Choke

**1/2 Stars

Choke is an easily watchable film that unfortunately tries to please everyone. Leading man Sam Rockwell scores, while the film itself is another story. From the author of Fight Club, Choke revolves around the life of Victor Mancini, a somewhat repulsive sex-addict who spends more time in relapse than actual recovery. He sleeps with what feels like over a hundred women and fantasizes what sex would be like with every woman he sees. Regardless of looks. Regardless of age. Regardless of mental stability. He is a medical school drop-out who spends his days as a Colonial-Time tour guide, or what he calls it, a historical interpretor. The only thing he interprets is how on earth he is going to have sex that day. It's rather unpleasant because the man is hard to root for. He's a mild jerk who rarely cares about others. Rockwell has a special charm that elevates the material, but Choke chokes on its own self-absorbed style. It's Californication, if Hank Moody was a tumultuous, pompous, and disturbing sex-stalker.

Righteous Kill

0 Stars

The first time Robert De Niro and Al Pacino pair together (with the exception of Heat) is this? Seriously? Really? Honestly?!?

There is an enormous stench reaking of this morbid piece of moviemaking. It's combination consists of stale, flat, and overused scenes created for no significant purpose. Righteous Kill combines replays of recycled De Niro & Pacino lines from other films, and then are filtered into a script that had its place locked in a drawer under someone's basement floor.

There's one crucial thing left out of this film. A STORY. There is no coherent plot or any reason for the characters to do what they do. De Niro plays Turk. Pacino plays Rooster. Partners for thirty years. We must assume they're best friends too. De Niro is a cranky old S.O.B while Pacino is smooth and easy-going. As the story progresses, we ignore and abandon all reasoning for the story and its ending and wonder if De Niro and Pacino can stop living off of their legacies. Especially De Niro. Pacino actually looks like he's trying, but De Niro looks utterly bored. We feel you Bobbie. We are too.

And also, not to give to much away, but do we really need to see the beautiful and talented Carla Gugino having rough sex with De Niro. Or the idea of Pacino raping her? Um, gross. And the fact that its really the only thing you take away from Righteous Kill, unwillingly, should be proof enough for this much deserved 0 star rating.

Eagle Eye

Three films, Three different themes.
If you're in the mood for some Government bashing, see:

** Stars

The Plot: Shia Lebeouf and Michelle Monaghan are on the run after being targeted through their cell phones by a mysterious woman. Lebeouf's character (Jerry Shaw) discovers weapons and a small fortune in his name at his apartment just seconds before being taken into custody by the FBI, where Rachel Holloman (Monaghan) is forced by the voice to follow her orders otherwise her child will be killed. The two attempt to learn what is actually going on through car chases, interrogations, and assassination attempts.

Why the film doesn't work: Director D.J Caruso is given an $80 million budget, a hot topic in today’s culture, and Steven Spielberg as a producer. What could possibly go wrong? Well, the problem with Eagle Eye is that it tries to be too much at once. In order to nab young moviegoers, the film relies heavily on ludicrous action scenes, ultimately creating moments filled with implausible scenarios. Example: When Shaw is escaping custody, the film cuts to signs and electronic billboards telling what Jerry has to do. There is no possible way that Shaw could see all of these orders to follow as he is jumping off buildings and trains.

I usually never have problems suspending disbelief, but when an entire film relies on stunts like this, it gets a little frustrating. Especially when the material is trying to tackle a very important and very real problem in our country. I give props for its guts, but in the end, Eagle Eye goes for the entertainment factor. I didn't hate it by any means, but its potential versus the film itself is an absolute waste.

Review in a nutshell: An incoherent disappointment.

My Best Friend's Girl

My movie has arrived. It's hard for me to review this films because I got to be on set with the cast and crew (not to mention you can see me located in the prom scene for a couple shots). Instead, if you want, you can read my article about my two-day shoot that I went through last year. Click Here.

For those looking for my opinion on the film, I'll admit it's not that great. It had its chances, but the actors are forced into raising material to a level not worth raising. It does however have its moments. Dane Cook does avoid disaster here compared to Good Luck Chuck and Kate Hudson is still tolerable (although a break from a romantic-comedy could be refreshing) but with both mediocre direction (Howard Deutch) and writing (Jordan Cahan) My Best Friend's Girl won't really appeal to anyone, except maybe if you were in it.
** Stars

Burn After Reading

***1/2 Stars

The Coen Brothers are extremely smart people. After following up with their Oscar winning No Country For Old Men, they have crafted another original and stylistic film, one that is fun and brilliantly stupid. It's also the #1 film in the country ($19 million opening), coming in as a career high for the dynamic duo.

There are times where Burn After Reading reaches heights of something very special. It can also be extremely unsettling. But I guess that's what the film is all about. You're suppose to laugh you're ass off while looking at the person next to you going "Are people really like this?" Realism isn't the films strong point, but it certainly gets its point across in a weirdly seductive way.

The film has an ensemble of some of the best actors in the world. And everyone has a moment of genius. George Clooney plays Harry Pfarrer, a happily married man who also likes to fool around with dates on the Internet. He'll date anyone. He hooks up with Linda Litzke (the always impressive Frances McDormand) a gym specialist who is willing to go to the ends of the earth for some seriously ridiculous plastic surgeries because she believes she's "gotten about as far as this body can take her." Haha, um, good for you?

Her gym co-worker, Chad (Brad Pitt) decides to help her get those surgeries when they find a CD with apparent CIA documents left at the gym. They think this stuff is worth millions. It does in fact belong to ex-CIA member Osborne Cox (John Malkovich), but it is nowhere near what they think it is. Osbourne is married to Katie (recent Oscar-winner Tilda Swinton) who is sleeping with Harry Pfarrer.

So you see? It's all one huge circle of lies, sex, hebetudinous behavior, and a whole lot of burning after reading. The title of the film makes sense when the report of this so-called "CIA file" gets to the actual CIA. They read the story, and look to each other with a puzzled, puzzled face. When it gets to a CIA boss (J.K Simmons), he looks at it and literally has no idea what the hell is going on. "Report back to me when it makes sense," he says. It never does.

The cast rocks. Pitt, Clooney, Swinton, McDormand are all solid, but I have to ad, personally, that watching John Malkovich scream What the F*** every other line is worth the price of admission.

Burn After Reading clocks in at a brisk 96-minutes, so don't expect much. It's like going to a hypnotist and watching everyone acting completely moronic. Do you laugh? Sure. Do you shake your head after its over in full embarrassment for every character involved? Of course. Do we eventually report back saying it finally makes sense? Like I said, proudly, it never does.

Vicky Christina Barcelona

**** Stars

The joy that comes out of watching Vicky Christina Barcelona is the perfect kind. Woody Allen, the fantastic writer he is, seduces us with wine, sex, poetry, music, and characters that have desires of having something they’ve never experienced before. Or better put, something they’ve never thought of having before.

Vicky (Rebecca Hall) and Christina (Scarlett Johansson) are best friends who see eye-to-eye on pretty much everything, except one thing: love. Vicky is turned on by the commitment a man will give to her, where Christina is looking for adventure and passion. Enter the luscious and seductive Javier Bardem (a million miles away from his evil turn in No Country for Old Men) who plays Juan Antonio, a rich and cultured artist who asks the women to join him for a weekend in Oviedo. Obviously, Christina is sold. Vicky is not. But Christina persuades her to come. They spend time drinking wine and talking adult as things unfold in ways one might not expect. Both actually fall for Juan, but Vicky ends up sleeping with him first. Not only that, Vicky has fallen in love with him. She eventually stays committed to her man that’s waiting for her back in the states, while Christina and Juan end up lovers. When they move in together, things are feeling smooth. But, enter his ex-wife (played by the scene-stealing, show-stopping Penelope Cruz) who is suicidal and eventually has to move in with Christina and Juan. The three eventually turn into lovers.

Sounds like a soap opera huh? But it’s not. It’s vintage Woody Allen. Vicky Christina Barcelona is a turn on for the young and the restless who want to venture away from pop culture and into a delicious piece of cinema that is one of Allen’s freshest and most swiftest of films.

Sunshine

** Stars

Cillian Murphy is a very smart person. After a huge breakout year in 2005 with Batman Begins, Red Eye, and his golden globe nominated Breakfast on Pluto, Murphy managed to maintain a relatively low-profile by making small but smart career choices. He starred in the critically acclaimed film The Wind That Shakes the Barley and had a small cameo as Scarecrow, his iconic villain from Batman Begins, in the gargantuan hit known as The Dark Knight. Last year, he also starred in this, Sunshine, a visually mind-blowing film that is lost in a screenplay that lacks serious substance. That being a plot. This isn't really a mistake on his part. There is a lot of talent here. Director Danny Boyle is a true original and him and Murphy have had success in the past (28 Days Later). Here, no one fails here but the script. After a small cameo as his returning villain Scarecrow in The Dark Knight, it's time for Cillian Murphy to become like the actor that played his character's rival in what is now the highest grossing franchise of its time.

Grace is Gone

*** Stars

The War in Iraq is one of the saddest in history. The U.S population is mostly against it, it's destroying our economy, and it's a monumental lie. With Grace is Gone, it purposely stays interpersonal to one family grieving for a causality suffered from war. What little understanding they do receive comes from a report filed by someone they don't know. With war, there are causalities, but at what cost?

Stanley Philipps is an every day American who just discovered that his wife has been killed in the line of duty in Iraq. With such shock and arrestment from reality, Stanley doesn't know how to tell his kids. So he takes them on a vacation. I don't agree with Stanley's decision to wait to tell his family, but I cannot begin to understand what he is going through. I guess it's something only someone like Stanley Philipps can decide.

Through their road trip, we learn about Stanley and his two daughters. Heidi and Dawn, aged twelve and eight, are like any other siblings. They fight, they yell, but they also love and care. Heidi inparticular has a real quality towards her. She is mature but also understands her age. Her being the older daughter gives her and Stanley's relationship a bit more structure. The strongest scenes include the two discovering who each other really are. Through this tragedy, Stanley opens his mind towards his daughters lives. Before Grace is Gone, he was certainly a caring father, but censorship was a strong tool in his parental game. Now in uncharted territory, Stanley Philipps has nothing but to make his family as happy as possible.

Cusack has a chance here to act his heart out. His two other films in 2007 were 1408 and Martian Child. He took those because they were solid offers, but he really wanted to sink his teeth into this one. It shows. And when we reach the climax where he must tell the kids the tragic news we know that Cusack is still a gifted and sensible actor.

If only the film could match his performance. It can drag pretty hard for only an 84-minute film, and some scenes simply don't make sense. When Stanley and the kids stop to see family, he sees his brother who has little purpose to the plot except to give us some anti-war lectures. He may be right in a sense, but it gives the film the wrong image. It's not pro-war or anti-war, but a simple tale of one man trying desperately to hold together what's left of his family.