Reviews

The latest film from the Wachowski Brothers, this adaptation of Alan Moore's dark, brilliant graphic novel is the movie that this country needs to see. For the uninitiated, V for Vendetta is the story of a scarred, masked vigilante fighting against the forces of fascist Britain in the year 2015. Inspired by the actions of 17th century proto-terrorist Guy Fawkes (who tried to blow up Parliament in an act still known as the Gunpowder Plot, V moves that story forward into a nightmare world, where politicians control the airwaves, music and art are banned and the subways are shut down so that the populace may be better controlled. Sound familiar, dear reader?

Hugo Weaving gives the performance of his career--part of the fun of this is it's like The Matrix but you get to root for Agent Smith. Concealed for the entire film behind a grinning Guy Fawkes mask--itself eerily reminiscent of the current spate of Burger King commercials, V encounters Evey (pronounce it) and enlists her aid in his explosive crusade. Weaving is physically elegant, and uses his voice through the mask to amazing effect--the performance recalls Andy Serkis' work as Gollum and King Kong.

As Evey, Natalie Portman is here the professional actress who first dazzled us in Leon. Surrounded by a solid cast, including Stephen Fry, John Hurt, and Stephen Rea, the movie resonates with echos of great art works that have gone before it, from Beethoven's opera "Fidelio" to the Ring Cycle and the Matrix trilogy. Director James McTeague keeps the action moving along, but the viewer must also pay attention to the dialogue and narration--this is a dense movie and your concentration is required.

Kurt Russell is strong and (mostly) silent in this futuristic action-thriller from Paul Anderson (Event Horizon, Resident Evil.) Set on a garbage-dump planet, Soldier plays like a cross between Rambo and Shane, with Russell barely speaking as the title character, an "obsolete" genetic soldier left for dead. The supporting cast of colonists, including Connie Nielsen, Sean Pertwee and a surprisingly hirsute Michael Chiklis, is able. They spend most of the movie being scared of Russell, and the rest of it running for their lives. Russell's performance here is one of the best he's ever given. With almost no words to say, he conveys emotion, feeling and meaning with looks and glances. It is almost a mime performance. When the action sequences kick into gear, he kicks ass--and does so in a strong, silent, matter-of fact way. There are flaws. Jason Scott Lee is brutish as a "superior" genetic soldier. Jason Isaacs does a great impression of Frank Burns from M*A*S*H as a weaselly commanding officer, and Gary Busey busts a gut (and nearly busts his girdle) as Todd's mentor. This is an underrated, and excellent sci-fi flick, and recommended for anyone who wants a second visit to the universe of Blade Runner--David Webb Peoples wrote both screenplays.

Aside from giving that classic quote to our vocabulary, this remains John Woo's best American film. It also represents twin peaks for its action leads, John Travolta (who was experiencing a post-"Pulp Fiction" career renaissance and Nic Cage (completing his "action trilogy" which began with "The Rock" and continued with the equally improbable "Con Air." In "Face/Off", the situations are so extreme as to be upsetting to the sensitive viewer. The screenplay has a genuine sense of sadism towards the Archer character, but is equally cruel to the Troy character for very different reasons. As the FBI man slides into drug-addled depravity and the life of a hunted man, the terrorist learns what it's like to be a family man who has to help his new "wife" bear the tragedies that were created by his own hand. Yes, the ending is over the top with heavy borrowing from other boat- chase flicks ("Live and Let Die," "Patriot Games") but by the time this movie gets to its slam-bang finish, it's all anticlimax. Emotions are the key in "Face/Off" and what makes it stand above its explosive brethren as an example of the thinking person's action flick.

I first saw this movie in 1989 in the theater and promptly put it next to "Howard The Duck" as one of the worst films ever made. I am glad to say that the years have been kind to the ole singing cat burglar.

Bruce Willis plays a smart-mouthed jailbird named Eddie Hawkins who has to steal DaVinci artifacts from the Vatican and elsewhere to help two rich twits rebuild Leonardo's "gold machine" and turn lead into gold. The movie is filled with bad wisecracks, those corny song-and-dance routines and gratuitous violence.

Sandra Bernhard and Richard E. Grant are particularly grating on the nerves but there's enough warmth from Andie MacDowell's dolphin-tongued nun and sly in-jokes (James Coburn's presence alone) to make this light-hearted Hawk fly straight. And hey, it's almost as funny as "The Da Vinci Code"!