Up

Movie Review: Up (*** out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 2009

Country of Origin: USA

Directors: Pete Docter, Bob Peterson

Cast: Edward Asner, Christopher Plummer, Jordan Nagai

Plot outline: By tying thousands of balloon to his home, a grumpy 78-year-old who lives alone on the memories of a wonderful marriage sets out to fulfill his lifelong dream to see the wilds of South America (IMDb).

The story (*** It’s sweet, it’s bittersweet, and it is full of the small, gentle things. It's the humanity that shines through. Truly uplifting.)

How the story unfolds (*** Early in the movie there is a short, wordless sequence which chronicles how Carl Fredricksen and his wife met, fell in love, married, failed to produce children yet settled into a richly rewarding old age. It's probably the most poignant thing you will see all year.)

The characters (***)

Overall rating *** out of 4 stars

Jarhead

Movie Review: Jarhead (**1/2 out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 2005

Country of Origin: Germany, USA

Director: Sam Mendes

Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Scott MacDonald, Peter Sarsgaard, Jamie Foxx

The story (**1/2)

How the story unfolds (**1/2 Jarhead is a mixed bag and has many relevant and funny moments but I felt that the movie was worth less than the sum of its parts. It is not a grandstanding political movie but if you approach it as a study of one man’s journey through the Marine Corps to the Middle East and back again, you can still have a positive viewing experience.)

The characters (**1/2)

The acting (**1/2)

Overall, it was a dry experience and it is apparent that Sam Mendes did his best to bring a thought-provoking story to the screen but the end result in somewhat lacking. There are a number of genuinely funny moments and the cinematography is impressive, but I don’t think there’s enough in the feature to warrant repeated viewings.

Overall rating **1/2 out of 4 stars

Public Enemies

Movie Review: Public Enemies (**1/2 out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 2009

Country of Origin: USA

Director: Michael Mann

Cast: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard, Channing Tatum, Stephen Graham

Plot outline: The Feds try to take down notorious American gangsters John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson and Pretty Boy Floyd during a booming crime wave in the 1930s (IMDb).

The story (***)

How the story unfolds (**1/2 Michael Mann keeps the pacing going in an efficient workmanlike manner yet never pulls the audience fully into the world of cops and robbers. The icky HD Video camerawork doesn’t do the movie any favors either. Overall, the movie is just kinda flat and not very exciting.)

The characters (**1/2 Depp does some solid work but the script never really gives him anything to do besides rob banks in the same dull manner over and over again. While Bale gets the shorter end of the stick.)

The acting (**1/2)

Overall rating **1/2 out of 4 stars

The Lion in Winter

Movie Review: The Lion in Winter (***1/2 out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 1968

Country of Origin: UK

Director: Anthony Harvey

Cast: Peter O'Toole, Katharine Hepburn, Anthony Hopkins, John Castle, Nigel Terry, Timothy Dalton, Jane Merrow

Plot outline: England's King Henry II's three sons all want to inherit the throne, but he won't commit to a choice. So, they and his estranged queen variously plot to force him (IMDb).

The story (**** This splendid drama of plots and schemes is crisp, with consistently sharp, quotable dialogue of a kind rarely seen anymore.)

How the story unfolds (*** The story is expressed almost entirely through dialogue rather than cinematography, making it resemble a stage play.)

The characters (****)

The dialogue (****)

The acting (**** The acting is fantastic across the board--Katharine Hepburn won an Oscar for her part. Look, too, for early career-launching performances by Anthony Hopkins and Timothy Dalton.)

Overall rating: ***1/2 out of 4 stars

The Dark Knight

Movie Review: The Dark Knight (*** out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 2008

Country of Origin: USA, UK

Director: Christopher Nolan

Cast: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman

Plot outline: With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to destroy organized crime in Gotham for good. The triumvirate proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a rising criminal mastermind known as the Joker, who thrusts Gotham into anarchy and forces the Dark Knight ever closer to crossing the fine line between hero and vigilante (IMDb).

The story (***)

How the story unfolds (**1/2 Initially, the story unwinds with poise keeping up with the "A" elements, however, at about midway, the script skids out of control. Silly twists and turns, new and very out-of-place story plots are introduced diluting the production and destroying some otherwise well-earned momentum. It's a long movie anyway, but after that midpoint, it just begins to feel relentless; rather than reveling in it, I looked forward to the closing credits. How disappointing.)

The characters (**1/2)

The acting (**1/2)

Overall rating *** out of 4 stars

Annie Get Your Gun

Movie Review: Annie Get Your Gun (*** out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 1950

Country of Origin: USA

Director: George Sidney

Cast: Betty Hutton, Howard Keel, Louis Calhern

Plot outline: The story of the great sharpshooter, Annie Oakley, who rises to fame while dealing with her love/professional rival, Frank Butler (IMDb).

The story (***)

How the story unfolds (*** The movie is buoyed nicely by the great songs by Irving Berlin--including "There's No Business Like Show Business" and "Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better"--, a clever script, crisp Technicolor cinematography, and Betty Hutton's spirited performance.)

The characters (**1/2)

The acting (*** Hutton never lets go of her character's hillbilly roots, making it hard to imagine Judy Garland having done better by the role.)

Ironically Annie’s skill breaks through the male chauvinism, but she has to take second place to win a husband.

Overall rating *** out of 4 stars

A Single Man

Movie Review: A Single Man (*** out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 2009

Country of Origin: USA

Director: Tom Ford

Cast: Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Nicholas Hoult, Matthew Goode

Plot outline: In Los Angeles 1962, 52 year old British college professor George Falconer is struggling to find meaning to his life after the death of his long time partner, Jim (IMDb).

The story (***)

How the story unfolds (*** The movie weaves its story with a slow, but confident pace. The emphasis is not simply on a plot arc, but is an examination of a tortured man.)

The characters (*** First time director Tom Ford's well placed instincts are served best by his cast, of whom he gets the most.)

The dialogue (***1/2)

The acting (***1/2 One of the movie’s most remarkable scenes plays out between George and his friend Charley--played by Julianne Moore. A quiet dinner, between two lonely souls who’ve had too much to drink, allows a brutal honesty to rage before quickly hiding itself again behind tact and manner. It’s a prime example of all the emotions running just below the surface through the length of the movie, just dying to be set free.)

Overall rating *** out of 4 stars

Avatar

Movie Review: Avatar (*** out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 2009

Country of Origin: USA, UK

Director: James Cameron

Cast: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Michelle Rodriguez, Giovanni Ribisi

Plot outline: A paraplegic marine dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the new world he feels is his home (IMDb).

The story (*** The story itself is by turns intricate and simplistic, dark and bright, flippant and worthy, original and overly familiar – and ultimately serves as little more than a metaphor for possibly the Americans moving into Iraq for the oil, the British pushing the Native Americans off their land – or possibly, more simply, he’s suggesting that having destroyed our own planet, we’ll have to find others to pull apart. Once we get past the initial conceit of the cloned Avatar, controlled by the sleeping human, there are very few fresh themes here, so in truth, its chief entertainment value is marvelling at its technical wizardry.)

How the story unfolds (***)

The characters (***)

Technical wizardry (****)

It’s a shame that the story-telling isn’t better--I hope that Cameron acknowledges that most of his effort has gone into the more successful visual elements of a movie than the plot. But sometimes a movie is worth seeing just to feel absorbed by another world--don’t worry about getting drawn in on an emotional level--just enjoy the visuals, the effects, the creatures. This is a movie where it’s worth paying a little extra for the extra dimension.

Overall rating *** out of 4 stars

Sense and Sensibility

Movie Review: Sense and Sensibility (***1/2 out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 1995

Country of Origin: USA, UK

Director: Ang Lee

Cast: Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant

Plot outline: Jane Austen's classic tale of two sisters with different romantic notions (IMDb).

The story (***1/2 The story doesn't present a traditional romance, where the best candidate is clear all along. Rather, a person's best qualities are deep within, and only make themselves plain when a crisis must be faced.)

How the story unfolds (***1/2)

The characters (***1/2)

The dialogue (***1/2)

The acting (***1/2 Thompson is sensible, Winslet is sensitive. But the fires of passion still burn inside Thompson, even though she cloaks them with civility and modesty.)

Overall rating ***1/2 out of 4 stars

On Moonlight Bay

Movie Review: On Moonlight Bay (**1/2 out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 1951

Country of Origin: USA

Director: Roy Del Ruth

Cast: Doris Day, Gordon MacRae

Plot outline: A small-town tomboy falls for the boy-next-door in the years before World War I (IMDb).

The story (**1/2)

How the story unfolds (**1/2 Director Roy Del Ruth keeps everything folksy and wholesome--much in theme like Meet Me in St. Louis but not up to that masterpiece.)

The characters (**1/2 Whilst Doris Day and Gordon MacRae are the obvious stars and carry the movie beautifully, they are helped by a whole range of good supporting performances. But the scene stealer is the always wonderfully witty and sarcastic Mary Wickes who plays the house keeper Stella.)

The acting (**1/2)

Overall rating **1/2 out of 4 stars

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Movie Review: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Wo hu cang long) (***1/2 out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 2000

Country of Origin: Taiwan, Hong Kong, USA, China

Director: Ang Lee

Cast: Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Zhang Ziyi, Chang Chen

Plot outline: Two warriors in pursuit of a stolen sword and a notorious fugitive are led to an impetuous, physically-skilled, teenage nobleman's daughter, who is at a crossroads in her life (IMDb).

The story (****)

How the story unfolds (**** You might see the movie is a little schizophrenic, with languid scenes of stifled emotion and slow burn abutting scenes of quicker-than-the-eye tussle. What ties everything together is the grace Ang Lee creates, in both types of scenes. That floating and flying, that's the element of grace that allows the whiplash fighting to fit so smoothly into the whole of the movie. But, what is strongest about the movie is the tragic romances at its center. Without those, this would just be another fight flick. Once again in an Ang Lee movie, honor and loyalty frustrate true love, making a complete mess of the people involved.)

The characters (****)

The dialogue (****)

The acting (** Unfortunately, the acting is below par overall, especially Michelle Yeoh and Chang Chen--you can hardly say if they are acting or if they are just reading word by word from the script. Zhang Ziyi, who starred in Zhang Yimou's The Road Home, gives the best performance among all the protagonists.)

Overall rating: ***1/2 out of 4 stars

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Movie Review: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (**1/2 out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 2008

Country of Origin: USA

Director: Steven Spielberg

Cast: Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Shia LaBeouf, Karen Allen

Plot outline: Indiana Jones is called back into action when he becomes entangled in a Soviet plot to uncover the secret behind mysterious artifacts known as the Crystal Skulls (IMDb).

The story (**1/2 The story is engaging in its playing up to conspiracy and lost worlds, and the action scenes are spectacular. The liberal use of CGI is a bit disheartening.)

How the story unfolds (**1/2 The hype machine was in overdrive for this project, and the movie certainly had numerous reasons not to work. It’s not the best in the series by any means, but it delivers everything we, as Indy fans, could possibly want.)

The characters (**1/2)

The acting (**1/2)

Overall rating **1/2 out of 4 stars

Another Time, Another Place

Movie Review: Another Time, Another Place (**1/2 out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 1958

Country of Origin: UK

Director: Lewis Allen

Cast: Lana Turner, Barry Sullivan, Glynis Johns, Sean Connery

Plot outline: A female American journalist has an affair with BBC war correspondent. When he is killed in action, she returns to his hometown to console his wife (IMDb).

The story (**1/2 The movie plays out like a typically over-the-top 1950s melodrama, something that's reflected in the broad performances and distractingly flamboyant score.)

How the story unfolds (**1/2 The script places the emphasis on unusually inane dialogue, while the film contains a number of unintentionally hilarious moments--e.g. after learning a secretary has just lost a son to the war, Sara offers her condolences and immediately assigns her some more work.)

The characters (**1/2)

The acting (**1/2)

It is, at least, rarely out-and-out boring, yet it's the sort of movie that one forgets almost immediately after it's over.

Overall rating **1/2 out of 4 stars

Hancock

Movie Review: Hancock (** out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 2008

Country of Origin: USA

Director: Peter Berg

Cast: Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman, Jae Head

Plot outline: A disaffected superhero enters into a questionable relationship with the wife of the public relations professional who's trying to repair his image (IMDb).

The story (** The idea behind the movie--an atypical superhero and a different approach to the genre--is pretty interesting and it begins promisingly.)

How the story unfolds (** But the combination of drama, action, and comedy does not work from beginning to end and the story leads nowhere; the first half is better than the second half.)

The characters (**)

The acting (** Will Smith is a good choice for the role even though there is nothing remarkable about his, or anyone else's, performance.)

Overall rating ** out of 4 stars

Blade Runner

Movie Review: Blade Runner (***1/2 out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 1982

Country of Origin: USA, Hong Kong

Director: Ridley Scott

Cast: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos

Plot outline: An ex cop comes out of retirement in order to hunt down androids who are being reproduced for purpose of slavery (IMDb).

The story (****)

How the story unfolds (**** Blade Runner is a movie that will grow on you. You can see it again and again and each time you will draw new meanings from it. A good bit of this mystique is due to the ambiguity of the story. It is never fully explained and does not offer up easy answers. You have to draw your own conclusions, however, the data provided are extremely rich and can be interpreted in any number of ways. Some maintain that Deckard himself is a replicant, while others deny it. Even the cast members have publicly stated opposing interpretations of the movie.)

The characters (**** There are no good guys and really no bad guys - in fact the most likeable character is one of the replicants--Roy Batty played with aplomb by Rutger Hauer in his best performance I’ve seen.)

The dialogue (***)

The acting (***)

Overall rating ***1/2 out of 4 stars

Changeling

Movie Review: Changeling (*** out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 2008

Country of Origin: USA

Director: Clint Eastwood

Cast: Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich, Gattlin Griffith, Michael Kelly

Plot outline: Single mother Christine Collins says goodbye to her nine-year-old son, Walter, and leaves for work. When she returns, she is confronted with every parent's worst nightmare: her son has vanished (IMDb).

The story (***)

How the story unfolds (*** Changeling isn’t just Eastwood’s latest grasp at Oscar gold, but it’s also that of Angelina Jolie. After her would-be Oscar contender from last year, A Mighty Heart, she picked a more mainstream project to seek out a second statuette -- ...and this is the core problem with this movie. While Changeling is a powerful movie with many solid performances, it’s obvious attempt to win awards gets in the way of telling a good story. There are so many Oscar clip moments in which Jolie’s character breaks down and cries, stands stalwart in the face of adversity or just screams and throws plates at the walls. It’s too much of a showcase on one actor.)

The characters (*** The other fly in the otherwise well-made movie is Jeffrey Donovan as the obnoxious and overbearing detective who goes to war with Christine Collins for no good reason. It’s like he’s trying to act outside of his ability, and it shows.)

The acting (***)

Overall rating *** out of 4 stars

Autumn Sonata

Movie Review: Autumn Sonata (Höstsonaten) (***1/2 out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 1978

Country of Origin: France, West Germany, Sweden

Director: Ingmar Bergman

Cast: Ingrid Bergman, Liv Ullmann, Lena Nyman, Halvar Björk

Plot outline: A world famous pianist Charlotte visits her daughters she's neglected for years (IMDb).

The story (***1/2)

How the story unfolds (***1/2 The movie takes the form of a sonata itself, with the resounding central movement filled with sound and fury worthy of Beethoven, as Charlotte and her daughter Eva spend a long night releasing their pride and prejudice, their bitterness and regret. By morning, their fury quenched, each has arrived at a degree of tolerance, and at a recognition of the common bonds that tie one to the other.)

The characters (***1/2)

The dialogue (***1/2)

The acting (***1/2)

Bergman once said, “We go away from our parents in youth and then we gradually come back to them; and in that moment, we have grown up.” Autumn Sonata is the consummate illustration of that thought.

Overall rating ***1/2 out of 4 stars

Angels & Demons

Movie Review: Angels & Demons (**1/2 out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 2009

Country of Origin: USA

Director: Ron Howard

Cast: Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor, Ayelet Zurer, Stellan Skarsgård

Plot outline: Harvard scholar and widely respected symbologist Professor Robert Langdon works to solve a murder and prevent a terrorist act against the Vatican (IMDb).

The story (**1/2)

How the story unfolds (**1/2 After the rather bland adaptation of Dan Brown's blockbuster, The Da Vinci Code, director Ron Howard reunites with Tom Hanks for more international intrigue--this time, with less dilly-dallying and a lot more panache. The screenwriters adapt the story freely and streamline it without being overly cautious and faithful.)

The characters (**)

The acting (**)

Details and logistics are glossed over in favor of a frenzied tempo. Science and religion are treated equally, without favoritism. And the magnificent scenery of Rome, inclusive of historic landmarks, churches, and cathedrals, makes the movie come alive, akin to a travelogue.

Overall rating **1/2 out of 4 stars

Crazy Heart

Movie Review: Crazy Heart (***1/2 out of 4 stars)

Year of Release: 2009

Country of Origin: USA

Director: Scott Cooper

Cast: Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Colin Farrell, Robert Duvall

Plot outline: Bad Blake is a broken-down, hard-living country music singer who's had too many marriages, too many years on the road and too many drinks. And yet, he can't help but reach for salvation with the help of a Jean, a journalist who discovers the real man behind the musician. As he struggles down the road of redemption, he learns the hard way just how tough life can be on one man's crazy heart (IMDb).

The story (***)

How the story unfolds (***1/2 the story and the songs are as strong as the headliner, even if it doesn’t appear so at first glance)

The characters (***1/2)

The dialogue (***1/2)

The acting (***1/2 Jeff Bridges gives a performance so good that lesser filmmakers would have let it consume the movie. Also starring an outstanding supporting cast that includes Maggie Gyllenhaal, Colin Farrell, and Robert Duvall.)

With the humble lyricism of a great country song, this understated drama from first-time director Scott Cooper aches with the spirit of musical roots.

Overall rating ***1/2 out of 4 stars