**

Play the Game-nf We debated whether we should give this movie a two star or a one star which is our lowest rating. It is not that the movie wasn’t pleasant, held our attention and perhaps made us smile a few times. It was “smaltzy”, perhaps a little cute. However it was also quite predictable, showed older folks in a stereotypical if not demeaning manner, had little defects in the continuity, had just fair acting with pros such as Andy Griffith, Doris Roberts and Liz Sheridan who probably could have done better if given a decent story. And what was the story? Old man (Andy Griffith) is in senior living facility after his wife of many years dies, feels lonely and sad. Grandson David (Paul Campbell) who works as a car salesman and also knows how to con women to win them over, visits granddad and encourages him to meet new women. He would show him how to “play the game.” This means giving the woman the impression that you are really not interested and yet show yourself to be intelligent and very desirable. The next thing you know the woman is hot for you and things go from there. Grandpa only wants companionship and doesn’t want to go this route. He certainly doesn’t even think he could do the “wild thing” even if he wanted to do it. His grandson eventually convinces him to give wooing women a try because after all that is what he promised grandma he would do once she was gone. In the meantime “boychek” ends up getting conned by a girl (Marla Sokoloff) who he really likes. Grandpa, on the other hand is suddenly very successful with women in the senior residence who are all hot for him. One of them even slips him a Viagra and now he is up and ready to go. Even though you are probably not going to see this movie we are sure you will not be surprised when we tell you that it eventually has a happy ending. (2009)

***

Life of  Brian ( Monty Python) nf – Every once an awhile we get a hankering to see an old movie that people always talk about but we have not seen.  This time we chose this comedy classic that was made 31 years ago and more recently we heard some folks even older than we reminiscing about what a funny film this was. Now we realize that we can’t judge it by contemporary standards. Satire always is at its best when the events that it is making fun of have recently happened. This movie however, is ridiculing events that happened more than 2000 years ago! It was unique in film making at the time as it attempted to  take on religious history and show absolutely no reverence for either Christians or Jews. I don’t recall if any groups boycotted the film but you can see how that might happen.  Ironically, if you turned on today’s news reports and you didn’t know when this film was made you might also think that it was  trying to be a satire of the struggling factions in the middle east taking on their despotic powerful leaders in 2011. The movie opens as Brian ( Graham Chapman ) is a new born child in the stable next door to where Jesus was born and the 3 Wise Men almost mistake him for the Messiah as they came bearing gifts. Brian grows up to join one of the three waring factions which are pitted against the powerful Romans. His buddies in his particular group are the other stars of the movie (John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Ifle and Michael Palin) and everyone had a British accent. Incidentally, all the stars including the director Terry Jones play multiple parts in the movie. The physical setting (filmed apparently in Tunisia) and the costumes are very realistic which makes all the satire and humor come off so well. Once you allow yourself to go with the flow and put aside your respect for human life and people’s religious beliefs, you might find yourself getting some good laughs. Women feel that it is not fair to their sex that they are not allowed to go to a stoning so they wear fake beards so they can participate. There is an argument about people having big noses. People mistake Brian for the Jesus like leader  because they didn’t understand what he was saying and they are willing to follow him anywhere. There is a great musical number sung during a mass crucifixion. If you think you can handle these events, you might enjoy this movie and appreciate why it is a classic.  (1979)

*****

Exporting Raymond sp If you know anything about the Successful TV series  Everybody Loves Raymond , you know that the co-creator writer/producer of this classic comedy show that ran 9 seasons was Phil Rosenthal. So much of the humor of it came from the observations, sensibilities, family experience and sense of humor of this young man. Therefore when SONY pictures and the Russian TV network decided they wanted to make a Russian version of this hit TV series, they decided to invite Phil Rosenthal to come to Russia and advise the writers, directors and producers  how to pull it off. However, SONY also thought it would be a good idea if Rosenthal took a film crew with him to document the entire process. The result is a hilarious, insightful and very fascinating look at Russian television, Russian family life and the Russian sense of humor or lack thereof. It also shows how all of the above in many ways are quite different from it’s American counterpart but yet beneath it all are quite similar. The success of this very funny documentary (how often do you see a funny doc?) is Phil Rosenthal. He is not only the writer/producer/director and star of this masterpiece but it is his sense of humor and timing, which carries this film. He was present at our screening and claimed he had a great deal of luck and just happened to be there filming at the right moment. There were a few spontaneous encounters caught on film with Rosenthal’s parents and it was ELR all over again. The initial attempts to remake some of the original programs in Russian were wildly funny as the show was suffering in its cultural transplantation. The Russian writers, directors and involved in the making of the show were hard to believe but were quite real. There was the  humorless Russian network Director of Comedy. There was a costume designer who believed it was the purpose of a TV comedy to show great trends in fashion even when depicting a typical housewife cleaning her home. In the end Everybody Loves Kostya is now the number one TV show in Russia. This documentary will be released in April and may fall between the cracks but it should definitely not be missed. You will laugh, come away with not only a lighter heart but also with a depth of insight and respect for an incredibly complex process (2011)

**

Limitless- rm We saw this movie in a mutiplex that shows Coming Attractions which they think will have special appeal to the audience that has chosen to see the main feature that is playing in that particular theatre. Therefore we should have been alerted to the genre of this movie when the  three Coming Attractions all showed people getting beaten up, bad guys being chased and one memorable clip where the police are getting ready to track down the criminals and one of them  says they are dangerous, have lots of guns and whatever you do, don’t let them get into cars ( followed by many car crashes ). Now our main feature started off on a very interesting note as the main protagonist, Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper) is shown as a writer with writer’s block who meets his ex-wife’s brother-in law in the street who  just happens to have a top secret drug which when taken will free up the 80% of a person’s brain power that they never really use. When Eddie takes his first pill he not only is able to quickly write a great book much to the surprise of his agent but he also  finds that he has perfect recall of anything he has ever seen, amazing powers of deduction and therefore the skills to do just about any thing he wants to do. Taking these pills on a regular basis of course give him the ability  to seduce women, make money in the financial markets  and figure out ways of defeating people who might be trying to hurt him. Not surprisingly there are people who are trying to hurt him, get the pills and use the powers. There is the requisite bad guy with the Russian accent (Andrew Howard) and an on again-off again girl friend (Abbie Cornish)  who one time has to take a pill to thwart someone about  to kill her, using her temporary boost in  brain power to reverse the tables on him. There is also Carl van Loon (Robert De Niro) a Warren Buffet type character who wants to use Morra to make even more money. This relatively small role of the wise old man character seems to be a reprise of some recent DeNiro castings and is  not worthy of his great talent.  We will grant that a good part of this movie was entertaining and held our  interest but it was not satisfying. Credit should be given to director Neil Burger and his team as they skillfully showed us in flashes the  images of the fleeting memories that were now being recaptured after taking the pill and were being used for some great intellectual or physical feat. Some of these special powers may have been communicated to the audience as  the ending of the film  gave us  the feeling that they may might be setting us up for a sequel, after all the potential of this theme is Limitless.(2011)

***

Cracks sp- The title of this movie according Juno Temple, one of the stars of it who was at our screening, comes from South African slang meaning “crushes” such as being enamored with someone. The movie is set in the 1930s on a small island, which is part of Great Britain where there is a girl’s boarding school. The girls who seem to be of high school age are formed in teams and one of the teacher leaders is beautiful Miss G ( Eva Green who was a James Bond girl in previous movie ). The girls seem to idolize Miss G who tells them stories of her travels and encourages them they can do anything they set their mind to do. Di ( Juno Temple) is one of the more accomplished young girls and is a leader of the group, is a great swimmer and diver  and prime follower of Miss G. Along comes a new girl sent to the island by her Spanish aristocrat family  to join the school and their group. Fiamma (Maria Valverde) is beautiful, intelligent and an  even better diver (symbolic of her great skills). She is worldly and has traveled in ways that Miss G has only imagined. The dynamics of the relationship between teacher and the girls is dramatically changed and the meaning of “cracks” comes to a boiling point. On this magnificent island that gives you the feeling of everything being the same for so many years, we have a contrast of confusion and turmoil in these young women. The question that we have is will this interesting and powerful story grab and hold the audience. We found ourselves pondering that question, rather than empathizing and being taken up by the movie. Juno Temple who spoke with our audience after the film, related how first time Director Jordon Scott (daughter of Ridley Scott) had the actresses playing the students write an essay of what they imagined was their own back story which they read to each other so they would understand their characters. Perhaps one of the problems was that we as the audience were not in on this background. This may be why we found the  characters to be  somewhat “cardboard like”  and stereotypical. While they were quite different, we didn’t know them as individuals. In the end, nothing will ever be the same but we are not really sure why. (2011)

***

Win Win sp- The unglamorous struggles of people’s everyday lives can be the making of a good story and a good movie. Writer /Director Thomas McCarthy who seems to specialize in this approach (The Visitor and Station Agent) takes us to small community in New Jersey where Mike (Paul Giamatti )volunteers as the high school wrestling coach of the very anemic wrestling team,  while he works as a lawyer who helps the elderly. Mike is feeling the stress of the economy and asks the court to appoint him as guardian of a  client with some assets as well as early dementia (Burt Young) so he can get the financial commission. He  puts him in an assisted living facility rather than arranging for him to be cared for at home as he promised the court.. The old man’s taciturn grandson Kyle(Alex Shaffer) appears from out of town and moves in with Mike , his wife (Amy Ryan) their two young daughters and attends the high school . Kyle  happens to be a great wrestler and this is exciting for the  high school team, the Coach and his two assistant coaches (Jeff Tambor and Bobby Cannavale). The conflict is complete when Kyle’s young mother(Melanie Lynskey) also blows into town. She  has been  an addict, not a very good mom or daughter but now wants to be involved with her father because she needs the money. There is poignant meaningful interaction between the main characters by which the audience gains insight into their struggles and growth.  As might be expected Giamatti is the glue of the film as the audience feels his pain, understands his choices and wants to see him work through the jam that he has created for himself. Alex Shaffer apparently a true curly blond teenage boy was a Michigan state high school wrestling champ but had absolutely no acting experience when McCarthy cast him as Kyle and put him under his wing. He carried off his role quite well and needless to say the wrestling scenes were very realistic. Veteran producer of this film Michael London who produced Sideways, was guest speaker at our screening along with Melanie  Lynskey. When a screening is accompanied by an army of security guards as this one was, who search you for cell phones and the like which had to be kept out of the theater, one tends to expect a blockbuster of a movie. That was not the case with this film, but it was a character driven movie that showed real people “wrestling” with the conflicts of their lives and trying to make the best of their situations.(2011)

***

For My Father- nf– This Israeli-German co-produced movie in Hebrew with sub titles gives us a thought provoking storyline as we see early in the film, a young Arab (probably a Palestinian) by the name of Tarek (Shredi Dabarin) is smuggled into Tel Aviv wearing an explosive vest. on a suicide mission. He is angry at the Jews and is ready to die . There is a subplot how he can save his father’s honor by going through with this deed and his father might be killed if he doesn’t. He grits his teeth and pushes the button but there is “ wardrobe malfunction”. There is a faulty switch so he enters an electrical repair shop and orders a new part but it won’t be ready for two days (since the next day is Shabbat). He meets some nice Israelis who treat him well and have their own tales of pain and alienation  including a beautiful girl Karen (Hil Yalon). There are phone calls back and forth to his parents who don’t know what he is about to do as well as calls from his handlers, who once his switch is replaced, want him to find a crowded street and get on with it. They also have the option to remotely push the button but they would rather he find the right spot to do it. What will he do? Then there is the finale. On one hand this movie is simple straightforward and predictable but on the other hand, each character and situation reflects the human tragedy of the Middle East conflict on both sides. This is not a pro-Israel movie.  Rather you come away appreciating some of the motivations and angst of each of the characters whom me meet here. The film holds your attention and forces you to confront all the ambiguities. Hopefully there will be an Arab made movie that tries to do the same thing. (2008)

***

Skateland sp- Anthony Burns along with Brandon and Heath Freeman wanted to write and make their first movie about East Texas in the early 1980s where they grew up. The tag line of the movie expresses what they were trying to capture, “ It was a time when life was easy …in a place they though would never change.”  Skateland was the town roller rink where the young people gathered and some hung around or returned there even after graduating High School. The film focuses on  a crowd where everyone smoked, drank beer and jockeyed for their boy girl relationships. The two main characters are Brent Burkam  (Health Freeman) slightly older than the rest who unsuccessfully raced motorcycles for a few years and comes back to town to hang around with buddies such as Ritchie Wheeler (Shiloh Fernandez)  who is about to graduate high school. He is the assistant manager of the roller rink and can’t decide what to do with his life. There are shades of  young Ron Howard and Richard Dreyfus, playing characters trying to figure out their lives in American Graffiti with the 1970s take on that decade. Jump forward ten years and we have the constant music beat of the 80s setting the background for the young peoples angst, mixed with drinking, parties, cars and some violence. While the story is about the guys, there is an interesting influence of the women. Ritchie’s younger sister Mary(Haley Romm) and his girl friend Michelle(Ashley Greene) are the strong characters of the movie perhaps reflecting the women’s movement as did the actions of Richies Mom (Melinda McGraw). While the setting and life style may not quite be the early 80s of the northeast where our kids grew up, this young movie team has created an enduring period piece. The photography, setting and the direction is definitely first rate . We may look back on this film and realize that it was a breakout for several of the actors who were excellent.  The movie earned a slot at the Sundance Film Festival which is not an easy accomplishment for an Indie low budget film which was a first time effort for  the Director and writers. It will have distribution and will open in late March- early April in NY and LA. (2011)