PoochyB’s Flick Reviews

A story about obsession. Two high school teachers played by Judi Dench (better known as M from the James Bond films, or Queen Elizabeth from Shakespeare in Love) and Cate Blanchett (who incidentally, also played Queen Elizabeth in the film Elizabeth, and from The Aviator with Leonardo DiCaprio) befriend each other. They’re relation turns from one of respect, confidence, and loyalty to one of betrayal and blackmail.

Bill Nighy (from Love Actually, Underworld: Evolution, and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest) plays Blanchett’s devoted husband. Nighy’s always got these great roles… Billy Mack, the obsolete rock singer in Love Actually. Viktor, the vampire lord from Underworld. And Davy Jones, the legendary pirate in Pirates.

Notes on a Scandal is actually pretty straight-forward. There appear to be twists and turns, but not really. A married teacher sleeps with one of her students. Her friend and fellow teacher keeps journals of everything going on. They clash. That’s all there is to it. The acting is pretty amazing. You have two of the arguably best English actors of our time. Can’t really go wrong with that.

The film’s kind of dark. The mood is melancholic, sometimes hasty. I think that’s to create an uncomfortable environment for the audience. The music and mood do a pretty good job of that. It was adapted from a novel by writer Patrick Marber, who also did Closer, which I realy liked. Director Richard Eyre is a former TV director in the UK. The only other work of his I’m familiar with is Atonement, with which he had a producer role.

Decent flick. Probably not worth renting… But if it plays on TV, I’d DVR it.

Guy Ritchie’s Snatch is one of my all-time favorite comedies. But Revolver is all style and hardly any substance. It’s another gangster bit. No surprise there. It stars, and is narrated by, Jason Statham. Also no surprise there. What surprised me is just how off-track it got. It’s like The Beach, with Leonardo DiCaprio and that hot French girl, Virginie Ledoyen. Remember that one? Remember the videogame bit? Kind of like that. It was just too messy.

Jason Statham’s a decent enough actor. He was hilarious in Snatch, and pretty funny in here too. But there’s too much monologue for my taste. Ray Liotta’s alright as well. He’s been in a ton of flicks; but aside from Goodfellas and Heartbreakers, none too great. The other two actors you might know are Vincent Pastore (from The Sopranos) and Andre Benjamin (aka Andre 3000). Andre’s not bad.

The substance, if it can be called that, of this film is sort of in the style of Lucky Number Slevin. There’s pretty good story development, and I like how stuff unfolds as the movie goes on. I’m also a big fan of twist endings. But that’s also where this movie faulted. Too many folds and twists. I’m not saying Ritchie can’t pull it off… I’m just saying he didn’t do it here.

Not bad. Not bad at all. If you liked Infernal Affairs and the star-studded Hollywood-remake of it, The Departed (with Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin, and Mark Wahlberg), you’ll probably like We Own the Night. No surprise that Mark Wahlberg is in this one as well.

Joaquin Phoenix is the star here. The first film I saw him in was Inventing the Abbotts. On an off-tangent here, Inventing the Abbotts was a revolutionary film of sorts for me because it introduced me not only to Joaquin Phoenix, but also Billy Crudup, Liv Tyler, and Jennifer Connelly (one of my favorites). He then went on to star opposite Vince Vaughn in Return to Paradise as Anne Heche’s brother. You probably also know him as the bad guy from Gladiator, with Russell Crowe. This guy is one amazing actor. He’s got this brooding attitude that the scar on his lip works well with.

Best line of the movie was when Robert Duvall, as NYC police chief, said, “If you piss in your pants, you can only stay warm for so long.” It means “do things the right way and don’t take shortcuts.” At least that’s what I got out of it.

Phoenix runs a club where mobs hang out and deal drugs. His dad (Duvall) and brother (Wahlberg) are NYPD. They make life difficult for Phoenix. Shit goes down and Wahlberg gets shot by a mobster. To exact revenge, Phoenix becomes an informant. Oh, Eva Mendes plays his girlfriend. She oozes sex appeal, but I’m not that big of a fan. She’s probably best known as Denzel Washington’s baby-mama in Training Day or Will Smith’s better half in Hitch.

The action’s decent, probably because I was expecting it the whole time and received it only sparingly. The Russian mob portrayal in this film is easily outdone by Viggo Mortensen character (by himself) in Eastern Promises.

We Own the Night was written and directed by James Gray, who also wrote and directed Mark Wahlberg and Joaquin Phoenix in The Yards. I’ve never seen that one, but will probably check it out after watching this one.

Duvall “If you piss in your pants, you can only stay warm for so long.”