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

Director: Alan Jacobs

Starring: Jessica Romero, Danny Glover, Kate Del Castillo, Emily Rios

I rolled into TO for the last weekend of the 2009 TIFF (Toronto Int’l Film Festival) and went on a whirlwind movie spree, seeing nine movies in two days. Some, like My Son, My Son What Ye Done, were god awful, pretentious art-house junk and others, like Jennifer’s Body, were pretty good, but head and shoulders above the other eight was Down For life. This gritty inner city drama, which is apparently a true story inspired by a New Times article, crackles with realism and the performers don’t seem to be acting at all, but simply living. The action scenes are jarring and seem a lot closer to Youtube than Hollywood, thanks to the skilled direction of little-known director, Alan Jacobs.

Jessica Romero, was cast right off the streets of East Central to play the lead role of Rascal, the streetwise leader of a small women’s wing of a Latino gang. The whole story takes place in a single chaotic day in her violence-filled life. Conflict both inside and outside the gang as well as in the home, on top of a looming deadline for entry to a summer writing program that might be an escape hatch to a better life. The crisp story moves along quickly and eventually takes us a scene so sudden and shocking that viewers seemed to jump back in their seats as one.

Down For Life is a current and raw film made in the vein of such inner city classics as Boyz n The Hood. It is an independent film and may be hard to find, but as the best film of 2009, thus far, it is well worth the effort.

Director: Edward Zwick

Starring: Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell,

Edward Zwick, the creative force behind emotional action hits like Blood Diamond and Glory, scores again with this true, WWII story of human compassion and survival. The story is engaging, but lacks the impact that such a spectacular story should have. The direction is skilled, if a little uninspired, and the acting is solid, though Daniel Craig seems too detached in the lead role of the strong soft-spoken leader of a rag tag group of Jews trying to survive in Nazi-occupied Belaruss.

Daniel Craig, Live Schreiber and Jamie Bell play three Jewish brothers who take to the woods to hide from Nazis and their collaborators, after their country falls to the German war machine. Surviving indefinitely in the woods would seem a tricky enough business, but it gets a lot more difficult as more and more Jews join them in a bid for escape from the Jewish ghetto. Keeping their location secret from the enemy, while managing to provide food and supplies would be challenging enough, even without the group infighting that emerges.

Defiance, which plays kind of like Schindler’s List crossed with Red Dawn, has a fascinating story to tell, and tells it well, but it is both surprising, and a little disappointing, that Zwick didn’t manage to create the powerful impact common to this genre, especially since he has conjured up such emotion in many of his previous projects. This is still a very good film, however, that will hold particular interest for history buffs.

Defiance – movie quotes:

“The only thing the Jewish people value more than peace is our right to exist”

Movie lines from Defiance

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: Luke Meyer, Andrew Neel

Starring: Skip Lipman, Daniel McArthur, Rebecca Thurmond, Kenyon Wells

One of the wonderful things about documentaries is their ability, when done well, to open our eyes to worlds within our own, of which we were completely unaware. Luke Meyer and Andrew Neel have given us just such a feature in Darkon, which tells the story of a group of passionate individuals whose love for fantasy and search for acceptance leads them into a real life version of fantasy role-playing games. The characters are interesting and often filled with an undercurrent of pathos, as are their stories.

Darkon is an unusual but compelling, documentary about adults who retreat on weekends into a world of medieval fantasy kingdoms and battles. The story is told in a straightforward manner, switching back and forth from the subjects’ lives in our modern society to their intricate fantasy game, complete with countries, rulers, alliances and battles, with armor and foam weapons. There is a strange melancholy to their choice to give so much time, effort and emotion to their make-believe world. I watched much of this film with an uncomprehending furrowed brow, as I tried to understand, and make sense of it all, but I was also completely absorbed by it.

Darkon is a wonderful documentary for those who, like me, have an insatiable curiosity about the world around us and how people find so many different ways to interact with it. Many will find this candid glimpse into the lives of rather immature, and socially awkward, gamers to be boring and disturbing. Those with an interest in fantasy role-playing, particularly in a live action setting will find it irresistible. If you have enjoyed previous features like Spellbound and King Of Kong, then this will be just your sort of motion picture.

Director: Steven Brill

Starring: Owen Wilson, Nate Hartley, Troy Gentile, Ian Roberts, David Dorman, Valerie Tien, Alex Frost, Josh Peck

Ahhh, the carefree, locker-slamming, change room-fearing days of high school. Really, for most of us, high school is the closest we will ever come to experiencing the violent, anything goes, prison environment. There is nothing more fun than seeing a bully take an ass whupping on film. True, they aren’t the bullies that I would like to see take an ass whupping, but still, it’s a start. Drillbit Taylor is the newest train car to be hooked up to the Judd Apatow comedy express. This guy puts out more video than You Tube. The uneven story that occasionally passes right by silly, on its way to stupid, is helped by some credible performances by the young cast, who actually look the age they’re playing, and by Owen Wilson’s usual entertaining work. Add this to some pretty funny scenes, including the best rap since 8 Mile, and you have a decent way to waste a Friday night.

Wade and Ryan (Nate Hartley and Troy Gentile) are a couple youngsters setting off to get a good start in high school, but a wardrobe malfunction and a poorly-timed hero impulse combine to quickly make them and Emmit (David Dorfman), the primary targets of a couple of begging-for-a-beating bullies played by Alex Frost and Josh Peck. The young victims hit on the solution of hiring a bodyguard and begin interviews, including one with the guy who played the bodyguard in My Bodyguard (Adam Baldwin). That was classic! They settle on the only one they can afford, a bs’ing homeless guy with plans for relocation to Canada, played by Owen Wilson.

There are some pretty funny scenes here, but the story could have used quite a bit more work. Maybe if this crew wasn’t shoving out comedies like fries at a drive through window, the quality could be picked up a little. Drillbit Taylor isn’t bad. It is a combination of Superbad and My Bodyguard, but isn’t as good as either of those. Good enough not to dissappoint, but not good enough to impress.

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: Ricki Stern, Anne Sundberg

Starring: Brian Steadle

The Devil Came On Horseback is a relentless hard-hitting documentary about the horrible conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan, as seen through the eyes of an impartial military observer, former Marine Captain, Brian Steadle, who doesn’t feel impartial for long. The result is engaging, and is almost as hypnotic as it is powerful and disturbing and kinda made me feel guilty for not doing more to help. It was a darling of the film festival circuit, but has seen little commercial promotion.

In 2004, retired but young, Marine Captain Brian Steadle accepted a six month contract as an unarmed military observer supervising the ceasefire to a two decade long civil war in The Sudan. Soon after his arrival, he realizes that government backed thugs, known as the Janjaweed are executing a campaign of rape, murder and torture, against civilian villages in the Darfur region of the country. The film starts out with some background of the area, and its issues, and then watches and listens, as Steadle uses pictures, video, and narration to describe, and illustrate his experiences during the horrifying, and frustrating period. Next, Brian returns home and tries to tell America, and the world, what is happening in The Sudan.

The Devil Came On Horseback tells a troubling tale that is uncomfortably close to the Rwandan story from all too few years ago. It packs a punch, and I hesitate to speculate on who will ‘enjoy’ it. It is similar in tone and content to such films as The Killing Fields and Hotel Rwanda, and much like last year’s documentary feature, Shake Hands With The Devil, which focused on Lt. Gen. Romeo Dallaire’s experiences in Rwanda. This is a powerful project that should be seen.

Director: Frank Oz

Starring: Matthew MacFadyen, Andy Nymen, Ewen Bramner, Alan Tudyk, Jane Asher, Kris Marshall, Rupert Graves, Peter Dinklage, Keeley Hawes

Director Frank Oz (Stepford Wives, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels) is actually best known for his Muppet voice work, including Bert on Sesame Street, but in Death At A Funeral, he shows that he can still crank out a pretty good comedy when he wants to. The cast here is superb and get all they can from Dean Craig’s witty screenplay. Some of the scenes are silly, and many of the best lines are in the trailers, but this is still a smart, funny and enjoyable small-scale comedy.

Daniel’s (Matthew MacFadyen) father has passed away and all Daniel wants to do is give him a dignified send off by inviting family and friends to the family home for the funeral. This soon proves trickier than you would think, what with unintentional drug abuse, a crotchety wheelchair bound Uncle, family money disputes, romantic pressures and a small problem in the form of a mysterious, small-statured guest (Peter Dinklage)who would like a private word with Daniel about his father…

Death At A Funeral is a fine British comedy about a funeral that is rigorously, and hilariously, adhering to Murphy’s Law. This film is another in the genre of family get-together comedies that plays kind of like a darker, funnier version of Father of the Bride, or My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and is worth checking out on TV or video.

Director: Wes Anderson

Starring: Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, Jason Schwartzman, Amara Karan, Anjelica Huston

Writer/director Wes Anderson has a created niche for himself, after projects like “The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou” and the quirky classic, “The Royal Tenenbaums”. He is known for his unconventional formula that involves peculiar characters interacting with their equally unusual friends and families. “The Darjeeling Limited” follows this path, as well, and presents fine actors playing off-the-wall characters, and a script that has some very funny bits. It gets stranger and less funny as it progresses, however, and this affected my enjoyment of it.

“The Darjeeling Limited” starts out with an optional, but connected, 10 minute short film about Jason Schwartzman’s character, Jack interacting with a former girlfriend played by Natalie Portman. Is it just me, or does Schwartzman look Tom Cruise’s non sex symbol brother? Nevertheless, I recommend watching this preceding short. But speaking of brothers, the real film opens with Jack meeting his two brothers, Francis and Peter (Owen Wilson and Adrien Brody) on a train in India, as the beginning of Francis’ plan for a family spiritual journey following a near-death experience. The brothers have some issues to sort out, and attempt to do this while working around pepper spray, poisonous snakes, romantic interludes and lots and lots of cigarettes, on their way to a big surprise that Francis has set up for them.

I am not much of a Wes Anderson fan. I find his work to be too offbeat, and that it has too little happening for my ADD movie watching tastes. I did, however find this feature to be interesting and funny enough (in some spots, damn funny) to entertain me until it got more eccentric and less funny towards the end. There are some good laughs, here, helped along by the talented cast. Anderson fans will love this and those who have not enjoyed his previous efforts would likely love to miss it. Opinions on this feature will diverge wildly according taste. Many will read this review and be saying out loud, “Maniac, you are an idiot.” I already know that.

Director: Fred Savage

Starring: Cuba Gooding Jr., Paul Rae, Lochlyn Munroe, Richard Grant, Josh McLerren, Telise Galanis,

Eddie Murphy, in an astute career move, ducked the explosion of this bomb by not participating in the sequel to his Daddy Day Care project. Original director, Steve Carr, has also jumped ship and is replaced at the helm by Fred Savage of Wonder Years fame. This film is tired formula throughout, and lacks a good enough story to make it compelling, and enough working jokes to make it funny. All that’s left is a broken-down family dramedy.

Daddy Day Care champ, Charlie Hinton (Cuba Gooding Jr. this time) is off for the summer and is dropping his son off at summer camp, when instead of heading back to town for a summer of relaxation, he ends up taking over the camp with his partner, Phil (Paul Rae), and running it in direct competition with the rich camp next door, run by an old enemy, Lance (Lochlyn Munro). Lance is determined to humiliate his neighbors, so that he can buy the bankrupt camp. Guess what happens next.

Daddy Day Camp is a stale re-hash of a hundred family comedies before it and there will be a thousand more like it down the road. It might entertain the little ones for 85 minutes or so, but any expectations beyond that will be better served by a hike to the video store to rent Meatballs.