CITY OF GOD A South American GoodFellas, City of God is a dazzling achievement that marks Fernando Meirelles as a masterful filmmaker with world-class aspirations. If the traditional gangster flick has appeared to be hobbling on its last legs over the past few years, this lightning bolt of a movie proves that there are still fresh ways to tackle overly familiar material. Based on actual events, this Brazilian import takes a hard look at a Rio de Janeiro slum and dissects the lifestyle of the youthful thugs who rule with a bloody fist. Make no mistake: As depicted here, the “City of God” (the name given to the area) is nothing less than a war zone, with blood flowing as swiftly and steadily as water over Niagara Falls. Our clean-cut protagonist in this urban epic is Rocket (Alexandre Rodrigues), whose desire to become a professional photographer might be just the thing to lift him out of the surrounding squalor. On the opposite end, there’s Li’l Ze (Leandro Firmino da Hora), a rabid gang leader prone to killing anybody at any time — perhaps not since Ralph Fiennes’ Nazi in Schindler’s List has there been such a frightening portrait of unadulterated evil onscreen. It’s tough to withstand 130 minutes of continuous nihilism, but Meirelles and his contributors are so completely in command of this material (the storytelling moves like mercury) that it’s impossible not to get caught up in their descent into Hell on Earth. ***1/2
THE HUNTED It’s depressing enough when lousy movies manage to snag the services of one talented Oscar winner, but finding two stranded in the same drivel seems like an especially monumental waste of resources. Following last year’s Snow Dogs, which buried past winners Cuba Gooding Jr. and James Coburn alive, this dreary hybrid of The Fugitive and First Blood finds Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio Del Toro set adrift in a pallid action yarn that further soils the once-distinguished career of director William Friedkin (who went from The Exorcist in the 70s to Jade in the 90s). Monotonous in the extreme, this casts Jones as a retired fighting instructor who’s forced back into action after it appears that one of his former pupils (Del Toro), a born warrior who snapped after serving his country in bloody Kosovo, has been going around murdering heavily armed hunters before they can blow away innocent wildlife critters (wait, shouldn’t that make him a hero?). This whiff of a plot is just an excuse for cinematographer Caleb Deschanel to shoot reams of lovely exterior footage (filming largely took place in the Pacific Northwest), for the trio of scripters to resort to sloppiness at every turn (for someone skilled at being “invisible,” Del Toro’s character sure leaves a lot of muddy footprints for Jones’ tracker to follow), and for Friedkin to stage a repetitive series of showdowns between his stars. **
WILLARD For all its ickiness, Willard is that most exotic of movie creatures: a remake that bests the original. The 1971 version, itself based on Stephen Gilbert’s novel Ratman’s Notebook, may have been a box office hit, but it’s also an inert motion picture, taking itself far too seriously as it relates the supposedly poignant tale of a lonely young man (Bruce Davison) whose only friends are the rats that live in his basement. This stylish remake, written and directed by Rob Bowman (a major force on TV’s The X-Files), tosses out all pretensions and tackles the material as a pitch-black comedy, which, in retrospect, was clearly the only way to go. As before, Willard Stiles (a perfectly cast Crispin Glover) is a mild-mannered introvert whose relationship with his rodents offers him a brief respite from the unpleasantries that otherwise inundate his existence, from the machinations of a hateful boss (R. Lee Ermey) to the demands of an overbearing mother (Jackie Burroughs, whose ghastly appearance elicited more moviegoer gasps than any of the rats’ antics). Nobody can accuse Willard of pandering to audience demands — the picture looks grungy, Morgan takes his time with the pacing, and the fate of a cute kitty cat will have PETA puking — but darned if this thing doesn’t deliver the goods for folks not averse to an unsettling satire that offers as many nyuks as yuks. ***
CURRENT RELEASES
BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE For more years than I can count, Disney’s Touchstone arm has specialized in bland, toothless comedies (usually starring the likes of Jim Belushi or Martin Short) that are about as threatening as a dead Chihuahua. Love it or hate it, their latest work doesn’t allow for similar fence-sitting, not when the movies it brings to mind are Blazing Saddles, Stir Crazy and the collected oeuvre of the Farrelly Brothers. Racially charged in a manner that some will find offensive while others might consider envelope-pushing, this relates what happens when black ex-convict Charlene (Queen Latifah), insisting she was framed, forces whiter-than-white attorney Peter Sanderson (Steve Martin) to look over the case and try to clear her name. As they work together, sharp-witted Charlene must cope with a parade of wealthy bigots (Betty White, Joan Plowright, Missi Pyle) while stuffy Peter learns lessons in “cool” that allow him to bond with his kids and win back his ex-wife (Jean Smart). The story is utter nonsense, but what makes the film work are the terrific comic performances driving it: Martin hasn’t been this engaging in years; Queen Latifah is sexy, sassy, spirited and smart; and Eugene Levy, as a nerd who discovers his inner funk after falling for Charlene, continues to make the case (after Best In Show and American Pie) that he’s one of the best second bananas in modern movie comedy. **1/2
DAREDEVIL In the introduction to the 1975 compendium Son of Origins of Marvel Comics, Stan Lee admitted that of all the superheroes he ever created (including Spider-Man and the X-Men), his favorite was the blind crimefighter who practiced law by day as attorney Matt Murdock and donned the red tights by night as Daredevil. Yet even though Lee himself makes a cameo appearance, I’d be hard-pressed to believe that Daredevil will emerge as his favorite Marvel movie. Like Green Lantern over at DC Comics, Daredevil has always been more a favorite of the cultists than the general population, and it’s a shame that this film version doesn’t honor that distinction by serving up something truly unique. Instead, this live-action epic, directed by Grumpy Old Men scripter Mark Steven Johnson, is all over the map — it’s by turns affecting, exciting, contemplative, heavy-handed, cheesy, and downright ludicrous. Ben Affleck fares better than expected, and he establishes a nice rapport with Alias star Jennifer Garner, cast as feisty love interest Elektra. And while Michael Clarke Duncan is serviceable as the imposing Kingpin, Colin Farrell (The Recruit) adopts the right manic tone to play the egocentric assassin Bullseye and runs away with the film. But although there’s plenty to like in Daredevil, there’s almost as much to dismiss, including a heavy dependence on subpar CGI effects, reams of lead-footed dialogue, and a climactic showdown that’s about as exciting as a documentary on aglet production. **1/2
THE LIFE OF DAVID GALE An anti-death penalty screed disguised as a thriller, this one’s a complete mess, a movie so inept that it will doubtless anger viewers on both sides of the debate. It’s the sort of sanctimonious, holier-than-thou claptrap that gives liberalism (especially Hollywood liberalism) a bad name, yet what’s astounding is that the movie shoots itself not only in the foot but in the bleeding heart as well, offering a series of plot twists that completely undermine every point that director Alan Parker and debuting screenwriter Charles Randolph were trying to make. Kevin Spacey stars as the title character, a former college professor and capital punishment opponent in Texas who’s now on Death Row, set to be executed for the rape and murder of a fellow advocate (Laura Linney). Gale summons a news magazine reporter (Kate Winslet) to hear his story, maintaining his innocence and hoping that she’ll be able to unearth the real culprit. The incessant proselytizing is wearying enough, but, as stated above, what’s especially dumbfounding about this film is the manner in which Parker and Randolph weaken their own arguments by painting their heroes as irrational zealots who just might have deserved what was coming to them. With friends like these, who needs George W. Bush? *
OLD SCHOOL Laugh-out-loud moments have become such a scarce commodity in most comedies these days that it’s almost tempting to recommend a whole movie on the basis of one such instance of pure unbridled seat-shaking. Old School offers such a moment: It involves a concrete block, a long rope, and a part of the male anatomy that should in no way be involved with a concrete block and a long rope. It’s a wickedly funny bit in the best There’s Something About Mary tradition, and it’s just too bad that this otherwise lackluster picture doesn’t offer more sequences like this one. It’s been a full quarter-century since National Lampoon’s Animal House set the standard for a certain brand of anarchic, T&A-fueled “slob” comedy, and here’s yet another challenger to the throne, casting Luke Wilson, Will Farrell and Vince Vaughn as three 30somethings who end up starting their own fraternity in an effort to tap back into the party-hardy attitude of their youth. This is a formless mishmash of Animal House, Back to School, PCU and other like-minded works, and it’s tolerable enough to just skate by with a “C” average. **
SECRETARY Perhaps it’s a fear of the far right, or a wariness of the ratings board, or simply a knee-jerk reaction to the nation’s deep-seated puritanism. Whatever the reason, most movies are only too happy to present sex as the most vanilla of human functions, suitable only for missionaries and their positions. But like Punch-Drunk Love, another offbeat love story from last year, director Steven Shainberg’s Secretary recognizes that different people require different modes of expression, even ones that aren’t condoned by society at large. Winner of a Special Jury Prize at Sundance, this adaptation (by Erin Cressida Wilson) of Mary Gaitskill’s short story centers on Lee Holloway (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a young woman with low self-esteem who has spent most of her life practicing self-abuse (she has a nasty habit of cutting herself). She lands her first adult job as secretary to E. Edward Grey (James Spader), a twitchy disciplinarian who turns out to be just the person she needs in her life. Grey introduces Lee to the world of S&M, and this in turn leads her to blossom as a person, shuck her self-destructive tendencies and discover an outlet for all her pent-up emotions. An honest and nonjudgmental movie about the unorthodox ways that lonely people often connect in an increasingly disconnected world, Secretary works largely because of Gyllenhaal, who delivers a performance of breathtaking range. ***
TEARS OF THE SUN On the heels of Hart’s War, Bruce Willis returns to combat duty in this plodding drama that’s about as battle-fatigued as they come. A simplistic story about a heroic Navy SEAL (Willis) who disobeys orders by attempting to save the lives of Nigerian villagers marked for death by rebel extremists, the movie never strives to engage our senses in any pertinent manner — it’s as if the blueprint for the basic outline never left the development table, resulting in a picture that’s painted in wide swaths of soldier-boy posturing and pontificating. If anything, Tears of the Sun (a meaningless title, by the way) bears a resemblance to 1999’s Three Kings. It’s a comparison that does the new film no favors, seeing as how it avoids the complex characterizations and morally muddled politics that drove that earlier film (which looks better with each passing year). Willis, a good actor on those rare occasions when he stirs himself out of his cinematic siestas, delivers a one-note performance that consists of grunts and squints. Like the dreary screen version of Black Hawk Down, this movie may serve as a slick piece of propaganda (“Two Thumbs Up!” — Dubya & Powell), but it won’t satisfy anyone who prefers to be challenged by contemporary military movies. **
OPENS FRIDAY:
Boat Trip: Cuba Gooding Jr., Roger Moore.
City of God: Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino da Hora.
Dreamcatcher: Morgan Freeman, Jason Lee.
Love Liza: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kathy Bates.
Piglet’s Big Movie:(Animated).
View From the Top: Gwyneth Paltrow, Mike Myers.
This article appears in Mar 19-25, 2003.
