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Suddenly "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" isn't looking so bad.

Cage rides nowhere
fast as Johnny Blaze

By ELIE ZWIEBEL
DailyArts Writer

relative career rut. If you've seen
any one of Cage's films in the past
five years - from "Windtalkers" to

If you're a fan of over-the-hill, "Lord of War" to "The Wicker Man"
balding, mediocre actors playing - you've witnessed the shrinking of
superheroes, "Ghost Rider" is the his actingrange. "Ghost Rider" does
movie for you. nothing to bring him back.
Of course, thit isn't jutt any And Fonda it by far the most
superhero - Ghost Rider is a arthritic version of Satan in the
superhero with a movies to date. He shows up incon-
motorcycle, flai- sistently throughout the film, and
ing skeleton head whenever he does, he appears as
and powers of a he is in real life: old and tired. His
satanic minion, Ghost Rider restricted movement and speech
although for some couldn't strike fear in the heart of
reason he uses At Quality 16 any mortal being, much less a leath-
them for good. and Showcase er-bound blaze on a Harley.
Admittedly, this Columbia But Fonda's Mephistopheles isn't
whole package is a the least of Johnny's problems, con-
hard pill to swal- sidering that good old road-rash
low. But Eva Mendes is hot, right? anthem"Riders in the Storm"makes
With this film, director Mark at least five redundant appearances
Steven Johnson has finally cement- on the movie's soundtrack. Not to
ed his reputation as the filmmaker mention the pathetic attempt at a
most committed to poorly repro- romantic sub-plot with Eva Mendes
ducing non-mainstream comic (put simply, there's not enough of
books. After 2003's "Daredevil," it her in either screen time or skin).
appeared as if Johnson could only
improve, but he went ahead and
contributed to the development of This schlock
the equally disastrous "Elektra"
two years later. doesn't look
Now he's on board with "Ghost even
Rider," and he's delivered his worst
work to date. After realizing his good on paper.
father is dying of cancer, Johnny
Blaze (Nicolas Cage, "National
Treasure") sells his soul to the devil
(Peter Fonda, "Ulee's Gold") to cure And then there's the movie's true
Blaze Sr. While the trailers imply villain, Mephistopheles's son, the
Johnny sells his soul to save love aptly named Blackheart (Wet Bent-
interest Roxanne Simpson (Eva ley, "American Beauty"). Blackheart
Mendes, "Hitch"), Johnny actu- has begun walking through the
ally condemns himself to eternal heart of Texas to find a century-old
damnation to rescue his father, who contract guaranteeing the souls of
ends up dying five minutes later in a thousands of pioneers to the devil.
motorcycle accident. Should Blackheart get his hands
What Johnny doesn't realize is on the contract, he would become
that the devil has chosen him to the new lord of the underworld and
become the new generation's Ghost pretty much ensure hell on earth.
Rider, a satanic pawn whose sole The kicker is the guy who has the
purpose is to, well, collect souls. contract is the Ghost Rider of the
Nevertheless, the devil (a.k.a. previous generation (Sam Elliot,
Mephistopheles) doesn't cash in on "Hulk") who also happens to be
Johnny's contract for a couple of Johnny's ghost-riding mentor. Who
years, at which point Johnny has makes this crap up?
become an avid stunt-motorcyclist A good superhero flick should
- inexplicably coming to terms provide more than just fight
with his father's mode of death - sequences and the development
and quite bitter about his past. of superpowers - how about his
l Cage should be bitter about his character? If Cage had more lines,
clearly digitally enhanced abs, perhaps his character would have
which only remind the viewer that been more appealing, but between
he's actually almost twice as old as the predictable script and his sub-
any other actor playing a superhero. par acting, there's no reason to
That wouldn't matter too much if believe he should - or could - have
Cage wasn't currently stuck in a more to say.

'Listen to me, kid. If you're going to make it in D.C., you need a good tailor. That off-the-rack shit from Nordstrom isn't goingto cut it."
Sympathy for the devil
BADASS CHRIS COOPER TANGOS WITH RUSSIA IN 'BREACH'

By IMRAN SYED
DailyArts Writer
The case of Robert Hanssen, the most disas-
trous turncoat in U.S. history, is probably still
hanging somewhere in the
back of most of our minds. In
the golden age before terror-
ism, when the bad guys stillB
drank vodka, Hanssen sold U.S. Brech
secrets to the Soviets for more At Quality16
than 20 years until his arrest and Showcase
in February 2001. His story is
of self-destruction of the high- Universal
est order, perfectly invoked
by Chris Cooper ("Syriana")
and even more masterfully conceived by writer/
director Billy Ray ("Shattered Glass").
Though urban legend often dismisses him as a
subpar agent who sold secrets just to feel impor-
tant, Hanssen was in fact brilliant. Hiding a trail
in a building full of hounds isn't easy, and it would
take nothing short of genius to pull off once what
Hanssen did hundreds of times. Knowing the
weaknesses of the FBI inside out, Hanssen was
nearly untouchable - until the arrival of a young

agent named Eric O'Neill (Ryan Phillippe, "Flags
of Our Fathers").
Assigned to be Hanssen's secretary, O'Neill's
real mission is to note his boss's every move and
report back to agency superiors. He isn't even
told what he's to watch for, only that Hanssen is
a "sexual deviant" who may bring shame to the
agency. But after months of stalking a man who
goes to church every morning at 6 a.m. and seem-
ingly has nothing in his life but a job and a loving
family, Eric finally lets his guard down. And of
course, that's when it hits him.
Cooper's portrayal of Hanssen's twisted
genius, his unbearable need for approval and
perpetual loneliness is flawless. He is abetted
in no small part by Ray, who previously told the
story of an almost-as-manipulative, broken man
(Hayden Christensen as infamous plagiarist Ste-
phen Glass) in "Shattered Glass." The union of
a director who understands supreme deception
and an actor who unflinchingly melts into the
mold of a master deceiver creates a near-perfect
thriller.
Given that the film doesn't attempt to hide
its ultimate outcome (the opening gives it away
even for those who can't remember the pre-Sept.

11 world), it's impossible to fathom how it could
manage so much tension and create a plot so
taut. Much like he did in "Shattered Glass" and
subsequently as a co-writer for "Flightplan," Ray
makes character flaws, mistakes and triumphs
the film's focus - so much so that the story itself
becomes almost secondary. And that's the key in
a drama about consummately human fallacies -
never let the storytelling overshadow the charac-
ters, whose real actions are far more devastating
than anything a writer could come up with.
For his part, Phillippe is also at his best,
though overshadowed by the consuming pres-
ence of Cooper's traitor. He's the hero of this
story, without whose daring efforts investigators
would never have had the evidence to convict
Hanssen, and yet we oddly find ourselves root-
ing against him.
This is because Ray succeeds not only in
building Hanssen up as the ultimate in fraud
and guile, he also manages to make him touch-
ingly real and human. The fact that this film can
take even a nefarious traitor like Hannsen and
cut strictly to his innermost motivations while
avoiding imminent judgment marks it as a rare
accomplishment.

Midwest fable as sweet and simple as its name

By BLAKE GOBLE
Daily Arts Writer
Sometimes earnestness is
enough.
To be sure,""weet Land" is about
many things. It's
about respect
for heritage
and elders. It's
about language Sweet Land
as a struggle. It'sAthe
about love, in a Atthe
rare and incor- Michigan
ruptible form.But Theater
mostimportant, it Libero
adds up simply to
a delightful and
comforting experience.
Told as an elongated flashback,
"Sweet Land" reminisces upon a
Minnesota couple's first meeting
and the importance of their bond
on future generations. Inga (Eliza-

beth Reaser, "Stay") arrives in the
United States in 1920, a German
emigre moving to a barren and rel-
atively colonial Minnesota to meet
her arranged husband Olaf (Tim
Guinee, "Ladder 49"). Inga antici-
pates a great American man, but
Olaf is everything his name alludes
to - Norwegian, oafish, shy, manly
and somewhat isolated.
Kind but naive, Inga couldn't
be more irresistible. She's a good
woman, but her new straight-laced
communitycavestopost-WorldWar
I xenophobia. The town assumes in
its Norwegian immigrant mindset
that Inga, being German, is a lust-
ful and ungodly socialist.
Olaf and Inga's engagement is
stalled - before she can wed, Inga
must assimilate. She needs her
paperwork and, even more difficult,
she has to act in a manner respect-
ful of her new Minnesota farmland.

With the aid of a close neighbor,
Frandsen (the scene-stealing Alan
Cumming, "X2: X-Men United"),
and the couple's good natures, Inga
So cute you just
want to pinch its
cheeks.
and Olaf slowly attain acceptance.
So what makes the simple story
of "Sweet Land" a step above most
period-pieceromances?Notawhole
lot. At times itimitates familiar ter-
ritory asa romance about overcom-
ing strife, but what individuates
the film is its subtle aspirations and
easy affability. It's hard to find an
experience this heart-warming and

compassionate.
Modestly made (a mere $1 miu-
lion budget with numerous produc-
ers), "Sweet Land" is a work of pure
heart. First-timer Ali Selim directs
with a generosity for both the
material and his characters, allow-
ing Inga and Olaf to unite slowly
and almost lyrically. Set against a
serene corn-stack-filled landscape
and highlighted by touches of the
nostalgic sepia and golden open
land, the film feels like a living
Andrew Wyeth painting.
"Sweet Land" somehow over-
comes the contemporary cynicism
of filmed romance, separated by its
simple and likeable material. The
contrivances of liberal idealism
and possibly too-cute moments are
questionable, but ultimately for-
givable. It's not a romance of false
pretenses, but a product of genuine
care.


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