One word to describe this movie: forced. The entire plot seemed forced. It wasn't given time to unwind at its own pace. Charecters were given motive without proper explanation or just a cursory explanation, whatever reason they had seemed fake and not believable.
The plot is that in the future we all have androids that we move around from our beds. The world is a safer place. A small amount of humans decide robots aren't the way to go and they set up robot-free reservations and become marginalized in the process. The "meatbags" get a hold of a weapon that can kill users and their "surrogates." How they got the weapon is the mystery.
Bruce Willis does an okay job with the material he has but he's phoning in his performance. It's the same character he always plays in action movies: tough, able to take a punch without wincing, and coldly detached yet inexplicably passionate. Willis needs to update his act or he'll never headline another movie again. The rest of the actors were okay and there were no standouts although I find it odd that James Cromwell plays the inventor of the surrogates and he played the inventor of the robots in "I Robot."
The script okay and as I already said, forced. The movie ended on the cliche of giant proportions. To reveal it would be to give away the ending which shouldn't matter in the case of a blase movie but I'm trying to be professional ;)
Gomorah (2009) is a two hour Italian movie about the mob in a housing project in Italy. It's all in Italian so I caught myself reading the subtitles more than I was watching the actors who when I was watching them, weren't really acting as much as they were strutting in the macho style that only Italian men can seem to do.
This movie got a lot of positive attention. I would venture to guess that the reason why is the subject matter. It is a compelling watch especially since it is based on a real place. Watching a movie that is telling the story about a real criminal organization is a fun thing to watch but I didn't care about any of the characters. It was a neat idea with an original subject matter but I didn't care about the characters and was getting impatient waiting for the movie to end. The only thing I like was that one of the guys walks around in his tighty-whiteys and I was able to see his bulge, besides that, I didn't care.
Is this movie bad? No. Does it deserve all the hype it's gotten? Possibly. The subject matter was impressive and heavy so it has deserved all the accolades it has gotten but as far as acting goes, no way. It this movie had all the same players doing anything other subject matter I know we wouldn't be here discussing it and that bothers me but I don't know why.
Gomorrah isn't a bad movie but it wasn't what I expected. Watch it, you'll probably enjoy it but not love it.
Kinnear plays the real life inventor of the windshield wiper whose idea was stolen by the automakers. He spends the rest of his life pursuing justice, not for the money but for his ideals. He eventually sacrifices his marriage and family on his idealistic altar. He succeeds in the end but at what costs and was it worth the trouble? The movie answers these questions as it goes along and the answer is most definitely yes. It's a classic David vs. Goliath story. Spoiler alert, David eventually wins.
This is an understated movie that doesn't become preachy even though there are a millions of opportunities. The acting flies beneath the radar, never reaching a zenith even as the marriage crumbles and Kinner's character has an emotional breakdown. At times it seems fatalistic, like his path was chosen for him, and at other times it seems like everyone back in the 60's and 70's was in need of speed.
Kinnear does a fine job. He's an underrated actor who doesn't get the recognition he deserves. As Robert Kearns, he is slightly dilluisional about his family but very stubborn when it comes to his invention. He is unable to see the damage he is doing to his family even as it disintergrates around him. Agent Skinner from X-Files plays an auto guy and the rest of the cast is competent but this is Kinnear's show, eveyone else just needs to be competent.
Everything about this movie is understated but don't let that stop you from seeing a good movie about a little man standing up to big corporations. It's enough to melt your heart and pull some tears from your eyes.
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