THE COUNSELOR

"Be careful about getting in over your head" is a simple message that's common in life, in movies, and certainly in The Counselor.  This drama has a terrific cast in a very formulaic story.

The Counselor (Michael Fassbender) seems to have it all: rich friends, extravagant lifestyle, and a beautiful girlfriend named Laura (Penelope Cruz), for whom he buys a very expensive diamond engagement ring.  But he's also getting involved with his friends -- the carefree Reiner (Javier Bardem) and the far more cautious Westray (Brad Pitt) -- with a huge deal involving a Mexican drug cartel and a cocaine shipment worth millions.  Despite Reiner and Westray trying to scare the Counselor with tales of how ruthless the cartel is, the Counselor is all in.  And Malkina (Cameron Diaz), Reiner's girlfriend from Barbados, is a sexual, amoral, greedy being who Reiner rightly fears is smarter than him.

Of course, the drug deal quickly goes south, as the shipment (hidden in an old sewage truck) keeps switching hands.  The Counselor panicks, as his confidence and friends quickly abandon him.  And those horror stories about the cartel weren't exaggerated...

The Counselor is a fairly ordinary movie.  With a screenplay from Cormac McCarthy (whose No Country for Old Men was far superior), we wind up with a protagonist who spends the whole movie running around not knowing what to do.  There are plenty of contrasts -- the innocent Laura and the scheming Malkina, the seemingly expensive world of the main characters and the dirty poverty of those handling the truck with its dangerous, expensive cargo -- but in the end it's watching someone dabbling in a dangerous world he's unprepared to handle.  The cast is very good, yet their roles are pretty one-dimensional.  And the movie's frequent departures into theories and philosophy (including a discussion with a cartel leader that's all about creating worlds) often feels quite artificial.  The Counselor has some interesting elements, such as the contrasts and often telling instead of showing what could happen, but it's still pretty routine.

Overall grade: C
Reviewed by James Lynch

NINE

Nine, the movie based on the play Nine based on Fellini's movie 8 1/2, is supposed to be about inspiration, fame, and the art of making art. That's somewhat easy to miss with all the bumping and grinding.

Writer-director Guido Contini (Daniel Day-Lewis) is an Italian legend, recognized by everyone and often called "Maestro." He's also a wreck: His last two movies were flops, he's set to start filming his ninth movie -- Italia -- in ten days despite not having written a word, and he has panic attacks and writer's block.

Then there are the women. Contini is surrounded by beautiful women, a temptation he often succumbs to. There's his long-suffering wife Luisa (Marillon Cotillard), his married mistress Carla (Penelope Cruz), and the beautiful fashion reporter Stephanie (Kate Hudson, taking a role from romantic comedies to sing and dance here). Flashbacks also show Contini's mother (Sophia Loren) and the prostitute Saraghina (Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas). The only non-model-beauty is costume designer Lilli (Judy Dench) -- and even she gets a cabaret number.

The musical numbers in Nine are woven into the action, usually as Contini reflects on his past or fantasized about his present. These musical numbers are almost all burlesque -- plenty of corsets, lingerie, and the aforementioned bumping and grinding -- but they're more arousing than rousing. The songs are entertaining at the time but forogtten soon after.

There's not much to the story either. Daniel Day-Lewis downplays Contini, showing us little of the talent that made him such a legend and repeats his wastrel ways over and over. Most of the actresses are there as singing and dancing eye candy; the notable exception is Cotillard, who brings depth and dignity to the wife who knows about her husband's lies and finds it harder and harder to ignore them.

Director Rob Marshall seems to settle for the glamour of women rather than reveal anything about the artist (or, for that matter, Italy). This makes Nine feel superficial, with some nice visuals but not a whole lot more.

Overall grade: C-
Reviewed by James Lynch