Movie Review: Lord of War (2005)

Lord of War

Nicolas Cage	Yuri Orlov
Bridget Moynahan	Ava Fontaine
Jared Leto	Vitaly Orlov
Shake Tukhmanyan	Irina Orlov (as Shake Toukhmanian)
Jean-Pierre Nshanian	Anatoly Orlov
Ethan Hawke	Jack Valentine

Plot Outline: An arms dealer (Cage) confronts the morality of his work as he is being chased by an Interpol agent (Hawke).

I was looking forward to this movie as its title gave me the illusion of illustrious gun battle and chaotic mayhem running rampant through the movie. While the movie had quite a bit of gun-play and the locations were exotic, I found myself waiting the entire two hours for "it" to happen. Whether "it" be a over-dramatic gun fight between the main character and one of his nemesis or the main characters eventual slip up, I was on the edge of my seat waiting for "it". In the end, "it" never came.

That doesn't mean the movie was bad though. My interest was held throughout the entire length of the movie. Seeing Yuri Olav (Nicholas Cage) act quickly on his feet and get out of some hairy situations with some less than honest men was actually quite entertaining. I did see a good deal of similarity between the way Cage portrayed Olav and Cage's character from Gone In 60 Seconds. I'm not sure if it was intentional or just due to Cage being Cage, but the sometimes quirky mannerisms and manners of speech made the comparison quite obvious to me.

Ava Fontaine (Bridget Moynahan) was a secondary character throughout most of the movie, only being used to flesh out the human element in Olav. Her role does become more important towards the end however. Personally, I found Moynahan's acting uninspired and lacking. She didn't seem to really feel the role.

Jack Valentine (Ethan Hawke), while not a major character, lent to the credibility of the story. Having the noble good-doer chasing the evil wrong-doer made the movie more interesting, moreso because Valentine is a by-the-book lawman and Olav is anything but by-the-book. Seeing them interact and dealing with the intracacies of the law was quite amusing.

Overall, I found myself entertained and amused. The plot, for the most part, was realistic (despite the authors large lack of knowledge on gun-running) and seemed authentic. All that being said, I was much happier watching in the confines of my living than paying an exhorbanent fee to watch it in the theatres.

Grade: B

Change Sucks Sometimes...

Far be it from to begrudge someone a chance to grow and follow a new path. Lord knows I've done it more than my fair share in the past three years. But, sometimes change just sucks - especially when it involves your best friend.

My best friend has been fed-up with his current gig as a On-Site Manager (means he lives there) of a self-storage facility for I don't know how long. He's always had ambitious goals about changing it, but they've always been either put on hold or not pursued. Well, not this time. He went down to Ocean City (OC), Maryland (MD) and tried out for the summer supplementary police force. As luck would have it, he got in. He'll be a police officer down there during the summer rush (it's a resort-type town for those of you who don't know) and he'll most likely have a good shot at getting on the force full-time if he performs well.

I'm estatic for the kid, I really am. He seems so happy and excited about it. I know the feeling of leaving a job you hate for one that looks promising and rewarding. It's such a rush. What I don't like is the fact that, right now, he only live about 1-1.5 hours away. We can surf, snowboard, and generally hang-out as much as we want. OC, on the other hand, is 5.5 hours away! So much for weekend surf sessions and Sundays at Creek. I'm super bummed out.

Some of you probably know how much I detest the area of the country that I live in. Housing prices are over-inflated, population density is out of control and, to top it all off, I'm surrounded by Jets and Yankees fans! The only two solices I had were A) I live with my lovely, caring, beautiful bride and B) my good buddy was a short car ride away. I'll still live with my wife, but my buddy isn't going to be there anymore. It sure puts a damper on living on Long Island.

So, yeah, change pretty much sucks! I want to be happy for the guy because I know it's what he really wants, and I know he feels the same way about leaving the area (we both are of the quality over quantity mindset with friends), but it's going to be tough to see him go.

I need to start looking for a gig back in Boston I think...yeah, the wife will loooove that one.

Move Review: The Island (2005)

The Island

Ewan McGregor	Lincoln Six Echo/Tom Lincoln
Scarlett Johansson	Jordan Two Delta/Sarah Jordan
Djimon Hounsou	Albert Laurent
Sean Bean	Merrick
Steve Buscemi	McCord
Michael Clarke Duncan	Starkweather

Plot Outline: A man (Ewan McGregor) goes on the run after he discovers that he is actually a "harvested being", and is being kept along with others in a utopian facility.

I had extreme trepidation when starting this movie as A) it's a bit sci-fi for my taste and B) it didn't exactly bowl over theater-goers. I must admit that I was pleasantly suprised with the overall movie. It was a captivating story that seemed far-fetched, but not out of the realm of scientifically possible. The story was told in a well-thought-out manner with the story line developing quite nicely. Some parts were predictable and some were over the top, but overall a solid movie.

The beginning of the movie was a bit confusing as you are thrown into this futuristic world where many of the women are pregnant but male/female 'proximity' is prohibited. It leads one to wonder what the hell is actually going on. The main character, Lincoln Six Echo (Ewan McGregor), is shown struggling with his existance and environment all the while being told he's 'special' because he avoided the 'contamination.'

The story evolves as Lincoln explores the outside world and what it holds. The plot turn that explains his existance is a bit interesting, so I don't want to give it away. Needless to say, the adventure that he and Jordan Two Delta (Scarlett Johansson) go on after their escape is what the movie is mostly built on.

Overall a quality, entertaining movie. A little long in parts and a bit unbelievable in others (but isn't that why we go to the movies?)

Grade: B+