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Catch
a Fire
Reviewed by Deborah Young
Who doesn’t love a hero? But the power in a hero’s
story lies not in the hero’s display of strength and fortitude but
in his ability to overcome his weaknesses and fears. Catch a Fire
skillfully taps into the power of Patrick Chamusso’s story.
When we first see Chamusso (Derek Luke) he’s a foreman at an oil
refinery in apartheid-era South Africa. He’s a charming and obviously
smart, hardworking man. He maintains his sweet life as a husband, father
and soccer coach by keeping his head down and acquiescing when challenged
by racist authorities.
Early in the film Patrick and his family travel by car to a wedding.
We see them dancing, smiling and enjoying their friends. We see Patrick
and his wife Precious (Bonnie Mbuli) enjoying the glorious landscape during
a moment alone.
But on their way home police officers stop them for no reason, question
them and search their car. Patrick lowers his head and calls the interrogating
officer “boss” while his wife pulls their two little girls
close to her and tries to shield them from the sight of other black men
being beaten or shot.
When Patrick returns home he once again immerses himself in his job,
his family life and his duty as the coach of a boys’ soccer team.
He avoids the political…until the day that South Africa’s
oppressive system unravels his quiet, prosperous existence.
Chamusso’s path collides with that of Nic Vos (Tim Robbins), a
cruel investigator who detains Chamusso and some of his friends on false
charges. The indignities that Vos and his men put Chamusso and his family
and friends through are the catalysts that thrust Chamusso into the heart
of the revolution, into the military wing of the African National Congress.
Luke thoroughly convinces us as this soft-spoken family man who becomes
a reluctant warrior. And Robbins uses his typically charming personal
traits to create an abominable villain. As Vos, Robbins’ sparkling
eyes hide his contempt. His subdued smile hides his deceit. His soothing
voice softens the sharp words he speaks.
Likewise, little-known actress Bonnie Mbuli creates a three-dimensional
and sympathetic Precious. Her quiet dignity and her inherent jealousy
combine to render her simultaneously heroic and tragic.
With its thoughtful, spare script and terrific performances, Catch
a Fire is a superb combination of intellect, emotion and action.
(PG-13) Rating: 4 (Posted 10/27/06)
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Running
with Scissors
Reviewed by Russ Simmons
So, you think that you had a strange upbringing? Are you of
the opinion that your family is dysfunctional?
Well, just take a look at the experiences of Augusten Burroughs. By comparison,
you’re experience will probably seem like something out of The
Brady Bunch.
Burroughs’ best-selling memoir, Running With Scissors,
details the bizarre events of his formative years in the 1970s that make
the word “eccentric” seem downright inadequate. On a positive
note, it demonstrates how one can manage to survive a bizarre family life.
Annette Bening (Being Julia) leads a terrific cast as Burroughs’
nutty mother, Deirdre. Convinced that she’s a misunderstood genius,
Deirdre longs of the day when she can break out of her middle-class domesticity
and become a famous poet. Her constant nagging alienates her husband,
Norman (Alec Baldwin from TV’s 30 Rock) and drives him
to drink.
Things get really strange when the couple begins counseling sessions
with a psychiatrist named Dr. Finch (Brian Cox from TV’s Deadwood).
If Tom Cruise needed additional evidence for his claims that the profession
of psychiatry is full of malfeasance, he could use Dr. Finch as a poster
child.
Poor Augusten, played by Joseph Cross (Flags of Our Fathers),
watches helplessly has his parents’ marriage crumbles and Deirdre
becomes totally dependent of Dr. Finch who keeps her on a steady diet
of prescription meds. She gives him power of attorney and leaves it to
him to raise her only son.
The horrified Augusten moves in with the strangest clan since The
Addams Family. Not only does Dr. Finch see cryptic signs in the color,
form and quantity of his bowel movements, his mousy wife Agnes (Never
Again’s Jill Clayburgh) eats a steady diet of dog food. Daughter
Agnes (Gwyneth Paltrow from Infamous) is a Bible-thumping pet
killer, daughter Natalie (Evan Rachel Wood from The Upside of Anger)
is a sexually promiscuous teen and son Neil (Joseph Fiennes from The
Merchant of Venice) is a gay man with homicidal tendencies.
When his dad is seemingly unresponsive to his many requests for help,
Augusten reluctantly copes as best he can. His mother becomes increasingly
detached and dependent on drugs, so Augusten becomes a friend with Natalie
and Neil’s lover.
Whew.
Director Ryan Murphy (TV’s Nip/Tuck) captures this disorienting
confusion, but his film is never fully focused and lacks narrative drive.
Plus, the characters are so odd as to be utterly off-putting.
The gifted cast gives it a boost that makes Running With Scissors
far more palatable than it deserves to be. R Rating: 3 (Posted 10/27/06)
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The
Queen
Reviewed by Russ Simmons
For years, British actress Helen Mirren has built an impressive
body of work while never quite achieving the recognition she deserves.
Her performances in kinky, offbeat movies like The Cook, The Thief,
His Wife and Her Lover and The Comfort of Strangers stand
in stark contrast to her numerous Shakespearian turns and period pieces.
To date, she’s best known for her starring role on the British TV
series Prime Suspect.
But in The Queen, Mirren’s portrayal of contemporary monarch
Queen Elizabeth II is a revelation. The actress, known to be quite brassy
and ballsy in real life, empties herself into the role of the stoic head
of the house of Windsor.
A speculative look behind the scenes at the life of the queen during
an agonizing crisis, The Queen is both a sharp criticism of the
monarchy as well as an empathetic examination of a family living in a
fishbowl.
Director Stephen Frears (The Grifters) and screenwriter Peter
Morgan (The Last King of Scotland) focus on the aftermath of
the tragic death of Princess Diana. When news breaks of her fatal automobile
accident in France, the royal family is vacationing at their sprawling
estate in Scotland. Both stunned and seemingly dispassionate, the family
makes no comment.
This stiff-upper-lip attitude doesn’t play well with the public
who want to see the royals share in their grief. This is an outward display
of emotion that the Windsors see as somehow utterly inappropriate.
Prime Minister Tony Blair, played by Michael Sheen (Underworld)
sees clearly that this detached attitude makes the royal family seem uncaring
and cavalier, and the press pummels them for it. Blair tries hard to convince
the queen and the family to return to London and make a public statement
for their subjects.
While no one knows what went on in the minds of the royals during this
difficult time, The Queen is an intriguing speculation that rings
true. As played by Mirren, Elizabeth simply can’t imagine that the
English people, loyal subjects that she feels she knows so well, would
actually want her to lower herself to make a public statement during a
time of grief.
Perhaps the most surprising thing about The Queen is that it
is quite moving. Mirren, of course, is sensational, carrying the film
with her realistic performance, but Sheen is also impressive as Blair,
the man who tried to bridge the gap between the queen and her people.
While others will no doubt be heralded as well come Oscar night, expect
Mirren to reign supreme. PG-13 Rating: 4 (Posted 10/27/06)
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This
Film is Not Yet Rated
Reviewed by Russ Simmons
Have you been to a movie recently and wondered to yourself,
“Why wasn’t that movie given an ‘R’ rating? The
content was so violent/sexy/vulgar that we should have been warned.”
On the other hand, you may have pondered why a movie was rated with a
strong warning. “Why did they rate this ‘PG-13’? There
was nothing wrong with it and I could have brought my kid.”
Filmmaker Kirby Dick wondered the same things and tried to find out who
is making these calls. His cheeky documentary, This Film is Not Yet
Rated, takes a look at the Motion Picture Association of America,
the body created by the Hollywood film industry to inform audiences about
the content of movies.
The people making these decisions are, supposedly, parents. Their identities
are closely guarded so (it is assumed) they can’t be influenced.
The guidelines that they use to make their decisions are also secret.
While the public has only the sketchiest idea of how movies are rated,
the panel has specific rules (how many times can the “f” word
be used, etc.) that govern their determination.
In an attempt to lift this veil of secrecy, Dick employed private investigator
Becky Altringer, her partner Cheryl Howell and daughter Lindsey. The staked
out the MPAA headquarters in Encino, California and watched as cars arrived
and departed their review screenings.
Dick managed to expose all of the panel members, some of which were not
parents or whose children were long grown.
Adding to the sneaky fun, Dick interviews incredulous and irritated MPAA
officials and attorneys, and none of them could give any insight into
how movies are rated. He also interpolates talking head interviews with
filmmakers like Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don’t Cry), Atom
Egoyan (Where the Truth Lies), Kevin Smith (Clerks),
Matt Stone (Team America: World Police) and John Waters (Hairspary),
to name a few.
The overriding revelation seems to be that the MPAA sees violence as
acceptable and sex as taboo. It’s okay to show someone being eviscerated
with a chainsaw and still get an R rating, while a glimpse of pubic hair
will likely result in the NC-17, adults-only designation.
But other MPAA inanities are discussed, such as the lack of a fair and
ethical appeal process. Amusingly, Dick finds that his documentary was
saddled with a NC-17 rating by the board…so he appeals. He chronicles
this exhausting and goofy process that never gives him any adequate explanation.
While it may not have any success in changing a well-entrenched bureaucracy,
This Film is Not Yet Rated is a funny and irreverent exposé.
(While Dick surrendered the rating and is allowing it to be distributed
without one, it initially received the NC-17 for “graphic sexual
content”. The violent scenes might have only generated an R.) Rating:
4 (Posted 10/27/06)
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Flags
of our fathers
Reviewed by Russ Simmons
The Joe Rosenthal was a young Associated Press photographer
covering the Pacific Theatre in World War II, when he snapped a photo
of a seemingly innocuous scene. The raising of the American flag at Iwo
Jima became one of the most famous images in history.
The events surrounding that iconic photo provide the backdrop for Clint
Eastwood’s stark and ambitious war film, Flags of Our Fathers.
While it serves as a fitting tribute to the many men who sacrificed so
much during the battle for Japan’s tiny volcanic island, it is also
a stinging criticism of trumped up heroism and the way that war is sold
to the public.
Based upon the 2000 bestseller by James Bradley and Ron Powers, Flags
of Our Fathers focuses on three men who were among those captured
in Rosenthal’s photo and how they were exploited for their propaganda
value.
Eastwood and screenwriters William Broyles, Jr. (Jarhead) and
Paul Haggis (Million Dollar Baby) have structured their film
as two intersecting storylines that jump back and forth in time. One follows
the fateful invasion of Iwo Jima and the ensuing battle that became the
bloodiest of the war. On February 19, 1945, American forces invaded Iwo
Jima with 30,000 troops to take on 20,000 well-entrenched Japanese soldiers
situated in fortified bunkers and a maze of caves. On that first day,
2,000 Americans were killed.
Five days into the battle, six Marines raised a small flag at the top
of Mount Suribachi. When a Navy bigwig decided that he wanted the flag,
Colonel Chandler Johnson sent some men to take down the first flag and
replace it with another, larger flag. This is the raising that Rosenthal
captured.
Of the men who raised the second flag, three survived the battle. The
three were John “Doc” Bradley, a Navy Corpsman (Ryan Phillippe),
Marine Ira Hayes (Adam Beach) and a Marine runner who saw no combat, Rene
Gagnon (Jesse Bradford).
The second storyline follows these three who were quickly pulled from
the island and sent back to the States where they became the poster boys
for a war bond drive. The government, seriously strapped for cash to fund
the war, desperately needed some heroes that could rally the populace.
Bradley, Hayes and Gagnon filled the bill.
While Gagnon embraced the fame and enthusiastically took on the role
of trumped up hero, Bradley and Hayes suffered enormous pangs of guilt.
Why, they thought, should they get the credit while their comrades fought
and died back in the battle? While Bradley reluctantly did his part, Hayes
became increasingly troubled. He turned to alcohol, and his story was
a tragic one. (Hayes’ life was the subject of the 1961 film, The
Outsider, that starred Tony Curtis.)
Eastwood stages some realistic and frightening battle sequences and the
idyllic scenes from the home front provide a stark contrast. This is a
poised and confident film that marks yet another triumph for a filmmaker
who continues to grow and improve at age 76.
Sober and intellectually sound, Flags of Our Fathers is both
a respectful tribute to real heroes and an introspective critique of war.
(R) Rating: 4 (Posted 10/20/06) |
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Flicka
Reviewed by Russ Simmons
Back in 1941, Mary O’Hara penned a beloved kids book
about a young boy and his horse. My Friend Flicka became a hit
movie starring Roddy McDowall in 1943 and was a popular TV series in the
1950s.
With eyes squarely on the preteen girl demographic, the makers of Flicka
have updated the story for the new century, engaged in a gender change,
and reworked the story into a familiar tale of teen angst and family conflict.
Alison Lohman (Where the Truth Lies) stars as Katy McLaughlin,
a 16-year-old who just returned home to the family’s Wyoming quarter
horse ranch after failing to complete an essay at an exclusive boarding
school.
While her parents have worked hard to make sure she gets a first class
education, Katy is far more interested in being a horsewoman and running
the ranch. It’s probably a good thing she wants to live there, because
her brother Howard (newcomer Ryan Kwanten) wants to take a college scholarship
and fly the nest.
But dear old dad, Rob (country singing star Tim McGraw who was impressive
in his film debut, Friday Night Lights), can’t quite wrap
his brain around the situation. He’s distracted and distant from
his kids because he’s struggling financially and trying to keep
the ranch afloat.
Katy’s mom, Nell (Maria Bello from A History of Violence)
is doing her best to be the peacemaker. These are all good people who
we know will ultimately work out their differences.
The manure hits the windmill when Katy befriends a beautiful wild mustang
roaming on her family’s ranch in rural Wyoming. Naturally, Rob demands
that his daughter leave this dangerous animal alone. Of course, the rebellious
teenager has other plans.
She names the filly Flicka and begins an attempt to tame her. When Rob
sells Flicka to a rodeo for bronco busting, Katy concocts a plan to rescue
her beloved pet.
Lohman is a gifted actress who brings conviction to the role, even though
the script is riddled with clichés. Thanks to her effort and those
of Bello and McGraw, the characters overcome their cardboard origins and
emerge as a truly likable family.
The work of director Michael Mayer (A Home at the End of the World)
and screenwriters Mark Rosenthal and Lawrence Konner (Mona Lisa Smile)
is competent, if uninspired. But they manage to concoct a likable, old-fashioned
family flick from the remnants of O’Hara’s story.
Flicka won’t win any blue ribbons, but she’s a fair
little filly. (PG) Rating: 2.5 (Posted 10/20/06) |
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Marie
Antionette
Reviewed by Russ Simmons
After her impressive 1999 directorial debut with The Virgin Suicides
and her acclaimed sophomore effort Lost in Translation (which
garnered her a screenwriting Oscar), it would be easy to get excited about
Sophia Coppola’s latest effort.
But while it is hardly a disaster, Marie Antoinette is a major
disappointment. It is lovely to look at and has a wistful ambience, but
this portrait of the infamous 18th century monarch is also utterly passionless
and dramatically inert.
Coppola reunites with her The Virgin Suicides star, Kirsten
Dunst, and she is well suited to play the youthful French Queen who presided
over the court at Versailles oblivious to the revolution that was taking
place around her.
The sumptuous production begins as the 14-year-old Archduchess of Austria
is married off to Louis XVI (Jason Schwartzman from Shopgirl),
the French Dauphin. Utterly naïve but willing to marry the heir to
the French throne, Marie was a teenager who was more interested in fashion
and fun than power and politics.
To her dismay, Louis XVI is seemingly uninterested in sex. Her main function
is to produce an heir, and Louis can’t consummate the marriage.
Unlike his randy father, Louis XV (Rip Torn from Zoom) who is
carrying on with his prostitute-turned-mistress Madame Du Barry (Asia
Argento from Land of the Dead), Louis XVI is rumored to be more
interested in the stable boys.
The movie spends a great deal of time waiting. We wait for Louis to get
in the mood, we wait for an heir to be born, and we wait to see if Marie
will decide to have a fling with a handsome Swedish soldier.
While we’re waiting, we watch Marie and her entourage enjoy the
good life at Versailles, engaging in opulent parties, eating extravagant
gourmet meals and donning lavish fashions. (Designer Milena Canonero’s
eye-popping costumes will likely receive award consideration.)
Coppola’s screenplay is loosely based on Lady Antonia Fraser’s
book, The Journey, and she decides against contrasting the conspicuous
consumption at Versailles with the raging poverty that Marie Antoinette’s
subjects endure in the surrounding countryside. This is Marie’s
story, not theirs.
Probably the most controversial aspect of the film is its use of pop
music. While the movie includes work by Vivaldi, groups like New Order,
Souxsie and the Banshees, Bow Wow Wow, The Strokes, Adam and the Ants
and The Radio Dept. provide the soundtrack for Marie’s life. The
energy of these songs adds a welcome boost to the story’s lethargic
pace.
A curious biopic, Marie Antoinette is strangely reminiscent
of another, better movie about a naïve teenager: Clueless.
(PG-13) Rating: 2.5 (Posted 10/20/06) |
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Man
of the Year
Reviewed by Russ Simmons
You’ve got to hand it to Robin Williams. The man can
wring a laugh out of just about anything with his patented, off-the-wall
shtick.
For his standup routines, he uses contemporary pop culture subject matter,
adds some improvisational flourishes, throws in a touch of irony and aims
it at the audience at the speed of machine gun bursts.
So far, none of his films has captured his manic, onstage presence. This
latest feature, Man of the Year, tries, but is only fitfully
effective.
Williams seems well-suited to play late night talk show comic Tom Dobbs
who, because of his pointed and straight-shooting political humor, is
drafted to become a third party candidate for president. (Are you listening
John Stewart?)
On his show and on the campaign trail, Tom does standup routines in lieu
of policy speeches. (“I did not have sex with that woman! I wanted
to.”) These scenes give Williams the chance to do his thing, pummeling
audiences the way he has for over 30 years.
But the rest of Man of the Year gets in the way. Writer/director
Barry Levinson (Rain Man) wants to have it both ways. He wants
Man of the Year to be a comic satire as well as a stark political
thriller. The result is a schizophrenic movie with two identities competing
against one another.
Levinson fared much better with his 1997 political comedy, Wag the
Dog. With Man of the Year, the uneasy mix of styles sinks
an otherwise intriguing premise.
The competing story involves a woman named Eleanor Green (Laura Linney
from Kinsey) who works for a Silicon Valley firm that has created
electronic voting machines for the presidential election. She knows that
there’s a bug in the system that makes it unreliable.
She tries to bring this information to the attention of her superiors,
but they refuse to acknowledge the problem because their firm is readying
its initial public stock offering. The resulting bad publicity could kill
the company.
Because of the glitch, Tom, a huge underdog, is falsely elected. When
Eleanor tries to take her knowledge public, a nefarious company bigwig
played by Jeff Goldblum (The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou)
goes to extensive underhanded lengths to thwart her efforts.
Nothing in Man of the Year rings true. When the stories of Eleanor
and Tom intersect (and an awkward Hollywood romance sets in) all logic
goes out the window.
For Williams’ fans that want to see their favorite comic in his
standup glory, you’ll have to wait for the next HBO special. PG-13
Rating: 2 (Posted 10/16/06) |
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Infamous
Reviewed by Deborah Young
Infamous covers the same subject as Capote, the 2005
film about Truman Capote’s experiences while researching his book
In Cold Blood. But the two films certainly don’t tell the
same story.
The Capote of last year’s film was all self-centered manipulation,
but the Capote of Infamous (played by Toby Jones) is complex.
He is by turns manipulative, vulnerable, funny and pathetic.
Infamous first reveals bits of the author’s character
through the reminiscences of his friends, most of who happen to be New
York society women. They tell of a good listener, a good talker, a person
who suffered great disappointment as a child and learned to use humor
to cover his pain. And as Capote’s friends talk about him short
episodes of his life play out onscreen to dramatize each friend’s
description.
After Capote learns of the murders in Holcomb, KS, he talks his friend
Nelle Harper Lee (Sandra Bullock) into traveling to Holcomb with him to
conduct interviews. His early encounters with the small town’s citizens
provide much of the film’s comedy. The townsfolk regard him (a tiny,
flamboyantly gay man who talks in a sugary soprano) as an annoying enigma,
and Capote obviously suffers culture shock. Everywhere he goes folks call
him ma’am, and he can’t get anyone to grant him an interview.
In one amusing scene, Capote goes to the market in search of some exotic
cheeses to accompany his and Nelle’s Christmas celebration. Instead
of exotic cheeses he finds an entire wall of Velveeta. The sheriff’s
wife happens to be there buying cheese, and Capote asks where he can find
more cheese. She tells him that this is the only cheese in the store and
then asks what he and “Mrs. Kuhpoat” plan to do for Christmas.
He mocks her with the remark that if this is the only cheese in the town
he and “Mrs. Kuhpoat” might try cyanide.
This kind of wit along with his ability to charm despite his obvious
differences with the townsfolk renders this Capote immensely likeable.
His childlike penchant for self-deluding fantasy renders him pitiful.
And his obvious attraction to and affection for one of the murderers,
Perry (skillfully played by Daniel Craig), renders him conflicted.
The strength of Capote lay in the performance of Phillip Seymour
Hoffman, but Infamous has the full package: a witty script, a
cast of capable characters (including Sigourney Weaver, Sandra Bullock
and Jeff Daniels), and a lead actor who has moved past acting. Jones is
so believable in this role that he seems to have become the character.
Bottom line: Infamous is anything but a carbon copy of last
year’s Capote. (R) Rating: 4 (Posted 10/13/06) |
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The
Departed
Reviewed by Russ Simmons
When director Martin Scorsese last visited the seedy American underworld
in Gangs of New York, his focus was on establishing a historical
perspective.
Scorsese now sets his sights on a clash between Boston police and organized
crime in the contemporary gangster drama, The Departed. It is
both a return to form and a change of pace. Yes, it’s a tough, gritty
melodrama, but it is also a tongue-in-cheek entertainment with a pitch-black
sense of humor.
An Americanized remake of a 2002 Hong Kong flick called Infernal
Affairs, The Departed is a snarling pit bull of a movie.
It’s ugly, ferocious and savage, but Scorsese keeps it on his well-controlled
leash.
Leonardo DiCaprio (The Aviator) leads an all-star ensemble as
Billy Costigan, an undercover policeman working to infiltrate an Irish-American
crime ring run by the intimidating Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson in an
entertainingly over-the-top performance.).
Billy has few friends that he can count on. He’s so deep undercover
that the only people on the Boston police force who know he’s working
both sides are his immediate superior, Oliver Queenan, played by Martin
Sheen (TV’s The West Wing), and his partner Dignam (Invincible’s
Mark Wahlberg).
But Costello has an inside man, too, a hotshot detective on the Boston
police force named Colin Sullivan, played by Matt Damon (The Bourne
Identity). Costello had been grooming Colin for this role ever since
he was a youngster. Colin manages to worm his way onto the unit that’s
attempting to bust the Costello gang, becoming the protégé
of egotistic Officer Elleby (Alec Baldwin from TV’s 30 Rock).
To further complicate matters, Colin’s girlfriend, Madolyn (Down
to the Bone’s Vera Farmiga) is a police psychiatrist who is
treating Billy for his understandable stress problems. She winds up as
part of an unlikely romantic triangle.
Scorsese and screenwriter William Monahan (Kingdom of Heaven)
use the setup as an excuse to wallow in sordid elements, but elevate the
material to the level of a relevant examination of the similarities between
police and the criminals they pursue.
The cast members, for the most part, push their performances to the edge
of camp. But DiCaprio is nothing short of sensational as Billy, realistically
conveying the stress of his uneasy position.
Some may complain that The Departed is gratuitously violent
and has no moral compass. Whatever your take on that matter is, you’ll
have to admit that it’s all been presented by a master. (R) Rating:
4 (Posted 10/06/06) |
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