Movie Review National Treasure 2 Book of Secrets

National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets 

Directed by Jon Turteltaub 

Written by Cormac Wibberley, Marianne Wibberley, Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio 

Starring Nicolas Cage, Jon Voight, Ed Harris, Diane Kruger, Justin Bartha, Helen Mirren, Harvey Keitel

Release Date December 21st, 2007 

Published December 19th, 2007

2004's National Treasure came out of nowhere to become a late season blockbuster. With its popular take on legendary conspiracies, big time action and stunts and its family safe PG rating, National Treasure was like a perfect map to blockbuster success.

Naturally, with a film so successful there would have to be a sequel and the crew of National Treasure is indeed back. Nicholas Cage returns to the role of Benjamin Franklin Gates, historian, adventurer and most of all treasure hunter. With his electronics wiz pal Riley (Justin Bartha), Ben has been chasing all sorts of treasures for years.

The latest adventure has an important personal connection. As Ben is lecturing to a group of students on the history of his famous family of adventurers and treasure hunters, he is confronted by Mitch Wilkerson (Ed Harris) who claims a scrap of paper from the diary of John Wilkes Booth proves that Gate's great great grandfather conspired to kill President Lincoln.

Knowing that his family history proves otherwise, Ben sets out on a new adventure to track down the evidence that proves his great great grandpa's innocence. The trail leads Ben, Riley and Ben's dad Patrick (Jon Voight) to an ancient book passed down through the ages from one President to another. It's the legendary presidential Book Of Secrets.

Home to all of the greatest conspiracies in history, the book holds the key to whether great great grandpa Gates was a traitor or not. Hot on the trail of the book as well is Wilkerson and his secret society of thugs and Harvey Keitel as an FBI agent whose job has long been keeping on what Ben Gates is up to.

It is impossible to deny the fun of the National Treasure movies. With their goofball stunts and good humor, the movies are inoffensive and easily digestible. While you are watching them you smile and chuckle and for most that will be enough to call it successful.

If you like your movies with low brain power and plenty of distracting explosions and diversions, you will love National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets. You won't recall the experience 10 minutes after it's over, but at least it won't take up space in your memory as it didn't in mine. I have seen National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets twice now and I still needed the Wikipedia plot description and Rottentomatoes reviews of my fellow critics to remind me that the film existed.

Forgettable, low watt entertainment, if you like movies the way you like a good candy bar or a can of soda, you'll like the disposable entertainment of National Treasure.... uh, what was that subtitle again? I forget?

Movie Review The Grey Zone

The Grey Zone (2002) 

Directed by Tim Blake Nelson

Written by Tim Blake Nelson

Starring David Arquette, Steve Buscemi, Harvey Keitel, Mira Sorvino, Natasha Lyonne 

Release Date October 18th, 2002 

Published October 15th, 2002 

It's amazing, the amount of stories there are left to tell about World War 2. So many perspectives: Survivors, saviors, agressors and evildoers, each with their own story to tell.

No stories are as poignant as those of the survivors of the Holocaust. Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List went inside the worst of the German concentration camps and now Tim Blake Nelson's The Grey Zone takes the point of view of a German camp in Poland. Although The Grey Zone isn't the masterpiece that Schindler's List was, it is a moving and shockingly visceral film experience.

Of the many untold stories of the Holocaust one of the most heartbreaking is that of Jewish people who, to prolong their own lives, worked for the German soldiers preparing other Jews to die in the gas chamber. The Grey Zone takes us inside one of these groups called Sonderkommandos, considered by the German army to be among the most coldly efficient. However no matter how well they do their job fooling other jews into thinking they are just taking a mass shower and not being gassed to death, the members of this group are aware that no one in their position has ever lasted longer than four months and time is nearly up.

Amongst this group of self preservationists are a group of familiar faces including David Arrquette and Daniel Benzali. Working with them from another camp is an industrious Polish Jew played by Steve Buscemi who trades strategic information with this group as they plan an uprising. Another subplot involves a group of women including Mira Sorvino and Natasha Lyonne, working in a German munitions plant and stealing gun powder to use as part of the uprising.

The film seems to be a shocking story of the planning of an uprise while doing anything to survive, but it takes a far more human turn when a young girl survives the gas chamber and the Sonderkommandos risk the uprising to save her.

The film is based on a book by Dr. Miklos Nyiszli called Auschwitz: A Doctor's Eye Witness Account. Dr. Nyiszli, a Jewish doctor who stayed alive by agreeing to work with the evil Dr. Josef Mengele performing horrific experiments on jewish children. Dr. Nyiszli was at Auschwitz and was under the direct supervision of a commander named Muhsfeldt (Harvey Keitel). Muhsfeldt attempted to use the doctor to spy on the Sonderkommandos, whom he suspects of plotting something, though he isn't certain what. The doctor doesn't agree to spy, but offers by Muhsfeldt to save his wife and daughter may have led him to give more information than he may have wanted.

The Grey Zone offers no judgement of the Sonderkommandos and indeed it is difficult to take them to task for what they did. I would venture to say that the results of their treachery were punishment enough. They did what they could to survive and the uprising they planned and executed, blowing up a pair of German crematoriums, saved lives. These men and woman weren't saints but they were human, far more human than their captors, no matter what they were responsible for.

Director Tim Blake Nelson makes it two excellent films in a row. His sophomore turn behind the camera, the slickly-produced modern take on Shakespeare's Othello called "O", was a poetic and strikingly sad movie. It is however not nearly as sad or hard hitting as The Grey Zone, which is as gritty and frightening as it is sad. Even an actor of David Arquette's calibur can't ruin this powerful and emotional film.

Movie Review Red Dragon

Red Dragon (2002) 

Directed by Bret Ratner 

Written by Ted Tally

Starring Anthony Hopkins, Edward Norton, Ralph Fiennes, Harvey Keitel, Emily Watson, Mary Louise Parker, Phillip Seymour Hoffman

Release Date October 4th, 2002 

Published October 3rd, 2002 

In 1991, The Silence Of The Lambs captured pop culture with a character more frightening than any horror movie cliché. Dr. Hannibal Lecter, as portrayed by Sir Anthony Hopkins, embodied intelligence that was as frightening as any weapon Jason Voorhees ever used.

With Jodie Foster’s Clarice Starling as the perfect foil, Hopkins tore into the psyche of moviegoers dissecting their fears the way he did his victims. The style and wit of Hannibal Lecter thrust the character off the screen and into pop culture. Even the lame sequel Hannibal, which turned the character into a horror movie monster, couldn’t completely destroy Hannibal Lecter.

Now with the release of Red Dragon, Anthony Hopkins has a vehicle that restores the character to the elements that made it iconic; the gray jumpsuit, the glass cage and the menacing intelligence. If only director Brett Ratner had the same skill with the remaining cast and story of Red Dragon, it could have been the equal of the original. As it is, Red Dragon is a solid but brutal by-the-numbers thriller with one of those endings that just makes you shake your head and wish they would have quit while they were ahead.

As the credits roll it is 1980 and Dr. Hannibal Lecter is a well respected forensic psychologist, enjoying the symphony and entertaining guests with his unique culinary skills. In a scene written by Lambs screenwriter Ted Tally, Hopkins teases the audience with the fate of a missing symphony musician being discussed by Dr. Lecter’s dinner guests. After dinner FBI agent Will Graham (Edward Norton), arrives at Lecter’s door to discuss a case that Lecter is consulting on. In yet another very well written scene, Norton and Hopkins match wits as Graham slowly realizes the friendly doctor is actually his suspect.

The capture of Hannibal Lecter is merely the opening act of Red Dragon, the meat of the story is Grant’s search for a serial killer dubbed by the media as The Tooth Fairy, for his penchant to bite his victims. The killer's method is simple, he stalks a family 'til the night of a full moon when he attacks, killing husbands and children and raping the mothers. The killer breaks all of the mirrors in the home using the glass as a weapon and placing it in the eyes of his victims. As Will investigates he realizes that he can’t get inside this case without help and is forced to turn to Dr. Lecter for advice. As the conversations between Lecter and Graham proceed, Lecter takes an interest in The Tooth Fairy and finds the interest to be mutual as the two killers trade messages in a tabloid personals column.

The logistics of Lecter’s being able to place an ad from his jail cell is one of a number of logical leaps by director Brett Ratner. Others include Graham’s finding of clues other investigators couldn’t, not an unusual trait for an FBI expert except that the evidence is as obvious as an episode of CSI. Those factual inconsistencies aside, the characters in Red Dragon are smart and engaging enough to carry the viewers over the logical rough spots.

As The Tooth Fairy, Ralph Fienes returns to the type of character acting that won him an Oscar for Schindler’s List. Portraying both the killer's depraved brutality and his sensitive sadness, Fiennes almost earns the audience's sympathy, especially after he begins a tentative relationship with a blind coworker named Reba, played by fellow Oscar nominee Emily Watson. Since Reba can’t see him, he is comfortable with her. She can’t see the scar on his lip he is so ashamed of, the scar that drives him to destroy every mirror he sees. Reba knows the guy is odd but she has no idea he is a sought after serial killer. There is an amazing sweetness to the relationship that is leavened by Tooth Fairy’s twisted insanity. When Reba isn’t around he argues with his imaginary master, the Red Dragon, over whether or not to kill her.

Rounding out this amazing cast is Philip Seymour Hoffman as a sleazy tabloid journalist who Graham uses to tease Tooth Fairy into showing himself. The plan backfires resulting in one of the more shocking and memorable scenes in the film. The cast also includes Harvey Keitel as Graham’s boss and Mary Louise Parker, greatly underused as Graham’s wife.

Never one to take much notice of film score I must say how impressed I was with the work of Danny Elfman. While at times the score employs cheesy horror film screeches, most of the score is deep bass and ornamental horns that give each scene sonic depth. The score is effective and memorable and vital to the film's tone. Also impressive is Dante Spinotti’s cinematography which is most notable for how mundane it is. Never getting in the way, the lighting is stylish without being overbearing and the film's brutality and violence is given a realistic feel by Spinotti’s camerawork.

Give director Brett Ratner credit for working with talented people, unfortunately his own talent isn’t as well pronounced. Ratner’s direction is a heavy handed crowd pleasing style that pushes aside artistic touches in favor of manipulating the audience with violence and manufactured suspense. Especially overwrought is the ending, yet another case of false ending overkill. Had the director stopped 15 minutes earlier the film may have ended in a more tragic and poetic way. However Ratner has some very obvious setups that need to be paid off. You know those scenes that seem to have no bearing on the story but you know they have to pay off at some point? Red Dragon ends with two of those scenes.

And then there is Anthony Hopkins, who has said this will be the last we see of him as Hannibal Lecter. Hopkins’s performance is Oscar Worthy, he hits every note perfectly with wit and menace. There has never before and will likely never again be a killer more fascinating than Hannibal Lecter. Red Dragon gives the character the send off he deserves.

Despite its shortcomings, the thrilling suspense of the majority of the film and the stellar cast make Red Dragon easy to recommend.