****

Let Me In- sp You probably don’t want to see this movie unless you like Vampire films with all the blood, gore and death, so they can live another day. But if you like this genre you will get a lot more than just the horror show. It is a very touching story of the coming of age of two 12 years old kids (even if one is 250 years old in a 12 year old’s body) which beautifully shows the innocence of adolescent awakening. There is a very vivid and painful depiction of  bullying by young people which reminds us of the dread that a kid who is the victim of it will feel every day. When there is revenge for this type of treatment, you can imagine what a Vampire. can do. The audience also experiences a palpitating anticipation, which is served up in this type of a movie and greatly helped by a music score with appropriate sound effects which reverberates through your body.  This is all the work of Matt Reeves, who wrote the screenplay based on the novel  Let The Right One In and a Swedish movie by the same name. Reeves who made Cloverfield, was a guest speaker at our screening of this film. He was very clear on what he wanted to achieve, apparently keeping true to parts of the novel, paralleling the European film and writing from some of his own childhood experiences. He used two excellent child actors, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Chloe Grace-Moretz and allowed them to teach him what a 12 year old might feel in these  unusual situations (of course this required them to rev up their imaginations to the fullest). They really did an outstanding job as did Richard Jenkins who was put in the role of a most evil person and yet the audience almost wanted him succeed in his grim tasks. Be aware that about 20 % of our screening audience which probably didn’t know what the subject matter was going to be, walked out on the movie during the first 15-20 minutes. There certainly was no one under 40 in those walkers. If they had stayed until the end they might have appreciated the thoughtful writing, excellent acting and a top notch Vampire film.(2010)

****

The Town rm– The Boston Police Department is not going to like this movie. Ben Affleck obviously dove head first into this film, being director, lead actor and co-writer. His character Doug MacRay is a home grown product of Charlestown section of Boston where there have been more bank robbers per capita than any other place in the U.S.A. He and his buddy James Coughlin played by Jeremy Renner and a bunch of other guys blast open the movie pulling off one of those heists. There is plenty of action in this movie including one of best car chase scenes that we have seen since Gene Hackman in The French Connection quite a while ago. You really get to know and understand MacRay and can’t help caring about him and rooting for his relationship with Claire Keesy (Rebecca Hall) the bank manager of the opening robbery who end up being sympathetic bed fellows. Casting Jon Hamm    (of tv Mad Man fame) was a great choice as the opposing FBI agent along with Titus Welliver (the “bad” DA in The Good Wife tv series) who is his trusty assistant. The entire cast of characters is quite believable which is a tribute to their great acting, fast pace and the outstanding directing by Affleck who kept us on the edge of our seats. There also is a sensitive insight into how in some communities and families, young people get drawn into a life of crime from which it is very hard to extract themselves. The question is whether you can suspend reality and swallow the story line when the band of thieves faces down the entire Boston PD including  their SWAT teams and our hero ultimately attempts to do a payback to his beloved town.(2010)

****

The Bicycle Thief- nf- We decided that we would use Netflix to reach back more than 60 years ago and view this classic award winning (a special Oscar) Italian film made by legendary filmmaker Vittorio De Sica. When it was made in 1948, it was originally more aptly titled Bicycle Thieves. Antonio Ricci played by Lamberto Maddiorani was one of the many unemployed in post war Rome, however he is luckily chosen for a job hanging posters around town (such as those with Rita Hayworth’s picture on them). He desperately needs the job and it requires that he have a bicycle but his is in the pawnshop. His wife sells their sheets and pillowcases from their little apartment so he can get back his bike. We meet his son Bruno played by seven year old Enzo Staiola who was literally plucked from the streets for this role. The bicycle is stolen before Antonio’s eyes and despite a chase he sadly doesn’t catch the thief. He embarks on a search for the bicycle accompanied by his young son through the back alleys and busy streets of Rome. The movie is shot in black and white, which enhances the depression, and poverty, which the film conveys. Credit must go, as it did, to De Sica for the great performances of his two main stars who were both in their first movie. You see and feel the desperation of Maddiorani’s character as well of that of the entire city. The young son despite his age is shown working in a gas station but joins his Dad in their futile search. Bruno who is wise beyond his years but yet clearly looks up to his father and depends on him. This is what leads Antonio to his fateful decision. When “ Fini” comes up on the screen, we realize we have had a realistic but poignant glimpse into a piece of European history which we will not forget. (1948)

***

A Single Man – nf-  This is one of those films which tries to explain what life is all about. It is set in 1962 and George Falcon  (Colin Firth)  is a gay English Professor at a college in Los Angeles. Very early in the movie we learn that his partner of 16 years has died in car accident while visiting his family in the north. The funeral is only for  “ family” and George is not welcome to attend. The movie proceeds to show a subsequent meaningful day in his life, albeit with various flashbacks, while he is drowning in his grief. It is a meaningful day because we see that George is planning for this day to be his last one. Many of the people whom he meets in his usual day seem to detect that he is unhappy and do seem to care about him. There are two people who are capable of moving him   We meet Charley (Julianne Moore) whom he first knew in England, was briefly a former lover  and now lives nearby and is a very good friend. She seems to mirror his struggle trying to find the meaning of life and their interaction is warm, intimate and provides rich insight into both of them. However he seems to be able to leave her behind. As determined, as George is to make this his last day, his order of things seems to be shook up as Kenny (Nicolas Hoult) one of his students seeks him out and makes a connection with him. This is very complicated connection, no doubt, and this relationship makes the point of the movie about the meaning of life. This film is based on book written by Christopher Isherwood more than 25 years ago and appears to have had a very special meaning to director Tom Ford who wrote the screenplay with David Scearce. In the commentary on the DVD, it is clear that Ford clearly identifies with the main character. He describes many of the complicated symbolism and imagery, which he used in the film which certainly did not come to mind while watching it.  On  the other hand, it is the total effect that really counts and Ford has put into the film a musical score that parallels the mood being developed, as does the changing tints and colors that have been used . Whether or not you get caught up in the message of the movie, it is easy to see why Colin Firth was nominated for an Oscar for this performance. In his British understated manner he conveys usually just with his facial expressions a range of emotions from unmitigated grief and sadness to the subtle joy of caring and being cared about. (2010)

**

Crazy Heart- nf-  A self centered , has been,  country music singer by the name of Bad Blake  ( Jeff Bridges ) is an , alcoholic , big time smoker, overweight who is reduced to playing with the local band in dinky  bars. He   rolls into a small town and meets a young women  (Maggie Gyllenhaal)  with a four year old son  who interviews him for a local newspaper.  They end up in bed together and our has been country singer with four failed marriages and son he hasn’t spoken to in 24 years wants  immediately decides that he has to be with her. He gets  inspired to write some new songs, which he hasn’t done  in many years, for his former protégée ( Colin Farrell )  who is now big time star. Bad Blake also wants to change his ways so he isn’t so bad. Don’t worry that some of the plot is revealed. If you see decide to see the movie you shouldn’t be doing it for the storyline which is hackneyed and not very believable. Both Bridges and Gyllenhaal were nominated for Academy awards for their acting and Bridges actually snared the award.  He was outstanding as he actually made this fairly obnoxious character almost likeable. He did his own singing as did Farrell although there may have been a little lip syncing. If you have any inclination towards enjoying country music that is the best part of the film and there also was an Oscar for one of the original songs. The great  acting, the enjoyable  music and even a supporting role by Robert Duvall who was a producer for the film and  played  a friend and a bartender, can’t make us say we were glad we saw this movie or recommend it  (2009)

* * *
Heartbreaker – sp – When you see a romantic comedy especially when it is a “farce”, you have to be able to suspend your expectation for realism and just enjoy the film. One of us was able to do that right away and the other took a little longer to give into the premise. Romain Duris is Alex the young, suave, bearded Frenchman ( the film is in French with subtitles ) who works with his sister and her husband in a unique business. A client who believes that a particular woman should not be romantically involved with her boyfriend or fiancée hires them. This team will research this woman and determine her special likes and dislikes. They will arrange a scenario where Alex will happen to meet her, charm her and when she falls in love with him, he will not be emotionally available but she will realize that she should not be with her current boyfriend. The job is completed and the con team gets paid. They often use high tech to set up their ruses. It should be noted that Alex has scruples in that he will never accept a job unless he really believes the girl shouldn’t be with her current lover. It is an interesting premise and the trio of screenwriters and the direction of Pascal Chaumeil creates some very clever and funny scenes. Needless to say, things don’t go according to schedule on one of these capers when Juliette played by Vanessa Paradis is the target of their latest job. The conclusion is a little reminiscent of the ending of The Graduate You will have to decide if you believe that she is now falling in love with the perfect man for her that Alex has created or does she now see his true love for her which she believes she also has for him? One of the screenwriters of the movie is a Harvard educated, AFI graduate Jeremy Doner who obviously has a good feel for the French sensibilities of love and humor. He was a guest at the screening we attended and told us that this film was one of the most financially successful films to be shown in France in the last several years but there usually can only be limited expectations for a foreign movie with subtitles in the United States. Perhaps for this reason, he is currently working on an American English version of this story which has been set for production in the near future. A romantic comedy , even one that is a farce usually ends with a warm feel good sense about the ultimate relationship of the lovers. ( Think Tracy and Hepburn) . The fact that Juliette’s feelings for Alex were based on the con job pulled off by Alex may take away a bit from the audience’s feeling good about the lovers as the movie concludes. Perhaps they can fine tune the ending of the English version so there is no doubt that they are right for each other. 2010

* * * *
The Visitor – nf – When a movie is able to shine a fresh emotional and insightful light on some aspect of the immigrant issues in this country, it deserves our attention. Screenwriter and director Thomas McCarthy brings this film to us shortly after bringing out the acclaimed The Station Agent. In this current movie we have Walter Vale who is a depressed, isolated widowed economics professor at a Connecticut college. He comes to Manhattan to deliver a paper at NYU and finds a young couple from Syria and Senegal living in his rarely used flat. Tarek, the young man portrayed by a new comer Haaz Sleiman, plays the African drum and connects with Vale who has yearning to create music perhaps because his late wife was pianist. As the professor finds that he has a knack for playing these drum rhythms, the story also focuses on the evolution of this character who is played by veteran actor Richard Jenkins, well known especially for his work on the TV series Six Feet Under. In the commentary on the Netflix DVD, Jenkins said that he waited a lifetime for a role such as this one . The immigrant issue erupts when Tarek, on a fluke, is picked up by the police and placed in a detention center. This devastates his girl friend Zainab sensitively played by Danai Guriria in her first role since NYU acting school. Rounding out the mix is an experienced actress Hiam Abbasses as Tarek’s mother who comes from Michigan when her son stops his daily phone calls while locked up. We see how the mother and girl friend are even afraid to visit Tarek since they are all “illegal” The emotional interplay between these four actors is outstanding as their characters represent people from three different cultures. The disruption and destruction of hopes and aspiration of the three non-citizens is expressed in a memorable scene which Jenkins releases his pent-up emotions which is reminiscent of the well known frustrating outcry of Peter Finch in the 1971 movie Network . You come away from this film not with any answers but with a sense of the pain of the people who are living these scenarios every day. 2008

* * * *
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo – nf – This is the Swedish portrayal of the first of the three popular novels by Stieg Larsson. There is an American film of this novel due out in 2011. One of us read the trilogy and the other did not. When you have read the book, you are aware of all the subplots, relationships, twists and turns that are left out and of course you pretty much know how the mystery is solved. With a few exceptions, the movie followed the book fairly closely. The one of us who didn’t read the book was pretty much able to keep track of the somewhat complicated plot and the various Vanger family members which could be a tad confusing. The male lead here is not a crusty or a brilliant detective but rather an investigative journalist by the name of Mikael Bolmkvist (Michael Nyqvist) who has just been convicted of libel with a pending jail sentence and has been asked to investigate the disappearance of a the niece of wealthy Henrik Vanger which occurred about 40 years before. The female lead is not the typical beautiful women you might expect to see in this situation but rather a very unusual 26 year old girl name Lispeth Sallander (Noomi Rapce), boyish, attractive, body piercings, dresses in black, rides a motorcycle. and has the huge dragon tattoo on her back. As a child she has had some type of psychiatric care and requires a guardian to manage her finances but is a brilliant computer hacker and has a photographic memory. There is violence, sex and nudity at times in combination but all in the service of the plot, not overdone, but enough to clearly deserve the R rating. The story will pull you in and the direction by Niels Arden Oplev captures the gamut from the beautiful outdoors in Sweden to the effects of painful violence. Despite it being almost 2 and half hours, the film does not drag at all. If you like this movie and are a fan of the late Stieg Larsson who didn’t get a chance to see the great success of his work, there are two more Swedish movies in the can which complete his trilogy and then there is the American version of the first book which is coming out next year. I also heard that additional stories were found on the author’s computer. The Netflix DVD which we viewed had an interview with Noomi Rapace who was quite impressive as she described how she approached her role and inhabited Lispeth for 1 1/2 years while the three films were being made. 2009

* * *
Waiting for Superman – sp – If you are concerned about the educational system in the United States and how it is falling behind many countries in the world and may be letting down children whom you care about, you will want to see this documentary film. The same day that we saw this movie, Thomas Friedman suggested, in the N.Y. Times, that it raises awareness about problems of our education system as the movie An Inconvenient Truth ( the Al Gore film ) did about the environment. Both films were directed by Davis Guggenheim and produced by Lesley Chilcott, with the latter being a guest speaker at our screening. The storyline pulled no punches as it made the point over and over again that bad teachers must be eliminated from schools and replaced with good ones . The enemy here is depicted as the teacher’s unions which oppose evaluation of teachers, merit pay and firing of poor teachers. It is interesting that also the day on which we saw this film, the first round of educational grants to states for Obama’s Race to the Top program were announced . The NY Times article also stated that one important requirement for receiving this money were changes in the schools so teacher’s performances could be evaluated and subsequent action taken based on this information Examples of successful charter schools, magnet schools and public schools were shown in this film. The efforts of Michelle Rhee in Washington, D.C. who is trying to reorganize that school system were highlighted as were interviews with Jeffrey Canada who has set up a successful charter school in New York City in Harlem where he turned around the dropout rate. Canada’s childhood disappointment when he learned that there was no real Superman and therefore he thought there was no one to save him from the hardships of his own difficult childhood circumstances, inspired the title of this movie. It was pointed out in the film that so many kids who drop out end up in the prison system where the cost of keeping them there for an average of four years could pay for a full private school education plus money left over for college. We did think that this movie was somewhat redundant , repetitious and longer than it had to be. It also did not touch upon the role of class size in successful education which the producer did feel had been disproved as a factor, although not covered in the movie. It also failed to explain or analyze the qualities that make a good teacher or a bad one although the difference between the two does make all the difference in the world to a child’s future. The most poignant, dramatic and heartbreaking part of the film was the close-up view of various lotteries which are held to determine which few students of the many sitting in the auditorium are chosen to be accepted to the schools known to successfully graduate it’s students. You can see and feel the disappointment in the children as they realize that they have lost something very special that they dearly wanted. 2010

* * *
The Jane Austen Book Club – nf – The filmmakers obviously did not feel that you had to be Jane Austen fans or at least familiar with her books to appreciate this movie. However one of us who did not read her books, felt that a great deal was missed in understanding the discussion about her various novels and how they were woven into the story. The other one of us while not recalling the stories didn’t feel left out at all. The plot revolves around five women at different places in their lives who decide to form a book club devoted entirely to Jane Austen novels. A chance meeting by one of the characters ends up including one male in the club. Each of the women is having relationship problems. Sylvia (Amy Brenneman) has just been told by her husband (Jimmy Smitts) that he is leaving her for another women. Prudie (Emily Blunt), a French high school teacher, is disappointed in her husband and finds herself attracted to a student. Sylvia’s daughter (Maggie Grace) who is a lesbian is having trouble with relationships. Jocelyn (Maria Bello) is a single dog breeder who hopes that the lone man in the group Grigg (Hugh Dancy) will be good for her friend Sylvia who is down in the dumps about being abandoned by her husband leaving but finds herself attracted to Grigg who is somewhat younger than she. Then there was Bernadette (Kathy Baker) who is the slightly older woman who has been through five marriages and is still thinking about someday making it six. The warmth and caring among the members of the club is very appealing. As they discuss the various Austen novels and their characters, it appears that their own lives are going through parallel struggles. The cast is a well chosen ensemble. The story is based on a book by Karen Joy Fowler. The screenwriter and director is Robin Swicord who has also written, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Memoirs of a Geisha. The setting is Los Angeles and includes a scene in the Marmalade Café that is one of our favorite restaurants, which added to our enjoyment of the film. 2007