Married to the Movies

'Eli,' 'Shutter' vie for DVD attention

2010-06-17T13:04:20Z

A dead planet and a dud thriller, this week at the video store ...

THE FIRST HALF -- Give me scorched earth, colorless days and humankind reduced to brute survival and I'm hooked every time.

I guess my affection for post-apocalyptic nightmares says something about my outlook, but whether it's "The Road Warrior" or "On The Beach," dramas placing people in the direst of days often get to the heart of who we are.

"The Book of Eli" does just that, but with less originality and thoughtfulness than you'd hope for. It's directed by the Hughes Brothers ("Menace 2 Society," "Dead Presidents"), which tells you the look is cool, dark and grim, the fight scenes are wicked and the story is a little too simple and stale.

Denzel Washington is a lone traveler through a post-nuclear landscape with an unknown past and a prized possession: the book. You will quickly guess what the book is, and why Gary Oldman, playing a cruel and charismatic King Rat in a small wasteland town, wants it so badly. Desperate people will believe the book and be easily ruled.

To say that Eli is stoic is an understatement: The film is wordless for its first quarter hour. But he wields a wicked dagger in this world of scarcity, and Washington carries the pace and mood nicely, a man of faith, ferocity and few words.

Still, there is too much borrowed here, from "Fahrenheit 451" to the "Mad Max" franchise. And the message of hope barely gets through all the cool-looking despair. Three Hearts.

THE BETTER HALF -- My first inkling there might be some problems with "Shutter Island" was when the studio moved its release date from the coveted November holiday period to the dead zone of February, when pictures are all but forgotten by next year's Oscar time.

Perhaps they were trying to spare famed director Martin Scorsese some embarassment, because "Shutter Island," his first film since the Oscar-winning "The Departed," did not get many accolades.

In a word, the mental asylum mystery is a long, jumbled, artsy mess, from its overbearing, foreboding score of impending doom to Scorsese's strange homage to Hitchcock. There's a "Vertigo" staircase scene, a "North by Northwest" cliff-hanging scene, to name a few that come off almost as spoofs rather than film noir-ish.

Federal marshals Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) have come by ferry to the isolated Shutter Island, where 66 patients are housed in a prison hospital for the criminally insane.

They've arrived to investigate the escape of child murderer Rachel Soldano, who has somehow gone missing without a trace. Teddy also wants to secretly investigate his suspicions that patients are being experimented on by the hospital's head doctors (Ben Kingsley and Max Von Sydow).

But first he'll have to battle a hurricane that's pounding the island and his own migraines and haunting flashbacks of World War II and his personal tragedies that seem to be overtaking him.

To the movie's credit, it does finally tie together in the end, and the last third is pretty engaging. It's just the deep sighing and shuddering over the overblown scenes that it takes to get there that wears you out. Two-and-a-half Hearts.

Until next time, keep veggin' out in front of the DVD player ... Married to the Movies.

'City 2' fails to carry feel-good buzz of first

2010-06-02T04:05:00Z

THE FIRST HALF -- I am familiar with Barry Manilow. I have no idea what Manolo is. I remember Christian Laettner's last-second shot for Duke in the East Region final. I'm pretty sure Christian Dior makes perfume and other things -- scarves? -- with his name on it.

And so, with these insights, you might think two-and-a-half hours in a theater watching "Sex and the City 2" would be as excruciating as spending the same amount of time choosing place settings for a gay wedding.

Surprise. It was not torture. I liked this movie OK. Not as good as the first one, which impressed me with its honesty and humor and the wisdom of its women's perspective, but as a natural extension of the original in weaker sequel mode.

That's the reason I don't have a sense of betrayal like Lynn and two other female critics I read after seeing the movie. I didn't lose close friends in this more superficial version. I just saw it as the Ladies Lite version of the fashion-obsessed.

The leader of the pack, Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), for instance, seems like someone who could never sit still and would want glamour and romance every night, even when Big (Chris Noth) is bone-tired from work. I wouldn't be married to her, but she seemed natural.

So did the others, as horny Samantha (Kim Cattrall), worry wart Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and sensible Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) head to Abu Dhabi and stir up trouble with their Manhattan-ized sensibilities in a strict Muslim world.

The dialogue is silly at times, the problems aren't too real or weighty, but it's still a pretty fun trip, including a feminist shout-out to Muslim women that will upset Muslim men. With all that said, please know this: I like football, trucks and T-bone steaks. Three-and-a-half Hearts.

THE BETTER HALF -- I'm almost afraid to look up and see if the sky is no longer blue, and cats and dogs are falling from it.

Because that would be about as weird as The First Half, a hetero male who hates fashion, liking "Sex and the City 2" more than me.

Actually, I guess it's understandable because Cal is really not that familiar with the characters, only getting to know them with the last film, which we both really enjoyed.

Those of us who are better acquainted with the "Sex and the City" gals will be the most let down with "2," in which the girls are just not themselves. The biggest offender is Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), who's normally the glue that holds this group together. Married for two years to Big (Chris Noth), Carrie is now a whiny spoiled brat who needs to go out on the town every night and can't even allow Big to watch TV for fear they'll become normal and boring.

The rest of the gang is not as changed and unlikeable as Carrie. Still, the chemistry between overworked and under-appreciated Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), oversexed yet menopausal Samantha (Kim Cattrall) and overwhelmed-by-motherhood Charlotte (Kristin Davis) seems forced by the cliched, overblown script by Michael Patrick King, who also directs.

When Samantha is offered a free luxury vacation in the Arabian desert, all the girls go. There, they ride camels, get waited on hand and foot, and change clothes and shoes hundreds of times.

Unfortunately, most of the fun, warmth and I've-got-your-back sisterhood we've come to expect and enjoy being part of is missing. Instead, "Sex and the City 2" tends to alienate average folks with its outrageous opulence and shallowness. Two-and-a-half Hearts.

Until next time, keep walking down the aisle ... Married to the Movies.

Heart Chart

Ratings: 0 to 5 Hearts

MOVIE: "Sex and The City 2," Rated R

CAL -- 3 1/2 Hearts.

LYNN - 2 1/2 Hearts.

LOCAL THEATERS INCLUDE: Ormond Regal 12, Ocean Walk, Pavilion.

'Robin Hood' remake flies straight to mark

2010-05-20T13:23:21Z

THE FIRST HALF -- When a director tackles a time-tested tale, as Ridley Scott does with "Robin Hood," he faces a dilemma similar to an aging rock star.

Do I play that classic just like everyone remembers it, or do I jam a little and give them something new? Scott chooses the latter, ending his "origin" story at the beginning of the legend and telling us how the famous outlaw of Sherwood Forest got there.

"Robin Hood" provides all the heft, history and heroics of "Gladiator," Scott's last collaboration with star Russell Crowe.

In the 12th century, Robin Longstride (Crowe) is a virtuous rebel from the start. An archer in the Crusading army of Richard the Lionhearted (Danny Huston), he tells the king to his face that his cause and his men were "Godless" in the massacre of Muslim women and children.

This lands him in the stocks, and desertion with a group of renegades that would later become the Merry Men follows. The deaths of King Richard and a nobleman lead Robin toward an unlikely future in Nottingham, the nobleman's estate where Marion (Cate Blanchett) awaits and where the new King John (Oscar Isaac) rules with high taxes and cruel authority.

Scott brings medieval England to gritty, violent life here, right down to rats in the food and brown grunge on the teeth. Writer Brian Helgeland weaves an intricate tale of espionage, war and betrayal during England's tenuous hold on its empire with France lurking.

There are a couple, only a couple, of slower moments. And Crowe is a bit too stoic perhaps. But he has the screen presence of a mythical figure in the making, and Scott wraps an impressive epic around him once more. Four Hearts.


THE BETTER HALF -- About now, moviegoers are probably getting a bit perplexed by and downright tired of critics. Last week, many critics said, rightly so, that "Iron Man 2" had replaced good storytelling and heart with too much mindless action.

This week, many are saying that "Robin Hood" lacks merriment and fun because of a serious, heavy-handed story. Well, this week, they're wrong.

If you want to see green tights and needless swashbuckling, then director Ridley Scott's realistic version won't satisfy you. But if you're after a thoughtful, entertaining, well-made and well-acted film that tells the origins of how a mere man, Robin Longstride, became the legendary Robin Hood, you'll find it here.

The film starts at the turn of the 12th century, where commoner Robin (Russell Crowe) serves as an archer in King Richard the Lionhearted's crusade. During the grueling battle in which Richard is killed, Robin makes a promise to a dying nobleman, Sir Robert Loxley, that he'll return a cherished sword to his father in Nottingham.

The promise is kept, and with it a deception begins as Robin assumes the dead nobleman's identity at the request of the father Sir Walter Loxley (Max Von Sydow). It's the only way to ensure the elder Loxley and his daughter-in-law, Lady Marion (Cate Blanchett), will keep their land and status.

Robin and his friends help Nottingham begin to flourish again, but the deception invites big trouble from the sniveling King John (Oscar Isaac) and his evil right-hand man (Mark Strong). Four Hearts.

Until next time, keep walking down the aisle ... Married to the Movies.

'Iron Man' sequel shows a little rust

2010-05-12T14:29:36Z

THE FIRST HALF -- One way I judge movies is something I'll call the two-day rule: If scenes linger in memory, if I'm still thinking about a character's motives/choices, if the movie grows in my mind, the rating goes up.

If, on the other hand, apathy reigns and I can hardly remember any scenes at all, the rating goes down.

"Iron Man 2" lost half a heart. It's a typical sequel with a typical failing: It brings little new to the equation after a far superior original. Bigger explosions and grander special effects don't count. Neither does Scarlett Johansson in a skin-tight wet suit, although I won't complain.

Robert Downey Jr. is back as Tony Stark, the cocky genius who heads a weapons conglomerate started by his father and keeps the world safe as Iron Man. He's an interesting superhero as portrayed in the first film, a billionaire bad boy who digs the celebrity of the superhero stage.

Here, he's more been there-done that. "Iron Man 2" tries to bring something deeper to the table, pitting Stark against his father's legacy in two ways. A Russian ex-con (Mickey Rourke, snarling, sneering) develops a droid army to avenge his own father's failed partnership with Stark's dad. Stark also needs a new energy source or he'll die, and his father's research holds the key.

Take that father-son dynamic a little further and "2" could have been something special. As it is, there's a lot of whiz-bang stuff going on, the chemistry between Gwyneth Paltrow and Downey is fun, and you're never really bored. Never really energized, either. Three Hearts.


THE BETTER HALF -- It was two years ago that "Iron Man" led off the summer blockbuster season, which regular readers will remember is not my favorite time at the movies.

However, I was pleasantly surprised, and "Iron Man" offered hope that I might survive the wham-bam action season of 2008. Flash forward to the present, and "Iron Man 2" is once again leading the seemingly endless pack of action fare to come.

I'm not so encouraged I'll survive the summer of 2010. With no interesting backstory to tell about how Tony Stark became a superhero, this time around "Iron Man 2" jumps full throttle into the action.

If your memory is slowly fading and you've only seen the original once like me, a little refresher would have been nice. There are also a lot of new characters introduced and one main one is replaced by another actor. All this diminishes the cohesiveness of the story and much of the charm and chemistry of the original is missing.

In the sequel, it's not enough that Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) has the government breathing down his neck, trying to use the Iron Man suit as a weapon. He also has a revenge-seeking Russian physicist (Mickey Rourke) who claims his father was the true inventor of the suit, a new mysterious assistant (Scarlett Johansson) and a failing heart to deal with.

Perhaps trusty Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) and military buddy Rhodie (Don Cheadle) can help Stark survive. Here's hoping the "Iron Man" franchise gets some of its original strength back for the next go-round. Three Hearts.

Until next time, keep walking down the aisle ... Married to the Movies.

If you're choosing a DVD this week, take 'Heart'

2010-04-28T15:05:06Z

Not so good and great, this week at the video store

THE FIRST HALF -- We rented an advance copy of "It's Complicated" and watched it Sunday night, early enough to still see the great TV series on AMC, "Breaking Bad."

Here's the verdict: A three-minute scene in "Breaking Bad," in which two chemists cooking up meth meet each other for the first time, established a stronger, more genuine relationship than either Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin or Steve Martin could manage.

All three tried hard, too hard, but the script by writer-director Nancy Meyers should have been titled "It's Manufactured." Meyers tells a story of a long-divorced couple getting back together for a fling, but neglects to bring any real complications into the proceedings.

It's especially rough on Streep, whose extraordinary talents are tested here. As Jane, a 60-ish divorcee whose 19-year marriage with Jake (Baldwin) ended a decade ago when he ran off with a younger woman, Streep can only manage hearty laughter and a few shakes of the head -- what am I doing? -- as a response to Jake re-entering her life and bed.

Wouldn't there be serious bitterness and baggage? Isn't Jake a swine, doing the same thing as before in reverse, leaving the routine for the exotic?

Well, no, apparently. Meyers is so committed to light-hearted gloss that she offers up laughing-way-too-much girlfriend gatherings and family group hugs and perfect California lifestyles instead of any semblance of truth. Martin, meanwhile, as an architect suitor, is the odd man out, funniest when he and Jane get stoned.

Romantic comedies work when people act real, even in unreal situations. Meyers showed that with Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt in "What Women Want," but not here. Two Hearts.

THE BETTER HALF -- I've been a fan of Jeff Bridges' acting (The First Half might say his looks) for more than 30 years. So if I'd been at the recent Golden Globes or Oscars, I too would have joined in giving him a standing ovation when he won Best Dramatic Actor for "Crazy Heart."

After seeing the film, in which Bridges inhabits the role of a down-and-out country singer so thoroughly you can almost smell the stale cigarettes and whisky oozing from his pores, I'd say he deserves all the accolades he received.

More surprising to me, though, was that the small independent film by first-time writer-director Scott Cooper is also quite captivating.

Although the movies are very different, it reminded me of several years back when everyone was hailing Philip Seymour Hoffman for his performance in "Capote." His work was flawless, but the movie also was very deserving.

Bad Blake (Bridges) used to have a successful career in country music, until his No. 1 friend -- whisky -- threw it a curveball, along with ruining four marriages, many friendships, his health and just about everything in his life.

Now Bad still performs, but in bowling alleys and crummy bars. Surprisingly, Bad still has fans and even a few women groupies, and he can be personable and a decent musician when he's not wasted. But those times are few and far between.

In Santa Fe, a young 30-ish divorced reporter (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and her 4-year-old son enter Bad's life, and he tries to clean up his act some. But sadly, even though he would never mean to intentionally hurt them, his No. 1 friend has other ideas.

Rent "Crazy Heart" if you're looking for a low-key, gritty, slice-of-life film with superb acting. Four Hearts.

Until next time, keep veggin' out in front of the DVD player ... Married to the Movies.

Carrell, Fey inject laughs in 'Date Night'

2010-04-15T16:08:48Z

THE FIRST HALF -- There's a touch of wisdom in the first spoken line of "Date Night," and it promises a couple of things that hold up for the next two hours:

This won't be a cutesy cornball family comedy, and the stars -- Steve Carrell and Tina Fey -- will bring a little sarcastic honesty to the equation.

It's only four words, coming from tax attorney Phil Foster (Carrell) after the kids have pummeled him and his real estate agent wife Claire (Fey) to get them up at 5 a.m. "And so it begins," moans Phil, dragging out of bed, knowing that love and weariness often go together.

And what begins is a look at a loving family with the spark of busy lives and work and school and soccer but only a trace of romance between mom and dad. Not a wildly original premise, to be sure, but honest and true, and that tone remains during the farce that follows.

Carrell and Fey are the reason why in this fast-paced, funny movie. (They reminded me a little of Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis in "The Out-of-Towners.") I'm pretty sure they improvised now and then, consistently turning routine smiles into out-loud laughs.

Phil and Claire's wild ride begins with a case of mistaken identity at a Manhattan restaurant and escalates into shootouts, car chases, pole dances, Mark Wahlberg's pectorals and over-the-top crooked cops, district attorneys and gangsters.

"Date Night" isn't a classic, but it has a few surprises, a lot of laughs and two stars -- Carrell and Fey -- who have a future together. Three-and-a-half Hearts.


THE BETTER HALF -- The previews for "Date Night" looked like it might be a really fun time at the movies.

But then I got afraid, very afraid, when I saw that the director was Shawn Levy, who previously gave us the lame-o "Cheaper by the Dozen," completely wasting the talents of Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt.

Fortunately, Levy seems to have matured in his filmmaking. This time, he gets it right, and he lets his stars -- Steve Carrell and Tina Fey -- use their offbeat, sarcastic comedic talents rather than try to put unnatural, laugh-track-scripted lines in their mouths.

Married couples should get a kick out of this comedy, especially ones in double-digits who still love their spouses but also know what a rut is and how little quirks can grow into annoyances.

Phil Foster (Carrell), a tax attorney, and wife Claire (Fey), a real estate agent, are living a fairly happy life in New Jersey with their two kids, except that they're tired and kind of moving on auto-pilot.

They get a wake-up call when they learn friends are splitting up, so instead of their usual Saturday night date at the same old restaurant for potato skins and salmon, the Fosters decide to head into the Big Apple.

Of course, there are no tables available at the trendy restaurant they choose, so in a bold move they steal another couple's reservation. Let the mayhem begin.

Phil and Claire are mistaken for the couple and being pursued by a mobster and crooked cops who are after a stolen flash drive. As they run for their lives on foot and in a stolen sports car, posing as a hooker and pimp among other things, Phil and Claire learn new things and rediscover old things about each other. Three-and-a-half Hearts.

Until next time, keep walking down the aisle ... Married to the Movies.

Stay focused on story to enjoy 'Blind Side'

2010-03-31T20:40:54Z

A difference of opinion on Sandra Bullock's Oscar-winning turn, now at video stores ...

THE FIRST HALF -- I went into "The Blind Side" expecting Erin Brockovich and instead got The Hallmark Channel.

Like Julia Roberts as a short-skirted flirt from the poor side of town who's smart and determined enough to bring down a toxic company, I expected Sandra Bullock to shatter the shallow stereotype of the rich Southern ex-cheerleader with sass and grit and truth.

Well, she did, sort of. But here's one big difference, apart from acting ability: Oscar-winner Roberts had Steven Soderbergh as her director; Bullock had John Lee Hancock ("The Rookie"). Where we are engaged with real people in the first, we watch sugar-coated surface in the second.

The movie tells the true story of current Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Michael Oher's transformation from a damaged homeless black kid to a loved and loving young man after being taken in by a rich white couple, Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy (Tim McGraw and Bullock).

I liked Quinton Aaron's performance as Michael. This young actor gave nuance to a role of few words, a shuttered-up soul in retreat from a sorry life. And I liked Hancock's opening scenes, quietly following an uncle's attempt to get Michael into a private school.

But then we get to the real story, and there seem to be no problems a Leigh Anne scolding or a little brother wisecrack won't solve. The film isn't awful, it's just too tidy and charming to be real.

I was touched only a couple of times, by smaller moments: the sad eyes of a projects kid who had dropped out of college and come back; Leigh Anne's almost whispered statement, "He's Ferdinand," about Michael being the quiet, artistic bull in the children's classic.

That's knowing someone deeply. Not enough of that here. Two Hearts.


THE BETTER HALF -- I freely admit as a movie critic that I'm turning a blind eye to some serious flaws in "The Blind Side," but more importantly, as a human, I find the true story quite amazing.

Sure, there's not enough subtlety and too many Hallmark moments in the tale of a wealthy Southern white family that takes a poor African-American boy off the streets and makes him a full-fledged family member. But there's also heart. Amidst the cliched movie scenes, there are also some that touch the soul, such as one in which a 300-pound-plus high school kid is read his first bedtime story.

It's the kind of poignant moment that transcends the immediate, making you ponder just how much better the world would be if every kid had someone to read them a story and tuck them in at night. It's hard to fault that.

Sandra Bullock plays Leigh Anne Tuohy, a take-no-prisoners Memphis Southern belle who runs the show at home and in all areas. One night when she sees Big Mike (Quinton Aaron) walking around aimlessly in shorts on a freezing night, she and her family take him in for the night.

One night turns into a week and then a month, and soon, as Leigh Anne puts it, Michael is changing her life as much as she is changing his.

The Tuohys are diehard football fanatics and Ole Miss fans, and they soon get Michael involved in the sport. But no one knows how to get the gentle giant to use his size except Leigh Anne. She tells Michael to think of the quarterback and players as family, and to protect them the same way.

You could say a football star is born, but more importantly, a kid going nowhere is given some direction. The course Michael Oher takes is truly remarkable. Three-and-a-half Hearts.

Until next time, keep veggin' out in front of the DVD player ... Married to the Movies.

Polanski touches on Hitchcock magic with 'Ghost Writer'

2010-03-24T16:28:19Z

THE FIRST HALF -- Check the fine print: the tiny movie listings in the paper, right next to the splashy ads for the big-budget extravaganzas.

That's where you'll find old-fashioned storytelling, old-school suspense, adrenalin for the brain, a touch of Hitchcock, a taste of La Carre.

In other words, vintage Roman Polanski, a director whose legal troubles are miles away when he gets behind a camera, evidenced by his latest: "The Ghost Writer."

Polanski tells a story -- slowly adding layers, as ominously as a gripping novel -- as well as any living director. And he uses geography -- a gray wet winter on the Massachusetts coast -- to support the story's tone as effectively here as he did with Southern California in "Chinatown."

Ewan McGregor is the perfect anchor for this paranoid political tale, a solitary writer from London brought on to rework the memoirs of former British Prime Minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan, also just right). The previous ghost writer died, ruled an accidental drowning.


Of course, there's more to it than that. When Lang is linked to war crimes, the stakes grow higher, and McGregor's writer falls deeper into a web filled with players within and without the prime minister's entourage: his wife (Olivia Williams), his assistant (Kim Cattrall), an old Cambridge classmate (Tom Wilkinson) and assorted others, including Eli Wallach (great to see) as an old island resident with a key clue.

As he has done for decades, Polanski -- who co-wrote the script -- gives us a film for grown-ups to enjoy. Too bad you have to check the fine print to find it. Four-and-a-half Hearts.

THE BETTER HALF -- Whatever one's opinion of Roman Polanski, there is one sure thing: He is a brilliant director.

With "The Ghost Writer," he's brought a tense and stylish, engaging adult mystery to the screen. Recently, Martin Scorsese almost seemed to be doing comical Hitchcock in the overdone "Shutter Island."

Polanski gets it right, and as with "Frantic," he comes the closest to any working director in matching the old Hitchcock magic.

The opening scene lets you know you're in for this kind of suspenseful, subtle style. Instead of showing us graphic details of a crime, he gives a single car left abandoned on a ferry, and we are left wondering what happened to its occupant.

Several scenes later, we see a body washed ashore on a gray, cold beach. The dead man was a ghost writer for former British Prime Minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan). The autobiography, although finished, needs work, so a replacement "ghost" (Ewan McGregor, in a terrific performance) is hired and given a month to rewrite the memoirs.

At Lang's secluded Martha's Vineyard beach house, the new writer begins to wonder what he's gotten himself into. Lang's assistant (Kim Cattrall) seems awfully protective of the manuscript, and Lang and his wife Ruth (Olivia Williams) are suddenly embroiled in political controversy over wrongdoing in the war on terrorism.

Soon, the new ghost is becoming more of an investigative reporter than he'd like, especially when he suspects something foul happened to the previous ghost.

Some moviegoers may cry foul at the last scene, but otherwise will find "The Ghost Writer" satisfying. Four Hearts.

Until next time, keep walking down the aisle ... Married to the Movies.

Films with Oscar tags arrive in DVD format

2010-03-17T05:30:00Z

Oscar winners and nominees at the video store this week ...

THE FIRST HALF -- You will not smile during "Precious." You will be assaulted by the F-word. You will meet a character with no redeeming qualities, a welfare mom in 1987 Harlem who makes no attempt to live a worthwhile life, only to destroy her daughter's life.

In other words, know what you're getting into if you rent this double Oscar-winner. It is difficult to watch, even harder to embrace, but worth it if you are a serious student of film.


Mo'Nique won Best Supporting Actress for her wholly unlikeable and absolutely authentic portrayal of the self-loathing abusive mother. Geoffrey Wright won Best Adapted Screenplay for his work drawn from the novel "Push" by Sapphire.

Gabourey Sidibe was nominated for the title role, deservedly so. Precious is a huge girl who lives mostly internally, imagining glamour and white beauty in a world of graffiti, trash and horrific abuse. She is pregnant with her second child at 16. Her own father is the father.

Her mother allowed it and now blames Precious for his leaving. The girl's childhood has been a constant stream of debasement -- she is worthless, she is stupid, she is a whore -- and now, from a caring teacher at an alternative school, Precious has a tiny piece of confidence instilled.

This film has slivers of hope, but only that and no more. Its strength is its honesty, none of its harshness glossed to a movie shine. Just as director Lee Daniels required Mariah Carey to wear no makeup and look wearily unbeautiful in her role as a welfare employee, he also provides no false uplift.

In the end, Precious still has a long way to go to build a decent life. You won't see a movie like this very often. Be prepared. Four Hearts.

THE BETTER HALF -- Perhaps some critics inhaled too much helium, and that's why they overpraised "Up in the Air." I'm not sure why this dramedy about corporate downsizing became a critical darling and multiple Oscar nominee (winning none), because frankly, it's good but not superb.


Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) has a job most people would hate, but that he actually likes: firing strangers for a living. Corporations hire him to do their dirty work, and he flies from city to city handing out pink slips and well-scripted bull to devastated people he'll never lay eyes on again.

Ryan loves the travel and upgraded perks he gets at VIP lounges, car rental agencies and hotels. His ultimate goal is to reach the almost-unheard-of frequent flyer mark of 10 million miles.

But when Natalie (Anna Kendrick), a young newbie efficiency expert, comes up with a plan to fire people by computer link from the home office, Ryan is thrown off track, to say the least. He sets out to show Natalie that the old-fashioned way is better by taking her on the road.

Along the way, we see how sad and disconnected the glib Ryan's life is, and how technology has made young people like Natalie clueless to the realities of face-to-face life.

But overall, while "Up in the Air" is engaging, it's not insightful or heartfelt enough to really soar. Three-and-a-half Hearts.

Until next time, keep veggin' out in front of the DVD ... Married to the Movies.

Burton's 'Alice' offering splits reviewers

2010-03-11T14:01:12Z

THE FIRST HALF -- At least two critics I read after seeing Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" asked the question, Where's the wonder?

Lynn asks, Where's the emotional connection?

I ask: With a bandersnatch and jabberwocky and evaporating Cheshire cat, who wouldn't grow curiouser and curiouser?

Fact is, I feel completely at home in Burton's various worlds, magical places that bloom and slither apart from the boredom and falseness of the real world.

In "Alice," I was held by wonder and joy the entire time. I connected with the nonsensical sadness of the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp), the weary wisdom of Absalom the caterpillar (voiced by Alan Rickman), and the lonely wickedness of the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter).

Burton and screenwriter Linda Woolverton mix and match Lewis Carroll's works, and update Alice (Mia Wasikowska) to a 19-year-old about to be married to the snootiest lord ever to grace Britain's bloodlines. No wonder she chases a rabbit only she can see.


And what a trip it becomes, down the rabbit hole into Jefferson Airplane land. Wonderland is now Underland, no longer the fantasy of youth but a paradise lost to the Red Queen's lust for power, absent any love.

The whimsical remains, but a gloom casts a pall over the land as well, and the march hare, hatter, cat and mouse are discombobulated and bedraggled.

Can Alice restore her dream world? Anything beats that red-haired dweeb who just proposed to her in the real world. Four-and-a-half Hearts.

THE BETTER HALF -- I didn't find "Alice in Wonderland" quite as wonderful as The First Half. I'll admit the film is visually stunning, but to me it's lacking an important element in a fairy tale, which is heart.

Although I was never bored and completely interested in seeing where director Tim Burton would take us in his kaleidoscopic story of colors and frenzy, I was also rather disconnected.

It was as if my emotions were never fully utilized. Sure, I felt the usual Burton fright, but I laughed a little and never once came close to getting a lump in my throat.

What's a 19-year-old girl to do when a drippy aristocrat wants your hand in marriage and everyone is pressuring you to grow up and conform? If you're Alice (Mia Wasikowska), follow a white rabbit into the woods and fall down a hole for a little away time.

Underland, as it's called here, is quite the "Calgon, take me away" place. Alice encounters talking dogs, cats and flowers, a guru-like blue caterpillar and potions and cakes that can either make you shrink to fit into a teapot or grow 10 feet tall.

Alice also must deal with a strange group of misfits that either think she is their savior -- like the Mad Hatter (Johnny Depp) and the White Queen (Anne Hathaway) -- or want her beheaded -- like the Red Queen (Helena Bonham Carter).

If you're seeking a little acid-like tale that's action and sensory-filled, "Alice in Wonderland" is for you. But if you're after more warmth and message, see "The Wizard of Oz" or "Up" again. Three Hearts.

Until next time, keep walking down the aisle ... Married to the Movies.

New releases serve up life lessons

2010-03-03T14:58:06Z

Wild and wonderful, this week at the video store ...

THE FIRST HALF -- The meaning is less important than the journey in "Where The Wild Things Are," co-writer/director Spike Jonze's dark and magical adaptation of Maurice Sendak's classic book.

This strange tale of a land of huge beasts and their newly-arrived child king is interpreted by many as the child's fantasy of his many sides and the people around him. That's perfectly valid, but I simply fell into the world's mesmerizing oddness, and its characters' close resemblance to grown-ups in the real world.

This is not a happy place, full of anger and doubts and depression, but there is also room for great joy and tenderness and dreams. They need a king to give them purpose, and the young boy Max (Max Records) needs a place where he can control all the things that are wrong, like a mother who has a new boyfriend and a sister who's growing up and leaving him behind.


But in this imagined land where Max is king, things still go wrong, and kings before him have been eaten. If there is a message here, it is that life is never perfect and not always fun, and we try the best we can to be happy and forgiving and loving and strong.

The beasts are remarkable physically and emotionally, thanks to the skills of the creators and a cast that includes James Gandolfini, Lauren Ambrose, Forest Whitaker, Chris Cooper and Catherine O'Hara.

Director Jonze brought complicated weirdness to the screen in previous films, including "Being John Malkovich" and "Adaptation." Here he brings simplicity and wonder and truth. Four-and-a-half Hearts.

THE BETTER HALF -- Some reviewers judged "Everybody's Fine" way too harshly when it came to theaters in December. Read my lips, Entertainment Weekly: There's no way this movie deserves a D.

"Everybody's Fine," written and directed by Kirk Jones ("Waking Ned Devine"), is a well-made drama with terrific performances by the entire cast (Kate Beckinsale, Sam Rockwell, Drew Barrymore and of course, Robert De Niro).

Quiet, ordinary people are often the hardest to portray, and it takes extraordinary, pure acting to pull it off honestly and effectively. Think Duvall in "Tender Mercies" or Nicholson in "About Schmidt." Add De Niro to the list. He gives a low-key, seamless performance that never hits a false note.


"Everybody's Fine" focuses on a universal theme that many can relate to, where parents, especially fathers, see their kids as the children they once were instead of the adults they have become. Recently retired and widowed Frank Goode (De Niro) is one of those dads whose late wife was the glue that held the family together.

She shielded him from anything wrong or bad about their four children and only shared the good. The sad result is a dad who loves but doesn't really know his own kids.

When all four come up with lame excuses for not visiting, Frank sets out to pay a surprise visit to each one of them. As he crisscrosses from New York to Chicago to Denver to Vegas, he gradually realizes that by only knowing their success and not their failures, he's being left out.

Perhaps it's his own loneliness and sadness that finally makes him ask the simple yet oh-so-complex question: Are you happy?

The message of "Everybody's Fine" is one that's near and dear to me, that honesty is the only way for a family to be close. Perhaps that's why I found it to be tender and touching. Four Hearts.

Until next time, keep veggin' out in front of the DVD ... Married to the Movies.

Latest from Scorsese lacks director's bite

2010-02-24T16:03:33Z

THE FIRST HALF -- My two favorite Martin Scorsese films are "Goodfellas" and "The Age of Innocence," because they overturned biases I held.

I've never cared for movies about the mob -- not even the "Godfather" films -- because I don't like spending time with ignorant thugs. Likewise, I yawn with frustration -- ditch the manners, tell the truth -- at the Prissy Brit school of social dishonesty.

But Scorsese showed me the heart and soul of both groups, the honesty behind the facade, from city streets where gangsters were heroes to turn-of-the-century Manhattan parlors where refined blue bloods revealed themselves.

The point is this: Whether he is getting inside the head of a psychopath (Robert De Niro in "Taxi Driver" and "The King of Comedy") or inside another world ("Gangs of New York"), Scorsese engages truth as deeply as perhaps any other director.

That's why his more mainstream efforts -- a cop movie, a thriller -- are often less memorable, as Scorsese reaches for deeper meaning in plots that don't demand it. Such was the case with "The Departed," a Best Picture winner (for past oversights, I guess), and with "Shutter Island," a psychological thriller that holds you but does not move you.

Scorsese favorite Leonardo DiCaprio plays Teddy Daniels, a U.S. marshal in 1954 investigating an escape from a hospital for the criminally insane on a spooky Boston Harbor island. Things are eerie and gothic from the start, as questions go unanswered and doctors (Ben Kingsley, Max Von Sydow) throw up well-mannered walls at every turn.

Is Teddy, carrying demons of his own in his wife's tragic death and his experiences liberating Dachau in the war, caught up in a conspiracy of secrecy that will make him question his own sanity? That question propels you. A deeper truth does not. Three-and-a-half Hearts.

THE BETTER HALF -- My first inkling there might be some problems with "Shutter Island" was when the studio moved its release date from the coveted November holiday period to the dead zone of February, when pictures are all but forgotten by next year's Oscar time.

Perhaps they were trying to spare famed director Martin Scorsese some embarassment, because "Shutter Island," his first film since the Oscar-winning "The Departed," will not be getting many accolades.

In a word, the mental asylum mystery is a long, jumbled, artsy mess, from its overbearing, foreboding score of impending doom to Scorsese's strange homage to Hitchcock. There's a "Vertigo" staircase scene, a "North by Northwest" cliff-hanging scene, to name a few that come off almost as spoofs rather than film noir-ish.

Federal marshals Teddy Daniels (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) have come by ferry to the isolated Shutter Island, where 66 patients are housed in a prison hospital for the criminally insane.

They're there to investigate the escape of child murderer Rachel Soldano, who has somehow gone missing without a trace. Teddy also wants to secretly investigate his suspicions that patients are being experimented on by the hospital's head doctors (Ben Kingsley and Max Von Sydow).

But first he'll have to battle a hurricane that's pounding the island and his own migraines and haunting flashbacks of World War II and his personal tragedies that seem to be overtaking him.

To the movie's credit, it does finally tie together in the end, and the last third is pretty engaging. It's just the deep sighing and shuddering over the overblown scenes that it takes to get there that wears you out. Two-and-a-half Hearts.

Until next time, keep walking down the aisle ... Married to the Movies.

Cohen brothers, Rock top DVD releases

2010-02-17T17:18:25Z

THE FIRST HALF -- Not a good sign: I kept drifting off trying to watch the Coen brothers' Best Picture-nominated film, "A Serious Man."

So I decided to try again the next night. Ethan and Joel Coen, the most original filmmakers of the last 20 years, deserve my full attention.

Struggled again. Downed some caffeine and managed to get through it.

Here's the weird part: I'm going to give "A Serious Man" a pretty good review. Here's why: Two days later, I'm still thinking about this movie that put me to sleep.


It started odd, to be expected from the Coens, with an episode from past peasant life. A man and wife, speaking in Yiddish, encounter a village friend who may or may not be a dybbuk, a wandering soul in another's body. The wife uses an ice pick to find out for sure. End of fable.

So far, so weird. Then, after opening to the strains of Jefferson Airplane, our story becomes achingly slow-moving, as dull, apparently, as Jewish suburban life in Minnesota circa 1967, which it depicts through the eyes of physics professor Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg).

Larry moves through days whipped by life's winds, as a tenure vote, his stoned son's bar mitzvah, his wife's request for a ritual divorce and other ills pound him quietly.

"A Serious Man" takes effort, even for a diehard Coen fan. But drink some coffee, endure the sloth-like pace and be rewarded with a story much more intriguing than it looks at first glance, exploring faith in a world where Jefferson Airplane may be wiser than men of God. Three-and-a-half Hearts.

THE BETTER HALF -- When "Good Hair" opened in theaters several months ago, I saw Chris Rock numerous times on TV discussing his new documentary, which he co-wrote and narrates.

I remember on Oprah, some of the black women were already on Rock's case without even seeing the film. They were afraid they were being negatively portrayed about the lengths they go to in altering their natural hair texture.

I'm paraphrasing here, but Rock basically said not to worry. He set out to make an entertaining movie infused with facts but not to humiliate or further divide anyone. I'd say he succeeded.

"Good Hair" runs the gamut from funny and enlightening -- like no swimming or touching a black woman's hair -- to the very serious, like purchasing $1,000 and up weaves over basic necessities. Rock is not too harsh or judgmental.

As he criss-crosses from L.A. to Atlanta to India and back, and interviews celebrities Nia Long, Ice-T, Salt N' Pepa, Maya Angelou and Al Sharpton to name a few, we learn just what a big business trying to achieve so-called good hair is.


While showing everything from harsh relaxers that will eat through metal to expensive weaves, Rock explores some of the sociological and psychological reasons behind women and their quest for perfect locks.

As someone who lost her hair for several years to chemo in her early 20s, I certainly know the importance hair can hold. But as Rock surmises, it would be nice if we could all concentrate a little more on what's in our head instead of what's on it. Four Hearts.

Until next time, keep veggin' out in front of the DVD player ... Married to the Movies.

'Crazy Heart' delivers gritty slice-of-life performance

2010-02-10T17:02:13Z

THE FIRST HALF -- "Crazy Heart" is not a happy story. You'll smile a little and you could call it life-affirming, but only in a minor key.

I say this because we movie critics take heat sometimes for giving high ratings to movies that others would call depressing. So know this going in: The character Jeff Bridges plays is a serious drunk, a washed-up cussin' Waylon Jennings type who lights his cigarettes with the butt of the one he just smoked and vomits in back alley trash cans.

He's also one of the most memorable film portraits from 2009, and Bridges -- that rare blend of leading man and character actor -- deserves to win a long-overdue Oscar for the role.

He plays Bad Blake, a traditional country-rocker who's been pushed to the back roads by Keith Urban-ized crossover stars like Tommy Sweet (Colin Farrell), his one-time protégé who now makes millions singing songs Bad wrote.

Bad still has a booze-soaked pride, and his relationship with Tommy is fueled by bitterness and fallen friendship. His relationship with single mom Jean (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is altogether different, a chance at redemption for a broken man.

Writer-director Scott Cooper doesn't do anything fancy here, which is the perfect tone. "Crazy Heart" flows like a sad country song with some kick to it. Songwriters T Bone Burnett ("O Brother Where Art Thou?") and the late Stephen Bruton back up the director with songs that sound like hits 20 years ago. Four-and-a-half Hearts.

THE BETTER HALF -- I've been a fan of Jeff Bridges' acting (The First Half might say his looks) for more than 30 years. So if I'd been at the recent Golden Globes, I too would have joined in giving him a standing ovation when he won Best Dramatic Actor for "Crazy Heart."

After seeing the film, in which Bridges inhabits the role of a down-and-out country singer so thoroughly you can almost smell the stale cigarettes and whisky oozing from his pores, I'd say he deserves all the accolades he's been receiving.

More surprising to me, though, was that the small independent film by first-time writer-director Scott Cooper is also quite captivating.

Although the movies are very different, it reminded me of several years back when everyone was hailing Philip Seymour Hoffman for his performance in "Capote." His work was flawless, but the movie also was very deserving.

Bad Blake (Bridges) used to have a successful career in the country music arena, until his No. 1 friend -- whisky -- threw it a curveball, along with ruining four marriages, many friendships, his health and just about everything in his life. Now Bad still performs, but in bowling alleys and crummy bars. Surprisingly, Bad still has fans and even a few women groupies, and he can be personable and a decent musician when he's not wasted. But those times are few and far between.

In Santa Fe, a young 30-ish divorced reporter (Maggie Gyllenhaal) and her 4-year-old son enter Bad's life, and he tries to clean up his act some. But sadly, even though he would never mean to intentionally hurt them, his No. 1 friend has other ideas.

It's the crisis Bad needs to realize that at 57 years old, he's never really been present for most of them. Moviegoers should be glad to be present at "Crazy Heart" if they're looking for a low-key, gritty, slice-of-life film with superb acting. Four Hearts.

Until next time, keep walking down the aisle ... Married to the Movies.

Gibson's acting shines through in 'Darkness'

2010-02-03T17:39:06Z

THE FIRST HALF -- "The Edge of Darkness" can be considered a comeback for Mel Gibson after his anti-Semitic shenanigans on the streets of Southern California and foray into revisionist Mayan history on the big screen.

Here's the comeback verdict: He's still good ol' Mel as an actor, which means a thinking man's butt-kicker, with motivations that run deep and fists that fly with righteous fury.

He's also an action star who can blend quirky humor into the mix without tarnishing the serious-minded stuff, but you won't find that here. In "Darkness," the only moments approaching comedy come with the suddenness of his violence.

You are on his side every step of the way. He plays Boston detective Tom Craven, welcoming his daughter Emma (Bojana Novakovic) home after a long absence, only to see her assassinated by a drive-by shooter on his front porch.

The rest of the movie is investigation and revenge, as a stoic and saddened Craven works alone pursuing a tangled cover-up at the company where Emma worked. His police colleagues head down a different path, thinking the shooter meant to kill Craven.

There is too much formula here, with sinister executives and slimy politicians, but "Darkness" is based on a BBC mini-series and it shows. The same director, Martin Campbell, is at the helm, and the story is propelled more by gritty realism and interesting characters than the style-over-substance of so many American suspense thrillers.

It even brings along a character straight out of BBC: Ray Winstone as a cockney-accented sophisticate who "fixes" problems for power brokers. Winstone, like Gibson, finds deeper, more intriguing levels beneath the character's surface. Four Hearts.


THE BETTER HALF -- While I may not always agree with the way Mel Gibson acts in his personal life, the fact remains that on screen, he's a fine actor.

"The Edge of Darkness" is the first time in eight years that Gibson has been in front of the camera, and his performance here -- as in "Gallipoli" and "The Man with Two Faces" -- reminds us that Gibson is truly more than a pretty face.

Even more so now that his chiseled good looks are more crinkled, and he looks every bit his 54 years. To the filmmakers' credit, they had enough confidence in the older Gibson not to pair him with a younger sidekick or a love interest, like studios do so often with aging stars. So refreshing to see.

When Boston police detective Thomas Craven's (Gibson) 24-year-old visiting daughter Emma (Bojana Novakovic) is brutally gunned down on his front porch, everyone assumes it was someone out for revenge on the detective.

Everyone but Craven, who starts to wonder just why Emma was so sick right before her murder, and exactly what her job was at Northmoor, a private nuclear energy company.

As Craven digs deeper, he uncovers corporate and political conspiracies and evils. But "The Edge of Darkness" momentum and power doesn't so much lie in what's uncovered, which is rather cliched, but rather the conflicted fury of a grieving father pursuing justice. Three-and-a-half Hearts.

Until next time, keep walking down the aisle ... Married to the Movies.