Oddly, my overall experience of the film was that it was self-defeating. The first two thirds of the film are so overwhelming in the presentation of global warming, damage to earth, destruction to wild life, and the impact on human life, that it leaves the imprint of hopelessness. I felt battered, weary, and defeated. By the time we got to how we can all stave off catastrophe, I was almost too burned out to rise to the occasion.

This film would have been far more effective, for me, if it had, in its opening sequences, reminded us of what we already know only too well about Earth’s calamity, and then gone immediately to what we can and must do beginning now to turn things around.

Instead of talking heads lecturing us, I would have loved to see a film which centered on a single family in a single community where each person is shown changing their polluting ways and contributing to the health of the planet. The story of healing could be very effectively told that way, from the smallest child to the eldest grandparent, to choices made in every sector of the larger community; and from there, the spread of change across the world. The emphasis needs to be on how each little thing each of us commits to do affects the whole of the world.

“300”, rated R, general release

"No one is all bad or all good." Russell Crowe and Christian Bale shine in this wild west story about a band of robbers and a rancher family man who was a former sharpshooter. The film is beautifully done, suspenseful with surprising twists and turns, and carries the message that all of us have a little of the light and a little of the dark in us.

While both lead characters are tough in their own way, each is cut of a different cloth and each holds different values. They defend those values to the end.

Crowe’s Ben Wade, the leader of the band, is ruthless but not unyielding. More often than not, he talks his way out of precarious situations. Bale’s Dan Evans, says very little but he cares deeply about his family’s future and how he is seen in the eyes of his young sons. When Evans stares death in the eye, he takes on Wade’s approach of talking and it is then that we discover that Wade is not only a talker, he is also a listener. The back and forth between the two of them is powerful and very different from ordinary stalemates. Here, humans communicate with each other rather than emptying their hardware in reflex macho behavior.

While there is graphic violence, it is balanced with substance. There is also excellent supporting acting by Peter Fonda, Ben Foster and Logan Lerman.

Using the music of the Beatles, the director immerses us in a personal love tale that is the story of the whole generation of the ‘60s.

Jim Sturgess, a handsome, intense young actor with a sweet voice, appears as Jude. He is Lennon and McCartney embodied. He falls in love with Lucy, magnificently played by Evan Rachel Wood who sings as beautifully as Sturgess.

As they merge heart to heart, we, in the audience, are enraptured and immersed. We are transformed into the world being exposed to us on the screen and it is so much more inviting, so much more beautiful, so much thrilling than the one we live in collectively that we want to climb into the screen and live there in the brilliant colors, the wonderful choreography, the poignant singing, and the splendor of imagination.

There is a reason we are swept off our feet. It is Julie Taymor, the same Ms. Taymor who enchanted us with her fabulous creations in the show The Lion King. She dazzles us with color, puppets, visual intensity, masks, choreography, scenic artistry, and the creation of earthy characters. We are submerged again and again in the emotional power of 33 Beatles songs and carried along on a ride of magnificent musical arrangements.

We soar into the sky as well as feel ourselves smashed against the canvas of bleeding strawberries as we relive the rage of the time, the trampled idealism, the ecstasy of drugs, and the exquisite power of timeless love in Strawberry Fields Forever.

Animation and virtual reality mix with life in scene after scene as we rise and fall to the boots of soldiers, the suits and ties of working men-become-robots, and then shift, as the scenes shift, to tableaus in tall grass or forests of brilliant, blazing leaves.

I have never had such a fantastic screen experience. It is impossible to know what is coming next. Hence you are held bound in the present moment and thrilled by its unique and unexpected revelation. Everything is a surprise.

Make sure when you leave the theatre that your feet are solidly on the ground because it is certain that your heart will have fled from your chest and joined a state of joy that is unending. Love is all you need.

This true story about Jesse, a young criminal drug dealer in Los Angeles in 2000, makes me wonder if this is what young druggies are really like or if this is what writer-director Nick Cassavetes imagines them to be in his worst nightmare.

The characters in the film are constantly drugged or drunk or fornicating or fighting and their limited vocabulary is punctuated with the f-word every other word. The crime for which they are all ultimately incarcerated is the kidnapping and murder of the 15-year-old half brother of a Jewish Nazi drug addict who owes Jesse $1200.

These decadent, low-life, dimwit cretins are actually smart to be on drugs because if they were ever straight enough to look at the so-called lives they are living and actually see their worthlessness, they might fall over and die of shock. Their parents are equally useless.

I don’t know how many millions of dollars went into the making of this or why Cassavetes made the time or the effort to put it on the screen. I don’t know why I went to see it. The first 2/3’s of the film are a wild orgy of sex, violence, or belittlement. Cassavetes could have depicted all of that in a 10 minute fast forward and jumped to the last third, to a scene where two guys deliberate on whether they will carry out the order to kill the 15-year-old. There was substance in that scene, and, oddly, not one single f-word.

This is suburbia gone to hell, and its youth are burning in the flames having set their own fire. My advice, don’t bother. And, if you have kids, know where they are and what they are doing.

ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS, rated PG, general release

The chipmunks are dear, adorable, amusing, and very loveable but they are overshadowed by live-action adults who have pedestrian and predictable dialogue played by actors who are passable at best (Jason Lee, David Cross, Cameron Richardson.) We are most entertained by the little faces as they sing, as they express delight, even sadness, and as they romp during concerts. But it all goes on way too long and we can only hope there will not be a sequel. Cute, yes, but tedious. The most wonderful moment came in the audience rather than the film when a small boy behind us emitted a shriek of happiness during a lovely moment on the screen. This film was made for children, after all, so you would have to ask them rather than me whether it was worth going.

AMAZING GRACE, rated PG, general release

I have just come from seeing this extraordinary film and I have put aside all that awaits my attention to report that I am, in fact, newly filled with grace and, for the first time in a long time, re-inspired to contribute my energy to making the world a better place in which all of us can live, together.

This is the story of William Wilberforce, an abolitionist, born in 1759, who devoted most of his life and his career in Parliament to ending slave trade in the British Empire. He was an evangelical Christian whose worship of God took the form of devotion to the cause of freeing those whose bondage and suffering made other men around the world wealthy.

Ioan Gruffudd, a Welsh actor, does a beautiful job of playing Wilberforce who was a bit of a puzzlement because he simultaneously championed freedom for African slaves and set back the cause of trade unions that sought to help Britain’s working poor. This film, however, focuses only on his commitment to being a man of action, of principle, of God, and of tireless will in the service of his crusade. We are spared few details of what the slaves endured as they were carried across the high seas in shackles, made to lie in quarters below deck that were 6 feet long and 16 inches wide, to lie in their own blood and feces. More than 10 million Africans, men, women and children, with names, history, heritage, and family, were sold and used for the profit and greed. More than 2 million died during the 2 to 3 month passage.

Albert Finney plays Wilberforce’s mentor, John Newton, a former slave trader who, wrote the hymn Amazing Grace after he himself saw the light and gave up the suffering he caused. There are numerous fine performances, by Rufus Sewell, Michael Gambon, and others.

You can hardly sit in the theatre without being inspired to stand up for whatever cause you hold dear, to fight to your last breath for what you believe to be for the good of the whole. As I say this, I realize that each of us seeing this film will be inspired in a different way. There will be those who stand up against racism, or abortion, or in favor of choice, or for the rights of Gays, or to prohibit marriage between those of the same sex, or against war, or… The list is endless. But the most important thing, above all the causes, is to stand up, to speak and act for what you believe, to do it with devotion, and hopefully, with the purpose of upholding human life and dignity for everyone. To paraphrase Sir Francis Bacon, great changes are more easily accommodated than small ones. It is a lesson for us, to bypass the smaller issues that hold us prisoners in separation and go instead for the monumental shifts that lift humanity closer to Divine expression.

At the end of this film, the audience applauded. As a body, we all acknowledged that we had just been reminded that we have a vital role to play in the world.

Do see this film, immediately.

American Gangster, rated R, general release

Denzel Washington, as 1970’s New York drug lord Frank Lucas, and Russell Crowe, as Richie Roberts, the New Jersey cop who ends Frank’s career, are both excellent in this intense, dark, exciting, big studio big movie.

The two characters doggedly pursue excellence in opposite venues and the two actors have created superb characterizations. We end up caring equally about both even though their quests and methods keep us tucked in on the side of good.

It was a thoroughly engrossing film but the best performance of all belongs to Ruby Dee as Frank’s mother. She is incredibly powerful and in one scene makes the roar of Mother Earth herself when she calls her errant son to task.

There is another fine actor in this film. He doesn’t even get a credit. His name is Clarence Williams III. He plays the predecessor and mentor of Lucas and dies early on in the film. I first saw him on Broadway in 1964 in Slow Dance on the Killing Ground. He was 25 then and a brilliant young actor. Over the years he has done a wealth of television and film but he never became the top box office star he deserved to be. He is Black and he was born too early. There was not enough opportunity back then for too many Blacks to become household names in the film industry. This is why I give him his due here in this commentary. He deserves far more recognition than he has ever received.

AMERICAN TEEN, Rated PG-13, art theatre release

This documentary follows several teens during their senior year in high school revealing their insecurities, hopes and dreams, as well as peer support and cruelty, and parental pressure. The portrait goes deep rather than superficial which makes the unfolding very rich and often surprising. It truly captures the raging hormones, the yearning hearts, the uncertainty of the future, and the agony of being “almost” an adult. The teens who were interviewed are unguarded and frank and we are invited into some of their most intimate moments. The action takes place in Warsaw, Indiana. There was little or no drinking of alcohol by teens in this town and they were a bit less sophisticated than teens in other larger cities. But their inner struggles were typical of this age in which pimples and awkwardness dominate just when one wants to assert his or her independence. I enjoyed it and think it is worth seeing. I would be interested to know how “your” teen responds to it! It might at least stimulate conversation that would prove worthwhile. Nanette Burstein does a nice job of directing and pulling it all together.

ANGEL-A, Rated R, Art Theatre Release

In this unusual French, subtitled film, the character of Andre can’t seem to stay out of trouble, is scheduled for being bumped off because he hasn’t paid his debts, and he is generally very sad and disappointed with life. He is played beautifully by Rie Rasmussen. Just in the nick of time, Angela (really Angel-A) drops into his sorry existence and helps turn everything around, as any good angel would. She is tall and thin, blond and lovely. Jamel Debbouze plays her for all she’s worth, and that is quite a lot, given what she has to do by way of miracles for Andre. The film is shot in black and white and takes us touring Paris. Andre’s face fills the opening scene with such pathos that I never noticed the film was not in color. While Andre is down on his luck and can’t pull his life together, making continuous bad choices, he is loveable nonetheless with surprising moral fiber and considerable sensitivity. Angela comes complete with a bag of angel tricks for dealing with threatening thugs but she has her own personal issues to confront and she and Andre make an interesting pair. A key turn around in the story is when Angela teaches Andre about love (he is finally able to love himself), about self-esteem, and about his natural goodness. Our local reviewer panned this film because there was too much talking. Whenever I hear that criticism I rush to see the film. While this was not a great one, it was charming, unique, and very sweet. I enjoyed it.

ARCTIC TALE, rated G, art theatre release

This visit to the North Pole and the trials of a walrus pup and two polar bear cubs is beautifully filmed and big on making a point about global warming and destroying natural habitats.

A National Geographic film, this is composed of over 800 hours of shooting over a 15 year period. The close-ups are wonderful, as is the overall capturing of the environment. The entire movie is worth the cost of admission for the intimate scene deep inside a dark cave of ice as a polar bear gives birth to two amazingly small cubs who immediately begin to nurse.

If you like bears, you will delight in this. The walrus population affords us an opportunity to appreciate their love-making. It is quite a stretch to experience their large hairy mouths merging in a kiss. Good luck.

When I was a kid, Saturday mornings were devoted to cowboy movies at the local theatre: Roy Rogers, Gabby Hayes, Gene Autry, horses, dusty towns, and wide open spaces, capturing our imagination and making us long to live in places like Arizona. (It’s amazing I ended up living in Scottsdale!) Those films were B-westerns, all following a formula, all very predictable, and we kids loved every minute of them (except for the intrusion of yucky romance).

The westerns today are definitely not B-movies. They still take place in familiar locations but the themes are deeper and the stories more intense and dramatic. And the talent is far superior. In this case, Ed Harris stars; he also wrote the script and directed. The screenplay is tightly woven (based on a novel by Robert B. Parker) and the setting is picturesque. Harris plays Virgil, a gun fighter hired to be a lawman. His partner, Everett, (Viggo Mortensen) is rugged and the epitome of masculinity.

I liked this film very much; however, it was both inspiring and wearying. Based on the true story of Chris Gardner, a black man who struggles to keep himself and his small son from drowning in the deep waters of poverty in the Bay area of California, we suffer his trials and tribulations along with him. Gardner is beautifully played by Will Smith and his real life son plays his movie son.

While we are infused with Gardner’s optimism, it is hard to believe that anyone can keep up his pace as he seeks success without eating or sleeping, and he keeps his clothes neat and clean even as he and his son reside for a night on the floor of a subway restroom.

Gardner’s life is juxtaposed with those who have the comforts of life and don’t think twice about them. The head of the company where Gardner hopes to work borrows $5 from him for cab fare without ever conceiving that Gardner has only $6 in total assets.

The hardest scenes to watch in this film are the long lines of homeless outside Glide Memorial Church 7 days a week, each human being hoping for a place to sleep for the night. Affluent America has a way of masking off the poor among us. We can make donations at the end of the year but never need to look into the face of someone who has lost his greatest asset, hope.

The father/son love in this film is very touching. It dissipates the stereotype of black men leaving their children behind.

I recommend this film to touch your heart, and as you do, perhaps to touch a stranger who has been dragged down by circumstance or bad choices but who might reopen to a flicker of light because you made the good choice to shine yourself in his or her direction.

ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES by the Coward Robert Ford, The, rated R, general release

Please note the long title and then multiply that by 160 minutes of squirming in your seat during long slow horseback rides through the snow and long moments when the characters take measure of each other through extended eye searching. Don’t get me wrong, this wasn’t a bad movie. It was just way too much of a good thing.

Jesse James was a bad man who robbed banks and trains and killed over 17 people in the process. But he was so daring that he become an American folk hero, perhaps because he was murdered while his back was turned to the 20-year-old Robert Ford who wanted more than anything to be Jesse James.

Brad Pitt creates a fine James character complete with unusual mannerisms, and Casey Affleck beautifully underplays the assassin. He seems slow in his thinking and action but we can feel the undercurrent of his fantasy life. Sam Rockwell does a particularly good job as Charley Ford. He is filled with eagerness, is thoughtful, has a grand laugh, and possesses a face fluid with expression.

In a very small role in the film, Michael Parks appears. He reminds us again what a fine actor he is. He has aged considerably and though it was difficult for me to recognize him, his earnest acting demanded my attention. I was not surprised during the titles to see that it was Parks. It set me to wondering, as I have in the past, what is it that enables some actors to become stars (even some with minimal talent) while others, like Parks, who are consistently excellent, work only rarely and never get the recognition they deserve. I have no answer to the question.

There is fancy film work here: blurring the sides of scene, sepia coloring for indoor settings, and lingering images. The story holds our attention but alas pushes the limits of that attention. There was at least 40 minutes of exploration of peripheral relationships; these could easily have been cut.

It was as if the gunslinger was wearing so much extra clothing that it interfered with his ability to be quick on the draw. The lesson: less is more. When the writer is also the director it is easy to lose perspective, to cherish what you have created, and to hold on rather than cut. That happened here.

ASTRONAUT FARMER, THE, rated PG, general release

Is anything possible? Is everything possible? You bet it is. And when you see this film you will be reminded to pursue your dreams and turn possibilities into realities.

Billy Bob Thornton creates a soft, endearing character, Charles Farmer, who seeks to launch a rocket constructed in his barn to take him into space. He has the support of his children, his father-in-law, and his fine relationship with his wife, played with sensitivity by Virginia Madsen.

Never for one minute does the audience stop rooting for Charlie Farmer, even though the government tries to shut him down, and denies that he can launch. In a very interesting scene, the government spokesman, using all too familiar language, tells the nation only what the U.S. government wants its citizens to know.

The film is both funny and inspiring. We know it’s an implausible tale, but we also know it’s about the dream, about the commitment, about finishing what you start and never giving up hope.

Take the kids to this one and be sure to tell them that they can be and do anything and that you will be their greatest source of encouragement.

ATONEMENT, rated R, general release

From the first moments we are transported to the world of English upper class, replete with formal attire, country estates, curling cigarette smoke, sit down dinners, family secrets, and, of course, ill-advised sexual liaisons. Adapted from the novel by Ian McEwan, we know from the moment we see Cecilia (Keira Knightley) and Robbie (James McAvoy) look intensely into each other’s eyes there will be trouble in the sedate surroundings.

The tragic love story takes shape because of the actions of Briony (very well played by 13-year-old Saoirse Ronan) who lets her imagination run wild as she spins a story that ruins lives forever.

The story takes us through World War II but that aspect is not developed enough to fully engross us and we wait to see if and how our two main lovers are affected by the war action. When we find them, we reconnect emotionally.

Atonement is a tale of loss because of lies, of abdication of responsibility by those who should have had a stiff upper lip, of guilt, of love, and of sorrow. I am moved to read the book and I do recommend the film.

AUGUST RUSH, rated PG-13 (because a child was born out wedlock!), general release

I could barely find a reviewer who liked this film. I SAY: A POX ON ALL SUCH REVIEWERS! This is a little gem for adults and children alike and one that will so warm your heart that your faith in goodness and joy will be restored from the moment it begins.

Some critics found it too much of a sugar hit, some got lost in the inclusion of a Fagin-like character from Oliver Twist. But most of them missed the point all together.

This is the story of a boy, August Rush, magnificently played by Freddie Highmore whose smile and light-filled face immediately embeds itself into your heart and never leaves. It is a love story about his parents (both musicians), touchingly played by Keri Russell and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. They fall in love, conceive a child, and are separated by her overly ambitious father who gives the child away when he is born.

The child is, from birth, a musical genius. He hears music everywhere (all sounds are music) and knows in his inner self that it will one day lead him to his true parents.

The opening two minutes of the film have him standing in a field of tall grass moved by the wind, He merges with the grass and the sound and the all-consuming music of nature. I said in that moment, "the entire film is worth this scene." But it goes on and it gets better and better. And, yes, there are critics who can't hear it, can't see it, and therefore dismiss this as hokum. I grieve for them.

The film is directed by Kirsten Sheridan (from a screenplay by Nick Castle and James V. Hart.) They truly heard the music everywhere and were not afraid to enter the world of awe and beatific smiles.

I have been on Times Square in New York City and stood on the grates above the subway and listened to the symphony that wafted up from the echo tunnels below. I have stood and heard the blend of the taxi horns, the tire rubbings, the skateboarders, the shuffling feet, the clicking of the traffic lights, the drum brush of muddled conversation, the quick flight of the wind, and the light tap dancing of crumbled papers rushing through the streets. I have heard some of what Autumn Rush hears and it also fills me with the ecstasy of awareness that beyond our normal senses an entire world awaits. This film takes us there.

Some critics call it “pumped-up schlock,” an indication that they have chosen to imprison themselves in the realm of the mundane where only what they see with eyes is what they call real. If you are in any way also bound in that so-called reality, go and see this film and open yourself to being lifted as if angels had come and tucked their wings under your outstretched arms.

I loved this movie more than I can say.

AUSTRALIA, Rated PG-13, general release

Before going to see this film I was convinced that we would probably want to see it twice because I adore the country and because it has been hyped as an epic. I still love the country but the film left me wanting.
Too much happens too fast. The characters appear full blown without our being able to see or know their development. They seem like caricatures of themselves and remain much the same as they began as the so-called epic unfolds. The music swells again and again at key moments and kitsch prevails rather than depth.

There is a lot of spectacle, red rocks, dry desert in the outback, and thunderous hoofs of cattle being driven across the plains. The white people are mostly racist, the Aboriginals saintly and wise, and the creamies, the off-spring of mixed relations, are the most endearing young people of all. The whites, upper class and church-going, see it as their task in life to suppress the Aboriginals or use them as servants, and, even more important, to drum the black out of the creamies. Sixty-nine years later, the same folks in the States and elsewhere are trying to drum the homosexual out of the homosexuals. Change appears to come very slowly. In the name of God and the kind of civilization those in the majority demand, force needs to be used against indigenous people who represent magical thinking, who are dirty and ignorant, and who insist on continuing to honor their culture and call it wisdom.

Australia is not a bad movie, not at all. It is simply not a great movie, or an epic. I had the feeling throughout that the producers and director, Baz Luhrmann (who also wrote this), decided in advance that they wanted to create an epic. So they focused on making everything big, and broad, and wild, and covering a huge scope, but they forgot to allow the people to be as real as they might be and to emerge before our eyes. The closest they came was with Nullah (Brandon Walters), the young boy, creamie, who, with his big black eyes, is utterly irresistible. It is he who brings real life and feeling to the relationship between Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman) and Drover (Hugh Jackman), the itinerant Australian cattleman. I liked the two of them together, but even more so because of Nullah.

Kidman’s performance is full of expressions and she is much more accessible than she has been in other recent films. Jackman is a hunk who is likable but could have shown more dimensions of the character’s life had the writer-director allowed for it. Drover is driven, in the same way the entire film is driven from one major event to another.

I left the theatre feeling something was missing. I hope I have identified it in this commentary. There is a much to like about this film, but also much that left me somewhat empty.

AVENUE MONTAIGNE, rated PG-13, Art Theatre release, subtitled

Ahh, every now and then an intelligent, well-written, delightful, well acted and directed film makes an entrance on the screen. This is one such.

It is about love, art, and doing what you do well but wishing you were doing something else. Many lives intertwine, speaking rapid-fire French, holding our complete attention, and bringing us a lot of laughter along the way.

Each character is beautifully developed and given a spot light in which to shine. The vignettes are wonderful, not too complicated or burdensome, with just enough sugar to sweeten the time we spend watching. It’s not all sunshine and flowers, there are bittersweet events and relationships which keep us engaging and discovering.

I didn’t know any of the French actors but I certainly liked them all, and I really enjoyed the film. Do find where it is playing.

AWAKE, rated R, general release

If you think of a British garden maze with endless twists and turns that further entrap you, you will have a good description of this tangled story about a wealthy young man, Clayton, who remains awake but paralyzed despite anesthesia during a heart transplant. His voice-over cries for help when no one can hear him because his body is “under” while his psyche and consciousness remain fully present, would seem to be more than enough of a tale for our attention.

But writer-director Joby Harold apparently isn’t certain his story is strong enough. Midstream, he introduces an unbelievable subplot and tears to shreds the good faith and admiration we have heretofore established for Clayton’s brand new wife (well played by Jessica Alba) and his surgeon (expertly handled by Terrence Howard). The shift, the twist, is so sudden and so implausible that our heads spin, not to mention the repeated compromising of the operating room, the introduction of another surgeon who has no operating rights at the hospital, and the sacrificial actions of Clayton’s mother (also well played by Lena Olin.)

By the time you find yourself racing down the rabbit hole of a story gone astray, there is little to do but stay for the rest of the off-the-wall ride.

Hayden Christensen, previously in Star Wars, who plays Clayton, is a very fine young actor who deserves a much better vehicle than this. He has an intensity and honesty that reminds me a little of James Dean and he has the ability to be completely present in every scene. I wasn’t sure I would stay for the whole of this film but I was so taken by Christensen that I didn’t mind being there when the script turned wild and woolly. But I do think that this is a film you can easily skip.

AWAY FROM HER, PG-13

I can still see his face. It doesn’t move. His eyes don’t fill with tears. But just beneath the surface, the pain pulsates – the pain that has taken up permanent residence. Grant has left Fiona, his beloved wife of 44 years, in a facility for those suffering Alzheimers disease. He married her when she was 18 and now they are apart for the first time, torn asunder by a monster gobbling up Fiona’s brain, stamping out their memories, causing her to disappear bit by bit.

Sarah Polley, a fine actress in her own right, wrote and directed this extraordinary film (her first such effort). It is all at once tender, somber, frightening, and filled with grace. Love, unshakable and powerful, upends every unwelcome splash of darkness and calls us all to courage, to steadfastness.

Julie Christie is remarkable as Fiona. And Gordon Pinsent, not all that well-known in the States but acclaimed in Canada, is brilliant as Grant. Together, they communicate the oneness attained through a long marriage of joys and trials, and what it is like when an uninvited malevolence attacks the brain and carries away the being who occupies the healthy and beautiful body that remains as an unreachable shell.

The film allows entry into both sides of the horror – her unwanted abandonment of self, and his unbearable loss. They can do nothing about it, and neither can we. We all suffer together, saved by Grant’s sustaining his love for Fiona no matter what the circumstances.

The dialog is clear and unencumbered, taken right from the story by Alice Munro. The direction is easy and poignant. We are touched to the core by the simplest movement of hand or step. Ms. Polley is only 27 and yet it would appear that from her earliest years she never engaged in anything superficial. This is not a sentimental telling. Rather it is full of the richness that comes of two people who have merged their lives. Very little needs to be said. It is all communicated from the depth of each partner, one to the other, with the smallest of gestures and little blossoms of words.

Those of us who know such a love, such longevity of love, can only sit beside each other and hope no unwelcome force will invade our minds.

I can still see his face. I can still feel his pain. And I am reminded: cherish every moment, live it fully, take nothing for granted.

BABY MAMA, rated PG-13, general release

This fair to middling film is a comedy that isn’t very funny. The plot is about a woman (Tina Fey) who hires a surrogate (Amy Poehler) so that she can have a baby. Neither of the actors was memorable for me and many of the jokes fell flat. It is mildly amusing but not much more. However, it is not offensive, as some comedies are. As you can see, I don’t have much to say about it.

BANK JOB, THE, rated R, General Release

Jason Statham is intense and wonderful as Terry, the bank robber, in this fast-paced, exciting tale based on a true story of a daring burglary in London. Watching this unlikely gang tunnel under shops and up into the vault as they communicate on walkie-talkies (which are listened to by a ham operation who calls in the coppers) is a terrific trip that holds your attention every minute. The action is tight and, of course, you find yourself cheering for the bad guys and hoping they will pull off the caper and get away with the loot. It’s a lot of fun, though you must remember to turn on your English ears at the outset so that you don’t miss too much of the dialogue. Do see it, and enjoy

BECAUSE I SAID SO, rated PG-13, general release

This is a comedy about a mother, Daphne, (Diane Keaton) who is an over-the-top micromanager of the lives of her three daughters, especially Milly (Mandy Moore), who doesn't yet have a man in her life. Daphne sets out to find her one.

The story is predictable, amusing, and beefed up with sight gags (cakes in the face, etc.) and frenetic. But it also has its moments and is at least an enjoyable way to pass the time.

There are three reasons I recommend you see this film.

The first is to hear Milly's response to Daphne's question, What is an orgasm? The asking of the question is funny (and sad) in itself, but the answer and the delivery of the answer is delightful, if not evocative. It's not as fabulous a moment as the scene in When Harry Met Sally, but it is very good.

The second is that although it seems impossible to believe that the character of the mother can be so imposing and controlling, those of us who had mothers like this hardly see it as an exaggeration. Milly rightfully comes to a point of not talking to her mother for several days because of her unforgivable behavior, but the script takes us under the surface to poignancy when Daphne pleads with her daughter saying, "I wanted to protect you from becoming me." This line rang so true for me because of my own experiences with such a mother and I could finally forgive her transgressions when I came to see how unfulfilled her life truly was.

The third reason is the most important. Diane Keaton has a real face! She is 61 years old and she really looks 61 years old! I can't tell you what a treat this. Everywhere on the large and small screen, we find endless redone faces: skin yanked back, tucked in, peeled, smoothed over. They all look the same, unreal, even plastic. But, here, my friends, you can actually see what 61 looks like, what a natural face is. Keaton has lines, wrinkles, crevices, crinkles, and jowls. It is a joy to behold. It is a direct confrontation to those who do everything known to man (and woman) to keep age from entering their homes and appearing on their skin.

Keaton's face is filled with expression. It is alive. Keaton's face MOVES, because it can! How many times have we seen the repaired faces which are completely unlined and completely immovable! Keaton, bless her, is the real deal. She is a celebration of the process of living and aging. Wonderful. Not to mention that she has boundless energy.

All in all, the film will give you an enjoyable two hours of entertainment.

BECOMING JANE, rated PG-13, art theatre release

Sarah Williams and Kevin Hood do a superb job of writing a fictional account of how Jane Austen became a famed writer, and how she suffered the slings and arrows of courtship and the restrictions imposed on ladies of her time.

Austen is depicted as a discriminating woman who wants a man of passion, whether poor or rich. She will not settle for just anyone and if necessary will simply live her life in her imagination and support herself with a pen. She chooses this even though her mother, beautifully played by Julie Walters, advises that “Affection is desirable; money is absolutely indispensable.”

Anne Hathaway does a fine job of capturing Ms. Austen’s contained life-force and pensive writing moments.

The direction keeps the story moving along and the costuming is superb. This is a film rich in color and fine dialogue. It makes us all glad we are not living in those times.

In one scene we are reminded why we have laws and adjudicators: to protect property rights. And don’t you forget it!

BEE MOVIE, rated PG, general release

Animated films are an acquired taste. I happen to enjoy them. This DreamWorks’ film is about a bee who almost wrecks the planet when he tries to claim honey as in the province of bees only, and in the process seriously disturbs the natural order of things.

There is the usual adult humor and plenty of delight for the children. Jerry Seinfeld is the voice of Barry B. Benson, a young bee poised to choose a career in the hive. He is quite non-conformist, even falling in love with a human being (Renee Zellweger.)

I liked the humor and the bright colors but over all it was not as clever, or as visually beautiful, or as enchanting as other animations I have seen in the recent past.

It does have a message about not messing Mother Nature and it is worth a visit if you have an afternoon with a child who needs to be entertained.

BEFORE THE DEVIL KNOWS YOU’RE DEAD, rated R, art theatre release

This dark and grim little movie is nonetheless fascinating in its moral implications. The victims and perpetrators of the unfolding madness and tragedy are all members of the same dysfunctional family. There is plenty of “evil” to go around and most of it stems from stupidity, non-communication, greed, envy and trying to step beyond very small lives into something more grandiose. It is a mix of desire, desperation, and non-reason, all of which lead to unexpected death.

Ever since Crash won for best picture in 2005, film after film has copied the mode of telling a story from different points of view and from different time perspectives. It is no longer a novelty, no longer the brilliant innovation it was at first, and it has never been done quite as well. This is true of Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead. Script writer Kelly Masterson and director Sidney Lumet run over the same tire tracks many times until the road is well worn.

Philip Seymour Hoffman, Marisa Tomei, and Rosemary Harris turn in fine performances but I was a little disappointed in Albert Finney who growled a lot and in Ethan Hawke who twitches too much.

Hoffman is a master at creating a character and making us care about him. Here, he is a colossal failure with a simple but misguided plan for turning his life into a grand success. The whole family goes down with him, sinking into darkness from which there is no salvation.

The strength of the writing is that we get to experience every bad idea and misstep as it comes to light, causing us to groan and wish we could interject some wisdom to stop what can only become a free fall into hell. All the characters in the movie see the unfolding story from their own limited point of view but, alas, they cannot see it from our enlightened overview.

I recommend this film for its tight little story and its many surprises but more than that it serves as a reminder to all of us that we should never proceed with a “great” idea until we look at it from many points of view and invite others to critique it as well. Sometimes our desire blinds us to hidden danger and our single-mindedness can lead to the harm or even death of those we love.

BEFORE THE RAINS, Rated PG-13, Art Theatre Release

Whenever I see that a film is a “Merchant Ivory” production I know immediately that I will enjoy a story of depth with superbly developed characters and a rich tapestry of human interaction. So it is with this film which takes place in Southern India (in Kerala, which I have been pleased to visit) and plays out like a Shakespearian tragedy. From the opening scene we can feel ourselves surrounded by the green of the foliage, the beauty of the tea plantations, the smell of the human bodies hard at work, and the crisp starched style of the British who have come to profit from the land and from the labor of the Indians. This is a story of culture-clash, of trying to live in two societies at once, of lust and love, of relationships that can never work, of banishing, and of death. It is a testing of each of the character’s integrity and we, in the audience, can do nothing more than watch the mistakes and the inevitable play out on the screen. If we had been able we would have told the various participants to make other choices because we, from an uninvolved vantage point, could see the pitfalls and how the consequences might have been avoided. But as with life, real life, we tend to function from the within the unfolding waking dream and we see the larger picture only when it is too late. This is a story of the weaknesses in human nature. We know from the beginning that this cannot end well. But along the way we are at least somewhat comforted by lavish scenery, sheer beauty, and powerful passion. The pace is a perfect mix of East and West and the strengths and weaknesses of both cultures are equally exposed. Director Santosh Sivan does as superb job and the acting by Linus Roache, Rahul Bose, Nandita Das and Jennifer Ehle is simply wonderful. If this is not playing in your neighborhood, do rent it when it becomes available.

BE KIND REWIND, rated PG-13, general release

This is the funniest film I have seen in a long time, not just funny but creative and unique and original. Be Kind Rewind starts out slowly with narration from Mr. Fletcher (Danny Glover) about the great jazz artist who was born on the very site of his small tenement video rental store. As he continues, we are introduced to Jerry (Jack Black) and Mike (Mos Def) who appear to be, what shall I say, a little slow. But they are not dumb and dumber (and neither is this film). Rather, they are innocent and eager, full of great ideas and the panache to make them all a reality, despite endless mishaps along the way.

Jerry is a wizard auto mechanic who becomes magnetized following an accident. He visits his friend Mike, who has been given responsibility to watch over the video store, and proceeds to de-magnetize all the tapes. To remedy the crisis, Jerry and Mike form a pseudo film company and hurriedly re-shoot the famous films, playing all the characters and involving the entire neighborhood.

I know this sounds like a thin plot, but trust me when I tell you, the projects they undertake, the ways in which they achieve them, the whimsy, the excitement, and the delighted reception will have you jumping in your seat and cackling out loud.

Jack Black is a fine and funny comic who is often held bound by the scripts he is given to play. In Be Kind Rewind he is set free to embody all his childlike wonder. I have never seen him shine like this. He is a master at timing and at bringing pure humor to the screen. He is both naïve and ingenious. And he is charming and huggable.

The film has endless sight gags but unlike so many other films, these are original and incredibly imaginative. And, there is no toilet humor or foul language in this movie, neither is there any violence. Written and directed by Michel Gondry, it is bound to become a classic. It more than raises the bar on so-called comedies appearing in our theatres.

As you sit and watch, you can’t help but remember your childhood when you built scenery out of cardboard, costumed yourself in whatever was available, and fully believed the dialog you spoke as you improvised your way through the masterpiece you were creating.

Do not miss this movie and do bring an open, eager self who is ready to laugh. We laughed too hard in places and missed some of the brilliance rolling by on the screen. Hence, we plan to see it again.

BELLA, rated PG-13, limited release

This very sweet story won the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Jose, played by Eduardo Verastegui, is a beautiful, selfless man who works as a chef in his brother’s Mexican restaurant in New York City. Years earlier, a tragic accident sidelined his brilliant soccer career and left him without his $2 million contract. As the story unfolds, Jose atones for his earlier behavior by doing good deeds, including adopting an infant. It is a feel good movie. I felt good just looking at Eduardo who displays his sensitivity and intensity through shining blue eyes.

BEVERLY HILLS CHIHUAHUA, rated PG, general release

Is this an absurd movie about little dogs? Yup. But it is also cute and pretty funny in places. Chloe (voiced by Drew Barrymore) is the lead pampered pooch who ends up in Mexico and has no end of wild adventures.

Think of this as a diversion from the politics of the human world and the economic meltdown. It will halt your own barking for a while, although the Chihuahuas are so lavishly treated you might have a whole new genre of obscene wealth about which to be irritated.

Take the kids. They will shriek with delight.

BLACK BOOK, rated R, art theatre release

This film about the Dutch resistance infiltrating the Nazi war machine is so engrossing that I can’t remember if it was subtitled. I think it was.

Paul Verhoeven has done a fine job capturing the time period with vigor and suspense, sex and betrayal. It features excellent acting, including a turn by Sebastian Koch who is fabulous in The Lives of Others.

The film depicts the on-going saga of Jewish survival. In one scene, the resistance workers are duped into thinking that their top agent, Rachel, has betrayed them. Without a second’s hesitation, they begin destroying her reputation using stereotypes (that she is money hungry, like all Jews) and the very same epithets used by the Nazis. Clearly, we are all only one degree of separation from behaving like our detestable adversaries.

This is worth seeing.

BLACK SNAKE MOAN, rated R, general release

 This is a very unusual presentation of the lingering affects of sexual abuse and how two people with deep issues and aching needs can help one another in surprising purity.

 Samuel L. Jackson and Christina Ricci really make film magic together and keep us intrigued and hopeful. Jackson's character plays and sings the blues and that is the story of his relationally failed life. Ricci is sexually over used and it takes kindness and caring to enable her to give and receive love from her heart and to respect her body.

 It is so different a story with such unlikely twists that it held my attention for its uniqueness. It may also hold yours. 

BLADES OF GLORY, rated PG-13, general release

Will Ferrell and Jon Heder as figure skater rivals who hated each other and then teamed up to appear on the ice as a couple. Funny, Oh Yes. Ridiculous, Certainly. Enjoyable, Often. No doubt there will be a sequel. These two guys have chemistry together, amidst such eye-brow raising sight gags as face-in-crotch and skating groin to groin.

The sexual references in the film go way beyond PG-13 for my taste and some of the supporting characters (the sister and brother competition) are way over the top stereotypes.

In the end, if I hadn’t seen it I wouldn’t have missed much. But, it did move at a fast enough pace to blur some of my objections and leave me somewhat entertained.

BLIND DATING, general release

While the critics didn’t think much of this romantic comedy, I enjoyed it, most especially for its quality of innocence. Chris Pine does a sweet job of playing Danny who is blind and a 22 year old virgin. He is so earnest about finding the right girl to love that he remains likeable and endearing even though his brother Larry, played well by Eddie Kaye Thomas, tries to set him up with all manner of hookers.

Danny falls head over heels for Leeza (Anjali Jay), a beautiful (and engaged) Indian girl whose family in steeped in tradition. Danny’s down-to-earth Italian family wouldn’t even be a blip on their radar screen.

Jane Seymour is strangely cast as a psychologist who likes to take her clothes off during sessions with her blind client. Perhaps her role was thrown in by her husband James Keach who happened to direct this piece. The scenes involving her were a distraction.

If you want something light, the tender love story here is charming. A little fluff that makes you feel good.

BLINDNESS, Rated R, general release

The film blindness is based on the novel by Nobel laureate Jose Saramago. We watch as human beings lose their physical sight, one after another, as if by contagion. They descend into a whiteout. Naturally, panic and quarantine ensue and all aspects of human nature, both compassionate and miserable, are exposed. There are those who devote themselves to helping and those who seek to dominate and feed their own selfishness. Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo play wife and husband good-guys in a quarantine center. Moore’s character is the only one who can see, but she keeps that a secret from all except her husband. The conditions in the facility are filthy and unfit for human life. We, in the audience, are uncomfortable for most of the film. It is quite an experience to see what a world of the blind might look and feel like. The human struggle to survive is played out boldly and we move in and out of wondering what we would do if entrapped in this horror. It is not entertaining but it is thought-provoking.

BLOOD AND CHOCOLATE, rated PG-13, general release

If you are a fan of werewolf movies and all the gore that accompanies them, you may not like this one very much. It is tame in comparison to most and perhaps that is why I found it very interesting. The previews had drawn my attention because the lead female character, Viv, seeks to break free from her “heritage” and live her life as a normal human being. I went to this movie thinking I might leave and get my money back, but instead I stayed for the whole thing and enjoyed it.

I liked the low key romance, the fabulous Bucharest location shots, and most especially the beautiful and graceful transformation scenes when the characters shift from human to wolf.

A line I particularly liked was, “what we are not, we are taught to fear.

BLOOD DIAMOND, rated R, general release

This is an engrossing, revealing, and touching thriller about conflict diamonds which are illicitly mined in order to finance horrendous wars in Africa. More than 4 million people have died as a result and many millions more are displaced and living in squalor.

Leonardo DiCaprio turns in a brilliant performance as a diamond smuggler. DiCaprio began his career in television at the age of 15. We first caught up with him four years later in 1993 when he earned (deservedly) an Academy Award nomination for his extraordinary work in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape. We have been thrilled by all of his work ever since, and he has proven himself again in this film.

There is also wonderful acting by Djimon Hounsau as a fisherman who is ripped from his family to do slave labor in the diamond mines. His young son is also taken and trained to be a killer-soldier. There is an extraordinary scene in which the father, held at gun point by his son, redeems his child be reminding him of who he is and how loved he is.

We are taken into the lives of the people who suffer displacement and poverty and made to see what greed and power mongering produce in the suffering masses.

I am always grateful when the world of film takes us into this realm and lays it bare. Too many westerners who live in perpetual comfort and who rarely if ever leave their home environment need to know about conditions like this in the rest of the world.

I highly recommend it.

BOBBY, general release

Emilio Estevez wrote and directed this film about June 4, 1968, the day Robert F. Kennedy was gunned down at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on his way to running for President of the United States.

I lived through this day, this time period in our nation, this time of assassinations, violence in the streets, and continuing death in Viet Nam. Watching this movie, especially the interjected actual clips of the time, touched the place of pain in me from then and reawakened it. It is our nation’s history, but it is also my history.

Estevez tells the story through the lives of over 20 people who were also affected. They were in the hotel that day as guests, workers, and campaigners. This takes up a major part of the film. Many “stars” play these assorted people and, oddly, the fact that they are who they are as film personalities detracts from the power and poignancy of what was about to take place. Ashton Kutcher and his wife, Demi Moore, Laurence Fishburne, Helen Hunt, Lindsay Lohan, Christian Slater, Sharon Stone, Martin Sheen, Elijah Wood and Anthony Hopkins, William Macy. Every time one of them came on the screen, I found myself saying, “Oh, that’s …”, or “I know him. Let me see, what’s his name?” Estevez would have done better to play the whole thing with unknowns.

Don’t get me wrong, there were many fine performances. Stone created a wonderful, side-mouth talking hair stylist, and Hopkins was beautifully in the moment as a retired hotel doorman. Nonetheless, the stars were distractions. One outstanding performance, because of its simplicity and real depth of feeling, was turned in by Freddie Rodriguez as a kitchen worker.

Perhaps it was that there was too much about the people and not nearly enough about Bobby. I would have found it much more interesting to travel with Bobby and Ethel through their day until the shooting.

In the end, the film clips of Bobby scattered throughout, and his own voice giving a speech for a Martin Luther King memorial at the end, managed to touch that place in me where my pain still lives.

His speech is riveting and utterly relevant today. Using the wonders of Google, I typed in RFK SPEECH FOR MLK MEMORIAL. I offer below what came up instantly. May I urge you to share it widely as a reminder to all of us that violence, war, revenge, and preventative destruction and killing do not spread democracy and freedom in the world. Instead, they produce only death in the name of good intentions.

From Google: Robert Kennedy took on that last political fight, knowing the odds were against him, knowing that violence was in the air. He was a warrior for peace. It is important to remember even as we stand up against the cynical and cowardly violence of the rabid right, that Robert Kennedy's last crusade was this: as he said to a largely black audience in that unwritten speech on the night of Martin Luther King's assassination, "Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world."

In his next major speech, in Cleveland, Ohio, on April 4, he said this:

“For there is another kind of violence, slower but just as deadly, destructive as the shot or the bomb in the night. This is the violence of institutions; indifference and inaction and slow decay. This is the violence that afflicts the poor; this poisons relations between men because their skin has different colors. This is the slow destruction of a child by hunger, and schools without books and homes without heat in the winter.

“This is the breaking of a man's spirit by denying him the chance to stand as a father and as a man among other men. And this too afflicts us all. I have not come here to propose a set of specific remedies nor is there a single set. For a broad and adequate outline we know what must be done. When you teach a man to hate and fear his brother, when you teach that he is a lesser man because of his color or his beliefs or the policies he pursues, when you teach that those who differ from you threaten your freedom or your job or your family, then you also learn to confront others not as fellow citizens but as enemies---to be met not with cooperation but with conquest, to be subjugated and mastered.

“We learn, at the last, to look on our brothers as aliens, men with whom we share a city, but not a community, men bound to us in common dwelling, but not in common effort. We learn to share only a common fear--only a common desire to retreat from each other--only a common impulse to meet disagreement with force. For all this there are no final answers. Yet we know what we must do. It is to achieve true justice among our fellow citizens. The question is not what program to enact. The question is whether we can find in our midst and in our own hearts that leadership of human purpose that will recognize the terrible truths of our existence.

We must admit the vanity of our false distinctions among men and learn to find our own advancement in the search for the advancement of all. We must admit in ourselves that our own children's future cannot be built on the misfortunes of others. We must recognize that this short life can neither be ennobled or enriched by hatred or revenge. Our lives on this planet are too short and the work to be done too great to let this spirit flourish any longer in our land.

BODY OF LIES, Rated R, general release

There are moments of tension and excitement in Body of Lies, moments when we care about what might happen to our man in the field, Roger Ferris (Leonardo DiCaprio). He is, after all, out there on our behalf fighting against terrorism. Back home in the USA Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe) is in charge of maneuvering what is occurring in the field. We bounce back and forth between the two, between life that is relatively quiet while fearing the next attack that might come on our soil and life in the fray where explosions occur on a daily basis and people are brutalized. Ridley Scott doesn’t disappoint when putting together an adventure like this, but something is missing. There is too much going on for greater development of the characters and their objectives. Perhaps it is too soon to be eating popcorn in the midst of penchants for destroying the world. Or perhaps, those who seek to slay in their quest for dominant ideology and those who seek to stop them in their tracks are so far from the mainstream of humanity that it is hard to evoke zeal in those of us who are watching and are instead focused on life affirmation.

BOLT, Rated PG, general release

As you can see, I am including a picture of Bolt and his two friends. I couldn’t resist. I confess I love dogs and I am a sucker for dog movies. This one is DeLightFul and had me laughing right out loud.

Bolt is not an ordinary dog story. The plot is unusual and inventive. Bolt (John Travolta) is a television star who believes he is capable of the action feats he performs because he doesn’t know he is on TV. He lives in a home that is really a studio set and is visited each day by his “person” who is actually his co-star Penny (Miley Cyrus). Bolt’s problems begin when enters the real world where the physical and relational challenges shock him because none of his animated skills are part of his real life.

Along the way he meets up with wise-guy pigeons, a cynical cat (Susie Essman), and an endearing hamster (Mark Walton) as he seeks to find his way home to Penny. Like The Truman Show, Bolt doesn’t know his heroic, James Bond-like, behavior is a performance. He becomes perplexed and confused when he discovers he is an ordinary dog.

The animation is fabulous and the characters are completely lovable. This little dog is full of exuberance and is so dog-like that you would think he is absolutely real. He is totally irresistible. I am not much of a cat person but Mittens is out-of-sight smart-mouthed and very well intentioned. I loved her too. The thing about all these “animals” is that the dialog they speak sounds just like what you think they must be thinking – at least I hope so.

Chris Williams and Byron Howard did a great job of directing. Kids will love this but adults will be equally delighted.

BONNEVILLE, rated PG, general release

Many of the reviewers called this film dull, partly because very little happens and there are few surprises. I wouldn’t call it dull, but it is very slow, very, very slow. The plot involves Arvilla (Jessica Lange) and her two buddies, Margene (Kathy Bates) and Carol (Joan Allen), who take a road trip to scatter Arvilla’s husband Joe’s ashes. The only antagonist in the tale is Francine (overplayed by Christine Baranski), Joe’s daughter, who seeks to rule what will happen to her father’s ashes and his possessions.

During the road trip, the three friends have a few not very exciting adventures in Arvilla’s old Bonneville convertible, but nothing earth-shaking or memorable.

What I have said thus far doesn’t sound very intriguing and yet it was not an unpleasant movie. I was interested to watch the character development, especially how Carol, a devout Mormon, loosened up and became less rigid. And I delighted in Margene’s childlikeness, true sense of fun, and abundant warmth. Bates is a natural.

If you go, don’t look for anything profound or even meaningful. Sit back, relax, and hang out. It’s going to be long and slow, but very easy and with moments of sweetness.

BORAT, rate R (with good reason), general release

Borat is a “journalist” from “Kazakhstan” doing research for his country in America. The comedy stars Sacha Baron Cohen, a British comedian. All the reviews I read before seeing this film said it was both hilarious and exceedingly offensive. I did find it very funny in places, but the morning after, I found it more offensive than humorous.

Borat is a misogynist, an anti-Semite, and anti-gay, just for openers. He praises his sister for being the #4 prostitute in his home town. His fellow citizens conduct a “Running of the Jew” thru their streets (complete with enormous nose), and he suspects Jews of trying to kill him here in the States and tries to buy them off by tossing money at them . Then he goes to a gun shop to buy a weapon for hunting Jews from a store owner who doesn’t even blink at the request. Does it make it any better that Mr. Cohen is himself a Jew? Not from my point of view.

Nor did I find funny the scene at a Rodeo where Borat makes jokes about ridding his country of homosexuals by hanging them. The white, average Joe, old timer in a cowboy hat to whom he is speaking affirms that we are trying to figure out how to get rid of them in this country as well. I found that exchange chilling rather than funny.

Oddly enough, what I found most offensive was that, thanks to the setups for each interaction, Americans appeared to be idiots, uneducated, gullible, closed-minded, and attached at the hip to stereotypes. Add to that, masturbating in front of a Victoria’s Secret window, defecating outside a Trump tower, and a string of tasteless if not vulgar sight-gags.

It gets really bad when Borat wrestles naked with his naked compatriot who is fat, hairy, and pretty ugly. There entire exchange is gross and the audience gags. But here is the worst part. Mr. Cohen has had a black rectangular block inserted on the screen so that although others' genitals are visible, his are not; nor is his backside. He doesn’t play fair. One wonders what is so special about his private parts that they need to be kept private.

I remember a conversation with Milton Berle in which he told me that if a comic is going to put down someone else, he must turn the joke equally on himself and make himself the butt. Cohen does that sometimes in this film but not often enough. Also Berle bemoaned the foul language and antics that had crept into comedy. He said it takes no special skill to do that and a real comic never needs to resort to below-the-belt humor.

I have stressed many of the negatives, but as I said at the beginning, there is much to laugh at as well. So, you make the choice. But, please, do not bring your kids to see this. I couldn’t believe the number of children who were sitting with their parents watching this and listening to this. In one case, down the aisle from me, a father kept putting his hands over his 8-year-old daughter’s eyes. Nice try to protect her, but why bring her there in the first place?

BOTTLE SHOCK, Rated PG-13, art theatre release

Who makes the best wine: The French or the Californians? That is the question. I first began drinking wine with dinner in 1964 when I married at age 25. My husband, a New Yorker through and through, was a maven of French wines. He wasn’t even attracted to California grapes as a fruit snack! At dinner out one evening he tasted and rejected FOUR different bottles before he was satisfied. I simply stared in amazement. In 1972 I moved to California and discovered that they not only made wine, they made wine I enjoyed. Bottle Shock deals with the battle in 1976 between those who sneer and those who devote themselves to cultivating the Napa vine. A blind tasting would determine who made the best wine. Steven Spurrier, the British designer of the contest, is wonderfully played by Alan Rickman who is a master at pomposity. He carries the whole film beautifully while it meanders through an array of characters dealing with shoe-string existence, class resentment and prejudice, father-son conflict, unrequited romance, etc. I found all the side stories a bit too distracting, especially because Spurrier was so focused on the wine and he drew me right in to that aspect of the story – which in fact is what the film is about. Maybe the filmmaker didn’t think the basic theme would hold an American audience’s attention but that was a mistake as the story jumped all over the place and the film actually distracted from itself! There is a lot of beautiful wine-country scenery and interesting information for those who would like to know a little more about what makes wine good wine. I enjoyed the film but wished it had more structure and was more grounded.

BOURNE ULTIMATUM, THE, rated PG-13, general release

Wow! Whew! Oh my! Holy Cow! This is the penultimate of action movies. In fact, I suggest a nap before you go and that you plan nothing for a few hours after. This film is kinetic, mesmerizing, and overwhelming as Jason Bourne searches to find his memory, his former life, indeed, his very soul.

Bourne is not called Superman, but he is; escaping car crashes, leaping tall buildings and gratings and fences and flying through full glass windows, surviving beatings, plunges, gun shots, etc.

Matt Damon, the dear actor with the boy-next-door-look and the sweet demeanor, is dark and brooding, haunted and relentless. He is the personification of intensity.

The action is so fast you will regret it if you blink. Keep your eyes open and grab a breath when you can because Bourne never stops running and the danger is everywhere. The setting is one capital city after another, one country after another, one scene flashing by in a blur after another.

In the midst of all this is a fictional story that makes us wonder just how much of this intrigue can possibly be true. We are exposed to the CIA, the underworld of the CIA, the ruthlessness, the killing without a second thought – even of our own agents. Bourne was remade, retrained into an assassin, and made to forget his past altogether. Why do we need agents like this? Because we must win, we must defeat terrorists and our enemies. And we must do it without regard to cost or decency. This fictional version of the CIA hires numerous Muslin-looking, Arab-looking men to fuel their killing machine and to leave bombs in their wake. That in itself is quite sobering.

David Strathairn is all too good in his portrayal of the “Man” giving the orders and running the CIA ship of death. Joan Allen is powerful as the contrasting agent of integrity who wonders what has happened to our nation to so distort our values and lead us to such tactics.

There is not a moment that we are not dazzled, knocked down and lifted up again, and urged forward. We make the journey with Jason Bourne, not only toward recovering who he was, but taking a stand against the demise of decency. The message is clear. We cannot engage in lawlessness and blatant murder and mayhem in other to put a stop to lawless, blatant murder and mayhem. If we become what we struggle against, there is no winning. There is only the fall of our civilization.

The film is brilliantly directed by Paul Greengrass, and wonderfully written by Tony Gilroy, Scott Z. Burns and George Nolfi (based on Robert Ludum’s thrilling novel).

BOY IN THE STRIPED PAJAMAS, THE, Rated PG-13, Art Theatre Release

This fable about the Holocaust is told from the point of view of an 8-year-old boy, Bruno, (Asa Butterfield) whose father (David Thewlis) is a Nazi officer who has received a promotion which takes the family (Mother, Vera Farmiga and 12-year-old sister, Gretel, Amber Beattie) to live in the tranquil countryside a stone’s throw from Father’s new post, Auschwitz (though it is not named as such).

Bruno is an innocent child, with wide blue eyes and a haircut similar to Hitler’s. He regrets leaving his friends in Berlin but manages to traverse the distance from his new home to what he calls the farm where he finds 8-year-old Shmuel, in “pajamas” behind a barbed-wire fence, constructed, he believes, to keep the animals on the farm from running away.

One of the fascinating things about Bruno is how he quickly converts what he doesn’t understand into something positive. Children today of his age are, I suspect, a lot more savvy and aware of injustice. The media, in all its forms, serves to make our children much more mature and wiser.
Bruno’s main purpose is to make and keep a friend. He devotes himself to this, despite the fact that his father tells him something he (and even I) cannot comprehend. Father says that the people “over there” are not really people.

Before the film begins there is a quote from British poet John Betejeman. “Childhood is measured out by sounds and smells and sights, before the dark hour of reason grows.”
Reason is an amazing force which renders us capable of all manner of horror. If we say people are not really people, or that they are gooks if they are the enemy in Viet Nam, or that Negroes are subhuman, etc., we can justify any action we take to eliminate what we call the enemy or, in this case, the vermin.

The vermin, the Jews, the children are taught by their tutor, are responsible for having caused all the ills in the Fatherland. And yet, in the film, these non-people are the most human and the most forgiving, not to mention the most educated and cultured.

The elite, the Nazis, are Christians who attend church regularly (worshipping God’s only son, Jesus, who by the way was Jewish.) They are efficient in gassing and burning human beings. They do have the courtesy to refrain from saying that they do these murders in Jesus’ name.

The actors in this film are British and speak with a British accent rather than a German accent which would be heavier and more guttural. Hence, the Nazis sound more like “us” and this makes us identify easily with them and have sympathy for any troubles that befall them. This, I believe, was a wrong choice for the film.

Many events occur in this film that make us cringe, and rightfully so. The film marches along toward a shocking ending and catches us in the pit of our stomachs.

A month ago I might have said, don’t take children to see this, it is too painful, too stark. However, having just returned from Japan where I witnessed hundreds of school children being escorted through the museum at the Hiroshima Peace Park, I say, do take the children to this movie. The children in Japan represent the hope for the future, the hope that when the world is in their hands, they will reject dropping deadly bombs on humanity. Perhaps they will even reject war as an answer to anything.

Taking our children to see what the Nazis did and having a long discussion with them after the viewing can perhaps teach them that we are all one being, that we are they, whoever they might be. We can perhaps teach them to take full responsibility for their choices and actions and never blame anyone else or any other group for the ills of the society in which they live. We can perhaps teach them to embrace with kindness rather than injure with malice or righteousness.

Take the children and take yourself to see The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.

BRAVE ONE, THE, rated R, general release

During a mugging in Central Park in NYC in which her beloved fiancé is killed, Erica Bain is badly beaten and in a coma for three weeks. When she recovers, the talk show host releases her dark side and becomes a gun-slinging vigilante.

Jody Foster does a fine job as Erica, allowing us to see many sides of the character and her wide range of feelings. As she goes on to make severe choices, beginning with buying a gun, we wonder what we would do in her place.

As the story unfolds and she kills her first “bad guy,” and then another, we move from understanding the motivation of her actions to pondering what choices we would make and whether, in our desire to kill off our own fear, we would kill others. Would we allow our grief to be manifested in ruthless murder?

While we are willing to watch the story and her actions unfold, mostly because of the horrendous event that spun her into this madness, by the time we get to the end we lose our patience. The ending, which is supposed to tie up loose ends, is a cheap shot and preposterous.

See what you think, or not.

BREACH, rated PG-13, general release

This exciting thriller is based on the real life story of Robert Hanssen, an FBI counter-intelligent agent who sold secrets to Russia for over 20 years. He is brought down just days before retiring after 25-years of “service” and having his picture added to the wall of honor.

The film is very well-written, exciting, well-played, and it keeps you on the edge of your seat as the action plays out. Chris Cooper and Ryan Phillippe do fine work in an intricate cat and mouse game in which lies are “truthfully” told.

Do see this. It’s a good one.

BREAKING AND ENTERING, rated R, general release

I really like Jude Law, Juliette Binoche, and Robin Wright Penn. I wish they weren’t trapped in this repetitious film. It has some lovely moments but they are widely scattered in a plot line so filled with apologies and people saying they are sorry that the viewer is sorry to be in attendance.

The film was written and directed by Anthony Minghella and taking on those two tasks, in this case, proves to be a mistake. While two hours long, it feels more like four or five because Minghella is in love with what he wrote and clearly doesn’t want to cut anything.

The story is about poor love relationships, miscommunication, theft, and morality. Some secondary plot lines are overly drawn out, perhaps to compensate for the thinness of the primary story. One of those extraneous plots yields a fine performance by Vera Farmiga as a Russian prostitute. Perhaps the film should have been about her as those scenes were by far the most entertaining.

There are, as I said earlier, several lovely, poignant scenes between mother and autistic daughter, between lovers, between mother and son, but because there are so many gaps, the body of the film weighs heavy on the audience.

I am not discouraging you from seeing this, just forewarning you about the down side.

BRIDESHEAD REVISITED, Rated PG-13, art theatre release

The tale doesn’t seem nearly as “shocking” as it did over 2 decades ago, a good thing because it affirms that the passage of time facilitates the changing of opinion and the lessening of taboo. Based on Evelyn Waugh’s novel, we spend our time with intelligent characters, each with their own particular needs and desires. The acting is uniformly excellent and Emma Thompson stands at the top of the pyramid with a superb portrayal as the matriarch of a wealthy family. The scenery and interiors are rich and the characters excesses overflow the banks of the screen. Rather than one-dimensional, the characters are intriguingly complex and we come to care about each of them in very different ways. It is, as always, refreshing to see a film that is mature and holds our curiosity rather than making everything so obvious that it treats us as fools who can understand nothing.

BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA, Rated PG, general release

This is a lovely tale of childhood friendship between a talented boy artist and the free-spirit girl who moves next door. She introduces him to a fabulous world of fantasy. Together they create an imaginary world in woods where there is no limit on their freedom until severe reality steps in and we experience shock and sorrow at an untimely death.

The performances are strong, and so is the film’s stress on keeping the arts in a school curriculum. AnnaSophia Robb plays the new girl in town and her face is bright as a sunflower and filled with light. Adults as well as children will enjoy this.

BUCKET LIST, THE, rated PG-13, general release

The critics had this film dead and buried when it opened but I disagree. Edward (Jack Nicholson) and Carter (Morgan Freeman) are very much alive in spirit during their last months on this earth and it was a good experience to “travel the world” with them once they bid their hospital beds goodbye. The scenes were obviously shot on a sound stage, but the point is made – go for it. I confess there are elements that would no doubt never happen but this is a fanciful story of could happen and it encourages all of us to live out our dreams, our bucket list before we kick it, now, whether we are dying or not. The patients are too robust on their adventures for two men dealing with terminal cancer but it is clear that we all need to affirm that we are living with whatever the disease is, rather than dying from it. It is hard to imagine that Carter would leave his beloved wife behind while he takes off on a spree with Edward, and his return to her at the end of the trek doesn’t make up for his departure. Edward is a very one dimensional character and he is too quickly reconciled with his daughter and grandchild. So, yes, there are flaws. But overall the film was touching and there were many delightful moments of bonding between the two men. Freeman is particularly sweet in his role and his smile completely envelops every moment in which it appears. You might well enjoy The Bucket List. I did.

CADILLAC RECORDS, Rated R, general release

I really enjoyed this musical tale of the golden age of Chicago blues and the emergence of rock ‘n’ roll. It covers a sweep of history in the U.S. and is entertaining as well as informative.

The main character, Muddy Waters (Jeffrey Wright, an excellent actor) plays a mean guitar and is filled with ambition, pride, and professionalism. The other fine musicians include Chuck Berry (Mos Def), Little Walter (Columbus Short), and Etta James (Beyonce, who is particularly fine). They are all recruited by Leonard Chess (Adrien Brody, strong and sensitive) who has the capacity to envision the success that awaits this music.

The director-writer, Darnell Martin, does a fine job of bringing this period to life and paying attention not only to legend but giving the music full exposure and excellent delivery.

The film is filled with passion, hardship, exhilaration, sadness, and love. It is as big and grand as the Cadillacs driven by the musicians. It is just plain likeable.

CANDY, rated R, art theatre release

The Candy in this film is both the name of the female main character and the heroin she shoots. Abbie Cornish does a fine job of playing a young woman for whom snorting is not enough. Though her addict boyfriend, superbly played by Heath Ledger, tries to convince her not to take the step into his habit of shooting up, she wants, and gets, the greater punch.

These two are very much in love with each other, but even more so with heroin. They will do anything to get it, even offer up their souls. The film gives us a clear look into the outcome of any addiction. And there are many addictions, each with different consequences. Drugs, food, cigarettes, gambling, we know all too well about those. But what of addiction to ego-gratification where you can think of nothing but yourself, or the computer/games where you reinforce isolation, or how about co-dependence where you give yourself up to another’s needs or demands and convince yourself you are dwelling in virtue.

Joseph Greco grew up watching his mother battle schizophrenia. He has written and directed a little gem of a film. It lets us all in on the hardship he experienced.

Marcia Gay Harden does a beautiful job of underplaying the mother who is tormented by voices and constant fear. Joe Pantoliano plays the father who is devoted and resilient. He is sensitive and tender in the role.

Devon Gearhart plays the 10-year old son who is torn between wanting a normal family and wanting to love his mother just the way she is.

We are exposed to all the trials and agonies but in doses that we can handle. We are never overwhelmed by the horror of the disease but we are never without the knowledge that this is beyond difficult. We struggle with each of the characters and we love them. Each is beautiful in his/her own way. It is a very touching movie.

CARAMEL, Rated PG, art theatre release

Part of this film’s delight is that it is different in setting and in culture, not to mention it has very unusual characters who are beautifully developed. It is a woman’s film, taking place in a salon in Beirut. The women come in all shapes, ages, and sizes, and they are humorous as well as endearing. The men they encounter are equally charming. There is even a mentally challenged character who makes us laugh not at her but through her various antics. The unfolding vignettes, the heartbreaks, the loneliness, and the loyalties, hold our attention, have us smiling, and leave us feeling warm and good. It is well worth a visit.

CASSANDRA’S DREAM, rated PG-13, general release

There are those who can’t stand Woody Allen and his personal neuroses and there are those who love his wit and humor. I always enjoy his films and this one was no exception. However, this is unrecognizable as a Woody Allen film. It is not a comedy. Rather it is dark and foreboding as two brothers with great aspirations fall deeper into the pit of exceeding their potential. Ewan McGregor and Colin Farrell are superb together and so is Tom Wilkinson as their uncle who adds devastating ingredients to the boiling pot in which the brothers are already standing.

Ian and Terry are lovable, sweet guys who can’t seem to get it right. We embrace them, want the best for them, and we suffer with them as they make one bad choice after another.

The brothers stayed with me long after the film ended because their characters and circumstances were so well drawn. I left the theatre hoping to always increase my foresight so as not to wish I had done differently through the benefit of hindsight. Woody Allen shows us once again that he knows human nature and he brings it to us with a depth that immediately ropes us into the unfolding dilemmas.

I recommend it for your viewing pleasure.

Be sure to put this on your list of films to rent. It lasted for only one week at one of our theatres and we had to rush to catch it. It was well worth the effort.

This documentary of 80-year-old Japanese-American artist Jimmy Mirikitani, won the audience-favorite prize at the Tribeca Film Festival. Director Linda Hattendorf befriends Mirikitani, a quirky homeless man who paints classical Japanese landscapes and irresistible cats in the streets of SoHo in New York.

When the Trade Towers are destroyed, leaving the streets unlivable, Hattendorf takes Kirikitani into her small apartment and commences to do a LOVE PROJECT for him. Throughout the early part of the film he is cranky, untrusting, claims to need nothing, and is hostile toward his native country, the United States of America because he was imprisoned at the age of 25 in the Tule Lake concentration camps, along with thousands of others whose lives were ruined, who lost their property, who were forced to give up their citizenship, and whose families were torn asunder. All this because fear dominated American culture during WW II and profiling, then as now, did away with people’s rights.

Hattendorf performs her LOVE PROJECT by getting Kirikitani the social security he deserves, finding him a place of his own to live, uniting him with his lost family, and giving him back his dignity. The miracle of the documentary is watching the change in Mirikitani as he emerges from head-buried-in-bundles of clothing, to teacher and painter whose face beams with joy.

He meets up with another Mirikitani, the poet-laureate of San Francisco who has published under the title, LOVE WORKS. Imagine my delight over that, considering that in 1970 during the LOVE PROJECT at Jefferson HS, our first slogan was LOVE WORKS.

CHANGELING, Rated R, general release

The setting is 1928 in the city of Los Angeles. Christine Collins (Angelina Jolie) comes home from her job as a switchboard supervisor to find that her beloved young son Walter is missing. The rest of the film deals with Collin’s efforts to find him, in this true story of anguish and severe mistreatment by the Los Angeles Police Department.

The story is gut-wrenching and director Clint Eastwood uses every moment available to focus on the facile face of Jolie where every emotion is writ large. We are never spared the horror of her unfolding ordeal and it is all contained in the mood and hue of the late ‘20’s and early ‘30’s.
Sometimes some of the characters feel overdrawn (an arrogant police captain, played by Jeffrey Donovan, a sadistic psychiatrist, played by Denis O’Hare, and a crusading minister, played by John Malkovich.) This is balanced, mid-film, by a decent detective underplayed by Michael Kelly, who begins to find clues about what happened to Walter.

The film is 2 hours and 20 minutes long, too long to hold us in the suspense and the horror without our needing a breather. Collins quest begins to feel life-long. We continue to empathize with her and long for a positive ending but something about the very stylized presentation keeps us a century apart looking in as if from a Technicolor world into a black and white entrapment.

Nonetheless, it is a powerful tale: one we hope could never happen in our age. As we watch, however, we are never really sure that what happened then couldn’t repeat itself in any of our lives.

CHARLIE BARTLETT, rated R, general release

Charlie is a very precocious 17-year-old high school student who so wants to be known and liked that he becomes a pseudo psychologist and a prescription pill distributor to gain his fame. Anton Yelchin plays Charlie with composure and smooth talking. His character is a rich kid and Yelchin leaves us with no doubts about his station in life.

There are several funny scenes and a few that are touching. Hope Davis plays his depressed mother and Robert Downey Jr. suffers appropriately as the high school principal.

The film is more flat than inspiring. Give it a chance if you would like. Its theme is a little unusual and it is entertaining.

CHARLIE WILSON’S WAR, rated R, general release

Charlie was a U.S. Congressman (D) from Texas back in the days of the 1980’s cold war. In his unique backroom way he was very responsible for the U.S. semi-secretly arming the Afghan Mujahedeen, Muslim anti-imperialist freedom fighters seeking to prevent the Soviet Union from overtaking Afghanistan.

Written by political wit Aaron Sorkin and nimbly directed by Mike Nichols, the film is actually light and a lot of fun even as it deals with serious events. Tom Hanks is a sly Charlie, an operator who shows us how things really get done in Washington through secret meetings and gathering money from private interest groups. No matter that he is a liberal, he joins ranks with a right-wing Houston socialite who hates Communism. (Julia Roberts turns in a fine performance.) The cast is rounded out (literally) by an off-the-wall C.I.A. operative who is hot-headed and big-mouthed. (Philip Seymour Hoffman is brilliant as usual.)

The dialog is quick and so is the action. Our attention is demanded and held every moment and we can all feel good in the defeat of an attempted communist takeover. It is a really good film.

Charlie Wilson wins his war, Afghanistan remains sovereign. End of the film story.

The makers of Charlie Wilson’s War made an artistic decision to deal only with that time period and not venture over into Bin Laden’s involvement with the Mujahedeen, the subsequent repressive government in Afghanistan, and the repercussions that occurred on September 11, 2001. Though I wished they had lept ahead and connected the dots, that is clearly another movie!

Throughout U.S. history the C.I.A. has covertly interfered in the affairs of state in sovereign nations. In some cases, such as that of Salvador Allende in Chili, we facilitated his overthrow, despite the fact that he was democratically elected, and helped insert a dictator, Pinochet, who killed thousands upon thousands of people. “I don’t see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist because of the irresponsibility of its own people." Henry Kissinger, National Security Adviser to President Nixon, referring to Chilean voters.

The U.S. is not the only world power to impose our will on other nations. In all cases, history and the lives of those involved, both directly and indirectly, are altered. While such practices may produce good results in some cases, there is an abundance of damage and death that is born of any nation claiming “Our will be done, not yours.” When those intercessions occur, the inevitable boomerang does its turn and the one imposing becomes imposed upon.

This lovely film version of E.B. White’s beloved children’s story is a sweet combination of enthralling illustrations by Garth Williams and beautiful farm country scenery.

The talking animals, birds, and a creative spider, delight us with each appearance, and even the humans are likeable. This is a story of friendship and of how each creature has its rightful place in the whole. There are many “star” voices used but the animals are so endearing that we pay little attention to who speaks for them.

There are many laughs and while the story makes important points about the treatment of animals (and our treatment of each other), it never preaches or gets overly sentimental. It is a sweet presentation for children and adults alike.

CHASING OCTOBER: A Fan’s Crusade

This documentary was a wonderful celebration of my youth when I was a fanatical Brooklyn Dodger fan. Matt Liston takes us on a journey through his passion for the Chicago Cubs and his dream that they will win the World Series in 2003.

 This is much more than a documentary because Liston is a writer and director, and a good one at that. There is a mix of bar, street, gym, and ballpark interviews, and scripted vignettes which allow us to enjoy the inspiration and perspiration of a fan who goes all out to stir up the citizens of the windy city so that his Cubbies can reign supreme. 

They don’t win! Even after Liston quits his job, borrows money to make the film, and loses his lady. They don’t win! Even after he entreats thousands to BELIEVE they would win, they don’t win.

The loss takes us all to two important places in our on-going lives. One, I remember well from years of wishing in Brooklyn. It is: “Wait until next year.” Hope never dies. The day we lose, we prepare for next year. It is impossible to kill the human spirit.

 The other important realization here is that wishing and hoping, praying and visualizing, don’t always bring to manifestation the desired result. The Secret, the latest popularized version of ancient metaphysical teaching, would have us believe that IF WE DO IT RIGHT, we can make anything happen. Liston did everything right and then some. He saw the vision. He held the intention. He manifested every possible action to make real what he desired. In the end, it didn’t happen. They didn’t win.

 The real secret is, have no expectations but rather abundant expectancy. The joy is in devoting yourself to the dream and being open to what will emerge, even if it is not what you envisioned.

CHILDREN OF HUANG SHI, THE, Rated R, Art Theatre Release

This is the true story of a humanitarian English reporter, George Hogg, (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) who devotes himself to teaching and caring for Chinese children making the best of dreadful circumstances in a crumbling orphanage during the Japanese invasion of China. The film is touching, inspiring, and beautifully shot. It speaks to the importance of one, the power and impact of a single individual to create and sustain a wonderful reality in spite of all odds. At end of the film, there are testimonials by some of the former children, now quite on in years, who have never forgotten Hogg and what he did for them. Radha Mitchell, Michelle Yeoh, and Chow Yun-Fat also turn in lovely performances.

CHILDREN OF MEN, rated R, general release

This is a very dark movie, taking place in 2027. The human race is approaching its end because women are no longer able to conceive.

Rating this as a film it is easy to say this is powerful, well-directed and acted. The settings are chilling, akin to looking into hell. The action is hectic and unrelenting, fast, and often breath-taking.

The subject matter is grim, and it grows darker as the film progresses.

As I watched human beings cage immigrants, steal, ravage, and smash and kill each other, I sat there thinking, it would be best if this human race did end! I had very little sympathy for their plight. They clearly brought their demise upon themselves because they had a penchant for death rather than a reverence for life. The feminine force went barren because the seeds carried by the masculine force were poisoned by the quest for power.

The most remarkable thing about this scenario is that even during this horrendous time period, 2027, when everyone knows the human race is dying out, the focus is still on power and domination. Except for our hero, played by Clive Owen, and a small crew on a ship called the Human Project, no one is focused on loving or helping or creating or lifting the spirits of humanity for a last hurrah. I sat there thinking, let them all go. None of this is worth saving.

If we cannot and will not choose the Light, then we will frame ourselves in this film’s canvas and be enveloped by the grey, the blue-black, the dark and the grim. What remains alive is CHOICE, INDIVIDUAL CHOICE-MAKING.

CHRIS AND DON, A LOVE STORY, not rated, art theatre release

n a climate of high divorce rate in our nation, here is a love story about writer Christopher Isherwood and Don Bachardy, a portrait artist, who spent 35-years together in love relationship. They lived together “out in the open” during the 1950’s and ’60’s, attending Hollywood functions as a couple when other closeted gays (with whom they had been intimate) turned up with their wives, parading their supposed heterosexuality. Christopher was 30 years older than Don. He adored him, loved him, was committed to him, and nurtured him in a fatherly way. Their life together is presented in this touching and tender documentary which is seamlessly structured and beautifully balanced. Laced into the unfolding tale are cartoon drawings depicting an old horse and a sprightly cat who communicate with each other in specially coded language. It is the way Chris and Don choose to share difficult feelings, through the mouths of these symbolic animals. Isherwood’s death is sensitively dealt with through a series of drawings by Bachardy in which the pain of prostate cancer is embedded in the face of the dying man. The whole segment is very moving. Guido Santi and Tina Mascara did a magnificent job of directing and editing.

CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, THE: PRINCE CASPIAN, rated PG, general release

Based on the books of C.S. Lewis, this is the second film of the series, following The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. As we enter Narnia, centuries have passed and everything is different except that fancifulness has never died. The children, the once exiled kings and queens, find themselves in rather dark circumstances in which they need to use their wits and inner resources. This is a tale of the struggle for power and who shall sit on the throne. The story is filled with metaphor and symbolism and fascinating creatures to wow the imagination who speak some delightful dialog. All of this is quite wonderful except for the too frequent battle scenes. After a while they begin to look alike and become tedious. It’s a bit like life and how we fight continuous wars! There are so many of these films these days, filled with allegory, and seeking to stretch us toward the wisdom side of ourselves. It is a worthwhile endeavor. I wait for the film (for children or adults) that presents an imaginative treatment of learning to balance the powerful (and equal) forces of good and evil, rather than repeating the history of humankind in which the two war against each other for dominance.

CITY OF EMBER, Rated PG, general release

An entire city, an ember of hope, has been constructed deep underground because the earth above has been contaminated. The city was designed by The Builders, symbols of wisdom embodied, and it is to remain intact for 200 years, preserving the human race in the process.

Part satire and part allegory, based on Jeanne DuPrau’s children’s novel, the characters clearly represent aspects of society and the human race and their behavior plays itself out in the small community. The strongest example of this is the Mayor (Bill Murray) of Ember who is gluttonous, manipulative, and hypocritical. He puts on a face of benevolence in front of the citizens but behind the scenes he is despicable. We also meet Lina (Saoirse Ronan) and Doon (Harry Treadaway) who exemplify new hope by expressing their curiosity and following through with determination which focused on the good of the whole.

The City of Ember is filled with zany gadgets and examples of ingenuity. It is an unusual little film and a good one for families to see together because it could lead to very healthy discussion about life, ethics, and hope for the future

CIVIC DUTY, rated R, general release

At first I was intrigued by this thriller which explores the rampant paranoia in the U.S. that followed the 9/11 attacks. The writer, Andrew Joiner, places the mental delusions in the mind of an accountant, Terry Allen (played with some credibility by Peter Krause, who also produced the film.) Terry loses his job, feels emasculated and stir crazy, and begins monitoring his new neighbor, an Arab graduate student. He suspects him of being a terrorist and, as would any good citizen, he calls the F.B.I. Needless to say, the action escalates. Alas, it goes beyond credible, includes an unlikely death, and ends leaving us where we began, with no place to hang our values.

While I know it is important to examine our extreme fears and our movement toward profiling, I was disappointed as this story unfolded because the accountant became ridiculously obsessed and continually chose irrational and extreme behavior. So much was this case that it was difficult to believe as viable. More interesting for me would have been a more normal character who is caught between the rock and the hard places of wanting to be safe, wanting to be fair, wanting to be patriotic, and wanting to embrace the world and all its creeds and colors. The media and our current administration paint us as victims needing to defend ourselves against the forces of evil that seek to destroy us. But there are those among us who choose not to be victims, nor to be warriors and avengers, but rather to be strong peacekeepers who choose to be the change we want to see happen.

CLOSING ESCROW, rated PG, art theatre release

This pseudo-documentary is a directorial debut shot on DVD which is highly exaggerated and sometimes endearing. The quality of the DVD is miserable, faded color with no contrast!

We meet three couples and three real estate agents and follow their trials, tribulations, and sometimes very unscrupulous tactics. Many times I heard myself saying, “Come onnnn.” I would have left but I was intrigued by the brash blond realtor who is quite funny. I know some people like this – no matter what is going on, it is all about them, and if it isn’t, they turn it around so it is.

This first attempt had at its base a good idea but Kaprelian and Llewellyn need much more practice before they once again attempt their hands at writing, directing, and editing. They might be more successful at selling houses, but then again maybe not.

You can easily skip this one.

CLOVERFIELD, rated PG-13, general release

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? It isn’t superman. Is it an earthquake? Is it a monster? Yes! It is a monster. And the monster is so large and so powerful that he can knock down skyscrapers with a single blow. No. I am not kidding. He, or she, or it, is very scary, especially to youthful party-goers in a Manhattan loft. A handful of them, trapped in the midst of the chaos, rush into the streets for safety and then put themselves in grave danger to rescue one of their bunch who is impaled on the 39th floor of an apartment building. To show you how committed they are, they run up 47 flights in an adjacent building to cut across because the two were leaning into each other. The events are far-fetched, to say the least. Then, to add to the madness, the whole film is shot with a jerky, weaving, waving, often out of focus video camera!

So why did we stay? The young actors, while not anything special, did manage to communicate their struggle through what appeared to be honest fear and tears.

There is a continuous hailstorm of collapsing bridges and buildings, falling debris and people dying but at least they don’t bore us with philosophical interpretations about what is transpiring. In fact, they never do tell us how the monster got there or how the city got back to normal, or what the message of the film was.

At one point, I thought we were being directed toward something with meaning. The subjects were trapped in an underground train station. Several times, the camera jerked up to reveal a “no exit” sign. Then, when they sat down to rest, their bodies blocked an ad above their heads which first said, “call” and later, when a head moved, “I call.” A further panning revealed the word “now.” My mind, jumping toward any possible significance, informed me that the monster was a rising up of our collective fear from which there is no exit and that God, Itself, was calling us NOW to redeem our equilibrium before we become hopelessly imbalanced. I congratulated my mind for adding substance to a gimmicky display of repeated destruction in which the only choice for salvation was to send in the Army and bomb the threat to hell and gone. Destroy whatever seeks to destroy you. Cloverfield is a different kind of movie. I’ll say that for it. But I wouldn’t urge you to see it, unless you want an encounter with vertigo. One more thing: The previews prior to this film dealt with paranormal films that will be opening in the current months. There were people who could see ghosts of the dead walking among us in one, and a young man with the ability to teleport in another. In each of these, and others, the subject matter unfolded with combatants engaging in violence toward each other. It is always the way films about aliens from other planets unfold. Filmmakers, for the most part, dip into extraordinary spiritual possibilities but seem to have no idea that these can be tapped to lead humanity to a collective paradigm shift, and that these “talents” are available to all of us, to be used for good, for individual transformation, for human evolution. Never mind. Perhaps I will write my own screenplay.

COFFEE DATE, not rated, art house

This began as an award-winning short film about a 35 year old man, Todd, who was tricked into a date with a gay man when his brother placed an e-ad. Shocked as he was to discover that his date is Kelly, a very sexy guy, and not a woman, Todd begins to questions his gender-identity after becoming smitten with Kelly.

I would have liked to see the short film version. This full-length is drawn out, repetitious, filled with clichés and stereotypes, over-the-top behavior, and flat production design and photography. In addition, this is surprisingly bad acting by the supporting characters, not to mention their bad or difficult-to-say dialog. Among those turning in overdone performances are Sally Kirkland as Todd’s mother and Jonathan Silverman as his brother.

So why did we stay to the end? There are wonderful and touching nuggets in this film – probably what won the award in the short version. The scenes between Todd and Kelly (Jonathan Bray and Wilson Cruz) are moving and acted with sensitivity and realness. Todd struggles with proving his masculinity and that he is straight, and Kelly suffers loss because he has truly fallen in love with Todd. Both characters are explored beautifully and given time to have their stories and feelings unfold.

It was written and directed by Stewart Wade, who obviously knows his subject matter very well.

I wish the nuggets hadn’t been surrounded by amateurish film-making and overacting because the unfolding of the love between the two men was rich with caring.

There are precious few men like Thomas Moore who was conscious enough to remain pure on all levels and maintain his truth and his dignity until his head was chopped off under the orders of a miffed Henry VIII.

Sorowitsch was more a man of talent and savvy than a man of honor and yet, in relation to his fellow prisoners, he was an honorable man. The film invites us all to look inside ourselves to see where we fall on the scale measuring our integrity. Most of us are somewhere in the middle between Sorowitsch and Moore. Our progress along the line of evolution depends, in part, on our ability to embrace and to forgive rather than judge others.

I was recently judged by a few members of our South American travel group. Some of my behavior was deemed unacceptable by them. Two of them went so far as to question my reputation as a teacher, and one of them rendered me unforgivable. While this assessment felt excessive to me, I have spent time looking at the feedback and making adjustments I deem appropriate in my forms of expression.

If you see or rent only one film this month, see/rent this one. The brilliant Chinese director Zhang Yimou who brought us numerous extravaganzas in the past has now outdone himself, and outdone Cecil B. DeMille and Mel Gibson combined.

This is a Shakespearean tragedy writ large in Chinese with the quest for power taking its toll and royal family dysfunctionality running rampant. It is the story of misplaced love, displaced loyalty, and untimely death. The story is told in settings and costumes such as I have never before seen. Every inch of every image whether interior or exterior is lush with vibrant color and intensely beautiful fabric. The film is so rich and sensual on every level that I felt as if I had been dropped into a vat filled with every color, shade, and texture ever known. There is opulence everywhere and it is attired in thick gold brocade.

The characters are multi-leveled, intense, and fully committed to their place in the Tang Dynasty, 928 AD. They are filled with emotion which is, for the most part, held in check until it can no longer be contained and it seeps and then pours out of individuals, holding the viewer riveted to the screen. Chow Yun-Fat as the emperor and Gong Li as his wife are simply extraordinary.

Add to this, martial arts and fight scenes brilliantly choreographed and executed by waves of thousands of warriors who seem never to stop coming. Having been to China and experienced some of its 1.4 billion people, it is not even overwhelming to experience these scenes of endless men, especially as I remember that China adds 13 million to its population every year! In China, when a village (yes, I said village) of 300,000 is wiped out, the nation simply takes it stride as a small loss to its population.

Here we witness fighting to end all fighting. If this film could be shown to armies and terrorists throughout the world, they could simply drop their weapons and intentions and say, “Ok. We have been outdone. No need to continue. Let’s just sit back and enjoy the Chinese pageantry and flamboyance.”

In one scene, there are silent assassins attired in black who sweep from the hills and attack from the air on wires sent forth from them like a massive spider web. My mouth dropped open and remained that way for a long time. In another scene, 10,000 plants of yellow flowers are laid out for a festival, trampled by endless thousands of troops whose bodies are then cleared away by thousands more of the emperor’s subjects who bring yet another 10,000 plants. The whole film captures the scope of China which few in the West can even fathom. But here, in this depiction, it is easy to see how China will one day dominate the world.

In addition to everything else, there is sweeping music to accompany everything but the action is so powerful that I left the theatre wondering if the scenes had been played in utter silence.

I have never before seen a film as remarkable as this. Every aspect of it is perfect and extraordinary.

DADDY’S LITTLE GIRLS, rated pg-13, general release

This Tyler Perry film is enjoyable, if predictable. Although the dialog is weak and the scenes somewhat implausible, it is an uplifting story which shows black culture in a very different light from most films.

This is a story about a black father who goes all out in caring for his daughters, being both father and mother to them.

The characters in the film relate easily and beautifully to one another. A welcome element is that in the few fight scenes involving a drug dealer, only fists are used. There are no guns or heavier forms of violence.

The characters take responsibility for their own lives and see that it is their job to resolve their own problems. And, they go about doing that.

The film is a refreshing take, and I recommend it.

DAN IN REAL LIFE, rated PG-13, general release

If I hadn’t become part of Mari’s extended family 36 years ago, I might have thought that Dan’s family was made up out of whole cloth. There are piles of them in all ages and personalities. They banter and joke and enjoy all kinds of activities together and they all have advice for each other. They are noisy and fun and loving and caring. Wow! This family’s biggest concern is Dan because he is a widower and they want him to find someone and be happy. At a family reunion, Dan takes some time alone and meets the perfect woman for him in a local bookstore. It turns out later that she is the girl friend of his very own brother who has invited her to join the family weekend. You can guess that the rest of the story is funny, poignant, and full of surprises. The film is intelligent and the humor is used as a means of communication rather than the kind of gross stuff we find too often. These feel like real people, not caricatures created for effect to serve the slapstick of the moment. Steve Carell is wonderful as Dan and Juliette Binoche is delicious as “his” woman. All the other characters have a lived-in feeling and we are glad to spend time with them.

DARJEELING LIMITED, THE, rated R, general release

There are many reasons this film was a BIG DISAPPOINTMENT for me. First, I have been to India four times and there is a wealth of delight, humor, childlikeness, and depth waiting to be tapped. This film didn’t do it.

Second, there were about five funny lines in this film. They were all previewed in the trailers and led me to believe that this would be uproarious and wonderful. Wrong. The five funny lines weren’t even that funny in the film itself because they were not given the pauses afforded them in the trailer. In the film they were run over on the way to the next line.

Wes Anderson wrote the film along with Jason Schwartzman, who plays one of the leads – a brother to characters played by Owen Wilson and Adrien Brody. The three are having a reunion, a reconnecting, a spiritual journey.

None of the three characters is particularly likeable. All are low energy and dull. I was bored and restless as I watched them drink tea, talk, carry endless baggage, talk more, engage in low brow sight gags, talk even more, etc. etc.

It was as if the writers couldn’t decide what the film was going to be. So, they let it unfold like wet string lying on the ground undisturbed, not even a breeze to move it. When Indians move at an Indian pace, it is charming. When Americans move at that pace it is laconic, sleep-producing, irritating, and whiney.

My advice: take some other train.

DAYS OF GLORY, art theatre release

 During France's war with Germany,  soldiers were recruited from Algeria and other French colonies in North Africa and sent into battle for the glory of France. This film, which was nominated for the best foreign language film Oscar, has us live and breathe with men of great courage who yearn to live and who are willing to die. They are motivated by the promise of being equally respected by the French motherland, equally honored. They fight, they suffer, they persevere. They sing the French national anthem but they end up with only marginal recognition.

 These honorable Muslims are patriots and second class citizens simultaneously. They are not given promotions, or leaves after months of service, or even tomatoes in the mess hall. The French proclaim the Declaration of the Rights of Man, yet try as they may, believe as they may, these Muslim soldiers seem not to be quite equal. They are called "natives" until one officer instructs that they should be called "men."

 The acting is very fine and the tension of war and its hazards keep us on the edge of our seats.

 In this age, when Muslims are under such heavy pressure of stereotype and mistrust, this is an important film to clear our heads and to have us see instead the human beings that Muslims are.

DEATH AT A FUNERAL, rated R, art theatre release

British film humor is very particular and stylized. That doesn’t mean it keeps you from laughing right out loud. In fact, the Brits are often so fully clothed and stuffy it is hard to imagine their getting involved in nudity, distasteful but hilarious sight gags, and very naughty language.

In this 90 minutes of great fun, the Brits seek to bury a patriarch and all manner of mayhem occurs at his funeral. I suspect the deceased is mostly grateful to have passed on before the start of the service. There is one mishap after another, one giant laugh after another.

The actors are splendid and the direction is fast-paced. The twists and turns are non-stop and the characters are quite unique. This is a priceless farce and worthy of your attention. It completely defies the solemnity of death.

DEATH SENTENCE, rated R, general release

Nick Hume is an honest, respectable guy, a company VP, a good husband, and a great father of two sons whom he loves dearly. His eldest son is killed and Nick transforms himself into a vicious killer of mammoth proportions as he goes forth to take out his son’s murderer, and later, the murderer’s whole gang.

This almost two hour blood bath, in the name of vengeance, retaliation, “doing good by doing what the courts and the police won’t,” and protecting one’s family, is so over the top that the shotgun slayings and gun battles evoke laughter in the audience. Nick Hume was able to commit unbelievable feats for a guy behind a desk (who had no superman outfit under his clothes.) He could run with great speed and without stopping to breathe. He could jump, leap, duck, suffer wounds of all variety, and keep going. He could fall from a second story through a railing, and continue fighting. He could shoot weapons like a master marksman, though he had never before held a gun.

Kevin Bacon played Nick with terrific energy and intensity. But in the end, the three of us who went together wondered why he would take such a role. “Kevin, Kevin, Kevin” is what one of our party said, shaking her head as we left the theatre, exhausted from more violence than we ever want to see again.

The trouble with films like this is that they defy any reality of the human body’s capacities and salute a form of “macho” that is as ludicrous as it is harmful to impressionable minds.

Don’t see bother with this film and don’t let your kids see it

DECEPTION, Rated R, general release

This film was an interesting but not memorable cat and mouse game in which an innocent hard-working accountant (Ewan McGregor) is enchanted and enveloped by a slick con man (Hugh Jackman) and nothing is as it appears. The theme is clear: trust no one, beware your own desires because they can be manipulated, and always honor your values and inner knowing when making choices. While the theme explores worthwhile aspects of human nature, the character played by McGregor was so clueless that it was difficult to believe that he could keep making one mistake after another and allow himself to get deeper into trouble. While his behavior made the con man’s job a lot easier, it caused me to squirm and continue to ask why he was doing what he was doing. That was distracting rather than adding to what was supposed to be a thriller of sorts.

DEDICATION, rated R, general release

We barely lasted half an hour before we got our money back. Bad!

DEFINITELY, MAYBE, rated PG-13, general release

I don’t care if a film has a happy ending but I do care if the ending falls flat and calls into question my having sat through the whole film to little satisfaction. This one starts out with a bang and ends with a whimper. Will (Ryan Reynolds) has a precocious preteen, Maya, (Abigail Breslin) who has no trouble tossing the word penis around as she explores sex education with her embarrassed dad. That first scene is terrific. Would that the rest of the film was as well.

The story is somewhat convoluted as Maya pushes to know whether she was an accident, and who really stole her father’s heart. It was complicated to track – so much so that I gave up caring.

Reynolds is a nice enough actor and the individual segments with the women in his life are interesting but when the whole thing fits together something is lacking. You might have a different experience, so don’t let me deter you from trying it out.

Déjà Vu, rated PG-13, general release

The quick statement on this film is that I found it exciting, full of energy and twists and turns. Denzel Washington plays an intuitive AFT agent (Doug) who is investigating the enormous explosion of a ferry carrying over 500 sailors and their families. If you like action and you fancy improbable solutions, you will like this, but it will also make you work to stay on top of what is transpiring because it takes you on a journey of “out of time.”

You can quit now if you like, but if you want a deeper take, read on.

The story drifts into what could be called science fiction, because the federal agents who join forces with Doug have invented a space-time continuum manipulator which enables them to go back to 4 days before the event, zero in on the people involved, and even re-enter the former time period.

As you sit there watching this, you work hard to track with your mind what is transpiring. They have bent space allowing for an impossible view backwards. But, as we sit in the audience watching, we sit in so-called time and so-called space and this sets up an objective world separation. Then too, the mind which tries to make sense of it all is naught but linear. This very gap is what keeps all of us trapped in images-appearing-substantive and in thinking there is time, there is confined space, and there are limitations on what we can do or be.

If in your life you have had a true spiritual breakthrough into the profound experience known as Union in the One, you know as I do that there is no such thing as time or limitations of any kind. You know that the so-called past, the so-called present, and the so-called future are all happening in the Now, because the now is all there is.

In the film, in the fantasy, they curve space to revisit the past. In Union in the One, there is not just a curve, there is a never ending circle, infinity.

We can do the impossible because only the linear mind thinks we can’t. We need to wake up and get out of our own way. We need to enter the more that we strive toward. We need to give up the quest and become the reality.

The “more” we need to awaken in ourselves is the capacity to be and do whatever we have thus far held as fantasy.

There are people alive and among us today who are medical intuitives. They can look at a person and immediately see, in living color, whether they are ill and where the cellular disturbance resides. I knew a doctor who could do this over 40 years ago. Because he feared his colleagues would think him nuts, he never mentioned this high development in himself and instead sent his patients for tests in order to have solid medical ground on which to make the diagnosis he had already made and to prescribe treatment.

There are other people in the history of human life who can and do bi-locate. They lay their bodies down in one part of the world where they remain visible, and reconstruct themselves somewhere else where they are also plainly visible and interactive. I could go on.

The point is, as Hamlet said, “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” Every time we see science fiction, it behooves us to take it as a wake up call. If this, whatever the “this” is, can be thought up in someone’s imagination, it is because it is possible. It is because it is already present and “real,” because there is only now.

When I was a child, a doctor in a medical clinic I attended talked into a machine and I would swear I saw it being printed out, word for word, on a paper emerging as he talked. That was about 55 years ago. Maybe I was imagining it. Maybe I was seeing the future. Maybe it was what we call voice recognition today, or a highly evolved version of a Dictaphone. Whatever it was, the message was, if you can see it or imagine it, IT IS.

The gurus and God-representatives are the “machine in Déjà Vu” to whom the worshiper’s power is given before he or she even awakens it in self, alas.

The alternative, if one is awake and not unduly impressed by the show, is to acknowledge, I AM THAT.

Films such as Déjà Vu will, I hope, serve as a wake up call to those watching over the top of their popcorn bags. Wake up, step out of the malaise of satisfaction with your level of consciousness and stretch yourself to surpass the objective level, live in the energy world, and embody your potential.

DELIVER US FROM EVIL, art theatres, not rated, but not for children

I want everyone I know to see this documentary, and especially Catholics. While I say this film is not for children, I would take children to see this film long before I would ever take to children to a Catholic church! This commentary is in no way meant to be offensive to Catholics. It is surely not as offensive as the behavior of the Catholic Church in relation to innocent children. In this commentary I do not consider myself worthy of “throwing the first stone” for I too am lifting myself daily toward being a better human being. But I do see that what this documentary exposes needs to be said in the strongest words possible.

This documentary is about Father Oliver O’Grady who molested children for 22 years in parishes throughout California. More importantly it is about the Catholic Church hierarchy and its corrupt authority and power which covers up this evil, transfers priests to other parishes rather than dealing directly with this horror, and which allows it to continue.

The maker of this documentary, Amy Berg, worked on it for four years and has excellent credentials as a journalist and an Emmy Award winning producer for CBS News and for CNN. Deliver Us from Evil won the Target Documentary Award and a $50,000 cash prize.

Berg unfolds the story slowly and methodically. Half way through, the viewer’s heart begins to beat more quickly, and before it is all over, the viewer’s whole being is shaking with thunderous outrage. I don’t often do this but I began shouting at the screen and wanting to slap sense into the offending priest, and the even more responsible California Bishop Roger Mahony, AND, the worst of them all, the moralistic current Pope who had the jurisdiction during this time period, but did nothing to stop the more than 550 priests who were abusing children in California alone! This same Pope, who tells Catholics around the world how to live a moral life, is still doing nothing to protect those who are abused. Instead, he and others in the church hierarchy protect the Church and their power base.

There is no way that one can watch this documentary and sit still. The urge that predominates is to jump up and stand in front of Catholic churches and urge parents to turn away and save their children.

Interviews with “Father” Oliver turn your stomach as he smiles, or flashes his twinkling eyes, and merrily apologizes that he was “over-affectionate” with young children. What over-affectionate means is that he RAPED children over and over again, age five and younger (one was 9-months-old)! He put his penis into a nine-month old baby girl. Oliver was eventually imprisoned, unfrocked and deported to Ireland where he now wanders freely in children’s parks.

Talks with Oliver are juxtaposed with heart-wrenching interviews with victims and even more aching conversations with the parents of the victims. You watch, you listen, and you scream along with them.

Oliver is clearly ill. But if Mahony, the now archbishop of Los Angeles, and Pope Benedict XVI are not ill, then they can only be called the ultimate expression of evil because they were the authority who failed to deal with the Olivers of the church and set them free to find new prey in parish after parish after parish.

Mahony, in his sickeningly evasive responses to questions, said he did not think of Oliver as a pedophile because he was molesting young girls, not young boys (for three decades). While Oliver is clearly a sociopath with a thin grasp on reality, Mahony enrages us far more with his scheming, his lying, and his cover-up of the truth. Mahony, in a 2004 deposition, states that if a priest confesses to sexual urges toward children that is NOT grounds for dismissing him from the priesthood or removing him from his parish! And clearly, if the priest acts on those urges, the appropriate thing to do is promote him to a new parish and never tell anyone what he did in the last one.

Devout Catholics, kept ignorant by the church, invite sociopathic, collared sex offenders into their homes and trust them with their children. Cue: scream. Ahh, the Catholic Church knows a lot about evil; too much it seems, for beginning at the very top, they practice what they know.

And the Catholic Church continues to adhere to celibacy for priests even though it has no biblical foundation. We are told that a reason for beginning this practice in the 4th Century was that whatever money or property the priest had accumulated through his lifetime would then be returned to the church because the priest would have no heirs except the Catholic Church.

Deliver Us from Evil is a no-nonsense, clear condemnation of the Catholic Church from the Pope on down. It is enraging and infuriating. It lays bare the rampant hypocrisy of those incense shaking, robe attired, power corrupted old men who preach how to live a moral life and who bellow from the pulpit about all manner of sins.

How ironic that these popes and bishops allow priests to molest children but will not give communion to homosexuals unless they are non-practicing. These so-called representatives of God who determine how millions of people shall live their lives or be banished to purgatory, are themselves so guilty of sin that they should fall upon their knees and seek forgiveness. But what is clear is that they themselves do not merit the gift of communion for they have not made an act of contrition (O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven, and the pains of hell; but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life.) No, they have not so confessed, rather they have denied, covered up, lied, and helped to continue the practice of molestation.

They have not made an act of contrition, nor have they ceased to repeat the sin. By their own definition, this prevents them from taking communion.

I urge everyone, everywhere to see this documentary, and to challenge the Catholic Church wherever it stands by demanding that the men who hide in layers of brocade and under silk skull caps, and the men who lurk behind small white collars, examine their lives and repent where needed.

DISTURBIA, rated PG-13, general release

Shia LaBeouf does an excellent job of playing Kale, a decent young fellow who suffers big time from the affliction of being a typical teenage boy! He gets himself into serious trouble for assaulting his teacher, ends up under house arrest, lives holed up in his pigsty room, and eventually becomes a hero while spying on his neighbors and uncovering mayhem and murder.

His teenage friends comprise a composite of adolescence writ large and if you can get over wanting them to grow up and do life in ways that would please adults, you are enveloped in their charm, daring, innocence, and unpredictability.

The story unfolds with ominous plot twists and is both scary and affable. There is some graphic violence that might keep a child or “tween” awake but the teenagers are so delightful that the horrors are overcome and, in the end, fall away. David Morse is particularly menacing because he underplays his dark energy and makes us wonder, time and again, whether or not he is guilty.

DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY, THE, rated PG-13, art theatre release

Imagine if you suffered a sudden stroke which left you completely paralyzed from head to toe with only one eye that could blink. Julian Schnabel has created a brilliant film which allows us to be inside the man to whom this really happened and to see how, from this state of imprisonment inside his body, he used his fully functioning mind, his imagination, and his memory to communicate with family and friends and to write a book about his struggle.

Jean-Dominique Bauby (Mathieu Amalric gives an incredible performance) is stricken at age 42 with “locked-in syndrome.” For an hour and 52 minutes, we are all locked in with him. We suffer with him and we also laugh because he is a very humorous fellow. He is witty and poetic and we care about him every moment. We participate in his relationships with friends, family, and lovers.

At first I thought I wouldn’t want one second of this existence were I so stricken. But watching him create under the most impossible of circumstances, I came to see that where there is life, there is LIFE.

Max von Sydow turns in a fabulous, poignant performance as Bauby’s father, one of the best of his career. And Ronal Harwood wrote a beautiful script to match Schnabel’s direction. The creative photography is outstanding.

The focus of the film is less on limitation than it is on possibility. The body may be non-functional but the spirit is indomitable and pure beauty cannot be halted once it begins to flow. Pity doesn’t belong here, exaltation does.

Do not miss this inspiring film.

DREAMGIRLS, rated PG-13, general release

This is a very enjoyable musical with some fine singing, especially by the sensational Jennifer Hudson (as Effie White) with two powerful solos that held my full attention. The book, as it is called for the stage, the story for the screen, felt somewhat repetitious to me and weak for a big screen presentation.

But the main thread, the bad treatment of Effie who should have remained lead singer with The Dreams but was reduced to background because her looks didn't measure up, held my interest, injected as it was between musical numbers. This was my main reflection on this film. This format felt artificial to me on the screen, while I know I would simply delight in it in the theatre.

Perhaps the major difference is that watching this film was just that, watching. I was on the outside looking AT. Were this onstage, I would be joining in the experience, participating in the high energy, being present to those on stage in a reciprocal exchange. That was sorely missing in this film viewing.

Leaving this aside, the cast was wonderful: Eddie Murphy, Jamie Foxx, Beyonce Knowles, and Danny Glover.

The film was enjoyable and I would recommend seeing it but something was missing. Perhaps it needed more soul.

DUCHESS, THE, Rated PG-13, general release

The Duchess of Devonshire (Keira Knightley) born in 1757, married (Ralph Fiennes, the Duke), fulfilled her obligation of producing a son/heir, and lived unhappily ever after . This is a tale of his and hers dalliances, love and lack of it, women’s non-rights, pomp and circumstance, and lavish living.

 While interesting and occasionally painful, the characters are somewhat overdrawn. The mother of the Duchess (Charlotte Rampling) is cold as she “pimps” her daughter to the rather boring Duke. While he wields all the power, he too is caught in endless conventions from which there is no escape. Knightley felt too one dimensional to me and the film overall, with its focus on aristocratic decadence and manners, did not have an equal measure of passion. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy it. I did, but from a distance, and that is never as pleasing as being immersed in the unfolding dilemmas.

EAGLE EYE, Rated PG-13, general release

Do not plan on breathing or blinking during this thriller that races without rest through explosions, car chases and crashes, and forces that can control anything electronic anywhere.

Jerry (Shia LaBeouf) and Rachel (Michelle Monaghan) are two strangers thrown together in a bizarre no exit situation in which their lives are completely controlled through cell phones, surveillance cameras, and just about everything else.

On the breathless chase the story unfolds so furiously we can’t tell if the perpetrators are terrorists or part of a government conspiracy. The writers keep us spinning as the characters keep running but much of what is transpiring is incoherent and we grew weary of sustaining our caring about who is doing what.

Jerry and Rachel are so at the mercy of whoever is controlling them that we begin to feel there can’t possibly be a way out of this. If this is where electronics is heading and this phenomenon might become a reality in “real life” we are all doomed. Later I realized that one way out would be to pull the plugs, deactivate all batteries, take down all the satellites and kill off GPS, and return to using pencil and paper and face to face for communication.

The tension is sustained well, the action is non-stop and ingenious at times, but the story is pretty far-fetched and convoluted. There additional fine performances by Billy Bob Thornton, Michael Chiklis, and Rosario Dawson.

EASTERN PROMISES, rated R, general release

The Russian underworld, dealing in murder, drugs, child prostitution, human slavery, and the like, using the cover of an old world restaurant in the heart of London, leaves a trail of blood wherever it steps.

The tale is well-constructed with many interesting twists and turns and plot embellishment. But it is also terribly bloody and horrible. What stands out here are the performances of Viggo Mortensen, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Vincent Cassel, and Naomi Watts. I was held by the intrigue, but sickened by the gross violence. If you can stand the gore there is a strong story and good acting.

EL CANTANTE, rated R, general release

This film about the lives of Hector Lavoe (who made Salsa the rage) and his wife, Puchi, was roundly panned by most critics. I almost didn’t go to see it for that reason but critics are often wrong. While there were flaws with this film, it did hold my attention.

Mark Anthony plays Hector and his real life wife, Jennifer Lopez, plays Puchi. Anthony’s charisma is powerfully present in his singing and his irresistible smile. But when he “plays” Hector, his acting skills are subdued and limited in range.

Lopez, on the other hand, is full of fire and passion throughout, moving between tough, sensuous, hard, and sexy. I liked best the scenes shot in black and white as Puchi is being interviewed to reveal Hector’s rise and decline. She is at once steamy, taut, reflective, dismissive, a victim, and a woman of power. Lopez is a very fine actor with a grand range. Our local reviewer thought her performance was over the top, but I felt she was just right for an emotional, expressive, no holds barred Latina.

Puchi introduces a young Hector to drugs and together, for the next 20 years, they drink and sniff and smoke, and he shoots up, as his career and their marriage tumble.

A weakness in the unfolding story is repetition but that is balanced with lots of terrific music, both vocal and instrumental.

If you enjoy Salsa and you like Jennifer Lopez, this is an engrossing film, even with its limitations.

ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE, rated PG-13, general release

This classy film tells the story of a virgin queen who defeated the Spanish Empire. It is classy because the settings are wonderful, the costumes are fantastic, Cate Blanchett is her usual amazing self and Clive Owen, as Sir Walter Raleigh, is devastatingly handsome and sensual. It is all so luscious we don’t mind wandering around in 1585 because it all feels simultaneously modern in its dealing with human feeling. The tale alternates between serious historical drama and playful romance.

The acting is very strong and convincing even if the unfolding tale seems overly dramatic. Geoffrey Rush and Rhys Ifans are excellent and do keep an eye on Abbie Cornish who plays the Queen’s number one lady in waiting. She is both beautiful and talented.

The film has a little bit of everything. I enjoyed it very much.

ELSA & FRED, Art Theatre Release, Spanish with subtitles

You are never too old to fall in love. Argentine director Marcos Carnevale wrote this lovely piece about a 78-year-old widower who is swept off his feet by an 82-year-old woman claims to be 77 and who is a delightful wheeler-dealer and fibber, as well as uninhibited and outrageous. Fred (Manuel Alexandre) led a sedate life until he met Elsa (China Zorrilla). Their love affair unfolds awkwardly at first but before long he is utterly enchanted and laughing out loud and she is lowering the fire in her combustible personality and allowing his tenderness to touch her heart. There is plenty of humor here, not to mention hope for everyone over 70

ENCHANTED, rated PG, general release

At the title indicates, it was and so was I.

Disney Pictures has done a wonderful mix of animation and real live people (completely out of place in NYC) in a tale of true love and living happily ever after.

It is very clear that a lot of work and imagination went into the making of Enchanted and it brings us all a lot of gladness.

Princess Giselle (Amy Adams, a madcap comedian) prepares to marry her prince charming, Edward (James Marsden, both handsome and energetic), but Queen Narissa (Susan Sarandon) has other ideas and sends Giselle off to NYC in banishment where she says there is no "happily ever after." There are many funny moments as she adjusts to this new kingdom and even funny moments when Edward follows and takes on tough New Yorkers with his very large sword. There are also lots of adorable animated animals and a sweet “real life” love affair between Giselle and Robert, the man who rescues her (Patrick Dempsey).

Most of it works very well and is cause for delight. The real star of the film is Pip the chipmunk who is terribly dear, especially when he seeks to communicate through pantomime in an attempt to save the day.

It is a lovely, light fairy tale with laughs for the grownups and confection for the children. I recommend it.

ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD, Rated G, art theatre

release for spiritual content

Filmmaker Werner Herzog takes us to the Antarctic, a hauntingly beautiful place where scientists and philosophers live much like hermits devoting themselves to learning, discovering, and becoming one with this formidable environment. One among them described them as people who, because they were not tied to anything, fell here to the bottom of the earth. The documentary explores scientific study and soaring sea life, as well as the depth and melancholy of those who choose to live here in the barren beauty. Some of them express a profound pessimism: human life will not survive. Humans will go the way of dinosaurs because of global warming and other calamities. I departed company with their pessimism. As I see it, humans haven’t even begun to tap the whole of their potential and brain power. As we continue to evolve, to discover our Oneness with all things, and to own that we are the eyes through which the Universe sees itself becoming the more of who it is, we will not only survive, we will thrive. We are the conscious representation of the Divine in manifestation. We will not share the fate of dinosaurs because we are expandable rather than expendable. We are what is emerging, not what is disappearing. We are an encounter at what is still the beginning of the world.

ERAGON, rated PG, general release

While most reviewers panned this movie, comparing it to others of its genre and finding it lacking, I actually liked this simply told fantasy of a dragon and his boy-rider. The characters were overdrawn but more in the way of what would be expected in a Saturday morning movie for kids in the old days. Yes, it’s the good guys vs. the very ugly bad guys, and the dragon rides are implausible, and the makeup grotesque.

There wasn’t much message here, except that those who value harmony and peace can hold out against the oppressors and sometimes even win out. It was fun. I think kids would especially like it. And for grownups, there is magnificent scenery of the Hungarian countryside.

EVAN ALMIGHTY, RATED PG, GENERAL RELEASE

From the previews I knew this would be a light and delightful comedy, maybe not great big laughs but enough humor to put a smile on my face. I was right. Steve Carell plays Evan, a junior congressman, who is approached by God (Morgan Freeman, a black man dressed in white) and asked to build an ark because a big flood is coming. The tale unfolds with animals showing up two by two, tools and lumber delivered, and Evan being transformed.

There are lots of clever biblical references, slapstick, surprises, and animal humor. All in all it is an entertaining movie for the whole family.

It turned out to be a little more than that for me because it touched a chord of Cosmic Truth. In a sweet scene in this good-natured comedy, Evan tells God he can’t possibly build a huge ark because he has a busy schedule and many plans. God bursts out laughing. I laughed heartily too and remembered the plans I had for my life and my endless busyness. Once I “awakened” all of it was superseded by my Inner Voice and my Inner Directives, what Evan yielded to as the voice of God.

The film had numerous examples of subtle wisdom delivered in a light fashion. It is never preachy but is full of reminders for all of us about how to make the “right” choices and “do the right thing.” The whole family will enjoy it.

EVENING, rated PG-13, general release

The reviewers roundly panned this film as stiff, labored, and stilted in dialog. They also complained that it took too long for the main character (on her deathbed) to die. I can see why they had objections but I saw it more as stylized and time and class bound. I didn’t identify with the characters for this reason but I did find them interesting. As to the dying, from direct recent personal experience, I know that dying can take a very long time. It is not easy to wear out the vital life force.

The character of Ann in the last stages of her life is played by Vanessa Redgrave. I’ve not ever seen her subdue her energy as she has done here. It was appropriate for one in her condition but it left her flat, neither in the serious throes of dying nor in the last gasp at life. Her character’s real life force was played in flashbacks to her youth by Claire Danes.

Throughout, there are interesting performances, rather like spotlights shining here and there, by Natasha Richardson (Redgrave’s real life daughter playing her daughter) and Toni Collette, who, while good as usual, seems out of place as Richardson’s sister.

Then we also have Meryl Streep as Ann’s best friend, played in her youth by her own daughter, Mamie Gummer, and Glenn Close as a tight-smiled matriarch. She seemed to be wearing heavily starched underpants. Often, the characters stand out from the story rather than blending in to reveal it. I found myself noticing how much Gummer looks like her mother, and commenting inwardly that she is an adequate actor but nothing like her mother.

Having said all of the above, the nut of the story did capture my attention – unrequited love. Everyone was in love with Harris, a young doctor whose mother was an employee of their rich family, and none of them could have him. Harris is dreamily played by Patrick Wilson.

One of the central characters is Buddy who is drunk most of the time because of his insecurities, his being the son of too much wealth and privilege, and his being unclear of his sexual preference. I rather liked his character. Even though the writing telegraphed his eventual doom, he was sensitive and tender, and actor Hugh Dancy didn’t overplay his inebriation. His character’s trials lingered with me after the film ended.

The character of Ann was not very likeable at any age and although we were led to what could have been a teary ending, there was no catharsis for me. I enjoyed the film but rarely connected with it on a solar plexus level.

EVER AGAIN, a documentary about past and present anti-Semitism, Art Theatre presentation

The overall effect of this film is to produce fear, despair and hopelessness, on the one hand. On the other hand, it ends with a quote from Einstein: “The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.”

While the quote is worthy of our attention, the documentary never indicates what it would have us do to stop the Islamic and Neo-Nazi fundamentalist radicals from calling for the elimination the Jews.

The whole documentary is filled with angry inciters of the people. What we see of the world of Islam is only radicalized followers who vandalize synagogues and cemeteries, who beat up Jews in the streets, who seek above all to be martyrs and have a glorious life in heaven for having given their lives in taking the lives of so-called infidels.

There are over 1.5 billion Muslims in the world who study the Koran, who worship “God,” and who live productive and loving lives. But this documentary shows us only the ultra radicals, and in this one-sided presentation the implication is that the whole of the Muslim world wants to wipe out Jews (and Hindus, Americans, etc.) and have Islam take over the world. The Muslim radicals whom we hear ranting, tell us they want Islam to take over the world because the Jews have taken over the world and they must be stopped. Sound redundant? It is.

Although it is never said, the underlying call appears to be to “eliminate” those who would seek to eliminate the Jews. The documentary is produced by the Simon Wiesenthal Center (which for years has helped to track down former Nazi’s around the world).

I deplore violence, terrorism, murder, and mass killing. No human being or group of human beings should ever fall victim in these ways. Oddly, any group could have made this kind of one-sided documentary: Afro-Americans about Whites, Homosexuals about Straight Homophobes, etc. In fact, the diatribe against Jews and Israelis depicted again and again in this film by radical Muslims, could be made into the same one-sided documentary in reverse.

What is really frightening is beating the viewer over the head with rhetoric and saying that unless we stand up to the labeled enemy, we are the ones who make the world a dangerous place. It is frightening because no where is there a call for peacefully engaging with each other, for seeking solutions to grievances, even for wanting to hear the other’s complaints. No where is there encouragement for humankind to lift above the venomous proclamations and become champions of a new way for people to live together.

And we are truly all in this together when we remind ourselves as we confront anti-Semitism that the term Semitic can and is equally applied to those practicing Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. All three share a common ancestry. Hence, should any of the three seek to suppress, condemn, or destroy any of the others, they are merely voicing their own death wish for they are one and the same people.

Leaving the theatre with a sick feeling in my stomach born of hopelessness and disgust with human behavior on all sides, I asked myself, "What am I going to do about it?" My immediate inclination is to get lost on a desert island and return only after all conflicts currently raging are turned to ashes. I know, of course, that even if such a day came to pass, little time would elapse before people would be killing each other once again in the name of some just cause – such as defending freedom, stopping terrorists, etc.

Short of leaving the chaos that reigns around the world, my other option has always been to be the change I want to see happen in my daily life, and to speak out against injustice. After seeing this documentary, I took yet another step. My inner voice told me, "Don’t speak out, speak in."

The meaning of this for me is to commit to honoring life and to serve only the inner government, the creative force. It means to be a Light bearer in the midst of the soldiers and warriors of the world, to live a life of love and kindness not because others will see and change but because it is the way that those of us who live a spiritual life must be. Lift above the sides and join the forces that hold the world in place while the sides, the fanatics and fundamentalists of every stripe hate and kill each other.

This next step came as a reminder from my earliest spiritual studies (through the Alice Bailey books in which she channeled wisdom from Tibetan Master Djwal Khul about the “Plan” according to the Hierarchy of Ascended Masters.)

"There is an inner government of the planet known under such different names as the spiritual Hierarchy, the society of Illumined Minds. Humanity is never left without spiritual guidance or direction under the Plan. The widespread expectation that we approach the "Age of Maitreya," as it is known in the East, when the World Teacher and present head of the spiritual Hierarchy, the Christ [The Christos] , will reappear among humanity to sound the keynote of the new age. [While orthodox forms limit this to Jesus as the only Messiah, to the Gnostics the Christos is viewed as a Light-Presence, a Light-bearer, not exclusive but rather embodied by many individuals and ultimately, is to be embodied by humanity as a whole--giving birth to a New and Divine Humanity.]

"There are millions of mentally alert men and women in all parts of the world who are [living in harmony] with the Plan and work to give it expression. They are people in whom the consciousness of humanity as one interdependent unit is alive and active... These beliefs give a new dimension to spiritual reality. They provide opportunity for cooperation with the spiritual evolution of humanity. There is no group so likely to ensure that humanity achieves this most difficult goal as the men and women of goodwill, requiring only courage to initiate action to prepare for the New World Order.”

Yes, “The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.” But it also true that the world is an even more dangerous place when humans fight their enemies on the same level as their enemies, for then they truly become what they seek to destroy.

I will not "do nothing" but the something I will do and am doing will involve my touching even finer frequencies so that I am not tempted to act in lesser ways in the clutches of fear. Nor tempted to swagger with bravado, both of which I have seen my countrymen do for many years.

Ever Again may we find our way to merge with the Divine in our embodied consciousness.

EX, THE, rated PG-13, general release

It is hard to like a film that doesn’t know what it is supposed to be. Is this a comedy, or a serious look at what passes for talent in advertising, or the story of a guy who just can’t make it, or is it a tale of how disreputable people use other people, or …who knows?

I guess this is a satire about what yuppies have to do to be successful, dirty tricks and all. But it’s also about a rather sweet fellow who loves his wife and his new born baby and who wants to express himself creatively and earn a good living at the same time. Zack Braff plays this good guy, and he plays him very well. He is endearing, earnest, and highly likeable. It is the most animated I have seen Braff as an actor and that is most welcome.

While he is delightful, the film itself keeps missing. It is too nasty to be funny and too hurtful to characters we like and want to like. It is too sadistic to be satire and therefore quite disappointing

EXPRESS, THE, Rated PG, general release

I really enjoyed this true story of Ernie Davis, a fabulously talented running back who became the first black winner of the Heisman trophy and then died a year later at age 23 of leukemia.

The film is filled with athletic excitement and the hard won social progress made by blacks in the 1960’s. There are lovely scenes between Ernie (Rob Brown), his grandfather (Charles Dutton), and his gruff but very decent coach (Dennis Quaid.) It is very touching and a good reminder of how far we have come as a nation.

FACING THE GIANTS, rated pg

What brings me to see an ultra low budget amateur movie made by volunteers and written and directed by teaching pastors of a Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia? A Rabbi.

Mari and I are currently reading The Left Hand of God, by Rabbi Michael Lerner. It is about taking our country back from the religious right. It is a book all of us who are caring, loving, somewhat radical and non-conformist should read because it spells out how we joined the pundits of the Democratic Party in allowing right wingers to own the flag, become the champions of family values, and co-opt spirituality and the great need for meaning by assigning it to fundamentalist religion. Rabbi Lerner encourages those of us who hold dear our constitutional rights to reclaim the banner of values and spirituality and to stop building walls that separate “we” and “they.”

With this in mind, I bypassed my aversion to films which call upon Jesus Christ for help with all things. I went to see this film to honor the value I have on being open and willing to see new things. Mind you, I have in the past become nauseated when viewing Mormon-produced movies with similar themes and have stopped going to those because of their R (religious) Rated content and because the screen play, acting, and directing were laughable.

Alex and Stephen Kendrick are the two pastors who put this film together, with Alex starring as a football coach who needs to get his woeful team on the score board. He is blamed for their poor performance and if that isn’t enough, his infertility is the reason he and his wife can’t have children. As you can see, he has a lot to pray about. I won’t tell you any more of the plot and how things turn out, but the primary instruction from coach Alex is, “If we win, we praise him; if we lose we praise him” and everything we do, “we do for God.”

If you are an evangelical, you’ll adore this. If you are a Christian, of any stripe, you will delight in this. If you are of any religious persuasion and you believe in God of any stripe, you will be moved by this. I am none of the above because I have never been able to relate to some God up and out there who listens or doesn’t. Nonetheless, I really liked this film for its inspiration, sincerity, faith, and simplicity.

Here’s the thing, what others believe in as a God outside of self or as a Savior who died for us, is a facsimile of truths I know for myself. There is a greater Force which I identify as the Will, in which I have my being, as which I manifest in the world, and through which I am guided in my choice making. I am not here unto my individual self but rather am a vital part of one large whole. Evangelicals serve Jesus. I serve the Large Will, similar ground though with worlds of difference. Evangelicals have the one and only way to salvation while I see that perfection is in place right here right now and everything, all things, all events, all behavior, all people, are part of that. We are all the Divine embodied. However it is communicated, we are all equally spiritual even though we don’t recognize each other’s path as the one to choose.

I didn’t watch the movie changing “God” to the “Large Will” to make it more palatable. I watched it as one who was visiting a foreign country and valuing the way they lived, especially because it worked so well for them.

They were looking for miracles and they found them in many ways. Their faith never wavered. They believed “Thy will be done” and here is the most surprising element. The brothers Kendrick experienced a miracle when they were able to achieve their goal of making this film. Then, they were visited by another miracle. They were contacted by distributors who said they wanted to release this as a feature film in movie theatres! And it is being a success, with good reason.

It is an inspiring tale played by ordinary folk who ARE themselves. They are not playing themselves, or even trying to act, which is much to their credit. They come across as honest and earnest and we come away touched by knowledge that hope is still alive in our world.

FACTORY GIRL, rated R, general release

Enter the world of Andy Warhol and his superstar lady, Edie Sedgwick. I didn’t think I would want to stay for the whole film because I have little regard for druggies who party their narcissistic lives away and who dupe the eager-to-be-duped world by selling their non-existent talent for outrageous sums of money.

Sienna Miller and Guy Pearce do a fabulous job of capturing Edie and Andy, creating vacuous glamour and pervasive decadence.

I was glad I stayed to observe the distorted lives turned into celebrity and to confirm my contention that so-called superstars exist, in the main, only because of the legions of so-called ordinary people who hold them as such, delight in their perversions, and convert them into two bit Gods. Superstars have a life because too many others need to get one!

FALL, THE, Art Theatre release

A sweet relationship is formed between a little girl with a broken arm and a fellow patient, a man who may be permanently injured. He tells her fantastic adventure stories in exchange for her bringing him extra meds, in particular morphine. The film is a visual feast, shot over four years in 18 locations around the world. I am thrilled to report that I have been to 17 of them, riding elephants in India, witnessing ritual dancing in Bali, visiting the pyramids, etc. Tarsem, the director, has done an extraordinary job of pulling it all together and holding our attention. Everything about this one is a delight. I highly recommend it.

FALLING FROM GRACE, Rated PG-13, general release

Hardly anything could be wrong with a romantic comedy that deals with unlikely people of different races falling in love, and mistaken identity, or so I thought. Fay Ann Lee, a NY actor, has written and directed this low budget film in which she also stars. It is being hyped by our local theatre and following the showing we attended, Lee did a Q&A session in our auditorium. We didn’t even stay for the whole exchange. Alas, the story is weak and the lead actors (Gale Harold plays the male love interest) are terrible. They have no life, no spark, and very little talent. When they look into each other’s eyes, dullness passes between them! Aside from not being much of an actor, Lee is hardly much of a director. The rest of the cast is weak as well, offering little more than stereotypes. The one exception is in scenes where Grace meets her mother and father played by Elizabeth Sung and Clem Cheung. There is some life in those scenes. You won’t miss much if you skip this one.

FEAST OF LOVE, THE, rated R, general release

After a binge of action films, this little gem is a sweet respite. Morgan Freeman stars as a semi-retired philosophy professor living in Portland, Oregon (which in this film seems like a very small town.) Early on, he tells us that the Greek gods invented humans because they were bored. Then they invented love and followed that with laughter so they could stand it! We can easily see why, when we are thrown into the mix of lovers and would be lovers in this Mid-Summer-Night’s-Dream-like story.

Many of the characters are clueless (the one played by Greg Kinnear, most especially) or they lead hit and miss lives. Under the surface of that is much that is touching and is slowly revealed.

The professor quietly disseminates wisdom and useful reflection as the tale unfolds. It is easy to take and leaves us feeling pretty good by the end.

FEEL THE NOISE, rated PG-13, general release

I really enjoyed this tale of a struggling young rapper from Harlem who finds it hard to stay out of trouble but has the blessing of being motivated by his dream of success in the world of music. Omarion Grandberry stars as Rob and does a splendid job.

He is sent off to join his father in Puerto Rico and a story of reconciliation unfolds as we are immersed in reggaeton (a mixture of Latin rhythms, hip-hop, and reggae.)

There is lots of music and dancing, and a good focus on human interaction and the need to develop skills to sustain relationship.

FIGHTING FOR LIFE, SPECIAL RELEASE

Director Terry Sanders takes us on a dispassionate but empathetic journey through a battlefield hospital in Iraq and rehabilitation centers in Germany and the U.S. so that we can experience first- hand the caring doctors and nurses who tend the wounds of soldiers and marines making sacrifices in Iraq on behalf of the American people. It is a painful film to watch as young men and women deal with lost fingers, arms and leg, bullet and shrapnel wounds, severe burns, and the mental anguish of not knowing what their lives will be like from this day forward. Sanders spares us very little, appropriately so. Those wounded physically, emotionally and mentally were not spared either. The hope in the film is in the dedication of the medical personnel, specifically trained for this service, and in the courage of the wounded who search for ways to go on. The presentation is unforgettable, agonizing and inspiring simultaneously. It says in big bold images, this is what war is and does and the effects last a lifetime. It is astonishing to me that human beings go on choosing methods of attacking problems that (a.) don’t resolve them, and (b.) mangle the bodies of those who serve the nation.

FINAL SEASON, THE, general release

When I was about 11 years old I used to go the movies every Saturday morning. They mostly showed cowboy films – Hopalong Cassidy, Roy Rogers, Gabby Hayes, and the like. The stories were always the same with the good guys winning and perpetual happy endings.

The Final Season isn’t a western but it is a movie that guarantees a happy ending where the good guys triumph. You know that going in and so you can sit back and relax and let the familiar story soothe and comfort you.

It’s about a winning baseball team that is in its last season because the small town school is about to merge with a big city school. The story is for real: Norway, Iowa, population just over 500 (yes, I said 500) had to send its kids to Des Moines.

Van Scovoc was the gruff but lovable coach from 1971 to 1990. He is played by Powers Boothe. Assistant Coach, Kent Stock, (Sean Astin) takes over for Scovoc who resigns in protest, continues the tradition of instilling good values, and seeks to lead the team to its 20th year championship.

The kids are good and so is the baseball. It is actually interesting compared with watching pro ball on TV where innings drag on and announcers need to fill the time with talk, statistics, speculations, and the like.

There are lots of subplots: what will happen to the town? Will the tough kid from Chicago shape up and become a mench? Will Kent Stock actually have a romance with the woman from the state government? All these little threads are woven into one little quilt. Nothing earth-shaking here, just the delight of home spun wisdom disseminated from the front porch, the sound of the bat hitting the ball, the comfort of a community sticking together, the munching of cracker jacks, and lots of hollering at the old ball game.

FIREHOUSE DOG, rated PG, general release

If you are a dog person, do see this film. I am a dog fan and I was delighted from the very first second. Dewey, aka Rexxx, goes from being a pampered Hollywood animal star to becoming a firehouse hero and a small boy’s personal pleasure. His antics are joy-producing and his facial expressions had me laughing and cooing.

The story moves right along with believable performances by Josh Hutcherson as the boy and Bruce Greenwood as his father.

The theatre was filled with children and they shrieked with excitement, as did I. At the end of the film, the kids all applauded and shouted their approval. And it was well deserved

FIRST SNOW, rated R, art theatres

Here we have a compact thriller which zeroes in on the life of Jimmy Starks (beautifully played by Guy Pearce), a fast-talking salesman who is told by a fortune teller that he will live only a short time, until the fall of the first snow. The story examines whether our fate is truly sealed or if we can, through our own actions and choices, change what awaits us.

First time director Mark Ferus does a fine job of holding our attention on the subject matter and keeping us riveted to the action taking place in the now moment. Mr. Pearce has a particular talent for developing a full character and making his every move interesting. Pearce’s niche time and again is the small film that is single character driven and he certainly has the talent to sustain.

The story builds well to a conclusion one cannot predetermine. There is fine supporting acting, appropriate music, and excellent desert photography.

I recommend it as interesting and provocative.

FLASH OF GENIUS, Rated PG-13, general release

Can the little guy take on corporate America and win? This is the true story of Dr. Robert W. Kearns (Greg Kinnear) who invented the intermittent windshield wiper but had it stolen from him by Ford. He took them to court and spent years trying to win the case, losing his marriage in the process.

The story is inspiring but there is something missing. Kearns is dogged but lacks passion. It plays like a TV movie, well-made but not the kind that stands out in our memory. We want him to win but because we don’t experience enough of his emotional inner struggle we don’t rise up in our own indignation or cheer him on. Ford offers him millions to settle but Kearns holds on, demanding credit for his invention. The focus is on one man and his personal cause rather than extending to encompass the larger moral issues which would have made it more dynamic.

One point was very well made. Necessity is the mother of invention, but while many see the need not everyone has the wisdom and skill to bring the new to manifestation. It is good little movie but not a triumph.

FLAWLESS, Rated PG-13, general release

Demi Moore and Michael Caine do a lovely job of playing an odd couple conspiring to rip off the London diamond company in which they both work, she as an executive, he as a maintenance man. They both have cause for conspiring to rob the pompous men who run the company, she because they intend to fire her after stealing her ideas and he because of the death of his wife. They are a very unlikely team but that is part of the charm of the plot and both actors play very well and believably together. The diamond company big wigs are so despicable in personality and business dealings that it is very easy to cheer on Laura and Hobbs as they unfold their planned crime. The story builds in a way that holds our attention and pleases us with an unexpected but satisfactory solution. I enjoyed it very much and hope you will too.

FOOL’S GOLD, Rated PG-13, general release

This mix of romance and adventure, beautiful bodies and shiny gold, is too much of a mix for its own good. The hodgepodge has us focused on too many themes and asks us to care about too many people.

My attention was more on the fact that Matthew McConaughey, Kate Hudson and Donald Sutherland were working too hard to create characters rather than being very interested in the actual characters they had created. Hard work and good comedy is an oxymoron. There was one character in the film who really was funny and she was wonderfully played by Alexis Dziena. Gemma Honeycutt (what a name!) is a dizzying airhead with a constant ear to ear smile on her face, shining eyes, attractive belly button, and a “you have got to be kidding” view on life. But Dziena plays her so fully that she as loveable as she is impossible. The film drags on and we hardly care when the treasure is found. You won’t find much treasure here.

FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL, rated R, general release

Peter loses his love Sarah, goes to Hawaii to recover, finds that she is there too, and all manner of mayhem breaks loose, accompanied by many laughs. Peter is played by Jason Segel, a well-endowed actor who is not at all shy about providing us with full frontal views of his attributes. Kristen Bell is amusing as Sarah and there are good turns by Mila Kunis as Peter’s new love interest, and others who clearly have a flair for comedy. This film is willing to explore the feelings involved in bad relational luck. This adds a bit of substance to what might have been fluff. Peter has many charms as well as traits that throw him back to childish neediness. Directed by Nicholas Stoller and written by Segel, it was a decent comedy in a beautiful setting

FOUR CHRISTMASES, Rated PG-13, general release

Hey, it’s a comedy about visiting The Family (in this case four of them) for Christmas. This one has many laughs and is relatively light and enjoyable, but it also has long deadening moments and too many over-the-top characters and antics. The action moves fairly quickly under Seth Gordon’s direction and Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn are funny together as the living-together couple who were stranded by fog and had to visit with relatives instead of basking in the Fiji sun.

Vaughn is particularly funny in a church scene where he is recruited to play Joseph and his character falls in love with himself as he discovers his acting abilities.

Whether it is worth the cost of admission you will have to decide. You might just go and visit your own extended family for Christmas and create your own laughter.

FRACTURE, rated R, general release

When I see a film like this, I want to collect all the celluloid garbage (such as Vacancy) that has been produced and hold a fire-burning party. How can B and B- (and worse) films be offered in the same venues as those with quality? We should have first run theatres and trash theatres so the viewers don’t have to sift through to find the treasures.

Fracture is one of the treasures. It is well written, beautifully acted, unpredictable, intriguing, with a surprise ending that catches us completely off guard.

Anthony Hopkins is his usual brilliant self and Ryan Gosling is equally cunning and delicious. The characterizations are fully developed and they hold our riveted attention. Can someone who has planned every detail actually get away with murder? You gotta see it to find out.

There is so much to chew on here, I felt as if I were eating a pineapple by pressing my face into its juices. I could taste each moment as it unfolded. The writing is superb. When you get to the end, you can only say, WOW! You get taken in and you are not released until THEY let you go.

Do see this. And, see how smart you are, how observant you are.

FREEDOM WRITERS, rated PG-13, general release

Don't miss this film, please. It is real, inspiring, touching, heart-warming, and filled with both despair and great hope. For me, it was absolute deja vu. It was The Love Project brought to the big screen, with variations.

This is the true story of a young white teacher, played by Hilary Swank, who is filled with the eagerness of a novice and who devotes herself to being the change she wants to see happen.

Erin Gruwell is confronted by a class of black, Latino and Asian high school freshmen who live violent lives in equally violent surroundings and have no chance in hell of creating a successful life, or even living past the age of 18. Assigned to teach English in Long Beach, CA, she faces students who don't want to be there and who are all downright hostile.

As the film unfolds we are immersed in the struggles of all those involved and we suffer and triumph alongside all of them. Yes, the teacher and the students are able to turn problems into opportunities, and to create their own realities consciously. And yes, to go on with THE LOVE PRINCIPLES, they provide others with the opportunity to give, they learn about having no expectations but rather abundant expectancy, and they are willing, finally, to receive all people as beautiful exactly as they are, and themselves as well.

Miracles happen here, just as they did 36 years ago in Brooklyn, NY when I started The Love Project. And here, in this film, as it was for me then, it was required that the teacher give 100% of herself, working overtime, buying supplies because the school wouldn't provide them, and devoting herself even to the detriment of her own marriage. She had to do all these things because she saw the vision and it was hers to fulfill. She made herself available to "be chosen" and once having said yes, there was no turning back. The entire story was, for me, like watching my autobiography. Gruwell learned as did I that if you want anything done, you go straight to the top to request it; that is how you get results. I have done this in every avenue of my life since then and it has never failed me.

The story here differs from The Love Project in that the focus was on writing and keeping journals, but similar in that the students learned that they were capable of learning, of having a decent life, and becoming somebody.

I went on to disseminate The Love Principles around the world, in part because one of my African-American students told me that it was for me to work with people "of my own kind, my own color" and to teach them about being unconditionally loving. I have been doing that faithfully for over three decades.

Ms. Gruwell left the school after a few years and went on to teach teachers how to do what she did. I wonder how that has worked out. While I know we can inspire, I don't think inspiration can be taught. The New York City Board of Education offered me $50,000 a year back in 1971(!) to start Love Projects in other schools. But I knew then, and I still know now, that events such as that (and such as Freedom Writers) emerge organically because of need, circumstance and personal commitment, not because it is generated from the outside in.

Freedom Writers is a motivator that serves to awaken all of us to more of our potential, to look for our unique contribution, and to choose to make a difference because every one of us can.

FUGITIVE PIECES, Rated R, general release

If you are in search of a film that is intelligent, touching, and poetic, this is one you must not miss. Based on Ann Michaels’ well-received novel, Fugitive Pieces takes us into the agony of a Holocaust survivor’s life – through his memories and lasting pain – to the sweetness of life renewed and touched by the power of love. Stephen Dillane gives a remarkable performance as Jakob Beer. His every feeling, mood, and experience is powerfully conveyed through every cell of his being in an understated way that is all the more poignant. Jakob, age 9, hidden beneath a skirted table by his mother, watches as the Nazis murder his parents without a second thought and abduct his beloved older sister. For decades to follow Jakob is haunted by the horror and longs for his sister. He becomes an esteemed writer and teacher but his inner struggle keeps him from living in the world and from loving his amazingly energetic and lovely wife (played beautifully by Rosamund Pike.) We walk in Jakob’s shoes and feel the burden with each flashback. And we weep with joy for him on the day of his emergence from the chains that held him bound. Jeremy Podeswa, the son of a Holocaust survivor, wrote the screenplay and magnificently directed this incredibly touching piece of cinema.

GAME PLAN, THE, rated PG, general release

Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson clearly enjoys being a movie actor and we can’t help but enjoy looking at him. He has a magnificent body, considerable life force, sparkling eyes and the whitest teeth in Hollywood (too white!)

He plays an in-love-with-self, wealthy quarterback named Joe Kingman. His life changes radically when he discovers he has an eight-year-old daughter who comes to live with him for a short time.

There are some very funny moments, and some that are tender as well. It is a nice family film, especially on a rainy day (if you happen to live where it rains.)

GEORGIA RULE, RATED R, GENERAL RELEASE

Three generations of women deal with family disfunctionality and struggle with serious issues in both a comedic and dramatic modality. The grandmother, Georgia, Jane Fonda, and the mother, Lily, Felicity Huffman, have their hands full not only with each other but with Lily’s daughter, Rachel, played by Lindsay Lohan who is far too mature and sexually active for a 17 year old. The setting is a lovely small town in Idaho.

You can’t guess what is going to happen in this off-beat film. It is unpredictable and just when you think you know the truth, you have to think again. Is the 17-year-old a liar? Was she sexually abused? The unfolding story most certainly holds our attention.

The characters are by no means run of the mill. They have more idiosyncrasies than one would think possible in a small town and each is very unique. They are filled with strengths and frailties. The actors, all of them, are strong and believable.

The subject matter is complex and it took juggling to have it fall into place so that we could both laugh and be appalled. I would call it a fine effort and worthy of seeing.

GET SMART, rated PG-13, general release

Most of the critics thought this was old hat with feeble jokes but we laughed out loud too many times to count. This was filled with good humor, wonderful deadpan, and lots of unexpected lines that jolted us into laughter which we had to contain because we didn’t want to miss the follow-up.

Steve Carell does a fine job of playing Maxwell Smart and he and Anne Hathaway (Agent 99) have good chemistry together. As can be expected from Mel Brooks (one of the writers) we have a delightful mix of Bumbling Bond and borscht belt schtick.

The action moves right along and although Smart is far from a hero he is endearing. He falls down a lot but gets right up again to make us laugh once more. The scenes of Moscow are beautiful and finding Bill Murray inside a tree is very amusing.

There are iddy biddy jokes poking fun at the current administration. These keep us listening carefully so as not to miss anything that might be slipped into the dialog. There is much shooting of guns and knocking people around, but there is no blood, thankfully, just good fun . I really enjoyed it.

GHOST RIDER, rated PG-13, general release

Prior to going I asked myself the question, do I want to see a film based on a comic book? The sophisticated part of self says, no, but it is my desire, most of the time, to remain open and give something a try, even if I am not really drawn to it.

The story is about Johnny Blaze (Nicolas Cage) who sells his soul to Mephistopheles (overplayed by Peter Fonda) and is destined to ride his motorcycle every night killing off bad guys. I actually liked Cage in this, and I thought they all did a fine job with the graphics and effects. It is quite a ride with wonderful transformations and beings of fire! It beats reading a comic book.

And, there is also some very interesting spiritual material woven in, including very clear delineations between levels of functioning and the basic elements affecting life as we know it.

You might like this. Who knows?

GOD GREW TIRED OF US, rated PG, art theatre release

Do see this moving documentary about the Lost Boys of Sudan. It is touching, inspiring, and deeply moving. We are thrust into the struggle for survival waged by 27,000 boy refugees from the south of the Sudan who walked over a 1,000 miles through desert terrain to escape slaughter. Young boys had to bury younger boys who died of starvation in the quest for life and freedom, while back home, whole families were murdered and burned alive.

We must never forget that this tragedy lies at the feet of the United Kingdom and its endless colonialist practices. The Brits pulled out of the Sudan and set the stage for civil war between Islamic fundamentalists and separatist Christians. Clearly, the days of international occupation and interference must end so that smaller nations can find their own way and benefit from their own natural resources. For too long superpowers have dominated and raped the world, and have been the cause of suffering and death for the local citizens.

In the film, we experience the trials the Lost Boys endure. They suffer deprivation, family dislocation, loneliness, isolation, not to mention severe culture shock. They devote themselves to the “brothers” they left behind in the Kenya relocation camp, to their roots, and to the cause of discovering if their parents and families are alive or dead. They work hard and send money home to support those who represent the extension of the one Self of which they are a part.

They cannot understand why people in the United States ignore each other and do not know of their oneness. How can people simply walk by a woman in the street who is crying? How can she be left there, alone? Don’t people know it is their duty to be there for her, to bring her solace? How can people not care about one another? Don’t they know that everyone is their family?

After 17 years, one of the boys, now a young man of 30 locates his family and saves enough from his three jobs to bring his mother and sister to visit him in America. The reunion at the airport is so poignant and powerful that tears instantly streamed down my face as the mother greeted her son with Sudanese chanting, singing, and dancing. They both collapse to the floor in uncontainable gratitude.

The plight of the Lost Boys, the plight of any and all who suffer in any way around the world, is ours as well. We can take small steps toward alleviating that suffering by loving everyone (not just those in our family, or our friends, or acquaintances in our associations) as if they were our very self standing before us, as if they were the Creator placed in our way so that we cannot ignore that we are one with the Divine.

GOLDEN COMPASS, THE, rated PG-13, general release

I really looked forward to seeing this film because it seemed I might be able to have a look at spiritual content offering a different perspective. It is based on Philip Pullman’s, His Dark Materials, a trilogy which challenges traditional religious teachings.

When I heard that the Catholic Church was warning people not to see this film when it opened, I prepared myself eagerly to do the opposite. This was especially true when I read that Pullman said his books depict “the Temptation (in the Garden of Eden) and Fall not as the source of all woe and misery, as in traditional Christian teaching, but as the beginning of true human freedom, something to be celebrated, not lamented.”

I most certainly agree with that, seeing Adam and Eve as discovering themselves and moving into the individualizing process. I won’t develop that here because the symbolism abounds and this is a simple commentary on a film.

The film, The Golden Compass, turned out to be a muddled disappointment. There were so many things going on that it was difficult and wearying to follow. Furthermore, the presentation of reality was so heavily weighted against the institutional church, seen only as totalitarian, that even an atheist might be tempted to say, “Well, surely there is something good about the Church.” In this film there isn’t, and that might well be one of its weaknesses. The evil “Magisterium” conceals the truth and rules the lives of all believers but not from the point of view of offering sanctuary to those who dwelt on the level of belief rather than direct knowing, but rather as mean-spirited and controlling.

Nicole Kidman plays the Magisterium’s emissary perfectly with her shining alabaster skin, but even she develops blemishes resulting from too complex a story line. There are other interesting performances by Daniel Craig and Tom Courtenay

So much is thrown at the audience so quickly and with such thickness of philosophy that our heads spin. I am not going to expand on all that here. If you see the film you can sort it out for yourself. Beware that the pace is hectic and the images are hard to follow.

The Harry Potter films offer children and adults an important avenue into the realm of consciousness and the individualizing process. They are done with a focus on Light and the resident potential waiting to emerge in each human being. The Golden Compass was dark and heavy in comparison. It pointed fingers of blame rather than opening hearts and minds to the possibility of transformation.

I wanted to like it, but I didn’t.

GOLDEN DOOR, rated PG-13, art theatre release

It’s not often I see a film like this. Its tempo and rhythm is slow, its subject matter depressing and hopeful at the same time, and very little seems to happen while a lot takes place! It is the story of leaving the old country and coming to America. It is like watching the history of millions of our families as told through a single Italian family of four. It is mesmerizing.

This film is especially poignant during these times when the United States struggles with immigration policies and hesitates to grant amnesty.

The story takes place in the days before planes flew across the Atlantic. The Italian peasants, living with animals in rocky terrain, catch the dream of going to the land where money falls from trees and rivers of milk flow freely. It is as if these people, living in the early 1900’s, are really living in the Middle Ages. They have no modern conveniences and they have to walk long distances to reach the village nearest to them. To make the journey across the seas, they sell their animals to buy shoes and one set of clothing to begin their new life.

I can’t begin to tell you how imprinted we are by the starkness of their lives. They are devout Catholics who are illiterate and superstitious but their hearts have been lifted to the possibility of a new way of being.

So it is that Salvatore Mancuso leaves the stones of home with his son, his brother, and his mother to suffer the hardships of below deck steerage in order to reach the golden door of promise.

In one extraordinary little moment, Salvatore strikes up a conversation with a man from another village. He is astounded to discover that they speak the same language. That is how isolated he was. The man tells him, “We are all Italians.” Salvatore responds, “If you say so.” He lived among his rocks, not in any particular country.

When they finally reach Ellis Island, they must endure a rigorous procedure to determine if they are fit mentally and physically and psychologically to be admitted. The officers who inspect them are not cruel but they are determined to do their job properly and they do not make exceptions. In one scene, they test mathematical skills, saying that it has been discovered that intelligence is hereditary. If they allow people into the country who do not meet the standard, they may affect all the citizenry adversely and that cannot be allowed. There is an exception to this (a horrendous female market place) where men, long established in the U.S., offer to marry the young women coming over.

The film lingers wonderfully long on people’s faces and allows their inner feelings to emerge. And it creates powerful tableaux that imprint your consciousness. I can still see the hundreds of Italians and the shore at the pier and the hundreds on the boat. The ship moves slowly from the dock and our focus is brought to the water, the distance that grows between what was and what will be. It is truly artistic.

As the story unfolds we live with these people through their hopes and fears. I couldn’t help but think of my own grandparents and their journey across from Lithuania.

Most important is that every one of these people is made to appear as what they truly are, human beings in search of a better life. Many of us came from that stock and it would be well for us to remember that in these times when lawmakers can’t find a way to treat illegal immigrants more as beings than as policy that must be determined.

GONE BABY GONE, rated R, general release

Ben Affleck’s debut as a director is well worth seeing. The film is written by Dennis Lehane of Mystic River fame. It is a thriller which raises deep moral questions and has each of us wondering, at the end, what choices we would have made. The choices are far from easy.

Casey Affleck plays Patrick Kenzie, who tracks lost people, along with his live-in partner, Angie (Michelle Moneghan) . The two are good together as actors and as characters who bring a balance to each other. Ed Harris gives a fine performance as a police task force member. Morgan Freeman seemed particularly low in energy to me as the task force chief, as if some of his usual fire was missing.

The story revolves around a kidnapped child, a mother who is not suited for her role, relatives who are deeply involved in finding the child, and criminals knee-deep in drugs and killing.

Affleck is a very low key actor with few facial expressions, but he is earnest. He never brings up very much life force in his acting and he could use speech and voice work so we can better understand his dialog.

His brother Ben has done a fine job of creating suspense and keeping the audience on the edge as we gather information which unfolds very slowly and fleshes out what awaits us at the end.

The meat of the movie comes in the final moments when the characters and audience are faced with a moral dilemma which produces horrendous consequences no matter what choices are made. It is this theme that stays with us long after the credits run. It is this that makes Gone Baby Gone a must see movie. I still don’t know what choice I would have made!

GOOD GERMAN, THE, rated R, general release

Director Steven Soderbergh sought to capture old time Hollywood film-making in a stylized black and white visit to post WW II Germany.

I think Hollywood as it was is best left alone and that black and white is too hard on the eyes and too harsh on the spirit. Cate Blanchett’s lips appear black and George Clooney’s face is often blindingly over lit.

While the story is complex, I was able to follow it, although there were many character names to remember. A Casablanca it is not, though it has a similar feeling. At the end, it was almost clear who the good German was. In other words, the unfolding story lacked punch.

There are much better movies around for the price of admission.

GOOD SHEPHERD, THE, rated R, general release

I wanted to like this film but I am not sure I did. It‘s a spy thriller that isn’t very thrilling! First of all, it goes on forever, though in actuality it is 2 hours and 40 minutes long. I yawned, I squirmed, and I looked at my watch about 4 times. After a while I didn’t care who was what or even how it would resolve itself.

Mind you, I thought Matt Damon did a fine job of creating a non-expressive, stoic, cold, government agent, so cold that I never warmed up to him or to his so-called devotion to country through his C.I.A. services.

A major problem with the film was that the story was told in numerous time periods and endless flashbacks. This would have been better set as a straight unfolding.

Perhaps it is that I personally have little regard or respect for spying and covert activities. What they really achieve is heightening similar activities all over the world (assassinations, overthrowing of governments, etc.), therefore, canceling each other out (often literally!). In one line, writer Eric Roth, shows how the C.I.A. thinks of itself. In a conversation with an agent, an Italian describes how various ethnic groups have the own traditions and how that sustains them. He asks what the C.I.A. has and he is told, The United States. This statement of arrogance is followed by a reference to the agency as God itself.

In some interesting scenes we learn about Skull and Bones at Yale where the power elite is produced and go on to play leading roles in U.S. politics. There is unspoken Homo-something behavior and although Damon’s character chooses heterosexuality, his frigidness precludes our viewing him as a sensual male.

The most interesting moment in the movie for me was the grilling and beating of an assumed Russian spy who wasn’t, in which he reports that the U.S. needed to build Russia up as The Villain even thought it was really no threat so that we could build our military industrial complex.

If anything, the film reinforces for me that the billions of dollars (or any other world currency) spent on spying and warring simply perpetuates more of the same and would be far better spent promoting peace than “preventing” war.

See the film if you have the stamina. I could have skipped it.

GOYA’S GHOSTS, rated R, Art Theatre Release

Milos Forman (writer and director) has put together an exquisite film that captures the horrors of the Spanish Inquisition (1480 to 1834) and makes us all sit up and recommit to refusing to be controlled by any religious order or doctrine. The film is all the more extraordinary because it is told through the powerful paintings and drawings of Francisco Goya. Goya (Stellan Skarsquard) captures the ugly and grotesque that emerges from the Catholic Church’s torture of people it suspects of practicing Judaism or being Protestants (God forbid). They did not mention that Muslims were also persecuted during the Inquisition. The focus of the film was on "Judaizers."

Though the Inquisition was not as all pervasive after 1530, it continued at intervals. As the film unfolds we can’t help but notice similarities between 1772 and our current day. The Cardinal advises all his priests to be on the lookout for suspicious behavior that is sinful in the eyes of the church. Ines, (Natalie Portman) the beautiful daughter of a wealthy merchant, declines pork in a tavern and is hauled in for interrogation. As with many possible Muslim terrorists in our present day world, she is not seen or heard from again. The church in 1772 had its own euphemisms for torture. They called it “putting someone to the question.” If you gave in to admitting your sin because you could no longer tolerate the inhuman treatment to which they subjected you, you proved their point that you deserved to be incarcerated. If God gives you the strength to hold the position that you are innocent, you maintain your honor but will likely die of the hellish torture. Though there is no cause for lightness here, I might refer to the above practice as “catechism 22!" I was horrified.

The unfolding story, the hypocrisy, the invading armies of one persuasion or another taking over nations alternately, the entrapment of whole populations in systems of belief, the greed and over-indulgence of the wealthy, all hold us in such a grip that I never moved in my seat.

The acting is captivating throughout as is the music, the sound design, the visuals, and the dialog. Do see this film, and breathe while you are watching it. Not only are we reminded not to capitulate to the powers that be, we are reawakened to our responsibility to champion freedom (for everyone) and never allow our leaders (religious or political), for any reason, to suppress our rights and the truth as we know it.

GRACIE, rated PG-13, general release

Based on the real-life accomplishment of a 15-year-old girl from N.J. who achieves her dream of playing on her all-boys high school soccer team in 1978, this inspiring and sensitive film depicts the struggles of females, even at this late date, and reminds us as long as one person pursues being the change she wants to see happen, everyone benefits. In this case, the world of girl’s and women’s soccer opened.

Do take your young daughters to see this one.

GRAY MATTERS, rated PG-13, general release

 We were drawn to this little comedy because the reviewer in our Phoenix paper smashed it with such vehemence that we had to see what had so disturbed him. After seeing it, I still don’t know!

 The story is fanciful and unlikely. A brother, Sam, (Tom Cavanaugh) and sister, Gray, (Heather Graham) are well-bonded siblings who share a residence in Manhattan. Sam meets Charlotte in the park, falls madly in love, and declares within 24 hours that the two of them will wed.

 Off the three go to Las Vegas where bride and sister get drunk, kiss, and Gray suddenly discovers that she is a lesbian in love with Charlotte. As I said, more fantasy than reality. Numerous other implausible events occur, as well as several poorly written scenes.

 Then, all's well that ends well!

 There were some cute and even quite funny moments and Graham is as perky as she can be. Aside from its many flaws, the film was entertaining and most certainly didn’t need to be torn to shreds by our local critic.

 In one touching scene, Sam tells his sister she shouldn’t cry about coming out, that all will be ok. Gray responds, poignantly, that she is crying because by honoring herself and who is she sexually, she will, of necessity, lose out on many things. Among them, a wedding in a bridal gown, a union that will respected by everyone, benefits that go to heterosexual couples, etc.

 The reason homosexuals suffer indignities and a lack of human rights is because “the others” (the heterosexual majority) refuse to allow the homosexuals to have a normal life! These “others,” the self-proclaimed moral policemen of our society, label any behavior different from their own as immoral and unfit for partaking of rights and benefits that truly belong to everyone. One day, this domination will absolutely have to end. I speak here not just for homosexuals but for all those whose unions do not conform to the majority mold.

 I should like to live a society in which everyone looks out for the interests of everyone else as well as their own, and people receive each other as beautiful exactly as they are. In the meantime, I have been and remain committed to this way of living.

GREAT DEBATERS, THE, rated PG-13, general release

This inspiring film about a debate team from a small all-black school in Marshall, Texas in 1935 touched my heart, made me cheer, and allowed me to enter the fears that have haunted black Americans for centuries. Denzel Washington plays the no nonsense team coach who is also an uncompromising political organizer for a farmers union. Based on a true story, one of the student debaters is James Farmer Jr. who became a civil rights leader and founded the Congress of Racial Equality. During the film we witness his father (who walked from Florida to Boston College to become the first African-American in Texas to earn a doctorate) being harassed by southern rednecks with questionable intelligence levels. It is almost unbearable to sit through the scene. I could feel the rage rising in me as Dr. Farmer did what he needed to do to keep his family from being murdered in the road. We are also exposed to lynching and the sight of a burning body and laughing white faces sears the scene into your memory. Can any of us who is white ever know what it was, and often still is, to be treated as lesser, and to live with an underlying fear that at any moment we might be stereotyped, degraded, arrested, disfigured, or slain, just because of the color of our skin? Ironically, we are all descendant from black human beings in Africa. Hence, racism, while inflicted on others, is really an example of self-hatred. In this film we at least get to rejoice in the accomplishments of young black people who are able to fill their potential despite seeming impossible odds. We struggle with them and rejoice with them. Do see this film.

GRIDIRON GANG, rated PG-13

Do see this movie and do take your kids. It’s about the building of a football team at a detention camp for boys and young men who came off the crime and gang ridden streets of South Central Los Angeles. Led by one of the staff, Sean Porter, who came from his own school of hard knocks, the boys are coached in discipline, team consciousness, applying themselves, and making commitments.

Yes, it is an inspirational tale the like of which we have seen many times. We know what’s going to happen. We know some of the young men will thrive, some will survive, and some will succumb. Yet, for many reasons, this telling of the tale lifts the bar.

First, the acting of the young men is good and natural. Dwayne (“The Rock”) Johnson, as Porter, is excellent (not to mention fabulous to look at). The direction is tight and the tension builds so that it is hard to sit in your seat without cheering for your team.

The film is a strong reminder that ghetto kids, who are very often stereotyped as violent, useless, and unredeemable, are human beings just like everyone else. They are persons who deserve a chance, and who grow up with next to no hope in a web of poverty, drugs, abuse, and peer pressure. I remember these kids from 35 years ago when I taught High School in an environment where choice didn’t appear to be an option and where most kids saw their life expectancy as somewhere in their early twenties. We can dismiss these kids and label them losers, but in doing so we are not doing anything different from what they long ago did to themselves.

The beauty of this film is its impact. We care about these kids. We feel urgent about their succeeding. And we thrill to their accomplishments and to the possibility that this true story can be replicated.

But most important, see this film to re-inspire yourself. I left the theatre feeling hope for the first time in a long time and being very glad that the story gave me that opportunity. I thought, yes, all of us must be reminded that we need to be excited about triumphs, no matter how small. We need to cheer the human spirit. We need to let ourselves feel, and love, and reach out. We need to recharge our “be the change” batteries. If we don’t, we will descend into the mire of politics, the thick mud of religious division, and the darkness of non-productive fear.

Thirty six years ago, November, the year I started The Love Project at Thomas Jefferson H.S., I had returned from summer vacation in September to the news that Roxanne, a beautiful, intelligent, 15-year-old black child, had been shot dead by a stray gang bullet while she sat out on her stoop on a hot summer evening. Tears still well up in me as I recall being struck with that tragic news. It was a turning point for me. At the time, I could feel the retaliatory energy rising in me, the outrage, and the desire to lash out, to name-call, to kill off the conditions that led to Roxanne’s death. But at what or whom would I lash out?

Instead, I harnessed the energy and began to move forward to be an agent of change and goodness in the world. I took Roxanne’s precious life energy and spread it like seeds of possibility through the dissemination of The Love Principles. Those principles have touched many thousands of lives since then. I was aware yesterday that I need to remember that, that continuing triumph, especially when I tiptoe over toward disgust with the thrust of war as a means of resolving problems, or distaste over the inciting remarks of a Pope who can’t understand why Muslims around the world are offended, or despair over political animals who tear each other to pieces in their quest to dominate over their territory and make their philosophical and belief systems the way for everyone to follow.

I was reminded yesterday to free myself from getting caught in the cold climate of righteousness and warm myself in the Light of conscious functioning. I was reminded to celebrate and to rejoice.

GYPSY CARAVAN, art theatre release

Five Gypsy Bands from four different countries (India, Macedonia, Romania and Spain) are captured touring North America in this passion-filled documentary which is both delightful and educational. I already knew that stereotyping took its toll on Gypsies but I didn’t know that their culture stemmed from 1000 years ago in India and that it made its way across the globe to its most concentrated population, Romania. I didn’t know that the dancers we have seen so many times in India are of Gypsy origins or that Flamenco is also of Gypsy origin. The music, the singing, and the dancing in the concert tour are filled with gusto and deep feeling and the performers are clearly in love with their roots. These performers are not “sanitized” like those in the west. They come in all shapes and sizes, and some have no teeth. Some have elaborate costumes, many do not. But what they have is real and substantive, and often raw. Interspersed are visits to the humble homes of the performing Gypsies and these are touching moments. It is wonderful to see how the tiniest child has a traditional instrument placed in his hands and how he is encouraged to play.

While the touring jumps around quite a bit so that we sometimes can't identify the place or the time period, there is fine continuity on other levels. One, in particular, is how we are introduced to the main performers, how we are let in on their lives, how we learn of their struggles and triumphs. Another beautiful thread is allowing us to experience how touched all the Gypsies are when their Gypsy National Anthem is played. We see and hear it at the beginning of the film, and then again before the start of a concert. Toward the end of the film, after we have come to know several of the performers quite well, we are shown their faces and moist, light-filled eyes as they listen to the anthem while standing in the wings. That anthem meant little to me in the beginning but by the end, I shared in the heart stirrings experienced by those who felt this as representative of their "nation" of people. This documentary is a very worthwhile experience.

HAIRSPRAY, rated PG, general release

From the moment it opens, this film is fresh and exuberant. It is a musical dealing with the theme of racial issues, making room for differences, and standing up for what is right. In the middle of all that we have teenage crushes, overdrawn parents, and dreams that come true.

The dancing and singing throughout is enlivening and the kids who perform are terrific: Nikki Blonsky (in her debut role as the star the film), Amanda Bynes, Zac Efron, and Elijah Kelley, to name a few.

John Travolta, seriously padded, plays the mother of our heroine and shortly into the film you simply forget it is John and get involved with the character and her many facets. I liked Christopher Walken also, and Queen Latifah. Michelle Pfeiffer and Allison Janney roles were a bit too overdrawn for my taste.

The film revolves around a teen song and dance TV show which keeps the races separate but allows Blacks to be represented on “Negro Day.” A march is organized to achieve equality and our young white heroine takes a position in the front of the line of protesting Negroes. She is warned that there will be a whole lot of ugly coming at her from a long line of stupid. I thought that was a particularly wonderful line.

The whole event is uplifting and invigorating and I recommend it for your viewing pleasure.

HAMLET 2, Rated R, general release

A sequel to Hamlet, set in a high school in Tucson, AZ, written and directed by a drama teacher who was a bad actor to begin with, and played out by an inept bunch of rowdy teens – that is the story. Ridiculous? Actually not. It is very very funny. Steve Coogan is fabulous as the teacher. He is versatile, able to accomplish wonderfully amusing pratfalls, and has an extraordinarily mobile face. He can turn an emotion on a dime and is unabashed in his antics. The film makes a lot of fun of Tucson, and “deals” with race, being gay, being macho, and adult intolerance of just about everything. If you are sensitive about Jesus, don’t see this because you will likely be offended. As a matter of fact, just about anyone could be offended by just about anything in this film. And that is part of what is SO funny. The high school theatrical company, led by their mishap, actually puts on a 20 minute rendition of a terribly written Hamlet as a musical with a happy ending. Oh my goodness. At one point Hamlet who has done something he shouldn’t have done, reports that he knows he is going to get it for this. “My father will crucify me.” If you want something off the wall and you want to laugh, this is your ticket. Just remember not to take any of it seriously.

HANNIBAL RISING, rated R, general release

This is the back story to the Hannibal books and movies. I viewed those films with great interest, particularly because of masterful performances by Anthony Hopkins. I wondered if this one would be too gory and I was prepared to leave if need be.

Not only did I not leave, I was fascinated by the unfolding story of cause, effect, revenge, and obsession. Gaspard Ulliel plays Hannibal and he is a riveting figure. Gong Li plays his aunt to perfection.

Yes, there is a lot of violence and bloodshed. If you are not a fan of blood, you can skip this one. However, I did not find any gratuitous violence here. I could see clearly where each of Hannibal’s choice and actions had their origins. The story continually takes us back to his young history, the loss of his parents, and most especially the horrific end suffered by his cherished little sister. If anything, the action seems played down rather than hyped up. Yet, it held my attention to the end.

Make no mistake, the subject matter is distasteful, pun intended. We can be glad this is fiction and we can hope there are not too many real cannibals on our planet.

But the film shows us other things as well. Lithuanian men rush to join with the Nazis to save their own skins and strive to be worthy of being storm troopers. We know this happened in many places in Europe during the war, as people rushed to expose Jews or kill Jews themselves to win the favor of the invading warriors. It seems it is not so difficult for human beings to turn into monsters when mental justification is introduced into the process.

Hard as all this is, the fact is that IT IS, and we all add to the problem by turning away from it and saying we don’t want to see it or know about it. Today, this very day, human beings in Iraq (men, women, children, soldiers) are being blown to bits in the name of ideology. Should our troops be there, perhaps contributing to the problem rather than the solution? So many are debating this question. So many are coming up with the appropriate rationale for continuing – we can’t create a haven for terrorists. While all the HEADS are busy talking about this and developing policy, and preparing to invest billions of dollars in achieving head-determined goals, HUMAN BEINGS are dying horrendous deaths in the streets. They are not just numbers, statistics. They are flesh and blood, living persons with dreams, and families. If we were allowed to see on television, in living color, the shattering and tearing of human bodies, our tolerance of perpetuating any kind of war would be reduced to zero.

There is more gore in the real world than will ever be depicted on the screen. Hannibal set out for revenge and devoted his life to that. He did that to such a degree that his aunt turned and left him, saying there was nothing left to love.

There is a message in that, for all us. May we move beyond blind-sighted goals which make us into killers, in the name of saving the world. May we say 'no' to shedding any blood, lest there be nothing left in us to love, and nothing left through which to love.

HAPPENING, THE, Rated R, general release

I go to a Shyamalan film hoping to find something new and exciting, something spiritually challenging. I try to avoid comparing any of his current work with his first success, the brilliant film, The Sixth Sense. That one, as I have said before, came from a much finer frequency than the ones that followed which were products of the mental level.
The Happening is a dark, sometimes scary movie in which the natural world pays humanity back for its mistreatment. The payback is vengeful and insurmountable. Mark Wahlberg does a fine job of playing the lead and John Leguizamo is very good as his friend.

The horrors that await humanity come blowin’ on the wind in the rustle of the leaves on the trees. The force that is released causes persons to commit suicide in droves. It is an unlikely scenario but it does hold our attention while we are in theatre. Shyamalan carefully withholds us and keeps us wondering what is going on. But when we find out and leave the theatre we quickly forget what it was all about. A lot of smoke and mirrors, a few shrieks, and then, let’s go have some ice cream because there was little occurring on the screen to evoke conversation afterward.

HAPPY-GO-LUCKY, Rated R, art theatre release

Sally Hawkins plays Poppy, a young woman who is constantly smiling or laughing or delighting in everything around her. She is very likable and charming. And, of course, she is an optimist.

The film is a series of events in Poppy’s life as she interacts with women and men friends. Most of it is light but in one scene her driving instructor breaks into seething rage and resentment. It is a very strong performance by Eddie Marsan. Poppy survives the impact and returns to carefree.

In another scene we have a fabulous performance by Karina Fernandez as a flamenco dance instructor. She is riveting, strong, and very funny. I am describing scenes rather than story content because the story is weak and not much sticks. There is “bread” and there is “butter” but there is rarely butter on the bread. It is more slice-of-happy-life than anything, very thin but enjoyable.

Written and directed by Mike Leigh, the point of it escaped me.

HARRY POTTER and the ORDER of the PHOENIX, rated PG-13, general release
5
New rating system (haloes for wisdom/spiritual content) none through five (for Great).

This is film number 5 in the series, and the best yet: Harry and his pals have a climactic battle with Lord Voldemort and the Dark Lord.

In addition to warding off the dark forces, the students (and the audience) have to cope with a new teacher who is a stickler for rules and an all-around pain. She is brilliantly played by Imelda Staunton. I don’t know who is worse, the forces of darkness or the new faculty member!

Throughout there are fabulous plot twists, characters and walls dissolving and changing form, nasty beings trying to take over mind and body, exciting wizardry,

wonderful music, sustained excitement, symbolism, and wisdom galore.

Among the many examples of the sharing of higher principles: Harry is told that both Light and Dark live in all of us. Discernment is the key. It is for each of us to choose which of the two we will express. Neither is called God or the Devil. Both represent our basic makeup as human beings.

In another scene Harry is instructed to hold his focus, to keep his mind clear, and to function from his Higher Faculties, for then, no one can overtake him or even tempt him.

Later, in a very powerful scene in which Harry struggles to not be overcome by dark forces, Dumbledore does not rescue him but encourages him to come to his full heights of consciousness, to free himself, rather than be freed by an outer helper. Dumbledore tells him, the way through is not to identify with his enemy, not to become like his enemy, not to resort to the same tactics to combat his enemy, but rather to move past what is similar in the two of them to what is different in Harry. He urges him to choose what is best in himself for therein lies freedom from the darker forces which always seek to pull one down to their level.

We all get to experience this mammoth struggle as Harry goes through it. It is so clear that all of us are being asked to look at this truth and adopt it as a way of being. Would that it could be applied wherever in our world enemies battle each other on the same level – gun to gun, hate to hate, death to death – instead of looking to what is different in self and becoming that, and thus empowering self to bring about miraculous change.

Clearly, J.K. Rowling was given this whole series to bring forth because she had the eyes to see and the talent to make it a powerful reality.

The entire cast is wonderful. The film is a treat, the message universal. I loved it.

HEARTBREAK KID, THE, rated R, general release

In 1972 Elaine May wrote an adaptation of a short story by Bruce Jay Friedman which was made into a screenplay by Neil Simon. The combination of the three must have produced a hilarious, intelligent, soul-searching comedy. Now in 2007, the Farrely brothers have adapted the former and turned it into an occasionally mildly funny, schlock, tasteless, if not gross, film.

Ben Stiller plays Eddie, a 40-year-old who has trouble settling down. He finally marries a woman who turns out to be a sex fiend and suffers from hyper-personality disorder. While on his honeymoon with her, he falls in love with another woman.

I enjoy Ben Stiller, but I wish, in film after film of his, that he would play something other than the character he keeps repeating. I keep looking for more, but maybe there is nothing more. There are moments in this film when he is endearing and intense, and those are the best in the bunch. In one scene he loses his cool in relation to a Mariachi band and in that moment he is exceedingly funny. But overall, his gestures and grimaces in Heartbreak Kid no longer have any spontaneity.

I found the film to be misogynous, crass, filled with exaggerated characters and behavior, and embarrassing.

Jerry Stiller is obnoxious and foul-mouthed as Eddie’s father. I cringed every time he was on the screen and wanted to put strong tape over his mouth.

But the strong tape really needs to be put on the mouths of te Farrely brothers. Would that the days of REAL comedy would make a comeback and lewd “schtick” would fade away.

My advice, see something else.

HENRY POOLE IS HERE, Rated PG, general release

Luke Wilson plays Henry who tries to disappear in a recently purchased, sparsely furnished small house after receiving a death sentence diagnosis. But his life is intruded upon by neighbors of all ages and by the appearance of a reddish stain in his stucco that others call a miraculous appearance of Jesus. There was a lot of potential here, especially if the “believers” had been more developed, or if Henry was a more multi-sided character, or if something, anything, unpredictable happened. Instead, the story drones on, and on, and on. Wilson begins with a hang-dog expression on his face and it stays there through the film. The most amazing phenomenon in the film was that he could maintain that single expression as long as he did. I could feel my own face slipping into it as the long minutes dragged on. The film lacked life but it also was without an identifying category. It took itself far too seriously to be a comedy, wasn’t deep enough to be a spiritual exploration, and was so caught in motionlessness that we might question if it was in fact a moving picture! It was as if the director lost interest not long after the titles. I am exaggerating here, but it made me very sleepy and left me very unexcited even when it had a happy ending.

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3: SENIOR YEAR, Rated G, general release

Watching these Disney films is like standing naked inside a poured glass of carbonated water and having the clear, sparkling bubbles dance all around your bare skin causing instant exhilaration.

The kids are at it again: dancing, singing, exuding endless energy, and making us believe that wholesomeness is alive and well and will remain forever. Troy (Zac Efron) and Gabriella (Vanessa Hudgens) return to delight us with their grace, beauty and charisma.

There are good laughs, and the usual teenage complications of relationships, jealousies, etc. There are rousing songs and wonderful choreography. The kids explore the universal issue of being scared to move from the secure high school womb into college and then the real world of responsibility. One very clever thread is making careers in musical comedy and sports interchangeable choices.

Having said all this, I felt that #3 was weaker than the other two in terms of plot. I didn’t like the several instances of overacting or “indicating”. The character of the drama teacher was terribly overdrawn, for example.

Overall, the film invited everyone to have a good time, cheer your favorites on, and move in your seats to the rhythms on the screen.

HISTORY BOYS, THE, rate R, Art Theatres

This is a low key, delightful screen adaptation of the Tony Award-winning play by Alan Bennett. It’s about teenage boys hoping for admittance to Oxford or Cambridge.

The intelligent dialogue is a treat and the easy exploration of homosexuality is refreshing as there is no overlay of American Puritanism and revulsion. We are told, “The transmission of knowledge is in itself an erotic act.”

The boys get into and out of trouble and so do their teachers; what might seem licentious here, is treated as fumbling expressions of devotion, unthreatening gropes of affection, and appreciation of the young human body.

The lads who play the students are the very ones who originated the roles on stage; they are a fine ensemble.

There are terrific lines throughout, as one always finds in a play. The history teacher, played wonderfully by Frances de la Tour, tells us that “History is a commentary on the various and continuing incapabilities of men. History is women following behind with the bucket.” One of the students is more concise, “History is one damn thing after another.”

The time spent with this film is very rewarding.

HOAX, THE, rated R, general release

In the early 1970’s Clifford Irving pulled off a literary hoax claiming to be chosen as the exclusive biographer for famed recluse, Howard Hughes. This is the story of that escapade and it is delightfully told. Irving duped everyone and pocketed a huge advance. He was so brilliant at manipulating everyone, he deserved the money for that alone.

The scam was initiated because Mr. Irving was in desperate need of money and a publishing success, and it was allowed to progress because those who bought the lie were ensconced in greed and hungry for large profits. The two were a perfect fit.

Richard Gere plays Irving brilliantly, beguiling us with his charm and delighting us with his seeming innocence as events fall into place without his having to do a thing. This is one of the most remarkable things about the unfolding tale: once the lie is set in motion it takes on an energy of its own and works out its own loop holes as it encounters them. It is a big lesson in creating your own reality consciously.

Mr. Irving set out to pull off a hoax and ironically found himself in over his head, unknowingly playing into a dark emerging scheme which ultimately resulted in the resignation of President Richard Nixon. When you see the film you will see how this web is constructed and you will be amazed.

HOLIDAY, THE, PG-13, general release

The critics generally didn’t like this film about two women on the rebound who exchange homes for the holidays, between Los Angeles and Surrey, England. Our local reviewer said it was too talky and could have used car chases; tells you something about him.

I enjoyed the film with Kate Winslet, Jack Black, Cameron Diaz, and Jude Law (just watching him sit, or stand, or smile evoked my pleasure whether the script was a knockout or not.)

It’s a film about love, both unexpected and seemingly implausible, and what I liked especially was that it felt less “Hollywood” and more like something that could actually happen. It is not a great film but it certainly did not deserve to be panned.

HORTON HEARS A WHO! Rated G, general release, animation

This is a delightful Dr. Seuss tale full of laughs, visual delights, surprise, imagination, and an important perspective on where we all fit in our infinite universe.

Jim Carrey is the voice of Horton the Elephant. It is one of his best performances to date. He has such facility with tonality, accent, and energetic presentation. He amazes us throughout the entire film with his versatility.

Horton the elephant hears a Who, a resident of a speck of a town called Who-ville. Horton befriends and helps him. A speck of a town and an even tinier speck of an individual living in that town – a whole population, living, almost invisible to the eye, on top of a clover.

That’s us, folks: The tiniest speck of civilization living in the midst of an incomprehensible cosmos and relating to our daily problems as if they were universe-shaking. I loved being reminded of this time and again as the film unfolded.

For Who-ville to be saved from its troubles, all the citizens (whether they got along or not) had to band together to make a loud enough sound in unison to make their presence known in the vast, larger universe. There is truly a metaphor in here for those us ready to wake and catch a scent of the truth.

HOST, THE, rated R, general release

An enormous, ugly monster emerges from the Han River in Korea and terrorizes the city residents mercilessly, killing and eating them. This ecological nightmare of a film was created by South Korean Bong Joon-ho, who, having grown up under American military presence, is clearly anti-American is his world view. The sea horror is the result of chemicals illegally poured into the river by an American scientist who has little regard for human life.

As the film unfolds we are shown the hysterical responses of those who are threatened by the creature. Compared with western response, these appear to be over the top and they evoked laughter in our audience. Because I have traveled extensively in the East and have been exposed to Chinese theatre and opera (what I would call a mix of overacting and shrieking), I knew that this behavior was in no way meant to be funny. However, some things do not translate well from one culture to another.

This aside, the film gathers intensity through escalating panic underscored with fine orchestrations. Fear and excitement build throughout and you can hardly take your eyes from the screen.

The creature is said to be carrying and disseminating a deadly virus. The script then informs us that the United States is not happy with the Korean attempt at containment. For the sake of the safety of the world’s population, the US invades and sets loose a deadly “Agent Yellow” to kill the virus and the creature. Needless to say, it also kills numerous Koreans. Some must be sacrificed for the good of the whole. In the end, it turns out there was no virus and that the US knew this before it released the deadly spray.

The underlying message is ecological; we are to protect and cherish nature and not pollute ourselves out of existence.

I don’t know whether to recommend it to you. It is wild, strange, and unusual, not to mention frightening.

HOT FUZZ, rated R, general release

This madcap British shoot-em-up parody has multiple funny scenes, bullets and blood flying, and, also, long periods of not so funny moments. In short, it is a mixed bag pulled off by some very well-known and talented actors: Bill Nighy, Timothy Dalton, Jim Broadbent, and Edward Woodward.

Simon Pegg plays the lead super cop and does a smashing job of sustaining deadpan for two hours.

The funniest scenes for me were when certain characters so completely mumbled their words, they needed to be translated by others who had the ears to hear. In one such scene, one mumbler translates for another (both sounding exactly the same, of course) and a third translator is required. Side-splitting.

I think the film missed many opportunities for more laughs and I would have preferred them to the so-called spoofed treatment of killing people right and left.

Depending on the placement of your funny bone, you may or may not delight in this.

HOUSE BUNNY, THE, Rated PG-13, general release

I worried that this would be yet another crass summer comedy so I took a deep breath and prepared myself to leave and get a refund if necessary. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised. Mind you, this is silly, stupid comedy, but unlike such films which focus on males, this is entertaining, even clever-in-places. Director Fred Wolf keeps it fairly fast-paced and filled with life. His biggest asset is the star of the film, Anna Faris, playing the dumb blonde Shelley, the hard luck life story Hefner Playboy bunny who becomes the house mother of a down and out sorority house. It is an implausible, very tired story but Anna Faris is a truly fine comic with exquisite timing and flawless delivery. Rather than appearing stupid she seems innocent and says the most inane of things with such earnestness that you laugh but not at her. She takes vapid to new levels and says some of the funniest lines I have heard in quite a while. For example, she orders a fish dinner asking the waiter to bring her only one mahi of the mahi mahi’s because she couldn’t possible eat two! I guffawed. I’m still laughing when I think about it and hope to try that line myself next time I go out to dinner. Shelley’s love interest is played by Colin Hanks (who one reviewer referred to as that charisma-impaired son of Tom). Alas, he is worse than that. I have seen him in several films and he is one of the worst actors I have ever encountered. But, we don’t have to wonder how he gets work. Would that all actors could be Tom Hank’s kid! Oh, I should mention that Colin is not the worst “actor” in the bunch. Try Hugh Hefner playing himself at the Playboy mansion. Oi Vey. The performance by Faris is worth seeing. It takes a lot know how to sustain a character of such low intellectual caliber. Plus, she is not only funny but very endearing.

HOW SHE MOVE, rated PG-13, general release

If a film has dance in it, I hustle to the theatre. How She Move is all about step dancing and competitions, and a little bit more. It’s about kids trying to make it out of the limitations of the ghetto and into the world of success, about wanting to go to college, and about being true to self. The actual film is somewhat muted in color and grainy, as if made on a small budget, but that fits fine with the Black Toronto neighborhood and the hardships that prevail. Rutinea Wesley stars as Raya who is an exceptional student and a fine dancer. Her older sister died of a drug overdose but she is on a determined track to reach her goals. It is inspirational, something all teens would benefit from seeing, and filled with the sound and sights of stepping. It is interesting to note that tap dancing and step dancing are a mix of Irish/English/African roots. Africans used to communicate with each other through drums. Enslavers sought to quell this and the Africans replaced the drums by putting metal on the bottom of shoes so that their dancing feet continued to make contact with others. Ain’t nobody nowhere gonna quell the human spirit. I enjoyed this little film and I think you will too.

HOW THE GARCIA GIRLS SPENT THEIR SUMMER, Rated R, general release

Having grown up in the City of New York where anonymity, sophistication, variety, and chauvinism abound, I could never live in a small, boring town where everyone is the same and where everyone knows everyone else’s business. The Garcia girls live in just such a place, a small, dusty, non-descript Arizona town in which little or nothing happens. Why make a movie about such a place and have as your main characters a lonely, weary middle-aged woman who is divorced and frustrated (Elizabeth Pena), her 17-year-old daughter who is hot to trot (America Ferrera) and her 70-year-old mother (Lucy Gallardo) who is so Catholic that even when she is alone in warm, sudsy bathwater, she knows it is a sin to touch herself though desire screams to her. What would hold my attention for over two hours as the film moved in almost slow motion from one drab scene to another? The unfolding of the characters: It occurred like watching time-lapse photography focused on a flower. They each came alive in their own way, one petal at a time. (I never got to see that in NY, not the flower or the slow timing.) The first-time filmmaker, Georgina Garcia Riedel, stayed with her intention of capturing the lives and stories of seemingly dull characters. I might have wanted them to “get a life” but Riedel presented the lives they had, the lives they were living, and that was enough because we cared about them as human beings. Don’t go looking for a rich oil painting. Instead, enjoy the lightly treated water color. It is filled with potential.

HUNTING PARTY, THE, rated R, general release

Three Journalists set out to capture a Serbian war criminal in this offbeat film. Richard Gere, Terrence Howard, and Jesse Eisenberg play the trio which stumbles into and out of life and death events as they pursue a man who led his troops to rape, pillage, and murder whole villages in ethnic cleansing. The tone of the film covers the gamut from humor to depressing to wild.

In the end, they make the point they longed to make by pondering in an afterthought how they could have done what they did in two days while world leaders and armies couldn’t accomplish the task. Everyone says they want to, but even with millions of dollars at their disposal, they seem to have no success. The dig was clearly related to the pursuit of bin Laden.

The film held my attention. It was different enough for me to enjoy it and appreciate its message.

I AM LEGEND, rated PG-13, general release

Will Smith turns in a remarkable performance as the last man on earth in this thriller about a virus that wipes out humanity but leaves animals and threatening human mutations. He talks with store mannequins and it is easy to believe that the conversations sustain him. He is earnest in his quest to find a cure, and it is difficult to take our eyes off him or his horrendous circumstance. Besides having a dog by his side and DVD’s to play, Robert Neville is utterly alone. He wanders through the desolate landscape of a depopulated New York City where abandoned cars fill the streets and weeds have grown up everywhere. This experience alone makes the film a worthwhile adventure. I enjoyed the quiet, the unexpected attacks, the suspense, the excitement, and Neville’s moments of contemplation. Throughout the film I wondered what I would do, how I would respond, and would I continue (would I be able to sustain hope) if I were the last surviving human? I think you will find it interesting.

“I HAVE NEVER FORGOTTEN YOU: The Life and Legacy of Simon Wiesenthal”, rated PG-13, limited release

Simon Wiesenthal was released from Mauthausen concentration camp in 1942. He was barely alive and he and his wife had lost 89 relatives to the Nazis. He might have returned to his career as an architect but instead he devoted his life to bringing 1,100 former Nazi officers to justice, tracking them down all over the world. His greatest achievement was the capture of Adolf Eichmann.

Wiesenthal wished to be thought of as a survivor rather than a hero. This documentary does that and presents a balanced picture of a man completely taken with his cause. He proceeded with an intensity resembling the intensity with which Hitler pursued his mission. Hitler was responsible for millions of deaths; Wiesenthal was responsible for making Hitler’s sadistic commanders responsible for their actions.

Weisenthal lived in Vienna and was highly regarded until he produced evidence linking popular Austrian leaders to Nazi activity. Then Weisenthal became the target of hate crimes. But still he persisted because he had promised never to forget those whose lives had been brutally taken.

The subject matter does not make this an enjoyable viewing but it does remind us that it takes only one person to conduct a mission, only one person to stand up for what he believes.

I commend it to your attention.

ILLEGAL TENDER, rated R, general release

Somehow this implausible story holds together and remains interesting, even as the premise walks on shaky legs. The story is about a 20 year pursuit to get even and have revenge. The one seeking it is a drug kingpin with a long memory because of the untimely death of his sister. Although he kills the man responsible, he never lets up on wanting to kill his wife and children as well. And therein lies the shaky ground. The man he killed would no longer suffer because he would never know that his own family had been wiped out as a result of his actions.

There is an astonishing amount of gun fire in this film and it is surprising how good the wife is with a weapon in defense of her family. And the shootouts take place in middle class neighborhoods in broad daylight. It is a long time before the cops arrive.

What holds the film together is the son, who is 4.0 student and is as courageous as he is bright.

This is a melodrama, lacking in logic, but we are snared because we care about the family.

IMAGINARY WITNESS: HOLLYWOOD AND THE HOLOCAUST, a documentary, art theatre release

This documentary covers and assesses Hollywood’s treatment of the subject of the Holocaust. It is very comprehensive, thoughtful and thought-provoking, without taking a definitive stand on whether Hollywood did a noble job. There is a good mix here of faulting Hollywood and the Jews in Hollywood for downplaying what was transpiring in Germany so as not to negatively affect the market for films, the later “trivializing” of the Holocaust, the creation of strong films calling our attention to how Fascism comes into being, is supported, and what its effects are, and later treatments that were shocking in their explicitness. The exploration was very interesting and worth seeing.

I’M NOT THERE, rated R, art theatre release

Did I want to see this film about Bob Dylan, which was and wasn’t about Bob Dylan and in which he was played by six different people with six different names? It got great reviews so I went, even though I was never a Dylan fan. His lyrics seemed less like poetry and more like a dull predecessor of today’s rap. His voice was not great shakes and his music was fair, always bordering on same sounding. Born Robert Zimmerman in Minnesota when Eisenhower was President, he proclaimed himself a troubadour and somehow became an American legend.

Todd Haynes has put together an imaginative telling (or fabrication) of Dylan’s life which poses more questions than it answers and leaves us scrambling to glean meaning from the meanderings.

Among those who “play” Dylan are Heath Ledger, Cate Blanchette, Richard Gere, and a lovely boy actor, Carl Franklin. They all do excellent work. Their performances stand on their own and are wonderful except that they are embedded in an overly long film depicting someone about whom I cared less and less as the long minutes dragged on.

I’m Not There is a dangerous title because it gives the audience too much leeway to play with its meaning – Dylan is not there, Was he ever, Am I there, Do I want to be, Are any of us there and shouldn’t we be somewhere else?

The film does explore the time period of the 60’s and 70’s but in an abstract way and without any of the profound feelings that held residence is so many of us. I never did find the film moving; I looked at it without being involved in it.

It is hard for me to suggest you see it, unless you absolutely love Dylan’s music. There is plenty of that throughout.

IN BRUGES, Rated R, art theatre release

We really enjoyed this fanciful tale of two hit men “stuck” in Bruges while they await their next assignment and barely manage to stay out of trouble. The two men, Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson), are potty-mouthed but they are so off the wall and lovable that what they say is not as offensive as it might be. They are a UK version of Laurel and Hardy and their intonations and word repetitions as well as their whiney interactions and lunatic antics are laugh out loud funny. It is not very usual to laugh at two earnest killers. Did I say earnest? Wait until you see how long it takes for people to die in this film after being riddled with bullets and flung from high towers onto the hard ground below. This should have been called Supermen in Bruges. The two men joke about Bruges as being a boring place. However, the film highlights the centuries old city and does a great job of demanding that we all put it on our travel agenda. We look forward to going.

INCREDIBLE HULK, THE, rated PG-13, general release

Although I liked Iron Man better, I really enjoyed this comic-book-to-screen action film. Edward Norton is the doctor who, when angry or upset, or hyper (as in making love with his lady, Liv Tyler,) turns into a behemoth-size, ferocious green creature who can smash just about anything. It is not Dr. Banner’s fault that he is thus afflicted. He is the result of a scientific experiment in weapons development. Therein lies the moral message: don’t bring weapons into being over which you have no control. They will come back to bite you.

In most of his scenes, Banner tries to remain subdued, apparently not too difficult a task for the rather laid back Norton. I for one appreciated the greater focus on the normal human configurations than on the appearance of the Hulk. The Hulk’s moments then became even stronger. While the Hulk seemed to be “bad” he really wasn’t. The true villain was the Army general (William Hurt) who was developing these weapons.
The film reminded me of the good old days, the early Saturday matinees of childhood, filled with good guys and bad guys, lots of tumult, lots of big action. Now we have the addition of graphics, big color, and big sound. It’s all good, especially when the good guys win in the end.

I enjoyed it. You might as well, if you like the genre.

INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL, Rated PG-13, general release

About the best I can say is, it was ok. A Lucas/Spielberg film can’t be too bad, though I admit to getting sleepy several times. I saw an interview with star Harrison Ford the day before. He said the delay between this version and the one two decades ago was because they were waiting for really good story. Sigh. Perhaps they should have waited longer. Set in 1957, this tale raises all the old references to the big bad “commies” who want to take over the world. It is time to let that saga go. No one is going to take over the world, not even the USA. Cate Blanchett plays the big bad Russian (more of a caricature than a role creation) and it was the first time I was disappointed in her work. Harrison Ford, was dull in the interview I saw, and he was equally dull as Mr. Jones. His fedora exhibited more personality. Karen Allen plays Indy’s old love interest. She has lots of spunk and personality, but it comes off as almost too much beside the others. Shia LaBeouf is expressive and filled with youthful energy but he seems to be working very hard as he tears through forests with Indy. There is a lot of fighting and chasing and endless stunts but little that is inspiring or carrying a message of any kind. The one scene I did like had a fine bit of graphic work with a temple that resurrects itself at the push of a magic button. As you can see, I was basically disappointed but then, only one other movie opened this week! Only two films in one week was an even bigger downer for me than the limited appeal of the Indie film.

I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU CHUCK & LARRY, rated PG-13, general release

Shame on me. I sat through this whole sorry mess. It is unfunny, unsophisticated (the only two who laughed in the theatre were eleven year old girls behind me) and the writing is not only low ball but terrible. And I happen to like Adam Sandler, or at least I used to.

We are subjected to one gag after another either making sport or defending gay men. In neither case do they work. The writers try so hard that we squirm rather than shake with laughter.

The acting throughout borders on amateurish and tastefulness is missing in most of the scenes. Do skip this; it is trashy.

IN THE SHADOW OF THE MOON, general release

This documentary is a wonderful visit to the Moon and an informative reminder of the historic journey of Apollo 11 and all those who made a Moon landing possible. There are terrific interviews and commentaries and a re-entering of the dangers and the hopes.

Although we planted an American Flag on the surface, millions of people around the world saw the achievement as belonging to the whole of the human race, and rightfully so.

At the time of the moon landing, when our astronauts were touching the spiritual dimension that we are One Self, our military was napalming Viet Nam in a war that should never have been. The irony is remarkable.

This is a lovely experience and would be a fine teaching tool in schools for children who are no longer impressed with space travel.

INTERVIEW, rated R, art theatre release

This remake of an earlier film now stars and is directed by Steve Buscemi who also helped rewrite. It is basically a sparring match between two characters, Pierre, a journalist, and Katya (Sienna Miller), a starlet. It starts out with promise and disintegrates into an all too slow demise (even though the running time is only 83 minutes.)

The film keeps promising, even threatening, that something significant is going to happen. Nothing does.

I experienced Buscemi as a one dimensional actor who needs a ton of spices to add any taste to his bland performance. Miller is better, strong but together with Buscemi, she too is often flat.

Is the problem the script, the stage play nature of the production, or the fact that there are only two primary characters? None of the above. The problem is the drone of the dialog, the slow unfolding to nothing much of anything, and the setup which is more of an ego parade for the two leads. “Look at me, here I am eternally on the screen.”

I should like to contrast this with an actual stage play with only two characters that was written by the extraordinary playwright, Edward Albee. It is called Zoo Story. It was not made into a film, alas, but if it is ever playing on stage or if you enjoy reading plays, don’t miss it. It is a slowly developing, completely unpredictable story about two men and a park bench. The characters, their strengths, flaws and hidden motivations, emerge moment by moment, and with each revelation we are drawn deeper into their interaction and closer to the edge of our seats. It is a masterpiece.

The Interview is like bland white bread, neither tasty or filling. Afterward, you wonder why you bothered to eat it.

IN THE LAND OF WOMEN, rated PG-13, general release

Not much really happens in this slow moving, implausible story about a 26-year-old writer who goes to live with his ailing grandmother and gets involved with the neighbor across the street who is the mother of a teenage girl who finds him hot. The mother discovers she has breast cancer. She and the writer become friends, take long walks, and talk too much to each other. On top of this, the grandmother is played, not very well, by Olympia Dukakis who “acts” rather than creates the character she is playing. Get the picture?

It is a first time effort for writer-director Jonathan Kasdan, son of fine film director Lawrence, and he has a long way to go in his art form. Adam Brody plays the younger writer, and, while sweet, he is not terribly exciting. But Meg Ryan does a more than credible job as the neighbor.

The film rambles, lacking substance to sustain an evoking of feelings from the audience. It is flat and that it how it leaves us. It is underdeveloped and dull. It is said to be based on Kasdan’s real relationship with an older woman. If that is true it clearly wasn’t much of a relationship.

You can skip this one.

And, by the way, before we saw this film, we had immediately walked out of Ten ‘til Noon, a film that begins with such unsatisfying bed-banging intercourse that one could be deterred from engaging in same for a long time. You can save money on that one as well.

IN THE VALLEY OF ELAH, rated R, general release

Hank Deerfield, played magnificently by Tommy Lee Jones, is a retired military police officer who is dogged about finding the killer of his Army specialist son who turns up (worse than) dead after being called AWOL from his base in N.M. Emily Sander, beautifully portrayed by Charlize Theron, is the local detective who matches Hank’s energy and determination in resolving the case.

But this powerful film is much more than a whodunit. As the story unfolds we are caught in the grip of the moral consequences of war, any war. This one happens to be in Iraq.

There is no let up in the action, no rest, no deviation from the task at hand. We follow the clues. We guess wrong along with Hank and Emily. But the longer we pursue with the two of them, the more involved we become in writer/director Paul Haggis’ web. He is a master of stringing us out and dragging us back to square one in a breathtaking resolution.

I won’t tell you anymore of the plot lest I ruin the raw experience for you. But I will tell you that the film raises important questions about our military approach and our values as a nation. It is honest, direct, and leaves us all accountable.

Yes, that is the main point of this film. Who killed this son? You will know the “actual” murderer at the end but the end is the beginning of another answer to this question.

We killed him. We, collectively, set the stage, trained the warriors, and encouraged victory via killing as a way of life. We held the weapon in our minds, supported it with our funding, put it in the soldiers' hands, and then shook our heads in bewilderment over how it could be plunged into human flesh.

We send young men and women into battle zones to defend freedom and when they come home, if they come home, something in them is forever dead. They are the heroes whose hearts lost compassion when they were compelled, in the line of duty, to murder the enemy. They are uniformed, uniform numbness.

This is a film not to be missed.

INTO GREAT SILENCE, art theatre release

In 1984, Philip Groning asked the Carthusian monks if he could film them in their stone monastery in a serene valley in the French Alps. They told him they were not ready to do that yet. Sixteen years later he received a call inviting him to come. Experiencing the monks and the pace at which they live, it is easy to understand why it took so long for them to be ready. Their rhythm is as different from hectic modern society as Brahms is from Rap music (?).

The brothers of the order (founded by St. Bruno of Cologne in 1084) are filmed going about their daily chores, praying and chanting together, sitting alone in their cells, playing, strolling, living a life of mostly silence.

Repeatedly, the titles told us that the monks were required to give up everything and yet, they had electric lights, running water, imported fruits, a computer, carts to serve food, electric hair clippers, etc. It didn’t seem a contradiction to me but rather a way of choosing what modern conveniences served to facilitate their devotion and otherwise stark way of life. What was clear was that they were not “had” by the communal possessions they used. More important than any outer comfort was their inner grace.

The monks are delightful, thoughtful, completely at ease, committed, and clearly devoted to God and to worship. I didn’t exactly look forward to this with its running time of 162 minutes. I am not one who sits and meditates, or worships, or prays, or follows any religion of any kind. Yet, there was much for me to pleasure in here.

There is timelessness, simplicity, flow, and stillness. It reminded me of the first time I entered a church. I was 15 years old and doing an assignment from my acting class at the High School of Performing Arts in New York, to visit an environment we had never experienced. St. Mary’s Episcopal Church was across the street, so that’s what I chose. The minute I entered the sanctuary I felt transported to another world. All the traffic noises of Broadway – the horns, the rumble of the trucks – vanished and I was left immersed in silence such as I had never known. Nor had I ever been in a hall with such high ceilings, with windows streaming light, and the remnant smell of incense. I heard my breath echoing in the void.

The Carthusian monks live in this great stillness on a permanent basis. As one of them said, “For God there is no past, only the present.” I know this truth, that there is only now and that everything that ever was or will be is also now. I know many things that these monks know. I know about Union with the One, about inner peace, about devotion to the Creative Force that they call God and worship as Jesus. I didn’t have to be a monk to know it. I needed only to have a Cosmic Awakening, to merge with All That is. I don’t need to pray for it, to do penance for it, to attend services for it – it IS. We each have our own way of finding the Light.

As I observed their rituals, I saw that those rituals are, in essence, no different from the rituals performed by those of us who live in the “world.” When an actor prepares for an entrance on stage, she performs rituals that align her with the More. When the laborer wakes, showers, dresses, eats, gathers his lunch box, and treks off to work, he performs rituals that enable him to fill his commitment.

Our rituals, religious or otherwise, are the steps we invent to enable us to merge with what we hold as a focus. As I watched the monks do all manner of things “holy,” I knew in an instant that their habitual acts affirmed their beliefs and sustained their commitment, and that none of what they did had any more value than what the rest of us choose. While it is true that high Church celebrations are filled with pomp and circumstance through glorified attire and edifice, through organ and choir, through symbolism and repetition, the glory of the simplicity of smelling a rose or seeing the sky or hearing the laughter of a child is absolutely equal as a manifestation of the God Force.

Early on in the film we watch for long moments shafts of light falling across an arched outer corridor. It didn’t take me but a few seconds to smile and say, there is God! And God, or the Creative Power, or whatever you call it, was there in a monk’s bowl, in the grain of wood, in the wind-blown leaves, in the monks’ robes, in the hunk of bread, in the snow, and in the rain. That Force is everywhere, is everything, and is every one. The film gave me 162 minutes to merge with that, to reaffirm my knowing of that.

Groning captures light and shadows, the seasons, sensual beauty and utter stillness, and we get to immerse ourselves in all of it as a reminder that beauty is everywhere and we are never alone.

Into Great Silence is a spiritual journey, a respite from all that hammers us in our society. In contrast to America’s fixation on violent films, this is a call to awe rather than to arms. This film is an invitation to rest into the Grandness of who we really are as Beings, to enter the monastery of our consciousness, and to embrace all of life (even with its madness and chaos) as holy.

INTO THE WILD, rated R, art theatre release

I was at once filled with gladness and sorrow in Sean Penn’s adaptation of Jon Krakauer’s best selling book. I rejoiced in the freedom, the space, and the glory of nature experienced by Christopher McCandless during his choice to live alone in wild of Alaska. And I was saddened by his emotional suffering in his family life and then by his premature death from starvation. Emile Hirsch does a superb job of playing Christopher, a self-named aesthetic voyager.

Sean Penn’s direction is excellent, albeit unromantic. He takes us to beautiful scenery and images but he never lingers on them. You see them and too soon, for my taste, they are gone and he has moved on to another and another.

The film covers Christopher’s journey through South Dakota, Southern California, Mexico, and the Alaskan wilderness. He is an avid reader, and quite social when he lands in situations where is he befriended. He does say, in one conversation, it is important not to seek happiness in relationship but when he is dying it is clear he wishes he was not alone. This is one example of his growth and learning while on this incredible trek. He is truly on a quest of self-discovery and it comes under some very harsh conditions.

He is estranged from his parents who have a volatile relationship which is extremely disharmonious for one so sensitive. He uses his distaste for success, achievement, and acquiring possessions as his rationale for breaking free from the norm. He tells people he has no parents. Then, time and again, he becomes a son to everyone he meets. He fulfills their loss by opening his heart to them, though that is not his intention. The spiritual truth that we are all one being is boldly exhibited here.

The film is full of youth, hope, dreams, passion, intensity, warmth, and the magnificence of nature. There is a beautiful, touching relationship between Chris and Ron Franz, an old man who befriends him. Ron is played remarkably by Hal Holbrook, who is himself 82. There are deep and tearful moments between them which communicate that even though it might be mutually nourishing for them to hang out together a little longer, life goes on and change is unstoppable. Ron tells Chris that when we forgive, we love. And, when we love, God’s light shines on us.

This film, with all its beauty and human struggle, shines on us.

INTRODUCING THE DWIGHTS, Art Theatre Release, rated R

Many reviewers panned this funny, dysfunctional family film from Australia but I rather enjoyed it. The matriarch is a dreamer, an eccentric, and a doting mother, not to mention a raunchy entertainer by night. Brenda Blethyn is terrific in the role, and well worth seeing. The character is so over the top as to be believable for her uniqueness and energy outbursts.

Add to the excessive mother scenario, the coming of age of her teenage son, beautifully and sensitively played by Khan Chittenden. His sexual timidity is delightful.

The film is wacky in the way Little Miss Sunshine intrigued us. If you have a spare afternoon, this is not a bad way to spend it

INVASION, THE, rated PG-13, general release

In 1956, The Invasion of the Body Snatchers hit the screens and caused many of us to scream. It was about watermelon pods from another planet. If they were put under your bed then by morning you had been taken over by an alien. I was in my senior year of high school at the time. My 12 year old brother decided to play a trick on me while I was out on a date. He put a watermelon under my bed. When I saw it I went berserk. I would have “freaked out” but we didn’t have that expression back then.

The Invasion is yet another version of “Snatchers.” It stars Nicole Kidman, Daniel Craig, and Jeremy Northam, all of whom are easy to look at for 96 minutes.

One of the strengths of the original movie was the build up to what was taking place and how clueless the population and the authorities were. That is mostly bypassed here and we jump right into zombie-like people appearing in our midst.

The film moves along at a good clip, builds tension, scares us occasionally, but it is not what I would call a thriller. I found myself observing the human-looking aliens and having conversations inside my head rather than holding my breath over might happen.

Those who had been taken over had glazed-over eyes and a complete lack of emotion. They tell the normal folk that joining them is a wonderful thing because they are all “one” and they have done away with wars and negative interactions. The problem here is that they have no consciousness, no passion, no individuality, no feelings. They say they live in peace but that is because they are the walking dead. What a way to a warless world!

The way people are overtaken in The Invasion is through the transmission of fluids which take effect only when the individual enters REM sleep. Leaving the film aside, too many of us go to sleep in our waking states, relinquish or do not pursue developing consciousness, and function by rote, by habit, by acquiescence. I see too many of these people in the streets, in the markets, even in classrooms, and alas in government. Makes me wonder if an invasion really did take place in 1956.

IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS, limited release, documentary

This disturbing tour of Iraq post-Saddam is unveiled in three segments, covering Shiite, Sunni, and Kurd, and suggesting that the divisions between them will never be resolved. James Longley presents a powerful view of a seemingly hopeless situation.

What we see here is strictly from the point of view of Iraq citizens: children, the working poor, Imams, men in prayer, women teachers, sheep herders. We see their eyes roll to the skies where the American “occupiers” are hovering in helicopters. We are immediately thrust into the dusty streets, hectic with cars, donkey carts, animals, and endless people.

The narration is not delivered by a western voice but rather by Iraqis themselves. While the Kurds are happy that Saddam has been eliminated, most everyone else is unhappy with the presence of the Americans and feels manipulated by their take over and occupation of Iraq. The interviews represent a fairly one-sided point of view, that America is in Iraq for the oil.

We are overwhelmed with the numbers of Muslims in the streets, flogging themselves in the midst of religious processions and listening to fanatical sectarian rants. Again and again, I was forced to wonder, what we or any other Western nation is doing in Iraq.

One thing we might be doing there is getting a first hand lesson in what happens when political radicals spout hatred and seek to divide our nation, and when fundamentalists proclaim to be the only ones who speak for God. What is transpiring in Iraq is frightening. What is happening in the US demands that we all wake up so that we don't end up at war with each other like the Iraqis.

IRON MAN, Rated PG-13, general release

This is one of the best blockbuster action films I have seen in a long time. It is based on a Marvel comic and stars Robert Downey Jr. in a wonderful performance of strength and nuance. Jon Favreau does a terrific job of directing and the electronic effects are stupendous. Tony, the wealthy arms dealer, gets caught in the thick of battle where he experiences the effects of the very weapons he produces, has an epiphany, and becomes a superhero who not only saves the world from the greedy, power-hungry bad guys, but who seeks to make war into what it really is and should be: obsolete. This is an action film with an important message, not just a street fight between good and evil. This hero has conscience, caring, and intelligence. Terrance Howard, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeff Bridges beautifully flesh out the cast. It is well worth your time.

ISLANDER, THE, not rated, art theatre release

I loved this modest, plaintive film about a Maine lobsterman, Eben Cole (beautifully played by Thomas Hildreth), who, in defense of his livelihood, lost his temper in an argument. A young man died as a consequence and Eben was sentenced to five years in prison, causing a radical change in his life.

The film perfectly captures the insular nature of Maine’s population where strangers are seen as “from away” and where deviant behavior is frowned upon. While the fisher people are good Christians, there is little forgiveness in them and Eben is shunned upon his return after serving his time. He can’t get a job, or see his daughter (his wife has divorced him), or walk anywhere without getting stares and glares.

Shot in digital photography, the ubiquitous water seems more foreboding than glamorous, and the island feels like a small enclave in which spontaneity is contained by the ever-present incoming waves.

Ian McCrudden directs with an eye that entraps us all in the limited life of the island. He wrote the script with Hildreth who comes from Maine and has its flavor imprinted on him. As a character and an actor, Hildreth is intense and deep. His elusiveness is seductive. We suffer with him and demand that he be resurrected to his home boy status because he has paid his dues, and because he is a good man. How dare others be holier than thou? Eben Cole deserves redemption and the way he pursues it is by remaining true to himself even as everyone else turns from him. He was a good man before he went to prison, a good man who made a bad mistake, and he remains that same good man after prison.

I was very impressed with Hildreth’s acting and confirmed my suspicions (through an internet search) that he was also a stage actor with significant training to his credit. He has that rare gift of being still enough to communicate with the camera and grand enough to send his life force out into the far reaches of his audience.

I highly recommend this film.

This is a very touching film about a Russian orphan boy who is called “The Italian” because a couple has come from Italy to adopt him; or, as we see in the unfolding story, to buy him.

The 6-year-old boy, Vanya, (so beautifully played by Kolya Spiridonov) grabs hold of your heart and never lets go. Nor does he ever let up on his quest to find his real mother. We can all learn something from this child about setting a purpose and a goal and never giving up.

The film captures some of the deep despair in residence in Russia, and beyond that, it takes us into the woes that are surely facing orphan children around the world.

The scenes that grabbed me the most had Vanya sitting on a sill with his face against a cold window pane, looking out at his limited world, yearning for more. His tender forehead moves into crinkles of sadness that surely should never be present on one so young.

Do see this if it comes your way. It will make you cherish children even more.

I THINK I LOVE MY WIFE, rated R, general release
 

Chris Rock wrote, directed and stars in this new version of Chloe in the Afternoon. His character, Richard, has a lovely wife, two kids, a fine job, a wonderful house, but little or no sex. He is bored and his eyes begin to stray. He chases after a sexy woman he knew in high school and begins to ruin all that he had in first place.

The unfolding story definitely has Rock’s stamp on it. It is in your face, candid, and filled with the language for which he is famous. (Years ago, I saw him interviewed on the Today Show. Every other word had to be bleeped!)

While few of us are surprised anymore by the appearance of the F-word in films, I was surprised to see that in this movie it is used not so much as a derogatory word or as a sentence filler (similar to “like” and “you know”) but rather to mean what the word actually means, as in, Do you want to f___? This is just about the only thing that surprised me, or even caught much of my attention.

The film did have its funny moments and sight gags, and it did deal with what are surely common marital problems, but it lacked life. It seemed too repetitious and, because Rock also did the narration with a single tone voice, it took to droning on as the minutes passed. To his credit, he did play the character rather than doing a comedy routine, but he is only passable as an actor. Were he not Chris Rock, I doubt that director Chris Rock would have hired him.

JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB, THE, Rated PG-13, Art Theatre Release

I don’t usually want to read the book after seeing a movie but this is an exception. Karen Joy Fowler’s 2004 best seller is bound to be both hilarious and well-written if this film version is any indication.

This is a very funny, fast-moving, utterly delightful tale of six characters who read and discuss one Jane Austen novel a month and live out their lives and romances as if they were in an Austen novel. It is irresistible.

The acting is terrific, most notably, Hugh Dancy, Kathy Baker, Maria Bello, Amy Brenneman, and Emily Blunt. We are treated to 105 minutes of pure delight and wish we had another 105 to go. Don’t miss it. I am tempted to see it again.

JIHAD FOR LOVE, A, art theatre release

This documentary is a touching exploration if how painful it is to be a gay Muslim in a Muslim country or community. The filmmaker Parvez Sharma takes us around the world to enable us to experience the hardship of being gay and being Muslim. Gays are ostracized, banished, and threatened with death. As with many gays (of all religions) these men and women are devout believers in their faith and want desperately to be acknowledged, accepted, recognized, and allowed to marry. I have great sympathy for the plight of gays but because I long ago abandoned any connection with any religion, it is hard for me to understand why anyone would need approval from outside Self to be who he or she is. This remains an important film because it invites all of us inside a human struggle and demands our compassion whether we understand or not, agree or not.

JINDABYNE, RATED R, possible art theatre release

A day later I can still feel the powerful effects of this film. It was advertised as spooky but it is in no way a horror movie. It is multi-leveled, exploring difficult family relationships, ill made choices, racism, people’s waking dreams and reality creations, the telling of lies, forgiveness, and serial murder. It sounds like too much, but it wasn’t. It was all of a piece and it unfolded beautifully.

In takes place in Jindabyne in the 1960's after the town was flooded by damming a river. The Australian landscape is magnificent. The people are low key but beneath the surface, emotions rage.

The children are told that ghosts live at the bottom of the newly created lake but what is really submerged is the depth of feeling and conflict between the white world and the Aboriginals.

Gabriel Byrne and Laura Linney play Stewart and Claire, a couple in turmoil with each other who struggle to find their way back to the love they share. Stewart, on a fishing trip with his friends, discovers the dead body of an Aboriginal floating in the river. Because there is nothing they can do, they don’t report it until they return home. This incident explodes into all the splinters the film goes on to address.

Do the living have obligations toward the dead? Can two different cultures ever meet? How shall we be sensitive to one another?

Linney and Byrne hold us spellbound as they struggle, as do all the other characters. The film is haunting. The director has chosen to insert music in unusual ways. When we are looking into the face of the character, there is silence. But when we look through the character’s eyes at the landscape, or the river, or the trees, there is music (sound) that captures the energy of that place and what is happening.

The film is laced with texture, struggle, and sensitivity that is juxtaposed with the starkness of the story.

I was fascinated by this film and how it unfolded. Do see it.

JOSHUA, RATED R, GENERAL RELEASE

Jacob Kogan plays nine-year old Joshua, a strange, unsmiling, child prodigy who is as lethal as he is quiet, as menacing as he is musical, as frightening as he is endearing.

This is not a horror film and its unfolding story is completely within the realm of possibility – that’s what makes it chilling. That, and the way it unfolds. It is slow, deliberate, icy, and unpredictable. Just when you think something terrible is going to happen, it doesn’t. So throughout the movie, we hold our breath and sit in tension. We, like Joshua’s parents, are not in control. We will be “done to” when Joshua is ready and not before. The essence of sinister wafts like fragrance through every scene and with each passing moment, those of us who remained childless in this incarnation are grateful for that choice.

The performances are excellent and the direction is tight. And, we, the audience, are held captive at the mercy of a child who rules his world.

I recommend it for excellence in film-making and sustaining suspense.

Directed by George Ratliff; written by David Gilbert and Mr. Ratliff

JOURNEY FROM THE FALL, art theatre release, rated R

Ham Tran (a Vietnamese immigrant and UCLA film school graduate) wrote, directed, and edited this superb story of fortitude and survival, human will and grave loss as he follows a family and their friends after the pull out of American troops from South Vietnam. Some become boat people and escape to the United States. Others are imprisoned for over six years in “reeducation centers” so that they will be good citizens in the new communist regime.

Tran’s depiction of the hardships suffered leaves little to the imagination. We are thrust into the detention box and we are made to feel the dehydration on the escape fishing boat as men, women and children awaited rescue in the middle of the sea.

We are at once merged with these brave people and their plight. We experience their devoted family life, their customs, their meals together, and their unending hope. And we suffer their brutal treatment at the hands of the new regime.

As the film unfolds we never know who (in this family to which we all belong) will survive and who will die. And then, we live through the horrendous transition experienced by those who do make it to our shores.

The film is wrenching and inspiring all at the same time. It was particularly meaningful to me because I had the privilege of visiting Viet Nam and its beautiful people a few years ago.

At the end, after “living through this struggle” with these courageous people, I reflected on how deeply wounded Americans were by the 9/11 tragedy. While I would in no way minimize that attack and the suffering that followed, I was keenly aware that we in the United States (especially those born white and privileged) know very little about long-term human suffering, about fighting to survive, about being suppressed, about suffering loss. The African Americans among us know it. The Native Americans among us know it. And others I am sure. But, for the most part, we, as a nation, are so lucky, so relatively untouched by sustained horror and struggle.

There are so many loud voices today who demand that illegal immigrants be thrown out because it is not for us to support them. They need to come in here the right way or no way. And what of how our ancestors got here: killing, slaughtering, making and breaking treaties, taking over because we could, and making our fortunes on the backs of others?

How surprised we will be when we proudly eliminate those illegals for whom we hold disdain and we watch our vegetables and fruits die in the fields, our landscaping wither and die, our construction be severely limited, our food service places close their doors, our houses revert to cleaning by our own hands, and hundreds of industries struggle to survive as our economy takes a nose dive because we will have thrown out a significant portion of our work force.

Surely we can find a way to make hard-working illegal immigrants legal and go on from there.

Journey from the Fall awakens our compassion for all those who suffer in the world. It reminds us that human beings, from the lowliest to the noble (as is the case with these South Vietnamese) need to be respected and revered by us all, for we are they and they are we.

JUMPER, rated PG-13, general release

The one thing I found useful in this film was to see that there is validity in keeping spiritual truths under wraps until people individualize enough and wake up enough to comprehend and manifest what they are exploring by way of Powers.

Jumper is about a young man who discovers he can teleport. Steven Gould wrote the novel on which this film was based. He is a science fiction writer. But the art of transporting oneself across the globe is not science fiction. It is a highly developed skill that spiritual masters are able to perform. The masters know that they are doing it, why they are doing it, and how they are able to do it. Not so with our science fictionalized jumper. He knows nothing.

The screen writers, Jim Uhls and Simon Kinberg, obviously didn’t know anything either. What we end up with is a ridiculous mishmash of scenes around the world and the all too usual good guys against the bad guys. Spare me!

Hayden Christensen plays jumper with very little expression and Samuel L. Jackson is totally wasted here as the avenger, as is Diane Lane as the jumper’s mother.

Mostly what transpires is a lot noise, fighting, and a gazillion transports occurring faster than you can blink. What a waste of time.

JUNO, rated PG-13, general release

This is a delightful, fast-talking movie about teen pregnancy that is not explored from the point of view of sin, shame, and tragedy. Instead, Juno MacGuff, age 16, discovers she is with child and moves beyond being a child herself to recognizing this is what is and taking steps to deal with it both responsibly and swiftly. The result is a script filled with tenderness and humor, emotional depth and brilliant dialog. The audience alternates between laughing, tearing up, and gasping for breath because the pace is quick and crisp. Let’s call it a serious comedy.

The character development and acting is wonderful: Ellen Page as Juno, Michael Cera as her very adolescent boyfriend, J.K. Simmons and Allison Janney as Juno’s understanding father and step-mother, and Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner as the potential adoptive parents. We couldn’t ask for a more expressive ensemble cast. The kids grow up, the adults open up, and the new baby is held up and supported. It is a win/win that is utterly entertaining and pleasing. It is sharply directed by Jason Reitman and beautifully written by Diablo Cody.

Do see it.

KINGDOM, THE, rated R, general release

The attacks on 9/11 have, not surprisingly, unleashed a series of films dealing with terrorism and confronting those who would devote their lives to it.

In this film, directed by actor Peter Berg, we embark on a breathless, frenetic, and chaotic pursuit of Saudi Arabians who attacked and killed American oil company officials and their families in Saudi Arabia.

The action is fast, in fact, too fast. You can barely keep up or know which side is which. The film is effective but wearying with lots of explosions, danger and death.

Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, Jason Bateman, and Jennifer Garner do a good job sustaining the action. There is on-going conflict between these four FBI agents and the Saudi authorities. And there is intrigue; which of the Saudis is working on the side of good and which is a closeted jihad?

Several times in the film, a Saudi officer takes great affront at the foul language used by the FBI agents. It is so not tolerated in the Muslim community. The paradox, of course, is that murder and bloodshed are tolerated.

The FBI achieves its goal, providing satisfaction to film audiences who live every day in the frustration of allied ineffectiveness in relation to terror cells.

There is graphic violence in this film and on-going intensity. It certainly held my attention, even as I struggled with close-ups that showed skin pores and action that seemed to be filmed fast-forward.

KITE RUNNER, THE, PG-13, general release

It has been a while since I have been so touched by a film. Tears flowed with little chance of ceasing at the end. The story is riveting and powerful and although it is set in Afghanistan, it has a universality that embraces us all. Amir (magnificently played by Khalid Abdalla) is destined to repent for his childhood deeds when he lied about his best friend, Hassan, an illiterate servant boy, and sent him and his father into a very questionable future. His betrayal was because his father, Baba, shows favor to Hassan. Amir’s jealousy overrides his own love of Hassan. As we observe Amir’s boyhood actions, we cannot help but wonder if such selfishness lived in us when we were children. Not all of us get to make up for what we did in less conscious times. Amir does and he rises to the occasion in the most wonderful, inspiring way. The film is made with passion. Our hearts first suffer wounding and then soar. We join the kites filling the air and climbing to new heights of human possibility. Please do not miss this treasure. It is powerfully directed by Marc Forster, written by David Benioff and based on the novel by Khaled Hosseini.

KNOCKED UP, rated R, general release

The story is simple: boy meets girl, they have sex on the first night, she becomes pregnant, they have to decide what to do. Then comes the complexity – do these two love each other, do they even know each other? Furthermore, he is about as ready for a relationship as a nine year old. He lives with four friends who are social and life misfits, like himself, but he does want to do the honorable thing.

The men roommates in this film are barely believable as adults, at least I can hope that is true. I know men like to horse around and do irreverent things but these guys are outlandish.

I know this next comment dates me, but I have never been able to understand having intercourse on the first date. For me, such behavior belittles intimacy. And it's even worse when the two people are drunk and don't even remember what they did together. I hold intimacy, love, and deep human sharing in a sacred place. Hence, the modern world of "How do you do? Wham, Bam, thank you, ma'am (or sir) holds little interest for me, especially because I have known the ecstasy of holy union.

The film is funny, I mean very funny, laugh out loud funny. There is humor about love, sex, romance, body parts, babies, you name it. It is filled with four letter words, and the f-word is repeated often (what else is new?). Whereas in other films I am turned off by the constant barrage of foul language, this film had an endearing quality and the use of language was (alas) so true to the characters that I didn’t really find it crude. I laughed at it and with it. It wasn’t all that many years ago that the expression “knocked up” was not something that was said in polite circles. Now it’s a movie title. It fits. It’s descriptive and it sets the tone for the rest of the language used in the film to fit.

Ben, played by Seth Rogen, is chubby, and ill-dressed, and stoned. The woman he impregnates, Alison, played by Katherine Heigl, is blond, beautiful and well-employed. So the stoner meets the achiever and they get it on. It’s an unlikely match, and that is a big part of the charm.

The writing is sharp and the dialogue comes fast and witty. Important social issues are dealt with and though humorously, they are looked at nonetheless.

In the birthing scene we are treated to the crowning. Some people might find this offensive. I prefer to look at the beauty involved in the event. In fact, I wish they had gone the next step and allowed us all to participate in the birth itself. They took us all the way to the miracle and quit. If the screen is going to speak bluntly, show us drug and alcohol use and abuse, take us to the reality of first date sex and instant pregnancy, it might as well present the delivery of a baby on the big screen. It would introduce a touch of reverence.

KUNG FU PANDA, Rated PG, general release

I liked it! The characters were wonderful, the animation excellent, the visuals beautiful, even if the story was somewhat weak. Jack Black (an energy dynamo) does a great job of voicing Po, a very lovable, roly-poly panda. Po has dreams of what he will be when grows up and, as with most kids, his parents have a different future in mind. The tale is filled with lessons, very simply told, for the children in the audience. Po respects his parents’ wishes for him, even as he goes on dreaming and seeks to make his wish a reality. Throughout, as with any martial arts film, wisdom is sprinkled about, but this time is delivered in an elementary fashion and repeated a few times so that the young ones in the audience might have a better chance of grasping the truths/the concepts. I really liked that presentation. Po is round as a panda should be and he is very much at ease in and with his body. I suspect that roundish kids got a shot of self-esteem from watching him. The voices of Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Lucy Liu, Jackie Chan, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Seth Rogen help to make this a fine offering, especially for the little ones among us.

LADRON QUE ROBA A LADRON, general release

Here is a small subtitled film that has no (in the States, anyway) name-actors and yet is one of the best films we have seen this summer. Its plot is much like the Ocean’s films but lacking in Clooney, Pitt and the like. But with its compactness, great humor, fine acting, and wonderful twists, it holds its own and then some. The title means the thief who robs a thief and it is very hard to guess how the good “bad guys” are going to pull off their heist against the bad “bad guys” and what is going to happen next. To the very last minute they have us guessing and delightfully surprised. It is a very moral story told through immoral activities. In the end, we are VERY satisfied and gratified. For those of us who are learning to speak Spanish, this cast speaks very clearly and it is very easy to catch the gist of what they are saying. (Plus, there are subtitles, of course.) Another unusual aspect of this film is that it is completely Spanish-speaking but it takes place in the U.S., on the streets of Southern California. The thieves are both clever and klutzy and each is unique and a well-developed character. And, each, in his own way, is terrifically funny. Don’t miss it.

LA VIE EN ROSE, rated PG-13, art theatre release

Last week I skipped the horror movie Day Watch, by-passed the comic book based Silver Streak, was disappointed by Nancy Drew, and went again to delight in Ocean’s 13!

This week is another story. I have just come from being filled with the soul of France, being immersed in a 40-year time period when depth of feeling and passion circled the earth, and being completely imprinted by the magnificent voice of Edith Piaf.

Marion Cotillard is nothing short of phenomenal as Piaf. You can feel what I mean even viewing her from the back.

Cotillard continually captures Piaf’s trials and expresses them profoundly in her face, her eyes, her body, and the wrinkles of her mouth. We live Piaf’s life as it unfolds.

Cotillard lip-syncs Piaf’s singing but I never knew it for a single moment, so merged was she with the songs. Piaf, small, and later crippled by arthritis, is larger-than-life, and Cotillard rises to that stature.

The film is more than a biography of a traumatic life; it takes us into the essence of French culture and countryside and makes me yearn for a return visit.

The film demands that the viewer stay focused because it glides back and forth between time periods in Piaf’s life, and, we also need to keep up with subtitles.

But the overall experience is one of submersion in a life of tragedy and triumph.

I loved it

LADY CHATTERLEY, not rated, art theatres, in French with English Subtitles.

This sensuous film based on D.H. Lawrence’s John Thomas and Lady Jane won five well deserved Cesar awards in France. It is a sensuous story about a young woman married to a paraplegic who falls in love with the gatekeeper working for them on their vast estate.

This is a story of tender illicit sex, of wildflowers, woods, sunshine and rain, of lust that reminds us how wonderful the fulfillment of desire can be. It is a long time into the film before hands touch bodies, a long enough time for us to come to know all the people involved and what troubles them.

The cinematography is breath-taking, and the intimacy is such that we are invited right into the midst of the breathing, the sweating, the groaning, the absolute beauty of two people making love. Marina Hands and Jean-Louis Coulloc’h are superb, their faces exquisitely revealing the moments of discovery and pleasure.

There is nothing salacious here, only the purity of two in need coming together and sexually meeting and caring for one another. We experience their surprises, their ecstasy, their struggles to find a way to continue what they have begun.

In one magnificent scene the two throw off all their clothes and dance and run in the pouring rain. They play, they squeal, they roll in the mud, and they emerge covered with fallen leaves and hearts full of joy.

This is a beautiful love story written and directed by Pascale Ferran. Do see it.

LARS AND THE REAL GIRL, rated PG-13, general release

I want to begin by saying that this is probably the best film I have seen this year. It is an independent production with modest sets and shot in Ontario locations. Its fictitious setting is a Midwestern US town with small clapboard houses and down home folks. Everyone knows everyone here and everyone knows everyone’s business. This can sometimes be very disturbing, especially if the “people” disapprove of you and what you are doing. Lars is a simple guy, in a simple office job, who lives alone in a makeshift space made from a garage. He is painfully shy and very lonely. Through the internet he orders a life-size doll named Bianca who is anatomically correct. Lars begins to relate to her as if she is real. He talks with her, hears “her” answers, takes her to his family’s dinners, and even to church. He tells everyone she needs to be in a wheelchair because she cannot walk. At first, his family, his friends, and the towns people, point, stare and whisper. But this is story about generosity of spirit, about how small town people who know themselves to be good Christians actually can be. Lars may be a little loony but it is clear that he needs this reality he has created for himself, and those around him find a way to make room for him and to be unconditionally loving. Ryan Gosling does a fine job as Lars and Patricia Clarkson is especially good as his doctor and psychologist (even though he doesn’t know she is serving in that role.) This is a story of how the world could be if all of us made room for every one of us and received all people as beautiful exactly as they are.

LAST KING OF SCOTLAND, THE, general release, rated R

This is actor Forrest Whitaker’s best work to date, powerful and mesmerizing. He plays Idi Amin, a dictator responsible for the deaths of 300,000 Ugandans, who was larger than life, brutal, sly, bombastic, and highly dangerous. Whittaker takes us through Amin’s moods of jubilation and madness. The story is told through the eyes of a young Scottish doctor who goes to serve on a humanitarian quest, is recruited to be Amin’s personal doctor and advisor. He is swept up by Amin’s enthusiasm and cheerleading and then frozen by Amin’s alternate ferocious personality.

118 years after the British Empire wielded its power in Africa establishing protectorates, getting richer as a result, and then granting independence, nations like Uganda have faced hard and difficult years ever since, with a string of leaders being ousted. Naturally it is the people who suffer endlessly.

AST LEGION, THE, rated PG-13, general release

I enjoyed this primarily because I was in the midst of watching something I taped six years ago called “The Mists of Avalon.” It’s all about King Arthur and the mystery schools of the Great Goddess. “The Last Legion” fit right in, focusing on the famous sword, Excalibur.

The film was reminiscent of movies I used to see on Saturday morning as a child. It had action, heroes, protectors, and the mission of saving a way of life. Sandals, swords, and Caesar are the basic ingredients as a small group of loyal warriors protect Romulus, the 12-year old who is destined to rule because he carries the lineage in his blood.

Colin Firth is rugged and no-nonsense as the chief protector. He is aided by an astonishing beautiful woman (Aishwarva Rai) trained in martial arts in Kerala, India and transported to ancient Rome. Ben Kingsley plays the teacher of Romulus and adds many notes of humor.

There was much lacking here; it was a small scale telling of a very large legend. It was enjoyable but not inspiring.

LAST MIMSY, THE, rated PG-13, general release

The reviewers didn’t care much for this film, calling its direction “leaden” and its screenplay “clunky.” Yes, there were many things that could have been improved but overall, I enjoyed the unfolding story and its focus on things beyond our ken.

It’s a little bit of sci-fi, a little bit of journeying into the future, with an ounce of magic, and an ounce of wisdom – all of which made the medicine go down!

The two children are wide-eyed delights who live in awe and wonder with nary a thought of fear. They make wonderful things happen with crystals, they levitate, do telepathy and time-travel, and learn how to cope with cynical adults who are so rooted to the earth they have lost their ability to fly among the stars.

The bottom line is that children who believe that nothing is impossible are perfect companions for those among us who have awakened in consciousness and know that everything is possible. There are no boundaries, save those we fence around ourselves with rules, have to’s, theology and ideology, and conformity.

Take children to this one and let them TELL YOU what THEY SEE.

LEATHERHEADS, THE, Rated PG-13, general release

A ragtag football team is led by Dodge Connolly, played by all too sexy George Clooney. The team plays "dirty" and their games are staged before small crowds in cow fields. But they have very high ambitions.

I am a Clooney fan but this film is very slow. And Mr. Clooney does not distinguish himself here. He gives us his most handsome facial expressions but not much life force beyond that.

The best thing in the film is the performance by Renee Zellweger as fast-talking Lexie Littleton, a very sharp reporter from Chicago who is out to write an expose about Princeton's star player who joins Connolly's team. The whole story is labored except for some wonderful snappy and witty dialog between Lexie and Dodge. Zellweger does an excellent job of capturing a career woman in the time period, the early 1900's. She is a composite of Ann Southern, Barbara Stanwick, and other strong no-nonsense gals. She has great energy and spirit and draws admiration to her easily. But the film itself is not memorable.

LET THE RIGHT ONE IN, Rated R, Special Release

Our local critics gave this Swedish film a good review so we went to see it even though it was yet another vampire movie. I still don’t like the bloody and violent content but the film was strangely mesmerizing. After a few minutes I noted that the theme here was much the same as Twilight which I commented on last week. It was a love story taken from John Ajvide Lindqvist's novel which, by the way, was written before the trilogy upon which Twilight is based.

This tale is about a young, very white-skinned, blonde-haired boy, Oskar, who is short on friends and is picked on by bully classmates. He befriends Eli, a girl his age, who is in actuality a vampire. They form a deep bond and protect one another in a peculiar love they share.

The film is visually fascinating, if you can tolerate the subject matter. It is continually dark and wintry and frames linger as if frozen. The characters are intense and they demand and hold our attention. In one extraordinary scene, a vampire is exposed to sunlight and explodes in a burst of fire.

The main thread in the story is about beings caring for each and being devoted to each other. This is not what we expect in a film where victims are drained of their blood. The very same phenomenon is what has made Twilight a hit. This is an interesting trend and it makes me wonder if there is more to the vampire myth than we know, but I don’t have time to delve into such matters. If you do, please let me know what you discover.

LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA, rated R, general release, subtitled

Clint Eastwood’s companion piece for Flags of Our Fathers is a powerful tale of allegiance to country (in this case, Japan), of military frustration, of individual grief, of death and survival, and of moments of glory and heroism. The film is beautifully directed and well worth seeing.

The Japanese speak in their language and adhere to their customs. We come to know a single unit intimately. Hence we cheer for them, and we suffer with them. We see at once that they too make sacrifices for their cause, and because their nation demanded that they do so.

We see Americans committing atrocities even though we in the United States know them to be the “good guys.” And, we see Japanese cruelty as well.

But the main thing we see is that war equals futility. We fight, we kill, we win or lose, and we go home to pick up the pieces. Years go by, and we become friends and allies with our enemies, until we again go to war. If there is a point to all of this it escapes me.

As I left the theatre there were men in the lobby wearing WWII caps and jackets. They served their nation, won their battles and formed a lasting camaraderie with their buddies. They are proud of their efforts and in their hearts they carry the memory of those who never came home. They did their duty and deserve our praise. They went to save the world, not knowing how many more times in how many more places that same world would need to be saved.

We struggle against our enemies but we are the greatest enemy of all because we have not yet found the way to turn our weapons into expressions of the heart that honor and cherish human life everywhere. We have not evolved from warriors to creators who use our vital force to manifest the Divine.

LICENSE TO WED, rated PG-13, general release

Whatever you might have spent to see this film, please donate it to charity instead. This is one of the worst films of the year and it wins the award for the first comedy I have ever seen during which I did not laugh even once!

Robin Williams, a funny man who should have rejected this script, plays a sadistic Reverend who does so-called marriage counseling for two young people in love. It is a brutal course designed to make any one run from matrimony.

I stayed to the end only because I wanted to see if I would find one (just one) line or event that would make me laugh. I didn’t. But I have saved you time and money.

Kim Barker (who must hate lovers, marriage, and counseling) wrote the screenplay from her own story. It was poorly directed by Ken Kwapis. Barker and Kwapis are a perfect match – both failed equally; maybe they should marry.

If a comedy is going to be one, we need to start laughing right away – we need to be warmed up. It didn’t happen. Instead we were exposed to endless clichés and sight gags. Worse still, a lot of the “bits designed to evoke laughs” were not only contrived, but they telegraphed themselves. You could almost hear the director saying, “Pause for one second. Ok. Now, punch the line.” Oh, Oh, Oh, it was dreadful.

I found myself moving between boredom, irritation, being offended and wondering how anyone could have invested even one dollar in this fiasco.

Have I made my point?– don’t see it.

LIFE BEFORE HER EYES, THE, Rated R, general release

Don’t expect to sit back and relax during this film. The story jumps back and forth in time so often you will feel as if you had your exercise for the day by the time you leave. The flashbacks are tricky forcing you to pay attention lest you miss an important clue as to what is transpiring. Diana (Evan Rachel Wood) and Maureen (Eva Amum) are best friends in high school and they are polar opposites. They are caught in a Columbine-like massacre and the scene of their being confronted in the bathroom by the young gun man is repeated many times through the film. The question is: who will die? And who will carry the guilt over the death? If you see this film, let me know if you were aware enough to understand what the end reveals. It took me a little while (until we drove away from the theatre). I found it disconcerting that we had sat through the whole film, waiting for the answer to be revealed, and then didn’t really have an answer when the titles ran. I was not happy. Another, more pleasant, thread in the movie was that director Vadim Perelman fancies himself an artist who is enraptured by natural beauty. Hence, throughout the film we are treated to motifs of blooming flowers and flowing water, as well as fades in and out of color and images. It was an unusual balance for the seriousness of the film’s subject matter and its blood splattering. Perelman made his film debut with House of Sand and Fog, which was also filled with wonderful imagery. I like Perelman’s style but he may have been too heavy on metaphor here and too concealing of the plot as it unfolded. It took an unusual reflection for me to finally get what happened. If you see this and have trouble, ask me and I will enlighten you (I hope).

Lions for Lambs, rated R, general release

There is a lot of talk in this film. The shiny Senator, the young hope of his party (which is clearly Republican), proclaims not to be running for President as he gives a scoop to a veteran woman reporter (who probably works for FOX news) who struggles to hold on to her integrity and not become a mouthpiece for an administration of ignorant, inexperienced lambs that is about to once again send lions into the fray. Alas, they have no clue of how they will undo what they are initiating.

Tom Cruise outdoes himself as the Senator with the million dollar smile and Meryl Streep makes us suffer with her as she sees through the sales pitch and commences in her mind to bury the dead who will never come home.

Their conversation in his office, under the watchful eyes (in photographs on the wall) of President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and Secretary Rice, is frighteningly filled with New Speak and wrenching in its implications. He seals his presentation with what he calls the quintessential question of our time: Do we want to win the war on terror? All our policies and behavior in the last six years are based on this question. Hearing it loud and clear in this film, I saw that the question is bogus, the question is a hoax, the question has led us off the cliff of sanity like lemmings following the Pied Piper of fear.

A more important question is how shall we mirror democracy, reason, goodness, peacefulness, and enlightenment for all those in our nation and for all other nations? If we can turn our attention away from war, killing, and winning, we might just become worthy of real praise.

The cat and mouse game between the Senator and the journalist is a reflection of how I experience our nation caught in a game of administration sound bytes and public scrambling. We the people search for the whole story, the whole truth, in the midst of slick and well-constructed no-other-choice scenarios.

The film jumps between three threads. The other two are not as compelling. The professor and the student have a lengthy but comparatively dull exploration of conscience, taking stands, and not dropping out. Then there are the two marines, the black and the Latino, who do take stands and go to fight for their country, leaving behind in their college class the white faces that will dominate the future and will serve their country by supporting the economy through their white collar careers.

The film left me feeling hopeless because nothing changes, not in US politics and not in world politics. On further examination, I saw that what really disturbs me is that THEY don’t change, won’t change. I reminded myself that feeling hopeless was appropriate if what I am seeking is to change THEM. What I wanted as a remedy was a supreme violation of the Love Principle Be the Change You Want to See Happen INSTEAD OF TRYING TO CHANGE ANYONE ELSE.

I took a deep breath, reminded myself to BE THE CHANGE. I did a quick assessment to see that, in fact, I have been that change for 37 years and during that time I have made an imprint on my little corner of the world. I turned in my awareness to look back over thousands of lives I have touched in one way or another and I was dazzled by the luminous individuals who loomed large in their own spheres as they made major differences in the lives they themselves touched.

Political machines will continue forever to crank out policies that will affect masses of people. But no matter how supposedly powerful the leaders and rulers may be, they have no control whatsoever over the expanding consciousness of individuals all over the globe who are amassing like hot lava rushing from volcanoes exploding with despair and rage. Together, we will become the new landscape, having seared away old and useless modes of functioning. Together, we will embody the promise of human potential and be present to celebrate the paradigm shift that will enable us to embrace our differences and one another as the One being we are – the creative force manifest in human flesh.

LITTLE CHILDREN, rated R, general release

Pedophilia, extra marital affairs, vigilante violence, masturbation, and unfulfilled adults are the ingredients here. But don't let that turn you off. It's all a part of life and it is profoundly depicted here. Part of the message is judge not, lest you too be judged. As the characters play off each other, we see clearly that "life is a waking dream." If you want to know about that, read the book by that title by our own Diane Kennedy Pike (see our web site or Amazon.com).

The small community where this story unfolds is up in arms about a man who exposed himself to children. But what unfolds even more profoundly is the story of human behavior and how the flaws of the "decent and respectable" residents are exposed.

Kate Winslet is particularly convincing as a good mother who needs more than what her older husband provides, and Patrick Wilson is a knockout as a good father who becomes "the provider" of what his neighbor needs.

There is a lot of finger-pointing in this film, and holier-than-thou characters. It is a wake up call for all of us.

The film uses a narrator to let us in on some of the inner workings of the characters. I didn't think I would like that, but it becomes so natural a part of the unfolding that it becomes a welcome addition.

The film is thought-provoking and I do recommend it.

LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD, rated Pg-13, general release

I truly enjoy action films and I really like Bruce Willis, so I was ready for this next installment. It started out great with a fascinating plot line, with Willis as the likable Lieutenant McClane, and with lots of action. I thought, terrific, they are even giving us something to think about, if not worry about. This is something that could possibly happen in the not too distant future: ultra-sophisticated computer hacking that disrupts traffic lights, generators, airports, and national banking, rendering the country helpless. After September 11, anything is possible and this unfolding story was pretty scary.

In this case, the bad guys are all Americans, all white except for the Asian woman cohort, all brilliant, all disenfranchised and unhappy with the government (for rejecting their warning that this horror could actually happen.) The bad guys, not Muslim, not African-American, not illegal immigrants, are nonetheless, all dressed in black! (I guess that will never go away.)

The computer plan is executed and our hero Mclane gets involved, along with FBI and CIA agents, and all the governmental powers that be, seeking to restore order as vehicles crash into each other and cities are blacked out. The action is hot and heavy and we hold our collective breath as eye-popping events take place. We are now about half way through the film. Then, poof, the whole movie goes “south.” Why?

The film becomes about the hero, McClane. He will single-handedly save the nation. He gets battered, smashed, run down, thrown against whatever is available, shot, you name it. It is so over the top, so far from reality, that I lost interest, the audience began laughing, and even the character McClane starts spoofing himself and making jokes about his prowess.

There was so much unbelievable spectacle, so much violence, so much mayhem, no human could even deal with it, let alone survive it. The movie-makers left nothing, and I mean nothing, to include in a sequel by way of pursuit and enemy extinction.

I was sorry I went and I can’t recommend it to you.

LIVES OF OTHERS, THE, art theatres, subtitled

Once in a blue moon there appears on the screen a film so fine, so intelligent, so substantive, so poignant, and so important, that I want to urge everyone to go immediately to experience this phenomenon. This is such a film. It just won the Academy Award for best foreign language film. It was written and directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, a 34-year-old making his film debut!

The beautifully written story takes place in the totalitarian German Democratic Republic behind the infamous Berlin Wall where the “authorities” run a tight ship by spying on its citizens and viewing everyone as a potential enemy of the regime.

The key characters are polar opposites of each other and their impact on each other is staggering. Dreyman (Sebastian Koch) is a successful playwright who is heart-centered, creative, yin, and flowing. He is secretly spied upon by Wiesler (Ulrich Mühe), a Captain in the Stasi (the secret police), who is rigid, mental, hard, and completely devoted to the party line. Because of his surveillance, Wiesler, commissioned to bring Dreyman down, is exposed to the lives of others.

In one miraculous film moment, we witness the transformation of the oppressor as he overhears a piece of music (Sonata for a Good Man) and plugs into the love energy being expressed by Dreyman for a theatre friend who has committed suicide because the State no longer allows him to direct. It is one of the most powerful moments I have ever witnessed (outside of my cosmic breakthrough experiences which transformed me forever.)

I don’t want to reveal any more of the story. It is suspenseful and riveting. It makes us wonder if, under severe interrogation, we would crack or maintain our sense of decency.

Not only is the writing brilliant and the acting powerful and the direction spellbinding, but the set design and costuming absolutely complement what is being portrayed. Dreyman is warm and sensual. He wears loose clothing that flow with his beautiful body whenever he moves. His apartment is filled with books, paintings, music, textures and color. His feelings are ever present and he is spontaneous in his conversation and actions. He is a lover whose body merges with ease. Wiesler, on the other hand, is cold and frozen. His attire is starch taking-the-form-of-garments and he moves like a robot. His inner thoughts and feelings are buried and his speech and actions are inculcated and governed by the State. His living quarters are sterile and empty (as are the residences and offices and classrooms of all the State employees), as empty as his life. His sexual expression is confined to rigidly timed appointments with prostitutes.

This film depicts a regime that calls itself a democratic republic. Yet, it strictly enforces dictatorial measures over every way of life. The people live in fear and are thus conditioned to keep their mouths shut and never question the rule of State. Those who honor their own conscience and dare to take contrary stands, may end up severely demoted or shunned or dead, but no one can steal their dignity or their inner strength.

In our own democracy today, there are those who condemn the voices that speak out against our policy in Iraq, for example. They include the president’s spin masters and the Vice President of the United States. They tell us that with our dissent (one of the most basic pillars of democracy) we aid and abet the enemy. They seek to tell us how to think and not to question. They tell us the suspension of human rights for prisoners suspected of terrorism is essential to our safety and that our interrogation of them (in any way deemed necessary) is vital to our ongoing life as a nation. All these things chip away at our democracy and our constitution. If we survive the terrorist threat and have given away human rights in the process, we will have killed ourselves, blown up our values, and left ourselves as nothing but empty shells with a vacuous victory.

Totalitarian tactics are suppressive and fear inducing. This is the primary method of governing of such a regime. I urge everyone to wake up, to listen with discrimination, to make choices that sustain our magnificent democracy, and to banish fear. See this film and recommit to human decency and to functioning from the heart rather than the mind. It is what our world needs more than anything else.

LOCAL COLOR, ART THEATRE RELEASE

There was much I liked in this film about a sensitive young painter who seeks the guidance of a well-known Russian artist. Trevor Morgan does a lovely job of playing the young man, John, and Armin Mueller-Stahl was effectively cantrankerous as the teacher, Nicoli.

Nicoli hates the world, is utterly cynical, and is a foul-mouthed alcoholic. He is also a fine artist, and eventually a fine instructor who says many things about art and color that are well worth our attention.

John is totally devoted to art and learning. His character is open and allows us to explore art from the inside of his reality.

The film itself is much like a painting, capturing the beauty of landscapes, the different hues in clouds and shades of green and blue, and sweeping countryside.

Nicoli encourages us all to look into life's layers and to experience the different textures and sensations.

All of the above are ingredients for a fine journey but there are grating elements here that often interfered with the flow for me. It seemed entirely unnecessary for Nicoli to use the F-word as frequently as he did. He is meant to be unlikable and shut down. He was that, but he was that to such a degree that it became to difficult to see how he could capture the beauty he produced on canvas. We saw some of his soft side as the film progressed but not enough and not soon enough.

There were lots of swipes at the world of art and the hypocrisy therein. Some of it was delivered through a very poor performance by Ron Perlman as a very gay art aficionado.

As long as I kept my attention on John and his desire to learn and to bring beauty into the world, I enjoyed the film. But the overdoing of profanity and harshness was a disquieting element that made me more uncomfortable than I needed to be.

If you can focus on John and on the tidbits of wisdom related to art, you will have a good experience. No what quirks the teacher may have, this story tells us the importance of having a mentor, someone who can draw out the gifts and talents of the student and encourage his unfolding.

LONGSHOTS, THE, Rated PG, general release

Jasmine Plummer, age 11, was the first female quarterback to play in Pop Warner Super Bowl and she was really good at her game. The Longshots tells the story in a sweet way with Ice Cube playing her blue-collar uncle who is a constant source of encouragement and a needed father figure. It’s a little sappy but it is a good family movie which stresses that anyone can accomplish anything he or she sets a mind to. It is engaging and prompts community support and teamwork, inspiration and hard work. There are so many films like this one, it affirms hope and possibility. It has a bit of a shaggy dog feeling; the energy is somewhat subdued but it is likeable.

LOOKOUT, THE, rated R, general release

This is a little gem of a movie with a fine young actor in the lead role and an excellent script. The story is about high school senior Chris Pratt (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who is brain-damaged as a result of an auto accident he caused. He works hard at making a comeback but is lured into a bank robbery which, as we all know, can only end badly.

The tale is dark and filled with emotion. It has suspense and evokes empathy in the audience.

Gordon-Levitt is an intense young actor, of the James Dean variety, who conceals and conveys his deep feelings simultaneously. For the performance alone, it is worth the price of admission.

LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA, rated R, general release

I begin by reporting that the book on which this film was based is in the top ten of the best books I have ever read in my life. I slowed down my reading in the hope it would never end. It was poetic, philosophical, metaphoric, and deeply touching. Florentino’s epic quest of over a half a century to unite with the love of his young life, is painful and inspiring. Do read the book. It is written in the language of love and the imagery is so powerful all your senses are awakened as you read.

The film is rich in Colombian scenery and the soulful acting of Javier Bardem as Florentino is tender, humorous, noble, and heart-rending. The struggle is there, along with the yearning and the tireless devotion. Occasionally, a line, a phrase, an image from the book appears. When spoken, we are moved but we cannot linger as we do with the printed word, because the film moves on and sweeps us with it.

We watch Florentino age into a stooped, doting old man: one who has kept a notebook of over 600 women with whom he has had intercourse while he waited to offer his heart to Fermina. In this, he remains a virgin for he has reserved his true love for only one woman.

Fermina, played by Giovanna Mezzogiorno, is beautiful and sensual. Her aging is more like a dusting of white than an actual transformation.

While the story is focused on endless unrequited love, it is clear that all the years Florentino did without Fermina, he was never without her. And even though she was at distance, he was never denied his love for her. He went right on entwining her life in his. Sometimes when we can’t have what we want, we can at least have what we have.

I won’t tell you the ending. It is beautiful and makes us all happy. But when you read the book, you will be ecstatic because you will be embraced and enfolded in the magnificence of Gabriel García Márquez’s powerful narration and poignant prose. You will enter into the flower of passion. In the film, it is played out and the moments pass. The film ends but we want to remain. We want to fill ourselves with the scent of the heart when it is fully awakened.

LUCKY YOU, rated PG-13, general release

Following a professional poker player who is learning how to control his anger and his compulsivity makes for an interesting story, especially if you are a fan of the game, or gaming in general. Eric Bana (as Huck Cheever) is interesting to watch and relaxed enough as an actor to allow the audience to relax into the story.

However, the story is thin, and there is a lot of screen time given to watching people play cards, perhaps too much time – unless you want to learn more about how to bluff and read other players behavior.

Drew Barrymore plays the love interest. Her character is very low key. Between Bana’s relaxation, Barrymore’s easy nature, and the slow turn of the cards, it is possible for restlessness to set in. But, Robert Duvall plays Huck’s father and he livens up the action every time he appears. He is an old school poker player and champion who dazzles us with his charm and his devotion to the game and to winning.

Many of the players at the table are real-life circuit players and you have to love the game to love them.

Huck’s total focus is on playing and on raising money in order to play. He sweet talks, he steals, he wins and loses repeatedly. Winning money isn’t important to him, keeping score is. Bana’s face is not very expressive. While this is great for a poker player, it disenables us from observing his inner battles and the changes he goes through as the story unfolds. I would have liked to be able to enter into his process with him.

The film was pleasant enough and somewhat informative – i.e. never play against the house, just other blokes like yourself. It does paint a picture of the hard core gambler and how different he is from those of us who are recreational players of craps, slots, blackjack, etc., who can walk away from the excitement of the casino, not return for months, and not need to.

LUST, CAUTION, RATED NC-17, ART THEATRE RELEASE

Two hours and forty minutes of war-time intrigue and Kama Sutra sex kept me at attention! As usual, Ang Lee does a beautiful job of directing intimate scenes and inviting us into the action.

Chinese actors Tony Leung Chiu-Wai and Tang Wei play the lovers, Mr. Yee and Wong, with intensity and heat. Mr. Yee is a Chinese official who sheds Chinese blood for the Japanese occupiers of Shanghai and Hong Kong (in 1942). He is a cautious, careful man who rarely allows anyone to know him. Wong is part of a youthful resistance movement who seduces Mr. Yee in the hopes of setting up his assassination.

The film revolves around the two themes. I was reminded, as the idealists put their plan together, that those who seek to make the world a better place are more innocent and inexperienced than those who have seized power and are determined to dominate. These young people have no idea what they are up against.

In one deeply touching scene, they actually kill someone who is going to expose them. One of them uses a knife repeatedly because the traitor doesn’t die easily. He dies as one would die in life, not as is usually depicted on the screen. The slayer stands trembling with tears running down his face as his compatriots weep and wince with pain. They have collectively taken a life and that is a moment they will never forget.

I thought of all the soldiers of all the armies sent by their governments to kill those labeled enemies. Many of them never forget their deeds. Many of them suffer psychological distress for the rest of their lives. I wish we would remember that when we send troops off to murder in the name of “good.” I wish we would find more humane and spiritual ways of bringing change to the world.

Mr. Yee and Wong are caught up in a wartime drama but we really see little of that. We never see exactly what he does that is so horrendous. We do not see that much of the Japanese influence on the culture. Nor do we see much of the effort of the resistance. But we do see a lot of the seducing, rough sex, and hot intercourse between the two main characters.

I was very taken by the beauty of both their bodies and by the similarities. They were lean, taut, and graceful, with smooth skin and insatiable desire. When he loomed above her, his body seemed to grow out of hers and then to re-enter and merge as he lowered himself into her. It was remarkable to watch, especially when realizing that they were acting, pantomiming, rather than having real intercourse. They were the yin and yang of each other.

There was nothing tawdry about this loving making. It had the power of horses galloping, the sweat of runners racing, and excitement of rockets blasting into air and setting it afire. I have never seen anything like it on the screen. In its energy output, it is an example of how life can be lived on a daily basis if we are willing to infuse ourselves with all the force at our disposal.

The film has an astonishing surprise ending and we are all weary by the time it is done. Weary, but satisfied, and thoughtful.

MAD MONEY, rated PG-13, general release

The good guys are the bad guys in this tale about stealing money from the U.S. treasury that is headed for shredding. And yes, we all root for the good bad guys to pull it off and not get apprehended. As the story unfolds, we can’t help but get caught up in the cleverness, the fun, the caution, and the endless supply of money. I found myself talking to the screen telling the “robbers” not to be greedy, to take what they got and move on. Queen Latifah and Diane Keaton are excellent, a hoot in fact. Katie Holmes does an acceptable job as their co-conspirator, but her acting is not as developed or pithy as the other two. Ted Danson lends his talents as a laid back husband who first tries to put a halt to the scheme but later enjoys counting endless bills. I thoroughly enjoyed the caper and you might too, as long as you are willing to suspend reality because what they achieve could not happen. Or, could it?

MADAGASCAR: ESCAPE 2 AFRICA, Rated PG, general release

Remember that lion who traveled to NY from Africa back in 2005? Well, by golly, Alex (Ben Stiller) is making his way back home in the company of Marty the fast talking Zebra (Chris Rock), a woeful giraffe who reminded me of Eyore (David Schwimmer), and a sexy big butt hippo (Jada Pinkett Smith.

The parents of Alex are very glad for his return but his pop, the leader of the pride (Bernie Mac) has troubles with his rival (Alec Baldwin) who seriously desires the title. Alex lends a hand using the dance skills he learned in the NY zoo.

There are “serious” developments as the story progresses, but under it all we always have the sense that everything will turn out all right. Kids will love it.

There are lovely animated landscapes of Africa but there could have been more and the camera could have lingered on them a little longer for my taste.
(Seeing the umbrella trees made me very glad that we will be conducting a Journey into Self Safari to South Africa, Botswana, and Victoria Falls in October. If you would like to join us, e-mail me for information.)

MADE OF HONOR, rated PG-13, general release

At last, a romantic comedy worth seeing. Directed by Paul Weiland; written by Adam Sztykiel, Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont, this film is actually funny rather than crass or slapstick posing as funny. It is fast moving, well-directed, with a fine cast. Yes, there are sight gags and some overdrawn characters but they are not front and center. I suspect they are there for the movie crowd that makes moronic films number 1 of the weekend. I don’t mean to sound like a snob. I think you know what I mean. What is wonderful about this film is that it is put together seamlessly with laughs building on previous laughs, as should be true of any fine comedy. Everything ties together and since we are in on the jokes, we laugh as if we are part of what is transpiring. Furthermore, the acting of the two leads, Patrick Dempsey and Michelle Monaghan , is excellent. They play their characters fully and for real. Neither one of them plays for laughs and this makes them all the more funny. Their earnest relating is endearing and we are swept into their dilemma. Tom and Hannah met in college, should have been married to each other, but became best friends instead because he can’t say “I love you” and she can’t wait to find out. So she falls in love with a Scotsman and makes Tom her maid of honor. Naturally, when he sees he is losing her, he must do everything he can to win her as his bride. The film is beautifully shot in Manhattan and Scotland and although we know it’s probably going to have a fairy tale ending, we can’t predict that it will happen or how it might happen. This is a delightful movie which has an intelligent ring to it; a little gem in a field of hit and miss comedies.

MAN ON WIRE, Rated PG-13, art theatre release
 for spiritual content

Phillipe Petit spent years dreaming about walking on a high wire between the World Trade Center Towers in New York City. He dreamed, he planned, and he prepared himself. This documentary follows his entire journey through to the now-famous breath-taking 1974 walk across the air-mist-and-clouds of Manhattan. The story is told in the present moment, so we are in on each step of the planning as it is taking place rather than as it took place. This is highly effective as director James Marsh gives us an enthralling experience. There is a high degree of spirituality in this film as it focuses on visualization, dedication, commitment, and concentration. Petit is filled with passion for the task and trains himself on both inner and outer levels to accomplish the feat. As he steps out into the sky, at a breathtaking height, his total attention is on the very now moment. There is nothing else. He follows through from the seat of consciousness to the sole of his foot as he takes one step after another. One extraneous thought could cause him to slip to his demise. It is a life lesson: be fully present to what you are being and doing as you are being and doing it. If you do this, you can do anything, you can be anything. This is so because if you direct all your energy on a single line of focus, you are simultaneously infused with universal energy to match what you are emitting. That marriage of infusion and expression brings to fruition what was held as a vision.

MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES, no rating, art theatre release

This very unusual documentary shows deeply imprinting images of the damaging effects of industrialization on Mother Earth and the dehumanization of millions of general laborers.

Before the credits even begin, we are held captive by 7-minutes of endless panning of a goliath iron-works factory in China – row after row after row of yellow-shirted silent workers. It is a landscape unto itself.

During the course of the film we visit numerous manufactured landscapes where cities rise into the sky, where ships are painstakingly built and laboriously torn apart, and where the useless guts of discarded computers from around the world lie crying out (if they could) for a proper burial.

Film maker Edward Burtynsky is concerned about the environment, eager that we do not destroy nature, but is also respectful of how industrialization makes nations and their people richer.

True to his mission, Burtynsky does not take a political position, nor does he tell us what we must do to remedy the situations he presents. He merely tells us “this is the way it is” and instead of proselytizing he sustains a purpose of encouraging us all to think about what is happening. He does this so well that when I left the theatre, I was not riled up, upset, or disturbed. Instead, I was thinking, examining, exploring. It was an unusual approach on his part. He took no sides and therefore left his audience with no opportunity to say yes-but, but only with stirring in their hearts and minds.

Throughout the world the common laborers stand in silence, having become mechanical in the tasks they perform repeatedly for 8 and more hours a day. They earn enough wages to eat, sleep, and return to their small work stations that represents their worlds. These average workers are the countless cogs in the wheel that never stops turning so that CEO’s around the globe can average $8 million a year minimum, plus stock options. The laborer’s work is mindless. He or she never finished school and is therefore sentenced to a life of survival. But he or she has work, and can live, because elsewhere in the world consumerism is so rampant a disease that there is no cure.

The staggering Three Gorges Dam in China is an unfathomable manufactured landscape that has displaced 1 million people who have been hired to dismantle their homes to help make a shipping channel. Hand over hand they clear away brick after brick, removing all evidence of the past millennia in which people lived and worked on the land. Lest we regret this intrusion of progress, we must remember also that the government has built new housing for all these people and relocated them. Also, every year thousands upon thousands of people die in floods and have their homes washed away. The dam seeks to remedy this continuing tragedy.

As you can see, the film is balanced, thoughtful, and respectful of people, Mother Nature, and progress.

I recommend it to you.

MARGOT AT THE WEDDING, rated R, art theatres

Dysfunctional family film number 542. Are there any other kinds of families? This film is big on tough relationships and emotional heaviness. Everyone gets into the upheaval: sister combating sister, mother against son, neighbors ready at arms, lovers struggling with lovers, and individuals simply loathing themselves. Don’t ask me why this opened at Christmas time. It is certainly not filled with cheer.

Nicole Kidman (Margot) is dark, Jennifer Jason Leigh (Pauline), playing her sister, is darker still, Jack Black (Pauline’s fiancé) is foul-mouthed, and John Turturro (Margot’s estranged husband) is his usual depressing self. What? You are not attracted to film????

Noah Baumbach, who wrote and directed this, actually does a fine job of capturing intelligent dialog (when you can hear what they are saying), immersing us in the hell of family politics, and exposing us to family secrets and failures. And the actors, while playing unlikable characters, do a good job of it.

The question is, do you want to spend 93 minutes with someone’s family chaos or do you just want to visit your own? I actually liked my family after seeing this one.

You might want to skip this film or see it at a time of year when you are overly happy and need to depress yourself a little.

MATADOR, THE, Special Release

This documentary follows the life and dream of David Fandila to become the 13th bullfighter in centuries to reach 100 bullfights in a single season. It takes us through his difficult training and his successes and failures. We experience his determination and commitment and his deep love of a tradition that is filled with pageantry and artistry, and which many protest as being ritualized slaughter.

It was interesting to see that bulls are also prepared, trained, and raised to participate in this sport. When one wins in a competition, he is put out to pasture and given a good life until the end of his days. When the bull loses and is killed, the meat is used just as the meat of other slaughtered animals is packaged and sold for human consumption.

The fight sequences are superbly edited as the man and bull dance together in the arena and the people in Granada, Spain cheer and lunge with the Matador and the bull. It is as if the two become one as they rear, and move, and stop, holding each other’s eyes, and exercising their equally strong wills.

Bullfighting is not for everyone, and therefore, neither is this film.

MEET THE ROBINSONS, animated, general release

To its credit there is some substance here, and story development, and flights of fancy to hold the kids attention. Why, it even has good messages such as, keep moving forward, learn from your mistakes, never give up, and be who you are. It is communicated through fine graphically designed characters and lots of bright color. But overall, I found it lacking, disappointing, and overloaded with people, things, and scenes flying at the audience (in some theatres it is available in 3-D) in all directions. All of this felt tacked on for effect and goes on way too long (actually putting Mariamne to sleep even with the heightened noise level.) 

Maybe it is more for little children to enjoy. Maybe.

MESSENGERS, THE, rated PG-13, general release

I am not a fan of “horror” films, though I do enjoy a good scream now and again. They are always predictable in the end, and too gory in the middle. But this one, I actually found interesting. There are unexpected twists and the story itself sustains a high level of suspense in the midst of ghost-visitations and some very frightening other-worldly gimmicks.

Then too there were some unexplainable occurrences and a final resolution that stretched credulity, and weakens the ending.

What I liked the most was the screen time given to the family toddler who, though he did not speak, could sense and see and relate to what was invisible to his parents. You could almost view the antennae of childhood emanating from his being and the close-ups of his face and his eyes demanded our attention.

Children, in their earliest days and years, on this planet, are as in touch with their origins and with other realms as they are with what they are adjusting to in their new life. If we opened ourselves to what they see and know, we would expand our own awareness. And, we would encourage them to keep their skills and their connection. Too often we treat children as if they were children and we socialize them rather than encourage them.

I have always loved the story of the three-year-old who stole into his infant brother’s room and asked, “Please tell me what the face of God looks like. I have already forgotten.”

If this is a genre you appreciate, I think you might like this. But I don’t know about bringing children because of the mostly implied violence.

Kristen Stewart, Dylan McDermott, John Corbett, and others, are good in their roles.

MICHAEL CLAYTON, rated R, general release

George Clooney plays a modern day hero in this film, a man who stands for justice, who is honorable and ethical, and who delights in doing good and in bringing down the forces of greed who misuse power. Clooney pulls it off beautifully and his playing of Clayton seems to reflect a lot of what he stands for in his life. I really like Mr. Clooney. He has integrity and he takes stands to expose those who would seek to manipulate for their own ends.

The audience has to be alert during this thriller, written and directed by Tony Gilroy, because all the pieces come together, eventually, in very clever ways. The action is fast and the danger is palpable. It is a film that is intelligent, moral, and filled with soul.

Tilda Swinton plays Karen Crowder, who is over the top in embodiment of evil but Swinton pulls it off, making us cringe whenever she appears. Tom Wilkinson is wonderful as Arthur, a top litigator who melts down before our eyes, but not before he lays the groundwork for evil’s demise.

Good may outsmart evil but not without perseverance and focus.

Clooney’s performance is terrific, and, from this woman’s point of view, very easy on the eyes and the heart. He is so attractive to me that a few weeks ago he was in my dreams two nights in a row! I won’t tell you what we were doing.

MIGHTY HEART, A, RATED R, GENERAL RELEASE

This wrenching story of the kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Pakistan is completely engrossing and sobering.

Angelina Jolie gives an honest and heartfelt performance as Mariane Pearl. We live each moment with her as she hopes, prays, and focuses for her husband’s return.

Throughout the film we are immersed in the Muslim world of Karachi – its crowded streets, its sights and smells, its heavy traffic, and the ever present sound of the call to prayer booming over the loud speakers.

The tragedy that unfolds is both a love story and a political tale of intrigue. It is tender and it is shocking.

Daniel Pearl, played well by Dan Futterman, was abducted because men with a cause wanted to make a statement, wanted their demands met. They labeled Pearl CIA. Then they called him an Israeli spy. But most hateful of all to them, was that he was an American Jew.

Again and again, throughout history, the Jew is the scapegoat for Muslims, for Christians, for too many. People would have to look in the mirror of themselves to resolve their complaints if there were no Jews, if there were no outer scapegoats. Maybe, those who so hate so much would instantly die of heart attacks if they had to look directly into the face of who they truly were and see the attitudes they held.

In this film, the Jew is even worse because he is American. That combination has become the new poison, the new cause for decapitation.

Daniel Pearl retained his idealism, even his innocence. He paid for it with his life. But those who took that life could not take from him those qualities or the love in and through which he lived.

MILK, Rated R, art theatre release

Sean Penn seems unable to give a performance that is less than superb. He is brilliant in this story about slain San Francisco Supervisor and gay activist Harvey Milk.

Dustin Lance Black has written an unusual biopic which is sensitively directed by Gus Van Sant. We are moved from scene to scene in Milk’s unfolding life and efforts and we immediately become part of the action on the screen.

Penn is spellbinding. He has clearly created Milk from the inside of himself, bypassing his own heterosexuality and bringing to the screen a feminine-feeling male without any exaggeration or over-playing. We watch Harvey Milk emerge from under the skin of Sean Penn’s face. It is amazing.
Milk was one of this nation’s first openly gay elected officials. His life and cause had a tremendous impact on our national politics and on our way of life. Our nation has come a long way since Anita Bryant sought to impose her religious beliefs on all of America by demanding that gay school teachers (or their supporters) be fired immediately. And yet, we have a longer way to go as we deal with the unconstitutionality of denying gays the right to marry.

Gays suffered police brutality and general harassment for too many decades. Brave warriors like Milk put themselves on the line to obtain justice, and to live a life without shame. One of his great contributions was that he encouraged the closeted to come out and let their families and friends know who they were. Milk rightly said, when the straight world could see that gays lived and worked and contributed right in their midst, attitudes would change. And change they have.

The film is a deeply moving history lesson. It takes us on the inside of Milk’s assassin, fellow supervisor Dan White, so that we can feel the anguish that drove him to kill both Milk and Mayor Mascone. Josh Brolin does a fine job portraying White.

The gay love scenes are performed with discretion and tenderness. For some, like myself, it might be disconcerting to bear witness to the casual approach to sexuality. Men meet, flirt, and end up in bed within a few hours, even names are unimportant. But this bed-hopping without benefit of relationship is as true for heterosexuals as it is for homosexuals. It has never been my style. I prefer sexual engaging to be accompanied by meaning and depth of caring. However, unlike the righteous in America, I would never seek to impose my beliefs or preferences on others.

This is an important film and one that is very well done on every level. The point is simple. None of us deserve to have rights that we would deny to others, even if we have the benefit of religion on our side.

MIRRORS, Rated R, general release

I am often ambivalent about horror movies. I enjoy the adrenalin rush accompanying the fear-filled moments but I don’t like the blood and gore. Mirrors had plenty of carnage, was often repetitious, and was troubled by loopholes and instances of stretching credulity. The film, starring Kiefer Sutherland as ex-New York City cop now employed as a night security guard, takes place in a burned-out department store which is inhabited by unseen ghosts of entrapped spirits. There are plenty of screaming moments in which you are jolted in your seat but what sets the film apart is the focus on mirrors and, more importantly, who or what resides behind them. There is a good mix of malevolence and intrigue, especially as we are invited to ponder what is on the other side of this life’s veil? When we look into a mirror our reflection is reversed. What do we see when we die, move to the other side of the mirror, and look out into this on-going reality? The touching of this spiritual level really caught my attention and it might just grab you as well. For my part, a whole movie about this would be a great idea.

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, PG-13, general release

Frances McDormand and Amy Adams are delightful in this wonderful Cinderella tale which has a wonderful twist. The older, wrinkled, plain-looking woman gets the successful, handsome, older man! Why? BECAUSE SHE HAS SUBSTANCE and he has been searching for it, for HER, all his life! I can’t tell you how refreshing that is. Mc Dormand is a master at poignant comedy and she, as Miss Pettigrew, is the perfect down-and-almost-out character contrast for Dleysia, the vivacious, beautiful young thing, who sleeps around and around (and around), played to the hilt by the sparkling Amy Adams. Miss Petttigrew comes to work for Dleysia and makes herself indispensable, revealing endless skills that emerge from the necessity of the moment. The entire story transpires in one remarkable day that is little more than romantic fantasy, but in that short day we are treated to the pleasure of a resourceful woman who triumphs despite all odds. Amazingly, the film is based on a 1938 novel by Winifred Watson. Clearly, she was a woman of substance who wanted to make the point that the female sex is worthy of high regard with or without makeup, fine clothes, or manners, or anything else. Miss Pettigrew is someone who knows who she is and who she is is more than enough. Would that women today, 70 years after the writing of the novel, would not need to puff out their lips, botox their faces, wax their skin, dye their hair, or do any of the numerous things they do to conceal their aging or fit into fashion or glamour images thrust upon them. Accepting self would be so much easier than doing cartwheels to earn the acceptance of those outside of self who set themselves up as the authorities.

MISS POTTER, rated PG, general release

Renee Zellweger plays Beatrix Potter, the famous author of children's stories, among them Peter Rabbit. I loved watching the drawings come to life. I loved the scenes where she engaged in conversation with the sketches as they came to life for her in her imagination. And, I loved that she was an individual, in London in 1902, who was true to herself, her gift, and the purpose for her life.

Yet with all of this, not to mention beautiful scenery and an endearing performance by Ewan McGregor as her publisher and suitor, something was missing for me.

Zellweger was perhaps too perky, not English enough of that day, had too many expressions racing across her face. All of this drew my attention to her as an actor and distracted me from experiencing who Miss Potter may have been. She struggled and suffered in her life, but this film presents too rosy a picture and places too much emphasis on the delights of her life to let us in on a balanced version.

Chris Noonan, who wrote Babe a decade ago, captures whimsy here but perhaps not enough substance of human interaction. The tea party and sweetness are lovely but the grit needed to be more in evidence.

MIST, THE, rated R, general release

I don’t particularly like horror movies and I am not very drawn to Stephen King. I went to this prepared to leave early and take in another show. Wrong again. This was very well done. It engages our imagination and has us anticipating big trouble and that anticipation is frightening all by itself. I screamed and jumped many times over, mainly because the scary premise was plausible.

There is something very bad in the mist and no one is safe.

But then, no one is safe inside the market where they take cover because they are caught in the fire and brimstone of evangelical Christian Mrs. Carmody, played to the hilt by Marcia Gay Harden. After a while, you don’t know what is worse: The creatures coming to get you, or the creature who already has you!

The whole film is a struggle for survival and the final moments leave a lasting impression on your eyes and your ears. I say, yes, do see this one. It is a grabber.

MOLIERE, rated PG-13, art theatre release

This wonderful trend in film making, fictionalizing historical figures, is a source of great pleasure. I have previously highly recommended Goya Ghosts and Becoming Jane. Now I urge you to see Moliere. The average film enthusiast will delight in this and no actor, director, or lover of stage plays should miss it.

The great playwright’s rise to fame as an inspired satirist is beautifully presented in this rollicking (what else) satire! The characters and many of the lines are taken directly from Moliere’s plays, the cinematography captures the 1600’s beautifully, and the costumes and set design are lavishly French.

As I watched the unfolding story I whispered to Mariamne, “This is just like a Moliere play, a fabulous, laugh-laden farce.” Then, to my delight, the character Moliere uses a phony name to conceal his true identity. The name he chooses off the top of his head is Tartuffe (one of Moliere’s finest plays and most glorious characters). Immediately, with the use of this name, we are thrust into a play within a play within a play.

The tale unfolds with utmost cleverness, with a weaving of subplots, hilarious fun, and layers of texture both in the visual and in the dialogue. And just when you think you have seen it all, the end of the film delights us with the final touch – a revelation of how Moliere became the successful playwright he was, and he got to satisfy his own true desire to write tragedy while simultaneously writing side-splitting comedy. The actors Romain Duris, Fabrice Luchini, Laura Morante, and Ludivine Sagnier are all perfected cast. The direction by Laurent Tirard is excellent, and the screen writing by Tirard, Gregoire Vigneron and Gilles Henry is superb. Do we care if any of this is true? No. We just love the unfolding fiction. The technique of looking back in history and determining how it might have been is something we can each do with our own lives. Go back to a turbulent time, for example, which had an ill-effect and tweak it so that we see the good we have made of it over years of recovery and making new choices. We used to offer a Practice Session like this. We called it REVIEWING YOUR PAST. It is a way of breaking free of what we call our personal history and coming to realize that all of it is truly fiction, capable of being rewritten at any moment. Why cling to our memories when we can bring new versions into being at will?

MONGOL, art theatre release, subtitled.

Be prepared for an epic! Sergei Bodrov is true to Russian tradition in his making of the story of Genghis Khan’s rise to power from his earliest beginnings as a boy who loses his father. Khan’s life is a perfect example of living with purpose and following through no matter what the obstacles.

Khan was known by millions, feared and admired. He is depicted as a leader who was able to unify, to reform, and to modernize traditions.
The film is 2 hours long but trekking across the decades and the plains makes us feel we have been in the theatre a lot longer. Make no mistake though, all of it is interesting, if not fascinating. The audience was spellbound. And by the way, the large theatre was completely full.

The vistas are breathtaking and Tadanobu Asano is commanding in his portrayal of Khan. I enjoyed it very much.

MORNING LIGHT, Special Release

hoy Mate, if you have sailed, or wanted to sail, or love sailing, you will love this documentary about 11 young sailors who competed in the Transpac, an open-ocean regatta from Los Angeles to Hawaii.

Mark Monroe directed this in such a way that we get to experience the hardships of the training, and the energy required to be part of such a competition. We get to know each of the sailors’ personal history and we care about each of them as we endure the journey with them.

We are out on the open water in beautiful sunshine and sunset, and most wondrous all of all, under an enormous dark sky filled to overflowing with stars.

I enjoyed this very much and appreciated being able to by-pass getting sea-sick. I did that once and I would rather not do it again.

MR. BEAN’S HOLIDAY, rated G, general release

Over many years of movie going I have discovered that what is selected for previews is the most over-the-top footage the producers can find. Often I am so turned off by them that I hesitate to see the film. That was the case with Mr. Bean’s Holiday. It looked very silly and overacted. But, we went, and we didn’t leave at half hour.

Rowan Atkinson is a comic genius who has more energy and more facial expressions then any one person can handle or use. In this movie, he uses it all and it is often too much for the rest of us – so we say, “Oh no,” or we shrink in our seats because it is overwhelming.

But then there are all the moments when his extraordinary abilities are harnessed and flowing and the audience is simply enthralled. Indeed, it is worth the price of admission to watch him improvise to changing music during which his body has the same boneless quality as his face. By the time he gets to the mime of a woman’s aria, you want to stand up and cheer.

There is a lot of slapstick in this film and endless sight gags. There is so little dialogue that it is much like watching a modernized version of the silent comedies of yesteryear, this time in vivid color. Atkinson is a combination of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Jerry Lewis; you never know which is going to emerge. I loved this element of “silent film” because of the invitation to watch carefully during each moment. We truly never knew what was going to happen next or how Mr. Bean would get out of the current dilemma.

The story is thin but Atkinson’s body and face are so elastic, he captures and recaptures our attention as he deals with a long series of misadventures.

And, there is an amusing side story in which Willem Dafoe plays a vain director at the Cannes Film Festival, precisely the place where Mr. Bean has gone for his holiday. The interweaving of their two lives has much humor.

Do I suggest you see this? I don’t know. You have to be in the mood for some very crazy antics.

MR. BROOKS, rated R, general release

A model citizen in Portland, OR leads a double life as a serial killer. Kevin Costner does a fine job in this role. He is both lovable and menacing. His character Earl is ruled by his evil alter ego, played to the hilt of misadventure by William Hurt. Earl is encouraged repeatedly to indulge his desire to murder and to sustain his addiction to this way of life.

The unfolding story is interesting but as it progresses it becomes tedious and convoluted. One distraction for me was that Earl, while in the presence of others, talks aloud to the alter ego only he can see. Those present cannot hear Earl even though he is speaking aloud. It doesn’t hang together. Better would have been to have Earl’s dialogue go on “aloud” in his head. The convolution involves an easily forgettable subplot which serves only to drag out the length of the movie.

But the basic story is interesting and takes us on the inside of what it is to kill for the sheer thrill of it. Not a very uplifting theme.

MR. WOODCOCK, rated PG-13, general release

This film proves once again that the hardest thing to write is a comedy. Mr. Woodcock has some funny moments and a few good laughs, but in between there is very little to write home about and in the end, it is easily forgotten.

Billy Bob Thornton plays a bully high school coach, Seann William Scott plays his victim as a boy and again as a young man trying to keep Woodcock away from his mother (Susan Sarandon.) It is a thin plot to be sure.

To make matters worse, in the end, the writers decide to endorse the coach’s abusive approach by telling us it makes his students better and stronger persons. Don’t believe it for a minute.

MUMMY, THE: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR, Rated PG-13, general release

Rick and Evelyn O’Connell (Brendan Fraser and Maria Bello) travel to Shanghai on a mission regarding the resurrection of a 2,000-year-old evil emperor (Jet Li). While there they discover their college dropout son, Alex (a bland Luke Ford) is also on the case. The film has some wonderful effects. Commuter images are used to create a huge battalion of skeleton-like Chinese soldiers which are fascinating to watch. Equally, I was much taken with the cleverness of uncovering a large troop of Chinese soldiers frozen in place where they were buried underground. They are given life and come marching up and out to once again serve the emperor. They are made to look exactly like the Terracotta Army: buried warriors of Shi Huang Di, the First Emperor of China, 210 BC, which were discovered in 1974 by farmers near Xi’an, Shaanxi province. I had the pleasure of visiting that site and marveling at the preservation of men, horses, and chariots. Seeing them come to life on the screen was amazing and very imaginative. Aside from the wonderful effects, director Rob Cohen engages in overkill when it comes to battles, car chases, and hand-to-hand combat, not to mention fireworks explosions, a cadre of snowy yetis and an avalanche. Those scenes are excessively prolonged and the sound effects and music accompanying them are deafening. It is as if Cohen decided to top every battle and chase sequence ever made, or that he fears he will never make such a movie again and puts into this film everything he might have used for decades to come. It is wearying and so overdone that one cannot appreciate what he has brought to the screen. In addition, it all runs by too fast to actually watch it. If you are a kid who is seeing this adventure scenario for the first time, it is a Saturday afternoon treat. But this is my third installment (feels more like 30th) and I was not enchanted. The dialog is pedestrian, the attempts at humor weak, and story not at all believable. It is too noisy to sleep through and has just enough visual intrigue to keep you seated and not going to get your money back.

MUSIC AND LYRICS, rated PG-13, general release

Do you like Hugh Grant? Do you like Drew Barrymore? If the answer is yes, leave now and get yourself to a movie theatre! This is one of the most delightful films I have seen in a long time.

Grant plays a has-been British pop start named Alex Fletcher and he is as delicious as he can possibly be. So much is this the case that during the opening titles (which I always read religiously), my attention was simply riveted on Grant performing as a pop star. I could barely take my eyes off him for the remaining two hours. He is absolutely endearing. But then, so is Ms. Barrymore as the lyricist with whom he falls in love. They are terrific together. And, by golly, Grant sings beautifully!

I don’t so much find Grant sexy as I feel him to be lovable. He is a manly man with whom one can snuggle and be comfortable. He has nothing to prove. He is who he is.

The main trouble with this film is that it ends.

MY BEST FRIEND, rated PG-13, art theatre release

Poor Francois is very successful but alas he hasn’t got a single friend, nor does he know how to get one.

Played with aplomb by Daniel Auteuil, we experience his isolation and desperation and delight in his bungling attempts. Bruno, the taxi driver, enters his life and they both learn a lot from each other.

The film is wonderfully French, bittersweet, both funny and touching. I can hardly resist such a tale. See what you think.

By the way, I am glad Francois doesn’t live in the Phoenix valley. It is harder to make friends here than in Paris! It is a universal experience here and there doesn’t seem to be an explanation for it. Are we unique or is it the same where you live?

MY BLUEBERRY NIGHTS, Rated PG-13, general release

It takes effort to create a film that is different in style, story and texture from most others. My Blueberry Nights hits the mark by slowing down the pace, allowing us to linger with the characters, blurring the images ever so slightly so that scenes of the ordinary look like paintings, and awakening our senses at every opportunity. Much of the action takes place in a little neighborhood restaurant in New York City. The characters come from needy places and seek resolution of relationships and there is enough time spent with each of them that we care about them. Those characters are beautifully played by Natalie Portman, Rachel Weisz , and Jude Law. The film has a poetic and metaphorical overtone but each of the dilemmas is substantive. We drift in and out of moods and colors, and in the end, we are pleased we endured.

MY FATHER MY LORD, art theatre release

Made in Israel, this powerful film painfully portrays the consequences that can accompany fundamentalism, in this case an ultra-Orthodox rabbi.

Abraham (Assi Dayan, Moshe Dayan is his birth father) prays and studies night and day, while his angelic wife Esther (Sharon Hacohen Bar) tends to their home and cares for their beloved son, Menachem (Ilan Griff) who, while adoring his father, rebels, as any child would, whenever he gets the chance.

The film is so beautifully put together, the story so concisely told, that we cannot help but experience what it would be like to live these lives and to be constrained by these parameters. The filmmaker, David Volach, grew up in a Hasidic community, so he knows very well its ways and its confines.

Menachem is a sensitive child who loves people, animals, and nature. His father lives by the letter of the law, the Torah. It is the foundation of his life. It is his joy. There can be no deviation from his beliefs or, more important, from his literal interpretation of those beliefs. This becomes a fatal flaw. And it is a lesson for any who live in rigid literalism.

Abraham teaches his son “God doesn’t watch over those who don’t observe the Torah.” When he makes this statement, as you sit in the audience, you feel struck by lightning or violently cast out from the human family, if you don’t observe the Torah. But you are also instantly aware that if Abraham was a fundamentalist of another stripe, because of your non-belief you would burn in hell, or suffer the imprisonment of unconsciousness because you refused to observe what might guide you to enlightenment.

There is no room in Abraham for universal interpretation of the black and white of the text in front of his eyes. When Menachem asks if good dogs go to heaven, he is told that animals have no wills, no souls, no commandments.

Abraham digs up an obscure commandment when he shoos a mother bird from her nest because “we do everything in the Torah without asking why.” But without asking we can never know the larger meaning, the spiritual dimension, the parable being taught.

Abraham tears up a postcard of African tribesmen that Menachem brings home from school because it represents practicing idolatry.

Event after event combine to make us wonder how this inquisitive young boy could continue to adore his father, let alone his religion.

The scenes between Abraham and Esther have very little dialog but there is passion in every small glance – the passion of commitment as well as disagreement. The acting is profoundly powerful.

Together they face a parental horror which tests their marriage and their faith. The answers to the questions raised are not easily found and we in the audience are taken into their bottomless anguish.

This is a film not to be missed.

 NAMESAKE, THE, rated PG-13, art theatre release

 My only hesitation in going to see this film was that I didn’t want to be enticed to return to Mother India for another visit. We have already been there four times and taken about 150 people with us on Journeys Into Self there. India is powerful and touching, and so is this film.

 This beautiful movie captures what entices me: Indian culture is lush, sensuous, brightly colored, crowded with life and sound and impressive sights. One can never be lonely in India for one is never alone.

 The story is about moving between two worlds, Calcutta and New York City. While both are bustling, one is warm and embracing with a towering human spirit while the other is cold with edifices looming over miniature people rushing about in a hurry to nowhere.

 The characters struggle with their new life and the longing to reconnect with their roots, but their children, born in the United States, are conspicuously modern and committed to their loud and irreverent culture. The unfolding story deals with conflicts, love, loss, and personal growth. A most important theme is connection in the present to all that transpired in the past and how  important it is to remember what was in order to be more whole today.

 We get to experience family solidarity, struggle, tolerance, and devotion as the two generations move through life circumstances and stay connected even as they move apart.

 I especially loved the scene when the family visits the Taj Mahal and each of them is overwhelmed with awe and wonder. The Taj has never failed to affect me in that way and I would hope that you would promise yourself a trip to India if you have never been there. It is a life experience like no other. Whether you go or not, do see this film. 

NANCY DREW, rated PG, General Release

I have often heard it said that the book was better than the movie. This is certainly the case here. I grew up reading Nancy Drew books and loving every one. There was suspense and excitement, and a delight in the precociousness of this teenage girl who could intuit so much and stay with something long enough to solve it.

The best I can say about this film is that it is harmless, bland, friendly, and sometimes sleep producing. Emma Roberts is a fresh face and perky, but she seems to lack the intuition and clear seeing that is required to play Nancy.

The books were plot driven, intricate, and attention grabbing. This version is more character focused -- not only the character of Nancy but a collection of cute, often annoying stock-types.

The original Nancy Drew did her sleuthing from the inside out and followed clues that were not obvious to us or to her. The stories took place before CSI and DNA and Google. The cases required fortitude and leg work. While trying to insert an old time flavor, this film is full of the electronics of today, to its detriment. The investigations here were clever rather than dogged and in that we were all robbed.

It seems to send a message to today’s kids that it is A-ok to let the gadgets and phones and calculators and little screen texts do the work for you. It does not salute determination and innate intelligence and the excitement of discovery through stretching beyond one's limits.

The film is clean in its language and has no sex but from my point of view, it has no inspiration for young people either.

NANNY DIARIES, THE, rated PG-13, general release

A friend who read the book told me this was a hilarious story about life on the wealthy Upper East Side of NY, with many touching moments and some wonderfully complex characters.

Converted to the big screen, there are laughs and some touching moments but the downfall is that the characters are one dimensional rather than complex and seem like cardboard cutouts rather than multifaceted human beings with flaws and assets.

Laura Linney plays Mrs. X, the Park Avenue Socialite who is all but abandoned by her creep wealthy husband (Paul Giamatti). She attempts to evoke pity in us but it is too little too late. Her husband’s character has not one single saving grace. It is impossible to believe they stay married to each other, no matter how much money is involved.

Then we have the nanny (Scarlett Johansson), a drooping college graduate from NJ who never attended class when they handed out self-esteem. The nanny takes crap from everyone, including the spoiled little boy who makes an unexplained, rapid-fire turnaround from wild animal to tender, needy child.

Nanny is glum, Mr. X is despicable, Mrs. X is tight as a facelift – you get the picture. At least the mother of the nanny has enough human qualities and depth to hold our interest. She is well-played by Donna Murphy.

There are some interesting moments during “group therapy sessions” for mothers who have to tolerate the nannies of their children. But here again all the women are painted with the same brush. Life is about nuances; this film isn’t.

If it was supposed to be a comedy, that escaped me. I left the film

NATIONAL TREASURE, rated PG, general release

Adventure films do very well and this is no exception. There is danger, excitement, a fanciful take on so –called mysteries in American History, treasure hunt, humor, and an always likeable Nicolas Cage. None of us believe for a moment in the veracity of the search but we delight in the unfolding story and don’t even long for the deeper meaning alluded to in its predecessor, The Da Vinci Code. Though not memorable, it is a fun way to spend an afternoon.

NATIVITY STORY THE, rated PG, general release

A. O. SCOTT’s review in the New York Times begins “Directed by Catherine Hardwicke from a script by Mike Rich, “The Nativity Story” sticks to the familiar details of the narrative and dramatizes them with sincerity and good taste. There are no flights of actorly or cinematic bravura — though all of the performances are credible, and some better than that — and very few big, showy, epic gestures. Rather than trying to reinterpret or modernize a well-known, cherished story, the filmmakers have rendered it with a quiet, unassuming professionalism.”

I suppose I could find a way to agree, but what he praises is precisely what I found lacking. Not that I wanted it to be more “actorly” or showy, but I did want it to be true to what the experience of awakening to the Christ force is, and it wasn’t.

The Nativity, the birth of the Christ, is a story much older than Jesus and the Christian version. It is an ancient tale, a symbolic account, of what it is to align with and embody the Divine; to experience oneness with the Creator.

Awakening to the universal, non-denominational, Christ force is unmistakable, forever life-changing, thrilling, ecstatic, and yes, the greatest story ever told.

Alas, this Nativity story is more like the dullest story ever told. The actors were, for the most part, expressionless, and the appearance of an angel was treated like a friend dropping in for coffee. While Hardwicke may have been trying to avoid hype, she managed instead to portray everything in a single, low key, one note style.

I woke up the next morning remembering the film in black and white even though it had been shot in color.

Hardwicke did manage to have her leading Jewish characters have darker skin and dark hair, but the baby Jesus was not dark of skin.

There was nothing offensive in the telling of this Nativity Story, save that it was drab, unexciting, and uninspiring. And, while it was not woeful, it was entirely too “tableauful.”

It may be virtuous to aim for a realistic account of the birth of the Christ (force), but if you play down to the ordinary what is extraordinary and truly life-changing, you might as well do a film about the birth of puppies.

NEXT, rated PG-13, general release

The critics resoundingly disliked this film about a man who can see two minutes into his future. They called it crummy, silly, and dopey, among other things. It wasn’t a great movie but I wouldn’t call it any of the above. I happen to like Cage and I liked him in this. I can’t say the same for Julianna Moore as an FBI agent who is so limited in her facial expression as to seem paralyzed (more so than how most FBI are portrayed.) Jessica Biel plays the lovely, seductive young woman who turns life into magic for Cage’s character.

The screen play is said to be based on a story by science-fiction writer Philip K. Dick but his story was about god-like mutants who see enough into the future to evade capture. The only resemblance to this in NEXT is that there are very interesting scenes in which Cage is able to duck blows and bullets he knows will be coming. A fascinating scene has his character not only bi-locating but multi-locating, though this was never introduced to us as one the character’s talents. It seemed like a wonderful after-thought. For those of us who are spiritually awakened and savvy, we know very well that this it is possible to create this reality; we have only to learn how. The Tibetan Masters did it easily long before the rest of us even knew it could be done.

It is not the best action film I have seen, but it is certainly not the worst. The techniques of seeing into the future and producing helpful versions of self, add elements that detract from the prevailing violence and give us food for thought.

NICK & NORAH’S INFINITE PLAYLIST, Rated PG-13, general release

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this capturing of youth and music in today’s world. Nick (Michael Cera) is both shy and sweet, even serious, as a high school student who has been dumped by his girl friend but doesn’t take long to recover when Norah (Kat Dennings) enters his life. They share a passion for popular music which can express their feelings much more easily than they can.

I found the film charming and therefore different from some recent teen comedies which are big on gross behavior and overstatement. And the dialog has an intelligent ring to it! These are teens with substance.

Nick’s fellow band members are gay. While references are made, gay and straight are fully integrated into normal friendship devoid of angst. Everyone is tolerant and caring. The teens are casual about sex and candid in expressing their views. The whole thing feels like a celebration of teenage trials and triumphs, and the last days of innocence. Director Peter Sollett moves the action along nicely and gives us the feeling that we are eavesdropping on life as it is unfolding.

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM, rated PG, general release

Ben Stiller is very funny in this imaginative fantasy about museum inhabitants coming to life each night. This could have been overly silly and overdone but for the most part (the exception being Mickey Rooney in his characterization of an old guard) it was just plain fun. There were many scenes with laugh out loud humor and wonderful visuals of tiny characters coming to life next to a life-size Stiller.

Part of the delight is unexpected visuals and happenings. I loved the clarity in Stiller’s face, his straight playing in relation to absurdities, and his bright eyes which seem to say, “Hey, this might be possible. “How do you know?”

NIGHTS IN RODANTHE, Rated PG-13, general release

Diane Lane and Richard Gere are wonderful together in this story of love. Oh, there is much to complain about here: contrivance, platitudes, somewhat stiff dialog, clichés, slow story movement, the works.

Nonetheless, the relationship that developed between Adrienne and Paul was earnest, filled with self-questioning struggle, and soft. I enjoyed hanging out with them. I suspected that their love story would have an unhappy ending but I didn’t care. I liked them. I wanted them to be happy.

The theme was clear: we have what we have when we have it, whether for a day or a life time. And what we have, no one can take away.

I haven’t cried in a film in a long time. I did in this one. It was the sweet tears of being touched in heart. The critics didn’t like this film. I guess they weren’t touched

NIM’S ISLAND, rated PG-13, general release

I enjoyed this sweet, light-weight tale of a father (Gerard Butler) and child (Abigail Breslin) living on a small island in the South Pacific all by themselves except for the creatures whom they befriend. He is a scientist studying plankton and she occupies herself with the animals and the reading of adventure stories, especially by author Alex Rover (played by Jodie Foster). The three characters come together as a result of potentially sad and troubling circumstances but we never really have a question that all will end happily ever after. The behavior of Rover and also a shipload of tourists who happen their way onto the island is exaggerated and the father and daughter's living arrangement is whimsical but it all plays out like a typical fairy tale that leaps off the pages of a book. This is a film the whole family can enjoy together

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN, rated R, art theatre release

On Monday I enjoyed Javier Bardem as Florentino, the sweet, gentle, unassuming, love sick hero in Love in the Time of Cholera. On Tuesday he was on the screen again, this time as a sociopathic serial killer who had little space in his heart or agenda for sympathy. The contrast in the roles was extraordinary and he played this despicable character equally as well.

Based on a Cormac McCarthy novel, No Country for Old Men is violent, bloody, dark and unsettling. Bardem plays Anton Chigurh, a man so cold and relentless it is hard to imagine blood running in his veins. He is one hundred percent frightening in his calm, determined demeanor.

Joel and Ethan Coen wrote and directed this little masterpiece. This is Fargo soaked in blood. But the setting is empty, dull Texas where the landscape never moves and the people are so slow in their own movement and speech, and so low in their life force, they do little to disturb their flat, empty, parched environment.

The film unfolds ever so slowly, taunting us, making us steel our eyes and hold our breath. The killings come frequently, jolting us every time. But our responses have also been slowed and we are fixated on the screen, mouth open with wonder over how this tale is unfolding.

The characters are beautifully played by Bardem the killer, Josh Brolin the welder who finds the killer’s drug money, and Tommy Lee Jones the sheriff who seeks righteousness, each fully embodying uniqueness and making us squirm in our seats. Each takes the screen alone and dominates, yet each clearly exists in an inseparable triangle with the other two. Who will survive? And, how? Because they appear separately we don’t ever have the old favorite western standoff. What we have instead are the raw, exposed wits of three devoted to their ends.

I don’t like blood and gore but I do appreciate something different, and well done, and riveting. This film is it – in the music, in the settings, in the human exchanges or lack thereof, in the suspense, and in the head-shaking disbelief which we experience repeatedly. For that, I recommend this (for adults).

NO END IN SIGHT, art theatre release

SEE THIS FILM. It urges us to hear the truth, to wake up, and to demand in the name of all that is rational that the U.S. not only find a way through and out of our war in Iraq but that we stand up and hold the war mongers in our government responsible for their actions. Charles Ferguson (Brookings Institution scholar and PhD in political science) has directed and produced this clear indictment of U.S. actions in Iraq. It is NOT a Michael Moore approach with put-downs of the President. It is a powerful statement of facts and truth. So powerful, it leaves us outraged, angry, and squirming in our seats looking for how, as American citizens, we can bring the culprits to justice and the nation to its feet to demand change.

NO RESERVATIONS, rated PG, general release

I enjoyed this film very much. It unfolds in a relaxed manner with characters changing as the film progresses. There is humor, struggle, hope, and love. Catherine Zeta-Jones and Aaron Eckhart are very easy to spend time with and Abigail Breslin is quite believable in her pre-teenage role.

It is interesting to watch how a strong, perfectionist woman chef can loosen her guard to allow an equally strong, sure of himself male chef into her life. And it is wonderful to see how the two of them, in the midst of their own struggle, can make room for the nine-year-old orphan-niece who has large needs of her own.

The story unfolds with honesty and without being overly sentimental. When it ends, you realize you could have visited with these characters even longer with no problem at all.

From an acting point of view, I must add that while the young Breslin is a fine actor who does an admirable job of handling a very significant role, I was aware that she is a notch below Dakota Fanning whose talent as a child is in a class akin to Meryl Streep. I mention this because of how rare it is to have actors who are so present, so keen in their listening, and so responsive in the moment. And on top of that, there is a special something that has no name or label, but when you experience it, you know it, and you know you have been touched in a deep place.

NOBEL SON, Rated R, general release

Many years ago we took a tour group to London. We had just checked in after our trans-Atlantic flight and were in hot showers or baths when a floor maid came running down the hall shouting with full English accent, “Save yourself! Save yourself!” There was a fire in the hotel and we were being called to evacuate. One of our tour members ran into the hall naked. When the maid shouting “Save yourself” saw her, she changed her tune to “GO BACK! GO BACK!” Better to be burned than to be seen naked, I guess. We have laughed about it for years.

I bring you this story now to tell you, whether you are clothed or naked, please SAVE YOURSELF from seeing this movie!!!

It is poorly written, aggressively directed, and difficult to follow. It jumps all over the place and feels like an assault on your senses. The characters are mainly unlikeable and it is violent, bloody, and in the main, distasteful. The story is about kidnapping, philandering, using people, chopping off thumbs, etc.

Alan Rickman as the Nobel Prize winner surely waited his entire career for a starring role in a film. Then he ended up with this mangled movie. I feel sorry for him.

The film is tedious, irritating, unsettling, and mostly irredeemable.

Randall Miller (who also directed) and Jody Savin wrote (?) this, and the amazing thing is that they raised the money to produce it! As for all of you out there, all I can say is SAVE YOURSELF.

NOTES ON A SCANDAL, rated R, art theatre release

This is a powerful, unrelenting, human drama unfolding before our eyes and holding us in a stifling grip that never releases. Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett are riveting as they interact and struggle with one another. They are mirror images of the hazards of desire, though played out very differently. But both desires are of need, and lust, and relate to non-fulfillment.

The direction by Richard Eyre who ran the National Theater in London, is tight and flawless. As the story unfolds, we quickly see the dangers of living in a private world that bears no resemblance to reality, and we know it can only lead to disaster. Then too, we see the hazardous results of choosing to step into the fire of desire and immorality. And, we learn, as if we didn't know, that friendship can never be born of manipulation.

The film is filled with sex and sorrow, with heart-wrenching moments of yearning, and with falsehoods and confessions. The characters are trapped and the admonition to all of us is, beware of hidden, self-serving motivations that can thrust us into a fast moving downward life slide.

NUMBER 23, THE, rated R, general release

Since I like stories like this, I decided to ignore the poor reviews and go anyway. In the past, I have especially enjoyed Jim Carrey in his previous serious roles, so I didn’t hesitate to attend this one. Alas, I have to tell you, don’t bother.

The story is overly complex, not just a story within a story, but a story within a story within a story within a story. Yikes! After a while I just shook my head and didn’t care who or what was what. It is a story about obsession with the number 23. What we really see is how we can make anything mean what we want it to mean. Nothing really means anything but, oh boy, can we convince ourselves it does.

O JERUSALEM, rated R, general release

There is much sorrow in the world over the situation between the Israelis and the Palestinians, sorrow and earnest hope that these people from a single lineage can find their way to live together in peace and in equality.

This film shows us both sides of the struggle through the personal friendship of two men but it does so through poor film-making. We are taken through a history lesson which plays out like chapter headings and dates. The film is grainy, jerky, and the dialog seems to be placed in the mouths of the characters in order that they relay the events and the reasons for them. The real “bad guys” turn out to be the British who imposed their will on the area, didn’t care about the people, and left chaos in their wake when they withdrew.

I left the theatre with renewed heartache over the plight of both sides but my feelings were more of a reawakening of what rests heavy on my consciousness rather than my having entered the heartache portrayed on the screen.

If you don’t know the history, it might be worth attending this film.

OCEAN’S THIRTEEN, RATED PG-13, GENERAL RELEASE

It doesn’t get much better than this! Last week I was disturbed by the inane men in Knocked Up (even though that was a big part of the film’s charm). After seeing Ocean’s Thirteen, my delight in MEN was completely restored. I loved every one of them and wished the saga could have gone on for many more hours. I would never have tired of them.

These guys, these suave, stylish, boyish, sexy, cool, wicked, delicious men, are a pleasure to hang out with under any circumstances. We are talking about Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Al Pacino, Don Cheadle, Andy Garcia, Carl Reiner, and Bernie Mac, to name a few. And on top of the heap, is my favorite, the man who evokes endless swoon, George Clooney, with the dark bedroom eyes, the long lashes, the grey hair at the temples. Give me a break! Can anyone explain the inequity that men grow more handsome and desirable the older they get? And women, well we all know about women. We look in the mirror and we know.

This is the very best of all the Ocean films. It is well written, quick and smart, light and lovely, a complete joyous romp from beginning to end. You laugh, you cheer, you try to be quiet so that you don’t miss anything.

The setting is Las Vegas writ large and the caper the guys pull off has you marveling in every moment. Talk about tackling problems that turn into opportunities! This is the top, the cream.

Don’t miss this; go now and see if you don’t wish life was more like this and that you too could hang with these irresistible hucksters

OFFSIDE, rated PG, art theatres

The trailer on this looked very interesting but the actual film was a big disappointment. It’s about young females pretending to be males in order to go to a World Cup soccer qualifying match in a stadium in Tehran. Women are forbidden to attend.

Jafar Panahi, deserves credit for exposing this restriction, but the story is weak and so repetitious as to be downright boring, and worst of all, the actors seem more like real people off the street than trained professionals. Real people in a tedious life situation can be downright dull, and these “actors” are.

The girls are rather lifeless. The soldiers are more interesting, but very low on energy. The only good thing here is that we clearly see they are all trapped in a no-win situation. They are all prisoners of the powers that be and their dictates. The girls try to break the rules while the soldiers struggle to keep them. But they are all so suppressed in their expressions that it is hard to care. At last, at the end, there is tension as the game draws to an end and there is cheering and celebrating with which we can all identify, but by then my response was little more than, oh well.

There was one interesting aspect to the film. The soldiers told the girls they were being barred from the game because there were thousands of men in the stands and they were bound to curse and carry on in ways to which no woman should be exposed. In addition, there was a scene of one girl being escorted to the restroom (for males only, of course.) The soldier battled any men who tried to enter while she was in there. And when he brought her in he told her she must cover her eyes so as not to read any of the graffiti on the wall.

Keeping the females out of the stadium and having them cover their eyes was a way of upholding their honor and actually reverencing them. I certainly had never thought of restrictions on women in Muslim countries in this way.

But this was not enough for me to recommend this film. Jafar Panahi is listed as the creator of the concept, the writer, the producer, and the director (among other assignments listed in the credits later.) Once again I see that when one person does it all the project is often short on perspective and, alas, limited to his own limited vision.

ONCE, rated R, art theatre release

What shall we call this? A musical? A musical with story? A story with music? One of those. It is very different from previous screen musicals because it is understated, involves few characters and few instruments, but it is all about making it in the music world.

Glen Hansard is very likeable as a singing guitarist who writes his own lyrics and music and sings on the streets of Dublin collecting coin contributions. He meets a Czech woman, played beautifully by Marketa Irglova, and sparks of attraction fly between them. But this is not just boy meets girl, this is boy in relationship with another girl and girl in relationship with another guy who bond in unique way.

The film is very low key, even slow moving, but it is poignant and innocent, while being both ordinary and rich.

The writer-director John Carney did well at Sundance with this. I read an interview with him in which he defined the difference between singing and acting in a way that sent bristles up my skin because I disagreed with how he spoke about actors.

“The main difference is that music is very honest and you sing about your feelings and about your experiences, true lyrics that you write. Whenever you’re onstage, you’re singing to people about your problems, which are very intimate. It’s kind of confession, almost.” So far so good.

But then he added, “When you’re acting, most of what you’re doing is pretending . . . you’re taking on a different personality and everything you say is in the spirit of the other personality. So it’s almost like being a good actor is like being a good liar.”

Mr. Carney has a lot to learn about the art of acting.

ORPHANAGE, THE, rated R, general release

An engrossing ghost story, this film is scary, if not creepy. It holds our attention as we inch our way toward how it will be resolved. It is a first feature film for Juan Antonio Bayona and he shows great skill as well as promise.

While the genre is “horror film” the story has depth because of the grief of the mother in search of her missing son. There are plenty of interesting twists and many shudders. While ultimately not memorable, the film strikes chords in us and has us satisfied when we leave the theatre.

Belen Rueda does a fine job as the mother and Geraldine Chaplin is intense and riveting.

If you like the genre, you will like the film.

OSS 117: CAIRO, NEST OF SPIES, not rated, special release

Jean Dujardin plays a dashing French version of agent 007 in this effective comedy about spies and counterspies. The film is a delightful spoof which is dry in humor, not as bloody as US made films, and a romp from start to finish. Agent 117 is charming, seductive, and resourceful. He laughs at most situations and schemes his way out of every trouble spot. While not as sharp in wit as the Get Smart series, it is very French and likable. In his looks, Dujardin is a mix of Sean Connery and Cary Grant, with very bright eyes and a winning smile. His energy as an actor is high and his personality is winning. I especially loved all the scenes in which he is eyed up and down by passing women who reveal their desires in their faces. It is a wonderful switch on how men look at women. It was entertaining but not extra-special.

OTHER BOLEYN GIRL, THE, rated PG-13, general release

Occasionally I am delightfully surprised during a movie outing. This was one of those occasions. The Other Boleyn Girl is beautifully done with intelligent dialogue, fine acting, beautiful settings, and exquisite costuming.

This is the story of feisty and demanding Anne Boleyn (Natalie Portman) and her sweet, loving sister Mary (Scarlett Johansson), both of whom vie for King Henry VIII’s (Eric Bana) affection and attention and to satisfy his quest to have a male heir for his throne. Sexual appetite, lust, and desire abound. It is balanced with tender love expressed by Mary and profound disappointment experienced by Henry’s wife Catherine, who cannot give him the son for whom he yearns and is simply cast aside.

A key thread is how the male family members of the Boleyn daughters, namely the father and uncle, treated the young women. The family needed money to pay off its debts and strongly desired a higher station in life. So the men simply demanded that the girls make themselves available for the King’s pleasure should he nod in their direction. Lest we think it was only women who were treated this way, the Boleyn son was also used and abused. It is shocking to watch the unfolding business deals which held little regard for the human lives involved.

The film strikes a loud chord so that for days after, the characters seem still be to in our vicinity. I highly recommend this.

OTHER CONQUEST, THE, art theatre release

This film is an excellent depiction of the destruction of the Aztec culture by gold greedy Hernando Cortes beginning in 1519. By 1526, the landscape of Mexico was strewn with savagely slaughtered bodies and completely destroyed temples. Too bad Montezuma thought Cortes might be the white God Quetzalcoatl. He welcomed Cortes and ended his culture and his people.

This epic deals with the metaphysical struggle to capture the souls and allegiance of the natives so that they will become Catholics and give up their Aztec deities. Cortes brought with him carved statues of the virgin mother and forced the indigenous people to bow down to her and pray to her. For the Spaniards there was no other God than that revealed by Christ. For the Aztec, as is true of native people all over the world, there are many to be worshiped and they could receive Christ as one such and weave him into their mythology. Hence, today, around the world, indigenous people honor a blend while retaining forever their heritage. They might surrender their bodies but never their spirits.

The Spaniards insisted that the Aztecs have complete respect for their religious icons and heroes but they had absolutely no regard for those Aztecs who came from Royal lineage. In this regard, the Spaniards reveal, repeatedly, their limited notions about God and the origin of human life. They seek to stamp out anything other and establish themselves and their religious beliefs as the one and only truth. From 1519 to the present day, what else is new?

The film is beautifully made and very engrossing.

OVER HER DEAD BODY, general release

Romantic comedies are difficult to write and this is even more the case when the lead character is a ghost named Kate (Eva Longoria Parker) who returns to stop her former fiancé Henry (Paul Rudd) from falling in love with psychic Ashley (Lake Bell). The action moves right along. Credit first time director Jeff Lowell for that. But his writing of the script is less satisfactory because in the midst of the antics there are sags and drags of story and dialog. Thankfully, there are also some very funny moments, the best of which include Jason Biggs playing Ashley’s work partner. Overall, the characters are likeable and the film is entertaining but it needed an outside eye to tell Mr. Lowell about the various scenes that just didn’t work. I’m not saying it is a bad movie. I actually liked it, except for those slow interludes when I began to think of things in my life rather than what was on the screen. We went to Strange Wilderness today and lasted only 13 minutes before getting our money back. That was a bad movie. Over Her Dead Body was a fun movie that could have been even better.

PAINTED VEIL, THE, art theatre release

In the early days of film, they were called moving pictures or motion pictures. The Painted Veil is precisely that, a series of pictures that move, an exquisite collection of images that you want to savor but you are not in a gallery, and the story that accompanies them needs to move along.

Based on a novel by W. Somerset Maugham written in 1925, this story unfolds in China and was made into an earlier film back in 1934. It is a tale of the absence of love, inability to love, adultery, lack of forgiveness, and redemption. Mostly, it is a story of non-fulfillment. Namoi Watts and Edward Norton are splendid.

The devastation born of a ravaging Cholera epidemic is juxtaposed with exquisite water scenes and with vistas of green fields so astounding as to cause the viewer to gasp.

The film has a feeling of a Merchant-Ivory production in time period, style, and tone. There is not so much fire and passion here as there is a subdued pain that longs for healing. There is intimacy and lack of same and it is all muted just as the mist mutes the juts of earth that reach for the China sky. We can't help but be involved; the story and the acting take us there.

PAN’S LABYRINTH, rated R, general release, Spanish, subtitled

This exquisite film is nominated for an Oscar that is well deserved. It is a grand mix of fable, fairy tale, and politics. The setting is 1944, a time when Spain was run by a fascist regime and the so-called Reds were revolutionaries devoted to saving their country. In fact, it is all of the above brilliantly interlaced and spellbinding.

The story bounces back and forth between iron-handed suppressors of freedom and individuality, and an 11-year old girl who believes in the world of magical lands and fairies. She finds it in the “underworld” of a garden maze near the forest enclave of her cruel step-father who is a military captain enamored of inflicting pain. This is the setup of the extremes of the two worlds.

In the magical, anything is possible, while in the “real” world of fascist domination, everything is restricted and any individual thought or hope is stifled. There are scenes which made me shutter; hence I am not sure it is a film for children unless there is significant discussion afterward. Then it would be a wonderful learning experience.

The characters in the child’s world are extremely fanciful in style and size, and magnificently constructed. They possess extraordinary power and their achievements are awesome. They are contrasted with Franco’s army which has faux power achieved through brutal domination over others. In this fairy tale, very few live happily ever after.

The film awakens our senses, asking us to listen carefully to what those in power are saying and to observe what they are doing. In one eye-opening scene, the populace is paraded in front of the military which is handing out bread and propaganda in a loud, repetitive chanting which seeks to indoctrinate. What is being said is a lie but it is drummed into the residents as a truth they must follow. It is a blatant example of how fascists, and in fact any who aspire to have their will dominate, say the same things over and over, never listen to the will of the people, and pursue their policies as if they were tanks rolling over the people they govern.

The film is written and directed by Guillermo Del Toro. I cannot recommend it too highly.

PARIS, JE T’AIME, Art Theatre Release,

If you love Paris, you will probably enjoy this. It is not a travelogue but rather a series of relational pieces, each of five minutes duration, by different directors, 18 in all. After a while it felt more like 30 but I think that is because the audience has to work very hard to move from snippet to snippet, jump into an entirely new story, meet new characters, and hardly have a chance to be with them before they are done.

The experience is akin to reading eighteen short stores in one quick sitting and not being able to remember much of any of them. However, it is entertaining and when various well-known actors start appearing, your interest is stirred.

Some of the episodes are better than others. The best part was how quickly we could get into a story and how much could be revealed in five minutes. It is an unusual idea and worthy of the effort.

PENELOPE, rated PG, general release

Penelope is a wealthy young woman suffering under an ancient family curse. She has the nose and ears of a pig. The curse can be lifted only if she is accepted by "one of her own kind." The family interprets this to mean that she must marry a young man of equal social status. As you can imagine, eligible suitors flee when they lay eyes on her. Christina Ricci does a good job of playing the stricken girl who may look somewhat grotesque but who is bright and spirited nonetheless.

As with any Cinderella-type story, there is a prince (James McAvoy) and a happy ending. It is a lovely movie for tween-age girls who may be too concerned about their looks and conformity. It is what is under the surface that really counts.

In one sequence, after Penelope is “outed” and becomes a media sensation, thousands of teens try in every way to look like her! I loved the making of this point. No matter how unseemly, if others are doing it and using it to gain stature, girls everywhere jump on the bandwagon to gain the notoriety that comes of being a copycat. May we all be saved from faddism!

The delightful twist in this fairy tale is that Penelope is freed from the curse when she accepts herself just as she is. She turns out to be "one of her own kind" herself! Isn't that a truth waiting to be discovered by us all?

PERFECT STRANGER, rated R, general release

I love thrillers. I love unexpected twists. I love to be surprised. Ha, Ha, you know a BUT is coming, don’t you? But, I don’t like to be jerked around. There are enough red herrings here to open a fish store, and by the time you get to the end, you feel cheated, duped, and manipulated.

Sometimes, as with The Sixth Sense, I go back again to see how they got to the ending that so blew me away, In this case, there was no desire for that because I came in good faith, hung in there with what is certainly an involving and interesting story, and then found myself irritated, rather than intrigued, by the ending which had credulity dangling in the wind.

There is a lot of good stuff here: corporate matriarchy, high-tech spying, chat rooms, sex and flirtation, and characters with hidden pasts. Enough to hold my attention but with so few grains of reality that it amounts to a small sandbox rather than a beach!

The film stars Halle Berry as an investigative reporter. She is, of course, beautiful to look at, but I’ve seen her do better acting than this. She seemed to try too hard, acting the character rather than embodying it. Bruce Willis was the giant corporate head (in more ways than one) and I did enjoy his very smooth come-on performance, though he achieved it mostly by narrowing his eyes and drilling the other characters with his intense gaze.

Then there is Giovanni Ribisi playing a computer dude who is both a genius and a very slimy, weird sex fiend.

The film had strong possibilities for success but the writer outdid himself with one (or two or three) too many convolutions.

PERFUME: The Story of a Murderer, rated R, art houses

This is the story of fictional character Jean-Baptiste Grenouille who, because of his abnormally heightened sense of smell, is obsessed with his quest for producing a scent that evokes Heaven, the Angels, and the Divine; obsessed to the point of serial murder.

Ben Whishaw, new to me, underplays Grenouille very well. His is remarkably expressive while being non-expressive. However, he remains, throughout, a rather unlikable character because his taking of human life is without emotion and secondary to the amoral execution of his task.

The action occurs in the 1700’s in Paris and other French locations and Tom Tywker, the writer-director, captures the crowded, dark conditions of the time period. The tale is imaginative and held my interest but not without it feeling weird and unbelievable. To his credit, Tywker does not employ gratuitous violence; he does not force us to witness the numerous murders. Instead we see why Grenouille needed to kill the various women for the ingredients for his perfume.

I hesitate to suggest this film for your movie-going list, certainly not for your film pleasure. However, Dustin Hoffman and Alan Rickman do an interesting turn and John Hurt is a fine narrator.

Here is something that interested me in particular. There is a scene, actually tastefully done, of hundreds of nude men and women making ecstatic love. While the men’s genitals are miraculously hidden from view, many women’s full bodies are revealed to us. The women’s bodies are beautiful, to be sure, with, however, one glaring flaw. The women all have bikini waxed pubic hair. This caught my attention because the story took place in the 1700’s!!!!! As we all know, this distortion of female pubic hair did not take place until recent times when bathing suit designers (men who may be serious women-haters) came up with the unkindest cut of all, lifting suits high into the crotch to call attention there.

I checked the age of the director and sure enough he is in his 30’s and has probably never seen a normal crop of pubic hair on a woman. Hence, he didn’t notice that the naked women in his film were 300 years ahead of their time.

Now that I think of it, perhaps there are no young female actors around who haven’t been waxed

PERSEPOLIS, Rated PG-13, art theatre release

This is a very unusual animated film, done mostly in black and white with color appearing only when the characters are outside the country of Iran where the film takes place. This is highly symbolic because it conveys clearly that fanatics see the world only in terms of black and white and make room for nothing in between.

The story is about a young girl growing up alongside the unfolding history of Iran’s political life. There is humor, warmth, and radicalism, and all is done poetically and with great strength. It speaks to the rebel in each of us and urges us to stand up to religious zealots who would have us all become clones of each other. The grandmother of the young girl encourages self-confidence in her and sends her forth to stand in her wholeness and live her life being true only to herself and her inner knowing.

The dialogue is in French with English subtitles, but very soon you don’t even notice you are looking at subtitles because the graphics are so unique. I think you will find it provocative.

PINEAPPLE EXPRESS, Rated R, General Release

In the olden days, there was a lot of slapstick comedy around. It was ridiculous but we laughed anyway and even admired those like Abbott and Costello or Martin and Lewis who could pull it off. Hidden in the midst of outrageous visuals was some very clever dialog and surprising twists. These appealed to our intelligence and enabled us to tolerate the idiotic antics in which they were housed. Today we have less of the comedic brilliance and much more of the crass, foul-mouthed, visually offensive (for the purpose of shocking us into laughter), absolutely stupid, so-called comedy. I give this film a JPS rating for Just Plain Stupid. It’s not that this film isn’t funny. It is. I did laugh. But the humor is purely adolescent, male-slap-the-ass adolescent. I never even wanted to be a teenage boy (it was painful enough being a teenage girl) and now it seems that grossness has become the norm for what passes as humor. And it is getting worse with each passing film. This one adds the dimension of being stoned all the time and throws in ample doses of violence and profanity. My advice: Stay home and eat a pineapple. It will be a much sweeter experience than this movie about selling and using drugs. Seth Rogen stars in this film is one of the key writers. What a waste of what might be called talent.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: AT WORLD’S END, rated PG-13, general release

What’s not to like about the continuing swashbuckling Pirates saga?! There is endless trouble on the high seas, a big dose of laughter mixed with the ever expected fights of various kinds, a love-story (after a fashion), an ever ugly Davy Jones, a grumpy pirate lord played by Chow Yun-Fat, a voodoo priestess, and the always lovable and dear Johnny Depp as Capt. Jack Sparrow. He is a master at narcissism, an antihero, and he delights us with every swish of his arms. And, he appears for much longer time periods than in the previous version of Pirates.

There are terrific visual effects, an assortment of despicable characters, and elaborate makeup. It is not Shakespeare but it is as long as one of his tragedies, and because we love it all, we look at our watches occasionally but see it as getting our money's worth!

It was a special delight for me to see the film in Council Bluffs, Iowa on opening day. I was down in the third row looking up into a huge curved screen surrounded by parents and kids. At one point, I turned and looked behind me into the stadium seating of the full house. There was a sea of faces illumined by the action on the screen, all eyes glued, all attention fixed. It was movie time in the Midwest, with popcorn making its way from tub to mouth and straws slurping. Miles away in Iraq, in Darfur, in Gaza, and elsewhere, war and violence were raging and people were killing each other and dying. My spirits were heavy as I thought of them, especially our soldiers on this Memorial Day weekend. But as I looked into the faces of gladness held transfixed by the tall tale on the screen, I grabbed and held for a moment the innocence of yesteryear when I could buy an egg cream at the corner candy store or a malted at the drug store counter, when gas station attendants wore white uniforms and caps and filled our tanks (for under 50 cents a gallon), and kids could play in the streets and not be abducted.

I looked into all those faces and blessed everyone, knowing how very precious each and every life is.

PREVIOUS ENGAGEMENT, A, art theatre release

Julia (Juliet Stevenson) and Alex (Tcheky Karyo) had a passionate affair on the beach in Malta 25-years ago. When they parted, they made a date for a future meeting. We are party to the unfolding of that previous engagement.

This is a very interesting little film, especially when we get past its idiosyncrasies. Written and directed by Joan Carr-Wiggin, the film seems more like a play (and maybe it should have been) in its unfolding, its dialog, and its concentration on characters rather than the greater expanse of scenery. It does brush strokes rather than sweeps and the director likes to linger on faces, sometimes for too long.

Having said all that, there is a whole lot of delight here. Julia is past her prime but not her desire. She is married to Jack (Daniel Stern) who is in love with jigsaw puzzles (until he reinvents himself and his prowess). Julia’s daughters are spoiled rotten and view her as their cook and maid. No wonder Julia needs to awaken her groove by reuniting with French-accented Alex.

here are numerous hilarious scenes. Some of the funniest occur at a hotel desk where the humor is not so much in the dialog as in the wonderful deadpan reaction of the desk clerk who bears witness to the unfolding shenanigans. Alas, I couldn’t find the actor’s name, but he deserves much credit.

Also delightful is Valerie Mahaffey who plays the tourist who gets Jack’s hips moving again as he steps out on his wife. This is a farce, of course, and it could have been even more so had it been a play by Alan Ayckbourn or Neil Simon.

PRICELESS, Rated PG-13, special release, subtitled (but you will hardly notice.)

Gad Elmaleh is so delightful, “innocent” and enchanting we want to have him on the screen every moment. He and Audrey Tautou are fabulous together in a delicious tale of earnest love, sexual favors traded for luxurious living, and not being skilled enough to keep scams together. The plot may sound lightweight but the scenes are intricately woven and very funny. And, the scenery in Biarritz and Nice in Southern France is very easy on the eyes. Gad Elmaleh (so extraordinary in The Valet) is utterly charming and his timing is perfect. He plays a bartender who poses as a wealthy hotel guest to win a lovely young gold-digger and falls in and out of one mishap after another, including becoming the toy boy to a rich older woman. We go round and round with all the wonderful, individually drawn characters and we wish the relational merry-go-round would never stop turning. Do see this.

PRIDE, rated PG, general release

Call me a sucker for anything inspirational and this film is. It’s about the transformation of Philadelphia ghetto Black kids who are organized as an honest to goodness swim team by a coach who had really been sent to close down their dilapidated recreation center.

Terrence Howard plays the coach in an interesting way. He underplays rather than inundating us with hype and rah-rah. He is so low key and cool that he hardly seems to be acting at all, especially compared with the fabulous characters he has created in the last few years.

Bernie Mac turns in a reputable performance as the center’s maintenance man but Tom Arnold’s portrayal of the rival coach was too much of a caricature, or maybe it was written that way.

The story moves along and the audience gets easily involved because we really want to see this team win. We want to see these kids have a positive experience to set the stage for future accomplishment.

The film is based a true story and I, for one, can never get enough of films that take real life and put a smile on it.

PRIDE AND GLORY, Rated R, general release

We have seen this story before. It is all about police and their commitment to one another as they seek to serve and protect. In this version there are three in the same family, two brothers and a father. There is a lot of intense action and suspense as the characters try to stay clean and remain level-headed. Their inability to do so and ensuing family dynamics drive the story.

The film captures the ongoing sense of danger, the dark of the city, the world of crime, and the rough edges of the men who patrol the streets.

It is oddly entertaining, a lengthy version of many TV cop shows. The dialog is somewhat stilted and is too often interrupted by the f-word which is so prevalent that one loses track of the content. Jon Voight and Colin Farrell were interesting but it was Noah Emmerich who really got to shine in this film. He was the quiet force in the midst of all the shouting and his work was filled with nuance.

PROMOTION, THE, rated R, general release

John C. Reilly and Seann William Scott are wasted in this bland comedy about two employees of a supermarket chain who are vying for the same promotion. The blandness results from lack of contrast between the two men. They are both nice guys, both deserving and there is little conflict between them. Hence, the film is somewhat flat.
Often there is too much conflict and contrast in comedies making them exaggerated and predictable. Finding balance between the two approaches is what makes for a fine film.
The Promotion is harmless, even dull at times. Though I cringe in films loaded with slapstick, I can now see why so much of it is prevalent. It would have actually been welcome here. After a while I began to wonder why either man would want to devote his life to a non-descript store and a grim board of directors. The characters no doubt hope something exciting and good will happen for them if they get the promotion. We in the audience stayed because we also hoped something exciting and good would happen. Sigh. It didn’t.

You can skip this one.

P.S. I LOVE YOU, rated PG-13, general release

Anyone who has suffered the loss of a loved one and the grief that follows will easily resonate with this love story. While sad, it is not without humor, and it speaks, I think, to men and women alike. Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler play the volatile couple in a bittersweet marriage which turns more to the sweet after his death. He leaves a string of communications for his widow and we get to experience them with her as the story unfolds. One of the strong points of this film is that Holly is no wimp. She holds her own against her husband Gerry and the equality of their relationship, and the love that follows their arguments, is refreshing and augments the grief that follows because it is difficult for her to find an equal to replace him. What most of us learn in the grief process is that no one can be replaced, instead we create a whole new relationship if there is one in our future. The humor, and additional pathos, comes through Holly’s mother (Kathy Bates, always superb) and Lisa Kudrow and Gina Gershon as her faithful friends. You are likely to find yourself crying at the end of this because it is done very sensitively and it warms your heart.

PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS, THE, rated pg 13, general release

I liked this film very much; however, it was both inspiring and wearying. Based on the true story of Chris Gardner, a black man who struggles to keep himself and his small son from drowning in the deep waters of poverty in the Bay area of California, we suffer his trials and tribulations along with him. Gardner is beautifully played by Will Smith and his real life son plays his movie son.

While we are infused with Gardner’s optimism, it is hard to believe that anyone can keep up his pace as he seeks success without eating or sleeping, and he keeps his clothes neat and clean even as he and his son reside for a night on the floor of a subway restroom.

Gardner’s life is juxtaposed with those who have the comforts of life and don’t think twice about them. The head of the company where Gardner hopes to work borrows $5 from him for cab fare without ever conceiving that Gardner has only $6 in total assets.

I recommend this film to touch your heart, and as you do, perhaps to touch a stranger who has been dragged down by circumstance or bad choices but who might reopen to a flicker of light because you made the good choice to shine yourself in his or her direction.

QUANTUM OF SOLACE, Rated PG-13, general release

I am conservative 007 fan preferring the classical version of the super hero. It is the intelligence of the agent, his ultra good looks and sex appeal, his naughtiness, and most of all, his ability to use complex gadgets to get out of difficult situations that most appeals to me.

This version, with Daniel Craig as the one and only James Bond, has less of the intelligence and complex gadgetry and more of every kind of chase imaginable – car, boat, foot, and everything else that moves, and always accompanied by loud music. Yes, there is thrill in the speed of the action but too often in this film it is so fast you can’t tell what is happening or who is doing what.

The gizmos or technological wizardry are limited in this film. When it is present it is welcome and intriguing, particularly the global video surveillance.
This James Bond is more emotional than cool, more personally involved than idealistic.

The acting is quite good: Mathieu Amalric whose character is not the ecological champion he pretends to be, and Judi Dench as M, among others.
The overall mood is somewhat grim and menacing. Mr. Bond is more a tragic figure than a subtle dashing super hero.

And then there are more chases, more noisy chases.

It was an ok movie, big and splashy, and you might well enjoy it.

RACHEL GETTING MARRIED, Rated R, art theatre release

Welcome to the quintessential dysfunctional family: co-dependence, denial, addiction, rehab, and love so ill-given that it disrupts rather than heals.

Rachel (Rosemarie DeWitt in a powerful performance) is getting married but her sister (Anne Hathaway in a very different role played beautifully) is just out of rehab, with dark-rimmed eyes made so not so much with drugs as with guilt for what she did to her little brother many years before. Her hatred of herself is so strong it drags the energy of the wedding preparations toward her and her suffering, and practically magnetizes her father (Bill Irwin is brilliant in this role) to her side as he falls all over himself to make everything right in the family, if not the world. (Back in 1984, Irwin was the first recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship. In his work here we see how well deserved that award was.)

Jenny Lumet, Sidney Lumet’s daughter, has written a powerful screenplay and Jonathan Demme’s direction keeps us utterly engaged. There is a wonderful blend of sadness and exuberance, of despair and unshakable spirit. It helps that the various characters are multi-faceted.

The audience is pulled in many directions so that our attention is demanded and rewarded.

Debra Winger plays the mother, now married to someone else, and all her strength as an artist immediately fills the screen. She turns in a performance that is at once wrenching and restrained.

Do see this. It will touch you in all sorts of ways.

RAISING FLAGG, NR, general release

I enjoyed this little story about Flagg Purdy (Alan Arkin), a curmudgeon who easily alienates people but who, of course, has a sweet spot underneath waiting to be discovered.

Purdy acts on his principles, angers the people in his small town, and then retires to his bed preparing to die. Needless to say he is over-dramatic. But his antics bring home his children and grandchildren and we all get to experience farmhouse family life.

Barbara Dana does a lovely job as the longsuffering wife of Mr. Cantankerous and Austin Pendleton was quite believable as his estranged friend.

Director Neal Miller kept the action moving along and it was a satisfying slice of life (albeit not very exciting life).

RAMBO, FIRST BLOOD PART II, rated R, general release

I questioned whether or not I would want to see yet another Rambo movie but, surprisingly, this one was fairly interesting, if not intense. Sylvester Stallone creates his own reality, writing, directing and playing the lead role and he does it all quite well. In this tale he helps a group of church workers who seek to bring bibles and medical supplies to those in need in Burma. The action is fast, violent, and bloody. I have read much about ethnic cleansing and its horrors. This film depicts those violations of human beings, writ large. It is difficult to watch but it is even harder to realize that somewhere in the world this kind of slaughter is actually occurring. Rambo, of course, is the unstoppable hero, saving lives and making things right. Stallone is stone-faced but loveable, predictable but enjoyable. If you are drawn to action films, you will find this heavily engrossing.

RAPE OF EUROPA, THE, not rated, art theatre release

We live in an extraordinary age in which history can be captured and delivered through documentaries and fictional presentations that not only instruct but enable us to experience the events.

The Rape of Europa is one more powerful film dealing with Hitler’s regime and the havoc it managed to create all across Europe. This time the focus is on the Nazi pillaging of art, its recovery, and its return to its rightful owners.

One of the interesting points made here is that Adolph Hitler had another very active side of his personality which was the balance for his penchant for destruction. It was his passion for creativity, art, and architecture. He thought of himself as an artist and was, alas, rebuffed by an art school. He went into politics instead.

While he had no compunctions about leveling cities and towns, and destroying whole populations, he did care about preserving great art pieces and collecting them so that he could show them off after the war. Thanks to his “efforts” much of European art was saved.

The film also focuses on the Monuments Men, G.I.’s whose job it was to recover and return this art. They devoted themselves to the task and brought some balance to the horrors of that terrible war.

It was well worth our time and attention.

RATATOUILLE, rated G, general release

This is without question the best animated film I have ever seen. The visuals are spectacular, the facial expressions are brilliant, and the story is pure delight. On top of all this, wisdom is offered, unabashed, for adults and children alike. Writer/director Brad Bird is a creative and provocative filmmaking genius.

The story here is original and unique, thoughtful, unpredictable, and without clichés or dumbing things down for children. Instead, it invites children to lift up to remember the inner knowing with which they came into this life. It stirs adults in the same direction. But I have more hope for the children.

The lead character is Remy, a rat with the hope of a Jonathan Livingston Seagull. He seeks to rise above his garbage-eating species and attain his ambition to use his innate talent, great sense-acuity, to become a chef. He is as real a character as any we know in our own lives – endearing, demanding, annoying, impatient, focused, insecure, and unyielding.

In his imagination Remy conjures up personal conversations with his idol, the famous TV chef whom he first saw while stealing cheese at an old woman’s house. That TV chef clearly represents his inner voice of wisdom. He uses it in his struggles between following his family obligations and fulfilling his own dreams, his own potential. And we struggle with him, reminding ourselves of our own conflicts with our own families. There is a fabulous line where “the Chef” tells Remy, and this is a paraphrase, “They are your family; they don’t share your values.”

Many of the things I will “quote” won’t be exact because no one warned me to bring pencil and paper. You might want to.

Remy’s father tries hard to teach him to beware of humans; they are out to kill him. He takes him to a shop where rat poison and rat traps are sold. He tells him, “You can’t change it, it’s nature” (as we would say, you can’t change human nature.) Remy responds, “Change is nature.” He is so wonderfully ahead of the pack. He sees something larger and he chooses to live by it.

He flounders in doubt, when he is confronted by impossible situations, but “the Chef” voice in him urges him not to focus on what was. “If you look behind you, you can’t move forward. You can’t see what’s ahead.”

Remy depends on “the chef”, on the image of the chef appearing to him, until a wonderful scene when he defends himself saying, “I know who I am.” (I almost jumped onto the screen to embrace him.) “I know who I am. Why should I listen to a figment of my imagination? Why do I need you?” The chef replies, “You don’t.”

That is how simply and subtly a breakthrough in consciousness is depicted. It is incredibly powerful. And everything is handled that way. It is a tale of evolution, of coming up out of the group into conscious individuality. It is the hundredth monkey theory told through a rat. Maybe once one hundred rats move beyond eating garbage and running in packs, all rats will move to a next level of functioning, as Remy did.

Toward the end of the story, the food critic, most exquisitely voiced by Peter O’Toole, demands to know who is responsible for the astonishing meal he just consumed. He is told that they will tell him the truth and that it may sound insane. He replies that what is true sometimes is insane!

The film is presented in an integrated fashion so that we are never overwhelmed with the frantic chases through Paris or the chaos of an overworked restaurant kitchen. It never goes too far because there is always story and wonderful dialog interwoven. And the faces of the characters, both major and minor, steal your heart in an instant and demand your undivided attention.

I cannot recommend this film highly enough.

Later, I had only one concern. I thought of children living in rat-ridden ghettos. After seeing this film, they might be tempted to relate in a friendly, touchy-feely way to the rats that roam their apartments. It would not be safe for them to do so. Best would be to advise the child that while rats are in the process of evolving to be our friends, only Remy has done that so far and caution must be taken in relation to all the others. Love them but keep your distance.

REAPING, THE, rated R, general release

The reviews slashed this film but we went to see it because we like Hilary Swank’s work. (The critics gave this 1 star and gave Grind House 3 or more, but we will not be seeing that because it is not our cup of blood!)

What we have here is a by-the-book tale about the devil incarnate and the plagues the Bible describes in Exodus. I had my choice of dealing with the “hokeyness” of the story or the equal hokeyness of the Bible.

Yes, it is a horror movie, but one with a little substance in that Swank’s character, Katherine, is intelligent, sensitive, and aware.

Overall, we know we are going to be shocked into screaming, and true to the genre, we don’t know when that will happen. But it does and we do.

Faith, superstition, and science are all dealt with, making it a cut above horror films that simply seek to frighten, but you could skip this one. It leaves more questions unanswered than answered, opens the way for a sequel, and I could easily see what its scenario would be and how they would resolve it. If I can see that before the film is even written, perhaps they will find no need to make it.

REDBELT, Rated R, general release

I am a fan of martial arts films. I delight in the movement and most especially in the wisdom that is imparted by the masters or teachers of the art form.

Redbelt is a small movie (a B-movie) shot in humble settings. But it is written by David Mamet who adds grit to the dialog and focuses more on the struggle to live in the daily world than on the fight aspects.

Chiwetel Ejiofor does a lovely job of playing Mike Terry, a celebrated jujitsu teacher who has devoted his life to honor and principle. His financial worries lead him to fight in a competition even though he has vowed he never would.

The unfolding story is a mix of complications but there is enough wisdom shared and lived to keep us listening and watching. I especially loved the reminder to embrace or deflect what comes to me in life, but never to oppose.

REIGN OVER ME, rated R, general release

Here is a guy movie that touches the heart, unfolds friendship like a lotus, and mixes laughter and grief in a bowl of life that is equally bizarre and real. It is a post 9/11 story about Charlie (Adam Sandler) and Alan (Don Cheadle), both dentists, whose lives have changed significantly since they were college roommates. Alan is seeking to balance his life of family, work, and the itch for something more. Charlie has gone off the deep end having lost his wife and children on the airplane from Boston that crashed into the Trade Center tower.

One would have to be made stone to remain aloof during the playing out of Charlie’s poignant struggle to regain his equilibrium. Sandler is truly fine in this wrenching role and Cheadle meets him step for step as their two characters bond and move forward in both their lives.

There is lots of relief in this film in the form of humor and even laugh-out-loud scenes but none of it diminishes the reliving of the horror that happened on that fateful September day. I was abroad at the time, sitting on the edge of a hotel bed watching the endless replay of the planes hitting and the buildings bursting into flames. My immediate connection was with the people on board, having no idea what was about to come as they looked out windows and saw the towers closing in on them. That image and connection still lives in me. In this film, the image of his whole family crashing and being burned alive remains imprinted on Charlie’s consciousness. That image holds him captive in a nether world of torment.

The treatment of this profound issue never moves to sentimentality. It is raw. It is life. It is all presented beautifully and sensitively.

RELIGULOUS, Rated R, special release

In this film Bill Maher cites a survey indicating that 16 percent of American do not believe in any religion. He declares that religions are dangerous fairy tales and myths that are responsible for holy (?) wars and bloody purges. Nevertheless, he asserts, the majority of Americans live in religious irrationality and function by blind faith alone.

Those of us in the audience were clearly representative of the 16 percent because we guffawed our way through the hour and 41 minutes hoping it would never end. If you are a believer (in anything) go with a big sense of humor because this is minute after minute of absolute irreverence, a laugh a minute exposure of the absurdity of the religions of the book.

Mayer travels the world interviewing people of the cloth, of the collar, of the rag, of the skull cap. Many of them, such as the Roman Catholic priest in front of the Vatican laughingly call the fundamental teachings pure nonsense, never to be taken literally, but certainly a great comfort to the followers and believers. Organized religious beliefs are left in tatters as the audience roars with the wit of the blasphemy.

Mayer confronts evangelists (who earn big bucks selling faith) who assert that they must wear the finest clothes and jewelry because the followers want them to look as if they deserve these riches because of their beliefs. One reported that Jesus himself wore the finest linens (and no doubt the best crafted sandals of the day, and probably had his hair styled and sprayed.) Mayer didn’t need to make fun of these “preachers”, they did it all by themselves.

In a conversation with Senator Mark Pryor, Arkansas Democrat and fervent evangelical Christian who doesn’t believe in evolution, Mayer was told that Senators don’t have to take an IQ test in order to serve.

The film questions faith while Mayer advocates that we should practice doubt instead.  If, as a believer, you can sit lightly to this sacrilege, you will have a great time.

RENDITION, rated R, general release

This fictional film is meant to raise the hairs on the back of our necks and to send us into the streets in protest against what governments are doing with and to suspected terrorists. They are kidnapped, denied any rights, and tortured mercilessly to keep the world safe.

I saw this film as anti any government and any policy that uses any excuse to dramatically abuse human beings. The film also does a good job of being fair to all philosophical positions: those who see their actions as justified, those who are outraged, those who suffer, and those who are conscience-stricken about participating in water-boarding and beatings and psychological torment. And, they show us the position of the terrorists themselves and what leads to their becoming this horror that threatens the world.

This film is not for the faint of heart. It is bold and complex and demands that we not only look at political behavior but our own responsibility in allowing inhuman deeds to continue.

There are many fine performances including Reese Witherspoon who plays the wife an innocent Egyptian who is the victim of the US government. She enables us to feel what it would be like to have one of our loved ones snatched without a word, not to be seen or heard from, nor to have any idea what happened.

Omar Metwally is excellent as the husband and father who is grabbed, hooded, and tortured.

Meryl Streep embodies coldness and harshness as she wields CIA power over the victim she has decided is guilty and must confess.

Jake Gyllenhaal turns in a very different performance as a CIA operative who struggles with his government’s tactics even as and if it might destroy his career.

The film unfolds carefully and with great tension as we enter into the lives of the various players who represent precisely what is transpiring in the world today. We are immersed in the violence, the aftermath of an attack, the pursuit of the perpetrators, the fanatical cells in which the terror is planned, and the birth of new terrorists by the thousands.

Toward the end of the film, a gimmick is employed that is common is current film-making – a time warp – that was distracting and, I believe, very unnecessary. It pulled us out of our feelings and into figuring out what just happened and how everything hangs together. It was an unfortunate choice.

Despite this, the film calls us all to consciousness, to choice making. It makes us ask ourselves: what can I as an individual do about this. It certainly reminds us to be heard at the ballot box.

REPRISE, Rated R, art theatre release

The wonder of youth and dreams is delightfully displayed here. Restless young people full of ambition, earnestness, hope for future of themselves and the world, engage together in seriousness interspersed with carefree flights of fancy.

The characters are Norwegian but they could have been from anywhere and from any time. They are so classic they reminded me of my 20’s when I wore a cloak of idealism and knew I could save the world.

The story is told in the present, retreats to the past, and leaps into the future. All of it is beautifully told and it is easy to care about these friends as they care about each other. They suffer and they soar. And the audience is transported into their lives and their wishes.

I enjoyed their journey, and my return visit to the Greenwich Village of my own life when coffee was served with cinnamon sticks on wooden tables around which swirled philosophical conversation. We all knew everything then but that lasted such a short time!

RESERVATION ROAD, rated R, limited release

Based on the novel by John Burnham Schwartz (who shares screen writing credit), this thriller is a nail biter designed to put us in the shoes of the two main characters as they struggle with what life has brought them. The story is about a beautiful child who is killed in car accident, the parents who suffer his loss, and the suffering of the hit and run driver. The unfolding story evokes tears as we struggle with the characters and their trials. I heard myself saying aloud, “No, don’t do that” or “Please, confess.” I wanted so much for the agonizing to cease. Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Ruffalo, and Jennifer Connelly are particularly riveting. We are invited into the depth of their processes and we wonder what we would do. The story is about fear, grief that turns to wrath, and the desire for vengeance. The story is about men who cannot speak their deepest pain and what pain that causes them. I recommend this to you. Bring an open heart center and let your feelings flow.

RESCUE DAWN, rated PG-13, general release

This Vietnam-era P.O.W. film is beautifully done with terrific performances by Christian Bale as Navy airman Dieter Dengler, and Steve Zahn , Duane, the emaciated fellow captive. If you come to this film looking for a hero with a sunny personality who is both daring and ingenious, you will find one. Dieter, a German immigrant who survived the bombing in WW II comes to the US and falls head over heels for his new home. He wants to fly, he loves America and P.O.W. or not, nothing breaks him or his smile as he struggles to survive. If you come to this film with a bad taste lingering in your mouth from that-war-we-should-never-have-been-in, you will find justification for your despair. Early on, the commander swears his pilots to secrecy as they prepare to fly over and bomb Laos. (Oh, you know why, to protect the United States from the Communists who are taking over Vietnam and will next threaten us, so we have to stop them everywhere in the surrounding areas. Sound familiar?). The pilots are told this is our first mission there, but when Dieter ends up captive, at least one of his fellow prisoners has been held for over two years. We, the citizens of the United States, along with the rest of the world, were lied to. Why? The usual answer, because the government could (and because if we knew we would likely protest.) And let us remember, lest we engage in partisanship, this occurred during a Democratic Presidency, the beloved John F. Kennedy, and was followed by more lies during the Johnson administration. One begins to wonder about whether there are any differences between the lies told in free societies and the lies told in dictatorships. Dieter’s captors insist he sign a confession that he is a criminal and that the US is an imperialist invader. He refuses. We now know what unfolded over all those years when our soldiers would come home daily in body bags while the suits and ties at home proclaimed our progress and our need to be there day after day. In light of this, it seemed that Dieter was not being asked to sign a false document. I was surprised that he was aghast at his is terrible treatment at the hands of his captors. His mission, after all, which he carried out with gusto, was to bomb the hell out of the land and the people living there. Leaving politics aside, if that is possible, I could find only one reason to accept Dieter as a hero: for his efforts to save his fellow prisoners, even carrying Duane when he barely had strength to move himself. Both the prisoner and their captors were bound in untenable conditions; both were bored, depressed, and starving. It was interesting to watch that unfold and how it led to desperate actions. This is a powerful film written and directed by Werner Herzog. It leaves no doubt that human beings can survive just about everything through sheer will.

RESURRECTING THE CHAMP, rated PG-13, general release

I anticipated that this would be a touching story about a journalist (Josh Hartnett) who needs to add humanness to his stories, his sweet little boy who needs him to be a hero, and a faded boxer (Samuel L. Jackson) who now lives on the streets.

I wasn’t touched. Much of it had to do with the acting. Jackson was adequate but not electrifying. Hartnett, whose job it was to carry the film, exhibited a distinct lack of talent and almost no life force. He seems not able to transcend a scrunched brow, squinty eyes, and a forward reaching mouth and jaw. I grew tired of his face, handsome as it is, after the first few minutes.

Either because of the acting or the script, there were long intervals where the film sagged and you could sense, see, and feel the low hanging energy depression.

The scenes with Alan Alda as the boss and David Paymer as the editor were more engaging, but not enough to save this.

They may have resurrected the champ, but the film itself lifted its head only occasionally and in the end really lay on the mat for the full count.

RISE: BLOOD HUNTER, general release, rated R

I am not a fan of vampire movies. I rarely go to them. But, because I like Lucy Liu’s work I decided to try this, knowing I could leave before the first 30 minutes was up and get my money back. Oddly, I actually stayed to the end, or should I say, the bloody end.

The story is a cut above, a bite above, other such films. This one deals with the struggle of being a vampire and not wanting to be one. I found that part of the tale quite interesting. Vampires can’t commit suicide. It takes a special concoction from an alchemist to bring about their demise.

Sadie’s struggle with bloodlust is centered in her strong moral sense of right and wrong. That it is so difficult to die or to kill other vampires is a powerful reminder that none of us can kill our dark sides. They are a vital, living part of us and our life work is to find balance.

If you like the genre you might find this engrossing.

ROCKET SCIENCE, rated R, art theatre release

Imagine being a teenage boy with all the raging hormones and insecurities of adolescence and simultaneously having to deal with severe stuttering while also trying out for a debating team. Hal Hefner (played very well by Reece Daniel Thompson) is in exactly that predicament. We struggle as he struggles, join him in feeling betrayed and angry, experience his frustrations, and share in his triumphs.

Hal is never overly self-pitying, even when the cruelest joke is played on him. He gathers himself up and creates a new reality that enables him to go forth standing tall, or at least without slumping. In the midst of all, he deals with the angst of one relationship after another.

Hal suffers ongoing setbacks but his greatest agony of all is the not so simple matter of being trapped between the innocence of childhood and the promise of becoming a man.

ROCKNROLLA, Rated R, general release

If you like Guy Ritchie’s style, you will find this bad guy tale interesting even though it has been done many times before. There’s a lot of shoot ‘em up, tough guy strut, loud volume and villainy, drugs and double-crosses.

Gerard Butler plays One Two and I like his easy-going manner. Tom Wilkinson is in an unusual role as an iron-fisted boss. The story is a bit convoluted and the violence too often brutal (but the movie is about the underworld, so it is almost obligatory).

Compared with US films of the same violent genre, this one saunters rather than smashes, and has a bit of British humor tucked into it.
Should you see it? I don’t think so. There’s little to remember after the fact.

ROCKY, rated PG, general release

We know in advance that Rocky is going to do well in his last hurrah in the ring. We know it will be difficult to imagine a 60 year old who has not boxed in 16 years battling the new young and undefeated heavy weight champion of the world. And we know we are going to be on the punchy, slack-jawed hero’s side, no matter what.

His credo: it is not how much punishment you give out, but rather how much you can take. It is precisely one of the mainstays of the so-called sport of boxing that I dislike the most; two grown adults beating at each other mercilessly, sometimes, alas, to the death.

Sylvester Stallone is muscle bound with popping, knotted veins. In the ring, he looks like the governor of California sans clothes. He surprises us with his dexterity, touches us with Rocky’s humanness, and makes sure we are personally inspired to follow own passion, our own impossible dream.

The dialog is elementary and the film moves very slowly, but in the end, our energy is called forth to at least cheer for our hero. One of the most impressive things, oddly, is the size of the Event Center at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas where the fight action was shot.

If you like boxing or are a Rocky Balboa fan, you might find this enjoyable. It’s predicable throughout but doesn’t interfere with the enjoyment of your popcorn. You have to hand it to Stallone for pulling the rabbit out a hat many times and making it work.

ROMAN DE GARE, Rated R, art theatre release, subtitles

This wonderful French thriller has a little bit of everything in it: suspense, romance, fun, plot twists, and big surprises. Dominique Pinon, a small, homely, but fine, subtle actor, plays Pierre who is a secretary to either a best-selling novelist or a fraud (Fanny Ardant), or her ghost writer, or a magician, or a serial rapist of children, or the physician fiancé to Huguette (Andrey Dana) who might be a hair stylist or a hooker. No one is what they appear to be but we keep guessing throughout the unfolding story. Surprisingly, it is very easy to follow and keeps us perking up our ears as if we were rabbits in the grass about to have our bliss disrupted. Claude Lelouch, writer, producer and director, moves the story along at a good pace and rays of light pierce our on-going contemplation of the unfolding events so that we are never fully in the dark. The scenery includes the French countryside and a yacht anchored in Cannes, so it is all very pleasant on the eyes. The whole film is a puzzle. We get to put the pieces together. And in the end, we are well satisfied.

RUINS, THE, Rated R, general release

Scary and horrible, this film was actually interesting. Though I don’t usually like or go to horror movies, this one combined enough realism to balance the bizarre. It is about young travelers who venture into ruins that would have been better avoided and the tragic circumstances that follow when they are attacked by a jungle full of flesh-eating vines.

I know, if I had just read about the vines, I would have stopped reading and said “No, thank you.” Oddly enough, the innocent, or more to the point, ignorant, kids are likeable enough for us to care about them as they suffer and struggle to survive.

I am not encouraging you to see this film, and certainly, don’t bring any children to see it, but there was something about the time that was given to the unfolding story and the logic with which it unfolded that made the ensuing horrors fit into the larger scheme of things.

RUSH HOUR 3, rated PG-13, general release

Don’t expect a whole lot from Rush Hour 3 and it will be an enjoyable romp. Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, as bumbling detectives, bound through all the crude jokes and well-staged action and leave us satisfied enough with having spent 90 minutes with them; but, not much more than that.

Mr. Chan has noticeably slowed down and doesn’t demonstrate as much physical prowess as he once had. He is, after all, getting older. Tucker is still funny but really needs to do more than pop his eyeballs when the script is as weak as it is.

Max von Sydow waxes ominous and Roman Polanski, of all people, slips in to play a Parisian detective. But Rush Hour 3 is stock stuff that requires little or no thinking.

SAVAGES, THE, rated R, art theatres

We are getting older. Our parents are getting even older, and the question is what are the children supposed to do with the parents who either can no longer live alone or who are physically ill, or worse still, are suffering from any one of numerous forms of dementia. Straight from the Sundance Film Festival, this look into the Savage family is sobering, somewhat humorous, but mostly thought-provoking.

Philip Seymour Hoffman, who is appearing in many films at the moment, is once again absolutely brilliant as the middle aged theatre professor son, Jon Savage. He lives in a small, unruly corner of his brain and his body slumps under the weight of it. His sister, Wendy, beautifully played by Laura Linney, is neurotic and panicked much of the time. Father Lenny, Philip Bosco in one of his finest hours, is feisty as well as docile, independent and completely at the mercy of life.

We can all easily recognize the strain and the love and the similarities and individual differences between the siblings. We experience their helplessness, their guilt, their desire to be there for their father and each other. And all the while, life parades on, demands decisions, and barely allows the family members to catch up with what needs doing. We are all confronted with a big dose of reality devoid of sentimentality. The most prevalent dimension is the urgency of the unfolding situation. It is true to life, sometimes depressing, sometimes endearing, and all the time engrossing.

The film is beautifully written and directed by Tamara Jenkins.

SECRET LIFE OF BEES, THE, Rated PG-13, general release

This is a story about love: unconditional, sweet love. It is also a story about race relations or lack thereof, about bees, about child abuse, about life’s harshness and life’s goodness. It is based on the best-selling novel by Sue Monk Kidd.

The film will touch your heart and yet I kept feeling there could have been stronger lines of tension to keep us a little more on the edge of our seats.

The story revolves around Lily, (Dakota Fanning, excellent as usual) a 14-year-old who, in an effort to save her mother from her mean, drunk farmer father, accidentally shoots her to death. The father, T. Ray (Paul Bettany whose acting is excellent but whose speech is mumbled) adds to Lily’s hard life with him by telling her that her mother never loved her and had planned to leave her.

Lily runs off with Rosaleen (Jennifer Hudson), who works for T. Ray, after she is beaten and jailed for trying to register to vote. The two of them find their way to three sisters who keep bees and make and sell honey, August (Queen Latifah, June (Alicia Keys), and May (Sophie Okonedo.) August’s biggest talent is dispensing boundless love. She embodies generosity and an inner hive of maternal expression. It is the perfect place for Lily to heal.

The story takes place in the 1960’s in the South. Seeing this film just after Obama was elected President of the United States was a profound reminder of how far we have come as a nation since segregation and racial murder.

There is an interesting juxtaposition between the longing of a needy teen and the serious troubles inflicted on black people. The agonies of the human condition co-exist.

Lily becomes close friends with a black boy her age who is beaten for taking her to the movies and sitting with her. He later tells her how angry he is and she tells him that the white men who beat him were also angry. She says that their anger turned to meanness and she hoped that his anger wouldn’t go that route. Youthful wisdom simply said.

The character that spoke the most to me was May, who, while depicted as somewhat simple, was so deeply empathetic that she was very often overwhelmed by the grief of the world and had her own “wailing wall” to which to retreat. It was clear that her chakras were too wide open and she didn’t know how to shield herself from the heaviness that weighs on daily life. On the other hand, she seems to tell us that maybe if more of us allowed ourselves to experience the horrors and suffering that permeates the membranes of human, animal, and plant life, if more of us actually felt that pain, we would more readily do something to change the world as we know it.

The film is written and directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood.

SEEKER, THE: THE DARK IS RISING, rated PG, general release

Back in 1970, The Love Project began with those of us who called ourselves Seekers and sought to bring the Light into the dark of our high school environment.

When this movie opened this week, it was for sure I was going to see something with this title. It did not disappoint me.

A film like this may get lost in the shadow of the Harry Potter series. I hope that will not be true because this fantasy is worth viewing. It is filled with symbolism and has some wonderful spiritual food for thought.

Alexander Ludwig, a beautiful boy with a face of innocence, plays Will Stanton, the seventh son of a seventh son. He learns that this heritage makes him a warrior whose task it is to find six symbols that will enable him to release the light. (Six symbols, six Love Principles).

He battles against the darkness, embodied by a masked horseman (Christopher Eccleston) who can turn himself into anything and anyone.

Will is aided and guided by “the old ones” who carry and impart the wisdom. But they alone cannot sustain the Light. They need Will to find the six symbols and save the world from perpetual darkness.

There are some wonderful lines in the film. When Will is transported to another time period, he asks, "Where are all the people we left behind?" He is told, "They are when they were." I loved the cleverness of that. In another scene, Will is told that Destiny brought his family to England but that the old ones carried out the details to facilitate the reality.

Such is the way of things on this plane of consciousness. There are angels everywhere who touch our lives so that our destiny can fall into place if we cooperate with the process.

The predominant message of the film is that each of us needs to embody the Will and realize that we are the Light.

The film is based on The Dark is Rising by Susan Mary Cooper, a British author born in 1935. It is part of an award-winning five-volume fantasy saga which incorporates traditional British Arthurian mythology, published in the 1960’s and ‘70’s.

I can’t help but wonder if JK Rowling read these books and was influenced by them, or if she was subconsciously influenced, before the Potter series “came to her.” In truth, there is very little that is new. Each generation awakens to the Wisdom and to the truths that have forever swirled in the Cosmos.

Speaking of swirls, there are plenty of them throughout this film, each used to breakthrough to the Light, each reminding me of the very symbol we have chosen for Teleos Institute.

Do see this. And do take the children to see this.

SELF-MEDICATED, rated R, general release

Monty Lapica, a 24-year-old with a career ahead of him, wrote and stars in this story inspired by his own life experience. The character is 17-year-old Andrew who so mourns the death of his father two years earlier that he is out of control, on drugs and alcohol, and throwing away his life and his future. He used to be an A student, now he doesn’t even bother to go to classes. He hates his pill-addicted mother and he is headed toward Hell with a capital H.

His mother stages an intervention and Andrew is carted off to a treatment facility. Andrew is a brilliant young man, smarter than all his counselors and teachers, someone who thinks fast and can outwit everyone. He is particularly good at outwitting himself, given his chosen path of self-destruction.

The film is unusual because it floats somewhere between fiction, true story, and documentary. This is not a troubling element because it has a strong feel of honesty to it, and often simplicity.

The fictional treatment center is not really a harsh place. The doctor, counselors, and security people seem to have their patient’s best interests in mind as they apply techniques to enable them to express themselves in ways that would be helpful. And the disciplines applied, when necessary, are not as cruel as one might expect. But to the patient who doesn’t want to be there, it can surely feel like a very restrictive environment. Since they don’t know how to restrict or discipline themselves, it is no wonder their parents placed them here.

There is a touching scene between Andrew and a homeless man who turns out to be one of those drop-in angels who do what they have to do and then completely disappear. In the scene, real love is expressed and it, beyond all techniques and disciplines, cuts through the anger and hate to the tears that have been buried and causing Andrew to drown. The scene is a lesson for all of us – let’s not try to fix each other, let’s just love each other, and listen, and hear, and be there honestly and fully.

This is not a great film, but it is a good one, and inspiring for young people who need to get their heads on straight or for parents who wish they could break through the wall of adolescent angst.

SEPTEMBER DAWN, rated R, general release

(Contains a heads up for those of us who want to lead a spiritual life and don't want to fall into the trap of abusing "truth" for our own ends.)

On September 11, 1857, a group of Mormons and their mercenary Piute Indian hirelings massacred a group of 120 migrants from St. Louis passing through Utah to California. The film tells us that the Mormons were seeking revenge for the Missouri murders of their own leaders. To incite their brethren to commit the blood atonement, the Bishop ( played almost grotesquely by Jon Voight) echoes the edict given by Brigham Young (Terrance Stamp), then governor of the territory and president of the Mormon church: Kill them all, save those too young to speak. Show no mercy to those "gentiles.” They are hateful and evil and we will grant them salvation by hacking them to death.

The film is in color but the story is written in black and white. The gentiles (the Christians) are squeaky clean, good folks and the Mormons are diabolical. It all boils down to us vs. them.

The Mormons speak for God by lying, setting up the gentiles, spewing hate, and most importantly, claiming that their actions are justified by revelation, supported by visions, and that they are in fact God doing what must be done. They are painted as utterly fanatical, if not insane. None of the background of similar Christian evolution is expressed here – enslavement of Africans, slaughter of Native Americans, Salem Witch Hunts and burnings at the stake, etc.

The focus is on the Mormons this round but the point is hammered home – the greatest killing machine on our planet is and always has been organized religion. We see it and fear it today in Muslim fanatics, but make no mistake, we are they. Any fanatical position, any “one and only way to salvation,” any condemnation of others because they don’t do it right, and any justification of same by proclaiming to speak in the name of God, is contributory to the great killing machine that daily diminishes the Divine that is the birthright of every single holy human being.

There is a beautiful romance in September Dawn between a settler girl and a Mormon boy and we immediately sense the presence of the Capulets and the Montagues from Romeo and Juliet. "Us" against "Them," such a love cannot be – not in these young people, not between any of these people. The self-righteous cannot allow any deviation from their self-justifying superiority. It is their excuse to exalt themselves while denigrating all others. It is their permission slip to commit violence and shed the blood of the heathens.

The film left me feeling sick for several hours. The lies and the trickery were appalling. The ruthless slaughter was unbearable. But more than anything what pained me the most was looking into the face of one of the greatest human flaws – one that may well be the death of the whole race at the end of time, that we have the audacity to kill one another in the name of holiness.

I highly recommend this film for the point that it makes. If we are sickened by it, so be it. The sicker we become the less likely any of us, from any religious or spiritual persuasion, may be guilty of what shocks us in others.

SERAPHIM FALLS, rated R, general release

In very few words, beautiful scenery, symbolic meaning, and excellent acting, this story of pursuit and revenge takes place in 1868 in the rugged western United States. Pierce Brosnan and Liam Neeson are really fine both in their individual roles and in their interaction together.

This is a story of mistakes, of loss and grief, of obsession, of retribution, and of eventual forgiveness. It is the story of two men but it is also the story of how conflicts and wars begin and continue until, in the end, both sides awaken to all the atrocities that have occurred during their bloody commitments to their chosen course. It is a moral lesson humans seek to learn but don’t and history around the globe repeats itself as each fallen warrior’s bloody and battered body is carried from the fields of resolution-sought-through-arms.

The film is graphic, but no less so than life on the battlefield or in the streets. You are at once transported to the cold and the snow, to the pain, to the quest. In the opening scenes and for a long time after, I didn’t know who the men were or why the pursuit was taking place and yet my attention was riveted. Yours will be too. Do see this.

SEX AND THE CITY, Rated R, general release

We never watched the TV show (were never drawn to it) and really had little desire to see the film, but we went anyway and we were surprised that we actually enjoyed it. The writing was often somewhat flat, the clothes were unlike anything I ever wore in NY, the flashy apartments and limos were never in my range, and the focus on girly-girly things was never my cup of tea. All this made it difficult for me to identify with the main characters, so I shifted instead to see who they were and to enjoy them, or not. At least I didn’t get bored and sleepy as I did in Indiana Jones (an action movie!) Sarah Jessica Parker was better here than in the last film I saw. There are some lovely bonding moments between the four women, some fine laughter-filled segments, some touching sections, at least one very beautiful naked male body, and some welcome love-making scenes in which there was actually evocative foreplay rather that instant humping. The film plays like a combination sitcom/soap opera, but I have seen a lot worse and actually found parts of it very enjoyable. Some of the acting was weak, but I was very taken by the work of Cynthia Nixon (as Mirranda) who, I discovered, is a native New Yorker who has done considerable stage work. Her moments were very real, as well as touching. Chris Noth also did a decent job as Mr. Big. Should you see it? If you watched it on television the characters will be very familiar to you. I didn’t know them at all but it was quickly easy to discover who was what. I would say go for the light enjoyment of it.

SHOOT ‘EM UP, rated R, general release

Do not waste a single minute or a single dollar on this piece of trash. If there is a story here, it is so thin it must have taken up less than a quarter of a screenplay page.

Written and Directed by Michael Davis, this garbage is at least true to its title. It is bloody, ridiculous, worthless, and sadistic, not to mention, in no way believable. It is purely violence for its own sake.

Paul Giamatti and Clive Owen should be ashamed of themselves for stooping so low as to star in this.

SHOOTER, rated R, general release

I don’t chew my fingernails very often but I did lose one to this thriller about an assassination attempt on the president. Mark Wahlberg (deliciously handsome and buff) plays a “retired” U.S. trained sniper who finds himself recruited and framed in an interesting plot twist.

The dialogue is weak in places and mumbled in others, but the unfolding story makes its point about corruption and greed. Hardly anyone is trustworthy in the film and those of us who had our eyes opened during the bloody 1960’s don’t have to sit and wonder if Senators and the like could actually be responsible for what is happening in the unfolding scenario. Since those days the climate has been one of juxtaposing those who are paranoid with those who are in denial. Shooter addresses that theme while holding the audience in excited suspense. I think it is worth seeing.

SHOOTING ACES, rated R, general release

If you are given free passes for this film (?) tear them up. I wouldn’t want you to subject anyone else (let alone you) to this shoot ‘em up, stab ‘em, slice ‘em, explode ‘em, blood-dripping waste of time and money.

About the only substance here comes at the end when a voice over explains the “important” plot twist. This movie exploits violence, wastes talent, and begs to be ignored. Please do.

SHREK THE THIRD, rated PG, general release

Simply put, it is easy to enjoy these Shrek animated films. While the stories are not particularly well written, the various characters hold our attention and delight us. And the color dazzles. The faces are wonderfully expressive and the subtle gestures not only intrigue but carry us from one moment to the next.

There are numerous laugh-out-loud scenes. John Cleese plays the voice of Fiona’s royal frog father whose overly drawn-out death is a hoot. Antonio Banderas is terrificly sexy as Puss in Boots. I don’t like cats much but this one steals every scene in which he appears. No one upstages Eddie Murphy as the beloved donkey. And then there are scenes that go by all too quickly that you don’t want to miss. For example, the three blind mice who stumble onto the screen for about five seconds and have you laughing well after they exit.

If you love the characters and have make them part of your movie going family, you will delight in Shrek the Third.

SHUTTER, rated PG-13, general release

This remake of a 2004 Thai film is not so much a horror film as it is scary and surprisingly engrossing.

Newlyweds Ben and Jane go to Japan where he has a photo shoot. A series of weird experiences overtake them beginning with their vehicle plowing into a young woman on a misty road at night. She appears out of nowhere and then vanishes after being struck. Throughout the film, the young woman's face reappears and haunts Jane and then Ben.

The focus of the action is more in the realm of the spirit world than in frightening corridors of horror chambers. This gives it an ongoing validity and keeps us interested.

The director, Masayuki Ochiai, does a fine job of catching us off guard and slowly revealing unfolding connections that make us into active detectives.

You might find this worth your time, especially if you like the genre.

SICKO, DOCUMENTARY, Select Release

Michael Moore, as we all know, is an outspoken provocateur. People either love him or hate him, depending on where they stand on the issues Moore addresses. When he took on President Bush, he made permanent enemies of many Republicans. He is not a middle-of-the-road, be-careful-not-to-alienate, kind of guy, as are too many politicians. One of my beefs with Democrats is that they try to appease and attracts supporters from both sides of all issues. They need only to look to the current White House for inspiration. Those guys in power today are absolutely committed to single points of view, not to mention, arrogance and overriding riding other branches of government. Maybe this is what our general populace wants – leaders who take charge and run the whole country from their own narrow perspective. If that be the case, Michael Moore would probably do well running for president!

In this documentary, Moore has taken on the American system of private health insurance. He compares it to nations with socialized medicine and gives our country a huge failing grade. He introduces us to people who have lost loved ones because they couldn’t afford insurance. He interviews people who have quit their jobs at insurance companies because they earned their living finding loopholes to deny claims. He decries our for-profit medical approach, HMO bureaucracy, and government indifference. He manages to infuriate us and make us wonder why we the people don’t stand as one body and slay the dragon of greed that suppresses us. We are so frightened and demoralized as a people that it is ok with us that one percent of the population owns 80 percent of the wealth. As long as we have our little jobs, our (false) security, our health insurance, we say nothing. We willing pay big gas prices, escalating energy costs, and find a way to deal with it when the Big Companies do us out of our pensions. The powers that be loom as tall as Everest; we are but the small flowers that occasionally bloom at its feet.

Moore is less antagonistic in Sicko, more universal, and more appealing to people of every persuasion.

He takes us to Canada, Cuba, Britain, and France. By the time he is through, we can barely say that we live in the greatest country on earth.

The exploration is well worth our attention.

SILK, rated R, general release

Some critics called this movie gloomy. I think it is slow, or low energy, rather than gloomy. Not all that much happens even though the lead character Herve travels half way around the world several times in search of silk worm eggs. The drag-down feeling prevails because Michael Pitt, who plays Herve, is also the narrator and he speaks in a persistent monotone. From this description you might say, "Why bother to see it?"

Pitt may be drab and very often lifeless, but his wife Helene (Keira Knightley) brightens things up when she is on screen.

The real treasure in this film is the spectacular scenery and the poetic visuals that carry us through a very subdued story. It is like watching Japanese paintings come to life and the director, Francois Gerard, allows us the time to drink in the beauty of rippling water, silver snow-covered leaves, the steam of hot springs, the starkness of mountain passes, etc.

If the acting had been more lively and the story more exciting, we would have had a great movie when combined with the very artistic settings. Sometimes we have to settle for a series of lovely treats for the eye and the spirit. That was the case here.

SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS 2, THE, Rated PG-13, general release

In this second installment, the four main characters are now in college and still sending those pants to each other as their lives unfold and their friendship continues to grow. For the first third of the film or more the scenes jump too quickly between the four, making their life circumstances seem shallow and causing us not to care very much. As the film progresses, the timing slows down and we are given a needed lengthy look into each young woman’s dilemma. By the last 3rd I began to enjoy it but a few days later it was hard to remember the particulars. It didn’t have stay power and I thought it was wise that the “pants” that held them together were gone. This seemed to indicate there were be no more sequels and that felt right. I don’t know whether to recommend that you see it. It is harmless, entertaining for girls more than ladies, and has a continuous warmth.

SLEEPWALKING, Rated R

I found this film interesting though it is bleak, if not dark, both in content and visual effect. The characters are on the low end of the economic ladder. They live in shabby apartments with cheap furniture and few belongings and have a hard life. Charlize Theron plays Joleen, mother of 11-year old Tara whom she leaves with her brother James (Nick Stahl) when she gets into trouble and leaves town. James is in no better shape than Joleen and takes off with Tara for rehab time on his father’s ranch. Dennis Hopper plays the father who is rigid, mean, and abusive. No rejuvenation takes place; rather, there is a repetition of what the father did to his own children long ago. You see what I mean by bleak and dark! The performances held my interest as did the story but it was certainly not uplifting. It is a slow-moving take on a kind hopelessness that too many endure. There is some hope at the end that the characters may find some redemption or happiness. The mother and daughter are reunited and the brother "wakes up," realizes he has been sleepwalking and presumably starts a new life. We can hope.

SLEUTH, RATED R, general release

This is a case of “been there, but didn’t do that!” I saw Sleuth back in the early ‘70’s. It was remarkable. I sat on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen and marveling at the twists and turns. At the end, I was blown away and it was hard to recover. This version stars Michael Caine as Andrew Wyke, a novelist and sadist, and Jude Law, a hairdresser and actor who is having an affair with Mrs. Wyke. They play a dangerous cat and mouse game in a tale that was more shocking in the ‘70’s because of the surprising homosexual overtones. Their acting is wonderful and I was continually intrigued by both of them. Harold Pinter served as screen writer and I anticipated a great experience. Then something happened on the way to the conclusion. First of all, this version is under 90 minutes long. Large sections of frightening complications were cut and replaced by an overdose of visual gadgetry. Wyke’s ultra modern house is all glass, mirrors, and surveillance cameras. While this is intriguing, it should never take away from the play, and the byplay. It does, it really does. Kenneth Branagh directed and must bare the responsibility for endless distractions. But worst of all is the ending. It completely ruins the whole film. It simply drops dead with a big thud and leaves us with question marks but not the kind that urge us to ponder. Instead, they leave us feeling cheated. It was as if the director gave up, sent in a mysterious car, shouted “that’s a wrap” and went home. We did too, but I was very disappointed.

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, Rated R, art theatre release

India is like home to me and this film reawakens the love that resides in my heart for this country. It is about a young man who rises from an impossibly difficult life and no education to become a contestant on question/answer show that could make him a millionaire.

Much of the action is Jamal’s participation on the show but the remainder is visiting his life on the streets, much of it in Mumbai, and how he had to live by his wits in the most difficult conditions. These scenes are beautifully interwoven and we have a sensory experience as we move around locations in India and the time periods of Jamal’s life. Through all the garbage in the streets and the hardships, Jamal never loses his inner beautiful nature.

Jamal’s life experiences fit like hand in glove to help him answer the questions on the show and the whole country lives through him as they, and we, cheer him on.

The film is beautifully shot and thoroughly engrossing. I hope you get to see it.

SNOW ANGELS, Rated R, general release

Though this film was shot in Nova Scotia and the novel on which it was based takes place in southwestern Pennsylvania, the setting feels like anywhere middle-America (or middle-anywhere) where the climate is gray and cold, the population limited and narrow, and life is utterly boring. From the opening scene, we know something bad is going to happen. But the people we meet are so miserable and dark that the bad that does happen is the only exciting thing in the film and in the lives of those who trudge through their existence. The story is a hodge-podge of despair, clandestine affairs, instability, religiosity, teens coming of age, melodrama, and fatalism, not to mention, jealousy and murder. Worst of all, the direction and editing is done in such a way that the camera jumps from scene to scene and character to character as if to say, there is not enough substance here to linger for very long. Alas, that is a truth, there is very little substance. These are sorry little lives in a sorry little place and the people are so unconscious in their living and functioning that I moved between being bored and being alienated. The lives of these people are all intertwined and yet they were unconnected, and so was I. David Gordon Green wrote the screenplay and directed this on-going depression. It was an hour and 46 minutes of longing for light to come from any source. While Kate Beckinsale, Sam Rockwell, Nick Katt, and Michael Angarano turned in decent performances, I kept having the urge to grab a leaf blower and rid the earth of these downtrodden, empty creatures who wouldn’t flicker if they had been born candles. Hopefully, your life is filled with more hope, joy, growth, and inner yearning. If it is, stay where you are and count your blessings.

SON OF RAMBOW, PG-13, general release

Childhood make-believe fills the screen as the blood-tied friendship of two young boys unfolds with wild adventure. They don’t just play and invent, they make a film of their antics and no adult can squelch their fervor and enthusiasm. It is a story of friendship and freedom. Kids will easily move from their movie seats into the action and imagination, and the adults accompanying them will drift to the memories of their own childhood days when everything was possible and reality had not yet knocked on the door and told them they shouldn’t or couldn’t.

SPIDER-MAN 3, rated PG-13, general release

Friday afternoon, 3 PM, sold-out showing in Scottsdale where clearly no one works and no one goes to school. So we sat in the second row of the largest screen in town and were IN THE MOVIE, not just watching it.

Seems everyone loves Spider-Man! And there is a lot to love. Tobey Maguire has such an anti-hero personality that he captivates us when he puts on his spider outfit and swoops like Peter Pan and Superman between tall buildings in a single bound.

The film has about 5 or 6 sequences of music-fed fighting action. They seem to come as intermissions in the story line (actually, I should say, story lines, because there are many, too many.) There are 4 or 5 distinct plots that need to be tracked. Because each of them could well have been a film by itself, I grew weary of all they tried to cram into one episode. When we still had over half an hour to go, I was already long into squirming.

In one story line an extraterrestrial black glob overtakes Spider-Man and we watch him expose his own dark side. Given the power attributed to the glob, it is all too quickly disposed of in order to end the film. Similarly, an escaped prisoner is caught in a scientific experiment in which his molecules are disintegrated. He reconfigurates them throughout the film, causing havoc, and in the end, simply flies off in his cloud of sand. Each story line ends conveniently in this way, but too simply for the complexities through which they dragged us.

Molecule-man was my favorite effect. It was fascinating to watch him turn to sand and return from sand. The transformation is transfixing. I have rarely witnessed such a metamorphosis. It is worth the price of admission.

There are visuals in the film that hit us over the head with flashes of patriotism and hints of lingering racist ideas. In one flash, Spider-Man, dressed very clearly in red, blue and white stripped attire, flies by a large American flag, on his way to battle with evil forces attired in black. Surely, one day someone will choose forest green or deep purple to represent evil. We are not there yet.

The film’s effects are terrific, even if the endless story lines are exhausting. But, one very fine element that drew my attention was the wonderful blend of masculine and feminine energy in Spider-man. He is quite manly but that doesn’t keep him from having deep feelings of hurt and sadness, and shedding tears several times during the unfolding story. I value this, particularly as a model for young males.

Also, Spider-Man is helped in his quests by his friend Harry. I liked this because no one superhero, no one savior, defeats the evil forces and saves the people. The power is shared.

There is humor sprinkled throughout, especially in the character of the newspaper publisher, played very well by J.K.Simmons. The humor is most welcome.

Sam Raimi’s direction keeps the action moving but there is way too much action and story to move. That is what tired me and kept me wishing for less so that I could enjoy it more.

SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES, THE, rated PG, general release

The critics didn’t much like Spiderwick, comparing it to Lord of the Rings and the Potter movies. I disagree with them. I loved all the fanciful creatures, the depiction of the elemental world, the exposure to some spiritual truths of the natural world and the world beyond it that we cannot see (unless we can!)

The venue for the tale involves the forces of good and evil and their power struggle. Monsters (the dark side of all things) want to upset the balance of the universe and “own” the secrets of the kingdom. Their depiction is appropriately frightening. The elves and fairies (magnificent and utterly beautiful) work hard to maintain their equal share of the energies. There is lots of action and wonderful effects as we move in and out of different realities. I enjoyed it all and recommend it, especially as a way of introducing children to the concept that the dark and the light exist side by side and always will.

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE, Rated R, special release

This documentary reveals prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib through interviews with perpetrators and re-enactments. It is difficult to watch but provides information we must know and with which we must come to terms as citizens. We see photographs taken by those who participated in the abuse, we hear what it was like for them, what motivated them, and we learn more about each of them as people. The speakers are full-face on camera with an unseen interviewer. This made their presentations flat and several of them did not appear to be very intelligent, even though some were in Military Intelligence. The incidents of abuse are presented as “standard operating procedure.” As such, the documentary moves along with an odd flatness. There is no interjection of outrage or distress. Instead, it is matter of fact and almost lolling. We have seen the photographs before and heard some of the testimony and so we fall into a quiet familiarity with the material. Familiarity is a great tool for use in calming the sensitivities and sensibilities of those who might protest. We become used to the prevailing circumstances. We say that there is nothing to be done because that is the way it is and we can become the victims of our own acquiescence. We can see this phenomenon occurring right now with rising gas prices. Some are even saying that we will be lucky if the cost levels out at $4 a gallon. Significant screen time is given to Lynndie England. She talks and talks but says very little and she does so in an unchanging monotone. She was under 21 when she became a cog in the military wheel and she quite clearly represents a level of inexperience, non-sophistication, and limited schooling that is, unfortunately true of too many who volunteer for the Armed Services. Director Errol Morris doesn’t go much beyond documenting the abuse. He doesn’t investigate the upper echelons of government. He exposes us to the abuse and sends us out of the theatre disturbed but in a state of non-action, acclimation, and hopelessness. We are not in charge and we don’t even know who is.

STARDUST, rated PG-13, general release

I am always hesitant about film fantasies, wondering if there will be enough substance to hold my attention. Stardust erased my concerns and led me on a wondrous chase through the stars. The film is fast paced, laden with glorious effects, filled with magical powers, and bubbling over with unique and special characters, including a cross-dressing Robert De Niro, who is at first jarring with his NY dialect.

Michelle Pfeiffer plays the penultimate witch. The achievement of making one so exquisite so ugly, is remarkable. She converts herself into her own youthful version of herself and then it is all downhill from there. We get to watch the amazing transition from crumbling neck to dropping bosom.

The story is a true fairy tale, full of twists and turns, fright and wonder. It’s about young love (Claire Danes and Charlie Cox), fallen stars, the quest for eternal youth, the struggles for power – you name it.

And it’s about magical possibilities and powers that await human embodiment. There are so many films like this today -- the Potter Series. Lord of the Rings, and others – in which we mere mortals are enticed with “supernormal” abilities being exhibited with such abandon that they seem to be mocking all of us who have settled for lesser expressions. It is as if these powers lie just beyond the veil we have placed between us, in our objectified and rigid world, and the more that beckons us in our dreams. If I had children I would take them to films like this and tell them that if they stretch their consciousness enough and break the barriers of what passes for reality, they too will be able to embody what is now only fantasy.

STARTING OUT IN THE EVENING, rated PG-13, art theatre release

I do so appreciate it when a little gem of a film makes its way to the theatre. Andrew Wagner has done a beautiful job of directing (and co-writing with Fred Parnes) this wonderful, intelligent (a word not too often applied to films in general) adaptation of the novel by Brian Morton about an aging, hermit-like novelist who encounters an assertive graduate student who wants to do her thesis on him and what emerges in their odd relationship. There is a love story of sorts here – but it is more a love of excellence than anything else. The acting is wonderful. Frank Langella, as writer Leonard Schiller, gives a sensitive, deep, touching performance. When he inhales, we inhale. As he listens, we listen. His pace and demeanor rarely change and yet he is continuously interesting to watch as he reveals his personal story and his preferences. He has long been a terrific stage actor and his talents transfer so well to the big screen. We care about him, every minute. This is a rare opportunity to see a fine actor at work. Lauren Ambrose is very fine as grad student Heather Wolfe. She is full of youthful energy and as we watch her purpose unfold, we are appropriately delighted, suspicious, encouraging, and cautious. Heather raises questions in us because, though we hardly know him, we feel a responsibility to protect Leonard. All this happens without our even knowing it did. Suddenly, we are there, participating. Lily Taylor is excellent as Leonard’s daughter, Ariel, and Adrian Lester is sensitive and lovely as Ariel’s lover, Casey. From the moment the film begins, we are transported to New York City and all the richness it has to offer: The stimulation of the mind, the eclectic population, the somber shadows the sun casts on the buildings, and the depth of culture that seems to inhabit every street in Manhattan. In the midst of millions of residents and endless traffic noise, there is a unique quiet in the city when we enter an apartment whose rooms are filled with the creative process. All that is fully captured in this film and in the telling of the story. But above all, Langella so becomes the literary artist who will not compromise his talent that he holds us in the grip of his lonely but whole life. He does it with subtlety, with grace, and with extreme humanness. Seek out this film. It is well worth your time.

STEEL CITY, RATED R, Art Theatre Release

In the midst of summer block busters replete with techno madness comes this compact little story of blue collar love and the struggle of men to relate to each other and to the women in their lives.

The setting is “Midwestern town, USA.” Whenever we are taken to its workplaces or shown its flat, uninteresting terrain, the film is shot with a blue cast, enabling us to experience its coldness and harshness. When the characters begin to interact, the director switches to vibrant color and invites us to enter their lives and struggles.

John Heard plays a father who carries years of guilt for having left his wife and two sons. His most poignant line is, “I wanted to be a better dad.” His character Carl struggles to find ways to love his boys and Heard’s acting is both truthful and touching. Oddly, however, I felt him to be miscast. John Heard couldn’t sufficiently diminish his intelligence, his personal strength of character, or his Light, to play this father.

The story unfolds with surprising twists and the ensemble acting is excellent. Each character has his own way of speaking and is unique and magnetic.

It is a little gem and I recommend it for your attention.

STEP UP 2 THE STREETS, rated PG-13, general release

Dance, dance, dance and a whole lot of energy fill the screen in this film, not to mention that it has some important truths to impart to us.

The neighborhood is tough and so are the kids but when they focus on being the best dance crew in the street competitions, they are committed and disciplined. It is a loud and clear message to our schools: don’t try to stuff your protocols into free spirits. Instead, tap into what turns them on and weave a mixture of the academic standards and the fire of the new that is calling from within the soul of the new generation.

The teenagers in this film make adults look like robots frozen in time as their bodies move with incredible fluidity. While there is conflict between the competing teams, the greater conflict is between the old world which gravitates toward the classical approach and the upcoming world which will never be stopped from bringing forth its own contribution, even if the only venue is the streets.

The film is a lesson to those with a conservative bent who would seek to bottle reality in old containers and keep it the way it is forever. Everything changes and everything is changing all the time. The new will emerge in spite of all efforts to lock it out.

STONE ANGEL, THE, Rated R, special release

Kari Skogland wrote, produced and directed this story about a matriarch and the many generations of her family. Ellen Burstyn does a fine job of portraying the 90-year-old Hagar and her fierce efforts to keep her son and his wife from putting her in a nursing home. There are touching and gripping moments in the film, and wonderful explorations of relationships and class differences, but too many subplots which made the film move ever so slowly and seem too long. Since much of the action takes place in the past, it feels like a period piece revealing Americana. There is great emphasis on family traditions and on superior breeding and status. Christine Horne plays Hagar as a young woman. She looks a lot like Burstyn, but more than that, she captures Burstyn's particular speech pattern and vocal placement and the two become interchangeable. Even with its faults, it is a story of depth and therefore a welcome surprise in the midst of the summer’s action films and crass comedies.

STOMP THE YARD, rated PG-13, general release

I recommend this film as a way to enter a cultural experience few of us will ever have.

The story is about DJ, whose brother was killed in an LA street fight. He goes to live with relatives in Atlanta and is enrolled in an all-black university where he can transfer his street dancing skills to “stepping”, a combination of precision dancing, marching, synchronized body movements, verbal byplay, and chanting. It is the specialty of African-American fraternities and once DJ joins he is able to turn his life around and have brothers of substance for the rest of his life.

Stepping was a powerful element in this film because it not only captures the incredible energy inherent in so many African-Americans but it is a pathway back to their roots and an opportunity to move and express with vibrancy and purpose. It is so easy to see the difference between the dissipation of that energy and power on the streets in brawls, and the channeled discipline and team work of stepping which calls forth the inner soul and individual magnificence of the participant. It is as if the Stepper becomes the drum of his African roots, his body is his music. There is a Master Stepper who calls the movements, as if calling the dancer to his full stature and potential.

I thrilled to all of this because I have long despaired over the destruction of the black family dating back to the white man’s unforgivable abuse of African natives. To this day there remain, in too many black households, the results of this ripping apart of the basic family unit, disenabling youths from developing a full and whole sense of self. Many forms of expression have developed over the centuries here in the United States to enable African-Americans to recapture a remnant and a memory of who they are. Among these are gospel singing, tap dancing and rap, but Stepping captures the strength, the power, the courage, the excitement and the fervent life force of this noble and regal people.

My visit to Kenya and Tanzania in April enriched me beyond words. Coming home to the often subdued world of white society was a letdown indeed. I wished then that I had the means to make it possible for blacks in America to visit their roots in Africa so that they could look into those light-filled eyes sitting like diamonds in pitch black velvety skin.

I noted during the film, Children of Men, which I commented on earlier this week, that it was a black woman who would save humanity by being able to give birth. This was so appropriate because, in truth, the 6.5 billion people on earth today are descended from blacks dating back about 2 million years ago in Olduvai Gorge.

This knowledge makes all the endless race conflicts insane because there is only one race and it is human. Perhaps we all need to stomp the yard, to fall into STEPPING with each other and respond to the sound and the rhythm of the one vital force that moves through all of us.

STOP-LOSS, Rated R, general release

The ordeal faced by American soldiers in Iraq is boldly depicted here. They, more than any at home who rue the day we invaded that nation, have the right to complain. Not only are they maimed and killed, the US government, because it doesn’t have sufficient recruits, rescinds many of their tour completions and demands that they return to Iraq whether they want to or not. This is the story of those soldiers and the depiction of their plight is heart-wrenching. This is not a film to enjoy. I suffered through every frame.

During the Viet Nam conflict, many who protested that engagement condemned the warriors as well as the US government. To support the soldiers was equated with supporting the conflict. Today things have changed. We salute the troops. Yet, according to this depiction, the government that sent them to Iraq misuses and abuses them.

Ryan Phillippe is powerful as Staff Sgt. King, suffering the loss of his men and battling his own government’s betrayal of him. The audience is made to suffer along with the soldiers and by the time the film is over we are exhausted and sick of repeating the phrase, “Oh my God!”

Kimberly Peirce directed and co-wrote this powerful exposure of the wanton waste of war. Previously she brought us “Boys Don’t Cry”.

King is in a no-win situation. He cannot fight for his rights because he doesn’t have any. He cannot go back to war because he has seen enough killing and refuses to kill any more. He cannot leave his country because he would give up his life as he has known it. He doesn’t even know what he had been fighting for because it was all based on a lie.

We may not want to suffer with Sgt. King but there is no escape. He has seen and participated in horrors on our behalf. He will be marked by those for the rest of his life.

Next time I see a young soldier in desert fatigues, I will send love energy from my heart and continue to hope that the leaders who sit in the comfort of their Washington offices will one day look down at their hands and see that they are covered with blood and that they need to make new choices.

Channing Tatum, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Victor Rasuk, and others, all turn in anguished performances.

Please see this film. It seems to ask us to urge as many young people as we can to stay home from this war. It reminds me of the 1960’s and ’70’s when the question was asked, what if we gave a war and no one came?

STRANGERS, THE, Rated R, general release

In this home-invasion thriller, two young people in a rocky but hopeful relationship are pursued by three intruders who are completely committed to their purpose to terrorize. The film moves ever so slowly, suspense builds beautifully, and the prevailing silence causes us to breathe very quietly whenever we actually can breathe. Scott Speedman is quiet good and Liv Tyler is superb, sustaining her anguish and anxiety throughout every horrendous moment. It is a chilling film written and directed beautifully by Bryan Bertino. I wouldn’t call this a horror film, more a tale of on-going and escalating intimidation. I saw a powerful lesson as the moments unfolded. The three who held the purpose of entrapping and committing mayhem had no fear. They proceeded as if nothing stood in their way, as if they could absolutely accomplish their mission. The two who were being threatened were filled with fear and that very fear victimized them. I saw clearly that fear is a choice, a choice we need not make. Whatever is going to happen is going to happen anyway. It is much smarter to utilize all our energy for moving forward with strength. To yield to fear is to weaken ourselves and to send out a scent that further inspires the pursuer. The dance is clearly portrayed in this film. It was eye-opening for me to see that while it is fine to charge up the adrenaline, that energy cannot be used effectively if we are simultaneously thwarting our actions by yielding to fear and panic.

SUPERBAD, rated R (supernaughty language and gestures), general release

I read the short blurb on this before opening day and told Mariamne this is one we will probably skip. It is about three male high school friends with churning hormones and surging sexual desire who have potty mouths and engage in endless crass activities. The next days’ reviews called this a very funny movie. I took a breath and decided to see at least the first half hour. If it was too much, we would leave and get a refund.

We stayed for the whole thing, and we laughed a lot. There is hardly anything as funny as three virgin teenage boys who can think of little else but what to do with their penises. Their language is graphic, if not foul, but they are so inexperienced, so innocent that any discomfort that may arise from their embarrassing language is erased.

Seth Rogen who played the lead in Knocked Up, wrote this hilarious script about three “boners” in search of a receptacle! They want desperately to “get laid” and gather enough experience to enable them to function as men in college in the fall. Their mishaps along the way are laugh-out-loudable!!

If you are uncomfortable with the F-word and its every variation and application, you may have to skip this one. However, it is so delightful that it could represent an opportunity to see that most of these words that are labeled “dirty” are simply other words for what we label acceptable. The F-word and intercourse both stand for the same thing. Of course, some in our culture see intercourse as “dirty” as well. (Alas.) By the way, I read once that the meaning of the letters of the F-word is Fornication Under Consent of the King. Fornication is defined as sexual intercourse between consenting unmarried partners. The bottom line is that respectable adults refrain from using bawdy language, and certainly in inappropriate places, but teenagers, rappers, street people, and the like, give themselves the freedom of absolute irreverence.

In truth, no filthy language comes close to being as offensive as war or taking human life for any reason.

The boys in Superbad are quite vulgar but at the same time, they are decent, even sweet, and they are not cruel. Nor do they take advantage of their drunken female high school dates. This is what makes this film both funny and enjoyable. These boys are feeling their way (pardon the pun) to manhood. They do it with abandon and also a big dose of kindness.

Jonah Hill, Michael Cera and Christopher Mintz-Plasse are excellent as the three who are coming of age.

I loved this film.

SWEENEY TODD, THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET, rated R, general release

Although this is known as a musical comedy (it debuted on Broadway in 1970), it is more bloody than musical and more about murderous revenge than comedy. It is a horror film set to music. The barber, torn from his wife and child and sent into exile, returns to find justice and save his now teenage daughter. In the process he manages to slit multiple throats. His cohort, Mrs. Lovett, grinds the bodies into meat pies for sale in her shop. It is a tale designed to ruin the best of appetites.

Nonetheless, Johnny Depp shines as the barber, and we discover that among his numerous talents, Depp also sings. Helen Bonham Carter plays Mrs. Lovett with such a thick cockney dialect that I understood very few of the words she spoke in her many appearances.

Alan Rickman does a good job as the evil judge. Even though he deserves to be paid back for his bad deeds, the slicing of his throat is inhumane and makes us turn away.

The setting is a dark London in the 19th century and the film catches the atmosphere beautifully. Today, London, thankfully, is better known for a cup of tea than the vats of blood filled by the fabled Mr. Todd.

Don’t bring the kids. When you go, remember it is only a movie and such behavior doesn’t happen every day every where. It is Depp’s fine performance that makes this worth seeing.

SWING VOTE, Rated PG-13, general release

Kevin Costner turns in a better than usual performance as Bud Johnson, an undependable, beer-drinking, somewhat employed father in New Mexico whose vote will decide the next President of the United States. He and his 12-year-old Molly (Madeline Carroll) live in broken-down trailer where he leads a broken-down life. Circumstances well beyond his control throw him into the political limelight with the candidates themselves flying in to wine and dine him to get his vote. We all like to think that it would be impossible for one man to decide the fate of the nation but when we remember Florida and those chads, we have to accept the premise and the possibility. There is a lot of good humor in the film as well as a spur to any of us who might suffer from apathy. Needless to say, it is very timely. It is entertaining as well as pleasing. I think you will enjoy it.

SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK, Rated R, art theatre release

Charlie Kaufman, writer and first-time director of this incredible piece, is surely an awakened being. Some of those who influenced him over the years include Franz Kafka, Samuel Beckett, and Philip K. Dick. Kaufman is not only a “big thinker” but a seer of Reality and The Way Things Are. He has previous written Being John Malkovich, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, to name only a few. His newest offering, Synecdoche, New York, is a spiritual treatise and nothing short of brilliant both in thesis, story, execution, and acting.

This is no ordinary tale with a beginning, a middle, and an end. This is a journey into timelessness, and into oneness. I suspect it will confuse many audiences who will wonder as they leave, “Now, what was that about?” People who have taken drug trips might relate to the disorientation produced on the screen but as with drug induced- experiences they will not KNOW anymore than before they began.

If you are awakened, if you have had a cosmic experience, if you have merged with the now moment and with all there is, if you KNOW Oneness and your inseparableness from the whole (not philosophically but in your gut), you will experience this film as a triumph. It is a living, breathing presentation of the Self in all its forms, moving through its struggles, its yearnings, its losses, its disappointments, on the one hand, and its joys, achievements, creativity, and loves, on the other.

For those of you who have done The Theatre of Life or Life as a Waking Dream with us, you will instantly recognize yourself in the midst of your own growth and unfolding. Charlie Kaufman has woven both approaches to inner growth right into his film.

The story is about Caden Cotard (brilliantly portrayed by Philip Seymour Hoffman) who is a striving but despair-filled theatre director who is in a dreadful marriage to a successful painter of miniatures, Adele Lack (Catherine Keener). They have a four-year-old and the three of them live in a constant state of melancholy. It is fitting that Caden's last name is Cotard given its ties to Cotard Syndrome: "psychotic depression involving delusion of the existence of one’s body, along with ideas of negation and suicidal impulses."

The unfolding of the ensuing story, in which Adele and the child leave Caden, and he wins a MacArthur Genius Award which allows him to work on a theatrical opus, has the sensation of beginning as a huge wad of soft taffy that will then be pulled slowly in all directions past the confines of time into an eternally connected maze in which One life breathes multiple expressions.

As we follow Caden and his many relationships we are both fascinated and bewildered. As part of his opus he has others playing himself. He then directs them so that they do his life role justice. Later, he even casts another to play himself as the director directing the actor playing himself, and then directing even himself. Again, if you have done The Theatre of Life, you will have no trouble following what I have just described. It is amazing to watch.

To perform the opus, Caden rents a warehouse where he builds a replica of his world and his life as it unfolds. Soon, the whole city and then the whole world, is inside his warehouse. There we see in a bold statement of the truth that the reality we create is the reality in which we live and have our being.

The film is a journey into worlds within worlds, all of which spin into the very now moment which is all there is.

All Caden’s agonies are but a waking dream. As Carl Jung said, who looks outside dreams, who looks inside awakens. Do not miss this masterpiece.

TALK TO ME, rated R, art theatre release

This is a terrific film starring Don Cheadle and Chiwetel Ejiofor as two Black men in the trouble-filled 1960’s. Cheadle plays Petey Greene, an ex-convict whose delivery as a DJ is filled with profanity, put downs, and a big dose of truth. Ejiofor is his opposite, a suit and tie guy who came up through the ranks of management at a D.C. radio station. Together they represent two sides of one being, and each side struggles to be the dominant force. What is really needed is a balance of what both have to offer and this is what they discover as the true story unfolds.

The screenplay is engaging, dramatic, and insightful making it impossible to take sides or favor one “brother” over the other. It is also a story about being who you are and not trying to make someone else into something he is not.

There are also beautiful and touching performances by Taraji P. Henson and Martin Sheen.

The film is uplifting even with its vulgarity. It makes us think and it makes us feel. It gives us an opportunity to step inside the reality of Black men as they struggle for dignity and recognition. Do see this.

TELL NO ONE, NOT RATED, ART THEATRE RELEASE

It has been a while since I have seen an excellent movie. This is it! This crime thriller is in the tradition of the best the French produce. It will have you refraining from blinking, trying to figure out who the killer is, holding your breath, and filling yourself with creative tension that lasts long after the film ends. It is a film you will want to see more than once, well written, beautifully directed, wonderfully acted, and riveting. The plot unfolds like a labyrinth where we get lost in the maze of murder, unexpected twists, corruption in high places, and a story that ensnares you as you get entangled in the horrendous events as they are slowly revealed. Clue after clue is laid out before us but try as we may we lack the smallest piece of the puzzle and can’t put it all together until the end. When all is revealed it is not “a cheat” in any way as is sometimes the case in films like this. Instead it is clean and it all fits together perfectly so that we can finally begin to settle down. A major part of the film involves the love story between Alex Beck and his wife Margot. It is so strong a love that we care about them almost instantly and that makes the unfolding drama, the death, the police chase, the constant anxiety all the more difficult to bear. You will note that I have revealed next to nothing about the actual plot. I want you to discover it fresh and have the full experience. I wish all reviews were written that way. I never want to know the story before I go to see it. Usually, I will read a line at the beginning and the end and get a feel for whether I will see it. The acting throughout is superb and sensitive: Francois Cluzet as Alex, Marie-Josee Croze as Margot, Kristin Scott Thomas as the lover of Alex’s sister, etc. Do see this, and see it with another person so that on the way home you can piece it all together for yourself and have an even better grasp of what transpired.

THEN SHE FOUND ME, Rated R, general release

Helen Hunt stars in this film and makes her directorial debut. It is a comedy with serious overtones about a 39-year-old adopted woman who longs to have a child and who simultaneously is reunited with her real mother (Bette Midler), a fast talking local TV talk show host. To its credit, the film avoids comedic traps and heavy sentimentality while presenting us with lovable characters such as her childish Jewish husband (Matthew Broderick is as true to a mama’s boy as anyone could be) and the new love interest in her life (Colin Firth, who does wonders with neurotic, hot-tempered behavior mixed with sexy, manly appeal). The story deepens and the laughs increase as the film progresses, leaving us well-satisfied by the end.

THERE WILL BE BLOOD, rated R, art theatre release

There Will Be Blood is a “big” Hollywood movie but not with a cast of thousands, car chases, multiple locations and overpowering action events. It is big in content, in unsurpassed acting and directing, and in impact on the viewer. It is about oil, ambition, greed, money, power, domination, envy, and religious fury.

Daniel Day Lewis plays Daniel Plainview, a giant of a man who towers on the big screen as he wheels and deals, manipulates and controls, and mixes tenderness for his small son with venom for any who would stand in his way.

Based on the novel Oil by Upton Sinclair, the dialog is intelligent and biting. There is stark scenery, hardship, triumph, and a vehement dual between two unyielding men, the oil baron and the evangelical preacher (Paul Dano.)

The opening scene is without dialog and utterly riveting. It moves from inside a dark hole in the ground to unwelcoming barren land. It encompasses us in the harsh and painful work of searching for black gold. We are immediately mesmerized and we remain that way for two and half more hours. Jonny Greenwood’s music is both haunting and enrapturing.

Lewis has created an unforgettable character. I kept looking behind me the next day fearing he might be there, looming, and watching my every move, plotting, ready to attack.

Paul Thomas Anderson wrote and directed this offering. It is as if it somehow overtook him and emerged through him. Every camera angle envelops the viewer; every movement on the screen demands our undivided attention lest we too are chastised by Mr. Plainview who misses nothing. The film is epic in proportions, a classic even though it has just opened. The audience can never rest because the giant essence of Daniel Plainview is filled with rage that flows like oil erupting from the ground. I have seen a lot fine acting; this is brilliant.

Don’t wait for the DVD; your television can’t be large enough (even if is big screen) to hold the towering story and looming being casting a shadow across your movie-going experience.

THE SIMPSONS MOVIE, rated PG-13, general release

I managed, somehow, to ignore 18 seasons and 400 episodes of The Simpsons on television. While I delight in satire, I prefer it in forms other than animated. Now I wonder if I should have been watching all along.

This very funny movie balances silly jokes for the kiddies with political humor for the adults. The town of Springfield bursts to life on the big screen and all its characters and sub-characters have strong points of view and equally strong personalities.

There are evocative scenes with Homer and Marge “in the bedroom” and endearing scenes with Bart racing through town in his full frontal nudity, and hilarious scenes in the White House where President Schwarzenegger conducts bold policy without knowing any of the details which are all in the hands of his elite advisors. The humor is quick and when you catch it, it is laugh out loud.

I delighted in its iconoclasm, no stone is left unturned. I wish more of the adults in the audience (all those who were dragged there by little children) had responded with more gusto to the humor because it clearly had much to say to us about our current national situation.

Do see it.

THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE, rated R, general release

I was very touched by the human drama that unfolded in this film which deals with the death of a husband and father, the struggles of his widow, and the trials of his best friend from childhood who is trying to recover from a heroin addiction. Halley Berry plays the struggling wife, David Duchovny the husband, and Benicio Del Toro the best friend.

Duchovny comes to life a little more in this film than his previous attempts. Berry does well creating a woman who is guarded and tight and who finally allows grief to break through. Del Toro has more substance to play with here than in many of his previous roles and he handled the difficult moments very well.

It is the struggle each character endures that is heart of the film. Their interactions with each other compound their own personal battles and draw us into the unfolding story. It is a look into very hard times and each must stretch to come to a place of wholeness.

A day after seeing the film the characters lingered around in my field because I had been through their agonies with them and I felt as if I knew them. It is a powerful film.

THIS CHRISTMAS, rated PG-13, general release

Christmas movies come and go and many of them feel familiar, but not this one. Preston A. Whitmore II has written and directed a portrait of a Black family in Los Angeles that is upscale, has an Hispanic maid, and exhibits all its love and warts when they gather for the holiday.

The relationships are complex and not all sweetness and light but as with most Christmas stories, all’s well that ends well. Besides, there is a lot laughter and joy in the midst of “workin’ out the problems.”

In this film I was introduced to Chris Brown who played the youngest son and a would-be singer. He is fabulous with a fine voice, a great range, a sweet sound, and a thoroughly engaging personality. He is 18-years-old and he has a very big career ahead of him. You will fall in love with him in a minute. And, the film is developed enough to hold your interest, and maybe even cause you to recognize some universal family dynamics.

TRADE, rated R, special release

I suspect Kevin Kline starred in this film because of a strong personal aversion to the slave trade of human beings for deviant sexual purposes. While his intentions were likely good, his performance as a detective in this film was so weak as to be unrecognizable as his work. The content of the film is very hard to watch. It’s all about kidnapping or entrapping victims (girls, boys, young women, and most prized of all, young virgins) and selling them to perverts. Each transaction brings many thousands of dollars. The setting is Mexico at its worst with practicing Catholic perpetrators and the ugly side of Russian immigrant dealers in human life. The story is about the nastiest kind of sleaze. It is important to tell the story for the sake of the millions of victims but this telling is clearly a very low budget affair and turned me off rather than awakened my outrage. Its few moments of triumph were too trumped up and not very believable. I left the theatre wishing I had skipped this one.

TRANSFORMERS, rated PG-13, general release

Until the last half hour of this BIG and LOUD summer entertainment epic, we have a rollicking good time in this comic book tale come to life. There is a wealth of action and excitement, incredible graphics, and fine humor. It is good fun and it doesn’t take itself too seriously. In addition, if you keep your spiritual eyes open, there is wisdom slipped in under the crashing and banging.

What I am referring to begins in the opening scenes when an unidentified helicopter enters our foreign base air space and our military confronts it with “Identify yourself or we will kill you.” It is an all too familiar approach. Turns out the helicopter, right before our eyes, TRANFORMS itself into a giant size, indestructible multiple parted, pieced together robot-like creature with great intelligence. Talk about an illegal immigrant. My oh my.

It takes a teenage boy, magnificently, earnestly, and honestly played by Shia LaBeouf, to reach out in a different way to the aliens who have descended. He reaches from his heart. Turns out, one of the strongest commitments held by the aliens is that they will never kill the humans.

In contrast, our Secretary of Defense, played by Jon Voight, infused with testosterone and fired by fear, orders the destruction of these invaders. By the time we get to the end of the film we have been thrust into mayhem and such fast action that we cannot tell what is going on. The film makers seem caught in their own hullabaloo and they can’t get out of it. I squirmed in my seat wishing the damn thing would end, the noise would stop, the chaos would finish, and the credits would roll. It was way over the top.

We had seen all this same action before in earlier parts of the film. At the end it was repeated writ large. But before all the blast ‘em up footage, there was fascinating transforming taking place in the aliens. This is the heart of the film.

The point I got was very clear. Our military, our governing body, our population (along with that of the majority of the world) is focusing on the image-appearing-substantive. We objectify everything. When we go to war, we fight metal against metal, body against body. Alas, we can never win and war in form after form will go on and on. The aliens show us something different, if we will wake and see. Nothing is as it seems. Everything is energy. Everything is transformative. Only butt-heads butt their heads against solid forms they label their enemy.

Violence does not, cannot stop violence. We need to transform – our thought-world, our miniscule view of life and issues, our stances, our arrogance. We need to demand of ourselves that we heal the human condition through the power of unconditional love.

TROPIC THUNDER, Rated R, general release

As I was disappointed with Seth Rogen in Pineapple Express for resorting to cheap, crass humor, I am even more disappointed with Ben Stiller and Ethan Cohen. There was such wonderful possibility here and it was trampled under the feet of The Profit Monster who said, “Let’s bring this down to the level of the lowest common denominator and sell the hell out of it to the boys with the beer bottles.” Tropic Thunder starts with a terrific idea, a film within a film, making a movie about making a war movie. It is clever, holds great promise, and then topples downhill in a morass of embarrassing “humor.” Its premise is that everyone is “challenged” either mentally or physically. But in that regard it doesn’t go far enough. It needed to say, this entire film genre is “challenged” and needs burial somewhere where its stink can no longer be detected. The characters are actors who need a career hit and they are enthusiastically played by Stiller, Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr. in black face, etc. The dialog and action is pathetic (even as it evokes laughs, many laughs). Cases in point: Black flying through the air clinging to a copter worrying that his “nut-sack” will get singed by fire; a soldier with his guts exposed and pouring out who is encouraged because he thinks he can squeeze them back in; and the blown-off head of the director which drips blood that is tasted by the Stiller character as he plays with the stringy bits hanging from the bloody neck. Stiller’s mode is OVER THE TOP again and again, poking fun at everything including references to retards. And we even are given Tom Cruise (almost unrecognizable) playing a grotesque movie producer. The foul language is so abundant one would think there is no intelligent way to speak English, no way to make a point or turn a phrase without spitting out an expletive. Vulgar is in. Vulgar makes money. If we don’t like it, we can’t possibly be hip. We are old-school. What we really are is duped! We are being told this is funny, so laugh. This is how humor works, so enjoy it. Cohen used to be amusing; now, combined Stiller, he is reduced to down and dirty. They could learn a lot from some other Jewish writers like Woody Allen or Neal Simon. Cohen and Stiller have become Borscht-belt without the beets. They promote humiliation of characters. They are consumed with bodily fluids, anuses and genitals and, in this film, they have added sickening doses of violence. If they represent the level that American movie-goers demand, our nation is pitiful.

TURQUOISE ROSE, art theatre release

This is a sweet little film about a Navajo-born college student who returns to her roots on the reservation to care for her ailing grandmother during her summer vacation.

Though written and directed by a non-Navajo, 90 percent of the cast and crew is Navajo and it is true to their way of life. We are given a rich dose of customs and traditions, as well as a look at the simple and harsh life these Native Americans live.

It has a universal quality because it reminds us all of our own special roots and how important it is to touch into those every now again.

TWILIGHT, PG-13, general release

Stephenie Meyer lives just up the road in Carefree, AZ. A short while ago she was hoping to pay off her van. Then she had a dream and the idea for what has become a 3-book contract and ¾ of million dollars. Now she is the craze among teenage girls and the film of her first book is all the rage. Ya never know!

We almost didn’t go to see this film became a. we are not teenage girls, and b. we simply don’t like vampire movies at all. But Stephenie is a neighbor and the teens are beside themselves screaming with heroine worship, so we thought, ok, we’ll go and leave after half an hour and get our money back.

Turns out this is more a love story and a struggle with one’s identity than it is about vampires. Bella (Kristen Stewart) falls in love with a very handsome, very different, very sensitive 17-year-old boy named Edward (Robert Pattinson). Unfortunately, Edward has been 17 for eons because, as a vampire, he does not die. He struggles with his destiny when he finds himself loving Bella and wanting to be with her. He tries to keep her away but she is smitten and even after she discovers the truth about him, she is drawn to him like a magnet.

There is more inner searching than blood and gore, a focus on how to cope with being different, and danger that comes of risking and pursuing the impossible. And, there is a big dose of learning how to control desires and have mastery over self. That is the story’s real strength and what sets it apart from other vampire tales.

Edward’s vampire family does not drink human blood, only the blood of animals. They think of themselves as vampire vegetarians. The story is complicated by another group of vampires that does kill people. It adds some tension but could easily be left out because the story of the inner struggles is much more powerful.

The dialog is all in very short sentences with little sophistication and yet it seems appropriate for teenage life in a small, unworldly town.
We actually enjoyed this movie directed by Catherine Hardwicke and written by Melissa Rosenberg.

TYLER PERRY’S WHY DID I GET MARRIED?, rated PG-13, general release

I hesitated to see this because I don’t care for the overdrawn, literally inflated, characters that have been Perry’s trademark. This film was on top of the charts for two weeks, so I thought I would have a peek at it. I was pleasantly surprised by the serious dramatic presentation of couples exploring their relationships. Perry drops his past cartoon-like characters, his harsh humor, and his former preaching and replaces all that with outspoken real people, subtle humor, and soul searching.

The acting throughout was pleasing, as was the setting in the Colorado mountains. Sharon Leal is a wonderful workaholic lawyer. Tasha Smith is powerful and tart in her speak-the-truth character, and Jill Scott is touching and beautiful as a fat woman who deals with the cruelty of her husband (Malik Yoba).

Terry’s writing and directing holds up well throughout and the story is such that the audience is prone to occasional outbursts of support for the characters on the screen.

Why Tyler Perry sees it necessary to put his own name in the title is beyond me, but it is his film.

What I enjoyed most was the experience of eight intelligent, articulate, successful Black people in non-stereotyped screen roles who can speak without jive talk and without any foul language. Good for Perry, healthy for all of us.

ULTIMATE GIFT, THE, rated PG, general release

I hesitated to see this film offered by Fox Faith because recent Mormon films have been so laden with moral messages that I have gagged over the content and the awful acting. This one was not nearly as bad, except that during the ending titles, the director, Michael O. Sajbel, saw fit to reiterate the “gifts” in case we missed them the first time.

 The story is about a spoiled rich kid, Jason, (played pretty well by Drew Fuller) who is left money by his billionaire grandfather, Red, (played by a subdued James Garner). The catch is that Jason has to earn it by changing his ways of being. Not a new theme, but tolerable.

 It would have been better shown on TV rather than the big screen but it makes good points and encourages all of us in the direction of living meaningful lives. You could do a lot worse at the movies.

UNDER THE SAME MOON, rated PG-13, special release, In Spanish, subtitled.

If you are old enough you might remember the black and white films of yesteryear which held you riveted in your seat with your heart aching for the characters on the screen. You so yearned for a happy ending, reconciliation, a reunion, a moment of completion where the music would swell, the tears would roll down your face, and you would feel deeply satisfied.

Under the Same Moon, in bright color, is such a film. A mother illegally enters the US leaving her son Carlitos with his grandmother in Mexico and working many jobs to support them and to save enough money to bring her small son to America. As the story unfolds the difficult lives of mother and son are run parallel to one another. We feel compassion for both and we long for them to be reunited.

Carlitos is played by Adrian Alonso. He is a beautiful boy with a pure face and a sweet nature. Our heart strings are tugged when his smooth brownish face is scrunched with tiny wrinkles of sadness. This nine-year-old is resourceful and driven by purpose. He will find his way to his mother no matter what.

Kate del Castillo plays Rosario, his overworked mother. The two are connected by telephone calls every Sunday.

The film addresses several issues, not the least of which is the matter of illegals who are under fire in our society today. They do the work few citizens want to do and they live a precarious existence because at any moment they can be sent south of the border.

The boy and his mother never lose their link to each other because they live under the same moon and can always connect by looking up at it.

I saw a larger meaning in the film title. We may be legal residents or illegal but we are all humans living together under the same moon. The distinctions we make are arbitrary and all too often separating. In the beginning we were all created as an expression of One Being yet we persist in pointing fingers at others who are “they” rather than “we.”

One of the most beautiful threads in the film is when Carlitos travels in the company of a man, himself illegal, desperate to stay in the US. But he is not so desperate that he cannot risk his own future to help the boy. It is a very touching outpouring of love and self-sacrifice.

I loved this little film and I hope you will too.

UNTRACEABLE, rated R, general release

If you have an aversion to hideous crimes, stay away from this film. People are tortured and killed in the most God-forsaken ways in this dark tale about internet violence that not only can’t be stopped but uses on-line viewers around the world to speed the death of the victims. It takes quite a mind to come up with a story such as this.

Diane Lane, as usual, gives a fine performance as a special agent (Jennifer Marsh) in a cybercrime unit of the FBI. The tension she feels is always just under the surface and disenables us from ever resting as the gory details unfold. The murderer’s website is called “Killwithme” and the premise is that all those who watch the dying are accessories to murder. Without the audience, the murder could not be consummated. The oxymoron here is that we are also an audience. The question is, would writers dream up such horror if none of us went to see it? Or, is it important that all of us finally accept that human beings are capable of all things and that evil and good stand side by side as necessary polarities in the world?

Gregory Hoblit has done a tight job of directing. He keeps us squirming in our seats. It is not a film for children.

Mary Beth Hurt (once married to William Hurt) plays Marsh’s mother. I remember Hurt from back in the 70’s. I didn’t recognize her in this film, even though I saw her name as one the actors. Then I remembered that over 30 years have passed. Yikes. It is a real comeuppance for those of us who have lived this long to realize that we are barely recognizable three decades later. (Having worked for three years in Marshalltown, Iowa for Move the Mountain, I was surprised to learn that Hurt was born there and that another native, Jean Seberg, had been Hurt’s childhood baby sitter.)

Colin Hanks plays Marsh’s partner in the film. I have experienced his acting before and find him flat, bordering on lifeless, completely missing inner spark or passion. I am always unhappy when actors like this get featured work while so many talented people can’t even get to the casting director’s door. But then again, he is the son of Tom Hanks (though none of the father’s talent passed to the son through his genes) and we will soon see him again in a film with his father.

If you see this, go prepared for grizzly.

VACANCY, rated R, general release

Save your money on this gimmicky tale of a couple (Luke Wilson and Kate Beckinsale) stranded at a remote motel where they are attacked by butchering psychopaths.

Beyond there being a room vacancy, there is a vacancy in reality and credulity!

The couple is lost on a remote road at 2 AM and find a gas station open near the motel-death-trap. Everything that happens after that, even though some events will cause you to scream, is trumped up and implausible. It left me irritated and feeling cheated.

I couldn’t help but think back to Psycho and how that remains a classic for hundreds of reasons. If you need some scream therapy for what currently ails you, rent Psycho and skip Vacancy.

VALET, THE, rated PG-13, art theatres

For those of you who use Netflix because you don’t have an art theatre where you live, put The Valet on your list of films to rent.

This flawless farce will have you laughing from the opening scene until long after the movie is over. Then, you will wake up the next morning and as you stretch you will remember one of hundreds of moments in the film and the first sound you utter will be laughter.

There is no way to predict what will happen next, what astonishing twist will amaze you, or how it will end (and you wish it never would.) Daniel Auteuil, the great French actor, outdoes himself here. He is a sinful billionaire who wants his cake (and everyone else’s) and wants to eat it too. His wife, played by Kristin Scott Thomas (who speaks eloquent French) is ripping mad because hubby is having an affair. The by-play between them is brilliant, but that is only the tip of the iceberg. Their lives, and the beauty who is the object of the affair, become intertwined with the valet, a homely, humble fellow (played by Gad Elmaleh) who is rejected by the woman he loves.

I’m not going to tell you anymore because every unfolding moment is for savoring and for being knee-slappingly surprised. It is comedy at its highest, magnificently written and fabulously acted. Francis Veber wrote and directed this masterpiece. I haven’t been so delighted since The Importance of Being Ernest or when sitting at a Moliere play.

Just when you think there can’t be another subplot, you are washed away in a flood of happenings and laughing the whole way as you are carried out to sea. The art of scheming reaches new levels here and all of it is embraced by on-going sweetness

VANTAGE POINT, PG-13, general release

This thriller is exciting, interesting, fast moving and, as with others of this genre, starting with the brilliant film “Crash in 2005, the story unfolds from the points of view of different characters, until we are supposedly shocked to discover the real bad guy. Dennis Quaid and Forest Whitaker are interesting to watch, Matthew Fox, not so much. I enjoyed it because I like dramas, thrillers, and the like, and perhaps you will too. They don’t reveal too much too soon and so we get to go along for the ride while wondering who will be revealed as the traitor.

VENUS, rated R, limited release, art theatres

I was happy to be going to see this film, especially because there was so much press about Peter O’Toole giving an Oscar-quality performance. And, our paper gave it four stars. Alas, neither Mari nor I liked this film. In fact, a man sitting down the row from us got up and left in the middle of it.

I find it hard to say why I didn’t like it. Let me put it this way; this is a great film if you want to see a character study of an ancient-seeming second-rate English actor on his last legs who lusts after a 19-year-old girl. If the writer and director sought to depict the seediness and distastefulness of this theme, they succeeded brilliantly.

It was the content that mostly turned me off. Plus, there was very little I found likeable about the character of Maurice. O’Toole may be 74, but Maurice felt closer to 90. I could find no way to empathize or sympathize or even relate to this dirty old man. If that is what the film hoped to depict, it is a success.

I didn’t like the story or the impotent old man’s complete focus on sex. I didn’t like the old man. And, I was not very taken with O’Toole’s playing of him. I was insulted that this performance would be pitted against Whitaker’s in The Last King of Scotland.

I did like the acting of Vanessa Redgrave and Leslie Phillips and I wished there was more screen time for both of them. They felt real to me in their suffering. Some critics see O’Toole as poignant in this role but I never picked up that frequency.

See it for yourself. I may be blinded by my aversion.

VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA, Rated PG-13, general release

Woody Allen is like fine wine: his work gets better the more he ages. He has written and directed this sensual comedy about two American women who have a summertime affair with a luscious Spanish painter. It is filled with juxtapositions: hesitation and daring, fulfillment and emptiness, lust and disappointment, etc. Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson and the extremely sexy Javier Bardem take us on a glorious journey through Barcelona and the beautiful Spanish countryside. Immediately, I wanted to book my return to Spain, with or without Bardem in attendance! Allen’s highly developed melancholy is present as the story unfolds, and yearning and loss permeate. But it is a melancholy that is a step up from what he explored when he was steeped in neurosis. This time it is of the heart rather than the solar plexus. Bardem wraps himself around women, moving them to ecstasy. His character’s real love, his former artist wife, played by Penelope Cruz, is his perfect counterpart, shooting fire as he oozes sex appeal. The two Americans are innocent and bland in comparison but it is wonderful to watch as the pilot light is turned up underneath them and they begin to simmer on the way to coming to a boil. Along the way we are treated to art and the artist’s temperament, the brilliance of Gaudy’s buildings and park, and the exquisite architecture that abounds in Barcelona. Cruz plays Maria Elena and Bardem is Juan Antonio. Their names roll off the tongue and they clearly represent what Allen could have in his life if desire was not a continuing agony for him. This is a film to savor.

VINCE VAUGHN’S WILD WEST COMEDY SHOW: 30 DAYS AND 30 NIGHTS, rated R, select theatres

Have you got a good book? May I suggest that you stay home and read it instead of going to this movie? 30 Days and 30 Nights. We didn’t make it 30 minutes. This is about a 6,000 mile tour with four rising young male comedians. Given the language all of them use, I could make a joke here that would be funnier than anything we heard in our brief film exposure. But, I will spare you. As we walked out, I felt sad that comedy seems to have died and been replaced with people who use the f-word the way some people use “you know” every few words. It gets old and tired very quickly. We recently saw Rob Riggle live (from The Daily Show) who announced as he entered the stage that there would be lots of potty talk. The person who does the bookings at the theatre later called his show their first clunker of the season. And she was right. Comedy takes intelligence, wit, irony, a different kind of seeing, a twisting of reality, a brilliance of repetition, and a deep knowledge of what is being lampooned. Comedy is rarely displayed. It was completely missing in this film and I hope you will be missing from the audience.

VITUS, Rated PG, art theatre release last year! for spiritual content

We missed this film when it played last year at our art theatre. Thanks to a gift of Netflix for a month from Judy (one of our Film Commentary readers from Carmel, CA) we were able to order this and see it last night. If you can rent this, please do. It is a powerful tale about a brilliant little boy, I.Q. 180, who is a fabulous pianist, a whiz at everything, smarter than all his teachers, but a misfit at making friends with his peers. His parents, with the best of intentions, push him to fulfill his potential and to show off his talents. But his focus is more on discovering who he is and how he can merge with himself before focusing on his potential. There are many spiritual lessons exhibited here, multiple surprises in the unfolding story, and a clear example of how unconditional love (Grandfather, case in point) can enable natural talents to emerge in right order and timing. The acting is quite good: in particular, Bruno Ganz as the grandfather, Fabrizio Borsani and Teo Georghiu , both real piano prodigies, as the 6 and 12-year-old Vitus. It is a perfectly lovely film that makes you glad to be alive.

VOLVER, rated R, art theatre release, subtitled

In this film we are instantly transported to Spain, to Madrid and to a little windswept village in the country. The story unfolds easily and quickly, catching us off guard, surprising us, and simultaneously giving us a full taste of the wonderful Spanish culture and life.

Penelope Cruz is terrific in the lead role of a hard-working woman caught in the tumult of circumstances and of life and death.

This is a tale of family, friendship, and female bonding. The subject matter, which includes heavy things such as serious illness, abandonment, murder, and the return of ghosts, is dealt with in a light-hearted, even amusing, way. We continue to delight in what is unfolding, no matter what it is! This is quite a feat.

There is a lot of fast-flying conversation in this film. I found myself tiring while trying to read the subtitles as fast as they jumped on the screen. At the same time, I wanted to be looking at the faces. It was not easy. But it was worth the effort. If you rent this one you can stop it whenever you want and enjoy it in a more leisurely fashion.

W, Rated PG-13, general release

Fans of George W. Bush will not appreciate this cynical satire of the current president. Those who are distressed or angered by Mr. Bush will likely be pleased. The picture it paints is not at all flattering. Its purpose appears to be making a case for Bush’s ineptitude, his early years of irresponsibility, his partying and drinking, his inability to hold a job, and his strong desire to be acknowledged by his straight-laced father coupled with his railing against that very image. Oliver Stone reports on Bush’s born-again experience, and he presents the President as one who governs through divine inspiration.

There is much mixing of fiction and fact so that the viewer really doesn’t know which is which and depending upon your point of view, you might take it all as truth or you might take it as complete distortion.

James Brolin does a good job of capturing Mr. Bush’s vocal and physical delivery, particularly in his later years. I felt uncomfortable with the exaggerated presentation of George in his college years.

I liked James Cromwell as Bush, Sr. much more than I cottoned to Ellen Burstyn as Barbara. Elizabeth Banks plays Laura but Stone has given her too small a role in the film and in George’s life so that her intelligence is more of a hint than a strong influence.

The story as told by Stone keeps circling back to Bush’s troubles with his father, and Bush Sr.’s despair with his son. I felt Stone to be embodying Bush Sr.'s purported disapproval as he brought this film into being.

Stone’s other big target is Vice President Cheney. Richard Dreyfus portrays him as an evil, haunting figure who pulls the puppet strings in the most manipulative ways.

The interjection of graphic Iraq war footage sours the comedic aspects and shows us the restrained (?) distaste Stone has for Mr. Bush.

There is a mix here, perhaps too much, of satire and desire to pummel. Thandie Newton plays Condoleezza Rice with a continuous tight smile but Stanley Weiser hasn’t written in any of her brilliance. He has Scott Glenn portraying Donald Rumsfeld as contemptuous of presidential power. He makes a big point of the utter failure of the CIA and how we jumped into war not even knowing who was in charge of the untrue data on which they based their actions. Stone leaves us feeling completely had by an administration bordering on madness.

Colin Powell (Jeffrey Wright) is portrayed as the saddest of all the characters for he backed down on the truth he knew, the truth he spoke, when he said yes to going to war. He shifted from being true to self to being a team player and sent thousands of warriors in a war without a game plan. Powell is the big lesson for all us. If we turn our back on what we know, we are doomed.

WACKNESS, THE, rated R, art theatre release

This tale of a young man’s coming of age and igniting his sexuality is tedious, way too way out, barely enjoyable, and often discomforting.

Ben Kingsley plays an over-aged, hippy, drug using, psychiatrist (his role choices have seriously deteriorated over the years) who “treats” the young patient (Josh Peck) who is his dealer.

The young man, while interesting in his struggles, is too self-pitying at times and too self congratulatory at others. He is spaced out so much of the time that any conscious person in the audience would have little or no respect for him or care about his journey.

We didn’t like The Wackness and were sorry we stayed. But, rest assured, our next time out at Step Brothers, we left at half an hour and got our money back. Wackness was bad but Step Brothers was pure stupidity and vulgarity. Save your money.

WAITRESS, rated PG-13, general release

For years we delighted in Keri Russell’s acting on television in Felicity. We wondered, after the series finished, why she didn’t get juicy roles in films. At last, she has one, and she does it proud. She plays Jenna, a pie maker extraordinaire who is dreadfully unhappy in her marriage and has fantasies about selling her baby when she discovers she is pregnant.

Waitress is written and directed by Adrienne Shelly (sadly murdered in November 2006 in New York City) who also acts in the independent Sundance award-winning film. Basic women’s issues are explored in a feisty and open way: abusive relationships, staying in the marriage because you are too poor to make it on your own, having passionless sex, becoming pregnant and fearing that will keep you stuck forever, having an affair with a married man and finally knowing love, etc.

The issues are explored with humor and pathos. It is rich with emotion and person to person interactions. The emphasis is mostly on the women and their needs and dreary lives. But the lonely and unsatisfied relationships suffered by the men are also revealed. It’s a story about people caught in circumstances, wanting more and reaching to get it.

We enjoyed the film very much and I recommend it for your viewing.

WALK HARD: THE DEWEY COX STORY, rated R, general release

Judd Apatow has written a fictitious character who embodies a dash of many rock, country, and blues singers. Dewey Cox is a fine talent who tumbles into all the pitfalls show business and success have to offer. And John C. Reilly plays Dewey magnificently, making him bigger than life and very loveable.

There are times when the spoof is tiresome, times when it goes over the top of believability, times when we laugh, and times when we tap our feet and enjoy the music. When it’s all over, I wondered why it was made and why I went to see it. Something was lacking.

It was a big vehicle for Reilly but so weird that it took away from the actor’s talent more than it showcased it. I look forward to seeing him star in a story that allows him to shine. I find it hard to recommend this. A little of it goes a long way.

WALL-E, Rated G, general release

We were very eager to see this animated film, particularly because it had gotten such incredible reviews and is being touted for best picture, not just best animation. We were eager and we were disappointed.

Oh, there were very creative moments, superb graphics, interesting settings, and a lot was accomplished with next to no dialogue. Wall-e is a very busy robot who spends his life cleaning up the debris left 700 years ago by a population that ruined its environment and is currently living on a space station growing fat, being non-creative and mostly non-functional. Wall-e’s loyal sidekick, no surprise, is the only living thing on the planet, a cockroach. We have always been told that roaches would inherit the Earth, and given their number and tenacity when I was growing up in Brooklyn, N.Y. I have no reason to doubt.

The film practically hits you over the head with its environmental message. Humans made themselves extinct by their careless actions. Wall-E, through his cleanup work, and in his own private quarters, takes us on a journey through numerous remnants of what life used to be like, including a worn videotape playing “Hello Dolly” which exposes our lead character to romance. This comes in handy later when he falls in love with Eve, a research probe that lands in a visiting space ship.

Andrew Stanton and Jim Reardon wrote the screenplay and they have obvious disdain for large corporations which built megastores and loaded the world with garbage. Consumption wiped out the place where the consumers lived. Of course, in larger spiritual terms, what we have here is an upset of the balance between creativity and destruction – too much was manufactured, the population was overwhelmed, and self-destruction (being buried in stuff) resulted.

Wall-E represents what was. His own shape is a box, and a beat up one at that. But he is clever and resourceful. Eve is shaped like an elongated egg. This is particularly appropriate, given that that is the way new life comes into being. That new life, that new start, will not have an easy time of it because the space station residents have become so fat, so round, so incapable of action that their transformation into productive citizens seems highly unlikely.

The question is, will the human race move toward art and soul or will it continue to choke itself with junk as it champions consumerism?

The film raises important questions, but what disappointed us was the amount of repetition. We covered the same ground and the same points too often. More than that, while Wall-E was an interesting character ingeniously designed, he was so mechanical that he did not engage my heart or my feelings. As a hero, he was too objectified and didn’t have soul. Hence, I looked AT the film rather than engaging with it and I felt myself getting tired rather than being inspired. In addition, there was no saving grace in this human race. The only people around were those who caused the problem.

Everything took place on a mental level and that doesn’t go very far. It never touched me, therefore I received its message as “Oh, yes. I see your point.” Yawn.
You might have a very different impression, especially if you are scientifically oriented or if you like there to be a lot distance between you and what is on the screen.

WANTED, Rated R, General Release

This is a shoot-em-up with a twist. It crackles and it doesn’t let you rest for a minute.

Angelina Jolie plays Fox, an amoral assassin who works for a group that does “good” by killing people who need to be eliminated. Morgan Freeman plays the chief of the operation but he is one-dimensional compared with Jolie and with the new recruit, Wesley, well played by James McAvoy.

Fox teaches Wesley how to shoot bullets so that the curve around the heads of those in the way of the intended target. It is quite a trick. There is a lot of blood spurting in all directions in this story based on yet another comic book. The Fraternity, as the group is called, even has sunken tubs where one can be restored after a day on the battlefield. Bullet holes heal very quickly. The film is a little farfetched but comic books are comic books, after all.

It is a strange film, a lot of action but not much substance. And, there is too much indifference on the part of the sanctimonious killers. The only character I really cared about was Wesley because he struggled with what he was doing. This shows my preference for caring about human life and not having it taken so easily.

WAR, rated R, general release

The very interesting twists, turns, and especially ending of this film still do not make up for this significant change in the martial-arts venue. It used to be that I was fascinated with the choreography of the fight scenes but in this and in the recent Jackie Chan movie, firearms and all manner of mechanical weaponry have taken over. Maybe Chan and, in this case, Jet Li, are past the age where they can use their bodies in the wonderful ways they previously demonstrated.

WAR is about a Rogue F.B.I agent and about battles between Asian crime syndicates. Machismo dominates in the midst of violence, car chases, and spilled blood. But in the end, we come away not impressed, but wondering how western mentality devoured a whole genre.

WAR, INC., Rated R, Art Theatre Release

I stayed to the end but I should have left at the beginning.

John Cusack, star, producer, and co-writer, is spoofing the war in Iraq and our government, and anything else he can get his hands on. But the film is not funny, the parodies don’t work, the dialogue falls flat, and the audience couldn’t care less about the whole endeavor.

Cusack’s heart was in the right place but the film was sloppy movie-making and a waste of time and effort. Do skip this one.

WATER HORSE, THE, rated PG, general release

Can you “have your cake and eat it too?” You can, in this fantasy about the boy who found the egg, rescued and raised the famous Loch Ness monster, and by film’s end, through the cleverness of a single line, makes believers out of all of us. What we didn’t know before this film was that the illusive sea creature’s name is Crusoe.

Every child deserves to be taken to this film, as well as every little self tucked away in every adult.

The acting is fine and the scenery beautiful. Crusoe is not a very good looking creature but then neither was ET. He is also quite messy and destructive when set loose in a house, but he is loveable. What’s even more important is how much he is loved, both by the boy and his sister, and by the adults who come to know him.

The film also manages to make a significant point about the dangers of war and how easily combatants are spooked into thinking the enemy is upon them. In their rush to defend their post, the military endangers those they seek to protect.

What I loved most in this film was the childlike place in me that it reawakened. I could feel myself lifting into the wonder of make believe and greatly preferring it to the matters of concern that loom large in the world every day. Every now and then we need a respite. Take yourself and your children to The Water Horse and you will have one.

WE ARE MARSHALL, rated PG, general release

This is the story (based on true events) of how a small West Virginia town grieved and restored its faith after the tragic loss of its entire college football team in a plane crash in 1970.

As the story unfolds we join the residents, the college president, the new coach, the new players, in suffering the loss, in struggling to re-coup, and in sustaining hope. All of this is engrossing, in part, because we, the audience, want it to be. We want to have our feelings stirred.

There is a tendency on the director’s part to ham things up a bit with loud violins playing at particularly emotional moments, with Matthew McConaughey as a very rah rah new coach who seems always to get what he wants, and with David Strathairn playing the college president as a very low key, too low key, personality (I can’t imagine he would ever be able to raise big bucks for the college.) In one scene he stands in the pouring rain in Kansas City hoping to get permission for a freshman squad to play and in the next scene, back in West Virginia, he shows up drenched to announce his success.

As a viewer, I am willing to pardon all such stretches of credulity because, as I said earlier, I went to have my feelings stirred, and they were.

This is a good film for pumping up your own inspiration level, and good for children as it shows how to overcome life’s cruel dealings.

WEDDING WEEKEND, THE, General Release

A group of college friends gather 15 years later to celebrate the wedding of one of their friends amid worries about receding hairlines, insufficient sex life, having children, retaining their good looks, and concerns about rejuvenating their current personal relationships. It is reminiscent of The Big Chill, a widely acclaimed film with similar issues but one which I didn’t particularly enjoy because those characters were overly cynical and too particularly drawn for me to establish a sense of identity. I liked this film much more because the characters seemed real and were much more available and revealing of their feelings. In addition, the guys were part of a singing group in college and they do quite a bit of “singing” (mostly lip-sinking here) together as the story unfolds. Predictably, the males focus on sexuality and bond over a 23-year-old nanny, and some of the women wonder what it would like to have sex with one of the other fellows! There is a lot of laughter, good-natured interaction, and characters who reveal their inner struggles, their weaknesses, and their dreams. I found it enjoyable, mostly for its humanness.

WELCOME HOME ROSCOE JENKINS, rated PG-13, general release

Here we have just another comedy with scattered laughs, exaggerated moments, and an unlikely setup. Martin Lawrence plays a TV show host revisiting his roots. Alas, he overacts and makes too many silly faces. The one good factor here is that there is a fine backup cast which includes James Earl Jones and Cedric the Entertainer. Best of all, however, is Mike Epps who truly is a fine comedian. He plays without gimmicks and facial distortions, and is very funny in every scene in which he appears.

The unfolding story comes with few surprises but there are some scenes which catch your attention and have you laughing, especially those that involve two dogs who fall in love!

If you have little else to do with your time, this provides a non-thinking diversion.

WE OWN THE NIGHT, rated R, general release

In the old days the Russians were bad guys because they were communists. Today movies are filled with Russian mobsters who deal in drugs and prostitution. Those poor Russians, they can ‘t win, especially when they are up against the New York City police department.

The twist here is two brothers, played with intensity by Mark Wahlberg and Joaquin Phoenix, who start out as opposites of each other, one, a celebrated cop who makes his father, the Chief, (Robert Duvall) proud, and the other, a nightclub manager who seeks fame and glory. The brothers have little regard for each other until circumstances turn the plot radically.

Duvall seemed stilted in this role. It was too much of what we have seen him do in the past. And Wahlberg and Phoenix had a lumbering quality to them which wouldn’t have been bad if they also didn’t both mumble. We have more and more actors who don’t open their mouths, swallow or slur their words, and generally forget they are performing for an audience. I have very little patience with this. Furthermore, I was not pleased to read an interview with Phoenix who said he didn’t even like acting. I would love to sit him down and encourage him to quit, get a nine-to-five job, and leave the profession for those who want to work and who seek to be artists.

The film is not bad but it is most certainly not memorable. It is appropriately rough around the edges. It does build tension and keep us interested (especially when we can understand the dialog.)

See it or not, as you choose.

                                                                WHALEDREAMERS, art theatre release

Please do not miss this incredible documentary which passionately explores the deep connection between ancient cultures/indigenous people/whales and the sea and stars from which we all came. There is stunning underwater photography and an unrelenting call for all of us to awaken to Oneness, to Peace, to commitment to Mother Earth. Al Gore’s work on global warming was presented with a scientific base. This film depends upon and evokes spirituality to bring its profound message.

I knew when I visited Australia and New Zealand that I would not be able to meet with wisdom figures from the Aboriginals and the Maoris. This film allows that to happen as spiritual people come together in The Gathering, a 1998 event in which 85 tribal leaders from around the globe come together to stir the world to greater consciousness.

The earth is not a resource for our use! It is our home, our source of nourishment. It is not here for the profit of a few. Simple statements, yet jarring when I think that over 30 years ago auto makers had opportunities to build alternative vehicles but because that would have interfered with their money-making they not only did nothing, they squelched those who might have done something and buried their inventions. Today, our government wants to bail out the perpetrators.

Petroleum is like the blood of mother earth and we are draining the life from her! Whether we have to buy our oil from others or drill for some of it here at home, is not at all the issue. We need to change our ways entirely. The contribution of human beings is invention. We were not put here to be abusers, and yet, we have specialized in this for far too long.

Kim Kindersley was a successful English actor who left that profession after having a spiritual breakthrough with a dolphin. Underwater, he looked into a dolphin’s eyes and the dolphin looked all the way into him and through him. His cosmic experience realigned him in Oneness with all that is and he went forth for over ten years to bring this film into being. Having had a similar experience with a flower in 1969, and a cosmic awakening which led me away from my former life and into commitment to consciousness, my heart sang during this moment in the film.

The indigenous people of the world have been trampled upon by the powers that be and by organized religions which look upon them as heathens. Yet those very indigenous people hold the wisdom dating back to the earth’s beginning. They know this: We are who we have been waiting for.

They yearn for the world to be able to heal itself, for humans to merge with nature and the animal kingdom, and for humankind to move beyond the separateness in which it lives.

The ignorant perspective of “us and them” will lead eventually to the breaking away of chunks of humanity, just as the glaciers are breaking apart and melting into the seas. The time is now for open hearts rather than closed minds, for burying fear and war before we are left with no one to bury the collective corpse of the human race.

WHAT JUST HAPPENED, Rated R, art theatre release

 I enjoyed this satire about Hollywood producers, Hollywood politics, and the Big Star Syndrome, but it was hardly realistic. I’m sure Barry Levinson (director) and Art Linson (writer) had a fine time poking fun at their industry!

Robert De Niro is likable as Ben the Hollywood producer whose life is a daily headache. But then, so is the life of everyone else in the business. Bruce Willis plays himself as a movie star who throws tantrums, John Turturro is a condescending agent, Sean Penn plays himself as star who demands artistic integrity from everyone, Catherine Keener is a studio boss who twirls lives like a top, and Robin Wright Penn is the hassled ex-wife of the hassled producer, Ben, who has big alimony payments to make to two ex’s.

There is a lot of humor in this self-mocking film, the funniest being when something that could have actually happened is lampooned. But there is much, and most especially the ending, which clearly would not happen, and could not happen. This leaves us puzzled rather than laughing, and places the rest of the scenario in question.

That said, I still enjoyed the unfolding stories and some good portrayals.

WHEN DID YOU LAST SEE YOUR FATHER? Rated PG-13, art theatre release

This is a beautifully and gently told story that is intelligent, touching, beautifully played and directed, and filled with lessons for our spiritual growth.
Sensitive Colin Firth plays the resentful son, Blake. He watched his father, Arthur (Jim Broadbent), do things he considered dreadful while he was growing up and he found it hard to forgive him his indiscretions and bombast.

We journey inside the thoughts and feelings of both men who are presented so equally and with their good and bad sides showing that we can easily be reminded that none of us is one dimensional and we dare not be labeled that way.

Arthur is painted in broad strokes. He is sure of himself, bullying. Boorish, and yet very needy. He is both shrewd and desperate. But he is not a “father dearest” type monster. He is a big man with a big voice and a big heart. His wife Kim (Juliet Stevenson) suffers his abuses but loves him and deeply grieves when his time comes to die.
Blake is a poet who turns against the beauty of the art form every time he withholds his energy, or shuts out his own wife while he sulks, or while he harbors ill feelings toward this father with whom he has a love-hate relationship.

Life is wonderfully depicted here as a series of contradictions. We come away from the theatre reminded to look at our own loved ones as layered and to love them warts and all.

The story flows between the past and the present and back again in a seamless way. Along that journey there are many missed opportunities for speaking forthrightly or for shows of affection. As we watch, we observe how each regret is born and thereby we are encouraged not to create our own as we proceed through our lives and interactions.
The film is not sentimental and there is barely any lingering over moments of reconciliation but just enough for a tear to fall from our eyes and to remind us that moments without love being expressed are wasted.

WILD HOGS, general release, rated PG-13

This is a silly little comedy about male midlife crisis, four best friends taking off on a motorcycle trip. It stars Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, and William H. Macy. I have loved them all in previous roles and I loved them in this, even though it was predictable, over the top, sometimes slapstick, sometimes tedious, but often very funny.

I laughed out loud several times and was fully entertained. Part of my pleasure derived from watching these guys make fun of themselves. Allen and Travolta were endearing. Lawrence delivered the funniest facial expressions possible each time he was punched out by some real bikers. But best of all was Macy as a bungling, shy guy who got into trouble just about every other frame. The other part of my pleasure was that I saw this film on a Friday afternoon after a long, tiring day and it just lifted my spirits and made me happy. But I do emphasize, it is a silly little comedy.

X-FILES, THE: I WANT TO BELIEVE, Rated PG-13, general release

When X-files first appeared on television, I was delighted. At last, I thought, events beyond ordinary perception would be explored and viewers would have an opportunity to open to the spiritual dimension. The first set of episodes was excellent. Then a watering down began and soon the thrust was just plain hokey and scary and certainly not enlightening. Eventually it reduced itself so fully that the series left the air. Chris Carter wrote and directed this latest movie edition. It features a psychic but barely goes any further into the paranormal. Mulder and Scully (David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson) try to intrigue us with long searching looks and a build-up of intensity. But all that is rather bland and what we have, instead of anything resembling an x-file, is a murder mystery involving nasty Russians who kill people and sell body parts. As such, it is a passable tale but nothing spectacular. Though it is nice to be with Mulder and Scully again. One aspect that was distressing to me was the writer’s choice of villain. The psychic is a disrobed pedophile priest. One of the top bad guys is an adult who was abused by the pedophile. He has grown up to be gay and he and his male spouse commit the mayhem on which the film lays its premise. Given that the evil men could have been anyone from any walk of life, making them gay is a cheap shot which not only serves to discredit homosexuals but erroneously links gays with pedophiles. I thought it was in bad taste and unnecessary.

YEAR OF THE DOG, general release

This is billed as a sentimental comedy about surviving the loss of your pet. Alas, I didn’t experienced much comedy or sentiment. Instead, I was turned off by the dog owner, played by Molly Shannon, turned off by her brother and sister-in-law, by her boss, and by the guy at the Vet’s office. They were all so unbelievable, so stereotyped, so lifeless, that they appeared euthanized or in need of same. The dogs, at least, were full of life and endearing.

Peggy has a breakdown (and we almost join her). The film moves dreadfully slowly with disconnected scenes. This may have been intended as a farce, but we will never know.

It presents the worst of pet-owners who are all too identified with their animals and offers no healthy medium.

Skip this one, or better yet, go to the pound and adopt a sweet dog who needs a home. Feed it and care for it, but leave your own neuroses out of the process.

YEAR MY PARENTS WENT ON VACATION, THE, special release, subtitled.

The story takes place in Brazil in 1970 when a military dictatorship ruled, radicals (Communists) were being imprisoned, and the national soccer team, led by Pele, was to play for the world cup. Mauro (Michel Joelsas) is left at his Jewish grandfather’s apartment by his radical parents-on-the-run. They tell him they are going on vacation and will return before the world cup game. The grandfather turns out to be dead and the story is all about how the boy makes an adjustment to being cared for by Shlomo (Germano Haiut), the grumpy old next door neighbor. We are given an intimate glimpse into life in the lower-middle-class Jewish neighborhood of Sao Paulo and the great fervor that resides in soccer fans. For me, a special treat was hearing an abundance of Yiddish spoken by the older residents. I was surprised at how much I remembered from my own childhood. It is a very colorful and expressive language that won’t be around too much longer, alas. The film is charming and touching and filled with nostalgia. It is hard not to like it.

YOU KILL ME, rated R, general release

In this dark comedy/romance Ben Kingsley uses his great versatility to play an alcoholic hit man who is good at his work unless he is falling down drunk. He is sent to San Francisco to sober up in a AA program, meets the love of his life, and is reformed. Of course, a whole lot happens in the middle.

Several actors join Kingsley to create interesting characters: Bill Pullman, Luke Wilson, and Tea Leoni, among others.

The story is improbable and that gives it its charm. I enjoyed the characterizations and the imagination used by the writers.

PS

I walked out on Eagles and Sharks, a bizarre New Zealand film, and also on a piece of trash called Captivity, which is about a blood and gore sadist. You can thank me for keeping these off your list of rentals.

YOU DON’T MESS WITH THE ZOHAN, Rated PG-13, general release

This is billed as a comedy. I admit that there is at least one good size laugh that counted as two because it was repeated a second time. It involved calling a terrorist hotline which responded with a recording that told you to push “1” for information, “2” for explosive supplies, etc. Other than that, this was most certainly not a funny movie.

Furthermore, the computer-generated effects were more heavy-feeling than effective, the gags were lame, body-part crudity prevailed, the plot (for a comedy) was much too complex, and some of the acting was dreadful. I went to see this because I like Adam Sandler’s work, for the most part. Alas, as the lead writer on this attempt to make the profoundly sad Israeli-Palestinian conflict humorous, Sandler goes over the top on point-making and under the bottom on endless crotch-references.

The antics start out stupid and descend from there. Sandler’s heart is in the right place in that his Zohan character ( a superman Israeli counterterrorist) has had his fill of killing and wants to become a hair stylist (who evolves into someone who bumps and grinds older woman who need more than a shampoo and trim). Sandler has structured this as an alternative to the never-ending bloodshed. The theme: give up weapons of destruction and pick up sheers of creativity. One of the really thoughtful lines in the film comes when Phantom (John Turturro), Zohan’s chief Palestinian enemy, starts slapping Zohan around. Zohan stands still, takes the punishment, and says that Phantom can’t hurt him. Phantom stops pummeling him, complaining, “Why don’t you fight back? It is no fun if you don’t fight back.”

It would be wonderful if adversaries would turn from battle because, due to lack of mutual engagement, they were bored and searched for something else to do with their time and talents. But then, I must not forget that millions of Jews didn’t fight back while incarcerated during the Holocaust and the Nazi’s had their sadistic “fun” anyway. In the film, the Jews have their shops on one side of the street, the Palestinians on the other. The symbolic divide is not great in meters but making the small crossing requires giant leaps in the untrusting souls on both sides of the street.

Sandler was earnest enough, as was Turturro, although both their characters were incredibly exaggerated. Lanie Kazan overacted while Shelley Berman underacted and Mariah Carey acted as if she had never acted before and probably shouldn’t again. I find it hard to recommend this film unless you are willing to suspend all sense of reality. The twitching and gyrating of Zohan’s crotch may have been appropriate for the macho hero but rather than evoking images of sexual prowess, I kept thinking he should get some of that anti-itch powder, actually, a lot of it.

YOUTH WITHOUT YOUTH, rated R, special release

If you are drawn to spiritual, mystical film fare, find where this is playing and go immediately! Francis Ford Coppola, who hasn’t made a film in ten years, said he wanted his projects henceforth to represent what speaks loudly to him. This film reveals to all of us what is transpiring in his consciousness, and it is wonderful. The source material is a story by Mircea Eliade, a Romanian religious writer who was steeped in shamanism, esoteric truths, ritual, myth, and the unlimited potential of Man. Tim Roth does a superb job of playing Dominic Matei, a man literally struck by lightning while hurrying across a street in Bucharest. From that moment miraculous things happen to him as he embodies powers available only to enlightened beings. The film is not easy to follow. It requires that the viewer be open to realms beyond this ordinary reality which, while startling, exist nonetheless. We are taken beyond our boundaries and exposed to a sacred dimension in which all things are possible. This is a film about consciousness and what awaits us.

ZACK & MIRI MAKE A PORNO, rated R, general release

Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks play roommates who make an amateur porno movie because they need money to pay their bills. They “hire” a collection of outrageous folks to join them in producing pure garbage. In one scene, Zack and Miri also have sex but it turns out to be making love instead and the two fall in love.

This is the content of this non-artistic film. Why was it made? Why did the Weinstein brothers produce it? I can think of one reason: box office receipts. The U.S. has a large adolescent male population, made of up of teens and men, who devour films like this. The rest of us need to decide if we want to spend two hours in raunchiness with occasional humor (very occasional) thrown in. The more I see films like this the more I remind myself that I have seen it before and I didn’t like it much the first time. Rogen and Banks are fine but the material is juvenile, the sight gags are distasteful, and the final product is quite forgettable.

Will I see another one of these? I really don’t know. Back when, I enjoyed American Pie. But few films in this genre have been as clever or as funny.

I admit to be being very old fashioned about love and sex. Show it to me on the screen but don’t turn it into the equivalent of excrement.

ZODIAC, general release, rated R

The critics seem to like this movie. It almost put me to sleep several times. And when I wasn't dozing, I was drifting to thoughts of other things. So much was this the case that by the time the film ambled to one of its most frightening incidents, I had lost track of how the characters got together in the first place. However, I didn't really care.

Here's the deal: The film takes 158 minutes to drag you through a serial killer case that took place in California in the 1960's and 1970's that involved obsessive dedication on the part of police, newspaper reporters, and a San Francisco Chronicle cartoonist.

Maybe it was the obsession that exhausted me. Maybe it was the low key performances by Downey Jr., Gyllenhaal, and Ruffalo. Maybe it was the irritation of the cat and mouse game that was little more than a succession of false leads. This is billed as a thriller, but it wasn't. I would have preferred to follow the killer rather than those trying to find him. When Zodiac killed, there was at least some adrenalin flowing.

In its favor, the story was faithfully told, intricately woven, appropriately frustrating, and a tease. There is no moralizing or psychological study, just a thorough, albeit tedious, step by step tracing of the events. We get to know the journalists and detectives personally. Actually, I got to know more than I ever wanted to know.

In the end, true to what actually happened, the case was never resolved. But I was, resolved to tell you had I known, I probably would have skipped this one.