Lights, Camera, Critics

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Last 5 posts in Arts & Entertainment

• Spring Fashion Trends - March 8th, 2010
• Dear John Review - January 27th, 2010
• Allatoona's Own Fairytale Ending - January 19th, 2010
• Tiger Woods Scandal - January 19th, 2010
• The Host Review - October 12th, 2009

Other stories that might interest you...

March 17, 2010 • Lauren Gourley  
Filed under Arts & Entertainment, Featured A&E, Movies, Top Stories, View from the Crew

The copper-head teams up with el tigre the cinematic critic to provide Allatoona with an overview of new and upcoming movies.  As actors and actresses in Hollywood slave over dramatic perfection, this devious duo analyzes and reviews the newly released films. Five stars from these commentators is quite an accomplishment. One star, however, is not something to flaunt.

Brooklyn’s Finest- Two Stars

By: Jordan Fox 

          Director Antoine Fuqua has directed similar “good cop-bad-cop” films in the past, including Training Day. Fuqua was concerned about taking on another cop movie but, regardless, he decided to pursue this one. He says that he doesn’t view Brooklyn’s Finest as a “police” movie, but more of a human drama.  “It’s about men and women under tremendous societal pressure, and they happen to be our protectors.”  In spite of his hopes, Brooklyn’s Finest didn’t stray too far off that beaten path. The movie is about police officers in, you guessed it, Brooklyn. Three cops, all of which are in various stages of mental breakdowns, will gradually fall to pieces before your eyes.

          Tango (Don Cheadle) is an undercover cop who is deeply involved in the rising drug empire of his friend Caz (Wesley Snipes). Ethan Hawke’s character, Sal, is a dirty narcotics cop who is looking to secretly score some drug money so he can move his pregnant and asthmatic wife (Lili Taylor) and their six kids out of their black mold-infested house.  Richard Gere plays a burnt out cop trying his hardest to make no impact during his last week on the force. As fate (or Fuqua) would have it, these three crosscutting stories all collide in the end.

          At a lengthy 125 minutes, the movie was extremely slow paced. Though it became more interesting as the film progressed, distraction felt almost forced upon us. Besides the three leads (Ethan Hawk, Richard Gere, and Don Cheadle), a lot of other good actors, such as Vincent D’Onofrio, Brian F. O’Byrne and Ellen Barkin, appeared in the movie. The actors were all better than the screenplay deserved. Christopher Smith commented on this disaster of a movie by saying, “For such a potentially great concept to result in such a thoroughly mediocre product is baffling, especially given the talent involved.”  If ever there was an anti-recruit movie for police work, this would be it. This film is rated “R”, for extremely graphic and bloody violence, strong sexuality (being that one of the police officer’s girlfriends is a prostitute), nudity, drug content, and pervasive language. I thought that Brooklyn’s Finest was a tremendously bleak and overrated film. I do not recommend this movie to people who don’t have the patience to watch long and sometimes overwhelming movies. We give Brooklyn’s Finest 2 stars.

Shutter Island-Five Stars
By:Lauren Gourley

          Martin Scorsese has done it once again! Well known for his other movies such as The Departed and Gangs of New York, he combines an unpredictable plot for the epitome of heart stopping suspense. Set in 1954, Leonardo DiCaprio plays U.S. marshal Teddy Daniels who is investigating a disappearance at Shutter Island, a land mass solely dedicated to housing criminally insane convicts. During his stay he begins to realize there is something awry with three asylums on the island. The first two are divided by gender, but the third is a mysterious Civil War building that holds the most dangerous patients that just so happens to be restricted to the marshal and his partner. Daniels (DiCaprio) interviews all employees and discovers that his stay on the island might just be longer than he intended.

            Personally, I absolutely loved Shutter Island. Scorsese had a great plot that keeps audience on the edge of their seats the whole duration of the movie. Originally, I was under the impression that the movie would be another terrifying “pop out” film where there were surprises around every corner; however, Scorsese used a different type of approach and kept his surprises in the suspense of the plot. At first I thought the story line was mildly predictable until the very last fifteen minutes where everything I predicted went into a completely different and unfathomable direction. Another enjoyment was the music selection of the movie. If the plot didn’t produce an eerie feeling, the loud burst of symphony music and the low yet spooky drown of strings certainly would. Though the whole movie was filled with suspense, there were a few moments of comic relief that quelled the anticipation for another major twist. All in all, I highly recommend Shutter Island for those of you who can appreciate an extreme tension film.

Extraordinary Measures-1 star

By:Jordan Fox

           Inspired by an incredible true story, the CBS Films’ docudrama Extraordinary Measures portrays one father’s desperate quest to save his children from dying of a rare genetic disorder. Working-class father John Crowley (Fraser) finally catches a break and is on his way to corporate success when his two young children, Megan and Patrick, are diagnosed with Pompe disease, a condition that prevents the body from breaking down sugar. In time, it disables the heart and the muscles, ultimately resulting in death. With the apprehensive yet unconditional support of his wife, Aileen, John ditches his career and teams with specialist Dr. Robert Stonehill (Ford) to found a bio-tech company and develop a cure in time to save the lives of his children. Though the movie had a good base, Extraordinary Measures was nothing more than a waste of potential. Brendan Fraser and Harrison Ford, two reputable actors, were cast as the lead characters. While they played well off of each other, the script was far too predictable. From the bulgy-eyed stares to the slight twitches, Fraser’s performance was distracting and awkward. Going in with high expectations definitely led me to an enormous let down. Rotten Tomatoes commented on the flop by saying, “Despite a timely topic and a pair of heavyweight leads, Extraordinary Measures never feels like more than a made-for-TV tear-jerker.” We give Extraordinary Measures 1 star.

Alice in Wonderland-4 stars

By: Jordan Fox

        With much anticipation, a few friends and I ventured over to the ever-so-convenient NCG to see the premiere of Alice in Wonderland. The 3D movie kept everyone entertained to say the least. In the film, Alice is 19 years old and accidentally returns to Underland, a place she last visited when she was only six years old. While she’s tries to remember her past, Alice is told that she is the only one that can slay the Jabberwocky, a dragon controlled by the dreaded Red Queen of Hearts.

I’m not going to give too much of the storyline away, but you should keep in mind that this is not a re-creation of the original Alice in Wonderland; it is more of a sequel. It is an “extension” of Lewis Carroll’s novels Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. Director, Tim Burton, said the original Wonderland story was just about a girl wandering around from one weird character to the next; he never felt an emotional connection to the plot, he wanted to make it feel more like a story rather than a series of events. Burton, however, does not see this as a sequel to previous films because of the major differences in the basic storyline. With a stacked cast including Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, and Mia Wasikowska-the characters are truly enticing. Rotten Tomatoes commented on Burton’s piece by saying “The movie’s strengths are the costumes, the makeup, the production design, the special effects, the vocal work and a terrific musical score by Danny Elfman that has a quality of magic and wonderment missing from the screenplay”. We give Alice in Wonderland 4 stars. So, grab a “dwink”, as the evil queen would say, and your 3D glasses and get ready for a surreal movie experience.