Review Roundup: BODY OF LIES, EXPRESS, QUARANTINE
By Norm Schrager at October 11, 2008 | 10:07 am | Print
This week, the studios have once again carefully programmed and counter-programmed with a movie for just about every taste: To start, a Ridley Scott thriller with major stars, a sports biopic and a freaky horror remake.
We had planned to round up more movies from last week’s avalanche, but nah. What’d we miss, An American Carol? Please. Let’s move on for this week.
:: BODY OF LIES
Rotten Tomatoes: 54 / 100
Metacritic: 58 / 100
filmcritic.com: 2.5 / 5
Character redux: The Insider meets the Blood Diamond dude
Would you have expected a movie with the talents of Ridley Scott, Leonardo DiCaprio and Russell Crowe to receive such tepid reviews? A colleague of mine described William Monahan’s script as “a mess,” and many are blaming the all-too-standard plot with making Body of Lies too dry. There does seem to be universal agreement that the performances are the clear bright spots. No surprise there.
Personally, I think DiCaprio should take a break from this type of character for a little while. He already nailed the type in Blood Diamond, an overdone, overly commercial drama (posing as an “important” film) with only DiCaprio successfully capturing its tone.
:: THE EXPRESS
Rotten Tomatoes: 64 / 100
Metacritic: 58 / 100
filmcritic.com: 3 / 5
Good thing for those old-time facemasks; easier to see the actors
Like Body of Lies, The Express delivers the exact story you expect to see. College football hero Ernie Davis may have done plenty of zigging and zagging in his day, but his movie doesn’t, according to most critics. Davis was the first black player to win the Heisman Trophy, and sadly died soon after (that’s not a spoiler, dummy, he was a real guy).
Inspirational story? Check. Tearjerker? Check. Authentic football action? Check. The list is full, but it’s nothing most fans of this genre haven’t seen before. Brian’s Song is still a pretty cool movie.
:: QUARANTINE
Rotten Tomatoes: 70 / 100
Metacritic: 58 / 100 (based on only 4 reviews)
filmcritic.com: 3 / 5
The Rachael Ray show has been renewed again?! Whaaaaaaah!!!
You know why Quarantine was made? Because the Spanish original, [Rec], was never released in the U.S., though it was shown in just about every other country in the world. Okay, the American remake probably would’ve happened anyway — I just like to rant about the occasional lack of variety (and balls) in the U.S.
Anyway, it’s tough to get a review beat on this close-quarters, virus-run-amok shocker: The Metacritic rating is based on four reviews, and Rotten Tomatoes’ twenty entries include three sci-fi and horror writers (perhaps they’re the best resources here?) and the goofy Luke Thompson. My filmcritic.com buddy Bill Gibron, well versed in film and no pushover, thinks you’ll like it… as long as you haven’t seen the original. Well, so there.
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