The Iron Lady (2011)

Starring: Meryl Streep 

Director: Phyllida Lloyd

** 

I adore Meryl Streep... she is always, always spot on in all the films I've seen of hers (and I have seen many). In this one, she does not fail. Her portrayal of The Iron Lady is impeccable. The power she commanded on the screen, the moments of vulnerability, her emotions regardless of her loyalty to ideas... they are all there in the most capable hands of Streep. 

The younger Thatcher, played by Alexandra Roach, is just as adept... she matches Streep's handle and gives a poignant, rich, and powerful portrayal of her character.

Acting brilliance aside, the film is a little... unsure of itself. It seems to focus on the relationship between Thatcher and her deceased husband, Denis, and the dementia surrounding her later years. But the dementia is also used as a tool to foray into her past with flashbacks and old reels, and of course talking to a physically absent Denis. 

But it doesn't help form any solid opinion on Thatcher's politics one way or another. We get splotches, rather well lighted and spectacularly angled ones, of visuals confirming the incidents we already know from history. There is nothing new to be gained, no side pushed forward, no real argument, so to speak, except maybe that hey, look! Margaret Thatcher was HUMAN, too! 

In the end, it was mostly an affirmation of Streep's magnificence and talent, something I have no problem watching, but I could not help but wish for more. There was SO much potential here. It seemed like a soft prelude, or epilogue of a much vaster story needed to be told. 

**

Rate: 5/10 

3:10 to Yuma (2007)

Starring: Russell Crowe and Christian Bale

Director: James Mangold

**

They say westerns are out of style. Not for Mangold! He makes it so enjoyable you wonder why you left your inner cowboy glories behind at age 4.

The storyline is simple, but the dialogue is sharp. The acting is... well, CROWE AND BALE! I think that should define that well.

Action and drama mixed in with a sentimentality that may kill. Ask Wade at the end.

Curious how beautiful boys look a lot like girls.

And the music thrills.

Ah, entertained. I love the feeling!

**

Rate: 7/10

In The Bedroom (2001)

Starring: Tom Wilkinson, Sissy Spacek, Nick Stahl, Marisa Tomei and William Mapother.

Director: Todd Field

**

This is a gorgeous and gripping film. The script is beyond fabulous, and the acting is no less.

There are movies where the soundtrack is seemingly perfect... but this film blows the seamlessness of those films away... The music weaves so accurately it made me cry. Not because of its emotional reflection, but just at the PERFECTION of it. Rarely in a work of art these days do you claim perfection. When people do, they might drink a beer, eat a cupcake, I don't know, kiss someone. I cry.

I am glad I will have died having seen this film. So, I hope, will you be.

**

Rate: 9/10

The Insider (1999)

Starring: Al Pacino (Lowell Bergman), Russell Crowe (Jeffrey Wigand), Christopher Plummer (Mike Wallace)

Directed By: Michael Mann

**

Intense. That's the word that jumped out at me as the ending credits rolled. It's not the sort of intense that scarred the film Momento into so many minds, or even in the way the film Hunger is. This is intensity in REALITY, perhaps a ~little~ blown up, but damn, it had me hating corporations.

The main theme is, as it is in all "Freedom of Press" marathons, the truth being revealed. I think I'll leave it at that.

I've been on a Crowe thirst lately, and I have found so far that he has a knack for completely embodying the role he's asked to play... Granted, many of his roles thus far have had a certain similar trend to them. But Crowe really has not failed one yet. And Pacino... Ah, dear dear Al. he's a magnet on that screen. On any screen actually...

I don't understand why women are so emotional... but then there are bad men too so I shouldn't complain.

See it when in mood for Truth being banged on your head pleasantly.

**

Rate: 8/10

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)

Starring: Asa Butterfield, Zac Mattoon O'Brien, Vera Farmiga
Director: Mark Herman


This film is about the innocence of childhood, the curiosity that makes the world magical from the perspective of an inquisitive young mind. A film about childhood friendship. A film that showcases how children see the world with such simplicity, perhaps implying that it is actually grown men who are the juvenile.

Finally, a film that doesn't want to follow a traditional Hollywood ending. A film that leaves you devastated, not because of the events of the film itself, but because we've been conditioned to believe in happy endings. Every film needs a hero and a villain, where the villain is defeated and the hero triumphs, right?

Mark Herman answers that question with a resounding no.

Watch the film. You'll see why.

B+ acting.
B directing.
B- plot.

Precious

Director: Lee Daniels

Starring: Mo'Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey and Lenny Kravitz

Year: 2009

**

Theme: Why Me? And understandably so. Precious is that character whose shoes no one wants to be in, and whose shoes, when left behind to tell a story, might make you shed those tears of pity.

A tortured existence who manages, despite all the crap dealt to her, to slip away into her own fantastic world of fantazy. In some ways, it's a version of "Pans Labyrinth" but to much less imaginative extent. After all, Precious is a Harlem teenager who has never had a boyfriend, been forcefully fed to grow into the size she is, and been pregnant twice. But let me leave the plot at that.

Mo'Nique stole the screen with her presence. She was downright intimidating. Scared the heck out of me. And then when she sat blubbering at the end, I felt disturbed at that ounce of compassion crawling out for her over-powdered round face. Amazing. A comdian doing THAT. How wonderful is human capacity!

Enjoyable... if you can call something like this enjoyable!

**

Rate: 6/10

Watchmen

Director: Zack Snyder
Starring: Malin Akerman, Billy Crudup, Matthew Goode, Jackie Earle Haley, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Patrick Wilson.
Year: 2009

**

Fun. Ripe with politics. Sexiness. Crime. Violence. And philosophy.

Yes, you read me right. Philosophy. The themes are all controversial and the heroes each are confronted with their own private issues that miraculously affects the survival of the human race...

I love Nixon's fake nose... and that they didn't bother to make it seem too real. It adds to the artistic appeal of the film.

If anyone knows where I can get a mask like Rorschach, holler. I want it!

**

Rate: 6/10

Harold and Maude

Director:
Starring: Bud Cort, Ruth Gordon
Year: 1972

**

A classic! A must see! And every other cliche you hear when they talk about films that must not be missed.

Dubbed as an "absurd comedy" when it first came out, it gained popularity and a cult following after its time. Makes sense.

Cort does a gem of a job being the comedic Harold... the deadpans and the expressions are PRICELESS. I even made a word for one of them: smirl. Watch his reaction when the gal runs away after she thought he self-immolated. You'll immediately see what I mean!

And Maude... dear, lovely Maude. She is the epitome of the goodness and natural essence of being human! Her persona is the light of the film.

There are so many memorable phrases and shots... I could list them forever and find myself simply typing out most of the script. Also, pay attention to Cat Stevens! Marvelous.

On my Top Ten Films List.

There, I've said it!

**

Rate: 9.5/10

For Love of Liberty: The Story of America's Black Patriots (2010)

Starring: Colin Powell, Halle Berry, Avery Brooks
Director: Frank Martin

Ever heard of a James Roberts? Peter Salem? Phyllis Wheatley? Freddie Stowers? No? Neither had I.

Frank Martin in this epic documentary tells a story of American history little told in grade school history classes. The invaluable contributions black Americans have made is both inspiring and a thing of wonder. Why? I keep wondering. Why do they continue to serve and die for a country and government that has consistently rejected them?

An objectivist, however, quickly sees the irrelevance of this question. More important is the spirit of humanity and the immortality of good hearted men that lives on.

Ah, the everlasting thirst for that strange thing that always seems to be ever so evasive. We know from history government cannot be counted on to protect this curious thing for us: liberty.

"In every human breast, God has implanted a principle, which we call love for freedom. It is impatient of oppression, and pants for deliverance." Fight on, brothers and sisters.


A for narration.
A for directing.
A+ for photography/videography content.

Charlie Wilson's War (2007)

Starring: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts
Director: Mike Nichols

Like most of the films we have reviewed on our blog, there are a number of things you can take from this film. But if you're objective, you'll see beyond the perspective of Congressman Charlie Wilson, from which this film is presented. What you'll take from this film is how US interventionist foreign policy has failed, with the backdrop being the conflict with the Soviets in Afghanistan.

Whether you are a supporter or critic of US imperialism (oh come on, don't show me that bewildered look!), the film shows Charlie Wilson for the ballsy, don't-fuck-with-me, witty Congressman that he was. But dispositions aside, he was in the minority when he realized there was something terribly wrong with the exit strategy, or lack thereof, of the "proxy" war that the Soviet conflict in Afghanistan really was.

A- for acting/screenplay.
B+ for directing.
A for plot.

New York City Serenade

Director: Frank Whaley
Starring: Freddie Prinze Jr, Chris Klein
Year: 2007

**

I gave this film a chance... and I finished it. But the sad thing is it didn't get any better...

That is all I have to say.

**

Rate: 2/10

The Kite Runner (2007)

Starring: Khalid Abdalla
Director: Marc Foster

I believe the value in this film derives almost exclusively from its plot. We're not used to seeing many examples of modern film like these, but it is certainly welcomed surprise.

You can take a variety of things away from watching this film. This is, however, a product of insightful directing powered by the intriguing story of a young Afghan writer who escapes the chaos of Soviet invasion and the subsequent extremist Taliban oppression, and later returns to his ravaged homeland to save a young life...

What a beautiful example of realism: snippets of a rich Afghani culture, boyhood friendship, father/son relationship, and manhood, all in the backdrop of a souring Afghanistan that was once a free and peaceful nation.

But forget about reading any further about Kite Runner. Just go and see it.

A- for acting.
A+ for plot.
A for directing.

Munich

Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Eric Bana, Daniel Craig, Ciaran Hinds
Year: 2005

**

This film finally quenched that thirst you sometimes get for intelligent action movies. Unlike Ironman and others of that genre which are, in their own ways, spectacular to see and enjoy, Munich offers a shovel too so you can dig into the character as deep as you'd like to.

It tells of the aftermath of the 1972 Israeli massacre and the secret operations led by the Israeli government to assassinate the Arab individuals thought responsible for it.

But what struck me most was the... technology! The world before the Internet! It was SO refreshing... The tensions of not having things be signaled in a millisecond... it's wonderful to watch on screen.

Acting remains top-class, as does direction. Watch it on a rainy day... it'll make you forget it, or listen to it more!

**

Rate: 7/10

American Radical: The Trials of Norman Finkelstein (2009)

Starring: Norman Finkelstein
Directors: David Ridgen and Nicolas Rossier

Ah, the power of the human mind, and what can become of an impassioned spirit.

This is a story of a remarkable scholar who holds his extremely controversial views on the state of Israel with such conviction, he costs himself his job, and likely any future employment in the academic ranks.

The purpose of this documentary, in my opinion, is not to make the case for or against any nation, or to deliver its fundamental arguments one way or another. What this documentary film presents is that although Dr. Finkelstein's academic research and publications are extensive and acknowledged by a large number of scholars and organizations worldwide, his controversial remarks and academic feud with Alan Dershowitz at Harvard University culminated in the denial of tenure and subsequent termination from DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. The directors portray these events as an outrageous violation of his academic freedom and right to the free dissemination of ideas.

No matter what side of the coin you're on, this is an inspiring and noteworthy documentary of a thinker who fights passionately for human civil rights and the right of self-determination to the point where University and professorship status mean nothing to him in the grand scheme of things.

B+ for directing.
A for acting.
A for plot.

Thirteen Days (2000)

Starring: Kevin Costner, Bruce Greenwood
Director: Roger Donaldson

Donaldson has packaged a politically thrilling piece of American history and delivered it as it was: a time of intense drama, deep-running tensions, internal conflict, and even a bit about the grotesqueness of human nature.

A time of incredible uncertainty amid a fullscale arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union, President John F. Kennedy is thrown into a rock-and-a-hard-place situation. As the CIA discovers the Soviets are building a massive military base with offensive nuclear missiles in Cuba, JFK needs to make a decision whether to strike these targets and possibly provoke a declaration of war, or if he can go the route of peace through negotiation.

Bigger than the historical facts of the Cuban Missile Crisis, however, was the little-told story of the internal conflict in JFK's mind between following the recommendations of the majority of his staff and the CIA for going the route of offensive action, and his own conscience revealing to him the common sense simple truth: an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.

Fantastic acting, superb cinematography, and above-average directing earns this film my nod of approval.

A- for acting.
A- for directing.
A for plot.

Rachel Getting Married

Director: Jonathan Demme
Starring: Anne Hathaway, Rosemarie Dewitt, Bill Irwin, Debra Winger
Year: 2008

**

I personally didn't mind the home-movie dusting this film gives the atmosphere. It's so realistic it makes you wonder sometimes... but it can also get a little overbearing too, if you're not in the mood for watching creativity...

Hathaway is the annoying, but somehow utterly endearing rehab who is allowed an excuse for a weekend in to attend her sisters (her complete opposite in ALL ways) wedding. The events that unfold and the ending are nicely looped and tied.

The acting is superb. Hathaway not only pulls off the character well, but makes the watcher forget her usual on screen charisma... she really is a pain in this movie, and she makes you feel it.

It was a joy to watch this...

**

Rate: 7/10

Lemon Tree

Director: Eran Reklis
Starring: Hiam Abbass, Ali Suliman, Rona Lipaz-Michael, Doron Tavory
Year: 2008

**

An Iserli film about an Iserli Minister of Defense having to face a lemon grove owned by a lonely, quiet Palestine woman who has tended the land for 50 years.

In the name of security, a lot of things happen. But the real battles are fought internally, or with eyes and unspoken words. Abbass is a master with such expression. She draws the audience close, but keeps them at an aloof distance sinultaneously. It's... beautiful to watch her skill. Lipaz-Michael is a match! She plays her role as quietly as Abbass presents hers. Both women are powerful in their presence.

The artistic beauty is not lacking, though there is nothing that striked me more than the wall. How immense and frail a wall can be...

Don't doubt lemons!

**

Rate: 7/10

Hunger

Director: Steve McQueen
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Liam Cunnigham
Year: 2008

**

The sensuality of this film is so intense I'd warn you if you have a weak stomach... at least, don't eat too much before.

What's strange and captivating is that it's horrifying but so... beautiful in its ugliness. The level of artistry somehow... ~glorifies~ the otherwise disgusting... things that are shown.

The 17 min shot is... fantastic. It is the crux of the film, and also the single piece of dialogue you'll hear uptil that point and after that point. There is a lot of silence... and it's perfect.

Hollywood might be a little scared seeing this film!

**

Rate: 9/10

The Invention of Lying

Director: Ricky Gervais, Matthew Robinson
Starring: Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Jonah Hill, Louis C.K., Christopher Guest, Rob Lowe, Tina Fey
Year: 2009

**

My humor isn't exactly deep. I laugh a lot. But not for the same reasons a groomed American would. And I accept it. This is a brilliant comedy, but I probably didn't get half the things going on...

What I did get was the fantastic deadpan artistry of Gervais, the uber cuteness of Garner and the utter satire of the whole thing. Look for the pizza commandments! And 'The Quiet Place to Think about The Man in The Sky." And Gervais' bear story. And all that!


Go ahead, laugh. It's good for you.

**

Rate: 7/10

This Revolution (2005)

Director: Stephen Marshall
Starring: Rosario Dawson, Nathan Crooker, Amy Redford

The idea behind this film is solid, but its delivery is disappointing. This low-budget semi-documentary, semi-film is set in New York City during the 2004 Presidential Election, amid a politically divided nation with growing civil unrest in connection to the widespread opposition of US military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The events unfold as a young journalist, working for a large media corporation, is assigned the task of covering the anti-State, anarchist, Constitutionalist, and the collective urban underground revolution against the Bush Administration's imperial foreign policy. Little does he know the hidden motives of his corporate superiors as he discovers he's fueling the very powers he's attempting to fight.

Distracting side plots aside, there are some really nice scenes of riots and protests and clashes with NYPD, but its delivery was disappointing and anti-climatic. The idea and concept behind this film is what gives it value, but I think a lot more could have been done to deliver a real adrenaline punch.

B- for acting and screenplay.
C for directing.
B- for plot.