Eastern Promises

Wilsford's Review
Thumb: Up

Notable Characters:
Viggo Mortensen – Nikolai Luzhin
Naomi Watts – Anna Khitrova
Armin Mueller-Stahl - Semyon

Plot (contains spoilers): Anna Khitrova, a midwife in a London hospital, has a fourteen-year-old pregnant girl die while giving birth. After finding the girl’s diary, she seeks out information so that the baby may be passed on to the family. Unfortunately the diary contains information that could put a local Russian mob boss, Semyon, in jail. After coming in contact with Semyon, not knowing his true colors, Anna finds herself in the middle of a power struggle within the mob. The driver of Semyon’s son, Nikolai, takes a liking to Anna and in the end helps her get free from danger. Meanwhile, Nikolai plays his cards right and gets promoted. However he is set up so that he could take the fall for Semyon’s son. After a bathhouse rumble, Nikolai emerges victorious and helps Anna prove that Semyon is the father of baby because he was the one that had raped the girl and as a result, Semyon is put in jail and Nikolai takes over as boss.

Reasons why I didn’t like it:
• Pace of the movie was uneven. The movie started out intense with a very violent “whacking”. After that it seemed to slow down, only to pick up and slow down again.
• The description of the movie led me to believe that the story line of Anna caught in the middle of a mob war was a big part of the movie and I was let down. I didn’t think that it was a big part, it seemed that, at best, it was a side story that didn’t really need to be paid attention to.
• The bathhouse rumble. This fight scene was graphic in violence and Viggo’s little trooper.

Reason why I liked it:
• The bathhouse fight scene. Probably my favorite part of the movie. The reality of the scene was authentic and while I do feel uncomfortable intimate with Viggo as a result, it doesn’t take away that it is the best fight scene I have ever seen.
• Viggo’s acting. At first I didn’t think that he made a good Russian but as the movie progressed I think he made it more believable and thus brought out a great performance.
• Armin Mueller-Stahl’s acting. He played the mob boss and was awesome. When you first meet him he seems like a nice guy wanting to help but after the initial meeting there is an unusual creepiness about him. That creepiness proves correct when he brings out his absolute ruthlessness. Armin played this character well and showed how seemingly normal people can have a horrible side to them.

Final Notes:
Did not expect to like this movie but was pleasantly surprised. It is the best movie of the fall so far and if you like movies with plot twists, this one is for you.

Young's Review
There have been many great movies made about the mafia in America. As it turns out, the Russian mob is just as intriguing.

'Eastern Promises' is the latest effort from director David Cronenberg and should go down in film history as one of the best movies ever made about organized crime. I give this movie an enthusiastic thumbs up. However, I offer this disclaimer: this movie is not for the faint of heart. The level of violence is extremely high. A scene where the main character is attacked by two men in a steam room is as graphic, in terms of blood and gore, as I have ever seen in a non-horror movie.

Viggo Mortenson, who previously teamed with Cronenberg in 2005's 'A History Of Violence', shines in the role of Nikolai, a chauffeur for a Russian mob family based in London. Nikolai's primary responsibility is driving around Kirrill (Vincent Cassel), the immature son of crime boss Semyon (Armin Mueller-Stahl). The performances of Cassel and Mueller-Stahl were the highlights of the movie. Cassel brought a sense of insecurity to Kirrill that fit the character perfectly and Mueller-Stahl was brilliant as the quietly intimidating Semyon.

Naomi Watts also stars in the film as Anna, a midwife who is trying to protect the newborn daughter of a prostitute who died in labor. Watts does an admirable job with limited screen time. Watts genuinely conveyed the fear Anna felt in protecting the child.

There is a sharp plot twist near the end that added to the enjoyment of the film. This movie had an interesting story and believable characters. It is definitely one of the top movies of the year and deserving of Oscar buzz. I highly recommend this film to fans of the mafia genre.

Other Viggo Mortensen Movies
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The Brave One

Wilsford's Review
Thumb: Down

Notable Characters:
Jodie Foster – Erica Bain
Terrence Howard – Detective Mercer

Plot (contains spoilers): Erica Bain, a radio personality, and her fiancée are brutally attacked in central park, unfortunately her fiancée dies from his injuries. After waking up after 3 weeks, she learns of her fiancée’s death and becomes scared to leave her apartment. When she gets the courage to leave her apartment she buys a gun immediately to protect herself. One night in a convenient store, a jealous husband comes in, guns down his wife, and when learning that someone else is in the store is gunned down by Jodie Foster. As a result of her “self defense” killing, she realizes that in some way it helps her cope with her own loss. Later on in a subway, she is harassed by a couple of thugs with a knife and she kills them as well. This prompts the media to write about a vigilante roaming the streets. From this news story Detective Mercer, a good cop with a strong passion for the law, and Erica strike up a deep friendship. As the movie progresses Erica kills, Detective Mercer draws closer to realizing that Erica is the vigilante, and their friendship grows deeper. The climax of the movie is when Erica learns the location of her fiancée’s murders and goes there to kill or be killed. She successfully guns down two of them and it captured by the third until Mercer shows up gives her his gun, let’s her have closer (shoot the bad guy), and lets her go free.

Reasons why I didn’t like it:
• Jodie Foster. I don’t think she was good at all in this role. I actually don’t like her that much as an actor anyway, but role produced a sub-par performance.
• The ending was ridiculous. What Mercer did was completely out of character. Throughout the whole movie it established Mercer to be a completely by the book cop with the courage to do what is right even if it means locking away the person closest to him. Aiding someone in murder was a complete shock to how he was being portrayed and seemed to be put there for simple “Betcha didn’t see that coming” To which I would reply “Of course it caught me by surprise. Anyone that possess rational thought would have been surprise, it doesn’t mean it was good.”
• It did not have a consistent theme. The first half of the movie had seemed like it was going to be a movie about someone coping with the loss of a loved one. The second half of the movie was about the creation of a superhero vigilante.

Reason why I liked it:
• Terrence Howard is awesome. He really made this movie enjoyable and stole the spotlight in every scene.

Final Notes:
Not a god movie. If you are in the mood of a vigilante movie I would strongly suggest “Death Sentence” which, in my opinion, was one of the best movies of the summer.

Young's Review
When James and I started doing this blog, we thought we would have diverging viewpoints about the films we were watching. After the first two movies we reviewed together ('Death Sentence' and '3:10 To Yuma'), that was definitely not the case. That all changed with 'The Brave One', which I am giving a 'thumbs up'. I had high hopes for this film, and while it did not completely live up to my exectations, it was still compelling.

Erica Bain's transition from a thoughtful, well adjusted person to an ice cold vigilante was far from smooth. In fact, it did not seem consistent with the character's development. Perhaps that is why the image of Bain shooting her first three victims is so jarring.

The highlight of the film is undoubtedly the relationship between Jodie Foster's Bain and Detective Mercer, played by the always reliable Terrence Howard (Hustle & Flow). Bain is reluctant to get too close to anyone because she fears her identity may be discovered. Mercer is reclusive as well in the sense that he has a general distrust of the media (Bain is a local radio personality). All of these issues are cast aside when the two meet for the first time. Mercer is intrigued by Bain, and Bain seems to feel safer knowing Mercer is watching over her. The dynamic between them is the emotional center of the film and every scene the two share is fascinating.
The premise was similar to that of Death Sentence in that both films featured characters that were looking for vengeance after the brutal murder of a loved one. The difference was while Kevin Bacon's character had a singular focus in finding his son's killers, Bain became an arbiter of justice for the world at large. Director Neil Jordan (Interview With The Vampire) impressively displayed Bain's violent metamorphosis without letting the audience judge her for it.

The acting and directing were both fantastic. Foster and Howard were both on top of their games. Naveen Andrews (Lost) also made a brief, but memorable, appearance as Bain's murdered fiancee.

While I enjoyed this film, I have just one thing to say to Mr. Wilsford: can we pick something a little lighter next week?

Other Jodie Foster Movies
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3:10 to Yuma

Wilsford's Review
Thumb: Up

Notable Characters:
Russell Crowe – Ben Wade
Christian Bale – Dan Evans
Ben Foster – Charlie Prince

Plot (contains spoilers): Dan Evans, an indebted rancher, while out with his sons rounding up their cattle, witnessed a stagecoach robbery by infamous Ben Wade. Wade and his gang take the money and head to the nearby town where Wade gets captured and the men involved decide to take him to another town to catch the 3:10 to Yuma prison train. Evans, who is in danger of losing his farm, volunteers to help in the transfer. Along the road we learn that Evans, while disrespected in his home, is doing this for the future of his family as well as to redeem himself from past failures. Also Wade manages to kill off a few of his captors along the way. Upon reaching the train station Charlie Prince, Wade’s psychopathic right hand man, has caught up to his boss and demands his release. The remaining captors, save Evans, give up for fear of death only to be gunned down. It is here that Wade finally understands why Evans is putting his family and life on the line, redemption.

Reasons why I didn’t like it:
• Enough with the hand held cameras. It wasn’t as bad as Bourne but at times it wasn’t even an action scene. I think the hard part of acting is portraying emotions and sincerity through facial expressions. When you use hand held cameras it is hard to focus on the actor’s faces and that takes away from their performances.
• The movie starts off slow and doesn’t really pick up till about 30 minutes into the movie.
• The ending wasn’t clear. Thinking about the ending I can justify the events so that it makes sense to me and is probably what the director wanted to portray, but that is not my job. It is the director’s job to tell the story not the audience to figure it out.

Reason why I liked it:
• The transfer journey was good. That was where a lot of character development took place, though it was lacking with Crowe’s character.
• Acting was good. I listed Ben Foster in the notable characters because he was fantastic. He played Wade’s right hand man and he was creepy. Christian Bale was great. He had many moments especially a scene he had with his wife Alice. In this scene we learn about his “loser” quality and the desperation he feels and why he needs to do this.

Final Notes:
This movie was a roller coaster for me. At times I didn’t like it, then I loved it, then I hated it, then I liked it, then I didn’t know what I thought. It is a good story with good acting. However, it is also a movie that you could probably wait for video.

Young's Review

The classic American western is not dead yet.

'3:10 To Yuma' proves that, and I am giving it a 'thumbs up'. There are a few flaws that keep me from fully embracing it, however.

Director James Mangold, who also helmed the Oscar-winning 'Walk The Line', did not pick up the pace enough in the first half of the film. Things were moving so slowly, I almost checked out. Fortunately I did not, because the second half picked up considerably.

For my initial review, I will let James take care of the plot summary and just focus on my analysis of the film. The road to redemption for the movie's main character Dan Evans (Christian Bale) was engrossing. Bale was magnificent, wonderfully capturing the tortured sense of responsibility Evans felt to provide for his family. Russell Crowe gave a typically strong performance as notorious outlaw Ben Wade.

The second problem I had was the plot twist at the end. Without giving anything away, I will say that the end did not stay consistent with the rest of the film. It seemed like too much of a stretch of reality. Mangold tried to put a pretty bow on the package and it rang hollow to me.

Although I had some issues with the film, '3:10 To Yuma' still belongs in the same conversation with classic westerns like 'Unforgiven' and 'The Good, The Bad And The Ugly'. The gunfights were entertaining and Mangold made New Mexico look great as a stand-in for Arizona. If you like westerns, give '3:10 To Yuma' a chance. Stick with it all the way through and you won't be disappointed.

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