Season of the Witch

Movie: Season of the Witch

Cast:    Nicolas Cage        (Hehmen)

            Ron Perlman        (Felson)

            Claire Foy            (The Girl)

Genre: drama, adventure

Synopsis: The movie takes place during the crusades in the late 1200’s and early 1300’s.  Behmen and Felson are two knights who have been fighting in the crusades for many years.  Behmen finally has had enough when the church’s representative orders them to kill unarmed women and children.  So Behmen and his companion,  Felson, quit the crusade.  They are soon arrested and imprisoned for desertion.  A Cardinal (Christopher Lee) offers them a deal.  Europe is being ravaged by the plague.  The Cardinal has imprisoned a suspected witch that he thinks is responsible for the epidemic.  He wants the two knights (in exchange for pardons) to escort the prisoner to a monastery where the monks will put her on trial.  They alone possess the secret spell that, if she is found guilty of being a witch, will enable them to execute her and bring an end to the plague. 

The ‘witch’ seems to be a helpless young girl.  We soon learn that she is far from helpless.  The journey to the monastery is full of dangers – some normal, some supernatural.  The movie culminates with a battle at the monastery.

My two cents: A pretty decent medieval adventure/thriller/horror.  Ron Perlman was especially fun as the sidekick.  The entity they battle at the end was a true bad-ass.  It was nice to see Christopher Lee (although it was not easy to tell it was him).  I think this movie has gotten a bad rap from the critics.  Sure, it’s probably not going to get a Best Picture nomination – but a movie does not have to be Oscar material to be pretty enjoyable. Another thing I liked was the mix of humor, horror and suspense.  What it does not do is sell the idea that living back in the 1300’s was a lot of fun.  Everyone looked like they were a month overdue for a change of clothes and a good bath.  Lots of action, lots of humor and very few dull parts – I never caught myself checking my watch.

[12]  

Gulliver’s Travel 3D

Movie: Gulliver’s Travel 3D

Cast:    Jack Black          (Lemuel Gulliver)

            Jason Segel         (Horatio)

            Amanda Peet      (Darcy Silverman)

            Emily Blunt         (Princess Mary)

            Billy Connolly     (King Theodore)

Genre: Comedy

I saw it on: January 11, 2011

Synopsis: Lemuel Gulliver (a typical Jack Black buffoon) has worked in his company’s mail room for ten years.  For five of them he has had a crush on the travel editor, Darcy. He finally decides to tell her how he feels, but things go awry and instead she thinks he wants a travel assignment and sends him to the Bermuda Triangle.  There, his boat is sucked into a “reverse vortex” and he ends up in in the kingdom of Lilliput.

He is initially a prisoner, but eventually becomes a hero.  His reputation is helped along by a never-ending series of lies about who he was in his own world. He tries to help his best friend, Horatio, make some headway in his quest to win the heart of Princess Mary.  Things go seriously awry when the former general from Lilliput decides to help the enemy. Jack’s temporary exile (I don’t want to give away any more) was a really funny addition to the plot.

My two cents: A pretty enjoyable movie.  Jack Black now seems to own the role of the lovable buffoon who is all talk and no deed.  I have so enjoyed in him in non-comedic roles such as King Kong and especially The Holiday that I wish he would break out and do some more non-buffoon roles.  That said, he plays his character really well.  There really wasn’t any time when the movie seemed to drag – I don’t think I ever checked my watch.  Bill Connelly was really funny as the King and Emily Blunt was a great Princess.  I thought all of the dialogue involving the royal family was very well written.

My only real gripe is with the 3D version.  I thought it was a total waste of my money.  I never saw anything that I felt was made any better by being in 3D.

[11]

Somewhere

Movie: Somewhere

Cast:    Stephen Dorff       (Johnny Marco)

            Elle Fanning          (Cleo)

Genre: drama

I saw it on: January 9, 2011

Synopsis: Johnny Marco is a successful actor. He does not spend much time with his 11-year-old daughter, Cleo, who lives with her mother.  Johnny is something of a party animal who is primarily into having fun.  The movie opens with him recovering from a broken arm.  It seems that he is increasingly bored with his day to day life.  He even falls asleep while watching to pole dancers who are making a house call.

When Cleo’s mother decides she “needs to get away for a while”, Cleo has to move in with her father for a few weeks until summer camp.  Surprisingly, Johnny discovers that he really enjoys hanging out with his daughter.  He takes her with him to a PR visit to Rome, where they have a great time.  The movie follows their relationship while Johnny seems to be undergoing a change in what he wants in life.  Ultimately, he has to deliver Cleo to camp, at which point things come to a head when Johnny is faced with not having his daughter around.

My two cents: This is kind of a tough one.  When the credits started rolling, I had a WTF moment – I felt that nothing had been resolved and I still do not understand the closing scene. I walked out of the theatre very disgruntled.  Then I remembered that this was a Sofia Coppola movie and I started thinking about “Lost in Translation” – which I really loved.  I started to see the similarities between the two films.  I still have not quite figured out how to articulate the similarities. 

I really enjoyed watching Johnny discover that his daughter was really enjoyable to have around – and realize what he missed out on by being an absent parent.  One thing that puzzled me was the interior of his apartment.  It was in the Chateau Marmont which is apparently a very famous and elegant luxury hotel on Sunset Blvd.  Maybe I missed something, but the décor in his rooms did not look expensive – they looked like something from the 80’s.

Bottom line – this is definitely worth seeing.  Especially if you can figure out what that final scene means.  I look forward to seeing it again when it hits the small screen.  I suspect the second time around it is going to be even better.

 [10]

I Love You Phillip Morris

Movie: I Love You Phillip Morris

Cast:    Jim Carrey             (Steven Russell)

            Ewan McGregor   (Philip Morris)

            Leslie Mann          (Debbie)   

Genre: drama, comedy

I saw it on: January 9, 2011

Synopsis: Debbie and Steven seem to be the perfect couple.  Then we learn Steven is actually gay.  When he has a car accident on his way to a tryst with his male lover, he has an epiphany – he decides to come out of the closet.  He moves to Florida where he lives with his new boyfriend where he makes a living as a con man.  The authorities catch up with Steven and he ends up incarcerated.  In prison, he meets a prisoner who is to become the love of his life - Philip Morris.  The rest of the movie follows Steven as he repeatedly gets out of prison (usually by escape or by con) and is repeatedly re-arrested.  His never-ending goal is to be with Philip Morris – whether in prison or out.

My two cents: This was an interesting Jim Carrey character.  Not as over-the-top as usual, but with much of the same manic energy.  The big difference is that he was gay.  The myriad cons he pulls on business men, the legal profession and prison officials are really fun to watch.  Even so, about 70 minutes in I started looking at my watch to see how much more I had to sit through.  It just started to bore me.  I must admit though, the final five or ten minutes did provide quite an interesting twist. 

 Bottom line – If I had it to do over again, I think I would for it to come to Netflix or HBO.  Warning – if you are going to see this and depictions of gay male sex make you uncomfortable – prepare to be uncomfortable.

[9]

Casino Jack

Movie: Casino Jack

Cast:    Kevin Spacey              (Jack Abramoff)

            Barry Pepper               (Michael Scanlon)

            Kelly Preston              (Pam Abramoff)

            Jon Lovitz                   (Adam Kidan)

            Maury Chaykin           (Big Tony)

Genre: Drama

I saw it on: January 8, 2010

Synopsis: We follow the rise and fall of Jack Abramoff.  He rose to be the most powerful lobbyist in Washington, with Members of Congress literally at his beck and call.  One Indian tribe alone was paying him $1 million per month for his lobbying efforts.  Unfortunately a lot of these efforts never amounted to more than just collecting the money.  Eventually a betrayed woman and an angry tribal leader led to his downfall.

The movie names names and does not pull any punches.  It culminates with Jack before a Senate hearing chaired by John McCain.

My two cents: A pretty good movie.  It serves a good reminder of just how powerful Jack Abramoff was and just how corrupt a lot of Washington big shots were (and are?).  The amounts of money that flowed through Abramoff’s hands is breathtaking.  Two roles that I particularly enjoyed was Jon Lovitz as a really shady business partner of Abramoff and Maury Chaykin playing Big Tony, a mob boss.  There was a lot more humor than I expected in the movie.

Of course, Kevin Spacey dominated any scene he is in.  Energy just seems to flow from him.

[8]

Blue Valentine

Movie: Blue Valentine

Cast:    Michelle Williams       (Cindy)

            Ryan Gosling              (Dean)

Genre: Drama

I saw it on: January 8, 2010

Synopsis: The movie follows two story lines.  One shows us how Cindy and Dean met, started dating and ended up married.  The second story is about the disintegration of their marriage.

My two cents: An interesting movie.  When I see Ryan Gosling, I always think of Lars from “Lars and the Real Girl”.  Dean is a far cry from Lars.  He has some nice qualities, but beneath the surface there is a cauldron of barely suppressed anger.  Cindy came from a household with a verbally abusive father.  It was interesting to see the effect the way her father had treated her mother had on Cindy’s own relationship as an adult.  I found it fascinating to watch how hurtful Dean could be to Cindy without laying a hand on his wife. It was like he was just waiting to twist whatever she said to be an affront or insult to him.

It was a good movie with some great acting, I am just not sure that, for me, it measured up to the hype.

[7]

Dogtooth

Movie: Dogtooth

Cast:    Christos Stergioglou   Father

            Michele Valley            Mother

            Hristos Passalis           Son

            Aggeliki Papoulia        Older Daughter

            Mary Tsoni                  Younger Daughter

Genre: Drama

Greek with English subtitles.

I saw it on: January 4, 2011

Synopsis:  Father and Mother are raising Son, Older Daughter and Younger Daughter (these are really the names they use for each other) in a very secluded environment.  The children appear to be in their mid-twenties.  It also seems that they have only ever seen one single person other than each other and their parents for their entire lives.  All they know is what their parents have told them. For example, when a cat strays into the yard, the children are warned that it is the most dangerous beast in the world and will kill and eat them if given a chance – and they believe it whole-heartedly.  When they see a jet flying overhead, they believe it is as large as it looks to them – about 6 inches long.  They have their own meaning for many words: “sea” is a comfortable chair, “Zombie” is a small yellow flower.

It’s not that they are particularly stupid, its just they know nothing that their parents have not taught them.  They never even think of crossing the threshold of the fence surrounding the property.  They believe the only way to cross the fence line is in the protection of a car.  They are told that only when one of their “dogteeth” falls out will they be old enough to venture off of the property.  There are many really strange quirks to their existence and ways the parents find to introduce things to them.

My two cents: This was one strange movie. I wish that some effort had been made to explain WHY the parents were raising the children this way.  There are numerous humorous scenes created by the incredibly naivity of the children. One of the most memorable for me was when the children were allowed to listen to a record of their “grandfather” singing.  It was actually Frank Sinatra singing one of his more famous songs.  Since it was in English, the father has to translate to Greek.  But his translation has nothing to do with what is being sung.  So I was sitting there listening to Frank Sinatra while reading English subtitles to understand what the Greek false translation was.

I would have been marginally satisfied except for the ending.  The credits rolled and I sat there muttering to myself “What the heck?” (or something close).  If it is on TV, give it a try – but I would not spend money on it.

[5]