February & March movie reviews

THE LAST STATION. In his last years, Leo Tolstoy (Christopher Plummer) had a utopian philosophy that gave him a cult-like following. The leader of his followers, Chertov (Paul Giamatti) was single minded in his attempts to get Tolstoy to leave his followers the copyrights to his masterpieces. Tolstoy's wife, Sofya (Helen Mirren) was totally opposed, fearing that her husband would leave her and their many children destitute. So she is rather hysterical at the thought of it, and hates Chertov with a passion. She also does not share her husband's rather idealistic views, and is a bit reactionary. But it is clear that Leo and Sofya love each other dearly. Caught between the warring camps is Tolstoy's private secretary (James McAvoy.) Mirren is terrific in the role; despite her being rather paranoid about everything, one can certainly see her point of view. (Chertov comes off rather badly.) I really liked this movie.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND. Tim Burton's take on the classic children's story. Here Alice has grown up, and is feeling pushed toward a marriage she doesn't want. She thinks her memories of being down the rabbit hole 13 years ago were just a dream. At a party, she follows a rabbit, and once again is down the rabbit hole. Johnny Depp is the Mad Hatter, Helena Bonham Carter is the Red Queen. The story, such as it is, revolves around a battle between the Red Queen and White Queen. I liked the evil Red Queen (she was a hoot); but the rest of the movie was kind of a snooze for me. I would definitely recommend the movie for kids, especially girls, because they would probably be entertained and there is a girl power message that is appealing.



HOT TUB TIME MACHINE. John Cusack and his friends have gone their separate ways as they have grown older. When one (Rob Cordry) is suspected of having tried to commit suicide, they get together to help him out. The three, along with John's nephew, go back to their old stomping grounds at a ski resort. It's fallen on hard times, but there is still the hot tub. Which shorts out and sends them back to their happier days in the 80s. So they try not to change anything and get back to present time. I think this is supposed to be the 2010 version of THE HANGOVER. There are some funny bits, but I would say it's overall just mildly amusing. Too bad. Great premise.

THE GHOST WRITER. Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan) is the Tony Blair-like ex-British prime minister, and Ewan McGregor is the ghost writer of his memoirs. (The previous writer, an aid to the ex-PM, drowned under somewhat mysterious circumstances.) Ewan is doing the book for the money, and is supposed to get it done in a month as he holes up on an isolated island (reached by ferry mostly) with Lang, his wife, and remaining staff and supporters. But then the World Court tries to extradite Lang for war crimes, and this isn't just a trip to work on a book. Ewan starts discovering evidence of things unsaid, and the suspense begins. This is a fine political thriller, not excellent, but worth a look. (I may be giving it less the wholehearted review because I guessed a significant part of the story line.) Directed by Roman Polanski.

GREEN ZONE. Matt Damon stars as a soldier in 2003 Iraq. His job is finding weapons of mass destruction, and when he keeps coming up empty, he starts questioning the intelligence he is getting. When leads him into the politics of the war. There is the slimy politician (Greg Kinnear) who doesn't care that the excuse for the war was wrong, a CIA agent (Brendon Gleeson) who is frustrated because he is dealing with people who don't understand Iraq, and a reporter (Amy Ryan) who was duped by informants about the presence of WMD in Iraq. Obviously, the movie is based on a lot of the actual events of the war. It's a different experience watching a movie where the Americans are both the good guys and the bad guys. Not an edge of my seat watch (despite all the shaky camera work), but a good movie, entertaining.

THE RUNAWAYS. In the 1970's teenager Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart) wanted to rock and roll. She was able to hook up with a sleazy promoter/manager, and between the two of them they put together an all-girl rocking band, the Runaways. Cherie (Dakota Fanning) the lead singer, was only 15 when they started. The movie becomes a Behind the Scenes type story. Drugs, disagreements among the band members, etc. The depiction of the 1970's was certainly well done, but I wasn't that captured by the story. Probably because it was pretty superficial. There is the music, though.

PRODIGAL SONS. Kimberly Reed decides to make a documentary about returning home to Montana for her 20th high school reunion. She hasn't been back in a long while, and she is worried about how she will be greeted by the town and her former classmates. Because when she was in HS, she was Todd, the star quarterback. That story might have been more interesting (although her former classmates seem pretty OK with her), but in fact, the movie revolves around Kim's relationship with her brother. Marc was adopted a year before Kim was born, but held back a year in school (because he was ADD, I think), and he always felt overshadowed by Todd. Then, when he was in his early 20s, he was in a bad car accident and suffered a brain injury, which caused seizures, and now, violent outbursts. Kim wants to get along with her brother, and leave the past behind, but finds that Marc can't just let it go. So the movie is really about him, and secondarily about Kim coming to grips with her past (she seems to have more issues with it than others in the movie). I actually felt like Kim stuck with dealing with her brother longer than she would have ordinarily, just to have a movie. So although interesting (especially when you find out who Marc's birth family is), I didn't find it compelling.

ART OF THE STEAL. In the early 1900s, a Philadelphia doctor made tons of money in pharmaceuticals. He bought early modernist art before it was popular and collected a premier collection, perhaps worth 25 billion (yep, billion) dollars. He was shunned by Philadelphia society, though, so in his will, he ensured that the art remain outside of the Philadelphia establishment and be used as a teaching tool, not to make money as a museum exhibit. This movie details the steps people and institutions took since the doctor's death that completely invalidated his wishes. It is a one-sided view, because those on the other side wouldn't speak to the moviemakers. It's an interesting story, and well documented. One the one hand, I feel bad the the doctor's wishes aren't being respected; one the other hand, I think it's great that this art collection can now be seen by many more people. So the movie didn't enrage me or anything.

YELLOW HANDKERCHIEF. Brett (William Hurt) is getting out of a southern jail as the movie opens, and ends up catching a ride with a couple of teenagers on the road down to New Orleans, shortly after Katrina. Gordy, the driver, is kind of an odd young man, and we can see that he is probably escaping a home life where he was not understood. Teenager Martine (Kristen Stewart) knows her truck-driving dad won't notice if she is away from home for a while. Their stories slowly come out, and they get to know each other better during the ride through the back roads of the south. The main story is what Brett did to land in jail, and the woman he left behind when he went to prison. Kind of a lackadaisical movie...Not a subtle ending, but I liked it anyway.