ALL THE KING'S MEN (2006)

Sean Penn

ALL THE KING'S MEN (2006). Director: Steven Zaillian.

Willie Stark (Sean Penn) rises up from the Louisianan swamps to the governor's mansion, accompanied by reporter and associate Jack Burden (Jude Law). Jack has a father figure in Judge Irwin (Anthony Hopkins), and has long carried a torch for Anne Stanton (Kate Winslet), whose brother, Adam (Mark Ruffalo) is wooed by Stark for an important medical position. But then Jack helps Willie get information that the latter uses to blackmail the judge ... This remake of the 1949 All the King's Men is inferior in every way. Sean Penn [Mystic River] plays with his customary dynamism, but his gesticulating in certain sequences borders on the ludicrous and his southern accent is so thick that there are times you can hardly understand him. While Jude Law [Black Sea]  has his moments, through most of the movie you get the impression that he just wants to go off somewhere and get a good night's sleep. The father-son dynamic between the two men is lost because Penn and Law look around the same age, although Penn is the older by twelve years. Events that are played up in the original movie are so downplayed in the remake that it's as if they never happened. We hardly see Stark's wife, his son has been written out of the movie altogether (eliminating a development that was a key plot point in the original) , and Mercedes McCambridge's character in the original, now played by Patricia Clarkson [Far From Heaven], is practically reduced to a walk-on. Jackie Earle Haley is scary in every sense of the word. Badly directed (despite some pseudo-artistic touches), and with a poor script, as well as a cast that has done much better work in other films, All the King's Men is a tedious misfire.

Verdict: Stick with the original. **.

BLACK SEA

Pensive captain: Jude Law

BLACK SEA (2014). Director: Kevin Macdonald. Screenplay by Dennis Kelly.

Robinson (Jude Law) is one of a number of disgruntled men who have been fired by the Agora Salvage corporation. He and his cronies join up with several Russian sailors and use a battered old submarine to sail to the Back Sea, where there is a sunken u-boat full of Nazi gold. Things start going wrong almost immediately with tension and disagreements among the rough crew, and major problems with the old sub's equipment, until it becomes a struggle just to stay alive let alone get their hands on the gold. And Agora isn't quite through with them, either. Black Sea is an extremely well-done thriller with an excellent screenplay and direction, interesting characters, a fine ensemble acting job, and a lot of tension and suspense throughout. The film makes you feel for the individuals on board, rooting for some to survive while disliking others. Law [Side Effects] gives a strong, commanding performance, and while the supporting cast is uniformly terrific, there's especially notable work from Bobby Schofield as the youngest crew member Tobin; Ben Mendelsohn as the semi-psychotic Fraser; David Threlfall as asthmatic Peters; and Scoot McNairy as the duplicitous Daniels. The picture is quite exciting and has a very moving conclusion. One might quibble about the unexpected actions of certain crew members, but it could also be chalked up to the unpredictability of human nature under pressure -- lots of pressure!

Verdict: Absorbing, highly intense and very literate thriller. ***1/2.

SIDE EFFECTS

Jude Law in a tense moment

SIDE EFFECTS (2013). Director: Steven Soderbergh.

Emily (Rooney Mara) welcomes her husband, Martin (Channing Tatum) home from jail after his incarceration for insider trading, but the changes in her life depress her and cause her to attempt suicide. A sympathetic shrink named Dr. Banks (Jude Law of Alfie) prescribes a new drug recommended by Emily's previous analyst, Dr. Siebert (Catherine Zeta-Jones). When Emily apparently slaughters her husband while sleepwalking, it is not only the drug that is called into question, but Dr. Banks himself. As he finds his life unraveling, he uncovers disturbing information about Emily -- maybe she wasn't sleepwalking when she murdered her husband? Or is he clutching at straws? Side Effects is a twisty thriller, with a good idea and interesting sequences, but it's not that well done all told. One of the characters sort of comes off like an old-fashioned evil lesbian [perhaps for no other reason than to show some girl-on-girl action]. Jude Law and Mara give good performances, but the most impressive is Zeta-Jones [Ocean's Twelve], with Ann Dowd also making an impression as Martin's concerned mother. This modern version of the old Lauren Bacall thriller Shock Treatment is quite contrived but has a satisfying conclusion and a nice score from Thomas Newman.

Verdict: Always read the label. **1/2.

ROAD TO PERDITION

ROAD TO PERDITION (2002). Director: Sam Mendes.

The graphic novel this film was based on was probably more effective, because Road to Perdition, despite some good elements, isn't a particularly memorable picture. Enforcer Michael Sullivan (a badly miscast Tom Hanks, pictured), goes on the run with his surviving son and namesake after his wife and other son are murdered. This all came about because young Michael witnessed a killing by Connor Rooney (a superb Daniel Craig), the son of Sullivan's mob mentor and father figure, John Rooney (a quietly effective if minor-league Paul Newman). Naturally this leads to an emotional division of loyalties, and eventually a hit man played by Jude Law is called in to hopefully dispense with the surviving Sullivans. While most mob movies are rather operatic, this tries a more understated approach -- which doesn't work. The film generally lacks suspense and tension, although it has a nice wind-up. The total absence of police figures is improbable, and the movie can best be described as a sort of lifeless exercise with only one exciting sequence.

Verdict: One road you needn't follow. **.

ALFIE (2004)

ALFIE (2004). Director: Charles Shyer.

Jude Law is superb as happy-go-lucky, love 'em and leave 'em Alfie, who has come to New York City to make his fortune and bed lots of women. He even winds up going to bed with the woman his best friend loves and hopes to marry. As he puts it, he doesn't mean to hurt anyone, and in truth Alfie is not devoid of a conscience or compassion. One of the best, most touching scenes has him encountering an elderly widower in the men's room of a doctor's office (the doc found a lump on Alfie's penis) who tells him (of his wife) “we weren't all that fond of each other, but we were very close.” New York is certainly full of callow men who use and disrespect women, but Alfie isn't really of the heartless or completely insensitive variety. He's typical of young men who want to sow their oats, avoiding encumbrances, afraid to commit to women who love them because there may be someone even better or more beautiful around the bend – not to mention all those flavors of ice cream that await them. Then of course, the one person who loves them the most and upon whom they can generally depend gets tired of waiting and moves on with someone else – to their regret. Marisa Tomei plays Julie, a young mother who functions as Alfie's “old shoe” but to whom he can't fully commit because she's not quite pretty enough (although he comes to realize how much she really means to him). The script by Shyer and Elaine Pope seems a bit contrived at times to teach the young man a lesson (especially in a scene with spunky Susan Sarandon) and also descends on occasion to suspect sentimentality (Alfie's improbable walk on the beach with the aforementioned widower), but is generally strong. Although there are plenty of love scenes, the movie isn't so much sexy as poignant, with a strong undercurrent of loneliness radiating from many different characters. Mick Jagger has contributed some sassy background songs. Better than the rather boring original film with Michael Caine.

Verdict: A pleasant surprise. ***.