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The Danish Girl ****
reviewed by the Phantom
Subject: Transgender reassignment surgery. A beautifully expressive
film, sensitively filmed. A very touching story. Actor Eddie Redmayne
was astonishing in the lead role. It takes place in Denmark and Paris in
1926.
The main characters are man and wife painters, so we are treated to the
art scene of the early 20th century as the setting for this story.
Every aspect of this film is such a treat. I cannot recommend it
highly enough.
Dawn of the Planet
of the Apes ****
reviewed by the Phantom
I'm not a fan of ape movies, let's start there. But this one is
touted as your thinking person's ape movie. And I'm agreeing. There was
an actual story that was presented in a serious manner, I did no eye-rolling. But still the viewer has to suspend a lot of disbelief to take
this movie seriously. The apes are really smart, they talk, they have
complicated feelings about right and wrong, they understand vague
philosophical concepts, like the art of war, and the importance of
family. The human survivors haven't changed much since some unnamed
apocalypse occurred, even though there are
very few of them left in this version of modern dystopia. The visual
effects are wonderful, very creative, well imagined and constructed. The
gun lobby will squirm through this movie's subtle subplot about guns not
solving problems, and the Ku Klux Klan members will be howling with
indignation that black apes could possibly rule planet earth. I do find
the obligatory fight to the death scenes a little tedious. It would be
lovely some fine day to solve problems without somebody having to get
tossed off a cliff, unless it's done metaphorically. The movie is a visual feast, tends
to run a little long and thoughtful at times, but maybe that adds to the
overall experience. Well done.
The
Debt ***
reviewed by the Phantom
This is a spy movie set
in two time periods, the 1960s cold war era in Israel, and modern times.
We go back and forth between these two eras, finally piecing together
what really happened when an Israeli spy team captures a WWII Nazi holdout. With spy
movies there are always "levels": there is always a surface plot, their
actual assignment; and then underneath, there is some kind of
cover up, trickery, or double-dealing that muddies up the water, a sort
of morality play, that tarnishes everything. Helen Mirren is in this
one, brilliant as always. It's a thriller, but as with many spy movies,
it takes lots of time getting to the thrilling part. I really liked this
movie though. Loved the look of the 1960s recreation, as well as the
modern era. Well done. Good story. The spies seem real this time. I'm
hoping to see some Oscar buzz about this movie.
The Deep End
***
reviewed by the Phantom
(Don’t
confuse this movie with the Oprah book club weeper called The Deep End of
the Ocean!) This movie reminded me of those old Hitchcock
thrillers that we used to love. It’s a taut drama about a mother trying
her damnedist to save her son’s future by covering up a murder. The plot
unfolds neatly, and the actors do a terrific job of keeping us in suspense
throughout. We don’t know where the plot will take us next, which gets
harder and harder to do these days. My only quibble with this movie is a
small one, but the whole plot turns on it. The film is set at Lake Tahoe,
with its amazingly clear water. She dumps the body in very shallow water
so it’s discovered immediately since you can see clear to the bottom of
the lake at the point she chose. Why wouldn’t she row out to the deeper
part and dump it there? She can’t because then there would be no movie!
The Departed ****
reviewed by the Phantom
Scorsese finally wins a best director Oscar for this totally brutal,
violent and complicated film about corruption in the Boston PD. It's a
great cast with a terrific performance by Jack Nickelson, where everybody
is double crossing everybody else and everybody dies in the end. All very
Shakespearian. Beautifully told, filmed and acted but be prepared for the
violence.
The
Descendants ***
reviewed by the Phantom
I love Clooney, so when
somebody asked me if I wanted to see this movie I jumped at the chance.
For some odd reason I thought it was going to be a comedy. Far from it.
The story is about a wife on life support surrounded by her
dysfunctional family. Not really a set-up for laughs, right? Nope. Each
family member represents one stereotypical family bad sheep -- from
bickering teenagers to greedy in-laws -- we've all got them in our
families, so we recognize them. But that's okay. Sometimes stereotypes
are a good thing, it saves time because we don't need a lot of personal
background information. The story is set in Hawaii, yummy. Love that
too. George actually feels right in the part. (Maybe he lives there in
real life. Who cares, right?) Hawaii is more complicated than most
tourists realize, which sort of rings true in this movie. The backstory
is about missionary lands coming out of those long enduring trusts
(something I know about...loved that part.) I wouldn't actually put this
movie up for an Oscar, but 2011 hasn't been all that great a year for
movies, so chances are we're going to hear some buzz about this one.
Desperate
Measures ***
reviewed by Tom Beall
Even when Michael Keaton plays a
really bad dude, like in this movie, I keep waiting for him to do
something from Beetlejuice. It never happens, and I'm never disappointed in his
acting. This movie is fairly violent, and Keaton is superb as Peter
McCabe, a very bright and resourceful criminal who's bone marrow is the
only match for Detective Andy Garcia's dying son. His agreement to donate
his bone marrow is merely a ploy to enable him to escape, and despite all
the police department does, he is successful. Andy now must recapture
McCabe without killing him so that he can still donate the bone marrow,
while the entire police department is trying to kill him. This is a clever
movie that has a very interesting ending. I liked it. (10/99)
The Devil Wears Prada ***
reviewed by The Phantom
A summer movie for grown-ups -- woo-hoo! Meryl Streep is terrific, and
nearly over the top, as the high-powered fashion magazine mogul. Anne
Hathaway is stunning as her clueless but plucky assistant. We know this
story -- it's about the worker who starts out knowing nothing about
nothing but because of her charm, street smarts and friendliness, she
rises to the occasion -- and we love it. The clothes and the scenery are
yummy, the story is well written and well acted. It's a total charmer of a
chick-flick.
Django Unchained ***
reviewed by the Phantom
I can't say I loved this movie, although it was well made and
entertaining in places. Great story about the old South right after the
end of the Civil War. A bounty hunter stalks the bad guys and brings
them back dead. He hooks up with Django, an ex-slave. Slaves aren't
supposed to ride horses or shoot straight. Django is different. Do I
even have to say this: there is plenty of violence, the ending goes on
far too long. I couldn't watch it. Waited in the lobby for my pal, who
reported how it ended.
Earth to Echo ***
reviewed by the Phantom
This is a Disney movie, which Disney sold to another distributor, so
it's Disney in disguise. And it's the ET plot recycled, only this time
ET is an adorable-looking metal owl-like creature with blinking blue
lights. Three eleven year olds are about to be evicted from their family
homes, an eminent domain thing involving road work, or so they have been
told. They spend their last night together on an adventure in the Nevada
desert, and find the little owl, who they name Echo. Eerie stuff happens
in Nevada deserts, we all know that. The adventure is supposedly being filmed
by one of the eleven year olds, first with one of those cameras mounted
on the handle bars of his bike, and then with google-like glasses, so
the film jumps and skips around. That was fun. At one point I was hoping
the bikes would start flying with the moon in the background. But no.
The kids end up dodging the construction crew who are not really
building a road, but looking for ET so they can kill him. Government
workers always want to kill ETs before actually talking to them. ET phones home and all is well. I questioned my eight
year old after we left the theater. He got the plot points, but he plays Minecraft so it was a piece of cake for him. Fun day at the movies.
Eddie
the Eagle ***
reviewed by the Phantom
I thought this was an adorable movie from an old "true"
story. Talk about overcoming adversity and being committed to a goal.
Eddie wanted to be an Olympic ski jumper. Good thing he lived in
England, where it's not a popular spot. He wasn't a very good ski
jumper. It's the Jamaican bobsled team story, with skis this time. It
won't put you to sleep and it's good fun for the whole family. It had a
very short theater run. Rent it!
An Education ***
Reviewed by The Phantom
British actress, Carey Mulligan, stars in this Oscar-nominated memoir
about Jenny Mellor, a sixteen year old school girl who falls for an
older man -- much older, and so sophisticated that we have problems
right off the bat. Really? You want us to believe this story actually
happened this way, without Hollywood embellishments? The suspension of
disbelief difficulties are palpable from the very beginning. What makes
the film plausible is Carey's brilliant work. That and the fact that
it's set in London in the '60s where people living quotidian lives
sometimes do odd things.
Without giving away the plot points, it's safe to call this film a
modern morality play, where ethics and morality issues come at us from
the very beginning, and we begin to convince ourselves that things might
turn out okay for Jenny, despite knowing full well that they won't. And
of course, they don't. Jenny, with a broken heart, finally becomes that
older and wiser woman, and her older boy friend moves on to the next
unsuspecting teenager.
Elizabeth
****
reviewed by the Phantom
Henry
VIII's daughter, Elizabeth, inadvertently assumes the throne of England, and her
conservative-thinking advisors believe in their heart of hearts that hers will be a very
short reign, but Elizabeth has other ideas, which she eventually carries out, using a
thoroughly calculated and resourceful sense of guile, to show them all, eventually
becoming the longest reigning Queen of E, all the while remaining a virgin (well, maybe).
End of the Affair
****
reviewed by Karen Dale
Loved it.
Dark and complex and full of emotion.
Some odd things happened, but the movie makes you a believer. What The English
Patient could have been with some decent editing.
This film offers a different presentation of the themes we love.
Recommended for a rainy day.
English
Patient ***
reviewed by the Phantom
Those who read this book first had a better idea about what was
going on in this movie. It's World War II again, but we're on the fringes of
it, first in Italy and then in Egypt, among characters who are ill, dying,
in love or else in some other condition that renders them impossible to
understand. The settings are lush, the costumes wonderful, the performances
flawless, but the storyline is very difficult indeed.
ET****
reviewed by the Phantom
Following a trail of
Reese's Pieces, the extra terrestrial finds his way to a suburban household full of
children and a clueless mother, who doesn't notice him first hiding in a pile of stuffed
animals and later wandering around the house dressed for Halloween, which disguise he then
uses to scour the countryside looking for a telephone on which to phone home.
The Fault in our
Stars ***
reviewed by the Phantom
From the novel, it's the YA giant best seller about young people with
cancer. I didn't think I wanted to sit through this movie but my
daughter promised me I would like it. Very good story about some truly
unfortunate young people. Played for living in spite of having cancer,
not intended to tug at our poor suffering heart stings. I liked that.
Cancer just rips through our society landing here and there and showing
no mercy. We are all cancer survivors one way or another. Shortly after
I saw the movie I saw a young man walking around in Santana Row wearing
a t-shirt that said: Fuck, Fuck, Fuck, Fuck, Fuck, Cancer!
Yes, I agree. Great
movie. I promise you.
Finding Nemo ****
reviewed by the Phantom
I thought this was going to be a “kid” movie. After all,
it was an animated, feature-length cartoon about cute fish. But I was
certainly surprised and impressed with the wit and beauty of this film.
The premise is straightforward: a worried parent with a bratty run-away
child who gets into serious trouble. Marlin, the nervous-wreck of a dad, a
clown fish played by Albert Brooks, goes on a quest to find Nemo, who has
accidentally gotten into real trouble. Marlin is accompanied by his pal
Dorie, a fish with a short-term
memory problem, played by Ellen de Generis. Dorie is the equivalent in every
way to Dunkey in Shrek, and maybe even funnier.
It’s beautiful under the sea, even though they
don’t realize it as they swim on and on, trying to figure out what might
have happened to little Nemo. In the
meantime, Nemo is stuck in a dentist office aquarium with a bunch of imprisoned
reef fish who are determined to break out and regain their freedom.
It all ends well, as it should, but I think adults
will appreciate this remarkably funny movie even more than kids will.
Ellen is brilliant and so are all the rest of the players. What fun!
Florence Foster
Jenkins ***
reviewed by the Phantom
This movie isn't doing very well at the box office. I've read the
reviews. Most folks say it's boring and long, with not enough of a
story. Well, I disagree. I think it's great fun. And Meryl Streep, as
always, has done her homework. She has become an opera singer with a
very flawed voice. Not only is she singing below the right note at times
(flat), she also has some vocal oddities that are downright
breath-taking. She squawks, howls, chirps and shows off every imaginable singer no-no.
And get this: it's is a
biography. Yes, Florence was a real person, and she was faithfully (more
or less) depicted in this film. I simply cannot understand how this
lovely person could be so deluded. She
truly wanted to sing and she was rich, and gave lots of money to "the
arts", so her friends and sycophants convinced her that she was indeed a
wonderful singer. They didn't want the world to know that she really
shouldn't be singing in public Florence might have suspected the truth,
but she played along. The movie
is as opulent as her life must have been, and Hugh Grant is there with
her. We haven't see Hugh for a while. He's holding up well.
Frida ****
reviewed by The Phantom
Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera were
larger-than-life artists, much revered throughout Mexico, so it took a
star like Salma Hayek to do justice to Frida in this film biography. Every
frame of this movie is luscious and a pleasure to watch. The sets, the
clothing, Mexico itself, everything about this film was delivered with the
same gusto that Frida lived. Frida's life was complicated, her art was
risky and flamboyant, even for her time. She died when she was just 47, in
1954. She was in constant pain for most of her life, having been in a
horrible trolley accident when she was very young. But the pain she
tolerated was not readily apparent. She had a huge appetite for life and
lived to the fullest. See this movie.
The Gift ***
reviewed by the Phantom
This video rental just squeaked by in my
opinion to become worthy of renting. The story is about a southern
woman with a sort of esp-like gift. She sometimes has premonitions,
usually by way of card readings or eerie dreams. That storyline in
itself is hard to swallow, and the premonition she has is
melodramatic. But Kate Blanchette’s performance is what saves this
film from sinking into a Southern swamp of melodrama. It’s a
rather stereotypical southern character study and a murder mystery,
but it kept my interest.
Girlfight ***
reviewed by Karen Dale
If there’s such thing as a clichéd teenage misfit girl-boxer love story, this film has all the elements.
Granted, we could use a lot more "strong girl overcoming hardship and coming out on top, while not relying on her beauty" stories, so I am very hesitant
to criticize this movie. I just found it a bit trite
and predictable in sentiment, if not in plot. Definitely worth checking out on video.
Gladiator
****
reviewed by Karen Dale
After seeing this movie, I realize how
very little I knew about gladiators and the times in which they existed. I was
obviously completely oblivious to the extreme violence which characterized
that historical era and defined the gladiators' lives. I am known to eschew
all gratuitously violent movies because I just don't need that kind of energy
in my life. I almost passed on The Messenger because I read a review
stating that it depicted the most graphically bloody battle scenes ever
filmed.
It certainly now has been surpassed. I would say I spent a good third
of Gladiator with my eyes closed. The level of gore approached the
ridiculous as new and horrific ways of medieval massacre were brought before
us. I emphasize the stomach-turning qualities of the movie to this extent
because, in spite of myself, I really, really enjoyed it. The depth of
character and emotional richness of each of the figures portrayed highly
surpassed my expectations for a big-ticket blockbuster marketed toward the
enthusiasms of your average teenage boy. The acting was excellent and the plot
took the story in a different direction than viewers have been trained to
expect. The personal and thoughtful scenes between head-choppings and chest-slashings were profound and mesmerizing. Highly recommended to be viewed
with a stomach of steel and a grain of salt.
Good Night and
Good Luck ***
reviewed by the Phantom
George Clooney took a chance on this one filming this in black and
white, the color of choice for TV and movies during Edward R. Murrow's
time. This film bio actually focuses on the McCarthy era with some eerie
parallels to what's happening in our country today. This film is for the
elite squad, the pace is plodding, like a one note samba, intentionally,
I'm sure. If you're looking for thrills and car bombs find a different
movie.
The Good Shepherd ***
reviewed by the Phantom
This is another one of those dark CIA films, a nearly three hour tour
de force that chronicles the birth of the CIA. You have to stay focused and tuned in
to every word in order to keep your place as you watch Matt Damon move
thru this film like a total zombie. Matt is a counter intelligence expert
who suffers a Faustian fate. Somebody (maybe Robert DeNiro, who is
involved in this film in many ways) once said that the best way
to become truly knowledgeable about the CIA is to watch Hollywood movies
about it, that they are usually spot on. As most movie goers know, dozens
of films have been made about the CIA and they are usually very dark and
sinister, sort of like The X-Files. There is also a book about the
birth and development of the CIA called The Company which
also attempts explain this strange and sinister organization. One does wonder
what the real purpose of the CIA is because it seems like most of the time
the CIA spins its wheels trying to figure out who is loyal to the US, who
is loyal to the CIA, who is double dealing with other spy agencies.
At times it seems like they forget just what their purpose really is. As
we have learned in real life, the CIA doesn't do a very good job of
analyzing the information they do collect. After seeing films like this
one, it's easy to question whether
we would be a better country if we just disbanded the whole agency
altogether. The world might be a better place without the CIA in my humble
opinion. Nevertheless, this is a very good movie!
Gosford Park
***
reviewed by the Phantom
This film is getting lots of 2001 Oscar
buzz, but I’m having a hard time figuring out exactly why.
Yes, the “ensemble” cast is superb, and the scenery is
lovely, and probably the directing of this large cast was
technically and artistically challenging, but…
The bottom line is that this story is
basically a British drawing room mystery, in the style of an old
Agatha Christy, a sort of tattered and worn-out copy at that.
We’ve seen it before, we’ve read it before, it’s been done
on PBS a million times, maybe not quite as charmingly, but
hello, were you all sleeping through the last one hundred
episodes of Masterpiece Mystery Theatre?
It’s the British upper class again,
gathered for a foxhunt, wonderfully filmed in all its ghastly
glory. We meet the guests and their servants as they arrive at
the typically sumptuous Georgian mansion. They all know the host
who eventually becomes the victim of murder. In the
truest sense, every guest and servant on the premises could
become the Prime Suspect because nobody really likes the old
guy, but this time, in a departure from most of the English
drawing room mysteries, the detective in charge of solving the
crime is an idiot. This, I guess, is the thing that makes this
one different. There are other twists too. Ho hum. (2-02)
Gran Torino
***
reviewed by the Phantom
Who doesn't like Clint? Nobody. He's getting old though, and rumor
has it that this might be his last film. This could have been a really
bad movie with somebody else in the driver's seat, but not this one. I'm
not going to lay out the plot because nearly everybody's seen the
trailers. It's a slice of life movie about an old guy, a recent widower,
not in good health, crotchety, can't get along with the "ethnic"
neighbors. We've all been there with somebody, right? Uh-huh. That's why
this could have been one of those Fox TV cop deals, but it's way better
than that. Rent it. The Green Mile ****
reviewed by Tom Beall
This three-plus hour movie doesn’t need an intermission because
you will be mesmerized by it to the point of not needing the bathroom!
This is a wonderful movie about good triumphing over evil in a Stephen King
sorta way that requires about a half box of tissues. A black man in 1935
is arrested and convicted for killing two little girls, and sentenced
to the electric chair. He is a magical man. He
is sent to the death house, known as the Green Mile, which is
supervised by Tom Hanks as a corporal of the guard. Nearly the entire
story takes place in the prison, and you experience some strange characters
and occurrences
that are poignant and thought-provoking. Tom Hanks is good, particularly
as he bonds with the black prisoner, but his supporting actors steal the
show. Michael Clarke Duncan (plays John Coffey) is awesome and should
get an academy nomination. This is a must-see movie.
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The Duds!
A Day without
a Mexican **
reviewed by the Phantom
Imagine what
California would be like if all the Mexican laborers just disappeared?
What an intriguing idea for a movie. Unfortunately, somewhere between the
concept and the execution, things went terribly wrong. The movie relies on
sight gags and one-liners to convey an important and disturbing idea.
Somebody should do this movie again with a better script.
The Dancer Upstairs **
reviewed by the Phantom
This movie, directed by John Malkovich
(the actor), has good intentions. It is based on a novel by Nicholas
Shakespeare, who also collaborated on the screenplay, which is usually a
good sign. The plot is familiar to us, it’s a thriller about terrorism,
but it’s also a romance. And it takes place in
Latin America
somewhere, perhaps Peru, so there are peasants, and the corrupt police and the scary militia are
involved too.
Javier Bardem stars as the
world-weary, unappreciated, police detective on the trail of the terrorist
Ezequiel. We don’t learn anything about what drives Ezequiel to do the
horrible things he does, such as hanging dogs from lamp posts with cryptic
messages on them, encouraging children to blow themselves up in public
places, and randomly assassinating politicians. Apparently the acts of
terrorism are supposed to speak for themselves, and for that reason we
follow the detective as he meanders around trying to figure things out,
and not too coincidentally or believably, dallies with his daughter’s
dance teacher.
John most likely didn’t set out to
make a critically acclaimed, box office dud, but that’s what happened.
The plot is very convoluted, and although it’s in English (how come
it’s in English? We can read subtitles), oftentimes it is very difficult
to understand some of the English accents. It has all the ingredients for
a darned good drama, but somehow it just misses the mark. However, it is
imminently watchable, it’s just not as thought-provoking as it should
be.
Drive **
reviewed by the Phantom
It's Ryan Gosling,
doing an early Steve McQueen one-note samba through this entire film. It
is billed as a mystery-thriller. Really? So slow moving that you have to
pinch yourself to stay awake. Ryan is mutely working on his thousand
yard stare through the whole thing. He's a driver, he does "get aways"
for bad guys, as a living. There's not much of a story, so the film
drags itself from scene to scene to the point where you can actually
feel the director thinking, "now what should I do next?" The acting is
painful, because the actors are given so little dialog to work with. Yet
the story hangs together, sort of. It seems long, but it's only 100
minutes of painful plodding. It might have been a technical success, but
as story, pul-eese. We've seen this plot hundreds of times on TV
already.
Enemy
at the Gates *
reviewed by Karen Dale
Pretty forgettable tale of a WWII sniper who, supposedly,
did a lot for the war effort in Stalingrad.
The main focus is on sniper tactics, as we watch
two guys stalk each other in relative silence for
over two hours. The love triangle, secondary characters,
and back-story are poorly developed and detached
from the primary action. The film moves very slowly
(in keeping with the sniper, theme, I suppose) and
closes in a style strongly reminiscent of the Brothers
Grimm. For someone who likes war stories, this
film at least says something a little different about
WWII. But, take comfort, they spared no expense at
getting in the requisite number of exploding head shots.
It’s a renter.
Eyes Wide Shut: Who cares?
reviewed by Karen Dale
The film's title gives you a hint about how to watch it. Eyes shut.
Far From Heaven
**
reviewed by the Phantom
I was frankly disappointed in this film that was supposed to be a
true-to-the-genre 1950s film. Well, maybe, or "good try" but
something was definitely lacking. I think a little more time could have
been spent on plot development, and less time on trivial details. It
looked pretty, but it wasn't "real" even as a genre film.
Finding Forrester **
reviewed by Karen Dale
Speaking of trite, I am compelled to file Finding Forrester in this category. Rather than fully explore
any issues or themes, it takes a superficial look at racial expectations and the challenge of finding one’s
voice. The result is the story we’ve seen a hundred times about the underdog overcoming tough circumstances to prevail in the end. Oh, and he’s got
a wizened, quirky old mentor to guide him on his path. It’s a hero’s journey gone awry. Connery
is too big for
this one, and the supporting actors are too small. Rob Brown, the surprisingly adept extra-turned-lead, could
just as well have been playing Goldilocks.
40 Year Old Virgin **
Running time: 1 hr, 56 min. Feels
like: a bit too long (K), 2 hrs. (P)
P— I loved it! I liked the character; at first I felt sorry for him, but
throughout the movie I saw more strengths in him than weaknesses. And his
weakness wasn’t that he hadn’t lost his virginity; it really wasn’t
a big deal.
K—I thought it was good; about the quality of a standard romantic
comedy. Steve Carell is really funny (like, shoot-milk-out-your-nose
funny). I think I actually smelled pee from the guy next to me after one
certain scene. I thought the supporting cast pretty much sucked, but they
got better as the movie wore on (and on…). If you don’t catch it in
the theater, it would be a good rental.
Fun with Dick and Jane
**
Reviewed by the Phantom
Jim Carey is sort of out of control
(what else!) in this remake about the out-of-work business man with his
back against the wall. Everybody over 40 (?) knows the story, but Carey is
brilliant going to insane lengths to keep food on the table for his cute
suburban family. It’s a no-brainer, but a fun rental after you’ve seen
all the good movies.
The Girl
Next
Door **
reviewed by Karen Dale
This one I saw purely for curiosity's
sake. It is a documentary on the life of porn actress, Stacey Valentine. I
guess she's pretty successful but [blink, blink… blush] how would I know? It
is pretty fascinating to see how they film these things, the way the actors
handle themselves between and during scenes, and the tricks they use to make
it believable. The people involved in and surrounding that world seem really
interesting, from a psychological standpoint, but the film doesn't go too deep
in that direction. I would have liked to know more about Stacey's motivation
and evaluation of her own life. Her explanation of why she got into the
business was because sex was the only thing she ever found that she did really
well, so says her.
Through the lenses of my social-work-colored glasses,
though, it seemed quite obvious that she has father/men/power issues and an
undisclosed history of abuse. None of which she was willing to discuss with
us. I thought it would have been interesting to look into the stories of a few
other actors, male and female, to get a sense of what is truly typical for the
field. The people we saw all claimed to really love their work and having sex
all day long, but there's got to be a lot more going on than that. To be
generous, though, there were some touching and thoughtful moments. Overall,
The Girl Next Door is a somewhat interesting exposé for the curious.
Gloria **
reviewed by the Phantom
This is a subtitled Chilean film about an older woman's love life.
Apparently the stars are famous icons in Chile because they absolutely
loved this one. There are many rave reviews of it online. As for me, not
so much. It's a slice of life movie, and I didn't need another slice of
hers. I thought it was boring and tedious, with "ick" moments of total
nudity of two stars who would know better at this point in their lives.
Gone Baby Gone
**
reviewed by the Phantom
Dennis Lehane wrote Mystic River, which became a thriller movie. So
now another book of his has become a movie. Lehane again focuses on
children, a kidnap-murder plot, that has more twists and turns that you
can imagine. It is billed as an edge-of-your-seat thriller, but you can
make a popcorn run or pit stop whenever you like. It doesn't matter, it
will be confusing one way or the other. The characters are all
self-consciously quirky, but nobody is able to reprise Sean Penn in
Mystic. I actually had to Goggle this movie in order to remember it, in
order to write this review. That shows how much "staying power" it had.
Put it at the very bottom of your Netflix list.
The Great Gatsby **
reviewed by the Phantom
One of the Great American Novels brought to life in an over blown,
over the top, cinematic extravaganza. I'm still not sure whether I
enjoyed it. Leonardo DiCaprio did an interesting version of Gatsby, but
I wonder whether he really understood the character. Actually, I wonder
if any of us do. The sets were glorious, and the dystopic front end
scenery was nicely juxtaposed against the grandeur of the era. When the
movie was over I couldn't help but feel like it was a movie that tried
a little too hard.
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