War Horse

Movie: War Horse

Genre: war

Synopsis: The movie starts out shortly before World War I in England.  Albert (Jeremy Irvine) forms an unbreakable friendship with a thoroughbred horse (Joey) his father bought. When World War I breaks out, the horse is sold to the army.  As soon as he is old enough to enlist, Jeremy goes off to try and find his beloved horse.  The movie follows the ups and (mostly) downs of Joey’s army career.  Joey has unimaginable courage and drive.  We also follow Albert in his quest to re-unite with Joey.

My two cents: A pretty good movie.  The horse really has unbelievable courage and drive.  What will keep some people from really embracing this film is the violence.  There are a lot of scenes showing the horrors of trench warfare.  What I found hardest to take was the punishing life Joey had in the army.  Horses were considered totally expendable, They were basically worked until the dropped and then executed and replaced.  The worst scene, for me, is when Joey broke free and went charging through the battlefield.  I won’t give any more away – but be prepared to cringe by the time Joey’s charge is done.  If you can deal with the animal suffering, you should enjoy this movie.

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The Artist

Movie: The Artist

Genre: romantic comedy

Synopsis: The movie is set in 1927.  George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is the biggest silent film star of his time.  When his studio switches to motion pictures with sound and dialog (“talkies”),  George.refuses to make the transition.  This begins his lifes’s downward spiral.  On the other side of the coin is Peppy Miller (Bérénice Bejo).  Peppy started out as an extra in George’s last movie.  She is a natural, especially for talkies.  Her meteoric rise as an actress sis a steady and quick as George’s descent.

My two cents: I absolutely loved this film.  With the exception of two scenes, it is a silent film.  I really enjoyed the rare experience of watching a silent film.  Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo were both great in their roles.  I The only actor in the movie that I recognized was John Goodman as the studio head.  This movie was so different than any movie I have seen, that it is difficult to explain exactly why I liked it so much.  I was sorry to see it end.

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A Dangerous Treatment

Movie: A Dangerous Treatment

Genre: biographical drama

Synopsis: Based on fact, this movie exams the relationship between Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) and Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortenson) and the relationship between Carl Jung and his sometime patient, Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley).  While initially a protégé of Freud, Jung eventually sought to divert from Frieds path – something that Freud fought bitterly.

My two cents: This was a fascinating movie. A solid performance by Viggo Mortenson, a good performance by Michael Fassbender, and an outstanding performance by Keira Knightley.  The verbal exchanges between Freud and Jung were very well-written.  Viggo Mortenson did a great job of capturing the inner turmoil that tortured Jung.  But Keira Knightley stole the movie.  I thought this was the best I have seen her.  Her character was so tortured by her mental problems that at times it seemed that she suffered from a physically deforming disease. The scenes when her character was suffering seizure-like attacks must have been exhausting to perform.  I read a lot of viewer comments criticizing her performance as over-acting and over-doing the portrayal of the physical quirks of a mental patient.  I saw an interview with the director where he describes how her portrayal followed the detailed notes Jung took describing Sabina Spielrein’s symptoms.  He said that, if anything, she underplayed the way Sabina really behaved.  This movie is well-worth seeing.

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The Sitter

Movie: The Sitter

Genre: comedy

Synopsis: This is loosely based on “Adventures in Babysitting”. Noah (Jonah Hill) is in his early 20’s, unemployed and lives with his mother.  As favor for to his mother, he agrees to babysit for a couple.  Their three messed-up children embark on a night long adventure with Noah when he decides to take them along on a trip to the city to meet up with his “girlfriend”.

My two cents: This was much better than I expected.  It definitely earns its “R” rating.  Jonah is basically a good person and as inappropriate as most of the humor is . . . Jonah manages to touch the each of the kids and help them each to make an improvement in their lives.  I really enjoyed it.

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Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Movie: Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

Genre: thriller

Synopsis: This is the fourth in the Mission Impossible series. This time around, Ethan Hunt’s team is framed for bombing the Kremlin.  They are disavowed by the “Secretary” and are on their own.  Their mission is to clear their name and to save the world from a maniac who has decided that it is time for the human species to be exterminated. Simon Pegg was back from MI-III.  He was joined by newbies Jeremy Renner and Paula Patton.

My two cents: It has been a while since I have seen one of the MI movies, but I cannot imagine any of them were more intense and riveting than this one. I left the theatre feeling drained.  Jeremy Renner and Paula Patton were great additions to the team.  I hope they stick around for any further MI movies. If you liked the previous MI’s, you should love this.  If you are just a fan of spy-thrillers, you should like this.  Unless you only like dull slow-moving movies, you should like this.

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We Bought a Zoo

Movie: We Bought a Zoo

Genre: family-drama

Synopsis: Benjamin Mee (Matt Damon) is the recently widowed father of the 7-year-old Rosie (Magee Elizabeth Jones) and 14-year-old Dylan (Colin Ford).  Benjamin decides his family needs a major change, so he quits his job and buys a new house – that happens to come with a 17-acre zoo.  The head zoo-keeper is Kelly (Scarlett Johansson).  The zoo is in bad physical shape and in dire financial straits, but Benjamin is determined to make a go of it.  The goal is to get everything fixed up so that the zoo can pass inspection and re-open.

My two cents: I was not too enthusiastic about seeing this movie. But . . . Matt Damon has never let me down and I am fans of both Scarlett Johansson and Elle Fanning, so I decided to give it shot.  Good decision.  The phrase that keeps coming to mind when I think of this movie is “heart warming”.  Benjamin is good person and a good father who is trying his best to raise his children following the loss of his beloved wife.  His son was a little over-the-top with his self-pity; but his sister more than made up for his character.  I cannot wait to see more of Magee Elizabeth Jones.  She is only seven, but pretty much stole every scene she was in.

If you like a feel-good movie, give this a shot.

It turns out the whole movie is based on fact. While the movie is set in Southern California, the zoo it portrays is actually in England.

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The Adventures of Tintin in 3D IMAX

Movie: The Adventures of Tintin in 3D IMAX

Genre: animated adventure

Synopsis: Based on the wildly popular Belgian books, this is a stop motion movie – the same style as “Polar Express”.  Tintin (Jamie Bell) is a hot-shot reporter in Belgium.  When he buys a model of the Unicorn – a famous sailing ship that sank in the 1600’s - things start happening.  Two different men try to buy it from him – one of them gets shot.  Someone steals the ship.  It turns out the ship has a clue to a fabulous treasure from the 1600’s.  Tintin teams up with Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis), a descendent of the captain of the Unicorn, to track down the two other clues and ultimately find the missing treasure.

My two cents: I had never heard of Tintin until this movie came out.  While the animation and 3D effects were decent, the movie as a whole was pretty disappointing.  Perhaps if I had read the Tintin stories I might have enjoyed it more.  Instead, I found myself taking frequent looks at my watch to see how much longer I was going to have to sit through it.

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