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Iron Man (DVD)

Everyone is surprised that this movie opened as the second-highest grossing non-sequel movie in history. Everyone except me (with crystal-clear advantage of 20-20 hindsight). The fact is that most “blockbuster” movies in the last quarter have been awful and inspired people to stay home, or just go out somewhere else (how about dinner and a half-marathon). I’m not sure if it’s because of the writer’s strike or what, but it appears this dry spell is finally over.

You heard it here first: there were many pent up “movie nights” waiting to happen, and this was the first movie to take advantage of that. The next few “summer” blockbuster releases will not beat records. If I’m wrong, I’ll eat this web page!

The movie itself? Pretty good CGI action hero flick. Acting was good. Story was good. Tying the comic book into current events worked OK. A few interesting twists (who was that kidnap video directed at?) And, best of all, we can finally forgive Gwyneth Paltrow for Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.

Sequel Warning: Do not leave the theatre during the credits. Wait until the very end, after the credits. You get a very distinct Ferris Bueller’s Day Off moment feeling when Robert Downey Jr. walks in and says “You’re still here? It’s over. Go home. Go!”. No, that doesn’t happen. Instead, you get a little surprise. Spoiler Warning: “Get these motherf***ing snakes out of my motherf***ing high-tech robotic suit.”

Enjoy the show! It’s the best we’ve seen in awhile, but don’t read too much into that.

Revolver (DVD)

In case you thought Jason Statham was a one-trick pony typecast (as a con man with a heart), you are in for a big surprise. Yes, he’s a con man. And, yes, he has a heart. But his character is far deeper than this – he’s pretty much a psychology doctorate thesis-in-waiting. But, more importantly, Statham proved himself as a very capable actor that will transcend the type-casting that he has been boxed in by.

This is definitely an edgy film, even for Guy Ritchie (thank god Madonna was Swept Away from casting considerations). The style and execution here are simply brilliant. Unfortunately, the story didn’t make a lick of sense. Spoiler alert – skip to next paragraph if you haven’t seen this movie: What’s with the 12s? Who is Mr. Gold, and what does he control exactly? How did Mr. Green make his money, and lose it and make it again? We know who the prison-mates are, but how exactly do they fit in? What is the history of the central conflict? What the heck does Deepak Chopra have to do with any of this? I’m only getting started here. I feel like if I watched it again several times, I would simply end up with a sore brain, versus solving any of these nagging questions. If you have any insight, please post a comment.

Ray Liotta’s character was a disappointment. He was just an angry guy lashing out. If that was the point, well, fine. But other than that, it completely lacked depth. I don’t blame Liotta for this; I think this too may have been a result of story weakness.

Andre Benjamin (aka Andre 3000 for “awful music” fans) was a delight. I’d go so far as saying that this is the best example of “singer/rapper turned actor” EVER. His character, and specifically his interaction with Statham was simply fantastic. It was a pleasant surprise, too, since I had seen Four Brothers a few years ago, and did not find him particularly memorable. Of course, neither was “Four Brothers”.

Overall, 5 stars for acting, 5 stars for directing, 5 stars for style, and 1/2 star for storyline/plot. But definitely worth watching for the good stuff – but only once!

Warning: Do not watch this movie over and over, as your head may explode.

It starts as a primitive civilization doing their typical primitive stuff – hunting, building fires, finding beautiful lovers with perfect teeth, etc.

But the truth is, this was a good movie.

However, in order to enjoy this movie, you must truly suspend reality.

What’s interesting is the way this movie attempts to tie the primitive notions of “Africa” circa-10,000 B.C. with the great civilization of Ancient Egypt around about the same time. In this sense, it was a little bit of a groundbreaking story. We typically see Ancient Egypt as a standalone subject, sometimes with the occasional tie-in to Greece or Rome, but never in contrast to the rest of Africa.

If you cried at the end of Moulin Rouge or City of Angels (like me) because of the tragic ending, you will feel about the same towards the end of this movie. Don’t worry, this is not a complete spoiler – there is an interesting twist!

Casino Royale (DVD)

Daniel Craig is not the most exciting Bond to come along, nor is Casino Royale truly a Bond film. It’s more a take-off on all the other blood and guts movies hitting the theatres these days.

No cars that turns into a plane or boat, no amazing gadgets to outfox the bad guys. Just smash and shoot. Oh, and hit the balls with a cement ball on a chain, through a bottomless chair. Nice touch.

Not only is this not a relaxing delve into the fantasy of sexy spy-dom, it’s convoluted story line along with the mumblings of the characters makes it an effort to try to follow.

The crowning touch of bad taste, just to be sure you have a foul taste when the movie is finally over, James really doesn’t give a damn if his martini is shaken or stirred. Yuck!

Charlie Wilson’s War (Paperback)

OK, here’s a spoiler.

According to this movie, the collapse of the Soviet Union is due, almost singlehandedly, to the relentless efforts of one U.S. Congressman named Charlie Wilson.

In short, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan was countered with some secret U.S. (and Saudi Arabian) spending on Russian-designed weapons bought from Egypt, then delivered by an Israeli arms dealer to the Pakistan government, who then disbursed these to the freedom fighters of Afghanistan to fight the Soviet invaders. And Rep. Wilson (D-Texas) made it all happen using some interesting channels and spheres of influence.

This is a fantastical interpretation of history that dares to suggest that politicians with a cause are truly able to achieve great things. It was a surprise, therefore, that it was not a preachy Hollywood film about some Democrat cause du jour. In fact, the Democrats and Republicans we meet are all likable in many ways, yet despicable in others. Julia Roberts even played a likable right-wing religious zealot. (A far cry from Marcia Gay Harden in The Mist.)

While these people are truly fun to watch on the big screen, none were people you’d want to hang out with on Friday nights. The exception, perhaps, is Amy Adams who plays a very pretty, smart, fun and thoroughly likable assistant to the hero. Her only apparent personality flaws were her utter devotion to Mr. Wilson, and an unlikely career in politics.

Tom Hanks plays our hero well, as one might expect, balancing the noble and not-so-noble sides of the character in a believable fashion.

The best scenes, however, were when the world’s greatest character actor himself (and the real star of the film), Philip Seymour Hoffman, graced the screen. He plays a cynical career spy who wants to do something useful, despite his superior’s efforts to sideline him. This movie is worth seeing for Hoffman’s scenes alone. Sheer cinematic brilliance.

The movie finishes with a scene where Rep. Wilson attempts to get a mere $1 million to fund building schools in Afghanistan and is turned down by every member of the committee that just funded the war effort to the tune of $500 million. It finishes with a quote from the real guy criticizing the U.S. for leaving Afghanistan without reconstruction help after they fought off the Soviets.

The message, essentially, is “don’t go support a war, then abandon all the people that were displaced by it.” Obviously this ties into the current situations in Afghanistan (and also Iraq), but didn’t strike me as particularly preachy, left-wing, right-wing, Democrat, Republican or otherwise. In fact, and here was an interesting dash of irony, they blamed the work that needed to be done as a result of the downfall of the Soviet Union (that came about ostensibly as a result of Rep. Wilson’s hard work), for declining any help for the people of Afghanistan. Go figure.

Anyway, go see this movie. Five stars!

Babel (DVD)

If true art portrays the culture that spawned it, Babel is art in its purest form. Perhaps that is why this film won an Oscar, plus 26 other awards from ALMA to Eddie to Best American Film, plus 72 additional nominations.The historical significance: human hands built the tower of Babel at a time when everyone spoke the same language. Mankind was attempting to build a tower to reach God. God struck the tower down, and when the people dispersed, they all spoke different languages.

Perhaps today’s shrinking world, the ease of travel to other countries, is the attempt to bring mankind to the lowest denominator, the striving for survival.

In Babel, four very diverse countries and cultures are involved. The convoluted story begins in Morocco with a family of goat herders, and their purchase of a rifle from a friend. The rifle’s purpose was to kill the jackals that were decimating the goatherd. But the boys were testing it out while watching the goats, to see if it would actually reach three kilometers as promised. The younger son, who was by nature a good shot, hit a bus that was approaching from some distance away. He thought he had missed, until the bus stopped not long after his shot. So the two boys ran back home, and later heard that an American tourist had been shot.

Meanwhile, the American tourist (Cate Blanchett) was there with her husband (Brad Pitt), who was trying to make amends for having left her and their two kids at some time in the recent past. She was not ready to acquiesce at that time. The tour bus got them to a small town where she was patched up. Her husband contacted the embassy for assistance.

While all this was going on, the children’s nanny, an illegal from Mexico, decided to take the two small children with her to her sister’s wedding in Mexico. She had tried unsuccessfully to get someone to watch them for the day. During the course of events, Amelia and the two children are dropped in the dessert on the American side of the border after the wedding.

Where do the Japanese father and his daughter fit into the picture? Besides providing the nude scenes, it turns out that the father had given the rifle to his hunting guide in Morocco as a thank-you for the trip. The daughter is deaf, and adjusting to the loss of her mother. The teenage form of the angst all humanity goes through. Her misguided attempts to lose her virginity are deep cries for comfort.

Babel literally means confusion. And this movie is definitely about the confused states of the people involved. Awareness comes slowly, and to some it doesn’t come at all.

Troy (DVD)

Brad Pitt is the Rock Hudson/Jackie Chan of Ancient Greece. This epic movie, based on The Iliad, and The Aeneid, does take a lot of creative liberties with its portrayal of this noble period of Greek history. However, history exists to be interpreted by creative minds, and the result in this case is an uplifting couple of hours examining the human pathos.

“The face that launched a thousand ships”, the “Trojan horse”, the Spartan method of battle, the gods and the temples – all these images bring back high school memories of beginning awareness of different cultures and the romance to be found in history.

Brad Pitt’s portrayal of Achilles, with a battle style somewhere between dance and martial arts, and a body that would launch a thousand delicate hankies, (well, probably a lot more than a thousand) poses the soldier’s eternal paradox. Why indeed do kings not fight their own battles? And there are good men of honour who will die on each side of the battlefield. Achilles is remembered, and who better to remind us of his story than Brad? Perhaps one of the most fitting incidents in the making of the movie is the delay in shooting Achilles’ big fight with Hector due to an injury to Brad Pitt’s Achilles tendon.

Paris (Orlando Bloom) as prince, lover, poet and coward. This part of the story is open to interpretation, but Hector’s reluctance to kill him as he crawls to his brother’s feet is viable, and probably easier to portray than a rescue by a goddess. As the gods are continually being put into question during this depiction of Homer’s great epic, the mood of the story would be radically changed if a goddess actually intervened in the human drama.

This is a movie to purchase. It improves with multiple viewings, and not many movies live up to that type of scrutiny.