Archive for March, 2003

Basic

  • Written by Box Office Boredom
  • Posted March 28, 2003 at 11:37 pm

A Film Review By Jason L. King

< Rating:Rated R for violence and some language Starring: John Travolta, Connie Nielson, Giovonni Ribisi, Taye Diggs and a Deep Blue Sea Performance By Samuel L. Jackson Directed By:John McTiernan 

Final Grade: 

Movies at times can be a lot like murder investigations. In some of the more complex cases, everyone has a motive, yet no one has the answers. And no matter how you add things up, the one thing you find is that nothing adds up. It’s nice to know that in a lot of murder investigations we can find comfort in the thought that in the end, a lot of the times the crime gets solved. In the case of movies however, sometimes we are not given that luxury. You would think it’s the Basic premise of a movie to try not and confuse the audience, but in the end some films just want you to walk away with more questions than answers. If you are up for a film like that, jump in line for the newest Travolta flick, Basic.

Basic is the story of DEA agent who is being investigated for bribery and his investigation of the disappearance of an Army Ranger. Travolta stars as Tom Hardy, a gritty DEA agent under suspicion of taking bribes who is brought in to interrogate an Army Ranger about the disappearance of his superior (Samuel L. Jackson). But as the plot thickens, Hardy and his rookie partner Julia Osbourne (Connie Neilson – One Hour Photo) is pulled into a web of lies, deceit and hidden truths that lead up to a shocking turn of events.

The film was built up on the premise of the return of Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson together on the screen, but sadly enough, Jackson wasn’t in this film for much longer than he was in Deep Blue Sea, years ago. His actual interaction with Travolta lasted for maybe 3 minutes at the most, and was far from the Reprise of the two “Pulp Fiction” actors that they had hyped. I can honestly say that I was let down by the lack of Samuel L. Jackson, but I must say the few scenes he was in, I was easy to be in awe of his acting. I highly doubt that anyone can really look anyone in the eye and truthfully say that they think Samuel L. Jackson is not a gifted actor. I have been proven wrong before, but I don’t think too many will disagree with me on this one. Travolta on the other hand, is known more widely as a mediocre film star. Travolta’s career was only brought back from the dead because of a small time video clerk with an overactive imagination, who saw him as a star and cast him in his low budget success we all know as Pulp Fiction. Years later we find his return to the screen has once again given us an influx of decent and not so decent films. There is something about Travolta that I have never been able to lay a finger on. I don’t really hate him, but I don’t really like him either, never the less I still find myself in the box office lines for his movies. He has some sort of strange voodoo like powers that I will never understand.

I’d like to say that Basic impressed me because of it’s sudden turn a 360 at the end with a plot twist that even I wasn’t expecting, but the truth is that Basic was just that: Basic. The plot was almost cookie cutter the whole way through, so you knew there had to have been some sort of twist at the end, otherwise it would have been the worst film since Domestic Disturbance (What a surprise, another Travolta flick!). So the big “plot twist” really didn’t phase me at all. But then the film took the plot twist idea to the next level, and twisted the plot twist. If that sounds confusing, believe me watching it was the same way. The average moviegoer in me sat there trying to figure out just what exactly was happening, while the critic sat there saying this movie is trying way too hard. In the world of film, you can pull of a Primal Fear like twist once (if you haven’t seen Primal Fear, check it out), but when you do a Primal Fear twist on top of already weird plot twist you get a movie that was just trying to be too intelligent for it’s own good.

Despite the ending, the plot and the lack of Samuel L. Screen time that I was expecting, I must say that Basic was an ok flick if nothing else. I did not enjoy it, but I did not hate it either. It was a lot like Travolta’sSwordfish from a year a few years back. You either loved Swordfish from the start, hated it from the start, or it grew on you as time went on. Swordfish grew on me, and I can now find enjoyment in it. Basic is still up for question, and something tells me It’s not going to grow on me as time passes, but we will just have to see…

As for all of you, is Basic worth the cash? This is one of those films that I just can’t say yes, but I just can’t say no either. In a time when there are a lot of mediocre films out there, Basic is just another one of a million, the only problem is this is a mediocre film that is slightly better than the rest…. 

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Filed under: Action, Movies, Suspense

The Core

  • Written by Box Office Boredom
  • Posted at 12:25 am

A Film Review By Michael Haley

Rating:PG-13 for intense images of mass destruction D. J. Qualls’ nose.
Starring: Hilary Swank, Stanley Tucci, Delroy Lindo, D. J. Qualls.
Directed By:Jon Amiel

Final Grade:

Ah, something we haven’t seen for at least a year or two…the big budgeted disaster film that promises hope and thrills in the face of an upcoming disaster that will obliterate humanity as we know it. These movies are often loud, dumb, and only pay attention to the laws of Physics when the plot requires these laws to kill a valuable crew member. Theoretically, I should resist movies like this. But you know something…when a film such as this comes out, that’s so ridiculous, so ludicrously impossible, so wrong on almost every level…I just can’t help but recommend it, and cheer it as well. The film doesn’t have a shred of artistic integrity, but as a B film and for entertainment purposes, the film offers a lot of bang for your buck. If there ever was a good popcorn movie, this would be it.

The center of the earth has stopped spinning, and according to the movie, this will cease the production of the earth’s magnetic field, thus causing the earth to be bombarded with intense radiation from solar winds. This is nicely demonstrated early in the film with a can of air freshener, a lighter and an apple, as he shows the apple, or the earth, being burned to a crisp. There is no way humanly possible to repair this problem. Or is there? It so happens that a hermit scientist is building a machine that can not only a) withstand intense temperatures (by getting stronger as it absorbs heat) and b) has the ability to drill via intense rays of radiation. He quickly finishes work on this machine named “Virgil” and the all star crew heads on into the planet to jump start the core with nuclear weapons. Is our little planet doomed?

I suppose on a theoretical level, and than allowing room for some debate, some of this is possible. The film, at least in the first hour, does try to make an effort to coherently explain the physics involved. However, most of the events that occur are silly at best. For one thing, the core does not spin but only rotates at a very slightly different than the rest of the planet. And even so, it has stopped “spinning” in the past, and nothing exciting really happened. No intense radiation, no obliteration of life on earth…just another day in the park. Also, the mere notion of these people not only heading into the planet but journeying to the center of the earth as well…I’m sorry, but I just can’t the movie very seriously when the whole idea is ludicrous. This magic metal that gets stronger off of heat…even at temperatures in the four digit range? That this metal is stronger but still doesn’t give in at the hundreds of thousands of pounds of pressure being exerted upon it? And my favorite of the film’s many hilariously stupid moments…when matter within the earth stops up the ship, and the crew members travel OUTSIDE the ship to repair it…beautiful. Somehow their suits are made of similar material and can withstand this pressure, breeding the line (paraphrased) “Man, I’m sure glad these suits work!”

I could on all day about the film’s technical flaws and not begin to scratch the surface. And that’s sad, because I’m a Psychology student and suck at Physics in a big time way…imagine what the learned individual in such matters would have to say at the idea of a ship traveling through pure magma. Even so, and I can’t believe I’m doing this, I’m recommending it.

Despite the cheesiness of the plot, I still found myself curious at every step what would happen next, what crisis would threaten them, and what crew member would be the next to go for the greater good. I liked how some concepts of Physics were played with in other ways, such as how they find out upon reaching the core that the core isn’t as dense as what scientists had thought, and how everything we know about the earth is nothing more than a best guess. I liked how the film had enough character development to get the point across but not pretend it was anything more than it was, a popcorn flick, and I especially liked the fact that Aerosmith didn’t find their way onto the soundtrack (although that might have been funny…boyfriend tells his girl that he’s a headin’ into the earth while “I Don’t Wanna Miss a Thing” comes on the soundtrack). (WEBMASTER’S NOTE (Jason): Jason is cringing at the fact that Michael trashing on The Greatest American Rock Band of All Time (Styx is a close second))

It still would’ve been nice to see more of the actual core or the journey within instead of the camera fixed within the ship the whole time, because if the movie is taking this much liberty with science, than why not come up with some really cool vision of the elements of the earth as they come together within? I generally liked the images I was given, but I wanted more dammit! I wanted to actually see the ship travel through magma for an extended shot, just to further hammer in the implausibility of the whole ordeal. It really would’ve been really nice if they would have fired D.J. Quall’s sorry ass from the film so he can pursue the career that he was really meant for…professional loser.

But I’m being way too serious over a film that does not demand any form of seriousness at all (and if it does, than Lord help us all). Normally I’d recommend something like City of God over something like this, but for what this is…a cheesy disaster movie, this is actually one of the better ones. Don’t take the previous statement out of context…if City of God is playing than by all means see that one first, but for a light and entertaining flick, you really can’t go wrong with this one. At the core of this film is nothing but fluffy stuff, but in this case, the fluffy stuff tastes pretty damned good.

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Filed under: Action, Movies, Science Fiction

Head of State

  • Written by Box Office Boredom
  • Posted at 12:20 am

A Film Review By The Mike

Rating:Rated PG-13 for rampant stupidity 
Starring: Chris Rock, Bernie Mac, Dylan Baker, Tracy Morgan 
Directed By: Chris Rock 

Final Grade: 

Chris Rock is a funny man. His stand up comedy is funny. His TV appearances are funny. His supporting roles in movies are funny. Unfortunately, his starring roles usually are not funny. With the possible exception of Down to Earth, which was more of a quasi-success due to a fun premise and supporting cast, his attempts at headlining have fallen short of funny. Now he tries directing his first film, Head of State, and he fails miserably.

Head of State is a film about Mays Gilliam (Rock), a simple man whom thinks he can help people. After the death of a presidential candidate, the party picks Gilliam, who they know is destined to lose, as their candidate for the presidency. The election is weeks away, and the party just wants to make itself look good by backing a black candidate. Of course this doesn’t work, as we’ve seen in countless other movies with the same formula. It plays strangely like a sports movie, with a dash of the brilliant Primary Colors (Only in plot, not in quality!). In short, you know what happens from the premise.

Rock tries valiantly to be funny, witty, and charming throughout the film, but never really succeeds in creating a character. It’s too similar to the character he’s played in other films, especially Down to Earth, which was his last comedic lead before this. His direction is standard and uninspired. It’s sufficient for a comedy, but that doesn’t matter due to the lack of humor, mostly due to a poor script which Rock co-wrote.

There are some small hints of inspiration. Bernie Mac gets some great play in the last half-hour of the film, and once he shows up for the second time the film becomes slightly entertaining for the first time. Unfortunately an hour passed before this moment. Dylan Baker, a wonderful dramatic support (Changing Lanes, Road to Perdition), is well cast as Rock’s political advisor. But of course, he’s not there to provide laughs, which is what the film needed. Some laughs come from the brilliant Tracy Morgan (better known as SNL’s “The Other Black Guy”) as a thug who sells stolen meat at discounts (a hilarious premise for a character that never gets tapped), but his moments are few and far between. Also worth seeing is Stephanie March as Rock’s “Special Campaign Assistant”. She’s not funny, but is hot. The funniest moment of the film (Which is not saying much) occurs when Rock asks Baker’s character what her job actually is.

In the end, Head of State wants to be a comedy, but fails to be funny. I may have laughed twice in the first hour, and by the time the laughs pick up in the last half-hour it’s too late and too bogged down in attempts at seriousness. This movie wasn’t funny, wasn’t dramatic, and didn’t cover any of the issues you would expect from a political comedy. All it did was use every stereotype it could (If you’re Black, White, Asian, Hispanic, Californian, Texan, Tennesseean, Chicagoan, New Yorkean, or from D.C. you might be offended by the blatant stereotypes) to try and be funny. It didn’t even try hard. If you really like Rock, rent Down to Earth and skip Head of State. You’ll want that hour and a half someday. 

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Filed under: Comedy, Movies

Dreamcatcher

  • Written by Box Office Boredom
  • Posted March 23, 2003 at 2:35 am

A Film Review By The Mike

Rating: R for Language and lots of Bloody/Gooey Things
Starring: Morgan Freeman, Thomas Jane, Damian Lewis, Jason Lee, Timothy Olyphant, Tom Sizemore, Donnie Wahlberg
Directed By: Lawrence Kasdan

Final Grade:

Imagine yourself on a long journey that will end at a place you know well. The closer you get to your destination, the more wrong turns you take. You still end up where you want to go, but the wrong turns near the end of the trip have taken their toll on you, and it definitely hasn’t been worth the effort.

That’s not the story of Dreamcatcher, that’s the result of the movie. Director Lawrence Kasdan takes many chances in making the first horror epic in quite some time, but many of them fall short of the impact they need to carry. It’s disappointing to see the director of such great films as Body Heat and The Big Chill to make a film like this, especially with William Goldman (The Princess Bride, Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid, Hearts in Atlantis) collaborating on the script.

Dreamcatcher is an attempt to adapt Stephen King’s novel of the same name, and from what I understand is a pretty faithful one. The story is centered around four friends, linked telepathically since they met a young mentally challenged boy as children, who become unwilling captives when their hunting trip happens to be in an area inhabited by an alien landing. This brings in the army and a special unit led by Col. Kurtz (played by Freeman, not Marlon Brando…That’s an Apocalypse Now/Heart of Darkness reference for you uneducated folks), who is a few nickels short of a dime.

Sound complicated? It is. Jumps from place to place happen frequently and quickly. One review I saw compared them to the cuts in Star Wars, a strangely psychotic comparison if I’ve ever seen one. I’m not even a Star Wars fan, but I know that this is not a film that should be mentioned in the same sentence as Star Wars.

The cast is excellent, although the abundance of characters is at times overwhelming. Freeman as Kurtz and Tom Sizemore as another officer are good, but there is no depth to the characters they are given and no real reason to wonder about them. They are cardboard caricatures, sent in with a silly side story that affects the plot little. Focusing on the four in the woods would have been a better idea. Freeman gets top billing in the credits, but probably puts in less screen time than any of the five names that come after him.

The four friends, our main characters, are extremely well cast. This is by far the strong point of the film. In the first corner we have Thomas Jane (Deep Blue Sea), an actor with relatively untapped “Hollywood Leading Man” potential. He’s an intense actor who’s perfect as a hero, and carries off his role as the strongest of the four with ease. Jason Lee and Timothy Olyphant, two wonderful supporting actors, go through the motions in their comedic roles. Usually that’s a bad thing, but they each have a charismatic air that puts them over the brink of goodness. The final member of our foursome, Jonesy, is played by Damian Lewis. I’d never seen or heard of Lewis before this film (A check of his previous filmography tells me I’m not missing much), but he bounds off the screen in a delightful two-faced performance. It’s shocking to watch, especially half way through when you realize he’s actually British. This could be an actor to look out for.

These four make Dreamcatcher at times engrossing, with their moments purely amazing. Add to these scenes some awesome creature effects and an extremely original story, along with the sometimes-brilliant direction and script from Kasdan, and there’s a lot to love about Dreamcatcher. With a half an hour left in the film I was ready to laud this as one of the best Sci-Fi/Horror hybrids in ages, but the final reel drove me to reconsider.

It’s sad when something good falls apart like this, and I really wanted to like this film despite its flaws. I do recommend you check it out, if only for the performances of Jane and Lewis and the great effects, but I can’t tell you you’ll enjoy the film as a whole. Despite the purpose of the dreamcatcher in the film, the “bad ones” slip through into the final product that is this film. It’s an extreme disappointment when they do.

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Filed under: Horror, Movies, Suspense

Boat Trip

  • Written by Box Office Boredom
  • Posted March 22, 2003 at 11:44 pm

A Film Review By Jason L. King

Rating:Rated R for strong sexual content, language and some drug material.
Starring:Cuba Gooding Jr., Horatio Sanz
Directed By:Mort Nathan

Final Grade:

Some movies just shouldn’t be made. It’s a plain and simple idea that you think would be passed on to the people of Hollywood. Yet they still make movies such as Boat Trip.

Brought to you by the same idiot who green lit Fear Dot Com, this wonderful pile of cinematic trash is a movie that only the director’s mother could love. Our story is the story of Jerry and Nick, two best friends who’s love lives are a total mess. The two friends decide to plan an escape trip to find new women and forget their troubles. But when Nick offends his travel agent’s secret gay lover, the agent plays a trick on them and books them on a gay cruise with out them knowing it.

I can’t think of one positive thing to say about this film. It was about as stupid as stupid can get, and by the end of the movie I wanted to walk back up the box office and ask for my “free movie pass back.” I found nothing redeeming in this film, except for the one thing that it got right, that being that it ENDED.

My only question is what happened to Cuba Gooding Jr.? The guy was an Oscar Winner and now he is making films such as this? I know everyone has a bad spell, but this and Snow Dogs, makes me wonder if Gooding has lost his mind. It’s a shame to see an actor go to waste with films such as these, and I can only hope that Cuba Gooding Jr. can be a great actor once again.

As for his co-star Horatio Sanz, he’s not funny; at least not in this film. His camera time is a complete waste of film, and he and Cuba Gooding Jr. lack Chemistry and well everything that a quality film needs.

This film completely Missed “The Boat” and I hope to god I never take a “Boat Trip” like this again. Few times do I actually want, my time, my money and my that portion of my life back after watching a film. This however is one of those cases.

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Filed under: Comedy, Movies
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