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MOVIES I WISH HAD BEEN BETTER

Mark Wahlberg and Thandie Newton in "The Truth about Charlie"

Mark Wahlberg and Thandie Newton in "The Truth about Charlie"

As my love for classic films developed over the years, there were several stars I fell for right away (such appeal is essentially why they are big stars). Two of those performers were Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. So when I learned about the one film they made together – in my favorite genre of crime thriller, no less – I just knew I was going to love it.

In addition to starring Hepburn and Grant, the movie is directed by one of the great big screen visual stylists, Stanley Donen, and features a terrific supporting cast including Walter Matthau, George Kennedy and James Coburn. It’s an entertaining romp full of chases, misdirection and, of course, romance since Hepburn and Grant are the leads.

The story goes like so: Hepburn’s estranged husband is mysteriously killed, and the people suspected of killing him are soon hounding her to get what they didn’t get from her hubby – a whole lot of stolen money. There’s also a treasury agent leaning on her to find the money and a detective trying to catch the killer. Grant plays a fellow traveler Hepburn considers dating until she realizes she is in danger. Then she begins to rely on him as a protector while continuing to size him up as marriage material. But is he really who he says he is? Who can she trust – especially since she apparently didn’t know her late husband very well at all?

The movie is a lot of fun, but as crime capers go, it’s a lot of fluff as well. The romance between Grant and Hepburn is charming (“When you come on, you really come on.”). But it doesn’t have quite the same sparkle as some of Grant's other late career on-screen affairs like with Grace Kelly in “To Catch A Thief” (another light crime caper) and Eva Marie Saint in “North by Northwest,” both directed by Alfred Hitchcock. “Charade” doesn’t top any lists for me, but I still consider it a classic, and I often watch it when it plays on TCM or some other movie channel.

Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn in "Charade" publicity shot

Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn in "Charade" publicity shot

So in 2002, when I discovered that one of my favorite directors, Jonathan Demme, was filming a remake of “Charade” called “The Truth about Charlie,” I was thrilled. Surely he could take it to that higher level I thought the original film came just short of - a darker, more dangerous level injected with a bit more realism. Then I heard he was going to cast a black actress – the lovely Thandie Newton – in the lead. Points for going against the grain! But she wasn’t a big star, and I knew there had to be a big name attached. Well the big name ended up being Mark Wahlberg, and I became concerned right away.

I’ve been a Wahlberg fan since “Boogie Nights,” and honestly, I didn’t mind his Calvin Klein ads one bit either. He has proven himself a solid actor – a two-time Oscar nominee excelling at playing either sensitive or tough types in comedies and dramas. He killed it in “The Departed,” and I also loved him in “The Italian Job” (even though he seemed to be playing himself for the most part) and the indie bomb “I Heart Huckabees.” But as talented as he is, worldly sophistication is not Wahlberg’s forte on screen, and that’s what was called for in “The Truth about Charlie.”

In fairness, modern audiences would not have been expecting a Cary Grant type in the role, but they needed more than that ill-suited beret Wahlberg wears throughout the movie to take him seriously. The badly miscast Wahlberg was not the only problem. There are script issues as well because I never feel completely engrossed in the story. There was style but no substance, and sometimes that’s OK if the film makes up for it in some way. “The Truth about Charlie” does not.

The bottom line is it’s just not very interesting or plausible, and by the end I didn’t care what happened. Thandie Newton is one of the few saving graces. She is believable and magnetic. And Christine Boisson is great as the cop on the case. But Tim Robbins is given little to do except look suspicious as the treasury agent. And the criminal team is a rather bland and predictable bunch, although it was nice to see Lisa Gay Hamilton get some big-budget movie love.

Alas, “The Truth about Charlie” is a far cry from the engaging escapade that is “Charade,” and unfortunately it doesn’t even make the cut as an entertaining thriller without the somewhat unfair comparison to its predecessor. I remain a fan of Demme and the primary actors in the film, but I wish Demme had taken the story and characters in more compelling directions.

Road to redemption

Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron in "Mad Max: Fury Road"

Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron in "Mad Max: Fury Road"

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about summer blockbusters and my disdain for the growing crop of qualifiers (and would-be qualifiers) over the last few years. “Mad Max: Fury Road” is on track to be one of this summer’s mega hits, and I’m happy to report that after seeing it Sunday, I think it’s a worthy entry to the summer blockbuster canon.

There is a lot to see in this Mad Max series reboot with Tom Hardy taking over the role of the tormented former cop from Mel Gibson, but I’m going to keep this brief and try to limit my use of the words “post-apocalyptic” and “wasteland” to this sentence. The Earth has more or less been destroyed due to a nuclear holocaust that has left much of the population disfigured and desolate. But there’s a place called The Citadel where there is water and even plants, but of course it is controlled with cruelty by a warlord known as Immortan Joe. It’s similar to the set up in “Total Recall” except that was set on Mars. Immortan Joe is backed by his sons and an army of brainwashed “war boys” who believe their greatest glory would be to die in battle for Joe.

The title is fitting when it comes to Fury Road since that’s where the bulk of the movie takes place. Charlize Theron plays Furiosa, a trusted driver for Joe who decides to flee Joe’s brutal world and set off for her homeland with some precious cargo in tow. It doesn’t take long before Joe gets wise to Furiosa’s plan and pursues her with nearly all the “troops” in his desert army, including a live soundtrack provided by a comical, souped-up electric guitarist on an equally souped-up rig that also carries a backdrop of amplifiers.

You may be wondering where Max fits into all this, especially since I’m already four paragraphs into this review. Well that’s precisely why the title is not so fitting as far as Mad Max goes. Max’s journey is defined by these other characters. He is captured at the beginning of the film by Immortan Joe’s war boys and crosses paths with Furiosa when the war boy he is chained to (Nicholas Hoult) manages to be the only one to catch up with Furiosa’s rig on the initial chase. In one scene when Max goes off to try to thwart one particularly tenacious car of bad guys, the audience doesn’t even get to go with him and see him take them down. The camera stays with Furiosa and her crew.

Yes, the movie belongs to Furiosa, but Max definitely pulls his weight once they join forces. Both Max and Furiosa are seeking redemption for the people they failed to save earlier in their lives. At first it’s a matter of flight, but eventually it becomes a plan to fight. And that spirit is what gives the movie its heart – the “all in” nature of their commitment. Still, it’s riveting from the start. You can’t ask for better action sequences. You may want them to be less confusing because of all the chaos, but they are intense, eye-popping and effective. Even when the action slows down, which is not often, you are invested in the characters and intrigued by the landscape. It’s a very basic story of good vs. evil, but as with most enjoyable stories, it’s all about the journey. And to add to the many clichés out there already, this journey up and down Fury Road is worth taking.

DIRECTOR: George Miller | HEADLINERS: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult