Grade: B
| Not for everyone, but I totally loved it! A kooky combination of Hollywood and Bollywood, with characters breaking out into choreographed musical numbers mid-sentence. The love story is corny and predictable, yet sweet and satisfying. Some funny moments, kind of a My Big Fat Indian Wedding feel to it. |
Grade: B+
| Based on the true story of the biggest breach in FBI history, “Breach” stars Ryan Phillippe as the young trainee assigned to get the goods on the informant in question, played by Chris Cooper. A very compelling story, with this interesting relationship at the heart of it all. Laura Linney is the agent Phillippe reports to. She’s strong and smart and knows she has her work cut out for her. This is definitely a thriller, and all the more scary knowing that this actually happened. First rate performances by all. |
Grade: A-
| Bran Nu Dae, pronounced “Brand New Day” is a wonderful movie from Australia. It’s a musical, which is rare to find lately. So fun, you’ll be singing along. The cast is terrific – mostly Australians, so talented! It tells the story of a boy who is sent away to boarding school to be a priest, but he’s in love with a girl, and doesn’t want to be a priest, so he runs away. Road trip! Lots of laughs, although some you probably need to be Australian to understand – my husband was in stitches! I loved it. |
Grade: A-
| I guess since I’m from California I’m a little biased, but I really love this movie. It’s set in 1976, when California wine was just being discovered. We see the beautiful Napa Valley through the eyes of both the people who live and work there, and a Brit from Paris who is quite the wine snob. He decides to hold a competition to get some publicity for his school and shop, and he heads to California to choose some new wines. The story is based on real life, and the relationships are well-woven together. It’s charming, and sweet, and inspiring. |
Grade: C
| Bolt is an animated feature film from the Walt Disney Studioos and done in digital animation, produced by John Lasseter, who has been so instrumental in Pixar’s success. Unfortunately, Bolt doesn’t have the charm of a Pixar movie. The story is a little cynical. We meet a cute puppy who is adopted by a cute little girl. Then it’s 5 years later, and the two star in a Hollywood TV show where Bolt, which is the dog’s name now, is a kind of super-hero dog who saves the girl on a regular basis. But the dog doesn’t know it’s all a show, he thinks it’s all real, and he is sheltered from having any knowledge otherwise. Because of this, he can’t be a “real dog.”
At one point, the girl is kidnapped on the TV show, and Bolt thinks it happened in real life, and as he’s trying to save her, he ends up getting accidentally shipped to New York City. So the bulk of the story is Bolt finding his way back to the girl, and discovering his true identity. He has the help of two side-kicks, a street-savvy cat named Mittens and a hamster named Rhino. Cute buddy-flick moments. Bolt is voiced by John Travolta. The little girl is voiced by Miley Cyrus. The story is a negative reflection on Hollywood – and a little mean-spirited. Not sure if kids are going to understand, or just like the little dog. Nothing special or new, but some clever lines. Wait for the DVD. |
Grade: C+
| I can appreciate that “Body of Lies” is an expensive, well-made, well-produced movie with two high-wattage stars in Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio. But mainly my problem with the movie is that it’s too much. Too much violence, too much confusion, too much cell phone usage, too much flying around all over the place. This is a movie about deception, and terrorists. There’s not much more to it than that. The good guys, Russell and Leo, are with the CIA, and Leo is undercover trying to find the leader of a terrorist cell. Russell is in the USA giving him orders. Leo is in danger all the time – people shooting at him, bombs going off, but he’s out there doing his stuff like some kid with ADD who can’t let it go. He’s momentarily distracted by a beautiful nurse, but otherwise he’s killing people and saving the day all over the place. Russell is a little more slick and slimey, but they try to show him as an everyman as he carpools his kids while strategizing on his bluetooth. I think a little more simple, a little more meat to the story, and a little less time invested and I would have liked it more. |
Grade: B
| “Bobby” refers to Robert Kennedy – and the movie takes place during the last few day of his presidential campaign, up until his murder. Emilio Estevez wrote and directed, and also has a role – a remarkable achievement. The movie is titled Bobby but it’s more about the people of that time period, and how they were affected by this political candidate.
The film takes place at the Ambassador Hotel. William H. Macy plays the hotel manager, and Sharon Stone is his beautician wife. Christian Slater runs the restaurant, Freddy Rodriguez is a bus-boy pulling a double shift. Lindsay Lohan plays a young bride, marrying a school chum to keep him from being sent to Vietnam, Elijah Wood is her grateful groom. Demi Moore is a boozy lounge singer, and Ashton Kutcher is a hippie drug dealer. Somehow all of these lives are tied together, and are affected by the presence of Mr. Kennedy at the hotel on one fateful night. This is another movie that gets us thinking about our own recent history. Great for teens to see. The performances are strong, the script is good. |
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Grade: A
| Black Swan, directed by Darren Aronofsky, is intense, to say the least! Set in the world of ballet, a NY dance company is doing Swan Lake with a new leading lady, Nina Sayers, played by Natalie Portman. Natalie Portman is absolutely AMAZING in this role. She’s a shoe-in for nominations this award season. Nina is fragile, determined, and a perfectionist. It’s a tough combination, one which makes her, and the audience, question her sanity. The ballet business is cut-throat, and obviously physically demanding. We see the nitty gritty of it, and the toll it takes on the lives of the people involved.
The whole cast is so good. Mila Kunis plays Nina’s rival, Lily. Barbara Hershey is Nina’s controlling stage mother. Vincent Cassel runs the company. The whole look of the movie works. It’s over-the-top and hard to distinguish what is real from what is fantasy. There’s a theme of duality, black and white, that plays through the film – it’s compelling, and so well done.
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Grade: A-
| Certain movies are designed to make you think. Birth is one of them. You can’t help but take notice. It picks you up and drops you into this woman’s life. The “what ifs” keep comning, and when you’re not thinking about what is happening, you’re thinking about what she could be thinking!
Nicole Kidman is the woman in question, a young widow faced with the possible reincarnation of her dead husband. Her life goes from content to tortuous as the events unravel that lead her to question a child’s identity, and her own sanity. Kidman is mesmerizing – when she is lost in thought we’re lost right along with her. This movie stimulated more conversation in my household afterwards than any movie has in a long time. |
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