Movie Review Never Die Alone

Never Die Alone (2004) 

Directed by Ernest Dickerson 

Written by James Gibson

Starring DMX, David Arquette, Michael Ealy, Clifton Powell 

Release Date March 26th, 2004

Published March 25th, 2004 

For rapper DMX, Hollywood has been difficult to navigate. Stuck with B-movie plots and co-stars (Steven Seagal, Jet Li), DMX has managed to show raw potential but little else. The most notable things about his film career thus far are his multi-platinum soundtrack albums that have been better than the films they accompany. Now, however, teamed with director Ernest Dickerson in Never Die Alone, DMX gets an opportunity to realize some of that raw potential.

DMX stars as King David, a bad-ass drug dealer who has returned to New York to settle old debts and reestablish his home. After ten years on the West Coast rolling up huge amounts of cash selling heroin to starlets, David has more than enough cash to pay off New York's top drug dealer Mr. Moon (Clifton Powell). The deal is he will give the money to Moon's top thug Mike (Michael Ealy from Barbershop) and once Moon has the cash, King is free.

Young Mike however, has other plans. Mike and the King have a history that King doesn't know about. A dangerous secret leads to Mike stabbing King. As Mike makes his escape, a writer named Paul (David Arquette) witnesses the stabbing and runs to the aid of King. As Paul drives King to the hospital, the dying man pledges all of his possessions to Paul with the caveat that Paul uses them to locate King's son. At the hospital King dies and Paul is left to put the pieces of King's life back together with the audio tapes King left behind in a hollowed out bible.

It's convenient that Paul happens to be a writer living in the King's old neighborhood for research on a gritty crime novel. Not many writers are lucky enough to have a gritty urban crime story fall into their lap like that. Paul is merely a convenient device through which to tell King's cold, hard, thug story. The King's tapes take us back to when he left for LA and eventually why he ran, which sets up the main plot of the film.

The scenes in LA are a frightening examination of the kind of sociopath it takes to be a cold hard killer. King uses the drugs and money he lifted off of Moon to wine and dine a Hollywood actress (Jennifer Sky), willing to front drugs to her TV co-stars and a young med student (Reagan Gomez-Preston). King met the college girl at her job as a waitress and with the cool cunning of a snake he gets into her bed and his drugs into her veins. Watching the way King slowly deconstructs the once promising student reminded me of a moment from the movie Fight Club where Edward Norton maims Jared Leto in a fight and coolly explains that he felt like destroying something beautiful.

Many critics are faulting Director Ernest Dickerson's choice of visual style. Dickerson, the former cinematographer for Spike Lee, abuses his film stock with scratches and washed out color to give the film a classic seventies Blaxploitation look. The look evokes that early seventies feel but the story is a modern hard edged urban noir in the vein of Sugar Hill or New Jack City. All that is missing is a Wesley Snipes cameo to pass the torch of urban menace to DMX.

That said there is more than one way to look at King's portrayal. On the one hand, this is an unglamorous end that teaches, if you live hard you die hard. On the other hand, DMX's powerful, charismatic cool could earn cult status among those predisposed to admire such things. DMX is powerful, his tattooed, muscled presence and serial killer mentality is as intimidating as a horror film villain should be. His charm and charisma is so enticing you would admire him if the film didn't demonstrate what a bastard he really is. This is DMX's best performance thus far though too many more roles like it will lead to typecasting. For now though DMX wears the hardcore gangster persona like a perfectly fit Italian suit and that comfort is part of his charm.

For young Michael Ealy, Never Die Alone is a chance to establish some dramatic cache to match his well liked comic performance in Barbershop and he does a terrific job. Ealy's heartfelt sadness and tortured existence is the perfect counterbalance to DMX's cold, sociopathic, and charismatic performance. Though the film’s twist near the end calls logic into question, Ealy sells it well and we accept it because he does. David Arquette is far less successful in his role as plot device. Arquette's Paul is entirely a function of the plot and never an interesting participant.

Ernest Dickerson has yet to make the masterpiece that I'm sure his former protégé Spike Lee is expecting him to make. But, Never Die Alone is a step in the right direction. Expect Dickerson to do something spectacular very soon. For now, Never Die Alone is a terrific genre piece, a gritty urban drama worthy of comparison with other great gangster films.

Movie Review Secret Window

Secret Window (2004) 

Directed by David Koepp 

Written by David Koepp 

Starring Johnny Depp, John Turturro, Maria Bello, Charles S. Dutton, Timothy Hutton 

Release Date March 12th, 2004 

Published March 11th, 2004

In an interview with Time Magazine, Secret Window writer-director David Koepp wondered aloud why Johnny Depp had chosen to star in his movie. He was grateful but said it's hard to be certain what motivates Depp, it's possible he just wanted to play a guy named Mort. That’s a statement that perfectly captures Depp's unique approach to Hollywood. An actor who does things his own unique way, Depp makes Secret Window a strange and unique Hollywood thriller.

Depp is Mort Rainey, a successful mystery writer whose life is upended when he finds his wife in bed with another man. Cut to six months later and Mort is living in a cabin on a lake in some nondescript small town. The solitude should help him working on his next novel but it's more helpful in providing time for his long naps and general malaise.

The solitude is interrupted by a menacing stranger named John Shooter (John Turturro), an oddball farmer from Mississippi who claims that Mort stole one of his stories. Shooter's story is definitely similar to one Mort wrote years earlier called Secret Window, but Mort is sure he can prove the story is his own. Shooter meanwhile sets about making Mort miserable, including killing his dog and threatening Mort's ex-wife Amy (Maria Bello).

Eventually Mort figures out that there is far more to this story than mere plagiarism and he begins to suspect his wife's new boyfriend, Ted (Timothy Hutton), may have put Shooter up to it. In fear, Mort hires an ex-police officer (Charles S. Dutton) to watch his back. When the cop turns up dead, Mort is on his own in the scary old cabin.

It's a very conventional thriller setup that sounds predictable but David Koepp, the writer of Panic Room, and the director of the underrated Kevin Bacon thriller Stir Of Echoes, has something up his sleeve. Employing camera moves he must have lifted from working with David Fincher, Koepp sails his camera around the tiny cabin in ways that some might call showy but I would say are just cool. He's helped greatly by a classic Philip Glass score and most of all…

…by his star Johnny Depp.

What Johnny Depp does in Secret Window is difficult to describe. It's so delightfully odd and yet perfectly sensible that it defies description. Mort spends the first third of the film essentially in solitude, napping and laying about, talking to his dog or to himself. There is one fascinating inner monologue, darkly humorous, witty, angry and frustrated. Watch the way he reacts while talking to his wife on the phone.

In some scenes you can see that Depp is finding actorly motivation where none is called for, such as a scene where he hides his cigarette from his cleaning lady. There is no reason why Mort would hide his smoking except that Depp assumed that the character would do that. In another scene, Depp and Charles Dutton exchange dialogue while hitting a chess clock as if marking who's turn it is to talk. It's the kind of character shorthand that most writers and actors neglect.

It's as if while the supporting cast was making a typical Hollywood thriller, Johnny Depp was jamming to some totally different vibe. Depp is riffing like a jazz combo and the film is forced to bounce along to his beat. It's safe to say that much of what Depp does in the film wasn't in the original script and certainly not in the Stephen King novella on which the film is based. That it works is a testament to his considerable skills.

Movie Review Spartan

Spartan (2004) 

Directed by David Mamet 

Written by David Mamet 

Starring Val Kilmer, Derek Luke, William H. Macy, Ed O'Neill, Kristen Bell 

Release Date March 12th, 2004 

Published March 15th, 2004 

"Where's the girl?"

A line tersely delivered, often through the gritted teeth of aggravated men. This is the writing of David Mamet in his newest incarnation, the action thriller Spartan. Minimalist, to the point, and exciting when delivered by actors with conviction, Mamet's writing is the highlight of all of his films (State and Main, The Spanish Prisoner, House of Games) and when teamed with a capable cast it's sublime in it's simplicity, smarts and humor. Spartan is the latest example of Mamet at his best.

Val Kilmer stars as John Scott, some sort of secret agent though I'm at a loss to figure out who he works for exactly. Scott is first seen on a military training mission with a pair of recruits (Derek Luke and Tia Texada) acting out some exercise that is important to Scott but apparently not the audience. Once the exercise is over, Scott gets a phone call that takes him into the film’s real plot.

Scott is called in to join a task force to search for the daughter of the President, (Kristen Bell). The first daughter was kidnapped, the who and the what is a twist-laden trip into typical thriller territory except smarter and more interesting because David Mamet doesn't know how to do anything typical. First rate dialogue, whip smart plot turns, and a terrific cast make Spartan far better than the usual thriller fare.

In what some are calling a comeback performance, Val Kilmer shines, biting into Mamet's dialogue with the necessary sharpness and clarity. Anyone who calls this a comeback obviously missed his brilliant work in 2002's The Salton Sea, but then sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who ever saw that one. Scott is a rare part for Kilmer's recent outings, it's his first hero role since The Saint.

For Mamet, Spartan seems like an attempt to fit his rather esoteric style into a mainstream film. It's a surprisingly good fit. I have for years belabored the idea that even the most clichéd retread plot can be made well if written, acted and directed with intelligence and the commitment not to fall into the familiar rhythm. Spartan is a mainstream thriller with Mamet's brains in place of the usual thickheaded clichés and that works for me.

I'm tempted to compare Mamet to John Sayles in that both are the preeminent writers of my mind. However, Sayles is more of an artist than Mamet. Where Mamet has a longing for mainstream acceptance, Sayles has a more secular point of view. Sayles isn't interested in appealing to anyone other than himself, Mamet wants to appeal to the populace. It's a dangerous gamble because it can cause a director to compromise vision for demographic.

Thankfully Mamet isn't so desperate as to compromise, at least not in a film he directs himself. His writing assignments for others are questionable. Spartan is not a compromise but an uneasy entreaty into mainstream fare. Let's hope that its box office returns don't lead to future compromise.

Movie Review Italian for Beginners

Italian for Beginners (2000) 

Directed by Lone Scherfig 

Written by Lone Scherfig 

Starring Anders Berthelsen 

Release Date December 8th, 2000

Published November 4th, 2002

Unless you are a film student or scholar, you probably have never heard of Dogme 95. Dogme is a movement begun by a group of European directors at a conference in 1995. The goal was to counter certain tendencies in cinema by returning to its simplest, most basic forms. A Dogme 95 manifesto was created to define how a Dogme film was to be shot. All shooting must be done on location. The film must be shot on video, using natural light and sound. No music is allowed unless it is played on location during shooting. No sound effects are permitted unless they come from the ambient noise of the location. No genre movies and various other rules meant ensure that characters and story are stressed above all else. Italian For Beginners is the first Dogme 95 film I have seen, and based on this film I will seek more Dogme films.

Set in Denmark, Italian For Beginners follows the interconnected lives of six people who attend the same Italian language class. Anders Bertelsen plays Andreas, the new pastor of the local church. Peter Gantzler is Jorgen a schlubby Hotel clerk. Lars Kaalund is Halfinn, Jorgen’s best friend and the new teacher of the Italian class. Ann Eleonora Jorgensen is Karen, a hairdresser who is dating Halfinn. Anette Stovelback is Olympia, a bakery worker, who, after the death of her father and mother finds out she has a sister who just happens to be Karen. Sandra Indio Jensen is Giulia, a friend of Halfinn’s who has a crush on the clueless Jorgen.

Italian For Beginners is about these unusual characters and the far more unusual connections. It is a very realistic film, the story is plausible, and the Dogme style gives the film a voyeuristic feel, as if you were watching real lives in progress. The style of shooting overwhelms the attention to the story (something that I assume happens in most Dogme films.) As a viewer, your attention is more often drawn to the locations, lighting, and sound than it is to the story and characters. At times, you lose track of characters and their back stories, which can be confusing. Still, the story is heartfelt and humorous and the characters are engaging and likable (save for Hafinn, though I’m sure that is by design.)

Italian For Beginners is most notable for it’s Dogme 95 affiliation and based on that alone I could recommend it. As an introduction to Dogme, this film is a valuable tool. That it also has a good heart and interesting characters is a bonus.

Movie Review Hijack'd

Hijack'd (2003) Cabin Pressure

Directed by Alan Simmonds 

Written by Douglas Schwartz 

Starring Craig Scheffer

Release Date March 11th, 2003

Published March 16th, 2003 

Robert Redford once saw something in actor Craig Sheffer. So much so that he cast him opposite Brad Pitt in his 1992 film A River Runs Through It. However, Sheffer wasn't able to capitalize on this opportunity and since has been relegated to the straight to video market. His latest straight to video feature, Hijack'd is yet another head scratcher that will leave you wondering what happened to this actor who seemed to have such a bright future.

In Hijack'd (no I'm not misspelling it, that is the title), Sheffer is drunk former airline pilot who returns to his hometown to start his life again. Once home he finds his ex-wife Reece (Rachel Hayward) is about to test an experimental new airplane. It's a plane that flies without a pilot. The plane can take off and land on it's own needing a pilot only if something goes wrong.

The airline has tried this once before and electrical problems caused the plane to crash and kill it's pair of pilots. That crash caused the boss (John Pyper) to fire the man whom designed the plane's computer system. The programmer unfortunately is an unstable nut who seeks his revenge by hacking his own system and taking control of the plane which just happens to be carrying a US Senator, his son, daughter in law and his former boss. Why they would fly on a plane no one is sure about is one of the film's many leaps?

Well you don't need a map to follow this plot. The nutjob tips off the good guys to his plot and through some amazing plot contrivances, Sheffer's ex-husband character is left to search for the madman before he crashes the plane and kills everyone on board.

The potential that Robert Redford once saw in young Craig Sheffer flashes one time in an early scene in Hijack'd where he sits in a bar drunk attempting to pick up a blonde bimbo. For a moment his charisma shines through. Unfortunately it is crushed under the weight of the plot which forces him into thriller mode shenanigans.

By the way if your looking for this one on IMDB it's listed under it's original title, Cabin Pressure. Why they changed it to the ridiculous alliteration Hijack'd is anyone’s guess.

Movie Review He Loves Me He Loves Me Not

He Loves Me He Loves Me Not (2003)

Directed by Laetitia Colombani 

Written by Laetitia Colombani 

Starring Audrey Tautou, Samuel Le Bihani 

Release Date February 14th, 2003 

Published March 15th, 2004 

Since 2001's sweet, romantic fable Amelie, star Audrey Tautou has fought being typecast as a pixie-ish romantic. The gritty Stephen Frears movie Dirty Pretty Things about foreigners skirting the edges of British lower classes was a complete and welcome departure. In the movie He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not however, Tautou uses her perceived romantic flightiness to sell us a character who by the end of the film is almost completely different. The film turns entirely on Tautou's believability and almost works save for a ridiculous ending that flies completely off the rails.

Tautou stars as Angelique and when we first meet her, she evokes the memory of our beloved Amelie by being surrounded in roses and flashing those signature saucer eyes. Her smile is so sincere as she plots to send one single rose to her beloved, a doctor named Loic (Samuel Le Bihan) who accepts it happily without reading the card. Angelique is a ball of romantic fantasy as she shows up late for work buzzing with euphoria. In her art class forgets the model she's supposed to sculpting and instead sculpts Loic from memory. At this point, her devotion seems to border on obsession but we have little idea of what we are in for.

There are problems in the relationship, not the least of which is that Loic is married. According to Angelique, he has repeatedly promised he will leave his wife but he can't while she is pregnant. Loic continuously stands up Angelique on dates, except for a party where the two avoid each other save for a little eye contact so as not to arouse suspicion among his colleagues. The couple’s only interaction is a quickie bathroom tryst that oddly happens off-screen. In fact, we have yet to have seen the two speak to each other....hmm.

Hold that thought because half way through the film co-writer/director Laetitia Colombani pulls the rug out from under the story switching the perspective from Angelique to Loic and the entire tone of the picture with it.

It's a gimmick unquestionably and a slightly unfair gimmick at that. If it works, it's only because Samuel Le Bihan as Loic is so believable. Le Bihan sells the film’s central gimmick with his controlled, logical, natural performance. Le Bihan doesn't react like your typical clueless movie character, save for one of those boneheaded scenes where he goes somewhere he is not invited.

Director Colombani and co-writer Carloline Thivel take a huge risk hanging their entire story on this one gimmick that could come off as showy or annoying. I thought it was an intriguing way to toy with genre convention and film structure. If the ending had a better payoff, I could be more definitive in recommending the film. However, the overly creepy ending they chose cheapens the characters and undercuts the drama.

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not is an interesting exercise in how writers and directors can toy with an audience and manipulate their perspective and rooting interest. Rent it for it's experimental nature. You may be disappointed in the ending or even annoyed with the central gimmick but at least it's different from most modern films.

Movie Review Happy Accidents

Happy Accidents (2001) 

Directed by Brad Anderson

Written by Brad Anderson 

Starring Vincent D'Onofrio, Marisa Tomei, Anthony Michael Hall, Holland Taylor 

Release Date August 24th, 2001 

Published December 21st, 2002 

Good romantic comedies are becoming very rare. Movies like Secretary or Shallow Hal show the potential in the genre to still be vital and funny. But more often, we see trash like Sweet Home Alabama and Maid In Manhattan; assembly line tripe slapped together with big stars and attractive posters. Happy Accidents, which stars Vincent D'Onofrio and Marisa Tomei, belongs to the first group of films I listed--a romantic comedy that is unique and funny.

Tomei is Ruby Weaver, a woman in her early 30s, who is on quite a losing streak with men; plenty of frogs and no princes. She and her circle of friends have taken to keeping track of the bad boyfriends by taking pictures of them and filing them in the a box they call the Ex files. For Ruby, her recent strikeouts include a guy with a rubber fetish and a guy in his 30s who still lives with his parents. Then Ruby meets a strange, sensitive guy named Sam Deeds (D'Onofrio). Sam works with the elderly and likes to draw. He is strange because he reacts to everyday things like dogs and perfume as if they were foreign to him. As Sam and Ruby's relationship develops, Sam decides to be honest with Ruby and tell her where he's from. He had previously explained to Ruby that he was from Dubuque, Iowa. The part he left out was that he is from Dubuque, Iowa in the year 2447. 

Of course, Ruby thinks he is a mental patient but Sam's charms lead her to think that maybe it's just a kinky little game. As Sam explains more about time travel, his family, and why he decided to back in time, Ruby is intrigued by the fantastic stories and, as long as they stay just between the two of them, is okay to let Sam live his fantasy. However, Sam isn't content to keep quiet. Even though he says it's against time travel protocol to talk about it, he begins telling friends about it and Ruby comes to believe he is really sick

Writer/director Brad Anderson toys with the audience throughout the film, dropping clues in all directions. Follow one set of clues and Sam is telling the truth. Look at another set of clues and it seems likely that he is likely a mental patient. It's a difficult balancing act, but Anderson is blessed with the talented and charismatic D'Onofrio, who easily balances charm and insanity.

One could easily compare Happy Accidents with another movie about space aliens masquerading as mental patients--K-Pax. The difference is where K-Pax is maddeningly vague and ends with no resolution, Happy Accidents skates and charms, and its resolution is welcome, if not surprising.

D'Onofrio is becoming one of the most consistently fascinating actors working today. I would highly recommend Happy Accidents based on his role alone. That the film is also charming and romantic might be considered a Happy Accident.