Movie Reviews For Grownups

POETRY (2010) D

2012-02-11T00:40:00.000-05:00

Korean

Got great reviews from critics. Sandy and I though is was painfully slow and tedious. Story was good but direction horrid.
From RottTom: A sixty-something woman, faced with a crippling medical diagnosis and the discovery of a heinous family crime, finds strength and purpose when she enrolls in a poetry class. Lee Chang-dong's follow-up to his acclaimed Secret Sunshine is a masterful study of the subtle empowerment - and moral compass - of an elderly woman. -- (C) Kino

CHERRY BLOSSOMS (2008) B

2012-02-11T00:19:00.000-05:00

Foreign: German, Japanese

Very unique movie mainly suited for patrons of offbeat "art " theaters. Deals with a stereotypical and boring German 60ish couple who have lived conventional lives defined by their society. Children, work, retirement, etc, etc. Always putting off what they may have wanted to do in a fantasy life. As it turns out , the distaff side of this couple always had dreams of becoming a kabuki dancer . . . but denied those dreams to take care of others needs. Without going into greater detail, the message of the movie is you better enjoy life to it's fullest NOW , WHILE YOU ARE ALIVE. Good message for many people I know and have known.

Excellent and realistic depiction of adult children being bored to tears when their parents invade their home for an extended "visit".

This is a MUST SEE if you are a student of cinema arts

A DANGEROUS METHOD (2011) F

2012-02-06T22:37:00.000-05:00

This movie was about the relationship between Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud. Sandy and I paid our $10 even though it received mediocre reviews by the Rotten Tomato critics. I thought the reviewers may have not liked it because of the subject matter . . . which interested us.

The movie was horrid. No character development, no explanation of the essence of the new psychotherapy, could not understand what the disagreements between Freud and Jung were about . . . random conversations about dreams interlaced with Jung's soap opera affair with one of his patients. Incoherent screenplay and nonexistent direction. And of course no ending. A scene is completed and credits roll.

I can't imagine who who put up money to produce this god awful film.

.

REVANCHE (2008) C

2012-01-31T00:11:00.001-05:00

Foreign; German

Interesting but slow moving movie involving the intersection of the lives of people living in rural Austria. Very weak ending. Needs significant rewrite. Producers probably ran out of money and in desperation sent the scenes to the editor. Lots of frontal nudity. Good cinematography. Critics loved it. Would never sell in the USA. Received an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.

From Netflix: In a ragged section of Vienna, an ex-con works as an assistant in a brothel, where he falls for Ukrainian hooker Tamara . They hope for escape (to a better life), but their plans unexpectedly intersect with the lives of a rural cop and his seemingly content wife . Austrian Director Götz Spielmann's Oscar-nominated drama is a tense, existential, and moving portrait of vengeance and redemption.

THE ARTIST (2011) D

2012-01-21T23:51:00.000-05:00

A total waste of time. This is a silent movie that I expected to be MORE than a dumb, childish plot silent movie from the 1920's. Unforunately, it wasn't. It turned out to be a dumb, childish plot silent movie from the 1920's. I was expecting something unique to happen . . . but the sctreenplay was totally and absolutly uncreative.
Did not get an F because movie created scenes of Hollywood in the 20's.

Got good reviews on Rotten Tomatoes . . thats why I invested $5 and 2 hours of my precious time

CHERRY BLOSSOMS (2008) B

2012-01-06T19:47:00.000-05:00

RIDING ALONE FOR THOUSANDS OF MILES (2005) B+

2011-12-29T23:25:00.001-05:00

Foreign; Chinese, Japanese

Very unique film about relationships between people. This movie is a fine example of the ART of film making. May not be for everyone . . . especially those who seek action filled scenes. Starts off slowly but stick with it. Includes the dramatic elements of silent films where facial expressions by themselves and background scenes provide major elements in the story. A+ for cinematography. Should be part of the curriculum of an academic course in movie making.

From Netflix: Hoping to mend a deep rift with his dying son, steely Japanese fisherman Gouichi Takada (Ken Takakura) sets off for a remote province in China to fulfill his son's dream in this gentle drama helmed by Yimou Zhang. Despite the obstacles in Takada's path -- including a language barrier and government red tape -- he's determined to complete his son's unfinished documentary by filming a jailed Chinese folk-opera star performing a classic ballad.

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE (2011) FFF-

2011-12-29T00:34:00.000-05:00

In my movie review site, http://moviereviewsforover55ers.blogspot.com/
I clearly say, "Before renting a DVD or going to your local movie theater, PLEASE READ THESE REVIEWS. The intent is to provide movie reviews for the mature adult. Don't waste your time and money on heavily advertised, unfunny, childish, hyped and poorly edited films with big "Stars".

This movie was specifically designed for children who enjoy the brutality, maiming and killing contained in the worst video games. I can understand the Action-Adventure film world (James Bond), but this goes way, way beyond that level. The so-called plot revives cold war nuclear bomb issues between the old Soviet Union and the US, and most of the dialog is just pseudo-scientific incomprehensible gibberish.

But the worst, worst part is that the movie got good ratings from the critics. See, http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mission_impossible_ghost_protocol/.
WHAT DOES THAT SAY ABOUT WHO WE ARE?

TOGETHER (2002) A

2011-12-23T23:35:00.001-05:00

Foreign; Chinese

This emotionally moving film tells the story of a poor rural father and his violin prodigy son who travel to Bejing so the boy can have the opportunity to become a great concert violinist. Similar to other Chinese movies where both the potential for personal growth and the stark difference between rural and city culture . . . in the new China of today . . . is strongly emphasized. Excellent cinematography, acting and music. In my opinion the Chinese movie industry is really showing itself to be masters of storytelling and film making. Are we now going to outsource moving making to China also?

THE WOMEN ON THE 6TH FLOOR (2011) B-

2011-12-21T23:32:00.001-05:00

Foreign, French

Many, many friends recommended I see this film , which was rated only 60% by Rotten Tomatoes . . . which was a warning. Takes place in Paris, 1960. The best I can say about it is that is was pleasant entertainment. A good Hallmark Hall OF Fame TV Special. Plenty of schmaltz. Plot was from the Cary Grant movies of the 1930's where the stereotypical rich live much shallower lives than the maids and butlers who sleep on the 6th floor. (BBC Upstairs /Downstairs all over again). Cinematography average. Acting OK. Worth the 5 bucks I paid for it.

IN A BETTER WORLD (2010) B

2011-12-16T15:14:00.001-05:00

Foreign; Danish

A typical low key Danish film. Very cerebral. Lots of feel good and bad stuff but no real detail about the motivations of the people.
FROM OTHER REVIEWS: This film follows a Swedish doctor raising his sons in Denmark, as he struggles with the themes of right and wrong, fighting for what you believe in, foolish pride, revenge, justice, friendship, death, failure, quitting, and hopelessness. . The film uses the scenarios as a symbol of similar themes on a global scale and humanity in general, as we see the doctor faced with analogous scenarios in a Sudanese medical camp The movie tackles the issues of bullying at the child, adult and even political levels.

J. EDGAR (2011) B+

2011-12-10T00:13:00.000-05:00

J. Edgar is a pseudo-documentary about the public and private life of the leader and the originator of the FBI. He is a perfect example of the average American politician. He was sort of the comic face of federal law enforcement in America for almost fifty years. This movie (and other references) depict him a a closet homosexual who had psychotic symptoms that possibly led from the suppression of who he really was sexually.

Hoover helped create the image of the FBI as a large and efficient crime-fighting agency. Unfortunately, he was so obsessed with what he considered the "communist conspiracy" to overthrow our government, the FBI didn't fight Prohibition and organized crime in an effective manner. He did however, institute a number of modernizations to police technology, such as a centralized fingerprint file and forensic laboratories.

The movie also deals with him illegally exceeding the jurisdiction of the FBI and using the FBI to to amass secret files on the wrongdoings of political leaders so as to harass and blackmail them and remain in power. A true American patriot!

History will ultimately remember him as an example of a failure mode of our political system.

AFTERSHOCK B (Warren) , A (Sandy) (2010)

2011-12-07T10:06:00.001-05:00

Foreign, Chinese

Based around the effect of the devastating Tangshan Earthquake of 1976. This is a "formula chock flix" movie that has pluses and minus.
Pluses: Excellent presentation of relationships between members of traditional Chinese families . . . and the effect of modernization of the cultural world on those relationships. Lots of realist displays of emotions between family members. Expect to shed some tears Excellect depiction of the growth of the physical China over the last 40 years.

Minuses: If you have seen other Chinese movies, this one is very predicable. Minor point: It's politically correct. i.e Chinese government response to natural disasters have been perfect.

Other Reviewers:
Aftershock is a gruelling and sombre watch, occasionally over-wrought and melodramatic, yet an absorbing and thought-provoking insight into the consequences of human catastrophe.

A very old-fashioned but stirring movie about family values. A gateway into the tastes and values of Chinese society unlike the typical Chinese film export geared to Western audiences.

It's schlock, but on such a grand scale that it's quite fun to allow yourself to be carried along on its tsunami of emotion.

ENTRE NOS (2009) B

2011-12-03T23:33:00.001-05:00

Foreign; Spanish

Unrelenting pain. Deadly sad story. From Netflix: Inspired by true events, Paola Mendoza and Gloria La Morte's deeply-personal family drama follows one devoted mother's quest to provide for her two beloved children after being abandoned in a strange new land. Columbia native Mariana (Mendoza) and her two children have just arrived in Queens, NY to be with her husband when he announces he'll be leaving for Miami and they're not welcome to join him. Left to fend for herself and her two young children in an unfamiliar city and no friends. Before long, Mariana has found a way to make some money through recycling, and her 10 year old son has stepped up to the task of becoming both father and brother to his impressionable young sister.

POETRY (2010) D

2011-12-03T16:21:00.000-05:00

THE WAITRESS A

2011-12-03T15:40:00.001-05:00

Story about a lovely, capable (country western type) woman caught in a bad marriage. The movie is about her growth, which leads to a final outcome (which I will not reveal).
A low budget film that shows good creativity does not need a budget of tens of millions to produce an excellent movie.
Obviously does not have the polish of a high budget film in the sound editing and music background, but that is overcome by the real "earthy " people that you will meet. Because of these technical drawbacks, I can't nominate it for the best movie of the year.

BLACK BOOK B+

2011-12-03T15:30:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, catastrophes like wars create human situations unlike any other, From these wars comes books and stories that are sometimes hard to believe. This movie is based on a true story of Jewish women that infiltrates the Gestapo for the Dutch resistance movement. Set in the fall of 1944, in Holland, it includes people who sell out others for money.

Well done, real and painful as you would expect. Without diminishing the unbelievable aspects of human emotion and survival depicted, the movie does not get an A because it's similar to the ten's of millions of other stories to come out of the horro r of war.

Rudo y Cursi (2009) B+

2011-12-03T15:27:00.001-05:00

Spanish with subtitles

This movie reminded me of Slumdog Millionaire. It's the rags to riches . . . to not so rich . . . story.

It opens with poor, uneducated and unsophisticated brothers working in a banana plantation in Mexico, with dreams of better life. They get lucky and are lifted into the world of big time soccer, which includes easy money, easy women, wine, song and gambling. You've seen this plot before If you know the history Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry.

The movie is honest in it's depiction of family life of the poorer Mexicans . . . that everyone who was brought up without a silver spoon in their mouth, can relate to.

Moves fast, people are real, very exciting at times, and should be put on your MUST SEE list . . . if you can accept lesser quality cinematography and subtitles.

MARGIN CALL (2011) A

2011-11-17T19:17:00.000-05:00

Excellent movie about the actions of wall street "professionals" during the beginning of the 2008 financial meltdown. Leaves the impression that almost everyone in the business knew they were packaging garbage mortgages and selling them off to naive buyers. Very sad tale of a system that supports greed and financial manipulations (bets) with no socially redeeming value. Obama, (our wonderful agent of CHANGE) has shown us that you cannot depend on the politicians to protect you or indict the criminals.

Also don't expect to leave the theater with confidence that the financial system is self regulating or stable. The warning is: If you have any money in pensions or 401 (k), become educated in at least some of the aspects of financial management. IT IS YOUR MONEY AT RISK!!

Good acting and screenplay for a difficult to tell story.

SAVIORS IN THE NIGHT (2011) A

2011-11-09T00:19:00.001-05:00

Foreign, German Subtitles

Very special . . . one-of-a-kind movie about German people during WWII. Unfortunately, it takes 50 years for people to come to grips with the horror of making war on others.

Very well acted drama about Jews on the run and German farmers caught up in the terror of hiding Jews. As you would expect, this is not pleasant entertainment.

If you are interested in how and why good, law abiding people get involved in killing others, I suggest you read, or listen to, "The Lucifer effect : Understanding how good people turn evil by Philip G. Zimbardo". Not well edited. Better to listen to parts on CD.

Saviors in the Night is based on the experiences of Marga Spiegel, whose memoirs became a bestseller in Germany. She is currently 98 years old and still lives in Germany.

SIN NOMBRE (Without Name) (2009) B++

2011-11-03T17:40:00.002-04:00

Foreign, Spanish, subtitles

This painful but excellent movie is about Hispanic people attempting to get into the USA. (To be honest, if I was a poor boy in a third world country . . . and only a couple of hundred miles from the United States . . . I would spend all my energies trying to get across the border). The film was difficult to watch because of scenes of brutality and privation.

Unfortunately, the movie overwhelms the senses because it tries to deal with so many issues . . . wide-spread poverty, transportation to the United States on the tops of freight trains, Mexican gang culture and violence, family relationships in an alien world, etc. One only wonders if this depicts the real world in Central America and Mexico. I don't know. As an aside, after seeing Sholom Aleichem, I also wonder if it was this horrible for many immigrant groups to make it to American . . . such as the Jews from Russia in the 1890's or Armenians from Turkey? Maybe so. We only know the people who made it. What about those do didn't?

The cinematography is outstanding. Realistic Mexican towns, railroads and landscapes. Some of the romantic relationships are a little far fetched. Even so, this is a very important, a must see, movie . . . for those that can take the pain.

INCENDIES (2011) AA & B

2011-10-28T15:38:00.001-04:00

Foreign, subtitles

There are two parts to this movie. The documentary part, that is rated AA, and the storyline part that is rated B.

The documentary part provides an excellent picture of the culture, geography and mindset of the middle east and it's people. From "honor killings, to the hardscrabble homes the people live in. Absolutely and totally different than western values. If anyone thinks that the the "Arab Spring" will bring democratic capitalism to middle east Arab countries, just see this movie. It will change you mind . . . fast. The rape of the CBS reporter Lara Logan during the celebration in Cairo WAS NOT AN ANOMALY. It should have been easily predicted

The screen play part of the movie is about the horrible brutalization of an Arab women. Many flashbacks and flash forwards make the film difficult to follow, however, the acting and direction are excellent. Parts of the narrative do not make sense chronologically but this movie is a MUST SEE from the sociological standpoint.

After viewing this movie one could ask why a western oriented society of secular Jewish people ever decided to settle in the middle east.

THE SECRET OF THE GRAIN (2007) D with caveats

2011-10-28T00:31:00.000-04:00

Foreign, French, Subtitles

Wasn't all bad. Various segments were interesting and worth watching. Wonderful acting by some French women. In fact, this movie was probably made as a showcase for the actors and the cinematographer. Unfortunately it was long, ponderous and had no meaningful ending. Mostly emotional interactions between family members. Hard to believe that the dialogue in the screenplay between dysfunctional family members was not improvised.

Just when you expected it to move to a new scene . . . it slipped away into ramblings by family members.

With better editing it could have been a B grade movie. Many "professional" critics liked it. Just proves you have to be very careful when using the ratings of the professionals.

SHOLEM ALEICHEM (2011) A-

2011-10-27T01:07:00.002-04:00

Documentary

I went to see this movie expecting to see a regular film. It turned out that this piece was a documentary about the life of Sholem Aleichem . . . with experts in Yiddish Literature talking over stills of the world he lived in Russia in the late 1800's. Something that you would expect to see on PBS. It was very good but not great. Just a very small (but important) piece of the history of the Jewish people.

(From other reviews). Sholem Aleichem was a rebellious genius who created an entirely new literature and whose stories became the basis of the Broadway musical, "Fiddler on the Roof." Plumbing the depths of a Jewish world locked in crisis and on the cusp of profound change, he captured that world with brilliant humor. Aleichem was not just a witness to the creation of a new modern Jewish identity, but one of the very men who forged it.

THE EDGE OF HEAVEN (2007) B-

2011-10-23T16:59:00.001-04:00

Foreign, Turkey, Subtitles

Wonderful movie if you are looking for a slice of life in Turkey and Germany. Film describes the intersection of the lives of a group of very interesting people. Scenery and characterizations were great. Unfortunately, there was no story, plot and/or narrative except people doing things together and separately. It's amazing that the movie earned best screenplay honors at Cannes. Just shows what these honors and awards really mean

FOYLE'S WAR: (2002 - 2010) B+

2011-10-19T15:11:00.000-04:00

FOYLE'S WAR is the BBC TV series that ran for may years in England. If you are into relaxed and entertaining TV, with some suspense and actors and stories that are engrossing and fun . . . this is for you. Available from Amazon and NETFLIX.

(From Amazon) It is a 1940-45 Southern England countryside experience not to be missed. It serves as a home-front view documentary of the English WWII involvement and resulting life-style of the population away from the active war front. This series begins in May, 1940 when all England expects an eminent invasion from Germany. You'll learn lots about the British WW2 home-war preparedness.

Only problem I had with the series was with the dammed broken English that some of the "lower classes" speak. Caused me to miss some of the dialogue. That's why it did not get an A

POINT BLANK (2011) F/D

2011-10-17T22:56:00.001-04:00

French, subtitles

Bad, Bad, Bad. Lacks coherent story. Sandy and I were blindsided because it was reviewed by rottentomatoes.com as excellent. Action adventure that misses the tension needed to pull it off. Just a lot of people running up and down escalators in the subways of Paris. Very difficult to understand who are the good cops, who are the bad cops and why everyone is chasing each other.

THE IDES OF MARCH (2011) C

2011-10-13T18:14:00.000-04:00

A very depressed movie about depressed candidates running for office, and the compromises the have to make. Plot is predicable, people are not happy with their jobs, young girl intern gets pregnant, campaign staff double crossing each other to move up. . . we have seen it all before. Not as good as West Wing . .. except at least with this movie the actors don't mumble.

George Clooney on the Charlie Rose show said it took 5 years to create and make. What a waste of time!!

MONEYBALL (2011) A

2011-09-29T23:26:00.001-04:00

Good underdog movie about a guy who is facing a tough challenge and makes it through successfully. Shows what a good screenplay,excellent acting, and professional cinematography can accomplish. The story is about a baseball general manager that is given the job of creating a winning team without spending a fortune. It turns out that this movie also proves the point that you can create a great film without spending hundreds of millions of dollars.

THE DEBT (2011) A

2011-09-16T18:46:00.000-04:00

When I decided to see this film I was worried that I would be drawn into one more of the endless and horrendous stories about the Holocaust. I was surprised to find that The Debt deals with the horror from a different perspective.
It's about the associated pain of three Mossad (Israeli CIA) agents who's job it is to capture a Nazi war criminal and bring him back to Israel for a show trial. Acting and screen play (with many flashbacks) was riveting . . . and a little confusing if you are not aware of political history. Had some problem with the cinematography.

Bottom line. The Holocaust and other situations and wars where people wantonly kill and maim others and destroy lives of the dead as well as the living will never stop even if we "Never Forget " and build a billion Holocaust museums.

CAUTIVA (2005) B+

2011-09-10T14:57:00.000-04:00

CAUTIVA (2005) B+
Argentina, subtitles

Excellent movie about the children of the political prisoners kidnapped and killed after the 1970s military coup in Argentina. ( US CIA probably supported the Generals and Admirals because they were "anti-communists". Very ugly stuff.)

In the movie an Argentinean teen's life turns upside down when a judge reveals that her real parents had "disappeared" for political reasons years ago. Suddenly, she's ordered to leave the couple who raised her and move in with a grandmother she's never known . . . and who has spent the past 16 years attempting to locate her.

From Wikipedia:
The Dirty War (Spanish: Guerra Sucia) was a period of state-sponsored violence in Argentina from 1976 until 1983. Victims of the violence included several thousand left-wing activists, including trade unionists, students, journalists, Marxists, Peronist guerrillas[1] and alleged sympathizers, either proved or suspected.[2] Some 10,000 of the disappeared were guerrillas of the Montoneros, and the People's Revolutionary Army (ERP).[3][4][5] Estimates for the number of people who were killed or "disappeared" range from 9,000 to 30,000;[6][7] the National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons estimates that around 13,000 disappeared.[8] The commander of the Montoneros, Mario Firmenich, in a radio interview in late 2000 from Spain later stated that "In a country that experienced a civil war, everybody has blood in their hands."[9]
State terrorism was carried out primarily by Jorge Rafael Videla's military dictatorship as a part ofOperation Condor; the acts of repression, torture, and assassinations continued until the return to civilian rule in 1983.
The exact chronology of the repression is still debated, however, as trade unionists were targeted for assassination as early as 1973, and individual cases of state-sponsored violence against Peronism and the left can be traced back at least to the Bombing of Plaza de Mayo in 1955. The Trelew massacre of 1972, the actions of the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance since 1973 and Isabel Martínez de Perón's "annihilation decrees" against left wing guerrillas during Operativo Independencia in 1975, have all been suggested as dates for the beginning of the Dirty War. Professor Patricia Marchak in her book God's Assassins: State Terrorism in Argentina in the 1970s, says the Dirty War has its real roots in the violence witnessed in Buenos Aires during the Tragic Week of 1919 and the fighting that took place in Patagonia in 1921 and 1922, between anarchist and elements of the Argentine Army popularly known today as thePatagonia rebelde (Rebelious Patagonia) .

SARAH'S KEY (2011) A+

2011-08-30T15:14:00.001-04:00

French, Some subtitles

A film that takes you on an emotional roller coaster. At first I thought that this movie would be one more gut wrenching story about Holocaust survivors. But it turns out to be a lot more than that. The film takes us into the world of an American journalist married to a Frenchman who is commissioned to write an article about the notorious Vel d'Hiv round up, which took place in Paris, in 1942. Her relationships with the survivors and the families involved create a place that is worthwhile to enter and share.

RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES (2011) C/B

2011-08-23T14:28:00.001-04:00

Very disappointing (C). But Sandy and others liked it (B). Formula science fiction movie of the 50's genre. Very predictable.
FEATURING: Unprincipled pharmaceutical house testing animals and not taking appropriate safety precautions, bad guy mistreating animals and getting his cum-upends at the hands of the apes, weak love relationship between multiracial couple, infectious disease created by money hungry corporate executives that spreads throughout the world, etc., etc. Only redeeming feature was fight between the apes and the cops. Visuals from the same group that created Avatar and Lord of the Rings.

Godzilla vs. Mothra had a more mature plot

INTO THE WILD (2007) B-

2011-08-07T15:13:00.000-04:00

We recently borrowed this movie from NETFLIX. Didn't see it when it was released because my impression at the time was that the story would be presented as an adventure epic without the psychological insights that would give the story depth.

As I expected the producers missed a big opportunity. They had the potential of telling an in-depth story about a mentally ill young man who is also a risk-taker . . . that is, a person who is driven to take great physical risks to get "highs".

Instead they just tell a tale (without any insight) about this totally self -centered guy who rejects all worldly goods and relationships to get thrills and highs by risking his life. As expected he dies because of his stupidity, immaturity and mental illness.
Why did he reject the world, why is he a risk-taker . . . no answer from this film

Another review from RottenTomatoes

In 1992, 23-year-old Christopher McCandless, disillusioned for reasons that can ultimately only be guessed at with modern life, walked into the Alaskan wilderness as the climax of a two year odyssey across America. He wasn't seen again until a pair of hunters came across him by accident a year later.

. . . writer/director Sean Penn's adaptation is heavy on mood and ambiance but sadly lacking in depth, giving up on the wider comparisons to focus fully on McCandless, who may not really be up to the scrutiny.
. . . . McCandless is a bit of a twerp who rockets off other people's wisdom and thinks himself wise. He's got a monumental chip on his shoulder of somewhat undetermined origin he's had an unhappy childhood that's he's extrapolated out to explain the vague problems of 'society' (the quotation marks are actually audible every time he says 'society') at large and the confidence of youth that has convinced him he's got all the answers and everyone else is just deluding themselves, wasting their lives in mediocrity, which he seems to think is a synonym for hypocrisy.

The film cuts back and forth from his life in Alaska and his adventures on the road . . .
How well it all goes down depends on whether you commiserate with McCandless or find him hopelessly deluded. It's very, very difficult to identify with a stupid character without a good reason to.

THE BETTER LIFE (2011) A

2011-08-06T19:43:00.001-04:00

A very sad, painful and socially relevant movie about the world of the Mexican immigrants in LA. Acting excellent. Sure to get an Oscar nomination. Main problem with the movie was it's unrelenting pain and predictability. A MUST SEE for all the bigots that send me emails about immigrants getting social security benefits.

From another reviewer, "The Better Life might not change any minds about immigration policy, but it illuminates the conversation with context, compassion and understanding"

BIUTIFUL (2010) D-

2011-08-01T23:18:00.001-04:00

Foreign, Spanish, subtitles

Crummy movie about misery. One of these artsy movies for art's sake that forgets to include a coherent story. Obviously a showcase vehicle for Javier Bardem and a chance for the "acclaimed" director Alejandro González Iñárritu's to show his skill.

Presents the underclass of Barcelona with all it's miserable details. Depravity, exploitation of Chinese workers, prostitution, you name it . . . it was included. Also included the gore of prostate cancer, and child neglect.

Real uplifting experience

HOFFA (1992) B-

2011-07-27T15:34:00.001-04:00

Weak and very incomplete documentary-drama about Jimmy Hoffa.

From Wikipedia: Hoffa was involved with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters union, as an organizer from 1932 to 1975. He served as the union's General President from 1958 to 1971. He secured the first national agreement for teamsters' rates in 1964, and played a major role in the growth and development of the union, which eventually became the largest single union in the United States, with over 1.5 million members during his terms as its leader. Hoffa, who had been convicted of jury tampering, attempted bribery, and fraud in 1964, was imprisoned in 1967, sentenced to 13 years,

The movie presented him as a unscrupulous union organizer and thug. Aspects of his life, including hearings before Congress appeared unrealistic. A better movie to watch was probably the biography about him produced by A&E.

THE NIGHT OF THE GENERALS (1967) B

2011-07-26T17:42:00.000-04:00

A dated and not too realistic movie about German Generals during WW II. A good fact and fiction plot about an overdrawn nut of a General that kills prostitutes, and the work that goes on for years to discover the perpetrator of his crimes. Plot ultimately leads to insight into the German officers conspiracy to assassinate Hitler. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20_July_plot. Movie also depicts post war neo-Nazi attitude of German military.

Acting and direction circa 1967 . . . so don't expect too much. For example, all the actors speak with British accents. In addition, encounters between men and women seem to be controlled by 1934 Hollywood standard of decency.

BRIDE FLIGHT (2011) (Chicks A), (Macho Men D)

2011-07-18T16:12:00.002-04:00

Foreign, Subtitles

Mushy ball of corn covered with chocolate.
From other reviewers:
. . . maximum obviousness and minimum believability . . . distinctly old-fashioned feel to this glossy feminist melodrama, which could justly be described as Ross Hunter Reborn . . . forbidden love, an impossible choice, a secret pact. . . . Esther, Ada and Frank become entangled in brief relationships of love, lust and family before losing touch. It is only when the women reunite again fifty years later at Frank's funeral that they discover how much their lives had become intertwined through their different relationships with Frank .
. . . Bride Flight is an assortment of incidents — pregnancies, miscarriages, domestic arguments, tragedies, adoptions and surrogate births — that are ideally suited for a romance novel one might read on a plane, then leave behind in your seat upon landing.
. . . the picture feels awfully sudsy and familiar, consisting entirely of an assortment of cliche's that you’ve seen countless times before. Aside from its period New Zealand setting, there is little to distinguish Bride Flight from something you might watch briefly on Lifetime, then change the channel.

NORTH FACE (2008) B-

2011-07-06T23:10:00.000-04:00

Foreign; German, subtitles

This movie is for you if your interested in the action adventure aspects of films about the dangers and thrills of mountain climbing. That is why I watched it. From a production standpoint, it leaves a lot to be desired. It takes place in the Swiss Alps in 1936, just before the outbreak of WW II and I felt I was watching a movie produced at that time. Story was very weak, acting average and characters marginally realistic.

INCENDIES (2011) AA & B

2011-07-06T00:22:00.000-04:00

QUEEN TO PLAY (2009) A

2011-06-30T23:32:00.001-04:00

Foreign, French, subtitles

A wonderful movie that deals with the growth and empowerment of men and women who are willing to place themselves at risk when they are either not satisfied with the status quo or are exposed to new and potentially exciting ventures.
In this unique, unusual and creative screenplay, a woman's exposure to the playing of chess in combination with the potential for romance, leads to her breaking free from a lackluster marriage and home life, to a new world of expert chess playing . . . and all that will bring her in the future.
If you are unhappy but risk overwhelms and scares you, you will not like the message of this film.

SUPER 8 (2011) Not Rated

2011-06-13T23:23:00.001-04:00

This movie was produced for preteens and cannot be rated fairly an adult film. Throw back to the horror movies of the early 1950's where an alien monster lands in New Mexico and is chased down by the local police and the army. This Steven Spielberg movie had elements of ET (lovable monster) and all rest of the the formula stuff such as loving parents, reckless teenagers, marginally bright cops, preteen crushes, pot smoking air heads and sci-fi special effects.

MIDNIGHT IN PARIS (2011) A (With Reservations)

2011-06-04T01:15:00.000-04:00

Another Woody Allen movie, this time dealing with one of his favorite fantasies. Rated A (With Reservations) because if you are not a fan of Woody Allen's view of people and sense of humor, you will probably think this film deserves and F.

A Woody Allen stand-in actor travels to a very romantic Paris with his shallow (but very sexy) fiance and her shallower parents. Definition of shallow in this movie; 1) a women of means obsessed with shopping and 2) a pompous man of Tea/Republican Party persuasion. Included in the shallow group is also a pseudo-smart college professor.

To fulfill his fantasy, the woody stand-in actor travels in time to meet the Paris intellectuals of the 20's. They include Gertrude Stein, Hemingway, Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald, Picasso, Dali, Cole Porter, etc, etc. One of the more funny scenes is when the woody stand-in helps Jean-Paul Sartre with the plot for No Exit.

Ending is weak, characterizations are poor but if you are in to this type of humor, you will enjoy. You may also find many of your friends and neighbors depicted in the movie. Many of them live in my community.

My Perestroika (2010) C

2011-05-25T23:52:00.001-04:00

Documentary
Russian, subtitles

Weak documentary about Russian political changes the 1980's to the present . . . as seen through the eyes of a generation of young people who grew up during that period of time. Informative but lacked the editing needed to keep you engrossed in the subject matter for an hour and one half. Similar to the lesser quality films seen on PBS Independent Lens.

KILL THE IRISHMAN (2011) C

2011-05-20T16:15:00.000-04:00

This very weak docudrama is about a turf war between the Irish and Italian mobs in Cleveland during the 1970's. Movie has a couple of serious problems. The Irish mobster Danny Greene . . . who we think is a good guy and family man . . . turns out to be a strong arm man and killer. We really never get to know what makes him tick. Or in cinema words . . . his character is never developed.
Second problem. We never get any real information about the mobs operation or the local cops and FBI response. Just turf war and violence.

Movie never gets off the ground.

From Rotten Tomatoes:
The problem is that writer-director Jonathan Hensleigh doesn't do much beyond filling in the template; he's telling the specific, true-life tale of mob decline in 1970s Cleveland, but every character and setpiece feels like it fell off a truck.

THE CONSPIRATOR (2011) A

2011-05-14T17:33:00.001-04:00

Excellent movie for those people who are interested in the REAL history of the United States . . . with warts and all. (Not the pablum you get from The Greatest Generation or those who tout American Exceptionalism). Brings up many up to date issues such as being intimated by the bureaucracy, protecting against radical political actions after traumatic events, (i.e. IRAQ invasion), one person standing up for what is right and the advances we have made in women's rights.

From Yahoo:
In the wake of Abraham Lincoln's assassination, seven men and one woman are arrested and charged with conspiring to kill the President, Vice President, and Secretary of State. The lone woman charged, Mary Surratt, owns a boarding house where John Wilkes Booth, and others met and planned the simultaneous attacks.

Against the ominous back-drop of post-Civil War Washington, newly-minted lawyer, Frederick Aiken, a 28-year-old Union war-hero, reluctantly agrees to defend Surratt before a military tribunal. Aiken realizes his client may be innocent and that she is being used as bait and hostage in order to capture the only conspirator to have escaped a massive manhunt, her own son, John. As the nation turns against her, Surratt is forced to rely on Aiken to uncover the truth and save her life.

VERONICA GUERIN (2003) C

2011-05-12T00:15:00.000-04:00

Saw only twenty minutes of this movie about the Irish journalist Veronica Guerin, whose investigation of Dublin's underground drug trade gave rise to her death or maiming.

Two problems with this movie. Could not understand the Irish brogue . . . two, because the director did not develop Guerin's character prior to her investigations into the heroine trade, the viewer had no clue why this women would want to get involve in this very dangerous world.

APPLAUSE (2009) F

2011-05-01T22:31:00.001-04:00

Foreign, Subtitles

A pathetic movie. Absolutely NO STORY. Possibly made as a showcase for a foreign actress by the name of Paprika Steen. She plays the part of a seriously psychologically disturbed person. Absolutely no insight in her problems. Just emoting. What you would expect in a day room of a mental institution.

INSIDE JOB (2010) A

2011-05-01T22:28:00.001-04:00

Documentary, Winner of Oscar for Documentary for 2010

Inside Job is the first film to provide a comprehensive analysis of the global financial crisis of 2008, which at a cost over $20 trillion, caused millions of people to lose their jobs and homes in the worst recession since the Great Depression, and nearly resulted in a global financial collapse.

Painful story of America at it's worst. Shows the pitiful naivety of Obama in selecting the Sommers Bernanke and Geithner for key financial role in his administration after they were part of the debacle

From Netflix: Through exhaustive research and extensive interviews with key financial insiders, politicians, journalists, and academics, the film traces the rise of a rogue industry which has corrupted politics, regulation, and academia. It was made on location in the United States, Iceland, England, France, Singapore, and China

WATER FOR ELEPHANTS (2011) D

2011-04-25T16:18:00.001-04:00

This movie is a bona fide chick-flick. Predicable romantic mush. Acting and script . . . two dimensional, plausibility zero. 1931, guy quits veterinary school, walks the rails , meets a circus train, evil owner, abused wife, etc. etc.

From the NY Post:
"THE LAMEST SHOW ON EARTH
Usually, you have to wait for the end-of-the-year awards season to see an elaborate period piece that fails as spectacularly as “Water for Elephants.”
This clunky, plodding, romantic circus melodrama showcases the improbable, less-than-scintillating triangle of Reese Witherspoon, etc., etc."

JAFFA (2009) D

2011-04-14T00:04:00.001-04:00

Israeli,
Subtitles, Hebrew

Stopped watching after 20 minutes. Appeared to be poor amateur production . . . long pauses, unexplained and unclear action and relationships.

From Netflix:
In the Israeli city of Jaffa, an Arab father and son -- Hasan and Taufik -- work at a garage owned by a Jewish family that includes the pretty Mali (Dana Ivgy). But the tensions simmering beneath the surface of the genial workplace are about to come to a boil. A secret affair between Mali and Taufik has grave repercussions when Mali becomes pregnant in this gripping drama, an official selection at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.

2011-03-27T22:29:00.002-04:00

THE LINCOLN LAWYER (2011) B

2011-03-27T22:29:00.001-04:00

Good B grade entertainment. Looks and feels like a pilot for a TV series. Rough and tumble divorced Los Angeles criminal defense attorney works his way through a series of stereotypical LA detectives, wife, kids, judges and other assorted street people that pop into the scenes. No real character development, which will of course come in later episodes. Plot and and scenes have something for every ethic and demographic group to insure that the movie will sell to everyone.

WINSTON CHURCHILL: WALKING WITH DESTINY (2011) A+

2011-03-23T19:34:00.001-04:00

Documentary

An excellent documentary, similar to the types of WWII films shown on the History Channel . . . but much better. It describes the momentous events leading up to WWII in Europe, and Churchill's place in that history. This film should be a must see for all high school students. The movie includes excerpts from his famous speeches, (that are still emotional stirring to me) . . . 70 years after they were spoken.
Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, the Blitz — the saving of Western civilization, Roosevelt's winning of the 1940 election . . . how lucky we were to be on the winning side of that conflagration.

Some critics complained that the movie did not show the other side of Churchill, which included support of British imperial ambitions and his lack of action to protect the Jews of Europe. My view is that those subjects could be the theme of another film.

TEMPLE GRANDIN (2010) A+

2011-03-17T22:56:00.000-04:00

A wonderful HBO made for TV movie about the struggles of an autistic person to be herself in our world that primarily accepts only "normal" people.. This rewarding biographical film is for every person who is handicapped in one form or another . . . whether it be physical, emotional or intellectual. That means all of us should see this film.

Acting was wonderful. The movie gives insight into the minds of autistic people (and persons with Asperger's syndrome) and at the same time as providing an emotional lift to the viewer. A remarkable accomplishment.

Temple Grandin received many major awards. It won for Best Made-for-Television Movie, Best Director, Best Lead Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Music Composition, and Best Camera Editing at the 62nd Emmy Awards on Sunday August 29, 2010.

DO NOT MISS THIS FILM

Special thanks to Susan Garber (Marcus) for recommending the film.

BARNEY'S VERSION (2010) D

2011-03-17T09:55:00.000-04:00

This is a story about the life of a boorish, not-to-bright, selfish, insecure, self-centered alcoholic. The movie provides no insight into the basis of his personality and emotional problems and tries to make us believe that a person like this can magically transform himself into a stable loving family man when he meets the love of his life . . . on the same day he is marrying another women.

It also contains (what I consider) unnecessary stereotypical scenes of Jewish subcultures, that are offensive. That was the "Comedy" portion of the film.

If you want the experience the film offers, rather than see this film, I recommend you go to your local bar and grill and chat with a couple of down-and-outers.

ARMY OF CRIME (2009) C

2011-03-16T15:38:00.001-04:00

Foreign France, subtitles

A painful and predicable story about the French Resistance to German occupation during WWII. If you knew nothing about French complicity and roundup of the Jews, and other atrocities performed by the Vichy French and the Gestapo, this movie may have been informative. However, in my opinion this this very weak drama could just have well been a documentary. If there was a human story, this film didn't provide it.

A bigger question that was not posed was: Was the gain from the Resistance worth the blood and pain. In Norway Resistance was stopped by the British because the loss of Norwegian citizens exceeded the gain of killing a couple of German soldiers.

This was another review:
World War II was certainly a bore if we’re to believe this dully competent look at the FTP-MOI, a Gallic resistance force led by French-Armenian poet Missak Manouchian . There’s nothing stirring or engaging about their exploits; the clock just dutifully ticks down the days and incidents until the revolutionaries are led off to SS slaughter. Each character feels interchangeable
Traditional suspense is bypassed in favor of staid observation. There’s no sense of the oppression France felt under Nazi rule. It’s all just play-acting in period-specific attire

THE CONCERT (2010) C-

2011-03-16T15:33:00.000-04:00

Foreign, French, Subtitles

Sandy and I were amazed that so many people in our community thought this was a wonderful film. It was so poorly produced that even the subtitles didn't make sense because they were literally translated.

These were the blurbs on the poster outside the theater advertising the film:
To me they say, "Don't expect too much".
"An uplifting comedy about a true band of misfits."
"Impersonating a world famous orchestra isn't easy unless you have the brass to pull it off."

Rather than providing you with my take on this movie . . . I'm including below excerpts from reviews of THE WASHINGTON POST, NY TIMES and VARIETY

WASHINGTON POST

This orchestra needs tuning

By Rachel Saslow
Friday, August 13, 2010

"The Concert" was so unfunny, I had to consult IMDB.com to make sure that it was indeed listed as a comedy. . . .

Many of the jokes rely on racist -- or at least culturally insensitive -- stereotypes. The gypsy fiddler travels everywhere with his enormous, loud family wearing gaudy costumes; they appear to live in trailers. The Jewish orchestra members sell black-market caviar and cellphones to make extra money while in Paris, and the Russians are perpetually drunk on vodka. Ha. Ha.

Another ongoing gag is the way Andrei butchers his French while talking to soloist Anne-Marie, saying inappropriate things and mixing up syntax. (He says, "I find you warmly" instead of "Pleasure to meet you," for example.) Apparently, this is a riot because he uses old-fashioned vernacular, but the jokes fall flat unless the viewer is fluent in Français. Was there really any hope that French jokes in a Russian movie would be funny when translated into English subtitles?

Getting the Old Band Back Together: NY Times

By STEPHEN HOLDEN
A messy, comedic sprawl that leaks at the seams, the Romanian director Radu Mihaileanu’s “Concert” aspires to be something like a French-Russian answer to “The Producers.” Lunging wildly between satirical farce and teary sentimentality, the movie follows the misadventures of a ragtag symphony orchestra that travels from Moscow to Paris under false pretenses.

Hoary stereotypes abound. Drunken Russians, thieving Gypsies, crooked oligarchs and zealous former Communist apparatchiks: all are caricatured in a story whose multiple subplots tumble over one another in a chaotic pileup.

The protagonist of “The Concert,” Andrei Filipov (Alexei Guskov), is a former musical wunderkind and conductor of the Bolshoi Orchestra who fell from grace 30 years ago in an anti-Semitic purge near the end of the Brezhnev era. After flouting authority by hiring Jewish musicians, Andrei was rudely ousted midconcert during a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, a romantic war horse that the movie milks for its last ounce of schmaltz and then some.

VARIETY

The Concert By JAY WEISSBERG

Romanian-born French helmer Radu Mihaileanu spackles his canvas with more schmaltz than usual in "The Concert." Continuing his attraction to themes of false identity, the director presents a purged Bolshoi orchestra conductor who sees his chance to perform again by pretending to be still attached to the great institution. But the story regurgitates the usual trappings of underdog tales, milking stereotypes as well as tear ducts. Pic may appeal to the over-50 crowd in Francophone territories. .

TRIUMPH OF THE WILL (1934)

2011-03-11T00:03:00.000-05:00

TRIUMPH OF THE WILL (1934)
(Available from Netflix)

Cast: Adolf Hitler, Josef Goebbels, Heinrich Himmler, Hermann Goring, et.al
Director: Leni Riefenstahl

This movie stands out as one of the most important and cinematically powerful films ever produced. It is
Leni Riefenstahl's propaganda film documenting the Third Reich's 1934 Nuremberg National Socialist Party Rally. It features a cast of of hundreds of thousands -- including Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler, Joseph Goebbels, Rudolf Hess, Hermann Goering and other top officials. Images of cheering crowds, precision marching, military bands, banners lining Nuremberg's streets and Hitler's climactic speech illustrate with chilling clarity how Germany fell under his spell. Not knowing anything about history, someone seeing it today would consider it sensational science fiction. A madman adulated by hundreds of thousands of people. Absolutely surrealistic. You could almost predict the destruction of 50 million people in the next ten years after watching this "thing".

From Wikipedia:
Triumph of the Will was released in 1935 and rapidly became one of the best-known examples of propaganda in film history. Riefenstahl's techniques, such as moving cameras, the use of long focus lenses to create a distorted perspective, aerial photography, and revolutionary approach to the use of music and cinematography, have earned Triumph recognition as one of the greatest films in history. Riefenstahl won several awards, not only in Germany but also in the United States, France, Sweden, and other countries. The film was popular in the Third Reich and elsewhere, and has continued to influence movies, documentaries, and commercials to this day.[2]

THE COMPANY MEN (2010) C+

2011-03-05T16:17:00.000-05:00

Good try at putting together a drama about the pain and suffering that effects middle and upper management people of large corporations when recessions hit. Doesn't come to grips with the naivety of many of these workers who believe their jobs will last forever even though they don't have "real "assets" to sell to a future employer. These assets could include sales contacts, special technical skills or other entities that could bring profit to a company. If you are the HR manager and earn $150,000 a year . . . beware.

From another review.
" Bobby Walker is living the American dream: great job, beautiful family, shiny Porsche in the garage. When corporate downsizing leaves him and co-workers Phil Woodward and Gene McClary jobless, the three men are forced to re-define their lives as men, husbands, and fathers. Bobby soon finds himself enduring enthusiastic life coaching, a job building houses for his brother-in-law which does not play to his executive skill set, and perhaps the realization that there is more to life than chasing the bigger, better deal. "

UNKNOWN (2011) B-

2011-02-25T15:36:00.001-05:00

A watchable but very confusing Action-Adventure film. Rated poorly by rottentomatoes.com. Saw the movie only because out first pick, (The Company Men), wasn't being shown.

An accident occurs and a scientist attending a very important conference in Berlin finds that no one knows who he is. In fact, he discovers someone posing as himself . . . and everyone seems to think the impostor is the real scientist. The logic of this films confused and incomprehensible storyline is all downhill from this point.

It's amazing to me that Hollywood has a problem producing movies with coherent screenplays. (This also occurs many times with hour long TV pieces . . . such as Law and Order). It's my belief that they shoot scenes in some random order, run out of money, and then edit what they have before they have enough scenes to make story logically come together.

On a positive note the sightseeing visit to Berlin was worthwhile.

.

BLUE VALENTINE (2010) D

2011-02-16T23:29:00.001-05:00

To me it looks as if this (movie?) was put together as a showcase for the actors. That is, a vehicle actors can use to sell their skills to people who put up the money to make movies. It had no story. No beginning, no middle, no end. No theme, no plot, no dialogue, no character development, no dramatic tension . . . but the acting was good. (Reason it did not get an F). Sandy and I were both waiting for something . . . anything . . . to happen.

It's about two unfortunate young people who meet, do not talk, have sex, make a baby, get (shotgun) married, fight with each other and separate. It also appears that the naive girls hooked up with a mentally limited guy. I'm not sure that was planned in the script. A set up for failure

This would be an excellent documentary for college students to show what happens when people don't think about what they are doing. A little too raunchy for high school.

127 HOURS (2010) C

2011-02-10T22:46:00.004-05:00

I dragged Sandy to see this movie because it was rated A- by critics and other lay reviewers. I had my doubts about the ratings because as most everyone knows, the story is well known and predicable. It's about a climber whose arm gets trapped under a boulder while hiking in Utah, and decides that the only chance he has for survival is to amputate his own arm. I figured, that the director did something special to produce the A rating. Well he didn't. The movie was good, but predicable. And also painful to watch as this risk taker suffers in a crevice of Navajo sandstone.

Desert scenery was nice. A for natural beauty.

BARNEY'S VERSION (2010) D

2011-02-03T23:58:00.000-05:00

BLACK SWAN (2010) A

2011-01-13T10:49:00.001-05:00

This movie was rated A, not because watching it was a pleasant experience, but because it will be remembered as a classic in film making. A of combination of a Horror Movie with the artistry of ballet. Well beyond the drama of The Phantom Of The Opera.

As a Horror Movie, (joining Halloween, Night of the Living Dead, et.al.) the devil incarnate is the mother of a primary female dancer of Swan Lake at a New York City Ballet company. Similar to THE FIGHTER, we have a main character with a very weak personality . . . dominated by her mother . . . and pushed to an emotional and physical extreme in the ballet. But in this film, the girl reverts to cutting herself in an attempt to gain control over the painful world she lives in.

Music by Tchaikovsky, played on the audio system in the local Regal theater was magnificent. Cinematography was triple A. Acting great.

Seems that Hollywood has decided to use domineering mothers and mentally diminished main characters in their major movies this year. (See Zuckerberg in The Social Network as the other mental case).

Remember the name of the director, DARREN ARONOFSKY. You will be seeing it to often at future Academy Award presentations.

THE KING'S SPEECH (2010) AA

2011-01-08T14:31:00.000-05:00

A wonderful, wonderful movie experience about a man overcoming adversity against great odds . . . by hard work and guts. It's Rocky all over again except this time the story is about the English monarch George VI (Elizabeth's father) turning to commoner . . . an uncertified speech therapist . . . to overcome his nervous stutter.

The film puts a human face on british royalty and church elders and shows the that it take a lot more than riches to be happy and successful. (Given the choice, however, I still would rather be rich than poor). The movie also shows the dysfunctional upbringing of the royal children and the personal idiosyncrasies of George VI. It also provide another look at the personal immorality of Edward (George's bolder brother who abdicated the thrown for Wallis Simpson, who collaborated with the Nazis), .

Also brings you back to the start of WWII, and the problems faced by the British Empire.

Some say that the beginning was slow, but I found it well paced, the acting worth many Academy Awards and the cinematography and screenplay superb.

THE FIGHTER (2010) B

2011-01-01T23:08:00.001-05:00

This movie is about the trials and tribulations of an extremely emotionally weak man who is manipulated by his dysfunctional family. In this film, which takes place in a very depressed economic area in Boston, the man is depicted as a prize fighter who gets head beat-up in early fights and finally goes on to win a championship.

Both Sandy and I found the movie well done from a cinematographic standpoint, but found it very disturbing and painful to see a very nice guy (who was possibly mentally limited) being taken advantage of by a very unattractive mother and drugged up brother.

Don't expect to be whistling a happy tine when you leave the theater.

Roger Ebert just didn't get it. This was his take on the film.

"Micky Ward has less personality than the hero of any other boxing movie I can remember. Maybe that's because he can't get a word in edgewise. He has a motormouth crackhead for a brother, a mom who acts as his manager and seven blond-headed sisters who seem to be on a break from a musical being filmed on the next soundstage. It's easy to imagine Micky growing up in this family and sitting ignored in the corner."

TRUE GRIT 2010 D

2010-12-23T00:30:00.000-05:00

Don't waste your time on this boring and predicable movie.

The Coen brothers are at it again with another bomb. This so called western story is about a fourteen-year-old, very, very, very precocious girl, who's father has been shot by a bad guy. She is determined to bring the bad guy to justice and uses two good guys to help her hunt him down in the wild west of the 1870's. Not only was the movie tedious but the people in charge decided that the characters would talk in an invented 1870's western United States English . . . which pulled you out of the narrative and help defeat the possibility of an enjoyable evening. But the Coen boys have to do their shtick.

FAIR GAME (2010) B+

2010-12-01T22:37:00.001-05:00

This film is about Valerie Plame, a CIA agent whose status was leaked to the public by the White House, and her husband, Ambassador Joseph Wilson, who exposed the lies told by the Bush administration . . . during the run-up to our attack on Iraq.
In the end Scooter Libby, who worked for Chaney, was convicted in Federal Court of "outing" Plame. His sentence was subsequently reduced by Bush.

The very depressing overriding message of this movie is that the American governing process (which may be the best in the world) has deep, deep flaws. Although talk in the media goes on and on about American exceptionalism and the "greatest generation", (by breast beating patriots), we as a country will continue on this "war" path until we realize that our human instincts may not be up to the needs of global well being.

To make this story more than a documentary, the director introduces us to the personal lives of the Wilson family. In the process the director also uses garbled words, jittery camera shots and incomplete scenes in foreign countries that unfortunately pull the audience away from the narrative. That's why I did not rate the movie A.

UNSTOPPABLE (2010) A

2010-11-18T00:43:00.001-05:00

Excellent action-adventure movie.
The power of the trains are overwhelming. Movie is about runaway trains and raw working class people being themselves.
Will keep you on the edge of your seat.

IN TREATMENT (2010 series) AA

2010-11-12T00:28:00.000-05:00

In Treatment is a unique TV experience. The third season is now running on HBO. The first and second seasons are probably available from Netflix.

For those who have never been in psychotherapy, it could be an eye opener. Others who are frightened when they discover to much about themselves will probably find it very uncomfortable.

The acting, writing and direction is the best you will find on TV and better than 95% of the movies. If you want a window into the real world of people, watch a few sessions. You may discover something about yourself.

YOU WILL MEET A TALL DARK STRANGER (2010) D

2010-11-09T22:52:00.001-05:00

This latest Woody Allen movie is a total flop. Lacks originally. Seems like a rehash of many scenes from his past movies. Absolutely unfunny . . . unless you get a kick out of watching marriages fail and people being casually unfaithful.

This incomplete story returns to Woody Allens' passion. Skewering self inflated literary types and art gallery aficionados. I hope next years movie is better than this one.

From another reviewer: "Isn't a comedy and barely registers as a drama. I'd call it a tragedy, but the only ones truly suffering will be the paying audience, forced to endure Allen's umpteenth variation on the false comfort provided by marriage."

RED (2010) C-

2010-10-23T00:26:00.001-04:00

Silly movie with Bruce Willis. About retired CIA people who are targets for some bad guys presently in the government and CIA. A inane overdone spoof that would have been better if it was just a regular action-adventure movie.

THE SOCIAL NETWORK (2010) D

2010-10-19T23:46:00.001-04:00

An incomplete pseudo documentary story about a very socially disabled young man by the name of Mark Zuckerberg.

As most of you know, in real life Mark, is the inventor and driving force behind the computer social network called Facebook. The movie shows him a a person who has serious mental problems. It appears that he is totally unfeeling. Unfortunately, the movie does not explore any background to his malady and the audience is forced to suffer the pain of being in his (and other nerd like kids) presence for 90 minutes. To add insult to injury, the movie has a beginning and middle but no ending. The producers must have run out of film or money . . . or both.

WALL STREET (2010) F

2010-10-09T19:40:00.001-04:00

Terrible disappointment. (Recommend you see INSIDE JOB, just opened).
Given one of the most serious problems in our lifetime, Oliver Stone provides us with a foolish Soap Opera. The story about Michal Douglas and his estrangement from his daughter is nonsensical. Financial insights into Wall Street operations don't exist . . . and when an attempt is made to explain financial transactions, they are incoherent. All we see are the usually trading desks with guys at terminals and flashes of the empty glitzier side of New York. Also the acting and casting is bad. People are paper cut-outs

This was Eric Weinstein's review:
Plot:
Bad Guys stay at being Bad Guys, Good Guys want to be Bad Guys, Bad Guys can't be Good Guys, Good Guys are Good Guys with a price . . . so might of well be a bad guy. With all of this happening, Oliver Stone tries to play cute with family values, relationships, and any other "stuff" he can put into a movie. (Financial Bailouts, Trading rooms, China, Board Rooms, and the Federal Reserve, Book Signing).

Mr. Stone even puts the 96 year old Eli Wallach in the movie, and all he does is whistle . . . great stuff. I can't make it up. I am not sure if Oliver Stone lost a bet, but why in the hell did he cast Eli Wallach.

8 Things I should have done instead of see Wall Street . . . not in order of preference
Root Canal with no anesthesia
Watch Barbara Streisand in Yentel
Make travel arrangements to Haiti
Play loud rock music while I have a migraine
Read a book in a moving car and start to get car sick
Visit as many gas stations bathrooms and roll around on the floors.
Drink lumpy milk (4 weeks passed the expiration date)
Take in the fumes of a homeless person.

THE TOWN (2010) B+

2010-10-02T15:27:00.000-04:00

Good cops and robbers movie that takes place in the rough Charlestown neighborhood in Boston. Excellent depiction of Irish hoodlums and FBI agents. Includes a love angle between one of the thiefs and an attractive bank manager.

Lots of machine gun action and car chases. Many words are not clear with Boston accent mumbling and some aspects of the storyline don't hold together, but if you want action and grit, this movie is for you.

MAO'S LAST DANCER (2009) B+

2010-09-25T09:40:00.000-04:00

An excellent movie (in English) about an 11-year-old Chinese peasant boy that is selected . . . and sent . . . to Mao's Beijing Dance Academy during the harsh periods of Mao's regime. He become one of China's greatest dancers, and during a visit ballet troupe in Houston, Texas defects to the United States.

Excellent cinematography, acting and music. The limited dancing that was shown was also first rate. Was not rated A because the storyline was one that we have heard many times. However, the film can be considered at least a million times better than the shows that have recently been created for prime time TV.

THE DEPARTURES (2008) A

2010-09-18T19:51:00.000-04:00

Foreign: Japanese

Best Foreign Language Film
2009 Academy Award

Wonderful up-to-date Japanese movie about a young couple discovering each other and the things most important to them. Acting, direction, music as good as the best America has to offer. Unique story. This is definitely not a "formula " film.

From a Netfix reviewer:
This was definitely the best foreign language film of the year. It is the most touching film I have seen in years. I admit it had me shedding some tears along with everyone else in the audience.

INSIDE MAN (2006) A

2010-09-18T13:57:00.001-04:00

Excellent 4 year old thinking man's Action-Adventure movie. Directed by Spike Lee. Includes Denzel Washington as a detective who matches wits with a cunning thief who's always one step ahead of the cops. Edgy New York cop speak adds realism and local color to the film. Highly recommended for a night's entertainment.

As an added attraction the director selected an excellent piece of music to begin and end the movie.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhrZXnFSFGQ

GET LOW (2010) C-

2010-09-08T15:22:00.000-04:00

If you like action adventure movies THIS VERY SLOW FILM IS NOT FOR YOU.
The only redeeming features of this film are the scenes and costumes from the early twenties. The story is about a guy who has a secret. However, somehow the the people who put this film together didn't understand that a secret revealed at the end of a movie is not enough to create an interesting story. They should watch Law And Order once in a while to understand the formula for a story with a beginning, middle and end.

FATHER OF MY CHILDREN (2010) B/C

2010-08-19T22:56:00.001-04:00

Foreign: French, subtitles

This incomplete story is about a Paris-based film producer who has a wife, three daughters he adores and a stimulating job that he's devoted to. Unfortunately, he is an extremely poor financial manager. His company is overextended and buried in debt. He deals with this problem by committing suicide . . . an act which seems inconsistent with his stable and outgoing personality.

This was the beginning and middle of the screen play. Sadly there was no ending.

Good scenes of Paris, the French countryside and excellent acting by all.

Sandy could not get into it. She gives it a C

WINTER'S BONE C/B (2010)

2010-08-15T08:41:00.001-04:00

This movie allows you to drop into the world of people living on the edge of poverty in the Ozarks. Reminiscent of the film Deliverance . . . including the banjo. Appears to be a showcase movie for the cinematographer. Not much else.

On the screen a 17 year-old young girl attempts to track down her father, who put the family house up for his bail bond and then disappears. If she fails, she and her two siblings (very nice kids), and a demented mother, will be turned out into the Ozark woods. Appeared slow moving because all other aspects of the (so called) story were totally incoherent. People get beat-up, others are angry, others burn houses, father was in jail . . . without any explanation. It was as if three-quarters of the screenplay was left on the cutting room floor.

Cinematography and natural sets in the woods excellent. Acting could have been excellent also if a majority of the words were not mumbled and grunted in Ozark English.

Rated B by Sandy. She liked it because it provided a very realist view of a world that we never often see.

MOTHER AND CHILD (2010) AA

2010-07-22T10:33:00.000-04:00

Wonderful sensitive movie about adult relationships with other adults and children. Finally a movie that deals with the pain and complexity of adoption. The anti-abortion gang . . . "pro lifers" and especially Dr. Laura . . . have been at the forefront of the movement that has been pushing adoption as the answer to unwanted pregnancy. The most egregious propaganda piece was the movie JUNO . . . which I viewed as an outrage.

From Netflix: Three women's lives share a common core: they have all been profoundly affected by adoption. Karen had a baby at 14, gave her up at birth, and has been haunted ever since by the daughter she never knew. Elizabeth grew up as an adopted child; she's a bright and ambitious lawyer, but a flinty loner in her personal life. Lucy is just embarking with her husband on the adoption odyssey, looking for a baby to become their own.

TOY STORY 3 (2010) A

2010-07-14T16:16:00.000-04:00

TOY STORY 3 A

Wonderful animated movie about the relationship between toys and children . . . and the sadness that goes along with growing beyond the years of being able to create a children's fantasy world.
Somehow a piece of "Cool Hand Luke"( about a guy who refuses to submit to the system) got folded into the screenplay. I suppose everyone borrows from someone else.

The screenwriters also use "sentimentality" very effectively. So if you are going to see it, bring along a box of tissues.

HOLY ROLLERS (2010) B

2010-07-09T23:51:00.001-04:00

Excellent true story about Sam Gold, a 20 year old pious Hasidic Jew from Brooklyn who get pulled into trafficking drugs from Europe to the United States. In the process he becomes more secularized and is finally thrown out out his home by his father. As expected, he cannot break away for his 20 years of religious feelings and study and collapses into living a double life . . . nightlife and religiosity at the same time. The movie ends with Sam being caught by the police.

Unfortunately, the movie has an incomplete and unsatisfying ending. (The reason for the B rating). We are presented with no resolution to the problems and dilemmas faced by people who create and live in conflicting worlds and value systems. In my view, that was the theme of the film . The drug stuff could just as well have been a documentary.

HARRY BROWN (2010) B-

2010-06-10T14:56:00.001-04:00

Another movie rated highly by Yahoo viewers that disappointed me. In this film, an old decrepit guy with emphysema morphs into Charles Bronson . . . the 1974 Death Wish vigilante.

Positives: The good guys win, action (street riots) and violent gory killings
Negatives: Beginning as slow as an 80 year old with breathing problems, unrelenting pain (no happiness), garbled English (cockney) and non-realistic plot-line

THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES (2010) B

2010-06-02T17:11:00.001-04:00

Foreign, Argentina, Spanish, subtitles

Saw this movie because it was rated A/A+ by Yahoo reviewers. See: http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1810097554/user.

Unfortunately, I was somewhat disappointed . . . and so were many of the people who were in the theater who watched with me. For starters, it was a good mystery story with very interesting characters but the audience had to get used to a confusing police and DA system (compared to Law and Order). Also confusing were the continual flashbacks and flash-forwards

Positives: the acting, suspense and humor.
Negative: Movie ending and development of romantic relationship weak

ROBIN HOOD (2010) A-

2010-05-16T16:06:00.001-04:00

Special effects, A+ (if you like war movies). Costuming and cinematography, A+. Story, B . . . predicable with little real dramatic tension.

Personally, I have always been extremely interested in learning and experiencing how people live, and lived in all parts of the world . . . today as well as back in time. Movies have given me the opportunity to travel in time.

I thought The Last Of The Mohegans was a great movie about people in the 1700's in upper New York State. Robin Hood is an excellent . . and realistic fictional piece about royalty and peasants who lived in England/France in the 1300's.

This movie expands the legend of Robin Hood. We are told how he and his band of merry men ended up in Sherwood Forest. I assume the sequel will describe his adventures in the forest and his skirmishes with King John and the Sheriff of Nottingham.

CITY ISLAND (2010) C+

2010-05-07T12:51:00.001-04:00

A somewhat watchable movie about the people in a lower middle class family that are totally alienated from each other. The movie contains horrible scenes of the family verbally attacking each other. (I'm sure some people think this type of scene is funny). All the family really needed was to visit a family counselor to discover that they don't communicate with each other. If fact, there lives are built on lies. The movie just touches on the real problems which includes lack of formal education, self-esteem . . . which leads to lack of assertiveness . . . and then to fits of anger.

With some twists and predicable turns they all end of loving one another. I recommend the producers don't make a sequel. I really wouldn't want to spend any more time with this unsophisticated gang of folks.

THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (2010) C+

2010-05-04T23:12:00.000-04:00

Foreign, Sweden

A predictable formula murder mystery movie. No real thrills or excitement. From the non-plausible ending it appears that the script was planned for the creation THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO II sequel.

Had everything that the author figured would work. Rich and powerful family on a deserted island, an investigative reporter, (al la Northside 777), the latest in computer aided research and last but not least lots of gratuitous sex. Lots of sadism applied to both guys and gals . . . with graphic scenes, homosexual and heterosexual sex, serial killing of attractive women, incest galore . . . you name the deviation . . . the movie included it. Also car chases with accidents and burning auto.

Not for the faint of heart

THE PROPHET (2010) C

2010-04-24T20:11:00.001-04:00

Another movie without a real story. No twists, turns, highs or lows. This movie could just have well been a documentary about the French prison system that has to deal with Arabs, Italians and other ethnic groups housed in prison complexes. It follows one prisoner's relationship with other inmates, corrupt guards and mobs being run by kingpins within the prison. You know the drill.
If you are looking for violence, degradation and grunge then this is for you.

Interrelationships between main actors and outside gangs is totally incoherent . . . also incoherent is why the movie was named The Prophet. No rhyme or reason.

From Yahoo Movies: Condemned to six years in prison, Malik El Djebena, part Arab, part Corsican, cannot read or write. Arriving at the jail entirely alone, he appears younger and more fragile than the other convicts. He is 19 years old. Cornered by the leader of the Corsican gang currently ruling the prison, he is given a number of "missions" to carry out, toughening him up and gaining the gang leader's confidence in the process. Malik is a fast learner and rises up the prison ranks, all the while secretly devising his own plans.

THE LAST STATION (2010) C-

2010-03-23T23:47:00.001-04:00

I knew when I saw the trailer for this movie that something was missing. Unfortunately, I was correct. The producer forgot to include a story. Some comments from people who left the theater at the end: "So what was this about" and "Who cares"?

Total waste of good acting by Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer. Only worthwhile part of the film was the costumes and scenery of Russia in the early 1900's.

The movie was about the last years of Russian author Leo Tolstoy's life . . . and how he related to his sociopathic wife. If you enjoy seeing a crazy women rant and manipulate others, then this one is for you.

It will probably never open in major theaters.

SHUTTER ISLAND (2010) F squared

2010-03-03T23:36:00.000-05:00

A terrible waste of 2 hours of my time. Very painful, nonsensical movie. Pretends to be scary . . . but you can't get into the old and stupid story. Attempts to have a super surprise ending but instead flops on it's face. Disgraceful that it was directed by Martin Scorsese. Shame on you, Martin. They spliced pieces of the film found on the cutting room floor, ran ads on NBC during the Olympics and made millions. In addition, gratuitous violence.

This was a review from Yahoo.
"like a lobotomy without anesthesia. This is my first review ever, but like the review before me, I am propelled to warn others before it's too late. this movie is horrible. "

CRAZY HEART (2009) B

2010-02-13T21:22:00.000-05:00

Very watchable movie about a broken-down alchololic country music singer, and a very lovely younger women who falls for him . . . probably because she is more needy than he is. The nice part about this film is that it deals with things that are important . . . such as relationships between people rather than possessions and toys own by celebrities. Acting is excellent.

Many women will not like this movie because it may be distasteful to see a young women falling for a very unattractive and unwholesome guy. Old guys, like myself, feel differently.

24 (TV Series on Fox)

2010-01-24T14:34:00.001-05:00

This seasons series started last week with 4 hours of almost continuous tension and excitement. This new series (and past series available on DVD) provide some of the best action/adventure films you will ever see on the screen. If you plan to go to sleep after watching this super well crafted material, the twists and turns of the stories will keep you up for hours. The downside: You have to be willing to live with predicable stories about good guys vs bad guys.

UP IN THE AIR (2009) A

2010-01-19T23:36:00.001-05:00

Wonderful movie that brings up a multitude of human relationship issues and answers none of them. Very thought provoking if you are into introspection or ever sat opposite a shrink. Ostensibly about a corporate downsizing expert, played by George Clooney, whose cherishes life on the road. But it's a lot more than that.

AVATAR (2009) A to D

2010-01-10T14:20:00.001-05:00

By now, many of you have seen AVATAR, so my review probably will not influence you seeing the movie. In my view the film is a mixed bag of remarkable special effects and a predicable childish story. It left me disappointed because after all the hype, hoopla and money spent on production and publicity, it offered no surprises, no excitement and no real emotional fun or thrill like seeing a sensational catch in the end zone by a JETS flanker back. However, It did have some good politically progressive propaganda which Republicans will hate.

The special effects, which include beautiful pastoral scenes as well as a video war games scene, I rate an A. We saw it in 3D and IMAX.

The story rates a D.
Most adults will be familiar with the childish up-to-date "cowboys and Indians" story where evil white faced capitalists . . . backed by an overwhelming , technologically up-to-date mercenary army and led by a hard-ass southern Colonel . . . are exploiting both the pristine land and the native population. Along come and a good guy, who breaks ranks with the capitalist exploiters and is accepted by the peace loving unclothed natives . . . who happen to have blue skin. They also believe in a politically correct nature God. You know the rest. The good guy mates with the kings daughter and fights the white exploiters.

Interesting that the director Cameron, skewers the military, anti-ecologists and exploitative corporations but keeps far away from discussing the major thief of our day . . . Wall Street. Could it be that this expensive movie was underwritten by big money.

IT'S COMPLICATED (2009) F--

2010-01-01T16:39:00.000-05:00

If you want to see a plotless movie with a couple of cartoon characters ( manic* Meryl Streep and a bumbling (schlub**) Alex Baldwin), then this is for you.

The main thrust of this movie is to make weak*** and needy middle aged married women, who are frightened by the sexuality of younger women, feel empowered because their ex comes back to them after finding that the younger new wifes' are not what they really wanted.

In this case however, Meryl Streep, who carries forward her ever smiling lunatic personality from Mama Mia, is so, so needy that she has an affair with her ex, Alex Baldwin, and takes him back even though he is and absolute obnoxious jerk.

Pathetic attempt at comedy.

* Bipolar disorder, also known as manic depressive disorder, manic depressive psychosis, manic depression orbipolar affective disorder, is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated mood clinically referred to as mania or, if milder,hypomania.

** yiddish for yokel, hick, boor, peasant

*** a: mentally and intellectually deficient b : not firmly decided : vacillating c : resulting from or indicating lack of judgment or discernment d : not able to withstand temptation or persuasion

INVICTUS B+ (2009)

2009-12-25T16:25:00.001-05:00

Not a comedy. Not a lot of laughs
Directed by Clint Eastwood

Very good and well acted political/social movie about how Nelson Mandela joined forces with the captain of South Africa's rugby team, Francois Pienaar, to help unite their country. Newly elected President Mandela knew his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa's underdog rugby team as they make an unlikely run to the 1995 World Cup Championship match. (Netflix).

The movie gave me new insight into the thinking that led to the South African "Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act", which allowed crimes committed by the previous political regime to be excused without punishment.

Movie was filmed in South Africa and technical weaknesses included poor lighting, poor film quality and no subtitles when South African support actors spoke in the South Africa form of English.

Invictus is a much quoted short poem by the English poet William Ernest Henley. It was written in 1875. The title of the movie comes from the fact that Mandela had the poem written on a scrap of paper while he served 27 years as a political prisoner. In the movie, Mandela gives a copy of the "Invictus" poem to rugby team captain, Francois Pienaar, before the start of the Rugby World Cup.

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.