Thank You for Smoking
See No Evil
Thank You for Smoking
Based on the satirical novel by Christopher Buckley, "Thank You For Smoking" bears the burden of sympathetically portraying one of our most despised contemporary villains 's the tobacco industry lobbyist. Aaron Eckhart plays Nick Naylor, Big Tobacco's golden boy spokesperson. What makes Nicotine Nick tick and get people to flick their bics? The film is built around this central question and, as such, revolves entirely around Eckhart who delivers a perfectly decent performance but lacks a certain seductive charisma necessary for the part. He simply doesn't quite sell cigarettes like Tom Cruise sold misogyny in "Magnolia." I wouldn't buy a free box of matches from Naylor. The film reminds us of the cases for and against smoking and then shoots holes in all the arguments. But it misses the mark somehow. It's interesting intellectually but not viscerally, and it flirts with satire without being either savagely biting or darkly funny. Katie Holmes is utterly miscast as the investigative journalist out to seduce Nick, but Rob Lowe is memorable as a Hollywood uber-agent and Adam Brody is priceless as his amped-up assistant. Despite being a mixed bag, this is still ambitious material and a promising debut film from Hollywood scion Jason Reitman.
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( Sherwin Das )
Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart) is a highly articulate and intelligent spokesman for Big Tobacco. He tirelessly lobbies and argues on behalf of cigarette companies while maintaining there is "no conclusive proof" that cigarettes are actually bad for you. "Thank You for Smoking" is the sharpest mainstream satire I've seen for quite a while. Eckhart's excellent performance brings a real sensitivity to the film, while the perceptive and extremely amusing script cuts through everything in its path, from Hollywood to Vermont cheddar cheese. It's definitely not subtle but it does raise some important questions about freedom of choice and the double standards that are exposed in singling out tobacco for especial vilification. Strong support from Rob Lowe, Maria Bello and Robert Duvall, among others, makes it into a real ensemble piece. It's just a shame that every mainstream satire nowadays has to resort to absurd caricature to get its point across. Perhaps that is inadvertently the most damning criticism of the media and spin culture being parodied. But after a long summer of woefully insipid films, "Thank You for Smoking" actually feels like a breath of fresh air. It's hard to believe that cigarettes once served as illustrious movie stars back in the day. Well-worth seeing.
1/2 ( Tim Ochser )
See No Evil
When I first set eyes upon murderous brute Jacob Goodnight in "See No Evil," I felt a certain sense of deja vu. Of whom did this ash-colored, dim-witted overgrown oaf remind me? Sometime amid the squish and plop of the first set of eye-gouging scenes, it all came into focus. Shrek! Could the animated green ogre with the golden heart have a live-action alter ego? Let's look at the evidence. Fact. Jacob is played by entertainment wrestler Kane who previously went by the moniker The Christmas Monster. Coincidence? I think not. Fact. Despite his agents' best efforts, Shrek has been typecast as Mr. Nice Green Guy. Wouldn't an impulsive foray into B-grade horror make sense? Wouldn't the Shrekster jump at the chance to shed his green for gray and try on the role of a brute with unresolved sexual issues and a fetish for picking human eyeballs out of his victim's heads like blueberries. A welcome stretch indeed, both for the ogre and his fingers. Fact. "See No Evil" was directed by prolific porn producer/director Gregory Dark. Could it be that Shrek has his eyes set on the lurid world of adult film? Is this the era of the big green stud? Some films really get you thinking.
( Sherwin Das )
"See No Evil" is not so much a film in itself as an 84-minute montage of every formulaic and pointless horror film ever made. In other words, it's crap. The plot involves a group of eight delinquents being sent to an old hotel to do a weekend of cleaning in order to get a little time knocked off their sentences. But it turns out that serial killer Jacob Goodnight (Glen Jacobs) is hiding out there. That's too bad. Jacob has a tendency to rip out his victims' eyes with his bare hands (hence the film's title in case you miss the connection). The teens on offer represent the usual serial-killer fodder, from blonde bitch to brooding brunette, with a feisty black guy thrown in for good measure. Where "Saw" at least tried, no matter how fatuously, to justify its gratuitous goriness, "See No Evil" just lunges straight at the eyeballs. There are a few grainy flashback scenes to Jacob's childhood which show the poor boy locked in a cage while his mother humiliates and taunts him. That explained, however, the film cuts back to him ripping out anotherpair of eyes. Perhaps it's an auteur thing among horror film directors.
( Tim Ochser )
