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The Messenger (Movie Review)

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.

The Box (Movie Review)

With such a simple title, how can ‘The Box’ end up being so convoluted? Thank director/writer Richard Kelly (the mastermind behind Southland Tales, one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen) for that costly gaffe. This film had the promise to be exceptional, marked by its beginning and ending, but the middle wrapped itself in tangled conundrums and it never managed to fully correct itself.

Norma and Arthur Lewis (Cameron Diaz and James Marsden), a suburban couple with a young child, receive a simple wooden box as a gift, which bears fatal and irrevocable consequences. A mysterious stranger (Frank Langella), delivers the message that the box promises to bestow upon its owner $1 million with the press of a button. But, pressing this button will simultaneously cause the death of another human being somewhere in the world; someone they don’t know. With just 24 hours to have the box in their possession, Norma and Arthur find themselves in the cross-hairs of a startling moral dilemma and must face the true nature of their humanity.

The message at its core is the avarice of men and how its implications will set off the cataclysmic genocide of mankind. This deep philosophical notion was not told well by Kelly. I don’t mind a mental challenge while at the movies, but at least provide me with some clarirty while you tell it. His adapted script is based on the short story ‘Button, Button’ from legendary fantasy writer Richard Matheson (I Am Legend, What Dreams May Come) and it is quite seductive and full of intrigue. Kelly’s version had the chance to be just as good if it weren’t for the occasional hiccups.

On the other hand, Ms. Diaz, of cuban ancestors, and Mr. Marsden (Enchanted, 27 Dresses) did a wonderful job of deciphering the jumbled script to give, in my opinion, strong and compelling performances. Marsden, in particular, is good every time out. Even in family fare such as ‘Enchanted’ (he was hilarious in it), Marsden can be proud of his work. Unfortunately, Langella just didn’t have enough to work from here.

Was it suspenseful? Yes. Was it interesting and compelling? Yes. Did it get so incoherent that it irrevocably lost me? Yes to that! Enjoy the film if you so choose, but remember, you’re also paying more than you should for it. It is not a bad film, but wait, wait, wait for it on DVD. 

The Fourth Kind (Movie Review)

The Fourth Kind has many a scares, but it feels more like a made-for-tv movie than anything else. That doesn’t make it bad, it just makes the decision to wait for it on DVD that much easier. 

The film, based on ‘real events’ and shot juxtaposing documentary and reenactment footage, is a good thrill… for a few minutes. The film’s publicity and marketing material suggest that The Fourth Kind is based on actual occurrences , but the reality is that this is as “based on a true story” as Fargo was (not at all). It’s all part of a backstory that extends beyond the screen. The director, Olantunde Osunsanmi, purports include “real” footage of unexplained phenomenon that transpired in Nome, Alaska during the early years of the 21st century, but there are plenty of clues both in the footage and outside of it that debunk its veracity. One doesn’t need to be aware that no one named Abbey Tyler practiced psychology in Alaska to know this woman is not real. The makeup applied to her face during her “interviews” is not convincing and the unidentified actress playing Abbey may cause pause even for those who want to buy what Osunsanmi is selling.

Although it’s fascinating to dissect the movie on an intellectual level and examine what pieces and structural choices work and don’t work, I’m sure that’s not how the filmmakers intended their production to be approached. On a purely narrative level, The Fourth Kind offers the occasional “boo!” moment but is too tame (consider the PG-13 rating) to generate any lasting horror and too contrived to work on a dramatic level. The best thing I can say about it is at least it’s not another Asian horror remake.