Real Movie Review-Movie Reviews, Movie Quotes, Movie Trivia

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: Francois Girard

Starring: Michael Pitt, Kiera Knightley, Alfred Molina, Koji Yakusho, Sei Ashina

Writer/director Francois Girard, of The Red Violin Fame, based this screenplay on Alessandro Baricco’s novel and has created a beautiful, but painfully slow, period piece. The scenes here are beautiful, but often have a dark and morose feel, that is compounded by lead Michael Pitt’s slow speaking style and the languid piano score. The characters are not developed enough to the viewer to really care what happens to them and, while the story held my interest for a time, it was just too damn slow and had lost most of my attention before its big finish.

Michael Pitt (no relation to that other Pitt, acting guy), is a young Frenchman named Herve Joncour, who finds himself recruited to become a silkworm trader in for his partner, Baldabiou (Alfred Molina). This profitable, but difficult business sends Joncour on several long journeys to Japan, taking him away from his professed love, Helene, played by Kiera Knightley, who is yet to make a film that I really like. Oh well, a lot of people really liked those Pirate movies, I guess. Anyway, Herve travels back and forth to Japan a few times and forms some kind of relationships with a powerful Japanese ruler, Hara Jubie (Koji Yakusho) and an un-named servant played by Sei Ashina. I never really quite bought into any of the character relationships here, and in a film like this, that is a big problem.

Beauiful camera work and pretty good performances here, but unless you are a dedicated fan of period pieces like Seven Years in Tibet (with that other Pitt guy), you are likely to find this one too slow, without a really engrossing story to carry you along its uphill path. Some may like it, but for me, this comes a distant second to a good nap. Come to think of it, it can help you to have one of those.

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Dillon Freasier, Paul Dano, Kevin J. O’Connor, Ciaran Hinds,

There Will Be Blood, by Boogie Nights director Paul Thomas Anderson, is a character focused feature, driven by a powerhouse Oscar winning performance by Daniel Day-Lewis, as the meanest man on film since De Niro’s Jake La Motta in Raging Bull. Anderson’s direction is visually impressive, but his score choices didn’t always seem to fit. The dialog is strong, but sparse (there is actually none for the first ten minutes of the film). The meandering story, written by Anderson, (based Upton Sinclair’s novel, Oil!)is interesting, but always seems to leave the viewer waiting for more to happen. It’s almost like a watched pot that never does boil.

Daniel Day-Lewis is Daniel Plainview, a turn of the century oil man, who arrives in little Boston, California on a tip. Once there with his young son, H.W. (Dillon Freasier), Plainview covertly explores the area, before using sweet promises to convince a ranch owner, Abel Sunday, and his forceful, but naive evangelical son, Eli, to lease him their land. Plainview then goes on to use the same tactics to gain control of the whole region, but he doesn’t prove quite as willing to share as he lead his new neighbors to believe.

Striking images, and a memorable performance from the always powerful Daniel Day-Lewis, make this film worth catching and will got it more than its fair share of attention on 2007 awards shows. Many will disagree with my view(what else is new?), but I see the story here as lacking focus and this hurts the impact of its ending. Still, a fine effort and worth catching either at the theater, or, later, on video.

Director: Noah Baumbach

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Zane Pais, Jack Black, Flora Cross, Halley Feiffer, Ciaran Hinds

Director Noah Baumbach, of The Squid and The Whale, fame, tackles another family drama, here. The acting is good, as to be expected with the likes of Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Jason Leigh, as well as Jack Black, in a rare dramatic role, though he also provides the comic relief here, as well. The characters are well-developed, but not particularly likable, which hurts a story that is already slow and mediocre.

Nicole Kidman is Margot, a writer attending the wedding of her younger sister, Pauline (Jennifer Jason Leigh), along with her coddled son, Claude (Zane Paris). Margot is less than impressed with her sister’s choice of a groom, played by Jack Black. New and past issues between the sisters re-surface, along with new ones.

Margot at the Wedding plays a bit like a duller, darker, family version of The Big Chill. It does have some loyal fans out there, but I’m not one of them. It may please some fans of chick flick dramas, but there are stronger choices out there.

Director: Ang Lee

Starring: Tony Leung Chui Wai, Wei Tang, Joan Chen, Lee-Hom Wang,

Lust, Caution is a darkly, beautiful Ang Lee period piece set in China during the Japanese WWII occupation. The plodding story and the sub-titles can make it difficult to get into, and to follow at first, but there are wonderful performances and a good story that will eventually draw in most viewers.

Lust, Caution is about a young Chinese woman, Wong Chia Chi, who joins with a group of students to go undercover to bring down a powerful Japanese collaborator named Mr. Yee (Tony Leung Chui Wai), whose socialite wife she befriends. This is only the beginning as she is pulled deeper and deeper into the deception. This is a Taiwanese film, and the unedited version has sex scenes that are longer and more graphic than we are used to with North American features, so you probably don’t want to sit down and watch it with your parents, in-laws, grandmother, etc., unless your family dynamic is fundamentally different from mine.

Lust, Caution is an enjoyable, and well-made, foreign feature that should please patient viewers who are comfortable with sub-titled features. It is reminiscent of a similar Dutch feature, Zwartboek (Black Book).

Director: Mat Whitecross, Michael Winterbottom

Starring: Riz Ahmed, Farhad Harun, Waqar Siddiqui, Afran Usman, Shahid Iqbal, Sher Khan,

The Road To Guantanamo is a riveting mix of dramatic re-enactments and interviews with the ‘Tipton Three’, three British citizens captured with Taliban forces in Afghanistan shortly after 9/11. The dramatic scenes here come across as chillingly authentic, though from time to time, it does slip into scenes that feel like a TV re-enactment. This is offset by the mesmerizing tale of three men that went through a harrowing experience that is beyond even our own imaginations.

The three principal characters here, are each portrayed by actors in the dramatized film portions, and appear as themselves during interspersed interview segments. The first is Asif Iqbal (Afran Usman), who traveled from Britain to Pakistan with three friends to get married. His friends were Ruhel (Farhad Harun), Shafiq (Riz Ahmed) and Monir (Waqar Siddiqui), who went missing and is believed to have been killed in Afghanistan. The three friends decided to take a side trip to Afghanistan where they were lost ,and misled, into a warzone, where they end up being taken prisoner as suspected Taliban members. This is where their incarceration starts and the story really begins.

I knew nothing of these three, before this film and it is an eye-opener about the confused and dangerous state of 2001 Afghanistan, and about the treatment of prisoners taken in the War on Terror. The end result is gripping and terrifying, and will be enjoyed by politically aware movie viewers.

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: Steven Spielberg

Starring: Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss, Robert Shaw, Lorraine Gray, Murray Hamilton

Jaws was the 70s phenomenon that turned little known director, Steven Spielberg into a star. It became a well-deserved box office smash on the strength of great characters and dialog, and Spielberg’s masterful creation of tension and suspense, broken from time to time by some congenial humor. The acting is uniformly strong, but the young Richard Dreyfuss and the grizzled veteran, Robert Shaw were particularly remarkable. The screenplay, written by Peter Benchley, who also wrote the best-selling novel, is very strong, though the ending gets a little far-fetched in the true Hollywood fashion

Roy Scheider is Martin Brody, the water-fearing small-town sheriff of the vacation community of Amity. Life as a lawman is pretty quiet, until a mangled body is found washed up on the beach. Soon, Amity seems to be offering a different kind of seafood buffet, and Brody struggles to handle the problem, while dealing with the Mayor (Murray Hamilton) and business people, who are clamoring to keep the issue quiet and considering an offer from a harsh local fisherman named Quint (Robert Shaw) to take care of their problem. With some help from a visiting oceanographer, Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss), Brody comes to a decision.

Jaws has held up well as an excellent motion picture over the 30 years that have passed since its release. Younger viewers who haven’t seen it, will enjoy it today and those who have seen it before, will be reminded of how good it is, upon pulling it off the forgotten shelf once again.

Director: Robert Benton,

Starring: Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear, Selma Blair, Stana Katic, Alexa Davalos, Toby Hemingway, Fred Ward, Billy Burke, Missi Pyle

Feast of Love is a slice of life relationship drama by the director of Kramer vs. Kramer, Robert Benton. The story trots out all kinds of tired cliches, gets far-fetched, and is often grim, as it opens up subplots that aren’t developed, but the dialog is natural, and convincing, and is helped along by a talented cast. There are a lot of characters, however, and cutting back would have allowed deeper focus, and more emotional investment by the audience, giving impact to the story. If we barely know the character, why do we care? Still, Benton handles the many characters well, never lets things get confusing, and does create an engrossing, if forgettable drama, that could have used some lighter moments to offset the dark ones.

Morgan Freeman is Harry, a happily married, perceptive professor with his own pain, who narrates this drama, as he bemusedly watches love, and life, play out its little game in several relationships from his seat at a Portland coffee shop. Owner, Bradley (Greg Kinnear), sees his marriage crash in the tangled wreckage of a lesbian affair, before finding someone new, who has secrets of her own. His employee, Oscar (Toby Hemingway), finds love with Chloe (Alexa Davalos), while his drunken father interferes.

Fans of mellow-dramatic relationship pictures will find a large slice of life, and plenty of pathos in this Feast of Love. This multi-storied, romantic formula has been used so many times, it always feels like you have seen the films before. I don’t mind these kinds of films, but they are best, when they are more focused, and lightened up by some humor, or amusing characters. You have seen this one before. Many were better, and many were worse, but you already know if you are going to enjoy it, when you press play.