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reviews
jumper
Don't be quick to "jump" out of your seat for this one. Jumber isn't a must-see movie, but it is worth checking out at some point.
Hayden Christensen (Star Wars Episode III, Awake), Samuel L. Jackson (Coach Carter, S.W.A.T.) and Rachel Bilson (The O.C.) make up the cast of this sci-fi thriller based on the novel of the same name.
Christensen stars as David Rice, a young man who learns he has the ability to teleport himself virtually anywhere he can think of. He spends years living a life of leisure, making himself rich and sleeping with women all over the world. But his fun comes to an end when an organization that seeks to kill "jumper;"—people with the ability to teleport—comes after him.
If you're looking for another thriller for purely entertainment purposes, this is your film. But if you hate it when events happen in a movie with no real explanation, steer clear of Jumper. Christensen does a great job of allowing the audience to understand
his character. Surprisingly, Samuel L. Jackson is the one who gives a lackluster performance as the leader of the organization that's after Christensen. You're never really sure of his character's motives or his background.
The plot is definitely there, but it's just not used to its full potential. If Jumper 2 gets the green light, which it supposedly has, the director should expand more on background information on some of the events and people in the film. The organization after Christensen isn't explained well until the end of the film, and still by then there are several other little things that just don't add up.
It was nice to see Christensen and Jackson reunited since the memorable Star Wars Episode III. It's also interesting to think how rapper Eminem would have done in this one, as he was originally cast in Christensen's role. Jumper is entertaining overall, but you may want to wait for it to hit the rental stores.
Matt Lindberg
the savages
The fact that I couldn't personally relate to The Savages, and yet found it delightful, is a telltale sign of a great movie, as good movies are wholesomely enjoyed by the people they were made for, but great movies transcend demographics.
The movie's opening montage shows old ladies working on a synchronized swimming routine and a golf-carted grandfather blissfully taking in the monotony of Sun City, Ariz., aka Retirement Paradise, USA. Enter Wendy and Jon Savage (Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman), two siblings reuniting to take their father (Philip Bosco) back East where they both live because, as Linny eloquently puts it, "He's been writing on the walls with his shit." Diagnosed with dementia, their dad is disoriented to the point of believing that the nursing home his kids have put him in is a hotel. But for all of his confused outbursts, it's his children who end up needing the therapy only family can provide. While caring for their father in his final days, Hoffman and Linney work through feelings of guilt about the quality of care they're giving their father and
their more serious personal issues, which drag further drama along with them.
Don't worry: it's not the maudlin melodrama that my summary may have made it out to be. Yes, The Savages does have heart and emotion, but it's also frickin' hilarious. More about exploring the problems of brother and sister than those of Papa Savage—who is relatively content in his ignorance—writer/director Tamara Jenkins has a knack for putting Hoffman and Linney in awkward environments and then stepping back and letting them react, usually without any words at all. And then there are the sibling fights, which are so well done that you'll want to step on-screen and yell, "Hey, break it up!" The brisk pace and subtle humor—with the occasional outburst—reminded me of Sideways. This turned out to be no coincidence: Sideways writer Alexander Payne produced The Savages.
lan Stanford
02.21.2008 interesting fact: Statler and Waldorf were named after two New York City hotels—the Statler Hotel [which was renamed the VOL. 5 ISS. 21 Hotel Pennsylvania in 1992] and the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Waldorf's wife, Astoria, completes the set. -muppet.wikia.com