Category Archives: 2009

2009, Acceptable for children, Biographical, Drama, Sports, Underdogs win

Invictus (2009)

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From NetFlix:

In this drama based on real-life events, director Clint Eastwood tells the story of what happened after the end of apartheid when newly elected president Nelson Mandela used the 1995 World Cup rugby matches to unite his people in South Africa. Based on John Carlin’s book, the film stars Morgan Freeman as Mandela and Matt Damon (both Oscar nominated) as Francois Pienaar, the captain of the scrappy South African team that makes a run for the championship

Invictus is a short Victorian poem by the English poet William Ernest Henley. The text is as follows:

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gait,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Nelson Mandela used this poem as a personal prayer to see him through 30 years of imprisonment. “Invictus” means “unconquered”.

As a piece of art, the film is mediocre. There may be at least 5 scrums too many. It would help if you understood the game of rugby. Matt Damon is adequate. Morgan Freeman is perfect as Mandela. See Wikipedia for critical reviews.

When the plane flies low over the stadium, you are supposed to read something written on its lower side: “Good luck, Bokke!”

Despite all these comments, I found the film to be inspiring and meaningful.

2009, Could Be Hard To Watch, Drama, Military, Plot Twist, Quentin Tarantino, Revenge, Suspense, Violent, War

Inglourious Basterds (2009)

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From NetFlix:

A Jewish cinema owner (Mélanie Laurent) in occupied Paris is forced to host a Nazi movie premiere, where a radical group of American Jewish soldiers called the Basterds, led by Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), plans to roll out a score-settling scheme. The face-off is about to go down — that’s if Col. Hans Landa aka “The Jew Hunter” (Christoph Waltz, in an Oscar-winning role) doesn’t get in the way. Quentin Tarantino directs this World War II-set spaghetti Western.

“Quentin Tarantino” tells you immediately that this will be a violent film. In fact,
the first two acts (Nazi atrocity, Jewish retribution) suggest that this film could just be a litany of vindictive anti-Nazi butchery. But each act brings something fresh, suspenseful, clever, and of course violent. There are many plot twists, almost all in the form of something that goes wrong with an assassination plan. In that sense the fun never stops.

However, I was at first offended by the fact that the entire climax is a hoax perpetrated on the viewers. Such a thing never happened. So is this film someone’s rage fantasy against the horrors of the Nazi regime ? Sad to say I got a lot of pleasure watching the good guys bash the bad guys. I should be ashamed. Violence begets violence and it has to stop somewhere. In this regard please read the section of the Wikipedia article entitled “Critical Reception” which reinforces my objections.

If you understand French, German, and Italian you will have another source of pleasure from this romp.

2009, Could be boring, Drama, Gangs, Gay theme, Love Story, Nudity, Redemption, Unusual, Violent, Vulgar

44 Inch Chest (2009)

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From NetFlix:

After his wife, Liz (Joanne Whalley), cheats on him, gangster Colin Diamond (Ray Winstone) gets his revenge by enlisting his underworld pals to kidnap her hunky French lover (Melvil Poupaud) in the feature debut of director Malcolm Venville. Top British actors, including Ian McShane, John Hurt and Tom Wilkinson, round out the cast of the crime thriller, penned by the screenwriters of another memorable Winstone vehicle, Sexy Beast.

You will not see much actual violence in this film. You do see Colin punch his wife. You do see a bloodied French lover after a beating. But that is NOT the point of the film.

Colin and his pals are rough crooks. They spend most of their time using the same foul words over and over until it gets quite tiresome. Colin has that British accent in which “worth” sounds like “wurf”.

Talk, talk, talk. Possibly this was initially a play because it sounds that way. For the most part the film is a monologue delivered by Colin.

Basically the theme of the film is true love and its loss. More than that I will not say for fear of spoiling.

NOT for everyone. You might prefer a root canal.

2009, Acceptable for children, Feel Good For All, Sports, True Story

The Blind Side (2009)

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From NetFlix:

Oversized African American Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron), the teen from across the tracks and a broken home, has nowhere to sleep at age 16. Taken in by an affluent Memphis couple, Leigh Anne (Sandra Bullock) and Sean (Tim McGraw), Michael embarks on a remarkable rise to play for the NFL. Bullock’s performance garnered a Best Actress Oscar nomination and Best Actress Golden Globe Award. Kathy Bates co-stars.

Yes, of course it is maudlin and a bit too goody-goody, but so what ?

There is at most one “uncomfortable” scene in the entire film (Michael fights with some gang-bangers). Note the school dropout in that scene because he figures in newpaper articles toward the end of the film.

This is a standard Sandra Bullock film. Moreover it is actually a feel-good for everyone. Quinton Aaron is NOT an actor. They tried to give him a part in one “Law and Order” episode which was a total disaster.

It pleased me that the Wikipedia article on Michael Oher shows that the movie was very accurate historically.

2009, Child Molestation, Crime, Detective, DO NOT MISS, Drama, Drugs, Gangs, Gay theme, Rape, Suspense, TV Series, Violent, Vulgar

Southland (2009)

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From NetFlix:

This hard-hitting drama follows the trials and triumphs of a group of dedicated Los Angeles cops, including tough veteran John Cooper (Michael Cudlitz), who begins this show’s first season training rookie patrolman Ben Sherman (Benjamin McKenzie). Other characters sworn to serve and protect include Detectives Russell Clarke (Tom Everett Scott) and Lydia Adams (Regina King), single-mom patrol officer Chickie Brown (Arija Bareikis) and more

If you liked “NYPD BLue” or “Law and Order”, you will love “Southland”. Full of tense crime scenes and personal stories, the series is DYNAMITE! Enough said.

2009, Child Molestation, Could Be Hard To Watch, Crime, Detective, Drama, Serial Killer, Suspense, Violent

The Lovely Bones (2009)

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From NetFlix:

When 14-year-old Susie Salmon (Saoirse Ronan) is murdered, she watches from above as her family deals with her tragic death — and as her killer prepares to strike again. Torn between vengeance and healing, Susie’s loved ones are forever changed. Mark Wahlberg and Rachel Weisz star in Peter Jackson’s adaptation of Alice Sebold’s riveting, best-selling novel; Susan Sarandon and Oscar nominee Stanley Tucci co-star.

Normally I can start a film one night and interrupt it and resume another night, but NOT with this film. The suspense is extremely well-done and at times very subtle (you watch someone try to replace a floorboard without being heard by the killer a floor below; the movement is excruciatingly slow). Acting is good and the story is heartbreaking and well structured. Certain scenes (e.g. abduction) could be difficult to watch.

I offer one reservation: Susie inhabits the state of existence between death and heaven. This “place” is a seemingly endless succession of sometimes beautiful, sometimes threatening, always imaginative scenes. But enough is enough. I became really tired of watching Susie tread through field after field.

Mark Wahlberg does a fine job as the grieving father. See him also in The Basketball Diaries (1995), The Departed (2006) , and We Own the Night (2007) .

Rachel Weisz plays the mother. See her also in Definitely, Maybe (2008), Enemy At The Gates (2001), and The Brothers Bloom (2008).

Stanley Tucci was a standout and I did not even recognize him because he has hair in this film. His role as the serial killer George Harvey was perfect and impressive.

2009, Comedy, Drugs, Feel Good For All, Unusual

The Men Who Stare At Goats (2009)

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From NetFlix:

Journalist Bob Wilton (Ewan McGregor) latches onto an unbelievable story in Iraq when he meets Lyn Cassady (George Clooney), a man of mysterious origins who reveals he was a “warrior monk” trained by the U.S. Army to develop psychic powers. Jeff Bridges co-stars as Lyn’s mentor, the man who dreamed up the top-secret operation. Kevin Spacey and Rebecca Mader co-star in this Grant Heslov-helmed wild spoof.

Depending on your sense of humor, you might get some occasional good laughs out of this spoof. Ewan McGregor and George Clooney carry almost the entire show, with a little help from other actors. The story line is often weak. There are lots better films to watch. Not every film is a triumph for an actor. Sorry George.

2009, Could Be Hard To Watch, Could Be Sad, Drama, Not Feel Good, Redemption, Violent, War

Brothers (2009)

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From NetFlix:

When severely traumatized Capt. Sam Cahill (Golden Globe nominee Tobey Maguire) returns home alive from a military mission in Afghanistan after he was presumed dead, he learns that his brother, Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal), has gotten dangerously close to his grieving wife, Grace (Natalie Portman), and his kids. Mare Winningham and Sam Shepard also star in this wartime drama about human frailty and battles fought on the home front. Jim Sheridan directs.

“Brothers” from 2009 is an almost exact but Americanized version of the equally well-done Danish film Brothers (2005).

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is never easy to see (let alone experience). The two version of “Brothers” deal with Afghanistan. Don’t miss as well the sad film directed and acted by Emilio Estevez The War At Home (1996) which left me stunned. I would like to know if any of our soldiers actually had to endure what happens to Capt. Sam Cahill while a prisoner in Afghanistan.

All three of these films are well-written, well-acted, and difficult to watch.

2009, Car Chase, Crime, Drama, Suspense, Violent

Armored (2009)

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From NetFlix:

Armored truck guards Mike (Matt Dillon), Baines (Laurence Fishburne) and Quinn (Jean Reno) turn against one another after their plan to steal $10 million from their own company goes seriously haywire. A witness throws a wrench into their seemingly flawless strategy, so each man scrambles to save his own skin — whatever the cost to the other conspirators. Nimród Antal directs and Columbus Short co-stars

In the beginning “Armored” seems ordinary. It establishes the tight bonds between the guards who drive the armored trucks (“Rescue Me” anyone ?). But once again stay with the film. Basically the film is much about moral character and how humans react in times of great stress. In fact some of the characters are not just black and white (no pun intended), rather they change as the film progresses. Of course, it IS a car chase film with its usual macho roughness. Matt Dillon is a great changeling. Laurence Fishburne is an overweight disappointment.

One of the more original films in the car chase category that I have seen.

2009, Car Chase, Crime, Detective, Lawyers, Suspense, Violent

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (2009)

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From NetFlix:

Michael Douglas stars as corrupt district attorney Mark Hunter in this remake of Fritz Lang’s noir classic about a reporter, C.J. Nicholas (Jesse Metcalfe), who sets himself up as the prime suspect in a murder he didn’t commit in order to expose Hunter’s misdeeds. Nicholas’s plans go awry, however, when Hunter discovers the trap and destroys the evidence that would exonerate the cub reporter. Amber Tamblyn and Orlando Jones co-star.

In this film the suspense is so overwhelming that I stayed glued to my seat the entire time. If at one point the story seems to have too easy a solution, stay with the film to the very last second. More I will not say, but there are plot twists.

Although I marked the film as violent, you do not see any personal attacks, just some threatening scenes and one amazing scene in an underground parking lot.

Jesse Metcalf is John Rowland in “Desperate Hosewives”. Amber Tamblyn is Tibby in “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants”.

If you like suspense, this is a must see!.