BROTHERS

Brothers is the best film regarding the dynamics of family relationships I’ve seen in a while.  It starts off by showing one brother who is a captain in the military, and the other brother who is just being released from prison.  You get a clear sense of which brother has taken the right plan in life and which hasn’t.

Tobey Maguire plays Captain Sam Cahill and Jake Gyllenhaal plays his ex-con brother Tommy.  Sam leads a noble life.  He’s a military man and a good family man as well.  His wife Grace, played by Natalie Portman, adores him as does their children.  Tommy, on the other hand, has no job obviously and no place to live.  So he stays with Sam and his family.  Sam is getting ready to be deployed to Afghanistan.  They have a family dinner with their father and stepmother since one brother is being welcomed home and the other is preparing to leave for a while.  Their father is a retired marine sergeant himself and he makes it quite clear that his military son is the one he is proud of.  This brings some inner-family tension but Sam doesn’t take sides with his father; he loves Tommy for who he is.  After all, he had no problem taking him in after his stint in prison.

Sam takes off to Afghanistan and his mission turns tragic.  Grace is informed of her husband’s death.  She then lets Tommy know as well.  His immediate reaction is anger, not sadness.  He wishes Sam never went into the military.  You also feel that he resents his father for paving the way down that road.  Suddenly, Tommy starts to become the man of the household.  He begins to look after Grace and her two daughters.  The children take a strong liking to Tommy now that they see this caring side of him.  Grace had a genuine dislike of Tommy before, but now they begin to bond.

If you’ve seen any trailers for this movie, you already know that Sam is not really dead.  He was either mistaken for dead or assumed to be, but he in fact became a prisoner of war.  Scenes of Sam held captive along with another soldier are interspersed with scenes of Tommy back home with the family.  Sam goes through a harrowing ordeal of torture while his family is trying to move on without him.  Eventually, he is rescued and returns home.

He comes home a changed man.  He does not want to speak of what he has gone through and pretty much keeps to himself.  His family senses the change and slowly becomes more and more worried about him.  There is now tension between the two brothers as well since Sam now suspects Tommy of sleeping with his wife.  Tobey Maguire shows much more range here than in previous work and it’s intriguing to watch this once loving family man become a distant and closed recluse of a person.  There’s a lot of good acting here, even by the two children who play the daughters.  The film moves at a good pace and builds up to some intense suspense as you wonder what will become of Sam Cahill.  How will his family adapt to his new persona, and can they be the family they once were?  See this film if you want something different and don’t mind that it’s not one of those feel-good movies simply spreading cheer to the audience.  It’s moving and makes you wonder what you would do in similar situations.

3 1/2 stars

EVERYBODY’S FINE

Everybody’s Fine is the first movie in a while that Robert De Niro has starred in which showcases him as a real actor.  Over the past few years, he’s been slumming it a little in films that don’t measure up to his earlier work.  This is a Christmas movie about family, and De Niro is the patriarch.  He plays a widower named Frank Goode who used to rely on his wife to stay in touch with his children.  Not only does he have to do that on his own now, he must also take care of his house and do everything else he counted on his wife for.  He seems to get by fine except for the fact that he’s not connecting with his grown-up children.

Frank decides to call each of them to invite them over for Christmas.  However, each one of them winds up backing out due to various restrictions.  So Frank decides to travel across the country to surprise each one of them with a visit.  Afterall, he’s not really leaving anything or anyone behind.  Kate Beckinsale, Sam Rockwell, and Drew Barrymore play the children.  With each one of them, you sense the disconnection that has built up between them and their father.  They’re all happy to see him but feel a bit lost and not sure what to do with him.  De Niro does a good job playing a father who genuinely cares about his kids yet seems to feel that he hasn’t done everything right over the years.  The film can be a bit slow at times but De Niro carries it by playing a very realistic father that many people can relate to.  Everything comes together at the end as Frank learns about each child’s present situation.  They may have kept some things to themselves but it was only because they were looking out for him.  If you want to see a film about the complexities of family relationships and communication, this is a decent but not great one.

2 1/2 stars

THE BLIND SIDE

The Blind Side is based on the true story of Michael Oher who now plays in the NFL for the Baltimore Ravens.  This film tells how he became a football player and who helped give him the chance to become one.  Michael has exactly the huge frame of a person meant to play football, but he could have been a case of unrealized potential if it weren’t for the Tuohy family.  He grew up on the rough side of town to a mother who was a crackhead with tons of other kids.  Obviously, he was not a child who got the proper attention one should get from his mother.  It seemed, however, that Michael didn’t want to be a typical product of his environment.  He didn’t get involved with drugs or become like the others who grew up around him.  He still had it rough though.  It got to the point where he had no home.

When Leigh Anne Tuohy (played by Sandra Bullock) spots him walking in the cold rain by himself with a t-shirt on, she asks her husband to pull the car over so she can go talk to him.  Next thing you know, she’s letting him stay at her family’s house.  As she realizes that he has nowhere else to go, the stay becomes a permanent one.  It takes a while before the film even gets to Michael playing any football.  This is because it focuses on his mild-mannered nature as the Tuohys gradually help him open up and feel like a part of the family.  On screen, the character of Michael Oher is one of those gentle giants that the audience loves… kind of like a more human version of John Coffey in The Green Mile.  You can’t help but like when someone who can easily inflict harm upon you with his size and strength winds up being such a caring and respectable person.  Leigh Anne Tuohy isn’t exactly to be judged by her appearance either.  She’s a dainty woman with lots of money but obviously has a very caring heart.  She also knows when to play tough in order to get her way.  She uses her southern sass and a tough attitude to get people to accept Michael rather than pre-judge him.  Even when Michael begins to play football, he doesn’t want to use his full strength and harm people.   Leigh Anne has to convince him otherwise.   I’ve never been a fan of Sandra Bullock, but this is easily the best acting of her career.  Altogether, this is quite an uplifting sports movie and it doesn’t rely too heavily on the sports part.  It’s somewhat of a rags-to-riches story in terms of Michael Oher but thanks to Leigh Anne Tuohy and her supportive family, the riches show they can be there for the rags.

3 stars

PRECIOUS: BASED ON THE NOVEL “PUSH” BY SAPPHIRE

Precious: Based on the Novel by Sapphire is the story of a young girl who’s had nothing but strife and heartache her whole life thus far.  Newcomer Gabourey Sidibe plays “Precious”, a 16 year-old obese mother with more problems than you can imagine.   The movie begins with Precious being called into the principal’s office at school where she is questioned about being pregnant for the 2nd time at such a young age.  At first, it seems that she is being asked this question out of disdain for not being responsible.  Then we soon learn that both pregnancies are a result of incest by her own father.

That’s bad enough; then we meet her mother.  This is one of the most vile, reprehensible mothers ever seen on screen.  The comedian Mo’Nique plays her mother Mary, but there is nothing funny about this role.  Mary treats Precious like garbage, and the reason is actually because she feels that Precious has taken her man from her by having more children with him than Mary had.  The fact that Precious was raped by this man is of no relevance to Mary, she’s jealous of her own daughter getting the attention of this despicable person.

Luckily, when Precious enrolls in an alternative school she finally comes across a person who seems to care for her.  Her teacher is a woman named Blue Rain who truly cares for her few students.  They’ve all had problems in their previous schools and Ms. Rain tries her best to give these kids hope while showing them the way to achieve an education.   It is at this school that Precious also starts to feel a camaraderie among her peers for the first time.  She finally begins to feel like someone valuable.  She didn’t even seem to realize the value of her own child beforehand, but now she does thanks to the insight of Ms. Rain.

The film is well-acted. It features a great supporting cast such as Paula Patton as Ms. Rain along with musicians Lenny Kravitz and a completely deglammed Mariah Carey showing that she can actually act unlike in the infamous Glitter.  Some may say this is an uplifting movie… which it eventually is, but there is a lot of nastiness and sadness witnessed along the way.  Women like Mary exist, it’s just an ugly truth in our society.  At least this film shows that there are also people like Precious who should simply not give up hope and seek whatever alternatives they can.

2 1/2 stars

MICHAEL JACKSON’S THIS IS IT

I have not seen many “concert films” in my lifetime, but I was very interested in seeing this one.  This was not only because of Michael Jackson’s death but moreso because I’ve always felt that he was the greatest entertainer in the world.  If I were to pick one concert to go to, I’ve always said it would be Michael Jackson.  However, this a film of behind-the-scenes footage of the concert that was meant to be.  So we do not get to see an actual concert.  We get to see a musical genius at work in preparation of what was to be his historic comeback.

Michael Jackson’s This Is It does not give us a glimpse into Michael’s personal life as some may have hoped for.  That would be a different movie.  This is to show him at what he does best.  He made some great music, but he really cemented his legendary status for being the ultimate performer.  He put on a show like no one else.  You see the impact he has had on so many people as the film opens with dancers talking to the camera about how this is their ultimate dream to be able to work with him.  It’s fun to see the dancers watching him later as he performs certain parts by himself.  The dancers watch from below the stage with genuine cheers and excitement in seeing their idol do his thing.

You can tell from this footage that the concerts (there were to be 50 dates in London) were going to be unlike anything else ever done.  There would be 3-D footage and very expensive, elaborate set designs.  Ghosts were even going to fly through the aisles during the performance of “Thriller”.  I’m sure the main reason this film was put out is to re-coup some of the expenses of this concert since it never got to happen.  But this isn’t just cashing in on something at Michael’s expense.  It does show him as a loving person who was just a perfectionist at his craft.  He is quite demanding with technical aspects of the concert.  Yet when he asks someone to fix or improve on something, he will say something like “it’s all in love”.  He strives for the best but doesn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings at the same time.

I was pleased to see that the film highlights some of my favorite Michael Jackson songs, including the great but not so well-known “Earth Song”.  This highlights how much Michael Jackson cared about the environment.  He cared about the earth and he cared about people in general.  Many people may not know that he contributed more to charity than any other celebrity in history.  I do wish that I got to see him just having fun off the stage and maybe talking to the camera himself, but we mainly see him in work mode.  You can also tell that he’s holding back most of the time and we don’t get to see him giving his all since it is rehearsal.  There’s even a moment when he regrets singing so well because he wants to save his voice for the concerts.  It’s a shame that the concerts never got to occur.  They would have been amazing for those who attended.  We do get to see what could have been, and we see a man who made his collaborators truly feel like they were a family.

2 1/2 stars

WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

As most people know, Where the Wild Things Are is based on a popular children’s book.  That book is only about 10 sentences long.  So it’s interesting that a full-length feature film has been made from it.  The director is Spike Jonze, known for making very weird films like Being John Malkovich.  This one is pretty weird too.  It’s about a boy named Max who’s pretty much a brat at home and runs away one night.  He comes across a land filled with big creatures,  some resembling animals that we’re familiar with.  His reason for running away in the first place seems to be that he just wants to have fun and his family members don’t partake in the fun with him enough.

So when Max sees the big creatures taking things apart and destroying stuff, he’s immediately taken with them.  The creatures soon take a liking to him and annoint him their king.  This is because he proclaims he has special powers, though they never actually seem him display these powers.  They basically spend the whole movie creating a fortress and trying to have fun at the same time.

But let me tell you, this movie is no fun.  It is rather dark and sad.  The creatures often cannot find the fun they strive for, and wind up saying things like “I’m going to bite off my own feet” out of depression.  There’s also this constant feeling that the creatures might actually eat Max if he doesn’t live up to their expectations.  These “wild things” seem to be let down quite often.  I think parts of the movie will be too scary for small children.

The creatures have a great look to them, which is the main thing that kept my interest in the film.  Instead of being fully CGI, they are actors in huge costumes and only their faces are CGI-enhanced to catch their different emotions.  Most of the dialogue is pointless; Max and the creatures just say random things throughout the film that don’t always make much sense.  I guess that’s because it’s supposed to be the mind of a child.  But it doesn’t make for captivating viewing.   Max is not a very likeable kid anyway.  He eventually winds up realizing that he’s better off in the real world with his family.  That’s where the movie tries to be sentimental.  But I feel like he would just go back to taking things for granted and treating his family like crap again.

1 1/2 stars

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY

There’s been a lot of hype surrounding the movie Paranormal Activity, naturally drawing comparisons to The Blair Witch Project from 10 years ago.  Well I can say that while the movie may not live up to all the hype, it’s certainly better then Blair Witch was.  It is similar in that it is made to look as if it were all shot by a regular person with a hand-held video camera and that this is actual footage that has been found from that camera.

The movie builds up a lot suspense as each night passes, all documented by the video camera.  There are only a few characters in the entire film.  It centers on a couple named Micah and Katie who have recently moved in together.  Katie starts to sense paranormal activity in the household, thus prompting Micah to get the video camera and record the strange occurrences which often seem to take place while they’re sleeping.  Night by night, more strange things begin to occur.  It is then that Katie reveals to Micah that she’s been having these experiences pretty much her whole life.  They even get a psychic to come to the house and get his take on things.  Unfortunately, he senses demons in the house and suggests hiring a demonologist.  Of course, the local demonologist is out of town for a few days by the time the couple decides to call him.  This leaves them feeling a bit helpless and on their own.

Micah resorts to things like ouija boards in an effort to communicate with what’s haunting them.  This only makes things worse.  He also tries to play the tough guy role from time to time, challenging this demon to show itself or stop messing with them.  Micah basically antagonizes the demon while Katie gets more and more worried.  They don’t feel that leaving the house will do any good due to the fact that she’s been experiencing this since childhood.  The two of them really don’t know what to do and become more freaked out as things go on.

While the movie uses the fear of the characters to project fear into the movie’s audience just as Blair Witch did, this is a better film because things actually happen.  I was genuinely disappointed by Blair Witch leading me on through the whole film to wind up seeing nothing at all.  At least here we get to see what actually happens to the characters.  Though there were teenage girls screaming throughout the film in the theatre I went to, there still wasn’t all that much genuinely scary stuff that happens.  It’s mostly a lot of good suspense and anticipation, at least up until the final scene of the film.  That scene is the one truly scary part of the film.  It’s too bad that the one and only trailer for this movie actually shows part of that scene in it.  It is said that Steven Spielberg saw the original version and suggested this much scarier ending, so he deserves credit for the one terrifying scene in it.  This is one of those movies that would be hard to sit through a second time once you’ve seen it already, but definitely a creepy movie to see at the theatre.

2 1/2 stars

CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY

Capitalism: A Love Story is the newest documentary by filmmaker Michael Moore.  I have liked all of his previous films as well this one.  It’s interesting that he started makeing this documentary before the United States went into a recession.  As unfortunate as it is, that event has just made his film even more poignant.

I’m not going to get into a whole economic breakdown in this review, that’s for the movie to do.  However, even Moore shows that much of it can be confusing sometimes as no one even on Wall Street is able to explain what a derivative is to him.  What is easy to understand is how actions by the big banks and those on Wall Street have contributed to the current rise in unemployment and the overall recession our country is going through.  As with his other films, Moore shows individual stories of different people all around the country and the heartbreak they have experienced.  In this case, it’s families who have lost their homes due to Uncle Sam demanding more and more money from them to keep living there.  Many people have been convinced to refinance their own homes, thinking that this will result in profits for them.  This is really something that they’re told as part of the “American dream” that is thought to be achieved through the idea of capitalism.

What I like about Michael Moore’s movies is that he really does find effective, moving stories of people who have been put in unfortunate situations living in America.  He does not advocate giving up on our country though, he makes his films to help right the wrongs and motivate us to improve our country where there may be faults.  I always learn something new watching a Michael Moore film, and I know he does use hard facts to support his claims.  He just happens to add his own opinions in there which may rub some people the wrong way.  His intentions are clearly in the right place though.  The film is not as engaging overall as some of his previous work but it is still worth your attention.

3 stars

SURROGATES

Surrogates has an interesting concept for a movie although it feels like it’s already been done.  It’s about a future where people use surrogate robots to interact in society while their actual human bodies stay at home.  The nice thing about the surrogates is that you can design them to look however you want.  If you want to look younger or prettier on a daily basis you can get your surrogate to look that way.

Bruce Willis stars as a cop who also uses a surrogate but is investigating the first death of a person who was killed while using one.  The human body is supposed to be completely safe while operating its robot form.  Willis is married to a woman who spends all of her time using a surrogate as well, but he longs to see the old real version of her that he fell in love with.  The movie actually combines elements of the films Minority Report and Wall-E.  It most resembles Minority Report, a much greater film, in that it’s about a new advancement designed to help society; (spoiler alert) that film also involves the creator of the new system being a key figure in destroying it.  The film echoes Wall-E in its message about people becoming lazy and useless in a world where we rely on other things to live our lives for us.  In Wall-E it was other robots doing everything for us, here it is robot versions of ourselves.

There’s even a group of separatists who refuse to use surrogates and live in their own enclosed society where they advocate hard work and real hands-on interaction to find the true meaning of life.  They’re led by “The Prophet” played by Ving Rhames.  This makes for an interesting sub-plot that should’ve been featured a little more in the film.  Willis is very good in the scenes conveying his desperation to get his wife to spend time out of her surrogate.   You can see him longing for a real relationship they once had.  Aside from that,  Surrogates is a rather basic sci-fi thriller set in the future.  Willis has mastered the rough, bruting type of character that he almost always plays; it works well here.  Is it just me or does he get banged up and bruised in just about every movie he’s in?  The movie probably would have been worse with someone else starring, but regardless you should only see it if you’re a big fan of this genre.

2 stars

CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs is a movie about a young inventor who makes it possible for food to fall from the sky.  That kind of sums it up, there’s not much else to really say about this kiddie flick.  Bill Hader of Saturday Night Live provides the voice for the inventor.  The movie is based on a popular children’s book.  I guess it’s popular because… what kid wouldn’t want it to rain food?  I’m an adult and I’d like for it to rain food one day.

Unfortunately, there’s not much else that takes place in the movie though.  Things go wrong when it rains too much food and overloads the city.  So the inventor and some others try to stop it and save the town.  I got pretty sleepy watching this movie.  There’s a little message about the young guy trying to bond with his father, but that’s pretty much overshadowed by the vision of food constantly falling from the sky.  It looked nice and the animation was pretty crisp, but that’s about it.  I must say though… food always looks so perfect and delicious in cartoons.  The movie made me kind of hungry.

1 1/2 stars