Walk the Line
Stephen Gaghan
Harold Ramis
Walk the Line
Grabbing the title of Johnny Cash's signature song, this biopic centers on the life of the rebel country musician whose considerable problems with alcohol, drugs and a heartless father threatened to destroy him before the love of his life, June Carter, found him. You really have to hand it to Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon for doing their own singing. They nail everything, delivering one feisty musical performance after another. The trouble is that "Walk the Line" only works when the music is playing. The rest of the time this is a standard feature at best, relying heavily on sentimentality and suffering significantly under the old standard biopic formula. Still, Witherspoon and Phoenix have real chemistry. Their performances are real Oscar bait.
1/2 ( Julie Vinten )
Although "Walk the Line" is an almost textbook example of the Hollywood biopic there is something strangely epic and elevated about this treatment of the enigmatic and tortured figure of America singer Johnny Cash. But what really raises the film above mediocre entertainment is Joaquin Phoenix's brilliant portrayal of Cash. His devastatingly powerful performance reveals a man hopelessly bewildered by his life and indifferent to his fame. Reese Witherspoon is almost equally impressive as June Carter, Cash's collaborator and repeatedly unrequited love. "Walk the Line" is a truly endearing film that carries you along like one of Cash's bizarrely hypnotic melodies. The concert in Folsom Prison is one of the best cinematic music scenes I've seen. Whether it's more fiction than fact seems entirely irrelevant with a film this riveting.
( Tim Ochser )
Stephen Gaghan
Like "Traffic," which director/writer Stephen Gaghan wrote, "Syriana" has an elaborate and confusing narrative. But the story here isn't the drug war, but oil greed. Inspired by a non-fiction book by a former CIA agent, this intelligent (fictional) feature deals with the very real, contemporary issues of terrorism and corruption in high-level politics and global business. The ambitious narrative is both a strength and a weakness. By joggling a parade of characters and storylines, Gaghan manages to tackle the story from several angles, even if there just isn't enough time to capture all the issues in depth. "Syriana" is an enthralling and well-directed, character-driven drama, an unusually honest and non-preachy Hollywood production.
( Julie Vinten )
This engaging and timely film looks at the convoluted political, legal and moral ties between America and Middle Eastern oil. The complex plot means you have to carefully follow every scene if you want to keep up with the story but by the end of the film the message is unambiguously and painfully clear: what a wretched, wasteful mess. George Clooney is excellent as Bob, the grizzled, Farsi-speaking CIA operative trying to understand why his own people are turning on him. But Matt Damon gives the film's best performance as Bryan, a finance analyst who starts working with Arabian oiligarchs after tragedy tears his family life apart. "Syriana" is an admirably sincere and intelligent piece of politicized filmmaking that poses many deeply uncomfortable questions. Films like this should be far more common.
( Tim Ochser )
Harold Ramis
Funny-guy director Harold Ramis ("Groundhog Day", "Analyze This") goes dark with this low-key thriller bursting at the seems with bitterness, existential angst and dark humor. Mob lawyer Charlie Arglist (John Cusack) is in a lot of trouble after stealing $2 million from his boss. Not that his life, made up of trips to sleazy strip bars, friends he spends a lot of time backstabbing and children that he doesn't take care of, wasn't depressing enough already. The potent, cynical nerve running through this atmospheric feature is what keeps it together. There are some appealing performances and the characters are intriguing. Yet, the feature does feel empty. "The Ice Harvest" lacks finesse, persuasion and oomph to be truly meaningful.
( Julie Vinten )
"The Ice Harvest" is the sort of delightfully wry black comedy that America does so well but all too rarely. Set on a freezing cold Christmas Eve in Wichita, it evokes happy memories of "Fargo," "The Last Seduction" and several other modern-day film noir gems. John Cussack gives his best performance for quite some time as the sleazy and cynical Charlie, while Billy Bob Thornton breezes through his role as Charlie's partner in a particularly bold crime. But "The Ice Harvest" is most notable for Oliver Platt's brilliant turn as Charlie's drunken friend Pete. Platt is a revelation and hopefully some juicy job offers will come along to do justice to his formidable talents. "The Ice Harvest" has all been done before but it's nonetheless done extremely well. Wonderful entertainment.
1/2 ( Tim Ochser )
