November movie reviews

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE. Jamal and his brother are poor Muslim boys living in the slums of Mumbai India. And when I say poor, I mean they live in unbelievable squalor and do whatever it takes to get by (rooting through trash, begging and stealing). Despite the circumstances Jamal grows up to be a good guy, and works bringing tea to call center workers. Through an odd circumstance, he gets on India’s version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire”. And he knows the answers. Because he comes from nothing, they suspect him of cheating. But through flashbacks, we can see how he has come to know the answers to the questions. There’s a lot more, but I won’t provide any more details, because this is a terrific movie I recommend people go see. Potentially one of the ten best of 2008.

QUANTUM OF SOLACE. I am not a big James Bond fan, but I did like CASINO ROYALE quite a bit, and really like Daniel Craig. But this sequel to his first Bond movie just didn't cut it for me. It was mostly chase scenes and fight scenes, and not much of a story to care about. (Something about his wanting vengeance for the death of his girlfriend, and an evil businessman trying to control a resource. Yawn.) No really good face-to-face confrontations. And the chase scenes and fight scenes were badly edited so that you really only get the sense that action is going on, but not exactly what the action consists of. I had the impression that a couple of the sequences had stunts that were really cool, but you never really got a good look at what was going on. So...no.

CHANGELING. A true story. This movie is directed by Clint Eastwood, who isn't known for his happy movies, but always does a great job. In this one, Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie) is a single mother raising her 9-year-old son in 1928 Los Angeles. One weekend she has to go to work unexpectedly, and when she comes back her son is gone. She calls the police, but they aren't very helpful. But a few months later, they tell her that her son has been found in Illinois. When she goes to the train station to pick him up, she realizes the boy isn't her son, but the police intimidate her into accepting him (because they don't want to be embarrassed; they are already well known as being corrupt). But she won't stay quiet for long; she knows he's not her son (he's 3 inches shorter!). But the police insist she is mistaken, even going to far as to insinuate that she just doesn't want to be a mother anymore. And then they go even further to silence her. This is a compelling story that has terrific acting, and a great recreation of the 20s. Definitely worth seeing.

THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS. Eight-year-old Bruno is living a good life, playing with his friends. It’s wartime Berlin, but the war hasn’t affected him at all. But one day his dad comes home and tells him that the family has to leave their beautiful home and go live in the country. His father is in the army, and has gotten a promotion. Turns out, his father is now the commander of a “work camp”. But Bruno is too young to know what is going on, and thinks it is a farm. And although he is forbidden from going exploring out back, he does, and comes across the camp and a little Jewish boy sitting inside the fence. And they become friends. Meanwhile, at home, his 12-year-old sister is becoming more of a Nazi, and their mother is growing more and more distraught at the knowledge of what is going on outside her house. This movie is well done, but it has what I thought was a somewhat false premise in order to drive home the horror of the holocaust. Which it does. In fact, the end is so horrific I wouldn’t even recommend this movie.

A SECRET. This French movie moves back and forth in time, starting in 1955, then 1985, and 1942. At first, it is a little challenging to keep up, but it gets easier. The story (supposedly based on fact) centers on a Jewish (although not very devout) family, as seen through the eyes of the young son. He is kind of a weakly kid, and it doesn't appear as if his father cares for him much. (The father is a great athlete.) Slowly the details of his family's past and their experiences during the Holocaust come out. The movie basically shows how the very little things people do can - quite unintentionally – affect their own lives and the lives of subsequent generations.

STRANDED. Documentary. In October 1972, a Uruguayan rugby team decided to fly to Chile to play a match. The team and friends and family were on a small plane. Caught in a severe storm, the plane went down in the Andes. Of the 45 on the plane, 29 survived the initial crash. Of course, they thought they would be rescued shortly, but the white plane just couldn't be seen from the air in all the snow. With little food and little protection from the elements (it was late winter), they did what they had to in order to survive. It was 72 days before two survivors hiked out and brought help. The movie is based on interviews with the survivors. It's a remarkable story, and it doesn't focus too much on the lurid details.

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN. Swedish movie. Oskar is a 12-year old boy who is bullied by his classmates. He doesn't seem to have many friends. One day a young girl moves in next door, and they meet in their building's courtyard after school. Right away, she tells him they can never be friends. And he notes that she smells funny. Still, they start meeting, and do become friends of a sort. At the same time, someone is killing people in town. And it turns out the young girl survives on blood. Yep, she's a vampire. But there's nothing romantic or glamorous about it. She's dirty, and has to always move about to avoid capture. This may be the weirdest movie I see all year. Interesting....

RACHEL GETTING MARRIED. Kim (Anne Hathaway) is getting out of rehab after a nine-month stay. This is just days before her sister Rachel is getting married. Kim is still a brittle mess, and in fact is incredibly self-centered and demanding. Rachel harbors hostility over all the attention Kim got growing up, and their dad is obviously worried that Kim is going to slip up. (Mom isn't in sight, yet.) Although the movie is well acted, and I could certainly believe people can act this way, I am not interested in spending time with these wealthy, privileged, spoiled people. And sitting through the family's wedding rehearsal (and all the toasts!) and then their pretentious wedding ceremony and reception (which is pretty much the movie) was beyond my patience. (Being multi-racial doesn’t automatically make you interesting.) I just felt empty afterwards, a real "who cares?".

ROLE MODELS. Two young guys get in trouble and instead of going to jail, get to instead do 150 hours of community service acting as "big brother" types. Paul Rudd mentors a total nerd adolescent (McLovin from Superbad), who is into medieval role-playing. Seann William Scott gets a foul-mouthed little kid. Neither have any parenting skills. It's a completely ridiculous premise, with not a single surprise element, but there are some laughs, so it wasn't a snooze.

ZACK AND MIRI MAKE A PORNO. Kevin Smith (Clerks, Dogma) is back to his low-brow ways. In this one, Zack (Seth Rogan) and Miri (Elizabeth Banks) have been friends since kindergarten, and are roommates. But they don't make much money, and the utilities are being turned off (during a Pittsburgh winter!). They search for ways to come up with some money, and their bright idea is to make a porn movie. They gather their cast and crew, etc etc. Of course, Zack and Miri are going to have feelings for each other, and making the porn will get complicated... On one hand, this isn't a very good movie, as romantic comedies go, and some of it I found pretty distasteful, but on the other hand there are at least five really good laughs, so you have to decide whether it's worth it.

I'VE LOVED YOU FOR SO LONG. French movie, with Kristin Scott Thomas playing a woman meeting up with her sister after 15 years apart. The movie slowly reveals where she has been and why she has been gone so long over the course of the movie. Kind of slow paced, and definitely has a "not-American" movie sensibility. It was kind of interesting. I am not sorry I saw it, but don't feel that it deserves an enthusiastic "go-see-it" either.