Revolutionary Road

imdb Photos

Plot:   Revolutionary Road is about a couple (Leonardo DiCapri and Kate Winslet) who get married, have kids, move to the suburbs, and feel "hopeless emptiness." They toy with moving to Paris, and in the end they crash under the weight of societal pressure and their own foibles. There is an insane neighborhood man (Michael Shannon) who enters the story and unburies the truth of their lives.

Review: The couple, who felt young and special, find themselves middle-aged and wonder "What happened?" The movie draws this theme out so well. The trip to Europe is the symbol of a new life, and when (MAJOR SPOILER) they don't go, their hopeless empty life eventually kills them. Kate and Leo have wonderful dialogues -- well acted and well written. The scenes with Michael Shannon are delightful. 

I can understand why the movie ended the way that it did. I would have liked some clever twist -- the movie ended predictably and with a political morale that didn't belong. Two-thirds of this movie were great, but the end dropped the ball. It did not need a happy ending, but it could have been smarter.

Extended Review:  The movie deals with meaty ideas about the meaning of life, and many young people deal with these issues. I can remember feeling that way. It is similar to the way I felt when I was getting out of high school. I felt like everything is possible -- isn't that the American Way to be. At some point we lose our idealism, and this movie probes that. It is not unlike Vicky, Christina, Barcelona, in that movie, two women have already gone to Europe and they wrestle with idealism -- staying in Europe or married realism.

Cast and crew:
Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Michael Shannon; directed by Sam Mendes

Rating
3.5
1/2

More
"Most people know the emptiness, it takes real guts to see the hopelessness."

Frost/Nixon

imdb Photos

Plot Frost/Nixon is the story of the David Frost's (Michael Sheen) interview with Richard Nixon (Frank Langella) in the aftermath of his presidential resignation. It begins with David Frost striving to make a living in the entertainment world, and then buying the rights to an interview with Richard Nixon. Frost is playboy who does not take preparation as seriously as Nixon does. The early interviews go poorly, but in the end, Frost achieves a very human emotional interview with Nixon.

Review: The dialogue is great during this movie. It runs like a play with verbally driven story, told in an interesting way. I learned to care about both Frost and Nixon. Both Michael Sheen and Frank Langella had top performances. This movie had some interesting parts with Frost's personal life, and I suppose this was a serious movie on a serious topic, but a movie needs to be more than the sum of its parts. It was not that fun to watch, and it just is not Best Movie of the Year caliber.

Cast and crew:
Michael Sheen, Frank Langella, Rebecca Hall; written by Peter Morgan; directed by Ron Howard

Rating
3.0+


More Talented dialogue, interesting performances, on a serious topic -- I just didn't like it that much.

Gran Torino

imdb Photos

Plot Gran Torino is the story of a crusty, bigoted old man (Clint Eastwood) who befriends a Hmong family in his neighborhood, and then battles a local gang. The man, Walt Kowalski, is bitter, sour, profane and rigid. However, by the power of movie magic, he becomes deeply-caring and sacrifices for the good of the young neighbor kids.


Review: The best part about this movie is the dialog. Walt is so unlikeable in the first half hour that I disliked the movie. As he warms up, the movie picks up steam. Sue Lor (Ahney Her) provides a likeable bridge character between the old man and the Hmong neighbors.

Cast and crew:
Clint Eastwood, Ahney Her, Bee Vang; directed by Clint Eastwood

Rating
2.5
1/2

More
This movie is like a 2009 version of All in the Family.

Hancock

imdb Photos

Plot Hancock is a story about a sleazy, super hero, who gets an image-makeover by an unemployed publicist. Hancock is drunk and rude and disagreeable -- or as the movie says repeatedly an "asshole." The worst part of the movie is the beginning where he is so disagreeable. There is a major surprise, plot-twist near the end. It surprised me, and it was funny -- however everything that happens after that has no motivation at all. Why are these characters doing what they do? I don't know. I don't think anyone knows. On the other hand, if you wanted realism, you should have seen a documentary.


Review: The best part about this movie is Will Smith, but even he cannot make Hancock a likeable character. The other basic problem is that the bad guys are just some nameless prison escapees. A hero needs a good supervillian as a foil. This is not a bad movie, but 2008 superhero movies have been so good, that it suffers in comparison. This is nothing compared to Iron Man, Spiderman 3, or Dark Knight.

Cast and crew:
Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Charlize Theron; directed by Peter Berg

Rating
2.0


More
Probably would have been cooler on the big screen.

Valkyrie

imdb Photos

Plot Valkyrie is a war story about a coup against Hitler in 1944. It follows the conspirators making preparations, and shows the scheme unfolding and then collapsing. Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) leads the coup and there are many other generals involved in the political plot twists. Stauffenberg's wife (Carice van Houten) and kids are in the story, but not enough. The movie focuses on setting up the conspiracy, and not on war-movie action.

Review: Valkyrie is a serious and suspenseful movie, and it is about a serious subject -- that it takes on with grim determination. The film would have been better with a deeper understanding of von Stauffenberg's motivation. It is not enough for Singer to invoke 20-20 hindsight; why were these people ready to sacrifice all they held dear? It is the style of war movies to feature tough guys with wooden delivery, but this great story was ruined by the weak script and stylized acting.

Cast and crew:
Tom Cruise, Kenneth Branagh; directed by Bryan Singer

Rating
2.0

More
Very suspenseful -- for a movie where you know the ending in advance.

Doubt

imdb Photos

Plot Doubt is the story of child abuse in a Catholic school told from the point of view of the school nuns. More than that it is a character study of Sister Aloysius, (Meryl Streep) who is the school principal in her battle to drive the abusing priest from her school. She has a steely manner, but is so limited by the subservient role of women in the 1960's era Church. The priest (Phillip Seymour Hoffman) is abusing a black student, and the young teaching nun, Sister James (Amy Adams,) does not know what to do.

There is a subplot concerning the doubt of the innocence of the priest and it is paired with the doubt in the faith of the church. Sister James believes in God and maybe somewhat happier. Sister Aloysius doubts the faithfulness of Father Flynn and also God.

Review: The movie is about a straight-forward story of protecting boys from abuse, but it is so well done, and the women are so courageous, that the story is consistently gripping and outstanding. The nuns that run the school are feared by the students, but are nearly powerless to protect the students against the priests. There is a powerful scene with the boy's Mom, that you will talk about after the movie. Meryl Streep gives restrained and powerful performance. Phillip Seymour Hoffman gives a nuanced performance as the perpetrator, who is portrayed as a failed, but honorable man.

This is a simple, powerful movie. Clearly the best of the 2008.

Cast and crew:
Meryl Streep, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams; written and directed by John Patrick Shanley

Rating
4.0


More
As good as Juno; superior to Wall*E

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

imdb Photos

Plot form IMDB The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is a fairy tale about a man (Brad Pitt) that is born old and grows younger as he ages. It is told as a love story with a girl (Cate Blanchett) who he meets as a child, loves as an adult, and then who cares for him in his infancy when she herself is old.

Review: Benjamin Button is a tear-inducing tragedy about the losses in life. I had been reading about Greek tragedies and how they helped the Greeks come to grips with the toughness of life, so I was mentally prepared for this film. I think that the sadness of the movie: the war, the loss of memory, the loss of beauty, the continuous loss of friends, is in keeping with the dour mood of our country. While this is not the finest movie of the year, and is a bit of melodrama, it is refreshing, serious and different.

The aging of the actors is gimmicky and distracting, but necessary since movie audiences expect images. The story has a grand epic sweep like Forest Gump wrapping in the history of the twentieth century. The movie's plot is substantially different from F. Scott Fitzgerald's original which concerned Benjamin, his father, and his son (not daughter) rather than a love story, however, the movie plot was satisfying and well-adapted to the cinema.

Cast and crew:
Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Julia Ormond; directed by David Flincher; screenplay by Eric Roth; loosely based on a short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Rating
2.5
1/2

More
See the movie next to a row of teary-eyed, teenage girls for the complete experience.