We Bought a Zoo

Movie: We Bought a Zoo

Genre: family-drama

Synopsis: Benjamin Mee (Matt Damon) is the recently widowed father of the 7-year-old Rosie (Magee Elizabeth Jones) and 14-year-old Dylan (Colin Ford).  Benjamin decides his family needs a major change, so he quits his job and buys a new house – that happens to come with a 17-acre zoo.  The head zoo-keeper is Kelly (Scarlett Johansson).  The zoo is in bad physical shape and in dire financial straits, but Benjamin is determined to make a go of it.  The goal is to get everything fixed up so that the zoo can pass inspection and re-open.

My two cents: I was not too enthusiastic about seeing this movie. But . . . Matt Damon has never let me down and I am fans of both Scarlett Johansson and Elle Fanning, so I decided to give it shot.  Good decision.  The phrase that keeps coming to mind when I think of this movie is “heart warming”.  Benjamin is good person and a good father who is trying his best to raise his children following the loss of his beloved wife.  His son was a little over-the-top with his self-pity; but his sister more than made up for his character.  I cannot wait to see more of Magee Elizabeth Jones.  She is only seven, but pretty much stole every scene she was in.

If you like a feel-good movie, give this a shot.

It turns out the whole movie is based on fact. While the movie is set in Southern California, the zoo it portrays is actually in England.

[204]

The Adventures of Tintin in 3D IMAX

Movie: The Adventures of Tintin in 3D IMAX

Genre: animated adventure

Synopsis: Based on the wildly popular Belgian books, this is a stop motion movie – the same style as “Polar Express”.  Tintin (Jamie Bell) is a hot-shot reporter in Belgium.  When he buys a model of the Unicorn – a famous sailing ship that sank in the 1600’s - things start happening.  Two different men try to buy it from him – one of them gets shot.  Someone steals the ship.  It turns out the ship has a clue to a fabulous treasure from the 1600’s.  Tintin teams up with Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis), a descendent of the captain of the Unicorn, to track down the two other clues and ultimately find the missing treasure.

My two cents: I had never heard of Tintin until this movie came out.  While the animation and 3D effects were decent, the movie as a whole was pretty disappointing.  Perhaps if I had read the Tintin stories I might have enjoyed it more.  Instead, I found myself taking frequent looks at my watch to see how much longer I was going to have to sit through it.

[203]

Young Adult

Movie: Young Adult

Genre: Comedy-drama

Synopsis: In a small Minnesota town high school, Mavis (Charlize Theron) was at the top of the food chain.  She was homecoming queen and the envy of everyone.  Her boyfriend was Buddy (Patrick Wilson).  The classic loser-geek was Matt (Patton Oswalt) who had the locker below Mavis’ all through high school.  Fast forward to the present – Mavis is a 37-year-old ghost writer who is miserably unhappy.  She gets it into her head that she is going to return to her hometown and rescue Buddy from his wife and new-born child.  Things do not go as planned.  The only one who really will have anything to do with her Matt – the geeky nerd.  The movie follows her repeated attempts to reclaim Buddy – who does not want to be reclaimed- and her increasing friendship with Matt.

My two cents: I enjoyed this movie – but it was a bit on the dark side.  There are things that make you laugh, but then feel guilty because it is so dark.  An example is the story of how Matt was brutally beaten and maimed when he was in high school.  Doesn’t sound funny – but I found I was chuckling in spite of myself.  Mavis is so unhappy and seems so unable to do anything other than dig herself even deep into her pit of misery. The best scenes are those with Mavis and Patton Oswald’s Matt.  I thought I knew what direction the ending was heading . . . but it took a left turn that left me surprised.

[202]

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Movie: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Genre: spy drama

Synopsis: This takes place during the 1970’s at the height of the cold war. The movie opens with a botched operation in Prague.  The fallout results in Control (William Hurt) being removed as head of MI-6.  A senior operative, George Smiley (Gary Oldman) is also forced into retirement.  It turns out that Control had been convinced that there was a mole in MI-6.  Smiley is brought back in to try and if there is a mole – and to uncover him if there is.  Control had narrowed the list of suspects to three operatives, code named Tinker, Tailor and Soldier (played by Toby Jones, Ciarán Hinds and Colin Firth – not necessarily respectively).  Now Smiley has to devise a way to verify the existence of the mole – and find him.

My two cents: I loved this movie.  It was suspenseful and riveting – without a lot of action.  It was more like watching a chess game.  Gary Oldman was great as George Smiley.  He often said little – but it was clear his brain was working a mile a minute.  Just looking at him, you knew he had a formidable intellect.  If you like spy movies – especially the cerebral type – don’t pass up this movie.

[201]

The Darkest Hour 3D

Movie: The Darkest Hour 3D

Genre: sci-fi horror

Synopsis: Two young men are in Moscow, trying to close an Internet-based business idea.  They meet a couple of young American girls in a nightclub.  While they are there, mysterious glowing “things” start falling from the sky.  These “things” are virtually invisible and pursue and annihilate any living creature that they find.  They also have managed to totally the electrical grid.  These four Americans are among the few in Moscow to survive the first night’s attack.  The movie follows them as they try to find either some place safe and ultmately a way out of Moscow.

My two cents: This seemed more suitable to a made-for-TV movie.  The special effects were decent, but the story line was a little too implausible and inconsistent.

[200]

Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Movie: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows

Genre: drama

Synopsis: This is the sequel to Sherlock Holmes with Robert Downey Jr. back as Sherlock and Jude Law as Watson.  This brings us Jared Harris as Professor James Moriarty, the arch enemy of Sherlock Holmes in the original books.  Throughout the movie, it seems that Moriarty is one or two steps ahead of Holmes as Holmes pursues Moriarty through Europe..  The climax is a battle between the two high in the Swiss Alps.

My two cents: A decent sequel.  I would like to have seen more or Rachel McAdams (Irene Adler), but you can’t have everything.  I thought the middle of the movie dragged a little, but the final 30 or 40 minutes were well worth waiting for.

[199]

The Women on the 6th Floor

Movie: The Women on the 6^th Floor

Genre: drama

Synopsis:  This is a French film set in Paris with English subtitles.  Jean-Louis Joubert (Fabrice Luchini) is the wealthy head of an investment firm founded by his father (or perhaps it was his grandfather).  His wife, Suzanne (Sandrine Kiberlain) is a bit of a socialite who ‘exhausts’ herself with social funcitons, charities and managing the family maid.  Jean-Louis owns the six-story apartment building in which they live.  The sixth floor consists of a bunch of small rooms and a single bathroom.  This is a floor occupied by a large number of maids from Spain.  They are all poor and live in pretty lousy conditions.  Jean-Louis has a comfortable life, but not a happy life.  The new family maid lives on this floor.  One day he has his eyes opened to the squalor the maids on the sixth floor live in.  A simple, for him, act of kindness brings great relief to one of them. Jean-Louis discovers that hanging out with the maids brings him happiness.  The maids discover that, although rich, Jean-Louis is a very decent fellow.  When his wife decides that Jean-Louis must be fooling around – she makes him move out – so he moves into a room on the sixth floor and finds happiness.

My two cents: I loved this movie.  You have this rich fellow who should have been on top of the world, but is actually quite unhappy with his life.  He discovers that the poor maids on the 6^th floor are much happier in their lives than he is.  I really enjoyed watching how he became a part of the maids’ lives and found such happiness living in a single room among them.

[198]

Shame

Movie: Shame

Genre: drama

Synopsis: Brandon (Michale Fassbender) has a successful and well-paying career in Manhatten.  His seemingly perfect life has a dark side.  He is a sex addict.  He feels the need to “release” multiple times a day.  If the urge hits him at work, he is liable to pull up some porn on his computer, find someone for a quicky or simply retire to the privacy of a bathroom stall.  The problem is that none of this even remotely makes him happy.  His very orderly life is disrupted when his sister, Sissy (Carey Mulligan), unexpectedly moves in for an extended stay following a breakup. It is as if this disruption is a tipping point and Brandon’s life starts spiraling out of control.

My two cents: This was one dark movie.  Great performances by Fassbender and Carey Mulligan.  I became a fan of Carey with her performance in “An Education”.  In “”Shame” she plays a durg-user who has made multiple attempts at suicide.  I can’t really decide if I liked this movie or not.  The acting was good, but the story was so dark and depressing that I left the theatre emotionally drained.

[197]

New Year’s Eve

Movie: New Year’s Eve  

Genre: romantic comedy

Synopsis: This multi-story ensemble movie had an impressive cast that included Halle Berry, Michelle Pfeiffer, Zac Efron, Robert De Niro, Cary Elwes, Alyssa Milano, Jessica Biel, Seth Myers, Sarah Paulson, Carla Guigino, Katherine Heigl, Joh Bon Jovi, Sofia Vergra, Ashon Kutcher, Lea Michelle, Sarah Jessica Parker, James Belushi, Hilary Swank, Ludicris and Josh Duhamel.  It consisted of 5 or 6 different stories that followed captured the trials and tribulations of different sets of people in New York City, leading up to the ball dropping in Times Square on New Years.

My two cents: I was a bit disappointed.  I guess with a cast like that, I just expected more.  It was entertaining – just not up to the level I had hoped for.

[196]

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1

Movie: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1

Genre: horror-romance

Synopsis: This is the fourth installment of the Twilight series,  At last, Bella and Edward are going to be married.  The problem is that the Cullen family is supposed to “turn” Bella somewhere along the line.  According to the treaty between the Cullens and the werewolves, this act will break the treaty – leading to an all-out war between the vampires and werewolves.

My two cents: I am losing patience with this series.  The only thing that keeps me going are the werewolves and the occasional vampire battle.  I am soooooo tired of longing looks exchanged between Bella and Edward.  If you eliminated these looks and the accompanying sighs, the movie would last about half an hour. My problem is that I keep hoping for the movies to go more to the horror side of things, while they are definitely leaning ot the romance side.  Oh well.

[194]

The Way

Movie: The Way

Genre: drama

Synopsis: Tom (Martin Sheen) is a successful ophthalmologist.  He has had a troubled relationship with his son Daniel (Emelio Estevez), who abandoned his doctoral studies to go trekking around the world.  Tom learns that Daniel was killed in a freak storm as he was beginning a 700+ kilometer pilgrimage along the “Camino de Santiago” – which starts in France and ends up in Spain.  When Tom flies to France to claim the body, on the spur of the moment he decides to have the remains cremated and to take the pilgrimage with his son’s ashes.  Along the journey, Tom gradually loses the pent-up anger he has and bonds with three other “pilgrims” who are each making the pilgrimage for their own reasons.

My two cents: The movie was interesting. Much of the movie was like a travelogue of Camino de Santiago. What I could not get past was the idea of a man in his fifties with no hiking experience (at least not mentioned) just up and deciding to go on a hike of over 700 kilometers with absolutely no preparation.  In hindsight, I would have been satisfied with waiting for to watch this movie on TV.

[193]

London Boulevard

Movie: London Boulevard

Genre: drama

Synopsis: Mitchel (Colin Farrell) is newly released from prison.  He is doing his best to go straight, but is being pressured to join a London mob – led by mob boss Gant (Ray Winstone).  Mitchel gets a job as a body guard for  a world famous actress, Charlotte (Keira Knightley), who is being mercilessly by paparazzi.  The movie follows Mitchel as he resists the not-so-subtle efforts of Grant to pull him into the mob, he searches for the teenage boys who killed a homeless friend of his, he tries to keep his week-willed sister out of trouble, and as he seems to fall in love with Charlotte.

My two cents: A pretty decent movie.  Colin Farrell excels at playing the tough guy who is normally calm, but can erupt into violence at the spur of a moment.  Ray Winstone plays just about as menacing gangster as I have seen.

[192]

Another Happy Day

Movie: Another Happy Day

Genre: drama

Synopsis: Lynn (Ellen Barkin) has two children from a marriage to Paul (Thomas Haden Church): Alice (Kate Bosworth) and Dylan (Michael Nardelli).  She also has two children from her current husband, Lee (Jeffrey DeMunn): Ben (Daniel Yelsky) and Elliot (Ezra Miller).  Alice has had a history of self-mutilation (by cutting herself with knives) and has had a lot of therapy. Lee is autistic. Elliot is only 17 but has already had 3 or 4 stints in drug rehab.  The movie opens with Lynn driving Lee and Elliot to her parent’s house (father played by George Kennedy and mother played by Ellen Burstyn) for Dylan’s wedding.  To say that Lynn’s family is dysfunctional is to grossly understate the situation.  From the moment she arrives, Lynn faces a non-stop battle with Ben (the druggy son), her two terrible sisters, her mother, her ex-husband – and most of all with her mother and with her ex’s current wife (played Demi Moore). This family makes “Mama’s Family” (from Carol Burnett) look like the Cleaver family.

My two cents: This was a painful movie to watch. For the first part of the movie, I thought Lynn was just an insecure whiny woman.  Then you see how her druggy son baits her in the car with really cruel words and you start thinking that maybe she has something to be upset about.  And then you met her mother and sisters.  This poor woman gets it from every side, when all she is trying to do is protect her daughter who is still in a rather fragile state of mind.  There was some great acting in this movie.  Demi Moore was great at playing a hateful shrewish woman who would stab you in the back while smiling sweetly at you. Ellen Burstyn’s character was really well acted.  She was usually just a tightly wrapped bitch – but occasionally you could see the chinks in the self-protective armor she was wearing.  Kate Bosworth absolutely nailed the fragile unstable girl who looked like she was ready to break again.  But the Oscar nomination should go to Ellen Barkin.  For the entire movie she made her character look as if just one more straw would break her back – yet she still managed to keep enough grit to get done what she needed to do.  She seemed like she was made of glass that was ready to just fall apart – but never quite went over the edge.  I just felt so sorry for her.  It seemed that everybody that should support her – like her mother – was doing their best to make her feel like crap. By the end of the movie I was trying to figure out how she had managed to not just commit suicide to get away from everyone.

Bottom line: a really interesting movie with great acting, but it will emotionally drain you.

[191]

Arthur Christmas 3D

Movie: Arthur Christmas 3D

Genre: animated fantasy

Synopsis: In this version of Christmas, Santa Claus normally keeps his job for 70 Christmases and then turns over the job to his son.  Santa (Jim Broadbent) is embarking on number 70.  His older son, Steve (Hugh Laurie), is the mission control person for the high tech operation that the delivery of Christmas presents has become.  He is primed and ready take over the duties of Santa. The younger of Santa’s two sons is Arthur (James McAvoy).  Arthur is the embodiment of the Christmas spirit, but has not shown himself to of much practical use at Christmas HQ.  When a present is accidentally not delivered, it comes down to Arthur (and Grandsanta and an elf) to get it delivered.

My two cents: This was the best new Christmas movie I have seen since Elf.  The whole idea of the Santa duties being passed from generation to generation was a new one for me.  There was a curmudgeonly “Grandsanta” who hated the new high tech way things were done.  The very scope of the task to deliver presents on Christmas was pretty impressive.  You could not help but like Arthur – a bit of a bumbler, but with such a great heart and willing to do anything to make sure the last present gets delivered.  There was plenty of humor and “warm and fuzzy” moments to make me happy.

[190]

Hugo in 3D

Movie: Hugo in 3D

Genre: adventure-drama-fantasy

Synopsis: This is set in a train station in 1930’s Paris.  Hugo is an orphan who lives in – and winds – the massive clockworks in the train station.  He is terribly lonely and is trying to fix an automaton – a kind of wind-up robot-like creation - to be his companion.  He befriends Isabelle (Chloë Grace Moretz) whose god-father (Ben Kingsley) runs a fix-it shop in the train station.  When, with the help of Isabelle, he finally fixes the automaton – a surprise and mystery awaits the two of them.  Solving the mystery – and keeping out of the clutches of the train station policeman (Sasha Baron Cohen) takes up the rest of the movie.

My two cents: Although a bit long at 2:07, this movie never dragged.  Within the first five minutes, I knew it was going to be good.  The 3D effects were good, without overdoing it.  I have been a fan of  Chloë Grace Moretz since “500 Days of Summer” – and I really liked her in this.  Ben Kingsley was great at Isabelle’s god-father, Christopher Lee was great as kindly bookseller.  Sasha Baron Cohen was good – but strange – as the train station cop.  I am still not sure exactly what it is about this movie that so captivated me.  One measure of how good I think a movie is, is how far into the movie I get before I look at my watch.  I was 85 minutes into the movie before I checked the time.

[189]

The Muppets

Movie: The Muppets

Genre: animated comedy

Synopsis: It’s the Muppets – need I say more?  Actually, I do.  This takes place decades after the Muppet series.  All of the Muppets have split up and gone their separate ways.  Enter, a pair of brothers: Gary and Walter.  Gary (Jason Segal) and Walter (Peter Linz) – who looks an awful lot like a Muppet.  Walter has been a fanatical fan of the Muppets ever since he found some old tapes of their show. Gary is taking his girlfriend Mary (Amy Adams) to Los Angeles for a vacation.  They decide to take Walter with them so that he can see the old Muppet studio.  They discover that an evil businessman (Chris Cooper) is going to tear down the studio and drill for oil unless the Muppets can come up with $10 million.  So . . . they find Kermit and Kermit decides to get the old gang together and put on a show to raise the money.

My two cents: I loved this movie. Any Muppet fan should enjoy this.  Jason Segal was perfect for his role.  Chris Cooper makes a properly maniacal bad guy.  Just about all of the Muppet regulars are back, and the reunion scenes are great.    For example, they find Animal in an anger-management group therapy session (the group also had Jack Black as a member).  Animal is not allowed near drums any more – “drum” is his trigger word.  If you are any kind of a Muppet fan – you must see this.

[188]

Happy Feet Two in IMAX 3D

Movie: Happy Feet Two in IMAX 3D

Genre: animated comedy

Synopsis: Mumbles (Elijah Wood) is now an adult with three child – Eric (Ava Acres).  Eric is having trouble figuring out what he is meant to do – the dancing gene does not seem to have kicked in yet.  A natural disaster results in their entire penguin community being trapped away from the water.  In order to save them, Mumble and Eric have to enlist the aid of another penguin community, as well as other creatures.  And of course – there is a lot of singing and dancing along the way.

My two cents: It took a while, but eventually this movie hooked me – although not as deeply as the first.  We had many of the same characters and voices as well as some new ones.  This one also seemed to have a few more lessons to teach about getting along and finding yourself – but it does not get too preachy.  In the first Happy Feet, by far my favorite character was Ramon (Robin Williams).  This time, my prize goes to two krill: Bill the Krill (Matt Damon) and Will the Krill (Brad Pitt).  Bill and Will decide to leave the “hoard” of krill they have spent their lives in and see what lies beyond.  Second prize goes to Ramon’s new love interest: Carmen, voiced by Sophia Vergara.  The 3D I could have lived without – but the IMAX was great – especially when they were doing group dances.  If you liked the first one, you will probably like Happy Feet Two too (pun intended).

[187]

The Skin I Live In

Movie: The Skin I Live In

Genre: thriller – in Spanish with subtitles

Synopsis: Robert Ledgard (Antonio Banderas) is a brilliant plastic surgeon in Spain.  His wife is horribly burned in a tragic accident.  When she dies, Robert becomes obsessed with developing a synthetic skin to help burn victims.  Unfortunately, he chooses to skip a few of the standard testing steps and begins experimenting on a human.  The result is a beautiful female patient who is pretty much a prisoner in his private clinic.  The patient spends all of her days wearing a flesh-colored body suit in a locked room.  The movie gives us the background and reason(s) for his obsession and exactly how he performed his experimental testing on his patient.  By the end of the movie, the doctor’s plan is coming pretty severely unraveled,

My two cents: I put off seeing this movie because I was afraid it might get a bit too graphic.  Turns out my fear was unfounded.  While some parts did make me squirm a bit – nothing that was shown was the least bit graphic. The story line was fascinating – especially when some twists started entering into the story.  When I finally learned the whole story of the patient – it was jaw dropping.  If you like off-beat thrillers with a touch of horror, don’t pass this one up. If you like some good vengeance – it will be icing on the cake.

[186]

Like Crazy

Movie: Like Crazy

Genre: romantic drama

Synopsis: Jacob (Anton Yelchin) and Anna (Felicity Jones) are college students in Los Angeles who fall madly in love.  The problem is that Anna is British, attending school on a student visa.  Her plan is to return briefly to England after graduation and then to come back to Los Angeles and Jacob.  A hitch in the plan occurs when Anna violates the terms of her student visa and is unable to return to the U.S.  For the next several years Anna and Jacob experience the ups and downs (mostly downs) of trying to maintain a really long distance relationship.

My two cents: This was another movie I enjoyed more than I thought I would.  I think it presented a pretty realistic look at the pitfalls a couple like this could face, given the visa problems.

[185]

My Week With Marilyn

Movie: My Week With Marilyn

Genre: drama

Synopsis: Based on the memoirs of Colin Clark, this movie is set in 1956 London.  Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne) is working as a 3rd directory (aka a gofer) on a movie starring Sir Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh) and Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams).  Marilyn is an emotional wreck and latches onto Colin as someone she can trust.  The movie details how he became her companion (and more?) during the filming of the movie.  We see just how emotionally fragile Marilyn was and how incredibly insecure she was.  A large part of the film also dealt with the conflict between Laurence Olivier and Marilyn.  He was forever being frustrated by her behavior on the set – constantly being late, forgetting her lines, and consulting Paula Strasberg for her motivation – Marilyn was a devotee of the Lee Starsberg school of method acting.  Laurence Olivia considered all of this to be incredibly unprofessional behavior.

My two cents: A much better movie than I expected.  Michelle Williams did a fabulous job of portraying her – she can really be stunningly beautiful.  She seemed to be effortlessly switch back and forth between the screen idol Marilyn Monroe and the insecure fragile Norma Jean.  Judi Dench was delightful as a famous elderly actress (not much of a stretch).  Emma Watson had a small role.  It was nice to see her without a magic wand – I just wish her role had been bigger.  It was fascinating to see what an emotional wreck Marilyn Monroe was.  She was the most famous woman in the world, but as insecure as a 14-year-old. 

[184]

J. Edgar

Movie: J. Edgar

Genre: drama - biography

Synopsis: This is the story of J. Edgar Hoover (Leonardo DeCaprio) from his early years in the Justice Department through the founding of the FBI and his reign as director from 1935 until his death in 1972.  It covers his battle against the gangsters of the depression era, his fight against organized crime as well as his no-holds-barred fight against anyone he though was crossing him or getting in his way– whether it be his doctor, a senator or the president of the United States.  While he did a lot of admirable work in building the FBI, his utter disregard for the constitution and laws – when they got in his way was pretty scary.  In his world anything was acceptable if it furthered his ends.

My two cents: I thought this was a pretty good movie.  It did a great job of displaying the rotten underside of what Hoover became.  Leonardo DeCaprio’s performance was right up there with his portrayal of Howard Hughes.  Naomi Watt’s portray of his secretary, Helen Gandy was dynamite.  I thought she was really effective in showing the conflict Helen Gandy felt.  She was Hoover’s personal secretary for virtually his entire reign as directory and struggle with the conflict between her innate loyalty to the man and her realization that much of what he was doing was just plain wrong.  My only really beef with the film was with the makeup job on         Armie Hammer (as Clyde Tolson).  Whereas the makeup of DeCaprio was dead-on as Hoover aged, the makeup of Armie Hammer seemed almost amateurish by comparison. 

In any case, I found this movie to be well worth my time and money.

[183]

The Descendants

Movie: The Descendants

Genre: drama - comedy

Synopsis: Matt King (George Clooney) lives in Hawaii and is a direct descendant of King Kamehameha.  He is one of a large group of cousins who are the beneficiaries of a trust (for which Matt is the executor) that includes 20,000 acres of pristine Hawaiian beachfront property. They cousins are preparing to vote on whether or not to sell the land to developers.  As the movie opens, Matt’s wife lies in a coma, following a boating accident.  Matt is wrestling with the prospect of having to pull the plug on her life support. To add to his stress, he must do some repair work on his relationship with his two daughters.

My two cents: I really loved this movie. George Clooney once again shows how good he is at comedy.  Without trying to give too much away, I like the way his older daughter starts out as the daughter-from-hell, but ends up doing quite an about-face and is instrumental in helping her father face the discovery that his wife was not quite the person he thought she was.  The acting was good, there several interesting story lines within the movie – and it was in Hawaii.

[182]

Tower Heist

Movie: Tower Heist

Genre: thriller - comedy

Synopsis: Josh (Ben Stiller) is the manager of the most exclusive condo high rise in Manhattan.  Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda), one of the residents, is arrested for investment fraud.  The big mystery is where he has hidden is stash of millions of dollars.  The victims of his crime include the employees of the condo building – their entire pension fund has been lost.  Josh takes matters into his own hands and forms a “team” (Eddie Murphy, Casey Affleck, Matthew Broderick, Michael Peña and Gabourey Sidibe) with the goal of finding and recovering the hidden millions.  The team’s plan and execution of the plan is not exactly of Mission impossible caliber.

My two cents: A great comedy – it was fun from start to finish.  This light-hearted slapstick quality of this movie is kind of a throw back.  I really enjoyed it and did a lot of laughing. There is one scene involving a car – and a couple of the characters – being dangled about 40 or 50 stories above the street that was one of the most squirm-inducing scene I have ever seen outside of a horror movie.  I really liked Tea Leone as the FBI agent who is also out to recover the missing money.  Last, but not least, Alan Alda seems to revel in playing the smarmy rich guy who has no morals.  He certainly did a bang-up job in this movie.

[181]

The Interrupters

Movie: The Interrupters

Genre: documentary

Synopsis: Violence Interrupters is the name of a Chicago organization.  In the 1990’s violence was running rampant in many areas of Chicago.  Violence Interrupters was formed in an effort to reduce this violence.  The idea is to recruit former gang members who have reformed and turned their lives around.  These men and

women meet with current gang members to try and get them to realize that they have it within their power to stop the cycle of violence.  They also meet with victim’s families to help them.  The program has shown considerable success.  The movie covers a single year and focuses on three members of the Violence Interrupters.

My two cents: I found this movie to be pretty interesting. The amount of violence going on in Chicago was pretty amazing – one single day saw 16 shootings.  The whole idea was intriguing.  Since most of the members of this group are themselves former gang members, they are not easily intimidated by the gang members they work with. The movie did seem to plod along, though.  While I am glad I saw it and learned a lot, the 125 minutes of the movie seemed to drag on and on.

[180]

Anonymous

Movie: Anonymous

Genre: historical drama

Synopsis: This movie takes place in the late 1500’s.  It proposes that the works attributed to William Shakespeare were in fact written by Edward De Vere, Earl of Oxford (Rhys Ifans  The movie covers, via flashbacks) the Earl’s childhood and his obsession with writing.  We get a taste of the incredibly complex political maneuvering that went on in the court of Queen Elizabeth I.  The infighting and manipulations that went into determining who succeeded Queen Elizabeth makes today’s politicians look like a bunch of boy scouts.

My two cents: From what I have seen in a brief internet search, the Earl of Oxford really is probably the leading candidates for the works attributed to William Shakespeare.  I found this movie to be absolutely fascinating and riveting. My biggest problem was keeping the various characters straight as the movie jumped back and forth over a 20 year period.  It was interesting to see how playwrights were looked down upon in those days.  Definitely a movie worth seeing.

[179]

Melancholia

Movie: Melancholia

Genre: drama

Synopsis: There are two story lines here.  The first one is centers on Justine (Kirsten Dunst).  The movie opens on Justine’s wedding day.  The problem is that Justine suffers from almost an paralyzing depression.  Those around her fail to grasp the depth of her problem. The wedding reception takes place at plush estate of Justine’s sister, Claire (Charlotte Gainsbourg).  Justine’s divorced parents, played by John Hurt and Charlotte Rampling, are about as dysfunctional as they can get – and totally useless as parents.  Claire struggles to help Justine through her depression/melancholy.

The second story revolves around the planet Melancholia.  It has appeared in the solar system – where it came from we are never told.  There is much debate about whether Melancholia is going to collide with – and destroy the earth or if it will simply do a “flyby” and provide the earth with a beautiful display to watch. 

My two cents:  This was a very unique movie. The opening sequences are beautiful and surreal – and tough to describe.  The first half of the movie is difficult to follow – but it kept my interest.  The 2^nd half of the movie seemed a bit more coherent as I was able to see the direction it was going in.  This movie has really stuck in my head.  I keep going over it in my mind.  I am really looking forward to seeing it again when it comes out on DVD.  I expect to understand it a lot better the 2^nd or 3^rd time around.

Bottom line: If you are a Kirsten Dunst fan, you should enjoy this – she gives a superb performance.  However, it you like your movies to be neat and tidy and straightforward, this might not be the movie for you.

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Immortals 3D

Movie: Immortals 3D

Genre: sword-and-sandals

Synopsis: In the time before men, the Greek gods battled the Immortals.  When the Greek gods prevailed, the Immortals were imprisoned in a special cage, with the caveat that if the gods ever directly interacted with humans, the Immortals would be released.  Fast forward to the 2^nd millennium B.C. where King Hyperion (Mickey Rourke) is well on his way to conquering all of Greece.  His goal is to find a magical bow that he can use to release the Immortals.  Theseus (Henry Cavill) has the skills, but not the desire, to be a mighty warrior and leader.  When Hyperion kills his mother before his eyes, Theseus is finally motivated to fight Hyperion.  Assisting him is the oracle Phaedra (Freida Pinto) and Zeus (Luke Evans).

My two cents: A pretty decent entry in its genre.  Hyperion was satisfyingly evil and ruthless.  There was a lot of good old fashioned swordplay.  It was interesting to see the Greek gods as less than immortal.  Freida Pinto was great as the oracle. I first saw her in Slumdog Millionare.  She has become breathtakingly beautiful – truly stunning.

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A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas

Movie: A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas

Genre: comedy           

Synopsis: This is set several years after the 2^nd movie of the series.  Harold (John Cho) has dumped Kumar (Kal Penn) as a friend.  He works on Wall Street, is very successful, lives in a beautiful house, is married and trying to have a child.  His stress levels go through the ceiling with the arrival of his father-in-law along with about 15 other in-laws for Christmas.  Kumar, still a stoner, drops by Harold’s house.  Their adventure begins when the Christmas tree Harold’s father-in-law brought burns down.  The movie follows the re-united friends as they try to find a replacement tree on Christmas eve.

My two cents: This is my favorite of the three movies.  If you can get past the wildly inappropriate subject matter of most of the jokes, it is really funny.  There are a lot of inside jokes – such as a crack about Kumar working in the White House (Kal Penn really did work for White House for a year).  NPH (Neil Patrick Harris) is back – with an interesting explanation about how he survived his death in the second Harold and Kumar movie.  I thought the real scene stealer in this movie is the Waffle-Bot.  If you liked the first two in the series, you are sure to like this installment.

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Puss in Boots in IMAX 3D

Movie: Puss in Boots in IMAX 3D

Genre: animated fantasy

Synopsis: Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) teams up with Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek) and his childhood friend, Humpty Dumpty (Zack Galifianakis) to go on a quest to find the Golden Goose.  Competing with them to find the goose – and doing their best to sabotage their quest -  is Jack and Jill (Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris).  Will Humpty ever forgive Puss in Boots for abandoning him years earlier?  Will his home town – and mother – ever forgive Puss in Boots for what they think he did? 

My two cents: I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this movie.  It had a lot of really funny throughout with pretty darn clever dialogue.  Other than the three main characters, the big scene stealers were Jack and Jill – a married couple raising pigs, but thinking about starting a family – which was a bit uncomfortable to hear.  While the 3D effects were not enough for the extra cost, I would definitely recommend seeing this movie.

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In Time

Movie: In Time

Genre: sci-fi / thriller

Synopsis: The movie is set some time in the future.  Humans have been genetically engineered so that they stop aging at the age of 25.  The catch is that when they turn 25, a digital countdown timer appears on their forearms.  The timer is set to exactly one year – which is when they die, unless they earn/buy/steal more time.  Time is the currency.  People are paid by having time added to their meter, they buy things buy having time subtracted from their meter.  They can even give – i.e. transfer - portions of their time to others.  Some people start each day with only a day or two on their meter – which means they need to get some time by the end of the day or they die.  Others have managed to accumulate eons of time.  Having too much time in the wrong time zone can get you killed.

Will Salas (Justine Timberlake) lives with his mother (Olivia Wilde).  They are extremely poor and very rarely have more than 24 hours of time.  When Will is given a century of time by a man tired of living, the trouble starts.  A Timekeeper (Cillian Muphy) assumes Will killed to get the century, and goes on the hunt to track him down.  Will teams up with the daughter (Amanda Seyfried) of a multi-millionaire (Vincent Kartheiser).  They become a sort of Bonnie and Clyde meets Robin Hood as they go around stealing time from banks and giving it away.

My two cents: This was a fascinating movie.  The idea of starting each day with only a day left was hard to stop thinking about. Because of the premise, everybody in the movie was supposed to look like they were 25 years old.  A man, his daughter and grandmother would all look to be the same age.  It must have made casting interesting.  I think it is about time that Justin Timberlake gets some serious Oscar attention. Definitely worth seeing.

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Johnny English Reborn

Movie: Johnny English Reborn

Genre: spy comedy

Synopsis: Johnny English (Rowen Atkinson) is a master spy (MI-7) who has been in a sort of exile in Tibet for the last five years – since a mission went bad and he was blamed.  He is brought back from exile by the new head of MI-7 (Gillian Anderson) to help defeat a plot to kill the Chinese premier.    

My two cents: I needed a light movie after my triple-feature the day before (“Martha Marcy May Marlene”, “Oranges and Sunshine” and “The Mill and the Cross”).  This movie fit the bill.  It is like a cross between Austin Powers and Inspector Clouseau.  There were laughs to spare, without getting to carried away with the slapstick.  It was nice to see Gillian Anderson, also.  It was not until I checked this out in IMDB that I discovered it is a sequel to the 2005 “Johnny English”.  I am going to have to check it out.

Bottom line: if you want a light, funny spy movie – you should like this.

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The Mill and the Cross

Movie: The Mill and the Cross

Genre: drama

Synopsis: This is a tough one.  In 1564, the Flemish master Pieter Bruegel the Elder completed a painting that was called “The Way to Calvary”.  It attempts to depict what the crucifixion of Christ might have looked like in the 1500’s - with Spanish soldiers crucifying a Protestant.  This movie dissects the painting by taking small scenes from it and bringing them to life so that you can see the story of what led to the scene.

My two cents: While not really my cup of tea, this was a really interesting movie.  I don’t know how the director did it, but it was fascinating how you could look at the movie screen and know that wheat you were looking at was a painting – even though there were figures in the scene that were moving.  It never ceased to fascinate and amaze me how he did this.  If you see this movie, take the time before you see it to take a look at the painting and study it a little – and after the movie, you will want to look at the painting again.

Bottom line: again, not my cup of tea – but I am glad I saw it, even though it left me scratching my head.

Bottom line, addendum: it is now 24 hours since I saw this movie, and I am having a heck of a time getting it out of my mind.  There is something about it that I cannot let go. I am definitely going to have to get this on DVD when it comes out and watch it again.

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Oranges and Sunshine

Movie: Oranges and Sunshine

Genre: drama

Synopsis: This movie is strictly based on fact – the events really happened.  In England in the last 1980’s, Margaret (Emily Watson) is a social worker.  Margaret accidently stumbles on a horrific series of deeds perpetrated by the governments of England and Australia.  Beginning in the 1940’s and continuing up to 1967, the British government took 120,000+ children from English orphanages and group homes and shipped them off to Australia.  Many of these children had parents who sought to re-claim them – only to be told the children had been adopted -  they were never told that they had been sent to Australia.  In Australia, these children became virtual slaves to the groups (frequently church groups) who took them in.  To cap it off, the children were either told their parents did not want them – or that their parents had died.

When Margaret realizes the scope and horror of what the governments have done, she embarks on a one-woman crusade to (1) help these now-adult kids to find their families and (2) to hold the governments accountable.  It was decades before the British government finally – and publically – owned up to what they did.

My two cents: The story that this movie covers is absolutely amazing.  The stories of what the orphans were subjected to is beyond shocking.  Just as awful is how they have suffered their entire lives from what was done to them.  Margaret actually suffers Post Traumatic Stress Disorder because she has been exposed to so many of these horror stories.  If you see this movie, bring some tissue with you because there are some pretty emotional scenes.  I had read about this a few years ago, but seeing it dramatized really hit me hard.  I still cannot understand how a government could do something like this to children.

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Martha Marcy May Marlene

Movie: Martha Marcy May Marlene

Genre: drama

Synopsis: The movie opens with Martha (Elizabeth Olson) running away from a cult.  She has lived with this cult (4 men and 8 or so women) for two years.  They live in an old farm in rural New York.  The cult is led by Patrick (John Hawkes). Early on, Martha (who is re-named Marcy May by Patrick) is enthralled with her new “family”.  Eventually she begins to see a not-so-nice side of it – which leads to her running away.  She ends up re-uniting with her sister, Lucy (Sarah Paulson) and stays with her.  Martha will not go into any details about where she has been, and Lucy never really realizes the degree to which Martha was emotionally damaged by the cult – she does not even know about the cult.  The movie continually cuts back and forth between Martha’s time with the cult and the present, as she tries to shake off of lasting effect the cult has had on her.

My two cents: This was a really interesting movie. I believe it is only the second film for Elizabeth Olson (younger sister of the Mary Kate and Ashley).  Based on this film, she has a heck of a career ahead of her.  John Hawkes also did a great job.  The only part of this movie that I have a bone to pick with is the ending.  It was the kind of ending I hate – where it looks like someone accidently cut the film before the end – it really leaves you hanging.  I read a few blogs from people who went to showings of the movie that had members of the cast or the director on hand for Q&A – and apparently it was the director’s intent to leave things up in the air – in which case, he succeeded.

Note: the names in the title are derived from her actual name (“Martha”), the name Patrick gave her (“Marcy May”) and the name that all of the women in the cult used when answering the phone (“Marlene”).

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The Three Musketeers

Movie: The Three Musketeers

Genre: swashbuckling adventure

Synopsis: The (sort of) classic Alexander Dumas story.  Three of the French king’s musketeers – Athos, Porthos and Aramis – are pretty much out of work and looking for adventure.  They befriend a young musketeer-wannabe - D'Artagnan.  The four of them team up to save France from the plot hatched by the evil Cardinal Richelieu (Christopher Waltz) and Milady de Winter (Mila Jovovich) to convince the king that his queen is having an affair with the Duke of Buckingham (Orlando Bloom).  Along the line there are numerous swordfights, they break into a secret vault that belonged to Leonard deVinci and engage in the world’s first arial dogfight.

My two cents: A pretty fun film.  I think I laughed more at the 1973 version – this one is worth seeing.

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Footloose

Movie: Footloose

Genre: drama

Synopsis: This is a remake of the 1984 Kevin Bacon classic of the same name.  Ren (Kenny Wormald) was recently orphaned when his mother died of leukemia.  He moves from Boston to the small southern town of Bomont to live with his aunt and uncle.  He finds that in the aftermath of a tragic car accident three years earlier, a series of rather draconian laws were passed to “protect” the students, including a law that bans dancing in public.  Ren embarks on a campaign to revoke the law and to allow dancing back in the town.

My two cents: I really loved the original.  His version was pretty darn good – but not quite up to the 1984 original.  Character by character: Ren goes to Kevin Bacon in 1984, Reverend Moore goes John Lithgow in 1984, Mrs. Moore goes to Diane Wiest in 1984, Williard – I give this a tie between Miles Teller (2011) and Chris Penn (1984), Ariel Moore goes to Julianne Hough in 2011.  I also liked the aunt and uncle in 2011 better.  The 1984 versions were red-neck bible-thumpers whereas the 2011 were pretty decent people and very supportive of Ren.  The real stand-out I thought was Julianne Hough.  She is not only drop-dead beautiful, but is in a class of her own when it comes to dancing.  My only real disappointment was that they did not give Kevin Bacon some kind of cameo.

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