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October '08
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August '08
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A Real Treasure
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By Aaron 12/24/2007
 My same friend who dragged my sorry ass to Hitman (read about that experience here) pushed me into seeing National Treasure: Book of Secrets (and to think the movie I ‘dragged’ him to was Atonement, sheesh), but even Dan Brown couldn’t have planned a twist that was so shocking: the movie was good. It was really entertaining, and really good for a Disney flick.
The movie picks up where the last one left off, Ben Gates (Nicholas Cage) and his dad Patrick Gates (Jon Voight) are buddy buddy again, and rich, successful historians/treasure hunters basking in the glory, and dishing some too as they push for the recognition of their ancestor, Thomas Gates, who prevented the Confederacy from finding a large treasure to keep them going. Unfortunately Mitch Wilkinson (Ed Harris) has a different story, that Thomas Gates was the chief conspirator in the Lincoln assassination. The only way to prove Wilkinson wrong is to find the treasure (of course). All Ben has to do is break into some of the most secure buildings in the nation and find the one treasure that has eluded discovery for half a millennia. No problem, right? To lighten things up, Riley Poole (Justin Bartha) comes back, as does Ben’s squeeze from the first flick (Diane Kruger) – who has left him when the movie takes up the story.
I thought this movie would be terrible, and it far exceeded expectations – far better than the first movie. While the first movie felt like a cheap rip-off looking to cash in on The Da Vinci Code craze, I thought this story was more original – in the sense that it wasn’t a complete Templar rip-off. The action was a little bit better too, and the writers knew to give Bartha more lines. Bartha is a near scene-stealer, especially for the handful of scenes where Cage seems to be sleepwalking through his part. Voigt is relegated to the background here, which was not entirely bad as another character of his sort is introduced in truly Disney fashion. Kruger is on screen about the same as the first movie – a miscalculation on their part, she should have had more. The scenes she is in are pretty good though, as she and Cage seem to be having fun together, and generating plenty of chemistry. Ed Harris is a poor replacement for Sean Bean, who was a great villain that seemed to have a more cutthroat, evil persona than Harris’ historian vibe. Sure, they say the guy is a mercenary, but come on, he is soo not scary. Plus the guy’s motives are totally screwed up and childish (if you’re really all about the history, why burn a piece?); at least it was crystal clear Bean just wanted the money last time.
I thought the movie was good, and could have been a great adventure movie without the few key Disney missteps. First, there was some general Disney corner cutting when it came to suspense and plot points. A few things were assume, some were executed poorly and rushed, while others were just left blank. Did Riley and Ben have a falling out? Are they still rich (they should be)? Second, as usual, Disney pulls their punches with the action. Whoever wrote the flick seemed to have had their hands tied on this because the writer wrote in plenty of opportunities for good action, but stopped short of the real deal. Instead of Indiana Jones, or even Sahara-type action, we’re left with Hook-style action, which is okay, but not great. Third, as already mentioned, Disney threw in a weak villain. You rarely have any real tension generated by Harris’ character, and you seem to be WAITING for the two of them to cooperate. Fourth, there were way too many coincidences that make everything run together. Sure, that happens in Hollywood movies, but at least put up more of a pretense. There are only five experts in the world who could read Olmec, luckily we know one…oh, we’ve been attacked, they didn’t steal anything, I wonder what they did do?? Fifth, maybe I’m just an undersexed college student, but Diane Kruger and Nicholas Cage need some more bedtime. I mean, get with the times. Sure I can kind of get passed Hanks and Tatou not having time to do it in Da Vinci, because that was a three-hour movie, but come on.
Conclusions: Diane Kruger needs to make more movies – to think she was hot enough to play Helen of Troy but couldn’t land subsequent parts? What??? And Justin Bartha too – he’s hilarious in this movie – even better than Steve Zahn in Sahara and he probably has more romantic comedy potential than Zahn because Bartha doesn’t look like a doofus. As usual Cage plays cage. But hey, it’s all good. 7/10 saltystix.
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Bob’s October Movie Preview
By Bob 10/2/2008
 Now that we have gotten through the sludge of September movies, it’s time for some Oscar contenders, and movies that think they’re good but not. Halloween is also this month so there is bound to be a lot of random horror movies going on and of course a Saw film to soak in. Whatever happens though, I’m gonna guess that at least one of the following gets some nods come Oscar time. With that, my October Movie Preview:
Cops, Robbers, and Blah
10) Pride and Glory: October 24th
From the director of Miracle comes one of the most clichéd trailers of ALL TIME. Edward Norton as A COP. Colin Farrell as HIMSELF. What more could we want from a movie? I don’t know, and I will likely never find out because this is not one flick I will be seeing.
9) Max Payne: October 17th 
As I feverishly go through my mind trying to think of a video game adaptation that has actually been a good movie, I’m also reminded of all of the bad movies Marky Mark has made over the past ever (excluding The Departed and Boogie Nights of course). I would be shocked if there is anybody who is actually excited for this, as anybody who actually played the game has probably outgrown the genre.
8) Body of Lies: October 10th
Leonardo Dicaprio. Russell Crowe. Ridley Scott. Something about spies. The trailers really tell us nothing about this film except, “How am I supposed to run an operation when you’re running a side operation.” I don’t really know what that means, but Leo says it in the trailer. This film looks like another lame attempt by Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe to win Oscars. I’m not buying it.
7) Flash of Genius: October 3rd
Greg Kinnear stars as an man who invents the intermittent windshield wiper, and then has it stolen from him buy the major auto manufacturers. This just looks like a boring film that will get a lukewarm response. For some reason, however, it has been getting a huge level of marketing with television and even radio advertisements. I doubt people will buy it.
6) RocknRolla: October 10th
Guy Ritchie is back in the genre he knows best, and this appears to be an English gangster film much in the mold of Lock Stock and Snatch. We’ll see if he still has his stuff, but for now, I’ll just pop in my DVDs of the older films that I can trust, and look to be almost identical in plot to this one.
Movies that Intrigue Me
5) Changeling: October 24th 
Angelina Jolie stars in this Clint Eastwood film about a woman whose son goes missing and is returned with something different. Any film that Eastwood directs (that’s not Flags of our Fathers of course) is worth checking out, and this looks to be no different. It got solid reviews with it premiered at Cannes, and Angelina Jolie is ready for a solid role.
4) W.: October 17th
 A film that is certain to be the years most controversial, Oliver Stone directs this biopic about our current president. While I am sure Stone will exaggerate many of the details, there is no denying that he has put together an awesome cast including Josh Broling (as Bush), Elizibeth Banks (as First Lady Laura), James Cromwell (as his father H. W.), Richard Dreyfuss (as Cheney), Thadie Newton (as Condoleezza Rice) and others as the rest of his cabinet. Whatever happens in this film, it will certainly be interesting.
3) Synecdoche, New York: October 24th
A film that I have been awaiting since last year, this is Charlie Kauffman’s directorial debut. I have loved the films he has written (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Being John Malkovich, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, and Adaptation. ) and this should prove to be equally compelling. It stars Philip Seymour Hoffman as a playwright who attempts to put on a production in a warehouse that includes a scale model of New York. It will probably boggle our minds, but that is Kauffman, isn’t it?
2) Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist: October 3rd
Michael Cera and Kat Dennings star as the eponymous Nick and Norah who meet each other one night in New York and have adventures. Something about the trailer really brought this movie to my attention, probably the indie style that I love. Cera is always great, and Dennings was really cool in Charlie Bartlett, so I might make my way to a cinema this week to check it out.
1) Zach and Miri Make a Porno: October 31st 
Seth Rogen and Elizibeth Banks star as two best friends who decide to make a porno together. This is Kevin Smith’s first film since Clerks 2, and I can only hope that it matches that film in hilarity. The only thing I don’t understand, is why are they releasing this film on Halloween? I guess there is probably a Saw film being released anyways.
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