“Reign of Fire” Spyglass Entertainment
Starring Matthew McConaughey, Christian Bale
When director Rob Bowman introduced his film “Reign of
Fire” to a near capacity crowd at the Fox theater on a July 9
night, he reminded the spectators that this was a
“movie,” not a “film,” because people who
refer to movies as “films” are “assholes.”
The ensuing hour and a half proved Bowman quite successful in
creating a movie that isn’t likely to be referred to as a
“film” by anyone this side of the Dark Ages.
“Reign of Fire” attempts to be a visceral
heart-pounding no-nonsense action thrill ride and manages not to
fail completely. Set on an English commune headed by Quinn
Abercromby (Christian Bale), in a dragon-induced post-apocalyptic
era, the film shows residents of the commune beginning to doubt
Quinn’s plan of simply outlasting the dragons as food
supplies diminish. Then American, Van Zan (Matthew McConaughey),
shows up with his personal dragon-slaying militia, and something is
obviously going to give.
 Spyglass Entertainment
The best part of this movie is that there is enough action.
Bowman and his editing team keep dialogue and character development
to a solid minimum, maintaining the fast pace of the film ““ I
mean movie. The audience never gets a second to breathe ““ a
smart move considering that, if they had time to think, they would
be unable to draw any positive conclusions. This movie garners two
paws and not a lesser rating simply because in comparison with
other movies that have come out this summer season, this one
doesn’t seem that awful. The real stars of the movie, the
dragons, actually have somewhat minimal screen time, which enhances
the effectiveness of their appearances. As for the human beings
involved with the “movie,” no one’s career will
probably be damaged, except for the once charming heartthrob
McConaughey, whose turn as Van Zan is equally absurd and
embarrassingly comic book-like, minus the charisma. -Anthony
Bromberg
“Road to Perdition” Dreamworks Starring Tom
Hanks, Paul Newman
“Road to Perdition” does for the Irish mob what
“The Godfather” did for the Italian one. Both films
show a slice of a culture that mixes the highest of virtues
(loyalty, family, honor) with the lowest of vices (murder, greed,
corruption). They are both also high quality films. We’ve
never seen Tom Hanks like this, as world-weary tough guy Michael
Sullivan. Though perhaps undeserving of the coveted American Film
Institute Lifetime Achievement Award, Hanks does earn some
credibility in this role as a mob boss’ right hand man.
Sullivan becomes the target of the Irish mafia that employs him,
and he and his son (Tyler Hoechlin) go on the lam. Through this the
film explores the often painful relationships between fathers and
sons and between religious conviction and the gangster life. Amid
their flight, the film takes us through vintage Americana, the
boundless fields of a Steinbeck novel and the stunning recreation
of a bustling Depression-era Chicago. Conrad Hall, who was
UCLA’s cinematographer-in-residence last year, brings the
film a dark, grainy look reminiscent of Gordon Willis’ work
in “The Godfather.” The earthy visuals provide a
nostalgic grit that contrasts the smoothed-out digital look of the
“Attack of the Clones” prequels. Director Sam Mendes
self-consciously references film noir, a genre of post-World War II
film which featured shady characters in a morally ambiguous world.
“Road to Perdition” sees it all: the
political-backstabbing, the jealousy, the cold-blooded murder and a
bank robbery sequence reminiscent of “Bonnie and
Clyde.” The film’s flaws include an uninteresting
Jennifer Jason Leigh, an un-Irish Hanks, and a tendency to be
melodramatic. The funeral sequence in the film’s opening
reaches absurdly sugary heights that seem forced and clash with the
overall dark tone. Only Mendes second film (the first was
1999’s Oscar-winner “American Beauty”),
“Perdition” sees the director turning into a reliable
filmmaker. -Howard Ho