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In the Valley of Elah – nf – This is a story based on an incident, which actually happened during the current Iraq war. It follows the story of the grieving father played extremely well by Tommy Lee Jones as he seeks to find out what really happened to his soldier son. You might say this is an excellent detective story but it is also an expose of the morality of the war and the psychological damage that it has inflicted on so many soldiers. There were wonderful supporting roles by Charliez Theron and Susan Sarandon. Several of the young actors who played soldiers were actually combat veterans, which added to the depicted realism. 2007

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He’s Just Not That In To You – rm – We decided to watch this movie on a recent NY-LA flight. We thought that this film with Jenifer Anisten, Ben Afflick, Drew Barrymore, Scarlet Johannson and Kevin Conolly (from Entourage) might be a light movie that would fit the bill. After seeing it, we didn’t quite agree on how to score it so we averaged or our ratings. Susan thought it was a fluffy but enjoyable movie which depicted well contemporary dating relationships of young people but in a humorous fashion, Michael thought it was a unimaginative film which wasn’t worth the time even on a boring plane trip (He should have stayed with his book). It did demonstrate how cell phone, texting, email, Facebook and MySpace (they seem to have left out Twitter) all are a crucial part of the singles scene. Maybe, Michael took it a little too seriously, but he also thought it was demeaning to women. We hope this analysis doesn’t peak your curiosity to see it. 2009

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Casablanca – nf – We had to see this classic so should you even if you have seen it awhile back. It is amazing to appreciate that this film made in 1942 about wartime Casablanca and the interface of various people who want to escape the iron hand of the Nazis, before anyone really knew how things would work out. Beautiful Ingrid Bergman and debonair and yet tough Humphrey Bogart in their classic performance. You will be reminded of all those classic film lines such as “Here’s looking at you kid “. Thoroughly enjoyable. 1943

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Captain Abu Raed – sp – This is one of few films made for export from Jordon. It is non-political. It is a beautiful film that shows life in rural Jordon but what makes this film so worthwhile is the sensitivity and depth in which it shows the ability of human beings to care for others. It also shows some important universal conflicts. The young children in the movie are important players and the actors were found by holding auditions in various orphanages. The movie has won numerous awards in movie festivals and the lead male Jordanian older actor should be a candidate for many awards. (Subtitles but you forget that they are there) 2007

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Happy-Go-Lucky – np – Poppy (played by Sally Hawkins for which she won a Golden Globe) is a thirty year old impish London schoolteacher who has a great sense of humor and is always making jokes which will make you smile. She has some close girl friends and even meets a nice guy. But her sensitive side shows through when she sees kids in trouble and also in her relationship with her once a week driving instructor who is somewhat unbalanced. This is a slice of life piece of a very likeable character. Kudos to the acting and to Michael Leigh the director for a good character study. We could have used subtitles for the first ten minutes until we were use to the British accent. We weren’t sure the film was worth an hour and 58 minutes. 2008

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Gran Torino – rm – Clint Eastwood directs and stars as the crusty widower who is the last relic of a changing neighborhood. Not surprisingly, the character is perfectly played and created a full range of emotional experiences in your reviewers. While the story is somewhat predictable it holds your full attention. We almost didn’t choose to see this movie but are very glad that we did and will not forget it. 2008

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Gigantic – sp – This is another one of those Independent film that picks up some well known actors which in this case it is why it probably gets distribution. Twenty eight year old single man decides he wants to adopt a Chinese baby. He meets and is attracted to quirky and somewhat unstable girl whose father played by John Goodman grabs your attention, as did the young man’s father played by Ed Asner. Despite it being well acted, we didn’t think the movie was really worth seeing. Screen writer and first time director Matt Aselton was the guest speaker at our film course and confirmed how the characters were not meant to be fully developed and how the story was supposed to keep the viewers off balance and really not be clearly understood (which we noted and agreed). He couldn’t explain, nor could we guess, the reason for the title of the movie. 2009

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Garden State – nf – Kind of a slacker movie, “days in the life…” of some offbeat, but affecting young people having trouble growing up. 2004

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Frozen River – nf – Set in northern New York state at the icy cold Canadian border, this painful movie will hold your attention every second. It is about two women. One is a white women trying to survive with her two children and barely making ends meet, played by Melissa Leo in an Oscar nominated performance. The other is a widowed Mohawk woman from the reservation who is desperate to get her son back from her mother- in law and will also need money to survive. They become involved in smuggling illegal immigrants into the United States across the frozen river. There is tension mixed with real human struggles. The movie doesn’t make one false step. We can’t think how they could have done it better. It is directed and written by Courtney Hunt who received an Oscar nomination for the screenplay. There is no joy in watching this film but it is very good! 2008

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Frost/Nixon – rm – This is the story of the remarkable series of TV interviews that David Frost, a TV emcee type person had with the then deposed ex-President Richard Nixon. If you recall this historical time you will relive the unique situation our country was going through. The depiction of Nixon and Frost is quite good and the actual interviews are apparently true to the transcript of the programs. They do seem to have captured the fascinating personality of the flawed President. The writer and director did take some poetic license with some of the interactions which they purport to have taken place between Frost and Nixon which disappointed us when we learned this from other sources This made the movie less significant in our minds and takes away from our valuation of the movie although it is still immensely enjoyable. 2008