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Someone or something, be it the Founding Fathers or merely our lucky stars, deserves thanks for dissent and the freedom we have to express it. In particular Ben Stein should be thanked for making Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed.

If there is one thing that you may learn from Vantage Point, it is that you should never judge a movie by its trailer.

A horrific tale of ghosts in a spooky house, it is just the sort of movie you would expect to interest Sr. del Toro.

Though the beginning was a touch weak, the movie gets better and better as the story progresses.

The spectacular failure that such a promising movie became leads me to wonder if cinema itself is dying.

Some art is created for its own sake and some art has a purpose beyond entertainment. Rendition, from director Gavin Hood, definitely falls into the latter category. While an intriguing story in its own right, there is also a timely message that the creators wish to deliver to the audience, and it doesn’t take a subtle mind to detect it. The intent is obvious from the title alone.

The saga of Jason Bourne continues with The Bourne Ultimatum, the third installment of the trilogy based on a series of books. Any moderately successful flick is, in today’s movie world, an instant candidate for a sequel, and The Bourne Identity was just that: a moderately successful spy action/mystery vehicle helmed by David Liman and starring Matt Damon. But when the adventures continued, this time under the guidance of a different director, the outcome was less satisfying. Again, nothing out of the ordinary. The third movie of the series is able to improve on some of the weaker points of the second and, though it falls short of the original (a phrase I have typed so many times that my fingers make the necessary movements for it even when I sleep), it was certainly stronger than The Bourne Supremacy.
Jason Bourne, the highly trained super agent who cannot remember his past nor even his true name, reappears on the grid in Moscow. Injured, he is fleeing from the police and, after a brief fight, is able to sneak away again. But his brief emergence has the CIA back in Langley, Virginia nervous and once again the hunt is on. Bourne next appears in London to have a sneaky meeting with a journalist who has a secret source feeding him information that Bourne believes is connected to his own past.
After the sneaky meeting, and some more fighting, Bourne goes to Madrid where some more fighting [...]

Steven Soderbergh makes it a trilogy with his latest Ocean’s installment, Ocean’s Thirteen. It’s not a bad movie, but like its immediate predecessor it falls far short of the first movie, and for the typical reasons that sequels generally fall short. Not based on action and fighting sequences, the Ocean’s saga relies on its characters’ smooth and cool style, quirky humor and clever tricks to entertain its audiences. Unfortunately, these traits wind up just as empty and unfulfilling when not backed by the cornerstones of storytelling as car chases, fight scenes and explosions.
In the latest version of the adventures of Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and Co., Al Pacino plays the bad guy, Willie Bank. He forces long time Ocean co-conspirator and financier Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould) out of a business deal and thereby gains the enmity of the entire Ocean crew. While Reuben recovers from his physical and emotional injuries, Danny Ocean and Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) design a plan to ruin Bank’s latest enterprise.
The plan is grandiose, intricate, far reaching… far more so than the original heist from the first film. In the course of their trickery the team members engage in all manner of operations and are faced with every type of setback requiring last minute fixes. But the movie does not concern itself with details. As far fetched as the first movie was, it managed to make the entire affair seem believable by carefully showing how each feat, no [...]

Screaming Masterpiece, a documentary directed by Ari Alexander Ergis Magnusson, is out on DVD. Running just under an hour and a half, it is an overview of Icelandic pop music, concentrating principally on modern music but also delving into ’80’s tunes and even looking at Viking music from centuries ago. The question posed on the DVD’s cover is why this music is so hot, and various artists interviewed on the disc give viewers their perspective.
As to whether the music is hot or not, that depends on one’s tastes. For my part, I found it to be interesting but nothing that I saw myself running out to buy. But it is definitely different from music on the contemporary American pop scene. Much of it is very ambient-like, with a hint of metal or hard rock running underneath. And there is a great variety of instruments, many of which I think were probably invented by the bands that use them.
All in all, it is an interesting documentary. Clips of the bands performing are mixed with interviews as well as some shots of the Icelandic landscape and some views of Reykjavik, the capital and largest city, and several smaller towns. The commentary delves into the history and culture of Iceland, with many artists searching to define themselves as Icelanders and express what that means. For my part, I came away impressed by how much music was produced and how many bands and orchestras and [...]

POTC: At World’s End is a 21st century movie par excellence. More to the point, it is a 21st century sequel par excellence. It falls into the same trap, and I mean exactly the same trap, into which the Matrix sequels fell. Like the Wachowski brothers, Verbinski is a very capable director and so manages to insert a handful of intriguing elements, but not enough to keep the project from being anything other than ordinary.

The newly released Fracture, directed by Gregory Hoblit, is not the first movie to thrive on a contest, whether of wills, fighting prowess or wits, between two main characters. Nor is it the first movie to place Anthony Hopkins in such a situation.

It is absolutely incomprehensible how something like Spiderman 3 happens. The first two movies were hardly masterpieces, but they were good enough to be passable; good enough that, coupled with nothing more than modest expectations, I did not leave the theater angry. Spiderman 3 was produced by experienced professionals, shot by experienced professionals and directed by a competent if unexceptional director, so one would think that there would be a limit to how poor the movie could be. Sure, it might fall short of the first two, like an Olympic high jumper might not clear a bar he can usually jump with regularity, but it can’t be too awful, can it?

When a brother and sister discover a strange box they are unwittingly thrust into key roles in a story spanning centuries and wherein the future is at stake. Inside the box are several strange items, all of which prove to have magical properties, but for a purpose that they themselves must discover. Along the way, the two must overcome a government anti-terrorism unit which mistakes their activities for terrorist acts and find help from some unlikely places. The Last Mimzy, directed by Robert Shaye, is a movie aimed at children. But unlike the best of children’s movies, like E.T. and The Little Mermaid, this one is likely to fall flat with adults.

Five years have passed since the last time a Fincher directed picture graced our silver screens. Like an alcoholic who must resort to drinking other brands when one of his favorites is out of stock, I have had to make do this last half decade. Oh, it hasn’t been such a terrible time: I had some Spielberg, sampled some Mann, quaffed a bit of Boyle and even downed some Polanski. But there was always something missing until Friday, March 2nd, 2007.
Zodiac, a reputedly very faithful version of two books by Robert Graysmith, is the sixth film to bear the Fincher label, and the Fincher label means quality. Whether as a first time director working without a completed script (Alien 3), or a veteran with one of the most singular stories ever told (Fight Club), David Fincher has always delivered the most exquisite craftsmanship. His most recent opus is no exception.
The Zodiac killer of California is one of the most infamous serial killers in history. Never apprehended, he claimed credit for as many as 37 slayings, though there are a mere five canonical victims. He was active in the late 1960’s to early 1970’s (and perhaps for longer than that), during which time he taunted police with letters sent to newspapers, letters filled with bravado, dire threats and purposely misspelled words. There were suspects, but never enough evidence to put anyone away. When the prime suspect died in 1992, long after the [...]

It is a very rare thing for a highly anticipated film to live up to expectations. Collateral did it a couple years ago and The Others a few years before that. A handful of others have done it or come close, but Zack Snyder’s 300 falls short. Great on images but short on story, the project is entertaining but does not manage to touch you deeply enough to be remembered as great.
Apart from the visuals, which are indeed well done and screaming for a fitter story to fill the world they create, 300 excels at battle sequences. All the modern tricks are employed, from Matrix-like physical exploits to slow motion photography; from intense physical training for the actors to a host of computerized special effects. These scenes are an adrenaline rush and constitute the better parts of the movie.
But we are missing a good story, or rather we have the makings of a good story which needs a lot more attention to fill in the gaps. Part of the difficulty is that the scenes themselves are shot as if a comic book were in mind (and indeed the source material is Frank Miller’s graphic novel of the same name). By this I mean that only the scantest coverage is given to many scenes. A comic book is like a Cliff Notes version of a movie, limiting it’s visuals to the highlights. A movie provides much more and, if it is well [...]

Everyone has a favorite director — but there comes a time when the favorite of the masses must emerge!

The generally acknowledged greatest soccer player of his generation, Zinedine Zidane, (ZIN-uh-deen zee-DAN) was the master of the midfield; a player of uncommon instinct, vision and grace. A solid but not prolific goal scorer, he led his club teams to three European Championship games, (winning one) and his national team to two World Cup finals (winning one) and one Euro Cup championship with his ability to orchestrate the midfield. But he was also known for his temper. Among other incidents, he was suspended for one game in the 1998 World Cup for stomping on an opposing player with his cleats, and he ended his career with a head butt to the chest of an Italian defender in the World Cup final, an incident which contributed to France’s eventual loss.
On April 23rd, 2005, Douglas Gordon and Philippe Parreno realized a most unique cinematic experiment. Placing 17 high definition cameras in Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, the home of Zidane’s last club side, Real Madrid, the directors and their crew recorded Zidane from multiple angles for the entirety of his match against fellow Spanish side Villarreal. The result is a fascinating and rare perspective on a soccer game, as the cameras never stray from Zidane, whether he has the ball or not. Only a handful of times do they show a bit from the regular broadcast, such as when a goal is scored. The other 99% of the time, we are focused on Zidane.
A viewer’s impression of [...]

While the basketball world eagerly awaits their March Madness, the cinematic world is on the brink of its own special month. Though it seems that the world is not fully cognizant of what is about to occur, being caught up in the anticipation of one lone film, I think that March, 2007 will produce more good cinema than the entire year preceding it, and possibly more than any single year of this decade so far. March Magnificence is about to get under way.

On March 9th , the long awaited and much ballyhooed 300 opens. So far, Rotten Tomatoes has it all fresh, though only a few reviews are in. Directed by Zack Snyder, it tells the tale of the Battle of Thermopylae according to the vision of graphic novelist Frank Miller, filtered through the conception of the young and aforementioned director. After his surprisingly good Dawn of the Dead remake, I tagged Snyder as a filmmaker to keep an eye on. All early news is that 300 is far superior to his first film.

But though 300 has taken all the press, it could well be a March 2nd opener that proves the best of the month. For the first time in half a decade, the superlative David Fincher is back, bringing us Zodiac. Chronicling the real life story of the California killer from the late sixties and seventies, it too is all fresh at Rotten Tomatoes. From what I hear, this [...]

Idi Amin, the corrupt and brutal dictator, I say that like there is any other kind, of Uganda once called himself the king of Scotland. Thence came the title of the 1998 debut novel by Giles Foden, and also the title of the 2006 film from director Kevin MacDonald, his first non-documentary feature film. The Last King of Scotland has quite a few people talking about it, but with few theaters playing it so far it has remained little more than a talking point.
Set in the 1970’s Uganda of Idi Amin, the tale centers around the fictional character of Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy), a recent medical graduate so desperate to leave his dreary home behind that he spins a globe, closes his eyes, and resolves to go to where his finger lands. After taking a mulligan (why trade Scottish weather for Canadian?), Nicholas sets out for Uganda. There he settles into a small clinic with one other doctor (Adam Kotz’ Dr. Merrit) whose wife he fancies. It becomes more and more apparent that she fancies him as well, albeit reluctantly.
When the two of them travel to see an Idi Amin (Forest Whitaker) rally, they are asked to help treat the new Ugandan leader for an injury suffered in a car accident. During the treatment, Nicholas impresses Amin for more reasons than his being Scottish, a people for whom the president has an affinity. When Amin sends for him a few days later and [...]

In making The Good German, Steven Soderbergh not only has made a tribute to the post-war noir films of the mid to late forties, he has made a movie quite literally the old fashioned way: with old fashioned technology from the period and even in the old style. Technologically this means no zooming lenses, harsher lighting from the incandescent lights and less lighting equipment in general as well as no radio microphones. Stylistically it means less coverage of scenes, abrupt and sometimes hard cuts from scene to scene with few to no soft transitions and more dramatic, theatrical acting from the thespians on the set. The result is an exciting trip back to a bygone era.
George Clooney plays Jacob Geismer, a journalist who has been sent to post-war Berlin. Tobey Maguire plays Patrick Tulley, the driver assigned to Jacob. While Patrick Tulley is getting himself entangled in the black market of the devastated city, Jake discovers that Tulley is ‘with’ a former flame of his, one Lena Brandt, played by Cate Blanchett. When Tulley turns up dead, Jacob feels compelled to investigate and soon grows suspicious of the incredible coincidence that placed him with a driver who was dating a woman he was seeing before the war. Before long, Captain Geismer is thoroughly enmeshed in a web of intrigue wherein it becomes difficult to distinguish the good guys from the bad.
For us fans of film noir, The Good German is a delightful experience [...]