Category Archives: 2008

2008, Acceptable for children, Based on true facts, Feel Good For All, Flirting, Love Story, Wine culture

Bottle Shock (2008)

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From NetFlix:

France’s position as the world’s top wine producer went unchallenged until 1976, when the Montelena Winery put California wines on the map — a story delightfully told in this full-bodied tale about the heady early days of Napa Valley’s success.

In this comfortable, feel-good-for-everyone film Bill Pullman plays Jim Barrett and Chris Pine plays his so-far-nere-do-well son Bo. Montelena Winery is the struggling company run by the elder Barrett. When father and son disagree they enter their outdoor boxing ring and batter each other. Enter Alan Rickman as Steven Spurrier, the Englishman who travels from Paris to California seeking American wines good enough to challenge the French wines. Freddy Rodríguez plays Gustavo Brambila, a Mexican employee of Montelena Winery who is a wine expert secretly making his own wine.

Five years (from 2008 to 2013) can change faces. At first I did not recognize the son Chris Pine whom I first saw in Unstoppable. Freddy Rodríguez was the mortician in “Six Feet Under” who had a remarkable talent for making dead bodies attractive. Bill Pullman and Alan Rickman have been around forever.

Despite any historical inaccuracies, just sit back and watch a relaxed family film.

2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, Acceptable for children, Acceptable Science, Asperger's Syndrome, British, Could Be Sad, DO NOT MISS, Dog Story, Drama, Dysfunctional Lives, Feel Good For All, Love Story, Made For TV, School Teacher, Small British village, Small Town

Doc Martin (2004)

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From NetFlix:

Crippled by a sudden and inconvenient fear of blood, flashy surgeon Dr. Martin Ellingham abandons his bustling London practice and sets up shop as a country doctor in this medically minded British sitcom.

Are you looking for a warm, friendly, non-violent, comic, personal British sitcom? Look no further. Beginning in 2004 and extending over 5 years of wonderful episodes, you can relax and enjoy “Doc Martin”.

Doc Martin (played by Martin Clunes) is a very unusual character. For starters he is a family doctor who is sickened by the sight of blood (he looks away when he draws a blood sample). Most importantly he is completely hopeless in any social situation. My guess is that he is supposed to suffer from Asperger’s syndrome. Nowadays we would say that he “doesn’t have a clue”.

He has set up practice in a charming, small, British village on the sea. He is a brilliant diagnostician and much of each episode has him helping people in his impossibly brusque manner. In fact, part of the comedy in the series is his reaction (or non-reaction) to everyone, including his patients.

Do not misunderstand: the stories are not pablum. Some of the situations are harrowing. For example, we see his icy mother just once when she visits and explains that she never loved him because he “got in the way”. Along the way we see villagers afflicted with OCD, vertigo, psychosis, etc. Nonetheless the “cringe” factor is very low compared to today’s British TV plots.

All 5 seasons are available on DVD. NetFlix offers DVD or streaming for all the episodes.

In the area of family sitcoms I would rate this series a DO NOT MISS!

2008, Based on true facts, Crude Talk, Drama, FBI, Lawyers, Political Suspense, Prison, Wonderful acting

Nothing But the Truth (2008)

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From NetFlix:

Journalist Rachel Armstrong (Kate Beckinsale) turns Washington on its ear when she outs a casual acquaintance (Vera Farmiga) as a CIA agent. The government’s formidable prosecutor (Matt Dillon) sends Rachel to jail for contempt, where she discovers the true impact of her decision. David Schwimmer and Alan Alda co-star in this drama from Rod Lurie, the politically savvy filmmaker behind The Contender and “Commander in Chief.”

Watching this film might make you angry or fearful or both. But in any case you could not possibly be bored.

Acting is superb on everyone’s part. The story line is coherent and easy to follow.

As the film progressed I started to wonder why the heroine (can you guess where my sympathy lay?) held on. When I finally understood who her source was, then I really had to question the validity of her endurance. Any comments on this point?

Remember that this film is fiction. Try to watch it without reference to past events. After that you might enjoy reading about the outing of Valerie Plame as a CIA agent during the Cheney administration. An easy source for this is the Wikipedia article. To save time you could begin reading at the section called “Plamegate”. This article mentions that a film more directly related to Plamegate was entitled “Fair Game” named after the book written by Valerie Plame and starring Sean Penn and Naomi Watts. Always it struck me as odd that no one was prosecuted as a traitor for outing a CIA agent.

Not an easy watch but certainly an engrossing 107 minutes.

2008, B-movie, Love Story, Quiet, Sci-Fi, Suspense

The Happening (2008)

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From NetFlix:

When a deadly airborne virus threatens to wipe out the northeastern United States, teacher Elliott Moore (Mark Wahlberg) and his wife (Zooey Deschanel) flee from contaminated cities into the countryside in a fight to discover the truth. Is it terrorism, the accidental release of some toxic military bio weapon — or something even more sinister? John Leguizamo and Betty Buckley co-star in this thriller from writer-director M. Night Shyamalan.

Not all disaster films are created equal. Some are quiet, most are mayhem. Some gore is inevitable. Some end well but lately, in keeping with our current cultural pessimism, most do not end well. Some are isolated (to, say, just the Titanic). Some are global (as in “War of the Worlds”). Some come from an earthly threat as in global warming. Some come from out there somewhere, say an asteroid or nasty aliens.

In “The Happening” we are confronted with a rather quiet, not terribly gory, temporarily unexplained local disaster. Eventually we get an explanation for which you might have to suspend disbelief. But hidden in all the excitement is a love story. Spoilers are not allowed so you will have to watch the film to see who survives (if anyone … wicked laugh to follow).

Congratulations to Mark Wahlberg who does not take his shirt off even once. His acting is acceptable, but the story is better and fairly inventive.

One critic said it best in that this film is a “genuinely enjoyable B-movie for anyone inclined (or able) to see it that way”.

1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, British Mystery Series, Crime, Detective, Mystery Film

Midsomer Murders (1997-2012)

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Beginning in 1997 British TV has offered 91 (by my count) episodes of a detective series called “Midsomer Murders”. As in much British TV of this nature you are immersed in a green, fertile, picturesque, made-for-gullible-Americans locale where everything seems so quaint, friendly, folksy, and what we hope is typically British. But that is precisely why Kathy and I enjoy the series. Yes, you do see blood and you could not very well have a murder mystery without a murder or three. But even the occasional torture scene is downright polite. All of this contrasts completely with another current British TV suspense culture which often goes out of its way to be gory, explicit, pessimistic, and gloomy in the extreme. Examples of the latter are “Waking the Dead” or “MI-5”. Whereas Kathy does NOT leave the room for “Midsomer Murders”, there are scenes from the rough series that send her flying in terror. Somehow the sex and violence does not seem to phase yours truly.

Another attractive feature of the series is the slower pace. Plots can be complicated but often there is discussion between characters that tries to explain what is happening.

Additionally an episode is willing to include some “sideshow attraction” such as fifteen minutes of a cricket match or a town’s tradition of a donkey race. That may sound stupid, but actually these extras only add to the charm of the series.

And again I applaud the intelligent tradition in British drama to use actors who are not handsome or beautiful but just plain interesting.

If you want a complete catalog of the series, go IMDB. In addition to learn all about the fictional county called Midsomer as well as the large cast of characters you can try Wikipedia.

Beginning in 2006 the DVDs offer subtitles which Kathy and I need. Therefore I have listed below only those episodes which offer subtitles.

Season 9

Four Funerals and a Wedding
Country Matters
Death in Chorus
Last Year’s Model

Season 10

Dance with the Dead
The Animal Withing
King’s Crystal
The Axeman Cometh
Death and Dust
Picture of Innocence
They Seek Him Here
Death in a Chocolate Box

Season 11

Shot at Dawn
Blood Wedding
Left for Dead
Midsomer Life
The Magician’s Nephew
Days of Misrule
Talking to the Dead

Season 12

The Dogleg Murders
The Black Book
Secrets and Spies
The Glitch
Small Mercies
The Creeper
The Great and the Good

Season 13

Sword of Guillaume
Made-to-Measure Murders
Blood on the Saddle
Silent Land
Master Class
Noble Art
Not in my Backyard
Fit for Murder

Season 14

Death in the Slow Lane
Dark Secrets
Echos of the Dead
The Oblong Murders
Sleeper Under the Hill
Night of the Stag
Sacred Trust
Rare Bird

Season 15

The Dark Rider
Murder of Innocence

Let me know when you have seen all of them.

2008, Acceptable for children, Drama, Frenetic, Love Story, Mediocre

Life in Flight (2008)

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From NetFlix:

With a beautiful wife (Amy Smart), an adoring son (Kevin Rosseljong) and an accomplished career, New York-based architect Will (Patrick Wilson) thinks he has it all — until a new friendship with dynamic young designer Kate (Lynn Collins) reveals the cracks in his too-perfect life. With long-repressed doubts now in the open, Will must reconsider the direction of his life from the bottom up. Tracey Hecht directs this existential drama.

Because currently we are in an economic recession where jobs are scarce Patrick Wilson’s choice of his future seems not so black and white. Who would not jump at the opportunity that is offered to his character Will ? On the other hand, he finds himself not giving much attention to his young son and finds little time for family, sitting, talking, in other words for the rest of his life. For me I could not really sense a huge amount of stress in his life, that is to say the type of stress where you feel “when will it ever end ?” His wife was portrayed as a woman who was ambitious and not much else. It was as if she was saying “You want me ? Then you must advance professionally.”

Once again I was busy doing something else while watching this mediocre film, so at least I did not waste all the time solely on the film.

2008, Bullying, Drama, Sex Scenes

Fireflies in the Garden (2008)

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From NetFlix:

In the wake of an unexpected family tragedy, novelist Michael Taylor (Ryan Reynolds) is forced to confront his fractured relationship with his father (Willem Dafoe) while dealing with painful memories of his mother (Julia Roberts), a woman who moved mountains to protect him. Emily Watson, Hayden Panettiere, Ioan Gruffudd and Carrie-Anne Moss also star in this semiautobiographical tale of rage and redemption from writer-director Dennis Lee.

FINALLY I got to see Ryan Reynolds deliver a worthwhile performance in a worthwhile film. Why has his agent been so inconsistent ? Oddly enough this film predates such forgettable wonders as “The Green Lantern” and “The Change-Up”. Why revert to juvenile roles when you can do so much better ?

Willem Dafoe is perfect as the father you love to hate.

Hats off to Cayden Boyd who captured perfectly Michael Taylor as a boy imprisoned in his home with his monster of a father.

For me the ending was hard to accept. Your opinions would be welcome.

2008, Acceptable for children, British Mystery Series, Car Chase, Corny, Drama, Flirting, Love Story, Made For TV, Melodrama, Mystery Film, Old-Fashioned, Plot Twist, Suspense, Trains, Wonderful photography

The 39 Steps (2008)

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From NetFlix:

Richard Hannay (Rupert Penry-Jones) has his holiday interrupted when secret agent Scudder (Eddie Marsan) bursts into his apartment, staying alive just long enough to deposit a notebook. Pegged with murder, Hannay must decode the book and nab the culprits — before they find him first. In this nimble BBC update of John Buchan’s novel, German spies and British police give chase as Hannay races to deliver the coveted code and avert a world war.

Rupert Penry-Jones and Matthew MacFadyen take turns starring in the excellent British TV series MI-5 . That series started in 2002. Since this Masterpiece Classic was made in 2008, I assume these two actors rotate in order to give them time to do other acting.

Think of “The 39 Steps” as a Harlequin Spy Romance with possibly its tongue in its cheek. Penry-Jones is accidentally thrust into an effort to prevent Germany from attacking the British navy just prior to World War I. He gets to run up and down hills, run through woods, drive vintage cars in exciting 20 mph car chases, solve encrypted messages, discover spies, and woo a winsome maiden, all the while remaining a presentable handsome Brit with a flare for witty comebacks.

If you can stand not having digital special effects enhance the performance of the actors, then you might enjoy this melodrama, despite a few “aw shucks!” moments.

2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, British, Complicated, Computer geeks, Conspiracy, Cynical, DO NOT MISS, Flirting, Love Story, Made For TV, Political Suspense, Suspense, Terrorist Attack, Torture, TV Series, Wonderful acting

MI-5

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From NetFlix:

This award-winning series dramatizes the professional exploits and personal lives of the “spooks” of MI-5, the British equivalent of the FBI. No-nonsense head officer Harry Pearce (Peter Firth) guides a band of dedicated spies who risk their lives every day. The team includes expert and junior members who must balance real life with the job’s requirement for complete secrecy, no matter the cost. Matthew Macfadyen and Richard Armitage co-star.

Beginning in 2002 and continuing at least to 2010, this British TV-series is “utterly smashing”. Intense, sometimes hard to watch, but incredibly exciting in just about every episode. What makes some episodes difficult to watch is that the members of MI-5 are forced at times to make hard decisions that involve “collateral damage” (meaning some poor soul dies), so much so that those members are often damaged themselves and actually leave MI-5 (i.e. leave the show). In fact, be prepared for many, sometimes disappointing cast changes. For example Rupert William Penry-Jones (the character Adam Carter) started the show and then disappeared for awhile to be replaced by Matthew Macfadyen (the character Tom Quinn) who then leaves the show and is replaced by Rupert William Penry-Jones.

There are too many wonderful characters to even mention them. You can find them all listed in IMDB.

In addition to spook plots, there are also many romances. But any romance for a member of MI-5 is next to impossible because even their significant others cannot know what these spooks do for a living.

2008, Detective, Drama, Psychological Drama, Psychological Thriller, Serial Killer, Suspense

Tenderness (2008)

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From NetFlix:

After completing his stint in a juvenile detention center for murder, 18-year-old ex-con Eric Poole (Jon Foster) embarks on a hazardous road trip with Lori, a hyper teen (Sophie Traub), close by his side. But little do the troubled pair know that they are being tracked by Det. Cristofuoro (Russell Crowe), a hard-nosed New York cop who’s convinced that Poole is a psychopath capable of killing again.

Detective Cristofuoro (Russell Crowe) is not so much hard-nosed as he is a caring man who is almost retired from the force and has as his only case the task of preventing Eric Poole (Jon Foster) from killing again. In fact the detective spends most of his time at the side of his comatose wife caring for her. Otherwise he is tracking Eric.

For only a short while did I wonder if Eric is really a psychopath, but only for a short while. Jon Foster as Eric Poole is perfect portraying a conflicted young man searching for a way out. Foster played Art Bechstein in The Mysteries of Pittsburgh (2008), a film I strongly recommend.

Not until the end of the film could I really understood what was motivating Lori (Sophie Traub). At that very end all the details add up to her real goal. She played young Sylvia in The Interpreter (2005).

You will not experience any violence, but the threat of such is constantly lurking in this psychological drama. What you might experience, however, is sadness for the two unfortunate young characters.