DARKNESS FALLS
(2003, Jonathan Liebesman)

So, there’s a curse on a town called Darkness Falls that involves an old woman in the 1850s who was popular among the local children for exchanging gold coins for lost teeth. When two youngsters went missing, she was hanged over the ordeal (why she was accused or even suspected goes unexplored), and now she exists as an evil phantom spirit who comes calling for the youngsters of Darkness Falls when they part with their last tooth. She cannot go in the light. They call her... the tooth fairy!

Tell me something: with this premise, would “Darkness Falls” work better as a campy horror parody, executed with a playful wink and a nudge... or a straightforward tale of terror?

The answer is obvious; unfortunately, director Jonathan Liebesman plays the premise as straight as James Bond on a beach full of hot ladies. “Darkness Falls” starts off silly, but with an unexpected flair for ominous lighting and dread-laced atmosphere, with a prologue and opening sequence that are admittedly effective. But things get aggressively stupid as the two dreadfully dull leads (Chaney Kley and Emma Caulfield) evade the villainous flying wench through police stations and hospitals, picking up anonymous and expendable bystanders for inevitable slaughter as they go. Stan Winston’s creature effects studio has, evidently, put about four hours of total work into their monster, which must contend with putrid acting and a tone that feels frantic and forced. You know, I liked this movie better the first time around, when it was called “Jeepers Creepers”.

The general fear of the dark that this hackneyed campfire yarn will evoke in some viewers will prove far more terrifying than the film’s dopey shock methods and ridiculous fairy tale creature that strikes when the lights go down. “Darkness Falls”... silliness prevails.

FACE/OFF
(1997, John Woo)

John Woo’s “Face/Off” has one of the most interesting dynamics I have ever seen in an action film. Take a scene where psychotic uber-terrorist Castor Troy is standing at the grave of the hero’s young son, whom he murdered during a failed attempt to kill the boy’s father, federal task force agent Sean Archer. It’s a fascinating moment, because Troy is standing at this grave.... as Sean Archer, with Archer’s wife (Joan Allen) extending a hand toward her supposed husband as she weeps.

Earlier, in an attempt to extract information from Castor’s brother Pollux (Alessandro Nivola) about a bomb ticking away in downtown Los Angeles, Archer (John Travolta) agrees to undergo a radical surgical procedure in which doctors will graft Castor’s face onto his own. He will interrogate Pollux as Castor Troy, and then reclaim his own identity (...and face). Unfortunately, a comatose Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) springs to life and takes Archer’s face before this can happen. It’s all ludicrous, yes, but it works when coupled with the signature hyper-kinetic bravado of Woo’s amazing action sequences. And, with Cage and Travolta playing both good guy and bad guy, “Face/Off” fashions a memorable actors’ showcase. Adopting the tics and idiosyncrasies of one another, both leads are great fun; in fact, I can’t recall a more loose and enjoyable Travolta performance. Ever.

In supporting roles, Allen, Dominique Swain and Gina Gershon bring much breadth to this unexpectedly multi-layered action thriller. By the delirious boat chase climax, we have a surprising emotional investment in these characters - despite the unabashed absurdity of the plot which determines their fates. And naturally, Woo’s action is thrilling and visceral, with a standout sequence being a shoot-out in an apartment loft that brilliantly incorporates Judy Garland’s “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”. This is Woo’s (director of such contemporary Hong Kong classics as “The Killer” and “Hard Boiled”) finest American offering to date.

“Face/Off” is rousing and exciting, extremely funny and expertly polished - about as full-bodied and satisfying a blend that you will find in a modern action film.

FEMME FATALE
(2002, Brian De Palma)

And Brian De Palma does Hitchcock. Again.

Continuing a series of gaudy thrillers (including “Sisters”, “Dressed to Kill” and “Raising Cain”) obviously inspired by the work of The Master, the writer-director now offers us “Femme Fatale”. This time, De Palma adds a touch of sleazy voyeurism and overheated sexuality to the mix, and, as usual, his remarkable sense of style successfully draws you into another ludicrous suspense yarn of confused identities and double-cross twists. But in “Femme Fatale”, the visuals overpower the flimsy tentpole of a plot, which comes tumbling down when De Palma pulls a third act twist nuttier than a bag of trail mix. The whole movie is tacky and absurd (sometimes bordering on laughable), and not to be taken seriously. If you follow that basic rule, some of it can be enjoyed.

“Femme Fatale” opens with an elaborate diamond heist at the Cannes Film Festival, with Laure (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) double-crossing her associates and making an escape with the prized item. Then, mistaken for someone else (don’t even ask), she starts a new life as the wife of an American ambassador (Peter Coyote). That is, until a paparazzi photographer (Antonio Banderas) threatens to expose her past. Are you still following?

De Palma’s unmistakable visual panache is capable of putting the viewer in a trance, and for a good while, I was caught up in “Femme Fatale”. However, a flair for positioning the camera around attractive French scenery cannot sustain a plot that reveals little structure or purpose for almost two full hours. There is hardly even any major dialogue until the midway point, when things start to crumble because it becomes apparent that slinky seductress Romijn-Stamos (even with all those lovely curves) cannot act. “Femme Fatale” concludes as a curious existential enigma, but even before the loony surprise twist, you will begin to ask “What the hell is all this?”. Don’t bother with that. For all its cheap, stylized thrills, “Femme Fatale” is not worth the effort.

FIELD OF DREAMS
(1989, Phil Alden Robinson)

“Field of Dreams” is called a “great baseball movie” by many, but it is more than just that. This is a film about believing the impossible can come true. And it does, on the land of Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner), who hears a voice echo through his cornfield that says “If you build it, he will come”. Somehow, Ray reaches the conclusion that if he builds a baseball field over his crops, the ghost of “Shoeless” Joe Jackson (who was one of eight Chicago Black Sox players suspended from baseball for throwing the 1919 World Series) will be able to come back and play the game once again. Ray’s farm becomes a place of fantasy, but its purpose is real enough: fulfilling dreams, healing old wounds and using the timeless love of baseball as a backdrop for it all.

As Roger Ebert said, this is not a film for “grinches and grouches and realists”. For all others, it’s pure movie magic, and a reminder of the kinder, gentler Hollywood fantasies of yesteryear. The genius of the tale lies in its unpredictable path and complete conviction to events that even the main characters admit are crazy, as future messages from “the voice” lead Ray to a famous 1960s writer (the extraordinary James Earl Jones), who then joins his quest to find an old doctor (Burt Lancaster, simply wonderful in his final film role) who never realized his dream of staring down a Big League pitcher. Rounding out the cast is Amy Madigan as Ray’s wife Annie and Ray Liotta as Shoeless Joe.

Brilliantly written and directed by Phil Alden Robinson (who adapted from W.P. Kinsella’s book “Shoeless Joe”), “Field of Dreams” represents sentimental filmmaking at its most edifying and uplifting. It’s a loving tribute to a great game and the dreams it inspires.

GHOST SHIP
(2002, Steve Beck)

As “Ghost Ship” opens, the “Love Boat”-inspired title cards sequence seems to foreshadow a witty horror movie with a self-deprecating sense of humor. What follows is a spectacularly gory prologue sequence in which dozens of people are diced into pieces by a loose cable that sweeps across the deck of their cruise ship. It’s a wonderfully, shockingly disgusting set-piece and an ideal way to begin a B-horror picture.

At this point, I’m thinking: wow, could “Ghost Ship” be clever and scary? The answer is no, and no.

It’s all downhill from there, as a salvage team including Gabriel Byrne Julianna Margulies, Ron Eldard, Isaiah Washington and that guy who plays Eomer in “The Lord of the Rings” learns the coordinates of the Antonio Graza - a huge passenger liner that has been lost at sea for decades. Naturally, when the crew boards the ship, they notice a strange presence around them. Margulies sees the ghost of a young girl running down the rusted corridors, while Byrne sees the ghost of his former career (just kiddin’, Gabe - we still love ya).

Under the direction of Steve Beck (who helmed the similarly effects-laden, logic-deprived, loud and obnoxious horror mishmash “Thirteen Ghosts”), “Ghost Ship” is generic, pointless schlock, with a twist that you can see coming from about 18 leagues away. It holds absolutely no interest for horror fans, except when it comes to utilizing the slo-motion button on their DVDs to replay the ghastly carnage of the opening bloodbath. The rest of the movie is not only out to sea, it’s out to lunch.

SPIRITED AWAY
(2002, Hayao Miyazaki)

Hayao Miyazaki’s “Spirited Away” is an amazing work of imagination. And this statement comes from someone who is not an admirer of Japanese anime - nor a huge fan of Miyazaki’s acclaimed 1999 American crossover “Princess Mononoke”. The enchanting beauty of “Spirited Away” makes me want to revisit that film, and hunt down more of Miyazaki’s work, such as “Kiki’s Delivery Service” and “My Neighbor Totoro”.

Taking a cue from such animated fantasies as “Alice in Wonderland” - and yet completely unique in its conception and design - the film follows 10-year old Chihiro (voiced by Daveigh Chase in the English-language version) as she travels with her parents on their way to a new home. After an unexpected detour, they stumble upon what resembles an old amusement park, and suddenly Chihiro’s parents are transformed into pigs and she becomes an inhabitant of a spirit world ruled over by the cackling witch Yubaba (voice of Suzanne Pleshette). Yubaba runs a bathhouse that provides a rest stop for wandering spirits, and she grants Chihiro a job in the boiler room, while a new friend named Haku (voice of Jason Marsden) works to help Chihiro rescue her parents from Yubaba’s spell.

Miyazaki’s style encompasses few traditional animation conventions that American audiences are accustomed to, and yet it drives home a balanced mythical narrative, with an unhinged sense of imagination and discovery that makes Chihiro’s journey both delightful and unpredictable. Miyazaki’s animation is spellbinding; those who don’t care for the flat rendering of anime characters (such as myself) will be amazed by the rich textures and consummate detail to be found in this film’s background art. The themes of family and friendship make it ideal for children (who may be frightened by a few scenes of violence), and the images (including those of dragons, animated soot particles and giant babies) are arresting, beguiling and magical.

Compared to other, recent entries in the animated film department, “Spirited Away” seems to exist on another plain. This is a movie to treasure.