Friday, September 29, 2006

"Buses, Kojak, or I'll give you two of the longest days of your life."

It seems like there’s been a bit of a dry spell lately in terms of really incredible movies. Now I know that a number of big blockbusters premiered this year (Pirates of the Caribbean, Superman Returns, X3, etc) but it still feels like it’s been a really long time since we’ve been given another Usual Suspects or Fight Club type of movie. You know, the kind of movie that really gets you thinking and messes with your head. The kind of movie that finishes with you going “Wow…what just happened? That was AWESOME!” I was hoping to have that kind of experience with Inside Man, and I’m glad to say that I did…almost.

Inside Man starts off like some of the best ‘mind-bending’ movies I’ve seen. Clive Owen opens the film with a simply monologue to the audience. “My name is Dalton Russell. Pay strict attention to what I say because I choose my words carefully and never repeat myself.” He goes on to inform the audience about the perfect bank heist he has planned. We are quickly taken to the job in question and within 20 minutes the police are already on the scene with hostage negotiators and SWAT. For the next hour or so the film is an exceptional roller coaster ride of clever tactics, flash-forwards and suspicious characters. I was giddy with excitement that I had finally found another intelligent caper film to compete with Kaiser Soze and Tyler Durden. The last 40 minutes of the film managed to dispel those thoughts, however. But we’ll get to that in a minute.

"The What is easy: recently I planned and set in motion events
to execute the perfect bank robbery; that's also the When."

A word must be said about the director. Spike Lee is known for his more dramatic, often controversial films such as ‘Malcolm X’, ‘Jungle Fever’ and ‘Summer of Sam’. There is no denying that he is a remarkably intelligent director and has a unique way of bringing characters to life on the screen. ‘25th Hour’, starring Edward Norton, is an excellent example of how diverse and different a director is Spike Lee. ‘Inside Man’ is apparently Lee’s attempt to make a more “mainstream” action/suspense film. And although the majority of the plot and action are relatively straightforward, there are certainly a number of Spike Lee-isms sprinkled throughout. References to racism and police brutality are readily apparent. However, aside from the political comments Lee may be making, the film itself is brilliantly directed. The pacing is perfect; fast enough to keep you in the action, but also disconnected enough to provide that sense of confusion and wonder we often enjoy in a good caper film.

An impressive roster of actors provides some very interesting and well acted characters. Clive Owen, Denzel Washington, Jodie Foster, Christopher Plummer and Willem Defoe all give the high calibre performances we’ve come to expect from such big names. And in most cases the characters are quite dissimilar to the roles normally associated with these actors. Storyline aside it was very entertaining to watch these actors do their thing. The tension between Owen and Washington’s characters is especially exciting during the second act of the film.

"As for the Why: beyond the obvious financial motivation,
it's exceedingly simple... because I can."

I should also briefly mention that the plan itself, the actual bank heist, is brilliant. I’m not going to give away any of the details since that’s what makes the movie so enjoyable. But if you like caper films with really clever and unique ways of getting the job done, you’re sure to enjoy Inside Man. At least for the first two acts.

And that brings us to the third act. The movie sets itself up as a clever, brain-twisting piece but seems to fall flat in the end. I’m not sure if my expectations were too high, but it just felt like Spike Lee was creating something very intricate only to have the resolution be far too simplistic. I picked up on a subtle piece of information early on in the film and was eagerly anticipating the moment where my theory would be proven wrong or realize that I had made the wrong assumptions. It turns out I was exactly correct, so the final “reveal” was not very exciting for me. My wife, Shauna, watched the film as well and later admitted that she did not pick up on the same theory I did, but that the reveal was still not that exciting. The film as a whole was quite good and the story is definitely well written, but something in the end felt like a bit of a let down. I guess I’m still waiting for the next big ‘mind-bender’.

"Which leaves us only with the How;
and therein, as the Bard tells us, lies the rub."

Visually ‘Inside Man’ looks as good as any of the mainstream movies coming out on DVD recently. Though with the introduction of HD DVD and Blu Ray, Standard Definition DVDs are going to start getting lower marks. Overall I did not notice any visual artefacts or inconsistencies. The sound was definitely noticeable though, but in a very good way. The opening title-song was not only very catchy, but used the surrounds heavily and got my subwoofer thumping. A number of specific scenes also used the surround to great effect. It’s hard to explain but if you love good audio in a film then you should definitely check this one out.

I’m sure there were some bonus features somewhere on the DVD, but since it was a rental and already overdue, I had to take it back before I could have a closer look. So instead I’ll take a guess. Hmmm, I bet there are some deleted scenes, a making-of featurette and oh, I dunno, a theatrical trailer. I never really understood the point of including a trailer with the full-length film itself. It’s sort of like opening a can of coke you just bought only to hear a tiny, electronic advertisement in the can say ‘Buy coke!’ Um…I just did. Shut up and let me drink it.

"You got everybody marching to your beat,
including me, and i'm through buying it!"

Overall, Inside Man was definitely entertaining and a very well done film. I still haven’t decided if the let-down in the end was due to my high expectations or if the film was trying to be something it ended up not being. I urge my readers to give this one a look and let me know your thoughts. Ultimately I can’t really advise you to buy it since I can’t decide for myself. Probably not, I guess, since I would only be reminded of what it could have been. But then again I do seem to have a weak spot for DVDs. 285 weak spots, so far.

‘Inside Man’ gets 8 jumpsuits (out of 10).
Click here for ‘Inside Man’ trivia and I’ll release one of the hostages.

Thursday, September 21, 2006

"I accuse Alcatraz of crimes against humanity!"

Kevin Bacon has had an interesting career. He was cutting the rug in Footloose, experienced life after death in Flatliners, was chased by huge, underground worm/snake things in Tremors, and even had a few ‘problems’ during Apollo 13. Some of you may even recall not seeing him in the horrible, awful, complete waste of time called Hollow Man. Despite that most recent flop, one just has to watch Murder in the First to instantly recognize how talented Mr. Bacon really is. He didn’t win the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1995, the year it was released, but he should have. In fact, he didn’t even garner a nomination, but I guess 1995 was a busy year; Braveheart cleaned up.

Inspired by true events, Murder in the First retells the story of inmate #244, Henry Young (Bacon), a resident of Alcatraz in 1938. The film begins with a brief history of Young’s incarceration in solitary confinement for an attempted escape. When he is finally released from solitary, three years later, and re-enters the general population of Alcatraz his first act is murder; brutally killing the fellow inmate that sold out Young during the escape. A naïve public defender named James Stamphill (Christian Slater) is assigned the impossible task of defending Young in a case that appears un-defendable. After learning of Young’s horrific experiences at the hands of the Alcatraz Assistant Warden (Gary Oldman), Stamphill turns the trial into an attack on Alcatraz itself.

Murder in the First manages to do several things right. The story is compelling and instantly interesting. From the opening credits we are pulled into Henry’s life and made witness to his torturous circumstances. Stamphill’s narration during these vivid opening scenes are all the more intriguing as we learn of Stamphill’s education and career; there is an enormous contrast between these two lives. The acting is incredible. Kevin Bacon gives the best performance of his life, depicting the broken and bitterly sad Henry Young. Gary Oldman is wonderful as usual. And although his part is considerably smaller the few scenes he is in are chilling and mesmerizing in the way we’ve come to appreciate Oldman.

On the other hand, there are a couple of blemishes in the acting department. Christian Slayter is not one of my favourite actors and Murder in the First is just another example of his forced acting style. It can’t be easy playing the straight-laced lawyer amongst such diverse characters as Bacon’s Henry Young and Oldman’s Warden Glenn, but Slayter appears to try very hard to claim the spotlight in each scene. For the most part he does ok, but during one particularly dramatic courtroom scene, reminiscent of A Few Good Men’s “you can’t handle the truth” moment, Slayter tries too hard to reach an explosive peak only to have the scene end rather abruptly and unfinished. Fortunately the film doesn’t suffer too much from this, but it does seem to keep a great film from being spectacular.

The DVD is a bare bones release. Warner Bros. did at least provide an Anamorphic video transfer which is important given the content being portrayed. I think some of the impact of the visuals would be reduced in a non-anamorphic image as the aspect ratio on a wide screen TV would skew the characters dramatically. Basically everything looks like it would in real life, not stretched or squished. Aside from the pretty picture, however, the rest of the DVD doesn’t really measure up. A Dolby Digital Stereo audio track is provided, which I guess is sufficient given that 99% of the film is dialogue driven. But it’s not like the studio didn’t have room on the disc for more audio quality; aside from the film itself there are no special features to speak of. Not even a trailer. To be fair, the flip side of the disc contains a 1.33:1 Full Frame version of the film, but anyone who’s anyone knows that Full Frame is the 8th deadly sin; avoid at all costs. Overall, the DVD itself isn’t anything to shout about.

If you enjoy a good courtroom flick or you want to rid yourself of those horrible Kevin Bacon ‘Hollowman’ nightmares, then Murder in the First is a must see for you. Even a passing interest in Alcatraz should compel you to watch the trial that brought the institution to the ground. While not as dramatic and engaging as The Shawshank Redemption or as exciting and compelling as A Few Good Men, Murder in the First is certainly an interesting film, and definitely the best performance you may ever see from Kevin Bacon.

Murder in the First gets 7 ½ straight razors (out of 10).
Action: click here. Reaction: ‘Murder in the First’ trivia.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

What's in a Name? Answers

Well it’s been over two months since the ‘What’s In a Name’ contest was first posted. Sadly I did not get very many responses. In fact, I only got one. Which means the rest of you don’t get any prizes. Nothing. Nada. Zip. No soup for you. Come back, one year.

I would like to congratulate and thank my sister, Brandi, for submitting her answers. While she only got three of them right, it’s more than the rest of the sorry bunch of you. I bet you’re kicking yourselves now, aren’t you? Yeah, that’s what I thought.

Brandi gets to choose from the following DVDs for her prize:

Cinderella Man
Cast Away
Fight Club
The Karate Kid
Spaceballs
The Usual Suspects
My Fair Lady

The rest of you get nothing, or did I mention that already?

Here are the answers from the ‘What’s In a Name’ quiz:

Group 1 – Edward Norton
Father Brian Finn, ‘Keeping the Faith’
Derek Vinyard, ‘American History X’
King Baldwin, ‘Kingdom of Heaven’
Aaron Stampler, ‘Primal Fear’

Group 2 – Brad Pitt
Rusty Ryan, ‘Ocean’s 11’ and ‘Ocean’s 12’
John Smith, ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’
Jeffrey Goines, ‘12 Monkeys’
Detective David Mills, ‘Se7en’

Group 3 – Ed Harris
Parcher, ‘A Beautiful Mind’
Major Konig, ‘Enemy at the Gates’
Christof, ‘The Truman Show’
Carl Fogarty, ‘A History of Violence’

Group 4 – Tom Hanks
Professor G. H. Dorr, ‘The Ladykillers’
Carl Hanratty, ‘Catch Me if You Can’
Jimmy Dugan, ‘A League of Their Own’
Andrew Beckett, ‘Philadelphia’

Group 5 – Kevin Spacey
Bobby Darin, ‘Beyond the Sea’
Lester Burnham, ‘American Beauty’
Prot, ‘K-PAX’
Hopper, ‘A Bug’s Life’

Group 6 – Kevin Costner
The Mariner, ‘Waterworld’
Lt. John Dunbar, ‘Dances With Wolves’
Ray Kinsella, ‘Field of Dreams’
Crash Davis, ‘Bull Durham’

Group 7 – Bruce Willis
Col. William A. McNamara, ‘Hart’s War’
Korben Dallas, ‘The Fifth Element’
Harry S. Stamper, ‘Armageddon’
Dr. Malcolm Crowe, ‘The Sixth Sense’

Group 8 – Tom Cruise
Nathan Algren, ‘The Last Samurai’
Lt. Daniel Kaffee, ‘A Few Good Men’
Chief John Anderton, ‘Minority Report’
Cole Trickle, ‘Days of Thunder’

Group 9 – John Cusack
Nicholas Easter, ‘Runaway Jury’
Martin Q. Blank, ‘Grosse Point Blank’
U.S. Marshal Vince Larkin, ‘Con Air’
Denny Lachance, ‘Stand By Me’

Group 10 – Ewan McGregor
Ed Bloom, ‘Big Fish’
Spec. John Grimes, ‘Black Hawk Down’
Renton, ‘Trainspotting’
Lincoln Six Echo, ‘The Island’

Friday, September 08, 2006

"I'm sorry, Mr. President, I don't dance."

Often when I scan my DVD collection, looking for something to watch, I already know what kind of movie I feel like seeing. Whether it’s something loud and exciting or something musical or something simple and fun I’ve usually made up my mind about which movies I’m going to choose from and which movies are ‘off the list’. Sometimes, however, I’ll come across a movie in my collection that seems to jump off the shelf and say “watch me”; something I didn’t expect to be interested in that day. That was the case with Clear and Present Danger this past weekend. I didn’t think I was in the mood for that kind of drama/action flick, but Jack Ryan managed to convince me that he was worth watching again. Jack usually has pretty good hunches about that sort of thing.

Third in the Jack Ryan series (though 4th chronologically), Clear and Present Danger is a political/spy/military drama in which the President of the United States has unofficially declared war on the drug cartels of Columbia, South America. While Jack is filling in for his mentor as acting director of operations at the CIA he learns of the illegal covert operation and takes steps to uncover the truth and save the soldiers involved.

"Watch your back, Jack."

Like all Tom Clancy flicks Clear and Present Danger is more politically charged than anything else, yet manages to maintain an exciting pace. Harrison Ford plays the altruistic Jack Ryan with the same passion and intelligence as in the prior film, Patriot Games. James Earl Jones also reprises his role as Jim Greer, Jack’s mentor and friend. It is apparent that these characters have developed a depth and realism that comes from dozens of novels and two previous films; their relationships are believable and their actions are logical. However, this is very much a different Jack Ryan than Alec Baldwin’s performance in The Hunt for Red October. It’s hard for me to decide which actor I prefer in this role; both do a great job of bringing an exciting character to life.

Even if you’re not a fan of Tom Clancy’s novels, Clear and Present Danger is a highly entertaining film. The story is compelling because it doesn’t stray too far from the truth. We become witnesses to events and plans that could very well take place in this day and age, and may already have. Tom Clancy knows how to tell a great story while still making a comment about the political/military might of the United States and the motives behind them. By the time we get to the scene where Ryan confronts the president in the Oval Office the tension is incredible, and believable. Harrison Ford really shines in these moments. I’m convinced that the greatest roles of Ford’s career will remain Han Solo, Indiana Jones and Jack Ryan.

"I didn't sign up for this."

The Special Edition DVD is a pleasing presentation of this fantastic film. The 1.85:1 Anamorphic widescreen picture filled my screen and the picture quality contained no problems that I noticed. The contrast and colors are perfect in every scene, whether it’s the brightly lit offices of the CIA or the shadows of the Columbian rain forest. A DTS sound track is also included and does its job in enveloping you in Jack Ryan’s situations, ranging from helicopters to gunfights. I must say the DVD presentation of Clear and Present Danger is impressive; especially considering the movie is now 12 years old.

Special features include some new cast and crew interviews and a theatrical trailer of the film. Nothing too exciting here but fortunately the price of the DVD and the fantastic audio/visual quality more than make up for a slight lack of bonus material. It’s possible that a HD-DVD or Blu-Ray version of the film will contain more footage and features but until that horrible format war is over this Special Edition DVD will do the trick.

"How dare YOU, sir!"

If you’re a fan of Tom Clancy’s novels, or a fan of spy dramas, or even just a fan of Harrison Ford you really can’t go wrong with Clear and Present Danger. I would highly recommend watching The Hunt for Red October and Patriot Games first. That being said, Clear and Present Danger does manage to hold its own quite nicely.

Clear and Present Danger gets 8 bags of Lindo coffee (out of 10).
Click here for ‘Clear and Present Danger’ trivia. Then report your findings to the Senate Committee on CIA Operations.