More reviews today about a Vin Diesel comedy, an Elisha Cuthbert comedy and two of this week's releases:
The Pacifier (script) "Was The Pacifier formulaic and predictable? Yes, right down to its obligatory diaper changing scene. But there was some heart there, too. The seemingly indomitable Shane Wolfe (as in lone wolf?) is actually a vulnerable, sensitive teddy bear. Sure, it's all very pat but such stories rely on simplicity..." (full review)
Miracle "It's surprising that this film hasn't been tarnished by the Disney production process and turned into a happy magical story about young boys and ice hockey a la "the Mighty Ducks". Russell is the key to the picture, it's his baby and he carries it all the way. It's amazing to see him disappear into the role behind a bad haircut and effective Boston accent. If you showed me a quick clip or sound bite of his performance without telling me who he was I'd have trouble believing it was Russell because he isn't immediately recognizable in the role. Rarely smiling, but not without some degree of charm, he plays the role with seriousness and the same dedication that any good coach would have for his team. If the film is in fact a success, I don't think it'll have as dramatic an impact on his career as "Pirates of the Caribbean" did for Johnny Depp, but hey, it's a well-deserved start..." (full review) "It was a good story about a bunch of underdogs overcoming the impossible, but in the end, I wasn't overly inspired, mainly because I didn't really care about any of them on a personal level. But maybe that's just me. I did enjoy the hockey though, especially since, well...I enjoy watching (and playing) hockey myself, although I'm not sure how many Americans will enjoy it since most of them would apparently rather watch bowling or golf over the only "real sport"...but I digress. And yes, I'm apparently out to make enemies with this review..." (full review)
The Dreamers "The promise of a first-hand experience exploring youth and rebellion during a pivotal era in European history makes The Dreamers interesting, but it is a flawed movie, hampered by pretentious writing and awkward character interaction. While it's still a stronger movie than Last Tango in Paris, the flaws tend to get glossed over by attempts to distract with sex and nudity. Bertolucci's love for the city and of film is able to shine through, but whenLost in Translation, Sofia Coppola's travelogue of Japan, is able to stir up similar emotions without any sex or nudity, one quickly realizes how out of date Bertolucci's sensibilities have become..." (full review) ""The Dreamers" appears to be Bertolucci's love letter to cinema and the Paris of his youth and at the same time he wants to take us down controversial territory that may seem familiar to fans of "Last Tango In Paris." The film is a bit uneven at times as the three main characters discuss politics at one moment and are embarking on a cinema guessing game the next. A game that eventually becomes annoying. Bertolucci is like a candy store owner who wants to offer us a sample of everything and doesn't realize that too much can leave a sour taste..." (full review)
The Girl Next Door by 'Mirajeff' Simply put, this film kicked ass! To begin with, it featured Ms. Elisha Cuthbert, aka 24's Kim Bauer, and she looked absolutely amazing. On the show this season, she has these terrible bangs, but this film really brought out the best in her, and it was difficult to think of her as an actual actress, an artist with a real craft, and not her film persona of a porn-star. See, I was about to use the hooker-with-the-heart-of-gold description but I thought about it, and she doesn't really do anything that "nice" per say, except for a seductive strip show that proves to be nothing more than a tease. The side of a breast does not a tit shot make. She spends the second half of the film just telling her young admirer to fuck off, and never really seemed willing to meet the guy half way.
Excuse me, I'm getting ahead of myself. There's just so much to say and I wanna say it all at once. Ok, from the top. The film opens with a very realistic-looking, yearbook-style intro over the Queen/Bowie anthem, "Under Pressure." It's like "Can't Hardly Wait" only poignant and heart-felt. We meet Matthew Kidman (Emile Hirsch), one of those over-achieving kids, really smart, dedicated, works hard and looks good doing it. He's understandably jealous of the cool, popular, beautiful people who cut class every day, go to the beach, drive cool cars, and look generally happy, like they're having fun. He's headed to Georgetown in the fall, so long as he can win the school's most valuable scholarship. There's also a quasi-lame subplot about him raising 25k to bring a Cambodian genius to study at their school, which my roommate (from Conn.) told me is supposed to be Westport, Connecticut. When Danielle moves in next door, Matt is completely smitten. She catches him spying on her right away and then marches next door and demands to see her secret admirer. D immediately starts to change Matthew, urging him to take more risks and have some fun, for instance, swimming in the principal's pool, cutting class, go to parties, etc. Watching this transformation happen are Matt's two best friends, who are by far the best part of the movie. Eli (Chris Marquette) is an aspiring director who likes to watch porn while talking to his friends on the phone. He's the classic Jewish, nebbish teenager, and he's hilarious. He comes off like John Cusack when he was playing the "friend" role in movies like Sixteen Candles. He has a great sense of comic timing and uses this ability best when making a "fag" joke, of which this film has plenty. Klitz (Paul Dano), on the other hand, looks like Bill, the tall lanky geek on NBC's Freaks and Geeks. Klitz (nice name) is the wanna-be who never really tries-to-be, and his understated performance is the yin to Eli's yang. Moving on, the first half of the film plays like a sweet, sexual-tinged rom/com, and then goes off in a completely different direction for its second half, as soon as Matt discovers D's lurid past. At first he can't believe it, and he's heart-broken. But after Eli's constant nagging, he's convinced this is the girl he should lose his virginity to. Naturally D plays this moment up for all its worth only to walk out on the poor guy. Matt realizes how bad he screwed up and before he can apologize, Kelly shows up. Kelly (the lovably sleazy Timothy Olyphant) is a porn producer and ex-boyfriend of Danielle's and he picks her up for a gig. After all, she's his biggest money-maker. Matt drags his friends to Vegas to rescue her from her self-esteem issues. You know the drill. "This is what I am." "No, you're better than this." Blah blah blah. Kelly gets pissed because you don't mess with a man's business and soon enough, yes, it's coming... HILARITY ENSUES. I predict director Luke Greenfield will really make a name for himself with this film. It's well-paced and hits all the right notes. There were definitely scenes that I felt were a bit cheesy, but they backed off at just the right moments and that restraint saved the film from being overly sentimental. After all, this is a hard R-rated film, with its constant use of the F-words (fuck and fag), an abundance of tit shots, and a decapitation. You heard me right. It comes out of nowhere and scares the shit out of you, and it's hilarious. C'mon, what else would you expect from the guys who wrote Final Destination 2? One important thing to note is the fabulous soundtrack, which is, I think, one of the best ever. Sometimes it gets a bit grating, hopping from one song to the next, sometimes in the middle of a scene, but my God, this thing plays like my CD collection. Elliot Smith, Filter's "Take My Picture," The Who's "Teenage Wasteland," Echo and the Bunnymen's "Killing Time," (last heard in Donnie Darko), Thunderclap Newman's "Something in the Air," and best of all, David Gray's "This Year's Love." The latter plays over Matt and Danielle's first kiss, and is so wonderful, I'll admit, I shed a tear. It's very similar to the film "Angus" when the title fat kid dances with the most beautiful girl in school to Mazzy Star's "Fade Into You." It's just a beautiful scene and a wonderful use of pop music. The Girl Next Door succeeds thanks to its fantastic cast, from Hirsch, all the way down to the sultry porn stars who decorate the second half of the film. After being so great in the Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, Hirsch proves he can handle comedy, coming off like an intelligent Ashton Kutcher/Joshua Jackson type, with a dash of Peter Sarsgaard. Olyphant steals the show with his over the top performance and Cuthbert, who doesn't really get a chance to showcase her acting chops, still sizzles like no one I've seen on screen since Demi Moore in "Striptease." Demi, I want a sequel. 20th Century Fox's could really hurt this film, depending on how they choose to market it, but I promise, the juice is worth the squeeze. To take a page from Matt's yearbook, I'll always remember... The Girl Next Door."
