|
|
| l Read GNT l Find GNT l Home Delivery l Advertise l Contests l Neat Stuff l About Us l Contact Us l | |
Movie Reviews From A Family Perspective
Click
on the corresponding letter to search by movie title
For
titles released after July 2005.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
<< A >>
10,000 B.C.
21
A
Good Woman
A Prairie Home Companion
A Scanner Darkly
Accepted
Across The Universe
Akeelah and the Bee
All
The King's Men
Always Will (DVD)
Amazing
Grace
American Dreamz
An Unfinished Life
Atonement
Aquamarine
Arctic Tale
Are We Done Yet?
Arthur and the Invisibles
The story takes place during a fanciful, mythical age of prophesies and gods,
when spirits rule the land and mighty mammoths shake the earth. In a
remote mountain tribe, the young hunter, D’Leh (Steven Strait), has found
his heart’s passion – the beautiful Evolet (Camilla Belle). When
a band of mysterious warlords raid his village and kidnap Evolet, D’Leh
is forced to lead a small group of hunters to pursue the warlords to the end
of the world to save her.
REVIEW: Despite all the special effects (it’s
laden with them), and the battle-saturated action, the film is, well boring. I
don’t know, maybe I’ve outgrown my enthusiasm for dinosaur movies,
but this film goes nowhere and takes a lot of our time attempting to get there. The
anachronistic dialogue, the uninteresting leading couple, and the film’s
pacing are unsatisfying. King Kong (the 1931 version) was a
morality play, and contained armchair-grabbing original effects for its time
(still holds up). Jurassic Park was funny and energized
(no expense was spared). 10,000 B. C., however, is devoid of
humor (well, intentional humor), originality, or excitement.
As for the Voodoo-like priestess or the film’s “spiritual” leanings, I wouldn’t worry that this will mislead youngsters. Frankly, it’s difficult to take anything here seriously, especially its take on early religion.
PG-13 (though it’s comic book-like, there is a great deal of violence as tribes war against one another and prehistoric beasts attempt to squash or eat humans; a barbarian wants to rape the female lead, but she is rescued; a captive woman is beaten and nearly torn apart, but rescued in time; though none of the violence is overly graphic, there is an excessive amount, as expected with the genre; some blood as several cave dwellers are knifed or speared to death). DVD Alternative: King Kong (the original).
A college professor gets his best students to take his place as a high roller card counter. Once he has them under his spell, they’re off to Vegas with fake I.D.s. It is impressive to see how the professor, like Satan, makes wrongdoing seem legitimate and satisfying. Slowly, we begin to see the sin take charge, then destroy. This was looking like a modern day morality tale. Sadly, the script takes a different direction. Rather than a moral, the film offers a mission impossible switch. No moral is taught. Like George Clooney’s Oceans 11, 12, and 13, it winds up with the good bad guys besting the bad bad guys.
We are left with the reasoning that it’s okay to beat the Man, just be good to your friends while you enjoy all the world’s vices. Truly, a new morality.
PG-13 for language, sexual situations and two scenes with brutal beatings.
Helen
Hunt, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Wilkinson. W-Howard Himelstein. Lion’s
Gate Films D-Mike Barker. Opens 2/3/06
Set in the 1930s on the Italian Riviera, the elegant and witty romantic comedy comes from Oscar Wilde’s play “Lady Windermere’s Fan.” Emerging penniless from yet another failed affair, the seductive Mrs. Erlynne (Hunt), scorned by many as a “woman of ill repute,” leaves New York for the Amalfi coast, where she hopes to find a new “patron” among the vacationing aristocrats. There she contends with mean-spirited gossip while finding a kind-hearted suitor in Lord Augustus (Wilkinson). But what’s this? Is the seductive Mrs. Erlynne also seducing a newly married man? And what’s her past relationship to his wife?
There’s both a huge plus and a distracting minus to this production. During an era of gross-out humor, when most comics and comic filmmakers rely on bodily functions and obscene language to get a yuk, the makers of A Good Woman have decided to reinvestigate the seldom used sophisticated wit of Oscar Wilde. That’s the plus. Of course, this type of humor also stems from a skewed view of life, usually one buoyed by drollery laced with snide sarcasm. It is a dying form as it depends on the audience’s ability to listen and reason out the comic wordplay. That takes more effort for moviemakers and us. Anyhoo, the film is loaded with quips, bon mots and spicy repartee, each delivered by men who carry flasks and women who signal their sexual intent by the way they hold a fan.
As to that distracting minus, it has to do with the central cast member, Helen Hunt. Ms. Hunt is extremely talented, but here she doesn’t radiate the qualities her character depends upon. She’s just not 1920s. What’s more, she’s supposed to be an alluring 40-something. Though an attractive woman, Ms. Hunt is too modern to represent an aging lost generation beauty. To be fair, it’s difficult to find a 40-something actress to fit this role, or any role, for that matter. Like Stepford wives, actresses nearing their fourth decade suddenly disappear in the night, replaced by younger versions. This is a fact never addressed by movie actresses until their Champaign-fueled 39th birthday party. But by then, they know they are doomed, for it is not an industry that cherishes aging starlets.
Besides not looking the part, Ms. Hunt chose to deliver her lines in a strident upper octave, ending each sentence with an upward inflection. It quickly became an annoying speech pattern. Who knows why she chose this delivery style or why she wasn’t reined in by her director? Swayed by the ghost of Mr. Wilde, I mocked that speech pattern throughout the day – “How are YOU?” What time is IT?”
Fortunately, Ms. Hunt is only periodically on screen, which allows us intermittent moments with a well-written story, enhanced by beautiful locales and an array of whimsical characters. We become engrossed in this ‘20s portrait, with its mixture of drama, humor, intrigue and sacrificial love. The only thing missing is ole Gatsby, himself. Then Ms. Hunt reenters with her incessant upward inflections and contemporary blandness. Why didn’t they just cast Ava Gardner? Oh…right.
PG (a couple of minor expletives; a jealous man punches another; sex it’s talked about a lot, but it’s not blatant, but rather implied, hinted and often delivered, wrapped in humorous prose; rich, it’s the 1920s, so they drink, a lot; though surrounded by earthy conversational exchange, and the lead character is amoral, it is actually a morality play. Several characters make sacrifices in the name of love; indeed, love between husband and wife is ultimately lifted up).
Opens
June 9th 2006.
Director Robert Altman (Nashville, The Player) and writer Garrison Keillor join forces with a superb cast to create a comic backstage fable, A Prairie Home Companion, about a fictitious radio variety show that has managed to survive in the age of television. Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin star as the Johnson Sisters, Yoland and Rhonda, a country duet act that has survived the county-fair circuit. Lindsay Lohan plays Meryl’s daughter, Lola, who gets her big chance to sing on the show and then forgets the words. Kevin Kline is Guy Noir, a bumbling private eye down on his luck who works as a backstage doorkeeper. And Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly are Dusty and Lefty, the Old Trailhands, a singing cowboy act. Add Virginia Madsen as an angel who roams the studio corridors, Tommy Lee Jones as the Axeman, who is closing the theater and ending the long-running show, and Keillor in the role of hangdog emcee, and you have a playful story set on a rainy Saturday night in St. Paul, Minnesota, where the fans file into the Fitzgerald Theater to see a staple of radio station WLT, not knowing that WLT has been sold to a Texas conglomerate and that tonight’s show will be the last. (Remember, it’s just a story. The radio show is not really being cancelled.)
I suppose it helps to be familiar with Garrison Keillor’s wit, which can be partially defined as reflective, guileless, cultural, and droll. Mr. Keillor is a combo of provincial raconteur and noble savage, a beguiling dispenser of wry homilies and casual empathy. His wisdom comfortably resides between the worlds of sophistication and non. Perhaps I’m getting a bit heady by providing descriptives Mr. Keillor would no doubt find mockable. But for those unfamiliar with the builder of Lake Woebegon, I wanted to make it clear that his humor stems from other sources than those mined by the majority of today’s comedians.
Keillor’s chronologic storytelling and his oddball characters console the listener/viewer, while slyly pointing a finger at our culture’s mediocrity. That said, it is not necessary to be a weekly follower of public radio’s longest running program in order to appreciate this film’s ensemble and their poignant dramedy.
Eighty-one-year-old director Altman’s free-flowing form is perfect for the intertwining of the different subplots, characterizations and motifs. And though Mr. Keillor, with that perfect face for radio, wisely takes a supporting position throughout the proceedings, his distinctive, off-the-wall persona is ever present. Like Mark Twain and Will Rogers, Keillor is a storyteller par excellence. He’s not just about getting the quick joke, but rather about creating a wistful world we not only get to visit, but hate leaving. Here he incorporates several touching, insightful moments concerning mortality.
That’s not to say that we are allowed to completely escape crudity or Christian bashing. One scene has an extended flatulence joke that was unnecessary and was included most likely to satisfy those who believe no comedy is complete without a good fart joke. At one point the cowboy duo tell several crude jokes. Then one tale told by the Johnson songbird sisters has the siblings reflecting upon the unloving and overzealous nature of some Believers. But those are moments of exception in this charming salute to bygone radio days. Most of the humor stems from the conceptual mind of G.K. His erudite worldview springs from a fount most of us can only be in awe of. And tribute is paid to the soothing nature of gospel music. There’s even an angel who, among other duties, states clearly that her job is to glorify God.
I laughed and was moved. I enjoyed entering Garrison Keillor’s world, “where all the men are good looking, the women are strong, and the children are above average.”
PG-13 (there are several crude potty jokes, wisecracks about one’s posterior, flatulence rifts and a couple of sexual innuendos; one song contains a few off-color remarks and several unnecessary expletives; that said, this coarse humor is largely outnumbered by creative and insightful humor, balanced out with a touch of slapstick; some may find a comic reference to Jesus objectionable; referring to how long the show has run, a jokester states, “Since Jesus was in the 3rd grade.”
There are three obscenities, 4 minor expletives; I caught no misuse of God’s name other than four uses of the expression “oh my God;” there’s some groping between an elderly couple in one scene; it is implied that they are having an affair, but nothing graphic is shown; a few sexual innuendos and a couple of scenes feature the cowboy duo cracking sexual jokes; an angst-ridden teenager is obsessed with death and suicide; this is played for laughs and later it is revealed that the girl does cherish life)
Keanu
Reeves, Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson, Winona Ryder, Rory Cochrane.
Warner Independent Pictures. Dark comedy/drama/sci-fi./action-adventure.
Written & directed by Richard Linklater, taken from Philip K. Dick's
graphic novel. Opens 7/7/06
Set in the future, the story concerns an undercover cop who suffers from the effects of an in-demand drug known as Substance D. Little does he know that while he has hatched an elaborate plan to catch a notorious drug dealer, the split personality effect of the drug has made him the very outlaw he's trying to capture.
With an absorbing panel-by-panel pace, caustic, dark humor, and the use of live-action photography overlaid with an animation process - a method known as interpolated rotoscoping - the graphic novel turned poignant actioneer creates a frightening picture of America's future, one devastated by narcotics.
I'm not sure to whom the film is geared to. It seems to be an anti-drug warning, its characters peopled by movie stars who know first hand the destructiveness of drug use, yet its bizarre look and schizophrenic attitude seem more suitable to an ambivalent audience of stoned stoners. That said, I found it fascinating, hypnotic and ultimately anti-drug. It is depressing, however, as we see a paranoid lead character, really an antihero, progressively lose touch with reality. Also, beware the content as it is excessive.
Thus sayeth the Reviewer: I once heard that upon taking a certain drug, the user experiences a high unlike any other. From then on, the user searches vainly for that same euphoria. A person can get lost by entering the wrong door even once. Whenever I speak to groups of teens, I point out that God will forgive you when you make a mistake. So, hopefully, will your loved ones. But life never forgives. You will pay for your miscalculations. It's impossible to avoid all faulty judgments, but you can step around those caused by drug use. Though it has become somewhat anemic, the old phrase "Just say no" still carries a passionate truth.
R (The film deals with a group of people so taken over by drug use, that nothing else matters; therefore, their lifestyle is filthy, their language crude and their morals missing. Over 50 obscenities, 6 profane uses of Christ's name and one blasphemous term; there are no violent acts, however, the mind-altering effect is jarring, the self-destructiveness a form of violence to the soul; an implied sex act; we see a woman topless; 2 sex discussions, one detailed).
Justin
Long, Jonah Hill, Blake Lively, Adam Herschman, Maria Thayer, Anthony Heald,
Columbus Short and Lewis Black. Universal. Written by Adam Cooper & Bill
Collage and Mark Perez. Directed by Steve Pink. Opens 8/18.06
Unable to get into college, Bartleby "B" Gaines (Justin Long) cons several other entrance rejects into forming their own university. It’s Ferris Bueller Goes to College.
The misfit freshmen take "liberal" arts literally when they fool their parents and peers and create the esteemed South Harmon Institute of Technology. They clean up an abandoned psychiatric facility, employ a buddy's brilliant but revolutionary uncle (Lewis Black) as the dean and create a fake web site as their campus calling card. With that, South Harmon, the alternative school of higher learning, is born.
A fun character, Justin Long’s Bartleby is astute, yet subversive, like Groucho Marx. He struggles with klutz-hampered youth ala Jerry Lewis. And he bests the grownups with all the cocky aplomb of Mr. Bueller. I kept thinking, this kid can’t get into college? He should own a college!
Accepted is produced by Tom Shadyac (Bruce Almighty, Liar Liar, The Nutty Professor) and Michael Bostick (Bruce Almighty, Liar Liar) and is directed by Steve Pink (writer of High Fidelity and Grosse Pointe Blank). Those are pretty good credentials for this type of step-up. And sure enough, it becomes clear quickly that this is not a dumb teen movie. It’s funny and smart. But beware – be very aware; it is bawdy and less than spiritually adherent. Please read the content.
PG-13 (most of the crudity has to do with the observation of the opposite sex; glad to say there are no flatulence jokes, but some of the dialogue and several gags are downright lewd; The s-word could be considered a costar for it appears as frequently as the male lead; said at least 30 times, the university’s initials even spell it out. There are a few other obscenities sprinkled throughout, as well as a few minor expletives; There is one profanity; Producer Tom Shadyac professes to be a Christian – Tom, you couldn’t keep God’s name followed by a curse out of your film? Shame on you. It will hurt you at the box office because Christians won’t attend if they know it’s in there. Wait a minute. Yes, they will. Shame on us. Slapstick pratfalls and a couple of explosions, but no one is injured. There is much sensuality, with cute coeds constantly clad in cleavage-conveying clothing. There is a great deal of bawdy humor based on sexuality, including some references to masturbation. A mother drinks to excess; this is played for laughs. It is implied that the college parties are alcohol injected. There are drug references and teen drinking The lead is seen making fake IDs and he lies to everyone in order to achieve his goal).
Evan Rachel Wood, Jim Sturgess, Joe Anderson. Sony Pictures. Musical. Written
by Dick Clement & Ian La Frenais. Directed by Julie Taymor. Opens
9/28/07.
FILM SYNOPSIS: A whimsical musical/love story set against the backdrop of the turbulent anti-war protests of the 1960s. The film moves from the dockyards of Liverpool to the creative psychedelia of Greenwich Village, from the riot-torn streets of Detroit to the killing fields of Vietnam. The star-crossed lovers, Jude (Jim Sturgess) and Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood), along with a small group of friends and musicians, are swept up into the emerging anti-war and counterculture movements, with “Dr. Robert” (Bono) and “Mr. Kite” (Eddie Izzard) as their guides. Tumultuous forces outside their control ultimately tear the young lovers apart, forcing Jude and Lucy – against all odds – to find their own way back to each other.
REVIEW: It’s a psychedelic salute to the hippy-dippy, turn-on, tune-out ‘60s generation, whose Mecca was Haight-Ashbury and mantra was “Hell no, we won’t go.” Driven by the Beatles songbook (I think the actors sing every song the Fab Four ever conceived), the film has a stylish look and sincere performances, but director Julie Taymor (Frida, Titus, and the Broadway smash hit musical The Lion King) and writers Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais (The Commitments) glorify the cartoonish behavior of that time with little regard for its disastrous naiveté.
But I won’t write-off the filmmakers’ ability. They have a point of view and express it with earnestness. In the press notes, director Taymor says, “You constantly have to revisit these stories in order to reflect upon your present and really think, ‘What is it that’s different now?’ That era is explicitly important to our time now.”
True. If we deny the past, we are doomed to relive it. I’m just not sure all the radical discourse of that era was truthfully done with pure motives. The revolution wasn’t just against man’s authority, but God’s, as well.
It was a troubling age as the youth of America found little satisfaction in the complicity of its elders and sought profundity anywhere but at the feet of their folks. Added to a dawning awareness of unequal rights and the disillusionment with political authority, the 1960s were dominated by an unpopular war in a distant land known as Viet Nam. Alas, whatever righteousness the youth movement found in fighting injustice became sickened by a cancerous rebellion for rebellion’s sake. Ultimately, the peace/love generation proved to be no more enlightened than any other. All the revolt against the system and all the self-exploration imaginable are eventually found to be disillusioning when Christ-awareness is denied. And the comparison these filmmakers attempt with today’s social dissatisfaction is colored by rose-tinted granny glasses, like those once worn by the Honky Tonk Women of whom many a young man said, “She blew my nose and then she blew my mind.” Oh, sorry, that’s the Stones, not the Beatles.
Long (2 hrs 14 min.), excessive (too many musical numbers that bemoan the status quo), dreary (lots of distress due to the war-is-hell theme and countless unsettled relationships), and I suspect it’s only metaphorical if you’re stoned. And I don’t recommend that.
PG-13 (around 10 obscenities with a handful of minor expletives; four misuses of God’s or Christ’s names; a fight breaks out between two men at a protest headquarters; we see a man killed in battle and learn of the death of others; a hospital scene has several wounded men scared physical or mentally by the war; several depictions of protest rallies that turn violent; some blood as people are injured at protest rallies; a few sexual situations, basically there to depict the free love and repressed love attitudes of the time; a high school cheerleader relays her love for another girl in song; we see a lesbian situation; several nude scenes; a depressed lesbian can’t find love; smoking, drinking and drugs are featured throughout; one subtle put-down of religion).
Running Time: 2 hrs. 14 min.
Intended Audience: Older teens and adults
Angela
Bassett, Laurence Fishburne, Keke Palmer. Lionsgate/Starbucks Entertainment.
Inspirational family drama. Written & directed by Doug Atchison. Opens
4/28/06
Akeelah Anderson (Keke Palmer) is a precocious eleven-year-old from south Los Angeles with a gift for words. Despite the objections of her mother (Angela Bassett), Akeelah enters various spelling contests, for which she is tutored by the forthright Dr. Larabee (Laurence Fishburne), her principal, Mr. Welch (Curtis Armstrong) and the proud residents of her neighborhood. Akeelah’s aptitude earns her an opportunity to compete for a spot in the Scripps National Spelling Bee and in turn unites her neighborhood, which witnesses the courage and inspiration of one amazing little girl.
Told from the perspective of an African American, where whites are peripheral characters, perhaps a subtle payback for all the Stepin Fetchit roles blacks endured when the medium was young, this is a film about healing. Akeelah and the Bee is smartly written, uplifting and charming, a great film that reminds viewers of the obligation we have concerning the maintenance of language. The film has several positive messages, including caring and sacrificing for others. It also reminds each of us that while there are dark valleys we must go through on our travels through life, green pastures also lay ahead. Akeelah and the Bee is a gentle, amusing and very touching film.
PG (the lead is instructed not to use “ghetto” talk, but to use language respectfully; two uses of the s-word and four or five minor expletives such as damn and hell; two girl bullies beat Akeelah, but she is not injured; both Akeelah and her mentor have lost loved ones, her father to a stray bullet, his son to sickness; there are dramatic discussions concerning these deaths, but they are designed to help heal kids dealing with similar tragedies).
Sean
Penn, Jude Law, Kate Winslet, James Gandolfini, Mark Ruffalo, Patricia Clarkson,
Anthony Hopkins. Columbia Pictures. Drama. Written & directed by Steven
Zaillian. 9/22/06
The film’s theme concerns absolute power corrupting absolutely, as the story charts the rise and fall of charismatic Southern politician “Boss” Stark. At first, Stark is looking out for the common man, but self-glorifying ambitions quickly overwhelm his man-of-the-people roots.
Penn peaks early on with a scene that will no doubt be remembered come Oscar nominating time, but the actor adds little dimension or much enthusiasm as the film progresses. He’s actually boring. (Never thought I’d say that about one of the most interesting actors of this generation.) But the worst thing is the film’s lack of moral direction. There simply is no character portraying a positive example. Penn’s character, obviously a good ol’ boy Democrat, takes as many shots at the corporate world and Republicans as possible, yet his character offers no moral distinction. Nor does anybody else in the movie. There are people in politics who think you can better our nation without first examining their own conduct. Evidently, these characters have learned from their real-life counterparts.
Video Alternative: A Face In The Crowd. Andy Griffith began a serious movie career as a country boy who makes good then becomes a cad. Director Elia Kazan’s drama deals with the same subject matter – corruption of the soul – without the excess or confusion that makes the new All The King’s Men a mere parody.
Or rent the original version of All the King’s Men with the Oscar-winning Broderick Crawford. It is a powerful film that examines corruption in the political and business worlds while avoiding obscene language and gratuitous sex.
PG-13 (8 obscenities, a few minor expletives and 5 profanities; two men are gunned down; a suicide is seen; blood from the two dead men commingles, flowing in the cracks of the State’s insignia; blood is splattered from a suicide’s gun shot to the head; the lead is a fornicator and adulterer; there are two sex scenes and a couple of other suggestive scenes that reflect the lead’s sexual interests outside marriage; brief nudity in one scene.; a couple of sexual conversations, one becoming crude and vulgar; drinking throughout; everyone smokes).
Running Time: 120 min.
Intended Audience: Older teens and
adults.
First-time director Michael Sammaciccia brings a creative parable to DVD with his tale of a high school nobody and his equally unseen buddies who, as a practical joke, dig up a time capsule previously buried by their elementary school. They soon discover that the capsule is a sort of time machine able to change the past. The boys individually learn, however, that the magical powers they think have bettered their lives by making them popular have set other problems in motion. As a test of faith and character, each discovers that true magic is found in the heart and in the development of one’s own character.
Though this is another neophyte filmmaker forced to take on two too many jobs, writer/director/producer/editor and director of photography, Mr. Sammaciccia does deliver an involving concept and presents a cast and crew who do a nice job, considering the limitations forced on them by a small budget.
MTI Home Video releases the PG-rated comic adventure Always Will on DVD March 20, 2007. Geared to a teen and preteen market, the DVD also contains bonus features including outtakes, cast auditions, deleted scenes and commentaries.
Ioan Gruffudd, Romola Garai,
Ciaran Hinds, Rufus Sewell, Youssou N’Dour
with Micael Gambon and Albert Finney. Samuel Goldwyn Films/Roadside Attractions/Bristol
Bay. Drama. Written by Steven Knight. Directed by Michael Apted.
FILM SYNOPSIS: Ioan Gruffudd (Black Hawk Down, Fantastic Four) plays William Wilberforce, the man who championed the abolition of slavery in the British Empire. Elected to Parliament at age 29, Wilberforce led a diverse coalition of believers in a decades-long struggle to end the lucrative but dehumanizing slave trade. Several friends, including Wilberforce’s minister, John Newton (Albert Finney), a reformed slave ship captain who penned the beloved hymn Amazing Grace, urge him to see the cause through.
REVIEW: I have to admit, I was a little disappointed. Not by what’s up on the screen, but by what isn’t. The picture is engrossing, with a solid (if staid) performance from the its lead. Amazing Grace enlightens while never forsaking the goal of any devout filmmaker: to entertain. But I was letdown by its neglect of the man who first combined those two words – Amazing Grace. Considering the title, I thought the film would focus around the author of one of the most stirring hymns ever written. Sadly, we don’t learn much about John Newton.
Though the always engaging, if blustery, Albert Finney depicts Newton as a guilt-ridden man in a few scenes where he mops a church floor or looks off into oblivion after losing his eyesight (there’s an irony that could have been developed - Once I was blind, but now I see), we don’t witness his conversion or come to understand what brought on that reversal, except through a discursive anecdotal monologue. By not focusing the film on Newton’s transformation, the filmmakers discard one of the most affecting conversions in all of history. Oh, how I would loved to have seen this epic, yet personal subject matter in the hands of writer Robert Bolt (A Man for All Seasons, Dr. Zhivago) and director David Lean (Great Expectations, Lawrence of Arabia).
Once again, well-meaning Christian producers (there are several of them attached to this production) have dropped the ball. We never see the mistreatment of the black man. It’s just talked about. You’d think such gifted filmmakers as Apted and Knight would be well aware that in movies a picture is worth a thousand words. In this film, we always get the thousand words, while the most powerful imagery is neglected. Because of this neglect, there’s no visceral punch to the production. For instance, we hear a man discuss the villainy of chains and shackles, he even puts one around his neck, but we never see men held captive by such devices. A brief flashback could have pictured the life-changing horror undergone by Africans stolen from their homeland. That’s the astonishing aspect of movies, they picture what words fail to reveal. We are therefore left with a production that is more TV Masterpiece Theater than majestic theatrical drama. Misters Apted and Knight have made a good movie, just not an amazing one.
That said, director Michael Apted (Nell, 42 Up, The Long Way Home) and
Steven Knight (Dirty Pretty Things, Eastern Promises) do combine their
efforts in
order to relate a bit of history – how the slave trade was brought to
the attention of the world. Though it’s not the moving film I expected,
Amazing Grace is an important film because it reminds us of the horrors mankind
is capable of inflicting. It should also remind us that we need to be vigilant
of the insidious nature of evil. Malevolence sprouts up when and wherever
possible, and is designed to destroy the soul of mankind.
PG (a bigoted man refers to blacks with the n-word; there
are a couple of minor expletives; while there are no scenes of the horrific
practice of slavery,
there are discussions that reveal its cruelty; occasional social drinking).
Running
Time: 111 min.
Intended Audience: Older teens and adults
Hugh
Grant, Mandy Moore, Dennis Quaid, Willem Dafoe, Chris Klein. Universal. Written & directed
by Paul Weitz. 4/21/06
On
the morning of his reelection, the President decides to stay in his boudoir
and read a paper. Completely controlled by his chief of staff, the President
begins reading the newspapers and discovers that there is more going on than
his sheltering staff lets him believe. Weeks later, he’s still holed
up in the First Bedroom, analyzing the world’s state of affairs. Trouble
is, the public wonders why they haven’t seen him. Is he in bad health?
Has he gone off his executive rocker?
His chief aide and consoling wife deem it necessary to get the President back
in the spotlight.
They do so by having him make an appearance as a guest judge on the top-rated musical reality show, American Dreamz. The dopey leader of the free world then takes second fiddle to the self-aggrandizing host of the program. Nearly devoid of character or feelings, the host is determined to keep his show on top by pitting a conniving steel magnolia against a bumbling Iraqi immigrant, who unbeknownst to anyone in his U.S. family, is a trained terrorist ordered to win the contest and blow up the President.
The spin on this George Bush spoofing is that beneath his unawareness there beats the heart of a decent man who would like to do right if only he wasn’t such a pampered fool. Usually Hollywood is more mean spirited about Mr. Bush.
Dennis Quaid is terrific in this role, giving a comic performance that avoids burlesque. Trouble is, after endless parodies on Saturday Night Live and countless sophomoric movies poking fun at the Prez, the shtick is getting stale. Well, I suppose if you hate George Bush, the lampooning never gets old.
Hugh Grant is also perfect as the self-loathing narcissistic TV host. And lovely Mandy Moore is a little too perfect as the scheming small town girl who wants more than anything to be famous. The rest of the cast are at the top of their game, having a blast at ridiculing the President, reality shows and foreign misconceptions of America.
Dr. Strangelove, The Hospital, Network, and The Mouse That Roared are 4-star examples of how parody and sardonic satire are used to teach and remind us of the absurdities man will go to in order to achieve fame, power and wealth. I wouldn’t quite put American Dreamz in the same category as these classics, but it does make several valid points. And its biting humor is very funny. Alas, there are areas of ridicule that didn’t sit right with this reviewer. For example, in the name of humor, the writers poked fun at Mr. Bush’s past drinking problems and his faith. Yes, even a belief in God and reading the Bible become a source of blunt humor. This religious mockery is very telling, for its difficult to not sense a demeaning attitude from those involved, one that suggests Christianity is the folly of fools. And of dolts and bigots. It’s hard to enjoy a movie containing such propaganda.
PG-13 (The sarcastic wit sometimes becomes crude. For example, humor is played out of President Bush’s past drinking habits and his religious beliefs. A rabbi is also made fun of. After losing the contest, we see him drinking, surrounded by scantily clad women. There are a few obscenities sprinkled throughout. I caught one use of God’s name followed by a curse. A soldier is wounded in Iraq. This is played for laughs. A terrorist is being trained to blow up the president. This is also played for laughs. A soldier is seen bleeding from a wound in the arm. There is one implied sexual dalliance. Though it is discussed, we do not see the situation. One character is effeminate, but we do not see any sexual activity. There are a couple of sexual dialogues, but nothing is graphically discussed. Some drinking. The film satires politics, TV reality shows, as well as personalities dominated by greed and selfishness. The president is portrayed as a buffoon).
Robert
Redford, Jennifer Lopez, Morgan Freeman, Josh Lucas, Camryn Manheim, Damian
Lewis and Becca Gardner. W- Mark Spragg and Virginia Spragg. D- Lasse Hallström.
Opens 9/9/05
There are two ways of looking at this production. First, it’s fine storytelling, one that’s about something, one that displays the technical and artistic abilities of Hollywoodland, and one that makes it undeniably clear that Robert Redford is one very good actor. The second way of looking at it is less satisfying for those attempting to develop their spiritual walk.
A story about forgiveness, it centers on the intersection of the lives of two sets of people: Einar Gilkyson (Robert Redford) and his hired hand and closest friend, Mitch Bradley (Morgan Freeman), who have lived and worked together for forty years on Einar’s ranch in northwestern Wyoming, and Jean Gilkyson (Jennifer Lopez), Einar’s estranged daughter-in-law, and her eleven-year-old daughter, Griff (Becca Gardner), who are escaping an abusive situation with Jean’s current boyfriend, Gary (Damian Lewis).
Like many movie stars of old, Redford has always been somewhat mannered, allowing his screen persona to dominate his character. For years he has searched for a role where he could incorporate his star quality within a characterization, yet make it a fully developed and completely believable person. He has achieved this goal with Einar Gilkyson. Here he sculptures Einar with all the Redford tics, but with a vulnerability he seldom allows to shine through the rugged outdoorsman he generally constructs. It may not be flamboyant enough to garner Oscar attention, but the dynamics are all there and his three-dimensional characterization should indeed be considered award worthy.
Alas, the film deals with the loss of a child and the need to forgive from a temporal approach. There is absolutely no evidence that any of the characters involved seek spiritual guidance, but rather attempt to mend through humanistic doctoring alone. I expect there are many people who do go through life unable to accept an ecclesiastical force, feeling more comfortable with the conviction that man is his own master. So when a death occurs or he faces his own mortality, the atheist draws something from within as a substitute for faith. Can that be done? Possibly. Does that ability somehow deny God’s existence? I suspect the atheist hopes so. After all, without the existence of God, man is in charge of his own destiny. He answers only to himself.
In the story, the Morgan Freeman character, who has become a brother to Redford’s Einar, has been mauled by a bear, leaving him crippled and dependent on his friend to give him pain shots and help him move about. The bear becomes a symbol throughout the film. It has brought great pain and injury, now it is captured, seen in a small zoo-like cage to be displayed for school children and tourists. Now Morgan’s Mitch and Redford’s Einar somehow connect with this animal. It is therefore used as a metaphor as the two men let go of their bitterness, letting understanding and forgiveness rule. But that is as close as the film gets to spiritual parable. Redford’s only acknowledgement of God comes in the form of a profane reaction to the struggles of life. At least 13 times he utters God’s name followed by a curse. He talks to his dead son on top of a hill where the young man lies under a sculpted stone, as meticulously groomed as Redford’s aging hair, but his conversation exhibits no acknowledgment of God. At the end of the film, a discussion about the possibility of the dead being concerned with those left behind is used as a doxology of sorts, the two elderly men assured that those who have crossed over now guide us and forgive us. That becomes their faith, their one concession to religion.
Robert Redford has been a blessed man. Few men, if any, can be considered better looking. He’s also talented. He gets to live where he wants. He picks and chooses not only the film projects he wishes to participate in, but evidently, every other aspect of life, as well. While I’m sure he has had disappointments and sadnesses, like any man, his life appears to us mere serbs as having been king-like. Yet never in his long career have I seen him pay homage to the true King. His roles are about men who reverence Mother Nature, at the same time besting her. And like most actors, he feels no reluctance for profaning the names of God or Christ.
While I left the theater with a gladness to see storytelling and character development not completely abandoned by filmmakers, I was saddened that filmgoers would be subjected to a film that touted humanism as it dismissed theology. It doesn’t necessarily deny God’s existence; it just ignores it.
PG-13 (18 or so profanities; 4 obscenities; several minor expletives; one gay joke; the woman has left an abusive lover; we see her bruise marks; two physical fight scenes and gun enforced threats; prominent wounds from a bear attack; family quarrels; bear attack).
Video Alternative: The Straight Story. Filmed along the 260-mile route that the actual Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth) traversed in 1994 from Laurens, Iowa to Mt. Zion, Wisconsin, The Straight Story chronicles Alvin’s patient odyssey. He encounters a number of strangers, from a teenage runaway to a fellow WWII veteran. By sharing his life’s earned wisdom with simple stories, Alvin has a profound impact on these people. It contains lessons about the importance of family and forgiveness. Caution, though it is rated G, the film contains the following: a few expletives, one misuse of God’s name and one misuse of Jesus’ name; many of the main characters smoke; occasional beer drinking; the lead drinks a beer himself, but the film explains why many people use alcohol as a crutch.
Keira Knightley, James McAvoy, Saoirse Ronan. Focus Features. Romantic drama. Written by Christopher Hampton. Directed by Joe Wright.
FILM SYNOPSIS: In 1935, 13-year-old fledgling writer Briony Tallis (Saoirse Ronan) and her famly live a life of wealth and privilege in their enormous mansion. On the warmest day of the year, the country estate takes on an unsettling hothouse atmosphere, stoking Briony’s vivid imagination. Robbie Turner (James McAvoy), the educated son of the family’s housekeeper, carries a torch for Briony’s headstrong older sister Cecilia (Keira Knightley). Cecilia, he hopes, has comparable feelings; all it will take is one spark for this relationship to combust. When it does, Briony – who has a crush on Robbie – is compelled to interfere, going so far as accusing Robbie of a crime he did not commit. Cecilia and Robbie declare their love for each other, but he is arrested – and with Briony bearing false witness, the course of three lives is changed forever. Briony continues to seek forgiveness for her childhood misdeed.
REVIEW: A great deal of the misunderstanding revolves around one unprintable word. Of course, temperance has never stopped a filmmaker of the past twenty years. So, rather than leaving the word to our imagination, we are shown it several times. And that’s my problem with this Oscar hopeful; it’s excessive.
It is a morality tale and it reminds how a jump to the wrong conclusion can lead to tragedy, but it also beats you over the head with its despair, as if that component was enough to make for two hours of movie-watching.
Though the artistic and technical achievements deserve the attention of award givers, the characters were just not engaging. I never grew close to them, as you do with, say, Rick, Ilsa and Victor Lasslo as they struggled to regain love and get out of Casablanca. Dark, depressing, and immoderate, Atonement feels more like a time of penance than a rich movie-going experience.
R (several crude slang terms for the
female body. Underneath the staidness of the period, most of the characters
behave like crude schoolboys; around 30 obscenities, mostly the f-word; five
or so misuses of Christ’s name and God’s; wartime atrocities, some
rather graphic and horrifying imagery, including a shot of several dead schoolgirls
and in another scene drowned victims floating in water; one scene appears to
be a man raping a schoolgirl; there are a couple of sexual situations, one
lingering, shot from several angles;
smoking and drinking throughout by most of the characters).
Running Time: 122 min.
Intended Audience: Adults
DVD Alternative: Romeo and Juliet. Zeffirelli's 1968 production is far superior to the recent film with Claire Danes and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Emma
Roberts, Joanna JoJo Levesque, Sara Paxton, Jake McDorman. Fox. Teen comedy.
Written by John Quaintance and Jessica Bendiger. Directed by Elizabeth Allen.
Opens 3/3/06
Following a violent storm, a beautiful and sassy mermaid named Aquamarine washes ashore and into the lives of two preteen girls. Rebelling against her domineering father who doesn’t believe in love, Aquamarine has come ashore seeking to prove him wrong by finding someone with whom she can share that emotion. Naturally, her eyes fall upon the first hunky lifeguard she sees, much to the chagrin of her new young friends, who also secretly have a crush on the lifeguard. But they can’t resist helping her snag him, because, as we all know, mermaids are magical, and she has promised them a wish fulfilled if they help her win the hunk’s heart.
In every male film critic there dwells the spirit of a thirteen-year-old girl, as well as the more widely accepted worldly cynic. Civilians may call this a form of schizophrenia, but we in the trade prefer to call it “being in touch with our fellow moviegoers.” How else can you explain our appreciation for a Tsotsi in one screening and the enjoyment of a Aquamarine the next? Don’t misunderstand, upon exiting the theater I had no secret desire to sport a ponytail or text mess classmates. I just liked the movie despite everything I learned in film-reviewing school.
It’s a parable whose message concerns friendship and the discovery of the meaning of love. Put that together with adolescent insecurities that audience members either humorously relate to or cringingly remember, plus surprisingly funny dialogue and delivery, and you have an engaging film for teens and a guilty pleasure for us older folk.
PG (The girls, nearing womanhood, make several comic comments concerning their newfound appreciation for boys and exasperation that they’re not as filled out as older girls. That said, there’s a sweet innocence to the production and the dialogue steers clear of crudity. There is one minor expletive, “Hell;” “bitch” is heard once; at one point, the frustrated mermaid barks a twist on words, “bullshark.” In keeping with a valley girl colloquialism the girls have a tendency to utter the expression “Oh my god” whenever shocked, frustrated or joyous. This idiom, which refuses to go the way of “nutty” or “groovy,” is used several times by the two 12-year-old stars and their newfound aqua-friend. A girl is pushed off a pier by a mean-spirited rival, but it sets up the scene to show the sacrifice of friendship. The story takes place on a beach, so there are lots of young folk in skimpy attire, but the camera does not leer at the young people. Schoolgirl crushes lead to discussing the opposite sex, but the filmmakers are respectful to their creations and careful not to abuse their audience. It has a sweet spirit and life lessons.
Made by National Geographic Films, the producers of March of the Penguins. Narrated
by Queen Latifah. The film features music from Cat Stevens, Ben Harper,
Aimee Mann, and The Shins.
FILM SYNOPSIS: A tale of love, family, friendship and loyalty, and a tribute to everyday miracles, Arctic Tale has to do with Seela the walrus and Nanu the polar bear, on their journey from birth to adolescence to maturity and parenthood in the frozen Arctic wilderness. Once a perpetual winter wonderland of snow and ice, the walrus and the polar bear are losing their beautiful icebound world as it melts from underneath them.
REVIEW: Like March of the Penguins, it has humor and drama and a bottom line message that stresses the importance of life. Unlike March, this film stresses what many consider to be a clear and present danger, the heating up of our planet.
Global warming has become a political football, mostly embraced by tree huggers and Al Gore. Well, Global Warming is the film’s theme and the producers’ agenda is to emphasize that if this phenomenon does not changed by 2040, our planet will be an altogether different looking place. Is this film just a political tool to aid in securing a democratic presidency? Is it fueled by disinformation? Is this change in weather conditions a normal cycle or is man responsible for the change in temperature? Is there really a change in temperature? Unlike most who write about the subject, I confess to not be an authority. There are, however, two sides to this debate, and depending on your leaning, you can find a speaker whose viewpoint seems right. But not here. Right or wrong, Arctic Tale states matter-of-factly that Global Warming is a reality. And it’s never too early to get the message across to kids that, “We’re doomed.”
Arctic Tale is rated G and though it depicts harsh life-and-death struggles, it does so in a family-friendly way. It’s full of impressive, almost unworldly locations and amazing cinematography, and it sends a powerful message concerning the importance of life. Indeed, nature is telling us about the sanctity of life. In a time when audiences are subjected to pro messages concerning euthanasia (Million Dollar Baby, The Sea Inside), the need for abortion (Vera Drake), and desensitizing images of violence toward our fellow man (most films), here is a movie that reveals creatures in the wild sacrificing all in order to preserve life. A great outdoor film for the entire family.
G (we see animals attacking others in order to kill and eat, but the producers are always aware of their youngest viewers and use discretion when presenting these facts of life; we see the death of a young polar bear due to starvation; a walrus sacrifices herself in order to protect a pup from an attacking foe; animals preparing to procreate, but more implied than shown.)
Running Time: 96 min.
Intended Audience: Family
Ice Cube, Nia Long, John C. McGinley, Aleisha Allen, Philip Daniel Bolden.
Family Comedy. Written by Robert Ramsey & Matthew Stone and J. David
Stem & David N. Weiss. Directed by Steve Carr. 4/6/07
FILM SYNOPSIS: This follow-up to Are We There Yet? borrows its story from the Cary Grant classic Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House. Now married to Suzanne (Nia Long), Nick Persons (Ice Cube) has bought a quiet suburban house to escape the rat race of the big city and to provide more space for his new wife and kids Lindsey and Kevin (Aleisha Allen and Philip Daniel Bolden). But when his new home quickly becomes a costly “fixer upper” and he finds himself at the mercy of an eccentric contractor (John C. McGinley), Nick’s suburban dream soon becomes a comic nightmare.
REVIEW: You have to credit Ice Cube for being a good sport. He’s made a family film, avoiding crudity (mostly), subjected himself to numerous pratfalls in the name of Jerry Lewis, and allowed co-star John C. McGinley to steal scene after scene as a zany, Zen-like combo of real estate salesman, city inspector, construction consultant, and New Age midwife. Not as witty, stylish or satirical as the Cary Grant 1940s movie, but if you like silly slapstick and want to enjoy such shenanigans with your little ones, this works. Like me, you may even find a few screwball situations causing you to laugh out loud.
Video Alternative: Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House. Cary Grant and Myrna Loy were at the top of their game as the frustrated city couple who redo a house in the country. It’s classy comedy, but perhaps viewing it today, audiences will laugh the most when hearing of Mr. Blandings’ salary ($5,000 per year, or the $15,000 house).
Are We Done Yet? is rated PG (There are a few crudities, including a couple of flatulence jokes, but mostly the filmmakers avoid coarse comedy; most of the humor is generated from house-building problems; a couple of mild expletives, but no harsh language; other than a couple of “oh my Gods” I caught no misuse of God’s name.
Violence: Slapstick situations – falls through the roof, that sort of thing; the lead gets angry with the contractor, and a brief, comical scuffle ensues; husband and wife are always interrupted before they can become physical – these scenes are played for laughs, though they are not graphic and they show a healthy relationship between the married couple; the lead is seen drinking in a bar one time; a prayer at mealtime is used for comic purposes, but it does show that this is a family that gives thanks to God).
Running Time: 95 min.
Intended
Audience: Family
Freddie
Highmore, Mia Farrow, and the voices of David Bowie, Madonna and Snoop Dogg.
Weinstein Company. Live action/animation. Written and directed by Luc Besson.
12/29/06
Smart boy Arthur discovers how to shrink himself in order to seek out help from the fairy creatures. But before the happy ending, there come several perilous adventures for your Arthur and his pointy-eared pals.
It’s reminiscent of Ferngully: The Last Rainforest, with a softer ecological message and without the zany wit of Robin Williams. Clever and energetic, it’s more adventure than comedy, but pleasant enough for kids bored with their recent Christmas morning haul.
Not rated at time of screening (several comic book action sequences with our little heroes in many perilous situations, but the filmmaker is careful not to assault his intended children's audience; Arthur's parents are away, having to work and unable to care for their son; Arthur and his grandmother are faced with eviction; parents should attend in order to reassure during the action sequences).
© 2008 Good News Tucson™