At the Movies

    Leave it to Disney to re-invent their own classic fairy tale. Enchanted is a delightful hour and forty-seven minutes of the classic “Prince rushing to save his Princess” storyline - with a twist. Amy Adams (Catch Me If You Can, Underdog) is Giselle, the heroine in distress and James Marsden (X-Men, Superman Returns) is the dashing Prince Edward who is out to rescue his true love Giselle. Enchanted opens as an animated film in the tradition of Cinderella and Snow White. Giselle is set to marry Prince Edward and become Princess Giselle, much to the chagrin of Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon, Thelma and Louise, Bull Durham), Edward’s mother. In a bid to rid herself of competition the evil queen pushes Giselle down a well where she falls all the way to… well to present day New York City - in live action! And that’s where the fun begins! Enter Robert Phillip (Patrick Dempsey, Grey’s Anatomy, Sweet Home Alabama) a big city lawyer who comes to the aid of the distressed and confused Giselle.

    Meanwhile, Edward is determined to find and save his bride so down the well he goes along with Pip, a talking chipmunk whose computer-generated live-action performance steals the show. Enchanted is as predictable as the sun coming up every morning but the opposing dynamics of cartoon characters turned live-action and maintaining their cartoon personas and innocence against the backdrop of New York City makes for an engaging storyline.
    If you’re a parent, and especially a father, Enchanted is a golden opportunity to have a father/daughter date this holiday season.

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    Some of the pre-release reviews about Fred Claus really did a dis-service by trying to compare it to everything from Miracle on 34th Street to A Christmas Story. Each of those films are classics in their own right and setting up Fred Claus in comparison is not fair to the new release. That isn’t to say though that Fred Claus is not a good film, quite the contrary - it is a fun-filled twist on the centuries old tale of Saint Nick.

    Vince Vaughn (The Wedding Crashers, The Breakup) is Fred Claus, Santa’s good-hearted but n’er-do-well older brother. Driven apart in their youth by sibling rivalry and jealousy Fred is forced to pay off a debt to Santa (played wonderfully by Paul Giamatti -Sideways, Cinderella Man) by spending the days leading up to Christmas with his brother and Mrs. Claus at the North Pole.

    Enter the villainous Clyde Northcutt (played by Kevin Spacey) a pencil-pushing quality control dweeb from the nefarious “company” that evidently controls all holidays. Clyde is bent on closing down Santa’s workshop and thus Christmas also. After Fred and Santa engage in a knock-down, drag-out snowball fight and brotherly fisticuffs Santa’s back goes out and it looks like Clyde will have his way unless Fred can pull off Santa’s nocturnal duties in time.
    Fred Claus is enjoyable if for nothing more than seeing the pandemonium Fred causes in the workshop with the elves. Fred Claus will never attain the same degree of popularity that the afore-mentioned films enjoy, but it will become a staple of the discount mega-store Christmas display in years to come.

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   Directly on the heels of the gritty Death Sentence comes another summer vigilante film, this time from director Neil Jordan (Michael Collins, The Crying Game). The Brave One is a gripping tale of one woman’s loss and broken heart when her fiancé is murdered and her path to regain her life. Jodi Foster (Flight Plan, Panic Room) is Erica Bain, a New York radio personality whose show revolves around her commentary on the nuances of New York City life. Taking a walk in the park one late afternoon with her dog and fiancé David (Naveen Andrews, Lost, The English Patient), Erica and David are accosted by thugs and severely beaten resulting in David’s death. When Erica recovers she must fight to regain some semblance of control over her life, dealing with her loss and her broken heart as well as conquering her new-found fear of her own shadow. Having been violated once she is determined not to let it happen again and she buys a gun and finds pulling the trigger on those who threaten her is not as hard as she thought it would be. Enter Detective Mercer (Terrence Howard, Four Brothers, Hustle & Flow), the last good cop in New York City. Mercer is a thinker and smart, eventually pulling the pieces of the Vigilante killings together but Erica isn’t done yet.

   Foster and Howard are a good match on screen. The chemistry between them makes this film believable. No makeup and a lot of closeups strip the star of her beauty and helps her character become both believable and real. For Howard there is a subtle sadness portrayed through his soft eyes, delivering a character that is both sympathetic and empathetic yet simultaneously strong. If the powers that be are as smart as Howard’s character they will find another project for this pair to star in.

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   It could be that Russell Crowe (A Beautiful Life, Master and Commander: Far Side Of The World) is a good actor. Or it could be that Christian Bale (The Prestige, Batman Begins) is a good actor. Or maybe the story is good or the action is good or… maybe I’m just glad to see a bona fide western in the theater again. Or maybe it’s all of the above. Whatever the reason 3:10 To Yuma is a good western movie.

    The original film was based on the Elmore Leonard short story of the same name. With this new treatment, Academy Award winner Crowe takes on the role of outlaw leader Ben Wade and Bale is the hard working rancher Dan Evans (roles played by Glenn Ford and Van Heflin respectively in the original film) who takes on the job of delivering the smooth talking outlaw to the nearest town with a train going to Yuma and the penitentiary located there. Along the way to the train the group battle Apaches, vengeful railroad lawmen and money hungry townspeople all the while each man gaining a degree of respect for the other that must be dealt with at the end of the line.
    One surprising delight in 3:10 To Yuma is the enigmatic performance turned in by relative newcomer Ben Foster as Charlie Prince, Wades myrmidon second in command. Prince, whose only allegiance is his fatally flawed devotion to Wade, is a sociopathic killer and Foster brings the character scarily to life.

    New westerns are few and far between so thankfully 3:10 To Yuma is worth the wait.

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   The last time I saw this much blood and guts splattered all over the movie screen was the 2003 film Once Upon A Time In Mexico. That’s not to say that Shoot ‘Em Up is a bad film, only that the blood and violence are so over the top that the scenes are mostly comical. Take for instance the opening scenes when British heart-throb Clive Owen (Children of Men, King Arthur) comes to the aid of a pregnant woman about to be killed, saves her and delivers the baby all while shooting and killing dozens of bad guys. During the ensuing melee Mr. Smith (Owen) grabs the baby up and jumps, runs, hurdles, slides and falls while the bullets fly, but miraculously he and the baby come through unscathed. Seeking someone to help with the baby Mr. Smith turns to Donna Quintano Monica Bellucci (The Matrix Reloaded, Tears of the Sun) a hooker he has known a couple of times to take care of the child. It is worth the price of admission though just to see Bellucci, who has been tagged as “the most beautiful woman in the world” by French TV viewers. It’s good to know the French can be right about something!

    Shoot ‘Em Up is ruthlessly exhausting to watch as Mr. Smith and Donna try to stay one step ahead of Hertz, the malevolent hit man played so wonderfully by Paul Giamatti (The Illusionist, Sideways).
    Quite frankly though, this is not a movie for children even though director/writer Michael Davis’s resume includes several comedy’s. Where Davis does seem to excel though is in imagination - and this film is nothing if not imaginative.

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   No it’s not just another Charles Bronson revenge thriller. It’s a Kevin Bacon revenge thriller. The difference is this one is good. Bacon is Nick Hume, an upper-middle class family man with a boorish actuarial job. Bacon loves his wife (Kelly Preston), and loves his two sons - Brendan (Stuart Lafferty and Lucas Jordan Garrett). But one night Nick’s world comes crashing down around him as he witnesses his eldest son Brendan being murdered in a gas station as an initiation for a gang member. Nick is barely able to hold himself together through the trial proceedings but when he realizes the murderer is going to be set free he dissolves into another person and exacts his revenge himself.

    Bacon is a fine actor and in this role he capably manages to transfer his emotions so that the audience feels the characters pain. One additional outstanding performance is the small role of “Bones Darley” played brillantly by John Goodman.
    Death Sentence is brutal, vile and disturbing - as it needs to be to make it work. The sad truth is that the scenario played out in Death Sentence is not far-fetched and would not be much of a stretch for most of us to play out if we were under the same duress.

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   While watching The Last Legion I was reminded of the thrill I used to get as a kid when Mom would drop me off at the neighborhood theater on a Saturday morning to see the matinées. They were always packed full of action and adventure with a good dose of imagination thrown in. Whether it was a swashbuckling caper on the high seas or a fantastical outer space adventure - it was always fun. Those movies were always low budget with low special effects to match and that is where The Last Legion parts ways with those nostalgic Saturday matinées. Legion is a wonderful story that offers up a somewhat realistic premise for the stories of Excalibur and King Arthur. Beautifully photographed, the film was shot in Tunisa for the Roman scenes and Slovakia doubled as early England complete with Hadrians Wall (look it up:) ).
    Colin Firth as Aurelius is tasked with protecting the boy emperor Romulus Augustus (Thomas Sangster) who must flee Rome after his father and mother are asassinated. Romulus is eventually captured and put in prison along with his mentor Ambrosinus (Ben Kingsley). Aurelius, along with his faithful men and a mysterious exotic female warrior (played by Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai who was once named the most beautiful woman in the world) rescue the young emperor and his mentor and escape to the furthest outpost of Rome - the Ninth Legion stationed in faraway primitive England.

    The Last Legion has everything that makes a good movie - quality actors, action, a love interest, deception, and a great storyline. Unfortunately this film is likely going to be into and out of theaters pretty fast so if you miss it be sure to get the DVD.

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   There’s just something about buddy movies that capture the publics fascination. Abbott & Costello, Bing & Bob, Martin & Lewis, Glover & Gibson, they all had a common formula - the straight man with a comic foil. That same formula is at the heart of every Rush Hour movie with martial artist extraordinaire Jackie Chan playing the straight man and comedian Chris Tucker providing the quick witted and sharp tounged comic relief. But for every Rush Hour movie it is the unbelievable gymnastic-like martial arts stunts and fighting that sets these buddy movies apart from any before it.

    Rush Hour 3 successfully builds on the success of its two predecessors, this time landing the acid-tounged chatterbox Detective James Carter (Tucker) in Paris, France along with his acrobatic co-hort Chief Inspector Lee (Chan). The duo is hot on the trail of a would-be assassin and have traced him to Paris. Along the way they pay homage of sorts to Abbott & Costello with a ‘Who’s On First’ routine using Asian names like ‘You’ and ‘Me’ taking the place of ‘Who’ and ‘What’. Then in Paris the vocally trained Chan joins in song with Tucker reminiscent of Bing Crosby & Bob Hope’s On The Road movies.
   Of course it wouldn’t be a proper movie set in France if some jabs weren’t taken at the ambivalent ethnocentricity of the French and Tucker is never lacking for a quick unflattering snipe. But the truly amazing thing is that the 53 year old Chan is still as quick and nimble as he ever was, mostly doing his own stunts and, as the out-takes at the end of the movie show, still getting hurt in the process.
    Rush Hour 3 is just as good if not better than the two previous films in the series and well worth spending a hot summer Saturday in the cool of the theater.

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   For fans of the late Robert Ludlum the Jason Bourne films are likely a disappointment because of their departure from the books of the same name. Taken on their own merit however the first two films were okay, but The Bourne Ultimatum is in a class all its own. Director Paul Greengrass has fashioned a hold-on-to-the-edge-of-your-seat thriller with Ultimatum. From the opening scene to the final climatic last frame the action is a non-stop, action-filled adrenelin rush.

   Matt Damon (Ocean’s Thirteen, Saving Private Ryan) once again dons the persona of Jason Bourne, an amnesiatic assassin bent on discovering who he is and why someone wants him dead. Damon plays Bourne’s basic one-dimensional personality to perfection so that we feel the forces that motivate him to pursue his quest for answers and retaliation.
   Bourne is aided this time out from Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles (Mona Lisa Smile, 10 Things I Hate About You). The beautiful and talented Joan Allen (The Notebook, Pleasantville) reprises her role as CIA Chief Pamela Landy. Added to Ultimatum’s ensemble is David Strathairn (We Are Marshall, Good Night, and Good Luck) and Albert Finney (Traffic, Erin Brockovich).

   Though Ultimatum doesn’t hold true to the storyline set down by Ludlum it does capture the feel and unrelenting intensity the author achieved in the novel. The Bourne Ultimatum is a classic spy thriller that ups the standard against which future spy thrillers will be judged.

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   I’m too old to have experienced the whole Transformers craze of the 1980’s, but the whole crazy concept of normal everyday machines (mainly vehicles) that can suddenly transform into massive combative robots with cognitive intelligence is alluring to the imagination so I went and saw Transformers.

   Thankfully for those who are uninitiated into the whole Transformer phenomenon, the movie does offer a little backstory to enlighten us as to the origins of these metallic chameleons. When the action does begin it is hard and fast with only fragmented glimpses of the evil Decepticons as they attack. Enter the Autobots, the good robots who battled the Decepticons on their home planet of Cybertron over who would possess the Allspark, a powerful talisman that can grant unlimited power to whoever possesses it.
   The Autobots, led by Optimus Prime, must protect Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf, an average American kid except for the broken spectactles he possesses once owned by his grandfather who discovered the Allspark in the Arctic Circle while exploring there in the late 1800s. The spectacles have the location of the Allspark engraved on the lenses and the Decepticons will stop at nothing to find it.
    Eventually the Autobots and Decepticons clash on the streets of a major city and the action is frantic.
    Transformers is an exciting movie and enjoyable for the kid in everyone. LaBeouf’s performance is dead-on as the mischievous teenager charged with protecting the location of the Allspark. Megan Fox as Shia’s love interest is pinup hot and she steals every scene she’s in with just her appearance.

    Transformers is a hardy action packed summer movie that will rack up dollar signs at the box office and fill stockings come Christmas time. It is a definite don’t miss for the kids and the “kid-in-you” adult. I grade it a B-

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