'My One And Only' Review

Renée Zellweger plays a fading and wounded beauty who takes her feminine wiles on the road in My One and Only. Watch the trailer: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/my-one-and-only/38200/main?icid=movsmartsearch

>>Here's a delightful little movie that should be getting a wider distribution. If it plays in your area, do not hesitate to see this charming comedy since small films like this usually don't last long. The trailer says it pretty much.
>>The plot is loosely based on the early life of actor George Hamilton who is also one of the film's producers. The story takes place in 1953 and the many period details will easily bring back warm memories for those of us who grew up in that era. Renee Zellweger plays a mother of two teenage sons and married to a philandering bandleader played by Kevin Bacon with the right mixture of charm and sleaze. When she finds him cheating in their bed, she packs up her boys, cleans out their safe deposit box, and moves them out of their NYC apartment in search of a better life. To accomplish her goal, they purchase a Cadillac convertible and begin a cross country journey where Mom can find a new and rich husband who can support her upperclass lifestyle and let her boys persue their dreams or more likely HER dreams for them.
>>Of course their journey is met with disaster in comic but heart wrenching turns. Just when every time things start to go right for them when the settle in a new town, well you guessed it... Zellweger's choice of prospective husbands admirably played by actors from TV shows is met with disappointment: Steven Weber (Wings), Chris Noth (Law & Order), Eric McCormack (Will & Grace). Meanwhile Bacon wants her and the boys to come back but can she trust him again? When their lack of money makes her get a job, she becomes engaged to her wealthy employer but will this work out too? Will Mom and her boys finally find happiness? That's for you to learn.....

>>The casting is very good and Zellweger again proves her comedic skills. You might get annoyed by her character's relentless selfishness but she's funny enough with several good lines that I can't remember because I was laughing too hard at them and she's likable at times when her good side is quietly revealed. You do feel for her when things go wrong for her and that's most of the time. Logan Lerman as her son George who narrates the film and Mark Rendall as his half brother, a closeted gay wannabe actor who Mom brings to Hollywood for a career, offer good support as they try to keep Mom from making mistakes with her impractical schemes and uprooting them to a new city. She's her own worst enemy but nothing can stop her.
>>Mom enjoyed this film too and I will get the DVD when it's available. The dialogue and performances are worth at least a second viewing.

'The September Issue' Review

Anna Wintour, in her signature sunglasses, in a scene from The September Issue. Next to her is Grace Coddington. Watch the trailer: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-september-issue/36395/main?icid=movsmartsearch

>>For those viewers who liked The Devil Wears Prada, this documentary is for you. Prada's tyrannical main character was wonderfully played by Meryl Streep and based on Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine. In this documentary we see the real Wintour at work. She's not as wicked as her movie counterpart but still evokes fear in getting things done her way OR ELSE!.
>>Watching Wintour oversee a large staff of prima donna-like models, editors, and photographers who think they know better than her is no easy chore so maybe that explains the way she is or has been portrayed in the press and in fiction (Prada was first a thinly disguised novel) and on film. She needs her steely reserve in putting together a monthly magazine as it's shown here to be hard work as deadlines must be met amid nerve wracking last minute changes. We get a good picture of the process and must credit Wintour for keeping Vogue a success for many years.
>>Regardless of her reputation, Wintour has strong support from her staff including Grace Coddington, a former model who's not afraid to challenge her boss if she thinks her ideas are better. She's given more screen time than Wintour and is not afraid to speak her mind about anyone who she thinks is not doing their best work. One wonders what her boss thought of the finished film, hearing Coddington and others' comments but seeing how Wintour seems invincible, she's probably smiling serenely behind her dark glasses... with her head held high above the fray... thinking 'It's good to be King' or Queen in her case. Long live the Queen!... of fashion.

>>Mom saw the Prada movie with a friend so this one was a good choice for her. She liked it too.

'The Baader Meinhof Complex' Review

The Baader Meinhof Complex depicts the West German terrorist group of the 1970s. Vinzenz Kiefer, left, and Hannes Wegener, on car, play group members. Watch the trailer: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-baader-meinhof-complex-der-baader/36108/main

..The trailer gives you a good idea of this powerful German film that was nominated for a Best Foreign Film Oscar and is now being distributed in this country. It plays like a cross between a crime thriller and a documentary, and grabs onto you like watching a good episode of a Law & Order show but with more depth & and more explosive. I remember hearing about this gang of German terrorists (also known as part of the Red Army Faction) during the 60's. You can do a Wikipedia search about the Baader Meinhof group and the film stays pretty much to the facts.
>>Ulrike Meinhof was a famous journalist sympathetic to anti-government causes and helped the charismatic Andreas Baader escape from police custody and gave up her career and family to join his group in 1967. She wrote articles defending their practices which were supposed to be non-violent but ballooned out of control causing the deaths and injuries to their targets and non-targets. They robbed banks to finance their activities, blew up buildings, and kidnapped and/or killed officials. Amazingly many citizens were sympathetic to their cause.

>>We see their planning and infighting in achieving their twisted goals and also their capture, trials, and deaths at various times. The pacing brings enough excitement to a film almost two and a half hours and keeps you in suspense until the end. The cast is very good including Bruno Ganz as a wise government official who's in charge of the hunt against them. Because of their acting, you almost begin to care for some of the terrorists until they do something repulsive.
>>Don't let the subtitles scare you away from this absorbing production.

Portsmouth New Hampshire

Below: The town square seen from Market St.

Below: A reverse angle; the waterfront is beyond

the buildings.

>>Why do I write a lot about Portsmouth New Hampshire? It's because it's become our favorite vacation spot and almost three hours away, and on the coast between Massachusetts and Maine. We've been there three times this year will go again when there's a film or concert we want to see playing in downtown's historic Music Hall pictured below. There are two large chain hotels and a charming old small inn within walking distance of everything. We've stayed at all of them and now another chain hotel is under construction where I will be able to get my company's corporate discount rate. Cheaper hotels are on the outskirts but we prefer staying downtown by paying for convenience. We do our driving to local attractions during the day, come back to freshen up & relax/nap, and then walk to dinner, theaters, more shopping. Here's a good general video about the city: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXtpoHDQDkI

Below: The Mrs ready to take a cruise from the waterfront:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAJ0dBv0nDY&feature=related

Below: Here's us on the ship. Kinda like a

scene from Titanic....

>>Downtown is by the waterfront and only a few blocks in scope. There's great restaurants offering all kinds of cuisine and new ones always opening. You can skip coffee & dessert in them and sample good coffee shops, bakeries, and ice cream parlors. Among plenty of small stores there's my favorite CD/DVD shop called Bull Moose Music where I spend at least two hours finding items from my wish list and browsing. This store has good prices on new & used stuff. On our last trip I traded in a batch of DVDs & CDs for store credit which was immediately used.

Above: The Music Hall: http://www.themusichall.org/

Above: Another view of the church ahead from Congress St.
Below: As you see I never leave this store emptyhanded.

Below: Take a tour inside the U.S.S. Albacore

http://www.ussalbacore.org/

>>There's also lovely public gardens and historic homes open for tours as well as a guided walking tour of the city departing from the center next to the church in the first pic. You can get more history by visiting Strawbery Banke, that has restored homes and their contents from Colonial times to the present. You can walk to two cruise lines for day and evening trips. Another way to see the city is taking a narrated hour ride on the bus that looks like an old trolley car. Portsmouth has the oldest naval yard in the country and you can take a tour inside a decomissioned submarine pictured above.

>>Besides the shows at the Music Hall, there's a repertory theater company and theater & concerts at Prescott Park. If you want beaches, they are a short drive north or south and there's a nearby mall with a large Barnes & Noble, another must stop for us. And shopping in New Hampshire is tax free. For more shopping, cross the bridge into Kittery Maine for countless outlet stores. Leave Kittery for York, the next town north, to visit their zoo & amusement park next to the public beach where I went swimming a few weeks ago. Take the evening Ghostly Tour to see sites of local lore.

>>People ask me why I don't go to other places on vacation. Simple. 1. We love this area and know our way around. 2. There's still places we haven't seen and old & new restaurants to try. 3. It's an easy drive and instead going directly into Portsmouth , we take the back road in to stop at our favorites stores and eating places in neighboring towns before entering the city. 4. Good deals on lobster dinners.
Here's more links about the city:

http://www.portsmouthnh.com/index.cfm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qlbroYqh3qM&feature=related

http://www.portsmouthhistory.org/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKgeu3lhuI8&feature=related

http://www.strawberybanke.org/

'It Might Get Loud' Review

From left, Jack White of the White Stripes, the Edge from U2 and Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin in Davis Guggenheim’s documentary It Might Get Loud. Watch the trailer: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/it-might-get-loud/36268/main

>>>>Anyone interested in guitars or guitar players should see this informative and entertaining documentary. Here's three musicians from different generations each separated by probably twenty years talking about their craft, how they got their start, and doing what they do best - playing their instrument of choice. We have the elder statesman Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin explaining how he might have not played guitar if a former tenant didn't leave one behind. How The Edge of U2 read a note on a school bulletin board from a drummer named Larry Mullen wanting to start a band which later became U2. And how Jack White of The White Stripes tastes rebelled against the current hip hop music of his Detroit home town.
>>>>There's plenty of historical background using old TV clips and photos as well as tours of the places from the trio's past. There's lots of clips from their current music too and Led Zep fans will savor the classic concert footage with Page performing other members and there's a clip of him with The Yardbirds. You'll see lots of guitars, why each musician prefers certain ones, and how they get those impossible sounds using distortion. You'll even learn why Page created that famous double neck guitar.
>>>>Watching this trio jam and trade stories is a crash course on the creative spirit. No rivalry here although White earlier mentions he's here to steal from the masters. White has a bit of the arrogance of youth but he knows his music and is willing to learn from these older pros. White says he's from a large musical family and I met one brother years ago on AOL. but lost contact with him.
>>>>It Might Get Loud is a must for anyone who likes music and wants to know more about it. This movie is not getting a wide distribution and we saw it in a theater that specializes in documentaries, foreign and small films. Seek it out and you will not be disappointed.

'Taking Woodstock' Review

Demetri Martin as Elliot Tiber, flanked by Henry Goodman and Imelda Staunton as his parents, in Taking Woodstock

Kelli Garner, Demetri Martin, and Paul Dano tripping out.. Watch the trailer: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/taking-woodstock/34750/main

>>>>I never got to Woodstock but I know others who made the trek. The closest I got to it was seeing the movie when it was released in theaters. It was shown in the now defunct Cinerama theaters with their curved wrap around screen and surround sound. Seeing it that way was pretty spectacular for the time compared to watching it now on DVD. I still have my LPs of the soundtrack and new expanded CD versions.
>>>>Taking Woodstock is directed by Ang Lee of Brokeback Mountain and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon fame again he proves his versatility with different subject matter. His new film concerns not the concert but how the events leading up to it affected a nearby town. The film is based on the memoirs of a young local arts promoter Elliot Tiber whose parents operate a run down motel in the Catskills. Everything in their lives changes when their motel becomes the concert's headquarters for its planners & workers as well as for people coming to see the shows. Revisiting all the hippy past was fun for us. I wasn't a flower child but the film portrays that subculture as well as I remember.
>>>>It's a lighthearted, leisurely paced movie with good humor and some funny bits about those infamous marijuana brownies and psychedelic trips. Some good performances especially by Live Schreiber as transvestite marine who becomes the motel's security officer Paul Dano, from Little Miss Sunshine and There Will Be Blood, as a hippie who introduces Elliot to LSD. That trip is presented like a scene from those bad 60's/70's movies but it's still amusing. The real gems here are Imelda Staunton and Henry Goodman as his conservative parents whose lives will never be the same after Woodstock.
>>>>Since there's no concert footage used in Taking Woodstock, it's best to watch the concert movie after as a companion piece. As they used to say: tune in, turn on, and drop out.