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susan granger's review of "jimmy carter: man from plains"
(sony pictures classics)
years ago, as a wedding present, dear friends took my husband and me to
spend a weekend with jimmy and rosalynn carter. it was a revelation. i had never
seen our 39th president in such an informal, approachable setting - and now
jonathan demme has captured carter's sharp intelligence and homespun candor on
film.
demme followed carter on a 2006 book tour for his controversial "palestine:
peace not apartheid." this documentary tracks the reaction of both fans and
foes, who alternately praise or challenge carter's stance on the
israeli-palestinian conflict, particularly his inflammatory description of the
situation as "apartheid," evoking memories of government-sanctioned segregation
in south africa.
carter courteously parries accusations of anti-semitism with interviewers on
"good morning america," "fresh air," "the situation room with wolf blitzer," and
"the tavis smiley show." while charlie rose gets particularly testy, jay leno
adds levity. not surprisingly, what infuriates carter most is negativity from
people who haven't even bothered to read his book.
in addition to presenting a chronicle of certer's reactions to the media and
outspoken harvard law professor, alan dershowitz, demme also utilizes
fascinating archival material, particularly when carter brokered the camp david
peace accords between anwar sadat and menachem begin in 1978. plus there are
glimpses of carter's evangelical christian home life in georgia, including daily
bible readings with rosalynn.
in many ways, "man from plains" resembles "the agronomist," demme's
documentary about the slain haitian activist jean dominique, and declan quinn's
digital video camera concentrates far more on the man more than the imagery. on
the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "jimmy carter: man from plains" is an
insightful 8, exploring the kind of impact a former president can have after
leaving the oval office.
susan granger's review of "no country for old men"
(miramax/paramount vantage)
based on a novel by cormac mccarthy, this is a wry, metaphorical tale of
three macho men: the good guy, the bad guy and the poor vietnam vet who gets
caught in-between, never realizing the fatalistic ramifications of his greed.
back in the 1980s in the barren desert of the west texas-mexico border, a
deer hunter, llewelyn moss (josh brolin), wanders into the bullet-ridden
detritus of a drug convoy shootout and picks up a satchel containing $2.4
million, never realizing there's a tracking device hidden in the cash.
after sending his wife (kelly macdonald) to the safety of her mother's home,
moss is relentlessly pursued by a mysterious, diabolically deadpan assassin,
anton chigurh (javier bardem), who psychologically tortures his victims before
dispatching them with a cattle stun gun. chigurh's train of bloody carnage has
attracted the attention of veteran sheriff tom bell (tommy lee jones), who is
ready to retire, discouraged by the ever-increasing narcotics crime and its
attendant lack of respect and courtesy.
"any time you quit hearing 'sir' and "m'am,' the end is pretty much in
sight," he muses.
writer/directors joel and ethan coen ("blood simple," "fargo") incorporate
their trademark black comedic touches into this suspenseful, often confusing
contemporary western, as tommy lee jones, josh brolin and javier bardem (with a
haircut off dutch-boy paint cans or prince valiant cartoons) deliver three of
the most memorable screen performances this year.
several weeks ago, a.o. scott in the new york times ruminated on the lasting
influence of the graphic violence in arthur penn's 1967 "bonnie and clyde;" it's
reflected here in roger deakins' photography. on the granger movie gauge of 1
to 10, "no country for old men" is a brutal, intense 9. it's an enigmatic,
metaphysical mindgame.
susan granger's review of "fred claus" (warner bros.)
it's like christmas coming early with this heart-warming gift of a movie, a
santa story you've never heard before
since his baby brother, nicholas, was born, uttering the word, "ho," instead
of crying, fred claus (vince vaughn) has been living in his shadow, hearing his
mother's (kathy bates) constant refrain: "why can't you be more like your
brother?"
indeed, nicholas was so good that he achieved sainthood - meaning neither he
nor his family ever aged. and, like many unhappy children, fred became angry and
naughty.
now living in chicago, fred has become a 'repo' man, trying to start his own
off-track betting establishment and get back in the good graces of his
long-suffering girl-friend, wanda (rachel weisz). when he calls his brother for
a loan, nicholas (paul giamatti) agrees to help fred only if he'll come to the
north pole and work in santa's toy shop.
meanwhile, with a month to go, the stress of christmas is increasing - and
an evil efficiency expert (kevin spacey) has been dispatched to oversee this
year's preparations. the tooth fairy and easter bunny are endangered - and
out-sourcing toy production to the south pole is under consideration, shutting
down santa's workshop permanently.
set in the christmas environment, writer dan fogelman ("cars") and director
david dobkin ("wedding crashers") have fashioned an often-amusing sibling
rivalry situation, utilizing wry cameos from other underachieving,
once-resentful brothers like frank stallone, roger clinton and stephen baldwin.
vince vaughn plays the comedy with pathos, and paul giamatti shows the depth
of santa claus' vulnerability. while the supporting roles are formulaic, the
visual effects are imaginative, particularly the snow globe and naughty/nice
department. on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "fred claus" is a sentimental
7. it's a bright holiday package filled with pure enjoyment.
susan granger's review of "love in the time of cholera"
(new line)
few contemporary love stories have captured the public's imagination as much
as nobel prize-winning author gabriel garcia marquez's novel, set in the exotic
port city of cartagena at the dawn of the 20th century - and now mike newell
brings this spellbinding epic to the screen.
written by oscar-winner ronald harwood ("the pianist"), photographed by
alfonso beato and directed with the deft lightness of newell's "four weddings
and a funeral," it chronicles the passionate 50-year obsession that consumes
fiorentino ariza (javier bardem).
the story begins with the accidental death of 80 year-old dr. juvenal urbino
(benjamin bratt). as family and friends comfort his grieving widow, fermina,
(giovanna mezzogiono), fiorentino declares his unrelenting love for her - as
their truncated yet intertwined relationship is revealed in flashbacks that are
punctuated by a lustrous, anguished undercurrent of suspense - along with three
songs by shakira.
as a naive youth, fiorentino fell for lovely fermina at first sight, but her
socially-conscious father (john leguizamo) forbade his courtship, insisting that
fermina marry the highly respected dr. urbino. distraught yet comforted by his
devoted mother (fernanda montenegro) and given a promising job by his rich uncle
(hector elizondo), fiorentiono builds a good life for himself, becoming a
wealthy shipowner, while conducting casanova-like liaisons with 622 women. but
he's patiently biding his time until the now-72 year-old fermina is, once again,
single - and available.
the symbolism of the title is open to several interpretations, comparing the
then-prevalent (and fatal) disease with lovesickness; indeed, it becomes pivotal
to the symmetry of the metaphorical conclusion. on the granger movie gauge of 1
to 10, "love in the time of cholera" is a fantasy-filled, romantic 8. it's a
faithful adaptation, blessed with equal amounts of humor, pathos and compassion.
susan granger's review of "before the devil knows you're
dead" (thinkfilm)
esteemed director sidney lumet ("serpico," "12 angry men," "network," "the
verdict," "q&a") is still going strong at 83, proving it with this insightful,
impeccably crafted crime drama that takes its title from the old irish toast:
"may you be in heaven a half hour before the devil knows you're dead."
beginning with a steamy sex scene between andy (philip seymour hoffman) and
his wife gina (marisa tomei), a film noir about two financially pressured
brothers emerges.
andy's a shady new york real estate accountant with an expensive drug habit,
while his younger brother hank (ethan hawke) is a none-too-bright, divorced
loser who owes child support to his ex-wife. hank's also having a clandestine
affair with gina.
so when andy comes up with a plan to heist their parents' (albert finney,
rosemary harris) suburban jewelry store, hank goes along with the idea. but hank
brings along a reckless accomplice (brian f. o'byrne) and the robbery goes
dreadfully awry, adding murder and blackmail to the brothers' monetary problems.
what makes it so intriguing is that screenwriter kelly masterson and
director lumet reveal the family melodrama out of sequence, shifting the
audience's perspective onto each of the characters. utilizing high-definition
technology, lumet, cinematographer ron fortunato and editor tom swartwout
further augment the tension with close-ups and show the same scenes from
different viewpoints. sure, it's contrived and there are some loose ends, but
the perverse impact is greater than the sum of its parts.
delivering outstanding performances, philip seymour hoffman dominates
anxious ethan hawke and vivacious marisa tomei, while albert finney is subtly
menacing. on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "before the devil knows you're
dead" is a confident, compelling 9 with the moral undertones of classic greek
tragedy.
susan granger's review of "bee movie" (dreamworks
animation/paramount)
call it the curse of high expectations but when jerry seinfeld makes his
first animated feature, laughs should flow like honey but they don't - unless
you're really into bee puns.
after college, bumblebee barry b. benson (seinfeld) spends some time with
the macho pollen jocks before starting work at the factory in new hive city.
trapped in an apartment, he encounters a friendly florist, vanessa (renee
zellweger), who saves him from being annihilated by her boyfriend (patrick
warburton). breaking beedom's code of behavior, barry talks to her. in return,
she shows him how humans buy honey at the store. feeling exploited, barry gets
so furious about this injustice that he sues humankind.
after a courtroom fight - in which sting (himself) is accused of stealing
his stage name from bee culture - barry wins, defeating a blustering southern
lawyer (voiced by john goodman). so honey is taken off the market. bees lose
their production jobs at honex, flowers don't get pollinated and all vegetation
in central park dies. if you're in a new york state of mind, that spells
ecological disaster for the world.
flitting in the background, there's a fast-talking mosquito chris rock),
along with barry's pal, adam (matthew broderick), and his parents (kathy bates
and barry levinson) who worry about vanessa: could she be a wasp? plus ray
liotta playing himself.
forbes magazine reports that comic icon jerry seinfeld earns $60 million a
year in syndication royalties and from his stand-up gigs, yet he's the brain and
voice of this simplistic yet heavily-hyped effort. despite the weak writing, the
computer animation is often eye-catching, although not up to pixar standards. on
the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "bee movie" buzzes in as a surreal 6, an
amusing 82-minute diversion.
susan granger's
review of "lions for lambs" (mgm/ua)
ripped from today's headlines, robert redford's latest political thriller is
a no-holds-barred indictment of recent u.s. foreign policy and george w. bush's
seemingly endless "war on terror."
as political science professor, stephen malley (redford) is trying to
motivate an extraordinarily bright but undisciplined student (andrew garfield),
two of his former students (derek luke, michael pena), both idealists from
underprivileged backgrounds, have enlisted as army rangers and are engaged in a
dangerous firefight in afghanistan.
meanwhile, in washington, d.c., janine roth (meryl streep), a skeptical
veteran television reporter, is interviewing charismatic senator jasper irving
(tom cruise) who, despite repeated denials, has presidential ambitions. right
now, he's revealing the u.s.'s new strategy of sending small special forces
teams into to the mountains in afghanistan to prevent sunni and shia insurgents
from uniting. he's so convincing in his logic that it's terrifying.
utilizing matthew michael carnahan's terse, intelligent script, deftly
edited by joe hutshing, and eliciting frighteningly authentic performances from
cruise and streep, redford meshes multiple storylines, condemning media
manipulation and public apathy and imploring americans to take some
responsibility for what's happening.
the title comes from a w.w.i german general's comment about the bravery of
british troops and the ineptitude of their leaders: "never have i seen such
lions led by such lambs".or as anguished prof. malley puts it, "where our
courageous soldiers are put at risk by leaders who've never bled in a fight."
on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "lions for lambs" is a defiant,
compelling 10. what distinguishes this from other recent war movies is that it's
about far more than the tragic skirmish that takes place on the snowy
mountainside. it's provocative entertainment that makes you think.
(personal note: my son, don granger, is president of mgm/ua.)
susan granger's review of "american gangster" (universal
pictures)
based on the true story of an enterprising hoodlum who became a billionaire
by dominating the harlem drug scene, ridley scott's crime drama has been called
"superfly" meets "serpico."
back in the 1970s, when drug trafficking belonged to the mafia, amiable,
soft-spoken frank lucas (denzel washington) chauffeured one of new york's most
notorious african-american mobsters, ellsworth "bumpy" johnson. after his
boss/mentor dies, lucas quietly begins building his own empire. astutely
eliminating the middle man, he flies to thailand to import heroin directly from
southeast asia, arranging to have kilos hidden in caskets of american soldiers
loaded onto military transports flying to new york from vietnam.
lucas' "blue magic" is not only purer heroin but cheaper; twice the potency,
it sells for half as much. soon he's making up to $1 million a day. while this
entrepreneurship baffles and infuriates his rivals, it also catches the
attention of richie roberts (russell crowe), a stubbornly incorruptible new
jersey cop who is determined to put him in prison, despite lucas' bribing the
corrupt detective (josh brolin) heading new york's anti-drug special
investigations unit.
written by steven zaillian (oscar-winner for "schindler's list") from a new
york magazine article ("the return of superfly") by mark jacobson, it boosts
director ridley scott up from his 2006 comedy debacle, "a good year," also
starring russell crowe, but, surprisingly, it offers little story-telling
originality and gets downright tedious at times. but that's not the fault of
the oscar-winning leads - washington and crowe - who deliver strong
performances, as do josh brolin and ruby dee, as lucas' mother.
on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "american gangster" is a well-crafted
but eerily familiar 7, evoking memories of better gangster movies like "the
godfather," "scarface," "heat," "goodfellas" and "the departed."
susan granger's review of "lars and the real girl" (m.g.m.
release)
who would think that the story of reclusive man and his mail-order sex doll
would make a remarkably sensitive and tender, pg-13 romantic comedy?
shy, withdrawn lars lindstrom (ryan gosling) lives a lonely existence in a
sparsely furnished garage room next to his brother gus (paul schneider) and
pregnant sister-in-law karen's (emily mortimer) clapboard home in a nameless
midwestern town.
at work one day, lars' porn-addicted cubicle-mate shows him how you can
order a life-size, pliable plastic 'woman of your dreams' on the internet. a few
weeks later when 'bianca' arrives, lars gently unpacks her and, that evening,
escorts her to a family dinner, introducing her as his brazilian/danish
girlfriend who cannot walk and, therefore, needs a wheelchair. respectfully he
explains how she'll need her own room because, after all, they're not yet
married.
alarmed yet fiercely protective, gus and karen insist they visit the family
doctor/psychologist (patricia clarkson) who advises that everyone go along with
lars' delusion.and, amazingly enough, they do. that includes the bewildered
church ladies and lars' otherwise cynical co-workers, including a young woman (kelli
garner) who has a crush on him. perhaps that's because their pastor poses the
question: "what would jesus do?" indeed, due to the townspeople's kindness and
generosity, bianca soon becomes an integral member of the tight-knit community.
screenwriter nancy oliver (hbo's "six feet under") and director craig
gillespie ("mr. woodcock") consistently downplay the obvious slapstick aspects
while slowly developing the characters. after boldly matching wits with anthony
hopkins in "fracture," ryan gosling affects a more unobtrusive, understated
demeanor, yet never quite succeeding in convincing us that he's sane. on the
granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "lars and the real girl" is a sentimental 7,
chronicling a very strange relationship.
susan granger's review of "rails & ties" (warner bros.)
clint eastwood's daughter alison makes an auspicious directing debut with
this compelling family drama.
as the story begins, megan stark (marcia gay harden), a nurse, is told that
her long battle with breast cancer is ending. after surgery and chemotherapy,
she's determined to live her final weeks as fully as possible. but her taciturn
husband, tom (kevin bacon), is in total denial, channeling his emotions into the
job he loves. he's a railroad engineer, running the stargazer express between
los angeles and seattle.
then a suicidal woman deliberately pulls her car on the tracks right in
front of tom's on-rushing train, leaving her precocious, locomotive-loving 11
year-old son, davey, an orphan. fleeing from the foster home in which he's
placed, davey tracks down tom stark and demands to know why he didn't stop the
train and save his mother.
seizing the emotional opportunity, megan reaches out to davey - leaving tom
not only to confront the pending investigational hearing as a result of the
accident but also to cope with the consequences of taking this 'missing child'
into their home.
utilizing contrivances and coincidences more suited for a movie-of-the-week
on lifetime tv, screenwriter micky levy delineates several lives on a bleak
collision course. but actress-turned-director alison eastwood brings admirable
spontaneity, understated intimacy and deft dexterity to her vision, astutely
seeking collaboration with her father's longtime cinematographer tom stern,
production designer james murakami and editor gary roach - adding her brother
kyle eastwood's evocative music.
what's striking is the uncanny resemblance between kevin bacon's reserved
demeanor and verbal cadence and 'early' clint eastwood performances. was that
the actor's choice or the director's? on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10,
"rails & ties" is a heartfelt 7, particularly for an adult, female audience.
susan granger's review of "things we lost in the fire"
(paramount/dreamworks)
in her american debut, danish director susanne bier tackles love, loss,
jealousy, rage and recovery from drug addiction in a melodrama that unfolds
slowly.at the pace of a death march.
over the years, successful seattle real estate developer brian burke (david
duchovny) has remained friends with his childhood buddy, jerry sunborne (benicio
del toro), a heroin addict, much to the chagrin of his uptight wife, audrey (halle
berry). but when brian goes out for ice cream one night and is killed by a
wife-abusing drunk, audrey makes sure jerry comes to the funeral, where he vows
to quit drugs. lost without a man around the house, audrey invites him to move
into an empty garage room that was damaged in an electrical blaze. while her
precocious children - a 10 year-old girl (alexis llewellyn) and six year-old boy
(micah berry) - are delighted, she's ambivalent: kind and grateful one moment,
rude and resentful the next.
faced with overcoming allan loeb's discordant, unrealistic, heavy-handed
screenplay, halle berry tackles her first substantive role since her
oscar-winning turn in "monster's ball." problem is: her querulous, one-note
widow has no backstory: no job, no friends, no interests except her children. so
it's benicio del toro's cleverly nuanced performance that's most memorable.
director susanne bier cinematically interprets 'emotional intensity' through
endless close-ups of dark, sad eyeballs; this may be her austere european
sensibility but it begins to resemble an ophthalmologist's training film. when
she's not examining eyes, bier's into an earlobe fetish, having audrey invite
jerry into her bed to cure her insomnia by pulling on her earlobe. on the
granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "things we lost in the fire" is an agonizingly
morose, tedious 6, redeemed only by some remarkable acting.
susan granger's review of "slipstream" (strand releasing)
considering that the dictionary defines slip stream as "the current of air
thrust backward by the spinning propeller or an aircraft," anthony hopkins has
creatively transposed this aeronautical concept into an avante-garde, admittedly
experimental, absurdist through-the-looking-glass glimpse of behind-the-scenes
movie-making.
evolving in a non-linear fantasy is the convoluted tale of a clearly
unstable hollywood screenwriter felix bonhoeffler (anthony hopkins), who is
working on a murder mystery that's being filmed in the california desert.
whirling in and out of his conscious and sub-conscious mind are his wife, gina
(played by hopkins' real-life wife, stella arroyave, making her screen debut);
an aspiring blonde actress (lisa pepper); loquacious aunt bette (fionnula
flanagan); a perplexed, baby-toting film director (gavin grazer); caustic
cinematographer (chris lawford); obnoxious producer named harvey brickman (john
turturro); several long-suffering, somewhat maniacal actors (christian slater,
jeffrey tambor, michael clarke duncan, camryn manheim, s. epatha merkerson) and
- miracle of miracles! - 93 year-old kevin mccarthy recalling "invasion of the
body snatchers"). there's also an amusing dolly parton look-alike (charlene
rose), talking buzzard and furry tarantula.
structurally reminiscent of christopher nolan's non-linear, dream-like
"memento" with a dab of david lynch thrown in, it's written and directed by
anthony hopkins (oscar-winner for "the silence of the lambs"), who also composed
the musical score. working with cinematographer dante spinotti and film editor
michael e. miller, hopkins utilizes a visual cacophony of rapid cuts, old movie
clips, stock footage and color film stock changes, often punctuated with
seemingly random, out-of-context sound bites.
on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "slipstream" is a
stream-of-consciousness, playfully surreal, satirical 7. as hopkins notes, it's
the mad hatter's tea party - and be sure to stay for the somewhat explanatory
epilogue that occurs after the credits.
susan granger's review of "gone, baby, gone" (miramax
films)
ben affleck makes a powerful directorial debut with this timely yet
perplexing crime thriller about two private investigators searching for an
abducted four year-old boston girl.
no one could call irresponsible helen mccready (amy ryan) a good mother. an
admitted substance abuser (alcohol, cocaine, heroin), she's thrust into the
media spotlight when her four year-old daughter, amanda, is kidnapped from their
dingy apartment.
distraught and dissatisfied with the investigation led by capt. james doyle
(morgan freeman) and his crimes against children unit, amy's aunt, bea mccready
(amy madigan) and her husband, lionel (titus welliver), hire a team of young
private detectives (casey affleck, michelle monaghan) who are familiar with the
seedy denizens of their dorchester neighborhood's tight-knit underworld.
reluctantly, capt. doyle agrees to let them work with his experienced cops (ed
harris, john ashton), and they soon discover that $130,000 belonging to an
unsavory haitian drug dealer known as 'cheese' (edi gathegi) went missing not
long before amanda disappeared. could there be a connection?
adapted from a novel by dennis lehane ("mystic river") by aaron stockard and
ben affleck - who won an oscar for co-writing "good will hunting" - it's filled
with intriguing moral and ethical ambiguity. as a boston native working with
cinematographer john toll, affleck achieves the emotion-driven, working-class
authenticity essential to the story's believability.
fresh from his villainous performance in "the assassination of jesse james
by the coward robert ford," casey affleck (ben's younger brother) demonstrates
his versatility as the perseverant, albeit baby-faced private eye. (in an
amusing jibe, he's told to go back to his harry potter book.)
on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "gone, baby, gone" is an enigmatic 8
- with a challenging conclusion that's bound to ignite conversation after the
lights go on.
susan granger's review of "rendition" (new line cinema)
considering the incendiary subject matter - the use of torture to extract
information - this political thriller should be a lot more compelling than it
is.
the title refers to america's highly controversial "extraordinary rendition"
policy, granting the government the right to hold anyone suspected of terrorism
- without evidence or legal counsel; indeed, the u.s. supreme court ruled
earlier this month not to hear khaled el-masri's case on the basis of state
secrets.
reese witherspoon plays the pregnant wife of anwar el-ibrahimi (omar metwaly),
an egyptian-born american chemical engineer on his way home to chicago from a
business conference in south africa. because there's a suspicion that he might
be linked to the death of a top cia official in a suicide bombing in an unnamed
north african country, he is abducted to a secret detention facility near
marrakech, morocco, where he's stripped naked and tortured. a rookie cia analyst
(jake gyllenhaal) is forced to observe the horrifying "interrogation" by a
sadistic arab (israeli actor igal naor) whose daughter (zineb oukach),
coincidentally, is secretly involved with the brother (moa khouas) of the leader
of the radical islamic group that her father is investigating.
meanwhile, stateside, frantic isabella heads to washington d.c. where,
conveniently, her old college beau (peter sarsgaard), coincidentally, works for
a senator (alan arkin). but this has little influence with the cia's terrorism
chief (meryl streep), hiding her iciness under a cloak of patriotism.
kelly sane's murky, confusingly structured script reeks of melodrama which -
to his credit - oscar-winning south african director gavin hood ("tsotsi") does
his best to underplay while examining the repercussions of our "war on
terrorism." on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "rendition" is a troubling
yet disappointing 6. warning: the torture scenes are authentic and agonizing.
susan granger's review of "tyler perry's why did i get
married?" (lionsgate)
tyler perry is a cultural phenomenon as creator of a hugely successful
series of formulaic, christian-themed, sin-and-redemption movies, specifically
targeted at an affluent african-american audience. and ever since his movie
debut, "diary of a mad black woman," his films have not been screened for
critics - hence, the delayed review.
in this latest, set at an annual retreat in a rocky mountain resort, four
married couples, and friends since college days, delve into the strengths and
weaknesses of each other's marriages. there's a well-meaning romance
psychologist/author (singer janet jackson), married to an award-winning
architect (malik yoba of tvs "new york undercover"); a sassy, hard-drinking
beauty tycoon (tasha smith) with her confrontational, vd-infected husband
(michael jai white); and a workaholic, blackberry-obsessed lawyer (sharon leal
of "dreamgirls") who's ambivalent about motherhood and her pediatrician husband
(played by perry). but the central couple is a despicable philanderer (richard
t. jones) and his self-effacing, obese wife (singer jill scott), whose girth
gets her booted from her airplane in the film's opening sequence - because they
bring along a "friend" (denise boutte).
blending comedy with melodrama, tyler perry achieves a tad more subtlety
than in his preachy, stereotypical "madea" films, even "daddy's little girls,"
aided in great part by the effective acting ensemble and toyomichi kurita's
cinematography. but his strong, sexy female characters are still too shrill and
obvious in their evangelical instincts and the men are, inevitably, wayward.
on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "tyler perry's why did i get
married?" is a compassionate, therapeutic 5. in perry's cliché-filled scenarios,
nearly all white characters are depicted as conscious or unconscious bigots,
which is a shame - in this day and age - since relationship issues are not
delineated along racial lines.
susan granger's review of "golda's balcony"
not only is this poignant portrait of israel's former prime minister golda
meir riveting and powerful, it also reminds and enlightens us about the origins
of the current middle east conflict.
a tenacious and resilient woman, golda mabovitch was born in kiev, russia;
raised in milwaukee; emigrated to palestine with her husband, morris myerson;
and spent many years in a kibbutz, where - while making matzoh balls in the
kitchen - she plotted and planned the creation of israel.
tony award-winning playwright william gibson's incisive story begins as the
ailing meir recalls facing her most terrifying moral dilemma at the height of
the 1973 yom kippur war. israel is in crisis and defeat would mean the
obliteration of the jewish state. while she had an inkling that trouble was
brewing, moshe dayan, her defense minister opposed launching a pre-emptive
strike, fearing worldwide condemnation. that leaves meir begging u.s. president
richard nixon - through intermediaries - for the phantom fighters that he'd
promised.
the great revelation - which i never knew - is that strong-willed meir had
secretly supervised the creation of an immense underground nuclear weapons
arsenal called dimona, which was labeled as a desalinazation plant. faced with
possible extinction, meir held up the nuclear trump card to nixon, which
hastened the delivery of the fighter jets.
valerie harper's uncanny portrayal is often amusing and remarkably
authentic; in addition, she impersonates cohorts like david ben-gurion and henry
kissinger. it's a versatile, tour-de-force performance. director jeremy kagan's
visual montages of photographs and newsreel footage add to the veracity as he
amplifies what is, essentially, a one-woman show. on the granger movie gauge of
1 to 10, "golda's balcony" is a timely, amazing 8, illustrating the ironic
absurdity of going to war to achieve peace through the redemption of the human
race.
susan granger's review of "into the wild" (paramount
vantage)
sean penn has adapted jon krakauer's book about a rebellious, 22 year-old
emory college graduate, christopher mccandless (emile hirsch), who gave away or
destroyed his money, cut off all ties to his family, tramped around the country
and wound up alone in the yukon wilderness, where he died in august, 1992.
among the first people mccandless rejects are his troubled but caring
parents (william hurt, marcia gay harden) and devoted sister (jena malone). he's
then befriended by a south dakota wheat farmer (vince vaughn), an aging hippie
(catherine keener) and an elderly widower (hal holbook) - who act as surrogate
family, trying to dissuade him from taking off for alaska to live off the land.
when mccandless finally arrives in the wilderness - stubbornly ignorant
about survival skills - he stumbles across an old, abandoned fairbanks school
bus that's conveniently been converted into a shelter. by whom we're never told.
he settles in, lopes around the landscape, reads leo tolstoy, jack london, henry
david thoreau - and slowly starves to death.
what's bizarre is the way writer/director penn idealizes and never questions
this self-destructive, totally egocentric adventurer, as though there were
something admirable about his foolish, reckless, anti-social behavior.
mccandless's romanticized character is saved from being insufferable by the
open-faced geniality and kind intelligence radiated by actor emile hirsch, who
became emaciated during the course of the filming.
visually arresting, it's nevertheless photographed by eric gautier as if it
were a car commercial - one of those scenic wonders where the newest model is
perched atop a mountain peak, as if that had any relevance to the consumer's
driving experience.
on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "into the wild" is a bleak,
pretentious 5 - with the pathos stretching a tedious 140 minutes.
susan granger's review of "the assassination of jesse
james by the coward robert ford" (warner bros.)
when a film's running time is 2 hours and 40 minutes, it's often because the
writer is also directing - so there's no one to tell him to cut out 40 minutes,
or else!
back in the 1870s, jesse james (brad pitt) was the country's most notorious
outlaw. celebrated in dime novels, his exploits were legendary. as years pass,
most of the original gang members die and jesse's brother (sam shepard)
retires. hanging on the coattails of his older brother charley (sam rockwell)
and longing for acceptance is fawning, hero-worshipping 19 year-old robert ford
(slyly played by casey affleck, ben's real-life younger brother). history
records ford as "the coward" who shot 34 year-old jesse in the back, but the
plot delves into the psyches of both gunslingers and what may - or may not -
have precipitated that infamous murder.
jesse james is said to have been charismatic and complex, but you'd never
know it from brad pitt's stolid, stoic performance, most remarkable for its
pensive stillness - a trait which served gary cooper well in many westerns.
based on ron hansen's novel, it's self-indulgently adapted and languidly,
pretentiously directed by andrew dominik, whose previous experience includes tv
commercials, music videos and "chopper" about the notorious australian criminal
chopper read. perhaps it's also not the best judgment to have the star (brad
pitt) also serve as producer.
since it's so tedious to watch, the cameo by washington pundit james
carville as the governor of missouri is a welcome diversion. on the granger
movie gauge of 1 to 10, "the assassination of jesse james by the coward robert
ford" is a turgid 4, making one wonder why it takes such a long, long time to
kill jesse james.
susan granger's review of "michael clayton" (warner bros.)
faced with moral corruption within the corporate culture, a lawyer gets
sucked into a dangerous cover-up when a colleague threatens to expose the
conspiracy behind the settlement of multimillion-dollar class-action suit
against one of his firm's major clients.
while michael clayton (george clooney) has always yearned to be made
partner, he's spent 17 years as a "fixer" for new york's prestigious kenner,
bach & ledeen. when there's a sticky or embarrassing situation, clayton has the
contacts to minimize the mess or make it disappear. but, at 45, and a divorced
father with a young son, he's broke and in debt - the result of gambling and a
failed family business venture. so when the lead litigator (tom wilkinson),
previously diagnosed as a manic-depressive, has a crisis of conscience while
defending u-north, a multinational agrichemical conglomerate, the senior exec
(sydney pollack), who is negotiating a crucial merger, puts clayton in charge of
the case. but u-north's ambitious, duplicitous chief counsel (tilda swinton)
knows there's been corporate malfeasance and her job rests on protecting their
interests - at any cost.
most of the plot is revealed in flashback, after clayton's car explodes in
flames on a deserted country road. despite its scrambled structure and trenchant
dialogue, long-time screenwriter ("the bourne identity" and its sequels) and
first-time director tony gilroy makes this character-driven, multi-layered legal
thriller compelling. also credit robert elswit's ("syriana," "good night and
good luck") cinematography and james newton howard's subtle musical score.
along with power-player george clooney - terrific in challenging
confrontational scenes - it's packed with top-notch supporting performances from
tom wilkinson, tilda swinton and actor/director sydney pollack. on the granger
movie gauge of 1 to 10, "michael clayton" is an arresting, engrossing 8. it
would be a crime not to see it.
susan granger's review of "the game plan" (disney)
genial dwayne "the rock" johnson has a huge fan following - which explains
the astounding box-office success of this heart-warming if utterly predictable
comedy.
the 6'4"-tall former wrestling champ plays legendary joe "never say no"
kingman, an egomaniacal boston rebels quarterback whose swingin,' elvis-inspired
bachelor lifestyle is interrupted by the unexpected arrival on his penthouse
doorstep of a precocious eight year-old girl, peyton (disney channel "cory in
the house" star madison pettis), who claims to be his daughter. it seems that
her mother, joe's ex-wife, with whom he broke up nine years ago, is off to
africa to supervise a massive humanitarian effort in the sudan and is utterly
unreachable.
suddenly, distracting ballet classes, baby dolls and bedtime stories must be
sandwiched in between practices and dates with supermodels - much to the chagrin
of joe's aggressive agent, stella peck (kyra sedgwick of tv's "the closer"), as
time for the pro championship game grows near.
revolving around what's really important in life, the formulaic screenplay
was written by first-timers nichole millard & kathryn price and generically
directed by andy fickman - including the usual mischief-making slapstick and
sight gags: i.e. starting the kitchen blender with the lid off, filling the
bathroom with bubbles, dressing joe's bulldog spike in a tutu. plus there's
hotshot joe's unfortunate cinnamon-allergy and a "swan lake" dance recital
supervised by joe's sexy dancer-love interest roselyn sanchez.
credit johnson's undeniable charisma for gaining ground while carrying this
cuteness along, even when he's dressed in skintight green leotards and peyton
marches forth in her own mini-football uniform. hopefully, johnson's next
outing, starring as agent 23 in "get smart," will be better. on the granger
movie gauge of 1 to 10, "the game plan" is a good-natured, family-friendly 5 -
from playboy to paternity.
susan granger's review of "elizabeth: the golden age"
(universal pictures)
this sequel to the highly acclaimed 1998 "elizabeth" is a historical costume
drama - with far more emphasis on the 'costume' than the 'drama.'
it begins in 1585, when strong-willed, independent queen elizabeth i (cate
blanchett) with her wily adviser, sir francis walsingham (geoffrey rush) faces
her biggest challenge from across the channel. backed by the pope and the
inquisition, philip ii of spain (jordi molla) is determined to conquer
protestant england, utilizing his mighty armada, and to place elizabeth's
treacherous catholic cousin, mary stuart, queen of scots (samantha morton), on
the british throne.
meanwhile, at court, the dashing explorer walter raleigh (clive owen)
returns from the new world, bearing gifts - like 'live' indians, potatoes,
tobacco and gold - and intrigues elizabeth with his tales of adventure, while
clandestinely seducing her favorite lady-in-waiting, bess (abbie cornish).
predictably, when elizabeth discovers that bess is pregnant, jealousy overwhelms
reason.
melodramatically written by william nicholson and michael hirst and
pretentiously directed by shekhar kapur, it's lavish but as emotionally barren
as elizabeth herself. resplendent cate blanchett still rants and raves but comes
across shriller. while her majesty ages, blanchett obviously doesn't - the fact
that the queen's now 52 is obviously irrelevant. clive owen oozes charisma, this
time channeling that swashbuckling rogue, errol flynn.
trivia buffs note that bette davis also played queen elizabeth i in "the
private lives of elizabeth and essex" (1939) and "the virgin queen" (1955) with
young, pre-"dynasty" joan collins as bess.
on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "elizabeth: the golden age" is a
shallow, cliché-filled, deafening 6. there's simply no excuse for craig
armstrong and ar rahman's musical score to be so overpowering - except, perhaps,
to keep you awake when you might be inclined to nod off.
susan granger's review of "the darjeeling limited" (fox
searchlight)
the luggage! the luggage! it's all about the baggage.
wes anderson ("rushmore," "bottle rocket," "the royal tennenbaums") once
again delves into family dysfunction, as the three wealthy, but estranged,
whitman brothers - who haven't seen each other in the year since their father's
funeral - journey through rural india by train with 11 - count 'em - stunning,
custom-made, animal motif louis vuitton suitcases.
except for a shared penchant for substance abuse, they couldn't be more
different. the eldest, francis (owen wilson), his head in bandages as the result
of a motorcycle accident, is the 'organizer,' distributing laminated cards
delineating each day's spiritual activities. "we're here to find ourselves and
bond with each other," he decrees.
middle sibling peter (adrien brody) has a pregnant wife, while the youngest,
jack (jason schwartzman), is still so obsessed with his 'ex' that he eavesdrops
on her answering machine. but that doesn't stop him from having a liaison with
their compliant compartment attendant (amara karan), infuriating the prim
steward (waris ahluwalia).
when they finally track down their self-absorbed mother (anjelica huston) in
an isolated himalayan convent, she - gently but firmly - tells them to quit
obsessing about the past. forgiveness would mean traveling lighter, leaving a
lot of emotional baggage behind.
meticulously stylized and nimbly filmed on a retrofitted indian train, it's
a spicy, lyrical cinematic feast, slyly written by anderson, schwartzman (talia
shire's son) and roman coppola (francis's son) - with a terrific score and
cameos by ifan khan and bill murray.
on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "the darjeeling limited" is a
poignant, peripatetic 8. access the titular website for anderson's short, "hotel
chevalier," featuring jason schwartzman's character having a rendezvous in paris
with his 'ex' (natalie portman), which will undoubtedly be part of the dvd.
susan granger's review of "lust, caution" (focus features)
daring, innovative director ang lee follows his controversial "brokeback
mountain" and breathtaking "crouching tiger, hidden dragon" with this erotic
chinese historical drama, rated nc-17 for "explicit sexuality."
based on an eileen chang short story set during the japanese occupation of
shanghai during world war ii, the plot involves a guileless young drama student
(tang wei) who is recruited by idealistic kuang yu-min (wang lee-hom) to
impersonate an aspiring socialite, mrs. mak, and join the mah-jongg game run by
mrs. yee (joan chen) in order to seduce and entrap her husband, mr. yee (tony
leung chiu-wai), a cruel collaborator who routinely turns in resistance members
to the japanese invaders. she's constantly afraid that her real identity will be
discovered and he's paranoid about being duped. the furtive tension generated by
their fear becomes mutual lust, punctuated by the staccato 'clack, clack, clack'
of mah-jongg tiles.
in the espionage vein, it's not unlike dutch director paul verhoeven's
"black book" about a pretty jewess who takes a gestapo officer as her lover to
aid the resistance.
as for the bold, often violent and abusive sex scenes, leung and wei
maneuver naked through an unpredictable kama sutra of gratuitously graphic
positions.
"each time they have intercourse, it's like a conversation," explains lee,
"sex is the ultimate body language. the contortion of their bodies visually
represents what they inflict on each other."
lovely beijing newcomer tang wei carries the film, ably supported by hong
kong's top actor tony leung chiu-wai, while joan chen is superb as the gossipy,
materialistic matron. rodrigo prieto's cinematography is exquisite, accompanied
by alexandre desplat's music. in chinese with english subtitles, on the granger
movie gauge of 1 to 10, "lust, caution" is a suspenseful, sadomasochistic 7,
running a painfully long 158 minutes.
susan granger's review of "in the valley of elah" (warner
independent)
academy award season is officially underway with the release of this
hard-hitting drama by paul haggis ("crash"), exploring the emotional wreckage of
the current war.
soon after a young soldier, mike deerfield (jonathan tucker), returns to
fort rudd from active duty in iraq, he's reported awol. when his commanding
officer phones his parents (tommy lee jones, susan sarandon) in tennessee,
they're mystified. hank's a stoic vietnam vet but they've already lost the
eldest son in a helicopter crash. so he drives to the new mexico base to
investigate, dutifully stopping en route to correct a guatemalan immigrant who
is flying the american flag upside down by mistake.
meanwhile, there's a jurisdictional skirmish between military police and
local detectives over the incinerated remnants of a dismembered body found
scattered in a field near the base. forensic evidence indicates it's mike - but
recently promoted det. emily sanders (charlize theron), a single mother, is
baffled by the crime scene, which the army brass (jason patric, james franco)
dismiss as a drug deal-gone-bad. utilizing his experience as an army mp, hank
suspiciously interrogates mike's clean-cut comrades and hires a techie (rick
gonzalez) to hack into mike's cellphone and retrieve scrambled video footage he
took in iraq, which, eventually, sheds light on what occurred.
adapted from a playboy magazine article, "death and dishonor" by mark boal
and elegantly photographed by roger deakins, it features one of tommy lee jones'
finest performances as an agonized father questioning long-held beliefs.
charlize theron, frances fisher and susan sarandon are convincing, but sarandon
is woefully underutilized. on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "in the valley
of elah" is a profoundly powerful and disturbing 9, taking its title from the
biblical valley where david fought goliath.
susan granger's review of "eastern promises" (focus
features)
the naked bathhouse fight is perhaps the most eagerly anticipated scene in
director david cronenberg's latest thriller - but there's more to it than that.
once a prisoner in siberia, stoic, stone-faced and ruthlessly ambitious
nikoli luzhin (viggo mortensen) works as a driver for twinkly-eyed,
mild-mannered semyon (armin mueller-stahl), the proprietor of an elegant russian
restaurant in london. but behind the scenes - and the perpetually bubbling
borscht - semyon is the shrewd godfather of the expatriate mob. known as vory v
zakone, its members, like japanese yakuza, have distinguishing tattoos.
when hospital midwife anna khitrova (naomi watts) retrieves a diary, written
in cyrillic, off a teenage girl from the ukraine who dies giving birth to a baby
girl, she naively asks semyon to translate it - after her russian-born uncle
(polish director jerzy skolimowski) refuses. the diary details how the girl has
been exploited as a sex slave, serving the kingpin and his minions, including
his nasty, psychopathic son, kirill (french actor vincent cassel), who obviously
feels homosexual urges toward hard-bodied nikoli.
mortensen's highly publicized naked scene takes place in a turkish steam
bath where he's attacked by two black leather-clad, knife-wielding chechen
thugs. gratuitous and exploitive, his full-frontal exposure makes him
particularly vulnerable during the brutal, four-minute encounter, which is
perhaps the longest male nude scene ever in a hollywood mainstream movie.
working from steve knight's ("dirty pretty things") maudlin script,
cronenberg ("a history of violence") and cinematographer peter suschitzky
ratchet the tension by adding shadowy, sinister undertones, amplified by howard
shore's melodramatic score. on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "eastern
promises" is a grimly gory, ultimately surprising 7. and it certainly makes you
stop thinking about viggo mortensen as "lord of the rings'" king aragorn of
middle earth.
susan granger's review of "the assassination of jesse
james by the coward robert ford" (warner bros.)
when a film's running time is 2 hours and 40 minutes, it's often because the
writer is also directing - so there's no one to tell him to cut out 40 minutes,
or else!
back in the 1870s, jesse james (brad pitt) was the country's most notorious
outlaw. celebrated in dime novels, his exploits were legendary. as years pass,
most of the original gang members die and jesse's brother (sam shepard)
retires. hanging on the coattails of his older brother charley (sam rockwell)
and longing for acceptance is fawning, hero-worshipping 19 year-old robert ford
(slyly played by casey affleck, ben's real-life younger brother). history
records ford as "the coward" who shot 34 year-old jesse in the back, but the
plot delves into the psyches of both gunslingers and what may - or may not -
have precipitated that infamous murder.
jesse james is said to have been charismatic and complex, but you'd never
know it from brad pitt's stolid, stoic performance, most remarkable for its
pensive stillness - a trait which served gary cooper well in many westerns.
based on ron hansen's novel, it's self-indulgently adapted and languidly,
pretentiously directed by andrew dominik, whose previous experience includes tv
commercials, music videos and "chopper" about the notorious australian criminal
chopper read. perhaps it's also not the best judgment to have the star (brad
pitt) also serve as producer.
since it's so tedious to watch, the cameo by washington pundit james
carville as the governor of missouri is a welcome diversion. on the granger
movie gauge of 1 to 10, "the assassination of jesse james by the coward robert
ford" is a turgid 4, making one wonder why it takes such a long, long time to
kill jesse james.
susan granger's review of "across the universe" (sony
pictures entertainment)
innovative theatrical director julie taymor ("the lion king") turns more
than 30 beatles songs into a lavishly phantasmagorical audio/visual experience.
it begins on a liverpool beach, where a young man, jude (jim sturgess) sits
on the sand singing, "is there anybody going to listen to my story - all about
the girl who came to stay? she's the kind of girl you want so much it makes you
sorry; still you don't regret a single day."
the girl is lucy (evan rachel wood), just one of the invented characters,
along with her older brother, max (joe anderson), who gets drafted. somehow
they're sharing a bohemian pad in greenwich village - with rockers jojo (martin
luther mccoy) and joplinesque sadie (dana fuchs) and a lesbian cheerleader from
ohio, prudence (t.v. carpio), who croons "i wanna hold your hand" against a
football ballet.
back in 1998, the bee gees "sgt. pepper's lonely hearts club band" tried -
and failed - to re-create the '60s and beatlemania, so credit 54 year-old julie
taymor ("frida," "titus") for courage, collaborating with composer/arranger
elliot goldenthal, choreographer daniel ezralow, along with screenwriters dick
clement and ian la frenais.
"let it be" transforms into a gospel hymn set in the detroit riots, while
"strawberry fields forever" is vietnam-themed. there's bono as a beatnik poet
musing "i am the walrus" and salma hayek as five sexy, sinister nurses who
administer morphine to max in a va hospital to the strains of "happiness is a
warm gun", plus cameos by joe cocker and eddie izzard. not surprisingly, the
stylized cinematography ranges from realistic to surreal. on the granger movie
gauge of 1 to 10, "across the universe" is a unique, if incoherent 7, a
fantastic, counterculture voyage to nowhere. all you need is love, man.
susan granger's review of "halloween" (dimension films)
ron zombie's "re-imagining" of john carpenter's "halloween" (1978) has made
a killing at the box-office so it's impossible to ignore.
the story delves deeper into what turned young michael myers into a
psychopathic killer. and - guess what? - it's his dysfunctional family.
there's his stripper mother (sheri moon zombie), abusive stepfather (william
forsythe), trampy older sister (hanna hall) and baby sister - most of whom 10
year-old michael (daeg faerch) dispatches in a variety of nasty ways, sparing
only mom and the baby. michael is sent to a maximum-security sanitarium under
the watchful eye of dr. sam loomis, a child psychologist (matthew mcdowell). but
rehabilitation doesn't happen; michael won't talk and has a mask fetish,
creating leatherface out of papier-mache. so it's no surprise that, 16 years
later, when he's being moved to another facility on halloween, now grown-up
michael (former pro wrestler tyler mane) escapes, leaving hacked-up corpses in
his wake.
back in haddonfield, he discovers that baby sis, laurie (scout
taylor-compton, ineptly replacing jamie lee curtis), has been adopted, so he
goes on another killing spree, eliminating her best friends - both boys and
girls - much to consternation of the sheriff (brad dourif) and dr. loomis. this
mayhem is accentuated by tyler bates' generically creepy score. curiously,
there's no visual allusion to the halloween celebration - no carved pumpkins, no
trick 'n' treaters.
it's said rock star-turned-filmmaker rob zombie ("house of 1000 corpses,"
"the devil's rejects") spent only about $15 million, but bob weinstein,
co-founder of the weinstein co., doubts that there will be another sequel: "i
never say never, never.but it would have to be something very different." on the
granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "halloween" slashes its way to a violent 3,
making mincemeat of far better films at the multiplex.
susan granger's review of "the brave one" (warner bros.)
victim to vigilante: that's the emotional journey jodie foster takes in this
action drama that switches gender with charles bronson's "death wish."
erica bain (foster) is the manhattan-enthusing host of an fm-radio show,
"street walk," sharing her sentiments and recorded sounds from around the big
apple. one night, as she and her fiancé david ("lost's" naveen andrews) walk
their dog along a deserted path in central park, they're brutally mugged. david
dies - and erica is left so emotionally devastated that she buys a 9mm handgun,
ostensibly for protection in the city that she loves yet now fears.
but when she witnesses a subway attack, her pent-up rage erupts and she
impulsively shoots the punks responsible. empowered, she then wipes out a
shooter in a convenience-store, a high-profile crook and a junkie who abducted a
prostitute. in the meantime, she's befriended by an nypd detective (terrence
howard) grappling with his own moral conflict as they hunt down david's killers.
written by roderick taylor, bruce a. taylor and cynthia mort and smartly
directed by neil jordan ("the crying game," "breakfast on pluto"), despite some
inherent implausibility, it's a multi-layered psychological revenge thriller
about the survivor of a violent crime who is determined to regain control of her
own life, even if that means prowling the streets at night, deliberately setting
herself up as bait.
admittedly and unabashedly subversive, it's bound to incite controversy,
along with accolades for jodie foster's astonishing performance, one of the best
of her career. and terrence howard delivers on the promise he displayed in
"hustle & flow" and "crash." on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "the brave
one" is an almost tortuously high-tension, exciting 8. "someone is playing god
out there - in the name of justice."
susan granger's review of "the hunting party" (the
weinstein company)
in this a political thriller about reckless tv journalists-turned-bounty
hunters, the first words on the screen are: "only the most ridiculous parts of
this story are true."
when disgraced veteran journalist simon hunt (richard gere) discovers that
his trusty camera operator, duck (terrence howard), is back in sarajevo - a
decade after the war - holding a cushy job working with the network anchorman
(james brolin), he tracks duck down and presents a bizarre proposal: an
'exclusive' with the elusive (and fictional) fox (ljubomir kerekes), a balkan
war criminal who killed thousands of bosnian muslims and tops the world's 'most
wanted' list.
never mind that the cia, nato, the un and the hague are hunting for him -
and there's a $5 million bounty on his head. to complicate matters, a network
exec's eager son, benjamin (jesse eisenberg), a harvard grad, insists on
accompanying them. thus begins a horrific road trip.
based on a true story by scott anderson that was published in esquire
magazine back in 2005, this dark comedy, cleverly adapted and directed by
richard shepherd ("the matador"), exudes irony and irreverence - if not
plausibility.
it's obvious that richard gere ("the hoax") relishes the role of the
hard-drinking simon - whose on-air meltdown cost him his career - and his
perilous, high-stakes gamble has a revenge motive, since simon's pregnant
bosnian girl-friend was killed by the serbs under the fox's orders. as his
reluctant accomplice, terrence howard is as convincing then he was opposite
jodie foster in "the brave one," while jesse eisenberg ("the squid and the
whale") does the best he can with what is, essentially, an underwritten role.
on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "the hunting party" is a cynical 7,
highlighting the absurdity of war.
susan granger's review of "mr. woodcock" (new line cinema)
the title of the picture is about as funny as this gets. there's not much
class here.
billy bob thornton has played nasty roles before in "bad news bears,"
"school for scoundrels" and "bad santa," so it's not much of a stretch for him
to tackle mr. woodcock, an abusive physical-education teacher who falls in love
with a woman whose son he gleefully tormented all through middle-school.
it all begins as john farley (seann william scott of "american pie") returns
to his nebraska hometown on a promotional tour for his best-selling self-help
book, "letting go: getting past your past." to his horror, he discovers that his
widowed mother beverly (susan sarandon) is sexually involved with the tyrannical
jock who humiliated him as a kid. memories of the suffering he endured during
his chubby, geeky adolescence overwhelm reason as farley sets out to sabotage
their wedding plans.
written by michael carnes and josh gilbert and originally scheduled for
release last year, "mr. woodcock" was temporarily shelved and several of
director craig gillespie's original scenes were re-shot by producer david dobkin,
who directed "wedding crashers."
to his credit, billy bob thornton resists the temptation to ham-it-up,
delivering vulgar contemptuousness with a stone-face, leaving the hysteria to
seann william scott. susan sarandon is given little to do but react. in
supporting roles, amy poehler nails farley's nasty publicist, ethan supplee
scores as farley's old friend and (uncredited) bill macy demonstrates the
genetic derivation of woodcock's obnoxiousness.
on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "mr. woodcock" is a flabby, unfocused
5. the only redeeming aspect of this ridiculous comedy is that it skewers those
sweat-suited phys-ed sadists we all remember from gym class, but is that
satisfaction really worth the price of admission?
susan granger’s review of “the kingdom” (universal
pictures)
if you like compelling, politically provocative, action-packed entertainment,
don’t miss peter berg’s “the kingdom” – with a timely plot plucked from current
events.
the title sequence deftly summarizes america’s involvement with saudi arabia,
delineating how oil has not only made us dependent on the friendship of the
royal family but has also incited the wrath of wahabi militants within the
kingdom.
when there’s a massive suicide bomber attack on an american compound, aimed at
oil company workers and their families, two saudi officers are also shot. while
the fbi usually investigates when americans are murdered on foreign soil, the
attorney general (danny huston) refuses to authorize any official action,
preferring to leave it to the diplomats. but special agent ronald fleury (jamie
foxx) prevails – one of his colleagues was killed – and assembles a top-notch
team (jennifer garner, chris cooper and jason bateman). given only five days,
they must circumvent an abrasive american diplomat (jeremy piven), sort through
the debris and find the culprit, accompanied by saudi colonel al ghazi (ashraf
barhom) and police sergeant haytham (ali suliman).
.loosely based on the 1996 bombing of khobar towers in saudi arabia, written by
matthew michael carnahan, and directed by peter berg, the procedural - yet
gung-ho - screenplay attempts to delineate the culture clash. while foxx is
revenge-driven, he’s also a devoted father; garner’s a lollipop-loving
combatant, etc. – and this complexity extends to the arab characters too. but,
rather than exuding gritty authenticity, mauro fiore’s jerky, handheld
camerawork is confusing – and annoying.
on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, “the kingdom” is an exciting 8. but
there’s an inherent problem: the concept that only americans can solve the
world’s problems could be what got us into our on-going conflict in the first
place.
susan granger's review of "shoot 'em up" (new line cinema)
there's something to be said for truth in advertising. never have so many
bullets been fired by so many men - for the sheer fun of it.
as enigmatic mr. smith (clive owen) sits on a bench, waiting for a bus and
munching a big, crispy carrot, a pregnant woman, obviously in labor, runs past
him, chased by a gunman with a car full of black-clad cohorts. dashing to her
defense, he polishes off her pursuers while delivering the baby, blasting the
umbilical cord with a gunshot. carrying the woman's corpse - and the newborn -
he escapes. while intending to find the infant a proper home, he's perpetually
followed by a really, really nasty bad guy (paul giamatti) - and an army of
thugs. along the way, glowering mr. smith recruits a lactating prostitute
(beautiful monica belluci) whose kinky specialty is wet-nursing clients. as for
a semi-coherent plot, it seems the powerful gun lobby is involved in a shadowy
scheme to harvest bone marrow for an influential u.s. senator running for
president.
satirically written and directed by michael davis ("eight days a week"),
it's outrageously violent and intentionally trashy - at warp speed. with tongue
firmly planted in cheek and a deadpan demeanor, clive owens ("children of men")
embodies "the angriest man in the world." as the heinous villain/henpecked
husband, paul giamatti ("the nanny diaries") is reprehensible. "do you know why
a gun is better than a wife?" he asks one of his thugs. "you can put a silencer
on a gun."
for some, this perversity may be entertaining; for others (like me), it's
just inane. on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "shoot 'em up" is a silly,
smarmy, shell-shocked 6, offering frenetic, absurdist, over-the-top violence -
like a live-action cartoon.
susan granger's review of "balls of fury" (rogue)
fortunately, stupidity is not a sin - or this misguided comedy would be
convicted.
a former child prodigy who has never forgotten his disgraceful defeat at age
12 and a deadly debacle at the 1988 olympics in seoul, randy daytona (dan fogler,
tony-winner of broadway's "the 25th annual putnam county spelling bee") is
recruited by an fbi agent (george lopez) ostensibly to compete in an illegal,
underground table-tennis tournament but actually to help capture the notorious
international arms dealer, master feng (christopher walken), the triad kingpin
who is responsible for the death of randy's father.
slovenly, chubby and 'way out of competitive shape, randy, wielding an '88
"def leppard rules" paddle, goes into training with an elderly, blind
grandmaster (james hong of "big trouble in little china"), who happens to have a
gorgeously nimble niece, maggie (hong kong superstar maggie q of "mission
impossible iii"), who plays ping-pong like a demon. as the match "somewhere in
central america" proceeds, losers are fiendishly dispatched with poison darts
and a sex slave (diedrich bader) rues not reading the fine print in his
contract.
obviously devoted to crude slapstick, writer/director robert ben garant
("reno 911"), along with writing collaborator thomas lennon (who also plays a
small part), pile on the stale, rancid ham. indiscriminate yet ever-game
christopher walken ("hairspray") seems to relish his wardrobe (a garish variety
of satin robes - courtesy of costumer mary ann bozek - along with a mile-high
hairdo) and delivering inane lines like, "okey-dokey, artichokey." and dan
fogler comes across as a curiously unappealing blend of jack black and seth
rogen. on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "balls of fury" is a cheesy, chop-socky,
sophomoric 3. it's like a "saturday night live" skit stretched out to a
mind-numbing 90 minutes.
susan granger's review of "death sentence" (20th century
fox)
september must be 'payback' month. in this overwrought revenge thriller, a
mild-mannered, hard-working insurance adjuster, nick hume (kevin bacon) with a
loving wife (kelly preston) and two sons, brendan (stuart lafferty) and lucas
(jordan garrett), seeks vengeance for a heartbreaking crime.
it all begins as nick and teenage brendan make a late-night stop after a
hockey game at a gas station/mini-market, where some tattooed thugs blast the
store clerk with a shotgun and - in a gang initiation ritual - one punk, joe
(matthew o'leary), attacks and kills brendan with a machete.
although joe is arrested, the prosecutor offers a plea deal of only three to
five years in prison. furious that joe won't do hard time, nick refuses to
testify and takes justice into his own hands, stalking joe and stabbing him to
death. problem is: joe's older brother, the gang leader billy (garrett hedlund)
declares that nick has just "bought.a death sentence" for his all-too-vulnerable
family.
in supporting roles, aisha taylor is the lone 'voice-of-conscience'
detective, while john goodman chews the scenery as a weapons dealer with
paternal gangland ties.
screenwriter ian mackenzie jeffers loosely adapts brian garfield's sequel to
"death wish" which is directed by torture-master james wan (the "saw" trio).
despite one impressively photographed chase sequence atop a parking garage -
credit the shaky cinematography of john r. leonetti - it's exploitive and
overwrought with extreme violence, bound to turn off all but the most
excessively blood-thirsty movie-goers. and its conclusion is an unabashed
rip-off of travis bickle's shaved head and blown-off fingers in "taxi driver,"
punctuated by the hardcore, heavy-handed soundtrack and score. on the granger
movie gauge of 1 to 10, "death sentence" is a gritty, dismal 1 - as in one of
the worst movies of the year.
susan granger's review of "the nanny diaries" (mgm/the
weinstein company)
this film adaptation of the popular, satirical chick-lit novel by emma
mclaughlin and nicola krause misses so many chances to be funny.
the concept is that a working-class girl is hired to take care of a spoiled
upper east side tot. annie braddock (scarlett johansson) is a bright college
grad from a new jersey suburb. although her mom (donna murphy), a hard-working
nurse, tries to steer her into finance, annie's more into anthropology,
examining mothers from various cultures, depicted in dioramas at the museum of
natural history.
annie's hired by a high-strung, complaining control-freak, mrs. x (laura
linney), who demands that her precocious five year-old, grayer (nicholas reese
art) be read to from the wall street journal and, on his birthday, be amused by
two french mimes. her crude, philandering husband (paul giamatti) prefers a
lower class type of entertainment, precipitating predictable marital squabbles.
if annie's not generic enough, her best friend's (alicia keys) downright
boring. and annie's lying to her mother about working as a wall street business
trainee, rather than baby-sitting a brat, is a transgression with no
consequences.
part of the appeal of the snarky novel was that its authors, presumably, had
nannied for park avenue society matrons and snobbish celebrities,
voyeuristically gobbling up gossip along the way. the shallow, formulaic script,
written and directed by robert pulcini and shari springer burton ("american
splendor" collaborators), has none of that pretense.
bless her, laura linney does a valiant job within the trivial caricature,
but scarlett johansson's appeal only seems to surface only for woody allen.
here, she's sullen, soft and sultry, attributes that undermine her role. on the
granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "the nanny diaries" is a banal, disappointing 3,
making 'perfection' look pretty bleak.
susan granger's review of "3:10 to yuma" (lionsgate)
no one knows how many thousands of westerns have been made, but the first
notable one was "the great train robbery" in 1903. since then, we've watched
westerns for more years than there was a wild west, since they're usually set in
the years between the conclusion of the civil war and the end of the 19th
century.
james mangold's re-make of delmer daves' 1957 anti-hero redemption saga
revolves around the psychological conflict between a crippled, courageous
rancher, dan evans (christian bale), and a notorious killer, ben wade (russell
crowe). after suffering a period of draught and subsequent debt, evans' family
is awakened one night to discover their barn burning and small herd of cattle
rustled, subsequently serving as a stampede diversion for a stagecoach robbery.
that sets up his first encounter with ben wade - but far from his last.
writers michael brandt and derek haas have added to elmore leonard's story
and halsted welles' original script, making it more violent, cynical and brutal
- with the clock-ticking convention of "high noon" and "rio bravo" and an
enigmatic conclusion. james mangold ("walk the line") keeps the tension taut as
evans is grimly determined to deposit wade on the 3:10 train to yuma prison.
russell crowe's sophisticated, multi-dimensional sociopath anchors the
story, while scowling christian bale's seems weighted down with stoic, stubborn,
idealistic virtue. or perhaps it's just his choice to underplay. as wade's
dastardly accomplice, ben foster scores, and peter fonda is memorable as a
corrupt bounty hunter. on the other hand, the 'frontier women' (gretchen mol,
vinessa shaw) are too creamed and coiffed to be even remotely believable. on the
granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "3:10 to yuma" is a gritty, galloping 8, an
authentic western with cynical, contemporary touches.
susan granger's review of "resurrecting the champ" (yari
film group)
film critic-turned-writer/director rod lurie ("the contender," tv's
"commander-in-chief") scores again with this crowd-pleasing sports drama
ambitious erik kernan (josh hartnett) is a struggling rookie sports reporter
at the denver times who labors under the cloud of his late newspaperman father's
stellar reputation, trying - in vain - to please metz (alan alda), his demanding
editor.
one day, erik, literally, stumbles onto an elderly homeless man, nicknamed
champ (samuel l. jackson), who was beaten up by a gang of juvenile delinquents
while rummaging for booze in garbage cans in a downtown alley. the vagrant
refers to himself as boxing legend battling bob satterfield, who was believed to
have passed away long ago. satterfield was once a heavyweight 'contender' in
every sense of the word, ranked #3 in the world and sparring with rocky marciano.
encouraged by the editor (david paymer) of the newspaper's magazine section,
erik is determined to tell champ's story, and the co-dependent relationship that
develops between writer-and-subject takes some wild jabs and makes unexpected
bobs and weaves. meanwhile, in the background, there's erik's estranged
wife/co-worker (kathryn morris) and young son (dakota goyo).
wearing a gray wig of wild dreadlocks, samuel l. jackson is terrific as the
battered-but-unbowed champ. josh hartnett scores and - in supporting roles - so
do teri hatcher and peter coyote.
based on a true los angeles times magazine story by j.r. moehringer and
adapted for the screen by michael bortman and allison burnett, it's not only a
boxing saga but also a contemplation of journalistic ethics - kind of like
"rocky" meets "all the president's men." on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10,
"resurrecting the champ" is an uplifting, redemptive 7. as erik observes: "it's
you that's out there - and there's no place to hide."
susan granger's review of "september dawn" (black diamond
films)
bound to incite a new wave of anti-mormon controversy, "september dawn"
chronicles the horrific real-life mountain meadows massacre, the first known act
of religious terrorism on u.s. soil and one of the darkest moments in mormon
history.
back on september 11, 1857, 120 innocent pioneers - men, women and children
- en route to california were slaughtered in utah by a raiding party that
claimed direct orders from the mormon church hierarchy. only 17 of the youngest
children were spared and later 'adopted' by local mormon families.
when the wagon-train, led by capt. alexander fancher (shaun johnston),
encounters fanatic mormon bishop jacob samuelson (jon voight), just outside
cedar city, there's immediate tension. believing rumors that u.s. troops might
remove territorial governor brigham young (terence stamp), the mormons are
distrustful of "gentiles," which is what they call anyone not of their faith.
while bishop samuelson reluctantly allows capt. fancher's party to camp for two
weeks, he dispatches his oldest son (trent ford) to spy on them and, in doing
so, the young man falls in love with the minister's daughter (tamara hope). with
its "romeo and juliet" theme, tragedy is inevitable as religious fanaticism
overwhelms reason.
determined to be historically accurate, filmmaker christopher cain ("young
guns") drew on a 27-page confession by john d. lee, who was convicted for his
part in the carnage, along with actual transcripts of brigham young's fiery
sermons which instructed, "if any miserable scoundrels come here, cut their
throats."
while the convoluted narrative is, at times, confusing, the cast is
convincing, including a cameo by dean cain (the director's son) as slain mormon
prophet joseph smith. on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "september dawn" is
a cautionary 6. it's a stirring western drama with a timely, pertinent message.
susan granger's review of "rush hour 3" (new line cinema)
in its third incarnation, this once-amusing, east-west, globe-trotting
franchise simply fizzles, particularly in comparison with "the bourne
ultimatum."
when chinese ambassador han (tzi ma) and his now-20-year-old daughter soo
yung (zhang jingchu) are in los angeles, he's shot in an assassination attempt
just as he's about to publicly identify a gangland leader at the world criminal
court. (these two asian characters appeared in the original "rush hour.")
in his capacity as han's bodyguard, inspector lee (jackie chan) pursues the
culprit, only to discover that the hit man is kenji (hiroyuki sanada), a
"brother" with whom he grew up in a chinese orphanage. kenji works with an
international crime syndicate known as the triads, now based in france. teaming
up, once again, with lapd detective carter (chris tucker), who has been demoted
to traffic duty and witnessed lee's chase after kenji, the ever-bickering duo
take off for paris, where most of the action takes place.
experienced "rush hour" screenwriter jeff nathanson and director brett
ratner maintain the odd-couple, buddy-cop concept if not the momentum. the
climactic acrobatic conflict is staged at night on the exposed beams high atop
the eiffel tower.
despite their obvious camaraderie, jackie chan is aging, stunt-wise, and
chris tucker's comedy has gone stale. newcomers on the scene are yves attal as a
virulently anti-american taxi driver, julie depardieu as his parisian wife,
noemie lenoir as the exotic and mysterious genevieve, and max von sydow as
enigmatic reynard, head of the world criminal court. director roman polanski
appears in an uncredited cameo as a sadistic gallic police chief. on the
granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "rush hour 3" is a formulaic 5 - which probably
will not discourage loyal fans from lining up at the box-office.
susan granger's review of "daddy day camp" (sony pictures
entertainment)
this lackluster sequel to "daddy day care" continues the dysfunctional
family concept as charlie hinton (cuba gooding jr.) and his partner phil ryerson
(paul rae) endeavor to launch a day camp, stepping into the hard-to-fill
footprints of eddie murphy and jeff garlin, who starred in the original.
years ago, both men had traumatizing experiences as campers. charlie, in
particular, suffered humiliation at the 1977 summer camp olympiad by a tormentor
named lance warner (lochlyn munro), who now heads camp canola, a rich kids' spa
with materialistic extravagances like four-wheelers, jet skis, etc. - plus
waiters and valets.
so charlie and phil - with the best of intentions - buy uncle morty's (brian
doyle-murphy) dilapidated camp driftwood, located across the lake from cushy
camp canola. the site is a health-department disaster - with a serious methane
problem lurking in the outhouse.
their campers are a predictably motley crew: the bully (tyger rawlings), the
puker (talon ackerman), the cool girl (katie fisher), etc. and, of course,
there's charlie's own eager-to-please son, ben (spencir bridges, real-life son
of "diff'rent strokes" todd bridges), who eventually benefits from a
cross-generational connection involving his father and authoritative
grandfather, marine corps col. buck hinton (richard gant), who teaches everyone
about teamwork and perseverance.
written by geoff rodkey ("daddy day care"), j. david stern and david n.
weiss, and directed by former child star fred savage ("wonder years"), its plot
is uncomfortably reminiscent of the "cheaper by the dozen" sequel and its humor
derives from the campers' toilet and digestive tract and malfunctions, like
vomiting, farting, bed-wetting, etc. it's potty humor - from beginning to end.
on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "daddy day camp" is a truly tedious 2
except, perhaps, for the matinee moppets with indulgent parents.
susan granger's review of "becoming jane" (miramax films)
there's a strange déjà vu quality about this fictionalized biography of jane
austen in that, if you're familiar with "pride and prejudice," you've seen the
same story - better done - before.
set in late 18th century england, it's all about marrying off a rebellious
young woman in an era of obedience and docility. "that girl needs a husband,"
declares her mother (julie walters) at the outset. but her father, rev. austen
(james cromwell), realizes that finding a 'suitable' (i.e.: wealthy) one won't
be easy. after all, jane's already rejected mr. wisley (laurence fox), the
nephew of lady gresham (maggie smith).
"his fortune will not buy me," jane declares stubbornly - to which her
mother observes, "affection is desirable but money is absolutely indispensable!"
instead, jane's smitten by a charming but penniless irish lawyer-in-training
tom lefroy (james mcavoy), whose penchant for bare-knuckle boxing appalls his
uncle and benefactor (ian richardson).
adapted as a vapid melodrama - without neither proper chronology nor a shred
of originality or austen wit - by sarah williams and kevin hood from jon
spence's biography, distractingly dimly photographed in ireland by eigil bryld
and directed at a plodding, pedestrian pace by julian jarrold ("kinky boots"),
it's very, very literary - and quite tedious. but that's not the fault of anne
hathaway ("the princess diaries," "the devil wears prada"), who acquits herself
admirably with veteran thespians maggie smith, julie walters, james cromwell and
ian richardson - in his last screen role.
judging by this and renee zellweger's lackluster "miss potter," about writer
beatrix potter, the lives of these lady writers in regency society fare far
better on paper. on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "becoming jane" is a
bland 5. it's a stilted, stuffy costume drama masquerading as a chick flick.
susan granger's review of "death at a funeral" (mgm
release)
it's a most unusual funeral when the coffin is delivered with the wrong body
inside of it - and that's just the beginning of this farce set in a small,
bucolic town in england.
soft-spoken, dutiful daniel (matthew macfadyen), the underappreciated son,
is handling all the arrangements for the funeral of his father. his brother
robert (rupert graves), a successful novelist, flies in from new york and
realizes that a terrible mistake has been made. meanwhile, daniel's wife jane (keeley
hawes) is determined that robert take his newly widowed mother (jane asher) back
to america, so that she can move with daniel into their new london flat.
cousin martha (daisy donovan) has brought along her flustered fiancé simon
(alan tudyk) - who accidentally swallowed an lsd tablet instead of valium, the
fault of her aspiring pharmacist brother, troy (kris marshall) - to introduce to
her snobbish father (peter egan). martha's ex, justin (ewen bremmer), is there,
along with a hypochondriac howard (andy nyman) and wheelchair-bound uncle alfie
(peter vaughn).
there's the appearance of a mysterious mourner (peter dinklage) who arrives
with a tawdry revelation about the deceased, complete with compromising photos -
to the impatience of the vicar (thomas wheatley).
written by dean craig ("caffeine") and directed by frank oz ("bowfinger,"
"dirty rotten scoundrels,"), who was born in great britain before joining jim
henson and becoming a famous muppeteer in america. it's an ensemble comedy
that's stronger in exaggerated situational humor than its eccentric yet
one-dimensional characterizations. best remembered as dashing mr. darcy opposite
keira knightly in "pride and prejudice," matthew macfadyen transforms into
diligently dowdy here. on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "death at a
funeral" is a silly, screwball 7 - for those who enjoy droll british humor.
susan granger's review of "delirious" (peace arch films)
aimed at a hip, sophisticated audience, this satiric fable from independent
filmmaker tom dicillo ("living in oblivion," "the real blonde") reveals the
soft, subversive underbelly of contemporary celebrity and glitzy fame. dicillo
wrote the leading role of the frustrated, insecure, self-absorbed paparazzo
specifically for actor steve buscemi.
living in oblivious squalor in new york, garrulous les galatine (buscemi)
befriends toby (michael pitt), a hunky, good-natured aspiring actor whom he
teaches the 'stakeout' ropes ("im not paparazzi! i'm a licensed professional!")
and allows to crash in his shabby, lower east side pad which doubles as
office/living space.
at a soap stars against std convention, toby charms a sexy casting director
(gina gershon) and launches an unlikely romance with a talentless teen sexpot
named k'harma (alison lohman), who was ditched by her british boyfriend jace
(richard short). surrounded by a couple of fawning assistants, k'harma is a
wannabe singer who is famous for being famous - like paris/nichole/lindsay
crossed with britney - even inveigling elvis costello to show up as one of her
trendy party guests. while les feeds at the freebie buffet trough, stashes away
gift bags and tries - in vain - to connect with his parents (doris belack, tom
aldredge) in new jersey, toby gets his big break photographing a reality show
featuring a homeless serial killer.
dicillo gleefully, yet surprisingly sympathetically, skewers the sycophantic
entertainment press - from battling rival publicists to eccentric
bottom-feeders. while young michael pitt ("dawson's creek") is disarming, steve
buscemi delivers a career-defining performance - and they share the movie's most
memorable moments. on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "delirious" is a
hilariously shallow, sleazy 7. it's one of those savvy, low-budget
crowd-pleasers that arrive in local theaters only via film festivals like san
sebastian and sundance.
susan granger's review of "if i didn't care" (artistic
license films)
homicide in the hamptons. it happens - all too frequently, it seems, in this
low-budget noir/thriller that begins with a murder. who's the victim? who are
the perpetrators?
the intriguing drama revolves around a philandering, duplicitous
househusband, davis meyers (bill sage), whose career-propelled wife (noelle
beck) commutes via the ubiquitous hampton jitney to manhattan, leaving him to
hawk wishful real estate 'deals' on his cellphone and walk the beach with their
basset hound, schmoozing with the local police investigator linus (roy scheider,
channeling "columbo") who's also into walking his dog. while dawdling during the
off-season at a local watering hole with an ambitious, available blonde, hadley
(susie misner), davis and the dame cook up a plan to murder his wealthy wife - a
sleazy scheme that goes tragically awry.
filmmaking brothers benjamin and orson cummings capture not only the
picturesque setting of the exclusive long island resort community but also the
paranoia of privileged people with far too much free time coupled with an acute
awareness of the 'easy money' that's slipping through their hands. seizing the
opportunity, they've utilized familiar hamptons landmarks (barrister's, shippy's,
suki zuki) and enlisted the considerable talents local residents - roy scheider,
noelle beck and ronald guttman - who artfully propel the predictably 'noir' plot
to its all-too-abrupt conclusion. on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "if i
didn't care" is an unsettling, suspenseful 6.
as a side note, the song "if i didn't care," which made the inkspots
internationally famous, was the first solo music-and-lyrics effort of now-95
year-old jack lawrence, a resident of west redding, connecticut; his hit parade
includes "tenderly," "sleepy lagoon," "linda," "beyond the sea," "all or nothing
at all" and "what will i tell my heart?"
susan granger's review of "stardust" (paramount pictures)
usually, this kind of sword 'n' sorcery fairy tale begins, "once upon a
time," but this - being a pg-13 romantic fantasy - starts with a young man
falling in love and its unexpected, unpredictable ramifications.
in the tiny british village of wall, young tristan (charlie cox) courts
feckless victoria (sienna miller), hoping to win her heart by retrieving a
fallen star. his quest takes him into stormhold, a fantastical parallel
universe. it seems that when the star fell to earth, it transformed into a
radiant young woman, yvaine (claire danes) - and tristan is not the only one
after her. there's the evil witch, lamia (michelle pfeiffer), who needs to
devour the heart of the star for eternal youth and beauty, and stormhold's rival
princes (jason flemyng, rupert everett, among others) who covet the gemstone in
the necklace worn by the star to claim the throne.
as tristan strives to protect the vulnerable star and bring her back as a
birthday gift for victoria, he encounters, among others, the fearsome airborne
pirate, captain shakespeare (robert deniro), and an unscrupulous mechant known
as ferdy the fence (ricky gervais).
written by novelist jane goldman with director matthew vaughn ("layer
cake"), it's a supernatural coming-of-age saga based on the visionary graphic
novel by neil gaiman and charles vess. in tone, it's quite reminiscent of "the
princess bride." in addition to curses, enchantments, runes, talismans, ghosts,
witches and babylon candles, there's a unicorn and the screen's funniest
buccaneer-in-drag. but the heavy-handed humor is sometimes problematic.
filmed in rustic iceland and scotland's isle of skye, it's visually
sumptuous, combining realism with fantasy. on the granger movie gauge of 1 to
10, "stardust" is an enchanting 8. it's this summer's playful 'date movie,'
culminating in a glowing "happily ever after."
susan granger's review of "bratz" (lionsgate films)
if barbie had ever made the transition to the big screen, i'd like to think
she'd have done it with more class than this live-action feature based on the
popular fashion floozies.
as the 'tweener' story goes, yasmin (nathalia ramos), jade (janel parrish),
sasha (logan browning) and cloe (skyler shaye) are "bff" - best friends forever.
inseparable, they've always supported each other but now they're faced with the
new social scene at carry nation high. (the school name must be some kind of an
inside joke because the real carrie nation (1846-1911), a staunch member of the
temperance movement, battling against alcohol in pre-prohibition days, was a
large woman - nearly six feet tall and weighing 175 pounds - definitely not
bratz chic.)
anyway, the quartet is appalled by the peer pressure exerted by the
insidious clique culture, as enforced by meredith baxter dimly (chelsea staub),
whose father is the uptight principal (jon voight). according to the press
notes, they learn "how true empowerment means standing up for your friends,
being true to oneself and living out one's dreams and aspirations." hah!
in the less-than-capable hands of screenwriters susan estelle jansen ("the
lizzie mcguire movie"), adam de la pena and david eilenberg and director sean
mcnamara, it's really an incoherent paean to mall materialism, cloaked in ethnic
diversity, lifting liberally from "mean girls," "election," "clueless" and
"raise your voice" - although the inclusion of a mariachi band at the breakfast
table, along with laine kazan, is an original touch.
yet the message is definitely mixed - like, while it's great to be athletic,
it's even better in stiletto heels. on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "bratz"
is an "awesomely" tacky 2. and since when did high school freshmen start to look
like college seniors?
susan granger's review of "hot rod" (paramount pictures)
there have been many memorable on-screen daredevils - like burt reynolds in
"hooper" (1978), directed by former stuntman hal needham, and peter o'toole as a
demented filmmaker in "the stunt man" (1980) - but andy samberg isn't one of
them.
totally clueless, self-proclaimed 'stuntman' rod kimble (samberg) believes
he's the son of evel knievel's test-rider - and he's committed to fulfilling his
late father's legacy. problem is: he's inept. a slacker, he lives at home with
long-suffering mom marie (sissy spacek) and abusive stepfather frank (ian
mcshane).
rod's loyal team consists of dave (bill hader), the moped mechanic; rico
(danny mcbride), the ramp builder; and half-brother kevin (jorma taccone), the
videographer; and neighbor denise (isla fisher), rod's love interest. when
ornery frank needs $50,000 for heart transplant surgery, they band together to
help rod stage a spectacular, death-defying jump over a fleet of 15 buses, one
more than evel knievel ever attempted.
working from a sketchy script by pam brady and directed by akiva schaffer,
andy samberg, a veteran of "saturday night live" digital shorts, depends far too
much on the unreliable factors of slapstick, stupidity and a soundtrack of cuts
from the heavy-metal band europe. with his cool demeanor and engaging grin,
samberg deserves more support; despite this debacle, he has a promising future.
as for the highly-touted leap, forget it. cinematographer andrew dunn and
editor malcolm campbell utilize only close-ups and reaction shots. the best
'stunts' are the 'falling-down-a-mountain' training sequence and climactic fight
between rod and frank.
on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "hot rod" is a silly, sputtering 2, a
goofball comedy gone gooey. look for the funniest sequence - the "cool beans"
rap - on youtube since the "stuntman forever" short, an outtakes
movie-within-a-movie, is already online.
susan granger's review of "i know who killed me"
(sony/tri-star pictures)
it's impossible to separate gossip from film criticism when a talented young
star like lindsay lohan sabotages her promising career not only with highly
publicized substance abuse but also by choosing to make a morbid, unmitigated
on-screen disaster like this.
aubrey fleming (lohan) is an aspiring writer and gifted pianist who
inexplicably vanishes on a date with her boyfriend, the new salem quarterback,
jerrod pointer (brian geragthy), and a couple of girlfriends, leaving her
worried parents (julia ormond, neal mcdonough) thoroughly bewildered.
weeks later, she turns up, blood-soaked, on the side of a country road,
minus a hand and parts of a leg after escaping from captivity by a sadistic
madman. her amputations seem to match others maimed by a certain serial killer
who has been targeted by the area police and fbi agents. but she can't remember
anything and insists she's dakota moss, a tough-talking, pole-dancing stripper -
or could she be aubrey's long-lost twin sister since they share the same dna?
while indie director chris silverton ("the lost") demonstrates a modicum of
visual style, despite several grotesquely ludicrous and violent torture
sequences, his effort and john r. leonetti's hi-def cinematography are totally
torpedoed by newbie scripter jeffrey hammond's exploitive, incomprehensible plot
and joel mcneely's deafening score.
but what's most tragic is the willful self-destruction of lindsay lohan, the
once-promising disney moppet from "the parent trap," who, more recently,
delivered memorable coming-of-age performances in "a prairie home companion" and
"bobby." in one scene, she actually looks so haggard that it's difficult to
believe she just turned 21 years old. on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "i
know who killed me" is barely a trashy, incompetent 1 - as in one of the worst
movies of the year.
susan granger's review of "the bourne ultimatum"
(universal pictures)
based on the third of the spy novel series by the late robert ludlum, this
concludes the action-adventure trilogy of "the bourne identity" (2002) and "the
bourne supremacy" (2004).
after his cover is blown by a london newspaper reporter (paddy considine),
rogue cia agent jason bourne (matt damon) once again becomes the prime target of
the top-secret government agency that trained him as an assassin. with nothing
left to lose, the amnesiac bourne relentlessly seeks those responsible for
turning him into a brutal killing machine, flying to and from london, madrid,
tangier, paris, moscow and, finally, to new york city. all on a fake passport,
carrying no luggage, evading detection and never suffering those annoying
airport flight delays. amazing!
cia director, ezra kramer (scott glenn), and chief of the black-ops program
known as blackbriar, noah vosen (david strathairn), are determined to rid
themselves of this $30-million malfunctioning threat named bourne - 'to take him
out' this time - to the chagrin of cia internal investigator pamela landy (joan
allen). and bourne has another ally: disillusioned cia operative nicky parsons
(julia stiles), who joins him on the run.
working from the screenplay by tony gilroy, scott z. burns and george nolfi,
british director paul greengrass ("the bourne supremacy," "united 93") has
obviously mastered the intricate plot twists, action choreography and terrific
chase sequences - one through manhattan - which characterize these 'they can't
stop me!' capers.
cinematographer oliver wood creates spectacular shots, edited by christopher
rouse to composer john powell's pulsating score. is it formulaic? yes - and the
formula works. on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "the bourne ultimatum" is
an escapist 8, perhaps the strongest in the espionage series. but is it really
the end? don't bet on it.
susan granger's review of "the simpson movie" (20th
century-fox)
so the lights go down and homer simpson says, "i can't believe we're paying
to see something we could see at home on tv for free. everyone in this theater
is a big sucker!"
what's it all about? well, let's see.despite grandpa's ominous warning,
homer falls in love with a pig, dares son bart to skateboard naked through town,
ignores environmental pleas from daughter lisa and wife marge's disapproval and
becomes a prime polluter, potentially dooming his hometown of springfield,
located somewhere near ohio, nevada, kentucky and maine. meanwhile, lisa falls
in love with an irish boy named colin and baby maggie says her first word. (nah,
i'm not going to tell you what it is.) and somewhere towards the end, homer has
an epiphany (look it up) with an inuit in alaska.
after 18 television seasons and 400 episodes, america's most irreverent
dysfunctional family has finally made it to the big screen - and, yes, it's
worth the price of admission.
amusement comes in many forms, beginning with ralph wiggum standing on the
20th century fox logo singing along with the company fanfare and continuing
through arnold schwarzenegger as president of the united states: "i'm here to
lead, not to read."
director david silverman and his gang of writers make the most of the vocal
talent - dan castellaneta, julie kavner, nancy cartwright and yeardley smith, as
the family and various neighbors, along with characters created by hank azaria,
henry shearer, pamela hayden, tress macneille, plus cameos by albert brooks and
tom hanks. while it drags a bit in spots, they're few and far-between. mostly,
it's really funny. on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "the simpsons" is a
cleverly conceived, subversive 9, certainly the best simpsons movie - so far.
susan granger's review of "arctic tale" (paramount
classics/national geographic)
venturing into "march of the penguins" territory - on the opposite tip of
the globe - this epic nature documentary follows the parallel stories of a polar
bear cub, nanu, and walrus pup, seela, from birth through adolescence to
maturity and parenthood in the frozen arctic wilderness.
from the moment curious nanu crawls out of her sheltering snow cave, she's
surrounded by a vast kingdom of astonishing cold, an unforgiving landscape where
she and her brother must learn - from their mother - the skills necessary to
survive.
after seela's birth in the blue watery depths, her greatest challenge is
learning to use her flippers to haul herself up on an ice floe so she won't die.
she's attended not only by her mother but also by another female, a vigilant
"auntie," who protectively flank her.
they're joined by tiny white foxes, skittish ring seals, thick-billed murres
that fly not only through the sky but also the ocean, watchful gulls and
mysterious narwhals, the "unicorns" of the north pole. for these arctic
creatures, dangers abound, particularly climate change. only the strongest will
survive now that their crystalline habitat is rapidly melting.
for the past 15 years, the filmmaking husband-and-wife team adam ravetch and
sarah robertson have painstakingly photographed 800 hours of footage, expertly
edited by beth spiegel to serve a profoundly disturbing environmental warning
tale by linda wolverton, moses richards and kristin gore (filially connected to
"an inconvenient truth") and narrated by queen latifah, whose cloying
anthropomorphizing oozes treacle. discordant notes also emanate from the often
distracting sound track, slipping into sister sledge's "we are family" as a
walrus herd experiences communal indigestion.
on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "arctic tale" is an astonishing,
adventurous 8, notably for its spectacular photography.
susan granger's review of "goya's ghosts" (samuel goldwyn)
in late18th century spain, a roman catholic cleric, brother lorenzo (javier
bardem), serves as an agent of the inquisitor general (michael lonsdale). their
target is the painter francisco goya (stellan skarsgard), who is working on a
portrait of ines (natalie portman), the beautiful daughter of a wealthy
merchant. because ines refuses to eat pork, they suspect that there's jewish
blood in her ancestry. as a result, she is tortured and imprisoned in the
church's dungeon, where lorenzo rapes her - after which, over dinner, he assures
her father, tomas bilbatua (jose luis gomez), that if ines truly loved god, she
would never sign a false confession.
fifteen years later, the invading french army vanquishes the inquisition.
lorenzo has become napoleon's prosecutor. it's sheer melodrama as the now-insane
ines tells him that she bore him a daughter whom lorenzo discovers has become a
prostitute (portman - in a dual role).
veteran czech-born director milos forman ("valmont," "amadeus," "one flew
over the cuckoo's nest") has assembled an international cast, resulting in a
polyglot of incomprehensible accents. to cast very swedish stellan skarsgard as
very spanish goya was a serious error. and randy quaid turns up as the
violin-playing, dimwitted king carlos iv with queen maria luisa (blanca
portillo) painted by goya.
collaborating on the soap opera-like political satire with jean-claude
carriere doesn't help. their sketchy script is awkward and stilted - with many
vignettes revolving around "being put to the question," a euphemism for torture
- along with the assertion that, under duress, people will confess to anything.
on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "goya's ghosts" is a grotesque 4,
completely lacking in emotional focus. anytime you emerge from the theater
praising the scenery more than the scenes, there's a problem with the picture.
susan granger's review of "no reservations" (warner bros.)
"i wish there was a cookbook for life," muses temperamental chef kate
(catherine zeta-jones), as the precise complications of creating magnifique
haute cuisine pale in comparison with the dilemma of nurturing her 10 year-old,
recently orphaned niece zoe (abigail breslin).
while neurotic kate's been seeing - or, rather, feeding - a therapist (bob
balaban), refusing to discuss her control issues, when the owner (patricia
clarkson) of her greenwich village restaurant, 22 bleecker street, brings in a
scruffy, gregarious but strong-willed new sous-chef, nick (aaron eckhart), she's
thoroughly steamed.
kate's palate is strictly french - her signature dish is quail in saffron
truffle sauce - while nick's culinary taste is italian, his tasty pasta accented
in its preparation by classical opera.
as kate flounders before finding a recipe for happiness, she discovers that
if you mix in traumas and tears with some poignant moments - and a touch of
sexual tension - cooking can not only be fun but it can also heal broken hearts.
although their roles are a bit undercooked (a.k.a. underwritten), catherine
zeta-jones' icy, emotionless perfectionism gradually and subtly melts as she
heats up some affectionate warmth, while aaron eckhart keeps his carefree
earthiness from turning into a romantic leading man cliché. and abigail breslin
("little miss sunshine") delivers a touching portrayal of a grieving child,
seeking solace where she can find it.
a remake of the 2001 german import "mostly martha," it's been predictably
americanized by screenwriter carol fuchs and director scott hicks ("shine"), who
co-owns a vineyard in australia with his producer wife kerry heysen; note his
yacca paddock label. on the granger movie gauge of 1 to 10, "no reservations" is
a slyly sensual, succulent 7, a deliciously delectable froth in which food is
the metaphor for love and life.
Acceuil
suivante
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