2007 | MARKED MOVIES

Archive for 2007

88 Minutes (x)

Posted in Mystery, thriller with tags 2007 on January 17, 2012 by Mark Walker

Director: Jon Avnet.
Screenplay: Gary Scott Thompson.
Starring: Al Pacino, Alicia Witt, Leelee Sobieski, Amy Brenneman, William Forsythe, Ben McKenzie, Deborah Kara Unger, Neal McDonogh, Stephen Moyer, Victoria Tennant.

Director Jon Avnet released this film with Al Pacino just before “Righteous Kill” in 2007, where he reteamed Al with Robert DeNiro. If you have seen the disaster that that film turned out to be, then you pretty much get the idea where this one is headed. In fact, if I were DeNiro I’d be pretty peeved that Al never mentioned a word about working with Avnet – a director of such stinking magnitude.

Dr. Jack Gramm (Pacino) is a professor of criminal psychology who has also helped the police with the conviction of a serial killer, awaiting execution. It transpires though, that the good Doctor may have got things wrong in his findings and it’s also at this time that he recieves an anonymous phone call informing him that he has 88 minutes to live.

Some feeble attempts at tension and plotting then ensue, with Al probably spending more than 88 minutes to blow-dry his ever increasing hairstyle.
I can’t believe I am wasting my time even commenting on this film. It has already stolen more than enough from me. I do this as a warning to all. This is unequivocally the worst Pacino film I have ever seen – and his worst performance. He spends a lot of the film on the phone and on second thoughts, he could have probably phoned in a better performance rather than wasting his (and our) time turning up.

Never mind minutes, 88 Seconds is too long for this piece of garbage.

Mark Walker

3 Comments »

The Bucket List *

Posted in Comedy, Drama with tags 2007 on January 13, 2012 by Mark Walker

Director: Rob Reiner.
Screenplay: Justin Zackham.
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes, Rob Morrow, Beverly Todd, Alfonso Freeman, Rowena King.

Jack and Morgan, now over the hill, attempt fetching a bucket of laughter. Jack fell down in a hospital gown and Morgan came tumbling after.

Pretty damn poor considering it unites two of cinema’s great actors in Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman, under the direction of the normally reliable Rob Reiner – who is no stranger to fine comedies. However, Reiner seems to have forgotten something integral here…namely comedy itself.

Nicholson and Freeman play two terminally ill patients sharing a room in hospital. When faced with the news that they have months to live, they compose a “Bucket List”. A list consisting of all the things they’d like to do before they shuffle off their mortal coil. Working their way through their list, they achieve feats of sky-diving, racing fast cars, tackling the Himalayas etc.

You’d think watching these two veteran actors in several hair-raising scenarios would be a joy but quite frankly, it’s not. What it is, is dull and uneventful. Jack and Morgan are given next to nothing to work with and are let down by a very tedious and formulaic script. Reiner’s direction is also extremely flat, not helped by some very poor, sub-standard special effects and fake use of international locations. By today’s standards it’s very insulting and the talent involved, not to mention us, deserve more.

If I ever compose a Bucket list for myself, first thing on the list will be…’Don’t attempt to polish a turd. Despite what it says on the tin’. Avoid at all costs.

Mark Walker

Knocked Up * * * *

Posted in Comedy with tags 2007 on January 10, 2012 by Mark Walker

Director: Judd Apatow.
Screenplay: Judd Apatow.
Starring: Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigel, Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Jonah Hill, Jason Segel, Jay Baruchel, Martin Starr, Charlyne Yi, Alan Tudyk, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Joanna Kerns, Iris Apatow, Maude Apatow, Harold Ramis, Andy Dick, Loudon Wainwright III, Jessica Alba, Eva Mendes, Steve Carell, James Franco.

Of recent times, director/producer Judd Apatow’s collaboration with actor/writer Seth Rogen and their brand of humour, seems to have mass appeal. It has brought success with “The 40 year old Virgin”, “Pineapple Express” & “Superbad” but none better than this outing.

Entertainment TV reporter Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl) goes clubbing with her uptight sister (Leslie Mann) to celebrate a surprise promotion. Buoyed by happiness and booze, she hits it off with a friendly slacker called Ben Stone (Seth Rogen) and takes him home for a spot of one-off sex. A series of pregnancy tests later, and a one-night stand is turning into a lifetime commitment.

I have to admit that I put off watching this for quite some time, as I thought it would be just another juvenile ‘dick joke’ film. I was wrong. Well…almost. Apatow’s crude humour is ever present and welcome, but this film doesn’t shy away from dealing with adult situations and relationships also. It’s a very observational comedy, dealing with the myriad of emotions when becoming a parent for the first time. There were moments when I felt like Apatow had been spying on my life, before the birth of my first child. I could empathise and identify with the characters and their mixed emotions. The dialogue is sharp and hilarious, the characters neurotic and the situations very real. It works well both as a comedy and a dramatisation of the most important time in a persons life. The actors all put in great work, especially Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann with the seemingly perfect happy family. The main problem is the running time though, it is just a bit overlong and Apatow seems to have the recurring problem of not knowing when to wrap things up. Towards the end, I began to feel that Heigl (and the film) was so overdue that a hormone injection was needed to help things along. Still, getting there raised all sorts of giggles and delivered some good gags.

Like the baby itself…an unexpected joy.

Mark Walker

3:10 to Yuma * * 1/2

Posted in Western with tags 2007 on January 10, 2012 by Mark Walker

Director: James Mangold.
Screenplay: Halsted Welles, Michael Brandt, Derek Haas.
Starring: Russell Crowe, Christian Bale, Ben Foster, Peter Fonda, Alan Tudyk, Gretchen Mol, Vinessa Shaw, Luke Wilson.

After his Oscar winning “Walk the Line”, director James Mangold got on the saddle to direct this adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s western (filmed once before in 1957 with Glenn Ford). He employs two fine actors for the lead roles but even they can’t help with a script that has more gaping holes than you can shake a ten-gallon hat at.

When notorious outlaw Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) is captured, a posse is thrown together – including penniless rancher Dan Evans (Christian Bale) – to escort him to the town of ‘Contention’, where the 3:10 train to Yuma prison will arrive. Getting there is no easy task though, especially when Wade’s gang are determined to rescue him.

This is a western that certainly looks like a potential classic. It has great performances; a keen eye and feel for detail; beautiful cinematography and it’s based on the easily adaptable writer Elmore Leonard’s book. So what went wrong? Well, for a start it could have been doing with a script that wasn’t so ridiculous and insulting. Granted, the movie starts off great and really looks like it’s going somewhere. Suddenly Crowe’s character begins to show a different, more sensitive side, other than the ruthless murderer we were introduced to and the film goes in a completely different direction, with the last 15 mins or so completely unintelligible. Crowe and Bale put in good performances and work well together but when a script stinks, there’s not much the actors can do to save it. It starts off very promising indeed, before resorting to ludicrous plot developments, ruining what could have been a fine addition to the genre.

3:10 to Yuma? It’s a shame Crowe and Bale couldn’t have caught the earlier train.

Mark Walker

6 Comments »

The Savages * * * 1/2

Posted in Drama with tags 2007 on January 10, 2012 by Mark Walker

Director: Tamara Jenkins.
Screenplay: Tamara Jenkins.
Starring: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Laura Linney, Philip Bosco, David Zayas, Peter Friedman.

Having not experienced any of director Tamara Jenkins’ films before, I went into this film expecting something along the lines of “Little Miss Sunshine” in it’s supposedly humourous take on a dysfunctional family. That’s not what I got but there was still plenty to enjoy from the emotionally impaired characters.

As their estranged father Lenny Savage (Philip Bosco) sinks into senility in an Arizona retirement village, Wendy (Laura Linney) and Jon (Philip Seymour Hoffman) are forced to figure out how to care for the dad who never cared for them.

This is not a comedy as some of the critics would have you believe. Yes, there are moments of comedy but no more than the humour that accompanies life and it’s irony. This is a heartfelt drama, dealing with the painful responsibility that families face in our modern day, injected with humour and pathos and wonderfully acted by Linney and Hoffman – who are two of the best in the business. The relationship between the siblings is entirely believable. There is not a lot of communication between them but what’s not said, is just as important. There’s also not a lot going on in these peoples lives. They seem to think so but we are able to sit back and observe the avoidance they are trying to make. It also never fully discloses why the two of them have such contempt for their ailing father. It’s hinted that he never had much time for them but as the film draws to a close and Wendy’s creative writing and aspiration to be a successful playwright comes to fruition, a bit more is revealed as she uses her experiences as inspiration for her writing.

A good family drama, dealing with the stuggles that are becoming ever more present in our current times, helped by subtle and very real performances. If you have the patience to invest, you’ll be rewarded.