NOVEMBER
Starring Courtney Cox, James LeGros, Michael Ealy, and Anne Archer

November is a film that really keeps you on your toes. It's the type of picture that may confuse you as it's unfolding, but rest assured, it does make sense by the end.

In the drama/thriller, Courtney Cox plays photographer Sophie Jacobs. She's happy and in love with her wonderful boyfriend (James LeGros), but suffers from headaches brought on by a secret that she harbors. Her life takes a drastic turn when a stop at a convenience store takes a tragic turn.

Cox does a good job here, playing against type. She's quiet and restrained and far less glamorous than she is on Friends. James LeGros is likable as her understanding boyfriend.

Director Greg Harrison is an expert craftsmen and November grabbed ahold of me from the get go with it's twisty plot structure, varying tones, sharp cinematography, crisp sound design and crafty editing techniques. While it did have me guessing, it wasn't in an annoying, pretentious sort of way, and by the end, I was surprised and satisfied. It's kind of a film in the same tradition as Jacob's Ladder and The Sixth Sense.

What really impressed me about November was how good it looked. It was shot in fifteen days for around $150,000. Proof yet again, that a good movie doesn't have to cost $100,000,000 to deliver the goods.

Have you ever had your life flash before your eyes? November is a film that depicts that very scenario in a compelling way. This wasn't one of the big buzz films of the festival, but that makes it no less striking. Hopefully people will see it when it hits theaters. It's really quite good.

Grade: B

NAPOLEON DYNAMITE
Starring Jon Heder, Jon Gries, Efren Ramirez, and Tina Majorino

Here's an interesting story. Over two years ago, a film competition took place in the peaceful little Berg known as St. George UT in which those involved had seven hours to complete a five minute short, without the use of post production editing. That's right. Everything had to be done in camera. I actually took part in the competition and had a blast every step of the way. Also along for the ride was a young man from BYU named Jared Hess. Of the twenty five film making parties that took part in the competition, four were chosen to move on to another
competition. Mr. Hess was one of the finalists (his short "The Bottle" was
pretty creative). Cut to two years later. This guy now has a feature at
Sundance, and a damn funny one I might add.

The quirky, sweet natured comedy Napoleon Dynamite might have been the kind
of movie John Hughes would have made had he lived in Idaho instead of
Illinois.

The movie title refers to the film's title character, a skinny, young high
school student whose personality isn't going to win him any awards. But then
that's the point. This is a depiction of life in a small rural town, where
not much happens. Napoleon spends most of his time clashing with his dorky
brother Kip, attending classes, befriending new student Pedro, and dealing
with his freaky Uncle Rico who is sent to watch over him while his
grandmother recovers from a quad-runner accident.

Jon Heder is an absolute riot in the lead. He delivers his dialogue in a
deadpan fashion, and while the performance is certainly one note, it's a
damn funny note. He's extremely engaging and this is never more apparent
then it is in the "Revenge of the Nerds" style climax in which Napoleon? I
really don't want to spoil it for you. You can see it for yourself when the
movie is released (it was purchased at the festival).

Tina Majorino also appears as a shy young woman who has her eye on Napoleon. It's been a while since I've seen this actress in a movie. You may remember her as the little girl in Waterworld or as Meg Ryan's daughter in When A Man Loves A Woman. She gives a sweet, quiet performance and her final moment with Napoleon is actually quite charming if a little weird.

It's obvious that director Jared Hess has a lot of fondness for Preston
Idaho, but at the same time he seems to be making fun of it, the same sort
of way Alexander Payne goofs on Nebraska in Election and About Schmidt. If
you come from a small town, chances are, you'll identify with Napoleon
Dynamite in a big way.

Napoleon Dynamite really surprised me. I really didn't expect to like it as
much as I did. I thought given the subject matter, the film would wear thin,
but I was always entertained by it. I laughed throughout, and I attribute
most of that to Hess' observant insight into rural life, and to Heder's
hilariously consistent performance as a dull teenager who's always willing to stick his neck out put his for the right cause.

Grade: B+

ONE POINT 0
Starring Jeremy Sisto, Deborah Unger, Udo Kier, and Lance Henriksen

There's a lot going on in the strange, futuristic world of One Point O. It's
part sci-fi, part social commentary, part surreal fantasy but unfortunately,
it's not very involving despite a compelling start.

Jeremy Sisto plays Simon, a lonely computer programmer trapped in a would he
can't seem to get out of. He lives by himself in a strange apartment complex
where video cameras watch his every move, and as the days go on, he becomes
increasingly paranoid with those around him. This feeling is heightened when
he begins finding strange packages in his apartment. Adding to the weirdness
of the situation is the fact that the packages are empty. Before long
Simon, slowly begins to lose touch with reality.

One Point O is clearly a case of style over substance. The look of the
picture is interesting to be sure. It has elements of Cube and other such
low-budget visual splendors, but unfortunately, the film never really
builds. It just sort of fizzles out with ideas that seemed much more
realized in movies like The Matrix and A.I. While those films were flawed
themselves, they were much more fascinating.

I've seen Jeremy Sisto more effective in other movies including the wildly
entertaining indie horror film May. Here, he's supposed to be sympathetic,
but I didn't buy it. I found him rather dull. Deborah Unger (The Game) is
interesting but underused as Simon's inevitable love interest. Udo Kier and
Lance Henriksen give the film a big shot in the arm as two of the eccentric
characters that move in and out of Simon's paranoid life.

Directors Jeff Renfroe and Marteinn Thorsson do have a keen visual sense.
One Point O is well shot and the locations are perfectly creepy. But for all
of the things that intrigued me in this movie (what the hell are those
packages and why is Simon becoming addicted to milk), I was dismayed to find
that they didn't really add up to anything.

One Point O is a film in which part of the journey is far more interesting
than the actual destination. I understood what I was watching, but I really
didn't care. In terms of fragmented storytelling, November was far more
compelling.

Grade: C-

THE PARK
Starring Bo Bo Chan, Mathew Paul Dean, Derek Tsang, and Tiffany Lee

I have long been a fan of 3-D movies. House of Wax, Return of the Creature
From the Black Lagoon, Andy Warhol's Frankenstein, Spacehunter: Adventures
in the Forbidden Zone, Captain Eo, Friday the 13th Part 3. What can I tell
you. I love them. I know it's a stupid gimmick, but who cares. They're fun.

Imagine my shock when I started thumbing through the Sundance catalog and
discovered that they would be screening a 3-D horror film from Hong Kong.
There was no way I was going to miss that. I even convinced Zboneman.com
album reviewer Kyle England to take the plunge with me.

Adding to the excitement, was the fact that The Park would be one of
Sundance's midnight screenings. Those are always a blast.

The minute we sat down for the movie, you could feel the excitement in the
air. The place was packed and everyone was laughing and having a good time
as they donned their goofy 3-D glasses. Trust me when I tell you, that
excitement would slowly dissolve.

The Park takes place at an amusement park and opens with a terrible tragedy
as a young girl falls to her death from a ferris wheel. Cut to years later,
the now run down amusement park is said to be haunted, but this doesn't stop
a group of stupid teenagers from entering the premises to have a good time.

Most disappointingly the entire movie was not shot in 3-D. There are around five 3-D segments in the picture. A little "put glasses on" title card appears on the
screen every so often, notifying the audience that it's time to throw the
shades on. The 3-D effects were as weak as Utah beer. They're hardly
effective, and very few items actually leapt from the screen.

The Park is also incredibly nonsensical even by a horror film's standards.
It's choppy and has no flow at all. Of course, this would have all been fine had the film been scary or at least offered up heaping helpings of gore. Alas, The Park doesn't even offer that.

I will say "the so bad it's funny" dialogue worked it's charm once in a
while, but not nearly enough to recommend this poor effort from well known
Asian film maker Andrew Lau (Internal Affairs).

I had high hopes for this movie. I was really looking forward to a good
time, and save for the excitement before the film, and a couple of
scattershot laughs throughout, I was just bored. I didn't find the movie to
be a complete waste of time (my friend Kyle would whole heartedly disagree
with me), but it was one of the worst 3-D movies I've seen.

Grade: D+

REDEMPTION
Starring Jamie Foxx, Lynn Whitfield, and CCH Pounder

Some films aren't quite as powerful and noble as their subject matter.
Redemption is a perfect example of this.

In this well intentioned true story, Jamie Foxx stars as Stanley "Tookie"
Williams, the founder of famed street gang the Crips. Tookie spends his days
locked behind bars at San Quentin for a crime he may or may not have
committed. One thing is for certain. He did create the Crips, and he assumes
full responsibility for that. He would eventually go on to educate youth and
create a series of children's books.

Professor Barbara Becnel (Lynn Whitfield) is a historian, but is compelled
to write a book on gang culture when she discovers that her son is
interested in the subject himself. She hopes to enlist the help of Tookie,
but before she can do that, she must earn his trust.

Vondie Curtis Hall is an actor by trade (you can see his work in movies such
as Die Hard 2 and Passion Fish). He got his big start in directing with
Gridlock'd, but he looked as if he would forever be remembered as the man
that brought us Glitter. Thankfully, Redemption is proof that there is life
after a Mariah Carey bio-pic, and while his Redemption is by no means absolution for his sins, it is worlds better than his last picture. Much of the movie does have an ABC movie of the week feel to it, and that's fine because this film was made to
educate people. It isn't so much interested in violence itself as it is the
impact it has on our youth.

Jamie Foxx has matured into a fine actor. Any Given Sunday was a turning
point in his career, and while he continues to search for that perfect role
(the early buzz suggests that he may have found it in the form of a Ray
Charles bio-pic), he continues to grow. In Redemption, he's very subtle and
intelligent, but gives hints of that sense of humor that made him a star on
In Living Color. Lynn Whitfield is strong as a scholar trying to make a
difference in the world. While all of her scenes with Foxx don't necessarily
ring true, her conviction is completely apparent.

Redemption is heavy-handed in many ways, particularly when it comes to it's
anti-death penalty stance, but this is a real life story, so I don't know
that it's entirely fair to criticize it for that. The movie also felt a tad
rushed. We don't even see Tookie's transformation unfold. We see flashbacks
of his youth and current glimpses into who he is at present, but we never
see that transition from thug to reformed crusader. In movies like Malcom X, we see it. Here, we're expected to take it for what it is. I would have preferred
another act, so that we would have witnessed this transformation. And for
those of you wondering if Tookie is actually guilty of the crimes that put
him behind bars, he maintains his innocence. The movie isn't really
interested in delving into that. There is, however, a book on the subject,
so I suppose I'll pick it up.

Redemption's screenplay certainly could have been polished. While it's
presenting important and powerful subject matter, it does so in a
pretentious, preachy fashion that should have been dialed down a notch. I do
think that this is important material, but perhaps it would have been more
compelling had it been done as a documentary.

In the end, everyone involved in this project had good intentions. They're
clearly interested in educating our youth about the negative effects of gang
culture, but sadly the movie tends to lose it's focus (I mean, really, what
does Tookie winning an award have to do with anything). What's most
important is Tookie's ability to educate. Like I said, a documentary would
have been more powerful. As it stands, Redemption is an okay movie when it
should have been a great one.

On a side-note, if anyone is interested in this subject matter, log on to
www.tookie.com.

Grade: B-