THE HUNTING PARTY. Inspired by a true story (according to the movie,
"only the most ridiculous parts are true"). As it opens, Richard Gere
is a hotshot TV journalist, and Terrence Howard ("Duckie") is his
cameraman. They are known for taking risks in war zones and getting the
story. But while they are in Bosnia during the ethnic cleansing, Gere
has an on-camera meltdown and loses his job. He spirals into obscurity,
while Duckie ends up with a cushy network job. Five years later, Duckie
and the network anchorman are in Bosnia doing a 5-years-after story, and
Duckie runs into Gere. Gere convinces Duckie that he has a lead on the hidden
location of one of the major war criminals, and they go off in search
of the big story. Tense moments interspersed with humor, I found it
entertaining and would really recommend the movie.
DELIRIOUS. Steve Buscemi stars in this very indie movie about a
down-and-out photographer who is basically a paparazzi, but believes
himself to be above that. An odd set of circumstances bring him
together with a homeless kid who wants to be an actor, and the kid
becomes his assistant, while Steve proudly shows him the ropes of
getting pix of celebrities. Steve doesn't have much self-awareness, but
the kid is smarter than one would guess. Will the kid get a chance to
be an actor? What would happen to the friendship if he did? Very
amusing movie; I liked it a lot.
IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH. Based on a true story, Tommy Lee Jones stars as
the father of a soldier in Iraq. One morning he gets a call from his
son's home base, saying his son has gone AWOL. Tommy didn't even know
his son was home, and thinking this is odd, he drives to the base to try
to find his son. He is a former military policeman himself, so he has
the skills to investigate what is going on. He tries to enlist the help
of the local police (Charlize Theron), but since it is a military
matter, he gets nowhere. But he persists, and ends up learning far more
about his son than he could have imagined. This movie is by the
director of CRASH, which I really liked, but although I liked this
movie, I can't really rave about it. There was a bit of
heavy-handedness to it, in my opinion. Tommy Lee Jones is worth seeing
though - he was amazing.
NO END IN SIGHT. This is a documentary about the Iraq war. I went to
see it almost because I felt obligated to be more informed. And I am
glad I did. It's a very straightforward look at the mistakes that have
been made and who made them, based on interviews with people that were
part of the Pentagon and State Dept. during the decision making
processes. Really, quite good, although of course depressing. It
definitely implies that things didn't have to go so badly, that there
may have been a chance for things to go right, but idiots in charge
bungled it entirely. Extremely well done.
IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON. This documentary consists of interviews with the astronauts that went to the moon on the Apollo missions. It
explains the space program and the times it took place in, as well as
the individual astronauts' feelings about what they were doing and what
going to the moon meant to them. I kept scrapbooks on the space program
when I was a kid, and still find it fascinating. So I really enjoyed
this movie and would recommend it for anyone with similar interests.
3:10 TO YUMA. Christian Bale is a rancher in frontier Arizona. He has
a teenage son who is going through some adolescent drama, and doesn't respect his dad. The railroadmen are trying to run the rancher off his land.
And he needs to pay off a loan. So things are not going well for him.
When he gets a chance to earn money to escort an outlaw (Russell Crowe)
to the train that will take the outlaw to jail, he takes it. But it's a
dangerous gig; the outlaw's gang is determined to rescue him. The movie
is more a character study than about the action although there are
shootouts. I don't know why, but I didn't get emotionally invested in
what would happen to either character. Critics are loving the movie and
I love both actors, but I just thought it was OK.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
August movie reviews
THE SIMPSONS MOVIE. Homer pollutes the town's lake, and havoc ensues. Springfield is quarantined, but the Simpsons manage to escape to Alaska. Eventually, they determine they must "return to America" to save the town. Basically, the movie is just an extended version of the TV show, but it's laugh out loud, especially the first 30 minutes or so. The main plot involving an evil EPA "the least effective agency in the government", led by an big business Adminstrator who can make President Schwarzengger ("I was paid to lead, not read") do whatever he wants - that's a bonus. The movie throws away gags at such a rapid rate if you don't pay attention you'll miss some laughs. Definitely worth seeing.
SUPERBAD. I hate to think that this movie really reflects the way teenage boys think and talk, but I can't say I'd really be surprised. In this case, it's two HS seniors, pretty dorky, who really really want to get laid before they go off to college. With the help of their even dorkier friend, who has a fake ID (in the name of McLovin), they have the chance to buy liquor for a party and impress the girls they are interested in. Of course there are complications. This is a pretty standard teenage movie, plotwise, and I found the first 20 minutes or so pretty crude, but that didn't last forever. And it really has quite a few belly laughs as the movie progresses, so I have to say it's worth seeing.
THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM. Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is still searching for his identity and why he is such a killing machine. This time his first clue appears via a journalist in London. From there he heads to Spain, and finally ends up in New York, where he duels with an evil "secret" branch of the CIA. They are willing to kill Bourne and anybody he contacts in order to keep their secret. With a great cast (David Straithern, Albert Finney, Joan Allen), this movie is essentially three chase scenes in the three locales. But they are really well done chase scenes (although sometimes the camera work was too jerky for my liking), so I thought this was a terrific action movie. Excellent summer fare.
KING OF KONG. A FISTFUL OF QUARTERS. Documentary on the people who still play the 1980's arcade game Donkey Kong. They take it seriously (it's apparently a really challenging game) and even have a official organization that validates scores. The movie follows Steve Wiebe, a likeable guy who out of nowhere decides he is going for a record-breaking score. His nemesis is the devious Billy Mitchell, who made a name for himself when he was 17 years old, back in 1982. Billy currently has the high score, but it seems like no one has actually watched him play in years. (He submits his scores via videotape.) I watched the movie with a smile on my face, not because I was laughing at the people, but because it was so entertaining. And, of course, it's always fun to root for a good guy over a bad guy. Totally enjoyable movie.
STARDUST. There is a town in 19th century England, called Wall. Not surprisingly, there is a wall outside of town, and the townspeople don't cross it much. Turns out, on the other side is a land called Stormhold. In Wall, a young man is trying to woo a young lady who isn't particularly impressed by him. Together they see a falling star, and he tells the young lady he will go get the star and bring it back to her if she will marry him. So he crosses the wall to get the star, who turns out to be Claire Danes. Claire is also being pursued by a group of princes each competing for the jewel around her neck so that one of them can become king, and by ugly old witches (including Michelle Pfeiffer) who want to eat her heart to ensure eternal youth. That's the bare bones of it; there's much much more (Robert de Niro as a gay pirate, Ricky Gervais, Peter O'Toole). It's a very visual movie, with several amusements, but I didn't love it like I thought I would. I think it would probably be wonderful for people who love fantasy and older children.
DEATH AT A FUNERAL. OK, so a son is trying to arrange for a dignified send off for his father. But the funeral doesn't get off to a good start when the undertakers deliver the wrong body. Things go from bad to worse. There is a mysterious man at the funeral, a future in-law unknowingly takes a psychadelic, a preacher who needs to be elsewhere, etc. This is a British comedy, and I was hoping for a lot of laughs, but mostly I just thought it mildly amusing. I only laughed out loud a couple of times. I am not sure I would even rent this one, but some members of the audience I saw it with laughed quite a bit.
SUPERBAD. I hate to think that this movie really reflects the way teenage boys think and talk, but I can't say I'd really be surprised. In this case, it's two HS seniors, pretty dorky, who really really want to get laid before they go off to college. With the help of their even dorkier friend, who has a fake ID (in the name of McLovin), they have the chance to buy liquor for a party and impress the girls they are interested in. Of course there are complications. This is a pretty standard teenage movie, plotwise, and I found the first 20 minutes or so pretty crude, but that didn't last forever. And it really has quite a few belly laughs as the movie progresses, so I have to say it's worth seeing.
THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM. Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is still searching for his identity and why he is such a killing machine. This time his first clue appears via a journalist in London. From there he heads to Spain, and finally ends up in New York, where he duels with an evil "secret" branch of the CIA. They are willing to kill Bourne and anybody he contacts in order to keep their secret. With a great cast (David Straithern, Albert Finney, Joan Allen), this movie is essentially three chase scenes in the three locales. But they are really well done chase scenes (although sometimes the camera work was too jerky for my liking), so I thought this was a terrific action movie. Excellent summer fare.
KING OF KONG. A FISTFUL OF QUARTERS. Documentary on the people who still play the 1980's arcade game Donkey Kong. They take it seriously (it's apparently a really challenging game) and even have a official organization that validates scores. The movie follows Steve Wiebe, a likeable guy who out of nowhere decides he is going for a record-breaking score. His nemesis is the devious Billy Mitchell, who made a name for himself when he was 17 years old, back in 1982. Billy currently has the high score, but it seems like no one has actually watched him play in years. (He submits his scores via videotape.) I watched the movie with a smile on my face, not because I was laughing at the people, but because it was so entertaining. And, of course, it's always fun to root for a good guy over a bad guy. Totally enjoyable movie.
STARDUST. There is a town in 19th century England, called Wall. Not surprisingly, there is a wall outside of town, and the townspeople don't cross it much. Turns out, on the other side is a land called Stormhold. In Wall, a young man is trying to woo a young lady who isn't particularly impressed by him. Together they see a falling star, and he tells the young lady he will go get the star and bring it back to her if she will marry him. So he crosses the wall to get the star, who turns out to be Claire Danes. Claire is also being pursued by a group of princes each competing for the jewel around her neck so that one of them can become king, and by ugly old witches (including Michelle Pfeiffer) who want to eat her heart to ensure eternal youth. That's the bare bones of it; there's much much more (Robert de Niro as a gay pirate, Ricky Gervais, Peter O'Toole). It's a very visual movie, with several amusements, but I didn't love it like I thought I would. I think it would probably be wonderful for people who love fantasy and older children.
DEATH AT A FUNERAL. OK, so a son is trying to arrange for a dignified send off for his father. But the funeral doesn't get off to a good start when the undertakers deliver the wrong body. Things go from bad to worse. There is a mysterious man at the funeral, a future in-law unknowingly takes a psychadelic, a preacher who needs to be elsewhere, etc. This is a British comedy, and I was hoping for a lot of laughs, but mostly I just thought it mildly amusing. I only laughed out loud a couple of times. I am not sure I would even rent this one, but some members of the audience I saw it with laughed quite a bit.
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