Movie Reviews 2010: Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call: New Orleans

(They really shouldn't have mentioned, The Wicker Man, remake)

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Eva Mendes & Val Kilmer

Directed by: Werner Herzog

Screenplay by: William M. Finkelstein

Plot:

A rogue cop investigates the brutal massacre of a family in post-hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, whilst dealing with an escalating drug problem.

Verdict:

Where else this or any year, are you likely to see the carcass of an Alligator in the midst of a road traffic accident, and then see the scene again from the point of view of another on looking Alligator? How about some Iguanas popping up for a music montage? Or how about a soul break dancing - "Shoot him again." "Why?" "Because his soul is still dancing!" Werner Herzog's update of 1992's cult picture Bad Lieutenant is the only place you will see all of the above.

These audacious scenes all randomly pop up in an otherwise conventional cop thriller with the plot wrapping itself up in a single scene lasting little more than a minute. But that is beside the point; this is a character study through and through. And who better than Nicolas Cage to represent said character study. Cage is absolutely mesmerising, on the kind of crazy, compelling form that makes him the most gifted actor of his generation; when he chooses the right material of course. Importantly, a wise decision was made by screenwriter Finkelstein to give Cage's Detective Terrence McDonagh's escalating drug problems some kind of excuse, by having McDonagh forced to continuously take prescription medication for his back injury, sustained in a rare moment of generosity at the start of the picture. This allows Cage to remain somewhat likable during his downfall.

And that downfall - drugs, gambling, woman, dirty cop dealing, threatening old ladies - has the perfect backdrop with post-hurricane Katrina, New Orleans. Every shot of the film captures the decaying city allowing it to become a character in its own right. And as the film reaches its redemptive finale, its one of those 'it really shouldn't work' but hey guess what, it does in spades.

DDDDD

Review Rewind: Walk The Line (2006)

(hmmm... what was that song again?)

Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, Robert Patrick & Ginnifer Goodwin

Directed by: James Mangold

Screenplay by: Gill Dennis & James Mangold

Plot:

A biopic of legendary singer, songwriter Johnny Cash.

Verdict:

As James Mangold's, Walk The Line opens outside a prison facility, the distant sound of a guitar being plucked and the heavy beat of foot tapping can be heard. If you are already a fan of the man in black, then you will recognise the familiar sound immediately and find your foot joining in, if you have never heard a Johnny Cash song before, well you will start tapping anyway and by the time the end credits begin to roll you will have a new list of songs ready to download.

This opening scene perfectly sums up Walk The Line; catchy with a capital C. Director Mangold's brave decision to allow his leads, Phoenix and Witherspoon to personally sing every note sang in the movie allows for a fresh and exciting vibe in the concert scenes. With the duo haven never sang before, these scenes feel like witnessing the birth of new and thrilling vocal talent. Phoenix and Witherspoon come across so convincing and confident in their singing abilities it's a real joy to watch.

Being a biopic, Phoenix and Witherspoon have more than singing to do of course and Walk The Line's main focus is of there characters will they/wont they love story. This central relationship is appealing, sweet and convincing thanks to Phoenix and Witherspoon's terrific performances. Phoenix is great but Witherspoon is even better with an energetic turn perfectly graced with an underlying sadness.

Walk The Line only really hints at the darker side to Cash's life - being haunted by the violent death of his brother, addiction to alcohol and prescription drugs - but never fully explores them but it never hinders what is a perfectly paced and brilliantly acted film complete with a killer soundtrack.

DDDD

Review Rewind: Lord Of War (2005)

(Nicolas's new wardrobe made quite an impression)

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Jared Leto, Bridget Moynahan, Ian Holm & Ethan Hawke

Directed by: Andrew Niccol

Screenplay by: Andrew Nicool

Plot:

Cage plays arms dealer Yuri Orlov as we follow him from small beginnings in America to bigger, more dangerous dealings in Africa.

Verdict:

The two main reasons to see Lord Of War are fairly straightforward. One reason is Nicolas Cage, clearly enjoying himself playing a role that is a perfect fit for him, with every word of his brilliant voiceover oozing with charisma, which is second nature to Cage when he is on this kind of form.

The second reason is, Lord Of War may well be a movie with a message at its core but it does not ever try to ram that message home. Just look at the brilliantly cruel opening credit sequence where we follow a bullet through production to the point it is loaded into a gun and shot directly through a young boy's skull, which is swiftly followed by our introduction to Cage's arm dealer Orlov, as he quips with a perfect grin about there being enough guns in the world for one in twelve human beings to own a personal firearm, and the only thing he is worried about, how he is going to get the other eleven to own one too.

A slight qualm with Lord Of War is the second half of the picture undeniably loses the fizz and fast pacing of the first half, but the ending itself is satisfying and somehow feels right even though it probably shouldn't; but then that is exactly what Director Andrew Niccol has achieved here, a perfect balancing act, beautifully highlighted by the opening and final scenes.

DDDD

Review Rewind: You Don't Mess With The Zohan (2008)

(Adam Sandler can surf using a car, apparently)

Cast: Adam Sandler, John Turturro & Rob Schneider

Directed by: Dennis Dugan

Screenplay by: Adam Sandler & Judd Apatow

Plot:

After faking his own death, legendary Israeli counter-terrorist agent, The Zohan moves to New York City to pursue his life long dream of becoming a male hairdresser.

Verdict:

You Don't Mess With The Zohan undeniably looked promising on paper; Sandler inked the script with current comedic kingpin, Judd Apatow and in the opening scenes things do shape up nicely. Sandler's Zohan performs all kinds of hilarious, crazy stunts. Catching bullets with his fingers and his teeth, and allowing a piranha to swim in his shorts are ingenious highlights. It appears, a potentially brilliant action/comedy could be on the cards.

Sadly once the films very thin story heads to the big apple, an entirely different, unfunny film kicks into gear. Running jokes about Middle Eastern traditions grow very tiresome whilst gags about the Zohan's seductive methods in the hair salon where older woman get more than they bargained for, also become very irritating.

To be fair to Sandler he does still remain a fairly charming presence throughout the picture but has no decent support whatsoever. Turturro in particular who is no stranger to creating silly characters in Adam Sandler comedies (See, Mr. Deeds & Anger Management), summons his most over-the-top creation yet with the Phantom but disappointingly fails to provide any laughs.

The film winds down to a strained finale that throws in a bunch of celebrity cameos in a desperate move to finish on a high but instead only adds to the overall disappointment of this fruitless comedy.

DD

Review Rewind: The Happening (2008)

(They looked on in despair as the 'Plants' made their advance)

Cast: Mark Wahlberg & Zooey Deschanel

Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan

Screenplay by: M. Night Shyamalan

Plot:

The east coast of the United States believes it is under a biological terrorist attack after a string of grisly suicides break out.

Verdict:

You know theirs no saving a movie when this happens. "It's plastic... I'm talking to a plastic plant." Mark Wahlberg looking completely perplexed, must have loved this scene but being serious for a second - something that The Happening, the sixth film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, never seems to be - it's not just Wahlberg but everybody involved here, walking around with the same baffled look pasted across there face. So could it be the wind that's seemingly chasing them, perhaps? Could it be the realisation that plants, yes frigging plants are possibly responsible for the 'event' that is happening, maybe? Could it be the increasingly ingenious ways people are coming up with to commit suicide, perhaps? Could it even be that crazy old lady who turns up for no apparent reason, possibly? All could it just be the fact that all this actually came from the same guy who made The Sixth Sense... definitely.

D

Review Rewind: Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen (2009)

(1,001 explosions and counting)

Cast: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel & Tyrese Gibson

Directed by: Michael Bay

Screenplay by: Ehren Kruger, Roberto Orci & Alex Kurtzman

Plot:

The Autobots have now formed an alliance with the U.S Military with the goal of taking down all remaining Decepticons on the planet. After capturing a rogue 'bot', it is revealed that a deadly threat is on it's way to Earth, 'The Fallen'.

Verdict:

One thing you can't accuse Michael Bay of is not trying to entertain an audience. Seemingly trying to break a new world record for the highest amount of explosions in a single film, Bay does indeed blow shit up. But you can't really use it as a criticism when he does it so damn well. That is the case with his mega-budget sequel, Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen.

On a technical level, this is amazing. The special effects are used to good effect, not just for the sake of it. The creation of the Transformers presents CGI at it's very peak. The action sequences including some brilliant Transformer Vs Transformer smack downs are executed to near-perfection especially the sequence where Optimus Prime takes on several Decepticons.

So it's a great shame that Bay doesn't pay as much attention to other areas of his film. All though all the cast members who reprise their roles from the first outing are fine because we already know there characters, some new characters added this time are not fine at all. The twin Transformers who spend the whole film spitting out hip-hop slang are extremely irritating and another annoying character bought into the mix, Sam's new college roommate, who ends up tagging along for the adventure, spends every second he is on screen, whining, screaming or just blurting out rubbish dialogue.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the story as well is filled with plenty of plot holes much like it's predecessor. In the end though, Shia LaBeouf is a great lead once again and you will at least be entertained because this is pure popcorn entertainment that on the whole, is worth your time.

DDD