25-word mini-reviews of our Top 25 Movies…

Aliens
Against only one, in space no one could hear you scream… This time, space marines have no clue what they are up against. Let’s Rock!!!!!

Babe: Pig in the City
One pig can make a difference. The children’s film for children of all ages: touching, heartwrenching, uplifting, and visually incredible. From the Mad Max director.

Bladerunner
Last time I checked, most noir films have a voiceover; this one offers many insights. Forget the voiceover-less version, and ignore replicant Deckard revisionism. « spoiler block

Boogie Nights
Never before has a movie hit such a bottom, never once trying for Terms of Endearment type sentimentality. Wahlberg should have at least been nominated.
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Surrounded by failure, people with manufactured names and identities entertain others.

Downbeat and uplifting, excellent performances, and Mickey Rourke’s sad, battered face, though almost paralyzed by real life (Botox, plastic surgery, boxing?) is the real reason to see this film. The final speech, touted by many as key to the whole film and by extension, Mr. Rourke’s career and resurrection, was actually way too much exposition and totally unnecessary. I recall Michael Stipe saying something once akin to that he wouldn’t mind bagging groceries, because it is a job that someone has to do. That has always stuck with me, every person we encounter in our lives is doing the job that they have, and that someone “has” to do. I have “good job” but it is just a job. I try and do it the best that I can, and always assume that everyone else is also doing the same. Even a waitress who offers up poor service, maybe it is a bad moment in a bad day for her, and what good does it do for me to hurt her livelihood by not tipping well. When I go out to eat, I accept that it will cost me whatever it costs me. We all have good and bad days. In The Wrestler, Robin the deli clerk vs Randy the deli clerk vs Randy the wrestler all perfectly illustrate this reality. But never are we asked to feel sorry for any of the people putting on personas in this movie, instead, we are asked to cheer for them, to encourage them, to applaud them for their dedication to their jobs. If we could all do this more in our day-to-day lives, wouldn’t the world be a better place?

The Coen Brothers created one of my all-time favorite films, and one of the best films of 2007 (IMO There Will Be Blood should have won the Oscar), but their output between these two always left me luke-warm at best. Many folks talked about Burn After Reading as a shocking departure for the Coen's, apparently forgetting about Raising Arizona… Because of my love for Raising Arizona (back when Nic Cage's hair was intentionally amusing, not perpetually terrifying) I really wanted to love this movie, and although I laughed out loud many times, it didn't click in that magical way. Part of this has to do with casting, maybe Coen-veteran Steve Buscemi would have been better in too-handsome George Clooney's role; part of it had to do with some script choices, but Malkovich was great, Pitt was solid, and Clooney was good, but the part called for someone else. It was 90 minutes well-spent, and I might revisit it to watch with my wife, but it didn't make me fall in love with the Coen's all over again.

There is no circumstance in a David Mamet film, everything is no doubt connected in some way. His latest, about a modern samurai and the world of mixed martial arts competitions has all the classic Mamet touches—everything is a gun on the mantle, stylized dialogue, machismo in abundance, double-crosses, shady characters, and finally, honor.

I haven’t laughed this hard out loud in a long time. The first 2/3 of this movie is pitch perfect. Tom Cruise’s part is much more than a cameo, and although his character is in many ways derivative of Frank Mackie, Les Grossman is so very different (some folks might even call it acting)….but his makeup, the body hair, the dried red hands, the bloated arms…. And Robert Downey Jr. … Jaw-Dropping. Forget Ledger in the Dork Knight, give Downey Jr. the Oscar! Backstories are delivered through the narrative of the film instead of via clunky exposition; subtle details round out the experience as occurring within our worl; the lampooning of the film industry is spot-on and insightful, from the much protested acting-path to Oscar gold to the Kevin Sandusky character and his relationship with the “stars” of the film. Unfortunately, the final 1/3 of the film degenerates in standard Stiller-fare with over-acting, jerky movements and double takes, combine all these annoying “standards” with what could have been a clever Apocalypse Now homage (which falls flat and doesn’t ring true), the ending cannot detract from the performances and overall amusement value.

Here is my review of the original:
Infernal Affairs is:

• A Hong Kong action movie without Hong Kong action.
• A subtitled, multi-layered story of honor and betrayal starring the biggest Cantonese pop-star alive.
• Being remade by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon.
• Well-worth seeing.

Synopsis: A cop is undercover in a mob, and a mob member is undercover in the police department. The corrupt cop is also assigned to investigate the mole within his department, and instead focuses his energy on finding the cop within the mob. Solid choreography, effective use of music and appealling actors only complement the excellent script. Does it need to be remade?

Now, to a review of the remake: much of the above still applies, except the bit about the pop-star.

• Some Scorsese violence that is quite unexpected (when and how it happens, not that violence is unexpected…).
• Mark Mark in an supporting role (and his hair should have asked for credits as well).
• Alec Baldwin hamming it up, teetering on the line of too much for a serious film (and as good as he was, one thought ran through my head—I would’ve liked a riskier choice, perhaps one of my faves, Randy Quaid, in his role).
• Nicholson being Nicholson.
• Some quality Rolling Stones music selections, and a very odd Pink Floyd cover that just didn’t work.

Good stuff, folks should still check out the original, but this is one worth seeing.

I have been looking forward to this film for many months. The original TV show was very significant to me, and I have enjoyed watching seasons 1+2 on DVD (not every episode is greatness, but there are episodes that are great, and there are frequent scenes that are incredible). This movie had a big budget, a big director (who had shown with Heat and Collateral that he could do action-packed gritty drama, big stars and big-time hype…. but aside from a couple solid scenes (nothing as exhilirating as the 20 strongest scenes from seasons 1+2), this movie had little of the style and excitement, drama and quality of the groundbreaking show. I was not expecting or wanting pastel, but at the end of the day what the TV show will be remembered for is how it incorporated popular music with the visuals to create dynamic, often wordless narratives. Aside from too many Audioslave songs and other non-memorable tracks, the movie had no music connection whatsoever. This is a film that should have had people rushing from the theatre to the music store to pick up the soundtrack. I would like to have seen artists like DJ Shadow and The Automator (so skillfully used in the Mann-produced TV series Robbery Homicide Division incorporated into some of the excellent visuals, and less ambient music used for narrative purposes. Wes Anderson and Quentin Tarantino are two artists who appreciate the value of well-placed, interesting music choices, both popular and obscure, Mann seems to have forgotten this. To imagine Quentin Tarantino Presents: Miami Vice is too much.

Based on my expectations:

Taken with no preconceptions:

At this point, M. Night Shyamalan’s success is his greatest enemy. Too many expectations for each of his films since the Sixth Sense have unfortunately led to many declaring each of his films since as failures. Years ago he was called the next Spielberg. I strongly disagree with this statement. He is better. His films are masterfully constructed and beautifully shot. This is not to say that there are all cinematic classics, but they all have such care and craftsmanship put into them, ignoring his accomplishments diminishes what these films are. Lady in the Water was an interesting fable, there were many neat ideas within, and in the hands of a lesser director, would have been trite and too fantastic, but instead is a solid film, not only as a modern fable, but as a post-modern self-analysis. Leave aside your expectations, and look at this film with unjaded eyes. And ask yourself how Spielberg would have made this: sappy music, voice-over narrative at the end explaining what happened, Nazis…. I will admit that Night continually impresses me with his original ideas, but I would also be very interested in seeing him adapt another’s work as a director.

After seeing this, I visited my local comic book store to search through some Golden and Silver Age Superman books, because I didn’t want to make too harsh a judgement. Many issues later, I am glad that current-continuity Superman has forsaken his rainbow powers, but nowhere did I find any mention of the new powers he apparently gained after visiting Krypton to start out this film: Super-Geography, Super-Stalking and Super-Homewrecking. Now, I am not a absolute continuity fanboy, but I do like my iconic characters to be iconic. Superman in this film is unwilling to accept what happened when he left the woman he loved to go on his walkabout vision quest. Move on Big Blue! Routh as Clark Kent bore an uncanny resemblance to the late Christopher Reeve in the same role; there were some exhilirating action sequences, and although the performances were good, the script was bad. Spacey was good, Luthor bad (it is unfortunate that one of the smartest men in the world, who fancies himself a world-conquering genius, is foiled by a ditzy woman). Too long, too creepy, and two diamonds…

The movie was long enough, so this will be short and sweet:

1. Bootstrap Bill is not Geoffrey Rush from the first movie. I enjoyed the first, but did not watch it again to prepare myself, and thought, because it sounded like him, that it was. Guess I should have brushed up on my Pirates canon before viewing this sequel.

2. The costumes and special effects for the costumes were incredibly cool.

3. Fun action, Johnny Depp as expected, excellent as the fey captain. If you liked the first, I imagine you will enjoy this as well.

4. No Chow Yun Fat cameo at the end of the film.