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.

[21]

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.

[20]

The Heart Specialist

Movie: The Heart Specialist

Cast:    Wood Harris   (Dr. Sidney Zachary)

            Brian J. White (Dr. Ray Howard)

            Zoe Saldana    (Donna)

Genre: comedy, drama

Synopsis: Dr. Ray Howard is a first year intern with a bit of a swelled head because he is a Harvard grad. The actor, Brian J. White) plays Marcus in Men of a Certain Age.  If you are familiar with that series, just think of Dr. Howard as being Marcus with an M.D.  Dr. Sidney Zachary is the senior resident.  He has a hobby on the side where he does stand-up comedy.  His partner is a nurse, Donna.

The movie follows the two doctors as Dr, Zachary tries to break through the icy emotionless wall Dr, Howard presents to the world.

My two cents: This movie was much better than I expected.  How to say this without sounding racist . . . the movie’s lead characters were all black, but the movie was really written in a color-blind way.  The roles could easily have been played by whites or Asians or anyone with very little changes needed to the dialogue.  All three of the leads played their parts very well.

Bottom line: a pretty decent movie.

[18]

Another Year

Movie: Another Year

Cast:    Jim Broadbent             (Tom)

            Ruth Sheen                 (Gerri)

            Lesley Manville           (Mary)

            Oliver Maltman           (Joe)

Genre: comedy, drama

Synopsis: Tom and Gerri probably in their 60’s, have been married forever and are extraordinarily happy.  Tom is a geological engineer and Gerri is a mental health counselor.  Mary (40-something) is a secretary who has worked with Gerri for 20 years.  They have a son, Joe, who is single and 30 years old.  The thing with Tom and Gerri (yes, I thought of the cartoon every time I heard their names together) is that they are so happy together and so comfortable in their relationship and are basically really good people.  They have extraordinary patience with and love for their friends.  Friends who are not anywhere near as happy as Tom and Gerri.

The movie follows the couples interactions with friends and family during all four seasons of the year.  In “Spring”, Tom and Gerri invite Mary over for dinner and we learn that she has a tendency to drink too much. We also learn that although she tries to put on a show of being happy, she is desperately lonely.  We also see a hint that she may have a thing for their son, Joe.

During the other three seasons we meet a horribly unhappy friend of Tom’s, Joe’s new girlfriend (much to the dismay of Mary), Tom’s newly widowed older brother and his brother’s unpleasant son. We also see the “fun” Mary has when she becomes a car owner.

The movie seems to be as much about Mary and her unhappiness as it is about Tom and Gerri’s love for each other.

My two cents: A truly fabulous movie.  About a third of the way in, I found the movie was causing me to relax.  I never did figure out exactly why it had this effect.  I have seen Jim Broadbent before, but the rest of the cast was new to me.  They all did a great job.

If you want a lot of action and yelling and screaming, this is not for you.  If you want to see a great slice-of-life covering a year in the life of a loving couple, this is the movie for you.  I keep talking about how loving they are. . .  but the writers and director get this across without a lot of emotional displays or sappy scenes.  Very good writing here.  The feeling it engendered in me is similar to what I get when I watch an episode of the old Andy of Mayberry.  Not a lot happens, I laugh and chuckle a lot – and I feel a lot better after watching it.

[17]

Undertow

Movie: Undertow

Cast:    Christian Mercado      (Miguel)

            Tatiana Astengo          (Mariela)

Manolo Cardona         (Santiago)

Genre: drama

Synopsis: Miguel is a poor fisherman in a poor fishing village on the coast of Peru.  Mariela, his wife, is expecting their first child.  Santiago is a wealthy painter who visits the village every summer to paint.  It turns out that Miguel and Santiago have had a physical and emotional relationship for years.  When Santiago dies unexpectedly, his ghost lingers on – but only Miguel can see it.

We follow Miguel as he has to face the consequences of his actions and has to figure out what to do to put Santiago’s ghost to rest.

My two cents: An interesting movie.  I went in thinking it was a Peruvian ghost story – the part about gay lovers escaped me in the synopsis I read.  So . . . it caught me by surprise the first time the two guys fell, naked, into each other’s arms.  Miguel was forced to face up to his relationship with Santiago in order to save his relationship with his own wife.  I really enjoyed watching this struggle and seeing how the villagers did (or did not) support him.

If you don’t mind a lot of sub-titles (or if you speak Spanish), this is worth giving a try.

[16]