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Lew's Movie Reviews
IN THEATERS
The Adventures of Tin Tin
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***
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Tin Tin, a boy reporter and adventurer, is famous
every where in the developed world except the US. With the release
of this movie that will change. The animation here is outstanding as
is the background scenery. Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis and the
ubiquitous Daniel Craig provide the major voices and the do a fine
job. This is one of those films that can be enjoyed by adults and
kids. (2011)
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The Artist
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***½
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This is a silent movie about the demise of silent
movies and their stars. This sounds like a bad idea, but it really
works. George Valentin (Rudolph Valentino ?) is the king of
Hollywood. Peppy Miller is a young starlet who attaches herself to
George, but becomes a star of the talkies on her own steam. She never
forgets George even when he hits rock bottom. Both
however are upstaged by Uggie , a cute little dog who steals the show.
(2011)
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The Descendants
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***½
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Not much action and kind of a weak story line, but
high marks for an accurate portrayal of life in Hawaii away from the
tourist zones. Geroge Clooney plays Matt King, a Honolulu lawyer
whose wife had been seriously injured in a boating accident. A
workaholic, in addition to his practice, he devotes a lot of time looking
after a family trust, a huge parcel of prime real estate on Kauai.
With his wife in a coma, Matt is forced to deal with his two teen age
daughters and a wiseass boyfriend of the elder. The sound track
contains many classic recordings by the giants of Hawaiian music., mostly
in the Hawaiian language. (2011)
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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
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****
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I liked the Swedish language version better, but
the English adaptation is worth your while to see. Rooney Mara as
the "girl" is believable, and Daniel Craig handles the subtlety
of his role very well. The special effects are better in this
version, but the secondary characters are more effective in the
Swedish version. (2011)
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Larry Crowne.
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***
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Pure Hollywood but fun to watch. Tom Hanks in
the title role is a dedicated worker at a Wal-Mart kind of store who gets
downsized. Julia Roberts is an unhappy teacher at a community
college with a bad marriage. When Larry decides to return to school
the predictable happens. Never mind, put your brain in neutral and
watch these stars do their thing. (2011)
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Margin Call
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***
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In this cautionary tale about the fall of a thinly
disguised Lehman Brothers, Kevin Spacey plays a mid-level executive
in a chain of command that has no idea of what is going on in the
business. What is going on is that some lower level employees have
made some trades which are going to sink the firm. The always
excellent Stanley Tucci is two levels below Spacey has pretty much figured
out what is happening but he is fired. On the way out the door, he
gives a thumb drive to a young quant in his department, who is able to put
the pieces together. What follows is a Greek tragedy in which is
punished. Jeremy Irons as CEO John Tuld (rhymes with Fuld) is
suitably unctuous. (2011)
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 - chick flick
alert
DVD/HBO
Casino Jack
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***
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This would be hard to believe if it weren't
true. Jack Abramoff, a religious but deeply flawed lobbyist,
justifed his criminal activites by donating a lot of money to worthwhile
causes. As he now admits, it doesn't work that way. He charged
his clients exorbitant fees and used the money to "buy" enough
congressmen to justify the expenditures. If this weren't a
true story it would be dismissed as too far removed from reality. (2010)
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Despicable Me
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***½
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Very impressive graphics and a cute story make this
suitable for adults and kids. Steve Carrell is the voice of Gru, a
villain with a soft spot. He has a plan to steal the moon, also the
objective of another villain, Vector, voiced by Jason Segel, and the
two battle throughout. Gru is aided by three little girls whom he
has inexplicably adopted. Lots of flashy graphics and enough in
jokes to keep the adults awake.
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Ghost Writer
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**
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If you are a conspiracy theorist who believes that
George Bush and Tony Blair were secretly working for the CIA this movie is
right up your street. Ewan McGregor is an out of work writer who
gets picked to help a thinly-disguised Blair (Pierce Brosnan) write his
memoirs. He finds himself being sucked in to something bigger than
the book. He tracks down a Harvard professor played by Tom
Wilkinson, who is secretly a CIA agent pulling the strings of the leaders
of the Free World. And who might you guess is facilitating all this
secret agent stuff? Why its none other than a corporation that looks
a lot like Halliburton. There is a lot of acting talent wasted on
this preposterous pot-boiler (2010)
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The Life of David Gale
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***
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Kevin Spacey plays the title role in this film
about the death penalty. Whatever your point of view about this
issue, it is unlikely that this melodrama will change your point of
view. Spacey and his brilliant co-stars Laura Linney and Kate
Winslet do their best but the story line lacks plausibility. Shot on
location in Austin and Huntsville Texas. (2003)
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Too Big To Fail
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***½
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One of the better made-for-TV biopics, this tells
the story of the collapse of Lehman Brothers and how the event nearly sank
the world's financial markets. William Hurt is outstanding as Hank
Paulson, the former head of Goldman, Sachs, who proved to be a real hero
in his roe as George Bush's Treasurer Secretary. Paul Giamatti
portrayal of Ben Bernanke's face and voice are eerily accurate - worth the
price of admission. The rest of the supporting cast is very good.
(2011)
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- chick flick
alert
* waste of time
and money
** coming soon to HBO
*** worth a trip to the neighborhood
cinema
**** worth a trip across town
***** don't miss |