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Nothing But the Truth (2008)
Intelligently written. Potent performances. Superlatively gripping story.
Anytime I see a project that has Rod Lurie attached, I can't get to a screening fast enough. His writing is always intelligent, decisive, thought provoking, timely and topical, with a story that embraces integrity, ethics, morals and social conscience. His direction is always with military crispness, sharp and clean. His casting choices are impeccable and his characters well crafted, multi-textural, fractured human beings that have a fire about them that draws one as a viewer ever deeper into the story and the film. Lurie now attains even greater heights with the riveting NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH. Championing justice and the high price of integrity, conviction and principle, he takes a page from today's headlines and makes it his own with a story involving a top notch journalist and an exposed undercover CIA operative and the the fight to protect not only a source but the values of motherhood, family, privacy and the right to know.
Kate Beckinsale is mesmerizing as Rachel Armstrong. A physically demanding role given the intense prison sequences, her physicality pales in comparison to the emotional intensity and strength she puts forth on screen. Like a caged animal, she calculates every move, every action, every reaction with an internal ferocity that ignites every scene. Equally amazing is Vera Farmiga as Erica Van Doren. Having just seen Farmiga as a devoted loving WWII mother in "The Boy In The Striped Pajamas", I was blown away by her tough as nails, hard core performance as Van Doren which she balanced with a carefully toned maternal edge; an act equaling that of Beckinsale's maternal double edged sword.
As if the women aren't reason enough to be on the edge of your seat with Lurie's taut script, enter Noah Wylie, Matt Dillon and Alan Alda. Noah Wylie was a surprise casting choice as Avril Aaronson but he is a completely neurotic firey self-involved frenetic attorney - to a tee. But then toss in a little taste of a legal oil slick in the form of Matt Dillon as prosecutor Patton Dubois and the ante is upped exponentially. As Dubois, Dillon brings new levels of arrogance and self-importance to the perception of attorneys (and trust me, many are very arrogant) which sparks dynamic chemistry between he and Beckinsale. And then there's Alan Alda. Always a welcome addition to any film, and particularly a Rod Lurie film, Alda is the voice of reason, the conscience of the film. He gives reasoned voice to the character of Rachel and never moreso than in one of the most impassioned and empowered monologues addressing the Supreme Court. That exquisitely written argument and Alda's delivery is phenomenal. It is the social conscience and fundamental essence of the film. Powerful and priceless, it's eloquence defies description.
Lurie himself even says, "I think Kate is just fantastic in the film, as is Vera and Alan. " A real coup was the casting of one of the seminal First Amendment attorneys in the United States, Floyd Abrams, who stepped in not only to play Judge Hall, but he also served as technical adviser on the film. Sometimes he would stop in the middle of the shoot and say 'this is wrong' to which Lurie would tell him, 'You're playing it, play it right." The meticulous detail of the written structure is equaled by Lurie's fine tuned direction. Metaphorically addressing the issues of the film through light and texture, the visual aspect of the film is as interesting as the dialogue. What strikes me most, however, is the intricately woven clues that lead up to the surprise climactic ending where we finally do learn the answers to Rachel's personal convictions. It will blow your mind.
Intelligently written. Potent performances. Superlative gripping story. A principled film that speaks soberly and passionately about standing up for one principles; be it a soccer mom, CIA agent or reporter. When all is said and done there is NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH.
Written and directed by Rod Lurie.
For my complete review of the film and interviews with Rod Lurie and Kate Beckinsale, go to www.moviesharkdeblore.com
La marche de l'empereur (2005)
A Rare Gem That Is Visually Stunning and Emotionally Stimulating.
I had the privilege of being one of the first critics to review this exquisite work of art at the Los Angeles Film Festival. Quite simply, "March of the Penguins" is the MUST SEE FILM OF THE YEAR!
Antarctica was not always the pristine frozen tundra that we see today. On the contrary, eons ago the land was warm and fertile, filed with a myriad of flora and fauna. But as the tides turned and the winds grew cold, in the truest sense of Darwinism (survival of the fittest), the little Emperor Penguin adapted to the ever changing world to become pretty much the only real resident of this now icy continent. And as part of that survival, the Emperor Penguin (some 3-4 feet in height and 90 pounds of cuteness) has returned each year to what has become their evolutionary breeding grounds "where each and every one of them has been born" for centuries. As testament to their innate adaptability, the penguins have long ago learned that "home" must be inland where the ice is thickest so as not to fall into the chilly seas when spring thaws the icy floes. Even young chicks have this innate sense of survival and seemingly without instruction know where to go and what! to do.
Marching single file through catabatic conditions, blinding blizzards and gale force winds across 70 some miles of icy plains, the male Emperor Penguins leave the safety of the ocean once a year in the fall as they head to their instinctively known breeding grounds to find the love of their life and satisfy their overwhelming urge to reproduce. And yes, it is true, the Emperor Penguin has one mate for life. Fascinatingly, once the female lays a lone egg, it is the male that stands as guardian until hatching while the female goes out across the plains back to the ocean to forage not only for her own nourishment, but for her young chick as well. In two months when the little hatchlings arrive, it's up to mom to make sure that she makes it back with food for her young, at which point, dad then heads back out to see. A cycle that continues until the young chick is able to make its first venture into the icy seas of the Antarctic, a more beautiful story of familial love can not be found.
Four years in the making, Jacquet and his crew spent over a year in Antarctica. Using 16mm film in order to capture the true magnificence of the region, Jacquet and his crew shot 120 hours of footage, eventually editing it down to 80 minutes of the most breathtakingly beautiful, elegant and endearing film around. With specialized underwater cameras, he was able to obtain never before seen footage of the penguins underwater - a site that will make your eyes wide with the wonder of those of a child.
Not only concerned with minimizing human contact with the 1200 plus penguins filmed during this march, Jacquet and his crew faced some incredible technical and logistical challenges. 130 pounds of equipment had to be carried daily by each crew member working a day's shoot. According to one of the Directors of Photography Laurent Chalet, only two things ever kept them from shooting - the weather and running out of film when out on ice floes. Jacquet and company also lacked the luxury of dailies or rushes and never saw even one frame film until after they had returned to "civilization." There was also the added uncertainty of not knowing when the penguins would be gathering for their march or what would happen as nature took its course, which meant the crew had to be ready at a moment's notice.
The result of Jacquet's commitment and dedication to this specialized form of documentary is a film for the entire family. With exacting simplicity and emotion, "March of the Penguins" is a rare gem that is not just visually stunning and stimulating, but emotionally stimulating as well. It touches the heart. With sparse narration by Morgan Freeman, written by Jordan Roberts, and beauteous orchestrations led by conductor Jeff Schindler, Jacquet lets the magic of the penguins speak for itself.
Come March 2006, don't be surprised to see "March of Penguins" waddle away with a Best Picture Oscar, just like the Emperor Penguins will waddle into your heart.
The Dukes of Hazzard (2005)
One bright spot - the General Lee
Okay filmmakers. Let's repeat the mantra: "We shall think of new ideas. Remakes of movies and TV series are not a good thing." And the latest evidence of this is "The Dukes of Hazzard." Now folks, for those of you that don't know me, me and the Dukes, well, we go way back to the mid 80's. I had the good fortune of doing some occasional work on the show, had the gift of knowing and watching some incredible stunt people and have the ultimate pleasure of being friends with one of the original Duke boys. And let me tell, what we've got on the big screen August 5 ain't the Dukes.
We all know the basic Duke story - Just some good old boys named Bo and Luke (plus a pretty cousin named Daisy and a country-wise old uncle named Jesse) down in Hazzard County always trying' to stay one step ahead of the law and Boss Hogg. . . and always takin' time out to help a friend or a stranger in need. And let's not forget, the Dukes' faithful orange Charger, The General Lee (which is the best part of the film) which get them out of more scrapes than Carter has pills. For this big screen version, the Dukes have to outsmart and outwhip Boss Hogg as they try to save their farm (and Uncle Jesse's moonshine business). Using one of the original television scripts, "Farewell, Hazzard" which dealt with efforts to strip-mine Hazzard, as their starting point, writer John O'Brien and director Jay Chandrasekhar went downhill from there, almost turning the film into an endorsement for felonious conduct.
With a storyline that is well, come to think of it, where is the storyline? Uncle Jesse a pothead? Bo and Luke (in these incarnations) on a college campus let alone being "lost" in a girls dorm? The General Lee in big city traffic? Overly tanned Burt Reynolds in a shiny white suit? "Jackass" star Johnny Knoxville takes on the role of Luke Duke. Let me tell you - Johnny Knoxville is nooooo Tom Wopat. Knoxville as Luke Duke can only be described as the title of his last film - jackass. If he was trying to mock the Luke Duke character, he did a great job. If he was trying to create his own version or imitate Wopat's style - he failed miserably. Knoxville has no sense of comedic timing. Even worse, he has no sense of or ability to convey sincerity and comes across as nothing but a buffoon. And what is up with those aviator sunglasses?? Seann William Scott turns in a better performance with his take on Bo Duke, although as bad as the film is as a whole, that's not saying much. I'll give him this much though, his timing is impeccable (or at least it seems to be given the haphazard nature of the project as a whole) and you can actually see some effort being put forth with his delivery of dialogue. Sadly, the script is so lacking and incomplete that it's difficult to determine just how good he actually is. Which brings us to Jessica Simpson as Daisy Duke. (Isn't her 15 minutes of fame over yet?) I'm still uncertain as to whether or not she had a larger role which was whittled down to possibly 15 minutes of ass-shaking due to an inability to speak dialogue or was this shortcoming of hers already a known commodity and taken into account when (a) writing the script or (b) when casting the role.
Wasted in this film are the supporting talents of Burt Reynolds as Boss Hogg, Joe Don Baker as the Governor of Georgia, Willie Nelson as Uncle Jesse and Lynda Carter as family friend Pauline. (Not even Wonder Woman can save this disaster!) Sad to say it, but Hazzard just ain't the same without James Best's "Roscoe P. Coltrane" and his "little fat buddy" Boss Hogg played by Sorrell Booke.
One of the keys to the success of the original Dukes was the genuine heartfelt camaraderie of family and friends that permeated every episode - something sorely lacking here not only with each individual performance but among the entire cast. And again, this hearkens back to a lukewarm, lackluster and let's face it - lousy - script.
But, there is one bright spot - the General Lee. Still the star and center attraction, thanks to an incredible second unit and stunt team - including Steve Kelso who was a driver for 3 years on the TV series - you know that with every "yee-haw!!!!!" and blare of "Dixie", you're gonna see the General go flyin' through the air with more ease, more deft and more pizzaz than any of its human co-stars. Just to show you how meticulous the filmmakers were in dealing with this pop icon (thankfully they cared about something), 26 Dodge Chargers were put to use here, including one from the original series that was called upon for some "close up" work. Interestingly, due to a shortage of 1969 Chargers, 1968 and 1970 models were converted to look like the '69.
Unfortunately, this is a film that begs comparison to the television series and because of that draws more criticism than were it to stand alone - although standing alone it still insults the intelligence of every moviegoer out there.
Undead (2003)
Destined to become one of the cult classics of our time
As many of you may know, I love horror films. (Could be because most of them remind me of my brother Ed.) So I made a special point to catch "Undead", latest foray into the world of zombies courtesy of the brothers, Michael and Peter Spierig. Whether meant to be serious or a comedic parody is up for debate, but one thing is for sure - this is one fun film guaranteed to hold its own with some of those other all times classics such as "Night of the Living Dead" and "Dawn of the Dead".
The cast of characters is as interesting as the premise of the film itself. We've got former beauty queen Rene, nervous-Nelly police officer Harrison, rookie first-day-on-the-job cop Molly, tough guy Marion and newlyweds/expectant parents, Wayne and Sally Anne. Beauty Queen Rene (referred to by locals as Ms. Catch-of-the-Day) is down on her luck. Having just lost the family farm, she tries to leave town and start anew only to be stopped by zombie roadblocks. Seems that not only Rene is having a bad day, as meteors are streaking to the earth, and specifically the small Australian fishing town of Berkeley, transforming its inhabitants into flesh-eating zombies. (Come on - is there any other kind?) Fearing for her life, she stumbles onto an abandoned farmhouse where she meets fellow survivors. Hidden by foliage and, let's face it, the creepiness of the house, these people have remained unscathed by the terror around them. Marion, himself who looks as scary as the zombies, and who coincidentally owns a gun shop, knew this day would come and has steeled himself! for the zombie onslaught. Determined not to become dinner for the zombies, the group bands together and attempts to leave town but are met by one stumbling block after another. Alien abductions, acid rain and an over-sized alien wall that surrounds the town only add to the mix. Who knows what aliens have to do with zombies, but it helps to make for a rather interesting, and at times comical, mix.
Virtual unknowns all, Mungo McKay is perhaps the most convincing actor in the bunch with his take on Marion. Gruff, never quite sure if the guy is insane or just gun happy, McKay can make a believer out of anyone. Dirk Hunter is a hoot as Harrison but has a tendency to be so annoyingly quirky that one hopes the zombies get him. On the other hand, Felicity Mason making her acting debut here as Rene, seems destined to be filmdom's next horror queen.
An ambitious effort clearly inspired by horror master Sam Raimi, the Spierig brothers write, direct and edit "Undead." With a budget of under $1 million, they do an admirable job of providing almost every zombie effect known to mankind, yet fall short when it comes to deciding if the film is to be interpreted as a parody or to be taken for the seriousness of the zombie situation. The script waffles with uncertainty and as a result, never quite makes it into one specific genre. Of note are the surprise plot twists that pop up about halfway through the film taking us from ghouls and gore to shades of Muldaur and Scully in the "X-Files." If nothing else, the Spierigs do not lack for imagination. Technically, the film is polished and given the limited budget, has superb visuals. It's clear to see where their budget went. I fully expect their future films to have a script that better suits their technical creativity.
Flesh crazy gore and ghoulish camp all at the same time, "Undead" is destined to become one of the cult classics of our time. But for now, its got all the makings for some great summer night movie-going.