With such a Lifetime-esque title, I can easily see how one could mistake “Finding Amanda” for a trite, melodramatic sap-fest that appeals strictly to the estrogen crowd. But after listening to ten minutes of writer/director Peter Tolan’s profanity-laced venom masquerading as dialogue, it’s easier to see that any sense of sentimentality you may have been expecting has been openly checked at the door. This is a crass, free-spirited black comedy in which public indecency is just as popular as the slot machines inside the casino.
Matthew Broderick stars as Taylor, a smarmy television writer who’s struggling with just about every addiction you can think of yet promises to travel to Vegas and rescue his niece from prostitution. He vows not to gamble one cent while there, but the irresistible air of the track becomes too much to bear and soon enough the bank is prepared to thwart any major transaction he might be planning. When his wife discovers a check missing, she immediately catches on to his scheme and threatens to dissolve their marriage upon his return.
After a series of disappointments, Broderick makes a splendid return to the screen and delivers one of the most starkly funny performances of his career. No matter how despicable Taylor’s behavior becomes, he always seems to emit the ideal amount of humor and charisma to keep the audience on his side. The indelible personality that made Ferris Bueller such an iconic character is still very much in play even if on a more disheveled, self-conscious level.
When he finally spots Amanda (Brittany Snow), she appears to be in better shape than he is regardless of how many restroom rendezvous she’s been a part of. Her hair is bleach blond, her figure is tight, and she’s always perky enough to make you wonder whether her issues are indeed worthy of a stint in rehab. She does have somewhat of an anger-management problem, but Tolan doesn’t toil enough in that area, so I won’t bother discussing it.
Snow is desperately trying to shed her innocent girl image and, for the most part, her performance isn’t all that bad. She has a strangely honest on-screen connection with Broderick and her intensity level during some of the more critical scenes is commendable.
As the film sails toward its conclusion, the relationship between Taylor and Amanda is strained in more ways than one and the likelihood of anyone going to rehab diminishes by the second.
Their final encounter is endearing and evasive at the same time, but the last shot may frustrate those looking for a fairy tale ending. It’s not great, but it’s surely more enjoyable than “What Happens in Vegas” right?
- *** out of 4
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Be Kind Rewind and Shutter
“Be Kind Rewind” is a film for anyone who has ever been even the least bit enchanted by the inspirational magic of Hollywood’s finest technical wizardry. No matter how offbeat or fanciful things became, I couldn’t help but feel enamored by the production team’s ingenious approach to recreating some of the industry’s most unforgettable pictures. Whether you’re twenty-five or fifty-five, you’d be hard-pressed to find yourself not admiring the uncorrupted sentiment behind director Michel Gondry’s innovative cinematic daydream and I can only hope that it gains a stronger audience on DVD.
Taking a page out of the Surrealist’s Handbook, Gondry takes an otherwise loopy scenario involving a man whose brain becomes magnetized and transforms it into a sweet, good-natured meta-comedy that had me smiling throughout its entire one-hundred and two minute running time.
Jack Black and Mos Def make a winning on-screen pair of small town eccentrics and provide just the right balance between heart and absurdity to keep the film from experiencing an early downfall. Since they could actually pass for a couple of lumbering video store clerks from Passaic, Gondry doesn’t have to go out of his way to make the viewer believe that what they’re watching is plausible.
Had a showy A-list cast attempted to bring this story to life, I don’t think it would’ve survived much past the developmental stage, because Black and Def’s fervent enthusiasm for the material appears difficult to match.
Like most of Gondry’s finest work, this one didn’t receive the expanded release it deserved. While audiences were off indulging in tedious debris such as “Jumper” and “Semi Pro,” this quiet treasure struggled to crack the top-10 at the weekend box office and is now relegated to the shelf at your local video store. Here’s one tape I hope doesn’t get erased.
- *** out of 4
If anyone can offer a compelling reason as to why we needed a soulless, Americanized version of “Shutter,” I’d love to hear it.
Seriously, can anyone justify the creation of such a dense, mind-numbing excuse for a thriller that has absolutely no exhilaration whatsoever? I’m still waiting.
Rather than make you sweat it out, I’ll just go ahead and say that no such rationalization exists and let you in on just how insipid this film turns out to be.
Joshua Jackson and Rachel Taylor play a newlywed couple who travel to Tokyo and begin seeing the spirit of a dead woman in their photographs. At first, they have no idea who she is, but it’s later revealed that she’s one of his old girlfriends who never quite let go of the relationship. Is she really appearing from beyond the grave to terrorize them? Well, it’s either that or someone has been knocking back a little too much sake for my taste.
Then again, does it really matter? The so-called terrifying resolution to this tale is so utterly inept that it wouldn’t even be cruel if I revealed it right here, so before you let the trailer suck you in, take a deep breath and think carefully about what you’re about to do.
- * out of 4
Taking a page out of the Surrealist’s Handbook, Gondry takes an otherwise loopy scenario involving a man whose brain becomes magnetized and transforms it into a sweet, good-natured meta-comedy that had me smiling throughout its entire one-hundred and two minute running time.
Jack Black and Mos Def make a winning on-screen pair of small town eccentrics and provide just the right balance between heart and absurdity to keep the film from experiencing an early downfall. Since they could actually pass for a couple of lumbering video store clerks from Passaic, Gondry doesn’t have to go out of his way to make the viewer believe that what they’re watching is plausible.
Had a showy A-list cast attempted to bring this story to life, I don’t think it would’ve survived much past the developmental stage, because Black and Def’s fervent enthusiasm for the material appears difficult to match.
Like most of Gondry’s finest work, this one didn’t receive the expanded release it deserved. While audiences were off indulging in tedious debris such as “Jumper” and “Semi Pro,” this quiet treasure struggled to crack the top-10 at the weekend box office and is now relegated to the shelf at your local video store. Here’s one tape I hope doesn’t get erased.
- *** out of 4
If anyone can offer a compelling reason as to why we needed a soulless, Americanized version of “Shutter,” I’d love to hear it.
Seriously, can anyone justify the creation of such a dense, mind-numbing excuse for a thriller that has absolutely no exhilaration whatsoever? I’m still waiting.
Rather than make you sweat it out, I’ll just go ahead and say that no such rationalization exists and let you in on just how insipid this film turns out to be.
Joshua Jackson and Rachel Taylor play a newlywed couple who travel to Tokyo and begin seeing the spirit of a dead woman in their photographs. At first, they have no idea who she is, but it’s later revealed that she’s one of his old girlfriends who never quite let go of the relationship. Is she really appearing from beyond the grave to terrorize them? Well, it’s either that or someone has been knocking back a little too much sake for my taste.
Then again, does it really matter? The so-called terrifying resolution to this tale is so utterly inept that it wouldn’t even be cruel if I revealed it right here, so before you let the trailer suck you in, take a deep breath and think carefully about what you’re about to do.
- * out of 4
The Departed
Martin Scorsese’s “The Departed" is a gritty yet exceptionally riveting film that paints a stunning portrait of what can happen when the Massachusetts State Police Department goes head-to-head with a Boston crime syndicate. It’s being marketed as a remake of 2002’s Hong Kong cop film “Infernal Affairs" , but it’s not so much a remake as it is an Americanized revision of an already intriguing story.
Scorsese and screenwriter William Monahan have simply taken the basic structure of its predecessor and reworked it into a glorified Hollywood action film full of unexpected twists and brilliant performances.
Everything from the rapid, graphic violence to the Rolling Stones' 'Gimme Shelter' made it wildly entertaining and demonstrated Scorsese’s superb ability to lull his audience into submission.
Leonardo DiCaprio seems to be getting even better with each performance and his on-screen presence has grown tremendously. I think the decision to pair him with Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson was a brilliant move, because they seem to feed off of one another to make each scene that much more believable.
Here, DiCaprio plays William Costigan, a rookie cop who is pulled out of the police academy to infiltrate the Boston mob run by Nicholson’s character, Frank Costello.
At the same time, Costello sends his own “rat" into the police department in hopes of gaining even more control over illegal activity. Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) is a career criminal, who was taken in by Costello at a young age and given a first-hand look at what life in the mob is all about. Sullivan quickly rises up the police ranks and is soon put in charge of the entire investigation involving Costello’s illegal dealings.
Both DiCaprio and Damon deliver thrilling, first-rate performances, but I would give a slight edge to DiCaprio, because he completely consumes everything that Costigan stands for and is ultimately the more sympathetic of the two characters.
When both organizations find out they may have a “rat", a complex game of cat-and-mouse ensues as both “rats" are trying to find one another before it’s too late. As if the story wasn’t intricate enough, Scorsese includes a storyline in which Costigan and Sullivan are both involved with the same woman, which serves to complicate things even more when she becomes pregnant.
At the head of everything is Irish mob boss Frank Costello, whose appetite for violence matches his appetite for women. Jack Nicholson is known for his dark, off-the-wall characters and what he achieves with Costello has to be one of his best. I think the fact that Nicholson rewrote the character to make him even more rotten, pretty much sums up how great the performance really is. During the opening monologue, we hear Costello say “I don’t wanna be a product of my environment I want my environment to be a product of me" and he is determined to stand by that statement.
At 69, Jack seems to be having a great time indulging in such over-the-top roles and should receive an Oscar nomination in February.
During the last twenty minutes of the film, things become a little hectic and bodies begin to pile up, which all lead up to a rooftop showdown between Costigan and Sullivan to determine their fate.
In Martin Scorsese’s world, there is no such thing as a happy ending and “The Departed" proves to be no different. For every good thing that happens, there are five bad things that follow, which makes the ending seem like the only appropriate outcome to one of the best films of the year.
Scorsese is known for incorporating biblical themes into his films and in the end, death may be the only true way for his characters to atone for their sins.
- **** out of 4
Scorsese and screenwriter William Monahan have simply taken the basic structure of its predecessor and reworked it into a glorified Hollywood action film full of unexpected twists and brilliant performances.
Everything from the rapid, graphic violence to the Rolling Stones' 'Gimme Shelter' made it wildly entertaining and demonstrated Scorsese’s superb ability to lull his audience into submission.
Leonardo DiCaprio seems to be getting even better with each performance and his on-screen presence has grown tremendously. I think the decision to pair him with Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson was a brilliant move, because they seem to feed off of one another to make each scene that much more believable.
Here, DiCaprio plays William Costigan, a rookie cop who is pulled out of the police academy to infiltrate the Boston mob run by Nicholson’s character, Frank Costello.
At the same time, Costello sends his own “rat" into the police department in hopes of gaining even more control over illegal activity. Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon) is a career criminal, who was taken in by Costello at a young age and given a first-hand look at what life in the mob is all about. Sullivan quickly rises up the police ranks and is soon put in charge of the entire investigation involving Costello’s illegal dealings.
Both DiCaprio and Damon deliver thrilling, first-rate performances, but I would give a slight edge to DiCaprio, because he completely consumes everything that Costigan stands for and is ultimately the more sympathetic of the two characters.
When both organizations find out they may have a “rat", a complex game of cat-and-mouse ensues as both “rats" are trying to find one another before it’s too late. As if the story wasn’t intricate enough, Scorsese includes a storyline in which Costigan and Sullivan are both involved with the same woman, which serves to complicate things even more when she becomes pregnant.
At the head of everything is Irish mob boss Frank Costello, whose appetite for violence matches his appetite for women. Jack Nicholson is known for his dark, off-the-wall characters and what he achieves with Costello has to be one of his best. I think the fact that Nicholson rewrote the character to make him even more rotten, pretty much sums up how great the performance really is. During the opening monologue, we hear Costello say “I don’t wanna be a product of my environment I want my environment to be a product of me" and he is determined to stand by that statement.
At 69, Jack seems to be having a great time indulging in such over-the-top roles and should receive an Oscar nomination in February.
During the last twenty minutes of the film, things become a little hectic and bodies begin to pile up, which all lead up to a rooftop showdown between Costigan and Sullivan to determine their fate.
In Martin Scorsese’s world, there is no such thing as a happy ending and “The Departed" proves to be no different. For every good thing that happens, there are five bad things that follow, which makes the ending seem like the only appropriate outcome to one of the best films of the year.
Scorsese is known for incorporating biblical themes into his films and in the end, death may be the only true way for his characters to atone for their sins.
- **** out of 4
The Devil Wears Prada
On the outside, Director David Frankel’s new film “The Devil Wears Prada" appears to be nothing more than over-hyped fluff being marketed as a deliciously funny tale about the inside world of the fashion industry. While this may sound appealing to some people, I had my doubts about whether or not it could possibly deliver and was a little skeptical about what kind of movie it was going to be. It took only a few minutes before I realized my negativity had been premature and I had a feeling I was in for quite the surprise.
Based on the novel by Lauren Weisberger, it tells the story of Andy Sachs, an ambitious young woman who comes to New York in hopes of becoming a high profile journalist, but ultimately ends up working as an assistant at one of the largest fashion magazines in the world. Sachs, played by Anne Hathaway, soon finds that it will be no easy task keeping up with the lavish lifestyle of fashion’s elite, but is determined to succeed. Whether it’s getting coffee or buying clothes, she seems willing to do anything to make a name for herself.
At this point, I found the plot to be rather ordinary in its development and it quickly became fairly predictable storytelling.
It isn’t until we meet Andy’s boss that the film really begins to take off and acquire a much needed boost of comedic energy.
Miranda Priestly, played by Meryl Streep, rules over her empire with an iron fist and when it comes to fashion designing, she is almost impossible to please. Since the company lives and dies by her opinion, everyone in her presence better have something important to add or should not even bother coming back.
In a purely dazzling performance, Streep consumes the role of Miranda and delivers her lines with such devilish elegance that she appears to be on her way to yet another Oscar nomination. Hathaway clearly benefits from having Streep on screen and her performance is more convincing because of it.
As Andy becomes more involved in the company, her personal life starts to suffer and she soon has no time for anything other than catering to Miranda’s needs. In a humorous, yet outlandish scene, Miranda demands that Andy obtain two copies of the unpublished Harry Potter novel for her children to read while traveling. To me, it seems a bit unbelievable, but I guess you just have to go with it.
Finally, all of her hard work pays off when she is chosen to accompany Miranda on a trip to Paris and get a real taste of what the fashion world is really all about. She instantly learns how harsh it can be and starts to think that it may not be what she is looking for. It is about this time that the film goes on autopilot and just kind of glides toward the conclusion.
Despite the somewhat predictable ending, strong performances from both Streep and Hathaway make enough noise along the way to add an impressive quality to a film that would otherwise be of little interest to people like myself. Frankel manages to paint an intriguing picture of a relentlessly shallow industry that will stop at nothing to achieve perfection. By having a rare combination of great acting and cleverly written comedy, it is able flourish at a level that most films of this genre rarely ascend to. What I think works best about this film is its ability to appeal to people of all ages and as Miranda Priestly would say “That’s all."
- *** ½ out of 4
Based on the novel by Lauren Weisberger, it tells the story of Andy Sachs, an ambitious young woman who comes to New York in hopes of becoming a high profile journalist, but ultimately ends up working as an assistant at one of the largest fashion magazines in the world. Sachs, played by Anne Hathaway, soon finds that it will be no easy task keeping up with the lavish lifestyle of fashion’s elite, but is determined to succeed. Whether it’s getting coffee or buying clothes, she seems willing to do anything to make a name for herself.
At this point, I found the plot to be rather ordinary in its development and it quickly became fairly predictable storytelling.
It isn’t until we meet Andy’s boss that the film really begins to take off and acquire a much needed boost of comedic energy.
Miranda Priestly, played by Meryl Streep, rules over her empire with an iron fist and when it comes to fashion designing, she is almost impossible to please. Since the company lives and dies by her opinion, everyone in her presence better have something important to add or should not even bother coming back.
In a purely dazzling performance, Streep consumes the role of Miranda and delivers her lines with such devilish elegance that she appears to be on her way to yet another Oscar nomination. Hathaway clearly benefits from having Streep on screen and her performance is more convincing because of it.
As Andy becomes more involved in the company, her personal life starts to suffer and she soon has no time for anything other than catering to Miranda’s needs. In a humorous, yet outlandish scene, Miranda demands that Andy obtain two copies of the unpublished Harry Potter novel for her children to read while traveling. To me, it seems a bit unbelievable, but I guess you just have to go with it.
Finally, all of her hard work pays off when she is chosen to accompany Miranda on a trip to Paris and get a real taste of what the fashion world is really all about. She instantly learns how harsh it can be and starts to think that it may not be what she is looking for. It is about this time that the film goes on autopilot and just kind of glides toward the conclusion.
Despite the somewhat predictable ending, strong performances from both Streep and Hathaway make enough noise along the way to add an impressive quality to a film that would otherwise be of little interest to people like myself. Frankel manages to paint an intriguing picture of a relentlessly shallow industry that will stop at nothing to achieve perfection. By having a rare combination of great acting and cleverly written comedy, it is able flourish at a level that most films of this genre rarely ascend to. What I think works best about this film is its ability to appeal to people of all ages and as Miranda Priestly would say “That’s all."
- *** ½ out of 4
Half Nelson
Merriam-Webster defines the term half nelson as “a wrestling hold in which the holder puts an arm under the opponent's arm and exerts press on the back of the neck." One of the main purposes of this hold is to exert total control over your opponent and make them feel as if there is no way out.
This idea of complete immobilization is what I believe to be the focal point of Ryan Fleck’s remarkable new film “Half Nelson" in which a middle-school teacher forms an unlikely bond with a student as his life continues a downward spiral into a world full of drugs, depression, and disappointment.
Dan Dunne (Ryan Gosling) spends his days enlightening inner-city kids on such topics as Martin Luther King Jr. and the Attica prison riot as if his life were going exactly the way he imagined.
Unfortunately, that couldn’t be further from the truth. As soon as the bell rings, he instantly becomes a desperate junkie looking for his daily fix of crack cocaine. For the most part, he has been able to effectively hide his addiction from his family and school, but it becomes quite apparent as he continues to use. One day after a basketball game, a student walks into the bathroom to find him lying on the floor and utterly incapacitated, but isn’t quite sure what to think.
When he finally gets up, he agrees to give her a ride home and a unique friendship is formed that will later take on even more meaning. Since the pace of the film can seem quite dull at times, the performances of Gosling and newcomer Shareeka Epps have to be that much more powerful because of it. In undoubtedly the finest performance of his career, Gosling delivers a stunning portrayal of Dunne and makes sure that every note of this film rings true to its audience. He creates a fascinating portrait of drug addiction and shows just how much your life can be consumed by such a dangerous substance.
Epps’s performance is also Oscar-worthy as the student who befriends Dunne and finds out that not everyone is as perfect as they seem. A scene I found to be particularly poignant is one in which Dan is having dinner with his parents and all he can think about is getting home to his crack pipe.
This, I feel is where the title comes in, because no matter how hard he tries to free himself, there is ultimately no way out. “Half Nelson" is a believably engaging film that latches onto its audience and never lets up. Thanks to a brilliant screenplay by Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden, it is able to go above and beyond the normal expectations of the genre and become a painfully truthful story that hits you directly at the core.
- **** out of 4
This idea of complete immobilization is what I believe to be the focal point of Ryan Fleck’s remarkable new film “Half Nelson" in which a middle-school teacher forms an unlikely bond with a student as his life continues a downward spiral into a world full of drugs, depression, and disappointment.
Dan Dunne (Ryan Gosling) spends his days enlightening inner-city kids on such topics as Martin Luther King Jr. and the Attica prison riot as if his life were going exactly the way he imagined.
Unfortunately, that couldn’t be further from the truth. As soon as the bell rings, he instantly becomes a desperate junkie looking for his daily fix of crack cocaine. For the most part, he has been able to effectively hide his addiction from his family and school, but it becomes quite apparent as he continues to use. One day after a basketball game, a student walks into the bathroom to find him lying on the floor and utterly incapacitated, but isn’t quite sure what to think.
When he finally gets up, he agrees to give her a ride home and a unique friendship is formed that will later take on even more meaning. Since the pace of the film can seem quite dull at times, the performances of Gosling and newcomer Shareeka Epps have to be that much more powerful because of it. In undoubtedly the finest performance of his career, Gosling delivers a stunning portrayal of Dunne and makes sure that every note of this film rings true to its audience. He creates a fascinating portrait of drug addiction and shows just how much your life can be consumed by such a dangerous substance.
Epps’s performance is also Oscar-worthy as the student who befriends Dunne and finds out that not everyone is as perfect as they seem. A scene I found to be particularly poignant is one in which Dan is having dinner with his parents and all he can think about is getting home to his crack pipe.
This, I feel is where the title comes in, because no matter how hard he tries to free himself, there is ultimately no way out. “Half Nelson" is a believably engaging film that latches onto its audience and never lets up. Thanks to a brilliant screenplay by Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden, it is able to go above and beyond the normal expectations of the genre and become a painfully truthful story that hits you directly at the core.
- **** out of 4
An Inconvenient Truth
“America has not led but fled on the issue of global warming" says Senator John Kerry when expressing his opinion on the US government’s lack of effort in trying to combat the cultural phenomenon known as global warming. It’s an ongoing crisis that has left scientists frequently pondering its effects on society, while consistently urging politicians to render more energy conscious decisions.
Director Davis Guggenheim’s breathtaking new documentary “An Inconvenient Truth" couldn’t come at a better time as the United States continues to burn fossil fuels at an unprecedented rate that could ultimately lead to the end of the world as we know it.
Former presidential candidate Al Gore has made it his mission to go from country to country informing people of the dangers that await if we continue down this dark path of destruction and I think people have finally started to listen.
Whether in a college classroom or a political convention, Gore has taken it upon himself to get the message across and has become one of the leading spokespeople on the subject. Here he is in rare form as he enthusiastically presents a revealing slideshow in which he provides the audience with some haunting evidence that illustrates just how serious the problem has become.
Although it may seem like a classroom setting at times, Gore keeps it interesting by putting his own amusing spin on the situation and shows that he really does have a sense of humor. His argument begins with the fact that Carbon Dioxide is incessantly building up in the atmosphere due to the burning of fossil fuels and will eventually lead to higher temperatures throughout the world.
He then goes through a series of graphs and charts that offer further proof of the damage being done. Some of his most startling statistics include “the number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes has almost doubled in the last 30 years" and “the flow of ice from glaciers in Greenland has more than doubled over the past decade", which are unpleasant to think about, but undeniable nonetheless.
After a while, I began to wonder if anything positive would come from this, but I guess there aren’t a lot of positive things to be said. When you think about the amount of time the government has had to address this, you can almost cringe at how many times this issue has been ignored.
It is something that affects all of us and will bring about catastrophic consequences if not dealt with soon. Gore seems to have genuine concern for what’s going on and is doing his best to get everyone else to join in the effort. I feel it was a great move to turn his presentation into a documentary, because it gives people worldwide a chance to see just what he is talking about. Gore manages to pack enough vital information into his one-hundred minutes that anyone who sees it should feel significantly motivated regardless of their political affiliation.
Gore handles the subject with the utmost sincerity and appears to be speaking as a concerned citizen rather than a politician. His evocative lecture is sure to stir many emotions and several of the images will stick with you long after it’s over. This is without a doubt one the most important films of the year and proves once again, that the truth really does hurt.
- **** out of 4
Director Davis Guggenheim’s breathtaking new documentary “An Inconvenient Truth" couldn’t come at a better time as the United States continues to burn fossil fuels at an unprecedented rate that could ultimately lead to the end of the world as we know it.
Former presidential candidate Al Gore has made it his mission to go from country to country informing people of the dangers that await if we continue down this dark path of destruction and I think people have finally started to listen.
Whether in a college classroom or a political convention, Gore has taken it upon himself to get the message across and has become one of the leading spokespeople on the subject. Here he is in rare form as he enthusiastically presents a revealing slideshow in which he provides the audience with some haunting evidence that illustrates just how serious the problem has become.
Although it may seem like a classroom setting at times, Gore keeps it interesting by putting his own amusing spin on the situation and shows that he really does have a sense of humor. His argument begins with the fact that Carbon Dioxide is incessantly building up in the atmosphere due to the burning of fossil fuels and will eventually lead to higher temperatures throughout the world.
He then goes through a series of graphs and charts that offer further proof of the damage being done. Some of his most startling statistics include “the number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes has almost doubled in the last 30 years" and “the flow of ice from glaciers in Greenland has more than doubled over the past decade", which are unpleasant to think about, but undeniable nonetheless.
After a while, I began to wonder if anything positive would come from this, but I guess there aren’t a lot of positive things to be said. When you think about the amount of time the government has had to address this, you can almost cringe at how many times this issue has been ignored.
It is something that affects all of us and will bring about catastrophic consequences if not dealt with soon. Gore seems to have genuine concern for what’s going on and is doing his best to get everyone else to join in the effort. I feel it was a great move to turn his presentation into a documentary, because it gives people worldwide a chance to see just what he is talking about. Gore manages to pack enough vital information into his one-hundred minutes that anyone who sees it should feel significantly motivated regardless of their political affiliation.
Gore handles the subject with the utmost sincerity and appears to be speaking as a concerned citizen rather than a politician. His evocative lecture is sure to stir many emotions and several of the images will stick with you long after it’s over. This is without a doubt one the most important films of the year and proves once again, that the truth really does hurt.
- **** out of 4
Apocalypto
From the moment “The Passion of the Christ" was released in 2004, Mel Gibson’s career has been a non-stop roller coaster ride full of commercial success and public humiliation. Despite grossing $370 million at the box-office, his film was condemned by numerous religious sects and he has subsequently become the poster boy for all things anti-Semitic. Some critics even felt that his star in Hollywood was quickly disappearing and that he would be hard-lucked to find another job anytime soon.
Well, it’s 2006 and Mel has returned once again in an attempt to repair what’s left of his public image and show people why he’s still one of the top directors in the business.Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto is another blood-soaked work of genius from a filmmaker who has made a living off dealing with controversial subject matter and could be a major player when Oscar time rolls around.
Deep in the Yucatán peninsula, Gibson tells the harrowing story of a Mayan warrior named Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood), who is chosen by the rulers to be a human sacrifice and must ultimately go to great lengths to be with his family once again. In his big-screen debut, Youngblood delivers an intense, haunted performance that really resonates with the audience and makes you feel as if you’re right there with him.
He handles the dialogue with great skill and never was there a point where I felt he was trying too hard to make everything believable. That, I feel is one of Gibson’s talents a director, because no matter what the scene requires, his actors always seem to rise to the occasion. Since there is rarely a dull moment, the audience is treated to some thrilling battle sequences full of enough piercing and decapitation that it’s definitely not for the faint-hearted. Some people may criticize it for being too graphic or gratuitous, but I have a hard time believing that, at some point, their society wasn’t really like that.
They performed sacrifices just like many other great civilizations and their methods were not always the most wholesome or compassionate, so I think the bloodshed was important in showing what these people really went through.
Gibson’s tremendous dedication to this project should certainly be acknowledged and casting all indigenous people is one of the main reasons for this film being as extraordinary as it is.
Although there are some observable anachronisms, Gibson and his team have succeeded in creating a skillfully written and beautifully filmed movie in which the Mayan culture is portrayed as a strong, yet doomed empire that had no idea of the danger that awaited them in the future.
No one in Hollywood needs a hit more than Mel Gibson and I think he has finally found what he is looking for. Like the Mayans themselves, Gibson became overly confident in his abilities and thought that he could do anything he wanted without suffering from the consequences.
Regardless of whether or not the public ever forgives him, I feel that with Apocalypto, he has achieved his own personal salvation.
- *** ½ out of 4
Well, it’s 2006 and Mel has returned once again in an attempt to repair what’s left of his public image and show people why he’s still one of the top directors in the business.Mel Gibson’s Apocalypto is another blood-soaked work of genius from a filmmaker who has made a living off dealing with controversial subject matter and could be a major player when Oscar time rolls around.
Deep in the Yucatán peninsula, Gibson tells the harrowing story of a Mayan warrior named Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood), who is chosen by the rulers to be a human sacrifice and must ultimately go to great lengths to be with his family once again. In his big-screen debut, Youngblood delivers an intense, haunted performance that really resonates with the audience and makes you feel as if you’re right there with him.
He handles the dialogue with great skill and never was there a point where I felt he was trying too hard to make everything believable. That, I feel is one of Gibson’s talents a director, because no matter what the scene requires, his actors always seem to rise to the occasion. Since there is rarely a dull moment, the audience is treated to some thrilling battle sequences full of enough piercing and decapitation that it’s definitely not for the faint-hearted. Some people may criticize it for being too graphic or gratuitous, but I have a hard time believing that, at some point, their society wasn’t really like that.
They performed sacrifices just like many other great civilizations and their methods were not always the most wholesome or compassionate, so I think the bloodshed was important in showing what these people really went through.
Gibson’s tremendous dedication to this project should certainly be acknowledged and casting all indigenous people is one of the main reasons for this film being as extraordinary as it is.
Although there are some observable anachronisms, Gibson and his team have succeeded in creating a skillfully written and beautifully filmed movie in which the Mayan culture is portrayed as a strong, yet doomed empire that had no idea of the danger that awaited them in the future.
No one in Hollywood needs a hit more than Mel Gibson and I think he has finally found what he is looking for. Like the Mayans themselves, Gibson became overly confident in his abilities and thought that he could do anything he wanted without suffering from the consequences.
Regardless of whether or not the public ever forgives him, I feel that with Apocalypto, he has achieved his own personal salvation.
- *** ½ out of 4
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