The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)

Capra-esque

When giant Hudsucker Industries' president, Waring Hudsucker (Charles Durning), leaps 44 stories to his death during a board meeting, the company's second-in-command, Sid Mussberger (Paul Newman), spawns a plot to prevent the general public from buying up Waring's 83 percent interest in the company while also driving down the stock value so he can buy up controlling interest in the organization.

Enter one innocent yet ambitious young Norville Barnes (Tim Robbins), a new Hudsucker mailroom clerk who is assigned to deliver an important missive to Mussberger's own hands.

In his anxiety of being in the top floor executive office, poor Barnes turns into a total doofus who first raises Mussberger's ire and then becomes Mussberger's vision of the perfect proxy -- a new president for the company who Mussberger can control and ultimately use to manipulate the stock to suit his plan.

With young Barnes as president, the stock does go down and fiesty reporter Amy Archer (Jennifer Jason Leigh) sets about to expose him in a wonderful reincarnation of all the Katherine Hepburn/Rosalind Russell fast-talking, dazzle-'em journalist style from the films of the 1930s.

Will good prevail and redemption be feasible?

Ranks right up there with It's a Wonderful Life!

A fun and stylish film by brothers Ethan and Joel Coen.

Unrated by MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America).

To Die For (1995)

The Dark Side

Cue Suzanne!

Though she's far from the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, Suzanne Stone (Nicole Kidman) certainly is the most determined, cunning, cold, calculating and aggressive wannabee ever. She has lived her whole life to be a television news reporter.

Enter the darkly handsome Larry Maretto (Matt Dillon), a restaurateur in his Italian family's business, who sets his sights on the beautiful but shallow Suzanne. After their marriage, Suzanne immerses herself in the serious business of gaining recognition in TV by going to work as a clerk at the cable access station in her hometown, the tiny Little Hope, NH.

The self-absorbed manipulator bowls over her boss Ed (Wayne Knight, Seinfeld's Newman) and becomes the self-important weather girl for the small station, but she knows her real break will come only if she does something significant.

She then interviews students in Mr. Finlaysson's (Buck Henry) class about what teenagers are thinking for a series she is producing. Meanwhile, she's decided that her husband Larry will ultimately be an impediment to her success. He'd prefer she stay home and raise children but he doesn't prohibit her cable station duties and is proud to watch her reports on TV at the restaurant every night.

But once Suzanne has made up her mind about something, the cogs turn quickly. Suzanne seduces the pensive young student Jimmy (Joaquin Phoenix), befriends and promises great things in the future for the frumpy and lonely young Lidia (Alison Folland), and lures their friend Russell (Casey Affleck) into a dastardly plot to annihilate Larry.

The story is told with many cut-aways to the perfectly coiffed and attired Suzanne in the television studio telling her side of the story with counterpoint comments from Larry's loving sister Janice (Illeana Douglas) who has always been suspicious of Suzanne's motives and selfishness.

Does Suzanne succeed in her plot? Does she become a mega news celebrity? Awwww, come on! I can't tell you that! :)

Directed by Gus Van Sant. Adaptation to screen by Buck Henry. Music by Danny Elfman.

Rated R for strong sexual content, and for language.

Tape (2002)

Powerful Character Studies

One has to be in the right mood to watch Tape. It's intensely psychological and, at times, disturbing. It takes a little getting used to the method used to make this film but ultimately, it's the best way to tell this particular story. Completely filmed in one room with a cast of three and no background music, it has the feel of an amateur film despite the fact that it was directed by Richard Linklater (Dazed and Confused, The Newton Boys and others).

The story plays straight through without flashbacks or lapse of time between scenes, and the camera is mostly hand-held making for some jumpiness and ping-pong shots back and forth between characters. Once you move beyond these stylistic elements, you can get into the story.

Vince (Ethan Hawke) has come back to Flint, Michigan, to see the debut of his old high school pal's first film at a local Film Festival. He's staying in a seedy motel room awaiting the arrival of his pal Johnny (Robert Sean Leonard).

After 10 years, the reunion is exciting and the fellows have some fun joking around, but it doesn't take long to see that Vince and Johnny have gone in very different directions. Vince is a hard-drinking, cokehead drug dealer while Johnny is a USC film grad set on making a name for himself as a film director.

Vince is dead set on getting Johnny to confess to an indescretion Vince is sure Johnny committed in the waning days of high school. He plays significant head games on Johnny for an hour or so and then calls and invites over their high school friend Amy (Uma Thurman) who is an assistant district attorney in Flint.

Vince wants Amy to hear the tape of Johnny which Vince secretly captured during their earlier conversation. To tell more than this would give away the story but this is a fascinating character study of three very different people.

Rated R for language and drug content.

My July 2006 Viewings

Includes my personal ratings.
Recommended DVDs in bold.

Twilight 07/28/06
Monk 4:3 07/28/06 (B)
Songcatcher 07/21/06 (A-)
On a Clear Day 07/17/06
Monk 4:2 07/11/06 (B)
The Matador 07/10/06 (B)
Cheaper by the Dozen 2 07/05/06 (C-)

The Matador (2006)

Juicy Bits

Denverites Danny Wright (Greg Kinnear) and his wife Bean (Hope Davis) have had some rough times with the death of their young son, the loss of a significant job, attempting to start up a new business, and, at last, a lightning-struck tree crashing into their kitchen just as Danny is leaving for an important business trip to Mexico City. He must go. He must land this contract if his business is to be viable.

While drinking a margarita in an stark, sterile hotel bar in Mexico City, Danny meets Julian Noble (Pierce Brosnan) and is at once both fascinated and repulsed by this man. Julian is as smooth as they come but it's revealed over the course of the next day that he has no permanent home, no family, no friends, travels worldwide from one bar and bordello to another, and makes his living as a hit man (or as Julian prefers to call himself: "a corporate fatality facilitator").

While attending a bullfight, Danny gets an idea of what Julian's work entails. He's intrigued but also realizes the danger and wrongness of it all.

Six months pass. Julian is having problems with his job. He's distracted and failed an assignment in Manila. He's lost his edge and focus. He's burned out. But he needs to keep working and convinces his "contractor" to use him again. Again he fails.

Julian suddenly shows up in the middle of a wintery night at Danny and Bean's front door. Danny's told Bean all about him and at first they are apprehensive but they invite Julian to stay anyhow as they get more and more involved with him and this dangerous life he's lived.

When Julian reveals to Danny that there is now a contract on Julian's life, Danny knows that as Julian's only friend, he must help save the man's life. The tale takes some interesting turns from there and ended up being a good story.

It's really more of a character study of Julian -- and well done on many levels. I've never really been a fan of Pierce Brosnan. I've seen him in some things in the past but just tended to avoid most of his films as I didn't care for him much as an actor beyond that certain look and sophistication. But this is an all-together different kind of role for him and one that makes me hope he gets offered more juicy parts in the future.

Directed by Richard Shepard.

Rated R for strong sexual content and language.

My June 2006 Viewings

Includes my personal ratings.
Recommended DVDs in bold.

Monk 4:1 06/03/06 (B)
Failure to Launch 06/30/06 (D)
Moonlighting 3:4 06/27/06 (B)
Syriana 06/23/06 (B)
The Sisters 06/20/06 (C)
Moonlighting 3:3 06/20/06 (B)
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang 06/16/06 (B-)
Rumor Has It 06/13/06
Hostage 06/12/06
The Family Stone 06/07/06 (B-)
Smoke Signals 06/01/06 (B)

Failure to Launch (2006)

Failure. 'Nuff Said!

in·sip·id
adj.
1) Lacking flavor or zest; not tasty.
2) Lacking qualities that excite, stimulate, or interest; dull.
3) Failure to Launch

I just sorta want to slap a few people silly for their participation in this shallow, stupid film! Sue (Kathy Bates) and Al (Terry Bradshaw) haven't the spines to tell their 37-year-old son Tripp (Matthew McConaughey) to take responsibility for himself and move out of their home. Instead, they do everything to enable him to stay on despite their complaints and commiserating with their middle-aged peers who also are whining wimps.

Seems old Tripp wants to be a child all his life. He can't establish a meaningful relationship with a woman -- heck, he can't establish a meaningful relationship with himself!

His parents hire Paula (Sarah Jessica Parker), a professional who specializes in building men's confidence and getting them to move out into the world on their own. She creates a whole romantic milieu for him -- and you can about imagine what happens in the end. Shallow begets shallow!

In all fairness, I must say that I fast fowarded through the last quarter of this film just 'cause I couldn't stand it any longer but wanted to see if there was some -- any -- redeeming quality about it. There wasn't.

Of course, if your ambition in life is to see about 30 seconds of Terry Bradshaw's bare behind bouncing around a room, then by all means, fritter away your time and money on this one.

Directed by Tom Dey.

Rated PG-13 for sexual content, partial nudity and language.

Smoke Signals (2005)

Poignant

I love little films. And Smoke Signals is a tender little film that was easy for me to love.

Despite his bitter resentment, 20-year-old Victor Joseph (Adam Beach) feels obligated to take his first trip away from northern Idaho's Coeur d'Alene Restervation to retrieve the ashes of his long absent father, Arnold, who died in Arizona.

Though Victor and his mother Arlene (Tantoo Cardinal) have no money, his nerdy childhood friend and budding tribal storyteller Thomas Builds-the-Fire (Evan Adams) offers his savings to Victor for the bus trip to Arizona if Thomas can tag along. After all, Victor's father (Gary Farmer) had rescued baby Thomas from the home where Thomas' parents perished and Thomas felt Victor needed a companion for this emotionally difficult journey.

In the process, Victor learns much about himself and also about the complexities of his father and what drove Arnold to abandon his family long ago.

This little film, directed by Chris Eyre, was developed under the auspices of Robert Redford's Sundance Institute and was written, directed and co-produced by Native Americans.

I enjoyed seeing the traditions of the culture, the patterns and rhythm of speech, and the frequent drumming and vocalizations of Native America. The film is also imbuded with rich humor.

Rated PG-13 for some intense images.

---

viewed Jun-06

My May 2006 Viewings

Includes my personal ratings.
Recommended DVDs in bold.

Moonlighting 3:2 05/30/06 (B-)
Transamerica 05/26/06 (A-)
The Producers (1968) 05/23/06 (B)
Seducing Doctor Lewis 05/22/06 (A-)
Last Holiday 05/16/06 (B)
Capote 05/12/06 (A)
The Producers (2005) 05/10/06 (C-)
Moonlighting 3:1 05/08/06 (B-)
The Ice Harvest 05/01/06 (B)

Seducing Dr. Lewis (2005)

Small Film Big Quirks

A failing French-Canadian fishing village (population 120) must find a doctor to practice in their town if they are to have any chance at wooing a big company to build a plant in their tiny community.

They succeed in luring a young doctor from Quebec to spend a month to see if he will decide to stay on. Aware of the quirks and foibles and assorted oddities of the village, they set about to change their ways to impress him.

That means these hulky former fisherman who love hockey have to aquire a taste for cricket -- or at least learn enough about it to help seduce Dr. Lewis (David Boutin). Some of those scenes, directed by Jean-François Pouliot, are hysterically funny.

They put the young doctor up in the "best" home in town -- the "modern" home owned by the bank clerk (who is often reminded that he can be replaced by a bank machine from the big city). The bank clerk and his family find other lodging for the month and the village women monitor the doctor's phone calls to his girlfriend and best guy friend to find out what the doctor likes (beef stoganoff) and what he doesn't like so they village people can either make sure he finds things he likes in the village or things are changed to suit him.

It's utterly charming and I highly recommend it! But I'll warn you -- don't take your eyes off the screen because there are so many wonderfully subtle things you don't want to miss.

Since this is a French-Canadian film, the dialague is in French with English subtitles. But it's worth the effort. I promise.

Not rated by MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America).

---

viewed May-2006

Last Holiday (2006)

The Thoroughly Engaging Ms. Latifah

This remake of a 1950s Alec Guiness film, brings us a woman instead of a man who is diagnosed with a fatal illness and given only weeks to live.

Georgia Byrd (Queen Latifa) quits her job, liquidates her 401-K, and leaves New Orleans for a huge fling at a posh resort in the mountains of Europe that she'd read about in magazines. There she emerges from her dowdy appearance into a smashingly attractive, self-confident woman, determined to enjoy her last days to the hilt. And she does!

A cute film despite its predictability -- and Queen Latifah is so utterly charming and adorable it's hard to dislike.

Costars include: L. L. Cool J, Alicia Witt, Giancarlo Esposito, Gérard Depardieu, Michael Nouri, Timothy Hutton.

Makes me want to see the original version now.

Directed by Wayne Wang.

Rated PG-13 for some sexual reference.

Capote (2006)

Capote Inhabits Hoffman!

I was bowled over by Philip Seymour Hoffman's portrayal of Capote. He was masterful and had every detail of Truman Capote's quirky mannerisms and fine nuances. He truly deserved his Oscar for this role!

The film covers the seven-year period of Capote's life when he was researching and writing In Cold Blood.

Clifton Collins, Jr. is thoroughly convincing as the disturbed young murderer, Perry Smith, while Chris Cooper plays the role of Alvin Dewey (the Kansas Bureau of Investigation agent who was primarily responsible for breaking the case) with a certain remoteness and sharp eye on Capote's motives.

Catherine Keener is fascinating as Capote's dear friend Harper Lee (whose own novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, is soon to hit the market) as she accompanies Capote on some of his research trips to Kansas and lends him an ear back in NYC.

Directed by Bennett Miller.

Like actor Chris Cooper, this film struck close to me personally as we were both children and teens during this seven-year period and lived in the Kansas City area. We both well remember when the Clutter family was murdered in their farmhouse in rural Kansas, all the news coverage, the capture of the murderers, their trial, appeals, and eventual execution.

Rated R for some violent images and brief strong language.

My personal rating: A.

My April 2006 Viewings

Includes my personal ratings.
Recommended DVDs in bold.

Six Feet Under 5:5 04/27/06 (C+)
Shopgirl 04/26/06 (B-)
Breakfast on Pluto 04/24/06 (B-)
Six Feet Under 5:4 04/24/06 (C+)
Mrs. Henderson Presents 04/20/06 (B)
The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio 04/18/06 (B-)
Bee Season 04/17/06 (C)
Six Feet Under 5:3 04/14/06 (C+)
Six Feet Under 5:2 04/12/06 (C+)
Six Feet Under 5:1 04/04/06 (C+)
French Kiss 04/03/06 (C+)

Shopgirl (2006)

A Certain Tenderness

Wealthy, middle-aged Ray (Steve Martin) becomes the suitor of a young store clerk, Mirabelle (Claire Danes), who feels isolated and purposeless selling gloves in an expensive clothing store.

Eventually she longs for more commitment than Ray can give her and meets the penniless but sincere Jeremy (Jason Schwartzman). She wonders if it's time to give up one man for the other.

This is a bittersweet story flawed with some slow pacing and a fairly predictable ending, but there were some warm and rich sequences. I enjoyed it considerably more than the similar Lost in Translation.

From a novella by Steve Martin and directed by Anand Tucker.

Rated R for some sexual content and brief language.

My personal rating: B-.

Mrs. Henderson Presents (2006)

Sweet, Charming and Poignant

Laura Henderson (Judi Dench) is an unconvential socialite widow who launches into creating a live theatre venue in London in the 1930s. She hires a manager for the theater (Bob Hoskins) and off they go, approaching WWII.

It doesn't take long for their Windmill theatre to become a nude review -- but all done very tastefully -- frequently patronized by the young men going off to war.

Dame Judi was marvelous in this film. Hoskins was even better! Apparently Hoskins worked for years to bring this true story to the screen. He remembers Mrs. Henderson's live review from when he was a boy in London during the War.

Christopher Guest is charmingly funny as Lord Crommer who must grant Mrs. Henderson a permit to operate.

At the end of the film, many of the surviving women who worked at The Windmill -- now in their mid-80s and older -- appear.

Directed by Stephen Frears.

Rated R for nudity and brief language.

The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio (2006)

A Little Sweet A Lot of Sappy

I'd listened to the abridged version of The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio on audiobook last year and was eager to see the film. It didn't disappoint and it fleshed out the whole true biography even more.

Evelyn Ryan (Julianne Moore) becomes very resourceful in supporting her large family in the 1950s. Her husband (Woody Harrelson) is an alcoholic and makes meager wages, but Mom writes jingle after jingle in the hey-day of jingle-writing to win money, cars, food, a freezer, whatever her family needs or can sell for fast and much needed cash.

It's a well done little film and had the added treat of showing the real Evelyn Ryan's children -- now AARP-eligible! -- in the last scenes as they reminisce about their Mom.

Director Jane Anderson used an interesting technique for enriching the story by having the Evelyn Ryan character weave throughout story as somewhat of a spectator/narrator.

Laura Dern appears as Evelyn Ryan's trusted friend.

Rated PG-13 thematic elements, some disturbing images and language.

My personal rating: B-

Bee Season (2005)

As a wife withdraws into herself and the marriage falls apart, a man helps his 11-year-old daughter prepare for a spelling bee.

Richard Gere, Juliette Binoche, Flora Cross, Max Minghella, Kate Bosworth.

Directed by Scott McGehee, David Siegel

Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, a scene of sensuality and brief strong language.

My personal rating: C

My March 2006 Viewings

Includes my personal ratings.
Recommended DVDs in bold.

Loggerheads 03/31/06 (C)
Moonlighting 1&2:6 03/29/06 (B)
The Squid and the Whale 03/28/06 (B-)
Elizabethtown 03/23/06 (C-)
The 40-Year-Old Virgin 03/22/06 (C)
Where the Truth Lies 03/09/06 (B-)
The Simian Line 03/08/06 (C)
North Country 03/03/06 (B)
Walk the Line 03/02/06 (B)
Sweet and Lowdown 03/01/06 (B+)

North Country (2006)

Righting Wrongs

Based on a true story, North Country tells the story of one formerly abused woman who has the courage to fight a large corporation and bring about the first class action suit for sexual harassment.

The setting is a mining town in northern Minnesota where women have been working as miners for a long time but the men perceive the woman as a threat to their jobs. The prevailing attitude is "women don't belong here" and the men take every opportunity to harass and embarass the women.

The women have silently endured the problem in an effort to just do their jobs and collect their pay which is much better than any other job they could get in that area. That is, until Josey (Charlize Theron) moves back to town and is determined to make a future for herself and her two children after she leaves an abusive relationship.

Josey is an embarassment to her father (Richard Jenkins) due to her having two illegimate children, her desire to work at the mine, and her outspokenness about the wrongs perpetrated against women at the minew where he also works. Sissy Spacek plays Josey's loving and encouraging mother.

But Josey is determined to stop the wrong and is aided by Glory (Frances McDormand), the only female union rep at the mine, and a local lawyer (Woody Harrelson) who is not only sympathetic to the women's plight but also views this as a precedent-setting case.

Directed by Niki Caro.

Rated R for sequences involving sexual harassment including violence and dialogue, and for language.

---

viewed Mar-2006

My February 2006 Viewings

Includes my personal ratings.
Recommended DVDs in bold.

Separate Lies 02/27/06
Love Liza 02/27/06
The Weather Man 02/23/06 (D)
Word Wars 02/23/06 (C+)
Nine Lives 02/17/06
Sleepers 02/14/06 (A-)
The Hollywood Sign 02/09/06
Lemon Sky 02/02/06 (B-)

The Weather Man (2006)

The Forecast Is Bleak

The Weather Man should be retitled to Angst in Chicago -or- How Many Pained Facial Expressions Can Nicolas Cage Make?

I was in hopes this would be a good film but it was just too painful to watch a couple of good actors wasted in this rubbish.

Nicolas Cage plays a weatherman in Chicago but he isn't really trained for it and doesn't really like his job. He's lost his wife (Hope Davis) and has unrealistic expectations that it can be made right again. His two young teenage children are seriously messed up. He's a vast disappointment to his father (Michael Caine).

He is regularly pelted with fast food as he walks down the Chicago streets. He's in serious need of anger management therapy. He's chronically depressed and at a loss as to what he can do to make himself and those around him happy. And he just landed a job as the weatherman on a national morning news show out of NYC.

I was tempted to just give up on it several times but stuck with it to the end hoping the film would redeem itself. It didn't. Don't get me wrong. I appreciate dark humor and love movies with a warp but this doesn't pass either test.

Directed by Gore Verbinski.

Rated R for strong language and sexual content.

---

viewed Feb-2006

Sleepers (1997)

Quality Cast, Gripping Story, Terrific Music

Four young boys are growing up in the mid-1960's in NYC's Hell's Kitchen. The boys -- Shakes (Joseph Perrino), Michael (Brad Renfro), John (Geoffrey Wigdor) and Tommy (Jonathan Tucker) -- aren't really bad boys, just kids living in a rough neighborhood. They fall under the influence of the 'hood's Mafia leader, King Benny (Vittorio Gassman) but also have a solid friendship with their neighborhood priest, Father Bobby (Robert De Niro).

When they're 14, a foolish prank costs an innocent man his life and they're sent away to reform school where they immediately become targets for the loathesome Sean Nokes (Kevin Bacon), a brutal guard who is the ringleader of a group of guards who molest and beat the boys.

Thirteen years later, all grown up, Tommy (Billy Crudup) and John (Ron Eldard) are Hell's Kitchen thugs while Shakes (Jason Patric) is a low-level newspaper employee and Michael (Brad Pitt) is an assistant district attorney. Their childhood friend Carol (Minnie Driver), now a social worker, is still loyal to all of them.

When Tommy and John encounter the despicable Sean Nokes dining at a local bar and grill, they take the opportunity to exact revenge upon him by murdering him in cold blood -- with four witnesses present.

Shakes and Michael conspire and hatch a plan to not only get Tommy and John off but also to take revenge on the other guards who Sean Nokes lead to ravage the boys when they were young.

While Michael arranges to take on the case to prosecute Tommy and John, King Benny hires an alcoholic, loser attorney (Dustin Hoffman) to defend the boys.

Will the plan work? Will Father Bobby aid the cause?

A masterful ensemble of actors. Directed by Barry Levinson who is known for his films about male bonding (Diner, Tin Men, Avalon, Rain Man). Fabulous music from the '60s and '70s. Haunting sets and cinematography

Bruno Kirby appears as Shakes' alcoholic father.

I highly recommend this one if you can handle the intensity. Be warned that it is long but can easily be viewed in two sections -- when the boys are young and then when they've grown up.

Two-disc set.

Rated R for language, graphic violence and two scenes of strong sexual content.

---

viewed Feb-2006

Normal (2003)

Acceptance

What a tender, brave film.

Small town folks Irma (Jessica Lange) and Roy (Tom Wilkinson) Applewood, a devoted couple, have just celebrated their 25th anniversary when Roy faces the reality that he's has been hiding a huge secret all his life. He's a trans-sexual who desperately wants gender reassignment treatment and surgery.

In the process of coming to terms with this, they need to deal with their pubescent daughter (Hayden Panettiere), grown son (Joe Sikora), Roy's judgemental coworkers at the farm implement plant, and the intolerant rural church congregation who previously had adored and respected Irma and Roy.

The amazing nuances in Wilkinson's protrayal of Roy transforming himself into Ruth are incredibly powerful as is Lange's Irma who was at first shell-shocked, then confused and angry, and finally to the ultimate acceptance and return to loving this human being who she has shared so much with all her adult life.

The simplicity of the cinematography allows the story to be perfectly told through the very skins of Lange and Wilkinson.

Directed for HBO by Jane Anderson.

My personal rating: A

My January 2006 Viewings

Includes my personal ratins.
Recommended DVDs in bold.

Broken Flowers 01/30/06
Bowfinger 01/27/06 (B-)
Junebug 01/23/06 (B+)
Strangers in Good Company 01/16/06
A Love Song for Bobby Long 01/11/06 (A-)
Me and You and Everyone We Know 01/09/06
Fever Pitch 01/05/06
Curb Your Enthusiasm 1:2 01/03/06 (B)

Junebug (2005)

A Poignant and Bittersweet Story of Family

Chicago art dealer Madeleine (Embeth Davidtz) has the opportunity to sign up a Southern primitive artist so she and her new husband George (Alessandro Nivola) take the trip as a chance for Madeleine to also meet George's family for the first time.

Though the sophisticated Madeleine is very sweet and not the least bit uppity, she isn't quite prepared for the doings and expectations of this Southern family.

George's mother Peg (Celia Weston) is a strong and judgemental woman while his father Eugene (Scott Wilson) is mostly withdrawn into silence and shadow. George's bubbly, young, and very pregnant sister-in-law Ashley (Amy Adams) is an enthusiastic, loving, supportive, optimistic little button who is thrilled to have another younger woman in the house to talk with.
Ashley's husband, George's brother Johnny (Ben McKenzie), is unmotivated and bitter about being stuck living with his parents, being married and expecting a baby any day.

I appreciate that director Phil Morrison did not portray the Southern family as bumpkins nor the worldly Madeleine as snobbish. They all end up learning valuable life lessons from each other in one way or another.

Rated R for sexual content and language.

---

viewed Jan-2006

My December 2005 Viewings

Includes my personal ratings.
Recommended DVDs in bold.

Surviving Christmas 12/30/05
The Ugly Dachshund 12/28/05 (B-)
Good Neighbor 1-3:3 12/27/05 (B)
Curb Your Enthusiasm 1:1 12/20/05 (B)
Bewitched 12/19/05 (D)
Super Size Me 12/13/05 (C)
Cheaper by the Dozen 12/06/05 (C)
The Pledge 12/06/05
Mr. and Mrs. Smith 12/02/05 (B)
March of the Penguins 12/02/05 (B-)

My November 2005 Viewings

Includes my personal ratings.
Recommended DVDs in bold.

Good Neighbors 1-3:2 11/29/05 (B)
Death Becomes Her 11/28/05
It's Easier for a Camel 11/21/05
Little Voice 11/21/05 (B)
Napoleon Dynamite 11/15/05 (B)
A Walk in the Clouds 11/14/05 (B)
Melinda and Melinda 11/10/05 (C)
Simple Twist of Fate 11/08/05
Jack and Sarah 11/07/05
The Last of the Blonde Bombshells 11/03/05 (C+)
Millions 11/03/05 (B)

My October 2005 Viewings

Includes my personal ratings.
Recommended DVDs in bold.

CSI 4:4 10/31/05 (C+)
Crash 10/25/05 (A)
Good Neighbors 1-3:1 10/24/05 (B)
Palindromes 10/21/05
Empire Falls Part 1 10/17/05 (B)
Empire Falls Part 2 10/17/05 (B)
Jiminy Glick in La La Wood 10/13/05 (D)
House of D 10/12/05 (C)

Crash (2005)

Powerful Intense Compelling

Over the span of 36 hours, several people come in dramatic contact with each other and their lives are changed forever. These humans crash with each other in ways that make us all see how prejudice, ignorance, and misunderstanding affect our very lives.

A superb film to watch to study filmmaking, too -- fascinating juxtapositions, segues, camera angles, lighting, and nuances.

Outstanding musical score gives a real pulse to the story.

Cast includes: Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Jennifer Esposito, William Fichtner, Brendan Fraser, Terrence Dashon Howard, Ludacris, Thandie Newton, David K, Ryan Phillippe, Tony Danza and Bruno Kirby's father.

Written and directed by Paul Haggis (who also wrote the fabulous Million Dollar Baby).

Rated R for language, sexual content and some violence.

---

viewed Oct-2005

Empire Falls (2005)

Superb Cast

Miles Roby (Ed Harris) is a rather timid restaurant manager in Empire Falls, Maine. The restaurant is owned by the wealthiest woman in town (Joanne Woodward) who is heavily into power and control.

Miles is trying his hardest to get his life in order while also dealing with his ne'er do well father (a wonderfully scruffy Paul Newman) and his obnoxious ex-wife (Helen Hunt) who left Miles for an equally obnoxious gym owner (Dennis Farina). He's dedicated to his teen daughter Tick (Danielle Panabaker) who is trying to untangle from a controlling, obnoxious boyfriend Zack (Trevor Morgan). Zack's father is the controlling, obnoxious cop Jimmy Minty (William Fichtner) who is set to make Miles Roby's life uncomfortable. In the meantime, Tick befriends John, a sadly disturbed classmate (Lou Taylor Pucci) who is harassed constantly by Zack.

See a trend here about Miles and Tick's need to free themselves of controlling, obnoxious people?

Miles' ex-mother-in-law Bea (Estelle Parsons) and long-time waitress Charlene (Theresa Russell) are his biggest supporters while his brother David (Aidan Quinn) tries to support him but also has his own issues to work around.

Throughout the story, Miles' deceased mother (Robin Wright Penn) and her paramour (Philip Seymour Hoffman) appear in flashbacks that fill in details of Miles' life and the history of Empire Falls.

A two-DVD set; an HBO mini-series, directed by Fred Schepisi.

My personal rating: B

My September 2005 Viewings

Includes my personal ratings.
Recommended DVDs in bold.

Taxi 2:3 09/08/05 (B)
Sordid Lives 09/08/05
Six Feet Under 4:5 09/06/05 (C+)

My August 2005 Viewings

Includes my personal ratings.
Recommended DVDs in bold.

Six Feet Under 4:4 08/31/05 (C+)
Six Feet Under 4:3 08/30/05 (C+)
Six Feet Under 4:2 08/29/05 (C+)
Six Feet Under 4:1 08/26/05 (C+)
Always 08/25/05
Taxi 2:2 08/23/05 (B)
Taxi 1:3 08/22/05 (B)
Grand Canyon 08/19/05 (B)
An Everlasting Piece 08/16/05
Moonlighting 1&2:5 08/15/05 (B-)
The Clearing 08/09/05 (B)
CSI 3:5 08/08/05 (C+)
Moonlighting 1&2:4 08/05/05 (B-)
The Upside of Anger 08/03/05 (B)
Monk 3:4 08/01/05 (B)

My July 2005 Viewings

Includes my personal ratings.
Recommended DVDs in bold.

Moonlighting 1&2:3 07/27/05 (B-)
Around the Bend 07/26/05 (B)
Serendipity 07/25/05 (C+)
The Five People You Meet in Heaven 07/22/05 (C)
Monk 3:3 07/22/05 (B)
Kinsey 07/18/05 (B)
Monk 3:2 07/18/05 (B)
Rare Birds 07/14/05 (C+)
Million Dollar Baby 07/14/05 (A)
Monk 3:1 07/11/05 (B)
Moonlighting 1&2:2 07/11/05 (B)
Taxi 1:2 07/11/05 (B)CSI 4:2 07/06/05 (C+)
White Oleander 07/05/05 (B-)

Around the Bend (2005)

Life, Death, and Kentucky Fried Chicken

This is the story of four generations of Lair men: Michael Caine as the patriarch, Christopher Walken as his son, Josh Lucas as his grandson, and young Jonah Bobo as his great-grandson. It's a funny / tender / sad / poignant tale of cycles / rituals / obligations / family / life / death / KFC.

Can the Lairs relationships be salvaged after decades of poor communication and failed expectations?

Fabulous sound track with the talent of Warren Zevon, Tom Waits, Leon Russell, Bob Dylan, Fleetwood Mac, Harry Nilsson and others.

Favorite line from the film: "Some of us are more broken than others."

Directed by Jordan Roberts.

Rated R for language.

My personal rating: B.

Rare Birds (2001)

When All Fails, Make Omelets

William Hurt is such an odd, brooding dude, but I've enjoyed him in so many different movies that I tried this one. Hurt plays Dave, a chef/restaurateur in a very isolated area on Newfoundland's coast.

Though Dave is not divorced, the marriage is as cragy as his own backyard and his wife (Vicky Hynes) has moved to Washington, DC.

His restaurant, The Auk, is failing badly -- so badly that he doesn't even bother to cook anything because he knows no one is coming anyhow.

His friend 'Phonse (Andy Jones) hatches a plan to boost business by claiming the sighting of a near extinct duck in the wild waters down rocky crags from the restaurant. One thing turns into another -- including a stash of cocaine, a recreational submarine, and a beguiling waitress (Molly Parker) -- and it gets pretty convoluted but still wryly funny.

Hurt remains brooding to the end but I mostly enjoyed this film.

Director: Sturla Gunnarsson. This Canadian film was shot in Newfoundland.

Rated R for language and drug use.

My June 2005 Viewings

Includes my personal ratings.
Recommended DVDs in bold.

Moonlighting 1&2:1 06/30/05 (B)
Six Feet Under 3:5 06/27/05 (B-)
One True Thing 06/27/05
State and Main 06/24/05 (C+)
Six Feet Under 3:4 06/21/05 (B-)
Outside Providence 06/20/05
Six Feet Under 3:3 06/14/05 (B-)
Things You Can Tell Just By Looking at Her 06/14/05
Beyond the Sea 06/13/05 (B)
CSI 4:1 06/07/05 (C+)
A Thousand Acres 06/06/05 (B-)
Hanging Up 06/06/05
The Life & Death of Peter Sellers 06/01/05 (C)
The Royal Tenenbaums 06/01/05 (B-)
Six Feet Under 3:2 06/01/05 (B-)

The Royal Tenenbaums (1996)

Dissecting Dysfunction

The Tenenbaum's -- Royal (Gene Hackman) and Etheline (Anjelica Huston) -- are a long-separated couple who never divorced. Their three children were proteges in their childhood years -- a financial wizard, a playwright and a tennis pro.

But, as the narrator (Alec Baldwin) says: "All memory of the brilliance of the young Tenenbaums has been erased by two decades of betrayal, failure, and disaster."

The oldest son, Chas (Ben Stiller), becomes neurotic. The daughter, Margot (Gwyneth Paltrow), becomes psychotic. And the youngest son, Richie (Luke Wilson), isolates himself.

The three grew up next door to Eli Cash (Owen Wilson, who also co-wrote the script), a full-of-himself author who gets terrible reviews. He weaves throughout the story.

Though the thought of these three lost souls sounds like it will be a sad film, it is, in fact, quite full of humor, albeit bizarre at times and with its own unique poignancy.

When the scoundrel Royal finds out sweet Etheline is seriously dating (Danny Glover), he wants to worm his way back into the family.

Terrific soundtrack: "Hey, Jude", Jackson Brown's "These Days," Bob Dylan's "Wigwam," Paul Simon's "Me and Julio," and several classical pieces.

A very interesting study of the dysfunctional family dynamic -- with a twist. Directed by Wes Anderson.

Rated R for some language, sexuality/nudity and drug content.

My personal rating: B

My May 2005 Viewings

Includes my personal ratings.
Recommended DVDs in bold.

The Aviator 05/27/05 (A)
The Big Kahuna 05/27/05 (C+)
Ocean's Twelve 05/24/05 (B-)
Six Feet Under 3:1 05/23/05 (C+)
In Good Company 05/23/05
Taxi 1:1 05/20/05 (B)
Alfie (1966) 05/19/05 (B)
Interstate 60 05/17/05 (D)
Racing Stripes 05/17/05 (B-)
Garden State 05/09/05
Alfie (2004) 05/02/05 (C)
Six Feet Under 2:5 05/02/05 (B-)

Alfie (1966)

.
Michael Caine is Alfie!

This quintessential '60s film actually holds up better than many from that era.

A swinging young Englishman lives for sex. He has any number of "birds" and loves his swinging lifestyle. His true mettle is tested when he finds he's fathered a child.

Also starring Shelley Winters, Millicent Martin. Julia Foster, Jane Asher, Shirley Anne Field, Vivien Merchant, Eleanor Bron, Denholm Elliott.

Directed by Lewis Gilbert.

Run time: 1 hour, 56 minutes

My personal rating: B

Alfie (2004)

Thirty-eight years later, this is a pretty good remake of the original Alfie (reviewed elsewhere on this blog).

Jude Law is the Cockney womanizer with a cast including Renée Taylor. Jane Krakowski, Marisa Tomei, Kevin Rahm, Omar Epps, Nia Long, Tara Summers.

Directed by Charles Shyer.

Run time: 1 hr, 43 minutes.

Rated R for sexual content, some language and drug use.

My personal rating: B-

My April 2005 Viewings

Includes my personal ratings.
Recommended DVDs in bold.

Box of Moonlight 04/29/05
Six Feet Under 2:4 04/26/05 (B-)
Meet the Fockers 04/26/05 (B-)
The Woodsman 04/20/05 (A-)
Spanglish 04/18/05 (C-)
The Brothers McMullen 04/13/05 (C)
Six Feet Under 2:2 04/06/05 (B-)
Vera Drake 04/04/05 (A-)
Ray 04/04/05 (B)

My March 2005 Viewings

Includes my personal ratings.
Recommended DVDs in bold.

Closer 03/31/05
Being Julia 03/29/05 (C+)
Finding Neverland 03/28/05 (B-)
Six Feet Under 2:1 03/28/05 (B-)
Seinfeld 1&2:3 03/22/05 (B)
Flirting with Disaster 03/22/05
Eulogy 03/22/05
Election 03/18/05
CSI 3:3 03/15/05 (C)
View from the Top 03/15/05
Stealing Sinatra 03/11/05 (C)
Adaptation 03/02/05

My February 2005 Viewings

Recommended DVDs marked with *. Underlined titles link to review.

* Six Feet Under 1:4 02/28/05 (B-)
I Heart Huckabees 02/28/05 (C-)
Everyone Says I Love You 02/22/05
* Monk 2:3 02/22/05 (B)
* Six Feet Under 1:3 02/21/05 (B)
Hope Floats 02/15/05
Life or Something Like It 02/15/05
* Kill Bill: Vol. 2 02/14/05 (B+)
* Six Feet Under 1:2 02/09/05 (B)
* One Hour Photo 02/08/05 (B)
Home Fries 02/08/05
House of the Spirits 02/04/05
You Can Count on Me 02/04/05

13/23/182

My January 2005 Viewings

Recommended DVDs marked with *. Underlined titles link to review.

* Monk 2:2 01/31/05 (B)
* Six Feet Under 1:1 01/27/05 (B)
Zoolander 01/25/05 (F)
Swimming with Sharks 01/24/05
Punch-Drunk Love 01/20/05 (D)
* Monk 2:1 01/20/05 (B)
The Dinner Game 01/14/05
Thomas in Love 01/11/05
* Seinfeld 1&2:2 01/11/05 (B)
Meet the Parents 01/03/05 (B-)

10/10/169

My December 2004 Viewings

Recommended DVDs marked with *. Underlined titles link to reviews.

* De-Lovely 12/31/04 (B)
Phenomenon 12/23/04
* Seinfeld 1&2:1 12/22/04 (B)
The Big Lebowski 12/21/04 (B-)
Shine 12/16/04 (B-)
* The Shipping News 12/16/04 (B)
Coffee and Cigarettes 12/14/04 (B-)
* The Terminal 12/03/04 (A)
The Horse in the Gray Flannel Suit 12/03/04 (C)

9/159/159

The Big Lebowski (1998)

.
Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Flea, John Turturro, Sam Elliott, Ben Gazzara, Jon Polito.

Written and directed by Ethan Coen and Joel Coen

My personal rating: B-

The Terminal (2004)

Amelia: Are you coming or going?

Viktor: I don't know. Both.

When Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks) lands at JFK Airport, he discovers that he is a man without a country. In the time it took him to fly abroad, his small Eastern European homeland has endured a coup and his passport and visa are no longer valid. The airport manager (Stanley Tucci) is a stickler for the rules and requires that Viktor remains at the airport until the matter is settled.

Hours turn into days and days turn into months. The ingenous Viktor learns to live in the airport, learn English, makes work for himself, makes friends with the airport employees and even falls in love with Amelia Warren (Catherine Zeta-Jones).

A charming tale of surviving with grace and humor.

Directed by Steven Spielberg.

Run time: 2 hours, 8 minutes

Rated PG-13 for brief language and drug references.

My personal rating: A

My November 2004 Viewings

Recommended DVDs marked with *. Underlined titles are links to review.

Something to Talk About 11/22/04
Never Again 11/22/04
* Midnight Cowboy 11/19/04 (A)
The Stepford Wives 11/16/04 (C+)
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen 11/12/04
Saved! 11/12/04 (C)
13 Going on 30 11/08/04
Kate & Leopold 11/05/04 (C)
* All That Jazz 11/03/04 -(A)
Duplex 11/03/04

10/150/150

All That Jazz (1979)

Based on Bob Fosse's own life as a Broadway choreographer.

Roy Scheider, Jessica Lange, Ann Reinking, Ben Vereen, Michael Tolan, John Lithgow. Sandahl Bergman

Directed by Bob Fosse.

My personal rating: A-

My October 2004 Viewings

Recommended DVDs marked with *. Underlined titles are links to review.

* Waking Ned Devine 10/29/04 (B+)
* Noises Off! 10/25/04 (B+)
The Day After Tomorrow 10/25/04
Jeff Foxworthy: You Might Be a Redneck/Check Your Neck 10/21/04 (C+)
* Chicago 10/20/04 (B)
About a Boy 10/15/04
Hidalgo 10/13/04 (C)
Fahrenheit 9/11 10/13/04 (C+)
* What's Eating Gilbert Grape 10/08/04 (B)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 10/04/04 (C-)
Mystery, Alaska 10/01/04
The Whole Nine Yards 10/01/04 (C+)

12/140/140

Waking Ned Devine (1998)

Waking the Dead

The hamlet of Tullymore, Ireland (pop. 53), has a problem. One of their residents, Ned Devine, has won the national lottery and a huge amount of money is his to claim.

The problem? Ned Devine has died, gripping the winning lottery ticket in his cold fist.

Jackie O'Shea (Ian Bannen) solicits his friends Michael O'Sullivan (David Kelly) to assume Ned's identity and involves his own wife Annie O'Shea (Fionnula Flanagan) and villagers, Maggie (Susan Lynch), Pig Finn (James Nesbitt) and others in an attempt to fool the Lotto official (Brendan F. Dempsey) who comes to investigate the claim of the winner.

Can they pull it off? Can they lay claim to nearly 7 million pounds to split amongst themselves?

What results is a somewhat madcap adventure in deceit that seems near exploding at any moment.

Great fun, directed by Kirk Jones.

Rated PG for nudity, language and thematic elements.

My personal rating: B.

My September 2004 Viewings

Recommended DVDs marked with *. Underlined titles are links to review.

Hammers Over the Anvil 09/27/04
CSI 3:2 09/24/04
* Ocean's Eleven 09/21/04 (B)
CSI 3:1 09/17/04
* Canadian Bacon 09/15/04 (B)
Tortilla Soup 09/07/04
* The Big Easy 09/01/04

7/128/128

My August 2004 Viewings

Recommended DVDs marked with *. Underlined titles are links to review.

Suspect 08/31/04
CSI 2:6 08/30/04
CSI 2:5 08/26/04
CSI 2:4 08/26/04
Secret Window 08/24/04
* Northern Exposure 1:2 08/23/04 (B)
Exit to Eden 08/19/04
CSI 2:3 08/18/04
* Merci Pour Le Chocolat 08/17/04 (B)
* Northern Exposure 1:1 08/16/04 (B)
CSI 2:2 08/12/04
Waiting for Guffman 08/12/04
* The Impostors 08/09/04 (B)
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood 08/09/04
* Amelie 08/05/04 (B)
Innocence 08/03/04
CSI 1:6 08/02/04

17/121/121

The Impostors (1999)

Quirky Zany Frenzied

If you enjoy madcap romps like It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way the Forum, Noises Off, Some Like It Hot, almost anything by Mel Brooks, the Road To... movies with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby, Laurel and Hardy, and the Marx Brothers, you’ll probably get a kick out of this one.

The film starts in NYC in the 1930s with two out-of-work actors (Stanley Tucci, Oliver Platt) practicing for roles they’ll never get and trying to scam food. When they insult a pretentious Shakespearean actor Sir Jeremy Burtom (Alfred Molina), they find themselves running for their lives and hiding on board a ship. When they wake up in the morning, the ship – an ocean liner – is preparing to debark.

Of course they’re not going to get off the ship in time because they’ve got big work to do coming face to face again with the pompous actor plus a Nazi ship’s staff director (Scott Campbell), the compassionate and lovely social director (Lili Taylor), a Russian terrorist (Tony Shalhoub), the ship’s lovelorn captain (Richard Jenkins), a deposed queen (Isabella Rossellini), an endangered sheik (Teagle F. Bougere), an impoverished grande dame (Dana Ivey, who flat out startled me in her similarity to Maggie Smith), and her plain and shy daughter (Hope Davis), an egocentric gay athlete (Billy Connolly), a suicidal singer (Steve Buscemi), a neurotic casting agent (Woody Allen), and several others.

Whew! All that in under two hours!

Written, produced and directed by Stanley Tucci.

Rated R for some language.

My personal rating: B

Amélie(2001)

Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain

Amélie's purpose in life is to make others happy.

Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Yolande Moreau.

Co-written and directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet.

Subtitles.

Rated R for sexual content.

My personal rating: B

My July 2004 Viewings

Recommended DVDs marked with *. Underlined titles are links to reviews.

The Freshman 07/30/04
Donnie Darko 07/26/04
* White 07/23/04 (B)
The Life of David Gale 07/20/04
Hope Springs 07/19/04
The Castle 07/19/04
CSI 1:5 07/15/04 (B-)
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song 07/12/04 (C+)
* Monsieur Ibrahim 07/09/04 (B)
* Red 07/07/04 (B)
* Monk 1:3 07/07/04 (B)
The Other Sister 07/06/04 (C)
* The Magdalene Sisters 07/02/04 (A-)

13/104/104