Week in Review (22-07-2007/28-07-2007)
Eccoci qui all’ormai consueto appuntamento settimanale con la Week in Review, l’elenco delle recensioni dei film e delle serie TV viste nel corso della settimana appena passata. Purtroppo, improvvisi impegni di traduzione non mi hanno dato la possibilità di parlare, a metà settimana, come promesso, del concerto di Elio e le Storie Tese che sono andato a vedere una decina di giorni fa, ma cercherò di farlo non appena questo lavoro dai tempi strettissimi mi darà un po’ di tregua. Avrei voluto parlare anche della prima infornata di pilot della nuova stagione televisiva che ho avuto modo di vedere (sorprendentemente, tutti abbastanza buoni/discreti, ma non eccezionali come alcuni di quelli visti negli ultimi tre anni), della continua serie di vittorie a Dr. Why o dei curriculum inviati, ma mai arrivati, oppure giunti a destinazione ma cestinati all’istante, ma ne parlerò prossimamente. Per ora, non mi rimane altro che augurarvi una buona lettura. 
The Lookout (2007) - Voto/Rating: 7/10
Writer Scott Frank’s directing debut is a very interesting noir, one of this year’s best movies, at least until now. The Lookout is the story of a young guy, who gets mentally impaired because of a car accident, being so forced to change completely his life. He starts working alongside a blind man as cleaner in a bank, but he’s also befriended by a mysterious man he meets in a bar, who says they’ve been classmates, but also asks our guy to join him in robbing the bank where he’s actually working. Twists and turns are the central element of the movie, extremely well acted by Joseph Gordon Levitt and Jeff Daniels, but also by their castmates Matthew Goode and Isla Fisher (very effective, even in roles who are not comedic). Director shows, unlike several other writers turned film-makers, he’s been learning a lot from all the directors he’s worked with. The Lookout is a must see, especially if you’re a thriller buff.
TMNT (2007) - Voto/Rating: 6/10
Another symbol of the 80’s (even if they’ve acquired major success at the beginning of the 90’s) came back to theatres this years. They are the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, now full-CG in a low budget animated movie co-produced by Warner Bros. and Weinstein Company. There’s no Shredder anymore, but there are other villains who will force the turtles, mentored again by their great master Splinter and helped by their old friends April and Casey Jones, now living together, to rejoin and fight the ones who want to conquer the world. A good voice acting (the turtles are voiced by their original voices, while other characters are played by Chris Evans, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ian McKellen, Zhang ZiYi and Laurence Fishburne), an interesting screenplay and a few spectacular scenes are the highlights of this production, not so bright when it comes to animation or direction. However, the movie is quite good, and I’m sure both fans (I’m talking about people who were 10/15 years old at the beginning of the 90’s) and non-fans will like it.
Wild Hogs (2007) - Voto/Rating: 6/10
Comedies like Wild Hogs are usually totally spoiled in trailers, where their best, and very often, funny bits are shown. Fortunately, Walt Becker’s movie has some more gags and laughing moments, at least in its first 80 minutes, because it ends with the classic unbearable sugar-coated ending. Wild Hogs is the story of four middle-class friends, bored of their lives, who decide to embark into a motorcycle road trip. This will result in very funny situations, a little bit of romance, and the usual rants about friendship and so on. Becker has been able to make the most from his four leads: John Travolta, William H. Macy, Tim Allen and Martin Lawrence. Travolta and Macy really stand out, with Allen and Lawrence doing their usual characters, outperformed by Ray Liotta and John C. McGinley, both hilarious in their roles (Marisa Tomei is instead William Macy’s love interest). Good movie. It has a few flaws, but it’s still really enjoyable.
Live Free or Die Hard (2007) - Voto/Rating: 6/10
Sequels realized several years after the last episode are usually very bad ideas. I had very low expectations for Live Free or Die Hard (a.k.a. Die Hard 4.0 here in Europe), but I’m happy to say the movie is not the complete disaster I predicted. Invincible and invulnerable policeman hero John McClane must now fight, with a young hacker, against cyberterrorists who threatened to send back United States and the whole world to stone age, causing havoc in every part of the planet. Justin Long is the unlikely sidekick of Bruce Willis in this adventure, and stars alongside Timothy Olyphant as the villain, the gorgeous Maggie Q, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and even Italian soap opera actor Edoardo Costa (he’s one of the baddies with more screen time, and he’s also the last baddie dying). Len Wiseman’s direction is absolutely not on par with John McTiernan’s (unlike what Bruce Willis says, I still think that Michael Bay would have pulled out an action masterpiece), with very few inspired and inventive scenes. The screenplay, as it was very easy to predict, almost doesn’t exist, but that’s not an issue, because the movie is really fun. Maybe it’s just a little over the top in the last half hour (I don’t want to spoil anything, you’ll see what I’m referring to when you’re gonna watch it), but still extremely fun. A good summer movie, that makes me think another sequel wouldn’t be a bad idea. Just do it without Len Wiseman, please.
Surf’s Up (2007) - Voto/Rating: 7/10
CG-animated mockumentary about surfing penguins, Surf’s Up has been a real surprise for me. Technically astounding, with a great voice acting (Shia LaBoeuf stars alongside Jeff Bridges, James Woods, Zooey Deschanel and many others), extremely funny characters (the surfing chicken voiced by Jon Heder is exhilarating) and scenes, lots of humour and a perfect soundtrack are this movie’s positive elements. It’s a pity it hasn’t been marketed properly by Sony, because it could have been, in my opinion, a great cash cow for the studio. I’m absolutely buying it on DVD or in an HD format as soon as it’s released, because it’s the only animated movie released in 2007 who fully convinced me (I’m sure I’ll really like Ratatouille too, but I haven’t seen it yet).
28 Weeks Later (2007) - Voto/Rating: 7/10
28 Days Later follow-up is a very interesting movie, whose story takes off where the previous movie ended, with people prepared to come back to their homes, in a London not so deserted as we had seen a few years ago. But another outbreak is ready to start again, with even worse consequences than the first one. I didn’t have many expectations for this sequel when it was announced, but after seeing the first trailer I started to change idea. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo is a very talented director and has been a really good choice to helm this movie. The way he decided to shoot it, with lots of flashy cuts, handheld shots, several dark scenes, really conveys the sense of terror and fear that flicks like this one should have. Even focusing the story on the two children has been an extremely good choice, especially considering the way the story had ended. Great movie, I enjoyed it a lot. It doesn’t deserve a rating of 8, because it has a few flaws in the script, but it’s a great popcorn movie, you should absolutely see in theatres as soon as it’s released.
Les Anges Exterminateurs (2006) - Voto/Rating: 5/10
French erotic dramas are very odd movies. Some of them, like Catherine Breillat’s A Ma Soeur, reviewed here a few weeks ago, get to a certain point, even if it’s quite hard to decode. Some others, like Les Anges Exterminateurs, seem really pointless, because you’re not able to understand where the director wants to go. This is the story of a porn director who’s searching for girls for his next movie. In his auditions, young women strip and start masturbating themselves while confessing their most strange desires and fantasies. Lesbian sex in two, but also in a threesome, are the other things the porn director likes to see in front of his camera. After watching the movie, I started wondering what was the point of everything I’ve been seen in the previous 90 minutes. I haven’t been able to give myself an answer. Sex scenes are also the only highlight of Les Anges Exterminateurs. They’re extremely erotic and graphic, but also shot in a very tasteful way, with an incredibly pounding soundtrack that makes them even more erotic, letting me say that they’re the best sex scenes I’ve seen in quite a while (I’m not saying this because there are only women, believe me). Unfortunately, the rest of the movie is utter crap.
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The Killing Floor (2006) - Voto/Rating: 4/10
DTV thriller starring a few known TV actors like Marc Blucas (of Buffy fame), Shiri Appleby (of Roswell fame) and Reiko Aylesworth (of 24 fame), The Killing Floor is an horribly predictable movie. It’s the story of a young writer who buys a big apartment in Manhattan, meets a very fascinating but mysterious woman and starts being scared by something or someone he doesn’t know. It gets really obvious since the beginning how writer-director Gideon Raff is going to end his first “important” movie. There are no surprises or twists, acting is quite awful (except for Reiko Aylesworth, who’s able to convey an incredible charm, looking extremely sweet at the same time) and everything can be guessed in advance. What really puzzles me, is how Doug Liman (director of The Bourne Identity and Mr. & Mrs. Smith) and Avi Arad (ex-Marvel head honcho) could have produced this piece of crap. This is the real twist of the whole production.
The Tripper (2006) - Voto/Rating: 4/10
After starring in a slasher movie trilogy, David Arquette decided to direct an horror all by himself. The Tripper is the classic slasher with a group of young boys and girls who are killed in sequence by a Ronald Reagan masked (no, it’s not Point Break) serial murderer, strange policemen, lots of gore and every other element you expect to see in a movie like this one. Courteney Cox’s lucky husband has been helped by several friends, from Thomas Jane to Jamie King, from Jason Mewes to Balthazar Getty, who starred almost for free in his directing debut. Unfortunately, they didn’t help that much, because the movie has no plot, it’s extremely clichéd from the beginning to its end, and it’s virtually identical to lots of flicks belonging to the same genre. Gore lovers could like it, but I think they’re the only ones who can find something positive in this mess.
The Big Bad Swim (2006) - Voto/Rating: 6/10
Low budget indie drama about a community of people living in a small American town that gravitates around the local swimming pool, The Big Bad Swim is the token indie movie, focusing more on love and hate relationships between characters than on story or anything else. Paget Brewster (Criminal Minds) and Grant Aleksander (the soap opera Guiding Light) are the most known faces of the cast, largely made up by unknowns. I’m sure the movie will deserve the same fate (being unknown), because it has nothing that really makes it stand out among the countless indie dramas released every year. Watchable, but don’t expect anything particular.
Amazing Grace (2006) - Voto/Rating: 6/10
Costumed movies could be beautiful flicks but also a real pain in the ass. Fortunately, Amazing Grace, even with its many flaws, is quite watchable, and belongs more to the first category than the second. Michael Apted’s movie is the story of a 19th century English idealist, who is elected in the British Parliament, where he fights to end transatlantic commercial slavery of his country. Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic 4) and beautiful Romola Garai (Scoop) star alongside Rufus Sewell (Dark City), Michael Gambon (the last three Harry Potter), the legendary Albert Finney and African singer Youssou N’Dour. Acting is good, unlike writing and directing, which are, in my opinion, really average. Costumes and production design are really great, but they’re not enough to make this movie good as it could have been.
The Situation (2006/I) - Voto/Rating: 6/10
Indie drama set against Iraqi war background, The Situation is the story of a love triangle between a CIA operative, an American journalist and a photographer, that shows how things can go bad when too many personal interests are at stake. Philip Haas’s movie stars the stunning and extremely good Connie Nielsen (she’s over 40, but she’s still more gorgeous than lots of younger actresses) and Damian Lewis (Band of Brothers). Well acted and written, The Situation has just one problem: it’s tremendously slow and boring, in my opinion. This is the reason why I haven’t rated it higher. But if you like dramas and war stories in general, I’m sure you will probably appreciate this movie.
Firehouse Dog (2007) - Voto/Rating: 4/10
Released with almost no marketing in the first months of this year, Firehouse Dog is a classic family movie, the story of a movie star dog who gets lost and then rescued by some firemen. The animal teams up with a young boy, a fireman’s son, to get the fire station back on its feet. Some family movies are quite interesting and funny, even if they’re filled with good feelings and clichés. Firehouse Dog is utterly predictable, is not funny, is a cliché from the beginning to its end, and so on. This is one of those movies that should fall into oblivion and never be remembered or recovered.
Mon Meilleur Ami (2006/I) - Voto/Rating: 7/10
Director Patrice Leconte’s latest movie is a nice dramatic comedy, starring Daniel Auteuil as a man who never had friends and gets in real trouble when his business partner, a woman, challenges him to set up an introduction with the best friend he claims having. French are really masters with movies like this one, poignating and insightful light comedies with not so small bits of drama who deal with life-related problems. Mon Meilleur Ami is a little gem, a movie that should be seen by everyone who’s searching something where no clichés are used, where relationships are painted in a real way.
Fuoco Su di Me (2006) - Voto/Rating: 3/10
This historic-themed and costumed Italian movie looks very poor, both in terms of writing/directing and acting. Not even the great Omar Sharif looks believable in the role he’s been given by director Lamberto Lambertini. The movie represents another waste of public money, considered it has been partly financed by the government. Don’t even download it, it would be a waste of time.
B.B. e il Cormorano (2003) - Voto/Rating: 3/10
When you see movies like this one, you start wondering how director and producers managed to get financing. B. B. e il Cormorano is actor Edoardo Gabbriellini (I’ve nicknamed him “The useless”, because I really can’t stand him)’s directing debut. It’s the story of a young and shy guy, working as plumber, who dreams to follow his uncle’s steps, moving to the US searching for luck and for the American dream. Awfully shot and written, and also acted in the worst possible way, the movie also stars former porn-actress Luce Caponegro (a.k.a. Selen), who gets to be the best performer in the whole cast. Avoid it.
Irma Vep (1996) - Voto/Rating: 6/10
The tragicomic adventures of an Hong Kong star are the basic plot of Irma Vep, an Oliver Assayas movie, dated 1996, which stars Maggie Cheung (the actress and the director married a few years later), who plays a character very similar to herself. The movie is the usual ironic, but not so bright, in my opinion, look behind the scenes of the entertainment world. Irma Vep is a bit schizofrenic: really good in a few parts, but quite dull and boring otherwise. This is not a bad movie, but it’s not so good as it could have been.