Everest

When this premiered in the IMAX theaters I was too lazy to go see it. After everyone praised it to the skies, I realized what a dolt I had been and waited 6 years for it to come back to our neighboring IMAX theater. (And if you haven't seen it and live in the Detroit area, it'll be at the Henry Ford IMAX through March 10.) I'd heard about the panoramic vistas, the death-defying ladder walk across an ice chasm while pointing the camera straight down (!), and of course the story. This was the summer that over a dozen hikers were killed on the mountain during a violent snowstorm. It's been written up in Jon Krakauer's book "Into Thin Air" which is a horrifying, but well-written, account of that summer. The movie goes the book one better by making what the hikers faced a visceral experience. In some places, there are only photographic stills and it's clear that the camera operators put down their equipment to assist in helping save the lives of the snowbound hikers. Strangely, I found that the film left up in the air the question of whether or not people should climb tall mountains. It's clearly a passion for these folks, one that's integral to their lives (one hiker was there on his honeymoon!), so it would be impossible to deny them this. At the same time, the tragedies on the mountain make crystal clear the reasons why we shouldn't attempt this type of climbing. I suggest keeping tabs on your nearest IMAX theater and forming your own opinion.

year: 1998
length: 44 min.
rating: 3.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120661/combined

Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy

Yes, this is George Lucas created, so you need to keep a healthy dose of cynicism about you as you watch. Still, much of this documentary about the making of the original Star Wars trilogy seems to be fact-based and balanced. Naturally, there is zero reference to the critical and fan revulsion of his recent Star Wars films. Instead, he makes us all laugh by acting surprised that his adherence to the independent film ethic has backfired as he's become the head of a conglomerate corporation consisting of Lucasfilm, THX, Industrial Light and Magic, and other offshoots. Still, the documentary is appealing due mostly to the interviews with the cast and crew, especially Mark Hamill, who is an engaging and humorous interviewee. How I would love to see him in some new films, and not just as the voice actor he has become. (And here's hoping he gets some in-person acting gigs because of this doc.) The other reason this documentary keeps your interest is the skill displayed in matching the interviews with production materials, no more evident than in interview segments with Lucas discussing the casting process interspersed with original casting call videos. Wonder how the lead cast members were chosen? I'm sure casting is a difficult process, but it's beyond evident to the viewer why the principals were picked. If you don't have an abiding detest of Lucas that prevents you from watching him onscreen, you shouldn't hesitate to check this out. It's on the 4th disc of the new Star Wars trilogy DVD set.

year: 2004
length: 151 min.
rating: 3.0
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0416716/combined

Elephant

As an elegy to the Columbine High School massacre, this is a perfect film. It's also an opportunity for director Gus Van Sant to think outside the box, a box he chafes at as much as Robert Altman (to name another Hollywood outsider). Your typical day at school -- going to classes, saying hi to your friends in the halls, wondering how you fit in the social hierarchy. Except that, of course, this isn't just another day. You don't see the killers until nearly halfway through the film, and it's at this point that the film is at its best. Van Sant follows particular kids through their day. At times they intersect each other's paths, so you start to get an idea of where they are in relation to each other. Once you see the killers, the film becomes nearly unbearable to watch, as you don't know when the shooting will start, even as you know where all the pawns are. Unfortunately, once the massacre does begin, it takes on a surreal quality which didn't fit with my need to understand what really happened. I realize what Van Sant is doing here (see: outside the box), but hey, no screaming, no full-blown panic, no hall monitors?! It disengaged me, but this may be no fault of Van Sant's. Once the horror begins, you've naturally lost a lot of momentum. Most interesting is the glimpse into the lives of perfectly normal- looking kids going about their plans to destroy their school. (I believe the real Columbine kids were not so obviously normal looking.) Kudos to the children who played the roles. As excellent amateurs, they made it more real than Van Sant could have hoped for.

year: 2003
length: 81 min.
rating: 3.0
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0363589/combined

Emma

Never forget that Jane Austen's novels were thinly veiled social critiques of English country life while at the same time typical romances (boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back). It's the latter that makes the novels appealing to Hollywood and its viewers, but the best of the ilk meld Austen's original views with the universal story. This rendition of Emma is simply fine -- it adds a dollop of those original views to the Hollywood glitz. Gwyneth Paltrow plays Emma in her big film break, with all the actor tics we're so used to now on full display. Don't get me wrong, I like Paltrow, but I prefer her when raw (see Flesh and Bone for that). Jeremy Northam is better as the foil to Paltrow's Emma, constantly commenting on her behavior and mannerisms, while of course secretly being in love with her. Delightful, of course, to watch the plot twists and turns, ogle the costume design (probably the best of them all) and enjoy, of particular note, Toni Collette as the clueless new friend of Emma's and unwitting recipient of her Machiavellian designs and Sophie Thompson as a dimwitted chatterbox friend of the family (and compare her work with that of the sister in Persuasion).

year: 1996
length: 121 min.
rating: 3.0
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116191/combined

Earth

I'm deeply conflicted. On one side, this film is important because it shows what happened when Britain left the subcontinent, dividing its peoples up into various countries (i.e., India, Pakistan). How strange it was for people who lived peaceably with their neighbors -- whether Hindu, Muslim, Sikh or Parsee -- to suddenly be confronted with such rage and terror. It's something Deepa Mehta conveys with both emotion and restraint, and it's chilling. On the other side, I realize that the Indian peoples were not necessarily so brotherly to begin with, and that what is portrayed in the film -- a band of friends of mixed faiths struggling to understand and deal with the situation -- was something unique. So, in some sense, this isn't a true story of Mehta's land. However, the ending is so shocking that I gasped aloud (even though in retrospect I suppose I could have seen it coming). And this is pulled off by none other than the great Aamir Khan, whom I've lauded several times before. Be skeptical while watching, but don't discount it completely. If nothing else, the film provides a glimpse into the why of friction and tension that exists in that area today.

year: 1988
length: 110 min.
rating: 3.0
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0150433/combined

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

I can't believe it. Charlie Kaufman actually made a date film. After the fiasco that was Adaptation (yes, my own opinion, not necessarily others), I was wary of watching another of his scripts. Well, this one is, um, spotless. The film has impeccable acting, direction, special effects and editing. I'll start with the latter. The film jumps around quite a bit in its timeline (a la Memento or 21 Grams), but it has some of the tightest editing I've seen. Not at all difficult to figure out when you are, which is also a testament to the direction (amusing as both Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet have stated that they never understood a word the director was telling them). Carrey and Winslet do some of their best, if not absolutely their best, acting ever. And unbelievably, Winslet gets to do the crazy stuff while Carrey plays it serious. I'm not going to say anything about the special effects, because it would give far too much away. In fact, I'm not sure I want to say anything about the plot for the same reason. You should go into the film knowing almost nothing about it (that's probably a good idea with all Kaufman scripts), but you definitely, absolutely should see it. With a loved one, if at all possible.

year: 2004
length: 108 min.
rating: 4.0
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0338013/combined

The Emperor's Club

How often do you enjoy watching a film that has an ambiguous ending? I think the majority of the American viewing public doesn't, but many people I know like it because they can leave the theater still thinking about the film. So, how often do you enjoy watching a film that contains an ambiguous message? I'd bet that most people would find that irritating. This film tries to highlight the difference between moral and immoral people, and the chances in life they have, and others who care for them have, to change. I think that's a great premise, and I really wish the filmmakers had taken more care with the subject matter. It's a complex subject to film -- it's easy for viewers to get lost in what's "right" and "wrong." By trying to show us how multi-faceted the issue is, they muddled it enough that I left with a shrug and a "so what?" on my lips. There's nothing wrong with Kevin Kline's acting, and I can see why he expected great things from the film. It just, unfortunately, lost its way.

year: 2002
length: 109 min.
rating: 3.0
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0283530/combined

Equilibrium

Now here's a problem. This is a sci-fi film with a great premise -- citizens of the world are given a mood-altering drug so that there's no more murder and no more war, but one man stops taking his drug and starts to feel highs and lows again. (Did I mention yet that it stars Christian Bale and he takes his shirt off more than once?) It has the feel of many other sci-fi films including 1984, Fahrenheit 451 and The Matrix. The hallway gun battles in The Matrix and this film are nearly exactly the same except in this film the main character's costume is white instead of black. It has some wonderfully subtle acting in it, which is saying a lot for an action film. Christian Bale is particularly good as the man who stops taking the drug. (Too bad he's also such a babe, it makes it that much harder to rate this film. "Christian Bale is in it? I'll give it a 5.5. Definitely.") It has what I considered a very unique fight scene at the end based on a martial art called Gun Kata in which the gun is an extension of your hand and you can anticipate your opponent's moves. (Actually, Gun Kata is used in numerous interestingly filmed sequences with Bale blowing away his opponents. Did Bale bulk up for this role or was I just watching too closely?) But somehow the film didn't quite make the grade. I'm guessing it's because I saw it too close to seeing The Matrix Reloaded and my brain synapses are overloaded with martial arts fight sequences and moralizing tales. (Besides, we get nary a smooch between Bale and his awesome co-star Emily Watson.) Time to move on now...

year: 2002
length: 107 min.
rating: 3.0
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0238380/combined

Elmer Gantry

Not at all what I expected! A rousing tale of revivalists, their beliefs and their struggles. A slick ladies-man con-man who becomes a revivalist preacher, at first just to get close to the head preacher, a beautiful woman (of course), gets conned himself and realizes that he really does love her and wants to reform his ways. Unfortunately, fire and brimstone get in his way, in more ways than one. Burt Lancaster as the preacher is surprising. Maybe because I never knew what a fine actor he was. A knock-out! And he sure can sing. "Glory, glory, hallelujah!"

year: 1960
length: 146 min.
rating: 3.5
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053793/combined