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(04/19/07 4:00am)
The late 1960s rank among the most tumultuous periods in American history, right up there beside the Revolutionary period, the Civil War era, WWII and our current state. It's in these times that people look for a leader, and Robert Kennedy seemed, to many, like the man for the job in the summer of 1968. It wasn't to be, however, as he was gunned down in an L.A. hotel before he could receive the Democratic presidential nomination. Thirty-eight years later, director Emilio Estevez and a monster cast bring us "Bobby," a peek into the lives of a group of guests and employees at the Ambassador Hotel on the night of Kennedy's assassination. \nFor a movie that seems to pride itself on the sense of renewed hope and spiritual reinvigoration it can offer its time, "Bobby" feels awfully ham-handed. The interlocking stories of everyone from the owner/operator of the Ambassador to the cooks in the kitchen don't speak to much other than the fact that they were there when Kennedy was shot. When the assassination finally comes, the panic feels forced, as if the actors were content to stick with their characters' own stories and were unprepared to face the reality of re-creating history. \nEstevez makes an attempt to corral his cast and their individual stories, but the end result is more muddied than the political landscape of the time. The talents of Anthony Hopkins, William H. Macy, Martin Sheen and Laurence Fishburne are on full display, but Estevez's decision to toss actors like Demi Moore, Nick Cannon, Shia LeBeouf and Ashton Kutcher into the mix only works to confuse things. Christian Slater plays a manager who tosses around "Crash"-style heavy-handed racial commentary, and Elijah Wood and Lindsay Lohan are a pseudo-couple engaged in a poorly written draft-dodging scheme. "Bobby" hedges all its bets on its cast, and while most of the more seasoned actors shine, even they tend to get lost in the shuffle. \nMinimal supplements on this single-disc edition are limited to two mini-docs, one being an overview of the making of the film and one being a series of first-hand accounts from people who witnessed Robert Kennedy's assassination in the kitchen of the Ambassador Hotel. The eyewitness accounts are mostly interesting, but the making-of featurette, presumptuously titled "Bobby: The Making of an American Epic," is only a cursory overview of production in which most of the cast and crew grossly overestimate the impact and importance of the film itself. \nUnder the direction of, say, the late Robert Altman, "Bobby" might've amounted to something. As it stands, it doesn't amount to much. While "Bobby" barely succeeds at shuffling all these actors into a coherent ensemble drama, it fails miserably at doing what Estevez claims it was meant to do, which is honor the spirit and courage of a man whose life was cut short as he tried to right the course of our nation.
(04/12/07 4:00am)
There's a single scene in Quentin Tarantino's "Death Proof" that's worth the entire price of admission to the 200-minute experience that is "Grindhouse." Hanging out on the back porch of Guero's, an Austin, Texas, dive where Joe Tex and Pacific Gas & Electric are jukebox regulars, Kurt Russell's Stuntman Mike sizes up his nubile, young female victims by sweet-talking one of them into a lap dance. The dialogue is pure Tarantino, and the mood is so tense that you could hear a car start in the theater parking lot. Later, when Mike dismembers and shaves the faces off the ladies with his death-proof stunt car, it's shocking not because of the gore but because the first half-hour of "Death Proof" actually made us care about Mike's doomed victims. \nHerein lies the success of "Death Proof." Tarantino's homage to car chase and slasher films is not populated with cardboard cutouts of women but women so real you can almost smell their perfume after an extended diner scene reminiscent of the opening shot in "Reservoir Dogs." You might be hearing stories of people walking out of "Death Proof's" early scenes after 100 minutes of Rodriguez's zombies, tits, testicles and explosions, and all I can say is that those folks clearly missed both the point and the boat. "Death Proof" hits the brakes after the explodo-fest that is "Planet Terror," only to punch the gas time and time again as its heroines are stalked by and eventually stalk Stuntman Mike. Consider Kurt Russell made relevant again, as were John Travolta in "Pulp Fiction" and Pam Grier in "Jackie Brown," with a performance that starts off coyly demonic and devolves into one of the most alarming breakdowns I've ever seen on-screen. The ladies turn in fine efforts, too. Sydney Tamiia Poitier is compulsively watchable as Jungle Julia, and Vanessa Ferlito is tortured eye candy as Arlene, a.k.a. Butterfly. Tracie Thoms and Zoe Bell, as a couple of stuntwomen on break from their film set, are the picture of female empowerment as they turn the tables on Mike after an un-CGI'ed, how-the-hell-did-they-do-that car chase sequence. \nThe two fake trailers immediately preceding "Death Proof" are Edgar Wright's hilarious "Don't" and Eli Roth's gloriously gory "Thanksgiving." Wright, the director of "Shaun of the Dead" and the upcoming "Hot Fuzz," imagines an even campier "House on Haunted Hill" where the constant repetition of the title admonition is useless in stopping the doomed characters from meeting their fate. Roth, hot off "Hostel," packs "Thanksgiving" with so much blood, nudity, fellatio and rape that one can't help but wish he'd make it into an actual "Grindhouse" feature. \n"Death Proof" might be minor Tarantino, but it's certainly better than anything else clogging the multiplex during this year's stagnant post-awards season period. As opposed to Rodriguez's "Planet Terror," which is content to simply honor grindhouse cinema by being another superbly entertaining addition to the canon, Tarantino aims a few feet higher, adding his own brand of snappy dialogue and ability to coax memorable performances out of has-beens and relative unknowns. The result is the best car chase movie since the '70s and another gold star on Quentin's career report card.
(04/05/07 4:00am)
It's 20 years from today in Alfonso Cuarón's "Children of Men," based on P.D. James' '90s sci-fi novel, and no woman has been able to get pregnant since 2009 nor do they know why. Upon the breaking news that the last baby born has died, the world goes to shit faster than you can say "pigs on the wing." Soon after, we meet Theo, played with a poignant hopelessness by Clive Owen. The scenario requires some disbelief suspension, but doesn't all science-fiction? \nTheo, after some terrific exposition of the world's current condition, is recruited from his melancholy London existence to escort a very special girl named Kee to the coast. She's the first woman to get pregnant in 18 years, and we'd better hope the government doesn't find out. The film pits the British government, which rounds up and cages refugees trying to flee to the island nation, against a "terrorist" organization called the Fishes, which fights for refugee rights. Theo is our anti-hero, trying to avoid both the government and the Fishes just to get Kee to the Human Project off the coast, a sort of Dharma Initiative of fertility testing. All the performances, including the reliable Michael Caine and a brief stint by Julianne Moore, carry crosses of hopelessness and quiet rage, yet the actors are overshadowed by the backdrop of something much bigger than themselves, which is the bleak future in which they're grounded. \nSeveral scenes and set-pieces in the film are literally jaw-dropping, including an extended action take inside a vehicle and an even longer uncut shot depicting the beginning of the Uprising, in which the British government march in to sweep and clear a refugee camp, calling to mind the ghetto liquidation sequence in "Schindler's List." The most impressive work on display here, aside from that of the production designers, is of cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, who was robbed of an Oscar in February. His efforts, combined with the grimy, leftover futurism of Cuarón's imagined UK, are a thrilling example of visceral visual cinema. \nThis one-disc edition may not be loaded with supplements, but what's there has some weight. A few inconsequential deleted scenes breeze by, followed by a cursory look at one of the film's only CGI'ed sequences, but a peek into how the astonishing in-car sequence was pulled off as well as an overview of the film's futuristic production design are worth more than a look. It's the disc's two documentary-style featurettes, however, that work to elevate the art of DVD special features. Comments on the film by postmodern philosopher and cultural critic Slavoj Zizek ring as true as a lecture by your favorite sociology professor on his best day, and "The Possibility of Hope" collects the musings of several notable modern thinkers on the various aspects of our possible global existence and works to understand how we can avoid a dire future of our own making. \n"Children of Men," harrowing chase movie though it may be, is, at its core, a political work. One of its most redeeming aspects, though, is that it doesn't take sides. Contrarily, and even though we follow the journey of Theo and Kee from its inception to its presumed conclusion, it represents a frightening vision of the future from a voyeuristic perspective. More so than in any film I can call to memory, Cuarón's imagined future feels more real than imaginary. Steeped in death, despair and chaos, "Children of Men" still champions the difference one human being can make in the midst of it all.
(04/05/07 4:00am)
Back in 2005, Sony unleashed "God of War" on the masses. The blood-soaked tale of Kratos, a Spartan warrior raging against the god Ares, was voted by many as one of the best Playstation 2 games ever, and its newly released sequel surpasses it on almost every level. Kratos now seeks to change his fate by confronting Zeus himself, and with the help of the Titans (a race once greater than the gods themselves), he's got a shot.\nThe game commences with one of the most epic boss battles I've ever tackled, but before long Kratos' effort to change his fate finds him on the Isle of Creation, a massive rock crawling with a population of ravenous baddies to kill and intricate puzzles to solve. The controls are more fluid than in the first game, and Kratos' signature weapons, the Blades of Chaos, are as formidable and combo-friendly as ever. The massive locations and difficult challenges Kratos encounters on the Isle of Creation are often nothing short of jaw-dropping, and best not spoiled here; suffice it to say the sense of accomplishment you'll feel after beating the game will rival any PS2 game since "Shadow of the Colossus."\nSony's decision to release "God of War 2" exclusively on the Playstation 2 was a smart one, given the Playstation 3's slow start out of the next-gen console gate. The graphics are stunning, but depending on whether your television supports Progressive Scan, there can be some minor issues with frame rate when Kratos is covering a lot of ground quickly. My tube TV fell victim to this, but anyone with a newer TV shouldn't have a problem. As with the first "God of War," the game's orchestral and choir score complements the grandiose scope of the game and kicks in at all the right moments.\n"God of War 2" comes complete with a ton of extras and rewards, such as different costumes for Kratos, the impossibly difficult Challenge of the Titans mode and, for those who manage to beat the game on the highest difficulty setting, a customizable battle mode that provides hours of extended fun. Also included is a bonus DVD chronicling the games production, development and testing. The DVD also features a slew of lost level demos and unused game element concepts that fans will find themselves wishing were made part of the finished product.\n"God of War 2" is simply one of the best third-person actioners in the Playstation 2's catalog, surpassing its predecessor in terms of visuals, music, controls and challenge. The game's earth-shaking final scene promises that the upcoming "God of War 3" will be even more epic than this installment, which at first seems like an insurmountable task, but if the developers could top the first game this thoroughly, I wouldn't put it past them to top the second.
(03/22/07 4:00am)
Depending on your sense of humor and personal sensibilities, Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat character will either be an annoying, 80-minute one-note joke or a brilliantly incisive guide into the dank cavern of America's antiquated stereotypes of Europe and vice-versa. After several viewings, I'm leaning toward the latter, but that doesn't spare "Borat" from the nearly unavoidable hit-and-miss territory of today's comedic cinema. And when "Borat" hits, it hits hard.\n"Borat" follows Kazakhstani television celebrity Borat Sagdiyev and his producer Azamat Bagatov's docu-journey throughout America in order to garner information to benefit their homeland. Much controversy surrounded the film's perceived harsh treatment of Eastern Europeans and Jews, but one viewing makes it obvious (to those with 1/3 of a brain) that the real target in Borat's sights is Americans themselves. Several instances of Americans behaving badly (a racist/bigot rodeo organizer, babbling evangelicals, misogynistic frat boys on a road trip) are jaw-dropping, and Cohen makes them all the more hilarious by playing along as the wide-eyed foreigner. Most of the film's scripted bits are amusing, but Cohen is at his best without a net.\nMissteps in Cohen and director Larry Charles' film are few, yet glaringly obvious. One of the film's most memorable scenes, featuring a naked wrestling match pitting Borat against the morbidly obese Azamat, is funny for the first 90 seconds, but the last four minutes wears on the eyes. Borat's driving force to find and marry the "virginal" Pamela Anderson is a fine plot device, but if you're in on the fact that Sacha and Pam were pals before production began, Borat's final coup in a California bookstore loses much of its comedic weight.\nThis disc's extras fly by as fast as the film itself, but what's here is worth a look. Several hilarious deleted scenes, running a total length of 10 or 12 minutes, make you wish they were part of the movie (which is only 80 minutes long to begin with), and an anthology of "Borat" pre-release press material highlights Baron Cohen's gifts as an ad-lib showman. Additionally, a slo-mo trailer for Kazakhstan's own version of "Baywatch" and a news report detailing the angry aftermath that one of Cohen's better stunts wrought on a small red-state town are side-splitting.\nTaking political correctness, throwing it in a blender and then tossing it into the gutter is Cohen's specialty, and "Borat" finds him working at the apex of both the faux-documentary and ambush humor genres. Whether the film will lend itself to repeated viewings, as so very few comedies do, is still up for debate, but in the moment and this day and age, "Borat" is as good as we're gonna get.
(03/22/07 4:00am)
Yes, Daniel Craig is the best James Bond ever, and yes, "Casino Royale" is probably the best Bond film ever. I figured I'd get that out of the way instead of tip-toeing around it like many critics have. There is a certain mystique surrounding 007 films that, for many, renders them difficult to criticize, but eventually one has to face the fact that most of them are pretty awful. What makes Craig and "Casino Royale" tops in their field after only one outing is how they do away with all the pitfalls that marred the outings of Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan, all the while amping up the best aspects of Sean Connery and Roger Moore's outings, minus the outlandishly fake action set pieces. \nIn short, Craig is the thinking man's James Bond. It makes sense, then, that Eva Green (as Vesper Lynd) is the thinking man's Bond girl, or is that Bond woman? Gone are the days of Bond's clueless, goggle-eyed lead female companion. Green commands attention like no Bond girl since Britt Ekland, not to mention she can actually match wits with the super-spy. Even as "Casino Royale's " tangled plot of terrorist funding slowly unfolds over a lengthy high-stakes game of hold 'em, Craig and Green are compulsively watchable as the most genuine Bond/Bond girl pairing in franchise history. \nAs I alluded to, the plot is rather muddy upon first viewing, but all we need to know is that Bond is out to get Le Chiffre, played by a mostly stoic Mads Mikkelsen. Le Chiffre is a major funding hub of the international terrorist network. Bleeding from his tear ducts, Mikkelsen's Le Chiffre doesn't blossom into a true Bond villain until a late scene in which he violently tests Bond's manhood, yet he assures his status as a proper antagonist by never carelessly revealing his nefarious plans to Bond in detail as so many previous Bond villains have. \nExtras on this two-disc set are few, and what's there seems to only scratch the surface. A couple of mini-docs on Craig's "transformation" into Bond make it obvious that the best Bond actors are really playing themselves. A doc on Bond girls called "Bond Girls are Forever" is mildly interesting, as it features new interviews with many of the actresses in earlier 007 films, but it never makes a convincing argument for why Bond girls are vital. \n"Casino Royale" contains none of the cheesy adornments of previous 007 outings, and along with Craig's assured, intelligent, gadget-free take on Bond, it's a thrilling reincarnation of the series. There's no Q here, no Moneypenny and, thankfully, no vapid examples of submissive womanhood (though Caterina Murino tries her best and turns up dead). What we have is a hokey, dying franchise reborn as a taut, streamlined espionage series truer to Ian Fleming's novel than Hollywood's expectations. It's fun to watch.
(03/22/07 4:00am)
Does anyone actually pay attention to the Nielsen TV ratings anymore? I didn't think so until the Thursday after Valentine's Day, when the headline on every entertainment-related Web site I frequent said something to the effect of "'Lost' suffers its lowest ratings ever as ABC marketing department devises new plan." It seems that the Desmond-centric episode "Flashes Before Your Eyes" pulled in, according to Nielsen, only 12.8 million viewers on a night when many of "Lost"'s diehard fans were probably forced into watching "The Notebook" with their girlfriend for the ninth time.\nI say only 12.8 million because not only would most shows still kill for those numbers, but because I bet those same "Lost" fans were TiVo'ing, recording or planning to download Desmond Hume's adventures in time travel while sitting through those maudlin makeout scenes. Nielsen ratings are simply not a valid way of judging the actual viewership of television programs nowadays. With iTunes, TiVo, DVR and online streaming being the order of the day, it can't be long before the folks at Nielsen Media Research realize that shows need not live and die by the box, can it?\nSpeaking of Mr. Nielsen, who are these people who actually have one of those ratings boxes? I certainly don't know anyone who does, but seeing as how the top-rated shows on television are continually "American Idol," "Grey's Anatomy," "CSI," and "Deal or No Deal," it must be the elderly, housewives and teenage girls. "Lost" continually tops the coveted male 18-49 demographic of viewership, so apparently someone in that category has a Nielsen box, but something tells me it's the minority.\nWhile "Lost" is still one of the 20 highest-rated shows on television, it has certainly seen a massive drop in Nielsen viewership since Season 1. While most critics would have you believe this is because of unanswered questions and ever-murkier mythology, my theory is that people are just watching it on their own time as opposed to ABC's. Continually the most downloaded show on iTunes from week to week, "Lost" does not lend itself to the casual viewer, something that cannot be said about any of the other top-rated shows on television, save "Heroes," "Grey's" and "24."\nWeb sites like spoilerslost.blogspot.com and the amazingly comprehensive lostpedia.com are evidence that "Lost" fans are defying network convention and spending most of their time obsessing over the show in ways other than being glued to the couch from 10 to 11 p.m. each Wednesday. Is there anyone checking the set-dressing on "Desperate Housewives" or researching obscure cultural references on "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?" each week for clues to their favorite show's deeper meaning? Somehow I doubt it.\nThe primary reason that "Lost" is confounding ABC's network heads is the unconventional way it uses the Internet in tandem with its airtime to further its own mythology. If the Web were around in the days of "Twin Peaks" and the early years of "The X-files," we would've seen the same phenomenon, but alas, "Lost" is the first of its kind. Meanwhile, over at ABC, the marketing department's brilliant new plan is to promise, during the preview for the following week's episode, that tons of mysteries will be explained, when in actuality said mysteries will only be unraveled at the writers' and producers' own pace. This does nothing but leave a bad taste in the mouths of the dwindling number of casual fans "Lost" has left and needs to be stopped.\nOne need only take a quick glance at the nearest "Lost"-related message board to see what a unfailingly divisive, dearly beloved and fiercely hated program it has become. Some examples of actual posts from aintitcool.com on the Claire-centric episode, "Par Avion:"\n--"Death by electro-magnetic fence thingy. If you didn't enjoy this episode then Lost clearly isn't for you. Enjoy Criminal Minds!" - DynamixRo\n--"They spent the entire episode going over the fence. wtf? Locke continues to act like a complete idiot. He seems like a confused old man, no longer the tough badass boar hunter. Blah blah blah. Lost continues to disappoint week after week." - knowthyself\n--"The fertility drugs people take to get pregnant never result in multiple pregnancies, let alone twins, triplets or more. Clones, what a stupid idea. Twins aren't clones." - Steve_Dooku\nClones?! Anyway, "Lost" fans will be "Lost" fans, and network executives will be network executives. I only hope we can all get along for the next 2 1/2 seasons as the mysteries behind the Dharma Initiative, the Hanso Foundation and humankind's ability to shift its own destiny are answered in due time. I don't think that will be a problem so long as those executives get it through their ever-whitening heads that Nielsen ratings don't mean jack when it comes to a show like "Lost," a show whose stable of hardcore fans experience, discuss and dissect it for far longer than one pre-designated hour per week.
(03/07/07 5:00am)
I can vaguely remember sitting in seventh-grade social studies watching Richard Attenborough's "Gandhi" in 40-minute installments over five days. I slept through half of it, passed notes during most of the rest and, in hindsight, had no idea what I was missing. For those who complain about movies just because they're long, your time and tastes might be better suited seeing "Wild Hogs" this weekend, but for anyone who wants to see the story of a great man's life done justice, however long it takes, "Gandhi's" got your number. \n"Gandhi" invites many favorable comparisons to David Lean's "Lawrence of Arabia" in terms of its epic length, sweeping cinematography, intensive development of the title character and a literal cast of thousands. Gandhi and Lawrence were men both cherished and reviled by many, though both men strove singularly and almost unarguably for good. Gandhi's funeral, which Attenborough immaculately recreates, is a key scene because it displays in sheer numbers how loved the man was. There are countless other scenes with impact that reaches beyond the film to argue that Gandhi's adherence to passive, nonviolent resistance was possibly the most pivotal movement in recorded global civil rights history. \nThis is Ben Kingsley's finest acting role, surpassing Itzhak Stern in "Schindler's List" simply because of the length of time he's on screen. He disappears into his character by exuding the same stoic grace and soft-spokenness that was Gandhi's trademark, winning the Best Actor Oscar despite a total lack of the gratingly emotional outbursts that Oscar always falls for. The film's supporting cast is given mostly thankless and underdeveloped roles, and the film's unerring focus directly on the actions and motivations of its title character help keep the waters of history and politics un-muddied. After all, a biopic should be the story of one life, not many. \nThe supplements on this two-disc 25th anniversary edition are more comprehensive than on the 2001 edition, including a brief introduction and a vital full-length commentary track from Attenborough, as well as a smattering of curious newsreel footage and nine mostly passable featurettes focusing on Gandhi, Kingsley and the director. A recent interview with Kingsley functions to enlighten us as to his method in portraying Gandhi, making his performance all the more impressive when we realize the depth of Kingsley's knowledge of and respect for the man he was lauded for playing. \nGandhi was assassinated in 1948, and like most great men cut down by the politically motivated hands of others, his presence and life loom larger now than they did when he was alive. The story of Mohandas Gandhi is really the story of India itself, and amazingly, Attenborough manages to well-serve both man and country in this film. Never since has one man of such slight stature and mild manner stood up to an empire and prevailed.
(03/01/07 5:00am)
Last year was phenomenal for Mexican directors, what with Guillermo del Toro's "Pan's Labyrinth," Alfonso Cuarón's "Children of Men" and Alejandro González Iñárritu's "Babel" all ranking among 2006's top films. Iñárritu's third excellent feature in a row, after the ruthless "Amores Perros" and even more unforgiving "21 Grams," cements his status as one of the most talented directors in the business today, wielding a distinctive style of coarse realism and chronology-shifting, life-connecting narrative. \n"Babel" is a story about communication and more specifically, a fundamental lack thereof between different cultures and peoples on our planet. I kept waiting for Strother Martin to pop up and deliver his famous line from "Cool Hand Luke." Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett are American tourists enduring a life-and-death situation in rural Morocco, Rinko Kikuchi is a deaf-mute Tokyo teen seeking affection in all the wrong ways with all the wrong people, and Adriana Barraza and Gael García Bernal are Mexicans eventually trapped in a desperate catch-22 with border police. \nThe true stars of "Babel," aside from cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto and Iñárritu, are Kikuchi and Barraza. These women, both nominated for this year's Best Supporting Actress Oscar (which they unfortunately lost to Jennifer Hudson), give performances that will break your heart. Kikuchi gives the most emotive performance I've ever seen from a person with no audible lines, and Barraza's plight elicits chills in the film's climactic scenes. "Babel's" ultimate message seems to be that humans need to learn to communicate with one another more effectively or else, and Kikuchi and Barraza's characters are embodiments of the sadness, confusion and tragedy the lack of communication -- whether biological or mandated by law -- can render. \nThat glaring F you see for a supplements grade is there because there are no supplements on this one-disc edition, prompting the immediate questions of why and whether a more definitive edition is on the horizon. Let's assume that Iñárritu and Paramount wanted to let the film speak for itself and ignore the possibility that there was a strategic play to get the disc on shelves before Oscar night. "Babel" is the kind of expansive, emotionally exhausting work that wouldn't have needed any such help in the Best Picture race. \nIn an advertisement for British Telecom, theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking once said that "mankind's greatest achievements have come about by talking and its greatest failures by not talking." Assisted by Prieto's remarkable cinematography, Iñárritu's assured direction and another fine, slow-building score by Gustavo Santaolalla, the entire cast of "Babel" bring an immediacy to their predicaments that makes this a pertinent story not just about the state of their characters, but about our world and its stubbornly incommunicative condition.
(02/22/07 5:00am)
Based on the 2002 Hong Kong cops n' robbers caper, "Infernal Affairs," Martin Scorsese's taut, unnerving "The Departed" is not only his best work since "Goodfellas" (count me among the hundreds to toss off that little nugget), it's the best American film in years. On the surface, there's the story of two men living their lives undercover -- one in the Boston mob and another in the city's police department. Dig even half an inch deeper, though, and it's a parable of modern manhood rooted firmly in the haywire society in which we live. Transcending the source material with an assurance and level of craftsmanship rarely gifted to audiences, Scorsese, screenwriter William Monahan and an impressive stable of actors create a film that, despite an overly symbolic parting shot, is as near to perfection as modern cinema gets.\nThe director works with a dream cast here, and while that can be a detriment to some movies, "The Departed" draws every ounce of talent from Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen and Alec Baldwin, displaying it all in dizzyingly enjoyable fashion. DiCaprio and Damon both give career-best performances as moles planted in the Irish mob and police department, respectively, and Nicholson is joyously over-the-top as Frank Costello, summoning a loopy, depraved madness that commands attention like none of his characters since The Joker.\nThe striking Vera Farmiga also impresses as DiCaprio's psychologist and Damon's girlfriend, transforming the warmth of her early scenes into the iciness of a Hitchcock blonde in the film's final act. Martin Sheen and Alec Baldwin are effective in tense and pivotal small roles, but it is Mark Wahlberg, in his first piece of remarkable acting since "Boogie Nights," that makes the most of his supporting role. All of these actors benefit exponentially from Monahan's searing screenplay, but a lesser cast could only have been damaging.\nA single-disc version of the film is available, but most anyone who saw "The Departed" in theaters is likely (and wise) to pick up the two-disc edition. There's no Scorsese commentary, but we get the excellent 90-minute Turner Classic Movies special, "Scorsese on Scorsese," which follows his career path linearly from 1967's "Who's That Knocking At My Door" to 2004's "The Aviator." Also included are nine fully produced deleted scenes with extended director introductions and two engaging documentaries -- one concerning the real mob man on whom Nicholson's character is based and another on how the culture of criminality that Scorsese was raised around has influenced his films.\nScorsese employs every facet of his art to its most extreme aesthetic affect in "The Departed," from the flawlessly cued soundtrack and insistent pacing to the purposefully jarring editing and intrinsic brutality that penetrates lives of his characters. We haven't seen a true master working at this level since Spielberg and "Saving Private Ryan," and it's a polished product not to be missed by anyone who considers themself even a casual fan of the cinematic arts. Yes, the violence is often extreme, and yes, most of the characters are inherently sociopathic, but Scorsese is an artist who paints with fresh blood and battered psyches. "The Departed" is his minor masterpiece.
(02/15/07 5:00am)
There's a kind of blissful arrogance that comes along with titling the first track on your album "Thriller" with zero hint of irony. Fall Out Boy, composed of earnest singer/guitarist Patrick Stump, impish bassist/lyricist Pete Wentz and the other two guys who get less attention, namely lead guitarist Joe Trohman and drummer Andy Hurley, embrace the idea that arrogance is bliss on their fourth LP, which is probably the best album of a young 2007 so far. \nDishing out enough power chord riffs and syrupy sweet sing-along choruses in the first five tracks to make any record exec's head spin with joy, Wentz, Stump and the band have cemented their place as some of modern pop music's best harmonic craftsmen, managing to render the question of whether they sold out and went Hollywood somewhere along the line a nonfactor. A couple of listens to "The Take Over, The Break's Over" and the Babyface-produced "I'm Like a Lawyer With the Way I'm Always Trying to Get You Off (Me & You)" and you'll care less whether Wentz actually banged Lindsay Lohan. \nSpeaking of silly song titles, Sufjan Stevens soldiers on as Fall Out Boy's only real competition nowadays. Titles like "The (After) Life of the Party," "The Carpal Tunnel of Love" and "Bang the Doldrums" are unnecessary enough to get millions of eyes rolling, but at least the songs are solid. A song that's not so solid, however, is the proverbial radio hit "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race," which is basically an R&B drum-machine beat and a constant repetition of the song title, punctuated by some woo-hoos in the middle of a quickie chorus. \nIt's surprising that Fall Out Boy didn't come right out and plant our asses firmly on the floor by making "Hum Hallelujah" the first single. With its rousing chorus, monster riffs and shout out to Leonard Cohen, it's the best track on a record with some damn good ones. The album itself drags slightly somewhere in the second half, and 50 minutes seems about 12 minutes and three tracks too long for an album of nothing but well-orchestrated pop. \nSay what you will about Fall Out Boy, but these guys from Chicago know what they do well and pretty much stick to it, with the exception of the vocal and piano lament "Golden." The closer, "I've Got All This Ringing in My Ears and None on My Fingers," with Stump singing wistfully of "New York eyes" and "Chicago thighs" is a fitting temporary send-off from a band that, at least according to Jay-Z's spoken-word intro, has finally made it. We'll see if making it suits them.
(02/15/07 5:00am)
If you've ever been to or even seen footage of a Flaming Lips show, then you know the meaning of a bad trip. From album to album, all the way back to 1986's Hear It Is to last year's At War With The Mystics, ringleader Wayne Coyne and his band have striven for a unique blend of surreal lyrical imagery and imminently listenable, albeit often cautious, sonic experimentation. The highlight of their 20-plus year career together is 1999's The Soft Bulletin, a record about everything from scientists to spider bites that could well be the trippiest record ever made by a bunch of guys who claim sobriety. \nAt least now they do, anyway. The Soft Bulletin limps out of the gate with "Race for the Prize," a quickie pop-ditty about two scientists trying to save the world from some horrible, unnamed disease. Right around the time the floor-shaking bass of "A Spoonful Weighs a Ton" kicks in, though, it's obvious the path ahead is anything but linear. \nThe "Madman Across the Water" vibe that shimmers off most of "The Spark that Bled" showcases what the Lips do best, which is blend pop-rock sensibilities with psychedelic accents, leaving out the most egregious tendencies of each genre and highlighting what's best about both. Of course, I can't vouch for their live shows, which tend to verge on a kind of gratuitously creepy cuteness best reserved for Sanrio characters and "Katamari Damacy." \nCoyne's vocals are the most slowly acquired taste here, shifting from broken and cloying on "The Spiderbite Song" to warm and mostly in tune on the excellent "What Is the Light?" Much like George Harrison's songwriting, Coyne's vocal chords have found their proper place over the years, starting off shaky but emerging confident and fully formed in the depth of his middle age. \n"Waitin' for a Superman" was the radio hit here, but don't ask me how or why. "Feeling Yourself Disintegrate," with its 'parap-pap-pap' vocal intro and echo-drenched, lighter-waving chorus is the most accessible thing here, but the Lips could care less about accessibility, and that lack of concession to sell records is a big part of what makes The Soft Bulletin a great record. \nThe dreamy piano and synth instrumental "Sleeping on the Roof" would've been the perfect closing for Bulletin, but instead we're treated to rehashings of "Race for the Prize" and "Superman," both tracks whose incarnations earlier on the record were arguably more successful. Sometimes, though, the Lips are all about excess, and with the wealth of material on The Soft Bulletin, a little excess around the edges is OK.
(02/14/07 11:50pm)
If you've ever been to or even seen footage of a Flaming Lips show, then you know the meaning of a bad trip. From album to album, all the way back to 1986's Hear It Is to last year's At War With The Mystics, ringleader Wayne Coyne and his band have striven for a unique blend of surreal lyrical imagery and imminently listenable, albeit often cautious, sonic experimentation. The highlight of their 20-plus year career together is 1999's The Soft Bulletin, a record about everything from scientists to spider bites that could well be the trippiest record ever made by a bunch of guys who claim sobriety. \nAt least now they do, anyway. The Soft Bulletin limps out of the gate with "Race for the Prize," a quickie pop-ditty about two scientists trying to save the world from some horrible, unnamed disease. Right around the time the floor-shaking bass of "A Spoonful Weighs a Ton" kicks in, though, it's obvious the path ahead is anything but linear. \nThe "Madman Across the Water" vibe that shimmers off most of "The Spark that Bled" showcases what the Lips do best, which is blend pop-rock sensibilities with psychedelic accents, leaving out the most egregious tendencies of each genre and highlighting what's best about both. Of course, I can't vouch for their live shows, which tend to verge on a kind of gratuitously creepy cuteness best reserved for Sanrio characters and "Katamari Damacy." \nCoyne's vocals are the most slowly acquired taste here, shifting from broken and cloying on "The Spiderbite Song" to warm and mostly in tune on the excellent "What Is the Light?" Much like George Harrison's songwriting, Coyne's vocal chords have found their proper place over the years, starting off shaky but emerging confident and fully formed in the depth of his middle age. \n"Waitin' for a Superman" was the radio hit here, but don't ask me how or why. "Feeling Yourself Disintegrate," with its 'parap-pap-pap' vocal intro and echo-drenched, lighter-waving chorus is the most accessible thing here, but the Lips could care less about accessibility, and that lack of concession to sell records is a big part of what makes The Soft Bulletin a great record. \nThe dreamy piano and synth instrumental "Sleeping on the Roof" would've been the perfect closing for Bulletin, but instead we're treated to rehashings of "Race for the Prize" and "Superman," both tracks whose incarnations earlier on the record were arguably more successful. Sometimes, though, the Lips are all about excess, and with the wealth of material on The Soft Bulletin, a little excess around the edges is OK.
(02/14/07 11:21pm)
There's a kind of blissful arrogance that comes along with titling the first track on your album "Thriller" with zero hint of irony. Fall Out Boy, composed of earnest singer/guitarist Patrick Stump, impish bassist/lyricist Pete Wentz and the other two guys who get less attention, namely lead guitarist Joe Trohman and drummer Andy Hurley, embrace the idea that arrogance is bliss on their fourth LP, which is probably the best album of a young 2007 so far. \nDishing out enough power chord riffs and syrupy sweet sing-along choruses in the first five tracks to make any record exec's head spin with joy, Wentz, Stump and the band have cemented their place as some of modern pop music's best harmonic craftsmen, managing to render the question of whether they sold out and went Hollywood somewhere along the line a nonfactor. A couple of listens to "The Take Over, The Break's Over" and the Babyface-produced "I'm Like a Lawyer With the Way I'm Always Trying to Get You Off (Me & You)" and you'll care less whether Wentz actually banged Lindsay Lohan. \nSpeaking of silly song titles, Sufjan Stevens soldiers on as Fall Out Boy's only real competition nowadays. Titles like "The (After) Life of the Party," "The Carpal Tunnel of Love" and "Bang the Doldrums" are unnecessary enough to get millions of eyes rolling, but at least the songs are solid. A song that's not so solid, however, is the proverbial radio hit "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race," which is basically an R&B drum-machine beat and a constant repetition of the song title, punctuated by some woo-hoos in the middle of a quickie chorus. \nIt's surprising that Fall Out Boy didn't come right out and plant our asses firmly on the floor by making "Hum Hallelujah" the first single. With its rousing chorus, monster riffs and shout out to Leonard Cohen, it's the best track on a record with some damn good ones. The album itself drags slightly somewhere in the second half, and 50 minutes seems about 12 minutes and three tracks too long for an album of nothing but well-orchestrated pop. \nSay what you will about Fall Out Boy, but these guys from Chicago know what they do well and pretty much stick to it, with the exception of the vocal and piano lament "Golden." The closer, "I've Got All This Ringing in My Ears and None on My Fingers," with Stump singing wistfully of "New York eyes" and "Chicago thighs" is a fitting temporary send-off from a band that, at least according to Jay-Z's spoken-word intro, has finally made it. We'll see if making it suits them.
(02/08/07 5:19am)
Absence, at least as it pertains to me and my reasonably unhealthy obsession with all things "Lost," has made the heart grow fonder. Contrarily over the 90-plus days since its last episode (with its newest installment airing just last night), it has also seen the attention spans of a significant number of once casual "Lost" fans turn tail and seek comfort in such inane pursuits as saving the cheerleader and finding out who's on "the list" and why. Hey, "Heroes" fans, remember that show where there was a mysterious list and people were trying to find out why they were on it? Yeah, it was called "Lost." \nWith "Heroes" surging out of the gate as a sort of ADD-friendly, soap-operatic alternative to "Lost's" glacial pacing and intricately layered mythology, television drama is definitely beginning to play into the hands of the short of attention. When the most recent Emmy and Golden Globe winner for Best Dramatic Series is not only NOT an actual drama but consists primarily of random sex, coached crying and laughably maudlin music cues, I begin to recognize the warning signs. "Grey's Anatomy" fans, your wrath is welcomed. \nThis culture we've created for ourselves, saturated with ever-slimmer cellulars and drive-thru espresso pick-me-ups, seems to be leaving "Lost" in the lurch, and, like an injured bird, I'm compelled to nurse it back to health in any way I can. Far be it from me to assume that one of the few best shows on television (yes, still) needs my advice for increased longevity, but I'm confident that "Lost" can regain its status in the eyes of casual fans in just six easy steps. \n1. Learn a lesson from "24"\nThe producers' haphazard episode spacing games of Season 2 were nearly disastrous, and the three months between episodes six and seven of Season 3 didn't help matters. Luckily, the rest of Season 3 will air uninterrupted, but Jack Bauer's got his shit together with 24 straight episodes with no breaks. If "Lost" can manage to figure out its budget in advance and keep a tighter lid on set-leaked spoilers, it could present Season 4 with no breaks, a proposition sure to delight a viewing public that's become more dependent on iTunes and DVD for their "Lost" fix than planning their schedules by ABC's calendar. \n2. Clean up after yourself\n"Lost's" mysteries and obscurities pile up at breakneck speed, and while a fair amount of our most pressing questions have been answered (what's in the hatch, what exactly is DHARMA?, is Michael a self-serving bastard?), there are still befuddlements lingering from Season 1, which the writers seem less than concerned about clearing up. While the keys to certain overarching mysteries seem more appropriately left to the series' end, at least let us in on the little things, like why there's a skeleton-filled slave ship from the 1800s sitting in the middle of the island and a well-groomed show horse cavorting around the jungle. \n3. Be careful with new characters\nFor a show that already features more than 15 primary characters with their own blossoming back stories, "Lost" seems keen on introducing us to even more. So far this season, Rodrigo Santoro's Paulo and Kiele Sanchez's Nikki have amounted to little more than expository eye-candy, and for a show that's always been more about story and character and less about pretty people gazing dreamily off-camera (ahem "Grey's Anatomy"), the duo's presence sends up a red flag. If you're going to introduce new cast members, make sure they're interesting from the get-go. Rose and Bernard turned out to be great characters, but so far the man with the eyepatch on the Pearl Station hatch camera displays more promise than Nikki and Paulo. \n4. Cool it on the cliffhangers\nSeason 1 ended with one of the greatest cliffhangers in television history, and season 2's ending was close. It's hard for me to remember the last single episode, though, that didn't end on the edge of a moderately steep cliff. Some of the finest moments of the first and second Seasons came by way of more subdued endings and personal character connections, and it's a fallacy for the writers and producers to believe they have to end every week on a moment of extreme tension. If the characters are where they need to be, even if that's in a moment of false comfort with the smoke monster lurking outside their tent flap, then trust your endings. There's no need to manufacture tension for the sake of tension. \n5. Keep flashbacks in focus\nThe best "Lost" flashbacks not only give insight into the lives of the characters they chronicle but illuminate happenings on the island as well. Occasional flashbacks in the last 25 episodes have meandered off course, focusing more on character quirks than character arcs. Charlie's breakup with Driveshaft and Locke's stay at a commune were curious instances within themselves but did little to drive the overall series forward. On the other hand, Ana-Lucia's trip to Australia with Jack's father and Michael and Desmond's on-island flashbacks late in Season 2 displayed "Lost" at its best. In the interest of sustaining interest in each character's individual life story, its best to relate it to the island in one way or another. \n6. Don't leave it open-ended\nIt's no big secret that "Lost" works best in marathon viewings as opposed to week-to-week appointments with ABC. It's statistically the most legally downloaded, TiVo'ed and DVR'ed show on television, and its DVD sales profits have old, crusty ABC execs rolling naked in a bed of money like Demi Moore in "Indecent Proposal." Being that "Lost" flows more like an extended film or lengthy novel than a serial drama, I believe it's detrimental for the producers not to have set an end date by now. After all, movies have a designated running time and novels have a final page. For "Lost" to pretend to be indefinite is a mistake. Be it destined six seasons or seven, the producers should let us know now, providing a sort of early closure that would allow fans to enjoy the show knowing there's a logical, pre-planned conclusion on the horizon, however far the journey.
(02/08/07 5:00am)
What can be said about Mel Gibson's gorgeous, graphic-tone poem to his own personal lord and savior that hasn't already been said by every film critic, pundit and biblical scholar on the planet? I won't waste time trying to break new ground; suffice it to say that Gibson and his collaborators had to do something right to puncture my callous, secular shell to impress the hell out of me with this film. \nGibson expertly directs actor James Caviezel through a veritable house of horrors in depicting the hours before and after the crucifixion of Jesus, and Caleb Deschanel's stunning, sometimes brutal cinematography is enough to make cinephiles shed a tear. \nThe first disc of this new two-disc edition contains the original theatrical cut of the film with four separate commentary tracks. The first and most revealing features Gibson, Deschanel and editor John Wright. Two other minor tracks point the spotlight on the producers and original score composer John Debney respectively. The final and most curious track features Gibson and a gaggle of religious theologians discussing the perceived accuracy of "Passion's" depictions of Jesus' final hours as well as dissecting the outrage brought upon the film by the Jewish community. \nGibson's ill-received, and arguably ill-conceived, recut is the definite lowlight of this so-called definitive edition. It was difficult for me to notice if anything had been added to this cut, but what is beyond both obviousness and reproach is Gibson's choice to cut nearly every bit of graphic violence from the film in order to appease some church groups and parents. Considering the rigorous, often adrenalizing workout of torture-porn gore the original cut succeeds in putting audiences through, the recut would as well be a movie-of-the-week if not for Deschanel and Debney's excellent work. \nDisc two consists primarily of a massive, multi-part making-of documentary titled "By His Wounds We Are Healed: The Making of The Passion of the Christ." Chronicling everything from the extensive research into the film's Aramaic language to the character design of the devil himself, it's a multi-faceted doc that ends up exposing more about the motivations that went into making "The Passion" than how it was actually made. Regardless of one's religious beliefs, or lack thereof, it's impossible not to get a little vicariously excited about the film through Gibson's passionate ravings. \nWhile no one I'm aware of was exactly clamoring for this two-disc edition, the second disc is worth the price for those interested in learning more about Gibson's filmmaking style. The recut is an embarrassment of pandering, but I'm sure someone could design a drinking game around every blatantly obvious gore trim. Gibson and Deschanel's original vision still shines through on the theatrical cut, though, and it's enough to crown "The Passion of the Christ" as the most potent, worthwhile example of faith-based cinema since "Ben-Hur"
(02/08/07 5:00am)
Absence, at least as it pertains to me and my reasonably unhealthy obsession with all things "Lost," has made the heart grow fonder. Contrarily over the 90-plus days since its last episode (with its newest installment airing just last night), it has also seen the attention spans of a significant number of once casual "Lost" fans turn tail and seek comfort in such inane pursuits as saving the cheerleader and finding out who's on "the list" and why. Hey, "Heroes" fans, remember that show where there was a mysterious list and people were trying to find out why they were on it? Yeah, it was called "Lost." \nWith "Heroes" surging out of the gate as a sort of ADD-friendly, soap-operatic alternative to "Lost's" glacial pacing and intricately layered mythology, television drama is definitely beginning to play into the hands of the short of attention. When the most recent Emmy and Golden Globe winner for Best Dramatic Series is not only NOT an actual drama but consists primarily of random sex, coached crying and laughably maudlin music cues, I begin to recognize the warning signs. "Grey's Anatomy" fans, your wrath is welcomed. \nThis culture we've created for ourselves, saturated with ever-slimmer cellulars and drive-thru espresso pick-me-ups, seems to be leaving "Lost" in the lurch, and, like an injured bird, I'm compelled to nurse it back to health in any way I can. Far be it from me to assume that one of the few best shows on television (yes, still) needs my advice for increased longevity, but I'm confident that "Lost" can regain its status in the eyes of casual fans in just six easy steps. \n1. Learn a lesson from "24"\nThe producers' haphazard episode spacing games of Season 2 were nearly disastrous, and the three months between episodes six and seven of Season 3 didn't help matters. Luckily, the rest of Season 3 will air uninterrupted, but Jack Bauer's got his shit together with 24 straight episodes with no breaks. If "Lost" can manage to figure out its budget in advance and keep a tighter lid on set-leaked spoilers, it could present Season 4 with no breaks, a proposition sure to delight a viewing public that's become more dependent on iTunes and DVD for their "Lost" fix than planning their schedules by ABC's calendar. \n2. Clean up after yourself\n"Lost's" mysteries and obscurities pile up at breakneck speed, and while a fair amount of our most pressing questions have been answered (what's in the hatch, what exactly is DHARMA?, is Michael a self-serving bastard?), there are still befuddlements lingering from Season 1, which the writers seem less than concerned about clearing up. While the keys to certain overarching mysteries seem more appropriately left to the series' end, at least let us in on the little things, like why there's a skeleton-filled slave ship from the 1800s sitting in the middle of the island and a well-groomed show horse cavorting around the jungle. \n3. Be careful with new characters\nFor a show that already features more than 15 primary characters with their own blossoming back stories, "Lost" seems keen on introducing us to even more. So far this season, Rodrigo Santoro's Paulo and Kiele Sanchez's Nikki have amounted to little more than expository eye-candy, and for a show that's always been more about story and character and less about pretty people gazing dreamily off-camera (ahem "Grey's Anatomy"), the duo's presence sends up a red flag. If you're going to introduce new cast members, make sure they're interesting from the get-go. Rose and Bernard turned out to be great characters, but so far the man with the eyepatch on the Pearl Station hatch camera displays more promise than Nikki and Paulo. \n4. Cool it on the cliffhangers\nSeason 1 ended with one of the greatest cliffhangers in television history, and season 2's ending was close. It's hard for me to remember the last single episode, though, that didn't end on the edge of a moderately steep cliff. Some of the finest moments of the first and second Seasons came by way of more subdued endings and personal character connections, and it's a fallacy for the writers and producers to believe they have to end every week on a moment of extreme tension. If the characters are where they need to be, even if that's in a moment of false comfort with the smoke monster lurking outside their tent flap, then trust your endings. There's no need to manufacture tension for the sake of tension. \n5. Keep flashbacks in focus\nThe best "Lost" flashbacks not only give insight into the lives of the characters they chronicle but illuminate happenings on the island as well. Occasional flashbacks in the last 25 episodes have meandered off course, focusing more on character quirks than character arcs. Charlie's breakup with Driveshaft and Locke's stay at a commune were curious instances within themselves but did little to drive the overall series forward. On the other hand, Ana-Lucia's trip to Australia with Jack's father and Michael and Desmond's on-island flashbacks late in Season 2 displayed "Lost" at its best. In the interest of sustaining interest in each character's individual life story, its best to relate it to the island in one way or another. \n6. Don't leave it open-ended\nIt's no big secret that "Lost" works best in marathon viewings as opposed to week-to-week appointments with ABC. It's statistically the most legally downloaded, TiVo'ed and DVR'ed show on television, and its DVD sales profits have old, crusty ABC execs rolling naked in a bed of money like Demi Moore in "Indecent Proposal." Being that "Lost" flows more like an extended film or lengthy novel than a serial drama, I believe it's detrimental for the producers not to have set an end date by now. After all, movies have a designated running time and novels have a final page. For "Lost" to pretend to be indefinite is a mistake. Be it destined six seasons or seven, the producers should let us know now, providing a sort of early closure that would allow fans to enjoy the show knowing there's a logical, pre-planned conclusion on the horizon, however far the journey.
(02/08/07 4:52am)
What can be said about Mel Gibson's gorgeous, graphic-tone poem to his own personal lord and savior that hasn't already been said by every film critic, pundit and biblical scholar on the planet? I won't waste time trying to break new ground; suffice it to say that Gibson and his collaborators had to do something right to puncture my callous, secular shell to impress the hell out of me with this film. \nGibson expertly directs actor James Caviezel through a veritable house of horrors in depicting the hours before and after the crucifixion of Jesus, and Caleb Deschanel's stunning, sometimes brutal cinematography is enough to make cinephiles shed a tear. \nThe first disc of this new two-disc edition contains the original theatrical cut of the film with four separate commentary tracks. The first and most revealing features Gibson, Deschanel and editor John Wright. Two other minor tracks point the spotlight on the producers and original score composer John Debney respectively. The final and most curious track features Gibson and a gaggle of religious theologians discussing the perceived accuracy of "Passion's" depictions of Jesus' final hours as well as dissecting the outrage brought upon the film by the Jewish community. \nGibson's ill-received, and arguably ill-conceived, recut is the definite lowlight of this so-called definitive edition. It was difficult for me to notice if anything had been added to this cut, but what is beyond both obviousness and reproach is Gibson's choice to cut nearly every bit of graphic violence from the film in order to appease some church groups and parents. Considering the rigorous, often adrenalizing workout of torture-porn gore the original cut succeeds in putting audiences through, the recut would as well be a movie-of-the-week if not for Deschanel and Debney's excellent work. \nDisc two consists primarily of a massive, multi-part making-of documentary titled "By His Wounds We Are Healed: The Making of The Passion of the Christ." Chronicling everything from the extensive research into the film's Aramaic language to the character design of the devil himself, it's a multi-faceted doc that ends up exposing more about the motivations that went into making "The Passion" than how it was actually made. Regardless of one's religious beliefs, or lack thereof, it's impossible not to get a little vicariously excited about the film through Gibson's passionate ravings. \nWhile no one I'm aware of was exactly clamoring for this two-disc edition, the second disc is worth the price for those interested in learning more about Gibson's filmmaking style. The recut is an embarrassment of pandering, but I'm sure someone could design a drinking game around every blatantly obvious gore trim. Gibson and Deschanel's original vision still shines through on the theatrical cut, though, and it's enough to crown "The Passion of the Christ" as the most potent, worthwhile example of faith-based cinema since "Ben-Hur"
(02/01/07 5:00am)
If the initial media reaction to Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain" was any indication, you'd think homosexuality was as foreign a concept in 2005 Los Angeles as it was in early-1960s Wyoming. Tune out the faux-horror gasps at the story of two part-time cowboys finding unspoken affection on the range and what you get is an essential human drama where the oft-clichéd concept of forbidden love is updated for a new era. \nAnchoring the film is Heath Ledger in a relatively fearless performance as Ennis del Mar, a sometimes ranch hand often painfully lost for words. Strong supporting roles are afforded Michelle Williams, as Ennis' bewildered wife, Anne Hathaway, as a rodeo-performing spitfire turned bitter spouse, and Jake Gyllenhaal as Jack Twist, the emotive yin to Ennis' inward yang. \nIn retrospect, "Brokeback Mountain" hasn't been forgotten a year later, however, little time has passed since its awards-season buzz machine was silenced. Unfortunately, the reason for this release amounts to little more than a hodgepodge of featurettes and a snazzy package with postcards. While loyal proponents of the film will enjoy mini-docs on everything from Ang Lee's dedication to the project to a peek into the composition of Gustavo Santaolalla's beautiful guitar score, there's only so much affirmation of "Brokeback's" speaking to the harsh nature of love, regardless of sexual orientation, that one needs. \nWhile roughly hewn featurettes on pre-production, screenwriting and filming are of interest to some, they don't make up for this set's most glaring omission: The lack of Ang Lee feature commentary. Insisting on one of the docs that "Brokeback" speaks for itself, it's hard to disagree with Mr. Lee, but his Spielbergian aversion to DVD commentary tracks remains frustrating. \nRevisiting "Brokeback Mountain" nearly a year after its controversial Oscar loss, I'm reminded of why its failure to win Best Picture was so shocking then. The hype surrounding Ennis and Jack's homosexual courtship was effective only at shifting the spotlight from a piece of pure, peerless filmmaking rarely seen these days. Conservative pundits had their time in the sun, and their film won, but its director/screenwriter's persistent, gratuitous moral ejaculations and white guilt keeps nudging it ever closer to the $7.50 bin. "Brokeback"is a great film because it doesn't let us off the hook so easily.
(02/01/07 5:00am)
Most long-time Nintendo supporters live by their own special calendar, punctuated not by days, weeks and months, but by the release of producer Shigeru Miyamoto and Eiji Aonuma's "Legend of Zelda" games. The three milestones on this calendar, all designed as flagship games for their respective consoles, are 1992's "A Link to the Past" for the Super Nintendo, 1998's "Ocarina of Time" for the Nintendo 64, and now "Twilight Princess" for the Nintendo Wii.\nThe difference with "Twilight Princess" is that not only is it the premiere launch title for the Wii, but it's also sort of a final epitaph for the underappreciated Nintendo Gamecube. Having played the game on both consoles, it is an unquestionable work of genius, as it plays to the strengths of both systems.\nIt all boils down to a player's preferred control scheme, as the Wii and Gamecube versions of "Twilight Princess" are essentially identical otherwise. Having owned and beaten the Gamecube version, I must confess to preferring the more traditional controls, but "Twilight Princess'" masterful implementation of the Wii's nunchuck and motion sensing controllers is an accomplishment of which every Playstation and Xbox game developer should be rightly jealous.\nThe story, certainly the darkest and most ominous of all "Zelda" games, establishes a dichotomy between the real world and the world of twilight. As Link tiptoes between both worlds, taking the form of both his hero self and that of a nimble wolf, you'll tackle the toughest dungeons and trickiest puzzles in any "Zelda" title, and enjoy innumerable side quests and a brilliantly realized and expansive incarnation of Hyrule.\nGraphically, "Twilight Princess" stands tall over every previous console generation title, but, even on the Wii, falls slightly short of current generation standards. Fortunately, this is only a minor quibble when the overall scope and execution of "Twilight Princess" is taken into account. The Wii's utilization of widescreen and high-definition capabilities is impressive, but Miyamoto and Aonuma's vision feels right at home on a 4x3 tube TV as well.\nTowering atop the shortlist of 2006's best video game achievements, "Twilight Princess" is an unparalleled marriage of nostalgia and technology. With the next Wii-only "Zelda" installment, "The Phantom Hourglass," already visible on the horizon, this is a time for celebration for all "Zelda" enthusiasts.