Movie Reviews 2008
This is an underrated, independent film that won more than 20 awards last year – its star, Melissa Leo, was nominated for an Academy Best Actress award (won by Kate Winslet); the screenwriter/director, Courtney Hunt, was nominated for best original screenplay. Both highly deserving.
Leo plays a weather- and life-beaten mother of two boys, whose husband has just run out on them – again – this time with their final deposit on their new double-wide trailer. She struggles to survive in the harsh winter along the New York-Quebec border, working part-time making minimum wage at a local dime store, barely making enough to put food on the table for her family.
She runs into a young Indian woman, Lila Littlewolf (a subtle performance by Misty Upham), who had stolen the car Leo’s husband left at the bus station. Soon, Leo is helping Lila smuggle undocumented immigrants through the Mohawk Reservation (that straddles the two countries) for good payouts. But danger lurks as Leo tries to stay one step ahead of the bill collectors, smugglers and border police.
This is a harsh film – about the elements, life, loyalty and family. If you missed it, rent it. I doubt you’ll be disappointed.
8½ stars
An excellent, though horrific, film about a vulnerable single mom (Angelina Jolie) whose son is abducted and who falls prey to a corrupt LAPD that pawns off another boy as her son. When she protests – the lady doth protest too loudly – a rogue LAPD captain (Jeffrey Donovan) throws the power of his office against her. And in Los Angeles circa 1928, she has little recourse to fight the system.
This movie was more than worthy of its Academy Award nominations – Jolie especially. Clint Eastwood produced, directed and wrote the score for this film, which is based on a true story. Excellent support cast and wonderful early LA cinematography. If you missed this at the theatre like we did, don’t miss it on DVD.
9 stars
Clint Eastwood stars in and directs this excellent film about an unlikeable Korean War vet and former Ford factory worker whose wife has just died, leaving him alone in a neighborhood that is becoming more diverse by the day. He snarls at his neighbors, a Hmong family, spitting out racial epithets every time he opens his mouth – so much, in fact, that the film becomes part comedy, even if you’d never expect yourself to be laughing at racial slurs. Are you laughing at the slurs or at the man who’s making them?
But Eastwood comes to the rescue when he confronts (with a rifle) an Asian gang trying to force the neighbor son into a car, thus becoming a hero of sorts to the Hmongs’ extended family. Unwillingly, he steps into his neighbors’ culture – frankly, he’s intrigued by the moxie of their sassy daughter – and slowly and unexpectedly ingratiates himself into their lives.
Ignored by the Academy, this film received numerous other awards and nominations, and rightfully so. It does an excellent job delving into subject matter not usually seen in a big budget film. Kudos to Eastwood.
8½ stars
Kate Winslet earns her Academy Best Actress nomination with her outstanding portrayal of Hanna Schmitz, a young woman who works as a ticket taker on board a Berlin trolley. She befriends Michael Berg (played in his high school youth by David Kross, then later in life by Ralph Fiennes), seducing him and continuing a summer-long romance with the young boy.
Twenty years later, Fiennes, now a judge, hasn’t seen or heard of Hanna since she mysteriously fell out of his life that summer, but she emerges as one of the key defendants in a very public trial of former female prison guards accused of being Nazi war criminals (about 10 years before she took up with young Mr. Berg). Obviously shocked at the revelation, he has to figure out how to handle the situation without betraying one of her secrets.
It’s a sad, depressing movie – with its share of inconsistencies and this-doesn’t-make-sense moments – but Winslet’s performance keeps you mesmerized.
8½ stars
The newest James Bond flick, the second starring Daniel Craig as Bond, is long on action and short on females (a new era Bond?). Not quite up to the standard he set in the remake of Casino Royale, it was worth an afternoon at the cheap theatre in town, but you can certainly wait for a Netflix rental.
6 stars
A brutal film, Mickey Rourke and his screen character, pro wrestler Randy “The Ram” Robinson, stage a comeback that likely will lead to a well-deserved Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. This was a gritty film, matching the behind-the-scenes grittiness of the small venue pro wrestling circuit, and shot with a feel for the low-lifes who inhabit the ring.
Marisa Tomei (she of My Cousin Vinny fame, among others) is wonderful as the aging stripper (if she didn’t use a body double, Mama Mia!) whom The Ram tries to court in his own awkward way. She’s been nominated for several awards and likely will get an Academy nod, as well.
Evan Rachel Wood played a limited but explosive role as Randy’s estranged daughter. How The Ram relates to his daughter is critical to the film’s success.
It’s difficult to watch parts of this film because of the brutality of the sport – as staged as it is. But it’s fascinating to watch the camaraderie and respect among the combatants behind the curtains, as if they are mere actors in a staged play.
Worth seeing on the big screen, provided you can handle its coarseness.
9 stars
I didn’t get it. This critically-acclaimed movie – and acting – simply didn’t set well with me. Leonardo DiCaprio & Kate Winslet are wonderful actors, but this wasn’t their best efforts (in spite of Winslet’s Golden Globe). And the purpose of this film was what?
The 1950s couple – who meet, have a family and are living in the Connecticut suburbs within the first 90 seconds of the movie – are a dysfunctional lot, and they try to cope with their mundane lives with mundane friends. They both think there’s more to life, but they don’t have a clue what “more” is or how they might obtain it. They have some ideas, some of which they act upon (adulterous sex), some of which they don’t. There’s a lot of yelling in this movie, most of it inane.
One character, the mentally-disturbed adult son (Michael Shannon) of their realtor (Kathy Bates), was the one shining light in this otherwise sad and depressing movie. He spoke his mind, and he was spot on. He had the couple figured out even if they didn’t.
By the way, the title of the movie refers to the street they live on. But if there’s anything revolutionary about this film, I must have missed it. Fortunately, my better half announced she had no interest in seeing this movie, so I went with a friend. That saved us a ticket and an uncomfortable nap for Tracy, who surely would have slept through most of it.
Note: Like the critics, www.imdb.com viewers loved this film: 27% gave it a 10; 70% gave it an 8, 9 or 10. They must have liked The Royal Tenenbaums, too. Oh, well.
4 stars
After watching Anne Hathaway do a bang-up job in Rachel Getting Married (see below), I refuse to watch her in this incredibly stupid-looking movie. You're on your own.
A Pulitzer Prize winning play (we just saw it in Sacramento last year), Meryl Streep (as the crusty nun-principal), Philip Seymour Hoffman (as the priest) and Amy Adams (as the young teaching nun) make this a riveting drama. It’s a fairly simple story: Streep believes Hoffman is abusing a young black student and uses Adams’ observations to help bolster her case.
But is Hoffman really an abuser? He comes off as a caring priest with no sinister side, but is that just an illusion? And does Streep think he’s taking advantage – or is she just overreacting to the progressive policies of the upstart priest?
Streep is excellent, but it’s not her best; she’s up for several lead actress awards and will likely get an Academy nomination (she is Meryl Streep after all). Hoffman, too, is excellent and is up for several supporting awards, but it doesn’t come close to his Capote role. Adams outshines both of them in the innocent role of a young teacher who thinks the best of people and seeks the approval of others, but she does not like being put in the position to which Streep has led her; she’s up for supporting awards, too. Quietly, in far fewer scenes, is the student’s mother, Viola Davis, who is very believable trying to help her son survive academically in a white man’s 1964 world.
Worth seeing before the award shows begin.
8 stars
You really can't make this stuff up. Which can be said for most of the surreal episode we call Watergate - and the presidency of Richard Milhous Nixon - a seminal period of my life. And this movie does an excellent job encapsulating that period in the drama surrounding the David Frost interview(s) of 1977, three years after Nixon’s departure from the White House.
Frost, a fluffy English (and Australian TV) talk show host – Regis Philbin might be a close parallel (except Frost was in his late 30s at the time) – buys the rights to eight hours of interviews with the rehabilitating-seeking former president, and few people believe Frost is up to the task. Say what you will about Tricky Dick, he was no dummy. And he was closely managed by his COS, played well by Kevin Bacon, who strongly believed in the resurrection of his boss.
Director Ron Howard does an outstanding job of mingling historic footage and fresh material into a dramatic re-creation of the famous interview, and he brings out top-notch performances by Frank Langella (Nixon), Michael Sheen (Frost), Bacon (Jack Brennan), Sam Rockwell (James Reston), Oliver Platt and others. A fine ensemble cast, making the movie far more dramatic than you might expect. Although I’d bet that Diane Sawyer, a Nixon speechwriter/cheerleader, wasn't too pleased with all the air time her character got (an era she'd probably like to forget).
Go see it.
9 stars
This big-hit-at-the-box-office movie left a bit to be desired. Sure, it was cute, and Jennifer Aniston & Owen Wilson are an adorable couple (who didn’t seem to age much during the 12-year length of the film), and those are real tears the movie pulls at the end (if you don’t know the end by now, you haven’t been paying attention).
But, really, if anyone owned a dog as poorly behaved as Marley, you would be cited by the SPCA and be declared certifiable if you continued to allow your dog free access to your home, fine furnishings and all. I mean, how many couches does a dog have to chew up for you to stop laughing – either in real life or at the movies?
Also, the movie suffers from trailer overdose. How many times have YOU seen Marley run off with a café table?
Having said all that, Kathleen Turner – puffy and aging rapidly – is a scene stealer playing a dog obedience instructor.
It’s an ok DVD rental when it’s released, but I wouldn’t spend the time on a nice winter’s day. And be careful taking young kids to this one; the emotion at the end is quite real. Bring Kleenex.
7 stars
YOUNG AT HEART (2007):
This is a foot-stomping revelry of senior citizens in Northhampton, MA rocking out to rock and roll, punk and soul tunes as part of a musical chorus, brilliantly filmed and presented by a German documentary company. It’s been sitting on our Netflix queue for months and on our dresser for weeks; what a waste. Make sure there’s tissue at hand, because you’ll laugh and cry with this hardy group of seniors who sing for the joy of it.
9 stars
OK, I finally get the buzz about Heath Ledger as the Joker in this Batman movie. It has little to do with his death, and almost everything to do with his performance. Although there must be something in the rules that requires him to be up for “supporting” awards, because he’s on screen enough – and stealing every scene – to be considered a star, right along with Batman (Christian Bale) and the reforming D.A. (Aaron Eckhart).
This is a pretty violent film, but the acting ensemble (maybe that’s why they all have supporting roles) keeps this one alive throughout. Michael Caine (as Batman’s butler Alfred) and Maggie Gyllenhaal add considerable depth. Enough to make me want to go back and see this movie’s predecessor, Batman Begins.
[Note: 325,000 imdb.com viewers collectively rate this movie as a 9, one of the Top Five on the imdb.com site.]
Too late to go the theatre to see this (which most of your probably did), so rent it when you’re in the mood – and before this year’s Academy Awards show.
9 stars
I finally figured out the irony in this movie. Why would three actresses of varying degrees of talent – Diane Keaton, Queen Latifah & Katie Holmes – make this idiotic movie? For the exact same reason as their three film characters decided to rob the Federal Reserve Bank: For the money! Ted Danson was a co-conspirator in this travesty.
If you saw this at either the theatre or on DVD, I’m sorry for you. If it’s on your Netflix queue, it’s never too late to take it off.
1 star
Coming on the heels of Milk & Slumdog Millionaire, this one didn’t stand a chance. But it was a cold, wet, first day of winter, so what the hey.
With that dubious introduction, it wasn’t half bad. A Puerto Rican family gathers for the holidays in suburban Chicago – siblings coming from Hollywood, New York and Iraq – and the fireworks begin. Good ensemble cast.
Mom’s unhappy because she (Elizabeth Pena) suspects her husband (Alfred Molina) is fooling around, her oldest son (John Leguizamo) married a business-savvy gringa (Debra Messing, who got far too many kudos for her role here) who’s not interested in giving her grandkids anytime soon (or is she?) and her youngest son (Freddy Rodriguez) seems too moody after having just arrived home from the war zone. And dad just wants to have the family be happy around him. Typical family at home for the holidays: sibling rivalry and strained relationships abound.
As far as holiday fare goes, this one deserves a place on your Netflix queue to watch next year. If you have limited time this year, go see Milk and/or Slumdog Millionaire. You’ll thank me.
6½ stars
“Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” fever strikes India as “slumdog” Jamal Malik goes for the top prize as the entire nation watches. Jamal’s life has been less than stellar – growing up in the slums of India, mostly as an on-the-road orphan with his older brother, Salim – so how did he get a chance at the 20 million rupees? And how did he answer so many seemingly tough questions?
This film is both depressing and exhilarating, flashing back and forth between Jamal’s big moment on India’s top game show and his grueling young life in the slums. While you know he makes it far enough in life to sit across the stage from India’s Regis Philbin, the suspense is palpable. Will brother Salim make it? What about the “third Musketeer,” the adorable (and gorgeous) Latika? Will love conquer all, or will fate get in the way?
The older Jamal, played by Dev Patel, already has won several acting awards for his performance; the entire cast is up for a Screen Actors Guild Award. Expect to see this film well-represented come Oscar time.
Beautifully filmed, you leave this movie feeling blessed that you don’t have it so bad after all. Great music, great ensemble cast. This is one you won’t soon forget. And subtitles you can read!
9½ stars
MILK:
Sean Penn pulls off a performance of a lifetime and likely nails down the Academy Award for Best Actor – in a walk. A gay rights walk. This movie was incredibly moving, and Penn’s performance was a major factor. Expect the film to be a major contender for the top Academy award. The director (Gus van Sant) did an excellent job of weaving documentaries, news reels and old footage of San Francisco with a fine assortment of actors.
A must see at the theatre.
10 stars
If one family Christmas isn’t enough, try four in one day. Or if that’s not painful enough, try this movie out on Christmas Day. As the movie makes clear, you can’t spell “families” without “lies”!
OK, enough small talk. This is one of the movies where the sum of the parts doesn’t add up in the end. There’s some originality, more than enough funny parts and eye candy galore with Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn (depending on your perspective). And a star-studded support cast.
Reese & Vince are a happily unmarried, high-powered, childless, San Francisco couple that survives Christmas each year by concocting a mission of mercy somewhere in the world, then jaunting off on another to-die-for vacation – to avoid spending any time with their four divorced parents and their families. But this year, fog grounds them in the city, and they’re caught on TV news before they can make their escape. Next thing you know, they’re hopping around the Bay Area having to “celebrate” Christmas at each parent’s home.
First it’s his dad (Robert Duvall), with brothers Dallas (Tim McGraw) & Denver, all practicing rednecks; then it’s her mom (Mary Steenburgen) and her holy-roller boyfriend (Dwight Yoakum); then his mom (Sissy Spacek) who is now married to Vince’s childhood best friend; and, finally, her dad (Jon Voight). By the end of the day, their loving relationship begins to show a little bit of strain. As did the movie’s ending.
Not the worst movie choice this season (it was #1 for two weeks running), but perhaps you can wait to Netflix it for the 2009 holidays.
6½ stars
THE COMMITMENTS (1991):
Here’s a 17 year-old movie that stands the test of time (thank you, Melinda). It’s set in Ireland (thank you, subtitles!) where a bloke decides to put together a band – to play soul! And do they play soul.
Definitely worthy of a place high on your Netflix queue.
8 stars
MILLIONS (2004):
This came recently in a big recommendation by a friend in San Diego, and it doesn’t quite measure up to The Commitments. Another film saved by subtitles, this endearing, family, British film is about two boys who discover a bag of British notes days before the country phases them out in favor of the new Euro. ‘Cash ‘em in or lose ‘em,’ the ads state clearly. But how do two young boys spend a million dollars in a matter of days – and what kind of tension will arise?
It’s good holiday fare that you, too, should stick high on your queue. A lot cheaper than going to see Four Christmases!
7½ stars
This one is up for Golden Globe awards, made more than $100 million, was loved by imdb.com readers (75% gave it a 7+ rating), had an all-star cast and looked like it was fun to make. Funny thing is, I laughed more in Four Christmases than I did watching this.
That doesn’t mean it wasn’t clever or original. I just didn’t find it that entertaining (sorry, Kelly).
Ben Stiller, Tom Cruise (almost unrecognizable as an over-the-top film producer), Robert Downey, Jr. (in blackface; again, almost unrecognizable), Jack Black, Matthew McConaughey & Nick Nolte headline this movie within a movie. It’s the comedy story of the filming of a movie that turns into a real-life battle of the actors (who don't realize they've been cast in a real life drama) versus a Southeast Asian heroin farming operation.
Rent it at your own risk.
5½ stars
This is a fine independent film that is definitely not in the tradition of fluffy wedding films (e.g., My Best Friend’s Wedding, Runaway Bride, Father of the Bride). It’s edgy, complete with a real – not funny real, but real real – dysfunctional family (note: nothing seems to be odd about the groom’s family). The acting is outstanding.
Anne Hathaway plays Kym, on a weekend pass from a drug rehab center, smoking her way through a self-centered, guilt-ridden, smart-mouthed performance as the younger sister of Rachel (played by Rosemarie DeWitt), the “normal” sister about to marry an African-American musician. Maybe 15 years ago the groom and his family would have been the odd ones out at the wedding, but here’s it’s Kym and her off-putting ways (well, and her mother and father, too). Is there anyone Kym can’t insult?
Hathaway is clearly in the running for an academy award nomination for acting, but that overlooks great jobs by DeWitt and Debra Winger, who plays their distant mother. Winger could be up for Best Supporting Actress. Plenty of good supporting roles, too, including Rachel & Kym’s over-bearing, but well-meaning, father.
It’s not a perfect film – apparently they couldn’t afford tripods as the camera jumps throughout, and the rehearsal dinner and wedding are interminably long – but it’s definitely worth a visit to the theatre.
8½ stars
RATATOUILLE (2007):
Now I understand why this was so well-received at the theatre – by both kids and adults – when it was released last year: It’s good!
Yes, it’s a bit off-putting to imagine rats working in your restaurant’s kitchen, but they kept the theme interesting and moving. You wanted little Remy – the little rat with a great sense of smell and with a delicate palette – to succeed, and you wondered how he could.
Worth a Saturday night rental, with kids or without.
8 stars
LARS AND THE REAL GIRL (2007):
Here’s an odd little critically-acclaimed film about a shy (now that’s an understatement) office worker who falls in love with a mail-order, life-sized doll. Clearly, the town’s reaction – at first disbelieving, then incredibly protective and understanding – is far too much to believe, but if you go with the flow, you might enjoy this. Wonderful acting all around.
Nominated last year for Best Original Screenplay (along with Ratatouille!), which was won by Juno.
8 stars
An edgy Ridley Scott film about lies, lies and more lies. Well, it is about the CIA and an operation to entrap a Jihadist leader in the Middle East, so what should we expect?
From Iraq to Jordan to Syria (filmed in relatively safe Morocco), Leonardo DiCaprio does an excellent job as an agent who’s constantly under fire, barely escaping scrapes with death (but with time to romance a cute Iranian nurse).
DiCaprio discovers a previously-unknown safe house in Jordan and tries to team up with the head of Jordan’s spy organization (who’s always impeccably dressed) to smoke out the terrorist leader. But he’s undermined by an understated (and very unlikable) Russell Crowe, in an odd role of playing DiCaprio’s boss while he shops in suburban DC, takes his kids to soccer games and works in the yard. Gee, if MY cell phone coverage was that good, I could rule the world, too.
Very violent and messy – with torture a common thread among combatants – with the usual difficulty of telling the good guys from the bad. It got good reviews, but I wasn’t that enamored. I wouldn’t waste a day at the theatre.
5 stars
NATIONAL TREASURE 2: BOOK OF SECRETS:
If you can overlook the factual errors (e.g., how in 1865 there could have been clues that didn’t exist for another 15 years) and the fast, incredible blind luck of deciphering seemingly undecipherable clues, this one’s not too bad. And with an all-star cast to boot!
Nicolas Cage reprises his role as Ben Gates, a modern Indiana Jones-like treasure hunter, trying to clear his great grandfather’s reputation, which has been besmirched by Ed Harris’ claim that he was part of the conspiracy to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. Gates is aided by his long-divorced parents, Jon Voight and (the ever beautiful) Helen Mirren, and his ex-wife, Diane Kruger. Is there reconciliation in the air, too?
This dvd rental moves fast and keeps your interest – even if it is a bit hokey. Worth a look.
6½ stars
A smart George Clooney-Brad Pitt comedy about dumb people, unwarranted paranoia and incompetent sleuthing. Frances McDormand plays a plastic-surgery-seeking gym worker who brings fellow gym worker Brad Pitt into her plans – especially after a disk is found on the gym room floor containing what looks like “secret spy shit.”
Let’s see: Clooney, a Treasury worker and compulsive runner, is sleeping with Tilda Swinton (while his own marriage disintegrates), who is about to divorce John Malkovich, who is losing his job at CIA, while McDormand & Pitt blackmail him and McDormand meets up with Clooney via her need to find a suitable mate (while she ignores her swooning boss at work). Although, frankly, J.K. Simmons in a small role as a CIA bigwig trying to understand why any of this is happening and why any of it is important, is a show stopper.
This one’s fun and deserves a look.
8 stars
Vicky (played by newcomer Rebecca Hall) and her best friend – yet polar opposite – Cristina (Scarlett Johansson) spend quite a summer in Barcelona. Vicky is engaged (to a dull guy back in NYC) and is in Barcelona to study Catalan art; Cristina is just off a failed short movie experience and looking to relax. They meet up with the good-looking and woman-loving Spanish painter Juan Antonio (Javier Bardem – he of No Country for Old Men fame), and the fireworks begin.
Vicky, of course, is turned off by the forward Spaniard, concerned about the rumors of a tempestuous ending to his marriage; Cristina is intrigued and ready for adventure. So which one falls first, and how fiery can it get when former wife, the ever-lovely and red-hot Maria Elena (Penelope Cruz), drops back into Juan Antonio’s life?
This sensual Woody Allen flick about complex relationships is beautifully photographed in Spain and blessed with fine acting. Bardem continues to impress; Johansson is a natural; Cruz has never been better; and Hall does a very good job as the conflicted Vicky. My main complaint is the ending; it seemed as if Allen ran out of time and had to wrap it up quickly.
Our daughter spent five months in Barcelona a few years ago and can’t wait to go back. After seeing this film, I can understand why. I also understand her own reluctance to watch this film until the day she is able to return (“Won't see it. It will just make me sad that I'm stuck – not in Europe.”).
Best I’ve seen this year.
9 stars
If, like me, as a kid you were a fan of the TV show Get Smart, this one played well. Sure, Steve Carell is no Don Adams (actually, he’ll likely prove to be more versatile), but he did a good impression of the inept Secret Agent 86. And while Anne Hathaway made no effort to mimic the submissive (but superior Agent 99) Barbara Feldon, she did a lovely job, even if their chemistry was lacking in too much of the movie.
It’s mad cap, originally meant in the 1960s, I believe, as a spoof on the James Bond spy series. It was fun TV, and it’ll do for a popcorn and cuddle on a wet, cold winter’s night.
7 stars
No Iraqi war movie seems to have hit the big time yet (well, other than the documentary Fahrenheit 9/11), and this is no exception. And for good reason. Tommy Lee Jones plays a straight-laced former Army sergeant who tries to figure out what happened to his Army son, who was due back from the war zone but never checked in at home.
Lots of unanswered questions in this slow-moving film, even given the very good performances by Jones (who was nominated for an Oscar) and his wife, Susan Sarandon. We get bits and pieces of their son’s life as the local and military police bureaucrats fight to keep much information from making it to the family. Charlize Theron is credible as the newbie detective trying to gain respect from her fellow officers – while helping Jones & Sarandon – but it won’t be a role she’ll be remembered for.
Generally depressing and disjointed. Be warned.
6 stars
As advertised on the trailers, this is a slapstick romantic comedy without much oomph. But we saw it at the cheapie theatre on a super-hot Sacramento summer day to save money on air conditioning at home. Really. But we were pleasantly surprised by its charm (yet grateful that we didn’t spend much), and we actually laughed enough to make it worth admitting to you that we went to see it.
Cameron Diaz is her normal, crazed, whacky and cute self, trying to figure out how to get out of a one-night stand/marriage with pretty boy Ashton Kutcher as it becomes unclear who’s entitled to a sudden slot machine bonanza. ‘Work it out as a couple,’ orders the judge, Dennis Miller. Diaz & Kutcher were both nominated for Teen Choice best acting awards, so what does that tell you? (Note: He won; she lost to Juno’s Ellen Page. Whew!)
It’s predictable and silly, but there are enough laughs to make it a credible winter Netflix rental.
6 stars
THE PRIZE WINNER OF DEFIANCE, OHIO (2005):
Julianne Moore plays a resourceful and happy 1950s housewife – and mother of 10! – who uses her talent and brains to win contests that require skill in coming up with jingles, poems, limericks and slogans. Her constant happiness and unshakeable optimism is a foil to her struggling worker-husband, Woody Harrelson, who’s on the receiving end of ridicule by his co-workers for his wife’s breadwinning efforts.
Harrelson drowns himself in booze and is a constant physical and emotional threat to his wife’s and family’s happiness. When, in a moment of remorse, he tells her that he only wants to make her happy, she replies: “Don’t try to make me happy; just don’t get in my way when I am.” A perfect line.
Based on a true story, the film is wrapped up nicely in the end – even if the producers decided to put the last 30 years of her life in a flash. It’s a good story with enough happy and sad parts to keep you on a slow motion, emotional roller coaster.
Worth seeing if for no other reason than to be impressed with Moore’s acting talent.
7½ stars
Talk about your difficult review! It was probably safer on the streets in DC when the DNC made its pronouncement on the Florida-Michigan delegates (a reference that will not likely stand the test of time). Suffice it to say that in the early imdb.com tally, 32% of the voters give this movie a 10 and 35% give it a 1 (presumably because there is no zero rating). Females loved it; males (most of whom were dragged kicking and screaming) did not (it did not, however, prevent them from hurrying home and taking it out on their computers).
I was one of about 10-15 males in a theatre of 200 at a mid afternoon matinee on Friday (note the length of time it’s taken me to get up the nerve to write this) – a crowd that was distinctly in the four gals’ corner. As were my two daughters who saw it later that night at an opening in Burbank (their tales of the cat fights among women trying to get a good seat after showing up 5 minutes before the movie started were hilarious; “Leave the poor ushers alone,” one daughter intoned – you can probably guess who if you know the two of them – “They’re making minimum wage and don’t really care that you can’t sit with your friends!”).
OK, enough stalling. I liked it. I laughed and groaned at the appropriate times. It was long, yes, but they had to cram a whole season’s worth of episodes into one trip to the movie theatre, so take your bathroom break before it starts.
Clearly if you were an HBO “Sex in the City” fan (as I was, even if we didn’t watch them until after the series ended), this flick will play better. You know the characters; you know the complex relationships they have with each other and with others; and you know the intense loyalty they each have with their friends. While the movie makes an effort to get everyone up to speed in quick, opening vignettes, it works better to bring those of us who watched all episodes back up to the women’s speed – which is nothing short of frenetic.
If you weren’t a fan of the HBO show, that’s fine, because you probably quit reading this two or more paragraphs ago any way. In fact, you might have gone straight to cast your vote at imdb.com to give it a one (while looking for the zero button) without having seen a single scene. Your loss. But it’s easier to make fun of you.
While the movie’s not a perfect ending to the “Sex and the City” montage, it was fun. The women are pretty much as we left them at the end of the series, except that Miranda seems angrier (about her lost Manhattan and giving up most of her career for her son and husband, in that order), Samantha’s off in LA with Smith and Carrie’s hankerin’ to get hitched. To Big, of course. And, boy, what an awkward proposal that is! But it sends the friends off on a wedding plan frenzy – clearly Charlotte’s domain, and Charlotte shows herself the best actress of the group – until….well, let’s just say it leads to two of the best scenes: Carrie & Big on a street in NYC and the gals at a Mexico resort.
Product placement is rampant, but that’s always been an allure of the show. Those most turned off by that never saw the original. The NY Times trashed the movie, but I think the reviewer was offended that they did not portray the city she knew. Note to reviewer: It’s fiction. They made it all up. In the end, it’s all about people’s foibles and their ability to forgive. Not easy stuff. Not easy to review.
7½ stars* [*my daughters both give it a 10, which tells me I think I helped raise them right]
This was on our list when it first came out; we missed it and then thought it might just be too cliché-riddled about surrogacy to be funny. We was wrong. Thanks to a hint from a friend, we went to see it, and it was worth our time.
Tina Fey & Amy Poulter rock as (respectively) the rising executive star of a natural food company and a white trash young woman with incredibly bad taste in men but a need to make money off of her ability to conceive. They play off each other (and clash) so well: Fey as the wannabe perfect mother and Poulter as the junk-food eating surrogate.
Sure, some of the expected jokes are here, but there is so much fresh material it’s little wonder it has kept a place on the movie top ten list since it was released. Dax Shepard & Greg Kinnear are terrific in supporting roles. Shepard plays the jerky common-law husband to Poulter; Kinnear plays a small business owner who puts a move on Tina Fey. Even Steve Martin has his moments as the over-the-top groovin' boss to Fey; Sigourney Weaver plays the obnoxious owner of an elite surrogacy company to a tee.
8½ stars
THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB (2007):
Here’s a dvd we wouldn’t have rented except for a recommendation from friends of ours. And while it might make far more sense if you are a Jane Austen fan, it was very good – with an outstanding ensemble cast.
Kathy Baker (she of Picket Fences claim) is the six-times married older woman who is the impetus behind forming the book club; Amy Brenneman was just dumped by her long-time husband (Jimmy Smits) for a colleague of his; Maggie Grace (Lost) plays Amy’s lesbian daughter along to support her mom; Emily Blunt is the young high school French teacher who’s tired of her young husband and looking for love in all the wrong places; Maria Bello is the gorgeous breeder of dogs who is avoiding any type of relationship; and Hugh Dancy plays the only man in the club.
The dialog is good, crisp, intelligent and the story line keeps you interested. If you’re an Austen fan, you’ll probably notice a similarity in the story line and Austen novels. An analogy, unfortunately, that was lost on us. A very good dvd rental.
7½ stars
INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL:
It’s time for another mindless romp with the aging – but still wry-smiled and handsomely-rugged – Dr, Henry “Indiana” Jones as he battles Cold War commies led by Cate Blanchett, she with the jet-black bobbed hair-do and humorless personality. But she’s no match for Indy…..of course.
In this the first Indiana Jones movie for 19 years (!), Dr. Jones and his original love interest, Marion Ravenwood (played by Karen Allen), are joined by Marion’s son (impersonating a young motorcycle-riding Marlon Brando) and Indy’s old partner, Mac, in a search for a crystal skull (duh!) that’s purported to have been stolen from a lost city of gold. Indiana, of course, heads to Peru to find the skull and return it to its rightful place – all in the name of archaeology.
There are plenty of harrowing chase scenes, narrow escapes, slimy snakes, crawling bugs and the usual array of plot twists and turns to remind you that Spielberg has not forgotten his successful Indiana format. It grows a bit wearisome, yes, but it’s all for fun. And is that theme music ever haunting!
6 stars
It would take a John Cusack or, in this case, a Robert Downey, Jr. to get Tracy out to see a Sci-Fi comic book movie. And she was glad it did. Downey nails his role as the arms dealer who gets captured and converted by what he witnesses in the Middle East – the fact that his weapons are being used by the bad guys!
Jeff Bridges is equally good as his sinister partner in the arms trade, and the two do battle in ways that are, well, comic bookish!
Terrence Howard and the lovely Gwyneth Paltrow add weight in supporting roles.
A fun romp worth a trip to the theatre to escape the heat.
8½ stars
OK, we took a bullet for you on this one. Buoyed by a strong Bee review – and our like of Jason Segel’s work in TV’s How I Met Your Mother – we were hoping to be surprised by a Judd Apatow-produced comedy (he of The 40-Year Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Superbad fame…or infamy, depending on your perspective). We weren’t. This one was dreadful.
The plot should have been our first clue: Segel, freshly dumped by his gorgeous girlfriend (Kristin Bell, who plays Sarah Marshall), tries to get his life back together (e.g., one night stands) and is talked into going on a Hawaiian vacation to try and forget Sarah. He discovers that Sarah also in vacationing in Hawaii – at the same resort hotel, of course – with her new English boyfriend, Russell Brand, a bad boy musician. Segel hooks up with the resort’s concierge, played well by cutie-pie Mila Kunis, and he’s not sure if his like for Kunis is real or a play to make Sarah jealous.
The mad cap comedy is generally tasteless, vulgar and difficult to watch (not the least of which were full frontal nudity shots of Segel). I’m trying to understand why imdb.com viewers have given it an 8.4 rating (which has since slipped to 7.5). If you waste your money after reading this, it’s your bad.
3 stars
Daughter Jamie got us hooked on the TV show How I Met Your Mother over the Thanksgiving holidays, and, lo and behold, they made a movie version – just in time for Valentine’s Day. Clearly a chick flick/date movie, this one was fun, surpassing some of the so-so reviews I read before I took my reluctant date/wife to it.
Ryan Reynolds plays Will Hayes, an about-to-be-divorced dad, who is peppered with questions from his 11-year old precocious daughter – the adorable Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine), fresh from a sex education class at her school – about how he met her mother, and how and why she was created.
It’s a guessing game as Will pours out his life dating story – a bit much to talk about with your 11-year old daughter, but it is a movie – with some very good looking, smart and good-natured females, each of whom are mother-worthy: Elizabeth Banks (Scrubs), Isla Fisher (Wedding Crashers) & Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener). Some great side stories as Will begins his post-collegiate life as a volunteer for the 1992 Bill Clinton New York primary campaign battle….and he gets bit by the politico bug. But who is the mother-to-be?
Worth a date night at the movies – or definitely a spot on your Netflix queue.
8 stars
ONCE (2006):
A keeper. This indie Irish film is a story of music bringing together an Irish singer-songwriter with a young Czech woman who also writes and sings. Great music, fun story – worth a spot on your dvd rental list.
Their top song (“Falling Slowly”) was nominated for an Academy Award, and if you watched this year, she was the one Jon Stewart brought back out to give her acceptance speech. Touching. As is the film.
8½ stars
HARRY POTTER, ORDER OF THE PHOENIX (2007):
I finally watched this, the 5th in the series of Potter films. If you’ve read the series, this is the dark story, the year the Hogwarts kids are kept away from the school because Voldemort has taken some control over Dumbledore and the schools’ teachers. Worth a look if you enjoy the Potter films. I do.
7½ stars
KNOCKED UP (2007):
Yes, we saw this because of all of the hoopla and because it made it to the top of our Netflix list without us paying enough attention.
If you hate men – or wonder why we’re such bloomin’ idiots – this film displays us at our worst. What Katherine Heigl (of Grey’s Anatomy fame, who actually does a good job in this huge role for her) sees in the numbskull who knocked her up on a one-night stand – or, worse, what she sees in any of his dorky friends – is beyond us.
NOT worth a rental if you have successfully avoided this stupid film up to now. Congrats to you.
1 star
OFFICE SPACE (1999):
Jennifer Aniston has played in some okay cutsie movies during and since her Friends' days, but this ain’t one of them. It’s supposed to be a comedy about a group of co-workers who hate their jobs and seek revenge, but it collapses at every turn. How we finished watching this (well, Tracy probably fell asleep 15 minutes into it, which means she didn’t waste HER time) I can't explain.
Remove this from your queue if it’s on there. You can thank me later.
2 stars
MARTIAN CHILD (2007):
We try and catch every John Cusack film, but this one escaped us before we got a chance to see it on the big screen. Good thing, because it barely passes for a mediocre rental.
The premise is not bad: Cusack, a recent widower, decides to go through with his plan to adopt a “special” child, and does he ever find one. Bobby Coleman plays Dennis, a strange little kid who spends most of his days avoiding the sun by shuffling around inside a big cardboard box. Turns out he thinks he’s from Mars – and Cusack thinks they have a match because he writes Sci-Fi movie screen plays.
But the cuteness gets old, and the kid is not just the kid picked on by other kids – he really has strong emotional problems that can’t be solved by John Cusack pretending to be a good parent (he’s not).
Good roles for Amanda Peet and Joan Cusack. But don’t get too excited.
5 stars
My Best of 2008
*Milk
**Slumdog Millionaire [Academy winner]
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Changeling
The Wrestler
*Frost-Nixon
The Dark Knight
Baby Mama
Rachel Getting Married
Frozen River
Iron Man
*The Reader
Gran Torino
Definitely, Maybe
Burn After Reading
(*Academy Award nominees for Best Picture)
My Best of non-2008 films
Young at Heart (2007)
Once (2006)
