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Abduction (2011)
What the?
This movie suffered from a debilitating case of "cash in on the Twilight mania". From the opening scene of what's-his-name sitting on the hood of a truck doing 70 mph, to the shirtless scene so many commenters have already noted, to the overly long hyperbole of fake, but caring, dad beating the crap out of him to teach him some survival skills: the first 30 minutes of this movie was an obvious pandering to the millions of preteen girls who squeal at the very sight of him (I use him because I can't actually recall the actor's name and I am too lazy to click the back button on my browser to check as I type this).
This was of course very surprising given the presence of other billed actors like Sigourney Weaver. Why she and some of the others would associate themselves with this script I am not certain.
I can see the storyboard now. Kid being chased by both the CIA and a Russian black ops team for some valuable information only he possesses. Throw in a girl, some car chases, a few fist fights: OK not bad. I can see how this would make a good plot device. However, this one failed miserably.
Maybe if the opening scene had started from the train this movie could have garnered some of my respect. However, that would require dispensing with the pointless back story. So if you try to piece together some of the plot points you just end up spraining your brain. That's how bad the plot is.
Many have noted the similarities to Bourne Identity. Hahahahahahahahahaha. Are you serious? The only similarity is they are both movies. No more. OK, I'm done.
Cowboys & Aliens (2011)
An Odd Movie
I was really looking forward to this movie when I first saw the trailers. The juxtaposition of cowboys and aliens seemed fresh and engaging and equaling appealing was the casting of Craig, Ford, and Wilde. Unfortunately, it failed to live up to the hype of my mind.
The more I think about it, the more I realize that the most disappointing thing about this movie is how generic the aliens are. At one point Olivia Wilde's character comments that the aliens thinks humans are nothing more than insects. Yet, the irony is that the aliens are the bug-eyed ones. And you will get lots of interesting looks at what this director thinks aliens look like. I am fairly confident that if aliens ever did land here, they would be incomprehensible to us.
It seems that alien movies more than any other suffer from an acute case of deus ex machina. This is a little different in that the movie begins with one. Yet, for some reason these aliens seem to lack any judgment as they rush headlong one after another into Craig's sniper accurate shots while they themselves never seem capable of hitting a thing. Cliché anyone? The movie tries real hard to inject back story into the main characters but fails rather miserably in being convincing and neither does it seem relevant in what is ultimately a shoot 'em up adventure.
So if you want to watch a movie with some action and appealing visual effects this is it. If you recoil at old clichés then I suggest watching something else.
2.5 out of 4
Oxford Blues (1984)
Not as good as I remembered
I really liked this movie when it was fresh. But that was 25 years ago. And when it popped up online I had to watch it. Despite the years I was surprised at the things I remembered from "No more second chances, no more second chances" to "I think you're being paged, Lionel".
But that was 25 years ago. Now, the only redeeming value this movie has is a rather interesting perspective of Oxford. The plot premise is rather stupid: some kid from Las Vegas transfers to Oxford so he can date a Lady. He then acts like a complete bull in a china shop and for some reason manages to not so much win the heart of the Lady but at least get in her pants?? Bottomline, the characterizations are basically stereotypes, the plot is vapid, and he wins the race in the end. Oops! Spoiler!
OK, now that is has been several months since I watched this again following a 25 year hiatus, I can't get the movie out of my mind. I keep thinking about it. It has the same spell it had 25 years ago. Weird.
Inception (2010)
OK I Get It
First off, I resisted watching this film after all the hype. I hate pretension in a movie, q.v. my IMDb review of Vanilla Sky (I didn't want to watch a movie that required "heavy lifting"). And more importantly I hate DiCaprio, q.v. my DiCaprio reviews. But this past Friday my wife popped in the DVD, and I proceeded to lazily watch, barely awake, and quite tired after a long week. By the end, I was fully awake which is why I give it 6/10.
All in all, a good pic. But for me, I will not be spending long periods pondering it's metaphysical blah, blah, blah. I mean, I get it. I understand that Cobb and his wife were stuck in a limbo and he planted the idea that the world was fake which stayed with her in an awakened state. I get that Cobb and his team were attempting the same with Fischer.
But what I don't get (read: stupid plot points imo) is: why is Leo was an international man of mystery on the run for his wife's suicide? Or, why Saito could make a phone call and make all of Cobb's problems go away. Or, why being asleep for 8 or 10 hours could feel like your stuck in limbo for dozens of years. And last of all: the stupid cut at the end with the top still spinning.
Apparently, the director spends more time fielding questions about the ending than anything else. Serves him right.
So here is my suggestion: pretend you're in a dream watching this movie, and "kick" yourself just before Leo spins the top at the end. This can be effectively accomplished by hitting the eject button on your remote.
2012 (2009)
Special Effects Extravaganza
Every so often Hollywood manages to up the ante when it comes to special effects. Assuredly, the thrill of this movie comes in the moments spent wondering how will it look when the world ends. Emmerich doesn't disappoint.
John Cusack stars as an everyman who doesn't save the world a la Randy Quaid style in Independence Day, but instead as an example of "nature choosing her own from among her own." This rather unique element lends the story a sense of credence as one imagines that is just how the apocalypse might play out: random nothing short of miraculous survivors alongside the wholly undeserving. However, the impersonal becomes personal at the conclusion as unlikely survivors are snuffed out gratuitously and cruelly.
Makes one wonder what 2022 will be like in 10 years.
He's Just Not That Into You (2009)
An American Edition of "Love Actually"
I guess it was just a matter of time before they served up an American version of the Brit romantic comedy "Love Actually." And like its English cousin it tries to explore many different kinds of love between an odd assortment of characters whose lives just as oddly intertwine. It's pointless to list the characters but here goes: you got a married couple with the husband contemplating adultery, an unmarried couple with the women contemplating marriage, some gay men who contemplate sex in three seconds or less, and a few lost puppies thrown in for good humor.
My main complaint is this movie comes down hard on the notion of traditional marriage. It puts forth the silly idea that men hate commitment while women constantly agonize over finding Mr. Right and are even devious in their methods to trap men in marriages from which they only want out.
But the inaccuracies don't stop there. This movie tries to be hip by name dropping MySpace but dwells stupidly long on the "waiting for the call" and answering machines of all the anachronistic things. MySpace is so 2005. This is 2009 where Facebook and texting are de rigeur while a phone call is regarded as stalking at best, perverted at worst.
I am not even sure why this is regarded as a romantic comedy. It is not the least bit funny unless you find the stupid vignettes so.
Ah well, I never expect to come away from a "romantic comedy" feeling satisfied. Even if some are amusing, they are all vapid, one-dimensional explorations of the Men are from Mars/Women from Venus theme. But I guess I find the ones that attempt to be sophisticated irksome. And this one irked me.
The Nanny Diaries (2007)
Chick Lit on the Silver Screen
Ever since Lauren Weisberger's roman a clef of Manhattan's elite it has become vogue to offer up more. So we have Ms. Johannson hired as a nanny for an upper East Side family.
The narrative is presented as a entrance essay for a graduate program in anthropology with allusions to Mary Poppins complete with Travelers' red umbrella. Please. I know that Ivy League admissions directors are a fickle bunch, but they're not stupid. But let's face it, a nanny is nothing more than a full time babysitter and watching Ms. Johansson bond with a preschooler fails on several levels.
As for the characters of Mr. and Mrs. X., well, it is clear that Mr. X is an mergers and acquisitions investment banker, the vilest of professions in Hollywood since Gordon Gecko. A role that has been faithfully followed up ever since. However, this is not just another installment. Mr. X works nonstop, is a philanderer, and well that's about it. Mrs. X doesn't work, is from Connecticut and that's about as far as it goes as well. Maybe the point of the shallow development is some reinforcement of how shallow their lives are, but it also results in a rather shallow plot as if it is told from the perspective of a five year old rather than an graduate anthropologist. But no surprise, a nanny is not an au pair.
Transformers (2007)
Surprisingly Good
From the opening sequence this movie never let up. I never followed the cartoon series, but what surprised me the most about this movie was the realistic intensity of the military sequences.
I would have been tempted to give this movie 10 stars in the same category as Bourne Identity, a personal favorite. However, at times the movie took on an Independence Day cheeziness as the heroes consisted of a bunch of misfits clashing with the stereotypically inept g-men which amounts to little more than political statements that I find particularly bland and stupid. However, it is partially redeemed by the efforts of the special ops forces in the end. But rather than watch Shia Lebouef be transformed from his experience, he simply ends up with the girl in the end.
Also, what's the deal with the glasses? They are imprinted with the navigation coordinates of the Cube's whereabouts circa late 19th century which happens to be the not yet built Hoover dam? Go figure.
Urban Cowboy (1980)
Raw and Real!
I grew up in Houston and was nine when this movie came out. As a result I don't remember anything about the movie. But I do remember the sensation it caused from Gilley's and the mechanical bull to Johnny Lee's hit song "Lookin' for Love" which still brings back memories of childhood whenever I hear it.
However, a few years ago I saw this movie for the first time as an adult and all I can say is, I was blown away. Few movies have hit me harder. This movie is as raw and real as you can get. From Uncle Bob's ranch house, the chemical plant in Texas City, Gilley's dance hall, and Bud and Sissy. And maybe for that reason it doesn't have a wider appeal. But no matter how you feel about country music (I for one can't stand it despite my Houston roots) Urban Cowboy is a unique slice of American pie. For that reason I love it!
I Am Legend (2007)
Poses some interesting questions, but does little to answer them
From the opening scene with Emma Thompson (uncredited), the intelligent moviegoer knows what's next. What's not to so obvious is why Will Smith is the last one on Manhattan island. Manhattan is a crown jewel and to think that all the uninfected/immune people would simply flee the island as fast as their feet would take them versus introducing the subhuman infected to Smith & Wesson is not clear. Now granted, just Will Smith versus all those humanoids is a losing prospect from the beginning. But given a small, immune, heavily armed contingent with floodlights, I am sure Manhattan would be infection free in a matter of weeks, not years.
Now 1.5 million people live on Manhattan. If 90% are killed by the virus that leaves 150,000. Supposedly 90% of those not killed become infected. That leaves 15,000 immune versus 135,000 ravenous, belligerent infected. Now you may think the odds are overwhelming, but if you study the Spanish conquest of the Mayan civilization you will understand why gunpowder was invented and why numbers are irrelevant when your foe is unarmed.
Now granted, I Am Legend is not about how Will Smith ended up all alone three years after the outbreak, but one does wonder how he managed to survive all those years on his own. The movie does posit the potential of the infected somehow becoming smart, devious, cunning or what have you, as is the question of isolation a la Castaway. But while interesting, they are subplots to the larger theme of Will's quest for a anti-virus.
Now I am not going to criticize the Will Smith's of the world who rather find a cure versus kill 'em all. But my gut tells me that if such a scenario ever truly played out, the real conflict would be in the politics of those who wanted to extend compassion versus those who had another agenda and I doubt that they would wait for an election.
Just My Luck (2006)
Formulaic
This is the first, and mostly certainly last, LL movie I have ever seen so I was really more interested in watching what all the LL hype is about than the movie. To be frank I am a little puzzled:
- She has this scratchy, hoarse voice that is big put off. - She is far from being a Zeta-Jones, Jolie, or Kidman...
so really? what is all the hype about? All I can think is her mom must have a lot of clout.
Anyway, as far as the movie is concerned, it is a typical romantic comedy of which there are so many. LL is Ashley (such a quaint name these days) who works in NYC as a PR agent (hmmm, never heard of that one before either). She meets a boy, and well, the rest is hardly anymore surprising. So the only reason I could think of watching this movie is if you're on a first or second date or just plain out of luck.
The Interpreter (2005)
Variations on a theme
The Interpreter in all honesty is the Bourne Identity repackaged, only not as good. Kidman plays a UN interpreter detached from her past in a African republic plagued by civil war. However, when she stumbles upon an assassination plot directed at the leader of her former nation she suddenly finds her inner Jason Bourne and, well the rest should sound familiar.
Admittedly there are difference in that topics like genocide and terrorism rise to the surface while the Bourne Identity is simply about a black ops agent off the reservation: politics, shmolitics! Penn does an OK job but the back story about his deceased wife simply got in the way. I mean, we didn't have to listen to Conklin complain about his marriage when Jason Bourne was leaving a trail of collateral damage from Zurich to Paris!
A Good Year (2006)
A So-So Year
Every few years along comes a movie ostensibly about both wine and love making, A Walk in the Clouds with Keanu Reeves, French Kiss with Meg Ryan. In each case, our leading actor is paired against some exotic actor/actress that American audiences have neither heard of nor will they ever see again, like meeting some rare wine. But the superficial trivialities of love pale in comparison to the redemption from the vulgarities of their former lives that wine making offers.
Of these three, A Walk in the Clouds is the best vintage by far. The problem with A Good Year is that Russell Crowe's character is flat and uninteresting, Gordon Gecko he is not, and somehow the audience is supposed to conclude as the director does that the big bad investment banker is in need of redemption. I am not defending investment bankers but Hollywood offends the sensibilities when the only character flaw is choice of profession. Granted ever since Wall Street, Hollywood has had a fetish with bankers as the ultimate villain, but if you want a thought provoking movie about the redemption of a banker I recommend The Family Man with Nicholas Cage if you can handle Tea Leoni.
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
Still relevant post-911
When The Bourne Identity hit the screen in 2002, the Cold War was decidedly over and spy movies had lost their relevance in the post-911 aftermath. The Bourne Identity masterfully resonated with our psyches: here was a man, despite all his abilities, unable to answer a basic question: "who is my enemy and why are they after me?" The next installment took a different turn, Doug Liman was replaced by Paul Greengrass, and while Brian Cox was brought back as Ward Abbott, the electric performance of Chris Cooper was missing. The Bourne Ultimatum not surprisingly shares more with the second than the first. Joan Allen returns as Pamela Landy with more intense action than ever and Bourne traversing more continents than ever.
However, the writers clearly make an effort to tie all three movies together. In fact, do yourself a favor and watch the Bourne Identity before you watch the Bourne Ultimatum. Many minor details from the first become critical plot elements in the third.
While I can watch the Bourne Identity again and again, I am afraid the Bourne Ultimatum has about the same weight as the Bourne Supremacy. Not that it isn't any good. Rather, it lacks the intensity of the first and the electric exchanges between Cooper and Cox.
4 out of 5
The Holiday (2006)
In True Nancy Meyers's Form
Given that this was not Nancy Meyers's first movie to have written, directed, and produced I was hoping for something a little more appealing. I thought the goofy French soundtrack of Something's Gotta Give was just part of the Bohemian fabric. I now know that this is simply Meyers's style where mature adults run around acting like rabbits.
Meyers starts with Kate Winslet pining away in her hopelessly quaint and romantic London cottage for a former/current, now-engaged-to-someone-else lover. Cameron Diaz on the other hand kicks her lover out of her LA mansion because he was humping his secretary. The magic to resolve their guy problems is swapping houses for the Christmas holidays.
What follows is not much different although I was surprised they didn't swap lovers as well. A mere six hours in London and Diaz is copulating with the widowed Jude Law, who despite his vulnerable state can't keep his pants on even in his sister's house. Winslet pines away in LA, but we know she will eventually copulate with Jack Black.
Such an vapid plot leads one to conclude that Meyer's solution to infidelity, which everyone seems to suffer from with the exception of Law, is finding someone else to hump, even if you have to travel half way across the globe.
An Inconvenient Truth (2006)
The Sad Truth
I wish IMDb had negative ratings because I would give this -10 stars. It is clear that Gore suffers from a Napoleon Complex after coming up short in the 2000 election. However, the bruising defeat has not tempered the former next president's aspirations to be remembered as a Gandhi, baldly apparent when he vied for the title "creator of the internet" and now as some global climate savior.
Other viewers have rightly observed that this is Chicken Little revisited and therein lies the rub. No one likes a Chicken Little, at least not in America. We're a bunch of optimists and can't be held back. Even if Chicken Little is right, we still feel rubbed. So if Gore thinks he will be canonized for his efforts, he is wrong, not withstanding his Oscar.
Americans hate losers and hate losing. And let's face it, Gore is a loser. An also-ran. Eventually he, his film, and his Chicken Little crusade will fade from memory much the same way Our Gang and the Little Rascals have faded from public consciousness.
Ratatouille (2007)
Some parts are brilliant
Not Pixar's best and I for one love food and cooking.
Every movie needs to suspend reality for its audience but this movie seemed to suffer from an uncomfortable case of stage fright. To be sure, an infestation of rats is not the most pleasant subject even in animation. But instead of ignoring this fact, Brad Bird goes to rather painful lengths to explain every minute detail of Remy and Linguini's unusual relationship. The problem is: if you're a child, such explanations are unintelligible and if you're an adult they strain believability and do little to advance the plot or develop the characterization, which are far more important than why Remy doesn't walk on all fours.
The kitchen and the sewer are teaming with chefs and rats and trying to keep each character straight let alone appreciate each of their quirks is challenging to say the least. Here again, instead of letting the characters introduce themselves in a memorable fashion, Bird seems intent on spelling it out for the viewer which is neither lasting nor helpful. But most importantly none of the characters are lovable. Let's face it, this is a kids movie that even adults should find palatable but I was as annoyed with Linguini as the top chef and the rest of the staff with his constant psychoanalysis. The only truly memorable character was O'Toole as Anton Ego, perhaps a little over the top but masterfully concluded.
Throughout the movie I found myself questioning the direction of the storyline. The beauty of CG is that each scene can be essentially shot and reshot again and again unlike traditional film making. Having watched most of the DVD extras for Toy Story, Monsters, Cars, etc. I know to what extent the Pixar animators tweak each element of the storyboard to make a cohesive whole. However, Ratatouille seems to lack such cohesion. The opening sequence on the farm seems disconnected from the rest of the movie and Ratatouille's conversations with Gusteau is served up as an odd accompaniment throughout.
To be sure, the animation is stellar and Pixar raises the bar with each new movie. Apparently, this movie completes a list initially envisioned by the creative think tank at Pixar long before Toy Story and A Bugs' Life. However, in this case the best was not saved for last.
Mr. Holland's Opus (1995)
A Baby Boomer's Opus
Mr. Holland's life is punctuated by the overtly boomer exponent of Vietnam, and John Lennon is constantly revisited like a worn out coda. Yet the producers try to instill some musical integrity by making a reference to John Coltrane, an irrelevant figure for most boomers and especially Mr. Holland as not one Coltrane song figures in this movie. But more importantly Elvis's death goes unmentioned, who arguably influenced rock and roll far more than the over-commercialized, chocolate box, Brit-pop of the Beatles or the period pieces of the anti-war activists of the late 60s and early 70s.
Why is this? First, Elvis only spoke to the very earliest of the baby boomers as he himself actually preceded the boomers. By the 60s he was largely making movies and had been replaced by the British Invasion. Second, Elvis was intensely patriotic by most boomer standards having served his draft notice instead of burning the card. And yet I have a hard time distinguishing Mr. Holland from his boomer pupils.
The biggest irony is Mr. Holland's performance of Lennon's "Beautiful Boy" which serves as a reconciliation with Cole. Not only does it raise serious questions about Mr. Holland's inspiration since he borrows someone else's material to express his deepest emotions, but Lennon released this song on his last album before his death which he wrote for his son, Sean, not the estranged Julian. And juxtaposed to this is Julian Lennon's performance of "Cole's Song" which also raises more questions than it answers.
Thus, it is easy to see that Mr. Holland and his students are merely archetypes for John Lennon and his boomer fans. Plain and simple. Whatever that has to do with Beethoven, music in general, or inspirational teaching for that matter, I have no idea.
Happy Feet (2006)
Unengaging
As a father of three young'uns I have developed (however unwillingly) quite a knowledge of movies aimed at children. It is a rare movie that can find the balance between entertaining kids and adults. Unfortunately, this movie does neither. The best, and most honest, critics are children, and my children tired of this movie very quickly.
Of course, the Hollywood cognescenti were falling over themselves to elevate this movie in the eyes of the public and the reason why became blatantly obvious from the first few minutes. Personally I would rather sit through anti-PC Looney Tunes than bow to the Follywood elite.
One extra line to get IMDb to accept this comment!
Red Dawn (1984)
More firepower than the entire 82nd
Wolverines pack a punch even after crying on each others' shoulders from missin' their mamas. Despite the high melodrama and hairstyles, Red Dawn reflects the tension of the times. However, the treatment is less than memorable alongside similar classics like WarGames. I had completely forgotten about this film until it recently popped up on cable unexpectedly. Unlike WarGames which has a nice balance of humor alongside the rather overt message, Red Dawn tries very hard to make us believe the good 'ol US of A has become another Russian occupied Afghanistan. My guess is there were Washington fear mongers who thought the plot was plausible, if not at least discussed it. However, the Russians eventually lost their Vietnam and retreated from Afghanistan five years later followed by the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Maybe that's why Red Dawn is mostly irrelevant today like most Cold War era films. The premise seemed far-fetched at the time, and in our post-Cold War era seems closer to science fiction than fact.
Vanilla Sky (2001)
Not Heavy Lifting
Cameron Crowe and Tom Cruise have so much in common with David Aames that this movie is a first: a Bi-Biopic. Roger Ebert claimed the film requires heavy lifting from its audience which only confirms that his brain is fried. Faulkner this is not. Pop-friction it is.
Only time will tell if any of Crowe's films will become timeless. However, his constant reliance on pop music to deliver the emotional climaxes in key scenes (q.v. the Beach Boys "Good Vibrations") firmly roots his movies in the Now. As a result, I am convinced the only timelessness this movie possesses is yet another Baby Boomer's narcissistic exploration of the possibility of immortality.
Yet, are we really to believe that Aames, Crowe, or Cruise would actually pull the plug on themselves? According to Crowe, sure, if their lucid dream becomes anything less than a narcissistic fantasy. And, as a GenX'er I sincerely hope it does because I dread a future with Crowe or Cruise still in it sharing with the world more biopics about their immortality.
The Fugitive (1993)
Excellent, but ending unrealistic
I was a young man in college when this movie came out and Harrison Ford's acting was so forceful that I briefly considered becoming a vascular surgeon! From the beginning this movie keeps you involved. The train wreck on the silver screen felt like you were there, no surprise since the director derailed an actual train for the footage (I have seen the wreckage myself in S.C.).
The only complaint I have is the end when Dr. Nichols, a highly regarded doctor despite his under-handed dealings with the drug company, suddenly transforms quite unexpectedly into the prototypical, dastardly villain bent on killing Harrison Ford's character even if it means taking out a few marshals in the process. I don't recall the absurdity of the end in the theater, but subsequent airings on TV have made it more than apparent that the studio was in a hurry to wrap up the filming versus a more thoughtful and dramatic ending.
At any rate, having lived in Chicago the past couple of years, it has also been fun recognizing the filming locations.
A Time to Kill (1996)
Long on drama, short on reality
This movie would have you believe Mississippi is still a place where the Klan riots, knifes, and snipers people in broad daylight without charges being brought against them. Idealistic, liberal students from the North volunteer their efforts while the National Guard moves in to restore order. The result is anachronistic at best while attempting to achieve high drama.
Having lived many years in New Orleans, I have enjoyed most of John Grisham's movies (e.g. Runaway Jury, Pelican Brief) this one seemed however to fall short in an unexpected way.
In the end, the movie is as guilty of exploitation of the oppressed (in the name of drama and profits) as those it seeks to condemn.
Fools Rush In (1997)
Maybe predictable, but hardly formulaic
Romantic comedies are all the same: two young professionals in Manhattan or San Franciso meet, fall in love, fall out of love, then fall in love again.
This one however, takes a hard right when Matthew Perry, the young Manhattanite, goes to Arizona to supervise a construction project. In the heat of the desert, Perry loses his way again when he knocks up the beautiful Salma Hayak, who is deeply rooted in her Hispanic culture, family, religion, and has no desire to run off to NYC. What follows is hardly formulaic and more akin to My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
Gringos will probably not appreciate the cultural tensions between Perry and Hayak, but I can truly testify that it is authentic and well worth watching.
Midnight Express (1978)
Joey, have you ever been to a Turkish prison?
Two years after Midnight Express caused an international stir, Captain Oveur asked Joey this unforgettable question which always puzzled me until I saw this movie. Fortunately, I have never been to one, and I can honestly say that despite the comments on this site that they are the next best thing to Club Med, I am in no hurry to visit one!
Which raises the question, how do all these Turkish commentators know that prisons and prison life in 1970s Turkey is not how it's depicted here? Either IMDb is populated with Turkish ex-cons or they don't know and are wrong (seeing that no one ever is freed from a Turkish prison). And if Billy Hayes was such a threat to the kind, gentle Turkish society and deserved a life sentence, why didn't the Turkish gov't deport him?
I guess I could criticize the character development of the prison guards as shallow and one-sided. I am sure they had many redeeming qualities that if more fully explored would explain that the torture was just symptomatic of deeper, inner pain experienced as children.
At any rate, I am sure Joey knew that Turkish prison guards and Captain Oveur's suggestion couldn't be any good, even without seeing this movie or reading IMDb comments from Turkish ex-cons!