(1 People gave this 1.00 out of 5)

 Loading ...

Who will speak for the trees?

Swift shot:  I am no tree-hugger, but I can proudly say that iRATEfilms.com is run solely on wind energy; you can see our badge below.  And my views on finding alternative energy sources stem more from my loathing of certain oil-rich regimes than saving mother nature.  Still, I have a heart.  And, where some may take The Lorax as a beat you over the head with guilt film, I chose to take it as a, hey, just don’t forget about the trees, film.

Or let’s take his own words to heart, before I get hate mail about the “real message” or the fact that he lampoons environmentalists as some furry little creature.  Seuss once said, “The Lorax doesn’t say lumbering is immoral. I live in a house made of wood and write books printed on paper. It’s a book about going easy on what we’ve got. It’s anti-pollution and anti-greed.”

Starring Ed Helms as the mysteriously named, Once-Ler and Danny DeVito as title character The Lorax, the film is setup as a love story where Ted (Zac Efron) is trying to woo the auburn-haired dreamer, Audrey (Taylor Swift – No Relation to Me), and in fact the book itself was inspired by a romantic trip to East Africa that Seuss took with his wife Audrey in 1970.  And, yes, fans may realize this film was produced by Audrey, the widow of one Theodore, Ted “Dr. Seuss” Geisel.  It really is a love story.

In the film, twelve-year-old Ted is so infatuated with Audrey that he is willing to go beyond the trappings of the plastic city of Thneedville, run by corrupt, bottled-air-tycoon, Aloysius O’Hare (Rob Riggle) to find the one thing that Thneedville really needs, hope, in the form of a Truffula Tree seed.  Stealing the show, of course, was Betty White as Grammy Norma,who tells Ted that he must see the Once-Ler to find out about the trees.

With a little help from Grammy who tricks his mom (Jenny Slate), Ted manages to escape town and soon meets the Once-Ler who forces him to to endure a long story, a long, long story (complete with songs) about where all the trees went and how he met the odd-little magical creature, The Lorax.  Right away the Once-Ler is skeptical and catches on that Ted is just doing this to impress a girl, but he is also just happy to have someone captive, err, captivated with his story.

I was glad to see The Lorax, it was a highly imaginative and colorful film for little minds to enjoy, but it also has some wonderful surprises for adults to keep your attention throughout.  The Humming-Fish and Bar-ba-loots get almost excessively cutesy, but they grow on you as you anticipate their next silly antics and the film doesn’t put you to sleep.  Kudos to Danny DeVito for being the first actor in an animated movie to voice his role in multiple languages!

Sadly, I read a story today about a tree that stood for over 3,500 years, it was the fifth oldest tree on Earth and some meth-head burned it to the ground last month in Florida, and I couldn’t help but think about my review today.  “The Senator” will stand no more, and it wasn’t killed for greed or corporate necessity – it was destroyed by a person that probably needed a little more Dr. Seuss in her life!

Finally, I will leave you with the film’s effective and endearing message taken from the book – “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better.  It’s not.”  Put down your cell-phones and tablets, pull away from your TV’s and PC’s – take your kids to this heart-warming film and remind them that there needs to balance in all things in life.  I think this film would make Dr. Seuss very proud.

(3 People gave this 4.00 out of 5)

 Loading ...

“If you’re not willing to give up everything, you’ve already lost.”

Swift shot:  How many times have you run into people claiming to be SEALs?  Odds are, they were lying.  With rare exceptions, the silent operators of the deep will emerge from the frosty surf long enough to do their duty and then sink back to the darkest depths.  That is why I was shocked to hear active-duty SEALs were cast in this film, and (for our screening at least) the Bandito Brothers explained why before the film began in a short tribute to the elite warriors.  These are not actors, but they sure as hell deliver the action!!  Act of Valor is an exceptional military action film, which should be required viewing for anyone looking to join the service, any military service, during a time of conflict . . . i.e. WAR!  The above image was a live action sequence that the Bandito Brothers had one chance to capture, of an actual SEAL team embarking to a sub.  While this shot is epic, the next shot in this sequence is something you have to see on the big screen!

A lot of controversy has surrounded the access to the Teams for this film, and casting active duty personnel must be giving someone in the Naval Special Warfare headquarters a friggin’ ulcer, but, somehow, this film hit the can.  My opinion on it is this, no real sources were revealed, names were changed and hopefully if the bad guys are taking notes, it will just flush them out into some well-devised trap wherein the actors will get a chance to face their . . . critics . . . toe to toe.  I could live with that.

Much like a Law & Order episode, the film’s plot is ripped right from mission files of the Navy SEALs, and I won’t give away too much here.  Essentially, a duo of really bad school friends decide they want to strike inside America and make a larger statement than 9/11.  They both have their special skills, and when they reunite after years being apart, their union is something that we can’t allow . . . send in the SEALs!

The film’s narrative is read throughout as a letter to a son, as lessons are to be learned, morals taught, right and wrong determined, values earned in a perceived world where words mean nothing without action.  Each time pieces of the letter are read, it will sink in more and more their overall impact . . . leading to a dramatic final closing signature.  The film captures the hearth and hearts of these, often mis-portrayed, deadly men.  My favorite line from the letter is, “The worst part about getting older is that other men no longer see you as dangerous.”  No doubt, these men are incredibly dangerous, and more than a few times you will find yourself thinking . . . damn, I am glad they are on our side!

If you have ever seen Navy Seals, you have an icon, a stereotype, about what these men should be like.  But, the most chilling aspect of the film shows how ‘normal’ they are, there are no idiotic scenes akin to Charlie Sheen jumping from a moving jeep on a bridge just to avoid a wedding, crap like that is not even a thought to these men.  They are lethal, when necessary, and live life on the edge, at work, but at home they try to be the best providers for their families and balance their mortality with morality.  The only verified SEAL that I ever met was the most down to earth person.  It was refreshing to see Hollywood go to the ‘source’, for a change.

After I just got done reading my Drill Instructor’s EBook, Friends from Damascus, it was awesome to see some of the same types of action-sequences play out in the theater.  When the live-rounds are being peppered into a Quick Reaction Force vehicle, and it almost turns into dust as the SWCC bubbas light it up from the river, it’s like a symphony of precise destruction.  One thing I found interesting, given the current political seascape, was the use of female pilots used for the insertion craft sequences – personally, I couldn’t care less, if they can do the job, and the SEALs can live with it – - – who can argue with that?

This film is just one bad-ass ride at the movies; little dialog is necessary when the action takes the center stage.  And, every critic’s favorite action-flick lament, “But where was the character development?’ goes nowhere here, because these weren’t characters, it was more like watching the actual troops reenact a previous engagement for our viewing pleasure.

Ok, Rick, you LOVED it, we get it, then why not five stars?  Well, this is where I found myself puzzled.  I expected the SEALs to not be able to act, and with the exception of a few scenes with Senior Chief, that held true.  Still, I am not about to say they sucked . . . they can find me fairly easily, heh.  The folks who were supposed to be the actors, didn’t bring their A-game, or maybe they did, but it wasn’t good enough.  Perhaps that is understandable, because they may have been incredibly intimidated.  But, in one scene, that was supposed to be emotionally riveting, the Christo actor (Alex Veadov) dropped so painfully in and out of his accent that I was actually expecting to hear – “CUT!”

But, if you live for hardcore action, you can’t do much better than this, because it is the real deal, the covert, presented in overt glory just so you can understand what true sacrifice these men live with everyday, the threat of death is something they face . . . everyday . . . so that you don’t have to come toe to toe with the enemy.  Oddly enough, when the final credits rolled, I turned to Amadarwin and said, “I think we are going to war soon,” because the film has that feel, much like Pearl Harbor was released right before we were hit in 2001.  It feels like a readiness drill.

I would like to take a few lines here to remember these brave warriors of the night who met their deaths while we all worried about petty things like bills, social networking and gas-prices . . . we are already at war, these Damn Few already know it!  Semper Fi Team Six-  “. . . the dead included 25 Navy SEALs from SEAL Team Six.”

(1 People gave this 1.00 out of 5)

 Loading ...

“Something elusive”

Click here to jump to the Swift’s Notes (AKA Cliff’s Notes) Review!

Swift shot:  In 1977, I was three years old, so there is no way I could have possibly seen Star Wars in theaters . . . but, I did.  I was probably four when my dad took me in his yellow MG convertible, the kind you had to snap shut, and (perish the thought) I sat in the front seat . . . with only a seat-belt to protect me, well, that and my dad.  Funny how we overlook the most important part of child safety, the parent!  Still, we went, and the roads were wet, and the air was kind of musty outside, like after a dog shakes and there is a light fog in the air.  I was really small, and the world was still new and exciting to me, I believed that anything was possible.  After I saw Star Wars, there is no denying this, I wanted to know what made Darth Vader so evil. Even before I saw Empire Strikes Back, I can remember being secretly happy that Vader didn’t die in the final battle in A New Hope.  He was . . . interesting, and I was compelled to know more about him.  Twenty-two years later, I would finally have a third of his legacy revealed.

Stavanger, Norway – the year was 1999; I had just gotten back from Albania, where I was doing Counter-Intel work for NATO where I saw more than I care to admit.  I saw humanity’s inhumanity.  With that backdrop, I was well ready for something to take my mind off of reality and to just be child-like again.

The film was released already in the states, it released in May, and it hit the can in August in Norway.  I had given strict instructions to every single American that I knew to reveal nothing to me . . . on pain of death!  Maybe the tone I took was sufficient, because no one revealed anything.  But, now we have all seen the film, and we are now thirteen years later, where all the questions have been answered . . . and then some.  So, I won’t pretend you haven’t all seen the film, and I will violate my rule of making spoilers verboten.

Let me start my defense of the film thusly.  When I was in high school, it wasn’t cool to like Bon Jovi, or Bon BlowMe as my friends and I all called them, because we were so damned cool.  But, years later I found out that we were all closeted fans, would go home and jam out to them, all while faking the funk back in school.  And, I think, that is what has happened with Phantom Menace.  I think it has become derivative to say you don’t like it, because of one stupid freakin’ Gungan! Ask yourself, honestly, when you saw it in 1999, was it so incredibly bad then?  Or were you sucking at the Lucas teat and waiting for whatever he would squeeze out, teasing you in anticipation of Episode III?  If nothing else, did not the film get your butt into the theater for Attack of the Clones?  I thought as much.

This first film holds a special place in my heart for being the first piece of a greater puzzle to make up arguably the most hated villain in Hollywood . . . Darth Vader.  When we first meet him, Anakin Skywalker is a slave boy who has dreams of grandeur and adventure . . . but he also is incredibly protective of his mother.  Is this fear of loss the thing that will finally make him the sinister lord of the Sith?  Well, you already know the answer, but I didn’t in 1999 – and neither did you!

Starring the incredible [Academy Award Winning] Natalie Portman as Padme/Queen Amidala and casting Ewan McGregor as the legendary Obi-Wan Kenobi was a master-stroke for Lucas.  Liam Neeson, no stranger to audiences now, and back in 1999 had a fair film resume and lots of hungry fans, plays Master Qui-Gon Jinn with Ahmed Best providing some exceptional voice-over work as the oft-derided Gungan Jar Jar Binks.  The pivotal character though, had to be a boy, had to be believable, and had to be someone you cared for in the end.  Jake Lloyd, all of ten years old had to step into some of the biggest, darkest boots Hollywood has ever created.

Could you have done better . . . at ten?  Hell, could you now for that matter?  There was one scene he had to get right . . . and he did!  When Yoda says there is much fear in Anakin, and Lloyd is looking at him with pure malice, that is one of the finer scenes of any young actor.  If he blew that moment, however subtle, it would have ruined the film for me.  That is the essence of Vader, he is an egoist, but he protects those he loves . . . anyone else is just in the way.  In that moment, Lloyd nailed it . . . at ten.  So, put that in your pretentious pipes and suck deep, cynics.

There has a been a lot of talk about Portman not doing a good job, bull, I think the scenes where she was being a queen, she was directed to be regal-sounding or something, and given that a lot of the work was done with a blue-screen, I think she did enough with what she had to work with.  Also, she had to alter her voice etc. to not make it obvious that she was Padme.  I must admit, in 1999, I didn’t know it for sure until she was washing R2-D2, after being (comically) ordered to clean the heroic droid by the “queen.”

Which brings us to the synchronicity quips of so many “critics” – it was “childish” to have C-3PO created by Anakin and to have R2-D2 already introduced in the series.  It was lame to have the force described in an organic, scientific fashion, and why did Lucas feel the need to force racial stereotypes in this film?  Because it is a film . . . it is a series driven by fan admiration, he was going to the candy store, maybe he did it one time too many with making C-3PO’s maker Darth Vader, but I actually thought that was a nice touch.  When he was a ” child” he created a toy, a “childish thing”, but when he becomes a man, that childish thing leads to his destruction.  Impressive.  Good mythology there, don’t ya think?  Or, did you not catch that, because you were too busy hating a certain Gungan?

Also, on to the Gungans . . . did you hate them all, Boss Nass, Captain Tarpals, every last floppy-eared “primitive life form?”  Or was Jar Jar the only Gungan you wanted to kill?  Newsflash, he was supposed to be annoying, he was the comedy-relief, buffoon, hell, even Obi Wan wants to leave him and can’t wait for him to shut up half the time.

All this is why I didn’t hate the film, because this is how I was already dissecting it in 1999, I was intrigued with the story-line, the epic battles, the droids, and then there was this new guy . . . Darth Maul.  When he makes his first appearance, it is one of those great movie moments, and when he engages the second blade on his light-saber, tell me you weren’t four years old again and thinking, “That’s cool!”

What I really liked about his character though, and the fight scenes in particular with him, he doesn’t say anything.  There is no, I am your father, I hate you, I am Sith, your mother is so fat . . . none of that trash-talking.  He just goes right for the kill.  I LOVED THAT, even though the dialogue is what fascinated me about Vader in 1977, in 1999 the lack of dialog had me thinking, woah, that Darth Maul is one bad mutha!

Episode I – The Phantom Menace had rich characters, a compelling plot that sets up the motions to create the Galactic Empire, and a few strikes which can mostly be over-looked to make for an enjoyable time at the theater.  The cinematography, albeit mostly CGI, was state-of-the-art for its time.  The ILM team may have used a softer stroke on the special-effects to create a more raw feel to the film, like they had to do in 1977.  In effect, they got too good, and they show-cased their work to the nth degree.  Still, the overall immersive feeling to transport myself outside of my theater seat was still there.  A few stilted lines delivered by a less than spectacular Samuel Jackson, and one overtly annoying Gungan, weren’t enough to ruin the film.  Telling the first part of the Anakin Skywalker trilogy, where he is but a small boy, the film does a fine job laying out all the pieces that will ultimately lead to his betrayal and his transformation to vile Sith Lord, Darth Vader.

(Give us your rating!!)

 Loading ...

Review by Alyn Darnay

Directed by: Jill Sprecher

Written by: Jill Sprecher and Karen Sprecher

Cast: Greg Kinnear, Billy Crudup, Alan Arkin, James Detmar, David Harbour, Lea Thompson

So I started watching this film and I said to myself, “self, what’s this all about?” It seemed dull, dull, and dullier. “What was Greg Kinnear thinking when he took on this role?” Then all of a sudden, the film takes this funky turn and I’ve fallen through the ice and am absorbed in the story up to my neck…and it keeps getting better and better. With rapid and unexpected plot twists and turns and a climax that just sings, Thin Ice is a small gem of a film with great performances and a crafty everyman story.

Very reminiscent of both (Fargo-1996) and (A Simple Plan-1998) for it’s Bible-Belt characters and wintery location, Thin Ice carves out a place all its own that holds your attention and takes you on a dangerous journey of deceit and double-dealing.

The story goes like this, a Wisconsin based con-man insurance salesman (Greg Kinnear), separated from his wife (Lea Tompson), broke, and precariously near the end of his rope, discovers that an elderly client (Alan Arkin), whose account he stole from a new associate, has inherited an extremely valuable violin from his ailing sister and is not aware that it’s worth $25,000. Hatching a plan to grab the violin and sell it himself, Kinnear tries to build a friendship with the befuddled old man. But Kinnear is hopelessly out of his depth and that’s when things start to get really complicated.

Kinnear is wonderful in his endless desperation, Arkin is masterful as the old man, and Billy Crudup is explosively dangerous as a locksmith caught up in the whole scheme. The writer-director team of the Sprecher sisters (Clockwatchers-1997), themselves Wisconsin natives, show they have an intimate knowledge of their subject and place it on the screen beautifully, warts and all. Good job Everyone.

Thin Ice gets all the elements just right, taking the audience on a wild ride with an abundance of cannily plot contortions combined with some wonderful comic touches that will have you agonizing right along with the main character. It is a solid, enjoyable film experience.

THIN ICE is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). Time: 97 min.

(Give us your rating!!)

 Loading ...

A mindless bromantic comedy

Look, it’s Kirk’s Nemesis? – A Swift Thought

Girls, you may want to avoid this one, as This Means War wasn’t made for you. Not entirely. The first clue is the opening scene where we meet our intrepid heroes Tuck (Tom Hardy) and FDR (Chris Pine) at the tail end of their covert operation. Unfortunately, they forget to put the ‘c’ in ‘covert’ and the ensuing chaos has them end up riding the pine in the Los Angeles branch of the CIA offices until further notice, where boredom reigns supreme. FDR, a known lady-killer, and Tuck, a divorcee, are best friends as well as partners, so when Tuck decides to hit the dating scene again, FDR offers to gladly be his wing man. However, the closest Tuck will allow is a quick phone call to let FDR know if he needs an extraction or not.

What follows is a little perplexing. Maybe I’m so far gone from the dating scene that what transpired seemed odd and in reality is perfectly normal, or maybe the writers had no concept of a first date at all. Enter Lauren Scott (Reese Witherspoon), a product tester/blogger with a firm grasp of her professional life and no grasp of her romantic one. Against her will, her confidante and best friend, Trish (Chelsea Handler) signs her up for a dating site that pairs her with Tuck, resulting in a 5-10 minute first date that to me seemed more like a meeting. Although the attraction is instant and the pair enjoys each other’s company, Lauren tears herself away so that she could…rent a video to watch alone? Never mind we’re to believe that in 2012 there’s still a ginormous video store conveniently located near the ‘meeting’ site, but we’re also to believe that she’d rather watch a movie by her lonesome than possibly catch a bite to eat with a man she finds incredibly attractive despite his gigantic protruding tooth? Of course we are.

Movie serendipity, also known as “convenient writing,” steps in so that Lauren can meet bachelor number two. At where else? The movie rental place. Despite calling the player on his game and putting up the Great Wall of China, Lauren finds herself accidentally pitting the two friends together by dating them both. In the face of a gentleman’s agreement on the best man winning, all hell breaks loose as both CIA agents use every government-funded resource at their disposal to spy on Lauren, and one another, to ensure neither get the upper hand.

Once you get into the shenanigans, you can ignore the contrived plot devices and shut off your brain as the action picks up. Director McG (sounds more like a DJ by the way) may try to convince the ladies that this is a standard romantic comedy, but I’m here to tell you that is completely false. It sails more on the bromantic comedy side of things as we quickly come to realize that the story is about two friends who put their friendship to the ultimate test only to find out that they truly belong together…In a non-gay way, of course.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

It becomes clearer that this is more bromantic at the climax, where – shocker! – Lauren learns of the two’s friendship, but instead of the typical rom-com trappings where we have to endure 10 minutes of sadness, pining, and profuse apologies followed by a heartfelt wowing speech that had us at ‘Hello,’ we’re met with explosions and stunt work . . . not that there is anything wrong with that!

As vapid as this movie was, I enjoyed it for the popcorn-flick it turned out to be. So guys, if you want to avoid another romantic comedy with your gals, take them to This Means War . . . and enjoy pulling the wool over their eyes.

(1 People gave this 4.00 out of 5)

 Loading ...

“House Keeping”

Swift shot: I N T E N S I T Y – Intensity, Intensity, Intensity!

Ever have one of those “boring” jobs where you wish something would happen . . . anything, just to kill the monotony of your daily existence?  Well, Matt Weston, of the Central Intelligence Agency has one of those jobs.  He is a safe house keeper, meaning he provides an off the grid location for the Agency to put up friendly, and not so friendly, guests as the situation demands.  He has been the sole proprietor at his safe house in Cape Town, South Africa for 12 months.  Poor Matt hasn’t even had one guest stop on by.  Think your job sucks?  Director Daniel Espinoza does an excellent job in the opening sequence of developing the boredom so we can all relate, using a little Steve McQueen nod as well, right out of The Great Escape I should add.  And, escape is exactly what Matt Weston is seeking . . . escape from this most uninteresting assignment, ever.  Thing is, as the old adage goes, be careful what you wish for, especially when you work for the CIA, because excitement can come in many forms!  And in “Safe House” it comes in the form of CIA spook, legend, boogeyman (insert other cliched titles here) Tobin Frost.

I heard NBC’s Matt Lauer said this one is “non-stop action”, and the hell if he wasn’t dead on!  Other than the opening sequence where we feel for Matt (Reynolds) to have even one guest, something, anything significant happen, when the shit hits the fan, it really is non-stop, in your face close quarters battles, gunfights on the streets of South Africa, car chases, foot chases, explosions, snipers, knives, broken glass and whatever the hell can deliver violence.

Matt quickly learns he may, or may not, be on the wrong side of the equation when he first gets introduced to his house guest, Frost (Denzel).  Frost literally re-wrote the book on psychological manipulation for the Agency (AKA mind-fucking), and now he is a victim of his own design.  Frost has been a rogue agent for over nine years and specializes in selling secrets to the highest bidder, at this point he is not interested in being a patriot, he just wants his money and understands that eventually everyone betrays everyone.  But Frost has one rule . . . he only kills professionals.

Not since “Training Day” have I been pinned to my seat just waiting for the next sequence to shock me.  Some lady sitting next to me must have said “shit!” twenty times as things kept going blam, splat, or boom and caught her unaware each time.  Much like real violence, it is brutal and comes seemingly out of nowhere, because that is when it is the most effective.  I mean, how many idiots call out, “Hey, you!” before opening fire?  The action sequences were incredibly well shot, crashes were believable, characters actually get dirty, beaten and bloody.  Continuity in this film was tight!  Overall it was a full-throttle spy thriller with plenty of bad guys, bullets and bravado.

So, why not five stars?  Well, to reveal that might be to include a spoiler as I didn’t much care for how the whole thing finally played out in the end.  Also, there should be a rule for modern cinema, we can tolerate bare-assed Ryan Reynolds if we get a likewise bare-assed beauty in Nora Arnezeder (come on, she is French, so we know she isn’t prudish).  A glancing side boob shot is not gonna cut it, what happened to women’s lib?  Where is the equality!?!  Other than those two things though (pun intended), this movie has no flaws!  See it at the theater if you can, and if you have a kick ass system at home, more power to you, because this will be fun wherever you watch it.  I wish all “spy” movies were this good!

(Give us your rating!!)

 Loading ...

When married couple Paige (Rachel McAdams) and Leo (Channing Tatum) are in a terrible car accident, Leo is fine except for a few bumps and bruises, but Paige ends up in a coma (she had taken her seat belt off and she went flying through the windshield.  That’s why it’s important to always keep your seat belt fastened!!).  When Paige wakes up from her coma, she has brain injuries that cause amnesia, but she’s forgotten only the past few years of her life.  To put it another way, she’s lost all her memories involving her husband, who is now a stranger to her.

Paige is the love of Leo’s life, and in flashbacks, we get to see the little things that Leo does for Paige that make her fall in love with him.  For example, when she was at work with a cold, he left her a box filled with medicine, tissues, etc, and every object in the box had a Post-It on it with something he had written on it, all to make her feel better.  Or when he wanted Paige to move in with him, he didn’t just ask her, he spelled it out for her, in blueberries!!  What a guy!!  While Paige is recovering, we are taken on a journey through Paige and Leo’s relationship, from when they first met to their rather unconventional wedding (it looked like it was in a museum and they definitely weren’t supposed to be there, since the security guards chased them out).

One day, during Paige’s recovery, Paige’s parents Rita and Bill Thornton (Jessica Lange and Sam Neill) show up.  Leo has never met them, and it turns out that Paige had a falling-out with her family several years ago and hasn’t spoken to them since.  But, her parents see Paige’s memory loss as a way to have their daughter back.  Perfect timing, too, as Paige’s sister Gwen (Jessica McNamee) is about to be married.  Paige ends up moving back in with her family so they can take care of her.  This is not good for Leo and his plan, which is to get Paige to fall in love with him again (since her memory shows no signs of returning).

Unfortunately for Leo, Paige does remember her ex-fiancé Jeremy (Scott Speedman) who’s kind of a jerk (he makes a comment at Gwen’s wedding and Leo punches him in the face for it).  Now, Leo is NOT a violent guy, not at all, but between the stress of his wife’s losing her memories, his trying over and over to win her affection again, and his failing business, who wouldn’t deck a guy who pretty much vowed that he would sleep with your wife??

Will Leo succeed in his mission??  Will Paige regain her memories??  I’m not telling here because that would be spoilers!!   Overall, “The Vow” was definitely a chick flick.  I don’t know of any guys who even want to see this movie, which is fine, because it is totally geared towards women.  I liked it because while it wasn’t totally depressing, it was a little sad but had the right amount of light-heartedness to balance it out.   I wasn’t disappointed with the acting or the story; I thought it flowed well and didn’t drag or have anything unnecessary going on.

Interestingly (to me at least,) “The Vow” was quite similar to the plot of the final episodes of a certain spy-related TV series that just ended last month.  It was similar in that the main female characters had their memories wiped, but only the past few years’ worth, and their husbands had to try to make them fall in love with them all over again.   There have also been comparisons to another Rachel McAdams movie, “The Notebook”, which is a great movie, but “The Vow” is not as sad as that one.

A bit of trivia:  “The Vow” is based on a true story.  At the end of the movie, we get an update on the couple the movie is based on, but I won’t let on if they are a couple . . . or not.  I guess you will just have to find out for yourself.

(2 People gave this 4.50 out of 5)

 Loading ...

Growing up a bonafide comic geek, my circle of friends would occasionally pose the question: What powers would you want to have? It was always a gas to hear the reasoning behind the power choices. One of my favorites discussed was the power to manipulate time…usually for criminal and perverted acts. My choices were varied at first, from super strength, to invisibility, and finally settling on Telekinesis. It was the one power that seemed limitless. You want to lift a car? Done. You want to fly? Done. You want to stay dry in the rain? Done. I could go on, but I’ll assume you get the picture. When tasked to see Chronicle, of course I jumped at the opportunity.

Until I realized it was a ‘found footage’ film, which meant shaky camera shots, poor composition, and weird angles that may or may not get the scene. So, yeah, I’m not a big fan.

I found myself pleasantly surprised, however, when watching Chronicle. Sure, there was every aspect that I hated about ‘found footage films’ present front and center; however, I think it was handled fairly well, and thankfully only a fairly short amount of time was spent on the hand held aspect of the cam. Once the boys get their powers, the shots get smoother, as one of them uses their Telekinetic ability to keep the cam afloat. Ingenious.

The other issue I had was that the plot might have been taken from a 2002 film called The Surge (or The Source, depending on where you’re from.) That movie was about a group of friends that stumble onto a rock in the forest that imbues them with powers – not at all dissimilar from Chronicle. Thankfully, that’s about all they share as the stories they tell branch off sharply from there.

As the boys fine tune their powers, all kinds of shenanigans ensue. Unfortunately, for those of us that previously had watched the trailers online and on TV, there won’t be many surprises coming that way. The hilarity doesn’t last long; however, as Andrew (Dane DeHaan, who incidentally, looks strikingly like he could be Leonardo DiCaprio’s brother) allows his home life and school life to affect his increasingly reckless behavior, boiling to the inevitable pulse pounding showdown between friends.

Chronicle does a passable job in creating a sympathetic villain in Andrew. He’s bullied at school, his father is abusive, his mother is terminally ill, and he barely has any friends. The pieces were in place, but the execution seemed lacking, as the only sympathy I could muster for him was superficial at best. His relationship with his mom was never solidified, or portrayed deep enough for you to see how he felt about her. There were glimpses, but nothing that convinced me his descent into madness was believable. Likewise with the abusive father. I got the impression the abuse was only recent, as his father was unable to cope with his wife’s ailment and recent job loss, but the resentment Andrew shows would indicate a longer stint as a punching bag than I’d imagined.

Those few hiccups aside, I enjoyed Chronicle. The story was good, and the way they altered camera shots to piece together the story kept it interesting. The special effects delivered most of the time, though there were a few noticeable missteps. And the acting was well done, considering how difficult it is to act like you’re not acting. All the boys handled that task well.

If you were on the fence about seeing Chronicle, hop off it now and go see it. You could do worse at the theater.

(Give us your rating!!)

 Loading ...

Review by Alyn Darnay

Directed by: Rodrigo Garcia

Cast: Glenn Close, Mia Wasikowska, Aaron Johnson, Janet McTeer, Pauline Collins, Brenda Fricker, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Brendan Gleeson, Maria Doyle Kennedy, Antonia Campbell Hughes, Mark Williams, James Green, Bronagh Gallagher, John Light

This film, an intricate tale of women passing as men in 19th-century Dublin, is a true labor of love for actress Glenn Close, and her performance is brilliant. She played this role on stage in the 80’s and has been trying to bring it to the screen ever since. I’m glad she did, for it’s thrilled me with what I believe to be the best performance by an actress in the past 10 years.

The carefully measured and calibrated performances by Glenn Close and her co-star Janet McTeer, as two women who succeed in passing as men in a stifling period of time where the only choices for women were virtually limited to being wives or scullery maids, or prostitutes, are a joy to behold.

Here’s the storyline: Professionally attired as major domo of the elegant Morrison Hotel, Albert Nobbs is a small, fastidious, impeccably correct gentleman, thought of fondly by guests and most of the other employees. When not working he keeps to himself in the dreary bedroom where he has carefully concealed every cent of his earnings under the floorboards. He lives a dreary, lonely life, devoted to his job and devoid of true human contact. Think of Albert as a sad Chaplinesque figure, walking stiffly, speaking in monotones, and acting masculine in a way that is at once captivating, revealing and yet heartbreaking.

This behavior has gone on since Albert was traumatized early in life and made the decision to hide her feminine self away in this elaborate disguise. All would have gone on like this forever, had not Hubert the painter (Janet McTeer) accidentally entered Albert’s life. Turns out, Hubert is also a disguised woman (married to another woman), who has been very successful in achieving a reasonable life for herself. She becomes Albert’s role model and then mentor. How Albert reacts to his/her renewed desires for a full life makes up the balance of the film. It’s a pure joy to watch, and I don’t want to spoil it for you, so just go see it.

The film is based upon the short story titled “The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs” by George Moore; and Glenn Close, Gabriella Prekop and John Banville painstakingly wrote the script. It was skillfully directed with grit, grace and a deep understanding of what a person’s singular dream of liberation means, by the talented Rodrigo Garcia, whose ability to pull tour de force performances out of actresses is becoming legendary.

“Albert Nobbs”  is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). Sex and violence, more implied than shown.

TRT: 103 minutes