Grade: B+
| Robert Duvall has the title role in The Judge. He’s been the judge in a small town court room for many many years. When his wife dies, his estranged son Hank, played by Robert Downey, Jr. comes back to town. And then the judge is faced with a murder charge, so his son steps up to defend him.
Fascinating characters and relationships – and a compelling story. Well written, beautiful performances. |
Grade: B+
| The Joneses is a dark comedy set in present day upscale suburbia. Demi Moore and David Duchovny star as ambitious sales executives who basically go “undercover” as a married couple with two teens in an effort to sell the neighborhood on their range of products. It doesn’t take long before the neighbors are envious of this sexy couple and aspire to have all that they have. Lauren Hutton comes in as their boss, concerned with sales figures and conversion rates. The teens have their own sales goals to meet, and life often collides with their true intentions. When tragedy strikes, one of the team has a crisis of conscience. Thought provoking, conversation provoking movie with many layers. Well done. |
Grade: B+
| I really like this movie. 5 women and a token man come together to form a book club when one of the women needs some support from her friends. They decide on the Jane Austen books, and to meet once a month. We follow the group through their changes and growth during this time, and they discuss the parallels in their lives to those of the characters in the books. Maria Bello is so great – I think she is a fantastic actress, and doesn’t seem to get the credit that some other actresses of her generation do. Emily Blunt, Jimmy Smits, Amy Brenneman, Cindy Pickett – it’s a terrific cast. Definitely character driven, each one has a nice arc. You might call it a “chick flick” but I took my husband and he enjoyed it a lot more than he thought he was going to! |
Grade: A-
| I got to see �The Island� at a sneak preview � one week before it�s official release. I have to say this is one of my favorite movies of the summer. First of all, I love love love Ewan McGregor! He�s a wonderful actor (he sang in Moulin Rouge!), and he�s totally hot. And in this movie he�s quite the action hero. Technically, this is a sci-fi movie, but there are so many great elements in play. It�s set in the year 2015, so it�s futuristic, and it has the best chase scene I�ve seen in years! Add to it a sweet love story with the lovely young Scarlett Johanssen as Ewan�s love interest and you�ve got a multi-layered, compelling film that holds your attention from start to finish. Great sets, effects � fabulous supporting cast including the always cool Steve Buscemi. This is the must-see film of the summer. It�s rated PG-13, mainly for some creepy birth-like scenes and violence. I think I�d stick with taking kids age 13 and up. |
Grade: D+
| I pick and choose the movies I go to, I don’t have to see everything, so it’s been a long time since I’ve seen a movie this bad. I am a huge fan of Marcia Gay Harden, and I have no idea what she was thinking when she agreed to do “The Invisible.” She has a small role, and not much going on with her character, except for one breakdown scene which was supposed to be heartbreaking but for some reason had the audience in hysterics. There were lots of moments when the audience broke out laughing in scenes that were supposed to be chilling or serious.
The story is bizarre – good guy with dead dad meets bad girl with absent mother – bad girl beats up good guy to the point of unconscious and leaves him for dead. Good guy’s “spirit” falls for bad girl, bad girl “saves” good guy, then dies. There are so many things that don’t make sense throughout the whole movie. I found myself rolling my eyes and making script notes in my head for the writers. I don’t think teens will be interested in this movie – even though it’s PG-13 and clearly aimed at that audience. The teens who were in the theatre with me were the ones who were laughing the most in the inappropriate places. |
Grade: A-
| Sydney Pollack directs and has a small part in this action-thriller that keeps you guessing. It’s a puzzle, set in the political world of the United Nations, and they actually used the real building to film in! Nicole Kidman has the title role, an interpreter from a fictitious country in South Africa who overhears an assassination threat. Sean Penn is the Secret Service agent assigned to the case. There’s no romance here, but the two characters bond over their personal grief. Catherine Keener is notable as Sean Penn’s partner. This is a smart movie, very well done, though not wholly satisfying. |
Grade: C
| I like Clive Owen, he’s dark, intense, and not too bad to look at for 2 hours. In The International he’s a spy-type guy working on a case involving international banking and illegal weapon sales. It’s a sign of the times when the bad guys in the movie are all bankers. Naomi Watts comes in as his FBI contact, but she’s not a love interest. She’s a smart lady with a family who plays by the book. The movie takes place in various European locations and also New York. There are two big action sequences, one at the Guggenheim which plays out really bloody and loud. Other than that it’s a lot of talking and exposition – a lot of business language. Interesting movie, very dissatisfying ending. |
Grade: A
| Yay, Pixar!!! They’ve done it again. The Incredibles is a real winner. Fun for everyone in the family. This is the kind of movie that you want to see on the big screen to get the full effect, and they you’ll want to buy it on DVD to watch on rainy days as a family. Craig T. Nelson voices the super-dad, Holly Hunter is the mom, “Elastigirl.” Clever writing, great animation – this one is another classic! |
Grade: B+
| The Impossible is based on the true story of a family from Spain that survived the recent tsunami, one of the worst natural disasters of our time. Naomi Watts is the mother in this physically and emotionally challenging role – she’s already gotten a Golden Globe nomination and an Academy Award nomination and it’s well-deserved. Ewan MacGregor is the father – and he has some heart-wrenching scenes as he desperately searches for his family. The kids are all amazing young actors. The whole film is technically very well done. I was totally caught up in the drama and feeling for these people all along the way. |
Grade: B+
| The Imitation Game is the true story of British mathematician and logician Alan Turing. During World War II he and his team helped to crack the Enigma code, a means of communication used by Hitler and the Nazis.
Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Turing, and Keira Knightley plays Joan Clarke, the only woman on the team. This is a fascinating story, primarily because the character of Turling has so much going on. It seems like he’s autistic, although that is never formally addressed, it is clear that he is somewhat of a genius and socially awkward. He’s also homosexual, which at that time in history was socially unacceptable. He and Joan become engaged, and he is honest with her about his situation. She goes along with the plan so that she can participate in the important work of cracking the code. The machine that Turing designed during this time was likely the first computer. Well written, wonderful performances. Worth seeing. |
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