The Burial Society

"It was like a church. Only, for money.
It's where bad money came to be redeemed."

1 Star

To tell you the truth I didn't even finish this movie. It was so slow!

It takes so long to reveal the plot, and as a viewer I wasn't really sure what was the truth or fiction. I'm sure the director wanted it to be that way. He tried hard to mimic Memento.

A dark thriller about Sheldon Kasner, an unassuming bank employee at Hebrew National Bank, where no one seems to see how deserving he is of bigger things. So, he attempts to prove his worth by plunging neck-deep into the criminal world of money laundering. Unfortunately, the goons he's consorting with are playing for keeps, so he fakes his own death with the help of The Burial Society.

I got up the part where he's about to really pull it all off. The money, and the death. But I just didn't care about this character enough to keep wasting my time watching it. The music in the movie tries to build some sort of tension, but those feeling should come from the writing, not the score.

Booooo.

Plot summary courtesy of Netflix

Zodiac

"Who better than me?
'The Marked Man.'"

5 Stars

For having no real action scenes, this is one of the most exciting movies I have ever seen! I'm not too into the whole Zodiac phenom, but this movie had two elements that have me saying, "I'm in!".
1. It was shot in the Bay Area.
2. Directed by David Fincher!! Who also did Fight Club, Seven, and The Game which was also shot in the Bay Area.

This film recounts the murders, and the ongoing investigation of the Zodiac killer. Spans about three decades starting in the 60s. Focusing on the SF Chronicle where the Zodiac sent his creepy letters, and the cartoon artist played by Jake Gyllenho, who really wants to solve this case.

Within the first 15 minutes I am in love with Robert Downey Jr.. No one can deliver a line like he can. When he uttered the above quote, I was the only one laughing. Loved it! Also watch for a great scene of him and Gyllenho at the bar for the first time. Hi-larious!

I could feel how much research went into this film. Fincher's use of 911 calls are chilling, and fascinating.
One element I could do without, were the hour by hour text at the bottom of the screen. When you're dealing with years, and years of incidents it doesn't matter how many hours have passed since the last scene.

What a hard job these and other detectives have. I've scene enough Cold Case Files on A&E to know that an unsolved murder can haunt these men forever. Their marriages suffer, and personal relationships as well, and this was truly conveyed in the film.

I saw an interview with Gyllenho on Good Morning America during the press push for the movie. He made the observation that if only these cops just had cellphones the investigation would have gone smoother. As I was watching I realized he's right. Man, we've really become reliant on technology.
There's one scene in particular that three police departments are trying to share information, and since only one department has a "telefax", they have to resort to the good ole post office.

And since majority of the movie is set in the 70s there are some great scenes depicting that too.
A mother is driving along the highway with her newborn in the front seat with no car seat! Good times!

This movie left me wanting to know more about the Zodiac killer, and it left me wanting to smoke really bad too. The call in TV show. Did that really happen? And what was up with the squirrels? (Caution: If you have a genuine fear of squirrels, you may want to close your eyes.) In the end I really believe that he is dead. But it is going around that when you watch the movie at theaters, the Zodiac could be sitting right next to you. So you may want to rent it instead. Just to be safe.

300

"Only Spartan women give
birth to real men."

4 Stars

Pure majesty. Everything in this movie is on a grand scale. Let me give you the definition of the word majesty (it is everything this movie is).

Maj.es.ty
1. regal, lofty, or stately dignity; imposing character; grandeur
2. supreme greatness or authority; sovereignty
3. a royal personage; or royal personages collectively
4. Christ in Majesty, a representation of Christ as ruler of the universe

Zack Snyder directs this faithful adaptation of Frank Miller's (Sin City) graphic novel about the storied Battle of Thermopylae, a conflict that pitted the ancient Greeks against the Persians in 480 B.C.

If you've seen the previews, you have noticed it's very stylized. I never thought someone could make so much gore and horror look so beautiful! The chiseled bodies next to floating crimson fabrics as they dance a ballet of battle. You could pause any part of this movie and frame it, much like Marie Antoinette (Read my review under the month of February). Saturated in a copper and bronzed palette the art direction is strong. I got the feeling early on that the director is a sketch artist. The human body was a key element to this movie. One shot in particular showed this to me. A rear shot of Leonidas' wife (Queen Gorgo) looking into a water well. Check it out, it looks just like a still life sketch.
More details were in the jewelry, and I couldn't get over the whites of the eyes! They are brought up just a bit, but enough to really make these faces so striking.

I knew going in that it was all Bluescreen but I didn't care. Stunning, stunning, stunning. I was able to watch this by myself and sat in the 4th row from the front. I wanted to be drenched in this movie.

Highlights:
The oracle.
Xerxes. Even though he looks like a bad trani (or even that guy from the Street Fighter game. What was his name?), he's a cool looking character. And how do they make the illusion of someone being a giant?
The wall of bodies.
And of course...THE BODIES. This movie has abs, abs, abs. For real eye candy. The Spartans are descendants of Hercules after all. They must all work out at Club Sparta. You can smell these dudes! It was hot.
The end credits are worth watching too.

Low lights are few. I found one scene really hokie. Queen Gorgo makes a plea to the court, and Theron sarcastically claps afterward. Oh please.
Last, the plot is kinda "eh". I understand it's all about the war scenes which I loved. But if it had more of a plot, it would be the movie of the year.

I think that Leonidas has replaced William Wallace for this decade. Lets face it, Mel Gibson is older now and not hot, but the same hunter like quality that he conveyed in Braveheart is much like 300. A strong leader, that has followers that consider themselves lucky to die at his side. We may not know what he is fighting for but he believes in it with every fiber of his being. And in those costumes you can see every fiber too!

Plot summary courtesy of Netflix

The Devil's Backbone

"Like an insect trapped in Amber."

3.5 Stars

I have about 120 movies in my Netflix queue, so sometimes I am surprised to see which movies I get. I got this one and was pleasantly surprised to see it was directed by Guillermo de Toro.
The same director of Pan's Labrynth. This film was made pre-Pan, and it did have a lot of similarities, which I'll tell you about later.

Twelve-year-old Carlos is the latest arrival at Santa Lucia School, an imprisoning stone building that shelters orphans of the Republican militia and politicians during the last days of the Spanish Civil War. Carlos gradually uncovers the dark ties that bind the inhabitants of the school; hidden riches, sexual intrigue and the restless ghost of a murdered student, who may be the only one to provide resolution.

Co-starring is Marisa Paredes a well known actress in Spanish cinema. She plays the one legged school mistress who is having an affair with the younger caretaker. She does a great job. One of her best performances is in All About My Mother, check it out. Love her.

The special effects were quite cool too. The ghost of Santi isn't the hazy spooky ghost character. He looks like he's underwater with a floating trail of blood descending from his head. His face is cracked like a porcelain doll, and he's kind of transparent. You can see his bones through his skin. Cool lookin'.

In Pan there was a child character much like this one, who loved fairy tales. They both are confined to one building, and missing a war hero father. Both set in 1920s. Both have some mystical figure, and show little fear of it. All of this bothered me at first, but once I got passed it, I was able to enjoy the movie.

The next project del Toro is doing is Hellboy II. He did the first one, but I never saw it. Maybe I will. I defiantly want to see more of his films. Has great art direction, and has a talent for storytelling.

Plot summary courtesy of Netflix

The Believer

"How can you say all this when
you're a Jew yourself?"

2 Stars

Yeah, that's right. A Nazi that is Jewish. I looked it up, I guess these folks really do exist.

As interesting as this story sounds the movie itself really falls flat. Ryan Gosling stars in this way before his hunky Notebook fame. That was strange to see, but it shows he does have range. He got the New York Jewish dialect down perfectly. He's lately gotten some acclaim for his performance in Half Nelson, which I'm not sure I'm going to watch yet. So this movie was defiantly a practice run for him dramatically.

Other than him the names were none. There was a Billy Zane appearance, but he doesn't count for me.
As you can imagine, his cover is exposed and he is faced with having to decide between his heritage, and his beliefs. OOOooo... More like, BOOooo. I did give it 2 Stars only because it kept me interested enough to finish it.

Sherrybaby

"Say 'I Love you Mommy'."

4 Star

I'm having a hard time figuring out how to review this movie.
It brought up a real issue. One that I see from time to time at work.
Women who are fresh out of jail, and want to pick up their life right where it left off.

Sherry, played to perfection by Maggie Gyllenhaal is newly out of prison and is on probation for what I can guess is robbery, and/or drug possession. She desperately wants to have, not raise, her daughter again who is now in the custody of her brother and his wife.
Costarring was Danny Trejo. Once you see him, you'll know who he is. He did a great job as well, and I was so pleased to see someone take him seriously as an actor. A little rough, but give him some more meaty parts, and he'll get better.

I do say "have" her daughter, because it seemed like her daughter was more of a possessions to Sherry than a child who needs rearing. As if she knows that a child's love is unconditional and if no one loves her surley her daughter will.

When I was a kid, my close friend at the time "Jamie" was in the same situation. She was happy living with her Aunt and Uncle which she recognized as her parents. Yet her mother who was in and out of jail, with a drinking and drug problem would surface from time to time, and demand that she have her daughter back. I remember her venting to me. I think we were about 9 or 10. If she was acting strange, I would know that she probably heard from her mother again. It sucked.

This movie's story was very familiar to me. Not only because of Jamie, but the people I see at work. They say they "just got released. And now I'm on my way to pick up my baby." Then we have a family member come in to pay for their stuff, because they are back in jail. It's common here.

There was another great line in this movie, that pretty much wraps it up.

"You want to get clean, but you don't want to do the work.
You want your daughter back, but you don't want to do the work."

Inside Man

"This ain't no bank robbery!"

3.5 Stars

I know, again with the 3.5, but hey that's what it is!

First off, it's got Clive Owen. Why his face is covered for majority of the movie is a mistake and a mystery. That's one good lookin' dude.

Now that that's out of the way...I was very surprised to see this was a Spike Lee Joint. I'm sure I knew that when it first came out, but it sometimes takes me awhile to get to some movies. As I got into the movie you could really tell it's a SLJ. All the racial issues, and uber New York atmosphere.

I did like seeing Jodie Foster back, and as a primo bitch no less. She's great. Not that she went anywhere, but it's always surprising to see her on screen, much like Annette Bening. Not compared in talent but high in the surprised factor when listed in a movie. "Wow, she's in that?" kind of thing.

A caper movie about a sophisticated bank robbery (or is it?) gone wrong/right. It was very smart though I'll give it that. It may sound like I'm not too impressed, but I was. The cinematography was great, along with the areal shots, and different film grades throughout. Not to mention Denzel, he's a gem.

Written very well. Reminded me of the movie The Score, that was a quality movie too.
Just a good ole caper.

Saint Ralph

"'The anarchist and the Christian often have a common origin.'
I'm trying to be both."

3.5 Stars

When I decided to start this reviewing thing, I made a personal rule to not use half or three quarter stars. I'm no Ed McMahon, and this ain't no Star Search. But this one was a solid 3.5. The film quality is a 3, but the feeling is a 4! Does that make any sense? Well, it does to me. Let's get to it, shall we...

1953 a 14 year old boy, Ralph is living alone after his father has died, and his mother lay ill in a hospital. She falls into a coma, and the doctors say it would take a miracle to wake her. After some divine intervention from a holy spirit dressed as Santa, he decides that running and winning the Boston Marathon could be the miracle needed to wake his mother, and save him from being an orphan.

He attends a Catholic school for boys, but has a hard time being "pure".
It gets kind of Hallmark-ish when a (hot) priest played by Campbell Scott (How you doing Campbell?) who was a successful marathoner in his day agrees to train him.

This movie grew on me. Not in one sitting, but I found that the next day I was begging my Mom to see it so I could talk to someone about it. She is a runner and I highly recommend this movie to runners, or any sport like minded folks.

Last October I cheered my sister-in-law and her sister as they ran the Nike Marathon for Team in Training, a training program that raises money and awareness for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
It was the most emotional event I ever witnessed. Not only were these marathoners physically drained, but they ran for someone they cared about. That finish line was literally drenched with sweat and tears.
My sister-in-law ran for her dear friend that passed from Leukemia, and my younger "brother-in-law" who passed last July to the same disease at 23. As these runners passed me I yelled "Thank you Team in Training!", because they are doing much more than running. This movie really helped me understand even more how a simple act of running can help someone cope, and have faith in the greater good.
Thanks Aimee, and Carrie.

I ended up watching this movie twice. I'm a sucker for a good redemption story.
Campbell Scott isn't too hard on the eyes either.

Don't Move

"Keep me.
Come when you want, once a month, once a year,
but keep me."

3 Stars

I have a personal checklist of movies I want to watch. At the moment I am working through the work of Penelope Cruz. I didn't like her for a long time, but after Blow and Vanilla Sky (The original Spanish version Open Your Eyes is what got her noticed in the states.) I was felt she has true talent. And she does. Number one PC movie Don't Temp Me, and number 10 PC movie Don't move.


The daughter of a top surgeon is admitted to his hospital after what could be a fatal traffic accident. As he waits to hear of his daughters condition he reminisces about his life before he became a father. Married to a gorgeous wife (who I feel really looks like model Adrian Curry), he has a strange affair with an almost unrecognizable Penelope Cruz, Italia.

When his car breaks down in a small town, Italia lets him use her house phone and he rapes her...I think.
Back home he just can't cope with his actions, and returns to Italia to appologize. He rapes her again (?) but this time he pays her! This guys nuts, and so it this movie for trying to portay that these rapes are making her fall in love with this man. Rape --> Prostitution --> Love Affair...? That's how it goes.

Throughout this movie I just kept trying to understand this relationship they have. As the story shakes out he really does love this ugly duckling of a woman. She reminds me of Jerry Blank from Strangers with Candy. Ratty hair with bad highlights, kohl rimmed eyes, a gap in her overbite, a slight uni-brow, and she walks like a man in heels. One scene he takes her to dinner in a fancy hotel. She did her hair, and tried to do her make up better so she'd look nice. She still looked tow-up, but it was endearing. By the end of this movie I was really warmed to this couple.

This movie has one sex scene after another. Oh please. We get it, it's a foreign film! They just love that.
I found it a bit much.

The moral of the story, it's good times till someone gets knocked up.