| Issue #27, September 29, 2006 |
Dave Evans’ MINI – MOVIE REVIEWS
IThe Guardian
The combination of formerly-successful actor Kevin Costner and would-be successful actor Ashton Kutcher doesn’t exactly sound like box-office dynamite. Indeed, this drama about the Coast Guard flops around with beautiful special effects but no emotion. Director Andrew Davis, the man once responsible for the taut and action-packed 1993 remake of The Fugitive, has very much lost his way.
Open Season
Oh my god, make it stop! The summer’s orgy of sub-par CGI children’s films shows no sign of stopping for fall with this dreadful tripe about a bear and a deer trying to escape the hunter’s bullets. Like the awful Barnyard before it, this really feels like not an ounce of thought has gone into it. Vocal stylings come from bargain bin actors Ashton Kutcher and Debra Messing among others.
School for Scoundrels
Director Todd Phillips, of Starsky and Hutch, Old School fame, may not have the most inspirational track record but this adaptation of the 1960 British comedy is deeply funny. The plot concerns a young man’s (Napoleon Dynamite’s excellent lead, Jon Heder) attempts to become a better man. With actors such as David Cross and Sarah Silverman in supporting roles, this is too enjoyable to miss.
Jackass Number 2
It’s been a while since Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O and Wee Man have been on our screens indulging their masochism and perhaps it hasn’t been long enough. There’s plenty of wince-inducing violence here and some genuinely funny (if obviously excruciating) physical comedy but the sense of excitement seems to have gone out of this circus of pain.
Flyboys
Tony Bill is a director most recently famous for working on episodes of “Monk” and the long-dead “Felicity.” How he came up with the money to float this wretched tale of American soldiers fighting for the French in World War I is anyone’s guess then. James Franco (Harry in the current Spiderman franchise) leads a dreary cast through the necessary cliches of commercial war cinema.
Jet Li’s Fearless
Allegedly the master’s last martial arts film, Jet Li is going out on a high with this biopic of Chinese master Huo Yuanjia. As ever with such fare, much of the excitement comes from a visceral thrill of violence, but there is a real beauty in just watching Li move. A brutal kind of ballet.
All The King’s Men
This remake of the 1949 classic seems to come at a perfect time: New Orleans is in the spotlight and the world itself is visibly in the clutches of debased, power-gorged politicians. That said, this is lifeless stuff lacking the verve of the Robert Rossen classic or Robert Penn Warren’s original text. A strong cast (Sean Penn, Patricia Clarkson, Anthony Hopkins) seem to be hungry for more to get their teeth into than director Steven Zaillian will provide.
Gridiron Gang
I have a dream that one day all the children of the world will be given the love and care and financial assistance that will keep them from being either “down and out” or from “the wrong side of the tracks.” Alas, in the meantime, Hollywood will continue to produce films such as this in which The Rock teaches a rag-tag bunch of kids that football can save them. Ugh.
The Black Dahlia
Who better to direct a film about the real-life sensational murder of starlet Kay Lake than the master of stylishly enmeshed sex and violence, Brian De Palma? Adapted from James Ellroy’s novel, this is a classy affair all round, excellently acted by Scarlett Johansson as Lake and Josh Hartnett as the police officer involved.
Everyone’s Hero
Seemingly CGI really is here to stay and, even after Labor Day, they just keep coming. This is particularly unexciting, following the exploits of a talking baseball and bat (voiced by a misguided Whoopi Goldberg) that assist a child on his way to help the Yankees win the World Series. As a curio, the late Christopher Reeve co-directed.
The Last Kiss
The sometimes-charming, sometimes-wretched Zach Braff stars in this remake of the 2001 Italian film of the same name. Braff’s Michael is a man on the verge of maturity with a pregnant girlfriend (Jacinda Barrett) and a schoolgirl affair (Rachel Bilson). Don’t let the Paul Haggis screenplay credit put you off though, this is lovely fare played well by a strong cast.
Hollywoodland
Director Allen Coulter, who has a strong history in TV (“Six Feet Under,” “The Sopranos,” etc.) takes to the big-screen with a splash for this fictionalized account of the questionable suicide of the first screen Superman, George Reeves. Ben Affleck plays Reeves and shows unexpected skill with Diane Lane, Bob Hoskins and Adrien Brody also in superb form.
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