The Proposition

2/4 stars

The Proposition is a slowly building movie. It starts in the midst of a bloody gun battle, probably in an attempt to convey the misconception that it will be an eventful film. Shortly thereafter, we are witness to the proposition in question, and then spend most of the rest of the film waiting for the situation to unfold. Because it may have been only my curiosity about the nature of the proposition that tricked me into seeing this movie, because it turns out to be a fairly minor plot point, and because numerous summaries of the film that I've seen since have revealed it, I will do the same: Guy Pearce is asked, in exchange for the freedom of himself and his relatively innocent younger brother, to bring his villainous older brother to justice, dead or alive. This is the scenario, as Pearce's character is allowed to disappear into the desert.

And then it stews in the heat of the Australian outback for roughly an hour. This wouldn't have been such a bad thing, necessarily. The cinematography of the film portrays a sort of lovely ugliness to the landscape and its inhabitants. Nothing is frosted over in this film, nothing is romanticized or idealized about the situation or the characters. The film shows moments of powerful tragedy, and powerful emotion. However, not much of anything really happens. The time isn't devoted to revealing the subtleties of an intricate plot, nor really engaging the internal lives of the characters. Instead, the film keeps a close eye on the compelling harshness of the scene, and the tragedy that is unfolding. It does those things very well, but I wanted more from it.

There's a lot of talent here. I was drawn to the movie initially because its writer is Nick Cave, better known a rock musician whose songs are dark and dissonant, but with a rough and hidden beauty. Guy Pearce brings a strong presence to this role, even in his inactivity. He exudes a sense of turmoil which is brought on not by uncertainty, but by the presence of conflicting certainties. Ray Winstone plays a multi-faceted character who the script simply neglects to fully investigate. Director John Hillcoat displays great potential, and does a lot with what he's given. The problem with the film is that Cave's novice script is too content with mood and foreboding and not curious enough about the people involved.

V for Vendetta

4/4 stars

Political paranoia at its best. A new addition to the great dystopian classics. Also succeeded in capturing a very graphic novel feel (or perhaps the cinematic feel of the graphic novel). This movie marked the first time I've ever been really disappointed over a comic movie being overlooked at Oscar time.

Written June 27. 2007.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

2/4 stars

Way too fast paced, the script seemed to have no attention span. You know the little "previously" segment on the front of a TV show? This is the only movie I've ever seen that reminded me of watching one of those for two hours, a result of trying to cram too much into too short a time.

Written July 1, 2007.

Hellboy

3.5/4 stars

The best comic book adaptations always seem to be the ones that can capture unique and compelling characters with a good mixture of drama and humor. This film does that well, and also provides an incredibly imagined and skillfully realized world (courtesy of Mike Mignola and Guillermo Del Toro, respectively). The pace is a bit slow at the beginning and end, but all in all an entertaining and well made movie.

Written March 17, 2008.