MR. NICE

*** (3/5)

Directed by: Bernard Rose
Written by: Bernard Rose

Howard Marks (Rhys Ifans) was one of the most notorious drug dealers in England and one of the most famous people to ever come out of Wales. But he was such a nice guy that it was hard for anyone to really hate him. He was a family man, too. His wife, Judy (Chloe Sevigny) popped out babies like she was getting money for them.
What led to this life of crime? Fun. Not much more than that, from what Bernard Rose’s movie tells us. Howard was a straight A student and good boy until he started smoking pot. Then he started to find out how to import the drug. As long as he had fun doing it, he was going to do it.

I think the main problem with movies like this is Martin Scorsese. He’s pretty much perfected this genre. With Goodfellas, he created the perfect “fun gangster as family man” movie. He tried again with Casino, but even he couldn’t top himself.

Rose isn’t nearly as good of a filmmaker, so his Welsh version of Goodfellas just kind of falls flat. It runs everywhere and catches none of its goals.

This isn’t to say that it’s a bad movie. It’s just mediocre. Rhys Ifans puts in a good performance as the fun-loving, swingin’ drug lord. Chloe doesn’t have much at all to do as his ever-suffering wife. (In fact, we’re never quite sure if she hates his life or is indifferent to it.) The best performance is probably from David Thewlis as the true bad guy, Jim McCann. This guy not only deals drugs, but he’s a gunrunner. And he’s fucking insane.

One thing Rose did very well was capture the period on film. Not only did the film itself looks like it was shot in the 70s most of the time, but, instead of shooting new footage for outdoor shots and montages, he inserted the characters into stock footage from the 70s. They weren’t perfectly edited in, but it looked great.

Not a great film, but maybe worth seeing if you’re a fan of either of the male leads. Not so much if you’re a Chloe fan because she’s not given a damn thing to do.

ELEKTRA LUXX

*** (3/5)

Directed by: Sebastian Gutierrez
Written by:Sebastian Gutierrez

In this thrilling sequel to the Jennifer Garner actioner….

Um. No. Forget that. But this is a sequel, strangely enough.

Last year, Gutierrez brought Women In Trouble to South By Southwest. It nearly took the festival by storm (kinda), so he decided to do it again, this time focusing on (now former) porn star Elektra Luxx (Carla Gugino). She’s pregnant with a dead man’s baby, but she’s still super-hot and very sexual.

Elektra gets caught up with a young lady and her fiancee who are having some problems, a private eye looking for song lyrics (Timothy Olyphant), a couple who can’t seem to keep their hands off of other people and two girls who may or may not explore their sexuality together.

The movie is very episodic and doesn’t necessarily gel all that well, but there are some very funny moments and the characters are funny enough to keep us interested. It’s a silly little movie that’s not meant to be much more. I think it helps that the movie almost looks like a porn and that the actors are all putting on their best over-acting faces.

Gutierrez doesn’t show a lot of visual flair except in the dream sequences, which are mostly sexual fantasies. (The one with Emmanuelle Chriqui being the standout, although Carla Gugino is pretty much the perfect woman.) They’re not all that interesting as far as the style is concerned, but it’s a nice break as far as the story is concerned. It keeps up the kind of silly atmosphere that the movie is going for.

Really, though, the funniest parts were the parts with Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a video blogger who is obsessed with porn. He talks fast and furiously about the great Elektra Luxx and her career. Then his sister gets involved.

About ten minutes from the end, though, the projector broke down, so I have no clue how the movie ends. I could make up my own ending, but I somehow don’t think that it would do Gutierrez or his characters justice.

Instead of the end of the movie, we got a Q&A from Gutierrez and his cast of lovely ladies. This is when I realized that Joseph Gordon-Levitt was just doing an impression of Sebastian Gutierrez. The guy talks really fast and is incredibly funny. He called out SXSW about 100 times for having a crappy projector (all in good fun, of course) and seemed to have as much fun as possible with the situation. No matter what I thought of the movie (and I did like it, just not as much as I had hoped), I want to see more of his stuff because he’s so freakin’ engaging.

They plan on showing the film again, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it to the screening. Hopefully I’ll be able to catch it on video or online when it gets released because I’m pretty interested to know what happens to all of the characters. Then again, I’ll still have to wait for the third in the trilogy, Women In Ecstasy.

**½ (2.5/5)

Directed by: Grant Heslov
Written by: Peter Straughan
Based on book by: Jon Ronson

Before I talk about crazy people, let’s see something about some REAL crazies.

THE CRAZIES–A remake of a pretty good George Romero movie that looks…um…yeah. Actually, the movie itself looks like it might be decent, but I’m not so sure after the worst use of the Donnie Darko version of “Mad World” EVER! That pretty much kills the trailer for me.

Now, let’s talk about goats.

We all know that the military does some crazy shit. Why else would they allow politicians anywhere near them and their equipment? But who knew that they were doing experiments with psychic abilities?

Well, maybe they were and maybe they weren’t, but I believe at least a little bit of what happens in this movie.

Lyn Cassady (George Clooney) is, most likely, a paranoid schizophrenic. But possibly, just possibly, he has some psychic powers that the military helped to develop throughout the 90s. When he runs into small-time reporter, Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor), in Kuwait City during the second Gulf War, he sees a guy who is psychicly linked to himself.

The two new not-so-much friends make it into Iraq to complete a mission. What’s the mission? Lyn won’t say. Where are they headed? Lyn won’t say. Bob just has to trust him. But that’s really hard when he keeps talking about cloudbusting and glitter eyes.

Lyn isn’t alone in his psychic weirdness. His superior officer, Bill Django (Jeff Bridges), is a federally sanctioned hippy. One of his co-workers (Kevin Spacey) is a supposedly gifted psychic who will stop at nothing to prove himself. And the rest of the troop isn’t much more functional.

This is one of those movies that, although I really liked it, I can’t really say why. It’s hard to tell where it is really coming from. The military is seen as a joke and war is hell and all that, sure. But the psychics and the hippies are stupid, too. The only person who isn’t a complete dumbass is Bob and he’s a little bit debatable. He’s following Lyn, after all.

I guess, besides showing us a ridiculous semi-true story, it’s just here to tell us that war is silly. But peace is hard to do without some violence.

Hell, I don’t know. The movie was really more of a series of really funny vignettes with these crazy characters than it was a complete story.

Why is this movie so fucking hard to review?! I liked it, but it just didn’t add up to very much. Not really. I think I’ve forgotten most of the movie already. And I guess that’s not a very good thing…but I still think it’s worth seeing.

One bit of really bad timing: there’s a scene with a guy shooting up a military base. I bet they’re regretting that right now. I could feel the tension in the theatre.

Not being good at anything seems to be a theme at this year’s festival. After The King Of Kong yesterday, now I see Skills Like This.

Max (Spencer Berger) writes some of the worst plays ever. We’re talking Vogon style, here. His latest, The Onion Dance, actually put his grandfather into a coma. After that, he decides to call it quits.

This is when things start to go his way. He finds out that he actually has a talent for something: robbery. He even meets the girl of his dreams at his first bank robbery. Lucy (Kerry Knuppe) is a very down to Earth, practical bank teller who helps keep everyone in line during the robbery. He meets her later in a bar and the two hit it off more than they probably should.

Max’s friends are just as strange as that pairing. Dave (Gabriel Tigerman) has a good job, but is totally uptight. His girlfriend, Lauren (Jennifer Batter) wants to fuck Max now that he’s robbing people. And Tommy (Brian D. Phelan)…well, Tommy’s just kind of a freak. He’s a typical jock type who is obsessed with his girly looking bike and figures that everything should be easy, including evading the cops after a bank robbery.

While not a great film by any means, Skills Like This does manage to keep the laughs coming for all of its 90 minute run time, something that a lot of the movies at the festival this year have had a problem doing. The characters are great and there are some awesome lines. Check it out if it manages to make it to a theatre/video store near you. It’s worth a few laughs.

EAGLE VS. SHARK

A friend of mine loved this movie. She saw it earlier in the festival and fell in love with the characters and said that it was MUCH better than she ever thought it would be.

The next time I see her, she’s dead to me.

Jarrod (Jemaine Clement) and Lily (Loren Horsley) are losers. Lily has lost her job at the local burger barn and Jarrod thinks that he’s amazing. He also has no social skills whatsoever. When the two meet, lint flies.

It really seems like Taika Cohen saw Napoleon Dynamite one too many times and figured that we were all ready for a New Zealand version of it. He also figured that we needed a version without any likable characters. Lily, who I guess is supposed to be the Napoleon character, is pathetic because of her complete devotion to Jarrod. And Jarrod is just an asshole. He’s such a dick that when he gets hurt towards the end, you’re kind of glad. I hated the guy and wanted him to get off the screen as soon as possible.

There were a few funny lines (“You’re a bitch and I hope you die of diabetes!”), but for the most part the movie was pretty well devoid of laughter. Not much in the way of good here.

GRIMM LOVE

A few years ago, a German man put an ad online for another man who would allow him to eat him. This is his story.

It’s also the story of Katie (Keri Russell), a girl who is writing a paper about the psychological ramifications of such a deal. Why did Oliver Hartwin (Thomas Kretschmann) want to eat another human being? And why did Simon Grombeck (Thomas Huber) allow him to do it? Eventually, Katie becomes completely obsessed with these mens’ stories and what led them to their horrific act. She starts to think that maybe, just maybe, she could be like either of them.

This is a very good film that shows us the inner thinking of a cannibal. The cuts between Katie’s life and the Oliver/Simon story show us just how closely related the two are. Maybe Katie ISN’T too far from them. Maybe we aren’t, either.

I loved how this film was shot. The scenes that take place in Oliver’s childhood are shot on old film stock and are very choppy. (All of this could have been done digitally, too.) It’s beautiful and creepy at the same time. Then the later story with the actual cannibalism manages to keep the gore to a minimum. Director Martin Weisz knows just how much we can take and when to string us along.

Check out this twisted fairy tale, but only if you have a strong stomach. The gore is minimal, but it’s still really intense. And there’s no comic relief to take you out of the story.

There is a more underground version of this story called Cannibal. I haven’t seen it, but from what I hear it’s a lot more gory and sensationalistic. This is supposed to be the better film. And it is very good.

So, what happens when you move to LA and your dreams don’t exactly work out the way you planned? You’re not the actor you thought you were. Or maybe you just haven’t had the chances you thought you would have.

Well, there is one solution that a lot of people take: become a superhero!

If you walk along Hollywood Blvd. near the Chinese Theatre, you will most likely be inundated with folks dressed as movie characters. Most are fine, some are ridiculous and some are just a little bit nutso. But they all have one thing in common: they work for tips.

This is the story of four of them: Wonder Woman, Superman, Hulk and Batman. All four have different stories and all four show a different aspect of the job. And they all try their best to abide by the rules. (Don’t go up to citizens, let them come to you. Don’t pester them for tips, but remind them that you do work for tips. Don’t cross the private/public property line.)

Superman (Christopher Dennis) is the most obsessed. He has what he says is about a million dollars worth of Superman memorabelia. His girlfriend is a psychologist. Go figure.

Batman (Maxwell Allen) is the craziest. He looks like George Clooney’s ugly brother and has a mysterious past that he alludes to, but won’t expound on. Did he actually kill someone? Does he have a trail of mangled bodies in his wake? His wife thinks not.

Wonder Woman (Jennifer Gehrt) is probably the most well-adjusted of the four and probably has the most chance of becoming at least a minor actress. She’s cute, young and at least a little bit talented. But her love life is a little strange.

The Hulk (Joe McQueen) also has somewhat of a chance, but we never actually see him act. He was homeless for a couple of years and now just barely scrapes by with the money he makes on the Blvd.

This is a great doc about people on the outskirts of society, but right in the middle of our pop culture. To some they’re a nuisance, but to some they’re providing a very strange service. We really get the feel for these folks and, even though they are a little bit on the odd side, I never got the feeling that they were being made fun of. Matt Ogens has managed to make us laugh, but not let us feel like assholes for doing it. We feel a little bit sorry for them, but we also know that they’re just making a living.

Check it out if you get a chance. It’ll give those “weirdos” on the Blvd. a whole new angle.

BORDERLAND

When Hostel was released a couple of years ago, we hadn’t really seen a movie like that since the 70s. And even then they were coming out of Europe.

Now, with Borderland, it looks like everybody is getting in on the action. And the strange thing is that it doesn’t feel like Zev Berman is just stepping all over Eli Roth’s toes. He’s made a movie that is all his own and, although comparisons are inevitable, it didn’t feel very similar at all. (Except for the fact that there’s an Achilles’ tendon shot to a guy wearing grey boxer breifs.)

This time, instead of going to Europe to be dismembered, we’re going to Mexico. The story, actually, is based on an actual case from about ten years ago when a bunch of kids went to Matamoras and were killed by cult members.

Ed (Brian Presley), Henry (Jake Muxworthy) and Phil (Rider Strong) decide to celebrate the end of high school by going to a border town to drink and get laid. Well, Henry and Phil want to do that. Ed is just along for the ride. But he ends up meeting Valeria (Martha Higareda) and actually forms a connection with her. Funny, that.

Unfortunately, Phil catches the eye of a cult member and all hell breaks lose. He is kidnapped and tortured, mainly by Randall (Sean Astin–Samwise, NO!!!!), the only white member of the cult.

It’s up to Ed, Henry, Valeria and an ex-cop (Damian Alcazar) whose partner was killed by the cult a year ago to rescue their buddy.

This was a very disturbing movie. Partly because of the movie itself, but also because I remember the case that inspired it. It was a pretty big deal here in Texas and it scared a lot of people from going to Mexico for a long time. In fact, when I went down there a few years ago, my family was still scared for me. Crazy, huh?

Is it better than Hostel? I don’t know. I liked Hostel quite a bit, so I think they’re pretty equal. There may be a bit more character development and it’s not as sensational, but they both have their good and bad points. The acting was good pretty much across the board and the bad guys were very menacing. And the torture scenes were really hard to watch.

And, really, isn’t that what we’re after here? Gore, a good story and characters we care about. And Rider Strong getting the shit kicked out of him. He seems to love being in these gore flicks, doesn’t he? Maybe he’ll make us forget about “Boy Meets World” soon enough.

Nah.

Then, just as quickly as we all thought about it, we forgot it again. Buy more Ikea! Accumulate more stuff!!

But, since Fight Club, Fincher has only done one film: Panic Room. And, even though it’s a quality film, no one really paid much attention to it. It wasn’t Lofty. It wasn’t Important.

But, remember: This is the guy who directed Alien3. Not everything needs to be Important.

Well, he’s back in his Important stage and even I think he’s all the better for it.

Zodiac is the story of the Zodiac Killer in San Francisco of the early 70’s. It’s one of the few truly unsolved serial killings in America.

But really it’s a story of obsession. David Toschi (Mark Ruffalo) needs to know who killed all of these people. So does Paul Avery (Robert Downey, Jr.) But, most of all, Robert Graysmith (Jake Gyllenhaal) needs to know.

Toschi is the lead inspector on the case. He and his partner, William Armstrong (Anthony Edwards) work on the case day and night and every lead takes them around in circles. Avery is a reporter for the San Fransisco Chronicle. He breaks some news that shouldn’t be broken to the public, but, even though he has some inside sources, he is just as blind as the police.

It all comes down to Graysmith (who wrote the book the film was based on), a political cartoonist for the Chronicle. He’s an Eagle scout and single father of two boys who just wants to look the killer in the eye. And he loves puzzles. So, when the killer starts sending the police and reporters cyphers to give them clues, he jumps in head first. And he sacrifices his relationship with his kids and a new girlfriend (Chloe Sevigny) in the process.

This is one of the more clever procedural dramas I’ve seen in a long time. We see everyone’s investigation. Both reporters and all three county’s policemen. And, at one point or another, every single character is singled out as possibly being the killer. Even, to some extent, Graysmith. That’s some talent to make you think that the author of the book is the killer.

The cast is pretty amazing from the principals to the smaller cameo type roles. Elias Koteas, Dermot Mulroney, Donal Logue, ian Cox, Philip Baker Hall, Zach Grenier (played the boss in Fight Club), Charles Fleischer (who the Scorpio killer in Dirty Harry always reminded me of), James LeGros, Clea DuVall…I can’t even begin to name everyone who is in this movie. (Although I did a pretty good job of it here.) There’s not a weak link in the cast.

Zodiac is the first Hollywood studio movie shot on the new VIPER digital camera. It looks pretty amazing. I would NOT have been able to tell that it was digital. In fact, I didn’t know until I started writing this review and I never even thought about it. Digital has come a LONG way in a very short amount of time.

And speaking of tapes, there was one thing that was REALLY creepy about this movie: The tapes that they used as the Killer’s phone calls. I have no idea if they were the real calls or not, but they sounded authentic enough and it helped add to the already creepy vibe a lot.

I also really like the repeated use of music. I won’t go into any details here, but listen for at least two songs being repeated at key moments. Then again, I love interesting use of music. It’s one of my little quirks.

Go see this movie when it comes out this weekend. It’s awesome. A little slow at times, but, overall, a very good film. I would actually like to see it again sometime soon.

Well, if it had been made in the 50s, maybe it would have been scandalous. She apparently didn’t have any problems with the MPAA this time. You see, full frontal female nudity is no big deal—sometimes. As long as the woman isn’t having an orgasm. Or something.

Anyway, enough bashing of the MPAA. Let’s get to the movie.

Most people know who Bettie Page was, but just in case you don’t, here goes. Bettie Page was one of the first great pin-ups. She was definitely the first well-known S&M pin-ups. She was demonized by the government, told that she was evil by the church and looked at behind locked doors by just about every man over the age of 12 all throughout the 50s. Then, just as suddenly, she disappeared into religious work. She is still alive and lives a secluded life in a location that she wants to remain a secret. After all, who wants to see Bettie Page old and fat? (Her words! Not mine!! Don’t hit!)

Mary Harron’s film is based on the first and more scandalous part of Bettie’s life. It follows her from her meager upbringing in rural Tennessee (is there any other part of Tennessee?), through her bondage pics and more “normal” modeling career, through her failed attempts at an acting career and, finally, to her decision to live for God.

Strangely, nothing is said of her later mental illness or her attempts to stab people. Maybe Harron wanted us to leave the theatre with a good impression of our favorite pin-up. But she also kind of glosses over some of her victimization. No, she was never a victim of any of the photographers. That, as far as she was concerned, was just dress up. It was pure fun and never meant for anything but pleasure. (As it should be.) But she was a victim of rape early in her life. And there’s a hint that she might have been a victim of incest…but someone pretty much had to point that out to me. I don’t know if I was tired or if it was just that well hidden. But it was a big factor in her life, so it’s a shame that it wasn’t really talked about in the film.

Gretchen Mol was very good, even if her body isn’t exactly Bettie-shaped. Bettie was a very voluptuous woman. Gretchen is extremely hot, but in a more modern, skinny way. Her face, however, is dead on. And she managed to keep the innocence that a girl of that age had, but still be in some very provocative S&M pictures.

A few people were bugged by the constant shift from black and white to color, but that didn’t bother me at all. I actually really liked that New York was shot in drab, grainy b&w and Miami in bright, vibrant color. It not only imitated the pictures that were taken of her in those cities, but it showed her outlook on life in the two cities. Everything just seems happier in Miami.

Not a great film, but certainly a good one. Maybe a little bit to episodic. And some sort of Animal House sum-up would have been good. But it did bring some good questions to the screen that seemed to be a theme this year at the festival. What is smut? Why stop doing something if it’s not hurting anyone? What is immoral? And why should the government step in when people are just having fun?

AMERICANESE

A couple of years ago I saw a film called Charlotte Sometimes. I really liked it. It was a great story about Asian-Americans trying to fit in within two different societies that didn’t necessarily see them as members. But, first and foremost, it was a love triangle. The “Asian agenda” (or whatever you want to call it) was there, but only for brief periods. It was an important factor in these people’s lives, but it wasn’t over-bearing. Writer/director Eric Byler had been living with those issues all his life, so he wanted to put them on screen. He also wanted to tell a story that everyone could relate to, and he succeeded.

I seem to be one of the few people who doesn’t think he succeeded quite so well with his second venture. Americanese won an award at the festival. I thought it was good, but extremely slow with some shots that took way too long to get away from.

It’s based on the novel American Knees by Shawn Wong…which, of course, I’ve never heard of. But here’s a brief rundown.

Raymond (Chris Tashima) is a full-blooded Chinese man who recently broke up with his Amerasian girlfriend, Aurora (Allison Sie). Their main reason for the breakup seemed to be because they didn’t understand each other’s cultures. When Raymond meets a fellow teacher, Betty (Joan Chen), his world starts to turn over, but not necessarily in a good way. Betty is pretty unstable, and in some very strange ways. By Aurora is always there.

The story is great and the acting is mostly awesome. I just wish that the movie hadn’t been so slow. There were long, lingering shots that really only started me thinking about what the inside of my eyelids looked like. And Betty was just about the most annoying character in any of the films I saw at the festival this year. But that’s probably less a function of Eric’s direction than it is Wong’s writing.

Like his first film, Americanese is a love story first. But it does raise questions about what it means to be a mixed race person in today’s world. And it definitely has it’s good points. It’s certainly not a bad film. It’s just not as good as I was hoping after the promise of Charlotte Sometimes.

Of course, I could have been extremely tired. That’s always a factor at festivals.

FAILURE TO LAUNCH–What the shit is this?! Matthew McConaughey is a loser who won’t leave home. Terry Bradshaw and Kathy Bates play his parents who hire Sarah Jessica Parker to “fall in love” with him to get him the hell out of the house. During the preview, my viewing buddy leaned over to me and said, “$10 says that he finds out and starts hating her, but she really fell in love, so she has to get him back.” American romantic comedies suck.

HOOT–A bunch of kids set out to save their local woods (and its owl friends) from becoming a mall. It’s heart is in the right place, but it looks kind of dumb. Of course, so did Holes and that was pretty good.

THE DA VINCI CODE–I really kind of wish that I hadn’t read this book before the movie came out. I might have been a little bit more excited about the movie. But now that I know the book is a little bit lower than mediocre, I know that the movie can’t be a whole lot better. But with Ron Howard and Tom Hanks attached I know I’ll have my ass in the theatre. One thing bugs me, though (besides Tom’s awful hair, of course): Why is the evil albino not played by Jake Busey?! I thought he had the patent on that role!

Yeah, that’s all I can remember at this point. It’s been a couple of days.

But now it’s time to tackle Malick. And a hard chore that can be at times.

We all know the story of how Pocahontas (Q’Orianka Kilcher) saved John Smith’s (Colin Farrel) life and they fell in love (or some reasonable facsimile thereof, considering the fact that she was about 14 and he was probably around 30-ish) and blah, blah, blah. What a lot of people don’t know about is how their relationship ended and her relationship with John Rolfe (Christian Bale).

The New World is basically the life story of Pocahontas as we know it. We don’t learn anything about her before John Smith and his crew came in contact with her, but it doesn’t matter that much. We see her through the eyes of Smith, and to him she is a mysterious young beauty who is also his savior. He is the captain of a ship of pilgrims coming from England. When he is caught by the “Naturals,” he is going to be killed. Pocahontas feels sorry for him and lays down her life to save his. He then stays with them for months while learning their ways and falling for the little girl who saved his life.

Time passes. Smith goes back to his company. His commander (Christopher Plummer) goes back to England for supplies. Winter hits. People die. Enter John Rolfe. Sort of.

Of course, that’s a really short, simplified version of what happens, but I don’t want to give away too much.

Terrence Malick is, for a guy who has only made four films in a 33 year career, very accomplished at the cinema of loneliness. From the loneliness of Nebraska and Kansas in the 50s to the loneliness of turn of the century north Texas to the loneliness of the Asian Front in WWII, he has excelled in showing how alone people can be even if they are surrounded by others. It’s no different for the pre-colonial Americans in The New World. As they are dying in the brutal winter of the north-east, he throws them into a world that has no concern for them. And Smith can find no solace in the beauty that surrounds him. Only in the arms of Pocahontas.

After Pocahontas meets John Rolfe, the loneliness only gets worse. The two are in a nearly loveless marriage while Smith is wandering England without his love.

Like all of Malick’s films, this one is beautifully shot. Each shot is like a painting and is obviously meticulously crafted. I don’t know if he will ever surpass Days Of Heaven in sheer beauty, but he keeps on trying and his attempts don’t disappoint. Of course there are long, pondering shots of trees and landscape, but that’s Malick. If you’re not into that sort of thing, you should probably steer clear of all of his films. But that would be doing yourself a disservice. All of his films should be seen at least once by anyone with even a passing interest in film.

With Plummer and Bale on board, I expected to see at least two great performances, but Farrel and Kilcher are just as good. In fact, Kilcher is a standout. For a 15 year old girl to give this good of a performance you have to wonder how much of it is Malick. It will be interesting to see if she is as good in her next projects. She’s been nominated for a few awards, so someone thinks she has a future. We’ll see.

How does The New World stack up to Malick’s other films? (Because you know we were all comparing.) I’ve liked all of them so far, but I still put Badlands on top. But, as much as I liked The Thin Red Line, I would have to say that this one is much better. The story is more prominent and well told. It was very hard for me to follow The Thin Red Line because so many of the people looked alike and we seemed to be following all of them at the same time and they were all equally important. The New World, however, is basically the story of three people. Everyone else is very good window-dressing. They help tell the story instead of being the story. We get a very good look at what it was like to be in pre-colonial America and we get interesting characters to latch onto. And that’s the most important part of filmmaking.

Definitely check this movie out if you have any interest in the filmmaker or the subject matter. It’s worth every minute. I’ll be in line to see the director’s cut when it comes out.

You see, Edward R. Murrow almost single-handedly took down a corrupt senator named Joseph McCarthy. Many of you will remember Mr. McCarthy from The Crucible, but rest assured. He was a real man. And that is unfortunate for all involved. He created what has become one of many dark spots in American history. He invented the Red Scare and started the Witch Hunts of the late 40s and early 50s that ruined lives and careers for no particular reason. Anyone that ol’ Joe had a beef with (including Murrow) he accused of being a Communist or a sympathizer. He would make shit up just to put people into the witness chair. And, if they named names of other supposed Communists (as Elia Kazan did), they were allowed to go on their way. If they didn’t, they could face jail time. Even if they didn’t go to jail, they’re lives were ruined. He was particularly hard on Hollywood.

Murrow fought against the head of CBS, William Paley (Frank Langella), who just wanted to appease the sponsors. Paley never really said “No, you can’t do this story,”� but he definitely warned against it.

His entire crew was with him whether they had unofficial ties to Communism or not. Murrow’s producer, Fred Friendly (director/writer, George Clooney), was his biggest ally and would do anything for Murrow’s crusade. Even if it meant fighting the top brass tooth and nail.

But the real battle here is, of course, between America and her aggressors, whether they be foreign or domestic. And McCarthy was definitely an aggressor. There was nothing he wouldn’t do to bring someone down and, once Murrow started to go up against him, America started to realize it.

This is quite possibly the most important movie I’ve seen all year. And it is definitely one of the best. Clooney, whose father was a crusading newsman himself, has crafted a gripping version of the story that takes place entirely inside the newsroom. All of the footage of McCarthy is culled from actual film of the man himself. And it is all shown on televisions in the studio. And the stark black and white film itself looks like old news footage, almost seeming to show age.

The performances are just as impressive as Clooney’s vision. Everyone is great, including the stellar supporting cast (Robert Downey, Jr., Jeff Daniels, Patricia Clarkson, Ray Wise, etc.). But Strathairn is absolutely amazing. He’s a hard man who is dying inside because of what he is forced to do to get his story on the air. (Watch his expression when he finishes his interview with Liberace.)

And he isn’t only dying because of that. In 1965, only a little over 10 years after this film takes place, Murrow died of lung cancer. And it’s no wonder. He’s got a damn cancer stick in his hand throughout the entire movie! I haven’t seen this much smoking on screen since Bogey and Bacall stopped making movies together. Hell, there was even a guy running with one in his mouth! But it’s a product of the time it’s set in. And it would have been totally weird to do a movie about Edward R. Murrow and not include his omni-present cigarette.

So, why would Clooney choose this moment to make this movie? I guess that’s a pretty simple question. Every American should see this movie and draw their own conclusions. So much of what McCarthy said is being said again. So much of what Murrow said is being said by the current administration’s opposition. Here’s the problem: we don’t have a Murrow of our own. Today’s media is being controlled so well by either the government or their lackeys (Rupert Murdoch, I’m looking at you) that we don’t get the real news from anyone on television. We have to go to the internet for it. Murrow believed that television could be used to teach and learn, but only as long as people wanted to do those things. Well, it appears that a majority of the people aren’t willing to do either. And that’s a sad state of affairs.

Edward R. Murrow is my new hero. He looked in the face of a corrupt government and brought a junior senator from Wisconsin to his knees. If only we had someone on television who was courageous enough to do the same now.

I’ll leave you with the words of Murrow himself. These are the actual last words of the speech that bookends the movie:

“There is a great and perhaps decisive battle to be fought against ignorance, intolerance and indifference. This weapon of television could be useful. Stonewall Jackson, who knew something about the use of weapons, is reported to have said, ‘When war comes, you must draw the sword and throw away the scabbard.’ The trouble with television is that it is rusting in the scabbard during a battle for survival.”

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go take up smoking.

Domino Harvey (Keira Knightley) is a bounty hunter. But it wasn’t always like that. Once she had a good life. She was the daughter of a popular actor (Laurence, star of The Manchurian Candidate) who grew up to be a model. Then, one day, she decided that she wanted to have a little fun. She had always been good with knives and nun-chucks. Now it’s time to learn how to use guns and chase people down.

She goes under the wing of Ed (Mickey Rourke—actually recognizable this time) and his sidekick, Choco (Edgar Ramirez) and becomes a very good bounty hunter. She has the advantage of being a beautiful young girl, so she can use that as well as the big guns.

As the three of them start to get a slightly higher profile, Domino’s mother (Jacqueline Bisset) puts them in touch with reality TV bigwig, Mark Heiss (Christopher Walken). He and his assistant (Mena Suvari) start following them around with celebrity hosts Brian Austin Green and Ian Ziering in tow.

Then there’s a mix-up with some money, a mob boss and his kids, Dabney Coleman, Macy Gray and the First Ladies. Things don’t go well.

The opening scenes with Domino and her crew giving a woman her son’s severed arm to decode a lock’s code were awesome. And then there were the opening credits, which were done in a really cool style with music that used snippets of each actor speaking when their names popped up. That was awesome.

But here’s the problem: the whole fucking movie ended up being like that. It was non-stop, Oliver Stone editing and it started to piss me off about half way through the movie’s nearly three hour length. (At least, it started to feel that long. I really don’t know if it was much over two hours.) I was tired of hearing every other line repeated in an echo. It was like I had taken a wrong turn into some room of Hell that was decorated by a schizophrenic MTV editor who had decided to take a few too many hits of mescaline before going to work.

Then the ending came. It’s a shoot-out that’s reminiscent of director Tony Scott’s own True Romance. But it was really, really good! And emotionally driven! It was weird. It was like I was suddenly in a different movie. One where I almost cared about the characters! Well, almost.

But by the time screenwriter Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko, the forthcoming Southland Tales) came out, I decided that I really didn’t like the movie. It literally had the attention span of the aforementioned ferret and went on for WAY too long. But there were a lot of funny parts that made it worth seeing. At least at a matinee.

Then people started asking questions about it. And Richard, in his shy sort of way, started to kind of explain things.

First off, it’s a satire of biopics. The opening title card says, “Based on a true story…..sort of.” And Domino says at the end something along the lines of, “If you want to know how things really happened, fuck off. It’s none of your fucking business.” This isn’t the way things went down at all. It’s a totally fabricated version of Domino Harvey’s story.

Second, it’s all a fever dream. (No, Domino doesn’t wake up in her Beverly Hills house having dreamed the whole thing. That would REALLY suck.) The whole movie is told from the point of view of someone who is telling an FBI agent (Lucy Liu) the whole story. But that story is seen through the eyes of about a pound of mescaline. (You’ll see.)

Then things started to make sense. Well, a little more, anyway. Richard said that, if you see it more than once, you start to pick out little clues that things aren’t as they seem. This isn’t Domino’s real life. This is her version of it. And it’s really fucked up because so is she. The editing? The echoed voices? All part of the weird-ass dream that she is telling this agent. That’s why those scenes are always shot pretty normally. It’s the story that’s all fucked up, not the movie. (And, being written by Kelly, it’s definitely fucked up.)

There are a lot of little meta-jokes and self-reflexive bits that point to this, too. There’s a character that shows up towards the end that may or may not exist. (His songs certainly do exist on the soundtrack, though.) Macy Gray is in the film and her song plays towards the end while she’s on screen. There’s a reference to Charlie’s Angels. There are references to “Beverly Hills 90210” all through the film. And, of course, the shoot-out at the end.

So, in the end, after having the whole thing explained to me, I actually kind of liked the movie. It’ll be interesting to see how people take it without the explanation.

And, it’ll be interesting to see how people react to the “Japanic” scene.

DOMINO—Kiera Knightly stars in this Tony Scott flick about the model who turned into a bounty hunter as a last resort to stay out of prison. Based on a true story…sort of. It looks like a lot of fun as long as you can get past the fact that the subject of the film was recently found dead in a hotel room. But I didn’t know who the hell she was really, so I’m sure I can ignore it and just enjoy Kiera running around shooting people and looking hot. Especially since Christopher Walken is in it. I’m already in line.

WAITING…–A movie about waiters at a cheesy theme restaurant starring Ryan Reynolds. It looks so awful, and yet so good. I’m sure it’ll be on the same level as Van Wilder (maybe a little bit better), but I kinda liked Van Wilder. (Sorry. It’s funny.) And it’s got hot chicks and John Francis Daly (“Freaks And Geeks”), so I’m there.

SAW II—Are we really interested in this? The first one was so bad that I was NOT interested in seeing what else the killer could do. I would say that the preview looks good, but the preview to the first one looked awesome! Until I hear someone say that it’s good, I’m avoiding it.

Now, on to the more serious subject here.

Yuri Orlov (Nicolas Cage) is a gunrunner. No, wait. He’s not just a gunrunner. He’s THE gunrunner of the late 80s and throughout the 90s. He sold to Nigeria, Afghanistan, most of the countries born out of the Soviet Union and hundreds of other countries. And he’s target number one for Jack Valentine (Ethan Hawke), the only honest Interpol agent that Orlov knows of.

Yuri got his younger brother, Vitaly (Jared Leto), involved, but he didn’t have much of a taste for it. He actually felt responsibility for the kids who were killed by guns he helped sell. Weirdo.

Yuri’s job did, however, help him with the woman of his dreams, Ava Fontaine (Bridget Moynahan).

Andrew Niccol (Gattaca, S1m0ne, The Truman Show) spent a lot of time with real gunrunners to get this character just right. Of course, I have no idea if he succeeded because I’ve never known any real gunrunners, but Nic was pretty perfect for it and the script was awesome. Yuri is totally charming, but he exudes an evil that, even though he’s the main character, makes it VERY difficult to feel any sympathy for him at all. Of course it doesn’t help that everything always seems to go right for him.

This is a movie that all gun enthusiasts should see. Anyone who has ever said, “Guns don’t kill people. People kill people” should see this film. How can you NOT blame the guy who brought these guns to these people? How can a gunrunner not be at least a little bit to blame for the hostility in West Africa? How can the US not be to blame for supplying weapons to Iraq AND Iran in the 70s and 80s? Yes, they would have found a way, but they wouldn’t have had weapons as good as the ones we gave them. Things would not have escalated as fast or as far. Fewer people would have died. Perhaps even the World Trade Center wouldn’t have fallen.

But a political commentary is not the purpose of this review (although it’s CERTAINLY a purpose of the movie). I’m here to say that this movie is very good. It’s also a very important movie. It may not be perfect, but it does kind of remind me of Goodfellas. (Constant voice-overs, immoral protagonist, etc.) If you like any of these actors, Niccol or are interested in the lives of evil men who don’t think they’re evil, check this one out.