The Fountain: Cotton candy for the mind

Dozens of words could be used to describe the latest film from director and co-writerDarren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream), but sadly "good" isn’t one of them.

The Fountain, which stars Hugh Jackman and Aronofsky’s fiancé Rachel Weisz, centers around Izzi (Weisz), who has a brain tumor, and her husband, Tomas (Jackman), a doctor who will stop at nothing to save her from dying.

While this may sound like your typical chick flick, it isn’t. The Fountain is made up of three narratives. One takes place in a book Weisz’s character is writing on her deathbed, where she is the Queen of Spain, looking to find the Fountain of Youth with the help of a conquistador version of Jackman; the second features the couple’s battle with the crippling disease; and the futuristic narrative, where a monk-like Jackman and a big tree travel through a golden-colored nebula in a giant bubble.

As the film jumps between these narratives, Tomas becomes more insecure about the possibility of losing his wife while Izzi comes to terms with her own mortality.

As the film’s title implies, through this crisis, and the three timelines, they are on a quest to find eternal life.

The message of The Fountain will mean different things to different people, but probably for the wrong reasons. By the time you think you figure out what Aronofsky, is trying to say; it makes no sense again.

All is not lost, though. One of the film’s big victories is the eye-popping visuals. The conquistador narrative is short, but features some awesome artistic aspects while the "dream" narrative is truly stunning.

The second positive with The Fountain is the acting of Jackman and Weisz, who each put in fantastic performances despite a weak script and a limited amount of character development. But performances and stunning visuals are not enough to make The Fountain the magnum opus that it wants to be. Instead, it ends up being more like cotton candy; it tastes sweet but ultimately, the bulk of it is just a bunch of empty air.

At a run-time of 96 minutes, The Fountain is never dull, but is almost always confusing. People going to this film expecting, as the film’s marketing would have you believe, a classic love story that spans the centuries, are going to be sorely disappointed. However, if you want to pay $8 to essentially experience the film equivalent of an acid trip (I'm assuming ), then The Fountain is certainly worth a try.

Grade: C-

Originally published on November 28, 2006
© Copyright 2006 Gateway

Gateway Review: Best/Worst Scary Movies Ever

Top 5 Horror Movies

5. Haute Tension (2003) - Directed by Alexandre Aja
Haute Tension is a French horror film that I heard about through word of mouth in 2004. According to my favorite horror movie Web sites and blogs, it was supposed to be a one of the best horror movies to come out years, so obviously I went to check it out. The film not only lived up to the hype, but also surpassed my wildest expectations as the first film since I first saw Jurassic Park in 1993 to scare the living hell out of me. Haute Tension is a gritty, bloody and suspenseful slasher film that grabs you by the pit of your stomach from the first 20 minutes and never lets go.

4. The Blair Witch Project (1999) - Directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez
The Blair Witch Project is a film that people are either going to love or hate; I'm obviously in the "love it" group. What can I say? I'm a sucker for the minimalist approach they used and it probably helps having a personal experience of being lost in the woods to make this movie's scares really hit home. Personal experiences aside, I still think the last 20 minutes of the movie are some of the most disturbing and frightening I've ever seen.

3. The Ring/Ringu (2002/1998) - Directed by Gore Verbinski/Hideo Nakata
Both versions of this movie, the Japanese original and the American remake, are equally frightening. However, my vote would have to go to the American remake. More of an unsettling, atmospheric film, The Ring is just so cool to watch because it breaks a lot of horror movie rules. The movie also contains some magnificent performances from Naomi Watts and Brian Cox, which makes it better than any horror movie remake has the right to be.

2. Halloween (1978) - Directed by John Carpenter
I've watched Carpenter's classic every Halloween for five years and it still captivates me. There are just so many creative elements to this film, especially the use of first-person POV shots where you actually see through the eyes of the killer. The effect had been used in Black Christmas previously, but was perfected by Carpenter. The movie's score, low-budget style and ability to break down the idea of the cozy and safe "suburbia" lifestyle just make this movie so entertaining to watch.

1. The Exorcist (1973) - Directed by William Friedkin
The Exorcist isn't just one of my favorite horror movies, it's one of my favorite movies, period. I think the music is perfect, the acting is phenomenal, the build up is properly paced and some scenes just chill you to the marrow. One scene that still freaks me out is the "spider walk" scene; my blood turns to ice every time I see it, even though I know it's coming. And the film isn't just technically sound, it's very premise of possession is just personally one of the most psychologically terrifying things I've ever seen on film.

Worst 5 Horror Movies:

5. Ju-On/The Grudge (2003/2004) - Directed by Takashi Shimizu
I saw Ju-On on the recommendation of several Asian horror Web sites that said it was one of the best horror films to come out of Japan since The Ring. Unlike Haute Tension, I watched the movie and just couldn't understand the hype. I could handle the croaking voice and even the idea that the main character was being terrorized by a "curse," but hiding under the bed as protection was too much to stomach. What's sad is that the American version was worse than the Japanese one, and that in itself is more terrifying than either movie tries to be.

4. Suspiria (1977) - Directed by Dario Argento
I saw Suspiria at the Dundee Theatre after hearing repeatedly that it was one of the best horror movies of the '70s. I went in to see the movie expecting to see something suspenseful, terrifying and bloody; what I got instead was a big steaming pile of s*&#. Suspiria is beautifully shot, but that's about it. The movie gets lost in a pointless story and cheap attempts to be "scary," rendering the film a total joke. I suggest avoiding this one at all costs.

3. Poltergeist III (1988) - Directed by Gary Sherman
I'm a fan of Poltergeist; it's actually one of my favorite horror movies. However, Poltergeist III is just atrocious. It has horrible acting, a horrible script and a weak bad guy. Honestly, any movie that's biggest scares involve a malfunctioning elevator and a "bottomless" puddle of water in a parking garage is really reaching for a plot. Hell, I've seen the movie more than I'd readily admit to in public and I'm still not sure what the plot of the movie was.

2. An American Haunting (2006) - Directed by Courtney Solomon
With An American Haunting you have two veterans of horror movie classics in Sissy Spacek and Donald Sutherland, as well as up-and-coming young star in Rachel Hurd-Wood. A veteran cast like that in a movie about spirits haunting a small farm house in the 1800s sounds like it should be pretty good, right? Unfortunately, the movie is less about possession and poltergeists and more of a morality play about child abuse. An American Haunting is more of an after-school special than it is a horror movie. Too bad I actually paid to see it in theatres.

1. Godsend (2004) - Directed by Nick Hamm
I thought the idea behind Godsend was a good one. A child is killed, cloned, and then brought back to life, but something's not right with him. It's definitely a plot that could be worked into a decent suspense or horror movie. Something apparently got lost in translation because everything, and I mean everything, about this movie fails. Godsend tries to be like The Omen, but ends up being a 102-minute argument about the dangers cloning. This movie is just painfully bad, even for a horror movie.

Originally published on October 31, 2006
© Copyright 2006 Gateway

Gateway Review: The Prestige

The Prestige tries too hard to trick audience, doesn't live up to hype

The Prestige, the latest film from Batman Begins collaborators Christopher Nolan, Christian Bale and Michael Caine, takes its name from the third and final part of a magician's act. The prestige, as Caine explains in the film, is the part of a magic trick "with the twists and turns, where lives hang in the balance and you see something shocking you've never seen before."

While there was no shortage of entertaining twists and turns in the film, I can think of several other s-words that more accurately describe them.

The Prestige, also starring a surprisingly skillful Hugh Jackman, tells the story of two apprentice magicians who become bitter rivals when a mistake by Bale's character, Alfred Borden, causes a magic trick to go awry, killing the wife of Jackman's character, Rupert Angier.

The storyline is revealed in a style common to the Nolan clan. Nolan's younger brother Jonathan wrote the film, based on Christopher Priest's novel, in the pair's first collaboration since the critically acclaimed Memento. Opening with the trial and subsequent sentence of Borden for Angier's murder, we see the friends' rivalry evolve through flashbacks, testimony and dictated journal entries.

The film does a good job of showcasing the acting chops of all involved, minus a horribly miscast Scarlett Johansson, but leaves you scratching your head, not because of the excellent storytelling abilities of the younger Nolan brother, but a complete lack of them. At the end of this nearly two-and-a-half-hour movie, I actually cared less about the characters than I did when I took my seat.

The problem is that viewers aren't given any reason to like the two main characters, or at the very least sympathize with them. Too quick to rush to the rivalry, the film does little to show you that these two magicians were actually friends at one point. So when you see the magicians staking out each other's performances, using spies to grab secrets and openly sabotaging each other's shows, it's like watching two adults throwing pointless temper tantrums.

Now, don't get me wrong, the film can be damned entertaining at times. Many of the tricks were clever and the underlying story of obsession was actually quite interesting.

However, after being impressed at how skilled the Nolan brothers are behind the camera in their previous projects, I was disappointed at all of the loopholes and convenient plot devices used for the final "gotcha" moment.

Maybe I'm being too harsh, but I just think a movie that makes no secret of trying to trick the audience shouldn't explain away the entire film in the final 10 minutes. It gives you no reason to come back and see the film again, or at least discuss the film later with friends. Just like the characters, there is no reason to care about the film.

The bottom line is that if you're looking to spend some time at the movies in the coming weeks you could do better than The Prestige, but certainly do a hell of lot worse. Just be sure, if you do decide to go see the film, to check your brain at the door. Unfortunately, you won't be needing it.

Grade: C+

Originally published on October 24, 2006
© Copyright 2006 Gateway

Gateway Review: V for Vendetta

V for Vendetta is vivaciously victorious

In the late 1980s, Alan Moore and David Lloyd wrote the graphic novel V for Vendetta. Luckily for moviegoers, the writer / director tandem of Andy and Larry Wachowski picked it up and gave Moore's work the Hollywood treatment.

The original release date for the film version of V for Vendetta was actually Nov. 5 of last year, to coincide with Guy Fawkes Night, a British holiday commemorating the attempt to burn the British Parliament in 1605. The film was pushed to March when Warner Brothers, the film's distributor, cited the need for more post production work. But it's rumored to be that the company did not want to risk a backlash, given the bombings in London that summer.

In the Wachowskis' first film since the Matrix sequels, they actually only wrote the screenplay and handed the directorial reigns over to James McTeigue, a long-time assistant director who worked on films including the Matrix trilogy and the recent Star Wars prequels. Ironically, McTeigue plucked his stars from those sagas'; Benchwarmers now turned superstars.

Receiving top billing for this project was the scene-stealing actress from the Star Wars prequels, Natalie Portman, who plays the part of Evey Hammond, a clerical worker for the British Television Network in a futuristic London. We are introduced to her in the film as she is trying to avoid detection in the city's dark alleys during the enforcement of a strict curfew.

She is spotted by a group of police officers, and under the threat of being taken into custody, resigns herself to being abused by the trio of officers. Before anything can happen, a cloaked figure wearing a Guy Fawkes mask and carrying a convenient set of throwing knives appears from the shadows to take out Evey's assailants.

This masked man, introduced to the audience simply as "V," is played to perfection by Hugo Weaving, who may best be remembered as Agent Smith in the Matrix movies. After being saved by V, Evey follows her rescuer to a first-class seat for his personal "explosive" tribute to the Nov. 5 holiday. Watching in horror and fear, Evey realizes that she has gotten herself in to something bigger than she could have ever expected.

V follows his display by making a threatening declaration to again attack the government in one year's time. Furious and fearful, High Chancellor Sutler, played wonderfully by John Hurt, orders the government to track down the perpetrator of the terrorist action and the female accomplice before they can strike again.

The film goes on to jump between V and Evey's relationship and the exploration of V's past through an investigation by the government's lead detective, Eric Finch, played by Stephen Rea, best known for his starring role in The Crying Game. Finch, who is cautious of his government to begin with, becomes more so as he digs deeper and deeper into V's past, learning quite a lot that the government is keeping from their citizens.

V for Vendetta has been publicly condemned and has been the subject of recent controversy in the press, with some critics citing that the film condones and even promotes terrorism. The negative press did not deter audiences or reviewers, however; the film has received critical acclaim and is the number one film in America.

Quite simply, the public has gotten it right. V for Vendetta is one of the best theatrical experiences in recent memory and the word is that the IMAX version is even better. Filled with stellar leading performances, V is an emotionally relevant story that keeps you glued to your seat. It has colorfully excellent cinematography, and one of the best ending sequences in recent memory. The final verdict is that V for Vendetta is better than good, it is the first "must see" film of 2006.

Grade: B+

Originally published on March 21, 2006
© Copyright 2006 Gateway

Gateway Review: The Pink Panther

Martin is worthy successor to Sellers in new addition to Panther series

In 1963, the legendary Peter Sellers starred in a small film called The Pink Panther, a movie that would later be nominated for an Oscar, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA and a Grammy Award. Today, The Pink Panther is considered a classic film and one of the best films in Sellers' career.

When Sony Pictures decided to add a new version of the classical film series for a younger generation, it was a task that needed to be approached with either great caution or reckless disregard. Somehow the team of Steve Martin, Kevin Kline and Jean Reno, under the supervision of director Shawn Levy, found a way to not only do both, but do it well.

This version of The Pink Panther is actually a prequel to the Peter Sellers version. It involves detective Jacques Clouseau as a simple French policeman who is called up by Chief Inspector Dreyfus, played by Kevin Kline, to help investigate the murder of Yves Gluant, played by The Transporter's Jason Statham, and the robbery of his trademark piece of jewelry, the Pink Panther diamond.

Dreyfus does not disguise his ulterior motives from Clouseau, stating that he wants Clouseau as a decoy for the press until he can form his own investigation. When Clouseau drops the ball, Dreyfus would then pick up the case with the ultimate goal of finally winning the French Medal of Honor after being nominated seven times in the past and never winning.

This premise works remarkably well for the film, and from the very first scenes, you get pulled in to the world of the bumbling detective and trade off between laughing at Clouseau and laughing with Clouseau. The packed crowd watching the preview enjoyed every minute of it, only pausing to take a breath before belting out laughter. The crowd even stood up and cheered for Martin's performance.

One of the questions on everybody's mind is how Beyonce Knowles does in her role as Xania, girlfriend of Gluant and a suspect in the Pink Panther case. The answer is that Knowles does surprisingly well for what her role allows, and that is just fine, because one senses when watching the film that Knowles' skills, if overused, could fall under the old adage of "too much of a good thing." The only real problem with Knowles is that she is given a platform to sing in a seemingly unnecessary scene near the end of the film. But if her presence helps bring people to the movie, then it will prove to be a successful casting choice.

If there is one glaring problem with the film, it is that Clouseau is sometimes shown as much smarter than he actually is, or should be, given his body of work. Despite the humor being a bit too obvious and the plot being relatively simplistic, the choices made are understandable. This is being primarily pitched as a children's film and definitely succeeds in providing an enjoyable experience for parents and kids alike.

Thanks to the still hilarious and studious acting of the film's star, Martin, The Pink Panther is without a doubt the best kind of plain and harmless fun. This is what movies today should be: An escape from reality where you can kick back and relax and watch someone else screw things up, even if it is only for a stingy 90-minute runtime that almost seems to be too short, and leaves you wanting more.

Grade: B-

Originally published Feb. 10, 2006
© Copyright 2006 Gateway

Movie Blurbs 2

Casino Royale (2006)
Starring: Daniel Craig, Eva Green, and Mads Mikkelsen
Directed by: Martin Campbell
Rating: **** out of 5

I haven't seen many James Bond movies, and maybe that's because I can't handle the really old movies that are ripe with that 1960s charm and I can't stand the newer 90s movies that are all action, no substance. However, Casino Royale was an amazing ride. Daniel Craig is the perfect brooding James Bond and the plot is simple, with an unexpected twist, and tons of high-octane action. I was more than pleasantly surprised with this one. This is a must see.



Fearless (2006)
Starring: Jet Li
Directed by: Ronny Yu
Rating: *** out of 5
Eh. That's how I felt immediately after seeing Jet Li's Fearless and that's how I still feel. Don't get me wrong, there are some awesome wire-fu moments here and I love the message of the story, my problem it is that it's nothing new. There is nothing new here in Fearless and it's like watching a hodge-podge of House of Flying Daggers, Hero, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but written and directed like XXX. I've seen better martial arts movies and I've seen better martial arts movies from Jet Li. Worth a rental, but that's about it.


Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Starring: Tsutomu Tatsumi and Ayano Shiraishi
Directed by: Isao Takahata
Rating: ****-1/2 out of 5

Grave of the Fireflies is one of those movies that you want to see, but at the same time you can't bear to watch it. The first thing that you notice with this movie is the spectacular animation, you can't help but notice because the opening fire-bombing sequence is so haunting. But what this movie has that most animated features don't, is a solid story that is harrowing and passionate, but at the same time crushingly sad. The movie itself is depressing, but when you're talking about World War II and bombing raids on Japanese villages, it would be a disservice not to be. The best you can hope for is that the movie inspires people to think and cherish the things, and people, that they have around them that they might otherwise take for granted. A must see.

Fullmetal Alchemist: The Conqueror of Shambala (2005)
Starring: Romi Pak and Rie Kugimiya
Directed by: Seiji Mizushima
Rating: ***-1/2 out of 5

Fullmetal Alchemist is one of my favorite television series, so I was highly anticipating the movie... and I wasn't dissapointed. This was a good, but not great ending to the series. Much like Grave of the Fireflies, this movie deals with depressing and heavy issues (Hitler and the rise of Nazism) and is coupled with magnificent animation. My only problem with the movie is that I'm not really sure what it accomplished. The story was okay, nothing great, but still better than I was expecting from an anime spin-off movie... which is part of the other problem: Even though they give you a rundown of what the series was about, you'll need to see the series to understand anything in the movie the way you really should. Would reccomend, more-so to someone who's seen the series.


Lady Vengeance (2005)
Starring: Yeong-ae-Lee and Min-sik Choi
Directed by: Chan-wook Park
Rating: **** out of 5

Lady Vengeance is the third and final film in Chan-wook Park's Vengeance Trilogy and it was very, very good. The film tells the story of a woman who is robbed of her daughter and put in prison after taking the rap for a murder her then-boyfriend commited and then, after milking the connections she made while in prison, tracks him down. The thing that Park does in all of these movies, the best being the fantastic Oldboy, is show the humanity of revenge. You empathize with the "bad guy" much like you would in a spaghetti western... you follow the path of a gunslinger whose goal is no better than the actual crimes of the person she is going after... and yet you find yourself rooting for her. You find that murder isn't as black and white as it seems, but it is still always good, as Guem-ja says in the movie, to "live white."

Strange Days

Strange Days (1995)
Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Angela Bassett, and Juliette Lewis
Directed by: Kathryn Bigelow
Rating: ****

The year is 1999, the world (or at least Los Angeles) is in choas with gangs running wild in the streets, pseduo-martial law enacted, religious prophesiers claiming it's the end of the world and from the looks of things, it very well might be. But don't tell that to ex-vice cop Lenny Nero (Fiennes), true to his name, makes a living (if you can call it that) off of selling people's memories as virtual reality experiences. Now, these aren't any ordinary memories that Lenny sells, no, he sells, to put it bluntly, smut... you know, things like an 18-year-old girl showering herself to a 40-something lawyer looking for the "thrill" of cheating on his wife without actually doing the deed... so to speak. However, Lenny has guidelines and won't deal in memories of people killing or being killed.

While most of us would willingly fork over mounds of cash to be someone else, even for just a short while, we can't.... and technically, neither can Lenny; you see, the device used to record and transmit these memories is federal issue and illegal for civilian use. So Lenny is constantly on the down-low, meeting with people in the back-rooms of bars and in small garages to make deals... in his spare time, he wires himself up, playing back memories of a lost flame named Faith (Juliette Lewis) who left Lenny for some reason that is never explained in the film. However, Faith is still hanging around in Los Angeles, weighing down the arm of a hot-shot manager named Philo (Michael Wincott) who manages a high-profile, highly outspoken gangsta rapper named Jerchio-One (think Tupac Shakur meets Bob Marley) who is suddenly murdered.

You see, Lenny is still head-over-heels in love with Faith, and so he makes the usual, Say Anything gestures like slinking around Philo's club where Faith performs. Lenny does this fairly regularly and, for his troubles, also gets the shit kicked out of him by Philo's bodyguards regularly and gets shot down by Faith regularly. Now, while this may seem like a poor excuse for a romantic comedy with cyberpunk thrown in for a little flair, it's not. The story picks up when a VR tape addressed to Lenny shows the murder of a prostitute he and Faith were friendly with while they were dating. Lenny, with this help of his martial-artist escort Mace (Angela Bassett) set forth to try to solve the murder.

However, in the process of trying to solve this first murder, Lenny and Mace begin unravelling a tangeled web of lies and cover-ups that all lead back to the murder of Philo's number-one client, the outspoken Jericho-One. Being a cop, Lenny begins to put the peices together and realizes that his old flame Faith may be in danger, and he has to try and solve the mystery before she's killed. But unfortunately for Lenny, every clue creates more questions than answers and soon makes Lenny a target himself as he uncovers a coverup running deeper than he ever could have immagined.

Using elements from the Thriller genre, Science Fiction genre, and a surprising ammount from the Film-Noir genre, Strange Days, really surprised me as a very smart, well crafted cyberpunk thriller that doesn't take its audience for granted. The special effects andtechnical aspects of this film are very well done, and this movie would have been solidified as an instant classic if it hadn't been for the execution of the film's "whodunnit" mystery sub-plots. While a "gotcha" ending wasn't what I was expecting, and was happy it was there, the weight of the surprise was lessened by poor character development and wooden acting.

Acting: ***-1/2
The acting was alright for this kind of a movie... better than most paper-thin science-fiction movie dialogue. The major kudos here go to Ralph Fiennes as Lenny Nero, who is very nearly in every scene and creates a level of depth to a character that could have otherwise been very forgettable. Everyone else was alright, with some surprising moments from Vincent D'Onofrio playing a crooked cop, but my major beef is with Juliette Lewis. Lewis was her usual, so-so self in this film... playing a jaded, manipulative ex-prostitue. She actually had me pulled in as the prototypical film-noir femme fatale, but when it was needed the most, Lewis fell flat and couldn't deliever. Ray Fiennes makes a damned good substitute for Humphrey Bogart, but Juliette Lewis is definately no Lauren Bacall.

Plot: ***1-/2
The plot kept me interested... I'm not going to lie, even though the movie is probably too long for its own good (2-1/2 hours? Really?) with some worthless backstory, needless fighting scenes, and a overly-lengthy ammount of time spent on Juliette Lewis' stage performances. The pluses here were the twist ending which I was honestly caught off guard by, even though I shouldn't have. I'm not going to ruin it, but James Cameron (the film's screenwriter) does a fantastic job of showing characters in the right way to make you think twice about the motives of those you really shouldn't be. Also, I really enjoyed the sci-fi aspect of the film... the virtual reality idea, while logistically rediculous for a movie set only 4 years in the future (meanwhile it doesn't look like pop-culture has moved a day past April 24, 1992), it was a good plot device and effective deus-ex machina.

Cinematography: ****
A really, really superb effort from Matthew Leonetti here as he's able to do some great 1st person POV shots for the VR sequences and also create that classic film-noir mise-en-scene. I only remember one scene shot during the day time, the rest of the movie it shot in night-for-night. This allows for some really amazing contrasts in the last hour or so of the movie which takes place New Years Eve in the center of a massive party. Not only did the lighting here had to be perfect for many of the shots Bigelow's shots, but the execution of the camera movements had to be like clockwork to get that true-to-life VR experience.

Direction: ****
Katheryn Bigelow is a director who likes to take chances and that much is pretty obvious when watching this movie. She didn't want to have a typical crime thriller, she didn't want to have a typical cyberpunk movie, she didn't want to do things by the book, she wanted to go out and experiement. Now, granted, the experiments didn't all turn out like they should have, some of the plot could have been axed and replaced to flush out the other characters more and some of the key participants should have been more integral to the overall storyline than they were and others who weren't as integral should have been less so, but on the whole, the story flows very nicely and the movie has just the right balance of action and intellegence.

Entertainment Value: ****-1/2
Entertainment value is something Strange Days has in spades. It is the major redeeming quality of this movie and what will make me want to watch it again and again. It is a 2-1/2 hour movie that really only feels like 1 and that's saying something for how drawn out some of the scenes actually are. There is a great pace to the movie, the time isn't spent on building up the characters and then going to the action, the action is what facilities the buildup of the characters, and the villains and heros in this movie are pretty clear cut which could be a flaw, but in a movie like this, that's how they are supposed to be... with the exception of that one character who plays the role of the film's "surprise," which, also is another reason for the film being highly entertaining. You get VR POV sequences, club rave sequences, car-chase sequences and hand-to-hand comabt sequences in a movie that for all intents and purposes really is a neo-noir. What more could you want?

I reccomend this film for someone who is looking to enjoy a smart action movie... and not Matrix psuedo-philosophical smart, but really and genuinely topical. The movie doesn't come out and say it, but there are poweful themes of love, trust, honor, and power that are food for thought once those final credits role. This movie "exeperience" isn't perfect and at times can be down-right silly... but those moments are few and far between... and if you're like me, you won't notice them until afterwards anyways... just like a good movie is supposed to do.

So with those explinations we get these final ratings:

Acting: ***-1/2
Plot: ***-1/2
Cinematography: ****
Direction: ****
Entertainment Value: ****-1/2

and the final total of **** of 5 for Strange Days.