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Director: Calli Khouri

Starring: Diane Keaton, Ted Danson, Queen Latifah, Katie Holmes,

Writer/director Calli Khouri (Divine Secrets of the Ya Ya Sisterhood) decided it’s time that women have a light-hearted caper film of their own, and here it is. This story began as the true tale of some British women ripping off the Bank of England, turned into a made for TV film and now this Americanized version. The music and style has a 70s feel to it. Keaton gives an exaggerated, wearisome performance and the script isn’t all that funny, but I’m always up for a decent scam picture.

Diane Keaton is Bridget an upper middle class housewife whose life is turned upside down when her hubby, played by Ted Danson loses his job. Times quickly turn tough and she gets a job at the Federal Reserve Bank. That’s one way to help out. Another is to team up with single mom, Nina (Queen Latifah) and Jackie (Katie Holmes) and steal old cash before it gets destroyed. You don’t have to guess which method they choose, since the film opens with police interviews and flashes back to them throughout.

Imagine The Thomas Crown Affair blended with Thelma and Louise (which Khouri also wrote) and you will have some idea of what to expect from Mad Money. Movies like this have been done better and done worse, but if you enjoy the caper genre then its worth catching on DVD.

“This place is like a Las Vegas casino. No windows. No Privacy and a shit load of money…Only difference is nobody here ever has any fun.”

“It’s like we’re stealing the same money over and over. In fact it’s not like stealing money at all. It’s more like recycling.”

Movie lines from Mad Money

Director: Stefan Ruzowitsky

Starring: Karl Markovics, August Diehl, Devid Striesow, Martin Brambach, August Zirner, Veit Stubner, Sebastien Urzendowsky, Andreas Schmidt,

The true story of the largest counterfeiting ring ever is subject of this Austrian sub-titled feature and believe if or not, it wasn’t the mob, the KGB or Danny Ocean and his pack of cool conmen. Nope, it was Adolph and his Berlin boys. Based on the book of Adolf Burger who was one of the participants in this grand scale double cross. Wonderful performances, haunting sets and an absorbing story help director Stefan Ruzowitsky, create a magnificent motion picture that took the Oscar for Best Foreign Language film in 2008.

Karl Markovics is Sally Sorowitsch, a tough and successful Jewish criminal in 1930s Berlin, who makes his money as the premiere counterfeiter in Europe and doesn’t care about the Nazis, until he is arrested by them and sent to a concentration camp. Soon, he is using his artistic talent to please them and stay alive. Soon, however a Nazi officer named Herzog (Devid Striesow) takes Sally to be leader of a squad of specially skilled prisoners whose task it is to successfully counterfeit the British pound for the Nazi’s benefit. At first, things go smoothly, but in time, one of the workers, Adolf Burger (August Diehl) begins to think that they should not aid the Nazi cause.

The Counterfeiters is a strong drama and WWII period piece. The subtitles are worth it to enjoy this film, particularly if you like true stories of people in the most difficult of situations. Imagine Schlinder’s List, if it was set inside a German concentration camp and you will have an idea of what to expect here, although it lacks the emotional impact of the stronger earlier holocaust film.

Director: Julian Schnabel

Starring: Matthieu Amalric, Marie-Josee Coze, Marina Hands, Max Von Sydow, Emanuelle Seigner

This moving and absorbing feature tells the true story of Elle editor, Jean-Dominique Bauby, who suffered a stroke and found himself stricken with near complete paralysis. The story is relentlessly grim and effective at giving the viewer a glimpse at the horrific “locked-in syndrome”, forcing us forced to imagine ourselves in this unimaginable situation. The flawless performances enhance Schnabel’s inspired vision that brought this one-of-a-kind first-person novel to the screen.

Matthieu Amalric plays a successful and self-absorbed editor, who begins the film seeing his hospital room-sized world through only his left eye after awakening from a short coma. Viewers hear his internal thoughts and see his flashbacks as the horrible story of condition unfolds. Over time, Bauby, who can only blink his left eye, learns to communicate, deals with personal issues and writes a book, upon which the film is based upon.

The Diving Bell and The Butterfly is another film dealing with the true tale of a person dealing with incredible adversity. Like previous features such as My Left Foot, our ability to deal with challenges is the real story here. Wonderful cinema, I suppose, but pretty depressing for an evening’s entertainment.

Director: Robert Luketic

Starring: Jim Sturgess, Kevin Spacey, Laurence Fishburne, Kate Bosworth, Aaron Yoo, Liza Lapira, Jacob Pitts,

All right! Finally, a way to make some money in Vegas! Let’s grab some tickets. I’ll learn to count cards during the flight, and I should be rich by dinner! Director, Robert Luketic (Monster-In-Law)takes us to Sin City in this loud, flashy heist-style true story about a group of M.I.T. students who descend on Nevada’s most profitable Oasis to use their math skills like a blunt weapon to beat the dollars out of Vegas. The story is fast paced but predictable, though it does manage a tricky, if somewhat unconvincing ending.

Jim Sturgess (Across The Universe) seems a little uncomfortable as a smooth M.I.T nerd turned Vegas high roller, as a member of a group of card counting students led by Professor Rosa (Kevin Spacey). At first, it all seems like a never-ending party with money falling from the sky, but soon some dark clouds emerge in that sky in the form of dissension on the team and a surly security specialist, played by Laurence Fishburne.

21 is long on style, but a little short on substance and viewers without an interest in the subject matter will find it repetitious and may not be drawn in by the uneven story. Those who enjoy gambling films, will find this to be an imperfect, but enjoyable distraction for a couple of hours.

Director: Roger Donaldson

Starring: Jason Statham, Saffron Burrows, Stephen Campbell Moore, Daniel Mays, James Faulkner, Michael Jibson, Richard Lintern

Director Roger Donaldson is on a roll. His last three films, The World’s Fastest Indian, The Recruit, and Thirteen Days, have all been fine efforts, but all are outdone by this captivating, true story of a 1970s bank robbery, where pulling off the caper was only the beginning of the robber’s challenges. The cool script moves at a brisk clip that swiftly ramps up the tension, and keeps it up the RPMs, all the way. Not all of the subplots seemed necessary and, although the dialog is sound, a few more slick quotable lines would have made this fine film even stronger.

Jason Statham (Snatch, Transporter series) must have been wondering what happened to the requisite scene where he leaps through the air in slow-motion with two pistols blazing. All of his projects since Snatch seem to find a way to fit that in. This isn’t that kind of film. Statham is Terry, owner of an unsuccessful car lot, with a shady background and the kind of debt that isn’t settled by declaring bankruptcy. An answer appears in the form of an old flame, Martine, who shows up with info and an offer of a lucrative robbery. What she fails to mention, is that she’s been recruited by black-op government types to get a hold of royal sex photos that are being used by a criminal as a stay out of jail free card. Terry puts together a team and this ambitious plan gets more complicated and dangerous as it goes on. And this is true? So they say. If there is a book about this (I looked. I couldn’t find one), I want to read it.

Today, sex photos of a prominent royal would likely lead to little more than a flurry of internet activity and a tearful apology. What a difference a quarter century makes! In the 1970s, the British government would apparently stop at nothing to keep those photos from becoming a front page scoop. The Bank Job is a jaw-dropping true story with top notch direction, and strong performances, that held me riveted to the end. If you loved films like Heat and Inside Man, then this is your first must-see motion picture of 2008.

Director: Sean Penn

Starring: Emile Hirsch, Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt, Jena Malone, Hal Holbrook, Kristen Stewart, Vince Vaughn, Brian H. Dierker, Catherine Keener

Writer /director Sean Penn is behind this slow, but somewhat captivating road movie based on Jon Krakauer’s book, which was inspired by a true story from the early 90s. The film is pretentious, as road films often are, and is filled with old-fashioned montages (is this because of its 90s setting? maybe), and some very nice cinematography. The story is tortoise-like in its pace and doesn’t have much going on, but some well-written dialog for the shorter roles really makes this an actor’s movie. The whole cast shines, including Hal Holbrook, who received an Oscar nomination for his labor, which only involved about fifteen minutes or so, of screen time. Lead Emile Hirsch (Alpha Dog) impresses with an execution that evokes images of Leonardo Di Caprio

Hirsch plays an intelligent and likable recent college graduate, Chris McCandless, who is struggling with the insincerity and cruelty of our culture, due to difficulties with his wealthy suburbanite parents (Marcia Gay Harden and William Hurt). His solution is to drop out of society and embark upon some kind of rough-hewn, trial-by-fire, spiritual journey that involves leaving his identity behind and leading a gypsy lifestyle that culminates in living off the land in Alaska. Along the way he has various experiences and meets some interesting people. The story mostly manages to stay away from tired formulas and is told mainly in flashbacks and with a great deal of voice over narration that I suspect comes from excerpts from the Krakauer’s book.

Into The Wild offers the viewer a very visual, and romanticized, vision of rugged individualism. Many viewers will find this journey to be painfully slow, and may not appreciate the wisdom and message that the motion picture tries to share. Opinions are split on Into The Wild being a waste of time or a moving masterpiece. It did eventually draw me in, but it’s unlikely that I will ever watch it again.

Director: Todd Haynes

Starring: Cate Blanchett, Christian Bale, Ben Whishaw, Richard Gere, Marcus Carl Franklin, Heath Ledger, Julianne Moore, Charlotte Gainsbourg

I’m a Bob Dylan fan. I am, however, more of a bubble gum Dylan fan. You know; his 60s radio stuff: Times They Are a Changing, Like a Rolling Stone. I’m that kind of a Dylan fan. This movie was not made for me, and believe me, if you are not a Dylan fan at all, then this movie was sure as Hell not made for you, either. This film is made for those knowledgeable, got-all-his-albums-and-know-his-life-story, kind of fans. I did go to this flick with two such fans and they were still grinning like idiots 20 minutes after, so I guess they liked it. For me it was like clouds; pretty, but way over my head and can’t hold my attention for two hours. The acting is good and there are some nice visuals here, but the story is a metaphoric mess, that only makes any kind of sense if you are quite familiar with his Royal Dylaness.

This is a roughly autobiographical story of Bob Dylan, but because he is such a flake (ok, some prefer the term, enigmatic, since he’s successful), they tell the story with about five different characters. Cate Blanchett (yup, as an androgynous, male Andy Warhol-type character), Christian Bale, Ben Wishaw, and Heath Ledger all play differently named fictional characters in alternating storylines, representing Dylan at different stages in his life. Add in, as well, Marcus Carl Franklin, playing an eleven year old black folk singer (and, wow, this kid IS good!) who apparently represents a younger, wandering Dylan. There is also another storyline that has Richard Gere playing an aged Billy The Kid in a weird Halloween western town, that ties in to Bob Dylan somehow I guess. As you may have surmised, the end result is a surreal, metaphorical tale that is as cryptic as Dylan and his songs.

The I’m Not There movie poster should have a giant disclaimer of “For Dylan Fans Only” stamped across it, and admittance to the film should be restricted to those who can answer five skill-testing Dylan questions. It has received some early critical acclaim, but once the self-important, band wagon crowd finishes lauding its uniqueness, and some impressive performances, it will be relegated to stuffy film classes and music maniacs’ film libraries. But, hey if you are a real (not bubble gum), Dylan fan, enjoy. If you are forced to accompany a real Dylan fan to the cinema on this one, choose a multiplex and go see Walk Hard while they are sucking up this lemon.

I’m Not There – movie quotes:
Movie lines from I’m Not There
“I’m Against Nature. I’m Not Cool With Nature.”
“Sleep? Sleep is for dreamers, man.”
“I accept chaos. I’m not sure if chaos accepts me.”

Director: Christopher Cain

Starring: Trent Ford, Tamara Hope, Jon Voight, Huntley Ritter, Shaun Johnston

This Romeo and Juliet style western is set against a vicious, but apparently true, story. The version here doesn’t feel balanced or completely convincing to me, so I’m not sure how much veracity it should be given. I will judge the movie, not the historical accuracy. The direction is average and the performances are likewise, though Voight is good in a supporting role. The dialog is lackluster and the story unclearly jumps back and forth, before leading to a difficult ending.

The year is 1857 and a group of settlers, including the beautiful Emily Hudson, is making its way to California, when their trail through Utah bring them into a surly group of Mormons, lead by Jacob (Jon Voight), who finally deigns to allow the wagon train to stop to rest in their territory for a couple of weeks. In that time, young Emily is smitten by Jacob’s son, Jonathan, while the Mormons find their opinion of their guests slowly changing.

While not a horrible film, there is nothing particularly appealing to recommend it, while there are so many good choices out there. I am a movie reviewer, and a fan of westerns, so I gave it a view. There is no reason why you should have to.

Director: Davis Guggenheim

Starring: Carly Schroeder, Dermot Mulroney, Elisabeth Shue, Karl Girolama, Vasilios Mantagas, Jesse Lee Soffer,

Gracie is a mediocre 70s sports film, inspired by a true story (about co-star, Elisabeth and Andrew Shue, who co-wrote and produced here) about a girl’s struggle to make her high school soccer team, in the chauvinistic 70s when soccer was not considered a girl’s sport. The character’s actions aren’t always convincing, and some of acting could have been stronger. The story starts out weak, but does improve, but not to any kind of can’t-miss-this exalted heights.

Gracie Bowen is part of a soccer-loving family, where her older brother, Johnny (Jesse Lee Soffer) is her father’s (Dermot Mulroney) favorite, until his sudden untimely death. When Gracie says she wants to play, she gets no support; not from friends, the school, her brother’s teammates nor her own family. Eventually, of course, her father, and her mother, (Elisabeth Shue) come around and if you don’t know what happens next, then you have probably only seen twenty movies in your lifetime.

This might be a good choice for adolescent female soccer players, but even if they have seen Bend It Like Beckham, they might rather just watch that again, rather than sit through this one, which was apparently inspired by Elisabeth Shue’s own adolescent soccer experiences.