The lives of Ethan (Joaquin Phoenix) and his wife, Grace
(Jennifer Connelly), are thrown into chaos after their 10-year-old
son is killed in a hit-and -run accident. When the case stalls, Ethan
makes it his mission to hunt down and punish the person responsible.
Violence, revenge and justice collide head on when Ethan finally finds
the man who killed his son. Mark Ruffalo co-stars
I don’t remember seeing Joaquin Phoenix in a bad movie. Considering the good actors that are in this film, somehow the film seemed flat. It is NOT a feel-good movie. But it would probably teach a lot to a child. The story line is compelling and I can see just this sort of thing happening (although the relation between aggrieved father and guilty driver is a bit contrived). I begrudgingly give this film an A.
Facing an unplanned pregnancy, teenage Juno (Ellen Page) devises
a plan to locate the proverbial perfect parents to adopt her baby.
But the seemingly ideal couple Juno chooses still has some growing up
to do. Now, everyone in Juno’s world must do a little soul-searching.
Michael Cera co-stars while Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner play the
pair of affluent yuppies anxious for a child in this offbeat coming-of-age
comedy, which won the 2008 Oscar for Best Original Screenplay
I had a rhetoric teacher who said you have to read bad literature from time to time to appreciate the good stuff. It was with this intent that I decided to tackle a prototypical teenage pregnancy movie. Surprise! Even if you might not agree with the theme, the dialog sparkles. The boyfriend is the world’s most perfect dweeb. I will not reveal the ending but it made sense and did surprise me.
The details and acting are too well done to be anything but an A. I felt I had to put the film in the “unusual” class, because the teenage sexual indifference might offend. Not for children.
When a mother commits suicide by parking her car on the train
tracks, an unlikely bond forms between her son Davey (Miles
Heizer) — who’s wracked with guilt — and the tormented
engineer (Kevin Bacon) who was driving the train that fateful
day. Oscar winner Marcia Gay Harden co-stars as the engineer’s
wife in the directorial debut of Alison Eastwood (Clint’s
daughter).
I can’t remember if I have ever seen Kevin Bacon or Marcia Gay Harden in a bad film. “Rails & Ties” is a sad feel-good. It offers universal human values. The son Davey could have been a bit better. Sometimes the film seems to solve problems too easily. I think adolescents could watch this despite a sad scene in which Marcia Gay Harden inspects her breasts (one already disfigured by a cancer operation). The less hard-hearted of you might even shed a few tears.
At the turn of the 20th century, Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis,
in an Oscar-winning role) becomes a tycoon when he buys the oil
rights to a California family’s ranch. Meanwhile, as the simple
village becomes a boomtown, a charismatic young preacher (Paul Dano)
fights his community’s growing greed. Kevin J. O’Connor, Ciarán Hinds
and Russell Harvard co-star in writer-director Paul Thomas Anderson’s
Oscar-nominated adaptation of Upton Sinclair’s novel Oil!
I had to classify this as “Basically Violent” not so much because there is bloodshed (and indeed there is) but because the sociopath Plainview goes out of his way to destroy people’s souls. Daniel Day-Lewis is mesmerizing. There is nothing feel-good about this movie. On another level this is a competition between two con artists: the oil man and the preacher. I was glued to the screen.
After Robert Ford (Casey Affleck, in an Oscar-nominated role)
joins the most notorious gang in the West, he grows tired
of the charismatic Jesse James (Brad Pitt) and begins to
resent his fame. But by hatching a scheme to gun down James,
Ford risks forever being branded a coward. Sam Shepard, Sam
Rockwell, Mary-Louise Parker and Michael Parks also star in
director Andrew Dominik’s riveting Wild West drama adapted
from Ron Hansen’s acclaimed novel
Why do Americans glorify crimnals ? The acting in this film is superb, especially Casey Affleck. Brad Pitt made it clear that Jesse James was a psychopathic killer. In fact, from the movie I gathered that Jesse James had such mental problems that in the end he was glad to be shot. This movie is no more violent than any western. The pace is very S L O W . But I was on the edge of my seat because I expected something horrible from Jesse James at any minute. It lasts 159 minutes.
A hunter (Josh Brolin) stumbles upon a dead
body, $2 million and a stash of heroin in the
woods. He absconds with the cash, but
brutal thief Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem)
comes looking for it, with a local sheriff
(Tommy Lee Jones) on his trail. The roles of
hunter and prey blur as the violent pursuits
of money and justice collide. Joel and Ethan
Coen direct this dark morality tale, which
won four Oscars in 2008, including Best Picture
It can’t get much more violent. Could this film be a put-on ? The plot is as follows: Javier Bardem murders many people and then the film ends. Some viewers report being more than dissatisfied. However, if nothing else the plot is an intriguing cat and mouse game. Killer Bardem is VERY clever. I am told the book is great.
Ryan Gosling plays the title character in this oddball
comedy about a delusional young man who buys a life-size
sex doll over the Internet — and then falls in love with
her. When the besotted young man starts telling people that
the doll is his girlfriend, his brother and sister-in-law
decide it’s time to intervene in this film co-starring
Patricia Clarkson, Emily Mortimer, Kelli Garner and Paul
Schneider.
o This is not really a comedy.
o I had to classify this as “unusual and not to everyone’s tastes
o S L O W and very Q U I E T
o but with real orchestral background.
o You really have to suspend disbelief. Would an entire town really
humor Lars in such a kind way ?
o You will love this move or hate it.
o There’s a reason for Lar’s behavior and real healing.
Carrying the emotional scars of an abusive childhood, siblings Wendy
Savage (Laura Linney, in an Oscar-nominated role), a long-aspiring
playwright, and Jon Savage ( Philip Seymour Hoffman), a professor
of drama, now face the challenge of caring for their ailing elderly
father, Lenny (Philip Bosco), despite their emotional disconnect
from him and each other. Tamara Jenkins (Slums of Beverly Hills)
wrote and directed this indie drama
This film paints what is soon to be one of the more typical scenarios
on the American family scene. And what a scene! If you want to
walk away after a pleasant few hours, do not see this film! But the
acting is perfect. And the details are sadly all too accurate. There
will unfortunately be a moment of truth in this film for most of us.
All I can say is, “Thank you Mom for planning and for cooperating
with me to get you settled in a really nice assisted living facility.”
The perfect crime goes horribly wrong when Andy and Hank
( Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke) botch a robbery
of their parents’ jewelry store in this wrenching drama from
legendary filmmaker Sidney Lumet, who was 82 when he
directed the film. Albert Finney and Rosemary Harris co-star
as the unsuspecting parents, while Marisa Tomei plays Gina,
who cheats on her husband, Andy, with Hank.
I have friends who cannot like a movie if they find the
characters repellent. Somehow I can divorce myself
from such characters and just enjoy a well-made film.
This film is the downer of all downers. Philip Hoffman
plays a man for whom one dishonesty leads to another
and another etc. He is at the bottom when the film
starts and still exudes a slimy confidence. You couldn’t
ask for a better cast. Albert Finney was born in May 1936,
so he is almost 72. Unbelievable !
After losing his hearing during the Vietnam War, Richard
Pimentel (Ron Livingston) returns to America, where he falls
in with an unlikely circle of friends and finds a new calling as a
spokesman for the disabled. His efforts as an activist eventually
lead to the creation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This
inspiring and entertaining true story won the Audience Award
at the 2007 AFI Dallas International Film Festival
It’s not Hollywood but more Hollywood than an Indie. Ron Livingston
comes across as a real person. His relation with his friend with
cerebral palsy is a treat. The language is VERY earthy but is
absolutely appropriate and downright funny. Did you know that
in many cities it was against the law for a disabled person
to appear in public because they were an insult to the eyes
of the other citizens ? I guess I’m a sucker for stories about
real people with their ups and downs. Despite the language, why
shouldn’t kids see it ?
