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

Writer/Director: Sean Ellis

Starring: Sean Biggerstaff, Emilia Fox, Shaun Evans, Michelle Ryan, Stuart Goodwin, Michael Dixon

What if you Had the ablility stop any moment in time and be able to really see the world for what it is. It’s beauty, it’s chaos. British Writer/Director Sean Ellis explores that exact idea in this indy work and unlike the Adam Sandler effort “Click” that had a somewhat similar premise, Cashback is original, funny and entertaining.

Ben Willis is an aspiring artist with no other real marketable trade. After a ugly break up with his girlfriend Suzy, he developes a nasty bout of insomnia. Having a hardtime filling the extra 8 hours a day he decides to start working at a 24 hour grocery store as a stock boy to pass the time. During his tenure of trading time for money, he meets a motley crew of characters that all have their own unique and often very humourous way of passing the time and boredom at work. It is here that he also realizes his undiscovere skill of being able to “freeze time” at any second and explore the world in that exact moment. It allows him to appreciate the true beauty of all things and all people in any frozen moment. The beauty he realizes most often is his co-worker and suspended animation muse Sharon. Ben developes the true depth of his talent for drawing in these captured moments.

Cashback is a refreshing story with a truely unique look at love and beauty. It is filled with clever dialogue and interesting characters and a clear message that the world is filled with beauty at all times, most of us just don’t take the time to see it. As with many good English indy films,the characters are interesting and fun to watch interact. Because of the backdrop of the late night supermarket and the eclectic cast of characters and the introspective lead character, this movie plays like a cross between Career Opportunities, Snatch and Garden State. If you liked any combination of those three you are sure to enjoy this one. If you have not seen those…..it looks like a four movie weekend for you!

Director: Richard Kelly

Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Seann William Scott, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Mandy Moore, Justin Timberlake, Nora Dunn, John Larroquette

Donnie Darko fans rejoice! For the master has returned with another strange (but not as strange), surreal feature that is as sure to collect cult fans as my copy of Donnie Darko is to collect dust. Just kidding. I don’t own a copy. Whatever, your opinion is of writer/director Richard Kelly, you have to agree that he has two things: his own sense of style, and legions of ready-to kill-for-him fans. This film is light-handed, but very surreal and packs a pretty obvious political message that guarantees you won’t find a copy at George Bush’s White House. There are more familiar faces here than at a high school reunion, so the acting is outstanding. There is so much going on in Southland Tales that maybe one viewing isn’t a fair evaluation of its quality. I’m going to evaluate it, anyway, as a waste of time for non-Darko fans. Darko fans, enjoy and feel free to dismiss the rest of us as unimaginative dullards who “just don’t get it”.

Southland tales starts out with a description of a very different America, locked up with rapidly deteriorating freedom by an overzealous, terrorism-fueled right, where the left is turning militant in its opposition. When action star, and right supporter, Boxer Santaros (The Rock, who continues to improve) goes mysteriously missing, it serves as a trigger for all kinds of action. He’s not missing for us though. We know he has partial amnesia and is living with a porn star named Krista Now (Sarah Michelle Gellar) while he plans a new movie, but his new friends have some plans of their own.

Southland Tales is a highly political satire about the dangers of letting fear stop us from defending our precious freedoms. I like the message, but the film is not my cup of cappuccino. I found it overly complicated and the metaphors make me tired.

Director: Martin McDonagh

Starring: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleason, Clemence Poesy, Ralph Fiennes, Jordan Prentice,

First time feature film writer/director, Martin McDonagh gives viewers a bit of everything with this fresh, genre-bending, small-scale, character-driven action/comedy/drama. McDonagh showcases his writing skills here as well, with a smooth, entertaining script that also allows the performers to shine, and shine they do. Gleason and Farrell (where has this guy been the last few years?) are remarkable, and get plenty of help from an outstanding, supporting cast.

Ray and Ken (Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleason) are a couple of likable mob hitmen, who are mysteriously ordered, by their boss, Harry, (Ralph Fiennes) to go hide out in the historical, but small, Dutch town of Bruges following a job. While Ken relaxes and enjoys the slow-paced sight-seeing vacation, Ray is bored and uneasy, both because of the small town isolation and his own issues. He passes time by finding a movie set where is mesmerized by a dwarf actor (Jordan Prentice), and enchanted by a pretty Dutch girl (Clemence Poesy), before being enraged by a couple in a restaurant. It’s safe to say that things in the demographically small, but historically huge, town of Bruges, don’t stay boring for long.

In Bruges is an unconventional film, that has something for everyone, from laugh out loud humor, to moving drama, to original action scenes. The acting is strong and the characters are interesting. It is still a small film, and could have used a little more originality in the story and some edgier dialog, but these are only minor observations about a motion picture film that will appeal to fans of light, European crime dramas. Check it out.

Director: Jon Poll

Starring: Anton Yechin, Robert Downey Jr., Hope Davis, Kat Dennings, Tyler Hilton

Director Jon Poll, of Meet The Fockers and Goldmember fame, reigns in his usual crazy comedy style to make Charlie Bartlett, which is a subdued dramedy that looks at teenagers searching for answers and asserting their independence in our pill-popping, therapy-driven society. It starts out comic and pulls more toward drama as the film progresses. The story is good and the characters are fine, particularly Charlie, himself. The acting is solid with the well-traveled Downey shining and backed up by a cast of talented youngsters. The dialog is good, but lacks the snappy one liners of more successful films of this genre.

Charlie Bartlett, played by the seasoned, but little known, Anton Yelchin, is a likable rich kid lacking guidance in a one-parent mansion, when his misplaced creativity and entrepreneurial spirit leads him to set up a printing press to make counterfeit ID at his boarding school. He is expelled, and his mother, played by Hope Davis (who also played Anton’s mother in Hearts in Atlantis, strangely enough) decides to try public school, where poor Charlie initially has some problems fitting in, until he turns into the school therapist, and pill dispenser. Along the way, he crosses paths with the new principal, (Robert Downey Jr.) and his cute daughter, Susan (Kat Dennings), as well as the school bully, Murphy, played by Tyler Hilton (nope, no relation to you-know-who).

Charlie Bartlett starts out with a neat idea and the film is slightly reminiscent of classics like Matthew Broderick’s Day Off, Risky Business and dozens of other lesser known features, the titles of which I’ve forgotten. It is pretty decent entertainment, but doesn’t quite have the zip to make it a real hit and I‘m afraid it is destined to join the dozens of unnamed and forgotten films mentioned above.

Director: Adam Brooks

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Abigail Breslin, Elizabeth Banks, Isla Fisher, Rachel Weisz, Kevin Kline, Derek Luke

Writer/director, Adam Brooks has cleverly combined romantic comedy with a bit of light mystery to come up with a pretty good story, that holds the viewer’s interest, but could have been punched up with some more jokes. The acting is solid by the entire cast, including pretty boy, Ryan Reynolds who may just turn into a bankable lead, yet. Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine) is excellent once again, though the light script didn’t give her much of a challenge.

Ryan Reynolds is Will Hayes, a divorced ad executive, who goes to pick up his eleven year old daughter, Maya from school, only to find that a sex education class has made her inordinately curious about her father’s dating past and his relationship with her mother. Will eventually agrees to tell her the story of his three great loves, but on the condition that he change their names and not tell Maya which one would actually become her mother. Thus, we are launched into flashbacks of Will’s romantic past which includes his college sweetheart, Emily (Elizabeth Banks), a quirky copy girl named April (Isla Fisher), and a free spirited writer named Summer (Rachel Weisz). The whole thing is light romance that builds to a contrived, but satisfying, finish.

Definitely Maybe is a pleasant, well-made chick flick that will serve as two hours of refreshing entertainment, but will likely not be remembered by the time you see another film. When making a film like this, I think the rule to go by is ‘make us laugh, or make us cry’. “Definitely Maybe” doesn’t do either.

Director: Rob Reiner

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes, Beverly Todd

You would think that Rob Reiner’s motion picture about the unlikely friendship of two dying men from completely different lives would be morose, and that some dialog would be lost to the sounds of sniffling behind you, but you would be wrong. There are some emotional moments in the film, but Reiner keeps the pace brisk and moves quickly past these scenes. He uses bright daytime settings which further reduces the morose impact of the film’s sadder moments, which are quickly followed by more upbeat scenes. So while The Bucket List is not as sad as you would think it would be, it is also funnier than you would expect as well. Justin Zackham’s screenplay is sprinkled with some pretty good dialog, that is given flawless delivery and perfect timing by master performers, Freeman and Nicholson. The story is good, but at only 90 minutes, I felt that it could have been developed some more.

Jack Nicholson is Edward Cole, a sarcastic and mannerless billionaire, who collects hospitals like they are hotels in Monopoly, but feels differently when health issues land him in one of his own hospital beds. Thanks to his own policy of two patients per room, no exceptions, Mr. Cole has a roommate. Carter Chambers (Morgan Freeman) is an affable family man, and a working man with an uncanny trivia talent, who quietly feels that circumstances have robbed him of opportunity in life. The two men form an unlikely bond due to their circumstances, and when both find that they have less than a year to live, they take Carter’s list of things to do before he dies, and run with it. Soon the two men are on a whirlwind, global adventure, over the objections of Carter’s wife, Virginia (Beverly Todd).

Both Freeman and Nicholson are great here and there are some laughs as well. Worth seeing for drama fans and those who just love to watch Jack in action. Imagine a white, geriatric version of Thelma and Louise or Last Holiday, and you will have some idea of what to expect.

Director: Jason Reitman

Starring: Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, Allison Janney, J.K. Simmons, Olivia Thirlby

This charming comedy/drama from Jason Reitman (Thank You For Smoking), won me over right from its animated opening credits. The dialog is cool and contemporary, though a trifle overdone. It tries sooo hard to be cool that it may have over 21 watchers wishing for sub titles, but it’s still damn funny. Young, but already a veteran actress, Ellen Page is magnificent as a confident, quick-witted teen girl, who still reveals subtle flashes of vulnerablibility. This outstanding character, along with Page’s masterful performance form the backbone of the film. She has some laudable back up from J.K. Simmons (Oz & the Spider-mans), and from Michael Cera (Superbad, Arrested Development), but her main support comes from an impressive script by Diablo Cody. Jason Bateman is bland (isn’t he always?), but ok in his role, while Jennifer Garner had little challenge as a simple, one dimensional “I want to be a mommy’ character, but both still do their jobs and help to create a very special motion picture.

Ellen Page is Juno MacGuff, a wise-cracking, mostly level-headed sixteen year old, who finds herself pregnant by her sorta-boyfriend, Paulie Bleeker (Michael Cera), who spends virtually all the film in some God-awful gold shorts, and an assortment of hoodies (which apparently are all from his own closet – hope those shorts aren’t). After some soul-searching, and an unsuccessful visit to an abortion clinic, Juno arrives at the unselfish, but difficult, decision to bear the baby for adoption to a caring home. She chooses the yuppie couple of Vanessa and Mark Loring (Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman), to receive her burgeoning bundle of joy, but once the decision is made, she still faces the challenges of a teenager going through a pregnancy, while the Lorings get to know her, and prepare for parenthood. But things don’t go quite as planned.

This refreshing and original motion picture is helped by a cool soundtrack, some really funny lines and a great main character, who reminds me of Darlene from Roseanne, even though she once says she was “out dealing with issues way beyond my maturity level”. Let’s face it, no teenage girl, for as long as there have been teenage girls, has EVER admitted that anything is beyond her maturity level. Has never happened. Not once. Not ever. If ever does happen, I hope CNN covers it, because I want to know. This is a minor issue, however, that I am just using to make my own little joke. Juno is funny, but not silly and really is less of a comedy than it was marketed as, but regardless of whether you consider it to be a drama or a comedy, it is an excellent film that will be remembered longer than any film of 2007

Director: Mike Nichols

Starring: Tom Hanks, Amy Adams, Julia Roberts, Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Tom Hanks is Hollywood’s can’t-miss man, and his record is intact after this fascinating true story about a hard partying U.S. congressman, a beautiful, wealthy, right wing Texan and a no-shit, sharp-as-a-razor, CIA pariah, who come together and manage to garner support for Afghan fighters battling the Russians. The rapid fire exchanges between Hanks and Seymour are fantastic and their characters are great. Roberts’ role is not as well-written and never did sell me, but this is still an interesting, and surprisingly funny film.

It’s the early 1980s and Tom Hanks is an easy-going, alcohol-addicted, but Washington-savvy congressman named Charlie Wilson, who is happy just staying elected, keeping his voters happy and enjoying all the perks available to a high-ranking politician. Wilson’s party world is disrupted when a rich supporter and friend, Joanne Herring (Julia Roberts), prevails upon him to visit Afghanistan and see the state of the brave people there, who are suffering horribly in their resistance against the Russian invasion. Charlie comes back, looking to improve their condition. He soon finds a sharp, but disgruntled CIA operative to help him and, against all odds, these three single-handedly engineer a covert change in US policy that would change history.

It’s funny. It’s interesting. It’s hard to believe it’s true. The emotional manipulation gets a little heavy-handed in spots and the overly light view of guerilla warfare is disturbing at times, but the strengths of Charlie Wilson’s War compensate for these weaknesses. The dialog is witty, cool and delivered perfectly by two great actors, playing colorful characters in a story that you will remember for some time. See it. You’ll like it.

Director: Matthew Vaughn

Starring: Charlie Cox, Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kate Magowan, Robert De Niro, Mark Strong, Sienna Miller, Peter O’Toole

Director Matthew Vaughn does a fine job with his second feature (his first was the tricky crime drama, Layer Cake), which is a family fantasy fairy tale-style project based on Neil Gaiman’s novel. The premise is rather silly, even for a feature of this sort, but Jane Goldman’s script is good enough to hold interest and give the talented cast enough to work with. The result is an energetic, feel-good, film that should be enjoyed by all ages, though a few scenes might be a bit frightening for young viewers.

Wall is a British village that is notable for its proximity to a wall that is mysteriously guarded, and for good reason, since it leads to a special, magical world. Young Tristan (Charlie Cox) boldly crosses to this world to retrieve a shooting star to prove his love to the village beauty (Sienna Miller), but when he finds the location of the star, he finds not a meteor, but a mysterious, beautiful girl played by Claire Danes. Soon, it becomes clear that everyone wants to capture this celestial visitor, including a witch, played wonderfully by Michelle Pfeiffer and the Princes of the kingdom. Look for De Niro in a different role as a flying pirate and Ricky Gervais in a small role.

This was a pleasant movie that is slightly reminiscent of The Princess Bride, though with far higher production values and a slightly more serious tone. The performances are fantastic, particularly by Pfeiffer and Danes. Sometimes Cox seems overwhelmed by all the talent around him, but he still does well enough. The overall result is a pleasing addition to the family movie library.

Director: Adrienne Shelly

Starring: Keri Russell, Nathan Fillion, Cheryl Hines, Jeremy Sisto, Adrienne Shelly, Andy Griffith

Waitress is one of the most pleasant surprises of the year. Adrienne Shelly skillfully wrote, and directed, this clever and funny screenplay about regret and restlessness with the choices we make in our lives and what we do about them. Shelly, who still had some spare time it seems, also got in front of the camera to take on one of the supporting roles, as well. There is a basic story, but the characters are great and there’s lots of subtly amusing dialog and the whole package is hlped by some very good writing.

Keri Russell is Jenna, a pie-genius waitress in a small-town diner in the deep south who hates her controlling and self-absorbed husband (Jeremy Sisto)and is a just a little less than thrilled to discover that she is pregnant, as well. Jenna finds release through her friends and co-workers, Becky and Dawn (Cheryl Hines and Adrienne Shelly) and through her creative creation of ‘unearthly and sensual’ pies, while plotting her escape to a life more livable. Her preganancy throws a hitch into those plans, but when a new doctor appears in town, another kind of escape possibility begins to emerge.

Waitress is a dark, but gentle, comedy with a bland title that makes it easy to miss. That’s a shame because it is the best chick flick of 2007, and one of the year’s best movies. It is reminiscent of Fried Green Tomatoes in its setting and characters, but is better and funnier . It is a good movie, but most, unfortunately, will miss it. Now, you don’t have to, though.