The Number 23 (possible spoilers)

I got the feeling that the makers of this movie wanted us to leave the theater trying to count random things to see if they added up to 23, but instead it felt like people came out of the theater arguing about whether they enjoyed it or not. I heard one couple getting into a fairly heated conversation on the way out because he loved it and she hated it. In talking to the owner of the theater (as I often do) I found that people either love it or hate, which is weird because I am on the fence about it. The movie has a very strong opening, a fairly interesting twist and a very nice conclusion but is often a mess in the middle.


Jim Carrey plays a husband and father living a fairly mundane existence as a dog catcher until his wife picks up this book for him to read. The book has an ominous red cover and comes with a disclaimer that reads like a warning label, but he reads the book anyway. To be honest, the voice over of him reading the book is a bit tedious but the images from the novel are a breathtaking dank dark blend of blacks, reds and whites. The book is about a detective who becomes obsessed with the number 23. The number is dripped in mystique and coincidence and draws him into a web of paranoia. In his mind, the detective looks like Carrey, only ripped, with tattoos and having dark sexual conquests with a woman, who looks like his wife (Virginia Madsen). In this opening hour, director Joel Shumacher weaves a very creepy atmosphere where you are never quite sure what is going to happen next. It is helped along by a very creepy, non-sequitur style music. Violins often trail off mid strike in favor of oft putting drums, adding to overall “what is going to happen next” mind state. However, Carrey finishes the novel and we are introduced to the middle section of outlandish paranoia and it becomes a movie that is not quite sure what it wants. Is it a supernatural thriller, dark comedy or a film about obsession? All of those questions seem to fit in the mindless 45 minutes in the middle.


Luckily after that mind numbing section we get a great twist and a most satisfactory ending. I won’t spoil the fun but if you find yourself wondering where the movie is going, please stick with it. I think you will be pleasantly surprised. The big question going in was can Jim Carrey do this? I never really doubted it because if you saw The Cable Guy or Man in the moon, you know he can be dark, but this called for something a lot darker, could we believe Jim Carrey having sex in an almost rape like fantasy? Would we believe him going nearly crazy because of a number? Is it possible to forget about how funny he is and watch him delve deep into the psychological thriller? The answer to all of these questions seems to be yes, yes we can. Carrey is slowly proving himself worthy of breaking out of the comedy genre. Yes we have seen him do less funny things, but Truman show and Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind were essentially comedies from a different angle. While this movie has moments of manic like humor, it proves quickly that it is not out to make us smile, but to challenge what we believe people are capable of.


Lastly I want to mention the director. Shumacher has been taking nothing but heat for the last decade over his dismantling of the Batman series and while he stumbled with the Phantom of the Opera movie he has made some very good movies since Batman and it is time people recognize how good he is with the camera. Yes, he made huge disasters but he also made Phone Booth, Tigerland and 8mm all of which were small scale movies proving he has a great talent.

Breach

A movie that gives away the ending in the first minute should not be suspenseful. It should be a bit annoying to watch when you know how it all wraps up, yet this movie finds a way to be both interesting and suspenseful. The pacing, while slow, is exactly what this movie needed and the director (Billy Ray) knows exactly what to do, which is put the camera up and just watch his actors act. In fact, I even forgot I hated Laura Linney towards the end of the movie. The true stars of the film though are Chris Cooper and Ryan Phillippe. In 2001, the FBI made the biggest bust of espionage in the history of America. An FBI agent had been selling secrets to the Russians since the early 80’s and it had cost lives and millions of dollars. The “based on a true story” picks up 2 months before the capture and we meet Phillippe’s character. He is a young grunt for the FBI trying to make agent and is put on the case of tailing Cooper’s character. He is told it is about sexual deviancy, but the Cooper character is so good, that Phillippe quickly questions the operation. He is let in on the operation and what ensues is a brilliantly paced game of cat and mouse.


The thing that makes this movie better than your typical political cat and mouse film is the performance of Chris Cooper. We know from the very beginning he is a dirt ball and a villain, yet as we watch him on screen we can understand why Phillippe’s character grows to respect and admire him before finding out the truth. Cooper, who I have always found to be overrated, is the perfect mix of wily charm, slimy disgustingness and a faux martyrdom. He will give the creeps right before praying with his family and it is that complexity that throws this movie into a higher level. For his part, Phillippe has turned into quite the little actor and he does great with the young and eager FBI wannabe. He thinks well on his feet, but even when he is struggling with the secrets he manages to keep a hint of cockiness that is exactly what the character needs.


In order to enjoy this movie you have to be able to endure a lot of dialogue. I imagine the script for this bad boy was a long one because it is pretty much all talk. The back and forth between the two main characters, while not extremely brilliant writing, sets the mood perfectly and it never gets annoying. What action we do get is very well made tension. There is a scene towards the conclusion of the film that takes place in a park of some sort that will have you on the edge of your seat and forgetting you already know what happens. That is high praise indeed for a movie thrown into the wasteland of movies called February!

Ghost Rider

Very rarely do movies like this one come along, a movie that is terrific and terrible and sometimes both at the exact same time. Through the entire movie I found myself on the edge of my seat and then the next moment cringing in pain. I laughed when I was supposed to laugh but laughed just as hard when I wasn’t supposed to. I dropped my jaw at half of the special effects and shook my head in disbelief at the other half. It was just a giant, loud, bright study in just how over the top comic book movies can be without the right touch from a director. I take nothing away from the vision of the director here because it is obvious he likes comic books. He just isn’t quite sure what he is doing half of the time.


Ghost rider is the story of a young man who sells his soul to the devil to make his father well. The Marvel comic was based upon early comics of a western bounty hunter for the devil and is not a comic that I know all that well. I always felt Ghost Rider was a comic best glanced through, not read. The story never appealed to me, but the art was always brilliant. Now here in the film version, Nic Cage plays the perfectly named Johnny Blaze. Cage is an avid comic book fan and this was a bit of a pet project for him and it shows. Cage bleeds his heart and overacting soul into the tortured flame head and often times he gets it right. Some will complain that the comic character never had any hesitation and Cage does throw a certain amount of hesitation into the role, but he really catches the spectacular over the top attitude of the film. Eva Mendes is along for the ride, although she doesn’t have much to do. She looks hot, but not quite hot enough for my taste, for a comic book movie. Sam Elliott pops up as the caretaker, giving us the required exposition and has the coolest effect sequence in the film, if you ask me.


I don’t believe anyone is going to see this movie in hopes of brilliant dialogue or story, because the trailer is all about the flash and there is plenty of flash to go around. There CGI effects go from brilliant to horrible, but I seemed to be the only one who noticed because there was a thunderous applause when the movie ended. The first transition from human to Ghost Rider is dizzyingly painful to watch, but perfect because you can feel how much it would suck to have your skin replaced by blazing fire. The blazing chain is phenomenal looking, but the skull itself is pretty corny looking and the voice is even worse. There is a certain level of cool mythology within the story but you have to really pay attention to catch it because the dialogue can be a bit tired and boring. So in the end, I still can’t figure out if I enjoyed the movie or not. It was a spectacle and unabashedly campy, but it only works half the time. However, in that half it is such a crazy fun ride!

If I did the Oscar nominations and winners

Real Best Picture nominees: Babel, The Departed, Letters from Iwo Jima, Little Miss Sunshine and The Queen.


My Best Picture Nominees: Children of Men, The Departed, The Prestige, Pan's Labyrinth (to good to be only in forgien catergory) and Blood Diamond.


My Winner: While The Prestige was my favorite movie of the year, Children of Men was the best one and deserves this award and it is a shame it is not even nominated!




Real Best Actor nominees: Leo Decaprio/Blood Diamond, Will Smith/Pursuit of Happyness, Ryan Gosling/Half Nelson, Peter O'Toole/Venus and Forest Whitaker/Last King of Scotland.


My Best Actor Nominees: Leo Decaprio/Blood Diamond, Will Smith/Pursuit of Happyness, Clive Owen/Children of Men, Edward Norton/The Illusionist and Christian Bale/The Prestige.


My Winner: Will Smith for The Pursuit of Happyness. It may be a bit of a tug at the heart strings role, but he did something with it to the point where I didn't see Will Smith on the screen.




I am skipping the best actress catergory because I don't rememebr seeing a movie this year where a woman had a leading role deserving of an Oscar, but I will say I am hoping Kate Winslet wins just because she is amazing and I don't want Meryl Streep to win just because she is Meryl Streep.




Real Best Supporting actor nominees: Alan Arkin/Little Miss Sunshine, Jack Hayle Early/Little Children, Djimon Hounsou/Blood Diamond, Eddie Murphy/Dreamgirls and Mark Wahlberg/The Departed.

My Best Supporting Actor Nominees: Mark Wahlberg/The Departed, Matt Damon/The Departed, Ben Affleck/Hollywoodland, Eddie Murphy/Dreamgirls and Djimon Hounsou/Blood Diamond.


My Winner: This is probably the toughest one for me because I would be happy with any of these five winning, but I feel Eddie Murphy did the most this year.




Real Best supporting actress nominees: Adriana Barraza/Babel, Jennifer Hudson/Dreamgirls, Abigail Breslin/Little Miss Sunshine, Cate Blanchett/Notes on a scandal and Rinko Kikiuchi/Babel


My Best Supporting actress nominees: Jennifer Hudson/Dreamgirls, Rinko Kikiuchi/Babel, Diane Lane/Hollywoodland, Claire Hope-Ashitey/Children of Men and Maribel Verdú/Pan's Labyrinth.


My Winner: Jennifer Hudson is just undeniable in Dreamgirls, but I believe it is a short lived spark because I don't see her being a huge success in non musical films. She does deserve the victory though, here.




Real Best Dircetor Nominees: Clint Eastwood/ Letters from Iwo Jima, Martin Scorcese/The Departed, Stephan Frears/The Queen, Alejandro González Iñárritu/Babel and Paul Greengrass/United 93.


My Best Director nominees: Martin Scorcese/The Departed, Paul Greengrass/United 93, Christopher Nolan/The Prestige, Guillermo del Toro/Pan's Labyrinth and Alfonso Cuarón/Children of Men.


My winner: It hurts me to say this because Martin Scorcese has deserved at least 2 if not 3 Oscars by this time in his life and I thought I'd want him to win this year until I saw Children of Men. Alfonso Cuarón did such a brilliant job I can't go with anyone else.




Those are the major catergories and my opininos on such matters. Feel free to agree and definitely feel free to disagree!