Corpse Bride

Arranged to marry, Victoria (Emily Watson,) the daughter a penniless aristocrat and Victor (Johnny Depp) the son of a wealthy merchant are both nervous of their circumstance. When the wedding rehearsal is a disaster, Victor flees to the woods in order to practice his vows. He mistakenly concludes his vows placing the ring on the finger of the Corpse Bride, Emily (Helena Bonham Carter) becoming cursed to marry her and join her in the land of the dead. In his absence, Black Widower and Gold-Digger Lord Barkus (Richard E. Grant) makes a pass at Victoria and Victor must find a way around the curse in order to return to wed Victoria.

In typical Tim Burton fashion, this witty musical is chock-full of twisted humor and appropriate dark themes. The characters are well written and the story and themes are quite touching. The story is a touching romantic fling full of potent meaning about how marriage should be, being who you're supposed to be and loving the right person and finding true love.

Emily's heartbreak after her brutal murder by her former lover is well handled as is Victor's intended sacrifice as he's accepted his fate. And Emily also sacrifices her happiness with Victor in order to secure his happiness. And this speaks to what marriage is: sacrifice. And this one has it in spades.

And it's also very cute, I find.

***

In; Helena Bonham Carter

Out: Danny Elfman

Coming Soon: Nightmare Before Christmas

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Charlie Bucket (Freddie Highmore,) a poor and simple, but kind, boy whose imagination and love of chocolate alongside his loyalty to his family create enough wealth to sustain him, finds within a chance piece of chocolate a golden ticket and the chance to tour Willie Wonka's (Johnny Depp) Chocolate Factory. WIth the chance at a special reward, Charlie and his companions are tested as they tour the factory together. And, meanwhile, Willie Wonka recalls his childhood and finds he's missing something.

Usually Tim Burton is known for his uses of the many shades of the color black as evidenced in Sleepy Hollow, Nightmare Before Christmas and Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. He's known for his twisted sense of humor and for the brilliant tour he gives into the realm of darkness. But here, it's color that reigns richly from the costumes to the sets and each Oompa Loompa sequence. Most memorable for the set designers is the candy garden. And the characters are well fleshed out by their acting counterparts, so beautifully cast. Not to mention the complete joy that is the compilation of Johnny Depp, Tim Burton and Danny Elfman (architect of each of the Oompa Loompa musical numbers.) Their performances and story craftsmanship apply an agelessness which will stand as excellent for years to come. And this three-way marriage is so poetic and perfect that the other elements (especially the multi-facial Deep Roy as the Oompa Loompas) make for a great family inside this great family film.

I am impressed also by the social commentary as each child succumbs to their vices, reaping appropriate comeuppance as we travel through the Chocolate Factory. The stage for Agustus' gluttony is equally horrific and cartoonish allowing an audience of any age to understand completely. And each number, wickedly performed by Deep Roy's Oompa Loompas, speaks with a cautionary voice and strikes a chord entertaining us and teaching us at the same moment. And this is why the story will remain ageless.

****
In: Edward Fox

OUT: Helena Bonham Carter

Coming Soon: Corpse Bride

A Bridge Too Far

General Horrocks (Edward Fox) begins what may be my favorite pre-mission briefing, thus: "This is a story you will tell your grandchildren, and mightily bored they'll be." The story is of a vast and multi-layered nature, it's the tale of Market-Garden, the largest airborne operation mounted. It is the operation designed to take and hold the bridges running from Holland into Germany across the Rhine River. It was big and ambitious and severely costly.

In true seventies fashion, in a story told by a British director (Academy Award Winner Richard Attenborough,) the story unfolds slowly and stiffly, but has its moments. The landscape is salted appropriately with humor and bad accents, but it remains something likened to one of today's four-hour epic tales, the kind you need to purchase the special edition to experience. Unfortunately humorous in tone, however littered with some of the best actors of the time including Sean Connery, Edward Fox, Michael Caine, James Caan, Elliot Gould, Robert Redford, Gene Hackman, Anthony Hopkins and Laurence Olivier. Have I ever mentioned how much I love a great ensemble cast? Well, let me say again, then: I LOVE A GREAT ENSEMBLE CAST and this one is one of the best.

After having the rug pulled from beneath my feet by HBO's Band of Brothers, this one is a bit watery, but considering the time and the fact that the social climate was still recovering from Vietnam, this one is still very well written, charging forward until brutally stopped in Arnham, Holland, the tragedy slowly taking its toll on the men in front of the lens. And the layers, each individual plot line, grant the viewer a sort of episode by episode series of events which allow us to choose our favorites and be fans. I am fond of Robert Redford's charge across a part of the river, the line involving James Caan's character and the bit with Elliot Gould's 101st Airborne's rebuilding of the Son Bridge. They highlight beautifully what an ensemble piece is supposed to be, a blending.

My problem is that there is too much set dressing and not enough substance; during this viewing, either because of my fatigue after the events of this week at work or simply because of the length of this film, I fell asleep in the middle of the slump between hours one and two. And its not because a three hour film is incapable of keeping my attention (because it did for four consecutive Christmas Eve afternoons with films by Peter Jackson at the beginning of this decade,) I simply am able to better devote my attention during an epic-sized film when the pacing is quicker. A friend of mine is fond of perusing Jackson's epic trilogy by leaving out half of the plot, the one involving two hobbits and a parasite named Gollum. This film-watching tactic may be applicable here, as well. But in order to get the scope, I'm afraid I watch all of it all the time.

The opening narration breaks down the hope of the operation as "so many plans in so many wars." And, like some of the best laid plans, this one fails to the cost of thousands of lives. The desperation is keenly felt in each place, but none as severe as the razing of Arnham. Mr. Attenborough presents a very realistic level of cost of life, not glorifying nor criticizing war and war efforts, but simply presenting the facts, almost to the level of a documentarian. The film is cut and dry and simply honest; a bit long, but true to its nature. A fine example of a well-constructed film presentation.

****

In: Gene Hackman

Out: Edward Fox

Coming Soon: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Superman II

Before the destruction of Krypton, Genreal Zod (Terrence Stamp) and his followers were caught in an act of sedition and sentenced to imprisonment for eternity in the Phantom Zone, an alternate reality floating in space. When Superman (Christopher Reeve) detonates a terrorist group's hydrogen warhead in space far from earth, the shock-wave causing the portal to shatter releasing Zod who comes to Earth seeking revenge against Kal-El's family for condemning him to the Zone. Meanwhile, the romance between Clark Kent and Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) is heating up and Clark wants to reveal his secret to Lois, who is torn between her love of Superman and starting a life with Clark. And Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) has discovered The Fortress of Solitude.

Superheroes' lives hinge on choice. Every possible path is measured and weighed: whether to expose or hide the extraordinary abilities granted by chance or design, to walk away from the fight surrounding them, to fold themselves completely in the arms of the person they've chosen to love or to live in solitude and fight the fight alone. And these are the choices a warrior must make in order to succeed in the task placed before them. As a result, the life of most superheroes is littered with loss, as well as a gaping hole they can never fill, they can never have what they desire most: a normal life.

This film is a prime example of this motif. Here, Kal-El choses to be with Lois and choses a mortal life in order to be with her, giving up on his calling and being unable to fight the good fight when called out. And, so he has the choice to run and be normal with her or to give up his chance at a normal life, reopening the hole in his being and embracing the task placed before him. And it has been so for most of this archetype. For instance, Buffy (of Vampire Slaying fame) is unable to be a normal high school (and later college) girl: to be homecoming queen, go to parties and date the quarterback. She can't, because she's a hero with a great work to do, something she dies for twice. For Superman, Clark Kent and Kal-El, the defense of Earth is a great work which requires an even greater sacrifice which he willingly gives in the fact that he'll never settle down because he's needed to not look back and never to back down. And so that normal life superheroes desire is not possible and the hole is what drives them. and that sacrifice is what makes us love them so much.

****

IN: Terrence Stamp

OUT: Gene Hackman

Coming Soon: A Bridge Too Far

Superman

On a small red planet in the distant blackness of space, a family prepares for the destruction of the world they called home. And from the eruptions from the planet core, a small escape pod is launched against the orders of the high council carrying the son of Jor-El (Marlon Brando) of Krypton, Kal-El (Christopher Reeve,) toward Earth in order save him. Crash-landing in Smallville, Kansas, he is raised by a childless and compassionate couple as Clark Kent. Discovering as a young man when he is called by the power of a crystal Jor-El packed in the pod which contains the building materials for The Fortress of Solitude, he begins his education into his true nature. Returning to civilization, he takes a job at the Daily Planet, Metropolis' long-running newspaper. Partnered with tenacious reporter Lois Lane (Margot Kidder,) he discovers who he's meant to be as he saves lives and rights the injustices and terrors of criminal mastermind Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman.)

I must say this: they don't make superhero movies like this anymore. The closest anybody came recently was Iron Man a few years back. Audiences lack the patience involved with engaging with a genuinely great superhero backstory and first adventures. These classic films either tend to cause us to digest the story slowly and get to know the package intimately, including all of their charms or they bore us, we who are used to instant gratification in a world where the news is uploaded to the internet on the fly and we can send videos of our activities by text, email and post them to YouTube. Superman never bores me, it's charms, wit and the strange way it allows us to time-travel back to the polyester era. And I really don't mind the strange geek bravado because of its quality emotional sculpture. With John Williams' iconic score and Christopher Reeves' brilliant dual performance both as the stuttering Clark Kent and the suave and (without needing to say it, but I will anyways) heart-stoppingly gorgeous Superman, everything is presented with finesse and class. I can't say that for most of the superhero movies today.

And I must mention Gene Hackman's Lex Luthor, he's charming enough to soothe the edges of his malice. But he is nowhere close to my favorite for the role. I am quite attracted to Michael Rosenbaum's performance as Luthor on the CW's Smallville. His presentation is seductive, conflicted and brazenly blunt and as I am fond of saying: 49% good, 51% evil, the perfect villain. Hackman's Luthor fails to toe the line; his malice overcomes his charm making him less of an antagonist and more akin to furniture for the plot. The real antagonist is Jor-El's principle of meddling with history, because there is a finite amount of time for Kal-El to save the girl and the rest of the lives in jeopardy. And, while I understand the romantic reason for saving the girl, despite breaking that principle, the violation also makes Superman a bit soiled in the annals of superheroes, as the persona of the hero must remain spotless. But it also makes him one of us: human in every way, with all our flaws. Therefore, it does make him relatable to the audience, allowing us to love him for all he is, as is required for an enduring devotion to any character.

This film is in my top twenty favorite films of all time, if for nothing more than it makes me fall in love, giving me hope that mankind is better than the news presents. That we have a "capacity for good" and we're worth the fight for justice and truth. And this film touches that spot in my soul that makes me wish that superheroes existed during my lifetime and that, by some lucky coincidence, one of my childhood daydreams became true and I am one of them.

****

Coming Soon: Superman II

Daredevil and Elektra

Matt Murdock (Ben Affleck,) blind since childhood has fought for justice all his life, inspired by his accident and his father's death at the hands of a mafia enforcer. During the day, he's a talented lawyer, using his blindness to sense the truth of those he questions. During the night, he's something else: a dark avenger who cleans up the streets when the court fails. His blindness leaves him stronger in his other senses, and he's almost able to see again. And now, someone wants him dead, the new power in town, Wilson Fisk aka The Kingpin (Michael Clarke Duncan) who is in the middle of cleaning house. And Matt's finally met someone, Elektra Nachios (Jennifer Garner,) a wealthy socialite who's father has ties to The Kingpin. When Daredevil fails to protect her father from the assassin Bullseye (Colin Farrell,) Elektra goes hunting and ends up in deeper that she expected, fighting for revenge and for her life. But will Daredevil be able to save her from herself and from Bullseye?

The expectations of comic book movies today is that they be smooth, sensual and stylistic. Although recently, with the new Batman series, more visceral and harder styles are "the norm." However, for a superhero who's weapon is his senses; smooth, sensual and stylistic is precisely what is called for in this film. Emotional is also something that describes it, too. As with most superheroes, Daredevil has sorrow in his heart painted with rage, passion and righteousness. But it's the sorrow that is the soul of Daredevil and his alter ego, Matt Murdock, because his love is deeper than that of some of the others, both for his father and for Elektra; so when he loses them both his pain is what triggers true justice and he joins the few superheroes who leave their antagonists alive in the denouement.

And I've said, sorrow drives this one, just as it did The Punisher. This is highlighted by solid soulful performances by Ben Affleck (who usually fails to stir me, but succeeds this time) and Jennifer Garner with support from wonderfully chosen music, including breakout (at the time) Indie Band Evanescence, who's track "Bring Me to Life" personifies both Elektra's sorrow and the danger she's in, as well as a call to arms for Daredevil. The attention given their love story as well as Daredevil's back story and his devotion to his father and to the cause of justice tilts the balance away from the darkness and malice that is brought brilliantly by Farrell and Michael Clarke Duncan. Not an opera like The Punisher, but well done regardless.

However, it's not over for our love interest, Elektra...

Revived straight after her encounter with Bullseye by the head of an ancient warrior order (Terrence Stamp) and trained to sense the future, Elektra is now a contract killer escaping her past and filled with rage. She is contracted to find and kill the warrior capable of tipping the balance between the fight of good versus evil. When she finally sees her target, she notices something about her and decides to save her instead of killing her. Meanwhile, the army of darkness calling itself The Hand, is searching for this warrior and has connections to Elektra's past.

Whereas the emotional journey of the last film saturates and drives the plot forward, there's nothing here but an episode by episode spectacular piece of eye candy. The story is hectic and badly constructed, like the writers wanted to piece together a collection of fan favorite episodes and characters. I don't feel for any of the characters, including the little girl. In fact, the little girl drags the film and interferes with the emotional connection, as there really is nothing sympathetic about her. I cannot connect with Elektra's character as well as I did in Daredevil either, the beauty in her character and in her performance simply is missing.

Sequels and spin-offs are difficult to pull off. This one struggles greatly, as its parent film was a knockout. Spin-offs have a harder time succeeding because their parent's success was a fresh, breakthrough piece. Daredevil fits this bill because all the pieces fit so beautifully. Elektra lacks sufficient development, freshness and care, displaying ill-deserved bravado and failing to inspire.

***

IN: Michael Clarke Duncan

OUT: Terrence Stamp

Coming Soon: Superman/Superman II

Planet of the Apes

In a remote space station, researchers are developing genetically enhanced chimps, under the direction of Captain Leo Davidson (Mark Wahlberg.) When an electromagnetic storm approaches and his chimp goes missing, Captain Davidson launches an unauthorized flight to rescue him and get the readings they need for their studies of the storm. Caught in the storm, he spins out of control and crash-lands on the nearby planet which is inhabited by talking primates who've enslave the humans they hunt. Befriending his new master's daughter, a Human-Rights Activist Named Ari (Helena Bonham Carter), and making an enemy of General Thade (Tim Roth) who intends to marry her, he tries to find a way home and reluctantly becomes the hope for humanity's freedom from the apes.

Like the original, the social commentary on human and animal rights exists here. As does the macro-evolution angle. The original spoke more on the rights of different races co-existing as equals and the science fiction angle on an alternate universe where the evolutionary ladder was climbed by something else. Whereas this one speaks more on the animal rights angle, leaving the prejudicial angle to the side. Ari speaks about the mistreatment of humans lowering the dignity of themselves and demeaning the level of respect for themselves, an argument made toward the treatment of animals and people considered animals. This is a theme well-visited in science-fiction and fantasy. And it is spoken very clearly.

The themes are spoken clearly, but the story is a bit commonplace, enhanced by brilliant makeup, beautiful costumes and rich special effects. The acting is above average with some of the best names in cinema today: Helena Bonham Carter, Paul Giamatti, Mark Wahlberg, Michael Clarke Duncan and an extremely menacing Tim Roth. The stunts are well done, as well, with the ape motions producing a very authentic look. I am reminded very clearly of the movie Congo and its infamous monkey costumes. Here, the actor becomes part of their costume instead of the other way around. The prosthetic work is superb, allowing for individual characteristics to show through on the hero characters of the humans underneath.

Of all the love triangles (or shall I say squares, as there are three angles which are unrequited) in cinema, this film has the most absurd. Firstly, we've got Davidson, who's loved by the human he's caught with as well as Ari. Then we've got Thade, who loves Ari without any hope of being loved back. It really is ridiculous. And this major subplot cripples any hope of credibility. And it is truly sad, for Tim Burton is a quality director and all of the performers are all top notch, too. Remakes are tricky creatures; sometimes the material cannot be duplicated or transposed. In this case, the freshness wore off with Charlton Heston's prime days. And Planet of the Apes should remain a classic.

****

IN: Mark Wahlberg

OUT: Michael Clarke Duncan

Coming Soon: Daredevil/Elektra

The Italian Job

After a successful heist of millions in gold bars in Venice, Steve (Edward Norton) betrays his team, kills his mentor, John Bridger (Donald Sutherland,) leaves the rest for dead in the glacial waters on the Italian border, and disappears with the gold. One year later, having survived, Steve is found in Los Angeles; and the others are looking for some payback. Teaming up with Stella (Charlize Theron), Bridger's daughter, Charlie (Mark Whalberg,) Lyle (Seth Green,) Left Ear (Mos Def) and Handsome Rob (Jason Statham) plan on stealing the remaining gold left from the heist, thus avenging John's death and finally earning their share from the original job. The only problem: Steve knows all of them and what they'll do.

Format is a major choice to make in screenwriting. Where do the breaks come in? Should there be a time format? Is there a formula I should be following? Is there a simple way for me to tell my story? All of these are great questions to ask when formulating a plot in general.

In his essay "Poetics," Aristotle postulated that a plot needs only three simple things: a beginning, a middle and an end. And whereas every plot has these things, some need a road map. And one of these ways is the 30-60-30 configuration combined with the Three Act map. This structure follows that Act One concludes after thirty minutes of play, Act Two is sixty minutes in duration and the final, Act Three, lasts no longer than thirty minutes after the last plot point. The Italian Job is a near text-book model of this plot structure.

In this model, plot point one (the precursor to the change in action between Act One and Two and concurrently before the switch to Act Three) occurs a few minutes, give or take, around 25 minutes into the plot. Plot Point One is the pitch to Stella with her decision to join the crew is the switch to Act Two. That switch occurs within five minutes of the half-hour mark. Act Two, using this structure is typically twice as long as Act One, in this case, it should be sixty to seventy minutes in length. Act Two contains the body of the film, the small cause and effect episodes that build character and enhance the plot, and, in the case of a heist movie like this one, it details the preparations for the main job.

A halfway point changes the direction of the action and puts it into a downhill motion driving it toward the end. Three events create the bridge that propels this film over the hill and down toward the second plot point. First, Steve kills his fence. Then, when the team goes to pull the job, they discover a party at the neighbors, forcing Stella to keep her date with Steve. Steve's already in a heightened state of suspicion, and he figures out who she is, tipping the others to reveal themselves. This occurs ten minutes after the hour mark, like clockwork.

Plot point two includes the "call to action," a leap of faith the heroes take which will change their fortunes entirely. And for this film, it takes place when the team hears that Steve is moving his gold and begin the setup for the final takedown. This clocks in around twenty minutes after the hour mark. The Third Act is where the payoff occurs, all plot elements are tied up tight, no loose ends remain and the release is done. In this case, a comedic release: the good guys get paid and the bad guys are served their comeuppance. Everything is resolved in the end of the Third Act, which concludes anytime between one hour and forty-five minutes to two hours in the 30-60-30 format.

The third act also contains the second half of a set of pinches, insignificant motifs that are introduced in Act One and bear significance in Act Three. For this, it's the fact that Stella's father always cracked all of his safes by touch and she's forced to crack Steve's safe by touch in the end. She cracks it minutes before the famous Mini Cooper chase scene through the LA River toward the conclusion at the railway yard.

It's text-book accurate. Following a proven plot structure is not a lame action to take; usually, a plot structure fosters a comfortable atmosphere for the audience allowing us to easily engage with the story unfolding on screen. We're still pulling for Charlie and his team, in the end, and we surely hope that Steve has his gold stolen. We don't care that something has a formula, but as writers, it does help. As for The Italian Job, it helps writers to see that plot structures do work, because this is a tightly written film and it follows the format to the letter.

****

IN; Charlize Theron

OUT: Mark Whalberg

Coming Soon: Planet of the Apes

Aeon Flux

The world has been nearly annihilated by a virus in the year 2011. A cure is created by Trevor Goodchild (Marton Csokas) and the five million survivors are confined to one of the last virus-free zones, a city called Bregna. The Goodchild dynasty rules for 400 years, and, in the year 2415 a resistance fights against the government's control; they're called Monicans. Their top operative, Aeon Flux (Charlize Theron) fights in the name of the sorrows of centuries past and for the disappeared, those taken by the government who cannot be found again and also in revenge for the murder of her sister, Una. Meanwhile, a change is coming for the Goodchild regime. Trevor's brother, Oren (Johnny Lee Miller,) has been planing to overthrow his brother's leadership. But something strange lies in the history of Bregna; and it touches everyone, but especially Trevor and Aeon...and it complicates everyone's carefully laid plans.

As any dystopian story, a certain coldness permeates the tone of Aeon Flux. From the color scheme to the cast, a metallic child resonates through each layer of production. Marton Csokas, Johnny Lee Miller and Charlize Theron are perfectly cast as their performances are as restrained as their characters need to be. And they each register a different level of cold. Csokas' Trevor is calm, soothing, like swimming in a cool pool of water; massaging and therapeutic. It's quite relaxing to watch, quite different to his usual roles which are full of acid and malice, in this he's compassionate, loving and seductive. Miller's Oren, like Csokas, shows a different side for him, too. He's usually the charismatic, cute boy that makes all of us girls swoon. Here, he's brazen, malicious and hot in a dull, destructive way. He's willing to damage whomever and whatever he can to achieve his objectives. And Theron: she's sharp, sleek and shaped like a sword; a warrior to the core, trained only for her mission and unwilling to feel anything else.

As far as the story goes, it knit quite loosely. Between the action sequences (which are top notch, by the way,) the story looses a bit of its steam and becomes very cliche, supported only by the production design, and we're left only with a few interesting visuals. The film is extremely lacking in emotion, keeping us at arm's length with the characters we're to be connecting with; this is not a quality good stories are supposed to have. The affection I have for this film is primarily nostalgic, as it reminds me of my brothers (as we watched the animated series this movie's based upon,) and I thoroughly enjoy the cast.

****

In: Pete Postlethwaite

Out: Charlize Theron

Coming Soon: The Italian Job

The Serpent's Kiss

Bored aristocrats hire landscaper Mineer Chrome (Ewan McGregor) to remodel the back acres of Thomas Smithers (Pete Postlethwaite) and his wife Juliana's (Greta Scacchi) estate. But not everything is what it seems, for Mineer is not who he says he is and the business is not just business, the whole event plays from an angle. Along the way, Chrome forgets his place as he is enchanted by his patrons' enchanting daughter.

This film is an interesting study in character. Ewan McGregor's Mineer Chrome is constructed as a bit of a dreamer and a pure artist, but a compassionate soul who cares for everyone, especially Smithers' daughter, Thea (Carmen Chaplin.) It is for her that he upsets the scheme and throws down the whole house of cards, and he teases everyone just for her. Mineer's con-man handler Fitzmaurice (Richard E Grant) is a perfect weasel, performed brilliantly by Grant. He is human in every way, choosing the darker side of the human soul, full of malice and jealousy willing to harm anyone in the way of his mark. I am rather fond of Smithers' daughter, Thea. She's brimming with wit, feeling and wisdom and a certain wicked sense of humor. She's performed with poise and silence pristinely and gracefully.

As far as the writing goes, I'm not sure what the story is really saying. Usually I'm very keen on this, however, this one is elusive. The story has got everything it needs: credible characters, story arch, genre, and structure (a beginning, middle and an end.) But I'm not entirely sure exactly what's going on. In fact I watched it with a friend and she was clueless, too. But there is some attraction to me, perhaps because it is elusive and highly artistic. I also enjoy the overbearing sadness throughout the story, as destruction is rampant. As to the ending, we're left with vindication and hope, a comic ending in the classic sense of the phrase.

An acquired taste, true; but thought-provoking, if attention is maintained and the soul is engaged.

****

IN: Ewan McGregor

OUT: Pete Postlewaite

Coming Soon: Aeon Flux

Moulin Rouge

Heart-broken Bohemian bard Christian (Ewan McGregor) tells the tale of his first love, Satine (Nicole Kidman) a Courtesan at The Moulin Rouge, an exotic dancing paradise in the center of the slums of Paris. Passing himself off as a successful playwright, he is commissioned to write a play for the Moulin Rouge's investor, The Duke (Richard Roxburgh) who also falls for Satine and won't share her with anyone. As they fall for each other, tragic secrets are kept, betrayals rage and someone will never leave The Moulin Rouge alive.

Boldness readily describes this rock opera. The colors are rich and deeply emotional, reflecting the passion that drives the plot and the tragedy playing within. The musical arrangements, both borrowed and new, swell and drive breaking through the resistance of knowing the fact of fiction, seducing us to fall in love and breaking the dam built in the corner of the eyes, gutting us, leaving us heartbroken and destroyed. This film, every time it passes through a screen, renders me helpless as the story buries itself inside my heart. It's comprehensive in brilliance, reflecting a perfectly executed plot.

And it's not all tragic. There are brilliantly funny parts as well. Zidler and the Duke's rendition of Madonna's "Like a Virgin" is absolutely rib-splitting, as well as horrific in the right way. As is Christian's insinuation with the Bohemians, in rehearsal of a scene reminiscent of The Sound of Music's "The Sound of Music."

I remember my first time seeing this, a movie night with my college roommates. It was their choice, and I, the "chick-flick hater" was not willing to sit through another mushy romance film. And I was wrong, so wrong. I fell for Moulin Rouge, heart and soul. Ewan McGregor's Christian's "Your Song" showed up the original, raising goosebumps and this film became part of the shortlist that are my favorites. And this time through serves as a reminder of why it belongs there.

I adore the cast, particularly Ewan McGregor and suprisingly, Nicole Kidman. Their love story is brilliantly portrayed, she's perfectly smoking and tragic and he's so beautifully hopeful, faithful and love-able allowing for the perfect fall when she betrays him. Jim Broadbent's a virtuoso, perfectly duplicitous, comical and paternal, as Zidler truly loves Satine as a teacher and father figure. And Richard Roxburgh's Duke is wonderfully slimy.

The musical is a fickle genre, either it works well or doesn't at all. And this one, with its many song references, both in dialogue and within the musical numbers is stunning. Most memorable is a tango version of Sting's "Roxanne" with the only sound effect being the steps of the dance. It brilliantly montages with the Duke's seduction as Satine attempts to save everyone from destruction by going to him. Also notable is the "love medly" atop the elephant. I am nearly always touched by the tragic ending, moved to tears (something that is not easy to do) and leave with a profound sadness that causes me to sigh, expelling the deep emotion within that has surfaced as a result of this film's having its way with me.

Like I said, boldness; brazen boldness, pulling no punches, consuming all with love, tragedy and music. And, despite my proclivities, I always fall in love with this film; it will remain one of my favorites for life.

****

In: Jim Broadbent

Out: Ewan McGregor

Coming Soon: The Serpent's Kiss

Hot Fuzz

After a record-breaking arrest record, Police Constable Nicolas Angel (Simon Pegg) is promoted by his superiors (Bill Nighy, Martin Freeman) to Sergeant of a tiny precinct in the country town of Sanford-Glousteshire, a model village that mysteriously is free of crime. Heading up the station is Frank Butterman (Jim Broadbent) assisted by the rest of the officers including his son, Danny (Nick Frost,) with whom Angel forms a friendship. Shortly after his arrival, Sanford experiences a series of grisly murders which the rest of the police force writes off as simple accidents. What he eventually uncovers turns out to be something truly odd and even a bit disturbing.

Hot Fuzz is an adrenaline rush even in the calming moments. The quick edits and close angles bring the film's pacing into close-quarters, along with well-used jump-cuts and appropriate scoring appropriately cause the adrenaline to flow generously and efficiently. Every action movie convention is used, including the impassioned speech by our hero to the bad guys before the big showdown. It's an excellent combination leading to a well-written and heartfelt film. And I love the British Comedy!!

This is one of my favorite films; I could seriously watch it over and over and over again, and still have room for one more time after that. The construction of action, drama, comedy and thrills builds a brilliant piece of cinema. The casting with Pegg, Frost, Broadbent and Timothy Dalton rounds out a quality performance of all involved. The sets are brilliant, together with beautiful color and great costumes, rounding out a beautiful package.

I particularly enjoy the monologuing, particularly Simon Pegg's Angel's. He is the perfect balance of sensitivity and ice-cold calm with a bit of in-your-face swagger. He's got that stiff, British charm I love so much which is another reason why this is one of my favorites. He's cast perfectly against Broadbent's disturbing geniality and Dalton's wickedly hilarious menace. Also well-done is Nick Frost as the comic relief and warmth of the piece. Also memorable are spot-performances by Bill Nighy and Martin Freeman.

Just brilliant...enough said!!

****

IN: Martin Freeman

OUT: Jim Broadbent

Coming Soon: Moulin Rouge

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

The earth is destroyed in favor of a hyperspace express rout, an intergalactic bypass; but before it is, Arthur Dent (Martin Freeman) is extracted by interplanetary hitch hiker Ford (Mos Def) who's repaying him for saving his life while he was introducing himself to an SUV. They team up with Galactic President Zaphod Beeblebrox (Sam Rockwell) and fellow earth survivor, Tricia McMillan (Zooey Deschenel,) whom Arthur Dent failed to pick-up at a party who left with Zaphod instead. Their many adventures lead them on a quest to discover the ultimate question, of which the answer is 42.

Intelligent and also ludicrous humor is the point of this entire piece. It is completely ridiculous, from the improbability drive to "don't forget your towel" (the reason of which is never explained,) Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy presents an intelligent banter of different explanations for metaphysical inquisitions and contemplations asked by philosophers and scientists for the history of the world. It contemplates everything from the creation of the universe to who we are and the meaning of love and life. And instead of being pompously serious, the tone is playful and snarky keeping all on their toes and paying attention.

I love this film because of all the science fiction conventions it flouts. Instead of a complex scientific explanation for how translations work, Ford pulls out a cartoony looking fish in a jar from his pocket and sticks the fish into Arthur Dent's ear as The Guide, a computer-like book carried always by Ford, explains that the fish is eating the language fed into Arthur's brain and excretes sonic waves that allow him to understand what is being said. Ridiculous, I know, but much more fun!! Because of this, the film's an acquired taste and perhaps not for everyone.

Quality performances by Alan Rickman, Stephen Fry and Helen Mirren, who leant their voices for Marvin the Robot, The Guide and Deep Thought, respectively. I also enjoyed the spot performances by Bill Nighy and John Malkovich, each putting their entire efforts into their short time on screen. The trio of Martin Freeman, Mos Def and Sam Rockwell were a perfect match for each other. A great cast, which is why I chose to see it in the theater in the first place.

Not necessarily a "must-see," but fun nonetheless.

****

IN: John Malkovich

OUT: Martin Freeman

Coming Soon: Hot Fuzz

Cruel Intentions/Dangerous Liaisons

Bored blue-ribbon beauties engage in a high-stakes game of seduction. A wager is set upon the seduction of a staunchly chaste wife of an absent lawyer. Consummate cad, Vicomte de Valmont (John Malkovich,) is to seduce Madam de Torvel (Michelle Pfifer) and produce proof in order to secure his long-standing desire: a ravenous night of passion with his friend and former lover, the Marquise de Merteuil (Glen Glose.) His game is soon complicated when he develops feelings for his target, betraying his enduring reputation as a philanderer.

The cadence for Dangerous Liaisons seems completely based on the acting style of its stars, Glen Close and John Malkovich. The mercurial Malkovich bursts out in an explosion of volume and action, while Close remains calm, collected and dignified. The casting harms "the package." The plot, therefore feels clunky and the seduction that is supposed to be taking place, does not for the audience. It's left wondering where the caresses have gone and the gentleness that is supposed to turn our head and weaken our knees. Malkovich is too ballistic to shoulder Valmont because he doesn't have the suave savvy; this role, however, doesn't shy me away from seeing any of his others and he really did work from what he had.

Remakes are the same stories told with a simple shift of genres or settings or both. For example, Romeo and Juliet is a revenge romance set in Medieval Verona. A remake of the tale, set among the greaser gangs of New York, is a little musical called West Side Story. Dangerous Liaisons is set during post-revolutionary France. Whereas Cruel Intentions is set in cosmopolitan New York City.

Cruel Intentions follows the same storyline, except using high school students. In their senior year, step-siblings Seabastian (Ryan Phillippe) and Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar) wager on weather Sebastian can seduce Annette (Reese Witherspoon,) a virgin waiting for true love. In this case, it's not just Sebastian's reputation on the line, but his Classic Roadster, his prized possession.

Gellar and Phillippe are evenly seductive and brutal and twice as lethal. The balance makes the plot more compelling. Witherspoon, as well, gives a warmth to Annette that Pfiffer's Torval lacked. I felt more drawn to these characters than that of Dangerous Liaisons'. The chemistry within the entire cast is fluid, making me emotionally desperate for Sebastian's quest and pulling for him in the love story . As a result, we are devastated when it all comes crashing down. The setup in the denouement is executed with finesse.

Frankly, the remake is better. There's an equal balance of drama and tension. And the payoff rewards the audience for their diligence, offering hope as well as comeuppance. And the cadence is smoother, the chemistry better, resulting in a non-traumatised plot delivery. This package easily sells and I'm buying!!

****

In: Ryan Phillippe

Out: John Malkovich

Coming Soon: Hitchhikkers Guide to the Galaxy

Crash

Racism is an injustice from which humanity suffers. Ignorance of other people's cultures and lifestyles is the incitement to provincial thinking and it causes strain amongst the people placed on this planet. And sometimes it is necessary for events to occur in order to shake up our worldview and perception of our human brotherhood. And Crash is an essay on that shakedown of perception. Involving one of my favorite tools of storytelling, an ensemble of characters creating a complex plot, this film features some of the best ensemble and method actors of this generation of filmmaking including Terence Howard, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Sandra Bullock, Ryan Phillippe, Brenden Frasier and William Fichtner.

Misunderstandings beget mistrust as several different stories deal with the provincial prejudices of people in a post-9/11 Los Angeles. Multiple story-lines interweave telling the clash of white cops versus the different "colored" people they pull over, affirmative action workforce, immigrant service workers versus their employers, persecution against middle eastern Americans and the general landscape of urban society. And this film both inspires us to put aside our differences and also show some tolerance for things we are not used to or that is new to us.

My favorite is the story between Thandie Newton's celebrity wife and Matt Dillon's police officer. Their story begins with Matt Dillon's character and partner pulling over Newton's husband for questionable behavior while driving and the situation gets uncomfortable for all concerned, including the audience, as it's supposed to. The police lets them go with a warning, but she meets him again the next morning when she's been involved in a traffic collision and he's the only one that can save her and, with persuasion, she lets him.

This film is an opera, with a chorus for each of us, prodding us to release our prejudice, our pride in ourselves, to look outside our doors and help our neighbors, to get to know them and to break bread and bond with our human brothers because we're all worthy of life. And the song is sung with finesse.

****

IN: Don Cheadle

Out: Ryan Phillippe

Coming Soon: Dangerous Liaisons/Cruel Intentions

Traitor

Freelance bomb-maker Samir (Don Cheadle) moves explosives and explosive components for the right price and with all due respect. He also operates as an under-the-table contractor for the CIA and is loyal to the Muslim faith. During a weapons raid in Yemen, run by FBI Agents Clayton (Guy Pearce) and Archer (Neal McDonough) he is arrested and faces prison time there. Inside, he spends time with a terrorist, Omar, and, after a prison break, is invited to join Omar's cell. When the next attack is planned, his services are needed but whose side he's on is anyone's guess.

So many films these days are an examination of how the world is fighting the "War on Terror" against the onslaught of activities around our planet. And usually the point of view comes from the defensive. This film, however, illustrates the offensive, as we are inside the cell itself. And, because our protagonist, Samir, has undefined loyalties, we are unsure of the angle of support appropriate and our feelings are conflicted due to our emotional attachment to him. And the conflict is brilliant, meaning the story's been effective.

As always, Don Cheadle brings a thoughtful and thought-provoking presence to his character. His study of what it takes to be a terrorist, as well as the depth of the Muslim faith brings an authenticity to Samir that educates, inspires and connects us emotionally that we are horrified, kicked into action, or taught with every step he takes toward the cell's endgame. On the flip side, Guy Pearce's Agent Clayton also teaches, inspires and connects us to the defensive in different ways than Kieffer Sutherland's Jack Bauer does. Jack Bauer represents the muscle of the Counter Terror campaign whereas Agent Clayton is the brain and the soul. Clayton's understanding and empathy helps humanize the antagonism that the FBI represents in this film's atmosphere adding to the conflict in our feelings; do we or don't we want the attack to go forward as planned?

The escalating tension and the relocation to separate locations builds the payoff, enhancing the chase. Like other pursuit films before it, Traitor's cat-and-mouse drives with speed, intensity and does so very smoothly, painting a comprehensive picture of the terrorist/counter-terrorist struggle body, mind and soul.

***

In: Guy Pearce

Out: Don Cheadle

Coming Soon: Crash

LA Confidential

Officer Bud White (Russell Crowe,) Sergent Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey,) and Sergent Ed Exley (Guy Pearce) with Captain Dudley Smith (James Cromwell) are caught up in the vacuum created by the arrest of the crime boss of Los Angeles Mickey Cohen. The Hollywood Precinct's officers, including Officer White and Sergents Vincennes, incite a prisoner riot in retribution for an attack on a pair of their own. In exchange for snitching on the lot of them, Exley is promoted and therefore hated by the department, ignored by Vincennes and loathed by White. After a robbery-homicide, all three are assigned to work the case and each work it with their own style leading to a ring of corruption, murder and the strong arm of the law.

In typical noir/detective fashion, this film plays complete with femme fatale, Lynn Bracken (Kim Basinger.) corrupt cops, murder and seduction with a splash of romance and vibrant colors mixed with hard-edged lighting and heavy punches. With the smooth jazz of the 40's and 50's and a story just as smooth as the fortunes of our three cops change dramatically throughout the dance that is the plot. As each story plays, our three protagonists go deeper into the seedy underbelly of the LAPD, the case unravels and our three detectives find themselves needing each other for closure in the whole matter.

Cadence is an important tool in storytelling. The pace and rhythm the action takes helps make the audience attentive and makes the film attractive. We never go to the movies to be bored. Edgar Allen Poe, my favorite poet, said that a story should be capable of being read in a single sitting, should be simple enough to last the time frame needed, and be interesting enough to keep us from becoming restless or inattentive. Motifs are important tools to assist the flow of the cadence; for instance, the connections between each aspect of the case interweave the interests of each police officer in this story, keeping them tethered to the story, heightening the suspense, action and emotion necessary to complete the journey. And this film's cadence is so effective, I'm unable to sense the duration of the story, which is roughly 2.5 hours.

The texture of LA Confidential is smoky, seductive and twisted leaving a pit in your stomach telling you something is definitely off, propelling you to connect and complete the story. The cast presents a flawless performance, from Cromwell's disturbing and creepy Captian Smith to Basinger's savvy, smoky and sensitive Bracken. I enjoyed the chemistry between our three Protagonists in their distaste for each other and in their teamwork toward the end. And I loved the conflict between the two sides of each of them: Bud Whites tough and warm nature, Jack Vincennes vanity and compassion and latent naivete and Ed Exley's hard-lined provincialism to hard-lined diplomacy and vindictiveness. Crowe, Spacey and Pearce sold their characters with great effect and so well each that I find it a hard task picking whose story-line is favorable and worthy of my feelings. They blend their on-screen presences with little competition between and serve the plot with a level-footing that allows me to feel for each equally. A rare thing for such a vast cast.

The silver-screen feel past the silver-screen era is a rare find, and LA Confidential has captured the Judy Garland/Bing Crosby feel so well and hit tones harmonizing with the era that defined Humphrey Bogart. This is a beautiful film worthy of the audience it attracts.

***

IN: Kevin Spacey

OUT: Guy Pearce

Coming Soon: Traitor

The Usual Suspects

After an explosion onboard a boat in the Los Angeles harbor at San Pedro, Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey) agrees to speak to Special Agent Dave Kujan (Chazz Palminteri) about the events leading up to the explosion. Kujan been obsessed with one of the crew involved, Dean Keaton (Gabriel Byrne,) and wants to make sure that he's dead. Verbal, Keaton, Fenster (Benicio Del Toro), McManus (Stephen Baldwin,) and Hockney (Kevin Pollack) are arrested and put into a lineup following a heist involving a truck with guns. While inside, the five hatch a plan to knock off a smuggling ring and end up pulling a few more jobs together in Los Angeles. While there, they're approached by Mr. Kobayashi (Pete Postlethwaite) and forced into pulling one more job, for his boss, Keyser Soze, a notorious crime boss. While the job goes down, something goes wrong and everyone dies but Verbal. And the investigation's biggest question is: Who is Keyser Soze?

It's a ride of terror in low places as the underbelly of the criminal class runs for their lives because the boogeyman has stuck his head out of the hole he's been hiding inside. And the players in this long-con are hiding under the covers. The waltz around the cops is playing and Verbal is in the middle of the floor, stepping each beat with poise as he spins his yarn. Kevin Spacey's Verbal Kint is a perfect narrator, his voice is perfectly soothing, lulling us into a tale of intrigue, betrayal and business. It's a fanciful, operatic and the dance's steps strut with confidence. The story's simplicity allows for the employment of the twist and misdirection applied by the film's editing and first person narrative to go smoothly with the correct amount of tension and cadence leading the audience, along with the cops into a trap of the plot's making. And we walk in with them and we love it as the jaws of the trap snap shut.

This cast is brilliant; comprehensibly. The lineup boys have a beautiful chemistry from the beginning that it's a shame there isn't a sequel. The cops (Paminteri and Giancarlo Esposito) also have a wonderful chemistry vs each other and also against Keaton and Kint. Palminteri and Spacey's rapport swells and throws down with grace, beauty, power and finesse. Their exchanges work so beautifully that they easily could play out on the stage, as could this film.

I'll not say more; because, as like Pulp Fiction, this one needs to be experienced. And if I do say more, it will spoil the twist for you and I don't want to do that!! All I will say is that this film is a brilliant piece of cinema and a film worth studying.

***

IN: Gabriel Byrne

OUT: Kevin Spacey

COMING SOON: LA Confidential

Shade

Veteran Card Shark and Con-Man Charlie (Gabriel Byrne) and his partner Tiffany (Thandie Newton) with their Poker Mechanic Vernon (Stuart Townsend) hustle newbie, Larry Jennings (Jamie Foxx) in order to bankroll a big game against an old-school poker king called The Dean (Sylvester Stallone) who's in town to play one last game before retiring and settling down with his girl, Eve (Melanie Griffiths.)

Like any good heist movie, a good con film has layers. This one has a layer and an angle for each character. Charlie's in it to make money, Tiffany likes power, Vernon's motive is unclear and unsure, and The Dean just wants to get out. In a good con film, the angles are the juice and the glue that drives the story and triggers the tension creating drama. And we, the viewer are left to see how the angles play out. And this one stresses us beautifully, drawing out the story line and playing with us with beautiful timing, throwing down the twist with perfection.

The mechanics of the film (photography, editing, music, cadence and performance) were efficient, well-plotted and executed flawlessly even if the story itself was cliched. The players helped add some class to a tired plot. Even generally typecast Stallone reflects an air of class with his presence as The Dean. I thoroughly enjoyed his presence in this film, especially his scenes with Griffiths' Eve. Their chemistry reflects a timeless love and attraction, and the tenor of their performance makes the romance real and pays off with class. The tenor of the film, regardless of cliches, reflects credibility in storytelling. The photography is consistent, the color rich and bold and the editing brilliant in cadence. The dance is really lovely.

Shade is a brilliantly woven picture: classy, rich and bold and smooth. The tension perfectly hooks the audience allowing the atmosphere to bewitch and beguile.

***

In: Stuart Townsend

Out: Gabriel Byrne

Coming Soon: The Usual Suspects

The Vampire Chronicles

Louis (Brad Pitt,) a vampire, tells his story to writer Daniel (Christian Slater) of his damnation into the ranks of vampires and his relationships with his maker, Lestat (Tom Cruise,) child vampire Claudia (Kirsten Dunst) and ancient coven-master Armand (Antonio Banderas.) His tale tells of seeking to die after the deaths of his wife and child, pursuing a reckless lifestyle. Lestat chooses to condemn him to becoming a vampire, rather than killing him and Louis mourns his life, hanging onto his humanity.

This adaption of the Anne Rice novel Interview with the Vamipre has a wonderful cadence, almost operatic in nature. The music is epic, and also appropriate to the time period when the setting is for the episode within the story. The story matches up with the music so perfectly, that the package flows well and the film is beautiful, poetic and lyrical; yes, even terror and revenge are played musically. And the players sculpted the personality of the piece with power and poise and grace and romance.

Particularly potent is the chemistry between Dunst's Claudia and Pitt's Louis. Their love is comprehensive: birth, death, hatred and passion. She's experienced beyond her years, portraying both the innocent and the ruthless and the ageless. She is terrifying, chilling and pathetic and you feel her love for Louis, as well as the hatred for his part in her making. And he, the unrequited lover, father and spurned is sorrowful, poetic and brooding. And he mourns for everything from her birth as one of the damned to her execution at the hands of the Paris coven. They are also both inconsolable for what Lestat has done in their making. And they both become bonded in their hatred of him that it becomes the basis of their love and faith in each other, and when they leave him to die, they become soul-mates and lovers. For that reason, when Louis finds someone else, in Armand, she is betrayed and their love is at an end; a beautiful, but pitiful love story portrayed stunningly, creating and sustaining my heartache.

The same musicality is not present in it's sequel. The opera dies in favor of heavy metal and the modern age, where ruffles and velvet are exchanged for leather pants and music videos.

The Vampire Lestat (Stuart Townsend) has slept for the better part of the 20th century, rising and becoming the lead singer in a rock band entitled, The Vampire Lestat. His lyrics, music videos and lifestyle reveal the secrets of his life and of his nature, daring the others like him to reveal themselves. But he's lonely, even surrounded by his entourage. Meanwhile Jesse, an freshman Talamascan (a student of the supernatural and paranormal) is curious about him, much to the disapproval of David, her teacher. The ancient vampires, including Maharet (Lena Olin) and Marius, Lestat's maker, are preparing to protect the world against the rising of Akasha (Aliyah,) the first vampire and her plans to smite the world and create it in her image, with Lestat ruling at her side while vampire covens everywhere are planning on killing Lestat at his first and only concert in Death Valley.

Time was not used well in developing Queen of the Damned. This one feels like a pastiche of special-feature caliber music videos and a television movie presented on NBC during the summer. And the fault does not lie with the players, or the music or the photography or anything in the mechanics of the package. In fact, it plays very well. It just needed more time to blend the two novels. It could have used, perhaps an extra half hour to forty-five minutes. The opera of the previous film is not here. The breathtaking beauty is not here. It's a massive music video, stylistic and sexy only. The story fails to drive a stake between the ribcage and sternum into my heart, breaking it.

Stuart Townsend does, however, tackle the character of Lestat to the letter. His seductiveness, arrogance, loneliness and brooding are all present here in Townsend, making him indeed attractive and draws me in alongside all the fans and victims in the film. For Cruise's performance, he displays a callousness and coldness as well as a desperation to keep Louis with him in his creation of Claudia. However, the attractive and seductive nature is sacrificed in order to cast him as the villain of the story. Vampires, by tradition, are seductive, attractive and mysterious, luring innocent blondes to their deaths while in lacy nightgowns. Cruise's Lestat lacks this traditional motif. Townsend's Lestat is sleek, sexy and mysterious, following in the line of Bram Stoker's Dracula and the Buffyverse villains Angelus, Darla, Drusilla and Spike. Regardless of shirking tradition, both Cruise and Townsend consume Lestat and imbibe him with feeling, strength and soul, providing a credible person convincing and believable. So, it is hard to choose whose face I'd rather see Lestat wear.

With consideration to the pair as a series, the two hardly relate in anything but the character of Lestat. This makes complete sense, however, due to the fact that he is the protagonist of The Vampire Chronicles series by Anne Rice. And, to be fair, Queen of the Damned does an all right combination of the stories in the novels the film is based upon (The Vampire Lestat and Queen of the Damned). But in consideration to which one touches me, there's no contest: Interview with the Vampire triumphs.

****

IN: Brad Pitt

OUT: Stuart Townsend

Coming Soon: Shade

12 Monkeys

Due to a viral outbreak in the year 1997, the human population of Earth has retreated underground to survive. The animals rule the planet surface. Convict James Cole (Bruce Willis) is assigned "volunteer" duty, a survey of the surface. He is able to return from the surface, and meets with the ruling council of scientists, who are working on a way to return the human race to the surface. They send him back in time to stop the spread of the virus. First they send him back to 1990, a mistake that puts him in a mental institution with Jeffrey Goins (Brad Pitt) with whom he shares about the fate of the human race. This meeting sets off a chain reaction that ends, in one possible future, with the creation and release of the virus responsible for the outbreak. Or does it?

Terry Gilliam's bleak world is felt throughout the picture. For instance, the film takes place during winter, underground during the future sequences. The sets, costumes, and photography paint a hopeless universe as Cole fights against the odds to right the world and stop the virus. The color schemes are earth tones, metallic shades, painting a cold world, along with the winter landscape. However, as the film goes on and Cole begins to hope for a life outside of his mission, Kathryn Railey (Madeline Stowe) and Cole's costumes take on a brighter color scheme.

Very notable is Brad Pitt's Jeffrey Goins. Pitt struts with a powerful presence oozing with insanity. He easily steals each scene from whomever he shares the screen with. It's this film that put him on my radar in the first place, and it's his performance that makes this movie one of my brother, Adam, and my favorite films. In fact we quote some of his lines quite frequently. Also brilliantly done is Bruce Willis' James Cole, he's perfectly disoriented and wonderful. His child-like performance when he arrives in the past paints a wonderland of ideas and thoughts. In another nicely-executed part, is Dr. Goins' assistant, played chillingly by David Morse.

Time travel films are an interesting adventure. Wrapping your head around the causal nexus of events and figuring out who is the cause has the potential to drive the audience as insane as Jeffrey. However, this is the reason this film intrigues me. I enjoy the reconstruction of events in the end. And 12 Monkeys allows just that in the conclusion.

***

IN: Bruce Willis

OUT: Brad Pitt

Coming Soon: Interview with the Vampire/Queen of the Damned

The Sixth Sense

After being shot by a former patient (Donnie Wahlberg,) Dr Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) is having trouble relating to his wife, Anna (Olivia Williams) and their marriage is off track. Dr. Crowe takes his first new patient since the shooting in a young boy, Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment,) a disturbed soul who claims he sees dead people. His mother Lynne (Toni Collette,) a single parent is protective and scared their small family is falling apart. Things surrounding them are not all they seem and Cole is afraid to tell her the truth, and he doesn't want to be scared anymore.

This film is built from its foundations to make its audience feel off-kilter with the photography, music, acting direction and long cuts. James Newton Howard's score is partially an homage to old hysterical thrillers, the screeching violins and minimalistic scope. The tension in the score with long codas and discordant outbursts assists the audience (me in this case) to jump at the right places and engage in Cole's terror. The etherial combination of the strings and the piano drives the audience to believe Cole's story and also to hope for help.

The prolonged silences between edits draws out the frustration in the story releasing the emotion needed to connect the audience to the story and the character's in it. I'm drawn to hope that Cole gets through his terror and confronts the problem, I'm also drawn to see Dr. Crowe and his wife get back on even footing. The beautiful mechanics of this film is what engages the soul.

The crux of this film is in the acting direction, photography, editing and acting. There are wonderful subtleties with the way the film is shot, certain angles are only revealed at the beginning while others are used in the denouement to reveal more, cluing the audience into what's really going on. The acting and directing is equally clever, hiding the true nature of the universe director Shaymanlan has created. What something looks like may not be what it really is, so look carefully.

As much as I am not a "child" character lover, nor a big fan of child actors, I fully respect the work put into Mr. Osment's Cole. He captures both frightened child, but gives him an adult wisdom which allows he and Mr Willis' Dr. Crowe to switch roles sometime during the second half. Bruce Willis' Crowe is both warm and savvy, but also childlike and innocent. His chemistry with Osment flows between the two actors connecting them emotionally, clicking together so well. Also great is how the chemistry fits with Ms. Collette and Osment. Their mother-son relationship is completely solid, credible and beautiful.

The Denouement is something I cannot discuss. For all you newbies; you must see it for yourself. The twist is all the point. And, in typical Shaymalan fashion, it stings with finesse, beauty and skill.

****

In: Toni Collette

Out: Bruce Willis

Coming Soon: 12 Monkeys

SHAFT

After an assault-turned-homocide by a playboy, Walter Wade (Christian Bale,) who walks and jumps bail, John Shaft (Samuel L Jackson) is transferred to narcotics. Two years later, Wade returns to a pair of handcuffs. During an unscheduled drug bust in Peoples Hernandez's (Jeffrey Wright) territory, he comes up empty due to Peoples being tipped off by an insider in the unit. When Shaft insults Peoples, and arrests him, he ends up sharing a cell with Wade. After Wade walks again, Shaft quits the force and tracks down the only witness to the murder, Diane (Toni Collette). But Shaft isn't the only one searching for her. Wade is hot on her trail with Peoples backing his play.

From the furious drumsticks to hi-hat that signifies the start to Issac Hayes' soulful ballad, to the all-busines-all-attitude swagger of Samuel L. Jackson's John Shaft, the vintage action show feel is all there, man. And this one feels smooth from the beginning. The photography is clear, sleek and gritty, just like our titular character. The music is sleek, sexy and soulful illustrating the emotion of the piece and the attitude of the main character.

The characters are well fleshed out. Samuel L. Jackson, as much as Richard Roundtree before him, was born to be John Shaft. His ever-present sense of cool, with a great wardrobe (I want his jacket!!!) and the right cadence to line delivery is off the hook!! Christian Bale's chilling, apathetic performance of Wade is a bit of Jack Kelly (holla back, Newsies fans!!) shaken over Bruce Wayne (Batman) with more than a slice of Patrick Bateman (American Psycho.) Jeffrey Wright's Peoples is brilliantly researched, the accent alone is brilliant. So different to the other roles I've seen him in, adds a splash of color to his resume.

This one's not deeply meaningful, nor does it explore any aspect of humanity and it does not inspire some personal change. What it does do, with distinction, is give the audience that respite, inviting us to kick up our feet and unplug. From start to finish, the action is compelling, the story is tight and the package is smooth. It's cool, baby...can you dig it?

****

In: Samuel L. Jackson

Out: Toni Collette

Coming Soon: The Sixth Sense

Pulp Fiction

Smooth tunes and chopped story-lines paint this film including the tales of a date gone horribly wrong, a fight not thrown, a diner stick-up and a strange briefcase. The stories interweave, but do so in a shuffled fashion. They're all connected to the business of Marcellus Wallace (Ving Rhames) a local Los Angeles hood. The film opens with a couple's robbery of a diner at gunpoint. We follow two patrons, Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) and Vincent (John Travolta) as they collect a briefcase from a bunch of slackers who owe Wallace some money. As the film drives on, we see a night between Wallace's Wife, Mia (Uma Thurman) and Vincent, ending in a near-fatal overdose. We follow Butch (Bruce Willis,) a boxer who is in debt to Wallace and is supposed to throw his final fight, a decides not to, prompting Wallace to pursue him for vengeance for his betrayal.

In trying to describe this film, I am lost. Mostly due to its fractured nature. The story line is not told in the correct order, and when the characters cross paths, it's made to look as if the meeting is a chance-meeting. Therefore, as my film watching books encourage, a second or third viewing is needed. It is vital, as well, to pay attention and ask questions in order to ascertain meaning and clarify structure. This fractured nature mirrors the film's creator and director, Quentin Tarentino, whose demeanor during interviews is chaotic and hyperactive. But his stuff works out pretty well, and this film is now a cult classic.

The dialogue is what makes this film memorable. The one liners are what makes it a conversation piece, more fun to quote and talk about than to see. As well, the content of the briefcase; which is never revealed and has had fans baffled for over a decade.

This film must be experienced to be understood, and taken in the right frame of mind and emotional state. There's not much interpretation to be said, this film just functions and runs its course. Its contribution to cinema is the fractured storytelling, memorable dialogue and great casting. But it's hard to explain, extrapolate and examine, and I'm sorry: I'm lost, overwhelmed and this is just one of those movies.

***

In: Uma Thurman

Out: Samuel L. Jackson

Coming Soon: SHAFT

This film contains very adult content, please examine my essay "On Discretion" (Here on Click's Flick on a Stick) and check yourself before plunging into any of the films on this blog.

Paycheck

Michael Jennings (Ben Affleck) is the worlds greatest reverse engineer. Top corporations hire him to improve the design of their competitor's products in order to out-do the market. In order to keep his work secret, his memories of the project are erased to provide maximum deniability. His technician and physical therapist Shorty (Paul Giamatti) is his only real friend, those he meets during his projects disappear with that erasure. That is until his friend Jimmy (Aaron Eckhart) hires him for a new project, one that will make much money and will be longer than any of his other projects. While working for Jimmy, he meets Dr. Rachel Porter (Uma Thurman) and falls in love with her. However, due to the memory wipe, he doesn't remember her or what he's done for Jimmy's company. He does, however, have an envelope full of common, everyday items that he's exchanged for his compensation for the project and he is clueless to what they'll be needed for. Pursued by Jimmy's relentless security chief (Colm Feore) and two FBI Agents (Michael C. Hall and Joe Morton), Michael must stay alive long enough to figure out the clues.

In his usual hybrid-speed, hyper-stylized, adrenaline-packed ride, director John Woo presents a science fiction world in which memories can be erased and extracted without serious side effects. The package is seamless with the present world and the present world's rules. Yet it's high-concept enough to keep our interest. And filled with a message that inspires, even if it's only routine.

The players are all quality: Eckhart, Feore, Hall, Morton, Giamatti, Thurman and Affleck give solid performances with characters that are as routine as the message. But it's their chemistry that makes it good. Thurman and Affleck's chemistry is warm, witty and emotional. Feore and Eckhart give chilling performances with a Machiavellian flair, but with equally reasonable motivations to provide a credible adversary to Affleck's Jennings. Hall and Morton provide the quintessential incompetent law enforcement contingent, with balancing humor and wit. And Giamatti's quirkiness rounds out cast to balance the talent and blend the atmosphere that surrounds our characters.

A change from his other works, Woo's Paycheck lacks his usual staple of a hero who is stricken by an over abundance of tears. This one is realistic in emotion, fueled by the puzzle instead. The everyman feel is also a welcome respite to hyper-emotion and overplayed action. The concept blends together with the plot, picture and setting quite well and I'm very comfortable with the package, in fact it doesn't get old or tiresome. This one's good, no doubt about it.

***

In: Paul Giamatti

Out: Uma Thurman

Coming Soon: Pulp Fiction

Lady in the Water

At The Cove Apartment Complex, there's someone living in the pool. And she's all alone, terrified of something living in the grass. A chance meeting, when she's caught in the pool by Cleveland Heep (Paul Giamatii) the caretaker of the complex, propels us into the realm of children’s stories as we come to know this mysterious girl. The girl introduces herself as Story (Bryce Dallas Howard) and she has a mission to complete: to be seen by the one person who is chosen for her; and seeing this person will spark change in the world. Assisted by the colorful tenants of The Cove, Cleveland searches for this chosen person in order to help her fulfill her destiny.

This haunting tale is rich with emotion, assisted beautifully by Giamatti and Howard, who each give knock-out performances. Assisting Giamatti and Howard is a brilliant cast with Bob Balaban, Jeffrey Wright, Bill Irwin, Sarita Choudhury, Freddy Rodriguez and featuring M. Night Shyamalan, in his usual cameo appearance; this one being the longest. I am drawn to feel with Cleveland in his loss and also in the hope that Story draws out of him. James Newton Howard's haunting and powerful score breeds an ease to surrender to the mystery of the tale engaging the audience in Story's mission.

Impressive is Sarita Choudhury and Shyamalan's chemistry as brother and sister. I really believe that they are brother and sister. When Vick asks Story if his writing would eventually spark his assassination, his concern is for her and I empathize, being a sibling myself. I also thoroughly enjoyed the smoking guys; they are the perfect snapshot of apartment life. I just met my neighbors last night, and I can tell you these guys are a perfect representative of the quirkiness of apartment life. As is Cindy Cheung's Young-Soon Choi, also a knockout performance, I enjoyed her completely.

But of all the talent which is spot on, it's Shyamalan's pen and revealed vision which touches me. The theme of purpose is especially potent. As nobody in this life knows who they are and what effect they, as individuals, will apply to history, we must live our lives with meaning and touch the lives around us every day, every moment, and cherish our own lives with hope. Cleveland's sorrow has masked his life and clouded his purpose and destroyed his hope, until he's forced to confront his life and release the hope hidden deep in his soul, restoring his purpose. The package is what makes this film so beautiful, the direction, characters, plot and score; it's catharsis is released every time this film crosses a screen raising the goosebumps on the back of my neck and shoulders, stopping my heart, weighing my breath and glistening my eyes. Films like this come along so rarely for me (when a film raises and completely captures my emotions to the level of tears due to its beauty) that I am inspired to believe some stories are true, which allow me to feel like a child again.


****

In: Bob Balaban

Out: Paul Giamatti

Coming Soon: Paycheck

Gosford Park

In the English countryside, where the rich are haughty and their servants are equally pretentious, a weekend gathering filled with teas, suppers and shooting begins. Tensions are already high as the guests arrive and nobody can stand each other, really, and pretenses are at their highest. In the middle of the weekend, the host, Sir William McCordle (Michael Gambon,) is found dead with a knife in his chest and everyone has a motive for his death. From his wife Lady Sylvia (Kristen Scott Thomas) to his brother-in-law, Commander Anthony Meredith (Tom Hollander) to a visiting valet, Robert Parks (Clive Owen.) When the bumbling local detective inspector (Stephen Fry) shows up to investigate, he finds his hands full; but everyone else has their own explanation of the crime.

In a classic whodunnit, Robert Altman's brilliant ensemble drama is a real who's who for British Actors with heavy hitters including Jeremy Northam, Alan Bates, Clive Owen, Derek Jacobi, Michael Gambon, Richard E Grant, Stephen Fry, Maggie Smith, Kristen Scott Thomas, Emily Watson and Tom Hollander. Accompanying them are equally brilliant non-British players Ryan Phillippe, Bob Balaban and Kelly Macdonald, who plays our protagonist. The production design, cinematography and editing are equally well performed making this a exceptionally well done film. And Patrick Doyle's perfectly balanced score, bright, warm and haunting, is well cut with Jeremy Northam's performance of the real-life crooner Ivor Novello's ballads.

With a massive 32-part speaking cast, Gosford Park's story-line is complex and multi-layered with each character having their own story-arc. My favorites are that of Robert Parks and Mrs Wilson, The Meredith's, Elsie (Emily Watson) and Mabel Nesbit's. We've got one of revenge, one of finance, one of freedom and that of unrequited love. Mrs. Nesbitt's (Claudie Blakely) story involves her domestic abuse at the hands of her husband and the general scorn from everyone in the house, aside from Mr. Novello who comes from a meager upbringing, too. His treatment of her gives her strength to stand up to her husband and the rest of the guests. Ms Blakely and Mr. Northam's chemistry is so comfortable, there's room to consider if Mr. Novello carried that much compassion in real life. Elsie's story involves the tipping point of impatience with the upstairs snobbery and household gossip and she speaks out of turn, liberating herself. I am particularly fond of the romance of The Meredith's, Anthony and Lavinia. Their heavy financial burden begins in desperation, Anthony's business is failing and Sir William's death makes the investment secure. After an evening conversation with one of the kitchen maids in the pantry, he realizes that love is important and he returns to his wife with a new purpose. Wonderful exchanges between Helen Mirren's Mrs. Wilson and Clive Owen's Robert Parks is so subtle that the dark tension that is their history is clear. Such a brilliant cast!!

The story is so well told, and is one of my favorites in my collection. Kelly Macdonald's Mary Maceachran tells our story so very well. I enjoy her innocence and her role as our eyes, she does what we're supposed to be doing: solving the crime and figuring out the politics of service. But in the end, it's not the whodunnit that's important, it's that it was done...and this is the reaction.

This is such a rich piece, well written and fantastically acted, along with a fabulous score. It has everything a classic murder mystery wears: plenty of suspects, torrid affairs, gossip and poison on every windowsill, perfect recipe for a beautiful film..and, I can't help it, it's so incredibly British!!

****

In: Jeremy Northam

Out; Bob Balaban

Coming Soon: Lady in the Water

Emma

Wit, gossip, charm and marriage are the pillars of the plot driving a story of a meddling socialite, Emma (Gwyneth Paltrow) who believes her calling is to secure a marriage for an unfortunate girl, Harriet Smith (Toni Collette) to the local vicar, Mr. Elton (Alan Cumming.) Emma believes that she is the expert in matters of station, class and lovemaking. However, she is mistaken, as her friend Mr. Knightly (Jeremy Northam) already knows. When the mysterious and charming Frank Churchill (Ewan McGregor) comes into town, she falls into the trap she usually sets, but not all is what it seems.

From the outset, Jane Austin's wit and jest is clear from the soft tones of Rachel Portman's score to the first introduction to our cast. The dialogue is quite well written and delivered with such excellent cadence by the players. The blend that the cast produces allows for the prime comfort of the audience in between the space that fills the tactically-placed uncomfortable silences, and comically-aimed heartache. But equally well done is the soft photography and picturesque color palette as love flies everywhere, dripping its juice on every aspect of the film.

The sword plunge as Emma insults poor Miss Bates and Knightly rebukes her is perfectly executed. The casting of Sophie Thompson as Miss Bates is superbly done, she executes the scene against Jeremy Northam and Gwyneth Paltrow exceptionally well discomforting the audience with great efficiency. Comprehensively splendid!

I am always impressed with the wit of Ms. Austin's characters and their interactions with each other. This one is particularly witty and the humor works so well for me, as both comedy and love stories are the wrench of my literary experience, as I am completely hard to please. My mother knows: I am a "chick flick" snob, and a comedy connoisseur. And this one reaches high above the bar.

****

In: Ewan McGregor

Out: Jeremy Northam

Coming Soon: Gosford Park

Black Hawk Down

"Only the dead have seen the end of war," says our opening title card quoting Plato. A ruthless warlord, Mohamed Farrah Aidid, controls Mogadishu, Somalia, and is terrorizing UN Peacekeepers and Red Cross relief workers who are delivering food to the starving people. General Garrison (Sam Shepard) hatches a plan to capture several of Aidid's top lieutenants hiding out in the Bakara Market in Dountown Mogadishu. The entire mission is scheduled to begin and finish in under an hour; however, the best laid schemes never go according to plan and one of the most vicious firefights in American military history ensues.

Ridley Scott, our director, is a stickler for details. From the facsimile of arial video of the actual event spliced together with second unit photography, to each of the featured soldiers' personal ticks including Ewan McGregor's Grimes' coffee fetish, enhanced by snapshots of the Somalian people caught up in battle. Private Blackburn (Orlando Bloom) falls, foretelling the tragedy to follow as the lid to the powder keg blows off and the first fatality as well as the titular chopper hits the deck and the team loses the initiative.

The sound design, along with the music enhances the tension and desperation allowing the viewer to experience the battle in a sensual way. The massive cast adds to the chaos while providing some quality emotional content through spectacular performances. Chock-full of heavy hitters including Sam Shepard, Eric Bana, Tom Sizemore, Josh Hartnett, Jason Issacs, Ewan Bremmer, Ewan McGregor, William Fichtner, Glen Morshower, Zeljko Ivanek, Orlando Bloom and Matthew Marsden, this film provides a brilliant ensemble bringing us a list of characters so real, we can't help but admire the courage of the men they channel. Especially notable are performances by Shepard, McGregor, Bana, Issacs and Hartnett bringing every angle and philosophy, as well as the innocence, naivete, and battle savvy brought to the skirmish. Each point of view, from accepting the fight as part of a job or seeing it as a higher calling, is portrayed allowing the viewer to choose which philosophy is best.

The photography represents the gritty nature of urban warfare. The "shaky cam" is definitely borrowed from the D-Day opener in Saving Private Ryan, and works just as effectively, in portraying the desperate nature of the battle, as well as the chaos and the odds the soldiers are up against. The night coverage is brilliantly color-corrected to show which foxholes each group is a part of. The pyrotechnic effects, coupled with the sound, and location adds to the realism of the piece deepening my respect for the Americans who left their blood and lives in Somalia and the ones who are away from home fighting now.

I love a good ensemble piece; I love an emotionally-charged battle movie, especially one historically accurate. This one is both, in spades, and is wrapped into a beautiful package that both honors the dead and inspires the soul.

****

In: William Fichtner

Out: Ewan McGregor

Coming Soon: Emma

Ultraviolet

"My name is Violet; I was born into a world you may not understand," muses Violet, the titular character of Ultraviolet. And its a completely foreign world, one of zero-space devices and entire medical facilities in shipping container section of a semi truck. Of soldiers who launch into buildings as giant ball bearings, and of clothing that changes colors based on the mood of the wearer. Of zero-gravity car chases and of photography belonging on the television during the Tank Girl days. And this one's dazzling.

The story is dystopian in nature: a virus is created in a government lab to accelerate the abilities of soldiers. It mutates and causes its subjects to develop heightened senses, sensitivity to light and a shortened lifespan; the infected are called hemophages, the disease is vampirism. Shunned by the public and hunted by the government, the hemophages fight a revolution they cannot win. When the resistance intercepts the government's latest weapon against them, their courier, Violet (Milla Jovovich), discovers it's not a piece of machinery, but a boy who calls himself Six (Cameron Bright). Unable to bring herself to kill him, she goes on the run from both the government and her own kind in order to save him and redeem herself before she dies from the disease she carries.

Eye candy describes this film the best. It's visuals are comprehensively spectacular. From the fighting style, a rendition of the gun-kata from Equilibrium, Director Kurt Wimmer's cult classic, which we'll cover at a later date, to the costuming: ever changing, ever dynamic. The richness of the comic-book style photography, combined with the set design and color schemes gives birth to a world complete and real, no discredit can befall the production design.

The story needed more time, at least another half an hour and perhaps another rewrite. The realism of our main character's anger is credible, however, her interpersonal performance lacked smooth edges. Granted, her character is not that smooth, outside of the battlefield; however, it feels as flat as the pages of the comic-book it should have come from. The character that is the better written one, along with a seamless and rock-solid performance, is Garth (WIlliam Fichtner). His love for Violet, compassion for Six's condition and his passion for the work he is doing comes across as the only relatable aspect of the piece. I feel for Garth; therefore, Mr. Fichtner did his job well.

Klaud Badlet's score is stunning, particularly the final dual between Daxus (Nick Chinlund) and Violet. The cross between choral descants and a tango brilliantly enhances the dance between these titans. The emotional level rises to the action and highlights the themes of the piece so beautifully, it's hard not to become emotionally attached or to be enhanced with the adrenaline needed to keep up with the action and the processes needed to consume the eye candy.

Every once an a while, I need to unplug and this is the perfect film to facilitate that; as the package is presented generally well making it genuinely relaxing to take in.

****

In: Milla Jovovich

Out: William Fichtner

Coming Soon: Black Hawk Down

Resident Evil - Story and Series Analysis

In my study of the cultural artifact medium of cinema, I have discovered that my least favorite "creature feature" is that of the Zombie Flick. I'm about as jaded a film watcher as anyone can be, but something about zombies really turns my stomach. I think it's the part about what zombies eat and who they used to be. I was curious about this sub-genre of horror, so I Netflix'ed the entire "Of The Dead" series, including the British installment starring a slacker named Shaun; we'll cover him sometime in the future. I've also checked out a documentary titled The American Nightmare which featured horror masters Wes Craven, John Carpenter and zombie-master George A. Romero. This film chronicled their rise to cinema greatness during a time history displays an era of national hopelessness and moviegoers flocked to watch other people suffer unspeakable horrors in order to escape their own lives. This film series, while giving homage to the Zombie Patriarchs, is not a product of a culture of hopelessness.

Resident Evil speaks up against oppression by a corporation whose monopoly saturates its customers lives. The film travels from a lab to the entire world, scarring the planet with a pestilence that destroys all life. Along with the pestilence is the negligent Umbrella Corporation who considers anything against their interest expendable assets. The greatest example is when they decide to destroy Raccoon City with a tactical nuclear warhead, leaving hundreds of people, Umbrella employees and security forces behind to die. Commando Carlos Olivera (Oded Fehr) is one of those left in Raccoon City and he speaks for the masses, saying, "we are assets, Nikolai, expendable assets...and we've just been expended." While the world fends off the hordes of undead, the corporation sits below the surface in their bunkers, safe. For once, an entity is completely human; only living on the wrong side of the moral compass.

I did say their was hope, didn't I? Well it comes in our hero, Alice (Milla Jovovich) and her many friends. Last post, I mentioned that she's a perfect audience proxy, in the fact that she begins the series with amnesia. She possesses an innocence almost childlike which is gradually drained as the series progresses and as she increases in abilities, intensified at the end of each film when captured by Umbrella and released. She fights each film to maintain her humanity regardless of whatever "upgrades" Umbrella's given her. The conclusion of each film ends in resolve more potent than how it begins. Through the bleak hopelessness that serves as a landscape, humanity still reigns: love, loyalty, heroism and sacrifice. And in the end, the evil monster bites the dust.

This film series is brilliantly executed. Despite the undead subject matter, and the fact that it's based on a video game, I find it more than competent film work; the third installment is beautiful. Its sets, costumes, make-up and photography, as well as some solid performances by Fehr, Ali Larter and Jovovich, all made for a classy post-apocolyptic road-trip movie. The first film's score is edgy and intoxicating; Marilyn Manson's hard-edged and ethereal score adds to the action with character, depth and an edge that speaks, in a way, for the machine that is the Umbrella Corporation.

The story, like video games, is meant to be episodic; the action going incrementally more intense as each film goes along. And the stakes grow more dire as each film finishes. And the films are honest about what they are: as a result, I'm able to engage fully every time any of the films enters my player unlike the times when a film tries to be something else.

So, despite the zombies; I'm a fan.

****

In: Colin Salmon

Out: Milla Jovovich

Coming Soon: Ultraviolet

Resident Evil: Character Analysis

A biological agent is stolen from a top secret facility run by the Umbrella Corporation and, in the process, is released into the facility, triggering the artificially intelligent security system to kill everyone inside. The problem is this: the biological agent regenerates non-living or diseased tissue and the recently dead don't stay that way. So an elite commando unit infiltrates the base to assess the damage and to contain the aftermath following the incident. And the aftermath is much larger than the corporation anticipated....

Our protagonist, Alice (Milla Jovovich) is initially a perfect example of an audience proxy. Alice loses her memory during the security breach. She is our eyes to the adventures; information is explained to her as the narrative plays out and she also regains her memory part of the way through. Jovovich's Alice has a certain innocent quality about her; and, as she starts to remember, her innocence fades and we're left with her true nature, which is consistently and incrementally released from innocent, amnesiac to hardened, jaded revenge-warrior. The outside world reflects her change. The global environment changes from lush, variable ecosystems to global deserts and urban wastelands.

The main villain is not a person, its a corporation whose play for world domination through business creates the apocalyptic condition their primary customers become. Their operatives are expendable; their lieutenants and leaders are cowards, living miles underground, away from the consequences. Then there's the infected, the consequence, which our heroes must fight, kill, or become part of on their way through the journey. They are the embodiment of what the Umbrella Corporation is, a gluttonous machine. Says a bit about massive corporations, I wonder if that's the point. Each film has a personification of the corporation, a main lieutenant, so to speak, and it's handled fairly well.

Alice is supported by some well fleshed-out characters through her journey. They provide a wide cadre of people to break up the mundanity of a single character going through the adventure. It's all right for video games, from which this series is based because it's a single-player game and the object is to simulate that the player is Alice. For instance, my dad has been Lara Croft, the Prince (of Persia fame,) Batman (in Lego form,) The Fellowship of the Ring, The Master Sergeant, and many others. However, he still looks like my dad, even after all of that. This approach, however, is not good for movie stories. Granted, it has worked before: Cast Away, I Am Legend, for instance. But, not for me. It's in human relationships that a story thrives. And a supporting cast is perfunctory for a story to work for me. This series has this in spades.

Audiences connect with people, so characters are required to act that way, whether they are human or not. In this case, the zombies are not characters, they are weapons and thematic elements. The Red Queen, in the first film, is a character, regardless of the fact she is a computer; she is purely logical and purely evil, something humans can be. The rest of the characters are human, so we definitely relate to them; and they are written well enough in this series for a relationship to form between the audience and the people in the series and for Alice, our hero.

The characters work well, their chemistry is well written and well delivered; a nice transition from a statically written medium.

***

Coming Soon: Resident Evil - Story and Series Analysis.

The Punisher vs Punisher: War Zone

"Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves," says an ancient Asian proverb. Grief and sorrow fuel the anger and action in these two films. The Punisher and Punisher: War Zone tell the stories of Frank Castle, former government agent-turned-vigilante, and his loss. In both, Frank loses his family in a gangland assassination; in both, he turns to crime-fighting as revenge and in both he regains his soul in the process. Both stories are different, however. The soul stays the same, but the methods of delivery are drastically different.

The Punisher feels like any revenge action flick, mostly due to the rock-solid performances by Thomas Jane, John Travolta, Will Patton and Ben Foster. They bring a vintage, muscle-car, testosterone-fueled swagger that was famous back in the Dirty Harry and Steve McQueen days of the 70's and 80's. Completely masculine, the way that I wish men were portrayed today. Even Foster's Spacker Dave is masculine to the bone, even if Dave starts out weak. It also has an old-school western feel that I grew up watching in my childhood and still love today. The action is is dry and gritty with very few theatrical style points. The sound design makes it so. And it makes it as beautiful as the Carlo Siliotto’s film score, sounding like old-school Ennio Morricone's spaghetti-westerns. And you'd expect this film to feel like it belongs in the Marvel Family, but it doesn't. The "based on a comic book" design is absent, with the exception of one scene. With dynamic photography and its story penned like a classic revenge tragedy, it's the "black sheep" of the Marvel Family. But overall it's got a brilliant mix of sorrow and anger, which cuts down into the soul and makes it worth seeing.

Punisher: War Zone from the start makes amends with the family and restores the comic book tone. From its credits sequence to its main villain, its fighting style and photography, it belongs in the Batman Forever era in the Batman franchise. However, its redeeming feature is the plot line involving the Punisher's accidental slaying of an undercover FBI agent with Ray Stevenson's chilling performance as Frank Castle. Colin Salmon and Wayne Knight also offer solid performances as the FBI agent revenging his partner's murder and Castle's weapons-master, Micro. It's very clear, from the retroactive continuity elements in Castle's backstory, that this installment is not related to the other film whatsoever. In this one, Castle's already lost his soul and the FBI agent's death draws him to nearly lose his resolve. Guilt drives this one, just as sorrow drove the other. Stevenson seethes powerfully, allowing the character's emotions to fill him as he radiates guilt and remorse, both for what he's done and what he's lost. "Who punishes you?" Julie Benz' widow shrieks, for which Castle has no response, because it's clear: he does. The part that feels like a comic book, is Doug Hutchinson's Looney Bin Jim and Dominic West's Jigsaw. The pair of brothers are so incredibly ludicrous, they don't work against Stevenson's Castle; as they fail to be worthy targets for Frank's vengence. The stylistic action and photography, as well as cheese-ball cliche lines makes this installment less elegant that its counterpart. However, Stevenson's worth watching.

Of the two, Jane's Punisher is an opera. Everything from the music to the stunts to the performances shines above Stevenson's installment. Stevenson and Jane both portray Frank Castle with deep, compelling emotion making it difficult to choose whose face I'd rather see him wearing. However, it's the package that matters and I've got to choose Jane's. Director Jonathan Hensleigh's labor pays off high above Lexi Alexander's. The emotional release is better, the characters are more credible and I found I connected better with them, even Travolta's Howard Saint and Patton's Quentin Glass. The package is better and that's enough.

****

In: Thomas Jane

Out: Colin Salmon

Coming Soon: Resident Evil