Movie Reviews: Wilde and The Four Feathers

I've been working my way through my huge backlog of older movies and recently rented a couple movies that can both be described in the same way: well made, well acted, but too long and therefore a smidge boring. Wilde (1997) is the biopic of poet and playwright Oscar Wilde staring Stephen Fry and Jude Law. Wilde lived in Victorian England with a wife and two children - and a male lover. His homosexuality was discovered and exposed, but his refusal to leave the country led to a court trial and he was sentenced to two years hard labor. Only pick this one up if you're specifically interested in learning more about the life of Oscar Wilde. (Note that his writing isn't really addressed or discussed in this movie.)

The Four Feathers (2002) is a remake of an old 1915 movie set in 1884 Sudan about a man who resigns his enlistment in the British army right before his regiments ships out for battle. He receives four white feathers from his friends and fiancee as symbols of his cowardice. To redeem his honor, he spends the rest of the movie undercover helping his army regiment during and after the battle. It stars Heath Ledger and Djimon Hounsou and, again, it's well made but long and slow. I only recommend this movie if you've dedicated yourself to watching all of Heath Ledger's movies.

Movie Reviews: Duplicity, Timeline & Undercover Blues

Duplicity was the most fun I've had at a movie in a while, but I'm sure that has a lot to do with all those overly-serious Oscar nominated flicks I've seen lately. This movie has the audience constantly guessing at whose side everyone is on and where everyone's allegiances really lie. Clive Owen and Julia Roberts play ex-MI-6 and ex-CIA agents, respectively, who have teamed up to pull their own scam - or have they? Can they possibly trust each other long enough to pull off their plan, or are they playing each other (along with everyone else)? I'm not a Julia Roberts fan (she freaks me out if I look at her odd face for too long), but if you're like me I say suck it up for two hours because this movie is too fun to miss.

I rented Timeline (2003) based on the Michael Crichton book of the same name. I remember this movie getting trashed in the reviews when it first came out. I think I may have enjoyed it more because my expectations were low and I was able to watch it in the comfort of my own home. Starring Gerard Butler, Michael Sheen and David Thewlis, among others, it's about a group of archeology students who travel back in time via a wormhole to 14th century France to save their professor who gets trapped in the past. It's overly sensational and cheesy, but so was Michael Crichton's book. If you're looking for something fun and light check this one out, but it's definitely not a must-see movie.

I also watched Undercover Blues (1993) at the recommendation of my back therapist. This is a zany family romp about a couple with a baby who happen to be former spies that get lured out of retirement to catch a dangerous arms embezzler. Hilarity ensues as Dennis Quaid and Kathleen Turner multi-task their way through this action comedy. It's dated, lame, and way too cheesy. I'm definitely not recommending this one.

Hunted

Hunted is the fifth installment of the House of Night series written by P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast. The story continues to follow Zoey Redbird, a vampyre fledgling blessed by the goddess Nyx, and her small band of friends. In this latest story, they have to defeat Kalona, a fallen angel turned to darkness, and Neferet, the high priestess of the school who has turned her back on Nyx in her quest for power and domination.

Overall, I like the world the authors have created where vampyres are known and exist along side humans though not quite peacefully. I also like the overall story where a small band of good guys are trying to overthrow the more powerful bad guys - having been raised on Star Wars movies and Lord of the Rings books this is exactly why I started this series. However, I wish the authors would stop trying so hard to make trendy teen-talk and spend more time on the quality of the writing.

I recommend this series if you're into action/sci-fi books. Start with the first one in this series, Marked, in which Zoey first gets introduced to the vampyre world. Starting with Hunted would leave you lost as to what is going on in the story overall.

Music Within and Forgetting Sarah Marshall

I took a chance on a movie I never heard of before, Music Within, and was pleasantly surprised. It's a true story about Richard Pimentel who came back from Vietnam legally deaf, being able to only hear vowel sounds but not consonants. He befriends Art, a very smart writer with cerebral palsy, primarily because Richard can understand the way Art speaks (when no one else can). The movie explores Richard's life after the war, focusing on his achievements on behalf of Americans with disabilities. I definitely recommend this movie.

Also watched Forgetting Sarah Marshall, which was funnier than I thought it would be. As you can tell from the title, it's about a guy trying to get over the girl who dumped him. He decides to go to Hawaii, but ends up at the same resort with Sarah and her new British rocker boyfriend. Hilarity ensues, but my favorite part was the end (**spoiler alert**) because he doesn't get back with Sarah but ends up with someone better for him. Rent this one when you want a laugh.

Into the Wild and Jumper

I rented two non-recommendable movies this weekend. The first one I suffered through was Jumper, which is about a few guys who can teleport to anywhere in the world any time they want. Sounds like a cool premise, but there wasn't much of a plot and the girl that was supposed to be the love interest was exceptionally annoying; I couldn't help but want the bad guy, played by Samuel L. Jackson, to kill her. He didn't.

The other movie was an artsy-fartsy movie directed by Sean Penn called Into The Wild. It's based on a true story about a kid who left to go to Alaska to live alone in the wilderness away from all society. It was really long (2 1/2 hours) and was really boring. I think if it had been condensed into an hour and a half I would have enjoyed it more, but then it wouldn't have been the self-indulgent indy film Sean Penn wanted to make. Needless to say, I can't recommend either of these movies.

Book Reviews

Sweetheart by Chelsea Cain is a good follow up to her first book, Heart Sick. Both stories center around a police detective who was nearly tortured to death by a female serial killer, with whom he now needs to have a very sick and unhealthy relationship. In Heart Sick the serial killer is in prison but in Sweetheart she escapes. These are both really good books. You should read them both, starting with Heart Sick. They're fun, twisted reads.

And now, I'll cover the three Christopher Moore books I just read: Coyote Blue, A Dirty Job, and The Stupidest Angel. Coyote Blue is about love and redemption. A Native American who has been hiding from his past when an ancient tribal god named Coyote the Trickster offers him the dangerous gift of love and totally screws up his life. A Dirty Job is about death and dying, but it's wrapped up in a hilarious and heartwarming story. The main character discovers that he has a new and bazaar "second job" of collecting soul vessels - objects that hold a person's soul after death.

The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror was such a joy to read. It takes place in Pine Cove, the same location as his book Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove with all those same wacky characters. It also has Tucker Case and Roberto the talking fruit bat from Island of the Sequined Love Nun, and Raziel (the aforementioned stupid angel) from Lamb. You don't need to read all those other books first, but you do need to read this one. It was hilarious and crazy and so much fun. In fact, read all of his books - I have!

Movie Reviews

I've been busy watching movies but not busy posting them here on my blog. I'm just going to do them all at once and give just a quick review.

The Wrestler with Micky Rourke and Marissa Tomei is great but it's probably the saddest movie I've ever seen - not in a tear-jerker kind of way, but it's just flat out depressing. I would have given Micky Rourke the Oscar for this performance. You should see this one.

The International with Clive Owen is just OK. I think this film is lucky it had Clive Owen to carry the movie. There's nothing unpredictable in this one. If you have any interest you can wait for the DVD.

What Just Happened with Robert DeNiro leading an all-star cast is an indy movie that I think only Hollywood insiders would enjoy. Skip this one.

Driving Lessons is a coming of age story staring Rupert Grint as a teen who starts working for Julie Walters' free spirit aging actress to get away from his over-bearing mother played by Laura Linney. This was much better than I thought it was. Rent this one.

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang starring Robert Downey Jr. was also better than I thought it would be. It's a funny, twisty murder mystery with Val Kilmer as a gay private detective. Rent this one.

Dirty Filthy Love starring Michael Sheen is about a guy who has Tourette's and OCD (!what a combo!). It's an incredible movie; very well acted. Definitely rent this one.

Heartlands is a little British movie about a dorky guy whose wife leaves him. He goes on a trip across England to track her down and win her back, but on his journey he comes into his own. I liked that when he finds her he has enough self confidence to leave her. This movie is slow so I wouldn't recommend it.

Laws of Attraction with Pierce Brosnan and Julianne Moore was better than I thought. I didn't realize this movie was in my queue but I'm glad it was because I enjoyed it. Rent this one on a rainy day.

Last and least is The Rocker with Rainn Wilson. This was just bad. Skip it.

Religulous

Religulous came out on DVD yesterday and I rented it. I was not expecting a documentary about religion to be so incredibly funny! Bill Maher's sharp wit keeps the movie light and entertaining while exploring the absurdities of religion. He finds all kinds of crazy religious zealots to talk with from almost all the major religions - and a few lesser known religions as well. Surprisingly, the two most sane (in fact, the only two sane religious people he talked to) were priests, one of whom was the Vatican astronomer. The person I was most shocked at was a rabbi who's in league with the Holocaust deniers. WTF?!

This is not an objective exploration of religious beliefs. Maher makes it clear from the very beginning that he is going to mock religion in all its forms and denounce all the many horrible things that result from religion. While doing all of that, Maher throws in lots of jokes which helps keep the movie light, along with the many film clips that mock just about everything everyone says.

I would absolutely rent this movie unless you're a hard-core bible thumper. Anyone else will at least enjoy Maher's humor, even if they don't agree with his viewpoint.

Caught in the Light

I got Robert Goddard's name from a list of authors Stephen King likes, and if all of his books are like Caught in the Light I'm a fan for life. It's a mystery novel centered around photography with lots of twists and turns and surprises. The plot is deep and rich, and I don't want to say much more because it would ruin the enjoyment of reading as it all unfolds. You should absolutely pick this one up.

Bottle Shock and Benjamin Button

I wish I would have gone to see Bottle Shock when it was in the theaters. It's a move about wine, but not like Sideways which was pretentious and boring. This movie is charming and fun and has a heart that Sideways lacked. Starring Alan Rickman and Bill Pullman, it's based on a true story in 1976 that pitted California wines against French wines in a blind test. I would absolutely rent this one.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, on the other hand, is one you can absolutely skip. There's nothing about that movie that you haven't already seen in the previews. Clocking in at 2:45, it's l-o-n-g and s-l-o-w and boring. I have absolutely no idea why this movie is up for best picture. I can think of several others off the top of my head that I would rather have had the nomination (Gran Torino, Doubt, and Revolutionary Road just to name a few).

Movie Reviews

I rented a bunch of movies so I'll make these individual reviews short. The best movie of the latest batch I saw was Rock n Rolla by Guy Richie and starring Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson and Thandie Newton among many others. It was a fun, twisty story about the seedy scums of the London underworld crossing and double crossing each other. Definitely rent this one if you haven't already seen it.

Zack and Miri Make A Porno, the latest Kevin Smith movie, wasn't as funny as I was hoping it would be but it was a fun, light, silly movie. It's about two high school friends who decide to make a porno to make ends meet and end up falling in love. Max Payne starring Mark Whalberg was a good looking stylistic action movie, but it was predictable. It's about a cop wrestling his personal demons while trying to get to the bottom of a hallucinogenic drug ring. Pride and Glory was a well acted movie about good cops and bad cops (any movie with Edward Norton is guaranteed to be well acted), but it was excessively long. Oliver Stone's W. was an interesting look at how W lived his entire life in his father's shadow and ended up being Cheney's puppet - nothing new there. Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a slow movie about two women who spend the summer in Spain. It's clear to see why Penelope Cruz was nominated for her performance in this. Alien vs. Predator: Requiem was fun to watch but I honestly don't know why they spent so much time on a plot full of characters no one cares about. None of these four movies are "must see's" but they're entertaining if you're in the mood.

Book Reviews: Fool and Fade

Fool, the latest book by Christoper Moore, was absolutely fabulous! It's the story of King Lear told from the point of view of Pocket the fool, who we see is really pulling all the strings in the background with a little help from the three witches from MacBeth and a ghost (there's always a bloody ghost). It's amazing to think that Moore's funny, witty, irreverent style could be applied to Shakespeare's stuffy and boring King Lear, but it works quite well. I love everything I've ever read by Moore, so pick up this book or any of his others. You won't be disappointed.

I also read Fade, the sequel to Lisa McMann's Wake, about a girl who gets sucked into other people's dreams. Over the course of the two novellas the heroine is learning to use control in her dreams and in others. These are both good stories, but they're written as more of a thorough outline than a fully developed book. I like the stories, but I wish wrote more to fill out the story and the characters a bit more. You can skip these books, but if you're looking for something quick and easy to read you might want to check them out.

The Hulk and The Happening

I was surprised at how horrible The Incredible Hulk was, especially since it has first class actors like Edward Norton, William Hurt and Tim Roth. The movie was boring and predictable, and the green monster was ridiculously stupid. The only redeeming scene in the movie was Robert Downy Jr.'s cameo at the end of the movie as Tony Stark (a.k.a. Iron Man). I'm surprised that these two franchises are linked because Iron Man was so good and Hulk was so bad. If you haven't seen this movie, don't.

The movie that was supposed to be horrible but was better than I thought was The Happening. But maybe I liked it more than everyone else because I watched it after that horrible piece of crap The Hulk, which might make any movie watched after it seem like pure genius. I thought The Happening was well made and thought provoking, though not nearly M. Night Shyamalan's best (The Sixth Sense). But it's not his worst either (The Village). I'm guessing the criticism comes from the movie focusing on the experience of a small group of people and not in explaining in full detail the cause of the occurrence, though it is explained - quite adequately in my opinion. If you're looking for something to watch I would check this one out.

Cold Creek Manor

Cold Creek Manor, starring Dennis Quiad and Sharon Stone, is a few years old but I just got around to watching it on DVD. A family moves from the city into an old dilapidated manor and they renovate it. This is about all that happens in the first hour. Then, inexplicably the house is over-run with snakes. Then more boring stuff happens and the movie ends. This movie was really lame. Skip it.

Taken, Get Smart, and Ghost Town

Taken is a good action thriller starring Liam Neeson as an ex-CIA agent whose 17 year old daughter gets kidnapped on a trip to Paris with her friend and sold into prostitution. The majority of the movie centers on Neeson who explores the seedy underworld in his attempt so rescue his daughter. We know that he's a father who would do anything to get her back, a fact that is demonstrated several times during the film. The plot is a little obvious, but it's till a fun ride and Liam Neeson is a great actor. If you don't catch this one in the theater, definitely check it out on DVD.

Get Smart was very funny and well cast with Steven Carell as Maxwell Smart, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson (a.k.a. The Rock), Alan Arkin, Terence Stamp, and James Caan. The movie stayed true to the feel of the old TV series, while updating it for the modern age of technology and audience expectation. It was fun watch Carell fumble around as Agent Smart; I couldn't imagine anyone else in that role. I laughed through the whole movie. I can't believe I didn't see this one in the theater. If you haven't seen it yet, definitely rent it.

Ghost Town was also a good and funny movie starring Ricky Gervais, Greg Kinnear, and Tea Leoni. Gervais plays a cynical dentist who "dies" on the operating table for seven minutes due to a reaction to the anesthesia during a colonoscopy. When he wakes up he can see the ghosts of people who have passed on that need closure on some aspect of their lives before their spirits can move on to a higher plane. This was a better movie than I thought it would be. If you haven't seen this one add it to your movie queue.

In the Land of Women

In the Land of Women is one of those odd little indy films that could be decent if you're in the right mood. It starts out with a guy who writes soft porn that gets dumped by his actress girlfriend so he decides to go to Michigan to help his ailing grandmother while he gets over his break up. He gets involved in the lives of the family who live across the street from his grandmother.

Overall it's kind of tedious. There are too many small moments that don't have a lot of significance which makes for a somewhat boring movie. I would suggest skipping this one.

Doomsday

Doomsday is very Mad Max-esq. A virus devastates Scotland forcing a quarantine of the entire country. The virus is successfully contained but Scotland is left isolated from the world as the virus ravages the country and presumably destroys the entire population. 30 years later the virus resurfaces in London. When proof of survivors surfaces on satellite photographs, a special top secret task force is sent into Scotland to find the doctor who led the research team back when the virus first surfaced. We follow the task force through the anarchistic war zone that Scotland has devolved into while we simultaneously watch London be destroyed by the virus and the rioting by the infected people trying to escape. This one is OK, but it's not a must see.

Milk

I went to see Milk today because I wanted to see Sean Penn's Oscar nominated performance before the awards are handed out. It was a powerful and moving true story about Harvey Milk, America's first openly gay elected official in San Francisco in the 70s. Obviously Sean Penn's performance was very powerful. I thought the movie itself was successful in describing the gay lifestyle of the 70s while keeping it artfully tasteful but honest all at the same time - kind of a touchy line to walk to appeal to main stream film audiences. An excellent film that you should add to your movie queue.

Underworld 3: Rise of the Lycans

OK, I have to admit that I am now officially and Underworld fan. I think this third movie was better than the first two. Underworld 3: Rise of the Lycans is a prequel to the first two movies and details the story of Lucien, head of the werewolves, and Sonja daughter of Victor, the head of the vampires. Their story, obviously one of forbidden love, is referenced in the first two movies so I wasn't sure if I would enjoy watching it since I already know how it was going to end. I think it's a testament to the great acting talent of Michael Sheen and Bill Nighy that I was enthralled in the story from start to finish. This movie focused more on the characters than the first two which seemed to focus more on action and plot (which I love, so I'm not knocking it). If you're a fan of the first two, you should definitely see this one.

The Visitor

I finally got a chance to watch The Visitor this weekend. It's clear to see why Richard Jenkins received an Oscar nomination for his performance. Jenkins plays a widowed Connecticut college professor with a completely empty life who goes to NY for a conference and finds a pair of illegal aliens living in his apartment. As he befriends the young couple he discovers a passion for playing the African drum and begins to find some meaning in his life. If you haven't seen this yet, add it to your movie rental queue.

Frost/Nixon, Revolutionary Road, Rachel Getting Married

I had another movie blitz weekend. I started off with Frost/Nixon starring Frank Langella as Nixon and Michael Sheen as Frost. I was just a baby when this happened in the early 70s so I wasn't sure if I'd be able to follow all the intricacies of the plot, but it wasn't a movie like that at all. It focused more on Frost and how he had to hustle to pull off his famous interview with former disgraced president Richard Nixon. Frank Langella did a phenomenal job bringing an unexpected depth to Nixon, which is what made this such a fabulous movie.


Revolutionary Road, starring one of my favorite actresses, Kate Winslet, and Leonardo DiCaprio, was a deep and uncomfortable look at couple in the 50s who are frustrated with their ordinary lives and struggle to make more of themselves before it's too late. I think it speaks to all of us, though hopefully we are dealing with these issues better than Kate and Leo. It's not a happy movie but its grittiness and realism makes this incredible.

Rachel Getting Married is an indy movie about a girl who leaves rehab to attend her sister's wedding. It's definitely an indy movie because it focuses way too much on the sister's goofy wedding. I think there was just the right amount of family interaction, though, which is the point of this movie. It stars Anne Hathaway as the addict and there's a fabulous scene with her and her screen mom, Debra Winger, that gets to the heart of the family issues and the addiction. I would have gladly sacrificed wedding screen time for a longer scene between those two phenomenal actresses. It's clear to see why Hathaway got an Oscar nomination for this performance.

Bride Wars

It was another cold day here in Michigan so my mom suggested Bride Wars with Anne Hathaway and Kate Hudson. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. The premise of the story is that two best friends get engaged at the same time and accidentally book the same wedding date. Of course, neither would cave on giving up their day and they start doing mean things to each other. It was funny to see how creative they could get! It's not the best movie, but it was fun to watch and, unlike most movies, this one has a happy ending. Maybe put this one on your rental list.

Outlander Book Series

You may have noticed that I haven't been posting book reviews lately. I've been reading my way through the Outlander series again, but this time on my Kindle and thought I'd do just one post for the whole series. It's about 5,0o0 pages of small print so it took me awhile to get through it all. It's historical fiction with adventure, romance, and a smidge of sci-fi. This series follows the lives of Jamie and Claire in the 18th century and takes us from Scotland to France to Jamaica to the New World. I would recommend these books to anyone who doesn't mind investing the time to read really big books.

Movie Reviews

I caught a couple more movies this weekend. Gran Torino, starring Clint Eastwood, is a powerful story that's ultimately about redemption and sacrifice. Clint Eastwood plays a crusty old Korean War vet who hates everyone because the world has changed and he refuses to change with it. He unwittingly befriends the Hmong teenage girl next door then sets out to reform her brother. It's an incredible story that gets my split vote (with Doubt) for movie of the year. Go see this movie.

I also saw Slumdog Millionaire which won the Golden Globe last night for best picture. It's a harsh look at the gritty life of a child growing up in the slums of Mumbai. It's a beautifully told story and, of all the Oscar-contention movies I've seen, <slight spoiler alert> it's the only one with a happy ending. No one makes movies with a happy ending anymore and I didn't know how much I missed that until experiencing the end of this movie. Go see this one too.

Movie Reviews

Happy new year everyone! I had a nice long break from work and managed to see several movies. I'm doing them all in one post with only brief reviews for each.

I'll start with the one I think is the "must-see" movie of the bunch that I saw. Doubt, starring Merryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Adams, is an incredibly powerful movie based on a Pulitzer winning play. Merryl Streep plays nun who is the principal at a Catholic school who is convinced that the head priest (played by Hoffman) has done something inappropriate even though she has no evidence or proof. Like any good piece of theater, it lays the situation at the viewers' feet and we are left with many questions to ponder about what we possibly would have done in that situation. You must put this on your list of movies to see.

Valkyrie was a better movie than I thought it would be. I thought that knowing the outcome of the assassination attempt on Hitler would render the movie somewhat pointless. But I was on the edge of my seat engrossed in the complexities of how these people were not only going to assassinate him, but take over the SS and make peace with the Allies. If you don't get to the theater to see this, you should put this on your rental list.

The Reader was also a very good movie that you should put on your watch list. Kate Winslet stars as a 30 year old German train conductor who seduces a 15 year old boy whom she asks to read aloud to her the books he's studying in school until one day when she abruptly moves away without saying goodbye. Years later when he is in law school he attends a trial of Nazi war criminals and sees that she's one of the defendants. He comes to a realization that she's hiding a deep secret and will go to any lengths to keep it hidden, even if that means she'll get a harsher sentence in the trial. It was a very interesting study about the character and her desperation regarding this secret.

I also went to see Synecdoche, New York starring Philip Seymour Hoffman. It's a weird indy movie, which I was in the mood to watch. Only see this if you're jonesing for a weird indy movie.

And last, I rented The 25th Hour starring Edward Norton. This is another really good movie that I missed back in 2002 and finally caught up with. He's a convicted criminal who is going to jail and this is the 24 hours leading up to his imprisonment. I'm glad I finally saw this one. It's been sitting around for almost two months (since I got my Kindle). This is very well acted with Rosario Dawson, Anna Paquin, Barry Pepper and Philip Seymour Hoffman.

Am I a Philip Seymour Hoffman fan girl? Hmm....