Geeks are often depicted in Hollywood movies as socially inept geniuses who write software, hack computer networks and just slack off. 21 is a movie about geeks who don't use technology but use pure brain power to take on the world. And that world is the glittery place called Las Vegas.
Starring Jim Sturgess (Across the Universe), Kate Bosworth (Superman Returns) and Kevin Spacey (American Beauty), 21 shows the life an MIT college student leads as he joins an elite group of campus math geniuses who is trained by their math professor how to count cards and beat the Las Vegas odds in the game of Black Jack. Of course, a lot of drama and casino happen in th e movie, but the heart of the movie centers on the transformation of a simple Harvard Medical School aspirant into a greedy, high-rolling, Black Jack gambler.
The story is truly fascinating, especially the process of card-counting and the how the students and the professor use this legal technique to game the Vegas system. However, the story was hard to follow in the beginning because a lot of jargon about card playing was introduced and the "system" the team follows is a bit complicated as well. This would be a frustrating for people who dislike math or numbers. Director Robert Luketic (Legally Blonde) had no choice but to go take a safer route in terms of creating a believable story because the concept was complex. One more thing: I think Jim Sturgess and Kate Bosworth are an odd choice for the lead couple, she too old looks for the role for me.
21 is definitely a movie math geeks will enjoy, and I have reason to believe non-geeks will enjoy as well. Just ignore the jargon and the math, you'll find the film a jackpot.
Rating: 3/5
Tags: 21
I finally was able to catch the most recent Oscar winner for Best Picture: No Country For Old Men. I've been quite busy lately and this movie was the perfect "reward" for the stuff I've been doing.
Now on to the film: The movie won an Oscar deservingly-- The Coen Brothers were able to translate Pulitzer-winning author Cormac McCarthy's work into a tension-filled film. Although set in a rural Texas town near the U.S.-Mexico border in 1980, it's not your typical Western shoot-em-up. On the contrary, the movie lays down themes like chance, justice and fate. I find it the thinking man's action movie, if you know what I mean.
Rather than relying on big bangs and grand gun fights, the movie uses silence and makes the viewer imagine the action since a great deal of the movie shows what happened after the action. The pacing of the movie is almost perfect-- I personally didn't like the anti-climactic epilogue. The movie also has a very memorable baddie played by Javier Bardem. He's probably the villain with the worst looking set of weapons.
Over-all, the movie for me is near perfect: a gripping movie with great cast acting and memorable characters. Really a great movie to cap my week.
Rating: 4.5/5
Tags: No Country for Old Men
I remember the Indian story of the "Blind Men and an Elephant" when I watched Vantage Point because although there is one event or thing, there will be different perspectives on it.
In the film's case, it is a total of eight points of view the viewer sees the event of a presidential assassination in Spain: a television news team, the Secret Service, the perpetrators and innocent bystanders. That's a lot and director Pete Travis uses the "repeat/rewind" technique to show the perspectives as different episodes. The cast of Dennis Quaid, Matthew Fox, Forest Whitaker, William Hurt and Sigourney Weaver played their parts well.
As a thriller, Vantage Point has the advantage of creating tension lots of times in each of the "episodes," but at the same time loses momentum a bit between transitions. This cliffhanger effect could be annoying to some, but I didn't mind. The plot twists are good and interesting, but the movie ends unsatisfactorily. I say so because after the whole deal of events unfolding, the resolution wasn't too convincing. (I'll leave it at that since I want to make this review spoiler-free.)
I found Vantage Point very intriguing and riveting, although I am sure some people won't share my point of view.
Rating: 3.5/5
Tags: Vantage Point
Picture this: "Now Showing: 28 Days Later starring Will Smith!" If that happened in our reality, the result could have been I Am Legend.
An empty New York City is the setting for this zombie/survival adventure, where Will Smith is the last surviving man in the city after a massive viral infection that turned people into light-shunning , rage-filled beings. (I don't want to use the term zombies, as the computer graphics do them such injustice). If you watched The Omega Man in the 1970's, and see the similarities with I Am Legend, don't be surprised; both are culled from the same novel by Richard Matheson.
People expecting to see a Resident Evil-type of movie should calibrate their expectations. I Am Legend unfolds very slow and reveals events in a restrained pace, and it is very effective. (The first hour seemed like Castaway from where I sat.) The movie builds tension even with just Will Smith acting on screen and the ghost town-like New York contrasts claustrophobic thrillers. Speaking of Smith, he is superb in this movie and carries it, although the story sluggishly reaches its conclusion.
The movie is a commentary on our generation's "monsters," nature turning against man for tinkering with it too much. 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later previously explored versions of this world where biological Frankenstein monsters are wreaking havoc the same way I Am Legend does.
Rating: 3.5/5
Tags: I Am Legend
On the rare occasions I drop by the Robinson's Galleria, I usually am tempted to watch a movie shown at the Indie Sine, a theater in the mall's cineplex devoted to screening Filipino independent films. The movie being screened at the time I passed by was 3 Days of Darkness by Khavn Dela Cruz.
The film is a claustrophobic take on one of the apocalyptic events described in the Bible's Book of Revelation. Three women, Kimberly (Katya Santos), Michiko (Gwen Garci) and Isabel (Precious Adona) are all house mates stuck in a house when darkness envelop the world and the movie shows how the three deal with impending doom via. (That angle reminded me of M. Night Shyamalan's Signs, where a family deals with the confusion and uncertainty of an alien invasion.) Religion, desperation and sex figure heavily on how the three cope with the dreadful situation.
"Experimental" and "Non-mainstream" are the words I could describe the film off hand. The problem with reviewing indie films is that there's a certain context you have you consider, as opposed to watching a commercial film. For example, the movie is 30%-40% darkness, where you really won't see anything. I'm assuming the director would like to leave some parts to the imagination of the viewer, but that's just too tiring if you ask me. If I like to leave stuff to my imagination, I'd prefer a radio drama.
A visceral and dark film, 3 Days of Darkness, is really not for every one and I think it takes itself too literally.
Rating: 2/5
Note: The film is rated R-18 for its graphic sexual scenes.
Tags: 3 Days of Darkness
I've generally had very satisfying movie-watching experiences with limited releases. I've posted very good reviews for limited films here in Manila such as Gone Baby Gone, The Namesake and Wedding Daze, but as good as Eastern Promises is, this may be first lukewarm review of a limited release film I watched here.
So what's the deal with Eastern Promises? It's a mob movie set in the London Russian Mafia scene and we see two different people set the story into a complex moral weaving. Issues of family, crime, apathy and corruption are dealt with in a very unsettling manner, but I would have to say the pacing of the movie blew it for me. I found the motion of the movie too restrained and lacks interesting parts in the first two thirds of the movie. Yes, throats are being slit and violence is commonplace, but no amount of gore can sustain my interest for this movie.
Director David Cronenberg and Viggo Mortensen (Lord of the Rings Trilogy) try to recapture the chemistry in A History of Violence but can't find the touch completely. Naomi Watts (King Kong) provided a nice balance to Mortensen, albeit a relatively passive role for her. The last parts were powerful (such as the fighting scene in the public bath) and the ending was wrapped up good enough.
I found Eastern Promises tip-toeing as an above average film, when it could have been one of the limited releases I would have been happy about.
Rating: 2.5/5
Tags: Eastern Promises
Let me share a little anecdote that relates to Gone Baby Gone: My girlfriend and I had a lengthy debate about the moral and ethical complexities the movie presented. We watch movies a lot and we rarely debate about a movie. That's how compelling Gone Baby Gone is.
The story from the outset is about disappearances and abduction, thus the title of the movie. However, director Ben Affleck (yes, the actor) puts a great deal of depth in the movie that it makes you wonder if the title really refers to the missing children that figure in the central theme of the story. Casey Affleck, Ben's brother, is effective as a Boston-based private investigator who gets tangled in a conspiracy that involves the drug syndicates and the police. Michelle Mohagnan, Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman complete the movie's solid lead cast.
Ben Affleck's directorial career has have a promising start with Gone Baby Gone and Casey Affleck doesn't let down. My only problem is the Boston accent, but other than that, the movie is a must see despite its limited release.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: Gone Baby Gone
We Own The Night probably had these on its list of ingredients: 1 part crime action, 1 part family drama. The sum however, is a slow moving police movie.
Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg play brothers on the opposite side of the law, with Phoenix's character, Bob Green, on the drug dealers side, and Wahlberg's Joe Grusinsky aligned with the cops. The movie explores if indeed blood is thicker than water, and owning up to one's actions. The movie focuses more of Joaquin Phoenix, as his character's world is more entwined with the Russian drug syndicate and the New York Police, and he has the girl (the lovely Eva Mendez.)
I like two things with the movie: first, Robert Duvall plays the father figure to the two main characters. There was a situation wherein he sounded like the father in the Prodigal Son story.
He definitely brought great credibility as the father figure. Second, the last car chase of the movie was well-executed and full of tension, despite not having a grandiose treatment. If you drive a car, director James Gray will be able strike a nerve or two.
We Own The Night can be looked at as a modern day version of the Prodigal Son story I mentioned. The action is very subdued and authentic, but doesn't pack a punch. The drama is also OK, but it gets in the way of the action.
Rating: 3/5
Tags: We Own The Night
Dark, isolated and cold. That's how I would describe 30 Days of Night.
From the groundbreaking graphic novel by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith, 30 Days of Night is a vampire survival tale where we see an estranged couple, played by Josh Hartnett and Melissa George, protect a small town called Barrow, Alaska from supernatural predators. The concept is fairly straightforward: can people survive a month of darkness from vampires who thrive in the night?
The movie does a respectable job of giving the gore, but the scares are not that effective. I also felt there were some things that weren't explained properly, such as the inability of the vampires to hunt victims in the cold. I also read somewhere that the movie is not very loyal to its source material (as opposed to the Frank Miller's 300).
So is the dark palette and chilling atmosphere of 30 Days of Night enough to make it a great horror? Honestly, it falls short, by a sliver.
Rating: 2.5/5
Tags: 30 Days of Night
Ang Lee does it again with Lust, Caution, a beautiful period drama set in 1940's Shanghai, China.
The story is about how a young, idealistic lady is thrust in a world of war and espionage, along with how the situation changes her physically and emotionally. The title of the movie is very suggestive and captures the essence of the world the main protagonist (played by Tang Wei) lived in-- as a spy, she infiltrated the enemy by being a mistress to one of its top ministers (played by Tony Leung).
The sex scenes are charged, but done with taste. There is one scene where the sadistic tendencies of the minister was portrayed and if an amateur was at the helm, it would have come as sleazy. But thankfully, Ang Lee is an artist. Also, I remember the ending to one of Lee's popular work, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, with Lust, Caution's, because the sense of tragedy and missed opportunities were there.
Lust, Caution is a screen gem that people who can watch (18 years old and above) it should not miss.
Rating: 4/5
Tags: Lust, Caution
I feel bad about Rendition. It has the elements of being a powerful drama about ethically gray topics (such as torture) but I couldn't help feel my eyelids shutting on various stretches of the movie.
Perhaps it is the failure of the main leads (Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gylenhaal) to connect with me. Witherspoon plays a wife of American-Egyptian engineer Anwar Ib-rahimi suspected of terrorism and Gylenhaal plays an agent who observes the torturous interrogation of Ib-rahimi. The interplay of the two threads along with other minor subplots is not as good as movies like Crash or Babel-- and I think that is the main weakness of the film.
The cast is solid and director Gavin Hood's skill to create political tension is evident, but it's too bad I never got to appreciate it as a whole. I can't help but wonder if I was being subject to torture while watching the film.
Rating: 1.5/5
Tags: Rendition
In the late 60's to the early 70's, there was a serial killer who terrorized the Bay Area and taunted the police by sending cryptic messages in ciphers. The killer called himself the Zodiac Killer.
David Fincher (Fight Club, Se7en) directs this movie about author Robert Graysmith's investigation of uncovering who the Zodiac Killer is. Jake Gyllenhaal (Jarhead, Brokeback Mountain) plays Graysmith.
The movie is long and methodical. The time line of story runs from 1969 to 1991-- a real epic, but the presentation of the evidence and suspects is treated with police-like approach. While the soul of the movie is the procedural motion in the investigation of the murders, it also can be seen as a historical piece on how difficult it was to run an investigation with the limited technological capabilities of that era. Undoubtedly, the Zodiac Killer would have easily been identified if it happened today.
Zodiac will test your patience a bit, but the subtleness and chill of the authenticity of the movie makes it a satisfying watch.
Rating: 3/5
Tags: Zodiac
Anthony Hopkins has played some pretty cerebral characters in his career. His memorable portrayal of Hannibal Lecter in several films has more or less defined the smart and nasty villain.
But here in Fracture, while he does give credibility to the genius aeronautics engineer Ted Crawford, it's a surprise the movie maneuvers to make a legal technicality the cause of his downfall. Talk about genius, huh?
Well, this is Hollywood. Even the cleverest mastermind will be foiled by a hardy good guy. Enter Ryan Gosling (Half Nelson, The Notebook).
The movie is no doubt smart and as its shares of twists, but the banter and exchange between the two main characters is the joy of this movie. The writers were keen in giving the antagonist a sensitive side and giving the hero enough flaws to enable the viewer to cheer of either of the two.
Fracture won't break box-office records, but it's taut and gripping thriller.
Rating: 3/5
Tags: Fracture
I read somewhere that Anthony Mingella's Breaking and Entering had parallelisms with the Oscar-winning film Crash. So, I came in to the movie with a certain level of expectation.
Now let me get this out of the way: Euro-Crash it ain't.
Set in London's King's Cross district, Breaking and Entering is a movie that has cultural and social underpinnings. In the spirit of the aforementioned Crash and Babel, it presents and interweaving of apparently differerent live getting caught up by cirumstances, and in the case of this movie, it's crime and passion.
This is obviously a Jude Law vehicle. He leads the cast as Will Francis, an visionary architect who plans to uplift the derelict portions of the city. Juliet Binoceh and Robin Wright Penn round out the impressive cast. Acting-wise, each had power moments, but the story seemed to strangle them.
Speaking of the story, there are plot mechanisms that seem too contrived. The romantic link between a few characters in the movie looked out of place to me.
Too bad Breaking and Entering twiddled between safe and average-- it really had the potential to so show a more jarring and powerful drama.
Rating: 3/5
Tags: Breaking and Entering
