Not Quite Hollywood (2008)

At a glance:
This doco provides a sharply edited history of Australian exploitation cinema, narrated by the people who made the films

Our review (with spoilers):
If you’re a true lover of exploitation film and Australian exploitation film in particular, you’ll love this fast-paced, clip-laden homage to Ozploitation. Narrated by the people who made the films, and with numerous comments by Ozploitation adorer Quentin Tarantino, Not Quite Hollywood traces the rise, fall, and rise of Ozploitation from the 1960s to the present day. This was true gonzo film-making: Dennis Hopper boozing it up while trying to show Mad Dog Morgan; stunt people risking their lives for the perfect shot.

Eventually, this film’s length, combined with overly kinetic and modern jump editing, makes this a slightly tedious process for all but the strongest exploitation lover. But that’s not to say it isn’t worth the journey. You’re just not going to get this kind of look into this movie culture anywhere else without poring through hundreds of films.

Rating:  3 of 4

Lake Mungo (2008)

Movie quotes:
"Alice kept secrets. She kept the fact that she kept secrets a secret."
 - Alice’s friend Kim

At a glance:
This unusual and original supernatural thriller is both an intriguing mystery and a showcase of acting and directing talent

Our review (with spoilers):
Alice Palmer, an Australian teen, drowns accidentally; her parents and brother explore their grief in different ways. That’s the very short summary of Lake Mungo, an original combination of supernatural thriller and mystery. If you haven’t seen Mungo yet, please stop reading now, as this film is so much better when you can follow the path and have no idea where it’s going.

After Alice’s death, noises in the house indicate that she has returned in spirit form. Her brother (who was there when she drowned and could even be considered a possible suspect) mounts video and still cameras throughout the house and garden; the results show a shadowy, Alice-shaped figure. But this is debunked when the brother admits that he doctored the footage as a way of getting Alice’s supposed body exhumed to ensure that DNA testing could confirm it was indeed her.

But the DNA confirmation is not the end of the story. Director Joel Anderson makes home video, mobile phone footage, and videotaped interviews with a psychic play an important role in this unraveling mystery. Anderson also displays a knack for getting sincere, achingly subtle performances from his actors, whose grief and/or detachment is as real as the real thing.

Rating: 3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"It's not so much scary as spooky (except for one really creepy moment) but this ghost story is less about supernatural hauntings than human secrets and lies."
- Sean Axmaker (Seanax.com)

The Betrayed (2008)

Movie quotes:
"Michael Is not meant for this life. Some of us are. Not him, Not you."
- Falco

At a glance:
Tension and twists abound in this highly-charged, low budget captive/torture yarn expertly written and directed by Amanda Gusack

Our review (with spoilers):
Jamie (Melissa George) awakens from a car accident and finds she is lying on the floor of an old warehouse. Her hooded captor Alek (Oded Fehr) says that, unbeknownst to her, her seemingly normal husband Kevin (Christian Campbell) was leading a double life as a hired assassin. Kevin embezzled a large sum of money; Alek has to retrieve it is a few hours or abandon it – not a viable outcome. Alek tasks Jamie to weed through audio surveillance tapes of her home and find the method her double-agent husband was using to send messages to his hidden collaborator. If she can’t find anything in 12 hours, her diabetic son, also a captive, will die. Jamie does not have muscle mass of Lara Croft, so she uses her limitless guile instead. Her time is divided between decoding tapes and using whatever is at her disposal, a la MacGyver, to affect an escape.

Writer/director Amanda Gusack successfully breeds tension from the opening scene. What could have been a mundane investigation of an accident scene becomes something quite edge-of-the-seat. Likewise, Gusack’s POV-style as Jamie scans her environs for items she can use to escape helps to establish the reality of the captivity. George is very good at combining nervous vulnerability with tremendous resolve. It helps, of course, that her character is well written and complex; we’re never sure how much she knows or what she is capable of doing until she does it. And, of course, you never know what the inimitable Alice "Borg Queen" Krige will do.

The Betrayed would be a nifty little light torture thriller on its own, but let’s just say there’s even more intrigue there than you might expect. Whom should Jamie believe? Which answer will save her life? Whom do you believe?

Rating: 3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"...a gripping, downright suspenseful thriller..."
- David Nusair (Reel Film Reviews)

The Missing Person (2008)

At a glance:
Michael Shannon gives an award-worthy, natural performance as an alcoholic private detective dealing with grief and loss while trying to solve an intriguing missing person case

Our review (with spoilers):
It is completely understandable that Michael Shannon, the star of The Missing Person, was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his work in Revolutionary Road. In a perfect world, he would probably get a Best Actor nomination for his work here in The Missing Person. Shannon is that rare actor who can emote solely with his body. Here, as John Rosow, he feels the pain of loss – his wife died in WTC  2001 – and his life and career exploded along with the towers. He was a vibrant, healthy police officer in New York City, but now, he is a drunken, depressed private detective on the other side of the continent. LA suits him, because no one cares, least of all him. But a new case comes his way: he is asked to find Harold (Frank Wood) a missing person, a man whose wife longs for him to come back – a man who used his own near death experience in the WTC to keep running, also to LA, but for different reasons.

Rosow is a caricature of the hard-boiled dick from the 1950s – he’s even aware of this, as are the people on whom he tries to use his typical sardonic one-liners. This is a make or break case for Rosow: if he brings Harold home, he could be set for life. But there’s so much more to the story than that – so many gray areas, and much growth for the inhabitants of this story – especially Rosow, who through the eyes of Harold and his family, comes face to face with his loss.

The Missing Person is in no hurry to tell its tale, which might frustrate some impatient viewers. The movie inches along as slowly as Rosow’s awkward gait. But Shannon’s performance is well worth every step. Shannon inhabits his character – this is not acting, it is being. He appears to be drunk. His crinkled face exudes his pain. This tiny indie film will slip by the big awards ceremonies, so Shannon won’t get his Oscar – at least not from this performance. But he probably will get one soon.

Rating: 3.5 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"Sluggish, stylized and frequently washed in a bilious green tint, The Missing Person is yet oddly irresistible, its omnipresent anxiety like a musical chord that neither rises nor falls."
- Jeannette Catsoulis (New York Times)

Food Inc. (2008)

Movie quotes:
"A culture that just views a pig as a pile of protoplasmic inanimate structure to be manipulated by whatever creative design a human can foist on that critter will probably view individuals with its community and other cultures in the community of nations with the same type of disdain and disrespect and controlling-type mentality."
- Steve (Farmer at Polyface Farms)

"Buy from companies that treat workers, animals, and the environment with respect."
- from film’s closing lines

At a glance:
Robert Kenner’s fascinating, potentially life-changing documentary pulls back the veil shielding the destructive practices of the handful of multinational corporations who control the American food industry

Our review (with spoilers):
I delayed my viewing of Food Inc. as long as I could, for quite some time, because I knew a bit about what it would reveal, and I knew it would force me to re-evaluate what me and my family eat.

No more chicken will be consumed after viewing the way most chicken are now engineered with big breasts and brittle bones – they often cannot support their own body weight. They are crowded beyond belief in warehouses with no windows.

No more beef will be consumed after realizing that a handful of major meat packers control the market, and that e-coli, which can kill quickly, can also spread efficiently because of a system that shuns diversity. The methods big business try to use to combat disease is to ‘wash’ the meat with ammonia.

Many other supermarket items are not what they appear. In America, corn is used in 90% of products sold in the grocery. Foods with salt, sugar, and fat (the three trigger items craved by an unhealthy human) are heavily subsidized, so that fruit and veggies keep going up in price, while the fast food hamburger keeps getting cheaper.

Perhaps the most tragic story was of the beautiful, healthy 2 year old boy who got e-coli from a hamburger and died 12 days later. But what also hurt me deeply was seeing what Monsanto was doing to any farmer who dared to plant a non-Monsanto soybean, or to the man who was helping these farmers clean and reuse their seeds. At the time of filming, Monsanto controlled 90% of the soybean mark with their ‘Roundup Ready’ bean (it can be sprayed with the herbicide Roundup and will carry on living while all other plants and weeds die).

Rating:  3.5 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"Like a 21st-century updating of The Jungle ... Food, Inc. is infuriating and disheartening, as it introduces us to the unpleasant verities of eating and the cynical rationalizations of those who purport to feed us."
- Philip Martin (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

The Hide (2008)

Movie quotes:
"I’m not caged. I’m not a hemmed-in man."
- Roy

At a glance:
Director Marek Losey’s freshman film is a tense character study of two men from opposite ends of the class spectrum who form a strange relationship during the short time they spend together in a claustrophobic bird-watching hide

Our review (with spoilers):
There’s the consummate clash of cultures in The Hide, a movie that takes place completely inside a bird-watching hide on mud flats somewhere in England. Stuck-up, better-than-thou ornithologist Roy Tunt (Alex Macqueen) has his quest to tick off every known species of bird interrupted by David (Phil Campbell), a rough, lower class mystery man with an obviously troubled soul (even if we weren’t privy to his bizarre flashbacks). At first, Roy seems arrogant yet innocent, and David, gulping from a bottle of vodka and scratching his head with passion, looks like he is about to explode in anger and violence. Despite their cultural differences, they find a way to communicate and to enjoy – and need – each other’s company – although why they need each other is not immediately clear.

(Note: Do NOT read any further if you have not yet seen this film). Director Marek Losey plays with stereotypes to lead us in a certain direction, then abruptly pulls the rug out from under us. One man is obviously troubled but harmless to others. Another is hiding his sins, and, by design, is extremely dangerous.

The Hide is a bean counter’s dream. There are only two actors, and virtually the entire film takes place inside a small bird blind (hide). Losey proves that you do not need expensive sets, fireballs, or big name actors to create a mini-masterpiece.

Rating:  3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"One claustrophobic location, two men, a relationship that shifts with the flood tide... and a film that far exceeds the limitations imposed by its low budget and small scale."
- Anton Bitel (Eye for Film)

Gigantic (2008)

Movie quotes:
Mr. Weathersby (Edward Asner): Ah, whatever that boy wants, he’ll figure it out at some point. Now, you’ve got 15 years on him, both of you. You – you forget what you were like when you were his age?
James (Robert Stanton): I was finishing my residency when I was his age.
John (Ian Roberts): Yeah, I was in Russia buying oil tankers

Al (John Goodman): Here, take this.
Brian (Paul Dano): What’s this?
Al: A switchblade. Don’t lose it, I got it in Corsica

"Effectively combines three of my great fears: the dark, heights, public nudity."
- Happy (Zooey Deschanel)

Brian: How’s your soup?
Happy: A little…ligamenty.

At a glance:
Gigantic has many original and witty moments, and its low-key quirkiness is fun to watch, but it struggles to create characters that we care about, and its slight transformation into a conventional love story is a distraction

Our review (with spoilers):
The late great film critic Gene Siskel had a propensity to not only critique a film, but to make suggestions on how to improve the script. I tend to avoid this type of exercise. I believe a film is like an artist’s painting. We can view it and comment on it, but there’s no point in suggesting that there should be another tree added to the lower right. Having said that, I wish Gene was here now to rewrite the slightly sentimental turn that Gigantic injects into its story.

Brian (Paul Dano) has an unusual life-long ambition: to adopt a Chinese baby. He’s 29 now, and still on a waiting list. But this is obviously a strong passion with him, set apart from the other elements of his life. He almost sleep-walks through his job (selling luxury Swedish beds on commission). Brian is genetically disposed to quirkiness. His father (Ed Asner) walks the border between wit and dementia, and his brother John (Ian Roberts) speaks his mind, even during the pointy end of a massage. As Brian moves closer to getting that baby, he meets and get into a relationship (a quirky one of course) with Happy (Zooey Deschanel). Happy is passionate, but specializes in backing out of jobs and relationships whenever they get too serious. Happy is also quirky, as predetermined by the genes of her father Al (John Goodman). Goodman is again cast in a variant of the role he most often plays; a tactless businessman with a colorful past, he has the body shape and social graces of Homer Simpson; although, granted, he’s got a lot more intelligence than the cartoon character.

To complicate matters more, Brian is occasionally attacked by a street person – the same street person – who for some unexplained reason is stalking him, challenging him.

Gigantic is very funny at times; there are oodles of great lines. It is at its best when it delivers a steady stream of original, unusual scenes and situations (all presented in a low-key, somnambulistic mood). But it’s hard to care about the characters. As appealing as Paul Dano is, I had trouble taking his character seriously: a man who, as a boy of nine, was pleading for a Chinese baby? That’s intriguing but also a little creepy if true. Similarly, the success or failure of his relationship with Happy held no emotional meaning for me. Hopefully, other viewers had better experiences, because parts of the movie were charming and some of the dialogue is very clever.

Rating:  2.75 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"An indie comedy that's been kooked to a crisp. Wearing its quirkiness on its sleeve, the whole thing's just too self-consciously strange to engage."
- David Edwards (Daily Mirror [UK])

Tyson (2008)

Movie quotes:
"While I’m in the dressing room, five minutes before I come out, my gloves are laced up, I’m breaking my gloves down, I’m pushing the leather to the back of my gloves, I’m breaking the middle of the gloves so my knuckle could pierce through the leather. I could feel my knuckle piercing through the tight leather gloves on the Everlast boxing gloves. When I come out I have supreme confidence but I’m scared to death. I’m totally afraid. I’m afraid of everything. I’m afraid of losing. I’m afraid of being humiliated. But I’m totally confident. The closer I get to the ring the more confident I get; the closer, the more confident I get. The closer the more confident I get. All during my training I’ve been afraid of this man. I thought this man might be capable of beating me. I’ve dreamed of him beating me. But that I’ve always stayed afraid of him. The closer I get to the ring I’m more confident. Once I’m in the ring I’m a god. No one could beat me. I walk around the ring but I never take my eyes off my opponent – I keep my eyes on, even if he’s ready and pumping. He can’t wait to get his hands on me as well. I keep my eyes on him. I keep my eyes on him. Then once I see a chink in his armor, boom, one of his eyes may move, and then I know I have him. Then when he comes to the center of the ring, he still looks at me with his piercing look as if he’s not afraid. But he already made that mistake when he looked down for that one tenth of a second. I know I had him. He’ll fight hard for the first two or three rounds, but I know I already broke his spirit. During the fight I’m supremely confident. I’m moving my head; he’s throwing punches. I’m making him miss and I’m countering. I’m hitting him to the body; I’m punching him real hard. And I’m punching, and I’m punching him, and I know he’s not able to take my punches. One, two, three punches; I’m throwing punches in bunches. He goes down, he’s out. I’m victorious. Mike Tyson, greatest fighter that ever lived."
- Mike Tyson

At a glance:
Mike Tyson paints a mesmerizing portrait of his tumultuous life and troubled soul in his truth-laced, psychologically fascinating soliloquy

Our review (with spoilers):
Tyson is the story of heavyweight boxer and former world champion Mike Tyson, tracing his tumultuous life from his start as a troubled child, his teenage years as a hood, his ascent to the world title, and his descent back to earth. At the heart of all was his intensely close relationship with his trainer/mentor/father figure, Cus D’Amato. D’Amato pulled Tyson from a life of crime that would have surely ended in an early death or a long jail sentence, and honed his raw boxing talent into the skills of a world champion. Tyson, for his part, gave D’Amato a reason to live – to watch this man that he had molded improve and excel. D’Amato saw Tyson start to climb the steps toward the world championship but died before Tyson reached his goal. D’Amato also missed Tyson’s rapid descent. With his mentor/conscience gone, and lured into believing his own hype, Tyson stopped training and gave in to the temptations of non-stop groupie women. He lost the title to Buster Douglas, a fighter he probably could have beaten easily had he trained properly. As his professional life nose-dived, so did his personal life. His marriage to Robin Givens ended in humiliation. And later, he was convicted of the rape of an aspiring Miss America contestant, and spent three years in prison. When he emerged, his heart, mind and body were no longer dedicated to boxing; he fought again, with varying success, and admitted that often it was only for the paycheck.

What makes this story so compelling is that it is told by Tyson himself, with no holds barred (except for those parts where it is obvious that Tyson doesn’t really understand what happened to him, or perhaps has no intention of admitting the facts). Most of the film consists of close-ups of Tyson’s face as he recounts the highs and lows of his life. There is an interviewer, but they are never on-screen, and their questions are never heard; only Tyson’s answers are there to guide us. Interspersed with this are some awesome clips from his bouts that led to his heavyweight title; he was a terrifying superior fighter, expertly trained, singular of purpose, and with amazing hand speed and power.

Even Tyson himself seems only vaguely aware of just how out of control he can get when he is high, hurt, or enraged by current events or his harsh upbringing. He is quite raw, unrestrained, and animalistic, and, amazingly, he shares much of this when he tells his story. For example, recounting the details of when he attacked Don King, he first insults King, calling him a number of names and saying the man only loves money. It is as if he is reliving the anger that led him to attack King. He then says that he loved Don King. Both versions appear to be true, or at least he believes both to be true.

Rating:  3.5 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"...if Tyson never manages to charm us, there are other times when he comes off as touchingly naive. He's uncommonly empathetic to those who might think him a monster. It seems he often sometimes thinks of himself the same way."
- Philip Martin (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette)

"It all adds up to a fascinating psychological study, a film that goes beyond both the public persona and the fighter's own spin to get at the frightened, angry, explosive, yet utterly understandable boy who became a very troubled and very public man."
- Roger Moore (Orlando Sentinel)

Quantum of Solace (2008)

Movie quotes:
"When someone says they’ve got people everywhere, you expect it to be hyperbole! Lots of people say that. Florists use that expression. It doesn’t mean they’ve got somebody working for them inside the bloody room."
- M (Judi Dench)

James Bond (Daniel Craig): [at a dirty, small motel] What are we doing?
Strawberry Fields (Gemma Arterton): We're teachers on sabbatical. This fits our cover.
James Bond: No it doesn't. I'd rather stay at a morgue. Come on.
[they go to a nicer hotel]
James Bond: [to the hotel receptionist] Hello. We're teachers on sabbatical and we've just won the lottery.

Camille (Olga Kurylenko): So, what's your interest in Greene?
James Bond: Among other things, he tried to kill a friend of mine.
Camille: A woman?
James Bond: Yes. But it's not what you think.
Camille: Your mother?
James Bond: She likes to think so.

At a glance:
Daniel Craig’s second Bond film tells its story of revenge with exquisitely choreographed and edited action scenes

Our review (with spoilers):
James Bond is tasked with tracking down the people responsible for the death of his girlfriend Vesper. He swears to M that he is not bent on revenge, yet for some reason every baddie he encounters seems to die, even though she would prefer he occasionally bring someone in for, say, questioning. Bond’s nemesis is one Dominic Greene, a businessman who, under the pretense of buying tracts of land as nature preserves, actually corners a country’s water supply and then sells water to his newly installed leader at an inflated price. Bond is also going to have to deal with Greene’s high-ranking American friends, who also want him out of the way.

I’ve got to admit, I’m starting to prefer (or at least highly appreciate) this more serious, hard-edged Bond over the quipping, smirk-wearing Roger Moore (my previous favorite Bond). Gone are the double-entendres and any sense of playfulness; it seems as if the Bond one-liners are purposefully written NOT to be amusing. They are both good in their own way, but Craig’s steely demeanor meshes well with the frenetic editing and high-tech action scenes that make these newer Bond movies so entertaining.

One area that does not work for me: the tone of these new Bond films is highly grim most of the time, but the villains, despite being slightly more serious, are still mostly moustache-twirling caricatures, and that is not a perfect fit with the new sobering mood.

Rating: 3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"Meaner, leaner and faster than ever, the new-fashioned, down-to-earth Bond movie might have a typically tangled plot and Daniel Craig scowling a tad too much, but the Bourne-inspired action is sensational."
- Jim Schembri (The Age [Australia])

Bad Biology (2008)

Movie quotes:
"For years I used to hate god. What kind of bastard creator would make me this way? I’d fantasize about spitting in his face and ripping his eyeballs out and inflicting in him the same pain he’s inflicted in me. But I’ve now learned to understand him. I now realize just how loving god is. He loves me so much that he’s given me a gift. I can feel seven times the sexual pleasure of any human being. And now he’s given me babies. Not for me to keep, of course, but as a preparation for his holy child. God has been building and designing my one purpose and one purpose only. God wants to fuck me."
- Jennifer (Charlee Danielson)

"Jennifer! Vagina faces! What were you thinking?"
- Magazine Editor (James Glickenhaus)

At a glance:
After 16 years, bizarre horror filmmaker Frank Henenlotter returns with this over-the-top, alternatively hilarious and sickening tale of a women with seven clitori and a man with a huge sentient penis

Our review (with spoilers):
What’s the plural of clitoris? It’s not a word that needs to be used in the plural form very much. But in the case of Jennifer (Charlee Danielson), it does. You see, she has seven of them – at least seven, maybe more. And the drive to satisfy her sexual urges leads to violent sex with numerous partners that sometimes ends in death for the man if she gets too carried away. There’s another side effect to her ‘condition’; two hours after having sex, she sometimes gives birth to a deformed undersized baby – a baby that she simply ignores and leaves to die.

Now she may have found her perfect mate – Batz (Anthony Sneed), a young man who, in his quest to be able to masturbate, has been injecting his penis directly with steroids, until his own organ has become a huge, sentient, sex-crazed drug addict. But just as Jennifer is heading over to Batz’s house to attempt to consummate their relationship, a turn of events complicates matters: Batz’s penis detaches itself and heads off on its own!

Bad Biology is a harsh, sometimes revolting, sometimes hilariously over-the-top film – and I mean that in a good way. It’s a movie that is so wild it makes a David Lynch film look like a Hallmark telemovie. To say it is unique would be a vast understatement. Babies are dumped into garbage pails, a woman has a 5 minute orgasm, a man argues with his fish-flopping penis. And what about those camera angles – vagina-cam (shot from inside Jennifer’s vagina, looking out at her first boyfriend just before he kicks her out in fear and disgust); and penis-cam (shot from inside Batz’s pants, as the penis peers out at a hooker). But probably best of all is watching Jennifer giving CPR to the dying detached penis.

The anchor to Henenlotter’s films is his willingness to at least partially address the topic of alienation as faced by those who are different or live with a deformity or defect. I’m sure Henenlotter probably feels this way in regard to the way his mind works.

The low budgets only hurt the finished product with regards to the uneven acting. Danielson is good; Sneed is handsome (and I noticed his name in the credits for creating the masturbation machine) but his delivery needs some work.

Rating: 3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"The characters and dialogue aren’t quite up there with Henenlotter’s masterworks, Brain Damage and Basket Case, but Bad Biology contains plenty of queasy fun for the depraved at heart."
- Matt McAllister (Total Sci-Fi)

"At once tragically wounded and gloriously shameless, Bad Biology is a must-see for a certain, self-selecting breed of filmgoer. It lives up to the promise of its premise, and extends the career of one of the horror-genre’s most idiosyncratic and most blatantly obsessive artists."
- Jeremy Heilman (MovieMartyr.com)

Synecdoche, New York (2008)

Movie quotes:
Caden (Philip Seymour Hoffman): That was good, Tom.
Tom (Daniel London): Yeah?
Caden: Yeah.
Tom: I was trying something different. I was…crashing differently – ambivalently.

Caden: I want to ask you, how old are kids when they start to write?
Madeleine (Hope Davis): Listen, there’s an absolutely brilliant novel written by a four year old.
Caden: Really?
Madeleine: ‘Little Winky’ by Horace Azpiazu.
Caden: It’s cute.
Madeleine: Oh, hardly. Little Winky is a virulent anti-Semite. The story follows his initiation into the Klan, his immersion in the pornographic snuff industry, and his ultimate degradation at the hands of a black ex-convict named Eric Washington Jackson Jones Johnson.
Caden: Written by a four year old.
Madeleine: Jefferson.
Caden: Wow. Written by a four year old.
Madeleine: Well, Azpiazu killed himself when he was five.
Caden: Why did he kill himself?
Madeleine: I don’t know, why did you?
Caden: What?
Madeleine: I said, ‘Why would you?’

Caden: You’re weirdly close to what I’d visualized for this character.
Millicent Weems (Dianne Wiest): Glad to be weirdly close.

"Dear diary, I'm afraid I'm gravely ill. It is perhaps times like these that one reflects on things past. An article of clothing from when I was young. A green jacket. I walk with my father. A game we once played. Pretend we're fairies. I'm a girl fairy. My name is Laura Lee. And you're a boy fairy. Your name is Tita Lee. Pretend, when we're fairies we fight each other, and I say "Stop hitting me I'll die!" And you hit me again and I say, "Now I have to die." And then you say, "But I'll miss you." And I say, "But I have to. And you'll have to wait a million years to see me again. And I'll be put in a box, and all I'll need is a tiny glass of water and lots of tiny pieces of pizza and the box will have wings like an airplane." And you'll ask, "Where will it take you?" "Home." I say."
- Olive (Robin Weigert)

At a glance:
Charlie Kaufman’s directorial debut is a dense, thought-provoking, sometimes comical, sometimes puzzling examination of a middle aged playwright battling with self-worth, love and art

Our review (with spoilers):
Playwright Caden Cotard's (Philip Seymour Hoffman) productions receive rave reviews, but they are safe copies of other people’s inspirations. At the same time, his relationship with partner Adele (Catherine Keener) is ending, and his body is deteriorating. Prompted by winning a prestigious award, and fighting to find meaning in his life, he begins a new project where he will demand honesty from himself and his actors. The project takes some time to come to fruition – a lot of time – years, in fact, and it is never really completed. This play about life is life, in fact – even though it is taking place on a huge warehouse-sized set and is populated with lookalikes playing the parts of each other.

For a good part of Synecdoche, I thought I was viewing a dream or alternative reality. It took a while for me to realize (or assume, anyway) that the story we were seeing was happening, albeit with chunks removed. As Caden ages, the speed at which his life passes feels very much like the way my life seems to pass too quickly now, where months and years go by in blocks that seem to be over and to fade away almost immediately. Many of us are driven to excel, or at least to cope, and that struggle leaves little time to revel in good memories from the past, or sometimes to even make the right decisions for the future.

Kaufman writes from the depths of his imagination, and here, his first writer/director film, sometimes only he might be able to follow the train of thought he is taking. It is possible that his material is improved, or at least more accessible, when forced through the prism of another director. Left to his own devices, we get unadulterated, imaginative Kaufman in all his murky glory. Despite the nightmarish fantasy, his story is grounded by moments of pure truth. For example, he absolutely nails the detached way that doctors treat patients. He has a tremendous feel for the way people in relationships speak to each other, or perhaps for the things that they think about each other. He transforms fear of living and fear of failing into tangible, in-your-face nightmarish images of a city filled with garbage and people filled with despair.

Synecdoche isn’t totally successful. The overall feeling of despair weighed me down. The final 20 minutes is almost all exposition that provides plenty of thought provocation, but little in the way of a conclusion. If that’s the point, then it is a total success. But no matter, because the film’s true value is its stunning originality and its copious amounts of beautiful Kaufman prose.

It’s also an actor’s film. The last time I saw Samantha Morton, she was a hard-edged, emotion-challenged person in Code 46. Her transformation here is eye-popping. Emily Watson plays Morton’s double to good effect. Tom Noonan is convincing as Caden’s doppelganger – he doesn’t do an imitation; he’s just stalked the guy for 20 years, so who better to play him? Dianne Wiest is effective in a small role. Hoffman is handed a huge assignment here; he is supposed to be the consummate actor, but for some reason I find it difficult to feel empathy for him. Rating: 3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"So dense, so complex and so downright puzzling that even Kaufman fans may balk at it."
- David Stratton (At the Movies [Australia])

"The film is either a masterpiece or a massively dysfunctional act of self-indulgence and self-laceration. It has brilliance, either way: surreal, utterly distinctive, witty, gloomy in the manner that his fans will recognise and adore."
- Peter Bradshaw (Guardian [UK])

"A difficult, maddening and elusive film that’s also intriguing, profound and darkly funny."
- Matt Bochenski (Little White Lies)

Gran Torino (2008)

Movie quotes:
"Well, I think you’re an overeducated, 27 year old virgin who likes to hold the hand of old ladies who are superstitious, and promises them eternity."
- Walt (Clint Eastwood) to young priest

Sue (Ahney Her): We’re having a barbecue, you wanna come over?
Walt: What do you think?
Sue: There’s tons of food!
Walt: Yeah, just keep your hands off my dog.

"Oh, no. No, no more. No more, c’mon, no more…I…no more, please, no more, this that chicken dumpling thing you brought the other…alright."
- Walt to women bearing food gifts

Walt: See, now go out, come back and talk to him, and, it ain’t rocket science, for Chrissake.
Thao (Bee Vang): Yeah, but, I don’t have a job, a car, or a girlfriend.
Barber (John Carroll Lynch) Jesus. I should have blown his head off when I had the chance.
Walt: Yeah. Maybe so. Now okay, I want you to turn around, and go outside, and come back, and don’t talk about having no job, no car, no girlfriend, no future, no dick, okay? Just…turn around and go.

Priest (Christopher Carley): What can I do for you, Mr. Kowalski?
Walt: I’m here for a confession.
Priest: Oh, Lord Jesus, what have you done?
Walt: Nothin’, you just take it easy now.
Priest: What are you up to?
Walt: Are you gonna give me a confession or not?

At a glance:
Clint Eastwood directs and stars in this small but effective drama about a bitter and prejudiced Korean War veteran and widower who forms a reluctant friendship with his Asian neighbors

Our review (with spoilers):
Walt (Clint Eastwood) is a bitter old man. He just lost his wife. We never get to meet her, but I would assume that she was his lifeline into the social world, a gentler soul who softened Walt’s prejudice and anger toward the world, and the one person who was able to love him, despite his faults. Without her, he is happy to be isolated, making himself unapproachable to his family and to the young parish priest who made a promise to his wife to look after him. Walt remains on, alone in a small house, in a neighborhood that has become a ghetto. Surrounded by Asian families, Walt either ignores them or actively keeps them at bay with aggressiveness. When Thao, the young Asian boy next door, is almost kidnapped by a local gang, Walt steps in, brandishing one of his Korean War rifles. Walt only intervenes because the battle spills over the property line onto his lawn. Walt scares the gang away with his crazy bloody-mindedness, and, with this act, becomes an unexpected and reluctant hero to the boy, his family, and the other Asian families in the neighborhood. Slowly, Walt and Thao develop a father/son type relationship, with Walt teaching Thao about life (in his own unique way), lending him tools, and finding him a job. When Thao continues to be bullied by the gang, Walt starts taking things into his own hands and intervenes in a kind of geriatric Dirty Harry style, but this just escalates the violence.

This often quiet, sometimes humorous, and occasionally explosive film features one of the most vibrant, sincere performances Eastwood has delivered in years. Make no mistake: this is a film parable; it has no aspirations to be a true story (at least, that’s not how I read it). Eastwood’s transformation from hateful bigot to tolerant, respectful neighbor happens way too fast. Walt’s resolution ties things up too easily, especially after a point had been made earlier in the film that the Hmong people ‘knew how to keep their mouths shut’). Still, by tackling a much smaller story, Eastwood has succeeded where he sometimes fails. It’s a dream role for Eastwood; he gets to cuss it up and be the quintessential liberated bigot, then transform into almost a god-like martyr. But I reckon he deserves it. Rating: 3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"The kind of movie Don Siegel and Sam Fuller used to make, a blunt but perceptive slice of American discontent filtered through the prism of B-movie conventions."
- Maitland McDonagh (Miss FlickChick)

 "What the film aches for is a challenge worthy of the monster Eastwood effortlessly inhabits."
- James Christopher (Times [UK])

Defiance (2008)

Movie quotes:
Tuvia (Daniel Craig): What did you do?
Isaac (Mark Feuerstein): I suppose you’d have to say I was – am – an intellectual.
Zus (Liev Schreiber): This is a job?

"Our revenge is to live. We may be hunted like animals but we will not become animals. We have all chosen this - to live free, like human beings, for as long as we can. Each day of freedom is a victory. And if we die trying to live, at least we die like human beings."
- Tuvia

At a glance:
Based on a true holocaust story of Jewish survivors hiding in the forests of Belarussia, Defiance benefits from solid performances in an emotional war setting, and is only occasionally set back by Hollywood contrivances

Our review:
During the Second World War, two Jewish brothers are forced to hide in the Belarussia woods when their family is killed by the Nazis. They are joined by hundreds of other Jews, all looking for a safe haven. Zus (Live Schreiber) would probably be happy to leave these lost souls, but Tuvia (Daniel Craig) feels the need to protect and provide for them. They build a forest camp and attempt to hide from vengeful locals from whom they’ve ‘borrowed’ food, and from always vigilant German patrols. There is conflict as well between the two brothers. Zus favors a hard line approach to survival, advocating acts of revenge and the killing of potential threats. Tuvia, perhaps the more natural leader of men, wants to impose a strict set of ethics on their endeavors to ensure they do not end up as morally tainted as their enemies.

Although framed within a ‘true’ story of Jewish persecution, the guts of this tale is the conflict between brothers, and later, the internal conflicts within the greater group of forest dwellers, and their battles against the perils of winter and shortages of food and medicine.

There’s nothing wrong with Defiance. It’s a solid war/survival movie. In such a drama-rich setting, and bolstered by its ‘true war story’ roots, Defiance felt like it could have achieved more than it does. Perhaps it suffers from a slightly uninspired screenplay riddled with one too many clichés. Perhaps some of the plot points feel like the work of a screenwriter, not of a real group of war refugees. For example, one of Tuvia’s rules is ‘no pregnancies’. He doesn’t feel they can provide for the needs of babies. Well, first of all, this doesn’t allow for any women who might already be pregnant when they arrive there (of course, this very situation comes up later). Second, newborn babies receive all they need to survive from their mothers for at least the first 6 months of their life. And finally, these survivors could be living in the forest for a long time – perhaps for the rest of their lives. What is the point of just surviving if there are no children to carry on after they are gone?

Still, Defiance does get most things right. The brothers’ relationship is solid, and perhaps the movie would have benefited if Zus had not gone missing for a big chunk of the film. Tuvia is an intriguing character; I wondered why, for example, he fought so hard to maintain a level of dignity, yet he made no move to stop his people from beating the captured German soldier to death. Likewise, Zus’s character is also thought-provoking. In wartime, are violent, semi-sadistic people like him of high value? His acts of heroism were enabled at least partly by his lust for revenge and his tolerance/love of killing.

There are also excellent performances across the board, and director Edward Zwick creates a sincere and believable mood and place in time using visual imagery. That’s not something that’s easy to do, and yet he’s done it here, and he’s done it before (in The Siege). Rating: 3 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"A harrowing story of bravery and survival, Defiance tells it Hollywood-style. Still, somehow the true-story courage bleeds through the at-times hokey formula scripting."
- Ross Anthony (Hollywood Report Card)

Killshot (2008)

Movie quotes:
Richie Nix (Joseph Gordon-Levitt): You ever work with anyone before?
Blackbird (Mickey Rourke): My brothers. One is in prison forever, and my kid brother is dead. You remind me of him – he was a stupid guy.

"Looks like you’re gonna have trouble with this one. He might shoot the wrong bird."
- Lionel (Aldred Montoya)

FBI real estate agent (Steve Cumyn): If the neighbors ask, you paid about 200 thousand dollars for it.
Donna (Diane Lane): It looks more like 150 to me.

"They’ll be a slight delay in the divorce proceedings while the couple hide out from the killers."
- Wayne (Thomas Jane)

At a glance:
Mickey Rourke gives a powerful performance  as an aging, all-business hit man teaming with an out of control young thug to terrorize a recently divorced couple

Our review:
Blackbird (Mickey Rourke) is just another in the neverending parade of hit men who are doing that elusive last big job before they retire. Unfortunately, Blackbird is overzealous on that last job; he not only shoots the mark, but also the mark’s female visitor – and she was working for his client. Suddenly, there is a price on his head, and his visit to his small home town of Algonac, Michigan is lengthened. And yet, even if he wasn’t a wanted man, he is marked as something evil and is not welcome in his home town. With time to kill, he teams up with Richie, a brash, young and stupid hood who reminds him of his deceased little brother. Their little caper backfires, and Blackbird and Richie try to cover their tracks by killing the recently Carmen (Diane Lane) and Wayne (Thomas Jane), a recently divorced couple that identified them. Even witness protection does not provide adequate safety for these two; they must defend themselves, and in the process, put their trial separation on hold.

I’ve gotten into heaps of trouble in the past when I review movies where the protagonists are basically evil with no redeeming qualities. Forgive me, but I don’t like these types of movies; I was raised on 1940s Hollywood fare and got used to the old Code. For example, in Surveillance, the two serial killers kill only because they get tremendous joy out of it, and it invigorates their love life. Blackbird isn’t on that level; he’s a businessman, a killing machine, who ties up loose ends by making sure that there are no witnesses to his work, even if those witnesses are innocents. He’s not sadistic like, say, Javier Bardem’s character in No Country For Old Men; on the other hand, and gratefully so, he’s not imbued with some kind of Hollywood Hitman Moral Code. He's a self-preservationist. And he tutors Richie into something worse than he was before they met; like Blackbird, Richie will now kill any loose ends, rather than just offing people who upset him. Still, if you’re looking for an upside, Blackbird cleans up his own work when he sees what he has created in Richie.

In the end (MAJOR SPOILERS FOLLOW) Blackbird proves not to be a very efficient killing machine at all. Offended by the behavior of Richie, he shoots him a bit prematurely – it probably would have made more sense to do this after the confrontation with Wayne. Despite Richie’s offensive behavior toward Carmen, he still would have protected Blackbird’s back in a fire fight. And again, it would have made sense to kill Carmen as soon as Wayne arrived. She was of no more use, and that’s what cold-blooded hit men do.

Rourke’s character is not as compelling and does not have the resonance of his turn as an aging wrestler in The Wrestler; nonetheless, it is a compelling performance. We want to know more about why this man is what he is: was it his troubled childhood, or a single incident? But this is left to our imagination.

Rating: 2.75 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"It's ultimately Rourke who makes the film worth watching."
-Bill Goodykoontz (Arizona Republic)

Surveillance (2008)

At a glance:
Director Jennifer Lynch pulls out all stops to present a gruesome tale of sadistic serial killers; for the first two-thirds, it’s an intense thriller, but it turns pointlessly ugly and nasty for the finale

Our review:
In an un-named area of the US mid-west, two sadistic cops get their kicks from shooting tires on passing cars, then torturing the drivers about speeding. These two guys are sick enough, but they look like saints compared to the other pair that is about to intersect their lives: a couple of world-class sadistic serial killers. The local cops get help in solving the case from a couple of visiting FBI agents: Sam Hallaway (Bill Pullman) and Elizabeth Anderson (Julia Ormond). Hallaway and Anderson spend most of the film conducting and/or observing ongoing interviews with the survivors: a young girl (Ryan Simpkins), an older druggie teen girl (Bobbi Prescott), and one of the sadistic cops (Kent Harper). There are the usual conflicts between cops and FBI trampling on each other in the same case and jurisdiction, and quit a few secrets waiting to be revealed. Surveillance is muddled at times, but is also intense and captivating – at least until its final third, when it grows so sick and bleak that it leapt out of the area that I consider an acceptable story.

I was lured into watching this film because I enjoyed Jennifer Lynch’s last feature, 1993’s Boxing Helena (which was only partially sadistic and had some elements of fantasy to salvage it). Surveillance is all reality: a no-holds-barred sadistic, gruesome tale. Lynch is unquestionably good at building suspense, but in the end, the story is so negative, sour, and gross, that it is hardly worth watching (except of course for fans of sick and perverse death). I don’t see the purpose in making fictional movies about events that actually could be worse than what has happened in real life. No matter how stylized it is, do we really need more ugliness in the world for its own sake? If you were able to stop watching two-thirds of the way through, you would have a good bloody thriller – after that, it becomes too depraved for my tastes. There’s nothing wrong with the performances, however; Bill Pullman and Julia Ormond both take to their roles with frightening gusto, and the supporting cast of unknowns are sometimes a little awkward, but that works. Rating: 1 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"The film takes an interesting premise and manages it to cram it through a meat grinder until you’re left with something that you wouldn’t really want to eat in the first place."
-Kevin Kelly (Spoutblog)

"I may be perverse, but after a David Lynch movie I feel elated, with a renewed zest for life; after this film I felt queasy, not with the horror of the story, but at the cheapness of its world view. It's an ugly thing."
-Sheila Seacroft (Floatation Suite)

This review was the winner of the prestigious 'Best Moron Child Review' for 2009! See the comments for more details!

Role Models (2008)

Movie quotes:
Danny (Paul Rudd): Sarah. Ah, Sarah! You ever talk to her?
Augie: (Christopher Mintz-Plasse): No, I killed her a couple of times in battle, but that’s not really…

Wheeler (Seann William Scott): I don't have crabs! What have you been telling these kids?
Ronnie (Bobb'e J. Thompson): That you have crabs.

"Jeez, it's like Shrek's piss."
- Danny, while urinating neon green liquid

"Now let us gingerly touch our tips."
- Kuzzik (Joe Lo Truglio)

At a glance:
Role Models has its share of pandering to lovers of all things tasteless, but it also has plenty of original laugh out loud humor and simulated swordplay to make it worth seeing

Our review:
Two late-twenty-something co-workers are complete opposites. Wheeler (Seann William Scott) is a one-night-stand ladies man who is happy with his life – and he loves his job, which consists of dressing up like a Minotaur and traveling from school to school to promote the green Minotaur soft drink and tell kids to say no to drugs. Danny (Paul Rudd) is the Minotaur’s partner/MC. He’s spent 10 years doing these gigs and feels like he is getting nowhere. When his dismal long-term attitude starts to affect his long-time girlfriend Beth (Elizabeth Banks), she breaks up with him – and things go downhill from there. Faced with either a jail term or community service, the guys take the latter – and end up as mentors for a couple of unusual boys. At its best in the initial stages when Rudd and Scott play off each other, and in the latter stages (with a redemption story that takes place within the confines of a Medieval Battle Club), Role Models weakens a little for a while as it is almost overwhelmed by bad taste, especially its handful of jokes that deal with child abuse. It alternates between hilarity and puerility – so fans of the puerile should be in a constant state of enjoyment. But this is not a lazy comedy; there are plenty of little touches thrown in (like many of Wheeler’s comments about actors) that would not have been there if the creators only cared about grinding out another gross-out teen pic. Good supporting work by Christopher Mintz-Plasse (who plays the quintessential nerd to perfection), the remarkable Bobb'e J. Thompson, Elizabeth Banks, and Joe Lo Truglio.

Perhaps because I have just finished watching a string of tasteful classy Oscar nominated dramas, Role Models probably seemed intensely offensive at times. But I should also temper my love of its humor, because those Oscar movies were extremely serious and virtually devoid of laughs.

Rating: 2.75 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"Has a very high laugh-per-minute ratio."
-Mike McGranaghan (Aisle Seat)

"Well, here's something we don't usually see at the movies. 'Role Models' is a raucously bawdy lowbrow comedy with a brain."
-Larry Ratliff (San Antonio Express-News)

"'Role Models' is what you might expect, a juvenile farce that celebrates a sort of nihilistic, anything-goes raunchiness before revealing its heart of gold. There's nothing wrong with a formula like this when it works. Here it does."
-Rossiter Drake (San Francisco Examiner)

"Where most mainstream comedies strain to make their jokes as zany and crazy as possible, Role Models has the unspeakable bravery to base almost all of its comedy on things that could actually happen."
-Tim Brayton (Antagony & Ecstasy)

Milk (2008)

Movie quotes:
"And It was about that time that someone first called me ‘The Mayor of Castro Street’…I may have invented the term myself."
- Harvey Milk (Sean Penn)

Dan White (Josh Brolin) Harvey, society can’t exist without the family.
Harvey Milk: We’re not against that.
Dan White: You’re not? What, can two men reproduce?
Harvey Milk: No, but God knows we keep trying!

At a glance:
Gus van Sant directs and Sean Penn stars in this moving and virtually perfect tribute to gay rights activist Harvey Milk, and an outstanding supporting cast helps create an authentic feeling of ‘community’

Our review:
Harvey Milk was a gay rights pioneer who saw the vaccuum of leadership and representation, and was perfectly suited to fill it. Starting in an area of San Francisco called Castro, he battled against prejudiced straights, brutal police, and a slow start to his political career to finally become the first openly gay person to be elected to public office.

There’s no doubt Sean Penn, like a fine wine, is getting better with age. His recent directorial project, Into the Wild, was a stylized success. And his portrayal of Harvey Milk retains his usual on-screen dynamic presence with a restraint not normally associated with his performances. He and a talented supporting cast, led by Emile Hirsch and Josh Brolin, create a moving tribute to Milk and a seemingly accurate snapshot of the growth of the gay rights movement in the 1970s. Director Gus Van Sant uses a documentary style to lend creedence to this biopic.

The film ends with a series of comparisons between the cast compared with photos of the real people they portrayed; in many cases, the likenesses are striking.

Milk has been nominated for 8 Academy awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Penn), Best Supporting Actor (Brolin), and Best Director (van Sant).

Rating: 3.5 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"As a portrait of Harvey Milk, Van Sant's film is a sincere work, bolstered by an unquestionably outstanding turn by Sean Penn."
-James Mottram (Channel 4 Film)

"Van Sant’s skill as a film-maker is showcased here to inspiring effect. Rarely has a lesson in political history felt so involving and alive."
-Wendy Ide Times [UK])

Australia (2008)

Movie quotes:
Drover (Hugh Jackman): We're not really used to -
Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman): A woman? I suppose you think I should be back in Darwin, at the church fete or a lady's whatever you call it. Well I will have you know, I am as capable as any man.
Drover: Guests. We're not used to guests is what I was about to say but now that you mention it I happen to quite like the women of the outback.

At a glance:
Baz Luhrmann’s epic portrayal of outback Australia during World War II is a combination western, romance, and war movie, with indigenous mysticism, too, and Luhrmann fans – and fans of pure spectacle and entertainment – will love it

Our review:
There are certain ambitious directors who bring and stamp their own mood, agenda, and personality onto every film they make. Baz Luhrmann is one of those directors. If you don’t relate to his point of view, watching one of his films could be a long, confusing slog (hence the mixed reviews for this film). If you do relate to his personality and are like-minded in the way you view the world, then he can pretty much throw any scene and/or visual imagery at you, and you will understand what he is trying to do.

I connect with Baz Luhrmann. Consequentially, I loved Australia.

The story: during World War II, Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman) travels from England to her Australian outback cattle property to find out why her husband has not returned. She believes he is there to have dalliances, but he was actually trying to run cattle and compete with cattle baron King Carney (Bryan Brown), the man who has a regional beef monopoly. Her cattle have been stolen by Carney’s evil employee, Neil Fletcher (David Wenham). Thoroughly out of her element, Lady Sarah must deal with the outback hardships while getting a crash course in aboriginal culture. For help, she turns to an honest, free spirited larrikin called The Drover (Hugh Jackman).

Australia crams almost everything into its long running time of 165 minutes. It’s a western war romance, with a dose of indigenous spirituality. It tries to be as big a film as Australia the country, and, for the most part, it succeeds. For all its length and spectacle, its main point of view is refreshingly simple: Australia can be a beautiful place if we treat people and the land with respect and tolerance. Reviews have been mixed, but I believe that as time goes on, the opinion of this film will slowly improve.

Australia is populated with a who’s who of Australian actors: Barry Otto, Jack Thompson, Bryan Brown, David Gulpilil, Ben Mendelsohn, and striking newcomer Brandon Walters as Nullah. In the same way, it covers a large and important period in Australian history, taking dead-serious issues and presenting them in a way that makes them entertaining.

Baz Luhrmann is brave as always, but he was misguided if he believed that he could make a wildly successful epic film that at the same time personalized and documented in lyrical imagery the atrocities of white Australians to indigenous people. While the majority of present-day white Australians acknowledge and are sorry that these atrocities did happen, many of them would still be squirming uncomfortably when presented with such blatant dramatization of representative tragic incidents.

Whether Luhrmann knew this problem or not, one thing is certain, for he has proven this over and over; he must always make the film that he must make, with no compromises. His films may be flawed, but they are always ambitious, flamboyant, original, passionate, and aware of their own self as film.

Rating: 3.5 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"This is a movie for those who say they don't make 'em like they used to."
-Robert Roten (Laramie Movie Scope)

"Australia is an epic love story, and a quite extraordinary piece of kitsch. Everything about the film is wildly over the top."
-James Christopher (Times [UK])

"Though the plot is similar to a Barbara Stanwyck '50s Western by way of Out of Africa, Luhrmann goes one further, infusing the film with a mystical quality that seems wholly authentic to this aboriginal land."
-Kimberly Gadette (Indie Movies Online)

Appaloosa (2008)

Movie quotes:
Randall Bragg (Jeremy Irons): You a drinking man, Marshall?
Virgil Cole (Ed Harris): Not so much.
Randall Bragg: And, uh…Mr. 8 gauge over there?
Virgil Cole: Mr. Everett Hitch
Randall Bragg: You a drinking man, Everett?
Everett Hitch (Viggo Mortensen): Not so much.
Randall Bragg: Hard to like a man who doesn’t drink a little.
Virgil Cole: But not impossible.

Everett: You got feelings about Allie, don’t you?
Virgil: I cared about Allie in town, and I’ll care about her when I get her back, but right now, there’s somethin’ runnin’, and we’re trying to catch it.

[after a shoot-out]
Everett Hitch: That was quick.
Virgil Cole: Yeah, everybody could shoot.

Allison French: You're a bastard! Don't listen to him. He tried to put his hands on me when I showed him our house.
Everett Hitch: No, Virgil. I did not.
Virgil Cole: No, Allie. Everett didn't do that.
Allison French: You believe him over me?
Virgil Cole: That's correct.

At a glance:
Appaloosa emulates the classic western; it has modest ambitions, and relies on its quieter moments to produce a memorable chemistry between its two protagonists

Our review:
Two professional gunmen/lawmen, Virgil Cole (Ed Harris) and Everett Hitch (Viggo Mortensen) ride into a lawless town that is controlled by the unscrupulous murderer Randall Bragg and his gang. Hired to clean up the town, Cole and Hitch start by writing their own strict laws regarding the reach of their own power (which is absolute). Order is restored, but the pursuit of Bragg for murder and the arrival of young widow Allison French (Renée Zellweger) cause complications. Ed Harris, directed, starred, and co-wrote this elegantly simple, low-budget western that sticks closely to the feel of a good B movie of the 40s/50s. Harris and Mortensen give the feeling that they really have been partners for ages. Jeremy Irons does an above par job of giving a believable rough edge to the baddie. Zellweger isn’t given much to do initially; later, her character deepens a little and her personality becomes more intriguing.

Here’s a little nit: As Virgil and Everett are escorting Randall across the river, they both have their guns pointed at him. He is between the two men. If they do decide to shoot him, there’s a good chance one of the bullets will go straight through him and hit one of them.

Rating: 2.75 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"A gentle, warmly human and quietly compelling western with a wry sense of humour and some engaging performances from a group of fine actors."
-Mike Goodridge (Screen International)

Revolutionary Road (2008)

Movie quotes:
"Tell me the truth, Frank: remember that? We used to live by it. And you know what's so good about the truth? Everyone knows what it is, however long they've lived without it. No one forgets the truth, Frank; they just get better at lying"
- April (Kate Winslet)

At a glance:
The re-teaming of Titanic stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet produces an one-note, distasteful tale about a dysfunctional couple whose acceptance of the mediocrity of suburban life leads to anger, despair, and tragedy

Our review:
A young married couple (Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet) with kids feels stagnated and trapped in suburban life. He’s a salesman who finds no passion or enjoyment in his job. She’s a housewife/mother/actress who hates seeing him languishing in mediocrity and not pursuing his dream. She hatches a plan to move to Paris – the place he loved so much during the war. Surprisingly, after initial resistance, he agrees. But then an unexpected promotion at work and other issues make him begin to question his decision. Yes, it’s true; we’re supposed to dedicate two valuable hours of our lives watching these bumbling dolts and their dysfunctional relationship as they waver, argue, achieve brief happiness, and then throw it all away. To inject some modicum of interest, the pot is stirred by a no-holds-barred friend of a friend, John (Michael Shannon), who makes rude yet insightful comments about the couple in their own home while hiding behind his ‘disability’ (he’s on release from a mental institution). The story is told so slowly, giving the impression that there’s more here than meets the eye – but, sadly, this isn’t true. In the end, it goes a long way to tell a story that is simply about lost opportunities and couples who are no longer coupled. I’m sure it could have been compressed into a 30 second public service announcement in the right editor’s hands.

There’s nothing wrong with the acting, although there’s some question in my mind whether Leonardo DiCaprio is truly an A-grade thespian. Michael Shannon nabbed a Best Supporting Actor nomination as the crazy guy who speaks his mind. And Thomas Newman’s evocative music keeps making you think that something is going to happen. Rating: 1 of 4

Other reviewers said:
"Sooner or later it becomes very hard to escape the sense that nothing actually happens in this film."
-Marc Fennell (Triple j)

"The acting is amazing but the story is one long drive to despair."
- Jackie K. Cooper (jackiekcooper.com)

"It leaves you feeling voyeuristically sullied; scrubbing the blood out of your mental carpet, privy to something simultaneously indulgent and inconsequential."
-Lorien Haynes (Little White Lies)