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Jack Ryan To Rise Anew

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The Sum of All Fears Premiere

And indeed, it is going to be something totally new – at least if the rumor mill is to be believed. According to what’s been circulating on the grapevine, Tom Clancy’s character Jack Ryan is going to be revived but this time, with a different twist. In fact, some are saying that his character will be nothing like the Jack Ryan that we have all come to love.
For starters, the franchise has gotten a new writer in the person of Hossein Amini. Empire Online has this story:
Hossein Amini, who has written movies as diverse as The Four Feathers, the still-delayed Killshot and Shanghai, has been brought on board by producers Mace Neufeld and Lorenzo di Bonaventura with the brief to write a Ryan origin tale that will have little or nothing to do with Tom Clancy’s novels.
More than a new writer, we should expect a new actor to play the role of Jack Ryan:
The new movie will obviously involve a new Jack Ryan – the fourth after Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford and Ben Affleck – and we reckon that Paramount will want to go with a big name. After all, while the Ryan franchise has been lucrative, it’s not a name that carries the instant appeal of a Batman or a Bond.

This point is what interests me most. Who can play the role effectively? I have to say that I am quite excited about a new Jack Ryan film – there is something about this character that appeals to me. However, off the top of my head, I cannot think of an actor that would match the character perfectly. Can you?

Valkyrie Something To Look Forward To

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Premiere of

In spite of the fact that Tom Cruise’s credibility has suffered from some serious blows (yeah, who can forget his sofa-jumping episode at Oprah?), we cannot discount his talent as an actor. This is the man who brought Jerry Maguire – among many other movie characters – to life.
Come Christmas Day, I find myself looking forward to seeing Valkyrie, Tom Cruise’s newest movie. It is actually more than a good movie – as many critics are already saying – as this year marks his 25th year since Risky Business, the film that many say made Tom Cruise into what he is today.
In Valkyrie, Tom Cruise plays a real life character. The last time that he did this was in the movie Born on the Fourth of July, which was way back in 1989. Undoubtedly, that movie was a success. Would Valkyrie prove to be the same?
Tom Cruise, the director and star of the new movie, has done as much as he could to make that possible. He actually did research on his own – research on Germany, its history, the Third Reich, and even met some of von Stauffenberg’s descendants; von Stauffenberg being the main character of the film.
What does the star have to say about his latest film?
Because the picture is a suspense-centered film, to really understand von Stauffenberg was obviously very important. You try to comprehend the kind of pressure he was under. Things he couldn’t even discuss with his children. The odds that he was up against, and to make the choices that he made — I found it to be inspiring and very interesting.
I am hoping that my anticipation – and yours – will not be unfounded.

Movie Review: Death Proof

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death-proof.jpg
Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof, his latest movie after the one-two punch of Kill Bill Vols. 1 and 2, is part of Tarantino and director Robert Rodriguez’s homage to the grindhouse movie culture of the 1970s. The two directors decided to make their tribute by trying to faithfully embody what grindhouse cinema is – aside from the themes of their movies, they also decided to show it back –to-back just like the “double feature” practice during that time.
Death Proof, Tarantino’s grindhouse take, is vintage Tarantino. All the elements that you have come to expect from a Tarantino movie are here – and he really brings in bucketfuls of “Tarantino-isms” to the screen. You’ve got the imaginative shots and perspectives, the lightning fast witty repartee, and the pulpy plot and story that is filled with obscure pop culture references. Tarantino has really honed his personal style to a razor’s edge and Death Proof shows it in spades.
Trying to give short description of the plot of Death Proof will be futile because a synopsis will not do the story any justice. It is Tarantino’s penchant for making the different scenes of his movies twist, fold, and bend into each other that makes it quite difficult. The great thing here is that Death Proof is told from a straight narrative, with absolutely no flashbacks or post-modern story structures like the one Tarantino used in his breakout movie Pulp Fiction. It is precisely because of Tarantino’s immense talents that the movie feels like it folds in on itself without even screwing with the narrative.
I absolutely love the fact that the two “halves” of the movie is punctuated by probably one of the most memorable crash scenes in recent history. It serves as a dramatic counter point that signals the end of the first half, if you will, and the beginning of the second half. I think it is really clever. You enter the first half not really knowing where the movie will go then you see the crash scene so by the time you get to the second half you already have this immense sense of foreboding. This new set of girls are going to get it too. That’s what drives the second half of the movie – the impending sense of doom. But Tarantino still manages to turn the tables on us by actually pulling in another twist. This time, it is the Stuntman (devilishly played by Kurt Russell) who gets the surprise of his life.
Tarantino mined a lot of talent for this movie. Russell is just picture perfect for his role. Rose McGowan’s cameo of sorts is very memorable. CSI New York’s Vanessa Ferlito is a revelation here. She really dove into her character with gusto and that lap dance sequence is just phenomenal. Same goes for Rosario Dawson, who provided her character with the right amount of zing.
I know that Death Proof has polarized a lot of people, this is one of those “love it or hate it” type of movies. I for one loved it and this is another fine addition to Tarantino’s already impressive filmography.
Rating: B-

1408 – Review

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1408
Ahhhh, another Stephen King movie. These just aren’t made in the same abundance as they used to be. His stories seem to be relegated mostly to TV miniseries and the occasional anthology television series episode, these days. King has tried his hand at pretty much every subgenre of horror there is, but it’s his ghost stories that have entertained me the most. As I’ve mentioned elsewhere on this site, haunted house films are one of my favorite horror subgenres, so naturally a movie about a haunted hotel room based on a story by Stephen King was bound to tickle my fancy. “1408” shares several similarities with other haunted house stories written by King, with more than a passing resemblance to “The Shining” and “Rose Red”. Like the aforementioned examples, “1408” is a more surreal take on the subgenre and is all the better for it.
Mike Enslin (John Cusack) is the skeptical author of a series of haunted hotel guides. He receives a mysterious postcard in the mail from the Dolphin Hotel in Manhattan, urging him not to stay in room 1408. Taking the warning as a challenge, Mike forces the hotel’s manager (Samuel L. Jackson) to let him spend the night in the supposedly evil room. Since the hotel’s construction, there have been fifty-six recorded deaths in the room, though Mike is not spooked. However, shortly after checking in, room 1408 begins to play tricks with Mike’s head. And as Mike quickly discovers, checking out of room 1408 is impossible.
One thing I’ve noticed about King’s haunted house stories is that he likes to portray the house (or the room, in this case) as its own character. A lot of haunted house stories simply pit the main cast against the spirits dwelling within the location, but King goes a step further and presents the actual place as a sentient villain. I’ve always dug that approach as it adds a certain level of dread to the conflict. When you enter these places you’re essentially entering another dimension, where the house or hotel room dictates the laws of reality. This paves the way for some pretty heavy surrealist horror tactics, most of which hit the mark. Room 1408 draws on Mike’s memories, dredging up his most painful experiences in a sick attempt to force him to commit suicide. Mike has to weather these bizarre challenges as they get increasingly worse.
The scares range from your standard “jump” scares to some of the more unnerving “what the hell” variety. I’m usually very critical of “jump” scares, as I find them to be lazy and cheap for the most part, typically only relying on the volume level of a theater’s sound system to provide an effective fright. The “jump” scares in “1408” are markedly better than those featured in lesser horror films, coming at you with little warning yet placed at the most opportune and appropriate moments so they don’t feel quite so cheap. The more surrealist horror elements were my favorites, though. When Mike becomes trapped in the room he literally becomes isolated from the rest of the universe, with unique and disturbing barriers keeping him from escaping or calling for help. A few of the ideas seemed to be recycled from “Rose Red” (which had a very similar concept of a haunted house isolating the cast from the rest of reality), but they comprise only a small number of the scares.
Since the bulk of the movie is just John Cusack being flooded with violent supernatural blows to his sanity, it of course falls on his shoulders to carry the movie. John Cusack isn’t one of my all-time favorite actors, but he’s still a very good one and is more than up to the task. He occasionally expresses a bit too much humor after some of the more frightening sequences, which I felt broke the tension a bit too much. Then there’s Samuel L. Jackson as Gerald Olin, the hotel manager. His role isn’t very big, but he plays it with his usual presence of charm and humor. You won’t leave the theater squealing “Wow, Samuel L. Jackson sure was FANTASTIC in this movie!” but you won’t be disappointed in his performance, either.
Lately, the haunted house subgenre of horror has been in a rather sad state of disrepair, what with the only other one of note released this year being the underwhelming “The Messengers”. “1408” is a refreshingly good return to the genre, based on a story written by a man who knows how to write a good haunted house tale. With this month being tragically low on horror flicks, “1408” is definitely your best bet.
Grade: B

Ocean’s Thirteen – Review

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Ocean’s Thirteen
Heist movies, they’re a lost art. So when the remake of “Ocean’s Eleven” came around several years back and wowed me off my feet I was left with this glorious notion that heist movies were suddenly back and in perfect form. Then the sequel, “Ocean’s Twelve”, came along. I don’t think I’ve seen a worse sequel in theaters since “Jason X”. So naturally, once the trailers for “Ocean’s Thirteen” began invading the preview reels my confidence in the franchise was suitably weakened. Well, let me just say, “Ocean’s Thirteen” is everything “Ocean’s Twelve” should have been and so much more. A more than worthy follow-up to the original, it’s likely to be your best bet for this weekend.
Reuben (Elliot Gould) is in a bit of a jam, as his Vegas hotel partner, Willie Bank (Al Pacino), has double-crossed him, taking everything Reuben owns and leaving the shock to send him into a catatonic state. Reuben’s protégé Danny Ocean (George Clooney) and his gang aren’t about to take this laying down and join back up to get revenge on Bank and restore Reuben’s bank account. Bank’s new casino is opening up and Ocean’s thirteen intend to break the bank, so to speak, by rigging every game in the house. A tough job, but it doesn’t end there. In addition to that, they’re going to have to ruin his chances of winning a Five Diamond award and steal his collection of diamond necklaces from his fortified loft.
Just about everything that lead me to dislike “Ocean’s Twelve” is gloriously absent from this installment. So that means no space-age hologram machines and no fourth wall-shattering plot devices that save the day in the nick of time. And quite possibly the most important change of all: no Julia Roberts. That woman smiles like a horse.
“Ocean’s Thirteen” takes the cast of characters we’ve come to love and returns them to a more familiar setting. However, just because they’re performing another casino heist doesn’t necessarily mean that this film is a retread of “Ocean’s Eleven”. On the contrary, it deviates from the first film for all of its schemes and keeps things nice and fresh. They come up with some very interesting, complex and hilarious methods to rip off the casino and do it with Director Steven Soderbergh’s sense of style and humor.
The cast of familiar faces really carry this movie. Although the headliners of Danny, Rusty (Brad Pitt) and Linus (Matt Damon) undoubtedly receive the most face time, some of the less-appreciated members of the crew get more opportunities to shine. I thought Basher Tarr (Don Cheadle) really came out of top in this film, contributing more than most of the other team members. And Yen (Shaobo Qin) also gets to participate more in the disguise and infiltration aspects of the plot, extending his role past the “hired ninja” he was in the previous installments.
While some high-tech gadgets do come into play in this film, nothing as ridiculous as the aforementioned hologram machine is to be seen. All the technological doodads employed for the job are quite low key and believable, with nothing anymore outrageous than magnetic dice and reprogrammed slot machines. Well, except this one crazy tunneling device, but it’s actually pretty funny and clever and isn’t some sort of space age James Bond machine, either. Soderbergh tries to keep things on the level in order to add a sense of real world credibility to the scheme.
The villain of the film, Bank, is a bit two-dimensional, I’ll admit. Al Pacino delivers a stellar performance (and that should go without saying, he’s Al Pacino), so it’s not his fault. Bank is just sort of an evil jerk for the sake of being an evil jerk, so don’t expect much depth out of him. The villain of the previous two films, Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia), plays a rather pivotal role in the film as a supporter of Ocean’s crew, of all things. They manage his inclusion rather well and he keeps things pretty interesting.
All in all, “Ocean’s Thirteen” is the sequel we should’ve gotten in the first place. It keeps things familiar but always fresh. If “Ocean’s Eleven” was an A, I’d give “Ocean’s Thirteen” a B, for certain.
Grade: B