Still Cleaning Off That Desk

Here are a few more old reviews that have been delayed due to chronic procrastination.

City By The Sea

This is one of those movies that you watch and then forget about right after. It’s not a bad movie; there just really isn’t anything here that we haven’t all seen 1000 times before. Robert De Niro plays a cop whose drug-addicted, estranged son is accused of murdering De Niro’s partner. So De Niro must try to track down his son before the rest of the force does, since it is a well known fact that cop killers have a very low survival rate. This movie never really seemed to be sure if it wanted to tell a story about a dysfunctional family, or if it wanted to be just another cop drama. That indecision is what killed it.

The Ten Commandments

This is a movie that I’ve watched every year for as long as I can remember. I might not make it to the end every year, but more often than not I manage to see most of it. It’s hard to believe that NRA poster boy Charlton Heston was once known for this role as opposed to his love of guns. No real reason to go deeply into the plot since it is unlikely that anyone reading this review has never seen the film. In a thumbnail, Heston plays Moses and he is intent on freeing the Hebrew slaves and leading them out of Egypt from their masters. It was a production on a grand scale, which I doubt would ever be done today. And if it was, it would likely be with computer animation rather than actually staged with real human extras as this film was. Whether you like Heston’s politics or not, The Ten Commandments is still one of the all-time great movie epics, despite the fact that I sometimes expect him to pull out a machine gun from under his robes and blow away Yul Brynner rather than part the Red Sea.

Night Falls On Manhattan

This is one of those movies that drags on more than it really should. Andy Garcia plays a young district attorney who is thrust into the spotlight when he is called upon to prosecute the case of a drug dealer who went on a shooting spree, killing and wounding police officers, one of the wounded being his own father. The movie follows him as he moves up the ladder in the D.A.’s office, finally becoming the district attorney. There is a great cast at work here, including James Gandolfini and Dominic Chianese in their pre-Sopranos days. I was just never sure if this movie was a courtroom drama, or a bad soap opera.

The Exorcist

This is a movie that is considered by many to be the scariest ever made. I certainly wouldn’t go that far, but it is a very good film. Personally, I’ve always considered it more creepy and shocking than scary.

Simone

Al Pacino plays a down on his luck director who makes movies that nobody wants to see. That all changes when he meets a man who has come up with the ultimate computer program; one that allows the creation of computer generated actress who is so real, that nobody can tell she isn’t a real person. With the help of his new cyber actress, Pacino makes a string of blockbusters. But he now has bigger problems - making sure that the world never finds out that the leading lady in all of his films isn’t a real person. It’s an interesting premise that unfortunately never really pans out on screen.

Brokedown Palace

Two American teens traveling in Thailand are accused, convicted, and imprisoned for smuggling drugs. While both maintain their innocence, the Thai court system isn’t exactly a fair one. The film follows their struggle to win their freedom from their jailers. There are great performances here by Claire Danes and Kate Beckinsale. This is a lesser known movie that is worth checking out the next time you notice it in your TV listings playing in the middle of the night on a weekend.

One Hour Photo

Robin Williams was in creepy character role mode. Earlier the same year this movie came out he did a turn as a serial killer in Insomnia. In this film he plays a photo processing clerk obsessed with a family who brings their pictures to him for processing. I have to admit to being a little disappointed in the movie. It’s not that it’s a bad film, but it wasn’t what I expected. I expected Williams to play more of a sinister stalker character; instead he is almost a pathetic little creature. While it’s a bit underwhelming, it’s still worth giving a look.

A Walk To Remember

Based on the Nicholas Sparks novel of the same name, A Walk To Remember pairs the town bad boy with the preacher’s daughter (pop singer Mandy Moore). But instead of being the same cliché that we’ve all seen in 90% of other teen movies, the premise actually works here.

A Walk To Remember is one of those movies that I skipped when it first arrived in theaters. I’m not normally a big fan of movies that have singers as their stars, it always seems like a vanity project to me. (Can you say Madonna?) But in this instance I was dead wrong; Mandy Moore does an amazing job in the lead role. In fact she is radiant and perfectly cast. Moore is likely going to be one of the few singers who successfully makes the transition to actress. If she doesn’t, it won’t be for lack of talent.

Manhunter

This is the first appearance of Hannibal Lecktor. Unlike the recent remake, Red Dragon, Lecktor’s participation in this film is limited. This movie focuses more on the FBI agent who captured him, rather than the cannibalistic serial killer. This is a movie directed by Michael Mann, best know for Miami Vice. And this movie reminds me a great deal of that TV show. It is substantially more style over substance. It is plainly obvious that Mann put a great deal more emphasis into the look of this movie than anything else. Brian Cox fills the role of Dr. Lecktor in this movie, so there isn’t even an Anthony Hopkins performance to look forward to. Although fans of TV’s C.S.I. should note that William Petersen plays the lead role in this movie, and does a pretty good job. By the way, no, I’m not spelling “Lecktor” wrong. The spelling of the good doctor’s name was changed to “Lecter” when Anthony Hopkins assumed the role in The Silence Of The Lambs.

The Tuxedo

The Tuxedo is one of Jackie Chan’s latest movies. This time Chan comes into possession of a Tuxedo that gives its wearer all of the powers that your typical secret agent would ever need. Chan is as charming as ever, and he plays well off co-star Jennifer Love Hewitt (who, incidentally, looks as good as ever), but there is something missing here. In typical Jackie Chan fashion, Chan shows off his martial arts skills. But unfortunately many of the stunts that Chan is involved in are clearly computer enhanced. The stunts that this super Tuxedo is capable of performing are even beyond the skills of Chan. And while many of the stunts are entertaining, Jackie Chan fans don’t go to his movies to see computer generated special effects; they go to see Jackie do all of his own stunt work. Sadly, with all of the computer generated wizardry, this is a movie in which any actor in Hollywood could have filled the lead role. It’s a waste of Chan’s skills, and one of his more disappointing movies.