chains01 Reviews

The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

The Best Years of Our Lives

[10/10 · 3 June 2010]

After World War II three military men, Al Stevenson (Fredrich March) Fred Derry (Dana Andrews) and Homer Parrish (Harold Russell), return to their lives in Boone City after stints in Europe. Adjusting to life at home isn't as easy as one would think as Homer has lost his hands, Fred goes from being a Captain to being relegated to being a soda jerk in a drug store, and Al goes back to his bank job where he has to turn down loans for fellow former soldiers. As they try to adjust to their new old lives they learn things may never be the same again.

William Wyler was already a famous filmmaker before going into the military for World War II, having made films such as Wuthering Heights, Jezebel, and Dodsworth. Incorporating his own experiences as a combat filmographer into the film, Wyler made what is arguable his most successful film with The Best Years of Our Lives. After it's release it went on to win 7 Academy Awards beating out It's a Wonderful Life for Best Picture, and Harold Russell won not just one but two Academy Awards (one for Best Supporting Actor, and an honorary award "For bringing hope and courage to his fellow veterans through his appearance"), the only actor to ever win two Academy Awards for the same performance.

The Best Years of Our Lives is a film that has a lot of pertinence in today's world with so many troops overseas making their way back, and it's still the best film on the subject. Wyler's attention to detail, choosing not to make things over lavish as most films in the 1940's did, and to give it more of a documentary flair help give the film more of a real world feel. And while the subject matter might seem like the film would be a darker affair, there are moments that would still make you genuinely laugh out loud, as well as other lighter more tender moments.

The acting is superb from all involved. The two actors that truly stand out in my mind watching this are Harold Russell and Al Stevenson. Harold Russell, an actual physically disabled military man, shows great depth in his performance as Homer Parrish dealing with love and the notion that he needs to drive his girl away because she deserves better. Al Stevenson, also does a superb job as a former sergeant who feels guilty for having come home to find himself a good job while also dealing with family issues and his feelings toward having to away loans for former GI's who feel they deserve better.

I highly recommend this movie, this is one of those rare perfect movies and to be honest, it deserved it's best picture nod over It's A Wonderful Life. Even with it's ranking on AFI's top 100 films at #37, these days this film is still criminally overlooked and underrated. If you like films dealing with WWII, great dramas, and superb acting, you should definitely give this film a shot.

5/5

A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

A.I. Artificial Intelligence

[8/10 · 14 May 2010]

In a futuristic world where humans and robots coexist in a shaky relationship, a robot named David (Haley Joel Osment) is taught to love and is given to a family. Being the first of his kind he is sorely misunderstood and a series of unfortunate events leads to David being on the run. All David wants is to be a real boy, though, and be loved by his mommy Monica (Frances O'Conner). So with his new found friend, Love Bot Gigolo Joe (Jude Law), David travels out to find the Blue Fairy of Pinochio fame to make him a real boy so his mother will love him.

AI was originally the brain child of legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick, but as he was working on it he felt that the sensibilities of the film better suited a filmmaker such as Steven Spielberg. Stanley Kubrick approached Spielberg with the idea that Kubrick would produce the film, and Spielberg would direct. Of course, Spielberg was excited at the chance, but also reticent at the fact that this was the brainchild of the great Stanley Kubrick. They worked and worked on the project, Kubrick even had voices recorded that eventually appeared in the finished product (including those recorded by Chris Rock, Robin Williams, Meryl Streep, Ben Kingsley, and even Jack Angel who performed the voice of Teddy) until Kubrick had much of the concept art and even the complete treatment. Eventually Spielberg pushed back and asked Kubrick to direct and he would produce, and Kubrick relented but was unable to film the movie prior to his death in March of '99. Out of respect for his friend for the project he was originally asked to do, Spielberg picked up the work on AI and finished the film that Kubrick spent more than 12 years visualizing.

AI is a flawed masterpiece. Combining the strengths of two very different filmmakers is definitely the way to create an interesting work, and bringing out the sentimentality of Spielberg and the cynicism of Kubrick makes for great interplay and a certain tension between the two different sensibilities. On the one side you have the power and endurance of love, and on the other side you have the moral dilemma of man playing god and than dehumanizing it's creation. When juggling these two images of modern society Spielberg is at his best, and most of the movie is as good, if not better than anything else the director has ever committed to film.

The acting in this film is superb. Most of the movie revolves around Haley Joel Osment who was in his prime at the time (an unfortunate thing to say for a talent so young at the time and so good), and does he shine. Playing the first of his kind to feel love (or is it obsession) you truly feel for a robots plight, one of the few movies to actually grab you in that way. As his companion through most of his plight, you can tell Jude Law as Gigolo Joe is having a blast giving his "Love Bot" (read: sex toy) a bit of the smooth edge of Fred Astair. All of the performances in this movie truly shine though.

The problem, and what makes this movie flawed, is Spielberg's recent obsession with overindulgence and the need to place pieces from his older movies in his newer movies where they don't belong. First off, the ending of the movie should have been cut off. I'm not typically the type of person who will hold anything against a long movie, and it's not that this movie is long, it's that the last half hour is completely unneeded and somewhat ridiculous. Some of the acting choices make the last 30 minutes really feel more like outtakes than an integral part of the film. To add to that though, and secondly, Spielberg felt the need to inject scenes that he had planned for Close Encounters of the Third Kind into the end of the movie, confusing audiences as to what's going on in the end with the alien like robots.

Over all, I have to say that I did enjoy this movie, and it could have very well been a masterpiece and in ways it is, only if Spielberg hadn't followed his need to overindulge this movie wouldn't have lost steam. I do recommend it though, it's a movie that works well on multiple levels, for either just entertainment, or for further exploration into it's deeper meanings.

4/5

About Schmidt (2002)

About Schmidt

[8/10 · 14 May 2010]

Warren Schmidt (Jack Nicholson) is a man who's always wanted to accomplish more in life, but now he finds himself retiring from a dead end job having made no difference in the world around him. One day, on a whim, Warren calls Childreach and "adopts" an African orphan named Ndugu, who Warren uses as a sounding board to let out his feelings concerning what he feels is his wasted life. Shortly after his retirement, Warren's wife, Helen (June Squibb), dies reminding Warren of just how much he needed her. On his way to his daughter, Jeannie's (Hope Davis) wedding Warren takes a soul searching road trip in his RV before trying to convince his daughter to not marry the waterbed salesman (Dermot Mulroney) she's currently engaged to.

Before winning the adapted screen writing Oscar for his wine country dramedy, Sideways, and after his nomination for the excellent Election, Alexandar Payne co-wrote and directed this underrated dramedy with his oft-writing partner Jim Taylor. Overshadowed by a notorious nude scene by Kathy Bates in the late second act of the movie, it's often forgotten that Jack Nicholson and Kathy Bates were both nominated for Oscars and Jack Nicholson won a Golden Globe for best performance by an actor in a drama (to which Nicholson said during his acceptance speech, "I'm a little surprised, I thought we had made a comedy"). First picking up this movie I can't really say that I knew what to expect going in, but that's also part of what made me pick up this movie in the first place.

What I got, for all the fuss about Kathy Bates, was a poignant character study about a very ordinary man in his 60's. I'm sure a lot of people don't feel the same way, after all some of Warren's actions are deplorable, but he's a very human character. He's an ordinary man who wants to be extraordinary about him, and so inside he pines to make a difference in the world. The movie does a great job, as well as Nicholson playing the role to a tee, of showing a man that even at his happiest carries around the weight of never having accomplished anything in his life to be proud of as he also confronts his own mortality. In the end the movie reminds us that we don't have to do big great things to make a difference in the world, though, even small gestures can make the world around us a better place.

While in the end the overall message of the movie can be considered slightly corny, I still have to say that I recommend this movie. At times it's quite funny, and the acting is phenomenal. Even with a corny message, which does not overbear the plot or tone of the movie, sometimes we do need to be reminded of these things at times. Give it a try, if you like Payne's other films like Sideways and Election you'll probably enjoy this, and it's also one of Nicholson's best later career performances.

4/5

Iron Man 2 (2010)

Iron Man 2

[9/10 · 14 May 2010]

Taking place six months after the first Iron Man, Iron Man 2 finds a world where Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) has successfully "privatized world peace," but fearing other countries getting their hands on Stark's Iron Man technology the Senate seeks to have Tony hand over the technology to the government. Also seeking to steal Stark's technology is Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) who wants to regain a weapons contract with the military. Complicating things further, a mysterious Russian physicist named Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) turns up to destroy Tony Stark.

Iron Man was a huge surprise when it came out in the early summer of 2008. A 2nd tier Marvel comic book, Iron Man became one of the top grossing movies of 2008, and even held it's own very well against the juggernaut that was The Dark Knight despite it's much smaller fanbase. It also resurrected Robert Downey Jr.'s career, showing that he was capable of leading a franchise despite his past mistakes, and showed that Jon Favreau was a viable action director. Since then Downey has found himself nominated for two Golden Globes winning one of them, and added yet another big action franchise to the current notch in his belt. Of course, all eyes are on Iron Man 2 to see if the movie will top it's predecessor in the expectations department, so how does it hold up.

In my opinion, Iron Man 2 equals it's predecessor. The second installment of Iron Man is funnier than the original, and it ups the ante on the action from the first movie as well. What really makes the movie though, is not the action, but the characterizations. Fleshing out Stark's narcissism as well as his inabilities to deal with his emotions opens new doors into the character. Favreau and new writer to the series Justin Theroux (Tropic Thunderdo a great job of handling a large cast that would normally sink most other comic book franchises.

The casting in this movie is superb even if it seems jarring to see so many actors and actresses playing characters that aren't typical for them. Apart from The Spirit and The Island, Scarlett Johansson hasn't played an outright action fueled character, but she equips herself admirably to play the part of a believable martial arts trained heroine. Don Cheadle does a great job taking over the role of Rhodey from Terrence Howard, and even tops his predecessor. Sam Rockwell does a superb job as Stark's rival, and a man who tries his hardest to be as iconic as Tony Stark, but fails miserably on all counts. Mickey Rourke steals nearly every scene he's in, though, as Russian physicist Ivan Vanko. I was never sure if I would be able to buy him as a Russian, but the work he put into researching for the character definitely paid off.

On the downside though, sometimes it feels as though there's too much of a rush to get from one point to the next. Scenes feel as though they move to the next before they're truly done playing out. Unfortunately, this is one of the issues of having such a large cast that needs to have proper screen time to flesh out the characters. To add to that, the second half of the film is a bit derivative of other action films. While the film may do a great job of going in a different direction than other comic book films by outing it's central character and performing a character study on a man who thrives on his popularity in that position, but in the last act of the movie it falls into the same trap as other action movies with an ending that can be cliché.

All in all, I highly recommend this movie, especially if you like movies based on comic books and if you like the first Iron Man. Franchises like Iron Man, the current Batman series, and Kick-Ass set a new benchmark for comic book movies and action movies in general. With great action, acting, characterization, and originality these movies have moved beyond their genres to capture something that extends beyond it's core audience.

4.5/5

The Ugly Truth (2009)

The Ugly Truth

[7/10 · 14 May 2010]

Abby Richter (Katherine Heigl) is a producer for a local TV station's morning news program in Sacramento. The show is struggling, pulling in less viewers than reruns of Geraldo, and her boss Stuart (Nick Searcy) is looking for something to draw viewers to their morning show. When he finds out that a cable access show called The Ugly Truth run by Mike Chadway (Gerard Butler) is pulling in viewers thanks to Mike's brash attitude toward relationships, he brings The Ugly Truth to the morning show as a regular installment on the morning show, much to Abby's chagrin.

Best known for his turn in 300 Gerard Butler has amassed a somewhat large female following (I'm sure the uniforms in 300 didn't hurt), making him something of a recent go-to guy for romantic comedies as of late. Katherine Heigl, originally of Grey's Anatomy fame, found her in to movies when Anne Hathaway dropped out of Knocked Up allowing her to jump into the lead female spot. Since then she seems to have taken a spot in the lead in several romantic comedies appearing next in romantic action comedy Killers with Ashton Kutcher. So coming from somewhat different backgrounds how do these two play together in the movies?

Fairly well. In a movie like this, you need to believe that the main characters despise each other, and Heigl embodies that in this movie. And while Chadway, if played improperly, could come off as totally unlikeable, Butler makes you like this sexist neo-perv. It's in the characterizations and acting that the movie grabs your attention and pulses with the ability to make you laugh. Another thing that I found more welcome on my end, was the R rating for a romantic comedy, something that you don't typically see in most romantic comedies. The willingness to push things just a little further was kind of refreshing.

I can't really say there's much that I didn't enjoy with this movie. As I've said before in my review of The Proposal, this movie doesn't reinvent the romantic comedy, nor does it need to. In the end it's fairly by the numbers, but does more to bring in audience members from both sexes, making it a much better date movie than you can typically come to expect from most romantic comedies. I recommend this movie, especially to guys who need a romantic comedy to watch with their women.

3.5/5

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Saving Private Ryan

[9/10 · 14 May 2010]

After the D-Day invasion of Omaha Beach, Ranger Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) is tasked to put together a platoon of his choosing and find a paratrooper from the 101st Airbourne named Private James Ryan. With the platoon of his choosing (Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper, Adam Goldberg, Vin Diesel, Giovanni Ribisi, and Jeremy Davies) sets off in treachorous wartime France to find Private Ryan amongst a field of full of enemies and a split up 101st Airbourne.

World War I is often considering "The Great War" or "The War to End All Wars," but few military conflicts have caught the hearts and minds of the American, and the world, consciousness the way that World War II has. For the first time during a war, films were made about the war as early as 1939. Some of the greatest war films and TV series have been based on World War 2 from The Sands of Iwo Jima to Flags of Fathers to Band of Brothers. At the end of the 20th century, with a career full of highly critically and commercially successful hits under his belt, Steven Spielberg took another turn at the war film (following 1979's 1941) with Saving Private Ryan.

Saving Private Ryan is arguably the greatest war film ever made. The opening thirty minutes of the D-Day invasion is possibly the greatest scene ever committed to celluloid. But it's not just the harrowing scenes of war time that make this movie so great, it's the character building, the camaraderie between the soldiers, the devotion to duty, and the bravery of these men in combat. This movie truly depicts why World War 2 soldiers were possibly the greatest soldiers in US history.

One of the great things about the casting in Saving Private Ryan is the fact that they chose actors that look like everyday men rather than picking men that look like action heroes, and because of that the acting in this movie is amazing. Tom Hanks gives a wonderfully authoritative and still understated performance as Capt. John Miller. Vin Diesel hasn't been this good since, and Barry Pepper as is sensational as religious sniper Pvt. Daniel Jackson. Even Jeremy Davies as the green Cpl. Upham makes you feel for his character despite his very obvious flaws as a soldier.

The one thing that drags this movie down though is Spielberg's slavish devotion to sentimentality. The bookends to the film are completely unneeded and drags down what is otherwise an utterly great movie. Don't get me wrong, a former soldier's sentimentality for the one's who died to save him has it's place, I just feel as though that should have been more reserved for the former soldiers watching this movie remembering those who died with and for them then on the screen in this movie. Rather, the movie should have just been devoted to remembering the bravery and camaraderie of the men who fought in the war.

Overall, though, in the scheme of things, despite the minor flaw that I have with this movie, it is definitely still the greatest movie in my mind dedicated to the men who have served our country. I don't just recommend this movie, if you haven't seen this you need to watch it, and now that it's out on Blu-Ray this is the perfect time to pick up this movie and watch it, or to watch it again.

4.5/5

The Blind Side (2009)

The Blind Side

[7/10 · 14 May 2010]

Micheal Oher (Quinton Aaron) was a large black kid who grew up in the Memphis projects living on people's couches because his crack addicted mom was unfit to take care of him. One day, Tony Hamilton (Omar J Dorsey), trying to enroll his kid into Wingate Christian School, also gets Micheal enrolled in the school. Moving from place to place to find shelter, Michael finally comes across Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy (Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw) who invite him to stay at their house, and eventually invite him to be a part of their family.

The story of Micheal Oher is really a quite amazing one. Oher traveled from place to place never really having a place to stay, until he was invited by the Tuohy's to stay with them. Having never remained in a school for more than a year, and failing miserably, the Tuohy's helped him raise his grades to be able to play football (and basketball) in school. Eventually this lead to him being one of the most sought after high school players for college recruiters. Just before the 2009 NFL season he became a first round draft pick for the Baltimore Ravens and became the 2009 Rookie of the Year. With such an amazing story of "rags to riches" how does Oher's story translate to film? Very well. One thing that surprised me, and I found refreshing was the fact that a such an openly Christian family was actually treated respectfully and without ridicule. I say this because the movie itself actually has a genuine spirit to it, it doesn't completely feel like a by the numbers inspirational sports movie. The writing does a great job at keeping many of the true things that happened in real life in the movie, moving things around as is typically necessary for screen stories, without making things feel forced. As sports movies go, this movie feels fresher than many that have come in recent years.

This, of course, is the movie that not only earned Sandra Bullock her first Oscar nomination, but her first Oscar win as well and for good reason. Playing a character based on a real person is already a daunting task, but for an actress known most for playing America's sweetheart type roles, playing a strong willed genuinely philanthropic Christian woman is definitely not an easy task, but Bullock equips herself well and steals the movie. And Quinton Aaron as Michael Oher does a fantastic job playing Oher as a person who is shy, quiet, and even somewhat cynical, but doesn't allow his cynicism to define him. Throughout the film we watch these layers removed as he becomes more ingrained in the Tuohy household.

My biggest problem with the movie is some of the changes they felt the need to make to this already fantastic true story. Michael Oher already knew how to play football before being placed on the team at Briarcrest (the real school that he attended while in the Tuohy home). Making it seem as though he didn't, to me, is an insult to the true character this film is trying to portray. On top of that the story, as portrayed in the film, is a little too good to be true. Having researched the matter a bit there's a lot in the real account of the story that does seem that way, but there was also a bit more struggle to get Micheal's grade's up, and he also wasn't the perfect teen that they depict him as in the movie. This lack of an inner struggle for the main character, as well as the lack of an outer struggle throughout most of the movie drags it down a few notches.

All in all, I think it was a really good movie, and while it might not, in my opinion, be an Oscar worthy movie on the best picture front, its definitely one of the better inspirational sports movies to come out in recent memory. Check it out for the performances, the heart warming story, and the inspiration that you will derive from it.

3.5/5

The Age of Innocence (1993)

Age of Innocence

[8/10 · 14 May 2010]

In 19th century New York high society, Newland Archer (Daniel Day-Lewis) is engaged to the conventional May Welland (Winona Ryder). Things start to change for Newland when May's cousin, the unconventional Dutchess Ellen Olenska (Michelle Pfeiffer), moves to New York following the separation of her and her Polish Count husband. As Newland helps her through legal matters Newland begins to fall in love with her, and begins to question his relationship with May.

Martin Scorsese had been considering making a romance for years, but could never seem to find the right project. Then in 1980 screenwriter Jay Cocks gave Scorsese a copy of Edith Wharton's book The Age of Innocence saying, "When you do that romantic piece, this one is you." Seven years later, Scorsese finally read the book and decided to make the movie. Not only did he make the movie, he got his first choice for the three leads in the cast.

This movie gives an interesting look into the gossipy nature of old school high society New York. Through the narration of the movie you really feel like you're being thrust into the middle of these people's lives. You hear the gossip, see the backstabbing, and deal with the "rules" of residing in high society. It's because of the toying with emotions and backstabbing that occurs in high society that Scorsese said this is the most violent movie he ever made.

In high society it's only natural that people will hide their true feelings beneath the surface, and here the actors due a superb job at exemplifying that trait. Daniel Day-Lewis is superb as a the man torn between his fiancé and her cousin, but trying to hide it from the world. Michelle Pfeiffer is amazing as the woman who catches Newland's heart with her unorthodox behavior. But it's Winona Ryder who steals the show. As May, she plays a character who acts clueless, but underneath she's broken by what's going on and plotting to keep her husband.

If you like period dramas or Scorsese films I highly recommend this film. To be honest, I wasn't exactly sure how I felt about this movie when I was first done watching this, but in the time since I've thought about it and I have to admit that I'm definitely going to be watching it again. Scorsese definitely scored another masterpiece with this '93 period romance.

4/5

Adaptation. (2002)

Adaptation.

[9/10 · 14 May 2010]

Charlie Kaufman (Nicolas Cage) is trying to adapt the book The Orchid Thief from Susan Orleans (Meryl Streep) about John La Roche (Chris Cooper) who goes to various places in Miami to find orchids to cultivate, but doesn't want to add much to the actual story. Because of this he's having a hard time adapting the book to movie form. He's also living with his brother Donald (Nicolas Cage) who has decided that he will become a screenwriter and is working on a screenplay about serial killers called "The Three".

Charlie Kaufman (yes, that's a real person) is a brilliant screenwriter. Having written the little seen Human Nature, the quirky Being John Malkovich, and the critically acclaimed and brilliant Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Charlie was trying to come up with something new with his adaptation of Susan Orleans' book The Orchid Thief. He was having a very difficult time with adapting the book the way he wanted, but eventually came up with this idea to meld real life with fiction with a little help from his (fictional) brother, Donald Kaufman (who also earned a co-screen writing credit).

Adaptation is a brilliant film, as are most of Kaufman's works, melding together his real world works at adapting The Orchid Thief with the fictional account seamlessly. Throughout the film you get that this is a true story, especially when you review to realize that the character names are names of real people (with very few exceptions, such as Donald Kaufman), and then at the end, once you realize that this is a work of fiction, you can still see the work of Donald Kaufman on the film as if Charlie was channeling the character's ambitions in an effort to figure out how to end the movie. Naturally, in the end, when you find out more about the movie this only works to the story's advantage.

Nicolas Cage isn't typically the actor that you'd look to to portray a character like this, or I should say, character's like this. Charlie and Donald are two totally different characters with separate sensibilities, but Nic plays them with amazing affinity for the shortcomings and strengths of the characters. Naturally, Oscar winning actress Meryl Streep throws herself fully into the game as always, and you also have a dose of the amazing Brian Cox, which is always worth noting. Chris Cooper as the eccentric orchid thief John La Roche steals the show though.

This is a movie that I have to highly recommend. It's funny and stylish but doesn't lose it's focus on story and character building. The movie does a great job at remaining faithful to the material Charlie was originally trying to adapt by focusing some of the attention and narration on passages of the book, while also remaining entertaining, especially in the relationship between the two brothers. I only wish more screenwriters could be as inventive as Charlie Kaufman.

4.5/5

Adventureland (2009)

Adventureland

[8/10 · 14 May 2010]

James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg) has just graduated from Oberlin College with a degree in Comparative Literature, and is planning to take a month off to go to Europe before starting grad school at Columbia to study Journalism when he finds out from his parents that he will not have the money to go to Europe. So in an effort to make money during the summer before moving to Columbia. While there he falls for a free spirited girl he works with, Emily Lewin (Kristen Stewart).

Greg Mottola hit the big time as a director when he stepped up to adapt Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg's script for a little movie that became Superbad for producer extraordinaire Judd Apatow. For his followup to that movie, Mottola decided to write a semi-autobiographical story of his life working at Adventureland on Long Island in New York. What was advertised was more of a comedy in the vain of Superbad, but what was delivered was a coming of age love story.

In reality, I think I am more happy now that I know that the movie is a coming of age love story rather than the raunchy comedy. The movie more or less defies convention, as it's main character, James, is a virgin not looking to have sex for the sake of loosing his virginity, but rather looking for his place. The fact that the main character isn't your typically sexually charged male nerd is, in itself, refreshing. And unlike most comedies of it's ilk, this movie is less concerned with punchlines as it is with developing it's characters. In the end, it's still the characters that make the movie, not the other way around.

The acting in this movie is great. Jesse Eisenberg, unfortunately seeming to be more and more typecast, still does the geek chic thing very well. Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig, of course being SNL alumni and at the top of the current class, bring the funny. Martin Starr plays the conflicted friend Joel, a character not far off from his character in Freaks and Geeks, while Ryan Reynolds gives a performance that is very understated for his typically more flamboyant style. Kristen Stewart was the real surprise to me though. For most of the movie she really seemed to be just swimming through, but toward the end it really seemed as if the character bared her soul, and she did a great job at portraying that.

If there was a flaw in the film, it wouldn't be with the film itself, but rather with the advertising that made the film seem like something different than what it is. In actuality, that advertising short sold the film for those of us that would have been more interested in the actual finished product. I highly recommend this film for anyone who likes dramedy's and if you like movies that really let you into the film characters lives.

4/5

Black Hawk Down (2001)

Black Hawk Down

[9/10 · 14 May 2010]

In October of 1993, in an effort to secure the Somali town of Mogadishu, Task Force Ranger, comprised of Delta Force soldiers and Rangers, are sent in for a mission that is supposed to last no more than half an hour. But when two Black Hawk helicopters are downed by insurgents with rocket launchers many of the members of Task Force Ranger are left stranded in the city. The ensuing battle lasts for 18 hours.

The Battle of Magadishu (also known as The Battle of the Black Sea, Black Hawk Down, and for the Somali's The Day of the Rangers) was both a disaster and a success depending on who you talk to. It was a success in that when all was said and done Task Force Ranger accomplished their main objectives. At the same time, it was a disaster because originally the mission was only supposed to take 30 minutes, but in the end lasted 18 hours and cost the lives of 19 American soldiers and somewhere in the range of 500-2000 Somali's. How do you adapt an 18 hour battle into a two and a half hour movie? Very carefully, and had the movie been placed in a less capable director's hands than Ridley Scott's (Alien, Gladiator) this movie could very well have been a disaster. Ridley Scott, though, along with first time screenwriter Ken Nolan, do their best to capture the battle in a truly authentic light, and they do an amazing job. From what I hear (I have a lot more to learn about the battle) this is possibly the most accurate depiction of a battle ever put to film. I would also argue that it's the best example of modern urban warfare put to film as well.

The performances in this film are amazing as, despite a hugely recognizable cast (something I might just be saying because many of the actors in this movie have become huge since, and weren't as big at the time) there is no vanity amongst the actors. Their lack of vanity only adds to the realism, and also builds up the feeling of brotherhood as they act out the battle in the field.

All in all, if there was going to be an argument against this film it would really only be the fact that there's not much character development. In the end, though, it's not as much about the characters as it is about the units. It's not as much about the battle as it is a reminder that there are still soldiers that carry the DNA of bravery and brotherhood that we saw in the World War II elite. And it's not so much about Somalia as it is about the war fronts we fight on throughout the world whether in Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, etc. If you haven't seen this movie yet, definitely give it a shot.

4.5/5

Avatar (2009)

Avatar

[10/10 · 19 December 2009]

Initially conceived in 1999 as Cameron's follow up to Titanic, Avatar was put on hold when Cameron realized the technology did not exist yet to support his vision. Over the course of the next decade, Cameron created much of the technology he needed to make this movie possible. In 2002, Cameron watched The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and through the character of Gollum realized that his vision was finally possible. Twelve years have passed since the release of James Cameron's Titanic, will his new film prove that Cameron is still "King of the World"? Much has been made of Cameron's Avatar long before it's release. Hailed as a revolution in 3D and CGI technology, Avatar holds a lot of expectations, not the least of which is the fact that the budget and marketing for this film add up to approximately half a billion dollars, making it the most expensive movie ever made. Of course, Cameron has been here before. Titanic cost $200 million to make, the largest budget for a feature film at the time, and just when it looked like it was going to goose that laid the rotten egg it proceeded to make $1.8 billion worldwide, making it the highest grossing film of all time. Cameron's also not new to the idea of revolutionizing the world of film with almost every movie he makes: with The Abyss he had the first all digital water effect, with Terminator 2 he had the first CGI character with realistic movement, and so on. Can lightning strike yet again? I'm generally someone who's adverse to using all caps for anything, but: DO NOT DOWNLOAD THIS MOVIE!!!!! Also don't wait for it to come to DVD or to a TV station near you. Why, you ask? Because this movie is a movie that has to be seen the way it was intended to truly get the fully immersive experience. I watched the trailers on TV and online, and none of that compared to seeing the film in theaters in 3D. With Avatar, Cameron has truly outdone himself. When District 9 came out, I raved about the CGI effects in that movie, but Avatar is a whole other monster. With Avatar you truly cannot tell where the CGI begins and reality ends and vice versa, and on top of that it is the most beautiful film I've ever seen, CGI or otherwise. On top of that, Cameron's new 3D cameras create an experience that is in no way uncomfortable. No headaches and no motion sickness for those of you who suffer from that sort of thing. Instead, you get a highly immersive experience that leaves you begging for more (which is saying something, considering the film's run time is 162 minutes) and wanting to return when you leave.

I've seen a lot of reviews lately that talk about the film having a weak script with too many clichés and one dimensional characters. What you really get, in my opinion though, is old school story telling with a message, even though the message is drowned out in special effects and action. The script moves quickly, there is no downtime, but you also never feel like the pacing is off, or that it's moving too fast. Cameron has built a complete world, we don't just see characters and action, but we see complete eco systems, and are introduced to many characters. While the entire cast is amazing, Sam Worthington as Jake Sully and Stephen Lang as Colonel Miles Quaritch are the real standouts here. Sam Worthington creates a character that you feel for, and through his progress from pawn to leader is truly believable and heartfelt. Stephen Lang, on the other hand, gives us a character that starts off just trying to do his duty, but eventually becomes a character on par with Sergeant Barnes from Platoon or Colonel Kurtz from Apocalypse Now.

I purposefully chose not to mention anything about the plot for this movie. I think this movie is going to be the revolution of movies that Cameron believes it's going to be. I've seen reviewers compare it to The Wizard of Oz (the movie to truly lead the color revolution) and King Kong (the 1933 version, which revolutionized special effects), and I wholeheartedly agree. I still can't completely fathom what I just saw, and will probably see it at least one more time on the big screen if not more. Anyone who's into film, the tech of film, or just wants to keep up with where film is going in the future should see this film. On top of that, this movie touches on so many different genres (SciFi, fantasy, romance, war films, drama, etc.) that it will appeal to almost everyone. Once again, James Cameron is "King of the World"! 5/5

Ichi the Killer (2001)

Koroshiya 1 (Ichi the Killer)

[8/10 · 27 October 2009]

The Yakuza, the Japanese crime syndicate, control crime on virtually every level of Japanese society. They bully the press and filmmakers to portray them as society's "noble outlaws, when in reality they'll torture and/ or kill anyone who gets in their way. Japanese filmmaker Juzo Itami had a price on his head after he portrayed the Yakuza as money grubbing, ill mannered miscreants in the movie Minbo no oona. He was attacked by five members of the Yakuza in a parking lot outside his house and sustained serious injuries. (He allegedly committed suicide years later by jumping off a tall building.) With Koroshiya 1 (Ichi the Killer) Takashi Miike takes on the Yakuza in his own unique way.

After the kidnapping, and possible brutal murder, of syndicate boss Anjo and the theft of 300 million yen Kakihara, Anjo's protégé and chief of his syndicate, seeks to find the party responsible. A masochist who will stop at nothing to prove a point, not even stopping short of cutting off part of his own tongue, Kakihara gets word that Suzuki, another crime boss, was involved due to Kakihara cutting him out of Anjo's porn video business. Anjo's syndicate is kicked out of the Yakuza, though, after Kakihara brutally tortures and disfigures Suzuki without proper proof that Suzuki was behind Anjo's disappearance. With Kakihara as their new leader, the clan finds out from a former member that Anjo is dead, murdered by a mysterious man known as Ichi who brutally hacks his victims to pieces. Missing the sadist to his masochist, Kakihara seeks Ichi out, the one person who may be able to give him the pain that he needs.

Based on the manga of the same name by Hideo Yamamoto, Ichi the Killer is possibly one of the most disturbing movies I have ever seen, and I mean that in a good way. Miike shoots this very brutal movie with unmatched style using jump cuts, slick camera moves, and interesting angles to tell a story that otherwise would have just been near torture porn. The characters are also colorful, if also severely disturbing, especially Kakihara who sports a harlequin smile and purple jacket similar to Batman's Joker, but is scarier and far more unpredictable.

Miike decides not to delve into the rights or wrongs of the Yakuza, and probably for the best after hearing the story of Juzo Itami, but instead takes a look at the brutality of the sadist/ masochist's relationship. But within this study of sadomasochism we still see the brutality of the Yakuza, even if its just amongst themselves and the different clans.

The one problem I have with this is that at times the gore and "action" is a tad bit over the top. Of course, this could also be because the film was adapted from a manga, meaning that it's closer to the film form of anime than a live action feature. At times the over the top action, takes you out of the film, and causes the film to loose some sense of reality. These times pass by shortly after as you see the aftermath of what just happened which once again drops you back you into the devastating reality of the flick.

All in all a great film, if gory and disturbing. If you have a weak stomach, or are adverse to gore I highly recommend that you stay away, and definitely don't allow the kids to watch. But this is a movie that will highly appeal to gore hounds, fans of torture porn, Asian film enthusiasts, and most people who enjoy a good organized crime movie. If you fall into those categories I highly recommend this flick.

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007)

Walk Hard: The Story of Dewey Cox

[8/10 · 25 October 2009]

Spoof movies have been around for as long as the art form of film has been entertaining people. From Charlie Chaplin to Woody Allen to the Marx Brothers and Mel Brooks, film makers have been spoofing other movie forms to satirize society and politics. Spoof movies have made us laugh while also showing us the error in our ways and the inherent stupidity found in our societal ways. Unfortunately, the form has taken a beating with the "(Insert Genre Here) Movie" series which has driven the genre into the mire. But when Judd Apatow joined with Jake Kasdan (a co-collaborator on Freaks and Geeks and Zero Effect), what they came up with should have turned the genre up on it's ear.

After the accidental halving of his brother, Dewey Cox learns how to play blues guitar and starts writing songs. At the age of 14, he insights a riot with the song "Take My Hand" and leaves home to seek stardom. Dewey's discovered by Jewish businessmen in a club where black folk go to dance erotically when Dewey fills in for the regular act when he gets laryngitis. Making a huge splash with his first single, Walk Hard, Dewey goes on the road and we follow him through the ups and downs, the relationships, the drugs, and the destroying of multiple public and private bathrooms.

Jake Kasdan and Judd Apatow do a great job of making this movie feel like a real biopic and not just a series of skits formed together to make a movie. They present each time frame with real authenticity, injecting the 60's with the whimsy we've seen in past movies, and the 70's with the "grooviness" we've come to expect of this kind of movie. The music feels authentic as well, feeling as if it's been written throughout the time frames seen in the movie.

But you don't go into a parody for the dramatic elements, and for the comedy this movie has great pedigree. It fits in handsomely with other Apatow comedies like Knocked Up, 40 Year Old Virgin, and Forgetting Sarah Marshall. John C. Reilly, fresh off Taladega Nights, shows off more of the comedic chops that he had shown in that movie, while also bringing a dramatic pedigree to the role not typical to this kind of comedy in recent years (he was nominated for an Oscar for his role in Chicago). On top of that, it seems as though everyone in Hollywood wanted to be involved in this movie as this movie boasts one of the largest lists of cameos I have ever seen in a movie including Paul Rudd, Jack Black, Jack White of the White Stripes, Lyle Lovett, Jewell, Tim Meadows, Justin Long, Kristen Wiig, Craig Robinson, and Jonah Hill just to name a few.

As with any biopic, whether real or fake, though, this movie seems to loose it's away as the main character loses his way as well. It becomes more frenetic and loses pacing later on, but seems to catch itself before straying too far. Also some of the characters are underdeveloped as usually happens in biopics as you try to cram in characters that truly effected the main characters life. Luckily, the movie never feels as though it's dragging, and remains consistent with the laughs throughout.

While Walk Hard was a critical hit, it unfortunately, it bombed at the box office where it deserved more of an audience. I highly recommend giving this chance if you like comedy and musician biopics. While funny, the movie never feels as though it's making fun of the people presented in the biopics it's skewering like Johnny Cash or Ray Charles. A word of warning, as with any Apatow flick one can expect a large amount of vulgarity including full frontal male and female nudity, a lot of cursing, and more than one person getting cut in half, so this may not be a movie you want to watch in front of the children. For those of you who can get around the aforementioned vulgarity (or embrace it as I do) you will be justly rewarded!

Paranormal Activity (2007)

Paranormal Activity

[9/10 · 24 October 2009]

Low budget indie films have been a good way for amateur filmmakers to break out for a long time. Kevin Smith broke out with a black and white movie made for $67,000 called Clerks; El Mariachi, made for only $7,000, turned Robert Rodriguez into a big name rebel director in the 90's. Horror is a harder medium to make it in the low budget arena. A field dominated by gory and effects driven movies these days, horror saw a mega hit in 1999's Blair Witch Project. Made for only $11,000, Blair Witch Project has often been duplicated, but the success was never repeated. Here we are, 10 years later, and a new phenomenon has come around with Paranormal Activity, a movie that doesn't try to be Blair Witch, but exceeds expectations. Made also for only $11,000, Paranormal Activity has made a huge splash in the mainstream breaking records in the process (in it's first weekend it broke $7 million in only 200 theaters), but is it really worth all the fuss? After a series of "supernatural" events have happened in their house, Micah, decides to get a video camera to substantiate their claims of a haunting. Katie (who's engaged to be engaged to Micah) has had these supernatural events happen to her since she was 8, she wants them to stop, and while she's not entirely comfortable with Micah recording the events, she goes along with it. They meet with a psychic who feels they're dealing with a demon and suggests a demonologist to help them take care of their problem. Micah doesn't take it seriously, and believes they can get rid of their visitor without outside help. Despite Katie's warnings and worry, Micah keeps trying to provoke the entity. Tensions build, tempers flare, and the paranormal activity gets more intense till it finally reaches the breaking point.

Originally bought by Paramount with the intention of owning the rights to remake the movie with a better budget and bigger names, Paranormal Activity fares better without the higher production values of a big budget film. Shot with one hand-held camera and without a score, the movie feels completely real. The use of unknown actors also gives the film a more authentic feel, and it helps that they don't really feel like they're acting as well. As each day unfolds, we find ourselves prisoners in the house, which adds to the claustrophobic feel of the movie. We learn every nook and cranny of the house, so we notice the moving shadows, and the changes that occur all the more later on in the film.

All in all, Paranormal Activity is a very well done horror film, stripping away many of the conventions we see in horror film, relying on real scares rather than gore or music cues to instill a sense of tension and fear in the audience. I highly recommend seeing this in theaters if you have the opportunity, the atmosphere of seeing this with others really helps with adding fear to the proceedings as large groups intensify the feeling among those in the group. For those of you planning on taking the children, there is foul language, but on top of that the film does start off slowly and the more nuanced scenes may be lost on a younger audience. Definitely give this film as a chance as it is worth the hype, even if only for the last scene of the movie!

The Onion Movie (2008)

The Onion Movie

[6/10 · 22 October 2009]

A lot of people are familiar with The Onion News. The Onion News is a news service that parodies modern news right down to the Horoscopes. Spoofing modern news with spoof news filled with humor and scatological references, The Onion News has been offering a scathing satire on the modern news experience for years. In 2003, they opted to make a movie filled with the same satire of the modern world you'd find in the newspapers. Apparently, though, due to poor test screenings the movie was shelved and finally released on DVD in 2008 rather than theatrically. So how does it stack up? The Onion Movie is mainly a group of skits, working as news stories, commercials, movie spots, etc. Behind the skits there's a working TV news report: The Onion News "The World's Greatest News Source". The Onion News has just been bought out by a global conglomerate who requires the news to plug their movies on the air. News anchor, Norm Archer, thinks this compromises the integrity of the news, and this leads to an interesting, and funny, confrontation at the end of the movie.

The Onion Movie is a really funny movie with a few unfortunate down spots. It does a fairly good job of mixing the politically incorrect (Little Known Racial Stereotypes, Terrorist Training Video, etc.), with satire of celebrities (Melissa Cherry, a Britney Spears knock off who sings songs like: "Take Me From Behind," and lyrics like, "So, let me give you some affection - just below your waist" which are apparently just about friendship because she's a virgin), and satire of society (News report: "The internet went down for three hours this morning, plunging the nation into productivity. The outage, which caused major work startages from New York to California, prevented an estimated 120 million American employees from messing around on the web at work"). Also, there are some funny cameos including a spoof commercial hosted by Michael Bolton for a children's charity organization, but the best is Steven Segal as the Cockpuncher.

While those skits work very well, and the majority of the rest do, some skits fall flat on their face. Skits like the Dean Martin Celebrity Roast spoof and the majority of a skit dealing with teenagers playing D&D are just not funny. Also the plot, while inherently harmless and flimsy, adds quite a few deadspots to the movie taking away from the fun of many of the skits.

The Onion Movie is definitely worth a watch though. While not as funny as I hoped it was funnier than I expected. Naturally, for those of you who know of The Onion, know to expect nudity and cursing, so this is not a movie to watch with your kids. Check it out, and hope you enjoy!

City of God (2002)

Cidade de Deus

[10/10 · 14 October 2009]

Many movies try to recreate the real world, giving us a "true" story that's supposed to be gripping, gritty, and scary but never completely accomplishing the goal. Other times we get movies that would appear to give us what we were expecting if it weren't for the fact that they've been done over and over again. In 2002, though, Fernando Meirelles gave us a new story that showed us a new world. Focusing on the true story of Rocket as he grows up around the gangs in Cidade de Deus, a neighborhood in Rio de Janiero where gangs of children ran free to rob, loot, and deal drugs, City of God feels more like a documentary than a dramatic theatrical film.

Narrated by Rocket (Alexandre Rodriguez), City of God begins with the story of the Tender Trio. The Tender Trio, a teenage gang that pretty much ran Cidade de Deus in the 60's which also included Rocket's brother Goose, robbed gas trucks at gun point, stealing the money and giving the propane to the people around them. They never made much off the money, so a young hanger on named Li'l Dice gave them the idea to rob the rich in a local hotel. Things don't go quite as planned and everyone in the hotel ends up dead, with the Tender Trio hunted by the police. Fast forward to the 70's and Li'l Dice, now Li'l Ze, is the most respected hood in Cidade de Deus. Having killed all the members of the hotel in the 60's robbery, and Goose, Rocket's brother after that, he got a taste of blood. As Rocket tries to avoid him, Li'l Ze kills off all the drug dealers in Cidade de Deus making way for him to be the only hookup in the slums. But, as he gains control of the slums, he kills the family of one man who is going to try his damnedest to take him down.

City of God is a gangster movie through and through, but while you might see some things that remind you of other gangster movies you never feel that this movie is being derivative. The director does borrow things from, say, Martin Scorsese (e.g.: the talk of how drug dealing works in the slums reminded me of Casino), Meirelles always makes it his own. And while the movie is a gangster movie and does deal with a gangster making his way up the chain and ruling the crime world in a neighborhood, the movie never feels like it's taking the usual route, giving equal time to the rise of the Li'l Ze and to Rocket's venture in becoming a photojournalist and staying out of the crime world.

The film looks absolutely amazing. The cinematography gives everything the feel of being in the sun drenched City in Rio de Janeiro. On top of that, the camera moves gives the film a sense of urgency and a certain freshness that makes everything feel that much more real. The writing reminds me a bit of Quentin Tarantino, it's a bit all over the place, but in a good way. As you meet a character that's important to the story your whisked away into the world of who they were before they entered into the story. It works in much the same way as Tarantino's ADD addled films, but never takes away from the story as it has in other films that have tried to copy the "Tarantino Method" so to speak.

While all of that works to make an amazingly gripping film, there would be nothing without the actors. Typically, in my reviews, I would prefer to point out great performances, but in this movie that's nigh impossible. From the Runts (young groups of children who loot and rob people and businesses in the slums) to the main characters, everyone works as a team player. The point is that they're performances are so genuine, so unique, that everyone feels like the live and breathe in this world. When watching this movie you feel like you are visiting Cidade de Deus, and that's what you really want from this type of movie.

In this movie I can see no bad, but there are things that you should know before you watch the movie. The majority of the violence is dealing with children and teens, which makes the violence more frightening and disturbing. Meirelles doesn't shy away from anything, even murdering a six to eight year old child. One of the great things about the way the violence is handled though, is that you never want the violence to happen, you always feel disturbed by the violence that does happen and prefer to stay away from it as the movie goes on (the way it really should be in movies). The movie is in Portuguese so you will have to read subtitles, but I have to say, if you choose to do so, you'll be rewarded by the story you receive. I highly recommend this movie to anyone, and everyone!

28 Days Later (2002)

28 Days Later...

[8/10 · 12 October 2009]

Recently Danny Boyle won the best directing Oscar for Slumdog Millionaire, a worthy award winner in my opinion. Boyle is a director that never rests on his laurels, recreating genres every time he steps up to the plate. One of his most familiar is the polarizing dramedy Trainspotting, but he's also recreated the sci-fi movie with Sunshine, the kids movie with Millions and so on. Danny Boyle is a filmmaker worthy to be listed among the great auteurs like Scorsese, Hitchcock, and so on. With 28 Days Later... (unfortunately, often referred to as a "zombie" movie, though it's not) he tackles horror with excellent precision.

28 Days Later opens with scenes of violence being watched by a monkey on a TV screen as he lays strapped down in a lab. Extremist animal activists break into the lab in an effort to save the animals from being tested on only to find they've been infected with a highly contagious virus known as Rage. Disaster leads to death and devastation throughout all of London. Cut to Jim (Cillian Murphy) 28 days later, a bike courier waking up from a coma in an empty hospital. After wandering across London, bewildered by the lack of people, he's saved by Selena (Naomie Harris) and Mark (Noah Huntley) as he's being chased by the infected denizens of the city. After finding other survivors, Frank and Hannah (Brendan Gleeson and Megan Burns), they hear a radio broadcast from a military installment which houses other horrors for our survivors.

While often considered a zombie movie, and it borrows liberally from many past zombie movies, 28 Days Later is not a zombie movie. The infected in this movie are living beings, infected by a virus that similar to Ebola is communicable by blood, and has more affect on the brain than the physicality of a human being. This is important to the message of the movie as the virus represents something that is inherent in all of us and leads to social unrest and the breakdown of modern society, as the virus did in the movie. In this Boyle has done something that he does very well in every one of his movies: creates a great social commentary. Throughout the course of the movie we see that there are those who would fight against a society gone wrong, and those that would exploit it. Yet, while exploring the themes of moral ambiguity, Boyle never handles them with a heavy handed approach.

Having a moral/ social message is important to good horror in this reviewers opinion, but how the movie looks and feels is easily just as important to hold the viewers attention. Boyle chose to shoot the majority of the movie with DV cameras, giving the movie a gritty post apocalyptic type feel while also giving the movie a kind of documentary feel as well. On top of that, the DV camera also allowed for tricks that gives the infected an otherworldly look, making them seem scarier when they're bum rushing their "prey". The visuals selected to fill the frame also give you a glimpse at an alien world, a city, or a grocery store that should be buzzing with people, but because of the look of film, it seems even more eerie when you see it emptied of all presence.

The acting of course is top notch, as anyone whose seen Brendan Gleeson act would expect, but the movie really belongs to Cillian Murphy who had his break out performance in this movie. As Jim, a man who went down one day in a bustling city, and woke up the next in an empty city, Murphy shows the pain of a man whose lost everything before he even knew what had happened to him. Cillian gives us a man in the middle of a crisis that we truly believe his arc from a pained and scared man just waking up at the end of the world to a man who will fight through all hell to protect those he cares about. Naomie Harris, who also received great acclaim for this movie, portrays a strong woman struggling with her fear and sorrow, but always holding it in, trying to steel herself from pain to come. Also keep your eyes open for Christopher Eccleston, who will become the future Dr. Who a few years after this movie.

For as great as the movie is though, I do have my nitpicks. Calling the virus Rage seems a little too on the nose for my tastes, but luckily this isn't mentioned too often throughout. At the beginning there are also glaring plot holes in the scheme of today's society. Why is Jim the only patient to not be evacuated from the hospital? And why did they leave a comatose patient naked in the ICU? Why are there no cars left on the streets of London, or along the highways? A lot of this is due to the budget of the film, and can be explained away, but as there are no answers to be found within the actual narrative of the movie they must be left as plot holes. Luckily, as the only plot holes are mainly to be found at the beginning of the movie they do not detract from the movie as a whole, and will be forgotten by most by the end of the movie.

For fans of horror, and movies with a deeper socio-political meaning this is definitely a must watch, but think before you decide to show this to your kids. There is full male nudity, as well as a lot of cursing. But if you're looking for a captivating horror this movie is definitely for you.

25th Hour (2002)

25th Hour

[8/10 · 12 October 2009]

Spike Lee is a director that it took me a while to watch. Call it the prejudices of growing up in a southern right wing Christian family, but I always got the impression that he was a racist black man blaming all the black race's social ailments on the white man. Having been raised by members of both races, I'm not fond of that type of mentality. Finally, I decided to educate myself on Lee's films, and started with the amazing social commentary of Do the Right Thing. Boy, was I wrong. Since then I've watched a few Spike Lee joints and never got the impression that he was a racist, but that he was highly aware of the racial and social tensions that came with living in the big city, and you see a little bit of that in 25th Hour.

In 25th Hour, we meet Montgomery Brogan, a former heroine dealer for the Russian mob recently pinched and spending his last day as a free man with his family and closest friends before spending the next 7 years behind bars. Among his friends he has: Jacob Elinsky (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a high school English teacher coming to terms with his crush on one of his students (Anna Paquin); Frank Slaugherty (Barry Pepper), Monty's oldest friend who's dealing with the fact that his best friend is a drug dealer and he never tried to stop him; Naturelle Riviera (Rosario Dawson), his girlfriend who may or may not have sold him; and his dad, James Brogan (Brian Cox), who would rather see his son run far away and never come back than go to prison.

25th Hour is more of a character study than anything else. The movie surrounds a party where each member of Monty's entourage comes to term with what's going on in this life. While featuring what's going on in the present, we also see flashbacks that help flesh out the history of some of our more notable characters as Lee expounds on the whodunit of selling out Monty. Lee still approaches the racial and social tensions as Monty fights with his subconscious in an effort to remember that he screwed up his own life. Lee does a great job at presenting the struggles of life in a big city, and as always in a Lee movie the big city is a living breathing character in and of itself.

The acting pedigree in this movie is nothing to sneeze at either. Featuring Golden Globe and Oscar nominated talent such as Philip Seymour Hoffman, Anna Paquin, and Brian Cox, as well as other notable actors like Rosario Dawson and Barry Pepper you expect nothing but the best. The movie completely belongs to the tortured performance of Edward Norton. This performance recalls his work in American History X, while delving into different areas of guilt, depression, and owning your situation. I would argue that Norton even goes deeper into the character, giving a more nuanced performance that is less preachy than he did in the aforementioned movie.

The one main fault I would have to pin on this movie is pacing. For the most part the movie flows perfectly, but the flashbacks, while serving to build up the characters, don't help the narrative flow properly. If you were to ask if this movie is an enjoyable movie and worth watching, I would have to answer with an enthusiastic yes.

Audition (1999)

Odishon (Audition)

[8/10 · 11 October 2009]

In my mind, Asian cinema comes up with some of the best movies you can possibly see. Unlike a lot of American cinema, Asians typically come up with extremely original and thought provoking works of art from gangster movies like Infernal Affairs, to revenge flicks like Oldboy, and even monster movies like The Host. One of the best Asian filmmakers to come out in recent years is Takashi Miike. From Ichi the Killer to the original version of One Missed Call, Takashi Miike has always been a filmmaker that helped to represent excellence. With Odishon, or Audition in English, Miike (pronounced Me-ay-kay) crafted a modern horror masterpiece that even American metal and movie horror-master Rob Zombie said messed him up when he first saw it.

Audition is the story of Japanese film producer Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi). Seven years after his wife dies, Aoyama decides to find himself a new wife after the urging of his son Shigehiko Aoyama (Tetsu Sawaki). After talking to a colleague that he plans to find a new wife, his colleague comes up with the idea of holding an audition for a movie that would serve for casting the lead female role in a new movie and finding Aoyama a wife. While reviewing the candidates for the audition Aoyama comes across the profile and resume of Asami Yamazaki (Eihi Shiina) and is struck by her picture and her life story. At the actual audition he has eyes for none of the other girls besides Asami, and when the audition is over he can hardly wait to call her. His colleague has misgivings about the girl, and despite his warnings Aoyama starts a relationship anyway.

Audition starts off slow going, building up characters and relationships rather than just jumping into the horror like most American films will do. This actually really helps the horror, you actually feel for the characters so when you find them in horrific situations you truly feel the horror of what they're going through. While the movie takes a little bit of time to pick up, when it does hit, it hits hard and doesn't let go, and leaves you with that, "WTF?!" feeling.

The acting in this movie is superb. The movie mainly follows the building relationship of Aoyama and Asami, and they play their characters deftly. Sawaki plays Aoyama as a businessman having been seven years out of the game becomes obsessed with a girl whom he thinks is perfect for him. Likable, not quite sure of the moral implications of the "audition", and a good father who's just lonely, Sawaki plays a character with many layers and makes the audience feel all of them. Shiina, playing Asami, plays a woman that you feel sorry for and you constantly wonder what really lies beneath the surface. Slightly creepy, damaged, and also very lonely, Shiina shows that something always lies deeper in her character while not always letting the audience into what it is.

I highly recommend this movie, but it's not for everyone, it's not in English so you will have to watch it with subtitles. Also there are some very graphic torture scenes that will last in your memory. For those of you who don't mind, or enjoy that type of thing though, you will be rewarded! 4/5

District 9 (2009)

District 9

[10/10 · 11 October 2009]

After The Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong, Peter Jackson was handed the keys to a Halo movie. But work starting on The Lovely Bones (due out December 11, 2009) and the possibility of The Hobbit in his future, Peter Jackson opted to produce and wanted to pass directorial duties to an unknown South African director named Neill Blomkamp. With an unknown director known only for his short films, commercials, and special effects work and a reported $150 million budget for Halo the producers and studio balked at the idea of Blomkamp directing. After Halo fell through, Jackson offered Blomkamp a $30 million budget to direct the film of his choice. The result, a feature length version of Blomkamp's first short film Alive In Joburg called District 9.

District 9 starts as a documentary. Thirty years ago an alien ship came to a halt over Johannesburg, South Africa. After emptying the ship of it's inhabitants, the government segregates the aliens from the humans into a dirty third world camp called, you guessed it, District 9. The aliens who looks like a cross between insects and crustaceans and are referred to as prawns are forced to live in squalor and filth in rickety shacks and have to dig through trash for food or trade their advanced weaponry to Nigerian gangs for cans of cat food (their preferred food). Unfortunately, everything in District 9 isn't as it should be as the humans want them moved even further away from society, so a plan goes into effect to move the prawns even further from society into District 10. A group of officials from a government contracted firm called Multi-National United (MNU), led by Wikus Van De Merwe (newcomer Sharlto Copley) is sent into District 9 to give the prawns eviction notices stating that they have 24 hours to vacate District 9. During the course of their project, though, Wikus accidentally has some mysterious liquid sprayed in his face which has some devastating effects.

District 9 could quite possibly be the best movie I've seen all summer, my only regret is that it didn't come out sooner. It starts out as social commentary dealing with apartheid, the humans take great pleasure in treating the prawns as less than human, shuffling them around, berating them, and even burning down shacks that contain their eggs. It's this socio-political relevance that really causes this movie to rise above it's sci-fi peers. On top of that, the movie is shot with a real documentary feel, this adds to the gritty reality of the movie. You believe this is happening because it feels like a documentary you'd watch on the History channel.

On top of that, the acting is superb as well. A special shout out must be given to Sharlto Copley who has no acting experience and had no previous acting experience and had no intention to be an actor prior to Blomkamp's short film, Alive In Joburg. His character Wikus is seen in nearly every scene of the movie and you really feel for him despite his early despicable acts in the movie. You always feel for him and you always root for him, and while that can be attributed to great writing, it takes a great actor to really pull that range off.

The real winner in this movie, and what really blew my mind, though, are the special effects. I don't normally mention budgets when reviewing a movie, but here I think it's important. To give you an idea if you were to look at the other action movies to come out this summer you would see that X-Men Origins: Wolverine cost approximately $160 million to make, Terminator Salvation cost about the same, and Transformers 2 cost about $200 million. On the other side of the spectrum, if you look at comedies, Funny People cost $75 million, and last years Zack and Miri Make a Porno cost $25 million. Hell, back in 1991, Terminator 2 was originally budgeted at $77 million but went way over budget. The point: this movie had as many special effects as, say Wolverine, and cost less than a third of that to make and looks 10x better. Remember, all of the prawns, except the dead ones laying out on tables, were shot completely with digital effects and they all look photo-real. This movie easily looks like a $150 million plus movie.

All in all, I'm really hoping this movie starts a new trend among studios: more original movies. I highly recommend you check it out in theaters, but before you decide to take your kids remember that this movie does earn it's R rating. It has way more than it's fair share of cursing, and exploding bodies (that alien technology will get ya every time). If you have a chance to go alone, or don't mind your kids seeing gore and hearing multiple f-bombs, I suggest you see it now and not just wait for this movie to hit DVD.

5/5

Funny People (2009)

Funny People

[9/10 · 11 October 2009]

Judd Apatow has made a name for himself in producing and directing amazingly hilarious, raunchy R rated comedies. While he's had a long career which includes the well reviewed and prematurely canceled TV shows Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared, his name really came into prominence when he produced the movie that launched the leading man career of Will Ferrell in the 70's newscaster spoof Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy. In 2005 he directed his first feature film launching the movie career of Steve Carrell with the movie 40 Year Old Virgin, a movie I count as my favorite comedy, and list in my top 10 favorite movies of all town. After that he launched Seth Rogen's career in the superb Knocked Up, Jonah Hill's career with Superbad, and Jason Segel's career with Forgetting Sarah Marshall my second favorite movie in the bunch. With Funny People, Apatow adds Adam Sandler, Jason Schwartzman, Eric Bana, and even Eminem to the mix. The question is, how did it stand up? Funny People is the story of George Simmons (Adam Sandler), a superstar comedic actor with many hits under his belt, and is beloved superficially by almost everyone. In reality he is a troubled, loathsome, lonely man who doesn't allow anyone to get to close, and those that do he drives away. After being diagnosed with an advanced blood disease similar to leukemia, George realizes just how lonely he is and decides to start doing stand up again. Enter in Ira Wright (Seth Rogen). Ira is a struggling stand up comic, who does stand up for free at improv nights, works at a deli, and lives on the sofa sleeper of fellow comics Mark Taylor Jackson (Jason Schwartzman, also doing musical duties behind the scenes for the movie) and Leo Koenig (Jonah Hill). After seeing Ira's stand up one night, George Simmons hires him as his writer and personal assistant, aka his best friend. Through out the course of the movie we see George Simmons trying to reach humanity again. As he comes to the realization that he's dying he reaches out to friends and family he hasn't been in contact with for years, and tries to reclaim love with his former fiancée Laura (Leslie Mann, Judd Apatow's wife) who is now married to a philandering Aussie named Clarke (Eric Bana), and now has two children Mable and Ingrid (Maude and Iris Apatow, Leslie Mann and Judd Apatow's real life children).

It should really be said that Funny People is not as completely a comedy in the way that 40 Year Old Virgin or Knocked Up are comedies. Funny People is a much more naked, emotional affair than either of the previous movies. That's not to say that the film is not funny, it has more than it's fair share of comedy, bringing in many superstar comedians including Dave Attell, Ray Romano, Sarah Silverman, Norm MacDonald, Andy Dick, etc. There's also some great stand up to be seen from the likes of Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Aubrey Plaza (who steals nearly every scene she's in as Daisy), and of course Adam Sandler. Seeing the inner workings of comics and funny people trying to break their way into the business, and their interactions with each other gives our characters and the writer a lot of comedic material to mine, and they mine it well.

Comedy is not at the forefront of the this movie though. In reality, the movie is about finding life in the midst of death, and to that end the writing and the acting is superb. As a dying comedian trying to find his humanity, Adam Sandler finds a funny and serious streak unlike just about anything we've seen him in. While we've seen him do serious before in Punch Drunk Love, Reign Over Me, and Spanglish this is arguably the best performance he's given so far, mixing in the old Adam Sandler we've seen in Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison with a much older and mature Sandler. Seth Rogen, also does a much different role than that of the pot smoking slacker schlub than what we're used to from him. Playing a confidant, assistant, and writer for Simmons, Rogen plays Simmons last link to humanity and his conscience. Seeing both of these characters somewhat out of their element and playing the characters amazingly well is a very nice change of pace.

For all it's strengths, there is one major weakness: running time. At 146 minutes, Funny People can drag a little bit in the more serious dramatic areas, especially when you really want more of the strong comedic material you've seen throughout the movie. In all honesty though, I couldn't tell you what should have been cut to make it shorter. The arc of George Simmons really needed the running time to help flesh out the characters. All in all, I would say that Funny People is a great movie definitely worth seeing, if not in the theater, definitely on DVD where you can get up and move around when you feel like it.

4.5/5

The Dark Knight (2008)

Just See It

[10/10 · 21 July 2008]

This summer has been the summer of the comic book movie. Amazing movies have come out of the genre this summer: Iron Man, Hellboy 2, and The Incredible Hulk (from what I've heard) to name a few. At a time when people need a hero to usher them through bad times, they've been there for them at the multiplex. We've seen these heroes deal with not only outward demons but inward demons as well (anger, hate, alcoholism, drugs, etc.) but none of them has dealt with them in the way that The Dark Knight does; the first movie to truly transcend the genre.

Batman has always been my favorite of the comic book heroes. Unlike the most Batman is human, he has no super powers unless you count his amazing self control and brilliance. In the past, this very human character has been placed in a very supernatural world surrounded by villains that seem like they don't belong, possess supernatural powers, or are too comic to believe they could be nothing more than a fly bothering an elephant. The city too Gothic or colorful to be taken seriously, but this all changed with Batman Begins, a movie that showed Batman as a very human crime fighter, in a very real world.

The Dark Knight takes everything up a notch, creating a brutal world, in a very realistic city. This new saga, from the creators of Batman Begins, doesn't try to be a comic book movie, but instead tries to be something greater and succeeds in spades. Don't expect the bubblegum pop of past comic book movies, this movie transplants comic book characters into a gritty crime drama that feels like it could actually happen. Forget the comic book, no one is safe and nothing's sacred here. From the opening scene this movie picks you up and won't let you down until the credits start to roll, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat from start to finish. In this world, our hero isn't past breaking legs to get the information he needs, and our villain is as scary as anything you've seen in Silence of the Lambs or Se7en.

The movie opens up with a bank robbery, and you learn just what kind of person The Joker really is. (The hype is underplayed, Heath Ledger is beyond amazing as he literally disappears into the role of a lifetime. Ironic, and unfortunate, that his best performance should be his last.) Here we watch an amazingly choreographed bank robbery as The Joker's "allies" drop like flies. This is a man who cares about nothing, not even the money he's stealing, he's just having fun pulling one over on everyone. We also hear him utter one of the greatest lines of the whole Batman series: "I believe in one thing: what doesn't kill you, makes you stranger." This opening scene not only sets the tone for the rest of the movie, but is also one of the most amazing opening scenes of any action/drama movie ever.

Currently, in our saga, Jim Gordon and Batman are doing their best to put an end to the mob's rule in Gotham city with a little help from the new DA Harvey Dent, the city's new White Knight. Harvey Dent is a pure man in a dirty world (once again played excellently by the always welcome Aaron Eckhart) and could also be Bruce Wayne's chance to put down the cape and cowl once and for all. Here we see Bruce as a man torn, the true antihero. I thought Christian Bale was good in Batman Begins, here he exceeds all expectation.

While our trio of good tries to take down the mob, the mob turns to the man who's been robbing them blind to take care of The Bat: The Joker. It's just too bad for the mob that they had nowhere else to turn to. With the mob relying on him, and the cops and Batman going after the mob, The Joker now has free reign on the city. Here The Joker has no true agenda, at least no rational agenda, and that's something Batman can't understand because in his mind every criminal wants something. What do with someone who is absolutely insane (he tells the story of how he got his scars several times, each time telling a different story, and each time believing the story with every fiber of his being) and so hellbent on destruction and anarchy? Maybe you have to use the criminals methods to fight them. (You either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.) This movie takes on some very weighty and deep issues, but never loses steam. It might be two and half hours, but it flies by. It's one of the most entertaining movies in the multiplex right now, and I would recommend you see it in the theater, some things will lose their visual luster on the small screen (a night time fly around the skyscrapers of Hong Kong comes to mind). Catch it soon, you won't be sorry.