Movie Reviews: Jarhead, Click & Unleashed

Three movies I've seen recently....

Jarhead: Starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Jamie Foxx. VERY well done war piece based on a true story by Tony (not Andy...duh!) Spofford. Not so much about the war but about being a soldier in a war. Gyllenhaal is a Marine Scout Sniper during the first Gulf War. Foxx plays his staff sargeant. Good acting and interesting direction throughout but what really separates this apart is there really isn't much war and carnage. Gyllenhaal is trained....even brainwashed, to shoot his rifle. He's excellent at it but never gets the use the skills. Mostly, the soldiers sit around waiting for war. He aches to use his skills. However, this war is fought from thousands of feet up, if not miles away. Finally, after all the incredibly tough basic training and living in the 120 desert and coming across war's hardships, its essentially over. A four day war.

Click: Adam Sandler, Kate Becksinsale, Christopher Walken. Ok, basically this movie is "Scrooge" without Christmas. Sandler's character obtains a "Universal" remote which allows him to pause, rewind, fast forward and even picture-in-picture. Cute movie, I guess. But same old story and same old Sandler humor (there's not much either) invovling anger, farting, etc. I can't say I'm the biggest Sandler fan. His movies tend to be too preposterous for my taste (see Happy Gilmore, Billy Madison). I like him best when he's reeled in, more sedate, like in Wedding Singer or Punch Drunk Love. Some clever stuff involving the remote and I laughed a couple times but the its the old message: In the end, family's more important than career. Not a "must see" but not a "must miss" either.

Unleashed: Jet Li, Morgan Freeman, Bob Hoskins. This one grabbed me. I'm not a big Karate-movie guy (which this is) but this movie had much more to offer. First, the Karate (I'm sure its some other discipline, but I'll generalize it here) is fantastically choreographed. Not altogether believable, but quite a visual site (think toned-down Kill Bill). Jet Li's character, Danny, is a dog, essentially. Owned and trained by Bart (Bob Hoskins) since he was a little boy. He does Bart's bidding....which is kill and maim for money. Either debt collection or man vs. man fights for gambling entertainment (think cock fights). However, Danny escapes Bart's clutches and meets with Sam (Morgan Freeman) an overly kind blind piano tuner who invites him into his home and his life. Danny learns, through music, kindness and Sams' step-daughter, how to love and be loved. Although quite violent, it is actually a sweet movie. Sure, the ending is somewhat predictable, but I did find it compelling to watch. See it!!