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Flash Movie Review: Ginger & Rosa
There is nothing wrong having the support and guidance of a parent or sibling helping you as you begin your years of schooling. An older brother or sister can certainly steer you away from the many unintentional land mines of uncertainty that you may come across in your life. But as you progress from grade to grade, there is nothing like having a best friend who is living and experiencing the same things you are on a daily basis. Whether it is suffering through a challenging homework assignment or discovering a new rock band, being able to share any and every emotion with a best friend is incredibly special. I have been blessed more than once with the presence of several best friends throughout my entire life. To this day I can remember calling up the new kid in my 6th grade class to see if he wanted to go to the library with me. Though we already knew of our similar interests; it was not until later while sitting at the local fast food outlet for a milkshake, that we found out we grew up with the same type of background, beginning a friendship that would last for decades. Ginger and Rosa, played by Elle Fanning (Super 8, Deja Vu) and Alice Englert (Beautiful Creatures, 8), had a comparable relationship to the one I just described. Growing up during the early 1960s in London, Ginger and Rosa were inseparable friends. With the threat of nuclear proliferation coming into view, the girls’ close bond began to branch out into different interests. These new paths would eventually lead to an incident that caused a fissure to form in their lifelong friendship. The main asset in this film festival nominated film was Elle Fanning. For her age, I am so impressed with her acting capacity; she certainly has screen presence. Helping her and the other actors was the decision to shoot them multiple times in close-up. Add in the subdued lighting created a moodiness that accentuated the tensions forming between the characters. Christina Hendricks (Drive, Mad Men-TV) and Alessandro Nivola (Coco Before Chanel, The Eye) were durable as Ginger’s parents Natalie and Roland. The script was the weak link in this dramatic film; there were parts of the story that dragged for me. An interesting interpretation on the definition of friendship that was fortunate to have Elle as one of the friends.
2 3/4 stars — DVD
Flash Movie Review: The Nines
I thought the surprise in this movie was seeing Octavia Spencer (The Help, Dinner for Schmucks), Elle Fanning (Super 8, We Bought a Zoo) and Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids, Pretty Ugly People) at an earlier stage of their careers. It is a kick for me to see how actors started out or watch their earlier films before they hit the big time. The other surprise about this film was the outcome from three separate stories and discovering the connection. Without giving too much away, the stories could be broken down into a comedy, drama and a fantasy. This unusual film started with Ryan Reynolds (Safe House, The Proposal) as Gary, a troubled actor who burned his girlfriend’s house down. Under house arrest, he was supervised by sweetly tough publicist Margaret, played by Melissa McCarthy. As the days pass, Gary begins to hear voices, find mysterious notes he does not recall writing and thinks he is seeing glimpses of himself in the large house. By the end of the story I was confused, not sure where this movie on a whole was going to take me. The second segment started out providing me no help in my confusion. All I will tell you is to stick it out in watching this movie. There was some interesting points to the stories and I found myself being drawn in to discover the conclusion. Was it the best acting I have seen in a movie? Certainly not; however, I enjoyed the entertainment value this film provided me.
2 2/3 stars — DVD
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