THE WOODSMAN
Starring Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick, and Mos Def

Through the years Kevin Bacon has become quite the dependable actor. In
fact, he's appeared in so many films with so many other notable actors that
a game was built around him (Seven Degrees of Kevin Bacon). So at the very
least, his new picture The Woodsman will now make it easier to link the well
known performer to the charismatic Mos Def.

All joking aside, The Woodsman is hardly funny, as it takes an intense look
at some truly terrifying subject matter.

In the film, Bacon is Walter, a man who's just been released from prison.
Starting over is no easy task as he is constantly watched by police
detective Lucas (an electric Mos Def). Still, Walter takes it day by day and
finds himself a job where he chooses to be distant from his fellow employees
until he becomes smitten with local spitfire Vickie (Bacon's real life wife
Kyra Sedgwick). Their relationship develops quickly but is put to the test
in a major way when Vickie discovers why Walter was in prison.

Again, The Woodsman takes an incredibly tough topic and, for the most part,
handles it with grace, save for the occasional heavy-handed moment. What is
the topic? I'd rather not address it because I feel it might take away from
the dramatic impact of the film. Granted the movie is going to be released,
and from what I'm hearing, they will make no secret of what the film is
about in the marketing process.

In addition to the dark part of the story, The Woodsman is also a picture
that takes a hard look at the rehabilitation potential of the American Penal System and whether certain criminals should ever be allowed back into society?

Kevin Bacon is sensational here in a role that requires him to take a big
chance. The actor perfectly captures the confusion, guilt and fear of his
unfortunate circumstances. Late in the picture, there is a sequence in which Bacon
contemplates the unthinkable while sitting on a park bench. The way he plays
this scene is extraordinary and subtle, and while I found his character
despicable, I wouldn't say that I hated him. That's a true testament to how
well Bacon plays this role. Sedgwick is spunky and fiery as Walter's
new flame and her abrasive attitude lends energy to the film, and her real
life connection to Bacon translates into big time sparks on-screen. Musician
Mos Def is commanding as detective Lucas. His anger towards Walter is
intense but he's also a fair man and that comes across as well.

Director Nicole Kassell makes an earnest attempt at playing both sides of
the coin. And while I appreciated the fact that she takes an intimate and,
for the most part, restrained approach to the material, I felt that she went
a little overboard in the final act of the picture. The moment with Kevin Bacon
is pivotal, but the introduction of another character's secret seems to be a bit much.

Still, The Woodsman is fairly ambiguous in it's resolution and I feel it
was the best approach because sometimes there aren't any easy answers.
This movie is depressing and hard to watch at times, and while not perfect,
Bacon was strong enough to make the movie effective.

Grade: B

THE YES MEN
Starring The Yes Men

Upon seeing Chris Smith's name attached to the new documentary The Yes Men,
I didn't even need to read what it was about. I was sold on the Smith name
alone. This guy has made a career out of making incredibly entertaining
documentaries about odd, eccentric people (see American Movie and Home
Movie).

The film takes it's title from an anarchistic underground organization of the same name,
a zany group of do-gooders who travel around passing themselves off as World
Trade Organization members.

Actually, their adventures begin when they find themselves invited to
various seminars to speak, after their mock web site (which looks very
similar to the actual W.T.O. site) is mistaken for the real thing. Rather
than sitting back and doing nothing, they attend these seminars and present
hilariously fake speeches that, for whatever reason, are often met with
resounding approval. And rather than being stopped, The Yes Men continue to
be invited to these seminars where their speeches and presentations become
more and more outlandish, none crazier then the one in which one of the Yes
Men dresses in a bizarre, space man suit complete with an inflatable penile
employment monitor that they suggest will create greater profitability in
the Third World.

Sounds really funny doesn't it? Well it is to a certain extent. When The Yes
Men are out there doing their thing, this movie is drop dead hilarious. Sadly, when The Yes Men are prepping to wreak havoc on unsuspecting crowds, the
film stops dead in it's tracks. Why? Well for starters, the men who form
this underground aren't very interesting. In fact, they're quite boring and
the movie suffers as a result of this. It's obvious that The Yes Men are
very smart. They clearly have intelligence, and a lot of what they have to
say is extremely funny, but their hilarity ends once they're out of the
spotlight. Once we see them going about their everyday lives, I became
increasingly bored.

As I stated, Chris Smith has the ability to find strength and character in
the oddest of people, but here, he sort of misfires. The Yes Men are the
opposite. They're only interesting half of the time.

I don't want to give the impression that I hated this movie. I was laughing
throughout much of it. I just could have done without all the personal
insight into the Yes Men. Quite surprisingly, what they were doing was much more funny and enlightening than who they are.

Grade: C+

ZATOICHI
Starring Takeshi Kitano, Beat Takeshi, Tadanobu Asano, and Michiyo Ogusu

God bless Japan. No one can make a martial arts adventure quite like them.
They have a flow and tone about them that very few American film makers have
been able to duplicate. In Zatoichi, writer/director/actor Takeshi Kitano
brings legendary Zatoichi back to the big screen (this character hadn't
appeared in a film since 1989) in a vibrant, musical, blood-soaked ball of
cinematic fury.

Kitano is Zatoichi, a blind swordsman/warrior who finds himself engaged in
battle when he enters a small town to find it run by ruthless villains. Now
just because Zatoichi is blind, makes him no less a master of steel and he
proves his worth through numerous breathtaking sword fighting sequences which
left me awestruck.

For those of you familiar with this character, I'm probably describing
something that you're already well aware of. This legendary swordsman is all
new to me and upon doing research, I discovered that many silly movies I saw
years back were inspired by this character including that dopey Rutger Hauer
movie Blind Fury.

The sword fights on display in this Zatoichi film are impressive even though
several slice em' up dice em' up moments smacked of CGI. This hardly matters
however, for Kitano's timing and kinetic pacing make most of the action here
more than worth it. I especially liked a sequence in which a fight ensues on
a rocky creek edge. As victims fall to their deaths, their blood is washed
down the rocks and into the water by the falling rain. While violent, there
is also something very poetic about the fashion in which these action
sequences are staged.

What's more, the unexpected musical numbers that pop up in this picture are
extraordinary, particularly the show stopping finale.

Kitano's performance is a beautifully nuanced one. He comes across as
unassuming, but the second he springs into action, I bought every minute of
it. He's absolutely enthralling. Kitano is assisted by an outstanding technical crew that bring this colorful world to life, most notably his editor and cinematographer.

Zatoichi is the ultimate tale of good vs. evil, but more than anything it
was just an enjoyable time at the movies. There was another Asian film
making waves at the festival this year called Azumi. While I didn't get a
chance to see it, Zatoichi was the perfect note to end on with my Sundance
2004 experience. What a great time.

Grade: B

So this is it for Sundance 2004 feature film reviews, but I do have a couple
more reports that I'm working on. One will feature short films with the
other featuring The Music Cafe. Watch for them soon.