We Own the Night

"It's better to be judged by twelve, then carried by six"

This film had alot of potential, Joaquin, Marky-Mark, even the great Robert Duvall, but however most of this talent goes to waste on a dull script and poor direction. Sorta like an opened can of soda that has been sitting in your fridge too long; you come back to a sip of refreshment and all you get is a flat dose of syrup and sugar.

That's kinda how this film was.

Pheonix plays Robert, the more rebellious of two brothers, who has decided to forsake his family and get into some illicit business (drugs, clubs, and the mob). His brother Joe (Mark Wahlberg) has decided to follow in his father's (Robert Duvall) footsteps and become part of the NY Police Department. When it is learned that a drug dealer has infiltrated into one of Robert's nightclubs, Joe will let nothing, not even his own brother get in his way.

The most annoyning thing about this movie is far and away Eva Mendes, who still hasn't shown anyone anwhere she can act (see these other Mendes classics now available to torment you: Ghost Rider, 2 Fast 2 Furious, and the Steven Seagal masterpiece: Exit Wounds). She spends most of the movie rolling around on beds, and putting everyone's life in danger because of her stupid non-chalant attitude towards the bad guys. Pheonix and Wahlberg are both good actors, but they aren't given really any range in this movie. Wahlberg tries to puff his shoulders up to make himself bigger, everytime Pheonix enters the room. Pheonix's character on the otherhand tends to make very large life-changing decisions with relative and unrealistic ease.

All the characters have to face choices that will not only determine the rest of their lives, but also their relationships with each other. Each character has to deal with the consequences that his actions may cause. Sometimes those choices can bleed over into the lives of your family...

Spoilerish warning:

The upsurdity of the New York Police Department making a known criminal an honorary officer, and then letting him run into a burning field to shoot at a criminal who they want kept alive is beyond apsurd. Also lettting Amada run around town doing whatever she wanted? Hello? Security? Wake Up!

******
6 out of 10 stars

Eastern Promises

"He is no driver, He's the Undertaker."

Eastern Promises was one of those films that really had nothing spectacular to it, it is just ordinary people under ordinary circumstances, but that is what gives the film its genuineness. Director David Cronenberg (The Fly, A History of Violence), doesn't take to the hotspots of London like most filmmakers shooting there would, but rather opts for the subtle places, the places where characters can fully develop. The grunge, the damp, the underground world of the Russian mob.

The story follows Anna (played by Naomi Watts), who is a nurse that is greeted one night to pregnant mother dying on the operating table. The child survives and the only information that Anna can go by is a book written in Russian, that Anna needs help translating. On the other side of the law is Nikolai (played by Academy Awards nominee - Viggo Mortenson). Who is trying to climb the ladder of the Russian mob. When Anna asks a man to translate it (Semyon, who is in fact also in the Russian mob), he discovers that the information in the book can be incriminating against him, thus he seeks to destroy the book.

Overall the movie doesn't have alot of action in it (okay there is that sauna/bath house fight sequence, and the part where Nikolai goes "Sweeney Todd" on another guy) but mostly the film dwells on the web of back-stabbing between, Nikolai, Semyon, and Semyon's son Kirill. The structure for the story also follows a weird format, there really is no third act. The main character is never faced with a decision, but rather the decision is made for them.

Is this Cronenberg's best film? Most would tell you "no". But in all of his films the viewer is set in a world that has the basis of reality. The way Cronenberg tells his stories is never boring, but in some way you have to ask yourself "What is Cronenberg trying to tells us by this film?"




*******
7 out of 10 stars

Howl's Moving Castle

"Hmmm, you've got quite a nasty spell on you too, huh? Seems everyone in this family's got problems"

This is the beautifully crafted story from the imagination of Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke). This story tells of a young girl named Sophie who is cursed by a jealous witch (voiced by Lauren Bacall) and transformed into an old lady. Sophie must find a cure with the help of Howl (voiced by Christian Bale) and his mystical and elusive Castle, which has the ability to walk and transport around.

With a war being waged in the land, Howl is afraid to get involved and thus spends his time wandering about in his moving castle. When Sophie falls in love with Howl both characters are willing to put everything at risk for the life of the other. This film's true delight is in the supporting cast of misfits that live in the castle. There is the castle's operator, Calcifer, a blob of fire that has witty sense of humor (voiced marvelously by Billy Crystal), who is tied very closely to Howl.
There is the young wizard boy, Markl, who helps to run Howl's potion shop. The speechless Turniphead, whose love for Sophie is evident even without talking. And the driven dog Heen, who actions alone garner a laugh.

The film mixes traditional animation and computer-generated background and runs approximately 2-hours. Fans of other Miyazaki films will love it, as well as anyone who is a fan of Monster's Inc, Finding Nemo, or The Incredibles.


*********
9 out of 10