Scads O' Movie Reviews

Wisdom of the Sages
Scads O’ Movie Reviews

The Brave One/ Nim’s Island
I don’t care what is written or proven about her sexuality. I have always had a crush on Jodie Foster. I remember seeing "Echoes of a Summer" on TV when I was a kid and found that I really liked that girl. (Yep, a romantic, even in Kindergarten.) But I must admit that is the bias in which I enjoyed both "The Brave One" and "Nim’s Island", though I did not get to see the entirety of "Nim’s Island".

"The Brave One" is a retread of "Death Wish" with Foster in the Bronson role as ravaged avenger. I enjoyed it very much. Foster is pretty good as an assault survivor traumatized into violent actions. Terrence Howard is especially good as the detective on her trail. While not exactly a cat-and-mouse film, it is interesting enough to keep my interest all the way to its contrived ending. Still enjoyable.

"Nim’s Island" is Foster’s first foray into family films since her Disney days. (Yep, the Original Freaky Friday was her.) This time she plays an agoraphobic Adventure writer who is in contact with little Nim, who has lost her father while they live on an isolated island. While Nim sort of exaggerate her circumstance, it leads the writer to come out of her shell and venture to save her. Their shared connection culminates in their meeting filled with ruined expectations and unexpected needs fulfilled. Neat little movie.

Plus, it was just neat to see Foster on the big screen.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford/ 3:10 to Yuma/The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance/Seraphim Falls
"Jesse James, et. al...." Fantastic cinematography is at the forefront of this retelling of the Jesse James Myth. It also helps to have solid performances from Brad Pitt, Sam Rockwell (Who does not do a jittery dance) and Sam Shepard. But the movie "Stars" Casey Affleck as the star struck Robert Ford. It is a stunning and deeply complex performance into why of the assassination. It played out more like a gangster movie than a character-driven western, but Affleck’s great performance is worth the trip into this very good western.

"3:10 To Yuma" stars Christian Bale and Russell Crowe, a dream casting for any lady. Bale is a Civil War vet turned failing farmer who, after seeing Crowe’s failed coach robbery, enlists in the posse to escort outlaw Crowe to meet the 3:10 train to Yuma and prison. Bale hopes to collect the reward money to save his land and change how his own son views him and how he views him self. Along the way, Crowe’s gang hunts down the posse in the hopes of rescuing him. Crowe’s likeable criminal adds to the dangers of the journey. But I cannot buy that someone as lumpy as Crowe could sneak up on Apache Indians. It can’t be done. Sorry.

Still a good western with some good character studies. People need to quit casting Peter Fonda to play Peter Fonda, though. The finale and resolution are surprising and action-packed. I recommend.

"The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" Saw this at the Gene Siskel Center. Don't you hate it when the too-cool, re-sale shop wannabes snicker during the old movie like they know what is good and cool in films? I just want to watch the movie. Jonathan Rosenbaum can quit showing off how much he knows.

Irregardless, it still one of the best old western movies out there and John Wayne does have a presence that is indefinable. You cannot dislike him for his rugged, manliness because there is something good and decent about him. And this coming from a Northern Arapaho.

"Seraphim Falls" went on an hour too long, which is sad because it is an hour and forty-five minutes long. (Felt longer) Starring Laim Neeson and Pierce Brosnan as two Civil War vets. Neeson is chasing Brosnan for some unfathomable reason. But once we get to their confrontation and ultimate reveal of the why, it suddenly delves into the wackiness of the "Post-Mod" western that made stuff like "Deadman" and "Silent Tongue" artistic failures.

When Wes Studi shows up for no other reason than to have a Native actor in it, and, when you got Angelica Huston playing Satan, you kind of pushed it too far. All that was missing was Tom Waites sitting in the desert playing a ruined piano under a cloth less umbrella. (Or maybe I missed that part.) Watch for the chase, but nothing else.

Gone Baby Gone/Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead/Michael Clayton
Another reason to hate Ben Affleck? He’s a damn good director! In "Gone Baby Gone", the Younger Affleck plays a private detective Patrick Kenzie searching for a missing girl in the tough Boston neighborhood in which he and his partner/girlfriend grew up. As they get closer to solving the case they come face to face with a tough, moral decision that could turn their life together upside down. A good movie under solid direction. I recommend.

"Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead" depicts two very desperate brothers concocting a robbery of a jewelry store. What follows happens after the botched attempt. Told in flashback from differing perspective, this offers a round of strong performances, most notable, Ethan Hawke playing a divorced loser with such desperation and tenderness, it was heartbreaking to see the tragedy unfold. Recommended. (Yes, I am fully aware of Marisa Tomei’s nudity. I mean, how could you miss it?)

"Michael Clayton" boasts strong performances in a tale about deep corruption. Goerge Clooney offers another in a series of strong performances as the title character, a legal "cleaner" working for a large law firm. When one of the top lawyers goes crazy, it is his job to get the man on the right track and back on the case. The late Sydney Pollack is good as the head of the law firm, but, Tilda Swinton, I felt, was not in it long enough to warrant her award, though, she is good. But who steals the show is Tom Wilkinson, as the crazed-in-love lawyer Auther Edens. When his antics threatens the outcome of a major case, Michael Clayton is sent in to clean it up. Wilkinson’s confrontation in an alley as he takes apart Clayton’s mental distress argument should have been his Oscar clip, and what should have won him the Supporting Actor award. Recommend strongly for that scene alone.

Maria Tallchief/Juno/Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Attended a special screening of "Maria Tallchief" at the Siskel Center. Neat little documentary that delve a bit too much into the Osage "Reign of Terror" which is way too interesting to not follow up on. But to see her rise in the just-forming American ballet scene is quite remarkable. Director Sandy Osawa did a remarkable job in covering her career and recovering lost dance footage, even though I thought she could have cut down on the dance sequences. But I know that dance fans will demand more. Nice movie.

"Juno" started off way too dialogue-cute. I almost tuned out. (Nobody talks like that. Only chacaters in a wacky, post-mod, teen comedy.) But it soon won me over with the strong performances of Allison Janney and J.K. Simmons who play Juno’s parents. When Juno MacGuff gets pregnant by her classmate, she opts to put up the child for adoption, along the way she realizes that she has the love of a good man. Too bad it took her getting pregnant to figure that out. Recommend.

"Forgetting Sarah Marshall" is way too funny to comment on. After breaking up with his famous TV Star girlfriend Sarah Marshall, songwriter/composer Peter Bretter travels to Hawaii to try and put her behind him, only to find that she is there with her current Brit Rock Star boyfriend. Wackiness ensues. Russell Brand as Aldous Snow is great and a deeper character than at first presented. Definitely not for the kids, but it has a heart and soul about it that I was charmed by. Though I am getting a bit tired of Jonah Hill’s shtick. Very funny still, though, I highly recommend.

Summer Palace/Play Time
Saw "Summmer Palace" at Siskel Center. Neat drama but man, all they did was screw. I mean sex, sex, sex, all the time. Which should have been no problem for me, but at one point when the two main characters started mashing again, even I was thinking, "Oh come on!".

"Summer Palace" is the story of a country girl attending college in the city and the life and loves she experiences amidst the political turmoil of Chinese youth demanding democracy. Her life becomes as mixed up as the protests escalate. The Tiananmen Square portion was scary. Having falling in love with a fellow student, his story becomes the central focus after the Tiananmen Square protest. I felt that this was going off course as the girl is never shown at all during the last 45 minutes or so, until the end, even though she serves at the voice-over narrator.

Once again, it is a film delves in justifying the male psyche and letting him off the hook while the female lead falls apart and into old habits at the film’s end. While it should have exposed this as a hypocrisy, it fails to. Instead, picking on the female lead as weak, seems typical. I recommend if you’re into that, and scads of sex scenes.

Again, saw "Play Time" at the Siskel Center. It was not what I expected. I never saw a Tati movie before. (Or maybe I had, but cannot remember.) I was expecting something bleak and drab, from the description the Siskel Center gave it. But it is colorful, fun, and very cool, in that 60's French vibe way. There are no subtitles but you can understand all that is going on, as Tati’s Mr. Hulot makes his way through a fabricated city. Highly recommend.

Iron Man/Prince Caspian
While I did like "Iron Man" very much and enjoyed the action, I did not feel it to be the be all end all of comic books movies that many take it for. While, Robert Downey Jr. was the correct actor to play loose, boozy Billionaire Tony Stark, it let me thinking it did not take enough chances or take the character into interesting directions. Stark becomes a hero only after he finds he's to blame for a lot of misery in the world. And how does he react? He builds another weaopon to cause more destruction. Weird. After being capture by Middle Eastern terrorists and forced to construct his latest destructive missile for them, Tony has a change of heart. Realizing you're to blame for all of the evil terrorist’s fire power can do that. So, he builds another destructive weapon: an armed suit of armor to escape by destroying everything in his path.

He then returns to the world and decides he will no longer build weapons. But, his evil partner/mentor has other plans, namely Stark's, and builds another, more destructive suit while pulling a Lex Luthor and going bat-shit insane for the final showdown. I did enjoy the movie. Really. Sounds like I didn’t. But Downey’s performance, as well as Paltrow looking better than she ever has in other movies (According to Cuba), made the ride enjoyable. Was ticked off about the Nick Fury cameo. Or I should say, the SAMUEL L. JACKSON cameo.

Enjoyable for the playful robots and Robert Downey, but putting a stop to the destruction to avoid blame kind of wore heavily upon my viewing.

"Prince Caspian" is the second movie based on the second novel from CS Lewis’ "The Chronicle of Naria" series. Here, the Pevensie Children, having to live life as children again after having lived as adults, return to Narnia to aid Price Caspian return to the throne. Some 1300 years have past and Narnia is indeed a darker place as the ads admitted. The children fight amongst themselves in how to best aid Caspian.

Peter, who wishes to have remained an adult, butts heads with Caspian, while Susan begins to feel the first pangs of attraction, possibly for the first time in her life. Edmound, the betrayer in the first story, has grown to be wiser and the voice of reason. He gets a great moment when Caspian and Peter are tempted to bring the White Witch (Tilda Swinton) back to aid their cause. But it is young Lucy, who keeps the faith and learns to overcome hear fears of the unknown world to reach Alsan.

The battles are bigger and the Telmaranes are lethal and the second part of the series raises the stakes for the rest. The series is getting better in my opinion. My favorite character indeed got his great entry and was brought to life with the voice of Eddie Izzard, Reepicheep the Mouse Warrior. Cool Beans as the kids say. (Or maybe they don’t) Recommend if you liked the first movie. Not, if you would rather read the books.

Music Box’s Sci Fi Spectacular
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Still the best Star Trek movie, in my opinion. There is some good acting by Shat and crew, with reflections on aging better than Star Trek: Generations ever could muster. (And I like Generations) Which is which sets Kirk apart from Picard. You see, Picard never faced obsolescence as Kirk did. There was never any doubt that Picard would continue being the Captain of the Enterprise or still active in some way. Kirk had to deal with retirement and old age. To set the Next Generation in a future where age no longer matters, takes some drama out of the sails in regards to the life expectancy of a starship captain. And this is why this movie stands up after time. Plus, you get Khan matching Kirk for hamminess, hit for hit, which continues to rock to this day. "And it is very cold ...in spaaaaaayce."

Death Race 2000
Better than I remember. A funny satiric look at the bloodlust of American Sports viewing.

The Road Warrior
The best of the trilogy still stands. While Mad Max was a more personal story for Max, this is the "For a Few Dollars More" of the trilogy. Too bad they missed the opportunity for a "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" with "Beyond Thunderdome".

The story, the action, and especially the stunts still hold up these years later. Too bad Gibson made his prejudiced rant and ruined his chances for a "Rocky Balboa"-like revivial for quite possibly his most beloved role. Recommended.

COMING SOON: Indiana Jones and Be All End All of Cinematic History