Snap Judgments - a Quick Review of 5 Movies

Cold Souls

Paul Giamatti plays a version of himself, who's struggling with Chekhov's Uncle Vanya for the stage on Broadway. He sees an article in the New Yorker about soul extraction which interests him since he thinks having less soul will help his performance. But after the procedure (performed by the great David Straitharn) and the subsequent stealing of his soul by a soap opera actress in Russia, Giamatti just wants to return to normal. The slapstick comedy doesn't work at all and Giamatti's changes in acting styles (when he has different souls) is not impressive - just indulgent. The other main character (a Russian mule who transports souls across borders) is dull and lifeless. It's nice that you're ripping off the best (Charlie Kaufman), but his films are about so much more than the plot. Here, there's no subtext, subtlety, or charm. C

Bright Star
The main problem certainly isn't Paul Schneider, who's excellent in support. I've only seen one of the Oscar nominees for Best Supporting Actor (Waltz), but each of the other 4 could not have been as important to their films as Schneider. The main problem also isn't entirely director Jane Campion, who composes shots exquisitely with lots of symbolism (stairs, door frames, windows) and gives great imagery with the outdoor settings. I will blame the pacing on her, but my main issue lies with Ben Whishaw (who was superb as the "poet" Dylan in I'm Not There). As the poet John Keats, Whishaw has a very difficult role as a troubled, struggling artist who's snubbed by society. As Keats's love interest Fanny Brawne, Abbie Cornish fares a little better, particularly toward the end, but the all-important on-screen chemistry between the 2 would-be lovers just isn't there. C+

Drag Me to Hell

Sam Raimi's first non-Spiderman film since 2000's The Gift is startlingly effective at providing the jolts and frights. Bank loan officer Alison Lohman denies an old lady's request for refinancing who immediately puts a curse on Lohman. Lohman is then haunted the rest of the film and enlists the help of her boyfriend (Justin Long), a seance expert (Babel's Adriana Barraza), and local ghost expert to rid her of the bad spirits. The real star is Raimi who is at his Evil Dead 2-level of expert horror direction. He even has the guts to attack the plot holes ("Why didn't you tell me this before?") head-on and nicely allows characterizations (Lohman's food obsession) to surface. I don't know if this is "better" than A Simple Plan or the first 2 Spiderman films, but this is the most fun I've had watching Raimi work in a long time. B

District 13: Ultimatum
From the left wing mind of Luc Besson comes the sequel to the influential District 13, which had none other than James Bond imitating its excellent stunts in Casino Royale. That film held together for the majority of the running time, but crapped out when its cops-bad, criminals-good message came out. The sequel is a disaster from the very first scene and lets its ridiculously simplistic politics blind any coherence or rationality. The French equivalent of the Dept. of Homeland Security teams with Harriburtion (a subtly named, malevolent global corporation) and local politicians to kill cops and take over the slums (or something like that). In a huge conspiracy full of smart (and evil!) people, you'd think someone would bother to change the incriminating license plates. Worst of all, the action is mindless, repetitive, boring, and repetitive. It played early this week on HDNET movies, which is now charging $5 per month. I'm starting to wonder about the investment. C-

Zombieland

Priest had a blast during its theatrical run and maybe the audience atmosphere contributed to the fun. As the crazed, zombie-killing hillbilly, Woody Harrelson is at his looney-tunes best and is obviously having a great time which is endearing. Jesse Eisenberg is terrific counter-programming as the cautious survivor who over-thinks every situation. There's a moment when Zombieland almost becomes the best film of the year as the 2 men each threaten a shotgun blast to newly infected Abigail Breslin's face. Alas, my ultimate dream is not to be and they don't carry through with it. The plot contrivances do the film in with a paper-thin story barely connecting set-pieces. The power wouldn't be on anywhere and they'd have trouble traveling in a Hummer from Texas to California. Gas stations do have a cut-off switch. But this is a zombie movie, for crap's sake, and you can't let reason and common sense get in the way. Bill Murray has a couple of priceless lines worth the 80 minute running time alone. B-