tag:www.whattheflick.com,2007://1 2007-10-30T03:14:50Z A Babe in the Multiplex Movable Type 3.31 tag:www.whattheflick.com,2007://1.119 2007-10-30T02:51:26Z 2007-10-30T03:14:50Z

Moving along, it’s Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Not that this movie wasn't fabulous, in its own, tapestry-mad way, but it wasn't great. It follows Elizabeth I from 1585 through the whole Spanish Armada thing and into the 1590s. Frankly, I...

Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Not that this movie wasn't fabulous, in its own, tapestry-mad way, but it wasn't great. It follows Elizabeth I from 1585 through the whole Spanish Armada thing and into the 1590s. Frankly, I think “Liz, Warrior Queen” is a more apt title, ...]]> Elizabeth), Cate Blanchett brings it as Good Queen Liz, but somehow this part of the story falls flat. Despite the dramatic history going on, it never felt that exciting. I finally felt moved when she was in her very attractive armor and long ringlets, waving the flag and exhorting the troops to defend England (and, by her reasoning, rationality and freedom) against Spain (and, by implication, those crazy Papists and Inquistion-makers). I could see her point, but by then I was kind of exhausted from the whole thing. Besides the Spanish Armada, there's the plotting of Mary, Queen of Scotland (Samantha Morton), to overthrow Liz, the follow-up beheading of the Queen of Tartans when her plots fail, and a good deal of detailed visual information on Elizabethan England's enhanced interrogation techniques, like the good old Iron Maiden and the rack. At any rate, you get an idea of where the term "bloody hell" might have entered the English language. On the Queen's soft side, there’s some romantic intrigue involving the Liz, her Lady-in-Waiting Bess, and Sir Walter Raleigh, fresh from discovering Virginia. I'm usually not drawn to a man with chunky art-show rings, but I'd make a big old exception for Sir Walter Raleigh as so manly portrayed by Clive Owen. In my opinion, Clive Owen should always play manly, royal-type men (see, for example, his King Arthur). He makes you see how the people on that little, lovable island could take the world. Anyway, if you love the story of QE I, and aren’t tired of it after seeing last year’s Golden-Globe and Emmy-winning HBO version with Helen Mirren, I say go for this one. It’s enjoyable if only because of the fantastic outfits and palaces and war tents and jewelry, from the days when a Queen could really show off and not feel like she had to drive her own Land Rover to Parliament. ]]> tag:www.whattheflick.com,2007://1.118 2007-10-30T02:45:51Z 2007-10-30T03:09:26Z

So let’s dive in. The past few weeks have presented a deluge of serious movies as everyone starts polishing up their Oscar speeches and prepping for awards season. First up (on my list), is Michael Clayton, starring the lovely George...

Michael Clayton, starring the lovely George Clooney. Of the three I’m discussing this week, this was the one I’d most recommend to you all. It’s got action and some moral complexity; ...]]> Tilda Swinton) or part of the law firm representing them, erodes the character and moral standing of the people involved. At the outset we meet Clayton trying to clean up after a big-money client’s hit and run; he’s jaded, rundown, and pretty much fed up with this role. Things get started when the eponymous Clayton is called in to clean up the mess left when a colleague (Tom Wilkinson), the lead council defending the chemical company against a class action suit, loses it in a meeting, strips down naked, and starts chasing the plaintiffs through the parking lot. As the story goes on, you can wonder whether he’s gone crazy or finally found his sanity, but the real question is whether Clayton will go out on the limb with him, or protect his own, and the corporation’s asses. Clooney is damn good as Clayton, bringing a world-weary charm to the role that adds depth and veracity to what could otherwise be a sketchy character. You can see how he would be good at the job he’s got, but also how it’s eating him away inside. And Tilda Swinton is fantastic as the corporate attorney who seems unable to stop herself, even as she visibly suffers from the random swings of her moral compass.]]> tag:www.whattheflick.com,2007://1.117 2007-08-17T23:34:10Z 2007-08-18T00:01:33Z

Oh, boy. I am a pretty big fan of Sci Fi and willing to go out on a lot of limbs for it (Ha! I'm going to see The Invasion!), so I was looking forward to Sunshine, the new movie...

The Invasion!), so I was looking forward to Sunshine, the new movie from Danny Boyle, who previously has brought us the awesome 28 Days Later and the unusual Trainspotting. Sadly, Sunshine is a muddled...]]> Fantastic Four's Chris Evans and Batman Begins' Cillian Murphy among them), a botanist (Michelle Yeoh), and an ingenue-astronaut (Damages' Rose Byrne). Together they make up a varied and interesting mini-social experiment in space. The movie is most successful when it follows the characters around their daily routines during their months-long mission. Space fever, a bit of paranoia, fear, courage, weasliness all surface as they get closer to the sun and the point where they will lose radio contact with Earth. There's the thought of being isolated in space, plus the primal attraction of the sun, and 7 very intelligent, motivated, would-be heroes, all cooped up in a tin can behind a giant aluminum umbrella hurtling toward destiny. A thoughtful exploration of the psychological issues that this might raise would be a good movie. This isn't it, unless you consider the last 20 minutes of 2001 to be seriously profound. (You do? Watch it again, without mind-altering drugs. It is dull and makes little if any sense.) Instead, the psychological issues quickly take a back seat to a detour necessitated by the discovery of the Icarus I still in orbit and broadcasting a distress signal. I wanted to yell: Don't open that airlock!! Could it be any more obvious that trouble awaits on the other side? At that point, the movie takes a crazy turn that throws it from thoughtful rumination into scary action flick, and lost me. Part Solaris, part Alien, part 2001: A Space Odyssey -- and in no case any of the good parts of those -- Sunshine left me cold. ]]> tag:www.whattheflick.com,2007://1.116 2007-08-17T23:19:56Z 2007-08-18T00:04:49Z

In A Mighty Heart, Angelina Jolie portrays Marianne Pearl, journalist wife of Daniel Pearl (Dan Futterman), the Wall Street Journal reporter who was kidnapped and beheaded on tape (to just say murdered doesn't really cover the outrage) by self-proclaimed Islamist...

A Mighty Heart, Angelina Jolie portrays Marianne Pearl, journalist wife of Daniel Pearl (Dan Futterman), the Wall Street Journal reporter who was kidnapped and beheaded on tape (to just say murdered doesn't really cover the outrage) by self-proclaimed Islamist nutjobs in Pakistan in 2002. Going into the movie I was expecting it to be serious and heartrending -- it is -- ]]> Journal representatives as they scramble to find him in the chaos of Karachi, a large pre- and postmodern port city in Pakistan. The movie conveys very well the constant motion, occasional charm, and -- it's true -- sense of menace of the crowded streets, full of cars and cell phones and donkeys and ... it all feels very Blade Runner, if you can picture that. People heap Angelina Jolie with all kinds of crap for her choices in life and movies; it's bull. She is a very good actress (and I have no opinion on her skills as a mother or UN representative) and puts her face -- which she knows people will follow -- to good use illuminating some of our world's darker and more desperate corners. Here she gives a brave performance as Marianne -- making her vulnerable, tough, alternately kind and unlikeable, a bit of a bitch and control freak, pregnant and struggling with a horrible, incomprehensible experience in an alien society, and trying throughout to maintain some grace. She is so believable, and the documentary style along with the solid performances of the other actors are so convincing, that you forget it's a drama of something that's already happened. When the news arrives that Danny is dead, it hits you in the gut just like it hits Marianne, and with her you weep -- not just for her husband, but for the values of civilization itself. ]]> tag:www.whattheflick.com,2007://1.115 2007-08-17T22:33:30Z 2007-08-17T23:31:16Z

Here are the original reviews of The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Identity. August 2004 Back to Bourne I figured "A Star is Bourne" was pretty much established in THE BOURNE IDENTITY, where we met amnesiac assassin Jason Bourne (Matt...

The Bourne Supremacy and The Bourne Identity. August 2004 Back to Bourne I figured "A Star is Bourne" was pretty much established in THE BOURNE IDENTITY, where we met amnesiac assassin Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) and went along on the wild ride that wowed us with innovative hit man techniques and Bourne’s hunky romanticism.]]> THE BOURNE SUPREMACY, forced back into deadly action when some Russian oligarchs sniff out the romantic hiding place in Goa where he has spent the past few years learning about his past and enjoying his present with Marie (Franka Potente), the gal he met along the way in IDENTITY. Being found means Bourne has to head to the good old EU to regain some peace of mind. Once back in Europe, Bourne presents a problem for the Russians and the CIA agents who once ran him. In the intervening years, the CIA has shut down the program that was once Bourne’s way of life, and his presence is a reminder of its extralegal machinations and the shady past of some currently active executives. This leaves Bourne having to out the Russian conspiracy and convince the new CIA supervisor (Joan Allen) that he’s not responsible for the murder of her agents. How does an amnesiac assassin go about doing this? I can tell you it takes guns, a gas explosion, some martial arts, wily manipulation, scribblings in a journal, scenic train travel around Europe, flashbacks, and a lot of determined looks. Meanwhile, the CIA agents have to look out windows, use cell phones that always have a signal (I swear, the federal deficit could be erased if the CIA would just make commercially available the phones they use in ALIAS, 24, and here), issue commands, overcome gender politics, and, in Joan Allen’s case, look tough in a navy blue suit. And Julia Stiles reprises her thankless role from IDENTITY, though here she gets out of the attic and into a hostage situation instead. I enjoyed this movie quite a bit, and it has some great music and tight direction, which work together to keep the pulse racing and the plot moving forward. But I found SUPREMACY a little less satisfying than THE BOURNE IDENTITY, mainly because it lacked the human element of the developing relationship between Jason and Marie. The plot of this version doesn’t include Marie for most of the story, and Jason seems less 3 dimensional without her – he seems more like a well-trained man on a mission. Although he’s still damn attractive going about that mission, he’s not quite as appealing as he was before. If you like a twisty thriller, this will fill the bill, but I hope the romance returns when “Bourne Three” arrives someday. June 2002 Just Call Him Alpha As in alpha male. At one point during the new film thriller The Bourne Identity—after Matt Damon (as the amnesiac Jason Bourne) had spoken 3 languages, taken a load of money from his numbered Swiss account, dispatched some pesky guards at the US consulate in Zurich, convinced the comely Marie (Franka Potente) to drive him to Paris in her authentic Austin Mini (how totally 2002) for $20K, swiftly and lethally knocked off a professional assassin, and was, at that moment, coloring and washing Marie’s hair—I turned to my friend Sarah and said, “If he can do all that, who cares if he has a name?” I mean, really. Several of the reviews I’ve seen (but not read) have had headlines or teasers that imply The Bourne Identity is not exciting or challenging. The NY Times online called it a “modest adaptation” that “triumphs through sheer unreflective professionalism.” Slate’s reviewer said it “is a soothingly mundane amnesia thriller.” What these guys (and they are guys) are missing is the sheer WOW factor of Matt Damon as that all-too-rare creature, the can-do, good-looking, strong-but-not steroid, sweet but deadly guy. I can tell you this, I doubt there was a gal in that theater who wasn’t having some heavy breathing just picturing Jason Bourne, memory or no memory, stopping by to change a tire, fix an awning, set up her stereo, chase away assassins—all that great guy stuff. But to the plot. Our new hero is found drifting in the Mediterranean by some friendly fishermen, who nurse him to health, teach him to fish, and give him $20 for the road, despite the fact that he had 2 bullets in his back, a Swiss bank account number implanted in his hip, and has no idea what his name is or why he was floating in the first place. He makes his way to Zurich, where he cleans out his safe deposit box, puzzled by the amount of cash and several countries’ passports, all with his picture but different names. In a case of what you don’t know can, indeed, hurt you, back home in Washington the astoundingly computer-savvy CIA, for whom it turns out Jason is a wetworks employee, has already located him and intends to bring him in. Unlike Osama bin Laden, the good old USA (as personified by Bourne’s boss at the CIA, Chris Cooper) only wants its agent back one way: dead. Luckily, Bourne remembers all the important stuff—hand-to-hand combat, superior marksmanship, rock climbing, the deadly uses of household objects, and how to charm a gal. Marie, a down-on-her-luck German, is trapped in the bureaucracy of obtaining an American visa. With nothing to lose, and $20,000 plus a fairly adorable hunk to gain, she agrees to drive Jason to Paris. When they arrive in Paris, complications ensue, including the untimely appearance of a trained killer, a great car chase (those Minis really move), and the sure knowledge that whoever Jason is, someone is out to kill him. Marie and Jason spend the rest of the movie solving the who, what, and why, and finally, the where—as in where they will end up together (you know they will). I wanted Jason to be more gleeful about his identity, like the scene in The Long Kiss Goodnight where Geena Davis remembers she’s a CIA-trained killer while chopping carrots, but alas, Jason is a conflicted hero. A few weeks back, I asked whether Ben Affleck (as Jack Ryan in The Sum of All Fears) would grow up to be Harrison Ford. I had my doubts. After seeing Matt Damon in this movie, I’m thinking he’s got the Harrison touch: he’s rugged, sensitive, handsome but not perfect, and, most of all, smart and tough. Although the film’s whole premise—amnesia, political assassination, evil-minded and supercompetent CIA—seems so last year, the sheer force of his (and to be honest, his costar Franka Potente’s) charisma and acting make this thriller move. My only question about the cast is why was Julia Stiles holed away in that garret CIA office in Paris? She deserves better than to be stuck at a desk or cowering in a corner. I thought for sure she was going to end up saving Bourne—but she’s really just the desk agent. Weird. PS: The people in front of me at the theater had 2 kids with them, around 8 to 10 years old. The kids were a little shook by the sheer volume of the film’s way too realistic-sounding scenes of violence—lots of bone cracking, blood squishing, gun shooting mayhem. They aren’t so graphic or inappropriate, but they are plentiful. It has a complex emotional punch: you are, after all, rooting for a formerly very deadly assassin. Thus, despite its upbeat theme of personal growth through amnesia and the love of a good German, this is not a movie for younger kids.]]> tag:www.whattheflick.com,2007://1.114 2007-08-17T22:07:13Z 2007-08-17T23:32:32Z

OOOkay. I have no excuse for being absent from my own blog-thingy, but here it is, mid-August, and I've been AWOL since July. But I have been to the movies -- not as much as you'd think, given my predilection...

Bourne Ultimatum, which needs no introduction.]]> The Bourne Ultimatum, Matt Damon reprises his role as amnesiac assassin with a soul Jason Bourne, still schelpping around the world trying to apologize to the kin of people he's assassinated and take down the evil CIA offshoot that trained him and set him loose on the world. It's better than it sounds from that description, but despite nonstop action and excitement, the movie feels like it's missing some emotional connection. In the first -- and best -- of the Bourne movies (The Bourne Identity), Jason's struggle to discover his identity, then come to grips with the reality of his profession is set against his growing love affair with Marie (Franka Potente), who turns out to be as kick-ass interesting as Bourne is and gives the whole movie a dimension that takes it above the usual identity-revenge genre. In the second movie, The Bourne Supremacy, and now Ultimatum that dimension is absent and sorely missed. There's a moment in Ultimatum when you think Bourne's heart may melt, but (like every moment in the movie) if flys by as Bourne whizzes from wherever to Tunisia to Madrid to Manhattan. The movie never stops long enough to catch its breath, or let the audience think about what's happening. I still can't tell you what Treadstone Blackbriar is all about -- even though it's supposed to be at the root of all this Bourne Anxiety. The bottom line: even though the movie is highly entertaining in an action-packed way, and Matt Damon, Joan Allen (as a CIA operative who helps Bourne), and David Straithairn (as the head of Treadstone Blackbriar whatever) are all great, I never felt there was much emotional jeopardy -- it's a given that Bourne is going to get away from every tricky situation -- and there are no other characters who you really worry about. He needed to have someone -- whether that Nicky Parsons chick (Julia Stiles), who's out of the Paris garret and into Tangier in this installment, or an up-and-coming Treadstone trainee or someone targeted for assassination -- to save, to show why he's bothering, to bring back that dimension that Marie brought out, to make me care.]]> tag:www.whattheflick.com,2007://1.113 2007-07-10T07:01:01Z 2007-07-17T08:42:15Z

"Sometimes you just want to blow the crap out of something." -- Mulder to Scully in the episode First Person Shooter. This is the sentiment that drives people to movies like Live Free or Die Hard, and it's perfectly valid...

"Sometimes you just want to blow the crap out of something." -- Mulder to Scully in the episode First Person Shooter. This is the sentiment that drives people to movies like Live Free or Die Hard, and it's perfectly valid -- as long as the crap being blown up involves special effects and not your next-door neighbors. As a firm believer in this principle, I can say that I truly enjoyed Bruce Willis'...]]> LFDH is a wild ride that starts in Camden, NJ, and barrels through Washington, DC, and elsewhere, with a devil-may-care attitude to life, limb, fine automobiles, taxis, buses, 18-wheelers, helicopters, and, yes, a fighter jet and a highway overpass. Willis is older and crankier, but just as funny, and his interactions with his "sidekick" -- a hacker named Matt that he's been assigned to pick up in Camden, played by Justin Long (from the "I'm a Mac" commercials) -- are pitch perfect. In fact, I'd love to see another movie pairing of those two. The terror plot involves a lot of technobabble, but here goes: some disgruntled NSA computer genius (Timothy Olyphant) -- possibly cinema's first full-bore metrosexual evildoer, what with the black shirts, gelled hair, and slightly whiney, injured tone -- decides to get revenge by taking down all of America's computers. (Not sure what a metrosexual is? Meet LA's newest one here). To do so, he's hired a bunch of unawares hackers, and then is bumping them off when their work is done. McClane arrives to pick up Matt just as an attempt is made to whack the hacker; in his true good-guy mode, McClane of course torches half the East Coast to stop the plot and SAVE THE KID. And his daughter, who somehow is kidnapped by the metrosexual's henchpersons. The movie is funny, fast-moving, coherent, and never takes itself too seriously. The mayhem is massive -- you have to know that going in -- but not sadistic. It's good, clean, American fun. Which may seem crazy, but there you have it. In this vein, it's time to review Shooter, starring Mark Wahlberg, and recently playing on your cross-country United Airlines flights (an odd choice, in my opinion, what with all the, I don't know, shooting). This is another feel-good movie where massive destruction takes place... in the name of justice. Wahlberg, an actor who I really, really like, plays Bobby Lee Swagger, a retired Army sniper who's recruited to help foil a plot to shoot the president. Only problem is, he ends up being framed for the crime. In 2 hours of impressive ingenuity, he evades capture, finds the real criminals, and exacts revenge. It's awesome. At one point, Walhberg as Swagger has been shot in the leg; he steals an FBI agent's car, and escapes detection from helicopters by driving in to a carwash, where he proceeds to cut through the back seat, retrieve the first-aid kit in the trunk, and dress his own wounds, all while getting the hot wax on the vehicle. My movie friend and I just sat there, agape, like, "Wow. I've got to meet a guy like that." Really, he's impressive. Director Antoine Fuqua knows how to keep the action going without losing his characters -- he directed Training Day and King Arthur. There's some clunker dialog (I mean, look at the guy's name: Swagger), especially from the jaded old politicos, but it didn't ruin my enjoyment. Kate Mara turns in a fine performance as Wahlberg's friend, and old hands Danny Glover and Ned Beatty are over-the-top (in a good way) as greedy government hacks who no longer believe the law applies to them. Do I have to say it? Swagger shows them that Justice may be blind, but, man, she's a good shot and -- at least in movies -- doesn't miss the bad guy. ]]> tag:www.whattheflick.com,2007://1.112 2007-06-28T23:56:06Z 2007-06-30T23:59:17Z

Last weekend I saw 2 movies that, each in their own way, illustrated how good people suffer when the forces of extremism dominate the dialogue of society. The first, Islam vs. the Islamists: Voices From the Muslim Center, was actually...

Islam vs. the Islamists: Voices From the Muslim Center, was actually intended to be a television documentary as part of the PBS series America at the Crossroads, which aired a few months ago. However, before airing PBS decided not to include it, citing...]]> may have offended the political sensibilities of TPTB at PBS (and here). In any case, I call foul. PBS of all places should be airing controversial viewpoints, but whatever. The film interviews 4 moderate Muslim community leaders: a member of the Danish parliament; a neurologist from Orange County, CA; and journalists in Paris and Toronto. Each has used his platform to speak out against Islamic extremism, which they see as contrary to the values of Islam. And not just flat-out terrorism: they also speak out against the "Islamists:" the inflammatory exhortations of Wahhabist Imams in local mosques, groups that choose to incite Muslims to violence, and Imams who insist that a good Muslim cannot live by the laws of Western societies and who advocate for separate Muslim communities, following the rule of Sharia religious law, within each of their adopted nations. The moderate Muslims interviewed in the film, on the other hand, believe that Muslims can honor their faith best by keeping it private and apolitical, and leading lives guided by their beliefs within the laws where they live -- as Catholics, Protestants, and Jews before them have done. For this belief, these moderates have been denounced from the Mihrab of the Wahabbist mosques as "leftist radicals." Not to mention threatened with death, various fatwas, and -- in France and Denmark, requiring 24-hour police protection from these threats. The film left me thinking that the majority of Muslims, who I believe -- hope -- are moderate, therefore remain silent, going about their lives and preferring not to get involved in speaking out against the dangerous idealogues. I say, hello 1930s Germany. If the moderates don't take back the dialogue between Islam and the West, they will lose the war within their own faith to the extremists, and only unhappy endings can ensue. As to balance, the Islamists were given a great deal of time to state their views on moderation, religious freedom, and their adopted Western nations; they used it to denouce all three as contrary to Islamist values and cited co-existence as the extremist view. PBS may not have liked what they said, but these Islamists were not ashamed to state their point of view, which must be understood in full as the intolerant, nonnegotiable ethos that it is. We all must support the moderate elements in our societies, or we shall be swept aside by extremism from every direction, and our principles and societies will suffer for it. And that brought me to Akamas, a Cypriot film screened at the recent 1st-ever Los Angeles Greek Film Festival. The film uses the love of a Greek Cypriot girl and Turk Cypriot boy to tell the story of the battle for Cyprus' independence from Britain and subsequent partition into Greek and Turkish quarters. The girl's first love is a Cypriot Che Guevera, fighting an insurgent war against the British with the [patriotic or violent or both] EOTA. He is killed, she falls in love with the Turk shepherd whom she has known since childhood, but their love must be secret because her family disapproves (and I'm sure his does, too, but being less powerful, they were a bit more accommodating). They are separated and eventually find their way back to each other, all across the backdrop of the disintegration of Cypress into warring camps. Eventually, of course, the British release Cypress after WWII, whether because of EOTA's insurgency or just Imperial exhaustion. And as by now seems to be the way of the world post-British Empire, the Cypriots don't take long to divide themselves into separate camps. As in Pakistan and India, as in Iraq today, neighbors are deemed enemies, societies fracture, and hatred and mistrust take root and grow in the cracks in between. The more powerful Greeks take advantage of the Turks, who turn to the Turkish government in Ankara for support, who lend some force, and --Boom! -- another war, another victory for extremism, another group of innocent bystanders, perfectly happy to live with their Turk or Greek neighbors, forcibly relocated from their homes, killed or tortured or worse, and left on an island divided between two hostile factions. No one is allowed to live in the gray area between these extremes; everyone is forced to take sides, and sadness is the only possible outcome. In this setting, the efforts of the lovers to be together, through heck and border guards, disapproving parents, and forced migration is a tribute to their determination and, when given the chance, our capacity to look beyond what separates us to find what links us in our common humanity. It is the heart and hope of the movie that they end up together, having outwitted both the Greek and Turk efforts to uproot them. If Islam vs. the Islamists is any indication, the forces that aim to separate continue to wield too much power. I mean, we share about 99% of our DNA with mice, for goodness' sake, so how different can any 2 humans really be? As they say on Battlestar Galactica, "all of this has happened before, and all of this will happen again." Until we learn to break that cycle -- and heaven help us if we need genocidal Cylons to finally make us get along -- peace will elude us, and tragedy will continue to invade our world. ]]> tag:www.whattheflick.com,2007://1.111 2007-06-13T06:39:04Z 2007-06-13T07:19:48Z

George Clooney bored me last night. Yeah, I know. I never thought I'd say those words, but there you have it. Ocean's Thirteen, the third installment of the capers of Danny Ocean (Clooney) and his crew of unlikely cohorts, lacked...

George Clooney bored me last night. Yeah, I know. I never thought I'd say those words, but there you have it. Ocean's Thirteen, the third installment of the capers of Danny Ocean (Clooney) and his crew of unlikely cohorts, lacked the lightness...]]> Al Pacino, orange tan and oddly orange-tinted hair and all) scams the gang's old-time friend Reuben (Eliot Gould, in the Lew Wasserman glasses), which sets a revenge scam in motion to win back Reuben's money and share of the new casino. As in O11 and O12, the technicalities of the caper are Byzantine and not important; but unlike those previous outings, the set-up here feels forced and kind of dull. There are a lot of machines, and some stupid subplot about a strike in a Mexican factory, and Ellen Barkin (who looks fab but should've picked something to wear that had sleeves) is ill-served by her role as Major Domo to Bank, and the subplot featuring her as a "cougar" who pounces on Linus (Matt Damon) is borderline insulting. Although both Danny and Rusty (Brad Pitt) toss off lines about off-screen loved ones, they have no love interest in the movie, and seem to be going through the motions. We're supposed to think this whole shebang was put together in Reuben's name, but I never got the feeling that any of the guys really cared all that much. Look, to me it's usually fun to spend 2 hours looking at Clooney, Pitt, and Damon in suits and enjoying the rest of the guys (thus the watching on planes with no sound), but O13 spends too much time not showing them. I mean, the friend I was with got up in the middle to go get a hot dog -- something she'd never have done if the movie were engaging. Sorry, Danny, I think Ocean's gang may be washed up. If there's going to be a 14, you all need to get back the buoyancy that floated O11 and made it so much fun to watch over and over. ]]> tag:www.whattheflick.com,2007://1.110 2007-06-06T04:44:30Z 2007-06-06T05:22:54Z

A Scanner Darkly is a druggy tale based on another identity-questioning story by Philip K. Dick (others, if you're interested, are Blade Runner -- the best -- along with Paycheck, Total Recall, and most recently, Next). Directed by Richard Linklater...

A Scanner Darkly is a druggy tale based on another identity-questioning story by Philip K. Dick (others, if you're interested, are Blade Runner -- the best -- along with Paycheck, Total Recall, and most recently, Next). Directed by Richard Linklater and shot in a crazy style that animates the real actors...]]> Keanu Reeves) is assigned to surveil his own house, in which he lives with 2 OC wastrels, both of whom do drugs. In this future OC, the agents' identities are secret even from each other -- which is how Bob gets assigned to follow his drug-doing self. Meanwhile, roommate 1 (Robert Downey, Jr) is a snitch -- and real dealer -- and roommate 2 (Woody Harrelson, so much more bearable in animated form) is a stoner. Toss in "the girl" -- another dealer named Donna (Winona Ryder -- welcome back, Winona, where've you been?), who Bob loves, but who may also be a snitch. Circles upon circles, and before long, you're not sure who's up to what, which puts you the viewer in the same spot as Bob and all the characters. The jagged animation enhances the paranoia and uncertainty about what exactly is real. Bob loses his grip on reality as the Russian dolls continue to tumble out and ends up in rehab... which, in this future OC, is an even bigger -- and more sinister -- business than even the continued life of Lindsay Lohan would suggest. Part paranoid fairy tale, part cautionary fable on how the powers that be who are supposed to protect us end up undermining the very security they've sworn to provide, A Scanner Darkly is not a laugh riot. But it is a twisty, confusing, dizzying, unnerving, and haunting ride. It features a great, spooky performance by Robert Downey, Jr, and interesting work from the [I think] underrated Keanu.]]> tag:www.whattheflick.com,2007://1.109 2007-06-06T04:11:16Z 2007-06-06T05:23:42Z

Set in an unnamed Deep South town at Joe's Pie Diner, Waitress follows the story of Jenna (Keri Russell) as she confronts impending motherhood with dread. To cope with her life's complications (the baby's father is her abusive dumbass husband),...

Waitress follows the story of Jenna (Keri Russell) as she confronts impending motherhood with dread. To cope with her life's complications (the baby's father is her abusive dumbass husband), Jenna whips up the unusual pies that keep the locals coming to Joe's. Serving them up her are her fellow waitresses and friendly support group...]]> Curb Your Enthusiasm's Cheryl Hines) and sweet and trusting Dawn (writer/director Adrienne Shelley). Jenna is the rock, in their minds, despite her marriage to the aptly-Southern-named Earl (Jeremy Sisto). The discovery of her pregnancy leads to an introduction to the town's handsome new doctor (Nathan Fillion, of Firefly and the short-lived Drive), who despite being married develops a new-guy crush on Jenna -- fully understandable as Keri Russell is luminous on screen, but in the context of the story his crush and her returned affection are just something you have to go with. Between the Doctor's affection and the support of crusty old diner owner Joe (Andy Griffith), Jenna learns to accept her pregnancy, see herself in a new light, and take the first steps outside the boundaries of her current life. Her wry journal entries in the baby book that Becky and Dawn give her chart Jenna's changing attitudes and were my favorite parts of the movie. Take good cast chemistry, throw in a big cup of fantasy, mix it up with a few improbable outcomes, and serve with a smile: Waitress is a charming first film and a tribute to Shelley, who was senselessly murdered just months before the film's debut. I, for one, would have liked to see what she did next. ]]> tag:www.whattheflick.com,2007://1.107 2007-04-19T02:13:52Z 2007-04-19T02:38:01Z

You know that whole "do see, don't see DVD" I tried to accomplish? It got kind of behind, particularly because some of the DVDs were just so wretched that I couldn't even bother (I'm looking at you, Rumor Has It)....

do see, don't see DVD" I tried to accomplish? It got kind of behind, particularly because some of the DVDs were just so wretched that I couldn't even bother (I'm looking at you, Rumor Has It). Well, here are a few new ones that may be of interest. Or not. First up, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Wanted to like it, enjoyed some of it (especially Robert Downey Jr.'s performance), but overall it's a big fat B. There is a fine line to be walked mixing dark humor and lots of violence, and writer/director Shane Black has tried -- and come close -- before. His Last Boy Scout was so loud, ]]> The Long Kiss Goodnight had scenes that still warm my heart. And KKBB falls into this category of noble effort, failed execution. Still, parts of it were humorous (RDJ's description of meeting girls at parties in LA: they're named "Jill, spelled J-Y-L-L-E" is very spot on, but it's not that difficult to make fun of the Hollywood hangers-on scene, and Entourage does it better). In a nutshell, RDJ's character is a small-time crook who falls into some good fortune -- he thinks -- when he stumbles into a casting call and is brought to Hollywood. But from the first party he attends, murder most foul is afoot and when he discovers his high-school crush (Michelle Monaghan, also seen in Mission Impossible 3) is involved, he decides to take his amateur detective skills (he's playing a detective in the movie-within-the-movie, and following around a real detective, played by Val Kilmer) to solve the crime and get the girl. It all falls deeply, sometimes humorously, often bloodily apart. Sometimes funny, often wry, with a hefty and random body count, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang ultimately flops, but is not a bad ride. ]]> tag:www.whattheflick.com,2007://1.106 2007-04-19T01:44:14Z 2007-04-19T02:13:44Z

Yeah, I know winter doesn't seem to be in any hurry to evacuate the premises (sorry New York), but that's no reason to avoid the hilarious ice capade that is Blades of Glory. It is 100% funny, and maybe that's...

Blades of Glory. It is 100% funny, and maybe that's just what we all need this week. And not just this week, last week, too, as it's selling out theaters nationwide. Take 1 male ice skater who's adopted "heavy metal" as his theme...]]> Will Ferrell), ties for the gold medal with Jimmy, Princess Peacock (Jon Heder), at some Olympics-like skateathon. When fisticuffs break out on the medals stand, they are banned from skating... until they come up with a scheme to skate as the first double-man pairs skating team. They fight, they pout, they (well Chazz) cat around, they are hilarious. As a pairs team, they are up against the unprincipled & louche champions, a brother and sister pair (Amy Poehler and Will Arnett), who scheme to knock the competition off the ice. As we say, hijinks ensue. It's all very unbelieveable and very funny and sometimes gross and totally, totally worth your $11, just to enjoy 93 minutes of complete wackiness. You won't need to know much beyond a few minutes of watching ABC's Wide World of Sports sometime back in 1987 to get the skating jokes, but there are cameo appearances by several real, award-winning skaters (most hilariously, Sacha Cohen, who 2 years ago wore a costume designed by Zulema on season 2 of Project Runway) Will Ferrell steals the show, as he pretty much always does, and I promise you won't soon forget the sight of him dressed as "Fire" in the Olympic finale (see here for an idea). ]]> tag:www.whattheflick.com,2007://1.105 2007-03-18T05:13:17Z 2007-04-02T22:09:02Z

Wie geht es Ihnen? As the Germans say. Today I'm here to talk about 2 German-language films, both Oscar winners, that are superb and well worth the effort of subtitles. The German Democratic Republic, as East Germany liked to style...

Wie geht es Ihnen? As the Germans say. Today I'm here to talk about 2 German-language films, both Oscar winners, that are superb and well worth the effort of subtitles. The German Democratic Republic, as East Germany liked to style itself, met its demise in 1989 with the fall of the Berlin Wall, but I imagine that its ghosts still haunt its streets and its survivors. In The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen), we get a look at life in the GDR and the corrosive effects... ]]> Sebastian Koch) writes what today we'd call "politically correct" plays that are popular with the public and the Politburo; nothing to rattle the status quo. His girlfriend Christa (Martina Gedeck) acts in the plays and is a well-known celebrity in East Berlin. Among their artsy social group are a few "undesirables" who question the East German state and maintain contacts in the West. In a spot of bureaucratic decision-making that would be funny if the outcome not so sad, the Stasi decides that Dreyman and Christa need to be surveilled. Wiesler (Ulrich Muhe), a senior bureaucrat/field agent/teacher at the Stasi School for Aspiring Surveillors decides to take on the task himself. Though he initiates the surveillance with the best of GDR intentions, he soon finds himself seduced by the life of these artists, leading him to, among other things, cover for their indiscretions. As you know it must, his simple joy in sharing their days (a fine feature of this movie is how you don't begrudge him it, even though you know it's extremely CREEPY) is repaid by sadness when his cover-up unravels and events get beyond his control. No one is unscarred by the experience. One's first thought on seeing the movie is amazement that such a society could even have existed -- I want to say, didn't you folks read 1984? But of course, they didn't, probably couldn't have, and wouldn't have recognized themselves if they did. Beyond the totalitarian aspects, the sheer stupidity of the bureaucracy, which I'm sure began to undermine its very principles within minutes of being established, ensured its demise, although I imagine that is only evident in hindsight. A second thought is how that society left everyone, seemingly, compromised. Honesty could not be a virture in such a world, and was seldom used as the coin of the realm. Artists, neighbors, friends, family, bureaucrats, officials, Polizei, all corrupted by the necessity to not stand out, to not rock the boat, to agree with the most outrageous and damaging things. And third, could a man like Wiesler really exist? A friend said no, the Stasi were uniformly evil, but I find that hard to believe. Who's to say he wasn't swept up in the web of lies that each life was made of, then caught by his desire to do his job well, then finally confronted with the awfulness of it? I can't in my heart believe that "all" of anyone, anywhere are uniformly evil or, for that matter, good. When a society so diminishes the individual, it's difficult without walking in their shoes to condemn the petty wrongs that people do to survive. Not the extreme people, the torturers, the sadistic types -- they exisit in every society, although the old USSR and GDR I'm sure gave them some fine career opportunities. I mean the day-to-day compromises people made with their own morality, to get bread on the table, to keep a brother or lover out of jail, to keep going another day. We'd all like to think that we'd be different, we'd be out there resisting, going against the grain, but would we? I hope we never have to find out. Meanwhile, this movie is SO good and well deserved the Academy Award it was given in February. It will give you a lot to think about. On DVD, a whole other set of Germans appear in Nowhere in Africa, which won the 2002 Best Foreign Language Oscar. It's the story of a family of German Jews who move to Kenya ahead of the horrors to come. The handsome father, Walter (Merab Ninidze) goes first to Africa and finds work managing a rugged farm owned by English Kenyans. Then the Jewish community in Nairobi (apparently there was a large one) sponsors the wife, Jettel (Juliane Kohler) and daughter, Regina, to come. Told as the daughter's memoir, it is beautiful, and heartbreaking, and a really good story. Conflict arises because the father knows they are better off anywhere but Germany, and even though he was a lawyer in Breslau and they seemed quite well to do and had a lovely social life (all reeled by in the first few minutes), he was happy to have his family with him and to work with his hands and learn African (or whatever they spoke) and to be kind and grateful for the refuge they'd found, no matter how meager. He also has a small bit of wonder for Africa, which translated to the girl, who has a large bit. But the mother (who was very pretty) was used to her nice things and being done for, and she is spittin' pissed about the dirt and the poor accommodations and sort of, "this too shall pass, we'll be home next week" -- like she was on a subpar cruise to the Caribbean -- determined never to accept Kenya as a home. Meanwhile, the kid takes to Africa like a fish to water, as kids are wont to do. She has a foot in each world (and Lea Kurka is an amazing little actress). [Caution: what follows if pretty spoilerific, so if you intend to see and want to be surprised, don't read on] And then, THEN, the Brits round up the family because they're German, missing the not-so-subtle distinction that they're Jewish REFUGEES from Germany, but eventually (and seemingly quite civilizedly) that gets ironed out, the father joins the Brit army, and the mother gets all Isak Dinesen on us and goes sort of native, taking over the new (slightly improved) farm that she's found them by flirting (or more) with a Brit soldier while they were interned in a swanky Nairobi hotel (the women and children -- God love those Brits). She learns African, keeps the farm in motion while Papa is in the Army, and eventually for all intents and purposes becomes African, in the way Isak Dinesen seemed to. She blossomed in the new country, found her footing -- in a way she never, ever expected was possible. Eventually, and this is when I started crying, Papa gets out of the Army, the war is over, Hitler is vanquished (and thank the Gods for that), and Papa has applied to return to Germany as a judge/lawyer to help start the new German government. Cried, I tell you. So he is ready now to go back to "civilized" life in Germany -- whatever that meant in 1946 -- but the wife wants to stay in Africa, where she's found a sort of freedom and acceptance. And yes, both their families were killed (cried), and the wife is afraid (justifiably so) of the people back in Germany (cried), but the husband feels it's his/their duty to help rebuild their homeland (Germany -- even after what it dished out to them and their relatives, cried). Again, a lot to think about. So grab a Beck's or some weiss Wein and some popcorn or a wurst, and enjoy these stories from our Deutsche Freunde. ]]> tag:www.whattheflick.com,2007://1.103 2007-02-20T05:29:53Z 2007-02-20T06:27:29Z

The real reason to see NOTES is to watch these two women circle each other in a no-win battle of the wits. The movie itself is a big old melodrama, with a big swooning score by Philip Glass that pushes the "melo" over the "drama" more than once.

NOTES ON A SCANDAL did that to me, so here goes: note to self, don't become a cat-loving, bath-taking, diary-writing, gold-star awarding, psycho-stalking crazy old lady teacher. Because if I did become that, there's no way I'd be anywhere near as convincing and scary as Judy Dench in ...]]> Cate Blanchett, also nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role) who foolishly and stupidly and somewhat creepily gets into a hot affair with a 15-year-old student (Black Irish, real brogue, so one could see the attraction, but still). Sheba is so clueless that when she's caught out about the affair, her first defense is, "he'll be 16 in April." So you can see that in many ways, Sheba deserves the very hell she gets from Barb. I mean, you could see it if it weren't for the fact that Barb has been writing wildly fantastic "notes" in her diaries that portray a relationship vastly different from reality. Because Barb has a big girl crush on Sheba, and has convinced herself that someday they'll be together. When she discovers Sheba's indiscretion, she swears to keep it quiet, thus bonding herself to Sheba as the keeper of dirty secrets. But Barb isn't happy with that, and pushes and pushes until Sheba breaks. The real reason to see NOTES is to watch these two women circle each other in a no-win battle of the wits. The movie itself is a big old melodrama, with a big swooning score by Philip Glass that pushes the "melo" over the "drama" more than once. At points it was all so over-the-top it was giggle-inducing. Between the crazy antics of Barb, the silly reactions of Sheba, the swooning score, and the easy way it all could've been avoided, this was like an old-fashioned movie where you just have to suspend disbelief. So, note to self: I don't think Dame Judy will get that Oscar out of Helen Mirren's hands, but Cate might stand a chance. Their acting is superb, but the material here is just too...too. ]]>