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Posts in category 5-Star Movies

The King’s Speech (2010)

May30
2012 Written by Editor

Plot summary (from the studio): After the death of his father King George V (Michael Gambon) and the scandalous abdication of King Edward VIII (Guy Pearce), Bertie (Colin Firth) who has suffered from a debilitating speech impediment all his life, is suddenly crowned King George VI of England. With his country on the brink of war and in desperate need of a leader, his wife, Elizabeth (Helena Bonham Carter), the future Queen Mother, arranges for her husband to see an eccentric speech therapist, Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). After a rough start, the two delve into an unorthodox course of treatment and eventually form an unbreakable bond. With the support of Logue, his family, his government and Winston Churchill (Timothy Spall), the King will overcome his stammer and deliver a radio-address that inspires his people and unites them in battle.

Based on the true story of King George VI, THE KING’S SPEECH follows the Royal Monarch’s quest to find his voice.

Warning: Spoilers below!

Liked:

  • Colin Firth was magnificent in this film. The Best Actor Oscar was certainly well-deserved.
  • Geoffrey Rush was also very good, and I have to admit that I actually liked Helena Bonham Carter (usually my LEAST favorite actress) here. I guess she’s tolerable when she’s playing “normal” characters instead of that nutty crap her husband puts out.
  • Bertie was a complex character. On the one hand, I wanted to sympathize with him because of his impediment. But on the other, he treated Lionel so badly most of the time that I sort of wanted him to fail, too. But by the time the big speech rolled around at the end, I was firmly on his side.
  • I loved that the real Lionel and George VI remained lifelong friends. When people go through that kind of challenge together, I guess the experience serves to bind them forever.

Disliked:

  • Guy Pearce was supposed to be Colin Firth’s older brother??? That didn’t even look close to being plausible in the film. Firth is seven years older than Pearce in real life, but looked at least a decade older here.
  • I know this movie was about Bertie rather than David, but I wish the filmmakers had done a bit more to show why David would abdicate the throne for Wallis. In her one brief scene, she didn’t seem to be all that.
  • I wanted to see more scenes of Lionel and Bertie together. Those were the ones that worked best, but there weren’t nearly enough of them.

Rating:

Just from reading the synopsis, I expected The King’s Speech to be rather dull. But it was very oddly compelling — most likely due to the fine performances turned in by the three main actors. Despite the decided lack of action, I was immediately drawn into this world and Bertie’s problems and couldn’t wait to see what happened next. I give this film 5 stars out of 5.

Posted in Drama

An Education (2009)

Oct25
2010 Written by Editor

Plot summary (with possible spoilers): Jenny (played by Carey Mulligan) is a 16-year-old high school student whose father Jack (Alfred Molina) is always reminding her to study so she can get into Oxford. Jenny handles the pressure relatively well and is an exceptional student whom teachers such as Miss Stubbs (Olivia Williams) believe will go far in life.

Jenny’s track to Oxford takes a significant detour, however, when she meets David (Peter Sarsgaard). Despite their age difference — David is in his thirties — the two pursue a romantic relationship that involves concerts, nightclubs, fancy restaurants, and weekend trips with David’s friends Danny (Dominic Cooper) and Helen (Rosamund Pike). As Jenny spends more time with David, she spends less on her schoolwork and her grades begin to slip. Surprisingly enough, parents Jack and Marjorie (Cara Seymour) don’t seem to care, as they are as much charmed by David as Jenny is.

As the story progresses, we see Jenny and David becoming more serious about each other. Jenny loses her virginity to David, and he eventually proposes to her. Jenny, accepting the proposal with her parents’ blessing, decides to drop out of school and skip her college entrance exams. But then a shocking revelation changes everything and sends Jenny’s life into a tailspin.

Liked:

  • Carey Mulligan was brilliant in the lead role. She managed to make Jenny a sympathetic character, and made me care about what happened to her. The Oscar nomination was well-deserved.
  • All the characters were intriguing in this film. Indeed, this was mostly character-driven, so it was important that everyone be well defined and substantial. I was expecting only David and Jenny to have any sort of substance to them, but got so much out of Jack, Marjorie, and Helen — as well as Miss Stubbs and Miss Walters (Emma Thompson) in their limited roles.
  • I absolutely loved the scene where Jenny went to Miss Stubbs’ apartment to ask for help. As someone who has had close relationships with teachers in the past, the situation really resonated with me. Plus, Miss Stubbs’ response of, “I was so hoping you’d say that” was pitch perfect.
  • I had to admit that I was caught off-guard by the reveal about David. I probably should have seen it coming, but I didn’t. I mean, I knew something was not quite right about him, but couldn’t guess the cause.
  • I also liked how Jenny’s mistake didn’t mean her life was essentially over. The things you do at 17 sometimes have lifelong consequences, but usually not. You can make mistakes and move on, which is precisely what she did.

Disliked:

  • How is it that none of the main characters commented about the age difference between David and Jenny? He was twice her age, for God’s sake! And though this might not have been as bad as Humbert and Lolita (who was 12), Jenny was still a schoolgirl, no matter what the age of consent was. But no one, not even the parents, so much as batted an eye about David’s age despite the fact that he looked like he should be checking into medicare supplement plans while Jenny was as fresh-faced as you might expect a high school girl to be. Very, very odd.

Rating:

Overall, I thought An Education was a surprisingly good film. The acting is top-notch, the story is engaging, and the characters are worth watching for 95 minutes. I really liked this one and give it 5 stars out of 5.

Posted in Drama

Shutter Island (2010)

Sep19
2010 Written by Editor

Plot summary (with spoilers): Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Teddy Daniels, a U.S. Marshall assigned to investigate the disappearance of a patient at Ashecliff Hospital, an asylum for the criminally insane located on remote Shutter Island off the coast of Boston. Teddy has a new partner for the case, Chuck Aule (played by Mark Ruffalo), and the two get right down to business by interviewing Dr. John Cawley (Ben Kingsley), the head psychiatrist for the facility.

The missing woman is named Rachel Soldano. She was a mother who murdered her three children by drowning them in a lake, and then carrying on wit her day as though nothing happened. Rachel apparently escaped from her room — which was bolted from the outside — and made it past the guards and electric fence. She must be somewhere on the island still, otherwise her body would have washed up on the rocks already.

Teddy and Chuck question other guards, orderlies, and patients as they try to figure out what happened. Nobody seems particularly helpful or anxious to get Rachel back. Because of the general feeling of the place, which reminds Teddy of liberating Dachau during World War II, he begins to think that there might be Nazi-like experimentation going on at Shutter Island. Chuck isn’t entirely on board with that, but backs his boss up.

The rest of the film then shows how Teddy and Chuck begin to uncover the secrets of Shutter Island and the mental hospital. Along the way, we get flashbacks of Teddy’s war experiences, as well as of his now-dead wife Dolores (Michelle Williams), whose apparition continually implores him to leave the island.

Liked:

  • This movie was very suspenseful right from the start. I was immediately drawn into the story, and despite the 2-hour+ length, finished the entire thing in one sitting.
  • I know the ending has created some controversy, but I tend to believe that Teddy was insane and that Crawley was telling the truth about the role play. I kind of had an “Oh, yeah” moment as the truth was revealed, and I’m sure upon second viewing I’d be able to pick up even more clues.
  • DiCaprio is so good at playing tortured souls. I was riveted by his performance, and now rank him as one of my favorite actors. Wow.

Disliked:

  • There were a few too many dream sequences with the wife for my tastes. Those scenes interrupted the flow of the film more than anything else.

Rating:

Martin Scorsese films are definitely hit-or-miss for me; Shutter Island is a massive hit! This is a great psychological thriller that will keep you guessing right up to the end — and perhaps beyond. I give it 5 stars out of 5.

Posted in Mystery/Suspense

Up in the Air (2009)

Sep11
2010 Written by Editor

Plot summary (with possible spoilers): Ryan Bingham (played by George Clooney) is the kind of man who has commitment issues, which is not unheard of for a good-looking guy pushing 50. But Ryan is not your typical womanizer. Instead, his commitment issues have manifested in a different way: he basically lives life out of a suitcase and doesn’t have any real friendships or relationships.

Ryan is a “reorganization specialist”, which means he travels the country firing upwards of 30 people per day for bosses who can’t stomach such proceedings themselves. Though Ryan doesn’t particularly like the job, he does love the constant travel. In fact, his secret goal is to achieve 10,000,00 frequent flyer miles — a feat that has only been accomplished by seven other people. He’ll get all sorts of special perks once he reaches the milestone, so he doesn’t spend a single dollar unless it earns him miles in some way.

Life starts to get complicated when two women enter his sphere. The first is Alex (Vera Farmiga), who seems to live much like himself. They begin hooking up whenever they cross paths and end up in the same city. The second woman is Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick), a recent Cornell grad who is assigned to follow Ryan around to learn the ropes. Natalie’s big idea for the company is to start conducting firings via video conference without so much as giving the terminated employees a little handbook with Velo binding explaining their severance package and health insurance continuation options. But thi will save on travel expenses, which is appealing to the higher-ups, so initially Natalie and Ryan are at odds. But once they get to know each other, a mutual respect develops.

As the film progresses, we see Ryan’s priorities gradually change. He begins to think that perhaps he has wasted his life chasing 10,000,000 miles when he should have been establishing meaningful relationships with people. He thinks Alex could be the one, so on a whim, he turns up at her door in Chicago — only to get a nasty surprise.

Thus, just when the viewer thinks Ryan might have changed his mind about the way he lives his life, he goes right back on the road and relishes being rootless once again.

Liked:

  • On paper, this story doesn’t sound all that interesting, but it worked very well on the screen. I think it’s because the acting was absolutely superb. All three main actors (Clooney, Farmiga, Kendrick) were nominated for Oscars, and deservedly so. They were excellent — and this is coming from someone who doesn’t ordinarily pay attention to acting. But these actors managed to make me care deeply about what the characters were going through, and that was quite a feat.
  • I liked seeing the perks that high-end travelers get. I just wish we had gotten more of a glimpse of what a 10,000,000 club member would receive (besides a glass of champagne and a visit from the copilot).
  • I loved when the three of them crashed the tech conference and got drunk. That was a fun, amazing scene that really served to flesh out the characters.
  • The Amelie reference made me smile, as did that whole cheesy shtick about photographing the married couple in random places.
  • The scenes where Ryan and Natalie had to fire people were suitably uncomfortable and awkward. Wow. That is definitely the worst part of the job for anyone in a managerial position.

Disliked:

  • The wedding stuff went on a bit too long for my tastes. That was the only blemish in an otherwise excellent film.

Rating:

I’m very surprised by how much I enjoyed Up in the Air. It’s easy for character studies to go astray, but director Jason Reitman did a wonderful job of keeping everything on track. This film could have been a disaster with the wrong actors or wrong director. Fortunately, everyone involved was top-notch. Up in the Air deserved every major award nomination it received, and probably should have won a few Oscars. I give it 5 stars out of 5.

Posted in Drama

Inception (2010)

Jul28
2010 Written by Editor

Plot summary (with possible spoilers): Set in a future where we have the technology to share dreams and invade people’s minds, Dom Cobb (played by Leonardo DiCaprio) is one of the best extractors out there. He is usually hired to perform corporate espionage. One high-powered billionaire pays him to invade the dreams of another high-powered billionaire to steal secrets buried deep in the mind as though they are confidential documents hidden in a vault.

This time, however, Cobb has a different kind of assignment. Instead of getting paid to extract a secret, he is getting paid to plant one. The client is Saito (Ken Watanabe), who wants rival Robert Fischer, Jr. (Cillian Murphy) to break up Fischer Sr.’s energy company once Fischer Sr. dies. Otherwise the Fischers’ company would become a powerful monopoly that will squeeze Saito out of business. But this planting of an idea, called “inception”, is much harder than extraction because people can always trace back an idea to its root. Fischer Jr. not only has to get the idea to break up the company, but he has to be convinced that it’s his idea.

Cobb assembles a team that will invade Fischer Jr.’s dreams with him. They are Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Leavitt), Cobb’s right-hand man and the guy who makes sure things run smoothly; Eames (Tom Hardy), a forger and master of disguise; Yusuf (Dileep Rao), a chemist who will concoct a sedative strong enough to keep everyone in a dream world for as long as it takes to get the job done; and new recruit Ariadne (Ellen Page), an architect who will construct the layouts of Fischer Jr’s dream worlds. Saito also tags along on the mission, which will take place on a 10-hour flight from Sydney to Los Angeles, because that’s the only way he can verify the success of the thing.

In return for completing the inception, Cobb doesn’t want a huge payday. Instead, he wants Saito to make a phone call to a high-ranking official that will clear the way for Cobb to reenter the United States. Later on in the film, we learn that Cobb was framed for murdering his wife Mal (Marion Cotillard), and hasn’t been able to see his children since then. He wants nothing more than to be able to go home and be with them again.

Once the basic setup is established, the action unfolds like in most traditional heist films. We see Cobb’s crew planning the mission, training for it, making sure everyone understands their roles, and then executing it. There are a number of twists and turns along the way, however, so it’s important to pay close attention to what’s happening in every scene.

Warning: spoilers below

Liked:

  • I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to follow the action of Inception because I’d heard about the dream-within-a-dream-within-a-dream-within-a-dream conceit (that’s 4 deep!). But Christopher Nolan did a wonderful job of explaining everything that was going on so the viewer never feels completely lost.
  • This was a highly original script with an intriguing concept that was executed to near-perfection. In a summer season filled with sequels, remakes, and other junk, Inception clearly stands out. This was one of the most anticipated movies of the year, and it really lives up to the hype.
  • As the film went along, I realized that I didn’t care whether or not the inception succeeded. Then when the end came, I understood why. The job itself wasn’t Cobb’s main goal. His goal was getting to see his children’s faces again. That was when the emotional impact really hit home.
  • For the record, I believe that the ending was reality, not Cobb’s limbo or another dream world. I know there are compelling arguments for both sides. I’ve spent several hours reading comments about the ending on various message boards, so I do understand the arguments. I choose to believe things ended happily in the real world. Now let’s see if Nolan gives us a definitive answer in the DVD.

Disliked:

  • The only complaint I have about the film is that it ran a bit long. I hate having to sit through long movies at the theater because I have bad knees and need to get up and stretch every once in a while. But I guess that’s not Nolan’s fault!
  • Oh, I just thought of another complaint. The Bond-like third dream level was kinda dumb and felt out of place compared to the rest of the levels. I could have done with a different setting there.

Rating:

Inception is the kind of film that you have to see multiple times in order to appreciate all the nuances and clues. I have only seen it once, and was pretty much blown away. I’m not sure how it will hold up after subsequent viewings, but I have a feeling I’ll appreciate it even more. I give the film 5 stars out of 5.

Posted in Drama

Toy Story 3 (2010)

Jun24
2010 Written by Editor

Plot summary (with possible spoilers): Toy Story 3 opens with Sheriff Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack), Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles), Mrs. Potato Head (Estelle Harris), Rex (Wallace Shawn), and Hamm (John Ratzenberger) doing what they do best: engaging in some wild imaginary play with their kid Andy (John Morris) at the helm. But alas, this is merely footage from an old home movie that Andy’s mom (Laurie Metcalf) shot when Andy was younger. In reality, these toys haven’t been played with in years. After all, Andy is now 17, and headed off to college.

And therein lies the problem for these old toys. Andy’s mom has told him to clean out his room before he leaves. He must pack the stuff he wants to bring with him, take the stuff he wants to keep up to the attic, and either donate or throw everything else away. The toys worry about what that means for them, but Woody assures everyone that they’ll be OK. Their purpose was to be there for Andy when he needed them; now they’ll more or less retire to the attic.

Andy scoops up all his toys and collects them in a trash bag — all except Woody, who will go with the college things. Andy intends to take the toys up to the attic, but he gets distracted, leaving the trash bag in the hall. Andy’s mom thinks this bag is intended for donation, so she takes it to a local daycare.

At first, the toys think they’ve stumbled onto the best-case scenario. They’ll always get played with at the daycare, and when one group of children grows up, there’s a new wave of youngsters right behind them. But it soon becomes apparent that Lotso (Ned Beatty), the teddy bear in charge of the place, is a rather evil character. This leads to a lot of sticky situations that Andy’s toys have to escape in order to get back home. With Woody’s help, they do just that.

In the end, Andy looks at his toys with fondness for all the great times they had together. He ends up taking them to a little girl named Bonnie (Emily Hahn), who will play with them properly and love them as they deserve. Andy has one final play session with his toys as he shows Bonnie what Woody and Co. can do, and then he heads off to college while his toys look forward to their new kid.

Liked:

  • The theme of growing up and moving on was poignantly handled in this film. Getting rid of childhood toys is something that every teen faces at some point, and though we might not ever get as nostalgic as Andy, I think we can all relate to what he was going through.
  • The film moved along at a great pace. There were no boring scenes along the way, and every kid in the theater (including mine) was riveted from beginning to end.
  • This was a terrific sendoff for the franchise. I hope they end the series here, and don’t go for a fourth installment. What’s next, more angst as we watch Andy sell textbooks from his first year in college? Ha. I’m sure if they wanted to, they could do a film with Bonnie as the main kid. The ending did leave the producers with options for future films, but I hope they do the right thing.
  • Toy Story 3 created genuine emotional responses in many places, including the end. Bring your tissues, because you’ll need them!

Disliked:

  • Nothing, really.

Rating:

Toy Story 3 is a film that has enormous appeal to everyone, regardless of age. I saw kids, teens, and adults alike weeping (or at least sniffling) by the end, as the story touches on universal emotions. This is the best movie of 2010 so far, and is not to be missed. I give it 5 stars out of 5!

Posted in Children/Family

The Hurt Locker (2009)

Feb10
2010 Written by Editor

hurt locker Plot summary (with possible spoilers): Set in 2004, the film follows the exploits of an elite EOD (Explosive Ordinance Disposal — or bomb squad) unit in Iraq. The core members of the team are SFC William James (played by Jeremy Renner), Sgt. JT Sanborn (Anthony Mackie), and Spc. Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty). James is the newcomer, replacing SSG Thompson (Guy Pearce) who was killed by an IED during Bravo Company’s previous outing. James immediately establishes himself as a wild card, refusing to follow protocols like sending a robot out to explore possible explosives before examining the scenes in person. He also generates some conflict with Sanborn for refusing to listen to the Sergeant’s advice and for cutting off communications during a disposal procedure.

The film follows the EOD unit as they move from desolate scene to desolate scene in Iraq. Viewers get to see the kinds of dangers they face, not only from the explosives, but also from civilian onlookers who might or might not be hiding a detonator or gun in their pocket. Add to this the constant rumble of planes flying overhead, the communication barrier, and general wartime insecurity, and you get extremely tense situations that call for a calm, cool response.

Fortunately, despite being a bit reckless, SFC James is very good at what he does. He disarms nearly every bomb the unit comes across, and is instrumental in helping the team get out of a standoff with Iraqi snipers. Through it all, James maintains an upbeat demeanor, even going so far as to befriend Beckham (Christopher Sayegh) a young boy who sells pirated DVDs near the base.

James makes it through his first deployment and is sent back home to be with wife Connie (Evangeline Lilly) and his toddler son. But he it soon becomes obvious that civilian life is not for him. A short time later, James is back in Iraq for another tour with a different EOD team.

My Reaction: I usually hate war movies, but I thought The Hurt Locker was fantastic. One of my biggest beefs with other war movies is that all the characters look the same in their uniforms so it becomes too difficult to tell them apart. That wasn’t an issue here because the core group was only three guys and the differences were obvious. Another problem I generally have with war movies is that the action is generally filmed in an up-close chaotic way that makes it virtually impossible to follow what’s going on. Again, that wasn’t an issue here because of the nature of the EOD unit’s missions. We knew exactly what was happening at all times, which greatly enhanced the viewing experience.

I also have to take a moment to commend Jeremy Renner’s performance. I’d never even heard of this guy before, but he was amazing as SFC James. There is a lot of talk about him possibly getting an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, and I think this would absolutely be well deserved. He was perfect in this role! He managed to to exude confidence and a bit of fear at the same time, and was just a very believable character on the whole.

Overall, I was surprised at how much I liked The Hurt Locker. Going in, I simply didn’t think it would be my kind of film, but all the critical acclaim is definitely deserved. I give it 5 stars out of 5.

Posted in Action

The Incredibles (2004)

Oct08
2009 Written by Editor

incredibles Plot summary (with possible spoilers): On the surface, Bob Parr (voiced by Craig T. Nelson) and Helen Parr (Holly Hunter) seem like any other suburban couple. Bob is a drone at an insurance company with a heartless boss who demands that he turn down as many claims as possible, while Helen stays home with the kids: Violet (Sarah Vowell), a shy teenager, Dash (Spencer Fox), a rambunctious elementary school student, and baby Jack Jack.

Despite the apparent normalcy, the Parr family is anything but. They’re actually superheroes with special powers, though they’re not allowed to use them anymore. This came about after Bob (aka Mr. Incredible) was sued for saving a would-be suicide’s life and for causing various injuries during other rescue attempts. City officials figured it would be better to usher Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl (Helen) into hiding rather than continue to pay millions of dollars for all the damages. Violet and Dash only know a little bit about their parents’ past, but they know enough to understand where their own powers (Violet can disappear, Dash can run incredibly fast) come from.

One day, Bob loses his cool at his job and assaults his boss, which gets him fired. But rather than tell Helen about it and put his family through yet another move, Bob pretends that he still has a job. He’s actually visiting a woman named Mirage (Elizabeth Pena), who has a couple of superhero tasks for him to perform, including destroying an advanced robot. Bob likes being Mr. Incredible again and doesn’t see the harm in what he’s doing.

But then Mirage’s boss Syndrome (Jason Lee) reveals himself. Syndrome was once slighted by Mr. Incredible as a child, and has never forgotten that moment. Now he wants to take his revenge on Mr. Incredible by killing him and the rest of the “supers”. Then Syndrome will be the only superhero in town and can receive all the glory and accolades he craves.

Elastigirl soon finds out about Mr. Incredible’s predicament and heads off to help him, not realizing that Dash and Violet had stowed away on her plane. But it’s lucky they did, because it turns out that everyone’s powers are needed in order to defeat Syndrome and restore order.

My Reaction: I know The Incredibles is an old film, but I never got around to watching it when it was first released. My son wasn’t old enough to watch movies then, but now that he’s six, he finally wanted to rent it. I’m glad he did, because this turned out to be an excellent family film!

The action in The Incredibles will appeal to children, who can watch this as a straightforward superhero movie. But the film also has some humor for the parents, as well as a few messages about society in general that adults can appreciate. These are the the types of family films that work best, so it’s not surprising that The Incredibles, an Oscar winner, was so well received and loved during its release 5 years ago.

Overall, I was very impressed by this film, so much so that I’ll probably end up buying the DVD for my son. Brad Bird created a winner here, there’s no doubt about that! I give this movie 5 stars out of 5.

Posted in Children/Family

The Hangover (2009)

Jun13
2009 Written by Editor

the-hangover Plot summary (with possible spoilers): Doug (played by Justin Bartha) is going to get married in a few days. So close friends Phil (Bradley Cooper) and Stu (Ed Helms), along with soon-to-be brother-in-law Alan (Zach Galifianakis) do what any self-respecting group of SoCal men would do in the same situation: they take Doug on a road trip to Vegas for his bachelor party.

On the surface, it doesn’t seem like this group would get into much trouble. Doug is an even-keeled average kind of guy. Phil is a schoolteacher, and though morally challenged (he appropriates funds from a field trip for personal use in Vegas), is rather harmless. Stu is an uptight dentist who is completely whipped by his shrew of a girlfriend. And Alan is far too childlike to do anything really crazy.

But the group still somehow manages to have the wildest night of their lives, after popping for a $4,000 suite and starting the festivities off with shots of Jaeger on the roof. Viewers see only the aftermath of the shenanigans: the suite is completely trashed, Stu has lost a tooth, there’s a tiger in the bathroom, a chicken running around the other rooms, and a baby in the closet. What’s more, Doug is missing, and none of the men have the faintest recollection of what happened.

Phil soon takes charge, and looks around for clues. The men have miscellaneous items in their pockets, including a parking pass. That might lead them to Doug, so they head down to collect their car from the valet in order to try to retrace their steps from the night before. The only problem is, the valet brings a police car — which just deepens the mystery of what might have happened.

The rest of the film then shows Phil, Stu, and Alan frantically trying to figure out what they did, where they went, and most importantly, where Doug might be so they can get him back to California in time for his wedding. By the time the credits roll, all the clues are explained fully — with the exception of the damn chicken!

My Reaction: As someone who doesn’t particularly like comedies very much (because they often come off as stupid rather than funny), I have to say that The Hangover was very impressive! For one thing, it was smart. The setup wasn’t particularly inspired, to be sure, as we’ve seen numerous bachelor-party-gone-bad films before. But the execution was brilliant! I loved how the guys first lost the groom-to-be, and then had to piece together the seemingly random clues to track him back down again. The pacing was excellent, and the ticking clock of the wedding ceremony kept things moving right along.

For another thing, this film was actually funny! All three main characters brought their own kind of humor to the table, and Zach Galifianakis was terrific as the slow-witted Alan. He kind of had a Jack Black vibe to him, so will he start getting those “lovable chubby guy” roles that have been going to Black for the past few years? We’ll see. The dialogue was great, and the physical humor was just hilarious.

Though The Hangover is clearly a guy’s film, the appeal is broad enough that women can enjoy it too. After all, I’m a woman and I liked it! I give this film 5 stars out of 5.

Posted in Comedy/Dark Comedy

Milk (2008)

Feb14
2009 Written by Editor

milk The name Harvey Milk didn’t mean anything to me, as I’d never heard it before. That made it all the more surprising when I learned that a film had been made about his life. And not just some low-budget indie feature, either. No, this was a project for mainstream audiences, directed by Gus Van Sant and starring Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, and James Franco among others. So I read a little bit about Harvey Milk, and learned that he was the first openly gay man elected to public office in the U.S. It sounded like Milk’s life — and death — were pretty interesting, so I decided to give the film a try. Plus, it didn’t hurt that Milk has been nominated for a few Oscars, including Best Picture.

Plot summary (with possible spoilers): The film opens with Harvey Milk (played by Penn) dictating into a tape recorder. Since the opening credits (and a familiarity with Milk’s life) tell the viewer that Milk will eventually be assassinated, it’s clear that the recording will be important in some way. Milk essentially recaps his life, going back from the present year 1978 to 1970 in New York. That was the day before his 40th birthday, and the day he picked up Scott Smith (James Franco) on the steps of the NYC subway. What began as a one-night stand turned into a relationship that lasted several years, eventually bringing the pair to San Francisco.

In San Francisco, Harvey and Scott open up a shop called Castro Camera in an area known as The Castro. At first, the openly gay couple had some problems with locals, but The Castro soon became a mostly gay neighborhood. Milk meets other gays, and hears stories about how they’re constantly harassed by people nearly everywhere they go. Milk wants to do something to make the city safer for gays, so he decides to run for public office. There’s a city supervisor spot open, and Milk quickly puts together a campaign.

He’s soundly defeated the first time he runs for the supervisor seat. And the second. But Milk never gave up, and the third time he ran, he finally won. The cost was significant, however, as all the campaigning took a toll on his private life, with Scott leaving him because he couldn’t handle all the political activity.

Once in office, Milk begins working on various ordinances that will protect gay rights. The rest of the film shows how he spoke openly about the need for equal rights regardless of sexual orientation, how he rallied the masses to support the cause, and how he ultimately succeeded in passing a gay rights ordinance in the city of San Francisco. Unfortunately, he ruffled a few feathers along the way — including those of Dan White (Josh Brolin), a fellow supervisor who was disgruntled at Milk’s refusal to play the quid pro quo game. Milk’s tenuous relationship with White ultimately proves to be fatal, as White guns him down in his office on November 27, 1978.

My Reaction: I usually don’t like Sean Penn movies, so I wasn’t sure how I would respond to Milk, but I found this film to be truly excellent. I was drawn in right from the start, and was focused on the plot the entire way through. Usually with films of this length (over two hours), I start to get restless at some point, but that never happened with Milk. The acting was brilliant, and the story was completely absorbing.

I have to admit that at times I was irked by what I considered to be “stereotypical” gay behavior, but then again, I know nothing of the lifestyle, so who am I to question Gus Van Sant, right? Nevertheless, I just have to know: is it really that easy to pick up gay men? I mean, Harvey Milk, picks up Scott Smith in the subway tunnel, and then hooks up with that Jack guy right away as well. I wish it were that easy for heteros!

But I digress. Obviously, the strength of the film is Penn’s performance and the way he portrays Harvey Milk with such humility and humanity. If Penn’s take on the man is anywhere close to how the real Harvey Milk was, then Milk seems like he surely would have been a great person to know.

Overall, I definitely think Milk deserves its place among the Best Picture nominees. In fact, I liked it even more than I liked The Reader, because Milk was a more even, better-paced film. I give it 5 stars out of 5, and recommend that you see it soon!

Posted in Horror
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