WE BOUGHT A ZOO (2011) movie review

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Matt Damon proves the best sort of family man dealing with grief in this feel-good film, We Bought a Zoo.  Despite the inane title and its cutsie repeat as mantra, this movie rolls along sweetly in so many ways. Relationships float into each other. Conflict is not the name of the game.

Jonsi’s music transports us. It’s euphoric. His long-building melodious tones feel like triumph, like a hug, like forgiveness in action.  It almost feels like they tried to make this movie around the music. Sadly, the spoken words could not compare to the soundtrack. Two parallel trains…two separate destinations. The story felt conceptual rather than event-driven. Like a cooking show if we actually took the time to watch the chef chop and measure it all then wait calmly for the goodness to bake. This film takes time to bake, and Damon’s character is certainly full of goodness.

Handsome, gentle, sentimental, patient, consistent: the perfect man. Surreal? The daughter is precocious and perfect. The only miscast was perhaps the angsty artist son who was likeable but dull in the mix.  Thomas Haden Church was a favorite. If only all of these sweet characters had been given believable lines and a memorable story plot.

Fortunately, Cameron Crowe is a master at filming awe and knowing glances. This is a comfort film with animals, but we know in the end…it is all about the people.

MY WEEK WITH MARILYN (2011) movie review

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Marilyn Monroe
Gaudy. Mystical. She was an icon of whimsy and total sex appeal. All who saw her fell in love. In death, she immortalized. She will never age. Her silver screen images will never prove mortality by promoting Depends ads. She will never gain weight and move to making Jenny Craig commercials, or have children and do that kiddie film just for them. She will ever be the bombshell blonde known for her curves and whispy vibrato.
In this glorious film tribute, illustrious cast on call, Michelle Williams leads the parade exuding the vulnerability of the gauzy star and allowing us to ask the questions. Was Marilyn capable of suicide? Was she the actress she hoped she’d be? Was it all a show, a game to her? Did she know exactly what she was doing? Was her real life as enchanting as she wanted us to believe?  Or, did she absently originate the term ‘dumb blonde‘ by being herself?This film raises another set of questions regarding the philosophy of classical acting versus method. Two schools of thought: I’ll call it Shakespeare Vs Stanislavsky. It’s no shock that Branaugh, known as the world’s favorite Shakespearean film lead, bests a brilliant Sir Lawrence Olivier -bucking the “method.” The whole historical grudge between these two has held in enmity over time. I believe Ryan Gosling to be an undeclared method actor. Michelle Williams is all too familiar with the man Heath Ledger who followed the method and died; many believe he died when he allowed himself to get too much into his character’s life, art, and back-story. Method actors search the resources of their minds to become their characters on and off screen in order to present the most realistic and believable performances possible. Believe it or not, Marilyn fancied herself a method actor. Ah ha! Herein lies the rub? No one claimed to know who Marilyn truly was. Couldn’t someone have saved her? I believe the journals of this film’s lead boy tell a brilliant story with no difinitive answers. But, we like suspense. Spend a week with Marilyn here and decide all for yourself.

PS. (Its “R” rating is akin to The King’s Speech (2010)…for language). Like Marilyn Monroe’s many films, the sensual tease in this film is ever apparent and acute but never acted upon. Visit Scarecrow Video in Seattle and rent one of Marilyn’s films. A few favorites include: How to Marry a Millionaire (1953), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), Monkey Business (1952), and River of No Return (1954).

SHERLOCK HOLMES: A Game of Shadows (2011)

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Not the usual second. Seconds usually infer either more of the same or the meanness of second skimmings.

In the case of Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, I see ingenuity, creative freedom, and brilliant new camera work and effects. It maintains the same quick wit, cool chemistry, slow-motion prep scenes, and dry British charm while delivering well-paced action.

To quote Sherlock himself, so overt it’s covert.

This brilliant film stands alone and should be seen again.
The ticket price was worth it to see the war in the woods scene a second time.

MUPPETS (2011) movie review

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Muppets!
I know them. It all makes sense to me now. I’m a Muppet. If you can agree with the following list of ten items, you might just be a Muppet too.

1. You live to sing and dance and know there’s a song for everything.

2. You know that life is preparation for the next big show.

3. Friends can make it all better.

4. Celebs add appeal.

5. Kermit gets you and can relate to any emotion you may feel.

6. Like Kermit, you know you’ve got to be ready for anything at a moment’s notice.

7. Bad guys exist and always have a dirty deal in mind, and they can only be taken down with Karate.

8. Pig Karate.

9. When we all get together, the show will go on.

10. With a little help from our friends and a smashing finale, we can make it, accomplish any goal, seize any opportunity and sing our way to success!

Your SCORE= If you said “AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHaaaaahhhhhhg” to 8 or more of the above: Congratulations, you are a Muppet!  If you coo’d and crooned to any of the above, you’re an honorary and perhaps lucky enough to be one of the “lovers, the dreamers, and me.”  If you said a snarky “Really?” to any of the above, you have no soul.

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE 4: GHOST PROTOCOL (2011) movie review

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I wanted to walk right back in and watch it again on the biggest screen possible –and that’s rare for me, even for an action flick. It’s lousy with intensity, explosions, and hand-to-hand fight scenes. It also has this lovely hand-of-God element, forcing a slight hesitation from each actor before the big jumps and big missions. They aren’t as cocky anymore. They shoot from the hip, on hunches, but don’t negate the possibility of death. This element makes it more suspenseful, and possibly more fun. Attainable. Personal. I maybe want to be a spy…or just write spy flicks.

Perhaps this level of pleasant, humble humanity stems from the writer / director, Brad Bird, who is new to live action. He is most famous as writer / director of both Ratatouille and The Incredibles. Impressive mantle to take on the next of the MI series.

Such a tease to play Sawyer’s (Josh Holloway) cocky mug in the beginning. Oh, J.J. Tom Cruise is back in impressive array, doing his own stunts, and taking it for the team. Despite his quirks, he’s a real movie star. Perhaps the memory of his crazy couch jumping incident lies dormant in the shrouded tomb of Oprah’s show. If Ghost Protocol is his awakening, I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next.

DESCENDANTS (2011) movie review

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Descending the spinning vortex of unfinished plans, this film makes you recount the decisions of your life. Why that worry? Why that fear? In the scheme, isn’t it so trivial?
Clooney in the spin, all resting on him, never ducks to miss the blow. He takes it in the teeth again and again but arises victorious albeit beaten. His reward was there all along but he couldn’t see the girls he loved, not really. Impressive and gorgeous performances all around.
Director Alexander Payne lets it all sink in and lets us deal with grief. This film offers perspective. Hawaii in the raw everyday of normalcy still glows alluring and pleasantly paced. In its candor is also a tribute to a strong people. Let us weep and say goodbye. Let us know truth, believe the best, and ever sway along to these redemptions songs.

ELF (2003) movie review

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It is…afterall…the quintessential Christmas movie. It’s the new generation’s Lampoon or Red Rider BBGun.

At Christmas time the poetry of Billy Collins waxes shiny in my mind.

As the poet laureate of our United States, Collins writes a poem a day. His word-smithing wages war between the subtle sarcastic and the eloquent exquisite. I’d like to take this moment to dedicate the following poem to you.

Insert “Litany”: a recitation by a precocious 3 year old (below).

Billy Collins tricks his readers, prone toward exhaustive exposition of “the deeper meanings” within, into laughing at themselves, at life, and at all things taken far too seriously.

So pair the far-sighted farce with light-hearted fun and watch Elf to your heart’s content knowing it may not be the pine scented air.  But it certainly is the pigeon on the general’s head.

Christmas is a Baby in a manger who, if born into this century would have loved nothing more than sitting by you as this silly lovely movie plays.

So to you and to me, on this Christmas day, know that somehow to me…

You will always be the bread and the knife.

Litany

You are the bread and the knife,
the crystal goblet and the wine.
You are the dew on the morning grass
and the burning wheel of the sun.
You are the white apron of the baker,
and the marsh birds suddenly in flight.

However, you are not the wind in the orchard,
the plums on the counter,
or the house of cards.
And you are certainly not the pine-scented air.
There is just no way that you are the pine-scented air.

It is possible that you are the fish under the bridge,
maybe even the pigeon on the general’s head,
but you are not even close
to being the field of cornflowers at dusk.

And a quick look in the mirror will show
that you are neither the boots in the corner
nor the boat asleep in its boathouse.

It might interest you to know,
speaking of the plentiful imagery of the world,
that I am the sound of rain on the roof.

I also happen to be the shooting star,
the evening paper blowing down an alley
and the basket of chestnuts on the kitchen table.

I am also the moon in the trees
and the blind woman’s tea cup.
But don’t worry, I’m not the bread and the knife.
You are still the bread and the knife.
You will always be the bread and the knife,
not to mention the crystal goblet and–somehow–the wine.

IN TIME (2011) movie review

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RECIPE FOR DISASTER:

  1. Choose cast from latest Teen Vogue’s celeb update. Only.
  2. Choose cast first.
  3. Costumes 2nd. Use the prom section of the magazine.
  4. Brainstorm with pre-teens. Know your audience. They like running, jumping, cool explosions, kissing, dangerous car kissing, twists with time, hot people, and glow-in-the-dark stuff.
  5. Figure out how to keep the whole cast under 30. This is critical. 30 is like…the age of death. Jk. But seriously.
  6. Make it so the highest paid celebs die at the beginning.
  7. Let Amanda Seyfried improv all her lines. She’s totally good at it. She’s all…”don’t steal my time, you bleep bleep man!” That’s money.
  8. Time is money.  [On a serious note, this film reads socialist propaganda to me. Time is the currency. When it’s held from the people and only the rich get richer…time should be shared. This is the message of the film. Time should be free. Everyone should have equal time. Timberlake’s Robin Hood kidnaps his Maid Marian (Seyfried) for a high speed crime spree robbing the rich. Wow. Deep. New… can you sense the sarcasm? …This is not a very good film.] 

NEW YEAR’S EVE (2011) movie review

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 Gary Marshall whips up his classic… gimmick film.

You saw Valentine’s Day. These two films are sisters…identical twin sisters. Most likely you’ll see New Year’s Eve. You can’t help it. It’s like a car accident – you have to look.

Sisters, Sisters, there were never such devoted sisters.

Devotion. The director is ever-devoted to his family. All of the Marshalls ever gather on-screen for lousy one-liners with scented candle solidarity.

Never had to have a chaperone, no sir, I’m here to keep my eye on her.

Every Runaway Bride and Princess Diaries extra shows up on some set or another.

Marshall has friends. If Gary Marshall made films like a sub sandwich, they’d be loaded with lettuce – a 20’s word for cash. Every star center stages, sometimes for short moments, but despite duration, there truly are “more celebrities than rehab…” (Admittedly a favorite line.)

Caring, sharing, every little thing that we are wearing.

Forced, familiar, unscripted dialogue. Sad. So sad. Zac Efron in his worst character to date, with a sweet but too-awkward storyline.When a certain gentleman arrived from Rome, she wore the dress and I stayed home…

Ashton Kutcher, charm-smothered and swooning goes from grinch to groupie. Heigel hate-loves Bon Jovi. Sarah Jessica Parker needs then meets a date, and Hilary Swank sweats it out only to give it up. Josh Duhamel pines then finds love lost, while Halle Berry listens then blows kisses. Only Robert Deniro performs flawlessly, even from a prone position.

Lord, help the mister who comes between me and my sister… and Lord help the sister who comes between me and my man.

Everyone loves someone, and everyone banks all guts and glory on the ball drop to incite romance. 

THE FAMILY MAN (2000) movie review

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Brett Ratner redeemed. He claims that this is his favorite of his films. I know I’ve trash talked him a bit, but I must credit him with best direction of Nick Cage. Sure Nick’s made enough terrible film choices to make you overlook this national treasure, but he’s precious in this one. This is his best character to date. His grinch-turned-Griswold kills me softly and I adore him as a Family Man.

Tea Leoni performs flawlessly, creating chemistry, making matronhood and mothering look sexy and appealing. I fall for Jeremy Piven and Don Cheadle along with the rest of the world.

“Oh, you mean this chocolate cake? No. It’s too important to me…”

It’s an inverted “Wonderful Life” story. The glimpse is the gift and the journey of the film. It answers our ever-loving “what-ifs.” Our lives are built on decisions and priorities. Who would we be if we had chosen differently? I don’t know, but “I choose us.”