“Machete don’t text”

Swift shot: You like action?  You like people getting hacked, shot, stabbed and eviscerated?  Yeah?  You do?  Well, cabron – ya gonna love this mojon!  Machete is grindhouse-ethnic exploitation madness at its best, with level headed story-telling and just enough cheese to keep you chuckling throughout.  Some choices were just a little too campy to merit a full five star rating, like the random bionic man foley effects when the head honcho repeatedly draws his katana – still a fun film not afraid to take some risks.

Truth be told, this is one I would normally rent, but I would recommend you shell out some pesos to see it with your vatos at the local drive-in to get the full effect.

Machete starts with brutal violence and ends the same, like you would expect anything less?  This film had what I thought was lacking in The Expendables, an action flop for me, personally.  Machete is raw and ugly, but the action was more believable and grotesque.

The prelude, shot with deliberate film “artifacts” intact (dust, hair, emulsion scratches, with 1970s style) exposes Machete (Danny Trejo) as a vulnerably naive Mexican Federale who is confronted with brutal betrayal.  When the film really starts, after the awesome credits, the artifacts are removed and you are flashed forward three years later.  Machete is now an illegal alien in Texas, struggling just to get a meal.  The long gap never gets accounted for in the film, but the mystery adds to the story.

While Machete is trying to go about his life, he happens to gain the attention of the sinister Booth (Jeff Fahey) who hires him to kill a US Senator, McLaughlin (De Niro).  If he refuses to do the job, Booth will have him killed – naturally.  Jessica Alba holds her own playing the straight-laced ICE agent, Sartana (wasn’t that Zartan’s sister?) who enforces the law with a blind devotion – but faces a challenge of judicial faith when she crosses paths with Machete.

Combined with all of this political assassination intrigue, there exists an illegal organization known as “The Network” that may have something to do with the plot.  The network is headed by a mysterious female leader, known only as “SHE”.  (According to Amadarwin, SHE is a direct homage to CHE – nice catch, slanty).  Lucky for Machete, he attracts the attention of the lovely Luz (Michelle Rodriguez) who runs a taco truck in the city and is rumored to be SHE.

As with all great grindhouse films, hell breaks loose, shit goes wrong and Machete finds out there is more to Booth than initially feared. There are some choice cameos with Cheech Marin, Lindsay Lohan, and even Don Johnson plays a sadistic vigilante, aka “Minuteman” IRL, that relishes his job, murdering illegals to keep his grand-daddy’s land Texas and not Mexico.

While there are overtly, non-subtle points made about the current hot-topic, illegal immigration, throughout director Rodriguez’ film . . . it is extreme farce.  The characters are so vibrantly silly that you can’t help but laugh at most of them, especially Seagal as Torrez, the Mexican heffe that is pulling all the strings.

To all of those of you thinking, I don’t want to waste money just because De Niro is in it, note, his role is more than a mere cameo.  Even little miss fucked-up, Lohan, gets to fill a few cylinders, firing off multiple guns in the grand stand-off climax that is sure to please everyone.  And, yes, she uses stunt boobs during one scene, but she sheds her shyness later on.

This film is designed to be over-the-top insanity, clever dialog and pragmatic characters help drive a lot of the story, and the action is awesome.  The kills in this film will be talked about for quite some time, in fact one kill is foreshadowed quite brilliantly.  I won’t give it away, because it was brilliant – and if you aren’t paying attention, you’ll miss it!

I set my expectations pretty low for this flick, and I gotta say, I was impressed.  Not only was it a visually fun film, the message was contemporary and done tongue in cheek, so even right wing, gun-totin’ loons like me could sit back and laugh a bit.  You will enjoy this film if you take it for what it is.  If you are a film snob who looks at anything mainstream as pure popcorn crap, how miserable are you?  Just enjoy this flick for everything it is – fun, gory, madness!

Get out your tokens!

***Insert Tokens here for more images***

Swift shot:  It’s a movie, no, it’s a graphic novel, no, it’s a video game?  Wait, what the hell is this thing?  Really, who cares, you want a label – get some duct tape and stick it to your forehead – now put a Sharpie to it “Old”.  Yea, that’s you, so, anyway, like I was saying, this film, err whatever, was just awesome!  It has this low-class, Canadian – in your face – attitude.  It’s like Degrassi Junior High meets Crank!  The acting is solid, the direction is stellar, the fun is non-stop, and you’ll have a great time – I know the cast did.

Scott Pilgrim is dating a high-schooler!  Enter Player 1, Scott Pilgrim, whose latest antics unfold for the audience as he toys around with dating a seventeen year old Chinese girl, named . . . wait for it, Knives Chau!  Right away I knew I was going to freakin’ LOVE this film.  One of the major love interests is named after a weapon.  (I bet Action Flick Chick knows every female lead named after weapons, if not, she’ll have it up soon).  Ellen Wong owns the character, she’ll be Knives eternally, and she stole every scene with her commitment and impeccable comedic timing – to say nothing of her ability to kick major ass.

Anyway, Pilgrim is sorta dating this high-schooler, and she is a fire-ball of hyper active geekiness, but she is really young and his band, Sex Bob-Omb (1 -2 -3 -4) think maybe he is a bit of a creep for dating a high schooler.  Couple that with the fact that Pilgrim is some kind of dorky version of Cassanova or something, and you instantly find yourself suspended in disbelief. But, the whole film, err whatever, is like this, so it’s just fun.  It’s not as zany as Airplane, but it teeters on the edge of ridiculous.  Still, people were eating the shit up at the screening, laughing hysterically at the dry deliveries and odd subtitles, akin to Zombieland (Don’t worry, Madison, you don’t have to read this movie).

As mentioned above, Scott Pilgrim is in a band, Sex Bob-Omb (1-2-3-4), and he plays guitar, and they suck.  He lives with a gay dude who owns everything and basically lets Scott crash indefinetely, the gay dude is played by the better Culkin.  So, his life is pretty interesting, he’s a twenty-something slacker whose only ambition is to get over his broken heart, courtesy of one Envy Adams (Brie Larson) who used to play in the shitty band, Sex Bob-Omb (1-2-3-4) but found fame and left Scott and the others behind without a care.

So, Scott is pretty jaded about relationships, plus, he has a phobia about his hair.  But, when this American girl, Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) appears at a friend’s party, Scott is instantly attracted to her.  She is different than the normal Toronto herd, she has purple hair, and oh yea, he saw her in a dream the night before – so he is pretty sure she is the one – or was it just bad gas?

As he works up the nerve to ask her out, using his coveted Pac-Man pick up line, he gets what he assumes is junk mail from someone claiming they must fight to the death now that Scott is dating Ramona. This is where shit starts to get all Nintendo 64!

Scott is ruthlessly pursued by Ramona’s evil exes throughout the film, err whatever, and he must vanquish each in unique, challenging ways.  Calling on skills he picked up from playing something that looks like Dance Dance Revolution with Ninjas (Hey, I am old, I don’t know what the hell that was) Scott must defeat each to truly start “dating” Ramona.  Ramona’s evilist (it’s not a word, neither is douchebaggery) ex, Gideon (Jason Schwartzman) has founded the League of Evil Exes to vanquish Scott, because he is a threat to the strange hold Gideon possesses over Ramona.

The cameos in this film were perfect, when you realize at one point, Scott has to defeat both Superman AND Human Torch, he’s boned!  Luckily he has an amazing cast of supporting characters and actors who really flesh out the film beautifully.  The gay dude, Young Neil, Linda Blair (no, she REALLY looks like the demon with that makeup – check it out), and two surprise un-credited cameos who swoop in to save the day.  The film’s pace is amazing, I never found myself bored or fidgety.  One nod to Bollywood caused me pause, but the rest of the audience wanted more curry with their Canada I guess – cause they loved it all!

You will love this film if you ever played Nintendo, if not, save yourself some tokens and stay home.  The only thing I didn’t like was, one, I am not a huge Cera fan, I prefer the poor man’s version, Eisenberg (Zombieland).  Two, Ramona and Scott were not my favorite characters, I think you know who I was pulling for the whole film, err whatever, give you a hint, her name rhymes with chives.  Yea, this is one of those rare films where the title character doesn’t interest me as much as his band of merry idiots and geeks galore. Still, the film is too much fun to get all worked up over crap like that, just see this one – and, hell, if you want to, see it twice,  just need to find that extra life!!

***Click here for more ‘Get Low’ images – plus exclusive content***

Get Low is the AMAZING story of a man who has become a hermit in his old age and is misunderstood by everyone in the small town.  He lives just outside the town, in a time period that wasn’t clearly defined, but my guess is late 20’s early 30’s. Felix Bush (Robert Duvall) has lived alone for 40 years and doesn’t like to be disturbed, in fact he posts a sign that reads “No DAMN Trespassing! Beware of Mule”, because recently kids came and threw rocks through his window. Felix goes into town to attempt to set up a funeral for himself and is politely turned away by the local reverend – despite his large wad of cash in hand. But, just outside the reverend’s door, a young resident, Buddy (Lucas Black) was listening to the strange request.

Buddy works for the local funeral parlor, run by Frank Quinn (Bill Murray), who is a quick talking man willing to do anything to save his struggling funeral parlor. Buddy and Frank go to Felix’s house to see if they can accommodate Felix’s wishes. Felix explains he wants to have a “Living Funeral” where everyone in town comes and tells a story about him. Quinn is eager to oblige . . . he needs the cash. On the way out, Felix runs into Mattie Darrow (Sissy Spacek), an old friend from his past.

Felix, Buddy, and Frank are going to town to get posters ready and clean Felix up for his “Living Funeral”, when they ask how Felix knows Mattie in which Duvall delivers a sure to be CLASSIC line.  (The facial reactions from Bill Murray and Lucas Black here are priceless and just added more to the scene). Mattie happens upon Felix’s place and they end up going for a walk and spending some time together, but she gets offended and leaves after seeing a picture on the wall, with no real explanation why for the audience.

Felix goes to a local radio station w/ Frank and Buddy to hype the “Living Funeral” when Felix drops the bombshell that they’re going to offer raffle tickets for $5 and the winner will win Felix’s property after he passes. Felix next tells Buddy that they’re going for a drive, and for Buddy to not stop till he tells him. Here we learn more about Felix and some unfinished business.

Felix decides that he’s going to tell his own story at his funeral and get the burden that’s been with him for 40 years off of his chest. Everything is set up for the “Living Funeral”, which was like Woodstock of its time. Felix reveals all the final pieces to the puzzle of his life – in a wonderful moment of clarity, all the questions that had been brought up beforehand are answered.

This movie was just a WONDERFUL story that was very well told, and very well acted. The interaction between Robert Duvall and Bill Murray was magical, and the acting from everyone was very well done. This movie had comedy, drama, and a story that pulled the viewer in to enjoy it. I HIGHLY recommend that anyone who likes movies that are funny, yet have a heart without being Romantic check this movie out. I can honestly say this is my FAVORITE movie I’ve seen this year, and it’s a film that gives me a greater understanding of why I LOVE movies.

It will blow your mind!

***More mind melting fresh images here***

The H-Bomb: Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is an Extractor, someone who goes inside people’s dreams in order to steal their secrets and ideas. Naturally, his most frequent clients are shady corporate types looking to commit various kinds of industrial espionage. After his latest job gets bungled, Cobb is commissioned by a Japanese business man, Saito (Ken Watanabe) to perform an Inception. What is an inception? It’s the opposite of an extraction, of course. Instead of stealing someone’s idea, it’s the act of planting an idea into someone’s mind through a dream.

Most in Cobb’s line of work believe that inceptions are impossible, but not Cobb. Why? Because Cobb has performed one before. That’s just one of the many dark secrets of Cobb’s past that are buried inside his mind and his dreams. Another being a mysterious Brunette (Marion Cotillard) who constantly turns up in Cobb’s extractions as a threatening force. Who is she, and what is she to Cobb? Wait… I’m getting ahead of myself here.

The other members of Cobb’s extraction crew include Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), his icy right hand man, Eames (Tom Hardy), his forger- someone who can disguise himself to look like other people in a dream- and Ariadne (Ellen Page), an architect who designs the inside world of the dreams and the latest addition to Cobb’s crew. It’s during her recruitment that Cobb explains to her (and us) the rules of the dream world. First, never design a place in a dream based on your own memories, it will make it harder to establish what’s real and what isn’t. Second, if you die in a dream, you will simply wake up, but if you die when under sedation, you will sleep into an even deeper dream state from which you may never wake. Third, the background characters in a dream are the subconscious projections of the person having the dream, and if they find out there are outsiders inside the dream, they will attack and kill them.

Now, for the sake of not giving away spoilers, I won’t delve any further into the specific plot of the film. I’m also going to avoid any kind fancy critic talk and just say straight up, I fucking loved this movie! In this dire age of filmdom where it seems everything is either a remake, or a sequel, or a sequel of a remake, or a remake of a sequel, it is unspeakably refreshing to see a movie bursting at the seams with this kind of intelligence and imagination. It’s one of those films where I felt exhausted at the end of it… but in a good way.

Much like with his epic “The Dark Knight” (which is the BEST comic book film ever made, I don’t give a fuck what the being-contrary-to-sound-hip naysayers say), writer/director Christopher Nolan has cooked up another complex, cerebral film that is of course embraced by critics, and that is also palatable and exciting enough for typical moviegoers to enjoy. He manages to match the thrilling spectacle of both of his Batman films, and create a mindfuck that equals the intrigue of his breakout film, “Memento”. In my oh-so-humble view, I think he is one of the single most talented, intelligent filmmakers working today, and he could be the next Spielberg in how he makes movies that have both brains and Box Office muscle.

An interesting thing I noticed was how Nolan took two themes from his previous films and reversed them. “Memento” was about a man with a very rare form of amnesia, and in this film, the protagonist has memories that could potentially harm and destroy him. “Insomnia” was about a cop with said sleep disorder, while this film is about characters who, one could argue, sleep too much. Just something that occurred to me on the drive home from the theater.

If there’s one area that Nolan has truly grown as a visual director, it would be the action. He has finally learned how to shoot action scenes in a way that doesn’t just rely on quick cutting and shaky cam, though there was a notable improvement between “Batman Begins“ and “The Dark Knight“. The gunfights and chases are thrillingly shot, and there’s a sequence in a hotel hallway that I thought was truly fantastic. There’s also a scene set on a snowy slope that may conjure up fond memories of the old school James Bond films for some viewers.

Moving on to the performances, DiCaprio is terrific in this movie. He suffered the stigma of being a pretty boy after “Titanic”, but he has always been a gifted actor, and I would put this up there with “The Departed” as being one of my favorite performances of his. He plays a very complex, conflicted character with a painful past, who we learn more and more about as the movie progresses, and he hits every note just right. I won’t go out on a limb like I did with Sandra Bullock and say that he will win the Oscar for this, but I think he’ll certainly be nominated.

Nolan not only gave Leo a great character to chew on, but he’s also loaded the film with some top notch thespians who have emerged in recent years. Gordon-Levitt kills it as Cobb’s super cool number two. He actually makes a more convincing bad-ass than I thought he would. Page is very good in her sort of audience surrogate role, once again giving us her geeky, girl next door charm. Cillian Murphy, who plays the target of the inception, is given a number of great moments to shine, and he does, in spades. Watanabe and Cotillard I had trouble understanding in places, because of their accents, but they were both quite good as well.

Now on to my minor quibbles, which are indeed very minor, the first of which being the movie’s length. It’s very well paced, and there’s more than enough happening to hold interest throughout, but it is two and a half hours long, and towards the end, I was starting to feel its length. Again, it didn’t really hinder my enjoyment of the film, but it could have been tightened just a little. Another slight grievance is that, as stated, it’s a very complex film. A very complex film with a complex plot set in a world with very complex rules, almost too complex for it’s own good. If you don’t catch every single piece of information thrown your way, you could find yourself getting lost completely. Even if you do catch it all, you could find your brain getting twisted into a knot just trying to keep track and keep up with it all.

Again, these are very minor. At the end of the day, what we have with “Inception” is something that only pops up on the rarest of occasions, a popcorn movie with a brain. There are points where this will remind people of “The Matrix”, but this is truly its own film, and a far better one, in my view, at least. This is one that I definitely intend to go see again, and I can’t recommend it enough. If you’ve had enough of vampire-werewolf soap operas and talking toys, then I highly urge you to go check this one out.

***Need more Knight and Day images?  Click here.***

Knight and Day was a great action movie directed by James Mangold whose credits include: Girl Interrupted, 3:10 to Yuma, and Walk the Line. It was well balanced.  There were times were I was on the edge of my seat, cringing as every second rode out on the various action romps littered throughout the film. On the other hand, this movie had a great sense of humor to it that I really enjoyed.  I am not going to lie though, it was pretty much your average Indiana Jones kind of comedic feature, along the lines of chatting through a mine cart ride or a joke or two snuck in right before a death defying slow-motion “explosion evasion dive”.

Except for the occasional corny childhood dreams and sand frolicking moments and a specifically horribly done villain, the movie was fantastic. The action sequences were spectacular and I just wanted more and more of them. The locales were fantastic with Spain, Austria, USA and Jamaica on the dream vacation list.

Cameron Diaz plays June Havens, a woman who is just going through the airport process, trying to make it to her sister’s wedding. Through the tedious scanners and check-ins she has constant run-ins with a mystery man she can’t help but think is her prince charming. After a few comedic encounters, the man introduces himself as Roy Miller (Tom Cruise).  The pulse picks up as soon as June makes it onto a plane with him that, according to Miller, “wasn’t meant to be”.  The dialogue in the film is refreshing and the on screen chemistry between Cruise and Diaz shines through like the first sunshine after a rainstorm.

FBI Agent Fitzgerald played by Peter Sarsgaard was a pretty bland character but lent enough to the film to be considered the villain. He is after Miller and has the whole FBI to back him up…fools. Then there is the stupid, awkward stereotype Latin gangster, arms dealer, Antonio (Jordi Molla) who was probably as annoying as Jar Jar Binks. Truly it doesn’t get more generic and fake than him, and because of that he becomes more a distraction than a supplement to the film. I would get a sour-lame taste in my mouth every time he showed up, regardless which scene it was. I cannot go on without saying Cruise and Diaz both had minor moments within the film that were too cliché for words.

June and Roy must protect oddball Simon Feck (Paul Dune from Little Miss Sunshine) from Fitz and Antonio.  Think of the Indiana, Marion ,and Mutt trio from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull when June, Roy, and Simon are hauling ass, jumping, fighting, kicking, shooting, etc.  Except Simon is approximately eighty-five percent less helpful in everything he attempts.  But, this feeb has a super genius, young mind that developed a never ending power source and, duh, everyone wants it.

The movie moved at the perfect pace…to me. Of course everyone is going to have their own opinions on the matter. Throughout, the two heroes June and Roy are hunted down in plenty of eye popping  scenes one can only describe as visual  bliss. The story is straight, clear, and surprisingly, not sappy! I am weary of all the meaningful movies out with morals and values and cries with hugs.

It’s definitely worth watching, and I believe you will find it more refreshing than you think. Though it sounds like you have heard it done before in regards to the story or the characters, you may find yourself surprised.  Major props to James Mangold and writer Patrick O’Neil for creating such an amped-up-laugh-your-ass-off thrill fest!

Hardly “Carroll’s” Alice!

Swift shot:  Colorful and dark, a new twist on the Alice tales of “Lewis Carroll”.  My exposure to Alice in Wonderland is pretty slim, I saw the original Disney film when I was a kid and loved the Cheshire Cat and remember thinking Alice was a bit of a spoiled brat.  But, legends change with time – Burton does a good job keeping the primary elements intact.  The dynamic world of Underland, as it is supposed to be called, feels more alive than ever – but sadly the 3D effect had little to do with that phenomena and more with the powerful use of colors and characters.

Alice in Wonderland reminds us all what it is like to be yourself, reckless and free of the prohibitions placed on us by society – in a time when women were to be seen and not heard, and certainly never trusted, Alice soon finds herself torn in both reality and in Wonderland faced with the dilemma of not meeting up to everyone’s expectations of her.  What is a girl to do?  Even in her fantasy world she is falling short, as everyone keeps reminding her she is “the wrong Alice”.

What is it about?

The soon-to-be-twenty, Alice Kingsleigh (Mia Wasikowska) is bound for a garden party, a surprise affair set up so her secret admirer, Lord Hamish, may propose to her in front of all of their peers.  Hamish, whose foppish appearance screams of Alfred E. Newman all grown up essentially commands Alice to meet him under the gazebo so that he may claim her hand.  Asking isn’t something lords are accustomed to, especially not during Carroll’s day.   Alice, in a panic, darts off claiming she has seen a white rabbit and must find out where it is going.

Alice is quickly brought to a rabbit hole and, despite terrible nightmares wherein she falls down into a rabbit hole, peers into it and, wouldn’t ya know it – she falls into the hole.  Not too bright, this Alice.  When she falls through the hole, what you should get is an amazing 3D experience, but because everything is happening so fast, you will get special effects soup, as I call it.

The human eye can only focus on so many things at once, and with her dizzying descent into the hole, objects swish by her, and you, so fast – they get lost to the eye.  I imagine shedding the 3D specs might have helped. And, unless you need to see spears thrust at you later on in the movie, in a cheesy attempt to warrant 3D, just pass on the 3D stuff – I can’t emphasize that enough, as I wish I had NOT seen it in 3D at all.  If anything, it will detract from your overall immersion with the story – hardly the director’s intent.

Alice is soon encountering all manner of odd creature and, of course, just about everything can talk to her – and does.  She is not exactly welcomed with warmth, more apathy and suspicion that the white rabbit snagged the “wrong Alice”.  Alice doesn’t really think any of this is real, so she decides she might as well enjoy her stay in this odd dream land, constantly reminding her new “friends” that they don’t exist anyway.  She soon finds out how very real all of these characters are as she is relentlessly pursued by the Red Queen’s evil Knave, Stayne (played by an actor who is a blast from the past – so I won’t reveal it here).

Alice must battle with inner doubts about her principles outweighing the safety of her new friends, and she must prove to everyone that she is the right Alice.  She is to be a champion for a task so impossible, that not even her deceased father, the dreamer, could have imagined it for her.  But, as he used to tell her each night she woke from her little nightmares, nothing is impossible . . . certainly nothing is impossible in this Burton re-telling of Alice in Wonderland.

Why do I care?

So, why go see another Alice tale?  What makes this any different or any better than the countless other Wonderlands out there?  Quite simply, Tim Burton – he manages to create a masterful rendition of Alice in Wonderland using darker tones and subtle hints of the old classic Disney cartoon. The characters in Alice in Wonderland come alive due to the almost seamless special effects, whilst all the characters have something a tad “off” about them, they don’t seem unreal – more dreamlike.  A lucid dream that you wake up from knowing that the characters are real and you can call them up on some sort of imagination rolodex at your leisure.

Depp and Carter both become their respective other selves in a haunting fashion, it’s what I would expect from both of them – and they don’t disappoint.  Newcomer, Mia Wasikowska is simply the perfect choice for this new Alice, a bit bratty yet practical and determined to settle things her way, regardless of the expectations of others.  All of the characters will leave a little something in your heart before you slip off to sleep, and you will find yourself wondering what kind of magical characters are waiting for you, in your own personal Wonderland.   After all, impossible is just a word, and a dream is simply the way we defeat the impossible.

To say what I didn’t like about Alice in Wonderland would be a bit of a spoiler, so, let’s just say the end left a lot to be desired for how quickly things were assumed and wrapped up as though everyone was in Wonderland with Alice.  Still, I enjoyed the story and it was a more grown-up version of the Alice I remember from all those years ago.  I would highly recommend you venture down the rabbit hole and enjoy Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, today.

Swift note:  We managed to steal a new writer from across the pond who already screened Alice in Wonderland for our UK audience, but I wanted to reveal them both at the same time, to give you a chance to see a Yank’s perspective vs. a Brit’s.  So, please have a look at our newest member of the team, Krystal Sim’s offering of Burton’s Alice.

It’s where we create the ghosts

Swift shot: Mentally intriguing suspense mystery worthy of Hitchcock.  Coming off the success with The Departed and flexing his mental muscles a bit more, dabbling in subtle tones of darkness and despair, Marty delivers a fine film for those that miss the classic thrillers.  Shutter Island has a lot going on, and you need to pay attention to pry out the nuances of brilliance throughout.

The film opens with a rocky ferry ride to Ashecliffe Hospital, a kind of mental hospital with armed guards, a prison for the criminally insane – think Arkham Asylum meets The Rock.  U.S. Marshall Teddy Daniels (DiCaprio), witness to the most despicable scenes of World War II, is sent to the island in 1954 to locate a missing patient who seemingly vanished from her cell without a trace.  He is paired with a new partner, Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) who never leaves his side throughout the investigation.  The escaped mental patient, Rachel is cunning and deadly, but how did she manage to leave her cell?  Did she have help escaping?  Is there someone on the inside working against the investigation?

There are so many different themes in Shutter Island, and the intrigue and suspense are strangely believable, clues are given to the investigators and the audience as more pieces of the puzzle are revealed  – but these pieces just seem to add to the frustration.  Something dark and sinister is going on at Ashecliffe Hospital, with so many secrets, so many ghosts, too many lies and dark whispers creating traumatic nightmares making it impossible to discover the truth.

Why are the OSS (current CIA) and other federal agencies consulting with the staff?  What could macabre, diabolical geniuses do with limitless power?  What kind of traps could they set, and are they on the side of evil?  These are the questions you will continually find yourself churning in your head – just what is going on at Ashecliffe Hospital?

Incredibly well acted film, as you would expect from Marty Scorsese.  Cameos abounded in Shutter Island, and one in particular brought back some guttural personal feelings I haven’t had watching a film since Silence of the Lambs.  Shutter Island is full of ghosts, actors I thought had passed on, if not from the Earth, then clearly from the public arena.  Of course, for Scorsese, they were more than willing to make a dramatic return – much to my dark delight.

You will be entertained and you will be discussing this movie for months with your friends.  Why doesn’t this get five stars?  While the concept and delivery of the film were brilliant, I can’t say I didn’t find loopholes that left me mentally agitated afterward.  Most stories are like this, of course, because they are works of fiction, and I would have liked to see some more character impact from some of the cameos and a little less from other characters.  Can’t call this one flawless for that reason, and that reason alone – otherwise, an amazing piece of film that you must treat yourself to.

A dynamic dirge for the weary soul, for the travelers who live in violence and who understand its brutal, yet efficient, applications.  Things are never quite what they seem, and the music and memories of the past will remind you of a dark episode in your own lives perhaps – when justice and vengeance met at a cross-roads, and where the truth set you free.

The Princess and the Frog is the latest in a (very) long line of Disney Animated Classics.  This is the first hand-drawn Disney film since 2004, and it was well worth the wait.  Loosely based on the fairy tale “The Frog Prince”, “The Princess and the Frog” is set in the French Quarter of New Orleans in the 1920s during a jumpin’ Mardi Gras.

The story centers around Tiana (Anika Noni Rose), a hard-working waitress whose dream is to own a restaurant. When word gets out that Prince Naveen of Maldonia (Bruno Campos) is coming to town for the Mardi Gras celebration, several girls want to meet him.  Charlotte La Bouff (Jennifer Cody), Tiana’s best friend who is rich and spoiled, but surprisingly not obnoxious like certain other rich, spoiled celebutantes we know and love to loathe, certainly wants to grab the Prince’s attention.  But a sinister figure is also anxious to make the Prince’s acquaintance, Dr. Facilier (Keith David), an evil voodoo magician who is deeply in debt to “the other side”.

If you’ve seen the previews, you know that Prince Naveen is transformed into a frog, and as the fairy tale goes, can only be made human again if kissed by a Princess.  Since Tiana is not a Princess, when she attempts to break the spell, it results in her transformation as well.  What happens next bears a slight resemblance to “The Wizard of Oz”, as Naveen and Tiana share a magical journey into the bayou to find Mama Odie (Jenifer Lewis), a good voodoo priestess who can help turn them human again.  Along the way they meet Louis (Michael-Leon Wooley), an alligator with an appetite for jazz and Ray (Jim Cummings), a Cajun firefly who pines for his lost love Evangeline.

I felt that this movie had a slightly different tone to it than other classic Disney Princess films.  The same elements that make a great Disney film were there, but I think setting it in the roaring twenties and in New Orleans (versus across the pond – or swamp) really brought out some nuances that danced into a delightfully animated bayou foxtrot.

Some voodoo scenes may be a bit intense for the little ones.  Overall, this was a fantastic movie!  Great music, wonderful animation, and a heart-warming story.  Also featuring John Goodman as Charlotte’s father ‘Big Daddy’ La Bouff, The Princess and the Frog will make you laugh and it may make you cry but you can bet there will be a happily ever after.

“He can win an election, but can he run a country?”

Swift shot: Powerful, yet driven with emotions that many Americans just won’t grasp.  I don’t know much about Rugby, let me be frank about that, and I don’t much care for it – or rather, I didn’t until this film.  Invictus may very well have the same dramatic effect on Rugby interest that say, Top Gun had for navy applicants in the 80s.  Inspiring performance by Freeman, simply perfect and firing on all cylinders – Eastwood and Freeman both deserve the Academy Award for Merit for their efforts.

There has never been a national movement to disband an NFL team for their political symbolism – oh, sure certain mamby pamby PC groups keep trying to change the Redskins and the Chiefs to something less “offensive” – but never has anyone said disband the team, change their colors, their name, their players, their coaches etc. for all they symbolize.  The Raiders would be the first to go!

So, it is impossible for an American audience to find confluence with this film’s story.  It has been over a hundred years that you would have been arrested for flying the “wrong” flag or even singing the “wrong” national anthem.  So, it was amazing to watch Eastwood and Freeman enlighten the audience about building the unified, Rainbow Nation of South Africa post-apartheid through a sports movie.  Also, it was highly entertaining, motivating and thought-provoking!

Set in 1994, leading up to the 1995 Rugby World Cup, hosted in South Africa – following the release of the always inspirational Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) from 27 years of captivity by the Afrikaner government, Invictus dares you to believe that compassion and honor can outweigh anger and vengeance.  Mandela dares to ask more of his countrymen than they even believe possible, to forgive all transgressions.

The South African National Sports Council has put an issue on the table, what to do with the hated Springbok Rugby team, a source of racial and national divisiveness for a generation in South Africa.  Mandela himself was once a fan of all those teams opposing the “Green and Gold” Springbok team, and yet, he understood what the motion would mean for his nation – civil war.  Mandela seizes the opportunity to unify rather than divide his nation, as a punitive move to disband the, essentially, Afrikaner team would be seen as an attempt to anger the old-guard Afrikaner loyalists.  Rugby, as Freeman says through his Mandela mask, is not a political equation, rather a human equation.

How can the National Sports Council go against a man who lived in a cell smaller than most Eastern European sedans for twenty-seven years?!?   Quite simply, they can’t, and Mandela (or Madiba – a tribal title of honor) reminds them that to truly heal their nation, forgiveness must be the order of the day.

Mandela is an amazing figure for historians to tout as one of the bright moments of the late twentieth century, and Freeman wears his visage like a master craftsman.  At times, you will find yourself so wrapped up in his performance, you’ll forget he is just an actor – his performance is on par with Shawshank Redemption in that regard.

While this film centers around the sport of Rugby, it is by no means a sports-film.  If you are looking for a football or rugby movie this year, you won’t find one – come to think of it, I can’t name a single Rugby movie in my lifetime.  It was difficult to prevent myself from comparing Invictus to one of my favorite films as a child, Victory – at the time I was playing mid-fielder myself – so that film inspired me and, oddly enough, started my fascination with World-War II.

I imagine Invictus will draw thousands of people to wikipedia or google to learn more about Mandela, the Springbok Captain Francois (Matt Damon) and, at the very least, find out what the hell a Springbok is!  I kept thinking they were saying Springbug until the middle of the film.  To save you that agony, a Springbok is a type of antelope native to South Africa, and when the “All Blacks” make their appearance in the film, they are the New Zealand team – that will keep you from scratching your head (you’ll thank me later).  As for the ritual before a match, you are on your own there my friends.

Now for the bad stuff, Eastwood gets a few poor marks, namely allowing Matt Damon to slip in and out of accent, either go with it, or don’t – I still stand almost alone in praising Tom Cruise for not even feigning a German accent in Valkyrie (he, at least, didn’t appear wishy-washy).  When Damon is on, he drives the script, but when he is off – he misses the drop goal (first Rick Swift Rugby reference ever).

Another momentum killer is a scene involving a helicopter swooping in dramatically to show Mandela’s solidarity with the Green and Gold – whoever chose that music must have been related to a cast-member, because it was completely out of scope with the rest of the film – and a tad cheesy.  It had the effect of immediately launching me back into the theater and out of my imagination.

If passionate films about unification bore you, skip this one.  If watching a bunch of meatballs in shorts and socks up to their necks scrum disturbs you, better lateral pass.  But, if you want to be inspired, and you want to challenge yourself to be better than you not only think, but know that you are – run to theaters and enjoy this brief glimpse into the incredible mind of an amazing statesman who so loved his country that he became a fan of a team he once loathed.  God, I hope I don’t ever have to become a Raiders fan to save my nation – or we are doomed!