April movie reviews

ADVENTURELAND. This is movie is set in the 80's and is about a group of people in their early 20's, still trying to figure out life as adults. James has just been told that his parents can't afford to give him his college graduation gift (a trip to Europe), and in fact, he will have to find a summer job if he wants to go to grad school. Since he was a liberal arts major, he finds he is not qualified to do anything, and ends up working at the local carnival running arcade games. There he meets a cast of characters, including a girl who he falls for. Emily has more life experience than he has (James is a romantic, and still a virgin), but it's not like she has everything figured out either. They are both smart, well-developed, believable characters. Despite some of the ads, this is not a gross-out comedy. The early part of the movie is pretty amusing as James learns the ins and outs of his job and dealing with customers, and the second part is very sweet, as he and Emily get to know one another. It was an enjoyable two hours.

SIN NOMBRE. This movie from Mexico follows a teenage Honduran woman, Sayra, as she tries to immigrate to the United States with her father (who has lived in the US for years, but has been deported and is trying to get back). A parallel story follows Casper, a member of a vicious gang in Chiapas (southern Mexico) that preys on the Central American immigrants as they try to pass through their territory on freight trains. Sayra and Casper meet on one of those trains, and they help each other overcome some of the obstacles in their path. The director actually filmed in southern Mexico, and used some gang members as actors, so there is a real feeling of authenticity to the movie. It brings home the idea that illegal immigration is a risky and challenging task, certainly not something undertaken lightly. This movie is terrific use of film making, showing the realities of these journeys.

SUGAR. When the movie opens, Sugar is a young Dominican living in a baseball camp, kind of a training ground for the major and minor leagues in America. First the movie shows his life in the Dominican Republic, where his family is hoping that he will move up in baseball and support them. Then it follows him to the minor leagues, and his life both as an immigrant, and a up-and-coming baseball player. The movie is not really about baseball at all; it is about one man's experience coming to America. And I liked it quite a bit. One reason I like movies is because they can introduce you to people you will never meet and take you to places you will never go - and this movie does a wonderful job of both.

ANVIL. THE STORY OF ANVIL. In the early 1980's, Anvil was poised to take the heavy metal scene by storm. But for some reason, despite early successes, they never caught on to become stars. Although interviews with other rockers give them their props for being groundbreaking, present-day Anvil is reduced to playing small gigs in near obscurity. When they can get them. But the boys, now in their early 50's, just keep on plugging away hoping for their big break, and this documentary tells their story. Reviews are calling this a real-life Spinal Tap, and it really is, complete with cranking it up to 11 and Stonehenge. Now, I don't care for heavy metal, and I probably couldn't spend more than 5 minutes with these guys (they don't appear to be any too bright), but their incurable optimism actually makes you root for them to someday make it. It was worth the ticket price.

LYMELIFE. Alex Baldwin and his wife Jill Hennessey live unhappily on Long Island in the early 80's. Their neighbors Timothy Hutton and Cynthia Nixon aren't doing so well either, because Timothy is suffering the neurological effects of Lyme disease. Their teenage kids (one of the Caulkin boys, and Emma Roberts, Julia's niece) have their own growing pains to cope with. This is one of those all-too-common unhappy suburbanite stories, but well written and acted, so it never goes off the rails. So although it isn't anything original (man, it seems like there are a lot of Long Island kids that became filmmakers!), it was a well-done movie.

STATE OF PLAY. Russell Crowe is a grizzled newspaper reporter. Ben Affleck is an up-and-coming Congressman. When Ben's aide is killed, it is revealed that Ben was having an affair with her. While working on another murder story, Russell discovers that all is not what it seems with the aide's death, and that the deaths seem to have a link. The pieces of the puzzle aren't adding up. So he and the paper's political blogger (Rachel McAdams) start investigating a story that turns out to involve a Blackwater type company. Since Russell was college roommates with Ben (and slept with his wife, Robin Wright Penn), he is perhaps more personally involved in the story than he should be. This is a pretty good thriller with nice twists. Lots of good acting, including Helen Mirren as the newspaper editor determined to keep the newspaper alive and Jason Bateman as a sleazeball. Until the very last twist, which I thought unnecessary and ultimately made the story make less sense. But it was still a fun movie up until then.

EVERLASTING MOMENTS. This Swedish film takes place around WWI, and follows a couple's marriage over the years. He works hard on the docks, but drinks too much and becomes more and more abusive. She feels stuck in the marriage, although admittedly she loves him quite a bit when he is not drinking. She is the rock that holds the family together (and she is always getting pregnant), and works whatever job she can when her husband isn't providing for them. One day she finds a camera she forgot she had, and takes it to a shop to get some money for it. The owner of the camera shop takes pity on her, teaches her to use the camera, and fronts her the cost of supplies. And taking pictures becomes something she does. It seems to save her on some level, giving her something of her own, other than being a beat-down wife and mother. I really liked the story this movie told, which appears to have been inspired by a true story.

GOODBYE SOLO. Solo is an immigrant from Senegal driving a cab in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He is studying to be a flight attendant. One day he picks up an older gentleman, who wants to make a deal with Solo. If Solo will drive William to Blowing Rock in two weeks time, and just leave him there, no questions asked, then William will pay Solo $1000. Solo thinks he is joking, and tries to return the down payment. Then we follow the two for the next two weeks, where Solo becomes convinced that William wants to commit suicide, and does what he can to get William to appreciate life. Solo is an interesting guy, with a huge heart and a nearly always cheerful personality, but the old guy is just a cranky pain in the ass. The movie never explains him; for no understandable reason, he is just determined to not allow anyone in his life. Although there are some interesting visuals in the movie, because I couldn't find anything about the old man to care about, I couldn't care about the movie. Critics are loving it, though...

HUNGER. Based on the true story of the Irish hunger strikers of the early 1980s, this movie takes place in a prison holding Irish Republican Army prisoners in Northern Ireland. They have lost their status as political prisoners, so they start a series of protests, led by Bobby Sands. They refuse to wear prison uniforms and instead go naked. They smear the walls of their cells with their shit. They pour their pee out into the hallways. Finally, they go on a hunger strike. The movie is mostly scenes of violence and incredible degradation. There is really only one scene with much dialog, between Sands and a priest, where they discuss the moral and ethical ramifications of a hunger strike for political reasons and whether it is suicide or murder. (I admit I missed some of the dialog because of the Irish accents). I had to look up a little of the background to better understand what the prisoners' point of view was. Because this move literally made me gag a couple of times, I could in no way recommend that anyone see it. The only way it could be worse if it had smell-o-vision, not because it is a bad movie, but because it is so disgustingly realistic. I am pretty strong stomached, but this was too much for me.