Film Review: The Interpreter (2005) C+

Date Viewed: 11/05/07
Venue: HD-DVD

I shouldn't like The Interpreter as much as I do. But that's still not to say I like it a whole lot. In fact, it's a fairly mediocre thriller with some decent star power (Sean Penn and Nicole Kidman), a reputable director (Sydney Pollack), and a sweeping international conspiracy. On paper, this film should bore the pants off me, but instead I find it a mild misfire.

Nicole Kidman plays an interpreter at the United Nations in New York who accidentally overhears a plot to assasinate a soon-to-be-visiting African warlord. Sean Penn is the damaged-soul (still getting over the recent death of his wife) Secret Service agent assigned to protect the visiting warlord. He investigates her story but is suspicious when she is less than forthcoming about her own African past. Together they unravel the assasination conspiracy, only to find she's more involved in ways no one (including herself) could've guessed.

There are three major pitfalls that keep The Interpreter from being a legitimately good flick. The first of which is a significant lack of chemistry between its leads. The story (thankfully) doesn't call for them to fall into love, but a certain affection does arise. However, Kidman and Penn keep things pretty chilly throughout, with Penn playing the 'tortured cop' routine too close to the vest. Pitfall Number Two involves a common misstep; not letting the audience know what the protagonist wants. While you can certainly argue that Penn and Kidman are sort of co-main-characters, it's Kidman who we mostly follow in the film's first half. But we the audience are deliberately withheld information about her. We aren't told what she wants, and we aren't privy to the sum of her involvement in the whole affair until much later in the film, which makes it rather hard to be on her side and into the storyline. And for Pitfall Number Three, we've got a case of the 'not-so-high stakes.' Sure an assasination inside the U.N. building would be a Bad Thing, but the screenplay goes to quite a bit of effort to explain that this warlord guy is a bad, genocidal dude. So why should we care if he's killed?

Now after all that, I should've really disliked this film. But there are a few small things that despite all the flaws, kept me interested. The film is beautifully shot, nothing overdone, but simply elegant and confident. I also applaud director Pollack for the overall tone. This is a serious, adult, film, with characters that at least attempt to be three-dimensional. Also, this was the first film ever to be allowed to shoot inside the actual U.N. building, and this does nothing but great assist the authenticity and already strong atmosphere.

With some better star chemistry, some script-level character help, and higher stakes, The Interpreter could've been a first-rate thriller. I know that sounds like it needed a lot of work, but even in such disrepair, it's a lot closer to respectability that many films of its genre.

Film Review: Grindhouse (2007) B-

Dated Viewed: 10/27/07
Venue: DVD

Grindhouse is certainly a unique creation. Directors Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino have crafted an homage to cheap exploitation B-movies of the 70s and 80s that were shown in dingy theaters called, of all things, grindhouses. Comprised as a double-feature, Grindhouse contains two seperate films; Rodrigeuz's zombie flick Planet Terror, and Tarantino's automotive thriller Death-Proof. Surrounding both films are hilariously tongue-in-cheek fake trailers for other grindhouse-type films, which when coupled with lots of fake film damage (and even a 'missing reel' in Planet Terror) make the whole experience quite authentic.

Now as for the films themselves, Planet Terror works far better Death-Proof does, perhaps because Tarantino is a little too love with dialog. Whereas Terror deals with military zombies infesting and wreaking havoc in Texas, Death-Proof is an episodic look at the young female victims of a serial killer (a serial killer who uses a 'death-proofed' stunt car to kill). Planet Terror has plenty of gunplay, gore, and a first-rate B-movie cast (Jeff Fahey, Michael Biehn, Freddy Rodriguez, Rose McGowan...need I go on?); Death-Proof has talking...lots and lots of typical Tarantino dialog. Rambling, seven minute conversations and the like. Now there's no questioning Quentin's skill with the spoken word, but generally his films have a story worthy of his characters' diatribes. Death-Proof? A self-admittedly stab at B-movie filmaking...not so much.

In all, Grindhouse is an admirable exercise and love-letter to the exploitation film, but it's little more than that. Planet Terror succeeds with lots of zombies, plenty of gore, a nifty cast, and some incredibly silly action. Death-Proof, despite some fine stunt work during its two car chases, is over-written and bloated to the point where it stops being fun and starts being a bore. And if there's one thing an exploitation film should never be....it's boring.

Film Review: Superbad (2007) B+

Date Viewed: 12/13/07
Venue: DVD

Superbad is pretty simply the best teenage sex-comedy to arrive since 1999's American Pie. Written by childhood chums Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, this tale revolves around two high school virgins (named Seth and Ethan, of course. Played by Jonah Hill and Michael Cera respectively) desperately seeking to smuggle alcohol into a graduation party in the hopes of getting girls drunk enough to have sex with them. Nothing goes as planned and the guys embark on an epic hi-jinks-filled quest to fuel their alcoholic dreams.

On the surface, there's not much to differentiate Superbad from other teen romps. There's vulgarity aplenty, some crude gross-out humor, and heavy alcohol and drug use. What really sets this apart is an honest and natural attention to character. I buy that Seth and Evan are (very co-dependent) best friends with a long history. I buy their quick-witted and hilarious exchanges. A lot of the credit for this goes to Hill and Cera, but much should be given to Rogen and Goldberg. This is so very obviously a labor of love and personal experience that you can't help but admire it.

In addition to the strong work from the leads, Superbad boasts an excellent supporting cast. Christopher Mintz-Plasse nearly steals the movie as fake-ID geek Fogell (aka 'McLovin,' or so it says on his Hawaii(!) driver's license), plus Bill Hader and Rogen himself are amazingly funny as two of the world's worst police officers.

Superbad succeeds not because of the outrageous situations our characters find themselves in, nor is it due to the sheer volume of obscenely funny dialog. Superbad works because its kids are genuine, their relationships are genuine, and their fears, motivations, and eventual growth, are genuine, too.