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Reviews
Land of the Dead (2005)
Zombie gore and social commentary take precedence over human stories.
We all know the classic zombie formula: they're dead but not dead; they move slowly, but they're relentless; they hunger for human flesh, but this isn't brain food; and most importantly, the living work together to survive the undead. In The Land of the Dead, George Romero's latest installment to the genre, the very time tested formula that he created gets turned around: the zombies learn to work together, and are more interesting to watch than the living.
In the wake of the zombie plague, the living try to lead normal lives in a fortified city protected by rivers and an armored tank called the Dead Reckoning. Millionaire and entrepreneur Kaufman (Dennis Hopper), now controls this decadent society, where the "haves" live in a high rise country club, and the "have nots" in homeless squalor. As the evolving zombies figure out how to attack the city, commander Riley (Simon Baker) and a handful of soldiers, must stop an insane lieutenant Cholo (John Leguizamo) who now threatens the city in the very tank Riley designed to protect it.
Traditionally, Romero's zombie films zoom in on his survivors in fascinating character studies of people under duress. But in Land of the Dead, the human characters take a back seat to zombie carnage and effects. Among the living, the bad guys are the most interesting. Dennis Hopper's evil entrepreneur offers up the best laughs with his deadpan delivery: "Zombies, man. They creep me out!" And the renegade Cholo who has been cheated by Kaufman earns our sympathy. In both examples, the performances stand out from the writing.
As for the good guys, we do not get as emotionally invested or even amused. Instead of coming from different walks of life, as in previous Romero films, the reconnaissance crew all are sprung from the same generic military seed. Even the prostitute Slack (Asia Argento) mysteriously has a military background. The rest have great potential to be interesting, such as Pillsbury, the giant Samoan (Pedro Miguel Arce), but he is barely used, despite his tremendous presence. "Everybody has a story," says Slack to Riley, but like the guarded Riley, this time around Romero isn't telling it.
But if zombie carnage is what you're about, then for you Romero delivers with plenty of playful, dare I say it, "overkill." If that's your cup of tea, then like your undead heroes, you are bound to "eat it up"!
The Warrior (2001)
A must-see adventure drama!
A troubled warrior named Lafcadia (Irfan Khan) tires of being sent by his arrogant lord to murder innocent people in the villages of feudal India. During a typical raid to a village in Rajasthan over unpaid taxes, the conscientious warrior has a mystical experience, and renounces his violent life. Defying his feudal obligations, Lafcadia begins a long journey to the mountains in search of himself, joined by a teenage thief and an old magic woman. Lafcadia soon realizes that the same corrupt men who used to fight alongside him have pursued him, and are bent on killing him.
Though this classic tale of a violent man trying to escape his past has been told in many film genres and countries, (Léon, Unforgiven, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon), the Warrior is a stand out with its breathtaking scenery, beautiful costumes and moving performances.
Undertow (2004)
David Gordon Green's UNDERTOW is a poetic, atmospheric thriller with touches of the surreal.
After escaping his haunted past and settling deep in rustic Georgia, a widower, John (Durmot Mulroney) carves out a simple life with his sons Chris (Jamie Bell) and Tim (Devon Alan). With the arrival of John's estranged outlaw brother Deel (Josh Lucas), this image of Southern Gothic unravels as the bitter convict seeks to rectify a deadly old grudge, and violently retrieve his half of their father's "cursed" gold coins.
Set in the 1970's, UNDERTOW is an homage to films of that era (Deliverance and Badlands). Even the tinkling score by Phillip Glass is reminiscent of 70's horror films. It heightens the suspense as the boys' desperately tear through the woods with their reclaimed family treasure, the devilish Deel in hot pursuit. Here the story morphs into a coming-of-age film, as the once rebellious Chris is faced with taking care of his sickly younger brother.
Using simple, cinematic storytelling without the sterile polish of the Hollywood formula, UNDERTOW embraces the grandiose classic themes of revenge, greed and murder, and humbly resets them in a green, idyllic world blemished with the pig stys and ramshackle houses of rural poverty. The quiet drama that unfolds is slow-paced, but thoroughly absorbing, supported fully by the superbly realized characters. Though it may not be the "feel good" movie of the year, Undertow is a well-made, well-acted film, and well worth seeing.
The Island (2005)
A Utopian society comes into question when one of the inhabitants discovers a terrible secret.
In The Island, director Michael Bay (Armageddon, Pearl Harbor) creates a fast-paced and exciting sci-fi action adventure - one of the best of the summer.
Ewen McGregor (Star Wars Episodes I, II, & III, Moulin Rouge) portrays Lincoln Six Echo, a man who lives in a self contained Utopian facility of the mid-21st century where food, exercise, and even emotions are monitored to protect the inhabitants from outside nuclear contamination. Only those lucky enough to win the lottery are chosen to live on the Island, the last uncontaminated place in the world.
After discovering a flying insect thriving in a restricted area, Lincoln begins to question the contamination story, and soon discovers that the lottery is a lie, and that the winners are subject to a sinister reward.
When his friend Jordan Two Delta (Scarlett Johansson, Lost in Translation, The Girl with the Pearl Earring), wins the lottery, Lincoln rescues her and together they escape to the outside world. To protect his interests, facility owner Sean Bean (National Treasure, Lord of the Rings trilogy) hires a security force headed by Djimon Hounsou (Gladiator, In America) to hunt down and kill the escapees as they desperately search for help and answers.
Overall this is a well-made film with an excellent story, believable characters and amazing action sequences (including a vehicle reminiscent of the swamp speeders from Return of the Jedi). The second half of the film is the weakest and perhaps would have worked better as a sequel. Newly introduced characters and story lines are respectively one-dimensional and under-developed. The remarkable talents of Michael Clark Duncan, sadly underused in the first half of the film, could have been revisited here. But despite this, and the fact that Bay gets hokey Hollywood with the final scenes, we can forgive him, for the ride getting there was well worth it.