Contraband

Mark Wahlberg leads the cast of Contraband, a fast-paced thriller about a man trying to stay out of a world he worked so hard to leave behind and the family he’ll do anything to protect. Set in New Orleans, the film explores the cutthroat underground world of international smuggling—full of desperate criminals and corrupt officials, high-stakes and big payoffs—where loyalty rarely exists and death is one wrong turn away.

Chris Farraday (Wahlberg) long ago abandoned his life of crime, but after his brother-in-law, Andy (Caleb Landry Jones), botches a drug deal for his ruthless boss, Tim Briggs (Giovanni Ribisi), Chris is forced back into doing what he does best— running contraband—to settle Andy’s debt. Chris is a legendary smuggler and quickly assembles a crew with the help of his best friend, Sebastian (Ben Foster), for one final run to Panama and back, hoping to return with millions in counterfeit bills.

Things quickly fall apart and with only hours to reach the cash, Chris must use his rusty skills to successfully navigate a treacherous criminal network of brutal drug lords, cops and hit men before his wife, Kate (Kate Beckinsale), and sons become their target.

Opens Friday January 13, 2012.

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The Rum Diary

Based on the debut novel by Hunter S. Thompson, “The Rum Diary” tells the increasingly unhinged story of itinerant journalist Paul Kemp (Johnny Depp). Tiring of the noise and madness of New York and the crushing conventions of late Eisenhower-era America, Kemp travels to the pristine island of Puerto Rico to write for a local newspaper, The San Juan Star, run by downtrodden editor Lotterman (Richard Jenkins).

Adopting the rum-soaked life of the island, Paul soon becomes obsessed with Chenault (Amber Heard), the wildly attractive Connecticut-born fiancée of Sanderson (Aaron Eckhart). Sanderson, a businessman involved in shady property development deals, is one of a growing number of American entrepreneurs who are determined to convert Puerto Rico into a capitalist paradise in service of the wealthy. When Kemp is recruited by Sanderson to write favorably about his latest unsavory scheme, the journalist is presented with a choice: to use his words for the corrupt businessmen’s financial benefit, or use them to take the bastards down.

Opens Friday, October 28th.

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Review – Avatar

I sometimes wondered what my childhood fantasy world would look like if it ever came to life. Avatar has brought it out in full spectrum, from a jungle filled with giant fluorescent plant life to colorful flying dragonesque creatures. What would be the elfin fairytale beings are the giant, catlike, blue Na’vi, an indigenous race in this world called Pandora.

Jake Sully (Sam Worthington, Terminator: Salvation) plays a wheelchair bound vet brought on to take over his twin brother’s mission: to persuade the Na’vi to evacuate an area rich in a highly profitable mineral. He is initiated into driving his avatar, an alien-human hybrid, through virtual mind and body control. He clumsily stumbles into his virtual form and soon masters it to become one of the Na’vi tribe with the help of Neytiri (Zoe Saldana, Star Trek), daughter of the head honcho.

The stunning visual scenes during Jake’s metamorphosis into this new life is well worth the 3D experience, although it might be more of an impact if seen in an IMAX theater. As beautiful as it is, with the vibrant colors and fantasy environment, complete with six-legged horse and dog like creatures, it could’ve been written with better dialogue and drama. The 3D experience seemed to clash with 2-dimensional characters such as the over-the-top aggressive Colonel Quaritch (Stephen Lang) and corporate head puppet Selfridge (Giovanni Ribisi). As an avatar driver herself, Dr. Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) heads the scientific team, and you’re not sure whether or not to sympathize with her cause until the team goes rogue.

The action sequences are epic, its storyline okay, yet Avatar’s overall message is earth-friendly or, in this case, Pandora-friendly. Save the plants, animals, and most of all, the trees – specifically, the largest one on the planet. The Na’vi are drawn to it for spiritual guidance and for its metaphysical properties. When the military finally exercises its power, Pandora’s box is opened and nature unleashes its subdued fury. It gets perplexing at this point since, with all that power, there isn’t an apocalyptic event but more of an organized skirmish.

In any case, this film is a visual feast for the eyes (with 3D glasses), and I will likely see it again. I imagine that awards are forthcoming for this film’s artistic cinematic achievements. Romance in a fantasy jungle as a slick blue cat, with Jake as the warrior who saves the day – even a bad script doesn’t overwhelm that completely. In fact, you may have an urge to grow your hair into a long braid and find a flying dragon to bond with afterwards – unless, of course, you’re sane.

Avatar

From the official site: AVATAR takes us to a spectacular world beyond imagination, where a reluctant hero embarks on an epic adventure, ultimately fighting to save the alien world he has learned to call home. James Cameron, the Oscar-winning director of Titanic, first conceived the film 15 years ago, when the means to realize his vision did not exist. Now, after 4 years of production, AVATAR, a live action film with a new generation of special effects, delivers a fully immersive cinematic experience of a new kind, where the revolutionary technology invented to make the film, disappears into the emotion of the characters and the sweep of the story.

We enter the alien world through the eyes of Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a former Marine confined to a wheelchair. But despite his broken body, Jake is still a warrior at heart. He is recruited to travel light years to the human outpost on Pandora, where corporations are mining a rare mineral that is the key to the Earth’s energy problems. Because the atmosphere on Pandora is toxic, they have created the Avatar Program, in which human “drivers” have their consciousness linked to an avatar, a remotely controlled biological body that can survive in the lethal air.  These avatars are genetically engineered hybrids of human DNA mixed with DNA from the natives of Pandora- the Na’vi.

Reborn in his avatar form, Jake can walk again. He is given a mission to infiltrate the Na’vi, who have become a major obstacle to mining the precious ore. But a beautiful Na’vi female, Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), saves Jake’s life, and this changes everything. Jake is taken in by her clan, and learns to become one of them, which involves many tests and adventures. As Jake’s relationship with his reluctant teacher Neytiri deepens, he learns to respect the Na’vi way and finally takes his place among them. Soon he will face the ultimate test as he leads them in an epic battle that decide nothing less than the fate of an entire world.

Opens December 18th

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