and no audience sensibility is spared as the reaping begins.
The cast disappears into the story. Matt Damon is a duplicitous bulldog who slides scams by in a hair's breadth. DiCaprio uses an extensive palate of subtle expressions to make Costigan's own double-dealing troubles tangible. Vera Farminga crams more strength into her light frame than many A-list divas. Nobody, including the unpredictable and frightening Nicholson, is winking at the audience. That is not to say that there are no laughs to be had. Every time Dignam (Mark Wahlberg) ends up on screen he steals the scene by pouring a river of endless epitephs, slang and slander on whomever his target happens to be. He and Alec Baldwin's dedicated Ellerby are both priceless verbal whirlwinds.
Scorsese is, of course, a master of his craft. The camera work is never more than it needs to be and he does jarring edits with sound to create a rough feel. Although this is Oscar-level work, there is never a moment that says this is what is on the great director's mind. "The Aviator" comes off as a BBC production of a Jane Austen novel by comparison. He wants the story to blow the audience out of their seats and does everything to facilitate that. This is not a moralizing tale, and the blood flows freely. Scorsese places events in front of you and lets them unfold across the screen. Location, production design and story all melt together.
Boston is a difficult city to get down on film. History and politics permeate its often-twisted one-way streets. You can walk from Paul Revere's house past sites of the bussing protests and cross the river to the corporate headquarters of companies that are forging the future of medicine. Ask for directions, and they'll be given with geographic references that consist of Catholic parishes, bars and Dunkin Donuts shops. It's not the sprawling smörgåsbord of interchangeable scenery that LA provides. Although three-quarters of the production was in New York to take advantage of the more economical tax breaks in the Empire State, each location feels distinctly Bostonian. They even get the State Police office building right - and that is one of the most uniquely ugly buildings ever constructed. Places are specific and so are the people. There's no element of camp like Lloyd Bridges's big shamrock hot tub in "Blown Away", and nobody in the film is named Murph. Southie and the North End are dead on and actually were among the favorite roosting places for the infamous James "Whitey" Bulger, upon whom Jack Nicholson's linchpin character of Frank Costello was based.
(If you're curious about how such a man could exist in this small city, pick up the book "Black Mass" by Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill. Stories about the real Whitey are even more terrifying than Nicholson makes Costello.)
Wai Keung Lau, Siu Fung Mak and Felix Chong brought that rare new kind of plot thriller to the world with "Infernal Affairs". See the original because it is a sharp modern classic. See this film because it is perfectly breathless in its pace, and it never lets you go.
9 out of 10
Jericho (2006)
Tense Fireworks, Little Fallout
Disaster movies have resurged and now have led us to disaster TV. They always make for spectacular viewing. Most disaster flicks are now miniseries, like "Asteroid" and "10.5" which hang onto the unsubtly melodramatic ways of the original "Poseidon Adventure" "Earthquake" or "Airport 77" when everyone fixated on the disaster itself and teased their audiences with unspectacular special effects of scale models and rear-screen projection. Film (and TV) makers now focus more often on the drama rising from catastrophe. "Lost" is a sci-fi phenomenon spun around a truly disastrous plane crash and plays up character interaction while it tries to stretch its weirdness out across the seasons. It's effectively engineered TV. "Jericho" has a premise with similar promise, but it seems to lack the chops necessary to survive the fierce competition of the 2006 fall lineup.
The pilot is a helter-skelter hour of introductions and setup. The headliner here is Skeet Ulrich as the Jericho's prodigal son, Jake Green, who is returning home after a mysterious absence of 5 years. He drives a black retro-hip muscle car, appropriately tarnished, and rolls back into town to a fantastic rock soundtrack interrupted by a rather obvious channel scan across a news station which speaks of vague international troubles that a tactfully unnamed President is grappling with. The first segment is devoted to Jake bumping into old friends and acquaintances as he goes to meet his family and request inheritance to restart his life. In spite of the excellent photography, it's hastily edited in a fashion with a couple of discrepancies that indicate that the story was re-edited at least once. (What is this? The receiving line at a school reunion?) A short and bitter-sweet visit with his family reveals enough reason for Jake to make a hasty departure. Although it did seem more than a little rude for Jake to leave his mom - played steadfastly by Pamela Reed - standing in the graveyard on the outskirts of town. (Are gas prices so high in this reality that you can't afford to give her a lift back?) Within minutes, the iconic image of this new series appears: a young boy watching the mushroom cloud of a (presumably) nuclear explosion rise beyond the local mountain range.
The other three-quarters of the program is more expertly played as the focus turns to effectively generating tension among the occupants of the town. Communication and power go down. Cars watching the explosion collide. Wildlife run erratically. A riot breaks out at the gas station. The elementary school fieldtrip returning from the city is long overdue. Various characters bounce off one another hinting at story arcs to come. Jake's no-nonsense father, Mayor Johnston Green (Gerald McRaney), makes the rounds to the crazy HAM radio operator and contends with his political opponent who seems to salivate for each moment he can win points with the townspeople even in the face of disaster. There is the mysterious new resident in town who seems very effective at disaster management and police work. Most of these incidents are resolved by the end of the hour well, all except for an unknown number of US cities being blown up.
This is a great premise for a TV show. It creates a strange situation that has the potential to generate a variety of suspenseful story lines. It limits the number of locations and sets (the execs love when you can do that) and plays to everyone's love of their hometown and the quirky characters we all know. It's also very smart in limiting the impact set pieces. (Get the car back on the road; find portable flood lights; store food in the heavy ice bins.) However, many of the characters come off as having cardboard motivations and it's the supporting cast, like the firemen, newcomer and team of shop owner & newly orphaned employee who appear to have more potential than the main cast. The vein of overt sentimentality seems to be aiming this show more in the direction of "Independence Day" where there is the illusion and spectacle of danger, but everything works out just because the writers expect that the audience wants it that way. If this first episode is any indication, we can expect the flavor of doom in "Jericho", but real world consequences won't intrude any more than gravity did all those times Bo and Luke Duke launched the General Lee over the broken bridges of Hazard County.
5 out of 10
The Devil Wears Prada (2006)
A Crackling "Inferno"
It's the publishing world, not the world of fashion, that Andrea "Andy" Sachs (Anne Hathaway) is pursuing when she enters the offices of "Runway" magazine. It's a detour that she thinks will lead her to a better job down the road, but it becomes the hellpit that will consume her life thanks to the endlessly demanding editor-in-chief of the magazine, Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep). The only guides through the rapidly moving echelons of the business are her co-assistant, Emily (Emily Blunt) and higher-up, Nigel (Stanley Tucci). Her friends and loyal boyfriend, Nate (Adrien Grenier) struggle to keep Andy grounded as she gets pulled further into Miranda's world. The result may most easily fall into the category of "chick flick", but what emerges is a sharp character-driven Hollywood comedy with some of the best performances to be seen so far this year.
As is often the case, it's the villain rather than the hero who resonates with the audience, and even with a smaller share of the screen time, this is certainly Meryl Streep's movie. Miranda is not one for tirades. She's simply threatening by being there. Any unwanted question or interruption is met with a searing look and a calm dismissal that sends the receiver crushed and scurrying for cover. Never have the words, "That's all," been uttered with so many variations of menace and meaning. This is used even when referring to the task of finding a plane and pilot to fly her out of Florida in the middle of a hurricane so she can make her daughters' recital. Eventually, we do get to see another side of this "devil", and although the veneer of ferocity is broken, Streep briefly illustrates a woman of great dignity and pride. It brings to mind the Twain remark about how every story has two sides, and as weak a case as it might be, how many of us have ever heard the devil's version? (We'll all be hearing about this one again at Oscar time.)
However, make no mistake that Streep's Miranda is the Mephistopheles to those who are under her watch, and the rest of the cast is constantly scrambling to avoid her wrath. Anne Hathaway stands apart from most of her co-tweenie entertainers with consistently solid performances in varying projects, and here, she fills Andy with believably alternating doubt and hope as she struggles to reach her conflicted goals of pleasing Miranda and just surviving her. Emily is a shallow sycophant who takes pleasure in lording her experience over Andy while clinging to her dream of making contacts at the Paris Fashion Week. However, when disaster strikes, Emily the actress shows that pain runs deep no matter who you are. The only voice resembling friendship from inside of the Runway offices is Stanly Tucci's Nigel, whom Emily reaches out to in frustration when effort after effort seems to fail to get Miranda's approval. Nigel gives her a helping hand, but what he really succeeds in doing is leading her further down the rabbit hole. He's been a part of Miranda's world so long that he cannot see a way out even for himself.
Director David Frankel has made a world that is both beautiful and horrifying. As reviewer David Edelstein stated, this is a story that plays to the teen girl fantasy of being both beautifully fashionable and proving that you have depth of character, but the script is above the typical tweenie entry. The drama is not overstated with shouting matches. It keeps everyone else the same respect of character that it affords Miranda. A fight between Andy and her boyfriend is simply her coming in late and apologizing to him as he skulks off to bed. It's often pointed in moments where you feel trouble has started, but it just hasn't come to bear yet.
This isn't a story about the real fashion world. As interviews with former Vogue employees reiterate. Miranda is an amalgam of several real-life characters, and publishers don't go to their offices in green eye shadow and in head-to-toe Gucci or Prada. This is a hyper-realized New York, much like the NYC from Frankel's experience on "Sex in the City". In the brilliant sequence where we follow Andy's walk to work and her outfits change as people and cabs pass between her and the camera, it would not be a surprise to see Carrie Bradshaw breaking up with someone after a luckless one-night-stand. This just makes it a Hollywood experience and puts everything into high relief to emphasize the bad boss experience we've all had.
Ultimately, this is about careers and how far people are willing to go in order to make them work. Try not to get caught up in what it might imply about women's fashion; this could easily be on a double bill with "Wall Street". (Although, "Prada" doesn't have the same weight as Stone's film. This is a comedy, after all.) Not since Dante Hicks's long day at The Quick Stop has anyone had such an entertainingly torturous work experience. I'm just relieved I wasn't the one tripping over myself to find the unpublished manuscript for "Harry Potter 7".
8 out of 10
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
Nitpicking aside, the X-Men trilogy goes out with a bang.
The "X-Men" have never been in greater jeopardy. There are forces beyond their control pushing in new directions with no one having an idea of how it will end. A change in leadership has spun the team into perilous uncertainty. Will this beloved world fall into the control of the wrong hands? Now that's enough speculation about the film's production team, what about the movie? The characters caught in the crossfire of mutant and anti-mutant mayhem will have to wait a moment.
The real question about the third installment of the "X-Men" is how well does Brett Ratner helm one of the favorite superhero franchises in Hollywood. Happily, this is not a changing of the guard akin to Richard Lester getting the "Superman" reigns from Richard Donner nor is it like Tim Burton's exit from the "Batman" franchise that allowed some studio exec to give Joel Schumacher permission to turn the Dark Knight's escapades into some unholy Vegas lightshow. Although there are spots where the film clearly lacks Singer's touch, Ratner makes "X-Men: The Last Stand" into a wild and compelling summer sci-fi ride.
Some time has passed since the team of mutants lost Dr Jean Grey (Famke Jenssen) when she sacrificed herself to the crushing waters of a faulty dam in order to save her lover, Scott/Cyclops (James Marsden), and her teammates. Cyclops was crushed by her loss. Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart), Ororo/Storm (Hale Berry) and Logan/Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) are continuing to educate and work with young mutants when it is announced that the government, otherwise friendly towards mutants, is working with a major drug company to distribute a "cure" for the mutant gene. They get the news from an old friend and government official, mutant scientist Hank McCoy (Kelsey Grammar) who is also referred to as Beast because of his superhuman athletic gifts and undisguisable fury blue appearance. The manufacturer, Warren Worthington II (played by Michael Murphy), has a falling out with his mutant winged son, Warren III (Ben Foster), when he tries to administer the cure.
While debate sparks among the heroes and brings to bear the movie's central question, others do not take the news so lightly. Mutant terrorist, Magneto (Sir Ian McKellen, fresh from "The DaVinci Code") is freeing a myriad of loyalists and rallying mutant masses into an army for the Brotherhood of Mutants. This is coupled with the discovery that Jean Grey survived in a sort of telekinetic coma and a split personality has developed from the trauma. Her second personality, referred to as The Phoenix, is disillusioned and violently angry; lashing out at almost anyone. She joins Magneto's group, and the stage is set for the climactic raid on the drug company's militarized headquarters at the renovated Alcatraz Island.
Most of the main group are familiar with each other, and the additions play well into the mix. If the preceding paragraph contained too many names to follow, wait until you see the film. There are enough speaking parts to make Robert Altman's head spin. Even being familiar with the comic books, there are too many names and story threads for a single film. However, they all pique our interest, even if most aren't fully explored - ie: Angel & The Phoenix. (Although, I wonder what kind of hero movie Altman - or even original Singer replacement, Matthew Vaughn, - could have made with this milieu of characters and conflicts?) Certainly McKellen and Stewart continue to lend instant gravitas to a story that some would sideline to Saturday morning reruns. Kitty Pride (Ellen Page, the vengeful teen from "Hard Candy") is as much the hero as vulnerable kid, but you don't suspect it till the chips are down. The best addition to the cast is Kelsey Grammar's Beast. The prosthetics sell the hero, but with the voice of Frasier underneath them, there is a noble and distinguished quality that projects someone caught at the crux of civil duty, a communal obligation and a conflicting personal desire.
The heart of this movie is the cast and the script that never fails to challenge the issues it raises, albeit with super-powered throw-downs. What happens when part of who you are keeps you from mixing with the rest of society? What if someone could just offer you a pill or a shot to take that part of you away? What if the government or an organization began forcing you or people like you to take that treatment? What would your moral obligation be? How far would you be willing to go to fulfill it? While everyone is tossing these about, relationships are forming and breaking with tectonic shifts. Powers are not without their consequences. Major characters not only lose their abilities, but some also lose their lives. This is not a movie that is playing it safe to ensure the franchise. Although the last few minutes leave the sequel door open, everyone involved has come for the sake of the story.
Overall, "The Last Stand" is on a par with the original, but not the praised operatic second chapter. Ratner has more ability when it comes to letting things rip, than letting things simmer and grow to a boil. Quiet moments should take longer, and some moments come precariously close to camp. He simply doesn't have the same knack for capturing intimacy that Singer does. John Powell's score is appropriately understated and works carefully for every moment, more like Michael Kamen's. However, Ottman's themes really made you hang onto the edge of your seat during "X2". (These things are not mentioned to detract from either Ratner or Powell, but rather to praise those who came before and manage your expectations.) It's obvious that Ratner has a great appreciation for the vision of the first two installments, and he honors nearly everything that originally brought fans to the theaters. So, this is a rousing, if mottled, addition to the series.
7 out of 10
This Sporting Life (1963)
Magnificent performances help make a painfully uncompromising film.
In a small Welsh mining town, there is little to do outside of patronizing the local pubs and watching the city's rugby team demolish whichever opponent is visiting. Frank Machin (the late Richard Harris) is a miner turned rugby player rooming in the home of Widow, Margaret Hammond (Rachael Roberts, also passed). It's a simple life that is turned dramatic as the thick-skulled Frank spends his time grating those around him with his ambitions for the high life and for the still-grieving widow Margaret. This is a cautionary tale, which Director Lindsay Anderson draws to a razor sharp point from David Storey's script; adapted from his novel by the same name.
A rugby game is interrupted as Frank has his front teeth knocked out and broken. The delirium of his night of pain opens Frank's past to the audience in flashbacks. He has worked in the mines. He lives in Margaret's home while put off by her standoffishness as she tends to chores and her children. He plays amateur rugby aggressively and goes out of his way to pick fights with the lead player of the other team when they win. He meets a pro-team scout ("Dad" played effeminately by William Hartnell) who gets him a shot on the team owned by the Weaver Mining Company. Even after he gets picked up with a lucrative contract, Frank continues to rent a single room from Margaret as he flaunts his newfound wealth. He is an enviable picture of financial success and his strong playing keeps him popular with everyone in town. Frank takes Margaret and her children on outings in his new car. Frank is Johnny-on-the-Spot when it comes to money and gifts, and he certainly appears well enough to outsiders as he gives pointers and signs autographs for children after games. When Mrs. Weaver (Vanda Godsell), the wife of the team owner, makes open sexual advances on Frank, he turns her down out of concern of how it would impact his relationship with Margaret.
What really drives Frank is the belief that when he sees something he wants; he must simply go out and get it. The one thing that he wants and cannot seem to understand how to get is Margaret. Nearly every thing he does is in pursuit of her, and his perceived pushes him ever closer to madness. This is where Richard Harris's performance can be greatly admired as he deftly and gradually opens the inner workings of the lead-skulled Frank to the audience. In scene after scene throughout the entire film, Harris illustrates Frank's thoughts with small indignant or puzzled looks at Margaret or with a slight toss in his tone, which tells of the contrary nature of his ego-driven motives over his actions.
During a picnic outing, his ball playing with Margaret's children isn't attracting enough of Margaret's attention, so Frank "accidentally" kicks the ball out into the stream; mounts Lynda (Bernadette Benson) on his shoulders; wades out to hip-depth get it; and returns her safely to shore just to get closer to Margaret. Without the single, articulate look from Harris at the start of his charade, any of the subversive motives would be lost to an otherwise pleasant afternoon in a church park. Even with such calculations, Harris shows Frank having doubts, being hurt by rejection and pulls in the audience's sympathies when he genuinely weeps to a teammate in frustration and confusion. Eventually, the darker side of humanity fully overcomes Frank, and his relationship with Margaret becomes physically abusive as their story pushes slowly to its tragic end.
Rachael Roberts's portrayal of Margaret is a monumental testament to the steadfast homemaker. Margaret is regimented in her chores and seems to have few, if any, friends. The value she places on her life is held entirely in her home and her children (performed simply and believably by Bernadette Benson and Andrew Nolan in their only screen credits) whom she treats with the only genuine warmth to emerge through the grief for her husband. There is a simple certainty in her actions. Whether it's hanging laundry, polishing her late husband's shoes or walking away from Frank, it's clear that she knows the world is turning without her, and she simply isn't interested. She struggles, but remains detached, at Frank's first physical advance, and when a strike finally does come from him late in the film, she doesn't even cry out because Frank is still so far from touching any part of her that she values. All she gives him in return is a calm and bitter description of his lonely reality.
The production is a precisely measured one. Anderson's direction of cinematographer Denys N. Coop's black and white compositions make for stark illustrations of this world. It is beautiful in its bleakness. Transitions between flashback and present are simple and effective often employing matching movements in scenes or resorting to a fade when necessary. Rugby games are up close and involving. Every thing effectively focuses and showcases the actors. This is the work of a mature director who never considers any self-aware showmanship and has a deathgrip on the story. Never once does it flinch away from the terrible trials the protagonist endures and inflicts.
As a work of art, this film is fiercely successful. It garnered several award nominations, most significantly Academy nods for its two leads. It is a brutal portrait of an all-too human man who fails to grasp the human value of those around him. However, as entertainment, it has little enjoyment factor. The story is so hard and its main character so impervious to all but the most obvious losses, it would be hard to imagine anyone who actually needed to be bludgeoned with so heavy a lesson actually watching this film. Absolutely see this for all of its clear value of workmanship but be prepared for a very rough ride.
9 out of 10
V for Vendetta (2005)
Violent, disturbing, and unusually patient, "Vendetta" reaches its film-making ambitions and makes its message heard.
Someone once said that great ideas do not succeed without loyalty between individuals. (I'm paraphrasing.) There are many great ideas floating through the film incarnation of "V for Vendetta", and the protagonist, V, is a compelling individual who draws the audience into his strange existence and inspires, at the very least, fascination. V (played marvelously by the masked and enigmatic Hugo Weaving) is agile and strong, educated and articulate as well as poetic, romantic and cultured. Not only can he fence, discuss music, talk about classic films, but he's a wiz in the kitchen. He is a definitive Renaissance Man who just happens to be wholeheartedly insane.
This story takes place in the totalitarian England of a not-too-distant possible future. It's a place where a disaster has allowed people to be consumed by fear of the outside world. Chancellor Adam Satler (John Hurt) is the unquestionable authority of this new era and channels Hitler as he booms orders over a Soviet-style regime with cutting-edge technologies. People scrabble about to keep up as much of a normal 21st century life as they can. Evie (Natalie Portman) is on her way to a dinner when three policemen stop and threaten her for no other crime than being out past curfew. V comes to her rescue and invites her in sincerely gentlemanly fashion to join him for a special event. The newly acquainted pair watches as V's explosives blow the historic Bailey Building to pieces as viewing London is treated to a recording of The 1812 Overture. Naturally, Evie is appalled, and although V keeps his word to return her home safely and goes on his way, another chance meeting irrevocably entwines their respective paths as investigated by the cynical Chief Inspector Finch (Steven Rea).
Hurt and Weaving as The Chancellor and V portray the flip sides of the same coin. They are men of force. One gathers power by instilling fear. The other instills hope by inflicting revenge on those he sees as the guilty. Steven Rea's Inspector Finch already knows how badly this world is run. He is cynical of the government, his place in it and what chance he might have to change it. The journey his character is on also illustrates many things about this world and where he is going in it, and it is a subtle and gradual performance. As Evie, Natalie Portman brings the audience into the nightmarish world and the increasingly nightmarish situations in which she finds herself. She makes every scene work, not just as a plot device, but more importantly for the character. There is even a scene in which Evie experiences an awakening not dissimilar to Neo in "The Matrix". She is viewing the world with entirely new eyes. However, instead of playing off of scenery full of scary machine monsters as Keanu Reeves did, Portman creates the moment standing alone in front of the camera; swamped and drowning in emotion.
Controversy has been the buzzword surrounding "VfV" during the run up to the film's release. It has been said that this movie is taking aim squarely at the Bush administration here in the US. It's not. It's also not talking about Tony Blair's current administration nor is it reflecting upon the unpopular Thatcher administration, which was in office at the time Alan Moore and David Lloyd created the graphic novel on which this is based. Nor are the filmmakers endorsing terrorism as the best way of altering a government any more than a dentist would recommend eating more candy for healthier teeth. What I believe director James McTiegue is trying to illustrate in his work with the Wachowskis' adapted script is the very need for revolution in thought when fear becomes the predominant theme in a society.
The Chancellor is seen mostly as a huge projected talking head barking orders and making frantic threatening demands. The government and military follow suit, but only out of the fear of retribution. While V is certainly not a passive figure, he radiates calm in even in a fight; no motion is wasted. V sees himself made more a reactionary than an instigator, and this refined masculinity is proved genuine as we view how he behaves in his own home with Evie. V disrupts with violence, but he appeals with conversation and ownership of his actions. He is attempting to inspire people from their fear and lethargy.
Although there are frightening images, such as V's birth by fire and Evey's torture, McTiegue's camera, too, is sparing with its motion and reserved with the space it permits the story's characters. There are close-ups during intimate and poignant moments. The action sequences are startling in their ferocity and executed with all the expertise expected from the assistant director of "The Matrix" series. In many scenes, the camera frames up an entire room and sits still. Even moves following someone down a hall or across a floor are done out of necessity and without excess flourish or unusual angles. The characters and situations are allowed to do the talking. Control and patience are the dazzling features here.
Unfortunately, some people will always take inspiring fiction (written or filmed) as fact or mandate, but this is a comic book world with comic book rules and brutal action though action does not occur as often as one might expect. This is a comic with ideas in its head. If it just so happens that people find similarities between the film and current governments in the world, maybe that says something about the real life situation to which they are comparing it. If one finds a government is not living up to expectation, maybe it's time to start running for office or working for causes. This is a film with a big point to make, and takes risks making it. It's rare that a studio film is as driven as its main character.
10 out of 10
The Matador (2005)
Character and Careful Direction Creates a Perfectly Dark Comedy
The power of his nihilistic conviction and a world-class ability for self-deception is what has kept Julian Noble (Pierce Brosnan) thriving in the business of international assassination. However, even bedding women nearly at will and bathing in Margueritas can no longer keep Julian blind to the simple fact that he is tired of his rarified profession and has no way out. It's a bind that out-of-work businessman, Danny Wright (Greg Kinnear) doesn't even suspect his new and insensitive barstool acquaintance of harboring when they meet during coinciding business trips to Mexico City. Julian is desperately drawn to the stability and decency Danny exhibits in spite of Danny repeatedly finding reasons to have nothing to do with him. These are accidentally star-crossed buddies who need one another in ways they cannot conceive of but are utterly undeniable. The comedy that combusts from the combination is simultaneously perverse, endearing and one of the most unexpectedly satisfying in recent memory.
Director Richard Shepherd keeps lets the cast soak in the situations presented in his script and bring every moment to life with a minimum of showing off. When Danny is at home with "Bean", his wife as played by Hope Davis, there is a wonderful scene where the camera simply pushes in on a conversation between the two and gives you a glimpse into the hearts of two people long in love with one another. Probably the most stunning shot follows Julian through a crowded marketplace and involves a mirror that is suddenly carried across his path, and (although you must allow for the possibility of an effects shot) it appears to be a simple feat of select angles and timing which gives both Julian and the audience a sharp look into the emptiness of his soul. Simple tactics keep the undercurrents of comedy flowing, such as the location titles. Unlike a traditional spy thriller, which would hammer city names in typewriter keystrokes of some sophisticated font in either white or IBM green into one corner or another of the screen, "The Matador" cues up cities in capitalized block letters of varying primary colors across the center of the screen. Shepherd is allowing the obnoxiously overstated nature of Julian to ooze right through the screen.
Everyone here is entirely invested in this character-driven comedy that keeps character at its center. Greg Kinnear gives his finest performance since his Oscar nomination in "As Good As It Gets" as Danny in portraying his struggles to balance his hopes and values with looming realities. He also shows Danny having a lot of fun getting out of his shell when Julian gives him a glimpse into just how to go about his seedy business. Julian is an absolutely astonishing creation from a stereotyped actor such as Brosnan. This is how a loner assassin would live, and it's easy to imagine that Brosnan came up with the nuances that make Julian so delightfully vapid between takes of shaken-not-stirred martinis and one-liners while acting on the various James Bond sets. There is still a reserve of schoolboy charm to buy his ability to make women from heiresses and prostitutes to Danny's faithfully beloved "Bean" swoon at his precisely delivered compliments. However, Brosnan takes every opportunity to delve further into Julian by skewering his image as world's most famous fictional spy on the dashed possibilities of friendship and the simple pain of a birthday spent alone.
With the few scenes she gets, Hope Davis rounds out the lead triad by making Bean a whole person who has real passion for the man who has never let her down even though it means a life in the placid ways of suburbia. Alternately, she also finds herself fascinated with the window into Julian's dangerous nature and far enough as to make us wonder how far her curiosity will run. A businessman with a clear revulsion for the work - and Julian's extracurricular activities - but a dead eye as to their career realities is how Philip Baker Hall plays Julian's Handler, Mr. Randy. And Dylan Baker, as a very dissatisfied customer, takes just a single scene to present a quiet air of danger to remind that there are real consequences brewing.
"The Matador" takes an intimate look at its characters and finds the comedy in their intersections but never manipulates the situations. This is not a show that is out to change any notions of film-making, but it is a masterfully done dark comedy that never loses focus. When strange bedfellows meet, they lie in strange beds, and this is all about bringing us through the mayhem of night and showing what happens at daybreak.
King Kong (2005)
King Kong: the masterpiece "fan film"
As 800-pound gorillas go, none has received more attention than King Kong. Recently, it's is largely due to the buildup of hype around Peter Jackson's illustrious remake of one of the great 20th-century fables, and much has been made over his love of the 1933 original since it was his inspiration to become a filmmaker in the first place. For the audience, however, what arises from the mists of Kong's Skull Island is one of the boldest and most heartfelt tales ever to have graced the silver screen that easily exceeds and honors even the wildest ambitions of the original auteurs, Merian C. Cooper and Edgar Wallace.
Unlike the 1970's attempted remake, there are no efforts to modernize the story, and it becomes a period film set in a bustling recreation of Depression-era New York City. When ambitious movie director Carl Denham (Jack Black) sees his latest project facing cancellation, he scrambles about the city to hoodwink desperate actress, Ann Darrow (Naiomi Watts), and award-winning writer, Jack Driscoll (Adrian Brody) to come aboard his dubiously-hired ramshackle freighter. Although set for Shanghai, the crew is reluctantly guided by an ancient map to the true destination of Skull Island, which is a lost land supposedly housing ruins of a once- great culture. Denham's plan is to draw audiences with a never-before- seen landscape.
He gets more than he bargained for when the reclusive natives become violent toward their unwelcome guests and kidnap Ann as an offering to the beast they worship, the 25-foot-tall gorilla known as Kong. The crew follows Kong in to the island's interior to mount a rescue. Fueled by loyalty spawned by their time at sea together they face the island's wide variety of prehistoric carnivorous animals. At incredibly high costs, they rescue Ann and subdue Kong. Returning to New York, Denham displays Kong as a glorified sideshow until the ape escapes and the tale reaches its harrowing climax high above the Big Apple.
Although the plot points are ultimately the same, the story in Jackson's "Kong" has much more emotional resonance than the original, which created the blockbuster adventure and pushed every existing special effect, circa 1932. It's simply a matter of financial and technical practicality. As Jackson is coming off of the "Lord of the Rings" Trilogy, he has one of the largest lines of credit in Hollywood and has kicked in his own money to do everything just as he wanted. The studio clearly gave him a great deal of creative control, and the special effects used are not only spectacular but also a well-established art. This allows him to affect blockbuster and character drama, even if his passion causes him to overextend here and there.
Every character in the movie feels fleshed out. No one gives a cardboard performance. The two keys to the entire movie are Ann and Kong. Naiomi Watts' Ann is an idealistic and talented performer stuck with the Depression luck. Even when faced with going hungry, she would rather steal than compromise her art. Her conviction is palpable, and this sincerity convinces during everything that she endures with Kong. Without her, the film would be a hulking shell. Kong is a rendered computer creation, which Andy Serkis infuses with a wounded soul via motion capture. There is not one moment between these two impossibly crossed friends share that winks at the audience or fails to feel genuine, and we sail up and down with them through fear and heroism. Jack is officially the hero of the story, and Adrian Brody plays him as a quiet but self-respecting man whose moments of heroism come from a sense of responsibility. Of Jack Black, many have nominated him for the Worst Actor Razzie Award. This is unjustified. Black's Carl Denham does carry the unflappably bombastic ego of "Barry" from "High Fidelity" early on, but as things progress, Jackson allows Black to illustrate moments of personal doubt that tell just how desperate Denham is. Although it is comedic at the start, he is playing this seriously. The lengths that he is willing to reach in order to secure his ambitions are monstrous.
The other monsters of the film are of the physical variety, and the special effects bringing them to life are mostly impressive. The CG team has created spectacular environs at every level. Skull Island itself is a convincing character ready to blossom, frighten or consume at every turn. Tyrannosaurs complete with 3rd fingers - move with such menace that Spielberg may want to pull the original "Jurassic Park" from store shelves. There is a scene planned for the original, but never executed, in a pit of giant insects, which Jackson restores with all-too-convincing gore. Some of the Brontosaurs and Raptors come off as flat during the stampede scene. However, the diamond that never fails to shine in the effects crown is Kong. Each scene with the big guy carries a believability and emotional weight which few computer creations have ever achieved. He is a wonder that not only terrifies when angry but also wins the audience over with heartfelt charm.
At just over 3 hours, it's fair to call Jackson's production extravagant and it could have benefited from more editing, but only a little. The time flies by (except for the bug pit), and when Kong's hour of reckoning arrives this time, it is a moment of actual drama in a tale reflecting on the costs of ambition and not simply the end of a monster movie. Or as when two Venture crewmen discuss reading "Heart of Darkness":
"This isn't just an adventure story. Is it, Mr. Hayes?"
"No, Jimmy, it's not."
9 out of 10
The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
Claymation and Plastecine Amazement! (But what the heck was up with the CGI Penguin short?)
If after watching Wallace and Gromit's first feature-length film, you find yourself with a hankering to try new cheeses or run back into the theater and watch it again, no one will blame you. This is a wonderful movie featuring a cheese-loving kid-at-heart character, and the claymation creates a warmth and connection not found in most CGI productions. Although there are Hollywood influences that snag the story here and there, Nick Park's much-loved creations of the wild inventor and his endlessly patient dog stay true to their small-town selves; even while he improves on the visual complexity of stop-motion animation.
As the operators of "The Anti-Pesto Squad", the intrepid pair of heroes secures the safety of the town's prize vegetable patches from the numerous hungry rabbits out to satisfy their cravings for a midnight snack. The annual Giant Vegetable-Growing Contest is approaching, and there is nothing more important to the townsfolk and to the hostess of the contest, Lady Campanula Tottington (Helena Bonham Carter). Arriving at Tottington Manor to deal with a prolific rabbit infestation, Wallace (Peter Sallis), attracts the ire of hunter, Victor Quartermaine (Ralph Fiennes), by accidentally interrupting his unwanted attempts at courtship. Having corralled more rabbits than they know what to do with, the always-silent Gromit assists Wallace in an experiment to remove the vegetable-eating impulses from the captured rabbits, so they could be safely released (and so Wallace can impress the peaceable Lady Tottington). Although the experiment works on the normal rabbits, a large vegetable-eating predator begins to menace the town gardens. Wallace and Gromit must rely on each other to solve the mystery, keep Quartermaine at bay, satisfy the townsfolk and ensure the safety of the Giant Vegetable Contest.
The only things that weigh down the fun are a few misplaced scenes. The previous "Wallace and Gromit" adventures had villains, but none so aggressive as Quartermaine. Silly though he is, a hunter character brings in the element of a gun. A single gun even in a children's movie these days is hardly a shocking element, but it feels out of place in this quiet little English hamlet. It certainly clashes with the spirit of invention and the previous short films' Keaton and Chaplin-inspired resolutions. The one scene that truly appears to be drawn from the Hollywood action handbook is the faceoff that occurs when Quartermaine corners Wallace in the woods. It simply felt excessive to give the quiet Wallace an action-hero turn, no matter how the mechanics of the story might make it plausible. Only Gromit's finely-tuned reactions lend enough subtle humor to prevent the spell of fun from being broken.
Despite these few misgivings, the whole clay parade is well worth the excursion to the theater for all ages. The characters are warmer and more familiar than most recent animations, even those as successful as the "Shrek" series. Everything is done so well, that these characters take on tangible humanity. When dozens of the Plasticine characters dart about the screen in amazing fluidity, try to fathom the fact that they were all coordinated one motion for each character, one at a time, for 24 frames of every visual second. Each camera movement is artfully and carefully executed. There is so much spectacle and gentle humor created in the molded environment, that it is impossible to leave the theater without your spirits being lifted. (And just perhaps a newfound appreciation for cheese and vegetables.)
8 out of 10
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"A Christmas Caper" (This title does not have its own listing on IMDb.com, so it seems best to leave a mini-review here.)
Disappointing and Out-of-Season Schtick
Matched with "Curse of the Were-Rabbit" is a CGI animated short, "A Christmas Caper" staring the Penguins of this summer's "Madagascar". This is about a group of four militant penguins who live in the Bronx Zoo. It's Christmas Eve, and the youngest penguin, Private (Christopher Knights), feels bad for the zoo's resident polar bear who is alone. Private sets out to find him a present. When the rest of the group realizes that Private has gone missing, they set out to bring him back. Ultimately, they must rescue their junior member from an elderly Manhattan resident and her bloodthirsty miniature poodle.
There were moments of humor, but no tone seemed to hold the entire production together. The scene on the street with the souvenir vendor was easily the funniest. There the penguins "blend in" with a group of nuns and inexplicably regurgitate dynamite. However, the whole affair felt misplaced as a prelude to the kind of story to be told in "Wallace and Gromit". Although the computer animation is eye-poppingly good, the penguins move frenetically and spend most of their time shouting at each other. It will probably satisfy any 5-year-old on a sugar rush, but wild behavior by itself simply doesn't amount to humor.
The story resolves with a nod to friendship over presents, but it seems less genuine when the entire cast of "Madagascar" characters is suddenly there to sing a goodbye song. How coincidental that the DVD release happens to be only a month away. The Christmas theme also seems aimed to prime kids for the shopping season. Aside from the fact that penguins fit well in snow and ice, couldn't this have been set during some other time of year, perhaps say, Halloween?
If you're late for "Wallace and Gromit", don't sweat it. This will pad the start time, so you can grab a snack for the real show.
3 out of 10 for "A Christmas Caper"
8 out of 10 for "Wallace and Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit"
Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story (2005)
A Whole Lot More Should Have Remained Untold
It's hard being the one singled out in the family. Everyone feels isolated at some point, and with the rest of the Griffin family being functionally, if not completely, moronic, genius baby, Stewie (voiced by series creator Seth McFarlane), rebels in great, dark comic strokes of farcical attempts at parental murder and world domination. This is a common element in the series, "Family Guy", but Stewie is the center of attention in this extended episode. Unfortunately, the series' trademark humor wears thin and comes undone over the course of 90 minutes.
After an excruciatingly long first act that rehashes all the usual family antics, Stewie finds a man on TV that bears such a resemblance to his own uniquely football-shaped head that it spawns the hope that the mystery man, and not the dimwit Peter (also voiced by McFarlane), may be his actual father. He embarks on a cross-country journey with family dog, Brian (McFarlane) and local letch, Quagmire (McFarlane), to find him. This second act is the most on-target with humor. The jokes come fast and furiously out of the part of McFarlane's brain that comes up with the most random associations and bizarre situations one could imagine. Once they catch up with the mystery man, there is a fun twist as to his relation to Stewie, but the proceedings slow down again until the frantic last few minutes.
The finale includes a direct tribute to "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", which is fun, but as it stretches on, it simultaneously shows that they are having a difficult time keeping enough material to call it a "movie" release. The style of humor is consistent with any episode, and it seems that McFarlane is still the driving force behind the show. However, this kind of humor works best in rapid-fire or hit-and-run doses, and here everything is dragged out, like a telescoped punch. This feels like a single episode overextended, and one can almost imagine the studio execs looking over the writers' shoulders and saying, "Make it 90 minutes! More! Longer! More! Longer! More!" Of course, that's just speculation.
It'll still be worth while to tune in to the "Family Guy" in its usual half-hour timeslot where "Stewie Griffin: the Untold Story" should have been told.
4 out of 10
Serenity (2005)
Joss Whedon Strikes Back
Confronting authority and expectation are territories where Joss Whedon will be very comfortable after this project. After lifting his property from 20th Century Fox TV and landing at Universal Studios, his fictional crew of the titular ship is dodging the powerful Alliance. In an effort to make their less-than-legitimate living and to hide their sibling passengers Simon (Sean Maher) and River (Summer Glau), who possesses abilities and at least one secret which the Alliance wants to get back under control, the crew must evade the powers that be and keep themselves together. This was the premise for the cult TV show, "Firefly", which was cancelled in 2002. Unpacking the "Serenity" crew out of storage and onto the big screen is no easy task, and, although not a regular viewer of the series (and certainly not a "Browncoat" - level fan), my opinion is that Whedon's new adaptation succeeds with aplomb.
There are moments when the film does feel televisual rather than cinematic, but they are separated by so much genuine enthusiasm and effective material that they just become part of the mix. The introduction of the villain, The Operative (Chiwetel Ejiofor), is somewhat unceremonious, but it is in the midst of a set of startlingly creative transitions which exposit not only the story's universe and glistening dystopia that The Operative represents, but also what started everyone on this interplanetary chase. While a plethora of characters is helpful in scripting a TV show as it provides a greater combination of dramatically conflicting personalities, it proves something of a hindrance in a film. Can everyone be given a significant role throughout the entire production? The answer is an unfortunate no. However, Whedon and his cast work out a balancing act that covers most of the thin points. The flipside to that coin is that the TV cast, who are familiar and dedicated to one another, effectively generate a feeling of familial association and immediacy.
These characters, individually and as a group have a real inner lives that you don't find in most sci-fi productions. After sitting through the point-and-shoot "Aliens Vs. Predator" , the disaster "A Sound of Thunder" as well as the exciting - but boxy - acting in "Revenge of the Sith" all in the last year or so, science fiction needs a little inner redemption. Captain Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) is the natural-born deal-maker, but human enough to threaten to shoot his own crew when they refuse his orders in a moment of crisis. Tough and loyal Zoë (Gina Torres) never hesitates in the moment, but after the dust settles, she levels moral questions with her husband and pilot, Wash (Alan Tudyk), who is both comic and conscience. Adam Baldwin's Jayne borders on tough-guy caricature, but he finds ways of making him real by backing down from some fights and articulating his reasoning. There is real tenderness from Simon as doctor and brother, but fierce determination as his sister's keeper. River doesn't have a single role to play, as it seems she is fugitive psychic, lost girl and weapon, and Summer Glau keeps her tied together. Kaylee, Inara and Shepherd Book have their roles reduced to the very pragmatic ones of mechanic, love interest and elder. However, Jewel Staite, Morena Baccarin and Ron Glass all respectively give performances which make it clear that the group would have large holes without them. Not only are these characters fighting for their freedom and a noble cause, but they're also fighting for their own cohesiveness. The events have impact and a price to be paid, so no one arrives at the end the same as when they began.
This is a crew with heart and soul, and that is the responsibility of writer-director Whedon. He has a knack for creating quirky and well-rounded characters, and layers his moments as a director. The Operative's weapon of choice is a steel sword, rather than a laser gun. Real steel is simply more threatening and easier for the audience to identify with. It also speaks to the vile nature of the soft-spoken character: This is an assassin who enjoys being up close to his work. When he and the Captain meet in person, the verbal sparing they do (running down each other's possible negotiating stances as clichéd chess moves) is much more exiting than any fisticuffs that follow. There are plenty of effective explosive scenes, but Whedon also quells the special effects for moments of suspense such as a quiet passing through a convoy of enemy ships. There is nothing for the group to do but move silently along and hope they are not caught. A grand chase scene across open plains is done largely with the actors on location, and the thrills are greater for it. Traditional techno babble does exist in points, but it remains smartly minimal. The fact that every other person seems to speak mid-19th Century American West English leaves a stronger impression.
These are not polished sci-fi icons making a safe journey into sequel-land. Although this is largely an escapist lark, everyone is trying to get somewhere, and as director, Whedon keeps the journey about the characters, not the spectacle. Any space opera is not without its clichéd trappings, but Whedon, as writer, ultimately makes it about bringing the truth to light, rather than just offing the bad guy. This is a subtext that will resonate more with 21st Century audiences, so much so that if you're looking for a themed double-bill, this might be the (much) lighter half with "Good Night, and Good Luck" or "The Insider". "Serenity" runs as roughly its ship does, but that same grittiness and personality make it feel like a fresh adventure.
8 out of 10
La marche de l'empereur (2005)
Fine Documentary about an Animal Family Doesn't Flinch at Life
Few animals and fewer people ever venture to the foreboding conditions of Antarctica, but one pair of determined documentary makers made the journey. Director cinematographer, Laurent Chalet and co-cinematographer Jérôme Maison braved wild winds and far-below-freezing temperatures to film the annual mating ritual of an even heartier group: penguins. The result is a brief, but complete, look into the world of one of the strangest and most determined creatures to have evolved in nature.
The trailer gives away anything that might be considered plot. After all, it is a documentary about the very direct need to survive. The story is really in the viewing. It is the visuals of the icy expanse and watching the huge the number of penguins in their parade. Once at their destination, their behavior is moving and intricately social. They provide the amusing antics everyone associates with the flightless birds: they slide around on their bellies and proceed upright in their dignified waddle. However, their survival is maintained as a flock as they huddle for warmth, share food, share responsibilities and police one another's occasionally antisocial tendencies.
Director Chalet does not flinch away at the moments when misfortune does strike. There are a couple of villains along the way, but they take their place center stage one at a time. A seal and a seagull come forward to take their meals from the flock. Even one of the group's own attempts a kidnapping. Most of the danger comes from the starkly beautiful landscape. Members, young, old and the unborn, fall to the harsh conditions. There are shots of the lost and the frozen that might bring tears or sadness from a younger movie-goer, but these incidents do not overcome the overall positive themes of love and successful survival.
It is odd that birds that act like fish can do so much to remind us of cartoon versions of ourselves. Although that anthropomorphized perspective is overstated in "March of the Penguins", it offers a glimpse of a rarely viewed part of world with crisp and beautiful photography and shares a genuine sense of wonder with us.
8 out of 10
A Sound of Thunder (2005)
A Day Late and a Dollar Short
The possibilities of time travel make for complex science fiction. As one of Sci-Fi's great writers, Ray Bradbury saw the potential for making a point and used it to a frightening end. As a lame-duck director, Peter Hyams saw the opportunity to make one more project and maybe give his career some much-needed resuscitation. The misaligned dichotomy simply results in a mess.
In the mid-21st Century, Travis Ryer (Ed Burns) leads prehistoric hunting safaris, from which the Time Safari (groan) company earns its bread and butter. Having seized the time machine built by Sonia Rand (Catherine McCormack), Charles Hatton (Ben Kingsley) built up his company to overcharge the indulgent rich who seek to have a new experience. On a trek with a pair of thrill seeking buddies, a couple of things go wrong, and although everyone survives, the mistake causes changes in time and evolution. It is at this point where the noticeable deviation from Bradbury's story occurs. In the original tale, there was no going back to fix the problem, and the time travelers were left to face the horror of a world which had been subtly altered to permit ignorance, bigotry and fascism to be the dominant qualities of mankind. In the hands of these screenwriters, the mistake simply becomes a vehicle to generate a variety of creepy-crawly monsters that stalk the people of the story as they try to literally race against time and fix the mistake.
The script drags all the clichés out and leaves the actors to cover them. There is the greedy CEO, the disillusioned scientist, the noble hero, loyal sidekick and even a corrupt official. The scientist expresses her outrage at the corporate abuse of her invention to the hero who is a better man than she expected. All the actors do everything they can to rail against the pitfalls they are presented with. Ed Burns conveys an easy hero's swagger and knows that he'll get more mileage out of underplaying than by shouting. Catherine McCormack does a highly competent job of spouting endless reams of technobabble while managing to sound like she actually knows what she is talking about, but she and Burns simply have no romantic chemistry. How Academy Award Winner Ben Kingsley ended up as part of the production is anyone's guess, but the quirks that he piles into the carnival-mouthed "Charles Hatton" are the single best bit of entertainment.
Hyams fumbles the details to the point of insulting the audience. People make all sorts of irrational decisions just to forward the plot or introduce a set piece. When someone makes a mistake, they usually recheck their work. Here the tech drops a piece of equipment and visibly damages it. He re-stacks it and ignores it. Even the hero, at one point, declares that the party must go down into the dark, abandoned, unstable and partly flooded subway tunnels because "it's the only way". Presumably, it's better to have the odds stacked against you where you might run into bloodthirsty creatures instead of staying on stable ground where you might run into bloodthirsty creatures. Although there isn't any sort of racial subtext, the movie goes so far as to sacrifice the only major African-American character as a distraction to hungry monsters so the white people can run for their lives. It doesn't seem to be making any sort of real-world point, and the editor does struggle against this obviously outdated plot moment. However, it ultimately plays out badly and without dignity.
There is also no reason (other than it looks cool) to believe that changes in time would occur in visible waves of force that knock people and cars around, but not buildings or animals. One can imagine that this might have been at least fun in the hands of a militantly perfectionist filmmaker like Jim Cameron who beats even clichéd celluloid moments until they resound with the exact shape and feel he demands. In spite of making several films throughout the 90's and recent years, Hyams peaked with "2010: The Year We Make Contact" in 1984 - while standing on Stanley Kubrick's cinematic shoulders. Even taking the troubled production history of "A Sound of Thunder" into account, Hyams butchers the possibilities here.
The audience is denied the simple delight of watching special effects during a sci-fi adventure because of the shoddy craftsmanship and a lack of money. Several virtual sets were created to make a more complete city of the future, but they often look unrendered and more like a very good artist's drawing. However this is not a substitute for a good set, and it is painfully clear when actors are standing in front of a green screen. This was originally slated for a 2003 release, which would have put it ahead of the virtual productions of "Sky Captain" and "Sin City". Had things not been derailed by the original production company's bankruptcy (see the "Thunder" trivia section on IMDb.com), then maybe this would have been noteworthy in its attempt to push special effects boundaries. Unfortunately for the filmmakers, there were many times when the audience at this screening burst into laughter at some of the sights. The one thing that Hyams' FX team does get right is the gang of computer-generated creatures that should have been the design for the villain in his 1997 movie, "The Relic". As cool as the things look, it is 8 years and 3 movies past due.
Failures in effects and leaps of logic can be forgiven, but only up to a point. This is not a misfire form an otherwise successful director. This is a poor turn by a weak hand who refuses to respect his characters or the audience who has come to be entertained. Only the actors make the weak production bearable. "A Sound of Thunder" got a second chance to pull things together, but look into your own future and avoid watching this mistake.
2 out of 10
Fantastic Four (2005)
Adolescent Fun? Absolutely. But calling it "Fantastic" is a stretch.
Ah, summer. It brings to mind memories of beaches, ballgames and adventures to your favorite swimming spot with your best friends. It was a time when you could let your imagination get the best of you as you day dreamed of what you'd be when you grew up. Maybe there would be a trip to outer space... And, hey, wouldn't it be wicked cool if you and your best friends somehow got super-powers on the trip and came back home to pal around and amaze everybody? If that's all that you are looking for in a cineplex adventure, then the "Fantastic Four" is right up your alley.
Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffud) and Ben Grimm (Michael Chicklis) are at the end of their list of potential backers for an orbital research experiment when they come knocking at the corporate door of Reed's old MIT classmate, Victor von Doom (Julian McMahon). Victor makes them a loaded offer, but with a short window of opportunity, they can't refuse. Along for the ride is Victor, Sue Storm (Jessica Alba, whose character is Victor's own researcher, girlfriend and Reed's ex) and Sue's brother, an adrenaline-junkie pilot named Johnny (Chris Evans). The science behind the trip is so far-fetched that it makes "Frankenstein" seem like an article in The New England Journal of Medicine by comparison, so there isn't much point in going into detail. Once on the station, the phenomenon they have come to observe acts erratically and ends up irradiating this party of five. Things seem alright for a few days until they each begin to exhibit differing symptoms of exposure. The various abilities to stretch, turn invisible and become an impervious rock monster have Reed, Sue, and Ben all in a struggle to accept what has happened to them and try to find a way to reverse it, while Johnny has a ball lighting himself on fire and flying as a side effect. Victor is the slowest to develop because he was in the safest part of the space station, and he is more concerned with how the failed experiment managed to damage his face, company, relationship with Sue and reignite his envy of Reed. Care to guess who becomes the villain as the movie progresses? Wanna' bet there's a showdown?
It mostly hits its intended target of being a purely adolescent bit of summer entertainment, but the pubescent charm cuts both ways and misses some details. When Johnny gets Ben to smack himself in the face with a cream pie, it is a laugh-out-loud bit of slapstick that would make the Three Stooges envious. But it seems odd when a firefighter at a rescue scene is the one giving them cues on when and who should speak to the press corps that have gathered. And when Ben's fiancé (Debbie, played by Laurie Holden) comes out of her apartment and crosses the street in the middle of the night in only a thin negligee, the director, Tim Story, has gotten almost voyeuristic. Sue wears glasses with her hair up in campy style to signify that she is a scientist, but it's more about justifying packaging Jassica Alba's figure in a tight top than costuming the character. The film's objectification of women is its only serious downfall, but it has plenty of company in the school of campy film making. The one thing the movie does to balance the gender scales are the 2 scenes where Johnny ends up naked (hidden by water and then a jacket tied to his waist) after he burns his own clothes off. However, this is not a film with any real subtext and has no intentions of being one, so these things slide by.
Comedy seems to be the real focus Tim Story has brought here from the comic book. This is not about revenge (Batman Begins), bigotry (X-Men), repression (Hulk) or even accepting your place in the world (Spider-Man). This is a gee-whiz adventure with current and believable - but not great - special effects. Even John Ottman's score is surprisingly pedestrian in comparison to his striking music in "X2". But it is light-years (in both effects and style) beyond Roger Corman's unreleased 1994 "Fantastic Four" production, which was made mostly to hold onto the franchise rights. The best things here are the characterizations of Reed, Ben and Johnny. The script takes the actors right where they are supposed to go. The Sue Storm of the comics is the steadfast moral center of the team, but the script makes her a little bit too generic and too young. Although, to Alba's credit, she does attempt to make the role her own. The villain, Doom (the evolved Victor), is deflated from the comic book. Doom was an endlessly evil and obsessive character who was meticulous in each detail of whatever scheme he was planning. He garnered his power through political manipulation, his own science and black magic. That the character in this movie had no back-up plan for the mission's failure and to watch him unravel over his jealously about Reed's success with the press and Sue just reduces him to "villain of the week" status. However, Julian McMahon clearly had fun playing the role, and that translates well for the production.
"Fantastic Four" is another entry into the rapidly growing comic book genre of films. It goes its own route by not taking itself as seriously as other translations, and it is better for it. (How can you not have a little love for a movie that makes room for the series creator, Stan Lee, to stroll up and deliver the mail to the heroes? ) However, pandering to the audience makes the film stumble in places, and I'd be curious to see what a more adult director might do with a sequel.
($56 million on the first weekend? Yeah, the studio will make a sequel.)
Originally 6 out of 10
Revised to 5 out of 10
War of the Worlds (2005)
Close Calls of the Spielberg Kind
The planet Earth has been invaded countless times by marauding aliens who want nothing but the worst for us. It is a tale that plays to primal fears, but not all attempts have done it justice. The worst example is Ed Wood's unwatchable "Plan 9 from Outer Space", and the more recently gung-ho "Independence Day" was skewered by the comedic if somewhat irritating - "Mars Attacks". Previously, HG Wells' novel caught the world's imagination, then caused mass panic in Orson Welles' 1938 radio broadcast and scared audiences of three generations in the 1953 film. Steven Spielberg takes the novel and obliterates the earth and buries the previous media incarnations while honoring the original work by the Grandfather of Science Fiction. However, things wind up just a bit too perfectly, and it leaves an indistinct but unpleasant aftertaste.
Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise) is a bitter man-child who works the loading docks of the New Jersey shore and works on car engines at his kitchen table. The resentment is mutual all around when his ex-wife (Miranda Otto) drops their kids (Rachel and Robbie played by Dakota Fanning and Justin Chatwin) off for the weekend. If nothing spectacular was to happen, they could be an intriguing group dynamic to watch, however, these three are the human lens through which we witness the alien invasion that begins with massive electrical storms and earthquakes from which piloted alien Tripods emerge and begin wreaking merciless devastation. The mass amounts of electricity cause electro-magnetic pulses, which short out every electronic device in the area, but Ray, Rachel and Robbie snag the one working car and barely escape. Over the coming days, they struggle against each other, the elements, the authorities, the aliens and what turns out to be the most unpredictable, other desperate survivors, in an attempt to reach some safe haven.
No director has created as many summer blockbuster films as Steven Spielberg, and he clearly knows how to grab an audience. Everything that alien invasion films of the past have done wrong, he does right, or more correctly, doesn't even go near. There is no sky-borne fleet of ships reigning fire down upon world capitals or New York City. When the Tripods do emerge, they are frightening to see, and there are no glossy shots that might indicate an effects technician who draws the length of a shot out just to linger on an intricate monster. The effects are there to serve the tale and to terrify. The hero is a flawed and common man who has no real answers as to what is going on. His mission is not to save the world, but to save his family. This is in spite of the fact that he cannot seem to plan lunch, much less an escape route.
John Williams' score is another element that is dialed down from all of his other collaborations with Spielberg. As one of the top Academy Award nominees and winners of all time, Williams has produced a wide variety of works, and the rousing marches to "Star Wars", "Superman" and the "Indiana Jones" series are among the most memorable. Here, Spielberg uses the music is used far more sparingly to create a mood more akin to "Shindler's List", and when the music comes in, it is only there for subtle reinforcement. Williams is saving his marches for another film, and succeeds in giving this film great undercurrents. Actually, the music sequence that sticks with you most afterwards is Ray's impassioned and tearful rendition of "Little Deuce Coupe" as he tries to sing Rachel to sleep.
As harrowing as each situation is and as realistic as the obstacles in front of them appear to be, when "WoW" begins to pull to a close, Spielberg's intentions seem to become muddled. The story, at first, seems intent on telling an invasion tale using this family to show us what happens, and there is a natural shift to the subject of survival. But when the focus starts to shift to the family itself (and ultimately Ray's redemption in the eyes of his children) it goes a bit off the deep end. The one action-hero sequence is where the shift took place for me. (It's the scene with the hand grenades. I will say no more.) Tom Cruise's wonderfully crafted shell of desperation comes loose, and we get the guy who was clinging to the rear of a high-speed train and dodging bullets at the end of "Mission: Impossible", and we know he won't be allowed to fail. Although it isn't until late in the film, the suspense in the remaining scenes was gone for me, and I hate admitting that because the majority of the movie is just so damn good.
This "War of the Worlds" is a magnificent invasion film that gets right what so many before have missed. Even with the transplanting of the story to 2005, this really does justice to the original 19th-century novel and remembers the much-respected 1953 film with a gracefully matched visual near the end. However, the ending and how it handles its characters created for this film all rings up a little too neatly. Although a suspense-laden, cliff-hanger, call-for-a-sequel end would not have been appropriate either, dispelling the hard atmosphere of desperation and misfortune with a glossed ending just doesn't ring true. There is too much "E.T" love and not enough "Close Encounters" unknown here. Morgan Freeman's narrator speaks of the human race carrying on, but it is the price paid by the people lost that those who survive and those who are watching - should carry with them.
7 out of 10 - even with the ending.
Spider-Man 2 (2004)
Self Indulgence Bogs Down Hero's Exploits
Cheers went up around the movie-going world in 2002 when "Spider-Man" hit the big screen. It was a rousing success that exceeded every expectation of movie-goers (myself included), comic book fans, critics and investing movie executives. The sequel picks up two years after the initial installment left off. The action sequences are soaring, the effects are eye-popping and the original cast and director return with a new writer who is completely dedicated to their vision. The same comic book fans, movie goers and critics again gave a tremendous vote of praise through massive waves of attendance and positive reviews. However, in the midst of all this positive noise, few have been willing to look at the fact that this blockbuster comes within a hair's breadth of collapsing under its own weight.
Peter Parker (Toby Maguire) has spent the last two years living a double life of student and the costumed vigilante, Spider-Man, when the story begins. His life is like a spinning top losing its momentum as he juggles 2 jobs, college classes, and his personal life. He tries to help his Aunt May (Rosemary Harris), but feels guilt about his accidental contribution to his Uncle Ben's (Cliff Robertson) death at the hands of a mugger. Norman Osborn (as played by Willem Dafoe in the first movie) was also the costumed villain, The Green Goblin, but Peter as Spider-Man concealed that fact from the public to save Norman's reputation. As the result of that good deed, Peter's best friend, Harry Osborn (James Franco), blames Spider-Man for his father's death, and their relationship has taken on a love-hate tone because Peter continues to sell pictures of Spider-Man to the newspapers. Peter is also trying to conceal his love for his life-long friend, Mary Jane Watson (Kirstin Dunst), because he feels that his self-appointed obligation to be Spider-Man would endanger her if they become more than friends. His teachers are critical of his absenteeism. Spider-Man keeps interfering with these parts of his life. All this is happening while he lives in a dumpy apartment with no visible way out of his rut, and he begins to wonder if his double life is worth while.
As part of a class assignment, Peter soon meets with nuclear physicist, Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina) who is under contract to the company Harry Osborn inherited from his father. Peter has the opportunity to bond with the scientist before a botched experiment (possibly the worst-planned in history) causes the death of Otto's wife and the ruin of Harry's corporate reputation. A tool comprised of four computerized metal arms used in the experiment becomes fused to Otto's body, and this, combined with the loss of his wife and dream, drives him to become an insane villain, dubbed "Doctor Octopus" by the press. While "Doc Ock" begins to reconstruct his failed experiment on a scale that could endanger all of New York, Peter has falling outs with everyone he cares for. The combined stress causes his super powers to falter, and he gives up his second identity. Much needed perspective comes from his break, and he starts to pull his personal life back into order. However, the villain reemerges, and Peter must rise to the occasion to save the city and the ones he loves.
People who make comic books have well-developed senses of humor, and at one point, a self-effacing issue entitled "The Megalomaniacal Spider-Man" was published. The issue parodied Peter's constant troubles by showing people getting tired of his self-involvement and him missing the world around him as he took brooding to new lows. I couldn't help but think of that comic while watching this movie. Although attention to character development has long been missing from the comic book genre in film (take Joel Schumacher's "Batman & Robin" as a prime example), the story dwells so frequently on watching Peter suffer and listen to other characters give long-winded speeches, that Peter seems unnaturally frozen from taking action to help himself even within the confines of the story. (And that is certainly not to knock Toby Maguire's performance, which is spot-on.) He just seems to brood and worry. One example is a short scene after he has renounced his life as Spider-Man when he sees a mugging in an alley. It is a scene where anyone could simply shout to attract the police or distract the thieves, but Peter freezes in position and gives a contemplative, worried look before moving off. Renouncing a vigilante identity would not erase a person's conscience, and the scene is unintentionally laughable. This type of too-obvious exaggeration weighs the movie down.
The themes of honor, responsibility, sacrifice and what really makes someone a hero are at the very core of Spider-Man's character, and have been with him throughout most stories in his 40-year existence. However, there are so many characters giving speeches about these things, that it breaks the flow. It speaks to the filmmakers' dedication and to get Cliff Robertson to return for a single dream sequence as Peter's Uncle Ben. Although these kinds of things have occurred in the comics, the dream sequence takes on an odd tone. It is intended to be a "Star Wars" moment similar to those between Luke and Obi-Wan, but it ends up being self-important and just a touch creepy. If Peter had finally reached the end of his rope, he wouldn't take two scenes to think about quitting he'd just quit. With that and the double tongue-lashing Peter receives from his friends at a party, you wonder if while everyone spends so much time contemplating what is important, they haven't just missed the chance to do something about it.
Raimi leaves all these scenes in (along with too many of his signature horror film close-up shots of screaming women), and they smother what is otherwise a faithful, heartfelt and fun adaptation. Hopefully, the anticipated third installment will let the characters' actions speak more for themselves.
Daredevil (2003)
Flawed Director's Cut Vastly Improves the Theatrical Release
The struggle between art and commerce is rarely more fiery than in Hollywood. Investors have fronted tens of millions of dollars to a project. The director and crew are focused on presenting a vision with specific nuances. At the end is supposed to be a magnificent presentation of a 120-minute piece of entertainment that rewards both financially and artistically. The crossroads trying to get to that end is where the original release of "DareDevil" got turned into dream factory road-kill.
With the successes of "X-Men" and "Spider-Man" under its belt, Marvel Comics put "DareDevil" into production for release in 2003. The story is that of another adolescent whose emotionally-charged life is thrown into further chaos by an encounter with a scientific experiment. Young Matt Murdoch loses his sight, but gains enhancements to his other 4 senses. After watching his boxer father fall to mob corruption, he grows into Matt Murdoch (Ben Affleck) the Lawyer and simultaneously DareDevil, vigilante protector to the Hell's Kitchen section of New York. He meets and has a romance with Elektra (Jennifer Garner) who comes to blame DareDevil for her father's murder. Bullseye (Colin Farrell) is the real assassin under contract to the wicked Wilson Fisk (Michael Clarke Duncan). The self-imposed service to do justice brings Murdoch/DareDevil into confrontation with all three.
As exciting and melodramatic as that set-up sounds, the film did not measure up to Marvel's previous big screen adventures. With a healthy history to draw upon, you'd think the story about these characters would be a lock. Yet the theatrical release fell right on its face to both reviewers and fans. What was the factor that failed to coalless? Later that year, the DVD version of Mark Steven Johnson's director's cut was released and answered many questions.
The director's cut fulfills what was a half-baked mess in the theatrical release. The first half had plenty of the comic book character spirit, but it began to show serious flaws at the midpoint. Characters were making wild decisions and never connected with the audience. It made everything that happened at the climax seem all the more ridiculous. The director's cut removes the forced and frivolous romantic scenes between Matt and Elektra and replaces them with scenes that develop their dynamic while more naturally leading toward romance. The inventive special effect of seeing the world through Matt's "radar sense" is used more often and more effectively during scenes of both action and conversation. An entire subplot eliminated from the original release involving a criminal who is wrongly accused, adds a crucial mystery and brings the characters of Foggy Nelson (John Favreau as Matt's legal partner), Ben Urich (Joe Pantoliano as a hard-nosed reporter) and Wilson Fisk/The Kingpin completely into their roles. Before they appeared to be nothing more than character names to validate that a generic action film was a Marvel product.
With Mark Steven Johnson's screenplay and original vision restored, the story remains generally the same but now all the puzzle pieces fit together completely. In a featurette on the DVD, the producers and director all discuss how they debated about story versus running time. For the theatrical version, it was deemed more important to jazz up the story with more romance and cut scenes for speed. Some problems remain with the director's cut. There are moments of overstatement in script and execution. The transitional scenes of Matt donning his crime-fighting outfit and hurtling off rooftops on his way to intercept a guilty man are unnecessary and diffuse the threat of his appearance in the next scene.
The script sometimes explains too much with DareDevil muttering to himself that he is not the bad guy. It is a much more poignant display of his inner turmoil when he deliberately brushes past a pair of his father's boxing gloves upon returning from a night of dispensing his brand of street justice. The special effects also stretch when they are used to show human characters performing super feats without explanation. Super hearing and aim with even Olympic-level training does not allow anyone to leap 15 feet straight up or across a 30-foot avenue. This just detracts from the grittiness set up early on, but is, admittedly, part of the comic book fun. Fortunately, more actual stunts and fight choreography are restored.
The better elements remain. There is Colin Farrell's domineering presence as the deliberate and remorseless Bullseye. He is that villainous combination of creepy and cool. Farrell makes the character from the comic live and breathe menace with minimal dialogue. Over the last two years, Ben Affleck has eroded his acting career in the public eye with many low-level films, and the first release of "DareDevil was among them. However, when all is revealed, we find that Affleck gives a dark and tortured performance beyond a matinée idol in a leather suit. Examples are DareDevil shown paying physical prices for his adventures; suffering the loss of an old girlfriend to his emotional distance as she breaks up with him by answering machine; and is ignoring the screams of a nearby victim so he can be enveloped in the blissful oblivion of sleep.
Director Johnson expressed his regret at the decisions to make cuts, but also his love for both versions of the film. For those who enjoyed the original version, there is much more to see here. Those in the camp of disappointment should consider giving the director's cut a viewing because it amounts to more than the sum of its missing parts. It's just a shame that Hollywood commerce overran the artist, and we're paying twice to see the real show.
Theatrical Release: 4 out of 10
Director's Cut: 8 out of 10
Entire Movie-Going Experience: 6 out of 10
Batman Begins (2005)
Richer & Darker Characters Raise This "Batman" Above Expectation
Batman is a long-standing pop culture icon that requires dark treatment because of his fixation on walking the line between justice and revenge as well as the brutal nature of his methods. From "Memento" and the remake of "Insomnia", it's clear that Christopher Nolan knows how to work with these themes and bring about characters that can be simultaneously engaging and repulsive. These are present throughout the film at various levels, but no one gives a soapbox speech about duality. It is a movie about taking action and living with consequence, and Nolan keeps the film's words at its heart. Things happen and characters deal with them. Bruce comes to learn what his new lifestyle and revenge cost, and it is a quiet struggle to him. It is for better and for worse, but it all amounts to solid drama and thrilling dark action. (To put a fine point on it, this is not a "Batman" adventure for children.)
While Batman's origin has received several treatments over the years, this tale moves further into the unexplored territory of his young alter-ego's life between the murder of his parents and the first rooftop adventures in full costume. Through flashbacks, we see a young Bruce Wayne (played by Gus Lewis) grow up into a rebellious, but privileged, adult Bruce (Christian Bale). When he cannot take revenge on those he feels responsible, he travels to learn about and fight criminals, any criminal, anywhere until he finds himself in an Asian prison. He receives early release and an invitation to train with an elite fighting group from Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson) who is in the service of Ra's Al Ghul (Ken Wantanabe). As his training ends, Bruce parts ways with his teachers and returns back to his crime-ridden home of Gotham City. Bruce's intent to fight crime is only doubled by his experiences.
The family's loyal Butler, Alfred Pennyworth (a layered portrayal from Michael Caine) has kept the pilot light on in Bruce's absence, and he unflinchingly assists with Bruce's new directions. Bruce moves back into his father's company, and enlists the help of engineering guru Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) for many of the tools in his growing arsenal. With crime being Gotham's primary industry, power rests with Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson) who is being hunted through the legal system by Bruce's childhood friend, idealistic Assistant District Attorney Rachel Dawes (Katie Holmes) and District Attorney Carlton Finch (Larry Holden). Psychologist Dr. Jonathan Crane (Cillian Murphy) is working both sides for his own interests as he develops plans as the eerily calculating psychopath, Scarecrow. Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) has grown weary of trying to stay honest in a crime-ridden police department and city. Events surrounding this dizzying compilation of characters all come to a head as Batman starts to prowl the night and become publicly known.
It is populated by famous actors, not movie stars. Each actor deserves discussion of their contribution, but there is simply no room. Among the many notable performances is Gus Lewis who brings the full force of childhood Bruce's torment to bear. Tom Wilkinson brings an unexpectedly hard edge to his presence. Alfred is a familiar character, but Michael Caine gives him depth of conscience and gives real hints of what motivates a man to such devote loyalty. Christian Bale displays amazing subtlety as he constructs a character who is a mystery to most of those around him, but lets bits of thought become known to the audience silently and gradually. He is also original and convincing physically and vocally as Batman. The largest surprise among the cast is Katie Holmes. Her movie roles have never quite overcome the typecasting as the "Dawson's Creek" TV love interest. Here she makes you believe that she is one of the few with a clear moral center and tough enough to face hard criminals in court daily.
The universe where this "Batman" takes place is a gritty and realistic one. It isn't as obviously Gothic as Tim Burton's visions in the 1989 and 1992 films with Michael Keaton under the cowl, and it never comes near Joel Schumacher's two primary colored camp-fests that harkened back to the 1960's TV show. The score by James Newton Howard and Hans Zimmer never soars or trumpets over the events. They get it to hum along like adrenaline pounding blood through your ears. The dialogue in David S. Goyer's script has a natural flow, and in the hands of these talented people, it feels as though anything can and will happen. Settings become set pieces because the characters are there, rather than characters arriving at set pieces for a big scene. The action scenes arrive almost without warning. That isn't to say that there isn't any fun to be had. There are some comic quips for the audience. Then its right back to the story, and it doesn't rupture the overall mood.
Superheroes abound in the cinemas in recent years, and there is no sign of them disappearing anytime soon. Studios garner large masses with the recognizable character names. Film makers seize the opportunity to make spectacular stories of these fantastic heroes as writers plumb the decades-deep piles of pulp fiction for just the right heroic tales. This offers a chance for fans to see their characters in vivid life and for the uninitiated to take a chance on a bit of escapism. Taking chances on the darker and more introverted stories have paid off, and that is the strength of "Batman Begins".
9 out of 10
Sin City (2005)
A Beautifully Brutal Vision
Not every story can be told well in various mediums. There have been hundreds of books drained of the life poured from their authors' minds when they are transmogrified onto film. Writers are cautious when releasing their works to the wilderness of Hollywood, and Frank Miller felt no differently about his graphic novels. It took serious vision and commitment on the part of Robert Rodriguez to sway Miller's reservations. The story has been repeated in a multitude of magazine and newspaper interviews, and will probably become one of legend. The collaboration between the co-directors results in a jaw-dropping (and frequently jaw-pounding) mix of real actors in a convincingly gritty fantasy world.
The story is a series of 4 (or 5 depending on how you look at them) short stories about the denizens of Basin City. Some stories interconnect, and others just graze each other in non-linear fashion. The Man (Josh Hartnet) opens the film by fulfilling an unusual contract. Bruce Willis' aged cop (Hartigan) puts retirement and his health on the line to save a little girl from a pedophile (Nick Stahl). Like most of the stories, it is simultaneously moving and a grotesque display of machismo. Marv (an unrecognizable Mickey Rourke) is a Quasimodo-like ex-con teetering on the edge of mental illness when he is graced with the affections of Goldie (Jamie King). She is murdered in his bed, and he is left to take the fall. A vicious instinct for revenge seizes him and he demolishes half the thugs and police in the city to satiate his thirst. A waitress (Brittany Murphy) and Dwight (Clive Owen) begin a face-off with an overly-possessive ex-boyfriend (Benicio Del Toro), and Rosario Dawson's "Gail" brings her gang of prostitutes in to finish it. The cop, Hartigan, returns to continue protecting the little girl, Nancy, who has now grown up into Jessica Alba.
The entire production creates an incredibly tangible comic book world. Many people are praising "Sin City" as the most faithful comic book adaptation to date. It is so faithful, in fact, that frames and scenes from the movie compare directly to the graphic novels. Rodriguez pitches the cast into the black and white world utilizing the extreme breadth of contrast that shooting on high definition video allows between light and dark. Combining the black and white images of actors with backgrounds created almost entire in computers makes such artful renditions possible. Splashes of digitally-added color draw both visual and emotional focus. Everything from production design and camera movements to acting style is over-the top. Villains and those who are relative heroes are all driven by absolute conviction and deliberate force of will. Miller provided the blueprint for this crazed city. Rodriguez and his cast flesh things out in well-mimicked fashion.
It is impossible to comment on everyone in the cast without exceeding the limit of this review. Most outstanding is surprisingly 1980's film star Mickey Rourke. He sinks completely into his portrayal of Marv. Although the prosthetic make-up hides his physical features, he does more than strut a thuggish tough guy persona. Rourke finds the mix of a man who revels in his own excessive brute strength (and when Marv is brutal hold on to your seat) while also being afraid of crossing some thin moral line within himself. Clive Owen and Benicio Del Toro make great adversaries, and it is delectable that most of it is verbal. (It is rumored that their big scene is the one directed by Quentin Tarantino.) Michael Clark Duncan, Nick Stahl and especially Elijiah Wood all bring fearsome qualities to their villains. Almost equally astonishing to all of those performances is the fact that Rodriguez was able to coax a believable screen presence out of Jessica Alba, who, to date, has gotten by largely on her looks. (If you have ever gotten through an entire episode of "Dark Angel", you're a far more dedicated fan than I.) It is crucial for the grown-up Nancy Callahan to be more (if only just slightly) than a dynamite male fantasy figure or else the sacrifices made by Bruce Willis's Hartigan are merely the antics of an overgrown boy with either a crush or denied naïveté. Willis is, interestingly enough, playing an older character. He does so by bringing out more than normal regret and self-loathing with his usual swagger. "Hartigan" is richer for it.
A visit to "Sin City" is not a vacation for everyone. It is more palpable than "Pulp Fiction", and more stylized than any comic book movie before it. Robert Rodriguez undeniably proves his skills as a digital and dramatic visionary. Much like El Greco's paintings are dark portraits of odd characters from the Middle Ages, Miller's "Sin City" is a dark vision of unusual characters given life on digital celluloid. This is a work that is about vastly imperfect heroes who each pay a price for making decisions based on their private senses of honor. The kids can skip this adult comic. For the rest who might be brave enough, come on down; the blood in the water is just fine.
9 out of 10
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)
Imagination Is the Engine, Fun is the Fuel
The World's Fairs of the 1930's gave people a glimpse of what could be, and you can imagine how high minds soared with the possibility of all those new devices. Flying cars and microwave ovens. There seemed limitless possibilities, but the little things were grounded in the popular culture of the day. Designers expected that men would always wear potpie hats with 3-piece suits even if they were winging their way to work with a jet-pack. A version of that world that would have been comes to life in the art-deco universe of "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow". Although there are moments when it feels as though the makers are just shadow boxing with the audience, this is a grand vision that succeeds not only on the power of its magnificent technology but also with a series of solid character performances by the actors.
The story is joined as a blimp wafts its way toward the Empire State Building as snow quietly falls on 1930's New York, but as it bears the name "Hindenburg 3", we know that this is not exactly New York of our history. A very nervous man passes off a package to a courier before disappearing. The recipient of another package is reporter Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltro) who follows its clues to a meeting with a scientist in the balcony of Radio City Music Hall. He tells her of a conspiracy just as an army of giant robots march down Broadway. When the police are unable to slow these mechanical giants, the call goes out to the patrolling Sky Captain (Jude Law) and his private army of protectors who rush to save the day. Investigating the story, Poly goes to interview Sky Captain, whose real name is Joe, and share what she knows. We are introduced to Dex (Giovani Ribisi) who is Joe's loyal friend and gadget man. Armed with Dex's knowledge and tools, Polly and Joe engage in adventures where they investigate the missing scientists, defend the base from another round of monstrous mechanical creations and fly around the world in search of clues as to where the robots have come from and what they are trying to achieve. Of course they can't do this alone, and meet up with Kaji (Omid Djalili) and Captain Francesca "Franky" Cook (Angelina Jolie) who help them when the going gets rough. When things get slow, it just allows Joe and Polly to reminisce and do a little verbal sparing about their previous romance. The conspiracy is a grand one and has a wonderfully unexpected guest appearance for the villain, who younger viewers will wonder about.
The story is a fun pulp one which would make for blockbuster escapism in any year, but the summer of 2004 afforded the film makers the chance to create a singular vision. Every shot and effect is set in an entirely art deco world. Both the story and style hearken back to the heights of this artistic era when a movie like this would have never escaped a drawn page. Kerry Conran brought his images to life by directing his cast on empty blue background sound stages and animating the environment through computer generation. The impression is both wondrous and off-putting. Every frame is artistically and exactly rendered, but it took about 10 or 15 minutes into the film before I came to accept the soft-focus retro world. The actors are wisely given enough room to flesh the characters out, between action and spectacle, and this keeps the audience suspending their disbelief. There are sporadic scenes when it feels as though the bubbles have gone out of this bottle of soda because of the strange creative process, but the teamwork keeps everything together. The fascinating visual tribute to the island in "King Kong" is unexpected but adds new visuals just when you are getting tired of the mechanics of a World War 2 period. The humor and play between the characters keeps the fun in this comic book world, too, and with the last shot, the director makes it known that even he knows that effects will carry a story only so far.
This is a comic book romp that evokes the old adventure serials and turns a monumental corner for achievement in film-making. Along the way, it never loses its sense of humor, and that is what makes the trip entire worthwhile.
8 out of 10
Sideways (2004)
Spin the Bottle
Some great stories have been told over glasses of wine late in the evening. The best ones hearken back to one crazy guy or another who you knew way back when. Then someone pulls out a home video of some of their unfortunate antics. Everyone is simultaneously laughing in spite of themselves and horrified at what was probably rolling around in the old friend's head when he pulled the stunt. If you had been able to pick two particularly unhinged friends and quietly leave a camera running on them for a road trip and its fallout, you would have the elements that make "Sideways" so cringe-worthy, moving and hilariously watchable.
Miles Raymond (Paul Giamatti) is taking his engaged actor friend, Jack (Thomas Hayden Church) on a road trip as a bachelor party that will get Jack back the Friday before his wedding. Miles and Jack are long-time friends who put up with one another's quirks because of mutual tolerance. It's co-dependency at its most heterosexual. Driving north to wine country is the plan, but it's clear that wine is Miles' passion and Jack doesn't care a lick about his meticulous deconstruction of color, flavor, bouquet and legs. Jack's poison of choice is women. The guys get to Miles' favorite area for wine, and he introduces Jack to various staff members he is familiar with. Jack sets his mind to getting Miles shacked up with Maya (Virginia Madsen), who Miles has been reluctant to approach in spite of his many trips to the restaurant where she works. To make more of an impression, Jack lies and tells Maya that Miles just got his book published. Miles doesn't deny it but is less than thrilled. A day later, a chance encounter with Maya's friend, a sexy wine sommelier named Stephanie (Sandra Oh), lines up dinner for the four of them. The wine and food flows, and in spite of Miles sneaking off in a drunken buzz to call his ex-wife in the middle of the meal, the couples pair off well enough. Stephanie invites everyone back to her house in lieu of dessert. While Miles and Maya get deep into awkward verbal foreplay, Jack and Stephanie consummate their flickering attractions. This sets everyone in motion for the rest of the week. It's not that you can't see all the trouble coming, but the particular shape that it forms is unique and compelling.
The structure of "Sideways" is seamless. There are dozens of situations in the film that have the potential to drop into sitcom clichés, but the script and director never let it go there. Miscommunication is the chief mechanism for the plot, but a sitcom would put them together in a way that would show everyone trying to be honest. Jack and Miles take actions or inactions are deliberately deceptive and frequently reprehensible. These are moves of desperation, and the consequences are not easily swept under the rug with an apology and a puppy dog look. This is not a film to challenge notions of visuals like "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind", but Phedon Papamichael's cinematography has breathtaking moments. One of the best examples is when the vastness of a winery's warehouse becomes quietly intimate and rich with wood tones and filtered sunlight.
Character dramas leave the lion's share of the burden to the actors, and the performances are brilliant. Sandra Oh's tough and worldly Stephanie has her vulnerabilities, and illustrates that having those weaknesses revealed is more painful than the weaknesses themselves. Jack is a great creation: a college-years Peter Pan who doesn't have the slightest interest in acknowledging his own adulthood. Nevertheless, Thomas Hayden Church explodes the thespian jock into a tangible person who is sympathetic as he tries to get Miles to open up and who can be genuinely charming. The character of Maya is the real middle-aged rebel woman so many would like to be, and someone who has discovered the way to challenge her world without following Diane Lane's melodramatic trail to Tuscany. Virginia Madsen shows Maya as a woman of strength and intelligence who refuses to let her bad experiences crush her curiosity and hope without making her naive. Finally, there is Paul Giamatti's Miles. This is a character of comically tragic proportions that Giamatti makes us respect because he respects the character. The despicable things he does are done in self-awareness and self-loathing, but the times when he reaches out of his own self-pity to pull himself up, it makes you want to cheer him on. It is a wonderfully complex and painful performance that is all the more tragic because it has been unjustly overlooked for a Best Actor Oscar by the Academy.
This is not an easy movie to watch, but it is definitely one of 2004's highs in American cinema. The humor is born from the situations its characters create, and everything flows naturally. The heart of the comedy is two lost souls trying to comfort and aid each other, and they are frightfully short on the necessary skills. At any given moment, anything can happen, and it does. There are many lessons taught unknowingly by the characters to the audience without one note of condescension from the director. "Sideways" is dead-on accurate even if the road is not so straight and narrow.
9 out of 10
The Grudge (2004)
Irresistible Horror
Ghosts stories are always creepy when it is in a decrepit old mansion at the far reaches of a small town. A ghost story that takes place in a modern Japanese bungalow in a residential district of one of the most densely populated cities in the world is creepier by putting the eerily aggravated poltergeists right next to everyday life. The frights come regularly and logically adhere to what little story there is. As a cinematic haunted hayride, this Americanized version of "The Grudge" succeeds with intelligence and reserve. It doesn't have anything to say, it just works like hell and succeeds - in making you feel terrified.
The prologue is a gruesomely realistic death that does not hint at the supernatural, but the story is told out of sequence. The reasons behind everything become clear with time. It is a device that that keeps you very naturally involved through curiosity. We are introduced to the house in question. The living people are a transplanted American couple with a catatonic mother-in-law and a local visiting nurse (Yoko, played by Yoko Maki). Yoko comes to visit the mother-in-law and they are the only ones home when noises come from upstairs. Naturally, Yoko goes upstairs to check in the midst of checking an answering machine message; only to disappear with an astonished scream after meeting the first ghost, Kayako (Takako Fuji). The care center sends a replacement when Yoko fails to report the next day. Karen (Sarah Michelle Gellar) follows in Yoko's footsteps through the messy house to the immobile patient and falls into a shocked state after a glancing introduction to the horrors. Fortunately, her supervisor (Ted Raimi) has become suspicious of the absences and comes looking for her and gets the police involved. The terror comes frequently and unrelentingly after this encounter. It expands to consume the family, the investigating police officers and everyone Karen cares for in Tokyo. The bounds of this ghostly rage are not simply to be escaped by leaving the property, staying awake or lasting until sunrise.
Director Takashi Shimizu keeps everyone reined in with the emphasis on minimalism in both production and acting in this Americanized follow-up to his original "Ju-On". There are special effects to enhance the supernatural, but the horror is done largely with the physical: lights turn off without explanation, a knock at the door comes impossibly fast after the person at the far end ends a phone call. This control urges the audience to anticipate and this ratchets up the tension. Bill Pullman has proved in various roles that he is adept at bringing quiet intensity to roles and he does here. Every character is given equal respect and screen time. Although this is an ensemble cast, the headlining star on the poster is Sarah Michelle Gellar. Clearly she and her agent are trying to edge her away from the threat of the "Buffy: The Vampire Slayer" role becoming a career buster. There are no sassy one-liners for her to fling at the monsters here. She is understated and finds a polite and frightened but upstanding demeanor to make Karen work. There is no melodramatic plot contrivance between events. People are drawn in by fear and curiosity. There are no ghost hunters, exorcists or supernatural experts of any kind here. The reasons for the ghosts' rage are hinted at through the characters' speculation and memories. Although I understand the original film is used as the back story.
"The Grudge" might not break new ground in creating a haunted house story, but it brings real terror, The camera isn't there to dazzle you, but rather to show you exactly what Shimizu wants you to see. You can't help but hold your breath for the next scare that comes forward to consume both characters and audience trapped like deer in headlights.
7 out of 10
Coach Carter (2005)
To Sir with Rebounds
On the field, rink or court, the team that does the most unexpected thing or who tries the newest strategy doesn't necessarily define the game being played. More often, it is about the rigorous execution of practiced skills and knowing how to keep your weaknesses from getting in your way. This straightforward and almost military approach that identify both the character of Coach Ken Carter (Samuel L. Jackson) and the movie about him and the underprivileged basketball team. The solid performances from the cast make this movie a good addition to the genre of inspirational teacher fables.
The Richmond High basketball team is facing the very real possibility of another season in the dumps as they look back at their previous record of 4 wins and 22 losses. Their very tired coach has been working for several years and has sought out alumnus and state record-holder Ken Carter to be his replacement. Carter takes the job in spite of the small money and large time commitment because of his love of the game and discipline. More details are revealed later in the movie, but giving them away here would only undermine Jackson's strong performance. The new Coach moves in; kicks out the trouble-makers (who, coincidentally, are also the team's highest scorers); offers the remaining team an athletic and academic contract; and begins practice with the rigor and tenacity of a Marine. Soon, there is insight into the off-court lives of the players. From its introduction, the Richmond School is obviously one of the poorer of California's school districts even though it is part of the city of San Francisco.
There are dates, dances, and hot bodies at parties (which, as part of an MTV Films production, are edited in flashy fashion), but the looming realities of poverty, crime, drugs and family are faced here. For Cruz (Rick Gonzales), drugs are an easy payday, but he wants something more after he gets kicked off of the team. Damien Carter (Robert Ri'chard), the coach's son, wants to play for his father, but must survive the social shock of transferring from an expensive college prep school to the rough halls of Richmond. Although Kenyon (Rob Brown) has won both the heart and bed of Kyra (Ashanti), her unplanned pregnancy threatens to overwhelm them. Director Thomas Carter, who is said to have no relation to the real-life Coach Carter, does an excellent job of balancing all the subplots while showing the boys growing as players and as a team under Coach Carter's direction.
He does train and lead the team to a 16-and-0 record before the house comes tumbling down from its rickety academic pilings. The Coach confronts parental dissent and faces faculty resistance when he tries to follow up on his players' grades, which must be higher than school requirements for the sake of athletic scholarships. When the Coach gets the reports only to learn that the players are falling far short of their goal, he locks the gym, cancels games and sets up tutoring in lieu of practice. The ensuing conflict is the true climax of the film, and it smartly avoids making any single character a villain. The students' choice ultimately makes the difference, and the movie continues to a second court-side climax which feels more like an epilogue. However, could you really make a Hollywood film about high school basketball end anywhere except at a big game?
The cast of "Coach Carter" is the film's real strength over its director. Thomas Carter is an able film maker, but he sticks to the basics and uses slow motion shots to create emotional emphasis a bit too often. No real ground is broken in the genre here. Of course Samuel L. Jackson brings tremendous weight, strength and passion to Ken Carter. Those characteristics are the backbone most of the movie's events, and it is easy to see how he was chosen and why he accepted the role. Without a team about whom the audience can care, Coach Carter would just be a loud and frustrated man wasting his time with a bunch of teenagers. They are all allowed to give their characters definition and range. The moments they take to shrug, joke, glance all enhance each performance, and illustrate how small choices define each of them. The whole group interacts organically. This is not just about how to win the championship and get the popular girl to go to the dance. These players are people who are faced with uncomfortably limited choices that will doubtlessly affect the course of their lives.
Having a release date early in the year is typically a sign of "no confidence" from a studio to a film, but "Coach carter" seems stronger than the typical January film. The director may not be the most artistic or risky, but he opens all the right doors for the story and the cast. It is a strong story that succeeds in illustrating hard won inspiration.
7 out of 10
AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004)
Empty Visual Mayhem
Even approaching the movie with the knowledge that it was not in the class of its predecessors and that it should be viewed in the category of 'guilty pleasure' did not make the experience enjoyable. The fun in the other films comes from the scares brought about by not really knowing what it is that the characters are up against. The thrills and scares unwound slowly and increased steadily after introducing us to interesting characters that lock the audience and our interest into the story. Visually, each film was very different, and even 'Alien: Resurrection' (which, until now, was considered the least significant in the 'Alien' series) had a unique cinematic texture to its appearance. The monsters in both series were creations that, once they stepped from the shadows, were frightening and awe-inspiring. Ridley Scott, Jim Cameron, David Fincher, Jean-Pierre Jeunet and John McTiernan are all genre-breaking directors in their own ways. They created challenging adventures of fear, not just monster movies. Under Anderson's control, 'Aliens Vs Predator' is just another splatter-fest.
Experts of various types are gathered by industrialist Charles Bishop Weyland (Lance Henriksen) when his satellites discover a huge Aztec-like pyramid under the ice of Antarctica. One of the experts is Alexa Woods (Sanaa Lathan), a world-class mountain climber. She will be leading the team through the descent. She also seems to have nearly omnipotent powers of exposition and becomes quite the speculative chatterbox whenever something needs to be explained to the audience. Barring the two archaeological characters, whose names I have already forgotten, the other characters are nearly indistinguishable.
The pyramid has been reactivated by a space ship of Predators, who blast a conveniently big hole right through 2000 feet of ice to the front stairs of the place. The humans climb down, set off a booby trap and get lost in the changing maze of the pyramid. The heat that attracted the human satellite was the thawing of the Alien queen that will lay eggs for a brood to impregnate the humans giving the Predators something deadly to hunt. Predator lore says that they only hunt honorably challenging prey, but they don't seem averse to slaughtering a few nearly-helpless humans on the way in, however. The Aliens grow and start killing everything that moves. The Predators show up and kill almost everything that moves. The humans, in dwindling numbers, run away from the monsters. The last survivors (And, no, it's not a real surprise who lives) make nice with the remaining Predator, and they run for the surface as a bomb goes off. There is a final showdown with the Alien queen, and then the Predators leave.
Admittedly, one does not see a movie with 'Vs' in the title and expect that character development will be given foremost consideration. However, character is barely considered to the point that it is almost incidental. The reason that Sigourney Weaver's Ripley was so memorable and enduring was that she never stood out in the first movie as the probable survivor. She exhibited differing levels of doubt, fear and outrage. Even in the sequels, she was the reluctant heroine who had as much chance of getting killed as any other character. Although Arnold Schwarzenegger's Major 'Dutch' Schaeffer was clearly the hero of 'Predator' from the get-go, the rest of his team was allowed to display individuality and personal value to the situation. Each time one fell to their invisible foe, it raised the stakes for the audience and for Arnold's character. Alexa is featured as the strongest character from her very introduction. While it is disturbing when others are dispatched, they are merely bait or cannon fodder whose demise only means that there are fewer players left in the game.
The effects are the only impressive thing here. However, everything else wastes the good visuals. The film is heavy on the expository shots lining up the layout of the pyramid. These Saturday-morning cartoon scene changes pull the audience out of the film each and every time. Anderson's biography on IMDb states that one of his trademarks is 'quick cut editing'. There are a great many quick cuts. There are so many that you can't make out most of the action. There is a flurry of activity in most battle scenes, a brutal final blow and one character or another is left standing. The story then moves to the next plot point.
When it isn't a snow job of strobe editing, it is setting up a 'money shot' of gore. Watch as the facehugger is shot in its sexual organ! See the acid devour someone's skin! Look at the blood drip off of the seemingly invisible blade! If Anderson had paid as much attention to the moments between characters, then these grotesque special effects would be moments of real horror. They are all as empty as Tupperware containers tossed back in the fridge after the leftovers have been served. Even the potentially interesting situation of a Predator becoming infected by an Alien is wasted on a cheap visual for a parting shot that is probably intended to imply a sequel. I wonder if even junior high school fanboys will find enough real fun in this movie to warrant a second chapter.
However, if you are still curious to see this movie, then go bearing a couple of things in mind. Don't ask why an archaeological expedition is armed like a platoon of marines. Don't ask why aliens grow at different rates in different people. Don't ask why an ancient temple buried under Antarctica, loaded with a bizarre combination of dead languages, bloodthirsty aliens and unearthly technological weapons needs to twist like the inside of a Rubix cube in order to be creepy. You are in the misguiding hands of Director Paul W. S. Anderson. Although he professes to be a fan of these horror franchises, he is certainly no fan of suspense or entertainment.
2 out of 10