I loved Zach Braff’s film debut in Garden State (2004), and so I had been eagerly looking forward to his role in the new release The Last Kiss. The movie’s other promising credit is writer Paul Haggis, who recently provided the complex and profound script for Crash (2005). Emerging from this talent is a film of real artistic quality that falls regrettably short of moral or human truth.
Braff plays Michael, a 29-year-old architect living with his pregnant girlfriend, Jenna, in Madison,...
Part of a recent influx of movies about heroic servicemen, Flyboys tells the story of WWI fighter pilots from America who volunteer to fight for France prior to the United States’ entry into the conflict. These young men learn to operate frighteningly primitive machines merely three years after the invention of the airplane. Unfortunately, given this foundation of heroic courage and sacrifice, Flyboys achieves only mediocrity.
The men who form this crude air force fill a variety of...
Recently released on DVD, this profound film was produced in India by writer/director Deepa Mehta. Water tells the story of Chuyia, an eight-year-old girl who is widowed. Against her will, she goes to live in a home with other widows, who, according to Hindu tradition, are to live their remaining days in prayer and penance. Amidst this landscape of shocking injustice emerges Gandhi, a hero who brings hope for those oppressed by social customs and by British imperial rule.
Chuyia has no...
Invincible tells the story of Vince Papale, an unemployed substitute teacher from Philadelphia who remains a loyal Eagles fan despite a string of losing seasons. Set in 1975, the city of Philadelphia undergoes hardship in its economy as well as its professional sports, and Papale becomes a sign of hope when he earns a spot on the Eagles roster, living the dream of every fan.
It is Dick Vermeil’s first season coaching the Eagles, and he attempts to raise the fans’ morale by holding open...
Oliver Stone’s new film about the September 11th attacks is the first big-screen portrayal of those events with big names and a budget large enough to reach major audiences throughout the country. Based on the true story of two port authority police officers pulled alive from the collapsed towers, World Trade Center is an attempt to bring a story of hope to memories of violence.
In other films (Platoon, JFK), Stone has been criticized for sensationalizing actual events, mingling fact and...
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy the 109 minutes I spent watching The Devil Wears Prada, primarily because Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep are quite amusing in their roles. Nothing in this movie was profound enough to provoke a second viewing, but it does offer a needed message about simplicity and integrity.
Hathaway plays Andy, a recent college graduate longing to make it big as a journalist in New York City, who finds herself working as the second personal assistant to Miranda,...
Without question, The Heart of the Game is the best film I have seen in 2006. The only unfortunate thing about it is that it is in limited release throughout the country. If it is currently playing in your area, see it soon or you may lose your chance.
This engaging documentary about a high school girls’ basketball team originated as the chronicle of a single season. Thankfully, director Ward Serrill was so taken with his subjects that he continued filming for seven years. The result...
Imagine a combination of Garrison Keillor’s radio show A Prairie Home Companion and Robert Altman’s unique style of directing. In its execution, this film blends the two distinct styles to create a product that lies somewhere between absurd and profound.
The story chronicles the variety show’s last live radio broadcast before being shut down by new ownership. Absent-minded private eye, Guy Noir (also security guard and part-time narrator), spends the evening chasing down the beautiful...
Pirates of the Caribbean has become quite the cultural phenomenon since its release in 2003, spawning a plethora of popular quotations, Halloween costumes and Happy Meal toys. Personally, I am not ashamed to admit that I have seen the original film several times. Its charm lies in its originality; it was unexpectedly mature for a Disney film, and Johnny Depp’s idiosyncratic Captain Jack Sparrow revived the morally ambiguous character of the pirate.
The biggest disappointment of Dead...
First, I admit that I have never read Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, nor have I ever been tempted to do so. Consequently, I will do my best to judge the film on its own merits, making no comparison to the book's style or content and attempting to lay the hype and controversy aside as much as possible.
That being said, I found DVC entertaining as a mystery/thriller, with somewhat the same affinity I feel for National Treasure (2004). The former film, with its 149-minute run time, did drag...
