Movies Blog : drama, reviews

"Brick Lane" -- the book and the movie

MediaPhile@evpl — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 21:13:00 GMT

If you LOVED the book, should you see the movie? In this case the answer is YES.

British author Monica Ali's beloved novel, "Brick Lane," won all sorts of awards and made numerous top ten lists when it was published in 2003. Critics praised it and readers embraced it.

Now this story of a Bangladeshi teenager named Nazneen who, after an arranged marriage to a man more than twice her age, ends up making a life in London's East End has been made into a movie just released on DVD.

The novel weaves all the BIG issues -- racism, religious and cultural differences, class divides, love vs. passion, responsiblity, the immigrant experience, and the pull of family -- into Naznee's faltering steps toward self-expression and self-reliance.

Of course, the movie can't include all the detail of the 400 page book, but it is a faithful recreation of the novel's main threads. It is a touching and beautiful little movie.

"One Magic Christmas"

MediaPhile@evpl — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 01:03:00 GMT

Everyone has favorite Christmas DVDs.

My favorite comedies are "Scrooged" with Bill Murray (since all I had to do was look at Murray and I would start guffawing) and "Christmas Story" (since it is set in Hammond, which is where I grew up). My favorite dramas are "It's a Wonderful Life" (no explanation required) and "One Magic Christmas."

Released in 1985, "One Magic Christmas" stars Mary Steenbergen as an overworked, fretful mom who labors away as a grocery store clerk and Harry Dean Stanton as Gideon, a guardian angel. Mary's husband is laid off and she doesn't look forward to Christmas at all. In fact, she is an outright Scrooge.

Things get much worse before they get better. But a sequence of events lead her to once again believe in the Christmas message of hope and change.

Just a couple words of caution -- this is more a slice of reality than a magical little children's flick. Also, Mary's children willingly rendevous with Gideon on a trip to the North Pole, but he is after all an angel! (Don't know if times were safer then, or if we just thought they were).

"Chuck" is about a nerd that becomes a spy...essentially my life story

professor.knowsitall@evpl — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 17:50:00 GMT

In the television show Chuck, Charles "Chuck" Bartowski plays your typical 20-something computer-geek, stuck in a dead-end job at Buy More's Nerd Herd (a less-than-subtle parody of Best Buy's Geek Squad). He lives an uneventful life with his sister Ellie, until one day when he receives an email from his long-lost friend Bryce. Turns out Bryce is a rogue CIA agent, and his email contains an entire government database of top secret info, which embeds itself into Chuck's brain upon viewing.

Both the NSA and CIA want the intelligence returned to them and dispatch agents of their own - Major John Casey and Sarah Walker - to "retrieve" that data. When the original database is destroyed, Chuck has the only copy of that data, so he is forced to become a spy. Chuck's decision to keep his new-found occupation a secret from his family and friends, and to live his life as normally as possible, forces Casey and Walker to establish an uneasy alliance and secret identities (Walker poses as Chuck's girlfriend and takes a cover job at the local restaurant next to the Buy More while Casey gets a job at the Buy More), with the shared goal of protecting Chuck at all costs.

Seeing specific people/things causes Chuck to "flash", subliminally retrieving data about the person/object from the government database in his mind. Chuck uses this ability to help John & Sarah thwart evildoers and save the entire world from impending doom.

Sarah is an incredibly attractive female spy, and as they continue their "fake" relationship Chuck's feelings for her become real. There is lots of romantic tension, often mocked by smart-aleck comments by John (portrayed by Adam Baldwin, of Full Metal Jacket & Firefly/Serentity fame).

This show is brilliant, tied with The Office as my favorite current TV show. The cast is excellent, with real chemistry. The plots, while far-fetched, are extremely well-thought out, always resulting in hilarity and the unexpected. And the emotion evoked by the tension between Chuck & Sarah (not helped by Ellie's constant "I'm so happy you finally found a girlfriend" remarks), his belief that Sarah is way out of his nerd-league, the experiences with his ex-girlfriend (who re-appears in season 2), and his quest for more (a normal life and better job, for starters) creates endearing, genuine characters.

Season 1 was released on DVD & Blu-ray a couple months ago, and season 2 (which is even better than season 1) is currently airing on Monday nights at 7pm on NBC. It's a show you really need to watch in order, so check out the season 1 DVDs, catch up on the previous season 2 episodes at NBC.com, and watch the latest episode every Monday night!

More Information

EVPL Catalog: Check on the availability of Chuck: The Complete First Season on DVD at EVPL libraries.
NBC.com: Official website of Chuck. Find out more about the show, and watch full episodes from season 2!
Amazon: Buy Chuck: The Complete First Season on DVD or Blu-ray using these links, and the Public Library Friends will receive a portion of your purchase!

"Redbelt" not your typical karate movie

professor.knowsitall@evpl — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 17:38:00 GMT

Redbelt, written & directed by David Mamet, is not your typical martial arts movie...it has very few action scenes. In fact, calling it a "martial arts movie" is a bit belittling, as it is first and foremost a drama. While it started extremely slowly, I ended up getting drawn in and loving it.

Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Mike Terry, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu instructor barely making ends meet. A series of unfortunate events increase the financial burden on Mike and his wife, Sondra. While Mike is a talented fighter, he refuses to participate in any kind of fighting competitions, as they have commercialized something he deems pure.

While seeking Sondra's brother (who just so happens to be a fight promoter) to ask for another loan, Mike is able to defend actor Chet Frank (well-played by Tim Allen) in a bar fight. The two become friends and Mike is hired on as producer of Chet's latest movie.

The rest of the story involves extremely-surprising twists & turns, which force Mike to enter the ring in competition. I am refraining from detail to avoid any possible spoilers...there are a number of different sub-plots, but the masterful storytelling really shines as things never become convoluted.

The acting is top-notch as well. This film is Chiwetel Ejiofor's first lead performance, and he proves he is more than capable. After seeing him in Dirty Pretty Things, Four Brothers, Serenity (where he plays the most mild-mannered, evil villain I have EVER seen), & Children of Men, I must say that I am a fan of his. Tim Allen does a great job with his first serious role (no Tim "The Toolman" here!), and Emily Mortimer does a great job as a quirky lawyer who becomes entangled in the plot after some odd occurrences.

After seeing some of the forum posts on IMDB (i.e. "worst movie ever", "Garbagebelt", "This movie is PURE CRAP", etc.), I understand that this is a love-it-or-hate-it kind of movie. If you're expecting a brain dead beat-em-up, you will be disappointed with Redbelt. However, if you're able to enjoy slow-paced, thought-provoking movies, I think you will enjoy it. With its story of fighter honor & dignity, similar to the old Kurosawa films, I cannot recommend it highly enough!

More Information

YouTube: Check out the theatrical trailer.
EVPL Catalog: Check the availability of Redbelt at EVPL libraries.
Buy it at Amazon: Purchase your own copy at Amazon using this link to support the Public Library Friends.
Movie info @ IMDB: More info about the movie, including WORST MOVIE EVAH opinions, available at the Internet Movie Database.
Chiwetel Ejiofor @ IMDB: View the biography & filmography of this promising actor.

"Spaced" a short-lived, hilarious TV comedy

professor.knowsitall@evpl — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 21:02:00 GMT

I'm a fan of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. In the States, this comedic duo is best known for Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz (both of which I highly recommend!). They got their start in a British television comedy called Spaced; it ran for two seasons (14 episodes total) during 1999-2001. It finally made its way to the US this past July in a DVD box set of the entire series.

It's a very difficult show to describe...so, ripped from Wikipedia:

Tim Bisley (Pegg) and Daisy Steiner (Jessica Hynes) are two London twenty-somethings who meet by chance in a cafe while both are flat-hunting. Despite barely knowing each other, they conspire to pose as a young professional couple in order to meet the requisites of an advertisement for a relatively cheap flat, in the distinctive building at 23 Meteor Street, Tufnell Park, which is owned by and also houses the landlady, Marsha Klein. Also in the building is Brian Topp, an eccentric conceptual artist who lives and works on his various pieces in the ground floor flat. Frequent visitors are Tim's best friend, Mike Watt (Frost) and Daisy's best friend, Twist Morgan.

The series largely concerns the colorful and surreal adventures of Tim and Daisy as they navigate through life, decide on what they want to do with their lives, come to terms with affairs of the heart, and try to figure out new and largely unproductive ways of killing time. Tim and Daisy repeatedly stress that they aren't a couple to everyone but Marsha, but despite (or because of) this, romantic tension develops between them, particularly during the second series.

The central comedic conceit of the series is that it portrays the rather ordinary lives of Daisy and Tim using overblown Hollywood blockbuster clichés.

Like their forays into Hollywood, Spaced provides non-stop laughs, constant pop-culture parodies, crazy camerawork, a great cast, and a surprising amount of character development.

With 5 stars on Amazon, a 9.8/10 rating on IMDB, and my rave review, Spaced comes highly recommended.

More Information

EVPL Catalog: Check the availability of and/or place a hold on Spaced.
Amazon.com: Buy it at Amazon and support the Public Library Friends!
Wikipedia: Find out about the history of the show.

"John Adams": HBO miniseries

MediaPhile@evpl — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 19:56:00 GMT

If you didn't watch this absolutely wonderful series when it was on HBO, do so now!

I just spent 8 glorious hours in the bosom of the Adams family -- from the early 1770s until John's death on July 4, 1826. (In case you didn't remember, John Adams and his good friend/enemy and co-founding father, Thomas Jefferson, died on the same day -- July 4, 1826 -- the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence).

These are my impressions:

My knowledge of Adams is exponentially increased, since I knew little of the man before. Perhaps Adams' constant lament that history would give all the credit to Jefferson and Washington proved somewhat true.
Paul Giamatti as John and Laura Linney as Abigail were fabulous! And Tom Wilkinson WAS Benjamin Franklin! I never did get used to David Morse as George Washington, but then I still remember him as an intern on "Saint Elsewhere." (Also, is playing Washington almost like playing God -- impossible?)
Author David McCullough is now on my short list. I can't believe I haven't read all of his books!
23 Emmy Award nominations and 13 wins makes perfect sense. Awards included Best Miniseries, Best Actor in a Miniseries, Best Actress in a Miniseries, and Best Supporting Actor in a Miniseries (Wilkinson).
Being important doesn't spare one hardship and tragedy -- or boredom, for that matter.
Service to one's country is not necessarily lucrative.
The Presidency in the early days of our country was a rather thankless job. One wonders how much better it is now...

The Counterfeiters not an easy film to watch

MediaPhile@evpl — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 22:12:00 GMT

I don't think that The Counterfeiters made it to the Evansville theatres, but you can now watch it in DVD. Made in Austria, it won the 2008 Oscar for Best Foreign Language film.

Late in WWII, the Germans conscripted a number of concentration camp prisoners with printing experience to produce counterfeit pounds and dollars. The plan? -- to keep their war effort going and to undermine the British and U.S. economies. Leading the project was one of the best counterfeiters in the world, who had earlier been captured and imprisoned for his larceny.

The drama in the film comes from the Jewish prisoners trying to decide whether to help or hinder the Germans. They are given many luxuries -- like clean sheets and good food -- not available to the other prisoners in the camp who face starvation and death. Aren't they just causing more deaths by prolonging the German efforts?

For more detail, read Krueger's men: the secret Nazi counterfeit plot and the prisoners of Block 19 by Lawrence Malkin.

The Dark Knight is way too dark

MediaPhile@evpl — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 22:16:00 GMT

SPOILER ALERT!

This movie is about a half-hour to one hour too long -- it could have used some judicious editing. Once the relationship between Batman and Rachel is resolved (I won't tell you how), the dramatic tension is gone. They should have just said "And then..." and ended the dang thing. We all know that we will be seeing these characters in the sequel anyway so we will have plenty of time to get to know their latest foibles.

Re all the profound ruminations by critics and the movie's characters of the battle between good and evil, hey, what movie doesn't deal with this eternal struggle? (Well, I guess we can exclude comedies). So one side is bad and the other good. So what? I doubt that anyone was made a better person or a better citizen by watching this flick. And if the point is that a true hero would choose GOOD over LOVE, it's obvious this script was written by a man. The choice ends up being wrong, anyway, since ultimately Good turns to Evil and a new villain is created.

I saw "Dark Knight" in IMAX and by far the best parts were when we were soaring or otherwise doing acrobatic tricks above the Chicago (Gotham) skyline. Awesome!

And of course there is Heath Ledger. His performance was deliciously wierd, but I couldn't stop thinking about how he is dead. Now "Brokeback Mountain," THAT was a GOOD movie!

So, heh, Rotten Tomatoes -- a 94%!?!? Well I guess it will sweep all the Oscars (Not)!

Rome: Seasons 1 & 2

MediaPhile@evpl — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 22:06:00 GMT

I just finished a Rome marathon -- loved it! I don't subscribe to HBO but had heard great stuff about the Rome series and noticed it on the shelf and the rest is history. My son Eric says that it was the most expensive TV production ever, which probably contributed to its demise after two seasons. The plot was intricate, the characters funny and intriguing, the history believable if somewhat sketchy, lots of battles and "love" scenes, etc.

Best nonstop viewing experience since the final season of The Sopranos. Almost makes me want to give up books and watch all the TV series I've never watched (24, Lost, Deadwood, etc.) until I become a TV zombie and get so sick of it that I can no longer stand to touch a remote.