The Good Shephard

"Tell me you love me."

1 Star

This movie sucked. In my opinion. It wasn't on my list of movies to begin with. I don't care for government or political subjects too much.
For me it was really hard to follow. I can't even give you a good summary of the plot. I just couldn't follow it. I was asking my boyfriend what was going on throughout the film, and even he had to say, "I don't know. Just watch it."

An upstanding, sharp-minded Yale student, Edward Willson (Matt Damon) is recruited to work for the fledgling CIA during World War II. Though loyal to his country, Wilson begins to feel the job eroding his ideals, filling him with distrust and destroying his personal life.

I was pleased to see Bobby D. direct, and he did a good job. Angelina Jolie is in this too with her rat hands. Sorry. And so was John Turturro. He's such a good actor, I don't blame him for doing this film.
He got to work with Bobby D. for cryin' out loud. Yeah.

The DeNiro factor is the only thing that this movie's got. It was utterly forgettable. The only reason I remembered this quote is because it's context was so dumb. My boyfriend and I have been saying it to each other since the watching it, and it makes us laugh every time.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

"I'm not living with you!
We occupy the same cage, that's all."

3 Stars

I didn't plan to watch so many vintage movies this month, my queue just lined up that way. I do however remember putting this one on it.
My boyfriend gave me a great book by Elizabeth Taylor called My Love Affair with Jewelry. Her stories are so detailed, and through the book I really started to like Liz, and I wanted to see more of her movies. This one is supposed to be a classic so here goes.

A southern family celebrates the homecoming of their wealthy father "Big Daddy" (and they say that name constantly!) played by Burl Ives. Everyone is awaiting the news about his health. If Big Daddy croaks, someones gotta get the money. Brick, played by Paul Newman, who is obviously the favorite son has developed a drinking problem and everyone wants to know why. Including his wife Maggie the Cat, infamously played by Elizabeth Taylor. And Big Daddy's daughter has filled the house with her annoying kids that won't sit still, or shut-up!

I've seen her deliver the line "I feel like a cat on a hot tin roof!" a number of times, so I wasn't too impressed. (That's me with the hype again.) As the movie progressed I realized everyone in this movie feels like that. They just want to jump off!
The film has great monologues from everyone in the family letting it all hang out. I was crackin' up when Big Daddy was yelling at his wife. So funny.

The biggest blow out of the film is between Maggie, Brick, and Big Daddy. When it comes out why Brick is an alcoholic, my view of this movie drastically changed.
After a bad accident, Brick had to give up his career as a pro-football player. Sounds reasonable. But then we find out it's not football he's grieving it's his "best friend" Skipper. He goes on about how no one could ever know how much he cared for him.
I then remembered that this is written by Tennessee Williams. Wasn't he gay? Yup.
I started to watch the film now with the impression that Brick is gay. Very well written.

From the beginning the family is on Maggie's case because she's not pregnant yet. Then, he pours his heart out about his love for Skipper. Maggie complains that Skipper was more important to Brick than her.
When asked by Big Daddy why he drinks Brick answers, "I'm ashamed, Big Daddy. That's why I'm a drunk."

OOOoooo, how rrrandy!!

Paper Moon

"Now, eat your Coney Island."

5 Stars

I am really enjoying watching movies that I know absolutely nothing about. When Tatum O'Neil was on Dancing with the Stars last season, E! played her True Hollywood Story, and I got interested. They talked so much about Paper Moon, and how her life changed after the film.
So next day I put it in my Netflix queue, and here it is. No wonder why the country fell in love with this girl. She is so cute, smart, and sneaky, that I had to watch the film twice. I didn't want it to end.

We meet a young girl named Addie (Tatum) whose mother just passed and since she's never known her father the only family she's got left is her aunt who lives in another state. When Moses Pray (Ryan) comes to pay his respects at the funeral he is persuaded to deliver this girl to her aunt. Addie quickly figures out that this man is a con artist, and in her opinion not a very good one. Together they hustle the best of 'em.

There's one scam they pull a couple times, and it took me a some friends of mine a few viewings of it to really see what they were doing. Something like, "Can you change a $5?" turns into, "Look, I've got too many ones, can you just give me a five dollar bill?", turns into "Here, just give me a $10.". In the end, we figured out they make 5 bucks and some change ...I think. But now I'm really watching myself and others when giving out change.

I was also happy to see it was a depression era film. While these two were driving, they passed folks on the side of the road with all of their belongings, or just walking to nowhere with their families. It was like seeing the Joad family from The Grapes of Wrath making a cameo.

This film seemed timeless. It was so well made. I watched all the special features the disc offered. Directed by Peter Bogdanovich, he made good use of long seamless shots. He also made sure that everything in frame was in focus, the heightened depth of field really puts you in the movie.
He had a great antidote about working with Madeline Kahn, who has a role as Trixie Delight.
There is a line where she says, "Why don't you let Miss. Trixie sit up front with her big ole tits?"
Now, according to Bogdanovich during rehearsals she refused to say the word "tits". She just couldn't.
Right before shooting the scene, Bogdanovich whispers to her, "Come on, just say 'tits'.", and she did.
Playing the scene over he said when she chuckles, that's not Trixie that's Madeline. She was genuinely embarrassed that she said it. It's very cute. Funny thing though, later that night I watched History of the World : Part 1, where she deliverers the line, "My tits are falling off!". I guess she got over it.

Sex and Lucia

"- Soon you'll fall in love with me.
- I think I just did."

3 Stars

Oh my god!! If I wanted to watch porn I would have turned on my boyfriend's computer! Sheesh. Netflix has been recommending this movie to me for so long I finally gave in. It wasn't terrible, and yes, I read the title, but I really wasn't up for so much gratuitous sex.

Any plot summaries I read can't really explain this film. Unfortunately I don't think I can do any better but her goes. Lucia is a waitress who has been dating a writer named Lorenzo for a couple of years. His life takes a dark turn, and after his mysterious death Lucia retreats to the island that haunted Lorenzo for so long, perhaps hoping to discover his secret.
Yeah, that sounds good! And remember, it's all fun until someone gets pregnant.

And the plot was good. I enjoyed how the story weaved in and out of these peoples lives. It does get kind of confusing. As a viewer, I had to assume some things until they were revealed. I know this technique is used in some movies in order to tell the story, but I don't think that was the case in this film.

I was just really turned off by the amount of unnecessary sex scenes. Who sold this movie? "We'll show everything, but penetration. It'll be hot." I'm so glad I wasn't in a movie theater for this one. The floors are sticky from soda alone, I could only imagine that screening.

10th & Wolf

"Can I stab you?"

2 Stars

Geeze this movie was dumb. But it did have Giovanni Ribisi in it, and he's on "My List", and it dealt with organized crime, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

From the same writer of Crash, comes the true story of 10th & Wolf. I thought that would give it a little credit. Tommy played by James Marsden (Who by the way is really going bald! I guess the X-Men set can afford to cover that up, but there may not have been the budget in this one for some hair flocking.). Tommy comes from a "connected" family. Parents are dead, so he and his younger brother are raised by his Aunt Tina (Lesley Ann Warren) and Uncle Matty (Dennis Hopper. Yup.). Tommy joins the Marines, gets thrown in the brig, and the Feds want to make a deal with him to turn in a big mafia guy, to save his cousin (Ribisi) to whom he is very close, and his brother.

This movie was very miscast. It's too bad. I really like Giovanni, but it seemed like he was doing an impression on Robert De Niro. Boy, what a head of hair on that kid! What can I say, I love the greasy look. Lesley Ann Warren. I really just don't like her. Val Kilmer has a cameo in this too, and he's terrible. Poor guy, he's desperate for work.
A couple actors were actually worth watching.

Brad Renfro as Vincent, Tommy's younger brother. He is sort of slow, and while his brother has been in Iraq he started in the family business. He really wants to prove himself, and Renfro did a great job. Look for him, he's going to be good with some time.

Also Piper Perabo is the Girl Around the Way that they all grew up with. She played something like a poor mans J-Lo, but she was refreshing to watch. You may know her best from Coyote Ugly. She did some good drama, and I'll be watching out for more of her as well.

Last, a surprising yet short role for Tommy Lee. No kidding. He played a mob guy that was really stupid.
The top quote is directed to him actually. I was happy for him! He did some great comic relief for the film. You go, Tommy.

As good as these few actors were, it wasn't enough to hold the movie. It was a drug/crime/mafia movie and it didn't even have a good times montage! Those are gold to me. For me you could make a whole 3 hour mafia movie with only good times montages, and a just a 10 minute finale of gunfire and violence, and I'm happy.

I know we have all had the TV movie or show that is terrible, but for some reason you just have to finish it, right? For me I got really stuck on this cheap TV movie with Stefanie Powers called Deceptions. I was tired and latched on to it, and for the life of me, I had to finish it before going to bed. The same syndrome occur ed with this one too.
Who knows why we do that?

The Bridges of Madison County

"This kind of certainty comes but once in a lifetime."

4 Stars

I never got around to seeing this movie. It was always billed as the quintessential "chick flick". And well, it was. But "chick flick" makes this movie sound cheap, and cheesy. This was well written, flawlessly acted, and painful all at once.

Housewife Francesca Johnson (Meryl Streep) gets four days to herself while her family is off at a state fair, and meets a passing stranger (Clint Eastwood) who is photographing the covered bridges of Iowa for National Geographic. As romance ensues this becomes four days that she will find herself obsessed with till the day she dies.

I love that this movie is told through Francesca after her death, and is slowly unfolded in journals for her grown children to discover. Yes, it is a love story, but it's also about the moment of discovery, I feel we all have at one point, that a mother is a woman. Just an individual woman, who had wants, disappointments, and the most hardest to grasp, sex! The son and daughter reading these accounts by their mother was great to watch. They got angry, they felt lied to, and then they accepted her. Forgave her. In her death, and through her story she was able to teach them her last life lesson. To love with everything you have.

I have a movie project which I touched on in my intro, that I am slowly working to see all Meryl Streep's films. She is just ...you know, I don't even have a word for how talented she is. There were a few scenes in this film, where through just her eyes you can hear everything she is thinking. How does she do that?!
Watching her hand on the car door, you just want to scream "Go! Go!". Even her hand is great at acting!

This movie felt the same to me as The Notebook. I was all ready for that to be violin strings, and the teary "I don't want to leave you." scene, but that movie wasn't like that either. Thanks mostly to Rachel McAdams who is a phenomenal young actress. Which brings me to my final thought, that these great performances make the difference between a "chick flick" and a really great movie.

The Perfect Storm

"Don't go Bobby, I got a bad feeling."

3.5 Stars

I've had this review on hold for a while, because I don't really have much to say about it. It was good, but again I think it was too hyped on me when it first came out, which is why I waited so long to see it. I was expecting too much.

In October 1991, a confluence of weather conditions combined to form a killer storm in the North Atlantic. Caught in the storm was the sword-fishing boat Andrea Gail and her crew. Magnificent foreshadowing and anticipation fill this true-life drama while minute details of the fishing boats, their gear and the weather are juxtaposed with this sea adventure.

This film was way over scored. The special effects were great on their own, but the music really was overkill. They should have just let the effects stand alone. I think that would have made a more genuinely dramatic story.

Considering all the names that were in it; George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg, Diane Lane, John C. Reilly, William Fichtner, it was kind of "eh". Too bad.

I've really got to start ignoring hype.

Plot summary courtesy of IMDb.com

The Queen

"Because as Prime Minister, I have nothing better to do."

3.5 Stars

For as many great reviews that I heard about this movie, I wasn't too impressed. I don't know what I was expecting, or wanted to see. But perhaps I was too hyped on it. Helen Mirren, no doubt deserved the recognition, and awards she received for this role. She's just perfect!

For that matter the whole cast was great! Michael Sheen is really headed for great things, he did a great job as Tony Blair. As did James Cromwell as Prince Phillip, Alex Jennings as Prince Charles, and Sylvia Syms as The Queen Mum.

I really enjoyed watching the goings on in the palace during the tragedy of Princess Diana, whether it's truth or fiction. The film did showcase the times of change. Sure there has been centuries of protocol and traditions in the monarchy, but when the people change should the rules change as well? That was pretty much the argument throughout.

For me it was really cool to watch a period piece and clearly remember living though it! I remember where I was when I heard she died. I remember watching the funeral service, and I remember watching The Queen's televised statement. I along with the nation, thought that it was cold, and perhaps too little, too late. Yet, because she broke her way of doing things, and what she saw as the correct political stand on the matter, she has been forgiven.

I keep going back and forth whether to give this a higher rating, but honestly it just didn't stick on me. I watched it, and left it. I wasn't even interested enough to watch any featurette on the disc, which for me is a sign to me that I can't give it up. All together it really was a quality film, when watching it you know you're in good hands.

Looking for Comedy in the Muslim World

"Write down that Polish jokes work everywhere."

3.5 Stars

I saw these previews months ago, and really made my mind up to pass.
I choose not to watch political or war movies, and already having the words "Muslim World" in the title turned me off.
Yet after some time passed I watched the preview again on a DVD, and it looked interesting. So I gave it a chance.

I always forget that I like Albert Brooks! He has a quiet, dry humor and I really like his timing.
I had this on while I was doing the dishes at home, and not really expecting anything more than a chuckle here and there, but I was laughing out loud!

In the film Albert Brooks plays himself, and has been chosen by the U.S. Government to travel to India and Pakistan to find out what makes them laugh. And yeah, what does make them laugh?
There's not too much of a plot. He has this cute Indian girl as an assistant, and we loosely get involved with her love life, but it doesn't really matter. Again I was doing the dishes and other small chores.
In other words I wasn't missing anything by leaving the room every once in a while.

This film is not for everyone. I personally found it hilarious! I watched the stand up routine scene twice.
He was performing in front of a packed house of Indian people, and got nothing. The funniest bomb I ever saw. If you're in the mood, you should give it a chance as well. Quiet funny ...but I tend to laugh loud.

The Grapes of Wrath

"Did they hurt 'cha?
Did they make ya mean mad?"

3.5 Stars

After watching Cinderella Man (A brilliant Ron Howard movie by the way.), and really getting involved with the HBO series Carnivale, I really wanted to see more footage of the depression. In history classes I was always intrigued by this period of American history.

On one of the featurettes on either Cinderella Man, or Carnivale I can't remember which, there was a ton of footage of Hoovervilles, soup lines, and the Dust Bowl, and I wanted to see more. Yet after looking around, I couldn't find any documentaries, or stock footage of the depression. If you know of any such films, can you please let me know? I've had a hell of a time looking.

So I figured the best place to start was with this classic film. Adapted from John Steinbeck's classic of the same name that tells the tale of the Joad family amid the crop failures, dust storms and poverty of the Dust Bowl. Seeking a better life, the family sets out for "Californie", the land of new opportunity. This heart-wrenching story shows the grim fate met by many as they traveled through the Dust Bowl on their journey West. Released in 1940, about 10 years after the stock market crash, and the very real Dust Bowl. So at the time, this film was probably very hard for people to watch.

Watching this film, I am reminded that acting has changed so much over time. The performances are almost theater like, but with more facial expressions because the audience will be able to see them up close.
The language, writing, and best of all the rhythm of their speech is great to watch and observe.

There are some great monologues in this film. A powerful scene in particular where a farmer named Muley Graves is given an eviction notice from the bank, and has fallen to his knees. While grabbing at the dirt beneath him and stroking it's grains in his hands, in a matter of seconds this proud land owning man's spirit is broken, and along with his family is now poor and homeless.

"There ain't nobody gonna push me off my land! My grandpa took up this land 70 years ago, my pa was born here, we were all born on it. And some of us was killed on it! ...and some of us died on it. That's what make it our'n, bein' born on it, ..and workin' on it, ..and dyin' on it! And not no piece of paper with writin' on it!"

Powerful.

As great as the writing was, and the performances, I still felt it was ...just missing something. Maybe I'm jaded by modern film making, but it just wasn't quite what I expected or was looking for.
I just don't understand why this period of our US history is overlooked. It's got to be the best American story ever! Broke, starving, homeless, and hopeless we came up. Like Ma Joad said, "We keep going. Cause we're the people."

Plot summary courtesy of Netflix