****

Cake – nf

For many years MB was a psychiatric consult to a Burn Center and worked with many patients who had to deal with severe pain. Most of the time, we found a way of controlling the pain through medication, relaxation techniques, hypnosis, guided imagery, and various forms of psychotherapy. However, it was after the patient left the hospital that they had their biggest trial. They were faced with disfiguring injuries, chronic pain, and most of all PTSD with continued grieving around the circumstances of their tragic injury.

We live and breathe this journey through the persona of Claire who is masterfully played by Jennifer Aniston. We initially meet her in a support group for people with chronic pain. We soon learned that her pain is much more than physical hurting. It goes also beyond the physical dependency that her body has for pain killers.

The screenplay by Patrick Tobin slowly unfolds as we gradually learn about a member of Claire’s support group who committed suicide (Anna Kendrick) but lives on in Claire’s mind. We see Claire slowly and painfully expand her limited circle of relationships. The one constant person in her life is Silvana, her loya; housekeeper (Adriana Barraza).

This is not the kind of role you can just step into. It required much more than this actress allowing her face to be made up as being scarred. Jenifer Aniston had to come to inhabit the heart and soul of her character. She did just that through her own efforts and with the help of the film director Daniel Barnz. She also had an excellent supporting cast which included Sam Worthington, Mamie Gummer, Felicity Huffman, William Macy, Chris Messina, and several others.

We suspect this movie will live on, not only as an excellent piece of cinema but it will be used for discussion in support groups as real people will relate to the character that Ms. Aniston and the film makers have created. (2014)

*****

The Debt-sp – When you start with a plot that has the Israeli mossad tracking down the “Surgeon of Birkenau”  who is in East Berlin working as a fertility gynecologist, you can be pretty sure that you are going to have an exciting movie. Then when you have veteran Academy Award winning actress Helen Mirren  playing the lead along with Jessica Chastain,  an engaging new  actress who has starred in several movies which are coming out over a six month period, it becomes obvious that this is a movie which also deserves your attention. These two outstanding actresses are complimented by Tom Wilkinson, Marton Csokas, Ciaran Hinds and Sam Worthngton  This is a film that will not disappoint. It is thriller with fast action, great tension along with a story that you may think you understand but it will take you for ride and challenge you in an  ethical dilemma which the characters eventually face. Director John Madden expects the audience to be alert and you may miss a few fine points of the plot but in the end you come away still thinking about the story and the repercussions of it. What else can you ask for? (2011)

* * * *
Avatar – rm- We didn’t see this film until after it was nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture as well as many other awards. We stand by our prediction that Hurt Locker will earn the award for best picture. Avatar and director/writer/producer James Cameron deserve awards and acclaim for the technical accomplishments in the use of 3D, computer generated animation and special effects. The “out of this world” flying, at times gigantic, horse/dragon like creatures were very impressive although their continued presence for much of the movie was not our cup of tea. The appearance of the avatars as well as that of the people who were being visited or we should say the natives of the land that was being invaded was also quite creative. All their facial features were completely non-human as was the presence of their tail and many of their mannerisms, but yet their behavior was all too human. It was most of the humans who were engaging in the inhumane actions. While the plot was somewhat simple, familiar and predictable, it was the symbolism and important themes that raised the value of the film. One could not help but be reminded of the experience of the native Americans or the native inhabitants of so many other places that have been invaded by intruders seeking to plunder their land. There was a green theme with a spiritual love of nature. Also clear was the presence of strong, good women who possessed both strength of character and strength of purpose. Some of the scenes with helicopter like gun ships setting this very special countryside aflame with bright orange fire explosions with the background radio chatter of the invading forces were reminiscent of scenes from the Viet Nam War and perhaps some later day events. It is probably fair to say that this is an anti-war film. Some might say it is anti-American and others might feel it is not a fair depiction of the real good guys. It certainly is cutting edge and may be the beginning of a new genre. (2009)

* *
Terminator Salvation – nf – This is a prequel of the other Terminator movies and stars Christian Bales and Sam Worthington. It is a big budget film with lots of special effects. Early in the film there is some scrolling explanation of the setting which is easy to miss. Basically the world has been taken over by very smart machines which appear to be winning the war against the bands of surviving humans who haven’t given up yet. There is some time travel and a plot for one of the characters to save his father as a young man. There are lots of pyrotechnics, explosions with robots and machines that won’t die. Even Arnold, our Governor makes a fleeting digitalized appearance. If you are drawn to this movie perhaps if you look at this four minute trailer, it will be enough for you.

We think there are some great films out there to see but this is not one of them. 2009