Six new reviews including BRICK
So, I thought I was going to be back by the end of last month, and what do you know, it's the end of this one. Well, hopefully we're making up for it in quantity (and maybe substance, too?) by giving you six new reviews. Still to come in the upcoming days and weeks are The Jacket, Eros, X-Men: The Last Stand and Lady Vengeance with even more on the way as well. For now, enjoy the new stuff.
The Philadelphia Story
Review by Patti Naretta
I was skeptical about watching this movie at first because I have this common misconception that anything filmed in black and white is boring (even though a few of my favorite movies are in black and whiteI dont know why I still hold to this myth, but I guess old habits die hard). I am also not too thrilled about Katherine Hepburn. It mostly has to do with her distinctive voice, which I dont vehemently dislike; its more like casual annoyance. But I had just recently seen and enjoyed Cary Grant in North By Northwest and I have always been a fan of James Stewart since growing up with Its a Wonderful Life as obligatory Christmas-season viewing. And not only are both actors featured in the movie, but Stewart also won the Academy Award for Best Actor in his role; so I decided to give it a whirl.
You are invited to the wedding of Tracy Lord (Hepburn) and George Kittridge. Tracys ex, C.K. Dexter Haven (played by Grant, spiteful but still in love with his former spouse), arrives at her familys mansion the day before the wedding, with a writer and a photographer from Spy magazine. Writer, Mike Conner (Stewart) and photographer, Liz Imbrie, are instructed by Haven to pretend to be cousins of the Lord family so that they may stay as guests in the mansion and report on the famous heiress wedding. Tracy guesses Conner and Imbries intentions and plays as though she thinks they are her cousins, when she knows that they are actually tabloid journalists.
(more....)
+++++++++
Brick
Review by Jon Waterman
***1/2
High school student Brendan stands next to the body of his ex-girlfriend Emily and immediately knows she was murdered. Haunted by her last phone call in which she seemed to reach out for help, and by residual feelings of love as well as remorse about how the relationship ended, Brendan takes it upon himself to not only find Emily’s killer, but also hopefully dismantle the teenage drug ring she fell into. Before he purposefully made himself an outcast, but now he must introduce himself to old contacts and make new friendships with anyone that could help him along his way. There’s only one person he can trust, a fellow student known as The Brain. Armed with that research and intelligence, Brendan takes his determination to the streets just hoping the path he’s forcing himself to go down doesn’t get him killed. And you thought your high school days were tough.
I’ll tell you what, if the studio system still worked like it used to, I’d have to say that Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Brendan) made a strong case for himself to be type-cast in a slew of sleuth flicks. He may not have anything close to the rugged appearance or name (or hat) of say a Humphrey Bogart, but the character put forth on the screen is no “Angel in the Outfield.” And sixty years ago, this character would be ideal for a great series of films.
(more....)
+++++++++
Munich
Review by Jon Waterman
***
During the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, eleven Israeli athletes and coaches were killed by Palestinian terrorists who called themselves “Black September.” Shortly thereafter, the Israeli government hires a group of covert Mossad agents to exact revenge against the organization’s major players. They are to have no official tie to the government, nor even officially exist. But they are supposed to get the job done. Avner heads up the crack team of five specialists in their attempt to kill off those involved with the brutal attack.
Steven Spielberg once again does a masterful job in directing this gritty, dark look at this epilogue to a horrible massacre. It seems the most successful director does best these days when he allows more weight in the subject matter. This project was somewhat rushed, but it was still a lot better than both “The Terminal” and “War of the Worlds” combined. All the credit can’t be placed on Spielberg’s shoulders, however, because once again his frequent cinematographer Janusz Kaminski gives us stunning visuals and shots that truly immerse us within the environment like an embedded reporter. But even though the film looks great and flows surprisingly well, that doesn’t mean there aren’t some things to take issue with.
(more....)
++++++++++
One Day in September
Review by Jon Waterman
***
During the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, eleven Israeli athletes and coaches were killed by Palestinian terrorists who called themselves “Black September.” The world was glued to the television as news continued to pour in and stations began to show live coverage of the unfolding situation. What started out as a hostage situation ended with the death of every athlete being held in captivity. How did it get to that point? How, when everyone knew the terrorists had these hostages in a hotel, did they end up on an airport runway? How were they able to execute these people? How did they get away?
All of these questions are answered in Kevin Macdonald’s unflinching documentary on this horrifying day. The tragedy unfolds before our eyes using a combination of interviews, archival news footage and computer simulations. There is a lot of build up. We’re given some backstory into a few of the hostages’ lives. A lot of time is devoted to the Olympic Games themselves, presumably setting the scene that doesn’t really need to be set. It takes quite a while to really move into the heart of the story and what the film is ultimately about: analyzing and dissecting the nearly 24 hour botched hostage negotiations.
(more....)
++++++++
Unknown White Male
Review by Jon Waterman
*1/2
What would you do if one day found yourself on a subway train in the Coney Island area without any recollection of how you got there? What if you couldn’t remember your name or where you lived? What if you didn’t know your family or who your friends were? What if you had nothing identifying you and you didn’t have any way to find someone who would know who you are? Welcome to Doug Bruce’s new world. That’s what happened to him as he suffered a sudden case of completely unexplainable total amnesia.
Well, needless to say, the authorities that Bruce hands himself into are able to eventually find a way to identify him. Word of the incident spread quickly amongst his friends, including opportunistic director/narrator Rupert Murray in his feature debut. Murray, instead of just trying to help his friend regain his memory and get his life back in order, decides to tape as much of Bruce’s life and essentially rub his amnesiac face in his lost memories. And for some reason Doug lets this new stranger do this to him. It seems exploitative and lame.
(more....)
++++++++
From Justin to Kelly
Review by Jon Waterman
1/2 star
Kelly is a bartender in a small Texas town. Her life is the same day in and day out: listening to boring country bands, serving and singing to the same ten people, getting hit on by the same guy that she’s not romantically interested in. She needs a change. So, her friends convince her to take some time off and head down to enjoy a good old fashioned college spring break on the beach. Justin is not just your typical college guy. He’s also one of the masterminds behind the hottest, sexiest parties spring break has to offer. Girls will do anything to get into one of his shindigs. What happens when the shy, innocent, reserved Texas girl meets the King of Spring? Perhaps, love?
Going in, you know this movie can’t possibly be good in the conventional sense. It should go without saying to anyone of this generation that this film is simply meant to capitalize on the popularity and buzz surrounding the new show “American Idol” and its winner and runner-up. What a horribly transparent and potentially career devastating move for these two to be involved in. But honestly it could have been, and should have been, a lot worse.
(more....)
The Philadelphia Story
Review by Patti Naretta
I was skeptical about watching this movie at first because I have this common misconception that anything filmed in black and white is boring (even though a few of my favorite movies are in black and whiteI dont know why I still hold to this myth, but I guess old habits die hard). I am also not too thrilled about Katherine Hepburn. It mostly has to do with her distinctive voice, which I dont vehemently dislike; its more like casual annoyance. But I had just recently seen and enjoyed Cary Grant in North By Northwest and I have always been a fan of James Stewart since growing up with Its a Wonderful Life as obligatory Christmas-season viewing. And not only are both actors featured in the movie, but Stewart also won the Academy Award for Best Actor in his role; so I decided to give it a whirl.You are invited to the wedding of Tracy Lord (Hepburn) and George Kittridge. Tracys ex, C.K. Dexter Haven (played by Grant, spiteful but still in love with his former spouse), arrives at her familys mansion the day before the wedding, with a writer and a photographer from Spy magazine. Writer, Mike Conner (Stewart) and photographer, Liz Imbrie, are instructed by Haven to pretend to be cousins of the Lord family so that they may stay as guests in the mansion and report on the famous heiress wedding. Tracy guesses Conner and Imbries intentions and plays as though she thinks they are her cousins, when she knows that they are actually tabloid journalists.
(more....)
+++++++++
Brick
Review by Jon Waterman
***1/2
High school student Brendan stands next to the body of his ex-girlfriend Emily and immediately knows she was murdered. Haunted by her last phone call in which she seemed to reach out for help, and by residual feelings of love as well as remorse about how the relationship ended, Brendan takes it upon himself to not only find Emily’s killer, but also hopefully dismantle the teenage drug ring she fell into. Before he purposefully made himself an outcast, but now he must introduce himself to old contacts and make new friendships with anyone that could help him along his way. There’s only one person he can trust, a fellow student known as The Brain. Armed with that research and intelligence, Brendan takes his determination to the streets just hoping the path he’s forcing himself to go down doesn’t get him killed. And you thought your high school days were tough.I’ll tell you what, if the studio system still worked like it used to, I’d have to say that Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Brendan) made a strong case for himself to be type-cast in a slew of sleuth flicks. He may not have anything close to the rugged appearance or name (or hat) of say a Humphrey Bogart, but the character put forth on the screen is no “Angel in the Outfield.” And sixty years ago, this character would be ideal for a great series of films.
(more....)
+++++++++
Munich
Review by Jon Waterman
***
During the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, eleven Israeli athletes and coaches were killed by Palestinian terrorists who called themselves “Black September.” Shortly thereafter, the Israeli government hires a group of covert Mossad agents to exact revenge against the organization’s major players. They are to have no official tie to the government, nor even officially exist. But they are supposed to get the job done. Avner heads up the crack team of five specialists in their attempt to kill off those involved with the brutal attack.Steven Spielberg once again does a masterful job in directing this gritty, dark look at this epilogue to a horrible massacre. It seems the most successful director does best these days when he allows more weight in the subject matter. This project was somewhat rushed, but it was still a lot better than both “The Terminal” and “War of the Worlds” combined. All the credit can’t be placed on Spielberg’s shoulders, however, because once again his frequent cinematographer Janusz Kaminski gives us stunning visuals and shots that truly immerse us within the environment like an embedded reporter. But even though the film looks great and flows surprisingly well, that doesn’t mean there aren’t some things to take issue with.
(more....)
++++++++++
One Day in September
Review by Jon Waterman
***
During the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, eleven Israeli athletes and coaches were killed by Palestinian terrorists who called themselves “Black September.” The world was glued to the television as news continued to pour in and stations began to show live coverage of the unfolding situation. What started out as a hostage situation ended with the death of every athlete being held in captivity. How did it get to that point? How, when everyone knew the terrorists had these hostages in a hotel, did they end up on an airport runway? How were they able to execute these people? How did they get away?All of these questions are answered in Kevin Macdonald’s unflinching documentary on this horrifying day. The tragedy unfolds before our eyes using a combination of interviews, archival news footage and computer simulations. There is a lot of build up. We’re given some backstory into a few of the hostages’ lives. A lot of time is devoted to the Olympic Games themselves, presumably setting the scene that doesn’t really need to be set. It takes quite a while to really move into the heart of the story and what the film is ultimately about: analyzing and dissecting the nearly 24 hour botched hostage negotiations.
(more....)
++++++++
Unknown White Male
Review by Jon Waterman
*1/2
What would you do if one day found yourself on a subway train in the Coney Island area without any recollection of how you got there? What if you couldn’t remember your name or where you lived? What if you didn’t know your family or who your friends were? What if you had nothing identifying you and you didn’t have any way to find someone who would know who you are? Welcome to Doug Bruce’s new world. That’s what happened to him as he suffered a sudden case of completely unexplainable total amnesia.Well, needless to say, the authorities that Bruce hands himself into are able to eventually find a way to identify him. Word of the incident spread quickly amongst his friends, including opportunistic director/narrator Rupert Murray in his feature debut. Murray, instead of just trying to help his friend regain his memory and get his life back in order, decides to tape as much of Bruce’s life and essentially rub his amnesiac face in his lost memories. And for some reason Doug lets this new stranger do this to him. It seems exploitative and lame.
(more....)
++++++++
From Justin to Kelly
Review by Jon Waterman
1/2 star
Kelly is a bartender in a small Texas town. Her life is the same day in and day out: listening to boring country bands, serving and singing to the same ten people, getting hit on by the same guy that she’s not romantically interested in. She needs a change. So, her friends convince her to take some time off and head down to enjoy a good old fashioned college spring break on the beach. Justin is not just your typical college guy. He’s also one of the masterminds behind the hottest, sexiest parties spring break has to offer. Girls will do anything to get into one of his shindigs. What happens when the shy, innocent, reserved Texas girl meets the King of Spring? Perhaps, love?Going in, you know this movie can’t possibly be good in the conventional sense. It should go without saying to anyone of this generation that this film is simply meant to capitalize on the popularity and buzz surrounding the new show “American Idol” and its winner and runner-up. What a horribly transparent and potentially career devastating move for these two to be involved in. But honestly it could have been, and should have been, a lot worse.
(more....)
