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Hugo

2012-02-21T12:58:00.000-08:00

Martin Scorsese's latest film, Hugo, is a wonder of whirring gears and Parisian light. It's a little difficult to say exactly what this film is about, except to say that there is a little boy who lives in the clock tower who fixes clocks, and, in relationships he develops before our eyes, he fixes people as well.

Hugo becomes an orphan when his father (Jude Law) died at the museum one day and his uncle comes to claim him. His uncle puts the boy into the clock tower and then is never seen again. Hugo keeps the clocks running, and steals food at the train station in order to live. But he also tries to steal mechanical toys, which are put out to entice customers by the shopkeeper (Ben Kingsley). Most of the action takes place in this French rail station, including chase scenes involving the station's gendarme (Sacha Baron Cohen) and the boy.

But there are several secrets that will be revealed during the running of the film, as the drama plays out in relationships between the boy and the toy shopkeeper as well as the shopkeeper's granddaughter. While I won't reveal these secrets, most of them have to do with the beginning of the art of the motion picture.

I found the movie quite show-moving, a bit boring, in the telling. However, most of my friends who have seen the movie adored it, loved the slow evolvement, and one even thought it one of the most perfect movies she had ever seen.

The delights are in the characterizations, particularly Sacha Baron Cohen as the policeman in the rail station. He gets plenty of film time, and if you're used to him being overbearingly tasteless, this is a different Cohen, an actor who is magnificent as physical comedy.

I felt the film needed the comedy bits because the entire mood is terribly serious and I was put off by that. But Scorsese's films are always visually arresting, and in 3D, this is triply so. And Scorsese obviously loved dealing with a matter close to his heart, the preservation of the history of film.

Thumb's up.

Drive

2012-02-20T17:29:00.000-08:00

Drive is a perfect little movie.

A young man (Ryan Gosling) is a Hollywood stuntman on the occasional day, as well as a mechanic, but a getaway driver by night. The best in this nefarious business, he gives everyone a little speech before he works for them, telling exactly what he will do and what he won't do. No one gets close, except for his auto mechanic boss (Bryan Cranston), who sets him up for jobs. And all goes smoothly until he meets the woman who lives down the hall in his apartment building, and her young son.

We never do find out The Driver's name, but then again, that's how he would like it. Totally walled off from human emotion, he goes about his business being perfect and contained. When he meets the demure Irene (Carey Mulligan), however, something in him wants to take care of her and her son, Benicio. It's this strange caring feeling that carries over to her boyfriend who gets out of prison (played by Oscar Isaac), when The Driver offers to help pry him away from the mob's control.

There is no role in The Driver that is small and unimportant, and every actor plays each role perfectly. Oscar Isaac (lately of Sucker Punch), for instance, could be the hardass criminal, but instead shows an honesty, a sincere, caring side that helps The Driver decide that he must protect this growing family. And you'll be surprised when you see Albert Brooks as one of the mob guys. Brooks' and Perlman's characters are interestingly Siamese twins, partners in crime, and it's intriguing to see how that works, and how nasty it gets.

Of course, Gosling and Mulligan are the ones to watch. Gosling has such few lines, and Mulligan has very little to do. But it's how they do it. Stunning.

There is one scene that is very telling of their relationship, a scene in an elevator with no dialogue at all. The Driver and Irene enter the elevator at their apartment building with another unknown man. The Driver recognizes the danger, and gently pushes Irene aside, and then launches himself on the stranger, beating him over and over, until he's a pulpish, bloody mass. Irene backs away from the elevator when the doors open, horrified at the scene and at this man she was beginning to know.

Thumb's up.

The Debt

2012-02-01T19:44:00.000-08:00

The movie opens as three Israeli heroes disembark the cargo craft in Tel Aviv. Everyone shakes hands, everyone smiles. The movie then flashes back to reveal what actually happened that made these two young men and a woman so celebrated.

So, I thought, I've already seen this, they've told us what happened, so why would they show it again? Except I was wrong. What took place isn't what I was expecting at all.

And when we flash forward some 40 years later, Helen Mirren takes over for the young Rachel. She's got the accent, the fire in the eyes. The two other actors playing the mature versions of the young men aren't as fortunate. Tom Wilkinson, one of our finest, and most prolific, actors today, totally carries off the mannerisms and even speech patterns of young Stephan, but he looks nothing like him. Ciaran Hinds plays the other older version, David, and doesn't quite convince us.

But don't let that put you off. The drama is alive, the tension is tough to take, and the acting is superb. One of the main reasons I wanted to see this film was because of Marton Csokas, who is a charismatic actor, but they're all good. And I'm now convinced that Worthington can act, something his previous outings (Avatar, Clash of the Titans) failed to do. And Jessica Chastain, who plays young Rachel -- well, you can't keep your eyes off her. And it becomes evident from the first time we see her that young Rachel is the focal point of the movie.

There were several scenes in the 1960's sequences that were really hard to watch. Not torture, but exposure to pure evil. But rather than make me avert my eyes, those scenes allowed me to identify with Rachel and feel for her.

But don't think that Mirren doesn't get her chances. The last several minutes of the film are devoted to her, when the older Rachel must become a Mossad agent once again. Riveting.

Thumb's up.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

2012-01-23T20:28:00.001-08:00

I write this review knowing I haven’t read the acclaimed Millennium books by Stieg Larsson, or watched the original movie made in Sweden, but I really don’t think that matters. In all three versions, I imagine we’ve found one of the most original female characters ever written in Lisbeth Salander.

This is a dark film, but that’s what to expect from director David Fincher (Aliens 3, Zodiac, The Social Network) and apparently from the source material. And it’s a murder mystery to boot. Knowing that, I still wanted to see it, and I’m glad – perhaps that’s the wrong word – I saw it. It’s clearly one of the best movies of 2011.

Mikael (played by Daniel Craig) is a journalist whose career is in ruins because of a poorly sourced news magazine article. As he holes up to lick his wounds, he’s offered a well-paying job by Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer), who asks him to solve a 40-year-old murder mystery. As almost an afterthought, Henrik warns Mikael that his family members are monsters. And, almost without exception, they are: Nazi sympathizers, bigots, fearful of strangers, well-educated rednecks who don’t mind human targets, if necessary.

The mystery gets under your skin very quickly. It’s quite intriguing, but the whole thing is brought together by the goodness and passivity of Mikael and the raw, intense intelligence and viciousness of what will be his research assistant, Lisbeth. She’s a feminist wonder, except that she’s not working for the feminists, with a moral core but no-holds barred on how she achieves her own justice. Lisbeth is a bird so wounded by so many horrible experiences that she’s almost beyond the reach of human touch. Her humanity has been beaten out of her. As portrayed by actress Rooney Mara, she’s utterly fascinating.

This movie was so good I’m tempted to read the books. Definitely a thumb’s up.

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

2012-01-22T20:57:00.000-08:00

The first Sherlock Holmes movie, the first featuring Robert Downey Jr., was dreadful. I really didn't think I'd see Number 2. However, forced to go into the theatre and see the sequel, I am glad I did. It was much better than the first.

What's different, you may ask? For one thing, Downey and Jude Law's Watson have their timing down. They know what they're doing now, dramatic and then suddenly comedic, and they're good at it. While this may not be your Sherlock cup of tea, the movie is good, both thematically and acting-wise. There's a plot, and it winds throughout the movie as you thoroughly have a good time.

I must admit I was slow on the uptake each time there was a bit that would come around again. I would wonder what was happening, why are they doing that, when suddenly I would remember the first time the actors and director introduced the theme and think, oh! I know what's going on now! I was just always a few minutes late.

So the nice thing is that it's all tied together, the actors are in sync in this buddy bromance flick, and, in general, it's just a lot of fun. I heartily recommend the second Sherlock Holmes.

Thumb's up.

Cowboys and Aliens

2012-01-18T19:50:00.000-08:00

I saw the trailer for Cowboys and Aliens two summers in a row at Comic Con. From the immense roar of the youngish crowd, I expected that the movie would be a huge hit. It was not. The fanboys were disappointed. But this fangirl was not.

True, based on a trailer with a bunch of special effects (and obviously money) thrown at the screen, the trailer was aimed at a young Comic Con crowd. But, I thought as I watched snippets of Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig sniveling at each other, is there a story? Is there a plot?

While convoluted, there is a plot, and a nicely written story. The combination of Craig with Ford is a winning one, and it's nice to see a western again, although the second half of the film could've been set in modern times. Because, you see, aliens come to town and shake the place up. And they're downright mean.

Craig's character is carrying a secret. How did he get the metal bracelet on his arm? And what happened to his memory? When all is revealed, it's worth the build-up. At least I think it is.

In lesser hands, this could have been a cartoonish go at a sci-fi/western mash-up. But with Craig looking quite the Man-with-No-Name, and Ford able showing his acting chops in his scenes, the play moves along quite well and takes us happily along with it. Favreau is famous for inventing characters who help with the action, and he has done so here, as in Iron Man. However, these other characters are in no danger of taking attention away from our two action heroes.

Thumb's up.

Midnight in Paris

2011-12-31T14:52:00.001-08:00

People, including me, tend to think of Woody Allen movies as being a bit too intellectual, a bit too heavy on the dialogue, light on the action, but a good look at complicated relationships. But if you go back to Annie Hall, it's nearly a perfect film with the right amount of humor, insight into relationships, pithy and humorous dialogue, everything. Midnight in Paris, I'm glad to say, is that kind of delightful film that brings it all together.

A young engaged couple, he a writer and she, well, I'm not sure, travel to Paris with her parents and find that their relationship is crumbling under Parisian scrutiny. As their differences become more and more distinct, Gil (Owen Wilson) wanders off into Paris each night, and each night he finds more than just Parisians enjoying a late supper or a drink. He finds his literary heroes.

Day vs. Night is a huge contrast in Midnight in Paris. During the daytime, we get to spend exhaustive, boring hours with bad American tourists. While at night, we join Gil as he exchanges repartee with Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway and so many other brilliant artists of the twenties. And the distinction could absolutely drive you to give up on our day-to-day trivialities and swing for the fences. Or give up being American all together.

I thought it was curious that Allen used a Brit (Michael Sheen) to portray a know-it-all American, who meets the family by happenstance in Paris. Sheen, as always, does a fine job.

I did not for a second believe Owen Wilson to be a budding author, having been successful at writing Hollywood scripts before this moment, but Wilson is affable enough for us to think that's he's in a mismatch of a relationship, that we're on his side, and that we're hoping for better relationships for the lad.

Aside from nitpicks, the casting is superb. Rachel McAdams strikes a perfect note as Gil's beautiful fiancee but all together too interested in touristy applications. All of the characters we meet when Gil goes back in time are wonderfully cast, particularly our Hemingway, played by Corey Stoll. He carried off the manly yet sensitive Hemingway we think of when we hear about Papa. But we'd love to spend time with every single character we meet in these Parisian back alleyways.

Each moment Gil spends with those bygone artists is enchanting. You wonder who else he might have met if he had continued to meet the carriage at midnight each night? Whom would you like to encounter?

Thumb's up.

The Adventures of Tin Tin

2011-12-30T21:59:00.000-08:00

Tin Tin is, of course, the Steven Spielberg-engineered motion-capture phenomenon of a movie. And while the animation is simply unbelievable, you get over that in the first five minutes, and watch the characters go, go, go.

It's non-stop action for the three main characters: Tin Tin (played by Jamie Bell), our boy reporter, his helpmate Captain Haddock (played by Andy Serkis) -- who is in love with anything in a liquor bottle -- and the villain Sakharine (played by Daniel Craig). And it's a very simple plot -- Tin Tin finds clues to a buried treasure, and all three try to find it.

There's no getting to know characters. There doesn't seem to be any time for it. So while I admired the motion-capture technology and how real Snowy (Tin Tin's dog) looked -- I swear, I could see every piece of fur on the dog -- there's no there there. There were one or two sequences that were amazing to watch, but that was about it. Rush here, rush there -- that's not enough for a solid movie. Everybody is as thin a character as they could be and still "live."

This could play well as a kids' movie, although I think that even children would get bored with it after awhile.

While I'm amazed at Andy Serkis's performance as Cap'n Haddock, I hope he gets a best actor nomination this year, but not for Tin Tin. For Caesar.

Thumb's down.

Crazy, Stupid, Love

2011-12-30T21:45:00.000-08:00

There was one point in the beginning of the new Steve Carell comedy, Crazy, Stupid, Love where I thought I knew what would happen next. I guess I had written the script in my head, totally predicting what would come next, because I had seen so many comedies along the same lines. And, in fact, Carell himself had been in one of the first comedies of that ilk (The Forty-Year-Old Virgin), so it was a natural assumption. But something happened. The movie took a left, and, in doing so, became a very good movie.

A middle-aged businessman's ("Cal") life changes unexpectedly when his wife (played by Julianne Moore) suddenly asks him for a divorce. He seeks solace in a bar, but doesn't know the first thing about bar etiquette. A young but smooth operator (Ryan Gosling, playing "Jacob") takes pity on him, and shows him how to change his appearance, change his attitude, and pick up women.

And so Cal's first try at this turns out to be a real success with a wild woman (Marisa Tomei) in bed. And he's set free to confidently deal with the many women he meets, always in bars. But rather than show us funny bit by funny bit (and that was a funny bit), weird date by weird date, the film stops showing us examples of his sexual forays, and takes us back to the characters. And that was the right thing to do, introduce us to all the characters in this character-driven movie, and let us get to know them.

In the meantime, Cal's son is in love with his babysitter. And the babysitter is in love with Cal. And... well, it gets even more complicated, always in a funny but strangely endearing way. You end up caring for all of these people, and you hope they find their way. And they do.

One of the best-scripted, best-acted comedies of the year. Carell is better when it isn't just physical comedy, when he has someone to play and somewhere to go. And this is the trifecta for Ryan Gosling this year; this young actor is simply amazing. But keep an eye on the rest of the cast: they will capture your heart.

Thumb's up.

The Help

2011-12-18T13:38:00.000-08:00

Prepare to be catapulted fifty years into the past with The Help, which does an amazing job of showing us the other side of the servant relationship.

And by the "other" side, I mean more than one side. Black maids who worked for less than reasonable wages, who raised white children, loved them very much, often at the expense of their own, workers who knew more about the workings of the house than anyone else. Employees who weren't supposed to touch anything in the house more than they absolutely had to, who couldn't use the household bathrooms. Who were invisible to most people living there, except for the young children.

It's an amazing, transformative movie. While The Help is moving much because of its story, the actors push the story into our consciousness because of superb casting. The maids, especially, are alarmingly true. Viola Davis is the only one, I'm convinced, who could play the part of Aibileen, and thank goodness the writer/director was convinced of that fact as well. I have never seen Octavia Spencer ("Minny") and her work, but this just may be the role that puts her on the map. Only great actresses could be in the same frame as Ms. Davis and be noticed at all. But there are so many others who contribute to this piece: Bryce Dallas Howard, forgettable in Spider-Man, shines as the employer who is really a slave owner, determined to keep everyone, including white trash, in their place. Allison Janney is amazing as the mother of Skeeter, the young woman who decides to chronicle the maid's stories, a mother who seems forced into a role she's quite uncomfortable taking just because society demands it.

I spent a little time visiting in the south in the early sixties to know what was going on, even though I was only 12. I have some southern friends who vouch for the veracity of these tales. But I had no idea what all went on. And I would venture that what I witnessed was only a partial tale.

Thumb's up. Expect some action during award season. The Help will be right up there.

Our Idiot Brother

2011-12-18T13:37:00.001-08:00

Ned is a really nice guy. He's so nice that he offers some weed to a uniformed policeman -- who begs him for it -- and ends up 8 months in jail. When he gets out, he happily takes the bus to see his girlfriend, who is shacked up with another man. And Ned's dog, WillieNelson. Worse, she's not giving Ned back his dog.

So he moves in with his mother, and eventually each of his three sisters. They have their own problems, which he inevitably complicates. Because, besides being a nice guy, Ned has a compunction to tell the truth. Don't you hate it when somebody in your family does that.

Is he an idiot? I didn't think so. He's a soft touch. No trace of sarcasm in the guy. Friendly. But not dumb. Maybe socially inept upon occasion.

I found this movie to be an absolute delight. The sisters are drawn indelibly by fine actresses, particularly Zoe Deschanel -- who is just knock-down gorgeous cute but really knows her way around a comic line -- and Elizabeth Banks -- you just can't take your eyes off her. Paul Rudd is their perfect foil.

There's nothing really ha-ha funny in this comedy. The situations are funny, and the characters play right along. Still, it's a feel-good movie as all three sisters eventually discover what a delight their brother really is, and decide to come to his rescue.

Thumb's up.

Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale

2011-12-01T22:13:00.000-08:00

This is one of the strangest movies I've ever seen, certainly the strangest Christmas tale I've ever witnessed. Let me tell you, there is no resemblance to a Charlie Brown Christmas.

In the hinterlands of Finland, a young boy is convinced that Russians nearby over the border have dug up Santa Claus by excavating a mountain. Convinced by his books that this Santa Claus is a strange and evil creature, he is convinced of it when reindeer are slaughtered and children start disappearing.

While Rare Exports is strange going, it's not hard to understand at all. Part horror tale, part family Christmas story, it's not the kind of stuff you want to show your kids, particularly if they still believe in the Coca Cola Santa Claus.

Some caveats: The movie is almost completely in subtitles, as Finnish is the spoken language throughout. And there's a lot of male nudity regarding the....wait for it... elves. And it's particularly slow going in the first hour or so, but then the action speeds up towards the denouement. I almost gave up on the film a few times, but I thought the ending might be something I had never seen. I was certainly right about that.

The kid, Pietari, is played admirably by young Onni Tommila. He is so good at being an individual kid who never follows what his father wisely tells him that I would have tied him up a long time ago.

Thumb's up.

Contagion

2011-10-30T17:39:00.001-07:00

Contagion had every thing going for it. A deadly mutating virus that could out-horror any horror film. And a dramatic cast to die for: Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Jude Law, Gwyneth Paltrow, Lawrence Fishburne, and a cast of thousands. Mostly dying thousands.

We first learn there's a disease running rampant when Gwyneth Paltrow's character gets sick, infects a few hundreds of people, and dies. Don't get to learn her name: she's not on scene very long.

We follow administrators at the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) as they try to trace contact, identify the virus, then try to fight the disease in a administrative system that demands at least several months of trials, etc.

It's a smart thriller, but the denouement is really too horrible to contemplate for those of us who don't live on the other side of a stethoscope or microscope. And there's no emotional heart in the movie. Paltrow could be that person, but she's gone too quickly. Matt Damon has very little to do with the plot at all -- he's just an ordinary citizen who watches his wife die suddenly, and tries to protect his family from a disease that is spreading much too quickly. In many ways, Fishburne is that heart, but we don't get but a quick glimpse into his personal life. After all, it's hard to fall in like with an administrator.

There is, in the end, just too much going on, too many frustrating red herrings (like Jude Law's character), and the frightening realization that, in the end, societal health structure and our own fears won't lend much of a hand to solve this mystery.

Thumb's down.

Real Steel

2011-10-30T17:21:00.000-07:00

Reel Steel looks a lot like The Champ, both the Wallace Beery and Jon Voight versions about a fighter who struggles in a relationship with his son. Both versions had the power to manipulate your feelings, make you care about the father and his kid. You knew what was going to happen, you knew you were being manipulated. Still you cared. Which is what made both movies work.

Reel Steel works, too. I knew what every fight was going to look like. There were some surprises, but not many, in this modern version of the fighter story, where robots take the place, and punishment, of human fighters. But in the end, I knew pretty much every punch, every fight's end. But still it didn't matter. I felt every emotional blow. And that's because every scene, every actor, gets every note just right.

The movie is set in the near future when we meet Charlie, a struggling promoter who owes up to his elbows in past-due loans just to stay in business. Suddenly he finds out his ex-wife has died and left him an 11-year-old son whom he wants nothing to do with. His wife's sister wants the kid, but the rich husband wants to pay Charlie to take Max just for the summer so that they can take one last expensive vacation in Europe. To Charlie's surprise, Max has quite a bit of knowledge about the fighting robots, and the two team up with their boxing bot in the ring.

I have no idea where they found young Dakota Goyo, who plays Max as a bitter but curious pre-teen with everything to gain and lose, all in a fight with his father, but he's absolutely brilliant. And this is the most vulnerable I've seen Hugh Jackman since Wolverine. The two together are a great team.

I highly recommend Real Steel for its emotional impact, its stunning effects with the robots, and some really thrilling fight scenes. Real Steel is the real deal.

Thumb's up.

Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon

2011-10-30T16:59:00.000-07:00

This is the part of the movie review I don't like, at least for an action movie like this. Oh, well, here it is: The Autobots and the Decepticons compete for the secrets revealed by an alien spaceship on the dark side of the moon.

Our loveable young hero, Sam Witwicky, is shown in a heartbeat away from the second Transformers film. He has now received a medal from the president, but can't seem to find a job, a situation that will resonate with young viewers. He has lost his last girlfriend (seemingly because she cost too much, actress-wise), but picked up a beautiful model as the current squeeze by the name of Carly. Sam's lack of self-esteem plays into everything in his life, however, from being jealous about those around Carly to the fact that those in the government have forgotten how vital Sam's role has been in the handling of the Autobots.

As usual, this Transformers film is full of action, at least during those parts that we aren't following Sam around. There are also many moments, however, when the movie's screenplay has inserted one star cameo or another, so that the film is top-heavy with roles that mean nothing to the theme of the Autobots vs. the Decepticons, or to Sam's life. John Turturro, Patrick Dempsey, Frances McDormand, John Malcovich: most of these actors are inserted badly, and in most cases, could easily be excised from the story.

But all of this is worth wading through just to get to the denouement. The final battle scene, which goes on for more than 20 minutes, is full of transforming robots, death-defying feats, cool shot angles, and just exhilarating fight scenes. And finally, a Transformers movie where I have no problem at all figuring out which robot is which. Yay Autobots!

Thumb's up.

Hanna

2011-10-18T18:35:00.000-07:00

Hanna is a thrilling tale about a German man who trained his teenage daughter to fend off all enemies. Throughout her young life, he teaches her self defense, attack methods, languages, even made-up facts about her home. She has no home, except in the forest. And she has no life, except that which her father (Eric Bana) has created for her.

She will need all of these skills to survive when she turns on the signal that allows Marissa, a US government agent, to find her. Marissa is played by a fierce but rather stoic Cate Blanchett, who must be evil because she uses a slow Southern accent (which comes and goes).

It's a new idea, it's a fascinating one. We don't know everything there is to know about Hanna. But neither does she. We learn as she does. Her one weakness, it seems, is something that isolation has brought her.

Young actress Saoirse Ronan is a tour-de-force here. We expect to see her for a long time.

Thumb's up.

Green Lantern

2011-10-17T09:47:00.000-07:00

I had such high hopes for the dramatization of one of my favorite comic books, Green Lantern. Alas, there are so many things wrong with the movie that fanboys have, for the most part, turned away.

This is an origin story, and, as such, has the usual origin story problems: it takes a long time to get started, characters are introduced that you might not see immediately thereafter, etc. The opening sequence of this movie is much too long. Still, you need to know that Hal Jordan's father died as a test pilot and that event would profoundly influence his life. But we get to live a long sequence of the event, and get to revisit it in flashbacks. For a test pilot, Hal Jordan is uniquely wimpy. You'd think they'd have psychological counseling of their pilots before they let them loose with billion dollar planes, wouldn't you?

There are also character developments that disappear, transition points that are never made. In many ways, this movie is a movie pieced together, a mess.

When Abin Sur, one of the most valiant of the Green Lantern corps, who are the peacekeepers of our part of the universe, crash lands on Earth, his ring seeks out a person with no fear: Hal Jordan. Only Jordan has plenty of fears. But as sometime-boss, sometime-girlfriend Carol Ferris points out, the courageous person is the person who can confront their fears and overcome them.

Strangely enough, the most compelling parts of the film take place on OA, the home planet of the Green Lanterns and the Guardians, who for millenia have told them what to do. That's where Hal as GL is taken for his training and indoctrination into the corps. It's great fun watching the drill sergeant of the Lanterns teach Hal how to fight. In fact, the characters in this film who are the most compelling to watch are the alien Lanterns, characters like Sinestro (played by a powerful Mark Strong), Toma-Re, a fish-like chicken biped (voiced wonderfully by Geoffrey Rush). And the purple but majestic Abin Sur (played in a lot of makeup by Temuera Morrison) , the dying Lantern who bequests his ring to a human weakling. When the camera is on any of these terrifically-drawn characters (well, only Toma-Re is animated), the movie comes to life. When it settles back down to Hal Jordan himself, it -- actually, we -- go to sleep.

I know there will be changes in the transition from comic book to live action. I can live with a different suit -- which actually was magnificently brought together by veteran costume designer Ngila Dickson -- and I can live with the loss of the white gloves. It was great to see the supporting characters from the sixties' comic book come to life, but terribly disappointing to see Green Lantern himself -- Hal Jordan -- as such a weakling, so fearful. This is NOT the GL I grew up with.

Thumb's down.

Moneyball

2011-10-04T17:48:00.000-07:00

I laughed when I saw Moneyball. I cried when I got to relive some of the moments from the glorious 20-game streak. But I ended up angry at the end.

Moneyball isn't so much of a baseball movie as a look at what happens when you go against 100 years of tradition in a sport, as Billy Beane actually did in the 2002 season. What the movie explores is how people reacted to him when Beane found a way to compete in a sport where money actually talks and he had none. What the movie doesn't tell you is that the Moneyball treatise -- that is, the use of sabremetrics, or on-base statistics, to determine which players to play -- stopped working for the Athletics within a year after they employed it. Bigger baseball teams with more payroll caught on right away, and used money and stats to improve their game.

Brad Pitt is very engaging in this role, the most I've ever witnessed. but he's no Billy Beane. Beane isn't as flippant, is rather studious, not like the buffoon Pitt often imagined. Art Howe's portrayal by Phillip Seymour Hoffman is just wrong. Howe has never been a curmudgeonly old man, and was a communicative coach. Some of the scouts have argued that the script played loose with their characters, but still kept their names. Why couldn't they have just changed a name or two? Jonah Hill, for instance, was really Paul DePodesta, or actually an amalgam of several analysts; they changed his character's name.

While I realize it was a fictionalization of the story, they changed history quite a bit to suit the story. I enjoyed the story -- laughing, crying -- until I got to the character assassination part.

Thumb's up with reservations.

Abduction

2011-10-04T17:34:00.000-07:00

The title of this film is misleading: there is no abduction here in the movie, anywhere. But the word sets up the expectation that there could be one, something as nefarious as the idea is imminent, and we'd better pay close attention to figure it all out. If only it were that complicated.

Teenager Jake (Taylor Lautner of werewolf Twilight fame), while doing a homework assignment, discovers that he's listed as a missing person at age four. When he attempts to find the truth, all hell breaks loose.

There's a lot of action, all right, which means that Jake and his girlfriend spend almost the entire time running from.... somebody. This is after a terminally long scene setting Jake's home life situation, including a really long sequence where he fights his dad on the front lawn. That latter was meant to show that Jake could survive in the wild with people chasing him, if need be, but also pounds home the point that, like any teenager, he has an ambivalent relationship with his dad. Unfortunately, it's all rather boring.

The dialogue is simple, the plot is simpler, some of the situations are just ridiculous -- like, when did you ever see the Pirates stadium full of fans? -- but a reading of the cast leads you to believe there is something more here. Award winners Alfred Molina and Sigourney Weaver as well as Maria Bello? Oh, yeah! But, I'm sorry: Oh, no.

I felt guilty for dragging my friend to this movie. It's on the level of a pre-teen, except for the snogging scenes between the two teens. But I would think anyone over 15 would be moving on to a better movie, despite Lautner's built-up appearance. I realize Lautner is trying to build a movie career, but at what price? His muscles get a workout in this one, but the audience's collective brains and emotions do not.

Thumb's down.

The Conspirator

2011-10-02T20:49:00.000-07:00

This latest film produced and directed by Robert Redford is a historical drama that replays the military trials of those suspected of coordinating and carrying out the murder of President Abraham Lincoln, as well as coordinated attempts on the lives of Vice-President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State William Seward.

The film follows the specific trial of Mary Surratt (Robin Wright), a widow whose boarding house was a meeting place for the conspirators. Set to defend her is Frederick Aiken (James McAvoy), who was recently a captain in the Union Army who has just returned to law practice at the age of 27. He is rather forced into taking Surratt's case even though he believes her to be guilty from the onset.

I found the movie rather slow to start but, after awhile, the film was quick to gain interest, mostly because of the way the deck of justice is stacked against Mary and her lawyer. At every turn in this military tribunal, Aiken's thrusts and parries are thwarted, mostly by the rather nasty tribunal head (Colm Meaney) and the prosecuting lawyer Joseph Holt (Danny Huston). However, as the layers are pealed away, we discover those powers working behind the scenes, like Secretary of War Edwin Stanton (Kevin Kline), who are convinced that the nation needs convicted bodies and may not survive if it doesn't get them. The movie became fairly riveting when, during the proceeding, I made the rather obvious connection between this hundred-year-old military trial of civilians and our country's current and recent administration's position of selecting those involved in the 9/11 attacks for the same military judgment without benefit of jury.

We would love to have lawyer James McAvoy on our side in any judicial process, as his portrayal of Surratt's lawyer dugdeeper than was politically prudent. And McAvoy's Aiken is, of course, the lens through which we watch this trial. Is Mary innocent? Did she or her daughter know more about the brewing conspiracy involving her son? That may be of interest to us but really isn't important. The relevance is whether justice was served, and whether those suspected of committing the most heinous crimes imaginable within our borders are deserving of the rights the Constitution demands. One year after Surratt was hanged, the Supreme Court said yes.

Thumb's up.

The Adjustment Bureau

2011-09-19T18:12:00.000-07:00

It was simple to see that those people who prepare the trailers for The Adjustment Bureau had no idea how to explain what it was really all about. I can understand their problem.

Matt Damon is running for political office. He seems to have all the tools: good looks, people with money backing him, youth. But something happens, and his campaign is derailed. Then he learns, quite accidentally, that his run was doomed. Someone out there didn't want him to succeed. And when that same fatalism interferes with his love life, he starts doing a little interfering of his own.

The movie is based on a short story by Phillip K. Dick. And like all movies based on short stories, this one is short on details, on real explanations. When you're dealing with armies of people who can control your life by changing the obstacles in your way, or perhaps the way your boss thinks, maybe you don't want to know too much. Like to whom they report. The scriptwriter (director Nolfi) attempts to explain all of that away with something we've heard for about 50 years in science fiction now: "You humans were obviously on a destructive path. So we came in to save you." That doesn't really do it for me.

Still, it's a great romp, at least for about an hour. Most of the filling in of story has to do with him running from a group of fedora-wearing men in suits headed up by John Slattery, perfect for the role. And when Slattery fails, they bring in Terrence Stamp wearing another sharp-looking hat. I don't know about you, but I'd be scared.

Damon gives it his best, along with Emily Blunt as the love interest, but in the reality of the situation, there's no there there.

Thumb's down.

The Lincoln Lawyer

2011-08-11T22:56:00.000-07:00

Matthew McConaughey plays a sleazy lawyer, Mick Haller, who is asked to defend a young, wealthy client (Ryan Philippe) who just may be innocent. Or guilty. Normally Haller would assume the latter automatically, and ask for the money up front, but this time things just don't add up.

This is not a complicated whodunit here, and you figure out things pretty quickly, but it's a lot of fun to watch fine actors go to work. We're not necessarily talking about McConaughey, who is just fine here; we're talking about the entire supporting cast, with actors like William H. Macy as his former cop investigator (every sleazy lawyer has one), Marisa Tomei as his district attorney ex-wife, John Leguizamo as the bailbondsman who seems to live in Haller's back pocket, the fine Frances Fisher as Philippe's mother, and many more. And the plot meanders just enough to keep us entertained.

Oh, and "Lincoln" refers to the town car McConaughey is chauffered around in during daytime hours by his trusty chauffeur, Earl (Laurence Mason).

Thumb's up.

The Names of Love (Le Nom des Gens)

2011-08-06T14:57:00.000-07:00

A rather stiff veterinarian meets a young woman whose main cause is to sleep with right-wing conservatives in order to change their opinion. Hijinks follow.

But this movie is not just about hijinks. Oh, there are plenty of amusing moments, even guffaw-worthy, as both characters are rather funny in their almost stereotypical way. However, as it turns out, there's more to Arthur Martin and Baya Benmahmoud than the assumptions one could make about their names or their looks.

The script is witty and challenging, all at the same time. You wonder why each of them doesn't split from the relationship, except that you understand the attraction. She's extroverted, gorgeous, inviting, but stubborn and sees only black-and-white. He's curious, smart, amusing, but stubborn and rather anal. And their parents are nothing short of challenging, but are charming in their own way.

It's an interfaith story with more than an interfaith bent. She wears her nationality on her sleeve, he dismisses his. There are more layers to these two than you're used to in a movie, and everybody has secrets. And as you peel these outside skins away, there's never a boring moment: I was enchanted from beginning to end.

Thumb's up.

Captain America: The First Avenger

2011-08-05T20:01:00.000-07:00

World War II was America's favorite war. What's not to like? It was easy to be on America's side. The Nazis were an obvious enemy, and weapons were fairly simple back then: tanks, grenades, lugers, and just plain fists. It's there we meet Steve Rogers, who's a real shrimp but long on bravery. When the U.S. Army gives him a 4F rating four times in a row, he opts for an experiment that might turn him into a fighting machine. Sure enough, Stanley Tucci (almost unrecognizable here except for that twinkle in his eye) gives him the full treatment, hoping that this time he'll be successful. Last time, he created a monster (Hugo Weaving, aka Johann Schmidt, aka The Red Skull, aka Mr. Smith -- oops, wrong movie).

But since Steve's heart is pure, we get Captain America. The film's script wisely doesn't send him immediately into battle; instead, we see him as somewhat as a circus clown, going around the country looking brave in a silly costume, getting the American public to buy war bonds. Rogers, you see, doesn't really have any super powers. He has enhanced human powers; in other words, the dude is strong.

This film would've been a disaster except that everybody plays it straight. A strong supporting cast -- Tommy Lee Jones, as one, as the Colonel -- sets up every situation earnestly so that Cap can fight his way out. Even Cap's costume got a workover, and it looks much better on screen than the old '40's uniform would have looked. Think X-Men dark.

One friend who saw the ending didn't like it at all, because it's not the bang-up ending you would normally get when your hero saves the world. However, I saw it coming because, after all, Captain America is the First Avenger.

You fanboys out there who want to see The Avengers, you have to see this one first, you hear? 'Nuff said.

Thumb's up.

Rango

2011-08-05T12:32:00.000-07:00

Rango is a lizard who is just minding his own business, employing whatever is possible to work out stage play scenarios, when his cage is upended on a deserted highway and he ends up having to fend for himself. He wanders into a town full of other equally-sized animals, and ends up being sheriff. He tries to find himself in this new role as well as the town's missing water supply.

The movie has quite an unusual look to it. The animals are drawn quite realistically -- not animal realistic, but human-quality realistic -- and each character is quite intriguing. The story is a bit mundane, but it's spiced up by Johnny Depp's voice and comic acting, and the wonderful movie references scattered throughout the movie.

This isn't really a kids' movie, although it certainly has the look. Who wouldn't want to see different lizards and mammals dressed up in western gear, especially if you're 10? But the scatological humor and references are 'way above a 10-year-old. And there are some sexual references as well, although they are very few. Be warned.

The middle is lonnnng. Who knew that a search for water could be so drawn-out? But the unusual look, interesting plot-twists, Johnny Depp, and dialogue make this a look-see.

Thumb's up.

Barney's Version

2011-08-01T15:58:00.001-07:00

I see a lot of Paul Giamatti films, strictly because I believe he’s one of the finest American actors today (see “John Adams,” “Sideways”). His films don’t always measure up, however (“Planet of the Apes” – the 2nd version, “Cold Souls”). But I would count “Barney’s Version” among his finest to date.

Barney’s Version follows the irascible Barney Panofsky through three marriages and most of his adult life. Each marriage he enters into seems to be a huge mistake, and you’d like to shake him and tell him that, but, like our kids, you finally allow that he has to experience all of this himself. And so he does rush forward into these unions, as we watch, gritting our teeth.

Dustin Hoffman, who is often known to command a scene, is quietly effective here as Barney’s father, a man who has been known to make a few life mistakes of his own. He’s a bit of a comic effect here, although there’s a certain poignancy to his lessons learned, and Hoffman brings a quiet dignity to what otherwise might be a stereotypical role.

In the end, it’s a touching film about a man who finally finds the woman who loves him for his flaws, amazingly, totally, while he doesn’t seem to change much for the better under this umbrella of adoration. Could you live with this man? He smokes cigars abundantly, even when asked or even told not to. Drinks to excess, often with his dad. He’s so fanatical a sports fan that he waves off remonstrations that he missed anniversaries, meetings, etc.

What’s great about Giamatti in the role is that he seems almost proud of these excesses, and seems to become the husband and father only when it doesn’t interfere with all of his other escapades. But there’s a very lovable component to Giamatti’s character that only this actor could imbue, a sweetness for which we almost forgive every mistake he lives.

The final act is rather devastating in this epic to middle age, but a fitting third act to a life lived not so well.

Thumb’s up.

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X-Men: First Class

2011-07-18T17:58:00.001-07:00

I’ve enjoyed all the X-Men movies. Some, like the first – really, a Wolverine story – were better than others. So it was with great anticipation that I waited for the prequel: First Class. What the title refers to is the first class of Professor Xavier, founder of his School for Gifted Youngsters. “Gifted” is code for “mutant” in this case. And X-Men: First Class is the story about how mutants came to the attention of each other and the humans they live among.

Patrick Stewart played the older Professor X, while James McAvoy plays a younger version in this movie, the mutant with extraordinary mental powers. McAvoy’s younger sister is Mystique, a character about whom we’re very curious, who can change her appearance to another human. This is a basic origin movie, except that it’s much more than that as we uncover metal-manipulator Magneto’s thirst for vengeance and why his friendship with Prof X is doomed from the start.

The movie does not disappoint. The effects are thrilling. And it’s finally a relief to find out what *really happened during the Cuban Missle Crisis. Amazing. Thumb’s up!

Green Hornet

2011-06-08T22:28:00.001-07:00

I am actually a fan of Seth Rogen (he plays Green Hornet here), but not of this movie. The movie can’t decide whether it’s going to be a comedy or an action flick, and does a bad job at both.

Rich kid Britt Reid grows up spoiled and, at 30, shows it. When his dad dies, he decides, well, nothing, giving the reins of his father’s beloved newspaper to his editor-in-chief (Edward James Olmos). However, when he meets his dad’s espresso-maker/car mechanic, Kato, things change. In a whim mustered by only someone with unlimited wealth, he decides he and Kato can be the Green Bee and go out into the crappy neighborhoods of L.A. and kick some butt. Okay, Kato has better sense and suggests “Green Hornet,” a moniker which sticks.

It’s silly, it’s stupid, but it’s got some great stunts, and some great double-takes by newcomer Jay Chou, who puts on Kato’s chauffeur black like he was born to it. He’s the only good thing in this. Fabulous actors Tom Wilkinson (the father) and Christoph Waltz (the villain) are just wasted.

Let’s be truthful: I hate it when people don’t know how to treat the old, wonderful superheroes. Ironman knew how to use humor. Green Hornet and Rogen’s screenplay do not.

Thumb’s down.

Thor

2011-05-18T18:12:00.000-07:00

Thor, the movie about the Norse god based on a popular series of comic books written by J. Michael Straczynski, is a new take on what happens once more if you piss off Anthony Hopkins. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I mention Straczynski because he's a veteran writer from old TV shows as well as the popular Babylon 5 show, and I follow his work. Thankfully, they gave Joe a writer's credit.

I had read a few of the old Thor comic books in the seventies, and found the character quite annoying. There wasn't much conflict since this is, after all, a God. Straczynski's take on the character is a 180-degree turn.

Thor falls under Odin's wrath (Odin, of course, is Hopkins, looking very regal) when he disobeys him in his arrogance. He's the very powerful son of the King because of his hammer, an instrument that Odin throws somewhere onto Earth's desert. And Thor, stripped of any power he has, is thrown near the same place. Thor, thoroughly human now, is picked up by scientist Jane (Natalie Portman) and her working crew, and it's with her that he learns values and a little humility.

It's a well-told story with a great deal of humor. Portman is fine as the bumbling, dressed-for-the-desert scientist. And Chris Hemsworth, who played Captain Kirk's father ever-so-briefly in the re-imagining of Star Trek, plays Thor. He has a deft comic touch.

I did not picture Thor with less than long blond tresses and with a beard, as Hemsworth sports, but it's a good look. You can't argue with success. Everything about this movie works.

Thumb's up.

Hereafter

2011-05-18T18:04:00.000-07:00

Hereafter, the latest movie by Clint Eastwood, combines three stories all headed toward the same conclusion: the belief in the ability to communicate with those who are dead.

Matt Damon plays an American with an unsettled life because he has a "gift," or what he terms a "curse," of being able to see dead people when he touches the living. Marie, a very successful journalist, is caught up in real-life drama when the Thai town she's visiting is consumed by a tsunami - the experience in which she almost dies takes her beyond for a few seconds. And young Marcus is consumed by the fact that his twin brother was killed while out collecting his mother's prescription medication.

I am usually fascinated and sometimes stunned by Eastwood's directorial efforts, but not so this time. I just didn't find most of the stories compelling. And the ending was quite disappointing for all three stories.

In fact, the only thing I took away from watching this film was an appreciation for the actress who played Marie, Cecile de France. I've never seen her before, but she's stunning in both her look and her acting. Everything she did was subtle yet spoke volumes.

I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone except those who are absolutely consumed with what happens after we die. And even then, I don't think those viewers will get the answers they seek.

Thumb's down.

The Tourist

2011-05-04T13:27:00.000-07:00

I was all set to be disappointed in this film, but I found it most pleasantly a real romp. I smiled from beginning to end.

Frank (Johnny Depp), an American schoolteacher on vacation in Venice, happens to meet a beautiful woman (Angelina Jolie) on a train. For some reason, she takes a shine to him, and invites him up to her lavish hotel room. You learn from the beginning that Elise is being followed for some reason. The mystery that we uncover bit by bit is why, or rather, for whom.

Too much more would spoil the fun, but I should add that the background is fabulous Venice, filmed beautifully. The most beautiful city in the world, with the most beautiful woman in the world within. And Depp isn't bad to look at, either.
While that's certainly enough eye-candy visuals to keep you happy for 10 minutes, the story and the actors keep it all interesting and intriguing from beginning to end.

Thumb's up.

Who Is Harry Nilsson? (And Why Is Everybody Talking 'Bout Him?)

2011-05-04T13:16:00.000-07:00

Who Is Harry Nilsson is a brilliant documentary that explores why the gifted singer/songwriter self-destructed in a most gaudy way.

I knew about Harry Nilsson's work a bit before he became famous with the movie theme for Midnight Cowboy, "Everybody's Talkin' at Me," a song, ironically, he did not write.

Before I saw this documentary, I could name three or four hits Harry had. However, I had forgotten or simply did not know the breadth and depth of his song resume. The documentary very nicely shows in chronological order, by album recording, how each happened. And the struggles that ensued every time.

Record producers who were involved in Nilsson's projects recognized that a strong hand was needed, or Harry would run amok. And one even insisted it be in the contract. The result was the beautiful Nilsson Schmilsson. But after that, including its follow-up, The Son of Schmilsson, was filled with bad choices.

The documentary takes pains to interview such luminaries as Randy Newman, Yoko Ono, Robin Williams, the Smothers Brothers, and Micky Dolenz, as well as some of Harry's wives. These interviews shine a bright light on an increasingly miserable existence, and Harry's friendship with John Lennon seemed to be the pinnacle of uncontrolled wildness, something only great money, celebrity friendships, and copious amounts of drugs and alcohol can produce.

I thought it odd and sad that Harry longed for a father that was never in his life, and yet left his children from a former wife just as quickly. In the end, I didn't even recognize the face of this man who had produced so much. He died of a massive heart attack after finally finding a happy marriage and after raising his family out of bankruptcy.

The film is an incredible look into a life headed up and then crash-and-burn down. Thumb's up.

Water for Elephants

2011-05-04T13:09:00.000-07:00

Water for Elephants had everything going for it: a popular novel as its basis, and a spectacular cast: Twilight's Robert Pattinson, and Academy Award winners Reese Witherspoon and Christoph Waltz.

The truth is, however, it doesn't hold together, and I think some of the fault is with Witherspoon. She doesn't seem to know how a depression history would play on a young beauty stuck in the circus with her Type A husband (played by Waltz, who is just brilliant here). Pattinson, I think, strikes the right chord: stupid when he should be, smart when he needs to be. But the whole story rests on whether you accept the relationship between the young vet (Pattinson) and Witherspoon's circus performer. I didn't for a minute.

But Waltz is worth watching. His circus owner rings true as a perfectionist who wants his circus to be a rival to Ringling Bros, despite the fact that his circus isn't family-friendly, and who's willing to spend any extra funds he has on an elephant instead of pay his workers.

The ending was interesting, but not terribly believable.

Thumb's down for this disappointing adaptation.

Skyline

2011-04-26T16:32:00.000-07:00

While visiting a rather successful old friend (Donald Faison) in Los Angeles, Jarrod (Eric Balfour) and his girlfriend Elaine (Scottie Thompson) find that the entire city is being besieged by aliens who clearly are bent on killing every human possible.

This is a small budget film, although it certainly doesn't look like it. The amount and quality of special effects the moviemakers squeezed out of $10 million is amazing. Your first clue, however, is that the actors are "the-guy-from." You know, the guy from 24. The guy from Scrubs. And no other name actor in the cast.

And, in effect, this is a bottle show. The action never leaves their apartment building, if you include the garage.

I found the action rather boring although there are one or two spectacular scenes that make you wonder how they did it. I didn't particularly care for the characters. However, I must admit that it was interesting seeing Eric Balfour's Jarrod, who is not willing to make a decision throughout the first four-fifths of the movie, spring into action once he committed himself. Jarrod was following everyone else's decisions -- his buddy's, his girlfriend's, even some stranger they met in the building -- until that moment. That was a nice moment for Balfour.

The ending is just bizarre. I can justify it by saying that there is no way to properly end a movie when the enemy is clearly winning and the Earth's population is going to lose (even though Battle: Los Angeles found a way to do it, even though that was somewhat pieced together), so the director (?) or screenwriter (?) came up with something weird to end the piece.

Those who demand to see every sci fi film out there (paint me among them) or just like weird endings so they can talk about them might see this movie. Everyone else should skip it.

Thumb's down.

Love and Other Drugs

2011-04-22T17:32:00.000-07:00

The "Other Drugs" in the title refers to the life of a successful pharmaceutical salesman, and half the film is devoted to how he got there. It's a really interesting, actually a fascinating trip, and, if it's at all true, rather horrific. I've known -- well, friend of a friend -- two, and while one says it isn't so, the other says it is. According to this movie, it depends on how successful you want to be as to how vague your moral line will be.

Jamie (Jake Gyllenhaal) is perfect for this new job. He's a sleazebag from 'way back, humping his way through several jobs, totally bored with his parents, and not knowing which way to turn. He's told this job will bring him money by utilizing his charm, and charm it takes -- plus bribes of all sizes -- anything he needs to use to get inside those doctors' offices and leave his free samples of what drugs his company is pushing.

I was surprised when, during the storyline, Viagra is introduced as a new drug. I apparently missed the note at the beginning of the movie that action starts in 1996. Even the more fascinating.

Anne Hathaway, the woman with a condition that no drug can cure, is the ballast that steadies Jamie. Their love affair seems very real and poignant.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It's got heart, it's got a sense of humor, especially in the beginning, and I liked the lessons learned. Gyllenhaal and Hathaway are an unbeatable dual force.

Thumb's up.

Back to Space-Con

2011-04-22T17:23:00.000-07:00

This movie is a documentary about the old days in Star Trek. Not the TV show, but the fan conventions built around the TV show.

As a fan who has been to probably 100 conventions in my lifetime, my first thought upon seeing this film was, Why couldn't I have lived in northern California as I was hitting my twenties? Because on February 22, 1975, the first Star Trek convention was held at Lincoln High School in San Francisco. It was called the "Red Hour Festival," and was a huge success as thousands showed up on their front door. And you have to remember that this was six years after Star Trek was cancelled. These conventions were obviously a testimonial to Star Trek's worldwide appeal.

I thought it was an interesting point the movie made that Paramount wasn't protecting its Star Trek trademark in the early days, because they obviously didn't think there was anything to protect. Star Wars apparently was the end of the sci fi stores, as George Lucas' lawyers insisted that anything made be licensed with licensing fees. But in the mid-seventies, fans were making their own costumes, phasers, starships, etc. And the first Star Trek stores were having their merchandise made in bulk to sell to eager fans.

The film is terribly repetitive; it could've been an hour long and that would have sufficed. Footage and photos were interspersed with interviews from those fans and dealers who were there. It's great to see the original cast as they looked back then, and to hear details about their appearances and what they talked to the fans about.

As Spock would say, "Fascinating."

Thumb's up.

Jane Eyre

2011-04-22T17:10:00.000-07:00

Do we really need another movie adaptation of Charlotte Bronte's book, Jane Eyre? Apparently we do.

You probably know the story: A quiet and young governess, who has spent most of her life in a torturous institution for wayward children, becomes the governess to a man who's hiding a terrible secret.

Only in this version, as in no other, the words -- the dialogue, really -- takes flight. Other adaptations have sought to insert action here and there, because, let's face it: Jane Eyre is rather static and wordy. But, also let's face it: that's a good thing.

So there's no extra action inserted. And the wardrobe is very period. Jane's outfit, in particular, is rather drab. When you picture a girl walking out of the orphanage with one or two dresses at most and no income, wouldn't that be the case?

And that's as it should be. The magnificent countryside, and those stately mansions, all decorated in such detail, are eye candy.

The acting is wonderful. You may remember Johnny Depp's recent Alice in Wonderland. His Alice was played by Mia Wasikowska, and she's our Jane here. Not too old, not too brazen. Just right.

Michael Fassbender, as Rochester, is also spot on -- he's not introduced until about halfway through the movie. The build-up teaches you to expect an older, brooding man, and he's all that, but he's also a sensitive man with a hollow soul, looking for some intelligence in the world, and maybe even a kindred spirit.

Jane Eyre is a wonderful tutor as to how children were treated back then, and how few resources women by themselves had. You feel her reticence to trust anybody, because she really can't.

Thumb's up.

Battle: Los Angeles

2011-04-11T22:22:00.000-07:00

Within the first 15 minutes, we're in battle and the rapid pace never lets up. The only difference between this and, say, the Iraq War, is that the enemy is an unseen race of aliens, having come from afar to take over the west coast, and, one imagines, every other country on Earth. Obviously, the stakes are high.

We see this battle from the perspective of the Marines who are sent into an impossible situation. We get two or three minutes with each Marine in the beginning so that we can sort them out. Aaron Eckhart plays the sergeant of his platoon, a man with survival issues. And he's saddled with a first lieutenant fresh out of the academy with no battle experience.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, and I was involved from beginning to end. What I thought was rather simplistic, and its characters stereotypical, in the beginning, and totally unreal, turned into just a transition to get us to the action. After that, I simply forgot about those issues and concentrated on the characters and their dilemma. In fact, my overwhelming thought was, how the hell are they gonna get out of this?!

I've always enjoyed Aaron Eckhart, and I think this may be his best role yet as a leader of men who don't quite trust him.

My only real complaint about the movie is that some of the plot points -- why are the aliens here, how can we defeat them -- are tied up too handily and too quickly.

And it's always a convenient device to have a space alien as your enemy. No censors are going to gripe if you splatter them all over Lincoln Boulevard.

Still, I enjoyed a good story. Thumb's up.

Burlesque

2011-04-11T22:19:00.001-07:00

A friend of mine recommended this movie, so I thought I'd take a look. I should bill her for the two hours I wasted.

Well, it wasn't a completely useless two hours. The musical numbers are especially well done, with a lot of glitz and imagination, thoroughly enjoyable. It's only when we delve into these players' private, mundane lives that the script fails us.

The whole plot can be summed up in a few words: A waitress (Christina Aguilera) leaves her hick town and journeys to L.A. so that she can get onto the burlesque stage. I know, that last part really doesn't make much sense.

It's a little bit Cabaret, actual stage numbers coupled with flashes of these characters' real lives, only without the biting social commentary. It's a little bit Chicago, only without the well-written plot, scintillating numbers and imaginative dancing.

The plot is totally derivative, a lot of I've-seen-this-before, and doubly tiring. A big mistake was in deciding whether to go for an actress or a singer with a big voice. They chose the latter. But certainly nobody can argue Aguilera's powerful voice. The rest of the time, however, she's just plain boring.

It's interesting to see Cher in a meaty role, although she's almost a parody of herself. She really bellows out the lead number, Burlesque, but after that, she has nothing to add musically.

I enjoyed seeing other actors I recognized - Stanley Tucci, always outstanding, and rising star Cam Gigandet, who is just lost here. In the end, the whole success-or-die plot lies in Christina Aguilera's hands, and she fails, miserably.

Thumb's down.

Source Code

2011-04-11T22:12:00.001-07:00

I'm a fan of the technique Robert Heinlein used in his best science fiction stories: just change one little thing but keep people normal so that you'll be more interested in what happens to them. And some of the best sci fi plots have to do with a twist of time. Here's another sci fi movie with a time shift. In this case, 8 minutes.

Eight minutes is how long a person's aura last after they die, and supposedly their conscience lives on. Jake Gyllenhaal as military pilot Colter Stevens finds himself on a train, which seems normal enough, and in someone else's consciousness, he has eight minutes to figure out how that bomb in the rear bathroom was planted, and by whom.

Like Groundhog Day, Capt Stevens finds himself living that 8 minutes again, over and over, until he can figure it all out. However, somewhere along the way, he finds the bigger mystery much more compelling: why he's there in the first place and why this is his mission.

I found the screenplay to be written quite tautly, a screenplay which takes flight only with great actors in their roles. Gyllenhaal acts as any of us would react if we found ourselves in such a confusing situation. Michelle Monaghan is Christine, the woman who is always across from him when he finds himself on the train once more. Can you build a relationship with a person in only eight minutes? Apparently you can, especially if free will changes your reaction to each other: if you react differently, she reacts differently, etc.

Vera Farmiga, who was so good in Up in the Air, is the cold Captain whose job it is to keep Stevens in line with his head in the project. Farmiga really nails this role, and it's through her that we come to our conclusions about the project she's in as well as her boss (Jeffrey Wright).

As much as I'm not looking for deep questions and equally deep answers to existence, etc., I have to admit I found some of those questions here. The movie made me think -- it's not your hold-on-for-the-fun-ride kind of sci fi movie, although there are certainly elements of that, and at first glance it looks like one of those. There's more to this one. It somewhat resembles Inception in that there's more to the first layer and even the second.

Truthfully, I found it all very confusing, particularly the ending. But the movie as a whole, and particularly the ending, is haunting me still. Thumb's up.

Limitless

2011-03-28T17:44:00.000-07:00

When I go to the movies, I'm looking for a different experience, something I've never seen before. The movie has to make sense, that's one parameter I insist on. And I have to be immersed in the experience.

Limitless took me there. It's a different movie about a totally different experience. There are many surprises along the way, but it's all set up by the one premise: What would you do, what would happen to you, if you could make more use of your brain rather than the 10-20% we currently use?

Eddie is a down-and-out writer living in the city, slowly losing his grip on everything close to him. His girlfriend just quit on him, but wouldn't you after getting one look at him? Wearing ragged clothes in a dump of an apartment in a lousy part of town, half-grown beard but not intentionally, shaggy hair. Unable to focus. Unable to write. A writer who can't write - how pathetic.

Until by chance he meets the brother of his ex-wife on the street. The brother used to deal drugs, but says he doesn't any more. But he seems to have a bunch of these new handy-dandy pills, pills that bring clarity rather than the usual druggedness. Eddie has nothing to lose, so he takes one. And then his life changes.

There are several scenes where I feel I'm seeing -- flying, really -- into the cab 100 feet in front of me, and then plummeting past that through several more cars, a feeling one supposes Eddie is feeling under the influence. It's dizzying, not pleasant. But then the camera does something really perceptive: it shows me choices when Eddie is in trouble (and, boy, he's in trouble a lot). Would I pick that one, that escape hatch, that weapon? Would I notice things about the person that could be to my advantage? All this and more the camera shows me, shows me a glimpse of what life could possibly be like if I could use everything I've ever read and ever seen, put it in order, use it.

Bradley Cooper has really found a character that uses his gifts for acting. This guy is going up and up and up. And Limitless has an extraordinary guest star, Robert DeNiro, in a character who tries to put things into a business perspective for us.

"Limitless" means several things. Limitless is the brain if it's opened. Limitless are the possibilities. Limitless is the situation Eddie would like his pill stash to be. And limitless seems to be the amount of corruption the human species is capable of.

Thumb's up.

Sucker Punch

2011-03-26T19:38:00.000-07:00

Zach Snyder has never failed to astonish in his last two movies, 300 and The Watchmen, so I was completely onboard when his new movie, Sucker Punch, was released. The difference is that Sucker Punch is from new material co-written by Zach himself, while the other two were adapted from graphic novels. And, it seems, the difference is that two of these movies had well-written and thought-out stories, while the latter does not.

Sucker Punch is quite difficult to encapsulate. Even the beginning, brilliantly shot without dialogue in gray and blue-slate coloring, is hard to summarize. But picture a young woman, nicknamed Baby Doll, escaping from a difficult situation but being committed to a mental institution by a corrupt system run by thoroughly corrupt men.

It's a world within a world within a world, as Baby Doll conjures up two realities, apparently (it's not terribly clear) to deal with the first. In the second world, she's in a house of prostitution, where Dr. Gorski (Carla Gugino, the anchor to the story) takes care of all the young women and teaches them dance routines which are used to entice well-paying customers.

And when Baby Doll starts to dance, she enters her third world, where she and eventually the other women fight off zombie Nazis in a crazy, violent world, where they're capable of great physical feats and have command of many weapons.

The movie is brilliantly shot, there's no doubt about that. And I definitely felt an emotional jolt, particularly at the end, as I got to know all these young women with the ultra-cool names: Sweet Pea (Abbie Cornish), Rocket (Jena Malone), Blondie (Vanessa Hudgens), and Jamie Chung (Amber). And some of the shots have a certain amazing punctuation point, a definitive way of communicating situation and feeling.

But there's no awestruck factor, the same wow! thing I had at the end of 300 and again with The Watchmen. The Watchmen certainly evoked a kind of "What did I just see?" feeling that Sucker Punch did, but I had the certainty with the former that I was watching brilliant material that went into epic scope. Sucker Punch, maybe because of the purposeless Nazi fighting, did not lead me down that same path.

I have to honestly say, however, that I kept being distracted by the Baby Doll factor, the fact that these young women are dressed to allure, even when they're fighting Nazis. They're young manbait, and even though they exhibit strength and determination, they never stop being such in Snyder's dream. Very disturbing.

I would like to see it again because it's so visually compelling. Perhaps the problem is with the brilliance of Zack's other products: there's no comparison. I actually believe it's because of the holes in the screenplay. Still, it's worth watching.

Thumb's up for a disappointing third movie from a brilliant director.

Killers

2011-03-26T19:26:00.000-07:00

The title "Killers" does not refer to Ashton Kutcher's character, a young man who has a license to kill and the resume to prove it. Killers refers to all the professionals and amateurs who are enchanted by a $20,000 bounty fee if they kill him.

We start by introducing Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl in a meet-cute situation in Nice, where he's almost naked and she's been dumped by her ex-boyfriend. Her accompanying parents -- Tom Selleck and the wonderful Catherine O'Hara -- complicate matters, but we fast-forward to idyllic life between the two young marrieds, a simple life since he's decided to give up on his killing lifestyle. However, some lifestyles are just hard to quit.

The movie doesn't offer a great deal of anything new -- until the end, that is, where everything I thought was happening really was but with odd twists. That and the beautiful French scenery -- plus the beauty of these young stars -- almost make up for the fact that it's a pretty boring, pretty predictable movie in the middle hour-and-a-half. Almost.

Part of the film's problem is that it's a comedy wrapped up in action-suspense clothing. It can't really decide which way to turn. Go with the comedy bent, though. It's much easier even though some of the action scenes are quite well done.

It's a great way to spend a mindless afternoon if you choose. You'll be amused by the ending, hopefully not enough to curse this reviewer for two hours you'll never get back.

Thumb's Up for the actors and the screenwriting surprises.

Nowhere Boy

2011-03-24T18:05:00.000-07:00

We first meet teenager John Lennon when he's in his early teens. It's quite obvious that he's a troublemaker around school, has no stomach for it, and whiles away the time looking at semi-porn magazines, hanging around with his mates smoking, and drawing doodles while the teacher talks.

Sam Taylor-Wood's Nowhere Boy is biographical in the sense that we know certain things about Lennon's life. His mother gave him up to her sister to raise when he was only 5. His uncle, to whom he was quite attached, died suddenly. He had a love-hate relationship with Aunt Mimi, who always stuck by him. And when John was in his later teens, he went to visit his mother, who reappeared into his life now and again until she was suddenly struck by a car and died.

But it's non-biographical in the sense that almost all dialogue is imagined, fictionalized, because we weren't there. And John isn't talking any more.

While the acting is very good, especially from award-winner Kristin Scott Thomas as the stoic Mimi, it's a slow movie, and those of us who hunger for more of a sense of how the Beatles got started won't get it here. But we do get a sense of how traumatic John's life was as he was growing up, how hard it was for him to find a stable anchor. While it would be easy to see how John went off the rail tracks many times as he aged, conclusions about such causes drawn from his childhood would be simplistic.

Still, it's a fascinating look at what became a driven, fascinating character determined to find his way in the arts.

Thumb's up.

The 3 Best Films of 2010

2011-03-02T15:55:00.000-08:00

So much has been written about these films. I just want to say a few things about each of them. Each was deserving of Best Film of 2010:

The King's Speech: Absolutely brilliant screenplay, made even more brilliant by the top three actors, Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, and Helena Bonham Carter. Each gave nuance where no nuance was probably indicated. And lovingly directed. It's just a joy to watch the story of a true friendship, a rare thing, between a royal and a commoner.

Black Swan: Brilliantly acted and shot, and very hard to watch. If flesh being ripped from bones doesn't upset you, then sit down to watch almost a documentary on what it takes to be a world-class ballerina. The acting is amazing, from Natalie Portman to Mila Kunis (how far she's come from That Seventies Show!), her new friend in this ballet world, to Vincent Cassel, the director who forces his ballerina to reach for her dark side in Swan Lake. The music is haunting, appropriately so, and will sift into your dreams ever after.

The Social Network: I was just stunned by this fictionalized tale of Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook. The argument throughout the movie is that Zuckerberg wasn't the only one with this idea, but had to pay off those who had something to do with the concept. It's more a story of modern times, of kids without moral compass. It's a story of how Zuckerberg shafts his friends and fellow college students to be on top. One of the best pieces in laying this foundation of duplicity is his friendship with Sean Parker, who founded a website, Napster, that ripped off music companies and their artists. This is amazing filmmaking by David Fincher. The only thing that may disturb you is that we don't know how much of this story is true, how much we see of Zuckerberg -- a sociopath with no friends -- is true. Oh, and the fact that these guys are taking over the world. That's truly frightening.

Secretariat

2011-02-07T19:40:00.001-08:00

Secretariat is the amazing story of a horse that, beyond all odds, went on to win the Triple Crown in 1973. The last prong of the Triple Crown, the Belmont, was won by an astonishing 31 lengths, a feat that hasn’t been repeated. It’s an amazing story, but this is not an amazing movie.

Penny Tweedy Chenery goes back home to the family ranch in Virginia when her mother dies. She discovers that her father is quickly slipping into Alzheimer’s, and the ranch is not doing well financially. Penny takes over the ranch, and in an odd arrangement her father had made, gets in a coin toss a seemingly uninspiring foal. She finds a trainer that no one else seems willing to hire, and a jockey that takes chances, and, with her family bucking against her, puts all her faith in Big Red – known professionally as Secretariat – a faith which proves well deserved.

An interesting piece of the story is how a woman managed to get her own way in a very male-dominated business. And that part of the story is told with authority and a sense of humor. However, and I suspect it’s to fill the two-hour-long space, Penny’s dialogue is full of platitudes. The dialogue is amazingly bland and uninspiring even though the story itself is not.

The rest of the cast is wonderful for the most part. John Malcovich as trainer Lucien Laurin seems a little crazy, a little crafty. Together the woman who shouldn’t be there and a trainer who’s not wanted elsewhere work together to take the risks that produce a winner.

Take a look at the extras in the DVD. You’ll see the real Penny Tweedy Chenery and the real Secretariat, and that twosome is a sight to behold. While the movie could stand a better script, it's a great story. Thumb's up.

Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work

2011-01-04T20:07:00.001-08:00

Not too many female comedians -- in the past, comediennes -- preceded Joan Rivers. Phyllis Diller. Moms Mabley. Rusty Warren. A handful. 40 years later, at the age of 75, Joan reflects back on her career in this documentary, and wonders why she's the opposite of "hot."

In fact, her weekly calendar, something she still keeps manually, is just pitiful, with empty white space stretching week after week. Her manager is tough to find, won't answer phone calls. She'll go anywhere, and do anything. Her career is practically on hold. But she won't give up.

The documentary follows Joan for about a year, right before she's about to appear on Celebrity Apprentice, an event which was brilliantly selected to showcase the real Joan. This documentary does even better than that. We see the ups and downs, we hear what she really feels about those who have been in her life: Johnny Carson, her daughter Melissa, her husband (who killed himself at one of the worst down periods in Joan's life, perhaps the ultimate betrayal).

This show is dazzling as the star allows all her warts to be shown to us. It's a fascinating look into the career, the life, of a woman who can never stop working, competing, giving it all she's got. You either love or hate Joan, but you have to admire her tenacity, and, yes, her integrity.

Thumb's up.

Twilight: Eclipse

2010-12-16T15:24:00.001-08:00

This is the third Twilight movie in the series. If you're a Twifan, I don't need to tell you that. If you're not, you don't care.

I haven't read the books, which is a major disadvantage. It's like trying to tell what's going on in the Harry Potter movies, at least the latter three, without having read the books; the difference is that the HP series has a masterful screenwriter. The Twilight screenplay isn't nearly as good a summation, and we're treated to snippets of dialogue that supposedly explain all the different type of weird people and goings-on. It doesn't.

In part two, we were introduced to Jacob the werewolf, not just Jacob the Bella suitor. Jacob is pressing the issue in #3, and Bella is clearly attracted to him. But Bella made a promise to Edward, that, upon her graduation, she would... Well, that would be spoiling things. But suffice to say it's not sex, to the great relief of her father (boy, is he clueless here).

In general, the movie is static, doesn't move, except for some brief fight scenes toward the end. Oh, I should tell you that young vampires are fierce and can't control themselves -- about the only thing interesting happening here. Otherwise, it's the characters emoting at each other, and that just gets boring.

Except for the fine acting of the main three actors, there's really no reason to see this. Or number 4 or number 5....

Thumb's down.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

2010-12-14T19:46:00.000-08:00

I went with a friend of mine to see the latest Chronicles of Narnia, the third installment. I neglected, however, to ask her if she'd seen the other two. She hadn't.

The older of the two Pevensie children have been shipped off to America while the younger -- Lucy and Edmund -- are the ones who are whisked off to Narnia for this adventure. However, this time, an unwilling cousin, Eustace, is whisked off, too. Kicking and screaming.

They fall into a Narnian ocean and are picked up by the Dawn Treader, part cruise ship, part attack vessel, upon which we find King (once Prince) Caspian, a more confident leader than in part two when we met him. The four plus crew sail away to find seven missing kings, each of whom possess a magical sword. But to find them, they have to go through a green mist which tempts each sailor with what he or she most wants.

Yes, it's confusing, but I didn't mind at all because I got to meet a sea-going minotaur, a chivalrous mouse, and a rather large and angry sea serpent. The effects are better in this movie than especially the first because, let's face it, it's five years later. And the actors look a bit older and are better actors.

It's a great adventure on the high seas. And, after three movies, you feel you know these characters, particularly when you see what the green mist has in store for each of them. My only criticism -- okay, I have a couple -- is that there's nothing for the audience to solve. There are no puzzles. We just follow them along on their adventure. I've always found the adventure more fun if I can participate, but perhaps the screenwriter didn't want to stray too far from C.S. Lewis.

But that presents another problem. The dialogue seems to be right out of the book, and Lewis is famous for using platitudes. The dialogue is not very challenging.

And when we finally meet up with Aslan, he is much more the Christ figure here, complete with a place not named but obviously heaven. That was disturbing.

But if you can enjoy the movie as a great adventure with characters you've come to enjoy and like, you'll really like this movie. The story was told well enough that my friend figured out the missing parts quickly enough, and held on for the ride.

Thumb's up!

Unstoppable

2010-12-14T19:31:00.000-08:00

I don't make it a habit to see all of Denzel Washington's films. Some of them are too depressing-looking for me. But when Washington is onboard, you know there's a level of competent acting, regardless of what shape the screenplay is in.

Unstoppable is based on a true story when a rail train breaks free and plummets unmanned down the track. The true story happened in 2001, and while many things have been changed about the story -- including the insertion of Denzel Washington -- the basic story line is true. Which is fascinating.

Washington plays Frank, a guy who's been on trains for 28 years. He's a veteran nearing retirement. Up comes young train guy Will -- with 4 whole months of training -- played by Chris Pine (of James T. Kirk Star Trek fame) -- a guy who has some problems of his own. The long unfurling of the story allows for Frank and Will to get to know one another and hear each other's story.

I found the movie quite exciting -- at least the last 15 minutes of the movie. However, while we were waiting for the denouement, we were entertained by Washington, Pike, and Michele Rodriguez, who plays a station manager. Thanks to Rodriguez and her battle with corporate guys who don't know much about trains (the company's name was fictionalized in the movie), we weren't bored.

It's a predictable storyline without much to break up the monotony except for these 3 and other fine supporting actors. But it's a good action story and quite entertaining.

Thumb's up.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt 1

2010-12-05T21:08:00.000-08:00

If you wandered in off the street to see this movie, or if your spouse or significant other insisted you see this movie with them yet you hadn't read the books or seen the other movies, well, you will be as mystified as if Hermione laid a memory spell on you. You'll have no idea what a horcrux is, or why those three bright young students are looking for them.

But for those of us who have read all the books, including the last one, this first half of the last part of the tale will be quite compelling.

Of course, this part of the story has to do with (1) Keeping Harry Potter safe, often at quite a sacrifice, and (2) Finding those Horcruxes, parts of Voldemort's soul that he's spread all around in ordinary objects. There is no Dumbledore to help Harry, Hermione and Ron, as Dumbledore died last time around, and there are few adults around to even offer sage advice. The three are, pretty much throughout the movie, alone. And the movie is so skillfully done that you feel their isolation quite palpably.

What's wonderful about the movie is that, even though you know there are literally chunks of the book left out, there are lingering moments in fulfilling relationships. There are some lovely, slow moments between Harry and Hermione, especially, when each feels that the other backs them up, has a love for the other that is more trust than physical. And these moments, some of which were never written by J.K. Rowling, sum up their feelings for each other.

I have talked with several movie-goers who believe that this movie does not stand on its own. I believe the movie establishes what Harry (and Hermione and Ron) are up against, and the loneliness and pain that comes with that. The movie achieves that very well. And we all eagerly await Part 2, coming in July 2011.

Thumb's up.

The Sorcerer's Apprentice

2010-12-05T20:55:00.000-08:00

If you're thinking "Mickey Mouse and all those dancing brooms" from Fantasia when you see the title of this film, think again. Oh, sure, there are about 10 seconds of film time when we do see many mops and brooms creating havoc in Dave's laboratory, but that's not the thrust of this movie. But if you blink, you'll miss the actual plot of The Sorcerer's Apprentice, which is wafer-thin.

Dave (Jay Baruchel) is a nerd, always has been, and had a chance to make the winsome Becky his girlfriend except that he blew it at age 10, and figures his life has been a big Nothing since then. Except that he wandered into Bathazar's curio shop and found a real, live wizard (Nicolas Cage) who is doing big-time battle with recent escapee evil-guy Horvath (Alfred Molina). We shoot forward 10 years later, when Balthazar hooks up again with Dave, and seeks his new apprentice's help in combatting Horvath.

The movie isn't terribly compelling, save for its memorable Big Three cast -- Cage, Baruchel and Molina -- but even they can't breathe life into this sodden story. Personality goes a long way, and the film is better for it, but halfway through the third or fifth battle, you can't for the life of you remember why you're there in the first place. There are many good effects along the way -- the live dragon, for one, dazzles -- but that's never a good enough reason to hang on.

There is one thing I liked about the story, and that is that Dave finds a way to help Balthazar fight old and powerful wizards through his own knowledge of science. I thought that was a nice way to add our Everyman into a fight he couldn't win, and yet let us believe he had useful skills.

There are some interesting things about this movie, but on the whole, it's a disappointment. Thumb's down.

Tangled

2010-12-02T14:17:00.000-08:00

Tangled is Disney's new movie about the obscure Rapunzel legend. The story seems to have some twists and turns, although nothing earthshaking, but I have no idea whether it sticks to the Rapunzel legend or not.

Surely the main and secondary characters do not. Rapunzel is the daughter of the king and queen, but is stolen from them and hidden away in a castle by a woman who uses Rapunzel's magical hair to keep her young. The rest of the adventure is how Rapunzel uses a charismatic thief to disobey her "mother" and see up close the floating lights that occur on her birthday every year.

I really wanted to like this movie, but I was bored rather quickly. The beginning, the set-up, takes quite a bit of time. We're introduced to the king and queen, to Rapunzel and the woman masquerading as her mother, to the bandit Flynn Ryder. We're also introduced to Rapunzel's pet chameleon and to the horse who decides he should be hunting a thief. In truth, those animal characters are much better drawn, much more charismatic, watchable and funny, than the main characters. And the action, and there's quite a bit of it, is staggered with long periods of dialogue.

I must admit that I kept wondering why Mother Gothel, Rapunzel's dastardly fill-in mother, didn't change Rapunzel's name, or at least the date of her birth. I mean, why set yourself up for problems some 18 years later? I did enjoy Donna Murphy's voicework re: this character: it helped make the woman human, not so evil, but always with an edge to each sentence spoken.

I did not enjoy the movie very much, but there are certainly movie-goers, probably younger ones, who will really love it.

But for me, thumb's down.

MegaMind

2010-11-16T15:13:00.000-08:00

This is a different kind of animated film, with a different idea. There are TWO superheroes on the planet, and, of course, one's bad and one's good. And the film shows why MegaMind chose to become bad: Metro Man, that goodie-two-shoes, beats him in tasks and popularity every step of the way. It didn't help that they were the same age and went to school together.

If you're a fan of the Superman story at all, you'll laugh in the first quarter of the movie as they make comparison after comparison. It's a really clever send-up of our boy in red and blue.

So, Metro Man, he of the good looks, and MegaMind, he of the bulbous blue head, meet toe-to-toe over many years, with Metro Man winning every single time. Except the last time. MegaMind is finally king.

But, gosh, that's boring. No one to pit yourself against means a lonely existence. And the one girl you really like, Roxanne Ritchie, kind of pines for Metro Man and won't pay you a second glance. Until something kinda weird happens.

There is generally enough action -- you know, people trying to kill each other -- throughout the film to keep kids interested. And there's enough dialogue and funny punch lines to keep adults engaged. And the voices -- Will Ferrell as MegaMind, Brad Pitt as Metro Man, and Tina Fey as Roxanne -- really punch it. I recommend this movie for both kids and adults.

Thumb's up.

Winter's Bone

2010-11-16T14:59:00.000-08:00

Seventeen-year-old Ree lives in her parents' Missouri house. She takes care of her much younger siblings as well as her mother, who seems to be suffering from depression and/or Alzheimer's. Dad is gone, missing. They're barely making it when the sheriff shows up and explains to Ree that her father posted the house as part of his bond. If he doesn't return by the time of his hearing, the house will be forfeited to the bailbondsman.

She knew Dad occasionally cooked some meth from time to time, but had no idea he was in this much trouble. Her uncle, Teardrop, tries to convince her that his brother is dead and to give up the search. But Ree is determined to find him and save the house for the family. She really cannot see any other way out of this fix, so she goes to relative after relative, each of them tougher and meaner than the one before, and all of them trying to impress on her, sometimes in a physical way, to leave well enough alone.

This is a brilliant movie. You as the viewer feel the cold coming into a November Missouri as well as the cold frost from her near and distant relatives. You ache for her, because she's growing old before her time and she knows she, as well as the two kids and a helpless mother, will be homeless before too long. You feel her determination, and you know she's not going to give up.

It's a mystery. It's a character study. You may have a weird uncle in your family, but you've never had relatives like this, cousins who are involved in nefarious activities and maybe they don't want some little girl poking in their business for all kinds of reasons.

The movie is also a study of how women are treated. what their roles are in this rural setting. Most of the women we see have no real power of their own -- they don't have a car, they don't have any money -- but they wield their own power within the clan. It's a fascinating portrayal of rural but modern women. You sense that Ree is different, but there really isn't much escape for her, even if she manages to keep the family together.

Thumb's up for what is one of the best films I've seen all year.

Red

2010-11-02T15:18:00.000-07:00

Red. "Retired. Extremely Dangerous." Yep.

Our story starts out innocently enough as we follow Frank Moses through a normal, boring day. Big house and it's just him. He's obviously retired and doesn't know what to do with himself. But every once in awhile, he calls the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), who issues him his government retirement check. He gets to talk with one OPM specialist, Sarah Ross (Mary-Louise Parker), who, after issuing him a replacement check for the one that was "lost" in the mail, gets down to details of her own boring life. Frank decides that it's time that he meet Sarah and pay a visit to D.C.

But suddenly things change when Frank's life is threatened. We learn that Frank was a highly experienced CIA operative before retirement. To give you any further details would spoil the fun - and I do mean fun - so I'll just add that he brings in old buddies, some who used to be enemies, from the old days. Actors portraying these roles are Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Helen Mirren and others. And Karl Urban is sharp as the agent going after all these REDs.

This is a laugh-a-minute movie when you're not wondering how they're going to get out of the next prickly situation. It's taut action combined with great dialogue, dialogue that goes miles in explaining who each character is, why they're there, why they were good at what they used to do.

Bruce Willis shows his softer side. Helen Mirren is still sexy as she wields some automatic weapon that will never stop firing. Did I mention this movie was fun? Explosive AND fun. See it.

Thumb's up.

Going the Distance

2010-10-05T20:33:00.000-07:00

The good thing about the movie Going the Distance, starring Justin Hill and Drew Barrymore, is that it's a story about an adult long-distance relationship that's truly for adults. There's no boy-wins-girl, boy-loses-girl, boy-figures-it-out-and-wins-girl-back.

The problem with the movie Going the Distance is that there's nothing else to the story. It's a long-distance relationship, and how this winsome couple tries to deal with that. She's struggling with the one career break she's gotten -- in another city. He loves New York, can't find work in her city, and doesn't want to leave anyway. And, gosh, air travel is so expensive.

To beef up the story, the powers-that-be throw in a couple of funny roommates. If you think bathroom humor is funny, you might like them. I don't. I thought it was an interesting and cute concept when we're introduced to the roommate who won't go away, but after he announced his open-bathroom-door policy, they lost me. I didn't mind the raunchy language, but you should be warned this isn't a good one for pre-teens; I didn't mind it because it seemed realistic as to how men talk and relate to each other.

The only reason to see this film is not to see how they work it all out. It's to watch Hill and Barrymore, who are very good separately and together. We just hope for better projects for the both of them.

Thumb's down.

Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief

2010-10-05T20:25:00.000-07:00

Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief is supposed to be for pre-teens, but I adored it. It works for actually all ages.

Percy is a normal teenager being harassed in high school, normally. Suddenly he learns that his father is Perseus, and that Zeus is accusing Percy of stealing his lightning bolt. He's never seen Dad before except for this one time when he tells him he must figure out who stole the bolt, or else Perseus will end up in a battle to the death with his brother, Zeus. The rest of the movie tells the story of how Percy unites with other half-god kids, who join him in the quest to figure out who's guilty of stealing Zeus' lightning.

There are so many twists and turns in this fun film that every time I thought I had figured it out, I hadn't. The movie quite rightly concentrates more on relationships and establishing these teen characters, but the effects aren't bad either. I especially loved the effect of Pierce Brosnan as Chiron, and Uma Thurman as Medusa is a hoot and a half.

It's got a great cast besides the stellar teens. And the plot moves this way and that way, all of which will entertain you. With a long title like that, we can only hope there will be a sequel. Thumb's up.

Me and Orson Welles

2010-09-29T11:11:00.000-07:00

If you've ever been curious about the actor Orson Welles, this is a good movie for you. Actor Christian McKay chews the scenery like you imagine only Orson Welles would or could do. He even looks like him, and displays that arrogance that Orson was so famous for. Unfortunately, that's the only reason I can think of to see this film.

Zac Efron plays a would-be actor, still in high school, but he plays the part a bit older than that. He's always interesting to watch post-HSM, but he really doesn't have much to do. The plot winds around Orson's production of Hamlet on stage in New York, and it's like watching several trains all headed in the same direction: toward each other. And Efron's character is the viewer, admiring his talent but wincing whenever he's addressed by the Genius.

But in a static setting, on a static set, with nothing much happening except to watch Orson go off with girls stage left or stage right, it's boring. Terribly.

Best to go watch one of Orson Welles' movies, and get a real sense for what he could do. Thumb's down.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

2010-09-14T21:59:00.000-07:00

Prince of Persia is too long a movie, longer than its title, with a juvenile, predictable plot and very thin characters. Still, there's a lot to be said for the movie. I actually liked it a lot.

The movie opens with the king adopting an orphan boy, a boy who seems to vault over the houses in the street to escape the king's guards. The boy grows up to be Jake Gyllenhaal's character, Dastan, the third of the king's sons. However, when Dastan is believed to have killed their beloved father, he becomes a fugitive.

It gets a little more complicated than that when he discovers a magic dagger that can reverse time for one minute. One minute doesn't seem like a lot, but if used correctly, it could certainly save a life or two. However, the princess whose city-state he and his brothers had just conquered has other plans for the dagger.

Dastan seems to have street smarts, but doesn't pick up on the fact that his uncle is played by Sir Ben Kingsley, and is obviously the bad guy. I mean, c'mon. Everybody in the theatre knew it.

The sets are gorgeous, the stunts are amazing. Gyllenhaal obviously did a lot of his own work in that regard. And there are some interesting characters thrown into the mix, although, as I said earlier, their characters are paper-thin. Award-winning Alfred Molina is no more than a bit of comedy here, but he does forward the plot a bit. I don't know where they found Gemma Arterton as Dastan's love interest, the princess, but she is truly amazing. Hopefully we'll see her again soon.

It's a beautiful picture with a lot of predictability and silliness, but you'll probably like it like I did. The movie is much better than the trailers, which I found dumb and confusing. Thumb's up for Prince of Persia.

The Losers

2010-09-03T14:57:00.001-07:00

The Losers is, well, mostly a loser of a movie. The cast is on the 'B' side, although one of the members really holds it all together in a John-Wayne way: Jeffrey Dean Morgan (Clay), lately and notable in The Watchmen. However, he can't save the silliness and massive confusion of this movie.

A military task force is betrayed and left for dead while on a mission in South America, and vow to take out whomever did this to them. In the meantime, Aisha (Zoe Saldana), an independent operative, offers them a way to exact revenge.

That's about all I can make of the plot. There's a lot I just didn't get about it.

The silliness starts with a royal battle in Clay's hotel room in Colombia, with Aisha and Clay throwing each other all over the room. We're supposed to interpret this violence as foreplay. That's quite a stretch. It's a fun battle, especially when they walk away from a burning building. But you can't tell me that ultra-thin Saldana can even sit on ultra-big Morgan.

Usually reliable Chris Evans (Fantastic Four, Push) is just a fool here, but is occasionally amusing. The rest of the cast disappears in the action scenes, some of which are spectacular, particularly at the end.

Pass on The Losers. Thumb's down.

Kick-Ass

2010-09-02T19:45:00.000-07:00

Kick-Ass is one of the most fun, imaginative movies of the year.

Aaron, a nerdy high school student, tells his friends he can't figure out why anyone in the real world has never announced that they're going to be a superhero. His friends point out correctly that no one has super powers, but that doesn't stop Aaron. He buys a suit online, and goes out with the idea of stopping evil, even though he has no super powers, like Spider-Man or Superman, or money or training, like Batman.

His exploits draw out others in reaction, one a Mafia-type mobman and the other a trained super-hero, the latter a la Batman.

It's obvious to say there are many funny moments in this film, but there are also many cringe-worthy moments as well, especially when Kick-Ass gets his ass kicked. There's some great casting here: Nicolas Cage as Big Daddy, a Batman-lookalike who has been trying to bring down the Mafia for years. Christopher Mintz-Plasse, who has a nasal view of things, as the son of the mafia guy, a kid who wouldn't mind being a superhero as well, or, failing that, the next leader of his dad's gang, is brilliant in this pivoltal role. But the real keeper, and surprise, is young Chloe Moretz, as Cage's daughter, aka Hit-Girl. She's the one with the real "powers" here, and she swears like a sailor, which only adds to the humor.

The movie successfully combines comic book action and wisdom with reality. This is no kiddie film, however: there is violence and some torture scenes. Be prepared for an adult film with humor, action and pathos.

It's a feel-good movie with some great talent. Thumb's up.

The Kids Are All Right

2010-09-01T11:14:00.000-07:00

Jules (Julianne Moore) and Nic (Annette Bening) are two women who have been together some 20-something years, and they have two children to show for it. They live a routine, make that boring life together, and their kids are so sick of their constant parenting. Little do the two women know that the kids, 15 and 18, are scheming to find out who their sperm donor father is. They go about meeting Paul (Mark Ruffalo) on the sly, and try to learn a bit about him.

Paul from the very start is very appealing to them. He's calm, affable, not like their high-strung, meddlesome parents. The trouble ensues, though, when Paul gets more involved with the family, at some point not in a good way.

I really liked this film, despite the negative issues I've heard about from the lesbian community. I think their issues are valid. In its defense, I think the film showed a lot of issues that real couples deal with. What is a partnership. What is a marriage. And what do you do with your kids when they stop taking your advice.

As you can imagine, Bening and Moore are just super in their roles, and it's amazing how they let the camera play over their 50's-ish wrinkles and freckles. Mark Ruffalo is just about perfect as Paul, the guy who's kind of mellow, but maybe that's only because he's never had a family to deal with. The kids are very good, too, particularly Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Alice in Wonderland).

At the end, it's all about the kids, what's good for them, something Jules and Nic know all about and Paul has yet to discover.

Thumb's up.

The Runaways

2010-08-28T21:24:00.001-07:00

It only took about 15 minutes of film time for my internal voice to start screaming, "Oh, my God! Who let these kids DO this?!"

The Runaways is based on the autobiography of the group's lead singer, Cherie Currie, who wrote about joining a rock group comprised of all girls in the mid-70's. Teen girls - all the girls were 16 or younger when they first recorded. They actually produced some good music, and a future rock star: Joan Jett. But they had to play sleazy clubs to get there.

The movie is an absolutely brilliant, sometimes raw chronicle of Cherie's and Joan's trip in the band. From uncaring parents to a manager who was hell-bent on success and not on his prodigies' well-being, these kids were set up to crave success, perform and not look at the future too urgently. Meteoric success, followed by crash and burn, especially for Cherie, was actually their future.

The acting is superb, particularly Dakota Fanning as Cherie and Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett. Every reaction is recorded on those faces; you certainly understand their choices in reaction to what's happening to them. Excellent editing helps tell the tale of the band's success, particularly in Japan, where they discover, much to their surprise, that they're demi-gods.

The Runaways is hard to watch but fascinating. The success of the all-girl rock band paved the way for many more.

Thumb's up.

Cairo Time

2010-08-28T20:50:00.001-07:00

When Juliette, in Cairo to meet with her husband only to find him unexpectedly delayed, wanders the streets, she finds scores of Egyptian men following her, sometimes inexplicably bumping into her or whispering things in her ear. It's odd that in modern times that an educated woman wouldn't realize that wandering around man-less in an Arab country without anything covering her hair, her bare shoulders, or, gasp, cleavage is just plain stupid. But it does set up her need for Tareq, an Egyptian who is a former coworker of her husband. They meet, and he squires her around the city.

This is a love affair, just as much between Juliette and Tareq as it is the film director, Ruba Nadda (also a woman), and Cairo. Much to our benefit. As Juliette begins to figure some things out about the city and its culture, you see her falling in love with Cairo, too. It doesn't hurt that those mysterious pyramids are just off in the distance, one of the seven wonders of the world.

Patricia Clarkson is no longer in her thirties, but she's still a beautiful woman. However, perhaps even prettier is Alexander Siddig, who plays Tareq. Even though there's little action throughout the movie, it's such a pleasure to watch these two - with that ultra-vibrant Cairo background - and wonder what's going to eventually happen. They are both such fine actors that we gain just from being in their company.

There's a betrayal of sorts, but to tell you any more would spoil Cairo Time.

Thumb's up.

Salt

2010-07-30T17:01:00.001-07:00

The question posed in the trailer, and very quickly in the movie, is, "Who is Salt?" Who is Evelyn Salt (played by Angelina Jolie)? This is the question the movie purports to answer. The film doesn't do a great job of answering that question, but we're too busy holding onto our seats to wonder about it.

The famous scene where a Russian spy accuses Evelyn of being a spy who will kill the Russian president is not the first scene in the movie, but the first to get things moving. We actually start when the North Koreans are torturing that beautiful face. This scene sets up that (1) she's in a dangerous job, no joke, and (2) who her husband is going to be. It's an important scene. It also introduces Liev Schreiber, who plays Ted Winter, Salt's mentor, as a no-nonsense boss of their section of the CIA.

Salt is a stuntwoman's dream. It's hard to believe that Jolie and a hundred stunt people didn't injure themselves making this movie. One jump is more fantastical than the next. But if you want fantastical, examine the plot, which winds in circles around a double of Lee Harvey Oswald, Russian children being trained to kill some 25 years later, and, of course, the who-can-the-audience-trust matrix. The whole Russian plot thing is pretty silly, but it's the structure that holds up a solid hour-and-a-half of Jolie bouncing off trucks and brick walls.

I found the movie, despite the laughable bad Russia theme, very entertaining. Jolie is quite good, emotional enough to let us see inside. Schreiber is always interesting. Chiwetel Eliofor, who plays FBI agent Peabody, is outstanding, as he's the guy we're measuring our emotions and trust against.

Cool stuff. Thumb's up.

Inception

2010-07-21T09:46:00.000-07:00

Inception is the new rage out there, with thousands flocking to see it, just based on word of mouth and scattered, raving reviews.

I don't want to spoil anything about the movie, as you should watch from the beginning and try to unravel all the strings of the puzzle ball yourself. I will say, though, that Leonardo DeCaprio's character, Dom, has a team where he structures people's dreams for whatever purpose they're being paid. A new team member, the architect, is a young college student (Ellen Page), and we see and understand everything about this dimension through her eyes.

Dom wants to pull off one last job so that he can retire and return to his kids. You can guess, however, that this job is a bit more complicated than he imagined it would be.

It's part Memento (also directed by Batman Begins director Christopher Nolan), part The Matrix. Well, The Matrix without the fun and the love interest. It's a bit disturbing, to be sure. The effects are mind-blowing. And DiCaprio gives enough emotional impact to the scenes to keep you involved to see how it all plays out.

I've heard of theatre-goers who have gone to see this movie two or three times to help them figure out what really happened. I believe it. In fact, the movie just might make you a little confused, a little mad. Be prepared.

Thumb's up.

The Wolfman

2010-07-09T14:19:00.000-07:00

Is there any way to scare anyone in the movies any more? I mean, of that select group of people who still go to scary movies.

I don't go to slasher movies. But I am a great fan of the original Universal movies: Frankenstein. The Mummy. The Wolfman. The holy trinity of horror.

There are some very good scenes in the new movie showing the latest Lawrence Talbot, Benicia del Toro, who certainly has the haunted look just walking in the door. I frankly don't know anyone who could top the original, Lon Chaney Jr (whose father played the original Phantom of the Opera), but we try not to hold it against del Toro.

Thankfully, the newest incarnation doesn't spend a lot of time in build-up. Talbot's brother is killed mysteriously, and he comes back to his father's mansion after many years away as an actor in America. There he meets Ben's fiance, played by Emily Blunt.

There are many different takes on the tale in this one, including a different view of the gypsies. They're mysterious, they're powerful, but they're not portrayed as bad. Instead, the religious are pictured as the villains here. Except, of course, that they're right...

Of course, we know what happens when Larry Talbot is bit by the large and powerful beast who's roaming the countryside during the full moon. The same transformation has happened time and time cinematically, including the excellent Rick Baker effects in American Werewolf in London. Rick Baker, makeup specialist, is again part of this art team. So, the real question, besides the obvious one of scary moments, is: will the transformation be worth watching? And the entire movie needs to build up to this moment, as townspeople set their traps and the lone Scotland Yard inspector sets his own. We wait for the next full moon, wait for the howl.... and wonder.

I can tell you this: the whole effect lives up to Baker's legacy. This movie is worth seeing for those who wonder, and for those who don't mind, actually revel, in limbs being torn from the body.

From one who loves a good makeup and special effect, and a decent try at an old gem: Thumb's up.

The Road

2010-07-03T20:24:00.000-07:00

It's the Apocalypse. We don't know why, but our planet is in a death spiral. All the birds and animals are gone. Plants are sparse. For those humans left on this earth-as-hell, food is the main priority.

There's one other priority, of course: survival. The story in The Road centers on a man - who is unnamed (played by Viggo Mortensen) - who is trying to stay alive long enough to teach his young son (played by Kodi Smit-McPhee) how to survive in this new wilderness, with a code of ethics intact. They stay on The Road south which will supposedly take them towards warmer weather and a better chance for hope, in the meantime watching out for marauders who aren't burdened with a sense of what's right.

The movie is dark, to be sure, but sure could have been a lot darker. There is some talk of cannibalism, and you feel the threat, but you never see it. There are certainly circumstances that would give a young boy nightmares, and in this case, older men. The entire movie is filmed not in a gray, but sort of in a brown, sepia tone. The cinematography is amazing as the landscape becomes another main character.

There are some flashbacks to fill in a few gaps, not many. Charlize Theron plays the wife and mother, and you see why she's later not in the picture.

The question here is, how do you remain human under such circumstances? What would you do to survive? The Road asks these questions eloquently and with ominous chords.

Thumb's up.

Snow Cake

2010-07-03T20:14:00.000-07:00

We meet Alex (Alan Rickman) when a young, flighty woman named Vivienne (Emily Hampshire) talks him up in a cafe in northern Canada, hoping to get a ride to Wawa, her home. Even though Alex doesn't want any company, for some reason he finds himself giving her a ride. An accident occurs, and Vivienne is killed in his car. He proceeds to Wawa to explain the situation to her mother, and finds himself embroiled in the whole town's business.

I wouldn't call Snow Cake "delightful," but the movement never falters and there's a lot to learn about Alex, in particular, but also Vivienne's mother (Sigourney Weaver) who, as it turns out, is autistic and doesn't react the same way you or I would to devastating news. With Rickman's witty way with a sarcastic remark, we are never bored, and Weaver and the script find new ways to enchant us. A good assist by Carrie-Anne Moss, who is still unfailingly beautiful, as the neighbor helps the story along.

It's a bit ponderous, heavy on the emotion, but a good independent film bolstered by a strong cast. Thumb's up.

Ghost Writer

2010-07-03T20:02:00.000-07:00

Ghost Writer is a dark story directed by Roman Polanski concerning the former prime minister of England (Pierce Brosnan) who wants his memoirs ghost written. Unfortunately, the first ghost writer died mysteriously. Ewan MacGregor's character is hired to pick up the pieces, but perhaps risks his life in the process.

Ghost Writer has gotten a lot of press, praising Polanski for another The Pianist, another brooding story that brings up more questions than it answers. Let's get right to my point: I'm not a fan.

This movie is a dreary mess. It really doesn't go anywhere, in the beginning, middle or end. There are some scenes that just meander all over the place, especially when our hero is on a bicycle. Literally, meandering all over the place. For no reason whatsoever. And, unfortunately, there are many scenes like that.

An intriguing piece of the storyline was to show a ghost writer with no name. We're never told who he is. But we do get some shards of his past in a throwaway line or two. And MacGregor is splendid in the role even though he has little to work with.

The whole point of seeing this movie would be to see the cast, each of whom is sharp: MacGregor, Brosnan (whose roles just keep getting more diverse), Tom Wilkinson, Timothy Hutton, Kim Cattrall, and the astonishing Olivia Williams, whom we discovered in Dollhouse. However, a brilliant cast list does not necessarily make a brilliant movie, much to our chagrin. And the denouement does not justify the buildup. Pass on this.

Thumb's down.

How to Train Your Dragon

2010-07-03T19:43:00.000-07:00

I saw How to Train Your Dragon in a most unusual venue (a cruise ship), a venue that turned out to be less than optimal (too much light, no popcorn), but within minutes I forgot all about all that as I drifted into this delightful animated world.

Hiccup, a young Viking and son to the head of the Viking nation, wants to show his father he's brave and so he believes he has to kill dragons, when he stumbles upon the most feared dragon of all in a valley from which the dragon cannot escape. To tell you any more would spoil the journey, but I found it a wonderful one that speaks to even our modern concerns.

Jay Baruchel voices Hiccup with just the right amount of youthful sarcasm, and we find ourselves laughing before we even get to the punchline of the story. We feel for the guy -- I mean, his is laughingly no Viking body -- and his plight to please his father is ageless. Dad is voiced by Gerard Butler, who never tries to approximate a Viking accent but instead sticks to his normal Scottish one (for some reason), but nuances a sympathetic, nice-guy parent who wants to be proud of his son but who understands that some have to stay behind and cook or sharpen the weapons.

There's enough action here to keep the young ones busy, enough coming-of-age sensibilities to keep teenagers watching, and enough good story to keep adults tuned in. This is a keeper, on the scale of - dare I say it? - a Pixar gem.

Thumb's up.

Leap Year

2010-06-05T17:16:00.000-07:00

And we go on to another light comedy, Leap Year, a comedy that is so predictable, we could write the beginning, the middle, and indeed, the end.. Leap Year, of course, is the 29th of February, an event that occurs once every four years, and, as such, allows such extraordinary events as the woman asking a man to marry her.

Or so thinks Anna (Amy Adams). When her boyfriend doesn't propose to her before he leaves on a business trip, she comes up with the idea that she could do this herself. The only problem is, she has to get to Dublin -- Ireland, not California -- in two days. But in doing so, she meets all kinds of problems, more than Ulysses did during his 10 years of trying to return home. She eventually meets an innkeeper who helps her cross ireland to get to her boyfriend.

There really is only one reason to see this film: the two actors, Amy Adams and Matthew Goode. We know Amy Adams (or at least we think we do), and if you get tired of the dialogue -- usually her dialogue -- you can always stare at one of the most beautiful redheads in Hollywood. Matthew Goode is usually a dapper personality, but not so here, and perhaps that was the appeal of this role. He plays a jerk most times, but you eventually find out about that heart o' gold. Irish gold.

A friend recommended this film to me after watching it on an international airline flight. You don't need good sound for such movies, as their simplicity is what's needed and wanted. There are two main characters. Maybe a third, if you count Anna's Louis Vuitton suitcase. You do have all that wonderful Irish countryside scenery. And a bit of Irish beliefs thrown in, just a touch for the soup.

It's simple, it's predictable, there are only two reasons to watch this film. And even then, if you have a more serious use for your time, don't.

Thumb's down.

It's Complicated

2010-06-02T10:40:00.000-07:00

Okay, it isn't that complicated. Jane (Meryl Streep) has been divorced from Jake (Alec Baldwin) for 10 years, but they meet at their son's graduation from college and feel that old attraction. In the meantime, however, Jane is attracted to her architect, Adam (Steve Martin). Whom would you choose?

Alec Baldwin is a master at comedy, and he's got that low, sexy voice to go with it. Yes, his body is slowly expanding, much like that oil slick we're hearing about every day, but he oozes charm. However, drawbacks may include the fact that he's cheating on his (much younger) wife. Just like he cheated on Jane a decade ago. Plus, at times he's a complete idiot.

Unfortunately, other than the three things I just mentioned (Streep, Baldwin, and Martin), there isn't much to recommend this comedy. The physical comedy, for the most part, just doesn't work. All that works is that these marvelous over-50 actors (well, except for Baldwin, who's in his forties playing fifties) chewing up some scenery. But the scenery just isn't written well enough or is interesting enough.

Pass unless you just have to see what these three are doing nowadays, and I wouldn't blame you.

Thumb's down.

The Messenger

2010-06-01T19:23:00.001-07:00

There are stories about war, and there are excellent stories about Iraq. The Messenger is both.

The Messenger, however, is not a story about soldiers in Iraq, territory that The Hurt Locker covered. This story concerns one soldier who came home, who survived although many of his team members did not, and is enlisted into a team to give the bad news to family members who are waiting for their sons and daughters and spouses to come home.

On the face of it, it seems to be an easy assignment. Ben Foster, as the young staff sergeant who only has 3 months left in the Army, however, isn't sure he wants anything to do with anything the Army offers, as he feels totally disoriented upon arriving home, even though he's been tagged as a hero. And his pairing with the captain in charge of the detail, portrayed by Woody Harrelson, is not to his liking. But the two find a way to get the job done.

But a hard job it is. I understand that the two actors had no idea what to expect when they walked into every notification scenario. What we see in their reaction rings true.

This is an unusual but brutal take on the cost of war, and is as successful in its mission, and message, as The Hurt Locker. It's stunning. I needn't tell you how good Harrelson is; he is setting new records with the variety and breadth of roles he takes on. But Foster is one of our young great actors -- witness 3:10 to Yuma. Keep an eye on him.

Thumb's up.

Extraordinary Measures

2010-06-01T19:13:00.000-07:00

Extraordinary Measures is based on a true story of a couple who have two children with a debilitating spinal disease similar to M.S. In the story, they hunt down a researcher and partner with him to help him solve the mystery of the disease before their children die.

I really enjoyed this movie for several reasons. First, there was nothing simple about finding that cure. There is no cure, and the movie is quite blunt about that. But the enzyme that was eventually developed would help their children, and others, mostly infants. Stumbling block after block is shown, and solutions are sought, realistically.

I also like the fact that Harrison Ford finally plays his real age. He plays the curmudgeonly genius scientist who figures it out, but pushes everyone else away from him. And Brendan Fraser plays the father who, as a businessman, finds a way to fund his research. Although Ford was fine, Fraser is the best I've ever seen him. He has that eagerness that makes you want to play along with him, but the emotion to pull off the fact that this father felt the time-bomb of his children's lives ticking away.

It's a tearjerker to be sure, but a good one. Thumb's up.

Robin Hood

2010-06-01T19:01:00.000-07:00

In this re-imagining of the legend of Robin Hood, Robert Lochsley participates in many historic events, some of which never really happened in his lifetime. But don't let that get in your way.

The latest of Ridley Scott-Russell Crowe movies is great fun, as long as you pretend you never opened a history book. This version is pre-Robin Hood, before the legend, and we get a nice look at the Crusades, which couldn't have been pleasant for anyone. It's nice to finally see a version that shows Richard the Lionheart for what he really was, that is, not the savior of England, but a rather ruthless warmonger who fought his entire life. It's amazing that history portrays him as a charismatic king who had great loyalty among his men.

But then again, King John isn't any better as the monarch who stayed home and really pillaged his own people in order to keep his kingdom afloat financially. And in true Ridley Scott way, we see the nuts and bolts of this in the English countryside.

Giving this venue some heart and character, Cate Blanchett plays a plucky Maid Marion, whose husband went off to war 10 years ago, days after they were married, and never came back.

This isn't the Robin Hood of your parents or even your grandparents. Robin does not take from the rich and give to the poor, but he is a voice for the downtrodden, those taxed without representation. And he's not merry, although he does have a band of men; he rarely cracks a smile.

I like the fact that Ridley Scott's movie shows Robin Hood as an archer. I read that one out of every five men in Europe died of an arrow in the Middle Ages. After seeing this movie, I'm surprised it wasn't more.

Thumb's up for a fine action movie.

Iron-Man 2

2010-05-26T09:47:00.000-07:00

This is not Iron Man 2. This is Tony Stark 2.

And, as such, a lot of critics have said that Iron Man redux has bombed. I completely disagree. Because I think that Iron Man, the suit, is boring. Stark, as portrayed by Robert Downey, Jr., is the whole thing here. He can entertain simply by standing still and saying nothing. But he does little of that here.

We join the scene just after Stark has declared himself to be Iron Man. The whole world goes nuts with the news, including Ivan Vanko, an inventor in Russia who decides to take it to Stark in a public arena. Mickey Rourke, I understand, went to Russia in a bit of method actor obsession to learn a Russian accent. He learned it so well I didn't understand much of what he said. He's very good in this part, totally believable as the brilliant but over-the-top inventor.

Sam Rockwell fares less well as Hammer, who is the antithesis of Tony Stark. He's in it for the money, fame, glory, and doesn't have an ounce of Tony's genius. But he does have showmanship, and a penchant for the dramatic.

The film has a well-placed cast. Rhodey, the Army colonel who is Tony's best friend, has a face-lift here but some really great scenes as he gets to wear an iron suit of his own. Pepper Potts, as portrayed by Gwyneth Paltrow, has some good scenes, although we're so smitten with her we wish she'd had more. And Jon Favreau - yes, the director of the film - has an ongoing role as the chauffeur who leaps in to help, but not always in the best way.

But the real show is Downey, who shows what a man will do when he's circling deeper and deeper into the abyss, unable to control this monster that he's created: himself and the Iron Man, who are one and the same.

I loved this movie. Sure, there are bits and pieces of scenes that don't make sense or don't belong, but the adrenaline peak excuses all of that.

Thumb's up.

All About Steve

2010-05-23T18:21:00.001-07:00

Sandra Bullock made three movies in 2009. Two of them were outrageously successful, commercially and critically. This review is about the third one.

All About Steve concerns Mary, who is a single woman who is living with her parents ("my apartment is being fumigated..."). She's a creator of crossword puzzles, and although her art is enjoyed by many, her knowledge of all things needed to construct such puzzles is not. She's pretty much a nerd, and acting "normal" in any situation is hard for her. She meets Steve on a blind date, pushes herself on him, and in an effort to get away, he suddenly receives a phone call, and foolishly utters the bon mots, "too bad you're not going with me."

So she does. Yep, this is a stalker movie. The trick, of course, is to make the stalker seem nice, likeable, not terrible because she tends to do stalkish things. You can see why the producers tapped on Bullock's shoulder.

But the storyline is really weak, as you can probably tell. Most critics have ruled this film a disaster, but I will not, because of just one thing: Thomas Haden Church. He is hilarious as the newscaster anchor-wannabe. Haven't we seen this before in comedy? Jim Carrey, perhaps. Will Ferrell WAS an Anchorman, so he really doesn't count. Church does it a bit differently, but every move is funny. His Hartman Hughes tries desperately, as an on-the-road, on-camera reporter, to infuse great emotion in every scene he narrates.

Bradley Cooper, who plays the hunk Steve here, has less of a fate. How much can you do as the hunk? You certainly can't be funny, although he tries. Mostly he's stuck behind the camera as Hughes' cameraman.

The screenplay gets points for not ending up where we think it might. It loses some in the simple telling of a not-so-interesting story. But the movie itself gains points in its casting.

It's not great cinema by any means, but there are some chuckles to be had. It's better than I thought it would be. Thumb's up.

InAlienable

2010-05-14T21:52:00.001-07:00

I've always liked Walter Koenig the actor. I believe, however, I'm not fond of Walter Koenig the screenwriter.

The cast is a who's who from Star Trek and other sci fi T.V. shows and features. Actors include Richard Hatch (Battlestar Galactica, new and old), Walter Koenig (Star Trek), Alan Ruck (Star Trek, Ferris Bueller's Day Off), Jay Acovone (Beauty and the Beast), Patricia Tallman (Babylon 5 and several other genre shows), and, well, you get the idea. One of the other actors is worth noting: Andrew Koenig, who is Walter's son and who recently took his own life.

Eric Norris, a biochemist, discovers that his body is host to a parasite from another world that arrived by meteorite. About half of the movie sets up Eric's family tragedy, an accident that he still feels guilty over, and the development of this parasite. When Eric "gives birth" to the creature, the movie moves into Measure of a Man mode, a trial situation, where arguments are presented that this creature should have rights. If you've seen Measure of a Man, it's a Star Trek: Next Generation episode where Data is either determined to be property or given the rights of a human. While Measure is a good episode, showing the meat of why we like Star Trek, showing a lot of pathos because we care about Data, we really don't care about Norris and his offspring. And the ending is terribly done.

Thumb's down.

Whiteout

2010-05-14T21:41:00.000-07:00

Whiteout concerns the workers in Antarctica, especially U.S. Marshal Carrie Stetko (Kate Beckinsale), who finds that a killer is among them. Her job, as she teams up with an FBI agent, is to find the killer, and why he killed, before 6 months of darkness descends upon them.

As a whodunit, this movie isn't quite there. You're barely introduced to the killer before the scene we're waiting for, although there are some surprises later. The real story, despite the rather longish backstory of Stetko's career and why she ended up in the frozen wasteland, is the frozen wasteland, and how a whiteout can destroy a perfectly good day.

There are several scenes during whiteout conditions where the killer inches his way along a tether line towards his next victim. Of course, we all know that if he, or our heroine, let's go, they're likely to stray off the path and meet their death. It's hard to imagine a less suspenseful way of setting up a scene.

It's interesting to see how one survives in such conditions, and how law enforcement would have to try to work in such circumstances. But the mystery itself is lacking.

I would pass. Thumb's down.

Uncertainty

2010-05-11T15:30:00.001-07:00

Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Lynn Collins (the love interest in Wolverine) play a young couple with a decision (or more) to make. Which way they'll go is the theme here: the film shows both ways from the first few minutes.

In one scenario, Gordon-Levitt's character finds a cell phone in the back of the cab. In trying to trace who the phone belongs to, they enter into extreme danger.

In the other scenario, they explore the meaning of family when, while driving to a family picnic, they pick up a stray dog.

Uncertainty isn't terribly compelling. I understand that there were no lines to the scenes, only general direction, and that each actor had to establish their own character's identity and lines. This process seems nice, but often leads nowhere. The only reason I stuck with the film is because of Gordon-Levitt and Collins. Their performances are very good. But the storylines, even though presented in an unusual way, weren't enough. The pace was uneven, at best, in the cell phone mystery, and non-existent for the most part in the family scenario.

I would skip this, and hope for better roles for both actors.

Thumb's down.

Clash of the Titans

2010-05-07T17:49:00.000-07:00

Just after I had seen Clash of the Titans, a friend texted me, "What did you think? My answer: "It's pretty bad when you find yourself rooting for Medusa."

I saw the original Clash of the Titans of 1981 several times, but then, I was always drawn to Ray Harryhausen's stop-motion special effects work. I remember being riveted to the screen when Medusa and her snarly snakes went looking to kill all the Greeks she could find. And the Calibos monster, half-man, half-something else, was the scariest to me.

This Clash has a slightly different story line. Rather than having Perseus (the rather stiff Harry Hamlin) pass several tasks, like taming a flying horse (Pegasus), Perseus in the modern version is Sam Worthington (from Avatar), who is seeking revenge on Hades, the God of the underworld, for destroying his family. He picks up several Greeks along the way to help him in the task. As it turns out, Worthington's Perseus has no charisma at all, and is only slightly less wooden than Hamlin's character, but his supporting cast of Greeks are far more watchable and make this version almost bearable. Almost.

As it is, however, Clash of the Titans is an excuse to get a bunch of Greek Gods up there on the screen, because they look all shiny and neat, and to employ special effects. Some of this doesn't make any sense at all -- for instance, we see only quick glimpses of the rest of the gods, Liam Neeson looks more Irish than Greek but he does look shiny, and Ralph Fiennes, although imperious as Hades, seems to pronounce words differently than his fellow gods (like "Kraken").

And Sam Worthington's butch haircut doesn't remind you of any Greek you've ever met, ancient or not. He certainly doesn't look like the young 20's man he's supposed to represent.

Many of the special effects creatures offered here are poor comparisons to Harryhausen's. They seem to lack heart. The only exceptions are Medusa, who is exquisitely evil, and depicted almost with pity, and, briefly, the Kraken, at the end.

This Clash could've been so much more. Skip it.

Thumb's down.

Good Hair

2010-04-19T09:13:00.001-07:00

I had no idea. No idea that African-American women went to such lengths for beauty. Not even for beauty, but for normalcy.

Good Hair is a documentary co-produced and starring Chris Rock, a documentary which shows the extraordinary measures black women in our culture go to to achieve "good hair." "Bad hair" as defined by this movie is nappy, or natural, African hair. Apparently it's not desired.

Desired hair, or "good hair," is the white look. Straight. Glamorous. And women (and many men) are willing to put acid on their hair to straighten it regardless of the pain ("just a little more, just a little longer," said one man who described the process of pain with the product on his hair).

Those who can afford it opt for the weave, a rather expensive process where other women's hair is woven into their own; this option is less painful but far more time-consuming. There is a telling moment during the film when several people, real people, wonder out loud how some can afford it. The answer is: any way, any how. Looking good is more important than paying the rent.

The documentary makers don't make judgment. Chris Rock just looks amazed throughout. What bookends the movie is Rock's musings about what to tell his two girls when they get a little older about this process. As it turns out, there is no good answer.

I highly recommend this movie. Good Hair does a good job of showing the price that is paid for image. It's engrossing, it's funny, it's amazing. Thumb's up.

Bad Lieutenant, Port of Call - New Orleans

2010-04-14T16:24:00.000-07:00

Nicolas Cage. You needn't say more. He really tops himself in this role of a complicated detective in the port of New Orleans. When you think "over the top," sure, you think "Nicolas Cage," but his portrayal is more multi-leveled than that.

Terence McDonagh is injured in a selfless act post-Katrina and needs constant pain medication for his back just to make it through the day. Every stiff-legged step he takes tells you that throughout this drama. The act of altruism we see in the beginning tells us that McDonagh isn't a bad guy, but he drifts into bad activities in order to alleviate the pain -- helping himself to drugs in the police lock-up, eventually holding up kids and threatening them with police records in order to get their stash, etc.

In the meantime, while we watch his descent into a drug-addled life, his police work and excesses take us into a bam-bam kind of existence: he's trying to solve the murder of a family, his drug-using prostitute girlfriend has her own problems with men who beat her up as part of the sex, his alcoholic father's dog needs to be taken care of, he runs afoul of his bookie when he bets on the wrong teams over and over, a nervous teenage witness has to be protected, and he starts seeing hallucinations -- on and on until you wonder when everything will cave in on him.

Thankfully this is an intelligently written screenplay with more than a few surprises and, of course, excesses. It's rather compelling and, due to Cage's skill and effect on us, we're involved enough to see it through.

Talk about excess. There are a couple of scenes where our coked-up lieutenant resembles the lead character in Scarface. This film isn't for everyone, but for those who like action and especially Cage, it's a winner. Thumb's up.

An Education

2010-04-14T16:14:00.001-07:00

As the movie An Education began to unfold, I had the uneasy feeling that this was another tale of innocent girl, 16 years old in this film, meets older man who takes advantage of her. While that is in a way true, this is a different tale, and one that should be watched, flinching be damned.

Carey Mulligan, who has received top awards for her portrayal of Jenny, a teenager in the sixties who is trying to do what her beloved teachers and Type A-father are telling her, but she wants to move a bit faster, a bit differently. Trying to bone up on the Latin that will propel her towards Oxford, she by chance meets an older man, far wittier than any schoolboy on a bicycle she's likely to run into in school circles. David is instantly charmed by this very clever girl, one who seems to know a bit about art and music, and offers to introduce her to his two friends, Danny and Helen, and the cultured world. He also introduces her to quite a bit more, and I would be doing you a disservice to explain what or how.

While her father (Alfred Molina) constantly bleats at her that education is the way for a young girl to do better than he did in life -- remembering this is the sixties - he's also giving some mixed messages when he, too, is charmed by David and allows, well, what he shouldn't be allowing. Why Molina hasn't received all the awards actors can accrue is a mystery; as wonderful as Mulligan is, Molina is the character that sets everything up in her young life.

This is really an amazing film, one that shows us that education comes in many ways and on many levels. I highly recommend it. Thumb's up.

Yesterday Was a Lie

2010-04-04T18:17:00.000-07:00

This is the tale of a gumshoe who finds that time keeps shifting on her. And when you hear "gumshoe," you know that we're talking '30's or '40's, although we're never told what year it is. And when our private detective Hoyle (Kipleigh Brown) lifts the black rotary phone, we're sure this is film noir.

The film is an independent one, on low budget with high concept. The film was originally filmed in color but the film has been bleached to black and white. It's quite an effective technique, especially with two blondes whose hair shines with aura. The lighting is magnificent.

Hoyle seems to have a drinking problem, as she deals with her disjointedness with a swig of bourbon every chance she gets. She keeps coming across a blonde singer (Chase Masterson) whose name we never hear but who seems to be wherever Hoyle goes.
She's also dogged by a cast-off boyfriend, who seems to know more than he's saying.

While this film looks like it could star Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray, there's no murder here to solve, just Hoyle's own personal internal mystery. And no '40's film ever looked this good.

The film would've been better as a short, as the theme is repeated and repeated to reach the length of a full-length movie. The end is less than satisfying, and, although the denouement may resemble Memento, that movie that everyone loves to talk about but hates to watch because it's so confusing, this one is not confusing by the end. It's just not up to the build-up.

Thumb's up for the intriguing look and rather new turn on an old idea. For those who only appreciate Hollywood-made excess, you're gonna want to skip it.

Crazy Heart

2010-04-04T11:50:00.000-07:00

There's a scene in the beginning of Crazy Heart that sums up 'ol country singer Bad Blake's current state of affairs: he gets out of the car, his pants askew and belt undone, and pours a jug of yellow liquid on the ground of the parking lot. In other words, he's currently an out-of-luck, gotta-get-to-the-next-venue country singer, and no money or time to stop at any motel along the way.

It's a fine screenplay, achingly portrayed by Jeff Bridges in the title role. His singing voice is acceptable, believable in the lower registers, and gruff enough to make us believe this guy has been through everything a country singer should experience. The only part of this movie I found unbelievable was the May-December romance. While Maggie Gyllenhaal is a fine actress, and getting better all the time, I just did not see how she could be attracted to this old, smelly, bedraggled mess of a man.

Even though there's no real action to speak of, the movie never slows, and keeps up a constant character portrayal of Bad Blake and his move towards redemption. The music is another character in this movie, and is a real star, thanks to T-Bone Burnett, who co-wrote the songs with Ryan Bingham. It's really outstanding, and I'm not a country music fan per se.

I highly recommend Crazy Heart, not just for the fine acting but also for its heart. And, of course, it's the pinnacle, so far, of Jeff Bridges' fine acting career, as he won an Oscar for it.

Thumb's up.

Twilight: New Moon

2010-04-04T11:39:00.000-07:00

Unless you've been living in a cave populated by only the likes of CNN and Bill Maher, you'll know that the Twilight series about vampires has a new edition out: New Moon. New Moon occurs after Edward leaves Bella alone to fend for herself. "New Moon" refers to the fact that there are not only vampires around, there are werewolves. And you have to wonder about Edward's value system when he leaves the woman he loves behind so that they can prey upon her.

But "prey" is a word to be defined. There are vampires who want to kill her, and apparently werewolves who wouldn't mind the same, but there is also a werewolf who loves her, Jacob. Jacob was born on an Indian reservation, but cuts his hair and bulks up so that he can run with the pack of local boys. It takes Bella awhile to figure this all out, but she was slow on the uptake about Edward in the first movie/book, if you'll recall.

I found this movie not only slow but turgid and downright full of itself, arrogant. The only time it seemed worth paying attention was during the fight scenes, which were brilliantly shot with some decent CGI but all too brief. Add also the scenes between Bella and Jacob; I knew Kristin Stewart was a good actress, but had no idea that Taylor Lautner could hold our attention. He does. But both of them are not enough to save this serial.

Look out, there's another one around the corner, a development that leaves us holding our throats and howling at the moon.

Thumb's down.

Fantastic Mr. Fox

2010-04-04T11:32:00.000-07:00

Fantastic Mr. Fox is an animated adventure chronicling Fox's rejection of his urban ways and then helping his community thwart the humans who are out to destroy them. The famous voices include George Clooney as Fox, Meryl Streep as his wife, and many others like Bill Murray as the badger.

It's a unique filming process. I said "animated," but it's really more stop-motion, and the fur looks so real because it is. The voices make these characters come to life. They are full-blown characters, just like Roald Dahl wrote about in his novel. It's quite fascinating to watch these animals adapt to city life (well, most of them have), and sympathize with a very real Mr. Fox when he can't quite leave his hands, er, paws, off the chickens.

However, I didn't quite find it as fascinating as most reviews. I got a little bored toward the end, even though there were some delightful surprises. Still, I highly recommend it as something completely different from what you've ever seen before.

Thumb's up.

The Burning Plain

2010-03-21T10:38:00.001-07:00

The Burning Plain appeared in 2008 and promptly disappeared, but you can catch it on DVD. The movie stars Charlize Theron as a very accomplished restaurant manager, but whose personal life seems aimless. Parallel storylines concern a teenage girl and her difficulties with her mother when the latter isn't spending a lot of time lately with the family, and a young pre-teen girl who accompanies her father when he gets a job in Mexico as a cropduster.

This is a story of regret, of loss, of redemption. There are no car crashes in The Burning Plain. There's not even a lot of action. Most of what happens, the action, per se, is in these actors' faces. Interesting storyline, an intertwining of all these storylines, and excellent acting jobs from the entire cast.

Theron is marvelous, minimal movement in a difficult part. Kim Basinger has found a role that suits her aging face, and she's wonderful, magnetic. It's great to see Robin Tunney, so marvelous in The Mentalist as we see her finally hit her stride given the chance, and John Corbett, as Theron's character's friend in the restaurant who doesn't understand why she has to self-destruct. The Hispanic actors, however, are the ones who shine here, particularly Jose Maria Yazpik as Carlos.

The acting is what drives this drama. I recommend it.

Thumb's up.

The Time Traveler's Wife

2010-03-20T14:44:00.000-07:00

The Time Traveler's Wife is actually the story of a time-traveler, Henry (played by Eric Bana), who discovers this talent and curse at the age of 7, right before the car in which he's riding is smashed.

But the story, although obviously about Henry's struggles, is not about Henry's travels. I was curious as to where he ends up each time, naked and exposed to the world, but this movie did not feed that wish. Instead, the title, as well as the story, is about the time traveler's wife, Clare (played by Rachel McAdams), and the story of her struggle to be in love with and eventually married to a time traveler.

The film is a bit slow, as many love stories are, but if you have the patience, you'll find a poignant, lyrical film about a man who would rather be with his wife but cannot control what happens to him, and the woman who loves him. This movie has a real epic feel to it, and quite a few surprises. I found it magical.

Thumb's up.

Alice in Wonderland

2010-03-20T14:30:00.000-07:00

A lot of movie reviewers have skewered Alice in Wonderland, Tim Burton's latest movie, claiming the film has very little plot, no emotional impact. While I have to agree to those two comments, I thoroughly disagree with the conclusion. Alice in Wonderland is charmingly funny, curious and curiouser, and definitely worth watching.

No small amount of credit should be given to actor Johnny Depp for making this happen. His Hatter is an interesting character, intriguing because you think he's mad, right? but he's not. He has a plan. And he talks Alice into pursuing it with him. In the end, the Hatter is a hero, an action hero. Who would've thought that was coming?

The 3D is not as good as Avatar, but that doesn't seem to matter much. At the end of the movie, I realized that I didn't notice the 3D effect at all, except for an occasional scene, like the one where the Dormouse stands in perfect, three-dimensional proportion to everyone else in the scene. Brilliant.

Some of the best part of the movie is what we see in the beginning and then at the end: Alice in the real world, and her struggles to be understood and accepted. This background story for Alice bookends the action, most of which concerns the Red Queen (played by Helena Bonham Carter), who's been cursed with a bulbous head, and her evil cohort, played so sleasily by Crispin Glover (the Back to the Future dad and Charlie's Angels' enemy). So cleverly does Burton show us this world, where the Queen's court consists of characters who must show some ugly benefit in order to serve Her Majesty. Otherwise, it might be "Off with their heads!"

Great fun. I highly recommend it. And this portrayal adds to Depp's long list of memorable characters.

Thumb's up.

Fame

2010-03-13T20:43:00.000-08:00

This review is about the recent movie, Fame, not the 1980 version. Unfortunately, we don't hear the theme song until after the movie is over. Fame -- the musical number, that is -- is a perfect anthem; its lyrics perfectly describe what these kids are feeling, and the music is catchy. "I'm gonna live forever..."

Unfortunately, this movie doesn't live forever. It shouldn't have even been re-done. I never saw the first one, but this second one is rather dismal.

The film follows several students through their 3 years at the New York City High School of Performing Arts, what they go through, the fact that many of them don't wait until graduation to enter the hard-knocks school of reality when they perform outside the school environment.

One big reason, in my mind, to see this version was its "adult" stars: Kelsey Grammer, Bebe Neuwirth, Charles Dutton. Unfortunately, the first two only have about six lines. Dutton fares a little better, but not much. And Debbie Allen, star of the original film and its resultant T.V. show, although not in the film all that much, makes an indelible impression.

But the worst part about this film is that its musical pupils don't seem to learn anything from their musical education. And, the second reason not to see the film is that their musical talent doesn't seem transcendant. There should be some really wow! kind of numbers, and there aren't. I can't figure out why each of these student was picked in the first place. In the end, you really don't care about any of these kids, kids who don't seem to have learned anything, and who really don't show whatever their talent is.

Thumb's down to a film that should've stayed in the '80's.

Funny People

2010-03-13T12:10:00.000-08:00

Funny People is the latest movie by Adam Sandler. There are people in it, to be sure, but it sure ain't funny.

Sandler's character, George Simmons, finds that he has an incurable disease, and has a short time to live. Noticing that his ex-wife still hates him, he calls her to say he's sorry, apparently for the first time ever. George is a very successful comic, having parlayed a stand-up career into a wildly successful movie career, a la the actor himself, but he's a jerk most of the time, albeit a rich one. Faced with his own mortality, he decides to help out some comics on their way, and hires one of them, Ira (Seth Rogen), to write jokes for him and generally be his assistant.

This is a movie where the sick-and-dying character doesn't learn anything, doesn't nice up, doesn't change at all. In fact, nobody in this excuse for a funny-but-tragic movie wisens up, even a bit. Most of the material isn't wince-proof, and hard to watch, more boring than revealing of character. Judd Apatow, writer and producer, has turned serious, but tells us nothing. He seriously misses with this production.

The only thing to recommend about this film is Seth Rogen, who seems to be getting better and better. He's the only character who rings true here, and his performance appears to be spontaneous and responsive. But that's not enough for this dismal picture. Stay away, stay far away.

Thumb's down.

Bitch Slap

2010-03-08T19:06:00.000-08:00

Bitch Slap is an homage to all those grindhouse movies of decades ago, where women were rough but ready, and guns blazed in fantastic feats. I had to see it because the producers, many crew members and actors were alumnae of Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journey.

We enter the film in the middle of the desert, and watch three beautiful women -- one leggy businesswoman, one psychotic drug addict, and one stripper with a heart of gold -- try to find some hidden treasure. Of course, they're dressed in short skirts and three-inch heels, perfect outfits for digging in the sand. There are a lot of mysteries attached to each woman, mysteries whose answers are revealed in flashbacks. The flashbacks, in my mind, confused the matter, but what the hell. We're not in it to make much sense of this. After all, when Camero pulls a gun out of, well, nowhere, and Trixie pulls a ninja star out of her, hmmm, well, you know you're in for something a little fantastical, a lot sexy and little sense. Any decent (indecent?) grindhouse movie features girls, girls fighting girls, girls having sex with girls, etc. You get the picture.

I wished Bitch Slap was as good as I just made it sound. It's overlong, the characters are confusing -- damn, every beautiful girl in this movie looks alike -- and most of the time you just don't care. But, then, I'm obviously not the audience for a movie where close-ups of faces and breasts run about 50-50.

It's good to see what else Erin Cummings can do besides look demure in the current T.V. sensation, Spartacus: Blood and Sand, and she's quite effective as the leader of the pack, Hel. However, it took me a good 30 minutes to figure out which one she was, she looks so different. The other two women -- Julia Voth as Trixie, America Olivo as Camero -- acquit themselves well with dialogue that often doesn't make any sense or provide any transitions. And you can tell the fight scenes, perhaps the best part of the film, were choreographed by Zoe Bell, who doubled Lucy Lawless on Xena; she puts her own imprimatur on those scenes, and makes them look gutsy and dangerous.

But much of the film is boring, particularly after Michael Hurst's character dies and the script brings in characters who are stupid, just to pass the time. Still, there are some surprises and some laughs. And there are those women.

Thumb's up for what Bitch Slap purports to be, a silly little film about sexy women who can carry their own.

The September Issue

2010-03-05T15:15:00.000-08:00

The September Issue is a interesting film about Vogue's working staff, led by Anna Wintour, and their work in putting out the ominous, 800-page September issue of Vogue.

Wintour, it's been whispered, was the model for the Meryl Streep character in The Devil Wears Prada, and this documentary certainly seems to point out their similarities. However, where we would say Miranda Priestly wears a scowl, Wintour would say merely that she has an opinion. The buck stops exactly there, and she's very aware of that. So her minions do their best to put out the best product possible, which is a pictorial display of the current fashions, but always bearing in mind that the real test doesn't rest on art, it rests on Wintour's approval.

The only person in Vogue who challenges Anna, repeatedly, is Grace Coddington, an ex British model (think Twiggy) who thinks she has a right to her own opinion. We would have to agree: her work is stunning. Anna, for the most part, agrees, and she certainly respects Grace. The two together really make up what Vogue is.

We watch designer after designer come to Anna Wintour with their designs, hoping for a good sign, something Wintour rarely gives them. They all look so serious, and we have to wonder, hey, this is fashion. It's not serious. But it is for very many people. This is a fascinating, obsessive look into that world, always entertaining, always honest.

Thumb's up.

Valentine's Day

2010-02-27T11:08:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Day tells the intertwined stories of various Hollywood actors as they make up and break up in Los Angeles, all due to the pressures of the most romantic day of the year.

Much has been made of the cast, which seems to embody most of Hollywood, young and old (but, let's be serious, mostly young): Kathy Bates, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, Patrick Dempsey, Hector Elizondo, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Topher Grace, Anne Hathaway, Carter Jenkins, Ashton Kutcher, Queen Latifah, Taylor Lautner, Julia Roberts, Taylor Swift, Jessica Alba, and Shirley MacLaine. As writer/screenwriter Katherine Fugate informed her audience at the Xena convention last month, it's convenient for an actor to do a week's worth of work with a repertory of other actors, not having the whole thing financially rest on their shoulders if it doesn't do well.

The movie is not terribly funny, but it is terribly cute, occasionally romantic, and a couple of the stories (out of many) are touching. Also touching is seeing Shirley MacLaine making up with Hector Elizondo as her former self plays on the screen behind her. It is also fun to see Anne Hathaway as dating Topher Grace while trying to keep up with the sexy phone calls she gets, a way of paying off her student debt. And casting Julia Roberts as an Army captain was a nice touch, even though she's too old for that real life role.

The only real problem with Valentine's Day is that it dragged considerably, particularly when Ashton Kutcher's rather mundane story as a florist on this most important day was onscreen. Still, charm goes a long way. You'd think he'd get tired of smiling incessantly.

Still, $60 million worth of people found it charming on opening day. And I did, too, at least in parts.

Thumb's up.

Brideshead Revisited

2010-02-25T18:04:00.000-08:00

I remember watching the T.V. miniseries version of Brideshead Revisited which introduced us to Jeremy Irons and Anthony Andrews. Andrews, especially, captured the soft and vulnerable soul of Sebastian, the teddy bear-hugging college student who introduces his friend to champagne and strawberries. Jeremy Irons and the rest of the cast were also memorable.

Flash forward some 27 years and you have the 2009 movie starring Matthew Goode as Charles Ryder, the college student who leaves his father's small apartment as well as his stilted relationship with him for the passions of college, represented quite easily by Sebastian Flyte (actor Ben Whishaw). Sebastian introduces Charles to life's simple pleasures, pleasures usually reserved for the rich, which is what Flyte is. Sebastian takes him home one weekend, and Charles falls in love with Brideshead, the huge manor of the Flyte family, ruled over by an imperious Lady Marchmain (Emma Thompson). Even moreso, he falls in love with their style of living, and falls very easily into it upon visits. Charles thinks class and money are the only things holding him back from joining this adopting family, but there is one more force, more powerful than the other two, one that separates him irrevocably from them.

I found it truly amazing that the entire story, emotions and all, and the grandness of Brideshead could be condensed into a two-hour-plus movie. The movie obviously takes liberties with the book but makes it all palatable, and even fills in discoveries for us. The film even takes us to gorgeous Venice, and fills in the story nicely with tales from Sebastian's father.

The acting is mostly a hit, although I found Whishaw's Sebastian to be a caricature instead of a fully developed and lovable character, more to be pitied and even laughed at. Goode's Ryder is as complicated as he should be, seduced and seductor both. Michael Gambon is quite compelling as Sebastian's father, who escaped to India to get out from under her ladyship's rule. And Emma Thompson is surprisingly good, convincingly narrow, as Lady Marchmain, a woman who could single-handedly make a mess out of her children's lives.

I highly recommend Brideshead. And, for an easy comparison, see the original 1982 production, if you can. At that point, you might have the best of both Bridesheads.

Thumb's up.

Alien Trespass

2010-02-25T17:58:00.000-08:00

Alien Trespass is purportedly a spoof and yet an homage to all those 1950's sci fi films I watched as a kid. However, it's less than either of those, unfortunately.

Instead of invoking Them! or The Beast with (fill in the blank), it's more like an original story with several of the same cast of characters. The closest fifties' film Trespass reminds you off is The Blob, Steve McQueen's first movie, only the teenage stars aren't as charismatic or effective, and the alien beast isn't a blob.

Trespass would've fared better if it had been able to make fun of -- we call that a "spoof" -- those old favorite movies. But it doesn't, really. It misses the mark almost every time. The movie may invoke nostalgia in our brains for these old movies, but there's no payoff.

It's great to see Eric McCormack, the only recognizable name in the movie, act as our scientist whose body is taken over by an alien. But even he can't save this loser. Best to go rent The Blob, or Them! or, even better yet, Forbidden Planet.

Thumb's down.