Review of The Peacemaker (1997) by Diana S — 15 Jun 2005

Well, I thought it was a funny title....

Anyway, I've been all over the genres in the last couple of days.

Starting with The Peacemaker, a mostly action movie which tries to be thrilling and deep. I didn't like it. Actually, I just found it inconsequential. I can't even remember most of the plot now. I only remember thinking during the whole film that Nicole Kidman ("The Interpreter") was much prettier before she had that work done to her eyes.

A Tale of Two Sisters was much more interesting. This is a movie I've seen mentioned quite a few times on the RT boards, so I thought I'd check it out. It starts kind of slow with two sisters returning home after spending some time in the "hospital." As the girls enter their house, things take a turn for the weird. But not all at once. The film slowly builds to a fascinating (though not entirely unexpected) conclusion. *SPOILER* What I didn't like was that this wasn't a straight up horror story. And that's what I've been longing for lately. There's been too much of this psychological-thriller-dressed-up-like-a-horror-film going around these days.

Now, Cinderella Man gave me a big surprise. Maybe because I didn't want to like it going in, but I was completely engrossed. Ron Howard ("The Missing") really did his homework on this one. The depression era setting feels real. The desperation of the characters is real. The actors were good, but not outstanding, with the exception of Paul Giamatti ("Sideways") who steals several scenes from Russell Crowe ("Master and Commander"). Not an easy feat. However, it was the boxing scenes that I found the most compelling. During Crowe's fights, I tensed up and cringed at the most damaging blows. The fights looked and felt real. But overall, I can't see this as the best picture winner for the year. Good. But not great.