Blu-ray Review: The Nut Job (2014)

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What a difference a film’s length can make as we learn in director Peter Lepeniotis’s overlong (even at 86 minutes) feature length adaptation of his briskly paced 2005 roughly 10 minute animated short Surly Squirrel.

In The Nut Job Lepeniotis transfers the same unique premise which finds the aptly named, quick-thinking yet self-serving and quick to con squirrel Surly (Will Arnett) in the midst of a real live human bank robbery while planning the perfect heist in his eternal quest for food.

Whereas the short film kept its sights small, the feature length Universal Picture borrows the oft-utilized caper set-up derived from the classic Italian comedy Big Deal on Madonna Street (that’s been repurposed in dozens of pictures since) as Surly plots to steal the inventory of a nut store without realizing that the shop is a cover for crooks trying to tunnel into the nearby bank.

Simultaneously casing the job while also recruiting new allies to his side such as the crooks’ tough-looking but softhearted Pit bull (voiced by Maya Rudolph) Arnett’s Surly even finds himself working alongside his old forest friends who’d banished him from the park after being burned one too many times by the selfish squirrel.

Desperate for food to feed the entire park, Katherine Heigl’s brainy Andie is cautious about her new partnership from the start but finds her alliance tested even more when Surly and his sources discover that the real reason the park is having a food shortage is due to a furry friend that Andie’s trusted her entire life.

While there are some dynamic action sequences that are brought vividly to life in the warm-toned visually stunning CG animation from former Toy Story 2 animator turned director Lepeniotis (including an inventive opener and an interesting chase that uses birds as parachutes), compared to the overwhelming dull stretches, the diversions are few and far between.

Bogged down by a hero you can’t really root for until he inevitably and rather abruptly sees the error of his ways by the end, you can’t help but wonder how much better the film would’ve been if say, Andie had been bumped to the lead role and Surly had been turned into a supporting player.

For while Surly was ideal in a 10 minute classic Looney Tunes inspired production, he isn’t the best main character to build an entire plotline around. However, to be fair, Nut’s pretty unbalanced in the way it seasons its cast of characters as far too often the film relies on bodily function sidekick humor for cheap laughs rather than serving up solid roles.

One bright light in this lackluster Job is unexpected MVP Brendan Fraser’s spirited vocal performance as a dimwitted wannabe hero Grayson whose knack for failing his missions is nearly equal to the size of his own ego.

Completely wasting the talented Arnett on a character who loses his spunky personality in favor of a redemptive formulaic paradigm that rings false by coming completely out of left field (as never once were we led to believe earlier on that Surly even wanted to change), The Nut Job is a missed opportunity on a number of levels.

All in all, it’s a vital reminder that there is still a worthwhile market for high caliber short films as perhaps Surly would’ve entertained us better as part of an anthology film that introduced us to all the characters in a series of shorts that were each as unique and inventive as the filmmaker’s 2005 introduction to the squirrel.

While younger children may be more forgiving than older ones despite lulls that may make them restless in the film’s running time that feels nearly double its length, hopefully by stepping back to watch this full-bodied roast side-by-side with the shorter serving, the filmmakers will be able to reevaluate exactly where they went right and wrong while whipping up this batch for the big screen.

Though admittedly blandly appetizing, here’s to hoping that the next Nut they make will follow a less familiar recipe in order to deliver something to the audience that’s not only much more flavorful but filled with greater opportunities for its talented cast to crack us up in Universal's upcoming sequel to this forgettable first Job. 

Text ©2014, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. http://www.filmintuition.com Unauthorized Reproduction or Publication Elsewhere is Strictly Prohibited and in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.  FTC Disclosure: Per standard professional practice, I may have received a review copy of this title in order to evaluate it for my readers, which had no impact whatsoever on whether or not it received a favorable or unfavorable critique.

Blu-ray Review: A Case of You (2013)

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Like CliffsNotes for People, Facebook profiles provide us with a succinct getting to know you guide to any individual, where a person’s likes, snapshots and status updates have become the cyber version of a first date. Namely, we find out things we used to learn by having a good old-fashioned conversation with a friend request and a click of the mouse.

Using this idea as a jumping off point to explore what would happen if a shy guy took the Facebook profile of the object of his crush-worthy affection far too literally to become what he believes is her ideal mate, affable actor Justin Long makes his screenwriting debut, starring in the work he penned alongside his brother Christian and co-star Keir O’Donnell.

A frothy, sweet romantic dramedy confection with a dry sense of humor that translates a bit awkwardly onscreen, Long’s Case is as in need of mischievous laugh-out-loud fun as it is a stronger sense of just who our lead character actually is before he undertakes his romantic quest to become the real-life version of the blonde, bubbly barista Birdie’s online dreams.

Directed by actress turned Life Happens helmer Kat Coiro, A Case of You’s weaknesses are easily overshadowed by the appealing star-studded supporting cast’s obvious commitment to and infectious energy for the scene-stealing characters they play from Vince Vaughn’s macho publisher and stoned out Spin Doctor guitar instructor Sam Rockwell to Wood’s oddball coworker Peter Dinklage and outgoing ex Brendan Fraser.

The film centers on Long’s insecure writer Sam, whose carting around massive invisible baggage thanks to the trust and commitment issues that stem from his heartbreaking estranged relationship with the mother who’d walked away from him along with his bookish father in favor of an exciting new man.

Deciding he isn’t ready to put himself out there without at least some kind of established (albeit manufactured) connection, Sam uses Birdie’s profile to become someone completely different from himself to attract the effervescent beauty (played by Evan Rachel Wood).

From taking dance, cooking and guitar lessons to purchasing her favorite books and music (including, I presume the Joni Mitchell titular song that is never played or mentioned in the film), Sam fails to realize what the audience, his friends and Birdie already understands, which is that the most interesting person he can possibly be is himself. Likewise, anytime he reveals anything genuine about himself in the film, he’s easily one hundred times more fascinating than the polished, rehearsed guy he’s trying to be.

Finding himself as attracted to Birdie as he is inspired by the caricature artist who seems to be a (thankfully) more relatable version of the stereotypical rom-com free-spirited hippie waif of the over-exaggerated love child of Goldie Hawn meets Drew Barrymore variety, Sam’s love life soon also serves as fodder for his new manuscript.

Branching away from the horrific teen vampire movie novelizations he’d written in the past to create something far more authentic, he chronicles his relationship with Birdie including all of the hopes, fears, secrets and lies he’s too afraid to reveal anywhere but in print.

Although Long’s muse-like plotline sets Case up for a formulaic finish, one of the film’s most admirable qualities is in the way it deviates from traditional romantic trappings.

Intelligently written and respectful of the audience's intellect – instead of just plugging the characters and subplots into the same A+B=C genre paradigms we’ve seen again and again, A Case of You lets its hero’s motivation be its guide, telling a tale of people versus a formulaic plot.

Although we’re enchanted by Wood from her earliest scenes, by not offering enough information about Sam before he begins his plan of romantic action, the film makes it that much harder to root for him or understand his sudden drastic change in attitude when he first picks a fight with Birdie without any real prompting and then inevitably, later sees the error of his ways.

A simple fix might have been swapping out the scene order to move an opening sequence that finds him crossing paths with an ex to later on in the film (ideally before the fight) in order to maximize the emotional impact of it so that we fully grasp his level of insecurity. Unfortunately the way it all plays out onscreen keeps us at an arm’s length from Sam from start to finish.

Thankfully, Long is so charming that he helps break down some of Sam's and by extension the film's walls. Case finds him playing slightly against type so that he delves much deeper to embody a far more internalized version of the same "nerdy" persona that first introduced him to American television viewers (including yours truly) via NBC's Ed over a decade ago.

While his charisma and the palpable chemistry between the two leads helps us get over our some of our hurdles with the main character, the ingenious way that Case introduces and then abandons rom-com red herrings from a likable ex-boyfriend and his tell-all manuscript to Sam’s juvenile conceit that he’s figured out some new dating angle is very impressive for a first time screenplay.

While the humor is too understated to set the film apart from superior rom-coms, making Coiro’s work ultimately as forgettable as its title that sadly never pays off on the promise or allusion to Joni Mitchell, A Case of You is still a warmhearted effort that’s sure to inspire discussion about the ups and downs of love in the time of Facebook.

As succinct as a Facebook profile (by clocking in at a mere 91 minutes), this IFC Films release hits shelves just in time for Valentine’s Day. And even though it’s light on special features, by managing to work in an opportunity for Across the Universe star Evan Rachel Wood to delight viewers with a song, this enjoyable film gives us the greatest bonus in the feature film itself by bringing us both music to our ears and a potential status update to “like” on our Facebook page.

Text ©2014, Film Intuition, LLC; All Rights Reserved. http://www.filmintuition.com Unauthorized Reproduction or Publication Elsewhere is Strictly Prohibited and in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.  FTC Disclosure: Per standard professional practice, I may have received a review copy of this title in order to evaluate it for my readers, which had no impact whatsoever on whether or not it received a favorable or unfavorable critique.

Inkheart (2009)

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Much like Robert Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder described his role as "I'm a dude playing a dude disguised as another dude," director Iain Softley's Inkheart is a movie that plays off a book disguised as another book.

Upon its publication in 2004, bestselling author Cornelia Funke's Inkheart, spent "a total of 70 weeks on the [New York Times Bestseller] list" and was "translated into 37 languages." The first cinematic entry of her Inkwork trilogy-- Softley's film arrives in theatres today as a light snack for those awaiting the postponed release of the next installment of Harry Potter on the big screen this summer.

Originally a New Line Cinema presentation, now releasing domestically from Warner Brothers a.k.a. the same two studios responsible for both the Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings franchises, Inkheart seems like a natural fit for the production of a children's fantasy tale about characters dubbed "Silvertongues" who have the ability to bring the characters and events from the books they read aloud to life.

Obviously, the film and its original book by Cornelia Funke is meant as a celebration of children's literature, individual imagination, and the importance of parents reading books aloud to their children. However, nonetheless these valuable and worthwhile messages get a bit muddled via the contradictions of the plot which finds largely danger and unhappiness exiting the pages as characters vanish from the print and into our world in exchange for one of our own "humans" who get forced inside the binding to even out the transaction of fantasy switching into reality and vice versa.

The film begins as our hero Mortimer "Mo" Folchart (Brendan Fraser, upon whom Funke based the man) reads aloud to both his young daughter and loving wife, only to discover his cruel fate as a "Silvertongue" when his wife Resa disappears within the pages of Inkheart. Offering little in the way of an explanation as to his spouse's departure, we catch up with Mo several years later as the devoted book enthusiast and collector shares a love for the written word along with his now twelve year old daughter Meggie (Eliza Hope Bennett).

Although Meggie finds it odd that her father has never read aloud to her, she accompanies him on his continuous search for the increasingly rare and mysteriously disappearing copies of Inkheart. Fairly quickly, Mo manages to stumble on both the book and a man he'd read out of the text (played by Paul Bettany) who's as eager to get back into the pages of the book to be reunited with his wife (played by Bettany's real life love Jennifer Connelly in a brief cameo) as Mo is to return his wife to civilization.

As the men clash over the book and both try to dodge that terrifying master villain of Inkheart's book, Capricorn (Andy Serkis), Mo is grudgingly forced to bring Meggie up to speed on his perilous gift, only to discover that perhaps it's a familial trait. Eager to get Meggie away from Capricorn's clutches so that Mo can continue on his plight to bring his wife back, he journeys to bring the girl to stay with her estranged great-aunt Elinor (played by Oscar winner Helen Mirren).

Mirren, who mentioned in the production notes that she sought inspiration for the role from the "poet Edith Sitwell, who is famously quoted as saying that her hobbies were 'reading, listening to music and silence.'" An eccentric near-recluse who lives vicariously through the many collectible literary works she houses in her large estate, Mirren adds a great deal of blunt wit to the film, visibly having a ball and gleefully injecting Inkheart with some unexpected bursts of humor.

Featuring terrific cinematography and special effects which ultimately up the obvious "wow" factor of the work, sadly while it's creative and pro-literacy, its mixed message about the dangers of reading and words in general may confuse the youngest audience members who will also miss out on the many subtle literary references, textual jokes, and become frightened by some of its dark intensity.

Moreover, as the plot develops, Softley's interpretation of the novel-- penned by Pulitzer Prize winner David Lindsay-Abaire-- Inkheart evolves into an overwhelming homage to The Wizard of Oz both structurally and as one of many literary references laced throughout (and coupled with Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, Arabian Nights, etc.). Additionally, it feels all too familiar, borrowing elements for numerous fantasy tales including not only the aforementioned classic titles but other genre related works of the past where suddenly books, paintings, toys, and board games spring to life as in The Pagemaster, Jumanji, etc.

Therefore, in the end, it's the type of film that made me seriously wish I'd read Funke's book instead in that--as far as I can tell-- the entire "focus" has changed from the idea of the Inkheart book in the film to the grandeur of Inkheart the movie. Or to use Downey's train of thought, we're more impressed with the "dude" being played than we are by the "dude" playing him or the movie's spectacle verses the content itself.

More specifically, we aren't invested enough nor develop enough of an understanding about the "story" within the story to feel as though Mo's Inkheart was anything more than a kiddie version of a Hitchcockian MacGuffin or "sword in the stone," which kind of defeats the purpose in wanting to inspire us to get lost in books.

Perhaps the world of the Inkheart story is better explained in the novel but sadly, much like Softley's overly chilly rendition of The Wings of the Dove, it's hard to feel that moved by many of the characters who all seem a bit bland next to the special effects, aside from the refreshing change of pace for Mirren who nails the eccentric diva role perfectly.

Read the Books of Cornelia Funke

New on DVD & Blu-ray for the Week of 12/14/08

Jen's Pick of the Week:
Carol Reed's Classic
The Third Man

Bottle Rocket (Blu-ray Criterion Collection)

The Cheetah Girls One World: Extended Music Edition

Death Proof (Blu-ray)

Hot Rod (Blu-ray)

The Heartbreak Kid (Blu-ray)

The House Bunny

Into the Wild (Blu-ray)

The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea

Mamma Mia!

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

Sangre de Mi Sangre

The Third Man (Blu-ray)

Tommy Boy: Holy Schnike Edition (Blu-ray)

Traitor

Unstable Fables: Goldilocks & the 3 Bears


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(Note: Release Dates Subject to Change)

DVD Review: The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor -- 2-Disc Deluxe Edition (2008)

Awakening onto DVD & Blu-Ray
12/16/08



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When it comes to appreciating The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, "size counts"... or at least that's what he said. And while it's tempting to say that I'm referencing Steve Carrell's frequent tag-line on NBC Universal's sitcom The Office-- in this case it would be incorrect. No, instead I'm referencing Universal Studios' latest entry into the ridiculously profitable Mummy franchise by taking a quote directly out of the mouth of its heroic babe Brendan Fraser a.k.a. the handsome everyman whose ability to mix humor with emotion and tackle scenes that require tremendous physical agility have found him returning to play Rick O'Connell in 2008 for the third time.

While in the film, his phallic joke is in reference to choosing precisely the right gun to employ in order to blow baddies chasing them out of the Shanghai Museum to smithereens, he could just as easily have been talking about Fast and Furious helmer Rob Cohen's directorial effort.

Blending his love and vast knowledge of Chinese culture and study with his penchant for staging epic action sequences, Cohen's thrill ride approach to direction-- or as he notes in a twenty-two minute making-of-featurette, his goal to ultimately entertain-- makes for a breathtaking experience but one that loses a great deal of its impact on the small screen.

Best appreciated in the theater or on the very biggest television you can find as-- say it with me-- in the land of Cohen, "size counts." Moreover, his decision to take The Mummy from its lighthearted fantastical romantic comedy styled romp and turn it into something "edgier and bigger and more like a film of mine," has mixed results as some sequences seem so ridiculously computer generated that we feel like we're watching a video game or computer editing program demonstration.

The film begins with an extraordinarily fascinating prologue starring legendary Chinese stars Michelle Yeoh and Jet Li as the vicious emperor Li murders Yeoh's beloved. Setting up the trouble to follow, in return she sentences them to eternal life entombed in Terra Cotta clay, and the lensing and design of this eye-catching spectacle was no doubt influenced by Cohen's passion for Chinese history as well as the films of the "Fifth Generation" filmmakers from the country such as Zhang Yimou whose work including Hero he cites as an influence at the beginning of Tomb's Newmarket Picture Moviebook.

Then moving two thousand years to post-World War II England, we find our retired adventurers, Rick (Fraser) and his wife Evelyn (Maria Bello replacing Rachel Weisz who backed out due to screenplay problems) living lives of dull wealth and privilege, longing to get back into the world of near-death escapes and thrill-seeking. Of course, as the Hero's Journey dictates, they're called to action literally when asked to bring a dangerous artifact to Shanghai and-- using the opportunity to stop in and visit Evy's brother Jonathan (the scene-stealer John Hannah), the two embark on the international trip.

Sure enough, their feet barely touch the ground before after a brief dance and a few punches, they find themselves up to their necks in mummies, intrigue, danger, and eye-popping special effects when they band alongside their twenty-one year old ambitious archaeologist adventurer son Alex to try and vanquish the newly awakened Dragon Emperor (Jet Li) and his thousands of warrior soldiers.

Unfortunately while the action is ramped up to an all-time high, the screenplay falters to a a screeching halt about midway through as the series trades its usual wit and period humor for corny one-liners and cliched speeches and-- while again, it's easy to get blown away by the film's thrills-- Cohen's runaway train completely jumps off the tracks when abominable snowmen are thrown into the mix. Moving The Mummy into Lord of the Rings or Prince Caspian territory to bizarre effect-- fans of Chinese cinema will be disappointed upon realizing that we don't have a major showdown with Jet Li until the last thirty minutes of the film (since absurdly he must morph into all kinds of CGI creatures throughout as if just being Jet Li wasn't awesome enough!) and Yeoh's impeccable action timing is wasted.

Sort of suffering from the same technological overwhelm that bogged down the newest Indiana Jones and James Bond films-- Hollywood filmmaking has seemed to have reached a crucial point in which the balance of natural stunts and special effects should be reevaluated. More specifically-- just because we can enhance, super-size, and step up everything on the computer, it doesn't necessarily mean we should unless it's in service of the worthwhile tale. And although while you can still appreciate Cohen's tremendous attention to detail given its same bright color palette (although now altered to match its setting) and the incredible cast including a refreshing change of pace for independent film star Maria Bello to leave the tissues and gritty dramas behind to don a gown and fly through the air on wires-- it feels like a bloated film that would've been better if more had been developed in the screenplay stage.

Despite a stunning transfer of the film that looks far more incredible on an upconvert player as on a smaller screen and just on standard DVD you'd be better off grabbing either the original, a Zhang Yimou epic or video game. For once the group meets the abominable snowmen, sadly around the same time John Hannah is appallingly relegated to visiting Shangri-La in what can only be described as a "Cosby sweater." Still, he tries to crack a joke or two including his best-- which still ultimately references Campbell's Hero's Journey directly-- as he calls the now lizard evolved Li a "three headed shape shifting son-of-a-bitch." And Fraser's retort later that their pilot "can outfly a three headed lizard any day of the week," manages to epitomize the level of writing for the rest of the movie.

While ultimately the Terra Cotta army may have been best used as pottery instead of a plot point, Cohen still makes an earnest attempt to entertain with scope and manages to deliver from time to time with jaw-dropping images before once again, they go so far to the extreme that any attempt to bring dazzling artistry to the piece (which he succeeded with in that wonderful beginning) is completely lost by the finale. The film, which is available in various versions including Blu-ray (which I would recommend due to the otherwise "video game" likeness), also boasts a fully loaded bonus disc of features in the 2-Disc Deluxe Edition DVD. In addition to a few extremely brief featurettes, luckily its standout is a roughly ten and a half minute mini-doc with fight choreographer Mike Lambert as he preps everyone for battle to such a wonderful effect that you wish more would've been done with human actions rather than the computer.

Coinciding with its December 16 release, Universal Studios was also kind enough to send me its gorgeous full color, oversized moviebook with countless concept drawings, publicity stills, behind-the-scenes photos, storyboards and comments from all involved including a fascinating introduction from Rob Cohen that goes further into the vast research, Chinese history, and legends used in the film. While the book is incredible and makes one wish that the film was better than it ultimately is in not just celebrating China but offering viewers an experience we could get lost in instead of one that's so wild, fast, and furious that it loses us midway through, for Mummy devotees who've followed the O'Connells and the Scorpion King in its spinoff, you'll no doubt want to explore this Tomb at least once. However, in doing so, you should obviously keep the importance of size in mind. And yes, you Office enthusiasts-- you can go ahead and giggle if you quote from this review with a Michael Scott impersonation of his signature line, "that's what she said."

The Air I Breathe

Director:
Jieho Lee

Since the inspiration for director Jieho Lee’s feature film debut The Air I Breathe derived from the Chinese proverb categorizing the four pillars of life into (as IMDb notes) the “emotional cornerstones” of happiness, pleasure, sorrow and love, it seemed only fitting that his work reminded me of another ancient Chinese proverb dictating that if you save’s another person’s life, you are responsible for it.

Formatted into four distinct vignettes that-- in true Altman and P.T. Anderson fashion-- overlap in surprising ways throughout the course of the picture, Lee’s usage of his four primary emotions that are even echoed by some characters which share the same names, are constantly evolving. While each twenty to thirty minute segment is introduced with the corresponding emotion, basically it seems as inconsequential as a name-card at a crowded wedding reception where people table hop at will, as ultimately in the hands of Lee and co-writer Bob De Rosa, they merge into one super emotion that isn’t quite "sorrowfully-happy-pleasure-filled-love" but—perhaps truer to life—one that seems to better fit our frequent transient states in the human experience as we go about our days surprised by several emotional ups and downs. Although of course, filmmaker Lee ratchets his character’s plots to overwhelming dramatic heights where lives are either cut short or given a second chance and the destiny of those involved in these decisions are thus forever entwined, holding all individuals accountable for each twist of fate or rash decision. And if it sounds incredibly ambitious, it is and it’s not always successful but one has to give Lee points for walking his talk.

Despite a clunky start that fails to separate Lee’s film from the rest of the trendy pack of independent vignette works using any random connective tissue to overlap the lives of a seemingly diverse population of film characters as we’re introduced to a predictably pulpy noir inspired beginning which finds hardworking bank employee Happiness (Forest Whitaker) making a perilous bet on a horse race, we’re snapped to attention with a genuinely engrossing second storyline. In Pleasure, we encounter the emotion’s ironically corresponding namesake played by Brendan Fraser as the loyal, right-hand man of gangster "Fingers "(Andy Garcia), who according to the movie, earned the nickname because all he has to do is snap his terrifying fingers and Fraser’s Pleasure will strong-arm anyone at will.

What separates Pleasure from what ordinarily would be a typical noir cliché is his character’s peculiar ability to see the future, or-- even more frighteningly-- the ultimate destiny and death of those whom he encounters which makes him the handiest man to have on your side in a fight as he babysits Fingers’ immature, pig nephew Tony (Into the Wild’s Emile Hirsch). Soon he finds his gift at risk when he sees a poster of Trista (Sarah Michelle Gellar), a gorgeous singer to whom he’s attracted and realizes that not only can he not see into the beguiling young woman’s future but also feels a strange pull towards Trista, wondering if perhaps she is his own destiny. Fraser's character is so fascinating that I half-wished the film's entire four handed bridge game of Chinese proverbs would have been abandoned for a classic narration of Pleasure’s penchant for psychic premonition and the problems that are undoubtedly tied up within the questionable gift but Lee proved he wanted to explore several ambitious ideas with his first crack at direction.

Pleasure's instinct that Trista is his future proves to be an accurate assumption as Trista (who doubles as Sorrow in the film) finds herself bartered by her sleazy manager who trades her contract to Fingers in order to make good on an astronomical debt. Longing to escape the intimidation of Fingers who wants to milk his newest employee for all she’s worth like the cattle he considers her, Trista falls under both the protection and spell of Pleasure, embarking on a dangerous romance before her journey eventually leads to a fourth unevenly tacked-on segment involving crusading doctor Kevin Bacon who struggles to save the life of his married college sweetheart Julie Delpy at all costs.

Unfortunately, the film’s final act doesn’t quite fit the noir mold that Lee perpetuated with the nearly monochromatic color scheme and brooding tone for more than the film’s first hour and does slightly pull one out of its darkly seductive allure as a modern day homage to classic German expressionist influenced American noir works of the 1940’s, largely because the majority of the finale is filmed in predominant sunlight. And, given the genre, in the harsh light of day, Air's flaws along with its ability to cloak its shortcomings in noir style become glaring to the viewer.

However, it’s still a highly compelling film where earlier actions build on one another in unexpected ways and also one where-- more than just using the four emotions as a convenient structural device-- responsibility and accountability comes into play with the lives that are spared, making it a worthwhile proverbial Chinese puzzle to be solved for movie lovers who are game for viewing something out of the ordinary on DVD.


Rent It!