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The Good: The Bad: The Awful
NEW RELEASES REVIEWED: Alice in Wonderland (SCROLL DOWN OR CLICK THE TITLE TO SEE REVIEW) |
By Rick Grant A 108 min Welcome to Lewis Carroll’s classic psychedelic trip into the magic rabbit hole interpreted by director Tim Burton’s magical mystery land of fanciful splendor. In this adaptation, Alice (Mia Wasikowska) has returned to the rabbit hole world as a young woman, who was about to be betrothed to a dull loser, Hamish, son of Lord and Lady Ascot. “Give me a minute,” she says as she chases the White Rabbit down the rabbit hole and ends up in a strange and mysterious land of a floating Cheshire Cat (Stephen Fry) and meets the Blue Caterpillar (Alan Rickman) puffing on weed (drug references abound) and making clouds of smoke. His philosophy of transition rather than death teaches Alice the zen of the Caterpillar’s wisdom. Later he appears as a butterfly. Although Burton used the original dialogue much of the time, he created new imagery to manipulate animated characters with actors performing against blue screen The story pits the evil but comedic Red Queen (Helena Botham Carter) against her sister, the pure White Queen (Anne Hathaway) in a struggle of good versus evil. However, with Johnny Depp’s out-there interpretation of the Mad Hatter, his bumbling weirdness is delightfully appealing and funny as is Helena Carter’s portrayal of the Red Queen’s nutty demands. “I love a warm pig to rest my feet,” she said as the piggy scurries under her feet. She called the bulbous Tweedledee and Tweedledum her “fat boys.” Yes, the Red queen’s oversize head and ridiculous makeup make her the court jester queen. She uses a flamingo as a 9 iron and chipped a hedge hog down the garden. When the very tall Alice meets the red queen, she adopts her as her latest court freak. But Alice has a plan to return to the White Queen. Meanwhile, the kingdom is all a-buzz about the return of Alice. The March Hare wonders if this is the real Alice from before or an imposter. But Alice says it’s her dream and she will make the decisions. The life lesson is: Alice is taking control of her own life and not being influenced by others. Alice realizes that she is not stuck in this alternate reality, but she has a mission to complete before she returns to the real world. In this adult tale of imaginative fantasy, Carroll explored the altered states of consciousness from consuming psychedelic mushrooms featured in the alternate forest. For children who know nothing of the drug reference, Alice enters a dreamscape of wondrous delight, in which she is in charge, and makes things happen by her will. For Alice, it’s about her learning how to be independent and pursue her ambitions. In this alternate world of fantasy and illusion, Alice delights in the new creatures she sees. The talking bloodhound plays a role in her emancipation. But her mission is to defeat the Jabberwocky flying dragon with the sacred sword, to bring order and peace into the kingdoms of the two opposing queen sisters. It’s a true test of her independent spirit. Back at the estate, Alice does the jig in front of the uptight aristocrats gathered to see Hamish propose to her. After coming back from the alternate universe of the Mad Hatter and the Cheshire Cat, Alice has no intention of marrying this creep. She’s off doing the Mad Hatter’s jig of freedom and adventure. The story sends a strong message to little girls to seek independence from conventional wisdom. By Rick Grant C+ Rated R By now, the black/white buddy-cop genre is cliche, with its tried and true formula. We look back to the plethora of buddy-cop movies such as “48 Hours,” “Beverly Hills Cop” “Lethal Weapon,” “Bad Boys” et al and see the patterns and cliches. This film, directed by Kevin Smith, is true to the formula and a vehicle for Tracy Morgan, who has made a name for himself on “30 Rock.” His goofy style of comedy works well in the context of the “30 Rock” scripts. However, a little of Morgan’s shtick goes a long way. In “Cop Out,” Morgan’s ad lib craziness ceases to be funny half-way through the running time. More significantly, Bruce Willis’ hip cool persona never seems to click with Morgan’s silliness. Still, Morgan is wildly popular with “30 Rock” fans who will flock to see him on the big screen. Morgan’s comedic style is similar to Martin Lawrence’s oddball shtick, but taken much further out. Still, Morgan can be funny with his cop role in this scenario, it’s just his shtick lacks substance, and consequently, wears thin. The scenario involves Det. Jimmy Monroe (Bruce Willis) daughter’s wedding. His ex-wife has married a wealthy husband who volunteers to pay for the wedding (58 grand) to humiliate Jimmy. But, Jimmy has an ace in the hole with his rare mint-condition baseball card that he plans to sell to pay for his daughter’s wedding. After a shootout that goes terribly wrong, Jimmy and his partner Paul Hodges (Tracy Morgan) are suspended for 30 days without pay. When Jimmy goes to cash in the baseball card, the store is robbed and the thieves take his precious card. So, Jimmy and Paul go after the thieves to retrieve the card. Now the movie turns into a chase scenario with twists and turns as Jimmy and Paul, who are not acting as police officers, go after the bad guys. At every turn, things go wrong and the pair of suspended cops get further mired in the muck of strange circumstances. During Jimmy and Paul’s search for the baseball card, Paul is obsessed with his wife allegedly having an affair with their neighbor. He plants a nanny cam to catch her in the act. But she spots the cam and puts him on with her gay cousin. Back at the precinct, Jimmy and Paul’s colleagues make fun of their antics and adopt a superior attitude. But this comes back to bite them when they get pinned down in a shootout with a Hispanic gang, and Jimmy and Paul come to their rescue. After all the gun violence, Jimmy still hasn’t retrieved his baseball card, but the two suspended cops break up a vicious Hispanic gang and rescue two of their colleagues. This could get them out of the dog house with the Captain. Then again, it could get them fired. For Tracy Morgan fans this film will be laugh out loud funny. In contrast, I think Morgan is much funnier in the context of his “30 Rock” character, acting in a much more controlled set and script. My guess is: “Cop Out” will be the number one film on its opening weekend. By Rick Grant A 138 min Thematically, Laeta Kalogridis’ screenplay adaptation of Dennis Lehane’s novel, “Shutter Island,” asks the rhetorical question: What is reality? More specifically, what is protagonist, Teddy Daniels’ (Leonardo DiCaprio) reality? Set in 1954, U.S. Marshal, Teddy and his partner Chuck (Mark Ruffalo) are tasked with finding an escaped female inmate from a remote facility for the criminally insane, located on Shutter Island in Boston Harbor. Director Martin Scorsese brilliantly created a homage to the moody film-noir films of the 1950s in this complex drama, set inside a dank, dismal prison compound, that was once used as a Civil War fort. Teddy and Chuck arrive at the prison and find out right away that this facility is a depressing place run by Dr. Cawley (Ben Kingsley) and Dr. Naehring (Max von Sydow). It’s a location that inspires nightmares and dread. The 1950s was an unenlightened age of psychiatry. Dr. Cawley and Dr. Naehring were two progressive psychiatrists who believed in treating the mentally ill with respect and trying to help them face consensus reality, using the newly developed anti-psychotic drug, thorazine. If that failed, they used electrical shock. As a final solution, they lobotomized the patients, which turned them into zombies. After hearing the institution’s strange rules and surrendering their firearms, Teddy and Chuck get to work investigating the mysterious disappearance of the female patient. She was locked inside her room from the outside. It appears that she just vanished. Teddy suspects she had help from the staff to get away. So Teddy begins interrogating the staff. As the story unfolds, in fleeting flashback scenes, it’s clear that Teddy is suffering from PTSD from WWII, when as an infrantry soldier, he was with the first group of GIs to discover the concentration camps. He fights off the symptoms the best he can to do his job. After the war, he joined the U.S. Marshals. One day he comes home from work and found out his wife had drowned their three children. When he discovered this horrible scene, he killed his wife. Teddy’s investigation of the missing inmate only magnifies the flashback hallucinations of his troubling past. During his time at Shutter Island, Teddy has migraines and is deeply disturbed by what he sees inside this hell-hole. Intermittently, he sees his dead wife and experiences blackouts. As Teddy investigates the perimeter of the prison, he travels deeper into his heart of darkness. Finally, Teddy reaches a point in which nothing is what it seems. Then his partner goes missing. And just off shore, the infamous lighthouse, where the lobotomies take place, looms as the crashing waves hit the cliffs. Scorsese skillfully builds multi-layers of suspense and tension, taking the viewer on Teddy’s voyage into hell. DiCaprio is mesmerizing in this virtuoso performance as Teddy. Ruffalo skillfully created Teddy’s partner Chuck. There are sinister references to Dr. Naehring’s Nazi past, conjuring up darker moments of evil. Max von Shydow plays Naehring with nuanced layers of character development. As the tension builds to an unbearable level, Scorsese sinks the hook of the story into the mind blowing final segment. Undeniably, this is a master filmmaker at work. Like Picasso, Scorsese paints all dimensions of his subject, as all the orbiting elements get closer to the central theme. In this film, the “ah-ha” moment is sweet and satisfying as the built-up tension is released by an explosive climax. Seeing this film reminds me why I like masterfully crafted movies. The story is character and dialogue driven with a deftly written script, using the finely tuned techniques of Scorsese’s filmmaking genius to tell the story. The film has it all: It’s wildly entertaining, thought provoking, with a stellar cast and an icon at the helm. Amen! By Rick Grant C 125 min If ever a film exemplified commercial exploitation of a holiday, this is it. Directed by Gary Marshall, the premise is reminiscent of Neil Simon’s California Suite, in which various vignettes involved guests staying at the Beverly Hill’s Hotel. Likewise, in this story, a legion of big name actors star in vignettes revolving around Valentine’s day. The stories have farcical elements and romantic paradoxes, with predictable results. However, I can’t write this formulaic work as completely unworthy of viewing. It fulfills the date night market and the actors do their jobs well. It’s Valentine’s Day in LA, the biggest day of the year for flower shop-owner Reed Bennett, (Ashton Kutcher) who has just proposed to his girlfriend Morley (Jessica Alba) and he is ecstatic that she said yes. Reed’s best friend Julia (Jennifer Garner) has found her Mr. Right, Dr. Harrison Copeland (Patrick Dempsey), who, not surprisingly, turns out to be married. (natch!) Talent agent in training Josh Morris (Topher Grace) has had his first sleep-over date with receptionist Liz (Anne Hathaway) and is smitten. However, Midwest family values gal, Liz moonlights for a phone sex company, which Josh finds out by overhearing her talking dirty to a client. For him, this could be a problem. But, Liz needs the money. Ten year-old Edison (Bryce Robinson) has a wicked crush on his teacher Julia and wants to send her flowers for Valentine’s Day. Edison grandparents, Estelle (Shirley MacLaine) and Edgar (Hector Elizondo) are taking care of Edison while his mother (Julia Roberts) serves in the Army in Afghanistan. The first part of the film is taken up with character development, then the romantic interludes begin with various paradoxes happening that lead to unexpected pairings. Viewers will be able to predict the outcome of these romantic entanglements as characters make obvious mistakes in choosing lovers. Even after Reed tells Julia that her true love, Dr. Copeland is a dirty rotten philanderer, she has to see for herself. Her real love has always been her best friend Reed, but she was too blinded by her preconception of her ideal man to see it. Director Marshall, who is a master at orchestrating so many story elements, ties everything together as the many characters deal with the romantic aspects of Valentine’s Day. Yes, it’s contrived and mundane, but couples in the throws of love will eat it up like popcorn. Football star, Sean Jackson (Eric Dane) has a secret to tell, but his bi-polar talent agent Paula (Queen Latifah) is trying to get him signed and is blindsided by his shocking announcement. His PR consultant (Jessica Biel) is a dateless wallflower on the big red day, but falls for sportscaster Kelvin Moore (Jamie Foxx) at an Indian wedding. Much to his chagrin, Kelvin had been assigned a fluff piece by his station manager, Susan (Kathy Bates) and has to do a man-on-the-street interview. His only reward is meeting Sean Jackson’s PR person and falling in love. There is a touching interlude with a character named Holden (Bradley Cooper) on an airliner with Julia Roberts playing a returning Army soldier. She is the mother of Morris and Holden offers her his limo and driver to take her back home from the airport. But his motive is not romantic in this case. The film is predictable but does have a few surprises and tricks the audience into thinking the obvious, but then sinks the hook for shock value. It’s just one of those films that exploits the Valentine’s Day hype to present various love stories that have as much long term romantic value as an unsold box of Valentine Day’s chocolates. Clearly, the high price cast worked cheap to keep their mugs in front of the camera during a lull between winter and summer releases. It was fun for them and the audience with no guilt, like drinking a bottle of ultra-light beer. By Rick Grant A Rated R 112 min For talented and deserving singer-songwriters, success in the music business is defined by the fickle whims of the record buying public. Some worthy artists fall through the cracks and suffer frustration, bitterness, and turn to drugs or alcohol. The protagonist in this exemplary film, Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges) wrote many hit songs and had a successful career as a performer--twenty-five years ago. His music was recorded by many top country artists, including his protégé, Tommy Sweet, played by Colin Farrell. Now 57, and broke, Blake is trying to crawl his way back to financial solvency by playing any gigs he can get. His come-back is hampered by his chronic alcoholism. Yes, Blake is down and out, but his heart is still in his music. Incredibly, Jeff Bridges played guitar and sang the songs featured in this movie. His insightful portrayal of Bad Blake will live on as his finest film performance. I was so impressed by Bridges virtuoso characterization of Blake, that I voted the picture into my top five movies of this award season on my SEFCA ballot. Bridges won a Golden Globe and a SAG award. He is a contender for an Oscar. The movie opens with Blake taking a gig at a bowling ally. The owner refuses to let him run a bar tab and puts him up in a flea bag motel. He hires a local band to back him up and his pay is commensurate with his current status as a washed-up drunk. So, Blake drowns his sorrows in the bottle and hooks up with a prostitute for sex. Yes, Blake has hit rock bottom. Although he is a legendary songwriter, his best work was written years ago. Blake has not recorded any new material in many years. Most people think he’s dead, and the guy performing is a tribute artist, which is another humiliation for Blake to swallow. The film was written and directed by first-time filmmaker, Scott Cooper whose gritty mosaic and dulled colors matches Blake’s dark moods. However, justifiably, Cooper’s lens focuses on Bridges extraordinary characterization as Blake. Struggling musicians will see a kindred spirit in Blake, who lived to perform. Despite Blake’s drunkenness, when he hit the stage, he came alive and performed flawlessly. Along the way, Blake meets Jean Braddock (Maggie Gyllenhaal) a young country music groupie who has a son. Blake hooks up with Jean and falls hard for her. But his alcoholism gets in the way of him having a permanent relationship with her. This is the push Blake needed to get into a twelve step program to get sober. He’s helped by a friend who owns a bar, Wayne (Robert Duvall). Of course, Blake’s road to sobriety is long and hard with many detours. Then he runs into his protégé, Tommy Sweet, who asks him to do a walk-on and sing one of his songs with him at an upcoming concert. After the show, Sweet wants to record Blake’s new material. Yes, things are looking up for Blake, but his recovery is marked by setbacks and other factors. Director Cooper never lets the mood get too hopeful, playing to the realism of characters like Blake, who have lost a lot of momentum during his years of drinking. In other words, Cooper kept the underlying cinematic tone dark and foreboding. Indeed, Bridges multidimensional portrayal of Blake is riveting and very convincing. The story is a realistic chronicle of a truly deserving artist who got lost in the bottle, wasting many years of productivity. The long journey back is fraught with obstacles and frustration. However, in the end, Blake’s heart was in the right place. By Rick Grant B+ Rated R 117 min In one of his best performances to date, Mel Gibson returns to the screen after an eight year hiatus. Gibson stars as veteran Boston Homicide Detective, Craven who came up through the ranks as a tough cop with a high conviction record. The picture opens with Det. Craven getting a rare visit from his daughter Emma, (Bojana Novakovic) an MIT graduate who has been working at a big private lab as a nuclear scientist. Since the scenario never explains what happened to Det. Craven’s wife, viewers can only guess at her absence. The script is dialogue and character driven, spinning a dark tale of corporate machinations, deep coverup, and conspiracy involving a secret corporate nuclear facility, the CEO of which will do anything, including hiring a hit-man, to protect his operation. Det. Craven has only a few minutes with his daughter, Emma, when they open the front door, she is blown away by a shotgun blast to the chest and killed instantly. The shooter yells Craven and drives away. Det. Craven is shocked by the horror of the murder, which takes away the only thing in life he cares about, his precious daughter. At first, Det. Craven and his colleagues at the station think he was the target. So the investigation heads in that direction. But soon, it becomes apparent that Emma was the target for her work to expose the corporate secrets at the lab. Det. Craven is given rare leeway to investigate the case at his own insistence. Normally, he would have been barred from the investigation because of his close emotional connection to the victim. Raging with revenge, Det. Craven delves into his daughter’s life with his years of investigative skill. He meets her boyfriend who is terrified that he will be next on the corporate security hit list. Soon, Det. Craven realizes he is dealing with trained black ops professional assassins tying up loose ends. They’re right behind him, taking out his witnesses. Thus begins Det. Craven’s trip into the corporate heart of darkness to uncover the conspiracy, and where it might lead. He finds out it goes all the way to a United States Senator. By that time, Det. Craven has gone way beyond his authority with the Boston Police. He doesn’t care. He just wants to find the person at the top who ordered his daughter’s murder. The intrigue scenario includes a pivotal character–a mysterious freelance security specialist, Jedburgh, who has been hired by the corporation to lead the cover-up. Jedburgh is an experienced ex-Mi5 operative who is playing both ends against the middle. Jedburgh could have easily killed Det. Craven, but he is experiencing a moral dilemma caused by his terminal illness, and wants to see things play out before he decides what side he is on. Det. Craven tells Jedburgh, “He doesn’t intend to arrest anyone,” implying that he’s going to terminate his daughter’s killers with extreme prejudice. During Det. Craven’s investigation he discovers that Emma had been purposely radiated, poisoned by radioactive particles in her food or drink. He finds her Geiger counter and discovers her hair he clopped from her body is radioactive. Director Martin Campbell armed with the well written script, uses closeups, and static scenes, letting the actors uttering the dialogue tell the story. He played down the action, but there are some shocking gun battles and a few exciting car chases. Gibson nails his character with forceful acting skill, showing fire in his eyes, with his years of investigating murders showing on his facial road map. The supporting cast is top notch, making this intrigue-murder-mystery a riveting movie. By Rick Grant C+ Rated PG This umpteenth romantic comedy uses fantasy to sell its premise, which sets it apart. Krinsten Bell stars as Beth, a vivacious smart woman, who is a curator at a NYC museum. She’s an A personality, driven by her work to excel. Thus, Beth has no time for romance. And, the relationships she’s had in the past all ended badly. It’s like she’s cursed , but hungry for romance. So she denounces love, using her job to fill the void in her heart. While in Rome to attend her sister’s wedding, Beth goes to the famous fountain of love and takes three coins out. The legend has it that anyone taking coins out of the fountain will cast a spell on the owners of the coins and they will fall hopelessly in love with her. One of Beth’s pursuers is a budding magician played by Jon Heder with his “Napoleon Dynamite” sidekick, Efren Ramirez (“Pedro”) playing his videographer. The next love struck fool is a sausage king played by Danny DeVito. Antonio is an American street artist played by Will Arnett who is caught up in the love spell. And the last of the coin owners is a narcissist who used to only love himself, but now, wants to share that love with Beth. Busy putting together an important art exhibit, Beth is stalked by these idiots. The catch is, one of them, is a genuine possible boyfriend, Nick, played by Josh Duhamel. She has a casino chip she found in the fountain and thinks that he is wooing her under the love fountain’s spell. It turns out, the chip is not his. The absurd fantasy is a great device for creating funny situations as Beth is going crazy withy men popping up everywhere who think they love her. The artist paints a nude portrait of her on the side a building, and her office looks like a florist shop. Her boss, Celeste (Angelica Huston) is not pleased by all the commotion which is distracting Beth from her job of organizing the art exhibit gala. Now, Beth’s job is on the line. The comedy is played with farcical elements, which only embarrass Beth as she tries to concentrate on her job. When she can’t get the center piece of the exhibition, Nick comes to her rescue with a famous photograph featuring him as the subject. While playing football in college he got hit by lightning. The photograph shows the second the lightning hit him. One thing leads to another and Beth is caught in a whirlwind of comedic set-ups as Nick expresses his real love and Beth is confused. Her gaggle of men under the spell actually try to help her accomplish her goal as the deadline for the art exhibit draws near. Kristen Bell skillfully plays the comedic elements with her natural charm and acting talent. Of course, she has to decide if Nick’s love is real or he’s just another fool struck by the fountain’s love spell. The farcical aspects of the scenario are deftly executed by Bell and her supporting cast, which makes the movie fun for the audience. It’s a lightweight comedy with a touch of romance as Beth begins to realize that Nick is for real. As romantic comedies go, at least this one is different, funny, and fun. It fulfills its promise and leaves the audience smiling as they leave the theater.
By Rick Grant C+ Rated PG 105 min Robert Nelson Jacobs screenplay adaptation of Geeta Anand nonfiction book “The Cure....” is a straight forward telling of this true-life feel good story. Director, Tom Vaughan shot this film in a hokey TV movie style, (It’s CBS, so what did I expect?) which works to effectively play on the emotions of the movie audience. The scenario is about a father, John Crowley (Brendan Fraser) who devotes his spare time to finding a cure for a rare genetic disease that has afflicted two of his children, Megan and Patrick, called Pompe disease (similar to MD). Their life expectancy is only about 9 years. The disease causes the heart and other vital organs to swell because they lack a certain enzyme in their blood. Fortunately for the family, John has an executive position and his insurance is paying the $40 grand a month for the care of his dying children. John doesn’t want to accept the inevitability that Megan and Patrick are dying. He spends his nights researching Pompe disease on the Internet hoping to find a scientist who is close to finding a cure. Meanwhile, Aileen (Keri Russell) is stoic in the face of this tragic family crisis. Aileen tries to provide a normal household environment and keep her kids happy under such unhappy circumstances. It’s debatable whether or not Keri Russell over-played Aileen’s perky personality. I give her the benefit of the doubt. People handle stress differently. In his quest to find a cure for his children, John stumbles across a paper written by an obscure medical research scientist, Dr. Robert Stonehill (Harrison Ford) who works in a lab as part of the University of Nebraska campus. Stonehill has isolated an enzyme that may at least cure the symtoms of Pompe and allow kids stricken with the disease to live relatively normal lives up into their old age. However, Dr. Stonehill is an obnoxious misanthrope who is almost impossible to reach by phone. So John travels to Nebraska to find Dr. Stonehill. At a local watering hole, John approaches Dr. Stonehill about his situation. Harrison Ford overplays Dr. Stonehill’s angy old coot attitude. He is downright rude to John, but he finally tells him about the progress he has made. He is confident with the enough funding he can produce an enzyme that will extend the lives of Pompe children. Thus begins a shaky alliance between John and Dr. Stonehill. John is a brilliant Harvard educated businessman and Dr. Stonehill is a brilliant scientist. But, Stonehill is impossible to work with and alienates anyone he encounters in regard to his research. Much drama ensues as Dr. Stonehill butts heads with the suits at the drug company. John acts as a peacemaker but Dr. Sonehill is unreasonably difficult. So, the last half of the movie involves John efforts to muzzle Dr. Stonehill and get the life saving drug on the market to help his kids and the other sufferers of the disease. It’s an uphill struggle, and many obstacles stand in his way, especially Dr. Stonehill. Overall, the picture drags and manipulates the viewers emotions. However, It’s entertaining. Director Vaughan should have throttled back Harrison Ford’s overly angry performance. Still, the picture is worth viewing. After half way through the movie, viewers will get tired of Ford’s crumpy old man routine. It lacked subtlety. Otherwise, the scenario tells an all too familiar story of drug companies’ arrogance and cold profit driven corporate culture. The story boils down to the big soulless corporation versus the desperate parents of their dying kids.
By Rick Grant B Rated PG-13 118 min This post-apocalyptic film could be considered a way of presenting a western-styled mosaic, because after a global nuclear war the conditions in the country would be like the old west. All modern electrical grids and computer infrastructures would be wiped out by the electromagnetic pulses produced by the atomic bomb blasts. Worse still, most of the Earth’s population would be killed in the initial megaton explosions or the radiated fallout afterwards. A nuclear winter would ensue, killing most of the animals and ruining food sources. The remaining survivors would be blasted back to a primitive world. People would be reduced to fending for themselves and the survival of the fittest would prevail. In effect, the world would be like the 1800s. This well written Hughes Brothers’ film is set thirty years after the nuclear apocalypse. For the smattering of survivors, anarchy reigns and marauders hunt for human prey to eat. Inhabiting this bleak world are mostly young people who were born after the holocaust. They have no knowledge of what life was like in the modern technological world. Books or schools are non-existent. Thus, post-apocalyptic survivors are illiterate. The rag-tag vagabonds are tired of wandering the parched land alone. They are looking for shelter, water, food, and company. In this grim reality, there are a few towns offering basic amenities. They are run by pre-apocalypse criminals who take advantage of the illiterate drifters who come into the town for water and food. They supply alcohol and prostitutes and are paid in merchandise. The town in this story is like HBO’s “Deadwood,” an old western-like town run by Carnegie, (Gary Oldman) a con man and cruel leader who uses fear of swift, deadly reprisal as his way of keeping his private army under control. He has a fresh water supply, whiskey stills, and even running vehicles locked away. Traveling across the country to the West Coast is a man, Eli (Denzel Washington) on a mission from God.. He’s clearly ex-military and has advanced martial arts and weapons’ skills. After his early survival days of fighting for survival, he had a celestial visitation–a voice spoke to him and told him to take the King James version of the Holy Bible to the West Coast and he would be protected. Eli’s leather bound copy was the only one left. Eli was honored to be tasked by God on this sacred crusade, and he set out on foot to deliver the Good Book to a safe place. More importantly, Eli was a dedicated student of the Bible and had memorized it word for word. For religious people, Eli could be construed as a new Messiah making sure the word of God was preserved to help the survivors build a new world of law and order with spiritual roots. Ah yes, but Eli faced many challenges on his long trek across the country. Marauders were everywhere using girls in distress as bait. Eli was armed with a large sword-like knife, sawed-off shotgun, 9 millimeter hand gun, his exceptional fighting skills, and a guardian angel. Eli dispatched the thugs and degenerates along the way with relative ease. Nothing could stop him. Back in Carnegie’s town, he somehow knew there was one copy of the Bible left and he wanted it. It’s words had the power to get the people in line by offering them a phony religion that he would lead. At key point, the story becomes a struggle between Eli and Carnegie to possess the Holy Bible. Meanwhile, Eli’s dedication to God’s will is tested by Carnegie’s persistence to take the book from Eli. Frankly, I would see any film with Denzel Washington as its star. In this picture, he stretches his acting chops with a memorable performance. Gary Oldman excels as Carnegie, the power hungry, ruthless ruler of the town. When one breaks down the story, it’s a western adventure featuring a man on a sacred mission.
By Rick Grant Commentary Since “Avatar’s” director James Cameron didn’t authorize any critic’s screenings, and indeed the picture is critic proof, I waited for the hysteria to die down to see this now billion dollar blockbuster. Yes, after viewing it, I feel compelled to comment on this film long after a review would have been timely. Frankly, James Cameron’s arrogance annoys me, so I wanted to tear apart the film. It’s the epitome of the big splashy Hollywoodized spectacle in 3D Imax. However, I was mesmerized by the multidimensional scope of Cameron’s stunning mosaic and its underlying spiritual message. The story involves old themes such as a technologically advanced civilization, with its corporate culture of profit motive, versus a primitive native society. The soulless company hires mercenaries to bully the naive culture into doing their bidding on an alien planet that harbors a precious energy source. It’s a David and Goliath tale with antiwar implications. As writer, Cameron tapped into the historical events of the birth of America when the waves of settlers swept across the country stealing land from the Indian tribes. Sitting Bull said, “If you kill a hundred white faces, a hundred more would take their place. They will keep coming until all the Indian lands are gone. We can’t defeat them.” Another story staple built into “Avatar’s” script is the conflict between the scientists on Pandora and the hell bent for action Marines, hired as mercenaries to provide a military solution if necessary. The scientists, headed by Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver) created the avatar program to send scientists who spoke the Na’vi’s (Pandora’s native people) language to learn about their culture and negotiate a peaceful movement of the Na’vi away from the area that contained the energy source, called ”unobtainium.” Dr. Augustine and her cadre of eggheads created an exact clone of the Na’vi, blue skinned beings with long tails and slender 10 foot bodies. The clone was an empty vessel which lacked consciousness to live. So Dr. Augustine invented a machine that transferred the consciousness of human subjects into the cloned Na’vi bodies. As they lay in a iron-lung like capsule, they experienced all the senses and physical attributes of the Na’vi. Dr. Augustine had her own avatar made to study the Na’vi. She was amazed by what she learned about their culture. These beings are not technologically evolved, but live in a vast matrix of interconnection with their world. Through feelers on the ends of their hair, they can access the consciousness of their environment, including the animals, vegetation, and their spirit world which watches over them. They live in harmony with their environment, similar to the Native Americans. But the Na’vi could interface with their world as a one-world consciousness, not as faith-based but in reality. The kung-ho Marine honcho Colonel Miles Quanritch (Stephen Lang) is itching to use his military solution, with his machines and ordnance of mass destruction to blow away the Na’vi. He lives for battle and does not think the avatars can work out a peaceful solution. Originally, Jake Sully’s (Sam Worthington) twin brother was picked to have an avatar made for him. He was a PnD scientist who already knew the Na’vi language and culture. But he is killed and his brother Jake is sent in his place. He is a paraplegic Marine wounded in battle. He was promised an operation to correct his paralysis if he goes on this mission. Jake is a stalwart Marine grunt, ready to die in combat, blindly following orders. Dr. Augustine was not happy about Jake replacing his brother. She hates soldiers and calls them fighting morons. Col. Quanritch takes Jake aside and asks him to spy for him by gathering important intelligence for the military operation that will, in Col Quanritch’s mind, definitely happen. Most of the running time is taken up with Jake’s mind blowing adventures on Pandora. He learns the Na’vi language and their special customs. He relates to their way of connecting with their environment and animals. Soon, he feels like one of them and is horrified by the military solution. One can draw many parallels to “Star Wars” in “Avatar’s” otherworldly spectacle. Without prejudice, I must congratulate Cameron’s technical prowess and storytelling talent to have created this memorable movie. Of course, one can only guess how many sequels will be made in the future. “Avatar” is a movie event of the highest order. Everyone should and will see it. By Rick Grant A- Rated PG 100 min In 1837, an 18 year old teenage girl ascended to the throne as Queen Of England, literally over night. In fact, she had to be awakened to be told the news. Thus began her 64 year reign (1837-1901)as England’s most respected and accomplished queen. Filmmaker, Jean-Marc Vallee has taken the factual content of young Victoria’s first year on the throne and created a finely crafted film featuring celebrated British actress Emily Blunt as Young Victoria. The premise involves Victoria’s sudden rise to power as her court underlings thought that they could use her naivete against her to turn her into a political puppet. Fortunately for the people of Britain, Victoria was determined to be her own person and not be handled by scheming courtiers. Of course, head strong Victoria had much to learn about the throne and her love life, which involved Prince Albert (Rupert Friend) through long distance correspondence. The eloquent letter writing between two lovers was an effective courtship in the midst of the Victorian era. Today, romance blooms via the Internet for the same reason–the written word is a pathway to the soul. Julian Fellows skillfully written screenplay uses the content of the letters and the authentic dialogue to build the sexual tension between Victoria and Prince Albert to critical mass, as Victoria learns to be queen on the job. Victoria wisely hired Lord Melbourne (Paul Bethany) as her closest confidant. He had no hidden agenda so he could act as both a sounding board and a go between to fend off the plots against her. Indeed, Victoria was a fast learner and soon earned the respect of her staff and subjects. She was public spirited and wanted to make a difference to close the vast chasm between the rich and poor. During Victoria first year, she quickly established respect and confidence and refused to be manipulated. Vallee’s brightly lit mosaic and colorful costumes take the viewer back to Victorian times–a study in pomp, circumstance, and puritan mores. \ Emily Blunt’s portrayal is multidimensional and brilliantly executed. She takes Victoria from a clueless teenager to being the Queen of England with expert subtlety and deft acting verve. Of course, Prince Albert was frustrated that his courtship with Victoria seemed endless and unconsummated. Still, he loved her and continued to shower her with romantic letters, which Victoria cherished. In that time, romance was locked in the minds of the lovers until that special day when they finally had sex. And the chorus sang the refrain, “Oh sweet mystery of life I have found you.” Somehow the couples of that time muddled through their first sexual encounters since there was no manual or scientific information to reference. Masters and Johnson didn’t come along until the late 1950s. Just the anticipation must have been enough for the lovers to reach orgasm. By the time they got all those clothes off, it was over. Rubert Friend portrayed Prince Albert as pompous and pushy. But, that was just the type of man Victoria needed to be her life partner. Since they both were high strung, they must have had terrible fights, but the make-up sex must have been great. They ended up having two children and were happy with each other. Prince Albert was the German son of the Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Albert tragically died at age 42 of Typhus. After Victoria’s death in 1901, she was succeeded by her son Prince Albert, Jr., who then became King Edward VII. After Albert’s untimely death, Victoria went into a prolonged period of mourning. However, when she reemerged into public life in 1860, she was beloved by her subjects for her humanitarian work to ease the suffering of the sick and poor. This movie is not for everyone, but lovers of period films that take an entertaining look at historical figures will enjoy this movie. It’s a quality film for art house devotees. By Rick Grant B Rated PG-13 128 min Filmmaker Guy Richie has reinvented the parennial genius detective, Sherlock Holmes (Robert Downey Jr.) as a kung-fu master / swashbuckler. Richie’s vision of Homes as an action hero may not sit well with Holmes’ purists. However the new buff Holmes figures out his cases on the fly while bashing the bejesus out of the bad guys with his sidekick, Dr. Watson, (Jude Law) who also possesses martial arts skills. Clearly, this movie is an example of what I call Hollywoodization of scripts, in that it contains the action sequences, special effects, and explosions with slow-mo stunts that sell tickets. Acceptance of this blatant commercialization of the Holmes legend is a prerequisite to enjoying the film. On the positive side, Downey’s characterization of Holmes is cleverly complex. It includes Holmes’ quick-witted banter with Dr. Watson, brilliant analytical conclusions, with the entertaining bonus of his advanced fighting skills. Downey’s Oscar worthy performance of Holmes greatly upgrades the film. The plot involves a secret society like the Free Masons who believe in the occult. When their leader, the evil Lord Blackwood (Marc Strong) is hanged, he supposedly rises from his grave and seeks to neutralize Holmes, who is putting the pieces of this case together as he sneaks around the dark streets of London in disguise. Meanwhile, Blackwood is carefully planning a major terrorist event to take over the British government. Yeah, Richie gets carried away with his James Bond-like action scenes and Holmes’ physical prowess. Two long fight sequences with Holmes battling a French giant are out of context with the script and go on way too long. When Holmes is not engaged in hand to hand combat, he’s searching for Blackwood, who everyone believes is a ghost. Holmes is not convinced and suspects Blackwood is using magic tricks to fool his secret society followers. Later in the story Holmes finds out that Blackwood has built an early version of a chemical weapon–a diabolical device that will kill the members of Parliament. Rachel McAdams portrays a female verison of Holmes, Irene Adler, who is working for none-other than the infamous Morieority, who is never seen but portrayed in shadows in this film, leaving the door open for a sequel. Irene is the closest thing to a girlfriend Holmes has ever courted. But his real friend is Dr. Watson. Could the team of writers be alluding to Holmes and Watson being a gay couple? If they are, it’s subtle. But the two guys behave like an old married couple, bickering, but inseparable. Irene is a tough cookie and a great foil for Holmes, who respects her martial arts talents. Richie’s production design gives an eerie dark underbelly to the London streets. Viewers almost expect Jack the Ripper to emerge from a dark corner in this crime infested city. Holmes creeps around the shadows looking for clues. In the convoluted screenplay, written by Michael Robert Johnson and Anthony Peckham, the development of the characters, except for Holmes and Watson, come up short. The supporting cast is neglected in favor of the action sequences. Watson’s romance with fiancé’ Mary (Kelly Reilly goes nowhere because Watson is too busy rescuing his bromance pal, Holmes.) The docile bulldog was a nice touch. Holmes was always experimenting on his poor dog to test out his latest sedatives. The fat bulldog spends his time mostly in a drug induced sleep. The black raven appearing at the sight of Blackwell’s ghostly appearances was maddeningly cliche. Overall, the film’s flaws are not enough to discourage viewers from seeing it. It’s an entertaining commercial film. Most people will love the action sequences and explosions. In this classic tale of Sherlock Holmes, he is a cross between Jackie Chan and the latest MMA champion. Holmes is fast with his fists, sticks, and swords. More importantly, he’s a quick thinking detective.
By Rick Grant C Rated PG-13 This is a film written as a formulaic commercial product that is so well acted by the two main actors, Sarah Jessica Parker and Hugh Grant, that they almost overcome the film’s glaring mediocrity. Alas, the picture is blatantly predictable and involves the cliche’ fish-out-of-water premise. Still, Parker and Grant are adorable and entertaining as Meryl and Paul Morgan, a New York City power couple who are separated because Paul slept with another woman. Paul is trying hard to win Meryl back any way he can. But, she just can’t get over his betrayal. Like a stray bullet, the Morgans are hit with the prospect of being murdered so they can’t testify against the hitman. The U.S. Marshalls step in and give them immediate protection. However, they will have to give up their lives in NYC, relinquish their IDs and passports, cell phones, and any other vestige of their lives in the big city. So, the Morgans become the Fosters from Chicago and are flown in a private jet to a fork in the road town in Wyoming to stay with a two married U.S. Marshalls, the Wheelers, played by Mary Steenburgen and Sam Elliott, who will protect them. The Fosters arrive and are immediately sent into culture shock. This is God’s country with cowboy hats and independent spirits who love to hunt for their meat and have large collections of fire arms
These city slickers might as well be on another planet, having traveled from NYC to the wilds of Wyoming. But they try to adjust the best they can, praying that the cops catch the killer. Ah, but this guy is a pro and he bugs Meryl’s real estate office to pick up intelligence on their location. When Meryl foolishly makes a call from the country doctor’s office, it doesn’t take the hitman long to find out where the “Fosters” are hiding. Meanwhile, the Fosters are not getting along cooped up inside the log cabin. And the Marshall couple, the Wheelers, are getting tired of the Fosters bickering. So they try to get them interested in the outdoors and the simple life of this small town life. Written and directed by Marc Lawrence, the script could be a stock computer generated screenplay with places for the characters names and locations. It’s pathetic that Hollywood keeps cranking out the same lame material year after year to pander to the predestrian tastes of today’s moviegoers. It’s the film equivalent to a Big Mac and fries. The truth is: Today’s audiences have been spoon fed this romantic comedy schlock for years, and are not willing to take a chance on something different. Like their taste buds being ruined by fast food, their appreciation of movies has dulled their perception of quality films that challenge their intellect. Still, the movie is mildly entertaining and funny. And, at least the sound was recorded well. I could hear every cliche’ and witty quip from Hugh Grant’s character. By Rick Grant A- PG-13 135 min This unusual scenario was directed and adapted by Peter Jackson, from Alice Sebold’s best selling novel. The film tells the story of the brutal murder of a 14 year old girl by a sadistic serial killer from the victim’s point of view. The story gives people who have lost children by murder comfort and hope that their beloved child has found peace and happiness on the other side. Undoubtedly, there is an especially happy place in the afterlife for murdered children. In this case, after Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan) is killed, she chooses to stay in an halfway world between the physical reality and the permanent afterlife she calls the “The Blue Horizon.” There, amid the beautiful ever changing landscape, she watches over her parents and siblings. She also helps her father and the police get leads to nail the killer. An unrecognizble Stanley Tucci plays the twisted murderer, George Harvey, who lives across the street from the Salmons. The role could win him an Oscar. He was just nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor. Irish actress, Saoirse Ronan (with piercing blue eyes) skillfully plays Susie Salmon, who is lured into an underground lair by Harvey. He had set up the trap to entice neighborhood children into what he called a playhouse, equipped with all the neat stuff kids like. Once in his grip, Harvey rapes and murders Susie. The actual murder is shown in rapid flashback. Jackson spared the audience the gory details. One can only imagine what her parents went through. Rachel Weisz deftly portrays Abigail Salmon, Susie’s mother, and Mark Wahlberg plays her father, Jack. At first, she goes missing one afternoon after school. Then after hours pass and then days, and finally weeks, Susie’s disappearance is like a growing cancer in the family. Some time later, Homicide Detective, Len Feneman (Michael Imperioli) finds the broken-up underground murder scene which contained a massive amount of blood and piece of Susie’s clothing. He gently breaks the news that Susie is dead and now he is pursuing the case as a homicide. Jack and Abigail fall apart. Jack becomes obsessed with finding a suspect, making Detective Feneman’s job much harder chasing down his false leads. Meanwhile, Susie meets another of Harvey’s murdered girls in the glowing warm environs of Blue Horizon. She encourages Susie to move on to the next level, but Susie has unfinished business in the physical reality. Her family is disintegrating. As events unfold, Susie uses her paranormal powers to communicate with her father in subtle ways. He holds a dead rose that comes to life, which is a hint as to who killed her. Susie also finds a budding medium from her school with whom to communicate. Susie can not move on until her family is healed and the killer is either dead or caught. Jackson opted to expand the role of the murderer from the book which gives the film a macabre creepiness as Harvey sits in a chair in his basement reliving his kills. What’s more frightening, he has been stalking Susie’s younger sister Lindsey, portrayed with spirited verve by Rose Mclver. As one would expect, Jackson’s creative special effects are spectacular. Susie creates her Blue Horizon landscape by her will. The scenes are shifting from mountains to beaches to fields of green grass or swaying barley. She thinks it, and it is so. The story expresses hope and joy that Susie and other murdered children are bathed in love and beauty. Like Susie, sometimes spirits have unfinished business in the physical reality and can stay in the halfway world until they are satisfied they have done all they can to help their loved ones on Earth. The dichotomy between the lurking evil of Harvey and Susie’s beautiful afterlife give the story a strange sadness when one thinks of these evil demons stalking their prey–innocent children–the purest form of physical being on Earth. The film inspires fear and hope, simultaneously, but it gives comfort to those, like the Salmons, who have had to endure the worst tragedy that could befall a family. People who see this film will not soon forget it. By Rick Grant B Rated PG 134 min The central premise of this film involves Nelson Mandela’s ascension to the Presidency of South Africa in 1995. Mandela realized that he had to unify the divided nation and heal the past wounds of Apartheid. Master filmmaker Clint Eastwood took this critical time for Mandela (Morgan Freeman) to craft this movie into a commercially viable formulaic narrative. The result is an entertaining film that doesn’t rise to the level of being Oscar worthy, except for Morgan Freeman’s brilliant performance as Mandela. When he took office, there were a plethora of problems to solve, but uniting he nation was a top priority. Mandela made sure he had Afrikaners in his administration and he even hired white body guards to work with his personal black security force. At the time, the nation was deeply divided by racial hatreds on both sides. So, Mandela decided that taking a losing, mostly white rugby team, Springbok’s club, and inspiring it to win the World Cup was a fast track to unity. This team had been a symbol of Apartheid, so if he could get whites and blacks behind the team, it would unite the nation in the spirit of the joy of winning. The captain of the team, Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon) was invited to meet Mandela at the Presidency. Pienaar was deeply moved and inspired by Mandela’s prophet-like presence. Mandela gave Pienaar a poem “Invictus” (it means unconquered) by William Ernest Henley to inspire the team. Mandela also wanted the team to tour the poor townships to work with the youth coaching them to play rugby to generate positive publicity. At first the team didn’t want to do this side job, but once they got into it, they benefitted from the sense of helping to build racial harmony. Anthony Peckham’s script, which was adapted from John Carlin’s book, takes the high road of Mandela’s strong leadership ability. He reached out to the whites and blacks to put aside their racism and come together for the sake of a strong South Africa. Unfortunately, the script does not delve too deeply into Mandela’s Herculean efforts to make change in a country crippled by poverty, violence, and racism. Eastwood played it safe by lumping all the divisive undercurrents of Mandela’s trials and tribulations into the brutal rugby scenes, which, considering the fact that most American viewers do not understand this sport, wax much too long. Clearly, rugby is a remote cousin to our football, but the ball can only be passed backwards and to the side. Of course, there are many other differences that will baffle American audiences. Most remarkably, the players wear no padding or protection of any kind, which makes our heavily armored football Gladiators seem like wimps. The film is painfully predictable with the Big Rugby Finale. I wanted to see less rugby and more about Mandela’s struggles to heal the glaring wounds of Apartheid. Eastwood could have cut much of the rugby footage and enhanced the Mandela storyline. It would have made a much better picture. However, Matt Damon, who bulked up for this role, turned in a memorable performance as Pienaar. He struck a balance of his character’s inspired spirit to win and emotional subtleties devoid of pomposity. In a key scene, the team visits the prison complex where Mandela was held for 27 years. Pienaar goes inside Mandela’s former cell and imagines how Mandela must have felt for all those years. Damon deftly acted this scene with his eyes and subtle facial expressions, without saying a word. Undoubtedly, It’s Damon’s finest film scene to date. Using the rugby team as a subtext to Mandela’s dedication to unite the nation was a clever ploy to chronicle Mandela’s importance as a prophet and world leader. But Eastwood got carried away with the rugby scenes and neglected the real story of Mandela’s rise to greatness. Still, the movie is worth seeing just to experience Morgan Freeman’s exemplary performance capturing Mandela’s spirit and Matt Damon’s nuanced acting. |
