Movie Review - The Hunted

Directed by Academy Award winner William Friedkin (The French Connection, The Exorcist), The Hunted is a fascinating and flawed film. It stars fellow Oscar winner Tommy Lee Jones as L. T. Bonham, a famous tracker used by the army to train special forces operators to hunt and kill their targets in an almost invisible manner. He is called upon by the FBI to track one of his former students, ex-Green Beret Aaron Hallam (Benicio Del Torro, another Oscar winner) who has gone rogue, and has killed at least four hunters in the woods of the Pacific Northwest.

The tactics both men use are incredible, and are portrayed as realistically as possible, thanks to real life survival expert/tracker Tom Brown, Jr., who not only served as a technical advisor, but was also the basis for the Bonham character.

One of the major flaws of the film is that it never quite gets the balance between realistic and fantastical right. Jones is terrific as usual in his role as the aging Bonham, but one can't help but wonder how much better he would have been had he not been given a couple more months to get into shape. For a man who lives off the land, he seems a bit paunchy and slow. Del Toro, on the other hand, seems to put about as much effort and emotion into his role as you might put into taking out the trash. With the exception of a few moments of true madness behind his eyes, he seems to be woefully miscast as the bad ass soldier Hallam. Add to that the fact that he seems to be at least twenty pounds overweight, and by the end of the movie you'll be wishing they'd found someone else, not just the first Oscar winner that answered the phone.

But what's done wrong on the screen is matched by what is missing. Bonham, who at one point says he's never killed anyone, shows no hesitation when it comes time for fight Hallam to the death. Sure, he trains men to kill on instinct, but can one accomplish that having never done it himself? Also missing is any trace of a relationship between Bonham and Hallam, who seems to trust Bonham over everyone else. Yet at the end, we see that Bonham has kept several of the letters that Hallam has been secretly sending him. We seem to be missing a scene where Bonham shows Hallam any kind of softness or forgiveness for his crimes.

Also glossed over is what would have been the most interesting aspect of the film. Hallam escapes custody early in the film, leading the FBI and Bonham on a chase throughout Portland. What could have been an extremely cool scene (Bonham struggling to track Hallam, who had learned additional skills during his time in the military, through an urban area) is reduced to a five minute sequence filled with coincidental sightings and a ridiculous jump off a bridge.

The films flaws, however, are almost forgotten by the time the film reaches it's climax: an amazing, bloody, innovative knife fight between Hallam and Bonham, student and teacher. Never before have I seen a more brutal or well choreographed knife fight on a film. It brings to mind a line from the rarely seen David Mamet film Spartan (which I will review here someday) in which Special Forces operative Scott (Val Kilmer) responds to a soldier's affirmation that she teaches knife fighting by saying "Don't you teach 'em knife fighting. Teach 'em to kill. That way, they meet some sonofabitch who studied knife fighting, they send his soul to hell." Not a movement in this fight is wasted. There's no fancy blocking of a knife with a knife (which is ridiculous), nor is there any ludicrous monologuing. Just two men who know how to kill trying to end each other's lives by any means necessary.

Alas, it isn't quite enough to overshadow the film's shortcomings, and the feeling you are left with is one of wasted potential. You'd expect more from three Oscar winners.
Grade: 6
(All films are graded on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being cinematic perfection and 1 being every Police Academy film with a number in the title.)

DVD Review - Interview with the Assassin

Today's review is of the creepy fake documentary ("mockumentary" is too jokey a description for this movie)Interview with the Assassin, starring Raymond J. Barry and Dylan Haggerty. Barry, an accomplished character actor, plays ex-Marine Walter Ohliger. Ohlinger is dying of cancer and wants to confess his most major of crimes to Haggerty's Ron Kobeleski, a recently laid off TV cameraman. The confession is that Ohlinger was the second gunman on the grassy knoll, and that he, not Lee Harvey Oswald, fired the head shot that killed John F. Kennedy.

The film does an excellent job of keeping this film grounded in reality, although the premise is one that could have easily lead to an unbelievable action movie or thriller. It is shot very much like a documentary, never once tipping it's hand to the fact that everything on screen is being faked by extremely gifted actors.

While Ohlinger and Kobeleski spend the entire movie trying to prove the sniper's story, in the end it is left up to the viewer whether Walter is telling the truth, or just a crazy old man looking for attention. Unlike Push (below is my review for that movie), this is not done in a cheesy way. Everything in this film feels very true to life.

The film was the first written and directed by Neil Burger, who later went on to write and direct The Illusionist. Very rarely does a writer/director so thoroughly hit one out of the park on his first feature, but Burger has accomplished that here. The film was shot with only about $750,000, but that's more to it's advantage than it's detriment. The plot has many twists and turns that surprise as well as any other movie I've seen, and the small budget helps sell the whole premise so completely that I might have been suckered in had I seen this movie without knowing anything about it, and had I not recognized it's stars.
Grade: 9
(All films are graded on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being cinematic perfection and 1 being about as bad as a Sci-Fi Channel Original Picture.)

New Classic Review - 3:10 to Yuma

Today's review is of another instant classic, James Mangold's stunning western epic 3:10 to Yuma. The film is a remake of the 1957 film of the same name starring Glen Ford and Van Heflin, making it the second adaptation of Elmore Leonard's short story.

The film begins outside of Bisbee, Arizona, sometime after the Civil War. Union veteran Dan Evans (Christian Bale), who lost part of his right leg in the war, is awakened to find the henchmen of his ruthless debtor Glen Hollander (Lennie Lofton) burning down his barn for being behind on his debt. He and his son William (Logan Lerman) manage to save the horses, but the last of their feed is lost in the fire.

The next day, while trying to wrangle their scattered herd, Dan, William and the youngest son Mark (Ben Petry) accidentally run across notorious outlaw Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) and his gang attempting to rob the Southern Pacific Railroad payroll from a heavily armed and armored stagecoach for the 22nd time. Wade ends up using some of the cattle to finally bring the wagon, and it's Pinkerton Detective inhabitants, to a stop.

William, who idolizes Wade from the stories he's read about him, wants to get a closer look against Dan's objections. His hesitation causes them to be spotted by Wade and his sociopath second-in-command Charlie Prince (the brilliant Ben Foster). Recognizing that they pose no serious threat, Wade takes their horses, promising to leave them on the road to town so that they can't go for help. Dan and his sons find a survivor among the stagecoach wreckage, bounty hunter Byron McElroy (a marvelously subdued Peter Fonda), who has been shot by Prince. They drag him to their horses, at which point Dan tells the boys to round up the herd while he takes McElroy into town for help.

Meanwhile, Wade, Prince and the rest of the gang have sent the town Marshall off on a wild goose chase, and proceed to take over the local saloon in order to relax and split their bounty. The gang splits up, agreeing to reunite later, but Wade stays behind to romance the pretty barmaid. Prince agrees to wait near by in case Wade needs anything.

Dan arrives in town with the Marshall and in the process of begging Hollander to allow the stream that once flowed through his land to do so again, finds himself face to face with Wade. At this point, Wade is captured and the plan is to take him to Contention, a two day ride, so that he can be put aboard the 3:10 train to Yuma prison of the title. A posse is formed to accomplish this task, knowing that Wade's gang won't be too far behind. Gathered for the job are McElroy, Grayson Butterfield (Dallas Roberts), a representative of the railroad, Tucker (Kevin Durand), one of Hollander's thugs, and Doc Potter (the always awesome Alan Tudyk), the veterinarian who pulled the bullet from the still-healing McElroy. Dan agrees to go, for the sum of $200 so that he can keep his ranch running. Butterfield agrees, and the men head off after switching Ben for a double to throw Prince off their trail.

What makes this film so amazing is that it could have been played like a typical action movie, with witty banter ridiculous stunts. Instead, interspersed with the action set pieces, we get some genuine character development. There isn't a single character in the movie who isn't changed by the events that occur. Crowe and Bale carry the film, turning in strong, understated performances. Usually in a film with two stars of this magnitude, one will outshine the other, but both actors perform the roles with a stunning minimalist approach that fits the film's tone perfectly.

The film is paced perfectly enough that the audience feels some of the same tension that the characters feel. Mangold also continues the style he used in Walk the Line: Every frame is composed like a work of art. His palette is suitably muted, with everyone wearing different shades of brown, and all the clothes are realistically covered in dust.

The main theme of the movie seems to be what it takes to be a real man, and much like real life, it means something different to each of the characters. William, through watching his father risk life and limb to deliver Wade to train, learns that manhood has nothing to do with how fast a draw you are or how many men you kill, but what you sacrifice for your family. Wade learns through observing Dan that real manhood is sticking to your word no matter what. Even when Wade offers Dan $1000 to look the other way and let him escape, that no one will think less of him for taking the money, Dan replies with "No one could think less of me."

Dan learns that being a man has less to do with how you provide for your family than it does just being there for them. By keeping his word and having integrity, he proves to his son that he is the hero his son deserves.

Also turning in a fine performance is Gretchen Moll as Dan's long-suffering wife Alice. She has a weariness in her eyes that really sells the performance. Also look for a strange, very small cameo by Luke Wilson.

All in all, Mangold's subtle direction perfectly matches the underacting performances turned in by Crowe and Bale, leaving fans of dramatic films well satisfied. And the shootout the ends the film (it takes up nearly twenty minutes of screen time) should be more than enough for action buffs looking for a thrill, although there are several well executed action scenes throughout.
Grade: 10
(All movies are graded on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being cinematic perfection, and 1 being about as good as any film directed by a music video director with one name.)

Classic Review - Starman

Today's classic review is 1984's Academy Award nominated Starman. Considering it's directed by John Carpenter (of The Thing and Halloween fame), Starman is a surprisingly touching tale.

The film opens in Wisconsin in 1984. An alien scout ship, responding to a welcoming message from the people of Earth, has been shot down (real welcoming, right?). It's pilot, seen only as a small blue light, finds it's way to the home of the recently widowed Jenny Hayden (Raiders of the Lost Ark's Karen Allen).

The alien starts up the projector Jenny had been watching, and seeing the images of her husband, begins to go through a photo album sitting on the table. It finds what it needs, what appears to be a lock of the husbands hair from his first hair cut. Using the pictures and the DNA in the hair as a guide, it transforms itself into a copy of Scott Hayden (Jeff Bridges), Jenny's husband, much to her surprise.

Once she has gotten over her shock, the alien commandeers her and her car, needing to reach his rendezvous point in Arizona in three days, or he'll die. She reluctantly accompanies him, first because he managed to get a hold of her gun, and later because she finds herself falling for him.

Meanwhile, SETI official Mark Shermin (Charles Martin Smith) is hot on their tail. His superior George Fox (Richard Jaeckel) wants to capture the "Starman" and dissect him, despite the message of peace Starman's people received on the Voyager II probe, launched in 1977. Shermin wants to fin him and ask him questions, but has absolutely no plans for violence.

Jenny and "Scott" hit a few roadblocks on their journey, and luckily he has a way to deal with them. He begins the film with several small orbs that he can use to accomplish amazing feats, including contacting his people and making a holographic map of the united states so Jenny will know where to go.

It would be hard to miss the film's main themes of hope and acceptance. Jenny learns these lessons as her adventure and relationship with this stranger who looks like her dead husband progress. She finds herself accepting him more and more as not just a clone of her husband, but as a decent person. Starman grows as the film goes on as well, learning about all the good and bad things about humanity. "Shall I tell you what I find beautiful about you?" he asks Shermin during the climax, sharing what he's learned of the human race. "You are at your very best when things are worst."

The film is not without humor, though. Possessing a very limited vocabulary, Starman gets himself and Jenny into quite a bit of trouble as they travel, including using one of his orbs to reanimate a dead dear, getting himself into trouble with the hunter who shot it.

It has it's slow points, but the film as a whole is pretty well paced. Allen and Smith turn in exceptional performances, but it's Bridges, who was nominated for best actor for his role, who really shines. He finds a perfect balance between naivete and altruism that makes his character extremely likable, but not annoying or too goofy. Overall, the film is an outstanding departure from horror/action director Carpenter.
Grade: 9
(All movies are graded on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being cinematic perfection, and 1 being worse than the accompanying video game adaptation.)

DVD Review - Redbelt

Today's review is of a recent movie, Redbelt. Written and directed by real-life martial arts enthusiast David Mamet, Redbelt is the story of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and instructor Mike Terry, played expertly by the impossible to pronounce Chiwetel Ejiofor. Terry is one of the few men left in the fight field to actually value true honor. "Competition is weakening," he says, because "any one fight can be fixed." When asked if he trains people to fight, he responds "...I train people to prevail." Competition, in Terry's mind, weakens the fighter, because "a competition is not a fight."

Unfortunately, honor doesn't always equal cash flow. His school is failing, as his wife points out to him: "...what about the fighter's family, Mike? What do they eat, while he's being so pure?"

An opportunity soon presents itself in the form of Chet Franklin (Tim Allen), and aging action star Mike saves in a bar fight. To repay the favor, Franklin invites Terry to be a producer and advisor on his latest war movie. Unfortunately for Mike, things don't go exactly according to plan, and he ends up finding himself in the position he swore he'd never sink to, fighting for money.

Honor is the main theme that runs throughout the film. Both the positive and negative effects of having true honor are explored, especially in the tragic side plot of Joe Collins (king of bad-ass Max Martini), a police officer Mike is training. Terry instills "the code of the warrior" into every fighter he trains. The result is Mike acts as a sort of Samurai. He's a lone warrior sticking to a code of conduct while everyone else works for the highest bidder. It's definitely a lonely world he lives in, with even his brothers-in-law willing to fix fights and disgrace their father, who holds the only titular red belt, a level of honor reserved for the founding father of the art.

Being a Mamet movie, the plot is full of unexpected twists and turns, and the dialogue is superb. Regrettably, it is also difficult to hear. Not helping the matter is the fact that for some reason, the DVD doesn't include subtitles. This isn't the kind of movie you can put on and then do some laundry, or clean the kitchen. If all you pay attention to is the expertly shot and edited fight scenes, as good as they are, you've missed the best parts of the movie. I would recommend putting it on only when you have the time to sit in front of the TV with no distractions for 100 minutes.

Another downfall is that the film drags a little in the middle. Don't get me wrong, the dialogue is still excellent and there isn't a single weak performance in the movie (even Allen shines in his smallish role), but sometimes there's a little too much of people standing around talking when less words could have gotten the same point across.

It's all worth it once you get to the payoff final fight scene, though. It's extremely fascinating to watch two jiu-jitsu masters going at it full bore, no holds barred. Though not considered the most exciting of the martial arts, jiu-jitsu is definitely one of the more interesting.

Watch for a cameo by former UFC champion and soon to be action star Randy Couture as (surprisingly enough) a former fighter turned commentator.
Grade: 8
(All movies are graded on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being cinematic perfection, and 1 being the majority of movies that feature a crime-fighting or mischievous monkey.)