Writer's Block

I haven't been in a writing mood. We've been to Portsmouth twice and seen a few movies in our area. I've been reading and watching more DVDs. The pile keeps growing faster than I can watch them due to good sales in stores and online with Borders discount coupons. More on these later...

I'm hardly online these days except to do mail, read articles, and chat with a few buddies. I don't enter chat rooms too much because of the room drama and to be frank, small talk bores me. I'd rather spend the time with a good book or watch a DVD. Lately I've taken an interest in German films made during The Third Reich. I own several of them as well as books about them. No I'm not a neo-Nazi but I find these films fascinating as they weren't all propaganda pieces although you can find some politics in the most innocent entertaining ones. More on these later; meanwhile here's a good article explaining about that era: http://www.stanford.edu/group/SHR/5-supp/text/thompson.html#note6

'Hanna' reviewed

Eric Bana & Saoirse Ronan in Hanna. Watch the preview:
http://www.moviefone.com/movie/hanna/51540/main

No this film isn't a Miley Cyrus vehicle although I will admit I watched a few episodes of her TV show while flipping channels. They were entertaining but enough about Hannah Montana....
>>>This Hanna (without the final 'h') was an interesting action thriller starring Saoirse Ronan from Atonement in the title role. The films begins with her hunting a deer in wintry Finland. She feels guilty about her arrow missing her prey's heart allowing it to suffer a slow death and quickly finishes off the job with a gun. (Spoiler Alert - This scene will be repeated at the end but you can see it coming a minute before.) We soon see her performing her martial arts skills with her father Eric Bana who's also responsible for her encyclopedic education. Hanna is no ordinary teenager with her extraordinary survival skills as she seems like someone from another world, and we slowly learn why these two have been in hiding for years.
>>>Meanwhile they are hunted by Cate Blanchette as a nasty CIA boss who knows the secret of Hanna's origin and forced them into hiding for years. Hanna & Dad separate to meet in Germany as now it's their turn to be the hunters. Cate takes her role to heart as the Queen of Mean. Part Wicked Witch, part Ma Barker. You will enjoy this performance probably more than the other two leads but that's not to undervalue them. Villains always have the best parts. This is a balanced trio of good actors meeting the demands of the script: The father as teacher, the student who surpasses the teacher, and the principal who closed their 'school' and wants to eliminate them. Cate's henchmen are as nasty as her if not worse.
>>>There's a fairy tale motif running through the story as well as plenty of action scenes of mortal combat, chases, and torture accompanied by a throbbing score by the Chemical Brothers. The secondary plot concerns the emotional waking of a teenager who has been raised away from civilization and who must learn to adapt with people as Hanna discovers when she tags along with an English family in Morocco on her trek to Germany. Saoirse is convincing here as in her action scenes.
>>>Hanna is a cut above the usual action thriller. Saoirse will amaze you and Cate will give you a good scare.

'Limitless' reviewed

Bradley Cooper in Limitless. Watch the preview: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/limitless/1394087/main?icid=mfm_poster

Seeing the preview in the theater attracted us to Limitless. I enjoyed this fast paced thriller. The story is certainly farfetched but it moves so quickly leaving you no time to ponder over its logic and message.

Bradley Cooper who's becoming a major leading man since the unexpected runaway success of The Hangover stars as a would be writer suffering from writer's bloc. The bill collectors are one step away and nothing he does gets him ahead. One day he meets his ex brother-in-law who offers him a pill that will change his life. His mental ability increases at a staggering rate with each dose, demonstrated by neat visual effects. He speedily finishes his novel in four days and develops other abilities like learning languages, playing music, and making financial killings that attract the attention of an arrogant Wall St. mogul played by Robert De Niro who brings him onto his team. His girlfriend who dumped him takes him back and now he's got the whole world waiting for his taking.

Cooper needs more pills not only to expand his mental powers but also to keep them, and there's the danger. Meanwhile he's pursued by a mysterious stranger and a brutal European loan shark who wants his pills, both men creating problems on his way to the top. Toss in an accusation of murder and the complications keep piling up as fast as the plot races.

Cooper's performance and narration hold the fantastic plot together. De Niro gives his usual good performance that steals almost every one of his scenes and has the best lines in the film spouting seasoned advice to his young novice.

This thriller also presents a halfhearted warning about the dangers of addiction as we learn the fate of others who depended on the drug. Will Cooper succumb to its lethal attraction or can he control it? Only the ending lets us know and what an ending! See if you think it's believable.... but remember, it's only a movie and good escapism fueled by wish fulfullment. Ah but if only there was such a drug......

'Unknown' reviewed

From left, January Jones, Aidan Quinn, Rainer Bock and Liam Neeson in Unknown. Watch the preview: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/unknown/10018662/main

We enjoyed this action thriller loaded with plenty of twists & turns to keep you guessing until the end. Liam Neeson plays a scientist traveling with his wife (January Jones) to a seminar in Berlin. He loses his briefcase at the airport and before checking into their hotel, he hops in a cab to retrieve it. An accident leaves him comatose for four days and his doctor warns him of possible memory loss. When he returns to the hotel, his wife says she doesn't know him and he has no papers on him to prove his identity. She introduces him to a man (Aidan Quinn) who claims to be her husband and has Neeson removed.
>>Nobody believes him as even his photo is changed to Quinn's on his internet biography so he begins to seek anyone who can verify his identity, starting with the cabbie (Diane Kruger) who abandoned him when they crashed into a river. Eventually he convinces her he's telling the truth and she decides to help him. A sympathetic nurse leads him to a former Stasi agent (the always wonderful Bruno Ganz) who is hired to investigate and gets in too deep in solving the mystery. Meanwhile he's constantly followed by killers who want him permanently silenced.
>>You have to pay attention to the plot as it moves fast while you learn the truth about Neeson's identity. I liked the way the story ends and I will admit it fooled me as well as the audience. There's plenty of well spaced car chases & accidents and one-on-one fights that propel the plot along. It takes a while for Neeson to realize who is telling the truth and that's what keeps us on our toes. If you like these kind of puzzle mysteries, this one's for you. Keep in mind that everyone here is not who they seem to be...

Colin Firth & Helena Bonham Carter as the real royal couple (shown here) in the acclaimed The King's Speech

It's been a while since I wrote an entry. I finally recovered from a lingering sinus infection that's left me tired and still playing hell with my allergy and asthma. At night I'm usually watching DVDs and reading about films, and I haven't had the creative spark to write about films. I have seen several Oscar contenders and will offer my thoughts about the winners & losers after the ceremony. I never miss the broadcast which is tomorrow night.

Here's a few quickies about what I've seen in theaters. Watch the previews.

True Grit.
http://www.moviefone.com/movie/true-grit/1430122/main

Very good period piece with marvelous performances. It will make you forget the John Wayne version as the new one is closer to the novel as I've been told. Jeff Bridges tosses off those humorous one liners better than anyone else. Matt Damon holds his own with retorts against Bridges in their friendly rivalry in tracking the villain. Newcomer Hailee Steinfeld as the cool & confident young girl who joins them in her quest to find her father's killer might earn a Best Supporting Actress Oscar.

Black Swan

http://www.moviefone.com/movie/black-swan/1441150/main

A disturbing picture not for the squeamish. It's about ballet but don't expect The Red Shoes or The Turning Point except for a superficial comparison. Young ballerina goes bonkers in her quest for perfection. You 'ld go nuts too if you had her possessive mother, a manipulative instructor, and jealous rivals, real or imaginary besides being under the pressure of rehearsing and performing the lead role in probably the world's most famous ballet. Natalie Portman might earn the Best Actress Oscar and deservedly so for her preparation for the role and she's onscreen for almost the entire film. The rest of the cast deserves praise. Here's a good article about Portman's role:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/02/movies/awardsseason/02scot.html?scp=45&sq=black+swan&st=nyt

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-chronicles-of-narnia-the-voyage-of/30385/main

More of the same in the series but this time in 3-D which was minimal/hardly noticeable. I'm guessing the film was later converted to 3-D for extra box office appeal. One good plot element: A bratty cousin learns compassion & humility the hard way.


The Tourist

http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-tourist/30768/main

An expensive-looking but limp thriller with Angelina Jolie, Johnny Depp, and other good actors. The plot is incredulous and at one point I yelled out: "Aww come on!" at Depp's unbelievable escape from inside a van. The film has nice European scenery and Jolie looking her classy best in gowns & jewels. Depp looks like he's sleepwalking through his role. A big disappointment that got bad reviews and small box office returns, considering the huge salaries for the two leads and the cheaper but first rate cast including Paul Bettany, Timothy Dalton, Rufus Sewell, and Steven Berkoff as the nasty villain. The Mrs liked it more than me.

The King's Speech http://www.moviefone.com/movie/the-kings-speech/10034251/main


The best film of the bunch and should earn Oscars in several categories. There's been articles about the film being not entirely historically accurate in favor of dramatic license but it doesn't matter. You will enjoy every minute of this inspirational story about overcoming adversity. Colin Firth should win the Best Actor Oscar as the stuttering king and Geoffrey Rush deserves the Best Supporting one as his irreverent teacher but Christian Bale is predicted as the winner for The Fighter. Helena Bonham Carter, who gets better with every role, should not be underestimated as Firth's understanding royal wife. She's nominated for a Supporting award. Every performance is a winner.