Revolutionary Road screwed at the Oscars? Not so fast...

(2008, 119 min) Revolutionary Road is, above all else, an exquisite example of that tired old adage: great books make bad films. Actually, a more accurate twist of the phrase, in this case, would be: great books make disappointing films. Not that they lacked effort but Sam Mendes and Kate Winslet have reduced a beautifully written, psychologically revealing tale of the two-headed dragon of lost romantic youth and the hopeless spiral into conformity into a histrionic and ultimately shallow acting exercise.

One is often remimded, when viewing this adaptation, of a one act play put on by Method-trained high school students who yell all their lines in a vain attempt to project the psychological complexities of their characters. Winslet, the driving force behind this adaptation, acquits herself the most. She has moments when April Wheeler's damaged psyche actually bubbles to the surface and punches the audience in the gut. But, too often, her scenes with co-star Leonardo DiCaprio feel like a toe-to-toe acting bout, one in which DiCaprio is getting bounced all over the ring. Aside from the film's inability to even scratch the novel's depths of character insight, DiCaprio's performance is the most disappointing thing about the film. Having re-established his acting chops with exceptional performances in The Departed and Blood Diamond, he thoroughly regresses, making his Frank Wheeler into a callous mook who never demonstrates just what it was that made everyone think he was so special. He screams nearly all of his lines and affects an accent more suitable to a suporting player on "The Sopranos" than the once-Byronesque, disaffected salaryman that Yates detailed so beautifully.

Not everything about Revolutionary Road is a disaster. Roger Deakins' cinematography is lushly lit and perfectly composed (and exactly what one would expect from award-bait) and Tariq Anwar's editing occasionally takes a stab at quietly making points... at least, that is, when the actors stop shouting at each other for long enough for a subtle, poignant cut to register. Thomas Newman's music, however, is an embarrassment to film composers everywhere. It's as if he and Mendes got together to discuss whether the score should emphasize the action on-screen or run in counterpoint to it, but never came to a decision. Frankly, the score could've been lifted from any pathetic attempt by an indie arm of a major studio to grab a few golden trophies made in the last ten years.

Perhaps the saddest effect of this production is that those who haven't read the novel will be left with the work as a shallow, melodramatic and, above all else, clichéd tale of an unhappy couple in the midst of a tragic spiral. Those who see this film and leave the novel on the shelf, or worse, try to read the novel but can't escape the visions of DiCaprio and Winslet desperately screaming at each other will be cheated out of the experience of enjoying one of the twentieth century's greatest novels.

– Daniel Reed

© TLA Entertainment Group

Then She Found Me

(2007, 100 min) Helen Hunt's feature directorial debut comes dressed in distinctively indie trappings. The cinematography is intentionally drab and action, at least in the beginning, tends to happen off-screen. It is in these opening moments that play out somewhat theatrically that the film finds its strength. But once all of the setup info is established, the film begins to slip into shapelessness and, worse, sentimentality.

Hunt's Hollywood-seasoned cast makes a valiant attempt to play down the caricatures that they've earned their livings playing up. Matthew Broderick's self-centered manchild lacks the smirking and mugging that he generally lends to similar characters. Colin Firth removes approximately one layer of restraint and adds one layer each of jealousy and rage to his Mark Darcy character from the Bridget Jones series. Bette Midler, while the most expressive character in the film, dulls her brass ever so slightly. Finally, Hunt shows up as the life-scarred, beaten-down type that she's made a career out of playing since As Good As It Gets but removes any semblance of pluck or humor. All of these acting tweaks and character modifications are designed to distinguish the film from the typical sunny romantic comedy that is so fearful of becoming. But, in reality, only two elements successfully separate it. One, at its core, the story centers more around Hunt's desire for a baby and, two, it is not remotely funny. In fact, there may be only one moment in the entire film which will cause viewers to even crack a smile.

Hunt is clearly attempting to put together a precious character study and is all restraint and no risk, but this creates a stifled atmosphere in which none of the characters are developed as well as they ought to be which leaves this film only a mood piece. A mood piece is certainly no crime against cinema, but when the mood that permeates is self-pity then viewers will certainly be excused if they want to turn away.

Even more jarring than the lack of full character development is the atrocious musical supervision. The score often resembles the background music of a self-help video and the song choices (Iron and Wine during a sex scene!) are more than a little cliché. These bad choices betray Hunt's noble attempt to keep the film sparse and render it simply maudlin.

The film is not completely unredeemable. It simply lacks any spark or commitment to its vision, but single women in their late 30s experiencing an identity crisis will most likely enjoy it.

– Daniel Reed

© TLA Entertainment Group

No Country for Old Men

(2007, 122 min) Despite having four other 4-star reviews on this site, this review has never before been moved to bestow that lofty designation on a Coen Brothers movie. They always seemed a little too pleased with their dialogue, a little too amused at their own cleverness, and a little too condescending toward their characters. Well, they've finally grown up, and with the help of Cormac McCarthy's indelible voice, they've created their masterpiece.

On its surface, No Country for Old Men is a relentless thriller concerning the pursuit of $2 million dollars in cold hard drug money. Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) is an old-school Texan who stumbles across the carnage of a deal gone bad; after tracking down the (former) last man standing, he stashes the dough and prepares his beloved (Kelly MacDonald) for a new life. But that kind of dough doesn't disappear quietly, as a bevy of bounty hunters is after him, most menacingly Anton Chigurh (rhymes with "sugar"). As chillingly portrayed by Oscar® shoo-in Javier Bardem, he recalls Michael Meyers crossed with Bobby Fischer, a methodically merciless and unfortunately principled killer armed with a cattle stungun.

While their chase involves some of the most exciting action sequences you'll ever see, the movie's heart (including the movie's title) belongs to sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones). Trying to solve this mess with a minimum of mayhem, he's instead always a step behind, leading to a poetic ending that is so perfect, I'm shocked that anyone found it controversial. Additional kudos to the amazing Marfa, TX, the most cinematic American location since Monument Valley.

– David Gorgos

© TLA Entertainment Group

Man's Job

Reviewed at the 2008 Palm Springs International Film Festival

(2007, 85 min) Apparently "man's job" is to fuck everything up. Juha (Tommi Korpela) is a recently laid-off father who stumbles into a male escort job, despite being quite plain-looking. As he does his tricks, he hides it from his family, until the lies come tumbling down in heavy-handed fashion. His best friend Olli (Jani Volanen) is a taxi driver with a drinking problem, and Olli reluctantly becomes Juha's pimp. Olli is also the father of Juha's son, and still has feelings for the chronically depressed Katja (Maria Heiskanen).

All of this is conveyed in a relentlessly heavy tone, portending to have deep insight into its characters and humanity and general. But there's nothing universal here; everything is confined to a ridiculous set-up that wouldn't even pass the "Three's Company" believability test. Never mind the idea that someone as plain looking as Juha can make big money servicing female clients exclusively.

There are moments that hint at a better movie, including the outrageous situation of being paid to bathe with an obviously underaged girl with Down's Syndrome. It's enough to make you wish this film had gone farther. Instead we get the typical consequences of lying... confessions, suicide attempts; you know, fun stuff. The movie ends with a series of smug smirks by the protagonist... how apropos.

– David Gorgos

© TLA Entertainment Group

Baptism of Blood

Reviewed at the 2008 Palm Springs International Film Festival

(2007, 110 min) What would the opposite of a police procedural be? A prisoner procedural? Well, if you ever wondered what it would be like to be a political prisoner, tortured and persecuted and paranoid, this is the film for you. Based on the writings of a survivor, this compelling drama covers the dark dictatorship of Brazil during the late '60s and early '70s and their rebellious/terroristic opposition in the ALN.

Tito is a padre of a Catholic sect with communistic leanings, focusing on helping the poor. A plan by him and three fellow brothers goes awry, and they find themselves at the brutal hands of the not-so-ironically named "The Pope." The centerpiece here is their methodical torture, portrayed in graphic detail: naked, upside-down, flogged, electrocuted, repeatedly. Unfortunately, nothing that follows can possibly live up to this sequence; if that weren't anticlimatic enough, director Helvecio Ratton utilizes the lazy device of revealing the end of the story in the first scene, making it a chore to get to Tito's ultimate fate. But there's enough vivid detail in the pain of being a political prisoner to make this film a recommended watch.

– David Gorgos

© TLA Entertainment Group

The Bucket List

(2007, 97 min) Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman are going to die sometime in the next few decades. It's the closest thing to a statistical lock: both are age 70 as of this writing (shortly after seeing The Bucket List) and I'm sitting in the theater welling up in tears as I picture a eulogy for Freeman, one of the great actors of his generation, and knowing that someday soon, there will be no more movies from Easy Reader. There's nothing I hate more than an unnecessary voiceover, and yet he's able to pacify me with that smooth voice and quiet dignity. And what of fast-living Nicholson, always fascinating to watch on-screen, with that devilish twinkle dancing in his eyes? It's beautiful to watch him act his age and reveal another layer of himself, but how long will he last? Again, tears form as the music swells.

It's doubly tragic that none of these emotions were actually triggered by the characters in this supremely manipulative, aggressively formulaic movie. In fact, nearly every line that fell like dead weight out of their mouths only served to heighten the artifice and deaden the emotions. Occasionally, Jack would have one of those Jack moments to suck me back in, like his (possibly ad-libbed) rules about getting old: "Never pass up a bathroom, never waste a hard-on, and never trust a fart." But anyone owning a passing familiarity with Save the Cat and other screenwriting-by-numbers instruction books will feel the machinations nearly immediately, with ruthlessly efficient (and glaringly unnatural) dialogue... when Freeman mentions his love of a certain car, is there any question that he'll be driving it within 20 minutes? Actually, with his "Jeopardy!" obsession, I was shocked that he didn't end up appearing on the show during Cancer Week.

Oh yes, the high-concept plot: Two men from different walks of life find themselves both terminally ill in the same hospital room, and decide to fulfill a list of things to do before they kick the bucket. And thanks to sprightly direction by Reiner and the always-able actors, the film does kick into gear when they episodically start tackling the things on the list, including skydiving and mountain climbing. (For those who think this unrealistic, I tend to believe that anyone who has been through the draining process of chemotherapy could be capable of this when they stop treatment, much like having a weight lifted off your back. Then again, my capacity for suspension of disbelief is legendary, which explains why I enjoyed Message in a Bottle).

Like clockwork, though, the script would clank and whirr and drive everything to a halt, until eventually the little twist ending arrives (thanks to an unreliable narrator) and the atrocious John Mayer song kicks in. After a long dry spell for director Rob Reiner, he at least shows signs of life here, along with his primary actors. But please, guys, pick better material next time. This script isn't terminal, it's DOA.

– David Gorgos

© TLA Entertainment Group

Taxi Driver

(1976, 113 min) In 1974, New York City was in financial dire straits and on the verge of filing for bankruptcy. As a result of low city funding, the NYC sanitation department went on strike during the summer of 1975. The hot city streets were filled with stinking garbage, setting the perfect stage for Taxi Driver – widely considered one of the best films of the decade.

Director Martin Scorsese and screenwriter Paul Schrader’s gritty study of a lonely urban isolation – for those few who may not have seen it – introduced us to Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro), one of the most recognized antiheroes in cinema history. A well-meaning yet dangerously unstable and easily influenced war veteran, Travis is alternately drawn to and disgusted by the porn theaters, hookers, pimps and drug addicts that frequented 42nd Street and Times Square during the overnight hours. Though originally optimistic about living a life of normalcy and becoming “a person like other people,” Travis’s intimate view of the city’s crime and corruption and icy rejection from Betsy (Cybill Shepherd), his object of amorous infatuation, make him increasingly violent, leading him to believe that he is predetermined to become “God’s Lonely Man.”

Scorsese employs seductive cinematography by Michael Chapman and a jarring and emotionally resonant score by master-composer Bernard Herrmann (who suffered a heart attack and died mere hours after finishing his recording) to showcase Travis’s transformation from relatively mild-mannered cabbie to destruction-bent urban survivalist. De Niro too, in one of his most captivating performances, transforms himself both mentally and physically as Travis begins purchasing guns and training in an effort to assassinate a well-respected politician and save Iris (Jodie Foster), a charismatic 12-year-old prostitute, from a life amidst the “scum.” Heavily layered and deeply affective, Taxi Driver gave eager audiences a glimpse into the deteriorating minds of the John Hinckley Jrs and Charles Whitmans of the world, culminating in an abrasive and unforgettable sequence of bloody redemption.

This brand new 2-disc edition is jam-packed with never-before-seen special features. Included are the original screenplay with interactive scene-display options, multiple photo galleries, "The Making of Taxi Driver," along with six separate featurettes, two highly informative audio commentaries by Paul Schrader and film studies Professor Robert Kolker as well as interviews with Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, producer Michael Phillips, Oliver Stone, Roger Corman, and even a few real-life NYC cab drivers who speak about the dangers that their profession presented during the ‘70s. Just as relevant today as it was upon its original release, Taxi Driver belongs, without doubt, in every serious DVD collector’s library. If you have seen it before, see it again. If you have never seen it, what are you waiting for? Yeah, I’m talkin’ to you!

– Robert O'Neill

© TLA Entertainment Group

The Cincinnati Kid

Our poker series continues in anticipation of the televised WSOP main event. Did you know they don't even have 5-card stud at the World Series?

(1965, 103 min) If Steve McQueen is the ultimate man's man, and Edward G. Robinson is the ultimate man's villain, and Ann-Margret is the ultimate man's woman, and poker is the ultimate man's man's game, well, it's easy to understand why The Cincinnati Kid is so freakin' awesome. Hell, they even play 5-card stud at the climax. No one has the balls to play that game anymore. One can only wonder how much testosterone this film would have contained had Sam Peckinpah not been fired and replaced by Norman Jewison.

There are twin stories of machismo at the core of this story: A poker rivalry between "the kid" (McQueen) and "the man" (Robinson), with the implication that whoever is tougher at the poker table will win the money. There is also a soap opera, with Melba (Ann-Margret) likely shacking up with whoever wins the kitty.

There are also plenty of diverting subplots along the way, notably the kid's apprenticeship under Shooter (Karl Malden)... who also happens to be Melba's husband. There's plenty of backroom cardsharpery, and an enjoyably tense atmosphere leading to a fairly unpredictable ending. Poker fans will be howling in disbelief at the final hand, which is played just horribly by at least one of the parties, but in this movie, poker is a metaphor for life and not a game of math. And that's just the way it should be, dammit.

– David Gorgos

© TLA Entertainment Group

Aces

Ed note: The World Series of Poker final table coverage begins this week on ESPN. Yeah, we know who won, but we're still excited about watching all the action. For the next week we'll revisit our reviews of poker in cinema. Or in this case, direct-to-video crap.

(2006, 89 min) A horrible quickie aimed at cashing in on the poker craze, taking all the worst elements of Rounders to create an interminable 90 minutes of pokerbabble. Three young women, fresh out of college, come up with a poker cheating scheme that's about 40 years old and would never work. It does work for a while, but when they're caught, two of the girls are held hostage by a crazy Johnny Chan lookalike, and the poker neophyte must prove her worth (without cheating) to set everything right. WhatEVER!

These actresses make Pia Zadora look Oscar-worthy, and it doesn't help that they're alternately spouting the most basic cliches and the most banal (and cryptic) poker idioms. One of them even has to go over the rules of Texas Hold 'em for the audience — can you imagine Field of Dreams beginning with an overview of the rules of baseball? By the way, don't be fooled by the "unrated" tag on the cover; the production was too cheap to go to the MPAA for a rating, and the one brief topless scene (strip poker, natch) is incredibly tame.

– David Gorgos

© TLA Entertainment Group

Fracture

(2007, 98 min) Anthony Hopkins plays his “I’m smarter than you, but psychopathic” role, kind of a modified Hannibal Lecter, in Fracture, costarring Ryan Gosling. Ted Crawford (Hopkins) is a fabulously wealthy engineer who catches his wife (Embeth Davidtz) in an affair with a cop (Billy Burke). After confirming his suspicions by shadowing the lovers, he sets a trap for wifey at their fabulously swanky So Cal estate. After shooting her in the face, she is sent to the hospital in a deep coma. Confessing to the crime in front of the cop-turned adulterer, Crawford is sent to jail to await trial, and to argue his own defense. Willy Beachum (Gosling), an up and coming public prosecutor is tapped for what seems to be an open and shut case. Yet Crawford, sly and smart, starts to trip him up at every turn. Firstly, the gun found at the scene, hadn’t even been fired. This gun, and the search for the fired weapon, is the lynchpin of the plot, without it there would be no dramatic development.

Gregory Hoblit (Primal Fear, Fallen, Frequency) polishes what could otherwise be a "Law and Order" episode into a high sheen of beautiful locations and smart camera angles. His ace in the hole is the ramped up acting of Hopkins and Gosling. Hopkins imbues his character with fierce defiance and intelligence, which in the hands of a lesser talent could appear flat and one-dimensional. Gosling is able to coax multiple reactions from his character, avoiding stereotyping his emotional responses. In other words, the acting saves the screenplay. David Strathairn plays the top district attorney, at once Beachum’s mentor and critic, in a role that somewhat wastes his considerable talent. Billy Burke, in his underrated role as the cop, plays it smart, all mean and increasingly despondent.

What is somewhat less satisfying is the number of plot devices upon which the whole logic of the script hangs. These devices are cloaked initially, so as not to give away clues to how Crawford did it. Near the end, the obscurations are whisked away, eliciting the much valued “aha!” experience. Entertaining throughout, but not deep, Fracture will hold the attention of all but the most ADD'd of viewers.

– Max Brinck

© TLA Entertainment Group

Premonition

(2007, 96 min) Sandra Bullock lures the audiences with her starring role in this mind-twisting thriller. With the tone of countless "Twilight Zone" episodes, this film tries and sometimes entertains with healthy doses of supernatural dream logic peppered with confusing time-shifting. Married to successful businessman and father, Jim (Julian McMahon, better known as Victor Von Doom from the Fantastic Four franchise), Linda (Bullock) goes about her daily routine until a sheriff’s knock on her door signals the beginning of a descent into a strangely sterile mind warp as he proclaims her husband’s death the day before. As she gathers her willpower to carry on and survive, along with her two small daughters, she finally sleeps that night. In the morning she wakes to discover her husband very much alive. The audience soon becomes witnesses to the cinematic fact that Linda is living day to day, yet the days are non-sequential. She sleeps, her husband is alive, she sleeps, he is dead again. This creaky plot device allows her to peer into the future, at times trying to prevent her husband’s demise, and at times to be neutrally resigned to her fate.

Various other “facts” appear as the film moves forward, yet in the long run they neither support nor detract from the underlying message of the script. It is extremely difficult to pull off a nonlinear narration without turning off the majority of your audience. For instance, Atom Egoyan has perfected this form in films like The Sweet Hereafter and Exotica, time lines shifting from present to past to present in order to build a rich composite of motive and character. This film employs this tact for a completely different purpose, supposedly to build suspense and ambiguity. So, at times it sometimes works and at other moments it’s simply confusing.

Bullock does manage to pull off a decent performance, in spite of mounting illogic and plot holes. When she discovers that indeed she can shift events ever so slightly in order to make her present/future more palatable, the narrative’s plausibility is enhanced. Suffice to say, there is a positive outcome achieved by the end that is not easily arrived at.

– Max Brinck

© TLA Entertainment Group

Factory Girl

(2007, 99 min) So, would everyone in this film like to be famous for another fifteen minutes? If you were/are the original stars and superstars of Andy Warhol’s Factory, the answer would be a resounding, yes! George Hickenlooper (Mayor of Sunset Strip) carefully recreates the aura of early-to-mid-sixties Lower East Side, New York City. He and his production designer resurrect the Factory in all its silver glory and pack it with the madcap antics of Ondine, International Velvet, the Velvet Underground, Gerald Malanga and of course, little miss Edie Sedgwick herself, dancing to wild abandon under the watchful eye of the immaculate Warhol. Miss Sedgwick, played with graceful aplomb by Sienna Miller, is eager to go to the big Apple and prove that she is the quintessential party girl of the sixties, which she does almost immediately. Soon, she meets Warhol (played with solid conviction by Guy Pearce) who falls for her as only the consummate pop icon could.

Of course, some will malign this film as superficial and one-dimensional, but it hardly fails here. Much of what occurred then was exactly that, no surprises there. And it sketches its characters quickly and to great effect, especially the questioning natures of the principal actors. Life (and death) is but a play in the Factory and all kinds of freaks are the players, says Factory Girl.

The film surprisingly exudes a sympathetic air that envelopes the entire cast, making the viewer more able to empathize with an era and behavior long passed by. It is sad and melancholic to watch the beautiful flower that was Edie, wither and fall so quickly from the stem, almost shocking in its swiftness of descent. In the end, it becomes apparent that no one really cared about anyone else. The dark, reflecting mirrors of Warhol’s Screen Tests were perfect signifiers of the rampant narcissism exemplified by the stars and Superstars.

– Max Brinck

© TLA Entertainment Group

The Astronaut Farmer

(2007, 104 min) What happens when you take a premise with a forgone conclusion and fashion a shooting script around it? You might get something resembling The Astronaut Farmer. Filled with good old cornpone platitudes and cliched soliloquies, the monologues and dialogues feel somewhat forced and prefabricated. Michael Polish, along with brother Mark, more known for quirky, indie films like Twin Falls Idaho and Northfork, are here turned into the typical Hollywood generic director and writer, why they were given this project or why they bid for it, is anybody’s guess.

Billy Bob Thornton, playing the would-be astronaut, Charles Farmer, displays his typical characterization of the troubled individual loner, smoothly taking the lead. Virginia Madsen plays a strong supporting role as his wife, investing as much emotion as possible. Farmer comes up hard against the FAA when his plans to launch himself into space make him a celebrity in his small Texas town. Redeeming qualities of the film include an above average eye for compositional framing and a wide, cinematic approach to the country landscape.

The world seems to be against Farmer, making him automatically the heir apparent for the title of bona fide “American Hero.” Constantly painting with wide strokes, leaving no room for much needed character development, the script is almost always sinking into oblivion. The centerpiece is a spectacular misfire as Farmer prematurely launches himself horizontally across the ranch lands, seriously injuring himself. This turns the film into a greater illustration of a personal struggle, pitting a man and his vision against reality. This failure leads to the third act, a second attempt to launch with a rocket dubbed, “The Dreamer.” These final minutes are the most satisfying, developing a contemplative tone with realistic special effects. Still, one leaves the film wishing much more had transpired.

– Max Brinck

© TLA Entertainment Group

Shooter

(2007, 125 min) Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) once again helms a high budget Hollywood retro action flick, with Mark Wahlberg in the key role as covert sniper Bob Lee Swagger. Danny Glover and Ned Beatty represent the military and legislative branches of the U.S. government, here painted as morally bankrupt and, in today’s parlance, pawns in a giant conspiracy driven shadow government. This is the underpinning that holds this adrenaline romp together and gives it a somewhat serious tone, although the subject matter is thin and at times murky in conception. The simple premise that later evolves into something more complex, has Swagger tapped by the FBI to consult on the possible attempt of the president’s life, overseeing an operation that supposedly will thwart the action. This turns out to be a trap set to blame the attempt on Swagger himself, setting him on a fugitive flight from the government bad guys and presenting a good series of action sequences set first in Philadelphia, then Kentucky, Montana and beyond. Michael Peña as Nick Memphis lends a supporting hand as an agent done wrong by the agency who comes over to Swagger’s side and learns to fight the good fight.

Filled with spectacular explosions as a backdrop to slow-motion wide-angle shots of Wahlberg striding heroically through the landscape, there is much to admire in the well-edited pacing of this somewhat traditional action adventure. At times, some of the dialog and postures of the main characters verge on the preposterous, but these are countered by passages of logic and clarity, coloring the whole affair as slightly uneven in tone and texture. The script manages to blame the Iraq war, revolutions in Africa, even the Kennedy assassination on this shadowy government conspiracy. Of course, there is ample material that could lend credence to these allegations and the script wisely glosses over details to deliver a damning message that bumps this film up a notch.

Overall, Shooter entertains throughout its two-hour run and doesn’t take itself too seriously.

– Max Brinck

© TLA Entertainment Group

Black Snake Moan

(2007, 115 min) Advertised as leaning towards a trashy, exploitation flick, Black Snake Moan is really a thoughtful if slightly over-dramatic essay on love lost and regained, religion and southern blues. Lazurus (Samuel L. Jackson) is a man scorned by his wife, a righteous man, farming the land, respected by the townfolk. Rae (Christina Ricci) is the steamy, over-sexed town slut, trying to mend her ways with Ronnie (Justin Timberlake), the first man who she truly cares about. Accented at the beginning and near the end with archival footage of blues musician Son House, the film drives home the point that although much suffering may exist, man and woman can live harmoniously together, if the suffering can forge better character. Rae has been abused, (an overused cliche) hence her behavior, acting out the whore role. The film contains a goodly share of patented Ricci flesh, showing much battering and bruising by uncaring males. When Lazurus finds an unconscious Rae in his driveway, he takes her into his home, tends to her sickly self and chains her to the radiator, like the wild thing she is.

This is where director Craig Brewer (Hustle and Flow) could write his film like camp cult or drive deeper into character motivation and development. Wisely, he chooses the latter path. You see, Ronnie has left for the army and Rae must fend for herself. While living, chained in Lazurus’s house, she battles her demons, memories of abuse rushing into awareness. The chain becomes the metaphor of both love and hate, reminding her of her limits, yet strangely comforting as she twists it around her half-naked body.

As Rae slowly begins to re-integrate her personality with the help of Lazurus, Ronnie comes back to town unexpectedly, rejected by the armed forces for a panic disorder. He goes on a rampage after discovering Rae is missing, finally finding her in the house of Lazurus. The white trash aspects of the film are never played for laughs, and all characters are treated with respect for their situations, avoiding stereotyping.

– Max Brinck

© TLA Entertainment Group

Resistance

(2003, 92 min) The eye soars over idyllic, gently rolling hills of pastoral calm, until it suddenly comes upon the charred remains of a plane; a lone man crawls away from the wreckage. It's January 16th, 1944, in Nazi-occupied Belgium. The plane was flying reconnaissance for the upcoming Allied invasion. The Germans have experts coming from Berlin to examine the plane's recorder, which may still hold the position of targets and navigation codes.

The local Resistance conceals and cares for Ted Brice (Bill Paxton), the sole survivor of the crash. They decide as a group not to risk exposure by recovering the plane's recorder, determining that it must have been destroyed. But one night someone kills the soldiers guarding the plane and takes away the reconnaissance information before it is retrieved by the Nazis. Eleven villagers are hanged in reprisal. While the townsfolk suspect the American, they are not sure.

Ted, increasingly restless in his confinement, becomes enchanted with Claire (Julia Ormond), the woman who risks her life to nurse him. Her husband is absent, on a mission for the Resistance; while their marriage was affectionate, there was no shared love. Ted and Claire come to form a family unit with a young boy who is estranged from his brutal collaborator father and his weak, compliant mother. They share a brief period of domesticity before the war reasserts itself with unrelenting, deadly effect.

Resistance delineates the small, human moments which underlie history’s grand events. Perceptive, subtle performances describe the emotional complications that inform all human endeavors. While not a great film, Resistance is a thoughtful meditation on the unceasing desire for connection and the unexpected capacity for sacrifice contained in any human heart.

– Ann Yarabinee

© TLA Entertainment Group

Gracie

(2007, 95 min) Gracie is a sweet reminiscence on events from producer and costar Andrew Shue’s own family history. It’s 1978 in South Orange, NJ. Fifteen-year-old Gracie Bowen lives with her parents and three brothers; the males of the family are totally soccer-obsessed, their days revolving around practices and games. Her older brother Johnny is the star of the high school varsity soccer team, but he always has time for Gracie: he protects her and encourages her. He is her inspiration. Losing him in a car accident devastates the family: Johnny was their cool head and kind heart. And Gracie has lost her defender.

When Gracie decides to sign up for the soccer team as tribute to her brother’s memory, she meets a flood of resistance. There is no girls’ soccer, and the idea of her playing on the boys’ team slams into a brick wall. Her conventional mom (Elisabeth Shue, producer Andrew Shue’s real-life sister) worries that she’ll be an outcast, and her traditionalist dad (Dermot Mulroney) holds the popular opinion that girls can’t hold their own against the guys. But Gracie goes up against it all, rebounding from defeats and roadblocks, and gaining timely support from Title 9 ("No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance"). Prevaling stereotypes and beliefs meet nascent feminist sensibilities, and some minds are opened to new possibilities.

Director Davis Guggenheim’s (An Inconvenient Truth, and Elisabeth Shue’s husband) benevolent treatment and the casts’ thoughtfully considered performances elevate this standard underdog story, based on true events. The portrayals are imbued with affectionate respect for their characters; Carly Schroeder is especially engaging as Gracie.

Gracie will be particularly appreciated by soccer moms and dads and kids. It could be paired with Offside, a film about young women attempting to enter the stadium in Tehran to watch a soccer match (women are barred by law from attending sporting events in Iran).

– Ann Yarabinee

© TLA Entertainment Group

Offside

(2007, 93 min) A man searches frantically outside Azadi Stadium in Tehran. Iran is playing to qualify for the 2005 World Cup, and his granddaughter is trying to sneak in. Since she is Iranian, she will need to disguise herself as a male: Iranian women are not allowed to attend sporting events. She is found out and placed in a holding pen with other women who made the same attempt. They spend the game able to hear every roar and cheer, just yards from a view of the action.

As they wait in confinement to be sent to jail, they talk about the Gender Apartheid Law and Islamic texts, about foreign women allowed access to the stadium they cannot legally enter, about Iranian spectators killed during matches, about the differences between city living and country living, and, of course, about soccer. The soldiers, not much older than the girls they guard, spout the official line regarding their attempts to enter the stadium; but their declarations of policy are often rote and ambivalent. It becomes evident that not all Iranians support the incarceration or the laws which dictate it.

Director Jafar Panahi successfully executes a comedic treatment of a serious subject. Shooting during the actual event with non-professionals lends a documentary feel to the film; Panahi's reputation in Iran (his films are banned there) added production complications and a wary energy to mirror that of the corralled young women. He portrays an environment simultaneously so alien in its societal mores and so familiar in its human element. Offside doesn't require a knowledge of soccer to be appreciated.

Offside could be double-billed with the slighter but heartfelt Gracie, the story of a Jersey girl's desire to play competitive soccer in 1978.

– Ann Yarabinee

© TLA Entertainment Group

The Italian

(2005, 99 min) Six-year-old Vanya is just another commodity in the profitable Russian orphan trade. His orphanage exemplifies the open market of the former Soviet Union, replete with infinite, intermingled layers of corruption and bureaucracy, and graft an accepted and acknowledged factor of any business transaction. The orphanage is a repository for the rejected, the marginalized and the lost; it is its own maladapted family, from the youngest child to the oldest caretaker. Indeed, some of the caretakers have been in this system their whole lives.

Vanya has been chosen for a wealthy couple from Italy, garnering him the nickname "The Italian." He worries that his mother won't be able to find him if she comes for him after he moves, a possibility that others tell him is highly improbable. But when another mother comes for her child after he has been adopted, Vanya's trepidation grows. He learns to read so he can examine his files, looking for any information that will help him find his mother. With opportune help from sympathetic sources, he begins his odyssey to find his mother, a woman who is only a name and an ephemeral emotion to him.

The Italian is an effective and unexpected blend of quasi-documentary grit and fairy tale hyperrealism. Kolya Spiridonov is remarkable as young Vanya, whose journey encapsulates the eternal struggle for the survival of both body and soul. His trek takes on the aura of pilgrimage as he encounters the best and the worst of humankind: ogres and penitents, sinners and saints. The Italian is an involving revelation, another filmic glimpse into the tormented Russian psyche.

– Ann Yarabinee

© TLA Entertainment Group

Breach

(2007, 111 min) Following on the heels of The Good Shepherd, we are given another considered drama based on intelligence activity. This time, it’s a dramatized account of a true story: the single greatest failure to the FBI community to date, the counter-intelligence mayhem created by one Robert Hanssen, an agent who leaked documents and revealed the identities of at least twenty agents to the Russians for over twenty years. Billy Ray (Shattered Glass) scripts and directs this high impact story with finesse, attributable to the extra-fine acting of Chris Cooper (as Hanssen) and the better than average work of Ryan Phillippe (who plays Eric O’Neill, the agent planted to spy on the spy). Laura Linney as agent Burroughs, heads up the ultra-secret internal affairs group that orchestrates the trap that ultimately ensnares agent Hanssen. Out of necessity, the storyline stays mostly on the surface, Billy Ray wisely avoids adding his own subtext, neither political nor psychological to the linear narrative.

What is ambiguous, and probably so in reality, is the motivation behind the actions by Hannsen. Clearly stating that it wasn’t for the money, the audience is left to draw their own conclusions based on the fleshing out of Hannsen’s character. He is a devout Catholic, going to Mass every day, yet surreptiously videotapes his wife and himself during their lovemaking sessions. We come to understand that this is an extremely arrogant man, angry with the intelligence community at large and holding himself as superior in intelligence to all other agents. This is probably the motive. He did it because he could. Simple, chilling but almost assuredly true.

The key to the success of this film is obviously the command exhibited by Cooper. He brings the tonal shadings of characterization first glimpsed in American Beauty. The homophobia, extreme nationalism, and adherence to “family” values are a veneer to the underbelly of an amoral monster, barely able to contain his nihilistic rage. Breach engages the viewer from the first frame and refuses to let go until the final, memorable image of Cooper, alone with his crime.

– Max Brinck

© TLA Entertainment Group