Two Lovers (2008) Film Review - Joaquin Phoenix

Plot Summary - Love quadrangle. Strange, sometimes suicidal Leonard (Joaquin Phoenix) lives at home with his parents and works at the family dry cleaning business. Leonard is soon matched up with stable and sane Sandra (Vinessa Shaw), daughter of family friends who are planning to merge businesses with the family. Sandra's crazy about Leonard - him, not so much so - especially after he meets his new neighbor, pretty, pill-popping, and extremely unstable Michelle (Gwyneth Paltrow). Sandra is in love with Leonard, Leonard is in love with Michelle - but unfortunately for Leonard, Michelle is currently having an affair with her boss, a married lawyer, who she believes will leave his family for her (silly woman). Michelle obviously thinks of Leonard as just a "pal" as she is constantly calling and asking him for help with her "relationship", even going so far as to get Leonard to come along as the third wheel on a date with the lawyer she loves, so he can better help give her advice.

Review - This film was sort of entertaining - though nothing great. I didn't really care for the character of Leonard, or either of the women for that matter - so it was just sort of "who cares" as to what I thought about what happens to this bunch. I did like the New York City (Brighton Beach) on-location setting and enjoyed seeing Isabella Rossellini, who plays Leonard's mother, in this - so much like her mom, Ingrid Bergman! Rating - 7/10 stars

The King of the Wild Horses (1924) Silent Film Review

Plot Summary - Hal Roach Presents - - Silent action western starring Rex the Wonder Horse as "The Black", king of the wild horses - he must fight to stay leader, and must also contend with that dreadful menace: man - his constant pursuer. In the far west, just north of the Mexican border, there's a Rancho where lives an older ill man and his two grown kids, Boyd (Charley Chase, billed as Charles Parrott) and Mary (Edna Murphy). Mary is being pursued by one Billy Blair (Leon Bary), cowboy, who seems to have something else he likes to pursue way more than Mary - he's determined to capture "The Black". Chase between man and horse, as Billy goes in relentless pursuit - trusty rope in hand - after the Black, through high-up rocky crevices and rugged crags - but our wild horse is just too smart (and nimble!). But then - a wild fire has horsie surrounded and Billy Blair helps save him - pals!! Meanwhile, back at the Rancho, the ranch foreman is a bad man who has been forcing son Boyd, who has become heavily in his debt, to steal from his own father to pay him back. Fast "Black" and Billy help save the day when bad man and Boyd head out one evening for one last "job".

Review - A pleasant little horse opera, titles by Roach Studios H.M. "Beanie" Walker. Rocky western landscape and pretty wild horses, beauties one and all, are nicely photographed - our Rex the Wonder Horse is a superstar! Some night scenes oddly look like bright daylight (!) - - a river rescue finale is well done. The DVD from Televista features a decent enough looking print (I've seen far worse!) with some deterioration here and there (and rolling in a few spots), but for the most part looked fairly good - - the music score is sort of sweet and old-fashioned, even catchy in places. Cute little silent, perhaps best if you like animal films. Rex the Wonder Horse was a 16 hands Morgan Stallion, according to the Wikipedia article on him - he's a beautiful animal. Rating - 7.5/10 stars

Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009) Film Review

Plot Summary - Shopaholic Rebecca (Isla Fisher) lives in New York City where she has an interview to work as a journalist at her dream fashion magazine, "Alette". The interview doesn't pan out, but she tries for another magazine at the same company and gets the job - at a financial journal called "Successful Saving", of all things! Even though she has maxed out most of her credit cards and is being chased by a gung-ho debt collector, she manages to write an article for the magazine that gets her fame under the moniker "the girl in the green scarf". Rebecca tries to control her out-of-control spending, but just can't seem to stop, even after being pressed into attending meetings of Shopaholics Anonymous by her best gal pal. She also begins a romance with her handsome boss (Hugh Dancy) with the cute Brit accent! Will her romance work out, will she get her dream job at Alette, and most importantly - will she ever be able to stop shopping?!

Review - Cute film - lots of cute, colorful outfits to look at, reasonably entertaining story filmed on-location in NYC. I enjoy these stories about fashion magazines (like "The Devil Wears Prada", "Ugly Betty") - this sort of plotline seems pretty popular these days. The actress Isla Fisher is an absolute ringer for actress Amy Adams both physically as well as her speaking voice. Joan Cusack and John Goodman are entertaining as Rebecca's thrifty parents. Rating - 8/10 stars

Phoebe in Wonderland (2008) Film Review

Plot Summary - Drama about troubled nine-year old misfit, Phoebe (Elle Fanning), who becomes obsessed with "Alice in Wonderland", a story her mother (Felicity Huffman) is busy working on for her dissertation. Phoebe is picked on in school, and seems to have a growing problem with obsessive/compulsive behavior - she washes her hands compulsively, she spits at bullying children, and she can't seem to control her mouth as she parrots things people say to her and blurts out inappropriate words. Phoebe gets the part of Alice in a new production of "Alice in Wonderland", being put on at school by an eccentric drama teacher named Miss Dodger (Patricia Clarkson). Phoebe's odd behavior patterns seem only to be in control while she is practicing in the play - - in the real world, she sometimes imagines conversations with characters from Alice. She also befriends a young boy who has dolls and a baking set, and has tried out and gotten a part in the play as the "Red Queen"!

Review - The film is colorful and compelling, with a nice message about accepting those of us who are different. I enjoyed this a lot and thought Elle Fanning did a great acting job - very believable. Nicely done - looked real good on Blu-Ray! (I am SO loving my Blu-ray player!!) Rating - 9/10 stars

Saturday Notes

Well, it's Saturday, it's oh so hot and humid outside (when is this heat wave going to end?!). I have become rather behind in posting my movie reviews here - about a month behind, actually. Written up already, but not posted (including several silent films). I'll try and post these reviews over the weekend so that I'm all caught up.

What Goes Up (2009) Film Review - Hilary Duff

Plot Summary - Weirdish indie drama set in 1986 in New Hampshire, about a forty-ish reporter (Steve Coogan) who is sent to town to do a report on the Challenger Space Shuttle launch, his story to focus on the teacher who was going aboard. But our man quickly finds a story of a different high school teacher while there - one who had taught a group of outcast students who seemed to worship him and has just committed suicide. The reporter gets involved with the students as he begins to be sort of their new hero - especially a couple of the young girls, blonde and beautiful Lucy (Hilary Duff) and goth-ish Tess. But he better watch out - these chicks are underage!

Review - Well, this film is sort of dark and strange, and it wouldn't be bad - except the story is somewhat boring. And there's weird stuff like the kids stealing the teacher's coffin (with him in it) and turning it into a shrine on the ice and snow, and one of the young guy's, um, masturbating while watching a woman across the way breast feed her baby - sheesh. I don't know about this one - it had elements that were good, but as a whole - not all that good. By the way, the filmmakers didn't put much of an effort into this to make these characters look like their livin' in the 80s! Rating - 5.5 to 6/10 stars

The Ramen Girl (2008) Film Review

Plot Summary - Indie film, set in Tokyo. Young, blonde, eager and American Abby (Brittany Murphy) arrives in Tokyo to be with her "boyfriend" who is now living there. But the boyfriend is just not that into her, leaves town and Abby high and dry in a strange city full of strange customs and ways. Not to mention, our Abby doesn't seem to speak a word of Japanese. But - she stays on as she suddenly finds herself drawn to the bustling ramen shop (noodle restaurant) across the street. Well - Abby decides she wants to become a Ramen Chef and asks the chef/owner of the shop to become her teacher. The chef is a grouchy, disagreeable Japanese older man who doesn't speak a word of English, likes to spout insults at her in Japanese, and doesn't even agree to teach her. But Abby is a real aggressive one and just keeps showing up, doing what he asks - which is mainly cleaning the toilet and floors. The two spend pretty much the entire film talking to each other without seemingly understanding each other - but a bond seems to grow somehow, anyway, as he finally begins to teach her to grow up as she learns the ways of making broth and assembling her bowls of ramen - with spirit!

Review - A sort of coming-of-age tale (except that this chick is already into her twenties) that is pretty interesting to watch, for the most part (though I found her aggressiveness kind of annoying sometimes - not to mention the chef, whose personality in sort of grating too). There is an obligatory love story between Abby and a handsome, young Japanese man she meets, but that part of the plot seems sort of thrown-in and doesn't give much to the story as a whole. I enjoyed the scenes in Tokyo (which I always think looks like such an interesting place) and the scenes inside the atmospheric, almost quaint little ramen shop which looked like a place I would like to eat! Rating - 7.5 - 8/10 stars

Crossing Over (2009) Film Review - Harrison Ford

Plot Summary - Tales of immigration, set in L.A. and down to the Mexican border. The film interweaves several different stories including an immigration officer (Harrison Ford) who helps round up illegal immigrants out of a clothing sweat shop and ship them back to Mexico, but he seems sometimes to have too much heart for the job as he tries to help a young Mexican woman who is forced to leave behind her little boy. Other stories include a young Australian woman who wants to be an actress but finds herself forced to sleep with an immigration officer who is willing to "help" her get approved, a handsome young Jewish man (Jim Sturgess) from Britain who tries to pretend he's more religious than he is in his attempt for his green card, an Asian teen on the brink of becoming a citizen who gets mixed up with a bad gang about to commit a crime, and a fifteen-year old Arab girl who makes a speech in school that gets herself reported and rounded up for being a potential suicide bomber!

Review - I thought this film was quite good - all the stories were interesting to watch, as the film flips back and forth between the different characters and plotlines. Some of the characters from different stories end up in the same story, as the plot cleverly weaves together the various tales. Nicely done film. Rating - 8.5/10 stars

Gran Torino (2008) Film Review - Clint Eastwood

Plot Summary - Gruff and tough old Korean War veteran Walt Kowalski (Clint Eastwood) has just lost his wife and is living alone (just him and his dog Daisy) in his old house in a rundown Michigan neighborhood that has been taken over by mainly Hmong immigrant families. Walt uses a lot of ethnic slurs in his way of talking, and doesn't care for the changes that have taken place in the old neighborhood. He also doesn't really get along with his grown sons and grandchildren (jerks the lot of them, if you ask me) - but he finds himself getting involved with and soon befriending his next-door neighbor's teen son and daughter, Sue and Thao. Thao is having plenty of trouble with his cousin's Hmong street gang who are after him 'cause he won't join them (Thao even botched a feeble initiation attempt to steal neighbor Walt's prize 1972 Gran Torino, mainly kept shiny and slick in Walt's garage). Sue is sassy and smart-mouthed. Walt confronts the street toughs with his huge Korean War gun he keeps handy, joins the family for barbecue dinners, helps Sue and Thao out of scrapes with the various local hoods and toughs, and finds himself liking this family better than his own, all while overcoming his own built-in prejudices.

Review - A well done film, quiet and interesting - Clint Eastwood is great and pretty amusing with his no-holds barred language and gruff manner, he comes across as a likable fellow despite outward appearances and manner. I found the story involving, the on-location neighborhood scenes nicely done, and the relationships between the characters realistic. Rating - 9/10 stars