Movie Review Ray

Ray (2004) 

Directed by Taylor Hackford 

Written by James L. White 

Starring Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, Clifton Powell, Harry Lennix, Terrence Howard, Larenz Tate

Release Date October 29th, 2004

There is an odd sort of verisimilitude to this week of reviews as we transition from a horror musical review on Wednesday of Rocky Horror Picture Show into a musical biopic which will remain as our theme headed into Friday when we discuss Bohemian Rhapsody, the new Queen and Freddy Mercury biopic being released nationwide this weekend. It’s rather fascinating to consider that these disparate phenomena, Rocky Horror, Ray Charles and Queen were contemporaries of sorts. Each was a facet of our vast popular culture at the same time, available to the same audience in different ways.

The story told in Ray stops well before the stories for Rocky Horror or Queen even begin but by the time they do arrive, Ray is established as one of the stalwart figures of the music business, a warrior who overcomes disability, racism and a drug habit to become an enduring pop institution. The movie Ray gives us that proverbial ‘warts and all’ look at the life and legend of Ray Charles and while the film is on the shaggy side, Jamie Foxx’s lead performance is one of the great performances of this young century.

Ray tells the story of Ray ‘Charles’ Robinson in a sort of a linear fashion. The film is populated by gauzy flashbacks to Ray’s tragic childhood in Northern Florida in the early 1930’s. In the linear story, we meet Ray as he charms and lies his way onto a bus from Florida to Seattle where he has a gig as a pianist waiting for him. Confusingly, the story flips between Ray’s bus ride to Seattle and the gig that got him the cash to go, playing in a redneck country band.

The structure of Ray at times threatens to derail the movie but Jamie Foxx is so remarkable and the music of Ray Charles so indelible and fascinating that it’s too good even for director Taylor Hackford to screw up. We watch as Ray learns valuable lessons about protecting his money, he insists on being paid in singles to assure that his pay was not shortened. We see him learn how not to be taken advantage of by friends and how they should not underestimate him because of his disability.

Finally, we watch with the most fascination as he creates a legendary catalog of hit music. The studio portions of Ray are magical, filmed with an eye for how historic this moment and time must have been. The cuts to Curtis Armstrong’s Ahmet Ertugen and Richard Schiff’s Jerry Wexler as they witnessed Ray cutting legendary songs in a single take capture the pure creativity that infused the music of Ray Charles. You don’t have to love Ray’s fusion of Jazz, Gospel and Pop to recognize music history in the making, his music crossed all possible boundaries.

If it looks easy it’s because Ray Charles always made it look easy. His blindness didn’t matter, he was one of those rare souls infused with music and an untameable talent for creation. In one of the great moments in the film and in music history, we witness Ray improv what would become one of his all time, bestselling classics, “What’d I Say,” as a way of filling time at the end of a gig that had ended too soon in the eyes of the promoter who threatened not to pay Ray and the band.

Some discount Jamie Foxx’s performance as mere mimicry or a broad impression but I don’t think that is fair. Foxx is stuck with a director in Taylor Hackford who has stuck him with a script that undermines him with a series of pop psych level flashbacks to his childhood that are supposed to infuse him with depth but instead come off as awkward and confused. Foxx overcomes this not by committing to those moments but by busting through those moments to get to the heart of Ray Charles.

Foxx captures both the Ray Charles we know, the gyrating, gesticulating, impish performer and the calculating, paranoid addict side of Ray Charles that the public only glimpsed in headlines. Ray could be cruel when he wanted to be, as demonstrated by his marriage and his relationship with various managers and hangers on, people who thought they were perhaps more than just employees but soon found themselves on the outs.

Foxx is incredible at maintaining our sympathy for Ray even as he does terrible things to himself and to his wife, played by Kerry Washington. It’s not that Ray’s behavior isn’t disappointing, along with director Hackford’s lame attempts to explain his behavior via those pop psych flashbacks, but rather that Foxx gives Ray Charles a vulnerability that not only we find irresistible but we can imagine others found irresistible as well. That’s not an easy trick for any actor to pull off, let alone an actor known at the time for sketch and stand-up comedy.

Foxx’s performance is unquestionably rendered better by comparison to the rest of the movie. Taylor Hackford drags out the story with his stumbling, flashbacks and detours, he spends a good deal of time focusing on the homes Ray Charles bought for his family, admiring the architecture and dwelling on the cost in scenes that are rarely necessary for moving the plot forward.

And then there is the treatment of the women in Ray Charles’ life. Taylor Hackford takes a pair of our most talented African American actresses and gives them little to play beyond cliches of the put-upon wife and the neglected mistress. Kerry Washington and Regina King struggle to bring depth to characters that the director appears to view as roadblocks for Ray to navigate in his redemption arc. Foxx doesn’t see them that way but he has no control over how the edit of the movie robs both actresses of moments where they can grow beyond their function to the story as impediments and aids to Ray’s faults and growth.

Ray is thus a mixed bag as a movie and a music biopic but as a showcase for an actor, it’s a remarkable piece of work. Hackford loves Jamie Foxx, he gives his lead actor every opportunity to exercise his limitless ability to capture the Ray Charles of our imagination and something so very real and true about the man. Foxx bites into the role with fervor and a powerhouse level of star-power and charisma. It took an outsized performance to capture the outsized legend and a remarkable talent to bring him into a real life, sympathetic context beyond the legend.

Movie Review Monster Man

Monster Man (2004)

Directed by Michael Davis

Written by Michael Davis

Starring Eric Jungmann, Justin Urich, Aimee Brooks, Michael Bailey Smith

Release Date February 13th, 2004

There are hundred of films released every year that we never hear of. Some of them may be quite good, some are not worthy of having been released. Many more films are reminiscent of the low budget horror flick Monster Man, from 2004,  a slightly above average little film that not many people have seen or may ever see. You've likely never heard of Monster Man unless you are a hardcore horror movie fan. It's a deep cut, low budget horror movie that gets by on premise and the evident fun in its creation. 

Monster Man stars Eric Jungmann as Adam, a nerdy little guy on a road trip to tell the girl of his dreams that he loves her before she gets married to some other guy. Joining Adam on his trip is Harley (Justin Urich), a former friend who wasn't asked to come along. Harley also had a thing for Adam's girl and even had the fling that Adam never got. That's just one source of tension between the former friends, Harley's over the top obnoxiousness only makes things worse.

In fact, it is Harley's obnoxious behavior in a redneck bar that draws the attention of locals who don't take kindly to out-of-towners. It's not long before the two roadtrippers are being followed by a very pissed off redneck in a monster truck. After escaping the monster truck and hiding out in a hotel, the guys find they have a stowaway; a gorgeous hitchhiker named Sarah (Aimee Brooks). Boy did she pick the wrong car, as the monster truck driver continues his pursuit. Along the way, there are stops in more little redneck bars, gas stations and farmhouses, all with horrifying consequences.

Monster Man is a combination of Jeepers Creepers and Joyride but with a great deal more humor. Writer-Director Michael Davis attempts to do the impossible in Monster Man by combining humor and horror without sacrificing real scares and real laughs. The script is an excellent balance of scatological banter between the leads and disgusting blood and gore from the bad guys. It really is an impressive piece of work.

Unfortunately, the cast of the film isn't up to the task. Jungmann is way too much of a wimp to sell the physical moments of the film. His transformation from wimp to hero never registers. Urich is even less impressive, combining the obnoxiousness of American Pie's Stifler with the disgusting antics of Animal House's Bluto without a modicum of John Belushi's underlying sweetness.

As for Aimee Brooks, the former star of the camp soap opera Passions is a perfect fit for the delicate mixture of humor and horror. Michael Davis shows a real talent for scripting and shooting. With a better cast, he could make a truly terrific film, something he would go on to prove in the action genre with the very fun, very silly Shoot'em Up in 2007 starring Clive Owen. With his work, he elevates this rather unoriginal premise with great humor and plenty of blood, guts and creepiness.

Monster Man is not a great movie but it has the kind of low budget charm and cleverness to make it worth watching for free on a random streaming service. 

Movie Review Rancid Aluminium

Rancid Aluminum (2000) 

Directed by Edward Thomas 

Written by James Hawes 

Starring Rhys Ifans, Joseph Fiennes, Sadie Frost

Release Date January 21st, 2000 

Published May 30th, 2002 

Paging the Hollywood career counselor, call on line 1 from Josef Fiennes.

After starring in a Best Picture winner and seemingly emerging from the shadow of his Oscar nominated brother, Joseph Fiennes has taken it upon himself to do absolutely nothing. I appreciate his willingness to spurn big money Hollywood projects, but Josef is taking this to an extreme that could land him in straight-to-video purgatory. His first major misstep is a pale imitation of a Guy Ritchie movie called Rancid Aluminum.

Rhys Ifans, best known as Hugh Grant's roommate in Notting Hill, stars as Peter, a slacker who, following the death of his father, takes over the family publishing business. Peter's promotion comes at the expense of his far more qualified friend Sean (Fiennes). Sean sets about to get revenge and take over the company by buddying up to the Russian mob.

This is how you know you’re creatively bankrupt, when you need the bad guys of choice for every hack writer in Hollywood, the Russian mob. The hack in this case is first time director Ed Thomas who attempts to incorporate every genre of film he's ever seen, from lame straight-to-video suspense trash, farcical comedy, and even romantic comedy.

Fiennes and Ifans are both awful in this film, especially Fiennes who is saddled with an unspeakably bad Irish accent and looks bored to tears. This film didn’t bore me. I was too busy attempting to decipher the accents and whatever the plot was to be bored. No, for me, Rancid Aluminum isn't a boring film. It was just incoherent, stupid and well, rancid.

Movie Review Pistol Opera

Pistol Opera (2001) 

Directed by Seijun Suzuki 

Written by Kazunori Ito 

Starring Makiko Esumi 

Release Date October 27, 2001 

Published November 27th, 2003 

The title Pistol Opera implies a cool that has become inherent amongst all Asian movies that cross the ocean to America. It's cool that it is well earned by a number of great films from Jackie Chan to John Woo. It's that implied cool that draws art house types like myself to any and every Asian movie that comes my way. Unfortunately, they can't all be cool and though Pistol Opera has its moments it's pretentiousness outweighs it's cool.

It has a story typical of Asian cinema of the last 25 or so years, a story of assassins killing assassins at the behest of a secret organization that employs the killers and ranks them by their successful kill. The film begins with the number two assassin preparing for a kill when he is taken out by the man we believe is the top killer known as One Hundred Eyes. From there we move to the courtyard of the home of the number three killer, a woman known as Stray Cat. She is meeting with a mysterious masked woman from the Assassin’s Guild. The interaction between the women is contentious yet also oddly flirtatious.

A war is breaking out among the killers in the guild with the goal of eliminating competition to become the top ranked killer. Stray Cat must hunt down One Hundred Eyes before he/she kills her. Along the way she is aided by a former number one killer named Dark Horse, who's injuries and age have long since retired him from killing though he says he's still the best ranking himself number zero. Stray Cat is also joined by a young girl named Sayoko who follows her from kill to kill and develops a friendship that has some uncomfortably flirty moments, uncomfortable because Sayoko is maybe no older than 13.

It sounds like something you've seen before but through the directorial eye of Seijun Suzuki, Pistol Opera is as different as anything you've ever seen. It begins with the visuals oddball color patterns, lots of bright colors. Especially odd though is the dialogue that flies off in a number of directions from philosophical to the plot point to the indecipherably scatological. At different points in the film young Sayoko recites a poem by Wordsworth and then performs a song and dance version of Humpty Dumpty. Another character, an old woman that appears for only two scenes has a long rambling soliloquy about a dream she had.

All of these elements make for an impenetrable art piece that is impossible to criticize. If you like the film you must be pretentious beyond words, if you don't like it then you didn't get it. I'll be honest, I didn't get it. I'm as pretentious as the next indie loving film critic but even I have my limits when it comes to pretentiousness. I like almost any film that breaks with the straightforward three act narrative style of every American film released in the last 100 years. That said, I still like a movie that tells a story. Pistol Opera doesn't have a story, it's simply a series of goofy arty visuals. There are some terrific visuals in Pistol Opera but for a nearly two hour film occasional visual flourishes aren't nearly enough to entertain.

Movie Review: American Gangster

American Gangster (2007) 

Directed by Ridley Scott 

Written by Steven Zaillian 

Starring Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Clarence Williams III, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Cuba Gooding Jr 

Release Date November 2nd, 2007 

Published November 1st, 2007

The story of Frank Lucas could have found this enterprising, intelligent man as CEO of a fortune 500 company. The man knew how to run a business. He was a retail pioneer at heart who figured a way to cut out the middle man and bring his product directly from the manufacturer, no middle man. He sounds like an electronics dealer with his own chain of wholesale retailers.

The reality, captured in fictional form, in American Gangster is that Frank Lucas was a drug dealer and a murderer who coldly and heartlessly killed hundreds with his product and more with his own gun.

As the driver for legendary Harlem gangster Bumpy Johnson (Clarence Williams III) Frank Lucas learned the business of being a gangster up close and personal. When Bumpy died the city fell into a chaos of crime and violence and Frank Lucas longed to bring back Bumpy's sense of order and profit from it as he did.

Finding a way to get heroin without having to share with the mob and the NYPD, Frank went all the way to Vietnam to get his product which was then smuggled into the country in the coffins of US soldiers returning from the war. The result was a more pure and addictive form of heroin that Frank nicknamed Blue Magic. With his product in place Frank brought his brothers up from North Carolina and the Lucas empire was born.

Unraveling the tangled web of the Lucas drug trade is Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe). A lone good cop in department overflowing with corruption, Richie never took a dime, even when he and his partner stumbled on a million dollars of easily stealable drug money. It's good that Richie has his professional integrity because he has little else. His wife is leaving him and taking his son while his personal life consists of a series of mindless one night stands.

The collision of Frank Lucas and Richie Roberts was inevitable how it arrives and plays out in American Gangster is entirely unpredictable if you haven't already investigated the rise and fall of Frank Lucas. Indeed, Frank was for real. His reign in Harlem lasted nearly a decade. He once had more than 150 million dollars in cash stored in his home. He also murdered enemies in broad daylight in front of dozens of witnesses and was not caught.

Richie Roberts was also for real and the the path of his life through this film is fascinating and the prologue hints that even after getting Frank Lucas his life was colorful and unique. As played by Russell Crowe, Richie Roberts almost steals the picture. Crowe's Richie isn't your typical meatheaded tough guy roughing up suspects to get the information he needs to get the bad guy. Richie was a law student and eventually a prosecutor. He was a thinking man's detective even as he put forth a tough guy front.

This character could not be better suited to Russell Crowe who has played Nobel prize winner John Nash and fictional Gladiator Maximus, each to Oscar level. Don't be surprised if his Richie Roberts gets called on the morning of the Oscar nominations.

There was recently quite a heated debate at MovieCityNews.com over director Ridley Scott. A writer for the site wrote that he felt Scott is overrated as a director. He cited his examples and made some strong points about Scott's resume, which I agree, is somewhat inflated. However, after watching American Gangster I am convinced that Scott is an auteur of the highest order.

Fighting for two years to get American Gangster on the screen, Scott battled studio heads to get his vision of the film as the final product and he succeeded. This is top notch work that plays to Scott's strengths as a director of epics like Gladiator and Alien. Say what you will about Scott's many failings, his American Gangster is a modern film classic.

American Gangster can fairly be called Ridley Scott's Godfather. It is the height of his work thus far and it reflects everything he has accomplished including his earning the loyalty and trust of two of the finest actors of this generation. If Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington love Ridley Scott that's gotta mean he's doing something right.

Denzel Washington remains the king of cool in Hollywood. No one could have played the role of Frank Lucas like Denzel does. The charisma, the elegance, the cold steely intelligence rolls off the screen in waves when Denzel is on camera. His work is so effortless I worry that people will call the performance lazy. There is none of the histrionics of his Oscar winning performance in Training Day , none of the harrumphing bravado that announces a big dramatic performance.

The menace and charm are all played in Denzel's eyes. In fact, much of Denzel's Frank Lucas is in his eyes. There are scenes where that steely gaze could kill whoever it falls upon. There are other scenes, ones with his mother played by Ruby Dee and his wife (Lymari Nadal), where those eyes are as soft and inviting as Denzel in The Preacher's Wife. The entire dichotomy that is Frank Lucas can be found in Denzel's electric gaze.

That is the extraordinary talent of Denzel Washington on display in American Gangster, he makes it look so easy even as he has so much going on. Some will no doubt walk away feeling like they have seen this Denzel before. Cocky and harsh but still charismatic and even charming, there are so many levels to Denzel's performance and he plays them so well that it barely registers until after you've had time to think about, after the performance has already worked on you.

Two extraordinary actors under the direction of a director at the height of his powers creates one hell of a filmgoing experience. American Gangster is the kind of epic filmmaking that so rarely lives up to its ambitions. American Gangster more than lives up to its grand ambitions. A true powerhouse of dramatic filmmaking, American Gangster is a must see for all audiences, but especially those that want to see the movie that will be featured on Oscar night come March.

Movie Review: Deja Vu

Deju Vu (2006) 

Directed by Tony Scott 

Written by Terry Rossio 

Starring Denzel Washington, Val Kilmer, Paula Patton, Bruce Greenwood, Jim Caviezel 

Release Date November 22nd, 2006

Published November 21st, 2006 

The space time continuum seems like simply a Star Trek invention but the fact is many scientists believe time travel is possible. The physics are still unclear but theorists have begun discussing the ethics of time travel and how travelers may effect the history they are visiting. The new sci fi thriller Deja Vu is not a discussion of ethics or science but the film does take vague advantage of the concepts to craft a quick witted action vehicle perfectly suited to the talents of star Denzel Washington and director Tony Scott.

A ferry carrying American soldiers and their families to a party in New Orleans explodes moments after leaving port. Nearly five hundred people are killed including a woman named Claire Kuchaver (Paula Patton). There is something odd about Claire's death however, something that ATF agent Doug Carlin (Denzel Washington) is the first to notice. Claire was not killed in the explosion or the ensuing fire.

Though her body washed ashore with those of the ferry victims, her injuries indicate murder and yet her car is identified as the car that was packed with explosives and placed on the ferry. Convinced that Claire's death is the key to finding the man or men responsible for for the ferry explosion, Carlin is detemined to investigate this case.

His determination and attention to detail catches the eye of FBI agent Pryzwarra (Val Kilmer) who asks Carlin to join his unique investigative unit. Pryzwarra oversees a group of scientists headed up by Dr. Denny (Adam Goldberg) who have invented a device that allows them to peer into the past at a particular moment in time and examine that place in that time from any possible, visible angle.

There are limitations. This time twisting device can only look back four days and twelve hours. It cannot fast forward and it cannot rewind. The key is watching and observing and acting on the details gleaned from observing victims, witnesses and suspects ahead of whatever incident in which they are involved. Carlin leads the team into Claire's life and eventually finds himself chasing Claire and the terrorist through time itself.

To say much more might spoil the fun of this scientifically goofy but modestly entertaining sci fi actioner. Deja Vu toys with the time space continuum and in doing so  reveals a dichotomy in director Tony Scott's telling of the story. On the one hand he has a need to make his story plausible right down to the math. On the other hand is an open admittance of the futility of trying to keep up a realistic timeline. If you can put aside the goofiness and give up on the math, there is a compelling action flick beneath thee convoluted sci fi stuff.

Denzel Washington is a different breed of action hero. He can go hand to hand or gun to gun with the worst of villains but his true talent is as a cerebral presence. His mind cooking behind those blazing eyes is fascinating to climb inside. In Deja Vu we are right there and though he is forced by plot to be clueless at times, he is never made a fool of and in the end he carries us past any questions we might have about the confounding sci fi plot.

The key to enjoying Deja Vu is working hard on the suspension of disbelief. Though it is hard to not get caught up in trying to follow the math of the movie, the folding and unfolding of this unusual timeline, you must realize eventually that the timeline is meaningless and that even the filmmakers could not keep it all straight. Once you can put that aside (if you can put that aside) there is a surprisingly edgy and exciting action picture.

The best scene in Deja Vu is a car chase in which Denzel chases after the bad guy, played by Jesus himself Jim Caviezel, through time. As the bad guy, played by Jim Caviezel, being watched four days in the past, is about to drive out of the range of the equipment, Denzel hops into a modified hummer and chases after him in hopes of keeping his four day old trail in view.

Trust me, this makes complete sense in the movie. The car crashes are big and loud but the context of the chase gives it an extra bit of edge or your seat excitement and what follows plays back into the overall plot in clever ways.

Not alot of Deja Vu makes sense. If you can follow the movie and keep its weird math in some sense of order you will likely watch the film come apart like wet newspaper. Scrtutinize to much and the movie goes to pieces. Watch Deja Vu for the action and for Denzel Washington's always charismatic and compelling presence and you will find much to enjoy in Deja Vu.

Goofy as all get out but still quite entertaining, I'm recommending Deja Vu.

I'm recommending Deja Vu.

Movie Review: Fences

Fences (2016) 

Directed by Denzel Washington

Written by August Wilson 

Starring Denzel Washington, Viola Davis

Release Date December 16th, 2016

Published December 10th, 2016 

"Fences" tells the story of a family that is slowly falling apart. Based on the stage play by August Wilson, "Fences" was Directed by Denzel Washington who also stars as Troy Maxon. Troy is a gregarious man who seems like the life of the party. On closer examination however, the mask comes off and reveals a man whose gregariousness hides a deep well of pain and resentment. The older Troy gets, and the further he gets from his dreams, the more his pain and resentment comes out and is aimed at his family including his wife Rose (Viola Davis) and son Cory (Jovan Adepo). 

Troy is a former Negro Leagues baseball star who was deemed too old by the Major Leagues after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier. With few options for employment in his adopted hometown of Pittsburgh, Troy took a job as a waste collector, a job he's held for years when we are introduced to him. It's a good job that has put food on the table but the meager $75 a week isn't what gave his family a home and is yet another story of pain and resentment for Troy related to his wounded army veteran brother Gabe (Mykelti Williamson). 

The various resentments and frustrations of Troy Maxon's life are presented by Denzel Washington as lengthy monologues, some filled with metaphoric rage and others where the bitterness rises to the top. The film was directed by Washington from the stage play by August Wilson and Washington's performance reflects the stagebound nature of the story. 

That stagebound quality is the biggest problem with the otherwise compelling "Fences." The transition from stage to the screen is often quite awkward with Washington at times belting his stagy monologues to the back of the nonexistent theater. He's Denzel Washington so most of the time even the belting to the back of the room is compelling but there are still many awkward moments. 

Viola Davis delivers a far less affected performance as Rose. Though Davis is no stranger to stage theatrics, she strikes a more measured and realistic tone for her performance. Davis isn't trying to reach the back of the theater, even her biggest emotional moments, she seems to better understand the intimacy of the film medium more than her director and co-star. 

Washington directs "Fences" as if it were still on the stage. There are a limited number of sets in the film with the family backyard being the main stage and the dingy interior of their modest home the other most prominent space and it's not hard to imagine these sets constructed for the stage. This, much like the heavy monologuing, makes for more than a few awkward, ungainly scenes, especially at the end which nearly tips over into kitsch.

"Fences" is in many ways a fine film. For all of the awkwardness in the transition from stage to screen, it's hard not to be compelled by Washington and Davis and the themes of lost youth, resentment, and betrayal. It is nearly impossible not to feel something deep for Washington as he exposes Troy Maxon's vulnerability while maintaining his vitality and strength. Davis is even more outstanding as Rose whose righteousness drives the final act of the film. 

Perhaps another director might have managed the translation from stage to screen better than Washington. As a huge fan of August Wilson and an actor who can't resist a good monologue, Washington likely fell in love with the stage version too much. A Director without that identification with the stage play likely could have rounded "Fences" into something more cinematic and less awkward. As it is, "Fences" is flawed but compelling.

Movie Review: Unstoppable

Unstoppable (2010) 

Directed by Tony Scott 

Written by Mark Bomback 

Starring Denzel Washington, Chris Pine, Ethan Suplee, Rosario Dawson 

Release Date November 12th, 2010 

Published November 11th, 2010 

“Unstoppable” is the classic mousetrap thriller. Set up, execution and payoff are so swift and efficient that it is nearly impossible to find fault. Director Tony Scott nails every element of “Unstoppable” from the relentless trouble of the train to the casting of mega-star Denzel Washington and up and comer Chris Pine to the elegant, low tech action finale. It’s not Shakespeare but as clapboard thrillers go, “Unstoppable” is pretty awesome.

In Western Pennsylvania Will (Chris Pine) is sleeping on his brother’s couch after a mistake separates him from his wife and child via restraining order. On the bright side, he has a brand new union job as a train conductor. It’s his first day and all he has to do is watch while a veteran Frank (Denzel Washington) shows him the ropes.

Meanwhile, in a train yard on the opposite end of the line a perfect storm of mistakes is unfolding. A dopey yard employee, Dewey (Ethan Suplee), was only supposed to move a train out of the way, a seemingly simple task, one that he’s done before. This time however, Dewey does absolutely everything wrong.

Having forgotten to switch tracks, Dewey jumps off the moving locomotive to hit the switch. While he’s doing this, the train kicks into high gear and takes off without a driver. Now, there is an 80 mile per hour unmanned missile rolling down the tracks. Along the same track is a train filled with kids on a field trip as well as Will and Frank.

I almost forgot to mention that the train cars are filled with toxic chemicals likely to explode if ignited say in a crash. Oh, and there is this giant curve in the track that is not all that far from Will’s wife’s apartment, a curve that an unmanned train going close to 80 MPH will not make. The only solution will involve Will and Frank having to tie their train to the out of control train and drag it to a stop, all at high speed.

If that doesn’t sound like fun to you then clearly you don’t like high adrenaline thrills. “Unstoppable” is a movie for thrill junkies who like big jolting action scenes, loud explosions where stuff ‘blows up good,’ and Denzel Washington in action hero mode. How do you not love this? What kind of person are you?

“Unstoppable” is one of the most unashamedly fun action movies to come along since the last time Denzel Washington teamed with director Tony Scott on the Subway thriller “The Taking of Pelham 123.” Where that film took its fun from John Travolta’s ham-tastic bad guy performance and Denzel’s ferocious everyman charisma, “Unstoppable’s” ham is the train and the way director Tony Scott treats it more like some snarling, escaped animal than as a train.

You may have seen in the trailer for “Unstoppable” a scene where police seem to be firing high powered weapons at the train. That was not an optical illusion; there really is a scene where police shoot at a moving train. There is some kind of explanation but the movie doesn’t linger on it. Rather, Tony Scott seems to enjoy the goofiness of this almost as much as we do.

“Unstoppable” is said to be loosely based on a true story but who cares. You aren’t seeing “Unstoppable” for some documentary recreation of events; you’re seeing “Unstoppable” for Denzel Washington and Captain Kirk battling a snarling beast that happens to be an out of control locomotive. Throw in the wild, over the top bombast of director Tony Scott with his swinging camera and bizarre color palette and you have a recipe for pure, adrenaline fueled fun.

Pardon my pull quote but “Unstoppable” is “Unstoppable” fun. Ha!

Movie Review: The Taking of Pelham 123

The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009) 

Directed by Tony Scott 

Written by Brian Helgeland 

Starring Denzel Washington, John Travolta, John Turturro, Luis Guzman, James Gandolfini 

Release Date June 12th, 2009 

Published June 11th, 2009 

Robert Shaw was three years away from his iconic performance in Jaws. Walter Matthau was a star but certainly no action hero when, in 1974, the two actors teamed for The Taking of Pelham 123. Based on the bestseller by Robert Godey, the story placed this unique acting duo in an unexpected action context and allowed them to create indelible characters. The film has developed something of a cult following amongst hardcore movie nerds.

Now comes a true action remake of the underrated 74 picture. With bigger stars and a much bigger budget, The Taking of Pelham 123 comes into modern times with bells and whistles beyond anything imagined for the original but with it's premise and highly distinct voice intact.

The Taking of Pelham 123 is essentially two guys having a very important conversation. The first guy is Walter played by Denzel Washington. Graying and rumpled, Walter has worked for the New York City Transit Department for years. He was the boss of the Subway system until he was charged with taking a bribe. Now, Walter finds himself back behind a microphone as a train dispatcher. It is in this capacity that Walter meets Ryder played by John Travolta. Ryder is a terrorist who takes a subway car full of New Yorkers hostage and demand 10 million dollars in one hour or he will begin executing people.

The conversation between Walter and Ryder takes place within this intense hour as Ryder demands that Walter first listen to him and then explain himself as they wait for the city, lead by the Mayor (James Gandolfini), to come up with the cash. With topics ranging from religion to Walter's corruption charges, these two very different men connect in ways they never imagined.

The idea of two guys talking probably doesn't set your pulse racing as an action movie fan. However, you've never seen Denzel Washington talk to John Travolta as they are filmed by the hyper-kinetic director Tony Scott. Somehow, through carefully choreographed camera whips and pans and an exceptional supporting cast, lead by Gandolfini and John Turturro, working at the edges, the conversation becomes an intense action of its own and The Taking of Pelham 123 flies on the words of Denzel and Travolta.

If the final act that takes Washington into the tunnels with Travolta fails to match the intensity of their conversation, it is still the only way to wrap up the twist that is the essential ending of The Taking of Pelham 123. It's not a letdown, per se, it's just that things devolve to a rather typical chase scene and it's not as exciting as the dynamic was when they were separated by a microphone. It's how the movie has to end and we just have to accept that. 

Putting reservations aside, The Taking of Pelham 123 radiates with energy, wit and directorial flourish. The talking is fun, the action is fun and, in the end, even the dopey chase scene finish cannot take away from the excitement of the first two acts of The Taking of Pelham 123.

Movie Review The Great Debaters

The Great Debaters (2007) 

Directed by Denzel Washington 

Written by Robert Eisele 

Starring Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker, Nate Parker, Jurnee Smollett, Denzel Parker, John Heard 

Release Date December 25th, 2007

Published December 24th, 2007 

Melvin B. Tolson is a renowned orator and poet. To find that he was also a champion debater and a teacher of the spoken word is no surprise. Nor is it all that surprising that the students of Mr. Tolson would go on to be champions of civil rights, leaders of men and women and fighters for social justice. Removing this surprise, a film about Mr. Tolson and his students is an admirable yet redundant act.

Fair to admit that Mr. Tolson's acts were more than 70 years ago and thus could use a proper reminding of. However, couldn't we get a more fitting reminder than a conventional Hollywood melodrama? We are talking about some very important history here. Glossing it over with superstar actors and facile, sports movie cliches seems inappropriate at best, blasphemous at worst.

Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of good here. Denzel Washington is the perfect actor to capture the innate intelligence and extraordinary eloquence of Melvin Tolson. Forest Whitaker as the President of Wiley College and the father of one of the debaters, Denzel Whitaker (no relation), is typically Forest Whitaker, a powerful, calming presence.

And yet, I am troubled by much of this well meaning, adequately crafted film. The whole is far too simplistic, playing out serious, historic instances with a typically Hollywood sheen. The typical three act structure with a third act featuring a false crisis/false dawn; real crisis/real dawn scenario seems too prosaic for something as important as what Tolson and his team accomplished.

Tacking on a love story between two of the debaters, Jurnee Smollett and Nate Parker, only makes this already false movie feel less authentic. Both young actors acquit themselves well in the debate scenes, with Smollett shining with a powerful speech on social justice that will have many dabbing away tears, but the love story makes fools of both. It was simply false and unnecessary, a nod to what is expected of modern Hollywood and not what was best for telling this story.

Worse yet is the sports movie aspects of The Great Debaters. As the Wiley College team begins a series of scheduled debates the focus on what is being argued is lost in the cliché of who wins and loses and tracking the wins and losses as if this were a sporting event. It may be true that Tolson and the tiny African American enclave of Marshall Texas took the tact of keeping score, but in the film the device cheapens and distracts.

If removing the conventional inclusion of the love story and the sports movie clichés would render the material un-filmable, then so be it. Maybe this story just wasn't meant to be told in a typically Hollywood fashion. A better form would be the documentary, one where Mr. Washington and Mr. Whitaker could tell the story of the Wiley College debaters without the distraction of melodrama and sports movie score keeping.

The Great Debaters fails for being unoriginal about a wholly original group of characters. It fails to assume the gravitas of its subject and as such, demeans it.

Movie Review The Equalizer 2

The Equalizer 2 (2018) 

Directed by Antoine Fuqua 

Written by Richard Wenk 

Starring Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Bill Pullman, Melissa Leo

Release Date July 20th, 2018

Published July 18th, 2018

The Equalizer 2 stars Denzel Washington, once again in the role of McCaul, a former CIA Agent turned good guy vigilante. When we meet McCaul in this sequel he is on a train in Turkey with a fake beard. McCaul is attempting to retrieve the daughter of a woman he knows that has been illegally taken by her ex-husband and scuttled out of the country. The scene is a re-introduction to the unique set of skills McCaul has; which includes timing the way he beats up bad guys. 

This scene has nothing to do with the plot of The Equalizer 2 other than as a way of contextualizing the character for those who may not have seen the first film in this budding franchise. Then again, the plot of The Equalizer 2 is so loose and threadbare it’s hard to say which scenes are necessary and which are indulgent, unnecessary scenes intended only to show what a god-like, benevolent being McCaul is.

The plot, such as it is, kicks in when McCaul’s friend, Susan (Melissa Leo) is murdered while investigating a murder in Belgium. McCaul immediately smells a rat and decides to come out of hiding in order to investigate. His first visit is to his former partner, Dave (Pedro Pascal). Dave was with Susan in Belgium when she was murdered, helping her investigate. Is Dave a friend or a suspect? You will have to see the movie to find out but if you’ve seen a movie, you likely already know.

Antoine Fuqua hasn’t made a movie this lazy and loosely structured since King Arthur, which is the last time it felt like he was making something even he didn’t care for. The Equalizer 2 ranges from boring action to boring scenes of unneeded exposition to equally boring establishing scenes of a character who is on hand only to be device later in the movie. I’m afraid that if I even begin to describe this character it might be a spoiler as the device is so nakedly predictable.

Denzel Washington has been on auto-pilot since his 2012’s Flight. That’s the last time I can recall seeing Denzel fully invested in fleshing out and living within a character. That may sound funny for those who point to his Academy Award nominated work in Fences and Roman J. Esquire and think I am crazy, but I am not a fan of either of those performances. Both of those movies are showy, over the top, capital P: Performances, not great acting.

In Fences, Washington is performing for the stage and not the screen. His bombastic performance is ill-suited for the movie screen. Roman J. Israel meanwhile, is a different kind of over the top, a performance that is all tics and mannerisms. These performances are, at least, not boring, they have a vitality that The Equalizer 2 does not have. Despite how much he shapes this character and seems to care about it, he comes off as rather bored.

Bored is probably an unfair, even inaccurate way of describing Denzel’s performance. I’m sure his intent is to be inscrutable or unflappable, but it comes off unaffected and uninvested. Part of that is Denzel’s fault but a bigger part is the fault of Fuqua who fails to give the movie around Denzel’s performance much life. The film aims for moody but arrives at tired, it aims for gritty and ends mildly irritated.

Even the action, which had been the best part of the original The Equalizer, is lifeless in comparison and that film wasn’t exactly lively. The first The Equalizer appeared invested in its action, if not in creating memorable characters or a believable story worth investing in. Denzel’s physicality is fully present in that performance and is less so here. I’m not going to speculate about Denzel aging, because he could easily take me in a fight, despite having 20 years on me age wise, but regardless he appears slowed.

Denzel being a little slower might have worked in the film’s favor if the movie had used it but instead, the movie appears slowed down so Denzel can keep up. Denzel is at all times quicker and smarter than everyone else in the movie, even people younger than him who he apparently taught and influenced when he was a member of the CIA. I’m nitpicking here but shouldn’t this character, at very least, feel a little bit of angst about this fight?

I won’t go into spoilers but the ending of The Equalizer is nonsense. It’s filmed in the midst of a

hurricane on an empty Martha’s Vineyard or some such town and it’s a shame to say, it’s not nearly as fun or exciting as a similar scene in Hurricane Heist earlier this year. Hurricane Heist is basically a parody of an actual movie. That movie, at the very least, knew how to have fun. The Equalizer 2 has the audacity to be dour on top of being predictable, lazy and sloppy.

Movie Review Inside Man

Inside Man (2006) 

Directed by Spike Lee 

Written by Russell Gewirtz

Starring Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jodie Foster, Christopher Plummer

Release Date March 24th, 2006 

Published March 23rd, 2006 

Spike Lee is unquestionably my favorite director and, in my opinion, the finest filmmaker working today. His films focus on important topics--sometimes directly, sometimes esoterically. His latest film, however, is not his usual timely topical drama. In Inside Man Spike Lee crafts his first mainstream thriller and despite its lack of relevance, Inside Man is Spike Lee at his usually crafty and skillful best.

On a typical day in New York City an indistinct truck from a painting company pulls up in front of First Manhattan Bank. A group of people in masks jump out, gather their equipment and head inside the bank. We already know they are not here to paint anything. These 'painters' are part of what we are told is the 'the perfect bank robbery.'

Clive Owen stars as Dalton Russell. He is the leader of this group of bank robbers in the new thriller Inside Man and he is the only robber we will get to know throughout the film. His accomplices are innumerable and so well hidden you will have a hard time keeping track of how many of them there are. One or two of them strip off the painting gear and mingle with the crowd and because their looks are so indistinct, they easily slip into the crowd of bank customers who are now hostages.

Opposite Russell and his cohorts is a clever detective and hostage negotiator named Keith Frazier, played by Denzel Washington. In a few quick, establishing scenes we find that Detective Frazier is under investigation by internal affairs over some missing money in a drug case. Thus, why he and his partner, played by the excellent Chiwetel Ejiofor, are not the boss's first choice to take over the hostage situation now unfolding at First Manhattan Bank. Add to that the fact that this will be their first hostage negotiation as the lead detectives, and you can understand why the department is nervous.

Finally, there is one more angle to play out in the elaborate and clever plot of Inside Man. This one involves a woman of mysterious political influence, Madeline White, played by Jodie Foster. Her job is to help high-profile millionaires keep hidden deep, dark and destructive secrets. Her new client? The owner of First Manhattan Bank Arthur Case (Christopher Plummer).

Now aware that his bank is being robbed, Mr. Case is deathly concerned about something he has hidden in a safe deposit box in the bank. He knows Madeline only by reputation. She fixes big problems by any means necessary and seems to have no moral hang ups. By the time the story plays out she will have used her considerable influence to get a face to face meeting with the bank robber Dalton Russell and live to tell about it.

Directed by Spike Lee, Inside Man does not reinvent the wheel in terms of suspense or the heist genre. What it does is take the familiar elements of the genre and simply do them better than other similar films. Working from a clever, but not exactly groundbreaking, script by first-time screenwriter Russell Gewirtz, Lee directs his first straight-edge thriller with little or no direct social commentary, his usual milieu.

The trick Spike Lee pulls off in Inside Man is bringing his considerable talent and intelligence cache to bear on a very familiar plot and genre. The film works because Spike Lee is a very talented director who knows how to build tension and suspense with his camera and by allowing his talented cast to do what they do without the interference of typical plot points.

Yes, those typical plot points, the negotiation, the red herrings, et al, are still there but the actors are not required to play to those elements. Rather they play around them allowing us to bring our own experience with this type of film into our understanding of the plot. Listen to the actors casually reference other so called heist pictures. Consider those mentions as signposts reminding us in the audience we are watching a heist picture. Meanwhile the actors play to the beat of their characters which gain depth and complexity with each passing scene.

Inside Man is a brilliantly constructed thriller patched together by arguably the best director working today. It serves not only as a wildly entertaining genre film, but also a reminder of Spike Lee's talent, which has gone atrociously underappreciated in recent years as films as disparate and exceptional as Bamboozled, She Hate Me and 25th Hour have come and gone with little notice. Watch Inside Man and remember, Spike Lee is still a genius.

Many indie artists have talked about the few mainstream compromises they must make to finance more relevant projects. The dichotomy comes down to one for the suits at the studio and then one for me. Until his recent box-office struggles, Spike Lee never had to make such a compromise. If Inside Man is the kind of studio compromise that Spike Lee must make to get his more relevant features made, then bring on the compromise.

Lee's skill with the thriller genre more than rivals his skill with social commentary.

Movie Review The Book of Eli

The Book of Eli (2010) 

Directed by The Hughes Brothers 

Written by Gary Whitta 

Starring Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson, Jennifer Beals, Michael Gambon

Release Date January 15th, 2010 

Published January 14th, 2010 

I would characterize myself as an agnostic. I don't believe in a higher power but I am open to the idea that I myself am not all-knowing. How does my lack of faith inform my criticism? It doesn't really. The fact is Hollywood gives so little consideration to religion that it rarely comes up in a review. The new post-apocalyptic thriller The Book of Eli is, arguably, the most religious and faithful movie I have seen since I have been a critic. Rarely has religion been so unquestioningly treated in a movie and in all places, a big budget, ultra-violent, Denzel Washington thriller.

In The Book of Eli Denzel Washington plays the Eli of the title. Sometime in the distant future the world is a wasteland and Eli is simply walking. He knows where he is headed, west, but what he intends to find at the end of his journey, even he doesn't know. Eli is protecting a book that he is convinced can save what is left of humanity. Eli's travels take him through the tiny, barely civilized fiefdom of a man named Carnegie (Gary Oldman). Having discovered a rare source of clean water, Carnegie has used it as a way to create a small kingdom that he protects with roving gangs of motorcycle riding henchmen.

The henchmen are searching for a book that Carnegie is desperate to get his hands on and wouldn't you know it, it's the same book that Eli is desperate to carry west. These two were destined to meet and fight and surely one or both of them will die. Standing between the two is Carnegie's daughter Solara (Mila Kunis) who is drawn to Eli's quiet purpose driven life but also wants to protect her mother (Jennifer Beals) from her father's violent tendencies. She joins up with Eli in hope that he will teach her the fighting skill he uses to protect the book.

Directed by the brilliant brother duo Albert and Allen Hughes, The Book of Eli is gritty yet stylish in its post-apocalypse. The Hughes Brothers are masters of atmosphere and tense showdowns and when Denzel backs up under a shadowy overpass to fight off some cannibalistic bad guys, the flash of his super-cool sword cutting body after body is an awesome sight.

Denzel Washington is perfectly cast as Eli, a man of devout faith who prays nightly and knows the bible by heart. In this future the bible has been all but destroyed and Eli is a last man of faith. Carnegie too seems a man of faith but is really a charlatan who hopes to use faith as Roman Emperors did to control a weak minded populace. This tension drives the conflict as does the book Eli is carrying is a classic MacGuffin with a strong pay off.

Though I am not a believer, religion in movies doesn't bother me. In fact, I am more often irritated with movies that pretend religion doesn't exist. Characters in horror films rarely seem to pray when faced with certain death. Sci-fi too often belittles the millions of people of faith in favor of technology as a pseudo-religion.

It is terribly unrealistic for movies to ignore the millions of earnest believers who attend dutifully to their faith. The Book of Eli is the rare movie that takes religion and faith deathly seriously and while the hardcore violence may not exactly be Christ-like, it is in service of a character who is serious about his faith in God.

The Book of Eli is intense and violent but also devout and earnest about Eli's faith. Religious folk may be turned off by the grit and violence but they will no doubt appreciate the Hughes Brothers straight forward portrayal of Eli as a solemn, faithful soldier in service of God.

If the God stuff makes you uncomfortable, you can still appreciate the very cool ways in which the Hughes Brothers frame Denzel Washington slicing and dicing bad guys. Whether it's the stellar overpass scene or a Tarantino-esque bar fight scene, The Hughes Brother and Denzel know how to get their violence on.

The Book of Eli is gritty, bloody, tense and faithful all in one terrific movie.

Movie Review Man on Fire

Man on Fire (2004) 

Directed by Tony Scott 

Written by Brian Helgeland 

Starring Denzel Washington, Dakota Fanning, Christopher Walken, Radha Mitchell, Marc Anthony, Mickey Rourke 

Release Date April 23rd, 2004 

Published April 23rd, 2004

Denzel Washington has become such a consistently brilliant actor that we have begun to take him for granted. Seeing Denzel's name on the poster, you know that he will deliver a great performance regardless of whether the film is any good. Case in point, his latest film, Man On Fire, in which Denzel is terrific but the film is an utter mess. Full of child-in-danger cliches and muddled visuals, it comes from Tony Scott, a once great director who has become a parody of his own best work.

In Man On Fire, Denzel is John Creasy, a former special forces soldier who regrets the number of people he has killed over the years. Living in a perpetual alcoholic haze, Creasy finds himself in Mexico City visiting an ex-army buddy named Rayburn (Christopher Walken). Rayburn has successfully given up the guilt of being a killer and is now a happily married family man. Rayburn feels he can help Creasy by getting him a job and finds him work as a bodyguard.

As the films jangled, sunburnt, out of focus prologue explains, there is a kidnapping every 90 seconds in Mexico City and one of the most requested services is that of a bodyguard. With Rayburn's help, Creasy gets a gig guarding Pita (Dakota Fanning), the daughter of an auto manufacturer, Samuel Ramos (Marc Anthony). Though he can barely afford to pay Creasy, Samuel hires him at the insistence of his wife Lisa (Radha Mitchell).

At first, Creasy does all he can to keep emotional distance from Pita but eventually her sweetness and smarts win him over. The scenes of Creasy and Pita bonding over swimming, homework and music are given great weight because of these two amazing actors but do little to mask the tragedy that is so obviously on the horizon. The film’s ads and trailer betray the tragedy of the film even before you enter the theater. You already know that Creasy is going on a killing spree, this is a revenge film so you can infer why revenge is necessary.

The revenge scenes are as brutal as anything in last week’s dark revenge fantasy The Punisher and much like that film, the scenes of brutality overstay their welcome. Director Tony Scott achieves a languorous pace that dwells on each bit of vengeance and regardless of how justified it may seem, it begins to wear on anyone with a conscience. The real betrayal however, comes at the end of the film which entirely betrays all that came before in one twist that makes you feel dirty for having been so involved in the film’s drama.

As always, Denzel is fantastic. I can't say enough good things about Denzel, he is consistently better in each and every role. It's unlikely that any other actor could have made this role tolerable. Because Denzel is so skilled and so trustworthy, we follow this character further than we would a lesser actor. It is truly sad how Director Tony Scott betrays Denzel's performance with cheap cliche and overheated visuals that border on the absurd.

I also can't say enough nice things about young Dakota Fanning who is so much better than the roles she plays. This preternaturally smart pre-teen is going to be one terrific actress once she learns to choose better material. Like her roles in I Am Sam and last year’s Uptown Girls, Fanning is far better than the characters written for her.

The rest of the supporting cast are merely cardboard cutouts, placeholders for plot points. Especially underutilized is Christopher Walken, who gets one good Walken-esque speech, the “masterpiece of death” speech seen in the commercial. Other than that, Walken is on the sidelines for most of the film.

Director Tony Scott has sadly lapsed into a parody of his better films. The man who directed True Romance, Crimson Tide and Spy Game has fallen in love with his camera and overuses it at every opportunity. Just because you can create unusual visuals doesn't make it necessary to use them. Scott can't help washing out colors, superimposing dialogue, out of focus shots and tricks with sound and editing. Maybe he felt the visual histrionics were necessary because the script is such an awful cliche.

Nothing is more cheap and manipulative than placing a child in a dangerous situation. Man On Fire is predicated entirely on a child being placed in the midst of gunfire and being the target of unnecessary violence. A screenwriter who can't achieve real drama falls back on this type of cheap ploy, this film is built around it.

The most ludicrous part of Man On Fire is not its cheap manipulative plot or awful twist ending, it's a little coda that appears prior to the final credits. On a black background, there is a message from the filmmakers thanking the wonderful people of Mexico City for providing such a great place to make a movie. The film portrays the city as a cesspool of corruption, a place where police officers conspire with criminals to snatch children, a place where a kidnapping happens every ninety seconds. Therefore, the thank you at the end is a rather backhanded slap as opposed to a real thank you. I doubt Mexico City is going to brag about having hosted the filmmakers behind Man On Fire.

Movie Review One Way Out

One Way Out (2002)

Directed by Allan A. Goldstein 

Written by John Salvati 

Starring Jim Belushi, Jason Bateman, Angela Featherstone 

Release Date May 29th, 2002 

Published December 9th, 2002

It doesn't happen very often but occasionally a straight-to-video title will actually start with a good concept but fail in execution. The new straight-to-video movie One Way Out starring James Belushi has an interesting concept, a story that if better executed with better acting, directing and budget, could have been a pretty good movie or at least a good episode of NYPD Blue.

In One Way Out Belushi is hotshot cop Harry Woltz, one of those "makes his own rules" rogue cops screenwriters write with their eyes closed. Harry wears designer suits, drives nice cars and has a very serious gambling problem. Harry is deep in debt to a pair of club owning gangsters. Instead of breaking Harry's legs the mob guys offer him a choice, he can pay them something in the tens of thousands or they can kill him, or he can help them kill their business partner. Why doesn't Harry simply arrest them? Because they have threatened to have their bosses kill Harry's partner if he squeals.

One thing that makes the job a little easier for Harry is he doesn't have to carry out the murder himself. The mobsters want Harry to use his knowledge of crime scene investigation to help another guy, John Farrow (Hogan Family star Jason Bateman, stop laughing I'm not kidding) the husband of the business partner, get away with murder.

So Harry and John begin to set a plan in motion that should make John the lead suspect in the murder but leave no actual evidence. The plan is actually quite fool proof as long as John holds up his end. Unfortunately for Harry, John screws up and Harry becomes more involved in the plan than he wanted to be.

Complicating matters is Harry's partner Gwen (Angela Featherstone), who has been assigned to investigate the case. With no evidence available, Gwen begins to suspect John while also falling for him. Knowing that John actually killed his wife and seeing his partner falling for a killer has Harry in a tight spot, when suddenly an anonymous phone call draws Harry into the case as an investigator and then a suspect himself.

The concept of a cop in debt to the mob helping to stage a murder isn't bad and is efficiently executed. Unfortunately director Allan A. Goldstein lacks the ability to frame the story in any interesting way. The film's biggest problem is Jason Bateman who is completely overmatched. Bateman is a joke as the master manipulator, who outwits cops with his charm and good looks. That he was cast in this role is chuckle-inducing so you can imagine how unintentionally funny the performance is.

Belushi for his part is efficient but not memorable. He hasn't done any real interesting work since the David Lynch mini series Wild Palms.

I liked the idea behind this film. Touch up the story to make it a little more dramatic and logical, recast the three leads and up the production value and you might have a pretty good movie. But this version of One Way Out is just no good.

Movie Review Hugo

Hugo (2011) 

Directed by Martin Scorsese

Written by John Logan 

Starring Asa Butterfield, Chloe Grace Moretz, Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen

Release Date November 23rd, 2011 

Published 10-25-2023

Imagine for a moment Martin Scorsese taking you aside to tell you why he loves the movies. Not only does Martin Scorsese tell you why he loves movies, he tells you via a fable about a child, a mechanized figure and legendary French director George Melies. If you're like me then this scenario sounds like bliss and "Hugo" is indeed a blissful experience. Through the much maligned form of the family movie Martin Scorsese has offered to fans an education in the magic of the movie and a wonderful adventure that will undoubtedly delight the whole family.

Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) lost his father (Jude Law) at a very young age. The tragedy is still fresh when we meet Hugo while he runs about fixing the clocks inside a French train station. The clocks had been the purview of Hugo's drunken, loutish Uncle (a barely recognizable Ray Winstone); Hugo took over when his Uncle disappeared.

Hugo has subsisted for some time without adult supervision. His means of gathering provisions is to steal them; something that has him on the radar of the train station's nasty head of security (Sascha Baron Cohen). Hugo steals more than just food however and it's on a non-food related excursion that Hugo comes close to getting caught.

Hugo has only one possession, a strange robot-like figure that is nearly as big as he is. This automaton, as his father had called it, was likely once owned by a strange old magician and assisted with fabulous stage theatrics. Hugo is convinced that if he can fix the automaton that it may be the key to a message from his late father.

While trying to steal parts for his automaton Hugo crosses the toy shop operator, Mr. George (Ben Kingsley). As punishment Mr. George takes Hugo's beloved notebook that once belonged to Hugo's father. In order to get it back Hugo enlists the help of Mr. George's adopted God-Daughter, Isabelle (Chloe Moretz) and together they begin a grand adventure.

Find my full length review at Geeks.Media

Movie Review My Sister's Keeper

My Sister's Keeper (2009) 

Directed by Nick Cassavetes 

Written by Jeremy Leven, Nick Cassavetes 

Starring Cameron Diaz, Abigail Breslin, Jason Patric, Alec Baldwin, Joan Cusack

Release Date June 26th, 2009

Published June 25th, 2009 

There is a serviceable Lifetime Movie somewhere in the dark morass of My Sister's Keeper. This weepie about a teen with terminal cancer and the familial strife surrounding that diagnosis is quite the tear puller. At times I actually felt as if the movie was attempting to extract the fluids from eyes by any means necessary but the tears never came.

Instead, there is a feeling of vast indifference tinged with the irritation at the varying attempts at manipulation. All movies are manipulative. The better movies hide their manipulations behind great drama, comedy, tragedy and various other implements of storytelling manipulation. My Sister's Keeper is much more naked in its pushy nature and that makes it off-putting.

Abigail Breslin, best known as the wonderful little pageant contestant from Little Miss Sunshine, stars in My Sister's Keeper as 11 year old Anna. Where most kids were the result of an accident or surprise, Anna was planned. Her parents, Sara (Cameron Diaz) and Brian (Jason Patric) had Anna as a way of saving the life of their cancer stricken daughter Kate (Sofia Vassilieva).

If you're overly movie literate you might start thinking about This Island Earth or The Island, sci-fi movies about people born in labs to be used as spare parts for rich counterparts. This is not science fiction. My Sister's Keeper is based in some real science. Through gene manipulation Anna was designed specifically with elements that could be helpful to Kate.

Now, with Kate nearing the end and needing a kidney transplant to buy a few more months, Anna says no. She hires an attorney she saw on TV, Campbell Alexander (Alec Baldwin) and sues for medical emancipation. Though she says it is her decision it's clear to us there is more to it. It's also clear that mom and dad are clueless as a function of the plot.

The pushy melodramatics of My Sister's Keeper serve to, at the very least, keep the melancholy at a distance. Take away all of the forced drama and what you are left with is a movie of a teenager dying of cancer. Not an unworthy story but not something that fits into the neat Hollywood box of melodramatic story manipulation.

Cancer seems too serious and too real for something as facile and tedious as the melodrama of My Sister's Keeper. Sofia Vassilieva does a tremendous job of making us feel for Kate but she is betrayed by a story and style that renders her a plot point in her own story.

Director Nick Cassavetes knows a little something about manipulative melodrama, he directed The Notebook. That film however hid the strings it pulled to get you to feel what it wanted you to feel. Was it pushy? Yes, but the sights and the romance hid that to a point and made tolerable the obvious contrivance of the story.

No such hiding in My Sister's Keeper. The movie exploits the teen with cancer conceit to score easy sympathy points as it pushes the audience from one emotional response to the next. That the film avoids becoming smarmy in its exploitation is a tribute to a talented if undermined cast.

My Sister's Keeper is an obvious, naked attempt at audience manipulation. Weak melodrama hidden behind the veil of disease of the week cynicism. It would be shameful if this talented cast weren't capable of making some of the material rise above the exploitation. In the end, My Sister's Keeper is merely a bad movie, just short of despicable.

Movie Review No Sleep Til Madison

No Sleep Til Madison (2002) 

Directed by David Fleer, Erik Moe, Peter Rudy 

Written by Erik Moe, Peter Rudy 

Starring T.J Jagadowsky, Jim Gaffigan, Ian Brennan

Release Date April 4th, 2002 

Published November 16th, 2003 

Ever since graduating high school, Owen Fenby (Jim Gaffigan) has organized a vacation for him and his three closest friends. No matter where they are or what they are doing, the guys drop everything to go to the Wisconsin High School Hockey Tournament. However, after some 13 or so years, the guy’s lives are beginning to get in the way.

Dave (Ian Brennen) is married and just had his first child with his wife Beth who is constantly worried about the baby. Tommy (Michael Gilio) has taken over his family trucking business but is terrified of having left it in the hands of incompetent underlings. And finally Vern (Jed Resnick), who seems to have the same passion for the trip as Owen but has health problems from years of acting like a kid.

Also joining the gang is a high school kid named Greg who tags along to record the trip. The plan is simple: travel across Wisconsin following the best high school hockey teams on the way to the championship game in Madison. Of course, nothing goes as planned as one by one the guys are pulled back to their everyday problems. 

Only Owen, whose girlfriend broke up with him over his using her money to purchase a van for the trip, seems committed to getting to Madison. More importantly, he’s trying to keep his friends from growing apart. Owen's misguided and often childish sniping at his friends over their inability to commit to the trip make up the thrust of the plot.

Written and Directed by David Fleer, Peter Rudy and Eric Moe, Madison is a charming little comedy with some delightfully goofy performances and a central theme that really hits home with those in the audience who have fought growing up only to find themselves at thirty with a real life. Friends grow up and often grow apart, other concerns like family and jobs enter the picture. Think for a moment, how many of your friends from high school are you still close to and how many do you wish you still kept in touch with? My guess is there are more people you wished you kept in touch than actually do but that's life.

Jim Gaffigan is a comedian-by-trade and that does show from time to time. However he makes Owen's desperate attempts to hold the trip and his friendships together genuinely sweet. At times, the performance is a little whiny and over the top, but regardless, Gaffigan provides the biggest laughs of the film with his willingness to be the butt of the joke.

Ian Brennen as Dave is the film’s real star. Brennen's affable, everyman performance balances Gaffigan's wackiness and raises the film to a more realistic level. His commitment to a wife who is portrayed as somewhat of a harridan is very sweet and realistic. Brennen has that terrific quality that few actors have, he looks and seems like someone you know or would want to know in real life.

As much as I enjoyed No Sleep ‘Til Madison I was more than a little surprised at the amazing reaction the film got at the film festival. As the film neared its conclusion people cheered and when the film was over the audience stood and cheered. The film went on to win the award for Best Comedy.

I liked No Sleep ‘Til Madison and found it to be consistently funny but a standing ovation seemed a little much. Still, this is a good movie and a good way to throw away a Friday night, especially if you’re a hockey fan.

Movie Review New Best Friend

New Best Friend (2002) 

Directed by Zoe Clarke-Williams

Written by Victoria Strouse 

Starring Meredith Monroe, Mia Kirschner, Dominique Swain, Taye Diggs 

Release Date April 12th, 2002 

Published May 15th, 2002

Earlier this year I lamented what made a talented actress like Dominique Swain take such ridiculously stupid roles as the ones she took in Tart and Smokers. I'm still trying to understand it as here she is in yet another teen-oriented, softcore porno aimed at dirty old men too embarrassed to go for the all out porn. Swain just keeps making the same terrible choices and it's becoming rather embarrassing. 

In ``New Best Friend'' Swain is relegated to a supporting role in service of former “Dawson's Creek” star Meredith Monroe. Monroe is Hadley Weston, rich-bitch sorority girl who with her posse of coked up college idiots goes about corrupting an A student loner played by Mia Kirschner. But just who is doing the corrupting? Alicia Glazer (Kirschner) takes quickly to her new social status, indulging in the alcohol and cocaine filled nights of meaningless sex and stupidity.

All of this unfolds in flashback as Alicia lies in the hospital near death and the local sheriff Artie Bonner (Taye Diggs) investigates her new friends whom he suspects of foul play. The film’s flashback style and narrative is a nod to Citizen Kane crossed with Legally Blonde and Cruel Intentions, a concoction lifted directly from the seventh circle of hell.

Meredith Monroe was wonderful as the sweet but troubled Andie McPhee on “Dawson's Creek.” In New Best Friend, however, she is completely overmatched attempting to play the Shannon Doherty-like uberbitch. Swain meanwhile, is her usual nymphet self, this time throwing in a lesbian scene to satisfy her dirty old men fan club. Her role requires no acting whatsoever; just remove clothes and kiss whomever, be it man or woman.

What in God's name is Taye Diggs doing in this film!?! Diggs is a good-looking, charismatic guy who could play any number of lead roles, but chooses to star in this trash. Taye, do yourself a favor and fire your agent. Diggs must have owed the director of New Best Friend a massive favor, or more likely he's suffered from some sort of blackmail. It's the only reasonable explanation. 

New Best Friend is disgustingly stupid, utterly vapid trash, just perfect for the soft core B-movie market. No matter how bad this movie is, it will rent big and likely make a pretty good profit. Yet somehow we are still the greatest country in the world. I'm giving the film one star as a nod to Taye Diggs and because I loved Monroe on “Dawson's Creek.”

What? Oh, like you've never watched it.

Movie Review Nemesis Game

Nemesis Game (2003) 

Directed by Jesse Warn 

Written by Jesse Warn 

Starring Carly Pope, Adrian Paul, Ian McShane 

Release Date September 16th, 2003 

Published September 16th, 2003 

With all the trash that gets dumped in the direct-to-video market, it's rare when you find one that is not a poorly-crafted action knockoff or a T & A soft-core porno. Nemesis Game, directed by up and comer Jesse Warn, is neither of those things. Though Nemesis Game isn't exactly theater quality, it shows the potential this young director has to do great things in the future.

The story begins in your typical police station interrogation room where a detective (Ian "Lovejoy" McShane) is questioning a woman named Emily Gray (Rena Owen). Emily is famous for having attempted to drown a small child with seemingly no motive whatsoever. It's years later and Ms. Gray has been recently released from psychiatric care only to have killed a college freshman, again with seemingly no motive. Her only answer to repeated questioning is the quixotic "What if I told you I knew the meaning of life?"

From there we switch gears to a comic shop run by Vern (Adrian Paul), a comic book philosopher with a love for riddles. Vern runs a side business where he takes suburbanite nerds out to an abandoned building and leads them on a D & D style quest by having them answer riddles that lead to a particular conclusion. In all honesty I have know idea what the purpose of these scenes are, only that they set up the connection between Vern and the first woman to ever play his little riddle game, our heroine Sara played by Carly Pope.

For years, Sara has been obsessed with riddles and thinks maybe Vern can lead her to a series of riddles that when solved can tell you the meaning of life. Ian McShane's cop also happens to be Sara's father and Emily Gray happens to be linked to the riddle Sara is searching for. Jay Baruchel from TV's short lived “Undeclared” has a small role as a victim and Brenden Fehr has an equally small but more meaningful role as a pothead skater and customer at Vern's comic shop.

With Vern's help, Sara seeks the answers to the meaning of life riddle while her father attempts to determine why Emily Gray snapped after seeming to have recovered while in care.

The two stories dovetail in an ending that is the film’s strongest point for its suddenness and bravery. Honestly, even as the credits rolled I kept waiting for the film to start again and undo itself from what I had just seen.

What doesn't work though is the casting, especially former “Highlander” TV star Adrian Paul. His lack of charisma and horribly wooden action style threaten to cave in the film’s momentum in the moments when it desperately needs it. Paul is especially undercut by the far more charismatic but limited performances of Baruchel and Fehr, who's acting and youth make Paul look like an old man desperately trying to act cool. Nemesis Game cries out for a more charismatic actor or at least persona than what Paul provides.

As for the star of the film, Carly Pope, she has just the right mix of wits and cuteness to make her character work. She perfectly mixes naive curiosity and survival instinct to make her character's purpose seem plausible.

The cast member who makes the best impression though is Rena Owen as Emily. She has a mystical, beatific quality that makes her seem almost supernatural. Each of the other actors always say her full name and say it with reverence as if speaking it were an incantation. It works in making the audience uncomfortable in her presence, as if she really does know the meaning of life but if she tells you she will have to kill you.

Jesse Warn both directed and wrote the screenplay for Nemesis Game and with a bigger budget he could have really done something with this concept. With a better actor in place of Adrian Paul, improved cinematography and set design and a better film score (The current score is a mishmash of screechy thriller music from every other direct-to-video thriller ever made), and Nemesis Game could have been a career maker. As it is, the film is a signpost of a hopefully bright future for this talented filmmaker.