Film Reviews

Vera Drake -- There is not a cup out of place or a word of dialogue that does not cry out with authenticity. Mike Leigh’s VERA DRAKE takes place in dark, dank working-class London in 1950. Saw -- In April, 2003, Aron Ralston, a 27 year old climber, was pinned for 5 days under an 800 pound boulder in the Utah Canyonlands. He amputated his arm to save himself. He used a dull pocketknife and the operation took about an hour. The Incredibles -- If, like me, you are tired of animation involving fish, bugs, and animals, this will be the movie for you. It will also revolutionize the target audience for animation. Ray -- Films based on the lives of real people always cover up one or two of the ugliest warts. Didn’t A BEAUTIFUL MIND slip a few key character flaws under the rug? Birth -- Unlike THE FORGOTTEN and THE GRUDGE, BIRTH is a superior supernatural story set in Manhattan that is drenched in emotion. The Grudge -- Ken Johnson of the Johnson and Tofte Radio Show in Las Vegas had this succinct appraisal of THE GRUDGE: “A movie that should not have been re-made in the first place puts a curse on the audience.” Happy Hour -- Money isn’t everything. By an act of alchemy, director Mike Bencivenga has turned a low-budget indie into a golden experience. It boasts no major stars, no F/X to boggle your mind or marketing blitz to deaden your senses (or good judgment). I Heart Huckabees -- I now know the following: Jude Law did not read the script for THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY. It did not make one bit of difference to Naomi Watts if she did WITHOUT A PADDLE or 21 GRAMS. Around the Bend -- AROUND THE BEND stars Michael Caine, Christopher Walken, and KFC. Henry Lair (Caine) loves his fried chicken. Even though it is hardly apparent he can afford live-in help who doesn’t seem inclined to keep house, Henry has a Danish housekeeper named Katrina (Glenne Headly). Team America: World Police -- The uninitiated are not going to wander into TA:WP looking for social relevance or artistic integrity. South Park’s creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone set out to make a rude, offensive movie. I wasn’t offended. Shall We Dance -- Because of major cultural differences, British director Peter Chelsom’s westernized remake is a major sea-change from the 1996 Japanese original — Masayuki Suo’s sensitive, critically-acclaimed drama. Shark Tale -- Was SHREK 2 a fluke? DreamWorks Animation apparently saw those SHREK box office numbers and pushed another movie into production without bothering to secure a clever, imaginative screenplay that made SHREK 2 such a joy. TAXI -- New York City police detective Washburn (Jimmy Fallon) is an incompetent cop; however, his past relationship with Lieutenant Marta Robbins (Jennifer Esposito) appears to keep him from getting fired for gross misconduct as well as banging up cars and destroying citizen property. Friday Night Lights -- This one, however, is well known in sports circles. It’s 1988 and a Texas high school football team, the Permian High Panthers, is preparing for their run for the state championship. Going Upriver:The long War of John Kerry -- QUOTE: John Kerry’s side of the Vietnam controversy told in a compelling way. GOING UPRIVER is the account of John Kerry’s service in Vietnam after his impressive Yale education. The documentary, assembled by director and close friend George Butler, confronts the issues head on. Incident at Loch Ness -- Dwelling blissfully in the long shadow cast by THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, Zak Penn’s intelligent, witty and crafty homage to so many things cinematic is a unique (despite its debt to BLAIR WITCH) treat for starved US filmgoers. Paparazzi -- I read all the tabloids, gossip blogs and, every day, check out awfulplasticsurgery.com. There is a simple reason why I love cruel celebrity gossip. I resent the PR machines that promote celebrities as gifts from God immune from human suffering and common problems. Danny Deckchair -- The first we see of Danny (Rhys Ifans) he has fallen into a vat of cement. It’s not his first time. He is a mess. His hair is stringy and over-bleached. His longish beard is dangerously unkempt. He can’t stay alone in the house because he throws everything on the floor. What the %$#@ do we know --Films promising cool special effects, lots of action and babes draw in enormous crowds. A film promising the meshing of quantum physics, scientists, and mystics may send the masses packing the other way. Cellular -- High school science teacher Jessica (Kim Basinger) blissfully drops her son off at his school bus and returns to her regal home. Suddenly two thugs break in and kill her maid and kidnap her. Jessica is taken to a farmhouse and left in the attic. Exorcist : The Beginning --This is the beginning only briefly seen in the original THE EXORCIST. It is the first encounter Father Merin has with Satan and demonic possession. It is 1949 and Lankester Merrin (Stellan Skarsgard), because of his guilt regarding his involvement in World War II aiding the Nazi’s in Holland, has left the priesthood and is now working as an archeologist in Cairo. Suspect Zero --Major Edward Dames (Ret.), the controversial face of remote viewing, is a dear, close friend. I’ve known Ed for nearly fifteen years and have sat in many times on his RV workshops (remoteviewing2004.com). So, of course, I found his work in SUSPECT ZERO to be terrific. Collateral -- Hit man Vincent (Tom Cruise) is on a mission in Los Angeles: kill 5 people and then make a 6:00 A.M. flight out of LAX. He gets in Max’s (Jamie Foxx) taxi and offers him $600 to drive him around all night. Open Water -- Now, after seeing OPEN WATER, I’m going to be on deck counting heads making sure my husband returns with or without treasure. Garden State -- Andrew Largeman (Zach Braff), 26 years old, is returning home to New Jersey for his mother’s funeral. Andrew does not see New Jersey through the eyes of someone who loves “The Garden State.” Alien Vs. Predator -- To get ready for AvP, I watched ALIEN immediately before the screening. Anderson failed to give his human cast members the kind of force of personality that both ALIEN and PREDATOR achieved. The Village -- is slow-moving and intentionally disconnects the audience from the actors and the events that are unfolding. The ending came as a total surprise to me. Catwoman -- Screenwriters John Brancato and Mike Ferris just could not make viable characters out of Patience or Catwoman. Patience is your typical oppressed worker-bee who is clumsy and, even though gorgeous, doesn’t have a love life and doesn’t know she is gorgeous. King Arthur -- It’s the name recognition that pulls us in, but screenwriter David Franzoni has created persuasive masculine heroes, and director Antoine Fuqua provides a dazzling, cold and fierce medieval landscape for these men to exploit the beginning of the King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table legend. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgandy -- Friends complain I look for two things in every movie: Ben Stiller and homoeroticism. ANCHORMAN has both.


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