Righteous Kill

De Niro and Pacino are what they are - at the top of their game. They're fun to watch.

As detective partners, Turk and Rooster, they're an effective team with " 120" years of experience - Ha!

My son, a wise commentator on all things film, suggests that the film, if not starring such giants, would likely have gone straight to DVD.

He observed, "Stories with such a twist are a little tired right now."

And I agree ... it was a bit formulaic, but fun to watch nonetheless. The movie held my attention, but then I'm an easy rider when it comes to movies.

In their earlier meeting in "Heat," Pacino does in De Niro; but here ... oh well, I don't want to give it away.

Great music, cinematography - some very cool lines, almost aphorisms ... like:

You don't become a cop because you want to serve and protect. You join the force because they let you carry a gun and a badge. You do it because you get respect.

Most people respect the badge. Everyone respects the gun.

Nothing wrong with a little shooting, as long as the right people get shot.

Who finally says these things and why is part of the fun.

Worth seeing?

Sure, why not? Especially if your fan of De Niro and Pacino.

Burn After Reading

A very good film ... lots of ironic laughs ... subtle and rather dark as it unfolds, brought to us by Cohen Brothers (Ethan & Joel). Some critics have panned it, saying that it "fails to ignite" - hardly! If you're looking for out-and-out slap-stick, go to "Step Brothers."

"Burn After Reading" actually takes you places and gives you something to think about even as it provides plenty of laughs. Perhaps it requires a level of thought or sophistication to appreciate the skillful manner in which the story is told and the characters revealed. All right?

This is a story of bumbling people bumbling their way through love and life (do we every really do any differently) - managing to do some serious damage along the way. If the film has message, it's likely this: play with fire, ya' get burned, and burned badly!

An all-star cast wonderfully restrained and comically intense.

Brad Pitt is terrific as a gum-chewing, not-too-bright, slightly whatever, physical trainer (Chad Feldheimer) who cooks up a scheme to extort money from a CIA analyst after he discovers on the gym's locker room floor a CD with apparently valuable information.

Francis McDormand is terrfic as "Linda Litzke" (echos of her Fargo twang) who wants to meet a man and finally decides she needs some physical enhancements. The only problem being: her insurance won't pay for for the surgeries. So when "Chad" shows her the CD, she's in.

Richard Jenkins (gym manager, Ted Treffon) portrays wonderfully the wounded soul who so badly wants to date Linda who "shuts him out all the time." Ultimately, after Chad disappears, Linda gets Ted to sign-on to steal more information from the CIA analyst.

The CIA analyst is played wonderfully by slightly loony John Malkovich who's wife, "Katie" (Tilda Swinton) is having an affair with George Clooney - "Harry Pfarrer."

"Katie finally decides to seek a divorce so she and Harry can get married, but Harry's not so sure now. In an effort to secure her husband's financial records, Katie burns a CD, which her attorney's secretary leaves in the gym - see above.

Clooney, by the way, is terrific - the slightly simple gun-totin' playboy, with some remnants of a conscience left, profoundly paranoid - he's right - and in one fine explosive scene near the end, he bolts from the park bench where he and Linda have become a number (they met on an internet dating service), exclaiming, "Who are you? Who do you work for?" when he discovers that Chad, the guy she's looking for, and he, with his "connections," is helping, learns that he disappeared at Katie's house. In his mind, it's all some horrible CIA plot, and he's smack dab in the middle of it.

Are we complicated enough yet?

After the shooting and the ax murder are done and the bodies disposed of, two CIA officers are discussing the case - a great scene of CIA a operative (David Rasche) hesitantly reporting delicate matters to a blunt, only-the-facts, superior (J.K. Simmons).
"Well, what did we learn?"
"Not to do it again."
"If only we knew what we did."

In the end, so to speak, Linda gets her operation.
And Harry is on his way to Venezuela "because we don't have an extradition agreement with them."

A lot of good laughs, some terrific acting - worth seeing, that's for sure.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Lots of fun ... and some wonderfully funny moments as everyone tries to figure out who they are, what they want, what they don't want, shall I or shall I not?

An outstanding cast doing a lot of terrific ad libbing, or at least that's the feel it has - not the polish of a script, but actors genuinely feeling their way through their character and the entanglements of love and life.

Where to begin ...

Rebecca Hall (Vicky), a young lady on a summer lark before marriage - cool and calculating, knowing exactly what she wants - a settled, sensible, husband, and a fine home north of New York City. Innocent and wide-eyed, yet capable of passion and dreams. But where can it go?

Scarlett Johansson - can she get any more beautiful? - (Christina), who joins her friend for a summer romp. She knows what she doesn't want, but what she might want, it's anyone's guess.

Jarvier Bardem (the artist, Juan Antonio) - who, upon seeing these two lovelies immediately begins to seduce them - coming right to the point: "Join me this weekend to make love."
"But we don't know you."
"Well, life is short."

Bardem, wonderfully, ruggedly, handsome, is terrific ... a subtle passion - the son of poet, an artist of renown ... who loves easily.

Vicky, the reluctant one, agrees when Christina decides it would be fun.

Juan Antonio, recently divorced from a fiery wife who knifed him toward the end, is trying to put his life back together again.

His ex-wife, fiery, creative, slightly crazy, wonderfully portrayed by Penelope Cruz (Maria Elena), is at loose ends without him, but neither of them can make it work. After a suicide attempt, Juan takes Maria into his home (with Christina) because she has no money, and nowhere to go.

In the menage a trois that evolves between Christina, Juan and Maria, Christina is the missing piece. Her love for them, and their love for her, enables Maria and Juan to love once again. But all good things must come to an end: Christiana knows what she doesn't want, and she doesn't want this, so off she goes, and with her departure, so goes Juan and Maria.

Vicky, who had a quick fling with Juan on the weekend, is soon to be married, and sooner than expected; her fiance arranges some time off from work and flies to Spain to meet Vicky and get married there, rather than waiting for fall. Oh well ... but the alure of Juan and his attraction to her is powerful. Where shall it go?

Vicky and Christina stay with Vicky's distant relatives: Patricia Clarkston and Kevin Dunn (Mr. and Mrs. Nash), who are "happily" married and enjoying life. Mrs. Marsh has her own challenges, being caught in a kiss with her husband's business partner. She, too, is looking for something.

It's a delightful tale, a snapshot of life for a few months ... with no real resolution of any one's situation. A typical Woody Allen approach - lots of questions, few answers, give it a whirl and see what happens. There's pain and there's joy, and who can sort it out? Some folks never quite find whatever it is they're looking for, and keep on looking. Some settle for what they have and make the best of it. Some relationships never seem to work no matter how much love, and some, devoid of love, still work. Who knows?

I thoroughly enjoyed how the story unfolded, with a good many chuckles at the expense of the characters. All of them wonderfully portrayed by gifted actors - conveying bewilderment, sadness and passion, love longed for and love regretted.

A must-see film ... hats off to Woody Allen who wrote and directed this delightful work.

Great Short Film

The Story of a Sign

Check out: DotMatrix Project for further information and comments.

Enjoy!

Requiem for a Heavyweight - 1962

Just watched one of my all-time favs - "Requiem for a Heavyweight" starring Jackie Gleason (manager Maish Rennick) and Anthony Quinn (boxer Louis "Mountain" Rivera) , with a fine supporting role by Mickey Rooney (trainer Army).

Beginning as a screenplay for TV in 1956 (written by Rod Searling) with several European versions, this dramatic story comes to life here in the states in 1962 under the direction of Ralph Nelson.

I have always loved prize fighting, and this terrific b&w noire film captures the fight game for a man at the end of the road (after a 7th round knockout by Cassius Clay; warmed by the Boxing Commission's doctor to never fight again for risk of blindness or worse) and his manager, at the end of his own road, too - having bet against his own fighter in this last bout ("won't last 4 rounds") and lost; now in serious debt to a small-time mobster called Mom (Madame Spivey) who will have her goons hurt him if the money isn't there soon.

Another remarkable actor, Julie Harris (Grace Miller), portrays a compassionate employment counselor who arranges a job interview for Mountain as an athletic director for a summer boys camp, but Maish, who needs Mountain now to wrestle (the bottom of the heap for a former boxer once ranked #5). The night of the interview, Maish gets Mountain drunk, so when he shows up for the interview, he stumbles over a cart of dishes in the hotel, Miller hears the crash, looks into the hallway to see Mountain fleeing into the elevator.

Mountain decides to wrestle - to be the winner one night, the loser the next - for Maish. We see Mountain entering the ring dressed in American Indian garb, a wig with long pigtails and rawhide vest - in one fine moment of cinematography, Mountain's back to the camera in the dressing room; he puts on from the front an Indian headdress. In that moment, we know that he's sacrificed himself for Maish. He climbs into the ring, looks around - a crazy crowd - and begins a war chant and dances around the ring. In this moment of utter humiliation, Mountain saves Maish.

If you're a Jackie Gleason fan, as I am, you'll be moved by this fine dramatic performance. Awarded an Oscar for best supporting actor in "The Hustler" (1961), Gleason was, in my judgment, a fine actor, but like fat men anywhere, rarely recognized (I think of John Candy).

This is a must-see for anyone who enjoys classic films.

The House Bunny

The previews looked good ... but would I have gone on the strength of those alone?

Hard to say, but when my daughter said, "Let's go," I thought, "Why not?" We were both in the mood for something light.

I invited my son along, and his reply, "What? House Bunny?"

Well, the three of us laughed long and hard - excellent script (Karen McCullah Lutz; Kirsten Smith), balanced and genuinely creative.

Anna Faris is comedically brilliant, playing the dumb blond with a whimsical innocence that reveals an accomplished actor. It takes a lot of smarts to play a dummy.

In their pre-makeover guise, Plain Janes for sure - nerds, geeks, super-shy and essentially unpleasant to look at - in danger of losing their sorority house charter for want of pledges. It seems the sorority up the street - rich bitches all - are on the dean's case to cancel Zeta Alpha Zeta's charter so they can acquire the property.

Well, Shelley shows up, looking for a "home."

First an orphan, then a bunny in the Mansion with Huge Heffner (who has a good cameo here), she's perpetually bubbly and optimistic, hoping to be the November centerfold, her ultimate dream.

Through the conniving, however, of another bunny, she's believes Heffner has dismissed her, so off she goes, in the junker she arrived in, with a driver's door so squeeky, that, when opened, it awakens dogs and sets off security alarms. Seeing a sorority house, she thinks of home. One things leads to another, and she becomes Zeta Alpha Zeta's house mother, determined to transform the girls into eye-candy, up the party factor and transform them into a popular sorority, saving the house.

The make-over is fun to watch - and, indeed, all the girls become remarkably attractive, in their own way. This part of the story was handled well, bringing out the beauty of each girl, several of whom were not what I would call "natural beauties." Hats off to the director for choosing a variety of girls of varying looks and body styles.

To make a long story short, the "bunny" learns a few hard lessons along the way - that life isn't all about being eye-candy, sexy and stupid.

The girls, transformed, suddenly see that they've become just like all the other snotty sororities on campus.

Here's where the story takes us to a good place. It's about being our best, balanced, between appearance and character.

Tom Hank's son, Colin Hanks, is terrific portraying a young manager of a nursing home attracted to Shelley, and through him, Shelley learns something more about being a woman.

When they first meet, and she learns that he manages a nursing home, Shelley says convincingly, "It's nice that you provide a place where nurses can live."

One of the laughable moments - when the girls show up at the nursing home as part of their philanthropy (Shelley can't pronounce the word, and it's a laugh every time she tries), the girls, now made-over, set off heart monitor alarms all over the nursing home!

A marvelous young cast, great script - story moved along well - with good editing.

A date flic for sure- plenty of eye-candy for the guys, without being salacious. Yet appealing to women, too - what with sisterhood and secret longings to be beautiful.

Worth seeing?

For sure!

Pineapple Express

I wouldn't ordinarily have spent my money on this movie, but I'm glad I went

A clever, well-crafted story/script, with tremendous acting. Seth Rogan and James Franco are without peer. A couple of potheads, Rogan the buyer, a process server who specializes in costumes to get to the servee, and the dealer, Franco, who's high all the time.

In a love/hate relationship, these two stoners form a relationship that finally proves redemptive for both.
A story that combines humor and tragedy, sorrow and silliness, the film brings it off surprisingly well. Most such efforts fail for lack of being one or the other, and rarely both or more. But curiously, this one wins on all counts.

At first, I thought: Okay, just another stupid story about stupid people doing drugs, thinking how cool they are when, in fact, they're idiots.

But ultimately, the message came through loud and clear from both of them - doing drugs and being high all the time is pure idiocy, and it's time for them to be real friends with a real purpose.

They get involved in all sorts of high jinks, beginning when Rogan witnesses a crooked cop (Rosie Perez) and a drug kingpin (Gary Cole), on whom he was going to serve a subpoena, murder a competitor. He flees to the one friend he has: the drug dealer (Franco), who knows the murderer. As you might guess, the bad guys figure out who the guy in the car (Franco) was, and the chase begins. There's car chases - really funny - mayhem, shooting and death. There's a price to be paid for such living, and pay, they do.

But friendship emerges ... and that's the nub of the story: friendship, through thick and thin - sticking by one another, and learning that friendship trumps most everything else.

I found it interesting to note what the audience laughed at. I'm 64, and the audience was clearly younger, but I was grateful they were there. More than just another stoner film, this movie had a message.

Did folks get it?

Who knows, but I was impressed with the story and the fine acting.

I think this one is definitely worth seeing. Be prepared to laugh a lot. But who knows, you might find yourself thinking pretty deeply about doing or not doing drugs, and in a social environment that practices utilitarian relationships, thinking about real friendship.