1/5/05---Back to some movie reviews--briefly

Well, first of all.....I'd like to say thank you very kindly for the positive feedback on my recent article on the beginnings of my relationship with the former Mrs Me # 1.
And oh...don't worry...there is the proverbial "plethora" of information on that topic.
Geez...I was thinking about it today.  All that we've talked about is like that iceberg.
You've only seen the very tip of that resource of storylines.  And man alive---I haven't even started talking about wife # 2!!!  I was wondering today which one of my delightful ex's had a weirder freakin family.  Its a close call...may go down to the wire.

Anyway...I've had the chance recently, courteousy of Blockbuster ("NO MORE LATE FEES"--are you tired of those ad's yet?) to watch a couple of new DVD's.
1) Collateral--boy do I love it when an actor that I'm not particularly fond of takes a chance and hits one out of the park.  Tom Cruise, for years nothing but a pretty boy with a smirk goes totally against type in his latest, by noted stylist//director Michael Mann.  Cruise plays Vincent, who is picked up by cabbie Jamie Foxx one night.
Vincent will be in L.A. for only one evening, and asks Foxx to be his driver for the evening--for a very nice fee of course.  A short while later, Foxx begins to realize that this is no ordinary fare.  Cruise is a hired killer with 5 stops to make and he's going to have to insist that Foxx spends the entire night with him.  Cruise is absolutely mesmirizing, in his greatest performance as Vincent.  He's a coldblooded, nerves of steel killer--and I totally allowed myself to be drawn in.  So many times when you watch Cruise, you watch a film and understand that you are watching "Tom Cruise--movie star" taking on various roles (Jerry Maguire, Vanilla Sky).
This role has him fully realizing the potential that he flashed in "A.I.".  He perhaps has very intelligently come to realize that the pretty boy roles will one day dry up, but there will always be work for a solid actor.  This is the role that shows Cruise reaching for that status, and he grabs it.  Which is not to say that he's not ably supported by Foxx, who quickly is becoming an excellent actor (the recent "Ray").
But this movie is really all about Cruise.  There's a scene in the middle of the film, in the middle of downtown L.A., where Foxx stops his cab.  Bouncing across an intersection during the middle of the night comes a wolf, out looking for a kill.
The scene is classic Michael Mann, and the symbolism of the wolf (Cruise) searching for his victims is not lost on us.   **** 1/2  terrific!

2) The Bourne Supremacy--I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  I totally respect Matt Damon as an actor.  He decided to take on the tougher roles and become an actor, while his old buddy Ben Affleck decided to become a movie star.  Which one do you think will be around Hollywood longer, huh?  Damon returns as former CIA agent Jason Bourne, still trying to put together the details of his past in the dreams that haunt him.  The film opens with Bourne living on the coast of India, trying to find peace of mind with his girlfriend (Franka Potente) when his past comes back to find him--even in this remote location.  Soon he is back on the run, trying to learn why his past and former employers won't leave him alone.  A terrific spy thriller, worthy of the man who wrote it (Robert Ludlum), with Damon in top form and ably supported by the likes of Joan Allen, Brian Cox & Julia Stiles.  You have to figure this franchise will continue--there's plenty of gold to made from it.  ****1/2

Later,
Jeff