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Batman Begins

I am no Batman expert. I've seen other Batman movies, in passing, but even I could tell right away that Batman Begins was going to be a very, very different sort of Batman movie.

Batman movies have generally been stylized, cartoony, and squarely in the league of "blockbuster fluff," rather than "thought-provoking film." No, this isn't one to be listed beside the Great Movies of All Time. And this movie is far from "realistic." But it does exist in a reality not so removed from our own. This Batman does not reside in a universe all its own. This is where the movie finds a lot of its strength.

As the title would tell you, Batman Begins tells the story of how Bruce Wayne became Batman, and not just with a little flashback to the death of his parents. It is more in depth than that, more understandable and emotionally touching than I would have ever expected ("Am I getting a lump in my throat at a Batman movie?"). However, this also means that I find the third act--the climax and "excitement" to be easily the weakest part of the movie. This film's strengths lie with Bruce Wayne, and his struggle to find a path, not with car chases and explosions.

Christian Bale is, and I don't mean to be cruel here, the least-handsome Batman (hey--Michael Keaton looked pretty good!), but he is easily the most effective. He plays the part well. Katie Holmes is... well, she's passable in a role that numerous other actresses would have also been passable at. Nobody cares (except maybe Tom Cruise). Important also is young Gus Lewis, who plays Bruce Wayne as a child. Always nice to find a child star who doesn't set my teeth on edge.

The villain in Batman Beyond is also a lot less cartoon-y than other movies. Could this movie have been pulled off in the same style with The Penguin, The Joker, or, lord forbid, Catwoman as the villain? No. I actually hope they don't try a sequel to this movie with a goofy villain (though I cannot assure you they won't), because I just don't see how it could work. The Riddler doesn't live in the Gotham City this movie creates.

There isn't as much action as one might expect from a Batman movie, at least not the sort of action you may be used to. The amount of samurai/ninja-style fighting is certainly different than the usual gadget-filled Batman action. I actually didn't love the action scenes, as they are. Generally they're composed of so many frantic fast cuts that it's difficult to tell what's going on. Just assume Batman's usually holding his own? For all I can tell, the actors' choreography could have consisted of waving their arms at each other and possible a little Macarena-style flailing. Maybe the stunt coordinator spent too much time teaching Liam Neeson and Bale their swordfighting routines.

This is a movie I went into thinking "Aw geez, should I just sneak into Episode III?" but I'm glad I saw. ALthough, despite the realism I discuss, it does still raise some questions, such as: "Does Bruce's voice get all tired after talking in his "Batman grizzle"? Would a woman working in the District Attorney's office really go around in tops that display her nipples so prominently?" and "Man! What is up with Dr. Crane's eye make-up? It makes him look like Katie Holmes played a dual role!"

Bottom Line: Go ahead. See this movie, even if you couldn't stand the cheesey Batman movies of yore.

Hitch: DVD Release

The DVD for this fun, but not particularly memorable comedy, is now out, so let's have a look, eh?

Hitch is the story of a confidential "date-doctor," Alex Hitchens, who gives lonely men the coaching they need to make it past the first date with the girls of their dreams. Will Smith hits all the right notes as Hitch, but it's Kevin James who walks away with all the big laughs. James plays an accident-prone accountant head-over-heels for a beautiful celebrity--as Hitch puts it, he's the Sistine Chapel to the date doctor's Michelangelo.

On the performance side, things go a little less smashingly with Eva Mendes playing Hitch's cynical dream girl. Many of her lines are delivered stiff and unnaturally, but Smith manages to pick up a lot of the slack. It is encouraging to see a female role written with a comprable share of zingers and attitude, even if Mendes isn't always spot-on.

The plot gets a little overly-angsty at times, but by and large the movie is fun, if predictable. Physical comedy is handled surprisingly well along side more low-key romantic humor, and it's definitely worth a see if you want something fluffy to sit down with for a couple hours.

Special Features:

I was rather underwhelmed with this DVD's gag reel. You'd just expect it to be a bit more funny, right? But it didn't do much for me. Also included are deleted scenes, but this really just two unremarkable cut scenes and the opening with different music. There are several featurettes which seemed a bit long-winded to me, but if you really love this movie and the actors in it, you may find them interesting. There' also a video by Amerie, "I thing."

Bottom Line: Worth a rent for some relaxed romantic humor, even if the DVD offers nothing spectacular.

Mr. and Mrs. Smith

All celebrity-gossip-related hype aside, let's talk Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

Obviously, I'd assume you know by now that this is a movie about a married pair of assassins, each unaware of the other's profession. It did lead me to think, though, how much more fun the movie would be if you went into it not having had that part of the plot hammered into your brain by every magazine story and movie trailer. But then, you couldn't sell a movie just on the basis of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie playing an increasingly distant husband and wife. Right? But back on track.

This is a fun movie. Both actors do a very good job in these roles (although if I wanted someone dead, I would most certainly go with Mrs. Smith), including the most tense dinner scene since Tim Curry served up slices of Meatloaf in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I was kind of surprised, actually, after his flat guest role on Friends. No matter how hard they try to sell you on the steamy aspect of this movie, I can tell you this one is more action-comedy than action-romance.

Action, action, action. The first act has some action spread throughout. Once we reach our "inciting event," however, the action is basically wall-to-wall until the end. Creative action, yes, although at our climax it get a little too Desperado with the amazing ability of our leads to get shot at nearly continuously but manage to avoid major injuries (sure glad those bad guys don't aim for the head, huh?). Boy howdy, do those Smith's take a beating well! I say "action," you'll notice, and not violence. Frankly, I didn't find it to be terribly graphic. The suspension and tension are fairly intense, but nothing here is particularly gory (although it's not one for the kids--they may certainly not have the same standards for judging violence as I do). But don't ask those questions--"how did they survive that explosion?", "how come no highway troopers got involved in that case?", or "when did they find the time to build those special hiding places for their implements of death?" Not important!

Bottom Line: Fun, funny, action-packed spectacle that will probably go great with a big bucket of popcorn. And man, what a pretty pair!

Cinderella Man

I'll admit it. I'm not always the most mature person in the world. Frankly, the title, "Cinderella Man," made me giggle a little the first few times I heard it. It is, as the lead character's wife so aptly puts it, "kinda girlie." But let's move beyond the title now.

This movie, starring the skilled but not always likeable Russell Crowe is a good movie. I don't think it will go down in history as a Great Movie, or even a top ten sports movie (although TNT certainly may claim it to be a New Classic in the not-too-distant future).

I wouldn't say this is a movie I have much desire to watch multiple times, or even own. It's not an especially fun movie, but it has its moments and it gives a compelling story of a man trying to make during the Depression, to protect his family, and to battle his own deteriorating body. It may go down as a great underdog, or, if you must "Cinderella" story.

Cinderella Man paints a truly sympathetic picture of the 1930's-era boxer, James J. Braddock, who began losing his matches due to injuries at the same time the Depression swept over the nation. Given a one-night only chance to box again, Braddock used his desire to keep his family together to urge on his aging body, going on take on risky fights against larger, younger competitors. It sounds very predictable, and to some extent it is, but the movie was effective enough to make me truly nervous about the outcome of the final fight.

There are no sub-par performances in this movie, and it would be no surprise if there were Academy Award nominations, especially considering that Crowe and Renee Zellweger have both been noticed previously, and many feel that Paul Giamatti, who is sturdy and spot-on in an unglamorous, but key supporting role, was robbed of a nomination last time. Everyone seems to have one accent or another, and while they're a little stiff and sometimes even grating, they at least don't noticably waver. Braddock's intelligence seems a little unevenly written, however, sounding like a low-brow blue-collar worker in some, and more like a philosophy major in others. Generally, though, he manages to sound natural.

May I quickly mention the fight scenes? There are not as many as one may expect, although the final fight lasts long enough that my attention wavered a bit in the middle. If you told me the actors were really beating the crap out of each other, I probably wouldn't believe you, but might not feel confident correcting you. Did they mike the gloves? I was truly cringing at a lot of the face shots. Braddock's wife tells him she can't watch his fights, because whenever he gets hit, it's like she's getting hit. I felt that too, and I don't even love the guy! I'm surprised I didn't come out the theater with a bloody nose and cracked ribs.

I went to a Thursday afternoon showing of Cinderella Man and was, without any exaggeration, the only person in the audience. It doesn't seem to be going shabbily at the box office, but I'm not confident how long it will stay in the top ten. This is a movie I expect may be underappreciated by many viewers, but very likely over-hyped by critics. In my mind, it falls somewhere in the middle. Well-made, well-acted, but not one you'll sit down on an evening to enjoy on DVD one day. Perhaps best left a one-time viewing. There should be enough there for sportsfan and drama lovers alike, if the fight scenes are a little too realistic for the squeamish.

Bottom Line: Interesting one-time viewing, if more for the Depression drama than boxing angles.

Alfie: DVD Release

Today I took a look at Alfie, starring Jude Law released on DVD in March. I had not seen this movie about a womanizing limo driver, nor the original Alfie, starring Michael Caine, so expect no old movie / new movie comparisons on this one.

Oy vey. I don't think I've been so entirely disbelieving of a movie's running time (apparently a modest 105 minutes) since I rented A.I. Artificial Intelligence. You can probably guess it does not bode well for the movie that I begin this review by telling you that, at least five times, I exclaimed at the screen, "Isn't this over yet?!"

There are two ways this movie could have gone: Make a drama about a straight-up low-down, narcisstic short-term romeo, or craft a comedy around a flawed but loveable scoundrel. Unfortunately, Alfie falls uncomfortably in the middle. It seems to be the writer's, actors', and director's intent to do more like the latter--I suspect we are meant to grudgingly admire the charming Alfie, and sympathize with him once he begins to learn his lesson. This is not the case, at least not for this reviewer.

Try as he might, Alfie comes across as downright sleazy, and not particularly convincing in his boyish and charming routine. I've never been to New York, but I'm guessing women there are no more likely to fall for Alfie's tired and half-assed pick up routines than any other. I'm guessing he'd get a lot more rolled eyes and possible knees to the groin in real life. Seriously, all the puppy-dog glances, smarmy compliments, and crooked grins? Give me a break.

This movie is chock-full of meant-to-be colorful characters, but unfortunately is so crowded that no one but Alfie gets any development. Marisa Tomei's character is apparently a very appealing woman, but we get no scenes to demonstrate what makes her special. We need someone to love, but Alfie doesn't make us love him, and we don't know anyone else well enough to care, nor do the actors do much to help us. An exception to this is Nia Long, who gives the most real and convincing performance of the cast. If more of the movie had her in it, perhaps it would have been salvaged slightly.

Mod references are abound in Alfie, but, while interesting, they are truly unncessary, and unevenly spread throughout the film. Sadly, that's not the only uneven thing about Alfie. Styles clash, drama and comedy fight for center stage without either hitting home, and the viewer has to wonder: just where did this seemingly entertaining movie go astray? My guess--somewhere along the line, someone making this film was too cowardly to go all-out with the darkness this movie needs. Half-assed dark comedy does nothing but bore and discomfort.

I suppose the movie could have been worse, had it included the predictable ending I expected, but the ending it has really does nothing at all. It's an ending from a darker movie that these filmmakers didn't shoot. Try as he might, Jude Law simply didn't salvage this one.

Normally I'd go over the special features on the DVD, but seriously? I just couldn't wait to get this one out of my machine and go on with life, never to see this mediocre crapfest again. It's not Plan 9 from Outer Space, but it does manage to add up to a pretty irritating viewing experience, surprisingly terrible, even.

Bottom Line: Don't buy. Do rent, IF you are extremely patient AND all copies of About a Boy are unavailable.