The Merchant of Venice and The Assassination of Richard Nixon
Sean Penn and Al Pacino can't do regular movies anymore, not the kind with plots, dialogue and maybe even a little romance. They are showstoppers. They eat scenery. And they're only fit these days for character dramas wherein they're the main draw as some angry or depleted or outrageous soul....
The Life Aquatic
How sad it is to only see Seymour Cassel for a few moments at the beginning of The Life Aquatic as Esteban, the faithful comrade of underwater adventurer Steve Zissou (Bill Murray). Smiling sheepishly and bowing his bald head to an affectionate peck from Zissou, he's brilliant, and his early exit under murky circumstances is the only comic sacrifice this movie makes.
House of Flying Daggers
It's about time the men were the damsels in the distress! Hotshot soldier Jin (Takeshi Kaneshiro) is sorely mistaken when he assumes he's in command as an undercover guerilla fighter in this dazzlingly colorful sword-fighting epic that attempts to understand the nature of true love.
