Movie Review: The Matador

One of the Biggest Surprises of the Year!

By Chris Sabga

When I saw the trailer for The Matador, I was expecting a cute, fun comedy and nothing more. Instead, what I got was one of the biggest surprises of the year.

"A hitman and a salesman walk into a bar..." It sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but it's actually the tagline for this movie. In what has been described as Pierce Brosnan's big "F-U" to James Bond, the former 007 attacks this hitman role with a delicious comic relish. It's somewhat familiar territory for Brosnan, but it's also a huge departure for him. He's played these types of characters before, but never like this. It has been called Brosnan's best performance to date, and I believe it. Greg Kinnear is equally excellent, playing his usual role as a nice, gentlemanly "everyman." Hope Davis is also very good as Kinnear's wife.

The friendship between Brosnan and Kinnear makes up the heart of this movie, and it works beautifully on-screen because of the chemistry they have together. At first, Kinnear doesn't believe his new friend is really a hitman. The scene that follows is a complete joy to watch as Brosnan attempts to prove that he is indeed what he says he is. I don't want to spoil anything here.

Even though the main character is a hitman and the actor playing him is the former James Bond, don't mistake this for an action movie. While there are a few elements of action, this is definitely a comedy first and foremost. But it's not a light, fluffy comedy. At least not all of the time. The Matador doesn't just rely on cheap situational laughs. There's some actual depth here.

Throughout the movie, I almost always thought I knew where it was going, and I was almost always wrong. This aspect of the film really elevates it to a higher level. There's some actual substance and meat to this script, with a fully fleshed-out story and well-defined characters. I was able to really care about these people, and when that happens, everything in the narrative suddenly means more.

Even though we're still in the early months of 2006, I think it's a surefire guarantee that The Matador will be in my top ten at the end of the year. This is well worth seeking out.

Rating: Four Stars (out of Four Stars)

Movie Review: Brokeback Mountain

One of the Year's Best Films

By Chris Sabga

Brokeback Mountain is more than just "that gay cowboy movie," as everyone seems to be calling it. In fact, I don't know if the two main characters are even cowboys. Don't people have to do more than just wear a cowboy hat and speak with a drawl to be considered a cowboy? These guys don't look like The Outlaw Josey Wales or any of the cowboys from the video game, Gun. It goes without saying that the two "cowboys" in the movie definitely aren't Billy The Kid and Doc Holliday. They're Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist (portrayed by Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhall respectively), two young 19-year-old kids looking for work in the summer of 1963. They are quickly hired by Joe Aguirre (played well by Randy Quaid in an eye-opening dramatic role) to tend sheep on Wyoming's Brokeback Mountain. From there, as the old saying goes, one thing leads to another...

Much has already been made of Heath Ledger's performance in this film, and it's indeed powerful and Oscar-worthy, but Jake Gyllenhall deserves equal acclaim for his fantastic work here. Both actors dig deep and deliver raw, searing performances that prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that they are two of the best young talents working in Hollywood today. I've been a fan of Ledger's for years, but Gyllenhall really opened my eyes here. He says one line in particular that I'm sure will be quoted and eventually parodied in the months to come. It probably already has been without you realizing where it's from.

Ang Lee (who also directed Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) outdoes himself with Brokeback Mountain. The outdoor scenes will take your breath away. They're stunning in their beauty and tranquility. However, that tranquility is often upset by the hard-hitting conflicts that arise during the course of the story. It makes for a very effective contrast. Of course, credit for the beauty of these scenes must also go to the film's cinematographer, Rodrigo Prieto. He definitely deserves an Oscar for his work here.

Brokeback Mountain, more than anything else, is ultimately a love story. Unfortunately for the two young lovers, theirs is a forbidden love that takes hold in a time and place where such things just weren't as accepted as they are now (and even now, there's still progress left to be made). How the two men deal with that highly-charged situation makes up the crux of the movie.

The love between Ennis and Jack doesn't affect only them though. Other people are eventually caught in the crossfire of a passion that had to be kept secret because of the nature of the time. And that in itself ends up being one of the most fascinating aspects of the movie. With a cast of fully-realized characters and complex situations, Brokeback Mountain provides no easy answers and gives audiences quite a bit to consider in the end.

The movie seemingly starts out very slow. Initially, I was begging for something, anything, anything at all, to happen. Eventually it does, of course. After everything came together, I realized that the pace was deliberate and actually an asset to the build-up of the characters, relationships, and situations presented in the film. By the time the closing credits appeared, I felt almost shellshocked. A movie hasn't affected me this much since last year's Million Dollar Baby. This is easily one of the year's best.

Rating: Four Stars (out of Four Stars)