SUMMER MOVIES EXTRA

:::: I'm on the road with my band all summer (www.myspace.com/timwildsmith)... so here's a quick tidbit about the films I've seen in the last coule of months ::::

Mission Impossible 3
Director: J.J. Abrams
Starring: Tom Cruise
Stars: ★★★ (3)
Better than the second one.. way better.. not as good as thei first.

X-Men: The Last Stand
Director: Brett Ratner
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry
Stars: ★★★ (3)
Intense... action packed... lots of fun.

The Da Vinci Coode
Director: Ron Howard
Starring: Tom Hanks, Ian McKlellan
Stars: ★★★ (3)
Nowhere near as good as the hype, but fun nonetheless.

The Break-Up
Director: Peyton Reed
Starring: Vince Vaughn, Jennifer Aniston
Stars: ★★ (2)
Laugh out loud funny at times, but exactly the opposite ending I was hoping for.

Nacho Libre
Director: Jared hess
Starring: Jack Black
Stars: ★1/2 (1and1/2)
Vibrant, colorful, and creative... with nothing in the plot to compliment it.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Director: Gore Verbinski
Starring: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightly
Stars: ★★★ (3)
A lot darker than the first, but still over-the-top in every way. A big nod to the third film had me smiling.

Lady in the Water
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Starring: Paul Giamatti, Bryce Dallas Howard
Stars: ★★★1/2 (3andnd1/2
Totally different than I expected, but equally as beautiful and complex as Shyamalan's other films.

THANK YOU FOR SMOKING ★★★

Thank You For Smoking
(Fox Searchlight, 92 minutes, R)
Director: Jason Reitman
Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Robert Duvall, Katie Holmes, William H. Macy, Sam Elliott

I smiled a lot during this film. It's hard not to laugh at a satire that's done well.

Nick Naylor is the leading lobbyist for the tabacco industry. He's smart, quick, and always has an answer. America hates him, but he just wants the love of his son.

Aaron Eckhart easily gives one of his best performances, William H. Macy shines as yet another quirky character, and Rob Lowe kills as a superhuman film producer in Los Angeles.

My favorite thing about this film: not one cigarette is smoked in the entire thing. Classic.

★★★

LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN ★★★

Lucky Number Slevin
(MGM, 110 minutes, R)
Director: Paul McGuigan
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Bruce Willis, Lucy Liu, Morgan Freeman, Sir Ben Kingsly

Fast dialogue, quick camera shots, and a "you know it's coming" twist are what make this film fun to watch. There's something to be said about a film that can draw such an A-list group of celebrities to form the ensemble. What this film might lack in its screenplay it certainly makes up for in charisma and energy onscreen. Think "The Usual Suspects" with a little more quirkiness.

Hartnett steps up his game in this film, earning his keep amongst Hollywood royalty like Willis and Freeman. His scenes with Liu are full of chemistry. It's true that the screenwriters don't leave much to the big twist at the film's close, but it was so easy to forgive because of how it was played by these actors.

Violence and a scene of pointless (and gratuitious) nudity will make you wince, but actors doing what they do best will make you cheer.

★★★

INSIDE MAN ★★

Inside Man
(Universal, 128 minutes, R)
Director: Spike Lee
Starring: Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster

This is one of those films where you know from the word go that there will be a twist. This inevitably is means that you're going to either love ot or hate it. Or does it? Put together Denzel Washington as the detective trying to earn a promotion and Clive Owen as the "my plan is perfect" bank robber in a Spike Lee joint and find out what happens.

This movie banks on its big twist (get it.. banks). In other words, don't count on any incredible acting performances to get you through. Washington is a great actor. This is far from his best performance.

The entire time you watch this film you know that you don't know the whole story. For me, I want the reveal to be big and coming out of left field. For some reason this twist here (though clever) felt a bit forced and poorly timed. It was almost an anti-climax. This falls on the director and I can't help but ask why Spike Lee wanted to direct this film.

★★

V FOR VENDETTA ★★★

V for Vendetta
(Warner Brothers, 132 minutes, R)
Director: James McTeigue
Starring: Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving

Based on a comic book, this film is set fifteen years in the future during a totalitarian rule in England. The film stars Portman as a young woman whose chance encounter with a masked hero/vigilante sets into motion a series of events that will change her destiny. The entire two plus hours of this picture are politically charged, violent, and thrilling. It's not hard to see how this story was adapted from a comic.

Much talk will be had over the underlying message of this film. Is it an attack on America's war on terror? It is a warning of things to come? This reviewer urges you to watch not for politics, but for entertainment. Therein lies its real value.

Portman continues to show her range as an actress. She hasn't pigeon-holed herself into any one specific role. In this film she plays her character's transformation so superbly and carries the film opposite her masked leading man. At first I was disappointed that Weaving never loses the mask (indeed he may have only lent his voice to this picture and we'd never know it), but more thought compels me to agree with this decision as it makes the film even more unique.

★★★

CACHÉ (HIDDEN) ★★★1/2

Caché (Hidden)
(Sony Pictures Classics, 121 minutes, R)
Director: Michael Haneke
Starring: Daniel Auteuil, Juliette Binoche

The opening credits of this film roll as we see a simple shot of a house on a quiet street. Soon the characters voices come in and we realize that what we're seeing is the tape that they are watching in their living room. The tape was left on their doorstep. The house in the shot is theirs. With no explanation of what this is all about more tapes continue to arrive, accompanied by disturbing drawings.

The greatness in this film lies in its ability to draw you in from the very beginning. Throughout the film you'll see uncomfortably long shots in which nothing seems to go on, but you find yourself on the edge of your seat. The family becomes plagued by paranoia, and so do you.

I tend to focus on great individual performances, which both of the lead actors in this film give (it's great to not understand a word of the French dialogue but still be able to feel the emotion in the actor's speach and body language), but I think this film shines moreso in its writing, directing, and editing. The filmmakers get inside your skin with this one.. and they don't necessarily find their way out.

★★★1/2

MATCH POINT ★★★★

Match Point
(Dreamworks, 124 minutes, R)
Director: Woody Allen
Starring: Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Scarlett Johansson, Emily Mortimer, Brian Cox

Being young, I'm not very familiar with Woody Allen's work. This film makes me want to get to know it. This is a great movie.

This film features fantastic performances by its entire cast. Jonathan Ryhs-Meyers gives a breakthrough performance as a young tennis pro whose secret affair forces him to choose love or the comfortable life he's found through his wife. Scarlett Johansson shines as the young mistress.

Everyone in this movie is bad. Everyone is selfish. And this leads to a shocking twist. A truly original and terrific film.

★★★★