Jun 20, 2011
(rated PG-13, 133 mins.)
Sam (Sean Penn) is a mentally challenged man who works with meticulous care pouring lattes at Starbucks. He raises his baby girl Lucy Diamond (Dakota Fanning) named for “Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds” abandoned by her mother. But that’s ok since Sam, a Beatles fan, gauges life around Ringo and Paul, behaves like a grown-up little kid untouched and non-manipulative. Lucy’s even got an eclectic group of make shift Uncles, who like Sam are a few fries short a happy meal. Add to the mix his neighbor and piano teacher (Diane Weist) who lends a hand now and then with diaper changes. But, that all changes when at the age of seven Lucy is holding back for fear she’ll surpass her dad if she learns anymore. When the school puts Lucy in state custody Sam vows to fight the legal system. But, he can’t afford Rita Harrison (Michelle Pfeiffer), the perfect high-powered self-absorbed attorney to crack his case. The movie with a “Kramer Vs. Kramer” twist becomes a moving angle of selfless love which is the best gift any parent can give yet mirroring the larger than life with Pfeiffer’s own parental inadequacies. Penn is incredible as his sweet, kind, and unaffected character Sam who is pit against Pfeiffer’s effectively exhausting hell on wheels and power bars attorney. Together they make for a mismatched couple that while quirky and goofy, manages to grow on you to deliver the sanest story out there. There is much to appreciate in this movie that believes it has the answers to an issue seldom challenged.
Jun 20, 2011
(rated R) One of the best soon-to-be-big-word-of-mouth movies about to place actor Terrence Howard, on the map. Howard stars as Djay, a Memphis pimp by day, who dreams of musical success by night. When a friend (Anthony Anderson) helps him produce a song they make up – “Whoop That Trick (It’s Hard For A Pimp)”, Howard’s life is about to change. Enter Skinny Black (real life rapper Ludacris) who is a childhood friend and possibly Howard’s claim to fame. While the story has a lot of fantasy to it, it’s the grit that stabilizes what would otherwise be fluff. And, like all good real life rap legends (Fifty Cent, Ole Dirty Bastard, Tupac etc.) there is something to be said with killing or stabbing a fellow rapper that surfaces one to fame. Somehow the deep longing, coupled with the integrity in believing fame can happen, dismisses in their minds, any crime, so long as he follows his version of the ghetto American dream. Outstanding performances by all in this underdog crowd pleaser. Top pick at Sundance and Nantucket Film Festival 2005.
Jun 20, 2011
(rated R, 99 mins.)
Written and directed by 25-year old newcomer, Justin Kerrigan, the story tells of a group of friends whose sole release is pills, booze and wall-to-wall electronic music. The action unfolds in the Welsh city of Cardiff where Jip and his cohorts get ready for some all-night clubbing, first at a young kids bar to get their cylinders clicking and then leading patrons in an alternative, Gen-X version of the National anthem. What follows is a series of set pieces culminating in a postmortem of the weekend’s activities and the expectation that in five days, it will all start again. If you are wondering why we would really care, you’re right. Kerrigan set out to give the critics exactly what they hate. A movie about non-sympathetic punks in a lack of a plot with much drug induced dialog in a similar vein to “Trainspotting.” There are no clear solutions aside from drinking, smoking pot, popping pills and party hopping. We spend over an hour and a half supposedly worrying about Jip (John Simm) who can’t control his “Mr. Floppy.” Lulu (Lorraine Pilkington) who can’t deal with her string of cheating boyfriends, Koop (Shaun Parkes) who can’t stop imagining his faithful girlfriend Nina shagging other men and Moff (Danny Dyer) who keeps himself in a haze to avoid seeing the black hole where his life should be. Thank God for the term ‘straight to video’.
Jun 20, 2011
(Rated R, 96 mins.)
From the makers of the wild and wonderful “Being John Malkovich” comes the story told in flashback of Lila Jute (Patricia Arquette), a suspected murdering author with a hormonal problem that changed her life from the age of 12. Since, this nature lover, at the advice of her electrolysis (Rosie Perez) falls for Nathan (Tim Robbins) an ape-hating-still-a-virgin-scientist with a fork fetish whom for certain reasons (we won’t divulge), makes them perfect for each other. You with me so far? I didn’t think so. Enter Puff (Rhys Ifans) as a man raised by apes. When Nathan finds him, he studies and trains Puff from table manners to fine wine until he’s created a nightmare. The moral of the story is that there’s a fine line between animal behavior and human nature while the language of love is sometimes better than any words can convey. Arquette, Ifans and Robbins demonstrate their own animal magnetism with their underlying anxiety about identity meets flesh. Their over the top acting skills prove this wild tale can sustain all 96 minutes.
Jun 20, 2011
This is an odd little film focusing on one of the two most famous poems of Allen Ginsberg (James Franco) circa 1955, residing in San Francisco and New York. Ginsberg, you might recall, was one of the two main characters of the “beat” generation (the other being Jack Kerouac) so of course Mad Men’s John Hamm must be in this film, though sadly he shows little range. It’s like Don Draper in the same navy suit, same hair only he’s in a courtroom portraying defense attorney, Jake Ehrlich. David Strathairn is the prosecuting attorney, Ralph McIntosh. The movie revolves around a legal trial since the publisher of Ginsberg’s poems was prosecuted on obscenity charges. Witnesses are Mary Louise Parker in a bit part as an English instructor, and Jeff Daniels as Professor David Kirk. The movie’s cheesy animation sequences act as backdrop to the narrated poems -jumping all-over-the-place – which is interesting, since Franco is always portrayed as a real life ADD Renaissance-type with multiple careers, colleges, etc. In this, he’s the centered and driving force to a character who was complicated, gay, a momma’s boy and a poet. Franco has a big broad range. This ain’t no Pineapple Express but it ain’t a good film either. Franco, however, is Oscar-worthy material no matter what he does these days, and certainly creating a buzz as he jockeys into the next Heath Ledger spot. One tiara
