'The Young Victoria' Review

Emily Blunt as the new Queen of England. Watch the preview: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-young-victoria/29106/main?icid=movsmartsearch

This is a good film for fans of costume dramas. Most of us only know of Queen Victoria in her later years as a frumpy white-haired widow who reigned from 1837 to 1901. The term 'Victorian' refers to 'typical of the moral standards, attitudes, or conduct of the age of Victoria especially when considered stuffy, prudish, or hypocritical.' If anything the young Victoria (Emily Blunt of The Devil Wears Prada) is portrayed nothing like that here. We see this pretty princess rebelling against her claustrophobic upbringing and refusing to be the pawn of her mother, the Duchess of Kent (Miranda Richardson) and her controlling advisor, Sir John Conroy (Mark Strong from the current Sherlock Holmes and Stardust. He plays these villainous parts well). She learns quickly who serves her best interests and her country.

>>There's also time for Victoria to find love with the right husband who shares her views. Her first cousin, Albert from Germany (Rupert Friend from Cheri), is sent to England by his uncle, the King of Belgium who wants Albert to court her as a way to unite their countries for his political advantage. Those plans change as the two young people slowly fall in love where she learns to accept Albert's advice instead of the self-centered people around her. A postscript tells us they raised nine children during their twenty married years cut short by Albert's death from Typhoid.
>>From what I've read in college history classes about the real Victoria, this film follows the facts for the most part except for a scene near the end that is part invention but good dramatically to give the story a boost. For a good read, check out Wikipedia's biography of this remarkable woman: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victoria_of_the_United_Kingdom

>>Feast your eyes on the costumes and scenery. Emily Blunt continues to amaze me with being so different in each new role; she's becoming a chameleon of actors. Good performances by all including Jim Broadbent as a dotty King William whose death places Victoria on the throne, although the film is on the chatty side which is needed to explain the political plotting. We took Mom with us and I think the film's verbosity put her to sleep although she swears she was awake during the entire time.
>>Sarah Ferguson, the former wife of Prince Andrew, is one of the producers, and certainly knows about what really goes on in royal households. I'm sure her input added some flavor to the story.

'The Book Of Eli' Review

Denzel Washington in The Book Of Eli. Watch the preview: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-book-of-eli/30184/main?flv=1

Your first reaction to the previews will have you thinking The Book Of Eli is a Mad Max clone. That's true in a superficial way as we have a lone warrior surviving through a post-catastrophic world sparsely populated by creepy bad guys ruled by a warlord who takes advantage of his village. This version has the expected fights and chases across the wasted landscapes but perhaps not as spectacular as in the Mel Gibson movies as there's more plot and character development here. And a few plot surprises at the end worth waiting for.
>>Denzel Washington plays the loner donned with sunglasses and enough weapons to be a one man army. He's quite handy with them and warns his attackers before showing his skills. Of course they don't believe him since they outnumber him. The body count continues to rise during the plot as all he wants to do is be left alone as he travels to the west coast in search of a rumored civilized area still in existence. When the village's leader played by Gary Oldman, who always has a great time chewing up the scenery as a villain, learns Denzel possesses a Bible, he wants it for his own purpose. It's been thirty years since the world-changing disaster and there is no more organized religion and no Bibles left in this new bleak world. The educated Oldman's goal (no schools to teach reading and that makes him powerful) is to restart religion with himself as its head as a means to spread his control over the scattered pockets of population. Now the chase begins for the elusive book...
>>The stylized photography creates an ashen, barren look for the film that lets you concentrate more on the story and its characters. Denzel's character will remind you of watching a samurai film with Toshiro Mifune, a man of few words who makes up for them in action. Oldman is always wonderful to watch as his contrast in acting styles and as an opponent. Jennifer Beals (How many years has it been since Flashdance?) is touching as Oldman's blind wife at the mercy of his alternating tenderness and sadistic rages. The real casting surprise is Mila Kunis from TV's That 70's Show where we know her from her comic turn as the spoiled, bossy Jackie. She's good here in a dramatic role as Beals' daughter who escapes Oldman's tyranny to join Denzel who doesn't want a partner on his mission but eventually earns his trust and teaches her survival skills.
>>Consider The Book Of Eli a thinking man's version of The Road Warrior with a dose of religion but not preachy. See it if only for Oldman who's always good in anything... and that goes for Denzel too.

'Nine' Review

Daniel Day Lewis & Marion Cotilliard as an estranged married couple. Watch the preview: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/nine/29835/main

In 1982 we took my parents to NYC to see the original cast production of Nine starring the late Raul Julia. I've forgotten much about it so we took Mom to see the film version. A few weeks ago, Mom and I watched an Oprah episode promoting the film. With a cast full of several Oscar winners, Nine looked like it would be good.... until I learned who was the director. Rob Marshall also directed Chicago which I thought was overrated and unworthy of 2003's Best Picture Oscar. That film bombarded your eyes with too much crosscutting as every musical number was fractured into tiny takes. I can honestly say that Chicago gave me a headache unlike the Broadway revival I saw about six years ago.
>>Yes there is a difference between seeing a musical number on the screen and on the stage. However the classic movie musicals of the past used long takes that allowed you to savor their choreography unlike what I call today's MTV style of editing aimed for the impatient video generation whose short attention span wants fast paced razzle-dazzle.
>>Nine's preview looked enticing as the film's look is an homage to 8&a Half, La Dolce Vita, and other 60's Italian films but alas Marshall proved to be up to his old tricks. If you don't know anything about the plot. you might get lost. If you blink, you'll lose the story line as Marshall doesn't believe in long or long enough takes to get your bearings. The plot is based on Fellini's 8&a Half (1963) about a film director facing an artistic dry spell while looking back on his past. This version uses this story with more emphasis on the women in his life.
>>Daniel Day Lewis who inhabits each part he plays is very good as the director Guido. He looks the part and is convincing enough to come across as an unstereotypical Italian. He's not a bad singer if that's his real voice. I suspect Penelope Cruz, Kate Hudson, Nicole Kidman, and Marion Cotilliard were also dubbed but I could be wrong... The real treat is seeing Sophia Loren as Guido's mother. She's been away from from movies for too long and looks fabulous at 75! She talk/sings her songs as she did years ago in the forgotten film version of Man of La Mancha, another flop adaptation of a hit stage musical. Judy Densch is marvelous as usual as Guido's costume designer who looks after him with a surrogate mother's care. and will surprise you with her showstopping 'Folies Bergere' number. The Blackeyed Peas' Fergie, the only real singer here, does well performing a lusty version of 'Be Italian.'
>> I don't think there is one number that's not marred by choppy editing. It's as if Marshall doesn't trust his instincts and needs to nail your eyelids open so you'll get every point across. or perhaps he's using editing to cover up his cast's lack of singing and dancing abilities. The acting is good enough if you can piece together each actor's role.
>>I seem to recall the stage version ending with a big production number reuniting the cast. Here we get an inkling that ends the film on an abrupt, flat note. But at this point I really didn't care. Nine is a tiring example of style over substance. The reviews have been mixed and its box office is suffering. For a truly negative review which I sorta agree with, read on. You can also find more clips here: http://movies.nytimes.com/2009/12/18/movies/18nine.html?ref=movies

'Daybreakers' Review

Don't let their appearance fool you. These are vampires including Ethan Hawke in center. Watch the preview for a good plot summary: http://www.daybreakersmovie.com/

I'm a fan of vampire films and novels. I still think Bram Stoker's Dracula is the scariest novel I've ever read. So when a new movie about vampires is advertised and the preview looks good, I try to see it in the theater before it goes to DVD. The last one I've seen but only on DVD was Let The Right One In, an earlier blog entry. The preview for Daybreakers looked enticing so I decided to catch a Saturday matinee. I went alone because my wife is getting over the extraction of two wisdom teeth and wasn't interested in seeing fangs and more blood.
>>The story takes place ten years in the future where a mass infection has changed most of the population into vampires while the remaining humans are hunted for their blood. You can't tell who are the vampires except from their yellow eyes, longish incisors, and chalky skin which are downplayed to be not noticeable at first. A chain smoking Ethan Hawke plays a vampire hematologist seeking a substitute for human blood as its scarceness is creating world unrest. He will not drink human blood, an act defying his nasty corporate boss played by Sam Neill whose corporation sells blood milked from captive humans and wants to capitalize on the shortage.
>>Hawke saves some humans on the run and they eventually believe he wants to help them. When he meets Willem Dafoe, a former vampire cured during an accident, he uses him to learn how to duplicate the cure and maybe save the world. Meanwhile Neill enlists Hawke's soldier brother to track them down as he wants no cure found since it would destroy his profitable monopoly.
>>The filmmakers give Daybreakers a steely blue-gray high tech look for night scenes that blends well with the vampires' unsettling appearance. There's plenty of gore but spaced well within the plot. If you think you've seen enough vampire movies with the usual cliches, this one has a few surprises placed amid the action and suspense. The cast is up to the task including Dafoe who offers good support with a few wisecracks that lighten the darkness. This is one well done creepy film for fans of this genre.

'Avatar' Review

Zoe Saldana & Sam Worthington as aliens. Watch trailer #2 for a plot summary: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/avatar/26982/main

Movie fans have been wondering what James Cameron has been doing since 1997's Titanic. That blockbuster is the biggest grossing film of all time. So how does a director top that achievement? Audiences and reviewers will be harsh on any subsequent film he makes... especially if it's a smaller one.... waiting for him to fail... "Oh it's not as good as his others, etc." Cameron knew that and has been quietly working for years on a new film. Publicity has been slowly released about him experimenting on new technology... perfecting 3-D.... something about a sci-fi plot...
>>Well the wait is over and now we have Avatar, a blockbuster that outshines Titanic in every way. Everything you read or heard about it is true. $230 million + was spent creating it and all that money is up there on the screen in full splendor. The box office receipts have already passed that amount since its recent release as word of mouth and glowing reviews keep mounting. The detailed work is eye-popping in 3-D and is used judiciously, not effect for effect's sake. Years ago I've seen 3-D films at the Sony Imax Theater in NYC but they played under an hour and we had to wear these heavy electronic goggles. Avatar uses lightweight glasses which are a relief since the film unwinds over two and a half hours and never drags. Perhaps an intermission would be good for a toilet break and to give our eyes a rest but perhaps Cameron didn't want viewers to lose the story's's momentum. Mercifully the 3-D effects are spaced apart enough for dramatic impact and never overwhelm you to the point of acquiring a headache,
>>The plot will remind you of films like Dances With Wolves and The Emerald Forest where an outsider joins a foreign culture and becomes one of their people... risking his life to defend them against his greedy, ignorant superiors. This time we go one hundred and fifty years into the future to the moon Pandora. Good performances by a newcomer Sam Worthington as a soldier and Sigourney Weaver as a sympathetic scientist (a veteran of Cameron's Aliens; some of the work here will remind you of that film) as the good guys who fight against a buff, gruff Stephen Lang as the gung ho military commander bent on destroying Pandora's ecological/mystical balance in pursuit of a rare mineral wanted by his corporate employers.
>>Expect seeing a world populated by strange creatures and wildlife. Some of the scenes are breathtaking in 3-D as they lead up to the spectacular battle at the film's end. If you never saw a 3-D film, this is the one to see. It doesn't matter if you don't like sci-fi as the story will win you over. Don't be surprised if Avatar outgrosses Titanic. This crowd pleaser is the movie event of the year. You dare not miss it. As enticing as the previews are, it's not the same experience seeing it the way it must be seen on the big screen. Avoid a non 3-D showing.

>>It's been reported that Cameron might make a sequel, possibly two. We know that he's good at making them - Terminator 2 and Aliens although Ridley Scott directed the original Alien. There's been talk for years about a sequel to his True Lies but we better not hold our breath waiting for the one about a ship hitting an iceberg... J/K