| TRUE GRIT Rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of western violence including disturbing images. Adventure/Drama/Western 110 minutes 
4½ stars |
Writers/directors Ethan and Joel Cohen have made what seems to be a standard western, a little surprising for them. Yet, when you look closer at this remake of Charles Portis’ novel you discover that if it is a standard movie, it is an excellent one. And closer to the book, and probably Mr. Portis’ vision of the West and Reuben “Rooster” Cogburn. For one thing, it is truly gritty unlike the original where even the villains look unwrinkled. Here, people often wear stained clothing, are disheveled, or just plain filthy.
The original True Grit of 1969 does have its charms, though it’s no where near as good a film. It’s interesting to watch more for the cast, the main one being John Wayne who never strayed far from his screen persona, and then there is the miscast Glen Campbell and the spunky Kim Darby. Also in the movie are the young Dennis Hopper and Robert Duval. It includes actors you might recognize from other movies, like Strother Martin, while not knowing their names.
The story is basically the same: young teenager Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld giving a natural first performance) hires drunken U.S. Marshall Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges, infrequently a tad over the top) to hunt down her father’s killer named Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin, hardly in the movie but conveying a slow-witted thug). A Texas Ranger named LaBeouf (Matt Damon) is on Chaney’s trail, too, for a murder in Texas. Cogburn and LaBeouf plan to capture Chaney and split the reward money, but they don’t count on the smart, stubborn Mattie who insists on coming along, and finds a way to make it happen.
The dialogue may sound stilted at times, but the cast pulls it off. There is plenty of humor from the characters themselves and several of the situations, but as the story progresses the violence and harsh realities of a wild frontier become evident. You may not realize until close to the end of the movie that you have more emotions invested in these characters than expected.
The film is well-cast and excellent across the board, with newcomer Hailee Steinfeld a standout. Matt Damon makes the most of an unusual role. Credit to Joel and Ethan Coen for their vision and for sticking close to the book and original story. This makes the most difference at the end. The technical elements are outstanding especially the cinematography by Roger Deakins.
True Grit is earning well-deserved accolades for a Western that honors the genre while improving on it. Review by Ann Marie Oliva
| THE KING'S SPEECH Rated R for some language. some violence and sexuality. Drama/History 118 minutes
4 stars |
If quiet triumph is your cup of tea, prepare to savor a satisfying treat in this based-on-a-true-story of Prince Albert, heir to the British throne, as he overcomes a seemingly impossible stuttering problem, and just in the nick of time, too, historically. It’s long been established that the English are masters at portraying, and mining, their own history. This film is a worthy addition.
Prince Albert (a surpassing Colin Firth), known to his royal family as Bertie, is immediately sympathetic. Not because of that cutesy nickname, but due to an embarrassing and persistent stammer all the more acute in that his royal position requires regularly speaking in public (the latter a dread shared by many, if not most of us). Fortunately for Albert, his wife is the loving/feisty/supportive/down-to-earth Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter, a delight) who is determined to find a speech therapist to cure him and happens upon Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush, topnotch) who is initially not a promising prospect. Aside from dwelling in a less than plush section of London and domiciled (with caring wife and three sons) in a rundown apartment, Lionel insists on being in charge and treating the Prince as an ordinary patient, not an exalted being. Plus his methods are unconventional, for instance, instructing the Prince to engage in bouts of spirited swearing. But far more difficult for Bertie is his therapist’s digging for the cause of the stammer itself.
It is clearly, and effectively established, that Albert’s upbringing was far from warm and fuzzy. His father King George V (Michael Gambon, convincing) is demanding and impatient, his mother Queen Mary (Claire Bloom, believable) formal and cold, and his brother Edward (Guy Pearce, effective) dominating and belittling. Bertie’s only refuge is his immediate family, wife Elizabeth and daughters Elizabeth and Margaret. Uh huh, that young girl is the future, and present, Queen. The history is widely known. Edward, heir to the throne, has fallen in love with Wallis Simpson (Eve Best, excellent) who is an unsuitable match (she’s twice divorced for starters) and he will not listen to reason, by politicians nor the traditions of the British Crown, in insisting, after ascending the throne, on marrying her. Eventually he gives up his position and the very reluctant Bertie accepts his duty and prepares to be crowned King George VI (the name Albert being too German on the verge of World War II). Will Lionel’s position with the soon-to-be King, having previously evolved into actual friendship, continue with this change in circumstance? To the chagrin of the Archbishop of Canterbury (Derek Jacobi, always dependable), jealous of influence, yes. But the looming, big moment (referenced in the title) is the vitally important speech Albert must deliver to the British nation, to inspire and fortify his people, at the start of the dark, difficult days of World War II. It is a tense, stirring, and ultimately thrilling moment of triumph and though it may lack in shouts, bells, and fireworks, you wish you could give the good king a high five (if such were allowed).
The script by David Seidler is intelligent, humorous, and moving. For his part, director Tom Hooper ably orchestrates the impeccable production elements while realizing every nuance of the story. The acting by all is excellent with that of Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush, individually and jointly, nothing short of superb throughout. Skilled British filmmakers can’t be beat when it comes to low key, thoughtful, historical drama. This is a prime example.
The King’s Speech – British history. Personal victory. Well said (indeed). Review by Charles Zio
| THE FIGHTER Rated R for language throughout, drug content, some violence and sexuality. Drama/Biography/Sport 115 minutes
4½ stars |
The fight scenes are brief, the violence limited, and the bloodshed scarce (this ain’t Raging Bull). And it’s okay, because it’s the heart that matters here, and The Fighter is full up in that department. The conventions of the boxing genre are all present - a guy in some way down on his luck and going nowhere ultimately succeeds in the ring. Particulars vary but, in the end, the viewer is solidly in the fighter’s corner awaiting his arm to be raised in victory (or its moral or personally triumphant equivalent, see Rocky). Okay, let’s dispense with the simple and obvious cliché right now – The Fighter is a winner.
The fighter in question, Micky Ward (that’s right, no “e”), was a road paver by day following in the pugilistic footsteps of his older brother. Micky is played with total believability (and understated generosity to his fellow actors) by Mark Wahlberg who has spent years attempting to get this true story told, and many years training so that his boxing would be convincing (it is). Micky’s brother, Dicky Eklund, is brought to vivid, stunning life by Christian Bale capturing a man living on a memory (that he once knocked down the great Sugar Ray Leonard) now lost in crack addiction as he unreliably trains his brother. Managing Micky’s career is his mother Alice (Melissa Leo, excellent in every way). To say that mother and brother are not doing well by Micky is amply demonstrated by the failure of his career to have advanced.
Of course, it’s not an easy life for all concerned in Lowell, Massachusetts, in the 1990s. The city is financially depressed, multiple marriages and transient relationships are the norm, and children from broken homes are not unusual (both Micky and Dicky have an offspring), Then, too, some families are bursting with children, like Alice with nine, including a Greek chorus of seven daughters. Everyone, men and women, are tough. One such is a bar waitress, Charlene (Amy Adams, top notch), with whom Micky becomes involved.
The dilemma for Micky is that his battles in the ring are paralleled by those for his mind and affections outside it by those he loves. Dicky who understands the game and is his brother’s best adviser is in league with Alice who wants her son to become a champ. But he is unreliable and she is too domineering (her domination of her daughters is a hoot). On the other side, are Micky’s father, George (Jack McGee, a fine performance) who wants his son to succeed and recognizes he must break away to do so and Charlene who is tougher, in her way, than Micky. Ultimately, peace and cooperation prevail (after some heated encounters to be sure) and Micky captures the title (sweeter in that it’s against a creep of an opponent).
David O. Russell, director, has done a terrific job in going light on the familiar genre notes (since they are so familiar the audience can easily fill them in), recreating the look and feel of a down-on-its-luck town and the enthusiasm of its people for a hero (effectively captured in the brothers walk through town at the start of the film), and especially the human and sincere expression of emotions lurking behind loud/defensive/cursing voices. As indicated, the acting is superb by one and all, particularly Wahlberg, Bale, Adams, and Leo. Nice job, too, by writers Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, and Eric Johson, based on a story by Keith Dorrington and Messrs. Tamasy and Johnson, more for the emotional story outside the ring. Yes, you’ve seen the basic story before, but leaving the theater (stay for the first part of the credits for a pleasant surprise) you can’t help but feel, back to that earlier cliché, like a winner for having bought a ticket.
The Fighter – “Head and Body,” Dicky advises. But it’s heart that makes it. Review by Charles Zio
| BLACK SWAN Rated R for strong sexual content, disturbing violent images, language and some drug /Thriller 103 minutes
4½ stars |
Black Swan is a dark, intense, and for many, disturbing film about a young ballet dancer’s descent into madness. It is also original, provocative, and compelling. Natalie Portman’s performance is every bit as excellent as you may have heard. She plays Nina Sayers, a young dancer in a fictional New York ballet company where the competition is fierce. Raised by single mother Erica (a frighteningly good Barbara Hershey) in a small apartment, her life is severely limited and claustrophobic. Ballet is an obsession passed from mother to daughter. Her sexual development is immature and she functions more like a child than a woman.
Company director Thomas Leroy (Vincent Cassel nicely underplaying a clichéd part), decides to present a version of Swan Lake with a prima ballerina dancing both the white swan and black swan that will be very grueling and demanding. Of course, each dancer wants it, but maybe Nina most of all. She is technically proficient, but holds back as she struggles to stay in control and be “perfect.” Thomas knows she has possibilities, but isn’t sure she can let herself go enough to engage the audience. Complicating the situation is the release from the company of the former star dancer, Beth Macintyre (Winona Ryder), and a free-spirit newcomer Lily (Mila Kunis, engaging/appealing) who tries to befriend Nina, or is she setting her up to take over the part?
It all begins to go wrong as Nina can’t hold back her fears and paranoia fueled by Thomas’ manipulations and displeasure with her stiffness. Extreme close-ups and tight camera angles take the audience along for the nightmare. Harsh backstage lighting irritates rather than soothes her. Nina’s fragile psyche and over-protected life have left her without adequate defenses against the pressures of such a high stakes real-life situation. As Nina’s mental state deteriorates her shadowy, black swan tendencies begin to emerge.
Director Darren Aronofsky brings his singular vision to the screenplay by Mark Heyman, Andres Heinz (story), and John J. McLaughlin. It’s interesting to note that the writers and director are men telling a story that has a female protagonist in a predominantly female profession. Yet, the harshness of the toll on dancers’ bodies is not soft-pedaled. They sacrifice their bodies on the altar of perfection as years go by, and often have short careers.
This film will not be for everyone. Those not interested in ballet or this kind of story may find it hard to take. It certainly is extreme in its depiction of a possible breakdown within a ballet company. Could a dancer’s severe mental health status really be unknown to at least some around her? That may be beside the point, because there is a startling pay off.
Black Swan is a memorable tour de force performance by Ms. Portman and a caution about the dangers of obsession. Review by Ann Marie Oliva
| HOW DO YOU KNOW? Rated PG-13 for sexual content and some strong language. Comedy/Drama/Romance 113 minutes
2 stars |
Instead of the actors asking, I am: what’s their motivation? This ill-advised neurotic stew of a movie leaves you wondering what you spent almost two hours watching. What a let down. Writer/director James L. Brooks has given us some wonderful movies—this isn’t one of them. Though the production values are first rate, the acting is good, the technical aspects are excellent, what’s missing is compelling characters to care about.
Lisa (Reese Witherspoon) is a softball player in crisis. George (Paul Rudd) is a corporate worker in serious trouble in his father’s (Jack Nicholson) company. A tentative date through a mutual friend, set up so George could meet Lisa, takes place when both are having a bad day. But Lisa had already met Matty (Owen Wilson), a successful but insensitive baseball player. This triangle moves along like a cumbersome tank with its tracks out of alignment. No one spends much time in one place, there’s plenty of coming and going, yet traveling with them is not something enjoyable or entertaining.
Reese Witherspoon is appealing as is Paul Rudd and they could make a likable couple, but there is too much mugging. The camera stays on them too long as though something is supposed to happen, so I guess you can’t blame them. Reaction shots can’t go on forever, even if the actors are great looking people. Then there’s Jack Nicholson. This time charm is not enough. The character is an unpleasant jerk, and no amount of Mr. Nicholson’s smiles can make him anything else. Owen Wilson’s character is the most fun. Who thought that would happen in a movie with the other actors mentioned?
Since the movie is almost two hours it is difficult not to lose patience with the constant angst. Yes, finding a place in the world and someone to share it with can have ups and downs, but the quirkiness of the characters begins to lose its charm early on, leaving them merely tiresome. A subplot involving George’s assistant Annie (Kathryn Hahn) stretches believability, and a hospital scene with her is close to embarrassing. Despite all the uncertainty do you think George and Lisa will get together?
Unfortunately, in How Do You Know?, there’s not enough there to care. Review by Ann Marie Oliva
| THE TOURIST Rated PG-13 for violence and brief strong language. Drama/Thriller 103 minutes
2 stars |
It is not clear what The Tourist is supposed to be. Is it a sleek updated version of 1950s and 60s romantic thrillers? Is it a spy drama? Is it a star vehicle for Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp where we are so blinded by their star power that we forget the story is unoriginal, makes little sense, and lacks energy? I’m not sure the filmmakers know either. As a result, the experience is disappointing.
You would think with a location like Venice, great production values, a talented director, and good actors, it would be a slam dunk. No. In fact, for two beautiful, sexy people, Ms. Jolie and Mr. Depp create very little heat together. Part of the problem is that her character, Elise Ward, walks around looking stunning as all eyes turn to her and part as she walks by looking mysterious. Fine, vamping can be good, but is there anything more to her? Just because she can steer a boat and open handcuffs, doesn’t mean she is a puzzle worth solving, though she does dominate the movie. Also, she needs a sandwich, or several of them. Please, that can’t be healthy? Johnny Depp fares worse. Looking somewhat bloated, he’s not good at playing a “regular” math teacher from Wisconsin named Frank Tupelo, the tourist. I appreciate him for the quirkiness he brings to his characters.
It seems Elise is being followed in Paris by British authorities especially Inspector John Acheson (Paul Bettany trying to salvage this role the best he can), under the eyes of his unimpressed superior Chief Inspector Jones (Timothy Dalton, the best stunt casting in the movie). They are hoping she will lead them to her lover Alexander Pierce, who has stolen millions from malevolent criminal Reginald Shaw (Steven Berkoff). She gets on a train to Venice and is instructed by Pierce to pick a man who fits his general description to throw everyone off. And, you guessed it, she sits across from Frank. Oh, the irony.
Once they get to Venice and Shaw tries to kill them, the enigmatic Elise tries to help Frank stay alive. There are some uninteresting action sequences, and twists and turns, though Elise is still walking around decked out in gowns and jewels parting all the men. We get it.
The screenplay is a misfire. What is especially disappointing is that the director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, is capable of directing a movie like the excellent 2006 film The Lives of Others.
Filmmakers frequently quote, but often forget—-it all begins with the word. Review by Ann Marie Oliva
| THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA:
THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER
Rated PG for some frightening images and sequences of fantasy action. Adventure/Family/Fantasy 115 minutes
4 stars |
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is an improvement over the second movie, Prince Caspian, in the Narnia series and may or may not save the franchise. It is every bit as involving, or more so, than the most recent Harry Potter movie, which I found slower than usual and a bit dull, though still worthwhile. In any event, this movie can stand alone as fantasy because it moves along even though it is close to two hours. The few spots where it tends to drag are quickly followed by attention-getting action scenes and good CCI sequences.
As the story picks up sister and brother Lucy (Georgie Henley) and Edmund (Skandar Keynes) Pevensie are staying with stuffy cousin Eustace Scrubb (Will Poulter) as World War II depressingly continues. He thinks their other-worldly talk is complete nonsense. Even when the painting of a ship in rough waters on the wall overflows and deposits all three on board the ship the Dawn Treader in Narnia. Even when animals talk to him, Eustace refuses to believe. Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) captains the ship with sea-going challenges with help from Lucy and Edmund.
The classic Christian-themed C. S. Lewis books are full of symbols, and this movie presents them matter-of-factly. Though it’s not necessary to completely understand his metaphors to appreciate the adventures, it probably helps. The main characters not only have to fight evil in others, but in themselves as well. Lucy, the younger sister, wants to be beautiful like her older sister. Edward feels unappreciated for his skills. Prince Caspian wants absolute control. Eustace is an angry non-believer. Envy, conceit, domination, ignorance, some of our most human and unattractive qualities must be faced by the characters, with lessons learned before Aslan (voice of Liam Neeson) appears and rewards them with his blessings.
The acting is generally good for the tone and type of the movie with Georgie Henley especially appealing as the sweet, caring Lucy. It is not particularly frightening, but there might be some scary moments for the youngest audiences. The screenplay by Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely, and Michael Petroni is easily understandable and director Michael Apted does a good job with the material, though it is questionable if 3-D really adds anything beyond several moments of interest.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a worthwhile trip. Review by Ann Marie Oliva
| 127 HOURS Rated R for language and some disturbing violent content/bloody images. Adventure/Biography Drama/Thriller 94 minutes
5 stars |
Though the depiction of the amputation of real life mountain climber Aron Ralston's arm in 127 Hours is, be warned, graphic and gruesome what elevates the incident, and the film, is the trapped man's journey to self-knowledge, courage, and redemption. To a greater or lesser extent the viewer identifies, and is sympathetic, to Ralston so that, in the end, his hard won escape carries a triumphal emotional wallop.
In a movie that is primarily a solo act, James Franco (as Ralston) gives a career performance. He is instantly likable as a brash, energetic, happy-go-lucky engineer with a true love of mountain climbing. He also possesses the charm to paper over an abundance of self-confidence and self-regard, enough, in fact, that he sees no reason to inform anyone of his plan to hike through Blue John Canyon (Utah). Big Mistake. He's hardly set off when a good-sized stone comes loose and pins his right hand to the wall of a narrow ravine.
Thus begins Aron's ordeal. He is ill prepared to rescue himself being short on water, food, and useful tools. At first, he is angry and pushes at the stone, mumbling in disbelief at his bad luck. Being an engineer and, therefore, a problem solver of sorts Aron engages in various strategies, some silly (yelling for help), some pragmatic if ineffective (scraping at the stone with a cheap pocket knife). At the same time, he documents his tribulations with a still camera and hand-held video.
As the days pass, Aron goes downhill physically but especially mentally and emotionally. He comes to recognize, through conscious reflection and physically induced hallucination, that he's been a selfish individual (ignoring his parents, disappointing his sister, casual to friends, hurtful to a lover). He's filled with regret and the desire to redeem himself and at this point, almost too late, he realizes he can only do so if he is free and accepts that he can only be freed by cutting off his arm. It is, in every respect, a wrenching experience to witness. And Franco is superb is every shot.
Danny Boyle, as director, has done a masterful job. The script, written with Simon Beaufoy, based on the book "Between a Rock and a Hard Place" by Aron Ralston (and was there ever a better title for a book), is well crafted recognizing that the entire movie cannot take place in the ravine but must cut (for variety/rhythm/character development) to explore Ralston's character and self-discovery. Although the aspects of his reflections are predicable (e.g., his behavior with his mother) they are reasonably widespread and familiar to a viewer. Boyle is also clever in opening with crowd scenes that will contrast with Aron's chosen isolation (indicating, too, Aron's initial desire not to connect with others). These scenes are full of music (appealing lively by A.R. Rahman) and color (the cinematography by Anthony Dod Mantle and Enrique Chediak is grand/ beautiful/sweeping) and the shots of the smallness of man in the vastness of nature are striking. Occasionally, as at the start Boyle will split the screen into thirds, perhaps an allusion to the physical/mental/emotional-spiritual transformation that Ralston will undergo. And, once more, kudos to James Franco who is never less than convincing and moving throughout.
127 Hours - Worth every minute. Movingly and satisfyingly victorious. Review by Charles Zio
| TANGLED Rated PG for brief mild violence. Action/Adventure/Adaptation/Family Animation 100 minutes
4 stars |
This is not your grandmother's Rapunzel. An effort has been made, successfully, to modernize the story with characters who can fittingly approximate today's sensibilities. For instance, even though Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) has been locked up in the tower for all of her eighteen years, she overcomes her doubts about the outside world, and ends up pretty fearless.
Rapunzel is stolen by a witch from a loving king and queen when she is a baby. They are heart-broken over the loss. The witch (Donna Murphy) keeps Rapunzel in a hidden tower so she can maintain her youthful looks hiding the old hag that she actually is by getting renewed after contact with Rapunzel's hair.
A love interest providing humor and swashbuckling antics for boys has been added with Flynn Ryder (Zachary Levi) who is hiding from the king's guards after stealing a tiara, and the royal horse Maximus who is a character in his own right. Flynn is a charming thief with a sad back story. The audience knows right from the start what's going to happen with these two because he's essentially a decent guy. He earns Rapunzel's trust and ultimately makes amends for his wrongdoing.
Rapunzel wants to leave the tower and see the lights up close that appear every year at her birthday. These are actually lanterns that the kingdom lets loose to honor Rapunzel, which is actually a lovely sequence in the movie. Flynn says he'll take her to see the lights after much back and forth. And so, their journey to the castle begins. Along the way they meet different characters and sing original songs by Alan Menchen, which is reminiscent of the older Disney stories.
Rapunzel is a spunky heroine, and though she listens to the person she believes is her mother, she has dreams of leading a fuller life. She has a chameleon as a companion who she talks to, thus providing everything we need to know about her state of mind. Her hair is important. It's not just to look good and bring the witch up to the tower. She uses it as rope and a whip, providing Rapunzel with some athletic scenes.
The animation and the technical aspects of the film are good, and obviously great care has been taken to maintain the rich look of the film. At times the movie feels unnecessarily stretched out in some scenes. Yet, the overall effect is positive. Disney has made a winner. When will the Broadway show open? Review by Ann Marie Oliva
| BURLESQUE Rated PG-13 for sexual content including several suggestive dance routines, partial nudity language and some thematic material. Drama/Musical Romance 116 minutes
3 stars |
There is no good reason for seeing Burlesque. At best, there might be minor ones (Cher, Christina Aguilera's acting debut, scantily clad showgirls strutting and stretching, etc.) but none of them is compelling. In other words, if you'd like to pass a little time watching a glitzy, overly familiar, thought-free movie paying feeble homage to far better movie musicals, Be My Guest (Disney, thankfully, isn't one of the films quoted).
Toiling away in Iowa, and being stiffed for her salary, is waitress Ali played with unexpected conviction and ability by Christina Aguilera. So that the audience is prepared for later plot developments, she steps on a stool and belts out (and belting out is her performance style) a tune. Then she boards a bus to Los Angeles. It's the classic tale - small town girl goes to the big city to become a star. Or at least, a back up singer. Ali has no luck in that regard but she happens one night to spot a Burlesque joint (which labels itself as having "no windows but the best view on Sunset Drive" - no spoiler but this pays off later in the film). Ali is mesmerized. What she sees is a little bit Chicago and a whole lot of Cabaret.
Ali is desperate to get on stage and gyrate with the dancers but she has to get past Tess, the one and only Cher, a former dancer and the club's financially beleaguered co-owner who is battling her ex-husband Vince (Peter Gallagher, one of the film's underused names) who wants to sell out to wealthy real estate developer Marcus (Eric Dane, not slimy but there has to be a villain) who is having an affair with alcoholic star attraction Nikki (Kristen Bell, nicely cast as troubled and trouble-making), until he gets a gander at Ali's talent (and her other assets in skimpy costumes) though she's in love with would-be song writer, currently engaged bartender Jack (Cam Gigandet, sincere and equal opportunity eye candy for the ladies) with whom she is living platonically because . . .
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's backstage show business musical clichés run riot. Writer Steven Antin has obviously been influenced by Chicago (the look, a dream sequence), a tad by Dream Girls (a big no surrender song by Cher), yet it's Cabaret that dominates in approach and tone (to the point of featuring a cameo by Alan Cumming of the Broadway revival). The problem is nothing is at risk. Never is there a doubt Ali will become a star, or that she will not end up with Jack, or that Cher will lose the Club (which is why her big number falls flat, the viewer knows she can't lose).
There are a few compensations. Cher looks and sings as well as ever though she spends a good deal of time staring with annoyance and then appreciation at Ali. But fear not, though homosexuality rears its head (mistaken and actual) primarily in the person of Tess's Stage Manager Sean (Stanley Tucci, ably injecting humor and humanity), lesbianism is nowhere to be seen. In fact, this has got to be the cleanest and purest burlesque house ever envisioned. For gosh sakes, the girls go out for pizza after the show! Though Ali and Jack eventually mate, she seems to have arrived in LA, full grown, oozing sex, and yet seemingly virginal. Her prized possession is a picture of her age seven with her mother who died shortly afterward it was taken. Curiousily, after she studies up on the history of the business the homey picture is replaced by that of a former Queen of Burlesque (Dita Von Teese, is it?). But not to worry, in this movie, once a nice girl, always a nice girl.
Under Steven Antin's direction the film does triumph in one respect - the visual and musical numbers are super. Kudos to the artists involved - director of photography Bojan Bazelli, editor Virginia Katz, choreography by Denise Faye and Joey Pizzi, production design by Jon Gary Steele, costumes by Michael Kaplan, and music by Christopher Beck. If the movie had been half as interesting to listen to as to watch, it would have been a winner.
Burlesque - The dancing works but even the bumps aren't enough to save the movie from being a grind. Review by Charles Zio
| FASTER Rated R for strong violence some drug use and language. Action/Adventure/Crime 98 minutes
3 stars |
Call him Dwayne Johnson (Driver), not The Rock. And whatever you think of this movie, he's got charisma. Unfortunately, the story leaves something to be desired. It's trying to be serious, iconic even, like a Western that pits good against bad as long as good has a reason to be bad. In this case, the reason is the callous murder of his Driver's brother. It doesn't quite work.
The story begins when Driver helps his brother pull off a bank job (in flashback), but somebody betrays them, and actually films the murders. Driver survives and serves ten years in prison. As he goes after each person involved, the audience gets to see what happened and why. Driver does hard time, and when he comes out, his prime reason for living is to get revenge. After Driver commits the first revenge murder, Cop (Billy Bob Thornton) is after him. He is assigned along with Cicero (Carla Gugino), the lead detective, to stop him and bring him down. There is a subplot about Cop and his wife Marina (Moon Bloodgood), and their son who is picked on.
There is also another subplot involving Killer (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), a self-involved, psychopathic murderer and his beautiful girlfriend Lily (Maggie Grace). At first it's difficult to understand what they have to do with Driver, but it becomes clear that Killer is hired to kill Driver. He's obessed with success in that chosen field and goes after Driver with a vengence of his own. Why he's after him takes longer to figure out.
Several driving sequences are exciting and well done. The movie is violent but not overly bloody. The threads eventually come together, but the wallop is not what the filmmakers expect. Preaching doesn not help. The acting is good to serviceable, the directing by George Tillman Jr. is stylized yet interesting; with another script he might have more success.
Action fans may overlook the faults of the movie; others may appreciate Dwayne Johnson and look forward to his next project instead. Review by Ann Marie Oliva
| FAIR GAME PG-13 for some language. Drama/Thriller/Adaptation Biopic 148 minutes
3½ stars |
Movies based on recent political events are tricky. No matter what the facts, they will be disputed one way or another. Fair Game is already causing controversy, and I can’t say that I am thoroughly familiar with the background situation or the incident itself. Valerie Plame (very well played by Naomi Watts) is a CIA agent who gets outed, many feel, because her husband Joe Wilson (Sean Penn) spoke out against the Bush Administration. It appears that the movie tries to be even-handed, yet how does the audience know if these conversations and incidents happened as depicted on screen?
Before the Bush Administration invaded Iraq the intelligence community reassured the President that the country had weapons of mass destruction. This turned out not to be the case, and the finger pointing has been going on ever since. Some say the Administration knew it was a lie, but wanted to invade Iraq anyway, and so were determined to silence Joe Wilson. Ms. Plame who was working on sensitive projects at the CIA had been minding her own business and somebody let it leak. That people feel passionate one way or another is an understatement.
As far as the movie itself, it does provide tension and gives rise to a certain amount of indignation in the viewer that people, whether citizens or not, can be used as pawns by governments. Director Doug Liman treats the screenplay with a certain underplayed reverence. The actors are fully committed, especially Sean Penn. The screenplay by Jez Butterworth & John-Henry Butterworth is adapted from both Joe Wilson’s book and Valerie Plame’s book.
What is most distressing is the implication that when Ms. Plame was outed, people in Iraq who trusted her were betrayed and the audience is led to believe that they may have been killed because of the callousness of those in the CIA who immediately turned their back on her. There is no follow up to this at the end of the movie as there is with other facts, and the audience is left to decide for themselves.
What is the truth in this movie, what is fiction? Review by Ann Marie Oliva
| HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: PART I Rated PG-13 for some sequences of intense action violence, frightening images and brief sensuality. Action/Adventure/Fantasy 146 minutes
3½ stars |
Those who love the Harry Potter book series will be out in force to see this movie. It makes sense if you’ve been reading and following it for years now. As a stand alone movie it can be puzzling. What’s a Horcrux anyway, those people who have not been following it might ask? The decision to split the last book into two installments is questionable at best. Why extend the series? Success probably, which means money.
As it is, Part I drags in too many places for a running time of almost two and a half hours. Here’s Harry looking sad. Here’s Hermione looking upset. There are the characters giving each other meaningful looks that last longer than necessary. Most of the three spend time camping out in the woods trying to get away from those who want to kill Harry. I do so like the books where the reader has the time to sit with the material and digest it, but a movie needs to move along.
Daniel Radcliff as Harry and Emma Watson as Hermione hold the franchise together well with Rupert Grint used mainly as comic relief. The rest of the fine ensemble of British actors show up to say a few lines and then mostly disappear. Ralph Fiennes is appropriately evil and ugly as Lord Voldemort. The audience even catches a glimpse of Albus Dumbledore (Michael Gambon), though he’s quite dead.
Voldemort has firmly taken control of the Ministry of Magic and the fear of his absolute power is chilling to the wizard world. Only Harry, Hermione, and Ron are left to find those nasty Horcuxes and destroy them. The movie never goes back to Hogwarts, and true to the Deathly Hallows book, this movie is dark and brooding.
The look/cinematography and CGI of the film are up to the same high standards as previous films. A creative animated sequence explains the Deathly Hallows. There are a few narrow escapes, betrayals, and very little fun or humor aside from Ron’s oafishness. The good versus evil theme is carried to its extreme, yet the length of the movie tends to dilute the effect. There is a cliff-hanger ending that left the audience sighing loudly, but there was little in the way of applause.
The Harry Potter franchise is one of the most successful in film history. What a run. Let’s hope the last movie improves on this one, and provides a truly magical ending.
Review by Ann Marie Oliva
| STONE Rated R for strong sexuality and violence, and pervasive language Drama/Thriller 105 minutes
2½ stars |
It must have looked good on paper. Robert De Niro? Edward Norton? A psychological thriller that starts with a prisoner challenging the person who controls his fate? Yet, the elements don’t add up to anything special. There is drama, to be sure, but it’s not compelling. Viewers may also be less than thrilled as the movie tends to get tedious towards the end.
Mr. De Niro plays Jack who counsels prisoners and makes recommendations about their parole. He has long since stopped caring, and is running on almost empty as he is near retirement. He is very judgmental towards the prisoners. The audience knows this because when he is in his car (too many times), he listens to religious stations which condemn all manner of sins. One of the prisoners coming up for parole is Stone, (Edward Norton in corn rows) who challenges him in a way he hasn’t been before. Jack thinks prisoners are always playing the angles, so he’s still one up on Stone.
But the psychopathic Stone has a trump card, his sexy wife Lucetta (Milla Jovovich), who is willing to do anything to help him get out of prison. Jack’s relationship with his own wife Madylyn (the excellent Frances Conroy), is strained. A flashback shows a young Jack’s desperation and penchant towards violence in the marriage. As Lucetta pursues Jack to influence him to give Stone parole, he is thrown into turmoil. She becomes more aggressive and he becomes more unbelievable in the part.
The screenplay by Angus MacLachlan adequately shows the hypocrisy of those in powerful positions, yet the energy level is so low; it’s difficult to feel anything for any of the major characters. It’s an idea that has been done before, so there is no surprise when those in control prove to be morally corrupt weaklings. Director John Curran does manage to create some tension, but it’s too little and way too late.
Edward Norton does give his character some ambiguity. Is he just a prisoner working Jack and the system? Or does he genuinely find redemption? Yet, this one’s not difficult to figure out. Milla Jovovich is over the top too many times, and she and Mr. De Niro have little chemistry. The bigger problem is with Mr. De Niro’s performance. Less energy in this role, so different than his best performances when he practically jumps off the screen, do not automatically convey depression, or weakness, to the audience. Review by Ann Marie Oliva
| UNSTOPPABLE Rated PG-13 for sequences of action and peril, and some language. Action/Drama/Thriller 98 minutes
4 stars |
Unstoppable is a thrilling ride. What I especially like is that screenwriter Mark Bomback takes the time to show how from seemingly small, bad decisions, an entire area can be put in jeopardy. For instance, an employee is so on automatic he decides not to connect the air brakes, then he jumps off the train (while he’s being screamed at not to), but can’t get back on to control it and off it goes without a person on board. Thus a runaway train with no driver and with toxic chemicals is racing through the countryside. How can it be stopped without causing tremendous damage?
Denzel Washington can play hero or villain with authority. Here he’s an everyman train engineer Frank Barnes. He’s a working class guy who has put in his time; 30 years. Yet, the main point is that he knows and understands the trains he controls. He has two daughters and lives a life some would call conventional. On this particular day he gets paired with a new conductor, Will Colson, who is going through some personal issues. Chris Pine plays the troubled younger man with a mixture of swagger and vulnerability that bodes well for his future as an actor. The combination of these two actors works well and is believable.
Based loosely on actual events, the movie has a gritty reality that director Tony Scott doesn’t sacrifice to spectacular stunts. As the enormity of a potential calamity begins to dawn on everyone, the desperation begins to build. Excellent cinematography by Ben Seresin, and editing by Robert Duffy and Chris Lebenzon impressively help to keep the audience invested in the drama. As corporate shills worry more about the bottom line, local train workers worry about their families and the hazards of a toxic spill to their town and their children’s future.
Rosario Dawson does well playing Connie, a tough, smart woman at dispatch. She’s one of the few women in the movie, but in a credit to her, you soon forget her gender. She’s another one of the players.
Towards the end, there is a part of the ride that seems a bit exaggerated, but by that time it hardly matters. After each new situation escalates the problem, you are in, and rooting for a safe resolution. If you like action movies, this one will meet your expectations. Unstoppable is much better than a roller coaster ride. Review by Ann Marie Oliva
| MORNING GLORY Rated PG-13 for some sexual content including dialogue, language and brief drug references. Comedy 102 minutes
3 stars |
You might almost imagine director Roger Michell saying, “More frantic, more running, more frazzled...” and luckily, he was saying it to Rachel McAdams who is a natural, appealing actor. But this movie is strictly repeatville. It’s been done, and better, before. Writer Aline Brosh McKenna mined this type of character previously in The Devil Wears Prada; a naïve, hard-working, pretty girl being treated badly and underestimated.
Ms. McAdams plays Becky, an early morning television producer who loses one thankless job only to get a worse one. She’s competent, ambitious and convinces Jerry Barnes (Jeff Goldblum, a real pro) to give her a go at making the loser morning show a winner. She proceeds to fire one of the hosts and finagles to get high-powered, hard-drinking newsman Mike Pomeroy (a dour, unpersuasive Harrison Ford) to be co-anchor with feisty Colleen Peck (Diane Keaton, good but given too little to do). She meets another producer Adam Bennett who becomes her love interest. It seems Patrick Wilson is now becoming wasted in standard “boyfriend” roles, which is too bad because he’s got more range if given the right parts.
The production values, as you might guess, are good and glossy, with the cinematography of New York making it look exciting. The music is a bit sappy and saccharine.
As a producer, Becky spends her time trying to get reluctant people to do what they need to be doing to make the show a success. That’s what is thankless about being a producer, among other things, but some people have a knack, and it seems Becky does. There are attempts to make a statement about women in the workplace. Yet, it all seems so contrived even with several laughs along the way. For all the frenzied running around, it’s not a compelling story, even for a light comedy. Though, it’s not terrible, either. It’s middle of the road. Review by Ann Marie Oliva
| A FILM UNFINISHED Rated R for disturbing images and Holocaust atrocities including graphic nudity. Foreign Film - Germany/Israel Documentary 88 minutes
5 stars |
This is one of the most moving, horrifying, and insightful films I've ever seen—though it’s about a documentary shot seven decades ago that was never finished. Today, many people care more about "reality TV" shows, such as "Survivor" (and voting scapegoats off their own islands), than about neighbors struggling to survive in real life or a billion people suffering from starvation worldwide. But this film explores such suffering in the Warsaw Ghetto in May 1942 and how the Nazis documented it, in revealing and hypocritical ways, for propaganda purposes. We may think that our current media are immune to such cruelty and hypocrisy. Yet, we also take pleasure, albeit to a much lesser degree, in the sadistic staging of survival experiments onscreen.
The soundless documentary within this documentary, found in an underground vault in a forest, is a rough edit of a film called "The Ghetto," which was never finished. The current documentary presents parts of the original to show the evils perpetrated by the Nazis and their attempt to justify them, by turning their victims into actors. On both levels, this film fascinates and disgusts.
The Nazis practiced their voyeuristic sadism in the extreme, sacrificing Jews so that Germans could survive and prosper. For "The Ghetto" they fabricated scenes of wealthy Jews in plush rooms and at the theatre—but also filmed the reality of starving children begging in the streets, trash and feces piled high in courtyards, and corpses on sidewalks. The current documentary adds Jewish survivors of this ghetto, watching the original film and explaining its lies. Also included are diary entries of those who did not survive. And the testimony of Willy Witz, a cameraman who worked for the Nazi filmmakers, explaining what he remembers of the fictional scenes and real-life horrors.
Today's documentary, as a frame to the former, discloses many mirrors. The Nazis' positioning of upper class Jews as greedy and callous to the suffering of others reflects the Germans themselves, including the audiences of propaganda films. They are the ones who condoned or committed bestial acts toward scapegoats in ghettos and camps.
A half million people were packed into three square miles within the walls of the Warsaw ghetto. Diseases were rampant. Food was scarce. Yet the Nazi filmmakers show plenty of meats and candies in the shops, plus happy patrons in restaurant scenes. They also documented the actual crowds of people in the streets, many wearing rags and some pushing carts with piles of naked bodies, just skin and bones. Mass burials are shown, with Jewish workers stacking the corpses.
Parts of the original seem like an anthropological study of Jewish life, showing rituals of a baby being circumcised and adults bathing. Today, this evokes sympathy for the naked, vulnerable, malnourished bodies, while reflecting the dark sides of social science and cinema in Nazi hands. It also gives the uncanny effect of looking through a Nazi lens at their subjects—as in the first-person point-of-view of the killer in a horror movie. Only a few months after the footage was shot, deportations to the death camps began.
Much more could be reported of what appears in this film: panicked Jews running in the streets; close-ups of shaven heads, sunken eyes, and emaciated faces; or kids forced by Nazis to empty the smuggled vegetables from their bulging clothes. Some of the faces stare back at the camera with curiosity or hope, as if having their situation recorded might somehow save them or give their suffering some meaning. Perhaps this documentary does rescue them, in a sense, from celluloid lies—not by justifying what was done, as the filmmakers aimed, but fulfilling the wish of those who kept diaries that the injustices of the ghetto and potential for evil in all of us be known. Review by Mark Pizzato
| MEGAMIND Rated PG for action and some language. Animation/Comedy/Family 96 minutes
3½ stars |
The silliness of Megamind will clue the kids right away that as super villains go, he (voice of Will Ferrell) is not of the horrifying variety. In fact, the story begins as his parents send him off into space trying to save his life. The blue baby with the huge head sees another baby, later named Metro Man (voice of Brad Pitt). Both land in the USA, but while Metro Man lands in a beautiful, wealthy home, Megamind lands in prison.
The whole idea is that Megamind decides to be a villain because he is bullied and believes that evil is the only thing he’s good at. As he tries to wreck havoc on the populace and keeps losing every fight to Metro Man, he meets the reporter Roxanne Ritchie (voice of Tina Fey) who he kidnaps periodically to get to Metro Man’s attention.
When one of his plans to eliminate Metro Man works, with help from his strange fish protector Minion (voice of David Cross), he actually has to take over the city, and well, the thrill is gone because he has no one to fight against. He decides to create another hero, and Roxanne’s camera man (voice of Jonah Hill) is convenient. He becomes Tighten. Except that he becomes evil himself forcing Megamind to become the good guy in the story. Meanwhile, he disguises himself to find out what is happening and begins to develop a friendship with Roxanne.
There are fun little satirical touches for adults taking their kids to the movie. It is a fun movie though sometimes a little heavy on the “lessons” to be learned. The animation is good, though not outstanding, but overall, worth seeing or renting when the time comes. Review by Ann Marie Oliva
| FOR COLORED GIRLS Rated R for some disturbing violence including a rape, sexual content and language. Drama 134 minutes
3½ stars |
For those who haven’t seen Ntozake Shange's play "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf" this might be a mystifying movie. For those who have seen the play, there is the issue of the adaptation by Tyler Perry who also directed the movie. There is no doubt the format used, including long monologues periodically by each major character, is different than movie audiences are used to seeing. Ms. Shange’s 1970s play is poetic and the language lyrical, also using movement and dance, which Mr. Perry ties to capture. Whether audience members think it works is going to be very individual. Those who are not regular theatre goers may have difficulty adjusting, though the mostly African-American female audience I saw the film with had no problem understanding it at all.
While the characters in the play are known by different colors, here they are given names and actual storylines. The social issues may be especially pertinent to African-American women, yet many of them are universal enough for women of any color to grasp. Some of the issues include rape, alcoholism, domestic violence, abandonment, mental illness, and sexuality. Yes, it’s difficult to watch at times, but imagine living through it.
What comes across is that black women have been left to struggle, often on their own, but have learned to be there for each other. The two “heroes” are Gilda (Phylicia Rashad), the landlady of a run down building who monitors the dramatic goings on in the apartments near hers, and Juanita (Loretta Devine), a nurse who does what she can to help other women while trying to deal with her own boyfriend problems.
African-American men are far from heroes. In fact, there is only one male character, a policeman named Donald (Hill Harper), who is anything close to a supportive man. Yet, this isn’t about black men, it’s about women.
The female cast is excellent. Each woman brings her own strengths to her part: Kimberly Elise, Janet Jackson, Loretta Devine, Thandie Newton, Anika Noni Rose, Kerry Washington, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Whoopie Goldberg and Macy Gray. The situations and problems in the movie are unrelenting for some women, much like real life. Ms. Shange knew what she wanted to say years ago and it still resonates with many women. Tyler Perry has tried to honor her vision and her stories. Whether he succeeds is up to the audience. Review by Ann Marie Oliva
| DUE DATE Rated R for language, drug use and sexual content. Comedy 100 minutes
3 stars |
It’s a standard movie formula. The mismatched duo (one grumpy and stifled, the other eccentric and free spirited, both adolescent despite age or circumstance) forced to journey together through a series of humorous adventures ending in self-realization and self-actualization. In other words, after a preponderance of more or less outrageous business and one or two heartfelt scenes, the boys grow up. Due Date tries a variation, mixing the funny and the heartfelt, switching on a dime from one to the other, and though the two traveling actors are excellent, the attempt doesn’t add up.
The ever-excellent Robert Downey, Jr. plays Peter Highman, an uptight, sarcastic, angry architect hurrying back to LA from a business trip to Atlanta to meet his wife for the scheduled C-section birth of their first child (thus the title). His misfortune is to run into Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifanakis, adding dramatic credibility to his established comedic talent), an oddball would-be actor on his way to Hollywood with little more than optimism. It’s day and night, dark Peter versus sunny Ethan (no accident perhaps that Ethan’s dog is named Sonny). In short order, and due to much misunderstanding, both men are kicked off their flight and placed on the no-fly list. In short order, Ethan rents a car and offers Peter a ride, though it is quickly evident the two men have nothing whatsoever in common. On the other hand, they are both correct in assessing their car mates weak point. Peter accuses Ethan of being juvenile while Ethan advises that Peter should relax.
The car trip is, of course, one mess-up and/or disaster after another, starting with a stop for Ethan to visit a southern pot dealer, Heidi (a fun cameo by Juliette Lewis). As Ethan transacts business, Peter gets into a tussle with Heidi’s young son (who’s hit him with an object and pulled his tie repeatedly) and punches him the stomach. At the theater I attended, the audience initially laughed at this incident and then paused with disgust reflecting that a grown man had just physically assaulted a boy.
In another scene, Peter insults an admittedly obnoxious Western Union clerk, only to discover he is a paralyzed war veteran. And so it goes throughout the movie with a laugh morphing immediately to a dramatic moment and vice versa. Even when the scene is light, not message laden, for instance when the two protagonists argue or insult one another, the quick shift of tone is disconcerting, catching one off guard and keeping one off kilter. It’s difficult to relax into the tempo of the movie when the ground keeps shifting.
In terms of character development, the sad fact is that Peter and Ethan basically end up unchanged. Oh yeah, they declare a deep bond after their cross country trip (and a hard-to-swallow accidental side excursion to Mexico), but aside from repeated declarations to that effect, there’s scant proof to back it up.
Credit to Todd Phillips for trying to expand the parameters of the enemies into friends travel movie. The production values are first rate (the Grand Canyon especially beautiful) but by far his best advantage lies in his stars. Downey and Galifanakis come as close as possible to pulling it off, but even they can’t overcome the split personality of the script. This is not to say a viewer won’t get a good laugh, or maybe even tear up. Trouble is, like the characters, it’s an awkward fit.
Due Date – A variation on the road trip. Doesn’t deliver. Review by Charles Zio
| CONVICTION Rated R for language and some violent images. Biography/Drama/Thriller 107 minutes
2½ stars |
It makes sense that Conviction is a movie that should move us. Based on the true story of Betty Anne Waters (Hilary Swank) who spent many years working to free her brother from prison on an unjust murder charge, it doesn’t have the wallop you think it might.
It’s not that the story isn’t poignant. Betty Anne and Kenny (Sam Rockwell) grow up in unstable home situations. All they have for support is each other. Both kids are damaged, but while Betty Anne manages to get married and settle down once grown, Kenny’s seemingly easy-going personality is volatile. He doesn’t appear totally surprised when he’s arrested for murder, thinking he’ll be acquitted because he’s innocent. This was in 1983 before DNA.
The State can and often makes a compelling case for guilt, even with less than “beyond a reasonable doubt” evidence. Juries often want someone to go down for a crime. But this is real life, not CSI, and there are no grand revelations in the trial. So Kenny stunned at his conviction, goes to prison for a life sentence.
The sibling bond can be strong, and Betty Anne becomes almost obsessed with finding evidence of Kenny’s innocence. This cost her marriage, and ultimately custody of her sons as she not only gets her GED, but a college degree, then a law degree. Meanwhile Kenny languishes in prison losing years of his life.
If this appears to be a compelling story, it is, except as portrayed on screen much of the movie’s drama is diluted. Part of the problem is because Hilary Swank, though she tries, is rather bland. It’s not that she gives a bad performance, just not an especially memorable one. Yet the movie does become more interesting every time Sam Rockwell is on the screen. His energy is evident when he’s on the screen. Also doing a nice job is Minnie Driver as a law school friend, Melissa Leo as a cop who helps railroad Kenny, Juliette Lewis as a lying witness, and Peter Gallagher as Barry Scheck.
The Innocence Project helped free Kenny Waters through the use of DNA profiling, and it’s a positive sign that gives hope to others wrongfully convicted of crimes. These scenes stretch out over years as life goes on for everyone else except Kenny who remains in limbo except for the caring sister who believed in him. We can only hope for swifter justice for those who find themselves locked away in prison. Betty Anne’s story has many appealing, heroic qualities; unfortunately, the movie doesn’t create as compelling a drama. Review by Ann Marie Oliva
| NEVER LET ME GO Rated R for some sexuality and nudity. Drama/Thriller 103 minutes
3 stars |
Never Let Me Go is beautifully acted, has excellent cinematography, and plenty of atmosphere. It is also achingly slow, dull, and implausible. Why it is called a “thriller” is the real mystery. Yet, there is a sci-fi aspect to it. (Stop here if you don’t want to read any spoilers.)
The film is based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, who wrote The Remains of the Day, about clones who are born and nurtured in order to provide organs for other humans. At first the children in an English boarding school seem to have an idyllic life. Everything about their well-ordered life seems peaceful. But soon enough the audience learns that they have been bred for the sole purpose of giving up their organs (as many as three) in their twenties until they reach their “completion” that is, when they die.
Layered on this is a story of clone love and jealousy; a triangle that develops among Kathy (an outstanding Carey Mulligan), Tommy (Andrew Garfield excellent at expressing confusion and angst), and Ruth (Keira Knightley, also very good). Kathy is exquisitely sensitive, and tries to comfort the sullen Tommy. They fall in love, but Ruth is jealous of their bond and lures Tommy away from Kathy.
The story follows them from childhood through young adulthood in what can only be described as some alternative universe since it takes place in modern-day Britain. They openly discuss their fate, but passively accept what will happen. They are totally dependent on those raising them. They don’t try to run away, act out, or fight for their rights.
This is where the film loses me. Clones are still human beings. Human beings are emotional creatures. Wouldn’t they rebel? Wouldn’t there be anarchy? Wouldn’t it be better to die fighting to stay alive, then die in some sterile hospital operating room having your organs plucked out? Of course, there is talk among them about extending life if there is a true love involved, but all I will say is, the tone is consistent so you can guess where that leads.
When Kathy loses Tommy to Ruth, she becomes a “carer” working with others of her kind before their various operations, and recovery, if they are strong enough. She visits Ruth before her completion. Then finds Tommy recovering in another hospital from one of his operations, and they have a short bit of happiness.
Charlotte Rampling is always so good and here is no exception as she plays the cold Miss Emily, headmistress of their school. Sally Hawkins is also effective in several brief scenes. However, good acting can’t make up for the story itself. If you think there is something unique to say about love, caring, and needs of humans whether they are doomed or not, then you may find Never Let Me Go interesting enough.
Anyone with a fundamental difference of opinion on the way these people would act is not going to agree with the premise. Maybe it’s my essentially rebellious nature, but I think humans, cloned or not, would not tolerate that kind of existence for years knowing their lives would be cut short to service others. People have a need (though it may be stronger in some than others) to be free, and fight whatever form of confinement is placed on them.
Review by Ann Marie Oliva
| HEREAFTER Rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements including disturbing disaster and accident images, and for brief strong language. Drama/Fantasy 129 minutes
3 stars |
If there is life after death, as Hereafter proposes, let’s hope it’s livelier than its portrayal herein, not to mention the movie itself which plods along before, finally at its close, offering a weak bit of engagement. The usual year-end professional/practiced/more or less successful Clint Eastwood release is a no-show this year. Nice try, but no cigar.
Hereafter weaves together three strands. The first begins in Asia where the vacationing television reporter Marie Lelay (Cécile de France, underplaying nicely) and her producer boyfriend are caught up in the 2004 tsunami (the CGI is great) that devastated the region. During her near drowning Marie experiences, and the viewer glimpses, the world to come. No spoiler but frankly there’s nary a thing to recommend the next world. Once back in Paris, Marie can’t shake the visions.
Meanwhile, in San Francisco, George Longegan (Matt Damon, dependably competent) is a retired psychic since, as he has told his profit-minded and pushy brother Billy (Jay Mohr, well played but in need of a good haircut), his supposed “gift” is really a curse. As evidence his budding romance with Melanie (Bryce Dallas Howard) disappears after she learns George’s secret and prevails upon him to give her a reading only to have him discover her very ugly family secret (the expected one). It’s a lonely life for a legit communicator with the dead.
At the same time, in London, twin brothers, Marcus and Jason (Frankie and George McLaren, genuine and affecting) are doing their best to shield and remain with their drug addicted mother despite the insistent efforts of government child protective services. In short order, Jason dies and Marcus, already a quiet and morose child, is placed in foster care (with a loving family at a loss how to help him).
Though it takes almost the whole picture (two hours), there’s no doubt the three story lines will, and must, eventually merge. And coincidentally they do as George journeys to London to escape Billy’s machinations at the same time that Marie is in the city promoting her work on the validity of the afterlife while Marcus happens to be on hand at the same book fair and recognizes and pursues George for a reading.
Cue the quiet music (ably composed by Clint himself and used subtly throughout) and insert a few concluding scenes of George bringing peace and resolution to Marcus and also happily on the verge of a promising romance with Marie. Unfortunately, for the movie’s impact, the viewer has seen it all coming from early on.
Mr. Eastwood, of course, is a consummate director and even a less than successful effort on his part will display a high level of competency so that he can rise above a predictable script (Peter Morgan) and present a film displaying high production values. Beyond that, it’s too bad all involved did not emulate Charles Dickens, the main character’s idol (here only a plot device). There’s a guy who even amidst cliché knew how to leave an audience satisfied.
Hereafter – To echo an old song, “Is That All There Is?” Review by Charles Zio
| RED Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of action violence and brief strong language. Action/Comedy 111 minutes
3½ stars |
You will have fun at Red, as long as you enjoy the movie for what it is. That is, don’t take this action/comedy too seriously. It’s not meant to be serious, and in fact, stark reality would spoil it.
Bruce Willis plays Frank Moses a retired CIA guy who lives an ordered if boring life. His only pleasure comes from his chats with Sara Ross (Mary-Louise Parker), the woman who processes his retirement checks. She also has boring life and gets her thrills from talking to Frank and reading steamy clothes-ripping romance novels. The courtship moves along quickly when Frank is going to visit Sara in Kansas City, but first gets attacked by an army of outfitted goons trying to kill him. He rushes to get Sara, despite her protests, and find safety.
Frank needs help from his former colleagues to find out why there is a hit squad after him: Joe Matheson (Morgan Freeman), Marvin Boggs (John Malkovich), and Victoria (Helen Mirren). He also solicits help from a Russian named Ivan Simanov (Brian Cox) who is rather depressed because he hasn’t “killed anyone in years” and is Victoria’s former lover. They are pursued by FBI pit bull William Cooper (Karl Urban) and his humorless boss Cynthia Wilkes (Rebecca Pidgeon).
This is all you really need to know going in because, in truth, it’s not a storyline that needs to make total sense. The stunts and explosions are fine, but it’s the cast that make the movie work. Bruce Willis is not his usual smug self. His Frank is oddly unsure of himself with Sara. He leaves the mugging to John Malkovich who early in his career played crazies so convincingly. Here, Marvin Boggs has evolved into the crazy as comic relief. Morgan Freeman is enjoyable as the world weary, sly elder statesman. But it is Helen Mirren who is a delight at every turn. Other actors who add to the amusement are Ernest Borgnine as Henry the Records Keeper, and Richard Dreyfuss as Alexander Dunning. Karl Urban holds his own with all the talent he plays against.
Screenwriters Jon Hoeber and Erich Hoeber adapted the graphic novel by Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner with just the right tone, neither too cartoonish, nor too real. Director Robert Schwentke managed the details and let the experienced actors do their jobs.
Red, which stands for “retired, extremely dangerous” will give those of a certain age a welcome smile. Yes, they still have it. Review by Ann Marie Oliva
| WAITING FOR SUPERMAN Rated PG for some thematic material, mild language and incidental smoking. Documentary 102 minutes
4½ stars |
If you have children in school, and even if you don’t, Waiting for Superman, is likely to break your heart, make you furious, and probably both. Documentary filmmaker Davis Guggenheim, along with co-writer Billy Kimball, lays out the problem of education in America in a methodical, easily understood manner. Yet, it’s the personal stories of the children that get to you. Once you see real kids behind the failure to educate every child in this country, you can’t help but be moved.
The title comes from educator Geoffrey Canada who tells about being a young boy watching the old George Reeves television Superman who always comes in to save the day at the last minute. When his mother tells him that Superman isn’t real he is devastated. What’s clear is that while we’re waiting for Superman our schools are sinking lower and lower.
The children who are followed: Anthony, Francisco, Bianca, Daisy, and Emily, are all at risk for sinking into that vast unsuccessful mess of schools that don’t work. Their parents are desperate for them to have hope for a better life, but that means the small chance of finding a spot in a better school via a lottery system that has only a few seats. These scenes towards the end of the film as the numbers are picked and they all wait expectantly in the audience, are nerve-wracking.
Part of the problem is the powerful teacher unions that seem to say that ALL teachers, no matter how bad, should have jobs for life. When teachers were exploited, namely when most were women being routinely taken advantage of, unions made sense. Now, however, when you see situations like the “rubber room” in New York City where teachers sit for years in a classroom all day every day doing nothing but waiting for disciplinary hearings on their cases, and it costs the city $100 million dollars a year, you can’t help but be outraged.
Also followed is education reformer Michelle Rhee who comes into Washington, D.C. schools to change the failing system. She manages to make a difference by closing some schools and firing the worst performing teachers, but it was recently announced that she has resigned.
This is an important documentary. The point is well made. There is no Superman; we have to be the ones to save our children and our future. Review by Ann Marie Oliva
| SECRETARIAT Rated PG for brief mild language. Drama/Sport 116 minutes
4 stars |
The horse racing business is not for hot house flowers. It’s a tough business with rough characters who speak their mind and then some. Diane Lane’s delicate beauty and quiet reserve is a perfect foil for them. She plays Penny Chenery Tweety whose father started and ran the Meadow stables in Virginia. Against the odds, she manages to save the stables and create a horse racing legend with the great Secretariat.
When her mother dies Penny tends to her ailing father (Scott Glenn) and takes over managing the stables against the wishes of practically everyone including her brother (Dylan Baker) and her husband Jack (Dylan Walsh). They want to sell the stables since it has been losing money for years, but Penny sees potential where no one else does. The farm has two pregnant mares by Bold Ruler, a fast horse with limited endurance. When the flip of a coin gives her a spirited red male, she dreams of taking him to the top of the racing world, and then makes it happen.
In the early 1970s business was still not welcoming to women. The film shows some of this, but it was probably much more difficult. Penny has total belief in the colorful characters that work for her including the trainer Lucien Laurin (John Malkovich, only okay and a poor French Canadian accent), jockey Ron Turcotte (Otto Thorwath, good in a pivotal role), Eddie Sweat (Nelsan Ellis believably playing older), and Miss Ham (Margo Martindale winning and funny), her father’s loyal secretary, who stays on and is Penny’s biggest support system. Nestor Serrano is appropriately slimy as Penny's nemesis.
Though the film is strong in showing a woman who confronts and controls her destiny, it is dangerously close to being corny at times. Much is made of the children supporting and admiring their mother in her struggles, and her older daughter following her own conscience.
Secretariat is shown as a large, smart horse known to most as Big Red. He almost takes on human traits as he supposedly poses for reporters, photos, and the crowd. He certainly had the heart of a champion, coming from last place in most of his races.
The technical aspects, especially the cinematography, are excellent, and help make the races exciting even though most audience members know how they will end. It also emphasizes the athleticism of both the horse and the jockey and how they need to work together to win. The 1970s clothes, hair, and atmosphere are just right.
Director Randall Wallace paces the movie well, though it does get a slow start. If you like inspirational stories, Secretariat will likely move you. You’ll admire the magnificent horse, but even more, the woman who made him famous. Review by Ann Marie Oliva
| LIFE AS WE KNOW IT Rated PG-13 for sexual material, language and some drug content. Comedy/Drama/Romance 112 minutes
2½ stars |
The set up for Life As We Know It is sad. A young couple dies in a car accident. It does happen, though no one expects it, so most people are unprepared. In this comedy/drama, the couple’s best friends are pressed into service by their friends' will, but they know nothing about it until the lawyer informs them of it.
The joke, which is pretty much the one joke of the movie is that they are inept parents who must learn on the fly how to parent a baby. And by the way, they can’t stand each other, though it’s far too obvious from the beginning that these two beautiful people belong together.
A case worker visits, and asks questions, but they are on their own with help from the former friends’ friends who stop by to advise them and say helpful things like, “You have poo on your face.”
Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel are said beautiful people who have been in romantic comedies before, and though they seem to have better chemistry with each other than other co-stars, the script doesn’t leave them much particularly interesting or original to do. I’ll give the benefit of the doubt and say there is probably still untapped resources in their work, but it needs to show up, quickly.
By the way, how many scenes are we going to have to sit through of people chasing after each other at the airport? The cliché wore out its welcome a long time ago. The babies are cute, the production values are good, but this is a lackluster movie. Review by Ann Marie Oliva
A FUNNY STORY |
IT'S KIND OF A FUNNY STORY Rated PG-13 for mature thematic issues, sexual content, drug material and language. Comedy/Drama 91 minutes
3½ stars |
Not everyone is going to be interested in a movie about a suicidal teenager who spends a few days on a psychiatric unit, yet I think those people will miss a touching story and some moving performances. It’s Kind of A Funny Story, adapted by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck from the novel of the same name by Ned Vizzini, is informative and raw, even if it adds nothing new to the genre. The main character Craig is played by Keir Gilchrist in a natural and unmannered performance that is the backbone of the movie. If the audience doesn’t like Craig it’s hard to sit through his adventures in psychland.
Craig is an overwhelmed, over-sensitive, inarticulate teenager who is depressed after going through a rough patch, as all adolescents do. He’s in love with his best friend’s girlfriend, struggling at school, and having difficulty connecting with his Yuppie parents. The suicidal ideation is more a cry for help than an actual plan, but when he goes to an emergency room, a young doctor listens to his pleas and admits him to the psych floor.
Of course, this is much more than Craig bargained for and his first few moments turn into a desperate attempt to get himself discharged so he can go to school the next day. A kind psychiatrist, Dr. Minerva (Viola Davis, always affecting), tells Craig he has to stay at least five days.
The characters he meets, especially Bobby (Zach Galifianakis, showing range), give him a lesson much more valuable than he could learn from his peers. One thing I especially like about the film is the way it shows the camaraderie and caring of the patients for each other, and how that helps them heal. The humor is a relief between the serious stretches. Craig’s problems are real, but not as devastating as those of others, and he is young enough to do something about them.
Other good performances include: Emma Roberts as Noelle, Zoë Kravitz as Nia, Jeremy Davies as Smitty, Bernard White as Muqtada, Lauren Graham as Lynn and Jim Gaffigan as George.
Though it all happens more quickly than it normally would, there is an arch to Craig’s story. You want to root for him, and care for the others in distress. It’s Kind of A Funny Story reminds us how fragile, and yet how resilient the human psyche can be. Review by Ann Marie Oliva
| THE SOCIAL NETWORK Rated PG-13 for sexual content, drug and alcohol use and language. Drama/Adaptation 121 minutes
5 stars |
Facebook is the ultimate revenge fantasy. We’re told founder Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg, perfect in the role) is the youngest billionaire ever. Yet, this insecure, socially awkward genius was a snob himself. What drove him wasn’t the money, but feeling slighted by a girlfriend at a “lesser” Boston college who dumped him, jealousy of a best friend who was invited to join a prestigious college club, and wanting to be cool and feel appreciated for his gifts rather than snubbed by the entrenched social caste system of Harvard.
The screenplay by Aaron Sorkin is excellent going back and forth in time starting from the night of the break-up in 2003 when Mark decides to get revenge on the ex-girlfriend Erica Albright (Rooney Mara) by posting insulting comments about her and other Harvard women on the internet. He gets 22,000 hits. Arguably, this is the beginning of the end of privacy for everyone.
Several elite twin rowers named Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss (Armie Hammer’s face for both and Josh Pence’s body for Tyler) ask Mark to set up an exclusive website and offer to pay him. He agrees, but begins to set up his own called The Facebook. He sends emails putting them off until his is up and running. The movie moves from the early set-up to law offices where Mark is being sued by the brothers and by his best and only real friend Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield, excellent as well). While Mark has only contempt for the brothers and their lawyer, he is guiltily stared down by Eduardo who was originally the Chief Financial Officer, tried to be ethical, and was back-stabbed for his trouble. Add the opportunistic, smarmy Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake, another excellent performance) founder of Napster, who influenced Mark, but who Eduardo sees through, and it’s like a Shakespearean play complete with deceit, obsession, and lust for “something” that is elusive to the tremendously flawed protagonist.
You can see the beginnings of the internet generation bravado when these students think the ends justify the means and are not beneath saying or doing whatever they think will work to get what they want. The question needs to be asked, “Who is teaching ethics to college students?” Is this the best Harvard can do with future leaders of American business and government? They don’t come off in a particularly good light, and you can almost understand Mark’s frustration. It’s the actions he takes that make him no better than they are. An especially obnoxious and condescending Larry Summers (Douglas Urbanski), President of Harvard, mocks his own students when they come to him for help.
It’s a long movie, but expertly directed by David Fincher. In the conclusion we find out the resolution to the law suits. You may or may not end up feeling a tad sorry for Mark Zuckerberg. He can give away all the millions and billions he wants to charity, but can he take enough showers in a lifetime to wash away the taint? Review by Ann Marie Oliva
| LET ME IN Rated R for strong bloody horror violence, language and a brief sexual situation. Sci-fi/Horror/Remake 115 minutes
4 stars |
Twelve can be a difficult age. It was especially bad for Abby (Chloe Moretz) because she (or it) was turned into a vampire. How long ago? Even the vampire doesn’t seem to know. The filmmakers of Let Me In, the remake of the Swedish film Let the Right One In, have been questioned about the need to redo the movie since the original is so good, and not that old. The fact that this movie is here, right now, is the more pertinent issue for this review. Yet, it is such a faithful remake from the novel by John Ajvide Lindqvist, that comparisons are inevitable.
Instead of the bleak, desolate landscape of Sweden, the story is Americanized and takes place in New Mexico where, yes, it does snow. Owen (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is also twelve and lives a lonely life with his mother who drinks and sleeps a lot, while his father seems mostly unavailable since the parents are divorcing. Bullied at school, Owen is very thin and small, and friendless, until he meets Abby one night in the courtyard of their apartment building. She’s barefoot in the snow. This seems strange to Owen, but they make an immediate connection even though she says they can’t be friends.
Owen, with no life of his own, but having serious revenge fantasies, spies on his neighbors, and sees Abby’s “father” (Richard Jenkins) go out at night. This peaks his curiosity, and the more he finds out, the more horrified the audience becomes as scenes of gory, bloody murder take place.
The two leads, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Chloe Moretz are every bit as good as the young Swedish actors, especially expressing their painful isolation. Though one character is a boy, and the other a hideous creature, the bond between them becomes a strong one, and is entirely believable. All they are left with in the world is each other. Supporting actors Richard Jenkins and Elias Koteas, as the investigating policeman, as well as Dylan Minnette, as Owen’s main torturer, are effective, too.
The thing that’s especially likeable about Let Me In, as well as the original Let the Right One In, is that it gives a unique slant to the vampire saga that is not sappy, silly, or based on human values of what we think of as “good” and “evil.” At times, the CGI is not as expert as it could be and can take the audience out of the movie, but director Matt Reeves has done an admirable remake of a true horror film, whatever the reason. Review by Ann Marie Oliva
MONEY NEVER SLEEPS |
WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS Rated PG-13 for brief strong language and thematic elements. Drama 133 minutes
4 stars |
Gordon Gekko states (late in the movie) that it isn’t the money, it’s the game. Believe him. The money is just for score keeping. The real game is in besting your opponents, in any way possible, and if that means tossing aside ethics/legality/morals, well, so be it. Since, at this point, few need convincing of the chicanery of financial institutions and the men who run them the long string of lies, betrayals, and treachery eventually prove tiresome. As does the learning curve of the innocent young hero and the seeking of redemption by the former financial icon.
Opening with shots of New York (the city looks great – wealthy, bustling, varied) we hear a voice over from Jake Moore (Shia LeBeouf, excellent as ever) setting up the movie as his coming of age story. Recognized for his ambition and drive when a boy, he has been mentored and employed by Louis Zabel (Frank Langella, incapable of ever giving a bad performance), an old and established Wall Street hand. In the meantime, Jake is living with Winnie Gekko (Carey Mulligan, warm and appealing) who writes a news column for a liberal blog. She is the love of his life and, also, the estranged daughter of Gordon Gekko (Michael Douglas, peerless in reprising his Oscar role) who is seen being released from federal prison after serving eight years for crimes from the earlier movie.
Jake’s life is upended when Zabel and his company are forced into financial ruin and left prey to Bretton James (Josh Brolin, suitably sly and slippery), an old nemesis of Louis’s. Suffice it to say that Bretton emerges victorious. Out of a job and at loose ends, Jake becomes acquainted with Gordon who himself has no illusions about Bretton because (it’s a snake pit) the two men have their own prior, antagonistic history. Gordon is willing to educate Jake but he has an ulterior motive – he wants to be reconciled with his daughter Winnie (“all I have left” as he tells her).
Most of the movie involves cat-and-mouse shenanigans of financial one-upmanship, further inflamed by personal vendettas. Specifics of deals, market machinations, and personal and business manipulations finally serve to illustrate the truth that, indeed, for some, the finance game is an addiction. Why else, after one has money enough for a lifetime or two or three, engage in questionable activities merely to unnecessarily earn yet more? On the other hand, the world of Wall Street is defined and described by its wealth – lavish apartments and offices, expensive clothes, costly collectibles, and especially a charity affair at the Metropolitan Museum of Art wherein are shot after shot of women adorned in glittering and costly earrings, enough it seems to perhaps feed a small country.
Though the acting is fine, both the principals (LeBeouf, Brolin, Langella) and bits by the very skillful likes of Elli Wallach and Susan Sarandon (and a dandy surprise cameo but no spoiler here), the movie truly belongs to Douglas as Gekko who keeps you guessing as to his sincerity, intentions, and motives, and then there is the relish with which he delivers some of his lines. Ultimately, however, the mostly capable script by Allan Loeb and Stephen Schiff, based on characters created by Stanley Weiser and Oliver Stone, loses its courage with a justice-triumphs-and-everyone-lives-happily-ever-after ending (the latter seen in end credits). The photography, as noted, by Rodrigo Prieto is excellent and a pat on the back to production designer Kristi Zea. Last, but not least, director Oliver Stone has delivered a sequel with his usual assurance and professionalism that to a large extent successfully updates and expands the original. The movie may not be gripping throughout and the ending does go easy, but mostly it’s topnotch.
Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps – May not be top of the market, but close enough. Review by Charles Zio
| YOU AGAIN Rated PG for brief mild language and rude behavior. Comedy 105 minutes
3 stars |
Who hasn’t had high school revenge fantasies? Fantasy is the operative word here, but still, women may get it more than men. Why? Because girls go through more scrutiny as teenagers; everything about them is analyzed, judged, rated by themselves and others. Like the father and husband in the movie, played by Victor Garber, men may be mystified that angst can go so deep, and situations could go so far. When Marni (Kristen Bell) comes home for her brother Will’s (James Wolk) wedding she finds he is marrying her high school torturer Joanna (Odette Yustman). Joanna pretends she doesn’t remember Marni, and on top of that, she is the perfect girl in every way.
Marni ties to warn her warm-hearted mother Gail (Jamie Lee Curtis), but she gets motherly advice about forgetting the past and moving on. That is until Joanna’s rich Aunt Ramona (Sigourney Weaver) shows up. She and Gail were best friends in high school until their senior year when they had a falling out. All of a sudden Gail is in full competitive mode.
As complications ensue, the four women start getting more desperate. Marni won’t let it go because she thinks she has to “save” Will and her family. This leads to some amusing and poignant moments. The reason it’s amusing is because it’s true. If we had the chance to get back at someone who made our young life miserable, would we pass up the chance and take the high road? Human nature leaves us subject to strong and often lasting emotions. Some might very well do what Marni does, if able to figure it all out.
Kristen Bell gets a chance to revise her image after the terrible When in Rome, and she and Odette Yustman are good as the young rivals. But it’s Jamie Lee Curtis and Sigourney Weaver, neither one ever really given her due, who almost steal the movie out from under everyone else. Kristen Chenoweth has a small role, but is a powerhouse as usual. Kyle Bornheimer does a good comic turn as a rejected suitor, and Betty White is her delightful self as Grandma Bunny.
Of course, everyone in this movie seems to be well off financially and can afford to focus on more than merely surviving. It’s also true that some of the gags are telegraphed and corny, and it’s not very original. It’s a comedy, so aside from a few broken bones, no one really gets hurt. And no one should confuse what happens in this film with reality, either. The chance of ever getting even with those who tortured you in high school is about zero, and the point is, why would you want to? Review by Ann Marie Oliva
THE OWLS OF GA’HOOLE |
LEGENDS OF THE GUARDIANS: THE OWLS OF GA’HOOLE Rated PG for some sequences of scary action. Animation/adventure/Fantasy 90 minutes
2½ stars |
Not having read the series of epic fantasy books by Kathryn Lasky, I admit to being confused by the story. It seems all the owls have unusual names that are said quickly and hard to pick up and remember. What I do remember is the excellent animation. The 3D does enhance the look of the film in this case, more so than other recent releases.
Soren (voice of Jim Sturgess) is a young barn owl. He has a nasty older brother named Kludd (voice of Ryan Kwanten), who is not as good a flyer as Soren, and therefore jealous. One night Kludd purposely pushes Soren from their tree nest and they are scooped up by evil owls, the Pure Ones, and brought to an orphanage where they will be retrained as soldiers. On the way to the orphanage, Soren meets Gylfie (Emily Barclay), an elf owl, who becomes his best friend. They both resist the indoctrination and plan to escape with help from the good owls, the Guardians.
This is a series supposedly intended for middle school age children, yet there were even younger children in the audience. Some of the situations may be a bit frightening for them, as there are talons, killings, and plenty of evil characters. Yet, this is a basic story of good versus evil, except the characters are owls. Many more types of owls than I ever thought about.
The flying and even the fighting have a certain beauty in animation. The good survive and the evil get punished. All the voice actors, many Australian, do a good job. I found it difficult to get into the story and care about the characters. Maybe you have to be an owl person?
Review by Ann Marie Oliva
| THE TOWN Rated R for strong violence, pervasive language, some sexuality and drug use. Crime/Drama/Thriller 124 minutes
4 stars |
Ben Affleck has taken some big hits for movie choices he’s made, so he has much riding on his directing/writing/acting in The Town. It has paid off because although The Town is not a great movie, it is a well-made, entertaining thriller. As the director he has done two things particularly well: casting and pacing.
It surely helps that Mr. Affleck grew up in Boston. Specifically the “Town” is Charlestown, a blue collar Irish neighborhood where we are told there are second and third generation bank robbers who make it the bank robbery capital of America. He plays Doug MacRay, a smart, though ambivalent leader of a group of guys who bide their time from one robbery to the next. This is especially true of his best friend James Coughlin, played as a ferocious psychopath by Jeremy Renner who wants an ever bigger rush from their crimes. It’s a step up in instability from his character in the Hurt Locker, and he’s able to make the intensity real. A complication is that Jim's sister Krista (Blake Lively, believable) is Doug’s former girlfriend and sometime sex partner. The Coughlin siblings want to include Doug in one big happy family, but Doug is restless and wants something more.
Adapted from the novel Prince of Thieves by Chuck Hogan, it may very well remind you of Dennis Lehane’s books about South Boston’s criminal underworld. Here Doug and his gang, who always wear masks, and are very careful, rob a bank but this time take the bank manager named Claire (Rebecca Hall) hostage. They let her go unharmed but she’s traumatized. Making sure she doesn’t know much, Doug follows and meets Claire and before long falls in love with her despite knowing she is being pressured by FBI agent Adam Frawley (Jon Hamm in a good turn) who is relentless in his pursuit of Doug. When Doug wants to do one last job so he can be with Claire, he finds it’s not easy to walk away.
The filmmakers take care to give Doug psychological complexity so that even though he’s a recovering alcoholic, failed hockey player, and lifelong thief, the character manages to evoke empathy. At six years old his mother leaves, and he is desperate to find her and bring her home, but after a visit with his father (a chilling Chris Cooper) in prison, and a confrontation with one of the street bosses, Fergie (an equaling chilling Pete Postlethwaite), he begins to understand the real darkness of his past.
The tension builds slowly, but continues to increase toward the finale. There are some minor inconsistencies, yet not enough to distract from the major action. You know it’s going to end badly for some because of the violence and disregard for life. The thieves don’t live extravagant lifestyles. It’s about committing the crimes on their turf and getting away with it. Yet, it’s not certain who, if anyone is going to get what they want. Credit the director for keeping the pressure building. Mr. Affleck is not in the same league yet with directors Clint Eastwood and Martin Scorsese whose movies about Boston crime won Oscars, but he did prove Gone Baby Gone is not a fluke, and he’s going in the right direction. Review by Ann Marie Oliva
| EASY A Rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements involving teen sexuality, language and some drug material. Comedy/Romance 92 minutes
3½ stars |
Emma Stone is an appealing young actor and helps make Easy A make fun, but underneath are some issues that in real life are serious for high school students. She plays Olive Pendergast who uses her computer to narrate her story to anyone who cares to listen. Fitting. She starts by saying she was invisible in school. That’s difficult to believe. One day she lies to her pushy best friend Rhiannon (Aly Michalka), in the girls’ bathroom about having sex with a college boy. Unfortunately, this is overheard by ultra prudish Marianne (Amanda Bynes) whose group is the moral police of the school.
The formerly invisible Olive is now gawked at by everyone when she walks by. She tells a gay student it’s all a lie and he begs her to go to a party and fake sex with him so the bullies will stop persecuting him. She complies, and guess what happens? Now she’s in business. There are some funny moments as the social caste system plays out, and lies beget lies, beget more lies and complications.
Since her class is reading The Scarlet Letter Olive takes to wearing sexier clothes to school with a big red A on her chest. The connection isn’t clear since there’s no adultery involved, but it’s a way for Olive to fight back.
The dialogue is snappy, but often too self-consciously hip much like in Juno, especially in scenes with her parents played by Patricia Clarkson and Stanley Tucci, though the acting is good throughout the movie. Most of the time, even when Olive suffers, you never get the feeling she can’t re-emerge with her life intact.
The most serious subplot is about her English teacher (Thomas Hayden-Church) who is married to a guidance counselor (Lisa Kudrow). This episode is resolved too neatly, but then, this is a teen comedy, and any resemblance to reality is strictly for laughs. Review by Ann Marie Oliva
| GOING THE DISTANCE Rated R for sexual content including dialogue, language throughout, some drug use and brief nudity. Comedy/Romance 109 minutes
2 stars |
There’s more romance than comedy in Going the Distance, but it makes both less appealing. Not that the romance is very compelling, which seems odd since it’s reported that Drew Barrymore (Erin) and Justin Long (Garrett) are a real-life couple. They are engaging actors. The main problem is that the movie lacks energy. Both Ms. Barrymore and Mr. Long are low-key performers, but still, what comes across is that the movie feels flat, and falls flat.
They play two people making career choices later in life than most, but they’re ready to meet “the one” and they seem to find that in each other. Yet Erin can’t find a journalism job in New York, and flies back to California to stay with her sister Corinne (Christina Applegate, the only breath of fresh air in the movie), and her clichéd family and friends. Garrett works for a music company but doesn’t like the bands he’s representing. What’s a young couple in love to do?
Garrett flies across the country to visit Erin with several embarrassing situations occurring that only provide more cringing than necessary. Garrett’s two friends (Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis) are no help. From the beginning they are presented as slackers/losers, and do nothing to disabuse the audience of that notion.
Were there humorous moments during filming, as sometimes happens, because it is missing on the screen? The screenplay by Geoff LaTulippe is part of the problem. It may be that this current generation is full of people who are trying to find themselves, but there is no urgency to Erin and Garrett’s problem. The plot is not enough to sustain interest when you’ve heard it all before or there is no outstanding acting, or directing by Nanette Burstein. Maybe this is anti-melodrama?
Whatever; something didn’t work between actors/writer/director because Ms. Burstein has directed and the leads have acted before, more or less successfully. Romantic comedies take another hit with Going the Distance. Review by Ann Marie Oliva