April movie reviews

DATE NIGHT. Tina Fey and Steve Carrell are suburban married parents stuck in a rut. So they decide to go into the city on a date night. Arriving at a trendy restaurant, they find they have no chance of getting in without a reservation. So they take the reservation of a couple of no-shows. But it turns out that the no-shows are in trouble with some bad guys, and so Tina and Steve's night in the city turns into a series of crazy adventures running from bad guys and trying to get out of the jam there are in. Very cute movie; I laughed out loud quite a bit.

THE SQUARE. Australian noir. A middle aged man and a younger woman are in love. Problem is, they are both married to someone else. When the young wife discovers that her husband is hiding some money away, she tries to convince her older lover that they should steal the money so they could run away together. So begins their downward spiral. In typical noir fashion, one bad act leads to a series of unexpected consequences. I usually like this genre, and I really liked this movie. (Note: this movie is preceded by a 10-minute short film by the directors that I also thought was terrific.)

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON. Animation by Dreamworks. Hiccup lives in a Viking village terrorized by dragons. He is a skinny boy, considered a lost cause as a warrior by his chieftain father. But Hiccup wants very badly to be a dragon killer and gain respect. He does shoot down a dragon, but discovers he doesn't have the heart to kill it. Instead, he makes friends with it. And he will become the hero he dreamed of. This movie has beautiful 3D animation, but for me, I thought this one more aimed at kids than adults.

THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN AMERICA. DANIEL ELLSBERG AND THE PENTAGON PAPERS. Documentary on the life and times of Daniel Ellsberg, beginning with his work for the Rand Corporation (a Pentagon think-tank) in supporting the Vietnam War in the early years through his evolution to an anti-war activist. I knew the outlines of the story, but this goes much deeper into Ellsberg's past and motivations. Fascinating stuff, both the American history and the personal history of Ellsberg. I really enjoyed it.

GREENBERG. Ben Stiller is Greenberg, a New Yorker recently out of a mental institution after a nervous breakdown. He moves into his Los Angeles' brother's house to recuperate. The brother and his family go on vacation, and they leave the phone number of their young assistant for Greenberg, in case he needs anything. He does call Florence, and they develop an up and down relationship. Greenberg also reconnects with his high school buddies. The problem is, Greenberg is a terrible person. He seems to have a personality disorder that make him lash out at people, he seems to have no sense of appropriate behavior, he's completely self-centered, he's just a jerk. Plus there is the age difference. Still she sees something in him and puts up with his shit. I was not happy the two connected; she seemed too normal and nice to end up with a loser like that. I really disliked this movie. I didn't get that there was humor in this movie as it seems some critics did...