01/28/05
FEATURE REVIEWS:
Million Dollar Baby - Classic? Well, this film definitely has some great stuff in it: Quality direction, great acting, fantastic visuals, main characters you care about and an interesting storyline. Still, there is one fatal flaw. The incessant amount of minor cliches. On average they show up every other scene. Clint Eastwood directs masterly but fails to take these small cliches and twist them into anything ironic or interesting. Sometimes your source material is the problem. The film is based on F.X. Toole’s short story/novella collection of fictional boxing stories called Rope Burns specifically the short story Million $$$ Baby (A much better title than the film. Sad how changing the $$$ to the word Dollar turns a cool title into one that reminds us of lame thirties comedies) The simple, ridiculous plotline, about a hick female boxer and her crusty old trainer stays with you well after the film is over. Plus, the three principal actors; Eastwood, Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman, are all phenomenal. The problem lies with all the secondary roles. Yes - around fifteen one-dimensional cardboard cutout characters. You can’t have a great film with this many trite individuals taking up screen time. To the Gushers I say: Clint Eastwood is such a great director that he has pummeled you with so many cliches that you can’t see straight. The film is a winner but not by knockout. The Grade: B

ALSO OPENING:
Alone In The Dark
Fascination
Guerrilla - the taking of Patty Hearst
Hide and Seek
The Merchant of Venice

DVD PICK:
The Public Enemy & The Roaring Twenties - James Cagney classics.

eric
(fin)

01/14/05
FEATURE REVIEWS:
Assault On Precinct 13 - It is good to know that B-movies aren’t dead. Unfortunately, I’m sure from most movie goers perspectives this film will arrive in theaters and leave enigmatically in under a month which is a shame. Let me happily say that this film isn’t inspired by true events. When is that boring trend going to die out? No, Assault On Precinct 13 is inspired by an early John Carpenter film from the 70s with the same name, which despite it’s low budget is one of the greatest siege films of all time. Mind you, Carpenter borrowed his classic idea from Night of the Living Dead and a couple of westerns, some famous some not, but he made it his own work of violent trash-art. Surprisingly, director Jean-Francois Richet has structured a visually stunning picture with quality action and the old soul intact. Plus, he has a B-movie cast featuring Ethan Hawke, Laurence Fishburne, and Maria Bella to make it work all the better. At 109 minutes it is perhaps a tad too long but for a quality B-picture that is a minor quibble. Rated R for language and violence. Grade: B

ALSO OPENING:
Coach Carter - Samuel Jackson as an inspirational basketball coach.
Elektra - Marvel Comics movie starring Jennifer Garner.
House of Flying Daggers - Martial arts flick.
In Good Company - Romantic drama/comedy starring Dennis Quaid, Scarlett Johansson, and Topher Grace.
Racing Stripes - Family film.
Vodka Lemon & Moolaade - intriguing films playing an exclusive one week engagement at Landmark’s Ken Theatre.
The Woodsman - Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick, and Mos Def - exclusive engagement at Landmark’s Hillcrest Cinemas.

DVD PICK:
M - Criterion Collection of the classic Fritz Lang film.

eric
(fin)