Review: Tom Hanks' Magic Touch Energizes "The Da Vinci Code" (Happy B'day, Tom Hanks)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 109 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Da Vinci Code (2006)
Running time: 149 minutes (2 hours, 29 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13 for disturbing images, violence, some nudity, thematic material, brief drug references, and sexual content
DIRECTOR: Ron Howard
WRITER: Akiva Goldsman (based upon the book by Dan Brown)
PRODUCERS: John Calley, Brian Grazer and Ron Howard
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Salvatore Totino
EDITORS: Dan Hanley, A.C.E. and Mike Hille, A.C.E.

MYSTERY/THRILLER

Starring: Tom Hanks, Audrey Tautou, Ian McKellen, Alfred Molina, Jürgen Prochnow, with Paul Bettany and Jean Reno, Jean-Yves Berteloot, Etienne Chicot, and Jean-Pierre Marielle

The subject of this movie review is The Da Vinci Code, a 2006 American mystery thriller from director Ron Howard and starring Tom Hanks. The film is based upon Dan Brown’s 2003 novel, The Da Vinci Code, which was a worldwide bestseller.

The French police summon famed Harvard Professor of Religious Symbology, Robert Langdon (Tom Hanks), to the world renown Paris museum, the Louvre, to assist them in a murder investigation in which the victim, curator of the Louvre, Jacques Sauniere (Jean-Pierre Marielle), has left behind a bloody trail of symbols and clues, including a bloody pentacle Sauniere drew on his own body before he died. However, police cryptologist, Sophie Neveu (Audrey Tautou), also arrives at the crime scene and surreptitiously informs Langdon that the lead investigator, Captain Fauche (Jean Reno), has pegged him as the first and only suspect in the murder.

Together, Langdon and Neveu unveil a series of stunning secrets hidden in the works of Renaissance painter Leonardo Da Vinci housed at the museum, all of which lead to a legendary secret society that has been guarding a secret nearly 2000 years old. Barely escaping the museum with the police hot on the tracks, Langdon and Neveu race from Paris to the French countryside to London, collecting clues as they attempt to crack Da Vinci’s code and reveal a conspiracy that may shake the very foundations of mankind. There, are however, sinister forces determined to stop them – personified in the form of a murderous albino monk, Silas (Paul Bettany).

Ron Howard’s latest film, The Da Vinci Code, is adapted by screenwriter Akiva Goldsman from author Dan Brown’s insanely popular novel of the same name. In fact, at 60 million copies sold worldwide, Brown’s book is the biggest selling hardcover work of fiction in history, and it has courted controversy because of its mix of conspiracy theory and pseudo history about the origins of Christianity virtually since the day it was published. Howard’s adaptation opened the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, where many of those who saw it allegedly panned the movie. By the time it opened theatrically worldwide on May 19th, U.S. film critics were either damning the movie with faint praise or simply skewering it.

Some critics have said that Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou have no screen chemistry, but their characters certainly connect the first time they meet one another in the narrative. Some said that Hanks was miscast as novelist Dan Brown’s cerebral version of Indiana Jones, Robert Langdon, and Hanks is certainly older than the Langdon in Brown’s books (Langdon is also the star of Brown’s Angels and Demons) who is 30-something. However, Hanks is one of the most popular actors of his generation and of the last two decades, not to mention that he is a stellar movie actor. Regardless of the roles he takes, audiences take to Hanks and willingly live vicariously through his characters – seeing the movie through his eyes. He could sell salvation to the devil. So if he’s not like the Langdon of the book, it hardly seems to matter in the context of the movie.

Some critics have said that Howard’s direction is slow and makes The Da Vinci Code clunky. The film is riveting from beginning to end, and Howard, who has a Spielberg-like penchant forgetting audiences to respond favorably to the emotional cues he sets for different points in his films, takes us on an thrill ride that is equal parts intellect-engaging mystery tale and pulse-pounding, action/adventure flick. Some critics have also said that Howard’s film buries us in exposition. Much of the novel amounts to page after page of endless (but interesting) discussion of philosophy, religious history, art history, Middle Ages history, symbols, codes, Catholicism, etc. Goldsman screenplay only retains the exposition that is necessary for the turning the central plot of Dan Brown’s book into a film. Howard takes much of the novel’s historical discussion and turns it into flashbacks for the movie, so (for instance) we see snippets of The Knights Templars’ history rather than just be told about it.

The Da Vinci Code is simply a grand adult thriller that more than retains the spirit of Brown’s both controversial and internationally beloved book. The filmmaking on the part of writer and director is superb. The art direction and set decoration is top notch, all of it filmed in a cool and comforting photography that creates a sense of great mystery – an atmosphere that recalls Raiders of the Lost Ark. The acting is just right, with the performers knowing how to play up or down the fantastical and preposterous notions from Brown’s books – how to make their characters make the outlandish seem worth the effort to unravel it. The best at that is Ian McKellen as the jovial, bon vivant of alternative and wacky history, Sir Leigh Teabing. It all makes The Da Vinci Code one of the truly exceptional film mysteries to come along in many a year.

9 of 10
A+

Tuesday, May 23, 2006

------------------

Review: "Flushed Away" was the Best Animated Film of 2006

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 234 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

Flushed Away (2006)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UK (with USA)
Running time: 90 minutes; MPAA – PG for crude humor and some language
DIRECTORS: David Bowers and Sam Fell
WRITERS: Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais, Chris Lloyd and Joe Keenan, and Will Davies; from a story by Sam Fell, Peter Lord and Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais
PRODUCERS: Peter Lord, David Sproxton, and Cecil Kramer
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Brad Blackbourn and Frank Passingham
EDITOR: John Venzon and Eric Dapkewicz
BAFTA nominee

ANIMATION/COMEDY/ACTION

Starring: (voices) Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis, Bill Nighy, Shane Richie, and Jean Reno

The computer-animated feature film, Flushed Away, is the star child of two of the most successful animation studios of the last decade: DreamWorks Animation (Shrek) and Aardman Features (Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit). DreamWorks creates state-of-the-art computer animation. Aardman films are usually done with stop-motion animation, and their characters and sets are made of Plasticene (modeling clay) – called “claymation.” Now, the two studios have created a film with a story and characters that are as inventive as the technical and artistic process that created it.

The story begins in London – specifically the Kensington Gardens house where Roddy St. James (Hugh Jackman) lives the pampered life of a pet mouse. Roddy gets an unwanted guest in the form of a rowdy sewer rat named Sid (Shane Richie), after he comes spewing out of the sink. Roddy tries to get rid of Sid by tricking him into taking a whirlpool bath in the toilet, but Sid pushes Roddy in and Roddy gets flushed away.

After a rough trip, Roddy discovers a metropolis in the sewers beneath London, made by industrious rodents out of discarded items. Roddy meets the spunky and resourceful Rita (Kate Winslet), captain of her own boat, the Jammy Dodger. Rita, however, is in the middle of a long-running feud with a local crime lord, the villainous Toad (Ian McKellen, superb as a villain prone to fits of melodrama and theatrics). Toad despises all rodents and has hatched a diabolical plot to destroy all of them during halftime of the World Cup. Roddy and Rita are determined to stop him, but to do that, they have to battle Toad’s henchrats Spike (Andy Serkis) and Whitey (Bill Nighy), as well as Toad’s cousin, Le Frog (Jean Reno), every step of the way.

There are animated films in which the composition in terms of what the viewer sees on screen is prettier – Pixar productions come to mind, but when it comes to pure comedy, I would be hard pressed to find a more successful 3D animated film than Flushed Away. Visually, Flushed Away is true to the signature style of Aardman, as seen in the Wallace and Gromit films and in Chicken Run, but I would be remiss in this review if I emphasized the technical side. Flushed Away is a funny film, a superb achievement in comedy as good as live action.

The strong screenwriting emphasizes wacky, scatological humor and funny characters. The humor isn’t too crude for children; actually, it’s the kind of humor that frequently shows up in children’s entertainment: jokes and sight gags about bodily functions, taking a blow to the loins, and other light innuendo. This is a broad kind of humor, seemingly lowbrow but familiar to all regardless of age. Simply brilliant, the comedy writing is wry yet boisterous and both subtle and blunt. A blend of parody and slapstick, Flushed Away satirizes melodramatic, Hollywood action thrillers, and it still has time to be part romantic comedy.

It’s not as if any one group of people should get credit for Flushed Away being such a fine flick. However, if the voice performers weren’t so good, the excellent work of the directors, writers, animators, and computer guys would have been… flushed away. The vocal performances take this film to the next two levels by bringing the characters to life in such a way that they become more than just kiddie cartoons. Truthfully, Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, and Ian McKellan, and Jean Reno are international movie stars and superb actors, and their supporting cast – Andy Serkis, Bill Nighy, and Shane Richie – are fine character actors. Indeed, Serkis’ comically inept little brute, Spike, and Nighy’s Zen heavy, Whitey, are so funny and well done that the duo deserves its own flick. In the end, the actors give us the same great work they would in a live action movie, and that is the main reason why Flushed Away may be the year’s best animated feature film.

9 of 10
A+

Sunday, November 12, 2006

NOTES:
2007 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Animated Feature Film” (David Bowers and Sam Fell)

---------------------------

Aerial Combat Scenes Give "Flyboys" Wings

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 56 (of 2007) by Leroy Douresseaux


Flyboys (2006)
Running time: 139 minutes (2 hours, 19 minutes)
Rating: MPAA – PG-13 for war action violence and some sexual content
DIRECTOR: Tony Bill
WRITER: Phil Sears & Blake T. Evans and David S. Ward; from a story by Evans
PRODUCERS: Dean Devlin and Marc Frydman
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Henry Braham
EDITORS: Chris Blunden and Ron Rosen

WAR/ACTION/DRAMA/HISTORICAL

Starring: James Franco, Martin Henderson, Jean Reno, Jennifer Decker, David Ellison, Tyler Labine, Abdul Salis, Philip Winchester, and Augustin Legrand

Flyboys is the epic World War I drama from Oscar-winner Tony Bill (which he won for producing The Sting) that tells the true story of the Lafayette Escadrille. Before the United States’ official entry into the war (1917), the Allied powers of England, France, and Italy were losing to the German military juggernaut. Many young Americans volunteered to fight for the French; some served in the infantry and others in the Ambulance Corps. The Lafayette Escadrille were the young men who wanted to be pilots. Flyboys is based upon this true story, and the film’s characters are based directly upon real men or are composites of the historical figures.

The story focuses on bankrupt farm boy, Blaine Rawlings (James Franco), who joins the Escadrille and finds himself chafing under the discipline of learning to be a pilot. Briggs Lowry (Tyler Labine) is bullied by his father into joining. Black American Eugene Skinner (Abdul Salis) is an American expatriate boxing in France when he decides to serve France as a thank you for being more racially tolerant than his birth country.

Under the guidance of the weary French Captain Thenault (Jean Reno) and the leadership of American veteran, Reed Cassidy (Martin Henderson), these young men take to the sky to face the formidable German flying armada. They fly newly invented and mechanically imperfect aircraft, but the men of the Escadrille find themselves having the kind of adventure they never imagined. Rawlings also finds time to romance Lucienne (Jennifer Decker), a young Frenchwoman who lives in a nearby town.

In this movie, the drama is simple TV movie quality melodrama, and not the kind one might get from a well-written and directed television movie. The character moments often seem like filler, and director Tony Bills just rushes the characters through scenes of intimacy and bonding. That’s why half the time the romance between Rawlings and Lucienne seems forced, and the scenes between Rawlings and Capt. Thenault are sadly thin, lacking the power relationships between soldiers in war movies generally have. Even camaraderie between the members of the Escadrille is underdeveloped, which is sad because there are so many scenes that only hint at how good this subplot of the movie could be (although there is a great moment between Lowry and Skinner about what their fathers did for a living).

Over a stirring score by Trevor Rabin, the cool and terrific aerial combat scenes make (and save) this movie. Dogfights, duels, and even a kind of jousting in the sky: they rouse you from the slumber the rest of this movie induces. It’s obvious that computers were used to create these scenes, but Tony Bill uses these scenes to bring out the humanity of his characters. It is in the sky that Bill allows the actors to develop the characters and give us reason to invest in them. Flyboys may not make serious movie lovers forget about classic World War I films, but it is in those dogfights in the sky where the director, his cast, and creative crew find the heart of Flyboys and leave the viewer delighted.

6 of 10
B

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Review: First Tom Cruise "Mission: Impossible" is Still a Thrill

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 13 (of 2001) by Leroy Douresseaux

Mission: Impossible (1996)
Running time: 110 minutes (1 hour, 50 minutes)
MPAA – PG-13
DIRECTOR: Brian De Palma
WRITERS: David Koepp and Robert Towne; story by David Koepp and Steven Zallian (based on the television series created by Bruce Geller)
PRODUCERS: Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Stephen H. Burum (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Paul Hirsch
COMPOSER: Danny Elfman

ACTION/ADVENTURE/THRILLER

Starring: Tom Cruise, Jon Voight, Emmanuelle Béart, Henry Czerny, Jean Reno, Ving Rhames, Kristin Scott Thomas, Vanessa Redgrave, Dale Dye, and (uncredited) Emilio Estevez

The Impossible Missions Force (I.M.F.) must recover a computer disc that contains the code name of C.I.A. agents in deep cover in Eastern Europe and capture the spy who not only has the disc but also seeks the other half of the information, which gives the real identities of those same agents.

Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) is the point man for the mission, under the guidance of Jim Phelps (a character holdover from the “Mission: Impossible” television series 1966-73 and a revival 1988-90) and leads his team (which includes parts played by Kristin Scott-Thomas and an uncredited Emilio Estevez). The mission goes awry and places Hunt, the sole survivor, under the false suspicion of betrayal.

Hunt recruits a new team: Phelps’s wife, Claire (Emmanuelle Beart), a thuggish, Franz Krieger (Jean Reno), and a master computer hacker, Luther Stickell (Ving Rhames), all to help him discover and expose the real mole in I.M.F.

One of the smartest summer movies of all time, Mission: Impossible, upon its release, left audiences shaking their heads. The film itself is like one of the mind games for which the television series was famous. The characters in the film, other than Hunt, are not what they seem, and the writers filled the film with hints that come and go quickly that inevitably reveal the secrets and secret identities. M: I is light on plot, but deceptively simple. Hunt must obtain the object of desire, the deep cover agent list that will in turn bring all the players out of the shadows and into the light of day. Only then, can he prove his innocence.

Cruise proves to be a very good actor (in addition to be such a magnifying screen presence) in the hands of a good director, and De Palma (Casualties of War), despite his spotty box office career, is a fine director. A student of Alfred Hitchcock’s work, De Palma brings the master’s sense of suspense and mystery to M: I. As with a Hitchcock lead, we know that Hunt is innocent, but the odds are so stacked against him that we wonder if he will escape alive, let alone solve the puzzle.

Jon Voight as Phelps fairly drips with duplicity and mystery; he is simultaneously an wise old teacher and reptilian cold war era spy. Vanessa Redgrave brings a lively elegance to the proceedings as the arms dealer, Max. Henry Czerny, as Eugene Kittridge, brings to the show the similar essence of his character Robert Ritter from Clear and Present Danger.

Mission: Impossible is a fine action thriller full of riveting suspense. It demands one’s attention with its unorthodox approach to action movies. Its premise is a gorilla that hangs by a thread on the suspension of disbelief. But it engages and demands that the viewer not only pay attention but uses his mind. The creators only ask that you surrender part of your thinking to them, while most movies, especially summer fare, ask for all of your good sense.

8 of 10
A

---------------------------

----------------------------

Amazon wants me to inform you that the affiliate link below is a PAID AD, but I technically only get paid (eventually) if you click on the affiliate link below AND buy something(s).

Review: Robert De Niro Leads a Cool Band of Men in "Ronin"

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 7 (of 2002) by Leroy Douresseaux

Ronin (1998)
Running time: 122 minutes (2 hours, 2 minutes)
MPAA – R for strong violence and some language
DIRECTOR: John Frankenheimer
WRITER: J. D. Zeik and Richard Weisz (David Mamet), from a story by J.D. Zeik
PRODUCER: Frank Mancuso Jr.
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Robert Fraisse (D.o.P.)
EDITOR: Tony Gibbs
COMPOSER: Elia Cmiral

ACTION/DRAMA/THRILLER

Starring: Robert DeNiro, Jean Reno, Natascha McElhone, Stellan Skarsgård, Sean Bean, Skipp Sudduth, Michael Lonsdale, Jan Triska, and Jonathan Pryce

Deirdre (Natascha McElhone), a mysterious Irish woman, gathers a team of freelance intelligence operatives to steal an even more mysterious metal suitcase. After her group successfully obtains the package, one of its operatives, Gregor (Stellan Skarsgard, Good Will Hunting), double crosses the others and steals the suitcase for himself. The mission goes awry, and Gregor’s treachery promptly throws the entire situation into confusion. Possible IRA (Irish Republican Army) renegades and ex-KGB (the former Soviet Union’s political police) also seek the case, and it becomes almost every man for himself.

In feudal Japan, ronin were samurai without masters, and a samurai’s purpose in life was to serve and to protect his master’s life with his own if necessary. Because of the strict Confucian caste system of the time, ronin could not get other work as merchants or as farmers, so they became hired guns. The characters in this film are, in a sense, ronin, people involved in the intelligence and espionage community who no longer serve a higher organization and are own their own. Or at least, they appear that way.

Robert De Niro is the Sam, ex-CIA, who from the moment he appears is the most savvy, the most intelligent, the straightest arrow, and the most vicious of the ronin when he has to be. De Niro is an electric presence on the screen and dominates this picture. He is the hero by which we ensure our safety, as we vicariously join this ride. Jean Reno is the sympathetic Vincent, a voice of reason and calm next to De Niro’s smoldering Sam. Vincent is a comforting presence in the rough and tumble espionage world of this movie, and he is the perfect partner for Sam.

Directed by veteran filmmaker John Frankenheimer (The Manchurian Candidate) makes Ronin a taught, adult thriller sans lots of special effects and eye candy. It’s a thinking man’s action movie – a drama and suspense thriller with action scenes. From the initial meeting of the operatives, an aborted arms deal, the staging and acquisition of the suitcase to a chase through the streets of Paris and the resolution, this is a thrill ride with both adrenaline and intelligence. The pacing of this film is a testament to the filmmaking skill of an under appreciated director.

J. D. Zeik’s story (with work by David Mamet under a pseudonym) is a gem. Smart adult action movies, thrillers, and suspense films are rare. Both writers understand the importance of plot, story, setting, and character as the lynchpins, while so many other movies hang the structure of their films on SFX and the pretty faces of new, hot, young faces.

With a veteran cast that also includes Jonathan Pryce and Sean Bean, Ronin is the joy ride that mature moviegoers need between the critical favorite dramas and the blockbuster trash. At the end the film, enough of this good cast is left alive for a sequel, one of the few times an action drama is worthy of having one.

7 of 10
A-

-----------------------------------

Review: "Hotel Rwanda" Won't Let You Feign Ignorance Any Longer (Happy B'day, Don Cheadle)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 76 (of 2005) by Leroy Douresseaux

Hotel Rwanda (2004)
Running time: 121 minutes (2 hours, 1 minute)
MPAA – PG-13 on appeal for violence, disturbing images, and brief strong language
DIRECTOR: Terry George
WRITER: Keir Person and Terry George
PRODUCER: A. Kitman Ho and Terry George
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Robert Fraisse
EDITOR: Naomi Geraghty
Academy Award nominee

DRAMA/WAR

Starring: Don Cheadle, Sophie Okonedo, Nick Nolte, Desmond Dube, Joaquin Phoenix, Fena Mokoena, Cara Seymour, and Tony Kgoroge with Jean Reno (no screen credit)

Hotel Rwanda is kind of an African version of Schindler’s List. Some background – in 1994, the African nation of Rwanda, a former Belgian colony, was in a state of civil war with internecine tribal fighting between the majority Hutu and minority Tutsi. When Belgium ruled the colony, they used the supposedly lighter-skinned Tutsi to rule the land, but when the Belgians exited the country, the left it to the Hutu. The allegedly dark-skinned Hutu were incredibly embittered of their treatment by the Tutsi during colonial rule, so when Tutsi rebels began fighting the Hutu government, Hutu hatred of the Tutsi grew exponentially. Members of an ethnic Hutu militia called the Interhamwe armed themselves with machetes and attacked Tutsis and Hutus sympathetic with them.

When the President of Rwanda’s (a Hutu) plane was shot down by Tutsi rebels after he signed a peace accord with them, the country fell into utter chaos, and the Interhamwe went on a Tutsi-killing spree that left almost a million people dead when the slaughter ended in July 1994. In an era of round-the-clock news and burgeoning high-speed communication, the genocide went almost unnoticed. Western Europe and the United States did not want to intercede in the conflict between the Hutu government and Tutsi rebels even to stop the ethnic cleansing of Tutsi’s by the Interhamwe (how much control the Hutu government and military had over the Interhamwe is open to debate).

Then-U.S. President Bill Clinton was reluctant to lend any kind of military assistance. Before President Clinton entered office in 1992, the previous presidential administration of George H. Bush had sent Marines into Somalia. After President Clinton surprisingly beat Bush, President Clinton was left holding the bag in Somalia. That turned into a disaster – see Black Hawk Down, for a fictional account of that embarrassment for the President. So President Clinton knew the American public and the increasingly hostile Republicans in Congress would not want more young American soldiers dying to save black Africans. The Clinton administration was even reluctant to call the killing of Tutsi’s genocide.

Hotel Rwanda is based upon the true story of Paul Rusesabagina (Don Cheadle in an Oscar-nominated performance), who was the manager of a Belgian-owned hotel called the Milles Collines in Kigali, Rwanda. Inspired the love of his family and the encouragement of his wife Tatiana (Sophie Okonedo in an Oscar-nominated supporting role), Paul uses the Milles Collines to shelter Tutsis and Hutus who are sympathetic to them. After the massacre of Tutsi begins, the French and Belgian armed forces eventually arrive to safely transport whites from the hotel, but they refuse to assist the Rwandans. Feeling betrayed by the whites for whom he worked so hard, Paul uses all his smarts and wiles to keep the Interhamwe and Rwanda military from taking his remaining hotel “guests” (Tutsi and Hutu) and killing them all. By the time all is said and done, Paul saves 1268 people. Hotel Rwanda is his story of survival and how he helped others survive at the cost of his and his family’s lives.

Directed by Terry George, Hotel Rwanda is simply a powerful film. As a drama, it is also a powerful film thriller, as riveting as any scary movie or special effects laden action flick. George and actor Don Cheadle never let the audience forget that there isn’t a minute that goes by when the occupants of the Milles Collines are not in danger. The script, co-written by George, is good, but George’s direction and the rhythm he uses to create a seamless advance of the narrative carry with it the film’s dominant theme – Paul Rusesabagina’s determination to save lives because he believes people should not merely be murdered by the whim of ignorant bigots, no matter how big a majority the bigots may have. With quiet grit and determination, Cheadle reveals the tale of strength in his face and in his entire body. He doesn’t look like he’s acting; he looks like a man on a holy mission. Sophie Okonedo as Tatiana gives a good performance (which occasionally seems a tad too thick), and Nick Nolte’s performance isn’t great, but whenever his Colonel Oliver is onscreen, the character fits and his presence is really needed – both in the fiction and in the filmmaking.

Hotel Rwanda, however, does play with a double-edged sword. It’s hard to believe that anyone could make a PG-13 movie about genocide, but George does. With that rating, he makes the film accessible to the young people who should see this, but might not be able to view R rated films. However, the genocide in Rwanda 1994 needed the kind of visual brutality that Steven Spielberg used so well in Schindler’s List. George compensates by making Hotel Rwanda as much about Rusesabagina’s story as it is about the genocide, which keeps the drama from being a documentary. Still, anyone who likes powerful, superbly made dramas that also portray acts in human history that must be recorded in fact and told as art and fiction, movies like Schindler’s List and The Killing Fields, will not only enjoy Hotel Rwanda, but must also see it.

9 of 10
A+

NOTES:
2005 Academy Awards: 3 nominations: “Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” (Don Cheadle), “Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role” (Sophie Okonedo) and “Best Writing, Original Screenplay” (Keir Pearson and Terry George)

2006 BAFTA Awards: 1 nomination: “Best Screenplay – Original” (Keir Pearson and Terry George)

2005 Black Reel Awards: 1 win: “Best Actress, Drama” (Sophie Okonedo); 1 nomination: “Best Actor, Drama” (Don Cheadle)

2005 Golden Globes: 3 nominations: “Best Motion Picture – Drama,” “Best Original Song - Motion Picture” (Wyclef Jean-music/lyrics, Jerry 'Wonder' Duplessis-music, and Andrea Guerra-music for the song "Million Voices"), and Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama” (Don Cheadle)

2005 Image Awards: 3 nomination: “Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture” (Don Cheadle), “Outstanding Motion Picture,” and “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture” (Sophie Okonedo)

April 29, 2005

-----------------------

Review: Steve Martin is His Usual Self in 2006 Version of "The Pink Panther" (Happy B'day, Beyonce)

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 45 (of 2006) by Leroy Douresseaux

The Pink Panther (2006)
Running time: 93 minutes (1 hour, 33 minutes)
MPAA – PG for occasional crude and suggestive humor and language
DIRECTOR: Shawn Levy
WRITERS: Len Blum and Steve Martin; from a story by Len Blum and Michael Saltzman (based on characters by Blake Edwards and Maurice Richlin)
PRODUCER: Robert Simonds
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Jonathan Brown
EDITORS: George Folsey, Jr. and Brad E. Wilhite

COMEDY/CRIME with elements of mystery

Starring: Steve Martin, Kevin Kline, Beyoncé Knowles, Jean Reno, Emily Mortimer, Henry Czerny, Roger Rees, Jason Statham, and William Abadie

In the 2006 version of The Pink Panther, France’s greatest soccer coach, Yves Gluant (Jason Statham), is murdered in front of tens of thousands of people during a match, but no one knows who the murder is, and to make matters worse, his world famous diamond ring, The Pink Panther, is missing. Chief Inspector Dreyfus (Kevin Kline) wants to solve the case without the interference of the press, so he promotes small town policeman, Jacques Clouseau (Steve Martin), to inspector.

However, Dreyfus wants the new Inspector Clouseau watched, so he assigns a veteran officer, Gendarme Gilbert Ponton (Jean Reno), to keep an eye on Clouseau. Meanwhile, the bumbling Clouseau has taken on the case of Gluant’s murder as if he were France’s best officer of the law. He questions all of Gluant’s rivals and shady associates (usually asking the dumbest questions), but he falls under the spell of Gluant’s beautiful girlfriend, an international pop singer named Xania (Beyoncé Knowles). Could Xania be Gluant’s murderer, and does she have the Pink Panther? Clouseau is willing to follow her to America to find out.

What’s the point of another Pink Panther film, especially since Peter Sellers, the actor who originated the character in the 1963 film, The Pink Panther, and defined him in A Shot in the Dark, is long dead? Well, the grave was already desecrated long ago when Pink Panther franchise director Blake Edwards had Roberto Benigni try to fill Sellers shoes by playing Inspector Clouseau’s illegitimate offspring in Son of the Pink Panther (1993). When the announcement came last year that Steve Martin would become the new Inspector Clouseau, there was some excitement among movie fans and the entertainment press, but I was wary. But in this new film, also entitled The Pink Panther, Martin is his reliably funny and silly self. He doesn’t deliver the kind of comedy he did from the 1970’s to the mid-80’s, but that was decades ago; regardless of style and content changes, he’s wild and funny (if not as crazy) guy. All that matters is that in this movie, he is damn funny.

If you put Sellers’ Clouseau out of your mind (and it’s possible to do), you will find Martin’s take on the character to be exceedingly silly and amazingly funny. Martin, a very talented actor and comedian never lets up in this film, and he can run the gamut of emotions and make the audience feel them. I laughed at Martin’s Clouseau, was annoyed by him, felt for him, thought he was cool, and ultimately cheered his slyly hidden intelligence. In a movie plagued by a pitiful script and absent direction, Martin made The Pink Panther live. This is a solid Steve Martin vehicle in spite of the dead air that stifles this remake.

And while Martin sparkles, his supporting casts works well with him. Although they start off cold, Kevin Kline (always game) and Jean Reno (looking a bit worn here) are fine straight guys for Martin’s relentless goofy and dense Clouseau. Kline is usually dead on as the straight guy, and here he plays the frustrated foil with self-confidence that is above this poorly constructed movie. Reno has a few good moments, though his character Ponton is just a sounding board for Martin’s craziness. However, he really gives a Clouseau/Ponton dance sequence a professional’s touch. He does it the way a good actor should – like he has to sell the performance both to the audience and to a guard who stands in the way of Clouseau and Ponton. There is actually some sexual tension and chemistry between Martin’s Clouseau and Nicole, played in a nice comic turn by Emily Mortimer. It would have been good to see more of that pairing in the film. Although she is a poor actress and it’s never more obvious than in this movie, Beyoncé Knowles is fine and pretty to look at, and that must count for something, right?

In the final analysis of The Pink Panther, Steve Martin makes this thoroughly mediocre film his star vehicle with a little help from his supporting cast. Here, as Martin so often does, he gets the hard laughs – sometimes bringing me to tears.

5 of 10
B-

Monday, February 27, 2006

---------------------

Review: "Couples Retreat" Finds Good Humor in Marital Problems

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 4 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

Couples Retreat (2009)
Running time: 113 minutes (1 hour, 53 minutes)
MPAA – on appeal PG-13 for sexual content and language (originally rated R for some sexual material)
DIRECTOR: Peter Billingsley
WRITERS: Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn & Dana Fox
PRODUCERS: Scott Stuber and Vince Vaughn
CINEMATOGRAPHER: Eric Edwards (D.o.P.)
EDITORS: Dan Lebental

COMEDY/DRAMA

Starring: Vince Vaughn, Jason Bateman, Faizon Love, Jon Favreau, Malin Akerman, Kristen Bell, Kristin Davis, Kali Hawk, Tasha Smith, Carlos Ponce, Peter Serafinowicz, Temuera Morrison, and Jean Reno

In the film, Couples Retreat, four Midwestern couples embark on a journey to a tropical island resort, where one of the couples will work on a failing marriage. What starts out looking like a typical, Vince Vaughn snarky/slob comedy turns into an awkward comedy about the marriage blues. This movie not too subtly says that the work and effort that it takes to keep a marriage intact are themselves a reward.

Dave (Vince Vaughn) and Ronnie (Malin Akerman) are a happy couple with two adorable children, but they don’t seem to notice that they’ve stopped doing things together that they enjoy. Their friends, Jason (Jason Bateman) and Cynthia (Kristen Bell), are having problems. Jason talks Dave and Ronnie and two other couples: Joey (Jon Favreau) and Lucy (Kristin Davis) and Shane (Faizon Love) and his 20-year-old girlfriend, Trudy (Kali Hawk), to travel to Eden West, a resort that promises to help couples fix marriage problems.

While Cynthia and Jason are there to work on their marriage, the other three set out to ride jet skis, get spa treatments, have fun in the sun, and generally enjoy some down time. However, they are informed that participation in the resort’s couples therapy program, led by the wise Marcel (Jean Reno), is not optional. Much to their chagrin, they find that their group-rate vacation comes at the price of examining all their marriages, and Cynthia and Jason aren’t the only couple with problems.

The funny moments that appeared in commercials for Couples Retreat practically comprises most of what can be described as the film’s belly laughs. There are certainly many other laughs, but that comedy and humor is derived from this movie’s central truth: all couples have problems. This movie is not about juvenile laughs. It is actually a grown up comedy about the complications of adult life. As depicted in this film, even the most painful moments in a marriage can illicit laughs because genuine, meaningful comedy can come from truths. The script allows the characters to confront each other with painful truths that might be uncomfortable to hear in the real world, but are funny when said in the context of this movie.

Under the uneven direction of Peter Billingsley, Couples Retreat drifts and stumbles, as if Billingsley can’t quite get a grip on what the soul of this narrative is. Too many moments that are meant to be thoughtful or introspective end up being graceless. However, the sharp observational and relationship comedy by screenwriters, Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn, and Dana Fox combined with some quality comic acting make Couples Retreat an enjoyable film. Faizon Love and Kali Hawk, whose characters were likely meant to be mere Negro comic relief, actually steal the show, and the underrated Love gives, by far, the best performance in Couples Retreat.

6 of 10
B

Friday, February 12, 2010

------------------