focoproject.com

• Director: Clint Eastwood
• Genre: Drama/History/War
• Year: 2006

Ahhhh! This is what good movies are made of. The second part of Clint Eastwood’s Iwo Jima series actually tops the first one, which I already believed to be a spectacular film. Needless to say — if you have read my review of Flags of Our Fathers — you know that this two part series focuses on the Iwo Jima incident during World War II, though the first film finds it’s axis on the photograph that depicts six American soldiers lifting the flag atop the pinnacle of Mt. Suribachi. This time around, the viewer is placed on the Japanese side, with the Americans as the enemy and about as faceless as the first film makes the Japanese to be.

Without pulling punches, the film tries to explore the Japanese culture and mentality as it related to war, fighting with an honor code that ended up hurting them more than it helped and fighting an enemy they did not know any better than the Americans knew them. However, in Letters, there is no secondary plot to distract us from the accounts of Iwo Jima. While the first film takes us out of the war with regular consistency to explore the aftermath of that particular photograph, this film keeps us in the island, to witness the desperate efforts of a watered down army trying to hold back what was arguably the most powerful army in the world.

Knowing the end is not going to be favorable for the Japanese does not seem to matter in this epic, because the draw is really in the men that we have an opportunity of meeting and the dire situations in which these men end up standing their ground (in some cases…in others…well…watch the movie).

Taking what seems to be a rather fair point of view of both the Japanese and the Americans, Letters of Iwo Jima ends up highlighting the good and the bad aspects of both without sending judgment upon either. If you are a war and history film and if you have seen the first film, this is a must see. It actually utilizes some of the same shots as the first installment, which makes for a great tie in, and it heavily desaturates the colors to keep in theme.

Acting here is top of the line with mostly a Japanese cast led by Ken Watanabe and directing is once again top notch. As for the cinematography…I think you will find yourself thinking of this as visual candy. Somber, visual candy.

Rating: 5 out of 5
Notes: Violence, adult situations, graphic imagery. Japanese with English subtitles.
Quote: Shimizu: I don’t know anything about the enemy. I thought all Americans were cowards. I was taught they were savages.

• Director: David Yates
• Genre: Adventure/Family/Fantasy
• Year: 2007

I didn’t review HP? I am scratching my head, trying to figure out how exactly I was able to forget to review this. Sadly, by the time most of you read this review you will have already seen it, which makes this almost moot. But for those of you that didn’t get to see it (it may still be in some theaters, but surely not for long) I will go ahead and do a quick review on it.

Harry is getting older, which was one of the things fans often complained about, but as far as I am concerned, he is growing older with the books and bringing to this children’s franchise a bit of credibility. For the first time, I actually felt excited about a Harry Potter film. Yes, I really like the third one and I very much enjoyed the fourth, but this one…this one actually made me want to see it again right after I had watched it, which is a good sign, particularly when dealing with a film that is mostly on the blockbuster end of things.

Entertaining? You bet your ass it is, with Harry Potter finally stepping up, ending his whiny days and actually deciding to do something about this whole Voldemort problem. Facing disbelief and incredulity from the majority of the magical population, Harry and a handful of friends decide to take matters into their own hand, even when the lead of the school is handed by the Ministry appointed, Dolores Umbridge. And And finally, the threat seems real, the stakes seem raised and the film delivers on what is arguably the most adult installment of the series, but also the most exciting, thematically and visually. The acting is solid throughout, as is the directing and this time around the visuals have certainly been scaled up and the villain — or one of the villains — this time around comes wrapped in the strangest of packets, with a terribly sweet smile and a pink sweater.

While this may not be a film that changes your life or grants you a moment of intellectual epiphany, it most definitely is fun to watch and gets into your veins the way the original Star Wars got into my veins as a kid and all I can say is, if this is the direction the next two films will go, then I can not wait!

Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Notes: A bit more adult than the other HP films. Do accompany your children and prepare for some frightening images.
Quote: Dolores Umbridge: [walks in front of Harry with a straight face] Something wrong?
Harry Potter: [hesitates and looks at his scarred hand] No.
Dolores Umbridge: [bends down] Good. Because I know that you know deep down that you deserve to be punished.

• Director: Kevin Macdonald
• Genre: Drama/Thriller
• Year: 2006

That golden statue Forrest Whittaker walked away with for portraying Idi Amin? Yeah, the Oscar? It was very well deserved, let me tell you. Only now am I getting around to watching this movie and his performance was amazing. It helps that the entire cast does a good job in all the supporting roles from Gillian Anderson to Kerry Washington and the not excluding the protagonist, played by James McCavoy who dons the role of a young Scottish doctor jaded with the Ivy League world he has lived in and opting to go to Uganda, where he intends to work as a relief doctor, in an obscure village.

Youthful and full of enthusiasm, and not quite free of flaws, the young doctor finds his life adventurous and exciting in a three man clinic (including him) tending to the poor villagers. But it is a complete accident…literally, which brings to his care the newly positioned president of Uganda, a powerful General that has essentially overthrown the government in a coup.

Impressed, the Idi Amin offers the young doctor the position of being his own personal physician, which after some convincing, Dr. Garrigan accepts, only to find out once it is too late, how dark the world of politics can be, particularly in a country where corruption runs rampant and when you are the physician of a man who turns out to be leading a nationwide genocide.

Pregnant with a heavy subject matter, this movie is frankly not for the light hearted. It is a sad, film that touches on the ugly side of humanity, on the stretches of corruption and the lures of power. But it is the acting that makes it so believable along with the directing and in this movie EVERYBODY is on the ball. I do have a couple of problems with the movie, nothing mayor except for one thing at the end which I can not discuss openly without giving too much away. But do not let that deter you, if you can watch this movie, just be aware that there are some hard scenes to watch.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Notes: Violence, adult situation, nudity, sexuality, language and some gruesome imagery.
Quote: Nicholas Garrigan: You’re a child. That’s what makes you so fucking scary.

• Director: Matthew Vaughn
• Genre: Fantasy/Adventure/Romance
• Year: 2007

When I was first made privy to a short amount of footage from this movie at the Comic-Con I was just a little bit worried. Yes, it was based on Neil Gaiman’s book by the same title and it had been adapted by the author himself and not only that, he had taken an active role in the production. And at the helm was Matthew Vaughn, better known for directing Layer Cake and producing Guy Ritchie gems Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch. One look at the cast and you knew you had something special: Clare Danes, Robert DeNiro, Peter O’Toole, Ian McKellen, Michelle Pfieffer…
…everything about this film was pointing in the right direction and yet, when I saw the footage I was left with a bit of hesitation.

Thankfully, one sitting through the movie dispelled all those worries and though there are a couple of things that I would have changed or done slightly different, this movie is an absolute must see for any fantasy fan and the originality of Gaiman’s world and characters shines through nearly flawlessly!

The story has to do with a young man (Charlie Cox), who promises the girl he loves (Sienna Miller), a fallen star, willing to cross the forbidden wall to fetch it. Upon crossing the wall, he finds himself in a fantastic world where things are done just a little bit different and things are not always what they seem, such as the fact that the star he seeks is not a rock at all but a beautiful woman (Clare Danes). He captures her and races against time and other villains with their own agenda, to try to deliver his star. All the while, taking in some key life lessons along the way.

With solid acting, great directing, good visual effects and a good dose of humor, this movie will most definitely entertain and likely be one to be added to your collection.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Notes: Some fantastic elements, a couple of questionable issues that young children may worry about. Some frightening images, certainly a family film but one that parents will want to watch along with their kids to answer any questions that may come up.
Quote: Narrator: A philosopher once asked, “Are we human because we gaze at the stars, or do we gaze at them because we are human?” Pointless, really… “Do the stars gaze back?” Now *that’s* a question.

• Director: Craig Brewer
• Genre: Drama/Music
• Year: 2006

I know what you were all thinking when you saw that trailer. Man or woman…the comment I kept hearing over and over was: who knew that Christina Ricci could be so hot! This is the girl that used to play Wednesday in the Adams Family, but to say she has finally grown up would be unfair, the girl has been making controversial films for a while now, this is just the first one that seems to have hit the mainstream waters. If you have not watched them before here are a few Ricci flicks I would recommend: Pumpkin, Buffalo ‘66, The Ice Storm, Monster and though I have not seen it, I hear Pecker is good too.

This movie was marketed to appeal to the perverts. Let’s be honest, the trailer shows off most of Christina’s flesh and only her cotton panties and confederate flag half shirt…the rest is all chains and for part of the time a blanket. They certainly got to -this- pervert, but I have to admit that I did not walk into this movie ONLY because she was gonna be in panties and running around half nakkid while chained, but this was also coming from Craig Brewer, director of Hustle and Flow, who certainly earned his credibility with that film. On top of that the early reviews were all coming out with flying colors, which clued me into the fact that this movie was not going to be the TnA film the trailer made it out to be, or the posters, or the ads, all which ran the tag line: Everything is hotter down south.

It was a clever way to get attention, I have to give them that, and given the topic, probably the only way they could get people to turn around and think them twice. A shallow film with gratuitous nudity this is not…I will tell you that right now so that you are not disappointed. Is there nudity? Yes. Is Christina Ricci hot in it? Dear goodness yes. But is there a plot? Yes! And this is where the surprise comes in. Twisted as the plot may seem, there is a really solid story behind all of this.

There are three main characters that the story focuses on. Lazarus (Samuel Jackson) is a man of faith, who finds himself wavering when his wife opts to cheat on him, with his brother of all people and then ends up deciding that she is going to spend the rest of her life with him. On the other end, we have Rae (Christina Ricci), a waifish southern belle with an itch for passion, one that she has learned to control with her current beau Ronnie (Justin Timberlake) who has just decided to join the National Guard and whom we see leaving in the opening scenes. Due to these two events, we see Lazarus and Rae’s world being turned upside down and their efforts to try to cope with the situation handed to them, reaching an inevitable intersection where Lazarus finds Rae, beaten and left for dead on a dirt road outside his country home. Meaning to help, Lazarus takes her in, learning about her little by little and suddenly letting the idea into his head that God placed her on his path, so he could save her.

For a movie that largely depends on two characters, and everybody else plays a much smaller role, this film is carried quite well. The acting is superb on all sides, if just slightly less on Timberlake’s end (however, not bad enough to really call it a flaw). The story is an interesting one, filled with controversy, sexuality, violence…but it is still a good one. It is a story that could have been told with a number of people and under a number of situations but which becomes that much more interesting given the one that they chose to portray, which I have to say will not be the easiest to watch for those that have a narrow point of view.

The acting on both Samuel and Christina’s end is amazing and the way they are able to play off each other certainly is part of the formula of why works so well and in the end is so touching. Give it a watch, please do not automatically dismiss this as a TnA movie with no point and no drive. I think that come the credits, you will find yourself happily surprised.

And I do not have to say it but yes, Christina does make the screen sizzle.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Notes: A lot of adult situations in this one, language, violence, drug usage, drinking, nudity and sexuality. Not at all a family film at all.

• Director: Jean-Claude Brisseau
• Genre: Drama/Fantasy
• Year: 2006

I’m not exactly sure how this movie ended up in my list, or how I heard about it. I think it possibly sneaked in back when I was looking at movies in Slate.com and they mentioned something about this movie coming to DVD. I read a brief synopsis and had to check it out. Basically, treating a man, who becomes obsessed with women and the moment in which they find their pleasure (yes, sexual) and decides to study them, in a series of test for a film, dealing with the same subject, in which they essentially explore themselves.

Starting with what initially seemed curiosity, Francois, begins to search for actresses willing to go through the test, which clearly, most women would not be willing to do. But eventually, slowly, he does gather two women willing to play the role, and soon enough a third one is added. But as things build up, the stakes also seem to increase, until it would seem Francois is in way over his head.

While the topic of the movie is actually pretty intriguing and it would have been a good enough movie if they had not decided to make this movie more than it was. Let’s be honest, exploration of women’s pleasure is one thing, but lets not try to make this entirely artsy fartsy because it simply does not aid. In the end, I think trying to embellish a movie like this is fruitless and in the end does more harm than good.

Even then, there are a few concepts worth looking at, the acting is well done, the directing is falling a bit short, but all in all, if you happen to see it, it would not hurt to watch it, particularly if you enjoy the female body, of which there is much of. And that, paired up with a couple of funny scenes and some down right hot ones…its a toss up.

Rating: 3 out of 5
Notes: A lot of nudity, so no kiddos.

• Director: Clint Eastwood
• Genre: War/Drama/Action/History
• Year: 2006

It took me a while to get on the boat of this one, even after I had heard amazing commentary on this film, the first of two parts of Clint Eastwood’s Iwo Jima series. Even though the film was not very well marketed and not as openly received by the mainstream media which was expecting an action packed film, this war movie, in the way Terrence Malik’s The Thin Red Line did, brings a heavy amount of thought upon this movie.

Intended to shed some light on the topic that was brought up by the book of the same title, Flags of Our Fathers sets out to delve into the accounts that led to what perhaps became the single most famous picture ever taken during World War II and as it is explained in the movie, sometimes it is pictures that can change the outcome of the war.

Thoroughly the movie tells in a non linear fashion, the unfolding of the events that lead to the planting of that flag and the importance, while looking into the lives of those that were there for the moment and those that by fate were put there even though they were not.

Sober in it theme, this movie is a gem, with Eastwood’s signature directing quality and interesting visuals, which were desaturated and tinted on the green side to give the movie a stylistic, but fitting, retro look that nearly kicks it back to black and white, without ever becoming such.

A huge recommendation on this one.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Notes: Violence, language, disturbing images and war sequences.
Quote: Lundsford: You actually chose the Marines because they had the best uniforms?
Rene Gagnon: No sense being a hero if you don’t look like one.

• Director: Zack Snyder
• Genre: Action/Drama/History/War
• Year: 2006

I can not say I am disappointed with this film, because it is exactly what I had braced myself for. Only by watching the trailers, I knew this would be a stunning visual feast with questionable acting. However, keeping up closely with reviews coming out, I had actually started to believe the movie was going to be better than predicted. People on the radio were raving, people that had seen it already had only good things to say and I felt it was a done deal until I saw Slant Magazine’s review on it. Most reviews I can overlook, but there are a few websites out there who hold a lot of credibility in their reviews and when I saw Slant gave it a 1.5 out of 4, I knew that my initial thought was correct.

In the end, it was a very fun and entertaining movie to watch, but I can not honestly call it a good movie. For starters, for a movie that spent this kind of money on the visual effects, they certainly dropped the ball on some simple things. The decapitation scene, for example (I will not say who is getting decapitated to not ruin the movie), or most of the decapitations actually, were poorly done, and there is one part where the body is falling (in slow motion of course) and you see the graphic of the severed neck move on the body! That is something that the most amateur person should have caught. There are also shots where you can see the dark make up used to delineate the muscles clearly as well…and while that may not be too much of a problem, it certainly is distracting.

The characters, awesomely designed and all, still can not manage to feel real and there lingers a constant reminder that these people have been ripped from the pages of a comic book (unlike Sin City where, you get the same effect but they actually pull it off). Dialogue…is hardly dialogue, unfortunately, mostly it is yelling and usually every sentence has the words ‘Sparta’ or ‘Spartans’ about five times in each, so that by the time the movie is done, the word Sparta has lost its meaning entirely. Not only that, but it also feels like they tried a bit too hard to get the clever punch lines and witty combacks in, to the point where they end up being humorous jokes rather than truly cool, quotable lines.

However, it must be said that this movie is not entirely without merit. Visually, for the most part, it is a stunning movie and they have taken the use of blue screen to another level the way they did with Sin City. The color palatte, a golden hue that seems to linger over the majority of the scenes, brings a rich mood that seems to add to the epic feel that the movie is trying to reach. It is also incredibly loyal to Frank Miller’s original work, down to character design, which I must say was amazing. Some of the battle scenes are great and all throughout you there is a sense of tension that carries through the film in a way that will keep the audience on edge, aided also by a soundtrack that was very well mixed and utilized classical and rock elements in a surprisingly good blend.

Unfortunately, there is too many dropped balls to elevate this movie to what it should have been. Some of the most intruiging characters that are hinted to in the trailer, get absolutely no air time. In fact, what you see in the trailer actually ends up being pretty much all the footage on them, which is terribly disappointing.

The sets were mixed, sometimes they looked amazingly well done, other times you very poorly done and I suppose this is the risk that you end up taking when you shoot a movie entirely on blue screen, that regardless of how hard you try, you will never be able to recreate a convincing look. Given that problem, I would have perhaps pushed the stylization a lot more, to make it look purposely unreal, or worked harder to make it credible…but when you leave it somewhere in the middle…it simply looks like a mistake.

My final decision? It is a mediocre film, in comparison to some of the great films I have watched and reviewed here, but not entirely one to overlook. What they have done is still a feast for the eyes, even if slow motion tends to ruin a lot of it, even if the backgrounds don’t always look seamless, even when the lighting is incorrectly done…it is still a fun and entertaining show to watch, if you just want a pump up sort of film with lots of action sequences and very cool characters. Besides, the only way to get the most of this movie will be up on the big screen.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5
Notes: Violence, nudity, sexuality and much yelling about Sparta.
Quote: Persian Emissary: This is madness!
Spartan King Leonidas: Madness? This is Sparta!

• Director: Michael Bay
• Genre: Action/AdventureSci-Fi/Thriller
• Year: 2007

Ok, take a moment to read that second line again. It reads: Michael Bay, if you are familiar with his films, then you know what sort of movie this was. If you are hoping to get content and tickle your brain, get out and run, this is not the flick for you. If you are looking for entertainment, some decent humor, some not so bad acting and kick ass robots trashing each other, then you came to the right place.

I will be honest, I enjoyed this film not as I enjoy most films but as I enjoyed Predator or films at that level, where I can turn of my brain for a bit and just enjoy the visual orgy. The story revolves around Sam Witwicky (Shaia LeBeouf), who happens to be the descendant of Captain Witwicky, who during one of his expeditions ran into a crash landed Megatron and accidentally ended up with an important set of directions engraved into his glasses, glasses now possessed by Sam, who really just wants to e-bay them so he can get a car, so that he can get a girl. Pretty much that is how his mentality works. However, the glasses end up being the crucial point which both Autobots and Decepticons need in order to find the Cube, which is their all-spark or their source of life (call it their creator).

And that is pretty much it. Insert some robots, some fun action sequences, a very hot Megan Fox and some witty humor complete with frenetic camera work and you have yourself a block buster. Yes, it is watered down. Yes, they made the autobots a bit too goofy for my taste. Yes, Megatron only makes his appearance in the last third of the movie. That being said, the robot designs kicked ass, and I actually did not mind Bumble Bee being a camaro as much as I thought I would. It has its funny moments, it has its enjoyable scenes, it has a good piece of eye candy and Shaia Le Beouf has turned out to be a good actor (though I still stick to the fact that I have liked him since Even Stevens).

For this, get your popcorn, take off your shoes and enjoy a bit of mindless fun. And for you girls, this is not as much a boy flick as it may seem in the surface. There is plenty to enjoy here by everybody, including the younger audience, though I do warn there are a couple of off color jokes and comments to watch for.

Rating: 4 out of 5 (on the Blockbuster scale)
Notes: Violence (but no gore), some slightly adult situations…but over all pretty tame on the warning factor.
Quote: Sam ‘Spike’ Witwicky: I thought you said that the car picks the driver?
Bobby Bolivia: Yeah, well sometimes they pick a driver with a cheap ass father. Now get out the car!

• Director: Tony Krantz
• Genre: Horror/Thriller
• Year: 2007

I saw this just a couple of days ago and I am still pissed. Oh, I know I should have heeded the warning signs, such as the fact that it went straight to video. But it had Thomas Cavanagh (of Ed and Scrubs fame) and I like the guy. Plus, I saw the trailer and I have to admit it looked dark, it looked surreal, it looked twisted and sexy as all f#ck.

So I bit the damn hook and well, in the end I am feeling very disappointed, because after watching a pretty decent build up, with morbidly beautiful imagery and dark, gritty visuals, this movie ended up being one empty hole that parallels the “and then you wake up” cop out.

No, they do not literally do that on the movie and that is not the way it resolves, but as far as I am concerned, they may as well have. And I had read so much symbolism into it too, I was thinking this was going to be far more intelligent than it turned out to be, a cacophony of jumbled concepts and visuals that end up in discordant mess.

It has its promising points, some interesting character concepts, some racy and sexy scenes, some twisted concepts that tickle the sublime side of you…for sure, but it is also plagued by some bad acting, over complication of plot, lack of direction and an overall feel of “I just got ripped off”ness.

In the end, the one sex scene, the hot nurse and the nightmarish visuals are not enough to save this movie. Skip it.

Rating: 2 out of 5
Notes: Violence, language, adult situations, nudity, sexuality, disturbing imagery and bad special effects.