13 – Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005)

Good Night, and Good Luck. REVIEW

5/5 stars

Director – George Clooney

Cast – David Strathairn, George Clooney, Jeff Daniels, Robert Downey Jr., Patricia Clarkson

——————–

Good Night, and Good Luck follows journalist Edward R. Murrow in his famous fight against McCarthy and his anti-Communist witch hunt. It is a movie about journalism and the responsibility journalists have towards thir viewers. Superstar George Clooney directs, writes, and costars in the movie, reportedly only recieving $3.00 up front, and a percentage of the profits. He does an admirable job, and has created a subdued, tense drama which actually is about something; and it actually treats its subject matter in a mature way, without resorting to over the top emotional manipulation.

The black and white cinematography is wonderful, most of the shots could be framed and hung up on the wall, it’s that beautiful. The lead actor, David Strathairn does a wonderful job recreating Edward R. Murrow. He comes across as intelligent and as a man full of convictions. George Clooney does a decent job as well. There are a few other big names sprinkled around the cast as well; Robert Downey Jr. and Jeff Daniels do well.

The creativity with which George Clooney approaches this story is astounding. A wonderful sense of straight-faced humor is maintained throughout, with many characters exchanging barbs and verbal slight-of-hand that brings a great sense of liveliness to the whole thing. I can see a few people having problems with the slow-ish pace and un-rousing climax, but I believe they fitted the tone and message of the movie wonderfully. This is a movie that we in the media crazed “Western world” need to see. And thank God we have a man in George Clooney with the clout to make these kinds of movies.

OVERALL

Good Night, and Good Luck is a wonderful movie. It’s slow pace may put some off, but they would be missing a gem of a movie if they skipped over this. Highly recommended.

——————–

TRAILER

“Good Night, and Good Luck” on other websites:

IMDB —– Rotten Tomatoes —– Wikipedia

—————————————-

12 – Finding Neverland (2004)

Finding Neverland REVIEW

3.5/5 stars

Director – Marc Forster

Cast – Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet, Julie Christie, Dustin Hoffman, Freddie Highmore

——————–

Finding Neverland follows J. M. Barrie ( played by Johnny Depp), the author of Peter Pan, in his relationship with a fatherless family of boys, which gives him the inspiration to write his most famous work.  Now if the events and conflicts in the movie had actually happened, the movie would have a bit more credibility. Now I am not a stickler for historical accuracy in moves,  but this movie really takes liberities. It removes characters, adds conflicts where there were none, and generally does what it wants just to add emotional punch (and at times, rather contrived emotional punch at that).

However, if you were to look at the movie as just that, a movie, without delving into the historical background, it will not in the most part dissapoint. Johnny Depp is great (as always) and he definitely creates a distinct character. Dustin Hoffman plays the role of Barrie’s producer with calmness and proffesionalism, also creating a distinct character. The standout performance however, belongs to Freddie Highmore. In his breakout performance he is responsible for most of the dramatic wieght in the story; and it is an amazing performance, doubly so because of his young age. He went on to star (recommended by Depp) in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, has since starred in many movies (of varying quality, to be sure), and has made quite a name for himself.

The movie has many good parts and a few bad parts. The biggest problem is the rather heavy- handed treatment of the emotional points, and an unbelievable character transformation near the end of the movie rubbed me the wrong way. However, the performances are excellent, and the movie has a fair degree of charm and magic. One sequence has Barrie and his wife going to bed in seperate rooms; she goes into her room and shuts the door, but when Barrie opens his door we see a brief glance of (as he sees it) a fairytale world of green valleys and misty forests. It is a surprisingly touching scene.

OVERALL

Finding Neverland is a decent movie; magical at times, a tad manipulative at others. It’s worth a watch for the performances and charm. A good all-round family movie.

——————–

TRAILER

“Finding Neverland” on other websites:

IMDB —– Rotten Tomatoes —– Wikipedia

—————————————-

11 – Tigerland (2000)

Tigerland REVIEW

4.5/5 stars

Director- Joel Schumacher

Cast- Colin Farrell, Mathew Davis, Shea Whigham, Cole Hauser

——————–

Coincidentally, Tigerland is the second war movie review in a row I have reviewd that features Colin Farrell and Cole Hauser. The other one being Hart’s War, this is by far the better movie. Joel Schumacher has a strange track record, having directed crap like Batman Forever, Batman and Robin, and The Number 23; decent movies like A Time To Kill and The Phantom of the Opera; and then quite good ones like Phone Booth and Tigerland. He’s a strange director in that way. I guess he’s only as good as his material.

It is perhaps a tad misleading to call this a “war movie”, since the movie just follows the characters through training, and ends as they are being shipped off. However, the movie is about the relationships between the men themselves, and as such does not need any actual combat to up the tension.

This movie follows a young soldier, Roland Buzz (played by Colin Farrell, in his star making role), who has a perpetual chip on his shoulder, and an attitude towards war that certainly doesn’t endear him to his superiors. He also knows the Army rules and regulations inside and out, and is able to exploit loopholes to send men home if he feels they should. Predictably this makes him an enemy or two.

Now this is obviously quite a low budget affair; Saving Private Ryan it ain’t. And thank God for it too. Where Saving Private Ryan is big loud, and emotionally manipulative, Tigerland is quiet, low key, and in some places has a wickedly dark sense of humour (mainly relayed through the character of Roland Bozz). On that topic, Colin Farrell does an amazing job with the character, which so easily could have gone over the top. He plays it wonderfully, and without a hint of his Irish accent.

OVERALL

This is one of my favorite war-related movies, pure and simple. Colin Farrel takes the material and really elevates it higher than it would have been with most other actors. It is a tight movie, well acted and paced, and intense all the way through. Defintely recommended to anyone.

——————–

TRAILER

“Tigerland” on other websites:

IMDB —– Rotten Tomatoes —– Wikipedia

—————————————-

10 – Hart’s War (2002)

Hart’s War REVIEW

3/5 stars

Director - Gregory Hoblit

Cast - Colin Farrell, Bruce Willis, Cole Hauser, Terrence Howard

——————–

Hart’s War follows a young American military man in a German POW camp as he defends in a court-martial a black man accused of murdering a white soldier. All is not as it seems however, as Lieutenant Hart (Colin Farrell) digs deeper and discovers some shocking truths behind the case.

The movie follows his investigations in a passably interesting way, and all the actors do a decent job. Bruce Willis plays Hart’s mentor, and he is, well… Bruce Willis, with all the good and bad which that entails. The man on trial is played by Terence Howard, and he does a very good job as usual. The best performance of the movie however, comes from the relative unknown who plays the German Colonel in charge of the POW camp. His name is Marcel Iures, and his performance is head and shoulders above the film itself.

Now this movie tries to be original, and attempts to do things a bit differently. For example, many times while watching the movie with my brother we found ourself shouting out “Oh! They’re _____!” For example when the POW’s are being transported to the camp their train is derailed and an American P-51 starts strafing them, not realizing he is shooting his fellow Americans. So the men arrange themselves in the snow to spell ‘P O W”. The plane then flies off. In the court scenes, many times a legal point is made which we think is un-defeatable, and is promptly shot down by the prosecution.

It is a generally smart script on the small-scale. However, when it comes to the larger picture, and to the large plot points, this movie flounders and flounders hard. Military cliché’s abound, speeches about “honour” and “duty” are thrown around in all the stereotypical way. Not to belittle those attributes, but they need to be dealt with in the right way, and that isn’t done here. I found myself wishing someone had taken a few risks. War movies have been done to death, and something new is always welcome. Here it just isn’t to be found.

OVERALL

Hart’s War is a competent, decent movie. But unfortunately it is little else and could have been much more. Recommended ONLY if you like war/legal films and don’t mind a bit of cliché. Well, quite a bit of cliché…

——————–

TRAILER

“Hart’s War” on other websites:

IMDB —– Rotten Tomatoes —– Wikipedia

—————————————-