Movie Reviews 2010
BLUE VALENTINE: Amazing performances by Michele Williams and Ryan Gosling (both Golden Globe-nominated) in this sad story of marital break-down and break-up. Through flashbacks to happier times, a mere five years earlier, we watch the two drift apart even if they have a great reason -- their darling daughter, Frankie -- to stay together. Fine supporting role by Michele's dad, John Doman (The Wire).
Worth a look at the theatre. Expect Academy nominations shortly.
9 stars
THE TOURIST: It's difficult to review a movie like this without giving away the secrets - secrets that don't play out in the far-too-many trailers. Suffice it to say, Angelina Jolie (quite glamorous in spite of a ton of make-up) hooks up with Wisconsin math teacher, Johnny Depp, on a train heading to Venice (Italy, not California). She's being watched by Interpol and an English mobster, both looking for her boyfriend, Alexander Pierce, who embezzled more than $2 billion from the mobster. But he's changed his appearance, so they need Jolie to track him down.
Amid going to see heavyweights The King's Speech, True Grit, The Fighter and Black Swan over the holidays, it didn't seem right to take time for this lightweight fare. But, as I've said, it's often the ones where you don't expect much that surprise you the most.
Gorgeous cinematography amid the beauty of Venice, laid back acting by Jolie (no Lara Croft she!), an underplayed character study by Depp and just enough action to remind you that this is supposed to be a thriller. Or is it? If so, what was it doing in the Golden Globes show nominated in the musical/comedy category?
You'll have to watch it to find out because I think most of the reviewers missed the joke.
7½ stars
NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH (2008): This started out as if it was an okay made-for TV movie, but with a pretty good cast of characters. It stars Kate Beckinsale as a reporter/columnist for a suburban DC newspaper who outs an acquaintance, Vera Farmiga (Academy-nominated as George Clooney's co-star in Up In the Air), as a CIA undercover agent (based loosely on the Valerie Plame affair (see Fair Game)) -- then pays hell for it.
The government is not amused with the newspaper story and sends hard-nosed federal prosecutor, Matt Dillon, to learn who outed the agent. Naturally, Beckinsale and her newspaper (editor Angela Bassett) take the ethical high road and refuse to divulge her source, but Dillon puts her in front of a grand jury, then goes to a judge to have her jailed until she gives up her source. I think this is where the term "rotting in jail" aptly applies, because all of us are surprised by the length the government will go to find out "who gave up a secret agent."
Kate's life goes to hell; she loses touch with her family (husband David Schwimmer and young son), and even her well-placed lawyer, Alan Alda (in perhaps the worst role of the film), can't seem to shake her free.
The suspense builds as you endure the horrors along with Beckinsale. How is this going to end? Where's her white knight? Where's the loophole in the government's case?
Then we get one last scene. Splat! Ouch! And the whole movie falls apart.
4 stars
I LOVE YOU PHILLIP MORRIS: No, this is NOT the sequel to Thank You For Smoking; here, Jim Carrey is brilliant as Steven Russell in a based-on-a-true story romantic comedy about a quirky police officer who stops conning himself -- but continues to con others -- after he comes out of the closet following a near death experience.
He divorces his Christian (and very understanding) wife, moves to Miami, lives openly with his Latino boyfriend and discovers that "it's expensive to be gay!" So Russell becomes a professional con man to finance his new lifestyle (leading to a funny line from his ex-wife, who asks: 'Is there some connection between being gay and stealing things?'), and he eventually lands in the pokey. It's there where he meets Phillip Morris (Ewan McGregor), and it's love at first sight; their romance takes off, and the con jobs get bigger, crazier and funnier.
Clearly the courts of Texas were not amused by Russell's con games. He is now serving a 144-year sentence in a maximum security facility -- in solitary confinement. As film critic Roger Ebert wrote, "...which seems a bit much for a man who never killed anyone and stole a lot less money than the officers of Enron."
It took awhile, I understand, for the producers to get this film to theatres (too many homophobic Carrey fans?), but it's worth a trip to your local indie if it's still around.
8 stars
COUNTRY STRONG: Perhaps a better title would've been Country Weak, because weepy-eyed Gwyneth Paltrow (whom I love) can't quite pull off playing a mega-country star with a life story somewhere between Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears.
Her manager/husband (more the former), Tim McGraw (country superstar and husband of Faith Hill, for those of you who aren't paying attention), pulls her out of rehab far too soon and puts her back on the concert circuit. He does this much to the disappointment of young singer/songwriter upstart Garrett Hedlund, who works part-time at Gwyneth's rehab facility, but who clearly has a thing for her. The fourth personality in this messy love rectangle is beauty queen turned country singer, Leighton Meester, who can't seem to make up her mind if she wants to be with the cold McGraw or the heartthrob Hedlund.
For country music fans (I'm admittedly one), the singing and songs aren't half bad, although it's never clear when anyone has a chance to practice or rehearse. For the rest of you, this one will be more painful than a bad country song.
5 (generous) stars
THE KING'S SPEECH: This movie is what the Oscars are all about. Great acting, great drama, great film-making -- and no one gets shot, no one rolls a car and no one gets naked!
Colin Firth plays the reluctant King George VI, who ascends to the throne in 1936 when his older brother, King Edward VIII, decides to marry a twice-divorced American (that's a story for another movie). The problem is the future king is a lifelong stammerer, and the last thing England needs in this critical juncture of history is a king who can't communicate and who lacks self-confidence. His loyal wife, the future "Queen Mum," wants desperately to help her husband and eventually finds Lionel Logue (played by Geoffrey Rush), an Australian speech therapist with unusual methods of success. The bond that ties the king and Logue together is the heart and soul of this film. They might be competing against each other for an Academy Award, but here they are kindred spirits.
Firth is outstanding, and Rush reminds us, yet again, that he's one of the great actors of the day.
It was a difficult decision for me to watch this film because of my own struggles with stuttering. But it's worth a watch, as painful as it is to suffer along with Firth.
9½ stars
BLACK SWAN: And the Academy hits keep coming….
Ballerina perfectionist (and cold fish) Natalie Portman wins the lead role in Black Swan after an awkward moment with the company’s director, Vincent Cassel, who’s creepy in his role and in his relationships with his ballerinas. But he recognizes something within Portman – something that drives her to a level few others are capable of reaching.
This film, which gives side characters a chance to complement but not distract, focuses on Portman and her relationships with 1) her strange and hovering mother (Barbara Hershey), 2) Cassel, 3) her ballet rival (Mila Kunis, up for a Golden Globe) and, most important, 4) herself. Is it self-flagellation that drives Portman or simply the need to be accepted at a level she's reached? And what is the price for perfection? In the end, she nails her role – and, perhaps, an Oscar as well.
This disturbing, psychological thriller is beautiful filmed and full of twists that leave you guessing: Are Portman’s demons real or imagined?
Better seen on a big screen.
8½ stars
TRUE GRIT: John Wayne won his lone Oscar for his role as Rooster Cogburn in the 1969 rendition of Charles Portis' 1968 novel of the same name; 41 years later, the grizzled Jeff Bridges has to be considered a front-runner to duplicate the Duke's feat.
Complementing Bridges are Matt Damon as a somewhat loony Texas Ranger, Josh Brolin as the dumb-as-dirt quarry of Bridges-Damon and newcomer Hailee Steinfeld, a delightfully mature 13-year old who hires Cogburn to hunt down her father's killer.
This is a good ol' western: Dusty, gritty and wild. But with just enough comic relief.
Check it out before the Academy nominations roll in.
9 stars
RENDITION (2007): It's taken a few years for this one to rise to to the top of our Netflix queue, and it's clearly one I should have seen when it was first released.
This is a disturbing film about the aftermath of 9/11, and how low our country was (is) willing to go to protect us from terrorists. Admittedly, 122 minutes is not nearly enough time to give this subject matter justice -- but given its limitations, this film takes a complex subject, tells a story from many angles and seems to make it make sense.
Meryl Streep plays a high-level, hard-ass CIA bureaucrat, willing to use any measure to illicit information from suspected terrorists; she sleeps well at night. Jake Gyllenhaal is a skeptical, mid-level CIA operative thrust into a job that requires him to observe a torture in an overseas country where such tactics are tolerated. Reese Witherspoon is the pregnant wife of the film's subject matter, Anwar El-Ibrahim (played by Omar Metwally), a US-educated Egyptian national, who works as a chemical engineer in Chicago until his sudden CIA kidnapping ("rendition").
Witherspoon travels to D.C. to seek help from a college boyfriend, Peter Sarsgaard, and his U.S. senator boss, Alan Arkin, but they are artfully rebuffed by Streep. But this film is mostly about El-Ibrahim and his torturer, Yigal Naor, who's dealing with his own demons of a wayward daughter who, without his knowledge, has fallen in with a young wannabe terrorist.
A sad reminder of what we have become, but a film worth seeing on dvd -- if you have the stomach for it.
8 stars
THE FIGHTER: And the Academy race gets going in earnest....
This is a brutal fight film (redundant, I know) laced with outstanding acting. Based on a true story, Mark Wahlberg is an all-but-washed up welterweight in Lowell (MA), being trained by his drug-addled and oft-arrested brother, Christian Bale, and managed by his mother, Melissa Leo, the matriarch of one of the skankiest families you've ever seen. Is Amy Adams, a hard-drinking barmaid, Wahlberg's salvation -- or further fuel to his fall from local stardom?
Besides individual Golden Globe nominations for all four of the aforementioned actors (all well-deserved), it's also up for best drama and best director.
9 stars
INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (2009); I was fooled by this film when it was first released. The come-ons made it look like a nutty comedy; friends didn't like it...and told me so. In fact, I don't recall anyone suggesting that I watch it.
Hmmm. Sometimes the best movies are when you're expecting the least.
So I finally watched it on dvd, While I can't say I "enjoyed" the film -- it was brutal -- it was good. Perhaps the seven Academy nominations should have tipped me off (including one for Christoph Waltz for an excellent portrayal of a sadistic Nazi colonel).
A ruthless, Nazi-hating Brad Pitt leads a band of Jewish-American volunteers behind enemy lines in France during World War II - Dirty Dozen-like - on a mission to brutalize and terrorize Nazi soldiers and to bring an end to the war in a decidedly different way.
Quentin Tarantino wrote and directed this self-described "spaghetti western." There's plenty of "oh, please!" in the film, and it is long (2h 33m). But two scenes stick out: The opening farm house scene and a later scene in a basement bar. Both are suspenseful and remind you of the seriousness of this film.
I suggest you take a look on dvd.
8½ stars
AVENUE MONTAIGNE (2006): A quaint French indie starring Cecile De France (you might recall her as one of the stars in Hereafter, the one got sucked into the tsunami) as a waitress at a busy cafe amid the wealthy who patronize the local concert, playhouse and auction house. Like her grandmother before her, she knows she'll never be rich, but working among the rich give each a sense of accomplishment. Cecile gets to know the concert pianist, the actress and the wealthy gentleman about to auction off his life's art collection.
Nothing to write home about but worth a look on dvd. My guess is it will be particularly fun for those of you who have had the privilege of spending time in Paris in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.
7 stars
UNSTOPPABLE: A gripping drama based on a true story about a runaway train in western Pennsylvania filled with dangerous chemicals and fuels barreling toward a tight curve in a small city. Railroad engineer veteran Denzel Washington is teamed with rookie conductor Chris Pine for an ordinary day at work, but they become the last hope for stopping the train before disaster strikes.
While the plot is predictable, it's fast-paced and non-stop action. You gotta put up with some cheesy Hollywood moments -- especially their side family dramas -- and some strained dialog, but a good cast of characters makes this a very believable story. Rosario Dawson is great as the administrator who's working with the railroad crews while dealing with the top company brass on finding a way to stop the runaway train.
Tracy gives it two eyes WIDE open, with one definitely trained on young Mr. Pine.
8½ stars
LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS: An odd-ball romantic comedy with sexpot (and early Parkinson's patient) Anne Hathaway as the foil for pretty boy Jake Gyllenhaal's womanizing.
This is set in the mid-1990s when Gyllenhaal is jobless (guess why) and decides to train to become a Pfizer pharmaceutical sales rep. His past success in video sales makes him a natural -- for the con artist part at least. He has a hilarious relationship with his older sales partner, Oliver Platt, but the movie's worst parts are his scenes with his dorky (but very rich) younger brother who looks like he's fresh off of the set of one of those juvenile frat-boy movies. A distraction, I think, in an otherwise not-bad relationship film between Anne & Jake.
Jake strikes it rich, so to speak, when Pfizer releases its #1 hit: Viagra! That seems to have a dramatic effect on the doctor-sales rep relationship, much to the latter's favor.
Rated R for a reason: lots of shots of Hathaway skin and Gyllenhaal's cheeks!
7½ stars
FAIR GAME: Naomi Watts as CIA covert agent Valerie Plame Wilson and Sean Penn as Joe Wilson, the former ambassador and husband of Plame, seem perfectly cast as the real-life couple whose lives are turned upside-down when the Bush White House (led by Dick Cheney, Karl Rove & Scooter Libby) use the media to attack their credibility after Joe Wilson writes a New York Times op-ed denouncing the Bush Administration's use of flawed "yellow cake" intelligence to justify the invasion of Iraq.
Plame is devastated because her outing as a covert agent put many of her foreign contacts in danger, and she finds little if no support among her colleagues within the CIA; her husband, on the other hand, is outraged and far more willing to fight the whispering campaign against the two. His proactive position threatens their marriage.
As a work of fiction, this would be difficult to follow - and barely believable. But as a work of non-fiction, it's a good, but not great, look at the entire Plame-Wilson story.
[One problem with this movie - a problem you often see in foreign films (but more understanding) - is many of the subtitles blend in with a white background. It's difficult for me to understand why that can't be resolved in the editing. Very frustrating as you try and follow a complex story line.]
7½ stars
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, PART 1: Intense, dark and slow moving, this is a build-up to Part 2 of the final Potter book; the second part of the film comes out next year. Clearly, the three protagonists -- Harry, Ron & Hermione -- have all grown up, not only physically but in their acting skills. But so has the subject matter, as the initial wonderment of the film series has moved onto a far darker stage. No time for Quidditch games any more.
The three are away from Hogwarts School and in battle against the strengthening power of Lord Voldemort, wonderfully played by Ralph Fiennes. Cameo roles by all of the on-going stars from the previous films.
8½ stars
THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST: If you've read the third book of the Stieg Larsson trilogy you, of course, know what happens in this the final episode. And it is nothing short of delicious.
Lisbeth Salander, wonderfully portrayed by Swedish actress Noomi Rapace, is recovering from injuries she received at the end of The Girl Who Played With Fire, while her father, the former Soviet spy Alexander Zalachenko, is recovering in the same hospital -- while the top secret Swedish cover-up of the Zalachenko Affair continues in high gear. Her former lover and editor of Millennium magazine, Mikael Blomkvist (played by Michael Nyqvist), is working to exonerate Salander while his sister prepares to defend her in court. All the while, Salander's half brother/giant, Ronald Niederman, is on a killing spree across Sweden, lying in wait to finish off his sister if she's freed.
My two complaints: 1) I thought the cross examination of the psychiatrist, Dr. Teleborian, was a highlight of the book, so, although good, was a bit disappointing in the movie. 2) The subtitles at times blended into the background, making them difficult to read.
The third book installment is quite complex, and the directors/producers did a fine job simplifying the plot. I can’t tell you if any of the films will make sense if you have NOT read the books, but clearly viewing this one without having seen the other two will do you no good.
If you do nothing else, PLEASE view the entire Swedish trilogy before the American version comes out in two years. I doubt if you will regret it
9 stars
STONE: A psychological thriller with very fine acting, but which ultimately falls short by a confusing script and strange drama.
Robert DeNiro plays a retiring prison bureaucrat whose last case is determining the suitability of parole for convicted arsonist -- and menacingly bad guy -- Edward Norton, in a snarling, guy-you-don’t-want-to-meet-in-a-dark-alley role that he nails. Norton, pulling out all stops, tries to get his gorgeous (but a bit twisted) wife, the ever-alluring Milla Jovovich, to seduce the staid DeNiro.
Creepiness reigns. Wait for it on DVD, if then.
6 stars
DUE DATE: A lame slapstick comedy with lots of laughs, most of which you will have seen if you were subjected (as I was) to multiple trailers played during the World Series. Robert Downey, Jr. (a Tracy favorite) is a traveling businessman trying to get home to his L.A. wife before she gives birth to their first child, but he collides (literally) with funny man Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover, Dinner for Schmucks) at the Atlanta Airport, and an unlikely road trip begins.
6½ stars
CONVICTION: Hillary Swank is da bomb! Perhaps an Academy Award nomination awaits her for her portrayal of Betty Ann Waters, the sister of convicted murderer Kenny Waters, played by Sam Rockwell, also in an Academy-worthy performance.
Swank gets her GED, undergraduate degree (AWOL years in the film, however) and then a law degree to help exonerate her brother and get him freed from his life-without-parole sentence. With the help of her law school friend (Minnie Driver, in another good role) and, eventually, well-known lawyer Barry Scheck of The Innocent Project (Peter Gallagher), Swank is relentless in her efforts.
Admittedly, I knew nothing about this film going in, but I was impressed going out. Based on a true story.
8½ stars
HEREAFTER: A powerful movie about coping with loss with a not-so-powerful ending. Matt Damon shows his range with an excellent performance as a former psychic too overwhelmed by his own powers to continue to use them to help people. As he put it, ‘It’s not a blessing; it’s a curse.” Instead, he takes a blue-collar job trying to be as ordinary as the next person. His brother (Jay Mohr in a bad role) tries to get him back into the psychic business.
Across the globe, a dynamic French newscaster, Cecile De France (a lovely Suzy Kolber almost-look-alike, only taller), is swept up in a tsunami and has a near-death experience, getting a glimpse of life after death (or, at least, Clint Eastwood and Steven Spielberg’s rendition). It affects her as she returns to work, and her boss/lover (boy, that never works, does it?) urges her to go write the book she’s always wanted to write. But her experience moves her literary efforts into a decidedly different direction.
In England, a young boy’s twin is killed, and he is faced with life without his alcoholic mother and his twin and is put into a foster home. Far too much to ask of a shy young boy.
All three stories collide in an unexpected way at the London Book Fair.
Note: Of the first 1,000 of imdb.com viewers who reviewed this film, 47% gave it a 10. That number is now (3/11) down to 14% (which makes more sense).
8 stars
RED: A fun spoof on spy films, with Bruce Willis in the lead as a former (Retired, Extremely Dangerous) CIA agent marked for death by – well, we don’t find out until late in the film. Eventually he brings his team back together – Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich and Helen Mirren – along with a somewhat (at first) reluctant hostage, Mary-Louise Parker (of Weeds fame). Together they have to figure out why they’re marked for assassination and try and figure out how to stop it.
Willis is great as the spy with a wry sense of humor; Malkovich is his usually nutty self; Mirren is fun in this unusual role; Freeman plays a good sidekick; and Parker shines (even Willis notices her gorgeous eyes!).
This is not an award-winning film, but it’s entertaining. If you miss it on the big screen, don’t forget to Netflix it.
8 stars
THE SOCIAL NETWORK: A very well-made, intense movie about the start up of Facebook – and the internal rivalries, jealousies and politicking that went into its formation (and subsequent lawsuits). Incredible to think it all started in 2003!
Jesse Eisenberg (not to be confused with a similar nerd-like actor, Michael Cera) does an excellent job as the computer-programming-savvy (but socially inept) Mark Zuckerberg, a Facebook co-founder, the brains behind Facebook and its current CEO. The action (all quite loud and fast-paced) is interspersed with depositions being taken on two parallel lawsuits brought by 1) twin brothers at Harvard who argue that Zuckerberg stole their idea and 2) Zuckerberg’s former financial partner who got squeezed out of the company as it hit its millionth customer.
Justin Timberlake is a great addition as Sean Parker, of Napster fame, who wedges his way into Zuckerberg’s good graces. Douglas Urbanski, in a small role, plays the jerk president of Harvard University, Larry Summers: Priceless!
An interesting combination of nerdiness, privilege, creativity and high intensity.
9 stars
SICKO (2007): Michael Moore’s polemic against the U.S. health care system. It bogs down in the middle, but it’s when Moore pulls his usual stunts – for example, taking 9/11 workers (those not with a public agency) to Guantanamo Bay, then Cuba, to have their illnesses treated – where he’s at his best.
It’s also funny (well, maybe not) when he shows some of his Canadian relatives stopping to get “short-term U.S. health care insurance” before they cross the border for a visit. Sort of reminds you of having to get “one-day car insurance” before driving your car into Mexico. Yep, we actually do look like a Third World country when viewed from Canada and most of Europe. Very sad.
Worth a look on DVD, even though it’s not one of Moore’s best.
7½ stars
THE TOWN: Ben Affleck directs and stars in this bank robber thriller set in Charlestown and Boston – and he does it very well. Affleck is one of four Boston Irish hoods being run by an old Charlestown Mafioso, and they are quick, efficient and, if necessary, brutal.
But one of the gang members takes a hostage during one hold-up (in case she’s needed in a police stand-off; later released, unharmed) and, when they discover she lives in the neighborhood, Affleck volunteers to make sure she doesn’t know enough to turn them in. Sparks fly (natch!), and Affleck turns soft.
This was a very good flick right up until the last two or three minutes when sentimentality got in the way of good film making. What, no one was willing to tell Ben: “No, no, no – don’t end it that way!”
Rebecca Hall (bank hostage), Jon Hamm (FBI agent) and Jeremy Renner (from The Hurt Locker, and the nastier gang member) give the movie star depth.
Rated R for really bad language and lots of violence.
8 stars
THE LAST STATION (2009): It’s a tumultuous last year in the life of great Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy (Christopher Plummer) and his wife, Countess Sofya Tolstoy (Helen Mirren), and young Valentin (James McAvoy), his new secretary, is caught in the middle of the physical and emotional crossfire. Paul Giamatti is brilliant as the conniving friend and fierce loyalist, who strives to keep Tolstoy’s works out of the hands of his wife and family and into the hands of the Russian people – or so he says.
Plummer & Mirren are outstanding – as their Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations show – and they are worth the price of admission. It’s the best I’ve ever seen Plummer; he was made to play Tolstoy. And Mirren is, well, Helen Mirren, an acting treasure to enjoy, much like Meryl Streep. Kerry Condon is delightful as Valentin’s love interest, Masha, a strong, feisty female presence.
This is not your bland period piece, so don’t dismiss it as such. Although we don’t see or hear much of what is going on in Russia at the time (isn’t there a revolution brewing?), we do get an early glimpse (1910) of paparazzi gone wild. Definitely worth a look see on DVD.
8½ stars
CHLOE: Gynecologist Julianne Moore suspects her college professor husband, Liam Neeson (he of the wandering eye), of cheating on her with one of his students, so she hires a young, high-class call girl/escort, Amanda Seyfried (she of Mama Mia fame), to come on to him. But she got more than she bargained for in this Fatal Attraction-like film.
What follows is a rather shallow erotic thriller that’s at times painful to watch, yet with a voyeuristic subtlety that keeps you interested. Moore is stretched between her march toward 50, the alienation of her teenaged son and lost affection with her husband. And, now, the lurid details of Chloe’s involvement with her husband.
Be glad you didn’t watch it at a theatre – where it languished for a week or two – but I also don’t recommend your putting it too high on your Netflix queue.
5 stars
THE GOOD GERMAN (2006): There was so much to like in this movie: George Clooney plays an American Army reporter in Berlin to cover the Potsdam Peace Conference; Cate Blanchett, who has secrets of her own, plays the wife of a hunted (by all sides) German scientist; Tobey Maguire has an odd, corrupt role as Clooney’s driver; and Beau Bridges is a scheming American colonel. It’s shot as if it were filmed in the 1940s, adding to the film’s allure.
But the story line, pacing and acting just didn’t measure up. No wonder it played in so few theatres and for short a time. Not bad; just nothing to write home about.
6½ stars
THE AMERICAN: A slow-moving, take-some-time-to-enjoy-the-Italian-scenery psychological intrigue starring George Clooney as, well, almost himself if he were a precision-gun-making heavy: Suave, sensitive, surrounded by beautiful women who love to be surrounded by him. But this Clooney is lonely, humorless, a bit jittery and conflicted with his occupation and circumstances – a bad guy with a conscience?
Clooney is found out at his remote Swedish hide-out and forced to flee to the Italian countryside, where he is under contract for what he believes is his last assignment. There love blossoms with a gorgeous prostitute (aren’t they all?) while he’s looking over his shoulder for….what? He’s none-too-careful, it seems, in this modern age of crime detection.
I enjoyed this one, although, frankly, you can wait for it to come out on DVD.
7½ stars
STATE OF PLAY (2009): Russell Crowe plays a scuzzy Washington Globe investigative reporter who teams up with, somewhat reluctantly, cub blogger Rachel McAdams (but who can resist those eyes?) to work on a story involving a less-than-honorable but corruption-seeking young congressman (Ben Affleck) and the trail of slime that seems to follow him. Is he really that dirty, or are his enemies just out to get him?
If you can get by Crowe’s haircut (the same hairdresser Meg Ryan used to employ?), Helen Mirren’s anger (she’s the paper’s editor), the too-obvious homage to All the President’s Men and clichés that drip from too many scenes, it’s not that bad of a rental. Really.
Robin Wright Penn plays Affleck’s wife, who also seems to have a thing for their old college friend, Crowe, who’s caught between his friends and the political scandal story of the day. Jason Bateman, Jeff Daniels and Viola Davis give the movie some heft.
6½ stars
GREEN ZONE: This had to be the quickest 1:55 movie I’ve ever seen. It was non-stop Iraqi War action, and you felt you were right in the middle of it, jerky camera and all.
This is a fictionalized - yet highly realistic -- account of American soldiers’ search for Saddam Hussein’s Weapons of Mass Destruction in the early stages of the Iraqi War. It shows war as it must be: extremely chaotic.
Matt Damon plays a rogue, low-level Army officer frustrated by bad WMD intelligence reports as he and his unit are sent on wild goose chases into dangerous parts of Baghdad. He’s up against Greg Kinnear, a U.S. intelligence officer, who has bought into the WMD hype and tries to take Damon down, even after he has teamed up with a CIA agent (Brendan Gleeson) who also questions Kinnear’s intel.
Damon and Kinnear are excellent in their competing roles, and the war action seems remarkably realistic. Okay, the WSJ reporter, Amy Ryan, is a bit obnoxious as she tries to cover her tracks after having used information she garnered from Kinnear, but that and a bit of a Hollywood ending weren’t enough to mar this well-made film.
As good, if not better, than The Hurt Locker, which won the Best Picture at this year’s Academy Awards. It’s now out on DVD.
9 stars
THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE (2009): Often in a trilogy, the second part doesn’t measure up. But in this the second part of the outstanding Stieg Larsson trilogy, suspense is palpable; it is a fine companion piece to The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.
We learn more about Lisbeth Salander as she is tied to three murders and subjected to a nationwide hunt. Her friend and former lover, Mikael Blomkvist, is back on her trail trying to help the very private and introverted Salander as they both try and sort the clues by following the bodies.
Noomi Rapace rocks as Lisbeth, and Michael Nyqvist is a fine Blomkvist. I’m really not looking forward to the 2012 release of the American version of the trilogy; I may not be a huge fan of subtitles (my Swedish is a bit rusty), but it’s hard to perceive better actors in these two roles.
I strongly suggest you watch the first two parts (Dragon is on Netflix’s “Watch Instantly”; this one might still be at an indie theatre near you; I watched it in downtown Olympia) so you are ready when the third installment is released on October 29.
Imdb.com viewers were not as generous with this part; they moved from a 7.7 to a 6.7. Frankly, I don’t get it. These movies are every bit as good as the books, all of which are best sellers.
9 stars
PRICELESS (2006) or HORS DE PRIX: The normally alluring French actress Audrey Tatou is ever more so as she is wined and dined – and dressed and undressed – by her very rich lovers. But she meets her match when she stumbles unexpectedly into the arms of bartender-soon-to-turn-gigolo Gad Elmaleh in this fun French romantic comedy.
A number of French actors, generally unknown to us unsophisticated American viewers – Marie-Christine Adam, Annelise Hesme and Vernon Dobtcheff – add to this romp through the lives (and loves) of the super wealthy.
Viewable on Netflix’s “Watch Instantly” if you are a member.
7½ stars
TAKERS: Clearly, the producers ran out of money when it came time to test-screen this movie before final editing. There were flashes of a good “gang-robs-banks” flick, but those flashes were interrupted far too often by groans of, “Oh, please!”
And can’t anyone here shoot straight, Russians especially?
Matt Dillon is the cop on the edge, going after a GQ-clothed, touchy-feely gang of sophisticated bad guys: Chris Brown, Idris Elba, Michael Ealy & Hayden Christensen. Their first bank job needed the cooperation of an overly-aggressive TV camera crew to help their escape; the second the assistance of a former gang member just out of the joint only to find his hot girl friend (Zoe Saldana) has moved on to a fellow gang member.
It - and all semblance with reality - goes downhill from there, although there was a terrific chase scene on foot toward the end of the film; best I’ve seen since The Bourne Ultimatum.
The real bad news? They set it up for a sequel. The good news for me is that you get to take that bullet for me.
5 stars
A fantastic (as in “strange, fanciful, extravagant, bizarre”) voyage into the futuristic world of the subconscious as Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page, Ken Watanabe & Tom Hardy go deep into several layers of a mark’s dreams to plant a germ of an idea to get him to -- what? -- make it think it was his idea to break up his dad’s vast conglomerate? (We care, why? And they dissed Avatar’s story line?)
This is a shoot-’em-up, bang-bang adventure ride from start to finish. Is DiCaprio in the middle of his mark’s dream -- or his own? He’s intense in this SyFy (no longer SciFi I understand) thriller that is at times difficult to follow, yet intriguing to watch. Clearly there were hallucinogenic drugs at work on this script. The biggest problem I felt was the intensity of the score, which always seemed in conflict with the dialog. Were we not meant to hear what they were discussing?
Despite its flaws, this was a fine, futuristic movie, but methinks the 165,000 imdb.com voters are being a bit over-the-top in scoring this (to date) as a 9.1, the 4th best movie of all time. Really? (Note: As of 3/11, this film “dropped” all of the way #8 on the all-time movie list, with 54% - of the 315,000 reviewers - awarding it a 10. Still fairly shocking.)
If there ever was a movie meant to be seen on the big screen, this is it (well, and Avatar, too). If you watch it on your hand-held, you’ll miss a lot.
8 stars
UNDER THE SAME MOON (2007):
A poignant (albeit slow and jumpy) story of a resourceful nine-year-old Juarez boy (whose grandmother/caretaker dies) who travels “alone together” to reunite with his mother, working as a maid in Los Angeles; they haven’t been together, other than by weekly phone calls, in four years.
Interestingly, it’s a Japanese film, first released there in 2005.
6 stars
YOUTH IN REVOLT (2009):
A surprisingly funny (and risque/crude in parts) coming-of-age film starring Michael Cera (at age 21, still playing a high school nerd) who’s trying to make it with a cute, perky neighbor in a trailer trash park in Northern California. Cera’s alter-ego, the suave, chain-smoking, mustachioed Frenchman, pushes Cera into doing odd-ball things in order to get his girl.
Jean Smart (the First Lady from season five of TV’s 24) is Cera’s mom; Steve Buscemi plays his divorced dad. Mary Kay Place and Justin Long (Apple commercials) have small roles.
Just enough laughs to keep you interested.
7 stars
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (2009):
If you’ve never heard of Swedish novelist Stieg Larsson, you’ve been living in a cave. He’s the author of a thrilling trilogy based in Sweden, this being the first. Unfortunately, Mr. Larsson died prematurely at age 50 (in 2004), so we’ll not be blessed with future works from this very talented author.
All three books (and soon films) have as their major characters Michael Blomkvist (Michael Nyquist) as the controversial editor of a political magazine and Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) as the young woman-hacker with the odd personality and troubled past. Both are outstanding in their roles; however, if you had to choose between the two, I’d take Rapace. I look forward to see her grow even further in this role as her character becomes even more central to the story. (I’m currently finishing up the third book.)
This is a brutal look at Salander’s past and the search for a sadistic killer. But it is compelling murder mystery (in spite of its Swedish subtitles). The Americans will get in on the action soon as they put together a cast to produce English versions of the trilogy.
A good pick for your Netflix queue (or watch it instantly as we did).
8½ stars
This one just didn’t do it for me. Julia Roberts (and I like her – and she does well here) plays Elizabeth Gilbert, who wrote the book about her life’s journey after a bitter divorce and later break-up with her boy toy. Off she heads to Italy, India and Bali, to re-discover herself and to find enlightenment.
She went to Italy to enjoy food again – and to gain weight shamelessly – to India for spiritual fulfillment, and to Bali to re-visit a psychic she’d met on an earlier trip to the island nation. Along the way she meets new friends, all of whom did admirable jobs in supporting roles: Tuva Novotny as a cute Swede who befriends Liz in Italy; Richard Jenkins as a Texan-in-India, looking for forgiveness for mistakes he’d made in his life; and Javier Bardem as a Brazilian tour guide in Bali. Viola Davis is great as her New York best friend, although James Franco and Billy Crudup as husband and last NY lover, respectively, were so-so.
This was a humorless movie, even knowing it wasn’t meant to be a comedy. It was drab, and it dragged. That and the touchy-feely theme didn’t resonate with me; it might for you. It took an around-the-world trip to realize that family and love really are what’s really important in life?
Nice soundtrack (good use of some cool Neil Young songs), great location footage and good acting. It just didn’t all add up to a good movie.
6 stars
This one is pure fun. A well-done spoof on chase movies, buddy films and law and order flicks, this one makes fun of so many different things (Priuses included) that you often find yourself a joke or two behind.
Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell play unlikely cop partners – Mark having been demoted after shooting Derek Jeter in the leg (extra fun for you Sox fans) and Will wanting to play it safe as a police forensic accountant – who try to become NYPD’s latest dynamic duo after the hilarious passing of super cops Stephen L. Jackson & Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
Michael Keaton does comedy as the precinct’s no-nonsense captain, and The Daily Show’s Rob Riggle and Damon Wayans, Jr. are funny as the main competition for Wahlberg-Ferrell, who are great together. Eva Mendes has a minor but fun role as Ferrell’s unlikely hot (er, make that “cute”) wife.
May have to watch this again on dvd to catch the jokes I missed…
8½ stars
A critically-acclaimed film starring Annette Bening (Nic) and Julianne Moore (Jules) as a lesbian couple raising two kids (Joni born to Bening; Laser to Moore, both from the same sperm donor) going through typical teenage angst.
When Joni turns 18, Laser pressures her to discover the identity of their donor dad, and she complies.
Enter Mark Ruffalo, a free-spirited local restaurateur who’s more than anxious to allow Joni and Laser – and Nic & Jules – into his life, much to the chagrin of Nic who feels her family threatened at the same time her daughter is about to leave the nest for college.
This is a fine movie that deserves a look-see, whether at the theatre or on dvd when it comes out. Fine acting all around, especially Benning, Moore and Ruffalo. Some of the kids’ friends, however, are lame.
Note: The R rating is well deserved, so viewers beware.
8 stars
SAVING GRACE (2000):
An understated British comedy (is that redundant?) about a widow, Brenda Blethyn, who desperately needs money to pay off her husband’s accumulated debt – and who frantically teams with her bad gardener, Craig Ferguson, to enter the illicit pot trade to save the family estate.
If you’ve heard this plot before, it’s been made a lot more fun on HBO’s Weeds, which is a family favorite.
Funny, poignant and well-acted, but other British comedies (see Death at a Funeral, Calendar Girls, The Full Monty) have a leg up. Good for a dvd viewing, however.
7 stars
The title threw me; doesn’t it sound like a spy thriller? Nope. Turns out it’s a medical thriller, based on a true story (with a Hollywood twist, of course).
Brendan Fraser plays a desperate dad with two kids suffering from Pompe Disease – an inherited form of muscular dystrophy that kills most kids before they turn 9 – looking for a cure that will extend their lives. His research leads him to Harrison Ford, who plays a crusty curmudgeon research scientist who believes he’s found a route to an enzyme that will improve and extend sufferers’ lives.
Two upbeat sick kids – and a very supportive older brother – a supporting mom (well-played by Keri Russell), heartless bureaucrats, cold venture capitalists and a race to find a cure before Fraser’s kids get any worse…or until Ford implodes in self-righteous fury.
This played more like a made-for-tv movie, which might explain its short run at the theatres. I’m interested to see what my Boston doc friend thinks of the way Hollywood portrayed the research-to-clinical-trials-in-record-time plot.
Worth a look as a rental.
6½ stars
A rollicking, suspend-belief, side-splitting, action-adventure flick that comes natural for Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz, who seem to be having fun while traveling the world dodging bullets, killing bad guys and staying one step ahead of danger.
Oh, and, who is the bad guy in all this?
Provided you don’t take your James Bond-like adventures too seriously, this one will entertain you. Cruise, no matter what your personal take on him, is good at this type of mind-numbing adventure; it’s good to see Diaz back having fun after nailing the mom role in Her Sister’s Keeper; she’s still everyone’s darling (well, mine, at least).
If you need escape, this one’s for you.
8 stars
If schmaltzy is what you’re looking for, you’ll find it here in spades.
Tracy wanted to watch this Nicholas Sparks flick (Sparks = first clue), and I somehow stayed awake through it. Mamma Mia’s Amanda Seyfried plays Savannah (name = clue #2), a rich southern belle who falls for John (clue #3 – if his name was “Pete,” the whole story falls apart!), the quiet, tall, dark, handsome and tender-tough Army Ranger (played by Channing Tatum), who’s on leave from his post in Somalia.
After a two-week whirlwind (albeit chaste) romance, John returns to his unit only to watch the horror of 9/11 explode on TV. The entire unit wants to re-up, of course, but John knows he is endangering his relationship with the cute college kid who expects him home soon – for good.
And, yes, it goes downhill from there. An undiagnosed autistic dad, an autistic neighbor-kid, an abandoned father, a break-up, a make-up, a horse camp for autistic kids that goes belly-up, a mercy wedding, a “Dear John” letter (natch), a wounded soldier, a noble mission… Then, when you think it’s hit rock bottom, the producer decides the last five years of the movie need to be wrapped up neatly in five minutes – thus putting us all out of our collective misery.
If your mate suggests watching this for the evening, run for the hills (unless you badly need the points)!
3 stars (generous)
This has got to be the best Toy Story movie of them all. Although, admittedly, it’s been a long time since I saw the first two, the jokes seemed fresh, the story line original and the characters and voices as fun as can be. Good viewing for young and old alike – although there are parts that could be scary for little kids.
Andy may have grown up and about to head to college, but Toy Story brings out the little kid in all of us.
9 stars
A very violent western starring Russell Crowe as a slick, ruthless bad guy, hell bent on robbing stagecoaches with his gang of outlaws in southern Arizona, seemingly for the sport of it. Christian Bale (of Batman fame) plays a down-on-his-luck rancher, freshly wounded from the Civil War, who’s trying to make a living on cattle on the hardscrabble land for his wife and two sons.
Bale and his sons come across the aftermath of a brutal stagecoach robbery and help a Pinkerton guard (Peter Fonda!) back to town with a near-mortal wound. Bale, hard up for money to pay off his creditors who are trying to run him off of his ranch, then signs up to help escort Crowe (who, of course, gets careless as he lingers in town to bed the local barmaid) to Bisbee to catch “the 3:10 train to Yuma” to stand trial. Miraculously (much like the action in TV’s 24), Fonda recovers enough from his gut wound (yeah, right!) to lead the escort party to Bisbee.
Not one to go easily, Crowe starts showing off his Jack Bauer moves, and the good guys find themselves overwhelmed with their prisoner, which makes Bale even more determined to get Crowe to the train on time.
By the way, did I tell you it was violent?
This was an 80% good western flick. But Crowe’s strange personality switcheroo, Hollywood’s insistence that injuries don’t really hurt (and rarely slow you down) and the need for continued graphic brutality makes it tough to watch. So I took a bullet for you. Literally. But I’ll recover. Sooner than later.
6 stars
THIS IS IT (2009):
If, like me, you thought Michael Jackson was over the hill when he died last year, or you thought this flick was just a crass attempt to make money (well, it might still be that), I encourage you to check it out on dvd.
Michael was in rehearsal for 50 sold-out shows in London starting in July 2009, and this film includes, basically, his dress rehearsals plus interviews (interviews done with people before Michael’s death). It is startling to witness this guy’s continued talent in spite of his “advanced” age of 50. He sings and dances to the songs you know – “Thriller,” “Billie Jean,” “Beat It,” etc. – and it’s definitely worth a look if you missed it when it was released. Great editing work splices together numerous takes, so you get a feel for what it takes to produce a show – read “spectacle” – like the ones he was about to do.
A fine tribute to a musical and entertainment genius.
8½ stars
Schmaltzy vignettes about love on Valentine’s Day mostly centered on florist Ashton Kutcher and his delivery man George Lopez. The problem is there are so many stories going on that it’s difficult to recall (or to care) who was dating – and who was cheating with – whom. As a romantic comedy, it lacked laugh out loud humor; instead, the best it did was make you smile in places. Except, however, for one powerful and unexpected moment near the end: the one true love that really does matter.
There’s not enough room to list all of the actors, but expect a smorgasbord of romantic comedy players. Directed by Garry Marshall, who does a cameo right at the end.
6 stars
BOTTLE SHOCK (2008):
A delightfully quirky indie film – set in 1976 and based on a true story – about an English sommelier (Alan Rickman) who lives in Paris and is an absolute snob about the superiority of French wines.
After discovering that other regions of the world even attempt to make and bottle wine, Rickman takes off on a lark to the Napa Valley, where, he discovers, the ‘hicks of California’ actually do know how to produce excellent wine. He proposes the first France-Napa wine taste-off, and the results are quite surprising to many a wine snob. The event came to be known as “The Judgment of Paris,” and it propelled Napa wines to worldwide prominence.
8 stars
ANGELS AND DEMONS (2009):
Even when megastar Tom Hanks sleepwalks through a role, he’s still better than most – and he proved it in this film. A so-called summer blockbuster, this sequel to The Da Vinci Code died on the vine for far too many reasons. Frankly, I think Director Ron Howard tried to be too true to the 500-page book instead of creating a more believable plot for the screen. Which is often the problem when you shoot a film too soon after a best seller is released.
Don’t expect much; simply enjoy the Italian scenery and realize there are far worse murder mysteries out there you could have wasted an evening on. And pat yourself on the back for not having wasted money to see it on the big screen (and don’t admit it if you did).
6 stars
SUGAR: (2008):
When talk moves to how “overpaid ballplayers are” (yes, it likely comes up in my conversations more often than yours), I always ask: “How much do you think a median professional baseball player actually makes?” As they begin to mentally calculate multi-million dollar contracts, I throw in: “I hope you’re not thinking it’s anywhere close to $100,000.” Of course it is, they’ll say; the minimum salary alone is way above that! “But you’re only thinking about major league player salaries; what about the thousands of professional players stuck in the minors? They’re playing for peanuts and staying in the homes of fans just to make ends meet.”
Which is what Sugar is partly about: The scratching and clawing of wannabe ballplayers, trying to make it to The Show.
The other, more complicated, layer is the way baseball has “outsourced” jobs to Latin countries, especially the talent in the minor leagues.
Miguel “Sugar” Santos is a promising young Dominican hurler who spends most of his days in a baseball “camp” in his home country – this one run by the Kansas City Royals – hoping that he’ll get noticed enough to get the call to the United States. When that call does come, Sugar is faced with adapting his life to the low minor leagues in rural Iowa and all that it entails: Language, custom, social, racial and financial barriers.
Frankly, it’s cheaper for baseball clubs to mine the talent of Latin America – and every minor league system in American is stocked with foreign talent – but what becomes of the thousands of ballplayers who don’t make it to the big leagues? Watch it to find out.
Sugar is a microcosm of Baseball in America. Worth a look if, like me, you’re counting the days until Opening Day.
7 stars
27 DRESSES (2008):
As badly as I valued the last Katherine (the drama queen on TV’s Grey’s Anatomy) Heigl movie – Knocked Up – this one only made it as high as #127 on our Netflix queue….that is until Tracy discovered we could watch it on TV at Comcast-on-Demand. For joy!
The title itself gave it away: Heigl is a bridesmaid 27 times (and still has the dresses to prove it) without ever being the bride. She wants to change that. But her sister gets in the way, and Heigl’s about to become a reluctant bridesmaid yet again. How corny can you get?
What follows, however, was quite surprising. It turns out it was a fairly clever movie, with humor that didn’t make you gag (I know, a pretty low standard). Sure, this one won’t knock your socks off, but if you’re in a need of a dvd romantic comedy, you can do a lot worse.
6 stars
THE SURE THING (1985):
This was a pretty corny coming-of-age movie, but it’s worth a look for all these reasons: 1) John Cusack, 19, in one of his first movies, right after 16 Candles; 2) Daphne Zuniga, 23, in one of her early roles; 3) Timothy Robbins, 27, in a nutty role in one of his first feature-length movies; and 4) a very young Nicolette Sheridan (she of Desperate Housewives fame), 23, as the dreamboat girl.
All that and it’s directed by Rob Reiner, his first non-documentary movie, just before he did Stand By Me.
6 stars
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON (2008):
Not quite sure why it took more than a year to view this award-winning film – after all, it did win three (minor) Academy awards and was nominated for 10 others (included best film) last year – but it finally made it to the top of my Netflix queue. If you haven’t seen it, you should. A very poignant film. Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Julie Ormond and Tilda Swinton are all well cast.
8½ stars
My Best of 2010
*The King’s Speech (9½) - Academy Best Picture
*True Grit (9)
*Toy Story 3 (9)
*The Fighter (9)
*The Social Network (9)
Green Zone (9)
Blue Valentine (9)
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest (9)
*Black Swan (8½)
The Other Guys (8½)
Unstoppable (8½)
This Is It (8½)
Conviction (8½)
Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (8½)
*The Kids Are All Right (8)
*Inception (8)
(*Academy Award nominees for Best Picture 2010)
My Best of non-2010 films
The Girl Who Played With Fire (9) (2009)
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (8½) (2009)
The Last Station (8½) (2009)
Inglourious Basterds (8½) (2009)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (8½) (2008)
