Current Releases
88 MINUTES 88 Minutes actually runs 108 minutes, a cruel trick to play on moviegoers who check their watches at the 80-minute mark and erroneously believe they’re on the verge of being set free. A film so moldy that it was released on DVD in some countries as far back as February 2007, this risible thriller stars Al Pacino as Dr. Jack Gramm, a college professor and forensic psychiatrist whose expertise has helped the FBI in nailing down serial killers. One such murderer is Jon Forster (Neal McDonough), whose claim of innocence – even on the day of his execution – is taken seriously once a new rash of similarly styled killings begins. But are these murders the work of a copycat? Is Forster innocent, and the real killer has never been caught? Is he masterminding the proceedings from his front-row seat on Death Row, with an accomplice on the outside doing his dirty deeds? Or is it possible that the killer is Gramm himself? Director Jon Avnet tries to ratchet up the suspense by presenting every character, right down to bit players, as the possible assassin, but it’s an approach that only garners laughs. It’s usually fun when a murder-mystery offers several suspects, but this goes beyond serving up some red herrings; here, we get trout, tilapia and mahi mahi as well. Scripter Gary Scott Thompson wrote The Fast and the Furious, so that probably explains why Gramm spends a good amount of time driving a taxi (don’t ask) across the city looking for clues. But Thompson also wrote the straight-to-DVD sequels to K-9 – K-911 and K-9: P.I. – so he’s also quite familiar with dogs. Rest assured, 88 Minutes joins the pack of movie mongrels. *1/2
FLAWLESS At a time when banks are being bailed out by Bush’s “for rich people only” government while ordinary citizens are left to flounder, perhaps it’s possible to employ the current string of heist flicks as a mildly cathartic tonic. On the heels of Mad Money, The Bank Job and 21 comes Flawless, in which a pair of hard workers team up to rip off the evil diamond company that takes their services for granted. Set in 1960 London, this stars Demi Moore as Laura Quinn, an executive who’s repeatedly overlooked when it comes time to promote from within. Despite years of dedicated service (and more than her share of innovative ideas), Laura learns from Mr. Hobbs (Michael Caine), the company janitor whose lowly status allows him access to valuable info, that she’s about to be fired. Appealing to her anger, Hobbs asks Laura to assist him in what he deems a foolproof robbery; she accepts, only to discover the scheme is more elaborate than she imagined. For the first hour, the film plays as we’d expect – the planning of the heist, the handling of unexpected complications and the job itself. This part is entertaining enough, further fueled by the subtext of watching this ambitious woman try to compete in an all-male world determined to shut her out. But the movie really takes off during its second half, and even some lapses in logic can’t overtake the satisfying twists. The modern-day framing device is worthless – it opens with Moore in terrible old-age makeup and ends with a heavy-handed “Carpe Diem” cheer – but the period pic between these bookends is, if not worth its weight in gold (or diamonds), at least worth the price of a movie ticket. ***
FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL Those afraid that the dismal Drillbit Taylor marked the beginning of the end for Hollywood wunderkind Judd Apatow (The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up) can relax: Forgetting Sarah Marshall (on which he serves as producer) finds him again on the rise. Jason Segel (who also scripted) plays Peter Bretter, a nondescript guy who writes the filler music for the TV crime series starring his celebrity girlfriend, Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell). After five years together, Sarah dumps Peter for self-centered and none-too-bright musician Aldous Snow (Russell Brand), a rejection that sends Peter spiraling into self-pity. He flees to Hawaii to escape from it all, only to end up at the same hotel as Sarah and Aldous; it’s only through the efforts of Rachel (Mila Kunis), the resort’s desk clerk, that Peter’s able to occasionally follow through on the title action. Apatow’s films are hailed for successfully mixing raunchy moments with heartfelt ones, but their greatest strength might actually be the depth of their benches. Even the most minor characters are a joy to be around, and that’s the case here as well, whether it’s the brain-fried surf instructor (a very funny Paul Rudd) or the fawning waiter (Jonah Hill) or the newlywed (Jack McBrayer) who’s freaked out by his wife’s bedroom prowess. As for the leads, Segel is an affable underdog, Bell displays some choice reaction shots, Kunis is talented enough to turn her role into more than just a Male Fantasy, and Brand – the MVP among strong competition – is spot-on as the British rocker who manages to turn vanity into an endearing character trait. ***
NIM’S ISLAND If your kids have been totally weaned on ADD-addled animated flicks that mostly coast on crude humor and instantly dated pop culture references, then this clearly isn’t the film for them. If, however, said children still find as much enjoyment (if not more so) in opening a book as in piloting a video game’s remote control, then this delightful family film will satisfy them in no small measure. Like last year’s Bridge to Terabithia, it views a child’s imagination as a tangible playground, and this angle is sharply delineated by the colorful flourishes of directors Jennifer Flackett and Mark Levin. Jodie Foster, the most prominent child actress of the 1970s, here hands the torch to Abigail Breslin, with the latter playing Nim, a precocious girl who lives on a remote island with her scientist father (Gerard Butler). When she’s not frolicking with her animal friends, Nim enjoys reading adventure novels featuring the Indiana Jones-like Alex Rover, so when her dad goes missing and strangers invade the island, she naturally e-mails Alex Rover to help her. What her young mind doesn’t grasp is that her hero doesn’t actually exist; instead, the books are written by Alexandra Rover (Foster), an eccentric agoraphobe who carries on conversations with her fictional creation (also played by Butler) and who reluctantly sets out to help Nim in her hour of need. Nim’s Island is occasionally silly (as befits a movie aimed at youngsters), but the sumptuous visuals as well as the presence of Foster insure that discerning adults will also find it worthwhile. ***
STREET KINGS Director Curtis Hanson’s instant masterpiece L.A. Confidential was based on the novel by James Ellroy, and here’s Ellroy himself writing the screenplay (with Kurt Wimmer and Jamie Moss) for another saga about the boys in blue. It’s no wonder, then, that Street Kings‘ central player, a cop named Tom Ludlow (played by Keanu Reeves), manages to incorporate qualities from all three protagonists in Hanson’s 1997 Oscar winner. Kevin Spacey’s celebrity cop, Guy Pearce’s myopic do-gooder and especially Russell Crowe’s brooding tough guy can be found in Ludlow, a veteran detective who’s the MVP on an elite squad operating under ambitious Captain Wander (Forest Whitaker). When apprehending (or, more often, blowing away) criminal suspects, Ludlow doesn’t always follow the rulebook, which places him under the scrutiny of Internal Affairs Captain Biggs (House‘s Hugh Laurie). And when Ludlow’s former partner (Terry Crews), the man who may have reported him to Biggs, gets fatally gunned down, it’s up to the maverick cop to prove that he’s innocent of any involvement in the brutal slaying. Street Kings proves to be as standard-issue as much of the gear assigned to real police officers – is there ever any doubt as to how deep the departmental corruption runs? – and this familiarity often numbs the picture’s effectiveness. Yet director David Ayer (best known for penning such cop flicks as Training Day and S.W.A.T.) and a gruff Reeves manage to provide the picture with a suitably hard-nosed atmosphere, and even the stunt casting in smaller roles (Cedric the Entertainer, The Game) works. **1/2
UNDER THE SAME MOON The story of a boy struggling mightily to be reunited with his mother can be approached in any number of ways. This film’s title suggests perhaps a whiff of magical surrealism; the sidebar topic (illegal immigration) hints at far more somber material. The end result falls somewhere in between, and somehow it works – at least until all those pesky coincidences get in the way. Director Patricia Riggen’s movie centers on 9-year-old Carlitos (adorable Adrian Alonso), a Mexican lad who’s been living with his grandmother for the past four years while his mother Rosario (Kate del Castillo) has been working in Los Angeles. Once Granny dies, Carlitos elects to hightail it to the States with a wad of cash in his pocket. Crossing the border proves to be a tricky situation, but his real problems begin when he inconveniently (but oh-so-conveniently for the sake of the narrative) loses his poorly secured dough and must make it to L.A. relying only on his wits and the occasional kindness of strangers. Did I say occasional? Except for a druggie who attempts to sell the kid to a sicko sex lord, Carlitos encounters nothing but kindly folks – even a grouchy laborer (Eugenio Derbez) with no love for children eventually takes the lad under his wing. It’s a warmhearted story with some nice humorous touches – best of all, the inclusion of the song “Superman es ilegal,” which persuasively makes the case that the foreign-born Man of Steel is no more American than the Mexicans trying to sneak into the United States – yet all of the film’s cumulative power repeatedly gets let out via lazy plot contrivances shamelessly included by scripter Ligiah Villalobos as a simplistic way to move the story from Point A to B and beyond. **1/2
OPENS FRIDAY, MAY 2:
IRON MAN: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow.
MADE OF HONOR: Patrick Dempsey, Michelle Monaghan.
THE YEAR MY PARENTS WENT ON VACATION: Michel Joelsas, Germano Haiut.
YOUNG@HEART: Bob Cilman, Fred Knittle.
This article appears in Apr 30 – May 6, 2008.
