* Walking Tall: (1973 - Crime, drama, action) Far better than the remake starring 'Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson'. Here is the true story of a real American hero. Joe Don Baker plays Buford Pusser, a small town man who stands up to the corrupting influences besieging his home town. The town is run by a ring of criminals who operate a gambling den, prostitution ring, and bootleg operation. There's plenty of action, some seventies nudity and a fair amount of violence. Buford takes a licking at the hands of these low-lifes, but he drags himself out of the ditch and runs for Sheriff after the town witnesses his defiance first hand. He wins his court case because the jury sees that he's an honest man, and when he wins the seat of Sheriff - it's time to clean house. An outstanding story, a great drama. The acting was fair to poor, but the writing was excellent. The pacing was a bit fast but in line with the action elements. The production left much to be desired, but in the end it's the story that brings home the 4 out of 5 rating.
* Bottle Shock: (2008 - Comedy, drama) Based on fact; the history of wine. Set in 1976, this movie tells a tale spanning two continents. From Paris, France to Napa Valley, California. Steven Spurrier (played by Alan Rickman) has come to America in order to find wine for a blind taste test. In California, Jim Barrett (played by Bill Pullman) has sunk his entire life's saving, indeed his entire life into wine production at the Montelena Winery. This movie contains some outstanding acting by Rickman, Pullman and the supporting cast. The camera work was good, the location outstanding. This taste test will mark a Sea Event in the history of wine. A tale of fortitude, tenacity and American spirit. 4 out of 5.
* Arranged: (2007 - Comedy, drama, romance) Written and co-directed by Stefan C. Schaefer, this movie was a great little drama about 'Arranged Marriages' - Not really. What it was actually about was 'choice' The ability to chose who you love, hate, associate with or befriend. It's a very American ethic. A very democratic ethic. The story is very simple, the message very sophisticated. Two young teachers - an orthodox Jew, and a Muslim - meet at the beginning of a new school year. When their students question their ability to get along, they illustrate the insanity of an inflexible ethos. They become friends despite the misperceptions of friends and family. Soon they discover a shared common experience - Arranged marriage. Both of the women are on the verge of a change in their lives. Their families are working to arrange marriages for them. This movie challenges the viewers concepts of choice. The acting was good, but the pacing and editing were a bit off. The movie moved too slowly, the direction wasn't the best (proper dialog direction was particularly lacking) and the lack of an adequate sound track reduced the impact of the movie. 3 out of 5.
* Lock Up: (1989 - Action, crime, thriller) Starring Sylvester Stallone, Donald Sutherland, John Amos and others. This highly cliched movie is a good example of how to make a crappy movie. The story? A sadistic warden chooses to harass one particular inmate. Frank Leone (Sylvester Stallone) is nearing the end of a prison sentence when he is inexplicably transferred to a different prison (in the middle of the night). This unexplained occurrence, early in the movie, sets the stage for what will follow. A series of inexplicable events that defy logic, but look good on the screen. What follows? A series of prison brawls, a muddy prison football game, the obligatory shanking scene, the obligatory snitch twist, the obligatory establish dominance scene, the obligatory gang-bang/beating scene. An incredibly homo-erotic inmate bonding montage. The characters are highly cliched hollywood stereotypes with no character whatsoever. The ending is highly predictable. Let's face it, the writing in this movie stank (less than 10% of the situations/scenarios were plausible or believable), the direction was terrible, and the acting. Well, it was fair. 1 out of 5.
* Children of the Revolution: (1996 - Comedy, drama) Written and directed by Peter Duncan. Starring Judy Davis, Sam Neill, Murray Abraham and others. Here is a cleverly crafted social satire, comedy and drama. The story - Joan is an idealistic supporter of Joseph Stalin. She's a communist agitator in Australia during the 50's. She's so committed to the cause of communism that she writes letters weekly, and those letters eventually reach Comrade Stalin himself. Enamored with the attention of this young Australian woman, he invites her to the Communist party congress in Moscow and she attends. Full of cold-war tongue-in-cheek humor, and sly satire, the story is cleverly crafted and deftly directed and the acting is great (especially Judy Davis). Unfortunately, the treatment doesn't warrant more than modest interest. I liked it for it's artistic and satiric treatment. 3 out of 5.
* Cabaret: (1972 - Drama, musical, romance) One of the 13 titles by this name. This movie is directed by Bob Fosse (All That Jazz, Damn Yankees), starring Liza Minnelli, Michael York, Helmut Griem, and others. Here's the a fantastic play brought to the big screen. The story is set in Berlin during the 30's. Here is decadent Berlin just before the rise of the Nazis. It's a raucous city, brimming with unbridled ambition, a morally ambiguous deception grips the party goers. It drives them - the characters, the city, the country, from a care-free ethic of me first to a selfish ethic of me only. Liza Minelli is a sexy, steamy, powerhouse, full of vivacious energy. She plays Sally Bowles, an expatriate American dancer at the Kit-Kat club. She falls in love with the bi-sexual Brian (Michael York), but she's unfaithful - and so is he. They both fall for the rich playboy Maximilian. Max loves them both, then leaves them both. The movie is full of historical allegory, fantastic music, dancing and acting. The characters can see what's coming. They know that what they're doing is wrong. Unfortunately, they're incapable of stopping. Great editing, pacing and directing. Won 8 Oscars! 5 out of 5.
* The People vs. Larry Flynt: (1996 - Biography, Drama) Despite the over-dramaticized aspects of this film, it contains some very important messages for the American audience. The story is true. Torn from the headlines, here is the story of that notorious smut peddler - Larry Flynt (played by Woody Harrelson). From his beginnings as a moonshiner, his days as a strip club manager, his hey-day as the creator of Hustler, and the legal challenges that arose during the 80's. The primary focus of the movie is a legal battle. The primary driving force of the movie is the acting. Outstanding work by all involved. The characters are multi-dimensional, well developed, and enthusiastically portrayed by all involved (Woody Harrelson as Larry Flynt, Courtney Love as Althea Leasure Flynt, Edward Norton as Isaacman (Flynt's lawyer), Richard Paul as the Rev. Jerry Falwell). The direction by Milos Forman (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus, Man on the Moon) was great. It's a story about free speech, freedom of expression, and the power of a vocal minority to threaten the silent majority. The film not only examines Flynt's legal battles, but it also spends time on his personal life. What started out as a personal quest to make money selling sexy pictures evolved into a battle for free speech and real American values. 4 out of 5.
* Like Water for Chocolate: (1992 - Drama, romance / Mexico - Como agua para chocolate) Novel and screen play written by Laura Esquivel, directed by Alfonso Arau (The Wild Bunch, Romancing the Stone, Three Amigos), starring Marco Leonardi, Lumi Cavazos, Regina Torné, Mario Ivan Martinez and others. Here is a hodgepodge story of love, romance, and life in Mexico (1910s - 1930s) a long time ago. It's something of a fairy tale, told in a narrative manner. The story - Tita (Lumi Cavazos) is in love with Pedro (Marco Leonardi), but her controlling mother (Regina Torne) forbids marriage. Insisting that Tita, as the youngest daughter, must take care of her until she dies - and thus, Tita may not marry. It's 'Tradition'! Instead, Pedro marries Tita's sister in order to be close to Tita. A fantastic drama, romance, and period piece. Great acting, but the camera work (all still shots), and lighting could have been better. 3 out of 5.
* Watchmen: (2009 - Action, fantasy, sci-fi, thriller) Kim and I went to see this one in the theater. Directed by Zack Snyder (Dawn of the Dead (2004), 300), starring Malin Akerman as Laurie Jupiter aka Silk Spectre II, Billy Crudup as Jon Osterman aka Dr. Manhattan, Matthew Goode as Adrian Veidt aka Ozymandias, Jackie Earle Haley as Walter Kovacs aka Rorschach, Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Edward Blake aka The Comedian, Patrick Wilson as Dan Dreiberg as Nite Owl II, and many others. Based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore (writer) and Dave Gibbons (illustrator), here is an adult comic book brought to the silver screen. Once again we see the evolution of super hero movies. Dark, gritty, very film noir in nature. With adult themes and very complex characters, this movie moves comic books beyond the tableau of teenage fantasy, into the realm of complex social and moral subtext. The story - In an alternate future, the 1985 of this story is a place where costumed vigilantes (some with super powers, some highly trained physical specimens) have been shut down by the government. The populace is more fearful of unchecked vigilantes than they are of the criminal elements they suppress. When a retired super-hero is killed in a brutal slaying, an investigation is launched by another member of the now banned group. As Rorschach begins his investigation, we're provided background and character development in a very well constructed diary method. Here is an America fearful of the Soviets, obsessed by the 'bomb' and ruled by a fascist regime where presidents 'rule', and fear is used to control the masses. As the conspiracy thickens, it becomes apparent that part of the plot is a ploy to discredit all super heroes. Eventually, as he gets closer to the truth, Rorschach is framed for a crime he didn't commit. With Rorschach behind bars it's only a matter of time before the mastermind behind these assassinations is able to execute his ultimate solution. Outstanding acting, especially that of Jackie Earl Haley as Rorschach and Jeffrey Dean Morgan as the Comedian. The direction was also outstanding, as was the music/soundtrack, sound and camera work. The cgi (except for the strange looking cat creature towards the end of the movie) was also well done. I plan on buying a copy. 5 out of 5.
* True Grit: (1969 - Adventure, western, drama) Directed by Henry Hathaway, starring John Wayne as Marshall Reuben J. 'Rooster' Cogburn, Glen Campbell as La Boeuf, and Kim Darby as Mattie Ross. A great role for John Wayne - "Rooster" Cogburn is a one-eyed, older, overweight, gruff, no-nonsense lawman who operates out of Fort Smith, Arkansas. When a former ranch hand murders her father, Mattie Ross (played by Kim Darby) turns to the law, but the local law isn't interested in justice. They give her the "We're doing our best" speech, and she's left with little options. She decides to pay for justice. After a few recommendations, she hires "Rooster Cogburn", a Marshall with 'True Grit'. For the right price, he'll track down the killer, and bring him back to Arkansas to stand trial on charges of murder. Things are complicated when a Texas Ranger (Played by Glen Campbell) insists on accompanying Cogburn to capture this outlaw. Seems he's wanted back in Texas for the murder of a politician. When Mattie insists on accompanying the duo, things get even more interesting. The story is quite simple, and the characters charming. The locations beautiful and the camera work well done. The acting was excellent, and John Wayne's character was quite a change from his usual role. Here was a swearing, drinking, gruff, non-nonsense S.O.B. that still got the job done. The performance by Robert Duvall (as the notorious Ned Pepper) was outstanding, despite the fact that he was only on screen for approximately 15 minutes. I give it a 4 out of 5.
* Igor: (2008 - Animation, comedy) Kim and I selected this movie from Comcast's on-Demand pay per view section. If I been a little bit quicker, I could have saved us a dollar by selecting the same movie from the Amazon on-Demand option on our Ruku box. This animated comedy seems to be an homage to Tim Burton films. The visual style is dark and angular, the music reminiscent of Danny Elfman, and the story upside down. Targeting juvenile audiences (ages 5 - 12), this comedy will likely entertain the younger audience despite it's dark nature. I found it lacking in plot and depth. While the characters are loveable and charming, they're still a bit stereotyped, and the movie is very predictable. The world of this movie is the city/kingdom of 'Malaria', a place where the sun never shines, and mad scientists rule the day. In a world full of evil men, Igor (John Cusack) struggles to overcome the prejudice of those around him. Igor is a brilliant young scientist, pigeonholed by his physical deformity. Aided by a pair of goofy characters - an indestructible rabbit (Steve Buscemi) and a disembodied brain (Sean Hayes) - Igor creates life! A Frankenstein creation of disturbing proportions. Unfortunately, she's broken. Rather than 'Evil', she's 'Eva' (Molly Shannon). The story has some promise, and there were a few good laughs, but the movie lacked much originality, the main character lacks appeal, the pacing seems a bit slow, and the ending really sucked. 2 out of 5.
* Happy-Go-Lucky: (2008 - Comedy, drama / U.K.) Written and directed by Mike Leigh, starring Sally Hawkins, Alexis Zegerman and Eddie Marsan. Despite the fact that she's 30, unmarried, and hasn't got an children of her own, Poppy (played by Sally Hawkins) is an always positive, effervescent elementary school teacher in London. After her beloved bike has 'left the nest' (it's stolen), she decides to take some driving lessons. Her instructor - Scott (played by Eddie Marsan), is an uptight, conspiracy minded, homophobic, angry man. The movie follows Poppy's life. It's a typical life, she's anything but. Despite it's charm, the movie is slow to develop, and lacks any gripping momentum until the last 20 minutes of the movie. The final twenty minutes are an intense explosion of dramatic acting by Eddie Marsan. I found the Poppy character annoying and preposterous until the last thirty minutes of the film. Unfortunately, thirty minutes out of 128 just wasn't enough to pull more than a 3 out of 5 rating.
* Sports Illustrated - 2009 Swimsuit edition: (2009 - Reality-TV, sports) A free selection in the Amazon Video on Demand section of my Roku player. Yes, I'm a red-blooded American man. I like to look at beautiful women, and they're easier to see when they're wearing itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polka dot bikinis. This movie, documentary, presentation, is a well made piece of work. Excellent locations, costumes (ahem), beautiful women, fantastic narration, great sound production, music, and some really fine camera work. This years selection improves the editing considerably (compared to the 2003 edition). I hope that the folks who worked on this presentation are involved in full-blown movie production, because they sure know how to put together a well produced piece of entertainment. I give this entertaining documentary a 4 out of 5.
* Lake of Fire: (2006 - Documentary) Written and directed by Tony Kaye (American History X), you have to give him credit for tackling such a tough subject - Abortion in America. Here is a documentary that tries to do it's best at presenting both sides of this highly emotional, charged, subject. Pro-Life, Pro-Choice - Two sides in a hotly contested debate. News footage, documentary style coverage, personal interviews and testimonials are combined in a well edited attempt to move the discussion forward. A notable element of the film is the director's choice of black-and-white film stock. Not only does the black-and-white aspect allow the viewer some level of detachment from the more 'vivid' footage, it also serves as a reminder that while this subject can be 'black and white' for some; for others, it is a subject deeply colored by all shades of grey. The thoughtful interviews with Noam Chomsky were particularly even, while other discussions seemed wildly biased in one direction or another. Politics, religion, philosophy, this documentary covers a huge field in the debate. Difficult to watch, but worth the effort. 3 out of 5.
* The True Glory: (1945 - Documentary / U.K., U.S.) A co-production of the US Office of War Information and the British Ministry of Information, documenting the victory on the Western Front, from Normandy to the collapse of the Third Reich. Composed from 10 million feet of film, produced by 1400 camermen (many of them died while capturing this footage) from 12 countries, boiled down to this feature length presentation. The film was promoted with the tagline, "The story of your victory...told by the guys who won it!" The documentary is notable for using multiple first person perspectives as narrative voices. The voices include a Canadian soldier, a French resister, a Parisian civilian family, an African-American tank gunner, and several female perspectives - including a nurse, and clerical staff worker. The film is introduced by General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe, and many other prominent individuals appear in it including General George S. Patton. A documentary about that event which occupies the thoughts of fewer and fewer Americans. I wonder whether they even teach kids about WWII in school these days? Perhaps it's just a silly movie to the youth of today. Maybe Germans do, but I doubt American kids spend more than an afternoon on this weighty topic. This documentary is a very comprehensive overview of World War II in Europe. While the movie is a very minimalist presentation, I found it to be an excellent production. The narration simply relates the events in a historical manner. No talking heads or analysis of the events. I give it a 4 out of 5.
* In the Realms of the Unreal: (2004 - Documentary, biography) Written and directed by Jessica Yu. This film features the voice of Dakota Fanning in narration. A documentary/bio-pic about Henry Darger. A completely anonymous man who lived his closeted life in a one-room apartment. A janitor from Chicago, Henry Darger never amounted to much during his life. Not in the life we all take as 'real life'. In the 'Realms of the Unreal', Henry was a visionary, general, savior and master. After he was hospitalized near the end of his life, an amazing volume of work was found in his apartment. This movie attempts to tell the story of Henry Darger through his 15,000 page novel - The Realms of the Unreal. An amazing wonderland of fantasy, biography, drama, and artistic vision. Darger was a prolific artist. Writing thousands of journals, creating collage work, an autobiography, and illustrations for his masterwork. Neighbors - Henry really had no friends - described him through interviews and narration as a small man, a recluse, a loner with a mild manner. The works of Henry Darger were a worthy subject, and the animation used in relating his story were very well done. Unfortunately, I didn't care for the movie. It seemed a bit self serving (in promotion of the writer/director) and very narrow in it's scope. 2 out of 5.
* Battle of the Bulge: (1965 - War, action, drama) Directed by Ken Annakin (Swiss Family Robinson, The Longest Day, The Pirate Movie) and starring an immense cast - Henry Fonda, Robert Shaw, Robert Ryan, Dana Andrews, George Montgomery, Ty Hardin, Pier Angeli, Barbara Werle, Charles Bronson, Hans Christian Blech, Werner Peters, James MacArthur, and others. Based on historical events, here is a fictional, dramatic tale of WWII. In December of '44 the Nazi's are near defeat, or are they? After American intelligence writes them off, the Germans manage to mount a massive armored assault. Aiming for the port of Antwerp in the Netherlands, this Battle of the Bulge may spell defeat for the Allies. The cast was far too large and character development suffered greatly. The best acting in my opinion came from Hans Christian Blech ("The Longest Day"); as Conrad, the war-weary, aging German Corporal, and Robert Shaw ("A Man for All Seasons") for his portrayal of the German tank commander, Col. Martin Hessler. Hessler's final quest is the perpetual battle, the glory, the command of men in arms. While the movie is based on true events - The real Battle of the Bulge, the writing contained many factual errors (mountain in the Ardennes region of Germany) and historic inaccuracies. The camera effects, models, and special effects weren't the highest quality and the pacing was far too fast. In the end, I found it to be a fairly entertaining WWII epic, containing some good acting. 3 out of 5.
* Pineapple Express: (2008 - Comedy, crime, thriller) Directed by David Gordon Green (who I am not very impressed with). This movie stars Seth Rogen, James Franco, Danny R. McBride, Gary Cole, Rosie Perez and others in a stoner, bromance. A comedic, crime, thriller, which takes place in present day California? The movie starts with a black and white film noir flashback to an underground government lab. This opening scene is a great piece of back-story, but completely unnecessary to the primary story. The story - Slacker process server, Dale Denton (played by Seth Rogen) and his weed supplier, Saul (James Franco) go on the run after Dale witnesses a drug-related murder. In their weed induced paranoid state, they imagine that the bad guys are out to kill them. Is it really paranoia when your schizoid delusions turn out to be true? It's a comedic, crime caper and a bromance, with homo-erotic undertones. Definitely funny, but full of violence and heavy drug elements as well. Why do writers thing we need all the drugs and violence? Do they assume that their drug-addled bizarro lives are a mirror of real life? The acting, editing and production were all well done. The acting by James Franco was excellent, and I give him credit for shining next to Seth Rogen at the top of his game. 3 out of 5.
* Dodes'Ka-Den: (1970 - Drama, fantasy / Japan ) Another movie by my favorite director - Akira Kurosawa. This is his first color movie, and typically rated low on the list of his greatest movies. The Criterion release (Released in March of 2009) features excellent film treatment/restoration and outstanding subtitles. The movie is a slice-of-life in the slums of Tokyo during the late 60's. Clearly adapted from a play or filmed in the style of a play. Here is a group of down-and-out residents. Life hasn't been good to them, but they struggle on. Dreaming of the big house on the hill, struggling under the thumb of an oppressive reality. The characters are vagrants, drunkards, lecherous, unfaithful, gossips and violent examples of humanities dregs. Despite their flaws, each character carries with them a level of dignity, hope, and courage that helps them carry on. The story is non-existent. It's a character study, a dramatic fantasy about life in the slums and the people who live there. I really don't care for this 'Crash' style of drama, and that aspect of the movie made it a bit of a disappointment for me. Thankfully, the artistic sets and wonderful color treatments made this movie a vivid, visual treat. That treatment made up for the shortcomings in the story. The title is a literal translation of the sound that a trolley car makes as it rumbles down the tracks. 3 out of 5.
* Milk: (2008 - Bio, drama, romance) Written by Dustin Lance Black and directed by Gus Van Sant (Drugstore Cowboy, Goodwill Hunting, Finding Forrester) this movie stars Sean Penn (as Harvey Milk), Emile Hirsch, James Franco, Josh Brolin and others. It's the story of Harvey Milk from age 40 on. The movie starts when Harvey comes out as an openly gay man. He and his lover (Played by James Franco) move to San Francisco to open a camera shop. Opening their store in a gay community, Harvey soon finds an interest and natural affinity for politics. Fighting for social justice, Harvey works to change the system from within by running for office. At the same time their is a growing backlash running counter to Harvey's goals. The two differing points clash when Harvey runs against a conservative politics and wins. Once elected, Harvey finds it difficult to balance the political realities of compromise against his personal goals of equal rights for all gay people. Towards the end of his career, Harvey fought a national effort to eject gay teachers from schools across america. The ending is tragic, deadly, and a clear sign of just how harmful bigotry can be. Sean Penn and Josh Brolin deliver outstanding performances in this socially important film. Thankfully this biography was deftly portrayed in a rich dramatic feature, rather than a paint drying documentary. The direction, editing and writing were all outstanding. This movie definitely deserved the oscars it earned in 2009. I give it a 5 out of 5.
* The Perfect Crime: (2004 - Comedy, crime, thriller / Spain, Italy - El Crimen ferpecto) Co-written and directed by Álex de la Iglesia, this movie stars Guillermo Toledo and Monica Cervera. In the middle of Madrid's busy downtown district is an immense castle of a Department Store. It's a wonderland inhabited by eager, beautiful, helpful sales associates. In that kingdom there are a variety of princes - One such prince is Rafael; the best salesman in the store, the ruler of the "Women's Department". Everyone loves Rafael. They desire him, envy him, emulate him. Rafael's kingdom is a wonderful place. Filled with gorgeous attendants, willing servants and ass-kissing lackeys. When the floor manager retires, the position becomes available and the competition is on. Rafael goes head-to-head against Don Anotonio of "Men's Wear" in a fierce sales contest. Everything is going according to plan, until - an unexpected death propels Rafael into the clutches of Lourdes, the ugliest woman on the sales floor. As Rafael's life comes under the total control of Lourdes, Rafael contemplates the Perfect Crime. A hilarious, comedic, crime caper. The acting was fantastic, the direction and editing wonderful. The plot/writing had some weak points, but the pacing and energy kept me very entertained. This movie is ripe for an American remake, which would result in greater exposure for the director. 4 out of 5.
* Religulous: (2008 - Documentary, comedy) Written and starring Bill Maher, this movie is directed by Larry Charles. Bill Maher is a very courageous man. He takes his comedic training, thick skin, and reasonable approach to task when he embarks on a spiritual journey. This movie is an exploration of religion with a skeptical eye. As Bill pokes holes in and fun at, three major religions (Catholicism, Judaism, and Islam), he engages and confronts the seemingly infallible world of religion. Maher travels the world to speak with believers from various faiths. What makes one religion 'Right' and all the others 'Wrong'? Maher examines the tenets of many major and some minor religions. Maher is not a rabbit anti-religious nut, and his questions seem well reasoned - at least they seemed that way to me. It's a humorous exploration of religion and faith. Filled with insight, a bit of comedic relief and a honest exploration of a very serious subject. I really enjoyed the interview with the vatican priest outside St. Peter's basilica in Rome. Don't watch if you're faith cannot be challenged. I give it a 4 out of 5.