Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 12th, 2006
Wolfgang Petersen’s Troy tells the famous story based on the poem ‘The Iliad’ by poet Homer. The film recounts the struggle between the Greeks and the Trojans. The Trojan War has quickly begun after young and beautiful Helen (Diane Kruger) is seduced by Paris (Orlando Bloom) while he is on a peace mission to Sparta. Obviously Helen’s husband, Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson) is annoyed by this as is Paris’ older, wiser brother Hector (Eric Bana). Paris eventually wins Helen’s heart and sneaks her away from her husba...d back to Troy. Here Helen is declared to be a queen.
Menelaus is naturally furious about this and demands that Agamemnon, King of Mycenae, take ships and men (1,000 ships and about 50,000 men) to bring her back. Here is where the fun begins as the Trojans refuse to give up their new queen. As history tells us the Greeks would lay siege to Troy for nearly ten years. Where poet Homer’s ‘The Iliad’ picks up is around the tenth and final year of the struggle.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 11th, 2006
Sahara tells the story of Dirk Pitt (Matthew McConaughey) and his buddy Al Giordino (Steve Zahn) as they travel to a country called Mali in search for what the locals call “The Ship of Death”. This “Ship of Death” is a lost Civil War ship named the CSS Texas that has a huge cargo of what was thought to be gold. Once there, Dirk and his buddy run into Doctor Eva Rojas (Penelope Cruz) who’s about to be executed for muddling in business that is, well, none of her business.
This “business” turns out to ...e rather huge, with ruler General Kazim (Lennie James) wanting to rid the ocean of all of its life. He figures that he will accomplish this by releasing this virus into the water system and, as it flows downstream, it will eventually reach the ocean. Why exactly Kazim wants to do this involves a standard for films such as this… for money. Dirk, Steve, and Doctor Rojas must investigate this disease and decide why it is not only infecting the water system, but causing a vast amount of pollution to the area and its surroundings. Add in a few explosions, chase scenes, and a pretty cool ending battle sequence and there you have Sahara
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 9th, 2006
The 2003 remake of The Italian Job is about five men named Charlie Croker (Marc Wahlberg), Handsome Rob (Jason Statham), Lyle (Seth Green), Steve (Edward Norton), and Left Ear (Mos Def) who are all part of a group that pull off elaborate heists. The leader of the pack, John Bridger (Donald Sutherland), has decided he wants to quit the game presumably to spend more time with his daughter Stella (Charlize Theron). The only thing is that he wants to commit one last going-away theft so that he can not only secure ...is spot in the hall of fame, but also secure his retirement. The job in question revolves around the city of Venice, Italy and a heck of a lot of gold (Try $35 Million). The plan goes off without many problems but what occurs next is somewhat of a shocker and helps to outline the rest of the film.
The first obvious comparison that this film had to deal with was the comparison with the film Ocean’s Eleven. While not as star-packed or explosive as that film, The Italian Job does a fine job at telling a somewhat ordinary story in a manner that makes the film interesting and charming at the same time. While Ocean’s Eleven had the star-punching power of George Clooney, Matt Damon, and Julia Roberts to name a few, The Italian Job rather focuses on stars not as huge, but most that rival the stars of Eleven in terms of quality of acting (don’t get me wrong, Damon and Clooney are fine actors). With the likes of Edward Norton, ‘Marky’ Mark Whalberg, Charlize Theron, Donald Sutherland, Seth Green, and the funny Jason Statham, the film’s characters make the film enjoyable mainly because these actors turn their roles into characters you’ll hate (Norton), characters you’ll laugh at (Green), and character’s you’ll laugh with (Statham).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 4th, 2006
Taking place in the 1950’s, Good Night and Good Luck deals with the impending threat of Communism in the world. Many feared it so much they decided to never speak of it. One Senator in particular, Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy used a type of propaganda basically creating this threat of Communism as one of the single biggest threats anyone could face. Ala President Bush, many Americans who wanted to take a stand against McCarthy and his views, decided not to for fear of being called an unpatriotic American....It wasn’t until eight members of a CBS radio show, lead by Edward R. Murrow (Clooney), decided to take a stand against McCarthy. The film, instead of showcasing Murrow’s entire career (and quite the career it was indeed), focuses on this one portion of his career. I applaud Clooney for doing this film, since a character like Murrow would be eventually viewed as a hero for standing up against the power. It just goes to show that sometimes, if you try fight the good fight, the right will prevail.
What makes a film like this so powerful and necessary viewing is not the direction of George Clooney (even though it is rather good), but more the power of the message behind these eight men. In a time of fear and worry in the country, these men stood up as one and decided to take a stand against a man who used fear and his power to take advantage of his audience (sound familiar no)? Subtle little things also make this film’s message powerful. Instead of casting a McCarthy look-a-like to shoot these scenes, Clooney, in a wise move that brings more credibility to the film’s message, used archival footage of McCarthy actually speaking about Communism. After viewing these messages in the film, one can easily see where a certain man may have come up with messages of fear in hopes of winning over an audience.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 3rd, 2006
The Bone Collector tells the story of a man named Lincoln Rhyme (Denzel Washington) who has been confined to his Manhattan bed after being injured on his job by a falling beam. Lincoln has since become a Quadriplegic who simply wants to kill himself, and his nurse (Queen Latifah) is planning on assisting him in his suicide. As he is planning this, Lincoln learns of a serial killer who has been abducting random people, throwing them in a taxi and proceeding to torture them in extremely gruesome manners. Lincoln...recruits detective Amelia Donaghy (Angelina Jolie), who is one of the first officers on the scene of a horrible murder. The murder scene features a man buried in gravel only showing a hand with each finger showing a different forensic clue. This scene shows that this killer is quite a different type of killer, one who leaves little hints and clues almost painting a canvas with the person he just killed.
The serial killer genre was really brought to a new level via 1991’s The Silence of the Lambs in regards to the power of the story, direction, score, and acting. The Bone Collector doesn’t really bring anything new to the table, which is not necessarily a bad thing. The Bone Collector adopts what is normal about serial killer films, such as standard plot ideas, characters and situations. This does tend to make the film lose a lot of replay value, but The Bone Collector is not as bad as one may think mainly because of the actors involved. For some reason I always find myself enjoying Denzel Washington’s performances, regardless if what he’s performing in is rather weak. He always seems to bring a higher level of skill and quality to his films. Relatively unknown at this point, Angelina Jolie definitely had the makings of a star. Granted since this film she’s had some weaker roles in films like Tomb Radier, but she still manages to do what she can with a film. I found it interesting how Washington, who was a bigger star at this time, spends the entire film kind of on the sidelines with Jolie doing a majority of the acting. I wonder if Director Philip Noyce realized early on that Jolie was going to be a big star eventually. Did he want to showcase something he already knew? Enough on this though.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 2nd, 2006
Taylor Hackford’s drama Ray tells the remarkable story of singer Ray Charles’ life – dealing with subjects such as his drug addictions, his blindness and his family. We also get a look into his various recordings, his quick rise to stardom and his impact within the recording industry. More notable then the film itself is the Oscar-winning performance of Jamie Foxx in the lead role. Foxx does a fabulous job in his portrayal of Charles - most deserving of his Best Lead Actor statue.
There are scene... where, according to Director Hackford, Foxx acted so similar to Charles that he couldn’t distinguish between the two. Foxx did an unimaginable amount of work into acting just like Charles – from researching his life, to jamming and meeting with Charles himself, to wearing prosthetics over his eyes making him partially blind. In fact, Foxx is so truly good that you sometimes forget that Foxx is actually acting and wonder sometimes if Charles himself was acting in the film. Yes, Foxx is truly that good in this roll.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 29th, 2006
Director Tony Scott’s thriller Spy Game pairs up Robert Redford and Brad Pitt for a second time – Redford previously directed Pitt in A River Runs Through It. Redford plays Nathan Muir, a man who is a on the brink of retirement from the CIA. As he is cleaning out his office, Muir is told that fellow CIA Agent Tom Bishop (Pitt) has broken into a Chinese prison simply to rescue the woman he loves. Doesn’t sound too bad, does it? It turns out that the CIA thinks that the Chinese are going to try to extra...t as much information from Bishop as possible (read information as secrets). Muir has to scramble and see if he can get Bishop out in less than 24 hours before Bishop is scheduled for execution.
Tony Scott, the director of Crimson Tide and Enemy at the State, is just as skillful here as he has been in his past efforts. While the ideas presented in Spy Game are nothing groundbreaking, Scott adds another level of credibility to the film with his interesting twist of direction. Released theatrically in 2001 following a number of box-office disasters (such as Pearl Harbor), Scott’s stylistic thriller was a welcome addition to the November frame. Both lead actors, Redford (who always seem to be on his ‘A’ game no matter what film he stars in) and Pitt (overly-publicized but a great actor despite the hatred some have for him), deliver fine performances.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 1st, 2006
We Were Soldiers unfortunately, was a film that didn’t really find its audience, and was also a casualty of the 9/11 attacks. Whereas Black Hawk Down was released in late December 2001/early January 2002 and made almost $110 million, We Were Soldiers was released six months later, and made $30 million less. Figure in the then-recent surge of big studio films of that genre in recent years, notably Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers, perhaps We Were Soldiers was the film ...hat the moviegoing public wanted to take a break from.
Whatever the case may be, the film didn’t really get a fair enough look in its theatrical release. One of the differences between it and Black Hawk Down was the increased focus placed on the families in this film, including the initial delivery of casualty notices by taxicabs, an event that did occur for a period of time until the Army developed a group specialized in breaking that unfortunate news. Perhaps the focus on families, or family life, may have reminded some of scenes from The Deer Hunter, but this is still a movie full of emotion and heartache.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 23rd, 2006
Keanu Reeves really really wants to break out of his pigeonholed role as the charismatic good guy in an action film, but sometimes he just can't help himself, and takes the easy paycheck (Chain Reaction may be a good indication of that). But in the action roles he's noted for, both as Neo in The Matrix trilogy and as John Constantine in Constantine, he's got the "protagonist with an internal conflict" down pat, that's for sure.
Written by Kevin Brodbin (who came up with the initial story) and directed by Francis Lawrence, who was previously well-reputed as a music video director (think Tarsem or David Fincher maybe), Reeves plays Constantine as a man with a conflict. While others may think that he has a gift in exorcising and deporting demons, he sees it as a burden, a duty he thinks he should get into heaven for. With the help of a grizzled priest (Pruitt Taylor Vince, Nobody's Fool) and an aspiring apprentice (Shia LaBeouf, IMDB), he plods along through the days and nights, doing his duty while battling an aggressive form of lung cancer which he doesn't make any better by chain-smoking.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 15th, 2006
The thing that makes the death of Bruce Lee an even larger tragedy is that he virtually set back the kung-fu/karate genre from gaining mainstream recognition by a couple of decades. Set back may not even be the proper word for it, as he would have become a larger than life action star whose dreams were bigger than most anyone had anticipated.
In the case of Enter the Dragon, the film was designed to be Lee's crossover attempt into American films, and it's one worthy of his abilities. Bruce (or in this case, Lee) lives at a temple and is invited to a private island for a martial arts tournament where a man named Han (Kien Shih, Once Upon a Time in China) runs the tournament and possibly some illegal operations. His henchman is Oharra (Chuck Norris protégé Robert Wall, Game of Death), who might have been responsible for the death of his sister. Some of the more colorful characters in the tournament are Roper (John Saxon, From Dusk Till Dawn) and Williams (Jim Kelly, Black Belt Jones), friends from America that are also looking to gain the top prize. Lee isn't there to win the tournament, but to try to expose Han's dealings.
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