Brad Pitt in The Assassination
of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Andrew Dominik's
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward
Robert Ford
Opens September 21, 2007
Reviewed by Alejandra
Serret
The Assassination
of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,
written and directed by Andrew Dominik, tells
the story of how the notorious outlaw’s
life ended. Based on Ron Hansen’s novel
of the same title, Dominik pays homage to classic
westerns through slow, rhythmic story telling,
voice-over narration, and the occasional distorted
shot—rounded at the edges giving the illusion
of looking through a magnifying glass. New Zealand
born Dominik approaches his second feature length
film (the first is 2000’s Chopper)
with Terrence Malick-like grace. He gives the
film time to unfold, anchoring the characters
in a substantial storyline.
Like Malick, Dominik took the risk of losing viewers
along the way, but his lyrical cinematography
is captivating. At times the voice-over seems
unnecessary — viewers can see that Jesse
James is sitting at the kitchen table flipping
a deck of cards over absentmindedly. The narration
that accompanies the scene initially feels like
over kill. Yet as the scene progresses the soothing
tone and beautiful prose matches the fluidity
of the action, creating a harmonic pairing.
The film opens with the James gang executing their
last big heist—a train robbery in September
of 1881 — a mismatched bunch looking for
a last score. Robert Ford, played skillfully by
Casey Affleck, is among them. A ninteeen-year-old,
fidgety, eager-to-please Ford, stays on with Jesse
James, after the robbery. Slowly, his idolatry
is exposed: small magazines of the original James
crew kept beneath his bed, a list of unique commonalities
he shares with Jesse (of which he can recite with
too much ease), and his longing to be accepted.
Jesse James, then thirty-four years old, appears
accustomed to such flattery, but maintains a sense
of unease, which grows into paranoia.
Dominik follows various members of the James gang
as they go their separate ways. The lazy-like
unraveling of the subplots pays off as they merge
to strengthen the main current that holds it all
together: Jesse James’ death, his incredible
fame.
The all-star cast allows The Assassination
of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
to flourish: Brad Pitt’s subtle craziness
and paranoia, Casey Affleck’s quiet obsession,
Sam Rockwell’s constant fear and guilt.
Like the film’s cadence, the actors take
their time, allowing themselves to fully embody
the characters.
The film ends with James’ death and the
celebrity status he is raised to: his body kept
on ice for weeks to accommodate thousands of visitors,
the photograph of his corpse that sold for two
dollars a piece, and the play of his death which
filled the theater for weeks. Robert Ford played
himself, killing James an estimated 800 times.
While James had been a wanted man, Ford began
his own demise by killing his idol. Notorious,
not as a gunslinger or American Outlaw, but as
a coward, Ford was later killed to right what
many felt, was a wrong.
Dominik creates a truly breathtaking film: filled
with picturesque scenes and gorgeous acting. The
Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert
Ford savors the story of an American legend,
divulging of it with grace and ease.
Julian Jarrold’s
Becoming Jane
Opens Friday, August 3, 2007
Starring: Anne
Hathaway; James McAvoy; Julie Walters; James Cromwell;
Maggie Smith; Joe Anderson; Lucy Cohu; and Anna
Maxwell Margin.
Reviewed by Wendy
R. Williams
Tagline:
"A woman especially if she has the misfortune
of knowing anything, should conceal it as well
as she can." Jane
Austen
The cast and crew
of Becoming Jane took on a Herculean
task when they imagined and depicted an early
romance for Jane Austen. Their theory was that
Austen must have had some experience with love
that she used as inspiration for the romanticism
of her novels. And in telling this tale, they
had very few historical facts with which to work.
There are a few small references to Tom Lefroy
in the remaining Austen letters (Austen’s
sister Cassandra burned most of Jane’s letters
when Jane died). Nevertheless, the filmmakers
did not simply tell a story of an imagined girlhood
crush, they told a story that is filled with themes
from Austen’s novels. So the film's title,
Becoming Jane, should not be interpreted
as to simply the film itself. By telling this
story, the creative team channeled the spirit
of Jane Austen and literally became Jane.
Here is a quote from the press release for the
film: “Becoming Jane, a romantic
drama starring Anne Hathaway (The Devil Wears
Prada), presents a fresh and daring view
of Jane Austen’s early years. Set in the
late 18th century, the film portrays Austen’s
encounters with the modern, roguish young Irishman,
Tom Lefroy (James McAvoy, The Last King of
Scotland) and imagines how their romantic
encounter could have influenced some of her most
famous novels that followed.”
Anyone who ventures to film one of Jane Austen’s
stories ventures into a drawing-room-minefield.
Austen has millions of fans to whom she is their
Jane Austen, a member of the family of their heart.
And these fans rigorously defend the honor of
their heroine and the heroines of her novels by
doing things such as expelling a collective “Hmph”
when Kyra Sedgwick (playing the newly married
Lizzie Bennet) kisses Matthew Macfadyen (playing
Mr. Darcy) at the end of director Joe Wright’s
2005 Pride and Prejudice. (There was
no kissing in the book.)
Screenwriters Kevin Hood and Sarah Williams had
most definitely studied the Austen novels and
the viewer is quickly transported into the world
of Pride and Prejudice, Sense and
Sensibility and Persuasion. It is
all there: the marriage market; the relationship
between sisters; the romance; the emphasis on
character and responsibility; and the suppressed
carnality.
The Marriage Market:
Jane Austen was born into a world where women
of her class had only one option and that was
to marry well. There were no colleges to attend;
a smart young girl like Jane Austen could not
even become a school teacher. And marrying well
did not just require looks and charm, it required
money. Austen’s novels are filled with details
of this marriage market. No character is introduced
without another character whispering just exactly
what their income is in pounds per year. And in
this world, a man or woman who ignored these monetary
realities and married for love alone would not
only consign themselves to financial ruin, they
could easily take their families with them.
The Sisters: Jane
Austen had a sister Cassandra to whom she was
devoted. Cassandra’s fiancé died
before they could be married and Cassandra remained
unmarried and Jane’s confidante throughout
their lives. This relationship between Austen
and her sister was surely the basis for the relationships
between Elinor and Marianne Dashwood of Sense
and Sensibility and Lizzie and Jane Bennet
in Pride and Prejudice. Having a sister
must have been a comfort to Austen in her life
and writing the character of the sister in her
novels gave the Austen’s heroines someone
in whom to confide and thus let us (the readers)
see their hearts.
The Romance: One
of the reasons I believe that Jane Austen’s
novels are so beloved is that the heroines conduct
their romantic life with honor. They behave the
way that we (the readers) wish we had behaved
in matters of the heart, always choosing the higher
path and forever remaining a lady. And in this
imaginary story, Jane Austen does not disappoint.
Jane is shown to be magnificent character, as
memorable as the beloved Lizzie Bennet of Pride
and Prejudice.
Character
and Responsibility: Jane Austen had a keen
eye for human foibles and she gave this eye to
her heroines. She also gave them an overwhelming
sense of responsibility for their families. Elinor
Dashwood (Sense and Sensibility) shoulders
the burdens of her family. Anne Elliot (Persuasion)
forgoes a romance with the poor but dashing Captain
Wentworth so she can take care of her irresponsible
father and sister. And in Becoming Jane,
we see the genesis of Jane Austen’s character’s
character; it is the soul of Jane Austen.
The Carnality:
In Jane Austen’s world carnality does exist
but it is off on the sidelines of the stories
- thunder off in the distance. In Sense and
Sensibility, Colonel Brandon’s ward
becomes pregnant while unwed. In Pride and
Prejudice, Lydia was certainly doing something
she was not supposed to do when she ran off with
Wickham. But in the film Becoming Jane,
we see the carnality of the time. Jane Austen
grew up on a working farm where she was surely
exposed to the reality of sex. People had huge
families and just where did all those pigs come
from any way? In the film, we see LeFroy in a
whorehouse, jumping into a river stark naked and
in the scene where he first meets Jane, he reads
a highly erotic passage from a nature book to
her and quickly suggest that she read Tom
Jones. Rabid Janites will undoubtedly be
put off by some of this baseness. They may prefer
to continue to view their Jane as a string of
pearls on a white lacy dollie. But any sensible
person must realize that Jane Austen herself must
have been exposed to the realities of sex if not
to the act of sex itself.
So how did our filmmakers do? To quote a character
from an Austen novel, “Very well, indeed.”
The film is charming,
poignant and fun, just like the Austen novels.
The viewer is quickly transported back into 18th
century England with the beautiful shabby chic
homes. It is a time when people had time to visit
and talk and village life was a social life.
And the romance
between Jane and Lefroy is beautifully told. Jane
Austen is depicted as a fearless heroine, a lady
who knows her own heart and mind. And she has
a worthy romantic interest in the irascible Irishman,
Tom Lefroy. Theirs is a romance of both the mind
and heart. And it is a romance that could so easily
have gone a less honorable way because Lefroy
certainly shows the capacity to be a cad like
Wickham in Pride and Prejudice, but he
becomes much more when he falls both in lust with
Jane and in love with her mind.
All of the actors do superb jobs playing their
roles. Anne Hathaway plays a beautiful spirited
Jane Austen. James McAvoy plays a roguish, sexually
attractive Tom Lefroy. And the films boast an
amazing supporting cast: Julie Walters as Jane’s
mother; James Cromwell as her father ; Maggie
Smith as Lady Gresham (a Lady Catherine De Bourg-like
character). Director Julian Jarrold is certainly
to be commended for helming this beautiful film.
Ethan Hawke and Philip
Seymour Hoffman in
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
Sidney
Lumet's
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead
Opens Friday, October 26, 2007
Reviewed by Alejandra
Serret
Sidney Lumet is
a little guy. He’s short, slight in frame,
has fury eyebrows, and small hands. A quick comparison
to Scorsese seems too easy and yet, like the better-known,
younger director, Lumet is a genius behind the
camera. At eighty-four years old his career has
burgeoned with films like Dog Day Afternoon,
The Wiz and Serpico, working
with greats at their peak—Pacino, Brando,
Hoffman, as in Philip Seymour (although this one
is up for discussion). Lumet is as they say, a
legend.
At it again, decades
after his most noted work, Lumet brings us Before
the Devil Knows You’re Dead: a film
best described as a Greek tragedy of a dysfunctional
family unable to pull themselves from their destructive
path. The tragic characters in turmoil: the father
who is too hard on his eldest son, the younger
brother who strives for his elder brother’s
attention, the much loved mother/martyr, jealousy,
adultery, and betrayal. Lumet tells their story
in a non-linear way exposing the family’s
unraveling in the opening scene—a robbery
gone horribly wrong. (Actually, the film begins
with a provocative sex scene between Andy (Hoffman)
and his wife Gina, played by Marisa Tomei.)
Philip Seymour
Hoffman plays Andy, a character that is manipulative
and scheming. Ethan Hawke plays the younger, less
intelligent brother. Both Hawke and Lumet argue
that the more obvious casting choice would have
been the reversal—Hawke as the calculating
older brother and Hoffman as the self-loathing,
self-deprecating Hank. This option, however, allowed
them both to play with more challenging, less-expectant
character traits. Hawke found it hardest to play
such a moral-lacking, weak character, but took
the role for its attachment to Lumet—an
opportunity he thanks Hoffman’s success
for.
The tangled plot
unwinds in a non-linear way divulging portions
of itself at a time. From the beginning, viewers
know that partners-in-crime Andy and Hank plan
the nearly perfect crime: the robbery of a local
mom and pop jewelry store. The catch is that it
is their mother and father’s store, one
they are intimate with. Their seemingly flawless
plan goes haywire, resulting in their mother’s
death. Without the matriarch at their center,
the family crumbles. The males are unable to lay
their expectations to rest—Charles, the
patriarch of the family, played by Albert Finney
is hardest on Andy. Andy vies for his father’s
affection and Hank fights for Andy’s. It’s
the never-ending cycle that stays unresolved.
The caliber
of acting speaks volumes of this film, which is
at once surprising and expected. Lumet stays true
to his nature and does not disappoint. His experience
has kept him sharp, allowing for precise and beautiful
story telling in Before the Devil Knows You’re
Dead.
Eytan Fox’s
The Bubble (Buah, Ha-)
Opened September 7, 2007
Reviewed by Frank J. Avella
at the 2007 Newfest
As far as I’m
concerned (and with great respect to Save
Me) the best film shown at this years Newfest
and one of the best of the year so far is Eytan
Fox’s The Bubble. This West
Side Story for today tackles the controversial
with great wit and inspired power.
Romeo meets Romeo
at a checkpoint along the Israeli-Palestinian
border and pretty soon the Jew and the Arab have
fallen in love. Just how doomed is this relationship?
Well, the gifted Fox (he co-wrote the excellent
script with Gal Uchovsky) allows the men to get
to know one another and allows us to truly believe
in their love. We are also glaringly aware of
the political goings on around them.
Ohad Knoller (Yossi
& Jagger) is Noam, the Israeli and Yousef
‘Joe’ Sweid is Ashraf, the Palestinian.
Both deliver effective and affecting performances.
Sweid is particularly compelling. The entire ensemble
is to be commended. In addition to the two leads,
Daniela Virtzer is a stand-out as Lulu, Noam’s
gal-pal and Alon Friedman is very good as the
flamboyant Yelli.
Maverick director
Eytan Fox gave us Yossi & Jagger
a few years back and here he proves he’s
an international filmmaker to watch as he deftly
handles the heavy themes presented with great
humor, pathos and understanding.
I really loved
this film and everything it had to say about the
nature of religious conflict and the, unfortunate,
never ending promise of retribution. It can be
seen as a plea or a depiction of the way things
will always be. Depends on where you fall on the
glass half-full/empty question.
The Bubble
is unsettling, thought-provoking and daring. I
highly recommend it.
Frank Oz's
Death at a Funeral
Opens Friday, August 17, 2007
Starring: Matthew
Macfadyen; Keeley Hawes; Andy Nyman; Howard Ewen
Bremne; Daisy Donovan; Alan Tudyk; Jane Asher;
Kris Marshall;
Rupert Graves; Peter Vaughan; Thomas Wheatley;
Peter Egan; Peter Dinklage; Brendan O'Hea; and
Jeremy Booth.
Reviewed by Allison
Ford
“Riotous
mayhem and unfortunate mishaps” are not
what usually happen at funerals. Not at the funerals
that anyone I know has personally attended, anyways.
Maybe if you’re British, these kinds of
things happen often enough to be commonplace,
but I’ve never been to a British funeral,
so I can’t say for sure. I would imagine
them to be intensely stodgy, somber affairs, where
everyone wears black veils and sips tea and wears
sensible shoes. I definitely do NOT imagine upended
coffins, blackmail, hallucinogenic drugs, or nudity.
Death at a
Funeral, the new black comedy directed by
Frank Oz, explores the worst-case scenario for
a proper upper-class British family that is trying
desperately to remain dignified while chaos erupts
all around them. Oz, best known as the voices
of Yoda and Fozzie Bear, but also the director
of such classic comedies as Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,
Bowfinger, and What About Bob?
has crafted a madcap, uproarious portrait of a
dysfunctional family, complete with the requisite
black sheep and skeletons in the closet.
In fact, this
family seems to be comprised entirely of black
sheep, except for the dutiful son, played by Matthew
MacFayden, who tries to hold it all together as
they attempt to give the family patriarch a proper
send-off. Although played by venerable British
actors, the characters in the film could belong
to any family on either side of the pond; the
narcissistic brother, the attractive cousin and
her hapless fiancé, the chubby hypochondriac
friend, the grieving mother who secretly enjoys
the spotlight, and the cantankerous (and incontinent)
great-uncle Alfie.
While the direction
and acting are nearly flawless, the script is
a bit contrived at times, and not always full
of surprises. The dialogue tends to foreshadow
the punchline of jokes before they have been fully
played-out. When we meet the drug-dealing cousin,
it’s pretty obvious that someone will mistake
his Ecstasy for Excedrin. When we see the Mysterious
Stranger lurking near the coffin, it’s not
hard to figure out that he harbors a Big Secret.
Madness ensues, and while Simon the Fiancé
runs naked and hallucinating through the garden,
Peter the Mystery Guest reveals his nefarious
plot, and Uncle Archie tries valiantly to get
to the loo in time. (Spoiler – he doesn’t
make it.)
Although the idea
that a family funeral is a perfect place for black
comedy is universal, the film itself has a distinctly
British feel. Much upper-class British comedy
is based on emotion bubbling up beneath a buttoned-up
exterior, and this comedy uses a perfect blend
of highbrow and lowbrow comedic elements, from
pithy bon mots to slapstick sight gags. A desperate,
quintessentially British uptightness lays the
foundation for characters to do desperately ridiculous
things in the name of saving face. As Daniel,
the stoic and dutiful son, Matthew MacFayden is
calm and rational to a fault. We know that he
harbors feelings of rage and fury, but his refusal
to acknowledge them is what makes it hilarious
when he’s eventually pushed over the brink.
Alan Tudyk plays Simon, nervous about meeting
his fiancé‘s stuffy father, and the
tension between his raging inner life and calm
outward façade makes it much more satisfying
when he’s screaming obscenities on the roof.
Although some
of the more contrived plot points feel quite American,
the film makes no apologies for or explanations
of its essential British-ness. They are relatable,
though, and far from being American-imagined caricatures
of the English (such as in Snatch). The
Britain of this film is more Four Weddings
and a Funeral than Benny Hill. The
film also takes advantage of the feeling (among
Americans, anyway) that anything is funnier when
spoken in a British accent. Even British insults
are funnier – calling someone a “wanker”
feels much cleverer than calling them a “jackass.”
The film
concludes with a primly happy ending, all the
loose ends having been neatly tied up. Its success
is owed more to the direction and performances
than to the script, written by newcomer Neal Craig.
While it does not contain some of the biting satire
or social commentary of Oz’s earlier work,
Death at a Funeral is a great lighthearted
comedy. Frank Oz’s quirky direction as well
as stellar performances by a great cast is what
make this film a welcome respite from the rest
of the end-of-summer doldrums.
For more information, log onto the movie's website:
deathatafuneral-themovie.com.
Abby Cornish, Cate Blanchett
and Clive Owen
Shekhar Kapur’s
Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Opens Friday, October 12, 2007
Reviewed by Frank
J. Avella
All the majesty,
the pomp, the grandeur, the visual splendor and
the tour de force acting that made 1998’s
Elizabeth so incredibly riveting can once
again be enjoyed in Elizabeth: The Golden
Age. And while it is not the gem the original
was; it is not the disappointment many assumed
it would be.
This sequel (in
a planned trilogy) is an intense thrill ride that
plays a bit too fast and loose with history but
presents a few intriguing notions that go against
the grain of conventional portrayals of the Virgin
Queen.
One is her alleged
love of Sir Walter Raleigh (a roughish and charming
Clive Owen). Not to give too much away, but this
love story takes a bit of a different turn than
most others in its portrayal of the Queen Bee
and her seafaring suitor.
A second (and wonderfully
surprising) twist is how the film views Mary,
Queen of Scots (Samantha Morton). Almost always
seen as a victim, a martyr, here she is actually
depicted as a conniving and ambitious woman who
craves the throne more than she cares about her
Catholicism.
At the heart of
this film is an attempt to truly explore the woman
and her fears, not just the Queen and her triumphs.
It’s 1585
and all is not well in Britain. Having ruled for
over three decades, the Queen must now deal with
the threat of the Inquisition via Catholic Spain
as well as the threat to her throne, by way of
Mary Stuart. In addition, she is manipulated into
searching for a husband that can provide her with
a proper heir. Dealing with her own aging and
the ominous threat against her country, Elizabeth
preps for the greatest battles of her life.
The visual and
aural bombast in Elizabeth: The Golden Age
is more than a tad overdone, and the script (by
William Nicholson and Michael Hirst, who wrote
the first one) isn’t as crisp and fine-tuned
as the original but Cate Blanchett’s towering
performance more than makes up for these missteps.
In a role played
by Glenda Jackson, Helen Mirren and Bette Davis,
just to name a few of the diva-licious dames who
have taken Elizabeth I on, Cate Blanchett manages
to reach deep within and expose her demons. Don’t
get me wrong, when she needs to she chews the
scenery like she is expected to, but in the quieter
moments lie the key to her exploration--specifically
early on in scenes with her pet lady-in-waiting,
Bess (a delightful Abbie Cornish). There are glimmers
of a sexual attraction, jealousy, adoration and
genuine love that seep through her tough exterior.
Bravo Blanchett for her amazing gifts. Another
nomination deservedly beckons.
The score by Craig
Armstrong and AR Rahman is a force unto itself.
The costumes are grand. The art direction is sumptuous.
The editing is dazzlingly frenetic. And the camera-work
is dizzyingly mesmerizing. It’s all over-the-top,
but completely right for this film and the recreation
of the famous defeat of the Spanish Armada is
a triumph of cinema-wizardry.
Prior to this battle,
Elizabeth is told that she must flee her home
since the Spanish threat is imminent. Instead,
she dawns her body armor, saddles her stallion
and rides out to meet her soldiers. There she
delivers a rousing speech that gives the film
its heart and soul. It’s a glorious moment.
A glorious performance. A fine film.
Casey Affleck, Morgan
Freeman and Michelle Monaghan
Ben Affleck's
Gone Baby Gone
Opens everywhere Friday, October 19, 2007
Reviewed by Alejandra
Serret
When I hear Ben
Affleck’s name associated with a project
I can't help but wonder if the moment has arrived
in which he can assert himself as a Hollywood
powerhouse and detach himself from career blunders
like Gigli, Jersey Girl and
Paycheck. His recent work as George Reeves
in Hollywoodland (while it bombed at
the box office) brought him close, not only displaying
true talent but a desire to challenge himself
artistically. After spending the majority of his
career in front of the camera, he is most impressive
behind, with his directorial debut, Gone Baby
Gone. It’s been 10 years since Ben
Affleck wowed audiences with Good Will Hunting,
which he co-wrote and acted in, winning an Oscar.
He has again proved his worthiness with his adaptation
of Dennis Lehane’s novel Gone Baby Gone,
like his other work (i.e. Mystic River),
it explores Boston’s grimmer side.
South Boston natives/private
investigators/lovers Patrick Kenzie (Casey Affleck)
and Angie Genarro (Michelle Monaghan) work to
uncover the mystery surrounding the disappearance
of four-year-old Amanda McCready. Familiar with
the streets and people of Dorchester, the partners
dive head first, investing themselves in finding
her. While the Boston Police Department may have
experience on their side, Kenzie and Genarro have
connections and understand the street mentality.
The chilling truth they unearth tells the story
of a neglected child and the community she lives
in—at once coming together and coming apart.
Ben Affleck is
able to execute a genuine tone and cadence in
Gone Baby Gone through his dedication
to authenticity—from the actors to the setting
and technique. The film begins with deliberate,
almost poetic shots of Dorchester. Affleck captured
the beauty of the ordinary, which became heightened
through a traumatic event. His younger brother
Casey Affleck, who has recently garnered positive
buzz with his portrayal of Robert Ford in The
Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert
Ford, delivered perfectly, owning his role
as Patrick Kenzie.
Casey Affleck’s
subtlety exposes a genuine talent allowing viewers
to become invested in Amanda’s plight and
the desire to see her home safely. While his performance
raises the film’s potential, it’s
the cast chemistry that makes it a true success.
Michelle Monaghan is believable and not overshadowed
by Morgan Freeman (police chief Jack Doyle) or
Ed Harris (police detective Remy Bressant). While
both veterans deliver as expected, it’s
in the more unexpected roles that the film shines.
Amy Ryan, who plays Helene McCready, and Jill
Quigg, as her best friend Dottie, capture the
jargon, accent, and attitude. Ben Affleck showcases
his attention to detail and his dedication to
accurately portraying a city in the ways that
it is both bad and good. He does Lehane justice
through his adaptation and vision of Gone
Baby Gone.
Penelope Cruz in The
Good Night
Jake Paltrow's
The Good Night
Opens October 5, 2007
Reviewed by Alejandra
Serret
There are few storylines
not yet explored through film. It's the way they
are executed that sets them apart, makes them
worthwhile, intriguing. Jake Paltrow attempts
just this with The Good Night —
his directorial debut. While the Kauffmanesque
content aims high, it falls short, leaving too
many holes and collapsing the plot.
Martin Freeman
plays a fallen Rock Star named Gary who suffers
creatively, spinning him into depression. His
days of artistic freedom and celebrity have passed,
sinking him into self-deprecation, indifference,
and awkwardness. Gary's crumbling self-esteem
affects his relationship with long time, live-in
girlfriend, Dora, played by Gwyneth Paltrow. Annoyed
with Gary’s inability to let go of his Rock
Star expectations, Dora becomes indifferent. Late
night masturbation and robotic I love you’s
before turning out the lights and rolling over
for bed dictate their relationship.
The plot dives into interesting when Gary finds
happiness in his dreams. He meets dark beauty
Anna, played by Penelope Cruz, a woman with whom
he can be completely comfortable and confident.
With each night his dreams become more lucid thrusting
him into a fantastical world. With research and
meetings with lucid dream guru Mel, Danny DeVito,
Gary begins to live for sleep. His throbbing obsession
weighs heavily on his already failing relationship.
He doesn’t even notice when Dora leaves.
Things begin
to change when he meets real-life Anna, a famous
model. She is not the woman he has grown to know
through his dreams and his attempts to make her
so bring out her anger, waking him from his lucid
trance, making him miss Dora.
The moral
of the story? Things are always better in dreams?
People are not always who we expect? We should
appreciate the people we love while we have them?
While Jake Paltrow aims to convey this expected
outcome in a new way it isn’t believable.
Gary’s transformation—the lesson he
learns isn’t completely felt. So Anna may
not be the woman of his dreams but I can’t
believe that Dora is. Freeman and Gwyneth Paltrow
achieve a level of indifferent disgust in the
film’s beginning that is hard to shake by
the end. While the storyline experiences occasional
hiccups, the stellar acting nearly brings it together.
The Good Night, while a great attempt,
lacks in cohesiveness.
Franc Reyes’
Illegal Tender
Opens Friday, August 24, 2007
Sin City invades Pulp Fiction
in this smokin' hot gangsta flick
Starring: Rick
Gonzalez; Wanda De Jesus: Dania Ramirez; Manny
Perez; and Tego Calderon.
Reviewed by Wendy R. Williams
Fran Reyes has
helmed a thrilling carnival ride with his new
film, Illegal Tender. Tender tells
the story of Millie, a smart (and hot) Puerto
Rican mamma (played by Wanda De Jesus) who is
quietly living in suburban Connecticut with her
two sons: college student Wilson (played by Rick
Gonzalez) and elementary school student Randy
(played by the adorable Antonio Ortiz).
See this quote
from the press release: “After the gangsters
who killed his father come to settle a score,
a teenage boy and his mother turn the tables on
the killers. Producer John Singleton (Four
Brothers, Hustle & Flow) and
writer / director Franc Reyes (Empire)
join forcers to tell the story of one family’s
quest for honor and revenge as the hunted become
the hunters in the new thriller Illegal Tender.”
Wilson is named
for his father, Wilson De Leon Sr. (played by
Manny Perez), a Bronx based Puerto Rican gangster
who was murdered at moment of Wilson’s birth.
Well, Wilson Jr. may now be a well-heeled Connecticut
college student (he drives a BMW to class), but
he is still pure Bronx, dressing in baggy pants
and blasting gangsta rap from his Beamer’s
speakers. He is more Bridgeport than Westport,
more G Unit than Ralph Lauren.
Then one day Mamma
Millie is shopping for groceries when she sees
a “ghost,” a woman from her old Bronx
neighborhood. She quickly grabs Ricky and runs
home to inform Wilson that they have to move,
“again.” (It appears that this is
family that has been mansion surfing.) But Wilson
has a great life and is less than receptive to
his mother’s hysteria. He has an adorable
girlfriend named Ana (played by Dania Ramirez),
he is doing very well in school and he wants no
part of this new move. He feels safe and just
assumes that his mother is over reacting (as mothers
occasionally do).
We then hit the
top of the roller coaster. Mamma quickly tells
Wilson that he is a man now and if he won’t
leave, he needs to be prepared to defend himself
and his girlfriend. And in one of the most unintentionally
funny part of the story, Mamma takes her boy into
the basement, unlocks the safe and distributes
assault rifles to her understandably shocked son.
Mamma leaves and
Wilson is then forced to defend his turf (and
his girl) when the sins of his father’s
past invade his luxurious Connecticut world. We
are then treated to a scene from the Scream
sequel that must have been filming in the sound
stage next door as Ana (who is supposed to be
"quietly" hiding in the basement so
the bad guys and gals won’t find her), screams
her heart out for what seems like five minutes.
This is also unintentionally (I think) hysterical.
Wilson, who is
rightfully perplexed by this turn of events, confronts
his mother and makes her tell him the secrets
of their past starting with just where did their
money come from in the first place? (He just noticed
that Mamma dosn't have a job.) So Mamma tells
him. It seems that while they are from the Bronx,
the root of their “problem” is the
gang world of Puerto Rico; Mamma has a blood feud
with a Puerto Rican based gangster, Javier Cordero
(played by Gary Perez).
Wilson then decides
to “cut the head from the hydra” and
in this quest he gets ample help from his smokin’
mamma. Mamma Millie and Wilson travel to Puerto
Rico where they undertake a Michael Corleone-type
mission to make things right for their family.
This film
is fun. I never once looked at my watch to see
how much longer it would be; it moves. And yes,
there are mixed genres – sometimes I was
watching the Godfather and then it turned
into Scream II. But there is so much
to like. Wanda de Jesus is both heartfelt and
hysterical as Millie and Rick Gonzalez gives a
quietly sincere performance as the coming-of-age
Wilson. And Tego Calderon bring in the goods as
Choco, the more than capable assistant to Puerto
Rican kingpin Javier Cordero. And you just have
to see this film to see the two bad-ass Latina
assassins (played by Mercedes Mercado and Carmen
Perez) who are seemingly moonlighting from the
set of Sin City II. They are pure camp.
http://www.epk.tv/view.aspx?request=campaign&campaign=illegal-tender&clip=part-1
Gavin Hood's
Rendition
Opens everywhere Friday, October 18, 2007
Reviewed by Alejandra
Serret
Rendition comes
at a time when charged films like Lions for
Lambs and The Kingdom raise questions
concerning America’s Foreign Policy and
the fractured political divide it creates. Directed
by Gavin Hood, most known for Tsotsi,
Rendition focuses on the American Government’s
use of extraordinary rendition, a practice that
began under the Clinton era and has become more
frequent since 9/11, “allowing for the abduction
of foreign nationals, deemed to be a threat to
national security for detention and interrogation
in secret overseas prisons.” Most interesting
about this film is that while it shows the policy’s
harmful, even immoral practices, it also argues
its multilayered complexities.
Screenwriter Kelley
Sane tells the story through three separate threads
that collide in the end. A terrorist act in northern
Egypt results in the deaths of innocent civilians,
including a CIA officer. Jake Gyllenhaal plays
CIA officer Douglas Freeman, who is assigned to
finding those responsible for the bombing. Yet
he begins to question his work when he witnesses
the brutal interrogation of Egyptian American
Anwar El-Ibrahimi (played by Omar Metwally), a
chemical engineer suspected of teaching the terrorists
more effective ways of making bombs. American
officers abduct Anwar upon arrival to Washington
DC from Cape Town and put him on a flight to Egypt.
He inevitably misses his connection to Chicago,
where his pregnant wife Isabella El-Ibrahimi (Reece
Witherspoon) and son await his arrival. Instead,
Egyptian officers torture Anwar while head of
the secret prison, Abasi Fawal (Igal Naor), questions
him and the suspicious calls he received from
supposed terrorists. Anwar’s fear, his inability
to break, strikes a chord with officer Douglas.
But Fawal has bigger problems. His daughter Fatima
(Zineb Oukach) gets involved with a steadfast
extremist endangering her family. Meanwhile Isabella
El-Ibrahimi fights to find her husband. Her connection
to an influential politician, Alan Smith (Peter
Sarsgaard), unearths the intricacies with which
the government works.
Hood plays with
time in telling the story, allowing the separate
parts to unfold effectively. The all-star cast,
delivered as expected, giving strong yet somewhat
predictable performances. Meryl Streep, Alan Arkin,
Peter Sarsgaard, Jake Gyllenhaal, Reece Witherspoon
and Omar Metwally produced solid work, yet were
somewhat overshadowed by the looming theme at
the film’s center. Rendition raises
important issues: How far is too far when dealing
with national security? How long will we let fear
dictate how we treat others? Fanaticism exists
everywhere. Rendition unravels deliberately
to address these points. The film’s main
character’s all believe in fighting for
what they believe in, which is ultimately what
tears them apart.
Kenneth Branagh’s
Sleuth
Opens October 12, 2007
Tagline: Two Men Fight Over a Woman You Never
See
Reviewed by Wendy
R. Williams
From the very opening
the mood is eerie. It is evening: we see a car
driving down a manicured driveway of an English
country estate. The car stops in front of a manor
house and a man, Milo Tindle (played by Jude Law)
walks to the door and rings for admittance. The
door is then answered by the other character in
this two man film - the proprietor of the house,
Andrew Wyke (played by Michael Caine). The die
is thus cast and the games begun.
The minute Milo
walks into the house his and our worlds are set
a kilter. The interior of the house is a cold
ultra modern high tech concrete and glass marvel,
its style totally at odds with its surroundings.
And as we quickly find out, Milo has not dropped
by for a cordial cocktail with a neighbor. Milo
has driven down from London to ask Andrew to divorce
his (Andrew’s ) wife, a woman who is also
Milo’s mistress.
We are then treated
to three acts of a very treacherous game. Two
men fight over the affections of one woman and
then (as men do), they fight for power and domination.
And after each campaign in the “game,”
the power shifts and the players go to their psychic
corners to retrench, reshuffle their wits and
then resume the battle to its deadly end.
Michael Caine had
starred in Sleuth before; in 1972 he
played Milo (with Laurence Olivier as Andrew)
with a screenplay written by Anthony Shaffer,
based on Anthony Shaffer’s play of the same
name.
Fast forward to a couple of years ago: Jude Law
was looking for a film to produce and he settled
on Sleuth; he then took a copy of the
play script to renowned British playwright Harold
Pinter (winner of the 2005 Nobel Prize for Literature)
and asked Pinter if he would write the screenplay.
Law then asked Kenneth Branagh to direct, and
both Pinter and Branagh, hearing that the other
was interested, decided to sign on. So in addition
to a physical fight, Milo and Andrew have Pinter’s
pithy script to lob at each other as they perform
their death dance.
The film is stylish
and fun. Film lovers should see this version of
Sleuth just to watch Caine and Law, two
fine actors at the top of their game. Branagh
did a fine job directing (he did have wonderful
actors and incredible script). And the setting
(the interior of the house) is an architectural
wonder that absolutely has to be seen on a big
screen.
Milena Kaneva’s
Total Denial
Opens Friday, October 26, 2007
Cinema Village - 22 East 12th Street, NYC
Reviewed by Wendy
R. Williams
Melina Kaneva’s
Total Denial tells the story of a historic
lawsuit in the United States court system. Fifteen
Burmese villagers sued UNOCAL (now Chevron) for
their complicity in human rights violations in
Burma. Unocal held a minority stake in a joint
venture with the French oil company TOTAL to build
a pipeline across Burma. But in doing so, they
enlisted the help of the corrupt (and unelected)
Burmese military government to maintain security.
And in maintaining security, the Burmese military
regime committed horrific human rights abuses.
Here is a quote from the press release for the
film: “Total Denial cogently documents
a major factor behind the Burmese military’s
murderous crackdown. In 1992, two Western oil
companies—the French TOTAL and the multi-national
UNOCAL—embarked on a joint venture with
the Burmese government to build a massive pipeline.
For the past fifteen years, the Burmese army has
acted as a security agency for the corporations,
forcing local impoverished populations into lifelong
slave labor to build the pipeline. Scorched villages,
rape, torture and murder are routinely used to
intimidate the people into submission to provide
a cheap workforce; the hundreds of thousands have
attempted to flee are barely surviving in the
jungles and refugee camps.”
The film follows Burmese human rights activist
Ka Hsaw Wa as he travels incognito through the
jungles of Burma, talking to the villagers. It
also shows him at home with his Western lawyer
wife (Katie Redford) and two adorable children.
And it is through this marriage between a native
Burmese human rights activist and a western (US
citizen) lawyer wife (they met when she was a
human rights activist in a refugee camp in Thailand)
that the idea of suing in the United States Court
system was born. These two activists were founders
of EarthRights
International and they relentlessly pressed
their case in the US Courts, resulting in a multi
million dollar settlement in favor of the Burmese
villager plaintiffs.
The film tells a powerful story but it also is
a compelling reminder that one person can make
a huge difference by having the courage to tell
“truth to power”: Ka Hsaw Wa by never
giving up his belief in justice and his love for
his country; Katie Redford by traveling to Thailand
to work with the Burmese refugees and then deciding
to sue the oil company; and filmmaker Milena Kaneva
for having the courage to travel to Burma and
Thailand to film and tell this story.
There will be several
demonstrations next week against the Burmese regime,
including a march to Cinema Village on Saturday,
October 27, 2007.
Here is the schedule
for this week and next week:
10/26/2007 (Friday) 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm at Chinese
Mission to the U.N.
10/27/2007 (Saturday)
4:00 pm to 7:00pm at Union Square
11/2/2007 (Friday)
4:30 pm to 6:00 pm at Burmese Embassy, 10E 77
Street
11/3/2007
(Saturday) 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm at Union Square
The website for the coalition group is www.regimechangeinburma.org
Goran Dukic's
Wristcuters
Opens Friday, October 19, 2007
Reviewed
by Corey Ann Haydu
Wristcutters
is a new indie flick that fits in well with
this season’s influx of TV pilots and pop
culture trends—the undead, and people living
in alternate universes. Realism and science fiction
have been mixing together with wildly successful
results since the onset of Buffy the Vampire
Slayer. Ever since the success of Lost,
though, the genre has really taken off, culminating
this year with a frenzy of shows that put real
people in unreal situations. Wristcutters
is a film that is taking advantage of the easy
success by making a decent movie inspired by a
fantastic story.
The alternate
universe of Wristcutters is a type of
purgatory where everyone who has killed themselves
go to live. This hell is exactly like life on
earth, but a little worse. Crappy jobs, cramped
dirty apartments and unpalatable landscapes all
add to the depression, and this circumstance appears
to be the punishment for offing yourself. The
lead character, Zia (Almost Famous’
Patrick Fugit) has killed himself after breaking
up with the love of his life. He enters suicide
hell and quickly learns his ex-girlfriend has
also killed herself. He decides to go look for
her in the hopes of starting a new life after
death with his love. This journey turns into a
quirky road trip with two new friends, smarmy
Eugene (Shea Whigam) and beautiful Mikal (Shannyn
Sossaman). Mikal and Zia fall for each other and
their struggle to be together becomes the real
journey of the film.
The film
is based on a short story that I would imagine
is genius. The idea behind the film is quirky,
unique and captivating. The film itself, however,
falls short. It is appealing without ever really
charming or engaging the audience. It is smart
without ever being fun, and it is full of good
acting with the exception of its lackluster lead.
Fugit’s performance in Almost Famous
was so inspired, that is it difficult to understand
why he struggles to hold the audience’s
attention in this movie. He holds his own, but
never shines, and Whigam and Sossaman are so strong
they steal the film from him. The characters are
likeable and it is easy to root for the unlikely
romance in an even more unlikely setting. But
something is off, and it is more than just the
dismal landscape, the depressing setting. The
atmosphere is perhaps the biggest character in
the piece and provides an unsettling, uncomfortable,
morose world. Ultimately the loveliness of the
characters and the quirky ideas are not able to
usurp that depressing world and the film, like
all of its characters, lacks life.
