What's playing at Ashley Square?
By: William Cheek
Issue date: 4/29/08 Section: Features
21
Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess), a brilliant but financially hard-up MIT student, is practically coerced into joining an underground blackjack team headed by abrasive professor Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey). After training Ben for a leading role, the team heads for the big-money tables in Las Vegas.
Based on the true story of the '90s MIT blackjack "team," 21 has a lot going for it. There's suspense, tension and infighting. Ben's exhilaration at mastering something new is evoked effectively. The manipulating Micky spars repeatedly with his team, and a major conflict with Ben eventually captures center stage.
But the fun, quick excitement of the blackjack table is deadened by unnecessary drama away from it. Ben has a perfectly gratuitous affair with teammate Jill Taylor (Kate Bosworth), which never amounts to anything. Also, his pre-blackjack friendships are strained in a very predictable manner.
In fact, that's the problem: aside from being fattened by bland drama, 21 is extremely slick and predictable. The plot deliberately unfolds and then neatly wraps itself up again. You can easily guess the major story twists. The blackjack is simplified - every hand's a winner when the group works well together.
It's fun, for sure - easy mass-consumption material. But many mass-consumption films contain just as much excitement and much less formula and gratuity.
NIM'S ISLAND
Semi-famous scientist Jack Rusoe (Gerard Butler) and his daughter Nim (Abigail Breslin) live a happy-go-lucky life on a remote South Pacific volcanic island. While Jack conducts research, Nim communes with the local animals and feeds her imagination with the Alex Rover novel adventure series.
Across the globe, the ironically agoraphobic Alexandra Rover (Jodie Foster) struggles to write the next adventure for her eponymous hero. After finding pictures of Jack and Nim's island online, she decides to send Jack an email for ideas.
Unfortunately, at about the same time a violent storm disables Jack's research boat and leaves him stranded at sea.
Nim, alone on the island, responds to the email - signed "Alex Rover" - and excitedly urges the adventure hero to come to her aid. Thus the story splits into three - Jack's fight to get home, Nim's struggle to stay brave and Alexandra's psychologically painful journey to Nim's island.
Of the three, the latter storyline is definitely the most entertaining. The figment of Alex Rover (Butler) appears bodily to his creator, urging her to confront her fears. The interactions between timid author and her swaggering creation are easily the highlight of the film: charming, funny and even a bit inspirational.
Unfortunately, the rest of the story is not so charming. Jack's trials on the sea, though they may excite younger viewers, do not develop his character in any way. Nim's adventures are truly silly, involving pirate-like cruise-ship operators, flying lizards and other things too implausible even for this movie. It all feels like filler to occupy us between Alexandra's scenes.
Overall, Nim's Island is still a decent family film. It's just too bad that the best stuff occupies only a third of the plot.
Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess), a brilliant but financially hard-up MIT student, is practically coerced into joining an underground blackjack team headed by abrasive professor Micky Rosa (Kevin Spacey). After training Ben for a leading role, the team heads for the big-money tables in Las Vegas.
Based on the true story of the '90s MIT blackjack "team," 21 has a lot going for it. There's suspense, tension and infighting. Ben's exhilaration at mastering something new is evoked effectively. The manipulating Micky spars repeatedly with his team, and a major conflict with Ben eventually captures center stage.
But the fun, quick excitement of the blackjack table is deadened by unnecessary drama away from it. Ben has a perfectly gratuitous affair with teammate Jill Taylor (Kate Bosworth), which never amounts to anything. Also, his pre-blackjack friendships are strained in a very predictable manner.
In fact, that's the problem: aside from being fattened by bland drama, 21 is extremely slick and predictable. The plot deliberately unfolds and then neatly wraps itself up again. You can easily guess the major story twists. The blackjack is simplified - every hand's a winner when the group works well together.
It's fun, for sure - easy mass-consumption material. But many mass-consumption films contain just as much excitement and much less formula and gratuity.
NIM'S ISLAND
Semi-famous scientist Jack Rusoe (Gerard Butler) and his daughter Nim (Abigail Breslin) live a happy-go-lucky life on a remote South Pacific volcanic island. While Jack conducts research, Nim communes with the local animals and feeds her imagination with the Alex Rover novel adventure series.
Across the globe, the ironically agoraphobic Alexandra Rover (Jodie Foster) struggles to write the next adventure for her eponymous hero. After finding pictures of Jack and Nim's island online, she decides to send Jack an email for ideas.
Unfortunately, at about the same time a violent storm disables Jack's research boat and leaves him stranded at sea.
Nim, alone on the island, responds to the email - signed "Alex Rover" - and excitedly urges the adventure hero to come to her aid. Thus the story splits into three - Jack's fight to get home, Nim's struggle to stay brave and Alexandra's psychologically painful journey to Nim's island.
Of the three, the latter storyline is definitely the most entertaining. The figment of Alex Rover (Butler) appears bodily to his creator, urging her to confront her fears. The interactions between timid author and her swaggering creation are easily the highlight of the film: charming, funny and even a bit inspirational.
Unfortunately, the rest of the story is not so charming. Jack's trials on the sea, though they may excite younger viewers, do not develop his character in any way. Nim's adventures are truly silly, involving pirate-like cruise-ship operators, flying lizards and other things too implausible even for this movie. It all feels like filler to occupy us between Alexandra's scenes.
Overall, Nim's Island is still a decent family film. It's just too bad that the best stuff occupies only a third of the plot.
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