Orange County Register

Borat did not direct “Wanted.”

Fortunately, Russian director Timor Bekmambetov did.

The filmmaker, who hails from the same general region as the fictional Borat, has been called the “Russian Spielberg” for his work on the film “Night Watch.” You probably never saw it, but you will be a lot more familiar with his work after “Wanted” hits theaters next week.

I saw it a couple of nights ago, and I’m still thinking about it. It does have a few believability issues, but if you are able to totally immerse yourself in the willing suspension of disbelief, you’re in for one hell of a ride.

Morgan Freeman plays the head of a cult of ruthless assassins. He enlists one of his best - Angelina Jolie - to recruit a lifeless pencil pusher played by James McAvoy so that he can be trained into a killer to avenge his father’s death.

This might be McAvoy’s best work, and Angie has never looked more tattooed. She looks like she’s having a lot of fun with this popcorn movie, which is a far cry from some of the more serious work she’s been doing lately.

“Wanted” has a definte “Matrix” vibe, with the assassins bending the path of bullets and slowing down time. Yes, it’s far-fetched, but so was “The Matrix.” This Russian director pulls it off, for the most part, and I think it’s going to be regarded as one of the coolest movies of the year.

“The Incredible Hulk” hits theaters on Friday, and I am here to tell you that it is worth seeing.

Do not fear it because of Ang Lee’s 2003 film “Hulk.” The director will be green with envy when he sees what Louis Leterrier has done with the classic Marvel comic-book character.

Not to take away anything from Eric Bana - he’s only as good as his script - but Edward Norton is amazing as the brilliant Dr. Banner.

The movie continues Banner’s story - this is not another origin tale - and the good doctor is hiding from authorities in South America, desperately trying to find an antidote to his unusual condition.

William Hurt and Tim Roth are great as the Hulk’s pursuers, and Liv Tyler does a respectable job as Banner’s love interest. I’m not sure how much I bought her as a physicist, but she is certainly more believable than Denise Richards in a lab coat. 

How many of you remember that Richards, now showing her true colors on reality television, played a nuclear scientist named Dr. Christmas Jones in the 1999 James Bond travesty “The World is Not Enough?”

Anyway, I digress. The acting in “The Incredible Hulk” is spot-on, the action sequences are armchair-gripping and the effects are state-of-the-art. Don’t believe everything you read in the blogosphere. I suspect that many of the bloggers spreading  negative buzz haven’t seen the movie. I have.

Take the Incredible Hulk Quiz

The movie box office was pretty anemic this past weekend (”21,” the fact-based but highly stylized account of the MIT blackjack caper, repeated as the top movie), and I don’t think this coming weekend is going to be any better.

The movie getting all the promotional push this week will be “Street Kings,” the latest James Ellroy book to be translated into the language of Hollywood.

Don’t expect another “L.A. Confidential.” This violent thriller has got to be the dumbest and most ludicrous movie of the year, and I know full well that there are almost nine months left in the year. I can’t imagine any sillier movie (with serious intentions) coming out in the remainder of 2008.

The closest thing to a hero in this film is a homicidal cop played by Keanu Reeves. He maintains the moral high ground while killing his way through the movie. He shoots anything that movies. The rest of the cops in this flick are even worse. They have no scruples at all.

The LAPD, while certainly not a bunch of choir boys, probably deserves better than this. In this movie, the department makes the usual cinematic suspects - Nazis, Islamic terrorists and the Russian mob - pale in comparison when defining evil.

I can’t believe an Oscar winner - Forest Whitaker - actually lowered himself to appear in this movie. I hope it was a really big payday for him. He certainly deserves it, but at what cost to his reputation?

He’s not alone, of course. Hugh Laurie of “House” fame also took the big check.

I’m not going bother with the plot. Who cares? It’s convoluted anyway. I suppose it’s an attempt to give Keanu a “Training Day-like” opportunity, but Reeves is no Denzel Washington and “Street Kings” is no “Training Day,” even though the director of the former is the writer of the latter.

Don’t look for this movie at next year’s Oscars.

If there is one thing we’ve learned over the years, it is that writer-producer Judd Apatow is not perfect.

Oh sure, the head of a movie-making factory that churns out comedies at a torrid pace has his fair share of successes - “The 40-Year-Old Virgin, “Knocked Up” and “Superbad” come to mind - but he’s not infallible. I’m remembering “Kicking & Screaming,” “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story” and “Drillbit Taylor,” which opens today.

But I am happy to report that “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” falls into the former category. This is a very funny movie. Definitely the “Knocked Up” of this comedy season.

It stars, and was written by, Jason Segel. Who, you might be asking yourself, is Jason Segel? He’s the guy pictured above. Look familiar?

Well, if you watch the CBS comedy “How I Met Your Mother,” he is not the lead male character. He is not the second lead male character. He is the goofy married friend who obviously has been hiding his comedic talents. This guy has an engaging screen presence with perfect comedic timing. Move over, Seth Rogen; there’s a new funny sheriff in town. 

In “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” Segel plays a slovenly musician (all of the men in an Apatow comedy are slovenly), whose TV actress girlfriend dumps him. Her name is Sarah Marshall.

In an attempt to get over her, he flies to Hawaii, only to discover that she is vacationing in the same hotel with her new rock star boyfriend. Hilarity ensues. And so does the full frontal male nudity.

Segel appears in the buff at least three times. It’s always played for laughs, but it has guaranteed a more restrictive “R” rating for the comedy - another trademark of most Apatow-produced comedies. The tougher rating generally hurts a film at the box office because it excludes the younger audience, but it allows filmmakers to make the movie they want and not the movie the studio’s marketing people want.

“Forgetting Sarah Marshall” opens April 18.

This is tough time of year for movie lovers. Thanks to an idiotic policy by the major studios, the market is flooded with too many interesting  movies. The trouble is that with the holidays, family obligations, seasonal illnesses and holiday depression, no one has the time or inclination to go to that many movies.

I would like to help a bit, although I’m not sure how much weight you should give my opinions. But for what they’re worth, here are my suggestions as to what you might want to see, and what you might want to avoid, in the coming days.

“Charlie Wilson’s War” - Any movie with Philip Seymour Hoffman is worth seeing. Any movie with Amy Adams is worth seeing. Oh, this movie also has Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts. It’s a lot of fun and, unlike most other movies this holiday, it doesn’t leave you depressed.

“The Savages” - This might depress you, but once again, this is a movie with the aforementioned Mr. Hoffman. And throw in Laura Linney, one of my favorite actresses, and this is worth seeing for serious movie-goers.

“The Great Debaters” -  Denzel Washington directed and stars in this inspirational movie based on real events (Washington has played fast and loose with some of the facts, but has kept to the spirit of the story). Worth seeing. Take the family.

“The Bucket List” - A lot of laughs but be forewarned that it is about two terminally ill men so it’s not all fun and games. But how can you go wrong with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman?  

“Sweeney Todd” - Looks beautiful. Excessively bloody. Too much singing by less-than-Broadway-caliber singers. Johnny Depp is not enough of a reason to see it.

“National Treasure: Book of Secrets” - Entertaining, but not a great movie. More complicated than it needs to be.

“I Am Legend” - A lot of fun, and even scary in parts.

“The Kite Runner” - One of my favorite movies of the year. Not a comedy.

“Atonement” - An excellent movie with an ending that I found disappointing. Therefore, falls short of greatness.

“There Will Be Blood” - Epic in scope and length. One of the year’s best. Not a laugh riot.

“Juno” - Although serious subject matter (teen pregnancy), this movie is a hoot. Watch a star being born (Ellen Page). 

Saw the first public screening anywhere of the big action sequel of the holiday season - “National Treasure: Book of Secrets.” Director Jon Turteltaub said he completed the film only a few days before the screening, and insisted that nobody had seen it except for those people who figured to get rich from its success. I assume he meant studio executives, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and star Nicolas Cage.

Cage was noticably absent from the Friday-night screening, but many of his co-stars were in attendance, including the beautiful Diane Kruger (she looks just as good from three feet away as she does on the big screen) and Jon Voight.

Come to think of it, I shouldn’t assume that Cage wasn’t there just because I didn’t see him. His publicist is already mad at me for an earlier incident, and I don’t want to get in a bigger dog house than I’m already in with her.

Anyway, the movie’s a lot of fun, even with a few plot holes big enough to drive that new airbus through. I spoke with Oscar-winner Helen Mirren yesterday (she plays Cage’s mother in the film) and she said the filmmakers went to great lengths to make sure that the plot made total sense. When I joked that there were a few elements that seemed far-fetched, she responded: “It is a fantasy, after all.”

Good point.

The movie focuses on Cage’s quest to find a new treasure to prove that one of his ancestors was not the mastermind behind the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.

The movie opens Dec. 21, and should be one of the big hits of the season.

Denzel Washington is the star of the number one movie in the country this week - “American Gangster.”

One would think that the Oscar-winner should sit back and rest on his laurels. But Denzel Washington is not  the resting-on-his-laurels type. In fact, he will be back on the big screen Christmas Day with his next film, “The Great Debaters.” He is not only the star of the film, but he directed it. I believe that is the opposite of resting on your laurels.

“The Great Debaters,” produced by Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Films, is the true story of Melvin B. Tolson and his celebrated debate team from tiny Wiley College in Texas. In 1935, the team from the black college beat the nation’s top-rated team from Harvard University. Forest Whitaker co-stars in the film.

I saw the movie last night and I think it is a smart, dignified and important film that everyone should see.

Of course, Denzel is terrific in his portrayal as Tolson, but I can’t tell you how impressed I was with his direction. This is a talented man. He does two things better than I do one.

I’ve warned you about the quote-meisters. These are the so-called movie critics who will say anything to get their names in a print ad. They don’t care that you have to spend actual money to see the films they tout. The get to see the movies for free at pre-release screenings. They only care that studio marketing people spell their names correctly.

Well, the quote-meisters are at it again, this time with the new movie “American Gangster.” Denzel Washington plays real-life 1970s Harlem drug kingpin Frank Lucas and Russell Crowe plays the honest cop who tries to bring him down.

The movie is expected to be number one at the box office this weekend, and it is entertaining. But do not be fooled - it’s not as good as some of the quote-meisters claim.

“One of the best movies of the year!” - Richard Roeper.

“Every bit as epic as “The Godfather.” - Pete Hammond, Maxim magazine.

“Goodfellas” for the next generation.” - Ben Lyons E!.

These guys need to cut back on their medication. To compare this movie to “The Godfather” (arguably the best movie ever made) and “Goodfellas” (the third-best gangster movie ever made, behind the first two “Godfathers”) is ludicrous. “American Gangster” is not even “Scarface.”

Oh, it’s long enough to be an epic, but length does not make an epic. It’s a fun movie, and you’ll probably enjoy it, but do NOT expect another “Godfather,” “Goodfellas” or “Scarface.” If you do, you’ll be disappointed.

In a previous post, I discussed the apparent lack of audience interest in political films such as “Rendition,” “In the Valley of Elah” and “The Kingdom.”

Well, I’ve seen two more since then, and I strongly suspect that these new films will not change the prevailing mood. Nobody wants to watch movies on subjects still being displayed in daily headlines. Or perhaps no filmmaker has come up with the right approach.

The latest filmmaker to try is Robert Redford, who has directed the star-studded “Lions for Lambs,” which opens Nov. 9. 

Tom Cruise stars as a hawkish U.S. Senator who reveals a new military strategy in Afghanistan to a veteran reporter played by Meryl Streep. Redford plays a college professor who is trying to persuade a promising college student to buckle down so he doesn’t wind up in harm’s way like two of his former students. The stories are intertwined, but together don’t really feel like a movie. It’s more like an avant-garde stage play, or even an op-ed piece. 

The second political film I saw was writer-director Richard Kelly’s “Southland Tales,” which stars Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as an action star suffering from amnesia, Sarah Michelle Gellar as a porn star and Seann William Scott as a police officer who plays a key role in a conspiracy.

“Southland Tales” takes place in the present, but it’s not the present. It’s a speculative future in which Texas has been victimized by a nuclear attack, and the rest of the nation has become a police state. California will provide the deciding vote in an important election, and becomes a battlefield between right-wing forces and violent Marxists based in Hermosa Beach.

If you think you’re confused now, wait until you see the movie. This has got to be the weirdest movie of the year, and this is the year of “Lars and the Perfect Girl.”

Of course, “Lars” will be seriously discussed at Oscar time. I doubt that “Southland Tales” will be on anyone’s lips by then.

I’m still waiting for the next great political film that deals with a post-Sept. 11, 2001 world. They’re starting to come in bunches, but if none of them make money, Hollywood may be reticent to finance such ventures. If that’s the case, the wait could be considerable.

If you had to guess which of the following actors would make the next great vigilante movie, who would you choose?

a.Clint Eastwood

b. Charles Bronson

c.  Steven Seagal

d. Jodie Foster

e. Kevin Bacon

If you answered “a,” you would be wrong. There are no new “Dirty Harry” movies being planned. If you guessed “b,” you would be wrong again because no new “Death Wish” films are in the works. And, of yeah, Bronson (pictured here) passed away four years ago. If you answered “c,” you would be very wrong because Seagal’s film career has slowed considerably.

Yes, it was a trick question. Both ”d” or “e” could be the right answer, depending on whether you prefer Bacon’s “Death Sentence,” which opens Aug. 31, or Foster’s “The Brave One,” which will hit theaters on Sept. 14.

In “Death Sentence,” Bacon plays the quintessential family man who goes Rambo after his son is murdered by gang members. Foster channels Bronson in “The Brave One” after becoming a street crime victim. There are whispers of a possible Oscar nomination for Foster, but when was the last time there were not whispers of an Oscar nomination for Foster? She’s Oscar-worthy even when the movie stinks.

And she is indeed terrific in this role. And Bacon is pretty amazing in his role as well. Trust me, this is no “Footloose.”

The funny thing is that both actors hated using the words “vigilante movie” when they discussed their new films with me. Take my word on this - they’re both vigilante movies.

I wonder how you feel about vigilante/revenge movies, particularly in this post 9/11 climate? Let me know. What are your favorites? Is it “Mad Max?” Is it “Batman Begins?” Is it “Kill Bill, Vol. 1?” I’m waiting to hear.