Real Movie Review-Movie Reviews, Movie Quotes, Movie Trivia

Director: Rachid Bouchareb

Starring: Jamel Debbouze, Samy Naceri, Roschdy Zern, Sami Bouajila, Bernard Blancan, Mathieu Simonet, Aurelie Eltvedt, Asaad Bouab

This Algerian war film is billed as a North African “Saving Private Ryan” and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film of 2006. The characters are good, the acting is authentic and the overall quality of the camera work is impressive. The story lags at times and could have used more action, but it is still a powerful film.

It’s World War II and a North African Unit is fighting to liberate France from Nazi occupation. Director Rachid Bouchareb does a fantastic job of capturing the period and creating gripping scenes, both of battles and of the men moving through WWII France. The story primarily follows four Algerian soldiers who fight for their lives and for respect from a nation that colonized their land and now wants them to fight the Germans in return for second-class citizenship.

Well, it’s nowhere near as entertaining as “Saving Private Ryan”. It is too slow and dark to measure up to that instant classic, but this is still a taut and engaging war movie with significant social commentary to share that all of us could learn from. There is no society, that I aware of, in which all members are treated equally. Yet when times of war come, these underprivileged citizens are asked to risk their lives for the very group that oppresses them.

“I got nothing against no Viet Cong. No Vietnamese ever called me a n*****.”

Muhammad Ali: when asked why he would refuse to fight in the Vietnam War.

Director: Albert and Allen Hughes

Starring: Larenz Tate, Keith David, Chris Tucker, Freddy Rodriguez, Rose Jackson, N’Bushe Wright

This action drama was the second film by the movie-making twins, Albert and Allen Hughes. The two started their careers with the urban drama, Menace II Society, and this effort has a 70s urban setting. The style and skill of these talented filmmakers is immediately apparent and the script which they co-wrote with Michael Henry Brown
has well-developed characters and great tension along with explosive action scenes framed with an engrossing small scale story. The acting is excellent, but the real star here is the Hughes direction which is cool and inspired.

Larenz Tate is Anthony Curtis, a good-natured high school kid in 60s New York who is enjoying life with his girlfriend, Delilah and good friends, Skip (Chris Tucker in an early role) and Jose (Freddy Rodriguez) and running numbers for a local tough guy, Kirby (Keith David). Those days are not to last, however, as all three of the young friends end up in Vietnam. Following a fairly lengthy and well-done segment in the ‘Nam, all three end up back in the old neighbourhood, where Anthony finds adjusting to civilian life difficult. Soon (and rather suddenly), the whole bunch of them are planning an armoured car heist, and ohhhh boy, what a heist it turns out to be.

This is a great action/drama film that combines impressive urban scenes with a great Vietnam lead in. For fans of thinking-man action, like Heat or inner-city features like Boyz In The Hood, this forgotten gem is worth digging up.

Director: Clint Eastwood

Starring: Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ryo Kase,

I reluctantly watched this film, feeling obligated to do a review. Like so many movie fans, I am strangely resistant to foreign language movies (this one is almost all in Japanese), even though I usually enjoy them far more than I expect. Letters From Iwo Jima is a spectacular film about one of WWII’s bloodiest Pacific battles in which over 20,000 Japanese soldiers died and less than 1,000 were taken prisoner. This is a terrible, but amazing war story told from the perspective of the Japanese defenders. Eastwood artfully directs this masterpiece and the muted colors camera work, so popular these days, is beautiful, and chillingly effective here. The performers are so natural that there doesn’t seem to be any acting going on. It is significantly better than its sister film, Flags of Our Fathers. It has greater focus on the battle, keeping the tension up, throughout. As well, having fewer characters allows the viewer more connection to them. This is the trickiest part of any war movie, where there are so many similarly dressed characters on screen.

Ken Watanabe is General Kuribayashi, who is given the impossible task of holding the island of Iwo Jima, which is vital to holding off an American invasion of Japan. He chooses an unconventional, resistance defense that, while effective, conflicts with many established ideas. With dwindling resources, and soldiers, the situation becomes more and more desperate. The story also follows a young, reluctant Japanese soldier named Saigo (Ninomiya), who is doing what he feels he must, though he, and others, feel more and more uncertain about their duty.

The story brilliantly contrasts brutality and humanity, and contrasts the deeply ingrained Japanese concept of honor with individual motivation. These themes are striking and memorable. Letters From Iwo Jima is emotionally charged, riveting and a must-see for those with any interest in historical films, war movies or fine cinematic efforts…and to think that I didn’t want to watch it.

Director: Barry Levinson

Starring: Robin Williams, Forest Whitaker, Tung Thanh Tran, Chintara Sukapatana, Bruno Kirby, Robert Wuhl, J.T. Walsh,

Someone explain to me why it is that a guy, as funny as Robin Williams is, makes so few funny movies? It’s just one of those mysteries of the universe that we will never have the answer to; sort of like what kind of intelligent life exists on other planets, or how Barry Manilow has made so much money when no one will admit to liking him. Being just a simple movie critic, I don’t have any deep answers for you, but I can say that this is a funny, well-written project that manages to slip in a poignant anti-war message, too.

Robin Williams is Adrian Cronauer, an armed forces radio DJ, with a great sense of humor and an equally great distaste for brass and bureaucracy. When Airman Cronauer finds himself stationed in Vietnam, at the height of the conflict, it doesn’t take long for his funny on-air antics to make him hugely popular with the G.I.s, and hugely unpopular with his supervisors, Lt. Hauk (Bruno Kirby) and Sgt.-Major Dickerson (J.T. Walsh). Look for Forest Whitaker in an early supporting role

This is a pretty funny movie, but manages to avoid becoming silly, and has a good story to back up the jokes, as well. If you haven’t seen it, and like the idea of Robin Williams with a microphone, and an attitude, its worth catching…just like a Barry Manilow concert. Ok, ok, it’s true. I like Barry Manilow.

Director: Peter Berg

Starring: Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Ashraf Barhom, Ali Suliman, Jeremy Piven.

Collateral and Smokin’ Aces director, Peter Berg gives us his best film, thus far (though I kinda liked Copland a few years back) with this action effort. The story is ok, though the Saudi Arabia comes off looking like war-torn Iraq and the Saudi officials look pretty backward, but it is helped along with some stylish camera work, including sparing, but effective, hand held scenes. The stock characters are right off the action shelf, but the acting and screen presence of the performers adds to them.

The movie starts with a quickie Middle Eastern history lesson during the opening credits and soon moves to a frightening terrorist attack on a foreign workers compound in Saudi Arabia. The casualties include an FBI friend of Ronald Fleury (Jamie Foxx), which puts him in the revenge fast lane. He bluffs/blackmails his way into an investigative visit with three other team members. The team includes good performances by Cooper and Garner and a pretty irritating Bateman character. The team’s handler is Colonel Faris Al Ghazi (Ashraf Barhom) whose orders are to take them on a polite look-but-don‘t-touch chaperoned tour of the crime scene. The determined Fleury finds a way around that and soon the FBI agents are up to their elbows in evidence and up to their necks in gunfire, and bombings. There is a great car crash scene that marks the arrival of an intense, violent, but very engaging third act leading to a predictable, but effective, Hollywood ending which tacks on some kind of violence-is-not-the-answer message. Too little, too late.

This film is a little reminiscent of Harrison Ford’s Clear and Present Danger, when the enemy of choice was drug lords rather than Muslim extremists. Action fans will enjoy the hard-edged violence and will not have any problem with thin characters and a formula story. In the end, it is pretty good at what it is and will please most of its viewers.

Director: Ken Loach

Starring: Cillian Murphy, Padraic Delaney, Liam Cunningham, Orla Fitzgerald, Mary Riordan, Mary Murphy, Laurence Barry

This war drama was one of the darlings of the 2006 Cannes Film Festival and it’s easy to see why. The acting is flawless, throughout, and the direction is smooth. The story, dialog and screenplay are all very strong, and, although I occasionally struggled to understand the accents (I actually looked for English subtitles, as it began), I found this movie to be quite riveting.

This film is set in a small Irish village, beginning in 1920, when a group of men form a secret military organization called the Irish Republican Army (The IRA – not sure if this is true) to fight against the oppressive and harsh British occupation. The few battle scenes lack a little punch, but this is more than made up for in the shocking scenes involving civilians. The story centers around two brothers, Teddy (Padraic Delaney) and Damien (Cillian Murphy) who lead the group. Fitzgerald plays Sinead, a brave woman helping the secret army. The movie moves a little slowly, but keeps up the pace enough to hold interest and look for a real twist along the way.

This film should appeal to those with a interest in history and those with an appreciation for fine cinema. Interestingly, this movie apparently did not get a general release in the UK, where its sympathetic IRA view was resented. It is still an excellent film, however. Does anyone out there remember the movies Red Dawn and The Molly Maguires? They are both quite old and obscure but if you combined the two of them, you would have a good idea what to expect here, but better, much better.

Director: John Milius

Starring: Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell, Charlie Sheen, Lea Thompson, Darren Dalton, Jennifer Grey, Brad Savage

Red Dawn was an uneven 80s vehicle for young stars like Patrick Swayze and C. Thomas Howell (both hot from The Outsiders), soon-to-be-stars like Charlie Sheen (Red Dawn was his very first role), Lea Thompson and Jennifer Grey. The big far-fetched story of a successful U.S. invasion is unconvincingly scaled down and doesn’t hold up to a lot of thought (or even a little). The entire film also looks rather cheap, which certainly doesn‘t add to its appeal. The script by director John Milius and Kevin Reynolds is formulaic and prone to stiff dialog. Still, the idea of a young group of freedom fighters was intriguing, and charismatic cast show hints of their future glory. It’s not enough to make the film good, but it is enough to save it from being really bad.

Red Dawn opens quickly with an international military alliance launching an invasion of the U.S. A group of youngsters catch on quickly to the fact that something is wrong and high tail it up into the mountains. Eventually, they venture back to town, desperate for supplies and information. The group learns that they are in smack dab in the middle of World War III and are stuck on the occupied side of America. It would be a frightening thought if the whole scenario wasn’t so ridiculous. The kids are planning to continue hiding until they see how poorly their families and neighbors are being treated. This inspires them to fight back as a guerilla unit, which seems amazingly easy….for awhile at least.

Not much to recommend here, unless you are interested in this ‘what if’ kind of scenario, or want to see performers you enjoy in an early role. It’s kind of like Taps, that way. Not a horrible film, but not a good one either. If you catch it on late night TV, it might be just the thing to provide you with enough entertainment to keep you from being bored, but not so engrossing that you stay awake.

Starring: Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Ian McKellen,
Viggo Mortenson, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Cate Blanchett,
John Noble, John Rhys-Davies.

Director: Peter Jackson

The final chapter of this classic fantasy trilogy is better than the second. It wasn’t good enough to deserve the Best Picture Oscar, but Jackson’s accomplishment, artistically, economically, and logistically earned him the respect of the entire movie world which culminated in this win.
This is the climax of Tolkien’s tale. There is a giant, desperate battle at Minas Tirith, romantic decisions for Aragorn, a gruesome scoring competition between Gimli and Legolas, some serious dramatic moments for jesters, Merry and Pippen and, best of all, the impossible voyage for Frodo, Sam and Gollum as they sneak through Sauron’s back yard, culminating in a very good ending.
This is a wonderful payoff for loyalty to the series and, thankfully, no olliphants were harmed during the making of this film. Get some rest, pack plenty of food and water and set out with grim, steely determination to watch this movie.

Starring: Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Ian McKellen,
Viggo Mortenson, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Cate Blanchett.

Director: Peter Jackson

The second installment of Peter Jackson’s epic trilogy is the weakest length, but is still excellent. The superb visuals are back with larger battles and new strange characters, but some the action scenes go on too long in this chapter and they prove to be a slight drag on the story. As well, there are more departures from the text to add romance than I would have liked, and other changes that I won’t mention in case the reader has somehow still not seen this film. These are minor complaints, however. The film only suffers in comparison with the other two.
In this part of the story, Frodo and Sam are on their own, but are soon joined by the amazing computer generated character of Gollum, who is a wonderfully dangerous and intriguing conflicted character. Meanwhile the rest of the remaining fellowship find their own adventures in the larger scale battles of the expanding war, while encountering the tree herding ents as well as new and old friends and enemies. Gimli and Legolas have larger roles here and their characters are much more developed.
Once again, I found the sets, scenery and characters to be striking, and far above almost any other films, but I did find this one to be long (particularly the extended version). Still is part of one of the greatest stories ever told on film.

Director: Edward Zwick

Starring: Denzel Washington, Meg Ryan, Lou Diamond Phillips, Michael Moriarty, Matt Damon, Scott Glenn, Regina Taylor, Bronson Pinchot

This is an excellent war movie with impressive performances from a veteran cast working with a compelling screenplay that lets the story unfold through well-handled flashbacks. Zwick’s direction is first-rate and he is re-united with Denzel Washington, whom he directed to his first Oscar in Glory. Washington’s performance is, well, it is Denzel Washington, Need I say more?

Washington is Lt Colonel Nate Sterling, a Gulf War veteran, tortured by his actions, who is assigned to investigate the posthumous Medal of Honor recommendation for the Karen Walden, the captain of a downed helicopter crew, played by Meg Ryan. Sterling’s investigation finds more and more irregularities and Sterling, in the face of mounting pressure from his CO (Moriarty), is determined to uncover the whole story from Walden’s surviving crew, which includes an excellent early supporting performance by Matt Damon, and one of LOu Diamond Phillip’s strongest roles. In doing this, Sterling hopes to come make peace with his own demons from the Gulf.

This is a solid effort marked by a tight script, an engaging story and fine acting throughout. It will appeal to loves of the war movie genre, as well as to those who have enjoyed other Denzel efforts.