All tagged Narrative

Body of Lies

Nick Allen
Film Reviews

Narrative Review Body of Lies Directed by: Ridley Scott Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Mark Strong Time: 2 hrs Rating: R

Our business in Iraq has always been a tough sell, even before our vain attempts to make movies about it. Hollywood has interpreted our presence in the Middle East in many ways, but few films were able to put up "Mission Accomplished" banners. Audiences didn’t care for the wimpy meow of Lions For Lambs; the controversial soldier re-enlistment film Stop-Loss (released to an audience that was MIA); and gung-ho disasters like The Kingdom, which were too busy with glorified violence to treat its mature themes seriously.

An adaptation of the novel by the same name, Body of Lies explodes into multiplexes and speaks the truth about the volcanic potential within such hot-topic films. This political action-thriller confirms that it’s possible for a flick to pack a message as tough as its punch, all while offering a unanimous, nonpartisan source of intelligent, gripping entertainment.

The film's political points are sharpest in the beginning. Russell Crowe, as big-boned CIA operative Ed Hoffman, delivers a monologue concerning our presence in the Middle East, debating whether a reason to defend our work over there is even necessary. Throughout his speech, (which doubles as a visual introduction of his intelligence partner in Iraq, Roger Ferris, played by Leonardo DiCaprio), Hoffman argues for the sake of surveillance to fight terrorism by saying: “we must keep our foot on the enemy’s foot, or the world will change completely.” Body of Lies is a story about the toes that are stepped on in the process to keep such an imperative balance.

Miracle at St. Anna

Chris De Salvo
Film Reviews

Narrative Review Miracle at St. Anna Directed by: Spike Lee Cast: Derek Luke, Michael Ealy, Laz Alonso, Omar Benson Miller Time: 2 hours and 40 mins Rating: R

It’s nearly impossible to make a great film. Making a really good film is a different story. The main difference is great films rarely stray too far from the story being told. While they do contain series of subplots, each tangent is an essential addition to the film. They provide a nice layering that pads the story into a visual novel.

Spike Lee is an excellent cinematic storyteller. This is a fact you cannot dispute. That being said, even great storytellers don’t always make great films. Miracle at St. Anna is an ambitious rehashing of James McBride’s novel about the 92nd Infantry Division’s involvement in the Italian campaign during the closing years of World War II. Where other directors may have pointed fingers, and gotten preachy by over generalizing the large-scale segregation of America’s African American troops of the era, Lee simply tells a specified story of four soldier’s whose lives came together amidst these vexing conditions.

We begin in the present day (okay, 1983), following a mild-mannered man whose job as a post-office employee funds a relatively trouble-free life in New York City. He’s quiet, loves John Wayne-starring war films, and God. It’s when he blows a pasty, European man away in cold blood (seemingly unprovoked), the questions flood the audience as quickly as he wielded the gun: Why? Did he know that guy? Is he crazy?

Burn After Reading

Chris De Salvo
Film Reviews

Narrative Review Burn After Reading Directed by: Joel Coen and Ethan Coen Cast: George Clooney, Frances McDormand, Brad Pitt, John Malkovich, Tilda Swinton Time: 1 hr 35 mins Rating: R

Earlier this year the Coen Brothers brought home some notable hardware for their peculiarly blunt No Country for Old Men. By bringing the same fresh sense of perspective, and uncanny attention to cinematic detail, the siblings adequately rivaled anything they had completed before by taking another step forward. In an effort to, perhaps quiet the storm of Oscar, they’ve brought us a film that reminds us how dark their version of comedy can be.

The only trouble was, they may have had too much to work with. In the end, it’s more of a mess than a masterpiece.

When you employ a cast of legendary Hollywood ringers, it’s

American Teen

Jeff Bayer
Film Reviews

Narrative Review American Teen Directed by: Nanette Burstein Cast: Hannah Bailey, Colin Clemens, Geoff Haase, Megan Krizmanich, Mitch Reinholt Time: 1 hr 35 mins Rating: PG-13

High school is hard enough. Having a camera in your face, going along for the ride can't help. The kids of Warsaw Community High School in Warsaw, Indiana have been given center stage in this documentary by Burstein (On the Ropes, The Kid Stays in the Picture).

Burstein has managed to find all the necessary cliques roaming the high school halls. There's Hannah; the smart moody misfit. Megan; the popular, demanding rich girl. Colin; the star athlete with pressure on his shoulders. Mitch; the dreamboat. Jake; the social outcast.

This alone is the main problem with the film. While it's entertaining and well beyond the MTV style reality shows, in the analyzation

The Bank Job

Jeff Bayer
Film Reviews

Inspired by the true story of a 1971 London bank heist that goes terribly wrong, “The Bank Job” has it all: corruption, sex scandals, political intrigue, murder. Despite all of those wonderfully evil things, the film never takes off.

Jason Statham stars as Terry, a car dealer barely making ends meet. Martine (Saffron Burrows), a friend from the old neighborhood, brings Terry a foolproof plan to rob a bank. Terry is torn because he has a family, but the need to provide a better life leads him to get the old gang back together and pull off this “sure-fire” heist.

But as we all know, no bank heist is easy. Martine has some secrets up her sleeve, plus the royal family — and every criminal and politician in London, or so it seems — has something valuable within the targeted vault.

The problem with “The Bank Job” is that it’s not really about the bank job. As it turns out, the actual robbery is easy — it’s what comes after that’s intriguing. But the film takes way too long to get to the dirty, intense aftermath.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

Jeff Bayer
Film Reviews

Disheveled and worn down, Miss Pettigrew (Frances McDormand) goes from bad to worse. Before the opening credits of “Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day” are finished, she gets fired from her job as a nanny, loses all of her possessions and can’t find a bite to eat.

Set in 1939 London, just as World War II is about to break out, Miss Pettigrew must try and make a go of it. What follows is an infectious comedy that becomes a wonderful drama.

Miss Pettigrew steals an employment assignment from her old boss and ends up at a penthouse attempting to become the “social secretary” for actress/singer Delysia Lafosse (Amy Adams).

Immediately, we are bounced from one social gathering or high-society problem to another, mainly circling around Delysia’s multiple men.

First we meet Phil (Tom Payne), whom Delysia is trying to seduce in order to secure the lead in a play. Then there’s Nick (Mark Strong), the intimidating nightclub owner Delysia lives with and sings for. Lastly, we encounter sweet Michael (Lee Pace from “Pushing Daisies”), her devoted pianist.

Charlie Bartlett

Jeff Bayer
Film Reviews

Narrative Review In the first few minutes of the film, I want to pull Charlie aside and have a heart to heart. I want to explain to him he doesn't have to try so hard, and being popular really shouldn't be that important. But then we wouldn't have a movie now would we? "Charlie Bartlett" is an earnest attempt to tackle the glaring problem of over-medicating today's kids. Unfortunately, a genuine debate is never created, and our lead character isn't really that charming. Charlie (Anton Yelchin) is an optimist who dreams of being the popular kid. After getting kicked out of every prep school imaginable, he moves back home with his drunk mother (Hope Davis) and attends Western Summit High School, a public school run by a principal (Robert

Definitely, Maybe

Jeff Bayer
Film Reviews

Narrative ReviewThe romantic comedy is a difficult beast to tame. Love Actually made it look easy; other films, such as 27 Dresses seem to run out of material too quickly. Definitely, Maybe takes a crack at getting some laughs, some tears and a little romance -- and it works. Definitely. Will (Ryan Reynolds) attempts to explain his past relationships and impending divorce to his 11-year-old daughter, Maya (Abigail Breslin), with a twist -- he changes the names of his romantic partners and won't tell her which woman is her mother.

This sounds like a knock-off of the TV show "How I Met Your Mother," but quality performances across the board make this

National Treasure: Book of Secrets

Jeff Bayer
Film Reviews

Narrative Review When we last left off with treasure hunter Benjamin Franklin Gates (Nicolas Cage) he was on an action-packed quest around the globe to find treasure and save the world. Now he's back with the sequel "National Treasure: Book of Secrets" to find treasure and save … his family name. The whole gang is reunited ('cause it feels so good) with Ben being joined by his dad (Jon Voight), his amusing sidekick Riley (Justin Bartha), Harvey Keitel as the FBI guy and the heroine Abigail (Diane Kruger). But just like most sequels, you have to go bigger and badder, so they added Ed Harris and last year's Oscar winner Helen Mirren as Ben's mother. The mystery begins within the missing pages of John Wilkes Booth's diary. Didn't know Abraham