Transiberian

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Plot
Transiberian: Two couples meet on the Transiberian Railway crossing Asia to Moscow. Roy (Wood Harrelson) and Jesse (Emily Mortimer) are missionaries; Abby (Kate Mara) and Carlos (Eduardo Noriega) are more mysterious and worldwise. As the ride progresses, Roy and Jesse get dragged into flirtation, drug running and murder leading to Russian Mafia thugs and corrupt police.

Review
The train ties the locations and people together, and traps them so they can't leave. The drug smuggling and the surprise killing keep everyone on edge during the latter half of the movie. It is marvelously suspenseful.

Woody Harrleson and Ben Kingsley are excellent and Emily Mortimer is solid. The photography and art direction are solid -- perhaps better in the theater instead of on video.

Cast and crew:
Starring: Woody Harrelson, Emily Mortimer, Kate Mara, Eduardo Noriega, Ben Kingsley, directed by Brad Anderson

Rating
3.0


MoreSolid edge-of-the-seat thriller

Changeling

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Plot
Changeling is a complicated story about a missing boy, police corruption, 1930's era mental care, and a mother's love for her kid. A boy goes missing, and the police eventually bring a boy from Illinois who claims to be the missing boy but isn't. A police captain (John Donovan) demands the woman (Angelina Jolie) take the boy home, and then sentence her to an insane asylum when she protests. The woman and her preacher (John Malkovich) get her released, and then there is a twist in the missing boy investigation involving another detective's (John Kelly) investigation of a notorious crime and trial.

Review
The movie is much better than its trailer, which seems like a new Erin Brokovich. Changeling is actually a character-based drama carried by Christine Collins, played by Angelina Jolie. The script and supporting cast are also solid especially, John Donovan, and Michael Kelly. The photography is painterly, and some scenes are like little still life paintings. The movie takes time to get started, but builds momentum. The end of the movie with simultaneous court cases is solid. I generally don't like true stories, because fiction is better than fact generally, but this story ends as well as a novel, so it was fine. The strength of the movie, is that it caused me to ask, what if this happened to me? How can one person struggle against such terrible pressure?

Angelina Jolie and Michael Kelly should get Oscar nominations.

Cast and crew:
Starring: Angelina Jolie, John Donovan; directed by Clint Eastwood

Rating
3.5
1/2

MoreA good satisfying cinematic experience. Not a feel-good flick.

Quantum of Solace

Links
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Plot
Quantum of Solace has Bond (Danial Craig) chasing down his girlfriend's (Vesper's) killer from the end of Casino Royale. It starts with a fast car chase with Quantum agents, and we soon learn that Quantum is tied up in Vesper's death. Bond chases down Quantum perhaps to help the British government and perhaps just for revenge. Along the way he meets Camile (Olga Kurylenko), who has a vengence scheme of her own. Camile and James go to Boliva, and save the government.

Review
This is a fresh new take on the Bond formula, and I like it. The action is faster, and the action is intercut with other scenes to tighten the emotion. The plot is harder to follow, and the audience needs to pay attention to catch all the plot twists.

I liked the entire movie, and half way though I was saying that I want to see it again.

The campy Bond gadgets are gone, along with Moneypenny, Q, and there was only one flirty floosie in the film.

Cast and crew:
Starring: Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Judy Dench; directed by Marc Forster

Rating
3.5
1/2

More
The United States is shown as unprincipled and corrupt. This is the poorest depiction of the American Government in the series. No doubt this is a reflection on the Bush Administration.


Even More
Bond's "Vesper" Martini is in the movie:
3 oz gin
1 oz vodka
1/2 oz Lillet® Blanc wine
Twist of lemon peel
But I don't think I'd like it.

Zack and Miri Make A Porno

Zack and Miri Make A Porno

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Plot
Producer: "No red-blooded guy wants to see a ChickFlick romantic-comedy."

Writer: "I know! Let's make a rom-com about pornography and fill it with locker-room talk."

Producer: "Great idea. Yeah, put in just enough skin for the horny kids -- so it'll still play on HBO. Then the guys will think it is cool, and the girls will get their love story. "

Writer: "And let's rake in the nerdy guys with perverted Star Wars characters."

Producer: "Great! Here is your check! Let's make this!"

Zack and Miri is a boy-friendly romantic comedy. Two platonic friends Zack and Miri decide to film a homemade porn movie in order to pay their utility bills. The enlist some friends and oddballs to film the movie. The actors talk about sex a lot and film sex a little. Being a romantic comedy, all this sex awakes Zack (Seth Rogan) and Miri's (Elizabeth Banks) true feelings and the story leads us to romantic-comedy utopia. The best scenes are the relationship scenes between Zack and Miri.

The buzz about this movie is that, despite its weak premise, it has some very funny parts. It has a few funny parts: probably not enough.

Cast and crew:
Starring: Seth Rogan, Elizabeth Banks; written and directed by Kevin Smith.

Rating
2.0
(Almost 1.5)

More
Seth Rogan is a good bumbling, loveable loser, but not a good romantic lead.

Ratatouille

Watching a movie in the theater is much more fun than watching it at home. Perhaps at the theater I would have liked this more.
Pixar has a long track record of good movies, but this is the weakest. I thought the rats were unloveable, and never really got past that.

The story is about a rat, Remy, that wants to be a chef, and how he manipulates a helpless boy to take over a restaurant. Of course the movie's writers probably thought the rat was cute and likeable, but I thought he was pushy and selfish. For example, when the boy, Linguini, kind-heartedly takes in the rat, and carries him in the restaurant. The rat crawls around inside his shirt and bites him all over his body. Later that rat takes control of his body like a puppeteer. I don't see what is entertaining about this.

Cast
Written and directed by Brad Bird, Jan Pankava

More

I liked was how they made visual images of how good food tasted. That was creative.

Rating
1.5
1/2

Religulous

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Plot
Religulous is a personal statement and exploration of faith from comedian Bill Maher. It is a straight-up documentary, and not a satire or comedy. Maher discusses his childhood religious beliefs, and then moves to a survey of world religions as presented in interviews with adherents.

Review
The film is amusing, but not as funny as a Michael Moore film; not as clever either. I was disappointed because I expected something irreverent, clever and funny. This was OK, and I don't mind watching a documentary on religion occasionally, but this is not Borat or even Fahrenheit 911.

I most appreciated the personal statements of doubt and belief from Maher personally. I thought that the interviews with religious people were unfair because Maher could make fun of anyone. Seriously, a cynical intellectual can tear up just about anyone's personal beliefs.

More serious comments on my other blog.


Cast and crew:
Starring: Bill Maher; written by Bill Maher; directed by Larry Charles

Rating
2.0


More
The movie is worthwhile, but it was a waste of money to see it at the theater --it would have been just as good at home. .

Body of Lies

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Plot
Body of Lies is the story of a CIA agent, Roger Ferris (Leonardo Di Caprio) working in Amman Jordan fighting a local Al Qaeda terrorist. Roger's boss in Washington, Ed Hoffman (Russell Crowe) is a micromanaging cut-throat veteran, who puts Roger and his local associates in danger with his self-interested operations. There is a plot twist in the middle in which Roger sets up a fake terrorist cell that is clever and entertaining.

Review
Body of Lies is a spy movie with a post-911 terrorist as the enemy. I think the enemy is well-drawn, and the balance between American interests and the plight of the local people. The movie starts slowly, but is carried by the well-written and well-acted dialog between Di Caprio and Crowe. Di Caprio gives his best performance in recent movies, and Crowe is run to watch. Golshifteh Farahani, who plays the nurse Roger flirts with, is cute and likable.

There are some good action scenes, especially the helicopter battle at the beginning. Still the movie is not an adventure movie or 007-style movie, and those who expect that will be disappointed.


Cast and crew:
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe; directed by Ridley Scott based on a book by David Ignatius.

Rating
2.5
1/2

More
DiCaprio's beard, while disgusting, is less disgusting that it is in most of his movies. Will he every play a clean-shaven character?