La Femme Nikita
This film is an absolute spellbinder as it keeps you glued to the screen throughout. Anne Parillaud does a wonderful job playing Nikita taking the character from a punk thief to a professional killer who at the same time is trying to take advantage of a second chance and lead a normal life with her boyfriend turned fiance. Also in the movie is Jean Reno, one of the few French actors who has successfully crossed over into the American film industry. Whaddayaknow? Parillaud married the director of La Femme Nikita, Luc Besson but they ended up splitting soon after the film. Don’t waste your time with Point of No Return. It doesn’t hold a candle to the original.
Pitch Black
Since I wrote about the Chronicles of Riddick, I might as well mention Pitch Black. Pitch Black is the movie to see of the two. Vin Diesel continues in the vein of the taciturn Schwarzenegger action character but actually is a better actor than Arnold. Of course, that’s faint praise indeed. If you can ignore the improbability of their last dash for safety, Pitch Black is an underdeveloped story about trust. In the end, the docking pilot turned captain has to put her trust in an escaped convict and resist the urge to once again abandon her passengers. A fun ride but a bit unfulfilling.
The Godfather Part III
I was watching The Godfather, Part III and kept thinking that there was something about Don Altobello that I just couldn’t place. During the scene where Joey Zasa tries to wipe out the commission with machine gunners in a helicopter, I figured it out. Most, if not all, actors must have a well that they return to for certain emotions and expressions.There he was right in front of me almost 30 years later - Tuco from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. I couldn’t believe it - Eli Wallach in The Godfather, Part III. On top of that, Wallach is still kicking at 92 years old. Without him, The Good, The Bad and The Ugly would have been a really slow movie. Turns out he’s kept busy all these years. He also has appeared in quite a few westerns including How the West was Won and The Magnificent Seven. How’s that for a surprise moment in movie watching?
The Chronicles of Riddick - 2004
This was Vin Diesel’s follow up to Pitch Black (2000). Where Pitch Black had a very simple plot line, The Chronicles of Riddick has a much more complex plot line but Diesel’s character remains the one dimensional stoic. Schwarzenegger had to start somewhere too, I guess. I missed the first 30 minutes or so as this was on AMCtv. I didn’t miss much because it was easy enough to get into the Chronicles despite missing the first 30. Thankfully, I dvr’ed the movie so I could skip through the blocks of commercials later. Despite the 1-D characters and the over-complex plot line, there was plenty of action to keep my attention. Riddick was presented as invincible but he meets his match at the end. And through an unwitting alliance with an enemy actually defeats his main enemy and saves humanity. Of course, the movie ends in a way which leaves the possibility of more chronicles to follow. Even more one dimensional than Diesel were Thandie Newton and Karl Urban. Judi Dench also has a part in this movie. How did they get her to sign up for this? In the end, the Chronicles was a nice adaptation but probably reads much better.
Bad News Bears

This has to be one of the worst remakes that I have ever seen. In fact, I didn’t see it all; I could only stomach about 20 minutes of The Bad News Bears with Billy Bob Thornton. If anything, it demonstrated what a lousy actor Billy Bob Thornton is. I mean this guy is terrible. Or maybe Walter Matthau was just that damn good. One of the things that made the original such a good movie was the chemistry between Matthau and Tatum O’Neal. Billy Bob had no such chemistry with whoever played Amanda in the 2005 remake. Brandon Craggs was lifeless as Engleberg (that’s funny, I always thought it was Engleburt). Jeffrey Davies was pitiful as Kelly Leak and Timmy Deters added nothing new to Tanner Boyle. Get the original!

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