Well acted with an emotional story of bad cops and good cops (play casting director: Who would you have play bad and good cop? Edward Norton or Colin Farrell) makes Pride and Glory a gripping 125 minutes. There is a thread of melodrama that weighs the picture down. But just grit your teeth and get through those scenes and you’ll have a pretty darn good movie. [ RT ]
Pride and Glory
October 24th, 2008 — movies |
The Secret Life of Bees
October 22nd, 2008 — movies |
One of the reasons I went to this tearjerker was to see how Dakota Fanning is doing making the transition from child to woman . . . and she is doing just fine. She is in most scenes of The Secret Life of Bees, and does some heavy lifting (including a romantic scene appropriate for a 14 year old), as just about ever emotional button is pushed. [ RT ]
What Just Happened
October 21st, 2008 — movies |
His role in What Just Happened seems to be perfect for Robert DeNiro. In this inside look at a movie producer’s life you get a condensed version of quite a few wacky showbiz characters and their issues. This kind of stuff entertains me. . . but maybe not you. [ RT ]
Minutes after seeing What Just Happened Gary and Norm cross the street to discuss the film.
W.
October 17th, 2008 — movies |
Oliver Stone has not produced a sendup of the president nor a wholesale takedown, the film looks like a traditional biopic. I was surprisingly and thoroughly entertained by Josh Brolin playing the frat boy who would be king, while Richard Dreyfuss creeps around in a Dick Cheney sneer. As far as I could tell the story and dialogue, with the exception of a weird dream sequence near the end, was based on real words and events. Maybe some of it was slightly out of context. But this was not a hatchet job. W. is not a documentary but it is entertainment. [ RT ]
The Express
October 16th, 2008 — movies |
Formulaic, trite, predictable, by-the-numbers . . . they all apply. I would only recommend The Express to some one who doesn’t know about or remember the civil rights struggles and/or Ernie Davis. Of course this is the kind of movie where, as he has proven before, Dennis Quaid can shine. And he does here. His performance almost saves the movie. [ RT ]
Rachel Getting Married
October 15th, 2008 — movies |
To be flip Rachel Getting Married is a two hour cat fight. To be more charitable I will call it an engrossing tale of family angst, highlighted by Anne Hathaway’s powerful performance. Along with a welcome performance by Debra Winger. The spotlight, in all honesty, should fall on the performers. This cast did a tough job at a high level of emotional energy. I must say, though, Rachel Getting Married has “indie” written all over it. A more commercial film would have been edited much more tightly and would gone to the humor card more. It was somewhat of a challenge to make it though this film. [ RT ]
Body of Lies
October 14th, 2008 — movies |
I guess I am with the 50% of critics who would recommend Body of Lies. A proven director and screen writer meant a film that was much more nuanced and credible than a lot of pictures in this shoot-em up, CIA/Middle East Jhadist genre. I enjoyed the whole trip and most of all I wasn’t saying to myself every ten minutes . . . “wait a minute that can’t be.” Here the issues and characters weren’t painted black or white . . . lotsa gray tones to contemplate. [ RT ]
Blindness
October 11th, 2008 — movies |
Blindness should have been called “Anarchy.” After some unexplained plague causes blindness in a group of random citizens they are quarantined and left on their own to survive. Mob rule and survival of the fittest are a potent mix. So many unanswered questions arise. No effort is made to find out the cause of the blindness. In fact we see very little of what the authorities are nothing in the out side world. The frustrating part of the plot was why the one person in the lock up who could see didn’t use this power for more good. Just too many holes in the story. [ RT ]
City of Ember
October 11th, 2008 — movies |
A bizarre modern new world, 200 years in the future, is created in City of Ember. Like in so many films these days some, never described, calamity has hit Earth so the citizenry live in some sort of bubble city with lotsa gadgets. But some things don’t change. The powerful still are corruptible and it is left to a more hopefully youth to find a way out (literally and figuratively). The predictable story and chase scenes do little to contribute anything new to this old story. [ RT ]
Trailers
October 9th, 2008 — movies |
Since I was the only one in the theater and I have trouble remembering all the trailers I see . . . I pulled out the camera and captured a few seconds of each of the five previews shown.
