Klepto

My wise spouse, a researcher by nature, came across a dandy of an Indie. We watched it last night and found it deeply moving and meaningful.

Meredith Bishop, a little known actress (welcome to the world of independent movies, where high paid stars are rare), deftly plays a compulsive thief. Well, not really a thief...more a benign department store shoplifter. See her in the picture above. The malls are her world, and stores are her prey.

Why does the poor girl steal? Well, not because she is really poor (pun intended). Rather, she's addicted to the thrill of the hunt. She's also addicted to a variety of pills and to a life of psychotherapy, bad choices, and confusion due to a similarly obsessive mother.

Enter the handsome Jsu Garcia, who plays the security manager. Garcia excels as the man behind the cameras, who, because of his own inclination toward crime, takes a shine to the pretty thing who lifts small objects from his store.

Therein lies the premise. No spoiler, as usual, but just imagine where such a plot can go! Add to the mix some gangsters and other strange folks, and you've got the makings of a wonderful story that focuses on compulsive behavior and its daunting results.

Grade of A-. Fantastic film, with a few minor flaws. Worth seeing! A thought-provoking piece of work.

Fair Game

No, this is not the film by the same title that came out years earlier with Cindy Crawford. The current Fair Game is based on the book by the former CIA agent who was "outed" by the federal government.

It's a winner! Check out the picture above. With Sean Penn and Naomi Watts, could the film be otherwise? In the film, they play husband and wife, and they do it very well.

Let's back up a bit: No spoiler from this reviewer, but let's just say that the setting is very tense. Naomi is Valerie Plame, a former enthusiastic, successful, highly-placed CIA operative who flies worldwide to stem the flow of nuclear arms to terrorists. Sean is Joe Wilson, a former ambassador and player among the top brass in Washington, D.C.

The couple does the James Bond dance for years, as each goes off in odd directions to do very hush-hush work. They have kids and seem like a nice, normal couple. But ol' Joe has a very stubborn "the world-should-be-just" streak, and thus cannot stand by when he believes that the Bush administration is uninformed about WMDs in Iraq.

The stage is set for a hum-dinger of a mystery. Who dunnit? Who will do it? Will the couple fight the bigwigs? Will the powers that be win? It's all extremely edgy, particularly since it's based on a true story.

So for all you politicos who enjoy "spies and lies" among our leaders in D.C., this film is for you!

Grade of A-. Top-notch except that Sean Penn might be slightly miscast. He's a great actor, but possibly not best suited to play Naomi's hubby.

Broken Wings

This 2002 sleeper from Israel shows life as it truly is for many Israelis: tough, gritty, and overwhelming. Are we referring to Arab-Jewish issues? For once, not at all. The purpose of Broken Wings is to show how many Israelis can't afford to live, and as a result suffer terrible stress trying to raise a family and make ends meet.

See the two women above? They are mother and daughter, and they are running as fast as they can. They are part of a family of five: the daughter has three sibs, and the mother has recently lost her spouse, who was wonderful as a father and helpful as a wage-earner.

We get to know each family member in extraordinary detail. The mother tries her best to hold down a job at a hospital and still care for her kids. The children are deeply troubled by their desperate plight: the older ones, typical confused teens, try to sort out their own needs and means of survival as they care for the younger ones.

The film is brilliant. In a very short window (about an hour and a quarter), we feel as if we are there with the family, trying to stay close, connected, and hopeful, in spite of one reversal after the next. We feel for each member, because we get to know each so well. Rarely has a film given such clarity of character development and plot.

The upshot? The people we meet could be from any country. There is nothing typically "Israeli" about them, nothing social, political, or religious. The flick thus offers a universal portrait of families who undergo hardship and pain as they deal with life's daunting challenges.

Grade: A An excellent, creative work.

Casino

Ever re-visit an old classic and say "wow" all over again? This reviewer had insomnia the other night, so off to TV land he went to have some awful film bring on much-needed sleep! The result? Failure! I ended up watching Casino.

Robert DeNiro plays the casino owner who, unlike his childhood buddy (Joe Pesci), is only mildly gangster-ish. He came up the hard way, so he's dead set on being successful. The pun is intended. Folks seem to get killed because of the mafia types back east whom DeNiro knows. But somehow, it's never our boy who does the evil work. The dirty stuff is carried out by the really violent friend, played by Joe Pesci.

Now add to this delightful mix of good-fellas the beautiful Sharon Stone who, as the Femme Fatale, digs her claws into DeNiro, then into his best friend Pesci. The result? The viewer can only imagine! Let's simply say our gangster types are not big on sharing their lady friends!

What I most enjoyed about the film other than the fine acting and plot was the setting. We are swept out of our seats into the casino world, where flying dice and flipped cards determine lives. Don Rickles, Mr. Nice Guy, does a fantastic job of adding to the casino flavor with his dour look and cheap suits.

The film is quite long, almost three hours, but it is worth every minute. Don't wait for a sleepless night to view this fine film.

TIMER

Every so often a film comes along that is both utterly charming and deeply meaningful. TIMER, the sleeper of 2009, is such a flick.

Meet Oona above, played by the sweet and disarming Emma Caulfield. She lives in a futuristic world where singles can opt to have a "timer" implanted in their wrists. The device tells the user when he or she will meet "the one" in life. What a great premise for a story!

See the clock in the picture above? Emma, and her half-sister, are both obsessed with knowing exactly when they will meet their prince charmings. Naturally, both choose to have the implant.

Now, say that the device shows that some 365 days in the future, one of the sisters will find her ideal mate. Fine and dandy. But what if, in the interim, a wonderful young man comes along? Is he the ONE? How can you know if he does not wear a similar implant?

Get the idea? Wow, what fun!

Our daughter, who has an eye for fantastic films, insisted we see this film...and how right she was. TIMER is incredibly entertaining, incredibly witty, incredibly delightful. It's guaranteed to make you feel good. But it's also profoundly philosophical. Would you, the viewer, want your destiny controlled by a timer? Would you prefer to date a bunch of fools and have your heart broken? What if you could avoid the heartaches of dating?

Just another film about free will vs. destiny? Not at all. Because in this little gem, there's also a Faustian theme at play: once you put on the TIMER and have it indicate your perfect soulmate, you cannot change what will happen!

RUN out and rent this film...before any other! You will be charmed and overwhelmed with complex life questions.

GRADE: A++ Yes, the top grade by this former teacher who grants A++ oh so sparingly!