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REVIEWS
MOVIE: Pride and Glory
Gritty crime dramas generally follow a rigid formula. They begin with a series of crimes that the audience is meant to believe were committed by some character, follow the police/FBI's attempt to find said criminal, and end with a big reveal that one of good guys was behind the crimes all along. We're shocked and outraged, have our cathartic release, and everyone goes home happy. Pride and Glory follows this formula, but takes away the surprise in favor of developing the psychology of its main characters.
The movie depicts a family of New York cops who get caught up in corruption and murder for hire.The well-meaning Ray Tierney—expertly played by Edward Norton—joins a task force in charge of solving a murder spree in which four police officers under his brother-in-law's (Colin Farrell) authority lose their lives. From there he discovers a seedy underbelly to his older brother's (Noah Emmerich) department. More bloodshed and death are in store before the end, but unlike most crime films, Pride and Glory is able to keep you guessing.
The heart of this film is its transformation of the convoluted plot-driven crime drama into an emotionally connected family story. John Voight gives a stellar performance as the father, and the supporting cast is strong, making the movie a legitimate work of filmmaking art.
Most of the developing material is sound, but the ending strikes a slightly silly chord, which keeps Pride and Glory from ascending into the next echelon of cinema. Don't let that dissuade you, however, from seeing this utterly violent yet touching thriller.
Matthew Crooks
MOVIE: Saw V
Saw V is the worst film in an already atrocious series. It's a movie made for the incompetent rabble that allows movies of this ilk to get produced.After five films of gratuitous violence, one cannot expect much semblance of a story remaining in the Saw franchise, but this is a minor point for those stupid enough to go see any of these films to begin with.
If you've followed the series, you know that Hoffman (no actor worth mentioning) is the apprentice of Jigsaw and plans to continue his master's demented "games." You would also know that Agent Strahm (again, no actor you will ever hear of) has discovered Hoffman's secret identity and is hot on his trail, setting up a gory showdown. Furthermore, if you follow the series, you probably don't care about good filmmaking or storytelling and only need to know that the rest of the movie is torture-porn filler.
Saw V is an offensive movie. It is an assault on intellect and creativity. The success of the franchise is emblematic of the declining tastes of a generation based on expedition. Each successive movie has
been exponentially worse and less intelligent than its predecessor. That even the original Sow was not good or particularly interesting offers insight into the level of craftsmanship involved in this sequel. At this point, the franchise has gone from bad to sub-mental. Watching this movie is a truly regrettable experience. To get your obligatory Halloween fix, rent The Tenant or The Evil Dead instead.
-Darron Carswell
MOVIE: Man on Wire
Sometimes a story seems just too good to be true. Take last year's surprise documentary hit King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, for example: ridiculous people engrossed in a seemingly ridiculous pursuit that just so happened to be real.
Such is the case with the story of wire-walker Philippe Petit in Man on Wire, another documentary about a group of people caught in a real and amazingly cinematic adventure. However, Petit's tale of walking on a tightrope between the two World Trade Center towers in 1974 isn't something to laugh at. It's a story jampacked with images and anecdotes that will leave you breathless. We hear from Petit and his accomplices in interviews, dramatic re-enactments, archival footage
and photograph after photograph of Petit seemingly walking on air hundreds of feet above the ground I lost count of the number of times I gasped.
MAN ON WIRE
It doesn't hurt that Petit is a fantastic storyteller. It's clear he enjoys attention as much as he enjoys making mischief, and he talks to the camera while wildly gesticulating his plan. The people who helped him accomplish his feat are thoughtful, and obviously care just as much about their friend as they do about the importance of the act itself. From Petit's early stunts—such as walking on a wire between the bell towers of Notre Dame—to the final climatic act when we see him suspended between the World Trade Center towers, Petit and his friends have full command of the audience.
It's an amazing thing to see the story unfold, and to see the relationships between the people involved.
Man on Wire simply must be seen to be believed. It's an inspirational work that makes you want to go out and do something unbelievable. Maybe not walk on a high-wire (some of us are afraid of heights) but experience things that make us appreciate the people and places around us. This movie is wonderful, and every bit as thrilling as, well, watching a tightrope act.
October 30,2008
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