Mongol

Sergei Bodrov shows the rise to power of Genghis Khan in the Kazakhstan film "Mongol," visually impressive and depressing, pretty well acted, and well directed. It's a very grand spectacle, as both a foreign film and as a sort of short epic, historical and also quite personal. Also, it's quite violent and shattering. I was left really in need of some cheering up after this film. I was also left with a typical ending of a film with a sequel (well, actually, two sequels coming soon): no proper ending to suit. That added to my already steady qualms about the film. Tadanobu Asano, who I've learned from IMDB is a supposed cross between Johnny Depp and Toshiro Mifune, plays Temudjin, the man who would eventually become Genghis Khan. He's mistreated quite a bit in his life, always on the run, three times imprisoned, and he lost his father at age 9, where the film begins. In the beginning, he picks his bride, Borte. He tells her he will come back in 5 years, but he in fact comes back later. He still gets to marry her, but he soon loses her to the clutches of the angered man who Temudjin's father stole Temudjin's mother from. As a result, he asks for help from his acquaintance that he made his blood brother, Jamukha (Honglei Sun), to start a war over his wife. This is one of the many battles in the film, which are some of the weakest parts of the film, what with too much over-the-top action and blood spurting that doesn't look so realistic. When "Mongol" in fact succeeds is in the moments of contemplative landscape that are offered quite regularly by Bodrov here, and they set the scene: no lack of bleak set pieces to depress, and a rare smattering of green pieces to delight us for a little bit. When the film veers into its violent moments, the screen shakes with cruelty, but the audience is left only depressed and a little bit disturbed. But really, the hits outnumber the misses on the most part, and the cinematography makes you forget most of the other problems. B+

The Family Man

Nicolas Cage is one in a million when it comes to playing nervous guys. He easily can become a ball of nerves, like in "Matchstick Men" or this film, Brett Ratner's homage to the classic Christmas drama "It's a Wonderful Life." Nic Cage plays Jack Campbell, an investment broker who came oh so close to marrying Kate (Tea Leoni), but instead decided to go to Wall Street. Hence, guardian angel Cash (Don Cheadle) sends him into an alternative universe where he did marry Kate. To his at first horrifying dismay, he is now a tire salesman, he has kids, and he bowls with his friends, especially Arnie (Brett Ratner regular Jeremy Piven). This is all set up so that Jack realizes how much he could have had. Cue ending where he tries to find Kate. "The Family Man" is smart, funny, and a Thanksgiving favorite (for what reason I don't know). The chemistry between Cage and Leoni is very, very taut and well-done. But its real success sprouts from the comedy, especially when Cage shuns suburbia with the outburst on funnel cake, and also, when he finds a bottle of liquor in his desk, he remarks "I must of needed this every single day." Priceless. But the movie unfortunately stumbles quite a bit. It's also aimed slightly more at kids and adults than it should be. All jokes pertaining to Jack and his daughter were not very funny at all. Plus, during the end, during his big meeting with his past love, he actually thinks that he can have kids that he had in a dream. The exact same kids. Not likely. But getting beyond small problems and overall desperation to appeal to a wide audience, "The Family Man" really works, as it is a throwback to the great natures of the old filmmaking days. B

The Incredibles

Most Pixar films have been made better by a single performance. In "Ratatouille," it was Peter O'Toole as critic Anton Ego, and in "The Incredibles," it is Craig T. Nelson as Bob Parr, formerly Mr. Incredible. The genius of his performance is a man whose ambitions are too big for the small cubicle, car, or shirt (take your pick) he is stuffed into. But he is not your normal suburbanite. He's a man truly having nostalgia: he was a superhero, but he was relocated to suburbia. As was his wife Helen Parr (Holly Hunter) and his kids, Dashiell (Spencer Fox) and Violet (Sarah Vowell). It is a family of supers. So, when Mr. Incredible gets fired from his job after he launches his boss (Wallace Shaun) a locker, he gets the chance to go back to the good old days and gets to help debunk a learning robot. But he soon finds this is the scheme of his biggest fan, turned bitter after Mr. Incredible wouldn't let him be his sidekick. He is name is now Syndrome, and he used to be Buddy Pine. The actor playing him, Kevin Smith regular Jason Lee, seems to have a blast in his ridiculous villanous role. His scheme: to make himself look super by staging and then fixing disasters. Also, he wants to make everyone a superhero, so then, to quote him "no one would be [super]." This film's set-up feels great, but its execution suffers, as it is targeted at both adults and children, so the jokes are aimed at both, 75%-80% of them at the younger ones. What I am getting at is that Bob Parr's size and other features tend to be less exaggerated later on then earlier. The film has a good ending, but the film isn't the comedic powerhouse it could be. B+

I've Loved You So Long

Kristin Scott-Thomas has been having a great year in 2008. The first production I saw her in was Anton Chekov's "The Seagull," on Broadway. She played Arkadina, Konstantin's dramatic and troublemaking mother, in such a fine performance that I was blown away and was looking for more. I got more of the same greatness in "I've Loved You So Long," where Scott-Thomas sticks to her chops and pulls off a magnificent acting job as Juliette, fresh out of prison after 15 years, and into the home of her sister Lea (Elsa Zylberstein). She moves in for a while to adjust to real life again, life outside of jail. We soon find out her crime, and even later, how and why she did it, but it would spoil most of the film to tell about. To describe Juliette, I would say quiet, sad, and gruff. He sister: exactly the opposite. I also note that this is a cinematic year for black sheep in families: Anne Hathaway in "Rachel Getting Married" and Scott-Thomas in this primarily. Anyways, Juliette slowly but surely adjusts and slowly but surely bonds with Lea's adopted daughters from Vietnam, P'tit Lys (Lise Segur) and Emilia (Lily-Rose), primarily P'tit Lys, as she somehow has both a relationship as a mother and sister figure. We are like P'tit Lys: the plot unravels for us just as it does for her. We find out a little faster, though. There is not much else to describe here: the film is basically just about Juliette and Scott-Thomas' comeback as an actress. The film's also about the acceptance of a prisoner back into society, and it gets deeper than just what crime they committed, saying that one who commits a crime shouldn't just be pinned a terrible person just because of what they did. As for how good the film is, there is a big hole where the depth should be. There is not enough information on the characters: a character's death is quizzical, with no information as to why they passed away. The film itself is too climactic and is also not climactic enough: its final scene is way too heavy-handed, while its other scenes sometimes just don't have enough purpose here. The score consists of a few notes played over and over and over again. Maddening. Also, against Scott-Thomas, although Marion Cotilliard picked up Best Actress last year for "La Vie En Rose," the Academy doesn't usually reward foreign films. The reason Cotilliard got a statue was because she played a pop icon who sang, as opposed to the contemplative fictional role where Scott-Thomas acts. Plus, the performance might take back seat to such a great performance by Melissa Leo in "Frozen River," the best performance of the year so far. Scott-Thomas, though, is fabulous, transcending languages. B

I've Loved You So Long has an unsettling twist that is worthy of a PG-13 rating.

Reds

Warren Beatty's 1981 film "Reds" is arguably one of the best epics of all-time. It is one. It isn't the same kind as "Lawrence of Arabia." Instead, it is more of a performance-driven romantic drama, headlined by a spectacular performance by Warren Beatty as communist John Reed, a man who is so heavily devoted to his party that he seems rarely to have time for his wife, Louise Bryant, played quite as splendidly as he by Diane Keaton, who got a Best Actress nod as well as his Best Actor nod. Also making an appearance is Maureen Stapleton, in an Oscar-winning turn, as Emma Goldman. But the one who steals that show is Jack Nicholson, in his best performance since "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," as Eugene O'Neill, who he portrays as a heartbroken lover of Bryant, and the scene where he finds out she chose Reed over him is one of the movie's highlights. The other highlights include Beatty and Trevor Griffith's screenplay, filled with hilarious lines that Beatty and Nicholson recite to the max, and fantastic cinematography by Vittorio Storaro (winner of an Academy Award for his great job) that captures the barren snowscapes of Russia and the beauty of Provincetown. The great thing about this movie is that it is long, but not unbearably long, and it is watchable. I know a little bit about this because I've seen films that are a half an hour shorter that seem much, much longer in mental time. This film is just about perfect, making the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution interesting and also adding quirks such as the humorous song "I Don't Want to Play in Your Yard," that is a real charmer. As for other notables, a supporting performance by Paul Sorvino as Louis Fraina as the leader of the Communist Party in America (Reed headed the Communist Labor Party), and also an uncredited cameo by Gene Hackman. Bottom line: this film will go down in history as a great epic, with the likes of "Schindler's List," and "Lawrence of Arabia." A

GoldenEye

Pierce Brosnan is fantastic as James Bond in 17th James Bond film, which shows that the 90's were Bond's golden age. This film has it all: a great Bond, a very good plot, a unique villain, great action scenes, Moneypenny, Q, Judi Dench at her best as a female M, and the best villain sidekick in the series to date: computer geek Boris Grishenko (Alan Cumming). The plot is a thing of beauty: Bond and 006/Alec Trevelyan (Sean Bean of "The Field," "National Treasure," and the Lord of the Rings series) are on a mission when Alec is caught and, in order to finish the mission and make it out alive, Bond resets the 6 minute timers to 3 minutes and barely escapes, while Alec's face is mutilated and while he turns to the dark side. We rejoin Bond nine years later, sent on the scene to stop a crystal known as GoldenEye, which powers satellites to destroy cities. When he goes to find the villain, he finds the villain is Alec, now Janus, and he's supercharged and ready to take down Bond at all costs. And there are other dangerous sidekicks: Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen) and Arkady Ouromov (Gottfried John). Also, there are other interesting Bond allies, Jack Wade (Joe Don Baker) and Valentin Zukovsky (Robbie Coltrane), who each reprise their parts, JW in "Tomorrow Never Dies," and VZ in "The World is Not Enough." As for a Bond girl, there is Natalya (Izabella Scorupco). Desmond Llewelyn is brilliant in his antepenultimate film as Q in his small scene that is hilariously gimmicky, and Judi Dench's first film as M is also top-notch, showing that she can take on comical parts as well as more serious roles. Samantha Bond's Moneypenny is also good. But the film's-and the franchise's-strong suits are the action scenes, which here are very, very good, the best involving a tank piloted by the agent himself. These scenes are strong not only in their way of being action-packed, but also adding witty and inventive touches to them, possibly courtesy of Martin Campbell, who crafts a great film here. The gadgets are also strong in this film, the best being a pen that can turn into an explosive with three clicks. In other words, this is the definitive Bond film, which hasn't been matched so far yet. "GoldenEye" is my favorite Bond film, a fast-paced, well-done, well-written piece that showcases a new Bond. A-

Flick Pick Hall of Fame List

Just as a starter for a potentially bigger project. The following are people who have made the film business a great place, crafting, acting in, directing, and filming movies that are great:
Charlie Kaufman
Francis Ford Coppola
Paul Newman
Philip Seymour Hoffman
Christian Bale
Gus Van Sant
Mel Brooks
Jim Carrey
Peter Weir
Robert Redford
Ralph Fiennes
Daniel Day-Lewis
Sidney Lumet
Jonathan Demme
Michael Palin
Terry Gilliam
Nicolas Cage
Robert Duvall
James Stewart
Jeff Bridges
Marlon Brando
Wes Anderson
Gene Hackman
Dustin Hoffman
Bill Murray
Jack Lemmon
Walter Matthau
Robert De Niro
Al Pacino
Anthony Hopkins
Ben Kingsley
Tom Wilkinson
Sean Penn
Woody Allen
David Mamet
John Cleese
Peter Sellers
Samantha Morton
Tim Robbins
Morgan Freeman
Clint Eastwood
Jonathan Pryce
Clive Owen
Spike Lee
Casey Affleck
Don Cheadle
George Clooney
Brad Pitt
Jack Nicholson
Buster Keaton
Warren Beatty
William Holden
Kevin Spacey
Cate Blanchett
Harrison Ford
Steven Spielberg
Pete Postlewaite
Alex Gibney
Terrence Malick
Errol Morris
Alfred Hitchcock

More to come!

Road to Perdition

A disaster from the same family of "The Godfather" movies. Relation: third cousin, twice removed. This film actually has a little tiny bit of promise, especially with one of Paul Newman's sleeper performances (which garnered his ninth Academy Award nomination), but he's not the lead. He doesn't appear for more than 10 minutes. In those ten- minutes, he actually supplies all of the film's good moments, as 1930's crime boss John Rooney, who is a pretty shady character. Less shady, though, than his scheming loose cannon of a son Connor (Daniel Craig) and the mass murderer who is his hit man in power, Michael Sullivan, played quite flatly by two-time Academy Award winning actor Tom Hanks, in such a way that it really shows that when Hanks is off, he is really, really off. He's one of the film's low points, and the main supplier of the tasteless violence that comes packaged in with it. So there you have it: Rooney is like Vito Corleone, Sullivan is vaguely resembling Tom, and Connor is like Sonny. All three of the characters are of course much, much, much less interesting and captivating than their dopplegangers of the cinematic masterpiece. Newman, though, can at times be very good, but the film skips over him, as director Sam Mendes (who won an Oscar for "American Beauty" movies whose career since then not been quite as awarding) thinks that Hanks' story is a lot more interesting. That story is of the running man Sullivan, running because of the fact that his older son Michael Sullivan, Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin of "7th Heaven") witnessed one of the corrupt murders committed by his father and Connor and the rest of the hit men employed by Rooney, and the fact that Connor has gunned down his other son Peter (Liam Aiken) and his wife Annie (Jennifer Jason Leigh). So he and his living son go on the road to Chicago and rob banks and cross paths with creepy dead body photographer Harlen MacGuire (Jude Law), yet another man sent out to track down Sullivan. So this plays out with more violence and terrible dialogue and heart-to-hearts and other assorted style-over-substance baloney. I can compliment this film at least on the style, as the sets are done very well, and it looks very luscious. So, towards the end, Sullivan commits more tasteless murders and just when you think he's safe... The film is really not well done at all, shakily put together, badly scoped and a misfire in terms of a surefire plot. Newman, as I said earlier, is very strong, but not good enough to beat the likes of Christopher Walken ("Catch Me If You Can," a much better Hanks picture), Ed Harris ("The Hours"), and the winning actor Chris Cooper ("Adaptation," a far superior movie in many, many ways). Craig is also good, but maybe not worthy of that much praise. Hanks and Hoechlin, though, really can't carry the movie, and they are unfortunately put in position to, instead of Newman and Craig, much better candidates. But the film's biggest whole is a lack of purpose: why is this happening? What is happening? I don't really get the point of this. To sum the film up: style, style, style over substance, screenplay, and satisfactory filmmaking. C

Rachel Getting Married

How to describe Jonathan Demme's new work, what with all the quirks that you would expect, but actually a devastating backstory. Oh and Anne Hathaway in her finest performance. Hathaway plays the the titlular character's formerly drug-addled sister Kym in such a way that speaks mediums. I really doubt that Hathaway can do better than this. She plays Kym as an attention hog, a desperate, emotionally torn black sheep who does all she can, purposefully and accidentally, to ruin everything and make a unique wedding weekend a total mess. Demme knows how to play this up, and makes Jenny Lumet's fully-developed character something more. It is safe to say that Hathaway makes the movie. Beyond her, the movie is still very strong. Rosmarie Dewitt ("Mad Men") less drastically but still not-so-subtly plays the title character, who is indeed tying the knot, to TV on the Radio's Tunde Adebimpe as Sidney, and also is letting out all of her bottled up anger onto her recently rehab-released sister. Also, Bill Irwin (Mr. Noodle of "Sesame Street" and Tom Snout of "A Midsummer Night's Dream) provides a lot of the film's comic relief and also a lot of the film's tears as the overprotective father, weird and normal at the same time, stealing the scenes he's in to a certain extent (as he can't really top Hathaway). Also, Debra Winger steps in as Irwin's ex-wife, also quite (as others said) "emotionally taut", who is also very good in a good supporting performance. Adebimpe is also a comic relief, as he sings Neil Young's timeless "Unknown Legend" atop the altar. And I haven't even gotten to the numerous cameos by singers in fabulous musical performances, supplying music as there is no score and I'm glad there isn't. The film is very personal, especially with Declan Quinn's ("Pride and Glory," "Get Rich or Die Tryin'") crazy (as Owen Gleiberman and Ebert said) "handheld cinematography" that works wonders and is just great. As is Lumet's script and, again, Demme's top-notch directing. Also, it really would be unfair if Hathaway didn't get a Best Actress nod and I'm even going as far to say it might be unfair if she doesn't actually take the statue home on Oscar Night. Why? Because it is a job very well done. You can feel the air being sucked out of the room every time she enters and everything shifts from casual to crisis when she is involved. One last note: the film's trailer is no indication of how the movie is. It is to attract the same audience as the next Hathaway project "Bride Wars," because that audience would not want to see a film that heavy. Speaking of "Bride Wars," I hope that doesn't derail Hathaway's chances of Oscar Gold like "Norbit" did for the 2006 frontrunner Eddie Murphy, who had it all but sealed up but then Alan Arkin pulled away with the Best Supporting Actor award. Bottom line: One of the best films of the year and proof that 2008 could very well be like 2007. A

Rachel Getting Married has a disturbing depiction, and some sexuality.

Recount

"Recount" is a made-for-HBO docudrama that offers you the chance to be a fly on the wall during the 2000 Election Recount that lasted for a whole month and drove Bush into the spot that he has been in for eight years now. The film is partisan, and when I say that, I mean leaning left. But still, it gives you chance to see behind closed doors, and beyond what CNN and MSNBC offered you. "Recount" mostly surrounds Ron Klain (played well by Kevin Spacey), Al Gore's former campaign chairman and his Democratic staff as they fight against the result that Bush has been awarded Florida. It's good to see that Spacey's next project after "21" was actually very good. In this film, Spacey turns in his best performance since (should I say) "American Beauty" or "The Usual Suspects." This is Emmy material. I was thinking the pacing was off when the election (i.e. Gore's projection, then retracted projection, then Bush's projection) flashed by under 20 minutes in. But I definitely was missing the point. There is a movie behind the recount. Also, I felt the dialogue was a little forced, but I was too caught up to notice that most of the time. Anyways, we all know the result of the recount and we know what the result has been. The genius employed here is that you are actually enrapt and you actually believe it can actually happen, that Gore can pull ahead, that he can prevail victorious and continue the vision of Bill Clinton. The film is actually dramatic, and really is nail-biting action right down to the last hanging chad. But it really wouldn't be the same without the great supporting performances: Denis Leary as Michael Whouley, Ed Begley, Jr. as David Boies, Bruce McGill as Mac Stipanovich, Laura Dern uncannily as the overtly inexperienced Katherine Harris, and one of my favorite actors, Tom Wilkinson, as James Baker. All of the performances enhance the film by previously pretty bad director Jay Roach ("Meet the Parents," the Austin Powers series), who turns in a polished job at the helm, and editor Alan Baumgarten (who edited some low-quality stuff, but did perform the good editing in "Fever Pitch"), who wisely edited in some archival footage along with the footage shot by Jim Denault ("Maria Full of Grace," "Boys Don't Cry"), and also scorer Dave Grusin ("Ishtar," "Hope Floats" LOL) who does great work on the music. Bottom line: this film is set apart from 2006's "Bobby," and other political dramas because it is well acted, edited, and directed and connects with that side of you (for Democrats, at least) that was maddened by those highly Republican decisions made in 2000. A-