Tim's Quick Movie Reviews
Million Dollar Baby
Starring: Hillary Swank, Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman
Director: Clint Eastwood
Rating: ****
This movie is proof that Clint Eastwood is much better as a director than he ever was as an actor. After Oscar acclaim with his movies Unforgiven and last year's Mystic River, Eastwood continues to show that he can craft together a movie that can effectively tell its story and show its characters to the audience. Eastwood's excellent portrayal of an old boxing cut-man and trainer is overshadowed by Hillary Swank, playing a headstrong, determined trailer-park boxer. Morgan Freeman, in yet another loveable role, reads the narrative and plays Eastwood's character's close friend. The movie departs from the usual sports genre by focusing on character and developing its heart-felt story of a determined woman with nothing to lose and everything to gain. The development of the relationship between Eastwood and Swank's character is very interesting to observe throughout the film. A touching story and a must-see for anyone who appreciates classic movie-making.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith
Starring: Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie
Director: Doug Liman
Rating: ***
For those who want to turn their brains off and just enjoy a fun, summer action movie, this is just up your alley. Mr. & Mrs. Smith is a typical action movie with a twist similar to True Lies where a married couple discovers they are each assassins hired to kill eath other. This could have been a terrible movie... or at its best, a run-of-the-mill action movie. Fortunately, the chemistry between real-life couple Pitt and Jolie elevate the movie enough to make the movie actually enjoyable. Watching the two interact on screen is fun and they both fill into their roles easily. There is plenty of gunfire, explosions, car chases, and laughs to satisfy action junkies and the wit and chemistry between the two leads makes this a fun, enjoyable action movie... as long as you turn your brain off, of course.
The Machinist
Starring: Christian Bale, Jennifer Jason Leigh
Director: Brad Anderson
Rating: *** 1/2
The Machinist is a dark, mind-bending movie that brings elements of movies such as Fight Club and Memento, both of which I really enjoyed. The movie follows a lonely machinist, played by the shockingly skinny Christian Bale, who is trying to unravel a mystery. I do not want to reveal too much but the story follows Bale as he tries to determine if he is going crazy, if the mysterious man he sees at work is real, or if much of what is happening to him just in his mind, due to his case of insomnia. The twist ending will surely leave some people scratching their heads but the whole movie has been crafted with a high level of suspense and dreariness. The director has shot the movie with dark tones and his use of Bale's outstanding performance and frighteningly thin physique almost creates another dimension for the characters to dwell in. I've seen Bale in Batman Begins (reviewed below), Equilibrium, and in the quirky American Psycho but this movie has really cemented him as one of the new elite young actors of today.
Batman Begins
Starring: Christian Bale, Liam Neeson, Michael Caine, Katie Holmes, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman
Director: Christopher Nolan
Rating: *** 1/2
Upon hearing that a new dark batman film was being filmed, I was excited and apprehensive. I was excited because I have been long-waiting for a Batman movie to go back to its comic book roots and tell the Bruce Wayne tale the way it was meant to be told. I enjoyed the style and mood of the first movie, directed by Tim Burton, but the series has been on a downfall ever since. The last couple of Batman movies (Batman Forever, Batman & Robin) were utterly pathetic and too goofy and silly to be taken seriously (the same could be said for the two lead actors playing Batman in those movies: Val Kilmer and George Clooney. Therefore, I was definitely excited that a dark, comic-faithful Batman movie was being produced. Then, apprehension hit as I read Christopher Nolan would be the director and Christian Bale would play the lead role. Nolan's Memento remains one of my favourite movies of all time but Batman material was completely different from a movie such as Memento and I wasn't sure if Nolan could capture the style, substance, or event he action of the Dark Knight story. Also, at the time, I only knew of Bale from American Psycho and Equilibrium and immediately thought he might have been miscast as Bruce Wayne. All my doubts were answered, however, as Batman Begins is, in my opinion perhaps the best Batman movie ever made. Nolan captured the mood and darkness of Gotham City, the brooding nature of Batman, and the complexity of Bruce Wayne while Bale delivers a solid performance and seemed to be born to wear the cape and cowl. The movie had great action sequences, great visuals, and a good cast of characters. My only annoyances were with the Katie Holmes character (she really couldn't act in this movie) and the Batmobile (sorry, the Batmobile as a tumbler SUV-like truck is a far cry from the fast sports car we all know the Batmobile should be). Overall, however, I thoroughly enjoyed the movie and am eagerly awaiting the sequel.
War of the Worlds
Starring: Tom Cruise, Dakotah Fanning, Tim Robbins
Director: Steven Spielberg
Rating: **
One word to sum up this movie: disappointment. I had high expectations when I heard Steven Spielberg would be helming a summer disaster movie. This can NOT be the same Steven Spielberg that so masterfully directed such movies as Jaws, E.T., Jurassic Park, Saving Private Ryan, and Minority Report, can it? I guess even the best directors can't elevate a terrible screenplay and an uninspired concept. Cruise plays a bad father who is caught in the middle of an alien invasion. The aliens come out of the ground and start to vaporize and destroy everything in sight but we follow the Cruise character throughout the movie because it would seem the aliens can destroy a whole city but can't seem to hit Tom Cruise now can they? The concept is silly, the tripod aliens are silly, and the way Cruise turns the tides on the aliens is quite silly as well. The action and destruction was more fun in Independence Day and the suspense was more frightening in Aliens. The pacing is erratic, switching from full-blown destruction action sequences to a crawl when aliens spend a painstakingly long time searching the basement of a single house for Cruise and his family. Overall, a silly movie without much going for it and definitely not worth the price of admission. I sure hope Spielberg's next project will redeem himself.
Hitch
Starring: Will Smith, Eva Mendes
Director: Andy Tennant
Rating: ***
Hitch is a delightfully entertaining romantic comedy about a man, Hitch (Smith), who is essentially a matchmaker for bopeless men who would never get the women of their dreams without Hitch's help. The movie has a sweet charm and humour that I enjoyed and Will Smith returns to comic form, carrying the movie with his charm and antics. We even get to see Smith in a fade top, something we haven't seen since the Fresh Prince of Bel Air TV show. Eva Mendes plays Hitch's love interest. The movie avoids all the "teen humour" and "dirty jokes" and opts for more mature humour, good comic timing, and Will Smith just being himself. There were definitely some laugh-out-loud-moments and the love story, although expectedly cheesy, has its own sweetness that makes it much easier to accept.
Sin City
Starring: Bruce Willis, Clive Owen, Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Benicio Del Toro, Brittany Murphy
Director: Robert Rodriguez & Frank Miller
Rating: *** 1/2
Pulp comic book style at its finest. This movie is worth watching just to enjoy the stunning dark visuals that director Robert Rodriguez has concocted in his vision of Frank Miller's comic books. The movie drips with style, shot entirely on blue screens, and with mostly black&white tones and the occasional red or coloured accent to catch the eye. The movie follows three inter-twining stories and characters all dedicated to their own brand of justice. The screenplay and pace of the movie are very well down, the characters are acted adequately enough, and the whole movie just screams its originality. A very enjoyable, stylish movie that puts a new spin on the capabilities of a film-maker. Essentially, it's exactly what it would feel like to live in the comic book world of Frank Miller's Sin City.
