Movie Review: 21

21 (2008) 

Directed by Robert Luketic

Written by Peter Steinfeld 

Starring Jim Sturgess, Kate Bosworth, Laurence FIshburne

Release Date March 28th, 2008 

Published March 27th, 2008 

Ben Mezrich’s book Bringing Down The House is a hectic, heady mix of glitz and brilliance. A group of MIT students developed their skill for counting cards and took their act to Vegas where they broke the bank for more than 7 figures. The movie 21 dramatizes the story of the brainiac card sharps and as directed by Robert Luketic (Legally Blonde) the glitz and glamour are in place, unfortunately, minus the brains.

Jim Sturgess stars in 21 as Ben Campbell a shy, nervous, soon to be MIT grad who will need a good deal of financial help to get him to his goal of attending Harvard Medical School. Opportunity then falls in his lap when he impresses a professor named Mickey Rosa (Kevin Spacey) with his math skills. Rosa happens to be the brains behind the underground MIT Blackjack team.

Using a unique and complicated card counting system, this smarty-pants team takes on Vegas and walk away loaded down with cash. Soon Ben is a high roller with more than enough to pay for his med school trip but the lure of greed and the lifestyle of Vegas keep him coming back for more.

His high roller status captures the attention of a longtime Las Vegas security facing extinction in the age of biometrics. His name is Cole Williams (Laurence Fishburne) and his maintains his tenuous position in the high stakes world of Vegas by doing the one thing computers can’t, dishing out vicious beatings to card counters before chasing them out of the city.

As soon as he is on to Ben’s game the movie gains a little bit of energy. Sadly the battle of wits and wills between Sturgess and the ever so intense Fishburne is a no contest. Young Jim Sturgess is an attractive young actor with a hip floppy hair cut of the Maroon 5 variety but a presence he is not, especially compared to Fishburne who’s basso profundo voice is more than enough to blow Sturgess off the screen.

Paired in romance with the waifish Kate Bosworth, Sturgess co-creates one of the wussiest romances of any movie since Eric Bana sulked his way through another Vegas based wet blanker Lucky You opposite Drew Barrymore. Ms. Bosworth, who showed so much spunky potential in the 2003 beach movie Blue Crush has since squandered her shot at stardom in a series of downbeat roles.

Meanwhile her multi-time co-star Kevin Spacey, whose literally made some of the same mistakes as Ms. Bosworth (Beyond The Sea, Superman Returns), actually returns to form a little in 21. Of this underwhelming cast in this underwhelming story, Mr. Spacey is the lone standout. Showing the kind of intelligence, wit and guile necessary to pull off this scam, Spacey’s Mickey is the only character you can buy as a card counter taking Vegas for a ride.

The script from writer Jim Steinfeld waters down and mainstreams the grittier, more ethnic origins of Ben Mezrich’s book. For one thing, the leaders of this group of Blackjack con men were Asian, not the model pretty anglos of 21. The change of ethnicity is so nakedly commercial, the inherent racism and ignorance so offensive that author Mezrich would have been commended for taking his name off the project, as was rumored during production.

Director Robert Luketic has a real knack for flashy, colorful visuals and is quite at home with the glitz and glamour of modern Vegas. Unfortunately, the pretty colors and flashing lights can’t distract from the puddle deep characters and predictable innocence corrupted, innocence regained storyline.

That kind of soft headed approach works for fluffy fair like Luketic’s terrifically chirpy Legally Blonde and underrated teen romancer Win A Date With Tad Hamilton but with the more crafty, suspenseful story like that of 21, Luketic’s style fails on every level and becomes tedious without the likes of Reese Witherspoon in a bunny costume to lighten the mood.

Visually dazzling and shot glass deep, 21 overstays it’s welcome at over 2 hours of stops and starts, weak attempts at romance and weaker attempts at suspense. Wasting a comeback performance by Kevin Spacey in favor of the floppy haired good looks of Jim Sturgess, 21 hits when it should stay and busts big time.

Movie Review: Win a Date with Tad Hamilton

Win a Date with Tad Hamilton (2004) 

Directed by Robert Luketic 

Written by Victor Levin 

Starring Topher Grace, Kate Bosworth, Josh Duhamel, Sean Hayes, Nathan Lane, Ginnifer Goodwin

Release Date January 23rd, 2004

January 22nd, 2004

There have been a number of films made about big stars coming to small towns and stirring up a frenzy. My favorites are State and Main, David Mamet's caustic, witty satire of Hollywood and Welcome Home Roxy Carmichael, a sadly underrated eighties movies lost in the crush of John Hughes clones. The latest entry into this small sub-genre is Win A Date With Tad Hamilton! starring Kate Bosworth and Topher Grace, a film in the spirit of Roxy but desperately in the need of Mamet's wit.

The Tad Hamilton of the title is Josh Duhamel from TV's “Las Vegas.” Duhamel's Tad is your typical Hollywood bad boy with a serious image problem. His managers, two of them both named Richard Levy (Sean Hayes and Nathan Lane), have to rehab his bad boy image in order to land a plum film role. The idea they come up with is straight out of some ultra-wholesome fifties teen beat style magazine, "Win A Date With Tad Hamilton".

The winner of the dream date is 22 year old Rosalee Futch (Kate Bosworth), a grocery store clerk from a small town in West Virginia. Rosalee is flown out to LA, put up in a great hotel suite and finally has her date with the man of her dreams, Tad. The date is perfectly chaste, especially by Tad's usually debauched standards, but Tad ends up feeling a real connection with the small town girl who has all the good qualities that he lacks.

Once Rosalee returns to West Virginia and to the welcoming arms of her two best friends, Cathy (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Pete (Topher Grace), it seems that Tad Hamilton was a one time adventure. That is certainly what Pete was thinking when he decided to reveal to Rosalee that he's been in love with her for years. Of course, wouldn't you know it, before Pete can reveal his feelings in walks Tad Hamilton.

This sets up a very conventional romantic triangle plot. A plot that has been done a thousand times and isn't much improved on here. What makes it slightly more tolerable in this film is the terrific comic performance of “That 70's Show” star Topher Grace. With his quick wit, neurotic shyness and lack of movie star handsomeness, he evokes a sort of Midwestern Woody Allen. His Peter gets the best one-liners of the film and it's most poignant moments and makes a rather mediocre story better just for having him.

That is not to say the film doesn't have other good qualities but most of the good in Win A Date With Tad Hamilton! must be embellished by the audience. The film introduces some interesting story ideas but only glosses over them without ever exploring them. A scene in a bar between Grace and a bartender character played by Kathryn Hahn introduces an idea about everyone’s romantic ideal and how the Tad character is a representation of a romantic ideal that isn't real. The idea that everyone ideallizes the person they are in love with but that ideal is only in our mind.

The film also has a knowing sense of pop culture and uses it to good effect in it's ending. The idea of pop culture's growing role in the daily lives of younger generations and the way it shapes our memories in celluloid is an interesting idea but an unexplored idea in this film. Had director Robert Luketic, also the director of another piece of pop candy Legally Blonde, decided to further explore either of the interesting ideas the film introduces, this could have been a great movie. As it is, it’s merely another exercise in the teen-friendly romance genre.

Win A Date With Tad Hamilton! is not a bad film but not a great film. What it really is, is an announcement of the arrival of Topher Grace as a leading man. In his biggest film role to date, Grace makes a terrific impression and I really look forward to seeing him on the big screen more.

Movie Review Rules of Attraction

Rules of Attraction (2002) 

Directed by Roger Avary 

Written by Roger Avary

Starring James Van Der Beek, Shannyn Sossamon, Kip Pardue, Jessica Biel, Kate Bosworth, Ian Somerhalder, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Faye Dunaway

Release Date October 11th, 2002 

Published October 11th, 2002 

From the twisted mind of Bret Easton Ellis comes The Rules of Attraction, a dyspeptic look at college life that is as bleak as Van Wilder was ridiculous. Ellis was the mind behind American Psycho, which became a movie starring Christian Bale. Not surprisingly the movie was a pale imitation of the book, but then to truly adapt American Psycho for the screen would be to garner the hardest NC-17 rating ever. The same could be said of The Rules of Attraction, a pale imitation of the book that also is unlikely to ever reach a true screen adaptation.

The film stars James Van Der Beek as Sean Bateman. If the name sounds familiar it should be Sean is the brother of Psycho’s Patrick Bateman. Sean Bateman isn’t the nutball his brother is but he has his moments, he’s a drug dealer who sells cocaine to classmates for twice what it’s worth. Bateman has a growing obsession with a classmate named Lauren (Shannyn Sossamon). Lauren on the other hand is obsessed with Victor (Kip Pardue, a long way away from Remember The Titans) who has no idea who she is. Victor has spent the past semester in Europe, and upon his return is screwing Lauren’s slutty roommate Lara (Jessica Biel). Rounding out the cast is a predatory gay man named Paul (Ian Somerhalder). Paul has a thing for straight guys and turns his sights on Bateman.

Each character is introduced in flashback, at a party. We begin with Lauren losing her virginity to some loser while the guy she had intended on being with filmed it. Rewind to months earlier and Lauren is doing all she can to keep from having sex including staring at pictures of people with venereal diseases. Sean meanwhile is in trouble with his drug supplier Rupert (Clifton Collins Jr.) for some money he owes.

The plot description is a waste of time, as there didn’t seem to be a plot. What we really have is a collection of scenes intended to shock the audience with audacious visuals and over the top characters. However, the scenes aren’t shocking, they are well visualized but without any context or point of view.

Despite what you may have heard about James Van Der Beek shedding his Dawson persona, the film clearly trades on Van Der Beek’s image. This is especially obvious in a scene between Van Der Beek and Fred Savage that is supposed to be funny because it’s Dawson and the kid from Wonder Years working out details of a drug deal. There are also scenes in which Bateman is seen masturbating which seem to wink at the audience and to say you would never see Dawson do that. In all honesty I don’t mean to rip Van Der Beek, his performance is strong, however it is undercut by Director Roger Avary’s desperate attempts at irony.

The film does have its strengths including a very cool montage of Victor’s trip to Europe. With cool European techno backing him up, Kip Pardue’s narration consists of his character screwing his way across Europe, slurping whatever drugs he can find and judging his destinations by the quality of women he could sleep with. The scenes shot on DV are edited to the killer techno beat, which gives the narration a beat poetry vibe. Very cool.

Though at times the film's visuals are self consciously arty, such as close up of a water faucet that is dripping water into a bathtub full of blood, they are, for the most part, visually exciting and by far the film’s greatest strength. If only the story and the characters were as exciting and interesting as the visuals, Rules Of Attraction could have been great. As it is the film is a mean spirited picture about unlikable characters that looks good on the outside but is entirely hollow.

Movie Review: Blue Crush

Blue Crush (2002) 

Directed by John Stockwell 

Written by Lizzy Weiss, John Stockwell 

Starring Kate Bosworth, Michele Rodriguez, Matthew Davis, Sanoe Lake, Mika Boorem 

Release Date August 16th, 2002

Published August 15th, 2002 

I have a bad history with surfing movies. First there were those god awful Frankie and Annette movies my mother made me watch as a kid. UGH. Then there was Point Break, which is an awful movie but at least it's bad in a way that can make you laugh. Then there was the god awful Endless Summer 2. I haven't seen the original Endless Summer but if it's anything like the sequel I should drop to my knees and thank God I've been able to avoid it. 

Now comes Blue Crush, a surfer chick movie that mixes sports movie cliches with lame romantic comedy but still manages to be mildly entertaining.

Kate Bosworth stars as Ann Marie, a maid and former pro surfing competitor. She quit competing after nearly being killed in competition. After 3 years she is ready to compete again thanks to the encouragement of her roommates Eden (Michele Rodriguez) and Lena (Sanoe Lake). After being fired from her maid job for lecturing guests on their hygene, Ann Marie takes an offer to teach a group of football players how to surf. One of the players is a star Quarterback named Matt (Matthew Davis) who is interested in far more than surfing. Well duh.

Blue Crush is a sports movie and a romantic comedy, thus it is bound by the genre conventions of each and so we are treated to the typical roadblocks of both genres in tiresome repetitive scenes. This is especially apparent in the surfing competition where Ann Marie fails over and over and over. Okay we get it, she's got issues, can she overcome them so I can go now? 

The romance is troubled by the culture clash of the poor maid and the rich football player, and what his true intentions are and what will people think and blah blah blah. The film has not one new twist on these conventional situations. However, the film isn't as bad as it seems. The performances by Bosworth and especially Michele Rodriguez actually surpass the cliches and develop real interesting characters. 

The real stars of Blue Crush though are the cameras which get right in the surf and show off angles not likely seen before. You have to wonder at times just what is real because it seems there is no way a camera could get these shots. If there were any digital effects used, and there probably were, they are seamlessly integrated. On a side note there is more than one scene where a camera is visible in the surf.

Blue Crush has an element of guilty pleasure. Gorgeous girls in tiny bikinis and kick ass surfing scenes, namely. Guilty pleasures aside though, Blue Crush is never more than a mild distraction.

Movie Review: The Warrior's Way

The Warrior's Way (2010) 

Directed by Sngmoo Lee 

Written by Sngmoo Lee 

Starring Jang Dong Gun, Kate Bosworth, Geoffrey Rush, Danny Huston 

Release Date December 3rd, 2010 

Published December December 2nd, 2010 

The ‘mash-up’ is a relatively recent invention. It’s a musical invention that came to prominence on the internet in the late 90’s and early oughts and then took off with the release of DJ Danger Mouse’s crashing together of Jay Z’s Black Album with the Beatles’ White album and created a minor sensation. Since then mash ups have moved into every aspect of pop culture from music to TV to books and of course at the movies where the latest mash up involves a slamming together of slice and dice Asian cinema with the tropes of the old school American/Italian Western.

The Warrior’s Way stars Korean leading man Jang Dong Gun in his American film debut. In The Warrior’s Way, Gun plays Yang who, in prologue, is shown becoming ‘The Greatest Swordsman in the World.’ Part of this designation involves the near complete destruction of his rival clan. Only one member of his long time rivals remains, a baby. It is Yang’s task to kill this child but something stops him and instead of carrying out this final assassination; Yang goes on the lamb with the child. Taking off for America, Yang soon finds himself in a rundown western town where the gold rush boom clearly went bust.

Of the 60 or so residents of this town most are circus performers whose production crashed here and never moved on. The circus troupe is lead by Eight Ball (Tony Cox) who happens to have been a friend of a man that Yang was hoping would take him in. Sadly, Yang’s friend is long dead when he arrives leaving behind a rundown laundry business that Yang is expected to take up.

Indeed, with a push from Lynne (Kate Bosworth), Yang does take to the laundry business and soon the business of killing is replaced by the comfort of cleansing and the peace of a desert garden that Yang somehow brings to life. For a time things look ideal as Yang and the newly dubbed baby April look like they could settle in with Lynne and become a family.

Of course, we know this cannot last and things come to a deadly end with the arrival of a former Civil War soldier, The Colonel (Danny Huston). With his deadly band of former soldiers The Colonel arrives in town with revenge in mind. The last time he was here he was disfigured by a teenager whose name escaped him. That teen was Lynne.

As the conflict with The Colonel develops Yang’s former master Saddest Flute (Ti Lung) is patiently waiting for Yang to pick up his sword again and reveal his location. The sword you see cries, carrying the deathly screams of the souls it has taken. When it is unsheathed it reveals where Yang is and allows Saddest Flute and his clan to find him.

Director Sngmoo Lee sets this Asian/Western mash up in a CG universe that exists in eternal twilight. The sun seems to constantly be rising or falling, never fully up or down. The constantly purpling landscapes are dreamy and unique even as they are more noticeable than they should be.

The CGI bloodbath that ensues from frame one until the third act denouement is less impressive than the landscapes. Though Jang Dong-Gun has a strong presence he seems light on the actual physicality and is restricted to sliding and gliding while super quick edits and CGI blood spatter do the actual fighting for him.

Even less impressive is the work of Ms. Boswoth and Mr. Huston who go to extremes of their character in order to find a beat to play against this atonal computer landscape. For Ms. Bosworth it means adopting a ludicrous Western accent and tomboy clothes and for Mr. Huston it means a variation on his tired bad guy growl and a higher than usual creep factor expressed in his sexual fetish for teeth and scars. Eeewww.

I have not even mentioned Oscar winner Geofffrey Rush who plays a Western sharpshooter turned rummy. Billed as Ron though rarely referred to by name, Rush stumbles into scenes, takes over because he is clearly the most interesting actor in the scene and stumbles out to wait for the plot to make use of him again. Rush is among the elements wasted in this 40 million dollar epic of computer generated boredom. The Warrior’s Way wants to be cool; it is Cowboys vs. Ninjas, but it simply doesn’t have the goods.

A stone faced lead, bizarre supporting performances and a mindlessly pretty CGI background add up to just about nothing in The Warrior’s Way. Those who love CGI blood splatter and the implied cool of Jang Dong-Gun you may find something to like about The Warrior’s Way. Me, I’ve already forgotten The Warrior’s Way and begun pining for the next odd genre mash up: Cowboys vs. Aliens.