New movies are usually released to theaters every Friday, but who’s got 10 bucks these days to drop on a movie that may well be a load of crap? Given those odds, on Friday I offer an alternative on DVD that you can rent at your local video store (or in some cases, avoid at all costs). Some will be new releases, others you may have to hunt for, but all of them are available to light up your small screen should it be a lazy Friday night.

The Warlords

Yep, it’s another Asian import for this week’s Featured Film, so those of you who are subtitle-impaired can go ahead and tune out now.  For the rest of you, Heather and I found another great gem last weekend in The Warlords, the story of three men bound together by war.  With a great cast including Jet Li (Hero), Andy Lau (House of Flying Daggers) and Takeshi Kaneshiro (Red Cliff), we were excited to check the movie out, and what we found was an engaging personal drama that was deeply moving and did not disappoint.

The film begins by introducing us to Qingyun (Li) a general in the Qing army who is the sole survivor of a battle gone horribly wrong.  In disgrace and disarray, he comes upon the camp of a bandit gang led by Erhu (Lau) and Wuyang (Kaneshiro).  After earning the men’s respect, Qingyun proposes that their camp joins the army in order to bring respect and stability for their people.  As the men embark on a long and difficult campaign, they struggle to hold fast to the oath of loyalty that they swore to one another.

Among Chinese imports of the past decade, I’d put The Warlords safely in the top half, though it’s very different in time period and tone from many of the others.  Set in the 19th century, the film is grittier in both tone and themes than movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero.  The focus in battle scenes is on brutality, not grace, and the soul of the movie is the tension that war puts on the strong relationship between the three lead characters.  It’s a deeply human story, and while the action scenes are nice and well-done, those expecting an action epic might be a little let down by the time all is said and done.  This is a personal drama set against the backdrop of a war film, and thanks to great performances by the leads, a more-potent-than-expected script, and a solid overall vision from director Peter Chan, it’s a darn good one.  If you’ve been a fan of these actors and the movies they’ve brought across the Pacific in the last ten years, then you’ll likely enjoy this one too.  Unless you simply can’t tolerate subtitles, give this a rental (Netflix members, it’s also currently available for instant streaming). – ***1/2 (out of 4)

The Warlords is rated R for sequences of strong violence.

New movies are usually released to theaters every Friday, but who’s got 10 bucks these days to drop on a movie that may well be a load of crap? Given those odds, on Friday I offer an alternative on DVD that you can rent at your local video store (or in some cases, avoid at all costs). Some will be new releases, others you may have to hunt for, but all of them are available to light up your small screen should it be a lazy Friday night.

The Book of Eli

When The Book of Eli came out back in January, I remember being intrigued by the trailer and the buzz of some spiritual undertones in the movie, but scared away by uneven reviews from friends and the fact that the movie came out in the proverbial Hollywood dumping ground of January.  The movie has been a hot rental on DVD charts since its recent release, and I finally got the chance to see it when my brother rented it on our recent vacation.  In the end, the movie was a pretty good mirror of my initial feelings about it – compelling in some ways, drab in others, and ultimately not really engaging enough to make me care.

Denzel Washington stars as Eli, a man on a mission making his way across the wasteland of post-apocalyptic America.  Eli is in possession of the last remaining copy of the Bible, and he believes that God has told him to take it west.  On his way, he stops in a town controlled by the charismatic warlord Carnegie (Gary Oldman), who believes the book may be the key to expanding his personal empire.   Determined to complete his task, Eli must stay beyond Carnegie’s grasp as he walks the long road to the ocean.

The premise is intriguing enough, especially for a Christian.  Hollywood action films with the Bible as a key element aren’t exactly a dime-a-dozen, and even though the film’s not a theological masterpiece there’s some stuff there that was pretty cool to see.  The action scenes are entertaining enough, and the movie’s bleak, washed-out landscape gives it a nice visual flair.  It’s tough to put my finger on exactly where the movie went wrong, but I suspect it might be in the characters.  Eli is intriguing, but never filled out enough to make me really invest in him.  The peripheral characters he meets along the way, such as Mila Kunis’s Solara, never really feel like more than plot devices, and while Gary Oldman is always fun to watch as a villian, Carnegie feels pretty one-dimensional as well.  This just leaves a cool idea and lots of stylishly shot scenes of Denzel slashing his way through nameless thugs.  Entertaining enough for a while, but even with some nice twists in the last 20 minutes, it doesn’t a winning film make.  If you’re already interested in seeing it, it might be worth a cheap rental, but if it hasn’t already piqued your interest, go ahead and skip it. – ** (out of 4)

The Book of Eli is rated R for some brutal violence and language.

New movies are usually released to theaters every Friday, but who’s got 10 bucks these days to drop on a movie that may well be a load of crap? Given those odds, on Friday I offer an alternative on DVD that you can rent at your local video store (or in some cases, avoid at all costs). Some will be new releases, others you may have to hunt for, but all of them are available to light up your small screen should it be a lazy Friday night.

Up In the Air

In Thank You For Smoking, director Jason Reitman (son of Ghostbusters director Ivan Reitman) gave us a very clever satire about a fast-tongued PR rep for the cigarette industry.  In Juno, he made a film that was both funny and moving about a quirky pregnant teenager.  Now comes Up In the Air, a movie about a corporate rep who jets around the country firing people for a living.  Put them together and you have a picture of a guy who has a real knack for pulling humor out of decidedly unfunny situations.  Accompanying Reitman’s sharp sense of humor is a talent for great character studies, and that’s on display in Up In the Air as well, as we’re treated to a terrific look at what happens when a charming narcissist has his world shaken up.

George Clooney plays said narcissist in the person of Ryan Bingham, a “corporate downsizer” who travels around the country firing people for bosses too afraid to do it themselves.  A bachelor, Ryan spends the vast majority of his time on the road and wouldn’t have it any other way.  He moonlights giving motivational speeches about the freedom that comes from a life without responsibilities.  He takes pride in his job and enjoys the no-strings-attached relationships he forms on the road.  However, his comfortable existence is shaken when fresh-faced new employee Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick) is hired by his company to take their firing process over the internet, saving the company millions in travel expenses and bringing him home from the road – a terrifying prospect.  When Ryan counters to his boss by arguing that Natalie doesn’t know a thing about what they do, he’s ordered to take her along on a few jobs to show her the ropes.  While she’s learning the process, we learn quite a bit about Ryan through their clash of philosophy and personality.

As I said, the strength of Reitman’s films tends to be his wit and characters, and that’s the case again here.  Clooney is as good as he’s even been in a part that’s pitch-perfect for his charm, Kendrick (Twilight) nails both the look and attitude of an ambitious and optimistic college grad, and Vera Farmiga (The Departed) does equally well portraying a woman whom Bingham is smitten with and begins to see casually over the course of his travels.  All three garnered Oscar nominations for their performances and they were well-deserved.  What could have been a cliched clash-of-personalities comedy in lesser hands becomes a very authentic and engaging look at how what we value in life shapes who we are.  As you explore the lives of the three lead characters, I think you’ll see a lot of similarities to the outlooks of the people in our culture, if not people you actually know.  The humor of the tale is dry and wry, and the pace is a bit slow, especially out of the gate, so this probably won’t be a film with universal appeal.  If you’ve liked Reitman’s previous work, though, you’ll find yourself in familiar territory here.  The film has a more grounded, serious tone than Thank You For Smoking and I didn’t think it was quite as emotionally arresting as Juno, but it combines some of the vibes of both and I found it a pretty enjoyable movie.  Definitely worth a rental. – ***1/2 (out of 4)

Up In the Air is rated R for language and some sexual content.

New movies are usually released to theaters every Friday, but who’s got 10 bucks these days to drop on a movie that may well be a load of crap? Given those odds, on Friday I offer an alternative on DVD that you can rent at your local video store (or in some cases, avoid at all costs). Some will be new releases, others you may have to hunt for, but all of them are available to light up your small screen should it be a lazy Friday night.

Following

To give some closure to my post-Inception Christopher Nolan kick, I decided to see the only film of his that I hadn’t seen – a movie that, until a couple weeks ago, I didn’t even know existed.  Before Nolan found mainstream recognition with Memento, he made his feature debut with a 70-minute British indie flick called Following.  Shot in black-and-white with a neo-noir feel and a minimalistic production, Following certainly is a far cry stylistically from stuff like Inception and The Dark Knight.  However, it was a tightly-wound, clever little film, and it serves as a neat showcase of many of the techniques and themes that would come to define Nolan as a filmmaker.

Jeremy Theobald stars as a nameless, struggling London writer who begins to follow complete strangers around town, seeking inspiration for characters and stories.  The habit starts innocently (though creepily) enough, but things change when one of his marks notices him and corners him in a restaurant.  The man (Alex Haw), who introduces himself as Cobb, reveals himself as a burglar, and decides to take the young writer with him on his next break-in.  This new thrill hooks the writer, and he soon finds himself a burglar himself, stricken with a blonde beauty (Lucy Russell) and in over his head in London’s seedier side.

The movie is evocative of much of Nolan’s subsequent studio work, especially Memento.  Events transpire out of chronological order, introducing us to the story’s characters before we’re able to figure out exactly what it is they’re doing.  The black and white visuals and stripped-down audio additionally give the film a somewhat unsettling feel, and it left me always curious to see what lied around the next corner of the plot.  The bleak visual tone matches the movie’s thematic tone, as we explore a man’s obsession that I found very reminiscent of The Prestige.  I wondered, coming in, if the non-chronological approach would serve or distract from the story, but it fit perfectly – layering in revelations at just the right time and unraveling the puzzle to give maximum dramatic impact.  It’s not the most emotionally engaging tale in the world – at 70 minutes, character development is surprisingly strong but still short of Nolan’s other work – and the twists aren’t as tightly and cleverly wound as Memento, but it’s a nice short, sweet tale that film buffs and Nolan fans should enjoy.  The disc may be tricky to find at your local video store, but Netflix subscribers can find it available for instant streaming.  Following is more a niche recommendation than a movie with broad appeal, but if you like Nolan it’s certainly worth checking out. – *** (out of 4)

Following is rated R for language and some violence.

In the comment thread to my review of Inception, Darius posted a link to a great interview (SPOILER ALERT) with actor Dileep Rao, who plays Yusuf the chemist in the film.  Rao goes into detail discussing the ins and outs of the film, including his take on that oh-so-buzzworthy ending.  Obviously, again, major SPOILER ALERT, but if you have seen the film and are trying to figure out how it all fits together, the interview is a great read.

As I’ve mentioned before on the blog, I am a huge fan of director Christopher Nolan, who released his new thriller Inception over the weekend.  I’ve loved every one of his films.  Memento was an innovative and carefully-constructed labyrinth.  Insomnia was his underrated best, a captivating look at guilt and redemption.  The Prestige was a haunting look into the human soul hidden within a twist-ridden mystery.  The two films of the reimagined Batman franchise, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, have redefined what a summer blockbuster and comic book movie can be.  Not one of those films would garner less than a four-star review from me.  So, when I say that Inception is Nolan’s masterpiece, I want you to grasp the full meaning of what I am saying.

Leonardo DiCaprio (and who would have thought that the kid from Titanic would become one of the finest actors of his generation?) stars as Dominic Cobb, the leader of a skilled team of thieves.  Cobb and his crew are masters of corporate espionage through a mind-blowing process called extraction – entering the mind of their mark through dreams and stealing secrets from the subject’s subconscious.  Ridden with guilt over a past that keeps him away from his children, Cobb is desperate to return home.  He may have found a way through wealthy Japanese businessman Saito (Ken Watanabe).  Desperate to break up the blossoming corporation of an energy competitor (Cillian Murphy), Saito asks Cobb to perform the believed-impossible task of inception – rather than stealing secrets from a subject’s mind, he wants Cobb to plant an idea so deeply that when the subject awakes he will believe the idea is his own.  In return, he promises to make a phone call that will allow Cobb to see his children again.  Cobb assembles his team, and the (literal) mind-games begin.

Nolan and his screenwriter brother Jonathan have spent the past ten years developing this film, and the careful nature of their craft shows in every detail.  The concept is incredibly intriguing – though we all dream, the act remains one of the most puzzling aspects of our existence.  Nolan plays on this fascination by weaving every oddity of dreams that we’ve all experienced (Why do you never remember the beginning of a dream?  What about the feeling of falling that will sometimes jolt you awake?  What happens when you die in a dream?) into the fabric of the story.  The concept is then executed brilliantly.  This is a story that can really only be told in the medium of film.  The visual aspect of the movie is mind-blowing, not simply in a loud explosions kind of way, but through seeing a surreal concept perfectly realized through striking visuals.  You’re not just awed by what you’re watching, but by what’s actually going on.  The characters at the center of this story ensure that the film’s emotional payoff lives up to its mental one.  DiCaprio plays Cobb perfectly as a desperate man who is haunted by tragedy and will stop at nothing to return home.  Ellen Page is perfectly cast in her first ‘adult’ role (as opposed to the precocious persona she’s used well in films like Juno) as the team’s fresh-faced newcomer who acts as Cobb’s mental and emotional anchor.  The rest of the supporting cast fills their roles nicely.  I’m tempted to point out a few of the supporting actors who deliver especially noteworthy performances, but I’m realizing that if I do, I’d end up listing the entire cast.  When the great Michael Caine is relegated to near-cameo status, you know you’ve got a strong cast.  Hans Zimmer’s score fits the mood seamlessly, the production design gives the dream worlds a feel that is feels simultaneously real and surreal (just like a dream), and every possible element combines to make a film that truly feels special – the kind of movie that you walk out of the theater knowing you won’t see the likes of again for quite a while.  Of course, given the man’s track record, you may just have to wait until Nolan steps behind the camera again.  All the way to the final mesmerizing shot, Inception is the kind of movie dreams are made of. – **** (out of 4)

Inception is rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and action throughout.

New movies are usually released to theaters every Friday, but who’s got 10 bucks these days to drop on a movie that may well be a load of crap? Given those odds, on Friday I offer an alternative on DVD that you can rent at your local video store (or in some cases, avoid at all costs). Some will be new releases, others you may have to hunt for, but all of them are available to light up your small screen should it be a lazy Friday night.

The Prestige

Tomorrow, my favorite director, Christopher Nolan, releases his newest movie, Inception.  If early reviews are to be believed, it should be one heck of a mind-bending adventure.   That’s nothing new for Nolan, who has previously directed the chronologically-backwards mystery Memento, the cop vs. killer thriller Insomnia, the two films in the relaunched Batman series (Batman Begins and The Dark Knight), and the movie I want to spotlight today – a tale of dueling magicians at the turn of the 20th century called The Prestige.  If you’re looking for an introduction to Nolan’s movies that will prepare you for the mind-trip that Inception is said to be, then this twist-filled tale power, envy and revenge will be a great place to start.

At the outset, we’re introduced to Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale), two aspiring young illusionists working for a traveling magician named Milton (Ricky Jay) with his crew.  Honing their craft and learning tips from veteran illusion craftsman Cutter (Michael Caine), the two develop a friendly rivalry that turns tragic one night when Angier’s wife (Piper Perabo), one of their fellow assistants, is killed in an accident that Angier holds Borden responsible for.  The two head out on their own and seek fame and fortune, attempting to one-up each other’s acts, and their obsessive quests to discover the other’s secrets threatens to destroy their very lives.

This is a movie that succeeds on every level.  The script, penned by Nolan and his brother Jonathan, is full of carefully planned twists and turns, rife with tension, and populated by characters that are captivating and deeply human.  The actors playing those characters are superb, from Jackman and Bale to supporting cast members Caine, Rebecca Hall, Scarlet Johansson and even David Bowie.  Nolan weaves the narrative together with pitch-perfect pacing and tone, keeping the audience always a bit confused but simultaneously fully engaged in both the mystery and the characters.  The film explores themes like the captivity of obsession and the destructive power of revenge as well as any movie I’ve seen.  As great as it is trying to figure out the labyrinthine plot your first time seeing it, the added character depth that becomes more evident once you know the outcome makes this an equally incredible film for a second viewing.  In fact, it’s a more different experience from first to second viewing than any movie I’ve ever seen.  Tomorrow, I’ll be out seeing Inception, but if you’d rather stay at home this weekend and check out a great Christopher Nolan movie, give The Prestige a rental.  It’s pure cinematic magic (sorry, I couldn’t resist). – **** (out of 4)

The Prestige is rated PG-13 for violence and distrubing images.

New movies are usually released to theaters every Friday, but who’s got 10 bucks these days to drop on a movie that may well be a load of crap? Given those odds, on Friday I offer an alternative on DVD that you can rent at your local video store (or in some cases, avoid at all costs). Some will be new releases, others you may have to hunt for, but all of them are available to light up your small screen should it be a lazy Friday night.

Runaway Jury

With Heather and I knee-deep in Battlestar Galacatica and The War, it’s been a while since I sat down and watched a movie.  As a result, I’m going to reach into the D.J. vault for this week’s featured film.  I offer you Runaway Jury, a fun little ride of a courtroom thriller from 2003 that’s loaded with great actors giving strong performances in service of a very clever script.  If you’re looking for an engaging and clever popcorn flick to beat the heat this weekend, it would be a nice rental.

John Cusack stars as Nicholas Easter, a store clerk who finds himself called for jury duty.  He finds himself on the jury for a high-profile negligence lawsuit against a gun manufacturer by the widow of a stock broker gunned down in his office.  As the prosecution (Dustin Hoffman) and defense (Bruce Davison) attorneys prep the case, an even more intricate game of illegal cat and mouse goes on behind the scenes.  Jury consultant Rankin Fitch (Gene Hackman) has been hired to tilt the jury for the defense, and through electronic surveillance he’s aiming to manipulate the case’s outcome.  As the proceedings get underway, twists and turns both inside and outside the courtroom reveal a complex case with even more going on than meets the eye.

Two main factors combine to make Runaway Jurya lot of fun – a cleverly penned script and a fantastic cast.  Hackman is simply superb as a snake of a man, while Hoffman, Cusack, and Rachel Weiss (as Easter’s girlfriend) each offer great performances that give us a group of very interesting characters to invest in.  The story, based on a John Grisham novel, uses those characters well to keep the audience guessing and provide some great onscreen moments.  Director Gary Fleder (Kiss the Girls) does a good job of setting a brisk pace and a tension and mystery that will keep you engaged to the end.  I don’t want to give too much away about the film, as it’s one that’s best experienced fresh and spoiler-free.  This is a fast-paced courtroom thriller that doesn’t get overly bogged down in legalese and delivers characters that keep the action in the courtroom intellectually exciting and emotionally engaging.  Fans of Grisham, courtroom movies in general, or any of the film’s great actors will likely find this one worth watching.  It’s not a masterpiece or a film that will leave a lasting mark on you, but it serves its genre fantastically and is a lot of fun. – ***1/2 (out of 4)

Runaway Jury is rated PG-13 for violence, language and thematic elements.

New movies are usually released to theaters every Friday, but who’s got 10 bucks these days to drop on a movie that may well be a load of crap? Given those odds, on Friday I offer an alternative on DVD that you can rent at your local video store (or in some cases, avoid at all costs). Some will be new releases, others you may have to hunt for, but all of them are available to light up your small screen should it be a lazy Friday night.

The Last Samurai

Tom Cruise’s new movie, Knight and Day, opened last week to a lackluster box office take.  Many have speculated that it’s because Cruise doesn’t click as well with audiences anymore after his antics over the last ten years.  However, while he may have gotten crazier with time, he’s also become a better and better actor, and seeing his name in the news got me thinking about my all-time favorite Cruise film, the historical fiction epic The Last Samurai.  Director Edward Zwick does his finest work in the tale of the dying of a way of life in 19th-century Japan and the rebirth it gave to a broken American soldier.

Cruise stars as Captain Nathan Algren, a washed-up drunk of a former American soldier haunted by his brutality in the Indian Wars.  In need of money, Algren accepts a job offer from a wealthy Japanese businessman (Masato Harada) to train the Japanese Imperial Army in modern military methods and tactics.  Japan is modernizing, and an army is needed to put down the rebellion of the Samurai warrior Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe), who is fighting to hold onto the Samurai code even as it is outlawed in the name of modernity.  Algren accepts the job, but when his army is rushed into battle too quickly by his superiors, he is wounded and captured by Katusmoto’s forces.  As he lives among the Samurai, he is enchanted by their ways and must reevaluate what side will have his allegiance in the coming battle. 

Cruise delivers one of his finest performances in a role that at first seems out of place for him.  This isn’t flashy, Mission: Impossible-style Tom Cruise, but an actor who does a tremendous job subtly portraying a man going through a total character transformation.  Watanabe, however, completely steals the show as Katsumoto, launching his career in the states and garnering an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.  The film covers familiar thematic ground (the honor of the old ways and the pressing progress of modernity) but does so in an unfamiliar setting, which helps avoid any sense of cliche and takes us into a fascinating period of history that Hollywood really hasn’t spent much time in.  The film, while not a true story, is inspired by real-life people and conflicts that shaped Japan during the latter half of the 1800s.  Zwick, who has helmed other epics like Glory and Defiance that featured both intimate character portraits and vast scope, is right at home here and gives us a movie that is as captivating in its quiet conversations as it is in its grand battle sequences (which are riveting).  Composer Hans Zimmer adds what I believe to be his best musical work, and the whole package comes together as film that’s simply a must-see.  Exciting and moving, tragic and redemptive, The Last Samurai is a truly remarkable film.  If you’re looking for something to watch over the holiday weekend, you won’t go wrong here. – **** (out of 4)

The Last Samurai is rated R for strong violence and battle sequences.

Over the past few weeks, Heather and I have been watching Ken Burns’ 2007 World War II documentary The War.  Like all Burns’ films, the PBS-produced doc relies heavily on archival footage, photographs, letters and news reports, and it tells the story of the war as experienced by citizens of four American cities: Mobile, AL, Sacramento, CA, Waterbury, CN and Luverne, MN.  We’ve watched three of the seven two-hour episodes, and have found the documentary fascinating and deeply moving.  I thought that I had a pretty good grasp on WWII history, but The War has given a level of detail and humanity that I’ve never seen before.  If you have Netflix, you can view the film through Instant Stream (as we are), and I would highly recommend it to anyone with even the slightest semblance of interest in World War II or history in general.  Here’s a clip from the close of the first episode.