Its worth the price of admission just to hear Sean Connery try to pronounce the word "booze".

Yes, its a corny flick but it is a darn good looking one and David Mamet's dialog is wonderful. It even makes Kevin Costner's "aw-shucks" turn as Elliot Ness bearable.




Screenwriters: David Mamet (Redbelt)
Director: Brian De Palma (The Black Dahlia)
Actors: Kevin Costner (Dances with Wolves), Sean Connery (League of Extraordinary Gentlemen), Robert De Niro (Raging Bull), Andy Garcia (Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead) and Charles Martin Smith (Left Behind: World at War)

Labels: Andy Garcia, David Mamet, film, Kevin Costner, movie trailer, Robert De Niro, Sean Connery

Kenneth Branagh’s murder mystery is a high-concept movie that fails to deliver the goods. Mike Church (Branagh) who takes on the cause of Grace (Emma Thompson). Grace is troubled by thoughts of a woman named Margaret at the hands of her jealous husband Roman. As Church and Grace go to Franklin Madson (Derek Jacobi), who knows hypnotism, to get to the bottom of Grace’s nightmares.

After this point I am going to speak plainly and reveal the end of the film. I recommend avoiding the film, but if you wish to see it anyway, stop reading.

The intent of the film is to offer a tightly wound mystery involving reincarnation and revenge. The big twist is that Church and Grace were married in a previously life as Margaret and Roman. As an added twist their genders were swapped out following their reincarnation so Church was Margaret and Grace was Roman – so, in a previous life Grace murdered Church. The whole affair is quite thick. While screenwriter Scott Frank doe a good job of unraveling this convoluted plot, he does so at the expense of character development. Mike Church, in particular is a rather thin character without much depth. Frank gives Church the business of quitting smoking, that’s about does it as far as character goes. Branagh miscasts himself in the role of Church. While he does well as Roman Strauss, his Mike Church is flat. For starters, Branagh’s American accent is far from flawless and he seems a little lost for things to do. He’s awkward in the role. His Church seems far too squirrely and not nearly coarse enough to be a believable private investigator. Emma Thompson offers a good performance as Grace and is given a little more to work with by the script. Supporting the couple Jacobi, Robin Williams and Andy Garcia each give their stock performances. Jacobi is stuffy, Williams is the enlightened funny man and Garcia is brutish charmer. There’s no performance here that stands out. I believe this primarily because each of these actors bring more to the table than the script does. They’re left fumbling through underwritten scenes instead of building up the kind of performances one would expect from such a strong cast.

The names in this script are so hokey. Church and Grace are the leads? In the past they were Roman and Margaret. So Branagh is playing Roman and Church = Roman Church and Thompson is Margaret and Grace – Margaret means pearl (pearl of wisdom) = wisdom and Grace? You have the murderous son who’s last name just happens to me Madson – Mad Son. Am I making too much out of the names? Probably not. This is the kind of thing screenwriters will do all the time. Instead of creating names that fit the character they will often make the names symbolic or have some double meaning. The problem with doing this is that what makes sense when the writer pens the script may not make sense by the time the entire production crew gets done getting their filthy uncreative mitts all over the piece. Either way, the names in this script are way too obtuse and silly.


Worldview: The central concept is interesting since it unintentionally outlines the inherent flaw in the idea of karma. The characters committed sins in the past and they’re condemned to repair those sins in the present. The sins of today create the reality of tomorrow. It is a never ending and ultimately pointless endeavor. No one is perfect so no one can escape the cycle of karma. This is where Christ comes in for us Christians. You can believe in karma all you want but there is only one way out, Christ. Since he died for our sins and redeems us this constant karmic repair work is complete. This Ying and Yang nonsense is for dopes. Saddle up with Christ and get out of the loop.


Related Reviews:
Robin Williams movies
The Final Cut (2004)
The World According to Garp (1982)


Other Critic’s Reviews:
Siskel & Ebert
Rotten Tomatoes

Labels: Andy Garcia, Derek Jacobi, Emma Thompson, film, Kenneth Branagh, movie review, Robin Williams

Screenwriters: Francis Ford Coppola (The Cotton Club) and Mario Puzo (Superman II)
Director: Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather: Part III)
Actors: Al Pacino (The Devil's Advocate), Diane Keaton (Annie Hall), Andy Garcia (Ocean's 12), Joe Mantegna (Redbelt), Talia Shire (I Heart Huckabees), Bridget Fonda (Monkeybone), George Hamilton (Hollywood Ending) and Eli Wallach (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly)

Labels: Al Pacino, Andy Garcia, Diane Keaton, film, Francis Ford Coppola, Joe Mantegna, Mario Puzo, movie trailer

Screenwriters: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber and Steve Martin (The Jerk)
Director: Harald Zwart (Agent Cody Banks)
Actors: Steve Martin (Cheaper by the Dozen), Jean Reno (La Femme Nikita), Emily Mortimer (Redbelt), Andy Garcia (The Untouchables), Alfred Molina (Prick Up Your Ears), Aishwarya Rai (The Last Legion) and John Cleese (Monty Python and the Holy Grail)

Labels: Aishwarya Rai, Alfred Molina, Andy Garcia, Emily Mortimer, film, Jean Reno, John Cleese, movie trailer, sequel, Steve Martin

This is a big fat McMovie, and a very charming one at that. Remaking the Rat Pack flick of the same name, George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Matt Damon front an ensemble that includes Elliot Gould, Bernie Mac and Don Cheadle. The titular Ocean (Clooney), and his cohorts, plot to steal from three big ticket casinos all at the same time. Each of these casinos are owned and operated by Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia). Benedict is a ruthless, streetwise business man who will kill the thieves if they get caught.

Little is made of the moral questions at the heart of the piece, we are rooting for the bad guys after all, they're just not as bad as the real bad guy Benedict. Director Steven Soderbergh guides the audience away from the criminality or morality of what's being done on screen and he focuses on making us like these villains as much as possible. He succeeds in delivering a charming film that entertains but at its core, this movie's moral sleight of hand is a bit too manipulative.

I'm certain there's readers who would say "So what? So they rip off a casino? Settle down and just relax, its just a movie!" Stealing is wrong and a film that promotes it is likewise wrong. Screenwriters Ted Griffin (Matchstick Men), clearly understands how to present his story. To steer us away from judging what Ocean and company are doing as being inherently wrong, he makes sure to muddy the moral waters by giving these thieves some honor. They are robbers with rules, those rules are #1 No blood. #2 Rob only who deserves it. #3. Do it as if you have nothing to lose. This is very clever since the rules assure the audience that while these guys steal, they won't hurt anybody, they're not really that threatening. They only hurt people we can all agree have it coming, who can be against the really "bad" people getting hurt? The final rule gives the illusion they are stealing out of need, they have "nothing to lose" which also reduces the reflexive moral judgment because as we all know, there's a difference between stealing for greed and stealing to eat. This and other tricks to distract the audience from what is really happening on screen are done for a single reason - the filmmakers know what they're showing is actually wrong.

I know its a fun film but sometimes adults needs to step back and really look at what they're consuming.


Related Reviews:
Ocean's 12 (2004)
Ocean's 13 (2007)


Other Critic's Reviews:
DVD Verdict
FilmHead

Labels: Andy Garcia, Brad Pitt, Don Cheadle, film, George Clooney, Matt Damon, movie review

A stylized bore. One of a number of Tarantino gangster-chic derivatives. A bunch of small time crooks find themselves on a hit list after botching a job. This is little more than an flimsy excuse for screenwriter Scott Rosenberg (Gone in Sixty Seconds) to display a gaggle of two-dimensional thugs (there's the family guy, the crazy guy, the old guy, etc.) getting whacked. Its Reservoir Dogs without the clever dialog and more sets. Other than a characteristically goofy but strangely interesting performance by Christopher Walken as a disabled crime boss, the movie really doesn't have too much going for it.


Related Reviews:
Christopher Walken Movies
The Deer Hunter (1978)
Suicide Kings (1997)


Other Critic's Reviews:
Rolling Stone
The Washington Post

Labels: Andy Garcia, Christopher Lloyd, Christopher Walkin, film, movie review, Steve Buscemi, William Forsythe