IGN has reviewed the film version of Max Payne, Hollywood’s latest attempt at making a good videogame-based movie. While the flick has its moments, there aren’t enough of them to keep it from scoring a lackluster 5/10:
While Max Payne definitely culls several plot elements and characters from the videogame, gamers will no doubt be disappointed at how humdrum the film’s action scenes are when compared to the game. There are no memorable kills here, save for the one that actually happens off-screen near the end of Act One. The gunfights — the few there are — offer nothing we haven’t seen in other action flicks, especially those that inspired the game. For a movie about a guy named Payne, this film could have used a lot more pain to help rouse it to life. As it is, Max Payne simply lies there on-screen, drab and lifeless.
As a revenge flick, Max Payne simply offers nothing new or exciting; Death Sentence and even the Tom Jane Punisher were better revenge films with more notable action set-pieces. While director John Moore deserves kudos for crafting some cool visual sequences, they’re merely window dressing adorning an empty structure. Sorry, gamers, but you’ll have to keep waiting for that definitive game-to-film adaptation.
Adapted by Gina Prince-Bythewood from the best-selling novel by Sue Monk Kidd, “The Secret Life of Bees” unfolds in a sentimental, honey-glazed land that vaguely resembles South Carolina in 1964. It would be wrong to say that the troubles of that time and place have been wished away — on the contrary, the movie begins with a scene of horrific domestic violence and includes child abuse, a racially motivated beating, suicide and the threat of a lynching — but from the opening voice-over to the final credits, every terror and sorrow is swaddled in warm, therapeutic comfort.
The film insists so strenuously on its themes of redemption, tolerance, love and healing that it winds up defeating itself, and robbing Ms. Kidd’s already maudlin tale of its melodramatic heat. At first there is a jolt of pure Southern Gothic, as Dakota Fanning matter-of-factly tells us that when she was 4, she shot her mother dead. Ms. Fanning plays Lily, who, at the age of 14, when the story takes place, lives with her mean-drunk peach farmer dad, T. Ray (Paul Bettany). He tells her that her mother never loved her and makes her kneel on grits when she misbehaves.
One night Lily, who dreams of being a writer and keeps a box of keepsakes buried in the orchard behind her house, runs away with Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson), a black employee of T. Ray’s who has been beaten and jailed for trying to register to vote. The two of them find their way to an upcountry town called Tiburon, where they are taken in by three beekeeping sisters named August (Queen Latifah), June (Alicia Keys) and May (Sophie Okonedo).
May, who seems a little simple-minded, is also so deeply empathetic that her sisters have built a “wailing wall,” where she can go to cry when the world’s grief overwhelms her, which is often. June, who plays the cello, is also a political activist (or at least a collector of N.A.A.C.P. T-shirts), and, as such, is a bit leery of the white girl who comes around in need of mothering. But August is a person of such boundless maternal wisdom and generosity that neither June nor Lily nor any of the million bees in August’s care need worry.
Even as terrible things insist on happening, and the bigotry and suspicion of the era take their toll, worries are no match for matriarchal folk religion and the wisdom of the beehive. In its fuzzy linking of female power with insect life, “The Secret Life of Bees” shows a curious kinship with Neil LaBute’s ill-starred remake of “The Wicker Man,” but with nurturing African-American women in place of murderous white ones.
In case they didn’t have enough problems of their own, August and her sisters also have Lily to deal with, and the film seems to struggle with an awkward and unstated tension. You can almost feel how badly it wants to be about the lives, not of bees, but of black women at a pivotal moment in the recent past.
Despite Ms. Prince-Bythewood’s best efforts to retain a sense of history, and Queen Latifah’s shrewd refusal to play her character according to stereotype, the film becomes a familiar and tired fable of black selflessness, in which African-Americans take time out from their struggle against oppression to lift the battered self-esteem of white people who have the good sense not to be snarling bigots. Even Ms. Fanning, weeping on cue and looking uncomfortable otherwise, seems a little abashed that the movie, in the end, has to be all about her.
“The Secret Life of Bees” is rated PG-13 (Parents strongly cautioned). It has violence and some profanity.
THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES
Opens on Friday nationwide.
Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood; written by Ms. Prince-Bythewood, based on the novel by Sue Monk Kidd; director of photography, Rogier Stoffers; edited by Terilyn A. Shropshire; music by Mark Isham; production designer, Warren Alan Young; produced by Lauren Shuler Donner, James Lassiter, Will Smith and Joe Pichirallo; released by Fox Searchlight Pictures. Running time: 1 hour 50 minutes.
WITH: Queen Latifah (August Boatwright), Dakota Fanning (Lily Owens), Jennifer Hudson (Rosaleen Daise), Alicia Keys (June Boatwright), Sophie Okonedo (May Boatwright), Nate Parker (Neil), Tristan Wilds (Zach Taylor), Hilarie Burton (Deborah Owens) and Paul Bettany (T. Ray Owens).
A kind of Godfather in blue, Pride And Glory combines all those traditional elements of mob thrillers encompassing family values in conflict with criminal ambitions and impulses, but plays out instead on the opposite side of the law. This type of sinister police noir is nothing new, but the story is elevated by the testosterone fueled, gritty intensity of the male ensemble chemistry counting Edward Norton, Jon Voight, Colin Farrell and Noah Emmerich.
Directed and co-written by Gavin O’Connor (Tumbleweeds) and screenwriter Joe Carnahan (Smokin’ Aces), Pride And Glory focuses on an NYPD investigation in the aftermath of a Washington Heights drug bust gone bad, in which four cops on the stakeout are killed during the ensuing shootout. An enraged Chief Of Detectives Tierney (Jon Voight) pulls his cop son Ray (Edward Norton) from Missing Persons to head the probe. A far from enthused Ray is reluctant to get involved, since the four dead cops were part of a team that includes his traumatized brother Francis (Noah Emmerich) and hotheaded brother-in-law Jimmy (Colin Farrell).
Though the son of an NYPD cop himself, O’Connor presents a grim portrait of the police as, in their own words in the film, ‘guns for hire who sell our badges to the highest bidder, and who lead our own as sheep to slaughter.’ The incidents taking place in this Northern Manhattan inner city Dominican slum, which bear similarities to actual events reported there in the past, are rife with police corruption, drug dealing and torture tactics inflicted on this terrified immigrant population, and eerily reminiscent of Abu Ghraib.
Pride And Glory is primarily anything but, and this chilling psychological expose touches on a police vocation fraught with a toxic mix of overwhelming stress, self-destructive temptations, danger and dehumanization. And though the narrative rife with brutality and cynicism leads down a path that comes together way too over the top to make sense of it all, the journey there stings with the crushing weight of a raw and devastating emotional power.
Lionsgate has unveiled the cast of Saw V, the latest entry in the studio’s hit horror franchise. David Hackl, the production designer on the previous Saw films, makes his directing debut on the project. Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan penned the screenplay.
Tobin Bell (Jigsaw), Costas Mandylor (Hoffman), Scott Patterson (Agent Straum), and Betsy Russell (Jill) are reprising their respective roles from Saw IV.
They will be joined in Saw V by Rambo’s Julie Benz (Brit), Waist Deep’s Meagan Good (Luba), Mark Rolston (Erickson), Carlo Rota (Charles), Greg Bryk (Mallick), and Laura Gordon (Ashley).
In the fifth installment of the Saw franchise, Hoffman is seemingly the last person alive to carry on the Jigsaw legacy. But when his secret is threatened, Hoffman must go on the hunt to eliminate all loose ends.
LOS ANGELES, Calif., July 23 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) – Imagine a night of sensual Latin performers, igniting the dance floor with their passion for life, and their spirit for living. The vibrant strains of the music, combined with the flavors and spicy taste of Tapas and Empanadas, along with the distilled liquid fire of premium Tequila cocktails - this sounds like the opening of a hot new, Latin dance club in Los Angeles, right? Something you would expect in the City of Angels - but this time there is a twist. It is not a new club; it is a charity fundraiser, and a book signing hosted by Rodrigo Iglesias on Tuesday, July 29th, 2008.
Rodrigo Iglesias, a local Real Estate agent and investor, ranking in the top 1% of the Real Estate professionals internationally, wants the L.A. community to experience Latin culture at its finest with a night of dancing, fine food, and cocktails. The evening starts with Salsa Lessons with Rodrigo and Vai, recognized instructors and performers that have appeared in major commercials and on national television including the hit ABC show, Dancing with the Stars. The duo recently choreographed for Chris Brown and Rihanna at the 2008 BET Awards and now lend their talents to create an explosive night of entertainment with a special appearance by Sandor, a Tony nominated choreographer from the acclaimed London production Forever Tango and his partner, Parissa, Antonio Banderas’ dancing coach in the film Take the Lead. The night continues with the debut of the vocal styling of the singer Kapovianco, from Bolivia, performing his new single “Dale Pa’lante.” And as a bonus, proceeds from the event will go towards two of Mr. Iglesias’ favorite local charities - Green Dot Public Schools, a non-profit working to change the public education system in Los Angeles to emphasize leadership, and life skills, and Chicar, a non-profit organization dedicated to the empowerment of Latino youth through financial education, helping them to keep moving forward towards success, regardless of hardships or setbacks.
The event marks the WORLD PREMIERE of Rodrigo Iglesias’ new project, a complete Spanish translation and adaptation of the 1904 classic, “The Science of Getting Rich,” by Wallace D. Wattles. In 1995, Mr. Iglesias first experienced the impact of this book in its English form at a seminar conducted by renowned inspirational speaker, Bob Proctor. Proctor has inspired tens of thousands of people including Rhonda Byrne, writer of the extraordinarily successful book and movie, “The Secret.” Similarly, Rodrigo Iglesias was motivated to further his own career using the principals of the book, and then inspired to make this knowledge available to the Latin community for the first time - not only in Spanish, but in an easy “down to earth adaptation” of these teachings, and by integrating the training and methods into Latin music and lyrics. This unique music and lyrical combination will be heard for the first time at this special unveiling event - called Iglesias Nights.
When asked what moved him to use music as a teaching medium, Mr. Iglesias stated, “The lyrics and music help to lift the listener’s spirit, assist them in finding a sense of purpose, and open the mind and heart to a sense of passion and life that drives them to achieve anything they truly desire.”
This dynamic event is the first of many to follow with an emphasis on the flavors of Latin Culture, coupled with the much-needed encouragement of today’s youth towards achievement and prosperity. Mr. Iglesias plans to relentlessly continue his unique and powerful new approach to inspiring others to reach for their dreams - all while enjoying festive Latin music and culture at the same time. Iglesias Nights also promises to provide a great opportunity for upcoming Latin artists like Kapovianco to gain exposure, and to provide inspiration to the community, in a truly exceptional way. By combining the distinctive aspects of Latin food, music, and dancing, Rodrigo Iglesias has created a powerful method of delivering his message of personal and financial success to the public.
To learn more about Rodrigo Iglesias, Iglesias Nights, and the new Spanish language translation and adaptation of “The Science of Getting Rich” (ISBN - 978-0741446268), details can be found at the event’s website, www.iglesiasnights.com, or www.rodrigoiglesias.com. Tickets for the first event on Tuesday, July 29th, 2008 are available online for $30, with proceeds going to the two charities. A VIP package is also available, and media requests should be forwarded to Veronica Jacuinde, at (310) 508-1896.
