SWEENEY TODD: DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET

SWEENEY TODD DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET NEEDS A SHAVE "Narrator: This is the tale of an ordinary man, who had everything... Barker, his name was. Benjamin Barker. Narrator: Until a man of power stole his freedom, destroyed his family and banished him... for life. And in his sorrow a new man was born." I love Johnny Depp. I love Helena Bonham Carter and I love Tim Burton. There was a lot of love and anxious anticipation waiting for this film to release in December (but is now on DVD). Maybe I was tossed on my head as a child, but I did not love this film. There, I said it, the awkward truth comes out. 'Everyone' was nervous about the singing; could Depp and/or Carter sing well enough to make this movie magic. Once out, 'everyone' was shocked and amazed, yes they could sing, he more passably than she. The movie looked good, the dark images that Burton has been so skilled at perfecting. Yes, it was also lots of blood. There were lots of blood in the Kill Bill series, but since 'everyone' liked Burton more than Tarantino (and I see 'their' point) the violence and blood letting was okay. The acting was flawless. So where did it go wrong? I usually love those awkward movies and predicted that it would be accepted fondly or die a celluloid death. After much inward speculation, I finally got it down to Broadway. This film was a "Broadway" musical. It wasn't a musical like Across the Universe; it was a Broadway musical. That was the key that I did not anticipate. I loved Chicago and that was a "Broadway" musical, but there was something that just lacked in this film. There was a whole set up, everyone and everything was pretty, albeit dark. Yet, when the singing began it was tiresome. Perhaps I expected that Burton's take on musicals would be different. I wanted to love it so very much, but instead was terribly let down.
NOT a pick: Entertaining, but not sustaining enough for a full length film.

I AM LEGEND

I AM LEGEND WAS NOT LEGENDARY, BUT BETTER THAN EXPECTED "I can help. I can save you. I can save everybody. " as spoken by Robert Neville (Will Smith) and that's the movie in a nutshell. We are in the future, 2012, and a cure for cancer has been announced and it is a downward spiral from there. Neville is a scientist, immune to those who received the "cure for cancer" three years earlier, which turned into a deadly virus that makes you avoid the daylight (zombies only come out at night, rule #26 of movie plots), do bad things and hurt people. They like the dark, so we watch Neville and his dog Sam check for people, infected or not, and all the other stuff solitary scientists do. Note to self: Immediately turn off DVD when character is shown to have a loyal dog or cat. Aside from his work, he tries to find relief from the stress in comical ways. It isn't until the mid-point of the movie where 1) We learn about where his wife and daughter went during the evacuation of Manhattan, which explains his drive to find a cure and 2) We get a glimpse inside his mind (and outside, this guy is ripped!) where the stress of being alone the whole never ending search for the vaccine spits in his face each day, as both a man and a scientist. The visual effects in this film are stunning. Much like his buddy Tom Cruise in Vanilla Sky, the normally busy and lively streets are abandoned and eerily quiet. The plot pushed pretty hard at being any kind of believable, but it was still entertaining. Albeit the end of the film was a little too cornball/sappy, but overall Smith gave an outstanding performance. I ponder if Smith was too big an actor for this role. Then the movie could have tanked and be added to the Lohan hall of fame. But it didn't. They went in with a accomplished, commercial actor who was better than the script allowed and hoped for a smash hit. No need to place the blame. It was an interesting film, once it got going, not great, but absolutely much better than I previously thought.

PICK: Entertaining premise and strong performance by Will Smith.

KURT COBAIN, ABOUT A SON

KURT COBAIN, ABOUT A SON... A SON YOU NEVER KNEW
14 years ago, April 5th, a great mind, borderline genius musician, literally blew up. This is my generation; we all knew what we were doing when OJ had every LAPD going for a joy ride and perhaps a lesser group remembers where we were when Kurt was reportedly dead from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head. I was lucky enough to write for a local music publication and during a break from my "day job" I was able to join Jeff and Matt as we listened to the DJs reporting and trying not to choke on their tears. This is an audio film. Ever been to Aberdeen? You will. There were over 25 hours or interviews with Kurt, his words, his thoughts previously unreleased, by Michael Azzerrad who wrote the book, Come As You Are, about the band (Nirvana). We all joked about Kurt and Courtney being the next Sid and Nancy, and Kurt confesses when he met her he immediately thought of Nancy. Kurt makes some observations and insight about the band, the music, the media. All the while, the screen is busy with flashes of places Kurt lived, worked or hung out. It's a beautiful start to a Cobain coffee table book. Hearing his voice "beyond the grave" was both erie and comforting. He was honest and for once, sounded real. It's like all this time he kept himself hidden from the media and this film broke down any and all walls. He was a very smart man, soft spoken and funny, even if he didn't make the best of choices (heroin and Courtney), like many artists, he was misunderstood. Although even if it's too little too late, it was touching to hear his side of things. This film was touching but it served as too much of a reminder that it was post-mortem.
PICK: A must for any Cobain fans, melancholy and insightful. Bean has his eyes.

AWAKE

AWAKE NEEDS TO BE PUT BACK TO SLEEP

The "Exclusively available at Blockbuster"promo is where movies go to die. What a waste of Terrence Howard. In that vein, what a waste of time it took to watch this movie. Clay Beresford (Hayden Christensen) is a successful, yuppie financial banker who has a heart condition and a girl friend (Jessica Alba) . The only hope is for a miracle transfer. He butts heads with his mother who would rather someone else operate, but he has chosen his best friend Dr. Jack Harper (Howard). One thing leads to another and he (and we) discover that he is experiencing "anesthetic awareness," which leaves him awake but paralyzed throughout the operation. Through this, he is able to see things, hear people and finds that something wrong is going on. Christensen does a fine job as the walking dead. Law #47 in that people aren't always who you think they are. I'll leave the ending out, not that is climatic or shocking. It just isn't worth commenting on.

NOT a PICK: Far too many movies have tried a version of this and it still isn't working!

NOTE: This movie is so forgettable that I checked it out from the library a second time!

DAN IN REAL LIFE

DAN IN REAL LIFE IS REALLY NOT ENTERTAINING

Keep in mind that I love Steve Carell (Dan) as an all around talented guy. He is the reason I watch The Office religiously. However, in this movie, he should have left The Office at the office. This is a typical romantic comedy type of show where whoops, I fell in love with someone unobtainable. We've seen this plot line many times before and it was done much better many times before. There are moments, places that give you that "home with the family" feeling and the actors seemed to have bonded well enough for that general idea. Another however, that idea goes no where fast. Carell plays half of his Office character and half real-actor character. The two don't mix. Another un-mixable ingredient in this film was casting Juliette Binoche as Marie, the love interest. It's like taking a piece of jewelry from Tiffany's and putting in a plain brown wrapper. The two had no chemistry together and I looked at my watch constantly during the movie. There was a good cast, but no one stood out. Dane Cook (Mitch) was less irritating than usual, at least for most of the movie. Dianne Wiest and John Mahony (as the parents) were sadly underused. The writing was bad, the plot was bad, the movie, was bad.

NOT a PICK: One or two good scenes does not a good movie make. Skip it.

ANTHONY MINGHELLA: 1954 TO 2008

ANTHONY MINGHELLA: RIP
Talented director, writer and producer of some of the most grand movies to date, has died from complications during treatment for cancer at 54. His eye caught to big picture and made it more elaborate and twice as majestic than anyone could have imagined. He won accolades for his work on The Talented Mr. Ripley, Cold Mountain, the English Patient.

"He wasn't just a writer, or a writer-director, he was someone who was very well-known and very well-loved within the film community," Puttnam said. "Frankly he was far too young to have gone." Minghella is survived by his wife; his actor son, Max Minghella; and his daughter, Hannah. (From the AP)

INTO THE WILD

INTO THE WILD BREATHTAKING JOURNEY

This is not a film... this is a song, a painting, a poem... a magical ode to nature and the endless wonder in every day life. In our "celeb-reality" world, I think it hard pressed to find such a young man, from a privileged family who would take his own life to such an extreme in order to find meaning and spiritual fulfillment. Alexander Supertramp (Emile Hirsch) is Christopher McCandless, or rather who McCandless was. After graduation, he roamed the country, working at a variety of odd jobs, nothing too hard or too easy. He was quietly propelling himself to Alaska where he would take on mother nature on with both hands. When not exchanging views with a fellow traveler, he would talk to himself or his food or whatever amused him. This is one of those roles where the actor becomes the part. Hirsch is mesmerizing and his young face mirrors the splendor and glory of the world he discovered. His fellow actors took him in and gave back the same warmth and understanding, truly showing no part is too small; colorful charachters paving the yello brick road. His search for truth, his spiritual revolution to "kill the false being" unfortunately killed his physical being. In the end, the flora and fauna he drew life from also may have aided in his death. However, this film is not just about this young man's death, but rather the incredible life he lived before he left this world. The movie is not a biography. But when not compared to the real story, standing alone, it stands. The worst part of the film is that he finds the truth, but ironically, it isn't what he thought it would be. "Happiness is only real when shared".
BIG PICK: Perhaps my favorite of 2007. It touched my heart and soul. More than a movie.

THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE

THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE NOT ALL ASH AND SOOT
Audrey (Halle Berry) and Brian (David Duchovny) have a perfect life, with perfect children and a lovely perfect home; until one day. It is always that "one day" that changes the course of a lifetime, for either good or bad. Then there's Jerry (Benicio Del Toro), Brian's best friend since the second grade. Jerry fell off the path and fell off the wagon. He drank and used drugs and got in all sorts of trouble but Brian was always "there" for him. The one person that Audrey hated the most would end up being the one person who would walk her family through its grief and pain. He is not perfect. He may have a place in the healing, but it isn't always obvious. There was not one bad actor in this film. It was a real group participation and those ties show in the footage. Del Toro is at his best and shows one of the most ugly and painful detox scenes ever. No one jumps in to make a "pretty" film about an addict. The whole movie is like that; not always pretty and perfect. There is a lot of good in this film but it still seems to be lacking something... that something I can't describe. Some scenes get lost in the cinematography while others stand out for lack of production. At points it tries too hard, almost anticipating the tears. It is a good movie even if ingenuine at times.
PICK: Not a perfect film, but the strong performances outweigh the gaps. Del Toro rocks!

HITMAN

HITMAN WELL EXECUTED HIT
"Agent 47: Nika... Nika Boronina: Yes? Agent 47: Stop talking or I'll put you back in the trunk." Agent 47 (Timothy Oliphant) has literally been born and bred to be a top-notch assassin for the government (hense the bar code on the back of his head). One of his most risky assignments goes awry and suddenly he is the #1 target of choice for Interpol, the Russian Mob and other hitmen. So of course he must track down the people who set him up and make everything right in the world. He runs into Nika Boroina (Olga Kurylenko) when she is used as bait for a trap. They make a cute couple. What sets this story apart from the others, aside from it's tight choreography, is the banter of these two back and forth. He is on a fast track to accomplish his work and is surprisingly not the least bit interested in her romantically, although he does have a fondness for her. He doesn't have super-human powers, but he is so well prepared he should get a Scout patch for his efforts. This movie is slick and loud and stylish. There is something just a little off about Oliphant, but I liked him. I think Billy Zane would have been an interesting cast, but perhaps his show of emotion would have been too much for the character. It isn't the most original movie I've seen, however, it is still a good film and the characters and plot are interesting to watch. The way that he understands the reaction to something then he plans for that and uses it for his own actions. It's like he never reacts, he acts. Yes, it's a subtle note, but the one that kept this film above average.
PICK: Loved the characters, loved the action pace and scenes, nicely done.

LUST, CAUTION

LUST, CAUTION IS FEARLESSLY BOTH After directing one of the most groundbreaking films to date (Brokeback Mountain), Ang Lee has done it again. This is a breathtakingly brilliant film about everything: politics, betrayal, spies, love, adultery, romance, torrid sex, and struggle. As the Japanese move in and occupy China, many renegade forces form to fight the war on a smaller scale. A naive college girl Wong Chia Chi (Tang Wei) gets caught up with a group to produce politically forward, patriotic China plays with her classmates. Little does she know that she will use her acting skills in efforts to bring down the powerful Japanese "informant" Mr. Yee (Tony Leung). She enters the world of espionage, starting with a harmless game of maj jong with Mrs. Lee (Joan Chen) and her friends. To get access to his world, she and her fellow actors turned activists take on new character. She becomes Chia Chi, young and coy, but seductive and has to play a sneaky game of cat and mouse with Mr. Yee, forcing him to fall in love with her, against his own desire, and she in turn, also must choose to complete her mission or follow her desires. This is a bold and graphic movie where scenes of war and sex cross back and forth between each other. Sometimes there is love in their love making and sometimes there is hate and aggression. This is a story of war and the choices we make under duress and the consequences those choices bring. This was an intense and mesmerizing movie from the acting to the plot. Thank you Ang Lee for introducing us to worlds we would have never found on our own.

BIG PICK: Beautifully shot, well acted and a compelling story. Exquisite!

IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH

IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH HOLDS SADNESS AND GRIM REALITY
This movie was inspired by true events, which makes it all the more difficult to stomach. Tommy Lee Jones is Retired Sergeant Hank Deerfield, who has been notified that his son, also a service man, has gone AWOL after returning from Iraq. Deerfield leaves his wife, Joan (Susan Sarandon) and drives to the base where his son was last seen to find out what happened. This film is one of, if not THE best work of Tommy Lee Jones to date. Little by little, we are let into his mind and he proves to be sharp and skilled at seeing the items that both local law enforcement and the military police either don't see or are covering up. He finds an unlikely source of information from the new detective, Emily Sanders (Charlize Theron) who is able to bust through the good-old-boys network and gives the case the energy and commitment that it deserves. The whole cast is outstanding; not a bad performance in the bunch. At first I thought that casting Sarandon was a waste, but she owned ever scene she had down to the second. Theron was able to present that combination of naivete, hunger to prove herself and the fear or what she is doing. Note: Tommy Lee Jones and Josh Brolin are both in this and No Country For Old Men. Small world.
PICK: Outstanding work by the whole cast honor the life of the man this was based on.

RENDITION

RENDITION TRANSLATES TO A LANGUAGE WE ALL CAN UNDERSTAND

"Rendition: handing over prisoners to countries where torture is allowed." This is what is happening right now. This is our world. If you have a different skin color or come from foreign soil, even if you look like you do, you are perceived as a threat. We've grown into a country waiting for the other shoe to fall. Since 9/11 everything has changed. The "we" is now an "us" and "them". We are alone in this world, just like the characters in this film. Anwar El-Ibrahimi (Omar Metwally) is detained while trying to return home to his wife (Reese Witherspoon) son and his soon to be born baby. This is where to nightmare begins. He is sent back and footsteps ultimately erased, albeit sloppily. He now lives in a dark damp cell; a dirty, bloody, intimidating place. He is tortured in full view of the American CIA agent, Douglas Freeman ( Jake Gyllenhaal) who has been thrust into a situation, not by choice, and has to decide which side of the road he intends to walk. After a while of witnessing this brutal and bloody torture he asks, "In all the years you've been doing this, how often can you say that we've produced truly legitimate intelligence? Once? Twice? Ten times? Give me a statistic; give me a number. Give me a pie chart, I love pie charts. Anything, anything that outweighs the fact that if you torture one person you create ten, a hundred, a thousand new enemies." The paperwork and red tape and politicians all get intertwined when meanwhile, this man is dying a slow death by torture. His wife is doing all she can with people who simply won't acknowledge her presence, even when contradictory proof is offered. Meryl Streep plays a cold hearted bitch, with class. Her dismissive "I can destroy you" attitude made me sick. Witherspoon could be playing a more sympathetic character against this politician who eats people like her for breakfast. I can't say I was overjoyed by Gyllenhaal's performance, but it may have been an error in the script as he is a proven actor. He was able to play the man caught in the middle and when dealing with politicians. He has a tough choice to make. What does he decide; protocol or humanity? Overall, it was an intense, gripping drama that must be paid the most careful of attention to; so that the end will come full circle and make sense.

PICK: The truth hurts and this will too, but it is worth the payoff at the end.

TWO WEEKS

TWO WEEKS SURPRISINGLY WORTH EVERY DAY

There was no rush for me to watch this film. It is technically 2006, but I notice video stores calling three and four year old movies "new" releases. Perhaps it hits a chord with me in a personal way that clouds my better judgement to review a Sally Field tear-jerker, but I'll take my chances. No mystery here, Anita Bergman (Sally Field) is the terminally ill mother of four children. Two Weeks is the time the adult children begin to stand vigil for their mother in her time of need. Keith (Ben Chaplin) is the oldest and acts as our narrator as he films his mother in better condition to live a "living will" of sorts, a message from beyond the grave. Those were the most sappy and not the better part of this film. The better part is watching the siblings act and react to and with each other in realistic ways that one acts while in this sort of situation. Each actor does a wonderful job in their role, although I believe Chaplin actually glows. This isn't a pleasant issue to discuss, as is watching the slow death of a loved one. There is humor that is appropriately inappropriate. They call "dibbs" on the left over morphine and pain killers. Our society doesn't place value on the dying process. We hide our elderly in over crowded "homes" like they have something we could catch. Brilliant scene where clergy is called in. Death is highly personal and everyone deals with their own or others mortality in unique ways. This movie sparks such conversation. Nothing is candy coated, not even the Darvocet. If you can stand the typical mother loves you transition between the Two Weeks, it is well worth it.

PICK: Perhaps a bit syrupy in some parts, but a valuable and well done film.

SMILEY FACE

SMILEY FACE SHOULD BE TURNED UPSIDE DOWN
If you can't say something nice...


Since the emergence of Sean Penn as Jeff Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High (including, lesser known actors such as Eric Stolz, Anthony Edwards and Nick Cage) came a new kind of character; the surfer/stoner dude. Other movies have tried to match the "dude-ness" and some came close. The gimmick in this movie is that the girl, Jane (Anna Faris), who is a "pot head" already, accidentally eats her roomie's cupcakes, which are laced with marijuana. The rest of the film is her wacky and crazy adventures. It just doesn't work... AT ALL. Even with a decent cast, there is nothing funny about this film. There are stoner women (not girls) who smoke weed (Mary Louise Parker, HBO Weeds) but no girl/young woman counterpart that come close. Faris can not hold a whole movie on her own. John Krasinski (Jim from the Office) was good to watch, but he could have been given a bigger bite of these cupcakes. Some bits work, but there aren't enough of them to save this crap. Some called it a cult classic. Let the cult have it.
NOT a pick unless you're too stoned to care. Worthless and unfunny.

AMERICAN GANGSTER

AMERICAN GANGSTER NEEDS TO BE WHACKED

"This is my home. This is where my business is, my wife, my mother, my family. This is my country, I ain't goin' nowhere." This is Frank Lucas' (Denzel Washington) world and we're just living in it. This is after his rise from errand boy for an infamous heroin dealer to replacing that man and crowning himself the new king. Not only did he call it, he demanded it and those who got in the way were "moved" to a more permanent out of the way place. As Lucas is on the rise, Detective/wanna be lawyer, Richie Roberts (Russell Crowe) isn't. This is due in part to his drive to become an attorney and crossing the 't's and dotting the 'i's which doesn't sit well for his less scrupulous colleagues. Roberts is obsessed during his downward spiral while Lucas is reveling the high life. Lucas is the true OG (original gangster). Based on a true story, the 2 disc release shows you both men as they helped the movie's production. The theatrical version is 236 minutes. The un-cut version is 255 minutes. Even with the editing, this movie is still too long. It is slick, looks great, but maybe too great. Washington and Crowe are both incredible actors. Why it didn't translate, I don't know. This film was a walking corpse, the body intact but no heart, no soul. Their performances as real life men may be dead on, but their impersonations were lifeless. All the ingredients were there, just not mixed to the right consistency. It was interesting to watch, but not enough for me to recommend it.

NOT a pick: Too long and no energy; a huge waste of talented actors