MOVIE REVIEW - Fracture (2007)

Decent courtroom suspense drama that was better than it could've been, but never had the makings of a great movie. Yes, it's terrific having Anthony Hopkins in the role of a killer; and it's a testament to his skill that he created a killer that in no way reminded me of Hannibal Lecter. And while Ryan Gosling is ok, he didn't carry the part like an actor capable of going head to head with Hopkins. The story was fine, the directing was slick, but overall, a bit standard, mundane.

MOVIE REVIEW - Proposition, The (2006)

Boring, violent unpleasant Western starring Guy Pearce.

MOVIE REVIEW - For Your Consideration (2006)

Christopher Guest is at his mockumentary game again with the usual players, and good for them. This farcical look into a movie's potential journey into the Oscar Race cuts sharp, skewering Hollywood's love of itself, actors' self-absorption, producer's inability to recognize talent, and entertainment journalism's vapid uselessness. Catherine O'Hare shined as the Meryl Streep wannabe who nearly went off the deep end when she heard rumors of a Best Actress nomination - where did she hear this? One random post on an internet message board - ha! This outing seemed more scripted than their recent ventures, and the humor seemed more intelligent and flowed better as a result. Outstanding performances by Parker Posey, Harry Shearer, Michael McKeon, Ed Begley, Jr., Bob Balaban, Jennifer Coolidge, Ricky Gervais, Eugene Levy, Jane Lynch, Larry Miller, and Fred Willard. Best In Show is still the best of the Guest films, but I'm always happy when the improv gang hangs out on film.

MOVIE REVIEW - Condemned, The (2007)

The premise: A TV producer fed up with the Networks decides to go rogue on the internet and create a live-feed game-to-the-death. He negotiates for 10 death row prisoners from third world countries, the toughest and worst of the worst. He brings them to an island packed with hidden cameras, attaches a bomb to their ankle that will go off in 30 hours, and tells them he will free the last one standing: “Kill, or die” – ready, set, splash. The internet subscriptions sky-rocket, the killings begin (boy, do they ever), the internet displays each dead contestant’s picture with a big red X across their face, alliances are formed, broken, and the civility of the human race takes a nosedive.

The good news: It’s a blast for those who like to watch bad guys get their due. There are laughs and shrieks with each fatal countdown. You root for a contestant in each hand-to-hand match up as though it’s a simple boxing match, only subtly aware that you are in the Gladiator grandstands. The cast are all so dangerous and deranged that you only feel mildly guilty whooping it up while they get pummeled to their death. The screenwriters smartly cast the contestants, with a husband/wife Bonnie-and-Clyde pair (who would have to kill the other if they make it to the final two), a British Special Forces bad guy, a martial arts terrorist, and even a wrongly-condemned American good guy (unbeknownst to the internet producer) so the viewer has a true hero to root for.

The bad news: The movie was produced by Vince McMahon, founder of the WWF. The aforementioned good guy is Stone Cold Steve Austin, who did a surprisingly decent job (he’s no Russell Crowe, but who is?). But wrestler-producer is not a good combination. McMahon packed the film with guilt-ridden characters, having some of the internet staffers develop a too-late conscience about their project; showing journalists talk about the horrors of the snuff show; the FBI, helpless and indifferent to stop this amoral bloodfest. In addition to being nonstop, the moralizing was jarring against the extreme fun McMahon had with all the killings, sending incompatible mixed messages. Yes, that was his point – maybe we as a society think we have risen above Gladiator games, but we still enjoy watching them (how else to explain McMahon’s success). But this movie didn’t need a point. It had bombs and blood and beatings and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Let those who enjoy that stuff have their fun, or else make a message film. But the ping pong ethics game left me dizzy.