Man on Fire (IMDB) (Netflix)
This revenge flick follows The Punisher and Kill Bill, Vol. 2 in a harmonic genre convergence, but unlike "Bill", isn't pressure-treated with references to a few dozen other movies and genres, so you won't see this at the local snob-o-plex. Denzel Washington is a former counter-insurgency operative/assassin who's circling the emotional drain and has taken up housekeeping with a bottomless bottle of Jack Daniels. Christopher Walken, a former brother in arms, gets him a mercy gig as a bodyguard in Mexico City, where there's been a spate of kidnappings. His charge is a precocious Dakota Fanning, who can't be more than 10, but it's the most fulfilling relationship he's had in years. Of course, the inevitable happens, and Denzel goes after the bad guys, which span petty hoods to corrupt cops to — well, that's enough to get the concept.
Director Tony Scott is a master of the visual; every frame has something extra, and it's cut like a commercial. For a 2-1/2 hour movie, that's a lot of editing. I enjoyed the interplay between Denzel and Dakota, who is a force of acting nature, and while the story is amply stocked with typical revenge/redemption flick elements (the drinking, the trip to the gun superstore), they were presented in a fresh and stylish way that climbed beyond the cliché zone apparently occupied by The Punisher, but didn't match Kill Bill's artistry.
Sunday, April 18, 2004
Kill Bill, Vol. 2 (IMDB) (Netflix)
Quentin Tarantino's second installment of the revenge/action/comedy. This isn't a sequel, but a planned continuation of the Volume 1 that was shot at the same time. Uma Thurman didn't kill Bill (David Carradine) in the first movie, but is determined to succeed this go-around. First, though, she has to get through "Sidewinder" (Michael Madsen) and "California Mountain Snake" (Darryl Hannah), former colleagues who killed her fiance, friends and unborn child and left her in a coma.
This movie has less action (who could top the orgy of violence in the first one?) but more heart, and it's still packed with movie references that will best the most avid movie-goer (I might have gotten 10% of them). But unlike Starsky & Hutch (below), this movie can stand on its own merits and if it weren't so violent, be a commercial for female empowerment. Uma maintains her winning persona, and David Carradine talks more here than in his first season on Kung Fu, but has comedic gravitas to spare. The third act accomplishes both two goals for a successful ending, that it be both surprising and satisfying, and it adds a dimension not often seen in a Tarantino film.
Quentin Tarantino's second installment of the revenge/action/comedy. This isn't a sequel, but a planned continuation of the Volume 1 that was shot at the same time. Uma Thurman didn't kill Bill (David Carradine) in the first movie, but is determined to succeed this go-around. First, though, she has to get through "Sidewinder" (Michael Madsen) and "California Mountain Snake" (Darryl Hannah), former colleagues who killed her fiance, friends and unborn child and left her in a coma.
This movie has less action (who could top the orgy of violence in the first one?) but more heart, and it's still packed with movie references that will best the most avid movie-goer (I might have gotten 10% of them). But unlike Starsky & Hutch (below), this movie can stand on its own merits and if it weren't so violent, be a commercial for female empowerment. Uma maintains her winning persona, and David Carradine talks more here than in his first season on Kung Fu, but has comedic gravitas to spare. The third act accomplishes both two goals for a successful ending, that it be both surprising and satisfying, and it adds a dimension not often seen in a Tarantino film.
Starsky & Hutch (IMDB) (Netflix)
Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson send up the 70s TV series about two police detectives and their bellbottom jeans, with Snoop Dogg as Huggy Bear and Vince Vaughn as a Jewish gangster (it's nice when a group of people can break into areas previously denied them).
It seemed to work for a broad range of the audience, but less so for me. While the movie version of Dragnet had the TV show's deadpan tone to play off of, S&H was already a bit jokey, and the characters fairly likeable, forcing the movie to head into farcical territory that's not particularly inventive, and without much insightful commentary. But mainly it's because I didn't watch much of the TV version, and see most of 70s fashion as an embarrassment to run from rather than to parody. For fans of home version, but it's still 6 to 5 and pick 'em.
Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson send up the 70s TV series about two police detectives and their bellbottom jeans, with Snoop Dogg as Huggy Bear and Vince Vaughn as a Jewish gangster (it's nice when a group of people can break into areas previously denied them).
It seemed to work for a broad range of the audience, but less so for me. While the movie version of Dragnet had the TV show's deadpan tone to play off of, S&H was already a bit jokey, and the characters fairly likeable, forcing the movie to head into farcical territory that's not particularly inventive, and without much insightful commentary. But mainly it's because I didn't watch much of the TV version, and see most of 70s fashion as an embarrassment to run from rather than to parody. For fans of home version, but it's still 6 to 5 and pick 'em.
Sunday, April 11, 2004
The Alamo (IMDB) (Netflix)
They gave away the ending right at the beginning of the film--what's with these people? OK, so we (and particularly Texans) know all about what happened at the Alamo from the history books and the dozen or so Alamo films that have been made. This one has a huge set and Billy Bob Thornton leading a cast of Dennis Quaid, Jason Patric and the hordes of Santa Anna's army, and claims to be the most historically accurate.
I'm not sure that devotion to detail was much help. Reality is rarely as good as the legend, and the actors seem to be so freighted with the desire to respect the history and their real-life characters that they become archetypes, not flesh-and-blood people. There's actually not that much action (Santa Anna was trying to suck in more American reinforcements to get the most out of his intended massacre), and few of the pre-battle scenes, where everybody is coming to grips with their impending demise, don't hit nearly as hard as you would think. Visually, there's exactly one shot that's actually stirring, and it lasts about three seconds. Thornton has gotten some kudos for his performance as Davy Crockett, but to me it's just Billy Bob being affable; I liked Patric's Jim Bowie a mite more. It's not a disaster, but certainly a missed opportunity.
They gave away the ending right at the beginning of the film--what's with these people? OK, so we (and particularly Texans) know all about what happened at the Alamo from the history books and the dozen or so Alamo films that have been made. This one has a huge set and Billy Bob Thornton leading a cast of Dennis Quaid, Jason Patric and the hordes of Santa Anna's army, and claims to be the most historically accurate.
I'm not sure that devotion to detail was much help. Reality is rarely as good as the legend, and the actors seem to be so freighted with the desire to respect the history and their real-life characters that they become archetypes, not flesh-and-blood people. There's actually not that much action (Santa Anna was trying to suck in more American reinforcements to get the most out of his intended massacre), and few of the pre-battle scenes, where everybody is coming to grips with their impending demise, don't hit nearly as hard as you would think. Visually, there's exactly one shot that's actually stirring, and it lasts about three seconds. Thornton has gotten some kudos for his performance as Davy Crockett, but to me it's just Billy Bob being affable; I liked Patric's Jim Bowie a mite more. It's not a disaster, but certainly a missed opportunity.
Friday, April 02, 2004
Hellboy (IMDB) (Netflix)
The trailer was strong: lots of action, snappy dialog and an improbable hero in the form of Hellboy, a large red man with chopped-off horns growing out of his forehead.
Ron Perlman is the big ugly guy and he's got a crush on Selma Blair, who likes to burst into flames (Hellboy is conveniently flame-retardent). They, the FBI and an Aqua Man retread collaborate to fight an odd assemblage of evil-doers that are a mix of Nazis warmed over from 1944, Rasputin ("I'm still not dead") and scary monsters of unknown origin.
It's a confusing stew of ideas and characters that rarely gets off the ground, and that's usually when Hellboy is being jealous of Blair or cheeky with everyone else. Unfortunately for this save-the-world pic, there's little sense of mortal danger, generating mostly an "evil, schmeevil" indifference in the viewers, one of whom said, "well, that's one DVD I won't have to buy."
The trailer was strong: lots of action, snappy dialog and an improbable hero in the form of Hellboy, a large red man with chopped-off horns growing out of his forehead.
Ron Perlman is the big ugly guy and he's got a crush on Selma Blair, who likes to burst into flames (Hellboy is conveniently flame-retardent). They, the FBI and an Aqua Man retread collaborate to fight an odd assemblage of evil-doers that are a mix of Nazis warmed over from 1944, Rasputin ("I'm still not dead") and scary monsters of unknown origin.
It's a confusing stew of ideas and characters that rarely gets off the ground, and that's usually when Hellboy is being jealous of Blair or cheeky with everyone else. Unfortunately for this save-the-world pic, there's little sense of mortal danger, generating mostly an "evil, schmeevil" indifference in the viewers, one of whom said, "well, that's one DVD I won't have to buy."
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