Hope Springs

Movie: Hope Springs

Genre: drama

Synopsis: Kay (Meryl Streep) and Arnold (Tommy Lee Jones) have been married for 31 years.  They sleep in separate bedrooms and have not had sex in almost 4 years.  They are cordial to each other – but act more like borders in the same house than husband and wife.  Kay wants to improve things.  Arnold seems content with status quo.  Somehow, Kay manages to strong-arm Arnold into attending a week-long “intensive” one-week marriage counseling session with Dr, Feld (Steve Carell).   Arnold just wants to avoid any discussion of  feelings and get back home.  Kay is just as anxious to try and fix the marriage.  Dr. Feld has to try to do the actual fixing.

My two cents: This was a great movie.  It seems to have gotten the label “chick flick” assigned to it – which I hate.  Why can’t a guy appreciate a movie that deals with real-life relationship issues.  Anyhow, great acting by all three main actors.  It was great to watch Arnold start squirming as soon as anything remotely like “feeling” is mentioned.  It was equally touching to watch Kay struggle to express what she wanted – and was not getting – from the marriage.  Not to ignore Steve Carell who was perfect as the almost unflappable therapist wrestling to save this formerly happy couple.  If you like great acting and a great script and don’t mind seeing a movie with the “chick flick” label, definitely give this movie a try.

[86]

The Expendables 2

Movie: The Expendables 2

Genre: action

Synopsis: The gang from The Expendables (Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, and Bruce Willis are back – and this time they added Chuck Norris, Jean-Claude Van Damme, and Arnold himself.  The plot does not really matter.  Jean-Claude leads a bunch of really bad guys and Sylvester Stallone leads his good guys and the kick butt (after getting their own kicked a bit).

My two cents: Much better than the first installment.  You just need to leave any sense of reality behind (such as the idea of 20+ bad guys with machine guns never actually getting a bullet to hit the good guys) and enjoy the action.  When Chuck Norris walked into the scene (to the theme from The Good, The Bad and The Ugly), I wanted to stand up and cheer.  It got hard to keep track of the one-liners the characters kept tossing about in reference to their older roles.  Chuck Norris’ character even told a Chuck Norris joke.  I loved this movie.  With any luck, they will be back for installment 3 – and with expanded roles for Arnold and Chuck.

[85]

Ruby Sparks

Movie: Ruby Sparks

Genre: romantic fantasy

Synopsis: Calvin (Paul Zano) was a world famous author at the age of 19.  Ten years later he has still not written his second novel.  He is a recluse who cannot seem to figure out how to meet a girl.  He is finally hit by an inspiration and begins his second novel by describing his idea of the perfect woman.  The next thing he knows, his dream girl has been manifested a a real woman – Ruby Sparks (Zoe Kazan) and she is making him breakfast.  The movie follows Calvin as he tries to deal with this addition to his life – someone whom he can control just by typing a new line in his novel.  Other actors in the movie include Annette Bening, Steve Coogan, Antonio Banderas, and Elliot Gould.

My two cents: I found this to be pretty enjoyable.  But I think a much better job could have been done with the premise.  I also had a problem with Calvin.  He had a LOT of emotional baggage and got to be just too annoying at times.  The premise has so much that can be done with it, I just kept hoping for more.  At one point, the movie took a dark turn and I was afraid the ending would be equally dark.  I do not want to give too much away – suffice it to say that I was happy with the ending.

[84]

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Movie: Beasts of the Southern Wild

Genre: drama

Synopsis: Six-year-old Hushpuppy (Quvenzhané Wallis) and her father, Wink (Dwight Henry) live in an extraordinarily poor delta area near New Orleans called The Bathtub.  It would be a step up to say they lived in squalor.  Wink is sick and is trying to prepare Hushpuppy to survive without him.  When a hurricane hits, The Bathtub is devastated and the survivors struggle to remain alive.

My two cents:  First of all, the actress who played Hushpuppy was amazing.  She was only five when she auditioned for the role.  I don’t think I have ever seen an actor this young be so damn good.  That said, I pretty much hated this movie.  I know it got rave reviews – but I spent most of the movie trying to figure out what the heck was going on.  There were frequent scenes of ice bergs breaking off from glaciers and of some kind of cross between a bull and a boar that ranged in size from a pig to about twice the size of an elephant.  I am sure they symbolize something.  I think this is one of those movies – at least for me – that I should go to in order to see good acting and special effects and not attempt to understand it.  Maybe I was just not in the right frame of mind.

[83]

Total Recall

Movie: Total Recall

Genre: sci-fi

Synopsis: This is a remake of Arnold’s 1990 movie of the same name.  This one takes place on earth in a really unpleasant future.   The earth has had multiple nuclear wars and much of it is not inhabitable.  The world is run by a man who is determined to expand his grip and stamp out much of the remaining population to make more room for the rulers. Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell) is a lowly factory worker married to Lori (Kate Beckinsale).  One day Douglas decides to try Rekall – a company that implants memories (it allows you to “remember” things you never did).  During a preliminary exam, they discover that Douglas was not who he thought he was.  It seems he is really some kind of spy. Minutes later, government troops descend on Rekall and try to kill Quaid.  This pretty much goes on for the rest of the movie

My two cents: The movie was OK – but nothing to get overly excited over.

[82]

The Intouchables

Movie: The Intouchables

Genre: comedy-drama

Synopsis: This is a French movie with English subtitles.  It is based on actual people.  Phillipe (Francois Cluzet) was a very wealthy adventurer.  He had one adventure too many and ended up a quadriplegic – paralyzed from the neck down.  He is looking to hire someone to take care of his person needs – getting him up in the morning, showering him, dressing him, feeding him, …. all the things that he cannot do himself.  To the shock of his staff, he hires Driss (Omar Sy).  Omar has a criminal past and lives in what seems to be a ghetto in Paris.  The movie follows the relationship and deep friendship that develops between these seemingly complete opposites.  Phillipe introduces Driss to live classical music – and Driss responds by introducing Phillipe to rock when he hijacks the orchestra’s playlist.

My two cents: Not to my credit – I almost did not see this movie because I tend to be uncomfortable watching portrayals of quadriplegics.  I am happy I did see it.  It was hysterically funny one moment and the next moment touchingly poignant.  It was great fun to watch Phillipe break down the walls that Driss had and to watch these to men come to trust and rely on each other. If you get a chance to see this movie, you should definitely give it a try.

[81]

The Campaign

Movie: The Campaign

Genre: comedy

Synopsis: Cam Brady (Will Ferrell) is a really sleezy multi-term Democratic Congressman from North Carolina who is running unopposed for re-election. The Motch (spelled K-O-C-H) brothers (John Lithgow and Dan Aykroyd) are gazzilionaires who decide to fund a Republican to run against Brady.  They decide on Marty Huggins (Zach Galifianakis).  Marty is initially like a sheep being led to slaughter, but he quickly shows his mettle in the dirty campaign that ensues.

My two cents: I loved this movie.  Will Ferrell was perfect, as was Zach Galifianakis.  As a matter of fact, everyone in the movie gave pretty solid performances.  I have been a fan of Zach’s since the first Hangover.  It amazes me how, in every single movie I have seen him in, he manages to steal every scene – regardless of how legendary his co-stars are.  This movie gets a big off-color at times – but it will keep you laughing.

[80]

The Watch

Movie: The Watch

Genre: comedy

Synopsis: Evan (Ben Stiller) is a compulsive organizer.  He manages to organize a neighborhood watch that includes Bob (Vince Vaughn) and Franklin (Jonah Hill).  Nobody but Evan really takes the job seriously – until they discover signs of an alien invasion (seriously).  It is now up to The Watch to save the world.

My two cents:  This will probably not get any Oscar nods, but I really enjoyed it.  I had my usual problem with Vince Vaughn – he just annoys the crap out of me.  If you like typical Ben Stiller and/or Jonah Hill (or even Vince Vaughn) movies, you should enjoy this.

[79]

Farewell, My Queen

Movie: Farewell, My Queen

Genre: historical drama

Synopsis: This is a French movie with English subtitles.  This movie chronicles the final days of the French aristocracy at Versailles before the mobs descended on it during the French Revolution.  It is told from the perspective of Sidonie Laborde (Léa Seydoux) who is the personal reader of Marie Antoinette (Diane Kruger).

My two cents: An interesting movie.  It really brings home how the utter arrogance and the debauchery of the French ruling class at Versailles is exceeded only by the complete disregard and contempt most of them had for the masses.

[78]

To Rome With Love

Movie: To Rome With Love

Genre: romantic comedy

Synopsis: Directed by Woody Allen, this movie is several smaller stories that are interwoven.  In one, Alec Baldwin is a successful, but unhappy, architect who seems to be trying to capture something from when he lived in Rome as a young man.  Another has Jesse Eisenberg and Alison Pill as a young couple with a friend (played by Alsion Pill) who comes between them.  In a third story Roberto Benigni is an office worker who wakes up one morning to discover that overnight he has become the most famous man in the world – for reasons that he never does learn.  There are one or two other story lines – and all of the stories cross at least one of the other stories somewhere along the line.

My two cents: I so loved Midnight in Paris that I was hoping for something as good.  I did not find it.  Individual performances were OK, it just never came together for me. The movie was entertaining, but nothing more.  I would probably not even bother to see this if it was on TV.

[77]

Savages

Movie: Savages

Genre: thriller

Synopsis: To set the cast: Chon (Taylor Kitsch) is a former Navy Seal, quite comfortable with violence.  Ben (Aaron Johnson) was a horticultural guru and more the peaceful stuff.   O (Blake Lively) is the girlfriend of both – and all three live together.  Elena (Selma Hayek) is the ruthless head of a Mexican Drug Cartel and Lad (Benicio Del Toro) is her equally ruthless enforcer. Chon and Ben make an unlikely pair of best friends.  Along with O, they have become growers of the country’s best marijuana.  They have no plans on expanding their business and are the antithesis of the classic drug dealers – very laid back and reasonable.  Until Elena decides to become partners with them.  When they are not enthusiastic enough for her, she kidnaps O.  This sets up the rest of the movie with the boys trying to rescue O and not get themselves killed in the process.

My two cents: My only real beef with this movie is with the trailers I thought they were a bit deceptive.  My expectation that I would be watching two guys go on a mission of vengeance to rescue their girlfriend – I was thinking of Denzel Washington’s swath of destruction in Man on Fire.  That was not this movie.  That said – I really did enjoy it.  I liked was the way it showed how a decent peaceful person (Ben) could, when pushed hard enough, descend into being a pretty darned violent and ruthless person. I also enjoyed how Elena was portrayed – one minute she is ordering men to be brutally killed and the next moment is on the phone pleading with her daughter to call her (from college) more often.  All of the main characters were very well played.

[75]