THE AVIATOR

Director: Martin Scorsese (Goodfellas, Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, Last Temptation of Christ)
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsdale, Alan Alda

This biopic of Howard Hugh's early career is a beautiful and strange piece of cinema. Martin Scorsese is at the peak of his game visually as the film is filled lush and intriguing cinematography. The rest of his direction is not quite up to the level of his masterpieces, however. Scorsese's most recent film, Gangs of New York was another beautiful, albeit flawed film. This film is better. Just as beautiful, but better designed and better acted. Scorsese seems to be at his best when he focuses on the beautiful moments rather than trying to force the moments into a larger plot. This film does that better than Gangs, but not quite up to the level of Goodfellas, or Taxi Driver. There is little larger thematic material in this film. It's simply the story of a strange and brilliant man. Hughs built an empire out of planes and movies. He was a playboy, a test pilot, a businessman, and a freakish recluse all at once. The biggest downside of this film is the pitiful ending. It's wonderful and strange throughout, and then it just suddenly ends on a random note. There is no climax. That makes it difficult to create a story arc, although this one slogs through nicely until that point. Despite its flaws, this is still a very good film. One of the year's best no less.

Standouts: Very good direction with some nice art direction thrown in.
Blowouts: Good, but never seems to come together into anything meaningful.

Grade: A-

OPEN WATER

Director: Chris Kentis (Grind)
Starring: Blanchard Ryan, Daniel Travis


"Inspired" by true events, this low budget film tells the story of two scuba divers accidentally abandoned in the middle of the ocean. Due to the shear incompentance of the diving company, the divers are simply forgotten as the boat speeds to port. They then face not only the terror of their impending death, but a pack of peckish sharks. This is a great idea, and to a degree the film is succesful. For instance, despite showing little more than two people floating in the ocean for 45 minutes, the movie is never boring. Unfortunately, it never quite captures the terror of the situation (although a few moments in the pitch black of night come awfully close). This could have been another Blair Witch Project, but alas, it fell just a bit short. Still very intriguing, and shudder-worthy.

Standouts: A la Blair Witch Project, simple filmmaking works when trying to scare.
Blowouts: I have no doubt this won't be nearly as enjoyable on repeat viewings.

Grade: B

THE ALAMO

Director: John Lee Hancock (The Rookie)
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Billy Bob Thornton, Jason Patric, Patrick Wilson

Despite an attempt to tell the "gritty truth" about the heros of the Alamo, here we end up with a broad, sappy movie on par with the Ted Turner Civil War films (Gods and Generals, etc). Daniel Boone in this film admits his inadequacies, Jim Bowie is holed up with pneumonia, and Sam Houston briefly is hawking land parcels to the rich in Washington DC. I guess that's better than John Wayne's folk tale Daniel Boone in a previous incarnation of Alamo story. There is mention given to the whole slavery thing, but it's mere lip service. Sadly, I learned nothing from this film - neither historical, nor emotional. That's bad news for an historical epic.

Standouts: I applaud them for the 'attempt' to get it historically accurate.
Blowouts: In the end this is a somewhat inane, mundane piece of work.

Grade: C+

DODGEBALL:

Director: Rawson Marshall Thurber (No major film work)
Starring: Vince Vaughn, Christine Taylor, Ben Stiller

There are a lot of things in this film that I find conceptually funny, but that don't really pan out on the screen (a random pirate character, Ben Stiller's buff (and short) villian, etc). There was also what I consider my most hilarious moment of 2004 - when ESPN 8 ("The Ocho") began broadcasting the dodgeball tournament. The production of the film was sloppy, with minimal character and plot development. It's not a good movie, but it does have a few laugh out loud moments.

Standouts: A stupidly fun movie. It'll be nice on TV when you have 30 minutes to kill.
Blowouts: They really could have tried harder. Seems like a throwaway production.

Grade: C

OCEAN'S TWELVE

Director: Steven Soderbergh (Traffic, Out of Sight, Sex Lies and Videotape, Ocean's Eleven)
Starring: Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Catherine Zeta Jones, Matt Damon, Julia Roberts, more

Sequels generally suck for 2 main reasons. First only good movies get sequels made, so in comparison the sequal is unlikely to be as good. Such was Ocean's Eleven and Twelve, a good movie and a less good movie. There's no doubt that it's very difficult to make a good movie in the first place. There's a chemistry that often exists between actors, and character, and production teams that can't easily be reproduced. To a degree, such is Ocean's Twelve. There is still obvious chemistry between the actors, but the lack of interesting moments in this film kill any potential chemistry between the characters. Second, sequels often suck because movie-makers always seem to think that there has to be more in the sequel than in the original. More explosions, more passion, more eye-candy, more blah, blah, blah. This is almost always wrong. Trying to provide more in one area usually ends up taking away from another area and turning the movie into much, much less. Unfortunately, a sequel also suffers from a perception problem by the audience. If it's not better than the original, or at least quite nearly as good, it will seem much worse by comparison.

This film is not as good as the original. As such, it occasionally even seems to be much worse. The story does suffer a bit from trying to do more than Ocean's Eleven, but mostly it's just not as interesting a script in the details. Lost is much of the simple interactions between the characters which is what made the first film so entertaining - the witty reparte if you will. Nonetheless, if the film is taken on its own, there is still much to like.

Standouts: Hard to argue with the movie stars assembled. You can't not like these guys.
Blowouts: The script had its moments, but it also had a wipeout or two.

Grade: B+

BEFORE SUNSET

Director: Richard Linklater (Before Sunrise, Dazed and Confused, The School of Rock)
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy

Not having had the benefit of seeing Before Sunrise I had to take this film on its own rather than as a matching bookend to that film. The structure of the story allowed for this, but I'm nonetheless convinced that the predecessor film is necessary to truly enjoy this one. The two films: First, as young adults, an American and a French girl meet and fall in love in Vienna. They promise to meet again in 6 months, but we never find out if they do. In this film, it's years later and the two meet again (but not as they had planned in Vienna), discuss what happened with their lives, and fall in love yet again. Here we get a sense of the passion these two felt years before, but without my having seen it, I don't think it came across as purely as it would otherwise. Certainly the passion of these lovers was evident this time around, but it seemed strange not knowing their history when it's all they could talk about. Despite this it is an interesting film, creative and well acted. My last concern is that while it is intriguing to watch to people really fall in love (as opposed to most absurd movie love), it's also a little annoying. I don't love these people. I like them, sure, but I don't love them. I'll assume my grade might change a bit once I see the original film, but for now ...

Standouts: The dialog. Simply great dialog. The tone. The central idea of the film.
Blowouts: I was a little annoyed by the characters after a while.

Grade: B

THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK

Director: David Twohy (Pitch Black, writing credits for The Fugitive, Waterworld, more)
Starring: Vin Diesel, Colm Feore, Thandie Newton, Judi Dench

Wow! Awful! Vin Diesel cannot act. Beyond that, he's not even action-star material. His weak chin, and body that looks like it wants to be chubby, make him kind of silly as a tough guy. Beyond that, this movie was pretty bad even without Vin. It's one of those films where things happen quickly one right after another, but you don't really care about any of them. Beyond that, this movie had a scene where Vin outran a deadly 1000 degree sunrise. That's right - he *outran* the sunrise. Beyond that, the writing, and art design of the film were appaling. The "Necromongers" ran around the galaxy just being evil, looking like a goth rock band, using 10-foot-tall swords to kill people when they could have been using ray guns (the idiots). This movie sucked. As a final note, Judi Dench made a few strange appearances. She is a quality actress. Why was she here? I can only guess the answer is "lots of money". Regardless, her presence did nothing but mekely reemphasize the abundant badness throughout.

Standouts: I can't think of any right now ...
Blowouts: Simply too many to list in this short space. An awful movie. Atrocious.

Grade: D

THE TERMINAL

Director: Steven Spielberg (More hits than I can list ...)
Starring: Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta Jones, Stanley Tucci

A few years ago Tom Hanks held together "Cast Away" despite not having any significant dialogue for nearly an hour. Here he tries again, although with somewhat less success. In the former film, Hanks was trapped on a desert island, fighting for survival, and it was fascinating. In this film he's a traveler from some silly-sounding made-up country, trapped in JFK airport for months due to a series of beauracratic mishaps. It's not nearly as interesting. The two main problems with this film are the excess of absurdity and the lack of compelling moments. This schmuck from Eastern Europe convinces a hot stewardess who he meets only a few times to fall in love with him? Absurd. This schmuck from Eastern Europe tries to get a job at Sbarro? Boring. Yes, there is thematic material here about Immigrants' status in America, but it's very poorly done. Hanks character isn't even an immigrant! He's just some guy visiting the US. Despite all of the these problems, Speilberg and Hanks still have enough talent to create interest with the weakest material. A pretty bad movie is turned into a pretty decent movie entirely due to them.

Standouts: Tom Hanks, a great, compelling movie star. Cutsie direction by Spielberg.
Blowouts: That same cutsie direction tended to get annoying after a while.

Grade: B

FINDING NEVERLAND

Director: Marc Forster (Monster's Ball)
Starring: Johnny Depp, Kate Winslett, Freddie Highmoor, Julie Christie, more

A la the "Polar Express" we have yet another film about the power of fantasy. This one was better put together, although nowhere near as magical. Johnny Depp gives a fine, subdued performance as J. M. Barrie, the author of Peter Pan. Here amid troubles in his own marriage he befriends a lonely widow and her 4 young children. Out of these relationships comes his love letter to the child's imagination, "Peter Pan". It's a simple, straightforward tale, where Barie befriends the children and helps them through their problems with the power of make-believe. This purity of form and character is important to the success of a film about the purity of imagination. It's a pleasant and enjoyable film, and although the entire story is about the power of imagination confronting the sorrows of real life, I don't think it does a particularly good job of educating the viewer on the true separation. It's a bit of a fantastical take on the power of fantasy, if you will. Quite a good film, but not great.

Standouts: One of those 'solid across the board' type of films.
Blowouts: I have minor complaints with the thematic material. Nothing significant.

Grade: A-

THE POLAR EXPRESS

Director: Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump, Back to the Future, Contact, Cast Away, more)
Starring: voices of Tom Hanks, Nona Gaye, Daryl Sabara, more

Not since Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" earlier in the year have I seen a film of such high highs, and such low lows. Parts of this movie are simply spectacular - the sorts of things that we might end up watching every Christmas for the next 50 years. This movie is about Christmas, by the way, and childhood. There are absolutely marvelous visual spectacles in this film. Eclipsing Shrek in many ways, this is easily one the best uses of computer animation to date. As with "The Incredibles" seen yesterday, the animation still has trouble with humans, however. Shrek still wins there. This is one fantastically beautiful movie no doubt about it. It's also surprisingly, and intriguingly dark in places. It's a wonderful ride that I could have confidently labeled a 'classic' film were it not for a few MAJOR problems. #1) This film occasionally loses sight of its timeless story and tries to co-opt some of the silliness in Shrek. Absurdly misplaced in this wonderous film, Steven Tyler of Aerosmith briefly appears as a singing elf at the end of the movie. Goddamn awful, that's what that is. #2) Too many action sequences. The first action sequence is just plain fun. By the fourth, I realize they couldn't figure out what else to do except plug in another action sequence. #3) The film didn't know if it was a musical or not. We start off with a fun (if off key) song about hot chocolate. Then we get only one more complete song the rest of the way. This movie should have plain and simply been a musical. No doubt about it. #4) That other complete song sucked. With the rest of the film backed by classics Christmas songs, plus the fun hot chocolate song, the main musical number was trite crap. Blah. #5) The movie's chief message was dumb. The point of the film was to believe in things even if you can't prove them. That Santa Claus (and by default God) can't be seen, but they're still there. Realize that I view this as a morally offensive bit of thematic material. Now with all of this negativity against this movie, how could I have claimed this to be nearly a classic. You'll have to see the visuals, and mysterious dark tone, and the strange wonderment of it all to appreciate it. What's more, I believe in the power of the imagination, just not the power of self delusion - it's a fine line that I think this movie crossed. So far, this is both the most wonderful, and the most disappointing film of 2004. Of course, it's only disappointing because it was so wonderful in the first place.

Standouts: Animation, direction, tone, art, strange timeless story.
Blowouts: Steven ... freaking ... Tyler? What were you thinking Zemekis?

Grade: A

THE INCREDIBLES

Director: Brad Bird (The Iron Giant)
Starring: voices of Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, Samuel L. Jackson, Jason Lee

This year's Pixar blockbuster, The Incredibles is the first of their computer-generated films to feel unique since the original Toy Story. The art is unique (and quite good), the story is unique, the characters are even a notch more original than those in the the other films. This is the story of a family of superheros forced to give up hero work for boring day jobs and a middle class lifestyle. Then, of course, a nemesis arises and they are forced to come out of retirement. The art deserves special mention in this film. With the exception of the Shrek films this is as good as computer-animation gets. Unfortunately like in most other computer animation, the characters here still manage to look creepy and flat. Thematically, I started to like the notion the story had about living up to your abilities, then I realized where it was going with it. American kids (very broadly and relatively) have acquired a culture of laziness and not acheiving that this film is attempting to counter. Kudos for that. Unfortunately, this movie goes well past the notion of personal ambition and into the realm of Ayn Rand-like self-indulgence. Let me explain: This superhero family didn't have to work to acheive anything, they just had to be themselves. They are superheros, after all. I mean, the real worth in acheivement is that's it's difficult to do. That's why it's important. The story wasn't really about struggling to achieve your best, tho. It was about how there are truly exceptional supermen in this world and that the mass of humanity should, well, kinda worship them. It's rather thinly veiled Ayn Rand arrogance to a tee. Despite my hatred of the wacko cult of selfishness that is Objectivism, I must admit that this was still a good film. To get off track here, is there a more stupid name for a Philosophy than 'objectivism'? I mean, that nutjob religion has nothing to do with objectivity and everything to do with remaining as much like a two year old as you can, for as long as you can.

Standouts: The script. Some of the characters. The animation.
Blowouts: The Ayn Randness that was thematically pervasive throughout.

Grade: B+

SAVED (DVD)

Director: Brian Danelly (no major film work)
Starring: Jena Malone, Mandy Moore, Macauley Culkin

This is about as entertaining and enjoyable as teen comedies get. It is vaguely formulaic as it's centered on a clique of girls ruled by the most snobbish, dictatorial girl in school, and the various outcasts periodically trying to get in, or get out of that group. It's much better than the formula though. Most importantly, it takes the formula and gives a serious twist before it even begins. You see, these teenagers aren't in public school, they're in a small baptist school where popularity translates into saving the most souls, and most loudly praising the word. The queen bee, as it were, is Mandy Moore - the most soul-savingest of the bunch. On one hand this film was really enjoyable to watch, funny, and interesting. On another, it was rather obvious in its treatment of religion (and this is coming from an atheist). Rather than somehow touch truths about how religion funnels societal outcasts into it's arms, or how religion often (like a cult) desperately pushes its adherants into isolation and ignorance of the greater world, this film says things like: Gays are okay since god made 'em, or it's not right to hate teenage mothers. Okay, maybe I'm being far too harsh on this teenage flick... Like I said, I must admit that it was funny, interesting, and far better than the average teen comedy.

Standouts: Not quite Clueless good (in terms of teenage flicks), but solid in many ways. Blowouts: Obvious lessons learned: "Gay's are okay." Thanks, Hollywood.

Grade: B

THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW (DVD)

Director: Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, The Patriot, The 13th Floor)
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal, Emmy Rossum

Not since "Chaos Theory" led Dinosaurs to eat people in Jurassic Park have I seen Hollywood so massively mess up its science. Actually, this film's take on the Atlantic current's effect on global client far outstrips the scientific bullshit in JP. You see, according to The Day After Tomorrow global warming is going to cause a massive week-long storm that will wipe out the northern hemisphere any day now. Okay, so the science is hokey, that can be excusable - Jurassic Park was a rather wonderful film. This, however, is not. In fact, it's just plain insipid. Other than a few cool scenes where Los Angeles and New York get wiped out (by the climate? Yep.), the rest of the film has a "sort of watchable while I do my laundry" vibe to it.

Standouts: It was neat watching cities get pummeled. That's about it.
Blowouts: The script was awful. Hollywood at its worst.

Grade: C-

THE FOG OF WAR (DVD)

Director: Errol Morris (Gates of Heaven, The Thin Blue Line, Fast Cheap and Out of Control)
Starring: Documentary

This documentary is nothing more than a long (yet timely and massively intriguing) interview with Robert McNamara, Secretary of Defense during the bulk of the Vietnam war. McNamara, in addition to being a genuinely interesting person, has a great deal to tell us about that American morass that was Vietnam. Quite wonderfully, he also has much to tell us about his history before the Vietnam war - which provides even more insight into that dreadful conflict. The movie is timely (rather obviously) due to the current situation in Iraq. This film doesn't need Iraq to be a success, however. There is a great deal to learn here, but it's interesting that no matter how much information you get about the Vietnam war, there always seem to be more questions raised. McNamara knows this, and so will the viewer after seeing this film.

Standouts: Robert McNamara.
Blowouts: Simplicity of the film worked well. Not much to really call out.

Grade: A-

BAADASSSSS! (DVD)

Director: Mario Van Peebles (New Jack City, long active acting career)
Starring: Mario Van Peebles, Joy Bryant, Klheo Thomas, more

This film by Mario Van Peebles about his father's obsessive creation of the first independent black movie was quite good. Although Mario may not be a particularly gifted director, his screenplay was so full of interesting characters and situations that he may not have needed to do much more than he did. It's just plain interesting to know that Mario lost his virginity at 13 in a sex scene in his father's movie. It's interesting to see how his father put his whole financial self on the line for an independent film. Sweet Sweetback's Baad Assss Song may not have been a very good movie, but it was the very first movie with strong black characters kicking some whitey ass - and that's probably worthwhile. This tale of its creation might even be more worthwhile. An engaging film from beginning to end.

Standouts: Solid film in most every aspect.
Blowouts: Not much to pick on.

Grade: A-

ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND (DVD)

Director: Michel Gondry (French short director, musical films, etc)
Starring: Jim Carrey, Kate Winslett, Elijah Wood, Kirsten Dunst, Tom Wilkinson

Although I find this to be a flawed movie, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is an attempt at film-making so significantly different form the norm that it deserves far more discussion than I will give it here. Another kooky, twisted tale by screenwriter Charlie Kaufmann, this is the story of a couple who literally erase each other from their memories after a failed relationship only to find that they still love each other - even though they don't even know each other anymore. Perhaps the most appealing aspect of the film is the nearly surreal stylistic elements. A slow downer plot is juxtaposed with hyperactive and radical visual editing, as the film flips from one dreamscape memory to another, creating a thoroughly unique visual canvas. It's not nearly as accurately dreamlike as the work of David Lynch, but it's interesting in its own right. The twisted conundrums of love and loss are nicely mixed in the plot, but the great downer for the film is that the characters are, well, unremarkable. Oh, they tried to make them interesting, but it just didn't work. I was somewhat intrigued by their love, but by no means completely drawn in. Also uninteresting was a side plot involving a doctor/secretary affair where the memories were also erased. The movie obviously needed some sort of side plot to help set-off the main story, but this one only partially worked. All told this was an interesting and, in many ways, superb attempt at creating something unique and thoughtful. Kudos for that. On the other hand, my problem with Kauffman's writing is that he tries to write about human conditions, but it almost never feels even vaguely organic. A tale of love just shouldn't be this cold and unnatural.

Standouts: Quirky, unique script construction. Post-modern posterchild.
Blowouts: Quirky, unique script fell flat when trying to talk about love.

Grade: B+

SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW

Director: Kerry Conran (debut)
Starring: Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Giovanni Ribisi, Michael Gambon

A 1930's comic book serial comes to life with some astounding visuals. It's most unfortunate that there is no acting to speak of. It's even more unfortunate that there's not even a plot to speak of. There's just a 1930's comic book serial coming to life ... with astounding visuals. The art design is exquisite and quite intriguing to watch. The devotion to an old form is impeccable, if strange. Everything else takes a back seat, or is simply not to be found. The lack of any worthwhile writing severely hurts the film. The incredible visuals make it worth seeing, however.

Standouts: Massively inventive art design and unique tone throughout.
Blowouts: Nothing to really sink your teeth into. Light fare, yet attractive.

Grade: B

DOGVILLE (DVD)

Director: Lars Von Trier (Breaking the Waves, Europa, much more, leading member of Dogme 95)
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Lauren Bacall, Paul Bettany, more

How about a bad 3 hour parable for ya? (Just what anyone wants for Christmas.) This film was remarkably interesting to watch for 30 or 45 minutes with its bare suggestive set and moody lighting. The town of Dogville, you see, was nothing more than painted outlines of a streets and houses on a sound stage with a door or wall or bed or desk here and there suggesting function. It was an interesting set, with an interesting cast, with interesting visuals, and you hope these people are going to do interesting things. They do for a while. Then I simply began to feel that the parable being told was simply absurd, that it didn't relate to humanity, that it was inaccurate. That would seem to be the death of any parable - and the fact that it's 3 hours long. Good god. Some interesting things to watch, and much that disappointed.

Standouts: An attempt at creative storytelling.
Blowouts: Pompous and boring as all get out.

Grade: C+

SPARTAN (DVD)

Director: David Mamet (Spanish Prisoner, The Winslow Boy, one of the most notable writers in US)
Starring: Val Kilmer, Derek Luke

I often find David Mamet's dialogue stilted and obtuse. I also find that good acting turns that stilted dialogue into something special (please see Glengarry Glenross if you haven't already). I mean, who can argue that Shakespeare's dialogue wasn't also stilted and obtuse, and few would argue that his stories didn't turn out pretty well. Here Mamet turns a lame-brained special agent movie into a Greek tragedy merely with his dialogue - and a few solid bits of plot construction. At it's heart, though, the plot was nothing more than a Secret Service agent trying to find the President's daughter who has been unknowingly kidnapped by an international sex slave ring. I mean that's just absolutely absurd and awful, just terrible - but somehow Mamet makes it more. Where at first glance we see only Val Kilmer shooting bad guys, we soon see kings plotting against their own children and the Spartan soldiers of everyday society learning to be more than simple "worker bees" for their kings. I'm surprised, but this was quite a good movie.

Standouts: Wonderful script. Fine acting job by Val Kilmer.
Blowouts: Nothing really missed too badly.

Grade: B+

HIDALGO (DVD)

Director: Joe Johnson (October Sky, Jumanji, Honey I Shrunk the Kids, The Rocketeer)
Starring: Viggo Mortenson, Zuliekha Robinson, Omar Sharif, Adam Alexi-Malle

Hidalgo was a surprisingly robust and enjoyable little Hollywood picture about a horse race in Arabia. In a nutshell: An American cowboy riding a tamed mustang beats a bevy of blueblood Arabian horses at their own game. I.e. The American everyman mutt beats foreign aristocracy. Yeah, that's one overdone theme if ever there was (Horatio Alger was writing this stuff 100 years ago), but it's still valuable. What's more this film had enough other interesting aspects (the cowboy's Sioux blood, the 3000 mile race across the desert itself) to overcome the basic theme. Unfortunately, the Hollywood studio execs also put in a silly love interest side story that only roughly fits in to the main plot. Fortunately Omar Sharif is interesting even as a silly Arabian Emir. This was a pretty darn decent popcorn flick.

Standouts: Solid acting and not as dumb as Hollywood usually behaves.
Blowouts: Still has some silly Hollywood conventions.

Grade: B-