31 May 2009

The International

It's unfortunate Tykwer couldn't turn the action knob up to "11". The premise accurately portrays how some global finance works, but all of the season's good action sequences ended up in the otherwise offensive "Taken." "The International" is left with one great set piece (which is probably the most transgressive and exciting thing that has been on display in the Guggenheim in quite some time).

30 May 2009

Seven Pounds

Will Smith is sincerely trying to demonstrate his good intentions. He still hasn't found the right vehicle.

22 May 2009

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

I didn't like Forrest Gump the first time, and I still don't like it, backwards.

21 May 2009

Valkyrie

After supporting Hitler for more than a dozen years, a group of Nazi aristocrats decide that since the Allies are about to win the war, they should kill Hitler to try to avoid utter defeat.

17 May 2009

The Last Lullaby

The hit-man-with-a-heart-of-gold is a cliche second only to the hooker. But this straight noir is a reminder that a cliche became a cliche for a good reason -- and can be re-invented when a filmmaker pays attention to the details, characters and story.

This film, while also dealing with revenge, raises questions a film like Taken doesn't know exist.

Taken (2008)

A
silly movie. Some good action, but a simple plot with a resounding
message: Americans should stay home. The world is a dangerous place.
When threatened, attack with deadly force.

Mostly French
produced, set, written and directed. To paraphrase "The Man Who Fell To
Earth": maybe we're not so different, after all.

Thank you, Mr. Besson.

13 May 2009

The Bucket List

This would have been an interesting movie if Nicholson's character hadn't been filthy rich.

11 May 2009

Tell No One

More film noir than policier, more policier than Dick Francis novel, more Dick Francis than Law & Order.

09 May 2009

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

When the best movie of a franchise is not the first in the series, one is always hopeful that a new entrant will be worthwhile. Oh well.

07 May 2009

Contraband

Engaging wartime "thriller" with all the British trappings of the era and the luxurious conventions of 1940s film-making. The kind of movie I start "just to see what it looks like" and end up watching until the end. Kind of like Hitchcock from the same era. A perfect specimen of a lovely old British spy movie from WWII.

Caprica

More William Gibson-esque than any movie actually based on his writings. It's a tv pilot, so it opens up plot-lines rather than tidily resolving them. And you'll have to wait until 2010 for episode 2. But that doesn't detract from enjoying it as a standalone movie.

02 May 2009

I've Loved You So Long

A remarkable film that kept becoming more remarkable, days later.  I know of no better testament about getting through grief.

My first reaction was to admire the portrait, and find the reveal (not really a twist) to be gratuitous, or explain away the rest.  But my first reaction was wrong.

Doubt

Except for Viola Davis there is almost no "there" there. And she almost makes the watching worthwhile. Everyone else does their reverent best with what little they are given to work with.

Kudos for the translation from stage to location shooting. The film doesn't feel claustrophobic nor contrived in its settings. But it's still a play in the sense that it relies on a very theatrical set of innuendo to elicit its effect. And it doesn't.

Hairspray (2007)

Amy Adams should watch her back. Nikki Blonsky is the real deal.

The film? A snappy comedy about civil rights. I guess we will have to wait 40 years for the gay marriage musical that Main Street will embrace.