Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day, Garry Marshall's (Pretty Woman) latest movie packs in an all star cast.  In alphabetical order: Jessica Alba, Kathy Bates, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, Eric Dane and Patrick Dempsey from Grey's Anatomy, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Topher Grace, Anne Hathaway, Ashton Kutcher, Queen Latifah, Taylor Lautner (Twilight), Shirley MacLaine, Julia Roberts, Taylor Swift and more, all share the spotlight in this messy romantic comedy.  Unfortunately, an ensemble as strong as this one does not suffice to make Valentine's Day a film worth seeing.

If you are expecting a light, airy, fun romantic comedy like I was you will be disappointed because this was neither very romantic nor very funny. Everywhere you look you will see a beautiful, famous, smiling actor but the film is extremely shallow with a terrible plot and very little character development.  We follow the intertwining lives and love tribulations of many different couples and singles as they handle the joys, and mostly the burdens, of Valentine's Day. Lots of people are saying it and it is true, the film is a knock-off of Love Actually, except much worse. 

Ashton Kutcher, a heartbroken florist, and Jennifer Garner who plays his best friend, have the most screen time.  Their acting is typical and what is happening to them remotely interesting compared to the dozen or so other subplots.  But the scene where Garner pretends to be a waitress to confront her lying boyfriend (who proceeds to choke on his drink, what else...) while he is having a meal with his wife was just too much.  Anne Hathaway as an undercover phone sex entertainer was absurd, as was Queen Latifah, her boss who overhears a raunchy conversation but lets her carry on and even takes a call herself.  Bradley Cooper's character, though charming, was absolutely not credible- from his sweet, flirtatious interactions with Julia Roberts on the plane, to the final surprise revelation. The teenage high school couples were dreadful to watch, especially the part where one of the boys gets caught naked with only a guitar for cover by his girlfriend's mother.  Like the rest of the cast, even the cute, little boy had a ridiculously predictable role and it was clear from the start who he was in love with.  It's a pity to see so much talent go to waste, particularly Julia Roberts who really does not belong in this chaos.

The second half of the movie was even worse than the first and started veering towards the outrageous during a male bashing dinner party that single and disgruntled Jessica Biel hosts yearly (who organizes an "I hate Valentine's Day" dinner in the same room as a wedding is taking place???).  Things really started to go downhill for me at that point and the last 30 minutes or so I was literally rolling my eyes to myself.

There were too many actors, too many side plots, none of which were engaging or developed enough.  Of course, everything ties together nicely and neatly at the end, like a Valentine's Day gift with a bow.  But don't be fooled, this movie is no present.  If you have nothing better to do, go ahead and watch it.  Otherwise, treat yourself to a nice romantic evening with your loved one or by yourself.  It will be time much better spent. 


My rating: 5

Capitalism: A Love Story

Capitalism: A Love Story, is Michael Moore's latest exposing documentary.  After taking on General Motors, the Bush Administration, and the health care industry in some of his previous films, he this time tackles the issues of greed, capitalism and corporate dominance.  He shows us real life examples of people losing their homes, jobs, savings and hope, powerless in front of the great, evil, out of control machine that capitalism has become. 

As is his habit, Moore narrates and conducts his own interviews.  There are funny bits, like when he asks a few bankers to define derivatives and credit default swaps and no one seems able to give an explanation that makes any sense.  Other parts were more repetitive such as when he visits the headquarters of big banks with yellow "Crime Scene" tape and tries coming into the buildings to make "citizen's arrests".  This was mildly funny for a few moments but it came up too many times throughout the film.  Also I found that the footage of what happened to some hard working Americans- though very sad- was not edited enough and too long.

The rest of the movie highlights what led the United States to the grim financial situation it is in now- going back to FDR and his proposal for a Second Bill of Rights guaranteeing certain basic economic freedoms, through a more comfortable time for the middle class in the 1950's, followed by immense deregulation during the Reagan years which resulted in gambling by financial institutions, enormous inequalities between the rich and the poor (the part about low pilot salaries was particularly frightening) and finishing with the icing on the cake, the huge tax payer funded bailouts.  

Overall this film is a very important one to have made and to be watched but I did not think it was one of Moore's finest.  I am not in love with it nor am I sufficiently outraged by what I learned.  The movie felt flat.  In my opinion it went to too much length to prove a point we already know- greed is not good.  

My rating: 6
Fabio's: 6
Total score: 12

Jaffa

Jaffa, an Israeli film whose title refers to a part of Tel Aviv, is an excellent and moving drama.  I wish movies like this got more press and had more fame.  The story is sad, realistic and compelling.

The movie begins in the family owned garage of an Israeli family, where father, son Meir, and daughter Mali, work alongside a young Palestinian named Toufik.  Meir is not the model son- rebellious, angry, ungrateful and disrespectful towards his parents and everybody else, he steals the attention from his quiet younger sister.  No one suspects that she is having a love affair with Toufik and that they are secretly planning on getting married.

Religious and other tensions start building between the two young men, Meir and Toufik, and the outcome is shocking and devastating. Mali makes an extremely difficult sacrifice, depriving herself of a normal life by keeping hidden a truth which only she knows.

All of the actors are magnificent.  The father is particularly memorable, always kind, trying at times to be a little bit stern, understanding of everyone throughout the film until his final, harsh condemnation.  The ending is extremely powerful- completely unexpected and expected at the same time.  Mali finally makes a choice for herself and we are left hoping that her life will be a happy one.  

This film brought me to tears on several occasions.  I watched it without Fabio as I wasn't sure what to expect and now highly recommend it to him and all my readers.

My rating: 9/10

Shutter Island

I hated this movie!!!!!  It was dark, gloomy, repetitive and uninteresting.  I thought I would probably not love it based on the trailer but still expected more from a Martin Scorsese film.  I am not sure why it is getting such rave reviews; it really surpasses me what people saw in it.

The thriller is set in the 1950's, with Leonardo DiCaprio interpreting a U.S. Marshal, and Mark Ruffalo as his partner.  Together they are investigating the disappearance of a dangerous inmate from an insane asylum on the very isolated Shutter Island.

The atmosphere and music are ominous from the start, much like the opening scenes of Scorsese's 1991 Cape Fear.  It rains constantly on Shutter Island and the decor is conveniently populated with cliffs and a towering lighthouse where a dramatic (if somewhat disappointing) plot twist later takes place. 

There are lots of twists and turns and psychological unraveling on the part of DiCaprio's character.  He is haunted by flashbacks of scenes he witnessed of concentration camps during WW2, and visions of his murdered wife played by Michelle Williams.  DiCaprio's performance was skillful and talented, as was Ruffalo's.  Ben Kingsley was appropriately dramatic in his portrayal of the chief psychiatrist at the institution.

The movie carried on for quite long and its ambiguous ending was not enough to redeem its exasperating, overly paranoid quality which veered too much towards the horror genre for my taste.  More boring than horrifying, I give it a 3.

My rating: 3/10
Fabio's: 4/10
Total score: 7/20

Arranged

A fellow blog reader suggested that I watch "Arranged" (2007).  It is a very nice film that I definitely recommend as well.

Arranged is about the friendship between two women- Rochel, an Orthodox Jewish school teacher and Nosira, a Muslim one.  The acting was very strong and credible and the story absorbing as the womens' relationship develops against all odds.  They find similarities in their situations despite great cultural and religious divides and solace in the fact that their parents are trying to arrange marriages for both of them with candidates who as the name implies, they cannot choose.

The actresses who portray Rochel and Nosira are beautiful inside and out and made this film a true pleasure to watch.  The ending was uplifting and charming; the movie all around very enjoyable.

My rating: 8

Nine

Since I am sitting here wondering how this movie could even have been made (by Rob Marshall) and how its actors could have agreed to be in it (details below), it boggles my mind even more how anybody could have liked it.

Not knowing where to begin with my long list of complaints, let me start with the plot or lack of it.  Daniel Day Lewis interprets Maestro Contini, a film director slightly past his prime who is trying within the movie we are watching to direct a movie called Italia.  The rest of the crew includes Marion Cotillard as his wife, Penelope Cruz as his mistress, Judi Dench as his costume designer, Nicole Kidman as his muse, Kate Hudson as an American fashion editor, Fergie as a prostitute from his childhood, and Sophia Loren as his mother.  If you don't have a headache already you can read on.

It is beyond me why DDL was chosen as the lead actor as his Italian accent sounded phony to me throughout and I could noticeably hear the Irish in it on many occasions.  Why couldn't they choose somebody who spoke Italian?  He is a great actor, no doubt, but not the right one for this role.  All of the other accents were terrible too, and worst of all were the songs and their lyrics.  The dances were pointless, laughable, fake, and overdone to the point that the women didn't even look remotely sexy.  The singing parts were long and painful to listen to, the dancing painful to watch.

DDL struggles throughout the film with lack of inspiration and script and it seems Nine has the exact same problem.  What was this movie even about?  Marion Cotillard's performances were the only redeeming bits of this movie.  She played quite well, as did Penelope Cruz as DDL's rejected mistress.  All the others were just stereotypical disasters. 

I am not a big fan of musicals to begin with but this was a serious waste of two hours.  I watched it without Fabio because I knew it would be bad but it was actually worse than I thought.  Certainly not a NINE!  

My rating: 2.5/10

Fish Tank

Andrea Arnold's Fish Tank, a Cannes Jury Prize winner, is a powerful and moving independent British film.  It paints a harsh, bleak picture of lower class life in England while at the same time managing to fill viewers with hope and beauty.

The acting by the main female lead, Katie Jarvis, is astonishing and incredible (this is the first time she has ever acted).  She plays Mia, a combative, lonely, often angry but mainly misunderstood teenager.  This is not difficult to surmise given the environment that she is being raised in.  Her mother, a physical cross between Kate Moss and Pamela Anderson, is totally self-absorbed, insults her children, drinks heavily, smokes all the time, loves to party and has boyfriends stay over.

Mia has been kicked out of school and has a hard time getting along with others, constantly fighting either physically or verbally with somebody.  A compassionate, softer side to this tough talking fifteen year old comes through when we see her visiting a chained horse daily and trying in vain to free it.  Mia's own escape is through dancing.  She is not a particularly great dancer but practices her routines with passion.

The story begins to unfold as Mia develops a bond with her mom's latest conquest, the attractive, easy-going, sexy Connor, excellently portrayed by Michael Fassbender (Hunger, Inglourious Basterds).  She is very drawn to this new man who treats her like an adult and pays attention to her.  A fine, eerie line between friendship or fatherly attention and sexual attraction is thus drawn.  This ambiguity and its subsequent developments and final revelation make for an intense, original, interesting and rich drama. 

The dancing sequences interspersed throughout the movie are captivating in their strangeness and appeal.  It is a poignant, bizarrely beautiful and exotic sight when Mia dances to "California Dreamin'" for Connor with enchanting outdoor light swirling in the background.  Or my favorite, at the end, a magical scene where she, her mom and sister dance to a hip-hop song together.  No words are spoken but the meaning is clear - they are a family no matter what.

I liked this film a lot although I didn't expect to.  It is strong and realistic and its protagonists will stay with you long after the movie ends.  I read that the actors were only given the script one week beforehand and did not know what would happen to their characters.  The director wanted their acting to be as natural and as real as possible.  Mission accomplie! 


My rating: 8.5
Fabio's: 8
Total score: 16.5