joshua hoover – Page 7

Way late review: A Separation

Films set in a different culture than your own can be challenging. What is familiar to those entrenched in the culture can seem odd to those looking from the outside in. The outsider views the film from one angle while those on the inside may see it quite different. Enter A Separation, an Iranian film set in modern day Iran and me set in modern day USA.

Nader (Peyman Moadi) and Simin (Leila Hatami) are husband and wife. How long they will be married is in question from the first scene. Shot from the view of the judges chair, Simin pleads with the judge to grant her a divorce since she claims her husband agreed to leave the country with her over a year ago. The paperwork is done and now he won’t leave. Nader says he can’t leave his father, who suffers from the later stages of Alzheimer’s. He also won’t give permission for Simin to take their daughter Termeh (Sarina Farhadi) with her. Simin argues that his father doesn’t even know who Nader is anymore so there is no difference in who takes care of him. Not the most sensitive argument ever made. The dialogue flies fast and furious as one might expect under such conditions. Keeping up with the sub-titles can be a challenge.

The couple stay married while Simin moves in with her parents. She says she intends to leave the country, with or without her family. Nader is then put in a tough situation. He can’t leave his father on his own during the day so he scrambles and finds someone to care for him. This leads to a long, twisted road of decisions impacting lives in unexpected ways. The viewpoints of those on each side of the issue are taken into account making it hard to take sides. Empathy is felt for all yet it’s discomforting. I was reminded of a quieter, more nuanced Changing Lanes. If there are any missteps it’s in being so procedural, the film loses some of its emotional impact in the last act.

The Iranian court system is on full display. Is it an accurate portrayal? I don’t know. But the intimate view of the court is fascinating to observe. There are times when it’s easy to forget you’re watching a fictional film, often due to the authentic acting which drives every moment.

An exhausting film, but in a good way. A Separation tells what would appear to be a simple story in a way that is anything but simple. The moral and ethical decisions characters make in some trying situations would seem easy to judge except director and writer Asghar Farhadi doesn’t provide an effortless judgement. He, like the actors themselves, ensure reality is represented in full until the end where emotions are tapped out.

[xrr rating=4/5 label=” “]

This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.

[youtube width=”640″ height=”360″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2Sswx_vrWk[/youtube]

Way late review: The Spiderwick Chronicles

Pleasant surprises come when expectations are low. Movies aimed at kids today are a mixed bag. Pixar has a solid record of rising above the fray. Then there are atrocities like The Smurfs. Some might blame the bad films on trying to turn questionable source material into cinematic gold. If that’s the case, I hear the Harry Potter books are pretty good. The films? That’s a tougher call. Enter The Spiderwick Chronicles, a film I originally mistook for a Harry Potter wannabe. My mistake.

Twins Jared and Simon move to a spooky old house, previously owned by their great uncle Arthur Spiderwick, with their older sister, Mallory and mother. Jared is upset about the move and angry with his mom. He blames her for breaking up the family while Simon, Mallory and mom know the truth. Dad ran off with another woman. Before there is any time to settle into the home strange happenings occur which lead Jared to discover Arthur Spiderwick’s book. The tome details Arthur’s findings of magical creatures all around him, some good and some evil, like the ogre Mulgarath. If the book falls into Mulgarath’s hands it’s game over. And that sets the stage for the rest of the movie which includes some fairly intense chase scenes, jump scares, and even a little blood drawn – a bit surprising for a modern children’s PG movie. The story moves along at a quick pace with good enough computer animation and child actors who aren’t annoying.

There is just the right amount of comedy relief provided in the form of Hogsqueal (Seth Rogen) a friendly bird eating hobgoblin and Thimbletack (Martin Short) an odd, small creature who turns into a nasty little green monster when he gets upset. The humor from both the animated characters comes in the natural rhythm of the film, though one could argue that the end of the final showdown is anti-climatic with its comedic result. My kids loved it. I think the lightheartedness provided a needed break from the edge of the seat intensity.

Spiderwick Chronicles is a fun action packed kids fantasy movie. The plot is relatively simple which enables a fast paced story set in a magical world full of adventure and danger. And the danger feels refreshingly real as there are consequences and scares as a result. Add some well timed laughs and it all adds up to an entertaining family film.

[xrr rating=4/5 label=” “]

This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.

[youtube width=”640″ height=”360″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrCAa7ivzPo[/youtube]

Putting moneys in sock monkeys (i.e. a Craigslist story)

My wife recently listed a bedroom set on Craigslist, that beacon of light for all of humanity. Craigslist seems like YouTube comments with the added feature of filtering by geographical location and then sales categories. In other words, the best and the brightest can be found there. My wife was reminded of that as she attempted to sell a bedroom set on Craig’s fine establishment. The correspondence follows.

Tatiana Abel ([email protected]) wrote:

Is it available for sale?. let me know and email more photos.

My wife replied:

Yes it is for sale. It is a beautiful nice set. I hate to get rid of it as my mom, me and my daughter have all used it. But we don’t have room to store it. I did raise the price slightly as I was told I had listed it too low. I can send you further pictures if you tell me what you would like me to take pictures of. It is absolutely beautiful. Thanks.

D.M ([email protected]) wrote:

Thanks for the response. I am willing to pay your asking price. I will pay by Check as its the only way i can pay you at the moment. I will make arrangement for the pickup after payment have been received and cash by you. I don’t mind adding an extra $30 so you can keep it in my favor. I would have loved to come take a look at it but i am presently away for church convention. If you’re comfortable with my method of payment, reply with your full name, phone # and mailing address where payment will be sent please (No P.O Box Addresses ). I will appreciate it if you take the posting off CL today and consider it sold to me. As for the pick-up, it would be handled after you receive your payment.

Expecting to hear from you soon.
Warm Regards

My wife replied:

I took it off of CL. I am comfortable with the form or payment.

D.M ([email protected]) wrote:

Hi,
I urgently have bring something to your notice. I just found out that my Assistant overpaid you.The payment meant for another transaction was made out in your name and sent to you. However I want to believe I wont have a problem with you on this. Once you receive the payment, Please proceed to the bank and cash the Check, after cashing you will deduct your required amount for the item with the extra $30 i promise to offer you for keeping the item in my favor then send back the balance to me. So I can proceed with arrangement for pick-up. Once more, I hope I can fully trust you with this?I will await your response on this so my mind can be at rest.
Thanks

Boom! There we go. Now we’re cooking and I intercede on my wife’s behalf with the following reply:

Hi,

I am husband of seller. I come from far away land. You likely understand. I have much money too. Maybe we can arrange to transfer some moneys into you account for tax security? My assistant get you full instructions. I am excited at possibilities of this good exchange. Or maybe we can put moneys into dresser drawers. You think that would be safe? I do not want my moneys going to the wrong peoples. I am sure you understand my meaning in all of this. I work hard and do not want to see so many moneys lose to taxes of governments officially. I trust you. I think we can deal very much good on this and future dealings. I have many more item to sell and would like to do this directly with you in future. Craig and his list cannot be trust I do not think. My peoples tells me he work for government. I have too many taxes and donot need more. You understand all these happenings. I know you do. We cannot be careful enough in urgent happenings. Moneys maybe put into sock monkeys. We stuff monkeys with moneys where stuffs would go. You think that be good idea? Sock monkeys then go in drawers. We puts lots of sock monkeys in drawers full of many moneys. You sliced the monkeys open where you live and puts moneys in safe account there. We could sells bedroom set again. You donot have to use sock monkeys. You use little ponys. Pull stuffings out of ponys and fill with moneys. I have many good investment to put ponys moneys in. This is good plan. Do you agree? My assistant will send all instructions soon.

Sincerelys.

I didn’t expect a reply but this guy is peristent. I’ll give him credit for that.

Thank you soo much for all the idea, i prefer you send the money via
western union money transfer as i stated

Finally, I do my best to convey this excellent idea I had for smuggling money in sock monkeys.

Dearest Sir,

I donnot prefer western union. The west is no good and I am not such fond of the union too. Are you? Maybe you need to see my ideas in pictures not just typing. I insert picture making clear your cloudy picture in your mind. This monkey I stuffed full of moneys. So many moneys it comes out. I am working on moneys coming out. I tries to stuff monkeys fullest. I want my moneys safe from pirates and governments officially. You know what I mean. You are fine gentleman at church convention where such matters handled with great care. I think sock monkeys not get taken like moneys floating through the air like western union. You cannot trust western people. I not going to even comment on the union. They most horrible. I know you know that I know that you know what I means. Maybe you try stuff sock monkeys with moneys and see if you get moneys stuffed better. Then send me steps to follow so I gets my monkeys full of moneys I needs to sends to you. When moneys are stored in sock monkeys moneys are safe. I think you agree once you study picture. If you not like sock monkeys then you can try little ponys with moneys. Pirates not care about ponys and governments wants horses not ponys. No one looks for moneys in ponys. Childrens might look for moneys in ponys. I not think governments or pirates have childrens in work for them. Do you know the age of governments peoples? Do you know the age of pirates? Pirates hates ponys I thinks because pirates might ride horses not ponys. OK. I think this works.

Kindest regardings.

Moneys in sock monkey

Way late review: Margaret

I used to wonder what happened to Kenneth Lonergan, director of a film I adore, You Can Count on Me. It’s been roughly a dozen years since that near masterpiece of a film was released. Apparently Longergan was in a bit of a mess with Fox Searchlight over his next film which was shot in 2005. That film, Margaret finally found its way out in a very limited theater release in 2011. And in 2012 I finally got to see it.

The plot driving Margaret is rather simple. A high school girl, Lisa Cohen (Anna Paquin), witnesses a bus accident she feels she was at least partially at fault for. Lisa then struggles to deal with the aftermath. Rather straightforward yet the layers are many. The people weaving in and out of Lisa’s life, some right through the core and others on the periphery, are numerous. Scenes from one story line cut abruptly into another.

Lisa is an unlikable character. Before the accident wrecks havoc on her, she is shown to be manipulative. In fairness, the adults in her lives aren’t exactly role models. Her math teacher (Matt Damon) proves to cross the line from caring to creepy. Her dad is on the other coast and is so passive in his moments on screen that it makes Lisa look like a competent decision maker. Lisa’s mom is a broadway actress who takes care of Lisa and her brother in New York City but most of the film shows the young grade school boy fending for himself. He seems to enter and leave the house on a whim. Lisa does the same.

Margaret attempts to examine the lives of those in and around Lisa’s life. There are powerful scenes mixed throughout, the problem becomes the thin thread that holds it all together. The film could have been five hours long and only scratched the surface of the many topics and themes hinted at throughout the theatrical cut. The editing seems frantically disjointed at times as characters flash on the screen and then sometimes don’t reappear until much later, if at all.

In between all the chaos is Lisa’s attempt at ensuring justice is served to the bus driver behind the wheel of the accident. She goes from traumatized teenager to a justice crusader. We’re never sure if she is sincere about her pursuit of justice or simply thriving off the drama. Even the best friend, Emily (Jeannie Berlin), of the victim confronts Lisa on the motives behind Lisa’s sudden interest in making a case. The interactions between Emily and Lisa are tense. But as tense and as strong as those moments are, they never reach a resolution that is satisfying one way or the other.

A two and a half hour sprawling drama centered on a generally unlikeable character does not sound appealing. Oddly enough it’s also not a chore, thanks mostly to director and writer Kenneth Lonergan’s penchant for writing scenes that more than hold interest. Margaret is at least two very good films hiding inside one good one. A strange formula but fitting for a film with such a struggle in getting a final release.

[xrr rating=3.5/5 label=” “]

This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.

[youtube width=”640″ height=”360″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POPLzI40Uiw[/youtube]

Way late review: Big Miracle

Finding films the whole family can watch is a challenge, especially when that family includes a first and sixth grader. In my weakest moments I’ve blacked out and woken up having finished films like True Grit and Rise of the Planet of the Apes with both my kids sitting eyes wide open by my side. Clearly, I’m next in line for father of the year. In my desperate attempt to strike the balance between age appropriate yet interesting films I gave Big Miracle a spin.

Based on the true story of the rescue attempt by various groups in the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. government of three whales trapped in the Arctic Circle in northern Alaska, Big Miracle is a big mess. The film initially centers on Adam Carlson (John Krasinski of The Office fame), a TV reporter who wants to make it big but instead finds himself doing special segments on avocados in the tiny town of Point Barrow, Alaska. Everything changes For Adam when he breaks the story of three gray whiles trapped in the freezing waters of the Arctic. The whales make for national coverage. I suppose the media ran out of shark bite stories.

In place of a fun look at the many different people and interests represented, we get characters like Drew Barrymore’s Greenpeace activist, Rachel Kramer. Maybe it’s harsh but nonetheless true; Barrymore’s best work happened thirty years ago on the big screen. She is now relegated to playing odd characters who should get laughs (if nothing else), but in place of laughs we get aggravation – and lots of it. In fairness, Barrymore was at least playing a character in the story. John Krasinski played the role of Jim Halpert, Dunder Mifflin’s practical joker salesman, perfect. Too bad he was supposed to be Adam Carlson, a small time TV reporter stuck in the middle of nowhere Alaska.

In addition to a Greenpeace activist and Alaska TV reporter, the film includes native whale hunters, a big mouth oil exec who could care less about whales or pretty much anything but oil, worldwide media, the National guard, the President of the United States (a bad impression of Ronald Reagan), a Soviet icebreaker crew, and two entrepreneurs from Minnesota with their amazing de-icing machines. All that sets up a perfect screwball comedy but the ensuing antics are never screwy enough. What should be a briskly paced film full of colorful characters in conflict with one another bogs down into forced melodrama with awkward attempts for laughs. The result is an unevenly paced film with an unbalanced, yet ultimately bland tone. My daughter was asleep before the half way mark. I was (and still am) jealous.

Even though there would seem to be little in the way of bright spots, the story had its moments. There were times where Ted Danson, as the big oil exec with an over the top personality, was genuinely amusing. The two entrepreneurs from Minnesota with their de-icing machines also added some sincere yet lighthearted moments. The shots of Barrymore diving into the arctic waters and swimming beneath the ice with the whales made for a pretty amazing scene.

When the credits rolled there was a decent amount of real footage and photos from the event. It became clear then, Big Miracle would have made a much better documentary. In the hands of the right director a documentary could have captured the real tension and drama in the story. Plus, there would be no need for mundane performances. The real people couldn’t be anymore stale than the performances given by much of the fairly well known cast.

Big Miracle had promise being based on a true and somewhat bizarre story. Filled with conflicts between all the various people involved, the film could have been a decent little comedy. Unfortunately, we are put through an experience much like that of the whales. We’re stuck in a frigid film and the highlight is getting just enough decent moments every so often to keep us going. Those moments make for an almost tolerable experience. Almost.

[xrr rating=2/5 label=” “]

This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.

[youtube width=”640″ height=”360″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKiqttTnUwI[/youtube]

Way late review: The Interrupters

Access is everything. At least it is for many documentaries, where the level of access they get to their subjects plays a large role in the success or failure of the film. Director Steve James gets unbelievable access to those he covers on the streets of Chicago in his film The Interrupters.

CaseFire is a Chicago based group determined to stop the violence that ruins their neighborhoods. Many of the staff are former gang members who have served time in prison and some earned notoriety for their antics on the streets. The goal of these interrupters is to intercede before violence erupts. They do not aim to solve all the world’s problems. Their goal is simple yet tragically complex. Stop the violence. The film closely follows a few members of CeaseFire as they go about their work and along the way a picture of who they are and who they help is developed in a sometimes painful manner. There is little rest for those who find themselves locked in a seemingly endless cycle of violence.

There is no shortage of deeply emotional material and yet the rough edges are never avoided. The easy way out for Steve James would have been to make the CeaseFire crew saviors on the mean streets, with those they “save” serving as mere victims. Instead he allows both those who interrupt the violence and those who are creating it tell their story. They tell it in interviews as they reflect on their past and in the midst of the action. The stories told and shown are frustrating, heartbreaking, filled with anger and spite as well as love and care. No one comes out unscathed.

A film dealing with inner city violence can’t help but avoid the political implications. And while the politics are touched upon, James wisely keeps his focus on the deeply personal examination of those his camera hones in on. There are no easy answers given. Any politician given screen time comes off as rather out of touch in comparison to the reality on display.

Sad stories permeate with only glimpses of hope. Those who do their jobs as part of CeaseFire appear driven by a need for redemption. Their lives have always been mixed up in the sad stories. Instead of intervening as they do now, in the past they were causing the sadness. Now their perception of reality is different. The reaction is not to lash out in anger but rather to help as many people stuck in their old way of life as they can. The dangerous situations this desire causes are numerous. We learn that only one interrupter has ever been shot doing the work. We briefly meet that gentleman in his hospital bed when Tio Hardiman, the director of CeaseFire, visits. Up until this moment Tio comes off as a confident leader hell bent on making his organization’s goal a reality. Seeing one of his people in significant pain after being shot in the back and foot, causes this strong man to break out of his motivational speaker mode and into that of a teary eyed father who realizes the young man on the bed is around the same age of his sons.

While reality TV has trained most of us to build a cynical force field to what we see on the television, documentaries like The Interrupters pierce our hearts, not with emotional trickery but by displaying slices of life otherwise unnoticed by most.

[xrr rating=5/5 label=” “]

This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.

[youtube width=”640″ height=”360″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wS5Hjhy1RhM[/youtube]

If you install a new garbage disposal and then find your dishwasher filled with water…

Make sure the drain plug on the garbage disposal is removed. That’s the short answer. The longer story follows.

I’m an idiot and didn’t think there would be a plug there. Guess what happened the first time the dishwasher ran after the new garbage disposal was in place? The dishwasher was full of water after it ran. I scratched my head, puzzled. I knew it had something to do with my [1] handy work. After doing a quick web search I was reminded that the garbage disposal has a plug where the dishwasher drain hose connects. I thought there would be a simple plug there you could pull out or unscrew. I was wrong. Turns out on the model I purchased (a Waste King 8000 Legend, sounds impressive, no?) I have to punch the plug, which means it goes inside the disposal and is impossible to reach without dismounting the garbage disposal from the sink. Ugh. I have to clear out underneath the sink again, unplug from the outlet, unhook the drain pipe, and dismount the garbage disposal? Maybe not. Straight from the owner’s guide:

When knockout plug falls into disposer, you may remove it or simply grind it up when the disposer is used.

Jackpot. Or not. As later in the same guide it provides these pearls of wisdom:

Your disposer is ruggedly built to give you many years of trouble free service. It will handle all normal food wastes, but it will NOT grind or dispose of such items as plastic, tin cans, bottle caps, glass, china, leather, cloth, rubber, string, clam and oyster shells, aluminum foil or feathers.

I rationalized there is only one way to see if this beast lives up to its brand name. I knocked the plug into the garbage disposal and ground it up. I then turned the dishwasher back on and the water disappeared within a minute. Problem solved.

[1] I can’t take all the credit. Many thanks to a man known as The Jackal for helping me make magic happen – almost.

Way late review: Another Earth

The odds of finding two dramas with female leads dealing with depression set to a sci-fi backdrop released in the same year seems unlikely. I thought Melancholia would fill that niche but that was until I watched Another Earth.

Rhoda (Brit Marling) is smart. She’s going to attend MIT and study astrophysics. That was the plan until one night she drives home after a party and slams into another car with a family of three. Mom and son die, leaving the husband John (William Mapother) in a coma he eventually comes out of. John never learns the name of the teenager responsible for killing his wife and son. Rhoda serves four years in prison. The once promising braniac is rendered a shell of herself. She is so ridden with guilt she can only muster up the courage to take a job as a janitor. Even though she doesn’t say it, Rhoda doesn’t believe she deserves a better life after having taken the lives of others.

Beyond sharing themes of depression, Another Earth also shares a planet coming closer to earth. Instead of impending doom from a planet on a collision course with our world, Rhoda and others are confronted with a planet that is a mirror image of Earth. In fact, for every person on Earth there is an exact replica on “Earth 2″ (as it’s called in the film). Melancholia lost points with me due to its heavy handed nature. Another Earth loses some points for a completely absurd idea. Fortunately that idea does not take center stage. Though, one could argue that Earth 2 is allegorical just as much as Melancholia.

Aimless wandering finds Rhoda one evening near the scene of the fatal accident. She sees a man lay a toy near a telephone pole. This drives her to dig up information on the man who she discovers is John, a once accomplished music professor at Yale now retired to living a reclusive lifestyle. Rhoda spies on John and finds a man self medicating with alcohol. Her conscience is bothered and she works up the courage to go to John’s house and knock on his door. Her plan is to admit her guilt. Much like her plan was to go to MIT, things change. Only this time Rhoda makes a last second decision to change her plan and pose as a representative for a cleaning service. She offers a free, one day trial. John reluctantly accepts. From that point forward Rhoda cleans John’s home once per week. Eventually a friendship forms between the two. John starts to come to life as Rhoda looks to leave hers behind. She enters a contest for a spot on a shuttle to Earth 2 and wins.

The drama that unfolds between Rhoda and John as they draw closer and Rhoda gets an opportunity to move far, far away is heartfelt. The misstep occurs when time is given to an almost cosmic connection between Rhoda and a fellow high school janitor. This janitor serves as a spiritual guru of sorts. His words of wisdom come off as fortune cookie fodder and the supposed deep bond he and Rhoda share feels forced and inauthentic.

The end is satisfactory if not a bit hokie due to the idea of a mirrored Earth coming to the forefront. Be that as it may, credit to Mike Cahill for trying something a bit different in the small indie drama. The success still comes from the basics, with strong chemistry between Rhoda and John and an interesting story that holds its own without the aid of (what mostly amounts to) a science fiction gimmick.

[xrr rating=3.5/5 label=” “]

This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.

[youtube width=”640″ height=”360″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qB50aBrHbu4[/youtube]

Way late review: The Debt

The horror committed by the Nazis during WWII has provided no shortage of stories. As more true stories from that troubling time are told via Hollywood there is now an allure to tell fictional stories based on some loose version of that era. The Debt does its part as a film about a former Mossad intelligence agent reliving her mission to capture a Nazi war criminal. The screenplay is not based on a true story, instead it takes some horrific facts from WWII and the perpetrators and creates a smart thriller.

Rachel Singer (Helen Mirren) is legend in Israel. Her daughter recently published a book retelling the events that made mom a hero to her people. In 1965 Singer joined two other agents in a mission to capture and bring back to Israel Nazi war criminal Dieter Vogel (Jesper Christensen), aka “The Surgeon of Birkenau”. Vogel is based on the real life Nazi concentration camp doctor, Josef Mengele, a man who did monstrous experiments on camp inmates.

The retelling of Singer’s story is done in long flashback scenes with Jessica Chastain playing the young agent. Disjointing at first, the time shifted storytelling is put to good use as the truth comes out in pieces. Time shifting can be a cheat but here it serves the purpose, conveying the unreliable narrative of one character only to be corrected when the details of the present form the truth.

The methodical manner in which the plan to capture and smuggle Vogel out of East Berlin is executed is engaging, as it shows the preparation such operations require. There are no shortcuts. The love triangle that forms between Singer and the two other agents, David Peretz (Sam Worthington) and Stefan Gold (Marton Csokas), is not played as a distracting side plot but rather as at least one key motivator for some of the decisions that each agent makes along the way. The believability of it all remains thanks to strong performances (by both generations of actors) and a steady screenplay.

The primary dilemma at the center of the story is one relevant to today where leaders of countries often opt not to tell the whole truth in order to protect themselves and, often to a lesser degree, the people they serve. Consciences are seared all in the name of protecting one’s responsibility to a greater cause. The end result for the film is a bit of a compromise but the climax pays off nonetheless. True, that climax creates an identity crisis of sorts by reveling in a gotcha type thriller rather than a more reality grounded one which made up most of the film. A less than ideal ending does not ruin an overall strong film.

An uneasy thriller that feels like the initial premise could be based on a true story, The Debt delicately blends fictional entertainment with loosely based non-fiction based characters and events of the most sensitive nature.

[xrr rating=4/5 label=” “]

This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.

[youtube width=”640″ height=”360″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFp28r9sqUw[/youtube]

Way late review: Redbelt

Life can be strange, both the real and the fantasy portrayed on the screen. Fact is often stranger than fiction yet how is it that fiction can seem so unlikely? Redbelt is one of those films that pushes believability to its limits as conniving individuals weave together a scheme which relies on intricate details playing out just so. Thankfully the film is in the steady hands of writer and director David Mamet and a solid cast.

Michael Terry (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is a Jiu Jitsu black belt. He is a man of principle and runs his school strictly on those principles which means he barely makes any money. No matter, Terry is more concerned with maintaining his integrity. His wife, however, is not. She worries about how they’re going to live while Terry’s business can barely make rent and her own business (clothes) struggles to keep them out of the red.

After one of the roughest martial arts classes I’ve ever witnessed finishes with police officer Joe Collins (Max Martini) nearly passing out in a choke hold by another student, Laura Black (Emily Mortimer) enters in from the rain rattled. She’s smashed into Terry’s truck. She is all nerves which leads her to grab officer Collins’ gun and accidentally fire it when she mistakes the off duty cop’s motion towards her as threatening. And just like that the plot thickens.

One event leads to another in mostly believable ways to the point where Terry finds himself working with a famous action movie star Chet Frank (Tim Allen) on the set of the star’s next film. If it sounds a bit convoluted, it kind of is, but the pace is so quick it’s forgivable.

Behind the scenes, there are plans to get a compelling mixed martial arts competition going. The promoters aren’t thrilled with the prospects. I imagine it’s what today’s heavyweight boxing promoters feel like. The money men would love to get Terry in the ring. He’s known to be one of the best but refuses to fight in competitions because there is no honor in fighting competitively. Again, the principled man finds himself walking away from money.

A more unwieldy chain of events takes place that leads Terry into the ring. He’s fighting to win money not for himself or his wife but for the widow of officer Collins, who committed suicide at least partially due to the mess his sensei unknowingly got him into. The final twist just before the bout may push the plausibility factor. No matter, the setup for the final fight and the ending are worth it.

Chiwetel Ejiofor commands every moment on the screen. Mamet’s dialog is as crisp as always. In fact, the dialog often feels as though it’s human beings speaking and not uber smart beings that only appear to be human. This is a problem I’ve found some of Mamet’s other screenplays have suffered from. The story could stand one or two less hard to believe connected events that turn into one well orchestrated con. But when the pacing is so fast and the acting so strong the faults become slight.

[xrr rating=4/5 label=” “]

This post is part of my Way late reviews. Read more reviews here.

[youtube width=”640″ height=”360″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CA_L-riL5ik[/youtube]