Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
Year after year, you guys hit Sundance and bring us all sorts of opinions on the films playing there. Here’s a spy we first met last year, back for more:
"Lucky Number Slevin" - Josh Hartnett, Lucy Liu, Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley
I really enjoyed this film and its fresh take on the crime / noir genre. It tells the story of Slevin (Hartnett), a man who by is drawn into an underworld fued between two rival crimelords (Freeman and Kingsley) due to a case of mistaken identity. Linsey (Lui) is his temporary neighbor who takes an eccentric interest in his situation and tries to help him sort it out. There is a dark side to the seemingly light film that I won't get into because it would give away too much of the plot. The story is twisting in and the dialogue is crisp and flows nicely. I wasn't a fan of Hartnett's acting coming into the film but he holds his own next to Willis, Kingsley and Freeman and is perfect for the role. Its not much of a cerebral film but its a fun ride. I give it 4 out of 5.
"Friends With Money" - Jennifer Aniston, Katherine Keener, Joan Cusack, Frances McDormand
This film opened the festival and was very similar to last year's opening film - "Happy Endings." Olivia (Aniston) is an ex-teacher who is working as a maid to get by. She lives somewhere in CA and all her friends are wealthy yuppies in seemingly happy relationships. The film follows Olivia as she deals with her relative poverty and struggles to overcome a failed relationship. Aniston is good as Olivia and the other cast members give nice performances but nothing outstanding. The dialogue is decent but I didn't really connect with the characters. There seem to be many similar movies that have come out over the past few years and this one just blends into the crowd. I give it 3 out of 5.
"Thank You for Smoking" - Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, William H Macy, Katie Holmes, Adam Brody, Rob Lowe, Robert Duval
Definitely my favorite of the films I saw. Nick Naylor (Eckhart) is a motormouth tobacco lobbyist with loose morals. Throughout the film he butts heads with a liberal senator from Vermont (Macy), travels to Hollywood to enlist the filmaking industy in his efforts to sell cigarettes and is constantly being forced to justify his actions (helping to sell products that kill people) to those in his personal life. He crosses paths with a journalist willing to do anything to get a story (Holmes), the "father" of big tobacco (Duval) and a hilariously narcissistic Hollywood agent (Lowe) with an Asian fetish. The script is very well written, the film has great pacing and Eckhart is perfectly cast. The film doesn't take a stance on smoking (its more a statement on freedom of choice) and therefore I'm curious as to how it will be treated in the press. I highly recommend this one and its the only film I saw that I will see again in the theaters. 4.5 out of 5. Note: There was a mixup at the screening and about 10-15 seconds of a Katie Holmes sex scene was left out of the film but we were assured it will be in the final cut that makes it to the theaters.
"The Illusionist" - Ed Norton, Jessica Biel, Paul Giamatti
This film has already been reviewed on the site so I'll be brief. I had high hopes for this one, being a fan of Norton and Giamatti, and was left very underwhelmed. The story is formulaic and the only interesting aspect of the movie (the illusionist and his illusions) isn't explored nearly enough. I'm surprised this was even screened at Sundance as its such a typical Hollywood film. The post screening Q&A is the only one I've been to where the audience ran out of questions to ask. The director said the film had been completed only 1 week before the festival but that wasn't the root of the problem in my opinion. A one dimensional film that would be a safe date movie. 2 out of 5.
I'll try to follow up with a few more reviews.
Thanks, man!
"Moriarty" out.
