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'The White Countess'

By Erin Randolph

Movie Trailer

We all form our own barriers to keep out the turmoil in our lives, and for the central character in "The White Countess," that place is a bar. At the beginning of the film, we see this character fall asleep while seated at some sort of business meeting, and already, this reviewer knew how he felt, wishing for either a drink or a nap instead of this two-plus-hour film. "The White Countess" started out slow and kept that languishing pace through until the end.

Todd Jackson (Ralph Fiennes) is a former U.S. diplomat living in 1930s Shanghai. Though he was once optimistic, he's now bitter and blind as a result of the deep political turbulence of the time that took his sight, as well as the lives of his wife and children.

Now Jackson is a product of Shanghai's nightlife, spending the bulk of his time visiting dive bars, grand hotels and gentlemen's clubs, dreaming about the bar of his dreams, a vision that exists very clearly inside his head. After a particularly lucrative visit to the track, however, Jackson embarks on his quest to create the perfect bar, which will have just the right mix of romance, tragedy and political tension.

His chosen centerpiece for his bar is Sofia (Natasha Richardson), a White Russian countess who fled the Bolshevik Revolution as a child. She now lives with her late husband's aristocratic family and her 10-year-old daughter, a family for which she is the sole breadwinner. Though she supports the family, she's detested at the same time for the way she earns it: by being a taxi-dancer at a dingy nightspot who, in desperate times, resorts to prostitution.

Jackson and Sofia form a strange bond in which they work together but never share personal information, perhaps in order to preserve the perfect picture of Sofia that lives in Jackson's mind, much the same way his taxi-dance hall did before he brought it to life. As their growing friendship brings Jackson out of the dark hole he's been living in. As the year or so passes, tension mounts in Shanghai, with "The White Countess" coming to an end just as the Japanese invade and the entire world is on the verge of World War II.

"The White Countess" is the final collaboration between director James Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant - a duo responsible for films "Le Divorce," "A Room With a View" and "Howards End." The problem with it, is that even though its actors turn in superb performances, the story moves so slowly and shows little or no purpose in the greater scheme of things. Though Jackson wants political turmoil in his club, and eventually supposedly gets it, we never see that turmoil come to life, and further more, we never see any result - positive or negative - come from it.

And though "The White Countess" is supposed to show the unrest that existed in 1930s Shanghai, it's also supposed to be a love story of sorts between Jackson and Sofia. However, we never see real sparks exist between the two, so therefore are never really rooting for them to get together and therefore feel no real satisfaction when they do. Which is a shame, really, because it could have been so much better. CV

V For Vendetta

By Dan Vinson

Movie Trailer

So you say you want a revolution? Well, Natalie Portman, Hugo Weaving, the "Matrix's" Wachowski brothers, and first time director James McTeigue are game. But, tantamount to Thelma and Louise skidding to a stop at the cliff's edge, "V For Vendetta" stops just short.

Based on Alan Moore's rather hefty graphic novel (note: his name is not attached here), "V" is set in a mildly futuristic London, after the totalitarian Chancellor Sutler (John Hurt) has taken control. No music is allowed, or art, or wandering the streets after curfew. Disobeying the curfew is Evey Hammond (Portman), who nearly gets assaulted by "finger men," the Chancellor's trigger-happy secret police. Who/what saves her is V, clad in a black hat, cape, and white smirking mask, and brandishing knives and martial arts moves. Once they've been properly introduced, V invites Evey to a "symphony." On a rooftop, he "conducts" as Tchaikovsky blares through the speakers in the streets and the "Old Bailey" statue explodes in time. "Remember, remember, the 5th of November" is his rallying cry.

On this date in 1605 a man named Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up Parliament. Caught and hanged, his ideas lived on, and V plans another such attempt in one year. He hijacks the airwaves of the British Television Network to announce his plans and rationale to his derailed country. On his trail, and searching for BTN employee Evey Hammond (thanks, omnipresent video surveillance!), on the Chancellor's bellowing orders, are inspectors Finch and Dominic (Stephen Rea and Rupert Graves).

Evey gets hurt during the BTN siege, and V takes her to his hideaway to recuperate. He cooks her breakfast, plays lovely jazz, and shows her his favorite movie, the classic British version of "The Count of Monte Cristo." Then, his velvety voice informs her that she must stay until things die down-possibly months. Meanwhile, V continues his other vendetta, murdering all involved in the human medical experiments that created him. Conveniently sprinkled throughout the Chancellor's administration and media, V poisons them and leaves a rose. Evey assists once but runs away, hiding with Dietrich (Stephen Fry), a BTN variety show host. Eventually, Dietrich is arrested, and Evey is discovered and imprisoned. V's vendetta continues until only the Chancellor himself remains, and, of course, Parliament.

There are many twists in the bloody final act-further motivations are revealed and alliances forged-all culminating in the potential destruction of Parliament. V has mailed masks and costumes to everyone in London, hoping they'll show up to participate in history. Evey has the most important role, but after what V has put her through, will she show?

Shot in steely tones by cinematographer Adrian Biddle (who died late last year), "V" is more entertaining than boldly political. The Wachowski brothers adapted Moore's terrific story, but with so many clipped scenes and ideas in play, it's too scrambled to spark debate. (Stretching those American allegories doesn't help.) And, since there's far more talk about than actual scenes of brutal oppression, the totalitarian state really isn't. Lots of yelling from John Hurt's head isn't horrifying, it's annoying. Portman, who famously allowed her head to be shaved here, is the best part, filling Evey with conflict and finally action, but she can't quite carry things because the central character can't change his expression. In print, this works, but on screen V often renders the film as synthetic as his mask.

'Cachè'

By Dan Vinson

Movie Trailer

The opening shot is trained on a particular doorway, though you don't know that yet. Cars and pedestrians move across the field of vision, and eventually someone comes out of the house. Then you hear voices and the screen begins rewinding. Cut to a living room where a couple is warily watching the first anonymous videotaped surveillance of their comings and goings. They don't know what's going on anymore than you do. Welcome to the cinematic shock therapy of Austrian director Michael Haneke.

This problem belongs to Georges and Anne Laurent (Daniel Auteuil and Juliette Binoche) and their son Pierrot (Lester Makedonsky), who reside in this unnamed French city where Georges hosts a weekly book analysis on TV and Juliette is a book editor. Being a pre-teen, Pierrot mostly sulks and hangs out with friends. Wrapped in (what looks like) a disturbed child's drawings, the tapes arrive with increasing frequency, but what do they mean? Neither Georges nor Anne knows anybody, save for Pierrot and buddies as a joke, who might do this. And the police are no help; much like here in America, until there's a very specific threat you just have to endure.

George and Anne, though unnerved, go about their lives and careers. They see each other only in the morning and evening, they go out of town when necessary for work, whoever discovers another tape calls the other. One night, with friends over for dinner, Georges answers the doorbell and finds yet another tape at his feet. Anne has already spilled to their friends so, thinking it will be more shots of their block, Georges pops it in. But this time, it's his childhood home.

So Georges now thinks he might know who the culprit is (though his intense dreams suggest he's known since the beginning), but he won't tell his wife until he's sure, which, of course, causes a major rift. It seems his parents hired an Algerian couple to help run the household, and they had a son about Georges' age. He figures quite shockingly into the present story, but to say much more would spoil this layered and disquieting film. Just when an answer seems to present itself, another shoves it aside. Just when you get used to the static, sometimes subjective shots of cinematographer Christian Berger, Haneke throws another curve. It's up to the audience - as it was in Haneke's 2000 film, the similarly themed "Code Unknown," also starring Binoche as a woman named Anne - to adjust and decipher what they're seeing. As their lives implode, Auteuil and Binoche effectively display outrage, fear, and sometimes, daring.

Shooting in 2004, Haneke (pronounced "Hannukah"), who won Best Director at Cannes last year, couldn't have known how prescient his story would be. Last November, protesting their virtually systematic marginalization from French society, Algerian Muslims rioted across the country, and now, as the film bows in the United States, there's an illegal government surveillance scandal, not to mention, lingering racial wounds.

Though it's clichè to reference Alfred Hitchcock, blending Hitch's masterful foreboding with the tendency of European filmmakers to recall French New Waver Jean-Luc Godard's famous axiom about films needing a beginning, middle and end, but "not necessarily in that order," approximates "Cachè's" unsettling mood. (And a complete absence of music also enhances this.) Generating as many questions as answers, it keeps you guessing until the fiendish final moments. Keep your eyes peeled. CV

'The Hills Have Eyes'

By Rafe Telsch

Movie Trailer

Aremake of the 1970s Wes Craven film, "The Hills Have Eyes" takes place in an abandoned desert area of New Mexico. The Carter family takes a wrong turn and discovers just why that area of New Mexico is abandoned. The government used it for nuclear testing decades before, causing mutant effects in the people who refused to evacuate the area. The mutants ambush the Carters' vehicle, leave them stranded in the middle of nowhere, and slowly assault them, dividing and conquering as the stupid family members dutifully play the part of typical horror movie victims, falling prey to each of the mutant's clever schemes.

Director Alexandre Aja brings the same passion and vision to "Hills" that he brought to his first horror film, "Haute Tension." "Hills" is incredibly gory, pushing its "R" rating as spikes are driven into the heads of mutants and family members, dogs are disemboweled, parakeets become tasty beverages, and actresses Emilie de Ravin ("Lost") and Vinessa Shaw ("Melinda and Melinda") are virtually raped on screen. The movie is a visual nightmare in a good way, likely to make even hardened horror fans turn squeamish as Aja tosses details in the audiences' faces. Aja extends this method of directing to non-gory parts as well, maintaining camera shots just long enough to be awkwardly uncomfortable, and then a little bit more, on oddball characters like the mutant-affiliated gas station owner responsible for sending the family down the wrong road.

As a second film, "The Hills Have Eyes" carries on the visual promise Aja showed in his first. This is a director who isn't afraid to push boundaries. As a scriptwriter, though, Aja still has some room for improvement. There are a few pacing issues with the film that move it from being a steady assault to mere gore and brutality. But pacing problems aside, this is a well-designed film with a level of intensity that could give gore-hounds and horror fans everywhere something to talk about for decades to come. CV

'Failure to Launch'

By Erin Randolph

Movie Trailer

Is it still worth watching a movie if the plot is completely laid out there from the get-go and if the ending is painfully obvious well before the film even starts? Apparently so, for some, as the prevalence of romantic comedies hitting the big screen doesn't appear to be waning anytime soon.

"Failure to Launch" is about as romantic-comedy-by-numbers as films of that ilk get. And for fans of that sect, this film will meet their expectations.

Tripp (Matthew McConaughey) still lives with his parents, which wouldn't be such a problem if he weren't 30. In all other areas of his life - except, of course, his love life - he's got it together, a good job, a nice car, loyal friends, a mother who still makes him a hot breakfast in the morning. Yet he hasn't been able to fly the coop - which apparently is termed "failure to launch," at least by Paula (Sarah Jessica Parker).

It's Paula's job (literally; she's hired by the parents) to get these clingy mama's boys to move out of the house for good. She pretends to be the girl of his dreams; if he likes "Star Wars," she likes "Star Wars." She motivates, provides support, and ultimately, supposedly, he moves out. However, Paula has no love life of her own, just her work, and hardly seems qualified to judge.

Regardless, Paula is hired by Tripp's parents (Terry Bradshaw and Kathy Bates) to, well, you know. Tripp and Paula go on dates, they have a good time. Everything seems on track. But, well, you know, things don't exactly go as planned. Throw in a few inane and pointless run-ins with Mother Nature, a curmudgeon best friend for Paula, a couple bachelor friends for Tripp, a gentle plot surprise that will throw a wrench in the whole plan, and (tada!) the breeziest of breezy comedies is born.

And it's awfully breezy. Almost painfully so. The only real redeeming quality of "Failure to Launch" is its cast, which is surprisingly bright for such a dull storyline. However, it's not enough to save "Failure to Launch," which probably never should have been launched in the first place. CV

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