X-man and woman

say "conspiracy!"

The X-Files: I Want to Believe – *** is not what I was expecting. The first X-Files film (Fight the Future) took the idea of the big screen literally, by making everything larger than what was expected on the weekly tv series. The world of the show felt vast and the conspiracy more threatening in that first film.

With IWTB, creator Chris Carter does the opposite, and shrinks the lens, if you will, with a story that focuses on the relationship of Mulder and Scully; the “case” that they’re involved in is almost secondary, a reason for them to discuss their issues. The film is shot very simply and the performances from Duchovny and Anderson do not disappoint.

I enjoyed this one as a fan of the X-files, and consider it a solid film. It was nice to see the name-dropping agents back together again, and the film’s slower pace and understated style was a nice respite from the usual summer bombast. The overall theme of belief is explored throughout the film (as it was in the series), and controversial issues are raised. How far should we go to save a life?

paper experiment

Went to a concert for two bands I had little to no knowledge of, shot some crappy video using my sister’s digital still camera, and then messed with it for a few hours in Vegas (the software not the city). The result is below.

FYI: If you watch the video on the YouTube site you can choose a higher resolution.

LATE KNIGHT

wanna see a magic trick?

you complete me

The Dark Knight ***** I joined the massive throng at the midnight showing of Christopher Nolan’s Batman sequel and two and half hours later I emerged into the early morning having seen the greatest superhero movie to date. It’s so layered and dense and well- written, and brilliantly performed, it doesn’t even register as “comic book film” in any way; it’s just a great film.

Heath Ledger’s Joker is a performance for the ages, and joins the short list of unforgettable film villains. Bale, Eckhart, Oldman, Caine, Freeman, Gyllenhaal, all create believable characters in a believable Gotham, and the ethical questions posed have no easy answers.

This, the darkest of the Batman films, is the truest to the character and his world. This is the best film I’ve seen in 2008 by far.

is that your cell phone?

The Ruins *** If you have Botanophobia, I don’t recommend watching this horror flick, produced by Ben Stiller’s Red Hour Films, about a group of vacationing graduates who are quarantined atop a pyramid entangled in a killer vine. It sounds ridiculous, but the film is directed well, and the performers do a good job of getting the audience to believe their predicament. There is gore galore, but it’s not the traditional horror slice and dice, but gore begat of necessity. I was impressed with the one location storyline based on the bestselling novel by Scott Smith.

bank on it…

wall o' saffron

The Bank Job **** is the first Jason Statham picture that I can recommend without adding the words “guilty” and “pleasure.” Director Roger Donaldson has made a taut, suspenseful, heist film based on the true story of the “walkie-talkie robbery.” Statham plays the leader of the crooks joined by the lovely Saffron Burrows (who needs to make more films) and a host of great British character actors.

Click here to hear the actual “walkie-talkie robbery ” in progress recorded by ham radio operator Robert Rowlands in 1971.

mr. death all dressed in black

The Seventh Seal **** Ingmar Bergman’s tale about a knight returning from the Crusades who challenges “Death” to a chess match in an attempt to prolong his fate. The film is almost pure allegory at times, and Bergman’s impressive black and white photography adds to the surreal quality of the tale.

marvin at the height of 60's cool

Point Blank ***1/2 Remember the film Payback, with Mel Gibson? Turns out it’s a remake of sorts; or at least a re-imagining of the novel The Hunter by Richard Stark which had previously been made into the Lee Marvin vehicle Point Blank. If you saw Payback, this is the same story, albeit a few changes in character and monetary amounts. The film is stylistically shot (the footsteps sequence is quite effective) and worth a rent.

WOW-E

wall-e exists

WALL-E ***** Pixar’s Wall-E is a great film. We all know that CGI animation can achieve photo-realism, but this is the first Pixar film that at times, felt real to me.  It’s fascinating that some of the most memorable screen characters I’ve been introduced to this summer exist only as 1s and 0s in some computer, and speak only in blips, bleeps and snippets (“E-va”). These filmmaker’s realize that characters and stories are what make movies, and they have scored another home run with Wall-E.

hello? it's for shoe

Get Smart *** Would you believe that the Get Smart re-imagining is actually slightly better than crap? In fact, there are several legitimately humorous moments in the thing, particularly in the first half, before all of the big-time action hits. Carell and Hathaway fit together nicely as 86 and 99, but the speediness of their romantic relationship seemed forced near the end. The rest of the cast is well chosen from Alan Arkin’s Chief to Terence Stamp’s Siegfried (who isn’t given nearly enough lines). As a huge fan of the original Adams/Feldon duo, I would have preferred more comedy and fewer explosions, but this one is worth the matinee ticket price.