Contraband is the kind of thriller that offers just enough in the way of effective elements to assemble a two-minute trailer…writes James Berardinelli.
When it comes to a 110-minute feature, however, the sketchiness of the plotting and the director’s lack of sure-handedness sink the project. By their very nature, heist-oriented thrillers are intended to be erected upon a bedrock of contrivances, but a skilled director can obfuscate this reality and make the whole thing seem like one long, fun ride. Sadly, in the case of Contraband, the seams show. Either as a result of poor writing or sloppy editing, glaring plot holes are never plugged. The film’s structure is haphazard, the energy level is low, the surprises are few, and the ending is far too clean for such a messy motion picture. In short, this is pretty much what we have come to expect of movies released in January (at least those that are not Oscar-hopeful holdovers from the previous year).
Contraband is remake of the Icelandic film Reykjavik-Rotterdam. This movie’s director, Baltasar Kormakur, served as both producer and lead actor in the original, so there’s a solid connection. While Kormakur brings a sense of offbeat humor to the proceedings, his handling of action sequences is suspect (they lack tension) and the story is frustratingly driven by characters doing moronic and short-sighted things. The screenplay could be smart, but it isn’t. The pace is uneven; only on rare occasions is there a sense of urgency, and the “nick of time” ending seems like what it is: a bad cliché.
Despite having a perfect cast for a title like Killer Elite, Gary McKendry’s feature debut comes across as little more than a generic Jason Statham movie with two high-profile guest stars…writes James Berardinelli.
However, while Clive Owen and Robert De Niro add some star power to this otherwise unassuming motion picture, their presence does not stitch together the seams evident in a hit-or-miss screenplay nor does it enliven the safe and somewhat static approach embraced by McKendry as he feels his way. Killer Elite contains numerous action sequences but too little compelling connective tissue for it to be more than a high octane diversion. This should have been released during the summer.
Killer Elite opens with a caption that informs us it is “based on a true story,” as if that somehow excuses some of the short-cuts and coincidences. In fact, the factuality of the source material, Ranulph Fiennes’ The Feather Men, has been challenged and, in some cases, debunked. There’s probably a kernel of truth lurking somewhere beneath the surface in Killer Elite, but to accept it as anything more than a motion picture interpretation of a largely fictional novel would be a mistake.
For one reason or another, there have been few quality movies made about 9/11. Maybe it’s because the event is too recent and the wound too fresh…writes James Berardinelli.
Or perhaps it’s because filmmakers are keenly aware that a misstep could lead to charges of exploitation, as with the 2010 misfire, Remember Me. With Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, based on the novel by Jonathan Safran Foer, director Stephen Daldry has fashioned an emotionally powerful cinematic testimony about that horrific late summer day.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is not about 9/11 in a global sense. It does not care about terrorists or terrorism. It is unconcerned about the reactions of the country and the world. Instead, it’s a very simple, human story about a boy who loses his father. It illustrates the pain that is often forgotten in 9/11 discussions, when righteous indignation detracts from the wrenching pang experienced by families with empty seats at holiday dinner tables. Yet, even though 9/11 is a critical element of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, the movie is not about 9/11. In fact, the principal storyline takes place a year beyond that fateful date. Yes, this is a story about loss and coping with that loss, but it is even more a tale of fathers and sons, sons and fathers, the bonds that exist between them, and the bonds they wished existed between them.
Sometimes it’s hard to recognize the importance of seemingly inconsequential element like “tone” when it comes to a romantic comedy. This Means War is a case study in what happens when the filmmakers mess this up. The movie is being marketed as an “action romantic comedy,” but the “action” aspect is really just a little flavoring that shows up at the beginning and the end. It’s jokey action – a would-be parody of over-the-top spy situations like those in Bond movies and the recent Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. But it’s clumsily presented, generating neither excitement nor humor. At the heart of the movie is a romantic triangle between three impossibly good-looking people who are so uninteresting that we keep hoping the sleazy bad guy will show up and shoot them all.
Maybe I’m being unreasonable. Maybe I’m asking too much that a romantic comedy makes me feel something other than apathy. Maybe it’s wrong of me to hope the most sympathetic character ends up with more than a throw-in consolation prize. I can’t say whether the biggest problem with This Means War lies in the direction, the acting, or the screenplay, but all three elements are contributors. Romantic comedies, especially those that overdose on steroids, are supposed to uplift. This one is just depressing.
Some would argue that the best way to see Alaska is through the images captured by an expert photographer. As breathtaking as the views may be, the climate can be unforgiving, with weather, terrain, and fauna that might give even notable survival expert Bear Gryllis pause. InThe Grey, director Joe Carnahan’s man vs. nature epic, the filmmaker strands seven characters in the midst of some of the most inhospitable territory on earth and shows that, when faced with seemingly insurmountable obstacles to survival, human beings have a tendency to look inward. The Grey is about raging against the dying of the light but also about accepting it with peace once the fight has been lost.
January and February, while not considered a prime market for motion pictures, have been good to Liam Neeson. Clad in the mantle of The Everyday Action Hero, Neeson has capitalized on his stolid reputation and a weak release schedule to burn up the box office withTaken (in January 2008) and Unknown (in February 2011). That is likely the reason Open Road Films elected to distribute The Grey to theaters in the dead of winter, and to open it in multiplexes when one could easily argue it is art house fare.
Maccabi futsal club ended their first foray into the Asian club futsal scene on a high after two narrow defeats in the AFC Futsal Club Championships Qualifying stage this week.
NSW 2010 Mick Brandon Sportswoman of the Year Award, Samantha Kadar has headed overseas to compete in the Junior World Synchronized Skating competition.
After years of having to cram our footballers onto any vacant inch of grass around Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs, Maccabi NSW is thrilled to announce it has secured the use of part of the brand new Waverley Oval for our football and rugby clubs this winter.
The Maccabi rugby club has pulled off one of Maccabi sport’s great coaching coups with the appointment of former Wallabies fullback and Australian rugby legend Glen Ella as coach for 2012.
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