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DVD Ladder 49 (Widescreen Edition)
In paying simple tribute to firefighters, Ladder 49 gets to the heart of those who risk their lives for a living. Director Jay Russell brought similar sincerity to his memorable family favorite My Dog Skip, and despite the banalities of an ultra-conventional screenplay by Lewis Colick, Ladder 49 generates so much goodwill toward its Baltimore firemen that you may find yourself unexpectedly overcome with emotional appreciation for guys like Jack (Joaquin Phoenix), a firefighter whose career, courtship, marriage, and fatherhood are viewed in flashback as he struggles to survive in the present-day framing scenes, cut off from his fellow firemen in the fiery guts of a collapsing 20-floor building. There are no surprises in the familiar scenes of male bonding, dangerous rescues, injury and death, and the supportive concern of Jack's wife (Jacinda Barrett), but by focusing on the simple integrity of Jack's personal and professional commitment, the movie gives Phoenix a showcase for unselfish virtue, while John Travolta provides dignified support as Jack's mentor and devoted firehouse captain. Ladder 49 is routine in most respects, but it's a much-deserved valentine to working-class heroes. --Jeff Shannon
Story telling is an art, whether it is on the canvas, the page or on the screen. What makes engaging art and entertainment is conflict, juxtaposition, grit. This film had none; no slightly discordant note to throw the characters into a deeper and more real relief. These were cardboard cutouts in a post 911 hallmark moment.
Our lead character Jack Morrison is "simple goodness" and even his later conflicts with his wife over his job do not ring true, or add any depth to his character. A classic and well drawn "hero" overcomes obstacles and internal conflicts to find his redemption in the end. A good hero has his moments of anger while Jack seemed to be on valium for the better part of the film.
Faring perhaps worse was John Travolta in his role of Captain Mike Kennedy. It was a caracature of the crusty and yet avuncular senior officer with a heart of gold. it was a throwaway role for an actor who has had fine film moments "Battlefield Earth" not withstanding.
I wanted more from the film. I wanted events as they played out to effect Jack Morrison more, deepen his character and add dimension. But I but found them glossed over in a way they are not in real life; where traumas set the stage for stress disorders, alcoholism, and brokenness. And at the same time one will get better drama if the hero finds redemption in something/anything after walking through the flames of hell, whether personally or externally inflicted.
This was a simple paean with little depth and I could not bring myself to care about the characters since they really showed no emotional life that would engage the discerning viewer.
But as a "feel good" piece....on that level it works.
Great
This movie is great and very sad. I highly recommend this movie, you wont be disapointed.
a film that overcomes its cliches
Joaquin Phoenix gives a moving performance in "Ladder 49," playing a Baltimore firefighter who goes from rookie to 10-year veteran in the course of the story.
Although its chief selling point is its spectacular - but never hyperbolic - fire sequences, "Ladder 49" is actually at its most compelling when it focuses on the struggle firemen go through trying to balance their high risk occupation with their role as husband and father.
In addition to Phoenix, who brings a self-effacing strength and heroism to his character, there are fine performances by John Travolta as the captain of the station, and Jacinda Barrett as Phoenix's understanding but understandably concerned wife.
In the first half of the film, the screenplay threatens to erupt into a raging inferno of stereotypes and cliches, as the characters take an occasional time out from firefighting for puppy love romance at the supermarket, frat boy antics at the fire station and domestic squabbles involving neglected wives and children at the old homestead. But about halfway through the film, the deeper themes rise to the surface and "Ladder 49" begins to explore complex issues in a mature way. The quiet scenes between Phoenix and Travolta, and Phoenix and Barrett are surprisingly subtle, thoughtful and intelligently written.
It takes a while to get there, but "Ladder 49" turns out to be a tribute worthy of its subject.
Like a Hardy Boys mystery on steroids, National Treasure offers popcorn thrills and enough boyish charm to overcome its rampant silliness. Although it was roundly criticized as a poor man's rip-off of Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Da Vinci Code, it's entertaining on its own ludicrous terms, and Nicolas Cage proves once again that one actor's infectious enthusiasm can compensate for a multitude of movie sins. The contrived plot involves Cage's present-day quest for the ancient treasure of the Knights Templar, kept secret through the ages by Freemasons past and present. Finding the treasure requires the theft of the Declaration of Independence (there are crucial treasure clues on the back, of course!), so you can add "caper comedy" to this Jerry Bruckheimer... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Jon Turteltaub DVD Release Date: Released the 03 May 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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After creating the last great traditionally animated film of the 20th century, The Iron Giant, filmmaker Brad Bird joined top-drawer studio Pixar to create this exciting, completely entertaining computer-animated film. Bird gives us a family of "supers," a brood of five with special powers desperately trying to fit in with the 9-to-5 suburban lifestyle. Of course, in a more innocent world, Bob and Helen Parr were superheroes, Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl. But blasted lawsuits and public disapproval forced them and other supers to go incognito, making it even tougher for their school-age kids, the shy Violet and the aptly named Dash. When a stranger named Mirage (voiced by Elizabeth Pena) secretly recruits Bob for a potential mission, the old glory days spin in his head, even if... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Holly Hunter - Samuel L. Jackson - Jason Lee - Craig T. Nelson DVD Release Date: Released the 15 March 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Jamie Foxx's uncannily accurate performance isn't the only good thing about Ray. Riding high on a wave of Oscar buzz, Foxx proved himself worthy of all the hype by portraying blind R&B legend Ray Charles in a warts-and-all performance that Charles approved shortly before his death in June 2004. Despite a few dramatic embellishments of actual incidents (such as the suggestion that the accidental drowning of Charles's younger brother caused all the inner demons that Charles would battle into adulthood), the film does a remarkable job of summarizing Charles's strengths as a musical innovator and his weaknesses as a philandering heroin addict who recorded some of his best songs while flying high as a kite. Foxx seems to be channeling Charles himself, and as he did with the life of... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Jamie Foxx - Kerry Washington - Regina King Director(s): Taylor Hackford DVD Release Date: Released the 01 February 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Meet the Parents found such tremendous success in the chemistry produced by the contrasting personalities of stars Robert De Niro and Ben Stiller that the film's creators went for broke with the same formula again in Meet the Fockers. This time around, Jack and Dina Byrnes (De Niro and Blythe Danner) climb into Jack's new kevlar-lined RV with daughter Pam (Teri Polo), soon-to-be son-in-law Gaylord (Stiller), and Jack's infant grandson from his other daughter for the trip to Florida to meet Gaylord's parents, Bernie and Roz Focker (Dustin Hoffman and Barbra Streisand in a casting coup). The potential in-laws are, of course, the opposite of Jack, a pair of randy, touchy-feely fun-lovers. The rest of the movie is pretty much a sitcom: put Bernie and Roz together with Jack, and... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Jay Roach DVD Release Date: Released the 19 April 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Sweetness that doesn't turn saccharine is hard to find these days; Finding Neverland hits the mark. Much credit is due to the actors: Johnny Depp applies his genius for sly whimsy in his portrayal of playwright J. M. Barrie, who finds inspiration for his greatest creation from four lively boys, the sons of widow Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (Kate Winslet, who miraculously fuses romantic yearning with common sense). Though the friendship threatens his already dwindling marriage, Barrie spends endless hours with the boys, pretending to be pirates or Indians--and gradually the elements of Peter Pan take shape in his mind. The relationship between Barrie and the Llewelyn Davies family sparks both an imagined world and a quiet rebellion against the stuffy forces of respectability,... More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 22 March 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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