'28 Days Later': Hell is other people (as zombies)

I guess I kind of forgot '28 Days Later' (trailer). Having watched the sequel a little while ago, I figured I would rewatch the original and review each of them. I sure didn't remember how much the two differed and I really was accurate when I thought the second was more bloody. Although its sequel follows the zombie/horror conventions more, it is important to recall that the first movie "reinvented" the zombie movie by proving one point: it doesn't actually have to be about the zombies.

The movie, directed by Danny Boyle, follows Jim, who wakes up in the hospital from a coma to discover that London has been abandoned as a result of the "rage" virus, which turns people into zombie-like creatures. Along the way he meets a young woman, Selena, and then a father and his daughter. The four of them set off in search of survival and although the zombies are the danger lurking around every corner, the search for survival and meaning in an empty world presents the existential drama as more harrowing and significant to the characters -- although perhaps I can say that because I am more detached from the first time I saw it and was pretty spooked by Boyle's filming of the zombies, or infected as they call it. Aside from creating a different method of horror, there are a couple of other remarkable innovations. It was (for me at least) an introduction to Cillian Murphy, who as I wrote before, has turned in a number of solid performances and shows a lot of promise as an actor. I found myself chuckling, though, because it seems they told him to speak a bitter deeper than his natural timbre. Naomie Harris was also good, but I kept thinking of her as the creepy woman in 'Pirates'. What really stands out in the movie, though, are the fantastic shots of an empty London. It really sets the tone for the more serious analysis of it's themes and the innovative use of digital video creates a documentarianesque authenticity. The filming is grainy and jarring at time, but without feeling gimmicky. It's a shame how much that method has been copied in crappy horror movies as a cheap thrill and not to further any sort of storytelling.

In all I had forgotten how good of a film Boyle made. It's of the type that is more than just good filmmaking, but actually movies the medium forward. It tells a story in a different way and challenges the audience instead of merely entertaining. Best of all, it proves that genres are not set in stone, and one of the best ways of making a movie that isn't boring is by merging genres (like 'Shaun of the Dead' did) and tell a story no one has seen before.

Grade: A

'Breach': No TNT Movie After All

'Breach' (trailer), could have been really crappy. It was based on a true, recent story; it is from that always dangerous "thriller" genre; and it's lead actor is the milquetoast Ryan Phillippe. But filmmaker Billy Ray works the same magic he did with 2003's 'Shattered Glass', where he told the story of fabricating writer Stephen Glass with Hayden Christensen as his leading man. 'Breach' is a taunt thriller that kept my attention the entire time, even though I knew what was going to happen at the end. And it walked that tight line of making a thriller where you care about the events and a drama where you analyze the emotions without going too far either way.

The story Ray tells is that of Robert Hanssen, and FBI agent who sold secrets to the Russians for at least 15 years. Not only do we know this from the beginning, but at the top of the movie, we see former Attorney General John Ashcroft talking about the apprehension. Instead of focusing on the villian, Ray focuses on Phillippe's Eric O'Neill, and FBI operative who went undercover as Hanssen's assistant to gleam incriminating evidence. Because they've already told us the ending, they are able to keep it interesting on how Phillippe's character is affected by the work he is doing. Plus there's the fact that Hanssen is played to brillian effect by Chris Cooper, who is reliably supberb. He's an actor who is known for playing characters brilliantly without being showy and trying to grab the spotlight. Here he really gets to shine by using these gifts to leave out much of who Hanssen is and keep us wondering -- that's part of what keeps it exciting. It's also great watching him pull of the staunch piety and chew out Phillippe the next. It truly is a well-cast film (Phillippe being the weakest rung, although he does OK), with great supporting roles by a number of people, including the always great Laura Linney, who has proven to be great at bringing depth to what could be small, cardboard characters.

Overall the movie is not particularly innovative -- there's nothing here that makes me rethink how a film of this genre can be made. It's not a movie that at the end of the year will probably be on my best of 2007 list. But I certainly enjoyed the movie and thought the pacing and the acting were both notable. There is no reason why more movies can't be like this -- a blockbuster action movie could learn a lot from it.

Grade: B+

'Infernal Affairs': Smooth criminals/cops

In this country, the movie 'Infernal Affairs' (trailer) has the distinction of being known more as the source material for Martin Scorsese's Oscar-winner, 'The Departed'. Like most Americans, I saw the English take before the original Hong Kong blockbuster, which also cleared up at awards ceremonies itself. I will have to admit that I have never been the biggest fan of Asian cinema -- not that I think it's bad, it's just that I have never gotten into it like, say, Mexican movies. Something about the style just never suited me. That being said, it's hard to argue that 'Infernal Affairs' is not a first-rate crime drama.

The movie is slicker and the set-up more realistic than its American cousin. Both movies share the same basic idea of an undercover cop working for in a criminal enterprise and another cop who is secretly feeding information to the same crime boss. Where Scorsese's movie takes two pretty young guys, 'Infernal Affairs' puts his guys in hiding for 10 years before the major events of the movie take place. And although Scorsese is known as one of the real masters of American film, directors Wai Keung Lau and Siu Fai Mak crafted a taunt thriller that is less bloated and more exciting with the slickness of a true eye for action. That's not to say that both are not worthy movies -- I'm no film snob who refuses to acknowledge quality in 'The Departed' because I want to show I'm sophisticated and have seen the original (kind of the movie equivalent of liking a band before they became popular and "sold out"). Leonardo DiCaprio truly thrives in his movie and creates a level of psychological dilemmas and violence as its focus (instead of action) that creates a more dense tableau.

Each movie is good in its own right, but to pass the movie up simply because it has subtitles would be to miss a great thriller. The action is better shot than movies you will generally see from this country and it does have the benefit of actually coming up with a great story on its own.

Grade: B+

'North by Northwest': It's No 'Agent Cody Banks', But...

In my queue I'm trying to mix it up a bit and catch up on some classics that I haven't seen and where better to look than one of the masters, Alfred Hitchcock. 'North by Northwest' was an especially poignant movie to be viewing considering the talk of a possible new Cold War looming during some tough talk around this year's G8 summit. We're far from the US-Soviet relations depicted in Hitchock's film, but that's beside the point. What is noticeable is how well the movie continues to be a relevant and fascinating look at how what is real and what is moral can become disguised and fluid.

The movie revolves around a character played by Cary Grant who is an average Madison Avenue advertising executive (an interesting choice itself) who is mistaken for a spy and ends up fleeing both the authorities and his possible enemies. The plot does not have a particularly straightforward approach and lurches in different directions as the situation changes in what some might find confounding. Instead, I found it to be fitting for what was happening and felt throughout the movie that I had no idea what would happen next. I was at a loss for who represented what influences and Eva Marie Saint remained an enigma for both her relation to the story and her representation of women in general. When the movie does finally begin to wrap up, Grant must make choices that make some pretty profound questions about morality that one could easily extend to issues today related to privacy and terrorism.

There is a reason why Hitchcock is considered one of the masters and why this is considered one of his masterpieces. I've seen a few of his movies -- this is maybe the fourth and I'll probably see more (feel free to leave suggestions in the comments) -- and I think I found it to be the most worthwhile viewing. And I don't just think it's all in the timing.

Grade: A