Recently Seen Movies 7: The Prequel

1. AVP: ALIEN VS PREDATOR I had low expectations for this, and was mildly pleasantly surprised. Before seeing it I could be heard opining that without Sigourney Weaver it wouldn't be a real Alien movie. No SW, no Ripley, no ancestor of Ripley, but it does have a character named Charles Bishop Weyland, played by Lance Henriksen. Weyland, founder of *The Company*, doesn't seem to be particularly nasty, but is dying slowly of a respiratory disease. The movie does have a female hero, but not the one I was hoping it would be (I liked the spikey-haired blonde). I would really have liked there to be some link to Ripley, but there isn't, and it's suspicious to me that there isn't. It would have been so easy to write such a link into the script, so why wasn't it done? The special effects are excellent: we see a lot of the aliens and they are quite realistic looking, unlike the pathetic alien fx in Alien 3. As a prequel to both series of movies, AVP is adequate, but just barely.

2. COLLATERAL The weak point is the script, which involves a major coincidence and a merely edequate ending. The acting is good, but not outstanding. Where this movie shines is in the direction, photography and editing, which are all very impressive and make the movie well worth seeing. Oh, and the music is pretty cool too. The significnce of the title isn't immediately obvious; I think it refers to the literal meaning of the word, which is 'on the same side' [Later addition: - actually the literal meaning of collateral is more like 'side by side' or 'in parallel'.]

3. THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST So, Mel, what *was* the point? Previous movies about the Passion and Crucifiction not gory enough? This movie provoked a couple of mildly blasphemous thoughts in me: (1) He must really have been the son of God, because no merely mortal man could have survived such a sustained and vicious beating/lashing/exsanguination, (2) by the time He's hanging on the cross He'll surely find it a blessed relief. A third thing I started thinking is, how much of this is in the Holy Scriptures? Do the Scriptures have the Roman tormentors egged on to their excesses by the Devil? (True, the character is not identified as the Devil, but it obviously is His Satanic Majesty). Do the Scriptures have Judas hounded to his suicide by little boy demons? I'm not very familiar with the writings of Matthew, Mark, Luke, nor John, so I may be mistaken in thinking these things are not to be found there. This film teeters on the edge of becoming blackly funny. In one respect it does fall off that edge: the merely grim facial expression of Jesus's mother, Mary, becomes comical after a while. I'm an agnostic who frequently lapses into atheism, so I'm expecting harsh or pitying words from some of you believing Listologists - I know you're out there.

4. OPEN RANGE What is it about westerns? Kudos to Keven Costner for having the guts to risk another western. And for having the chutzpah to make it so like My Darling Clementine and other tellings of the Earp vs Clanton legend. The only major difference is there is no 'Doc' Holliday-type character. But this is pretty good as westerns go. The climactic shootout is more than O.K., it's one of the best I've ever seen. After the wonderfully bold first shot is fired, the shootout sequence realistically shows us how very many shots are misses, how hits are sometimes pure flukes, how some run and some stand their ground, how chaotic a fight can quickly become, how coolness can be a huge advantage. And it probably shows us some other things too - I'll have to watch it again. Recommended to western-lovers.

5. SPARTAN Ridiculous screenplay is a miltary - political fantasy, yet dull. So Val Kilmer's dull acting is perfect for it. The President's daughter is kidnapped by white-slavers, and neo-Rambo Kilmer, whose security clearance is apparently higher than God's, is on the case. I could tell you the rest of the plot, but that would make the movie sound much better than it is. In a nutshell: dedicated soldier overcomes political conspiracy. It's been done better before.

6. KILL BILL, Volume 2 Forget the illogicalities, this is fun, fun, bloody fun. Tarantino cleverly avoids making vol.2 another sword-fest by inserting blatant little tricks by which The Bride (whose name turns out not to be beeeep!) defeats the remaining clump (the rump) of her former colleagues turned deadly enemies. But - ouch! - it's no easy road. I would have liked another anime sequence, but I suppose the whole movie(s) is pretty cartoonish. Will there be a vol.3? The clues are there for those who paid attention.

7. THE PUNISHER Yet another movification of a Marvel Comics character. This minimalist hero (nothing super) relies on his MC training (um...that's Marine Corps...), a little help from his loser neighbours, and, of course, the memory of his murdered wife and son. His 'costume' is a skull t-shirt given him by his son. The movie prowls along the top without going over it - well, not for this genre. A fine line in humorous violence is also a plus. I liked it; many, I expect, will find it underwhelming.

8. DEATHWATCH In the tradition of The Keep, and The Bunker, this is a supernatural horror story in a World War setting - in this case, WW1. A foggy day on the Western Front and a dozen or so British soldiers stumble into what they think is a 'forward German trench'. The trench is littered with dead Germans, but one survivor is taken prisoner. He tells them there is an evil presence in the trench and that they will turn on each other. You can pretty much guess the rest. Several scary, even horrifying scenes. War is hell...literally. Not bad if this sort of thing appeals to you.

9. AND STARRING PANCHO VILLA AS HIMSELF You must see this one. The best new movie I've seen this year (actually it's a 2003 movie made for tv by HBO). If you are interested in the early years of American cinema, in the ethics of film-making, in the story of Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa, see this one. Great screenplay, direction (by Australian director, Bruce Beresford), photography, and acting (particularly Antonio Banderas as Villa and Alan Arkin as Villa's hired machine-gunner from New Jersey). Very highly recommended.

10. NATIONAL TREASURE There's a thriller novel that has made a big splash recently: The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. Well, Brown should sue the makers of this movie, since it largely hijacks his plot idea and applies it to U.S. history rather than the history of Christianity. The movie is moderately entertaining, but all the characterizations are blatantly cliched. Hell, even some of the casting is cliched, with Sean Bean as generic villain, and Jon Voigt as generic father of the protagonist (think Lara Croft, Tomb Raider). Christopher Plummer and Harvey Keitel also contribute as grandfather and dedicated FBI agent, repectively. And, of course, Nicolas Cage's protagonist wins over to his side the hot blonde (Diane Kruger) and has a humorous off-sider (humorously played by newcomer Justin Bartha). Did I mention that this is a Disney -[gulp!] Jerry Bruckheimer co-production?

11. The Stepford Wives This gets my vote as the Most Ill-Advised Production of its year. The screenplay is incredibly dull, the acting is embarrassing, the direction would have to have been much better to reach the level of uninspired. Do not waste your time and money on this one.