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Back Shelf Beauties
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The Jacket Since winning the Oscar and lip-locking with Halle Berry (lucky guy!), Adrian Brody has been nowhere. Yes, he was very good in The Village, but it was a supporting role. I like Brody and his normal looks. Plus, he can flat out act. Brody stars as Jack - a Gulf War vet who suffers from an injury sustained in the war zone. A year later, he is wandering around Vermont, when a cop is murdered, and he is held responsible. After a trial, Jack is found to be Not Guilty By Reason of Insanity, and sent to a mental care facility where he becomes the subject of a strange experiment conducted by Doctor Becker (Kris Kristofferson). During one of the treatments, Jack thinks he has seen into the future, and it's not looking good for him. What has Jack seen? Can he stop it? The Jacket is a cool psychological thriller with great acting and a story that keeps you guessing. This is Brody's chance to remind us why he is one of the most talented actors in Hollywood, and he delivers. Brody elicits great sympathy from the audience as we worry about his character's fate, and try to discern what is real and what might be a figment of his imagination. He brings the right balance of anger, confusion, sadness and madness to get you wrapped up in the story. While The Jacket is a bit low key and could use more franticness, director John Maybury keeps the mystery moving forward. He keeps us guessing with cool editing that shows us rapid flashes of Jack's memory, but we can't tell what's real, imagined, past or future. This helps create the needed tension that keeps you interested until the end. Co-star Keira Knightley is along for the ride without much to do, but plays a mysterious love interest for Jack (Brody still gets some hot lovin' when he's in the insane asylum?!?! Damn, he's not that hot, is he?). Check out The Jacket this weekend if you want something different or Be Cool is sold out. 3 Waffles (Out Of 4) Copyright 2005 - WaffleMovies.com
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