New Releases

New Releases

EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED Well, not quite everything, but almost enough to provide this ersatz road film with the gravitas it clearly seeks. Based on Jonathan Safran Foer’s book, this directorial debut from actor Liev Schreiber is an odd meld of cinematic whimsy and Holocaust tragedy, relating how Jewish Jonathan (Elijah Wood), a meticulous collector of his family’s history, journeys to the Ukraine to locate the woman he believes saved his grandfather’s life during World War II. His guides turn out to be a real odd couple: Alex (Eugene Hutz), a gangly guy decked out in hip-hop duds who champions the contributions of American “Negros” such as Michael Jackson and Shaquille O’Neal, and Alex’s grandfather (Boris Leskin), a cantankerous old man whose apparent anti-Semitism masks a long-buried secret. Also along for the ride is the elderly man’s “seeing eye bitch,” a yappy mutt named Sammy Davis Junior Junior. Burdened with a deadly beginning, this emotionally muted film improves as it progresses, though the stabs at humor run hot-and-cold and the climactic sequence (in which the ghosts of the past are laid to rest) fails to pack the wallop it desperately requires. Wood’s performance is monotonous by design, leaving the energetic Hutz (frontman for the gypsy-punk band Gogol Bordello) as the closest thing to an audience surrogate. **1/2

THUMBSUCKER Did we really need yet another coming-of-age tale, especially one from the indie circuit? (See also: Tadpole, The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, House of D, etc.) Not especially, but as long as they’re entertaining like Thumbsucker, there’s no harm in continuing to mine a field that’s been fertile ever since James Dean first bellowed, “You’re tearing me apart!” to his perplexed screen parents. Adapted from Walter Kirn’s novel by director Mike Mills (making an assured debut after twin careers as a graphic designer and music video helmer), Thumbsucker tells the story of 17-year-old Justin Cobb (Lou Pucci), a withdrawn kid whose habit of sucking his thumb perturbs his parents (Tilda Swinton and Vincent D’Onofrio) and hinders his self-confidence among his peers. Various adults, from his New Age orthodontist (Keanu Reeves) to his demanding debate coach (Vince Vaughn), try to help Justin overcome his mental roadblocks, but it isn’t until after he’s diagnosed with ADD and prescribed pills that he breaks out of his shell. But with this newfound success comes newfound problems, and Justin must look within himself to locate the person he wants to become. The script’s pat, symbolic overtures (the mad rush to curb Justin’s bad habit is a condemnation of society’s insistence on blanket conformity) aren’t nearly as interesting as its exploration of the various roles that adults can adapt as they seek to establish any sort of rapport with younger versions of themselves. ***

WAITING “If this is gonna be that kind of party, then I’m gonna stick my dick in the mashed potatoes!” That’s the rallying cry (made popular years ago by the Beastie Boys) heard at the start of Waiting, and be aware that this is one of the better lines you’ll hear during the course of this movie. Writer-director Rob McKittrick obviously views his pet project as the new Clerks (citing that film as an inspiration in the closing credits), but whereas that Kevin Smith gem featured genuine wit (not to mention some killer quips) beneath the rampant vulgarity, Waiting is merely puerile, crammed with incessant employment of the “F” word (fag, that is) and featuring more unkempt pubic hair (male and female) than any picture this side of a 50s-era stag film. Ryan Reynolds, recycling every smart-ass cute guy dating back to Tim Matheson in National Lampoon’s Animal House, plays the veteran employee at Shenanigan’s, an eatery in the Applebee’s/Bennigan’s mold. He’s assigned to show the new kid (John Francis Daley) the ropes, and the story kicks into high gear once he explains to the rookie that every male employee must try to trick the other guys into looking at his exposed genitalia. (As a compelling plotline, I think it’s safe to say it doesn’t quite compare to Chinatown.) It’s depressing to see such likable performers as Chi McBride and Justin Long stranded in this toxic dump, but the biggest casualty is Anna Faris — an adept comedienne in Scary Movie and ,i>Lost In Translation, she deserves better than this. Even Luis Guzman, one of my favorite character actors (Boogie Nights, Traffic), tests the patience as a pervy cook who convinces his girlfriend to give him a handjob at a relative’s funeral. *

Current Releases

FLIGHTPLAN On the heels of Red Eye comes another aerial thriller. Both films require some suspension of disbelief, but Red Eye at least took care to dot every i, cross every t, and shovel dirt into every gaping plothole. This one, about a widow (Jodie Foster) whose daughter disappears during an intercontinental flight, quickly begins its narrative descent and eventually explodes on contact, creating fireballs of flaws so massive that they obliterate entire theater auditoriums and even singe the concession stands. Foster’s performance deserves a better showcase — instead, she’s much like the lone suitcase that’s left on the baggage claim belt, circling wearily while surrounded by an atmosphere of indifference. **

THE GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED Based on a true story, this handsome drama centers on the 1913 US Open and how a 20-year-old American lad named Francis Ouimet (Shia LaBeouf) finds himself pitted against two British pros — one being six-time British Open winner Harry Vardon (Stephen Dillane) — for the championship. On paper, it sounds like the usual “brash Yankee upstart shows the stiff-upper-lip Brits a thing or two.” But Francis and his two opponents all spring from humble origins, fighting prejudice every step of the way as their grit and determination allow them to beat the ruling class at its own game. It’s an American story in the truest sense: Championing the underdog, it depicts the struggle between the haves and the have-nots — and for once, it’s the haves who are left wanting. What could be more inspiring than that? ***

A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE A Canadian filmmaker, David Cronenberg here resembles nothing so much as one of his fellow countrymen glimpsed in Bowling for Columbine, gazing at our land across the lakes and wondering why we’re always so obsessed with carnage. In much the same manner that David Lynch deconstructed the myth of the squeaky-clean small Southern town in Blue Velvet, so too does Cronenberg take a hatchet to the façade of bland Midwestern homeliness. His protagonist is Tom Stall (Viggo Mortensen), a family man who becomes a national hero after killing two psychos in self-defense. But the exposure brings a stranger to town, a gruff mobster (menacing Ed Harris) who insists that Tom was once a homicidal kid back in Philadelphia. Cronenberg and scripter Josh Olson create a dizzying examination of this country’s love-hate affair with brutality, exploring numerous gray areas with the help of a powerhouse cast. ***1/2

INTO THE BLUE Paul Walker, whose main contribution to the art of acting is that he can furrow his brow with the best of them, and Jessica Alba, who wears the same vapid look she displayed earlier this year in Sin City and Fantastic Four, play a couple who not only discover a sunken pirate ship in the Bahamas but also a downed airplane containing a sizable cocaine stash. Yet while they’re only concerned with the shipwreck, their obnoxious pals (Scott Caan and Ashley Scott) are more interested in profiting from the coke, a decision that places everyone in danger. This is the sort of low-IQ fare in which Alba’s derriere receives more close-ups than her face, yet writer Matt Johnson does make an admirable stab at providing some dramatic heft to his script until the inanities finally get the best of him. I especially liked how Walker’s character could hold his breath underwater for five-minute stretches — who was his dad, Aquaman? *1/2

OLIVER TWIST This “re-imagining” (as the press material calls it) of the Charles Dickens classic tinkers with the original tale, but deviation from the source material isn’t its primary problem. Instead, it’s that while this timeless tale has been uncorked once again, it isn’t allowed to properly breathe, stewing instead in its own stodginess. It’s a respectable production, but compare it to David Lean’s definitive version from 1948 and you’ll notice the lack of fire and ire that seemed to charge every frame of that earlier take. Director Roman Polanski and scripter Ronald Harwood downplay the juicy melodrama, though two actors break through the stifling air: Leanne Rowe makes a favorable impression as the ill-fated Nancy, while Ben Kingsley turns the sniveling thief Fagin into a figure more likely to be pitied than loathed. As for the child actor essaying the title role, Barney Clark is rather non-descript. **1/2

PROOF Like Ron Howard’s A Beautiful Mind, this adaptation of David Auburn’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play tries to turns mathematics into a cinematically sexy beast; unfortunately, John Madden (Shakespeare In Love) has even less visual flair than Howard, so try as he might, he can never fully disguise this piece’s stage roots. Luckily, the scripting and acting exist at such a lofty level that the film’s lack of mobility is never a drawback. Gwyneth Paltrow plays Catherine, the daughter of a brilliant math professor (Anthony Hopkins) who eventually became gripped by madness. Now that he’s passed away, Catherine wonders if she inherited his genius, his insanity or both. Paltrow does exemplary work, as her character’s melancholy descent into possible madness produces a kick that was noticeably absent in her recent Sylvia Plath biopic. ***

SERENITY Fans of the short-lived TV series “Firefly” will doubtless want to add another couple of stars to the rating for this big-screen spin-off: The show’s devotees who attended the advance screening were cheering as lustily as Romans watching Christians being fed to the lions. But for those who haven’t already built up a rapport with these characters and their struggles, Serenity is a long slog through sci-fi tedium, mixing elements from the countless space operas that preceded it without bringing anything new to the party. Offering next to nothing in the way of character development or even simple introductions — and scrambling fortune-cookie philosophies in the hopes of coming up with something profound — this tale about the members of a rickety spaceship (but not the Millennium Falcon) squaring off against an evil empire (but not the evil Empire) is a cinematic flatline, only perking up for a bravura finale. *1/2

TIM BURTON’S CORPSE BRIDE A fine mix of rot and romance, Corpse Bride finds Johnny Depp, working with Tim Burton for the fifth time, providing the voice of a shy Victorian lad who’s set to marry a shy lass (Emily Watson). Instead, he accidentally ends up wed to the title character (Helena Bonham Carter), a lovely (if decaying) young woman who drags him to the Land of the Dead, which resembles nothing so much as a jazz joint populated by beer-swilling skeletons, men with hacked up bodies and a buck-toothed maggot who sounds like Peter Lorre. Burton has returned to the stomping ground of his previous foray into stop-motion animation, 1993’s Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas. Christmas featured better songs, more interesting characters and a darker sensibility, yet this still qualifies as a marvel of wit and imagination: While the movie is light on boisterous laughs, its visual wit never ceases to delight. ***

WALLACE & GROMIT: THE CURSE OF THE WERE-RABBIT Clay animator Nick Park first showcased his characters — befuddled, cheese-loving inventor Wallace and his more intelligent canine companion Gromit — in a trio of award-winning short films, then gave the pair a rest as he put his efforts into the delightful Chicken Run. This is the first feature-length W&G outing, and it’s a gem — endlessly witty, it’s the best animated effort of 2005. In this yarn, Wallace (voiced as always by Peter Sallis) and his silent sidekick form a pest control outfit (Anti-Pesto) to humanely take care of their burg’s bunny population, but they soon have their hands full dealing with a monstrous rabbit that’s been destroying all the neighbors’ crops. Tom & Jerry? Mutt & Jeff? Chip & Dale? Amateurs all. It appears that in the toon world, the clay’s the thing, with Wallace & Gromit,/i> as the new pioneers of Plasticine. ***1/2