Weekly Review -- An explosive je ne sais quoi

From Paris With Love (2010) -- Harkening back to old-fashioned action films involving no muss or fuss, the new Pierre Morel offering delivers on all of its trailer promises. Unbeknownst to his colleagues, embassy worker James Reese (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) has been doing contract work for the CIA. In order to let him prove his skills, his contact arranges a collaboration with a rule-defying, hard-living American spy, Charlie Wax (John Travolta), who arrives in Paris to prevent a terrorist attack. As the shootouts and explosions begin, the two crisscross Paris to find clues to the target and the brains behind the operation... I am a big fan of Morel's previous film, Taken, and his new entry is equally thrilling. The film works partly because of the snappy, zinger-filled dialogue and partly because of its lack of pretense; most of all, its appeal lies in the amusing contrast between Travolta's zany energy and Meyers' straight-laced, straight-faced decorum. Each actor is terrific in their respective role, bringing enthusiasm and mischief to the events unfolding fast and furious, left and right. Travolta has the good sense to occasionally emphasize the cheeky side of the seriousness, even referring to one of the most popular characters of his career at one point, while Meyers plays Reese methodically, flaunting a hint of lovelorn glee. The action sequences are well choreographed and entertaining; one wonders about the various ways the pair can concoct booms around the city or the myriad places they can jump out of, ending up without a scratch. From Paris With Love is a good old shoot-'em-up bonanza, taking the viewer for a fun ride that hardly employs any brakes, and that swerves and spirals deliciously out of control every ten seconds. Sit down, grab a drink and enjoy... and make sure you do not forget that rocket launcher.

8/10

Weekly Review -- A little bit of everything

Blueprint (2003) -- The ethics of cloning have long been subject of fierce debate. Not surprisingly, pop culture has drawn upon this topic to create some unique and provocative works, such as Caryl Churchill's A Number; however, more often than not, the entire concept ends up in camp territory, in movies like The 6th Day and The Avengers. Thankfully, Rolf Schübel's Blueprint, based on a novel by Charlotte Kerner, handles the subject with grace and poignancy. After finding out that she is afflicted with multiple sclerosis, world-famous pianist Iris Sellin (Franka Potente) decides to preserve her gift and have herself cloned and reborn, becoming a mother to her replica, Siri. As Siri's childhood progresses, the child demonstrates prodigious talent, while revealing hints of her own personality, layer by layer. However, once the truth about Siri's existence is uncovered, Iris's carefully constructed plan takes a sharp turn for the worse... What makes Blueprint work is the subtlety of its approach, a subtlety evident in all of its aspects, from the acting to the camerawork and to the directorial style. The concepts of science, family and free will are explored in a thoughtful manner, through the clinical prism of Siri's fabricated identity, with the film never becoming preachy or veering off into sappiness. The film relishes its details; I was struck by the short, yet beautifully idiosyncratic, customs scene, as well as the portrayal of Siri's love of nature, the only place where she can feel like a human being. I have been a fan of Franka Potente since her explosive splash in Run Lola Run and, along with that film and The Princess and the Warrior, her performance in Blueprint now counts among my top three. Potente usually chooses unique works, and this one is no exception. The actress is achingly vulnerable in the dual roles of a zealous artist and her daughter, whose rebellion represents the ultimate threat and failure to her mother. Ulrich Thomsen, best known to Western audiences as a villainous executive in The International, treads the fine line between emotion and opportunism as the doctor who had created Siri, while Katja Studt provides much needed stability as Siri's sympathetic nanny. Blueprint is a contemplative, complex piece that promotes its message of humanity loud and clear, reaffirming the notion of individuality as tantamount to freedom.

8/10


The Descent: Part 2 (2009) -- Sequels are a strange beast indeed. Sometimes they are the crown jewel of a trilogy -- think The Godfather II and The Empire Strikes Back -- and sometimes we wish they had never been made to taint their predecessor, as in the case of gems like Psycho II. The Descent: Part 2 belongs in neither category, which is simultaneously a good and bad thing. It builds up on the 2005 chiller, but takes away from logic on many an occasion. Two days after the horrifying events of the first film, as a rescue party searches for survivors, Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) re-surfaces, half psychotic and half alive. Since some of Juno's (Natalie Mendoza) blood was found on her clothes, the local sheriff's department decides to send Sarah and another group of searchers back to the cave. When they get there, they quickly get cornered by the crawlers and, along the way, new surprises about the characters are revealed... One of my favorite elements are some great scenes that pay homage to the original, and there are quite a few of those. Macdonald once again gives a stunning performance; her very last scene sums up Sarah and her journey perfectly. Krysten Cummings is very good as the deputy sheriff, whose arc sees her transform from a gullible officer to unflinching heroine. Mendoza is not given all that much to do, but I liked the new and understandably more ferocious dynamic between Juno and Sarah, that takes us back to The Descent's themes. Certain developments defy explanation, though. It is beyond me that police would take Sarah back to the cave practically a minute after she was rescued AND with her having no memory of what happened. The camera sequence was pretty cheap; finding video evidence was very convenient and merely an attempt to camouflage cheap exposition. Also, could someone please tell me why on earth a character would scream when they saw a rat, if they had survived much worse situations in a rather short time span? Bloodthirsty mutant crawlers versus mostly harmless rodents -- oh, somehow I would not be caring much about the latter if the former had almost chewed my limbs off, but hey, that might just be me. As far as the ending goes, I consider it to be an insult to the audience, appearing as though the filmmaker had tried to tack on an ending from a different movie altogether. The Descent: Part 2 is a solid sequel, one that could have benefited from a more detailed and coherent screenplay, as well as a much more rewarding conclusion.

7/10