This week
Blade: Trinity
Million Dollar Baby
Elektra
Blade: Trinity
Director: David S. Goyer
Director David S. Goyer is the man behind the screenplays for the first two "Blade" installments. He helms this one in a way that makes you wish he had stuck with the writing. "Blade: Trinity" is Goyer's second feature and shows he has little flair for directing. The acting is dreadful and the movie is sluggish and clumsily structured. Time and again it feels like scenes have been cut, perhaps because of time constraints, leaving the story with gaping plot-holes. The action is incompetently shot and edited, showing an immense lack of understanding of location and pace. You end up laughing at the vampires instead of fearing them. Much of the movie feels like a parody of the first two movies rather than a cool continuation of the series.
(Julie Vinten)
This reviewer thoroughly enjoyed the first two features in the series because they were well-made, witty and entertaining. This third incarnation of the vampire exterminator Blade (Wesley Snipes) has a hollow, tinny sound as well as look. Was the soundtrack dubbed in an echo chamber? A little music would have given the listless action some life, energy and spark. The only genuine revelation in "Blade: Trinity" is Ryan Reynolds as comical sidekick Hannibal King. Nevertheless, none of the assembled actors can salvage this maudlin attempt to entertain. It's forgettable fluff designed to make a fast buck at the box office. Watch it so you can forget about it almost immediately. The Blade franchise has definitely lost its bite. Don't forget to bring your stake and hammer kit.
1/2 (Laimons Juris G)
Million Dollar Baby
Director: Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood was never a technical perfectionist as a director, but he cares about a strong story and strong actors. Here he has created a deeply moving drama with an admirably straightforward narrative. Hilary Swank is good, but this is not her movie. When Eastwood and Morgan Freeman enter the stage, they completely take over. You feel immense respect for the 74-year-old Eastwood, who has skillfully shaped this movie by directing it, acting in it and writing the score. "Million Dollar Baby" is good, but not flawless. The movie does some things that take guts - perhaps not in European cinema, but certainly in Hollywood. That might have played a part in the widespread praise it garnered. But don't get me wrong, I enjoyed this picture 's you just have to.
(Julie Vinten)
The bubbles really burst rather quickly in this obstinately soapy tearjerker. Any way you look at it, you'll have a fairly difficult time finding a bleaker exaggeration than "Million Dollar Baby." Pulp noir fiction freaks make haste, don't forget your deluxe-sized box of hankies and prepare for a river of tears to flow. Hilary Swank can never top her role as Brandon Teena, the gender-confused teenager in "Boys Don't Cry." The gifted female with the toothy grin emotes sentiments worthy of any fine actress. However, it's Morgan Freeman who puts everything into perspective and saves the film from being a complete waste of time. Clint Eastwood has his moments, but this effort is not his best. After the super-hype surrounding this movie, it's a bit of a disappointment.
1/2 (Laimons Juris G)
Elektra
Director: Rob Bowman
It's obvious that this comic-book adaptation was created out of a true love for the main character, but "Elektra" just didn't turn out quite as the director might have hoped. This action/fantasy movie is full of ideas, but they are either poor in themselves or badly realized. Jennifer Garner isn't bad. She merely succumbs to the fact that a script this useless would make anyone look ridiculous. Trying to make an epic out of mediocrity turns "Elektra" into a mess of epic proportions. This is a B-movie and perhaps it wouldn't have turned out so awkwardly if the filmmakers had embraced this fact. Instead they want the movie to be more, to actually mean something. It might have worked so much better if the point had merely been to entertain us.
(Julie Vinten)
This odd little flick is obviously geared toward young teenage girls. Jennifer Garner, known from her popular TV series "Alias," is charismatic as well as electric in the title role. It doesn't really matter that the fragmented plot is a rehash culled from dozens of old B-movies. It also isn't important that director Rob Bowman is better known for directing a slew of episodes on "The X-Files." Apparently "Elektra" is a spin-off from that Ben Affleck dud "Daredevil," released a few years back. Garner's character died in that flop, but Terrence Stamp as a ninja master has brought her back from the dead. She is alive and kicking. Perhaps the Renee Zellweger look-alike, actress Kirsten Prout, can tell you about that. It's silly, harmless entertainment for mindless popcorn munching.
(Laimons Juris G)
