Unknown

Airing for five seasons on CBS between 1959 and 1964, The Twilight Zone helped rewrite the science fiction and thriller genre, especially for television. There weren't too many weak episodes, but the best ones presented these mysterious situations with no explanation provided. How did we get here? Who am I? Where am I? They were these great little stories, wrapped up nicely in 30-minute episodes. Watching 2006's Unknown, all I could think of was that the Twilight Zone was a big inspiration.

A man (Jim Caviezel) wakes up in an odd, vacant warehouse with no idea who he is and absolutely no recollection of how he got there. The situation is about to get a lot weirder. He's not alone, with several other men unconscious in the same warehouse. One man (Joe Pantoliano) is tied up to a chair, another (Jeremy Sisto) is handcuffed and hanging from a bar overhead, a third (Greg Kinnear) lies face-down in a pool of blood, and a fourth (Barry Pepper) is quickly regaining consciousness. Trying to piece it all together, the first man answers the phone, a voice (Peter Stormare) at the other end, asking a couple questions and then telling him "We'll be back soon." With no answers, no clues as to what's going on, the first man realizes the rest of the men are waking up. All they know is they're trapped in a warehouse with no exits in the middle of the desert. Who put them there? Were some of them involved? All they know is they could be in trouble if they don't find a way out immediately. 

What a perfectly straightforward, highly enjoyable flick from director Simon Brand and screenwriter Matthew Waynee. Mystery, countless unanswered questions, and a whole bunch of confused, angry men in a hellish situation. Sometimes the most straightforward, simple premise works this best. I don't remember this thriller getting a release in theaters in 2006, but I liked it a lot from the get-go. Just like the men in this isolated warehouse, as an audience we have no idea what's going on. NONE. There really isn't a weak point in the story, but 'Unknown' hits the ground running. The high points are the opening, five knocked-out men waking up in a warehouse and freaking out (rightfully so). They panic, scream, yell, argue and then settle in, knowing their time is running out if they want to get out unscathed. I like movies like this that capitalize on a gimmick and do it well. If you're gonna use a gimmick, do it right.

More than the story, I was drawn to this movie because of the cast. These aren't huge names, but that's a good thing. These are some of the more talented actors working in Hollywood, working together to form a great ensemble cast. We kinda sorta learn some of their names, but in the cast listing they're identified by some distinguishing feature, Caviezel is Jean Jacket, Pantoliano is Bound Man, Pepper is Ranch Shirt, Kinnear is Broken Nose, Stormare is Snakeskin Boots and Sisto is Handcuffed Man. The performances are uniformly good, Caviezel, Kinnear and Pepper getting the most of the screentime. The group does a strong job showing the various reactions, Caviezel curious and questioning himself, Kinnear absolutely flipping out, Pepper the middle ground trying to weight all their options. We see the dynamics -- individually and as a group -- as everyone involved must decide which people to side with. Should they side with anyone? These folks are in a life and death situation. That's it. That's all.

That group dominates the screentime, but there are some key supporting parts. Bridget Moynahan plays a worried woman trying to get one of the men out, a small but key part. Chris Mulkey and Clayne Crawford are two police detectives on the hunt, looking to follow the clues as presented, looking for someone in the warehouse. Mark Boone Junior plays an associate working with Snakeskin Boots.

With a story like this, it would be really easy to give away some major spoilers. But what's the fun in that?!? I want you to enjoy the movie like I did, going in blind and trying to piece it all together, see if you can figure it out before the twists are revealed. The amnesia storytelling device can be a make or break gimmick, but it doesn't feel forced here. A bottled chemical is released, knocking these five men out for over a day to the point they remember nothing about who they are or how they got there. After waking up, they slowly begin to figure things out, to remember all those touches and snippets of their lives. We see these portions in blurry, hyper-edited flashbacks, everything falling into place. My usual worry is that the premise in innovative stories like this is far better than the twist, the payoff. It comes as disappointing when the reveal is made. Not the worry here. The script, the story, the twist, it all works and does so really well.

The only disappointing part of this quick 85-minute long movie is in the finale. Far from a dealbreaker, but the potential for some giant twists (giant good twists) is there. The ending is good but it could have been great. There's also a surprising, secondary twist revealed in the last two minutes that felt unnecessary, everything kinda hanging in the balance when the credits start to roll. Still, these are minor issues with a thriller that I loved watching. Uncomfortable and mysterious, adrenaline-pumping right until the end, this 2006 film is a gem.

Unknown (2006): *** 1/2 /****

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues

So for anyone who lives under a rock, the sequel to 2004's Anchorman hit theaters recently, Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues, raking in some solid if not huge numbers. It's a daunting task making an unnecessary sequel that follows an original film that is considered by many -- myself as well -- to be a comedy classic. Oh, and it's been nine years since the original was released? This sequel isn't the most timely of follow-ups, but director Adam McKay and star and fellow writer Will Ferrell waited until they could devote the right amount of time to actually writing the follow-up. Is it worth seeking out? You bet.

Having left San Diego and Channel 4 behind him, legendary news anchor Ron Burgundy (Ferrell) is living the high life in New York City, co-anchoring the nightly news with his wife, Veronica Corningstone (Christine Applegate). Well, he was living the high life. Called in thinking he's getting a promotion to a national network, Ron finds himself out of a job when Veronica is promoted instead. He's in a bad place now only to receive another job offer, a new news station that will be on television 24 hours a day. Ron is able to assemble his old news team, Brian Fantana (Paul Rudd), Champ Kind (David Koechner) and Brick Tamland (Steve Carell), and heads to New York City to rebuild his reputation. The news world has changed though, and Ron and Co. must adjust. Can they manage it?

There are certain movies where plot descriptions are beyond unnecessary. This is one of them. Do you like Ron Burgundy? Did you like Anchorman? If you said yes to either of those questions, you're going to head out and see this movie, story be damned. Though a sequel had been rumored for years, it finally came to fruition this past year when McKay and Ferrell revealed they had been working on a script, really devoting the time that script deserved to get it to theaters. Some nine years since the original was released, this isn't the most timely of sequels, but it's one that audiences have been looking forward to. We've been carpet-bombed for several months now with ads and appearances from Ferrell as Burgundy, the movie even under-performing some in theaters. If you read nothing else from this review, read this. If you liked the original, you'll like this one. Is it as good? No, but that would be almost impossible to do.

Instead, it uses the similar formula while adding some new wrinkles to keep things fresh and funny. How do they manage? Well, as dumb as the humor may be at times, it's also got some really smart (and funny) moments. Assigned to the graveyard shift on the new 24-hours news network, Ron and the team start to think out of the box. What do audiences want to see? Praise for America, sports highlights of home runs, big touchdowns and ferocious slam dunks, footage of cute animals doing goofy things and anything and everything sexy. Yes, Ron Burgundy can see into the future. Surprise, surprise, the ratings go through the roof, audiences eating up the new approach to the news. There is a subtle smartness here, Ron insisting on more graphics on-screen, showing a car chase live on-air and guessing who's driving and what's going on, even a countdown of the greatest vaginas of the 20th Century. Okay, maybe they're not all smart, but they're funny.

My worry was that the cast would turn their characters into caricatures of themselves, even more so than they already are, but thankfully we avoid that. It's fun to see Ron's development as he starts to realize maybe he's not the great newscaster he thought he was. The story gets pretty ridiculous in terms of a character arc -- really going off the beaten track in the final act -- but above all else, it's for laughs. Single Ron is separated from his wife, but still wants to be close to his son, Walter (Judah Nelson), deals with Veronica's new boyfriend, Gary (Greg Kinnear), a psychiatrist he believes can read his mind, gets semi-controversial with an interracial relationship with his new boss (Meagan Good), plays some jazz flute while ice skating, and eventually, even must fight back from being blind. Yes, you read that right. It's ridiculous. The entire movie is. It commits to being both equal parts really stupid and really smart. Leading that charge is Will Ferrell as Ron Burgundy, again stealing the show.

The best moments have Ron and the reassembled news team up to their usual hijinks, providing the movie's funniest moments. Finding out what Brian, Champ and Brick have been up to is priceless, a recruiting montage providing some great laughs in a scene you'd expect out of a men on a mission movie, not a screwball comedy. The quartet just has impeccable chemistry, each of the three supporting players given their chance to shine. You like the characters, like their shenanigans and can't help but laughs. Also look for James Marsden as Jack Lime, an established star in the news world who goes up against Ron as a new co-worker, Kristen Wiig as Chani, a secretary at the new station who has a budding romance with the equally odd Brick, and even Harrison Ford (yes, Harrison Ford) as Mack Tannen, a legendary newscaster. It's a ridiculously talented comedic cast.

SPOILERS I'm going to mention a couple scenes here -- one more than the other -- that features some good surprises and twists as the movie develops. Stop reading if you don't want to know. SPOILERS Both scenes are updates of iconic scenes from the original, the first being Brian Fantana's epic collection of condoms, one explanation after another bringing the house down, a nice update on his Sex Panther scene. The highlight though is a ridiculously over the top update of the Newscaster Fight (watch it HERE). The star power is nuts, the ante upped in every way possible. Ron and his team must fight the BBC (Sacha Baron Cohen), entertainment reporters (Tina Fey and Amy Poehler), ESPN (Will Smith), MTV (Kanye West), and the History Channel (Liam Neeson), accompanied by the ghost of Confederate general Stonewall Jackson (John C. Reilly). Oh, and Kirsten Dunst keys up the fight as the Maiden of the Clouds. And the Minotaur is fighting with the History Channel. It is truly nuts, completely ridiculous, and it works so, so well.

If there's a weakness here, it's that at 119 minutes, Anchorman 2 is a tad long. Some bits just work better than others. Ron and Co. driving in a Winnebago...well, cruise control driving, is inspired. A later montage of the team building up their new reputation is perfect, Ron and Brian at one point smoking crack on live TV. Other bits aren't as good. I'm looking at you Steve Carell and Kristen Wiig in some truly painful scenes. For the most part though, it works, one scene more nuts than the last. It's not on the level of the original, but it sure is funny. Enjoy it.

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues (2013): ***/****

As Good as It Gets

What do you think of when you hear the name James L. Brooks? I, for one, had to look the name up. I recognized it, but no one film instantly jumped out at me. Without the huge notoriety or name recognition, Brooks has a handful of classics and near-classics to his name whether it be directing or writing. How about one where he did both? That's 1997's As Good as It Gets. 

Living in a spacious NYC apartment, Melvin Udall (Jack Nicholson) is a famous author who churns out one classic love story and novel after another. His personality doesn't match the writing style though. Melvin is obsessive-compulsive, racist, a homophobe and basically hates everyone. He has no real friends, tolerating a semi-friendly waitress, Carol (Helen Hunt), at a restaurant he eats at everyday, and basically tries to avoid contact with everyone. His cozy little world riddled with OCD is thrown for a loop when his neighbor, Simon (Greg Kinnear), a gay artist, is horrifically beaten, and Melvin is forced to care for his tiny little dog, Verdell. Melvin has had quite the past with both Simon and Verdell but can't get out of the arrangement and agrees to watch the dog until Simon recovers. It's one little thing that changes Melvin's ways as an odd three-way friendship is forged among the author, the waitress and the gay artist. It's three very different people, but they seem to have found a unifying bond among them.

A favorite among critics and audiences in 1997, 'Good' earned over $140 million in theaters and was an even bigger success at the Oscars with Nicholson winning Best Actor and Hunt winning Best Actress. Oh, and there were five other nominations including Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor for Kinnear. My recent viewing was my first for this film, and I enjoyed it a lot. How come? I can't really describe it. None of the characters are all that likable, and in a meandering sort of way, I never really knew where it was going or what it was trying to say. What then is the answer? I think it resonated with audiences because it is about people, their lives, their struggles inside themselves and interacting with others. Can't everybody see the appeal in that in some way? It feels real. No explosions or shootouts, just some solid dramatic moments, one on top of the other.

An acting legend, Nicholson has won three separate Oscars and earned 12 nominations overall. I'm partial to his performance in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest as his best, but against a talented field in 1997 -- Matt Damon, Peter Fonda, Dustin Hoffman and Robert Duvall -- Nicholson delivers a gem. The fact that we like this character even a smidge is a testament to Nicholson's ability. His Melvin Udall -- the perfect name for this character -- is a racist, prejudiced, obsessive-compulsive individual while also becoming a famous author. He has absolutely no filter in whatever he says and basically only thinks of himself at all times, how things affect him. Just about everyone who meets him is disgusted by him, and he welcomes it. That he finds some sort of odd companionship with a squirrelly little dog named Verdell is beyond perfect. I liked the movie throughout, but there's no doubt Nicholson is the best part of the movie.

While Nicholson's performance was the most noteworthy for me, all three lead performances are really worth mentioning. Mostly known from TV sitcom Mad About You and as the girl from Twister, Hunt shows what a talented actress she really is. A single mom with a son who has horrific asthma attacks almost at will, her Carol works as a waitress and has the unpleasant title of being Melvin's favorite waitress. She's trying to do what's best for her son and is put in an interesting predicament by Melvin even if his reasons for doing a very generous thing seem almost entirely intentional. In the smallest of the three parts, Kinnear is very good without being stereotypical as a struggling artist in NYC, a gay man who resents Melvin more and more for his brutally inappropriate comments about his sexuality.

Also look for Cuba Gooding Jr. in a solid part as Simon's agent who's trying to help him become a successful artist. Shirley Knight is very good as Beverly, Carol's very helpful mother and also watch for Yeardley Smith, Skeet Ulrich, Harold Ramis, and even future SNL star (and more) Maya Rudolph in supporting parts. Look quick for Rudolph or you'll miss her.

If I have one complaint with 'Good' it is that at 139 minutes it is a tad on the long side. There are some big, dramatic moments (but not overdone thankfully), but for the most part the story leans more toward the episodic. We meet the characters, see them interact in a variety of places and fashions. Late in the movie, Melvin, Carol and Simon go on a road trip with an odd purpose, an extended sequence that works well but I questioned where it was going. It does eventually get there, it just takes a little while with an effective ending. Funny, very dark, emotional, and based in some sort of personal reality, this is a good one.

As Good as It Gets (1997): ***/**** 

Thin Ice

If movies have taught me anything (look at me, rationalizing watching movies), I'd say it is this. Amateur crooks? Leave it to the professionals. If you think you've got an infallible plan, you probably don't. Something will go wrong. It always does. End of moral, on with the review, 2011's Thin Ice.

A mildly successful insurance salesman, Mickey Prohaska (Greg Kinnear) is in some serious trouble, both career-wise, financially and personally. His wife has kicked him out of the house, and his business is less than thriving until one day he meets a potential customer, Gorvy Hauer (Alan Arkin), a forgetful, possibly senile old man living alone in an isolated farmhouse. Gorvy has a violin that is worth some serious money, and Mickey sees the chance to "fix" so many of his problems....if he can con the old man. As he tries to switch out the valuable violin for a dupe though, Mickey is spotted by Randy (Billy Crudup), the security system installer, and now his simple dupe of a plan has become so much more, especially when Randy, an ex-con, takes action.

I liked this movie. I didn't love it, but I liked it. There are issues, especially late, but more on that later. Setting the story in Wisconsin, with its frigid winters, is a great start. Watching the movie, you feel legitimately cold. It's a sterile, white country where the trouble goes down (Minnesota filming locations), even resembling a similar quirky, unsettling story, Fargo. Also aiding the cause is composer Jeff Danna's score, always present but never overbearing. It hangs in the air around the characters, and that's partially what I liked best. Even though Mickey is a despicable individual, it's incredibly tense watching things develop. We're waiting for his perfect plan to fall apart so the atmosphere and sense of impending doom is palpable. So what happens?

For me, it was the last 30 minutes. No spoilers here, no massive revelations, but I came away disappointed with the twist that is thrown our way as viewers. Take this for what it's worth, but I didn't see the twist coming....AT ALL. I just wasn't looking for it so maybe that's my disappointment. Maybe 'Ice' didn't need this particular twist? Well, that's my first thought. Anyhoo, the twist is there. I can't change that. Thinking back on the movie, it works in terms of storytelling. Sure, there are certain parts that hinge on a little too much coincidence for my liking. A few too many perfect little things happen that no real-life individual could have planned on. Embarrassed viewer who didn't pick up on the coming twist? No, I don't think so. It just was an unnecessary departure in the story, for me at least.

Reading up on 'Ice' before I dove into the review (Yes, I try to do some research), some of my issues made a lot more sense when I read about this film's troubled past. Filmed in 2010, 'Ice' was premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and purchased by a studio, and then that studio promptly demanded that huge changes be made. Director Jill Sprecher refused, wanting nothing to do with the flick, and then the changes in the name of pacing were made. A 114-minute long movie was cut to 93 minutes. I don't care what movie it is. If you cut 21 minutes from a running time, you're going to have issues. So again, take this for what it's worth. I liked this movie for what it was, not knowing it had been so severely cut. I'd love to see the 114-minute version and find out what it has to offer.

Enough with that background and back to the movie! The dark story and an impressive cast drew me in here -- negative reviews aside. Kinnear is one of my favorite actors around, able to be a true a-hole on screen while still rooting for him in a weird way. Go figure. Very good lead performance. Arkin is a scene-stealer as Gordy, the senile old man living with his dog on a far-off Wisconsin farm. Crudup hams it up a little much to my liking as the possibly unhinged Randy, but he certainly brings that unpredictable element into the story. Also look for David Harbour as Bob, one of Mickey's "understudies," Lea Thompson in a small part as Mickey's wife, and Bob Balaban as a violin expert interested in Gorvy's violin.

Thin Ice <---trailer (2011): ***/****

Green Zone

After the highly successful The Bourne Identity, director Paul Greengrass stepped in and did something rare with the trilogy.  The three movies got better with each new movie, thanks to a frenetic shooting style and the always reliable, always cool Matt Damon as super spy and hit man Jason Bourne. The movies were so good in fact that when Greengrass teamed up with Damon for 2010's Green Zone, it looked like Bourne visting Iraq for a tour of duty. Unfair? Maybe, but at its heart it is a popcorn thriller that reeks of professionalism and style.

What worked against any possible success this movie could have had was that the story is based in 2003 Iraq just weeks after the U.S. invaded the country.  In the years since 9/11 and the subsequent events, there hasn't been a movie dealing with those topics in the Middle East that hit theaters and just dominated the box office.  The memories are still fresh, and as viewers we can still look on the evening news for reports of what's going on.  Add to that issue that many Americans don't believe we should have ever gotten involved in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Greengrass is really up against it with this movie.  A movie about a war we should never have been involved in has been like box office poison over the last nine-plus years.  But give this one a chance on DVD. It's more than worth it.

Leading an Army team in Baghdad assigned the mission of finding weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Chief Warrant Officer Roy Miller (Damon) thinks something is up.  Intelligence reports keep coming in telling where to find these WMDs, but Miller and his team keep coming up empty.  Fed up with the failure, Miller seeks additional information.  Is everything being done that can be done, or do these weapons actually exist?  He gets more suspicious when a Dept. of Defense official (Greg Kinnear) tells him to drop it. With some help from a CIA agent (Brendan Gleeson) who knows more than he's letting on, Miller starts his own investigation and begins to think a huge cover-up is to blame for the lack of any evidence of Iraqi WMDs.

With a story about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, only people completely clueless to recent history don't know how this movie is going to end. Now in 2010, the events taking place seem like they're from a long time ago, and Greengrass doesn't shy away from showing the idiocy of U.S. involvement in Iraq.  He has some fun with President Bush's Mission Accomplished speech as the war continues in Baghdad and casualties continue to mount. There's no way to tell this story without a cynical view because we do know the end result of the search for WMDs.  The government here is trying to cover things up, the soldiers on the ground are the ones paying for it, and the truth is a sidebar that no one really seems interested in.

About halfway through the movie, I thought of what the cast reminded me of, Sergio Leone's The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.  Damon is the good, Kinnear the bad, and Gleeson the ugly.  (No offense, Brendan, I meant more about motivation than appearance).  Damon is an ideal choice to play Chief Miller.  He dives into the role as always and convinces us as viewers that he knows what he's doing.  Drama or comedy, I don't know if there's a better actor out there right now.  Kinnear is that sneaky, sketchy government official you know has an ulterior motive.  Gleeson is underused but still makes a strong character, a CIA agent playing things close to his chest.  Also in the cast is Amy Ryan as a journalist duped liked everyone else, Jason Isaacs as a Special Forces soldier going up against Miller, and Khalid Abdalla as Freddy, Miller's Iraqi translator.

My biggest pet peeve about the Bourne movies was Greengrass' ultra-hyper shooting style that makes what's on screen impossible to keep up with.  Fight and chase scenes are a blur with just hints of what's going on.  I've always felt like showing everything in a manageable fashion is an obvious way to impress the viewer.  If something cool is on-screen, show us!  Don't cut it to the point of making in indecipherable mess.  Green Zone continues that trend, but it's not awful, just noticeable.  That said, the last 20 minutes are fast-paced and chaotic (in a good way) with some great action as Miller races through Baghdad at night in hopes of capturing an Iraqi general who may hold the key to the WMD problem.  The aggressive shooting style certainly does give the movie a realistic, right there with the soldier feel, but pulling back even a little couldn't hurt.

So for an exciting, well-made thriller that only grossed $35 million in theaters, what could have been changed? Basically change the setting, and you've got a hit.  It is exciting from the word go, and the pacing never slows as the mystery begins to unravel.  But it is still uncomfortable watching a movie about the conflict and fighting in Iraq when it feels like we're still so wrapped up in it all.  Maybe like so many Vietnam movies, it will just take a grace period before people can appreciate the quality of the movies.  Green Zone is definitely one worth checking out though.

Green Zone <---trailer (2010): ***/****