Day 85: July 24th, 2010

The Score



There are no partners in crime.

DeNiro is a thief and a very good one at that. He gets jobs thrown his way from Marlon Brando, but he wants out. Isn't that always the case? Brando says he has one more job for him, DeNiro agrees to do one last job. Again, isn't that always the case? Ed Norton is also in on the plan, much to the dislike of DeNiro. They have to steal a scepter that is worth a lot of money. But can they trust each other?

The Score was an interesting film because it brought together 4 generations of actors. Brando, DeNiro and Norton. All three very talented and gifted actors in one film? Must be a recipe for success. Frank Oz, most famous for his business with the Muppets was directing. Now, the film isn't bad, but it isn't great either. The biggest problem is that the film doesn't try to be anything more than a simple crime caper flick.

Again, it has 3 great actors from different generations. All of them are pretty intense and serious about their craft, yet non of them are used to their full potential. Brando sits around and shows up to chat up with DeNiro here and there and DeNiro himself doesn't make a very believable thief. He has that no nonsense attitude down, but we've seen that before when he was on the run from Pacino in Heat. Norton is given a little bit to work with as he plays two roles, the other is one of a mentally challenged cover act who works the place they plan to steal the scepter from. Norton is the one out of the three given the most interesting character with the biggest struggle.

Frank Oz directs it with no special flare. It could have been anyone behind that lens and I wouldn't have cared. There was no stamp of originality or sense of ownership. It was pretty much like Deniro's character traits. Safe and simple. Nothing fancy, nothing risky. The scenes with suspense seem to be mildly interesting and you never feel the threat of danger. Oz was able to handle to 3 actors fine, but again, could have done so much more. I can't fault the script because that was the story going into it. He had the chance to make it special and beef it up, but chose not to.

The Score is decent and as far as heist films go, it was manageable. The film basically no violence in it whatsoever, which was interesting to see, specifically in this era. It tried to rely on character, performance and story to intrigue. It works to a certain point, but when you have so much going for you, it's hard to live up to that expectation. The Score fails to dazzle and it decides to work on a more moderate level.

6/10

Day 51: June 20th, 2010

Men of Honor



Another military film about training.

The inspirational and true tale of one black man who tries his hardest to become a deep sea military diver. Cuba Gooding Jr. is this man and the hard ass who is training him is none other than Robert De Niro.

Men of Honor seemed like another boring military film that focuses on one character who must overcome adversity while training to become a part of a special unit in the service. Then of course there will be the officer who trains them, he will be a hard ass who doesn't take any B.S. from anyone. The more he pushes you, the harder you become, the two usually hate each other at the beginning, but then come to terms and respect each other. In some cases they even end up liking each other. The third act of the film usually details the life of the character after he graduates the class. Men of Honor follows this criteria to a capital T.

With that being sad, I still found myself interested in the characters and the performance. This is an interesting film that pits two leading men who seem to have had bad luck with roles in this recent generation. Cuba Good Jr. can't seem to find his footing after winning an Oscar for Jerry Maguire, today the poor guy is in the direct to video market. In this performance he tackles it with true pride. His determination to provide the role with some credibility shines through. I usually find his work to be more or less with every film. Men Of Honor is one of his better performances. Robert De Niro has taken a big hit since his heyday. It seems that ever since the one role in Rocky and Bullwinkle, his script choices have been pretty dull. Some people refer to his roles post 2000 to be the sell out years. Men of Honor might be an exception, he brings his usual De Niro self to an otherwise thankless role. We don't know much about his character, other than he has a short temper and refuses a lot of orders.

The film has a one dimensional presentation and it hurts the plot and characterization. Despite this, it does hold together well for most of the running time. I always find that after the training sequences of the film are over, they tend to drag on afterwards. This film is no different. The most interesting part of the film is over and yet we are still sitting here watching events unfold that we have little interest in. The romance between Cuba and his gal is thin and Charlize Theron is given so little to do I wondered why she was even in the film.

Men Of Honor has everything that an inspirational film that is based on a true story should have. Our man character is black and has to overcome the racism of everyone around him. Nothing new, but knowing that it was based on a true story does lend to some moments where we respect that character for what he accomplished. Some scenes are really well done, specifically one where one character receives a medal of honor, which should have went to Cuba, but because he was black they gave it to the one guy who didn't deserve it.

The film is long and drags after the more entertaining parts are finished, but it's not a total loss. I can recommend it for people who are into the military film genre, this one has great performances that overcome a lazy script.

6/10