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Internet Movie Database
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04 Jan

The Bucket List

Grade: C+

When rich hospital owner Edward (Jack Nicholson) ends up a patient in his own hospital, his roommate is Carter (Morgan Freeman).  Ed is the playboy, spoiled and set in his ways.  Carter is the family man, who sacrificed and worked hard for his wife and children.  The mis-matched pair have nothing in common, except that they are each given about six months to live.  A friendship forms, and the two come up with a “bucket list” – a list of things they want to accomplish before they “kick the bucket.”  Soon they’re out of the hospital and on a trip around the world.  As they get to know each other, they re-set their priorities, and learn what it really means to be a friend.

Wonderful performances from two masters of their craft – Nicholson and Freeman have terrific chemistry.  Sad, but sweet, and some nice moments for each of these fine actors.
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04 Jan

The Break Up

Grade: D

I’ve been waiting for a good romantic comedy to come around for a long time. Unfortunately “The Break Up” isn’t it. I’m sorry to say that there is nothing funny about this movie. It’s depressing, actually. The whole thing is flawed from the start. We see Brook (Jennifer Aniston) and Gary (Vince Vaughn) meet cute at a baseball game. Then over the opening credits we get a montage of photographs of the two of them lovey-dovey. Their first scene together starts with a fight, and the rest of the movie goes downhill from there. What we have here, people, is a failure to communicate. Instead of talking out their issues, going to therapy, having any kind of adult interaction, what the characters choose to do is to embark on a seriies of revenge tactics meant to get the other party to come around and apologize… huh? I guess if they actually did take the high road there wouldn’t be any material for a movie. But then again, there’s not much movie here anyway. I found myself thinking: “What’s the point?” These are two unlikeable people. We never see them interact happily with each other. We never have any reason to root for them to get back together. And we’re not even rewarded with a happy ending. Dismal. Then there’s a waste of talent that parades through, Ann-Margret, Judy Davis, Jason Bateman – what are they doing there? Why would they sign up to be a supporting player in this dreck? The only character to give me a chuckle is Jon Favreau’s bartender, who has a great scene with Vince Vaughn. I also liked Vincent D’Onofrio as Vince’s big brother – great casting there. But really, if you saw the previews for “The Break Up” you’ve seen the best bits. Jennifer shows off her toned, tanned body – Vince mugs for the camera. There’s no audience for this movie. It’s a terrible date movie – you’ll be arguing and depressed afterwards. Teens will hate it because they won’t understand it. And adults will hate it because they’ve been there, done that, and gotten over it years ago. Spare yourself. go see Cars instead!
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04 Jan

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Grade: B+

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas takes place in Germany during the time of the Concentration Camps.  It looks at one family where the father is assigned to run one of the camps, and he moves his wife and two children out of the city and into the country to be with him during this new job.  The boy is lonely, isolated as he is, and goes exploring.  He stumbles upon the camp, which he perceives to be a farm, and a boy, whose prison uniform he takes to be pajamas.

The German boy is just 8 years old, and doesn’t fully comprehend what is going on.  As he starts to piece things together, he makes friends with the boy in the striped pajamas.  Meanwhile, the wife is devastated when she learns just what goes on at the camp, and it causes a strain in the marriage.

This is one of the saddest stories I’ve ever seen.  It is played out really well, hitting all the right emotional notes.  Just be prepared, there is no happy ending, no neatly wrapped up story.  It’s just sad, as it should be.
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04 Jan

The Bourne Ultimatum

Grade: A

The Bourne Ultimatum is the third Bourne movie, and it answers all those unanswered questions that have come up in the first two.  What I love about this whole series is that it’s smart.  The character of Jason Bourne is really a smart guy, and the people he is up against are smart, too.  That’s really their whole challenge, is who can out-smart who!  It makes for a very compelling story.

This part is just so right for Matt Damon.  He doesn’t have to say much, all of his acting is in his facial expressions – very intense, deep, and thoughtful.  Julia Stiles plays his de-facto side-kick, and she’s great, strong and decisive.  The whole cast is great – Joan Allen, David Strathhairn – terrific performances.

The chase scenes are amazing – so much action, but not too much.  This is a thinker’s action movie.  And though we have some resolution at the end, we can hope for a fourth Bourne movie.
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04 Jan

The Bourne Legacy

Grade: B

The Bourne series continues, this time without Jason Bourne (Matt Damon).  Instead we have Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner).  Aaron knows he’s a special spy, and he’s smart enough to get out of any situation, even one where he’s the target.  Edward Norton plays the insider who is targeting him.  It’s cat and mouse for a bit – while Aaron hooks up with Dr. Marta Shearling, a biochemist who knows all about the drugs that turn these people into super spies.  As a team, these two are quite savvy, leaving the possibility for many more Bourne movies wide open.  There are a few nods to the original character throughout.  Nice touch for fans of the franchise.
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04 Jan

The Black Dahlia

Grade: C

Brian DePalma directs “The Black Dahlia” based on a novel based on the unsolved mystery of a young actress’ murder in the 1950s. In true DePalma form it’s dark and twisty and the characters have a lot of depth. Josh Hartnett stars as the detective/boxer who takes on the case with his obsessed partner, Aaron Eckhardt. Scarlett Johanssen makes up a love triangle between them as a former mobster mol in hiding. The whole film is very stylish – loved the music, the sets, the costumes, the hair – the story is just difficult to follow. Performances are strong despite the stilted dialogue. Hilary Swank comes in as the “femme fatale” but something about her didn’t ring true for me. She’s too good to be bad, or is she just crazy? And they keep saying how much she looks like “the dead girl” and I didn’t see any resemblance! The pacing is good, the characters rich, but there’s a lot of confusion and “over-the-top” scenarios. The ending is just convoluted and silly.   A strong R rating, just for mature audiences.
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04 Jan

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Grade: A

I wish there were more movies like The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel!  Stellar cast: Judi Densch, Dev Patel, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith and more all turn in wonderful performances.  The story is that a group of people, with no relationship to each other, find themselves moving to India to retire to a new “exotic” retirement community.  Of course, things aren’t what they appeared to be on the internet when they arrive.  But through a series of events, and some time to get to know each other, they form a kind of family of their own, and learn just what it is that makes them happy and comfortable.  Sweet, charming, touching, funny… this movie has so much going for it.  Highly recommended!
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04 Jan

The Beaver

Grade: B

It if weren’t for all of Mel Gibson’s personal troubles and issues that have been so prevalent in the media, I’d think that he would get an Academy Award nomination for his performance in The Beaver.  This may look like a comedy on the surface, or from the previews, but it is definitely a drama.  A heart-wrenching one.  Director Jodie Foster plays the wife to Mel Gibson’s husband, who is suffering from depression.  After she kicks him out of the house, he comes across a hand puppet, a beaver, who becomes his alter-ego.  His life dramatically improves, but he can’t handle the success.  Very thought-provoking, intense, with fine performances from everyone in the cast.
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04 Jan

The Bank Job

Grade: B

Based on a true story, set in 1972 London, the bank job is a crime caper drama.  When ordinary people get caught up in extraordinary circumstances things get way out of control.  What’s great about this movie is that you can’t predict anything that will happen.  I don’t know if anyone could have dreamed up the script if the events didn’t actually happen in real life!  Very compelling.  A little violent at times.
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04 Jan

The Aviator

Grade: A

All I can say is “wow.” Another awesome biopic, this one about the life of Howard Hughes. It’s often been said that there is a fine line between genius and insanity, and I think this sums up Mr. Hughes pretty well. The guy was just plain brilliant, and fearless – and yet strangely paranoid at the same time. Early scenes hint at the source of the neuroses, but I don’t know if anyone really knows for sure what went though the man’s head.

Martin Scorsese directed – I’m a fan, and this is the best I’ve seen from him. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Howard Hughes convincingly – a very strong performance, and he won the Golden Globe for it this year. Cate Blanchett plays Katharine Hepburn. Wasn’t as thrilled with her, seemed kind of caricature-ish. Story is tight, cinematography is beautiful. This is one of my favorites for 2004
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