Face/Off (1997) (R)

Face/Off (1997) (R)
Directed by John Woo
Starring: John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Joan Allen, Alessandro Nivola

Daughter Says:

Face/Off has the story inside the title. The title is a double meaning in itself. Face off, meaning two people versus each other. Second meaning is much different from the first. Face off, meaning you take the person's face off, literally. Maybe I should tell you how I got to the second meaning.

Face/Off tells the story of a cop (John Travolta) verses a hardened criminal (Nicolas Cage). John Travolta starts out playing a cop named Sean Archer. Nicolas Cage plays Castor Troy who is out to get Sean Archer. In Troy's attempt to murder Archer he accidentally kills Archer's baby boy. Now destined to get his revenge Archer can think of nothing more than to put Troy behind bars.

Finally caught in a crazy air chase, Troy is finally put to justice (so we think). As far as Archer was concerned his conscience was clear, for the most part. Until he finds out that Troy had planted a bomb in a building somewhere, but the police force has no idea where. Now Archer has to decide between risking his life and his family's going under cover as Castor Troy himself, or never finding the justice he needs to free this guilt from him.

He decides to live life on the dangerous side. They take Nicolas Cage's face and put it on John Travolta's. So the roles are officially switched. John Travolta is now the bad guy (like it should be) and Nicolas Cage is the good guy. Key the double meaning "face off".

I won't give too much away, but I really liked this movie. I've never seen a John Woo movie, but this one gave me a good first impression. It was fun and action packed. I loved many of the chase scenes and the meaning behind many parts.

I must tell you my favorite part! At one point John Travolta (Bad) finds where Nicolas Cage (good) is hiding. Travolta and the cop squad raid the place and are all shooting things up and cool stuff like that. Cage is running away and Travolta is following. (This is the cool part) They get into this circular room with mirrors in the middle all around. Cage is in the middle and Travolta is on the outside. At one point they are both facing the same mirror across from each other. They point their guns at their reflections. They're talking to each other, but looking at their own reflections. I found that really cool, because they look like each other's enemy. I just found that really awesome.

I highly recommend this movie to anyone who loves an action packed and double meaning kind of stuff you should really watch this movie

Rating for Face/Off: ****.

Daddy Says:

I've been a fan of John Woo movies for many years. The first movie I saw directed by him was The Killer, one of his great Hong Kong action movies I still admire greatly to this day. As a director, John Woo has several trademarks that he likes to put in his movies: doves flying, people leaping in slow motion usually firing two pistols simultaneously, stuff blowing up in slow motion in pretty kinetic patterns, and of course, his most iconic image, two people holding guns on each other at such close range that their arms are crossed over each others. Many of these images have been copied by other filmmakers, but only John Woo uses them to such great effect.

I admire the acting of both Nicolas Cage and John Travolta in this film. Not only do they have to play their own roles, but both are required to play the other person's part as well. It's fascinating watching them play their nemesis, literally wearing his face as a mask, while still convincing us that underneath they are still their original selves. It is an incredibly difficult acting challenge and they both pull it off wonderfully.

Yes, you can quibble about the science aspect of the story, how it shouldn't be possible for two people to switch faces so easily, but I recommend setting that logical thinking aside and just enjoy a great story, along with some really great stunt work, in what in my opinion is John Woo's best American-made movie.

Rating for Face/Off: ****3/4.

In the Loop (2009) (R)

In the Loop (2009) (R)
Directed by Armando Iannucci
Starring: Peter Capaldi, Tom Hollander, Gina McKee, James Gandolfini

Daddy Says:

In the Loop is based off a BBC comedy called The Thick of It. Having never seen the original comedy, I can't say how this compares. I can say that this is one of the funniest movies I've seen in many years.

The movie tracks the power players in the corridors of British and American power. Through lies, misunderstandings, good and bad intelligence gathering, and public relations blunders, we track a fictional crisis in the Middle East that grows over a few days. Though the entire thing is played for laughs, the movie shows how easily the slightest of things can affect the course of history.

Peter Capaldi, playing the same role as he did in the original show, steals the show as the continuously foul-mouthed, frustrated Director of Communications for the British Prime Minister. His use of grammatically proper English combined with some of the most innovative cursing I've heard kept me in stitches. He gets even more profane in the faces of people who won't use profanity (one character actually spells out his curse words replacing middle letters with the word "stars" when he says them, i.e. "he's full of S-star-star-T").

In fact, the movie is chock-full of great dialogue that I never quite knew where it was going next. As an example, a guy sees a girl that he once knew. He calls out to her and tells her to give him a call sometime. After she's left, he turns to his female companion and remarks that she probably doesn't even remember him. "That is one of the side-effects of Rohypnol", he's told.

If you're a fan of British comedy, In the Loop is perfect for you. It reminds me a lot of Fawlty Towers in terms of quick pace and well-defined characters. Be warned of two things: First, that the dialogue goes very fast (you may find yourself having to rewind to catch some of the more intricate bits); and second, that there is an "S-star-star-T"-load of cussing in this movie.

Rating for In the Loop: ****3/4.

Daughter Says:

Once again another disappointing movie came my way. Maybe it was just me and my unknowingness caused me not to understand a bit of In the Loop. This movie just wasn't funny for me.

I had many problems with this movie. Let's begin with the speed of it. It was too fast. That's all I have to say. Just kidding, I'll go into detail for you. I'm sure it would have been absolutely hilarious if I could catch a single word they said. Not only were they talking too fast, they were using words that I didn't quite catch or don't understand yet. Another problem I had with the way they talked was they were in Britain, which means they had English accents. So now on top of having extreme trouble catching up with them they were also hard to understand.

Next problem was I didn't quite get what they were talking about. There was something about this guy saying that diarrhea was like war. Then missing up and saying that there was no war in the future. (Apparently that would be a bad thing to say) Now the Americans are involved and I'm already lost. The story line was hard for me to follow. I didn't know diarrhea was such a big deal across the universe and how war was involved.

So this movie was not meant for teens apparently. So I'm going to have to say avoid until you are older.

Rating for In The Loop: **.

Metropolis (2001) (PG-13)

Metropolis (2001) (PG-13)
Directed by Rintaro

Daddy Says:

This isn't the Fritz Lang classic from the 1920s, this is an anime film based on a Japanese comic. I haven't seen too many anime films, mostly those by Hayao Miyazaki, although my first anime was Akira which I thought was incredible. This movie approaches that level of greatness, but falls just short of the mark.

Metropolis tells the story of a future society where humans and robots co-exist. During a speech by the city's leader, Duke Red, at the opening of the new skyscraper named Ziggurat, a disrupter is violently shot and killed. But as it turns out, it was only a robot. Viewing the proceedings are Private Detective Shunsaku Ban and his young nephew, Kenichi, both of whom have just arrived in Metropolis on the trail of a case. Their investigation leads them to an underground lab where a fire breaks out. Kenichi rescues a young girl named Tima, who is unaware that she is a robot, secretly commissioned by Duke Red and given enough power to rule the entire world. Meanwhile, Duke's agent called Rock is looking for her as well, but with an entirely different agenda.

Metropolis weaves a complex narrative, but it isn't difficult to follow along. I watched it with the original Japanese dialogue and English subtitles, and had no problem telling who was who or what was happening. The animation itself was spectacular. My biggest problem was with the choice of music throughout the film. Most of it was light jazz, and during the climax of the movie the soundtrack breaks out Ray Charles singing "I Can't Stop Loving You". The music really doesn't go with the distinctly Japanese animation and took me out of the moment, but not enough that I can't recommend it. If you can find it at your local video store, definitely check it out.

Rating for Metropolis: ****1/2.

Daughter Says:

Metropolis is definitely not your normal cartoon. It takes a city of wonder and beauty, and puts you in the scariest part of town. Riots, war, and mostly violence takes place in this good movie.

I really loved the story line in general. It took me on an adventure of a life time and shows what really goes on in a perfect world. It's strange how technology has taken over lately. Maybe that will be us in the future. I also could relate to the characters, even though it wasn't in English. Half the time I stopped reading the subtitles or just couldn't finish the sentence up (I'm a very slow reader), and I could understand the story perfectly.

I kind of liked the animation in Metropolis. In certain parts, the art was so well drawn it was almost realistic in its own way. But there were other times where I just couldn't stand it. I like to think of animation as trying to portray the real world but in a cartoon way. So in this case if the setting appears to be almost realistic then the people should appear almost realistic. Metropolis failed to do this. They made the scenery look amazing but the people looked really faked. Duke Red, for instance, had a huge nose that looked like it belonged on a parrot. Rock had hair that looked plastic on his forehead. Who wears their hair like that anywhere these days? It was like watching someone who wanted to be on Grease but couldn't get the part.

Other than that one complication the movie overall was rather well done. I don't know what Dad is talking about the music not matching the film for. I understood why they chose to use jazz music. It was the Japanese version of a mystery film so cheesy jazz music should fit perfectly. I'm surprised they didn't have the Pink Panther's theme song in this movie at least once. That would have cracked me up. I was already laughing when the film broke into a chorus of "I Can't Stop Loving You".

Overall this movie deserves a good rate, but I can't get past certain problems. Maybe it was my high expectations for it because of Akira or Hayao Miyazaki films. It just wasn't one of my favorites. Oh well, I think anyone can enjoy this film anyway. So check it out!

Rating for Metropolis: ***.

The Son (2002) (Not Rated)

The Son (2002) (Not Rated)
Directed by Jean-Pierre Dardenne & Luc Dardenne
Starring: Olivier Gourmet, Morgan Marinne, Isabella Soupart

Daddy Says:

One of our readers suggested this movie for us to review. I'd never heard of it before, and since it's a foreign film I'd wager most of you haven't either. You most likely won't find it at your local video store, but it is available from Blockbuster.com and Netflix, and I highly recommend adding it to your queue.

The Son is an intensely focused film, putting us squarely behind the main character of Olivier (Olivier Gourmet). He is in every scene, and we get so close to him that we can see he has a small bump behind his right ear. We follow him wherever he goes, we see what he sees. But we are not inside his head, we cannot hear his thoughts, and because of this we are often wondering what is actually going on.

The movie doesn't try to shoehorn in expository dialogue. Events happen in his life, and we may not know what is going on, but he and the other people in the scene do and they act accordingly. Our presence in the film is as an observer, and we are allowed to make our own judgments on what is happening. And we find that our judgments are often wrong.

I'm being deliberately vague on the events of the film. This is a movie you must experience for yourself, and I would have hated having it spoiled for me for my first viewing. One scene I must describe. Olivier is driving to a destination with a young boy in the passenger seat. Olivier knows more about this boy's past than the boy thinks he does. He questions the boy, intensely, about his short life, the things he's done, the regrets he has about the things he's done. So harsh is his interrogation that he misses his turnoff for the destination. Olivier stops the car and begins to backup, turning to look right at the camera which has been in the back seat the entire time watching this interrogation, and he says "I've gone too far". He's talking about missing the turnoff, but I think he also is aware of the double meaning implied.

This is a brilliant movie, unlike any other film I've ever seen. I am very grateful to our reader who suggested it for us, without whom I would never have thought to watch it. Don't let the subtitles scare you away from experiencing this incredible film.

Rating for The Son: ****1/2.

Daughter Says:

I must start out by saying don't listen to Dad because I think he might be a little loopy in the head from this film. I do appreciate the reader recommending this movie for us though. Not because I liked this movie or because this will my second low review, but because I now know to stay away from this film.

There were just so many things wrong about this movie. I didn't like the breathing down the main character's back the whole time. I felt rude and annoying; also a little claustrophobic. Another problem is that I didn't understand any of the movie. I didn't see the point of most of the scenes in this movie. I also hated the ending and I don't say hate a lot. It was just down right awful. Who cuts off movies so abruptly like that?

There was nothing I could find enjoyable about this film. If I had to choose a good part of this movie it would have to be the kid who played the son. He was good at being the character and an amazing climber. But other than that I just didn't enjoy it.

Rating for The Son: 1/2 star.

Witness (1985) (R)

Witness (1985) (R)
Directed by Peter Weir
Starring: Harrison Ford, Kelly McGillis, Alexander Godunov, Lukas Haas

Daddy Says:

I loved this movie when it came out in 1985. It was one of the first movies I actually purchased to watch at home on these things called VHS video tapes (Google them if you have no idea what I'm talking about, kids). I thought my daughter might like to see it, and since I hadn't seen the movie in at least twenty years, I thought it might be nice to revisit it and see if it stands up today.

Witness is the story of an Amish family. The mother (Kelly McGillis) has recently lost her husband (the film begins with his wake). She and her son (Lukas Haas) are travelling to the big city to visit her sister. The boy, while using the bathroom, becomes a witness to a homicide; the one murderer we get a good look at is played by Danny Glover in an early film performance. The homicide detective assigned to the case, John Book (Harrison Ford), needs the boy to identify the murderer, but when things start to go badly, he is forced to take the family back to Amish country to hide them and ends up hiding out there himself. From there, the film becomes a combination of murder mystery and fish-out-of-water comedy as Book tries to blend in in a community he knows nothing about. Deep emotions form between Book and the mother, but being from two different worlds, will they be able to stay together or is their relationship doomed from the start? And what of the villains looking to eliminate the witness to their crime?

As I stated before, I loved this movie, and still do to this day. I think it holds up remarkably well, giving us a peek into a culture most of us are unfamiliar with, and to some extent actually glamorizing it. Yes, the Amish lack things like cell phones, color TVs, and fancy cars, but the movie manages to make that all seem like a good thing; a much simpler life without all the headaches the modern world brings. Of course, if I were Amish, the chances of you reading this review right now would be about zero. I wonder if the Amish are aware of the Internet? Guess I'll have to Google it to find out.

Rating for Witness: ****3/4.

Daughter Says:

Once again I must disagree with Dad on this one. It was a waste of my time and most likely a waste of his money. We could have been watching a movie that had a good point to its story line instead of a random love relationship that went absolutely nowhere.

I liked the story line in general, where a cop and the witness has to go into hiding. But the relationship between cop and mother was ridiculous. They so didn't need to put that part in there. I don't know what you would have put in the script instead but that was not needed at all. There was just one more thing I liked about this movie and that was Harrison Ford was in it. I love him in a lot of movies, but this was a disaster in the making.

The overall review of this movie, in my opinion, is it was awful. I hope to never see it again. But if you like pointless movies then you should watch it at your own risk.

Rating for Witness: *.

Blade II (2002) (R)

Blade II (2002) (R)
Directed by Guillermo Del Toro
Starring: Wesley Snipes, Kris Kristofferson, Leonor Varela, Ron Perlman

Daughter Says:

Blade 2... where to begin?

The basis of the story is Blade is out to get his master after being stolen from vampires. Soon after the awesome rescue mission an intruder alert came on at Blade's headquarters. The intruders are none other than vampires. Blade, sworn enemy to all vampires, is now asked for a truce. So you think. There is a new type of vampire on the loose that is after not only humans but vampires. What should Blade do now? He joins up with a team of vampires, meant to track him down, to stop these disease spreading blood suckers.

I won't give too much away but there is a lot of back stabbing in this movie; figuratively and literally. I could never tell who was the evil, back stabber or the best buddy forever. I also loved the effects in this movie. When a vampire got stabbed it was so amazing. So much color and effects to it. That really made my day. The only problem I had with the effects was when Blade went all ninja on some vampire butts. It was so unrealistic. Special effects can only go so far with me.

I really enjoyed the storyline. I could follow it easily and I really felt connected with Blade. The makeup in this movie was really good too. The hybrid vampire was so cool looking to me. I was really creeped out by him. I felt like I was watching a Guillermo del Toro masterpiece. He really did a great job on this movie.

I highly recommend this movie to everyone who loves a good action almost unrealistic film. Plus you don't even have to watch the first movie to understand this one. What a plus!

Rating for Blade II: ****1/2.

Daddy Says:

I remember liking this movie a lot more the first time I saw it then I did this time. We skipped over the first movie in this series because we both like Guillermo del Toro movies (Pan's Labyrinth, Hellboy II). But this one isn't as good as either of those.

First, the good. Wesley Snipes as the titular (there's that word he likes to use again) character is a complete badass. I loved watching him fight vampires in hand-to-hand combat and with swords, or just running and shooting silver bullets at them turning them into fiery ashes. Kris Kristofferson returns as Blade's mentor, with a scripting sleight-of-hand since he seemed to kill himself in the first film. Leonor Varela is the leader of the vampire troops, and also daughter to the "vampire king", and del Toro regular Ron Perlman plays one of the fighters who gets in Blade's face and ends up with an explosive device attached to the back of his head for his troubles. Guillermo del Toro does a very good job at directing this fast-paced and funny action (not horror) movie.

But then there's the bad: namely the script by David S. Goyer. It relies heavily on a lot of very cliched stories. There's the "good guy and bad guy must team up to fight a bigger bad guy" story that has been done in multiple John Woo movies, and to much greater effect. The main villain turns out to be doing it all for the "glory of his race", the reasoning Hitler used behind his master race. There's the old Frankenstein tale of the monster creation coming back to take his revenge on his creator. The script even tries to shoehorn in the story of the Prodigal Son. It's all too much.

It's hard to decide whether to recommend this movie or not. So I'm going to go right down the middle and let you decide for yourself if you want to see it or not. I didn't hate it, but it could have been better.

Rating for Blade II: ***

Rescue Dawn (2007) (PG-13)

Rescue Dawn (2007) (PG-13)
Directed by Werner Herzog
Starring: Christian Bale, Steve Zahn, Jeremy Davies, Marshall Bell

Daddy Says:

Christian Bale stars in Rescue Dawn, a tale of survival, both against fellow man and nature. He plays Dieter Dengler, a German-born pilot who in his first top secret mission gets shot down prior to the official start of the Vietnam War. He is quickly captured and sent to a brutal POW camp, where his captors are often as hungry as he and his fellow prisoners are. He must convince his comrades that they can make a successful escape from their harsh conditions, and then actually survive the jungle after they do.

I often felt as if I were trapped in the prison camp right along with the actors. Christian Bale immerses himself in his role. He does so well, I did not think of him as Batman even once. His co-stars Jeremy Davies (currently on TV's Lost) and Steve Zahn are remarkable as well. I'll probably never be able to watch Zahn in any other role after this one without thinking about him saying "My feet are cold."

The cinematography in this film was extremely well done. The lush greens of the jungle, the grey of the overcast skies, all contribute to creating an unforgiving atmosphere in which the participants are held captive, not by the bamboo fences surrounding them, but by the mountainous terrain itself.

Rescue Dawn is not always a pleasant ride, but it says a lot about what one man can accomplish when faced with incredible odds to overcome. It is an excellent movie.

Rating for Rescue Dawn: ****1/2

Daughter Says:

Rescue Dawn is a movie that takes you through a dangerous mission in Vietnam. The only problem is not only is Dieter Dengler (Christian Bale) caught by the other side, but the Americans are unaware that he is still alive. This little dilemma gave a whole other twist to this story. Dengler was not just having to face enemy or starvation, but he also had to face his friends.

This movie took on a turn I never would have suspected. At one point it had me saying, "Oh My God!" It had many jaw dropping moments that caught me off-guard. I also found the actors amazing in this movie. I was surprised at how skinny some of the characters could get. It was freaky. Another great effect would have to be the surrounding area. It was beautiful but dangerous. I was always waiting for some giant monster/ animal to jump out and attack them.

I really enjoyed this suspenseful, action movie, and I think anyone who enjoys getting caught off-guard and second guessing things should really watch this movie.

Rating for Rescue Dawn: ****1/2.