REVIEW: Obsessed

7 09 2009

This summer, I discovered the beauty of the public library.  They have an extraordinary catalog of movies, and you can see all of them for free.  It has allowed me to see some very strange movies I wouldn’t have picked on my own, but more importantly, it has allowed me to shamelessly watch some of Hollywood’s big-budget movies without lining the pockets of the people who give them to us.  “Obsessed” falls into the latter category.  Unfortunately, I put it off for a little too long and had to pay a 20¢ late fee.  The only reason that I was genuinely willing to waste an hour and 45 minutes to watch this was Beyoncé and the promise of watching her in a cat fight with Ali Larter.  Before you call me shallow, just think of how seldom we get to see cat fights.  And even then, we never get them with such attractive females as Beyoncé or Ali Larter.

The plot is stale and incredibly predictable.  It clearly wants to provide thrills on the level of “Misery,” but Ali Larter is no Kathy Bates.  The first half slowly exposes us to Lisa’s (Larter) infatuation with her new boss Derek Charles (Idris Elba).  If you weren’t watching a movie called “Obsessed,” you might think it was just a young girl looking to move up the corporate ladder through seduction.  But we know there is some sinister motive, so it comes off as annoying prolonged foreplay before they can show us to the eerie parts.  The second half is genuinely disturbing as Lisa turns into a true stalker, but it could have been even more so had the filmmakers been willing to throw some fresh material into her role.  The movie unfortunately reduces Derek’s wife, Sharon (Beyoncé), to such a trivial role in the first half that it seems her only purpose in the movie was to make an angry call to Lisa and get in a giant cat fight.

In an era where we need to look no further than Facebook to find stalkers, “Obsessed” fails to take the topic to a creepy enough degree to matter.  It tries so hard to be “Misery” in the big city, but it lacks the acting chops and the script to come anywhere close.  If you do choose to watch this, try to get a big group together to watch it.  I think it is a movie designed to be viewed by a crowd atmosphere to enhance the crazy moments, especially the climactic fight scene.  C / 2stars


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REVIEW: Extract

6 09 2009

We so often find humor in the ridiculous and far-fetched, and Hollywood serves it to us (actually, more like force feeds) at a rate that is more than we can digest.  But Mike Judge has a unique ability to find humor in the mundane, especially in the work place.  His 1999 film “Office Space” has become a cult classic over the past decade thanks to its smart satire of the workplace atmosphere.  However, his latest film, “Extract,” is really lacking flavor (pun fully intended).  It is too caught up in banalities to really succeed and perhaps even too lifelike for its own good.

The humdrum happenings center around Joel (Jason Bateman), the owner of an extract factory trying to sell out to General Mills.  However, the deal is threatened by a workplace accident in which a worker loses a part of his “manhood.”  To top that off, he has to deal with constant unrest among the workers, thievery, and a very attractive new temp (Mila Kunis) who becomes an object of lust.  But Joel has many problems outside of work to deal with, including his wife’s (Kristen Wiig) elastic sweatpants chastity belt, a pill-popping friend (Ben Affleck) intent on proselytizing, and an incessantly blabbering neighbor (David Koechner).

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F.I.L.M. of the Week (September 4, 2009)

4 09 2009

This week’s “F.I.L.M. of the Week” is “Man on Wire.”  It is truly one of a kind: a documentary that feels like a movie.  I seldom watch documentaries, but I decided to watch it a few months ago because it had won the Oscar for Best Documentary and it had received unanimous critical praise.  The filmmakers tell the story of Philippe Petit, the daring trapeze artist who walked on a wire between the World Trade Center towers in 1973.

It’s nothing like a History Channel special, which the average moviegoer seems to group documentaries alongside.  Rather than recounting the events through interviews and pictures, the filmmakers have a cast reenact the events.  They also make a clever move in crafting the movie as if it were a heist film.  The result is a breath-taking, captivating, and delightful movie (three words I thought I would never use to describe a documentary.)


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F.I.L.M. of the Week (August 28, 2009)

28 08 2009

The F.I.L.M. (First-Rate Independent, Little-Known Movie) of this week is “Music of the Heart.” It was one of my favorites growing up, the first movie I saw at the then brand new Edwards Greenway Palace 24 Theaters in 1999. I occasionally catch it playing on Starz, and it still possesses the magic that enthralled me when I was 7.  The movie features one of the most underrated of Meryl Streep’s 15 Oscar-nominated performances, an emotionally compelling tour de force that connects with the audience on a level that very few ever have.

Roberta Guspari (Streep) is down on her luck.  After her husband runs off her with her best friend, she moves with her two young sons to the turbulent neighborhood of East Harlem in New York.  She starts a violin program in an inner city school, inspiring a love of music among youth who have never been given an opportunity to study it.  At first, it is tough to spark a work ethic among the kids and to convince their parents that the violin is a worthwhile skill to learn.  The program, over time, becomes a great success.  Unfortunately, many years later, budget cuts force the district to fire Roberta and cancel her program.  With help from teachers and parents, she fights for the right for kids to have access to arts education.

“Music of the Heart” is a movie that aims for the heart and hits it dead-on.  Immensely inspirational and uplifting, it provides wholesome entertainment with morals that don’t even fly over the little ones’ heads.  The film forges a deeply sentimental connection with the audience, and it pulls you in for a compelling experience.  It might be a hard find on the rental shelf, but it is worth the search.


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REVIEW: Inglourious Basterds

24 08 2009

Quentin Tarantino has made movies the way he wants for nearly two decades now, and that is precisely what has made him one of the most beloved and distinguished directors in recent memory.  His latest outing, “Inglourious Basterds,” has been a pet project for over ten years.  It is Tarantino at the top of his game: gruesomely violent, side-splittingly hilarious, and outrageous fun.  It brings the high-energy approach that Tarantino takes to his classics set in the present day and applies it to World War II.  The result is a testosterone-pumping farce with a climax that will get you up out of your seats, screaming and applauding.

The movie revolves around Lt. Aldo Raine, played to hysterical brilliance by Brad Pitt, and his team of “Basterds,” comprised of Jewish-American soldiers on a mission to brutally massacre the Nazi soldiers in France out of nothing but cold vengeance.  But Tarantino’s story consists of multiple layers that contribute to his five-part harmony.  Perhaps the most chilling is the loquacious Col. Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz), better known among the French as “The Jew Hunter.”  Landa is always one step ahead of the game, and every scene in which he appears brings you to the edge of your seat.  He radiates a very calm exterior, but on the inside, he seems to be a ticking time bomb.  This aspect lends an aura of suspense to his character as we eagerly await him to just explode with anger.

The story also follows Shoshanna Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent), the lone survivor of the Nazis massacre of her family who then becomes motivated to avenge their deaths.  She finds the perfect opportunity when German war hero turned Nazi propaganda movie star Frederick Zoller (Daniel Brühl) becomes smitten with her.  He wants to host hundreds of high-ranking Nazis for the premiere of his movie at the theater that she owns.  Her plan is to torch the theater.  Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Shoshanna, the British are organizing a plot to blow up the theater along with the Basterds and a German movie star gone spy named Bridget von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger).  The collision of the story lines results in a final act that will not soon be forgotten.

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F.I.L.M. of the Week (August 21, 2009)

21 08 2009

The new feature that I hyped up (OK, I briefly mentioned in a post that no one read) is here!  The F.I.L.M. of the week will be unveiled every Friday; F.I.L.M. is an acronym for “First-Class Independent, Little-Known Movie.”  But the movies will not be limited to independent films, although I would like to highlight them.  The word just works better in forming a strategic acronym.

The whole point of this weekly feature is to suggest a movie that you might not have seen, considered, or even heard about (barring you are a major film buff like myself).  So if you are browsing Netflix or walking around Blockbuster, rather than picking up “17 Again” or, God forbid, “Paul Blart: Mall Cop,” you will be armed with the knowledge of at least one movie that is a safe bet for excellent entertainment.

It is my distinct pleasure to award the distinction of the first “F.I.L.M. of the Week” to the exquisite “Little Children.”  The movie is just on the outside of my top 10, although given more viewings, it just might move into the elite ranks.   It is one of very few movies that I can say are practically flawless.  Every performance is great.  Every character is well-developed.  Every minute of it is absolutely spellbinding. Unfortunately, audiences didn’t pick up on its brilliance; it grossed about $5 million at the box office, most of which was from Oscar season. The movie was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actress (Kate Winslet), Best Supporting Actor (Jackie Earle Haley), and Best Adapted Screenplay. The Golden Globes nominated it for Best Picture.

The movie is based on the novel by Tom Perrotta, but he decided to take the movie in a distinctly different direction than the book rather than just make a carbon copy.  The screenplay is about as good as it gets.  It complexly weaves together the tales of Sarah (Kate Winslet), the resistant mother stuck among droves of Stepford wives, Brad (Patrick Wilson), the stay-at-home-dad emasculated by his wife (Jennifer Connelly) and her success, Larry (Noah Emmerich), a disgraced police officer out for vengeance, and Ronnie (Jackie Earle Haley), a pedophile who moves in with his loving mother.  They all impact each other in ways they cannot even fathom, and the film’s overlying messages become clear through their encounters.

Everyone is magnificent in the movie, but I do have to single out a few names.  Director Todd Field gives the film narrative poise unlike any movie of the decade, and his presence and guiding hand is clearly felt throughout the movie.  He skillfully handles the very tough material that the movie tackles, treating it with the respect and dignity that they deserve.  Despite its heavy themes, Field also allows it to function as a very dark comedy as well.  This should have been Kate Winslet’s Oscar-winning performance.  It is nuanced, emotional, and absolutely gripping.  She immediately draws you in and never lets go.  Jackie Earle Haley does the unthinkable by turning a feared sexual predator into someone we can ultimately feel compassion for and empathize.  He moves you almost to the verge of tears, especially in scenes with his gentle and loving mother (Phyllis Sommerville).  Here, we see him as emotionally raw and not a pedophile, but as an insecure human being just like the rest of us.

But it’s time for me to stop writing and let the movie speak for itself.  I will say that the movie might be disturbing for some easily squeamish, mainly because of its brutally honest and often graphic portrayal of things that exist in our society.  Nevertheless, for a movie that will keep you thinking for days, drop everything and watch “Little Children.”  If you do see it, write your thoughts in a comment, or if you have seen it, still express yourself in a comment.

Until the next reel,
Marshall

P.S. – Watch the trailer.  It’s one of the rare ones that doesn’t give away anything about the plot. And it also sets you up for the ride that “Little Children” offers.


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REVIEW: District 9

18 08 2009

In life, we often fear the unknown; with movies, I embrace it.  I saw “District 9” on blind faith, not recognizing the director or actors and knowing virtually nothing about its plot (credit this to the subtle yet effective viral marketing for the film).  I also saw it in spite of the fact that Peter Jackson, who I consider vastly overrated, was giving it a major push.  The element of the unknown only adds to the suspense of “District 9,” which is fresh and exciting to watch unfold.

The less you know about the movie, the more you will enjoy it.  I don’t want to give away too much of the plot, but it involves aliens being segregated in Johannesburg’s District 9 that evokes a powerful comparison to South Africa’s Apartheid era.  And Wikus (Sharlto Copley) works closely with the aliens’ situation but will soon get much closer and gain different insight into their presence.

The first half of “District 9” is sublime.  It has power on so many different levels and you will feel it hit you hard in your gut.  The originality and unpredictability is unlike any movie of its kind you have ever seen.  Unfortunately, its second act lapses into your common, banal action flick.  And it is such a shame because it isn’t your run-of-the-mill movie; it is a smart, inventive tale that takes a concept so surreal and makes it completely believable.  Neill Blomkamp’s masterful direction allows us to be so convinced by utilizing a unique narrative voice, but I wish he had stuck to his vision throughout the movie.  But the success of the movie should be equally attributed to star Sharlto Copley, who provides a tender portrayal of Wikus that really hits home.  The film’s visual effects are breathtaking, making the aliens scary and gross, but also allowing the audience to feel some compassion for them.  But what really sets it apart from the plethora of similar movies is its simplicity.  So many science fiction movies feature really elaborate and intricately woven plots, but “District 9” is straightfoward and doesn’t try to hide anything from you.  It lets one event and motivation drive the movie, eliminating a lot of unnecessary confusion and making it quite a bit easier to watch.  Other sci-fi movies that have executed a similar formula to great success are “Alien” and “The Terminator,” and “District 9,” although not a landmark like the aforementioned, is poised to take its rightful place as a classic in the genre.  A- / 3halfstars


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REVIEW: Whatever Works

15 08 2009

Anyone who keeps up with this blog or knows me well can probably guess that I often identify with Woody Allen and his neurotic characters, for better or worse.  And as soon as I heard that Larry David, one of the creators of “Seinfeld” and the hilarious star of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” was going to be starring in Woody’s latest, I knew they could be a scary pair.  However, David’s Boris Yelnikoff unexpectedly proves to be quite likable.  “Whatever Works,” frankly put, works for me.  It is a light, breezy comedy that doesn’t make you strung out like some of Allen’s (or David’s) other projects.  David provides the caustic quips, but a phenomenal supporting cast is equally funny.

Boris (David) is a misanthropic scholar with the belief that humans are a failed species.  He gets living proof of this when Melody (Evan Rachel Wood, “The Wrestler”) shows up on his doorstep one night.  A naïve and dim-witted down home southern girl, Melody slowly starts to melt Boris’ cold heart.  On the other hand, she also begins to randomly spurt his cynical views about life and humanity to anyone who looks at her.  As their time living together lengthens, there are of course the inevitable run-ins with Melody’s mother Marietta (Patricia Clarkson), who disapproves of her new lifestyle, and her firm father John (Ed Begley, Jr.).  All four characters undergo drastic and hilarious changes in the way they see and live their lives, eventually learning to simply enjoy whatever works for them.

I really cannot sing the praises of Larry David enough for making Boris so lovable despite being a suicidal misanthrope.  He stands out among the normal neurotic leads of Allen’s films.  Evan Rachel Wood is also spellbinding.  Her amazing range astounds me; she can do any movie she wants and steal the show.  The rest of the supporting cast is phenomenal, especially Patricia Clarkson as she turns from the good Southern Christian to a very artistic experimenter.

The script is Woody Allen at his best; in fact, it was written in his golden age during the 1970s.  It is delightfully witty and quite thought-provoking too.  There is good dialogue between Boris and the audience through monologues to the viewers, and I found them quite refreshing and inventive.  “Whatever Works” is a comedy to please anyone with a funny bone.  Even for those who find Allen’s movies too zany for their taste, this possesses a charm uncanny to most of his other works.  A- / 3halfstars


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REVIEW: Cheri

13 08 2009

When I started this blog, my plan was to publish movie reviews in reverse chronological order, that is, starting with the most recent and moving backwards.  However, in my haste to crank out review after review, I skipped over “Cheri.”  I think that is a testament to the movie itself.  It is fairly forgettable and mediocre, the only bright spot being Michelle Pfeiffer’s spectacular performance.  Unfortunately, it will not receive the attention that it rightfully deserves because the rest of the movie is a chaotic mess with no narrative poise.

Lea (Pfeiffer) is an aging courtesan in the Belle Époque period in France who has one last fling with the introverted Cheri (Rupert Friend), the son of one of her best friends (played by Kathy Bates).  She teaches him lessons that his mother never did, including how to be kind to his future wife.  Although she denies it, Lea ends up falling for Cheri.  Unfortunately, he has to be married.  That was the first 30 minutes of the film.  The other hour was an absolute mess that bored me to tears.  By the time that the emotional climax of the film rolled around, I honestly couldn’t have cared less.

Pfeiffer is ablaze in “Cheri,” a welcome comeback to the role of a leading lady for the star.  She is willing to acknowledge and act her age, a rarity in Hollywood nowadays.  Lea is the only character whose emotions seem logical, and I think that is so only because of Pfeiffer.  Kathy Bates is bearable, but Rupert Friend is just horrific.  He thinks he can hide behind his looks and not act, and that never works.  He phones in a performance without any driver whatsoever.  The second act focuses more on him, which may be why it was so gut-wrenchingly awful to watch.

Movies set in this time period seem tailored (no pun intended) to win Oscars for their costumes, and the threads are intricately woven for this movie.  I wouldn’t be surprised if this won the Oscar for Best Costume Design.  The narrative power of the movie is quite frankly atrocious.  A narrator pops up randomly every once in a while to provide some worthless information.  Utilizing such a corny element in a movie that takes itself so seriously was an ill-advised move.  The movie jumps from emotion to emotion constantly, and all of them are poorly developed.  It goes from sensual to sweet to sad to boring to heartbreaking to just plain depressing in a matter of 90 minutes.  Overall, the movie just leaves a bitter taste in your mouth, which is a shame because I do think that Pfeiffer gives one of the best performances of the year.  C+ / 2stars


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REVIEW: G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra

13 08 2009

I will admit that I deliberately postponed this review a few days.  After writing “Mindless Moviegoing” in which I claim that there is hope for teens to look beyond the blockbuster, I would have felt like a hypocrite if the first movie I reviewed had been one.  That being said, I took my little brother to see “G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra” the morning after I finished the column.  He was begging, and so I just bit the bullet and took him.  Weary after the last disaster based on a Hasbro toy line, I decided I would judge the movie on two grounds: if it had some sort of understandable plot and if there was more to the movie than just explosions and fighting.  Did it pass?  Yes, but barely.  The movie isn’t highly ambitious, but it does attempt to provide a decent story and give its characters some depth (although it might help if the cast wasn’t all models to play this depth).  It provides bearable escapist entertainment, and it scores with the demographic that it targets because my brother now claims this to be his second-favorite movie ever (at least his favorite is “The Dark Knight”).

The movie revolves around a set of four warheads containing nanomites, a new technology with the strength to destroy cities.  They are developed by James McCullen, who sells them to NATO but intends to recapture them for his own use to achieve world domination.  He creates a team of warriors called Cobras that are fearless in the face of danger and virtually invincible.  Fighting these villains is G.I. Joe, an special forces unit comprised of elite soldiers from dozens of countries.  Duke (Channing Tatum, “Step Up”) and Ripcord (Marlon Wayans, “Scary Movie”) are the U.S. soldiers assigned to protect the warheads and, as good soldiers do, refuse to release command until their mission has been completed.  They train and ultimately become a part of G.I. Joe as they attempt to stop the dastardly McCullen from destroying the world.

The acting is sub-par, which can be expected when the cast is comprised mainly of ex-models like Channing Tatum and the gorgeous Sienna Miller.  The comedian of the bunch, Marlon Wayans, doesn’t really provide any laughs.  Instead, the movie lets some corny lines and ridiculous acting take care of that.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt strangely follows up the amazing “(500) Days of Summer” with this.  Although I don’t fault him for maybe wanting to take a trip out of indie world, this seems like a curious movie to choose.  He has a kind of boy-next-door feel, and I didn’t really dig this villainous role for him.  However, I am thrilled that he wants to expand his repertoire.  What really boggles me is how Dennis Quaid chooses movies like this when he could be in any movie he wants.

My main comparison to “G.I. Joe” was the latest “Transformers,” and this is light years better.  It is much easier to digest and entertaining.  The movie makes a fair attempt to bring up some serious themes, such as emotion vs. logic, facing fear, and having a conscience about killing.  However, they are undeveloped and ultimately miss the mark.  If you are looking for escapist and mindless entertainment, this a decent choice.  It provides some cool, fast-paced action that will be fun for kids or the kid in you.  C+ / 2stars


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REVIEW: Away We Go

12 08 2009

At the request of a dedicated reader, I decided to bump up my review of “Away We Go.”  I drove 45 minutes away to a remote suburb of Houston back in April to be one of the first people to see the movie, and I was not disappointed.  Two months later, I was there to see it again on its first weekend playing at an art house theater in Houston.  So needless to say, I really enjoyed the movie.  It is well-acted, featuring star turns from John Krasinski (Jim from TV’s “The Office”) and Maya Rudolph (TV’s “Saturday Night Live”), but it is really buoyed by its phenomenal supporting cast.  The film features a very heartfelt screenplay from Dave Eggers (author of “What is the What”) and his wife Vendela Vida.

Burt (Krasinski) and Verona (Rudolph) are a gentle, loving couple expecting a baby.  As all good parents do, they want their child to have a better life than they did.  So the two of them set out on a journey to find what they never really could: a home.  They visit old friends and family members, seeing broken relationships, marital tension, and lives that they don’t want to lead.  They discover that all they can do is love each other and hope that everything else works out. Read the rest of this entry »


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REVIEW: Public Enemies

9 08 2009

Everything was in place for “Public Enemies” to become a sensational achievement in film.  It had great actors such as Christian Bale, Marion Cotillard (Oscar winner for “La Vie en Rose”), and Johnny Depp.  It had a highly respected director, Michael Mann, who directed such memorable flicks as “The Last of the Mohicans,” “Heat,” and “The Insider.”  It had unbelievable source material from Bryan Burrough’s fascinating volume of the 1933-34 War on Crime “Public Enemies.”  However, even with all these things in place, the movie manages to underwhelm.  My main quarrel with it was the script, which is less historically accurate than “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs.”  It takes everything that made Burroughs’ book so engrossing and discards it completely.  Even captivating performances by Depp and Cotillard cannot save the muddled mess of a movie.

John Dillinger (Depp) is the FBI’s Public Enemy #1.  He was a bank robber, but he was also a celebrity.  In the most difficult of times in America, Dillinger became a legend for stealing from the bankers who caused the crisis.  He became popular for only stealing from the vaults, saying that he didn’t want to steal money from the hard-working American people.  While avoiding his captors and holding up numerous banks, Dillinger falls in love with Billie Frechette (Cotillard).  She knows the risk of being with Dillinger, but she is attracted to something about him and becomes part of the gang anyways.  The movie also shows the story of Melvin Purvis (Bale), the man that FBI head honcho J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup, “Watchmen”) has chosen to hunt Dillinger down.  But in the 1930’s, the FBI didn’t have the power that it has today.  Purvis and his inexperienced agents are bumbling idiots, messing up even the most simple of tasks. Read the rest of this entry »


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REVIEW: Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

9 08 2009

There is nothing particularly special about “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs.”  I can’t think of anything horrifyingly wrong about it, but there isn’t anything notably right about it either.  The third installment of the “Ice Age” series doesn’t offer up any antics that we haven’t seen in its two predecessors.  But overall, it is still fairly enjoyable to watch.

Parenthood is the theme of the movie as wooly mammoths Manny (Ray Romano) and Ellie (Queen Latifah) are expecting some little ones.  The hardened sabertooth tiger Diego (Denis Leary) considers abandoning the pack because he feels unfit to be around kids.  And the crazy sloth Sid (John Leguizamo) feels the need to be a parent too, so he grabs three eggs and raises them as his own offspring.  Unfortunately, the eggs belong to a tyrannosaurus rex who drags her children along with Sid underground to where all the dinosaurs are.  The rest of the gang goes down to rescue Sid, enlisting the help of some sort of rodent (Simon Pegg) to help them navigate the perilous terrain.  Meanwhile, the squirrel, Scrat, continues to provide an enjoyable sideshow in his quest to gather acorns, this time finding a female counterpart.

There really isn’t much I can say about the movie.  There are no glaring errors other than its historical accuracy.  The animation is no Pixar, but it is still easy to watch.  All the “Ice Age” movies include a good family message, but I don’t think this one packs as good of a punch.  It provides decent entertainment for an hour and a half.  You can get a few good chuckles or giggles out of it, kid or adult.  B- / 2stars


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REVIEW: The Proposal

8 08 2009

I hate re-runs, so I will spare you my rant on the predictable nature of the romantic comedy.  And although it is caught up in some typical clichés, “The Proposal” manages to succeed in spite of them.  The movie provides decent fun for all, offering many solid laughs.  Sandra Bullock makes a welcome return to the genre where she belongs, and she has great chemistry with Ryan Reynolds, who is surely headed for Hollywood superstardom.  The way that they are able to play off of each other’s energy is really what makes the movie work.

Margaret Tate (Bullock) is an uptight book editor who treats her workers like garbage, especially her dedicated assistant Andrew Paxton (Reynolds), who has aspirations to inspire people with his own writing.  But Margaret has a problem: she has put off her immigration lawyer in favor of her work so many times that her application to renew her visa is denied.  To avoid deportation, she forces Andrew to marry her on the threat of ruining his career.  After three years of being Margaret’s assistant, Andrew knows everything about her.  She, of course, knows nothing about him.  To change that, they go to Andrew’s grandmother’s 90th birthday weekend celebration in his home state of Alaska.  Margaret’s big city working girl attitude clashes with the slow small-town attitude of Andrew’s family.  At first, the family is puzzled by his engagement to the woman he loathed.  But eventually, his mother (Mary Steenburgen) and grandmother (Betty White, TV’s “The Golden Girls”) accept it, but his father (Craig T. Nelson) cannot.  As time goes on, Andrew and Margaret begin to open up to each other and realize that there is something different than expected behind their working exteriors. Read the rest of this entry »


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REVIEW: Bruno

7 08 2009

This review is incomplete because I missed the last 20 minutes of “Bruno,” but from the hour that I did see, I got the gist of it. Sacha Baron Cohen’s latest raunchy romp takes everything that made “Borat” work and throws it out the window. He replaces it with graphic male nudity and over-the-top and exaggerated homosexual sex scenes that made the bulk of the audience cringe in my theater. The movie has some funny moments, but they are incredibly brief and don’t make up for the other disturbing content that fills the bulk of the movie. “Bruno” makes “Borat” look like a Disney cartoon, offending people of virtually any sexual orientation, nationality, religion, or social group.

Cohen’s character, Bruno, is a flamboyantly homosexual fashion reporter who comes to America after being disgraced in his home country of Austria. Once there, his glitzy nature collides with the harsh homophobic climate in some parts of the United States. He starts out in Los Angeles where he tries to get his own fashion show on television. This ultimately flops, but it leads him to try to discover what really makes a celebrity. The quest is where the movie is at its funniest, as Bruno tries to get involved in social concerns like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, even talking to an actual terrorist group leader. The best moment comes when he talks to two young, air-headed starlets about the most trendy issues and organizations. But its second half deals exclusively with tackling the subject of homosexuality, and here it takes a turn for the worst. I think had the filmmakers not bungled the handling of the very sensitive subject, it would have been bearable even for someone like me who is not easily offended. However, it is just awkward and unsettling, and when the projector died in my theater with 20 minutes left, very few people were willing to see it out the very graphic end.

As I am writing this review, the movie has flopped at the box office and received dismal reception from fans. I think the main reason for this is that Americans are much more willing to laugh at their xenophobia like they did in “Borat” than they are at their homophobia. I admire Cohen for having the guts to make movies like “Bruno” that attempt to throw all of our fears out of the closet and poke fun at them, but this attempt falls flat on its face. If after reading this, you are still compelled to see “Bruno,” my advice would be to wait until it comes out on DVD, rent it on iTunes, go take your computer and sit alone in the closet and watch it alone to avoid the awkwardness of watching it with anyone with whom you want to have a normal relationship. For the best experience with the character, take a look at his in-character talk show appearances this summer, or watch the much funnier “Da Ali G Show” where you will see a much less vulgar Bruno. C- / 1halfstars


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