Foreign, Depressing
2 stars
I’d rather slit my writs than sit through that film again. More depressing even than Winter’s Bone! Spanish with English subtitles. There is nothing beautiful about this film – the title is a child’s misspelling. Javier Bardem (whom I love) stars as a man living in a squalid section of Barcelona trying to provide for his kids by working as a go-between with a Chinese sweatshop, the Senegalese men who sell the wares and the cops he must bribe. His wife is a whore and his brother is another lowlife. Oh, and he’s peeing blood, so you know that’s not going to end well. The film is raw and realistic and the acting is excellent – the reason I went to see it was because of the raves for Bardem’s performance – but why would anyone want to watch something so depressing? I’d have given it a higher rating, but there is no excitement, just despair as these people get on with their lives in fetid living conditions. And it’s really long too at 147 minutes. Go at your own risk.
Friday, January 28, 2011
The Way Back
Indie, Drama
4.5 stars
Really good. National Geographic produced this film inspired by the true story of a group of (mostly) political prisoners who escaped a Siberian prison during WWII and walked 4,000 miles to India. Jim Sturgess (Across the Universe) stars as the leader of the group possessing outdoors experience, and co-stars include Ed Harris as a selfish American, Colin Farrell as a dangerous Russian criminal and Saoirse Ronan (Atonement) as a “hanger-on” so to speak. Since the group is multicultural and have differing backgrounds, the mix is most interesting. The end of the film provides a synopsis of the historical events leading up to the tearing down of the Berlin wall, but doesn’t tell us what the main characters did during those 40 years, which is my only complaint. On the whole, an excellent film of perseverance in the most impossible of conditions.
4.5 stars
Really good. National Geographic produced this film inspired by the true story of a group of (mostly) political prisoners who escaped a Siberian prison during WWII and walked 4,000 miles to India. Jim Sturgess (Across the Universe) stars as the leader of the group possessing outdoors experience, and co-stars include Ed Harris as a selfish American, Colin Farrell as a dangerous Russian criminal and Saoirse Ronan (Atonement) as a “hanger-on” so to speak. Since the group is multicultural and have differing backgrounds, the mix is most interesting. The end of the film provides a synopsis of the historical events leading up to the tearing down of the Berlin wall, but doesn’t tell us what the main characters did during those 40 years, which is my only complaint. On the whole, an excellent film of perseverance in the most impossible of conditions.
Monday, January 24, 2011
No Strings Attached
Comedy
3.5 stars
Much better than I expected. Ashton Kutcher stars as an everyman dude whose female friend, Natalie Portman, suggests a “friends with benefits” arrangement. Predictable, yes, but the humor is fresh and smart and the cast is quite likable. I went in with very low expectations – maybe you should too – and wound up happily surprised. Kevin Kline costars as Kutcher’s dad, as well as Greta Gerwig (Greenberg), Lake Bell (“Boston Legal”), Olivia Thirlby (Juno), Ludracris and Cary Elwes as a handsome doctor. A good date movie.
3.5 stars
Much better than I expected. Ashton Kutcher stars as an everyman dude whose female friend, Natalie Portman, suggests a “friends with benefits” arrangement. Predictable, yes, but the humor is fresh and smart and the cast is quite likable. I went in with very low expectations – maybe you should too – and wound up happily surprised. Kevin Kline costars as Kutcher’s dad, as well as Greta Gerwig (Greenberg), Lake Bell (“Boston Legal”), Olivia Thirlby (Juno), Ludracris and Cary Elwes as a handsome doctor. A good date movie.
Company Men
Drama
4 stars
Very good but so depressing. Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones and Chris Cooper star is this melancholy film about people we know too well losing their jobs and how they cope in different ways. Kevin Costner costars with his jarringly phony Boston accent, but his performance is very real. My Uncle Jim’s Fore River Shipyard also has a role in film (my Uncle Jim was one of the last let go before the place closed down) and it was nice to see it have a purpose again. Very good, but so sad to have today’s sad economy and terrible job market highlighted on the big screen. Well acted, good movie.
4 stars
Very good but so depressing. Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones and Chris Cooper star is this melancholy film about people we know too well losing their jobs and how they cope in different ways. Kevin Costner costars with his jarringly phony Boston accent, but his performance is very real. My Uncle Jim’s Fore River Shipyard also has a role in film (my Uncle Jim was one of the last let go before the place closed down) and it was nice to see it have a purpose again. Very good, but so sad to have today’s sad economy and terrible job market highlighted on the big screen. Well acted, good movie.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Green Hornet
Action, Comedy
4 stars
Fun movie – way better than I expected. Though it should be renamed “Kato is Kool!” because Jay Chou was the real star of this flick. Seth Rogen stars as a spoiled rich kid who decides he wants to make a difference and fight crime, but he needs Kato’s brains and talent to accomplish this goal. All the gadgetry, powerful weapons and the cool car, Black Beauty, are fun to watch. But I do have to point out one flaw: I don’t have a smart phone, but I believe if they had one they could have made a recording and uploaded it to the internet and prevented the millions of dollars of damage and destruction they caused. But it probably wouldn’t have been as fun to watch. Cameron Diaz costars as the sexy but smart secretary. Fun.
4 stars
Fun movie – way better than I expected. Though it should be renamed “Kato is Kool!” because Jay Chou was the real star of this flick. Seth Rogen stars as a spoiled rich kid who decides he wants to make a difference and fight crime, but he needs Kato’s brains and talent to accomplish this goal. All the gadgetry, powerful weapons and the cool car, Black Beauty, are fun to watch. But I do have to point out one flaw: I don’t have a smart phone, but I believe if they had one they could have made a recording and uploaded it to the internet and prevented the millions of dollars of damage and destruction they caused. But it probably wouldn’t have been as fun to watch. Cameron Diaz costars as the sexy but smart secretary. Fun.
Friday, January 14, 2011
The Dilemma
Comedy
3 stars
Good for a few laughs. Vince Vaughn catches his best friend’s wife cheating on him (Kevin James and Winona Ryder) with Channing Tatum and can’t find the right time or circumstance to tell him. Jennifer Connelly co-stars as Vaughn’s girlfriend. The first half of the movie was much better than what I’d expected, but then comes the awkward and inappropriate toast, shown in all the previews, that is even more awkward and inappropriate and excruciating to watch. Then there are a few more excruciating scenes and I started to wonder what happened to the nice comedy it started out to be. I liked the ending. I give it a “3” or “average” rating. Since most of the other choices at the theater are either depressing, dull or really dumb, this may be the best of the worst at the moment (except for The Tourist, I still think that’s a great date movie). So-so comedy.
3 stars
Good for a few laughs. Vince Vaughn catches his best friend’s wife cheating on him (Kevin James and Winona Ryder) with Channing Tatum and can’t find the right time or circumstance to tell him. Jennifer Connelly co-stars as Vaughn’s girlfriend. The first half of the movie was much better than what I’d expected, but then comes the awkward and inappropriate toast, shown in all the previews, that is even more awkward and inappropriate and excruciating to watch. Then there are a few more excruciating scenes and I started to wonder what happened to the nice comedy it started out to be. I liked the ending. I give it a “3” or “average” rating. Since most of the other choices at the theater are either depressing, dull or really dumb, this may be the best of the worst at the moment (except for The Tourist, I still think that’s a great date movie). So-so comedy.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Country Strong
Drama
4 stars
Another drunken Country singer movie. Gwyneth Paltrow stars as an alcoholic Country star whose husband, Tim McGraw, pushes her to get back on the road performing. Joining them on tour are delicious eye-candy Garrett Hedlund (Four Brothers) and the so-sweet-you’ll-want-to-vomit Leighton Meester (she’s supposed to be like that). Paltrow is good, though not to the caliber of Jeff Bridges, but the movie itself is much more enjoyable than the depressing Crazy Heart. I loved the Make-A-Wish scene and even though I’m no fan of Country music, the Musical performances were well done. But I kept wondering: How’d the baby bird fare? I thought it was supposed to be representational of Paltrow’s nurturing skills? Anyway, good movie.
4 stars
Another drunken Country singer movie. Gwyneth Paltrow stars as an alcoholic Country star whose husband, Tim McGraw, pushes her to get back on the road performing. Joining them on tour are delicious eye-candy Garrett Hedlund (Four Brothers) and the so-sweet-you’ll-want-to-vomit Leighton Meester (she’s supposed to be like that). Paltrow is good, though not to the caliber of Jeff Bridges, but the movie itself is much more enjoyable than the depressing Crazy Heart. I loved the Make-A-Wish scene and even though I’m no fan of Country music, the Musical performances were well done. But I kept wondering: How’d the baby bird fare? I thought it was supposed to be representational of Paltrow’s nurturing skills? Anyway, good movie.
Blue Valentine & Rabbit Hole
Sorry, I have no plans to depress myself with Blue Valentine or Rabbit Hole. The whole idea of sitting through two hours of misery of either a failing marriage or parents grieving the loss of a child just turns me off. While I like a good story, both of those topics are the kind of things that belong on the Lifetime channel. I’m sure there’s all kinds of “great acting”, and Nicole Kidman may very well deserve accolades for her performance in Rabbit Hole, but I choose not to subject myself to it.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Season of the Witch
Fantasy
2.5
Disappointing. Nicholas Cage stars as a 13th century crusader who must escort a “black witch” thought to be the cause of the plague to a monastery where she can be exorcized (Claire Foy). I am a sucker for gothic era films, and I especially like evil supernatural things like witches and vampires, so I was really looking forward to this film filled with atmospheric special effects. I did like some elements of the film, but it was almost as disappointing as last year’s The Wolfman with Anthony Hopkins. To start, the film begins with some silly, overdone battle scenes to show what fearsome warriors Cage and Ron Perlman are (Perlman was the star of Hellboy) and to show that they adhere to a code of ethics. Then there is the expected long journey with the witch that I kind of liked. Then there are some great special effects once they reach their destination. But somehow, and I can’t put my finger on it - bad acting by Cage probably – I just couldn’t take the story seriously and truly get into it. At the very end is a needless, patronizing narration that should have left on the cutting room floor. Jim disliked it more than I did. Wait for Cable.
2.5
Disappointing. Nicholas Cage stars as a 13th century crusader who must escort a “black witch” thought to be the cause of the plague to a monastery where she can be exorcized (Claire Foy). I am a sucker for gothic era films, and I especially like evil supernatural things like witches and vampires, so I was really looking forward to this film filled with atmospheric special effects. I did like some elements of the film, but it was almost as disappointing as last year’s The Wolfman with Anthony Hopkins. To start, the film begins with some silly, overdone battle scenes to show what fearsome warriors Cage and Ron Perlman are (Perlman was the star of Hellboy) and to show that they adhere to a code of ethics. Then there is the expected long journey with the witch that I kind of liked. Then there are some great special effects once they reach their destination. But somehow, and I can’t put my finger on it - bad acting by Cage probably – I just couldn’t take the story seriously and truly get into it. At the very end is a needless, patronizing narration that should have left on the cutting room floor. Jim disliked it more than I did. Wait for Cable.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Somewhere
Indie, Drama
2 stars
Really boring with an ending that makes no sense. Stephen Dorff stars as a famous but lonely movie star living at the Chateau Marmont in L.A. who takes on temporary custody of his 11 year old daughter, Elle Fanning, while his ex takes some time for herself. This won the Golden Lion award for Best Picture at the Venice Film Festival. Why? Were the others movies really that much worse? It’s only 97 minutes long, but feels so much longer as we watch Dorff brush his teeth, takes showers (waist-up – don’t get too excited) sit and stare into space, and of course take on many floozies. Even the pole dancers were boring – and there was so little to this movie that we have to endure two complete performances from them. Elle Fanning (Dakota’s little sister) is the bright spot in the movie as we see how much her Dad loves her. I loved the wordless exchange between her and Dorff when a floozy joins them for breakfast. There was another male character who shows up from time to time who is never introduced, but he hangs out on the couch, usually when Elle is present. Who the heck was he? And the ending; what the heck was that? So boring! We never learn his background, why doesn’t he have any friends, nothing! I thought Lost in Translation was super boring too, but at least those characters did some sight seeing. I don’t get the hype, and don’t really want to. Dull, dull, dull.
2 stars
Really boring with an ending that makes no sense. Stephen Dorff stars as a famous but lonely movie star living at the Chateau Marmont in L.A. who takes on temporary custody of his 11 year old daughter, Elle Fanning, while his ex takes some time for herself. This won the Golden Lion award for Best Picture at the Venice Film Festival. Why? Were the others movies really that much worse? It’s only 97 minutes long, but feels so much longer as we watch Dorff brush his teeth, takes showers (waist-up – don’t get too excited) sit and stare into space, and of course take on many floozies. Even the pole dancers were boring – and there was so little to this movie that we have to endure two complete performances from them. Elle Fanning (Dakota’s little sister) is the bright spot in the movie as we see how much her Dad loves her. I loved the wordless exchange between her and Dorff when a floozy joins them for breakfast. There was another male character who shows up from time to time who is never introduced, but he hangs out on the couch, usually when Elle is present. Who the heck was he? And the ending; what the heck was that? So boring! We never learn his background, why doesn’t he have any friends, nothing! I thought Lost in Translation was super boring too, but at least those characters did some sight seeing. I don’t get the hype, and don’t really want to. Dull, dull, dull.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
