Rock Star
From the opening scenes of 'Rock Star,' it's pretty clear what's going to happen. Chris Cole (Mark Wahlberg) is going to be the 'star' of the title, but it's going to cost him. Chris is a devoted fan of a hair band called Steel Dragon, and he is adamant that his tribute band, Blood Pollution, plays the songs of his heroes to the letter. After his bandmates grow tired of his obsessive perfectionism and kick him out of the group, he gets a mysterious phone call from one of the members of Steel Dragon, which leads to an audition, which leads to him replacing the very lead singer he's been emulating for years.
Chris gives in to the wild sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll lifestyle that comes along with his new job, but it's when he forgets that it's just a job that he runs into trouble. The poor kid is just a tool, a perfect voice in a body that fits the snug leather pants of his predecessor. He's not supposed to write new material for the band, or get piercings without group approval. He's just hired help, and he can be replaced at any moment.
Even though 'Rock Star' is based on a true story (that of Judas Priest's replacement of singer Rob Halford with tribute band singer Tim 'Ripper' Owens) and it focuses on an era of music that must seem foreign to the clean-cut boy band-loving teeny-boppers of today, it might seem like a film that only rock fans could enjoy. This is not the case. Chris's road to fame is a representation what would happen if a superfan of any type of star got to meet his or her idol. There is no way that it could possibly live up to the incredibly high expectations that have been set. Chris, unfortunately, doesn't see this until his 'stardom' has cost him his girl and his sobriety.
Mark Wahlberg is perfect for the role of Chris. His muscular build lends itself perfectly to the persona of the metal singer (and those aforementioned leather pants), and he has an incredibly dynamic stage presence. His air of dim-wittedness makes his character even more realistic: It really doesn't seem like he saw his downfall coming.
Jennifer Aniston has finally created a memorable movie role for herself as Emily, Chris' devoted girlfriend/manager/No. 1 fan. Her performance is very nuanced, moving from cockiness to fragility and back again within a line.
The soundtrack is also extremely powerful, with original songs by Steel Dragon that transport the audience right back to the era. Even if you're not a metal fan, it's easy to get caught up in the heavy guitars and pounding beat.
'Rock Star' is not a deep, meaningful storytelling. It's a brief trip into a world that most of us will never be able to experience, but where many rock fans would love to live.
The Others
We are at a time in cinematic history where horror films have been pretty much beaten into the ground'again. After the success of 'Scream' resurrected the genre in 1996, Hollywood predictably pummeled us with countless clones and wannabes. The last thing anyone wants to see is another psycho-killer movie featuring the stars of the WB. Surprisingly though, the tail end of the summer season has delivered an exception. Following all of the big-budget remakes and over-hyped sequels, a relatively low-profile 'scary movie' sneaks in at the end of the line-up and hits a home run.
'The Others' is billed as a suspense/horror film, but to generically classify it in such a way hardly does the film justice. Granted, the Nicole Kidman thriller may initially appear to be yet another routine haunted-house movie, but those who see it will quickly realize that this film is on a far greater artistic level. In his American film debut, writer/director Alejandro Amenabar creates an environment for his characters that is for lack of a better phrase'always scary.
In horror movies, you never see audiences shudder during scenes in loud, well-lit public places. Show a cluttered basement in the middle of the night with little or no background music, however, and you'll see half of the theater shut their eyes while the other half squeezes the life out of their date's hand. Like it or not, monsters and other evil creatures just aren't as scary in a grocery store on a sunny afternoon as they are lurking under a bed at midnight. Scenes like this serve not only as trademarks of the horror genre, but warning signs for those with a weak stomach to assume the fetal position until you hear the happy music again. In 'The Others,' audiences are denied these warnings because 90 percent of the film is quiet, isolated and dark.
The entire film takes place on the estate of a giant mansion in early 20th-century England. Kidman stars as Grace, an edgy and migraine-prone single mother whose husband never returned from the War. To top things off, all of her servants have vanished and her children are apparently allergic to sunlight. These factors combine to turn her home into a dark, quiet, empty prison from which her family cannot leave, or in other words, your classic cinematic haunted house. However, this haunted house is self-made by the living occupants inside. They sit in the darkness by necessity, not because some escaped mental patient cut the power.
Kidman and her younger counterparts (first time child actors Alakina Mann and Christopher Eccleston) give extraordinary performances that are as moving as they are bone chilling. The children hold their own in some of the more heated dialogue exchanges with the veteran actress and it's really no surprise that Kidman perfectly portrays a newly single mother who is both angry and lonely, as the movie was filmed during her much publicized divorce from Tom Cruise (who is ironically one of this film's producers).
Although the movie drags a little early on, great performances and a thought-provoking storyline soon grab your attention and do not let go until the films surprise twist conclusion. At risk of sounding like a commercial, the ending will leave your jaw dropped and your mind reeling.
What separates 'The Others' from your run-of-the-mill horror movies is that Amenabar challenges his audience. Rather than creating elaborate, computer-generated ghosts or showing couches float across the room, the scares in this film are rarely visual. Instead, the suspense is created almost solely by distant sound effects and well-written implications. In fact, for a majority of the film, the audience is not sure if the things that go bump in the night are ghosts at all. 'The Others' is not a jump-out-of-your seat horror film, rather a psychological thriller that will frighten you far more than any movie with a crazy mask and a butcher knife.
