Summer of Film #4 of 100
If I tell you that Layer Cake is a British film directed by the producer of Lock, Stock and Smoking Barell and Snatch (Matthew Vaughn) you are going to think you probably know what kind of film it is. If I tell you it’s about a drug dealer who tries to get out of the business when a series of strange characters and events pull him back in; you’re going to be really sure you know what kind of a film this is.

Well, you are wrong. Read More »

Summer of Film #3 of 100
This movie has a lot going for it; unfortunately it is not enough. With tremendous visuals and solid action sequences director William Friedkin creates a rare police procedural that should have impressed me a lot more than it did. Unfortunately, the movie has very little else to rest on- and since it sells does not sell itself as a spectacle it has to sell itself on drama and that is where it fails. There is no tension (except for two scenes) and the drug plot that drives policeman Popeye (Gene Hackman) is akin to something out of a TV movie.

The two scenes that do succeed are a virtuoso chase scene where Hackman chases a man on a train across town; and a the beginning of the climax. I say ‘beginning’ because there is no end. The movie ends in an abrupt scene that explains little and is a poor pay-off for a well set up climax. Read More »

Summer of Film #2 of 100
When I read this from Roger Ebert last week I thought my expectations were off the mark for Cinderella Man. I had figured it would be a manipulative drama that used boxing only to hide what it really was; a Ron Howard family drama. Ebert wrote:

I think of Crowe as a tough customer, known to get in the occasional brawl. Yes, he plays men who are inward and complex, as in “The Insider” and “A Beautiful Mind,” or men who are tempered and wise, as in “Master and Commander.” But neither he nor anyone else in a long time has played such a nice man as the boxer Jim Braddock. You’d have to go back to actors like James Stewart and Spencer Tracy to find such goodness and gentleness. Tom Hanks could handle the assignment, but do you see any one of them as a prizefighter? Tracy, maybe.

Summer of Film #1 of 100
Not exactly the best film to open my ‘summer of film’ with, but it was a Friday, it was fresh and it was playing at the local Landmark theatre- which as a combination makes it inevitable.

There are two films within Mr. and Mrs. Smith- one I shall refer to as ‘Mr.’ and the other as ‘.Mrs.’ Read More »

Starting this weekend, I am entering my “Summer of Film”. My objective is to watch 100 films by Labor Day (The first weekend of September). The only criteria is that they should be films I have not seen before. It is an ambitious project (especially considering the fact that I work full time), but one that I have succeeded at once before (granted, back then I was unemployed). Let the games begin!
UPDATE: Day 10 progress report: At the 10th day of my 82 day endeavor I have seen 9 films; must give up half an hour of work and half an hour of sleep a day :)

I’ve just posted my review to the final Star Wars episode over on my Star Wars web site at GalaxyFarAway.com. Enjoy!

Harmless fun. Carole Lombard plays a fast-talking, slow-thinking high-society girl who picks up a ‘forgotten man’ Godfrey, played by the incomparable William Powell, and turns him into her family’s butler. The family- and what a family- is insane. That premise is all that the movie is really about, though it benefits from never taking itself seriously and the brilliant comic timing of the leads.

Fortunately, for the sake of this blurb, I have not seen Michael Caine’s original ‘Alfie’. That lets me judge this one without the baggage. Jude Law and director Charles Shyer elevate the material above mediocrity- Jude Law playing a less likeable version of Hugh Grant in ‘About a Boy’. Like ‘Ray’ from last week, this movie is more about the acting and the craft than actual story. Thirtysomething modern-day male angst has been the subject of many films, though they are usually comdies. ‘Alfie’ seems like a comedy, but that is only because of its lead character’s sunny disposition. As the layers peel off, the tragedy emerges, surprising us almost as much as it does Alfie.

Many critics will take the easy way out in reviewing this film by saying “the film lives up to its name”. I think I’ve just about had enough of that kind of writing. You know what I’m talking about- some movies are just asking for it, though. In any case, Pixar’s ‘The Incredibles’ is great, fun, edge-to-edge, start-to-finish, chock-full of things to look at and admire. But we’ve come to expect so much of Pixar that none of this is a surprise. The easiest way to review this is- better than ‘Bug’s Life’, ‘Toy Story’; as good as ‘Monster’s Inc.’ but not as good as ‘Finding Nemo’ and ‘Toy Story 2’. Does that help? As a side note, however- the director Brad Bird is a genius and if you’ve missed his ‘Iron Giant’ go see it now!

‘Ray’ has so much going for it that it surprises you when it fails to impress. With one of the greatest performances of the year by Jamie Foxx and a life story that was bubbling with details, ‘Ray’ surprisingly overstays its welcome. There were many interesting story arcs in there, unfortunately the movie was devoted to all of them and none of them. The best moments are when the film concentrates on the musical genius. When was the last time there was a ho-hum movie with an Oscar worthy performance? ‘Training Day’ perhaps?