Nochnoi Dozor (Night Watch)
This all-Russian import, directed by Timur Berkmambetov, opens in the 1600s when the armies of Light confront the armies of Darkness on a bridge and neither will yield, even though both have the support of humans with special powers called Others fighting for them. What follows is a short but impressive battle of men-in-arms until the stalemate forces a truce and a pact—from now on, the side of the Light will patrol the night as Night Watchers, and the side of the Dark will patrol the day as Day Watchers to make sure that neither side forces an Other to join them. The decision to join (and fight for) the dark or light must be made by the Other. Now jump to modern day Moscow where we meet Anton Gorodetsky (Konstantin Khabensky), who is visiting a witch to have her put a curse on his ex-girlfriend. Caught in the act, the witch is arrested by the Night Watch for "practicing without a license" and lo and behold, Anton turns out to be an Other who chooses to work for Night Watch. Throw in a few vampires, a cursed women with a vortex over her head that might end the world, and one significant Other who must choose between light and dark, and you have one very different (although convoluted) story. The filming of Night Watch is one of the strengths of this film, as is the tongue-in-cheek humor with a truck the Night Watchers drive that I came to call "The Batmobile." Another interesting strength was the use of sub-titles. Most films have subtitles stagnate along the bottom of the screen, but in Night Watch, the words fade in and out with the tone and pitch of the Russian voices or, my favorite, came straight from the actor's mouth when one character yelled. The convoluted plot, which really becomes too much for the third act, is the major weakness. I would have removed the end-of-the-world plot with the "vortex lady" and simply stuck with the choice the special Other had to make between good and evil—the real and strongest story here. Also note that this film is being marketed as a vampire film here in the Untied States and it's not! But all things considered, its not enough to pan Night Watch. If you are in the mood for something really different, try to find this in a theater or, soon, I'm sure, look for it on DVD. One last note, while this film is just now making it to the United States, it was originally released in 2004, so there's a chance our European readers have already seen it.

The Ninth Gate
A two hour set up with no payoff. A long time to wait for nothing!

The Number 23
Even Joel Schumacher's extensive directing experience (2000's Tiger Land, 1999's 8 MM, 1997's Batman and Robin, 1987's The Lost Boys to name a few) couldn't save a script that gets tangled in itself. Walter Sparrow (Jim Carrey) is an ordinary man, a dog catcher, living an ordinary life, until one day a dog bite makes him late for a meeting with his wife (Virginia Madsen) who begins browsing in a bookstore where she finds a self-published manuscript that she buys for Walter to read. Walter soon becomes obsessed with and identifies with the story's protagonist (Detective Fingerling, also played by Carrey) and the Number 23. It doesn't take long for Walter to come to believe that the book is about him and that he will become the character/killer he is reading about. Schumacher takes us into the Number 23 manuscript by having the main characters (Carrey, Madsen) also play the roles in the book, which he distinguishes from the ordinary world with a black and white, almost graphic novel, stylish hue. But it doesn't take long to realize that neither Walter's nor Fingerling's stories are riveting enough alone nor together. A final attempt is made at the end to hit us with a surprise that seems more contrived then natural with too many unanswered questions. But still, it's too little too late. There's nothing wrong with Carrey in the leading role, in spite of his fame as a comedian. Two of my favorite Carrey roles are as The Cable Guy, where he plays a psychotic, and Andy Kaufman from 1999's Man in the Moon, where he plays the famous tragic comedian. My point is that the only place left to point a finger for what's wrong with this film is the script. And it's too late to fix that.