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December 2006

World Trade Center

World Trade Center Two-Disc Commemorative Edition 4 out of 5 stars Reviewed for Coffeerooms by Mike Jefferson

There are some movies we don’t want to see but should. Oliver Stone’s “World Trade Center” is one of those movies. Whether or not you can handle the subject matter depends on well you’ve healed from the after effects of one of the most horrific days in this country’s history.

When describing Stone’s films one particular word pops up consistently – conspiracy. Thankfully, Stone takes the high road here. There’s no biased assessment of blame, left field plot twists or clandestine men in black lurking in corners. “World Trade Center” is actually three stories: the struggle of two men to stay alive after being trapped twenty feet underground; the emotional torture their families go through as they wait for news of their fates, and the miraculous, cooperative rescue effort that saved Sergeant John McLoughlin (Nicholas Cage) and Officer Will Jimeno, (Michael Pena) the eighteenth and nineteenth of only twenty survivors pulled from the rubble of the Twin Towers.

The film begins routinely, with McLoughlin, Jimeno and their fellow officers reporting to work for what they think will be another routine day. Stone wisely omits footage of the planes striking the towers, relying on Officer Will Jimeno’s reaction as the shadow of an airliner passes by ominously low to the ground. He also avoids lingering shots of the burning towers, focusing on the police officers’ shocked and numbed expressions as they approach the buildings. Even as McLoughlin and his small squad make their way into Tower One they’re still unaware of the scope of what they’re about to face. The team is met by a stream of people slowly evacuating the building. Some are covered in ash, some bruised, some bloodied, but all of them are wearing the same blindsided, stunned expression. Stone shoots the scene in slow motion, pointing out that the people who worked in the Towers – like the firemen and police who answered the emergency call – were of every race, creed and color. In one of the movie’s most stunning moments, Stone recreates the collapse of Tower One first through a deafening rumble (described later as sounding like 1,000 locomotives), then through special effects, as a tornado of smoke, ash and rubble rushes toward the camera.

Realizing what’s happened, McLoughlin orders his men to run for the elevator shaft. The screen goes black, and there’s an eternity of silence, leaving the audience wondering if the Officers made it to safety. Some do and some don’t.

When McLoughlin, Jimeno, and fellow officer Dominick Pezzulo (Jay Hernandez) regain consciousness, they discover they’ve been trapped by tons of twisted metal and crushed cement. Pezzulo manages to free himself and wants to go for help, but McLoughlin orders him to stay, citing the department’s credo that no Officer can leave another behind. It’s a decision he comes to regret. Pezzulo begins digging out Jimeno, but then the North Tower collapses around them. Pezzulo is critically injured and fires his weapon as his last act in the hope his friends will be rescued. Now trapped under even more debris, McLoughlin and Jimeno are faced with the prospect that they may never be rescued. McLoughlin calls on his training and experience to keep himself and the younger Jimeno alive. As time wears on and hope diminishes, it’s Jimeno who gains inner strength and ends up comforting McLoughlin, keeping the two of them conscious by engaging McLoughlin in conversations about his wife, children and experiences on the job.

As McLoughlin and Jimeno struggle to stay alive, their families anxiously wait for them to come home safely. Meanwhile, in Wilton, Connecticut, David Karns, an accountant and former marine, watches news clips of the attack with his co-workers and declares, “I don’t know if you know it yet, but this country is at war.” Convinced God wants him to go to Ground Zero to help, Karns gets his hair cut military style, dons his old uniform and manages to slip on to the sight undetected. He begins searching through the rubble, unaware that his presence will indeed have a direct effect on McLoughlin and Jimeno.

The acting ranges from phenomenal to serviceable. As the taciturn McLoughlin, Nicholas Cage spends most of the film in darkness, covered in grit, hovering in and out of consciousness while lying on his side. Cage can’t act and never could, so it’s a blessing that McLoughlin’s man of few words personality limits Cage’s dialogue. Cage mostly blinks, mutters hoarsely and flashes back to his idyllic home life. His acting prior to the attack and in flashbacks is equally wooden, and his forced “New Yawk” accent makes McLoughlin sound like a borderline cretin, which of course, he isn’t. It’s a difficult task to play a man who keeps his emotions in check, and Cage simply isn’t the right actor for the role. Fortunately, Michael Pena’s portrayal of Will Jimeno is exceptional. Pena also spends most of the movie in the same claustrophobic state, albeit laying on his back, but Pena’s character wears his emotions on his sleeve, and is more accessible, more human. Maggie Gyllenhaal, as Jimeno’s very pregnant wife, Allison, also seems to have problems deciding how to convey her working class accent. Her character’s emotions run the gamut from being petrified to hopeless to joyful, but Gyllenhaal can’t ride the emotional roller coaster. She can pull off hysterical and harried well enough, but seems stuck in one of those two modes throughout the movie. Like her husband John, Donna McLoughlin (Maria Bello) tends to suppress her emotions. Maria Bello succeeds in conveying her character’s need to remain strong for her family. When Donna is told John has walked away from tower’s collapse unscathed, then finds out it was a mistake and he’s still trapped beneath the rubble, she finally explodes, spewing out her pent up frustration. Bello, excellent in “A History of Violence,” another role where she stands by her man, is totally believable here -- strong, worried, anxious, angry and grateful. She and Pena carry the film.

Michael Shannon plays the shamanistic ex-Marine David Karns, one of the two men who found McLoughlin and Jimeno. It’s the type of disturbing performance audiences came to expect from the late Jack Palance, lock jawed, single-minded and intense. Shannon has the thankless task of portraying a man who was convinced that God spoke to him. It seems like a contrivance, but Karns’ true story is another thread in a saga rife with miracles. Under normal circumstances, Karns’ zealous pilgrimage might be viewed as well, crazy. Shannon’s performance nails Karns’ intensity and single-mindedness, but his thousand yard stare, and rigid, almost threatening posture occasionally make Karns seem creepy rather than heroic. He’s an ex-Marine, not the Terminator. Jason Thomas, the man who teamed up with Shannon to find the two officers is portrayed sympathetically by William Mapothar, best known for his chilling portrayal of Ethan on “Lost.” Someone forgot to tell Oliver Stone that the real Jason Thomas is black, but if Thomas (who was interviewed for the DVD extras) doesn’t mind, perhaps we shouldn’t either. The familiar faces in smaller roles play characters facing their own private hells and prove to be all too human. Nicholas Tuturro, a revelation in his role on “NYPD” as Detective James Martinez, has a small role as Officer Colovito, one of the police officers who begs off going into the towers; Donna Murphy plays the volatile Judy Jonas, one of the first women to be notified that her husband is alive; and Patti D’Arbanville is Donna’s concerned neighbor. Stephen Dorff (as Scott Strauss) and Frank Whaley (Chuck Sereika) successfully convey the anguish and concern the rescuers had for their fallen comrades.

Rather than focusing the film on terrorism, Stone tells an uplifting story of heroism, respecting the memory of those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. The coda, voiced by Cage puts the film’s intent into perspective: “Nine-eleven showed us what human beings are capable of. They’re evil, yeah, sure, but it also brought out the goodness we forget could exist, like people taking care of each other for no other reason than it was the right thing to do. It’s important for us to talk about that good, to remember, because I saw a lot of it that day.”

Extras

The “World Trade Center” has a second DVD with hours of extras that leave no stone unturned. Topics include “The Making of the World Trade Center,” “Common Sacrifice,” “Building Ground Zero,” visual and special effects, “Oliver Stone’s New York” and an excerpt from the David Lean Lecture Series of a Q & A session with Stone. “Common Sacrifice” is an extensive documentary about John McLoughlin and Will Jimeno’s experiences in “the hole” and how their lives have changed since then. Jimeno is animated, outgoing, still awed that he somehow survived; McLouglin remains reticent during his interview, pausing to regain his composure when he speaks about his family and the loss of his men. Donna McLoughlin, Allison Jimeno, Mcloughlin’s brother, Pat, and Jimeno’s sister Karen Chaffee talk frankly about how they came to grips with the probability that their loved ones weren’t coming home. “The Making Of” gets inside the creative mind of Oliver Stone, who stresses his desire to film an authentic account of McLoughlin and Jimeno’s ordeal. Nicholas Cage, much more interesting here than in the film, discusses the role that darkness played in the filming, as well as his concern that his performance wouldn’t live up to McLoughin’s expectations. Michael Pena admits he was reluctant to take the role of Jimeno because of the sensitivity of the subject, while Maggie Gyllenhaal relates that she purposely tried not to imitate Allison Jimeno after meeting her (which may account for her overstated performance). “The Making of” also offers commentary from both families, as well as interviews with Jason Thomas, Scott Strauss, Brad Dorff, and members of the film crew, including Producer Moritz Borman and Costume Designer Michael Dennison (but there’s no appearance by the mysterious Karns, who re-enlisted in the Marines and served two tours in Iraq). Director of Photography Seamus McGarvey and composer Craig Armstrong sport thick brogues, but are given subtitles, a good idea given that they have a lot to say and are very informative. Armstrong’s remarks about the music as an emotional barometer for the film are particularly enlightening.

The extras go a long way in explaining that perhaps for the first time in his storied career, Oliver Stone had no motive or agenda in mind when making the film. He simply wanted to tell a story of two men’s triumph through adversity, and he tells it well

Posted December 20, 2006 Permalink

Miami Vice

Miami Vice Unrated Director's Cut 2 out of 5 stars Reviewed for Coffeerooms by Mike Jefferson

Paging Jaime Foxx…Paging Jaime Foxx…Please return the Oscar you stole from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. You might also want to think sending back the fat paycheck you cashed for this inert remake of “Miami Vice.”

Much of Michael Mann’s remake takes place in the seamier parts of Miami, Haiti and Cuba, where apparently everyone lives in perpetual darkness. But keeping the lighting low to create “atmosphere” is hardly the only cinematic gaffe Mann perpetrates. Mann’s big screen rendering of “Miami Vice” lacks the TV show’s slick stylish sets, snappy attire and even a remote hint of camaraderie between the players. Foxx, as Detective Ricardo “Rico” Tubbs, and Colin Farrell as Sonny Crocker are supposed to be an elite veteran undercover team with a sixth sense for police work. But they seldom speak, are emotionally stone cold toward one another and view everyone outside of their ill-tempered clique as screw-ups or idiots. The biggest hurdle “Miami Vice” has to leap is its lack of a compelling plot and the familiar, predictable storyline Mann lifted from a B movie. The dialogue is more “Rain Man” than Michael Mann:

Crockett (eyeing the number of armed citizens in the doorways): Why do I get the feeling everybody knows we’re here 15 blocks out?
Tubbs: Because everybody knows we’re here 15 blocks out.

The only remotely interesting action in the film takes place in the first and final twenty minutes. During the long stretches in between we get to see Jaime Foxx brooding in the shower, Colin Farrell driving an expensive sports car no honest detective should be able to afford; the virtuous Foxx sticking up for a working girl by working over two body guards who seem so transfixed by his talent that they walk into his faux Kung Foo kicks; and then there’s Farrell, his sunglasses cemented to his helmet hair, channeling Joe Friday as he castigates the lead investigator with mono-syllabic threats. Everybody loads and reloads their guns, and when they’re really angry they load and reload bigger guns.

As for the so called plot, it starts off promisingly when two undercover agents are murdered during a drug buy. In the movie’s only original scene, the audience gets to view the agent’s annihilation from the back seat of their car. There’s plenty of shattered glass and cannonball sized bullets passing through the bodies. Viewed from the front of the car the scene would be too gory for even a morgue attendant to stomach. Although there can be no doubt about the agent’s fate, by shooting the action from the rear, there’s still a lot that’s left to the viewer’s imagination.

Crocket and Tubbs volunteer to go under cover to nail the Cuban drug cartel responsible for their fellow agent’s deaths, and are immediately tested by the cartel’s middleman, Jose Yero (John Ortiz). After a successful first run, Crockett and Tubbs are entrusted with the super bowl of drug deals. Yero is suspicious of the hot shot Americans, but Isabel (Gong Li), the cartel’s money launderer, predictably falls for Crockett. The two begin a time consuming affair while everyone else stays busy checking their guns. Yero and his boss, Jesus Montoya (Luis Tosar), finally catch on that they’ve been set up and kidnap Tubbs’ girlfriend in the hopes he’ll go away quietly. Now Tubbs really has a reason to brood and everyone finally has a reason to shoot the humongous weapons they’ve been furiously loading and reloading. The climax is predictable -- gee, who’s going to win, the bad guys who know they’re facing their Waterloo and bring the slowest, biggest targets they can find, or the two scruffy faced bad asses with unlimited firepower out for vengeance? Two guesses and the first one doesn’t count.

Foxx’s wide range of acting skills consists of raising his left eyebrow in a threatening manner, piloting a plane, or guiding a speedboat at high speed – and you can bet he had a stand-in for the last two tasks. But Foxx isn’t the only one mailing in his performance. Co-star Colin Farrell, essaying the role of playboy detective Sonny Crockett, must consider suppressing his Irish brogue adequate acting because he also subscribes to the school of thought that creasing one’s eyebrow conveys deep emotion. At least Farrell gets to look at Gong Li, who is wholly unconvincing in her role as Isabella, Montoya’s financial wizard. A superstar in her native China, Li is indeed beautiful, but should have picked a more defined role for her stab at mass exposure in the U.S. She’d have been better off being exposed to bubonic plague than being the love interest in this paint by numbers remake. Her English is perfect one moment and impenetrable the next, but the blame has to rest with director/writer Michael Mann, who chose to saddle her with a lion’s share of tongue-twisting dialogue. The other actors twitch, snarl and manipulate their ponderous expressions like mimes with stomach cramps. Equally perplexing is Isabella’s sudden shift from exotic ice queen to weak-kneed geisha at the mere site of Sonny Crockett. Okay, so maybe Colin Farrell is a hunk, but Mann asks the audience to suspend belief past the breaking point by having Isabella and Crockett take off to Cuba in his boat on a whim. (Crockett asks Isabella where he can find a good mojito and she offers to show him. The mojito happens to be in Cuba. Never mind that her boss is expecting her to move a huge drug shipment ,and Crockett is under cover trying to bust her boss, or that they waltz into a communist country with no questions asked – love conquers all.) Gong Li’s scenes with Farrell are laborious; they have absolutely no chemistry together, barely look one another in the eye and then suddenly become pretzel- locked like two wrestlers in a steel cage match. At one point during their contorted lovemaking the camera focuses on the glistening tears in Isabella’s eyes. You’ll be crying too, wondering why you’ve already wasted so much of your free time.

The main villains in the film couldn’t scare Don Knotts. John Ortiz, who plays middleman Jose Yero, looks like a geeky version of Che Guevara, and judging by the circles under his eyes and his protracted speech patterns, the balding Tosar appears to have gotten little sleep before taking the role. He’s either sitting in a limo, sitting on a bed, or sitting behind a desk, looking as bored as the audience. His unlikely alliance with the trailer trash Neo Nazis who kidnap Tubbs’ girlfriend Trudi is never fully explained, nor is Gong Li’s Chinese/Cuban heritage. And Crockett’s crystal clear phone reception from Miami to Isabella in Geneva? Hey, get me one of them phones. Any writer worth his laptop would’ve had a creative catharsis with these nuggets, but for Mann just putting them out there with his name behind it seems enough.

The minor roles in the film are equally miscast – Naomie Harris, who plays Foxx’s girlfriend Trudi, is tougher than he is – a biotch so testy she’s lucky to have a boyfriend, even if he’s a macho lunk head. Not since Lucretia Borgia has there been a woman so deserving of death. But despite getting beaten, blown up and burned, Harris’ Trudi comes back more times than a bad burrito. Jowly Barry Shebaka Henley is completely miscast as Lt. Castillo, previously assayed with a steely stare, clenched jaw and believable authority by Edward James Olmos. Henley looks like a cross between Yogi Bear and the Michelin Man and is as threatening as Santa Claus. John Hawkes, excellent in the HBO western “Deadwood” as Sol Starr, suffers the indignation of playing Alonzo, the jittery informant responsible for getting the first pair of undercovers riddled like moth-eaten jackets. As a reward for his traitorous act his family is slaughtered, and knowing he’s next, Alonzo attempts to bolt the dark metropolis. Crockett and Tubbs talk him down, but Alonzo escapes retribution by stepping in front of a bus. Let’s hope Hawkes can get this cameo removed from his resume. Elizabeth Rodriguez (Detective Gina Calebrese) is one step removed from a raging hormone, a walking, threat-spewing, gun-happy knot of muscle who seems to get louder in every scene. At least she leaves an impression. Justin Theroux (Detective Larry Zito) seems to exist only to get shot.

In an attempt to match the whirlwind climaxes on the TV show, Mann shoves Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight,” into the soundtrack. “In the Air Tonight” was one of the then current songs used on the TV version to accentuate the tension in the atmosphere whenever a shootout was imminent. Too bad he didn’t use the original version of the song – instead Mann cops a discordant, gnarly version that even Trent Razor would reject. It’s just another watered down substitution for quality that comes up short when compared to the original.

“Miami Vice” may be worth looking at for the glimpses of places you’re glad you’re not in, or for Elizabeth Rodriguez’s pint-sized meltdowns. You’ll drool over the expensive gadgets and Gong Li (hey, I’m single, I can say that), but you’ll probably wind up mostly drooling on yourself, because you’re bound to fall asleep before the big shootout.

Miami Twice – The Extras

The DVD extras lean heavily on Mann, and why not, he wrote the movie, directed it, selected the locations, and even shot the opening scene in the speedboat from below decks himself when rough seas forced the rest of the camera crew topside. Now that’s a Mann. Viewers will also get an inside look at how one of the trickier scenes in a Haitian hotel was blocked out. The most enlightening and fun feature is the gun training sequence in which Steve Mesa teaches Colin Farrell, Jaime Foxx and Elizabeth Rodriguez how to shoot convincingly. It’s no surprise that Foxx plays the fool and Rodriguez is game; but Farrell might surprise you with the flippant request for a chiropractor after firing one of the weapons. And Justin Theroux gets more lines in the extras than in the entire movie, including his critique of some of the less than charming locations: “You can’t Google some of the places we’ve been in.” Despite the informative behind the scenes vignettes, “Miami Vice” is best seen in reruns on TV Land, rather than on your DVD player. At nearly two and a half sluggish hours you’ll say to yourself, “Mann, you’ve got to be kidding.”

Posted December 19, 2006 Permalink

Johnny Cash - Live in Ireland

Johnny Cash Live in Ireland 1993 4 out of 5 stars Reviewed for Coffeerooms by Mike Jefferson

With the passing of Johnny Cash in 2003, the floodgates are now open for a torrent of unreleased performances. “Johnny Cash in Ireland,” a 1993 performance of the Johnny Cash Revue shot at the Olympia Theater in Dublin for television, maintains the quality and integrity of the material that fans of the man in black have become accustomed to. Don’t expect to be bowled over – there are no bombshells here – but you will be entertained. Approximately an hour long the DVD has no extras, but was professionally shot with plenty of close ups of Cash, his guests and his family. The cameramen hit all the right cues, zeroing in on pianist Earl Pool Ball’s fingers during his solo for “I Still Miss Someone,” capturing Kris Kristofferson’s humble expression as he makes his way out of the shadows and onto the stage, eavesdropping on Cash’s affectionate glances at wife June and framing his playful interplay with the audience.

The DVD starts off at full-throttle with three non-stop performances. Cash and the Carter Family (his wife June Cater Cash, her sister Helen and June’s daughter Rosie), join Cash for a lively take on Carl Perkins’ “Daddy Sang Bass.” Cash sounds robust, as if bolstered by his cheerful attitude. Is the man in black actually happy? It would appear so. Helen and June don’t display very much sisterly harmony when they get their turn, but they’ve got plenty of pluck. The Carters take on “Keep On the Sunny Side,” and Helen takes a while to focus in on the melody, but their performance is a welcome slice of wholesome traditional music. Looking like quite the cowboy hippy, John Carter Cash injects some Memphis soul into the countrified proceedings with his take on “Georgia on a Fast Train.” Playing the role of boisterous good old boy, John Carter Cash makes the most of his few moments in the spotlight, belting out lines like “I’ve got a good Christian raisin’ and an eighth grade education, and there ain’t no need for you to treat me this a-way” with refreshing energy.

Cash follows his son’s performance with “Ring of Fire.” There’s a marked difference between this performance and past versions of the song, and it’s all about attitude. Cash feels none of the anguish or yearning that the lyrics hint at; it’s a happy, rather than hellacious fire he’s tending to here. But Cash’s delivery is sturdy and steady, and veteran guitarist Bob Wootton knows his way around the fret board, so this “Ring of Fire’ burns with plenty of warmth. Whipping off his jacket, Cash welcomes the crowd with his traditional greeting -- “Hello…I’m Johnny Cash,” and gets down to business with an energetic run through of “San Quentin.” Again there’s little of the malice associated with the song’s gritty history and Ball’s flippant piano runs further lighten the mood, but the band is tight, Cash’s baritone is gripping, and the crowd eats it up.

Cash offers an amusing anecdote about his inspiration for “Get Rhythm,” recalling a conversation he had with a shoe shine boy in Memphis. Noticing his lack of theatrics while performing his job, Cash said, “You don’t do a lot of popping with that rag,” to which the sage shoe shiner replied, “That’s the trouble with the world today, too much poppin’ and not enough shinin!” “Get Rhythm” chugs along at a non-threatening pace, with second guitarist David Jones displaying Dickie Betts-like precision on slide guitar. The ballad “I Miss Someone” isn’t very dynamic or even very romantic, but gives pianist Earl Pool Ball a few moments to show his stuff. “A Boy Named Sue” gets more of an oompah feel from W.S. Holland’s amped up beat, but the crowd still loves this off the wall ditty and claps along contentedly. Fully cognizant that the church-going audience might be offended by a particular word in the song, Cash censors himself with a loud “BEEP!” eliciting laughter

A mainstay of country music, “Ghost Riders in the Sky” draws applause from its opening notes. Cash is effectively animated, while his musical doppelganger, sourpussed Bob Wootton, gets in a few bars of professional picking before fading into the background.

A flummoxed Kris Kristofferson joins Cash for “Long Black Veil.” Kristofferson shies away from the mike to keep from stealing Cash’s thunder, content to strum along with a self-satisfied grin. Virtually inaudible (which is good given his craggy voice), Kristofferson might as well be Christopher Lee or Kris Kringle. He sticks around for “Big River,” singly flatly and unable to negotiate the harp that hangs around his neck like a noose. Is he inconsequential? Yes, but Kristofferson is thrilled to be sharing the stage with one of his idols, and despite his ineptitude, Kristofferson’s good intentions help spur Cash and the band into giving two more crackerjack performances.

Cash proudly acknowledges his silver wedding anniversary as he introduces June Carter Cash, and the duo smile their way through their signature tune, “Jackson.” Reunited with her sister Helen and daughter Rosie, June guides the Carters through a pleasing ride on “The Wabash Cannonball.” This time out, Helen holds her own during her solo, despite having to corral her false teeth. Rosie delivers a husky lead on “Will the Circle Be Unbroken.” While she’s nowhere near the vocalist her sister Carlene is, Rosie’s considerable determination gives “Circle” its goodtime gospel appeal. Watch closely and you’ll see one of the less than subtle cues between musicians when Helen Carter turns to guitarist David Jones and mouths the words “Pick it up.” Davey’s response is dutiful and immediate.

Irish singer Sandy Kelly, who scored big in her native country with her version of Patsy Cline’s “Crazy,” is the next guest invited to join the revue. She has a rich, traditional delivery that blends in well with “40 Shades of Green,” Cash’s tribute to Ireland. Cash introduces the tune by commenting, “They’re arguing about who wrote this song. I wrote it in ’59.” “Oh no you didn’t,” replies an audience member. Chuckling, Cash replies, “Oh yes I did!” The playful banter encapsulates the easy going, friendly atmosphere of the show from start to finish.

“Cash in Ireland” doesn’t have the historical significance or the nerve-wracking tension of his performances at Folsom Prison or San Quentin, but it’s a professional, personable show with rich sound that’s pleasing to watch. Instead of trying to impress the audience the members of the Johnny Cash Revue simply take joy in what they’re doing, which translated into an enjoyable evening for the audience that was there in 1993 and will undoubtedly please viewers in the present. So put on your long black veil, get rhythm, climb onboard the Wabash Cannonball and pick up this DVD.

Posted December 12, 2006 Permalink