New Releases
THE GUARDIAN Isn't it too soon to be subjected to another showing of Flyboys all over again? At least that's the sense of deja vu that settled in after viewing the two films in consecutive weeks. Here we have the same running time (an overextended 135 minutes), the same degree of quality in the CGI work (impressive), and the same fortune-cookie-level pontificating about the need for sacrifice, bravery and personal responsibility. Even more than Flyboys, though, this resembles An Officer and a Gentleman, right down to the scene where our handsome hero bursts into his girlfriend's place of employment to declare his everlasting love (sign of the times: Instead of the Oscar-winning "Up Where We Belong," the soundtrack swells with a treacly Bryan Adams tune). Kevin Costner plays Louis Gossett Jr., the Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer instructor whose tough-love approach to training works wonders for the young recruits; Ashton Kutcher is Richard Gere, a narcissistic pretty-boy student more interested in making a name for himself and romancing the local cutie (Melissa Sagemiller) than in actually saving lives. For a long while, The Guardian wears its clichés pretty well, but because this is a Kevin Costner film -- and because Costner spends more time playing mythic, larger-than-life Christ figures instead of ordinary mortals -- we sense this can only end one way. Director Andrew Davis and scripter Ron L. Brinkerhoff tease us by hinting that the final act might actually stray from its preordained path, but no: When push comes to shove, the pair pummel us with the shameless ending we dreaded from the moment the opening credits appeared on the screen.
*1/2
HALF NELSON An examination of stunted idealism as well as a showcase for an actor who just gets better and better, Half Nelson wears its indie street cred in the most unassuming manner imaginable. Writer-director Ryan Fleck and cowriter Anna Boden make few compromises in telling this painful tale, yet they also avoid constructing a feel-bad bummer simply because it's the trendy thing to do in alternative cinema -- they make sure to keep a glimmer of hope in the distant horizon, a logical concession in a movie about people smart enough to hopefully find their way out of their dire predicaments. In a nicely understated performance, Ryan Gosling (The Notebook, The United States of Leland) plays Dan, a Brooklyn school teacher respected by his students because he's engaging, quick-witted and doesn't condescend. But block out all memories of Robin Williams and "Carpe Diem": Dan's also a crack addict, something his 13-year-old student Drey (Shareeka Epps) learns upon finding him laid out in a bathroom stall at school. Drey's used to such downtrodden sights -- her dad's split, her brother's in jail and her brother's acquaintance (Anthony Mackie) keeps trying to bring her into the drug business -- so she accepts Dan's imperfections and the pair strike up a friendship. The white teacher and the black student -- it's a perfect formula for formula filmmaking, yet Half Nelson continues to surprise through the manner in which it avoids any simple solutions or miraculous about-faces and instead remains true to its setting and its characters.
***
THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP I doubt any other movie of 2006 will inspire as many walkouts as The Science of Sleep, a declaration which in itself should function as a no-holds-barred recommendation for those seeking something unusual in their moviegoing diet. Michel Gondry previously helmed Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, yet his latest picture (which he both wrote and directed) is so out there that it makes that Charlie Kaufman-penned movie seem as streamlined as Bambi by comparison. With its dialogue alternately spoken in English, French and Spanish (those who whine about subtitles be warned), this oddity stars Y Tu Mama Tambien's Gael Garcia Bernal as Stephane, a young man who moves from Mexico to Paris and lands a dull job working at a calendar publishing firm. Stephane has a hard time keeping his waking life separate from his dream state, which causes all manner of complications both professionally and personally, the latter mainly built around trying to forge a relationship with across-the-hall neighbor Stephanie (Charlotte Gainsbourg). Before turning to film, Gondry established his rep as the creator of highly celebrated commercials and music videos, yet while this new film allows him to once more tap into those largely unregulated arenas, his real inspiration seems to come from Jan Svankmajer and the Brothers Quay -- those masters of offbeat (and unsettling) animated efforts -- to say nothing of Freud, Jung and Adler. The Science of Sleep employs deliberately rudimentary effects and slipshod animation to convey Stephane's REM visions, yet it also posits the character as a childlike individual whose inability to cope with adult emotions balances him precariously on the line between untainted innocence and troublesome obsession. It's a shame the movie pulls back from examining this angle -- a sense of danger would have completed the package -- but as it stands, it's still a marvel of wide-eyed whimsy.
***
Current Releases
FLYBOYS Long before cultural divisions involving "freedom fries," there was the Lafayette Escadrille, the World War I squadron of American flyers who gladly lent a helping hand to the French before the US officially entered the conflict. Flyboys is inspired by true events, though its veracity often makes it seem about as believable as that Brat Pack favorite Young Guns, another picture which sought to marry young hunks to a dusty Hollywood genre. Stereotypes are acceptable, often even desired, in this sort of red-meat picture, but when no room is left for surprises, boredom invariably rears its head -- more so in this film, since it runs a punishing 135 minutes. Because of his smoldering good looks, James Franco (as swaggering farmboy-turned-pilot Blaine Rawlings) has been repeatedly compared to James Dean; given Franco's lack of edge and mystery (two qualities Dean possessed in spades), this is like comparing David Spade to Cary Grant. The movie ends in a battle between Blaine and a ruthless German pilot known as the Black Falcon. Given my druthers, I'll take Snoopy vs. the Red Baron any day of the week.
**
HOLLYWOODLAND Before Christopher Reeve, it was George Reeves who was most identified with the role of Superman, thanks to the hit TV series that ran throughout much of the 1950s. But in 1959, Reeves apparently committed suicide, though speculation has always run rampant that the hulking actor was actually the victim of foul play. Hollywoodland is a fictionalized take on this theory, centering on a smalltime detective (Adrien Brody) as he sets off to uncover the truth. Was Reeves (Ben Affleck) murdered by his opportunistic girlfriend (Robin Tunney)? By his older lover (Diane Lane)? By the older woman's husband (Bob Hoskins)? Or, in the final analysis, did Reeves really pull the trigger himself? Hell if anyone knows for sure, and that includes the makers of this film, who trot out every conceivable scenario without ever committing to one. Still, that's hardly a flaw, as the open-endedness allows this handsome picture to tantalizingly jump back and forth between its colorful characters. The performances are uniformly fine, and the movie basks in its nostalgia-twinged visions of vintage LA.
***
THE ILLUSIONIST Set in Austria, The Illusionist stars Edward Norton as Eisenheim, an enigmatic stage magician so skilled at his profession that the locals suspect he might actually possess otherworldly powers. One of the few skeptics is Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell), a cruel ruler who sets out to prove that Eisenheim is a fake. He enlists the aid of the corrupt Chief Inspector Uhl (Paul Giamatti), yet matters become more tangled when it's revealed that Leopold's fiancée (Jessica Biel) was once Eisenheim's childhood sweetheart. For a good while, The Illusionist is topflight entertainment, with its lush period setting, its assemblage of captivating magic tricks, and a delightful relationship between Eisenheim and Uhl, two men sharing a wary respect for each other (both Norton and Giamatti are excellent). But then the film makes the fatal mistake of morphing into a lackluster mystery, the type that's agonizingly easy to figure out even before its gears can really be placed in motion.
**1/2
THE LAST KISS A major award winner both at Sundance and in its Italian homeland, 2001's The Last Kiss (L'Ultimo Bacio) tackles the topic of relationships in such a straightforward and emotionally honest manner that by the end, it's impossible to ascertain whether the film is, at its core, deeply pessimistic or quietly hopeful. An American remake would naturally be expected to dumb down the entire experience and leave viewers whistling their way out of the theater, confident that all was right in the world of amore. But that's not what happens here; to a startling degree, this version retains many of the prickly elements that made the original so memorable. Its primary focus is on Michael (Zach Braff), who's about to turn 30 and unable to accept the predictable lifestyle he anticipates once he settles down with his pregnant girlfriend Jenna (Jacinda Barrett). Their friends and family members are plagued by similar woes, setting the groundwork for a thoughtful drama about the dilemma of keeping any given relationship perennially fresh.
***
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE In the rocker "We're a Happy Family," The Ramones present a dysfunctional family in which "Daddy's telling lies, Baby's eating flies, Mommy's on pills, Baby's got the chills." The clan at the center of this Sundance hit isn't much better off. But one thing brings the members together: the chance to support sweet, 7-year-old Olive (Abigail Breslin), who's been selected to compete in the "Little Miss Sunshine" beauty pageant in California. Essentially, this is yet another road picture about bickering family members, and if that sounds a bit too prefab (or at least a bit too RV), screenwriter Michael Arndt, his dialogue backed by an excellent ensemble cast (including Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette and Steve Carell), manages to adroitly mix up the expected comic shtick with moments of great clarity and insight. The movie climaxes as it surely must -- at the competition -- and Arndt and the husband-and-wife directing team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris sharpen their claws for this portion, allowing the characters to engage in a final act of flagrant punk defiance. Joey Ramone would have been proud.
***1/2
SNAKES ON A PLANE The never-ending marketing ploy was a bust, which now leaves us with just the movie itself (yes, there really was one buried beneath all the tissue-thin hype). Samuel L. Jackson stars as an FBI agent assigned to protect an eyewitness (Nathan Phillips) to a mob slaying; once the villains ascertain which flight they'll be taking to make that important court date, they manage to fill the aircraft with rattlesnakes, cobras, boa constrictors, vipers, pythons -- indeed, the only snake missing seems to be Snake Plissken. Director David Ellis and his three scripters have the title terrors chomp down on lips, eyes, breasts and even a penis, but given the overall lack of creativity invested in this project (even Jackson's highly publicized quip about the "motherfuckin' snakes" was pre-sold), it ultimately feels as rote and joyless as a typical slasher flick. For a more imaginative 2006 release that ably mixes R-rated horror and humor, check out the box office bust Slither, due on DVD October 24.
**
TALLADEGA NIGHTS: THE BALLAD OF RICKY BOBBY Like Spam, energy drinks and the music of Yanni, Will Ferrell is one of those acquired tastes that satisfy devotees while perplexing everyone else. Yet even folks who weren't entertained by his 2004 starring vehicle Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy should dig this latest offering -- while it never reaches the giddy highs of last summer's premiere stupid-smart comedy, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, it's consistently pleasurable and offers a surprisingly steady stream of laugh-out-loud moments. Like Ron Burgundy, Ricky Bobby is also an egotistical, none-too-bright boor. "I piss excellence," he declares, and his standing as NASCAR's best driver certainly signals that he's excellent at something. But his strained relationship with his deadbeat dad (Gary Cole, delivering the film's shrewdest comic performance) and the arrival of a formidable opponent, a French homosexual race car driver (hilarious Sacha Baron Cohen), leads to his fall from grace and his subsequent (and humbled) climb back to the top. The Highlander quips alone are worth the ticket price.
***
THE WICKER MAN The 1973 cult flick The Wicker Man employs allegory and atmosphere to amplify its thin veneer of the supernatural -- it registers as a fantasy flick in our minds more than it does on the screen. Centering on a repressed detective (Edward Woodward) who visits a remote Scottish island in search of a missing girl and in the process unearths a decadent society, it's ultimately an examination of competing religions -- Christianity vs. paganism -- and as such has a field day offering up a slew of ambiguous interpretations. Writer-director Neil LaBute's remake is a disastrous miscalculation, shucking religion completely and instead fashioning the tale as a battle between upstanding male dominance and wicked feminist doctrine. Nicolas Cage plays the befuddled protagonist here, no longer a God-(and sex-)fearing cop but rather a generic Hollywoodized detective (no spiritual side, haunted by a past tragedy, forever popping pills, etc.). On its own terms, this earns a weak two stars for a few effectively staged sequences and OK performances; compared to its predecessor, it's a one-star blasphemy. So that averages out to...
*1/2
WORLD TRADE CENTER The most startling thing about this 9/11 drama is that it's by far the least controversial movie Oliver Stone has ever made. There's practically nothing in the way of gonzo filmmaking, political commentary or outrageous acting -- instead, the entire film operates at a hushed level, its nobility standing tall in every frame. It's hard to find any trace of potentially incendiary material; it's also hard to get terribly excited over the final product. The picture focuses on the police officers (played by Nicolas Cage and Michael Pena) who would turn out to be two of the only 20 people rescued from the rubble of the Twin Towers. Stone and scripter Andrea Berloff manage several powerful moments, but the end result is still a movie that feels oddly impersonal. That's in striking contrast to United 93, the superb docudrama that provided audiences with a you-are-there immediacy. Every second of United 93 related in some way to the specific events of that day. On the other hand, replace these real-life characters with two fictional guys trapped in a collapsed building, and what you're left with is a 1970s-style TV movie-of-the-week, the sort that invariably starred the likes of Christopher George or Lee Majors.
**1/2
OPENS FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 29:
THE GUARDIAN: Kevin Costner, Ashton Kutcher.
HALF NELSON: Ryan Gosling, Shareeka Epps.
OPEN SEASON: Animated; voices of Martin Lawrence, Ashton Kutcher.
SCHOOL FOR SCOUNDRELS: Billy Bob Thornton, Jon Heder.
THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP: Gael Garcia Bernal, Charlotte Gainsbourg.