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I ran into The Package on TV the other night and was pleasantly entertained. I'm quite surprised not to have heard about this movie since it has a star-studded cast and a renowned director. Maybe the reason for being relatively unknown is the film's genre, the political thriller. Anyways, The Package is a solid film with a good pace and a story that probably was more relevant back in the day but still enjoyable today. As for the actors, Gene Hackman stands out of course, he's always been good at portraying military characters. It's amazing to see his ability to bring intensity on the screen, especially when it comes to face-to-face confrontations. His scenes with John Heard are good examples of this and he will bring this to another level with Denzel Washington in Crimson Tide. It was also interesting to see Tommy Lee Jones in a bad guy role earlier in his career. For fans of Hackman and Jones The Package is a must see, for others it's a safe bet for worthy entertainment.

Elegy is a beautiful film. Quite possibly Isabelle Quixet's most accomplished and mature work to date. She might explore similar themes over and over again but still she manages to put on a new layer of meaning each time. This time it's about the possibility of love beyond age and the difficulties of commitment. Elegy is a character driven piece, one that draws its power from the dialogues and interplays of the actors. An important part of the director's job is to bring out the best from his or her actors. Isabelle Quixet pulls this off brilliantly. Ben Kingsley gives one of the greatest performances of his career as the professor who is trying to get in terms with ageing. He had a really difficult job because he had to convince the viewer that even at his age he is man enough to seduce a beautiful young woman played by Penelope Cruz. Kingsley succeeds no doubt because never for a minute during the film have I thought that their relationship wouldn't ring true or seemed unrealistic. Penelope Cruz brings her usual charm and grace to the film and as it is said in the movie she is a work of art. I don't remember seeing her more beautiful than in Elegy. It would be blasphemous no to mention the supporting cast as well Patricia Clarkson, Peter Sarsgaard and Dennis Hopper all bring their best to make the film work. It was especially good to see Mr Hopper in a meaningful role. The music and cinematography should be mentioned too because they each contribute a lot to the overall experience. I must admit I left the theatre deeply moved and thought about the movie for several days. Strongly recommended for those who appreciate movies that have the courage to be slow, dialogue-driven and emotional.

Following their hugely successful and equally brilliant No Country for Old Men the Coens have returned to their all too familiar territory: the black comedy. The good news is that their approach was different than in case of Intolerable Cruelty and The Ladykillers, which were in my view lesser works for their mass appeal oriented humor. With Burn After Reading the biting satire is back: plastic surgery, internet dating, body building/shaping, the marriage-adultery-divorce triangle and even the CIA are all targets that get their fair share of the Coens' poisoned arrows. As always, a terrific cast supports this endeavor. First and foremost Brad Pitt has to receive special credit, not only for being the funniest of the lot but for willingly making a complete fool of himself for the role and doing it brilliantly. Actually this shouldn't come as a great surprise since he was equally hilarious as Mickey in Snatch and also as Jeffrey in Twelve Monkeys but this time he's funny in a completely different way. And this is a quality great actors share: always showing something new, something we haven't seen before. As for the rest of the cast it seems that the males got the funnier parts, Malkovich is great, Clooney is good (somewhat reminiscent of the character he played in O, Brother), while Frances McDormand could've been funnier (her name is spot on though). Other highlights include all the scenes that take place at the CIA (the concluding dialog between JK Simmons and David Rasche is a killer) and the first phone conversation between Pitt and Malkovich is deadly, too. So, what we get is a true Coen-style black comedy that provides numerous laughs and altogether great entertainment. And if you want to search for something meaningful beneath all this fun, you'll find that the movie is about how egoistic, lonely and lost we are when we elbow each other out of the way to accomplish our petty goals. It may not be as strong as The Big Lebowski but nonetheless proves that when it comes to sarcastic humor the Coens still stand way above the rest.