Jun 17, 2011
(rated R) Director Louis “Message In A Bottle” Mandoki directs this film that is difficult to summarize without giving away the story (so the trailer already proved.) While they were concerned about exposing the plot, it’s clearly evident within the first ten minutes just where we’re headed. Jim “Frequency” Caviezel plays Catch, who begins a romance with a police officer (Jennifer Lopez) after saving her. Mandoki may have made the wrong choice in casting Lopez instead of Ashley Judd. After last year’s detestable “The Cell” this one follows suit in showing that Lopez lacks acting ability (stick to singing) and can’t seem to warm the screen with any charm. Do the words straight to video mean anything?
Jun 17, 2011
(rated R, 95 mins.) Picking up where “Analyze This” left off — a prison sentence after a wedding, mob boss Paul Vitti (Robert DeNiro) will be released from bars under one condition: He’s released to the care of his shrink (Billy Crystal). Vitti takes a job as a consultant on a Sopranos-style show called “Little Caesar”, starring Nicky Caesar (Anthony Bella). The combination of the anxious analyst and the highly tempered mobster make for a good chemistry that works as well as it did the first time around. While at times the plot seems overly thought out and overly acted, it’s the films tension and their consistency in delivering their roles, that makes DeNiro and Crystal’s differences, appealing.
Jun 17, 2011
This movie is not a political statement. I repeat, it’s not a political statement. The only one making a political statement seems to be George Bush refusing to see it. This documentary is about a moral and universal message – global warming and what can happen in the next fifty years if we don’t take strong measures now. Or as environmental activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. once said, “This is about our children; and our children are neither Democrat nor Republicans.” It’s really Al Gore’s slide show turned movie, presented in an unexpected and entertaining way, based on the lectures he given all over the world. Al Gore once “the next President” waited a long time to tell this story and he feels he’s failed at getting the message across.. I think he’s succeeded in scaring the heck out of me, not only in the awareness of a world crisis, but overwhelming me with the question of ‘what can I do to help?’ This movie is a smart and disturbing message but in some ways a relief, a shift from a nation with so much focus on war and terrorism. This is about our sky, sun, moon, weather, animals, fish and most of all – our futures. Anybody out there with an ounce of tree-hugging or penguin-waddling love in their bodies, will be emotionally moved. And, if you don’t see it on the big screen, there’s no doubt it will find its way not only to DVD, but as required viewing for all students in all classrooms. Four Crowns
Jun 17, 2011
MY FAVORITE MOVIE OF THE YEAR (SECOND IS THE HURT LOCKER) An Education is up for several nominations including best actress and best picture. Premise: Why go to school to study Latin and literature when you can drink, dance and jet set the night away? It’s 1961 and this is the dilemma of Jenny (Carey Mulligan), a sixteen-year-old British girl who has fallen for fancy-pants David (Peter Sarsgaard) an older gent who’s got the attitude and sophistication to charm the virginity right out of a girl. It’s a bit “Lolita” somehow in strange reverse. Especially in the opening soundtrack. And then there’s Jenny’s father (Alfred Molina) who sees the entire situation as a platinum Mastercard-moment all to ensure his daughter’s future. Why go to Oxford to study hard when you can wed and live lightly. Penned by Nick “About a Boy” Hornby, from a memoir by journalist Lynn Barber, the story tells of “An Education” in life experience far beyond any chapter in the classroom of English teacher (Olivia Williams). The movie focuses on fine details like Jenny’s mother hanging over a kitchen sink, scrubbing away at a crusty casserole dish just as Jenny arrives home from a night of opera and supper clubs. Is this the life she’s destined to live – just as stifled and tedious as her present adolescent routine? Danny (Dominic Cooper) and his girlfriend, Helen (the gorgeous Rosamund Pike) play suitors to the game as best friends to David. Emma Thompson portrays a bit part as the school’s cynical head-mistress who believes studying is where it’s at. Not the study of a man’s anatomy. The film is meticulously shot, directed and acted by all, though this is clearly Carey Mulligan’s movie. She’s part Audrey Hepburn wrapped in school girl tweed, lighting up the screen – a true star in the making – she moves from girl to woman and then back to girl again at the film’s stunning conclusion. Hard to imagine a young woman could handle things so maturely as Jenny, but maybe that’s just us American teens. Perhaps British girls steeped deep in tea, education and self-discipline know all too well how to handle any situation (even the ones a thirty-year-old can barely handle.) All that said, it’s obvious why this film has already swept audience awards and will most likely be a strong Oscar contender. A star is born. And her name is Carey Mulligan. Four tiaras
Jun 17, 2011
(rated R) “Love’s A Bitch!” a film from Mexico debuting director/producer Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s effortless interweaving of three complex storylines that collide via a terrible car crash (seen three times, from wildly different perspectives). The first story of Octavio (Gael Garcia Bernal), who makes his money in the world of dog fighting while he lusts after his sister-in-law, the battered wife of his brother. The second involves a philandering man (Alvaro Guerrero) and his trophy mistress Valeria (Goya Toledo) whose world also revolves around dogs, although a lap dog, when her little “Richie” gets stuck under the floor boards of their apartment. And, finally there’s a third man surrounded by dogs in his makeshift home where he leads a life as a homeless contract killer haunted by his past, longing to be reunited with his daughter. The pun of Love’s a Bitch (and a female dog) is intended and accomplished through the in-depth (and sometimes annoying) exploration of the juxtaposed narratives of these losers to lovers. While American’s may have trouble accepting the idea of the family pet in a blood bath, the screened dogfights are mainly suggested. The angle of the pooches – one a pampered doggie, one an attack dog and the rest runaway “Lady and the Tramp” types, show how these unlikable heroes can relate to unconditional love, a man’s best friend. On the other hand, the scene cuts, the whiplash imagery, the loud soundtrack and seat squirming 153 minutes tends to suffocate the audience.
