The Canuk Movie Critic
GOSFORD PARK
Gosford Park takes place at a country estate in England during the late 20's, early 30's. We're introduced to countless characters during the first 45 minutes, there are so many characters actually, that by the time you see one of them again on the screen, you can barely remember who they are. This movie is not the kind of movie you want to go to if you are tired or feeling a bit 'out of it'. It's a classic whodunit that wants every second of your attention, if you zone out for just a second, you might miss a clue. I, as you could probably guess by now, saw this movie when I was tired and zoned out, but here goes anyways. It's like the game of Clue came to the bigscreen, but this one's a bit harder to solve than just deducting that it must have been Colonel Mustard in the library with the wrench. The movie is extremely well thought out and it's hard to imagine how the editors were able to keep track of all the complicated jumping around of scenes throughout the country estate. All in all, the cast's performance was believable and easy to watch, Clive Owen (formerly from the movie Croupier, which is a really good one) gives another solid role, this time as a mysterious hired hand. Ryan Phillipe does okay with his Scottish accent, and the fact that he chose a more intelligent movie to do than all his past movies combined is nice to see too. Director Robert Altman was justly nominated for an Oscar, but directing is the only thing that should be up for an award in this movie. Check it out if you're in the mood to be challenged, personally I'd rather play Clue.
Out of a possible 6-pack, I'll give it 3 ½ beers.
BLACKHAWK DOWN
This one is the polar opposite of Gosford Park. It takes you through the U.S. force's strike on Somalian Warlords from a 1993 special mission gone awry. What was to be a quick mission, turned out to be a chaotic street battle that left 19 Americans and over 1000 Somalis dead. Ridley Scott's directing makes the viewer feel that you are running alongside the soldiers while the pace and blood flows a mile a minute. The cast is impressive: Josh Hartnett, Ewen McGregor, Orlando Bloom, Jeremy Piven etc. The battle scenes are jumpy and sometimes it's hard to decipher which soldier just got shot through all the dust and smoke. They could have given the American fighters a bit more of a character development to make them somewhat easier to decipher while they're in uniform, but other than that, the movie is put together extremely well. The battle scenes are among the most intense and graphic in a war movie ever and once the movie is over, you can't help but to keep thinking how terrifying the experience would have been. The movie seems to take an honest approach, as if to say: "here's what actually happened, we're not going to sugarcoat it, if you can't deal with the blood and guts, leave the theatre.' These days, it looks like almost every big star is hopping on the war movie bandwagon, but this one will probably be the only one worth seeing.
I'll give it 4 ½ beers.
THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO
Guy Pierce, Jim Caviezel and Richard Harris star in the movie based on a classic story. Unfortunately, this movie will not go down in history as a classic too. It starts off on the right foot, with believable dialogue along with a fair amount of suspense, twists and an interesting love triangle, but about halfway through the movie you start thinking about which other movies are playing at the cineplex. The movie starts to drag out (for a long time) and you start caring less and less who will win in the end and whether you'll be around to find out. One thing that bugged me, was that Caviezel's character shows up for revenge years later, disguised with his new 'Count' identity that consists of...a goatee! Wow, Who's that mysterious stranger with that odd facial hair? That can't be him, he's got a goatee.) I don't want to pick it apart too much, it is fun, light entertainment with some very nice scenery, but it does get too watered down and awkward by the end of it.
I'll give it 2 beers.
SOME GOOD VIDEOS
GHOSTWORLD
Thora Birch and Steve Buscemi star in one of the best movies to come out in the past year. Two suburban teens play a joke on an oddball loner (Buscemi), by answering his personal ad. It's a darkly funny and believable slice-of-life that's fascinating and fun to watch the whole way through.
(5 beers)
BLOOD SIMPLE
This one's been around for almost 20 years, but it's a safe bet if you're sick of all the cookie-cutter videos out there now. It's the Coen brother's break-out film that stars Frances McDormand. It's a pretty twisted and intriguing tale of a very complicated and deadly love triangle with some grim scenes that are hard to watch with countless, original twists until the end.
(5 beers)
