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Home (Re)Viewing: 3:10 to Yuma leads slow train
The DVD releases haven’t quite awoken from the New Year’s slumber, but there are still some choice titles out today.
3:10 to Yuma: This Russell Crowe/Christian Bale western wasn’t a giant hit, but it had good, solid legs at the box office, because, well … it was a very good, solid movie. Though he occasionally lets the pace slow too much, James Mangold (Walk the Line) directs the action with gusto, and Bale and Crowe play off each other well as a rancher and notorious outlaw, respectively, although if Crowe’s character had been allowed to be a true menace, the film could have been even better. Full review. GRADE: B+
Sunshine: This sci-fi film by Danny Boyle (28 Days Later) is three-fourths fantastic, one-fourth just OK. After setting up a fascinating story of a crew trying to re-energize the sun, and shooting some truly spectacular scenes, Boyle lets the movie go south in the last act with a climax that’s too literal and conventional. Even so, the bulk of the movie is well worth watching for its visual splendor alone. GRADE: B+
Also out now
Death Sentence: Kevin Bacon pulls a Charles Bronson, vowing to kill the thugs who killed his son. The bad guys will want to stay much more than six degrees from Kevin in this one, I’d wager.
Dragon Wars: A bunch of dragons breathe fire on each other and stuff. What, you were expecting Tolstoy?
Shoot Em Up: There aren’t many movies out there that dare to put a newborn baby in the middle of a hail of gunfire - and there certainly aren’t many movies that make you feel guilty for enjoying such audacious shamelessness. Even while I was cringing at some of the scenes in this Clive Owen flick, I got a kick out of it because Michael Davis directs it with such demented abandon. I’d really like to see what Davis can do with a script that wasn’t written after downing a couple hits of speed chased by a bottle of Jack Daniels. GRADE: B+
Zodiac - Director’s Cut: For those who lamented the bare-bones edition of the movie, here’s your salvation - a new set with commentaries, a feature-length documentary on the real Zodiac case, and a cut of the movie that I understand really ins’t all that different from what was in theaters. I may yet pick this up, even though I wasn’t quite as high on the film as most critics. And it just may boast the coolest DVD cover art ever:
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