The Help

Movie: The Help

Genre: drama

Synopsis: Based on the book of the same name, this film is set in Jackson, Mississippi in 1963. Skeeter (Emma Stone) is a progressive, intelligent 20-something who recently graduated from college with a journalism degree.  She seems the only one in her circle of friends whose goal in life is not finding a husband and having children.  When one of her best friends, Hilly (Bryce Dallas Howard) starts talking about the need to have separate bathrooms for the black maids, Skeeter has a light bulb go on in her head.  She decides to write a book from the perspective of the black help – how they are treated, how their life is,…  The story chronicles how she convinces some of the maids to talk to – and provides a look at the life of a black maid, from the maid’s perspective.

My two cents: The book was amazing and this movie is equally amazing. The book and movie have both been criticized for trivializing the plight of blacks in that era.  From my perspective (that of a white man who grew up in an environment that provided almost no contact with blacks) this book and movie provided an eye-opening glimpse into what the cost of racism can be.  The blacks’ total lack of rights was appalling.  The scene that keeps coming back to me was when one of the maids (played by Viola Davis) is pushing a grocery cart down the right side of an isle of a grocery store (which she is only allowed to shop in if she is shopping for white people) and she encounters a white woman pushing a cart.  The only permissible response is for her to duck her head and move out of the way.  I still do not understand the mental process whereby it is considered to be okay for a black made to raise white children from birth, to clean the white people’s houses, to cook meals for white people – but any direct physical contact (such as the touch of a hand) is considered to be taboo.

In any case, the performances were standouts: Emma Stone as Skeeter, Bryce Dallas Howard as Hilly, Jessica Chastain at Celia Foote and Allison Janey as Skeeter’s mother; but the two best performances were Octavia Spencer Minnie Jackson and Viola Davis as Aibileen Clarke.  I would love to see this movie nominated for Best Picture Oscar . . .  and I am going to be shocked of Viola Davis does not pull down a nomination for Best Actress or Best Supporting Actress.  She was absolutely amazing.

[119]

Horrible Bosses

Movie: Horrible Bosses

Genre: comedy

Synopsis: Nick (Jason Bateman), Dale (Charlie Day) and Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) and three friends who all have bosses-from-hell: played by Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Aniston (a dentist) and Colin Farrell respectively.  They decide the bosses need to die – so they hire a murder-consultant played by Jamie Foxx.  Naturally, things do not go quite as planned.

My two cents:  I really liked this movie.  Kevin Spacey was great as an evil boss.  It was fun to watch Colin Farrell play someone so out of character.  Jason Bateman was his usual sober, dead-pan character.  Jennifer Aniston was … Jennifer Aniston.  The twist in the Stranger on a Train plot was pretty amusing.  My only serious problem was trying to believe that a single guy would be able to – for years – resist Jennifer Aniston’s non-stop quest to get him in bed.  It was kind of fun to see her slip out of her usual nice-girl and play something of a slutty nymphomaniac who seemingly has no limit to what she will do to get nail her dental assistant.

Bottom line: it would have been hard for a film with this much star talent to go wrong – and it went very right.  Lots of laughs. 

[117]

Zookeeper

Movie: Zookeeper

Genre: comedy

Synopsis: Griffen (Kevin James) is a zookeeper who loves his job.  He is still getting over Stephanie (Leslie Bibb), who dumped him five years earlier.  Now Stephanie comes back into Griffin’s life and he hopes to have another shot.  On the down side, Stephanie’s most recent boyfriend (Joe Rogan – from News Radio) is determined to get her back.  This is when Griffin learns that animals can talk . . . and all of the zoo animals pitch in to give him advice on how to win the girl back. Rosario Dawson play another zoo worker and Ken Jeong plays another – really creepy – zoo worker.  And . . . it certainly appeared that the monkey here is the same one that was in Hangover II.

My two cents: A good Kevin James vehicle – much better for him than The Dilemma.  Rosario Dawson was great as a fellow zoo-worker.  Ken Jeungg seems to be specializing in playing disturbingly creepy characters.  By far, my favorite animal scene was when Griffin sneaks a morose gorilla out of the zoo and takes him to TGI Fridays for his birthday.

Bottom line:  probably won’t be up for any Oscars, but is good for some laughs . .  especially if you are a Kevin James fan.

[116]

Larry Crowne

Movie: Larry Crowne

Genre: romantic comedy

Synopsis: Larry Crowne (Tom Hanks) is a retired Navy cook who is recently divorced.  He works at a Target-like store when he is fired because he has not college degree.  So . . . Larry decides to go to a community college, where one of his instructors is Mercedes Tainot (Julia Roberts).  Mercedes is rather disillusioned with her job.  Through Larry, Mercedes finds a new meaning to her efforts as a teacher and through her, Larry learns how to communicate.  And of course, they discover a mutual attraction.

My two cents: A pleasant and amusing romantic comedy.  I found that Julia Roberts did a better job of showing her attraction Tom Hanks.  It was fun to watch the two of them gradually realize what they felt for each other.  The one who stole every scene he was in was George Takei as an economics professor.

[115]

Jaws

Movie: Jaws

Genre: thriller

Synopsis: Chief Brody (Roy Scheider) is the police chief of Amity, a small east-coast island community whose economy depends on beach visitors.  When a shark attack occurs days before July 4th, the town mayor is unwilling to close the beaches for fear of losing tourist dollars.  It soon becomes apparent that a really big white shark has picked Amity to be its feeding grounds.  A shark expert (Richard Dreyfus) and Chief Brody team up with a grizzled fishing boat skipper (Robert Shaw) to try and hunt and catch the great white.

My two cents: Believe it or not, I had never seen this movie.  When I had the opportunity to see it today in a movie theatre, I jumped at the chance.  I can see why it was such a blockbuster. Even after 36 years, the movie packs a wallop.

[114]

Page One: Inside The New York Times

Movie: Page One: Inside The New York Times

Genre: documentary

Synopsis: This was a fascinating movie.  Without any narration, cameras spent a year inside the New York Times, chronicling how the newspaper is dealing with the tremendous changes being forced on printed news media by the internet. You get to follow around the editor-in-chief and department heads.  The largest part of the movie is devoted to a reporter by the name of David Carr.  David was working on a huge story about the demise of The Tribune Company – owners of The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, among other papers.  There is extensive discussion about the role of printed media in today’s online environment.  About why pay for something that is free on the web?

My two cents: A great movie.  I am a long-time fan of newspapers.  It saddens me to see my daily newspaper getting smaller and smaller.  The Sunday paper is now the size that the weekday paper used to be.  Arguments are made by the web-fans, but nothing convinces me that we do not absolutely need to keep our daily newspapers in business.  Anyone with an interest in news, media, or the impact of the web on printed media will enjoy this documentary.

[113]

The Trip

Movie: The Trip

Genre: road trip

Synopsis: This was an odd movie.  It starred Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon playing themselves.  Steve has gotten an assignment by The Observer to review some of England’s finer restaurants.  He had planned on taking his girlfriend on this trip.  When she pulls out at the last minute, he asks his old friend Rob to accompany him.  The majority of the movie consists of ongoing banter between the two, generally while doing impressions of various famous people.

My two cents: An interesting movie.  A lot of laughs, but was a little bit too different for me.  For the first 45 minutes, it was amusing when they would carry on discussions while doing various impressions.  Then it just got old.  Steve had a few scenes where he was trying to come to terms with how his career has progressed and his ever advancing age -  but there just seemed to be a lack of focus or cohesion in what was going on.  

[112]