Another semester
Depending on how it goes during the summer, I should only have a few more of these mandatory classes to finish in order to do anything worthwhile. I'm finishing up my minor with this class on public policy, I'm knocking out two more science classes in oceanography and nutrition, and I am taking a class on war in film. I didn't really want to take the film class, not out of disinterest but out of its unnecessity. Unfortunately no one dropped out of the writing class that I was on the waiting list for, so now I'm stuck burning an elective as nothing else really fit in that timeslot. Que sera, sera.
Anyways, on the topic of film, I got a chance to see one mediocre and two vivacious examples of the trade this weekend.
The first was a listless drama called Even Money. Predictable and unoriginal, the only thing it really had to offer the audience were the players. The picture itself was actually relatively star-studded. Danny DeVito, Ray Liotta, Forest Whitaker, Kim Basinger, Tim Roth, and Kelsey Grammer all shared the spotlight, but it was Basinger who I thought really made the film work. I wonder if any of them realized how bland the plot was during shooting, because you wouldn't think it to see them act their roles. The story basically borrows the now tired storytelling concept of stranding together multiple mini-plots that seem unrelated at first, but eventually become more and more intertwined. The actors all do surprisingly well given the generally thin dialogue. Basinger, and to a lesser extent Whitaker, kind of upstaged the rest of them though. Basinger plays this author, wife, and mother who is fighting back at what she percieves as a boring life with an unhealthy gambling habit. She befriends DeVito, some washed up loser, and together they get into more mischief. She eventually has to confront her husband, played by Liotta, and it just all snowballs. What's noteworthy is her portrayal of this gambling addict that isn't a gambling addict but rather a scared, weak, and pitiful human being going through serious internal struggle. I hated her character, and I tend to think that's a worthy measure of how powerful of a performance the actor/actress had. Still, I wouldn't recommend to anyone but the most diehard fans of that type of "several plots come together" storytelling. It's just not that strong of a movie. The ending was bizarre, and, unlike in Death Sentence, the good performances don't save the overall weak film.
Death Sentence was a good flick to contrast to Even Money in the sense that it has the same type of sort of unoriginal premise, but the performances, I think, save it. To be fair however, Even Money is purposefully trying to appeal to a larger audience than Death Sentence. You watch Death Sentence for one reason: brutal vigilante justice. Death Sentence, with James Wan of Saw fame at the helm, just exudes tension. Frankly, one extended chase scene in particular is so beautifully constructed that it had me dutifully peeking around the corner for Kevin Bacon. Earlier I said that the performances saved this film; I probably should have said the performance saves this film. Kevin Bacon plays a starring role, and the reason why you will never see this man in a bad film is because he just won't let them be bad. Sure, there was some great camerawork and stunt sequences (and of course the chase scene I praised earlier), but Bacon just ate everyone else's lunch. What's more amazing was that while Bacon is tearing the place up, both literally and metaphorically, John Goodman ends up laying one of the biggest eggs I've seen a senior actor lay in some time. Generally I'm a Goodman fan, I think he's got some good acting chops, but the man was atrocious here. The idea that he leads some sort of a modern day seedy, murderous gang in a town that I believe is suppose to be Los Angeles-esque is beyond laughable. I think he attempts to do some sort of accent although I honestly can't tell or not, and what's worse was that his character was absolutely unnecessary! Wan tried to have some sort of ethereal spin on the film by connecting Goodman, Bacon, and the head gang member, but it just completely falls flat because, if you can stop laughing at Goodman for some point during the ten minutes or so he's in the film, there is only one real mention of the father and son connection between him and the head gang member in the entire thing. But thankfully by the time they try to sneak that one in, you're already well invested in Bacon's story. The film is still worth it because of Bacon. Anyone who liked Saw, Death Wish, Payback, or The Punisher will enjoy the film. It's over the top, but it's supposed to be.
The last movie I saw this weekend was 3:10 to Yuma. This film was a real treat, and this is coming from someone who doesn't really care for Westerns. I've found out that this is actually a remake of an old Glenn Ford film, which now I'm very interested in checking out. Christian Bale and Russell Crowe are both extremely talented, and Peter Fonda lends his talent as well. This is a film that I hope gets some Oscar recognition. Everything seemed to be spot on, perhaps what I liked best was the score. There were times when the film was a little hokey, but the bad guys were ruthless and the good guys were courageous. I guess if I had any real complaint with the film it would be that it felt a little overdone. Bale and Crowe seem to have warm enough chemistry so that they keep the relationship between them fresh and interesting. I would recommend this to anyone.
Anyways, on the topic of film, I got a chance to see one mediocre and two vivacious examples of the trade this weekend.
The first was a listless drama called Even Money. Predictable and unoriginal, the only thing it really had to offer the audience were the players. The picture itself was actually relatively star-studded. Danny DeVito, Ray Liotta, Forest Whitaker, Kim Basinger, Tim Roth, and Kelsey Grammer all shared the spotlight, but it was Basinger who I thought really made the film work. I wonder if any of them realized how bland the plot was during shooting, because you wouldn't think it to see them act their roles. The story basically borrows the now tired storytelling concept of stranding together multiple mini-plots that seem unrelated at first, but eventually become more and more intertwined. The actors all do surprisingly well given the generally thin dialogue. Basinger, and to a lesser extent Whitaker, kind of upstaged the rest of them though. Basinger plays this author, wife, and mother who is fighting back at what she percieves as a boring life with an unhealthy gambling habit. She befriends DeVito, some washed up loser, and together they get into more mischief. She eventually has to confront her husband, played by Liotta, and it just all snowballs. What's noteworthy is her portrayal of this gambling addict that isn't a gambling addict but rather a scared, weak, and pitiful human being going through serious internal struggle. I hated her character, and I tend to think that's a worthy measure of how powerful of a performance the actor/actress had. Still, I wouldn't recommend to anyone but the most diehard fans of that type of "several plots come together" storytelling. It's just not that strong of a movie. The ending was bizarre, and, unlike in Death Sentence, the good performances don't save the overall weak film.
Death Sentence was a good flick to contrast to Even Money in the sense that it has the same type of sort of unoriginal premise, but the performances, I think, save it. To be fair however, Even Money is purposefully trying to appeal to a larger audience than Death Sentence. You watch Death Sentence for one reason: brutal vigilante justice. Death Sentence, with James Wan of Saw fame at the helm, just exudes tension. Frankly, one extended chase scene in particular is so beautifully constructed that it had me dutifully peeking around the corner for Kevin Bacon. Earlier I said that the performances saved this film; I probably should have said the performance saves this film. Kevin Bacon plays a starring role, and the reason why you will never see this man in a bad film is because he just won't let them be bad. Sure, there was some great camerawork and stunt sequences (and of course the chase scene I praised earlier), but Bacon just ate everyone else's lunch. What's more amazing was that while Bacon is tearing the place up, both literally and metaphorically, John Goodman ends up laying one of the biggest eggs I've seen a senior actor lay in some time. Generally I'm a Goodman fan, I think he's got some good acting chops, but the man was atrocious here. The idea that he leads some sort of a modern day seedy, murderous gang in a town that I believe is suppose to be Los Angeles-esque is beyond laughable. I think he attempts to do some sort of accent although I honestly can't tell or not, and what's worse was that his character was absolutely unnecessary! Wan tried to have some sort of ethereal spin on the film by connecting Goodman, Bacon, and the head gang member, but it just completely falls flat because, if you can stop laughing at Goodman for some point during the ten minutes or so he's in the film, there is only one real mention of the father and son connection between him and the head gang member in the entire thing. But thankfully by the time they try to sneak that one in, you're already well invested in Bacon's story. The film is still worth it because of Bacon. Anyone who liked Saw, Death Wish, Payback, or The Punisher will enjoy the film. It's over the top, but it's supposed to be.
The last movie I saw this weekend was 3:10 to Yuma. This film was a real treat, and this is coming from someone who doesn't really care for Westerns. I've found out that this is actually a remake of an old Glenn Ford film, which now I'm very interested in checking out. Christian Bale and Russell Crowe are both extremely talented, and Peter Fonda lends his talent as well. This is a film that I hope gets some Oscar recognition. Everything seemed to be spot on, perhaps what I liked best was the score. There were times when the film was a little hokey, but the bad guys were ruthless and the good guys were courageous. I guess if I had any real complaint with the film it would be that it felt a little overdone. Bale and Crowe seem to have warm enough chemistry so that they keep the relationship between them fresh and interesting. I would recommend this to anyone.