Category Archives: Uncategorized

Warm Bodies

A zombie romantic comedy? Well, yes. And an entertaining one, too!

Warm Bodies owes its charm to its central character R, played by Nicholas Hoult. He’s a zombie who has the ability to be objective about his plight. (We learn his thoughts via voiceover.)

He finds humor in the slow, plodding gait of his fellow zombies (and himself). He chuckles inwardly about the vague grunts that pass for communication among the walking dead. He also reveals that he is lonely.

When a group of normal humans (who live within a fortified enclave, following the vague event that has decimated civilization) venture out and encounter zombies, the results are not good. The zombies launch a ruthless attack, but R chooses to spare one young woman named Julie, played by Teresa Palmer.

He does eat her boyfriend’s brain, which causes him to experience the late boyfriend’s memories, many of which are about Julie. (Don’t worry about the brain eating scenes; this is not a gross-out movie.)

After Julie escorts him back to the abandoned jetliner he lives (okay, exists) in, his attempts to communicate his affection are best delivered by songs he plays on old vinyl LPs.

Eventually he leads her back to the enclave and, later, manages to slip within the walls himself. This sets up the climax involving the zombies, the even more ruthless skeletal zombies and the normal humans. The leader of the normals, played by John Malkovich, is also Julie’s father.

Warm Bodies (rated PG-13) is a lightweight film targeted to young adults and teens. It’s also okay for most pre-teens, despite its low-level gore and violence. This movie’s slugline could be “zombies are people, too,” as R is revealed to have human emotions despite his condition.

I don’t consider it a spoiler to mention that the film has some parallels with a famous classic play about a certain “R & J,” but Warm Bodies has a much gentler ending.

 

 

 

 

 

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Zero Dark Thirty

The mission to find and kill Osama Bin Laden was long and arduous. This fictionalized telling of a mostly true story reminds us how hard America worked to get its revenge for the terrorist attacks of 9/11/01.

The depiction of the raid on Bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, looks like video of the real thing. But it is not. It’s a movie—a remarkably well-done movie. This final half hour of Zero Dark Thirty is the money shot, the reason to see the film.

Zero Dark Thirty’s central character is Maya, played by Jessica Chastain. She’s a CIA operative who is the driving force behind the search for Bin Laden. She is not a real person, but a combination of several people who have shared their information with the film’s screenwriter, Mark Boal.

Zero Dark Thirty shows the CIA torturing those they believe have information. One operative tells a detainee, “When you lie to me, I hurt you.” Depictions of waterboarding in the film are followed later by footage of President Obama stating, “America doesn’t torture.” One agent, as he is about to leave a CIA Black Ops site at Bagram air base in Afghanistan, says he’s going stateside because he has “just seen too many guys naked.”

Solid information is hard to come by. A planned meeting with a supposed informant at another base in Afghanistan results in an explosion that takes several lives. An angry meeting at CIA HQ reveals the frustration of the search with the shouted words, “Bring me people to kill!”

Then, when indications are strong that Osama is in the Abbottabad compound, the CIA waits for authorization from the White House to strike. Maya begins a daily update on the glass window of her office of the number of days from the time he has been located. When the number of days top 100, frustration mounts.

Finally, the raid is authorized and on 5/1/11, the deed is done.

Zero Dark Thirty may not be the best movie of 2012, but its slow buildup to a big payoff demonstrates excellent filmmaking skill. Credit director Kathryn Bigelow, as Oscar winner two years ago for The Hurt Locker, for another memorable film. Chastain is the frontrunner for the Best Actress Oscar and deservedly so.

Zero Dark Thirty is powerful stuff. Don’t miss it.

 

 

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Not Fade Away

How many young American males started playing guitars or drums in the 60’s and then formed rock groups? After seeing the Beatles and the Stones, as well as successful American rock groups, and the responses of girls to the bands, it was almost a natural progression.

Not Fade Away is autobiographical fiction that tells the story of a young man in a rock band in New Jersey in the second half of the 1960’s. From the rehearsals in garages, to the first gigs in basement corners, to meetings with agents, to the eventual journey to the west coast.

Writer/director David Chase was in such a band. The story is not particularly compelling, but Not Fade Away captures the mood and feel of the 60’s with amazing accuracy. Arguments with parents about the Vietnam War and comments from dads about long hair are parts of the 60’s many of us recall.

Of course, the centerpiece of the movie is the music. I loved hearing forgotten 60’s hits like Pretty Ballerina by Left Banke and Itchykoo Park by Small Faces.

Not Fade Away is a period piece that is more about recapturing the feel of those memorable years in Chase’s life than it is about characters and plot. For most baby boomers, especially those who loved the music of the era, Not Fade Away is a fun trip back in time.

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Promised Land

If you enjoyed last year’s negative political ads, you’ll love Promised Land. Except, when you saw the ads, you were told who paid for them.

The messages of Promised Land concern obtaining natural gas via the process known as “fracking.” Message #1 is that the natural gas companies are ripping off farmers by offering lowball payments for the gas beneath their properties. Message #2 is that fracking is an environmental threat.

Promised Land features Matt Damon and Frances McDormand as gas company agents who descend on a small Midwest farm town. At a town meeting, a local geezer played by Hal Holbrook rains on the parade of riches the farmers and the townsfolk anticipate by mentioning the dangers of fracking. John Krasinski appears as an environmental activist who opposes the gas company. He also is also Damon’s rival for a bit of romance with a local barfly/schoolteacher, played by Rosemarie DeWitt.

The script, written by Damon and Krasinski, presents its messages in an entertaining fictional narrative. Promised Land will likely reach a larger audience than would a message documentary such as those made by Michael Moore or Morgan Spurlock.

But with any message movie that is totally one-sided (like Promised Land), my suggestion is “be skeptical.” Things are rarely as black and white as they are sometimes presented. (Another incidental message of this movie is “beware of the wolf in sheep’s clothing.”)

Damon and Krasinski deserve credit for bringing attention to what may or may not be an issue worthy of your consideration. On the other hand, the manipulative story telling is so heavy handed that it has the feel of a negative political TV ad.

Who is behind this movie? Who benefits most should its messages resonate with a significant number of citizens? The coal industry? Electric utilities? The Sierra Club? Farm communities? Monsanto? People with existing natural gas wells? Stay tuned to find out.

Promised Land had the opportunity to open the country’s eyes to a possible environmental danger. But because the message is so clumsily delivered, the film is likely to resonate mainly with those who are already tree huggers and not so much with a general audience.

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Django Unchained

Everything you’ve heard about Django Unchained is true. Quentin Tarentino is a fearless filmmaker. And one of the things he does not fear is excess. Django Unchained is a big movie (2:45 or so) with lots going on.

Set in the antebellum South when slavery was legal, DU will touch some nerves. Is this film racially charged? Yes. Will this film generate controversy? Yes. Does this film entertain? Yes. Is it violent? Oh, yes. Is it funny? You betcha! Django Unchained is the must-see film of the Christmas season.

Christoph Waltz as King Schultz, a German dentist turned US bounty hunter, gives one of the year’s best acting performances. His character is smart, funny and, at times, sensitive. He can also ruthlessly violent. He tries to purchase Django, played by Jamie Foxx, from among a group of slaves after Django tells him he can identify the wanted killers that Schultz is seeking.

Django ends up riding alongside Schultz, who promises to help Django find his wife from whom he was separated. The two enter a small village where townsfolk are stunned to see a black man riding a horse next to a white man. They visit a plantation owned by “Big Daddy,” played by Don Johnson, where Django discovers the wanted men.

The journey to find Django’s wife takes them to Candyland, the Mississippi plantation of Calvin Candie, played by Leonardo DiCaprio. Candie is a fan of “mandingo fighting,” which pits two slaves in a bloody, bare knuckles hand-to-hand battle. At the plantation, Django and Schultz scheme to secure Djanglo’s wife Broomhilda, played by Kerry Washington, from Candie. It’s not an easy mission to accomplish, thanks to interference from Candie’s loyal house slave Stephen, played by Samuel L. Jackson.

Foxx handles the title role with effective, appropriate restraint. DiCaprio, who’ll have that baby face throughout his life, is hard to buy as a nasty bad guy. Jackson gives a killer performance as the 70-ish senior slave.

Tarantino’s over-the-top script is filled with humor and surprises but also reveals a horrifying look at American slavery. One particularly memorable shot, lasting only a second or two, shows blood splattering on cotton bolls in a field. Other depictions of brutality are more direct.

As we’ve come to expect from Tarantino, the soundtrack is a knockout, with tunes ranging from recycled Italian Spaghetti Western songs to Jim Croce’s 70’s hit “I Got a Name.”

Django Unchained will likely generate polarizing media commentary and new devotees of Quentin Tarantino and his distinctive, highly entertaining film making. Not to mention a few awards nominations, as well.

 

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Jack Reacher

Jack Reacher is a good action adventure procedural with a plotline that gets a bit convoluted. But everything works out in the end, with some help from a friend.

This film’s big problem is that it begins with a sniper using a high-powered rifle to take out five individuals. Should its release have been delayed after Newtown? Stay tuned for the blowback.

The sniper sets up in a Pittsburgh parking garage and shoots across the Allegheny River with deadly accuracy. When evidence points to one particular guy, that guy (a former military sniper) writes on a pad, “Get Jack Reacher.” Reacher, played by Tom Cruise, is a former Army policeman with a sketchy background who sets out to find the real killer.

He gets help from the district attorney’s estranged daughter, played by former Bond girl Rosamund Pike. The DA is played by Richard Jenkins, who is rapidly becoming one of Hollywood’s most dependable character actors. The daughter, Helen, claims her law firm wants to represent the alleged perp because her dad intimidates too many suspects into forced confessions. Flimsy reason, but without it, the film would have no blonde babe eye candy.

Reacher and Helen gather info on the victims and analyze the evidence. Meanwhile, they are forced to deal with bad guys who want to take them out of the picture, for reasons to be revealed later. Of course there’s a chase scene and it’s a good one that ends with Reacher’s clever escape.

Based on the alleged perp’s charge card bills, which show large gasoline purchases on weekends, Reacher suspects the guy had been driving to distant shooting ranges. Voila! When he finds the range where the guy shot targets, he gets vital information from and forms a vital association with the guy who runs the range, played by Robert Duvall.

As things get sorted out in the end, Duvall’s character provides an important helping hand and a spark of humor.

Wait, was there something missing in this movie? Yes! There’s no love scene between Cruise and Pike! Not even a kiss! The sexual tension that builds between them throughout the movie remains unfulfilled. Maybe something will happen in Jack Reacher II. (Yes, this feels like the first in a series.)

One more thing: I’ve never thought of Pittsburgh as a cool city. But the Steel Town looks good in this film, as well as in The Perks of Being a Wallflower and The Dark Knight Rises. But that Iron City Beer still sucks.

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The Guilt Trip

Somebody had the great idea to cast Seth Rogen as the nerdy estranged son of doting Jewish widow mother Barbra Streisand. That person might want to rethink his/her future in the movie biz.

The Guilt Trip is an instantly forgettable film starring two people who have little chemistry. A weak and rarely funny script from a flimsy story idea doesn’t help. Did producers think that when these two appealing stars got together before the camera that magic would just spontaneously happen? Well, it didn’t.

Rogen plays a 30-ish LA chemist who flies back to Jersey to visit his mom before driving back west with stops along the way to pitch the cleaning solution he’s developed. A story his mother tells inspires him to invite her to make the week long trek across America with him.

Things that could’ve been funny are not, such as the choice of a book on CD they listen to in the car. Or Rogen’s uninspiring sales technique. Even the challenge at a Texas steakhouse to consume a monster chunk of meat in one hour produces little in the laughter department. Even the “hilarious” outtakes that run during the closing credits are ho-hum.

Much of the blame for The Guilt Trip’s failure goes to the old pro, Streisand. First, she’s had so much work done that she doesn’t quite look like Barbra Streisand anymore. Second, her character is only moderately wacky. Over-the-top zany might’ve worked better. Dialing back the wackiness does allow for a few moments of sweet motherly sensitivity.

Rogen is a talented actor and writer, but he does better in R-rated movies than in this PG-13 film. (Despite its tamer rating, there is a penis joke. A lame one. The joke, that is.) His name and reputation will sell tickets, but The Guilt Trip will not add to his long-term box office appeal.

This is a movie to watch on an obscure cable channel in four or five years when nothing else is on. There are better films in almost every other theater in the multiplex. This is not a trip you want to take.

 

 

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Hyde Park on Hudson

Hyde Park on Hudson is a slice of FDR’s life in the pre-war late 1930’s. It’s a light piece of fluff but totally enjoyable.

Bill Murray is fun to watch as FDR. This is not the FDR of stern speeches and wartime gravity. This is the warmer and fuzzier FDR, away from Washington to enjoy some time in the idyllic countryside, 90 miles upriver from Manhattan. This is not the goofy, eccentric Bill Murray. This time he brings depth and maturity to the role.

On one visit to Hyde Park, Roosevelt sends for his distant cousin Daisy, played by Laura Linney. She isn’t really sure why she’s been summoned to hang out with the president, but after a few visits and a drive to a secluded spot, she soon finds out. This is a plain, single woman who lives quietly with her mother. Suddenly, she’s having an affair with FDR.

What’s weird about their arrangement is everybody on FDR’s staff seems to be aware of what’s happening. Even the president’s mother and his wife Eleanor appear to know what the score is. Even the King of England and his wife who visit Hyde Park know that FDR is a philanderer. Compared to the secrecy, denials and shame of the Clinton-Lewinsky episode, this adulterous fling seems almost respectable.

Linney is perfect for the role of Daisy. She is revealed to be more than a blank, uninteresting woman. She has feelings and self-respect. Daisy’s self esteem rises and falls as the film’s events unfold.

Murray doesn’t really look like FDR, but with the trademark cigarette holder and glasses as props, he comes close enough. His late night conversation with King George of England is one of the movie’s highlights and one of his more presidential scenes in the movie.

Hyde Park on Hudson and its players will not be award winners, but this period piece takes us to a pleasant time and place. It provides a few laughs and tells a good story. If that’s what you enjoy in a movie, check it out!

 

 

 

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The Hobbit

The Hobbit has many great things going for it. Especially thrilling is the 48 frames per second technology, which provides images that are incredibly real looking.

Of course, what we see onscreen is unreal: Dwarves with huge feet. Creatures that are figments of creative imaginations. Settings that are other-worldly. And, our old weird little friend Gollum.

Unlike the three Lord of the Rings movies, The Hobbit is funny. Small chuckles and big laughs abound in a story that is also filled with peril and adventure. Yes, there were small bits of humor in the LOTR films, but The Hobbit is (as its director Peter Jackson has said in interviews) whimsical.

Martin Freeman is Bilbo Baggins, the Hobbit. He brings an air of complete bemusement to the role. He vaguely resembles Martin Short, but Freeman appears frequently dumbfounded by plot developments. (Short would, I think, always be on the verge of a snicker, I must say.)

The entire movie has moments to savor, but a favorite is the scene where Bilbo falls into an impossibly deep hole and meets Gollum. It’s a case of “Finders Keepers” when Bilbo picks up a certain ring that has fallen from Gollum’s keep. As the two trade riddles, both the character Gollum and the actor playing him (the talented Andy Sorkis) are revealed to be strong enough to carry an entire movie. (Maybe after the three Hobbit movies are done?)

The great Ian McKellan is back as Gandalf and even he seems a bit less severe than in the LOTR triology.

Here’s one where real parental guidance comes into play. It’s PG-13, but okay for most 9, 10, 11 & 12 year olds, in my opinion. If your kids have enjoyed the later Harry Potter movies with no ill effects, they should be able to handle The Hobbit.

As for its length, that may be another issue. While the movie flew by for me, its 2:45 run time may be a problem for the more restless among us.

I liked the LOTR movies, but I love The Hobbit. Yep, it’s a “must see!”

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Playing for Keeps

“Playing for Keeps” is a movie about a KIDS’ soccer team and a KIDS’ soccer coach, but it’s not a movie for KIDS. It’s PG-13. It’s a movie for soccer MOMS!

Gerard Butler is a divorced former pro soccer star. He has not done a good job of staying in touch with his son, who is about 8 years old. He reconnects with his son by becoming the boy’s soccer coach. Even though he was a cad, he still has strong feelings for his ex-wife, played by Jessica Biel.

Along the way, he is hit on by several attractive soccer moms. They are played by Uma Thurman, Judy Greer and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Catherine’s character helps him do an audition for an ESPN gig. He also gets hit on by Dennis Quaid—not for sex, but for playing time for his kid.

If you’ve ever seen a Hallmark or Lifetime movie, you can pretty much guess how this one turns out.

“Playing for Keeps” is a harmless piece of romantic comedy fluff. There are a few decent laughs and an appropriate amount of tearful regret and sappy sentimentality. Oh, and the kid is cute, too.

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