“Moonlight Mile”
Writer/Director: Brad Silberling
Touchstone Below the movie poster for the new film “Moonlight
Mile”, reads “expect the unexpected.” Considering
that the film portrays a family dealing with the loss of a daughter
and fiance, the last thing one might expect is comedy. But it is
this very element of comedy in a tragic situation that makes the
film feel so real and potent. In spite of the utterly tragic
subject matter, there are very humorous parts, and while little
action takes place, the sense of reality and familiarity is
overwhelming. After the death of his fiance, Joe Nast feels it may
be his duty to remain with his fiance’s parents. The
film’s comic tone reflects his conflicting emotions of
fulfilling obligations to others and following his own heart. The
real strength of the film, however, lies in its great actors. What
is probably most fascinating and intriguing about the film is
watching the performances by Dustin Hoffman and Susan Sarandon.
This film showcases the extent of their talent. Even someone who
doesn’t usually notice acting quality will be blown away. In
addition to showcasing veteran stars, “Moonlight Mile”
also introduces audiences to a rising star named Jake Gyllenhaal.
His past credits include “Donnie Darko” and “The
Good Girl.” Gyllenhaal’s stellar performance in this
film will have him known as the new guy who got his credit placed
above Dustin Hoffman’s. In a role with similarities to
“The Graduate,” Hoffman’s breakout film,
Gyllenhaal seems poised to explode into the next Hoffman. Although
Gyllenhaal’s love interest, played by Ellen Pompeo, is annoying at
best, and the romance between them seems contrived, the film is
superb and, pardon the cliche, has Oscar potential written all over
it. -Emily Camastra
“Sweet Home Alabama
Directed By: Andy Tennant
Starring: Reese Witherspoon
Touchstone Lynyrd Skynyrd would be pissed. One of the greatest rock
songs of all time, “Sweet Home Alabama,” is now the
title of the new, not so great movie in which Reese Witherspoon
plays a big shot New York fashion designer. In the film,
Witherspoon is Melanie Carmichael, a young woman who tries hard to
hide her small town roots in order to maintain respectability in
the fashion industry. She thus completely cuts off contact from
anyone from her hometown in Alabama except for her old husband,
Jake (Josh Lucas) who, for seven years, returns the divorce papers
she wants him to sign. But when a rich, suave politician from New
York asks Melanie to marry him, she must head back to ole Bammy to
finalize the divorce. And while she’s there, she must also
work to make sure the New York press, her friends and even her
fiance do not discover her true past. Upon her reappearance in
Alabama, the audience is greeted by a barrage of her loony
childhood friends. The movie attempts to get laughs using these
eccentric characters with their southern drawls and practically
makes a movie out of stereotypes of the South. Women bring their
babies to bars, the men reenact the Civil War, and Melanie’s
father shows more affection to his recliner than he does to his
wife. The problem is, the eccentric characters aren’t all
that funny, and the southern stereotypes eventually become
tiresome. And the standard chick flick storyline doesn’t
spice things up much. But the movie does throw a few curveballs to
keep things interesting. Both of Melanie’s men are quite the
catch, and the audience can’t help but root for both of them
to eventually win Melanie over. This dynamic makes things more
exciting for the viewer. Throughout the film, Witherspoon is as
adorable as ever. And aside from the unfunny lineup of loons that
make up most of the film’s cast, a few of the supporting
characters are quite clever and entertaining. Despite a few
endearing characters, the movie relies far too heavily on the
contrast between Manhattan and Alabama for comedy. A lack of
creativity in the script results in a lackluster story with
entertaining instances that are few and far between. While
“Sweet Home Alabama” might have its moments, it is
sub-par as a romantic comedy. -Suneal Kolluri
“Spirited Away”
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Walt Disney/Studio Ghibli Disney once was responsible for some of
the most imaginative animation in the world. Now when it wants to
replicate that same quality of creativity, it has resorted to
simply importing something from Japan, where quality animation is a
still a tradition. Not that I’m one to complain.
“Spirited Away” is the latest film by director/writer
Hayao Miyazaki, the genius who brought us “Princess
Mononoke,” “My Neighbor Totoro,”
“Kiki’s Delivery Service,” and “Castle in
the Sky.” The story plays like “Alice in
Wonderland” Japanese-style. Young Chihiro finds herself in a
fantasy world where she must help the creatures or be stuck there
for eternity. But the fantasy story, an interesting but not
groundbreaking plot, is more than anything an excuse for animation
of all shapes and sizes and quirky characters, which is what made
Disney animation good in its early years. Instead of constricting
realism, we get sprawling elasticity of movement and form. Instead
of flat stereotypes, we get subtle, likeable characters, especially
Chihiro. The beautiful vistas in the fantasy world are actually
beautiful (a train glides on top of an ocean to the horizon). The
fantasy is actually fantastic (a dragon is chased by paper birds).
Even the adult in you will find a soft spot for this tall tale.
-Howard Ho
“The Tuxedo”
Starring Jackie Chan, Jennifer Love Hewitt
Dreamworks SKG Nothing looks better than a sharply dressed man.
Unfortunately, Jackie Chan’s new action flick “The
Tuxedo” looked a bit ill-fitting on him. Putting yet another
twist on James Bond movies, Chan plays average guy Jimmy Tong who
gets a chance to be a suave playboy agent when he accidentally
slips on a tuxedo that Professor Gadget could have invented. As
Chan painfully parades around trying hard to be debonair, Jennifer
Love Hewitt helps him out as his yuppie sidekick/agent ““
though this is not saying much. Hewitt does not add anything to the
film except gratuitous shots of her cleavage. Like all Chan movies,
“Tuxedo” centers around huge fighting sequences, which
is one of the bigger disappointments in the film. This time around
Chan’s carefully choreographed, catastrophic fighting style
was short-changed in substitution for really bad slapstick humor.
In addition, the tuxedo and its technological wizardry took all the
fun out of seeing Chan wriggle his way out of things by the seat of
his pants. In under-utilizing Chan’s talents for purely
physical stunts, “Tuxedo” is definitely one of his
lesser films. -Mary Dang