Inside Man — Just My Luck — movie reviews
I Heart New York.. here’s a couple of recent films I watched just because they were filmed in the Big Apple.
Inside Man – The first fifteen minutes of any movie is the clincher, and Inside Man is no exception. Clive Owen’s droning stoic baritone, upbeat India-inspired dance-y multi-keyed background tunes, rolling scenes of Brooklyn, Chinatown and the Financial District, a daring bank and hostage heist. Such a shock that that’s the most exciting part of this movie.
However clever it is to reveal the plot through the eyes and testimony of released hostages, promote dizzying camera spins and boost the contrast of the film to painful bright levels, it couldn’t help the droll storytelling. See, Inside Man is like a relay race, one character hands off the baton to the next and each takes off on a flying solo leap. Unfortunately, this makes it more of a competition rather than an ensemble, but it certainly takes advantage of audience expectations of each actor: Jodie Foster’s feminism, Denzel Washington’s empathetic charm, Clive Owen’s stone-cold 
demeanor. You’re never sure who to focus on because either there is no hero/heroine or maybe there are three. Each main character is concerned with their own path to personal fame and their own path to their own ideas of success. On one hand, each character is defined, each strong personality etches easily, but on the other hand, the suspension of disbelief wanes as you continually stop to think, “why is Jodie Foster such a bitch?”
Inside Man introduces realistic misogyny as it “welcomes” Jodie Foster as cunning power chica Madeline White, full of crass retorts and tangy tight-lipped tact. When she’s not the one talking, she’s dodging direct derogatory insults and spitting baloney cliches like “I made it to where I am by making friends not enemies”. While she’s out playing with the big boys, she still manages to look feminine. In fact, this is probably the only movie where she wears a skirt and stilettos the entire time. Madeline’s services are called upon by the founder of the compromised bank (Christopher Plummer), the matter’s urgency held top secret. She elbows her way into the crime scene when the Mayor boosts her status to primo negotiator. Ms. White attempts to prove that money speaks louder than police procedure, bribing both Clive Owen’s criminal and Denzel Washington’s detective. But the bank robber’s intentions are also top secret, and he’s not even interested in the money. He wants to reveal the contents of Mr. Big Banker’s safe deposit box. Ooh, what can it be?
Don’t even bother trying to figure it out because that’s not the type of movie Inside Man is. It is not tension-packed nor thrilling twist terrific. I’m not sure it was even intended to be, but it’s a little odd to watch an action movie with so little action. Foreshadowing construction of Dalton’s “tiny cell” and “shithole” didn’t help build intrigue either. It may take some getting used to, but Inside Man is actually a stronger film the second time around. Watch this movie for the actors and if you want to celebrate the gamut of realistic human nature. Watch it a second time to theorize who the bank plants were.
NODS: Everything is crisp and simplified and genuine; what I love about New Yorkers. Regular people try to be heroes, powerful people try to be scum, an old Jewish lady refuses to get naked. Racism erupts under pressure when NYPD beats down a turbaned Sikh, quickly assuming he’s an Arab terrorist. A kid’s so-violent-it’s-campy video game where it actually urges players to “Kill Dat Nigga”.
Just My Luck – I’m a sucker for anything supernatural, and since Chris and my New York adventure, any film featuring Manhattan. So when Just My Luck came out, I actually was a little excited, despite Lindsay Lohan being the headliner. Lohan, the bubbly brunette with the sultry voice of a emphysemic, looks so great glammed up that you forget her trailer park roots. She does a great job as Ashley “All Bright” Albright, an up and comer PR Marketeer armed only with her charm, a silver Sidekick and some incredibly awesome luck. Not just any ‘ol random luck: taxis and elevators on cue, rainclouds part for her, you get the picture. On a crazy night foreshadowed by a medium with a heavy accent and of course, the movie previews, Ashley switches luck for the worst when she smooches perpetual loser Jake “Hard Luck” Hardin (Chris Pine) at a masquerade ball.
Remarkably, she remains tipsy throughout her tragedy, enduring her new life as a bowling alley janitor and oft drowning in puddles and uhm, other substances. As the audience, we have to endure the outlandish “I Love Lucy” cartoony outtakes and the much-too-perky for psuedo-punk-pop, McFly, a band Jake manages. Miss Albright quickly tracks her downfall to that ill-fated liplock, but because her suitor’s face was concealed, has no idea who stole her luck. She loads up the lipgloss, puckers up, and goes on a fruitless kissing spree with potentials. Of course, the guy is right under her nose, as she befriends and falls for Jake. When she finally figures it out, she steals her luck back right before the big McFly concert. Oh no! Will she maturely fess up before Jake’s reputation is ruined or will she selfishly frolic in a carefree lifestyle reunion? Really, do you even have to think about it?
NOTE: Nice nod to the surreal by hovering about the Alice in Wonderland bronzework in Central Park, but if the moral was “think positive”, why was Ashley’s optimistic friend Maggie such a doorstop?
About the Author
