Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
I suppose Quint and Beaks can still review Revolution Studios films, now that Harry and I are corporate stooges. For all the supposed advantage there is to working for them, I get the feeling I’m not going to see this until I pay to see it opening weekend like anyone else. I’ve been hearing some strong critical buzz building on this one, with several people already calling it Ron Howard’s best film so far.
Let’s see what the busiest AICN writer of the day has to say about the film...
Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with a little look at Ron Howard's latest flick THE MISSING, starring Tommy Lee Jones, Cate Blanchett and a real mean and ugly Indian baddie.
This film really took me by surprise. I only first heard about it a few weeks ago when I saw a TV spot for it. I was like, "What the fuck is this movie? Directed by Ron Howard?!?!?" The film snuck up on me, but I quickly started to get excited about it. From the trailers and TV spots it looked really creepy and had a kind of STALKING MOON vibe (if you haven't seen that flick, seek it out... Gregory Peck, Eva Marie Saint and Robert Forster star... it's a classic thriller/western) to it.
The movie didn't disappoint. It's beautifully shot (thanks to DP Salvatore Totino), well acted and really fresh. It's nice to see a good, authentic western on the big screen again, not the highly glossed WB starers that've been the only choices in recent years.
The movie's about a woman (Cate Blanchett) whose daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) is kidnapped by a creepy Indian witch doctor (played perfectly by Eric Schweig). Blanchett has no choice but to reluctantly put her trust in her estranged father, Tommy Lee Jones, who abandoned the family when she was a child and lived life with the Indians. That's the basic set up and I won't go into many more plot points in the rest of the review to avoid spoiling any of the great surprises in the film.
Tommy Lee Jones is charismatic as all hell in the film, though at points it he feels a bit stiff. The design of his character is fantastic and his face was made to be put into a western. Blanchett's character is a bit unlikable, but is at the same time very easy to relate to. You feel her worry, her desperation and can't help but root for her as the film goes on.
Funnily enough, I found that the two people who stole the show for me were Eric Schweig and Jay Tavare, two relatively unknown actors. Schweig is the scarred heavy, the witch doctor and boy... If I ever ran into that character out in the desert I'd piss myself. Creepy motherfucker. Those shots of him standing among the hanging rattlesnakes are about as scary as can be.
Jay Tavare plays an Indian friend to Tommy Lee Jones' character, a man also hunting the Chidin. His son's wife was taken by the evil witch and he's on the bastard's trail. Although the character could have easily fallen into the "Proud Warrior Good Injun" stereotype, Tavare instead plays it as a concerned father. A badass, but a concerned father willing to go up against this pure evil for the sake of his son. He has a great chemistry with Jones' character and is instantly likable.
Evan Rachel Wood is pretty good in the film, although I really didn't like her character at all... Which is a shame and the one thing that really keeps this movie from jumping from DAMN GOOD to GREAT in my book. The one character that had to be likable, the one character that it is essential you had to root for is this kidnapped daughter. She's kind of bitchy at the beginning of the movie, but not in any other way than she's a teenager and wants more from her life than milking cows.
There's a point about three quarters of the way through the movie where she does something so unbelievably stupid which results in something terrible happening and from that point on I was through with her. I was literally thinking, "Fuck her. Stupid bitch deserves whatever she gets..." I know that sounds very harsh and it is, but what she does... I won't spoil it, but it's terrible and made me want to slap her in the face.
Wood is a good actress and was very successful in the film, but I can't forgive her character for doing what she did. That might be the point of the scene, but I think it was more important to want this girl to get rescued and returned to her family. Oh, well...
Another down side to the film is the nonexistent score by James Horner. There were scenes in this film that cried out for some great, classic big scoring and it's just not there. The score is so far in the background that it might as well not have been there at all. What I did hear was OK, but nothing grand or memorable.
Other than those little problems, the movie is very enthralling and exciting to watch. Clint Howard pops up and is cool. Val Kilmer pops up and is cool. The scenery is gorgeous (except for West Texas... god, what a desolate shithole...). It's a solid film that I highly recommend checking out. It's a little heavy on the christian/Indians getting along theme, but never gets too preachy.
Before I go, I'd like to thank everyone who has emailed me about the geek shopping guide report so far. I've gotten some great ideas and links. Keep 'em coming! Email me at aicnquint@yahoo.com if you have the perfect, off the wall geek wet dream of gifts. If you're working at a big toy or game developer and want me to check out some upcoming products that you think fit into the GEEK category (or just want to send me the entire SIDESHOW/WETA catalogue... hint-hint), you can email me at aicnquint@yahoo.com as well.
That's it from me, squirts. 'Til the next time, this is Quint bidding you all a fond farewell and adieu.
-Quint
