Monthly Archives: November 2012
Flash Movie Review: Sugar
It only takes one dream to keep yourself motivated. I have always used my dreams to push me forward, no matter what obstacles were put before me. Without my dreams I feel I would no longer learn and grow as a human being. In this touching movie you will see what some people go through to reach their ultimate dream. Newcomer Algenis Perez Soto played Miguel “Sugar” Santos, a 19 year old baseball player from the Dominican Republic. His dream was to be a major league baseball player in the United States. When Sugar was signed by Kansas City, his opportunity would begin with their class A team based in the small community of Bridgetown Iowa. Baseball loving Helen and Earl Higgins, played by Anna Whitney (The Fugitive, While You Were Sleeping) and Richard Bull (Normal, Witless Protection) took Sugar into their home, to help him get acclimated to American life and customs. Despite not being a big fan of baseball, this movie completely had my attention as it showed Sugar’s struggles. Think about it, moving to a different country where you are unfamiliar with the language, being put through grueling practice drills knowing full well there was always someone directly behind ready to replace you; I had no idea how much pressure was being placed on these future major league baseball players. The entire movie played like a documentary, making the story more powerful. Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, who made the brilliant movie Half Nelson, wrote and directed this fascinating film. I am in awe of individuals who display such determination to reach their dreams. From watching this movie I now feel I have gained strength in making my dreams a reality. Some scenes in Spanish with English subtitles.
3 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn-Part 2
Heads will roll if you mess with Bella’s child…and they certainly did in this final chapter of the movie series. After yesterday’s review that talked about the bond between mother and child, we have here another example of a parent’s love for their offspring. In this movie there was a new and improved Bella, played by Kristen Stewart (Snow White and the Huntsman, The Runaways). With the birth of her daughter Renesmee, Bella would need to master all of her new found vampire abilities if she was going to keep her child safe. The reason being there was something special about Renesmee that threatened the Volturi and its leader Ado, played by Michael Sheen (Midnight in Paris, Frost/Nixon). Since I did not read any of the Twilight books I do not know how closely this movie followed the novel. The story picked up right where the previous film ended, with Bella having turned into a vampire. I had hoped with this new Bella there would have been a better acting job from Kristen, but that was not the case. She never looked happy, with only a couple of emotional facial expressions, that honestly looked like she was a mouth breather. Robert Pattinson (Water for Elephants, Cosmopolis) as Edward Cullen played the role with a slightly more relaxed feel to it. As for Taylor Lautner (Abduction, Valentine’s Day), he did not bring anything new or special to his Jacob Black character. The first half of the movie was slow for me. I found it to be syrupy and melodramatic, with its heavy musical accompaniment. What I found odd was how some vampires had unique special skills. It was as if the writers forgot they were dealing with vampires and writing instead for X-Men characters. The last half of this action film had a buildup of tension that led to an epic battle, with a couple of interesting twists thrown into the mix. On a whole the writers of this movie sucked the life out of the story, giving me only an ok movie experience. I was disappointed I could not sink my teeth into something good.
2 1/3 stars
Flash Movie Review: Serial Mom
A mother’s love is one of the strongest bonds on earth. There have been numerous accounts of mothers doing extraordinary feats of strength when their child was in danger. I have witnessed my own mom exerting super human skills to protect me. We were riding on a bus to the doctor’s office because I was ill. When we reached our stop we exited from the exit doors near the back of the bus. My mother got out first so she could help be manage the distance from the last step to the curb. I had to be around 5 or 6 years old. Just as my mom grabbed hold of my outstretched hands, the back door closed on my foot and the bus began to move. The look on my mother’s face was something I will never forget. With her one arm wrapping itself around me, she started pounding on the door as she screamed while running alongside the moving bus. Gratefully a passenger saw us and alerted the bus driver to stop. Taking the bond between mother and child to a whole different level, writer and director John Waters (A Dirty Shame, Pink Flamingos) created suburban housewife and mother Beverly R. Sutphin, played by Kathleen Turner (Romancing the Stone, Peggy Sue Got Married). To say Beverly was a protective mother would be an understatement. If anyone did or say something that she thought was impolite or wrong, she would dispense her own brand of justice. Beverly usually came to the same conclusion with each incident and it involved death. This dark comedy was a hoot to watch with crazy scenes of Beverly plotting and executing her devious plans. In fact, this was more than just a comedy film; it was a satire of suburban housewives and society in general. Kathleen was wickedly wonderful in this role. Making up her family was Sam Waterson (The Killing Fields, Law & Order-TV) as her husband Eugene, Ricki Lake (Hairspray, Cry-Baby) as her daughter Misty and Matthew Lillard (Scooby-Doo, Trouble With the Curve) as her son Chip. With John Waters one expects foul mouthed, sick, gross humor. This film will not be a disappointment, but maybe you should not show it to your mother.
2 2/3 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: A Late Quartet
They say music soothes the savage beast. I beg to differ, music can do much more. There is some music that affects me on a physical level, where I get the urge to tap my foot or shake my hips. Then there is certain musical pieces where I feel as if I am being transported along a winding road with sloping curves and gentle hills. I have certain songs associated to special occasions that have occurred throughout my life. For example, I have a pop song that reminds me of my trip to the Badlands every time I hear it. Then there is the song I played repeatedly when I was a child that brings back memories of me playing on our back porch on a warm sunny day. As music has always been important to me, so was it in this dramatic movie. A famous string quartet struggled to stay together when resentments, love and illness came to light. It seems as if this is the year of Christopher Walken (Seven Psychopaths, The Maiden Heist) who played Peter Mitchell, the eldest member of the quartet. He was excellent playing a vulnerable, emotional widower. Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Master, Moneyball) can always be counted on giving his characters life, which he fully did as Robert Gelbart in this movie. I have enjoyed Catherine Keener’s (Into the Wild, The Interpreter) past performances; however, I felt she was not fully utilized as Juliette Gelbart. Though the acting was well done, I felt the story veered off into a sub story that was less interesting for me. If the writers would have kept their focus on the group dynamices and go deeper into each character, the movie would have been better. It would have been nice if there was more music being played to get through the boring parts.
2 2/3 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Last Airbender
All I could think about while watching this movie was that James Taylor song with the lyrics “I see fire and I see rain.” With the past week being extra hectic, I wanted to chill out with a fantasy film that had loads of special effects. It is the easiest way for me to calm down and space out. When I saw the trailer for this movie I thought it would be the perfect choice for my state of mind. The story was set in a world divided into kingdoms: Air, Earth, Fire and Water. Peace between the kingdoms was kept with the aid of an Avator, a person who was able to control all four elements. But there was a time when the young Avator disappeared and the peace was shattered, allowing the Fire Nation to pursue dominance over the other kingdoms. I want to start out with a positive statement, so let me say the special effects were good. In addition the film had some beautiful shots of scenery. Unfortunately that is the only good thing I can say about this boring mess. Director, writer and producer M. Night Shyamalan (The Village, The Sixth Sense) was the reason this movie was so bad. The writing was dull with cheesy lines one would expect from a 10 year old. His directing was utterly lifeless. The poor younger cast members like Noah Ringer (Cowboys & Aliens) as Aang and Nicola Peltz (Deck the Halls, Harold) as Katara appeared as if they were unsupervised, leaving them bland and emotionless. Even Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) as Prince Zuko could not help this bad movie. I have not read the comic books this film was based on, but I have heard they were good. One could only assume the comic book writers cringed when they saw this clunker. Let us look on the bright side; with a sequel in the works, the bar has been set so low that the next movie has to be better.
1 2/3 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: A Royal Affair
For every person you have loved you received a gift from them. No matter if the period of time was short or long term, there was always something you gained from being in that relationship. This process is intertwined with my belief that there are no accidents in life; there is a reason for everything. It was these two trains of thought that came to mind, while watching this visual history lesson on the Danish monarchy in the 1700’s. For me, this film did a beautiful job showing the power of love. Alicia Vikander (The Crown Jewels, Beloved) played young English Princess Caroline Mathilde. By arrangement she was sent to Denmark to marry King Christian VII, played by Mikkel Boe Folsgaard (Those Who Kill-TV, Bryggerch-TV mini series). Within a short time the princess discovered her husband’s madness and lack of interest in her. Not until the king’s physician Johann Friedrich Struensee, played by Mads Mikkelsen (Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky, Flame and Citron), paid a call on her did the princess fully understand what she had been missing. Little did the two realize their attraction to each other would start a revolution. I do not know how accurate the story was compared to history, but I fully enjoyed this dramatic film. The way it was filmed with alternating scenes of beauty and drabness perfectly accompanied the story. Add in the wonderful acting and I could see why this movie was Denmark’s official entry into the best foreign language category for the Academy Awards. A testament to the power of love, I considered this film a gift that stayed with me as I left the theater. Danish, German and French with English subtitles.
3 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: Grown Ups
Age can be any number you want it to be. When you think about it, where is it written that you have to act a certain way because of your age? I try to encourage my students to enjoy the moment without worrying what someone else might think of them. Deep down I am a kid at heart and I allow that little boy inside of me to come out periodically and play. It was for that reason I thought this DVD would be fun to rent. The cast consisted of some reliable comedic talent such as Chris Rock (Down to Earth, Head of State) and Maya Rudolph (Bridesmaids, Friends With Kids). On the other hand since this was an Adam Sandler (Big Daddy, Reign Over Me) movie I knew Rob Schneider (The Animal, The Hot Chick) would be part of the cast. It must be Adam’s good deed to keep Rob employed and off the streets. The story was about a group of friends who after many years return to their childhood home, to attend their old basketball coach’s funeral. After so long carrying the responsibilities that came with being an adult, could the friends reconnect like they did as kids? This comedy puzzled me. How was it that each actor individually could excel at their craft, but put together they were not funny? The script was tired and predictable with lame jokes and simple sight gags. Salma Hayek (Frida, Here Comes the Boom) and Kevin James (Zookeeper, Here Comes the Boom) added very little with their roles. I think what it comes down to is Adam sticks to the formula he created in pumping out these movies with low brow humor. There was nothing horrible in this film; it just did not do anything for me. If you need some mindless entertainment after a rough day, then this would be the ideal movie to sit back and watch. There must have been a lot of people who needed to sit back and relax because the movie studio is working on a sequel. You have been warned.
1 3/4 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: Lincoln
Like most young children, I wished I had superpowers. I wanted to fly 6 feet off the ground, skimming over the heads of people. As to why that particular height, I believe it was because I knew no one over 6 feet tall. Another power I wanted was to have the ability to time travel. The capacity to travel back to historical events and meet famous people has always fascinated me. After all these years my wish came true with this amazing movie. I was watching Abraham Lincoln not Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood, My Left Foot), the actor that portrayed Lincoln. His performance was more than outstanding; it was real, causing me to tear up every time he spoke. Daniel will be the one to beat in this year’s Oscar race. Sally Field (Forrest Gump, The Amazing Spider-Man) brought a deep understanding to her character as Mary Todd Lincoln. Honesty there was not a bad performance from any of the cast which included Tommy Lee Jones (Hope Springs, In the Valley of Elah) as Thaddeus Stevens and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Inception, The Dark Knight Rises) as Robert Lincoln. The story focused on the time surrounding the creation of the 13th amendment to the constitution, which would ban slavery. Tony Kushner (Angels in America, Munich) wrote the rich screenplay, allowing a majority of characters in the movie to have their own special moment. I appreciated the work involved in recreating the sets to exact details, having read director Steven Spielberg (War Horse, Saving Private Ryan), Daniel and Tony each visited the Lincoln Library in Springfield, Illinois for research. For example, Steven recorded the sound from Lincoln’s pocket watch and recreated the exact titles of books for the bookcases in the White House. The only fault I can say about the movie was several scenes seemed implausible to me. I felt they were manipulated to create a more heartwarming experience for the viewer. With that said, this movie was one of Steven Spielberg’s finest creations. When the lights came up in the movie theater, I could finally say I met Abraham Lincoln. I left my seat with a better understanding of our country’s history, feeling uplifted. Brief scenes of blood and violence.
3 1/2 stars
Flash Movie Review: The Rose
There is nothing like being at a live concert, feeling the energy and power the performer(s) has over the crowd, it is amazing. Having attended a multitude of concerts, I have seen all kinds of artists in various stages of sobriety and dress. From a heavy metal band member taking swigs out of a bottle of scotch, to a singer so high on drugs he barely could stand up; some could not handle the power of being a star. I never understood how the artist’s closest friends and advisors could tolerate such behavior. If for no other reason job security–these performers are meal tickets. Inspired by the tragic life of Janis Joplin, this movie should be seen just for Bette Midler’s (Beaches, Outrageous Fortune) performance. Having seen Bette in concert, her character Mary Rose Foster was nothing like Bette. The movie was about the life of a self destructive rock star. As her popularity rose, the demands of touring were taking their toll on Mary Rose. Her manager Rudge Campbell, played by Alan Bates (Women in Love, Gosford Park), would push her by any means possible to keep her up on stage. This being Bette’s 1st major movie role, she was worthy of her Oscar nomination for best actress. With a mixture of power and vulnerability, she was the driving force in this musical film. Her concert performances in this movie were outstanding; I felt I really was at the show. There was nothing new about the story; most of us have heard the same with many movie and rock stars. From all the musical acts I have seen there are two performers that are extra special to me. They are Tina Turner and Bette Midler. I have seen them perform 3 hour concerts; singing live, dripping in sweat as they poured their life and emotions into each song. There is a saying that goes something like this, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Watching this film I was reminded of so many great artists we have lost due to their destructive power. When this movie came to an end I wanted to hold up a lighter in the air like I used to at concerts.
3 stars — DVD
moviejoltz 