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Director: Lajos Koltai

Starring: Claire Danes, Toni Collette, Vanessa Redgrave, Patrick Wilson, Hugh Dancy, Natasha Richardson, Mamie Gummer, Meryl Streep, Glenn Close

This is Lajos Koltai’s first English language film and I can’t imagine how grim life is in Hungary to motivate him create such a dreary film, that, unless I completely missed the point (which I often do) just drives home the idea that we all settle into love, rather than marrying who we really love. Many of us do, perhaps, but that’s why we watch bright shiny movies, not depressing self-indulgent crap that has less giggles than an episode of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit. No one is happy here, and if they are, just wait and soon they won’t be. It is based on a Susan Minot novel and she also wrote the screenplay. I hope her novel isn’t indicative of her own inner pain, or I’ll expect to be hearing about her self-induced demise on the news any day now. The story has a promising opening and moves smoothly and competently towards its conclusion. The dialog is fine and the acting is spot on from the entire talent-laden cast, though the characters are a little bland.

Ann (Vanessa Redgrave) is on her deathbed, pumped up with painkillers, and is talking with her two daughters (Collette and Richardson) and drifting in and out of sleep, where she dreams about her days before marriage. Claire Danes plays young Ann and the story revolves around her best friend, Lila’s (Mamie Gummer) wedding at some seaside New England mansion. Lila is clearly marrying this man, because she can’t have Harris (Patrick Wilson), her first and only true love it seems. Her drunk younger brother is there and follows Anne around with a wine bottle in his hand for most of the movie, while she too falls for the apparently irresistible Harris, who stands like a statue with little to say about all this commotion he’s causing. Look for Meryl Streep in a small role and Glenn Close in an even smaller one.

This film compares most closely to The Notebook, which I enjoyed, and may appeal to the same people who sang its praises, as long as they don’t mind the oppressive mood. This is no smile and popcorn movie. Couldn’t they have a happy character or two? Write in a couple laughs here and there? Not for me. I’ll never watch it again and I hope I don’t have to see clips of it at the Academy Awards, where they often go by the mantra of ‘the more depressing it is, the better it must be’.

Director: James Fargo

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Geoffrey Lewis, Beverly D’Angelo, Walter Barnes

Every actor has their niche where they find most of their success. A precious few find considerable success in more than one niche. Clint Eastwood is not one of that precious few. This is one of Clint’s attempts at the Action/Comedy genre. It’s a little weak on the action part and very weak on the comedy part, with a combination of silly slapstick and gags revolving around an orangutan named Clyde. Still, I guess I still like it. Clint’s character is cool (of course) and the street fighting stuff is pretty good.

Clint Eastwood is Philo Beddoe, an underground pro street fighter who is better with his fists than with his women. He falls for a really cute country singer named Lynn Halsy-Taylor (Sondra Locke in a honky tonk singing role), gets on the wrong side of the most pathetic motorcycle gang to ever apply for social security, while trying to get a fight with a bare-knuckle legend named Tank Murdock. Geoffrey Lewis and Ruth Gordon manage to squeeze a few laughs out.

If you are looking for a way to prove your loyalty to the man with no name, seeing this movie is a pretty good start. It has a certain pathetic charm to it, that makes me like to see it from time to time, but you have to be able to handle some 70s style country music, too. I like it, but rent this one at your own risk.

Director: Jesse Peretz

Starring: Zach Braff, Amanda Peet, Jason Bateman, Charles Grodin, Mia Farrow, Amy Poehler

Though it was released worldwide as Fast Track, its US title was The Ex (likely because of a copyright issue), which doesn’t really suit the film. The young stars do a good job, and there are some laughs, though the story is only slightly more elaborate than a sit com. Still, it has a few shining moments.

Zach Braff is Tom Reilly, a soon-to-be father who finds himself forced to take a job with His father-in-law (Grodin in a very good performance) at an ad agency where he finds him self pitted against his wife’s high school friend, and fling, Chip Sanders (Jason Bateman) for his corporate survival.

This formula comedy is a mix of TV’s The Office and Meet The Parents, which means that it also has a higher frustration level than I usually enjoy in my comedies, as things get progressively worse and worse for poor Tom Reilly. Still, this film will appeal to fans of the hot young cast, and of the movies mentioned above. For others, its not bad and should give a giggle or two.