Rachel Getting Married (2008)

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Plot: Kym (Anne Hatheway) gets out of a mental facility for her sister Rachel's (Roslyn Ruff) wedding. She meets and engages her father, her sister, her new brother-in-law, and her Mom. This family has a lot of issues, and Rachel's visit brings them all out.

Review: Excellent dialog with a number of moving scenes. This was a bit like the Breakfast Club or The Big Chill with lots of interpersonal relationship based conversation set in a not-quite realistic setting. Anne Hatheway's performance is wonderful to watch, and Roslyn Ruff is also tops. The music is good, although the dancing scenes got long. Jenny Lumet's script is intelligent, and while it is not realistic, nobody is really interested in realistic dialog.

Cast and crew: Anne Hatheway, Roslyn Ruff; directed by Jonathan Demme; written by Jenny Lumet.

Rating: 3.5 flasks

More:
Great tribute to multiculturalism

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Terminator Salvation

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Plot: It is the future where a military computer, Skynet, has destroyed most of the people, and is warring on the rest. John Conner (Christian Bale), the boy from the 2nd & 3rd Terminator movies, is leading a group of people on attacks against Skynet. He trying to find and protect his father Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin), who does not recognize him. Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington) plays a reincarnated character whose loyalty is never quite clear. 

Review: In this movie, John Conner stopped being a boy and became a comic book action hero. His acting has become action-hero robotic, like a 1960's war movie hero -- just too tough for overt emotion; just too purposeful for lust or humor. However the characters were engaging enough to make the action scene gripping and meaningful. I liked the Moon Bloodgood and Helena Bonham Carter scenes because they had more soul. 

I thought all the actions scenes where powerful, and that the villians were realistic and deadly. The visuals told the story and villians always seemed terrible and powerful. The final fight scene in the factory was the best, most memorable, most engaging fight scene that I have seen in many years, and I can't think of a better final battle. It got my heart racing. 

Cast and crew:
Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Anton Yelchin, Moon Bloodgood; directed by McG (aka Joseph McGinty Nichol)
Rating: 2.5 flasks
1/2

More: 
It was cool to see the CGI Arnold, but it was distracting too.


Even more:
Did Christian Bale smile even once?

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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.