Screening Log: April 6 & 7

April 6:

The Host
Directed by Joon-ho Bong
Written by Chul-hyun Baek, Joon-ho Bong and Won-jun Ha
Starring: Kang-ho Song, Ah-sung Ko, Hie-bong Byeon, Hae-li Park, Du-na Bae, Scott Wilson

Four stars (out of four)

Summary: After posionous chemicals are poured into the sewers that connect to Seoul's Han River, they mutant the animals in the water into a huge, scaly, fish-like mutant that crawls on shore to eat humans. When the mutant kidnaps his daughter, Gang-du (Song) must figure out where the creature lives in order to save her.

Short take: Arguably, the only element of this movie that really matters is the creature, and I'm happy to report that the CG looks nearly flawless (although fire and the creature don't seem to mix very well). The story itself is incredibly engaging and the directing is top notch. Everything about this movie is pretty close to perfection.

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April 7

The Hoax
Directed by Lasse Hallstrom
Written by William Wheeler
Starring: Richard Gere, Alfred Molina, Hope Davis, Marcia Gay Harden, Julie Delpy, Stanley Tucci, Eli Wallach

Two and a half stars (out of four)

Summary: Based on a true story, author Clifford Irving (Gere) sells his publishers the official autobiography of noted recluse and potential nutjob Howard Hughes. The only problem is Irving is making the whole thing up.

Short take: The Hoax once again proves that any movie can be made worse by the inclusion of Richard Gere. The actor, who already has no range, has to try and fake Hughes' unique inflection and all it does is sound like Richard Gere doing a phony accent. Luckily, Molina (as Irving's friend and associate) and Davis (as Irving's editor) are both fantastic in their supporting roles. I first heard the Irving story in Orson Welles' brilliant F is for Fake, which was actually about noted art forger Elmyr de Hory, who served as the subject of one of Irving's books. So basically the man who wrote a book about an art forger decided to go out and forge a book. And with the exception of a quick mention at the front of the movie, nothing is made of this! Such a perfect wasted opportunity.