The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3

Simple enough remake of a 70s hostage thriller with Walter Matthua pitted against Robert Shaw here revisioned as Denzel Washington and John Travolta vehicle has opening momentum before sputtering in the final act. Well made in the Tony Scott signature style of whoosh-editing and dropped or frozen frames The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 is a one-time affair. Once you've seen it you'll feel no need to revisit familiar terrain.
The film relentlessly pounds like a love letter ode to modern day New York City only with razor sharp editing, slowed down and distorted with an end effect that blurs or otherwise obscures the skyscraper landscape. There are occasional flourishes but nothing that elevates the film to, say, Speed-level suspense.
Washington (meek at first anyway civil servant Walter Garber) operates the mic at the subway transit command center that overseas the Lexington Street line that includes the Pelham car that's been hijacked by Ryder (Travolta who gets off a few angry lines) and his crew. The whole verbal negotiation, aside from brief appearances by police negotiator John Turturro and mayor James Gandolfini, consists of Ryder and Garber probing each other's psyche. At times Scott seems to add life to the characters of the hostages, a genre convention that worked in films like Red Eyer or Speed, but beyond a few lines (one guy needs to pee, another woman asks the big dude to help) the prisoners of the train are sketchy.
One main difference in the remake involves Garber's past and this leads to a resolution in the third act that is meant to redeem him. Without going into specifics that's where the film really derails. Things are tense during the first two-thirds but once the movie leaves the tunnel for the George Washington Bridge the action becomes rote.

Away We Go

Away We Go, a middle-of-the-road movie from Sam Mendes, charts the lightly comic path of a young couple about to embark on the journey of parenthood. Burt Farlander (an agreeable John Krasinski) and Verona De Tessant (Maya Rudolph also agreeable if not downright charming) are a common law duo who intend to become life partners. They won't actually marry for reasons that become apparent during the final act.
The roadtrip consists of hooking up with family and old friends at distinct locales across North America and gives the film an episodic structure. For better or worse the different destinations vary in comic intensity and dramatic depth. Away We Go works as a directorial diversion and arthouse workhorse. The timing is too delicate and the tone way to somber to work as a mainstream comedy.
I'm a big fan of Mendes, like all of his stuff especially his recent Revolutionary Road. Likewise Away We Go fits smoothly into my cinematic watch list but may be a tad persnickety to audiences wanting something more funny and less philosophizing. In other words, thank goodness for a dramedy that at least makes headway against the grain. Mendes does appear to be coasting along as far as injecting the tragic human element that dominates some of his films (American Beauty, Revolutionary Road).
For AWG Medes displays a smooth production touch that allows the drama to flow from merry to serious. A friendly font displays the title in caps along with the various destinations throughout the movie.
Events proceed from levity to dull reality as Burt and Verona are put to pasture by his parents. B&V expect the parents to kind of take care of them during the pregnancy or at least offer solace. Instead the zany elders (Catherine O'Hara and Jeff Daniels) announce they are moving to Europe. An afternoon with the immature Burt and you don't blame them. Next stop takes the roving pair to Arizona to hook up with married with children friends Lily and Lowell (Allison Janney and Jim Gaffigan). This would be the high point of hilarity with Janney making flagrant fun of her kids. The resulting trip decreases in comedy as the characters we meet have the kind of serious flaws that we hope Burt and Verona will avoid. In particular Maggie Gyllenhaal steals one sequence as a new age mom with stroller issues.
Away We Go offers charm to go along with the hip appeal of a road adventure. There's a sense of stillness as opposed to movement during the last part when B&V have finally found their nest.