World Trade Center

Rated PG-13 for: Intense and emotional content, disturbing images and language
Running Time: 2 hrs., 9 min.
Starring: Nicholas Cage, Michael Peña, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Maria Bello
Rating: Two and a half stars [out of four]

In theaters now


Going into the film World Trade Center today, I still wasn't sure what to expect, nor was I sure that I even wanted to go.

I'm still wondering whether supporting this film was the right thing to do or not. After all, I don't know the motivations of the filmmakers, nor the movie studio [although I can probably guess with the studio.] Was this an honest attempt at memorializing those who died and commending the heroes who ran in to save the victims? Or was this a way to cash in on a tragedy?

I'm still not sure, and I don't think the film itself is going to help its own case. While I certainly can't say for sure that this was made to cash in, those who want to make that argument can point to the fact that this clichéd film certainly seemed to try and appeal to a mass audience.

Again, I can't say that their motivation for that was financial or not. What I can say, though, is that as a filmgoer, I find it to be very boring filmmaking.

Now, let me say that I didn't expect Oliver Stone to come in and make the film in the style of Natural Born Killers. I expected a pretty straightforward narrative that hit all the right notes at the right time. What I didn't expect, however, was just how incredibly bland and unoriginal this would be. It's almost as if Stone was trying to pay homage to Apollo 13 here, without a hint of a second thought.

Now, don't get me wrong. There's not much Stone could have done to avoid making the film this way. After all, this is a true story, and it is about a tragedy, and he should have, and did, stick to standard Hollywood translation. This isn't the type of film that you try to make into an avant-gard art school project. Still, with a director with as much creativity and experience as Stone, I expected a little more innovation that what we saw on screen.

Everything was fine, you see. Not great, and not terrible, but just the way you'd expect. The pacing was exactly what you'd expect. The acting, while terrific, was pretty much what you'd expect. The music was very generic, and exactly what you would find in every movie of this type. Uplifting at just the right moments, sad at just the right moments, violins and cellos and the full orchestra, and you get the feeling it could have been pulled from any other movie and slapped on here.

So, I give that forewarning going in- if seeing this type of movie for the thousandth time is not your cup of tea, then you may want to stay away. If you don't mind that, or if the pull of the subject matter compels you to go anyway, then please try to enjoy it for what it is. Like I said, if this type of film is something that won't bore you, then you'll probably get your money's worth out of World Trade Center. After all, it's not a bad movie, just not a very good one.

Nicholas Cage stars as real life police officer John McLoughlin, who, along with so many other officers, firefighters and medics, started September 11, 2001 as just another day. Indeed, the first twenty minutes or so of the film follows the very mundane and routine day of officer McLoughlin and the others.

We as an audience, of course, know better, but it is interesting to watch as the officers in the film find out what happened to the towers in a less than official way. Indeed, misinformation is passed amongst them, so, just like the rest of us, the guys who were right there on the ground weren't entirely sure what was going on, either.

McLoughlin and the other officers head down to the Trade Center, and a few other guys volunteer to follow him into one of the buildings, including Will Jimeno [Michael Peña].

Soon enough, the towers collapse, and McLoughlin and Jimeno find themselves trapped beneath the rubble, struggling to survive and waiting for help they're not sure is going to come in time.

Stone makes equal time for both McLoughlin and Jimeno trapped in the rubble and their wives, played by Maria Bello and Maggie Gyllenhaal, respectively. We watch them as they try to keep it together, waiting anxiously for any word about their husbands. We also keep an eye on the officers' respective family, including their children.





And that's about it. There really are no more surprises in store for the remaining running time. This is about as by the book as filmmaking gets. I'm sure there wasn't much Stone and screenwriter Andrea Berloff could do. After all, this is based on a true story, and they had to stay true to that, and I certainly respect that. The point is, though, that they may not have been able to vary from the source, but that doesn't necessarily make for a good film.

World Trade Center will be remembered for being able to capture this story of survival very well. Whether or not it will be remembered as a great film, however, remains to be seen.

Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang

Rated R for: Violence, Language, Sexuality, Nudity
Running Time: 1 hr., 43 min.
Starring: Val Kilmer, Robert Downey Jr., Michelle Monaghan
Rating: Three stars [out of four]

On DVD now


The problem with mainstream film today is that everything has been done before. Whether Hollywood is pumping out a remake or a movie that's so retread it might as well have been a remake, it seems that the creative and unique ideas have run their course, and the producers and directors that actually have talent are all in the indie circuit, trying to get their voices heard.

That's why it's so promising and disappointing at the same time when a movie like Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang comes along. It's promising because it's the first mainstream Hollywood film to come out in a long time that's actually creative and fresh. It's disappointing because the movie tanked at the box office, assuring that big studios will continue to shy away from the new and interesting, and stick to what works: remakes and films following the same old formula without deviation in an effort to cash in on trends.

Although this is the type of film best viewed with a big audience [comedies always seem so much funnier when there are a hundred other people around who get the joke, too], Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang is now available at your local Blockbuster, so you can now catch what Hollywood, and apparently most of the movie-going public, doesn't understand.

Shane Black wrote the film [partly based on a novel by Brett Halliday] and also made his directorial debut here, showing a lot of promise. He is best known as the creator of the Lethal Weapon series, and here he takes a familiar Hollywood formula [buddy-cop comedy, where the established detective can't stand his new partner; a murder mystery that the protagonists stumble into; our hero meets the girl of his dreams, romantic tension ensues] and turns it on its head, breathing new life into a tired genre.

You see, the thing about Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang is that Black realizes this is the same old formula, and decides to play around with it, making the movie tongue-in-cheek and having some smart fun with the old action movie clichés. It's a wink to the audience, and for once it doesn't underestimate our intelligence. It's almost as if Black is saying, "We know you've seen this before, and you know what to expect. So let's have some fun poking at the crap Hollywood expects you to swallow." That it doesn't take itself too seriously is what saves it from the doldrums of the typical absurdity of Hollywood. And Val Kilmer plays a gay detective. You read that right. He does it well, too.

Robert Downey Jr. stars as Harry Lockhart, a crook who, at the beginning of the film, finds himself right in the middle of a botched toy store robbery. As he's running for his life from the cops, his partner gets shot and he finds himself running through the first open door he can find in an attempt to hide out.

He happens to stumble right into a movie audition in progress and the producers mistake him for another wanna-be actor there for the casting call. He plays along to avoid capture and ends up getting the part.

Jump forward to a Hollywood party where Harry meets private detective "Gay" Perry, played by Val Kilmer. Perry got his nickname because, well, he's gay. He's also a consultant for the movies, and has been assigned to show Harry the ropes for his upcoming detective role.

It's also soon after that Harry meets up with his old high school crush, Harmony [Michelle Monaghan, whom you may remember as Tom Cruise's latest Mission Impossible cutie] and the romantic tension starts to build.

While Harry is accompanying Perry on a routine stake-out, they end up witnessing a murder, and it looks like they have been set-up for the crime.

Add to this the fact that Harmony gets dragged into the whole mess, and you've got all the elements for a typical action-comedy. As I mentioned earlier, though, this film is very aware of how typical the idea is, so they try to surprise you by moving the plot away from what you'd expect. I defy you to try and figure out what's going to happen next.

It's fantastic stuff, and the chemistry between Kilmer and Downey Jr. is pitch perfect. I think the film is worth watching for their performances alone.

What could have been the greatest weakness in Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang turned out to be its biggest strength- playing into Hollywood's clichéd history, poking fun at itself and using much better than average, razor-sharp dialogue, the film pulls what could have been an exercise in tedium into the realm of good quality, fun fluff.

And that is something to be stressed here- don't go in expecting anything more than fluff. This is strictly entertainment, but it's entertainment in the highest sense- it doesn't cater to the audience nor insult their intelligence. If you're looking for a fun movie with a fresh take, look no further than Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang.