Ladies in Lavender Mini-Film Review

On a whim, I watched Ladies in Lavender on my Netlix Watch Instantly queue this weekend.  I adore Judi Dench and Maggie Smith in almost anything, and they were both wonderful playing off each other as spinster sisters living in a cottage in Cornwall right before WWII.

They find a young Polish man washed up on the beach, and take him in to recover from his broken ankle.  The pleasant surprise is that the young man is played by Daniel Brühl who was Frederick Zoller in Inglourious Basterds.

There's not a ton of drama, but both women's hearts are set aflutter by the young man and his musical talents.  Then again, I could probably watch Judi Dench recite the phone book, and be entertained.  It's a sweet little English period piece.  Two and a half stars.  Watch the trailer here.

Ondine Film Review

I was really looking forward to seeing Ondine.  Finally a romantic film with Colin Farrell!    It played only in very limited release for about a minute, so I missed it on the big screen.  I discovered this weekend that's it's now available on Netflix Watch Instantly.

The film is written and directed by Neil Jordan (The Crying Game), which should have told me from the start that this would be no typical romantic film.  The tone is more wistful and dark, for an
"adult" fairy tale.  Fisherman Syracuse (Colin Farrell) discovers the lovely Polish Alicja Bachleda in his net.  She refuses to go to a doctor or the hospital and is fearful of being seen by anyone.  He lets her stay at his late mother's cottage.

Syracuse has a precocious daughter in a wheelchair, and while she's getting kidney dialysis, he tells her the story of a fisherman who finds what may be a selkie in his net.  The real romance to be honest is between Alicja's "selkie" and Syracuse's daughter, Annie.  I also love the relationship between Syracuse and the village priest played by Stephen Rea.  (Who would have thought early in Stephen Rea's career that he would end up playing so many priests?)

The cinematography is gorgeous as is the Irish coastal setting, which adds to the fairytale feel of most of the film.  The last part of the film suddenly lurches into harsh thriller realism.  It's jarring for the audience, and the characters in the film.

I have very mixed feelings about this film, partially because I had such high hopes for what it might be.  What it is, is a quiet sweet little indie film, but it's not quite the magical Colin Farrell romance film that I'd imagined it would be.  If I'd gone into it knowing nothing, and expecting nothing, maybe I would have a different take.

Definitely worth a view for Farrell fans, but I'm glad I didn't pay full freight to see it in the theater.  Two and a half stars.  I also wish I could have watched it with closed captioning as the Irish accents were very thick!

A Single Man - Mini-Review

Dear Mr. Ford,

I became interested in your film A Single Man long ago, when I first heard about who was starring.  I love Colin Firth, Julianne Moore and Matthew Goode, and the story sounded very interesting.  I loved the beautiful trailers, and the production looked gorgeous.  I didn't expect to be so incredibly moved by your film, your directorial debut.

When I saw A Single Man, I first started to cry during the scene when Colin Firth's character George finds out that his lover of 16 years has died in a car crash.  You only see Colin Firth react to Jon Hamm's voice on the phone, who tells him "only family" can attend the funeral.  I was riveted by Colin Firth's performance, an amazing one for an actor I have followed for years.  You revealed new depths to his acting, especially in that scene.  At the end of the movie, I started to cry, and I sat watching the credits until the theater emptied.  When I was alone, I started sobbing.  I have not had a reaction like that to a film in I can't remember how long.  I was loudly sobbing -- me, a surburban homemaker, so immensely moved by this beautiful film about a man's loneliness and grief.  I may not have been your intended audience, and some may think this is a niche "gay" film.  But George's pain is both universal, and specific to him and his time.  I'm tearing up again just remembering and thinking about A Single Man.

George moves through this one particular day in his life, and he is determined to commit suicide, as live is not worth living with out the love of his live.  At first, I thought there was something wrong with my eyesight, as the film is often in very muted colors and looks washed out, but occasionallly becomes vivid with color.  I realized that it reflects George -- his life is muted and gray, and only comes into brilliant color and focus when he interacts with a few people that day.  One of his students reaches out to him, he meets a sexy hustler, and he spends dinner with his old friend (Julianne Moore) who wishes they had been more than just friends.

With your talents as a fashion designer, I expected the film to look beautiful, and it was truly stunning.  (Matthew Goode has never looked better!)  The production design was done by the same man from Mad Men, and every detail looked perfect.  It was beautiful to look at, but I didn't expect to be so incredibly moved.   Colin Firth very much deserved his Oscar nomination.  It's one of his career best performances.  Julianne Moore was also fabulous (and robbed of a supporting nomination in my opinion).

Thank you Mr. Ford, for making this film, and hope to look forward to many more from you.  Make me cry like that again.

Three and a half stars.  If you love Colin Firth as I do, then this is a must see film.  Just watch this scene where he finds out Jim, his lover of 16 years, has died in a car accident:



That scene continues a little longer with his reaction, and that's when I first lost it watching this movie. Watch the trailer here.

Also, Terry Gross of Fresh Air interviewed both Tom Ford and Colin Firth. Interestingly, Colin Firth talks about how difficult the scene above was to do because it was filmed on election day, and he was so happy that Obama won!

Valentine's Day - Mini-review

I went to see Valentine's Day today with three girlfriends, and we enjoyed the film, and laughed out loud at several parts.  It was a fun movie to see this weekend, but it just didn't have the heart of a film like Love, Actually.  Love, Actually is one of my all time favorite romantic films, one I could rewatch any day of the week.  Valentine's Day was a light confection, but not something that's going to have staying power for me.

Garry Marshall got what seems like every star in Hollywood to take part in this multiple storyline movie, and that's part of the problem.  There are so many characters and storylines, that it ends up having the depth of a puddle.  It was enjoyable.  They are all pretty to look at.  I laughed.  But at no time were my heartstrings pulled like that scene in Love, Actually when Emma Thompson gets the CD for Christmas from her husband instead of the necklace and she realizes he's having an affair.  Just try not to cry as she attempts to pull it together to go to the Christmas play with her kids.

I thought Anne Hathaway was one of the best actors, as a young temp who's trying to pay off her student loan debt by being a phone sex operator.  I also liked the Bradley Cooper/Eric Dane storyline very much.  Eric Dane as the football player facing possible retirement makes the biggest Valentine's gesture of the entire film.

There's a neat scene in the film where Shirley MacLaine and Hector Elizondo reunite while an old film is playing outdoors in a park.  The film that's playing in the background is one of Shirley MacLaine's first films, Hot Spell, from 1958.   Hector's character points to her on the screen and tells Topher Grace's character, "That's the girl I fell in love with."

So far, Valentine's Day seems to be coming out on top for the box office this weekend.  Plans are already in place for a sequel of sorts, another multi-storyline film about New Year's Eve.  Trim down the cast list a mite, if you please, and how about a little more diversity in the cast.

I give Valentine's Day 2 and a half stars.  It's a fun chick flick to see with your gal pals, but I'd pay the matinee price.

Stay around for the credits, as there's a funny joke with Julia Roberts as she drives down Rodeo Drive.

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief - Mini-Review

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief was a highly anticipated movie in our household. Two of my sons have read the entire five book series, and my youngest (9) has been reading the first. I've read The Lightning Thief myself, and I was so excited that it was being made into a movie. So, did it live up to all our expectations? It was a good movie, but it wasn't great.

My sons may have been like other fans of the book, some of the movie's harshest critics. They were like Potter fanatics, who griped about every change to the movie script that varied from the book. My memory of the book was fuzzier, and I give adaptations a little more leeway. You just can't have everything from a book in the movie. You just can't. Some things that work well in a book, do not translate as well to the screen.

One of the biggest changes is that in the book, Percy is only 12, and they've aged Percy to high school age, possibly 17. As my 17 year old griped, "A twelve-year-old can not drive a car!" I didn't mind the eye candy, and I can understand that they are trying to appeal to a wider audience, and not be placed in the family film ghetto.

I enjoyed the stars they found to play the Greek gods. Sean Bean from the Lord of the Rings films plays Zeus, and his brother Posiedon (and Percy's father) is Kevin McKidd (Rome, Grey's Anatomy). I thought McKidd was great. Steve Coogan (the English director in Tropic Thunder) was a funny Hades costumed as one character notes as a sort of Mick Jagger rocker God of the Underworld. Uma Thurman looked like she had a blast camping it up as Medusa, too. I got a kick out of Joey "Pants" Pantoliano from the Sopranos playing Percy's horrible step-father, but that great casting went over my kids' heads.

We all enjoyed the film, and if it does well at the box office, this is likely to become a franchise. There are five books written already, after all. Maybe like the Harry Potter film, the sequels will get better scripts and a more interesting director.

Logan Lerman, last seen in Gamer, plays Percy, and he did a very nice job. There are rumors that he may be the next Peter Parker in the Spiderman reboot.

Three stars and a good film for the whole family.

In the Loop - Mini-review

Now I underestand why In the Loop got the Screenplay Oscar nomination after watching the DVD this weekend.  The script is f***ing brilliant, and the laugh lines come at you at rapid-fire pace.  This is a scathing satire about the backbiting politicians and bureaucrats on both sides of the Atlantic leading up to an unnamed war with a Middle Eastern country.  Malcom Tucker is a Downing Street Press Officer (left), and almost everything he says I can't repeat here.  He is evidently loosely based on Alistair Campbell, Tony Blair's press secretary, and he sounds like Great Britain's Rahm Emmanuel.  James Gandolfini plays an American Lt. General, and I won't soon forget the scene where he calculates the possible war dead on a purple kid's see and spell during the middle of a cocktail party in a girl's bedroom with a State Department official.

This film is just so amazingly funny.  So many great lines and funny scenes.  I give this three and a half stars and a hearty recommendation.  Do yourself a favor and rent this gem.

Watch the trailer below to get a taste.

The Young Victoria - Mini-review

Could you have imagined before this movie having the words Queen Victoria and sexy in the same sentence?  Our mental image of Queen Victoria is of her at the end of her reign, in her widow's black, with that stern expression.  Her reign lasted for 63 years, the longest in English history.  She became queen at the young age of 18, and that is the setting for this wonderful period drama film.

Emily Blunt plays the young Victoria, in the months just before he uncle, the King, dies and she becomes queen.  Her mother (Miranda Richardson) and her mother's lover Sir John, played by the menacing Mark Strong of Sherlock Holmes, try to pressure her into signing a regency agreement until she turns 25.  She resists, and becomes queen without a regent.

She doesn't know who to trust as her mother had kept her isolated from the court.  Lord Melbourne, played by Paul Bettany, advises her, but also stacks her ladies in waiting with his supporters and friends.  And her uncle, the King of Belgium, tries to influence her from afar, and has his nephew, Prince Albert coached to become her suitor.

Amongst all this intrigue is a very young pretty girl who wants companionship.  She and Albert fall in love, but it's complicated, as she, being queen, needs to be the one to propose!  She also wants to wait to establish herself as the new queen.  There were  assassination attempts on Victoria early in her reign.

All I really knew about Queen Victoria was her later years, as played by Judi Dench in Mrs. Brown.  In the film Mrs. Brown, we see Queen Victoria in deep mourning for her husband who had died years before at age 42.  She spent the remainder of her life wearing mourning black and living in near isolation.  Mr. Brown (Billy Connelly), a Scottish manservant, became her constant companion.  What we see in The Young Victoria is the beginning of this great love, a love so strong that she had Albert's clothes laid out every morning after he died.

Emily Blunt is just exquisite in the role of Victoria.  I'm disappointed that she didn't get an Oscar nomination.  (Did Meryl really need a 16th?)  Emily Blunt is an actress that I've enjoyed watching since her supporting role in Devil Wears Prada.  The gorgeous Rupert Friend plays Prince Albert.  I just adore period dramas like this.  It's a great romance, and even more fun because it's a true story!  The costumes are amazing, and all the palaces and so on great to look at.

I give The Young Victoria three and a half stars.  My friend and I were a little teary eyed at the end -- and in a good way.  A great film to see with girl friends.  Emily, I have a feeling we'll see you nominated for that Oscar down the road.

It's Complicated - Mini-review

I saw It's Complicated last night with two girlfriends, and it had us roaring with laughter.  Nancy Meyers has done it again with this adult comedy starring Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin.   Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin play ex-spouses who have  been divorced for 10 years, and he has remarried a much younger woman.  During the weekend when their son graduates, they rekindle their relationship.  Meryl also has a burgeoning romance with her architect played by Steve Martin.  As the movie title says, It's Complicated.

There were several scenes in the movie that has us nearly on the floor with laughter, especially the scene you've seen a bit of in the trailer, where Meryl and Steve are stoned on pot at a party.  Hilarious!!

All three actors are excellent, the writing sparkles (Leap Year writers, take notes), and it is just a great movie to see with friends.  Meryl Streep's California house will have you drooling with envy.  That's what there is to drool over -- certainly not Alec Baldwin's hairy paunch!!  John Krasinski of The Office plays Meryl Streep's son-in-law, and he was also great.

I'm not sure younger audiences would find this movie quite as hilarious.  A group of young people left our showing in the middle. 

It was just a joy to see these three fantastic actors working together in a smart funny film.  Three and a half stars!

Leap Year - Mini Review

Let me just say that Matthew Goode in a Fisherman's Sweater, even with a scruffy beard, is no hardship to watch for an hour and a half.  I'm a sucker for a romantic comedy, and went out to see Leap Year to cheer myself up one night recently.  It's a decent enough Rom Com, even if it didn't have all the sparkle and cleverness I might have liked.  Really, after the excellence and newness of the writing in (500) Days of Summer, the standard formulaic romantic comedies come off a bit creaky.

You've seen the many commercials, so you know the set up.  Amy Adams sets off to Dublin to propose to her boyfriend of four years on Leap Year Day, a long Irish tradition.  Her plane is forced to land nowhere near Dublin due to a storm, and she hires Declan, played by Matthew Goode, to drive her across scenic Ireland to rejoin her fiance to be.  Madcap adventures ensue, and shock upon shock, she ends up with dishy Declan in the end.

I liked the movie well enough, and it's difficult to say if my sour mood going in shifted my perspective on the movie.  The one great kiss between Goode and Adams, when of course they are forced to pretend to be married to stay the night at the only B&B around for miles, was pretty darn hot.

But that was about it, not much sparks flying otherwise.  Amy Adams is beginning to wear on me a bit, too.  I adored her in Enchanted, where her perkiness was perfect.  After her turn in Julie & Julia, meh, not so much anymore.

Matthew Goode I have been praying would be in a romantic movie since way back when I first discovered him in Chasing Liberty with Mandy Moore. Yes, I actually own that DVD just because I fell in love with him in this scene, and it's more the talking than the kissing.

Please, Gods of Moviedom, get Matthew Goode a better romantic script, soon!  I haven't seen him in A Single Man yet, but although he looks dreamy in the trailer, that's not exactly what I have in mind.  Oh, I don't know, how about something crazy like chemistry with his co-star and a love scene, not a chaste kiss scene?   What about sharing a bed with a girl not just because he's forced to pretend to be married?  I know, I ask for the moon and the stars...

Leap Year I have to give only two and a half stars.  See it at a matinee with your gal pals, or just wait to rent.  Besides gorgeous Matthew, the Irish countryside scenery is pretty nice to look at, too.  Watch the trailer here.

Avatar - Mini-Review

I saw Avatar this weekend in 3D and it totally lived up to the hype.  We couldn't get into the IMAX showing, but I just couldn't wait to see this movie.  In a word, the movie is simply amazing, and incredibly beautiful.  Avatar does what movies should do -- it transported me to a different world.  The 3D was mostly subtle, and made me feel that I was truly in that forest on the planet of Pandora.

The story was a bit of Dances With Wolves in space, but James Cameron makes movies for the main stream audience.  My husband was deriding Titanic as we waited for the movie to begin, but I love that movie and all it's hokey plot lines.  James Cameron delivers something for everyone.  A little romance, a little action, stuff blowing up, and visuals that just plain stun.

The way that the motion capture and animation totally immersed me in the story, and never left me doubting these blue Na'vi 10 foot tall beings were real is just amazing.  I felt walking out of that movie like I did after seeing the first Matrix film with all the bullet time effects.  I had just seen something totally new, and game changing.  And I wasn't the only one.  Here's what Steven Spielberg said after seeing Avatar:

Steven Spielberg: “The last time I came out of a movie feeling that way it was the first time I saw Star Wars.” … “The most evocative and amazing science-fiction movie since Star Wars.”

This is a movie not based on a comic book, or a toy, or a sequel or spin off of something else.  The movie plot may be predictable, but it's an original movie, which seems very unusual these days.  I just love how the production team just let their imaginations run wild.  The planet of Pandora is full of visual surprises, and it's all fresh and new.

Sam Worthington was the best thing about Terminator Salvation as the Terminator who didn't believe he wasn't human.  He was very good here, and he's certainly an up and comer.  I was pleasantly surprised at what a large role Sigourney Weaver has in Avatar.  I thought she'd be not much more than a cameo, but she is in most of the movie and it's just great seeing her again.  Giovanni Ribisi twirled his mustache amusingly, too. 

The biggest disappointment in the film is the villain, the military Colonel played by Steve Lang.  As my husband said, he's too much of an archetype.  He's like a stock character, with no other motivation than, I'm military and bad ass therefore I get my way and enjoy killing people for the fun of it.  A wee bit of depth with him would have helped.

Even with that flaw, I give Avatar a resounding 4 stars.  See it on a big screen, and definitely in 3D.  It is an experience not to be missed.  This film could even garner best picture this year, making James Cameron king of the world again.  He should be lauded for what is a stunning achievement in film. 

The Blindside - Mini Film Review

A neighbor wanted to see The Blindside, so I went along, and was very glad I did.  Sandra Bullock gave a performance of spitfire Leigh Anne Tuohy worthy of an Oscar nomination.  I'd seen the trailer, and the movie looked schmaltzy, and being a sports film wasn't on my must see list.  It was the perfect movie for Thanksgiving weekend.  The theater on Friday night when we went to see it was absolutely packed, and the audience were all ages.  This is a true family film, with a little something for everyone.

What's absolutely amazing is that this is based on a completely true story. The wealthy Tuohy family of Memphis did adopt a homeless African-American teen named Michael Oher.  With their help and a tutor (Miss Sue played by Kathy Bates), he made it to Ole Miss on a football scholarship, and now plays pro-football for the Baltimore Ravens.  He was just drafted earlier this year!  It all hits you when the photographs at the end of the film during the credits show the real Michael and his family.

This was a real feel good film, and Sandra Bullock was just excellent as the spitfire Southern Belle Leigh Anne Tuohy.  She deserves an Oscar nomination for this role, and she had one of the best performances I've ever seen her do.  Tim McGraw was also surprisingly good as her "Yes, Dear" husband.

The real find was gentle giant Quinton Aaron as Michael Oher.  That must have been a challenging casting search.  I also really enjoyed Jae Head as SJ, the wise cracking little brother.  Yes, this family is a bit too good to be true, but the essence of the story is, in fact, true.

It's a heart warming tale that I give three stars.  You could wait for a rental, but this is a great choice to see this holiday season in the theater with your whole family.

Sandra Bullock said she spent one day with the real Leigh Anne, and she was simply exhausted trying to keep up with her!

Law Abiding Citizen - Mini-Review

I finally saw Law Abiding Citizen this weekend and it was the popcorn movie I needed  I'd had a horrible day.  I woke up to a flat tire and of course the husband was away, etc.  I needed a popcorn movie once I got my car back from the shop, and that's just what I got for my $9.50 ticket.  Plus we see this shot of a naked Gerard Butler, which was a nice bonus.

It's never really explained why Gerard gets naked just before he is arrested in the film for the only murder he commits while outside of jail.  I guess it was very obvious he was unarmed!!

We are sympathetic to Gerard's Clyde character from the very beginning of the film when we see two burglers rape and murder his daughter and wife.  Jamie Foxx's prosecutor doesn't want to spoil his 96% successful conviction stats, so he makes a deal which allows one of the murderers to go free.  Clyde just can't understand this, and plots 10 long years for his vengeance, on all of them, and the broken system to boot.  Jamie Foxx and the DA are attending the death row execution of one of the murderers when it goes horribly wrong.  How did Clyde get into that prison?  Then Darby, the other murderer is found dead and chopped up, Saw style.  Clyde has gone from mild mannered tinker, to psychotic killer.  There's a very nice prison confrontation scene between Foxx and Butler here:

Once Clyde has been arrested, more murders keep happening -- everyone who had anything to do with that plea deal murder case.  Your mind keeps wondering who might be his accomplice, and trying to figure out how he can carry out all his nefarious plans.  More and more murders happen in very surprising ways.  Maybe I'm just biased from following Gerry's career for so many years, but while there was suspense, I wasn't frightened of him anything like Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lecter behind those prison bars.  But there were scenes that surprised me, like the steak scene.  He turns from jovial and pleasant to murderous on a dime.

Yes, the plot becomes somewhat ridiculous, but then Liam Neeson's recent Taken was another popcorn vengeance movie that I enjoyed.  I can tell you that the setup of the film is not so far off.  Having been unfortunately involved in a family tragedy that's stalled in the courts, I find the deal making of Jamie Foxx's lawyer and his protection of his conviction rate all too real.

It's an enjoyable hour and a half at the movies, and has a nice little twist at the end.  Butler has the more showy role as the villain, but Jamie Foxx plays arrogant assitant DA very well.  It was nice seeing Colm Meany as a police detective and Violet Davis as the tough Philly mayor.

This was a passion project for Gerard Butler as it was his first film under his new production company with his manager, Evil Twins.  Despite being savaged by several critics, it's done decently in box office over the last two weekends.  F. Gary Gray had previously directed The Italian Job, another popcorn flick that I really enjoyed.  I give Law Abiding Citizen three stars.

Adventureland - Mini-Film Review

I finally rented Adventureland last week.  We couldn't get tickets for its premiere at Sundance last January, and somehow missed it this summer.  Greg Mottola, the writer/director, is the same one who made Superbad.  The trailer made it seems like it is a similar madcap raunchy comedy.  It's actually a much sweeter film than you would expect.

Jesse Eisenberg plays James, a recent college graduate with an English degree.  He's not qualified for many jobs, and with his family's changed financial circumstances he has to find a summer job.  The only thing left is working at the local amusement park Adventureland.  Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig play the hilarious owners.  Ryan Reynolds is the maintenance guy with the rep that he once jammed with Lou Reed.  James is immediately attracted to his fellow co-worker played by Kristen Stewart.  I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at how well she acted in this film.  She had much more range to show in this role, as she has a secret affair with the married Ryan Reynolds character.  It was interesting that Ryan Reynolds was playing kind of a sleazeball, too, as he has been so squeaky good guy in his recent Rom Coms.

Jesse Eisenberg's character is similar to every one that Michael Cera has ever played.  He's nerdy and a little naive, but somehow I found Jesse Eisenberg much more annoying to me than Michael Cera ever is.  He's supposed to still be a virgin after graduating college.  I suppose that's realistic, but I just found it difficult to swallow.

The plot is not completely predictable, and even the "sexpot" supporting character was allowed a little depth.  It's a lot of 80's nostalgia, too, especially with the music (a Foreigner cover band makes a funny appearance at one point).  I give it three stars for a surprisingly sweet story, and not just being a formula picture.  I won't, however, be going out of my way to see the next Jesse Eisenberg film.  Worth a rental.

Night Watch - Film Review

Serendipity arrived in my mailbox last week.  I had given up on Netflix ever sending me Nikolaj Coster-Waldau's Danish film Nightwatch, and ordered it from an Amazon Marketplace vendor.  They sent me the wrong movie - Timur Bekmambetov's Russian horror film, Night Watch (Nochnoy dozor), instead.

Being a big fan of Timur's film Wanted, I had Night Watch on my Netflix queue, but buried deep.  I had heard the buzz about Night Watch.  It was the first Russian blockbuster, and made Timur Bekmambetov's reputation as a director.  Amazon refunded my money for the mix up, but I thought I might as well watch the used DVD before I mailed it back. 

Night Watch is the first of a trilogy about the "Others", forces for light and dark who have formed a truce after an epic medieval battle.  The Night Watch patrols and tries to control the dark others (like vampires and witches).  The Day Watch does the same for the light others.  It's an urban fantasy set in modern day Moscow.  It's visually stunning and inventive, just as Timur's work in Wanted is, but here he had to be even more creative on a more limited budget.  It's not the scariest horror vampire film ever, but it has an interesting world, based on a series of Russian novels.  Anton, the main character, we first meet in 1992, when he seeks out a witch to try to get his wife back.  He makes a bargain with her that could tip the balance in the eternal struggle between the light and dark others.  He discovers that he is an "Other" himself when he suddenly can see the witch struggling with members of the Night Watch (dressed as workers for the Moscow Light Company).

You feel like there's all sorts of back story you're not getting, and as Timur says in the commentary, you're only getting the tip of the iceberg, as this is the set up for the trilogy.  I liked that there was mystery about lots of things.  It was intriguing.  Anton is an agent of the Light Others, but he lives across the hall from a family of vampires, and seems to be friends with them.  It's not explained, and obviously is fodder for the future movies.

What I really loved about the film is its innate Russian-ness.  I rewatched the film with Timur's commentary, and there are lots of things that American audiences wouldn't catch.  There is a huge "Vortex" threatening Moscow, and it's shown by swirling huge flocks of crows.  In Russian, the words for "crow" and "vortex" are nearly the same.  The Night Watch uses big yellow utility trucks which evidently are everywhere in Moscow, and are known for being slow and old fashioned.  In the movie, the trucks are practically turbo charged rockets, and one does a complete flip.  Look at this creepy Russian doll made into a spider creature.  In the commentary, Timur said this was a common doll from his childhood.

Is this the best movie ever?  No, but it has a great visual style, and is quite an entertaining film.  Timur said in the commentary that journalists and film critics hated it because they "didn't know where to put it on the shelf".  It's not just genre (horror).  Timur said with a chuckle that he views it as an art house film.  It's very Russian in the settings, and yet you can see all the American film influences.  I felt like it was a Russia I had never seen before -- not all the Kremlin square Cold War spy movie shots we usually get.  It created a sensation in Russia, and some said it was too American, while others said it was too Russian.  The DVD gives you the option of watching in Russian with subtitles or dubbed in English.  Watch the subtitled version, as the subtitles are some of the most inventive I've ever seen.  When a vampire calls to a little boy, the subtitles turn red and dissolve like blood mist.  When one vampire sharply yells, the word explodes in size on the screen.

Timur Bekmambetov made this film for Russian audiences, and never expected it to be seen outside his country.  It ended up being released in theaters all over the world.  This is one DVD worth seeking out.  I give it three stars and a strong recommendation.  I've already added the sequel, Day Watch, to my Netflix queue.  Watch the trailer, below, to get a taste.



And I'm still on my quest for the Danish Nightwatch!

The Informant! - Film Review

The Informant! is a very interesting film. I read in an interview with Matt Damon, that Steven Soderbergh told him that they couldn't remake The Insider with this movie, and boy, they sure didn't. The Insider, with Russell Crowe as the whistle blower, was a tense suspenseful drama. Matt Damon's Mark Whitacre seems to think he's in that kind of a movie at all times, but Soderbergh has found a deft comedic tone for this film. It's not a laugh out loud comedy, but similar to a wry Coen Brothers film. The craziest thing about The Informant! is that it's based on a true story. Mark Whitacre worked with the FBI for over two years to expose the lysine price fixing at Arthur Daniel Midlands. This story was all over our local papers in Chicago at the time, but I had no idea the twists and turns that it took.

Roger Ebert found this quote in the Decatur paper from Mark Whitacre:

“It's like I was two people. I assume that's why they chose Matt Damon for the movie, because he plays those roles that have such psychological intensity. In the ‘Bourne' movies, he doesn't even know who he is.”

Mark Whitacre went to the FBI with information about the price fixing, and seemed to delude himself that by being the whistle blower he would end up running the company. He was a very highly paid executive in the company, and Soderbergh filmed in his actual mansion in Decatur, Illinois.

Matt Damon is amazing in the film. He walks that fine line, fooling his bosses by being such a blunderbus. Matt Damon had only a few moments to show his comedic talents in the Oceans Eleven films, and this film is his showpiece. With the crowded field this year, I don't know if he will garner an Oscar nomination, but he deserves one. At one point in the trial, Matt Damon says the exact words that Whitacre said in his statement to the court, but Soderbergh asked him to do it as if it was an Oscar awards acceptance speech. We'll see if he gets to give a real one.

Scott Bakula is perfect as the FBI agent, and his partner is Joel McHale from Talk Soup. I was also amused to see both Smothers brothers in cameos (Tom is the judge.)

I give this film three and a half stars. It's very entertaining. Interestingly, Mark Whitacre is still married to Ginger and he's CEO of his own company.

Fame (2009) - Film Review

Straight up I will tell you not to pay a dime to see this new version of Fame.  I went with two girlfriends to see Fame this weekend, and due to scheduling issues we couldn't even pay the matinee price.  Believe me, we lamented that wasted $10 many times that evening.  We are children of the 80's with very fond memories of the original movie, and the television series.  We saw the new Fame with visions of nostalgia.  We laughed through the movie, but not for the right reasons -- and also because someone was practically coughing up a lung in the front row throughout the entire film.

It is a pale, milquetoast imitation of the original movie.  The kids are talented enough, I suppose, but only Naturi Naughton as Denise stood out for me.  There were so many characters and you flipped so quickly from story to story, that I couldn't have cared less about any of them.  By the end, it didn't matter to me what happened to these kids, and I know I didn't feel that way in the original.  Bebe Neuwirth and Megan Mullalley I suppose were the best used teachers, but I remember much more fireworks between teachers and students.

I think the class and race issues had much more relevance and resonance in the 80's version.  Is it really remarkable that a kid who wants to do electronic music and rap is in a performance school anymore?  In a world with Andre 3000 is it really news?

Perhaps if they had pared down the story lines and focused on a just a few of the kids, it would have made a difference.  This was a train wreck both in the script, direction, and editing.  Did we really need to see the quirky wanna-be director get scammed?  He should have been just an amusing sidekick and his story edited way down.  We never saw enough development of the mousy actress girl -- I can't even remember her character's name now, and couldn't in the movie either -- to know why she suddenly blossomed at graduation and could sing.  She just grew up?  How dramatic!

My friend wondered how Debbie Allen could possibly be involved and "let this happen", but once an actor signs on, they have no control over the final product.  You can't save a movie with two scenes as the tough principal.

At best, watch this on cable, but do not pay to even rent it.  1 and a half stars.

Gamer - Mini-review

I saw Gamer last night and it made me physically ill. The movie itself wasn't that bad, and there isn't Saving Private Ryan levels of gore, but the camera work made me nauseous. Nauseous for hours after so that I had to chew on ginger candy trying to get rid of it. I haven't felt that way since Blair Witch Project. Your senses are assaulted in this adrenaline rush of a movie, and at many points it's quick camera, shaky camera, swooping camera work that makes you feel like you are in one of those video games like Gears of War. Gamer is the title, after all. Maybe I'm just old. I love a good rollercoaster, but man, bring some dramamine if you don't play these types of video games.

/Film recently interviewed the director-writer team (the same ones who made the cult hit Crank) about their guerilla directing style:

Neveldine: It’s how we started, yeah. We love it. It’s like a battlefield to us. We both have a camera in our hands, and we like to be in the explosions. And when the guns are going off, we’re putting the camera right in the gunman’s face. It’s just stuff we can really play and have fun with. And we like to move fast because, by the way, your crew and your actors appreciate it when you know what you want as a director and can move fast and keep that high energy up for, you know, less than ten hours. We’re not working people 16 to 24 hours days, which a lot of people do.

Taylor: We get easily bored, too. As you can tell from watching the Crank movies, we’re pretty A.D.D. So if we weren’t actually holding the cameras and doing all of the stunt stff and action stuff ourselves then I don’t know what we would do on set. We’d go crazy. We have to always be moving, we have to always be shooting.

Uh, yeah. My stomach could tell that you always have to be moving guys. Gerard Butler even said the directors would be following him through explosions on roller blades holding their cameras. The action is always adrenaline pumping, and definitely R-rated for blood splattering, and bodies exploding. The gore wasn't what set off my queasiness.

This film was okay, but for someone of my age, it doesn't feel original. Prisoner trapped in a televised game show fighting for his life - Running Man, anyone? Or even Death Race with Jason Statham just last year. Maybe my standards are just too high but this summer we had both Star Trek and District 9, two exceptional Sci-Fi films. Yes, we had some spots of humor in Gamer like the beyond bizarre Sammy Davis Jr. "I've Got You Under My Skin" dance number with Michael C. Hall and company, but not the many satisfying moments we had in Star Trek. They're beating on the theme of the evils of video games and taking them to the extreme, but it left me kind of meh, not talking about it for hours like District 9's allegory to apartheid.

Gerard Butler did what was asked of him -- look and act like a bad ass action star, but the script didn't leave him much room to do much else, not unlike the controllers in the Slayers game. One very unique way to start a truck with an empty gas tank does not a "Yippekiyay, MF" moment make.

There was a parade of interesting actors in very minor roles. I spotted John de Lancie (Q from Star Trek!) as some sort of TV producer. Ludacris plays the leader of the Humanz resistance, and John Leguizamo had a small part as a fellow prisoner. Milo Ventimiglia of Heroes had a very small role as Rick Rape (a kind of Sims character) and had barely groped himself in his latex pants before Gerard's Kable snapped him in half like a twig. It made me wonder if the directors have some actor fans of Crank, and people asked to have a walk on part.

I enjoyed Kyra Sedgwick in her jaded TV host role, and Michael C. Hall knows how to play creepy very well. He made a good villain. Even the young kid who played Simon, the 17 year old who controls Kable (Butler) in the video game was good as an arrogant rich kid. (Trivia note - the Simon character wears a Crank t-shirt at one point.) Individual components of this film I liked, but the whole didn't add up to anything special for me.

I give this film 2 1/2 stars. As a Gerard Butler film, there was no doubt I'd be there opening weekend. I was surprised to see that the theater we saw it in was pretty empty. I went to a weeknight showing of Inglourious Basterds, and that was packed. What gives? Well, it's Labor Day weekend, great weather, and I know most of the high school aged kids in my town had a football game to be at on Friday night. They also didn't screen this movie for critic reviews, and even the fan boy blogs are mostly silent about Gamer. I don't know if this movie is going to do very good box office this weekend. It may do better on DVD, as Crank did.

Inglourious Basterds - Mini-review

I saw Inglourious Basterds earlier this week, and I've just been letting it sink in. I think I need to see it again because there is so much going on, that I know I didn't catch it all.

First off, it's an excellent film -- and also a lot of fun. From the trailers and many commercials, you know the set up. Brad Pitt's Aldo Raine leads a group of American Jews in Nazi occupied France looking for Nazi scalps. The Germans call them the "Basterds". Horror director Eli Roth plays one of the "basterds" who is known as the Bear Jew, and his choice of weapon is a baseball bat.

What you haven't seen in the commercials is the character of Col. Landa, "The Jew Hunter," sent to find all the hidden Jews left in France. Landa is played by Christoph Waltz, an actor known for TV work in Germany, who won the best actor award at Cannes for this role. Waltz is simply amazing as Landa. Waltz, a German, also speaks French and English fluently. Tarantino said he despaired of finding a German actor for this role, as they couldn't speak the English parts well enough. He told NPR's Fresh Air, "What I write is a kind of poetry, and I needed someone who could speak my English lines like poetry." As Waltz auditioned with the first scene of the movie, minutes in, Tarantino knew he had found his Landa. It's a tour de force performance, and I hope earns him a nomination for supporting actor for this film. He charms, and also has just this lethal edge to him the entire time. Watching him eat streudel and fussing with a cigarette in one scene, you're fascinated, and terrified for the other character he's questioning. He simply owns every scene he's in, including those with Brad Pitt.

Ah, Brad Pitt as Aldo Raines. He just chews up his part as the Southern boy leader of this band of basterds. Total fun to see him in this part - "And I want my scalps!" I also loved Michael Fassbender as Hilcox, a former film critic (!) sent on a spy mission to pose as a German officer. He explains his accent away to some Germans by saying he was in the movie, Die weiße Hölle vom Piz Palü, (The White Hell of Piz Palu) a movie about a mountain disaster in the Alps. I actually looked up clips from that movie on YouTube, and notably, it's a silent film! Michael Fassbender is very funny in this movie, and it's great to see him have a chance to show a sense of humor for once.

There are so many movie references that fly by in this movie. It's a movie about movies, from the Spaghetti Western music used, to the movie theater that plays a prominent part in the plot. I actually laughed out loud at one point because of the music Tarantino chose to use -- David Bowie's "Putting out Fire (with Gasoline)" from Cat People! I have to say, it made sense at that point of the film, but it was just crazy, too. Brad Pitt's character has a noose scar that is never ever explained in the film, but is yet another film reference to a Clint Eastwood western.

I read this great review of Inglourious Basterds on Spoutblog before I saw the film, and I kept thinking about what Karina Longworth had pointed out. This is a film about propaganda and rumors.

The film’s guiding spirit is encapsulated in an exclamation by Landa in the first scene: “I love rumors! Facts can be so misleading.” Tarantino has made a movie about World War II filtered through rumor — verbally-transmitted urban legends, to be precise. There is no casual conversation in Inglourious Basterds; virtually every scene involves an interrogation and a chance for someone to brag about and/or live up to their reputation. Conscious of the world they live in — ie, not Hitlers, not ours, but Tarantino’s — characters on both sides of the divide take an active role in their own myth-making, to make sure that word gets out as to who they are and why they are to be feared, and everyone takes great pride in knowing that word is getting around. The film’s most oft repeated phrase is “What have you heard?”

Longworth saw the film at Cannes, and hated it, and then she watched it again and gained a new appreciation for Tarantino's film.

Tarantino has made a WWII fable, and we're tipped off to this by the beginning, "Once upon a time, in occupied France..." He's made his own revenge fantasy and rewritten history, but it's not just about that. There are layers and layers here, and it's going to take multiple viewings for me to puzzle them out. I won't say much more, because it's just fun to watch the plot lay out. Since it's Quentin Tarantino, you're never quite sure just what's going to happen next, but you know that you'll have a great time watching it.

Four stars, and I urge you to see it in a theater so you can experience it with an audience. Didn't August used to be the dumping ground for bad films? Certainly not this year! I hope we see Christoph Waltz again come Awards season -- and in more films to come. What a treasure Quentin has unearthed!

District 9 - Mini-review

District 9 is quite simply one of the best and most original Sci-fi movies I have seen in years, and quite possibly decades.

We should all be thanking our stars that the production of Halo, a movie adaptation of the video game, fell through. First time feature director Neill Blomkamp was disappointed when that project with producer Peter Jackson ended, but Peter Jackson urged him to do another film with him right away. Neill Blomkamp wrote the script for District 9 based on a short film he had previously done, Alive in Joburg, that he showed to Jackson.

Neill Blomkamp spent the first 18 years of his life in South Africa, and Johannesburg is the setting of District 9. When the film starts, a huge alien space ship has been hanging over the city for years. The aliens did not attack, but arrived starving and were sent to live in the slums of "District 9." Those familiar with the history of apartheid know that the coloreds of Johannesburg were sent to live in District 6. The setting of the film is so key in what makes it original. This is a film that was not filmed in Vancouver, like it seems every other film is. It's unfamiliar territory for us, and everyone speaks with that slight Afrikaans accent. The actors are all unknown, which led me to fall completely under the spell of the story. I wasn't taken out of this world thinking, oh yeah, there's Brad Pitt or Bruce Willis being a badass. In fact, the main actor of the film, Sharlto Copley, had never acted before. He was a friend of the director, a news and TV producer, who he had asked to stand in for some test footage. He did so well at improvising, that he got the role of Wikus Van De Merwe. That name is important, because in South Africa, Van De Merwe is the name used in Afrikaans jokes -- sort of like the dumb blond. A Van De Merwe is a doofus, and he certainly starts the film that way, bumbling around.

The aliens are called "prawns" and discriminated against, because they do look rather creepy. It's Wikus' job to move them to a new district further out of the city. The film is set up as if it's a documentary or TV news show about Wikus and what happened with the aliens, interspersed with interviews. It feels a little like Cloverfield, in that the footage is lots of hand held footage and some is from security cameras. It feels very visceral like you are right there as it happens. The other notable choice the director made is that the aliens are shown in broad daylight. How tired are we all of dim, dark, murky spaceship corridors where aliens jump out from around the corner. This, finally, is a different perspective.

I won't tell much more about the movie, because part of the fun of watching it is that it is an unconventional story, so you're not sure what's going to happen next! The parallels to apartheid are what gives this sci-fi film layers. It's a shoot-em-up action film, too, but it's actually about something. like all the best sci-fi stories.

I cannot recommend this film highly enough. I give it four stars, and urge you to catch it in a theater to get the full effect. I hope we see some Oscar nominations for this film, too. The director has left the door open with the ending for a sequel, or maybe even a prequel. My husband thinks it is perfect just as it is and hopes there won't be a sequel, but I wouldn't mind visiting Blomkamp's world again and seeing what happened next!

What is amazing is that with merely a $30 million budget film, Blomkamp has taken the box office by storm. Again, I'm so glad that the much more expensive Halo collapsed so that he could make this film under the radar, without studio interference, and totally his own vision. It's a true original, and that is a very rare thing.

The Hurt Locker - Mini-review

Over the last years, I have avoided most movies about Iraq. This summer, I started hearing buzz about the film The Hurt Locker that grew and grew. The buzz centered on the director of the film, Kathryn Bigelow, who is almost certain to garner a best director Oscar nod. I have never seen her work before, but she is known for action films going back to Point Break with Keanu Reeves. My husband read about the film, too, and maybe I was just finally ready to see a movie about the war. The film slowly went from very limited release to reach us in the 'burbs.

This is an amazing film, and I am so glad I overcame my thing about Iraq war films to go see it. It is so filled with suspense that I was on the edge of my seat nearly the entire time, but there are no cheap tricks as you would find in a regular Hollywood film. The Hurt Locker is about a very elite unit that defuses roadside bombs in Iraq. They get a new member of their crew, Sgt. James, and he is both very, very good at diffusing bombs, and also an incredible risk taker. The other members of the crew are counting down the days until they can go home, and terrified every time they have to face another day under fire, but Sgt. James seems to live for the adrenaline rush and the danger.

The main characters in the film are played by mostly unknowns. Jeremy Renner who plays Sgt. James has done some other films and TV work, but he was new to me, so I was completely absorbed by the story. He is excellent, and I expect we'll be seeing more great roles for him. A few key supporting characters are played by bigger names like Guy Pearce, David Morse and Ralph Fiennes as a special ops guy. It all feels extraordinarily real, as the filming was done in Jordan. You could not replicate the kind of atmosphere for those street scenes on a studio set, and many of the extras are played by Iraqi refugees.

Everyone should see this film. Just as an action movie, it has enough to satifsy, but it is more, much more. It's very interesting to me that a woman director has made such an insightful movie about male soldiers, with very few female characters in it. Bigelow is an amazing director, and I hope she wins the best Oscar for directing. It's that good. Four stars!!

Watch the opening minutes of this fantastic film to get a sense of what I'm talking about. This is not a film to be missed. You will be hearing about this film come Oscar season, mark my words.