ROUND UP OF NEW AND RECENT FILMS PART EIGHT

ROUND UP OF NEW AND RECENT FILMS PART EIGHT

Changing Lanes (2002). Director: Roger Michell. A corporate lawyer (Ben Affleck) and a reformed alcoholic businessman (Samuel L. Jackson) get in a fender bender, and the former, late for court, pretty much blows the other guy off. Then he realizes he's accidentally given the man some important papers. However, Jackson, trying to get his family back, is also late for a court date, and is furious with Affleck. Things between the two men spiral out of control and at one point nearly turn murderous. This is an absorbing, very well-acted movie in which race relations do not take center stage. (With the exception of one sequence, this could have been about two white guys or two black guys.) The movie features two very interesting character studies, although some abrupt character reversals aren't convincing. You have to suspend disbelief for the feel-good ending -- and pretty much gloss over an act of attempted murder (!) -- but the movie is quite entertaining and does end on a high note. ***.  

Serenity (2019). Writer/director: Steven Knight. Just when you're getting pleasantly involved with and  invested in this film noirish story of a man (Matthew McConaughey) who is importuned by his ex-wife (Anne Hathaway) to murder her distinctly unpleasant husband (Jason Clarke) while on a fishing charter, the picture does an 160 degree turn and becomes a fantasy-science fiction story. I've no doubt some viewers will give Serenity points for being something different, but it's not the most original concept, and it sort of forces you to suddenly stop caring about the characters. There are certainly interesting notions in the basic premise, but I, for one, felt a bit cheated. This would have been a better movie had it remained a late entry in the film noir sweepstakes. McConaughey is excellent, however, and everyone else in the cast is right on target. **1/4. 

The Ides of March (2011), which co-stars, was co-written and directed by George Clooney, focuses more on Stephen (Ryan Gosling), a second-in-command for a presidential campaign for Clooney's governor. Stephen finds himself being played by opposing forces and also discovers that his married hero had a one-night-stand with a pretty intern. Ides is generally well-acted and fairly absorbing but its cliche-ridden screenplay puts it in the minor leagues. Gosling has given some very good performances in other films but in this he mostly displays cool attitude, seems bored half the time, and doesn't even seem to be acting; Clooney and Philip Seymour Hoffman, among others, are better. As political movies go, this one just isn't in the running. **1/4. 

Closer (2004) deals with two couples in London. Photographer Anna (Julia Roberts) gets involved with dermatologist Larry (Clive Owen) when the strange author Dan (Jude Law) pretends to be a woman online and arranges a date between him and Anna. Meanwhile Dan, who is obsessed with Anna, already has a girlfriend in Alice (Natalie Portman), a stripper from New York. Anna is torn between the two men and Alice can't seem to live without Dan. Based on a play, this has characters that aren't dimensional enough to help us care about them, although the four solid actors give it their all. There really isn't much of a story to this, which is a problem as the movie is not character-driven so much as plot-driven. The frank language and profligate bed-hopping probably fooled young audiences -- and 73-year-old director Mike Nichols -- into thinking they were seeing something deep -- they weren't. However, the film is undeniably entertaining and absorbing thanks to the performances. **1/2. 

Primary Colors (1998), also directed by Mike Nichols and scripted by Elaine May, deals with a fictionalized version of the Clintons. John Travolta never quite seems like a real person in his portrayal of the amiably piggish "Jack Stanton," but Emma Thompson is absolute perfection as his strong-willed wife, Susan (Hilary). I was not as carried away as others by Kathy Bates as the lesbian Libby Holman, although she is good, but Adrian Lester definitely impressed me with his likable and evocative portrayal of the Stanton's African-American coordinator, Henry. There are also nice turns by Larry Hagman, Tony Shalhoub, Rob Reiner, and others. While hardly perfect, the fast-paced, and entertaining picture is amusing and disturbing in equal measure. ***. 

OCEAN'S THIRTEEN

OCEAN'S THIRTEEN (2007). Director: Steven Soderbergh.

When Reuben Tishkoff (Elliott Gould) winds up in the hospital because he gets screwed over by hotel man Willy Bank (Al Pacino), his friends gather together to enact one more con. The idea is to deprive Bank of a coveted award by giving the reviewer (David Paymer) a miserable vacation -- and ruining Bank's opening night -- while rival hotelier Terry Benedict (Andy Garcia) agrees to help with their plan if they steal some of Bank's coveted diamonds for them. Ocean's Thirteen is leisurely but entertaining, with the best acting from Paymer, Garcia [Twisted], Gould, Pacino and Carl Reiner, not to mention Don Cheadle and especially Ellen Barkin [Adventures of Buckeroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension] in an excellent turn as Bank's security gal, Abigail. George Clooney and Brad Pitt sort of saunter dully through this affair without raising a sweat, while Matt Damon is somewhat more interesting. Soderbergh also directed Behind the Candelabra and the inferior Ocean's Twelve.

Verdict: Amiable nonsense. ***.

BATMAN AND ROBIN

BATMAN AND ROBIN (1997). Director: Joel Shumacher.

Batman (George Clooney) and Robin (Chris O'Donnell) have their hands full with the crazy Mr. Freeze (Arnold Schwarzenegger), when he teams up with the equally crazy Poison Ivy (Uma Thurman) and her silent confederate, Bane (Jeep Swenson). They hope to flash-freeze the entire planet so that the world can start anew, and Ivy's mutant plant-animals can overrun the globe. Alfred's niece Barbara (Alicia Silverstone) becomes Batgirl so she can help the boys overcome the threat. Absurd but colorful Batman feature is too silly, too campy, illogical, and way, way too long, but it has its exciting and amusing moments. The stand-out bit is a thrilling moment near the opening when the boys are aboard Mr. Freeze's runaway rocket; the climax also has its share of exciting stunts and last-second saves. George Clooney isn't bad as an ultra-cool, reign-in-the-emotions Batman, O'Donnell is perky, Silverstone is adequate, and Michael Gough is excellent, as usual. Schwarzenegger walks off with the picture, however. As the fragile Dr. Isley AKA sexy Poison Ivy, the attractively homely Thurman acts as if she's seen one too many Mae West movies and sometimes seems to be in a different movie from everyone else, but she's acceptable as a camp-villainess. The true stars of the picture are those responsible for the special effects (especially Arnold's amazing freeze gun) and for the stunning art direction and scenic design (the observatory building is something to behold). Script-wise, the movie sort of seems thrown together, and despite all the action, it seems three hours long. Former super-model Elle Macpherson makes little impression as Bruce Wayne's girlfriend, Julie Madison. Batman and Robin resembles the comic book from different time periods, with a bit of the TV show and cliffhanger serials thrown in for good measure. Very different from The Dark Knight.

Verdict: Kind of exhausting but fun if you're game. **1/2.

OCEAN'S TWELVE

OCEAN'S TWELVE (2004). Director: Steven Soderbergh.

As the remake of Sinatra's Ocean's 11 was better, cleverer, and more entertaining than the original (if not exactly a world-beater), there were some high hopes that Ocean's Twelve would surpass it. What we have instead is a sporadically entertaining film that goes on too long, is over-complicated, and gets too clever for its own good. The casino boss (Andy Garcia) that the gang robbed in the last picture threatens each member with death if they don't repay him the money they stole – with interest. They now have two weeks to raise or steal 197 million dollars! This brings them into competition with a French master thief in an attempt to steal a priceless Faberge egg. Catherine Zeta-Jones appears as an old girlfriend of Brad Pitt's who also happens to be a detective, and Julia Roberts is back as George Clooney's wife. To help steal the egg she has to pretend to be -- “Julia Roberts.” [This whole business, in which the real Bruce Willis – who knows the real Julia -- shows up to complicate matters is amusing but threatens to take over the whole picture.] The performances are okay, if minor, and Elliot Gould and Carl Reiner effortlessly steal the show in their few brief scenes. This is not without entertainment value, but it runs out of juice long before the conclusion.

Verdict: A bit too self-congratulatory. **.