Wondering About The 24 Hours Before

25th hour is a curious movie. Spike Lee directed this visually beautiful but puzzling movie, and I was left to wonder, What are you saying Spike? That is not a question I would have thought to ask of a "Spike Lee joint." Usually, he is almost overly earnest in his message, and though I have questioned this over the years, I have respected his unique, direct style. "He Got Game," is one of my favorite films, and I thought "Clockers" has been underrated in filmology.

The subtitle of the film is "Can You Change Your Life In One Day?" and if that is the concept, then the answer is no. Though the dog is a symbol of the main character's goodness, he never seems to be in a crises of moral values, just a crises of how to survive prison. A morally ambiguous character of a not entirely underprivileged background, who doesn't seem to care that he chose to deal drugs in the first place, "What are you saying Spike?" The beautiful cinematography and good acting all around pull this one through, though it is not Spike's best work. It still has it's moments and it's (maybe) concern with out-of-proportion sentencing of drug related crime (maybe). What am I saying about the film? I'll leave you as Spike left me...to wonder. I give the film three out of five garlics.

The Obvious Done Well Again

Sylvester Stallone goes back to basics with "Rocky Balboa," and taps into some of what made Rocky so great. The best thing about the movie was the dialogue, and it was both funny and emotional, keeping me involved with its charming self-depreciations. It was this quality of Stallone’s writing which allowed me to accept the over-the-top moments, even with the painful memory of his movie called “Over The Top,” still in my head. The writing won out though, even if the plot was a given.

I knew, much as I did in Rocky, that the underdog was going to prevail against impossible odds, but I was okay with that because the writing reflects a self-awareness of what it is all about. And so I went along for the ride. Stallone also did some of the best acting in his career in the film, and the scene in which he explains some of life’s truths to his son is well…a knockout (okay, now I’m doing the obvious too).

Overall I thought it was a very good film, best when it focused on the characters lives outside the ring. The fight inside the ring was not the fight I was most interested in, it was Rocky’s struggle to define himself that interested me. I think the same was true for the first Rocky. The only complaint I have though, really, is the ending. I just did not like the last shot of the film. Since Stallone wrote, directed, and starred in the movie, I guess that’s not too shabby for an old underdog trying to get us to root for him again. The amazing part is that he succeeds. I give "Rocky Balboa" three (and a half) out of five garlicks.

So It's Not About Wrestling!

It is time for the Garlic City Review's first review. Can you smell it? By sheer luck of timing, lack of money, and the alignment of my couch to the television, our first review will be of a movie. The film "Half Nelson," starring Ryan Gosling to be exact. Though Chuy saw the movie first, I get to post the first review as his computer is in the land of glitch and crashies. So when he has salvaged what he can from his laptop, after he has grown technologically wiser, and financially poorer, he will write his reveiw. For now, only I can share my cinematic experience with the world. Only I can...okay, to the review.

I saw the movie "Half Nelson" after Chuy recommended it. I was originally hesitant to watch it because:
a. I didn't know anyone who was in it,
b. I thought it was a movie that involved high school wrestling, and
c. Chuy said it was "just wrong," which usually is very bad.
That all goes back to his recommendation for another movie whose name I won't mention here, but let's just say that "just wrong" usually refers to historical visual trauma. Still, he kept recommending the movie, and told me that it did not involve any wrestling, so I risked the ghosts of the past.

I thought the movie was slightly odd in its resolution or non-resolution at the end, but not "just wrong," in whatever way Chuy was seeing it. Instead I thought it was a great independent film, with strong acting, and admirable for the way it avoided easy answers. I actually tend to like ambiguous endings ( a la Clint Eastwood), if done well and intelligently, and I thought this movie made a nice attempt. I always like the non-Hollywood polish of independent films, which give them a unique character lacking in most of today's movies. However, it was the strength of the acting by Ryan Gosling and the supporting actors that worked for me most of all. Gosling's portrayal of a crack? meth? smoking high school teacher was a study in the way an addict slowly loses his grip on his basic moral principles. Great job all around, I highly recommend this movie and give it four out of five garlics.