The Lincoln Lawyer
Directed by Brad Furman
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Marisa Tomei, Ryan Phillippe, William H. Macy, John Leguizamo, Frances Fisher, Michael Pena and Josh Lucas
Release date: March 18, 2011

Los Angeles is an incomparable environment when we are talking about the innocent and the sinful; the beautiful and the damned; the honorable and the deceitful. The California hotspot has been glorified by films’ exposing of corruption that is at the city’s core. The steamy nights, palm trees lining the most dangerous sidewalks, and homes of all sizes overlooking the inestimable amount of glittering lights. These are touchstone characteristics of modern day film noirs (Mulholland Dr.) and classic noirs (Mildred Pierce). It is such a city that is ripe for extravagance, tragedy, merciless characters, beauty, and horrific doings. And people are still attracted to it. But maybe the most honored characteristic of noirs and L.A. is a hero who signifies American coolness and who is unafraid to excavate past the norm.

And who is cooler to strut the streets of L.A. and get chauffeured around in his black Lincoln (which doubles as his office) than Matthew McConaughey? “Ain’t no Love in the Heart of the City” by Bobby Blue Bland is playing as we first see Mick Haller (McConaughey), a smooth, conniving, haughty hotshot defense lawyer. And surely love is hard to come by in this L.A., directed harshly and correctly by Brad Furman (The Take), who shows the city’s grimness and shadiness opposed to hiding behind its superficial beauty. Within the first few scenes we know that Mick is well acquainted with his environment, keeping close to him drug abusers, motorcycle gangs, and conmen, all who give him valuable information. Everything is business-related. His ex-wife (Marisa Tomei) works with the DA. There is no true love there either.

By KefkaTaran

The Happening
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
Starring Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo
Fox Home Entertainment
Release Date: October 7, 2008

The Happening is an unbelievably bad movie. When I say “unbelievably,” I mean it quite literally; as in I actually can’t believe how bad the movie was, especially in light of fairly positive reviews from some of my most respected sources when the film first hit theaters, such as Roger Ebert and, yes, Geeks of Doom. I can’t believe the depths of bad acting that generally solid actors like leads Mark Wahlberg and Zoey Deschanel can apparently sink to under M. Night Shyamalan‘s directing. And more than anything, I can’t believe major Hollywood studios are still bankrolling films by this continuously diminishing director.

Okay, maybe that’s a bit far. I should probably back off a little at this point and offer a confession: I haven’t seen a single M. Night Shyamalan movie in full since 1999’s The Sixth Sense (which I liked, but I was only in junior high when I saw it, so hell, who knows if I really liked it). Without trying to cast aspersions onto other reviewers, perhaps that’s part of the reason I was so astonished by how awful The Happening is. I haven’t become slowly more disillusioned with Shyamalan with each passing film, and I have yet to witness last summer’s apparently equally horrendous Lady in the Water. But whether it was a case of too-high expectations or something else entirely, the fact remains that The Happening left my mouth hanging open in a way that Shyamalan and crew likely didn’t intend.