Movie Review The Core

The Core (2003) 

Directed by Jon Amiel

Written by Cooper Layne, John Rogers

Starring Hilary Swank, Aaron Eckhart, Delroy Lindo, Bruce Greenwood, Richard Jenkins

Release Date March 28th, 2003

Published March 29th, 2003

It's not often when screenwriters make the news. When John Rogers, the co-writer of The Core, wrote in to Ain't It Cool News to dispute a review that questioned the film’s science, more than a few of us took notice and had a little laugh at his expense.

Granted, no one wants their work made fun of, but when you make a movie as unabashedly out there as The Core, you can't expect it to be welcomed as if it were written by Carl Sagan. Sci-fi films have a horrible track record of including actual science in them and the aspiration to put real science in a movie like The Core is like asking Beverly Hills Cop to include real police procedures. No one goes to disaster movies for a science lesson, they go to watch landmarks explode. The Core blows up Rome and San Francisco, mission accomplished.

Aaron Eckhart heads up an ensemble cast as Dr. Josh Keyes, a physics professor at some anonymous college. In the midst of a lecture on the layers of the Earth, Dr. Keyes is called out of class by a pair of humorless G-men. Taken on a jet to Washington D.C, he reunites with a fellow scientist and friend Sergei Levesque (Tcheky Karyo, in a rare non-villain role). The two are asked by an army General (Six Feet Under dead guy, Richard Jenkins) to theorize what environmental factors could cause a group of people with pacemakers to simply drop dead without warning.

The answer, after much lucky guessing by Dr. Keyes, is that the Earth's core has stopped spinning causing it's electromagnetic field to go haywire. Not only has it caused pacemakers to stop, but also birds have lost navigating ability and are falling from the sky. Also falling is the space shuttle which has flown off course and nearly crashes in L.A, saved only by the wits of its plucky navigator Major Rebecca Childs.

So now that we know what's wrong, there are two questions remaining. Number one, how did this happen? And number two, how do we stop it? Thankfully, the film’s trailer has already told us both of those things. A weapon that causes earthquakes has gone too far thanks to the miscalculations of its inventor Dr. Zimsky (Stanley Tucci). Conversely, crazy scientist Dr. "Braz" Brazzleton has a vehicle with the ability to tunnel all the way to the core. Once there, nuclear weapons can be dropped to kickstart the core. Apparently, no one had jumper cables.

To the science issue, I have no idea and really don't care if the science is real. What matters is if the film is any good. Some geologist writing somewhere said that the film has as many accuracies as inaccuracies and that the inaccuracies are those that are necessary for dramatic purposes. WHATEVER!

Let's get to the important stuff, how cool are the explosions. Well let me tell you in the words of the late John Candy in an old SCTV sketch, stuff blow'd up, blow'd up real good. The special effects aren't spectacular but they are entertaining in a modern day Ed Wood sort of way. The Golden Gate Bridge explosion is a cheesy treat and when Rome blows up, watching the reactions of the extras running from the Coliseum is priceless.

The Core is a bad movie but in the camp sense it's genius. Whether intentional or not The Core is full of laughs from the effects to the characters. I especially liked Stanley Tucci who seemed to be channeling Dr. Smith from Lost In Space with his whiny smugness. And kudos to Delroy Lindo for assuaging his usual calm cool persona for a geekier frazzled genius demeanor that you don't expect from him.

The Core is just plain goofy and in that sense it's a lot of fun. Though it needs to be greatly pared down from its two-hour plus runtime, it nevertheless delivers a fun little distraction.

Movie Review Love Happens

Love Happens (2009)

Directed by Brandon Camp

Written by Brandon Camp, Mike Thompson

Starring Aaron Eckhart, Jennifer Aniston, Dan Fogler, Judy Greer, Martin Sheen

Release Date September 18th, 2009 

Published September 18th, 2009 

Is there possibly a less passion inspiring romance title than Love Happens? Love eh? Love Ensues? Love Stumbled Upon? If only the low watt title were the film's biggest problem. Oh no. Love Happens is riddled with troubles. Quirk ridden stand ins where characters should. A storyline as predictable as sunrise. And then there is a damn bird.

Aaron Eckhart stars in Love Happens as self help guru Burke Ryan. He's Dr. Phil but handsome. Burke lost his wife 3 years ago in a car accident which led to him writing a book about living with loss. Now he travels the country with his faithful sidekick (Dan Fogler), performing workshops to help people cope with loss.

Finding himself back in the city where his wife died, Seattle, Burke is looking to get in and get out before his past catches up with him. Literally while he isn't looking, Burke stumbles upon Eloise, a flower shop owner with one weird quirk on top of another. She likes to write obscure words on walls behind paintings in hotel hallways. (I said it was a weird quirk).

He is smitten immediately but she blows him by pretending to be a mute. Her ruse doesn't hold up and their next encounter is an argument. An argument that of course means they are destined to fall in love. Destined though they may be they first must be kept apart and a predictable secret from his past is supplied solely for the purpose of keeping them at a distance.

Don't worry, I won't spoil the big reveal of Burke's secret, the movie will do that in the first 5 to 10 minutes. Anyone who has seen movies like Sweet November or Return To Me or really any similarly hoary cliched romance won't need a map to find this ending well before it arrives for the characters.

It is the nature of a romantic comedy to be a little predictable, not many end with the lovers parting ways. Thus, these movies are more about the journey than the destination. Unfortunately, this is one lame journey. One that feels twice as long as it really is.

Brandon Camp is a first time director whose experience is mostly in TV drama. His roots likely contribute to the episodic, disjointed storytelling that devotes a good deal of time to filler material to pad itself out beyond what might have been better suited to something of 44 minutes plus commercials.

Most egregious of the filler material is a subplot involving a man who lost his little boy and attends Burke's seminar. While we are supposed to like Burke the film keeps making him out as a shyster. Then he alternately attempts to help and rip off this pained father, effectively portrayed by John Carroll Lynch, in serious scenes sandwiched between goofball romance scenes.

Love Happens has about as much consistency in tone as it does energy in that stupid title. One minute we are in the midst of both characters in a wacky moment. Next we are watching people who have lost a family member be taken in by a shyster who is supposed to be our hero.

Wow, what a mess this movie is. From the bizarre maudlin subplots to the lame secret right down to the two main characters who aren't so much characters as a collection of traits given to Eckhardt and Aniston to drop in as they wish. She likes writing on walls. He's afraid of elevators. She keeps copies of other people's love notes. He might be an alcoholic.

Not one of these traits has any kind of payoff, at least not one that makes any difference to the main plot. The traits exist only to give the actors something to do in between the bouts of mind-numbingly awful dialogue that includes not just 'when life gives you lemons....' but also 'if you love something, set it free'. Ugh.

And then there is the damn bird. Folks, if you are a member of PETA you will want to skip Love Happens. The bird goes unharmed, for the most part but its treatment in the film is beyond idiotic. Worse, it assumes that we in the audience are just as dumb as the movie.

Love Happens is an abysmal bit of treacle aimed at the soft hearted and softer headed. Not even the uncontainable charms of the wonderful Jennifer Aniston can bring this treacle any more life than that shrug shouldered title, Love Happens.

Movie Review No Reservations

No Reservations (2007)

Directed by Scott Hicks 

Written by Carol Fuchs 

Starring Catherine Zeta Jones, Aaron Eckhart, Abigail Breslin

Release Date July 27th, 2007

Published July 26th, 2007

Mostly Martha was a dull, by the numbers, German romance that is memorable only for the delectable foods on display. All of the cakes with gleaming frosting and the lovingly prepared German dishes leapt off the screen and tantalized the taste buds. The romantic plot, the family plot, failed to be more interesting than the food.

Now that American filmmakers have gotten their hands on it, Mostly Martha has become No Reservations. Missing is the loving attention to the food. Left in place, unfortunately, is the dull romance and and a somehow even more dull family drama.

Kate (Catherine Zeta Jones) lives a regimented existence, she lives for her work as a chef at a top notch New York eatery and nothing more. Her routine often includes a minor tantrum, such as when a customer complains about her food. Kate has no compunction about forcefully confronting customers, a habit that has her in therapy on a regular basis, at the urging of her boss Paula (Patricia Clarkson).

Kate's tightly controlled life is upended when a planned visit by her sister ends tragically before it begins. On her way to see Kate with her daughter Zoe (Abigail Breslin), Kate's sister is killed in a car accident. Zoe survives with minor cuts and bruises. Now it is left to Kate to try and care for this girl who is her biological relation but may as well be an alien to Kate.

Things are also difficult at work where Kate's sous chef has left and the boss hired a new guy without speaking to Kate first. His name is Nick (Aaron Eckhart) and he has a different way of doing things than Kate is used to. Nick quickly disrupts Kate's kitchen and could be after her job. The tension naturally leads to romance but with a number of major obstacles, not the least of which is Kate herself.

Scott Hicks (Shine) directs No Reservations with flair and professionalism. However, no scenarist, no matter his talent, could make this mundane story any more than it is. No Reservations is a simple romance in which obvious roadblocks are thrown in front of destined lovers. Without the will they/won't they suspense, what is left is to find one unique element that separates this movie from others of the same genre.

For No Reservations the unique element might be the food. However, the food barely registers in No Reservations. Unlike another 2007 food movie, the wonderful Ratatouille, No Reservations does not leave one hungering for the tasty delights. The restaurant in No Reservations is just an active background and the food is just a prop. That leaves the predictable story and dull romantic comedy conventions to carry the movie.

The one thing that No Reservations has going for it is the appealing cast. Catherine Zeta Jones is a vision even when hampered with such a derivative role. Aaron Eckhardt continues to carry that charismatic glint in his eye that has long promised stardom but has yet to pay off. And finally, Oscar nominee Abigail Breslin remains a sweetheart even in a role that seems a bit beneath her talents.

Catherine Zeta Jones and Aaron Eckhardt do spark quite a bit in the romantic moments of No Reservations. Unfortunately, both are undone by their mediocre surroundings. No Reservations is simply too predictable, too rote and too familiar to be anything more than admirable. Likable actors, a pro director all unfortunately tied to an overly familiar plot.

Worst of all, No Reservations isn't funny enough.

Catherine Zeta Jones is a fine actress and a welcome film presence. No Reservations, unfortunately, is beneath her talent. This rote, formula romance pushes her and her co-stars from one scene to the next on an inexhaustible wave of clichés and scenes dictated by romantic comedy formulas. This is why so many critics say that the romantic comedy is dead, even the audiences that love them are tired of this formula.

Movie Review Thank You For Smoking

Thank You for Smoking (2006) 

Directed by Jason Reitman

Written by Jason Reitman 

Starring Aaron Eckhart, David Koechner, Maria Bello, Sam Elliott, Katie Holmes, Rob Lowe, J.K Simmons, Robert Duvall, William H. Macy

Release Date March 17th, 2006 

Published April 20th, 2006 

Whether you call him "Yuppie Mephistopheles'', "Goebbels In Gucci" or simply "Death Merchant" you cannot say Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart) is not a charming assassin. In his role as lobbyist for the tobacco industry Naylor's job is to charm, cajole and if necessary deceive whomever is in front of him into seeing his industry as the underdog in an unfair and unjust war on personal freedom. Never before has anyone been more charmingly full of shit.

Adapted from a novel by Christopher Buckley, son of the unctuous conservative pundit William F. Buckley, Thank You For Smoking is an amiable and amoral look inside the life of Washington's most sinister and charming lobbyist. Like him or not Nick Naylor could convince you the sky was green while standing outside.

Thank You For Smoking directed by another prominent scion Jason Reitman son of  director Ivan Reitman (Twins, Kindergarten Cop, Ghostbusters). But do not expect anything as gentle as his father's fun loving mainstream blockbusters. Jason Reitman's talent, it would seem, is sharp satire of the most un-P.C kind.

Thank You For Smoking is shockingly not about making the tobacco industry look any more demonic than they already do. Rather it's about this character, Nick Naylor, and his insidiously powerful charms. That his charms are employed by the tobacco companies is merely part of the deep dark fun. Listening to someone convince you that a product that kills more Americans than any other product in existence, a statistic Nick prides while discussing with fellow merchants of death Polly (Maria Bello), lobbyist for the alcohol industry, and Bobby (David Koechner), lobbyist for guns, lends a black humor to Nick's charm. He knows what he's doing is wrong, that the science he misrepresents is complete B.S but being charming and winning seemingly unwinnable arguments is what pays the bills. He also happens to be really good at it.

Darker still is Nick's relationship with his son Joey (Cameron Bright). His attempts to get closer to his son, he is divorced from Joey's mother, include attending a career day at Joey's school where he essentially convinces the children that they should make up their own minds about smoking rather than listen to mom and dad, especially if mom says smoking is bad for you.

Nick takes his son on a business trip to Los Angeles where with the help of an equally amoral superagent played by Rob Lowe, he hopes to restore the cigarrette's good standing in film. Nick's hope is that he can get the cigarette into a big time blockbuster movie in the hands of real movie stars rather than the modern norm that has cigarettes mostly in the hands of villains or europeans.

Also while in Los Angeles Nick is to meet with Lorne Lutch (Sam Elliott) the original Marlboro Man who, now dying of cancer, has become a vocal anti-smoking advocate. In a scene so disarming in its honesty and dark humor, Nick essentially bribes Lutch with a suitcase full of cash and yet convinces him and us that the money is not a bribe, but a gift that it would be rude or hypocritical to complain about publicly. Nick's son is witness to this scene and yet does not lose the esteem of his father. In fact he is convinced he would like to be more like his father.

Nick's near downfall, as it is with most men, is a beautiful woman, a reporter named Heather Holloway, who has her own unique opinion off and on the record. Heather's arc is likely the weakest in the film as her triumph over Nick is too easily overcome and the comic possibilities of the relationship are not fully discovered.

Thank You For Smoking is as nihilistic in its point of view of the dangers of smoking as Nick is. The film is not about condemning smoking, the tobacco industry, or its protagonist. In that perspective it's fair to say that film is not as sharp as it could be. A precise perspective would be welcome. However as a dark hearted satirical character study the film is whip smart and very, very funny. Thank You For Smoking is a must see.

Movie Review Suspect Zero

Suspect Zero (2004) 

Directed by E Elias Merhige

Written by Zak Penn, Billy Ray 

Starring Aaron Eckhardt, Ben Kingsley, Carrie Ann Moss

Release Date August 27th, 2004

Published August 26th, 2004

“Remote viewing” is something fans of late night radio host Art Bell are very familiar with. The CIA is rumored to have used remote viewing to locate dangerous criminals until the concept was found unreliable. Remote viewing is essentially a psychic phenomenon. Viewers claim to be able to find people using only their mind, describing what they see by drawing a picture with their eyes closed.

While remote viewing has been debunked, see Penn & Teller's brilliant "Bullshit" series, it does make an interesting plot for a movie. Suspect Zero, starring Aaron Eckhart and Ben Kingsley, makes good use of it as a plot point but a weak performance from Eckhart is the film’s undoing.

Eckhardt stars as FBI agent Thomas Mackelway, recently returned to duty after a suspension. Mackelway had once been a top guy in the bustling Dallas office but now has been busted down to the relatively mundane Albuquerque office. As he's settling in to what he thinks will be a pretty dull gig he gets a big case, a murder that places the body directly on the New Mexico-Texas border.

Because the body is on the border, it is a federal investigation. The murder has the telltale signs of a serial killer. Numerous markings, a strange symbol (a zero with a line through it), and the victims eyelids have been cut off. The capper though is that, like most movie serial killers, the killer has specifically chosen Mackelway to be his opponent in a murderous game of cat and mouse.

Ah, but this film is a little more complex than other films of its genre. Our killer, Benjamin O'Ryan (Kingsley) has chosen his victims because they are serial killers. One of the victims happens to be the reason why Mackelway just got off suspension, he attacked the man and thus he got off on a technicality until O'Ryan came along and killed him. The manipulation here is pretty good; you sympathize with O'Ryan because he is killing bad guys.

O'Ryan tracks the killers through remote viewing, a skill he developed as an agent of the FBI. O'Ryan believes that Mackelway may have the gift as well. O'Ryan wants Mackelway to help him track down a killer he calls suspect zero, a killer who has killed indiscriminately across the entire country with no serial pattern. This suspect zero, O'Ryan believes, may be responsible for most of the unsolved murders in the country.

The film was directed by E. Elias Merhige, whose Shadow Of The Vampire was a quiet success back in 2000. Here his direction lacks the precision of Shadow. He falls way too in love with moving his camera, neglecting at times to secure it before moving it on a dolly, thus the camera shakes to distraction. Merhige uses way too many super tight close-ups, so close you can count nose hairs. Thankfully, toward the end of the film, Merhige's direction becomes tighter and the final 20 minutes get real good.

The most glaring problem of the film is star Aaron Eckhardt whose performance is uncertain and imprecise. It may be more the fault of Zak Penn's script for underwriting the character but clearly the character is off balance the entire film. The subplot about Mackelway possibly having the gift of remote viewing is never resolved though he spends a good deal of energy selling the pain of the migraines and visions that accompany the gift.

Also, hasn't this guy ever heard of the Internet? How is there not one computer in the entire FBI office? There is also a throwaway romantic plot with a former girlfriend and partner played by Carrie Ann Moss that just seems rote and unnecessary.

Who can blame Zak Penn for underwriting Eckhart's character when Ben Kingsley's O'Ryan is such a great part to write for? Kingsley is becoming known for strong performances in weak films, even earning an Oscar nomination for the over-hyped Sexy Beast. He's even not horrible in Thunderbirds where his righteous overacting is at least worth a few chuckles. Here he is riveting and more than believable as a man who has seen too many horrible things.

There is something so seedy and yet appealing about vigilante justice. You can't say it's okay to kill people but when O'Ryan comes upon a serial rapist, beats the hell out of him and kills him, you can't help but pause for a moment and think it's not so bad. I always love movies that test the limits of my morality, and sense of right and wrong and Suspect Zero does that.

I wish I could give Suspect Zero a full recommendation but that is impossible when the lead character just doesn't work. On the strength of Ben Kingsley's performance and the very good final reel, I can give Suspect Zero a partial recommendation.

Movie Review The Black Dahlia

The Black Dahlia (2006) 

Directed by Brian De Palma 

Written by Josh Friedman 

Starring Josh Hartnett, Aaron Eckhart, Scarlett Johansson, Hilary Swank, Mia Kirschner, Fiona Shaw 

Release Date September 15, 2006 

Published September 14th, 2006 

Director Brian De Palma is one of the bravest filmmakers in the business. Each of his films are perilous high wire acts deftly treading the line between masterpiece and utter disaster. His last film, 2002's Femme Fatale, was a disaster of lurid exploitation in which the director became more enamored of his scenery than even his often nude starlet. On the flipside, his Untouchables, Dressed To Kill and Raising Cain are masterpieces, by De Palma standards, of trashy, entertaining, style.

De Palma's latest picture The Black Dahlia, based on the Elmore Leonard novel, again walks that razor's edge between masterpiece and disaster and finds De Palma once again on the side of the masterpiece. The Black Dahlia is a lurid, shocking, exciting noir mystery that uses real life brutality to tell a stunner of a fictional detective story, one worthy of the 30's and 40's noir that inspired it.

For anyone going into The Black Dahlia with ideas about learning more about the famed death of Elizabeth Short; be prepared, this is not her story. This story, based on Elmore Leonard's fictional take on Hollywood's most notorious unsolved murder, is more about the fictional L.A cops created by Leonard and the various shocking and devastating twists that Leonard smartly crafted and now De Palma and screenwriter Josh Friedman adapt.

Josh Hartnett leads an exceptional cast in The Black Dahlia as detective Dwight 'Bucky' Bleichert, a former boxing star turned L.A flatfoot. Bucky's partner is a fellow former boxer Leland 'Lee' Blanchard. Rising through the ranks together, using their boxing star status to impress superiors, the two end up partners in the robbery homicide division.

When the nude, bisected body of young Elizabeth Short is found, it is Bucky and Lee's celebrity that gets them on the Dahlia case, over Bucky's objections; he's concerned about a murder case they were already working and were nearly killed while investigating. The Black Dahlia case however is the department's top priority and they want their most high profile cops out front cracking the case.

On January 15th 1947 the body of Elizabeth Short (Mia Kirschner) was discovered on a side street by a woman with a stroller. Short was nude and her body bisected, cut at the waist. Her blood was drained and internal organs removed. There are other more gruesome details that even Elmore Leornard left out of his account of this real life murder that the papers called The Black Dahlia for the victims penchant for black clothes and flowers in her hair.

Who was Elizabeth Short? In the movie she is a wannabe starlet from a small town in Massachusetts who came to L.A, like so many young girls, with stars in her eyes. She was said, by friends, to have a number of gentlemen callers and was welcome in local lesbian bars as well. It is at one of these bars where Bucky follows a lead to a woman named Madeleine Linscott (Hillary Swank). A dead ringer for Dahlia, Madeleine was seen talking to Elizabeth and another woman not long before she disappeared.

Rather than arrest and interrogate Ms. Linscott, Bucky begins a dangerous affair with her and promises to keep her name out of the papers. The Linscott name is quite well known; Madeleine's father built much of the town. Finding daddy's little girl in a lesbian hangout and linking her to the Dahlia murder would be a media frenzy.

In parallel plot, Bucky and Lee share the attention of a beautiful former prostitute, Kay Lake (Scarlett Johansson). Kay is Lee's girl, he rescued her from a violent pimp, but it's clear she and Bucky have an attraction. When Lee becomes engrossed in the Dahlia case, Kay and Bucky come dangerously close to crossing a line.

Josh Hartnett continues to grow into one of the most interesting actors working today. His style is shy and understated but it's the inner strength that he reveals just when the character needs it that makes him so interesting. His reticence as Bucky belies the toughness of a character that is shown to be quite a good boxer. He is gentle even as he is an invasive interrogator and by the end of the film his horror at all he's seen brings his character around to being a classic noir character. Hartnett has alot to play in The Black Dahlia and he pulls it all off extremely well.

As good as Hartnett is, the true showstopper performance in The Black Dahlia is that of Fiona Shaw. To give any details of who her character is or reveal anything about her is to give away a little more than I want to of this clever plot. Nevertheless, I can tell you that Ms. Shaw delivers an Oscar worthy turn with a speech near the end of the film that would make Norma Desmond blush.

Brian De Palma's style could be called classy trash. Look closely at his resume and you can find a number of movies that fit that description or atleast have moments that fit that description. In Femme Fatale, De Palma crafts a number of gorgeous visuals, classy architecture and the like. It's a great looking film even when it dips into trashy lesbian trysts and gratuitous displays of flesh. And Femme Fatale is one De Palma's lesser works.

Applying his style to material he actually seems invested in, De Palma is invigorated and his excitement translates to the screen with great enthusiasm. The macabre fascination that the public had with the Black Dahlia murder is a subject that suits Brian De Palma's dark, lurid, some would say trashy personality. Indeed he is quite fond of the darker side and expresses that dark side with glee in The Black Dahlia.

And yet for all of its ghastly fascination with the lurid details of not only the life of Elizabeth Short but for those of the cop characters, the rich family and the prostitute, The Black Dahlia manages to be both engrossing and highly entertaining. De Palma invites you down the path of the lurid back streets and somehow; you willingly and wantonly follow him to the movie equivalent of the red light district known as The Black Dahlia.

When he's on his game Brian De Palma is one of the most skillful and talented directors in the business and The Black Dahlia is his best work in nearly a decade. Stylish, mysterious, trashy yet kinda classy, The Black Dahlia is a cinematic smorgasbord that offers something for all audiences, true crime, mystery, sex, graphic violence and great performances. The Black Dahlia will, no doubt, divide many and unite many others. For my money, it's one of the best films of the year.