Batman Begins is a reinventing of Bob Kane’s original comic book hero, and it is generally a successful transition into the 21st century with some nice wrinkles and updates. The comic book hero from D.C. Comics has captured the imagination of the public in print, television, and film. Director Christopher Nolan’s vision cleverly takes threads of the original story and merges them with unique twists and turns.
The wealthy Wayne family of Gotham City is well lauded, and young son, Bruce, lives an idyllic, pampered life with childhood friend Rachel. A chance accident lands him in a cave of bats which begins a cycle of trauma that will culminate in the murder of his parents in the city streets. A wayward, lost soul, Bruce (Christian Bale) grows into a young man who remains distant despite the support of family butler, Alfred (Michael Caine). Seeking meaning in his life, he travels the streets of the world to understand the criminal elements until a fateful meeting in Asia with a mentor, Ducard (Liam Neeson), who beckons Wayne to a temple/fortress in a remote mountain. There, he meets a group of avengers who have great fighting skills and unyielding, harsh justice. Bruce learns from Ducard to shed his inner fears of bats and harness the feelings of his parents’ death. As Wayne masters his physical and mental prowess, his sense of humanity ultimately collides with the shadow group’s ruthless sense of justice.
Wayne returns to and assimilates into Gotham City as a ‘millionaire playboy’ who secretly assumes the symbol of a bat to fight crime as Batman. In a city of increasing corruption and crime enters crime lord Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson) and his cohort, Dr. Jonathan Crane (Cillian Murphy) whose alter ego, Scarecrow, will figure in an ever complicated plot. With support from Rachel (Katie Holmes), who works for the District Attorney, and Detective Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), Wayne also finds within his corporation an advanced weapons division overseen by Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman) who helps to arm Batman with state of the art body armor and sophisticated devices. As Batman commences his crime fighting, Scarecrow and ultimately a figure from Wayne’s past will threaten Gotham with ultimate doom.
This film stakes a claim to its own vision and resists previous, formulaic blueprints like Spiderman for depicting super heroes. With the most recent Batman films reducing the franchise to an uninspired shadow of its former self, someone had sense enough to let visionary director Nolan (Momento, Insomnia) have a crack at it. He has a great knack for incorporating his nightmarish imagery and integrated flashbacks into a brooding, dark exploration of human paranoia, memories and fear. Nolan cleverly traumatizes young Wayne with bats which ironically will be his salvation.
This is a different kind of narrative with more mood, psychological depth, and deliberate pacing. When Batman appears from above, it is an iconic vision of terror and swift justice, the perfect distillation of urban redemption in the guise of a bat facing down evil. Comic book aficionados will revel in a faithful rendering that stays true to the original’s roots and at the same time pays homage to recent updates like the critically acclaimed, Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight. Fans will also be amused at the new interpretations and somewhat poetic license taken on such established conventions as the bat cave, the bat signal, the coming to be of future Commissioner Gordon, and Alfred the butler. It is refreshing that the hero and villains are not really superhuman like Superman but rather ordinary people who are driven by a psychological bent.
The only real letdown is that while it starts out on a promising path, it degenerates into a conventional, by-the-numbers action formula in the last fifteen minutes. The story, which admittedly takes its good time to unfold, starts to run out of steam and momentum about three quarters of the way through and drags a bit until the revved up end. One could almost forgive the obvious teaser at the end which is a deliberate setup for a future sequel. It’s ironic that as much as the filmmakers tried to make Batman plausible and grounded in reality, there are credibility gaps especially towards the end. In one scene, Gordon attempts to operate the Bat vehicle, and it just doesn’t ring true. A fight aboard an elevated train (and earlier fight scenes) is at best standard fare.
Christian Bale (The Machinist) has been perceived as a rising talent whose persona is that of dark intensity; who better to portray the Dark Knight? He is surrounded by an exceptional supporting cast. Caine is effortlessly stoic. It is amusing in one scene to see both veteran pros like he and Freeman counsel Bale. Liam Neeson is good as a mentor but he is in danger of being typecast in these kinds of roles. Oldman is cast against type and quite effectively as a good cop. Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai) as the leader of the temple is not given much to do unfortunately.
The luscious musical score by committee is appropriately strong and heroic without leaning on a catchy title theme as previous Batman scores have popularized e.g. Nelson Riddle on TV and Danny Elfman in film. The art direction and set design are impressive in their own interpretation of Gotham City compared to the earlier Tim Burton films which set a new standard.
By the climax, you root for the film to fulfill its promise but it doesn’t quite succeed. Although successes like X Men and Spiderman are good examples of mainstream, pop hero entertainment, the makers of Batman Begins for the most part have raised the super hero film to an art film, and that’s not a bad thing.
*** of **** stars (Add 1/2 * for comic book diehards)
Vertigo
Vertigo
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Friday, July 15, 2005
The Island is a fun, summer flick
Michael Bay has directed some big budget action adventures that have an over-the-top feel (like Pearl Harbor and Armageddon). He tones it down a bit and, despite borrowing from a myriad of past films, his latest effort, The Island, is an intelligent, entertaining adventure with science fiction as its source material.
In the not too distant future, there is a segregated world of men and women who function with a limited view and knowledge of their antiseptic world. Their only way of life is that they must work, follow the rules and dream of being selected in the lottery to go to The Island, the ultimate destination of happiness and fulfillment. One of the populace is a male, Lincoln Six Echo (Ewan McGregor), who begins to question his existence and role in the world even as he develops a friendship with a female, Jordan Two Delta (Scarlett Johansson). He also experiences nightmares about an outside world and expresses doubts about the validity of his surroundings including the lottery. He relates these concerns to a friendly doctor, Merrick (Sean Bean) and later to an outsider, McCord (Steve Buscemi), a computer geek. As he explores the floors above him, he stumbles onto another level where he discovers a terrible truth and lie. Realizing that their world is only part of something much more, Lincoln and Jordan make a break to the outside with McCord’s help and find themselves pursued by bounty hunters led by Albert Laurent (Djimon Hounsou). It seems that Merrick works for a cloning corporation dependent on enormous outside funds, and it is involved in secretly cloning humans for individual sponsors. The problem is that the corporation has gone too far in its experiments with tragic consequences. Searching for answers, Lincoln and Jordan eventually find themselves face to face with Lincoln’s sponsor whereupon they decide to stop Merrick’s evil plans and expose his horrifying activities to the world even as Laurent closes in.
This film is engaging from the very start with its interesting premise, and it does a good job of maintaining a steadily building mystery until the startling revelation which spins our protagonists in another direction. And if it seems the storyline is derivative of a multitude of other film plotlines, it’s because concepts such as duplicate humans, memory loss, corporate societies, and the pursuit of individual freedom and identity in a futuristic setting have been visited before. There are strong echoes of Coma, Logan’s Run, Minority Report, Total Recall, and especially George Lucas’ early THX 1138 and John Frankenheimer’s Seconds. And savvy viewers may recall an older made-for-television movie along the same lines called The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler. Yet by liberally borrowing from these stories, The Island reinterprets familiar themes into a reasonably entertaining story unto its own with a nod to science fiction author Philip Dick.
Adapted from his own story by Caspian Tredwell-Owen and Alias alums Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, the narrative takes a deliberate path, and its exciting action scenes, particularly the numerous chases on foot and by car, are in service of the plot. Michael Bay has been notorious for filming elaborate, ‘shoot ‘em up’ and ‘blow ‘em up’ set pieces that resemble a massive videogame. Here, he holds back a little and concentrates more on staying true to his storyline. ‘The play’s the thing’ and events move so rapidly, you don’t notice the credibility gaps that strain logic at times.
Sean Bean (who is making himself quite the first choice in movie villainy as in Goldeneye) is quite good as the sinister Merrick, and Djimon Hounsou (Gladiator) registers in a role that could have been one dimensional and without heart. Ethan Phillips (late of Star Trek: Voyager) lends able support as a resident of the clone world. And let us not forget the wonderful Steve Buscemi (Reservoir Dogs) who gets some of the best lines and exits much too soon. The leads, McGregor (Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith) and Johansson (Lost in Translation) are quite photogenic and work together quite well. One wishes they have future screen pairings.
The special effects are effective and especially impressive when Lincoln meets his dead on double. Those scenes are so good, they are seamless. The world of the near future is realistic in its depiction in much the way Blade Runner integrated futuristic vehicles and technology with older, existing buildings and settings. The pace is well edited, and the film never feels slow and boring.
Again, there are a couple of scenes which really strain credulity, but they come and go so
quickly that you are on to the next scene. One obvious complaint is the product placement that becomes a bit self conscious and annoying after the third or fourth product logo is conspicuously shown. You’ll see what I mean. It’s also hard not to have a slight feeling that the film’s main theme has controversial, political implications with the debate over cloning, stem cell research and the abortion fight in recent headlines.
Although it is ironically a clone of other film plots, The Island delivers legitimate action and thrills without sacrificing its linear storytelling. Let yourself go and don’t pay too much attention to the occasional plot lapses, and you’ll find this a reasonably diverting adventure.
*** of **** stars (mainly for sci-fi action fans)
Michael Bay has directed some big budget action adventures that have an over-the-top feel (like Pearl Harbor and Armageddon). He tones it down a bit and, despite borrowing from a myriad of past films, his latest effort, The Island, is an intelligent, entertaining adventure with science fiction as its source material.
In the not too distant future, there is a segregated world of men and women who function with a limited view and knowledge of their antiseptic world. Their only way of life is that they must work, follow the rules and dream of being selected in the lottery to go to The Island, the ultimate destination of happiness and fulfillment. One of the populace is a male, Lincoln Six Echo (Ewan McGregor), who begins to question his existence and role in the world even as he develops a friendship with a female, Jordan Two Delta (Scarlett Johansson). He also experiences nightmares about an outside world and expresses doubts about the validity of his surroundings including the lottery. He relates these concerns to a friendly doctor, Merrick (Sean Bean) and later to an outsider, McCord (Steve Buscemi), a computer geek. As he explores the floors above him, he stumbles onto another level where he discovers a terrible truth and lie. Realizing that their world is only part of something much more, Lincoln and Jordan make a break to the outside with McCord’s help and find themselves pursued by bounty hunters led by Albert Laurent (Djimon Hounsou). It seems that Merrick works for a cloning corporation dependent on enormous outside funds, and it is involved in secretly cloning humans for individual sponsors. The problem is that the corporation has gone too far in its experiments with tragic consequences. Searching for answers, Lincoln and Jordan eventually find themselves face to face with Lincoln’s sponsor whereupon they decide to stop Merrick’s evil plans and expose his horrifying activities to the world even as Laurent closes in.
This film is engaging from the very start with its interesting premise, and it does a good job of maintaining a steadily building mystery until the startling revelation which spins our protagonists in another direction. And if it seems the storyline is derivative of a multitude of other film plotlines, it’s because concepts such as duplicate humans, memory loss, corporate societies, and the pursuit of individual freedom and identity in a futuristic setting have been visited before. There are strong echoes of Coma, Logan’s Run, Minority Report, Total Recall, and especially George Lucas’ early THX 1138 and John Frankenheimer’s Seconds. And savvy viewers may recall an older made-for-television movie along the same lines called The Resurrection of Zachary Wheeler. Yet by liberally borrowing from these stories, The Island reinterprets familiar themes into a reasonably entertaining story unto its own with a nod to science fiction author Philip Dick.
Adapted from his own story by Caspian Tredwell-Owen and Alias alums Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman, the narrative takes a deliberate path, and its exciting action scenes, particularly the numerous chases on foot and by car, are in service of the plot. Michael Bay has been notorious for filming elaborate, ‘shoot ‘em up’ and ‘blow ‘em up’ set pieces that resemble a massive videogame. Here, he holds back a little and concentrates more on staying true to his storyline. ‘The play’s the thing’ and events move so rapidly, you don’t notice the credibility gaps that strain logic at times.
Sean Bean (who is making himself quite the first choice in movie villainy as in Goldeneye) is quite good as the sinister Merrick, and Djimon Hounsou (Gladiator) registers in a role that could have been one dimensional and without heart. Ethan Phillips (late of Star Trek: Voyager) lends able support as a resident of the clone world. And let us not forget the wonderful Steve Buscemi (Reservoir Dogs) who gets some of the best lines and exits much too soon. The leads, McGregor (Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith) and Johansson (Lost in Translation) are quite photogenic and work together quite well. One wishes they have future screen pairings.
The special effects are effective and especially impressive when Lincoln meets his dead on double. Those scenes are so good, they are seamless. The world of the near future is realistic in its depiction in much the way Blade Runner integrated futuristic vehicles and technology with older, existing buildings and settings. The pace is well edited, and the film never feels slow and boring.
Again, there are a couple of scenes which really strain credulity, but they come and go so
quickly that you are on to the next scene. One obvious complaint is the product placement that becomes a bit self conscious and annoying after the third or fourth product logo is conspicuously shown. You’ll see what I mean. It’s also hard not to have a slight feeling that the film’s main theme has controversial, political implications with the debate over cloning, stem cell research and the abortion fight in recent headlines.
Although it is ironically a clone of other film plots, The Island delivers legitimate action and thrills without sacrificing its linear storytelling. Let yourself go and don’t pay too much attention to the occasional plot lapses, and you’ll find this a reasonably diverting adventure.
*** of **** stars (mainly for sci-fi action fans)
Monday, July 11, 2005
Shore Leave 27 Convention
The fan sponsored convention, Shore Leave at Marriott’s Hunt Valley Inn in Baltimore, Maryland, was a nice way to spend a weekend (July 8-10, 2005) immersed in science fiction movies, celebrity speakers, and related dealer items. Although Mark Goddard (Lost in Space) had departed early on the Sunday I attended, and Mary McDonnell (Independence Day) was tied up with last minute shoots on her Battlestar Galactica show, there were enough other celebrities to make it a fun show including last minute Galactica costar Tricia Helfer. There were actors and actresses from shows like TV’s Babylon 5 and Stargate SG1. I focused on Joanna Cassidy, the versatile actress from such films as Under Fire, Blade Runner, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? She looked stunning and seemed quite proper and soft spoken. She spoke fondly of former costar Gene Hackman and his generosity as an actor. She expressed interest in writing screenplays and was deciding what life direction to take having just sold her house on the West Coast. Her current schedule is busy with movie roles including a comedy and her recurring role on cable TV’s Six Feet Under.
I also had a chance to speak with veteran character actors William Windom and Malachi Throne. What a treasure trove of history and anecdotes these actors had! They both guest starred in classic Star Trek episodes. It was interesting to hear these two old salts reminisce about their careers. Windom still has that boyish mischievous streak about him and was downright funny. His short lived classic based on James Thurber stories called My World and Welcome To It is fondly remembered, and he talked about the producer Danny Arnold who had autocratic authority without producing by committee. Arnold would later produce the classic Barney Miller. His reaction to the overwhelming popularity of his one shot guest role in Star Trek’s The Doomsday Machine baffles him as he considers acting no more than a craft and nothing special. He told me he wanted to return to acting as soon as he had his knees repaired.
Mr. Throne definitely has a theatrical acting pedigree and, like Windom, he has acted on stage, screen and television over half a century. He had a key supporting role in TV’s It Takes a Thief in the late 1960’s, and left after two seasons. I told him how I felt that show went downhill after he left, and he agreed wholeheartedly. I asked him to compare producers Gene Roddenberry and Irwin Allen (who ruled TV sci-fi in the 1960’s with Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea and Lost in Space). He said that Roddenberry was always thinking ahead and anticipated trends like cop shows before they were popular. While he was grateful for the work from Allen, it could be maddening. He related a story about being cast for a TV role and Allen wanted a larger beard than what he wore in reality. So Throne shaved off his beard and wore a larger fake one. The next day Allen hated the large beard and asked what happened to the smaller one he liked! Both Throne and Windom need to write books!
It was a pretty enthusiastic crowd and the dealer tables were buzzing all day with everything from dvds and books to posters and action figures for sale. Everyone seemed to be having fun and ready for the next convention.
Wednesday, July 06, 2005
Dark Water has Creepy Moments
Koji Suzuki has enjoyed recent popularity through his minimalist horror stories told with more atmosphere, psychological brooding and menace than big budget effects. His first big hit, The Ring, has been serialized in multiple sequels in Japan and redone successfully in the U.S. In Dark Water, he has fabricated another tale involving restless souls and unexplained events that go bump in the night. The result, while reasonably spooky, is an adequate mood piece with a few effective scares and revelations.
Dahlia (Jennifer Connelly) is in an emotionally draining custody battle with ex husband Kyle (Dougray Scott) over their young daughter Ceci (Ariel Gade). Forced to find affordable housing, mother and daughter move into a low rent apartment presided over by the desk clerk/custodian, Veeck (Pete Postlethwaite) and an unreliable building manager, Mr. Murray (John C. Reilly). Upon moving in their drab, dreary unit, strange things begin to happen. Elevator doors close and open mysteriously on the wrong floors and black water seeps in from the floor above in increasingly grotesque amounts. Ceci attends school and begins to talk to an imaginary friend with alarming frequency. And whose backpack was left on the roof of the building? Add to this Dahlia’s constant battles with her ex-husband and her own dysfunctional childhood with a hateful mother and a father who abandoned the family. She becomes paranoid and frightened especially when she visits the tenant’s who lived above in room 10F. It seems the family that lived there had a father who abandoned them, and the mother was unable to take care of her daughter, Natasha, who is the same age as Ceci. As Dahlia fights her own sanity to discover the truth, the past will haunt her in a terrifying climax.
As an atmospheric, eerie, ghost story, Dark Water does succeed. The steady, methodical pacing works in the story’s favor. Think of horror master Val Lewton, whose gothic B-movies of the 1940’s are memorable e.g. the original Cat People. But for those looking for a shocking, intense payoff, there will be mild disappointment. Recent horror entries, The Ring and The Others have fared better in delivering the goods. There just isn’t a powerful, knockout scene or sufficiently startling surprises. The parallels between Dahlia’s life and the mysterious family above her apartment are not fully exploited or defined as they should be. The film tries to develop the psychologically tortuous journey of Dahlia as the happenings in room 10F are brewing, and somehow the two plotlines don’t quite mesh into an intelligent, coherent storyline. This is perhaps more a fault of the script adaptation by Rafael Yglesias and the source material from its Japanese authors including Suzuki, Takashige Ichise and Hideo Nakata. Director Walter Salles, fresh from a solid turn with The Motorcycle Diaries, does a decent job but takes the film’s story as far as his script will allow him. At times the film feels like a Hitchcock piece with its female protagonist going against difficult circumstances with little or no support from others. The visuals especially the water effects are unnerving at times and photographed starkly by Affonso Beato, and the somber score by Angelo Badalamenti reminds one of his previous collaborations (Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks) with David Lynch.
Jennifer Connelly is fairly convincing as the mother who struggles with her own demons while protecting her daughter from unknown forces. Visually, her ethereal beauty is ideally suited for the subject matter. Gade is quite good as Ceci, and we are mesmerized by her actions and reactions from beginning to end. She and Connelly work well together and do a good job of setting up their close relationship which drives the storyline. John C. Reilly is amusing as an irresponsible building manager. His early scenes trying to rent the apartment to Connelly’s character are downright funny. Tim Roth as her sympathetic lawyer is almost unrecognizable in a role reminiscent of Charles Durning’s in Sisters. While it is good support, it ultimately goes nowhere. Postlethwaite scores as a bizarre character whose background is insufficiently explored.
What hurts this film is also the knowledge of previous haunted films like The Other, Don’t Look Now, The Changeling, and Audrey Rose, all from the 1970’s. Some moviegoers, particularly fans of The Ring will have an easy time figuring out the hidden meanings in the plotline. When you think about it, Dark Water is a deceptively simple tale told with a minimum of characters in a confined setting. Like a mildly scary ghost story read at night, it comes and goes but does not stay very long.
**1/2 of **** stars
Dahlia (Jennifer Connelly) is in an emotionally draining custody battle with ex husband Kyle (Dougray Scott) over their young daughter Ceci (Ariel Gade). Forced to find affordable housing, mother and daughter move into a low rent apartment presided over by the desk clerk/custodian, Veeck (Pete Postlethwaite) and an unreliable building manager, Mr. Murray (John C. Reilly). Upon moving in their drab, dreary unit, strange things begin to happen. Elevator doors close and open mysteriously on the wrong floors and black water seeps in from the floor above in increasingly grotesque amounts. Ceci attends school and begins to talk to an imaginary friend with alarming frequency. And whose backpack was left on the roof of the building? Add to this Dahlia’s constant battles with her ex-husband and her own dysfunctional childhood with a hateful mother and a father who abandoned the family. She becomes paranoid and frightened especially when she visits the tenant’s who lived above in room 10F. It seems the family that lived there had a father who abandoned them, and the mother was unable to take care of her daughter, Natasha, who is the same age as Ceci. As Dahlia fights her own sanity to discover the truth, the past will haunt her in a terrifying climax.
As an atmospheric, eerie, ghost story, Dark Water does succeed. The steady, methodical pacing works in the story’s favor. Think of horror master Val Lewton, whose gothic B-movies of the 1940’s are memorable e.g. the original Cat People. But for those looking for a shocking, intense payoff, there will be mild disappointment. Recent horror entries, The Ring and The Others have fared better in delivering the goods. There just isn’t a powerful, knockout scene or sufficiently startling surprises. The parallels between Dahlia’s life and the mysterious family above her apartment are not fully exploited or defined as they should be. The film tries to develop the psychologically tortuous journey of Dahlia as the happenings in room 10F are brewing, and somehow the two plotlines don’t quite mesh into an intelligent, coherent storyline. This is perhaps more a fault of the script adaptation by Rafael Yglesias and the source material from its Japanese authors including Suzuki, Takashige Ichise and Hideo Nakata. Director Walter Salles, fresh from a solid turn with The Motorcycle Diaries, does a decent job but takes the film’s story as far as his script will allow him. At times the film feels like a Hitchcock piece with its female protagonist going against difficult circumstances with little or no support from others. The visuals especially the water effects are unnerving at times and photographed starkly by Affonso Beato, and the somber score by Angelo Badalamenti reminds one of his previous collaborations (Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks) with David Lynch.
Jennifer Connelly is fairly convincing as the mother who struggles with her own demons while protecting her daughter from unknown forces. Visually, her ethereal beauty is ideally suited for the subject matter. Gade is quite good as Ceci, and we are mesmerized by her actions and reactions from beginning to end. She and Connelly work well together and do a good job of setting up their close relationship which drives the storyline. John C. Reilly is amusing as an irresponsible building manager. His early scenes trying to rent the apartment to Connelly’s character are downright funny. Tim Roth as her sympathetic lawyer is almost unrecognizable in a role reminiscent of Charles Durning’s in Sisters. While it is good support, it ultimately goes nowhere. Postlethwaite scores as a bizarre character whose background is insufficiently explored.
What hurts this film is also the knowledge of previous haunted films like The Other, Don’t Look Now, The Changeling, and Audrey Rose, all from the 1970’s. Some moviegoers, particularly fans of The Ring will have an easy time figuring out the hidden meanings in the plotline. When you think about it, Dark Water is a deceptively simple tale told with a minimum of characters in a confined setting. Like a mildly scary ghost story read at night, it comes and goes but does not stay very long.
**1/2 of **** stars
Monday, July 04, 2005
War of the Worlds has 'Meaner', 'Rougher' Aliens
War of the Worlds is quite a powerful, intense tale guided by master director, Steven Spielberg, who knows how to move things along so fast that you barely notice any inconsistencies in the plot. As summer entertainment, it serves a tasty dish. It shows wunderkind director still at the top of his game.
A father, Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise), gets to keep his two kids for the weekend as his exwife visits Boston. He barely knows his rebellious teenage son Robbie (Justin Chatwin) and is not much better with his younger daughter Rachel (an adorable Dakota Fanning). Strange phenomena begin to occur over New Jersey as mysterious sounds, lightning, clouds, and wind emanate from the skies. What follows is the shocking appearance of an alien machine from beneath the ground that shows incredible power and fires deadly rays that disintegrate humans. Curiosity turns into panic as the machines begin a reign of terror that will destroy the community. Ray switches to survival mode and thus begins a desperate flight to safety. What started out as an estranged, dysfunctional group, becomes a frightened, desperate family whose members begin to rely on one another for survival and hope. And there is not much hope as the aliens are invincible to any military force that can be leveled at them. Soon it becomes clear that the aliens are also using humans as a living resource. When they lose contact with Robbie, Ray and Rachel seek refuge in the basement of a farmhouse where a mysterious loner, Ogilvy (Tim Robbins), is willing to make a last stand. There, they play hide and seek with the aliens. Eventually Ray and Rachel come face to face with an alien machine, and what Ray does to save his girl and himself leads to the film’s climax as it shifts locations to Boston. .
Spielberg pays generous homage to War of the Worlds’ three previous incarnations including the original H.G. Wells novel (with its eerie horn-like sounds that precede the aliens, the crazed Ogilvy, the look of the alien machines, and the ending), the Orson Welles 1938 radio broadcast (also set in New Jersey with its unseen news reports and dark mood), and George Pal’s 1953 cold war film adaptation (with its apocalyptic destruction and farmhouse sequence).
An antithesis of his kinder, gentler alien epics, Close Encounter of the Third Kind and E.T., this film features an evil menace that gives no reason or explanation as to why but rather how quickly the human race can be exterminated. There are obvious parallels with the Holocaust in the mass extermination of humans which has influenced Spielberg in recent years (Schindler’s List). This has the meanness of his early television movie, Duel, with its relentless enemy. While there are thematic similarities with Independence Day, by focusing on the one family from beginning to end as opposed to a half dozen groups of characters, Spielberg draws a more intimate portrait of people we care about.
What is good about this film is that Spielberg wastes no time and gives enough exposition of Ray’s fragmented family before the alien terror begins. He shows how good he is at suggesting violence. You get teased with glimpses and sounds of something unusual and frightening before the real threat reveals itself. Sometimes we only see evidence of massive destruction and death without having the event played out. It is as if we are standing on the sidelines catching enough of the event to know what is happening. The film’s pacing is very good, and the production values are outstanding. Of significant note, this mega-budgeted film took only seven months to make, an incredibly efficient shoot! Spielberg knows how to utilize state-of-the-art special effects in an organic, believable way without being artificial or self-conscious of its technique. The effects, spearheaded by veteran Dennis Muren (Terminator 2 and Jurassic Park), are extremely impressive, and they all look convincing. Nothing looks phony, and anything that is an effect looks like it is really happening.
The acting is strong, and Cruise and Fanning are delightful in their energetic, emotional performances. Robbins registers in a creepy supporting role, and Miranda Otto (Lord of the Rings:The Return of the King) is effective as Cruise’s exwife. Chatwin (reminding one of a young Jake Gyllenhaal) seems weak and doesn’t show enough of his character while interacting with Cruise, but this may be a fault of the script.
Surprisingly, the strong emotional ties that characterized E.T. and Close Encounters are not as evident here. We see Fanning’s character traumatized by her surroundings and we see Cruise’s character trying to connect with his kids as he fights to save them at every turn. Spielberg needed a bit more interplay and meaningful dialogue between father and daughter, and it would have been a perfect realization of paternal bonding.
The final scene, however, does not ring true regarding the fate of Ray’s family-the only glaring fault of the film that seems unrealistic given all that has transpired. Its resolution seems almost a nod to the classic western, The Searchers. There are also other film references like a brief scene from The Greatest Show on Earth or a familiar sound effect from the 1953 War of the Worlds. Watch for cameos of Gene Barry and Anne Robinson near the end; they starred in the 1953 classic.
War of the Worlds is a tense, exciting amusement park ride through a scary funhouse, and when it ends, you are glad to have survived the event.
***1/2 of **** stars (until the unrealistic ending)
A father, Ray Ferrier (Tom Cruise), gets to keep his two kids for the weekend as his exwife visits Boston. He barely knows his rebellious teenage son Robbie (Justin Chatwin) and is not much better with his younger daughter Rachel (an adorable Dakota Fanning). Strange phenomena begin to occur over New Jersey as mysterious sounds, lightning, clouds, and wind emanate from the skies. What follows is the shocking appearance of an alien machine from beneath the ground that shows incredible power and fires deadly rays that disintegrate humans. Curiosity turns into panic as the machines begin a reign of terror that will destroy the community. Ray switches to survival mode and thus begins a desperate flight to safety. What started out as an estranged, dysfunctional group, becomes a frightened, desperate family whose members begin to rely on one another for survival and hope. And there is not much hope as the aliens are invincible to any military force that can be leveled at them. Soon it becomes clear that the aliens are also using humans as a living resource. When they lose contact with Robbie, Ray and Rachel seek refuge in the basement of a farmhouse where a mysterious loner, Ogilvy (Tim Robbins), is willing to make a last stand. There, they play hide and seek with the aliens. Eventually Ray and Rachel come face to face with an alien machine, and what Ray does to save his girl and himself leads to the film’s climax as it shifts locations to Boston. .
Spielberg pays generous homage to War of the Worlds’ three previous incarnations including the original H.G. Wells novel (with its eerie horn-like sounds that precede the aliens, the crazed Ogilvy, the look of the alien machines, and the ending), the Orson Welles 1938 radio broadcast (also set in New Jersey with its unseen news reports and dark mood), and George Pal’s 1953 cold war film adaptation (with its apocalyptic destruction and farmhouse sequence).
An antithesis of his kinder, gentler alien epics, Close Encounter of the Third Kind and E.T., this film features an evil menace that gives no reason or explanation as to why but rather how quickly the human race can be exterminated. There are obvious parallels with the Holocaust in the mass extermination of humans which has influenced Spielberg in recent years (Schindler’s List). This has the meanness of his early television movie, Duel, with its relentless enemy. While there are thematic similarities with Independence Day, by focusing on the one family from beginning to end as opposed to a half dozen groups of characters, Spielberg draws a more intimate portrait of people we care about.
What is good about this film is that Spielberg wastes no time and gives enough exposition of Ray’s fragmented family before the alien terror begins. He shows how good he is at suggesting violence. You get teased with glimpses and sounds of something unusual and frightening before the real threat reveals itself. Sometimes we only see evidence of massive destruction and death without having the event played out. It is as if we are standing on the sidelines catching enough of the event to know what is happening. The film’s pacing is very good, and the production values are outstanding. Of significant note, this mega-budgeted film took only seven months to make, an incredibly efficient shoot! Spielberg knows how to utilize state-of-the-art special effects in an organic, believable way without being artificial or self-conscious of its technique. The effects, spearheaded by veteran Dennis Muren (Terminator 2 and Jurassic Park), are extremely impressive, and they all look convincing. Nothing looks phony, and anything that is an effect looks like it is really happening.
The acting is strong, and Cruise and Fanning are delightful in their energetic, emotional performances. Robbins registers in a creepy supporting role, and Miranda Otto (Lord of the Rings:The Return of the King) is effective as Cruise’s exwife. Chatwin (reminding one of a young Jake Gyllenhaal) seems weak and doesn’t show enough of his character while interacting with Cruise, but this may be a fault of the script.
Surprisingly, the strong emotional ties that characterized E.T. and Close Encounters are not as evident here. We see Fanning’s character traumatized by her surroundings and we see Cruise’s character trying to connect with his kids as he fights to save them at every turn. Spielberg needed a bit more interplay and meaningful dialogue between father and daughter, and it would have been a perfect realization of paternal bonding.
The final scene, however, does not ring true regarding the fate of Ray’s family-the only glaring fault of the film that seems unrealistic given all that has transpired. Its resolution seems almost a nod to the classic western, The Searchers. There are also other film references like a brief scene from The Greatest Show on Earth or a familiar sound effect from the 1953 War of the Worlds. Watch for cameos of Gene Barry and Anne Robinson near the end; they starred in the 1953 classic.
War of the Worlds is a tense, exciting amusement park ride through a scary funhouse, and when it ends, you are glad to have survived the event.
***1/2 of **** stars (until the unrealistic ending)
Cinderella Man is a Crowning Achievement
For a quarter century, director Ron Howard has shown consistent filmmaking prowess in a wide range of genres. In Cinderella Man, he goes back to real life (previously he did the fact-based A Beautiful Mind and Apollo 13) and recreates the boxing hero, James Braddock, whose life parallels the fortunes of Depression-era New York. It is one of Howard’s best films.
A talented boxer, Jim Braddock, ascends the ranks of boxing in the late 1920’s and finds his career is jeopardized by a chance injury which cuts short any championship aspirations. Furthermore, he shows a limited boxing style that favored one arm over the other. When his boxing license is stripped and the Great Depression hits, Braddock must literally struggle to keep his family afloat as even the poorest paying jobs on the loading docks are scarce. Love and sacrifice might not be enough until a fateful opportunity comes knocking in the form of a last minute substitute in a boxing match. It seems that Braddock has become a more complete fighter by working on the docks and strengthening both of his arms.
What follows is an improbable series of bouts that leads to a heavyweight championship fight with Max Baer, a legendary giant. This is Braddock’s second chance, and although he has everything to gain, he knows it is the biggest risk of his life; Baer has killed two opponents in the ring. Braddock becomes a symbol of hope as the nation begins to embrace him. As the whole country hangs on every punch via radio broadcast, Braddock is in the fight of his life.
What is basically a boxing movie is also a touching love story. You grow to understand Braddock and his wife as partners and lovers whose plight during the Depression adds resonance to the climactic bout. It is also noteworthy how the film depicts the reverence with which the populace embraced Braddock amid troubled economic times. Just as the horse, Seabiscuit, inspired a nation, so did Braddock.
Russell Crowe (A Beautiful Mind and Gladiator) is such a chameleon of an actor; he seems to effortlessly embody this legendary fighter by demonstrating tremendous physical abilities in the boxing ring while maintaining focus as the everyman who has to live by his wits. Not only did Crowe severely trim down in weight and train to be a convincing fighter (he looks to be in incredible condition), he effortlessly inflects a New Jersey accent and inhabits a proud family man whose love for his wife and three children is matched only by his heart and desire in the boxing ring.
Renée Zellweger (Cold Mountain and Chicago) does a serviceable job as Braddock’s wife, Mae. A better written character would have given the actress more to work with. Her shining moment comes during a fateful meeting with Max Baer at a posh restaurant where she more than holds her own. Paul Giamatti (Sideways and American Splendor) takes his role as Braddock’s trainer and owns it. He breathes three-dimensional life into what could have been a cardboard, supporting role. Particularly in the last fight, he gives Braddock advice and suggestions to the point you actually believe he knows what he is talking about. It is surely an Oscar caliber performance.
There is a subplot involving Braddock’s friend from the docks named Mike Wilson (Paddy Considine) who is involved in soliciting union support which culminates in violence in Hooverville. It would have been interesting to have explored this world a bit more, but instead, it is given relatively short shrift. One minor controversy is the portrayal of Baer (Craig Bierko is quite menacing) as an unsympathetic brute of a fighter which was probably done to contrast him with Braddock. Also unfortunate is the timing of the film’s release on the heels of a sleeper like Million Dollar Baby which surely invited comparisons in subject matter and Oscar pedigree.
Kudos go to the production staff for vividly reconstructing the period as costumers and set decorators reimagine a dark period of history. The infamous tents and shacks that became Hooverville are depicted faithfully. The film never drags or seems padded. It is as lean as Crowe. The boxing scenes are well shot and edited in a refreshing way. It is so easy to fall into clichés, but these fights are staged with great care and realism. When the punches connect, there are stunningly brief, close-up frames of the impact. Howard also employs split second flashback imagery to illustrate Braddock’s thought processes whether it be the funeral of a close friend or remembrance of a small apartment without heat or electricity. Editing transitions are done with good effect.
Ron Howard (working off a well written screenplay by Cliff Hollingsworth and Akiva Goldsman) does such a good job that the film doesn’t feel like it is being directed but rather, it feels like it just happens as in real life. While not quite as good as A Beautiful Mind, Cinderella Man is a well made film about an amazing comeback story with real life people that gets better as it goes along until its gutsy ending.
***1/2 out of ****
A talented boxer, Jim Braddock, ascends the ranks of boxing in the late 1920’s and finds his career is jeopardized by a chance injury which cuts short any championship aspirations. Furthermore, he shows a limited boxing style that favored one arm over the other. When his boxing license is stripped and the Great Depression hits, Braddock must literally struggle to keep his family afloat as even the poorest paying jobs on the loading docks are scarce. Love and sacrifice might not be enough until a fateful opportunity comes knocking in the form of a last minute substitute in a boxing match. It seems that Braddock has become a more complete fighter by working on the docks and strengthening both of his arms.
What follows is an improbable series of bouts that leads to a heavyweight championship fight with Max Baer, a legendary giant. This is Braddock’s second chance, and although he has everything to gain, he knows it is the biggest risk of his life; Baer has killed two opponents in the ring. Braddock becomes a symbol of hope as the nation begins to embrace him. As the whole country hangs on every punch via radio broadcast, Braddock is in the fight of his life.
What is basically a boxing movie is also a touching love story. You grow to understand Braddock and his wife as partners and lovers whose plight during the Depression adds resonance to the climactic bout. It is also noteworthy how the film depicts the reverence with which the populace embraced Braddock amid troubled economic times. Just as the horse, Seabiscuit, inspired a nation, so did Braddock.
Russell Crowe (A Beautiful Mind and Gladiator) is such a chameleon of an actor; he seems to effortlessly embody this legendary fighter by demonstrating tremendous physical abilities in the boxing ring while maintaining focus as the everyman who has to live by his wits. Not only did Crowe severely trim down in weight and train to be a convincing fighter (he looks to be in incredible condition), he effortlessly inflects a New Jersey accent and inhabits a proud family man whose love for his wife and three children is matched only by his heart and desire in the boxing ring.
Renée Zellweger (Cold Mountain and Chicago) does a serviceable job as Braddock’s wife, Mae. A better written character would have given the actress more to work with. Her shining moment comes during a fateful meeting with Max Baer at a posh restaurant where she more than holds her own. Paul Giamatti (Sideways and American Splendor) takes his role as Braddock’s trainer and owns it. He breathes three-dimensional life into what could have been a cardboard, supporting role. Particularly in the last fight, he gives Braddock advice and suggestions to the point you actually believe he knows what he is talking about. It is surely an Oscar caliber performance.
There is a subplot involving Braddock’s friend from the docks named Mike Wilson (Paddy Considine) who is involved in soliciting union support which culminates in violence in Hooverville. It would have been interesting to have explored this world a bit more, but instead, it is given relatively short shrift. One minor controversy is the portrayal of Baer (Craig Bierko is quite menacing) as an unsympathetic brute of a fighter which was probably done to contrast him with Braddock. Also unfortunate is the timing of the film’s release on the heels of a sleeper like Million Dollar Baby which surely invited comparisons in subject matter and Oscar pedigree.
Kudos go to the production staff for vividly reconstructing the period as costumers and set decorators reimagine a dark period of history. The infamous tents and shacks that became Hooverville are depicted faithfully. The film never drags or seems padded. It is as lean as Crowe. The boxing scenes are well shot and edited in a refreshing way. It is so easy to fall into clichés, but these fights are staged with great care and realism. When the punches connect, there are stunningly brief, close-up frames of the impact. Howard also employs split second flashback imagery to illustrate Braddock’s thought processes whether it be the funeral of a close friend or remembrance of a small apartment without heat or electricity. Editing transitions are done with good effect.
Ron Howard (working off a well written screenplay by Cliff Hollingsworth and Akiva Goldsman) does such a good job that the film doesn’t feel like it is being directed but rather, it feels like it just happens as in real life. While not quite as good as A Beautiful Mind, Cinderella Man is a well made film about an amazing comeback story with real life people that gets better as it goes along until its gutsy ending.
***1/2 out of ****
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