Harsh Times (2006): The lone blemish on Christian Bale’s recent resume. He plays an Army Ranger back from Iraq who is trying to find work with the LAPD. He falls back into his old hoodlum life with pal Freddy Rodriguez scoring dope and talking tough. Bale’s accent is laughable but he is as charismatic as ever. Still, it’s tough watching characters make one bad decision after another. Eva Longoria shows up almost fully clothed as Rodriguez’s ball-busting girlfriend. C
Days of Glory (2006): This is the second virtual remake of Saving Private Ryan, following the Korean-made The Brotherhood of War. This Algerian-French production was Oscar-nominated for Best Foreign Language Film a few months ago and is most successful in its battle scenes which are well-staged. The rest of it is a tired lecture on how colonialism is bad and how poorly the French treated the North Africans. This theme was explored much better in the inventive Cache. B-
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006): In 18th century Paris, a man with a superior sense of smell kills women he’s attracted to and tries to boil their essence into a perfume. Director Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run) does an admiral job keeping very difficult subject matter together for the majority of the 147 minute running time. But when the sicko unleashes the perfume on the public, they forgive him and start an orgy. It’s the most unintentionally hilarious scene in recent memory. C-
Vacancy (2007): Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale play a bickering soon-to-be-divorced married couple who end up in a remote hotel when Wilson tries to take a short-cut off the highway. Frank Whaley is the hotel manager who makes snuff films of his hotel guests on the side. It’s even more unpleasant to watch than it sounds. Everyone involved commits career suicide. And Luke Wilson can never be trusted again. D
Perfect Stranger (2007): Halle Berry is a journalist convinced that ad-executive Bruce Willis killed her lifelong friend and goes undercover as a temp employee to uncover the truth. There are plot twists so incongruous with the rest of the movie that you can actually see the writer scratching his head, confused as to how to end the damn thing. All is not lost, however, with some interesting ideas about how on-line anonymity can affect your actual relationships. Yes, I know the definition of “irony”. C+
2 comments:
Thanks, Doc. You are a glutton for punishment for renting Perfume and Perfect Stranger. I don't understand Luke. He has always mixed in crap (see Hoot) with genius.
I usually give directors who have impressed me in the past the benefit of the doubt. I still love Run Lola Run and Glengarry Glen Ross. They're starting to look like one-hit wonders though.
PS: Don't hold your breath for any snap judgments on Wild Hogs or Ghost Rider.
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