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Lew's Movie Reviews
IN THEATERS
Crazy Heart
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****
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A classic performance by Jeff Bridges earned him a
well-deserved Oscar in this story of a down and out country and western
singer/songwriter. His intensity is matched by Maggie Gyllemhaal who plays
a free-lance journalist who is charmed by the musician. The songs that were written for the movie were actually
pretty good. Well worth
seeing. (2009)
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An Education
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***
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Carey Mulligan picked up a Best Actress Oscar
nomination for her portrayal of Jenny, an English school girl who falls
for an older man. She was quite good, but had moments of serious
over-acting. Alfred Molina was highly praised for his work as
Jenny's father, but frankly he was not at his best, seeming more like a
cartoon character than anything else. Peter Sarsgaard was never
quite convincing as the romantic bon vivant who sweeps Jenny and her
parents off their feet. Despite the aforementioned shortcomings, the
film is enjoyable and well worth watching. (2009)
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The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
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***½
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Subtitles plus fast action give your eyeballs a
workout in this adaptation of the wildly popular novel.
The book had many, many subplots, some of which had to be excluded,
but on the whole the movie gets the essence of the main story right,
The movie has a James Bond feel, but a lot of the action is mental
rather than physical. Filmed
in Sweden with Swedish actors, the faces are all new and real-looking.
Don't expect high art, just sit back and relax – the baddies get
their comeuppance and the good guys land on their feet. (2010)
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The September Issue
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*½
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A documentary about putting together the September
2007 issue of Vougue should have let the public decide if editor Ann
Wintour is as much of a bitch as she was portrayed by Meryl Streep in The
Devil Wore Prada. Unfortunately we don't learn a thing about Wintour
but learn alot more than we care to know about the people in her
entourage. A very disappointing movie. (2009)
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 - chick flick
alert
DVD/HBO
East of Eden
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*****
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One of only three movies made by James Dean, this
was probably his best. His
strained relationship with his screen father, Raymond Massey feels real.
The interplay between him and his mother, Jo Van Fleet is even
better. Age has not dimmed
the brilliance of this film one iota. (1955)
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Elmer Gantry
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**½
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The story of a deeply flawed fire and brimstone
preacher probably seemed pretty implausible when this film was released,
but low and behold, here comes Jimmy Swaggert. Life does imitate
art. I would have given this film a much higher rating, but Jean
Simmons, a proper Brit, is woefully miscast as a revivalist from the US Midwest.
Burt Lancaster won a Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Gantry, and
Shirley Jones got a Best Supporting Actress award as Gantry's ex-
girlfriend. They were very good, but couldn't make up for Simmons'
inadequacies. (1960)
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Hobson's Choice
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***
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Charles Laughton is at his rotund best as Henry
Hobson, proprietor of an English boot shop whose three unmarried daughters
live and work with him. He is unaware that his sucess is a result of
the management skills of his eldest daughter Maggie and his top boot maker
Will Mossop (John Mills). At thirty, Maggie is deemed by Hobson to
be well beyond the marrying age, but she has other ideas. One of the
fun things about watching this film is to see Prunella Scales (John
Cleese's wife in Fawlty Towers) as a 22-year old. David Lean
directed this classic. (1954)
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Is Anybody There?
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***
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Michael Caine appears as the Amazing Clarence, a 75
year old retired magician. Down and out, he moves into a
retirement home populated by some very strange oldsters. The
husband and wife owners converted their residence into a business
about a year ago, displacing their 10 year old son from his bedroom.
He is not happy about this situation. Predictably, the son and
Clarence become buddies. Actually, the whole movie is quite
predicable, but Caine makes the movie more than just watchable.
(2008)
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The Last Picture Show
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****
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An instant classic about life in a small Texas town
in the early fifties. This movie is as fresh today as it was when it was
released almost forty years ago. Cybill Shepherd was the only weak
link, but she was so good looking that nobody noticed. Ben Johnson
and Cloris Leachman won well-deserved Oscar for their supporting
roles. Director Peter Bogdanovich gives a very interesting interview
on the DVD, (1971)
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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 |