Lord of War

Most viewers have stars they love to hate. My least favorite? Too many to count! However, today it's my dear spouse who takes the honors: she least likes that man shown above, Nicolas Cage. So I had to sneak this DVD on screen and watch it in the wee hours of the night!

I do not share her view of NC. I thought he was fantastic in Leaving Las Vegas. This was no doubt his best work, for which he could or should have been recognized with at least an Oscar nomination. I liked him in the recent tongue-in-cheek thriller, Drive Angry. He was great in Captain Corelli's Mandolin. But one of his best roles is as a gun runner in Lord of War.

As usual, I will not give away the story. Basically, Cage plays a regular guy from Brooklyn who has a fascination with profit-making. He finds that there's money to be made in selling guns to the highest bidder.

Guns? Yes indeed. So expect lots of gunfire and some excellent action scenes. Expect sleazy fellows who buy the guns.

But expect most of all a story that is laden with ethical shading: do people kill or do guns kill? Is our protagonist justified in being an equal-opportunity gun supplier? Is there any morality in serving mankind's violent nature? Does the U.S. arm nations with any real discrimination?

There is more to this story than meets the eye. Great sibling relationship. Great portraits of bullies. Great tale of cop chasing bad guy. Great film stuff.

I would assign a grade of A-. The minus is for some required editing that was not done. The A is for a top-notch film worth seeing.

Grind (1997)

Gotta leave the big blockbusters every now and then to discover little known, little publicized film delights. The GRIND, made back in '97 (not to be confused with a made-for-TV film in '95) is such a flick.

No spoiler from this reviewer, as usual, but I can safely describe the general setting. Younger brother Eddie has just gotten out of prison for a non-violent crime conviction. He ends up on his brother's doorstep. The two reunite and enjoy the warmth and closeness of two siblings who love each other. Soon family life gets murky: both live on the edge of the law and deep down they are competitive and mean to each other.

Nice plotline!

Now add to that taut story some great acting. Billy Crudup, who has amazed audiences with his shaded performances, plays Eddie, the long-haired, edgy, amoral ex-con who returns to the family fold. Adrienne Shelly plays the older brother's wife with exceptional deftness and sensitivity. Don't miss the introduction of a young actress in her first minor role...the one and only Amanda Peet!

The headline in the photo above, "a gritty gem," characterizes the film nicely. We viewers are caught up in a sibling mess, and we wonder throughout the movie if and when the brothers' lives will unravel and spiral into tragedy.

Although I would have preferred a better ending, this film gets a A. It's got guts and staying power.

Midnight in Paris

Everyone seems to adore the latest work from Woody Allen. Wish I could join the masses, but alas, independent thinker that I am, I must beg to differ. Midnight in Paris has some charm, but for me, it lacked a good story and depth.

Here are the positives: The shots of Paris are wonderful. The scenes of the streets, bars, monuments, and cafes take us to the grand city of Europe as only film can. The background music, light and frothy, charms. Two lovely women grace the screen, as seen above. In fact, Rachel McAdams and Marion Cotillard dazzle the male viewers! OK, overall, good aesthetics. Nice faces. Nice scenery.

Storywise? Nonsense, to be sure. The general setting of a mismatched, engaged couple staying in Paris and bickering is far from pleasant...and seems to have no redeeming plot value. The time travel element? Uh, hardly up to the standards of, say, The Time Traveler's Wife or Millenium. The meet-the-past-idols theme? Maybe acceptable for viewers who say, wow, there's that lady I think I've heard of, Gertrude Stein. For more learned viewers, the interactions with past famous people lacks any semblance of meaningful dialog.

Then there's Woody Allen's voice. I have avoided the past two decades of Allen-by-Allen films, that is, movies that reflect the neurotic, NY-ish, cloying, sickening ego of the filmmaker. Hoping to find an exception, I returned to this film. Allen was all over it. Misunderstood male, pseudo-liberalism, mock idealism....it's all there again.

So I would give the film a grade of C. Just hope my readers won't tar and feather me for being so divergent from the public that raves endlessly about this insipid piece of filmmaking.

Probably worth seeing just to decide if David is right or wrong!

Poseidon Adventure (1972)

Today's generation will say, "Hey, you mean The Titanic, with Leo and Kate, don't you?" No, I don't!

Sometimes the old goodies are so darn good we end up watching them over and over and appreciating them even more! The other night, I was channel flipping to cure a bit of insomnia, but lo and behold, when I hit the old classic, I stayed up for two more hours to watch.

No one can forget the star-studded cast: Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Red Buttons, Carol Lynley, Roddy McDowell, Stella Stevens, Shelley Winters.... My kids will ask, Who????? Sorry young folks, gotta go back to the Middle Ages, the 70's, the see a real quality flick.

What hit me this time around? Mostly that the film was a morality play. Who should take a risk? When? How? If we lose a loved one, do we persevere? What role does the Lord play in tragedies? Ah, such wonderful, old-fashioned themes.

From the moment we hear the haunting song, "There has to be a morning after....", to the last moments of rescue for the brave and lucky few, the film grabs and holds on.

So forget the Cameron epic, if you will, and venture back to the original. You will be stunned by the acting, cast, lines, visuals, and ethical shading.

Wow.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

I consider the original Planet of the Apes a great American classic in film. It is iconic, innovative, and darn fun. Mind-blowing for its day - 1968 - film-goers were amazed at how far movie technology in costume and make-up had come. I remember vividly going to see it at Cine Capri with my high school boyfriend, Bill. Each time I've seen it since (I stop what I'm doing when I come across it on t.v.), I catch more and more clever details in it, and the last scene NEVER fails to give me chills.

However---every sequel to follow was crappy, cheesy, and commercial. Until now.

I thoroughly enjoyed this newest PREQUEL, and homage, to the original. Like the first, it pushes movie-making. We are now in a new era of technology. Enter Andy Serkis (not circus). Best known for his digital Gollom in Lord of the Rings, and his King Kong, he manages to convey stunning characterization to an "altered state." [Note: Andy had his nose quite out of joint when the Academy would not consider him for acting nomination in L of R. Perhaps it's time to re-think that, or create a new category.)

James Franco and Freida Pinto's contribution? Eh. The real main character here is Caesar, the ape. Not one word of originality in story or dialogue. It also lacked the intellect of the original. But this is worth it just to watch the effects - magnificent! I adored the loving, and spare, nods to the first one that only we real fans will catch and applaud. How many did you find?

This was great fun, and I want to go back and see it again.

I leave you with an affectionate glance at what started the whole P.of the A. machine.

Blue Valentine

Never underestimate the power of ONE. Due to an underwhelming total number of votes (one!), I shall offer my views on Blue Valentine.

O.k., here it is. I do not shy away from sad love stories, and I sure don't shy away from films with Ryan Gosling (I adore him and think he is very talented). I start every film assuming I will value it. However, from first to last scene I was dragged down to not caring. This VERY blue-collar (generous label), very rural couple have lost their love-way in marriage. Much of story told in flashback to when they were happier. But I never bought it. They were young, had bleak futures, she was pregnant (she thinks by him!). Is this really the stuff of great romances in celluloid? Gosling is so sympathetic as we watch his devotion to his toddler daughter, while watching his drinking get in the way. Michelle Williams does non-glam very effectively.

You see, I just didn't see a "great love" go so badly. They were doomed from the start. Actually, I do not see this as a love story so much as a statement about an economic class and its fall-out. THAT is a socio-tragedy. And it touches me.

I expected to be moved. I expected to shed a tear. Instead, I just wanted it to be over. With a somewhat ambiguous conclusion, I was just glad it was over. These two people depressed the hell out of me. I know I sound very anti-sentimental. I am not. This just wasn't the film for me.

Now, Sara, please set me straight.

The Help

Every so often Hollywood gives us a "landmark" movie that is a must-see. Along side The Color Purple, Roots, and other major African-American historical films, we must place The Help.

The story takes place in Mississippi in the early 60s. Those were days when American citizens of color had to sit in the back of the bus, could not vote, had to cross the street when whites approached, and were treated as less-than-human. What a disgrace.

Those of us who are old enough to have lived during those times know how shameful they were. It took Lyndon Johnson's Civil Rights Act of 1964 to award African-Americans equality under the law and to abolish the old Jim Crow ways.

The Help takes us back to a time that every American, white or black, must re-visit. Painful as it is, we must return to a time when maids were treated like slaves. We must recall how complicit all of America was in the mistreatment of fellow Americans.

Without being a spoiler, I can report that the film tells the story of some very brave domestics, black women, who risk life and limb to tell what being a maid in a southern household is all about. Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer shine as the leaders of the revolt. Watch for their names when Oscar nominations are announced.

Emma Stone emerges from starlet status to real actress. She plays the young, idealistic journalist who strives to share with the world the misery of those "imprisoned" in the south. She could also get an Oscar nod.

Add to the stellar cast Bryce Dallas Howard, Cicely Tyson,and Sissy Spacek, and you can imagine what a treat awaits you! But it's a sad, dour view of America. A few laughs lighten the spirit a bit. Don't expect to feel good after viewing the film.

GRADE: A+ An amazing, important movie that all viewers should RUN to see.

Brick

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the bloodied young man above, has done some good film stuff, including roles in Ten Things I Hate about You, The Juror, Killshot, Inception, and more. But...OH, what a failure in Brick!

BRICK is a fitting name for the film where G-L gets his chance to be the lead...it lands like a brick on your head. In fact, it gives the word "indie" a bad name.

What's the film about? Hard to say. A bunch of kids involved in drugs, we think. A murder. A gang of thugs. Hey, don't go looking for A Clockwork Orange or another quality grunge film. This flick is a loser. The plot is convoluted, and worse, the dialog strives to be so cool you can't understand a word of it...that is, when the poor diction allows deciphering.

Any redeeming value? Hardly. The hero is constantly getting beaten up (see above), which is a bummer for the ladies who might enjoy seeing his handsome face. A brief look at Emilie de Ravin, when she was young and very attractive, appeals somewhat...until the plotline takes her out of the picture!

If you have the courage to sit through this bummer of a flick, see if you can spot Richard Roundtree in a minor role.

GRADE: F And that's coming from a teacher who was once very generous with grades!