Blood Diamond

I hesitated seeing this movie when it first came out a few weeks ago. Edward Zwick has come so close in his last few movies, that I realized that any hopes or expectations I might have would probably be too high. "The Last Samurai" was an awesome film, until the last ten minutes. Zwick can tell a great story, and capture with rich detail his characters and their motivations. But when it comes to sending us on our way, he doesn't seem to know how to end his movies. Unfortunately I felt almost exactly the same at the end of "Blood Diamond". There was a very good performance by Leonardo DiCaprio, as a very Bogartesque bad-guy/good guy. As was true in the great Bogart films, there is a main character who is focused unwaiveringly on doing what is right. There are side characters along the way that either hinder or aide in the mission of the first character. And then there is the Bogart character, who is in it for himself, he'll be an whichever side is winning, regardless of morality. Of course Bogart always came around, and shocked everybody by actually doing what was right, even if it meant risking his own life. What Zwick doesn't realize is that is the end of the movie. We don't need Bogart to explain himself, and we don't need a political message preached from a pulpit, especially if the whole movie already was a political message. If you didn't know that racism, rape, profiteering, mutilation and murder were wrong before you saw this movie, I don't think a speech at the end of the film is going to help you. My suggestion, go see this movie, and when you think that Leo has pulled his "Bogart move" then get up, find your cell phone and keys, and quietly exit the building. Now that was a good ending.

It's A Wonderful Life

It's been a couple of years since I've seen "It's A Wonderful Life". I saw it for the first time when we were living on Mare Island, and it's one of those movies that stirs up memories every time I watch it. This was the first time that I watched the movie and realized how amazing the performances are. Perhaps it comes from actually experiencing life, and having a little bit of adulthood under my belt, but I felt a connection to Stewart's character so much more this time. In my previous viewings, I had great admiration for the character, but it was that distant, recognizing that the character is admirable, not the knowing what he's going through kind. Many people have pointed out that "It's A Wonderful Life" wasn't intended as a Christmas film, but because it takes place in the hours leading up to Christmas, it kind of has been hijacked as a Holiday movie. Although I love to watch it this time of year, on this most recent viewing I see how great this film is, it works in so many ways, and is probably one of the best films ever made. I would for sure put it in the same category as "Casablanca", and that's saying a lot.

To Crank or not to Crank

Crank probably doesn't deserve to be reviewed by my blog, but Snakes on a Plane made the cut, so I might as well tell you all what I thought. If you liked the first Transporter movie, you may enjoy Crank. If you never saw, or disliked the Transporter, then you should probably just go see something else, like maybe Invincible or something. Crank has a lot of energy, a lot of action, a lot of drugs, and a lot of other stuff too. I stayed awake through the whole movie, which ironically was the objective of the main character as well. Unfortunately, the main character got paid like 1.2 million dollars to stay awake, while I forked over 5 bucks. Well, nobody said the world is fair anyways, hopefully there'll be something better to review soon...