Charlie Wilson's War

***1/2 Stars

I think Charlie Wilson's War suffered from what people were calling the Dreamgirl effect, where the buzz was so strong, that anything short of stellar would be a major letdown. Maybe that happened with Dreamgirls, but not with Charlie Wilson's War, which lives up to its massive hype.

Tom Hanks is and probably always will be the actor that has inspired me the most. I grew up on all his films. I basically know every line to Forrest Gump and Apollo 13, Toy Story is my favorite animated film, and I consider him the James Stewart of our generation. So in Charlie Wilson's War, I knew Tom Hanks would impress me and I'm glad to see him give his best performance since Cast Away.

Charlie Wilson was a single and boozing womanizer who would rather have a glass of whiskey at ten in the morning and flirt with his assistants than work on his reputation as a Congressman from Texas. This story is based off the 2003 book Charlie Wilson's War by George Crile III, which was adapted to the screen by the dialogue king Aaron Sorkin (created The West Wing and the very underrated Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip). The film begins with him drinking whiskey and flirting with strippers in a Vegas penthouse jacuzzi. This is the set up to the man who was the biggest influence in ending the Cold War. Some of our greatest leaders have fit this description. FDR stopped prohibition and would rarely go a day without a martini and Kennedy was in numerous scandals involving sexual relations with women (Elvis may have killed him over Ann Margaret is still a conspiracy. OK, I'm joking). What's interesting about Wilson is the way his flaws actually gave some positive impact towards his decisions.

Julia Roberts plays Joanne Herring, voted the sixth most beautiful woman in Texas. Wilson's weakness towards women let Joanne convince him to take down the Soviet Empire. Charlie and Joanne bumped uglies and then he began his plan to raise the budget (that aided Afghanistan's fight over the Soviets) from $5 million to a hell of a lot more. Over time, Wilson managed to raise over one billion dollars. He claimed that if the U.S shot down the helicopters then they would win the war. In a way, he made the perfect decision.

The film is proof that women have a certain power of men. Charlie Wilson had a kind heart but would jump at the chance to get with a woman. Joanne took her power of stunning beauty and used it to convince this man to take down one of the biggest empires in the world. With the help of a bored CIA specialist named Gust Avrakotos (the always amazing Philip Seymour Hoffman), the two travel from country to country trying to bring allies together. When the Soviet Union and the Berlin Wall fell, Wilson went to congress to ask for a mere $1 million dollars to rebuild a school in Afghanistan. They rejected the reconstruction of the city and Wilson claims that we had the right objective in mind, but "we fucked up the end game."

This is another successful film involving the important issues of today. Even though this took place in the Reagan years, it still brings questions to the table involving foreign issues and the mistakes of political decisions. What makes this such an entertaining film is how blisteringly funny it is. When Wilson is leaving a limo with two strippers inside it, they ask why he was to leave. He claimed that he had to vote for something involving the Boy Scouts of America. The stripper responds with a snappy "Are you fucking kidding me?" Line for line, Sorkin never misses a beat, even though some moments are a bit silly (there are moments when things are a bit too staged as when Wilson's assistants are helping him cover a scandal he was involved in). But who cares? The scene is so fun and so confident that it works. Plus, Amy Adams plays his personal assistant who I am growing to love more and more in each film I see her in (if you haven't seen her Oscar nominated role in Junebug, you are missing out). This is a refreshing and lighter look at important issues and history that feels like a politically charged Thank You for Smoking. Directed by Hollywood legend Mike Nichols (The Graduate, Closer), Charlie Wilson's War is carried with the wit and snappy comedy to allow anyone to walk away satisfied. Hanks and Hoffman are a duo of jocular strength, capturing the other side of what the media brings us. Who said history has to always be taken seriously?

I Am Legend

**1/2 Stars

If God had to choose one person to be immune to a virus that eliminates life on earth, I'm sure God would pick Will Smith. Smith has the power to demand I Am Legend's authenticity towards its subject, but even he can't save an ending that is one of the worst an audience member could ask for after such a promising start.

Smith plays Robert Neville, a brilliant scientist who claims to be the last man on earth after a deadly virus has wiped out civilization. Many have died and others have been transformed into mutants, which like in any other zombie flick, have the power of a superhero juiced up on steroids. Neville and his dog Sam spend the days hunting, gathering, and trying to find a cure to the disease while locking themselves in at night to avoid being a mutants dinner. Director Frank Lawrence (Constantine) has the patience to create a great build-up and to let Smith do what he does best, be the hero of heroes. But the film gets to a point when you look at the person next to you and say "This can either get really good or painfully bad." I'm sad to report that you will be in pain.

A cliched third-act not only ruins this film, it destroys it. I made a vow to never give away spoilers that give away something to my readers, but I will say that you will know exactly where this film is going the second you feel the film takes a turn for a worse. The entire audience in the theater I was in realized this moment roughly at the same time. After being teased for the first hour, I Am Legend is Constantine and War of the Worlds in a blender, mixed with the schlock that is unnecessary to the film and unfair to Mr. Smith.

The Golden Compass

** Stars

In a nutshell, The Golden Compass is a major disappointment, filled with bloated action cliches and underwritten characters. Do not be fooled by the trailers, Nicole Kidman's and Daniel Craig's talent are wasted. Both are reduced to the most limited screen time I have ever seen leads get.

Rather than letting us escape into the world of these characters, director Chris Weitz reduces it to a lecture of how the audience should think. In the very beginning, Eva Green plays a witch whose character tells us that there is another world where people's souls are actually demons (shaped like animals who are always by there side). We're not shown, we're told. In the Lord of the Rings trilogy, we're given a background of the ring's history and what it had gone through. We're not given a back story but rather an idea that there are other worlds that have very different life styles.

A young girl named Lyra Belacqua (Dakota Blue Richards) is caught between two worlds when she is found discussing something she shouldn't know. She learns of the term dust and how it could be a portal to another world. But there are certain people who do not want this to happen. Nicole Kidman plays Marisa Coulter, a woman apart who tricks the child into believing that she will take her on an adventure. Lyra soon discovers that she is up to something much worse.

I have to ad that it is almost impossible to ad Daniel Craig to the plot summary of this film. He is in it for almost ten minutes. He plays Lyra's uncle who journeys to find the link between the universes. The problem is that they don't show his adventure, only the idea of it. Hell, even Kidman is wasted and is waiting around for the plot to come back to her character.

There are some scenes filled with exciting moments. Kidman owns every seen she is in, bringing the ruthlessness to a very dark villain. Her seduction to the child is interesting. What child wouldn't want to go on an adventure with a beautiful smooth-talking Nicole Kidman? There is also a climatic fight between two polar bears that is visually stunning.

The film is based of the novel by Philip Pullman, whose controversial subject has drawn several Christian groups claiming that the book encourages children to practice atheism. I haven't read the novel, but the film adaptation does bring an idea that there is an evil religious empire brainwashing children to believe in their ideas. The problem with The Golden Compass is that the ideas are uncertain and the empire is left somewhat clueless, therefore we are left with a sense of emptiness. The ending is so abrupt that I actually thought the film was missing a real. We are left with an ending without an ending.

The Golden Compass is New Line's biggest risk since LOTR ($180 Million) and it doesn't even come close to that kind of quality. Even with each chapter of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, we were left with an inner conclusion of the part of the story. Characters were still journeying to destroy the ring, but the moments were wrapped wonderfully for each scene of each film. In this film, we are left with a reason to see a sequel just for the sake of seeing it, one that probably won't even be made (the film only opened to $25.7 million). Only time will tell, not that anyone is really anticipating it.

Awake

*1/2

Awake's trailer had me believing something this movie is not. It had me believing that the film was about what would happen if a patient was still mentally awake during a heart transplant and could still feel and see the pain the body goes through during the process. In fact, the film is about a young executive who may be murdered by love ones in his life. The actual anesthesia part of the film lasts for about four minutes of the film. That's not the real problem with Awake. The film just sucks.

Jessica Alba is up to her usual tricks by looking pretty and starring into the camera while Hayden Christiansen continues his wooden acting techniques. Terrence Howard is way too good of an actor to be in this film. But hey, everyone's got to heat their homes for the holidays.

The plot is absurd. Christensen plays Clay Beresford who has a weak heart after a heart attack. He is left with his father's fortune and runs his company which from what we're told owns about half of New York. He falls in love with Sam Lockwood (Jessica Alba) who plays the pretty fiance. When he finally gets a heart to transplant, things become graphic when the anesthesia doesn't knock him out enough and he lies paralyzed and in excruciating amount of pain. But after that lasts for two seconds, he goes on an hour long journey to find a way to stop everyone from trying to kill him and take his money.

I don't want to give any more plot away because it would just give away spoilers, but the film relies on the stereotypical cliches that must take place in a suspense film. People who you thought were good are actually murderers and a last minute act of self-sacrifice saves someone important. There is no real reason to actually go and see it. Plus the film references one of the films I loathe the most (Darkness) and even though it may have worked better in this film, it certainly isn't a friendly reminder.

Free Willy: Dedicated to Jonathon Aaron Zeichner

Don't worry, I have a reasoning behind this review.

See, I know this person by the name of Jonathon Aaron Zeichner, who for months, maybe even years now has requested that I review the film Free Willy. I always took it as a joke because that is the kind of man this person is. But I felt that I would be a hypocrite if I ignored his request because that is not the critic I want to be. So here is my Free Willy review dedicated to Mr. Zeichner. You're Welcome My Friend.

The famous scene in Free Willy (when Willy finally makes it into the free sea by jumping over Jesse and a pile of rocks)) has to be one of the most spoofed shots of the 1990's. Released in 1993, the film may not have been a critical success, but it certainly captured the heart of many kids growing up in this time. I was one of them. Now as a nineteen year old from a critical perspective, it's hard for me to review a film like this. As just a film, it's bland plot is somewhat forgettable, but as an experience growing up, it certainly earns its sentimental value.

The plot itself revolves around a young punk named Jesse, who gets caught vandalizing a marina (of course he picks a marina otherwise there would be no story here, right?) He has been on the run since his mother abandoned him six years before. As a punishment, he must work in the marina to pay of his debt, when soon becoming best friends with an oversized whale named Willy. The two form an interesting friendship that instead of being silly, it's quite delicate. The message is very simple which is a good thing. There is always someone you can turn to.

Jesse tries to get Willy ready for a competition but Willy cannot perform effectively in front of an audience so the owners plan to kill the whale for insurance money. It is up to Jesse and his friends to set the whale free. Like any Disney film, it is obvious where the film is going to end. All the bad guys will get their comeuppance while the good guys always win. The film is predictable and corny as hell, but for a kid, this is a mild cinematic treasure.

I cannot give this film a rating because it wouldn't be fair to it. I want to remember this film as it was, as a treat for my days as a young child just waiting to find more films to see, and eventually more to review.

I'm Not There

**** Stars

I'm Not There is an exhilarating, appropriately exhausting trip of enigmatic existence. What I didn't understand tested me and what I understood moved me. Director Todd Haynes chronicles Bob Dylan's path of life through six different actors with no direction home.

Christian Bale: Jack Rollins
Cate Blanchett: Jude Quinn
Heath Ledger: Robbie Clark
Richard Gere: Billy the Kid
Marcus Carl Franklin: Woody Guthrie
Ben Whishaw: Arthur Rimbaud

ALL ARE BOB DYLAN. All six play different aspects of one of the most influential musicians in history. From his fictional childhood (Franklin) to the stages of adulthood (Whishaw), to activating in politics (Bale), to the progression of his own sounds (Blanchett), to acting in a movie within a movie (Ledger), and to his post-motorcycle accident stage (Gere), this is a daring attempt of a biography. Unlike Ray or Walk the Line, Haynes is not focusing on a straight forward telling. Because did Dylan really lead a straight forward life? Hell no. His life was exactly how I'm Not There is displayed; full of hallucinations, heartbreak, love, songs that redefined an era, and an examination of pop culture inside one man's mind. It’s supposed to confuse you, baffle you, and give you no explanation as to why these characters are connected. Why is Dylan's child played by an African American? Maybe because he posed as someone else as a child. Maybe he thought that's who he was. Maybe the director has the balls to really make your head trip.

Blanchett is mind-blowing. Maybe she doesn't have the voice box to match Dylan's, but you forget it's Blanchett (one of the beautiful actresses in the world) the second she walks on and ignites the screen. If she hadn't already been in the Oscar spotlight for the past few years, this once again would have been her year to take home the statue. She and the collaboration of the five other actors in this film give us something we have never seen before. I'm Not There tests the mind and soul that few films this year ever could.

A Very Solid Thanksgiving Break

Over Thanksgiving break, I went to three films, all of which are successful in its own terms. Beowulf is the 3-D epic, Enchanted is the box-office champ, and No Country for Old Men is one of the best films of the year. Here's the breakdown of the three.



Beowulf (*** Stars)
Is it any good?: Well, even though at sometimes it looks like a cousin of the Final Fantasy series, the action is still wicked fun to watch.

Plot:Based on the famous book by an unknown author, Beowulf's (Ray Winstone) is King Leonidas mixed in a blender with Mr. Wolf. He is a warrior who comes in to take care of business and then gets the hell out. He comes in to fight the evil demon Grendel, kills him, then sleeps with his mother. O, I forgot to add that he is a nymphomaniac. When he marries the queen, he still has sex with a young blonde. But still, when he takes over Anthony Hopkins thrown, he tries to lead his people over their enemies and pass the fact that he slept with the creator of the monster who slaughtered half their village. Good for him.

Why See It: Same groundbreaking animation as The Polar Express, only this time the action disguises the underwritten characters.

Review in a nutshell: For those who miss 300 and need a friendly reminder.


Enchanted: (*** Stars)
Is it any good?: It actually is. This is a big, pleasant surprise and proves that movie trailers can be completely hearsay.

Plot: A stereotypical princess from a 2-D animated world is thrown into present day New York. She meets McDreamy (who else would she meet) and together they realize that they may be right for eachother.

Why See It?: Amy Adams. Amy Adams. Amy Adams. Amy Adams.

Review in a Nutshell: AMY ADAMS MAKES THIS MOVIE, PURE AND SIMPLE.



No Country For Old Men: (**** Stars)

Is it any good?: Damn right it's good. The Coen Brothers newest collaboration is an Oscar-worthy feat, one that cannot be ignored.

Plot: The plot is not the brilliance of this movie. It is a simple story of a drug deal gone wrong, with a random guy finding the money and the hitman looking for his score. It's not the outline of the film that will get you pumped up, but the moments spent with these characters. All are scared and helpless, and are doing everything they can to either protect themselves or a loved one. There are parts of this film with no dialogue for an excessive amount of time and it's more engaging than almost any other scene in films this year, including the ending. You will be shaken.

Why See It?: Because the Coen Brothers are masterful story tellers. The scenes between Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem's) and Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) are absolutely exhilarating, down to the very core of your bones. The tension in this movie is so direct that the chills down your spine won't stop. The entire cast is electric. Tommy Lee Jones is brilliantly funny and utterly heartbreaking as a man who loses touch with the world's fast pace and current violent culture. The title, No Country For Old Men is based around his character, Ed Tom Bell, clearly explaining that the times are not the way they were when he was young. All of the lead performances in this film are Oscar-worthy.

Review in a nutshell: To praise this film isn't enough, you have to see this masterpiece to believe it.

Sicko

**** Stars

From general motors, to gun control, to the President of the United States, Michael Moore may be overweight, but his heart and courage is as strong as anyone. In Sicko, he tackles America's health care and how it is destroying the American dream. This film is not about those who don't have health insurance, but those who do, and still suffer when HMO's and hospital bills put families into turmoil. A mother and father have to move in with their child, several mothers lose their babies to disease and accidents, one gets charged for an ambulance bill because she didn't prepay before her car accident, 9/11 rescuers are denied treatment for their injuries on the day they saved lives, and a woman got denied a transplant because she had a yeast infection once in her life. Michael Moore then goes outside the U.S to explore other countries health care systems, which seem to be going much smoother than ours.

I can't really tell you more about the film because it has to be seen to believe. And if you see this film and don't believe that this country has a serious issue, then I have nothing to say to you. Sicko is another Oscar-Worthy selection form Michael Moore.

P.S: You may disagree with Moore's opinions, but no one can make fun of him for paying $12,000 dollars for a medical treatment for the wife of the creator of a Michael Moore hate site. That is how much he believes in this cause.

Lions for Lambs

**** Stars

Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, and Tom Cruise pull out all the stops and tackle several important issues in a world full of confusion, concern, and consternation. Through a series of sharp and complex debates, Lions for Lambs uniquely captures exactly what America is discussing...Who are we as a nation? I'll never understand why critics are being so harsh on this film. This is a refreshing, original approach towards a country in a very vulnerable state.

I love this new film genre that's being created. Like Crash and Babel, Lions for Lambs has several storylines connecting to one another, where a characters decision effects someone else in the story they've never met. Professor Stephen Malley (Robert Redford) works at the University of California and is lecturing a brilliant student on the importance of using his knowledge towards something good, rather than wasting time complaining about the country's problems and partying with his fraternity. He tells the young man about two students he had (Derek Luke and Michael Pena) who volunteered for military involvement in the War on Iraq. While in Iraq, the two soldiers are affected by a political move made by Senator Jasper Irving (Tom Cruise). He gives his story to journalist Janine Roth (Meryl Streep) who tries to understand Irving's decision.

The Tom Cruise and Meryl Streep debate in particular is hard to take your eyes off of. The Senator has no dark secrets, no ghosts in his closet, but only a man who is doing what he believes to win the war on terror. The journalist has different views and only wants to know the intentions of him and whether or not he is making the right choices for the country. The last scenes in this film are truly riveting.

Whether you are an elephant of donkey, you can't deny that Lions for Lambs message has the right intentions. What can one American do to change the country? The film is not asking for everyone to become a G.I Joe or Mother Teresa, but only to do the right thing involving an important decision in your life.

American Gangster

***1/2 Stars

"My man..."

Denzel Washington is nothin' but cool as he grins and says these words to anybody who impresses him, cops or dealers. American Gangster is brilliantly acted, wonderfully told, and definitely the work of a master.

The film had a lot of trouble getting to the big screen. Antoine Fuqua, (director of Training Day) was originally set to direct with Washington to star. The film was cancelled due to budget concerns, Fuqua was fired, and Denzel took a 20$ million paycheck. Soon after, it turned up into the hands of director Ridley Scott and producer Brian Grazer, with Denzel back in the lead and another 20$ million. Russell Crowe joined the cast and the dynamic foursome would eventually turn in a dynamite of a crime-thriller.

This is the true story of drug-lord Frank Lucas and how New Jersey honest cop Richie Richards (Crowe) took him down. The very first shot of the movie is Lucas doing his job. He tortures a man, covers him in gasoline, lights him on fire and puts numerous bullets into his head. We don't know who this man is or what he did, but now we know Lucas is a man you don't mess with...period.

After Lucas finally gets settled into the mob boss persona, things shift towards Roberts. His wife leaves him with their only son, his partner dies, and he has sex with a lot of women. Good for him. Him and his wife go to court for custody of their child, but of course Roberts has to have a sudden epiphany that he's a bad father when his ex-wife tells him he belongs in hell. Again, good for him. So all in all, Roberts is an extremely honest cop, but yet can't be honest with the people he loves.

The movie is so authentic to its time that the film looks like it was made in the same time it takes place, right smack in the middle of the Vietnam War. Scott swiftly connects the war to Lucas. In the beginning, Lucas is in control and calm. When the war goes crazy, so does Lucas. When the cease fire occurs, Lucas begins to lose his drug connections from military officials stationed in Bangkok. Washington captures his character perfectly, giving a restrained performance to begin the film, then showing his emotional downfall without being pretentious.

The movie is all drugs. DRUGS, DRUGS, DRUGS. It doesn't lose its historical accuracy for cheap thrills, especially the ending. Though un-climatic, it has a much bigger impact when you see Lucas's aged face coming out of a fifteen year sentence.

By the way, I just have to add that Cuba Gooding Jr. is in about three scenes of the film, and it's better than any performance he's had in ten years. (So, Jerry Maguire)

Saw IV

0 Stars

I have lied to my readers. I told all of you that I usually only walk out on one movie a year and this year's winner was Rush Hour 3. Saw IV joins this category as a truly disgusting site where no one wants to be apart of, except for the people shopping at a torture porn shop or online at www.lacerationfetishes.com

Dan in Real Life

**1/2 Stars

Steve Carell has really come into his own these past few years, with his over-the-top supporting performances (Anchorman & Bruce Almighty), his successful lead role in NBC's The Office, and his more subdued work in the Oscar Winner Little Miss Sunshine. Dan in Real Life joins Sunshine as one of Carell's most personal and realistic performances. Too bad the film falls shy of greatness due to a lackluster and unfortunately clichéd ending. Also, notice how I didn't include Evan Almighty? In my mind, that film no longer exists.

Dan in Real Life is supposed to be wise about human nature. And it succeeds to a point, and that point comes at a crucial climatic moment that fails to give us real truth. It goes for the heart, but skips important reasoning in the process.

Dan Burns (Carell) is a widowed father, devoted to his three daughters who mistake him for being an over protected basket case. However, to his family and friends, he certainly becomes one after he meets Marie (Juliette Binoche) in a bookstore. She is the first woman Dan has fallen for since the death of his wife. He runs home to tell his entire family, only to find out that she is dating his brother Mitch (Dane Cook). What starts of as an extremely failed idea for a sitcom manages to swoon smoothly above the level of disaster. However, the only problem with this idea is that somewhere down the line, a sitcom idea must have a sitcom ending.

Now, I did enjoy the film's theme of family values. The entire film is mostly set in a family household involving issues we the viewers can all relate to: A widowed father, a daughter in love, learning how to drive, family traditions and games, and in this case a crucial time for the maturity of Dan's children. Dan's change of heart over the course of the film challenges the regrets of his past and decisions of his future. What takes away from these moments is an ending way too comfortable for us to believe. The title should be Dan in Hollywood Life.

From the Archives: A Beautiful Mind

**** Stars

A Beautiful Mind, which won four Oscars in 2001 (including Best Picture) is definitely an Oscar worthy film, even though The Fellowship of Ring should have been claimed the winner. With two movies out this fall, 3:10 to Yuma and American Gangster, Russell Crowe has had a credit history of amazing roles, A Beautiful Mind being one of his most memorable. Here, he plays, John Nash, who was a brilliant mathematician, able to unlock any code and solve any problem known in mathematics. Suddenly, in the middle stages of his life, he began to suffer from schizophrenia. His delusions affected his life, his work, and his family. His wife Alicia and his son John Nash Jr. tried to help him deal with this awful disease.

After years of difficulty and hardship, Nash was able to control his disease and receive the Nobel piece prize. His research helped in global trade, the economy, and even breakthroughs in evolutionary biology. He began to live his American Dream. His dream was his work and his wife.

Other cast members include Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly (who won best supporting actress in the role of John's wife), and Paul Bettany.

Ron Howard directs this complex subject with sincere simplicity. Through all the hard ache suffered, the film ends on a wonderful note. The words John says to his wife....

“I've made the most important discovery of my career. Most important discovery of my life. It's only in the mysterious equation of love that any logical reasons can be found. I'm only here because of you. You're the only reason I am. You are all my reasons...”

Elizabeth: The Golden Age

*** Stars

Queen Elizabeth I of England is a fascinating story. Her successes and downfalls had enormous effects on the outcome of Europe in the 16th century. The Queen had to fight many battles on the field and in the right to her privacy. Elizabeth was a virgin queen, with no heir to her thrown and without the love of another man. Rumors throughout England, and even Europe created a debate of whether or not the power of this sort of freedom would effect the decisions she would make in times of hard days. She stated that she is indeed a mother...a mother to her people.

While the original film in 1998 showed the rise of her power, the sequel is a story of how Elizabeth (Cate Blanchett, who can do no wrong) kept her power, even when the strong men of the world sought to destroy her crown. King Philip II of Spain challenged her rule, bringing a war to her with his Spanish armada and powerful army. The King demanded Catholicism to be spread all throughout England, destroying the Queen's faith of Protestantism. Sir Francis Walsingham (the always impressive Geoffrey Rush) continued to aid the Queen and her court as politics and her personal life intertwined. He tried to uncover the traitors of her rule. One turned out to be her own cousin Mary Stuart of Scotland (Samantha Morton) who was next in line to rule England. When she committed treason (she tried to kill the Queen), she was punished by death. After discovering this, the Spanish Armada sailed to England to throw the rule of Elizabeth.

The movie not only displays the Politics of Elizabeth's rule, but also the small personal life that had become of her. She bared a forbidden attraction for Sir Walter Raleigh (Clive Owen) and to keep him around, she asked her favorite aid Bess to befriend him. She became jealous when the two may have seemed to fall for one another. Elizabeth began to understand that the world she lived in prevented her from obtaining the warmness of a husband, and the wonder of a child.

The film has a hard time deciding what kind of film it wants to be. It spends a lot of time with Elizabeth and Walter rambling about the ideas of loving each other, while Spain prepares for its invasion. To the filmmakers credit, this idea does work, but Clive Owen's character is to fake to feel real. Its as though he appears just for the sake of having a love story. He is also a swashbuckler to the highest order, as he sores through the air on his ship looking like a wannabe Jack Sparrow.

The movie is still definitely worth seeing. Blanchett received an Oscar nod for the original film and keeps the performance here leveled with that one. So if the Academy doesn't want to be hypocritical, she should be nominated again. Now I am not taking anything away from her with that statement. She is a wonderful actress no matter what role she dives into. Even if you role your eyes at some of the parochial love lines, you may gain some knowledge on this subject as the film lets you dive into the world's history without forgetting the importance of entertainment.

Gone Baby Gone

***1/2 Stars

Because I'm from the Boston area, you may feel like I'm cheating when I give this movie a huge recommendation. Not all Boston films are perfect (cough What's the Worst that Could Happen? or Alex and Emma cough). This is just another worthy addition to the Boston crime genre.

My point is simple. Though it is always nice to see a story of where you come from, it better be done right. Director Ben Affleck (in a remarkable debut) takes a dirty section of Dorchester (an outer-skirt town outside the city) and turns in a fast pace, brutally violent thriller, one that will stick in your head for a long time.

Casey Affleck ignites the screen as Patrick Kenzie, a young detective out to help a young mother (Amy Ryan) find her 4-year old child who was kidnapped by an unknown suspect. Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris are wonderful as a cop and a veteran detective assigned to the case as well. Through twists and turns Patrick follows the clues in an effort to stop a potential death of innocent young girl.

Affleck's debut goes far beyond promising. If someone told me this was directed by a veteran like Ridley Scott or even Clint Eastwood, I would take your word for it. While the film's twists get borderline extreme, it manages to hold together without running out of gas. I'm looking forward to see where the Affleck brothers go with their careers after this. Ben has resurrected his while Casey is on the verge of stardom. If they stick together, we may see the two become a legendary pair.

Across the Universe

**** Stars

What a lovely film this is. Full of life, important topics, and wonderful visuals. Across the Universe explores the lives of young adults in love and how you need nothing else.

The film is a musical through Beatles songs and characters. Jude, Lucy, Max, Sadie, Rita, Prudence, JoJo, Dr. Robert, Mr. Kite are all present. Jude (Jim Sturgess) is a dock worker who leaves his girlfriend in a quest to find his estranged father in America. When he gets there, he meets the girl of his dreams named Lucy (The wonderful Evan Rachel Wood). She is a sheltered American girl whose brother Max (Joe Anderson) is drafted to fight in the Vietnam War, and through that she becomes an activist in the peace movement. Other various characters enter their lives and help them through their struggles through songs that made the world stand still (or erupt them to their feet).

Realists will be compelled to call this a formulaic waste of pretentious garbage. Now, I never experienced Vietnam or lived through the Primetime of The Beatles, but I found this to be one of the most magical movies of the year. Films rarely relate to the personal feelings of confused young adults correctly like this one; who questions authority, chooses to ignore a parents wish and learn from their own mistakes, and where falling in love may be the answer to all the questions. Whether you are Here, There, and Everywhere, writing a letter to Prudence, declaring you are a Walrus, saying hey to Jude, Letting it Be, running through Strawberry Fields Forever, wanting to hold a hand, or crossing the universe, you will find an uplift in these memories even if you have no idea what I just said.

Michael Clayton

*** Stars

George Clooney is one of the few actors alive who can play himself in a title role and receive a Best Actor nomination. That's not an insult, it just proves he was born to act. His performance is a throwback to classic movie stars like Gregory Peck and Henry Fonda. Slick, yet rightfully flawed, his character Michael Clayton is stuck in the middle of corporate greed testing every standard of human morality.

We learn who Clayton is right from the beginning. "I'm not a miracle-worker, I'm a janitor," he says to a client that has just been involved with a hit-and-run. He cleans up the mess of his corporate clients by getting his hands dirty, even though he has personal problems of his own. He is a divorced father who has family debts and a gambling problem. Instead of worrying about his own life, he tires himself out by fixing other people's mistakes. His career is a dead-end.

His old friend and colleague Arthur Edens (Tom Wilkinson) is an unstable lawyer who has been working on behalf of bigger clients than his health can handle. When he doesn't take his medicine, his behavior causes Clayton to step in and take care of the mess. However, things start to spiral out of control, when one of the company's members against Edens and Clayton steps in. Karen Cowder (Oscar winner Tilda Swinton) has to make sure her company is protected from any incriminating exposure or malpractice.

Although exciting and intelligent, the film is strangely familiar to garner seven Oscar nominations. It's build-up brings us to an exciting climax, but the conclusion plays it safe to make sure that its end rings true to a possible success for the lead character. Though uneven, Michael Clayton is an old-school thriller that focuses more on complex characters than pointless violence. My point of view is from someone who has seen the film after its massive hype, so maybe its natural for me not to join the true love.

The Kingdom

*** Stars

The Kingdom, which was slated to open back in April of this year, manages to rise above that scheduling conflict and turn in a gritty, fast-paced thriller. Unfortunately, that's all it turns in.

Jamie Foxx is up to his usual tricks (like his other roles in Jarhead and Miami Vice) as a bad-ass in training and turns in an affective performance as Ronald Fleury, an FBI Special Agent who assembles an elite team to find a killer responsible for a terrorist attack (where Americans are killed) inside a Western housing compound in Saudi Arabia. His team is an A-list class with Chris Cooper, Jennifer Gardner, and a surprise dramatic turn from Arrested Development's Jason Bateman. When the team lands into the desert, they are unwelcome by the Saudi's. Through determination and passion, the team must find a way to come to an agreement with the them and find who is responsible before another tragic event occurs.

The movie is extremely face-paced. Peter Berg's (directed the wonderful Friday Night Lights) sharp direction really lets you forget that the film's characters are underwritten and puppets in a typical action thriller. Still, after the action is over, the movie ends on a note that brings the conclusion to a satisfying close.

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead

***1/2 Stars

Hollywood veteran Sidney Lumet is in his eighties and is directing material that is a shadow of Quentin Tarantino. At first, I was having trouble with Before the Devil Knows You're Dead because it reminded me too much of a Tarantino film with its dialogue driven characters and playing with the order of time. So I had to stop for a moment and get that out of mind before it took away from the film. After seeing it for it was, this is a film powered by an electric performance from Philip Seymour Hoffman. Ethan Hawke tries to match his caliber and comes up short, but in a way it works here because Hawke is the weaker brother when it comes to the situations they get themselves in. The situations are two people who can be good people, but choose to do very bad things. And this is clear when the tag-line of the film is "No one was suppose to get hurt."

What makes Lumet such a great director is his patience towards camera movements. He lets things fold naturally, as if you are actually in the same room with all of his characters. The very first shot of the film feels like a sister to the sex-scene in Marc Fosters's Monsters Ball with Andrew Hanson (Hoffman) and his wife Gina (the gorgeous Marisa Tomei) on vacation having some nice animal sex. Its shocking at first, but after they finish they discuss things any normal couple talks about: happiness, fears, doubts, their future, and the fear of becoming distant. What Andy doesn't know is that Gina is also having an affair, with his brother Henry (Hawke).

Henry is a divorced man unable to pay his child support bills. So when his brother Andy proposes a jewelry store heist, it takes a small amount of convincing for him to go along with it, until he tells them that it will be their parents store they are robbing. Albert Finney and Rosemary Harris play their parents Charles and Nanette, who are just living out their final years together. They own the jewelry store with steady business and without any serious problems, until Nanette is killed in the failed heist by his brothers. Nothing was supposed to happen. No mess, no deaths, no problems. Right?

Wrong.

The two are now forced to cover their own skins, while also grieving for the death of their mother and now the emptiness of their father. Their downfall is filled with regret, mischief, betrayal, and utter tragedy. These two failed to think of the worst case scenario because they assumed that it was the perfect heist. Well in a way it was, on paper. The store would be robbed with Andy and Henry collecting the profit and the insurance covering their parents. Throughout this entire film I just thought about a quote my mother has been saying to me for literally my entire life: "Think Before You Act." That also could have been the film's tagline.

Eastern Promises

***1/2 Stars

David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises marks the first time the director left his home country of Canada to make a film. Shot in London, this unique crime thriller is an interesting study of characters, caught in lives of hidden sadness and unfulfilling sacrifices.

Viggo Mortensen is in top form as Nikolai Luzhin, a Russian-born driver for the Vory V Zakone (the Russian Mafia, literally meaning "Thieves in Law"). To prepare for his role, Mortensen traveled alone to Moscow to study the language and lives of the Vory V Zakone. This group tells their story through tattoos (which turns out to very important in the story) and each one signifies a stepping stone of their life in the mob. You will see Mortensen covered in these, while also perfecting Nikolai's Siberian accent.

Nikolai, like George Clooney's Michael Clayton, is a janitor. He cleans up messes when things get dirty. However, Eastern Promises has a much darker setting. While Clayton took care of lobbying and hit-and-runs, Nikolai is cutting up bodies and discarding them properly. Through his ordeals, Nikolai comes across an innocent midwife named Anna Khitrova (Naomi Watts) who slips into the lives of people she shouldn't be involved with. When a fourteen year old mother dies while giving birth on Anna's shift, she is forced to find a home for the child. She comes across the girl's diary. Written in Russian, Anna is forced to find someone to translate it. She finds a card in the diary for the Trans-Saberian restaurant owned by Seymon, the boss of the family Nikolai works for. She wonders over to find some clues and he immediately agrees to help her translate the diary. Why is he so willing to help her? Who is this man? The past of all of these characters are intertwined in a story of interpersonal connections inside dialogue of social utterances.

Eastern Promises is more mainstream and has a similar style to Cronenberg's last directorial effort A History of Violence. Both tell a small segment of a bigger story, like a middle chapter of something we have already seen. It digs deep into scenarios that would be deleted from an ordinary crime thriller. For example, we see the film shot in Nikolai's and Anna's perspective, witnessing the lives of a Mafia family losing grips with reality and tangling itself into inner hysteria. Both lead characters are world's apart but both understand what they have to do. Anna is not just an ordinary woman caught in a web of bad people. She is trying to right a wrong similar to regrets of her past. She in fact suffered a stillborn birth years prior, giving her the thrust to find this baby a rightful owner.

Viggo Mortensen brings his character alive with the intent of showing a human, not a figure. Although Nikolai is externally fearless, he is having doubts because of his past and what made him get to where he is. Will he run away or finish what he started? The ending's setup begins to turn melodramatic, but a last minute fix steers it to a place you won't see coming. A twist of fate brings everything to a rightfully fitting finale.