Keeping It Reel

Yo Ho Ho...A Pirate's Life For Me

One of these days, I will learn to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to watching sequels.  In every instance, I have already seen the original; however, so much time has passed that I forget to watch it again before watching its sequel.  A movie like "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" is so unique that I lucked up and was able to still have crucial elements fresh in my mind while watching "Pirates of the Caribbean:  Dead Man's Chest".

Johnny Depp reprises his role as Jack Sparrow in the second installment to the "Pirates" series.  He's the captain of the ship the Black Pearl the first movie focused on and this time, he's after the heart of Davy Jones. 

The one thing that I noticed in the first film and in "Dead Man's Chest" was the style in which Depp portrayed Sparrow.  He plays him very effeminate for a pirate.  That seems a little ironic when their breed is supposed to be known for tons of bravado.  It seems to be in mannerisms only because Sparrow does appear to be very much attracted to women.  It's just a little odd that a character who would be lacking masculinity would be leading a group of thugs and villains who you would think would look for someone with much more machismo.

The best part of this film was easily the special effects that provide a new screen villain to be reckoned with.  Davy Jones looked so authentic with his hybrid squid face that you find yourself distracted by the appearance and lose track of what he's saying.  In fact, all of the special effects throughout this film made it extremely enjoyable.

Production was already underway for the third film, "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" when "Dead Man's Chest" hit theaters.  Therefore, when they end it with a "Wrath of Khan"-esque conclusion, you're already wanting more.  As if the overall content of the movie itself wasn't enough.  When "At World's End" is released next year, this time I just might have to do what I can to make sure I actually check it out in theaters.

My rating:  A 

Been That Way Before

Denzel Washington is hands-down one of the most reliable actors currently in the business.  It doesn't matter what he's given to work with, he alone can make the movie worth checking out.  As a matter of fact, I don't even know why movie studios waste time and money on marketing if he's in the movie.  Just announce he's in it and don't worry about hyping the movie up.  His name alone is enough.

"Deja Vu" is his latest effort where he's ATF agent Doug Carlin called to investigate a terrorist bombing of a local ferry.  He's introduced to a special investigative unit that has developed the ability to look at the past using satellites from all over space and, of course, a lot of sci-fi assumption.

A lot of this flick reminded me of Will Smith's "Enemy of the State".  This plays on that concept that not only is Big Brother always  watching but apparently he has the ability to alter history as well.  In that aspect, it borrows a little from "The Terminator" as well. 

The thing with movies like this that involve time travel and altering history is you have to throw all logic out the window.  You can't sit there and try to over-analyze how it would be possible for one person to co-exist in the present time side-by-side with their future and/or past self and what would happen if they ran into one another and all that.  Not to mention that no matter how much mumbo-jumbo the characters throw at you to try to explain how time travel is even possible will fly right over your head.

I feel a little sorry for Jim Caviezel.  How can he ever go to playing any other type of role after playing Jesus?  He'll always be known for that.  He did a nice job here though in getting as far as possible from that typecast by portraying the terrorist.

Once again, Denzel proved that he makes the $10+ price of going to see his movies worth the trip.  It also helped that I checked out with Dad as part of our tradition when I visit Bloomington.  Not only that, but any movie that can keep me entertained at 10pm at night when I'm dead tired and reknown from falling asleep on a movie has got to be good.

My rating:  B+

Fast Cars and Fast Women

Okay, there really weren't fast women in this one  It got your attention though, right?  Now that I think about it, there may have been some fast women in it as extras, but none essential to the plot.

Anyway, "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" is the latest installment in the "Fast and the Furious" series.  I'd like to say that it was a trilogy and they're ending it with this one; however, I find that very improbable.  I'm guessing if anything else, there will at least be a fourth one that goes straight to dvd.  If there can be a "Roadhouse 2", there can certainly be a "Fast and Furious 4".

This is another one of those films where you can't be expecting much for a plot.  It's purpose is to impress you with impressive driving and flashy vehicles.  It does an excellent job at doing that because the acting throughout it was absolutely horrendous.

As bad as some of the players were in this one, overall, it was a vast improvement over the second movie.  At least in "Tokyo Drift", even when the driving stunts were over the top, they weren't so ludicrous that you find yourself laughing out loud.  I didn't anyway. 

I definitely wouldn't go as far as to call this one the best movie in the "Fast and Furious" catalog as some of my younger cousins have indicaated.  It was a nice touch tying it to the original by having Vin make a cameo appearance in the end.  Still not enough to make it better than the first one, but they get bonus points for the effort.

My rating:  C+

Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold

Khan said it was an old Klingon proverb.  To this day, I'm still not sure if that was a phrase made up for just "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" (still the best of all the Trek movies) or if they bit the idea from an actual saying.  Regardless, it's one of the best movie lines in cinema history and it fits just about every revenge-formula movie ever made.

"Lucky Number Slevin" has Josh Hartnett playing Slevin who gets caught up in case of mistaken identity which causes him to get "tricked" into doing a couple of hits for mob bosses.  I'm still trying to figure out how out of all of the actors from his generation, Hartnett was able to parlay a subpar performance from a subpar movie of "The Faculty" into the blossoming career's he's having.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, you're probably thinking, how do you get "tricked" into something like that, you ask?  Exactly.  That's why  anyone with half a brain should be able to figure out from the get-go that Slevin's not who he says he is.  Fortunately for this movie, that's not where they put all their chips as far as the surprises go.

I'm still not sure Hartnett was the right person cast in this role.  He seems to play all of his characters the same.  Then again, Bruce Willis has been lately too and he was pretty good in this one.  And Morgan Freeman and Sir Ben Kingsley are just about much money in anything they're given.

I was actually able to stay with this one up thru the finale.  I was right on every aspect of the guessing game they tried to throw at me, even from the very beginning of the movie.  However, I very much enjoyed the way they brought it all together at the end and filled in the holes of how it got to the climax it leads you to.

My Rating:  B

Water, Water Everywhere and Not a Drop to Drink

If there's one thing you can always count on with disaster flicks, it's some awesome special effects.  This wasn't always the case back in the 70s when those type of movies first took flight.  Therefore, it only stands to reason that someone eventually decided to greenlight a remake of "The Poseidon Adventure", knowing that today's technology would make it a much better experience.

"Poseidon" is actually not so much of a remake as it is a re-imagining.  They used the same premise and concept of the original and ran with it.  All new characters put in the same scenario of a "rogue" wave capsizing a Titanic-sized cruise liner.

When you watch these kind of movies, you really can't take them too serious.  You have to remember there are two things that will inevitably take place which directly contradict one another:  everything that can go wrong will and a series of convenient circumstances will always save someone's life just in the nick of time.  "Poseidon" is no different.  It comes down to the fun in watching how they manage to escape the situations they encounters along the way.

You could nitpick the flaws of this one all day.  How in the world could they possibly think the huge ballroom would be safe as an "air bubble" or how can a dead man still push a button, just to mention a couple.  However, disaster flicks are immune to such criticism as all you're supposed to do is sit back and enjoy the ride.

My rating:  B

There's Undercover and Then There's Which Way is Up

People look back now at the original "Miami Vice" and smile at how campy it was with the bright pastel colors, the cheesy dialogue and let's not forget Phillip Michael Thomas's jheri-curl fro.  It may seem like that now, but there's no denying that during it's time, it was the cop show to end all cop shows. 

If you were a diehard fan of that show from the 80s, you flat out won't like the movie version of "Miami Vice".  The bottom line is you really can't even call it a movie version of the show.  The only thing that's the same is the character's name and the location.  Even the location may be a little suspect as there are huge portions of the movie that take place outside the city.

Personally, I couldn't remember one plotline from one episode of the television show if I tried.  I can remember what a phenomenon it was though.  Like most other teenagers of the era, I too had a thin white jacket and pastel gear trying to match the look the show had created.  I may not remember the specifics of the show, but I do now what a stark contrast this movie was.

This "Miami Vice" is much darker, grittier and even more serious.  There weren't even moments of unintentional comedy.  Michael Mann gives us the world of Miami Vice as it would exist in today's hardened world and with no filter whatsoever.  Just how I like it.

I truly can't think of two actors that were better suited for these roles.  Being the infamous bachelors in real life that play by their own rules, Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell are very believable as two undercover Vice agents that live just on the edge of the law and lawlessness.

Mann used an interesting format here by showing no opening credits, no title, nothing.  It just jumps right into the action.  It also made it a little confusing.  True, we didn't need any backstory on Tubbs and Crockett; however, it's almost like he started in the middle of a story and you find yourself trying to play catch-up most of the movie, trying to figure out what's going on.

Granted, the action scenes were simply amazing.  And the car "chase" scene in the beginning was nice.  Still, I have to admit that I was really expecting more.  For instance, at one point they go right from a drug deal done on boats to getting in marked police cars on the mainland.  Wouldn't there be at least some concern about them being watched? 

Anyway, as far as television shows remakes go, it's easily one of the better ones out there, if not the best (with the exception of "Mission Impossible, of course).  It should be with a budget of $135 million.  I'm thinking some of that money could have been just a little better spent on a couple of script doctors here and there. 

I need to give this a second look on dvd.  All things considered, I would recommend it for a first look in theaters.

My rating:  B

Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Mustard

When I came across a movie that had the honor of being directed by the same man who brought us the "Lethal Weapon" franchise (Shane Black), I jumped at the opportunity to see it.  Those were the ultimate buddy flicks, successfully combining crime, drama and action like had never been done before.  It turns out he did it again.  Enter "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang".

Robert Downey Jr. plays Harry Lockhart, a failed actor, failed crook and failed detective who finds himself in LA.  He happens upon a sticky situation that gets out of control quickly.  His stint in the city of angels escalates from bad to worse much faster than he would have hoped.

Downey's unwilling partner in this is Val Kilmer who is yet another asset to this movie.  As usual, he's coming across as a smug, wisecracker in this role.  It's what he does best.  He and Downey work extremely well together with seemingly perfect comedic timing.

The crime drama portion of this piece is a little flimsy.  As with the "Lethal Weapon" flicks, there are some actions scenes here that are so improbable that they add moments of unintentional comedy.  It doesn't matter though because the overall humor of the movie allows you to overlook the few action sequence flaws.

Downey doing periodic narration throughout was a nice touch.  Despite what shortcomings he's had outside of acting, his work has been on point ever sine "Less Than Zero".  A team composed of him, Black and Kilmer has now proved you'll get more bang for your buck.

My rating:  A-

Have Gun Will Run

When I first saw on AICN how they were jocking this movie called "Running Scared", the first thing I thought was that it was yet another remake.  I found out quickly that it wasn't.  The creators of the movie just decided to bite the name of the Billy Crystal/Gregory Hines classic.  They should have given it its own unique name so it would have its own identity.  I will give them this though, that title couldn't have been more appropriate.

This "Running Scared" gives us Paul Walker caught in a dilemma of having very little time to track down a gun wanted for killing a cop and protecting a boy caught in the middle.  It's supposed to take place in the course of an 18-hour period.  Because of that, it plays like a non-stop adrenaline rush.  And plays VERY well.

The aspect of the flick I was really into was the way it was shot.  Especially how they would intertwine flashback scenes with real time action.  It added originality to the picture that made it even more fun to watch.

The one blemish this did have was the end and even that was very minor.  They could have went the road less traveled, but they chose another foreseeable direction instead.  Still, it kept me on the edge of my seat from the beginning, wondering what could possibly go wrong next.  It was just one alternate ending away from being a classic for me.

My rating:  A

GIMME BACK MY SON!

Anyone who listens to Jim Rome will definitely get that inside joke.  If you don't (and I'm guessing most of the people who read this fall into that category), it's a famous sound clip from the movie "Ransom".  That was pretty much the whole premise of "Waist Deep".

How far would a father go to retrieve his kidnapped son?  For any father worth his mettle, to the ends of the earth.  This is just the hood version of that scenario.

"Waist Deep" is the tale of a ex-con, O2 played by Tyrese Gibson, who gets carjacked with his son still in the car.  The jackers work for a big druglord, The Game, who used to run game with O2 back in the day and now he wants 100 large for the safe return. 

I already expected big things from Tyrese and he didn't disappoint.  He's come a long way since the kid in the commercial singin' about Coke on the bus.  And I'm not a Game fan, but he did an excellent job in his typecast role. His machete scene will be one for the books.

The one thing that didn't click with me was the ending.  Didn't "Set It Off" teach moviemakers anything?  There doesn't have to always be a happy ending.  Real life doesn't have them.  It was pretty good up to that point.  I can even overlook the fact that director Vondie Curtis Hall couldn't seem to decide what direction he wanted to take it.  The one storyline of a father's dedication to his son made it worthwhile.

My rating:  B

So Much for the Witness Protection Program

Bruce Willis has got the hero role down.  He should probably own a co-patent on it.  The newness he can bring to each movie is how that hero is portrayed.  In "16 Blocks", it's nice change of pace to see him against type.  Instead of the bravado sometimes over the top hero we're used to, he's a haggard alcoholic cop worn from the job and beaten down by life.

The story of crooked cops trying to take out a witness has been done over and over and over.  You have to bring something new to the table to differentiate it from all of the other cookie-cutter flicks.  Their attempt to mix in a little touch of "The Gauntlet" was a decent twist even if not believable.  It wasn't enough to put this over the top and it didn't help that every bit of the movie was predictable.

Is it really a surprise by now that so many rappers have turned to acting?  Or singers either for that matter.  They're acting constantly in their videos and the good videos are really just short movies.  Mos Def is no exception; in fact, he's exceptionally good here.  He was so well cast in this flick that I would even venture to say he was the highlight of the picture.

Didn't the good cops know that the bad would would want a key witness dead?  Why wouldn't they do a better job of protecting him?  That's the major flaw here.  Then again, if it wasn't for the flaw, the movie wouldn't have a premise at all.

My rating:  C