Dreamgirls

Audiences have been blessed with a surge of movie musical extravaganzas since 2001, when the success of Moulin Rouge first brought back the genre. 2002 had the Best Picture winner Chicago (which was, incidentally, written by Dreamgirls helmer Bill Condon), 2004 saw the release of the highly anticipated (and underrated) The Phantom of the Opera, and 2005 gave us the disappointing adaptation of the stage sensation Rent. Dreamgirls continues the trend with first-rate precision and execution. Based on the little seen Broadway production, it chronicles the rise of a Supremes-like trio throughout the 1960s, beginning with their stint as backup singers to James “Thunder” Early (Eddie Murphy). Before long, conflict arises within the group when lead singer Effie (Jennifer Hudson) is forced to swap positions with the prettier, but less talented Deena (Beyoncé Knowles). Pulling the strings from behind the scenes is the girls’ shady producer Curtis Taylor Jr. (Jamie Foxx) who, amidst his underhand deals with the mob and Hollywood heavyweights, jumps from having a relationship with Effie to marrying Deena. It is certainly the most unsympathetic character Foxx has ever played. The same can be said for Knowles who, although does a fine job of acting, is stuck in a character the audience will care very little about. Murphy fairs far better with his portrayal of the James Brown-like Early, a new kind of role for the talented star. But the real standout here is newcomer Jennifer Hudson. Not only does she deliver the best acting performance, but the passion with which she sings her numbers completely overshadows everyone else in the picture. In the end, it is because of her and Murphy that the film succeeds, to some extent, on the same level as Chicago. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be much to hold the interest of the audience.

Directed by Bill Condon.
Written by Bill Condon.
Starring Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé Knowles, Eddie Murphy, Jennifer Hudson, Anika Noni Rose, Keith Robinson and Danny Glover.

Rated PG-13 for language, some sexuality and drug content. 131 min.

***½ so says The Fish

The Good Shepherd

Eric Roth’s screenplay for The Good Shepherd had been floating around Hollywood for years and was considered one of the few exemplary scripts yet to be put into production. Now, under the guidance of Robert De Niro, it has finally made its way to the big screen. More of a spy saga than a spy thriller, The Good Shepherd chronicles the birth of the CIA and its rise through the early years of the Cold War as witnessed by one of its key players, Edward Wilson (Matt Damon). A bright student during his years at Yale, Wilson was recruited into the Skull & Bones society in 1939, allowing him to make the necessary connections that would lead him to work for O.S.S. during the war years. Stationed overseas in Berlin, Wilson sees nothing of his wife Clover (Angelina Jolie) and misses the entire childhood of his only son. When he finally returns home, ready to embark on his career as a CIA operative, he has become a stranger to his own family. The film opens in 1961, following the disaster of the Bay of Pigs, and Wilson’s story is told through flashbacks amidst this event. It’s a tedious structure for such a vast story, but De Niro feels no pressure to rush any of it. Another director may have felt inclined to quicken the pace, with rapid dialogue and more montages, but De Niro knows better. He takes his time to tell the story, giving the characters room to breathe and moments to think, and this, more than anything, accounts for the film’s lengthy running time. Damon shoulders most of the film, with everyone else appearing for only a few scenes, and the actor has rarely been better. He is brutally cold and restrained throughout the picture, using only his eyes to convey emotion. Some may label him as being too one-dimensional, but his lack of expression infuses the film with the exact sense of unattainabilty that is needed to convey the mystery of the spy world. It’s a terrific performance. Despite having little in common with either the Bond or the Bourne films, The Good Shepherd is, in many ways, the definitive spy movie. Roth’s script is incredibly cerebral, and does away with any semblance of action, which even the blandest spy thriller has in spades. Its quiet and realistic tone only serves to make it all the more frightening.

Directed by Robert De Niro.
Written by Eric Roth.
Starring Matt Damon, Angelina Jolie, Billy Crudup, Alec Baldwin, Michael Gambon, John Turturro, William Hurt, Oleg Stefan, Gabriel Macht, Lee Pace, Eddie Redmayne and Joe Pesci.

Rated R for some violence, sexuality and language. 167 min.

****½ so says The Fish

Rocky Balboa

In 1976, when the first Rocky was released, audiences were introduced to an underdog hero who would soon develop into one of the most memorable screen characters of all time. The film went on to win Best Picture at the Oscars and was promptly followed by four sequels which, more than anything, tended to overstay the character’s welcome. Nobody wants to see a beloved film icon fizzle out with a succession of poorly made films, ending with the particularly depressing Rocky V. Fortunately, writer/director/star Sylvester Stallone has now made Rocky Balboa and ended the franchise on a note worthy of the character. After trudging through sub-average Rocky-fair for many years, audiences might be surprised by how good this film actually is. For the first time since the original, Stallone has decided to take the focus off of the final bout, and relies simply on the charm of the characters. Some time has passed since Rocky has lost his wife Adrian, and even more since he last fought professionally, but he has moved on by focusing on his restaurant business. His estranged son has become frustrated that he will never be able to move out from beneath his father’s shadow. And just when Balboa begins to feel the depression of inactivity sinking in, he watches a computer simulated fight on television in which he is pitted against a modern day fighter named Mason Dixon. The buzz around the mock fight escalates, encouraging promoters to set up the real thing, and soon Rocky finds himself training to get back in the ring for one last dance. It’s rousing, moving, first-class entertainment and it will have you cheering all the way!

Directed by Sylvester Stallone.
Written by Sylvester Stallone.
Starring Sylvester Stallone, Burt Young, Antonio Tarver, Geraldine Hughes, Milo Ventimiglia and Tony Burton.

Rated PG for boxing violence and some language. 102 min.

**** so says The Fish

Volver

Pedro Almodóvar is one of Spain’s foremost directors, and for good reason. It’s hard not to watch his films without thinking of Alfred Hitchcock, as both are masters of gradually building suspense, while carefully balancing it with comedy. It was a rule to which Hitchcock firmly adhered: break the tension with a few occasional laughs or else the audience will not be able to withstand it. Granted, Almodóvar works a little differently. His comedy is more abundant, and his suspense builds much more subtly, but the idea is essentially the same. Volver is one of Almodóvar’s best—and least eccentric—films to date, and is especially refreshing after the disappointing Bad Education. It stars Penélope Cruz (who is absolutely sensational!) as Raimunda, an unhappily married wife and mother of a single teenage daughter, Paula. One day Raimunda arrives home and finds her sleazy husband’s body on the kitchen floor, having just been murdered by Paula for making sexual advances, and she takes it upon herself to cover up the crime. Meanwhile, Raimunda’s mother—who was supposedly killed in a tragic fire several years ago—suddenly appears to Sole, her other daughter, and begs her to keep the truth of her return from Raimunda for very mysterious reasons. The story may sound cryptic, but the film isn’t in the slightest. Almodóvar guides many of the scenes to moments of utter hilarity, and in the end Volver, as creepy as it seems, turns out to be one of the lighter films in the director’s increasingly bizarre repertoire.

Directed by Pedro Almodóvar.
Written by Pedro Almodóvar.
Starring Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo, Yohana Cobo and Antonio de la Torre.

Rated R for some sexual content and language. 121 min.

**** so says The Fish

Eragon

With a disappointing canon of films that include Dragonheart and Reign of Fire, dragon flicks have yet to hit their stride. Eragon can be chalked up on that list as well, forcing fans to continue their wait for the ultimate satisfying dragon adventure. Based on the best-selling book by Christopher Paolini (who was 16 when he wrote it), the film tells the story of Eragon, a young farm boy who comes across an ancient dragon egg on one of his many hunts. It just happens to hatch while in his possession, thereby “choosing” him to be the rider of the newly born creature. This is all surrounded by a confusing story that involves villains and sorcerers and rebellions, along with any other genre cliché you can imagine. After the success of The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia, it seems that December has become the desired month for yearly fantasy releases (it will continue next year with His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass). Alas, Eragon is no Lord of the Rings, and more specifically, director Stefen Fangmeier is no Peter Jackson, and newcomer Ed Speleers is no Elijah Wood (or Daniel Radcliffe for that matter). The editing is atrocious and the dialogue is unbelievably cheesy, albeit in a somewhat forgivable way. In the end, all you’re left to enjoy are the visual effects, which are admittedly quite good (particularly in regards to the dragon). Also, there’s just something cool about watching a grizzled Jeremy Irons wield a blood-red sword as he waxes lyrical about the bygone days of dragons and dragon riders.

Directed by Stefen Fangmeier.
Written by Peter Buchman.
Starring Ed Speleers, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Guillory, Robert Carlyle, Garrett Hedlund, Djimon Hounsou, Rachel Weisz and John Malkovich.

Rated PG for fantasy violence, intense battle sequences and some frightening images. 104 min.

**½ so says The Fish

The Pursuit of Happyness

Based on a true story, The Pursuit of Happyness takes place in 1981 and follows the struggling career path of Chris Gardner as he fights to provide for his son, Christopher. Chris is a relatively unsuccessful salesman for a company that makes portable bone-density scanners, a machine of no real economic value. His marriage is falling apart because both he and his wife are too busy to spend time with each other. Finally, when things seem to have hit rock bottom, Chris decides to apply for an internship at a stock brokerage firm. This is when “rock bottom” becomes “bottomless” as Chris is hit with an amazing string of bad luck. Never giving up, he makes the most of what he has in order to take care of Christopher. As Gardner, Will Smith gives easily the greatest performance of his career. The audience is with him every step of the way and Smith balances a fine act of being charming in some scenes and utterly heartbreaking in others. As the young Christopher, newcomer Jaden Smith (Will’s real-life son) is also wonderfully touching. His scenes with his father feel authentic, and never overtly maudlin or forced. There are a few flaws here and there. For instance, the voice-over narration becomes increasingly frustrating due to its insistence on spelling out the obvious and never giving viewers the credit to figure things out on their own. Also, there are just a few too many scenes of Gardner running about the city, chasing down misplaced portable scanners. That aside, the movie offers a beautiful and inspiring story about one man’s perseverance and determination to succeed against all odds.

Directed by Gabriele Muccino.
Written by Steve Conrad.
Starring Will Smith, Jaden Christopher Syre Smith, Thandie Newton, Brian Howe, Dan Castellaneta and Kurt Fuller.

Rated PG-13 for some language. 117 min.

**** so says The Fish

Apocalypto

As a filmmaker, Mel Gibson likes to take risks. Much like The Passion of the Christ, Apocalypto is filmed entirely in an ancient language, features no prominent stars, and is financed primarily by Gibson himself. Although Braveheart still remains his best film to date, there is no shortage of talent on display in Apocalypto, which features some of the best camerawork and editing of any film this year. The story is set in the latter days of the Mayan Empire, where a young man named Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood) finds his village raided by warriors in search of people to offer as human sacrifices. Our hero is able to hide his son and pregnant wife down a well before getting captured with several other tribesmen. Eventually Jaguar Paw reaches the sacrificial altar, but a series of incredibly fortunate circumstances allows him to escape, with several warriors hot on his heels. From this moment, the movie becomes one extended chase sequence that is filmed with such velocity and high tension that it will be impossible for you to leave the edge of your seat. Despite all of this, there are a number of aspects that lessen the film’s quality. For instance, a series of poorly-conceived comic relief moments (particularly in the first half) tend to pull you out of the picture and grossly detract from its authenticity. Also, the subtitled dialogue is less than poetic and feels jarring when spoken by such visually realistic characters. On top of this, the Mayas, who in reality had quite an advanced civilization—being leaders in architecture, mathematics and astronomy among other things—are portrayed as being rather primitive. They are erroneously shown as enforcers of slavery and mass sacrifice, which was common of the Aztec culture but was never true with the Mayas. One wonders why Gibson went to such great lengths to ensure that his actors and his sets looked authentic if the script was not so in the first place. In the end, however, Apocalypto should be judged for what it is, and that is a “chase film.” In this regard, it’s quite a thrilling ride.

Directed by Mel Gibson.
Written by Mel Gibson and Farhad Safinia.
Starring Rudy Youngblood, Dalia Hernandez, Israel Contreras, Jonathan Brewer and Carlos Emilio Baez.

Rated R for sequences of graphic violence and disturbing images. 140 min.

***½ so says The Fish

Blood Diamond

Edward Zwick is a first-rate director who enjoys making grand productions; however, despite the fact that his films are beautifully shot, well conceived and even well written, they usually end up as simply “good,” rather than “great.” In 1989 he made the brilliant civil war epic Glory, but has since gotten comfortable in the slightly better-than-average range of films like Legends of the Fall, The Siege and The Last Samurai. Blood Diamond finally brings him back to where he should be. It concerns the violence that surrounds the sale of African conflict diamonds, focusing on a man in Sierra Leone named Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou) who, on a local dig, finds a rare pink diamond which he promptly buries before getting arrested. His son, meanwhile, has been captured and gradually transformed into a child soldier by local rebels. Vandy soon meets a Rhodesian diamond smuggler named Danny Archer (Leonardo DiCaprio) and the two form a shaky alliance. Archer will help Vandy find his son if Vandy will lead him to the location of the diamond. Also hovering about is an American journalist (Jennifer Connelly) who agrees to assist Archer in exchange for valuable information on the diamond trade. One of the film’s many strengths is the superb cinematography by Eduardo Serra (Girl with a Pearl Earring). The viewer is immersed into several hair-raising action scenes, each of them shot with such kinetic force that it’s impossible to remove yourself and feel like you are anywhere other than right in the thick of it. Both DiCaprio and Hounsou give tremendous performances, and thankfully Zwick never veers onto a romanticized, Hollywood-style path that has often plagued his previous films. He keeps everything grounded and real, so that when events escalate, it feels much more powerful. Blood Diamond is a film that fires on all cylinders.

Directed by Edward Zwick.
Written by Charles Leavitt.
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly, Djimon Hounsou, Arnold Vosloo, David Harewood and Michael Sheen.

Rated R for strong violence and language. 150 min.

****½ so says The Fish

The Nativity Story

The story of Christ has been filmed more times than perhaps any other subject in history. The phenomenal success of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ shows that the movie-going public has not lost its enthusiasm for Biblical films. The Nativity Story is actually refreshing in that its not just another Jesus biopic, but rather focuses on Mary and Joseph. The story is known by almost everyone: a young Mary, having been blessed by the Holy Spirit, becomes pregnant to the dismay of her family. The conflicted Joseph resolves to stand by his wife and the two travel to Bethlehem, while avoiding Herod’s soldiers, where Christ is finally born. Director Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen, Lords of Dogtown—both films that deal with teenage outcasts) has made her most lavish production to date. She has hired some diverse talent, including New Zealander Keisha Castle-Hughes (Oscar nominee for Whale Rider) as Mary, Guatemalan actor Oscar Isaac as Joseph, and Iranian actress Shohreh Aghdashloo as Elizabeth. Although the film is nice to look at, it is still overwhelmed by many flaws. The visuals effects can be hokey at times, particularly whenever the Angel Gabriel appears; the roles of the three wise men are relegated to comic relief (which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it does give them the impression of being somewhat less wise); and Mary is incredibly underwritten as the main character. Castle-Hughes does the best she can with the role, but the script seems to sidestep any reaction she might have to the importance of her condition. Joseph’s story, as a result, becomes much more engaging and he is the only character that will consistently hold your interest through the duration of the film.

Directed by Catherine Hardwicke.
Written by Mike Rich.
Starring Keisha Castle-Hughes, Oscar Isaac, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Ciaran Hinds and Alexander Siddig.

Rated PG for some violent content. 101 min.

**½ so says The Fish

For Your Consideration

Christopher Guest is unquestionably today’s leading “mockumentary” filmmaker, having previously directed Waiting for Guffman, Best In Show and A Mighty Wind. Using the same assemblage of comedic actors in each film, Guest is a master at dry humor and can create some hilariously deadpan moments in pure documentary fashion. His latest film, For Your Consideration, drops the “mockumentary” approach and sticks with a straightforward narrative in which we are given a behind-the-scenes look at the film industry. A group of has-been movie stars have come together to make a schmaltzy, Hallmark Hall of Fame-style picture entitled Home for Purim. The film likely would have gone unnoticed, but one of its stars, Marylin Hack (played superbly by Catherine O’Hara), finds out that her performance was mentioned somewhere on the Internet as being Oscar-worthy. This tiny mention of award buzz soon escalates into an unstoppable freight train of phantom hype that gets the mediocre little film promoted by the media to the point of absurdity. For Your Consideration ultimately doesn’t have a whole lot to it, but what makes it so funny is how accurately it portrays the complete shallowness of the glitz and glamour side of Hollywood, and how it is played up with such importance by the media. You’ll laugh throughout the whole film and then come away thinking “Well, that’s pretty much how it really is.”

Directed by Christopher Guest.
Written by Christopher Guest and Eugene Levy.
Starring Catherine O’Hara, Harry Shearer, Parker Posey, Christopher Guest, Eugene Levy, John Michael Higgins, Ed Begley, Jr., Jennifer Coolidge, Bob Balaban, Michael McKean, Ricky Gervais, Jane Lynch and Fred Willard.

Rated PG-13 for sexual references and brief language. 86 min.

***½ so says The Fish