MOVIE SMACKDOWN!

The Book of Eli (2010) -vs- The Road (2009)

THE SMACKDOWN.  We men have a default for action. So when the apocalypse arrives, we don't plan on hunkering down, or trying to plant new crops. No, we will hit the road, even if we don't know where we're going and, believe me, we're not asking directions. For us, the idea is to keep moving. 

THE CHALLENGER.  Eli (Denzel Washington) has a Very Sacred Book and, for thirty years since the apocalypse, he's been walking west which is, even post-Armageddon, taking an awful long time to get there. Still, it seems that God is on his side.

 

THE DEFENDING CHAMPION.  Ten years after the lights go out, The Man (Viggo Mortenson) has a shopping cart, a torn map and two bullets as he and The Boy push through the empty byways of this cold and dreary world, trying to get to the ocean. They don't even have God, just faith.

THE SCORECARD.  Although both films have a lot in common, like the threats from cannibals, abandoned shopping carts and people with extremely bad teeth hogging the roadways, "The Book of Eli" is clearly the more commercial film project. It's shot like an action film, it has a town that could be Dodge City where our good guy can take on the bad guys, and there are effects and fights like mad. 

Both Denzel and Viggo, besides having great uncommon names, are also fine actors who have committed to the roles they play. 

The films, though, are deeply different in their structure: "The Book of Eli" has all the markings of a screenwriting program behind it (complete with surprise ending coming after a trail of clues) while "The Road" moves in fits and starts without a neat plan, like the book that inspired it. There's a familiarity to "The Book of Eli," down to the fact that my son and his friend both said it reminded them mightily of the videogame, "Fallout 3." The logic behind "The Book of Eli" is flawed throughout. It doesn't look or sound like a real post-apocalypse but like that videogame. "The Road" operates more-or-less logically until the coincidental end, but that's not going to be a plus for a lot of people who will write it off as too damn depressing and warn their friends not to see it while giving "The Book of Eli" a more qualified endorsement.

Finally, the treatment of religion is actually a bigger difference between these two films than their treatment of the apocalypse. At its core, "The Road" pretty much says that God is dead and we're on our own while "The Book of Eli" tries to argue that no matter how bad things get God still is working his plan. 

Legion (2010) -vs- Daybreakers (2010)

The Smackdown. It's the end of the world. Again.  Mankind is doomed. Yawn. Grab yourself a tub of popcorn and an overpriced soft drink and settle in for the carnage. Why do filmmakers love apocalyptic scenarios so freaking much? And how many ways are there to skin this particular feline?  The Last Humans on Earth have to do battle for the survival of their species against all manner of predator. 

Aliens?  Check. Vampires?  Check. Angels?  Hang on. There's a new wrinkle. Everybody's seen and loved "It's A Wonderful Life." Aren't angels supposed to be on our side?  

Obviously somebody didn't get the memo because the newly released "Legion" calls out the forces of heaven; the irresisitible force in "Daybreakers" came from another darker place. Both of these films strain story logic and borrow from better movies but ultimately sputter out the same question: Humans, how do you want to die?

 

The Challenger. God wants to cut His losses with humanity, and Legion has Archangels Gabriel and Michael dispatched to wipe the slate clean. They quibble about God's will, with Michael (Paul Bettany) deciding people deserve another chance. Michael senses an unborn child will lead humanity back from the brink, so it appears Armageddon will be fought at a roadside diner in the high desert outside Las Vegas. You know how this one turns out if you remember The Terminator, Assault on Precinct 13 and scramble your biblical knowledge.

Bryce's Ten Best Films of the Past Ten Years

Everybody seems to be out with their Top Ten. This year it's a two-fer. You can go with "Top Ten of 2009" or "Top Ten of the Decade."

I say go for the Top Ten of the Last Ten. Now, keep in mind that virtually everybody is going to see this differently and no one will agree. That's the fun. My criteria, in scanning the films from the past decade, was not about what was "important" or "critically acclaimed" or even "big box office." I just asked myself which films I enjoyed watching the most and, if a friend was over and wanted to see one of them again on the home theater's big screen, could I truly enjoy seeing it again?

I even ranked them, although that was a little bit harder. And, I'll state this in advance, I know you're going to freak out when you get to #1 but, like I say, this is subjective, it's my list, and sometimes it's just about how a movie hits you. That's the magic. The films are different. We're different. Everybody likes things differently than the next guy. Here goes...

#10 - Little Miss Sunshine
  

This is the small film that re-defined the "road picture" and touched a lot of people's hearts in the process. You ended up caring about all the characters, the performances were authentic, and the story was quirky and unexpected. And, of course, there was the van...

#9 - Up in the Air

It's possible that this film won't wear as well as I think it will. Maybe it's a slight little trifle that only reflects its moment in time. But when I saw it recently, I found it substantial, moving and surprising. It made the list and not just because Clooney's at his best.

#8 - Almost Famous

 The music is powerfully evocative, the moment-in-time quality is fantastic, and the script is wonderful. If you didn't happen to live through the 70s, this will remind you that there was life before disco. And, yes, we did listen to "Tiny Dancer" and it was as good then as it is now.

#7 - Avatar

The story goes into stereotyped action overdrive in the third act and that's a shame because there is so much going on inside this film that is so wonderful. It's more than eye-candy, though, it's a film event that actually delivers an extremely credible alien landscape, inhabitants and culture. Great film and a piece of history.

 

#6 - Downfall

 I love a good World War II film (although I did not share anyone's enthusiasm for "Inglourious Basterds"). This film, made by Germans, dares to go places that nobody has gone to, specifically seeing Hitler as a real dude. That made him exceptionally scary to me.

Angels & Demons (2009) -vs- The Da Vinci Code (2006)

 The World's Busiest Symbologist 

The Smackdown. The Catholic Church is beset with problems in these two films based on the best-selling novels by Dan Brown.  On one side, a secret order threatening to uncover the greatest secret in the history of the world, and render the Church obsolete. On the other, another secret (and long thought extinct) brotherhood threatening to blow up Vatican City. Yep, somebody has it bad for the Pope, and it's up to an American University lecturer to save the day. So settle back, say a few Hail Marys, and prepare to enter the world of Robert Langdon, the world's smartest symbologist.

 

The Challenger.When a capsule of highly unstable antimatter is stolen from a Swiss research facility, and placed somewhere in Vatican City where it will explode in 12 hours, the hunt begins for the deadly payload before there's simply a hole left where Rome used to be. Add to that the fact that four Cardinals have been kidnapped from Papal Conclave on the eve of voting for a new Pope, and you have a mystery wrapped up inside an enigma right at the very heart of Christian beliefs. Robert Langdon, Dan Brown's highly intelligent hero we saw in the film version of "The Da Vinci Code," returns in this sequel to the film considered to be highly controversial.... no, not "The Passion Of The Christ." "Angels & Demons" sees director Ron Howard re-team with Tom Hanks, producer Brian Grazer and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman to present a race against time tale set within Vatican City, in the second of Brown's novels to come to the screen.

9/11 Anniversary: United 93 (2006) -vs- World Trade Center (2006)

 The Day Everything Changed Except Courage 

The Smackdown. It's been eight years, but if you close your eyes, all those horrific images are still with you. Both of these 9/11 films were released in 2006 during the run-up to the five-year anniversary of the events of that terrible day. At the time critics kept wringing their hands about whether or not it was too early to tell these stories. Looking back, the better question could easily have been what took so long? Making films is how we increasingly begin to process events like these. It doesn't have to trivialize them or make them less important, although that can be the danger.

We'll use box office stats to name our opponents. With that as the standard, "World Trade Center" becomes our champ with 163-million dollars worldwide. "United 93" comes in as the challenger with only 76-million dollars. But, especially when it comes to material like this, the box office is only a point of reference and nothing more.

Let's say that you have the heart to re-live 9/11 on film with just one of them on this eighth anniversary. Which one should you watch?

The Challenger. The power of "United 93" is simply undeniable. We've all been on airplanes. It could happen to anyone. Today we all know the risks of terrorism. But the passengers on this flight never saw this coming and had mere minutes to decide to be heroes on that fateful morning when their flight left Newark for San Francisco with 33 passengers and seven crew members on board. Writer/director Paul Greengrass tells this like a documentary and it is simply riveting. The camera work here is dynamic -- handheld, jutting into the chaos. The actors are unknown here and, rather than being a drawback, it makes the entire tableau that much more compelling. For most of the film's 111 minutes, the intensity simply cannot be denied.