The Movie Onslaught, Part II

Let the onslaught of movies continue. Some of these were watched after December 31st, hence them not being on my Top Ten of 2006. I hate messing with list after I finish it. Anyway, here are the next mini-reviews.

I had a hard time sitting through Blood Diamond. It was not because of the running time at 2 hours and 22 minutes. At first I was annoyed at the drawn-out ending until I remembered the true story being told had not been completed yet. It wasn’t because of the acting. Leonardo DiCaprio gives another powerhouse performance despite some wavering in his accent. Djimon Hounsou, commands every scene he is in and should be getting the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his efforts. I had a hard time sitting through Blood Diamond because of the subject matter. What got to me more than the diamonds funding civil wars, was the disgusting human nature that has adults and kids alike shooting innocent people. I have a hard time understanding how people can behave this way. Blood Diamond reminded me of Hotel Rwanda but this film left me with even less faith in humanity. I do think this film is important and powerful (with the exception of its bland love story) and is worth watching; just brace yourself for the depravity.

The cast of Bobby is quite impressive. It looks like writer/director Emilio Estevez called in every favor in order to create his ultimate roster. He called on a fellow Brat Packer (Demi Moore), a fellow Mighty Duck (Joshua Jackson) and even his dad (Martin Sheen) to help him with his debut. And while Estevez tried to go all Robert Altman with multiple storylines centering on the day of Robert Kennedy’s assassination at the Ambassador Hotel, he fell quite short. It became more a game of spot the actor rather than engaging us in meaningful stories. I will admit that the last ten minutes of film were well put together and it made me wish that Estevez had used that as a benchmark for the rest of his film. Surprisingly, out of all the big name actors, the one that drew me in was the ‘lowly’ Latino busboy, played by Freddy Rodriguez (Six Feet Under, Poseidon). Go figure.

Watching Babel, I was reminded of Alejandro Inarritu’s previous effort, 21 Grams, and Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic, and that’s not bad company to be in. I found the four interwoven stories to be interesting, powerful and aggravating all at the same time. Brad Pitt gave another wonderful performance but the stand-out acting comes from three of the foreign actors. Adriana Barraza, as the Mexican maid, and Boubker Ait El Caid, as a sharp-shooting Moroccan boy, perfectly evoke sympathy with their commitment to family and frustration in their careless actions. Ultimately, it’s Rinko Kikuchi who steals the show with her powerful acting without saying a word as a rebellious, promiscuous deaf girl. The story is nicely paced with scenes jumping from one to another at appropriate times (The Fountain should have taken notes). Inarritu also tells his compelling story with some beautiful images including a nicely edited club sequence shown through a deaf girl’s eyes. I highly recommend renting this one on DVD and experiencing it for yourself.

Steven Soderbergh, as a director, can be very hot (Erin Brokovich, Traffic) or very cold (Solaris); his newest film, The Good German is definitely luke warm. George Clooney and Cate Blanchett give intriguing, convincing performances and smaller roles given to Leland Orser as a despicable cop and Robin Weigert as a saucy whore are both done with flair. However, Tobey Maguire as a tough, underhanded driver is poorly miscast. He’s too boyish to be believable; the role should have gone to someone like Barry Pepper or Scott Caan. Soderbergh’s story about post-war secrets and defections tries to go for the classic film noir feel but falls miserable short. A good noir film needs dark shadows and gritty images, not bland black & white drivel. The establishing shots look like documentary footage instead of the genre-defining water-soaked sidewalks lit by street lamps. And many of the actors find their faces getting bleached instead of darkened. Granted, Soderbergh does a beautiful homage to Casablanca (hence the poster) in its closing scene, but ‘the big revelation’ payoff is highly disappointing. So while there may be some nice performances in The Good German, I would away from this like a big steaming bowl of sauerkraut.

I might still do a Movie Onslaught, Part III featuring Flags of our Fathers, Letters From Iwo Jima, and For Your Consideration, but I'm having a hard time finding these film in theatres.