***

The Double Hour sp– This Italian film with English subtitles is billed as a romance, a robbery and a mystery and the movie itself is given a subtitle of “nothing is what it seems” That about sums up this well done thriller. You are not sure what is real.  Is it a dream? Is it the main character ‘s mind playing tricks on her or is something else going on here? This reminds us a little bit of the outstanding French film Tell No One which we saw a couple years back. Director Giuseppe Capotondi in his first full feature film initially establishes the story through the eyes of Sonia (Ksenia Rappaort) an attractive hotel chamber maid who is shown connecting with Giudo ( Filippo Timi) after a session of speed dating although you may have some doubts as to what your eyes are really seeing. In the second half of movie we realize we are seeing things from Guido’s point of view as he thinks that he understands the reality of things. While the storyline will dip into the unconscious in more than one way, it doesn’t really give us any Freudian psychodynamics. Needless to say this is the kind of a movie that you will probably understand better the second time you see it but we think once is a enough if you pay close attention. The movie was chosen for distribution by Samuel Goldwyn Films at the Toronto Film Festival by Head of Acquisitions Peter Goldwyn ( grandson of Sam )  who is betting that word of mouth will move this film around the art houses and boutique theatres that show the best of the foreign films. (2011)

*****

Adam’s Rib- nf.  Every once and awhile we like to go back and view a well acclaimed classic film. We do it for enjoyment but also to  try to figure out what is that makes it so great and so enduring. We chose one the 10 best films of all time according to the American Film Institute. The magnificent screenplay by Ruth Gordon and Garsen Karnin, nominated for an Academy Award puts a comedic spin on the age old battle of the sexes which really foreshadows the Women’s Movement and Women’s Liberation which was still 20 years away. The story opens as a woman (Judy Holiday) secretly follows her husband (Tom Ewell) to the apartment of a woman with whom he is having an affair. Quite distraught, she pulls out a revolver and tries to shoot the couple injuring her husband. The following day over breakfast, in a beautiful Manhattan apartment, another husband and wife are reading about the impending trial of this woman. The man who happens to be an Assistant District Attorney (Spencer Tracy) feels that this woman deserves to be fully punished for her terrible deed. His wife, a high powered attorney (Katherine Hepburn), isn’t so sure about that and believes that if the shooter were a man finding his wife having an affair, there would be much more sympathy the perpetrator. Wouldn’t you know it, the husband is assigned to be the prosecutor and the wife has independently decided she would offer to defend the shooter. The trial becomes the vehicle for a hilarious but penetrating analysis of society’s attitude towards women. All the arguments and counter arguments get played out in the courtroom during the day and then in Mr. and Mrs. Bonner’s (Tracy and Hepburn) apartment in the evening. Throughout the film each time one of the characters would seemingly make the winning point in the  male-female conflict, the other would seem to find a way to swing the pendulum in the other direction. The chemistry between these two people is quite palpable. Not only are they great actors but it is well known that they also had a real life romance over many years although never married to each other. The icing on the cake for this movie is that it also introduced an unforgettable Cole Porter song Farewell Amanda which is weaved into the story as it is sung by one of the characters (David Wayne) accompanying himself on the piano, reprised by the voice of Frank Sinatra on the radio, whistled by Katherine Hepburn and sung a cappella by Spencer Tracy. So put together a top notch story with a contemporary social issue that everyone can relate, add well timed comedy, two very well liked actors who have something special between themselves and a hummable musical theme and voila – you have an American classic film ! (1949)

*****

The Conspirator- sp You may think you know the story about the assassination of Abraham Lincoln but you don’t know Jack ! You probably most certainly don’t know the story of one of the so called conspirators Mary Surratt who ran the boarding house where John  Wilkes Booth met with his friends one of whom was her son. Producer Brian Falk is part of a new production company called the American Film Company, which has a mission to make films about American history. When he came across this 18 year old screenplay by James D. Solomon  about this story, the company decided it should be their debut movie. They took a chance and showed the script  to producer Bill Holderman who is a partner in Robert Redford’s company and the next thing they know they have Redford directing it and they were able to put  together an all star  cast. It then seems that they became obsessed about the authenticity and had a team of historians not only vet the script but were on speed dial for every detail of the film from the courtroom trial transcripts to the exact buttons on the soldier’s uniforms. The story starts off focusing on Frederick Aiken (James McAvoy) a young wounded Union officer on the battlefield. It turns out that he is a lawyer in civilian life and shortly after he leaves the military he is being pressured by his senior law associate (Tom Wilkerson) to defend Mary Surratt (Robin Wright). The trial is being conducted by a military court ( think Guantanamo) with judge and jury being Union soldiers and an ace prosecutor Joseph Holt  (Danny Huston ) with Secretary of  War Edwin Stanton (Kevin Kline) trying to call the shots from behind the scenes. Besides being a  fascinating piece of little known history, the film is beautifully photographed, with near perfect period costumes but yet it draws the viewer in and makes you feel that you are watching a very real life high stakes drama. Of course this is also a thinking person’s movie and you have to come away appreciating how the strength of our constitution gets tested from time to time and you wonder if it passed the test after Lincoln got shot as we sometimes wonder how it is doing today. Speaking of Lincoln, this movie opens April 15^th on the day of his death. We highly recommend it as one of the best films we have seen this year.(2011)

*****

Trust- rm -  This is an important movie. It addresses a serious problem that every family with budding teenagers will have to face. We want our children to master the Internet and the unlimited horizons which it offers them in their education and future ability to navigate in this global world. We also don’t have any choice because this wonderful technology provides us instant communication with cell phones and the ability to stay in touch with family and friends. It also gives young people the ability and opportunity to meet and communicate with anyone and everyone. There are teen chats where teenagers can meet other teenagers anyplace in the world or in the next town. Of course teenagers, especially girls tend to develop crushes and infatuations and it is only natural that they might want to meet their computer/phone pal. What if it turns out that he isn’t really a teenager but a little or a lot older but still seems like a nice guy? This is the situation that a 14 year old from a very solid home with successful loving parents, a brother going away to college and a younger kid sister, found herself in. Teenage life being what it is, includes up pressures in one’s school and social life and a natural desire to be accepted, loved and to explore their new sexuality. This very relevant story written by Andy Billin and Robert Festing , produced and directed by David Schwimmer considers  the devastating consequences which befall this girl and  her parents. Liana Liberato captures the spirit of an enthusiastic teenager who just made the volleyball team but yet has the   uncertainty and vulnerability of so many girls who are trying to get hang of the complexities of socializing in their new school environment. Catherine Keener plays her impacted mom and  Clive Owen  is her dad originally from Great Britain and a successful  advertising  executive which is helping to create the tween market which he at one point ironically and sickenly realizes may be creating sexual interest in youngsters  the age of his daughter. He struggles with his own feelings of inadequacies as a father and rage at anyone who might threaten or hurt his daughter. You might expect this subject to best dealt with by a documentary which could provide statistics, interviews with therapists, police and FBI agents as well as some parents or victims. This movie had all of the above in the form of a fast moving drama which conveyed the emotional pain of everyone involved. Schwimmer, who actually is  on the board of directors of the Rape Foundation for the Rape Treatment Center of Santa Monica, with this film  may have ended up  protecting untold numbers of young girls  from being hurt because of knowledge and awareness gained by viewing this film.  In fact this is the ideal movie to be viewed by parents and teenagers together followed by a nice dinner or snack to provide the vehicle and a good discussion. (2011)

****

Henry’s Crime-sp  Henry (Keanu Reeves) is sort of a nebish, stumbling through life as a toll collector on what seemed to be the New York State Thruway,  in a a loveless marriage to Debbie ( Judy Greer). He just seems to have no purpose in life.  Through no fault of his own, he ends up in jail for a crime he really didn’t commit and serves a year in the clinker. He meets Max  (James Caan) an old timer who was once a con or  “confidence” guy who isn’t even sure he wants out on parole even if he could. Henry’s life is about to change after Julie (Vera Farmiga in a great spirited performance) an actress rehearsing for a play in Buffalo runs into him in a chance meeting. Shortly before this meeting Henry has found a goal in life as nefarious as it might be. There is a play within the movie and a Chekhov play at that, which is driven by love, emotion and suspense. At the same time the life of the characters are filled with suspense, drama, passion and the fun of a heist movie plot. Director Malcolm Venville in his second feature film and American debut, seamlessly moves back and forth between these two dimensions  building to a great movie climax in which we heard out loud reactions from the  audience watching the play within the movie  as well as from our audience viewing this screening. Our reaction was very positive and we recommend that this movie not be missed. (2011)

**

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)