October movie reviews

AN EDUCATION. In early 1960's Britain, schoolgirl Jennie is in a big hurry to grow up. She wants to speak French, go to nightclubs, be with people who appreciate art. She is on the path to going to Oxford, but one day she meets an older man (Peter Saarsgard) who introduces her to all the things she wants. He also enchants her parents, and they let her go out with him, despite the nearly 20 year difference in their ages. But something isn't quite right with him. Turns out Jennie will get quite an education from him. I really liked how well this movie depicts a teenager's desperate desire to be and do "adult" things, even if they aren't quite ready for them. Quite good (and based on a true story).

WHIP IT. Seventeen-year-old Bliss (Ellen Page) lives in small-town Bodeen, Texas, and doesn't quite fit in. She works at a local diner and her mother (Marcia Gay Harden) makes her participate in beauty pageants, which just aren't her thing. One day, on a lark, her and a friend go to Austin to watch a women's roller derby event. And Bliss is enthralled. She pulls out her Barbie roller skates and starts practicing, and she makes the team. So begins her growing up during the derby season of hard knocks on and off the track. This isn't a terribly original sports movie, but it was a fun grrl power flick. I liked it.

ZOMBIELAND. Jesse Eisenberg is surviving in a world taken over by zombies. And he does it by religiously adhering to certain rules (do cardio, avoid bathrooms, etc). He's always been a loner, but now that he has no choice, he misses people. Trying to get home from college, he and Woody Harrelson team up to survive. On the way, of course, they must kill and kill and kill zombies. Very tongue in cheek, with lots of gore, the movie is pretty darn funny.

THE INVENTION OF LYING. Marc (Ricky Gervais) lives in a world where no one can lie. About anything. He works writing scripts for "Lecture Movies" because only non-fiction works can exist. He goes on blind dates where the dates flat out tell him that he's a loser (so do the waiters!). The world of advertising is quite different ("Pepsi - it's what you drink when they don't have the other one.") One day, in an especially stressful moment, he finds that he can tell a lie. Which leads to all sorts of complications. This is a brilliant idea, and the movie has some real laugh-out-loud gags. The movie doesn't give the love of Marc's life (Jennifer Garner) enough of a personality, so I thought she came off rather shallow. And the movie has a religious theme that I thought was too heavy handed. But still, it was definitely funny enough to make up for the weaknesses.

THE DAMNED UNITED. Bryan Clough (Michael Sheen) is a coach for a small soccer team in the late 1960s. He is very ambitious, and works up quite a rivalry with the coach of the leading team (Leeds United) in England. (Not that the rival coach realizes it.) Along with his assistant (Timothy Spall), they make their small team one of the best in England. Then Bryan gets the chance to coach the Leeds team when that coach retires. And he fails miserably. The movie goes back and forth from his earlier successes to his later downfall. This isn't really a soccer movie, but a terrific story of the rise and fall of one man. (Based on a true story.)

CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY. I don't think Michael Moore is the most intellectual of filmmakers, but he knows how to put together an entertaining documentary. This one takes on the current economic conditions and how we got here. There is info on deregulation, the tax code, insurance scams, and the foreclosure crisis. There is a really interesting tidbit about how FDR wanted there to be an economic bill of rights for all Americans. Moore is even able to circle back to his first movie (Roger and Me) and take a look at GM and what has happened to his hometown employer. Not much analysis, and no solutions (socialism?), but it was an enjoyable movie experience.

GOOD HAIR. Chris Rock takes a look at black women and their hair in this documentary. He interviews activists, entertainers, politicians, hair dressers and ordinary women in the beauty shop. He explores straighteners, weaves, industry shows, company ownership of black products, and other topics. There isn't enough real analysis of the issue of women and their looks, and the movie is kind of all over the place, so it's not a great documentary, but it was interesting (I did not know how much weaves cost!) and Chris Rock is always good for a funny line for sure.

BRIGHT STAR. In the early 1800's, Fannie Braune was a young woman known for her sewing and fashion sense. Her neighbor makes fun of her, but she holds her own with him. One day, she meets his roommate, John Keats. They don't get along at first either, but she is curious about his poems and he agrees to explain his poetry to her. Eventually they become romantically attracted to each other and their relationship develops into a passionate but chaste love affair. They can't get married because he has no money. Then he gets TB, goes to Italy and dies. That's it. Directed by Jane Campion (she did The Piano), it is beautifully shot and well acted. But it didn't grab me. If you are a fan of costume dramas, unrequited love stories, or romantic poetry, this might be for you.

A SERIOUS MAN. From the Coen Brothers, this movie takes place in 1967 Minnesota. Larry is a physics professor, and he is just an ordinary guy leading an ordinary suburban life. But he is having a string of bad luck - wife wants to leave him, money troubles, loser brother, etc. With the exception of his son's upcoming bar mitzvah, it seems like there is no joy in his life. He goes to a series of rabbis in an attempt to understand why all this is happening to him. But he gets no answers, and although he is trying to do the right thing, he is pretty passive about life. I guess the movie's theme is that a person's character doesn't necessarily determine his fate - bad things happen to good people. But for me, what a snoozefest. Some reviewers are finding it funny, but I rarely did.