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Lew's Movie Reviews
IN THEATERS
Earth
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***½
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Released on Earth Day, I expected a lecture on how
man was ruining the environment. I was pleasantly surprised global
warning was raised as an issue but there was no scolding. This is a
well-made documentary about animals that features some amazing
photography. The stars of the show are a family of polar bears whose
adventures are tracked from the moment two cubs first see the light of day
until they are full grown and ready to be independent. The most
incredible footage shows an immense Great White Shark rocketing out of the
water to snare a seal. This was Jaws on steroids. (2009)
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Hangover
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****
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It's crude, it's rude, it shouldn't be funny - but
it is. Three buddies take a bridegroom to Las Vegas for a
pre-wedding bachelor party. When the buddies wake up with monumental
hangovers they discover that the bridegroom has disappeared. As they
search for him in their Caesar's Palace suite they discover a live tiger
locked in the bathroom. Things go downhill from there. The
characters are fun, the sight gags are funny and everybody has a good
time, including Mike Tyson, who, it turns out, is the owner of the
tiger. A guilty pleasure to watch. (2009)
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State of Play
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***
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Russell Crowe stars as a Carl Bernstein-like
maverick reporter for a Washington Post-like newspaper struggling to
survive in the post-internet world. His best friend, a congressman,
Ben Affleck, is conducting hearings into the activities of a Blackwater-like
government contractor when tragedy strikes the congressman's chief
researcher on the issue. This is the first of a series of apparently
unrelated violent events, but guess what - they are all related.
Although flawed, the movie is fast-paced and entertaining. A few too
many clichés keep this from being better. (2009)
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Up
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*½
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They said this could be enjoyed by both adults and
kids. They were at most half-right. You have to tip your hat
to Pixar for their technical wizardry but this is not - repeat - not for
adults. It appears to be quite violent for young kids but maybe
today's younger generation is inured to this sort of thing. (2009)
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DVD/HBO
Australia
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**
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Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman soldier on in this
sprawling tale of northern Australia in the years just prior to World War
II. They will not be proud of their performances but truth be told
they must have had a hard time keeping a straight face reciting the trite
and embarrassing lines they were given. Here is a sample:
after discussing the fact that they had both been married and produced no
children Kidman says to Jackman - "Too bad you didn't
have any children - you'd have been a great father". After contemplating
this for a while Jackman says to Kidman - "Too bad you didn't have
any children. You'd have made a great mother". Even worse
than the dialogue was the clumsy overuse of computer generated
images. In theory this is about the vast spaces in the Northern
Territories, but it looks like the majority of the film was filmed with
the actors standing in front of a giant computer monitor. This runs
to three hours but seems longer. (2008)
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Brief Encounter
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****
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This Noel Coward / David Lean classic has recently been
converted to an opera by Andre Previn, creating a new demand for this
post-War British film. The story is a bit of a cliché but the
execution is so good that it is well worth seeing. Two respectable
people have a chance meeting at a train station and are attracted to each
other. Both are happily married with families and know from the
outset that a fairy tale ending is not going to happen, but that doesn't
stop them from letting things get a little out of hand. The movie begins
with the main characters going thier separate ways, and the story is told
through a series of flashbacks. Back in the day when trains were the
preferred mode of travel, scenes at train stations had a lot of mysterious
steam. Air travel has nothing equivalent. Too bad. (1945)
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Gran Torino
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***½
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Clint Eastwood plays Walt Kowalski, a veteran of
the Korean War and fifty years on a Ford plant assembly line. His
once white neighborhood has been taken over by Hmong refugees. He
makes no secret of his dislike of Blacks, Orientals, his parish priest,
and his sons and grandchildren. His oldest son sells Japanese cars
which Walt takes as the ultimate show of disrespect. His pride and
joy is his 1972 Ford Gran Torino, which plays a central role in the
story. Walt just wants to be left alone but he is eventually charmed
by his next door neighbor's young daughter who invites him to a party
where he feels out of place but loves the food and beer. The
neighbor's son is very shy and Walt takes on "manning him up" as
a project, which turns out to involve him in a turf war with an
unconventional outcome. The movie has a few too many clichés, but
Eastwood and his supporting cast are well worth watching. (2008)
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Grey Gardens (documentary)
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****½
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This is cinema verité movie-making at its
best. The Maysles brothers have captured two of the most eccentric
women ever seen on screen in this documentary which was the basis for the
recent HBO special. This film must be seen to appreciate how
completely Drew Barrymore captured the character of little Edie Beale in
the remake. Unforgettable. (1975)
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Volver
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****
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Pedro Almodover always has something shocking up
his sleeve. In Volver he has enough surprises to fill both
sleeves. What is not surprising is that Penelope Cruz is
dazzling, her performance garnering her a Best Actress Oscar
nomination. She has a role that is very complex. She plays
Raimunda, a woman from La Mancha who has unusual relationships with her
daughter, her sister, and her late mother. As in all of Almodovar's
movies, men play incidental roles. The women are the stars and they
are all great in this film. In Spanish with English sub-titles.
(2006)
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* waste of time
and money
** coming soon to HBO
*** worth a trip to the neighborhood
cinema
**** worth a trip across town
***** don't miss |