'Rush' to judgment

Jackie Chan wanted to crack the American film market so badly he starred in "Rush Hour," 1998's surprise smash. And then he did it again, and again, even though he's no fan of the franchise, according to AP citing recent blog entries at jackiechan.com.

Chan's honest assessment is found here, and it's hard to know what to make of it all. It's refreshing to see an actor talk so candidly about his work, although he made the confessions on his blog, not to any journalist. Wonder if he realized someone would actually read and report on it, or if he figured simply typing it all up would be carthatic? I wish he would have used his "Rush Hour" clout to make superior sequels, rather than going along for the ride (and cashing the checks).

Take that, terrorists

Been thinking a lot about "The Kingdom," the terrorist drama which opens today. My review breaks down the film, but I think the article only touches on some larger issues. Some critics saw the film through an ideological filter, and I think I did the same during some sequences. For example, I can't say for sure that the way Saudi Arabian officers treat the U.S. agents in the film is fair and balanced. Perhaps my review should have called attention to that element. That doesn't let the film's detractors off the hook for calling it a revenge fantasy. We're at war, plain and simple, and killing an intractible enemy is a necessary part of that battle, whether it's in the Middle East or a cinematic version thereof.
Though after reviews like this, I feel I let less of my ideology show than some others ...

It's good to be 'King'

Michael Douglas reminds us what a fine actor he can be in the witty fable "King of California." Writing the review proved a challenge, given the movie's improbable stretches, but sometimes you gotta go with how a movie makes you feel. And I wasn't happy to let these characters go. Douglas will get most of the headlines here, and deservedly so, but what a fine performer young Evan Rachel Wood is turning out to be. An early review tore into her turn as Douglas's daughter, but I found her work here darn near mesmerizing.

Fall season smackdown

Ever wonder why so many awful shows make it to the boob tube each fall? The new-to-DVD film "The TV Set" offers a few reasons why. David Duchovny stars as a TV scribe fighting to save the integrity of his comedy pilot, which begins with the death of the lead character's brother. That's too depressing, says a TV executive (Sigourney Weaver) who makes decisions based on what her flighty teen daughter likes, and the battle begins. Duchovny is dead on as a man fighting for dignity while realizing he has to support a wife and new baby. Weaver, looking more fierce than when she tackled the Mama Alien, deserves Oscar consideration. Her character perfectly captures the condescending nature of too many prime-time programs. Watch it and weep. (photo, left to right: Ioan Gruffudd, Sigourney Weaver, David Duchovny and Judy Greer)

Thumbs down for bias

Critics bring their biases to their reviews just like some news reporters do. Both http://www.newsbusters.org/ and http://www.mediamatters.org/ track biased reporting on the left and right, respectively, but too little is said about how film critics bend their reviews to their ideological viewpoint. I doubt even Media Matters would argue that the vast majority of critics lean left. Just look at Michael Moore's last two films for all the proof you could ever need. Such flawed arguments would be shredded had they come from the right.

We're already seeing some pretty unfair reviews for this Friday's new film "The Kingdom," an imperfect but still hugely entertaining actioner about a terrorist attack on Americans living in Saudi Arabia. Methinks it's largely due to how the various critics vote on Election Day.

-Variety's John Anderson dubs it "quietly jingoistic" like it's a disease audiences might catch.

- The Hollywood Reporter's Stephen Farber seems weepy in his reportage: "Given the heinous actions of the terrorists, audiences are primed to cheer when they finally get blown to smithereens."

And some reviews are just plain daffy.

- The New Yorker's Anthony Lane writes: "The film has nothing but contempt for the traditional methods of diplomacy and international law, and the true villains of the piece are not the terrorists, whose patient bombmaking we watch in horrified detail, but Schmidt, the sweating wimp from the State Department, who is nauseated by the sight of blood, and, even more heinous, the U.S. Attorney General (Danny Huston), with his quibbling reluctance to unleash the F.B.I. on foreign soil."

Wow. I bet most "Kingdom" viewers will insist the terrorists who gleefully gun down men, women and children are the true villains. Call me crazy.

Here's my bias. I don't mind watching terrorists bite it on screen. And I'm ashamed that some of my fellow critics feel otherwise.

confused.i.am

The Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am wants to save Mother Earth. Really. He just has a funny way of getting his Al Gore bona fides in order.

Witness his recent comments to Radar magazine:

On Live Earth:
“When Al Gore asked me to perform, I was like, ‘Wow, that sounds great, people coming together to stand for something.” But then I was like, ‘Wait a second, it’s sort of hypocritical to throw a concert. Everyone there is going to be drinking water out of plastic bottles.’ It can’t be the consumer that changes the world, it has to be governments that make laws for corporations and demand they produce alternatives. We won’t stop buying things, so give us something else to [expletive] buy!”
On turning Black Eyed Peas into a “global brand”:
“People don’t mind doing a song that goes on the radio right after a commercial. That money comes from Jergens and Coke. If your song gets huge, soon you’re playing the Staples Center, which is branded, too. So brands help bands from the beginning. I was like, ‘Dude, I’ve always liked Dr Pepper, and they’re going to let me play my music.’ So [expletive] it.”

Uh, will ... I think they serve Dr. Pepper in plastic bottles.

Imperfect Posey

Indie darling Parker Posey can do no wrong, at least that's the conventional wisdom chorus. I tend to agree, but even she couldn't salvage "Broken English," which enjoyed a brief theatrical run before hitting DVD last month. Caught up with it this weekend and it took a Herculean effort to stay awake.

Posey plays a 30-something single gal named Nora who can't meet the right guy. Already, we're in unchartered dramatic waters, right? She finally finds a decent fellow, a passionate French man (cliche alert), but he's heading back to Paris within a few days.

Will Nora follow him to France? Is he as good a guy as she thinks? By the end I doubt anyone will care.

Her best friend (Drea de Matteo) is unhappily married to a man whose behavior is never quite fleshed out enough to give us context. The same can be said for the rest of "Broken English," which hints at emotional truths but isn't mature enough to deliver. Maybe writer/director Zoe Cassavetes, daughter of John and brother of the overrated Nick, is still too young to bring off such complicated themes. For anyone needing a "Sex and the City" fix, stick to that show's reruns, not this pale imitation.

A 'Hunting' We Will Go

Richard Shepard's directorial career would make a great movie. The neophyte auteur brought us "The Linguni Incident" in 1991 with David Bowie and Rosanna Arquette. It made "Ishtar" look like a screaming success. He went away, licked his wounds, then shot a few micro-budgeted films for cable. Those pictures gave him enough professional traction to get "The Matador" off the ground. That 2005 buddy dramedy, starring Pierce Brosnan as a conflicted hit man, proved Shepard's growth as an artist (even if few people saw the film). Now, Shepard makes good on his potential with "The Hunting Party," a piercing comedy about the hunt for a Bosnian war criminal. Here's my take on his new effort.

'Snow White 2.0'

New tween comedy "Sydney White" tries to channel the spirit of "Snow White and the Seventh Dwarfs." Instead, it's more like "Revenge of the PG:13 Nerds." Check out my Washington Times review. An official "Nerds" remake was in the works, but Fox Atomic reportedly shut down the project last year, and trusty ol' imdb.com doesn't list any new "Nerds" coming out way.

A strong box office showing from "Sydney" may change that scenario. Besides, if they're remaking "Porky's," surely there's enough interest in a superior teen comedy like "Nerds." I know some '80s-minded folk have fond memories of the "Porky's" films, but if my memory serves they merely provided some fleeting nudity for the hormonally imprisoned teenagers.

Corporate malfeasance ... and gore

This week's new DVD releases include an indie horror-comedy deserving of a wider audience. It's called "Severance," and its Brit origins bring to mind the sublime "Shaun of the Dead."
"Severance" isn't as polished as "Shaun," but it's still a jolly time for genre freaks. Here's my initial review in The Washington Times:
By the end of British director Christopher Smith's new horror comedy "Severance," you'll be impatient to see what he's got planned for an encore. It's not because "Severance" is so good -- no, the director needs a little more seasoning. It's more that Mr. Smith is on to something. Set in an unnamed wooded area in Hungary, "Severance" swats down both the military and corporations with one red-stained hand. Employees from the fictional company Palisade Defense, a British arms manufacturer, travel to Eastern Europe to do some corporate bonding. You know, play paintball, eat meals side by side and pretend to like your detestable boss and the office suck-up. The plan quickly disintegrates. The bus taking them to their lodging hits a roadblock, and the lodge itself is a dump with a horrible past. That's nothing compared with what follows. A group of locals, peeved at how Palisade's weapons impact their country, start picking off the workers in grisly fashion. "Severance's" targets -- unctuous bosses and tunnel-visioned executives -- could hardly be safer, but the film takes aim with considerable finesse. The horror elements prove nearly as electric, even though the killers lack a distinct personality. Mr. Smith takes some creative risks within the story, engaging in clever flash-forward moments and storytelling asides that bespeak a budding confidence. His sly choice of music during a few dramatic sequences is equally astute.
"Severance" is smarter than your average slasher film and funnier than many mainstream comedies.

Expanded 'Proof'

Wrote about Quentin Tarantino's expanded version of "Death Proof" (released 9/18) in today's Washington Times. The review highlights the film's many perks, including a killer soundtrack, but the extra footage weaved into the home version doesn't enhance the viewing experience as much as I hoped. It's still worth a rental, if only for Kurt Russell's wicked turn as Stuntman Mike.

Not another Rwanda movie

Got a screener copy of "Beyond the Gates" on DVD a few weeks back, and I wondered why I hadn't heard much about it before. Perhaps Hollywood only had enough room for one take on the Rwanda genocide, and Don Cheadle's powerful "Hotel Rwanda" filled that slot, end of story.

John Hurt, one of our least appreciated actors, stars as a Catholic priest who helps educate impoverished locals at a remote African village. His mission turns into a humanitarian nightmare when the assassination of the Rwandan president sparks a slaughter. Hurt, alongside a naive but kind English teacher (Hugh Dancy) try to save the Tutsi refugees fleeing the marauding Hutus. Shot on location, "Beyond the Gates" employed several genocide survivors in the film's crew. Perhaps it's cruelly appropriate that a movie documenting a genocide ignored by the global community got ignored by movie audiences nationwide. Feel free to buck the trend and rent this trenchant drama.

Get this lady a script, stat

Sally Field is one terrific actress. Take away her script, and you get last night's rambling Emmy speech.

We all remember her, "you like me, you really like me!" comment years ago after winning her second Oscar for "Places in the Heart." She was much younger then. Now, she's 60, and she should know a little something about making speeches in front of strangers.

By the way Sally, there have been a number of women in recent history who ordered young men into battle. And while we're parsing her statement, I imagine there are just as many dads awaiting the return of their sons from battle as there are mothers. Let's not forget them, ok?

Lecter, take one

Talk about procrastination. It took me 21 years to catch up with "Manhunter," the first screen appearance of Hollywood's most charismatic cannibal. MGM Home Entertainment just re-released the 1986 thriller last week, which gave me all the excuse I needed to see it. Take away the horribly dated soundtrack and you have a smart, suspenseful drama with an inscrutable performance by William Peterson ("CSI"). Michael Mann's take on Hannibal Lecter isn't what one might expect. The insane doctor is barely in the film, and he's played by a fellow without a Sir in front of his name. To be fair, Brian Cox does an excellent job setting the dramatic table for Anthony Hopkins' later masterwork.

Hollywood remade the film in 2002 with Edward Norton taking over as the lead, and a dyed Hopkins trying to play the younger Lecter. That film, from (unfairly) accused hack Brett Ratner, proved a solid addition to the Lecter series. This Halloween season, give both a try and see which decade produced the better spine-tingler.

Red hot

Sick of all those G-rated trailers pimping the lastest movies? Now you can go online and find all the gore and profanity they strip away for mainstream crowds. Red band trailers aren't brand new, but Hollywood has become infatuated with them after they helped "Superbad" break out from the late-summer crowd.

Check out my analysis here. Then, see a few red band trailers for yourself. But beware, you'll have to punch in your age before accessing the material.

"Resident Evil: Extinction"

"Shoot-Em Up"

"Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem" (coming soon)

Vigilante crime wave

We haven't seen a pure vigilante picture in a while, and now we've got two of them ("The Brave One," "Death Sentence") at the local movie house. I comment on the mini-trend in tomorrow's Washington Times. My story examines why two such features are coming out now, at a time when Iraq and global warming, not the thug around the corner, are the fears du jour.
"The Brave One" is the superior picture in nearly every way, but while it strives for a higher moral ground, it's essentially a slick, mainstream thriller. The recent "Death Sentence" offers standard action, spiked by Kevin Bacon's stoic work as the family man who snaps after violence hits his home.

"A History of Violence: Chapter II"

Turns out director David Cronenberg was just warming up with his nasty 2005 drama "A History of Violence." His new film, "Eastern Promises," delivers a gritty mob drama set in London, but it's the moments of unabashed violence that will linger with viewers. The film follows a British midwife (Naomi Watts in an underwritten role) who entangles herself in a mob squabble between a rising gangster (Viggo Mortensen) and an entrenched Russian kingpin (Armin Mueller-Stahl). Cronenberg's film is alternately crisp and flaccid, but the peek into the mob subculture fascinates, as does Mortensen's sharp Russian accent. But audiences may never forget a battle royale between Mortensen's character and two would-be assassins staged in a Turkish bath house.

Hey, hey, isn't that a Monkee?

The biggest shock in Rob Zombie's otherwise disappointing "Halloween" was a bit of stunt casting toward the film's end.

Dr. Loomis (Malcolm McDowell, wishing he was back in Stanley Kubrick's directorial grip) visits a gun shop to arm himself against Michael Myers. And who do you think plays the gun store owner? Yes, it's Micky Dolenz of The Monkees. The scene doesn't last long, but as good as it was to see ol' Mick again it took me right out of the moment.

According to Dolenz's Web site, he just played the Tennessee Soybean Festival. Chuckle if you want, but Dolenz and his fellow Monkees made some of the best pop music of the late 1960s. In their prime, The Monkees outsold the Beatles and the Rolling Stones combined. Now that's scary.

Stewart steps in it

Jon Stewart will get a second chance to make a good first impression with Oscar fans. "The Daily Show" comic will emcee the next Academy Awards telecast Feb. 24, returning to the gig after what many deemed a calamitous performance as host two years ago.

Lets face it. The gig may be the toughest job for a comic, having already chewed up and spat out such luminaries as David Letterman, Whoopi Goldberg and Ellen DeGeneres. The victim, I mean, the host, must be funny and topical while kissing up to the Hollywood elite. It's a tightrope, not a stage, and it's hard to believe Stewart thinks the second time will go much differently. Only Billy Crystal knows the secret formula, and he's not telling a soul. In fact, he reportedly turns the gig down most years. That's smart. His Oscar legend grows taller every time one of his peers stumbles through the ceremony.

Check out CNN for the details.

A tale of two trailers

It's hard to suppress my inner geek when trailers for "Iron Man" and "The Dark Knight" make their Web debuts roughly the same week. The films don't hit theaters until spring and summer, respectively, but it's already easy to see some differences between the two. "Iron Man," starring Robert Downey, Jr., can't nail a consistent tone in its own trailer, which shows far more of the story and the superhero's costume than I expected. And Downey, Jr.'s line readings make it sound like he wants nothing to do with the project. Meanwhile over in Gotham, "The Dark Knight" offers just an audio snippet of what's to come, complete with a Bat logo disintegrating before our eyes. Less is more, and I must say my expectations for "Iron Man" just went down a few notches.

"Iron Man." "The Dark Knight."

Bye, Britney - Hello, Sarah

My jaw went slack as soon as I saw Britney Spears on MTV's Video Music Awards telecast last night. Let's get the obvious out of the way - she showed up to the biggest night of her professional life in poor shape, with no dancing chops and, to this untrained eye, on something stronger than Tylenol.

The bigger story, to me, was Sarah Silverman's opening monologue. The VMAs are supposed to be outrageous, and each year we get a bunch of orchestrated mayhem. Oooh, aren't these singers out of control?

But Silverman's caustic commentary proved the VMA crowd is just as protective of its own as the Oscar audience. Silverman let loose with some killer jokes aimed squarely at ol' Brit, and the audience squirmed like they were sitting on squid.

The best bit came when Silverman was about to leave the stage. She flashed a look at the crowd of utter contempt, as if she knew she killed but no one would testify to the crime.

Brief 'Sentence'

Caught up with "Death Sentence" on Friday, which is a good thing since it fell out of the top 10 over the weekend and won't be around much longer. The film got little promotion and no press screenings, but it's not nearly as bad as I feared. It starts strong, establishing a loving family led by Kevin Bacon via home movie flashbacks (that's become a cliche, but it works here). Within minutes, Bacon's on-screen kid gets slashed by a thug-in-training and suddenly it's "Death Wish 2007." Actually, the new film is based on the story by Brian Garfield, who wrote the novel that begat Charles Bronson's "Death Wish." Bacon makes the Everyman turned killer as believable as the generic script will allow, but in the final reel whatever freshness existed within the story disappears in a hail of bullets.
"Sentence" comes on the heels of "The Brave One," another vigilante pic starring Jodie Foster. The latter, opening Sept. 14, strains for higher moral ground (my review will appear here on Thursday) but "Death Sentence" delivers precisely what one might expect from the genre.

'Yuma'-st see it

Westerns are dead. Long live "3:10 to Yuma."

It would be a shame if people pass up Hollywood's latest attempt to resurrect the dusty genre. Director James Mangold's "3:10 to Yuma," a remake of the terrific 1957 western, deserves as wide an audience as any film out there today. Here's my review.

I recently caught up with the original, which starred Glenn Ford in a rare villainous role, and found it held up remarkably well. It's just been re-released on DVD, so do give it a try. No tasty extras, but it does have trailers for the film as well as a teaser for the new "Yuma."

As taut as the 1957 version is, the remake improves upon the source. And let's hear it yet again for Russell Crowe, who plays the wickedly compelling Ben Wade. We know Christian Bale takes the less flashy role as the rancher trying to save his farm, but this is Crowe's movie from the opening reel.

Owen gets gun crazy

Some action thrillers like "Live Free or Die Hard" pretend to obey the laws of physics. "Shoot 'Em Up" labors under no such delusions. Nor does plot, character or continuity get in the way of the new film, which opens wide tomorrow.

Clive Owen is Mr. Smith, a mysterious gun-slinger who saves a pregnant woman in the film's opening minutes and is subsequently chased by a hen-pecked killer (Paul Giamatti) for the rest of the movie.

That's pretty much all there is beyond an orgy of gun violence that would make "Hard Boiled" look like a Merchant-Ivory production. Writer/director Michael Davis flashes both wit and a wink-wink understanding of just how preposterous this all is, and we can guess he's trying to entertain us while deconstructing the modern action film. But this year's "Hot Fuzz" already beat him to it, and it's a far better takedown than what we get here.

For a good while, "Shoot 'em Up" is glorious fun. And it features a truly original sex scene that's both erotic and sidesplittingly funny. But the gag wears off soon enough, and Davis isn't creative enough to keep the jokes flying alongside the bullets.

(Photo credit: James Dittiger/New Line Cinema)

Truth in advertising

Saw "Shoot 'em Up" last night, the new action film starring Clive Owen and Paul Giamatti. I'll post a full review Thursday evening, but suffice to say the title couldn't be more prophetic. Even the NRA might take a pause after watching this ode to the almighty gun. Here's the trailer.

Oh, Whoopi!

It didn't take long for new "View" co-host Whoopi Goldberg to prove she's just as nutty as her predecessor, Rosie O'Donnell.

On today's "View," the Whoopster defended Michael "Snoopy" Vick concerning his dog fighting/killing charges.

Check it out.

Doesn't she realize the comments will immediately dump her into hot water, culturally speaking? Perhaps she's looking for a quick ratings grab, but I fear her views are actually her own and not a publicity stunt.

Tabloids, '50s style

Picked up a juicy read over the weekend -- "The Bad & the Beautiful: Hollywood in the Fifties" by Sam Kashner and Jennifer MacNair. I'm only a few pages in, but it's already enlightened me about how fierce tabloid gossip was half a century ago. Sure, Lindsay Lohan is under a microscope, but the stars of the '50s didn't have it much easier.
I did a phoner with Mia Farrow a year ago and during our chat she mentioned just how tawdry the tabloids were when she was married to Frank Sinatra. Now, I believe her.
Can't wait to read more ...

Andy not so dandy

You thought being Britney Spears' publicist was a lousy job. Try representing Andy Dick. The former "News Radio" star made more news this week, and again it wasn't for starring in a funny new show or project. I gave a listen to one of his recent comedy albums a few months back and was surprised how painful the gags were. Given his curious fame, he could have gone the Kathy Griffin route, riffing on his quasi-celebrity for a stand-up act. Instead, he keeps alienating friends and strangers alike. Just ask Jon Lovitz.