Shoot ‘Em Up
***1/2
The film opens in one of those grimy cityscapes where a little graffiti might brighten things up. A man with a 10 o’clock shadow (Clive Owen) sits on a bench eating a carrot. A pregnant woman is chased past him by men intent on murdering her. He defends the woman in a hail of gunfire, while delivering her baby, ramming the carrot into his victim’s cranium, and finding himself on the run with an infant in his arms. The Owen character is named Mr. Smith. The leader of his enemies is Mr. Hertz (Paul Giamatti). “Shoot ‘Em Up” will become, I suspect, some kind of legend in the murky depths of extreme action. What elevates it from the depraved to the deserving is a sense of style, a sense of warped humor and the acting. Owen brings what credibility there could possibly be to his character, and makes us believe it as much as we possibly can. Giamatti, Hollywood’s favorite nerd, is surprisingly evil. And Monica Bellucci is DQ, the hooker with the heart of gold, who becomes Mr. Smith’s partner and the baby’s surrogate mother. R; 1 hour, 33 minutes. Released today.
War
1/2
This is another generic Jet Li thriller, with body blows and bullets and blood and naked bodies, a few chases, lots of shootouts and a plot twist of a finale that is, at least, surprising, even if it makes little sense. Jason Statham stars as an FBI agent whose partner and the partner’s entire family are killed in an opening scene. He’s a man obsessed with avenging that murder. The guy he’s after is nicknamed “Rogue,” as in rogue assassin. Jet Li plays him. They spar over a period of years in a growing San Francisco conflict that is consuming the Yakuza, the international Japanese mob. There is but one city that can host a decent car chase, and it is San Francisco. There are a couple of passable ones in “War.” The fight scenes were choreographed by Cory Yuen, and one of them stands out. Stick around for the finale. It’s a lulu, at least in terms of having to be seen to be believed. R; 1 hour 43 minutes. Released today.
Eastern Promises
****
Perhaps trepidation is in order when critics celebrate works of violence. But when the director is as aesthetically ethical as David Cronenberg, the film as grimly exquisite as “Eastern Promises” and the lead as haunting as Viggo Mortensen, it’s difficult not to nudge (OK, shove) you into the video store. Steve Knight’s tale of a midwife (Naomi Watts) drawn into the dark realm of a London-based Russian crime family by the death of a young pregnant woman is intricate in ways that invite repeat viewings. Armin Mueller-Stahl and Vincent Cassel are terribly good as Semyon, the cultured head of the crime family, and Karill, his loose-cannon scion. Mortensen is their Ukrainian driver, Nikolai, who coolly observes and quietly rises in the ranks. R; 96 minutes. Released Dec. 24.
The Kingdom
*** Peter Berg’s action- loaded, idea-wielding political thriller doesn’t skirt post 9/11 tensions — it takes them on. Although Berg says the idea for the film was planted when Hezbollah attacked the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia in 1996. Jamie Foxx, as Special Agent Fleury, leads a team of four FBI agents on an unsanctioned mission to Saudi Arabia to help solve a lethally efficient attack on a Western compound for oil-company employees in Riyadh. The U.S. attorney general (Danny Huston) doesn’t want them there. The Saudis don’t want them there, but charge a Saudi police colonel with babysitting them. “The Kingdom” boasts an in-tune ensemble in Foxx, Chris Cooper, Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman. The soul of the film, however, belongs to Israeli-Palestinian actor Ashraf Barhom, who plays Police Col. Al Ghazi. R; 108 minutes. Released Dec. 24.
Roger Ebert
More releases available this week
Indie Sex
Resident Evil: Extinction
Solstice
The Tudors: Season 1
Weird Science: Seasons 1 & 2
