Alecc B. on "The Kingdom"

Like every country, I’m sure the Middle East has a lot of good in it. It’s a shame because we will rarely hear about that good because it’s always overshadowed by all the bad that takes place over there.

The Kingdom is probably one of the few movies to come out recently and showcase the good and bad sides of the Middle East. There are plenty of moments that fuel our rage and make us do nothing but hate the people that strap these bombs to their bodies in the name of Allah. The surprise here is that we get a look into the lives of the men who worship the same God but are fighting against terrorism instead of joining in. It’s a nice contrast that is only one component to a veritably great film.

PLOT

A terrorist attack is made on an American compound in Saudi Arabia, killing hundreds. In response, an FBI team of investigators is sent to find out who committed this crime and bring them to Holy War justice!!!!!

ACTING

Jamie Foxx plays Ronald Fleury, the man heading up the investigation. These are the kinds of movies Foxx can do well in. He underplays this role to good effect and refrains from being Funny-Foxx. His other team members consist of Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner, and Jason Bateman. Cooper plays Grant Sykes as a no-nonsense kind of guy, much like his other roles, but he acts well off of everyone else. Garner plays Janet Mayes in a very reserved manner. She’s the only female character in the crew, and besides holding her own with the boys, she has to deal with the rules and restrictions that the Middle East has for women. Garner conveys a lot of her frustrations through facial expressions and does a nice job here. She also slips into the bad-ass role a couple of times and you’ll love her for it! Jason Bateman is the last team member, Adam Leavitt. We all know we need some comic relief in a film like this, and Bateman is given most of the funny lines. He also handles the more dramatic scenes with ease. Ashraf Barhom and Ali Suliman play Colonel Faris Al Ghazi and Sergeant Haytham, the two Middle Eastern men assisting the FBI in this case. Barhom is fantastic and has great chemistry with Foxx. No, there’s no Brokeback-action, but the two of them develop a nice friendship throughout the film and the actors make it very believable. Haytham is reserved but it works for his role. Jeremy Piven shows up for a couple of scenes as Damon Schmidt. He’s basically Ari Gold with gray hair, and that’s not a bad thing at all. Ari is the shit…BOOM! Special shout-outs go to NBC’s Friday Night Lights’ cast members Kyle Chandler and Minka Kelly for showing their faces in a couple of scenes. I would love to get familiar with Ms. Kelly’s “minka”. She is scrumtrulecent!

WRITING & DIRECTING

Matthew Michael Carnahan is the writer on deck here. The story is fairly simple as it is just your standard action thriller about the FBI tracking down a killer. However, The Kingdom is not your average bang-bang-shoot-‘em-up flick. Carnahan dishes out a script that takes a familiar story and twists it into a wholly original one. The dialogue that comes out of everyone’s mouth feels fresh. Of course, the setting for this flick makes a world of difference by adding to the suspense that at any moment, you could be attacked.

Peter Berg has officially become one of my favorite directors. He’s acted in numerous films, including the underrated Aspen Extreme (YEAH, I SAID IT!!!!), and stepped behind the camera for the first time back in 1998. That film? Very Bad Things. If you haven’t seen that flick, you must see it A.S.A.P.!!!! It is definitely one of the darkest comedies you will ever see. Berg followed up Things with The Rundown, starring The Rock, which was much better than the silly action movie it could’ve been. After that? Friday Night Lights! I will say right now that Lights is the best football movie of all time! There’s intensity, feel-good moments, and some truly sad ones. An all-around perfect sports film.

Now Berg tackles The Kingdom, his most powerful film yet. From the opening credits, which are the most original and captivating of the year, this film grabs you and never lets go. From Berg’s intense, but controlled, handheld camerawork to the slam dunk editing, The Kingdom is quite the nail-biting movie-going experience.

Speaking of biting your nails, by now most of you have seen the commercials that say, “The last 30-minutes are so intense, you won’t be able to move.” I’m here to back up that quote. I’ve seen this film twice already and both times I felt the tension on-screen, especially during one no-holds barred fight-to-the-death sequence that’s sure to be the most talked about scene in the finale.

The Kingdom is the kind of movie that people will say, “You don’t want to miss!” That, my friends, is the truth!

Overall Review: **** stars

Best Lines:

Foxx: No, are you okay? He slapped you.

Bateman: I didn’t say “I”, I said “FBI”.

Alecc B. on "Into The Wild"

Everyone goes through a point in their life when they say to themselves, "I need a change." The problem with society is that most people never make that change.They continue living the same old boring life in hopes that one day a change will happen all on it's own.

Sean Penn has chosen to adapt the book Into The Wild and make it his fourth stab at directing. Wild tells the true story of a young man who wanted to make a change and did exactly that. Penn has always had a problem with pacing, and Wild has it's fair share of slow scenes, but it doesn't completely damage a film that is pretty powerful.

PLOT

Christopher McCandless has always been the reckless type. Even though his family is pretty wealthy, he never liked to just be given things. He wanted to earn them. This never sat well with his parents, but Chris never really cared, he just wanted to live his life in his own way. So in 1990, Chris gave away his tuition check to Harvard, destroyed everything that could be used to identify him, and set out to cross the country to reach his destination…Alaska. Adapting the name Alexander Supertramp, this young man encounters many different people and situations, all while hoofing it through the United States.

ACTING

Emile Hirsch is very impressive as Chris/Alex. He conveys being a free-spirit perfectly and has no problem making the audience experience the character's feelings and emotions. As Chris' parents, William Hurt and Marcia Gay Harden are probably the least interesting characters in the entire film. I've always thought Hurt was overrated and I stick by that opinion. Harden has one emotional scene where she wakes up thinking that Chris is calling out to her after he had been gone for quite some time. It's a heart-breaking thought for a parent to think their child is in trouble somewhere they can't find, and Harden does a fine job in that scene. As Chris' sister Carine, Jena Malone reminded me of my sister. Carine is the kind of sister that always supports her brother and looks up to him, and Malone brought a voice to hert hat rings true.

There are a few characters that Chris meets during his travels. From this point on, I'll call Chris...Alex. He first meets Wayne, brought to life by Vince Vaughn, who plays his usual laid-back self. Next, Alex befriends a couple of rubber-tramps played by Brian Dierker and Catherine Keener. The three of them create an instant bond that feels like they've known each other forever. Alex then meets Tracy, a young girl played by Kristen Stewart. There's a touch of romance there. Not a lot, but just enough to show there is a connection between the two of them. Hal Holbrook plays Ron Franz, an oldman that looks after Alex for a period of time. The scenes between Holbrook and Hirsch are very touching and might require you to bring some kleenex. The best thing about all of these interactions is the way the actors make you believe that Alex represents something that is missing in all of their lives. Some great acting at work.

WRITING & DIRECTING

Sean Penn adapted the work of John Krakauer into thescreenplay. Some of the dialogue between Hurt and Harden can come off as a little fake and boring at times. The story itself is fascinating. The way pieces of Alex's travels would come together is very interesting.

One thing Penn seriously needs to work on is his pacing. At two and a half hours, some scenes could have been trimmed. On a plus side, this is Penn's most visually stunning film to date. The cinematography of all the places Alex made stops in is what grabbed me the most. There are some truly amazing shots of the country and mountains, etc.

In the end, Into The Wild basically just points out to us that we have choices and we can change our lives if we wanted to, just like Chris/Alex did. I will also note that the final image in the film is very haunting and has kind of stuck with me since I saw it this past Wednesday night. Just warning you!

Overall Review: *** stars

Best Lines:

Hirsch: Rather than love, faith, or fairness...give me truth.

Hirsch: I am...we are...he was.

TRANSFORMERS 2

Looks like my beloved franchise is back on track after a brief bump in the road with possible industry strikes. Micheal Bay looks to helm the project once again as Director while Steven Spielberg is back on producing duties. Optimus Prime and the heroic Autobots will be fighting the evil Decepticons in theaters on June 26,2009. Now lets ROLL OUT_

Alecc B. on "In The Valley Of Elah"

Next year, George W. Bush will no longer be sitting behind the desk in the Oval Office. It’s a comforting thought, but the next man, or woman, to sit there has a lot of cleaning up to do. One of the biggest shit-storms that needs to be resolved is getting our troops out of Iraq. Easier said than done, but the longer the military stays out there, the more damage will be done to them, physical and psychological.

In The Valley Of Elah is the latest film to tackle the subject of the war in Iraq. Director Paul Haggis chose this story to tell as his follow-up to his award-winning Crash. There aren’t many similarities between the two films, but one thing they do have in common is strong writing for a great cast.

PLOT

Hank Deerfield gets a call from the military, saying his son, Mike, has gone AWOL. Hank, not knowing that his son was back in the states until then, sets out to find him. Upon arriving at his son’s military base, Hank knows something is not right, and he must work his way through lies and crack-whores to find out where his son is. Okay, so maybe there aren’t any crack-whores, but there are strippers involved. I know, not the same thing. Whatever.

ACTING

Tommy Lee Jones can act circles around anyone. Sure, he basically plays himself in every movie, but the man is a class act. As Hank, Jones expresses enough of what he’s feeling without having to speak. When he does speak though, he drops gems. Susan Sarandon plays his wife and mother of Mike, Joan. Sarandon is another actress you can add to the list of greats. She’s guaranteed to make you cry a couple of times here, which is effortless for her to do, especially in Dead Man Walking. Have any of you seen that film? Man-o-man, that movie will make any guy weep. Believe that! Charlize Theron plays Det. Emily Sanders, who befriends Hank and helps him. Theron’s character deals with adversity throughout the film, from the male detectives in her department to the military police. Theron holds up well against the rest of the cast. It doesn’t hurt that she’s gorgeous, even when she’s dressed down. Jonathan Tucker, as Mike, has very little screen-time and is mostly shown through flashbacks. He’s decent in this role. Wes Chatham is very effective as one of the more haunted soldiers, Corporal Steve Penning. Jason Patric plays Lt. Kirklander like he does all of his other roles, which is very reserved. James Franco, Josh Brolin, and Frances Fisher all show up for a couple of scenes and perform their small roles well.

WRITING & DIRECTING

Paul Haggis developed the story for In The Valley Of Elah with Mark Boal. The plot is pretty simple, but enhanced by good dialogue. If I were to pitch this film, I’d say it’s Courage Under Fire meets A Few Good Men. Elah goes to some dark places, including some disorderly conduct from soldiers dealing with injured prisoners and dead bodies in Iraq. Some twisted stuff. The weakest subplot has to deal with Theron’s character and her young son, especially a scene that comes after the climax. They melted some Kraft on that scene. Pure cheese.

Haggis has been involved in many projects over the past few years. He wrote the scripts for Million Dollar Baby, Casino Royale, and The Last Kiss, to name a few. With the exception of Royale, Haggis seems to have a knack for writing drama. This is evident when it comes to his directing as well. Elah has a nice flow to it. It’s not fast-paced film, but it’s never boring. The investigation of what happened to Hank’s son keeps you interested, and Haggis has a fantastic cast that carries the movie along without any extra help from fancy camerawork. This is not to say Haggis is a lazy hack, it’s just that he knows what he’s doing.

I could’ve done without the extremely corny song they play at the end. It makes the final image a little overbearing. But, as a follow-up to Crash, In The Valley Of Elah won’t disappoint anyone looking for a good old-fashioned investigation drama.

Overall Review: *** stars

Best Line:

Jones: I’d say that’s accurate.

Hello all!

Well, this is my first post here at INK HEAD studio! It's a pleasure to be working with old friends once again!

I'll mostly be contributing movie reviews here, and to start it off I'll post one of my reviews from last week as my next blog.

Later this week I'll have reviews up for The Kingdom, Into The Wild, and We Own The Night. I hope you enjoy them and please leave comments at anytime.

- Alecc B.

No CAMPBELL soup for you

FLETCHER

Mr Washington

ROCKY and a hard place