From Prada to Nada

Movie: From Prada to Nada

Cast:    Camilla Belle              (Nora Dominguez)

            Alexa Vega                (Mary Dominguez)

            Adriana Barraza         (Aurelia Jimenez)

Genre: romantic comedy

Synopsis: This is billed as a re-write of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility.  Camilla and Alexa are daughters of a wealthy Hispanic businessman.  Their mother died some years ago.  They live in a mansion in Los Angeles with servants, gardener’s, a cook, etc.  Camilla is the responsible one.  She is currently in law school.  Although Alexa is in college, her mission in life is to shop shop shop.  Neither of them have really acknowledged their heritage nor do they speak any Spanish.

Then their father dies unexpectedly.  The sisters are hit with two surprises.  The first is that they have a half-brother they never knew about.  The second is that their father was deeply in debt – and they are not destitute.  They end up having to move out of the mansion.  They end up living with their late mother’s aunt is East Los Angeles.  To say this is a culture shock is to put it mildly.  The movie follows the sisters adjust to life in East L.A. and learn that a Mexican heritage is actually pretty cool.  Naturally, both sisters go through romantic crises – but everything works out in the end.

My two cents: I had never heard of this movie before it opened locally.  I found it to be a real gem.  It was great fun to watch these two girls – who had considered themselves to be rich white girls – learn what it means to be poor and Hispanic in East L.A.  (Of course, this Blog is written from the perspective of a white male who really might not know what he is talking about here.)  While their romantic travails might not be overly realistic, they provided the movie with  a happy ending.

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Barney’s Version

Movie: Barney’s Version

Cast:    Paul Giamatti              (Barney Panofsky)

            Rachelle Lefevre        (Clara - the 1st Mrs. Panofsky)

Minnie Driver             (The 2nd Mrs. Panofsky)

            Rosamund Pike          (Miriam)

            Dustin Hoffman          (Izzy Panofsky)

Scott Speedman         (Boogie)

            Mark Addy                (Detective O’Hearne)

Genre: drama, comedy

Synopsis: At 65 years of age, Barney Panofsky is not a particularly likeable fellow.  The film consists of Barney’s flashbacks on his life from his twenties to the present day. Along the way he had two unhappy and brief marriages.  At his second wedding, he sees Miriam and instantly falls in love with her – for the rest of his life.  We follow his pursuit of her, his conquest, and their relationship over the rest of his life.

A side story is the mystery of what happened to his best friend, Boogie.  During Barney’s second marriage, Boogie disappeared when the two were drunk on the dock of Barney’s lake house.  For the rest of Barney’s life, detective O’Hearne is obsessed with proving the Barney murdered Boogie.

My two cents: A really good movie.  A lot of laughs (which I expected) – but also a few tears (which caught me by surprise).  Paul Giamatti played a great part.  Dustin Hoffman was funny as his father.  But I thought the best acting job was turned in by Rosamund Pike.  She was so beautiful and serene as Miriam.  Nothing (well, almost nothing) rattled her during her 20+ year marriage to Barney.  I know a lot of this can be chalked up to good writing, but there was just something about the way that the actress captured the character that I really loved.

Bottom line: most definitely worth seeing.

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Outside the Law

Movie: Outside the Law

Cast:    Jamel Debbouze          (Said)

            Roschdy Zem              (Messaoud)

            Sami Bouajila              (Abdelkader)

Genre: Historical drama, subtitled

Synopsis: The movie opens shortly after World War II.  Algeria is still a French colony.  Said, Messaoud, and Abdelkader are three young Nigerian brothers.  When their family is ordered off of their ancestral land, they move to the city with their mother and father.  There we witness the violent response of the government to Algerian’s seeking to have their country freed from French rule.

The movie jumps to the late 1950’s.  Abdelkader has been a political prisoner in Paris for several years.  When he is released from prison, he joins the FLN – an Algerian group dedicated the making Algeria a free nation.  Messaoud is in the French army fighting in Indo-China.  Said has moved with his mother to Paris where he has embarked on a life of shady and sometimes criminal activity.  The three brothers reunite in Paris.  Abdelkader and becomes a leader of the FLN.  The movie tracks the lives of the three brothers during the last few years of the fight for Algerian independence where clashes in France between the government and the FLN reache shocking levels of bloody violence.

My two cents: A pretty interesting movie.  I knew virtually nothing about the history of Algeria and its colonization by France.  The movie showed me at least some of the reasons for the tension between the Muslim population of France and the government.  It has definitely made me resolve to do some research on the subject to see just how close the movie followed the actual history of the conflict.

Bottom line: worth checking out, especially for those with an interest in modern history.

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The Mechanic

Movie: The Mechanic

Cast:    Jason Statham            (Arthur Bishop)

            Den Foster                 (Steve McKenna)

            Donald Sutherland      (Harry McKenna)

            Tony Goldwyn            (Dean)

Genre: thriller

Synopsis: Arthur Bishop is a world-class contract killer employed by a mysterious organization headed by Harry McKenna and Dean.  Harry is a kind of mentor to Arthur.  When Harry is killed, Arthur takes Harry’s son, Steve, under his wing and decides to make him a sort of apprentice.

Things get dicey when a contract is put out on Arthur.

My two cents: This is Jason Statham at his best.  Lots of action, lots of things get blown up, and lots of people get killed in creative ways.  I loved it.  The actor that played Dean is the one who portrayed Patrick Swazey’s killer in Ghost.  Even after all these years, the second I set eyes on him I wanted someone to shoot him.

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Dhobi Ghat (Mumbai Diaries)

Movie: Dhobi Ghat (Mumbai Diaries)

Cast:    Monica Dogra             (Shai)

            Aamir Khan                (Arun)

            Prateik Babbar           (Munna)

            Kriti Malhotra             (Yasmin)

Genre: drama

Synopsis: Arun is a successful artist in Mumbai.  Shai works in a bank in New York but is on a kind of sabbatical for which she going around Mumbai taking photographs of people at work.  Her family is extremely wealthy.  Munna is a “washerboy” by day and a rat killer by night.  He lives in a shack and is extremely poor.

Shai seems to be romantically interested in Arun.  Arun is experiencing something of a life crisis from dealing with a recent divorce and is having creative difficulties.  Munna is the washerboy for both Shai and Arun.  Shai takes a friendly interest in Munna.  She starts using Munna as a guide to show her the different areas of Mumbai for her photographic endeavor.  He is also falling in love with her.

Meantime, Arun has become obsessed with a set of video tapes left in his apartment by a previous tenant.  They are a series of “letters” the newlywed Yasmin made for her brother.  They started with her arrival in Mumbai and chronicle how her life changes.

The movie follows these four and their interconnecting and changing relationships.

My two cents: I really enjoyed this movie.  I really felt for poor Munna.  He is always conscious of the class difference between him and Shai, although Shai seems to be class-blind.  Most of the dialogue is in English, so you do not get overloaded with subtitles.

Bottom line: if you stumble across this movie on video or on TV, give it a try.  You might be pleasantly surprised.

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Yogi Bear

Movie: Yogi Bear

Cast:    Dan Aykroyd             Yogi Bear (voice)

            Justin Timberlake        Boo Boo (voice)

            Tom Cavanagh           Ranger Smith

            Rachel                        Anna Faris

Genre: animated comedy

Synopsis: The evil mayor wants to allow the trees in Jellystone to be cut down to make way for agricultural interests.  The only way to stop his plan is for Jellystone to become suddenly more popular (and profitable).  Yogi and Boo Boo take a break from "pic-a-nic basket" stealing to try to help Ranger Smith.  He also is aided by the beautiful Rachel who is filming a nature documentary.  They find a surprising way to save the park.

My two cents: I seem to have outgrown my fondness for Yogi.  The movie had a few amusing parts, but I guess I am just too far out of the age range of the targeted age group.  I got really bored really fast.

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Summer Wars

Movie: Summer Wars

Genre: Japanaese Anime

Synopsis: Kenji is an 11^th grade math-genius/geek with a crush on the beautiful Natsuki.  He agrees to help Natsuki when she goes home to the family estate for a visit. What he does not know is that his real job is to pass himself off to Natsuki’s family as her fiancé during her great-grandmother’s 90^th birthday party.

Oz is an internet site that is used by virtually everyone in Japan – and a lot of the rest of the world – to do everything from pay bills to run telephones to managing satellites.  His first night at the estate, a challenge is issued to Kenji via his internet-connected phone.  He wins the challenge by solving a 2,056 byte encryption algorithm.  Somehow, this allows a misguided application to unlock and take over Oz accounts.  Things start going wrong all over the world as more and more Oz accounts are appropriated.  Finally, Natsuki’s family teams with Kenji to battle the entity that is taking over Oz.

My two cents: This is my first Anime movie.  It was actually kind of interesting.  It took a while to get used to the type of animation and the script style.  The hardest part for me was to stop muttering to myself “well, that is totally ridiculous”.  If you go with the flow, it is kind of enjoyable . . . but definitely not everyone’s cup of tea.

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The Company Men

Movie: The Company Men

Cast:    Ben Affleck                 (Bobby Walker)

            Rosemarie DeWitt       (Maggie Walker)

            Tommy Lee Jones       (Gene McClary)

            Chris Cooper              (Phil Woodward)

            Maria Bello                 (Sally Wilcox)

            Craig T. Nelson           (James Salinger)

            Kevin Costner             (Jack Dolan)

Genre: Drama

Synopsis: James Salinger, CEO of the conglomerate GTX, is willing to do whatever it takes to make his company’s bottom line look better to investors. Gene McClary is a senior VP who has been with Salinger since they were roommates in college.  Sally Wilcox is the person who does the firing as massive layoffs begin.  Among the first to be laid off from his $160,000 a year job is Bobby Walker. After 12 years with the company, Bobby gets no advance notice of his firing.  He does get 12 weeks severance pay.  Bobby is shell-shocked and takes a long time before the reality of his situation sinks in.  His wife, Maggie, understands the severity of the situation, but has a hard time getting him to face the facts.  They eventually have to move in with his parents while Bobby goes to work for Maggie’s brother, Jack Dolan – a carpenter doing a house renovation.  The next round of layoffs gets Phil Woodward, who is even less prepared than Bobby.

The movie follows the different ways in which these newly jobless men deal with their plight.  It also examines the corporate culture that is so willing to both pay exorbitant salaries and so equally willing to heartlessly fire these same executives. No one is safe from the ax in this corporate world.

My two cents: A great movie.  To anyone working for a large corporation, I suspect this movie would be classified as a horror movie.  I personally never had to unemployment; but the idea of being jobless – especially with a family to support – scared the living daylights out of me (at least until I retired).

I have always believed that Ben Affleck is a much better actor than most critics seem to be willing to credit him.  I think his performance in this movie may serve to silence at least some of them.  I thought he did a fabulous job of capturing the arrogance of the upwardly mobile highly paid mid-manager.  It was fascinating to watch his character sink lower and lower until he hit rock bottom – moving in with his parents and being a gofer for his brother-in-law.

I thought Rosemarie DeWitt was also great in portraying the loving wife who was more grounded than her husband, wanting to support him while at the same time lighting a fire under his butt.

And then there was good old Tommy Lee Jones.  Tommy has yet to disappoint me.  He was the one honest and ethical beacon of hope in the top management of the company.  He has a great soliloquy in which he describes the problem of corporate America being obsessed not with actually making things, but with balance sheets.

 

Don’t expect to leave this movie laughing, but do expect to leave with a lot to think about.

I found Roger Ebert’s review to be particularly interesting for this movie:

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110119/REVIEWS/110119984/0/FILMFESTIVALS06

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The Illusionist

Movie: The Illusionist

Genre: Animated

Synopsis: This takes place in 1959.  The Illusionist is a rather elegant aging magician who excels at slight-of-hand tricks.  The problem is that there is just no longer much of a demand for his type of show.  While playing at a pub in Scotland he meets a young girl named Alice.  She is enthralled by him and he takes a fatherly interest in her.  When he leaves, she goes with him. The movie follows them as he tries to provide for her from his ever decreasing income while she is getting her first taste of city life.

My two cents: The best word I have come across (courtesy of Roger Ebert) to describe the emotion this movie produced is melancholy.  The old man just cannot seem to catch a break.  I enjoyed the movie, but was often scratching my head in puzzlement.  There is very little dialogue.  About half of what little there is seemed to be just mumbling.  The rest seemed to be a mix of French and English and something I did not recognize.  The music was as much responsible for generating my feeling of melancholy as the movie.

The movie has a really interesting background.  I would suggest reading Roger Ebert’s rather extensive review at: http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110112/REVIEWS/110119994

Bottom line: this movie is not for everyone, but if you don’t mind some slow-moving, sweetly melancholy animation with some nice, but equally melancholy music - give this a try.

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The Way Back

Movie: The Way Back

Cast:    Ed Harris         (Mr. Smith)

            Jim Sturgess    (Janusz)

Genre: Drama

Synopsis: The movie is supposed to be based a real-life prison escape.  A group of prisoners in a Soviet gulag in Siberia escaped in 1940.  Among them was an American known only as Mr. Smith and a Polish prisoner named Janusz.  The conditions in the gulag and in the mine these prisoners worked in were brutal; but the conditions into which they escaped were no less brutal.  As Janusz said, at least they could die as free men. Janusz was the only one with any real survival skills.  They survive a truly brutal Siberian winter as they try to make it to the Soviet-Mongolian border.  Ultimatley, Janusz leads the survivors across the Himalayas to freedom in India.

My two cents: According to IMDB, there is evidence that the author of the memoirs upon which the movie is based did not actually make the journey himself; but rather wrote about the exploits of some other prisoners.  In any case this was a pretty good movie. They conditions these men survived are beyond belief.  At times I would catch myself thinking that the writers had made the script a little too unbelievable – until I remembered that this journey actually happened.

Maybe not the best date movie, but worth seeing.

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No Strings Attached

Movie: No Strings Attached

Cast:    Natalie Portman          (Emma)

            Ashton Kutcher          (Adam)

Genre: Romantic comedy

Synopsis: Emma and Adam first met 15 years ago at summer camp.  They meet up again when Adam is on the rebound from a girl (who is now dating his father) and Emma has her M.D. and is interning at a hospital.  Emma has an aversion to personal relationships, but discovers she enjoys sex with Adam.  She proposes that they be “friends with benefits”.  Naturally, one of them breaks the deal by falling in love.

My two cents: I normally do not care much for Ashton Kutcher’s movie characters.  By the end of the movie, I actually liked his Adam character.  There was some nice off-beat humor.  Kevin Kline was great as Adam’s famous actor father. Natalie Portman was great, as always.

This movie will probably not be up for a lot of awards, but I found it to be entertaining with a nice ending.

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