'Julie & Julia' Review

Amy Adams as Julie Powell

Meryl Streep as Julia Child. Watch the trailer: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/julie-and-julia/26129/main

>>>>If Meryl Streep isn't our finest American actress working today, then who is? Perhaps Glenn Close who I've seen twice on Broadway. I haven't had the pleasure of seeing Streep on stage but watching her give her usual excellent performances in films is an acceptable tradeoff. How does Streep do this time portraying a real person in Julie & Julia? Marvelous!... as expected.
>>>>This movie is two movies in one. The first one concerns how Julia Child became the French Chef of cookbook and TV fame; the second is about how Julie Powell an admirer tried to cook every recipe in Child's cookbook within a year and blogged about it which later lead to turning her experience into a book. These two plots are intertwined into a light, tasty, and satisfying pastry pleasing to the palate. After gazing on all the food shown, you'll leave the theater searching for a restaurant.
>>>>Streep nails down Child's mannerisms and voice and with her makeup job is as close as seeing the real Julia. She's funny, self-deprecating, and determined to succeed as a chef. Stanley Tucci who was so good with her in The Devil Wears Prada again offers great support as her loving, patient, and encouraging husband Paul. Amy Adams is fine as the determined Julie also ably aided by her husband Eric played by Chris Messina. Eric is younger than Paul and sometimes lacks Paul's reserve and maturity in handling crises but both husbands in his own way offer good support for their wives' plans.
>>>>There's plenty of French and New York contrasting scenes from the late 1940's to 2002 to help keep the stories separated. The filmmakers wisely show Dan Ackroyd's SNL gory parody of Child cutting herself since younger viewers might only know her from that skit and not her TV show. I used to watch her PBS show but never attempted to try one of her recipes. Now I can never watch a rerun of Child's show without seeing Streep's face superimposed on her towing figure. There's plenty of light humor to keep the story going while you feast your eyes on the variety of food presented. Bon Appetite!

'Lorna's Silence' Review

Arta Dobroshi, left, plays an Albanian immigrant in Belgium, and Jérémie Renier a drug addict, in Lorna’s Silence, the new film by the Dardenne brothers. Watch the trailer: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/lornas-silence/35496/main

>>>>Here's another foreign film that won't get a wide distribution. There's no well known actors in it and its grim subject matter won't make it popular. We saw it at a nearby theater that specializes in foreign & small films and where we take Mom since there's no steps to make it accessible for her. Lorna's Silence isn't a Mom Movie so she stayed home.
>>>>This is the first film I've seen made by the Belgian Dardenne brothers who are well regarded as directors of urban dramas. The plot concerns an Albanian girl named Lorna living in Belgium and working in for a dry cleaner. She's involved with criminals who pay her to use her legal residency to marry foreigners to get them the same permit and later divorce them. They paid a drug addict Claudy to marry Lorna so she could obtain her residency card and now they want to kill him off so she can marry a Russian gangster needing a card and later divorce her. Claudy is well played by Jermeie Renier last seen as one of the brothers in Summer Hours, an earlier blog entry. He lost weight to play this strung out junkie.
>>>>Lorna has plans to open a small cafe with her boyfriend using the money from this arranged marriage. But She's against having Claudy who's trying to stay clean murderd from an 'overdose' and tries to arrange a quick divorce him to save his life. When she learns she's pregnant and the Russian doesn't want children, she's forced to have an abortion but will she go through with it and succeed with all her plans is what sets the rest of the story in motion. Will her conscience aid her in making the right decisions? The ending is not what you expect and I won't spoil it by revealing it here.
>>>>Lorna's Silence has no music score except for songs played on the radio or in clubs and its somber photography of the characters' working class environment adds to the story's bleakness. It's a disturbing story about making difficult choices in desparate economic times. Arta Dobroshi as Lorna will surprise you as she carries out the demands of the script. She seems passive while under pressure submitting to the criminals' demands and of her boyfriend working with them but she posseses an inner strength that's slowly revealed throughout the course of the story and needed at the conclusion. Yes there's subtitles for three languages spoken here but again, don't let this scare you away from this thought provoking film.

'Inglorious Basterds' Review

Brad Pitt in Inglourious Basterds, directed by Quentin Tarantino. Watch the trailer: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/inglourious-basterds/36184/main

>>>>Leave it to Quentin Tarantino to have the balls to make a WWII movie that's part fact and a lot of fiction, and includes a soundtrack with songs from during AND after the war. How he managed to include David Bowie's 'Cat People' (the long/movie version) is a feat beyond my understanding. The song clashes with the time frame but somehow it works here.
Brad Pitt plays a lieutenant with a strong Southern accent that's been criticized in some reviews but this also works to his advantage and promotes a lot of laughs, especially when he's trying to talk Italian. Pitt's detractors should be won over by this amusing performance as he's really gets into into the spirited highjinks of the plot. He leads a group of Jewish soldiers behind enemy lines whose purpose is to revenge themselves against Nazis who have killed Jews. There's some barbaric treatment of the Nazis but history tells us they deserved it so here we sympathize with our soldiers. Think of The Dirty Dozen which this film resembles the closest but only dirtier in their tactics.
>>>>The nastiest of the Nazis is the most charming character in the film. Austrian actor Christoph Waltz, unknown in this country, steals the movie as Colonel Hans Landa. known as the Jew Hunter for his skills in hunting his enemies. He's funny, witty, urbane, and oozing with continental panache but deadly like a coiled rattlesnake ready to strike its prey. And he does strike those caught in his interrogation-like web. Pitt is no match for his tactics or so we think but that's for you to learn. The rest of the cast offer good performances in line with demands of the plot.
>>>Tarantino is a movie buff and there's lots of references to German movies and movie stars of the time. I've a strong interest in this era so that added more interest for me. As much as he grounds the plot with a historical look with decor and costumes, he takes a lot of liberties using famous people from that era. He's also plays with the music score as noted above. There's bits of Ennio Morricone's spaghetti western scores and uses a song from The Alamo. For Tarantino, all this works for him since he warns us at the film's beginning with 'Once upon a time...' Does it work for us? That's for you to decide. If you like your WWII movies with John Wayne, you will be appalled by some of this movie. if you're a Tarantino fan, you know what to expect: Violence, sharp dialogue, offbeat humor and plenty of all three. The title refers to a misspelling of an Italian film similar to this one, another Tarantino in-joke.
>>>>The movie is about two and half hours so you get plenty of bang for your buck. Or bangs considering the amount of gunfire and explosions throughout the course of the story. Tarantino dares to rewrite history by ending the film the way we wished WWII to happen. Yes he's got balls and he knows how to work an audience willing to go the extra mile with him.

'District 9' Review

Sharlto Copley in the Sci-Fi thriller District 9, directed by Neill Blomkamp

One of the aliens. Watch the trailer: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/district-9/31920/main

Here's another really grand Sci-Fi film that delivers the goods and never disappoints. All the good reviews and word of mouth have made District 9 a hit. It will remind you of several films of this genre as it takes their best parts and transforms them into cinema magic. What looks familiar at first (The giant spaceship hovering over the city like in Independence Day or the aliens reminiscent of countless films from First Men In The Moon to Predator) is given a new spin. I was totally enthralled for two hours and so should you.
The plot concerns an alien spaceship stuck floating over Johannesburg South Africa. Its inhabitants are rescued and placed into camps. Many reviews refer to their plight as an Apartheid allegory but not knowing this info will not detract from enjoying the story. A corporation plans to move the aliens to a new facility but has a hidden agenda planned for these stranded creatures referred to as prawns. A nervous, unctuous bureaucrat marvelously played by an unknown actor, Sharlto Copley, is in charge of their relocation and will soon learn what it's like to be one of them as he becomes pursued by his company and Nigerian profiteers. I don't want to give away the rest of the plot of this intriguing film. The trailer tells you enough to lure you into the theater.
The film cleverly opens as if you're watching current TV news with its jerky photography of handheld cameras, screen titles, interviews, and voice overs that make it look authentic and gives you a you-are -there feeling. Be prepared for a skillful mix of action, comedy, social commentary, and some great special effects that don't look fake. You need to see District 9 in the theater to truly appreciate the jarring surround sound which is the best I've heard in a while as it heightens the intensity of action scenes.

'Summer Hours' Review

From left, Jérémie Renier, Juliette Binoche and Charles Berling portray three siblings deciding what to do with the family heirlooms in Summer Hours. Watch the trailer: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/summer-hours-lheure-dete/35385/main?icid=movsmartsearch

We returned Wednesday from a three night stay in Portsmouth NH. Except for the oppressive heat & humidity, we had fun doing a variety of fun stuff: The zoo & beach at York Maine, lobster dinners, a narrated trolley bus tour of Portsmouth, a cruise featuring a demo of lobster traps and how some are rejected for sale, a dinner in a jazz club, and lots of shopping. I only bought two DVDs in my fave store, Bull Moose Music, and can you believe we bought nothing at the huge Barnes & Noble? No we're not ill; we're cutting back on buying things we don't really need and we bought enough when there three weeks ago. I saw several CDs & DVDs I wouldn't mind owning but that's for another trip.....
We planned our vacation around seeing this French film downtown where we've seen other foreign films and the Philip Glass concert in April. Some people might find Summer Hours boring/slow moving but they would be missing the point. It's a deliberately quiet film of many charms that sneak up on you and stick in your memory after you leave the theater. The plot concerns a summer home owned by a matriarch who is the niece of a famous painter. The house is full of his works as well as other artists. When she dies, it's up to her three children to dispose of her belongings. Do they want to keep the house for themselves and their heirs or sell it and keep or sell or donate her possessions?
The oldest son wants to keep the house intact but his sister and younger brother have no use for it since they work outside of France. What's unusual is they don't get into vicious fights about who gets what as most families do when parents die. I witnessed what happened to my family years ago when my grandparents on both sides passed away. We were torn apart and these rifts have never been healed. Perhaps this film is different because their mother's love of art and family closeness were passed on to her children who learned from her wisdom. Perhaps the French are more civilized than us?
The lovely Juliette Binoche has top billing as the sister but it's Charles Berling as her brother who has the bigger and crucial part. The rest of the cast is fine down to the smallest part. We also learn of a family secret about Mom's relationship with her uncle and even that's revealed in an melodramatic way like the rest of the film. Even her death and the passing of time in a few sequences sneaks up on you.
In an age where films are fast-paced and noisy, Summer Hours is a needed relief. If it didn't put me to sleep after walking around a hot Portsmouth all day, I guess that's a testament to its quality. Understated and charming.... and don't let the subtitles scare you away.

DVD Alert: 'Videodrome'

Watch the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYucU765-M8

Bless Barnes & Noble for their recent sale of Criterion Collection DVDs at half price, plus another 10% for B &N members. That's a total of 60% in savings and the best deal anywhere for these terrific editions. I bought several must-haves from my wish list. While last week in Portsmouth, NH's B&N that has a large Criterion section, I purchased Videodrome, a strange but memorable movie I saw 25 years ago.
Director David Cronenberg is more familiar for his remake of The Fly, Scanners, The Dead Zone, and other horror films loaded with unforgettable violent special effects. His later/recent films such as A History of Violence, Spider, and Eastern Promises steered away from Sci-Fi to center more on psychological horror and the violence created by it.
Cronenberg's previous Scanners known for its exploding heads was a hit. When Videodrome came out in '83, it baffled fans and critics, and flopped at the box office. Its plot was hard to follow and its disturbing special effects and violence as well as a downer of an ending didn't help it. We saw it in the theater and the Mrs hated it. I found the story intriguing but confusing and haven't seen the movie again until now. I figured watching the Criterion two disc edition with its commentaries and other extras would clear up a lot of my questions. Seeing Videodrome now makes me realize that the movie was prophetically ahead of its time and more relevant today.
James Woods plays the opportunist head of a fringe cable TV channel looking for new programming. He learns of a satellite feed called Videodrome showing torture and killings. He thinks it's fake but will attract viewers and pursues its origin, against warnings by an agent who discovers the shows are for real and tells him to stay away from it. A radio talk show host (played by Blondie's Deborah Harry) who likes kinky sex and self-mutilation wants to join the show against Woods' wishes. The more Woods watches the transmissions, he begins to hallucinate and soon his body and gun mutate as he becomes an unwilling agent for Videodrome's secret agenda (to kill viewers who like its content) until he's reprogrammed (literally...) to destroy it using his new weapon, the 'cancer gun': Here's some graphic scenes, one with sexual imagery: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ytp69fBh0J8&NR=1
If those clips didn't turn you away, you noticed how the film's technology is dated (video cassettes, Atari game controllers, analogue TV) as well as the pre-computer graphic special effects (although still very good) but the message is more relevant for today's society heavily dependent/addicted on interactive communication such as the Internet, webcams, and multichannel TV. If this movie was remade as there's rumor of a remake , the TVs would be replaced with computer monitors. I would only recommend Videodrome for Cronenberg or hardcore Sci-Fi fans or perhaps those newer Cronenberg fans interested in his earlier works. This Criterion edition features the restored/uncensored cut and two audio commentaries. The first one features Cronenberg and his director of photography; the second has an articulate Woods and Harry and both soundtracks compliment each other. The other extras include how the special effects were created. Another outstanding Criterion worth every penny.....