“Die Another Day” Starring Pierce Brosnan,
Halle Berry Directed by Lee Tamahori
James Bond goes to Cuba, North Korea, South Korea, Hong Kong,
Iceland and England. It’s an itinerary that really gets
mileage out of gadgets, large set pieces and punch lines.
That’s what we expect from a second-rate Bond film.
What’s surprising is that Pierce Brosnan actually gets some
sizzling dialogue this time as Bond, an angrier character with
impunity because of his debonair style. It’s thrilling that
after his previous Bond movies with almost total reliance on big
technical effects, a director finally knows how to use Brosnan the
actor. That director is Lee Tamahori. Although he is a lesser known
name, he has churned out the most entertaining Brosnan Bond film
yet. It’s a lot closer to the style of the Sean Connery
films, which make a sort of cameo in a scene with all of
Connery’s ancient once-cool gadgets (remember the shoe with
the pop-out knife and the backpack rocket?). The film gets the
right tone for a 21st century Bond. We don’t need Russian
enemies anymore. They’re passé. Political hot spot Korea
gets rightly used as well as other references ripped from
today’s headlines: gene therapy, global warming, post-1997
Hong Kong and post-film-flop Madonna. Even the use of actor Rick
Yune (“The Fast and the Furious”) as evil Zao in a
snow-bound car chase fulfills our dreams of “The Fast and the
Furious on Ice.” What’s next for this new hip Bond?
Halle Berry doing a “yo mama” joke? You bet. -Howard
Ho
“The Emperor’s Club” Starring Kevin
Kline Directed by Michael Hoffman
“The Emperors Club” takes place in one of those
prestigious schools for the future CEOs and senators of America.
St. Benedict’s is just another prep school seen through an
uninspired Hollywood lens. Kevin Kline is just another one of those
aspiring teachers that desires to teach his students how to succeed
and be remembered by history as great. Emile Hirsch is the
stereotypical class clown. He plays the son of a powerful senator
and an “above the law” type character that gets into
trouble and has daddy to thank for not being exposed. Sounds like
the same old story, but it isn’t. The scenario Kline faces as
the good-hearted teacher is the same ““ how is he going to
reach out and turn his students into good men? The answer, in the
form of a plot twist and a unique ending, makes the
“Emperor’s” definitely not great, but at least
it’s not horrible. The acting by Kline is great, and Emile
Hirsch holds his own, but the script is too dry. While it develops
the characters well, the story just doesn’t seem to go
anywhere worthwhile. The movie attempts to be a realistic portrayal
of human nature with a positive perspective on the power of a great
teacher, but Robin Williams did that in 1989 with “Dead Poets
Society” and most of this doesn’t justify doing it
again. Wait for video to see this one. -Mark Zabezinsky