“Eagle Eye” and a Farewell to Paul Newman  

While watching the new techno thriller “Eagle Eye,” I couldn’t help but be reminded of older, better movies such as “Wargames,” “Enemy of the State,” “The Conversation,” and even “2001 A Space Odyssey,” to name a few of the movies that this Steven Speilberg production rips off. 

This film is so profoundly ridiculous that it substitutes a semi-logical plotline and replaces it with loud noises and special effects.

The film centers on the adventures of Jerry Shaw (played with little enthusiasm by rising actor Shia LaBeouf) and a woman named Rachel Holloman (Michelle Monaghan, whose character is useless) who are paired together by a mysterious woman who wants to use them and a group of others to assassinate the President and members of the Senate.  

Billy Bob Thornton is the FBI agent assigned to capture Jerry Shaw after the mystery woman frames him for being a terrorist. First thing is, if the mysterious voice on the phone needs Jerry Shaw to get from point A to Point B without anyone noticing, why frame him for being a terrorist. I think the FBI on your tail would hinder your plan a little, and the only reason the Rachel Holloman character is in the film it to give Shia someone to talk to when they are not running away from the Feds.

And when the film’s big twist comes to light (a twist that you can figure out quick, real quick), it makes the entire film seem pointless, considering the fact that the mystery woman could have done things a much easier and simpler way instead of jumping through so many hoops.  

Then there is the bland acting throughout, the aforementioned Shia LeBeouf. Michelle Monaghan’s performance consists of making scared faces and whining about her son. Billy Bob Thornton’s performance is just a rip off of Tommy Lee Jones in “The Fugitive,” and poorly done at that (it is shameful that the actor that gave such riveting performances in “Sling Blade,” “Monsters Ball” and “A Simple Plan” has recently been reduced to nothing, with all of the nonsense he has been doing lately). And Rosario Dawson looks as if she regretted taking the role and seems uncomfortable in every scene.  

Don’t get me wrong. I love action movies that are completely preposterous, but most of those films know what they are and don’t take themselves seriously. This film is so bogged down on how important it thinks it is, there is no way to sit back and have fun with it. One out of four stars.

On Sunday, Sept. 28, Hollywood suffered a great loss by the death of legendary actor Paul Newman. Newman set a new standard for cool back in his early roles and a calm understanding in his later roles.

He was also an actor who, no matter how bad the movie was (like “Message in a Bottle”), would give an elegant performance and would take that movie and make it more than it was. 

Here are just a few of the classic films that Mr. Newman was a part of:

- “The Hustler” (1961), Robert Rossen’s masterful tale about poolroom hustler “fast” Eddie Felson and his downward spiral, featuring top-notch performances by Piper Laurie, George C. Scott and the great Jackie Gleason as the infamous Minnesota Fats.  This film earned nine Academy Award nominations and won two.

-“Torn Curtain” (1966), Alfred Hitchcock’s underrated gem about an American scientist who defects to Eastern Europe to steal a formula. This tense film features one of Hitchcock’s favorite death scenes: Newman is trying to kill someone, which takes longer than it should.

-“Cool Hand Luke” (1967), Stuart Rosenberg’s classic (and one of my favorite films) about Luke (Newman) who makes an impression among inmates on a chain gang and becomes a hero to them and an enemy to the guards. The film earned four Academy Award nominations and won one for George Kennedy’s supporting performance. This film would also become a staple in Paul Newman’s career.

-“Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” (1969), George Roy Hill’s classic western about two bank robbers (Newman and Robert Redford) who must flee to Bolivia to escape a nefarious bounty hunter. This film is and will always be beloved for its light-hearted tone and quirky sense of humor, and set the standard for any future “buddy” movies that have come out since. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards and winner of four.

-“The Sting” (1973), teaming again with director George Roy Hill, Newman and Redford put a light-hearted spin on this tale of two men playing a con game with a mob boss. This film was nominated for 10 Academy awards and won seven.
-“The Color of Money” (1986), Martin Scorsese’s sequel to 1961’s “The Hustler” continues the tale of “Fast” Eddie Felson, this time teaching a young upstart (Tom Cruise) how to hustle money from other, weaker pool players. This film was nominated for four Academy awards and won one for Mr. Newman’s performance, and after being nominated 10 times, this would be his only Oscar, aside from a honorary award the same year.

-“Nobody’s Fool” (1994), Robert Benton’s comic drama about a scruffy ne’er-do-well who has the love of the small town he lives in but wants the love of his son. This well-written film was nominated for two Academy awards.
With honorable mention to such other classics as “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” “Sometimes a Great Notion,” “The Verdict,” “Mr. and Mrs. Bridge,” “The Hudsucker Proxy” and “Road to Perdition,” Newman’s last big screen film was as part of the voice cast for 2006’s animated tale “Cars,” and he also won great acclaim for his role in the 2005 made-for-cable drama “Empire Falls.”

Paul Newman is an actor who will greatly be missed.