2007 / Scott Frank > At a basic level, it’s hard not to respect The Lookout for its relatively unique take on the heist genre. The film’s move away from the standard setup theme is of interest, but the execution is sometimes flawed with staccato pacing and peripheral characters that come across extremely two-dimensional. Moreover, the gimmick of memory disorientation is utilized in a somewhat predictable way, even if the final sequence is a rather impressive one.
Category Archives: 2.5
Spider-Man 3
2007 / Sam Raimi > I couldn’t help but have high expectations for Raimi’s latest venture: With the first sequel, he had fired on all cylinders. The emotions were on the dot, as was the action and the romance in-between. It was about Peter Parker, not Spider-Man or the villains. So, the third incarnation could only get better, right? Not exactly: The melodrama here is downright silly at times, and while there’s definitely some fun to be had, it doesn’t really satisfy in the end. In fact, if it wasn’t for Venom’s downright creepy, lingering presence, this would be almost unbearable.
Tazza: The High Rollers
2006 / Choi Dong-hun > Korea’s second highest grossing film of 2006, Tazza comes fresh on the heels of Choi’s The Big Swindle, which while predictable for much of the Western audiences, provided a fresh caper story for an underserved Korean audience. (Although here, I would argue that the much ignored Jakarta was more entertaining, if less polished.) Tazza is based on a comic about high stakes professional gamblers who may as well be magicians, and Choi wastes no time in cutting the film into incongruent timelines with twists and turns at every corner. Similar to what Nolan did with The Prestige, there came a time in the film when I basically started expecting the unexpected, so the unexpected became predictable. At nearly 140 minutes, these twists go on a bit longer than they should, almost as if trying to validate the film’s seriousness, but that eventually becomes a little tenuous.
What keeps things going, as soon as you see her character Madame Jeong, is Kim Hye-soo’s spellbinding performance. Some have attributed the film’s success to her on-screen presence, and I imagine they may not be far off. At age 36, the curvaceous beauty continues to light up the cinema as if it were her playground, taking away the limelight from a more than credible performance from Cho Seung-woo. In the end, Tazza fails to add much new to the genre on a global perspective, but does fruitfully entertain those who remain patient.
Woman on the Beach
2006 / Hong Sang-soo > Nobody doubts that the man has skill, but even for Hong, this was a bit of a stretch. It’s accessible, yes, but maybe too accessible. There’s no nudity (a common, almost uncomfortable thread in his previous works) and the story is surprisingly straightforward—as usual, though, there are many layers you can peel off if you wish, but this one didn’t motivate me nearly as much.
Dreamgirls
2006 / Bill Condon > Generally, I’ll avoid musicals if possible, but one had to see what the hoopla was about. And Dreamgirls reminded me why I tend to avoid the sing and dance: In the middle of all the great musical numbers, costumes and sets, the depth and emotion needed for the story to stick and progress gets lost. Condon’s effort here is sub-par to Chicago, but thankfully, it shines on a technical basis.
On the debate of Beyonce vs. Jennifer Hudson, it’s pretty silly. Beyonce lacked script to deliver a real performance. Most of her lines were thin and unoriginal. Hudson, on the other hand, was solid but not entirely Oscar-worthy. (As of now, Kikuchi’s performance in Babel takes the cake for me.) Her character felt forced, self-centered and simply annoying. I’m not doubting she doesn’t have the skills, but I am saying the script kept her back. It was good, by the way, to see Murphy work some magic that we knew he always had.
As a huge fan of Motown music, this was still enjoyable at times. While the tracks were not nearly as catchy, the glitz and glamour of the girls made up for it. Taking that into effect, I would think those who are not fans of Motown or musicals will not find this nearly as appeasing.
Flushed Away
2006 / David Bowers & Sam Fell > Coming from Aardman, this is a disappointment. The men who’ve brought us the glorious Wallace & Gromit flicks have paired up with Dreamworks for a mediocre if adequately satisfying venture into Ratropolis. There’s little meat to the story, and the emotion is almost nonexistent. Thankfully the action is solid and ought to keep one’s attention for much of the ninety minutes. The voice acting is some of the best in recent memory: Kate Winslet shines by providing her voice to the female lead, a strong-willed woman determined to take good care of her family. The animation is superb, and while done in CGI, still has a lot of the effects of claymation. It won’t salvage a year of weak animated films, but it’s a fun ride nonetheless.
Dead or Alive
2006 / Corey Yuen > I’m not sure if I should ever expect another Fong Sai-Yuk out of Yuen, but with The Transporter and now Dead or Alive, he’s slowly building up a reputation for directing some of the best no-nonsense martial arts/action flicks that are just great fun. The girls wear little clothing (although with smaller busts than their video game counterparts would suggest), there’s enough plot to advance the story and Eric Roberts is the bad guy. What more could you want? Oh: There’s also beach volleyball. Just the ticket for attention deficit.
Blood Diamond
2006 / Edward Zwick > And Hollywood preaches on: While this is supposed to be a lesson in how diamonds are bad for the world, Zwick forgets to erase the excesses off the drawing board. The violence here is generally appropriate, but the story comes to a standstill too often. Cutting off 45 minutes from the film would do it wonders (because I’m certain we’ll survive without hearing DiCaprio wheeze for 25 of them).
The melodrama is suffocating, with blatant right/wrong arguments that are just too silly. For that, the story itself is fairly inaccurate and makes the Sierra Leone rebels look unnecessarily barbaric. Nonetheless, the first hour is quite strong and for a while I was thinking that this may be one of the better films of the year. DiCaprio impresses even with a weak script, but Connelly fails to show up. Hounsou is effective. It could have done more, but for that, it ought to have tried less.
Beerfest
2006 / Jay Chandrasekhar > After their hilarious misadventures in Super Troopers, I’ve come to expect a decent amount from the troupe at Broken Lizard. And while Beerfest is only a slight step above the somewhat misguided slashfest Club Dread, it still delivers on the basics of what it promises: beer, breasts and (male) bonding. What it lacks compared to its cops-brethren is a formidable opponent, without which a comedy of this styling can fall pretty flat. So, while Beerfest has the necessary ingredients for success, its mentally-diminutive German foes keep the film from holding its liquor until the very end.
Deja Vu
2006 / Tony Scott > For a film that deals with folding the time-space continuum, there is great irony in its predictability. But there is credit to be given to Tony Scott for getting off the speed and rejoining the human race after the dismal Domino. The sober and tactical directing of Man on Fire is nearly back, but with an unusual dose of science fiction thrown in. More specifically, the Hummer on the highway is arguably one of the finest science fiction/action sequences ever put on film. If only that level of imagination were present throughout, it would have been a considerably more memorable adventure, plot holes or not.