Movie Review Hollywood Homicide

Hollywood Homicide (2003) 

Directed by Ron Shelton

Written by Ron Shelton

Starring Harrison Ford, Josh Hartnett, Master P, Lena Olin, Bruce Greenwood, Isaiah Washington, Keith David, Dwight Yoakam, Martin Landau

Release Date June 13th, 2003 

Published June 12th, 2003 

Every time I complain about a film’s marketing campaign I get emails asking me why I complain about something that has nothing to do with the film. I politely disagree with that sentiment. A film’s marketing shapes your perception and the movie Hollywood Homicide is an excellent example of my feelings. The ad campaign of the film is accompanied by a rap soundtrack that is not only misleading, it's misguided. That aside, and despite his aging demographic, Ford shows in Hollywood Homicide that he's still got that magical IT quality that makes a superstar.

In Hollywood Homicide Harrison Ford is Joe Gavilan, real estate agent by day, Hollywood homicide cop at night. His young partner is KC Calden (Josh Hartnett), who is also a part-time yoga instructor and wannabe actor. The two are brought in to investigate the murder of an up and coming rap group in a LA nightclub owned by Julius (Master P). In one of the film’s funniest moments, Joe takes time out from the investigation to pitch Julius about a house he has for sale. The murder sets the plot in motion but there is something else going on in this film.

In most cop movies, we would track from the evidence that implies the rap groups record company owner killed them for trying to break their contract. Isaiah Washington fills that vaguely Suge Knightish role. However at some point in the making of Hollywood Homicide, director Ron Shelton forgot about this by-the-numbers plot and fell in love with his quirky characters. Lucky for him, these are great characters and even better actors playing them.

As the murder plot becomes merely a subplot, it's the weird friendship between Ford and Hartnett that takes center stage and the two actors show an excellent chemistry. Ford also has a subplot with the wife of one of his fellow LAPD detectives, who also happens to be working for the bad guys. Lena Olin fills the role of Ford's love interest and brings a mature sexuality to what could have been a throwaway role. There are a couple of strands of plot also working throughout Hollywood Homicide, such as Dwight Yoakam as a dirty former cop working for Isaiah Washington and his connection to the murder of Hartnett's father. Yet again, such plot machinations are merely background for the actors.

The film’s ending is a car wreck, literally and figuratively. The figurative car wreck is the number of unresolved plot points that are simply thrown away or disregarded. Bruce Greenwood in particular gets the short shrift as his character arc is resolved with little notice to the audience as to why or how. Not that it made any difference to the plot but it didn't fit any kind of logic. You can tell a lot of this subplot was left on the cutting room floor. In fact, from the messy narrative that is on display, I would bet the director’s cut must have been just over three hours just to explain the extraneous plot points..

You can speculate for hours as to what happened during the filming of Hollywood Homicide that brought it to it's current state. Despite my praise of the film’s leads and its humor, the film is a real mess from a plot standpoint. One could wonder if the obvious allusions to Suge Knight in Isaiah Washington's character caused that character to be cut back a good deal. You can see many of the cop movie cliches fighting to surface and Shelton seemed to make a very pronounced effort to downplay those cliches. He leaves the film’s big action movie moments until the end of the film and focuses on the films strengths, it's actors and the humor they generate from their interaction.

That doesn't make the film feel any less messy but it makes it far more tolerable than it might have been. -

Movie Review: Dumb and Dumberer When Harry Met Lloyd

Dumb and Dumberer When Harry Met Lloyd (2003) 

Directed by Troy Miller 

Written by Troy Miller 

Starring Eric Christian Olsen, Derek Richardson, Cheri Oteri, Luis Guzman, Eugene Levy

Release Date June 13th, 2003 

Published June 13th, 2003 

Last week there were debates as to whether 2 Fast 2 Furious suffered for not having star Vin Diesel and Director Rob Cohen. One could very well argue that indeed it did lack for not having them. No such debate is necessary for Dumb and Dumberer. Even the most obstinate viewer can't argue that this film suffers the loss of stars Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels and writer-directors Peter and Bobby Farrelly. But moreover, it's the audience that really suffers.

Without Carrey and Daniels the money grubbing, greedy executives at New Line reposition the story as a prequel that goes back to the characters as High School students. Eric Christian Olson is Lloyd Christmas and Derek Richardson is Harry Dunne. Friend from their first meeting, Harry and Lloyd are placed into a class for special needs children. This is no benevolent gesture to help the kids learn however. The schools principal played by Eugene Levy (slumming desperately) has setup the class to scam the government out of $100 grand that the school gets for having the class. The principal’s goal is to steal the money and run off with the school lunch lady played by Cheri Oteri.

Of course their scheme is foiled by Harry and Lloyd, although unknowingly, with the help of an investigative reporter for the school newspaper played by Rachel Nichols. Of course Dumb and Dumberer is not about having a plot but rather setting up one relentlessly stupid joke to get the next relentlessly stupid joke.

I know, I can't criticize Dumb and Dumberer for being stupid, because that is the point of the film. However I can criticize it for being tremendously unfunny. I can criticize it for lacking any redeeming value. I can criticize it for stealing 80 some-odd minutes of my life from me. What I don't want to do too much of is rip the film’s young stars. Eric Christian Olson is a game performer. The kid gives everything he's got and he does a pretty good impression of Carrey. Rachel Nichols, as the boy’s love interest, is a beautiful girl who deserves better than this.

Director Troy Miller is also not entirely to blame for this film. Though it is his name on the film, he is merely in place to transfer a knockoff script to the screen. Imagine directing a high school production of the original Dumb and Dumber and you can understand what it must have been like for Miller.

The real blame goes to New Line for allowing their greed to get the best of them. They cynically shoved this film into production with the sole purpose of making money. It is this kind of assembly line filmmaking that is destroying Hollywood. Films are not mass produced product you buy off the rack at K-Mart, but that seems to have been New Line's approach in making the dreadful Dumb and Dumberer.

Movie Review: Bruce Almighty

Bruce Almighty (2003) 

Directed by Tom Shadyac

Written by Steve Koren, Mark O'Keefe, Steve Oedekirk 

Starring Jim Carrey, Jennifer Aniston, Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman, Phillip Baker Hall

Release Date May 23rd, 2003 

Published May 22nd, 2003 

The concept must have seemed like a home run even without a script. Jim Carrey as a regular guy who takes on God's powers. Heck do you even need a script for that? Simply turn on the camera, let Carrey contort himself, add a catchphrase, special effects and you’re done. Thankfully the producers of Bruce Almighty decided to put together a script to go with their concept and star. It also helps to have a top notch supporting cast including Morgan Freeman and Jennifer Aniston who make Bruce Almighty rise above your usual Jim Carrey flick.

In Bruce Almighty, Jim Carrey is Bruce Nolan, a TV reporter who longs to move up to the news anchor position. His current job as a feature reporter covering stories like a record breaking chocolate chip cookie aren't exactly what Bruce had in mind when he got into journalism. At least things are good at home where Bruce has a great girlfriend, Grace (Aniston), though her sister Debbie (Lisa Ann Walter) hates him. Bruce doesn't realize Grace wants to get married, he's too wrapped up in his problems to notice.

Bad things keep happening to Bruce. Mostly it's little things like his dog not being house broken, or traffic making him late to work. But when Bruce finds out that he has lost the Anchor job to rival co-worker Evan (Steve Corell), Bruce really flips, and worse he does it on live TV while covering a story. His on air outburst gets him fired, which leads to a fight with hoodlums in the station parking lot and a fight with Grace at home.

With all that's happened to him it's easy to understand why Bruce would lash out at the almighty, and God responds. Sending message through Bruce's busted pager, God (Morgan Freeman) summons Bruce to an empty warehouse. After convincing a naturally skeptical Bruce that he is indeed God, he proceeds to give Bruce all of his powers, saying “let's see if you can do any better.”

Bruce's idea of better is a little different than God's. Mostly it's settling scores with his rivals at work, impressing his girlfriend and teaching his dog to use the toilet. Bruce also enjoys a little revenge on the hoods that beat him up. Is there anything funnier than a monkey crawling out of a guys butt? See this film and judge for yourself.

There are also prayers to deal with. Prayers that come to Bruce in the form of millions of voices in his head. His brilliant plan for dealing with the prayers leads to couple of pretty good sight gags and the potential for some real chaos that doesn't quite live up to expectation. You would think a gag where Bruce makes everyone’s prayers come true might do a little more than have everyone win the lottery on the same day.

There is an obvious in-joke in Bruce Almighty, a joke that relates Bruce's problems at work mirror Carrey's real life problems. Like his character’s longing to move from funny features reporter to serious news anchorman is an exact corollary to Carrey's longing to be a serious actor. The joke isn't overplayed and has a nice payoff that gives the audience insight into the actor’s psyche in real life.

Director Tom Shadyac still has some growing up to do, but he is beginning to mature a little as a competent comedy director. He has learned that the setup of a joke is as important as it's punchline. He has learned more about telling a coherent story that unfolds with a logical progression to a believable conclusion.

However, Shadyac still needs to curb his affection for schmaltz. If you saw his attempt at pathos and dramedy in Patch Adams, you know what I'm talking about. There are moments near the end of Bruce Almighty where the film threatens to drown in syrupy sweetness. Thank heaven for Morgan Freeman who keeps the sweetness from becoming cavity inducing with his charm, wit and calming influence. His mere presence relaxes both audience and star and makes Bruce Almighty a much better film for having cast him.

Bruce Almighty marks a return to Jim Carrey's strength, making people laugh. Not that he can't do drama, I am one of a small group who thought he was sensational in Man on the Moon. I believe he has the potential to something truly fantastic as a dramatic leading man, but much like Jerry Lewis and Charlie Chaplin before him Carrey's strength lies in making people smile and in Bruce Almighty he does it just enough to leave you with a smile as you leave the theater. That makes it an easy film to recommend. -

Movie Review The Matrix Reloaded

Matrix Reloaded (2003) 

Directed by Lana and Lily Wachowski 

Written by Lana and Lily Wachowski 

Starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Hugo Weaving, Carrie Ann Moss, Harry Lennix, Jada Pinkett Smith, Randall Duk Kim 

Release Date May 15th, 2003 

Published May 14th, 2003 

You know a film is a true cultural phenomena when people show up dressed as the film's characters. Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and now add to that The Matrix. Numerous guys dressed as Neo or Agent Smith, even a couple girls dressed as Trinity. No Morpheus, the dressing up thing seems to be mostly a white people thing.

The question is, is The Matrix worthy of such a following? If the reaction amongst the four sold out shows on opening night at my local theater is any indication, it won't matter what pop critics like myself say.

The battle for humanity continues in Matrix: Reloaded as Neo (Keanu Reeves) awaits a message from the Oracle that will advise him on his next move in the war against the agents of the Matrix. Before that message, Neo, along with Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and Trinity (Carrie Ann Moss), are called back to Zion to deal with the robot army that is digging towards the last human city. It's up to Morpheus to convince the people in charge that waiting for the Oracle is just as important as defending Zion. According to him, if prophecy is true there will be no need to defend Zion because the Matrix will be no more.

Standing against Morpheus is Commander Lock (Harry Lennix) the leader of Zion's military and the man who is now with Morpheus' ex, Niobe (Jada Pinkett Smith). Lock is more pragmatic than Morpheus and does not believe in the prophecy. Niobe seems uncertain either way. When the message from the Oracle is received, Neo reenters the Matrix and is told to seek out the mystical Key Maker (Randall Duk Kim) who can lead him to the Architect, the man who created the Matrix.

The Key Maker is being held by a rogue computer program called The Merovingian (Lambert Wilson). He is a program that was to be deleted by the Matrix but has escaped and hides out with other deleted programs, including his wife Persephone (Monica Bellucci) and the Twins (Adrian and Neil Rayment). Once they are able to get the Key Maker, he will lead them to the center of the Matrix where the Architect resides, only Neo can get there. According to the prophecy once he does, the Matrix will crumble.

Before all of this, Neo must first overcome a series of prophetic dreams in which he watches Trinity die. Oh, and there is also the problem of Agent Smith. Now free to roam the Matrix as a rogue program, Smith has developed the ability to copy himself infinitely, an ability he takes full advantage of in the fight scene that is the film’s center piece (Dubbed “the burly brawl” by the effects team). In the brawl, Neo fights off hundreds of Agent Smith's before simply flying away as he did at the end of the first film. The flying ability is something Neo puts to good use in Reloaded as he is still developing the talents that make him the One.

The best part of Matrix: Reloaded is the same thing that signified the original, its awe inspiring special effects. I already mentioned the burly brawl, and there is also a spectacular chase scene that reportedly cost a good portion of the film’s budget and 45 days of shooting. That’s longer than many entire films.

My favorite scene, however, is the opening fight scene with Trinity fighting off an agent as she flies through a window. The scene is repeated three times in the film as part of Neo's prophetic dream. Carrie Ann Moss looks so cool and so tough it makes the film for me. Especially cool is the gun barrel close-up as she falls out of the window and the use of bullet time that was made famous in the original.

Then there are the Twins, billed as Twin 1 and Twin 2. They seem like either ghosts or demons and have the ability to turn to smoke and fly through walls with an effect quite similar to the ones used in X2 for Alan Cummings’ Nightcrawler.

What's not so great is any scene that slows down for dialogue. The first forty minutes of the film, aside from Trinity's spectacular opening and Neo's brief battle with upgraded Agents, is surprisingly low key and heavy on dialogue, especially when we finally arrive in Zion. While there, Morpheus delivers a long-winded “win one for the Gipper” speech. Then there is a protracted rave scene intercut with Neo and Trinity having sex. Nothing wrong with the sex but I didn't go to see Keanu's butt, I came to see him kick butt.

The scene with the Oracle is the most tedious, though highly anticipated by fans who believe the film’s metaphors. It's nothing against the late great Gloria Foster but her Oracle's habit of answering a question with a question becomes annoying fast. I said in my review of the original that the film reminded me of a college student who studied philosophical quotes but not actual philosophy. In Reloaded that same college student is working those quotes into conversations but still hasn't studied what they really mean. The film's mythos is still vague enough for as many interpretations as you can think of. Though I think the sex scene should put to rest the Christ comparisons, unless there is an unknown bible passage where Jesus bangs Mary Magdalene.

As I said though, you see The Matrix for the action and on that level the film delivers big time. Using its big budget to improve upon the original effects, Reloaded surpasses the original and becomes one of the single greatest visceral action films ever. On par with the groundbreaking action of Terminator 2 and before that Star Wars, both the effects champions of their times.

Writer-Directors Lana and Lily Wachowski have created a special effects extravaganza. While I wasn't drawn in by its thin philosophical and metaphorical script, I am hotly anticipating Matrix: Revolutions just to see if they can top the special effects and edge of your seat excitement of Reloaded.

Movie Review: The Shape of Things

The Shape of Things (2003) 

Directed by Neil LaBute

Written by Neil LaBute 

Starring Paul Rudd, Gretchen Mol, Frederick Weller, Rachel Weisz 

Release Date May 9th, 2003 

Published May 8th, 2003 

Writer/Director Neil LaBute could teach a master’s class in cruelty. In his first film, In The Company Of Men, LaBute had two male characters inflict all sorts of emotional torture on a blind woman until one of the men destroyed the other. Then in Your Friends and Neighbors, he poured all of his sadistic rage into one character, Jason Patric's fearsome Cary, and wielded the character as a tool to inflict cruelty on the rest of the cast. After a brief respite in mainstream filmmaking, LaBute returned to his roots for The Shape of Things, a caustic lesson in male-female relationships in stark contrast to the usual romantic observations of conventional Hollywood.

Paul Rudd stars as Adam, a timid, nerdy museum worker who while finishing his shift one day encounters a woman who has crawled over the velvet rope surrounding an almost nude statue. Her name is Evelyn (Rachel Weisz), her intent is to deface the statue with spray paint, and she dares Adam to stop her. At the same time, she is flirting heavily, keeping the painfully shy Adam off balance to the point that he walks away allowing her to finish the job on the statue.

Evelyn was nice enough to give Adam her number and the two begin dating. Shoot ahead a few weeks and Adam and Evelyn are attending a play where she will meet his two closest friends, Jen (Gretchen Mol) and Phillip (Frederick Weller), a soon to be married couple. She is meeting them for the first time and she hopes they will notice how she has changed him. Adam has lost weight and is acting very different from the shy nerd the couple has always known.

There are more changes, Adam is dressing better, his hair is styled and eventually he goes so far as to get a nose job. He's also acting different as when he and Jen share a stolen kiss in the park. All of it aided and abetted by Evelyn's manipulations until an emotional finish that is shocking and devastating in ways you could never predict.

This is familiar ground for Neil LaBute yet he still manages to surprise and shock. Like David Mamet, John Sayles or Kevin Smith, LaBute is the rare screenwriter with his own very distinctive voice. Labute's dialogue is wrapped in the same barbed wire as Mamet but without having to serve any sort of conventional plot. Words fall like blows from LaBute’s characters and the emotional warfare is as devastating as any bullet.

LaBute also has a terrific ear for music, employing the brilliant Elvis Costello for both score and storytelling device. Fans of Costello should take note of each song they recognize and where it is placed in the film. This is especially attention grabbing on a second viewing when you know what is to come next.

The main problems of the film stem from lead Paul Rudd who overplays some of Adam's nerd tendencies. Watch in the park scene with Gretchen Mol his Urkel-esque acting style that plays throughout most of the film. By the end he comes around enough to contribute to the film’s painful finale but his performance early on stands out as the film’s weakest point.

Some might find the film’s ending to be far fetched but if you give in to the characters and invest yourself in LaBute’s dialogue, you should be able to forgive him his over the top demonstrations. The Shape Of Things is an astounding observation of the kind cruelty that only intimacy can reap. Only someone who you invest your emotions in fully can hurt you this bad. The film may take that last point to an extreme but it's a mighty powerful and shocking extreme that does not come easy.

Movie Review: Daddy Day Care

Daddy Day Care (2003)

Directed by Steve Carr 

Written by Geoff Rodkey 

Starring Eddie Murphy, Jeff Garlin, Steve Zahn, Regina King, Anjelica Huston 

Release Date May 9th, 2003 

Published May 10th, 2003 

How many times can one actor be written off? If you’re Eddie Murphy, apparently as many times as you can make a movie. Every time Eddie comes out with a film it's greeted by cynics in my profession as his last chance to be a big star. And each time, Eddie comes back. Eddie has found the back door to maintaining a waning career. He has sold his cool action-comedy persona and adopted a kid-friendly persona that has proven to a career salvation. His latest by-the-numbers kid friendly flick is Daddy Day Care, a rote family comedy, factory produced by the Hollywood machine.

In Daddy Day Care, Murphy is Charlie, an ad executive who loses his job after a product he was working on tanks badly with test audiences (how amazingly ironic). Left at home waiting for responses to his resume, Charlie gets to spend some much needed private time with his son Ben (Khamani Griffin). One day Charlie takes Ben to the park and has a conversation with a mom desperate for a new day care center. With this inspiration and the help of a friend who also lost his job, Phil (Jeff Garlin, “Curb Your Enthusiasm”), Charlie opens a day care center in his home.

Regina King plays Charlie's wife though it's difficult to tell as she disappears as quickly as she's introduced. Steve Zahn rounds out the cast as a doofy assistant with a fetish for Star Trek and a knack for dealing with kids. Speaking of the kids, none of the little actors makes much of an impression beyond being cute.

The setup is so simple it must have taken all of an hour to think of and write down. Well known personality is paired with a group of cute kids. We haven't seen this teaming but, oh, a dozen or so times, and Daddy Day Care doesn't have much of anything new to add to this familiar story. Even the great Anjelica Huston can't do anything to make this film interesting with her role as the film’s villainous pre-school owner Ms. Harridan. Get it, harridan, oh so clever.

Daddy Day Care isn't offensive, it's not poorly made and to it's credit it doesn't overdo the bathroom humor that has become a staple of similar films. Director Steve Carr, who previously directed Murphy in Dr. Dolittle, shows once again that he is a technically proficient director in that he knows where to point the camera and shoot. That said he brings little else to this uninteresting and overly familiar movie.

Movie Review Owning Mahowny

Owning Mahowny (2003) 

Directed by Richard Kwietniowski 

Written by Maurice Chauvet 

Starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman, John Hurt, Minnie Driver, Maury Chaykin 

Release Date May 2nd, 2003 

Published August 12th, 2003 

Obsessive and addictive personalities often make great film dramas. Think Nicolas Cage's dying alcoholic in Leaving Las Vegas, or Jason Patric's drug addicted cop in Rush. To a lesser extent Vin Diesel's adrenaline junkies in Fast and The Furious and XXX. Add to those performances Philip Seymour Hoffman's engrossing gambling addict in Owning Mahowny, a performance so strong it elevates a rather mundane drama to unexpected levels.

Dan Mahowney is yet another of those indistinct characters that Philip Seymour Hoffman excels at making memorable. He's a dull looking banker with a secret life as a big time gambler. At first it's endless weekends at the local racetrack, then it's betting on major league sports with his small-time bookie played by Maury Chaykin. Once Dan receives a promotion at the bank and the ability to write checks to himself from his clients’ accounts, Dan is off to Atlantic City. There, his obsession grows from two and three thousand dollar bets to ten, fifteen and one hundred thousand dollar bets.

Aided by the casino boss Victor Foss (the invaluable John Hurt), Dan is able to open a line of credit with the casino that he grows into the millions. All the while he haphazardly attempts to hide his gambling from his cuckolded girlfriend Belinda (Minnie Driver). Cuckolded not for another woman but by Dan's gambling which is closer to his heart than any human being could be.

As much as I love Minnie Driver, she just doesn't fit the role of Belinda. Her innate intelligence and the residue of her wonderful characters from Good Will Hunting and Grosse Pointe Blank, make her difficult to believe as a spineless enabler of Dan's obsession. In addition, her good looks overpower the characters' frumpy clothes and hairstyle. You can almost see her glamorous black curls trying to fight their way free of her ugly blonde wig.

Director Richard Kwietniowski working from a complicated novel from writer Gary Ross has the difficult task of making a rather mundane dramatic setup entertaining. It isn't easy to make bank fraud seem exciting. He succeeds only because his star Philip Seymour Hoffman is so fascinating you can’t stop watching him. It's a performance of quiet desperation that pours out of his skin. His every facial movement evokes drama and tension, far more tension than the situations surrounding him.

Hoffman has done this before, rehabilitating material that may not be worthy of his talent. Owning Mahowny is worthy of his considerable talent and only he can make it work. It is a brilliant performance, engrossing and entertaining. For fans of Hoffman, it's a true feast. For the casual fan, it works only because Hoffman is so good.