Happy-Go-Lucky

Nominated for Best Writing, Screenplay by The Academy, Happy-Go-Lucky follows the life of Poppy played by Sally Hawkins. Poppy is one of those eternal optimists, always cheery, always looking on the bright side of life. She is so cheery that it is beyond nauseating. Take a look...




She's a 30 year old school teacher from London that lives with her best friend in a London flat. She also has no drivers license and rides her bike wherever she goes. One day, her beloved bike gets stolen and she decides to grow up, just a tad, and get a drivers license! Awesome stuff right?

The movie basically meanders through a few days in her life. Taking driving lessons, teaching school, partying with her friends, hurting her back, and even taking flamenco lessons.

It basically reminded me of the Seinfeld episodes when George and Jerry were writing their pilot for NBC. It's a show about nothing!

Good enough if you are into that kind of thing. Or if you are trying to fill 30 minutes with a sitcom. For me it just didn't work. Sure, there were a few good laughs and Sally Hawkins was quite good. But for nearly two hours of movie it nearly put me to sleep. You may get a few interesting moments, but not nearly enough.

You can skip this one. 2 stars and a ho-hum.

Cadillac Records

Cadillac Records brings the music of the 1950's right into your living room. Sometimes gritty, never truly suspenseful, but mostly entertaining and fun to watch.






This is certainly one of Adrien Brody's best performances of recent memory. Playing club owner turned record exec, Leonard Chess, Brody has that certain savoir faire to pull this off without being too sleazy. Come to think of it, there is an endless array of strong performances. Jeffrey Wright as Muddy Waters, Columbus Short as Little Walter, and Mos Def as Chuck Berry each performed admirably and shove believability down your throat.

This soundtrack is top notch ass kickin music. That alone makes this worth the watch.

The problem here is the writing just wasn't strong enough. It was a little gritty in parts, but a movie such as this needs to be really gritty. It needs to make you feel the music, feel the pain behind it, and the joy involved when it hits the air waves. You need to feel the poverty, the successes, and the failures. For the most part, it failed in fully delivering.

Beyonce makes an appearance in the second half as Etta James. So much could have been done with her character. For the most part, she was wasted.

It's a good movie, just not a REALLY good movie. As I said, the music alone is worth the watch.

3 stars.

Milk

Sean Penn (in an Oscar winning role for Best Actor) plays Harvey Milk, an openly gay activist and politician in 1970's San Francisco. The story of Harvey Milk's life is well documented, so there are no surprises here. Take a look...





Like I said, unless you have lived under a rock and have never heard of Harvey Milk or George Moscone you know this story. Director Gus Van Sant stays true to form, for the most part, so I basically just sat back and watched some history unfold. There were no real surprises, no twists or turns so I felt as if someone was reading a book to me. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it isn't my cup of tea either.

The movie is packed full of strong performances. Sean Penn was absolutely fabulous and deserving of his award. Say what you will about the man, but he has certainly mastered his craft. Well done.

Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin, and Alison Pill each added fine performances with great depth. To leave an individual out is really doing a disservice to everyone. Each was as strong as the next.

I imagine I am going to stoke some reactions when I say this is a 3 star movie for me. I just got bored, I guess knowing the story doesn't help in a movie such as this. I saw everything coming from a mile away. However, it's a 3 star movie with 5 star performances so I recommend seeing it at your earliest opportunity.

If you would be so kind as to indulge me for a moment. When you watch this movie you are going to hear a lot about Proposition 6. I recommend reading about it here. For those of you that pay attention to our fine country, you will remember something during the last elections in California called Proposition 8. Please read about it here. Anyway...

Just what in the hell is everyone so scared of? Do the conservatives really think that gay men and women, if married, will tear down the moral backbone of our society? How moral are we, really? And why are civil rights up for a vote? I thought we were all equal in today's society. Far from it people, far from it. This needs to be addressed. Persecution is wrong, period.

This country has proven to be amazing in so many ways. We just elected an African-American President for crying out loud. We can overcome this, but we have to care enough to do it.

If nothing else, this movie will teach you just how persecuted gay men and women have been. That alone makes it a must see. Let it move you to thought.

Rachel Getting Married

Let me apologize right away. This review is going to be a bit different, a bit more off the cuff then the rest of my nonsensical ramblings.

Rachel Getting Married beat me up pretty good. It's a movie about a young addict name Kym, played by Anne Hathaway, who returns home from rehab for her sisters wedding. Take a look...





I forgot to mention that Anne Hathaway was nominated for Best Actress by The Academy, her first nomination. Jesus did she deserve it.

So here's the thing. This is a very well done movie, extremely well done in fact. Jonathan Demme did a fabulous job with this material. It's great to see him rockin and rollin again.

Let me try to put this into terms. First, the good points. This movie is absolutely mesmerizing. From the moment it starts it pulled me in and would not let go. The performances (yes I am saying it again) are amazing. Anne Hathaway showed talents that I never knew existed in her. And, if that isn't enough, this subject matter is something that is most easily recognized by all audiences.

The negatives...the subject matter is so real, so powerful, so poignant, and so painful. I don't recall the last movie I saw that left me feeling absolutely shitty for nearly two hours. There were very few smile points. Most people in my generation come from some type of family dysfunction, some obviously more than others. It doesn't have to be this severe, but when you come from dysfunction you don't always want to relive it. It touched me deeply.

Now many people think those negatives should be positives. It should make for a great movie. IT DID! Don't get me wrong, there are very few true bad points about this movie but it will not make you feel good. At least it didn't me.

That said, this is an absolute must see. Be prepared to become introspective, be prepared to cry, and be prepared to be touched. However, I would never watch it a second time. I don't think that I am man enough.

4 stars. Really close to 5, but I just can't recommend being this upset so highly! :-)

Dear Ms. Winslet,
I have yet to see The Reader because, quite frankly, movie theaters suck. But I really hope you were as good as advertised. Ms. Hathaway was all that and a bag of chips. I dig you as well, so I can't wait to see it and compare the performances. Congratulations on your long overdue Oscar win.

I think I am done with my therapy session now, and I didn't even need to shell out a co-pay. I love the internet.

I've Loved You So Long

Straight from the land of Champagne, Cognac, foie gras, and maids comes a gem called I've Loved You So Long. An absolutely heart breaking tale of a woman just released from prison and moving into the home of her sister and her family whom she hasn't spoken with since her incarceration.






Kristin Scott Thomas plays Juliette Fontaine in a painfully gripping performance for the ages. It's amazing to me that she didn't get nominated for Best Actress by The Academy. Elsa Zylberstein performs very well as her sister Lea.

I am trying not to gush here but this is a truly fabulous movie. Let me remind you, it is a French film therefore the spoke language is French. The Blu-Ray version offers an English voice over but that is the easy, and annoying, way out. Turn on the subtitles and expand your horizons. Surely you can read for a little while. And the acting is so fabulous that you will feel what they are saying, you won't even need the words.

It isn't for everyone, especially if you are feeling a bit down in the dumps, or if you have a difficult time handling a movie that plays with your emotions. But if you can handle your emotions, and are in the right frame of mind, I challenge you to find a better, more gut wrenching picture out today.

This is a true 4 star drama that will make you laugh, smile, and most of all make you cry. I absolutely dare you not to cry.

What Just Happened?

If I told you that I was sitting down to watch a movie starring Robert De Niro, Bruce Willis, Stanley Tucci, John Turturro, Sean Penn, Catherine Keener, and Robin Wright Penn, what would you think? Let me answer that for you, you would think I was sitting down to a fabulous movie. Instead, I was left wondering What Just Happened?






In a nutshell, this is a film about Hollywood and the manic lives which make it go around. Perhaps I said that wrong, it's a satire about Hollywood...or...I have no idea what it is.

It's really just a hodge podge and a hot mess of a story told by a bunch of self indulgent nauseating fools. Like any of us need to see just how "rough" life is in Hollywood? Like any of us can relate? Or if any of us really care?

Do us a favor and tell us stories about aliens or something, just stay away from your "real life" satires and stories.

Give me a break with this mess. Skip this, or you will be wondering What Just Happened to the last 100 minutes of your life. 2 stars, simply because De Niro was in it. But he is trying my patience as well. This could not have been more predictable...

Oh, and if you are going to cast Moon Bloodgood, at least have the common decency to give her something to work with. She was the only good thing about Journeyman. WHY IS SHE NOT IN MORE MOVIES? Damn, Hollywood pisses me off sometimes.













































Those three pictures were better than the movie. Go ahead, I will take the criticism. Fire away!

Pride and Glory

Pride and Glory follows in the footsteps of many police dramas that came before it. I feel like I have seen them all yet I never get tired of them. I wonder what that says for me?





A family of New York City cops gets torn apart in a corruption scandal. Edward Norton plays Ray Tierney, the good guy cop who was caught up in some type of scandal a few years back. He is obviously still scarred but the movie doesn't do a good job of telling that piece of the story. Still, Norton pulls this off like he does every other part. I prefer him to be a little more rough around the edges, but he is solid none the less.

Colin Farrell plays Jimmy Eagan, the rough and tumble somewhat stereotypical New York City cop with more than a few skeletons in his closet. Both Norton and Farrell light up the screen and make any movie worth watching.

It's a very strong cast and as I said, you have seen this before but the cast makes it move at a swift pace. In fact, I was quite taken with this film. I enjoyed it, right up until the end. The last 15-20 minutes seem to have been done by an amateur. It just unwound like a cheap spool of yarn. Such a disappointment at the end.

However, don't let those last few sentences fool you. I really did enjoy the movie, and I am a person that enjoys the entire ride, not just the ending. I was able to look past it and enjoy the cop drama and action. I am just a sucker for this genre!

This is a 4 star crime drama which I recommend for anyone who appreciates this type of movie, or anyone who appreciates those two actors.

Changeling

Changeling is based on a true story about a hard working single mother named Christine Collins who's son goes missing one day while at work. After months of investigating by a seriously corrupt LAPD her son is returned to her, or is he?






Angelina Jolie, in an Oscar nominated role for Best Actress, earns that nomination with a fabulous performance. I have made it known that I am not a big fan of hers, and I will admit that I had a really hard time seeing past her overblown red lips. However she gives a truly solid performance that many will remember for years to come.

In a role that was rarely spoken of, John Malkovich pulls off a fabulous performance as Rev. Gustav Briegleb, an activist who has dedicated his life to stopping the rampant corruption in the LAPD.

The movie starts a bit slow as Director Clint Eastwood goes to great lengths to set up the 1920's drama. It was so in your face with the period set-up that it became too noticeable. But after the story kicks in you become totally engrossed. I had a hard time turning my head from the screen.

This is one of those rare stories where the journey is just as satisfying as the finish line.

Changeling is a terrific movie. One that will take your emotions on a wild roller coaster ride. If you can make it through the initial 20 minutes of stage setting you will be rewarded with a great movie, and an even greater performance.

It's a 4 star must see film.