film: review

> SUMMER 2006 REVIEW ROUND-UP– PART THREE
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Lady in the Water, and Miami Vice

By John C. Lyons
Film Critic

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST
8/10

What once was a suicidal movie idea in Hollywood is now box office gold! Johnny Depp, Keira Knightley, and Orlando Bloom: swashbuckling, colorful, likeable characters in exotic locales up against all manner of dirty pirate. What’s not to love!? Even after the surprise success of the original film (Disney should build a Johnny Depp Theme Park) the back-to-back sequels were still a bit of a gamble, but thankfully Dead Man’s Chest ups the ante and takes what worked in Curse of the Black Pearl to the next level.

This was my most anticipated film this summer and while I enjoyed the movie every bit as much as the first, I don’t think it was without fault. This is a fun, action-packed summer movie about pirates, not an Oscar epic, so why is the film 2 ½ hours when there’s another on the way? And another gripe in the excess category: too many characters/groups. To this day I don’t remember the shipping company’s name (were they a shipping company?) or any of its players. Davey Jones’ crew offered plenty of entertainment. But the short guy, Elizabeth’s dad, and the other dull lords back home were a bore, so let’s just forget they even happened in the 3rd movie, shall we?

But hey, I can’t wait for the last part of the story and to see the lead characters on screen again. Good popcorn movie.

LADY IN THE WATER
7.5/10

You won’t hear me apologize for M. Night Shyamalan’s movies; I think the man is continuously doing a great job. There’s been a backlash recently and I don’t understand it and Lady in the Water may very well turn off a big chunk of the remaining mainstream audience, but I for one found Night trying something with this movie that I really connected with as a filmmaker. Aside from the film’s central theme (everyone has a purpose, even if they don’t know it yet), I thought it also explores the creative process an artist goes through when creating a story, or a storyteller when telling a tale. It’s a great idea, and, although I don’t think the translation to the movie was perfect, I commend him for keeping it interesting.

Once it gets rolling, the story is as unbelievable as any fairy tale set in the “real world” would be, so I won’t try and explain the Narfs and other creatures inhabiting the Cove (I actually found the humans to be much more interesting). Paul Giamatti, not surprisingly, turns in a good performance, and although I’m worried that Shyamalan is becoming too visible in his films, he didn’t hurt the scenes too much here.

I can’t call this a fun popcorn movie, or a kid’s movie, it’s really a Shyamalan movie. If you’ve stayed on the train since The Sixth Sense, you should find more to like here.

MIAMI VICE
9.5/10

Miami Vice. Who would have thought a movie based on an 80’s TV show that has since become the punch line of many jokes (mainly clothing) could be my new favorite film to-date this summer? I certainly didn’t. The thing is, aside from the title, central location, and the names Crockett and Tubbs, there’s little similarity between the two. Thankfully, directing genius Michael Mann has crafted a vice detective film that feels completely authentic from beginning to end. His involvement is the only reason I saw the movie, and I’m sure glad I did.

The movie takes no time in getting right to the point; there are no opening credits and we are dropped right in the middle of an undercover operation and then right in the middle of a violent double-cross. You’re in the back as a guy in the driver’s seat gets his arm blown clear off. No slow motion, no unbelievable explosions. No lingering shots. Nothing gratuitous about it. Just real, scary violence and then you’re off the next gun blast. Wow!

But the film isn’t all blood and bullets, far from it actually. In fact, I heard a person complaining about the downtime and love scenes between Foxx (Tubbs) and his girlfriend and Farrell (Crockett) and his, but to me that’s what helped put this cool “action” film way above the rest of the pack. You actually cared about these guys and their team when they found themselves in seriously intense situations. Building on what he did with the intimacy and immediacy of the digital medium in Collateral, Mann is really onto something here and it’s exciting. Gritty, real involvement between the viewer and the film that I haven’t felt before in a theater, this sort of anti-Matrix style is what the future of action cinema could be. Highly recommended.

I saw these films at Cinemark’s Tinseltown 17 Theatres on Peach Street in Erie, PA.

(06-0731)