The Soloist

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Plot: LA Times reporter, Steve Lopez (Robert Downy Jr) finds homeless, street musician Nathaniel Ayers (Jamie Foxx), befriends him, and writes stories him. The movie is about the homeless people, the newspaper business, and a redemption story for Nathaniel Ayers. The movie is generally sad and depressing as it focussed on mentally ill people who are living on the street, but it takes breaks for dull musical interludes, and then a treacle-sweet ending ending that drags on and on. Here is a link to the real LA Times initial article.

Review: The first two-thirds of the movie is fine, even good; Steve Lopez's own story is interesting, and his exploration of the homeless community is touching without being exploitive or moralistic. Downey's performance is top notch and always enjoyable. Nathaniel Ayers' psychotic verbal patter is delivered by Jamie Foxx in an fascinating way. Katherine Keener steals her scenes as Lopez's ex-wife. The dialog among the newspaper staff was all fun; there should have been more of that. The sad and depressing parts are the best; the happy parts ruin the movie.

Cast and crew:
Robert Downy Jr, Jamie Foxx; directed by Joe Wright; based on the book by Steve Lopez.

Rating: 1.5 flasks


More: 
A little treacle goes a long way. [SPOILER ALERT] The movie is not enjoyable because the slow pacing and the awful ending with dancing homeless people. 

Star Trek - IMAX Version

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Plot: Jim Kirk, Spock, Uhura and the other original Star Trek series characters take the Enterprise to battle a Romulan, who is destroying the Federation planets to get revenge. The movie begins with Kirk's parents and shows a snippet from Kirk's rebellious childhood. Kirk then joins Star Fleet and ends up in a key role during a crisis. There is an elaborate plot twist where Spock meets his older self, and a rivalry between Kirk and Spock.

Review: The movie is fun, stylish and modern. The actors take these established characters and make them new. We get to know them and like them. The movie is best appreciated by fans who know the backstory already and want to see it illustrated for them. The plot is serviceable, but the Romulan villian is just an excuse to get the crew together.

I saw the IMAX version. It is a great place to see a movie.

The strongest part of the film is the cast. Pine's Kirk may be unlikeable, but it is a fine performance. Quinto's Spock steals the show. Urban's McCoy, Saldana's Uhura, and Yelchin's Chekov are the reasons this movie is enjoyable.

I am cool on this movie because I don't like the mythology of Kirk -- I don't like that this brash, lazy, cheating, full-of-himself guy is rewarded with great success when all the young geniuses around him are subordinate. In this movie, it is predestined the Kirk is going to be the Captain, so all the little outrages just seem like so many unbelievable plot twists.

I know you see the same talent thing in James Bond or Batman, and I don't care, but I think it is worse here. I don't believe in in-borne talent or the "great man" theory of history; see my other post on this topic.

I know most of the fans like the Star Trek music and the overblown "Space - the final fronter" blank verse that Nemoy reads at the end. This franchise legacy should have been far more subtle. Look, I watched the first TV episode of Star Trek on television, so no one has been a fan longer than I, but I don't find all this nostalgia appealing. I would like more re-invention and less Star Teck cliche'.

Cast and crew: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Eric Bana; directed by J.J. Abrams.

Rating: 3 flasks



More: A good summer movie. Fun for fans. Great cast, but Kirk is a jerk.

Taken

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Plot: Kim Mills (Maggie Grace) gets kidnapped in Paris, drugged and forced into prostitution. Her father, Byran Mills (Liam Neeson) quickly jumps on a jet to track down the crooks. Bryan is a retired US government agent and general tough guy. He tears through Paris leaving a trail of bodies as he the plot leads from the kidnapper, to the white-slavery auctioneer, to the police and then to Kim's new harem master. 

Review: Once Kim is kidnapped, the movie shifts into high gear, and its all karate chops, chases and shooting. The action is comic-book style with Liam able to beat up a roomful of gangsters. The body count is high, but it is bloodless. Taken is reminiscent of a Daniel Craig Bond movie because there is spy action without electronic gimmicks. 

Liam Neeson gives a good nuanced performance with good facial acting, on the other hand, the Byran Mills character is almost a super-hero, so he is hard to portray realistically. 

This is a thriller, and the action is not completely believable. Of course, if you want a realistic movie, you should go see "Earth" instead. The two kidnap victims acted more like thirteen year olds than seventeen year old with their giggling, skipping and running, and physical enthusiasm, --- this was probably director Morel's intention, to make them seem helpless. 

Cast and crew:
Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace;  directed by Pierre Morel

Rating: 2.5 flasks


More:
Fast paced action that provides an amusing evening diversion

Earth - Disney Documentary

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Plot: This a giant nature video about animals all around the world. It hopscotches from animal to animal, from winter to summer, and from continent to continent. 

Review: This movie has some awe inspiring photography especially the scenes with thousands of birds or fish. The movie is disjointed as it travels across the world -- after all it tackles the whole "Earth" in just ninety minutes. A really inspiring score could have helped, but this score was only serviceable. 

My wife tells me that the polar bear walrus fight was in the Planet Earth TV series, so there is some repeat between the two. The producers say that they are distinct creations. 

I thought this was good for a while, but it got tiring, and I would have liked a story. Unlike some viewers, I did not think that there was too much narration. 

Cast and crew:
Narrated by James Earl Jones; Written and directed by Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield  
Rating: 1.5 flasks


More: 
A better movie would have focused on part of the "Earth," not the whole thing. 

Even More:

You have to feel sorry for the Daddy Polar Bear.

Frozen River

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Plot: Frozen River is a drama about a single Mom, Ray Eddy played by Melissa Leo, who undertakes smuggling illegal aliens across a frozen river from Canada to the US in order to buy herself a new doublewide trailer-home. She is assisted by Lila Littlewolf, played by Misty Upham, and meets state cops and assorted criminals.

Review: This movie is too slow -- way too much time showing the scenery and allowing the mood to build. The two actresses, Leo and Upham, give us interesting characters that we want to follow. The dialog could have been less wooden. Charlie McDormott is the boy actor who plays Ray's son. His performance is important to the success of the movie as he tries to rein in Ray's schemes as well as take care of his younger brother. Ray and Melissa are both disfunctional women who are in trouble due to their husbands as well as their own weaknesses. 

Cast and crew:
Melissa Leo, Misty Upham; written and directed by Courtney Hunt
Rating: 2.0 flasks


More: 
The films is set in the Akwesasne Mohawk nation, but actually filmed elsewhere in New York state. The St. Lawerence river scenes were actually shot on a frozen lake.

Even more:

Better than most Sundance award-winning movies. 

State of Play

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Plot: Congressman Steve Collins' (Ben Affleck's) head researcher and mistress dies. Is it suicide? Is it murder? Drugs? Lust? Cover-up by Pointcorp (read Blackwater or Halliburton). Wily reporter Cal McAffrey (Russell Crowe) and Washington Globe blogger Della Frye (Rachel McAdams) chase down leads as the suicide becomes linked to other deaths, and a supposed killer is identified. There was a big twist at the end. 

Review: The story is the star as Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams peck their way though a complicated police story as dogged reporters tracking down a criminal and then political story. The chemistry between Crowe and McAdams works. Helen Mirren steals the scenes she is in, and I really liked watching her tell off reporter  Cal or insulting rookie Frye. 

Crowe's performance is solid although he was a bit too crusty for me. McAdams and Affleck were OK, but not outstanding. This movie had more dramatic office scenes than chase scenes, with no car chases and just one fight scene.

The movie is a political thriller, but does not have a political or social message. It is just escapist entertainment. Perhaps it promotes newspaper reading. 

Cast and crew:
Russell Crowe, Rachel McAdams, Ben Affleck, Helen Mirren; directed by Kevin Macdonald
Rating: 2.5 flasks
1/2

More:
Who named this move "State of Play" and why?  This forgettable title has no link to the story that I can figure out. 

Best Movies of 2008

Top Movies of 2008
1. Doubt 4.0
2. Wall.E 4.0
3. The Bank Job 4.0
4. Vicky Christina Barcelona 3.5
5. Iron Man 3.5
6. Frost/Nixon 3.5
7. Quantum of Solace 3.5
8. Forgetting Sarah Marshall 3.0
9. The Dark Knight 3.0
10. Burn After Reading 3.0