Save the Last Dance, Tears of the Sun, The Bank Job (2008)
Save the Last Dance
[ 3 stars out of 4 ]
I enjoyed this movie quite a bit even though I’m not much into dancing because it’s a deceptively typical coming of age film. While we get some of the familiar set-up that involves interracial relationships and being a minority in a predominantly black neighborhood, the picture is able to focus on all of those issues and comment on them in a thoughful way. There’s a brilliant scene with Julia Stiles and Kerry Washington while they wait in the doctor’s waiting room. Even though what Washington tells Stiles hurts, in a way it’s very true. Moments like that makes this film above average and worth watching. With most movies, I have a problem whenever there’s too many characters because focus is mostly sacrificed. I didn’t have a problem with this one because each character or side-story is interesting and worth analyzing. Lastly, I’m glad that the film had the time to tackle the issue of achieving someone’s dreams even though it’s a familiar territory. I thought the final big dance scene is inspiring and made me feel like I, too, could reach my dreams if I just work hard enough.
Tears of the Sun
[ 3 stars out of 4 ]
The movie started off a little too slow for my liking but it got so much more interesting during the second half so I am ultimately recommending it. Before the half-way point, I didn’t see the point of the movie because it seemed like the story was going nowhere. I mean, the Special-Ops team, led by Bruce Willis, had a plan and all but none of it was actually executed right away because there were too many scenes where the people being rescued were shown crying and saying goodbye. That said, there were also too many scenes where the filmmakers tried to make the audience care. I feel like they didn’t need to do that because we can see what was happening; most audiences will care, whether they like it or not, when they see refugees trying to escape from murdering rebels. Most critics didn’t like the fact that toward the end the film took the “Hollywood” path and had a typical war action sequences. I liked it because it’s a complete opposite of the first half. There was a huge build-up throughout the movie and if those action sequences didn’t happen, it would have been a big disappointment. Also, kudos to Bruce Willis for keeping me engaged. Just looking at him makes me feel like his character has the weight of the world on his shoulders. Overall, this is not a good movie at first glance, but once it reaches the middle portion, it functions on a whole other level.
Bank Job, The (2008)
[ 3 stars out of 4 ]
This is one of the best heist films to come out of recent years. Instead of being another polished caper movie like “The Italian Job” (which I liked a lot), this is more gritty and more realistic, which makes it that much more interesting. There were a lot of scenes where I found myself either nearly falling off the couch or biting my nails because the characters are always placed in some form of danger. I’m surprised by the pace of this picture: the actual bank robbery was already done fifty minutes into it; the real drama comes after the crime–which is a bold and quite brilliant strategy of storytelling. Each of the character that robbed the bank was featured in some way before the job so the audience got to know them at least a little bit so we care what would happen to them later on. It’s funny how more complications arise after they get all their shares than before breaking into the vault. Jason Statham made this picture that much more interesting because, once again, he’s the guy who’s tough on the outside but is really kind-hearted inside; he’s very conflicted so he’s not exactly saintly either. Pretty much all of the elements here worked for me (especially the twists and turns) so I’m giving this movie a very enthusiastic recommendation.
