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Archive for October, 2008

Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio) is the best man U.S. Intelligence has on the ground, in places where human life is worth no more than the information it can get you. In operations that take him around the globe, Ferris’ next breath often depends on the voice at the other end of a secure phone line — CIA veteran Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe). Strategizing from a laptop in the suburbs, Hoffman is on the trail of an emerging terrorist leader who has orchestrated a campaign of bombings while eluding the most sophisticated intelligence network in the world. To lure the terrorist out into the open, Ferris will have to penetrate his murky world, but the closer Ferris gets to the target, the more he discovers that trust is both a dangerous commodity and the only one that will get him out alive.

Rotten Tomatoes rated this 5.9/10; it got mixed review and for the most part was panned as a bad venue for two great actors. I think Ridley Scott did an excellent job with this not only with the underlying plot line of “people in the trenches” know more of what is going on and how to deal with it than the politicians and bureaucrats at the top. Also, the utilization of spy technoloogy and the sufficient carnage makes this an excellent movie. I think this makes a good political statement as well as an excellent movie. I  am glad to see DeCaprio working with good, seasoned (albeit tempermental) actors and continuing to mature as a dramatic actor.

Rating: 4.7 out of 5

Chris Mattson (Patrick Wilson) and Lisa Mattson (Kerry Washington), a young interracial couple, have just moved into their California dream home when they become the target of their next-door neighbor, who disapproves of their interracial relationship. A stern, widowed-single father of two, LAPD officer Abel Turner (Samuel L. Jackson) is the watchdog of the neighborhood. His nightly foot patrols and overly watchful eyes bring comfort to some, but he becomes increasingly harassing to the newlyweds. The persistent intrusions into the lives of Chris and Lisa ultimately take a turn for the worse when the couple decides to fight back.

Samuel L. Jackson is the disturbed cop who for some reason doesn’t like his new neighbors, probably because it is an interracial marriage and he comes across as one who does not approve of such. Since his wife died, he has become a very strict disciplinarian to his two children.

After all the predictable foibles of back and forth harassment, it also ends predictably.

Although not a new plot line, and certainly with no real surprises, it is still watchable. Definitely matinee fodder.

Rating: 3.7 out of 5

I found it quite interesting that while the movie theaters displayed the promo poster, I had never seen a trailer for the movie and really never considered it until it was released.

The City of Ember is a 2003 apocalyptic book by Jeanne DuPrau. It revolves around the underground city of Ember, the one known surviving settlement and “the only light in the dark world” that’s slowly dying as supplies run low and the electrical system starts to fail.

Ember is a self-contained, self-maintained city. All food and supplies come from giant storerooms under the city and a handful of greenhouses. All the books in the library, apart from the city history “The Book of Ember” and the schoolbooks “The Book of Letters” and “The Book of Numbers”, have been hand written by residents over the years of Ember. All the light in the city comes from lamps and floodlights; when these are extinguished, the city is completely dark, no stars, sun, or moon. The electricity in the city comes from an ancient hydro-electric generator in the underground Pipeworks; keeping the aging generator operational is a constant task. Beyond the borders of Ember are the dark Unknown Regions, which are unexplorable because none of the Emberites can produce a mobile source of light. Ember was constructed many years ago by the Builders, but nothing is known about them other than the facts that they built the city and provided its supplies.

The movie begins 200 years later than the book, which begins immediately after the construction of the city. Two of the Builders discuss what will happen when supplies run low and conditions become bleak, and decide to leave instructions for escape in a special sealed box, which will open automatically after 200 years, when it will be safe to leave the city. The box is entrusted to the Mayor of Ember, who passes it down to the following Mayor when he leaves office. While the Mayors do not know what the box contains, they keep it safe over the years and do not tell anyone about it. However, the box is lost and forgotten when the seventh Mayor unsuccessfully tries to open it and then dies before he can pass it on to his successor.

The movie begins shortly after the box has counted down to zero. It is Assignment Day at the Ember school. On this day, the 12 year olds finish their education and enter the workforce. They are assigned jobs at random by drawing pieces of paper from a bag held by the mayor. One student, Lina Mayfleet, draws the job of Pipe-works Laborer; which will require her to work underground in the huge Pipeworks that power Ember and deliver its water, repairing lights and pipes as needed. Another student, Doon Harrow, becomes a Messenger. The Messengers are Ember’s communication team, who run around the city relaying personal messages between citizens.

Both Lina and Doon dislike their chosen jobs, and therefore exchange them. Doon wishes to become an electrician because he is seriously concerned with the state of the city and the generator. Blackouts and power outages are becoming common in Ember. In addition, supplies are dwindling, buildings are crumbling and the city seems to be breaking down piece by piece. On the job in the Pipeworks, Doon explores the tunnels and tries to discover a way to save Ember. He even sneaks into the room containing the giant Generator, but realizes at once that he has no idea how it works, much less how to repair it.

Lina is thrilled to have the job of Messenger because it allows her to run and explore every corner of Ember while she delivers her messages. She works hard, puzzling over secret messages passed to the Mayor from a strange man named Looper. She also copes with her grandmother’s ever failing health, and cares for her little sister, Poppy.

Poppy discovers an ancient piece of paper in a box in the Mayfleet apartment. By the time Lina manages to pry it out of the toddler’s hands, the paper has been chewed and torn to pieces, and the writing has been obscured in many places. Lina hangs on to the scraps, and becomes convinced they hold a special message. She shows the paper to certain friends and neighbors, including her old classmate Lizzie Bisco, but nobody has any clues as to its significance.

Lina’s grandmother cannot explain the paper either, but incoherently rambles on about finding “something that was lost”. Her health continues to fail, and she dies. One of the Mayfleet family’s neighbors, a kindly woman named Mrs. Murdo, offers to take Lina and Poppy in. Lina accepts this offer.

Eventually, Doon and Lina piece the paper together and a friend tells Lina that the message contains “Instructions for Egress”–instructions to leave Ember. They descend into the Pipeworks and discover that the instructions are indeed valid, and that the underground river holds the key to escape from the city. They also discover that a man named Looper is stealing the disappearing resources of Ember from the storerooms and giving them to the Mayor in a secret room in the Pipeworks. They report the Mayor’s theft to City Hall, confident that he will be arrested.

However, the Mayor sets his guards upon the pair, and orders their arrest for “spreading vicious rumors.” Before they can tell the residents of Ember about the Instructions for Egress, they are forced to flee the city. Lina manages to take her little sister Poppy, and, with Doon, goes down into the Pipeworks and flees Ember by boat on the underground river.

The river eventually leads to a great rock slope.  After a long and arduous climb, Lina, Doon and Poppy emerge from the rocks into a new world, where they discover sunlight, moonlight, stars and nature.

Doon and Lina explore a nearby cave. Looking down from a high cliff in the cave, they are amazed to see Ember below them–and realize that they have been living underground all along. In a last-ditch effort to save their city’s citizens, the three write a note with the Instructions for Egress, wrap it in Doon’s shirt, and hurl it down into Ember. In the book is found by Lina’s guardian, Mrs. Murdo who takes care of her. In the move, it is found by Doon’s father.

Since the movie is only about 1 hour and 40 minutes it does not have the epic detail of the book. However, the occasional comments made by the narrator as the story progesses, does a pretty good job of filling in the total plot line. The movie is watchable, has interesting cinematography, and a couple of strange monster rat-like creatures and big moths. The movie is rated PG and I enjoyed it at least at Senior Citizen admission charge.

Rating: 3 out of 5

While this movie got mixed reviews, I personally cosidered it one of Spike Lee’s best movies. Miracle at St. Anna follows four black soldiers of the all-black 92nd Infantry Division who get trapped near a small Tuscan village on the Gothic Line during the Italian Campaign of World War II after one of them risks his life to save an Italian boy.

The story is inspired by the August 1944 Sant’Anna di Stazzema massacre perpetrated by the Waffen-SS in retaliation to Italian partisan activity. There is also a reference to a sculpted head from Ponte Santa Trinita in Florence that acts as a plot device.

Even at 2 hours and forty minutes the movie keeps a good pace. There is ample graphic violence. The acting is superb as is the cinamatography. I would hope that this would get strong consideration at the least best supporting actor and so far a potential contender for best movie. While I would say that Robert Downey, Jr. should get best actor for either Tropic Thunder or maybe Iron Man, currently the only other contender for best movie so far this season has been The Dark Knight.

This movie probably won’t apppeal to every one, however, it is definitely one not to be ignored. Spike Lee will probably be best remember for his docudrama, When the Levees Broke, this is a movie not to be missed. It will not leave you feeling good, but it will certainly give you pause and make you think.

Rating: 4.7 out of 5