'Swing Vote' Review

Kevin Costner and Madeline Carroll play working-class father and daughter in Joshua Michael Stern’s film.  Watch the trailer: http://swingvote.movies.go.com/?CMP=KNC-svgtitle&HBX_PK=swing%20vote%20movie&HBX_OU=50

    I was a bit disappointed in this movie but maybe it's because I was expecting something different.  The previews led me to believe it was more of a comedy. Swing Vote proved to be more serious than funny although it could have used more laughs. The pacing could have been tightened as the political scenes seem to go on too long or repetitious .  I'm not saying I didn't like it or not recommend it. The father-daughter scenes are the best part, including a heart-breaking one where daughter and mother meet after many years, each expecting more than what they want. 

      Kevin Costner plays a ne'er-do-well but likable single father of an adolescent daughter wiser beyond her age. He slides easily into his role but it's newcomer Madeline Carroll who almost steals the movie from the seasoned cast.  When it's learned that he must cast the deciding vote in the Presidential  election, their lives become a media circus and pawns for the press and politicians. Kelsey Grammar makes a good incumbent President but Dennis Hoppers lacks bite as his opponent and is better off playing villains.  When his wife slaps him for lowering his standards, you almost think it's for being in a role unsuited for him. I kept waiting for Nathan Lane to be funny but that's due to my expectation.  The political trickery should be dirtier in this movie and provide more laughs. More satire is called for but perhaps the filmmakers wanted to avoid it and concentrate on the plight of the working class and those without jobs.

   Swing Vote ends on an uplifting note as Coster redeems himself and makes a moving speech how he squandered his life and should be thinking of others who are worse off than him. This movie is not doing well at the box office but it's a pleasant two hours.

'The Mummy 3' Review

Resurrected: Jet Li as a 2,000-year-old tyrant in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.  Watch the trailer: http://www.themummy.com/

    I haven't seen the first two installments of this franchise since seeing them at the movies so I'm fuzzy on their details.  Yes they were entertaining and so was this one.  More money has been spent on the almost never ending parade of special effects but this is what audiences seem to want to see. More & more  movies like Wanted and The Dark Knight overwhelm your senses with fast paced action and editing. In this third Mummy there's hardly any 'slow' parts spaced between the assault on your eyes & ears.  It's over the top but entertaining hokum with enough laughs in the manner of the Indiana Jones saga. The trailer says it all.

     Brendan Fraser has a new actress replacing Rachel Weisz as his wife. Maria Bello offers fine support as a daring-do authoress accompanying him on their journey. I don't recall Weisz's version as funny but that will need rewatching the previous two movies. This time their son is of college age and a tomb raider whose action sets the plot in motion.  They are tricked into releasing a mummified Chinese emperor (Jet Li)  from a 2000 year old spell. Li scowls a lot but he's allowed because he's the cruel villain and not so good with English dialogue. The lovely & classy Michelle Yeoh plays his equally old nemesis who returns to stop him from reviving his army and she kicks ass as well as any man but in a more graceful manner.  Check out Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.  For those who hate reading subtitles, the DVD has an English soundtrack.     

      There's almost every cliche from a Chinese Martial Arts film in Mummy 3 as well as the usual Indy Jones rip offs.  Even the Abominal Snowman or Yeti (actually three of them) show up in the mountain scene.  There's plenty of fights, explosions, gunfire, and noise to keep you attentive. If that's not enough there's three love stories juggled amid the mayhem: one old (Fraser & Bello), one new (their son & a Chinese gal),and an ancient one ( Yeoh & a general killed by Li). Throw in morphing monsters and the dead brought back to life, what more could an action/horror movie junkie want? 

     No we didn't take Mom to see this although she enjoyed Forbidden Kingdom with Li and Jackie Chan. We planned to take her to see Swing Vote but heavy rains changed our plans. Next Saturday for that one.....

'The Dark Knight' Review

Heath Ledger plays the Joker in Christopher Nolan's second take on the Batman franchise.  Watch the trailer: http://thedarkknight.warnerbros.com/

 The Dark Knight broke all records since its opening.  We were able to catch it on Tuesday's Bargain Night/$5 and only because we purchased our tix an hour before the 7:00PM showing. The theater was packed but we arrived early to rush to claim good seats.

        So how good was this movie?  It's as good as you read or heard although we felt it dragged a bit near the end but that might be due to its excessive length.  The cast is uniformly good and blends well with the impressive, moody visual details. Christian Bale is even better this time (and that's not a knock) as Bruce Wayne and you-know-who. Of course all the attention is on Heath Ledger's Joker, alas his final film and you've heard that he deserves an Oscar. So how good is he?  Very good.  It's easy to be cynical and say anyone can wear makeup and speak in a weird, menacing manner to achieve his performance.  But it's much more than that. Just watch his body language and gestures as he intones his sarcastic lines.  The total effect is creepy in the right dramatic way. He's  so deep into his character, you forget the actorr behind it although I did try at times to see through his makeup. Is Ledger better than Jack Nicholson's Joker?  Well that's a hard question. Both work well in both movies but each movie is different in design and execution. If you switched Jokers in both movie versions, I think they wouldn't work as well.  I always felt Nicholson, as good as he was in Tim Burton's film, wasn't hammy enough where Ledger pulls out all the stops to expand his villainy. Nowadays Nicholson is too cartoonish/hammy in everything he does.  And I also like TV's animated Joker, mellifluously voiced by Mark Hamill of Star Wars fame.

   We didn't take Mom but if she shows interest, I could easily sit through another viewing. There's so many details to savor. The Dark Knight is the blockbuster of the year.  The History Channel is promoting two shows as a tie-in. One is about the movie's gadgetry and the other concerned the psychology  of the characters. Both worth watching.

'Tell No One' Review

Marie-Josée Croze and François Cluzet in Tell No One.  Watch the trailer: http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1809786796/trailer

Tell No One is based on an American crime novel that I need to read. This French film is one of the best mystery movies you will see and it will keep you guessing until the very end. Usually the French are known for their costume dramas and comedies but they do make some good mysteries and crime melodramas.  This movie is an intricate puzzle whose pieces fit together at the end and with so many Hitchcockian twists & turns requiring your rapt attention, and is thoroughly rewarding.

   The subtitles are easy to follow for those who don't like them.  So many tell me that they won't watch foreign films for that reason. Actually it's not difficult once you set your mind frame. Ah but what good films you are missing if you limit your viewing pleasure. Some DVDS have a dubbed English soundtrack which I don't mind if it's a good dub.  I don't mean a literal  word-for-word translation but one with voices that match their characters' lips and and physique. A flat reading can undermine their personality and ruin the mood of the film.

      Here's a detailed and enthusiastic review:  http://movies.nytimes.com/2008/07/02/movies/02tell.html

'Mamma Mia!' Review

From left, Christine Baranski, Meryl Streep and Julie Walters in Mamma Mia!  Watch the trailer: http://www.mammamiamovie.com

I was never a big fan of ABBA's music and never got to see the Broadway show of Mamma Mia! which is still running in NYC & around the world and making a fortune. The plot is based on a forgotten 1968 movie called Buona Sera Mrs Campbell starring Gina Lollobrigida, Shelley Winters, Telly Savalas, and others.

   Mamma Mia!  is the feelgood movie of the year. It's so entertaining that the audience applauded at the end, including me. It's charming, sentimental, and loaded with infectious silliness peppered with sight gags. You have to be cold blooded not to react to this buoyant confection about lost love and trying to rekindle it or  finding a new one, all set to toe-tapping music.  Besides being filmed on a Greek island you want to visit or to reside, the locations blend well with the plot which is presented in the above trailer.

   What's most interesting and works the best is that the cast is not known for singing or dancing although Meryl Streep has sung in the theater and will surprise you with her pleasant voice.  Most of the other non-singers are competently amusing as they put meaning into their lyrics.  However Pierce Brosnan deserves an 'A' for effort with his, for a lack of a better word, singing. But he's too likable and once you get over your initial wincing on hearing his dulcet tones, you'll be rooting for him as he woos Streep. She's supported by Julie Walters who won us over years ago in Educating Rita, and whose klutziness almost steals the spotlight here from the rest of the able cast. We saw Christine Baranski, of TV's Cybill, on Broadway years ago in a drama/comedy and here she shows off her musical talents in a show stopping number on the beach.  And watching Colin Firth, everyone's favorite Mr. Darcey, shine in a different type of role is another revelation and sings better than Brosnan. However I don't see Firth recording any albums soon.

    The dance numbers have been criticized for their simplicity but they weren't filmed on a sound stage like in old musicals.  The choreography is suited for the island setting and everyone, including the inhabitants, is used to full comic effect. Would a team of polished singers & dancers make this movie any better?  I doubt it for this seems to be the reason why it wins you over. Watching these actors not known for their musical talents trying their hardest brings out the humor in the songs and situations. They keep surprising you with their hidden talents.

   Does love triumph in the end?  Well it's a musical and you get to know and like these characters so much, there's no way Mamma Mia! can end on a false note. How those ABBA songs are worked into the story is another delight. Stay for the closing credits for more fun.

   Of course the original Mamma Mia loved it too.

'Wanted' Review

Both guns blazing: James McAvoy becomes part of a gang of assassins called the Fraternity in Timur Bekmambetov’s Wanted.  Watch the trailer:  http://www.moviefone.com/movie/wanted/28120/main

 Imagine your head is a steel ball inside a pinball machine and you get the idea after seeing this movie. There's so much visual and aural bombardment and manipulation as the filmmakers' use their artistic flippers to bounce you around for almost two hours.  Overload is the key word here as you feel drained from watching the continuous action and bloodletting scenes. This movie can be intense if you surrender to it. Wanted is not a bad movie but a magnetic one that hooks you from the beginning and never lets go. it doesn't give you enough time to dwell on its plot absurdities.

     For anyone who is or has been bullied by bosses and betrayed by friends and lovers, you can't help but feel for James McAvoy who has the lead as a wimp who becomes an assassin with hyper abilities.  However the real star here is Angelina Jolie who kicks more ass in this movie than in several ones put together. She's lean and mean and the best fighting machine in films today. The Tomb Raider movies were good training for Wanted and she learned her lessons well.  Nobody has a better smirk than her with those plump lips that could suck the chrome off an old Cadillac. She's all attitude with a capital 'A.' 

   Wanted is directed by this Russian whose frenetic Nightwatch gave me a headache. At least his style is channeled here for mass appeal. If you like spectacular stuntwork, including a terrifying train wreck, and gore galore, this movie is for you. Be prepared to be overwhelmed....

'Kit Kittredge: An American Girl' Review

From left, Abigail Breslin, Julia Ormond and Chris O'Donnell in Kit Kittredge: An American Girl.  Watch the trailer: http://www.kitkittredge.com/

Don't laugh at this choice. It's a Mom movie. I normally don't see these kind of 'girlie' movies but there's nothing else for her to see this weekend.  The preview looked OK and the reviews have been favorable so this might be entertaining for all of us.....

    OK we saw this G-rated movie (I can't recall when I saw the last one) and I must admit I was enchanted by its sweetness and sentiment. It's a lovely depiction of people working together and making sacrifices to stay together during the Depression.  Tough times require difficult choices and the part about home foreclosures rings true today. The costumes and art direction were first rate and the actors made the most of their roles.

   Abigail Breslin is an ugly duckling who constantly wins you over in each movie without trying. I'm not familiar with the doll series on which this movie is based but she plays the spunky Kit Kittredge without being cloying. The lovely Julia Ormond as her mother struggling to keep their family and house afloat blooms with a quiet authority I've not seen in other movies. The rest of the cast is marvelous and those without speaking parts seem perfectly cast too. The camera knows how to show them as they should be in their roles.

    This movie is never saccharine but I shed a few tears. Its gentle humor doesn't dilute the message here about not judging others (the hobos) woven into the plot about families staying together during economic hardships. As we face tough times today, this movie offers inspiration to all who are struggling to keep a roof over their heads, food on their tables, and gas in their tanks.

    Yes Mom enjoyed it too and I saw a few tears running down her cheek at the conclusion. One girl brought a Kit doll with her so I got to see what one looked like.