Van Damme’s fourth release, and his second screen play, Lionheart is about a French Legionnaire, Lyon Gaultier – Van Damme, who goes AWAL when he receives a letter from his sister-in-law, Helene Gaultier – played by Lisa Pelikan, telling him that his brother has been badly burned in a drug deal gone bad. Van Damme flees North Africa and makes his way to the United States, he arrives in New York where he has no money, food, or means of reaching his family in LA, when he comes across a underground fight circuit with no rules and a big payout. The manager of the fight club, Joshua – played by Harrison Page, takes Lyon under his wing and gets him an introduction to the highly paid, upscale fight club. Lyon uses his fighting skill to travel to LA where he meets up with family. By time he reaches LA it is too late and his brother has died. In order to help his sister-in-law make ends meet and provide a better life for her and his niece, Nicole – played by Ashley Johnson, he fight on the west coast circuit of the fight club in hopes to make enough money to move his family out of their depressed neighborhood and into a better life.
Lionheart is built on the same platform as Bloodsport and Kickboxer, single-opponent arena fighting action sequences. In this film, Van Damme has three brief fights sequences outside of the fight club circuit, one while he is expecting the French Foreign Legion another when he is trying to get away from two captains from the Legion that came to bring him back, and the third is when he fights off a group of thugs attempting to mug he and Joshua, his manager. Other than these three scenes the bulk of fighting take place in the fight clubs.
Van Damme is featured in seven fight club scenes. Realizing that this approach to film making is becoming repetitive director Sheldon Lettich, wisely incorporates environment changes into the story to give Lionheart and element of originality. Because the fighting is illegal many of the contests take place in private locations; parking garages, private residences, country clubs, etc… Simultaneously Van Damme’s fighting style has taken on some variety as well. Considering the nature of these clubs and there participants the contest are violent and brutal therefore Van Damme incorporates more straight punches and elbows. There are also more throws in this movie than in the others. Most of the fights end with the looser near death and badly beaten. To get this effect most of the hits land on the head and face. Van Damme still employs his signature, seeing as how this is his fourth movie and he has used it in all four it is his signature, round-house and jumping round-house kicks. He uses very little if any splits in this film, again as a means of portraying the brutal nature of this kind of fighting. As for the final fight sequence to further sets this movie apart, we are not introduced to the final fighter until the end of the movie and all we know is that he is unbeaten and seemingly unbeatable. To further stack the deck against Van Damme’s character he fights with a broken rib. The final fight, similar to Cyborg, features a lot of punching from the heel. The punches show the brutality and force of the heel and that directly contrasts the skill and agility of Van Damme’s kicking.
While there is not much in the way of new moves or techniques Van Damme does attempt to diversify by utilizing more punching, which in the end does pay off because Lionheart does come across as something different from his previous films.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Monday, March 26, 2007
Reign Over Me
Reign Over Me is the story of two former dental school roommates who meet up more than a decade later and find that even though they appear to be in much different mental states have more in common than either could have supposed.
Don Cheadle stars a Dr. Alan Johnson, a successful New York City dentist looking for more from his life. His gorgeous wife Janeane, Jada Pinkett Smith, is loving and kind, but somewhat suffocating and his two daughters are smart and respectful, but needy. Alan is looking for his own space or an at least some sort of outlet of his own, but does not know how to articulate this need. Than one day Alan comes across his former roommate, Dr. Charlie Fineman played by Adam Sandler, walking on the street. Fineman also practiced in New York until he lost his wife, three daughters, and family dog to the 9-11 terrorist attacks, his family was on the plane from Boston. When Johnson approaches Fineman on the street he does not recognize Johnson and appears distant and lost. As Johnson attempts to rekindle their friendship it becomes aware that the tragic loss of his family has taken a terrible toll on Fineman who is living out his life in a self medicated haze. He plays drums for a small punk band and when he is not playing live or in his studio he is remodeling his kitchen, shopping for vinyl record, or playing video games. Johnson wants to help his friend out of this slump, cope with his loss and move on, but Fineman does not want to be help. Reign Over Me is the story of how these two once close friend re-connect and help each other get more out of life.
It is difficult to review a movie that does more or less what you expect it to. Going into this movie I expected Cheadle to be his ever solid reliable self, Sandler to make the role work in a way no one else could and together for them to act out a powerful story; check, check, and check. I don’t know if it is possible to make a perfect 8, but that what this movie was. There were no glaring flaws, it wasn’t too long, or boring, the characters were believable and relatable, no one tried to do too much or fell short. From top to bottom this was a very good movie, just not great. Cheadle is a rock, when you cast Don to a role you give him the script and walk away, he doesn’t need assistance. Sandler has the ability to take an abstract idea and make it real. Before this role I would have no idea how to describe someone that is coping with this kind of pain, but now I can say “…you know like the way Sandler acted in Reign Over Me, that’s how they are dealing with it”. He manages to make his quirky and big personality work. He even manages to work in the signature Sandler fits of rage.
With these two doing the bulk of the heavy lifting all nothing else is required is that Director Mike Binder tell a good story and make the pieces around them work. While Binder may not be a household name, I mean beside the greatness that is Blankman, yeah that’s right freakin Damon Wayans in Blankman. After this movie his phone will ring once or twice, not that it wasn’t after Blankman. True with leads like Sandler and Cheadle what more do you have to do than point the camera and shoot, but he does uses some very interesting camera angles, a lot of low angles looking up, and some lighting tricks that accentuate the performances. As for the other pieces, while I was hoping Jada would be on screen more and have the opportunity to stretch her legs she does all that is asked of her, and my goodness the woman is good looking. Saffron Burrow, plays Sandler’s potential love interest and is also a little crazy herself, manages to sell all the scenes that she is in without being very sexual even though her character comes across as someone with some sexual angst. Liv Tyler who plays Dr. Ashley Oakhurst, Fineman's psychiatrist manages to deliver a respectable performance. Even Donald Sutherland shows up and holds a couple of scenes for good measure.
Reign Over Me is a really good about very real people coping with hard issues. It is nice to see about movie deal with hard life stuff without being melodramatic. Cheers to Binder, Cheadle, and Sandler, well done.
GRADE – B+
Don Cheadle stars a Dr. Alan Johnson, a successful New York City dentist looking for more from his life. His gorgeous wife Janeane, Jada Pinkett Smith, is loving and kind, but somewhat suffocating and his two daughters are smart and respectful, but needy. Alan is looking for his own space or an at least some sort of outlet of his own, but does not know how to articulate this need. Than one day Alan comes across his former roommate, Dr. Charlie Fineman played by Adam Sandler, walking on the street. Fineman also practiced in New York until he lost his wife, three daughters, and family dog to the 9-11 terrorist attacks, his family was on the plane from Boston. When Johnson approaches Fineman on the street he does not recognize Johnson and appears distant and lost. As Johnson attempts to rekindle their friendship it becomes aware that the tragic loss of his family has taken a terrible toll on Fineman who is living out his life in a self medicated haze. He plays drums for a small punk band and when he is not playing live or in his studio he is remodeling his kitchen, shopping for vinyl record, or playing video games. Johnson wants to help his friend out of this slump, cope with his loss and move on, but Fineman does not want to be help. Reign Over Me is the story of how these two once close friend re-connect and help each other get more out of life.
It is difficult to review a movie that does more or less what you expect it to. Going into this movie I expected Cheadle to be his ever solid reliable self, Sandler to make the role work in a way no one else could and together for them to act out a powerful story; check, check, and check. I don’t know if it is possible to make a perfect 8, but that what this movie was. There were no glaring flaws, it wasn’t too long, or boring, the characters were believable and relatable, no one tried to do too much or fell short. From top to bottom this was a very good movie, just not great. Cheadle is a rock, when you cast Don to a role you give him the script and walk away, he doesn’t need assistance. Sandler has the ability to take an abstract idea and make it real. Before this role I would have no idea how to describe someone that is coping with this kind of pain, but now I can say “…you know like the way Sandler acted in Reign Over Me, that’s how they are dealing with it”. He manages to make his quirky and big personality work. He even manages to work in the signature Sandler fits of rage.
With these two doing the bulk of the heavy lifting all nothing else is required is that Director Mike Binder tell a good story and make the pieces around them work. While Binder may not be a household name, I mean beside the greatness that is Blankman, yeah that’s right freakin Damon Wayans in Blankman. After this movie his phone will ring once or twice, not that it wasn’t after Blankman. True with leads like Sandler and Cheadle what more do you have to do than point the camera and shoot, but he does uses some very interesting camera angles, a lot of low angles looking up, and some lighting tricks that accentuate the performances. As for the other pieces, while I was hoping Jada would be on screen more and have the opportunity to stretch her legs she does all that is asked of her, and my goodness the woman is good looking. Saffron Burrow, plays Sandler’s potential love interest and is also a little crazy herself, manages to sell all the scenes that she is in without being very sexual even though her character comes across as someone with some sexual angst. Liv Tyler who plays Dr. Ashley Oakhurst, Fineman's psychiatrist manages to deliver a respectable performance. Even Donald Sutherland shows up and holds a couple of scenes for good measure.
Reign Over Me is a really good about very real people coping with hard issues. It is nice to see about movie deal with hard life stuff without being melodramatic. Cheers to Binder, Cheadle, and Sandler, well done.
GRADE – B+
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Kickboxer
Released the same year as Cyborg, 1989, Kickboxer is the story of two brothers who were separated when their parents got divorced and though there were raised in two different countries remained closely bonded to one another. When Eric, Dennis Alexio, is paralyzed in a brutal kickboxing contest in Bangkok, his younger brother Kurt, Van Damme, swears revenge and sets out to train in the ancient art of Muay Thai kick boxing so that he can take down the reigning champion, Tong Po (Michel Qissi) and avenge his brother.There are two unique features to Kickboxer, Van Damme gets a writing credit and second he is only in four combative action sequences and the first three are very short. In this film Van Damme tries to capture the magic of some of the older Hong Kong martial arts movies that featured elaborative training sequences. The majority of the movie is spent watching Van Damme develop into a make-shift Thai fighter. He is trained by a small older Thai man, Xian (Dennis Chan). Xian pushes Van Damme through a series of elaborate exercises and rigorous training sequences to grow his skill. This is reminiscent of the flash back sequence in Bloodsport that featured an intense training regime, except the training in this film is shot over longer sequences and is much more elaborate, however the intent is the same. The training sequences gives the audience a chance to see how physically impressive Van Damme can be without having to involve another combatant in the scene. On the other hand Chan’s character does personally engage in a large portion of the training similar to his character’s equivalent, Tanaka, in Bloodsport.
Along with the unique features there are some common themes amongst the fight choreography in this movie. In the four action sequences Van Damme utilizes many of the same movements seen in his first two films. He throws very big round house kicks and very few punches. In the first fight scene featuring Van Damme he is a small rural shop defending Xian's neice, and his love interest, from the local thugs that are extorting her for protection money. He makes quick work of these two thungs using mostly straight kicks and some the environment to his advantage. In the next fight scene he is in a bar fight with a bunch of young Thai fighters. Important to note abou this scene is the incredibly awsome dance moves he displays prior to fighting. We get to watch a special treat as the rythimcally giften Van Damme shows off some awesome moves (as you can see above - thanks to my boy Gabe for the gif). When it comes to the fighting he does his usual kicks and incorporates a new split move. He is able to kick two men on either side of him in the face by doing a jumping into the air and doing a split so that he brings his legs up high enough to reach these men’s faces. In the third fight scene he is facing an experience Thai boxer in the ring and the scene consists of nothing by kicks to the body. The men trade kicks to the ribs until eventually Van Damme’s opponent cannot with stand Van Damme vicious body blows.
The final fight scene is more elaborate and features Van Damme and Qissi fighting with shards of glass glued to the bandages wrapped around their hands. In this scene Van Damme incorporates more body movement. He throws some punches, tries to work in some knees and elbows which are big elements in Muay Thai, but in the end the big shot of the scene is the jumping spinning round house that he has done in all three of his movies thus far. However the final blow was a straight kick the face with the heel making contact. This kick gave Van Damme the chance to showcase and his balance and flexibility.
Overall Kickboxer’s action sequences were an improvement from Cyborg, especially in that the final fight, which was not a complete disappointment. The training sequences attempted to compliment the choreographed fight sequences, but fell short.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Cyborg
On the heels of his first major release, Van Damme's stars in Cyborg, which was released in 1989. Cyborg takes place some time in the future. The world had become overrun by a mysterious plague for which there is currently no cure. A group of scientist gather in Atlanta and await information implanted in a Cyborg which can lead them to finding a cure for the plague. All the Cyborg has to do in make it to Atlanta; to do that she must survive the Pirates. Pirates are gang members that feed off the misery and violence of this time. Van Damme stars as Gibson Rickenbacker a well known Slinger, rogue vigilante that protects the innocent from Pirates, who is on a mission of revenge when he comes across the Cyborg Pearl. Pearl is kidnapped by Fender Tremolo, Vincent Klyn, who Van Damme is after for killing his family. With that Van Damme is off on his road to revenge and saving the world.
There are three major action sequences in Cyborg that make up the bulk of the action in the film. Unlike Bloodsport where all the action took place inside an arena where weapons were not allowed in this film Van Damme make use of blades and a gun. As a result of the Van Damme’s weapon use most of the fights in this movie result in quick kills. He combines round house kicks with some sort of slash or stab attack with a blade. Additionally because of the use of weapons the fight choreography is sequenced between multiple opponents as opposed to one at a time. Therefore we see Van Damme taking on several opponents at once using different attack methods. Unlike Bloodsport where the theme was more defensive fighting, in Cyborg Van Damme is much more offensive oriented with the goal to taking the opponent down as quickly as possible.
Even though Cyborg incorporated many new elements into Van Damme’s action sequences much of his choreography remained the same. A lot of round house kicks and jumping round house kicks. He did not throw many punches until the final fight of the movie with the main heel. The movie also featured a very cool visual in which Van Damme suspended himself above an unsuspecting opponent my doing a split between two walls and stabbing the opponent in the face.
Although Cyborg included the elements of weapons which gave the fight sequence some variety in many ways it made Van Damme as a fighter one dimensional. He does not utilize many of the more complex martial arts techniques that he utilized in Bloodsport; mostly because he didn’t have to, but it still takes away from the movie. In addition the final fight sequence was nothing short of terrible. Vincent Klyn, Fender, had no formal martial arts training as all he did throughout the movie was throw these huge hay-maker punches. The entire movies is building to this big confrontation between these two and it ends up being nothing more than Van Damme and Klyn trading punches in the rain. When Van Damme get the edge in the fight he throws some kicks and the death blow ends up being a kick that lifts Klyn off his feet and onto a hook that is driven into his back, but for the most part the final scene is a huge let down to otherwise enjoyable action flick.
There are three major action sequences in Cyborg that make up the bulk of the action in the film. Unlike Bloodsport where all the action took place inside an arena where weapons were not allowed in this film Van Damme make use of blades and a gun. As a result of the Van Damme’s weapon use most of the fights in this movie result in quick kills. He combines round house kicks with some sort of slash or stab attack with a blade. Additionally because of the use of weapons the fight choreography is sequenced between multiple opponents as opposed to one at a time. Therefore we see Van Damme taking on several opponents at once using different attack methods. Unlike Bloodsport where the theme was more defensive fighting, in Cyborg Van Damme is much more offensive oriented with the goal to taking the opponent down as quickly as possible.
Even though Cyborg incorporated many new elements into Van Damme’s action sequences much of his choreography remained the same. A lot of round house kicks and jumping round house kicks. He did not throw many punches until the final fight of the movie with the main heel. The movie also featured a very cool visual in which Van Damme suspended himself above an unsuspecting opponent my doing a split between two walls and stabbing the opponent in the face.
Although Cyborg included the elements of weapons which gave the fight sequence some variety in many ways it made Van Damme as a fighter one dimensional. He does not utilize many of the more complex martial arts techniques that he utilized in Bloodsport; mostly because he didn’t have to, but it still takes away from the movie. In addition the final fight sequence was nothing short of terrible. Vincent Klyn, Fender, had no formal martial arts training as all he did throughout the movie was throw these huge hay-maker punches. The entire movies is building to this big confrontation between these two and it ends up being nothing more than Van Damme and Klyn trading punches in the rain. When Van Damme get the edge in the fight he throws some kicks and the death blow ends up being a kick that lifts Klyn off his feet and onto a hook that is driven into his back, but for the most part the final scene is a huge let down to otherwise enjoyable action flick.
Monday, March 19, 2007
Blood Sport
Van Damme's first major motion picture; Blood Sport was released in the US in 1988. Blood Sport is based on the true story of Frank Dux, the first westerner to win the eastern dominated Martial Arts competition, Kumite. Kumite is an invitation only full contact competition that features fighters from all over the world. Van Damme played the role of Dux who was a military brat. As an adolescent Dux was caught breaking into the home of a Japanese martial arts instructor who instead of calling the cops takes Dux on as a pupil to train his son in the art of Ninjitsu. When Dux’s boyhood friend and fellow students dies he continues to his training and becomes one of the few westerners at the time to learn the secrets of the ancient art of Ninjitsu.
The fight choreography of this film is restricted to the Kumite Tournament. However there are two other instances in the film that are used to display Van Damme’s strength, agility and skills. There is a flash back scene which tells the story of how Dux came to know Ninjitsu and the sequence features his training. Many of the exercise and techniques shown during this scene appear for the first time in a Hollywood movie. Van Damme’s legs are stretched using various methods. He meditates while being beaten with a bamboo reed. He even fights blind folded and it all culminates with his serving a meal blind folded. The other non-fighting scene in the movie used to show Van Damme’s abilities is a demonstration of his expertise in order to gain access to the tournament. Even though he was invited, the Kumite officials are not convinced he belongs in the tournament representing the Tanaka Clan, his instructor’s family. Therefore he is required to display a vicious technique known only to experts as the dimok – “death touch”. There are a stack of bricks and Van Damme is told to brake the brick on the bottom of the stack. This is probably the most memorable scene in the movie and definitely the coolest visual. In stead of smashing through all the bricks on the table Van Damme using is palm strikes down on the stack with enough force that the bottom brick is crushed by those on the top with only the bottom brick breaking. So freakin cool.
Now onto the Kumite. The tournament itself occurs over a couple of days and Van Damme’s fights are sprinkled in amongst the films depiction of other fighters. Van Damme is seen in five fights including the final championship bout. All five fights are of vary lengths and feature different elements of his skill. The early bouts are shorter and emphasize his power and quickness. In fact his first fight only last twelve seconds during which he breaks the record for shortest match. The first couple of fight scenes give Van Damme a chance to show off the flexibility in his lower extremities by utilizing almost exclusively kicks. More often than not big round house kicks that lend themselves well to film because they can be shoot dramatically in slow motion. Van Damme also utilizes his legs to block his opponent’s attacks using a technique made famous by Bruce Lee.
In later matches Van Damme mixes in the upper body with some punches and head butts. Again a lot of big punches using hooks and roundhouses because of how they show on film. On two separate occasions Van Damme manages to show off his flexibility doing splits while fighting. In one match he throws a kick that is blocked and his opponent who then holds on to his and drags him around the ring with his legs completely split. The next time we see Van Damme using a full split to avoid a bear hug from a charging opponent and while in the split he punches the opponent in the groin– who said brutal martial arts fights can’t be funny. All of this is building towards the final fight sequence in the movie, the championship match. This fight features all of the elements from his earlier fights and even incorporate Van Damme fightin blinded because his opponent used an illegal substance to temporarily blind him during the match. Additional the final fight featured consecutive jumping spinning round house kicks that showed off Van Damme's flexibility, agility, strength and speed. These kicks worked really well because the director is able to slow the speed way down and show his legs fully extended and spread as he lands each kick.
Bloodsport featured Van Damme’s leg strength and flexibility. While there were some punches mixed in this movie was about showing what he could do with his legs.
The fight choreography of this film is restricted to the Kumite Tournament. However there are two other instances in the film that are used to display Van Damme’s strength, agility and skills. There is a flash back scene which tells the story of how Dux came to know Ninjitsu and the sequence features his training. Many of the exercise and techniques shown during this scene appear for the first time in a Hollywood movie. Van Damme’s legs are stretched using various methods. He meditates while being beaten with a bamboo reed. He even fights blind folded and it all culminates with his serving a meal blind folded. The other non-fighting scene in the movie used to show Van Damme’s abilities is a demonstration of his expertise in order to gain access to the tournament. Even though he was invited, the Kumite officials are not convinced he belongs in the tournament representing the Tanaka Clan, his instructor’s family. Therefore he is required to display a vicious technique known only to experts as the dimok – “death touch”. There are a stack of bricks and Van Damme is told to brake the brick on the bottom of the stack. This is probably the most memorable scene in the movie and definitely the coolest visual. In stead of smashing through all the bricks on the table Van Damme using is palm strikes down on the stack with enough force that the bottom brick is crushed by those on the top with only the bottom brick breaking. So freakin cool.
Now onto the Kumite. The tournament itself occurs over a couple of days and Van Damme’s fights are sprinkled in amongst the films depiction of other fighters. Van Damme is seen in five fights including the final championship bout. All five fights are of vary lengths and feature different elements of his skill. The early bouts are shorter and emphasize his power and quickness. In fact his first fight only last twelve seconds during which he breaks the record for shortest match. The first couple of fight scenes give Van Damme a chance to show off the flexibility in his lower extremities by utilizing almost exclusively kicks. More often than not big round house kicks that lend themselves well to film because they can be shoot dramatically in slow motion. Van Damme also utilizes his legs to block his opponent’s attacks using a technique made famous by Bruce Lee.
In later matches Van Damme mixes in the upper body with some punches and head butts. Again a lot of big punches using hooks and roundhouses because of how they show on film. On two separate occasions Van Damme manages to show off his flexibility doing splits while fighting. In one match he throws a kick that is blocked and his opponent who then holds on to his and drags him around the ring with his legs completely split. The next time we see Van Damme using a full split to avoid a bear hug from a charging opponent and while in the split he punches the opponent in the groin– who said brutal martial arts fights can’t be funny. All of this is building towards the final fight sequence in the movie, the championship match. This fight features all of the elements from his earlier fights and even incorporate Van Damme fightin blinded because his opponent used an illegal substance to temporarily blind him during the match. Additional the final fight featured consecutive jumping spinning round house kicks that showed off Van Damme's flexibility, agility, strength and speed. These kicks worked really well because the director is able to slow the speed way down and show his legs fully extended and spread as he lands each kick.
Bloodsport featured Van Damme’s leg strength and flexibility. While there were some punches mixed in this movie was about showing what he could do with his legs.
Now Introducing Jean-Claude Van Damme
The challenge - review every single one of Van Damme's movies and comment on the variations in fight choreography from film to film. Since I am not one to back down from a challenge when this one was issued I had no choice, but to accept.
In the way of an introduction Van Damme, or the Muscles from Brussells has he his known to those of us who watched a lot of E Entertainment Television in the 90's, has been staring in movies for nearly a decade. His first big break was in 1988 when he started in the martial arts tournament movie Blood Sport and he has managed to star in a movie almost every year to date with his most recent film Until Death which was released this year.
It is the goal of this blogger to evaluate Van-Damme's fighting prowess from movie to movie so while each review will essentially be a discourse of the film being reviewed; following the first review the commentaries will also include a section on how the choreography has changed from film to film. With the idea being that this will be your single most informative resource for evaluating the career of one of Hollywood's most famous martial arts action movie stars.
This should be some interesting reading, I am excited to rewatch some classics as well as get a chance to check some of his newer work. Let's see where this goes.
Movies in chronological order -
In the way of an introduction Van Damme, or the Muscles from Brussells has he his known to those of us who watched a lot of E Entertainment Television in the 90's, has been staring in movies for nearly a decade. His first big break was in 1988 when he started in the martial arts tournament movie Blood Sport and he has managed to star in a movie almost every year to date with his most recent film Until Death which was released this year.
It is the goal of this blogger to evaluate Van-Damme's fighting prowess from movie to movie so while each review will essentially be a discourse of the film being reviewed; following the first review the commentaries will also include a section on how the choreography has changed from film to film. With the idea being that this will be your single most informative resource for evaluating the career of one of Hollywood's most famous martial arts action movie stars.
This should be some interesting reading, I am excited to rewatch some classics as well as get a chance to check some of his newer work. Let's see where this goes.
Movies in chronological order -
- Bloodsport
- Cyborg
- Kickboxer
- Lionheart
- Death Warrant
- Double Impact
- Universal Soldier
- Nowhere to Run
- Hard Target
- Time Cop
- Street Fighter
- Sudden Death
- The Quest
- Maximum Risk
- Double Team
- Knock Off
- Universal Soldier: The Return
- Inferno
- Replicant
- The Order
- Derailed
- In Hell
- Narco
- Wake of Death
- Second in Command
- The Hard Cops
- Until Death
Friday, March 16, 2007
Black Snake Moan
Black Snake Moan
Nymphomania or Hypersexuality is a desire for human sexual behavior at levels high enough to be considered clinically significant, as defined my Wikipedia. It may be easier to write someone off as loose or a slut, but that would foolish as it clear by the number of dysfunction that result from pre-mature or unwanted sexual activity that this is a problem. Craig Brewer tries to shine some light on the subject in his most recent film Black Snake Moan.
Black Snake Moan is the story of an older Georgian Black man doing his best to help a young Georgian White girl over come her sexual addiction. I know, I know, you haven’t heard of a more perfect storyline for a Porno crossover, they wouldn’t even really change the name. But leave it to director Craig Brewer, Hustle & Flow, to make this a lot more than a soft core Skinemax special. The movie has real emotion and is unrelenting in taking on this controversial subject matter head on.
Lazarus, played by Mr. Samuel L.Jackson, is one time Blues performer who wife has just left him for his brother and is having crisis of faith when he discovers the beaten and bloodied body of the beautiful Rae, Christina Ricci, who was left for dead on the side of the road after a night of sex, drugs, and violence. Lazarus brings the young girl into his home to help her as best he can. He ends up not only helping her heal from the wounds on the outside, but also from those of her past that have scared her soul.
I really can’t say enough about Brewer’s ability to make this more of a movie than it should have been. It is no small feat to film half-naked incredibly sexy Christina Ricci in her underwear and a T-shirt for half the movie and do it in such as way as to not have the audience singularly focused on her. Brewer is very good at capturing the pure heart of his characters underneath their very flawed exteriors. Additionally he also incorporates the heat and personality of the south as it own character in the film. The environment is an additional silent player that compliments everything else that is happening on screen. Even though his films contain many of the stereotypical elements of the south that we Northerners tend to look down on; in Brewers films they serve to contextualize the story and add a layer of depth not seen anywhere else.
As great as Brewer is he was not alone in this movie, Sam Jackson and Christina Ricci were exceptional. I have to say it again for Christina to take on this role and come across as someone battling with a severe problem and not just some whore who really liked sex had to take talent. She did an excellent job of selling the inner torment that plagued her. She clearly did not want to be the way she was, but knew no other way to ease the pain of her past, until she met Lazarus. Sam Jackson is versatile and captivating. He is convincing in everything he does and after this movie I now know Sam is a fairly talented musician. I am not sure if he was striking those chords on the guitar or not, but he was definitely signing the words and sounded pretty good. I would also be remise if I did not say a word or two about Mr. Timberlake, who was very believable. Justin gives a strong performance and never drops into the background even when he is acting against clearly better actors. He hangs in there as best he can and does a very good job. I am not ready to give him any awards, but he did a nice job for someone I expected very little from.
This movie will not receive critical acclaim and will probably go largely unnoticed, but I am glad I saw it. There are many kinds of addictions and sexual addictions should not be taken any less serious than some of their more well none counterparts. It is clear that Rae was abused as a child and that abuse imparted a spirit that would only be satisfied by more sex, until it grew so strong she would take it from anyone at almost anytime. Brewer pays this subject matter the appropriate respect and in the end delivers a strong piece that is not only entertaining but is also a commentary on something that is not taken seriously enough in our culture.
GRADE - A
Nymphomania or Hypersexuality is a desire for human sexual behavior at levels high enough to be considered clinically significant, as defined my Wikipedia. It may be easier to write someone off as loose or a slut, but that would foolish as it clear by the number of dysfunction that result from pre-mature or unwanted sexual activity that this is a problem. Craig Brewer tries to shine some light on the subject in his most recent film Black Snake Moan.
Black Snake Moan is the story of an older Georgian Black man doing his best to help a young Georgian White girl over come her sexual addiction. I know, I know, you haven’t heard of a more perfect storyline for a Porno crossover, they wouldn’t even really change the name. But leave it to director Craig Brewer, Hustle & Flow, to make this a lot more than a soft core Skinemax special. The movie has real emotion and is unrelenting in taking on this controversial subject matter head on.
Lazarus, played by Mr. Samuel L.Jackson, is one time Blues performer who wife has just left him for his brother and is having crisis of faith when he discovers the beaten and bloodied body of the beautiful Rae, Christina Ricci, who was left for dead on the side of the road after a night of sex, drugs, and violence. Lazarus brings the young girl into his home to help her as best he can. He ends up not only helping her heal from the wounds on the outside, but also from those of her past that have scared her soul.
I really can’t say enough about Brewer’s ability to make this more of a movie than it should have been. It is no small feat to film half-naked incredibly sexy Christina Ricci in her underwear and a T-shirt for half the movie and do it in such as way as to not have the audience singularly focused on her. Brewer is very good at capturing the pure heart of his characters underneath their very flawed exteriors. Additionally he also incorporates the heat and personality of the south as it own character in the film. The environment is an additional silent player that compliments everything else that is happening on screen. Even though his films contain many of the stereotypical elements of the south that we Northerners tend to look down on; in Brewers films they serve to contextualize the story and add a layer of depth not seen anywhere else.
As great as Brewer is he was not alone in this movie, Sam Jackson and Christina Ricci were exceptional. I have to say it again for Christina to take on this role and come across as someone battling with a severe problem and not just some whore who really liked sex had to take talent. She did an excellent job of selling the inner torment that plagued her. She clearly did not want to be the way she was, but knew no other way to ease the pain of her past, until she met Lazarus. Sam Jackson is versatile and captivating. He is convincing in everything he does and after this movie I now know Sam is a fairly talented musician. I am not sure if he was striking those chords on the guitar or not, but he was definitely signing the words and sounded pretty good. I would also be remise if I did not say a word or two about Mr. Timberlake, who was very believable. Justin gives a strong performance and never drops into the background even when he is acting against clearly better actors. He hangs in there as best he can and does a very good job. I am not ready to give him any awards, but he did a nice job for someone I expected very little from.
This movie will not receive critical acclaim and will probably go largely unnoticed, but I am glad I saw it. There are many kinds of addictions and sexual addictions should not be taken any less serious than some of their more well none counterparts. It is clear that Rae was abused as a child and that abuse imparted a spirit that would only be satisfied by more sex, until it grew so strong she would take it from anyone at almost anytime. Brewer pays this subject matter the appropriate respect and in the end delivers a strong piece that is not only entertaining but is also a commentary on something that is not taken seriously enough in our culture.
GRADE - A
Sunday, March 11, 2007
300
I am almost as excited to right this review as I was to see this movie.
300 tells the story of the Battle of Thermopylae during which 300 Spartans lead by their warrior King Leonidas, Gerald Butler of Tomb Raider fame, defended their homelands against more than one hundred thousand warriors from all corners of the globe making up the Persian army, lead by the self proclaimed god king, Xerxes - Rodrigo Santoro. The Spartans are breed from birth to be warrior of the bravest and fiercest sort so while 300 versus several hundred thousand seems a little more than unreasonable for the Spartans it was an opportunity to do what they were born to do, die in battle defending their country.
From birth the moment a Spartan male is born it is inspected and if there are any imperfections found on the child it is discarded. For those that kept from that moment on all they know is training and battle and pain. Then when the boy turns seven he is taken away for his training and eventual initiation where they are required to roam the country with nothing but a spear. It is during this initiation when the teen aged Leonidas encounters a vicious wolf. It was this moment that defined Leonidas a true warrior in that not only did he slay the beast, but he outsmarted the animal and never showed a moment of fear or hesitation. Leonidas returns to his home and take his rightful place as king.
It would be easy for a movie with this much testosterone and adrenaline to do nothing more than have a bunch of battle sequences with nearly naked men showing off their abs of steel and fighting prowess. In stead we got and more. There was not shortage of blood and gore and amazingly choreographed fight sequences they movie was balanced with an interesting sub-plot that featured the Queen of Sparta, Lena Headey and the head of the Spartan council Theron, Dominic West. Headey does some political maneuvering as she entreats the council to send the rest of the army to aide to her husband and their king, while West is secretly conspiring with Xerxes to have Sparta overthrown. While this story is original to the movie it was a positive addition that gave the movie more depth and gave the audience something to look at while the Leondidas and his men rested however briefly between battles.
This movie was a lot of fun, I am unfairly skeptical when it comes to movies that are shot almost entirely against green screen, in many ways CGI has made film makers lazy. However that was not the case in this movie. Synder struck the essential balance of using the CGI, but not relying on it. The backgrounds and environments were a piece of the story, but not the story itself. The story was carried on the back of Leonidas and his men that managed to make tough, body builder type warriors more than just brutal thugs. These were soldiers of honor and intellect and made watching their brutality on the battle seem more like what one would expect to see when a coach’s game plan is carried out to perfection. Once again Frank Miller’s unique graphic art is made three dimensional with style and precision.
GRADE - A
300 tells the story of the Battle of Thermopylae during which 300 Spartans lead by their warrior King Leonidas, Gerald Butler of Tomb Raider fame, defended their homelands against more than one hundred thousand warriors from all corners of the globe making up the Persian army, lead by the self proclaimed god king, Xerxes - Rodrigo Santoro. The Spartans are breed from birth to be warrior of the bravest and fiercest sort so while 300 versus several hundred thousand seems a little more than unreasonable for the Spartans it was an opportunity to do what they were born to do, die in battle defending their country.
From birth the moment a Spartan male is born it is inspected and if there are any imperfections found on the child it is discarded. For those that kept from that moment on all they know is training and battle and pain. Then when the boy turns seven he is taken away for his training and eventual initiation where they are required to roam the country with nothing but a spear. It is during this initiation when the teen aged Leonidas encounters a vicious wolf. It was this moment that defined Leonidas a true warrior in that not only did he slay the beast, but he outsmarted the animal and never showed a moment of fear or hesitation. Leonidas returns to his home and take his rightful place as king.
It would be easy for a movie with this much testosterone and adrenaline to do nothing more than have a bunch of battle sequences with nearly naked men showing off their abs of steel and fighting prowess. In stead we got and more. There was not shortage of blood and gore and amazingly choreographed fight sequences they movie was balanced with an interesting sub-plot that featured the Queen of Sparta, Lena Headey and the head of the Spartan council Theron, Dominic West. Headey does some political maneuvering as she entreats the council to send the rest of the army to aide to her husband and their king, while West is secretly conspiring with Xerxes to have Sparta overthrown. While this story is original to the movie it was a positive addition that gave the movie more depth and gave the audience something to look at while the Leondidas and his men rested however briefly between battles.
This movie was a lot of fun, I am unfairly skeptical when it comes to movies that are shot almost entirely against green screen, in many ways CGI has made film makers lazy. However that was not the case in this movie. Synder struck the essential balance of using the CGI, but not relying on it. The backgrounds and environments were a piece of the story, but not the story itself. The story was carried on the back of Leonidas and his men that managed to make tough, body builder type warriors more than just brutal thugs. These were soldiers of honor and intellect and made watching their brutality on the battle seem more like what one would expect to see when a coach’s game plan is carried out to perfection. Once again Frank Miller’s unique graphic art is made three dimensional with style and precision.
GRADE - A
Friday, March 9, 2007
Smokin' Aces
Movies featuring Ensemble casts can be tricky. Many times they turn out to be nothing more than just a series of "big name" performers being paraded across the screen. It is a rare thing for an Ocean's Eleven to come along and be genuinely interesting, tell a good story, and keep all the egos in check. Fortunately there were not many egos to keep in check for director Joe Carnahan because many of the names were not that big or were first timers. However there is still the matter of telling an interesting story and not simply falling back on all the performers.
Smokin' Aces is the story of Las Vegas showmen, Buddy 'Aces' Israel, played by Jeremy Piven, who uses his fame to become a wannabe mobster and ends being a real FBI informant. Word gets out the Israel is an informant and the mafia hires every hitman worth something to take Israel. The lead agents for the FBI, Carruthers and Messner, played by Ray Liotta and Ryan Reynolds respectively are trying to make their way to Israel before the hitmen do to bring him into protective custody, needless to say they all converge on Las Vegas and Israel's hotel room around the same time and bedlam ensues.
The movie was a quirky ride that has some self identity problems. It featured a handful of very Hollywood type characters, the bombastic veteran Fed - Liotta, a group or Aryan Nation Hitmen brothers, two slick sexy young ladies who are as deadly as they are beautiful. And at the same time the movie tried to balance that with Piven and Reynold attempting to interject genuine heart and emotion into the lunacy that is happening all around them. Instead of being content with being a caper flick or an action comedy, the movie tries to be those things with moments of drama and heart injected throughout the story. I would have preferred Carnahan decide the kind of movie he wanted to make and stick to it. Instead he tries to do too much.
Having said all that the movie is still a good time, Ryan Reynolds is fun and tough and sarcastic, he will fill the void left by Bruce Willis whenever he stops trying to do action movies. You can't wrong with Ray Liotta and Andy Garcia just showing up to some aforementioned random depth to the movie. Jeremy Piven was on the money and always does a good job with what he is given. I must also take a moment to express my pleasant surprise at Common coming off as the anti-thug. He had a couple of really good moments in this movie. I hope he gets more opportunities to show up and do stuff. And of course I have say something about Ms. Keyes. Honestly I am way too into this woman to give an objective opinion of her performance. Please Hollywood keep Alicia Keyes working. I can watch her do just about anything. So the movie has some issues no doubt, but it had its moments, certainly enough to make it worth the price of admission.
GRADE - C
Smokin' Aces is the story of Las Vegas showmen, Buddy 'Aces' Israel, played by Jeremy Piven, who uses his fame to become a wannabe mobster and ends being a real FBI informant. Word gets out the Israel is an informant and the mafia hires every hitman worth something to take Israel. The lead agents for the FBI, Carruthers and Messner, played by Ray Liotta and Ryan Reynolds respectively are trying to make their way to Israel before the hitmen do to bring him into protective custody, needless to say they all converge on Las Vegas and Israel's hotel room around the same time and bedlam ensues.
The movie was a quirky ride that has some self identity problems. It featured a handful of very Hollywood type characters, the bombastic veteran Fed - Liotta, a group or Aryan Nation Hitmen brothers, two slick sexy young ladies who are as deadly as they are beautiful. And at the same time the movie tried to balance that with Piven and Reynold attempting to interject genuine heart and emotion into the lunacy that is happening all around them. Instead of being content with being a caper flick or an action comedy, the movie tries to be those things with moments of drama and heart injected throughout the story. I would have preferred Carnahan decide the kind of movie he wanted to make and stick to it. Instead he tries to do too much.
Having said all that the movie is still a good time, Ryan Reynolds is fun and tough and sarcastic, he will fill the void left by Bruce Willis whenever he stops trying to do action movies. You can't wrong with Ray Liotta and Andy Garcia just showing up to some aforementioned random depth to the movie. Jeremy Piven was on the money and always does a good job with what he is given. I must also take a moment to express my pleasant surprise at Common coming off as the anti-thug. He had a couple of really good moments in this movie. I hope he gets more opportunities to show up and do stuff. And of course I have say something about Ms. Keyes. Honestly I am way too into this woman to give an objective opinion of her performance. Please Hollywood keep Alicia Keyes working. I can watch her do just about anything. So the movie has some issues no doubt, but it had its moments, certainly enough to make it worth the price of admission.
GRADE - C
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Zodiac
I want to start this with by commenting on the greatness of David Fincher. You don’t have to be a great director to take a story about a serial killer that terrorized most of California for more than two decade and was never caught and turn it into an interesting visual experience. What you get when you bring a talent like Fincher on board is more than just story telling. Fincher has the ability to take great ideas and make the most of them. All too often a producer will assemble all the pieces, actors, script, setting, etc… but the director is unable to pull it all together either trying to do too much or falling short of expectations. Fincher is able to make the most of his cast and keeps the story moving on screen. One of the secrets to his brilliance is that there is not one thing about his movies that is repetative from movie to movie, story to story he is able to completely involve himself in that story at the moment. His techniques are unique to the specific film that he is working on.
In Zodiac he is able to keep a relatively uneventful script moving for 2 1/2 hours. One would think that a movie about a serial killer would be easy to keep going, but this was want intended to be a slasher pic. In fact Fincher went anti his Se7en self and a real crime drama about what the individuals at the center of this unsolvable crime went through and what it did to each of their lives. Furthermore it was more about the story and following the pieces to the rather than focusing on the individuals putting the pieces together, in fact Jacke Gylenhall who stars in the movie as Robert Graysmith, the author of the best selling book about the Zodiac killings and eventually "solve" the murders, is sometimes not seen on screen for long stretches of time, becuase for Fincher he is only an element to this film.
However cudos must be paid to the cast that was able to carry out Fincher's vision. Mark Ruffalo, plays the lead detective on the case David Toschi and does a great job of playing a smart cop that is nothing more than simply a cop. He has quirks and flaws and is not overly tough any of the other cliches that we typically associate with hollywood cops. Instead he is simply a cop tyring to do his job. I also have to show some love to Bobby Downey, Jr. and his ascote. That's right Bobby Downey is rocking a silk scraf around his neck for a bunch of the movie. Gylenhaal also does a good job of not over doing it, but staying within the established boundries of his character.
This is not one of those movies I could watch over and over again, but I am definately glad I did see it and it is definately recommended. Good time at the multiplex.
GRADE - B+
In Zodiac he is able to keep a relatively uneventful script moving for 2 1/2 hours. One would think that a movie about a serial killer would be easy to keep going, but this was want intended to be a slasher pic. In fact Fincher went anti his Se7en self and a real crime drama about what the individuals at the center of this unsolvable crime went through and what it did to each of their lives. Furthermore it was more about the story and following the pieces to the rather than focusing on the individuals putting the pieces together, in fact Jacke Gylenhall who stars in the movie as Robert Graysmith, the author of the best selling book about the Zodiac killings and eventually "solve" the murders, is sometimes not seen on screen for long stretches of time, becuase for Fincher he is only an element to this film.
However cudos must be paid to the cast that was able to carry out Fincher's vision. Mark Ruffalo, plays the lead detective on the case David Toschi and does a great job of playing a smart cop that is nothing more than simply a cop. He has quirks and flaws and is not overly tough any of the other cliches that we typically associate with hollywood cops. Instead he is simply a cop tyring to do his job. I also have to show some love to Bobby Downey, Jr. and his ascote. That's right Bobby Downey is rocking a silk scraf around his neck for a bunch of the movie. Gylenhaal also does a good job of not over doing it, but staying within the established boundries of his character.
This is not one of those movies I could watch over and over again, but I am definately glad I did see it and it is definately recommended. Good time at the multiplex.
GRADE - B+
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Ghost Rider
“Are you o.k.”
“Yeah I just feel like my head is on fire, but I’m o.k.” …queue laugh track.
So shame on me if I expected great things, which I didn’t by the way, from Ghost Rider, but I have been in wrong before, so there was always the off chance I could be wrong. In this case I was not. Alright, alright, let me slow down. Ghost Rider is the first of three Marvel releases this year, sequels to Spiderman and Fantastic Four are fourth coming this summer, and the fourteenth released in the last decade or so. Marvel definitely has a cash cow on their hands and they are not afraid to just make movies, see Elektra here. One would hope over time the movies would get better, but I shame on me for expecting a movie about a stunt man who makes a deal with the devil to save his father life for the price of his soul and in turn becomes the devil’s dark angels of vengeance. I should not be so harsh considering I have never read a Ghost Rider comic before and have no loyalty to the character. What it comes down to is film making. Were it not for Sam and Toby Spiderman could have very easily become the Hulk or something worse instead of the great franchise that is has become. Mark Steven Johnson is not a bad director, he does have Daredevil under his belt, and while Affleck and Garner make for a better pair than Cage and Mendes, the latter pair are not terrible so it really does come down to story; and Ghost Rider is a weak one.
There are some really cool visual in this movie, like when the two rider are moving through the desert, but they do not do much to cover up for the shallowness of the story. Compounded by the fact Eva Mendes really is not that talented. Whenever she is on screen it is just blah at least Cage has a quirkiness about him that at least makes him interesting. Eva doesn’t even really have the hot thing going for her and it wasn’t for lack of trying. Her cleavage was a co-star in this movie. At the end of day this movie will probably be successful enough for the studio to consider a sequel, but if I could offer a word of advice… don’t.
GRADE - D
“Yeah I just feel like my head is on fire, but I’m o.k.” …queue laugh track.
So shame on me if I expected great things, which I didn’t by the way, from Ghost Rider, but I have been in wrong before, so there was always the off chance I could be wrong. In this case I was not. Alright, alright, let me slow down. Ghost Rider is the first of three Marvel releases this year, sequels to Spiderman and Fantastic Four are fourth coming this summer, and the fourteenth released in the last decade or so. Marvel definitely has a cash cow on their hands and they are not afraid to just make movies, see Elektra here. One would hope over time the movies would get better, but I shame on me for expecting a movie about a stunt man who makes a deal with the devil to save his father life for the price of his soul and in turn becomes the devil’s dark angels of vengeance. I should not be so harsh considering I have never read a Ghost Rider comic before and have no loyalty to the character. What it comes down to is film making. Were it not for Sam and Toby Spiderman could have very easily become the Hulk or something worse instead of the great franchise that is has become. Mark Steven Johnson is not a bad director, he does have Daredevil under his belt, and while Affleck and Garner make for a better pair than Cage and Mendes, the latter pair are not terrible so it really does come down to story; and Ghost Rider is a weak one.
There are some really cool visual in this movie, like when the two rider are moving through the desert, but they do not do much to cover up for the shallowness of the story. Compounded by the fact Eva Mendes really is not that talented. Whenever she is on screen it is just blah at least Cage has a quirkiness about him that at least makes him interesting. Eva doesn’t even really have the hot thing going for her and it wasn’t for lack of trying. Her cleavage was a co-star in this movie. At the end of day this movie will probably be successful enough for the studio to consider a sequel, but if I could offer a word of advice… don’t.
GRADE - D
Breach
Breach tells the story of Robert Hanssen, played Chris Cooper, a twenty five year veteran of the FBI who is caught and convicted of treason for sharing top secret government information with Russia. Hanssen is eventually undone by his protégé and young FBI upstart Eric O’Neill, Ryan Phillipe, who gains Hanssen’s trust over time. Hanssen puts O’Neill through a number of different tests to determine his mental resolve and as well as testing his faith. By risking his marriage as well as his personal safety, O’Neill puts everything on the line in getting to Hansenn to trust him enough to make one final dead drop so that the FBI can catch him in the act of sharing secrets.
This was an enjoyable movie for two reasons; firstly Cooper and Phillipe work well together. This movie further cements my opinion that Ryan Phillipe really doesn’t work enough. He is one of Hollywood’s young pretty boys who goes largely unappreciated for ability. It would have been easy to have Cooper shrivel up around Phillipe in order for his character to come across as a believable pupil worth of getting the upper hand in the mental chess match they play. Instead Phillipe was able to take the lead in the scenes when he was required to dominate back down in instance when it is clear Cooper needs to be in charge.
In addition to the back and forth between the two main characters on such issues as religion, marriage, self preservation, and duty to country, the strength of this movies also resides in director Bill Ray’s ability to keep a virtually “action-less” script moving on screen. It is difficult to make scene of dialogue interesting and upbeat, but with the talent on screen and the material Ray does an excellent job of keeping the movie going.
GRADE - A-
This was an enjoyable movie for two reasons; firstly Cooper and Phillipe work well together. This movie further cements my opinion that Ryan Phillipe really doesn’t work enough. He is one of Hollywood’s young pretty boys who goes largely unappreciated for ability. It would have been easy to have Cooper shrivel up around Phillipe in order for his character to come across as a believable pupil worth of getting the upper hand in the mental chess match they play. Instead Phillipe was able to take the lead in the scenes when he was required to dominate back down in instance when it is clear Cooper needs to be in charge.
In addition to the back and forth between the two main characters on such issues as religion, marriage, self preservation, and duty to country, the strength of this movies also resides in director Bill Ray’s ability to keep a virtually “action-less” script moving on screen. It is difficult to make scene of dialogue interesting and upbeat, but with the talent on screen and the material Ray does an excellent job of keeping the movie going.
GRADE - A-
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