For a while there in college, I spent countless hours trying (and failing miserably) to learn how to count cards after reading Ben Mezrich’s Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions. So after hearing a film was going to be made based on the book, I was eager to see how it would turn out. Although it is disappointing how Robert Luketic’s 21 changed so much of the actual story, I know better than to judge a film based on its translation from print to celluloid. Besides, there are plenty of other reasons to be disappointed in this film.

Although Luketic’s 21 supposedly tells the true story of the M.I.T. card counting team, the film is nothing more than another cookie cutter Hollywood cautionary tale of how money corrupts the innocent. The story is told from the perspective of Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess), a brilliant young student at M.I.T., who after getting accepted to Harvard Medical School, is struggling with the enormous costs to attend. So of course, rather than sticking with his nerdy, socially awkward character, by studying and working hard to achieve a scholarship, he decides to win his tuition money in Vegas at the blackjack table.

The team is put together and is lead by Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey), an M.I.T. math professor and ex-card counter. Micky teaches the students how to count cards and develops a system of team play that allows the students to win at blackjack, while going virtually undetected by the casinos. As the team starts, and continues to win, we see the team transform from math nerds to high rollers living up the high life of Vegas. However, they quickly learn, even with a system as brilliant as theirs, in Vegas, your luck can change at the drop of a hat. After a double cross from within the team and pressure from the casino’s security consultant, Cole Williams (Laurence Fishburne), the team is forced to rethink their actions. The film then takes a turn from a rise and fall from glory tale, to a story of revenge, in a similar and flashy style of Oceans Eleven.

With the staleness of the story, camera work and acting are two aspects that distract rather than accentuate. Most of the film is shot in an ultraglossy, highly saturated style that you would normally see in a music video. Yet there were a handful of scenes which were shot on a digital handy cam, which gave the images a grainy electronic look and feel that didn’t match up with the rest of the film. In addition, the contrast in acting was another aspect that did not seem consistent in the film. The acting from the student characters were sub par and Fishburne’s reworking of his go to tough-guy role into an aging tough-guy was just lazy. It was a shock that Kevin Spacey even agreed to take this role; his superb acting ability was under utilized in this film, which seems to trivialize his past performances.

Over all the film did not live up to the hype it generated around the festival circuit and it was only mildly entertaining. You are going to like this film if you are a fan of the glitzy Vegas caper genre, which it slightly falls into. However, if you are a poker fan, you will undoubtedly be drawn in by the blackjack story, yet you will be left disappointed with only 15 minutes of screen time devoted to cards. If that’s what you are looking for you might as well read the book, it’s much better anyway.

21

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Technorati Tags: 21, Kevin Spacey, Laurence Fishburne, Jim Sturgess, Kate Bosworth, Blackjack, Poker, Las Vegas, Review, Drama

Considering that one of my biggest guilty pleasures is the antiterrorist show 24, I thought I was going to love Pete Travis’s Vantage Point. Although the film has many similarities to 24 (most noticeably the high intensity of the music score), that guilty feeling I got was not from pleasure, but rather being duped by the trailers into thinking it was going to be a good film.

Right from the start the film dives, headfirst, into the plot, wasting no time with silly conventions like character development. A bold move, considering there is only roughly 20 minutes of actual plot. The remaining hour and ten minutes consists of a storytelling gimmick, where the plot is retold from the multiple “vantage points” of the different characters.

The plot itself, tells the story of a presidential assassination that takes place at a historic peace and terrorism summit in Spain. The various “vantage points” are told from the points of view of a TV news team (lead by Sigourney Weaver), a secret service agent (Dennis Quaid) who has already taken one bullet for this president, an amateur video enthusiast (Forest Whitaker), the President of the United States (William Hurt), and between 2 and 4 different terrorist/assassins (Edgar Ramirez, Saïd Taghmaoui, Ayelet Zurer, and Eduardo Noriega).

The pacing of the film was amazingly fast, which keeps you on the edge of your seats through most of the film. The fast pacing and editing are essential to the storytelling gimmick; they help to distract you from the logistical and timing errors that exist in the plot. Such as Forest Whitaker’s character keeping up with a fleeing terrorist in a dead sprint, for what has to be over 2 miles, while also keeping a his camera steady to record everything.

Probably the biggest drawback was the lack of character depth. I am baffled as to why Travis decided not to spend any time developing any of these characters fully, considering there are so many characters that span across some great archetypes. Having neglected to do so, I found that I was often sympathizing with the assassins, as they were the only characters which had any emotionally motivating purpose to their actions.

Over all, the film had real potential and by the midway point, I was sure that it was going to live up to the excitement I was feeling at the time. Yet, through a series of unfortunate events, a far too long car chase, and Mathew Fox opening his mouth to recite lines, the film took a dramatic nosedive for the mediocre. I wouldn’t go as far as to say this film is a waste of time to watch, but if you are looking for some 24 style action and plot, stick to watching reruns on television.

Vantage Point

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Technorati Tags: Vantage Point, Dennis Quaid, Mathew Fox, Sigourney Weaver, William Hurt, Forest Whitaker, Edgar Ramirez, Saïd Taghmaoui, Ayelet Zurer, Eduardo Noriega, Review, Action, President, 24, Assassination

Normally, I’m not the type of person that would sit down to watch “another horribly clichéd, emotionally charged, uplifting feel good Oprah movie”, but because I was on my high school debate team I thought I would give Denzel Washington’s The Great Debaters a shot. Although it was everything that I thought it would be, Denzel Washington used the genre conventions perfectly, adding just the right amount of drama and powerful monologues to pull on the heartstrings of even a cynic like myself.

The film is loosely based on the true story of the first black college debate team to win the national championship. In addition to directing the film, Denzel Washington plays the radical professor, Melvin B. Tolson who puts together a debate team in at a small all black college in Texas in 1935. The three lead debaters on the team fall into your typical archetypes for an inspirational story such as this. There is the boy genius (Denzel Whitaker), the misunderstood bad boy (Nate Parker), and his love interest (Jurnee Smollett) who also happens to be the first female to ever be on the college debate team.

Although, the film has a rather simple plot, the subtleties of the subplots are what really make this film shine. Taking place in the deep south of the thirties, Washington is able to explore the relationship between racism, poverty, and the fear of communism in ways that other inspirational films would be too afraid to touch. There are scenes that show that even scholarly achievements mean nothing compared to the color or your skin. While showing that in the eyes of the rich landowners, money is the only thing that matters; poor whites are equally as worthless as poor blacks.

The Great Debaters marks Denzel Washington’s second film as director and he proves that he has talent here as well. He and writer Robert Eisele blend history and fiction (much more fiction than history) beautifully to work this story into an uplifting film that might teach as well as inspire.

Over all, I was pleasantly surprised by the film. Other than the few issues I had with the debate cases conveniently matching the real life struggles of the debaters, I thought the film was well written, greatly acted, and highly inspirational. Whether you are an extreme Oprah fan or not, chances are you will be moved by this film’s powerful messages.

The Great Debaters

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Technorati Tags: The Great Debaters, Denzel Washington, Forest Whitaker, Oprah, Nate Parker, Denzel Whitaker, Jurnee Smollett, Review, Drama, Racism, Inspirational

Having been born in the early 80’s, like so many others in my generation, I grew up watching the Indiana Jones series. So of course I was both excited and a little concerned with Spielberg and Lucas reviving the series almost 20 years later, considering they are notorious for changing their previous masterpieces for the worse. However, after viewing the film, this Memorial Day weekend, my concerns were calmed and my excitement was satisfied. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is a film that holds up to the high adventure standards of the first three.

One of my biggest concerns, going into this film, was Ford’s age being too much of an obstacle to overcome and we wouldn’t see the whip swinging, snake fearing, hero that we have come to love. Yet, despite Harrison Ford being in his mid 60’s, he proves not only can he act as suave as ever, he can still kick some bad guy ass as well. This can also be said for Karen Allen, who revives her role as Marion Ravenwood, from the first installment. As in Raiders, Marion is not afraid to jump right into action and drive a car at tremendous speeds through the jungle to do what needs to be done.

Just as in other films, the supporting roles were played wonderfully. Shia LaBeouf plays an overconfident, hair obsessed, greaser with relative ease, but then again it has to be hard to screw up that stereotype. The two supporting roles that stood out the most were played by two actors, whose combined talent proves that they are worthy to be in an Indiana Jones film. John Hurt plays “Ox”, an old friend of Indy’s, who has gone mad after discovering the Crystal Skull. His portrayal of a madman is one of the best I have ever seen in an adventure film. However, it was Kate Blanchett’s role as the psychic Russian villain which is most notable. She proves women can be just as evil and villainous as men and can hold a great challenge to even Dr. Jones himself.

One of my first thoughts, finishing the film, was that it was some what hoakey and extremely unbelievable. Yet, after pondering this for a minute, I remembered so were the first three. Like the others, it was full of cheesy one-liners, completely outlandish near death situations, and had a level of supernaturalism that no real archeologist would ever encounter, but that is what made it so great. This installment is just as fantastical as the first three. Rather than dealing with religious mysticism; Crystal Skull¸ takes a crack at science fiction, capitalizing on the era of the Roswell NM incident and the atomic age in which the film takes place. This offers Spielberg a chance to let loose and work in a genre he is great at portraying.

With this being one of the most hyped films of the summer, I can assure you that you will not be disappointed, whether you are a crazed Indy fan or not. It keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time and revives those magical times you had watching Indy when you were younger. Only this time, now that my mom won’t be around, I am going to have a hard time restraining myself from buying a bullwhip and acting out the movie, like I wanted to as a kid.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

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Technorati Tags: Indiana Jones, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Harisson Ford, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Karren Allen, Kate Blanchett, Shia LaBeouf, John Hurt, Action, Adventure, Blockbuster, Review

These days, it seems that Hollywood is adapting every Stephen King story imaginable. So when I heard about the premise of Frank Darabont’s The Mist, I assumed this would be another cheesy monster movie that couldn’t live up to high horror standards of King’s novels. However, I couldn’t have been more wrong about this film. Despite a mixture of horrible and slightly less bad CGI, my heart was racing, right up to the end of the film. This ending hit me so hard that I had to take a few minutes to ponder the impact it just left on me.

The film takes place in a small mountain town in Maine, where after a destructive storm; an ominous mist rolls in off one of the mountains, slowly enveloping the entire town. The story revolves around a group of townsfolk, trapped inside a supermarket, terrified by the unknown vapor outside. Quickly, the trapped shoppers realize there is something monstrous out amongst the mist. Soon after, two factions develop, one who is trying to deal with the situation rationally, lead by David Drayton (Thomas Jane), and the other who believes this is the sign of the apocalypse, lead by Mrs. Carmody (Marcia Gay Harden).

Although, the film is classified as part of the horror genre, it can also double as a morality tale. Much like “Lord of the Flies”, this film shows how ugly humanity can get when pushed to the limits. One of the characters, Ollie (Toby Jones), says it best, “As a species, we’re fundamentally insane. Put two of us in a room, we pick sides, and start dreaming up reasons to kill one another,” This is exactly what happens next. As the people become more terrified and tensions grow higher, Mrs. Carmody calls for human sacrifices to appease God, so the “true believers” can be “saved”.

Regarding mood and tone, Darbont’s adaptation hold true to the novella, although, there were a few liberties taken with the plot. The love story, which appeared in the novella, was cut from the film altogether. This was a great decision on Darabont’s part. Any love story taking place would have taken away from the suspense of the film. Yet, the big change came with the conclusion of the film, an ending that King, himself, was impressed by. King is quoted as saying, “Frank wrote a new ending that I loved. It is the most shocking ending ever and there should be a law passed stating that anybody who reveals the last 5 minutes of this film should be hung from their neck until dead,”. I couldn’t agree with King more, not only did I not see that ending coming, it was so intense that I was speechless for a good 5 minutes after witnessing it.

I’m so glad that horror films, of this caliber, are getting made these days. With The Mist, Darabont is able to bring horror back to its roots, by scaring you psychologically rather than with an abundance of gore and horrific scenes of violence. The Mist is a, much needed, breathe of fresh air, after the recent flood of “torture porn” movies, trying to pass off as genuine horror.

The Mist

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Technorati Tags: The Mist, Stephen King, Darabont, Thomas Jane, Review, Horror, Suspense, Torture Porn,

When I first heard there was going to be a film about a man who fell in love with a sex doll, I thought, great another bad Rob Schneider movie. However, after reading articles about the Christian right loving the film; I was instantly intrigued, and knew there had to be something weirder than just a sex doll in this film.

Do not be fooled by the premise of Craig Gillespie’s Lars and the Real Girl, it is actually a touching piece that explores love, loneliness, and tolerance for those outside societal norms. The story revolves around a 27-year-old extreme introvert, who is struggling to cope with the recent death of his father, as well as the long-term guilt over his mother’s death, during childbirth. After hearing about a sex doll, that is “as good as the real thing”, Lars (Ryan Gosling) orders one for himself and literally falls in love with her, believing she is a real person. Lars not only holds full conversations with her, but introduces her to others, in his small Midwestern town, as his new girlfriend, Bianca.

After countless failed attempts at reaching out to him, Lars’ brother Gus (Paul Schneider) and sister-in-law Karin (Emily Mortimer), embrace and accept Bianca as a real and important person in Lars’ life. They do this at the advice of the family doctor (Patricia Clarkson), who sets up weekly therapy sessions for Lars in the guise of treatments for Bianca. Through a series of touching, yet comical scenes, Gus and Karin convince the rest of the small town to play along and let Lars work out his psychological issues naturally.

In a role as unconventional as this, it is impressive how convincingly Gosling plays the part. Almost immediately you can see Lars for what he is; a troubled, socially underdeveloped, boy trapped in a man’s body. Despite the numerous opportunities the script allows for the audience to write Lars off as crazy, Gosling’s performance somehow makes it seem completely normal to have a sex doll as a girlfriend.

With the film taking place in a small Midwestern town, heavily influenced by religion, this easily could have been used as a clichéd backdrop for another intolerance and oppression flick. However, the depiction of the small Midwestern town could not have been further from the truth. The town’s people were so accepting of Lars and Bianca, that by the end of the film, Lars was competing with the townsfolk, for time to spend with his “girlfriend”. With this good-natured, tolerant light that portrays Christians, it is no wonder why conservative groups are flocking to this film, despite the risqué nature of its premise.

With the proper blend of quirky characters, uncomfortable situations, and superb acting, the film allows us to examine humanity in ways that could never be accomplished in a serious drama. During the process of creating a persona for the Real Doll, the characters were able to see what was missing from their own lives. I never thought that I would say something like this, but goes to show that you can learn something about yourself from a sex doll.

Lars and the Real Girl

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Technorati Tags: Lars and the real girl, reviews, comedy, christian, sex doll, tolerance, Gosling, Clarkson, schneider, mortimer

It’s hard to understand why science fiction seems to be the genre which produces so many films that have the potential for greatness, yet, because of the underdeveloped plots, horrific writing, and empty acting, the audience is left horribly unsatisfied. Unfortunately, just like M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable, Doug Liman’s Jumper leaves us wishing the plot would have picked up with the story that is introduced at the end of the film.

Liman’s Jumper revolves around, David Rice (Hayden Christensen), who discovers he has the supernatural ability to teleport, after falling through the ice as a kid. Once discovering this power, the teenaged boy does what any boy his age would do with his newfound ability; he leaves home to rob banks without opening doors.

The story of the film begins 8 years later, when we are introduce to Rice living the high life in New York, using his powers to avoid, even the smallest of life’s inconveniences, like reaching over to pick up the remote control. Here, we find there is a secret society (calling themselves, “Paladins”), lead by, ghostly white haired, Roland (Samuel L. Jackson). The “Paladins” are a group dedicated to hunting down and ritualistically killing people with these abilities “that only God should possess”. It is unfortunate how it cannot be said the film continues with the story of a war between the “Paladins” and the “Jumpers”. Instead, it takes a turn and becomes the story of Rice reconnecting with the girl that he had a crush on and only mildly touches on the war, mostly as a device to show off the film’s special effects.

Considering the studios were thinking the film would be an equivalent to a comic book superhero movie, it’s amazing how they decided to cast Christensen as the leading man. He has simply never dropped his whiny persona or shown any true on-screen charisma. It just goes to show how the studios are not paying attention to the fans that watch their films. Simply spend 5 minutes with a diehard Star Wars fan and you will instantly know the truth about how they feel on Christensen’s performance as Darth Vader.

One positive note about this film; the special effects were fun to watch. Not only did the film have a ton of expensive toys and flashy cars, but they were constantly “jumping” around the world, to exotic locals, at tremendous speeds. Although some of the stunts were unbelievable, they kept your heart pumping almost as fast as the pace of the film.

But in the end, the film’s conclusion leaves you with nothing but disappointment and a longing for explanations. The origins of the “Jumpers” were never explained, none of the loose ends were tied off, and all the characters that you wanted to be killed off are still around. Although the ending leaves room for a squeal, where hopefully all this will be taken care of, it is doubtful that anyone would sit through another installment, if it can be expected to be anything like the first.

Jumper

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Technorati Tags: Action, Hayden Christensen, Jumper, Review, Samuel L. Jackson, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction, special effects

Well if you like sappy feel good movies that are chalk full of clichés and don’t allow two talented actors to act outside their niche, then you are going to love Rob Riener’s The Bucket List.

The Bucket List tells the story of your stereotypical “odd couple”. One is a supper rich businessman, Edward Cole (Jack Nicholson), and the other is a trivia obsessed and sage-like mechanic, Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman). The two meet in a cancer ward in a hospital owned by Cole. After discovering that they both have less than a year to live, the two (seemingly forced) friends decide to embark on a grandiose world tour to complete a “bucket list” (things to do before you kick the bucket).

The film does offer some memorable moments, that offer a few life lessons; such as it’s never too late in life to make a fool of yourself. However, the film is mostly a series of random events where the two dying men can live out the fantasies they had in their youth. These fantasies include: skydiving, getting tattoos, racing classic cars, climbing the Great Pyramids, and motorcycling atop the Great Wall of China. Of course these extreme activities were accomplished, conveniently, because of the bottomless pockets of hospital tycoon Cole.

One would think that with the talent casted, the weak story line could be overlooked and the film would be a joy to watch. But in reality, the casting made a mockery of these two legends. For Nicholson’s entire career, we have seen him playing the over-the-top cocky bad boy (or in this film, old man). Just once I would like to see Freeman play someone other than the good-natured, voice of God, grandfather type. He should be allowed to have some fun and be Jack Nicholson for a while. Putting these two giants in a film like this, is like stacking a t-ball team with Major League baseball players on steroids… it just gets obnoxious and boring.

In the end the story plays out exactly how you think it will; one of the men eventually dies and the other gives a speech, that tugs on the heartstrings of even those who might not have hearts. Over all, the film was great if you needed a good “live life to the fullest” movie or if you’re die-hard Nicholson and Freeman fans. But if you are looking for a film with real substance, you should let this one “kick the bucket”.

The Bucket List

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Technorati Tags: The Bucket List, Cancer, Comedy, feel good, Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, tear jerker, review

Having only heard the title before viewing the film, I went into it thinking this was going to be another melodramatic indie-film, riddled with clichés about love, pain, and suicide. But almost immediately my prejudgments of the film started to change when I heard Tom Waits playing during the opening credits. I could tell that this was going to be something a little different.

If you can get over the few scenes of cheesy CGI and the predictability of, pretty much all romantic comedies, then you will, perhaps, like me, be pleasantly surprised by Goran Dukic’s Wristcutters: A love Story.

It turns out that Wristcutters is a quirky road trip comedy that takes us though a purgatory specially designed for those who have committed suicide. If you are a fan of the road trip subgenre (like myself) you will be happy to find that it has everything you’re looking for. It has the stoic but misunderstood hero, Zia (Patrick Fugit), the wacky, buddy sidekick, Eugene (Shea Whigham), and of course, the hitchhiker, Mikal (Shannyn Sossamon).

The gang sets out to find Zia’s former girlfriend after finding out that she too has killed herself and she is somewhere in this afterlife. Along their journey they discover that what they are searching for, isn’t what they need to find. In the end they realize that they are in search of the happiness that they were missing in life and they all found it in places that they never thought they would.

Of course, along the way they encounter all sorts of oddball characters, you’ll find have even weirder ways how they killed them selves. Some of these supporting characters are amazing. Tom Waits plays the jovial carefree leader of a troupe of miracle workers and Will Arnett plays a cult leader who is leading his followers to an even higher existence by killing their selves, yet again.

Dukic’s depiction of this land of limbo was done masterfully. Using a backdrop of dismal, yet majestic scenery through a dreary filter, set the perfect mood for those who cannot smile in a world designed specifically for them. Zia put it perfectly: “Everything’s the same here, just a little worse”, and that is exactly how the film’s afterlife feels and looks.

Despite the hoakiness of the love story and the potentially depressing subject matter, Wristcutters is a hilarious dark comedy that makes you question your views on the afterlife. It combines irony and comedy in just the right way to make you feel comfortable laughing at suicide jokes and the misery of others. I can see this film becoming a quick cult classic.

Wristcutters - A Love Story

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Technorati Tags: Wristcutters, Comedy, Dark Comedy, Patrick Fugit, Shannyn Sossamon, Shea Whigham, Suicide, Tom Waits, Will Arnett, review