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DVD The Missing (Full Screen Edition)
Cate Blanchett blazes through The Missing, a new Western directed by Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13). The camera truly loves the planes of her face; even dusty and bedraggled, she radiates star power--which is good, because The Missing needs it. When her daughter is kidnapped by renegade Indians, Maggie Gilkeson (Blanchett) is forced to turn to her estranged father (Tommy Lee Jones, Men in Black, The Fugitive), a man who abandoned her as a child to join an Indian tribe. Together, they pursue a malignant brujo (or witch), who sells young girls in Mexico. The Missing features solid supporting performances from Evan Rachel Wood, Eric Schweig, Aaron Eckhart, Val Kilmer, and feisty young Jenna Boyd as Maggie's youngest daughter Dot, who refuses to be left behind. Despite the cast and some gorgeous cinematography, though, The Missing never finds its stride. --Bret Fetzer
The plot is good, the acting great, the direction superb. It is an extremely interesting story line, different than most westerns. No usual fights in a saloon etc. Eric Schwieb(sp?) was incredible as the evil one. Tommy Lee Jones portrayal of the father was rich. Most would agree he was the repentent father but no, he was still the selfish man who deserted them years ago, still looking out for number 1. He eventually finds that he cares, in his own backwards way. Cate Blanchett,one of today's greatest actresses is convincing as the distraught but determined mother. The fact that she is a Dr. should speak volumes for those days when women in medicine were rare. The appearance of Val Kilmer was such a waste. It looked to me he was either doing a favor for Ron Howard or vice versa. But the attitude of the soldiers is an important aspect. Great cinematography! Definitely worth buying which is exactly what I am doing. Oh, & the reviewer below (M.Willis), are you sure you watched the same movie? Plenty of supernatural in there to me.
What More Could You Want in a Western?
I'm a bit flabbergasted by the many low reviews for this Ron Howard Western. Did we see the same movie? The filmmaking is of the highest order and the story slowly captivates you. The characters are good and realistic: Tommy Lee Jones plays a white man gone injun who returns to his adult daughter whom he inexplicably deserted years earlier. Cate Blanchett portrays the unforgiving daughter who is an unmarried doctor and mother of two girls in the New Mexican wilderness.
One of the best characters is the Apache witchdocter who kidnaps one of Blanchett's daughters. Played by Eric Schweig, this is one of the most memorable villains in cinematic history, ranking up there with the deadly fop from "Rob Roy." The witchdoctor (or "brujo") is a true fiend of the lowest depth; the incarnation of heartless evil itself.
The last hour or so of the film takes place in some fine Southwest locations; if you love the Southwest, be sure to check out this film.
For a more detailed account of the film please read John M. Walker's excellent review just below mine. His words are so accurate that it would be meaningless for me to add anything. I'd just like to finish this review by addressing a criticism from Roger Ebert:
Ebert criticizes how unbelievable it is that Jones and Blanchett are able to outdo the indians at being indians. Yet anyone who watches the film will observe that their realistic plan is to simply BUY BACK the girls from the brujo and his clan, not confront them in an unwise melee. Secondly, other indians join their cause and therefore it's not just a group of white folks trying to outdo indians at being indian. Thirdly, Jones lived with the indians for years, so if anyone could outdo the indians at being indian it would be someone like him. Fourthly, Blanchett is portrayed as a tough-as-nails woman living a very hard life in the Western wilderness; hence, she and most other non-indian people in similar circumstances were more than formidable as opponents of the kidnapping indians (Why is it assumed that only indians lived a hard life in the West? ANYONE living out in the wilderness in that era had to be tough).
Please keep in mind that the people who gave low reviews to this film are the same geeks that thought "The Dukes of Hazzard" was a great film. (HA, HA!)
Subtle, Piercing, Intensity.
The reviews on this venue can certainly portray a wide spectrum of reactions to a film, and that can make for some interesting reading. My reaction to this film is essentially the opposite of what seems to be the prevailing view of it.
The premise of the story did not particularly catch my attention, but when I sat down to watch it, I found myself captivated. I thought the story telling was some of the most intense I had ever seen. The subtle direction of Ron Howard, mixed with some acute realism, and then some fearful mysticism, combined to pierce my psyche. I was a bit drained at its conclusion-that does not often happen to this viewer.
My introduction to Cate Blanchett was with Bill Murray in "The Life Aquatic." The dichotomy of these roles for her could hardly be more extreme: from the height of inanity to great intensity. It's good to see her in a role that accesses her talents.
As for Tommy Lee Jones, his character and his handling of it were to me convincing, and this authenticity I again attribute to the subtlety of its rendering. His life story, as told in the film, is just that of a man following his star as he sees it, and this results in some tragedy for others. What could be more true-to-life than a strong man leading a life that is heroic in some respects, but harmful to others in other respects? Examining this life creates considerable pathos.
On one point there seems to be unanimity: the passion of young Jenna Boyd. Wow!
It would be remiss to not acknowledge the artistry that went into creating the El Brujo character played by Eric Schweig. This story required a character of incarnate evil, and the direction, acting, and make-up pull this off masterfully.
Released almost exactly 11 years after Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven, Kevin Costner's Open Range proved yet again that the Western is the classic American genre. While it lacks the thematic impact of Eastwood's masterpiece, Costner's first film since 1997's ill-fated The Postman returns the actor/director of Dances With Wolves to the open prairies of America--in this case the free-range frontier of 1882--where legal "free-grazing" cattle drives were falling prey to empire-building land-owners. In the wake of territorial murder, free-grazing cowboys Boss (Robert Duvall) and Charley (Costner) seek vengeful justice against the ruthless rancher (Michael Gambon) who threatens their law-abiding survival. A feisty ally (the late Michael Jeter, in his... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Kevin Costner - Robert Duvall - Diego Luna - Abraham Benrubi Director(s): Kevin Costner DVD Release Date: Released the 20 January 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Freely adapted from Charles Frazier's beloved bestseller, Cold Mountain boasts an impeccable pedigree as a respectable Civil War love story, offering everything you'd want from a romantic epic except a resonant emotional core. Everything in this sweeping, Odyssean journey depends on believing in the instant love that ignites during a very brief encounter between genteel, city-bred preacher's daughter Ada (Nicole Kidman) and Confederate soldier Inman (Jude Law), who deserts the battlefield to return, weary and wounded, to Ada's inherited farm in the rural town of Cold Mountain, North Carolina. In an epic (but dramatically tenuous) case of absence making hearts grow fonder, Inman endures a treacherous hike fraught with danger (and populated by supporting players including... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Jude Law - Nicole Kidman - Renée Zellweger Director(s): Anthony Minghella DVD Release Date: Released the 29 June 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Style trumps substance in Man on Fire, a slick, brooding reunion of Crimson Tide star Denzel Washington and director Tony Scott. The ominous, crime-ridden setting is Mexico City, where a dour, alcoholic warrior with a mysterious Black Ops past (Washington) seeks redemption as the devoted bodyguard of a lovable 9-year-old girl (the precociously gifted Dakota Fanning), then responds with predictable fury when she is kidnapped. Prolific screenwriter Brian Helgeland (Mystic River, L.A. Confidential) sets a solid emotional foundation for Washington's tormented character, and Scott's stylistic excess compensates for a distended plot that's both repellently violent and viscerally absorbing. Among Scott's more distracting techniques is the use of free-roaming,... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Tony Scott DVD Release Date: Released the 14 September 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Collateral offers a change of pace for Tom Cruise as a ruthless contract killer, but that's just one of many reasons to recommend this well-crafted thriller. It's from Michael Mann, after all, and the director's stellar track record with crime thrillers (Thief, Manhunter, and especially Heat) guarantees a rich combination of intelligent plotting, well-drawn characters, and escalating tension, beginning here when icy hit-man Vincent (Cruise) recruits cab driver Max (Jamie Foxx) to drive him through a nocturnal tour of Los Angeles, during which he will execute five people in a 10-hour spree. While Stuart Beattie's screenplay deftly combines intimate character study with raw bursts of action (in keeping with Mann's directorial trademark), Foxx does the best work... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Tom Cruise - Jamie Foxx - Jada Pinkett Smith - Mark Ruffalo Director(s): Michael Mann DVD Release Date: Released the 14 December 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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The Manchurian Candidate, a classic of paranoid cinema from the 1960s, gets a cunning update, rife with hot-topic references to corporate war profiteering and electronic voting machines. Major Ben Marco (Denzel Washington, Training Day) has been haunted by nightmares ever since a firefight during the first Gulf War--a battle in which he believes he was saved by the heroism of Sgt. Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber, Kate & Leopold). But Marco's nightmares suggest otherwise and drive him to investigate what happened, which may threaten Shaw's candidacy for vice-president. Meryl Streep plays Shaw's mother, a senior senator who manipulates everyone around her with an iron will and a sharp tongue. The Manchurian Candidate loses steam towards the end, but up until then... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Denzel Washington - Liev Schreiber - Kimberly Elise - Meryl Streep Director(s): Jonathan Demme DVD Release Date: Released the 21 December 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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