Man of the Year - Barry Levinson and Robin Williams get together for the first time since they made GOOD MORNING VIETNAM in 1987.This time around, Williams plays a comedian with a show much like the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, who decides to run for president and wins.
That's the premise that the marketing people WANT you to think, but it's sort of false advertising. Yes, that's the abridged version, but there's a little more to it than that. It's part political satire, part thriller and it falls apart because of it, unfortunately.
Barry Levinson, who wrote and directed the film tries to make a movie with the same biting commentary that his previous political satire WAG THE DOG had, but just doesn't have the bite. Robin Williams is given his chance to improvise, but in the end, the movie doesn't do or say much.
Man of the Year - D
WORLD TRADE CENTER - I've sort of been sitting on the fence about seeing this movie and UNITED 93, after following the debate about Hollywood making ANY sort of movie about the events of 9-11. Has it been too short a period for movies to be made? Is it just Hollywood's way of cashing in? So, I went into this with a bit of Trepidation asnd dread at what the end product would be. I left pleasantly surprised.As everyone knows by now, the movie is based on the true story of 2 harbor patrol officers that went in to try and evacuate people from the World Trade Center the morning the planes hit. They get trapped when the building collapses around them, and it shows what happens during the aftermath.
Director Oliver Stone has made a respectful film, and centers only on the 2 cops, played by Nicholas Cage and Michael Pena. The story doesn't focus on the planes, or try to have the events glorified, we are left in the dark, just like the 2 cops. The story told in WORLD TRADE CENTER is that of the 2 cops, nothing else. Because of this, the movie shows respect, and in my opinion doesn't glorify anything.
World Trade Center - B
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