The Martian

What initially led me to this film was that it starred Matt Damon, and the trailers I watched for this PG-13, sci-fi adventure looked intriguing. Matt is a favorite actor of mine, and it seemed he was well cast in the role of an astronaut stranded alone on Mars, with nothing to rely on for his survival but his intelligence and what remains of a scientific outpost.

I didn’t go for the 3D show, thinking it would detract from the story. (I liked watching Avatar in 3D, but I didn’t think The Martian would have those beautiful seeds of the sacred tree floating at me like delicate airborne jellyfish, just a lot of hurtling space debris, so passed on that movie technology.)

Astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is likable, skilled in critical thinking, with a PhD in botany, and also quite knowledgeable about engineering and the maintenance of mission equipment. He gets left behind during a severe storm that necessitated the abandonment of the mission, and evacuation of the crew. Believing him to be dead, the five remaining crewmembers launch off the planet towards Earth.

Mark, however, has survived. He must bring all his skills as a scientist and rational thinker to his predicament. What to do about food, water, and oxygen on a planet where none of these exists? What good is it to survive if NASA doesn’t know he’s alive? How will communication be restored, and is there any hope for a rescue?

A friend of mine on Facebook said he didn’t go see the movie because he knew how it ended. It’s not the destination, friend, it’s the journey, and what a journey it was. I especially liked that it wasn’t some shoot ‘em up film filled with hate and violence against others. It celebrated the human spirit to survive, scientific inquiry and cooperation, and the exploration of space by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration for those who may have forgotten).

Other main characters were also well cast:  Jeff Daniels as director of NASA (The Newsroom), Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty and The Help) as the commander of the Ares III (she had a great role as an educated woman with a calm presence, a strategist capable of making tough decisions and not unwilling to place her own life in danger in order to save another), mission chief Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave), and Kristen Wiig as NASA’s spokeswoman (the only movie I’d ever seen her in was Bridesmaids, so I wondered about her being cast, but it was fine.)

Just a few days prior to the film’s release, NASA announced evidence of water on the surface of Mars. Future exploration of Mars is not that far off, and we can only hope that space exploration, with the coordinated efforts of NASA and the space programs of other nations, will assist us in understanding this complex and wonderful universe we live in. In the meantime, enjoy the journey of Mark Watney as The Martian.

The Host

When I rented The Host, I did so because my husband wanted to watch something creepy, sci-fi, and/or eerie.  I remembered that this movie was filmed in New Mexico in part, so decided to give it a try.  (We like picking out locations from the State we live in when we watch a film.)

What I didn’t realize when I rented it is that it was written by Stephenie Meyer, the woman who wrote The Twilight Saga.  Having just reviewed those films at the end of the year, I thought I’d share my thoughts on this one for my first review in awhile.

In this story, souls from an alien civilization have come to earth to inhabit humans and experience life in a flesh and blood body.  Once they enter a “host,” the human’s memories disappear and therefore they are believed to be gone forever.  But one human, Melanie (Saoirse Ronan), somehow is able to share consciousness with the alien soul inhabiting her body, who is called Wanderer.

The interesting thing about these aliens is that they make earth “better,” less violent, more peace loving and how humans really should be.  But it seems to me their individuality is missing when they inhabit human bodies.  They are all too much the same with wooden smiles and an eagerness to do for others, but not necessarily for themselves.

The Seeker (Diane Kruger) is driven to hunt down Wanderer/Melanie in order to find more host humans for souls from the other planet.  She is as cold as steel and single minded in her pursuit of humans.  Wanderer/Melanie manages to escape her clutches, and makes her way to where her uncle is hiding out, a place in Shiprock in a cave that he has made into a safe haven for other human survivors.

The Seeker eventually shows up in the area hunting down Wanderer/Melanie, who is now being held captive by the surviving humans who are distrustful of her.  Could Melanie really still exist even though another soul has invaded her body?

The thing I couldn’t help but think about during this film is that it’s really not that far fetched as a plot or a concept.  After all, who are we but souls that come to earth to inhabit a body in order to experience this planet and life on it?  Of course we don’t take over someone else’s body, but rather we inhabit a fresh, new one.

We watched the entire movie, which was rather low key, really not that much violence, with enough going on to keep us engaged.  Ms. Meyer has really keyed in on her teenage girl audience once again with a story such as this one. Rated PG-13, there is nothing remotely racy about the relationships in this film.  It is chaste throughout most of it, although lovemaking is shown at one point, very tastefully done.  Would I recommend it to you?  I think so; just don’t expect too much in the way of action sequences. 

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2

I finally got to see this last installment of The Twilight Saga.  I waited until the initial frenzy had subsided and the theater was not even half full for a matinee on a Saturday.  I thoroughly enjoyed the gorgeous mountain landscape and forests of the Pacific Northwest on the big screen, majestic in a way my average size TV could not equal.  I was curious by how the story would unfold, given the last image of Bella in Breaking Dawn – Part 1, when she opens her eyes as a vampire.

The infant Renesmee has unusual characteristics, including an accelerated growth trajectory, but then she is half vampire and half human.  We get to see Bella as a vampire, and yet she really doesn’t act that much different from who she was as a human.  She is coached by the Cullens on how to act human to fool her father, but her acting has been such in this series that nothing really changes.  We get to see her hunt, but it’s not really that exciting.

What is interesting is how her father accepts Bella’s physical coldness and lack of an explanation for his grandchild’s apparent age.  His love and acceptance of his unusual daughter is an example for parents everywhere.

It gets complicated when Renesmee is rumored to be an immortal, and she comes to the attention of the Volturi.  A search ensues for other vampire/human offspring from around the world to help vindicate her.  I liked that part a lot; different cultures were represented from this global hunt for others like Renesmee, echoing the diversity of humans on the earth.

The evil vampires want to destroy Renesmee, and as the Cullens prepare for a confrontation by enlisting the aid of other vampires and the werewolves, Bella discovers her gift, soon to be put to good use protecting those she loves.

I really liked the ending, and don’t know if it is the same or different from the book because as I mentioned previously, I haven’t read them.   Remember that Alice has a gift:  the ability to see into the future.  This gift is one that plays prominently in the final scenes of the film.  It’s a gift we all have actually.  We can look into the future by imagining what outcome our choices will inevitably bring to us.  This is the last message Ms. Meyer gives us from this story.  We choose our future with our own free will.

Would I recommend this series to you?  If you are a movie lover, I predict you will like these for the reasons I watch many different types of films.  I want to see how they’re put together, how the story unfolds, what the messages are, enjoy the cinematography, the acting, the dialogue.  They’ll never be in my list of top 100 movies not to miss, but they do entertain.  Let me know what your opinion of The Twilight Saga is if you have seen it.

Swing Vote

Four years ago on the evening of Election Day, my husband and I watched the movie Dave rather than be subjected to the interminable banter of newscasters plying us with the latest election results.  I don’t care for that kind of nail biting, anxiety provoking TV as the ballots are counted, so suggested we see a good political movie.  If you’ve never seen Dave, you really must.  It’s a heart-warming comedy starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver where a look alike to the President fills in as the man in the oval office when illness besets the real President. 

But this year on election night I selected Swing Vote, a PG-13 2008 comedy starring Kevin Costner.  I again didn’t want to subject myself to the above nail biting, anxiety producing network coverage of the election and we had a great time watching Kevin as Bud Johnson, a man who has the unenviable task of casting the sole vote that will decide the next President of the United States. 

The film was shot on location in New Mexico (Belen, Albuquerque, and Santa Fe), so of course I relished picking out landmarks.  But I also loved the story.  Bud is a single parent of a precocious 5^th grader named Molly, who embraces her education and is enthusiastic about everyone’s civic duty to cast his or her vote for President.  Bud is, shall we say, not the brightest star in the sky, and through a chain of unusual events, has both the Republican incumbent and the Democratic candidate courting him for his vote.

What ensues is sheer comedy, with not a little commentary on the current flawed political campaign and lobbying process in America.  The other significant theme of this film is the network news, individual reporters and producers seeing the coverage of Bud and his choice as a ticket to big time network stardom.  Through this unique situation of one man casting the deciding vote, each person has to think about their own personal values, what is important and how much they’re willing to sacrifice for success.

The film also stars Kelsey Grammer as the President, and Dennis Hopper as the Democratic candidate, with supporting roles by Stanley Tucci and Nathan Lane as their campaign advisors.  Also appearing are George Lopez, and Judge Reinhold, someone I hadn’t seen in a movie in a long time, but that I’ve heard lives up near Santa Fe somewhere.

I highly recommend Swing Vote and also encourage you to make your own Election night tradition in four years with a political film to pass the time until the results are in.  The two I’ve mentioned are comedies, uplifting with a definite message or moral to the story, but there are many other political themed movies that you could pick.  I wanted something more light-hearted, but another I saw this year was The Ides of March, which was a drama and much more serious.

I’d love comments about your favorite political movies and why you enjoy them.

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1

Bella and Edward marry in a long sequence of scenes that do not minimize the marriage ceremony in the least, and that focuses on their vows to one another.  It was a dreamy beautiful event (in large part due to Alice's efforts), complete with toasts by family and friends that revealed more about not just the happy couple, but about the guests themselves.

Jacob supports Bella finally in her decision to wed Edward, and they go off on a honeymoon of epic proportions.  I’d be happy with a simpler wedding if I could just have a honeymoon like this on an island paradise (but I’m already married, so just the trip to the island paradise will suffice).  Bella hit it big in that department.

What else she hits big, as you all already know, is becoming pregnant, something she and Edward are surprised about as much as I am.  Really?  How can this happen?  A vampire and a human creating offspring.

Even though a biological explanation is never forthcoming, it makes for a dramatic storyline.  Think about it.  What happens to a mother and child when their blood is incompatible, like in Rh incompatibility?  That’s when the mother is Rh-negative, the father is Rh-positive, and the baby is also Rh-positive.  This can cause serious health problems for the baby if the mother’s blood gets any of the baby’s blood in her womb because she may then create antibodies to kill the foreign blood cells. 

The mother is not at risk in Rh incompatibility, but what if it was reversed?  That would make Bella at risk for serious problems during the pregnancy.  Good drama here.  The other storyline is everyone who is aware of the pregnancy gives Bella advice on what to do.  What that results in is a not so subtle discussion of abortion and a woman’s right to choose.

I thought the preceding episodes of Twilight set up the story in Breaking Dawn quite well.  I told the members of my screenwriting group I was watching these films, and some were, shall we say, amused?  But I am really enjoying this story, which comes as no surprise in a way because I really love movies.  Even if you don’t particularly care for the storyline of vampires and werewolves, I would think you would appreciate the cinematography and the attention given to the sets, costumes and acting that went into this saga.

Breaking Dawn - Part 2 comes out in November as I mentioned in my previous post, and I will have to admit, I am now one of those who are quite interested in seeing the final episode in the theater.  I was at the movies not long ago (The Bourne Legacy which I’ll review later on) and there was a large banner proclaiming a Twilight marathon would be coming soon.  Sitting in a theater for eight hours would stress my body, especially if it was not stadium seating, so I would opt for recommending you have your own marathon at home with Netflix.  And come back in November for my final review of Twilight.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse

It appears my questions at the end of my review of The Twilight Saga:  New Moon have been answered in this next installment of The Twilight Saga:  Eclipse.  This movie featured a riveting story with plenty of action segments to further the adventures of Bella, Edward and Jacob.  I was sitting on the edge of my chair it so engrossed me.  Much to my delight, the “good” vampires’ stories were further revealed here.  We find out how Rosalie and Jasper became vampires, what their hopes and fears were, how they really feel about their present existence, and their individual stories just serve to further strengthen our connection to the vampires’ plight.

The evil vampire Victoria seeks to destroy Bella, placing her in danger yet again.  Her father Charlie, unaware of the world Bella inhabits, is worried about the danger of teen pregnancy, just like all other dads of teenage girls.  He is aware of a monster/murderer law enforcement is tracking, but makes no connection of this to Bella or Edward or to Edward’s family.  Charlie has an awkward talk with his daughter about sexuality and pregnancy, a not so subtle plug for saving yourself for marriage.  As an adult viewer though, and knowing that Edward is a vampire, a detail Charlie has not been told, I wondered:  Would vampires need to use condoms?  They’re the undead, neither living nor dead; they’re cold as ice, a fact emphasized in this movie when Edward is compared with Jacob, a warm blooded living creature. How could a vampire conceive a child?  I think traditionally in the vampire legends, the exchanging of blood makes new vampires, not vampires having sex with each other and little baby vampires being born.  I’ll apparently find out the author’s solution to this paradox in the next movie, The Twilight Saga:  Breaking Dawn: Part 1, as the Netflix sleeve states:  Not long after immortal soul mates Bella Swan and Edward Cullen say “I do,” a strange sensation begins to build inside Bella’s burgeoning belly.”

Seems like a story flaw there, but I’ll reserve my judgment.  Thus far I think Bella is making a huge mistake sticking with Edward.  Jacob is a much more compelling, feeling person.  I award kudos to special effects for making the huge, powerful werewolves’ eyes so expressive.  It makes it easy then to stay connected to Jacob even when he’s transformed.  It’s interesting to me how Bella is not afraid of any of the werewolves towering over her when in wolf form.

I didn’t remember when I began watching Twilight that Part 2 of Breaking Dawn would be coming out in theaters on November 16^th.  So I’ll be able to watch one of these Twilight movies on the big screen, the way I really love to watch movies.

As Halloween approaches, are any of you planning on hosting or attending a Halloween party?  Any costume contests?  Will you dress as a werewolf, or a more traditional monster?  Comment and let us all in on your inspirations.

Dracula (1931)

I took a break from Twilight to watch the 1931 classic movie Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi as the infamous vampire from Transylvania.  A nightmare of horror! proclaims a vintage movie poster featuring Dracula with a young female victim.  But I wasn’t so much horrified as intrigued by this early film of the vampire genre.  I wasn’t sure I had ever seen it, and if I had, the years had faded it from memory.

Bela Lugosi certainly defined for moviegoers worldwide the quintessential vampire.  Numerous vampires since have copied his entire walk, his talk, his mannerisms, the look of his makeup and cape.  Would Bram Stoker, author of the 1897 novel, have approved of Lugosi’s Dracula?  I think he would have.  Unfortunately, he had already passed away nearly 20 years prior to this film’s release.

The director, Tod Browning, had previously had a very successful career in silent film and I think that experience lent itself well to the story of Dracula.  There are often long silences, no music even, which gives a somber mood to the events as they are revealed.  Also, there is no blood and gore, which should please some of my readers who may be disgusted by the violence in film that seems to dominate theaters today.  We don’t even get to see the telltale puncture wounds on the victims’ necks.  Dracula comes in for his meal, and the scene cuts to another.  I didn’t mind.  It’s an easy watch, only 75 minutes.  My disc from Netflix included some commentary, and something to note is that a Spanish version of Dracula was filmed at the same time as the English version.  They would film the English Dracula during the day, and once they were finished, the Spanish crew, actors and director came in and shot far into the night.  It is rumored that the Spanish version is even better, so that might be worth looking into.

The fascination with the vampire is evident in Lucy’s initial reactions to Dracula.  She is clearly drawn to him, the slightly dangerous and forbidden aspects of this stranger she hardly knows.  The cheesiest part is the bat flapping around, but it was 1931 after all.  The best performance (other than Bela of course) is Dwight Frye as Mr. Renfield.  His acting is genius.  I’ve never seen a more transformed character in any movie; his madness is absolute.

What little music there is at the beginning of the film is from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake and seemed fitting to me for the introduction of the film’s opening credits that older movies always featured.  It was of course, black and white, and the cinematography by Academy Award winner Karl Freund lent an eerie and moody feel to the landscape, both in Dracula’s castle and then in England, where Dracula relocates.

I highly recommend this version of Dracula.  It really set the tone for all subsequent vampire movies, especially Bela Lugosi’s performance of the man in black.  If you enjoy the vampire genre, you will like this film that started it all.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon

I watched The Twilight Saga:  New Moon with anticipation, as I knew a werewolf would be appearing (remember in my previous post where I disclosed my fascination with Quentin from Dark Shadows). The Native American legend of werewolves vs. vampires that we heard explained in the first movie plays out well here in New Moon.  I have never heard of a Native American belief in vampires, so that part of the legend is rather far fetched, but then this is fiction after all.  Kudos to special effects for making the werewolves both scary and dangerous and yet, you can see the soul in their eyes and expressions.

Kristen Stewart’s Bella bounces from depression to recklessness in an effort to alternately get over or remember Edward who has left her.  Taylor Lautner’s Jacob Black is her sanity for a while until his werewolf transformation and initiation begins.  That part of the film, their interactions and friendship, is quite touching.

Now she has just traded one Not Good for Her/Not Safe to be Around Her young man for another.  This is so true to life.  It just wouldn’t be quite as dramatic without the paranormal element.  How many of you know teens, or have yourself experienced, picking the wrong one, the one who is dangerous?  At least these two young men realize their propensity for anger and attempt to hold it in check to protect the one they have chosen.

But for Bella, it’s really an attachment she has to Edward I think and not real love.  Same for Edward.  Two star-crossed lovers as Shakespeare might say.  Literally can’t live without the other, individual identity seeming to leave when apart.  Further storytelling will see if I am right.  I haven’t read the books, so I’m going in blind to this entire tale, only going by what appears on my Netflix DVD sleeve and little snippets of information fans have shared with me.

I was happy to see that Alice Cullen (Ashley Greene) was still there for Bella and I think she’s an intriguing vampire.  I hope she is featured in the next films.

There was essentially what amounted to cameo roles for Dakota Fanning and Graham Greene in this segment.  I did like some of the cinematography, especially showing the passage of time for Bella as she mourns for Edward, but other than that I did not like the film as much as the previous one.  Since the other two DVDs are sitting on my end table waiting to be watched, I hope they are better. Taylor Lautner as Jacob is, I found, much more of a presence than Robert Pattinson’s vampire Edward.  I just don’t find Edward that interesting; Jacob is much more vulnerable, and I think that’s what comes through and makes him a more sympathetic character.

I wonder:  Will Jacob and Edward work together eventually like Barnabas and Quentin did in Dark Shadows?  Or will their rivalry persist?  We shall find out together as The Twilight Saga continues.

Twilight

Sometimes I get to movies a little after the buzz about them has subsided.  Twilight is one such film.  I decided to give it a watch, all four of them actually, to see what they had to offer.  I’ll be posting each of my reviews in turn and move on to a few other classic vampire movies, all before Halloween.

I’ve been fascinated with the “Dracula” story for ages.  I probably first read the story in high school. It was the time of Dark Shadows, that eerie soap opera airing in the late afternoons.  I would rush home from high school and turn on the TV to watch Barnabas Collins, not the sexiest vampire (I liked Quentin the werewolf better), but the story fascinated me nonetheless.  (Recently I saw Johnny Depp in the Tim Burton movie Dark Shadows and I would recommend it if you too were a Dark Shadows fan.  Tim Burton does not disappoint, nor does Johnny who makes an intriguing vampire.  It was cleverly set in 1972 New England, just after the time the popular soap opera ended its successful run.)

I enjoy all of the various forms of art the vampire tale has spawned.  Gracing my wall in my home is a poster of Dracula, Ballet with a Bite, as staged by the Eugene Ballet, a performance I remember fondly:  the flowing robes of Dracula as he danced his way across the stage, his red mouth and white face, the crazed ballerinas who were his vampire slaves in their flimsy gowns.  It was a Halloween ballet to be remembered.  Last year in fact, I dressed as a vampire bride for the office annual Halloween party, a costume I had wanted to invent for some time.

Twilight is a very different type of vampire story.  I had heard that it is a romance tale for teens, but I also know that several grown women at work were all gaga over the films as well.   Rated PG-13, I figured it wouldn’t have much sex in it, but that the rating must be for blood-sucking violence.

The story takes place in the Pacific Northwest, present day.  The vampires we meet, as you have probably heard, are attempting to control their insatiable need for human blood.

I found it intriguing and was fascinated by the story, the cinematography, and the idea that vampires are either evil or, much like human beings, attempting to control base instincts or instead allowing them free reign.

The author, Stephenie Meyer, cleverly weaves Native American legend into this story, a brilliant stroke of genius that only adds to the mystique of the whole story.  I felt that the interactions between Bella and Edward were beautifully acted.  It epitomized the young love that teens have for one another when their sexuality has blossomed before their intellect can fully understand the nature of the longings they suddenly have for their beloved.

I’ll be watching The Twilight Saga:  New Moon next.  Stay tuned.

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No Reservations

One of my passions is to a) Bake; b) Cook. That is why the Food Network is on my small list of favorite channels. I love watching chefs whip up tantalizing entrees and exquisite desserts, and then trying a few of those recipes to make them my own. So I was delighted when the film No Reservations was released. What could be better? A romantic comedy where gourmet food is practically a character.

Kate (Catherine Zeta-Jones) has suddenly become responsible for her young niece Zoe (Abigail Breslin) after their sister/mother dies. While she is attempting to adjust to her new role with Zoe, Nick (Aaron Eckhart) is hired as a chef in the restaurant where Kate has long been the head chef ruling the kitchen with discipline and structure. Initially Nick seems to be her opposite, but what they share in common is their love of food. Zoe quickly warms up to the effervescent Nick, and Kate starts to fall for him too.

Zoe struggling with having lost her mother makes this film more of a drama than what I expected. Abigail Breslin’s performance makes our hearts ache for Zoe as she slowly comes to terms with the turn of events that has changed her life. You may remember Abigail from her role in Little Miss Sunshine for which she earned an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actress. She is growing into a fine young actor the likes of which we haven’t seen since Anna Paquin.

As in all romantic comedies (as in life itself), the path to love is never a straight line, and we are kept guessing about Kate and Nick until the end. Aaron Eckhart is appealing and it’s not difficult to see why Kate is attracted to the opera singing, Italian chef. The food does play front and center in many scenes. It’s nourishment, not just for our physical bodies, but also for our souls. The communal table where the waiters and chefs eat and practice their litanies of the ingredients of each new dish of the day, the makeshift tent where Zoe, Nick and Kate eat homemade pizza, the crowded café where friends meet for breakfast, provide more than just food, they bring a sense of belonging to a world where people can grow increasingly isolated and distant if they’re not careful.

Anyone who likes a film that goes deep into the characters and what they’re experiencing will like this one. And if you prefer a sit down restaurant where the food is cooked after you order it instead of before you arrive at the drive through, you will like this film. See it with No Reservations.

Dreamgirls

If you enjoy musicals, you will enjoy Dreamgirls. Based on the Broadway musical of the same name, it boasts a fine cast of actors and singers. The film is nominated for Best Motion Picture-Comedy or Musical at this year’s Golden Globe Awards. There are other film musicals I liked more overall (Chicago comes to mind), but this film has something Chicago never delivered: a really great singer. You may remember Jennifer Hudson from the 3rd season of American Idol. She didn’t even make it to the top two, but beat out winner Fantasia Barrino for the coveted role of Effie in Dreamgirls. She proves that one need not win the title of American Idol to go on to have a lustrous career.

The story follows the lives and dreams of a Supremes-like girl group. The turbulent 60’s with civil rights front and center, and later the 70’s with the movement toward disco are the backdrop for the action. Beyonce Knowles as Deena Jones, Anika Noni Rose as Lorrell Robinson, and Jennifer Hudson as Effie White, are the three young women with dreams of stardom. Effie’s brother C.C. (Keith Robinson) is a songwriter, and the four meet a manager, Curtis Taylor (Jamie Foxx), and the singer James “Thunder” Early (Eddie Murphy), as they navigate the world of entertainment and recording. Danny Glover and Loretta Devine are also featured.

Eddie Murphy received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance in a Supporting Role. I recalled that he had released a single or album in the 80’s (My Girl Wants to Party All the Time) and his performance on stage is fun to watch. It is puzzling that Beyonce Knowles netted a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance in a Comedy or Musical, while Jennifer Hudson was relegated to a nomination for Best Performance in a Supporting Role. From the beginning of the film, it is Jennifer as Effie who steals our attention, not Beyonce. It is Effie’s story, and Jennifer is definitely the better singer, and the one who will be remembered. Her voice is extraordinary, and although I hate to compare her with the other queens of soul, she is up there with the ranks of Aretha and Billie.

I overheard someone say they did not wish to see Dreamgirls as it would be depressing. This person went on to say she had heard the film was based on the Supremes, and thus thought it would be a sad ending. I was happy to discover it did not have a sad ending. It doesn’t stick strictly to the Supremes story, and is the better for it. It is in the end, a story of redemption for the good people in the film. I laughed, shed a tear, enjoyed every minute, and left the theatre feeling great.

The film is rated PG-13 for language, some sexuality and drug content. Bill Condon, who had a hand in writing the screenplay for Chicago, directed. Whereas Chicago is for me about the incredible dance numbers, Dreamgirls is all about the music. See it on the big screen.

Heart of the Beholder

Heart of the Beholder is based on the true story of Mike and Diane Howard, video storeowners in St. Louis in the 1980’s. All is going along well for them until 1988 when The Last Temptation of Christ is released. The Howard’s refuse to pull the video from their shelves, and are targeted for financial ruin by a fanatical religious group, the Citizens For Decency. The group has blackmailed the Prosecuting Attorney to file obscenity charges against the Howard’s for carrying X-rated videos, a move supremely ironic since the Prosecuting Attorney frequents prostitutes. The case is taken to trial, but that is not the end of the difficulties for the Howard’s. Mike becomes very depressed and nearly throws his life away before bouncing back and strategizing a way to bring down the Prosecuting Attorney.

Early on in the film, a comment is made that not all Christians are like these fanatical groups who bomb family planning clinics and ban books. And that is important to remember. However, groups like the Citizens For Decency are still very vocal in their attempts to regulate other people’s lives, often in extreme and violent ways. Their members are damaged, vulnerable people who have found their way into the group, desperate to have a place to belong.

One such person depicted in this film was played by Silas Weir Mitchell as Lester, a mentally ill man easily influenced to commit crimes ranging from arson to intimidation and near kidnapping of a child. I recognized Mr. Mitchell from his playing an equally psycho young man in last season’s hit sitcom My Name is Earl, and his performance is outstanding.

This story is so incredible, I wondered how much was cooked up to make the story thrilling in a Hollywood storytelling way, and how much was truly factual. I found myself shaking my head in disbelief, such as when the movie Splash is presented as a target for banning, because their “rationale” was so ridiculous. But those who ban books and films are not rational. Since I am a lover of story and film and its potential to enlighten, educate and entertain, I feel that we should all protest censorship. It is up to individuals to decide, based on reviews such as mine, whether a film is something they want to watch or not, and leave everyone else to decide for themselves as well.

Heart of the Beholder is an entertaining and engrossing film. I liked the opening sequences as we follow the mighty Mississippi to its banks in St. Louis, but it soon has a made-for-TV movie feel to it. It is still worth renting or buying the DVD as this is a fascinating story that echoes the present as extremist groups still attempt to regulate how people should think and behave in our country today.

Slumber Party

I remember hearing about a slumber party my older sister had where some boys allegedly snuck some beer into their tent that was pitched out under the trees in the orchard. The rest of the details of that night are unknown to me, but Slumber Party, a funny little film I was treated to recently, shows just what lengths a group of guys will go to crash a girls only night.

This is the first film written, produced and directed by Jazmine Bizzoco, Crystal Burdette, and Venice Ventresca. It is not rated, but in my judgment it is probably around a PG-13. I think it is amazing that a group of women in their twenties could pull off a production like this. Its humor reminded me vaguely of Booty Call, a very funny R rated film with Jamie Foxx and Tommy Davidson chasing around two women for you can guess what.

In Slumber Party, four friends go to Palm Springs to help one of them house sit. They deem their weekend as No Boys Allowed. A neighbor, Rufus, sees an opportunity has landed in his neighborhood, and he calls a couple of friends to come crash the party. This is where it gets really funny. I have to give these three writers credit for coming up with some very funny scenes of the guys’ journey to get to the party, and what they do to try to enter the house. Will the guys be successful and gain entrance to the slumber party? I’m not going to give it away.

The only thing that really kind of bothered me was the language. Do people in South Central LA really talk to one another like that? I’ll have to trust the filmmakers that it is realistic. I really can’t say living in the middle of New Mexico. The film is available on DVD only. There were parts that really had me laughing out loud. If you just want to experience something different and light for pure entertainment, give Slumber Party a try.

Lady in the Water

M. Night Shyamalan has written and directed yet another fine film. I have been a fan of his ever since The Sixth Sense, and have carried my admiration for his work through viewing Unbreakable, Signs, and The Village. His most recent work, Lady in the Water, proved to be a complex and ambitious film.

Cleveland Heep (Paul Giamatti) is the stuttering maintenance man/superintendent at The Cove, an apartment complex with a unique swimming pool that leads to the Blue World. Cleveland discovers Story (Bryce Dallas Howard) swimming in the pool one night after hours. Story however is from a fairy tale, and has a purpose to fulfill for the benefit of mankind. A Chinese woman in the building slowly reveals to Cleveland the archetypal tale Story inhabits, and he tries to piece together the clues to deliver a happy ending. To finish the tale he enlists the help of a group of diverse residents in the building. That in itself was the part of the movie that was difficult to believe, that these residents would help him and not simply think him crazy, but this is a fantasy after all, and suspension of disbelief is required here.

The film is shot in a Rear Window like fashion (Alfred Hitchcock is one of Shyamalan’s favorite directors; mine too). Shyamalan himself has a more than cameo acting role in his film this time around as Vick, a young writer with a manuscript that will eventually help change the world. This role Shyamalan has chosen to play seems a bit of a grandiose choice, but he is a brilliant filmmaker after all and everything Vick learns about his writing could be applied to Shyamalan’s own works as well. For who among us really knows the impact our life’s work can have on future generations?

If I could distill the subject of this film into one word, it would be purpose. The mystery that is our world is looked at through the eyes of the residents of The Cove who are trying to figure out their purpose in life the same as any of us are doing in our own lives. This I think is what made Lady in the Water so appealing to me. Shyamalan attempted to tell an archetypal tale to inspire us to think about life, and anyone who likes to go to a film to have their mind challenged and stimulated would appreciate his attempt. I liked how I felt when I left the movie that even if I don’t know what exactly my contributions through my work and life have accomplished, they may be part of a process that helps the planet evolve.

The film is rated PG-13 for some frightening sequences (the world Story comes from has some truly scary creatures in it). If you haven’t seen Shyamalan’s other films, I recommend them all. You can easily rent them from Netflix (see link on this site).

The First Wives Club

The grande dames of Hollywood, Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn, and Diane Keaton, star in The First Wives Club. With divorce in the United States running at 50% or more of all marriages, the fate of the women in this film is not unlikely. What they perpetuate after each of their marriages fail is.

The three were college girlfriends along with another woman, Cynthia Swann Griffin, who is so convincingly played by Stockard Channing in about two minutes of screen time, that the memory of her is indelibly imprinted on our minds just as it is for our three heroines, shocked by her death. The three reunited friends find they all have in common husbands who left each of them for younger women.

Elise (Goldie Hawn) is an award-winning actress with a drinking problem rivaled only by her need for plastic surgery. Annie (Diane Keaton) is separated from her husband, a self-involved businessman and philanderer. Brenda (Bette Midler) has a husband who is going through his second adolescence with younger Shelly (Sarah Jessica Parker) accompanying him. Grieving over the loss of their friend, they decide to join forces to get even with their ex’s. I really like the camaraderie between Annie, Elise, and Brenda, and how they help each other grow. Three heads are better than one.

I find it ironic and very sad that Olivia Goldsmith, the author of The First Wives Club (the book upon which the screenplay was based), died from complications of anesthesia during plastic surgery (I believe she was having liposuction underneath her chin). Is that the risk modern day women will have to take to stay appealing to men? Every woman I’ve talked to who’s seen this film loves it because even if they weren’t dumped for another woman, they know men who are like these husbands, and also know firsthand the attitude our culture perpetuates about youth and beauty which is so detrimental to women’s self-esteem. I recommend you see this film with your closest female friends. This is a very funny movie (rated PG), one that women will relate to, and during which men should be embarrassed as it shows the men here as completely pathetic creatures.

The outcome of The First Wives Club is so satisfying, and the actors’ performances really shine through the witty dialogue and physical comedy. It’s really a film classic for all time. Who hasn’t dreamed of getting even? Here is your chance to live vicariously through the antics of Annie, Elise, and Brenda, along with the help of a gay decorator (Bronson Pinchot), and socialite (Maggie Smith). The film also stars Marcia Gay Harden, Dan Hedaya, Victor Garber, and Elizabeth Berkley among others, and won the National Board of Review award for Best Acting by an Ensemble that year. Sarah Jessica Parker is svelte and beautiful in this pre-Sex and the City role, and Heather Locklear true to form as the woman who helped send Cynthia over the edge. Don’t give up-Get Even!

Governor's Cup Short Screenplay Competition

I entered the above screenplay competition with my 10-page screenplay, A Candle for Spirit Bear. To my delight, it was selected as one of the 12 finalists in the competition out of 433 entries.

It was not selected to be one of the four short screenplays to be filmed, but better luck next time. It was a wonderful learning experience for me and a great honor to be selected as a finalist.

The New Mexico Film Office has a website you may be interested in which I added under my links on the left. It lists films currently in production in New Mexico and all about opportunities in the state to work in the film industry.

I will be away from my computer for about 12 days, and will get back to you with some new reviews once I return. Have a good Memorial Day weekend my faithful readers!

Field of Dreams

Field of Dreams is based on the novel
Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella. When I first heard of this film, I wondered if I’d like a movie about baseball and father/son relationships that takes place largely in a cornfield in Iowa. It is now one of my favorite films, and the perfect DVD to buy your Dad for Father’s Day.

Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) is an average guy with a wife Annie (Amy Madigan) and a daughter Karen (Gaby Hoffman). His life has been uneventful until one day he hears a voice: “If you build it, he will come.” Ray deciphers this to mean that he should build a baseball field. Annie supports this vision of his, and Ray plows under a good portion of his crop of corn in order to build it. And they wait to see who will come.

Eventually, a ghostly figure appears on the field. It is Shoeless Joe Jackson (Ray Liotta), and a short while later several of the Chicago White Sox show up for practice. But that is not the end of it. Ray hears another message that sets him off on a cross-country journey to Boston to seek out a reclusive writer and former activist from the 1960’s, Terence Mann (James Earl Jones).

That’s all the plot you really need. Sit back and enjoy as Ray’s magical journey unfolds. This is the most appealing and engaging Kevin Costner has ever been in a film. His Ray is truly the "everyman" here that he embodies so well. Amy Madigan plays Ray’s wife Annie just right: a spunky, opinionated woman who is loyal to her husband and encourages his dreams. For me, that is the best part of the film; watching Ray and Annie sort out what the voice is trying to tell them, and then taking the action to create a little bit of heaven on earth. The appearance of James Earl Jones as the writer Terence Mann is a bit of casting genius. His sonorous voice convinces Ray and us that keeping the field, even though others think it’s crazy, is the right thing to do. It’s really a message about how we must keep building our dreams.

Phil Alden Robinson, who also directed the film, wrote the screenplay. The film and the screenplay were nominated for Academy Awards, but lost to Driving Miss Daisy that year. The music is perfect for the action. This was Burt Lancaster’s last film, and his playing Archibald “Moonlight” Graham (an actual person that Mr. Robinson found in a baseball encyclopedia) seems a fitting way to leave us.

It is a tribute to the film that the baseball field created for the movie in Dyersville, Iowa still draws hundreds of tourists a year who go there hoping to touch a bit of the magic they felt from seeing Field of Dreams. And if you’d like some help creating your own little bit of heaven on earth, get
Building Your Field Of Dreams by Mary Manin Morrissey. The book is well written, easy and interesting to read, and I believe it can be useful no matter what your spiritual beliefs.

Good Will Hunting

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck wrote the screenplay Good Will Hunting from a short story Matt had written in college. Their story of writing the screenplay and nurturing it along until it got filmed the way they envisioned is inspirational to any aspiring screenwriter. But here, I’m going to tell you about the film, which is a masterpiece. Gus Van Sant directed the fine cast, which included the two young screenwriters/actors as well as Robin Williams in the important role of Sean, Will’s therapist. The drama is rated R for strong language, including some sex-related dialogue.

Will Hunting (Matt Damon) is a troubled young man, an orphan who suffered abuse at the hands of a succession of foster parents. He lives in an impoverished neighborhood in Boston, where he hangs out with his loyal working class buddies, including his best friend Chuckie (Ben Affleck). Will is also a mathematical genius, but chooses to work as a janitor. His janitorial position just happens to be at MIT, where he surreptitiously completes math problems left on the blackboards for advanced students.

Professor Lambeau (Stellan Skarsgard) tracks down the mysterious Will, and decides to try and help him. He strikes an agreement with Will’s parole officer to keep him out of jail. They will meet weekly for math instruction, and a therapist will provide weekly therapy sessions for Will.

Will scoffs at the idea of therapy, no doubt having suffered through many inadequate counseling sessions in the past. But the professor enlists the help of an old college roommate of his, Sean, who teaches psychology at a community college. Sean is quickly intrigued by Will and the challenge, and agrees to provide the therapy.

This film amazes me every time I watch it because of the way the therapy is portrayed. There is little I can complain about other than one moment when Sean becomes angry with Will and pushes him up against a wall. Other than that, Sean is depicted as an ethical and competent therapist, which we don’t often encounter in the movies.

One night when Will and his buddies go to a Harvard hangout, he meets Skylar (Minnie Driver), a pre-med student from England. She is charmed by his wit, and gives him her phone number. They begin to date, but Will can only allow Skylar to see little bits of himself, fearing that if he reveals who he really is, she will leave him.

Sean helps Will with his intimacy issues, and it is a beautiful thing to watch. At the Academy Awards, Robin Williams won Best Supporting Actor, and Matt Damon was nominated for Best Actor. Damon and Affleck famously won Best Original Screenplay, and it launched them into their successful acting careers. The nominations and awards that were given to Good Will Hunting are far too long to list here. If I didn’t know who the screenwriters were, I would have guessed them to be far older than they were when this was written (they were in their twenties). The dialogue is clever and wise, and the decisions Will makes about his life, important decisions about friends, career, and love, are depicted realistically. This is one of my favorite movies, and I hope that someday, Damon and Affleck will write again.

Blast from the Past

In honor of Mother’s Day, I’ll be reviewing some of my Mom’s favorite movies. The first is Blast from the Past. This romantic comedy rated PG-13 has as its backdrop a unique story. Calvin and Helen Webber (Christopher Walken and Sissy Spacek) are an affluent couple living in Los Angeles in 1962. For those of you not old enough to remember that era, that was the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the nation was gripped by fear of nuclear war. At that time people thought a direct nuclear attack could be survived, if they were safe beneath the earth in their own personal fallout shelter.

Mr. Webber is a brilliant scientist (and eccentric) who had a fallout shelter built underneath their 1960’s home and equipped it with enough supplies for his family to survive for three-plus decades. The worst happens, or so the Webbers think, and they seal themselves into the shelter which protects them from the radiation. In reality, a plane has crashed into their home.

Mrs. Webber is pregnant and soon has her baby, whom they appropriately name Adam. Thirty-five years later (the half-life of radioactive fallout), the locks on the shelter spring open. Mr. Webber’s first glimpses of Los Angeles in the ‘90s convince him that there really was a nuclear disaster, and the stress causes him to fall ill. Adam (Brendan Fraser) must now be the brave soul who exits the shelter to get food and supplies.

Although Adam is well schooled, he of course hasn’t seen the world face-to-face. His joy and wonder at discovering the things we all take for granted most of the time is at turns humorous and poignant. Adam also wants to find a girl while he’s out and about (remember he’s 35 years old and has never seen other humans besides his parents). The film becomes a great romantic comedy between Adam and Eve (Alicia Silverstone), who meet soon after he surfaces. Adam employs Eve to help him get the supplies his family needs, and she slowly falls for him.

There are so many great laughs in this film. Sissy Spacek should have been nominated for some acting awards for her performance as Mrs. Webber. If you’re an actor wanting to see how good comedy is done, watch her as this 1960’s housewife trapped with only her husband and son for 35 years beneath the earth. Ms. Spacek gives Mrs. Webber such personality, and she is so much fun to watch. Brendan Fraser is wonderful as the grown man experiencing the world for the first time, and I think this is my favorite performance of his. I first grew to like Alicia Silverstone in her Clueless role, and her Eve here is just the right woman for Adam. Christopher Walken is, as usual, brilliant.

My Mom is 88 years old and loves this film. And so do I. Blast from the Past would make a great Mother’s day gift, and a fun movie to watch together.

Groundhog Day

February 2nd is Groundhog Day, but don’t wait till then to see this delightful comedy that is another film on my favorites list. Bill Murray is Phil Connors, a TV weatherman in Pittsburgh assigned for yet another year to cover Groundhog Day festivities in Punxsutawney, PA (actually filmed at the quaint village square in Woodstock, Illinois, which is just over the border from Wisconsin northwest of Chicago). Accompanying Phil are the newly hired producer Rita (Andie MacDowell), and the cameraman Larry (Chris Elliott). They arrive the night before the event to get up bright and early to film the segment for the news. Phil is a man who is full of himself and not liked by many people. He is attracted to Rita, but has no clue how to romance her, much less even make her like him. Rita is all sweetness and light as expertly created by Andie MacDowell.

After the shoot, Phil can’t wait to get out of Punxsutawney, but a blizzard he didn’t predict keeps him in his bed and breakfast for another night. Mysteriously and magically, Phil awakens the following morning to February 2nd, not February 3rd. Phil is confused, and fails to make sense of this strange déjà vu like experience, but then it happens again the next day. And the next. And the next. And the next.

Bill Murray’s performance in Lost in Translation received a lot of press, and that is a flawed film which I can review some other time. However, Groundhog Day, released 11 years earlier, gave Bill Murray a much better role in which to express himself, and to show what a fine actor he really is. It is his best film role. He does a wonderful job of portraying Phil as he struggles to come to terms with whatever weird time warp he has stumbled into which causes him to always awaken on February 2nd there at the bed and breakfast in Punxsutawney. I have read some compare Bill’s performance to that of Jimmy Stewart in It's a Wonderful Life, and I shamelessly admit that I prefer Groundhog Day. Sorry Jimmy.

Phil’s predicament is the beauty of the film which was flawlessly written by Danny Rubin and Harold Ramis, and who should be credited with creating a classic screenplay for all time. When Phil realizes that tomorrow never arrives, he has big choices about how to spend his day. Will he indulge himself in the pursuit of pleasure, go crazy from the monotony and repetition, or make every day count in a unique and special way?

See for yourself. Harold Ramis directed this wonderful film, which is rated PG. I unconditionally recommend this movie. Not only will it make you laugh, it will have you looking at today in a whole new way.

Film ratings

I am adding a link to my blog for film ratings (see links on the left). It has a section on Questions & Answers: Everything You Always Wanted To Know About The Movie Rating System. There are informative explanations of what the five ratings mean and how they are determined. Check it out sometime.

The Shawshank Redemption

In my blog profile I have listed five of my favorite movies, and I think it’s time I reviewed them for you, beginning with The Shawshank Redemption. Stephen King wrote a short novel, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption (which appears in the book
Different Seasons). Frank Darabont adapted the story into a feature length screenplay. After I originally viewed the film, I read the novella, and concluded that Mr. Darabont couldn’t have done a better job of bringing Mr. King’s tale to the screen. Mr. Darabont also directs the film, and later The Green Mile. It is rated R for language and prison violence.

Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is a banker convicted in 1947 of murdering his wife and her lover. He is sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for the crime, which he maintains he did not commit. Andy arrives at Shawshank Prison, where he has to adapt to the rough prison life, sometimes having to fight for his life. He becomes friends with a group of men, and especially with Red (Morgan Freeman), a man who has already served 20 years of a life sentence, and who is someone who knows how to get things smuggled into the prison. Morgan Freeman provides the narration in the film from Red’s point of view.

Warden Norton (Bob Gunton) believes in discipline and the Bible, and is as amoral as a prison warden could get. Andy’s skills on the outside as a banker and financial planner also serve him well in prison. I was initially worried about the violence that I knew would be depicted in this movie, but it is held to a minimum. I don’t want to say much more because I’d like you to be as delighted, moved, and surprised as I was, as the film unfolds (never let anyone tell you how this movie ends if you haven’t seen it before).

The story of Andy and his imprisonment is a metaphor for life, and the film is just brilliant. Beautifully written jewels of wisdom are sprinkled throughout the dialogue and narration. Thomas Newman composed a beautiful and haunting score for the film. The Shawshank Redemption received 7 Academy Award nominations, and didn’t win any of them. Yet it is a classic film, and once people see it, they will never forget it, sure to become a favorite for the rest of their lives.

This is the role Mr. Freeman should have won his Academy Award for. He lost to Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump, which also won Best Picture. Had Forrest Gump not come along that year, it may have fared better at the Awards. I think that ultimately it is the better film, even though I loved Forrest Gump. The Shawshank Redemption is one of the few films I’ll watch again and again, just to be reminded of its message of hope.

Disney's The Kid

Bruce Willis stars in Disney's The Kid, a light family comedy/drama/fantasy rated PG. Children will enjoy this film as it is very entertaining and funny, and it is also a poignant film for adults to watch sans children as the screenplay goes deep into the psyche of middle age.

Bruce is Russ Duritz, a high-powered image consultant soon to be 40 years old. He is mysteriously visited by himself when he was an overweight 8-year-old called Rusty (Spencer Breslin). The question is: Is Rusty there to help Russ, or is Russ there to help Rusty?

Don’t stress out about the impossibility of the situation; this is a fantasy after all. Russ, although highly successful in his career, lacks all the important things in life: a wife, a family, and a dog. Rusty is very critical of this, and despairs that he grows up to be a loser.

Russ meanwhile is embarrassed by this young version of himself. Rusty is a painful reminder to him of all he has struggled to overcome. It’s fun to watch Rusty go after what he wants as an adult while only a child, much to Russ’ dismay. I know that sounds cryptic, but I don’t want to spoil the surprises for you.

Russ and Rusty finally work things out, and in the process of regaining memories of his childhood, Russ is able to see a brighter future for “them”, with all the important things present that he wished for when he was 8-year-old Rusty.

The film also stars Lily Tomlin as Russ’ long-suffering assistant Janet, and you may recognize other character actors Jean Smart and Dana Ivey. This is a very funny movie, and very touching as well. The screenwriter did a great job bringing childhood into physical form in the persona of Rusty, so that what could have been just a mental exercise digging into childhood memories in a therapist’s office, becomes a flesh-and-blood person for Russ to talk to as he sorts out his life.

Rent this one soon. And have your box of Kleenex handy.

King Kong

King Kong, directed by Peter Jackson of Lord of the Rings fame, is outstanding entertainment. I missed it in the theatres, but I had the good fortune to view it on a friend’s wide screen TV complete with surround sound. The 187-minute film held my interest from beginning to end.

The story begins in depression era New York City. A film producer, Carl Denham (Jack Black) has notions about making a film on a remote island. He has an actor lined up for the male lead, but lacks a woman to star opposite him. He comes across Ann Darrow (Naomi Watts), a vaudeville performer hungry for food and work, and entices her to join him on ship to sail to the island to make his masterpiece.

Joining them is the author Jack Driscoll (Adrien Brody). Ann and Jack quickly form a romantic interest in one another. I smiled at the sight of Jack composing his screenplay in the ship’s hold where animals are normally kept, behind bars.

Once on Skull Island, the action begins and what a ride it is! I flashed back to the Indiana Jones movies, as the nonstop thrills and chills are of a similar intensity. Ann is captured by natives and sacrificed to Kong. The men set off to rescue her, and as they make their way through the jungle, they have to battle some of the creepiest creatures I have ever seen on screen, creatures so awful, I sat curled up on the sofa, hands ready to cover my eyes, emitting sounds of panic as the humans struggled to survive and not be eaten alive. It is adrenaline pumping nonstop action during this part of the film.

Meanwhile, Ann has saved herself from Kong. He is brought back to New York City, and some of you may know the rest of the story, so I won’t say much about the ending. One of my favorite scenes in the film is set in Central Park and is visually stunning as Kong and Ann share a sweet, tender, playful moment together.

King Kong won three Academy Awards, for Best Achievement in Sound, Sound Editing, and Visual Effects. The film is rated PG-13 for frightening adventure violence and some disturbing images. Despite that somber rating, I will definitely see this film again, and highly recommend it to you. It’s a very well developed story with romance and adventure, the actors are great, the special effects extraordinary, and every frame is beautifully rendered to create the times of the depression, the sea voyage, and the beautiful, dangerous jungle.