GHOST WRITER: SUPER FILM NOIR

The Ghost: Did you ever want to be a proper politician in your own right?
Ruth Lang: Of course, didn't you want to be a proper writer?

Roman Polanski is alive and well and still making excellent movies. This time we are brought into the world of a super politico, much like Tony Blair, who is being investigated for some unsavory crimes. Pierce Brosnan is Ex-Prime Minister Andrew Lang who is working on a book with a ghost writer that has come up dead on a beach. Cue Ewan McGregor as Ghost number two who enters softly and is brought up to speed much like a college hazing gone bad about the chaos he has surrounded himself with. What starts off as a slow and reasonable movie whips into a fury with an ending that spins out of control. McGregor is solid as the man whose normal boring life turns upside down. Brosnan is equally on par with McGregor. Who we don't see coming is Ruth Lang (Olivia Williams) the long suffering wife. Kim Cattrall makes an appearance as an actress despite her recent work on the SITC movie. The accent threw me a little, but otherwise she is poised. This was a really well done film and it's shame that Polanski's real life worries get in the way of how his work is viewed. Similarly it is interesting to note the similarities between the exiled ex-Prime Minister and Polanski's issues. Must see film.

CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY... AND EXPOSE

Everything I learned about politics I learned from Michael Moore. Ut oh. Watching the news is one thing, but Michael Moore brings home the news and shows us the people these issues effect and how these issues that we hear about in the news effect us. Here, he addresses the efforts to remove financial regulations and the trickle down effect these congressional moves have and will have on us every day people. He has the ability to tie the whole story from the big picture to people like me enough so that I feel afraid. Our country, as wonderful as it is, has some very serious problems and while the minority can weather these problems, the majority is devastated. Moore is indeed a man of the people, mostly democratic people, but he at least tries to shed light into the abyss.
Big bite: A big man with big ideas and a voice for those who are silent.

MILK

GOT MILK?
Perhaps the majority of those who die 'before their time' are idolized in some way or another. Harvey Milk was the exception. Sean Penn breathes life into a great man who was very much human and flawed as he was effective and courageous. It's hard to believe how much has changed over the 31 years since his assassination in 1978. It's also hard to believe how much has not changed since that time as well, but that's another story. This film follows the path that changed an ordinary man into a political activist. The dialogue is sharp, the story is clear and accurate, the acting across the board was flawless. The DVD has features that include the many people who promoted Milk and those he promoted. Interesting on how the main character is no where to be found. Penn has been on the bitter end of a great deal of bad publicity for his own activism and level of seriousness. He has proved to us that Spicoli is no more. With MILK he doesn't just lighten up, he transforms. This is one of those films where the authentic recreation of a life is reflection of a master craftsman. Paired with Gus Van Sant, they make a film that touches one's spirit and offers a bit of hope. "Without hope, life is not worth living."
BIG BITE: This is a piece of art; a well crafted movie which touches the heart and soul.

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.