Me and Orson Welles (Movie Review)
11.21.2009 | By Terry Kim |
For those who recognize the name in the title of Richard Linklater’s latest film may have an immediate attraction (or immediate aversion) to it. Read More
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11.21.2009 | By Terry Kim |
For those who recognize the name in the title of Richard Linklater’s latest film may have an immediate attraction (or immediate aversion) to it. Read More
11.20.2009 | By Jack Rico |
Rated: R for graphic nudity and some language.
Release Date: 2009-05-01
Starring: Jim Jarmusch
Director(s):
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Country:Spain
Official Website: http://www.thelimitsofcontrol.com/
The quirky Ohio film director, Jim Jarmusch, known for his abstract, philosophical and excessively drawn out scenes, uses Spain as a beautiful backdrop in his new crime thriller ‘The Limits of Control’. The movie could be summed up as a deliberate banal and phlegmatic effort. There is barely any dialogue to push the story and the ending offers very little interest or excitement.
The minimal storyline concerns an unnamed assassin (Issach De Bankolé) who spends most of the film moving from location to location throughout Spain, collecting the information and equipment he requires to complete his latest assignment, the assassination of an American corporate bigwig (Bill Murray). He meets most of his contacts in cafes, although one woman (Paz de la Huerta) spends a few days nude with him in various hotel rooms. The film is based on a William S. Burroughs essay, a Rimbaud poem and vintage crime films, particularly John Boorman’s 1967 classic “Point Blank.”
It’s obvious after the first half of the film that Jarmusch intends to create a parable between the clashing of bohemianism and capitalism meant to be viewed as how corporate america has suppressed the highly intellectual culturati. The scant dialogue supports this theme by touching upon subjects as art, music, literature, cinema, science, sex, and hallucinations. Regrettably, the words are vapid and random as is the essence of the film. The resulting riddle won’t do anything to broaden the filmmaker’s loyal fan base as his many followers will be left feeling as alienated as his central character.
Noteworthy is Jarmusch’s new exploration of the Spanish and Hispanic culture. The first words uttered in the film are “Usted no habla español, verdad?†(You don’t speak Spanish, correct?) which is a phrase that is consistently used by the several diverse and bizarre characters as an introductory code when they all initially meet our protagonist. There are also some droll scenes that are mostly spoken in Spanish, as well as a long Flamenco sequence where a Spanish song is highlighted. The Hispanic theme also permeates into the casting choices with the hiring of acclaimed Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal and Spanish American actress Paz de la Huerta. Bernal’s performance is not a stretch of his acting abilities, but his showing is merely a decision to work with one of his favorite directors.
‘The Limits of Control’ is tedious, excessively sober and vastly abstract for the common moviegoer. An offense that needs to stopped and that perhaps never will.
11.20.2009 | By Namreta Kumar |
It seems like it took a long while coming, but New Moon just does not thrill audiences the same way Twilight, the movie or the books have. Overall the film covers the basics of the novel but fails to deliver as compelling a story. Read More
11.19.2009 | By Karen Posada |
Unfortunately the movie ‘Mammoth‘ doesn’t match the expectation that the trailer makes us build. The film was all drama and I had hoped to see more than that. It tries too hard to create tension and suspense but at the end nothing happens. It tries to take on too many themes, but doesn’t fully explore anything specific and this is why it fails.
This is the first movie in English by the Swedish director Lukas Moodysson, he is full of new ideas that are not found in Hollywood. ‘Mammoth’ focuses on a upper-middle class family that lives in New York City. Leo (Gael García Bernal) creator of a website for video game fanatics, enters a world new to him of travel and more money which he is not used to. Business takes him away from his family to explore Thailand, a third world country where he is all alone and out of place, at this point the movie touches upon the brutal poverty and child abuse found there. His wife Ellen (Michelle Williams) is a doctor and because of the demands her career entitles she doesn’t have much time for her family, with her husband’s absence she realizes that at home she feels like a stranger and bored. Their only daughter Jackie (Sophie Nyweide) spends most of her time with her nanny, Gloria (Marife Necesito) and although she has no other option she prefers this than spending time with her mother; on the other hand Gloria who is from the Philippines treats Jackie like a daughter but is always thinking about her family in her native land.
Despite the fact that the movie is not good enough to welcome Moodysson with open arms, we have to appreciate the fact that he chose a Latin star in Gael García Bernal to be his main character in a movie that opens the door to him to the English speaking world. It’s surprising to see Gael García Bernal playing the role of an American who doesn’t have a trace to the latin world whatsoever. It’s a good thing that Moodysson tries to make the movie universal by filming in different places of the planet, but it’s disappointing that the film doesn’t have much essence. The movie tries to leave us with the moral that family is more important than anything.
The message at the end is confusing though, it goes in a circle that makes us feel as if nothing happened; there’s no resolution or epiphany. It is also hard to feel bad for a family who seem to have everything, although the contrast with Gloria’s family who lives almost in complete poverty in the Philippines is a very interesting touch. I would like to support a director that doesn’t focus on Hollywood and an actor like Gael García Bernal who with his talent will get far, but I don’t think this movie will help much for that.
I don’t think it’s worth coming out of the movie theater confused and a little upset because this movie makes a twirl that leaves us dizzy.
11.19.2009 | By Jack Rico |
For those of you who have seen Abel Ferrara’s original Bad Lieutenant from 1992, don’t think that this new version, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, from director Werner Herzog is a remake, a re-imagining, or a sequel. It’s a stand-alone project worthy of your time and money. It is entertaining, engaging and oddly funny.
When we first meet Sergeant Terence McDonagh (Nicolas Cage), he’s a good cop, risking his life to save a prisoner from rising flood waters and suffering a permanent back injury as a result. When we next encounter him, six months later, he is receiving a commendation and being promoted to lieutenant, but he has secretly become addicted to vicodin and cocaine, the second of which he is stealing from the police store room. As his addiction escalates, his behavior becomes increasingly unstable, with his actions endangering his current case: a multiple homicide committed by local drug kingpin Big Fate (Alvin “Xzibit” Joiner). The walls start closing in on Terence, with a client of his prostitute girlfriend (Eva Mendes) sending goons to extort money from him, his bookie demanding that he pay his $5000 tab, and Internal Affairs going after his gun and badge.
As I remember the original Bad Lieutenant, one of the first films to ever receive an NC-17, has Harvey Keitel giving one the great performances on screen in the last 20 years. His acting was so honest and engrossing, that it made me look at NYPD cops in a whole different light. Ferrara himself added his trademark New York grit which was just as powerful as Keitel on screen. In this new version, German director Werner Herzog (Fitzcarraldo, Aguirre, The Wrath of God) known for his unforgettable documentaries, gives this worn out bad cop movie an injection of adrenaline that will satisfy fans of the original film and of his own.
Nic Cage gives his best performance on celluloid since Adaptation. He reminds us of the old Cage from Wild at Heart and Leaving Las Vegas. He is fully invested in his character and makes you wonder why he ever did Ghost Rider or Next? There were some over the top scenes, but I think it was simply a stylistic choice. Eva Mendes on her end, does a descent job in complementing Cage very well as the sexy, gritty and loving hooker he’s in love with. For the most part, Eva’s roles throughout her career are very similar. I would like to see her stretch her skills a bit as she did in ‘Hitch’, but these roles prohibit any chance of it.
Some portions deter from the movie being perfect, but nevertheless, it’s the type of movie you walk out of the theater talking about for days.
11.19.2009 | By Jack Rico |
One of Spain’s most talented sons gives cinema a new work titled ‘Broken Embraces’. Pedro Almodóvar reunites with Penélope Cruz to once again give us a visually sensual and beautiful, bold and impressive theater of the mind, but one that regrettably doesn’t break new ground. It is not his best film and thus the reason it wasn’t selected to participate in Spain’s Oscar selections for this upcoming ceremony. It is by no intention a bad film, it simply isn’t overwhelming. Were we asking for too much? Was that the problem? Read More
11.17.2009 | By Mack Chico |
Rated: PG-13 for sci-fi action and violence, and brief sexual content.
Release Date: 2009-05-08
Starring: Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman
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Country:USA
Official Website: http://www.startrekmovie.com/
2009’s ‘Star Trek’ is a youthful, and very entertaining modern revival of the classic and outdated TV series and movie franchise starring William Shatner and Leonard Nemoy. This new version is an all out action film that manages to balance it with some terrific casting, CGI effects and humor. Very similar to what ‘Iron Man’ as a movie offered. Star Trek has been designed with the lofty goal of keeping current fans, repatriating lapsed ones and, by re-branding the name, opening the Trek universe to millions of new viewers. J.J. Abrams‘ attempt has mostly succeeded.
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The storyline is essentially the deep exploration of the beginnings of Captain Kirk and Spock. This allows the story to establish the origins of all the classic characters and the circumstances that brought them all together. Within this framework, Kirk and Spock meet and soon become competitive cadets-in-training. With their drastically opposite styles, one driven by passion, the other by rigorous logic, they become defiant adversaries, each going all out to be th4 captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise.
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Leonard Nimoy (the original Spock) makes a cameo in the role that made him famous, and the connection between “new Trek” and “classic Trek” is created. Just like Nimoy’s appearance, there are a myriad of subtle homages to the old television series and Patrick Stewart films that the true Trekkies will appreciate. Oddly enough, Shatner was nowhere to be seen.
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There are some narrative cracks though. Abrams and his screenwriters, longtime Trek fans Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman (Transformers, Mission Impossible 3), do their best to keep things engaging despite the tremendous constraints of the “origin” format, but there are times when the material feels rushed. When considering pace, this is most definitely that anti-Star Trek: The Motion Picture. No loving, languid shots here.
Star Trek is clearly an action-oriented motion picture, with an intensity that exceeds even that of The Wrath of Khan. The pace is blistering, and the movie is littered with the eye candy of expertly realized space battles. The special effects are beyond those seen in any of the previous ten Star Trek features. In addition to the battles, there are also chases, fight scenes, and all the other staples one expects from an action movie.
The casting could not have been better Chris Pine (Kirk) and Zachary Quinto (Spock) truly embody the essence of the priginal characters. The dominican actress Zoe Saldaña plays Uhura, but with a new sexiness absent from the previous versions.
Ultimately, when the end credits roll, we’re left with the sense that Star Trek represents a good beginning. As a film tasked with getting all the characters together, re-booting a timeline, and finding a way to return a veteran actor to his beloved role, Star Trek works. There is some awkwardness here – it feels like the “hybrid” it is (or, as it has been called, “Not Your Father’s Star Trek”) but, considering how ponderous and stilted the Star Trek movie series had become, perhaps that’s not a bad thing. Still, as with any prequel/re-start, the real test will arrive with the next movie (purportedly in two years – assuming this one does not flop at the box office). The setup is complete; now it’s time to see whether the implied potential of this first entry into a new series can be realized in its sequel.
11.12.2009 | By Jack Rico |
The first 20 minutes of ‘The Messenger’ should remind you of the power movies can have on anyone. It is very well acted, but a tough movie to watch. This film is not for most people, but if you can stomach it, it is worth the watch and money to see. It’s not every day war movies are released and less so when they have to do with such a gut-twisting premise as this.
In his first leading role, Ben Foster stars as Will Montgomery, a U.S. Army officer who has just returned home from a tour in Iraq and is assigned to the Army’s Casualty Notification service. Partnered with fellow officer Tony Stone (Woody Harrelson) to bear the bad news to the loved ones of fallen soldiers, Will faces the challenge of completing his mission while seeking to find comfort and healing back on the home front. When he finds himself drawn to Olivia (Samantha Morton), to whom he has just delivered the news of her husband’s death, Will’s emotional detachment begins to dissolve and the film reveals itself as a surprising, humorous, moving and very human portrait of grief, friendship and survival.
Let me tell you why the film is good and worth the watch. The Messenger will jolt you emotionally, close to the way Precious does. It’s emotionally raw with situations that feel very real and unsettling. It’s brutal. You say “why do I want to see that?â€, but it’s like watching a car wreck on the highway – you slow down to see the post carnage. It’s the macabre part in all of us. Once the story reels you in, the film hits you with excellent acting from Foster and Harrelson. They own the screen and you are absorbed by their lives, problems and thoughts. Just when you can’t take enough drama, Harrelson breaks the tension with off the cuff humor which reminds you that this is just a movie. However, the pacing is off and it feels choppy at times. It goes off into tangents sometimes the way a conversation with a friend might. You can reel him back in, but you can’t do that to a movie. Part of those tangents that didn’t work were the bizarre romantic scenes with Morton and Foster which just didn’t match the level and intensity of the rest of the film, then a wedding crash by the protagonists which seemed out of place.
Credit goes to first time Israeli director Oren Moverman and Italian co-writer Alessandro Camon for creating a script that effectively captures the tribulations of post war trauma and the complex scenarios they harbor within them.
You won’t find many films that shake you ardently the way this does. Even with some of its flaws, it was a satisfying piece of work that you can for sure be pleased with.
11.11.2009 | By Alex Florez |
As daring as it might seem for director Wes Anderson (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums) to switch gears and take a crack at an animated film for the first time, adapting a best selling children’s book from a legendary author is arguably the bigger gamble. Or so you would think. Read More
