Movie Review Archives

Girl With a Pearl Earring	Good film stars Scarlett Johanson as a servant girl in the household of the painter Johannes Vermeer sometime during the 17th century in Holland. Although illiterate, she has artistic sensibilities that are lacking in others close to the painter. Ultimately, she becomes the subject of the painting, "Girl with a Pearl Earring." The story is fiction though with a historical basis.
21 Grams	Interesting story format as the movie progresses more or less from beginning to end with a lot of inter-cutting of scenes that require the viewer to piece together their chronology. Worth a look.
Tokyo Godfathers	Lively Japanese animation from the director of "Perfect Blue" and "Millennium Actress." The story concerns three homeless people who find an abandoned baby on Christmas. They set off on a search to find the baby's mother which leads them on a series of misadventures. There are a lot of coincidences in the film that I would not have tolerated in a live action movie. They work here to keep the story moving. The animation is beautifully done. In Japanese with subtitles.
Big Fish	Touching story of a man who has led a storied life. The trouble is that most of his stories challenge the ability to suspend disbelief. A rift has formed between the man and his adult son. When the father is stricken with cancer, the son returns home and makes an attempt to connect with his father. He wants to learn some truths about his father's life as his father was away during much of his youth. The stories are engaging and varied. They contain an element of fancy to be sure, but is there any truth in them?
Mystic River	A taut thriller that keeps you guessing as to whom the culprit really is, Mystic River, was nominated for an academy award in categories such as best picture and best director. Ultimately, Sean Penn won for best actor and Tim Robbins collected the best supporting actor award for their portrayals in the film. I thought there were a couple of minor flaws in the narrative, but ultimately the story hinges upon people who seem incapable, and in some cases perhaps unwilling to make coherent decisions. Their confusion, both turned inward and outward leads to tragic results. Ultimately, it seems that some are willing to live with the consequences of their actions, no matter how flawed, while others are unlikely to recover. Notice that I say, "live with," and not "take responsibility for," as it seems that no one feels they can be held to blame for their deeds. It is as if those who suffer do so at the whim of fate and those who survive feel that it is somehow their destiny.
Something's Gotta Give	Jack Nicholson seems to get his share of the good dialog in this genuinely funny movie about making connections. Diane Keaton was nominated for the best actress Oscar for her role as an over 50 divorced playwright who is comfortable in her cloistered lifestyle. She is forced to endure the company of an ailing Nicholson who is set to recover at her beach home for a few days. What they discover about one another does not occur overnight but the payoff is worth it. Keanu Reeves plays the suffering good guy who loves Keaton's character, but alas ...
The Fog of War	Interesting monolog by Robert McNamara who walks us through the events that led him to the office of secretary of defense and through some of what leads us in the national direction. He seems willing to admit that mistakes were made, and yet holds back in some aspects of the dialog. Scary stuff, but historically very important. This full length documentary feature won the Oscar for that category.
Monster	Charleze Theron is a completely different person in this film where she plays the hard-edged serial killer, Aileen Wournos. The film depicts the circumstances that lead into the killing but shows Wournos to become a cold-blooded killer who does not accept responsibility for her actions. It does make one think about the things in a persons life that lead them down a certain path. While their behavior may not be excused, you do get a sense of, "there but for the grace of God go I."
The Barbarian Invasions	I enjoy "slice of life" films where you swoop in, get to know some people, spend a few days with them, and depart. This is one such film and I liked it. The movie is about a university professor in Canada who is hospitalized with cancer. The outlook is bleak. He has a wife and two grown children, a son who is a commodities trader in London and a daughter who sails the oceans delivering sailboats to their buyers. At his mother's request, the son flies back from London with his fiancée to help with his father's situation. The son and father are distant from one another. The father is a sociologist while the son deals in finance. Also, we find out that the father has had many mistresses and cheated on his wife for the first time only six months into their marriage. The fact that they have even an amicable relationship is surprising given how open he is about his faithlessness. Ultimately, the son arranges for a group of his father's friends, including two ex-mistresses, to spend time with the family over the course of several days. We learn a lot about their various personalities and we like them all. No one in the film is a mean person. The film is in French with English subtitles and won the Oscar for best foreign language film.
Destino (animated short)	This animated short is the result of a project begun in the late 1950's by Salvador Dali and Walt Disney. If you're a fan of Fantasia (I'm not), you would probably enjoy this film. I liked it okay as I knew it was the only one I would have to sit through. The animation is fine as is the music, but I just don't enjoy video set to song all that often.
The Triplets of Belleville	Strictly art-house animation, this movie has limited appeal despite its very upbeat theme song. The movie has what amounts to no dialog, although a few words are muttered. Most all other communication is non-verbal if not non-aural. There is some creepiness to the film that will limit its audience. I thought it wasn't bad and the rousing chase scene towards the end almost makes up for the pacing of the film prior to that.
Monsieur Ibrahim	Monsieur Ibrahim is an endearing story about an elderly Muslim man who befriends a young Jewish boy in 1960's Paris. The man, Omar Sharif, is a Turk, a shopkeeper in a tiny grocery in a poor neighborhood. The young boy, Moses, whom Monsieur Ibrahim calls Momo, lives with his father who seems eternally depressed and always compares his son, disparagingly, with his elder brother who has left the household some time in the past. His mother, it seems has also abandoned the family when the boy was perhaps seven or eight. Eventually Momo and Monsieur Ibrahim embark on a car trip to the Turk's homeland. The story is about discovery, acceptance, and the legacy that one creates through kindness. In French with subtitles.
NASCAR 3 - D in Imax	Exciting documentary short (less than 50 minutes) about the world of NASCAR. Even if you're not a fan, and perhaps especially so, you may well enjoy this film. It doesn't get overly technical, focuses on the cars, the people involved, the fans, the preparation, and, of course, the racing. We also get to see a little of the roots of NASCAR. The 3-D effects are with us throughout the film though when the cars are coming towards us or across the screen, the picture is surprisingly flat. The 3-D imagery is often more noticeable when there is very little action. That seems okay because, when the cars are coming at us, the sound is loud and the fact that they're on the giant IMAX screen seems to be all that is necessary. The inside the car shots are very effective and I wish there had been more of them. And, there is one sequence where you may find it hard not to duck. Fun!
Miracle	I'm a sucker for this type of story. If you enjoy sports, especially the Olympics, it has all of the hooks available to pull you into this story about the last group of true amateurs competing for the USA in Olympic hockey. It doesn't hurt that I remember following the events of the day and how the team electrified the nation in a very exciting winter games. Kurt Russell does an excellent job of playing coach Herb Brooks and the games will have you on the edge of your seat, even if you know the outcome ... and who doesn't? Hollywood could not have invented a better story and I'm surprised it has taken this long to become a theatrical film.
My Architect : A Son's Journey	I guess you have to admit that the life of Louis Kahn was "different." I may have been more interested in the film if I liked his work better, but I am not a fan of the buildings I saw in the film. He used too much exposed concrete for my taste. I am a fan of the American Wind Symphony barge, though, which I have seen a number of times in the Pittsburgh area.
Goodbye Lenin	Funny film. A dyed-in-the-wool socialist happens to slip into a coma just before the fall of the Berlin wall. When she wakes up eight months later, her children try to hide the political and social changes from her. The technical craftsmanship of the film is fair, but the story is genuinely fun. In German with subtitles.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind	I'm a fan of Charlie Kaufman's scripts, and I enjoyed this film as well. I thought it could have ended a little sooner, but otherwise it was quirky enough that it held my interest.
Bon Voyage	Very fun film that succeeds at everything it strives for. The pace is quick and stops only long enough for you to catch your breath before moving along again. It doesn't leave you worn out, though. The film is like watching a well crafted stage play. The characters are all unique and you get to identify them quickly. They stay true to their roles throughout. Although there is humor in the story, it is not a comedy, but more a story of intrigue, love, and adventure during the first few days of the German occupation of France in WW II. In French with subtitles.
Van Helsing	If you like the genre, you'll appreciate this handling of the Dracula/Frankenstein/Wolfman treatment. It pays homage to the cinematic origins of the classic monster flicks and updates the material to match the expectations of the (early) 21st century movie going audience. I don't know that it has broad appeal for people who are not fans.
I'm Not Scared	Powerful story of a ten year old boy in Italy who discovers a kidnap victim his own age. This boy knows what is morally right and acts on it even though none of the adults in his life set the proper example to follow. In Italian with subtitles.
Lost Boys of Sudan	Interesting documentary about the dreams of what America offers versus the reality of the refugee experience. This film focuses on two persons who are both looking for the same things and are basically good people, but make different choices to reach their goals.
Valentin	Complex story about a precocious 8 year old in Argentina who is dealing with complex family issues in trying to build a normal home life for himself and those closest to him. Although the kid is cute, some of the things that happen to him are not. Still, he demonstrates amazing resourcefulness and resilience. In Spanish with subtitles.
Troy	I like Wolfgang Peterson films and this one is a grand epic that is reminiscent of the best films of old (Spartacus, Ben Hur, etc.). Hector, the Eric Bana character, is the most sympathetic of all. His actions are always noble and he rises above all others. Achilles, as played by Brad Pitt, is much less so, though he has moderately redeeming qualities. He's flawed, but not in the good, anti-hero way. Still a solid story that moves along at a good pace.
Fahrenheit 9/11	Loaded with both conjecture and some specific claims about preferential treatment for the Saudis. This politically charged film goes for the juggler with its anti-Bush rhetoric. The scenes of injured US servicemen, among others, give one pause as they put a human face on the cost of war.
Godzilla	This is the original 1954 Japanese film never before released in the US! It is fully restored and contains footage that I had not seen before making the experience somewhat new. (I have seen the film on VHS tapes that are available -- but not officially.) We saw it at the Music Box in Chicago which is a perfect venue because of its vintage look. Just as Dr Yamane (Takashi Shimura) was to be introduced, the film came off its sprockets, hit the lamp, and melted away before our eyes! What a 1950's film experience. They soon repaired it and the rest of the film came off without a hitch. Interesting crowd for a Saturday afternoon. See my prior review here. In Japanese with subtitles.
Two Brothers	Very nice theatrical film about two tiger cubs separated at a young age and their different experiences in an exploitive world. The setting is the early 1900's and I missed where the country was supposed to be (I was a minute or two late for the film). Principal actors were Vietnamese and the setting did have a French colonial influence, so it may well have been meant to be Vietnam. The movie was filmed in Thailand and Cambodia. In any case, the expressions on the faces of the cubs are priceless. The animal acting is amazing and the story is overall very uplifting though of course there are sad parts. This is essentially a smart family film. Not appropriate for children that are very young, perhaps, and adults will like it too.
Garden State	Fun movie with a lot of quick sight gags scattered among an otherwise serious story.
Zatoichi	This movie did not disappoint me at all and that isn't easy considering how much I had looked forward to it coming out. It also isn't easy to take a 26 film franchise and make an episode with a completely different cast. Takeshi Kitano pulls it off by using some surprisingly contemporary musical elements and humor among all the graphic violence. For those who like "Kill Bill" ... well, this is so much better there really is no comparison. In Japanese with subtitles.
Spiderman 2	I'm not a fan of the casting of the main characters for Spiderman. I don't like Tobey McGuire and I don't think that he and Kirstin Dunst have any chemistry. I think they do a good job on the comic book, super hero parts of the film but the sappy dialog makes me wish I was anywhere else except in the theatre.
Hero	Too much like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon for my taste. Although this is a good looking film, everything else has been done before, and perhaps better. But, hey, it's smashing box office records in China so what do I know? In Mandarin with subtitles.
Napolean Dynamite	Funny, quirky teen comedy with enough offbeat characters to make it seem fresh although the ending is predictable.
Ghost in the Shell 2 : Innocence	Stunning graphics!! There were times when I didn't understand what was going on in this movie but I didn't mind that because it looked so good. In Japanese with subtitles.
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow	I liked the look of the film and the way it puts a comic book twist on a time that is already in our past. Giant robots and other agents of evil are attacking around the world, but we also see familiar signs, such as movies on the marquee that are familiar from our past. I don't think that Gywneth Paltrow and Jude Law shared any real chemistry nor do I buy Jude Law as an all-American hero. Still a fun story.
The Harvest Time	Not much happens in this story that takes place in a 1950's Soviet farm collective as we follow the life of one poor family. I guess that shouldn't be surprising because probably not much did happen in the lives of abjectly poor families in 1950's Soviet farm collectives. In Russian with subtitles.
The Souvenirs of Mr. X	Humorous story about a film maker who buys a box of old super 8 films and sets out to find Mr. "X," the person who originally made the movies. In the search, the filmmaker comes across an amateur film society whose average age must be in the 50's or even older. Some of them take themselves and their level of filmmaking very seriously. Others, take the filmmaking seriously, but don't take themselves seriously. Engaging story that takes place in Austria. In German with subtitles.
Shaun of the Dead	Is this a zombie flick or a parody of zombie flicks? It's both!! There is humor, to be sure, but there is also nail biting tension as we spend a day with a small group of people trying to survive the night against a hoard of flesh eating zombies. Will any of them make it?
Yes Men, The	Satire on the WTO by a group of imposters who "represent" the organization in television debates and forums throughout the world. Their point? They want to get people thinking and talking about the harm they see that the WTO has affected on the peoples of developing nations around the world.
Tarnation	Part nightmare, part harsh reality, this is the semi-autobiographical film about the life of the director of this film, Jonathan Coulette. There is some sadness over the wasted lives and the abuse that shaped each of the main subjects of the film, but there is also touching familial devotion. This movie is not for the faint of heart and is the most challenging film I have seen in a very long time.
What the Bleep Do We Know?	I thought this film lost its way. It started out hinting that we would talk about quantum physics and ended up being about cell biology and human behavior. I must have missed the transition. There are statements made in the movie and it is filled with cute animation as well as acted sequences, but I wasn't completely sure that I learned anything from it. The main experts seemed to be qualified scientists and authors who perhaps have some fringe notions and it didn't exactly help me that there was a mystic in the mix. I'm writing this several weeks after seeing the movie so I am admittedly vague on the details. I would encourage people to watch it if they think they may like it. For instance, my scientist brother and his scientist wife may give me an interesting perspective on the film. After all, what the bleep do I know?
Polar Express, The Polar Express, The (IMAX 3-D version)	I've seen this film in both versions and I highly recommend the IMAX 3-D version. The film itself is good enough of a story if not completely great. The IMAX version breathes a great deal of life into the production. Yes, the computer generated animation is great, very similar to Final Fantasy. There were a few times when I felt the character movements were too stiff or not completely convincing in their facial features, but this is really good stuff and I would be nitpicking. The depth that the 3-D effect adds really does give an added dimension (I guess I meant to say that) to the film that makes it a much more compelling viewing experience. In this film, it doesn't require that things are popping out at you all the time for the 3-D to enhance the film. Have fun.
Sideways	Fun, adult comedy about two friends on a last week fling before one of them is to be married. The man about to be married is an extrovert, an actor on the down side of his career and his plans for the week include playing golf and getting laid. His friend, an introvert who is still pining over his ex-wife of some time, is a struggling author and wine connoisseur. His plans for the week include playing golf and drinking good wine with his friend. Ultimately, they link up with a couple of women in wine country and the adventure really takes off. It's a smart comedy, well written and acted. See it with a glass of good wine if you can.
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events	I didn't know anything of the Lemony Snicket's story line, but the film was interestingly quirky, though I would not suggest it for children under 12.
Aviator, The	Epic film about the life of Howard Hughes that is well played by the principles. It draws you into the characters and moves along very well. I wanted to learn more having seen the movie and, of course, assume that there is a lot of license taken while making the film. Good movie.