V for Vendetta

Against the futuristic landscape of totalitarian Britain, a young working-class woman named Evey is rescued from a life-and-death situation by a masked man known only as "V." Profoundly complex, V is at once literary, flamboyant, tender and intellectual, a man dedicated to freeing his fellow citizens from those who have terrorized them into compliance.

Well this one is going to ruffle some feathers for sure. From the obvious parallels between the world of V and today's political environment to the assumed glorification of acts of "terrorism" to the portrayal of the "voice of the state" as an ultra-conservative, ultra-"patriotic" pundit, V for Vendetta will certainly get negative responses. Make no mistake, this movie has all the political relevancy of Good Night and Good Luck but is so much more entertaining. I was amazed by Natalie Portman's acting in this film. Her character of Evey is so well done and so easy to connect with that you feel everything that she feels within the first 20 minutes. The part of this film that hit home for me is the "voice of the people" who is a government-sponsored "religious" pundit who tells the people what to like and dislike in the name of patriotism. How many people in this country already let people like that think for them? Some will complain that this movie glorifies terrorism, but if you look a bit harder and see the real story that is being told here this movie glorifies freedom. V is shown to be obviously insane but his insanity and his thirst for vengence is not because he is a bad person, but rather that corrupt, evil men in the government made him what he is. Evey says it best when she points out that because of the monstrousity done to him, they created a monster. V is not the hero of this film, the people are. V was nothing more than a wakeup call to a people oppressed by a facist government. It was the people who stood for their freedoms and Evey as the particular example given that were shown as the "good guys".

Like the Matrix, violence is where this movie gets its R-rating. There is an attempted rape shown but nothing graphic. Some nudity in the form of corpses is shown.

My only complaint about this movie from a political standpoint is that it was obvious that they were trying too hard to tie it in to the political climate in this country. I don't understand why the filmmakers trust the public to be able to see what is obviously written between the lines regarding who was the "hero" of this film and not trust them to draw their own conclusions regarding the parallel to today. The entertainment value is flawless, yet in a movie that is so obviously trying to send a message, I have to take the way that message is delivered into account. It seems like everyone has a strong opinion on this movie, however I encourage my readers to disregard that, see the movie for yourself and come to your own conclusions.

4.8 out of 5

16 Blocks

All he wanted to do was go home and get a drink. But at 8:02 a.m., hungover NYPD detective Jack Mosley is assigned a seemingly simple task. Petty criminal Eddie Bunker is set to testify before a grand jury at 10:00 a.m. and needs to be taken from lock-up to the courthouse, 16 blocks away. What Jack doesn't realize is that there are many crooked cops who don't want Eddie to ever get there.

Well spring seems like a good month for regurgitated ideas apparently. Bruce Willis as a disgruntled cop, what a surprise! That being said, I enjoyed his performance in this film, though it's not a big stretch for him. What really surprised me was Mos Def's performance. While I'm not a big fan of "musicians" playing actor, Mos Def really did a good job as Eddie Bunker and had me really caring about what happened to him towards the end. I also really enjoyed the way that the director made you think something was about to happen bad to the main characters and then it is revealed that they fooled everyone.

Language and violence are what gives this its PG-13 rating. Though really the language more than the violence.

I was surprised at this movie as it really did almost feel like more of a drama than an action movie. The characters were very well developed and you really cared what happened to them toward the end. While breathing a bit of fresh air into a tired genre, 16 blocks is enjoyable.


3.8 out of 5

Eight Below

The fierce Antarctic winter is just setting in when an intrepid team of explorers and scientists on a research mission-survival guide Jerry Shepard, his best friend and cartographer Cooper and the rugged geologist Davis--just narrowly escape a fatal accident, thanks to their steadfast team of eight skilled sled dogs. Forced to evacuate, the men must leave the beloved dogs behind in the frozen wilds--with a promise they will return. But when the storm of the century approaches, cutting off all means of travel, the dogs are stranded. Now, as the intelligent, courageous dogs--including noble pack leader Maya, rambunctious rebel Shorty and rising young alpha-in-training Max--fight to make it through the most unforgiving winter on the planet, the heartbroken Jerry is driven to mount a seemingly impossible rescue mission, aided by a beautiful and adventurous bush pilot, Katie. Held together only by unwavering bonds of friendship, the humans and the dogs alike make a remarkable journey of grit, endurance and belief to find one another again in this spectacular but perilous land.

I love the movie Iron Will and I thought this movie might be like it. However, to my surprise it isn't at all alike. This movie focuses on the struggle of the dogs themselves rather than the people and that's why it succeeds. Paul Walker does fine as Jerry Shepard, the guide who trained the dogs. Thankfully, he is really more of a support role to the real story of how 8 sled dogs survived (or didn't in some cases) in the Antarctic winter. Eight Below is a great story of bravery, teamwork and sacrifice that people of any age can enjoy.

Only one item of note to parents in this PG rated movie. There is a scene that caused everyone in the theater to jump and may be a bit much for small children.

In the lull between the Christmas movie season and the summer movie season, Eight Below is a breath of fresh air for families. It's been a while since I saw a movie that I really enjoy but this is one of them. A word of warning to dog lovers, while this movie centers on dogs it also centers on the pain and struggle the dogs go through. Congrats to Disney on giving us one of the best family movies in a while.

4.6 out of 5

Firewall

Computer security specialist Jack Stanfield works for the Seattle-based Landrock Pacific Bank. A trusted top-ranking executive, he has built his career and reputation on designing the most effective anti-theft computer systems in the industry.

When I see Harrison Ford play so many various roles from Star Wars to Patriot Games to What Lies Beneath, I wonder why he feels that he belongs in the same tired role we've seen him in half a dozen times. I really did enjoy this movie for what it was, but there was absolutely nothing outstanding about it. It's the typical "Harrison Ford's family gets in trouble, he saves them, everything's ok" formula he's done so many times. It's just not done particularly well here. I did enjoy how he got back at the terrorists though. It's an aspect of the movie that will be very satisfying to audiences.

Typical language and violence that you'd expect from a PG-13 thriller. No sexual content or nudity.

Harrison Ford has another action movie to add to the long list. It's unfortunate, however, that given his history and influence in Hollywood that he can't be a part of something a bit more memorable.

3.5 out of 5