Category Archives: FilmReview

2009, Biographical, Drama, Love Story, Nudity

The Last Station (2009)

Leave a comment

From NetFlix:

Set during the last year of Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy’s life, this biopic explores the fractious relationship between Tolstoy (Oscar nominated Christopher Plummer) and his wife (Oscar nominated Helen Mirren), as he embraces a life of asceticism. Paul Giamatti co-stars as impassioned Tolstoy devotee Vladimir Chertkov, with James McAvoy playing the aging writer’s assistant, Valentin, who is caught in the middle of various struggles.

Leo Tolstoy died in 1910 at the age of 82. The biography in Wikipedia speaks of his deteriorating relations with his younger wife towards the end of his life. Reviews of this film criticize it for “over acting”. But Mirren’s histrionics may well be justified.

We all know Mirren, PLummer, and Giamatti. James McAvoy, who does a fine job, has played in Atonement (2007) , The Last King of Scotland, and State of Play.

Seeing this film in a theatre is worthwhile because the scenery is beautiful. Be sure to stay past the end of the film because you then see actual films made of Tolstoy himself. Remarkable to think that movies were made prior to 1910.

2002, Could Be Hard To Watch, Drama, Gangs, Melodrama, Not Feel Good, Occasional gore, Revenge, Suspense, Violent

Gangs of New York (2002)

Leave a comment

From NetFlix:

Amid the savage Irish and Italian rivalry that dominated New York City in the mid-1800s, Amsterdam Vallon (Leonardo DiCaprio) hunts down his father’s hateful murderer, Bill “the Butcher” Cutting (Daniel Day-Lewis). Along the way, Vallon falls for the charms of a streetwise pickpocket (Cameron Diaz). Director Martin Scorsese’s riveting epic — nominated for 10 Oscars — also stars Jim Broadbent, Liam Neeson, John C. Reilly and Henry Thomas.

Before seeing this film, at least read the Wikipedia article which at the very end gives historical references. According to this Wikipedia article, the New York scenes were very accurate. But the history itself is a different matter. Many liberties were taken with the facts. Still the underlying theme of the persecution of the Irish is quite valid. Moreover there were historical figures such as Bill Cutting (who was a butcher), but the film is at odds with their real history.

Violence is the chief characteristic of this film, and gory violence at that. Daniel Day-Lewis plays his usual blood-thirsty villain. For my money this was a black and white melodrama whose main attraction was indeed the many slaughters. And for some reason I have never been able to convince myself that Cameron Diaz can act.

Netfilx sends the film as two discs.

2006, Could Be Hard To Watch, Drama, Explicit sex, Love Story, Nudity

Little Children (2006)

Leave a comment

From NetFlix:

The lives of several adults who have yet to surpass adolescence intersect in unexpected ways in this twisted relationship drama from director Todd Field that’s set on the suburban streets of a small town. While on-the-go wife and mother Kathy (Jennifer Connelly) is focused on her career, Sarah (Kate Winslet, in an Oscar-nominated role) copes with her domestic plight by having an affair with Kathy’s husband, a stay-at-home dad (Patrick Wilson).

“Little Children” is NOT for little children. On the plus side there are lots of fun nude scenes of love-making between Winslet and Wilson. Also there is some fun footage of rough adult football. On the minus side there are two scenes of masturbation and one scene of self-mutilation.

The book was written by Tom Perrotta who lives in Belmont, MA. There is a voiced-in narrator that reads some of Perrotta’s text.

Don’t let the above warnings scare you off. This film captures the early 21st century with lots of current references. It especially captures surburban stay-at-home moms.

Kate Winslet is no stranger to this blog. See Revolutionary Road (2008), and Romance & Cigarettes (2005), as well as The Reader (2008) .

Patrick Wilson is young, handsome, and likeable in this film. For a completely different Patrick Wilson see Hard Candy (2005)

Hats off to Noah Emmerich as the sad former policeman Larry Hedges.

However, for my money, the most amazing piece of acting was presented by Jackie Earle Haley as the pervert. His reaction to his mother’s death was devastating.

I loved this possibly hard to watch film.

2009, Acceptable for children, Car Chase, Conspiracy, Sci-Fi, Suspense, Violent

Surrogates (2009)

Leave a comment

From NetFlix:

Based on Robert Venditti’s graphic novel of the same name, director Jonathan Mostow’s sci-fi thriller is set in a futuristic world in which humans hibernate at home while living their lives vicariously through robot surrogates. When a series of mysterious surrogate murders occurs, FBI agent Greer (Bruce Willis) ventures out into the world for the first time in years to investigate. Radha Mitchell and Ving Rhames co-star.

Easy to understand, clever digital effects, action sequences make this sci-fi suspense thriller fun to watch. But more importantly the film asks the question: Is it better to live your life through some physically perfect doll than to face your mortality and live a normal life ? Bruce Willis was lucky to get this part which he plays perfectly. When the film begins we see Willis looking really handsome and fit. It doesn’t take long to realize that we are seeing his young surrogate double. There are other surprises in store. You might call the plot predictable, but just the same I enjoyed watching this sci-fi yarn that lasts only 89 minutes.

2009, Acceptable for children, Could Be Sad, Drama, Feel Good For All

The Boys Are Back (2009)

Leave a comment

From NetFlix:

Following the sudden death of his wife, Australian sportswriter Joe Warr (Clive Owen) struggles to cope with his grief and comfort his young son (Nicholas McAnulty). Being a single father gets even trickier when Joe’s rebellious teenage son from a previous marriage (George MacKay) moves in. Director Scott Hicks helms this touching — and often hilarious — tale of a family in flux, based on a memoir by Simon Carr.

In this film Clive Owen is as I have never seen him. Gone (well, almost) is the grinning bad boy. Instead he plays well a caring father left to his own uncertain devices. Both sons do an amazing job of acting. The younger gets it right as a little boy. The older teenager gets it right as an adolescent who wonders if his father even loves him. In some ways it is a very ordinary film. But for me the underlying truth is that kids suffer from divorce no matter what our permissive experts tell us.

And is Australia really that beautiful ?

2005, Could Be Hard To Watch, Drama, Explicit sexual discussion, Not Feel Good, Revenge, Suspense, Unusual, Violent

Hard Candy (2005)

Leave a comment

From NetFlix:

Ellen Page (Juno) stars in this suspenseful drama from director David Slade as Hayley, an intelligent teen who’s got her own reasons for spending so much time with Geoff (Patrick Wilson), a much older man she met online. Even though Geoff is a charming, good-looking photographer, Hayley should know better than to go home with a guy in his early thirties — especially since he might have ulterior motives.

WARNING:

  • You may hate this movie. Although there is no explicit gore, there are many instances of violence, and the gore is left to your imagination (which can make it even worse).
  • You must suspend disbelief because the “teenager” Ellen Page looks too old and is far to mature to be a mere 14 years of age. In fact in this film Ellen Page was 18.
  • You must suspend disbelief because the photographer Patrick Wilson claims he is 10 years older than the girl. 32 year old men don’t look like 24 year old men.
  • You must suspend disbelief because the girl has just too many weapons at her disposal. Moreover, to use these tools she has to be very, very strong.

Having blasted the film, I was compelled to watch it from beginning to end. It is quite a trip. I will not spoil the film for you by giving details. If you insist, you can read wikipedia. At least be aware, that the film has the feel of revenge that you might experience in a Stephen King film and for this reason could be hard to watch. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

In 2005 Ellen Page was 18 when she made this film. In 2007 at age 20 she made the film Juno (2007) which was very popular.

In 2005 Patrick Wilson was 32 when he made this film. In 2006 he was 33 when he made the film Little Children (2006), which is a book written by Tom Perrotta from my town of Belmont. He was also Claire Danes young lover in Evening (2007)

2009, Comedy, Could Be Sad, Drama, Love Story

Up in the Air (2009)

2 Comments

From NetFlix:

Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) racks up miles flying around the country firing employees on behalf of companies. But he faces losing the job he savors to recent college grad Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick) — and losing the ability to escape emotional ties to anything. A connection he builds with Alex Goran (Vera Farmiga), however, might change his outlook on the future. Golden Globe winner Jason Reitman’s smart comedy also stars Jason Bateman.

For at least one reason this film made me unhappy: I don’t look a bit like George Clooney. Now let’s get serious. Although I used to think he was just another Hollywood pretty boy, lately I have read that his acting has improved with age and indeed in this film he is perfect. I cannot say why without spoiling the film for you. At the very least, during the film assume nothing.

If nothing else this film captures perfectly the current depression of 2008 through (let’s hope) 2011. Remember, if your neighbor loses his job, it is a recession. If you lose your job, it is a depression. If you have ever been laid off from a job, this film will really resonate.

There are some laughs, but this film is only partly a comedy. In addition it offers genuine human value.

Until I started to write this review I had not realized that Jason Bateman, who plays George Clooney’s smarmy boss, was the star of the outrageous TV series “Arrested Development”. What a character transformation !

“Up In The Air” is an unqualified “must see”.

1976, Brazilian, Comedy, Could be boring, Explicit sex, Explicit sexual discussion, Mostly About Sex, Nudity, Old-Fashioned, Vulgar

Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands (1976)

1 Comment

From NetFlix:

Proving that bad boys are hard to shake, this fanciful Brazilian comedy follows the adventures of Dona Flor (Sonia Braga), a conventional girl who weds a handsome ne’er-do-well (José Wilker) whose only saving grace is his talent in bed. When he dies suddenly, Flor remarries — but to his polar opposite: an exceedingly dull pharmacist (Mauro Mendonça). Soon, she finds herself longing for hubby No. 1 … and next thing you know, his ghost appears.

“Dona Flor” is the most successful Brazilian film ever made. For more history see wikipedia. Because I am studying Brazilian Portuguese I watched this historical film. Today’s audience would probably find the film dull even though it is completely about sex. In fact the nudity and the sex scenes are fairly chaste. Unless you are a determined afficionado of Brazilian film history, skip this one. I was just grateful to understand some small amount of the Brazilian.

2006, Acceptable Trash, Comedy, TV Series, Vulgar

30 Rock (2006)

Leave a comment

From NetFlix:

Tina Fey stars as Liz Lemon, the lead writer on a television variety series à la “Saturday Night Live,” in this Emmy-winning workplace sitcom co-starring Jane Krakowski, Tracy Morgan and the scene-stealing Alec Baldwin. When brash network executive Jack Donaghy (Baldwin) arrives on the scene to pep up the show, he unnerves the cast and crew with his meddlesome ways — among them, hiring a whacked-out movie star (Morgan).

I warn you: this TV series is at best acceptable trash. My son Mike suggested this series. His tastes are juvenile, sophomoric, and crass. Unfortunately, genes being what they are, he and I seem to share those tastes. I learned this during the recent Christmas vacation when I sadly realized that my tastes and those of my daughter Kate seemed to have diverged. Could it be that Kate is maturing ? What have Kathy and I done wrong ?

Every now and then there is a good laugh that was worth waiting for. Surprisingly, after her success imitating Sarah Palin, Tina Fey in this series is the straight man who leaves the laughs to others. Alex Baldwin does indeed steal the show, he just knows how to deliver a line. Jane Krakowski (she was Elaine in “Ally McBeal”) always gets it right.

You were warned, so don’t complain.

2009, Acceptable for children, Drama, Sci-Fi, Suspense

Moon (2009)

2 Comments

From NetFlix:

As he nears the end of a lonely three-year stint on the moon base Sarang, astronaut Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) begins to hear and see strange things. It’s not long before Sam suspects that his employer — the conglomerate LUNAR — has other plans for him. Featuring Kevin Spacey as the voice of a robot, this sci-fi thriller also stars Matt Berry and Kaya Scodelario. The film was an official selection at the Sundance Film Festival.

Whereas District 9 (2009) was suspenseful, frantic and strewn with garbage and gore, “Moon” is suspenseful, quiet, slow-paced, thoughtful, thought provoking and thoroughly human. Both sci-fi films are original and as different from one another as night and day. To avoid spoiling the plot for you, I can only say it involves deceit on the part of an earth corporation, a “hal”-like moon station robot (“hal” was the robot in “2001”), and genuine and warm interaction between persons. There is blood and some minor scuffles but no gore or real violence. Even children can safely watch the movie (a rarity these days).

I could find no Wikipedia description, but I did find the following detailed spoiler.

If you watch the film, do not hesitate to put philosophical considerations in comments, even if they amount to spoilers.

IF!!! you like sci-fi you should not miss this refined, well-made film.