SMT Weekly Flick by Paul Krismantis
One for the Boys, One for the Girls
Pelham 123 (Rated R) 95 mins.
The Proposal (Rated PG-13) 108 mins.
Apologies for missing last week! My last few days have consisted of packing and driving across the country a la a prototypical “coming-of-age” type film. Thankfully it’s all but over and now I am back to letting you good folks know exactly what is worth the price of admission!
So what all happened in my absence? That would be the arrival of Taking of Pelham 123, which, to this point, may be the surprise of the summer. Electric and gritty, Pelham snuck up on most critics for the first impression was that it was just another soulless John Woo-like John Travolta action flick (Broken Arrow anyone?). However John Woo is not the director here, but Tony Scott, and anyone who knows Scott knows that the man is adept at creating a whirling dervish of a film (Crimson Tide, True Romance, and Man on Fire are fine examples). Pelham is yet another example of his expertise.
A re-creation of the 1974 original starring Walter Matthau, Pelham shows how a subway hijacking is done, post-911 style. Leaving the Pelham Bay Park terminal at 1:23pm, a subway train gets hijacked soon after by a nasty looking Travolta (known here as Ryder) who sports an equally nasty Fu-Manchu. His first point of duty; call Walter Garber (Denzel Washington) at the control station and demand… how about you go see the movie? That’s right, the setup is simple but the twists, turns, and hyperkinetics make this thrill ride better than usual. Than and the tension between Travolta and Washington, who fill the roles of angry vs. determined admirably. These aren’t your typical heroes and villains though, with Ryder once being a Wall Street stud seeking his revenge on the City that took it all away, and Garber being the family man who is facing his own charges of bribery. Neither one is a saint, but one must choose the higher moral ground, right? Take their feud and finish it all off with Scott’s flair for capturing the audience’s attention, and Pelham leaves us in our seats, armrests dug into tightly.
This week’s other film does not hold as much suspense unless, of course, your idea of suspense involves watching seasons of The Bachelor. In which case The Proposal is right up your alley. In a slightly original (but not really) take on the romantic comedy, Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock star as Andrew and Margaret, the former the employee who hates his boss and the latter is, well, the boss. Margaret (known around her office only as the Witch) is about an unlikeable as a boss can be. Known for terrorizing those under her, it becomes pretty understandable why Andrew hates his job, even though he needs it. Needs it so bad, in fact, that when Margaret orders him to marry her, he has no choice. Do it or lose it is his basic choice, which he accepts, but only after striking a bargain of his own. For Margaret’s sudden decision is not one based out of desire, but necessity, for after years of skirting the law, her Canadian citizenship has caught up with her, and without an American ring around her finger, her days as the Witch are numbered.
Yes, that is all pretty much in the preview, but these movies become so predictable that there is little else to write about. Two people can’t stand each other, those people are forced to spend time together, those people find out that, ya, they are probably good for one another. Sorry, no twists and turns here, and if you were expecting one, then you probably haven’t watched a romantic comedy in the past few years. However, to its credit, The Proposal makes it all watchable and even enjoyable, which is something that most similar films these days cannot claim. Credit the actors, who give life to roles that easily could have been lost in mediocrity. Reynolds delivers again with his penchant for perfect comedic timing that only the finest comedic actors ever achieve. Bullock pulls off one of her best performances in years as Margaret. Never overdoing things, she lets the character come natural, and what we see is the Bullock we all came to love in the mid-90’s. Welcome back!
While nothing spectacular, The Proposal offers enough to keep the date night from being too boring for the guys, and the girls probably love it. Either that or send the man to Pelham. Either way, a night out for either one should be worth it.
SCORES: Pelham 123: 4/5 stars
The Proposal: 3.5/5 stars
