PBWise

OK, first allow me to echo the continued praise of Denzel Washington. Great performance as Hurricane Carter...intense, focused, can't take your eyes off him. A sure Oscar nomination. Unfortunately, there's not much to rave about here aside from Denzel. Every other actor, with the possible exception of Lezra, seems somewhat lost, as if they wandered into the wrong movie. Particularly, the strange trio of Canadians "determined" to free Carter, who blandly wander through the movie in search of a purpose. Although their amateur detective work (performed with all the passion of someone calling for dinner reservations) leads to Carter's release, you keep hoping they'll pack up and return to Canada. And why does that one guy sound British? Dan Hedaya, portraying the racist cop with a vendetta against Carter, delivers the most banal dialogue in recent memory. Considering he imprisons an innocent man for 20 years, this role deserves more than stereotypical "bad guy" talk. His role is too one-dimensional to inspire any significant hate or fear; he seems more like a pesky roach you want to crush beneath the heel of your shoe. The film also failed to take good advantage of Bob Dylan's fantastic song "Hurricane." Sure, it crops up here and there during the story, but at fairly arbitrary and anticlimactic moments. Don't get me wrong, "The Hurricane" packs quite a punch (no pun intended), and nobody should miss Denzel's performance. But it's a very good movie that, like Carter, missed its chance at greatness.

During much of 'In the Company of Men', I grimaced and fought the urge to look away. But I kept watching; the film, much like its central character Chad, tortures and punishes you but keeps luring you back for more.

Chad is a modern, corporate Iago: deceitful, manipulative, cruel, and charming. Watching him interact with Christine, and knowing his intentions, will make you squeamish. His motives? Anyone's guess. During the film's opening sequence, he sickly rationalizes his eventual deception of Christine by expressing a desire for vengeance against a former girlfriend. As the story unfolds, however, you realize (slowly at first, then with shocking clarity) that Chad simply enjoys making innocent victims suffer. I recommend this film with trepidation. Not pleasant viewing (it will surely dampen any social situation), but should leave you thinking. Probably best seen alone (or in the company of men).

Plenty of movies start of with a flash and then proceed to slack off and miss the target. Zero Effect presents a riveting opening scene and incredibly sustains that level of style and suspense throughout the film. An amazing accomplishment from such a young director (Jake Kasden).

Ben Stiller and Bill Pullman do quite well, but some more seasoned stars (picture Tom Cruise in the Stiller role and tell me that wouldn't work) could have elevated this very good film to greatness. I say this with the utmost respect; quite simply, Kasden's story deserves the best.

Really looking forward to future Kasden films. He exhibits great maturity, refraining from superfluous violence and patiently unfolding his masterful plot piece by piece. He also has a great ear for dialogue (for some reason, I particularly enjoyed Stiller's "just a bunch of guys" speech). Even his choices of music seem absurdly correct, as a Johnny Cash-esque song mentioning an "interventionist God" perfectly bookends the film's one (artfully chaste) sex scene. Fans of "Chinatown," "Blood Simple," or "The Usual Suspects," see Zero Effect and meet Jake Kasden.