Weekly Review -- The romantic and the unexpected

Tristan + Isolde (2005) -- There have not been too many epic love stories in recent years; indeed, up until Tristan + Isolde, the last one may have Jack and Rose's tragic Titanic journey. This Kevin Reynolds film had slipped under the radar, but contains enough genuine emotion in its screenplay and chemistry between the leads to make it satisfying viewing. In the midst of the strife between 12th century Britain and Ireland, Tristan (James Franco) is wounded in a battle and is soon pronounced dead by his fellow soldiers. Through a set of coincidences, he meets Irish princess Isolde (Sophia Myles), who saves his life. They fall in love but, through another set of coincidences, Isolde becomes wife to King Marke (Rufus Sewell), who had raised Tristan after the death of the boy's parents. The young lovers are now caught between their passion and Tristan's sense of duty and loyalty. Franco and Myles exude desperate love and each is convincing in their role. Franco's Tristan is a conflicted individual, who has to reconcile the values of his upbringing with his newfound feelings. Myles's Isolde radiates zest for life, but the traditional woman's place in this society does not permit her to fully express it. Another strong point of the film was Artur Reinhart's cinematography, which explores the full visual potential of the gorgeous locations and transports the audience to the 12th century with its use of shadows and misty colors. I found, however, that the film needed further development of the relationships it dealt with. The events that take place in the second half of the film would have struck a deeper emotional chord if we had seen more of the relationship between Tristan and Marke as Tristan was growing up, as well as the relationship between Isolde and her father during her childhood. Apart from some underdeveloped aspects, though, the film is good viewing if you would like to watch a love story that is not your typical Hollywood romance and where everything is not necessarily coming up roses.

7/10


The Grudge 2 -- On the Monday after the American remake of Ju-On: The Grudge successfully premiered, its sequel was greenlit. Two years later, it was released, and we wonder why it was even conceived. This time, Kayako and Toshio's curse has left the Tokyo house, as well as Japan; heck, it has even left the continent, coming to America and infecting the tenants of a Chicago apartment building, which include newlyweds Trish (Jennifer Beals) and Bill (Christopher Cousins). At the same time, Aubrey Davis (Amber Tamblyn) travels to Japan to find out what exactly happened to her sister Karen (Sarah Michelle Gellar), who was charged with arson after she burned down the haunted house that the Grudge inhabits. Teaming up with journalist Eason (Edison Chen), Aubrey delves into the mystery of Kayako's murder... The main problem with this film is the lack of any cohesive story. The film feels like a series of scary scenes that were strung together, with no meaning or structure. The flashback style of storytelling, a trademark of this series, only serves to further make the film look like a disjointed jigsaw puzzle. I was not a fan of the 2004 film either, but at least it had some sort of plotline to it. The acting is awful and 90% of the cast seems to be there to milk the Grudge cash cow. The only ones that come out unscathed are Tamblyn, whose character's underdeveloped and complicated relationships unfortunately leave much to be desired, and Cousins, whose character goes through a startling transformation thanks to the curse. There are a few jumps here and there, but the film is mostly boring, non-sensical and uneventful. If you would like to watch a good recent horror film, please find the scares you require with The Descent and let this turkey find its way to the bargain bin.

3/10


Shadowboxer (2006) -- A crime drama with more than a hint of gloom, this Lee Daniels film does not exactly hit the depths it aspires to. Crime boss Clayton (Stephen Dorff) hires assassins Rose (Helen Mirren) and Mikey (Cuba Gooding Jr.) to murder several of his mobster rivals. Terminally ill Rose is unable to kill a certain person, though, and the couple flees with an unexpected addition in tow. The question is if and how Rose and Mikey can escape their previous life and find salvation. Gooding Jr. does a good job as a seemingly stone cold killer and Mirren is nuanced as always in the role of Rose, a woman who never managed to find her life's focus. Dorff is fantastic as Clayton; his performance is frightening, disturbing and vulgar all at once. The one thing I did not like about this film was the unnecessary violence. One particular scene at the beginning was not needed; a killing that takes place around the middle of the film was completely unjustified and made no sense. Another weak aspect is the screenplay, which tries too hard to be philosophical and throws around random questions regarding death, the existence of God and the value of life. Since the film spends more time on its style and the pace of the general story than on its characters and their histories, these parts of the dialogue feel forced and out of place, rather than being a seamless part of the flow.

**HUGE SPOILERS AHEAD (please highlight to read)**

The message of the film is unclear and ambiguous. Is Anthony going to grow up to become a killer, much like Mikey did? Is nurture going to override nature's influence? Too much is crammed into the last ten minutes, as if to compensate for the film's failure to properly explore its own questions and views.

**END OF SPOILERS**

The film offers some good twists and original characters -- namely Rose and Vickie -- but is too moody and self-involved for us to feel any kind of empathy for the principal characters. The audience mostly gets the impression that each person's plight was the result of their own poor choices, rather than any unfortunate circumstances that may have led them to their current situation, which makes it hard to care and which is what the film tries to make us do. The story is original enough and the film is unusual enough as a crime drama about redemption, but it does not succeed in making the audience see eye to eye with its protagonists, simply because the way it represents them does not match its attempts to philosophize about their existence.

6/10