Review: Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Good movie. Based on the bestselling novel, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a thriller, and a mystery, and kind of a love story. Mikael Blomkvist (Michael Nykvist) is a celebrated investigative journalist forced to resign his job when one his targets successfully sues him for libel. At professional loose ends, he accepts the peculiar offer of Henrik Vagner, a retired captain of Swedish industry, to research a forty year old cold case – the disappearance of Vagner’s beloved niece, Harriet. Meanwhile, Lisbeth Salander (Noomi Rapace) , the eponymous tattoo girl, has taken an interest in Blomkvist’s libel case; she is an extraordinary computer hacker and investigator herself, and she believes the journalist was set up. Lisbeth is a loner, fierce and brilliant and unafraid of violence; only a foolish man would cross her (and when one does her retribution is extremely satisfying). Her research into Blomkvist’s libel case leads her to discover his current project, and the two of them ultimately team up into a multi-talented investigative odd couple.

The novel is crammed with detail, and it meanders a bit across multiple story lines; the screenplay is satisfyingly stripped down, so the characters can shine through, and they truly glow, especially Noomi Rapace’s Lisbeth. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is a thriller with just enough action, and plenty of intrigue; altogether a good time at the movies. (Except- faint of heart take note: this picture is unrated because of some graphically violent and sexually violent images. The filmmakers were afraid the film would be rated NC-17 if they submitted it to the ratings board, so they just went with no rating at all. It is not nearly as graphic as the book, but it is pictures on the screen instead of words on the page, so fair warning.) In Swedish with subtitles, but don’t let that bother you. B+

Review: Hot Tub Time Machine

Funny movie. Dumb movie, but still funny, sometimes really funny. John Cusack, Craig Robinson and Rob Corddry are three old friends who have lost touch, but they get back together when one of them – Corddry’s Lou – attempts suicide. Trying to cheer up their buddy, Nick (Robinson) and Adam (Cusack) whisk him off to a ski resort that was the site of many memorable youthful escapades. Problem is, the resort has become a dump, so they try to salvage their weekend by mixing a few cocktails and settling into a hot tub. Which is a time machine, which takes them back to 1986.

As a time travel movie, this picture has a lot of flaws, but as a wacky buddy comedy, it’s right on target. Rob Corddry pushes the edge of the comic envelope; if you think of him as a "Daily Show" correspondent, you are in for a rip roaring surprise – the guy is fearlessly hilarious. Cusack and Robinson are more underhanded in their humor – their funny lines sort of sneak up on you – but they both easily hold their own against Corddry’s onslaught. There are a lot of eighties jokes, but they are kind of beside the point; the real humor comes when these three guys confront their teenaged selves and have to decide what to do about it. With Clark Duke as Jacob, Adam’s twenty year old nephew who also gets swept back in time, and cameos by Chevy Chase and Crispin Glover; Glover remains one of the most underrated actors in Hollywood. He is terrific here. (Word to the weak of stomach: this isn’t a polite comedy. There are a lot of cringe worthy sight gags. I never had to cover my eyes but the guys in the audience often laughed a lot harder than me; sometimes they laughed really hard at things I didn’t know were funny. I’m just saying.) B

Thinking about the weekend? DVD picks

ON DVD this week:

An Education: Carey Mulligan and Peter Sarsgaard star in the story of a young woman who falls for a charming older con man just when she’s achieved her lifelong dream of attending Oxford. Set in London in the 1960s, this charming, unnerving film is all about life choices and consequences, but what really recommends it are the remarkable performances, especially Mulligan and Sarsgaard. (Mulligan was nominated for an Oscar for this picture; she also stars the Wall Street sequel, due out this summer.) Great movie; definitely the best new one out there.

Sherlock Holmes: Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law play Homes and Watson in a movie that is more of a romp than a mystery thriller. Fun, lighthearted film. It did well at the box office and scored a B with audiences, according to Cinemascore, a market research company that tracks that sort of thing. I thought it was entertaining, and a lot of fun to watch Law and Downey, Jr. spar with each other. Sort of like House and Wilson.

Baader Meinhof Complex: Not at all lighthearted, this film takes you inside a terrorist group that wreaked havoc in Germany in the 1970s. Andreas Baader and Ulrike Meinhof were children of the Nazi generation who feared their country’s return to fascism, and with their followers used violent means to try and force change. Baader Meinhof plays out like an art film action picture, but it never loses sight of the seriousness of its subject. It got decent reviews and not much of an audience. I thought it was a fascinating story but just a good film. Should be really interesting to anyone intrigued by terrorism, especially the kind that comes from the inside, the neighbors next door.

Weekend Update 3-26-2010

Hot Tub Time Machine! Who hasn’t been waiting for this film to open? It’s got John Cusack and Darryl (Craig Robinson) from "The Office" and Rob Corddry from "The Daily Show." It’s supposed to be raunchy and hilarious and it’s probably pretty dumb, but what the heck, John Cusack is in it. And there’s time travel. So here’s the basic storyline: a bunch of bored middle aged guys get the opportunity to retroactively put their lives on a different track when they are transported back to the eighties via a magical hot tub. The film has a lot of fun with eighties references, including movies that featured John Cusack; Crispin Glover and Chevy Chase also make appearances. Some critics have loved Hot Tub and others, not so much. Extremely raunchy, keep that in mind – rated R for “strong crude and sexual content, nudity, drug use and pervasive language.” Also opening is the family friendly How to Train Your Dragon; this animated Viking adventure has gotten good reviews, mainly for its visuals and refreshingly natural use of 3D technology. Likely to push Alice in Wonderland off its box office perch, particularly because 3D ticket prices have gone up all over the country, just in time for this movie. Really. 

In limited release, Chloe is an “erotic thriller” starring Amanda Seyfried and Julianne Moore. Best I can tell, it’s terrible. Steamy though. Greenberg officially opened last weekend but if you don’t live in LA or New York you might not have noticed. The Ben Stiller picture about a lonely, unemployed middle aged man who comes to LA to house sit for his successful brother has gotten good reviews, especially for Stiller’s performance. It’s a drama with funny moments. Opening all over the country this weekend. I’ll probably go see it, but only after Hot Tub Time Machine.  Cusack movies are a priority.

Weekend Update 3- 19-2010

Nearly three weeks in and the big news is still Alice, so if you haven’t seen it yet, and you like the 3-D experience, now is the time to go. Next Friday the big scramble for 3-D screens begins with the opening of How to Train Your Dragon. Theater owners are between a rock and a hard place on this: the new arrivals are insisting on the 3-D treatment, but Alice is just making so much money it’s tough to bump it off the screen. The The LA Times reports today that DreamWorks and Paramount are playing hard ball, telling theater owners that if they won’t play Dragon in 3-D, they can’t have the 2-D version either. So there.

This is a big story because there isn’t much else going on. The only movie doing anything in theaters right now is Alice; Green Zone pretty much tanked last weekend in spite of Matt Damon, and the other new entries didn’t impress. This weekend there is some expectation that Bounty Hunter, starring Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston, will attract women who love Aniston and men who love action pictures. Could happen, but it’s not going to top Alice. Diary of a Wimpy Kid is also out this weekend, appealing mostly to tweeners who are familiar with the books; and Repo Men, a sci fi futuristic thriller about some guys who repossess people’s transplanted organs if they can’t pay their medical bills. Just another liberal diatribe about health care. Kidding! That was a joke.


Photo - Disney

Weekend Update March 12, 2010

Hollywood has seasons. There's Awards Season, which finished up last weekend at the Kodak Theater. That’s when you see a lot of serious dramatic films with great performances that Oscar voters like. Coming up is Blockbuster Season, usually kicking off the first weekend in May. Then you get a lot of big budget, special effects laden, full of explosions movies that make loads of money, even if they aren't any good (I’m talkin’ about you, Transformers 2). Between now and then studios release pictures that can’t compete with a blockbuster but aren't likely to win any awards either.

Which brings us to Green Zone, a thriller set in Baghdad in 2003. Matt Damon plays an Army inspector searching for WMDs, but then he stumbles onto some sort of conspiracy thing. Directed by Paul Greengrass of Bourne Identity fame, this has gotten decent reviews: apparently it’s fast paced, bold, and Matt Damon is pretty good. If you like action pictures Green Zone looks entertaining. If you prefer romantic comedy, you might enjoy She's Out of My League, one of those love stories with lots of gross frat boy humor that are real popular right now. This one’s getting mediocre reviews but the two lead players (Jay Baruchel and Alice Eve) are supposed to be fun to watch. There’s also Remember Me, Robert Pattinson’s effort to branch out from his Twilight persona -- but not too far, he’s still all brooding and beautiful. Doesn’t sparkle though. Remember Me is a love story about two broken people (Pattinson and Emilie de Ravin) finding each other, and critics pretty much hate it. Finally there’s Our Family Wedding, a story about a young Latina woman (America Fererra) who surprises her family with her engagement to an African American man (Lance Gross). Hilarity apparently ensues. Also featuring Forrest Whitaker and Carlos Mencia.

If you fell like staying in this weekend, Up in the Air is out on DVD; the film didn't win any Oscars but it's not a bad way to spend a Friday night.  If you're a Michael Moore fan you can rent his latest, Capitalism: A Love Story. It's a very entertaining but extremely ambitious film, sometimes awe inspiring, sometimes confusing.  Also it has old family movies of Michael when he was a little kid.

The wrap: it's likely that Alice in Wonderland will top the box office again this weekend.  If you haven't seen it, now's the time to go because it will have trouble holding onto those 3-D screens when How to Train Your Dragon comes out in a few weeks.  Alice is a fun movie, well worth a trip to the multiplex.


Photo: Universal Pictures 

Ghost Writer

If you like Ewan MacGregor you will like this film; there’s not much else going on. Ghost Writer is a thriller, with a conspiracy twist, all tied up with the latest news headlines about the Iraq war. Pierce Brosnan plays Adam Lang, a Tony Blair style former British Prime Minister who may have been involved in some really bad Blackwater torture kind of stuff; MacGregor is hired to ghost write Lang’s autobiography after the previous ghost writer committed suicide, or suffered a horrible accident. Or was murdered; this is a thriller after all, and anyone who’s ever seen a thriller knows that if a BMW is abandoned on a ferry after it docks in a blinding rainstorm, well, there must have been foul play.

Macgregor’s character (who remains unnamed) comes into the project with detached professionalism, until the mysterious behavior of Lang’s staff and the cryptic notes left behind by his predecessor lead him on a reckless course to discover the truth. He seems torn between terror and outrage, but his behavior is less bold than just dumb, like in a horror movie when the girl hears a noise in the basement and decides to investigate, even though it’s pitch black and the power is out because of a crashing thunderstorm. 

Speaking of storms, it rains a lot on the tiny island off the coast of some place back east (actually filmed in Germany, since Polanski isn’t welcome in the US), where the action all happens in an ultra modern house right on the beach. People are always going out in the rain for no obvious reason, coming back drenched and needing to change clothes. In the rare breaks between downpours a handyman tries to sweep the deck with an old fashioned broom, but the wind is always howling so the debris flies right back. We see that all this weather and isolation are metaphorical but it’s never clear why that matters: it’s either embarrassingly obvious (sweeping under the rug?) or so obscure as to be irrelevant, and I prefer the latter because I want to believe that Polanski is still an interesting director. But in Ghost Writer he has only thrown a noirish, stylistic wash over a meager little story, leaving his actors adrift. Also starring Olivia Williams as Lang’s apparently suffering wife (if you’re interested in Williams skip this film and see An Education instead), and Kim Cattrall in the femme fatale role – her British accent, or attempt at one, is astonishingly bad. It’s hard to imagine how she even got on Polanski’s radar.  B-


Photo - Summit Distribution

Oscar Scandal

Last week Pete Hammond of the Los Angeles Times broke a story about The Hurt Locker: seems Nicolas Chartier, a little known producer on the film, sent an email around to a sizable Hollywood mailing list, trying to scare up Best Picture votes and getting a little snarky about his indy film’s big box office competitor. The Academy didn’t care much for that (according to their website, Academy rules prohibit “casting a negative or derogatory light on a competing film”) so today they slapped Mr. Chartier real hard on the wrist and told him he wasn’t allowed to come to the big party at the Kodak on Sunday.

Now this might seem like a blip on the Oscar season radar, but it’s a little more dramatic than that: in all its history, the Academy has never barred someone from the Awards ceremony because of bad behavior. If nothing else, it makes for some pretty damning press. Tireless Oscar prognosticators are considering whether Chartier’s indiscretion will cost Hurt Locker the big prize, but that seems like a stretch to me, since no one knew who Chartier was before he sent around his emails and all the big names on the picture immediately disavowed his actions. Also when the story broke it was late in the game: the deadline to vote was less than a week away and a big chunk of ballots were already in. There is a rumor that some Academy members have demanded their ballots back, so they can change their choices but, c’mon people, this is America. We vote all the time and we all know the rules. There’s no takebacks.

I feel a little sorry for old Nicholas Chartier. Sure he’s a bull in the Hollywood china shop, but he put up most of the money for Hurt Locker; without him the movie wouldn’t have gotten made. And now, by all accounts, his colleagues on the film are looking the other way when they see him on the street. Tough times in Tinsel Town.

So what do you think? Did Nicholas Chartier step over the line so far that he deserves to miss the show?

Weekend Update: February 26, 2010

There’s a new Kevin Smith movie out this weekend called Cop Out, a buddy picture starring Bruce Willis and Tracey Morgan. Smith didn’t write it; in fact it’s the first time he’s directed a film written by someone else, and critics have not been kind. Seems Willis doesn’t make any effort, Morgan tries too hard, and there’s nothing in the story worth filming. All this negativity has Smith in a testy mood; he is so miffed at Owen Gleiberman, over at Entertainment Weekly, that he actually made comments on the critic’s web page, fighting back:

My film scores a C-. This from the guy who gave "Twilight" a B grade. So I'll let that speak for itself. 

That’s some of the milder stuff, see the whole exchange here. Looks like this film will not be a critical hit but there is a lot of interest in it among action fans and Kevin Smith acolytes, so it should keep the box office busy. Also opening is The Crazies, a remake of an early George Romero picture where toxins in a small town water supply turn good Midwestern folk into zombies. It’s more scary than gory, has a lot of cool government conspiracy stuff, and early critical reviews have been kind. Maybe that’s why Kevin Smith is testy.

If you live in New York, LA or Montreal and you’re in the mood for something more highbrow, check out A Prophet. It’s a French crime drama that has won a lot of awards and will probably walk away with the Best Foreign Film Oscar. If you feel like staying in (or if the snow is keeping you home), look for The Informant, new this week on DVD. Matt Damon plays a whistle blower who may not be as noble as he appears. It’s not a great film but it’s entertaining and Damon's performance is first rate.

Next week: Alice in Wonderland. Booting those blue people right off their 3-D screens.

Shutter Island

This is one creepy movie, but then you would expect that, since it’s set on a remote rocky island surrounded by miles of angry ocean, and there’s a storm brewing. Leonardo DiCaprio plays US Marshall Teddy Daniels, sent out to investigate the disappearance of an inmate from a high security penitentiary located on the island – a facility for the criminally insane.

Criminally insane. There is something simultaneously horrifying and intriguing about that phrase, particularly in a movie context. These villains aren’t Mafioso types, killing to get the job done (it’s business, not personal) or tough cowboys who use their guns to wrangle justice out of the untamed west. These are people who kill because they are nuts.

Doesn't get much creepier than that.

Marin Scorsese spares no stylistic detail in bringing Dennis Lehane’s bestselling novel to the screen. Early on it’s all very noirish, the detectives hardboiled and scruffy, you half expect them to make a crack about double crossing dames. But thing don’t go predictably from there - Daniels, who should be a hard as nails cop, seems s little unhinged; he gets headaches, and keeps having flashbacks to his World War II service, liberating Dachau on a bright cold winter day. And when he bunks down for the night, he has strange, acid trip dreams about his dead wife (Michelle Williams) and fire. His investigation isn’t straightforward either – the trail of evidence twists and turns and spins back again, while conspiracy theories emerge about the impenetrable Ward C and a mysterious lighthouse that is cut off from the island by the incoming tide.

It’s a fun ride because Scorsese is one heck of a filmmaker. The story itself is a little flat, all the strange visions and fever dreams don’t get us to care much about Teddy Daniels even though Leo DiCaprio tries mightily to bring him to sympathetic life. And when the roller coaster ride finally screeches to an unfortunately predictable stop, you might feel a little let down. But never mind, the journey is worth it; Scorsese keeps surprising us, and we get to spend some time on a creepy remote island with criminally insane people.

Also starring Ben Kingsley as the progressive director of the facility, Max Von Sydow as his sinister and possibly ex-Nazi colleague, and Emily Mortimer in a terrifically eerie turn as the missing inmate. And keep your eye out for some great cameo moments with Patricia Clarkson and Jackie Earle Hayley. Shutter Island won the box office derby in its opening weekend, the biggest ever for DiCaprio and Scorsese. Playing in lots of theaters.  B

Oscar upset?

Tarantino.

The name is legendary in Hollywood, even though the guy behind the mystique only has eight films to his credit and most people haven’t seen them. But they’re hip films – fast paced violence drenched stories with unexpected plotlines and lots of sharp dialogue. They’ve earned him a load of admirers in the film community and an ardent fan base of comic con attendees, but not a whole lot of mainstream attention.

Until now. With Inglorious Basterds Quentin Tarantino appears to be positioned to knock Katheryn Bigelow and James Cameron right off their Best Picture front runner pedestals. For one thing, Harvey Weinstein produced the film and he is working the Oscar voter crowd – the tireless Weinstein is known for successful Academy Award campaigns. And even though there’s general agreement that Hurt Locker is a better movie than Avatar, the little Iraq movie that could hasn’t made much money; in fact, by most standards it’s a box office dud. Oscar voters are generally leery of rewarding poor financial performance. But they’re suspicious of box office hits, too, and that doesn’t bode well for the tall blue people movie. Basterds, on the other hand, brought in a respectable 120 Million, so it’s kind of a compromise. Beyond that there is the notion that the ground breaking Pulp Fiction deserved better than it got back in 1994 – in other words, the Academy owes Tarantino one.

And then there’s the preferential ballot.

New this year, Academy members are asked to rank the best picture contenders, with their favorite first and least favorite last, and all the other ones lining up in between. This is how nominations have always been decided, but it’s a first for the final vote; in years past, you put a check mark next to your fave, sealed the envelope and sent it on its way. With the preferential thing, second and third place votes could make the difference in a close race, so a dark horse could sneak in.

And that would be pretty cool. Inglourious Basterds is a great grand goof of a movie, a World War II film made by a guy whose inspiration is other World War II films. There is little in this picture that is historically accurate – the ending is a bold, cinematic roller coaster ride not remotely connected to real events – but Tarantino isn’t trying to teach a lesson here, and you don’t go to a Tarantino film to learn one. You go for fun, to be entertained by – as the breathless comic con dude sting next to me said– "a movie making master." What could be more Oscar worthy than that?

...........

Whether his film can win the top prize or not, there is no question that Tarantino has some buzz. Yesterday on her show, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow announced the winner of a contest she was running, to find a shorthand name for the process where the minority party in the Senate threatens a filibuster whenever the majority party brings a bill to the floor.

The winning entry was “The Tarantino.” It kills bills.

Weekend Update: February 18, 2010

This weekend Shutter Island comes out, and it’s about darn time. The Martin Scorsese picture was bounced around on the movie schedule, first meant to show up in theaters last fall, Oscar bait. But big studio Paramount started muttering about bottom lines and marketing costs, and sent Shutter off to open up in February, hoping to pull some gold out of the late winter movie doldrums. This could work, since no other big ticket films are opening this weekend, and some folks are betting that Marty’s thriller could pull out a record breaking box office weekend. That would be cool.

Meanwhile, the critics who have seen the film have been complimentary, and not: the New York Times A. O. Scott didn’t love it, but some guy in North Carolina thought it was the best movie ever. Most of the rest are somewhere in between. Not much else to go on at this point.

But if you’re a film lover, and especially if you’re a Scorsese film lover, you’re going to see this movie. Soon, like tomorrow.

For the rest of you, if you’re not interested in a drama/horror/suspense/mystery/thriller rated R for disturbing content, there are still some of those romantic comedies around, like Valentine’s Day, and it’s not too late to catch some of the Oscar nominees in theaters – look for Crazy Heart, The Blind Side, and Up in the Air, all still playing at a theater probably not too far from you. Oh, and Avatar is still around but, has anyone not seen Avatar? I mean anybody who wants to go?

There is also some fun to be had on DVD. Check out Amreeka, the warmhearted, thoughtful story of a Palestinian woman who moves to America with her teenage son just after the US invades Iraq. Or In the Loop, a very funny satire about high level government strategizing (or lack of it) featuring whip smart dialogue and James Gandolfini. And if you just want to have some fun, and you don’t mind a little zombie gore, check out Zombieland starring Woody Harrelson as the baddest zombie slayer ever. It’s a good movie. Really.

Precious

The most unique thing about Precious is its heroine.  Sixteen year old Claireece Precious Jones (played by glowing newcomer Gabourey Sidibe) is stuck in middle school and pregnant with her second child.  Her home life is excruciating – her mother violently abusive, and her absent father responsible for her two children.  Precious survives by disappearing into her vivid imagination, where she is famous – a movie star, a singer, a dancer – wearing glamorous clothes and walking red carpets on the arms of besotted young men.  But her internal dialogue isn’t all fantasy: pondering the reality of her grim life, she bluntly calls her father a rapist, and acknowledges the emptiness of her mother’s days, which are mostly spent eating, watching television, collecting welfare checks.  Somehow, in spite of these disastrous role models, Precious finds the determination to hold out a little flame of hope: “Every day I tell myself, something’s gonna happen.  I’m gonna break through, or someone’s gonna break through to me.  Someday.”

This isn’t The Blind Side – there are no rich white people to come to the rescue, and Precious doesn’t have special talents to market – but the very reality of this film is what makes it moving.  The people who ultimately step in to help Precious are just regular folks doing their jobs: a school principal (Nealla Gordon), a teacher (Paula Patton), a nurse (Lenny Kravitz), a welfare worker (Mariah Carey).  

Shot with nearly painful reality by director Lee Daniels - it’s as if there is a camera perched on Precious’ shoulder.  I almost ducked when her mother pitched a frying pan her way.  And when her teacher, Ms. Rain, takes her home one night, we are intimately aware of Precious’ amazed response to the modest but charming home, and the comfortable but spirited conversation between Ms. Rain and her partner. “These people talk like TV shows I don’t watch,” she observes.   The film moves in small steps, taking us bit by bit through Precious’ evolution, not with giant dramatic moments but small significant ones.  As difficult as it is, sometimes, to watch, the film is always believable.

With a ferocious performance by Monique as Mary, Precious’ mother; she is a monster, but Monique makes her a multifaceted one.  Paula Patton plays Ms. Rain with dignity and compassion, and just enough vulnerability.  But the film belongs to Gabourey Sidibe, a complete newcomer to movies who captures Precious’ grim outward resignation without letting go of the character’s inward hope and determination.  Don’t stay away from Precious because of its harsh moments; this film is well worth seeing.  Playing in some 600 scattered locations around the country.

New Moon

Bella Swan (Kristin Stewart) is torn between two lovers, and either one could cause her serious bodily harm. Talk about feelin’ like a fool.  In the latest installment of the Twilight franchise, vampire Edward (Robert Pattinson) has decided that love-of-his-life Bella isn’t safe around his kind, being human and all, so he and the rest of the Cullens decamp from Forks and vanish.  This bums Bella out, so she sits in her room for several screen minutes, looking out the window while time passes by in the form of scrolling screen captions: October, November, December.   

But even Twilight’s got to find a plotline, so into the breach comes Jacob, Bella’s childhood pal from the local Indian tribe; he’s grown up, buffed out, and he thinks Bella’s real cute.  He’s also a werewolf, and in the Twilight universe werewolves are sworn to protect humans from vampires.  This could make things interesting, in a Sabrina kind of way: will Bella stick with the handsome, elegant, dead vampire, or move over to the warmhearted, good looking, very alive werewolf?

Well, lesson not learned.  Bella is stuck on Edward, but it’s not all bad, because she ends up jetting off to Italy to save him from the only actually dangerous vamps in the Twilight saga, and that gives us about five minutes of Dakota Fanning playing a dark hearted vampire enforcer, which is pretty much the most interesting thing in the movie.  Have you seen the odd film critic refer to New Moon as a Dakota Fanning vehicle? It’s a testament to Fanning’s restrained, but malevolent performance, and to the fact that not much happens in this movie.

Speaking of acting, the much maligned Taylor Lautner, who was nearly dropped from the franchise after the first film, shows his acting chops here, playing the teenage werewolf with just the right balance of fear and confusion on the one side, and delight in his newfound power on the other.  The warmhearted, often humorous interactions between the wolf pack boys and between Bella and Jacob are the best part of the film.  New Moon smashed box office records in its opening weekend and quickly declined, which is normal for this kind of picture – the biggest fans turn out early, and then ticket sales calm down.  Still playing in thousands of theaters around the country.

An Education

Set in London in 1962, An Education tells the story of Jenny (Carey Mulligan), a bright, ambitious sixteen year old who hopes to attend Oxford, become cultured and literate and leave her modest suburban beginnings behind.   Played with mischievous brilliance by Carey Mulligan (Pride and Prejudice), Jenny is charming and silly and cynical and smart, and the film’s early scenes where she lounges with her schoolgirl friends, planning glittering futures and giggling about boys, are perfectly done.

But then Jenny meets David (Peter Sarsgaard), a dapper con man nearly twice her age.   She is waiting at a bus stop in a downpour, bedraggled and clutching her cello and book bag; David rolls up and acknowledges that while it would be reckless for her to accept a ride from him, couldn’t he just give her cello a lift home?  David is taken with Jenny and he charms his way into her life and into the confidence of her parents.  Allowing them to believe that he and their daughter are well chaperoned, he introduces Jenny to a world of jazz clubs and champagne, restaurants and race tracks, extravagance and glamour.  It’s all fun, David tells her, and while Jenny luxuriates in his attention and lavish lifestyle, she starts to question her own well laid plans.  What she doesn’t question is David himself; with the innocent confidence of an adolescent, she believes she knows everything she needs to about her captivating paramour.

An Education is rightly described as a coming of age film, and adults watching the story unfold will assume that naïve Jenny is headed for a very long fall.  But the film is more complicated than that.  Screenwriter Nick Hornby  surrounds Jenny with interesting adults who have taken different life paths; as Jenny rethinks her future, they revisit their own decisions (with the exception of Emma Thompson’s hard as nails headmistress – she never wavers).  So while the film is all about Jenny’s experience, the story is thought provoking in a bigger way, with an underlying seriousness of tone even in lighthearted moments.  Unlike most coming of age pictures, An Education is likely to appeal to adults more than teens, and given the older man – younger woman plot, that may be just as well.

The acting is terrific all around.  Carey Mulligan is already on the short list for a Best Actress nod.  Peter Sarsgaard plays David with vulnerability and a touch of tenderness, so that we have sympathy for him even though we know he’s probably a louse.    Alfred Molina is a revelation as Jenny’s buttoned up father who wants the world for his daughter even though he rarely strays more than a mile or two from his house.  And Olivia Williams is lovely as the teacher who stoically stands by Jenny even when she is at her teenaged worst. Every performance is worth seeing but, fair warning, parents of teens may find this film disturbing.  Playing in limited release around the country, mostly major metro areas. 

What's on for Halloween

There aren’t a lot of new films to see this weekend, because people don’t much go to the movies on Halloween, so the big studios are holding out.  The only splashy opening is This Is It, the documentary based on footage from Michael Jackson’s final concert rehearsals.  The film drew middling reviews and middling crowds when it opened Tuesday night.  Critics complained that it was neither a good documentary nor a good concert film.  But there were fans, many of whom found the film as intriguing as the man, which is to say if you find Michael Jackson intriguing, you will probably enjoy the film. If you want to honor the holiday by scaring yourself silly, go see Paranormal Activity.  If you’ve done that already, look for a small film called House of the Devil, which is creating a stir among horror fans – sort of a Satanic eighties cult thing, with Rosemary’s Baby thrown in.  If you’re in the mood for the occult but you don’t want to be scared, try Zombieland.  This cheerful little post apocalyptic buddy road movie is a lot of fun if you can manage the Zombie gore stuff.

Struck at home, answering the door?  Think about renting a classic: maybe some Hitchcock, like Dial M for Murder, or The Shining.  Carrie is also a fun film, particularly if you have older teenage girls around.  For an elegant but creepy take on vampires look for Bram Stoker’s Dracula, directed by Francis Ford Coppola.  Won a lot of awards when it came out in 1992.  And, if vampires are your thing, a little Swedish film called Let the Right One In is creepy and intriguing and not at all Hollywood.  Try to see the original before the remake comes out next year.  An American Werewolf in London just got a big re-release on Blue Ray and HD and all that, if you’ve never seen it it’s a good horror film; scary and dark, but well acted and funny.  John Landis directed. These are mostly R rated: if you want something tamer, and you’ve missed the Zeitgeist, you could try Twilight, a vampire love story with hardly any fangs.  If you have a lot of trick or treaters while you’re watching this, it won’t make any difference.

What to see, what to see...

This weekend the big opener is Where the Wild Things Are, Spike Jonze’s  (Being John Malkovich) adaptation of the classic children’s book.  Getting generally good to excellent reviews, although some critics think the storyline is overloaded with dysfunctional family psychology.  Universal acclaim for the special effects.  You can also catch Law Abiding Citizen, a thriller starring Gerard Butler (300, The Ugly Truth) as a vigilante seeking revenge when the man who murdered his wife and daughter gets a plea bargain and walks.   Jamie Foxx plays the District Attorney in Butler’s cross hairs.  Critics didn’t like this picture, but early screenings with regular folks went okay.  Rated R for some very troubling violence.  The Stepfather is a remake; the original came out in 1987 and was a surprisingly good little horror movie that did well on the festival circuit.  This version, starring Penn Badgley (Gossip Girl), didn’t prescreen and hasn’t been reviewed by anyone.  Not a good sign. 

Still in theaters: Couples Retreat, last week’s box office winner, is not a great film but it could be diverting if you are in the mood a mindless night out.  Zombieland is the most purely entertaining film in theaters.  It’s funny and charming and quirky and strange.  It does require a certain amount of tolerance for gross Zombie stuff, but in a fun way.  If you prefer to think when you go to the movies, and you live in a major metropolitan area, consider A Serious Man, the Coen Brothers’ latest, about a father suffering like Job in a Jewish community in 1960’s Minneapolis.  It’s quirky without much funny, but overall an interesting film.   The Informant features Matt Damon as a corporate whistle blower with questionable motivations. Damon is terrific, the film a little odd as it tries to tell the story as an absurdist comedy.  It’s not completely off the mark but it doesn’t quite work. You could also look for The Invention of Lying, the Ricky Gervais (The Office, Extras) comedy about a world where no one can lie – except, apparently, Gervais.  It has gotten middling reviews but the more admiring ones point out that it has a subversive message. If you see the film, look for that.  

Bright Star

Beautifully expressed love story. The romance of John Keats and Fanny Brawne plays out on screen with gentleness and restraint.

Keats is a legend among English poets (A thing of beauty is a joy forever…), and most of us are at least a little familiar with his work. He died young, of tuberculosis, but in the years before his death he was consumed by a great passion for young Fanny. It was not a popular match: Keats’ friends didn’t trust the young woman, believing her to be fickle and a flirt, and her mother could not approve an engagement to a penniless poet. None of this stopped the young lovers, however, and writer/director Jane Campion shows, with great believability, the inevitability of their romance. There are no Hollywood contrivances here, no “meet cute” scenes where snappy sarcastic dialogue signals that a couple will get together in the end. Fanny and John’s courtship proceeds slowly, frequently chaperoned by her young siblings, and it is the children’s reactions that often telegraph the significance of the lovers’ exchanges, necessarily subdued in Victorian England. Campion is very good at this, animating her story with supporting characters that, with an expression or subtle gesture, shine a light on a small but important moment in a scene.

One of the intriguing things about Fanny and John’s love story is that its details were unknown for decades following Keats’ death. Fanny mourned for years but finally moved on, marrying and having a family of her own. However, unbeknownst to her husband, she kept Keats’ ardent love letters, and her children arranged for them to be published after their parents’ deaths. These letters form the basis of much of Campion’s story, and she pulls whole lines of dialogue from them, providing a sense of authenticity that often goes missing when period films try to attract a modern audience. Keats’ poems are also included, but organically, read and discussed by Keats’ peers and shared between John and Fanny, even though she says plainly that she doesn’t always understand them. However, Campion makes sure Fanny gets credit for being more than an object of affection and desire: the young woman designs and makes all her own clothing; she is often shown stitching or sketching, an artist in her own right.

Tremendous performances all around: Abbie Cornish as Fanny is luminous but steely – you easily believe she would pursue her passion regardless of obstacles. Ben Whishaw inhabits Keats with all his dramatic artistry. And Kerry Fox plays Fanny’s conflicted mother with simple, beautiful, humanity. There are moments in Bright Star that are heartbreakingly romantic, and others that are heartbreakingly sad, but you never feel manipulated. It's fair to say that this film runs long but it is very good, and it will stay with you after you leave the theater. Playing all across the country. Definite Oscar bait, most likely in the acting and costume categories.

Star Trek

Terrific summer movie. JJ Abrams reboots the Star Trek franchise by starting, not at the very beginning, but before that: before the 1960’s TV series, before Kirk and Spock and the crew of the Starship Enterprise got acquainted, before the ship was voyaging. It’s clever stuff, because even though there have been ten Star Trek films – six with the original cast – this Star Trek seems like the original movie version of a much loved old story, like you’re seeing favorite characters come to life on screen for the very first time. Or anyway, a youngster version of them.

So we meet James Tiberius Kirk as a brash young man, oozing bad attitude but charming as hell; he gets into a bar brawl with a bunch of clean cut Starfleet recruits, and comes to the attention of Captain Christopher Pike, familiar to true Trekkies as the original commander of the starship Enterprise. Pike, it turns out, wrote his PhD thesis on Kirk’s father, a famously courageous starship captain who saved his crew (as well as his wife and son) by sacrificing himself in a battle with a very mysterious Romulan vessel. Who knew they had PhDs in space? Pike checks up on Kirk, discovers the young man is brilliant, if incorrigible, and talks him into joining Starfleet. “You’ll graduate in four years,” Pike says. “I’ll do it in three,” Kirk rashly responds. And away we go.

Chris Pine is dazzling as Captain Kirk; he deftly pulls out the swaggering essence of the legendary captain without a hint of imitation. Zachary Quinto is slightly less convincing as Spock, but that might be due to his suggestive scenes with the stunning Lt. Uhuru. No icy veined Vulcan there. Karl Urban as Dr. McCoy and Simon Pegg as Scotty both give nods to their legendary characters (very satisfying to Star Trek fans) but also bring a youthful energy – or in Pegg’s case, a youthful goofiness – to their roles.

Of course there’s a bad guy, in this case a Romulan named Nero (Eric Bana). Nero is seething with anger towards Spock; he holds the Vulcan responsible for the destruction of his home planet. He travels through space in a colossal, dangerously armed vessel, confronting Starfleet ships, seeking Spock, hoping to wreak his revenge. His quest is complicated, though, by a rift in the space time continuum that has altered hundreds of years of events. This creates confusion for Nero, and Spock, and occasionally the audience, but it’s still nifty stuff, since it pretty much changes the future, wiping out the adventures of the original Starship Enterprise. That means that this new Enterprise can boldly go where no crew has gone before. Good set up for sequels. Opened strong over Mother’s Day weekend and still playing everywhere. If you happen to catch it on IMAX, let me know what you thought.

Cranky mutant: Wolverine

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a prequel to the other X-Men films, telling the story of how Wolverine got his sharp silver claws, and his nickname, and all that. He’s a mutant, as are all the X-Men, each with a different but remarkable ability, and in the best X-Men stories you have big battles where the mutants team up and outsmart bad guys using their extraordinary talents. Cool stuff. Unfortunately, Wolverine has precious little of it. In the opening scenes we meet a cast of interesting mutant characters, played by interesting actors, like Dominic Monaghan and Will i Am; they are recruited along with Wolverine and his brother Sabretooth (Liev Schreiber) for a mysterious government mission in Nigeria, but then Wolverine wearies of the random bloodshed and walks away. After that the story shifts to an idyllic cabin in the Canadian Rockies where our hero is living happily ever after with a pretty teacher, and mostly the rest of the X-Men fade away, showing up only in brief scattered scenes through the rest of the movie. But there’s plenty of slam bam action, because when Wolverine goes AWOL he irks the evil Sabretooth, who is really put out that little bro walked away from the family business. So he sets about trying to destroy Wolverine’s “normal life,” and then Wolverine gets all mad (his signature beserker rage) and agrees to an experimental process to have his skeleton coated with adamantium, because he wants to become indestructible and destroy Sabretooth. Sibling stuff, on a mutant scale.

To the film’s credit, there are plot twists that will surprise anyone who isn’t a diehard fan, and many of the action scenes are well staged and fun to watch. Hugh Jackman is terrific, and Lynn Collins, who plays Kayla (Silverfox to devotees), holds her own against him and brings a nice calm to the over amped proceedings. The portrayal of the foul, motor mouth, quick as lightning Deadpool has caused great angst among X-Men fans, but Ryan Reynolds is really entertaining in the role, and it’s a shame that we don’t get to see more of him. Equally fun is Gambit, a young dude who can turn any object into a deadly weapon; he’s played by Taylor Kitsch, the bad boy from Friday Night lights. X-Men: Origins is a decent popcorn picture, I’d give it a five on a scale of one to ten; it’s no Ironman, but if you’re in the mood for this kind of movie it’s not a bad way to go. Scored the top spot at the box office on its opening weekend, but it will slip against Star Trek come Friday. (Incidentally, if you’re a fan of the voyages of the Starship Enterprise, this one is supposed to be extra good.)

They're he-ere

Wolverine arrives in theaters tomorrow – 4099 theaters – and the summer blockbuster season officially begins. The first weekend in May has been good to comic book superheroes, with Spiderman, Iron Man, and the X-Men all bringing in big crowds; the Wolverine people will be hoping for at least that kind of success, if only because if they don’t hit it big everyone will compare their box office to Spiderman, Iron Man, and the X-Men. Unfortunately, the outlook is a little bit bleak: early reviews of the picture are mixed, mostly complaining that the film doesn’t have much to say, just a bunch of slam bam nonsense. But c’mon, this is a comic book movie. What’s it supposed to say? And anyway, Hugh Jackman stars and he’s been working out. So I figure, grab some popcorn, get a nice stadium seat, and spend a couple hours in the dark, forgetting about the economy and torture and pandemics and that big fight Brad and Angie keep having. If you aren’t into special effects but you still want to see a mindless, mediocre movie, Ghosts of Girlfriends past also opens on Friday, with Matthew McConaughey playing an irascible playboy who learns his lesson when three ghosts visit him. Yup, somebody stole that plotline again, and it’s not even December. This one is a romantic comedy and McConaughey is usually fun to watch; Jennifer Garner also stars and from a distance, anyway, seems miscast. Playing in many theaters. If you are looking for something a little more adult, The Soloist and State of Play are holding steady at the multiplex; you could also look for Adventureland and Sunshine Cleaning, both very entertaining but in limited release. Next week: Star Trek.

Before the deluge...

Three major releases this weekend: The Soloist, Fighting and Obsessed. The Soloist is based on a true story about an LA Times columnist who befriends a brilliant schizophrenic musician living on Skid Row. Robert Downey Jr. plays the columnist, Jamie Foxx plays the musician, but apparently that isn’t enough: early reviews have been mixed, and the film was bounced around the release schedule which almost always means the studio suspects a dud. However, if you love these actors The Soloist is worth a shot, as every critic has praised their performances. And it is a remarkable story. Obsessed is the Beyoncé Fatal Attraction style thriller, and there have been no sneaks or early critic screenings which makes it hard to assess, except to say you should be cautious about films that have no sneaks or early critic screenings. Finally, Fighting, surprisingly, is getting good early buzz, even though the trailer looks plain silly. Channing Tatum (Stop-Loss, Guide to Recognizing Your Saints) stars as Shawn MacArthur, a newcomer to New York who falls under the influence of con artist Harvey Boarden (Terrence Howard) and becomes a street fighter, brawling for audiences of wealthy gamblers. Critics say that the story is predictable but well told, and the characters are intriguing. Rated PG-13; the fight scenes are intense but not over the top. 17 Again and State of Play, last week's box office champs, are holding on to lots of theaters, but if you're looking for something a little more small scale, consider Sunshine Cleaning, starring Any Adams as a young woman trying to make a go of a crime scene clean up business; or Adventureland, about a new college grad who is forced to work in a tacky amusement park when his family finances give out. And hold on to your popcorn: blockbuster season kicks off next weekend with Wolverine.

State of Play

Entertaining political thriller. Russell Crowe plays Cal McCaffrey, a scruffy investigative journalist whose dogged pursuit of a story leads him to uncover dangerous and difficult truths about an old friend, Congressman Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck). McCaffrey works for the Washington Globe (read Post) a newspaper on the edge of extinction; he is under pressure by editor Cameron Lynne (Helen Mirren) to produce stories that will sell papers. But he’s a purist: he follows the leads, he looks for the truth, and he reports news, not dirt. When it comes to light that the Congressman Collins story includes a sex scandal, Lynne hooks him up with Della Frye (Rachel McAdams) a young up-and-comer who writes a blog for the Globe’s electronic edition. The two grudgingly go to work together, each suspicious of the other’s role at the paper, but each needing the other anyway; a new take on the old buddy formula.

And no, Cal and Della don’t fall in love or into bed; spoiler alert, I suppose. But what’s good about this film is that it avoids the clichéd traps typical of mass market thrillers, good and evil are a little blurry here, everybody has a weakness. Unfortunately, this is also the film’s failing, because it weaves an elaborate, dangerous web of intrigue and conspiracy, and then somehow drops the thread, leaving us with an odd and unsatisfying conclusion. But it’s a fun ride, and the acting is top notch: any scene with Russell Crowe and Helen Mirren is a kick, and late in the story Justin Bateman turns up and steals the show. Even if you can’t stand this movie, you should stick around for that. Not a box office knockout, but doing decent business around the country; it will probably be harder to find this weekend when Wolverine hits the screen.

April 17

This weekend brings the opening of State of Play, a thriller starring Russell Crowe and Rachel McAdams as relentless journalists trying to find the truth in the dark underbelly of Washington. Depending on the critic, this film is either darn good or a colossal bore, with most leaning towards good; overall reviews are above average. Ironically, Crank gets the same reception with a much different (no Oscar winners here) pedigree: this slam bang over the top action picture will either thrill or disgust you, depending on whether or not you are a teenage boy. Zac Ephron’s new picture 17 Again hits the multiplexes this weekend, and if you need to ask who that is well, don’t see this film.

Hollywood Waking Up -Three Big Openings

Hollywood is quietly revving its engine this weekend, sending some high profile movies out to theaters. All the press has been about Julia Roberts so called “comeback” in Duplicity, a double crossing corporate caper movie where Clive Owen (The International) plays her partner in crime and love interest. This film looks silly but it has been surprisingly well received by critics, and it was made by the guy who wrote Michael Clayton, so, pretty good pedigree. Also features Paul Giamatti (John Adams) and Tom Wilkinson (Michael Clayton and also John Adams, only he played Ben Franklin). Also hitting theaters is I Love You Man, a bromance movie about a guy (Paul Rudd) who is getting married and doesn’t have any best man candidates. So he sets out to find a new best friend. Depending on who you talk to, this is very funny, a romantic comedy turned inside out, or a routine buddy flick with lots of poop jokes. In fairness, most of the reviews have leaned towards funny. Finally, we have the latest Nicholas Cage outing, Knowing, where he plays a teacher who discovers that an elementary school time capsule may be predicting the future. Spooky. Actually, this one seems really silly (and critics have pretty much panned it; Roger Ebert being the notable exception, he thought it was great), but like a lot of Nicholas Cage pictures, it is scoring big at the box office, so, looks like a hit. All three of these pictures are playing in a whole lot of theaters so you should be able to find one near you.

"Knowing" Too Much

Quite possibly the wackiest movie I have ever seen. It opens in a grade school classroom in 1959, where eager students are drawing pictures that are destined to be sealed up in a time capsule – except one little girl, Lucinda, isn’t drawing pictures at all: she is frantically covering her page with neat rows of numbers. Flash forward fifty years, the time capsule is opened and a boy named Caleb (Chandler Canterbury) takes home Lucinda’s strange writings. This turns out to be a good thing, because Caleb’s dad is John Koestler (Nicolas Cage), an astrophysicist who spends nights pacing his living room, drinking scotch, and mourning the tragic death of his wife; during one of these reveries he takes a look at the mysterious page Caleb brought home, and notices a series of numbers that seem to predict 9/11. Sensing significance, Koestler frantically tries to follow Lucinda’s strange trail, suspecting it warns of some kind of global catastrophe.

From here the film careens down a completely implausible course, with John Koestler roaring around trying to solve the numbers riddle while Caleb stares soulfully about, apparently unperturbed by his father’s growing terror. They find Lucinda’s daughter and granddaughter (this is where Rose Byrne comes in) , providing a kind of love interest thing for both father and son; they encounter strange glowing men who whisper, and there are these shiny black rocks everywhere that seem to have no meaning at all. But in spite of the silliness I enjoyed this movie. It’s fast paced and unpredictable, and not at all serious, and if you accept the premise that a little girl’s crazed scribbling might harbinger the future, the rest of the story makes a kind of nutty sense, except the ending, where it seemed like the writer lost his train of thought and started working on another film. Playing everywhere and making lots of money, as Nic Cage pictures tend to do.

Fun at Work: Sunshine Cleaning

Sunshine Cleaning is a goofy movie but it’s fun to watch. Amy Adams plays a former high school hot shot who finds herself in a dead end job with a dead end romance, trying to raise a troubled child on a shoestring budget. Humiliated by her situation – especially when she runs into better off high school cronies – she decides to reinvent herself and comes up with the idea of crime scene cleanups. With little real knowledge of what her new career entails, she jumps in, dragging her deadbeat little sister (Emily Blunt) along to help her.

There are many interesting directions this plot line could take and Sunshine Cleaning pretty much misses all of them. What’s left is not always that interesting; in fact some of the big developments of the story are pretty silly. But Emily Blunt and Any Adams are so engaging it doesn’t matter. This is lighthearted entertainment with a little bit of an edge, a welcome shift from the dark themes of a lot of recent releases (Watchmen, anyone?). Wonderful supporting performances from Mary Lynn Rajskub (“Chloe” if you’re a 24 fan) and Clifton Collins, best known as the killer Truman Capote fancied in Capote. The kid (Jason Spevack) is good too, toeing a fine line between brattiness and innocence. Nominated for the Grand Jury prize at Sundance. Rated R for a handful of stomach turning moments connected to the whole crime scene cleanup thing (there is no real gore in this picture) and some sex and drugs. Currently in very limited release, opening a little wider on March 20.

Dark Side: The Watchmen

The Watchmen is a film noir comic book gore fest, with sex. Set in the 1980’s, it imagines a world where the United States and the Soviet Union are on the verge of a nuclear showdown, and humankind is terrified. But, reassuringly, America has a convincing deterrent: a big blue guy named Dr. Manhattan, the only true superhero among The Watchmen; he experienced some kind of a nuclear accident that made him godlike. And he’s on our side! Or is he? Can a big blue guy who exists in a quantum universe outside of time really be invested in the people of planet Earth?

The rest of the Watchmen gang are superheroes in the Batman mode: regular people who are in really good shape. The best of them is Jackie Earle Hayley, and whenever he is on screen the energy, action, everything picks up. He plays Rorschach, the guy with the weird face mask that looks like a big sock with morphing patches of ink spreading across his features. I liked him better, though, when he took the mask off. Not an imposing presence, he’s a little guy wired up like a ticking bomb, and no matter how many linebacker sized thugs he faces down, his expression is slightly impatient, slightly amused, never afraid.

The Watchmen has a paper thin plot with a twist at the end that is only surprising if you’ve never seen a movie like this before. It’s not as visually arresting as 300 or Sin City, and it’s not as much fun as Iron Man or Dark Knight. And it is very, very gory; lots of disturbing images that don’t add up to much, plot wise. But if you have a strong stomach, and you’re looking for some late winter escapist action, this movie will do. Playing all over the place, won the box office on its opening weekend but lost the second round to Race to Witch Mountain. Huh.

On a Dramatic Note: Two Lovers

Small, intimate drama with a performance by Joaquin Phoenix that is so fresh and intriguing I found myself hoping, early on, that this isn’t really his last film. Phoenix plays Leonard, a youngish man with a broken heart who survives a suicide attempt, and then moves in with his parents to recuperate. They introduce him to Sandra (Vinessa Shaw), the daughter of a business partner, a young woman who sees Leonard’s pain and wants to save him from it. Leonard, meanwhile, is falling for his neighbor, Michelle (Gwyneth Paltrow) an unpredictable, childlike woman who is only looking for a friend.

While this is the story of a love triangle it is not the kind Hollywood usually spins; this isn’t Sabrina, for example, where the heroine finally learns that glitz and glamour are not substitutes for love. Two Lovers is more like a coming of age story for people in their thirties. These characters are confronted by their lives and they have to decide what to do about it. It’s refreshing, and honest, but also kind of grim and claustrophobic; it’s hard to see any real happiness on the characters’ collective horizons. Nominated for the Palme d’Or at Cannes, which is a pretty big deal, and it has been generally well reviewed. Performances are terrific, including Isabella Rossellini popping up as Leonard’s mother. (Have you seen Blue Velvet, people? Who ever thought Dorothy Vallens could morph into a Jewish mother from the Bronx?) Currently in limited release around the country, mostly big cities.

Oscar Frenzy

Are there films opening this weekend? A couple, yes, but they are well hidden behind the Oscar hype. This is what’s out there: Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail, and Fired Up. Madea Goes to Jail is Perry’s latest installment in his very successful Madea series; the films are not screened for critics (or anyone else, apparently) so it’s hard to get a heads up on this one. Fired Up has been reviewed, though, and it is not a well liked film. The best thing about it, according to a lot of critics, is that it borrows heavily from Wedding Crashers – but they all recommend that you see that instead. Meanwhile, there is lots of Oscar intrigue, like, who is not going to be allowed to walk the red carpet, because they are surprise presenters? (Are you all on the edge of your seats on this one?) Or, is it appropriate, in these economic times, for someone like, say, Beyonce, to wear a 200 carat diamond necklace to the show? (For the record, the jewelers and designers who dress these women think that the high ticket elegance is good for us regular folks; we are transported, they believe, by the spectacle of famous people in fancy clothes. Makes us forget all about our 401ks.)

Meanwhile, Slumdog is trying to grab the box office gold by ramping up its theater counts – the little movie that could is on almost as many screens as The International this weekend. Otherwise, if you haven’t see Milk yet, that’s a good one, and it could pull an upset on Sunday. A couple of DVD releases are interesting: Changeling -- Angelina Jolie plays a mother in 1928 Los Angeles whose son vanishes; the LAPD, desperate to solve the case, pick up another boy and try to convince her that they’ve found her son. Notorious true bit of Los Angeles crime history. Jolie is nominated for Best Actress for this part. Also Religulous, Bill Maher’s traveling documentary about religion and the religious; entertaining, generally interesting film. If you have preteens, High School Musical 3 is out on DVD this week, but then, if you have preteens, you already know that. See you on the Red Carpet! (Actually, I won’t be there, I just watch the Oscars at home on TV.)

Not so thrilling: The International

Clive Owen plays Louis Salinger, an Interpol agent who suspects The International Bank of involvement in a string of murders. Naomi Watts is Eleanor Whitman, a New York City Assistant DA who has the same suspicions; why the Manhattan DA’s office is interested in the activities, legal or otherwise, of a bank that is headquartered in Luxembourg isn’t exactly clear. But, if you decide to spend your Friday evening with an escapist thriller, logic shouldn’t be high on your list of priorities.

As capers go, this one is pretty entertaining. There are some good action sequences (including an elaborate shoot out at the Guggenheim) and Clive Owen brings great intensity and earnestness to his role. There are times when he seems nearly unhinged in his determination to get the bad guys. There are plot twists and shifting alliances and surprise developments and some Jack Bauer style disregard for the law. There is also a lot of stuff that doesn’t make any sense; you won’t have trouble coming up with plot holes on the ride home. The International is getting middling reviews from critics, which is pretty good for this particular bunch of February releases – most everyone, in other words, thinks it’s better than Shopaholic and Friday the 13th. Faint praise. Currently playing just about everywhere.

Valentine Weekend - maybe skip the movie, just do dinner

It’s Friday the 13th and Hollywood can’t help it, they just had to reanimate Jason and let loose with another installment of the Friday the 13th movies. This one’s a remake (as opposed to a sequel or prequel or some other excuse to use an old premise to make a new movie) and apparently does little to advance or improve the franchise. But if you’re looking for a horror film to see on Valentine’s Day, this is probably your best bet. Salon calls it “glossy, good-looking garbage.” For the chick flick set, there’s Confessions of a Shopaholic; critics are loving the irony about a movie focused on shopping at a time when people are afraid to spend money, but this looks to be a kind of lighthearted screwball comedy that could work. Pretty much loved and hated by an equal number of reviewers, although the folks who hate it really hate it, and the ones who like it are lukewarm. Holdover He’s Just Not That Into You did well last weekend and it’s a pretty entertaining, but in spite of the film’s earnest efforts, it never amounts to more than fluff. Still, not bad for a February release. If you’re looking for action, The International is a thriller about evil banks – more economic crisis irony. Stars Clive Owen (Children of Men, other Brit films) and Naomi Watts, so how bad can it be? Well, pretty bad according to The Wall Street Journal, but what else are they gonna say? It’s an evil banker movie. If you feel like staying in, there are a couple of new DVD releases: Frozen River and Vicki Cristina Barcelona are available and feature Oscar nominees.

He's Just Not That Into You

Reasonably entertaining romantic comedy if you’re pretty sure you are going to walk out of the theater and not think about it again. If you do think about it, you might consider that the women in the film are either stalkers or control monsters or just deluded; the men, meanwhile, are bewildered by the apparently universal female desire to get married, which no man ever wants to do because then he can’t have sex with Scarlett Johansson, unless you’re Ben Affleck, in which case you don’t want to.

OK, I’m generalizing a little: there is one guy who wants to marry Scarlett Johansson.

Based on one line in one scene of an old episode of Sex and the City, this movie tries to bring some male perspective to the standard “chick flick” fare, and maybe that’s why the female characters are so single faceted. There’s the naïve lapdog type, and the seductress type, and the hard assed manager and the worn out caregiver and the earth mother who has a lot of gay friends. If all these types could just be combined into one perfect woman, a guy like Bradley Cooper might not be tempted to sleep around. Meanwhile the male characters are inscrutable in their motivations: we never learn why Ben Affleck doesn’t want to get married, or why Bradley Cooper can’t stay married, or why the Mac guy (the Mac guy!) is such a chick magnet that he has to come up with elaborate systems of rejection in order to keep his groupies under control.

The film is populated by celebrity or near celebrity actors who agreeably play the parts we’ve come to expect from them, which is helpful since they mostly get little screen time. The exception is Ginnifer Goodwin, who brings great energy and sincerity to her crucial central role, remarkably without a hint of Margene, the young polygamist she plays in Big Love. Her scenes are good, and there are some laugh out loud moments and genuinely romantic moments throughout the film, so , all in all, not a bad way to spend an evening. Took the box office crown in its opening weekend but lost first place to “Friday the 13th” over Valentine’s Day. Go figure.

Oscar! again

Just when you think you know which way the Oscar wind blows, SAG comes along and changes the weather. Up until last weekend, the shoo ins for Oscar’s Best Actress and Actor were Kate Winslet and Mickey Rourke, but then the Screen Actors Guild chose Meryl Streep and Sean Penn, and handed Winslet the Best Supporting prize for The Reader. So now, depending on who you talk to (and, really, I don’t talk to anyone, I hang out on my computer) Mickey Rourke and Sean Penn are neck and neck for Best Actor, or Rourke is just out of the running. The latter assumes that Oscar voters are turned off by the gritty intensity of The Wrestler, but they like the whole Yes We Can thing that goes on in Milk.

At scene-stealers.com they are keeping a running total of all the critics and guild awards that people get at the end of the year; whoever gets the most of those, they figure, will probably win Oscar. By that system Penn is ahead of Rourke by one award, Heath Ledger has no competition for Best Supporting Actor, and Sally Hawkins will win for Best Actress. Interesting, since she wasn’t nominated. Say, there’s an organization called “Film Critics of Central Ohio” that selected Melissa Leo for Best Actress. How many film critics do you think there are in Central Ohio? If I lived in Central Ohio, I would join that group, and I would vote for Melissa Leo.

Slumdog remains the front runner for Best Pic, some observers think because it is a “feel good’ movie, and to those people I say, “Did you see Slumdog?” There’s brutality and tragedy and poverty and some really trite gangster scenes. They do dance, Bollywood style, on the train platform in the end. That's pretty upbeat stuff.

So, to wrap up: Slumdog for Best Pic, followed by Ben Button and Milk. Penn and Rourke tops for Best Actor. Winslet for Best Actress, except for Streep and, making a late run, Anne Hathaway (possible beneficiary of a split between the first two). Supporting Actor, Heath Ledger, Supporting Actress – look out, could be a surprise on this one. Maybe Viola Davis, for twelve minutes of screen time in Doubt.

Ballots due in February 17.

Tortured suburbia: Revolutionary Road

Well made, thought provoking film. I’ve heard it called screechy, but that isn’t quite fair; a lot of arguing goes on but there are light hearted and quiet moments. Set in 1955, it’s the story of April and Frank Wheeler (played by Kate Winslet and Leo DiCaprio), a young couple at a tipping point. They live on Revolutionary Road, ironically named since the only thing that rebels in this quiet New York suburb is the recalcitrant grass at the end of April’s driveway. (The local real estate agent helpfully brings her some nice ground cover to fill in that stubborn spot.) April longs for something more than her predictable existence; Frank is also restless, but he seems to enjoy his Don Draper lifestyle: dapper New York businessman by day (with those astonishing martini soaked lunches), steadfast suburban husband by night. Winslet is ferocious in the big dramatic scenes, but her most memorable moments are the subtle ones, when she deliberately wipes her hands on her apron, or leans seductively against a door jamb and waves carelessly at her besotted neighbor. Towards the end of the film she calmly asks DiCaprio if he would like his eggs scrambled, or fried, and you feel a chill up your spine. DiCaprio gives a great performance; so does Kathy Bates as the busybody realtor. And Oscar nominated Michael Shannon is terrific as John Givings, a mentally unstable young man who sees the truth: You want to play house you got to have a job. You want to play nice house, very sweet house, you got to have a job you don't like.

People you would never meet in your regular life: The Wrestler

This is all about Mickey Rourke’s formidable performance. He plays Randy “The Ram” Robinson, a washed up professional wrestler with little going for him except past glories. Randy has a small, devoted bunch of fans, but he’s broke most of the time, works at a grocery store, hangs out at a strip club, leads a sleazy underbelly kind of life. But you root for this guy anyway; Rourke finds his way into the humanity of the character without pulling heart strings or asking for pity. Co-stars Evan Rachel Wood, who does fine work as Randy’s estranged daughter, and Marisa Tomei, excellent as his stripper friend who is trying to find her way to a “normal” life for herself and her kid. See this one for the performances: the film itself is a tough sell, unless you are a wrestling fan: some of the bouts are brutal, a few people walked out of the show I saw. Fortunately those moments are short lived, and mostly this is a satisfying, if sad, story of struggle and redemption.

Oscar!

I love the Oscars, but then I also collect snow globes; I like American kitsch. However, even though I got up at the crack of dawn to watch the nominations in real time (5:30 AM on the west coast) I don’t actually think that the films and actors and actresses and screenplays and what not that got nominated are necessarily the best, or the most interesting, but it’s kind of fun to see who made the cut. The cool thing about watching the nominations live is you get to hear the gasps. Like, when Michael Shannon was nominated for Revolutionary Road. Big gasp.

So let’s talk about Oscar.

I learned today that while Meryl Streep has the most nominations of anybody (15) she has only won twice, which doesn’t seem fair. On the other hand she is Meryl Streep. I would like to see Melissa Leo win Best Actress, because Frozen River was such a complex, intense little film and she comes at it without reserve – I completely believed that she was a broke single mom longing to move up to a double wide. However Kate Winslet will very likely take home the award, and she deserves it – for Revolutionary Road, not The Reader, but that is the strange power of Harvey Weinstein. (Weinstein is the powerhouse Hollywood producer famous for propelling his films into Oscar contention; this time around he is pushing The Reader.) For Best Actor, I just love it that Richard Jenkins got a nod but while his performance in The Visitor was understated and moving, it didn’t require the kind of risk and full throttle commitment that Mickey Rourke brought to The Wrestler. I’m going with Rourke on this one. I’m a big Mickey Rourke fan – if you’re not sure what I mean, Netflix Diner. Or Year of the Dragon. Or Barfly. Skip Wild Orchid, that one is just weird.

Best Picture –well, I can’t get real excited about any of these films. It would have been fun to root for Dark Knight; it seems to me that Hollywood should give a nod to blockbusters now and then. I know people who have a real soft spot for Benjamin Button, but, much as I admire David Fincher I thought the film could have done with some editing. I really enjoyed Slumdog but I am getting tired of all the hype, and that leaves Frost/Nixon, Milk and The Reader; of the three I would probably go with Milk but, if the early odds makers are right (and it is early) Slumdog is the favorite. Damn Brits.

Never mind – the most fun about the Oscars is the nominations, and then the actual show. Especially the pre-game. That can be hilarious. And with Hugh Jackman as host, well, he won’t be funny but he’ll be fun to watch.

You don't have to remember Watergate (Frost/Nixon)

This film is less about the Frost/Nixon interviews than about the complicated maneuvers that were required to make them happen. In 1977 David Frost was fast on his way to becoming a has-been, looking desperately for a way back into the limelight. Nixon, three years past Watergate and his humiliating resignation of the Presidency, wanted some kind of public redemption. As the two men plan their television encounter, it becomes evident that they are less business partners than adversaries, about to engage in a contest that one of them has to win. It’s kind of a thriller, without car chases and explosions, there are a lot of edge of your seat moments, mostly because David Frost seems woefully unprepared to handle an opponent as formidable as our most infamous President. Frank Langella is remarkable as Nixon; after a while you entirely forget you’re watching an actor play a part. Michael Sheen plays Frost with great humanity and vulnerability, so that you root for him even as you’re aware his cavalier attitude may well doom his most significant project. Great supporting contributions from Oliver Platt, Kevin Bacon, and Sam Rockwell, all playing real people. I saw this film with a bunch of teens, and they liked it, seeing parallels to current events….so don’t hesitate to bring the kids.

Yes, you do want to see a movie about nuns (Doubt)

Engaging, challenging, provocative, terrific film. I went with a group of eight people, all kinds of home-for-the-holidays ages, and everyone enjoyed it, in no small part because filmmaker/playwright John Patrick Shanley respects his audience; he assumes we know how to think. Doubt is played out on such an intimate level that it is sometimes uncomfortable (or “really intense” as our teen viewers observed); you feel as though you have inadvertently walked in on a very private conversation. But it is worth it. Meryl Streep is astounding as the nun who believes the priest in her parish (Philip Seymour Hoffman) is abusing children – she is by turns terrifying, heart breaking, and then, abruptly, a practical and practiced school administrator. Astonishing. Philip Seymour Hoffman is terrific, and Amy Adams pulls off yet another surprising and wonderful performance: at age 35 she has played a fairy princess, a knocked up teenager, and a nun. Who gets to do that? Final kudos to Viola Davis, as the mother of the possibly abused boy – she has a very short scene, but it’s with Meryl Streep, and she more than holds her own.

The Curious Case of the Missing Storyline (Benjamin Button)

I know two rational middle aged men who were moved and touched by this film. I wasn’t, but I liked it well enough, it’s beautifully made, and very detailed, as Fincher films tend to be. What troubles me about Benjamin Button is that it doesn’t have a smooth storyline; it is really a bunch of vignettes strung together, and oddly, this nearly makes the film’s intriguing premise – a man born old and growing younger - irrelevant. In the title role, Brad Pitt is understated to the point of blandness; Cate Blanchett is lovely but she has little to work with. Without question the highlights of the film are the scenes in the dingy Russian hotel with Tilda Swinton, and the ones with Jared Harris, the salty sea captain. Taraji P. Hensen, playing Bejamin's loving foster mother, is also terrific: when she takes in this monstrous, ugly baby, saying simply "He is still a child of God," you believe her.

Too many movies, too little time

Since the great pursuit of Oscar makes the studios release all their serious films at the end of the year, a lot of big buzz movies hit multiplexes in December. This makes things complicated: how do you choose between Meryl Streep and Kate Winslet and Anne Hathaway? (Wait, Anne Hathaway?) And do you go with Rob Howard’s Best Film Ever or Clint Eastwood’s latest gritty outing or maybe you really want to know how the guy who made Se7en handles a movie about a dude who is born old and keeps getting younger?

The Reelfan has a goal – see everything. It’s an almost impossible task but as Sean Penn says in Milk:”God knows we keep on trying.”

Happy New Year Reelfan fans!