Weekly Review -- The debatable, the kissable and the laughable

Children of Men (2006) -- One of the most exhilarating visions of the future you will ever see, Alfonso Cuarón's Children of Men is a bleak and disturbing look at the worst version of humanity. In 2027, fertility is a thing of the past. The world is in a state of complete anarchy, a place where human life is worthless and where people are mourning the death of an eighteen-year old boy, who just so happens to have been the youngest person on the planet. In London, jaded former activist Theodore Faron (Clive Owen) gets an urgent request from his former partner, Julian Taylor (Julianne Moore). Julian needs him to obtain the hard-to-come-by transit papers for Kee (Claire-Hope Ashitey), who seems like the usual desperate refugee to Theodore at first... until he discovers she is pregnant. After realizing what is at stake, Theodore decides to escort Kee to the Human Project, a sanctuary where doctors are working to find the cause of and cure for infertility. As one can imagine, the road is full of obstacles. The pregnancy has the potential to tip the scales of the world's despair toward either celebration or even more rioting; the government treats refugees as subhumans; and, throughout the journey, there is constant warfare on the streets and in the suburbs of dark, cold England. The aspects of the film that left the biggest impression on me were the cinematography, set design and production design. The look of the film is so striking and unsettling, it often felt as if I was watching a dystopian documentary. The acting is fantastic all around. Clive Owen colors his character with deep shades of sadness and cynicism, but also hues of unbeatable hope. Michael Caine provides an attempt at light-heartedness in a world of uncompromising violence, playing Theo's old friend Jasper Palmer. As always, Julianne Moore is quietly intense, while Chiwetel Ejiofor and Pam Ferris provide powerful supporting turns as Luke and Miriam, two of the activists. The film is a philosophical treatise on the meaning of life but, even more so, it is a study in paradox -- an exploration of the fragile strength of human relationships and connections that can either make or break our world.

8/10


The Last Kiss (2006) -- Developing a film that deals with real life issues can be tough. It needs to have a realistic story, relatable and not necessarily likeable characters, and a cast that do not look like they were pulled from a Paris catwalk. The Last Kiss explores fears that accompany the journey into adulthood in a non-airbrushed manner, giving us plenty of material to relate to and characters who look like actual human beings and are trying to resolve actual problems. Michael (Zach Braff) is in a long-term relationship with Jenna (Jacinda Barrett), who has just announced she is pregnant. While trying to deal with the news , he meets college student Kim (Rachel Bilson), starting a friendship that threatens to develop into something more. I liked the fact that not everything about the film was glossy and neatly wrapped up with a bow. People change, come together and grow up, while relationships evolve all the time. One aspect that needed improving was the character development, as well as a Fatal Attraction subtext in the Michael-Kim storyline. As true-to-life as the screenplay is, I wish that the characters had been more fleshed out; for example, I wish we had been able to see more of Jenna and Michael's history, as well as Michael's parents' perspective on the whole deal. As for Michael and Kim... well, this is the tricky part of the story for me. The entire film reminded me of another, more poignant film dealing with impending adulthood -- Beautiful Girls. I could believe Timothy Hutton's character's whimsical attachment to Natalie Portman's Marty, simply because she was a metaphorical character more than anything, an idealistic throwback to a youth that was gone with the wind. On the other hand, I could not exactly believe that Michael would risk his relationship and career, and abandon his responsibilities to go to a party and make out with a nineteen-year old hormonal babe. Having said that, this is still a thoughtful film to watch on a rainy Sunday afternoon and quietly reflect on life's numerous possibilities.

7/10


Crank (2006) -- From the mindless title to the mindless parody, this so-called movie should be cranked down to a minimum. It plays like an overlong, frenetic music video and mostly wastes the charisma of its star. Chev Chelios (Jason Statham) is a mafia hit man, who plans to quit and settle down with his girlfriend Eve (Amy Smart). However, he finds out that he was injected with "The Beijing Cocktail", a poison that will kill him, unless he manages to keep his adrenaline at a certain level. In order to stay alive and get revenge, Chev does not stop moving, literally going from thrill from thrill, jumping from one rush into another head on. I could appreciate the film's parody of its own genre and its tongue-in-cheek, self-effacing drollness; still, I could not help feeling dissatisfied when it had ended. I did not and could not expect a deep cinematic work of art with this premise, but the film is full of situations that are ludicrous beyond the realms of parody. The Chinatown scene immediately comes to mind, as do all the hospital scenes. Statham makes this movie watchable, combining his usual tough-guy persona with dry humor and creating in Chev a sympathetic caricature of a gangster. Amy Smart demonstrates the same kind of innocent, hilarious charm that she showed in 2002's Interstate 60, and the actors make for a good couple. Still, the film in itself is empty -- high on action and very low on substance -- and one fails to see the point of the very space it occupies on store shelves. Rent it if you would like to give your brain a vacation.

4/10