DAN'S PAPERS, October 12, 2007 Page 67 www.danshamptons.com
Mike Vilensky’s
MINI – MOVIE REVIEWS Elizabeth: The Golden Age Cate Blanchett reprises her role as England’s Queen Elizabeth, as the poised royal woman struggles with all the forces that can be squeezed into an epic: volatile international politics, domestic conspiracy theories and attempts to overthrow her, and a passionate romance with explorer Sir Walton Raleigh (played by Clive Owen). Academy buzz is already brewing on this long-awaited sequel. We Own The Night Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Walhberg play brothers who took decidedly different paths in life – one a nightclub owner, the other a police officer. But a dangerous confrontation with mobsters causes the brothers to reunite, and, in between near fatal accidents, shoot-outs, and confusing, complex plotlines, perhaps reconcile.
In the Valley of Elah “Crash” director Paul Haggis is back with a politically complex period peace from all the way back to 2004 when, as he was making Oscar-nominated films, a family lost their son, a soldier in Iraq. As both grief and anger set in, another seemingly unrelated cast of characters connect through life’s twists and turns as they try and uncover the truth about a soldier’s death. Will probably make you cry. Why Did I Get Married Tyler Perry asks the question that many a young spouse has posed at some point, as adultery ensues between four couples on a week-long vacation in the mountains. While that sounds like the set-up for a much seedier film than this one, Perry continues his strange current cult status with Janet Jackson as a costar in this reflective comedy. Michael Clayton Another thriller by the director of the Bourne trilogy, this time starring George Clooney as a lawyer who gets caught up in another complicated political plot,
but with a bit more of both style and substance. The Heartbreak Kid The Farrelly Brothers and Ben Stiller all try to prove that they’re still funny in this re-make about a hesitant newlywed who begins to regret tying the knot with a seemingly perfect woman while, on his honeymoon, he falls in love with a different woman. Well he does not sound like a very good spouse to me. The movie has had some controversy for a crude sense of humor that only helps this middling romantic comedy. Feel The Noise A young man from the South Bronx dreams of making it big as a rap star, until a run-in with local thugs forces him to hide in Puerto Rico with the father he never knew. Enough said.
The Kingdom An elite FBI team sent to find a killer in a hostile country follows a similar theme to many other movies this week, as well as a similar pattern, and adds nothing new but Jamie Foxx and Chris Cooper to the mix, who seem sort of disappointed that Clive Owen took Shoot ‘Em Up. The Hunting Party Richard Gere and Terrence Howard star in a film about two badboy reporters who attempt to score an interview with one of the world’s most dangerous war criminals, a Bosnian fellow based on a real man. As the two risk their lives and get closer than the CIA ever got, it becomes clear that, if nothing else, journalism is a way more exciting profession than is usually depicted on screen.